Once Upon a Rewrite (Book 1)

Ch.31 A Kindly Man

Despite having a late breakfast, the girls decided to go out later that afternoon to walk around Storybrooke while showing Elena around before they were to part ways.

"Here we have the Sweet Tooth bakery," Macy pointed out as they strolled down the sidewalk, "This was where Julie and I got those cookies."

"The baker actually goes to our school," Julie informed Elena, "Tara Baker, it's even in her name."

"Tara Baker?" Elena raised an eyebrow, "I think she's in my History class."

"Is she?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure she's the one who sits next to me because she smells a lot like sugar."

"Oh yeah," Francis grinned, "That's Tara alright, no matter where she goes, she always smells so sweet. And she is sweet herself, just like her baked goods."

The girls were about to walk off when a man came out from the bakery with a clear to-go box in his hands that contained a large wheat muffin.

"Oh," he smiled when he noticed the girls, "Good afternoon ladies."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Jones," Olivia greeted.

"Mr. Jones?" Elena thought, "As in the husband of the mayor?"

"You girls taking a walk?" he asked.

"Yeah," Olivia nodded, "We're just showing our new friend around. This is Elena, she moved here on Sunday. And Elena, this is David Jones, Mayor Evelyn's husband."

Elena almost gasped at that moment, remembering what Brooke had told her about the mayor really being her mom. And if that was true, then that must mean Mr. Jones was really her father. And once again, that question keeps coming back to her: Could it be true? One side of her was saying that it wasn't true, but the other side was saying that it could be a possibility.

"It's nice to meet you, Elena," he greeted with a friendly smile which snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Uh," she mumbled while putting on a small smile, "It's nice to meet you too."

His phone suddenly rang as he pulled it out of his pocket and sighed at the caller ID.

"Your wife?" Macy smirked.

"Yeah," he muttered, "I better get going. You girls have a nice day."

He walked off just as he answered the phone, "Yes, honey, I'm on my way."

"Seriously?" Kayla said once he was far away, "How is a nice guy like that married to that bitch of a mayor?"

"It's a mystery that even I'm still trying to solve," Hailee stated.

They continued down the sidewalk as Elena's thoughts began to bug her again. If what Brooke had told her was true, could Mr. Jones really be her father? She wasn't going to jump to conclusions yet without any real proof. But how was she even going to get any proof?

"Elena?" Olivia suddenly spoke, "Are you okay?"

"Oh um, yeah," she assured, "I'm fine."

Was she, really? With all these thoughts running through her head, Elena was beginning to question what was real and what wasn't. She tried to push those thoughts out of her head as she tried to instead focus on being with her friends. After all, it was better to be with these girls than to be alone like how she was in New York.

_________

In front of the Wonder Diner, sitting at one of the outdoor tables with her cup of warm tea by her side, Rachel gazed down at her little notebook that contained the scribbles of her crush on Terrence. She honestly didn't know why she still had it at this point when it was clear that Terrence only saw her as a friend.

"Rachel!"

The moment she heard Terrence's voice, Rachel immediately placed her notebook into her purse just as he approached her.

"Hey," she greeted, putting on a smile as if nothing had happened.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all, have a seat."

He took the seat in front of her as she tried to remain calm. Even before Elena arrived, Rachel couldn't help but get that warm feeling inside her whenever she was near Terrence.

"How's your brother?" she decided to ask him.

"Well," he breathed out, "He's still feeling a little down, but I'm sure he'll feel better... hopefully."

"He will," Rachel assured, "It just takes time."

"I still can't believe that he did that. I guess that's what happens when you're the most popular guy at school."

"Well uh-" she awkwardly mumbled, "I guess he's not so popular now, is he?"

"Nope," he muttered.

"Well, as I said, he will feel better eventually. Pretty soon, all of this drama is gonna past."

"I hope," he sighed, "I wonder how Olivia's feeling?"

"Have you tried asking her?"

"Not yet. Since last night was the night of her girls' night-out with her friends, I didn't want to bother asking her. And speaking of that, I wonder how it went last night."

Just then, the two heard some girls giggling as they turned to see Elena and her friends coming down the sidewalk.

"I'm guessing everything went splendidly," Rachel smiled, "Olivia looks happy."

"Yeah," he felt himself smiling as well.

Rachel then noticed that he kept looking at Elena who hadn't noticed him yet. Despite her not wanting him to, she had to be the good friend she was.

"If you want to go talk to Elena," she said, hiding her sadness behind a fake smile, "Go on."

"Oh," he awkwardly chuckled, "Was it that obvious?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

He let out a small laugh before getting up and heading over to the girls. But at that moment, Rachel felt that she shouldn't stick around to watch for it might just hurt her to see Terrence with Elena. So gathering her purse and her tea, she got up from her seat, not realizing that her little pink notebook had fallen out of her purse and onto the ground as she left the diner. She didn't even think that anyone saw her leave since no one called out her name which sent a pit to her stomach. She was kind of hoping that they would notice her, but it looks like she was wrong as she continued down the sidewalk without looking back.

But as for Terrence, after having some small talks with the girls who soon decided to cross the street to get to the other side, he bid them all a good day before going back to the table, expecting to see Rachel still there.

"Huh?" he remarked when he saw that his friend wasn't there, "Rachel?"

He looked around for her, but she was nowhere in sight. She must've left, but why would she leave without saying goodbye? He was just about to leave as well when he suddenly spotted the little pink notebook on the ground. Curious, he picked it up to see if there was a name on the cover, when he didn't see a name, he checked on the inside, and that's when he saw the scribbles of his name along with Rachel's. He immediately recognized the handwriting, no doubt it was Rachel's. But why would she be writing their names alongside hand-drawn hearts and other romantic drawings? Unless...