Before story note: Look at me updating on a slightly regular basis. Whoda thunk it? I gotta admit I'm having a lot of fun writing this, so I find it's a lot easier to think of material. Also I just love the show and it's so cute so I can't help but writing this.

I'm going to do a little bit of fangirling here. This song (not necessarily the video. Personally I think it has a bit of a Heath Ledger Joker feel to it), Stupid Mistake by Darren Hayes, is like the perfect Rumbelle song. Listen and tell me if you agree.

Now... ONTO THE RUMBELLE!

"I don't think you look like a mess." Those words stuck in Belle's head throughout the rest of her classes, and the remainder of her day went by in a blur. She found herself blushing on more than one occasion, earning a handful of glances from her classmates. Amazingly enough, those small words were enough to make her forget about Gaston and his stinging accusations. That was until her last period class, when she felt her phone vibrate from a text message. Looking around she saw that her teacher, Ms. Mills, was too busy going over papers to notice what she was doing. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she looked down and saw that the message was from the devil himself.

'Im soooo srry baby.' It read. Another buzz. 'Can you forgive me?'

'I don't know.' She typed, always grammatically correct. That was one pet peeve of hers that her boyfriend didn't seem to acknowledge. 'You really hurt me.' Clicking the send button, she set the phone on her knee, and pulled out her book. Before she even got it open, her knee vibrated.

'Pls baby. Can we talk b4 u go home?'

Sighing, and against her better judgment, she replied. 'Ok, fine. Meet me outside in the parking lot next to my car after school.' Looking up at the clock, there were only about 10 minutes left of class. Slipping her phone back into her pocket, she racked her brain. Honestly, she didn't know what to do about Gaston. If she were to be honest with herself, the only reason she was still going out with him was because it was comfortable. In the beginning of their relationship, when he was still charming and taking things slow, she fell for him pretty fast. On the other side of it however, once she discovered his possessiveness and his eagerness to get her into bed, she got up from him pretty fast too. However, staying with him always seemed easier than leaving him. Until now. Belle wasn't sure how much more of this she could take.

She let her mind wander back to Mr. Gold for a minute. The difference between him and Gaston was astounding. If she were once again being honest with herself, she had always been attracted to Mr. Gold on some level since the first time he called her Miss. French. Of course the boundary between teacher and student had always kept it down to just puppy love. There was no way she was going to try and ruin any relationship she had with him by trying to come onto him. But that didn't mean she couldn't fantasize about that sexy Scottish accent whispering in her ear... She let her mind wander a bit further, blocking out her surroundings. So it was no surprise that when the bell rang, she jumped ten feet out of her seat. Feeling her face grow hot, she grabbed her things and rushed out of the classroom, ignoring the looks she was getting from her classmates yet again.

The walk to the parking lot did not take enough time for Belle. Dragging her feet, she readjusted her book bag, and made her way to her Oldsmobile. She saw that Gaston was already leaning on her car waiting for her. Upon hearing her approaching, he looked up, eager to win her back.

"Belle I'm so sorry. I was way out of line." Gaston began, taking one of her hands in his own. "It's no excuse I know, but I let my temper get the best of me. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me baby."

Belle pulled her hand from his grasp and fished for her keys in her pocket. Unlocking her door, she finally spoke. "Gaston, I can't take any more of this drama. This is not the first time you've lashed out at me for no good reason. This is insane, and I'd be a complete idiot to let this continue."

"Please Belle." Gaston begged. "Please don't do this to me. I'll change. I promise! Please just give me one more chance. I'll make it up to you and more." Gaston was on his knees at this point, taking her hands in his. Sorrow filled his eyes, and for just a second of weakness, Belle agreed to give him one more chance.

And she immediately regretted it. But the damage was done, and before she could even hope to undo it, they were lip locked, with him trying to force his tongue inside her mouth. Giving up, she let him have access, but she made sure his hands stayed right where they were, by locking them in a firm grip between them. Finally pulling apart for air, she released his hands, and he gave her a hug. "Thank you so much Belle for giving me one more chance. I promise I'll make everything up to you. I can't lose you. I need you."

That was enough for Belle's comfort. If she thought he was possessive now, those words did nothing to quell her fears. Wriggling out of his grasp, she made up some excuse about having to be home for her father, and got into her car. Shutting the door, she buckled up and waved to Gaston as he walked over to his own truck a few spaces down. Getting into his own vehicle and starting the engine, he smiled again at Belle, and sped off out of the parking lot. After he was out of sight, she banged her head against the steering wheel, harder than she meant to, but in the back of her mind she told herself she deserved it. "Crap." She said out loud to no one. "What the hell am I supposed to do? I can't seem to get away from him." Lifting her head up, she made a decision. "I have got to end this." She said resolutely to herself. "It's only going to get worse from here on out. I can't be in a relationship with someone if I have to tiptoe around them watching everything I say. Yes. I'm going to decide my own fate, and I'm not going to let some possessive jerk control everything I do." Making up her mind, she put her key into the ignition and turned it.

It was like the world was against her, as her engine roared to life, and then started to smoke.

"I don't think you look like a mess." His own words replayed in his mind. 'Fuck. How could I say that to her?' Mr. Gold thought to himself as he limped to the parking lot. 'She probably thinks I'm some dirty old man now. By the way she rushed out of the classroom, I wouldn't be surprised.' Mr. Gold would be lying to himself if he said he felt no attraction to Miss. French. The first time he saw that he had a student named after beauty, he scoffed at the idea, and thought her parents had either a bad sense of humor, or just had no taste. Boy was he wrong. On the first day of class, when he called roll and the name 'Belle French' fell from his lips, and the sweetest 'Here' resounded in his classroom, his head snapped up to source the face of the student. He knew then that this was going to be a long year. He had always prided himself of not being victim to the highschool girls of the school. He knew that Archie had quite the hard on for one of their own students, Ruby. It was an unspoken agreement however to never mention it, but it wasn't hard to tell by the way he looked at her. There was something different about Belle though. She didn't dress like a slut, and she didn't wear gobs of makeup like ninety five percent of the girl population of the school, but she still drew his eyes without even trying. Hell most of the time he couldn't even see her face because she was nose deep in a book.

In the beginning, he decided it was best to just keep his distance for the school year, and hope that these feelings would just dissipate. It was never that easy for Mr. Gold. The more he stayed away, the more he felt drawn to this girl he hardly knew. He found himself looking at the titles of the books she was always reading, and more than a few times at the local Barnes and Nobel, he bought the same book. He had to admit she had a great taste when it came to a good book. Eventually, he couldn't stay away anymore. Instead of walking the opposite way down the hall when he saw her approaching, he kept his pace, and even smiled and said hello to her if they were close enough. He wasn't dumbstruck enough to be waving from halfway down the hall, yelling hello. He did still have a reputation to keep around this place. Once he stopped running, the weight on his heart lifted, and he decided he could live like this a lot easier. At least this way, he could talk to her, albeit not for very long.

Reaching his car, a deep black Cadillac, he noticed some smoke in the back of the parking lot. Knowing most of the students would have hightailed it out of there to enjoy the rest of their Friday, he wondered who's car could possibly be making all the smoke. Getting a closer look, he saw the owner of the vehicle talking into her cell phone a good 10 feet away. Belle. Of course it was her. Because Heaven forbid it would be someone he didn't like so that he could go home and not feel guilty. Cursing his luck, he started his car and drove to the back of the lot to his damsel in distress. Stopping next to her, he rolled down his window, just as she snapped her phone shut in frustration. "Are you alright dearie?" He asked and he thought he saw a small shiver run down her spine.

She spun around and the frown on her face was instantly replaced with a smile. "Oh hello again Mr. Gold. I'm ok. My car on the other hand..." She gestured towards it, and while the smoke seemed to be clearing, it was obvious it was in no condition to drive.

"Aye, I see." Grabbing his cane from the passenger seat, he opened the car door, and climbed out. "Is there anything I can do to help? I'm afraid I'm not much of a mechanic, but maybe I could call someone for you?"

"Oh no it's alright." She said. "I just called my father and he said he'd be down here after he can get off work." Her words fell slightly.

Mr. Gold picked up on it, and voiced his concern. "Let me guess. He doesn't get off for quite some time does he?"

"Afraid not. He can't leave work until after 6." Belle looked at her watch. "And right now it's only 4:30. Looks like I'm stuck here for a while." Her stomach took this moment to gurgle loudly. She laughed and added, "And apparently I'm hungry."

"Do you not have anyone that can come pick you up?" Mr. Gold inquired.

"No..." Belle said, sadly. "Ruby has cheerleader practice at the YMCA across town, and Mary-Margaret and David have already left to get ready for their usual Friday night date. I couldn't ask them to put their plans on hold just because this is just not my day."

"What about your..." Mr. Gold faltered. "Boyfriend? Surely he can get you home."

"He just left, and honestly I don't want to see him." Belle said, crossing her arms.

"Well dearie, that sounds like a story." He made his way to the hood of his car, and sat down on top of it.

"What are you doing?" Belle asked, confused.

"Well I can't just leave you here on your own. Who knows what kind of ruffians are lurking in the shadows." Mr. Gold smiled at her.

Laughing at how his Scottish accent mingled with the word ruffians, she instantly felt better that he was willing to do this for her and keep her company. "You don't have to stay with me. I have a can of mace in my car if worse comes to worse."

"I think at this point, the car is more of a formidable weapon than the mace." He joked. "It's quite alright dearie, I have nowhere to be, and truly, I wouldn't think to highly of myself if I just left you here." He patted the spot next to him on his hood. "Feel free to take a seat if you want."

"Why thank you sir." She smiled at him, and took him up on his offer. Sitting this close, she could smell the cologne he was wearing, and she decided she had a new favorite smell.

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment before Mr. Gold asked, "So, are you alright? I mean aside from the car?"

It took a moment for Belle to understand the question, but once it set in, she hesitated. "Yeah, I'm ok physically. Emotionally, I'm a wreck."

"It may not be my place, but if you want to talk about it, I can listen."

"I just wouldn't know where to start." Belle offered. "It's all just become such a mess. I had every intention of breaking up with him when I walked out here, but somehow, I ended up giving him another chance. I've never regretted anything so badly in my life." She buried her head in her hands in a sign of defeat. Mr. Gold just listened in silence. Belle continued on, letting it all pour out. "He's so domineering, and has such a temper!" Seeing a flash in her teachers eyes, she quickly amended her statement. "I mean, he's never hit me or anything like that, but it doesn't take much to piss him off." She retold the story of her lunch hour, and she almost started crying again, but she managed to hold it all together. "I just don't understand how I let it get this bad. I should have ended this the moment I knew I no longer cared for him, but I guess a part of me was just to scared to do it. But I know now I have to. I just have to." She couldn't stress that point enough. "I can't continue being in a relationship like this." Belle poured out all of her feelings, and looked over at him. "Look at me, just rambling on about stupid high school problems. I mean, who is going to care in a month?" She laughed dryly.

"It's quite alright dearie. Everyone has their own set of problems, and everyone needs to vent once in a while." Mr. Gold assured her. "Your problems are no different.

"Thank you." Belle said. Then out of no where, she added, "I don't think you are a hardass. I think you are a great teacher."

Cocking his head to her, he joked, "If only I could get you to show up on time. The only reason you don't think that is because you only have to deal with me half as much as your classmates."

"No." She defended her answer. "You only do what you are supposed to. Plus, I read David's essay after you handed them back. It was pretty bad." She laughed with him. Checking her watch, she saw that it was only 4:45. "God I'm starving. I didn't get to eat any breakfast or lunch."

"I also missed lunch, but I did have the luxury of breakfast." Against all proper thought processes, he saw the Micky D's across from the school. "Would you like to go get something to eat?" He pointed his cane towards the eating establishment.

"Oh man, that sounds great. I could eat one of everything on the menu... although I'd probably gain 500 pounds from the order of fries alone." She joked, and got off the hood of his car, Mr. Gold following suit, and they started walking. No point in driving over to the loosely defined restaurant. Luckily, it looked like the venue was mostly empty, so hopefully they won't get any suspicious glances their way. He mentally took in there situation in his head. No, while it doesn't look particularly great, so far they weren't doing anything wrong. He was just keeping her company while she waited for her father. No one could argue that point.

Although just for shits and giggles, halfway across the street, as if on cue, his leg gave out, and a nice pair of arms were immediately around him again.

TEH_AUTHORS NOTE

Ah always a good time. Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Not gonna lie, I keep squeeing at myself. :D