Soon, it was party time in Storybrooke High. There were plenty of treats such as the famous punch bowl, heart-shaped cakes, and cupcakes, as well as chips, pretzels, and Trail Mix. The students entered the party as light music was playing before the lights would flash or go out for official party time. Ben soon made it over with a small smile, unaware of what his father would be doing that evening. Students were checked at the door before they would come inside so that no one who wasn't allowed in wouldn't be let in. Evie rubbed her arm as she came into the party and looked around to see her peers together as the DJ played up a storm for all of them.
"Evie! Over here!" A voice called out.
Evie looked over as she followed the sound and couldn't believe what she just heard and witnessed. Magda was actually calling to her and talking to her as she sat with Scarlet and Amalie. "Magda? You're actually talking to me?" she then asked as she stepped over.
"Well, sure," Magda smirked. "You just seemed like you could use someone to talk to. You can be an honorary member of our table if you want."
"Wait... You mean... I can sit with you guys?" Evie asked hopefully.
"Well, sure, as long as you don't screw things up," Magda replied. "Besides, you don't seem to have very many friends."
"Not really..." Evie said with a low pout. "I'm not sure why or how... We all used to be friends when we were little, but it just seems like after a while, we all grew up and drifted apart from each other."
"Oh, poo... Well, I wouldn't worry about it, just enjoy the party." Magda smirked.
"Yeah... This does seem to be an excellent party so far..." Evie said with a small smile before she sat down with The Pinkettes, feeling like a dream of hers was coming true.
"Yes, as long as there are frogs that can be turned into frogs." Magda agreed with a chuckle as Scarlet and Amalie joined her.
Amalie then blinked after a few moments. "Wait. I'm confused," she then said. "Why would we want to kiss frogs?"
Scarlet groaned and face-palmed.
"It's an expression, Amalie," Magda stated thickly. "We're just going to find cute boys to dance with and kiss... Like Chad Herman~"
"Chad is the best~" Scarlet added dreamily. "He's so charming~"
"Ohh... Okay... Yeah!" Amalie then quickly added with a small smile. "They should call him Chad Charming."
Evie rolled her eyes slightly, not really in the mood to talk about Chad that way after what he did to her, but she didn't say anything. That might ruin her chances to hang out with The Pinkettes like she had always wanted.
"Great party either way," Evie then said. "I guess Piper's a great DJ."
"Oh, is that who that is?" Magda smirked. "How very interesting at least. I thought only mice liked his music." she then laughed a little.
"Hey now, Piper's a good DJ," Evie defended. "I've heard him play pretty nice music in class with his flute."
"Hm... Quite..." Magda replied quietly then as Evie seemed to contradict her. "Besides, what kind of name for a boy is Piper?"
Amalie and Scarlet then laughed while Evie blinked at how mean Magda was being while Amalie and Scarlet were going along with it.
"Yo, yo! What up, mice?!" The boy who was known as Piper called out as he soon came up to the microphone while the other students cheered for him during the music. "Ready for me to drop some Valentine's Day tunes?"
The crowd cheered in response with excitement in the air.
"Then follow me!" Piper told them with a smirk before he began to spin the records for them to play some real music.
Evie gave a small smile to Piper as Magda, Amalie, and Scarlet continued to sit and watch while hanging around with each other. It seemed to be a great night for all of them so far, though the same couldn't be said for a certain florist of Storybrooke.
Mr. Gold was shown to be driving the rose van from earlier with Moe tied up and gagged in the backseat. He soon took the van over to a cabin in the woods which once, unknown to everyone in Storybrooke, belonged to Dee Dee until she had been hanging around Sister Astrid lately who seemed very willing to adopt the young aspiring ballerina.
Soon, Mr. Gold got up and out of the van and opened the backdoors, pointing the gun to his hostage in the back. "Walk." he then demanded firmly.
Moe soon stumbled out of the van, looking very fearful for his life as he did what Mr. Gold said for his own protection.
"You see, here's the thing; I don't normally let people get away." Mr. Gold then told the other man as he led him into the cabin to have a little chat.
Back at Storybrooke High, the party was still bouncing and everybody seemed to be having a good time so far. Chad was shown to be sitting at one table as about three girls were standing beside him, taking in the sights of him very wonderfully. Evie took a look at her rose and the tag, wondering who could've sent the rose and not to mention the Valentine's Day poem as she knew it couldn't have been Chad, especially since he had company.
"Oh, hey! Evie!" Ben called out as he stepped over.
"Huh?" Evie blinked before looking over. "Oh! Ben! Hi." she then smiled at her old friend from early childhood.
"Evie," Ben smiled as he walked over and stood up beside Evie once the girl stood up and he saw the rose and the tag. "Oh. Do you like the rose that Doug gave you?"
"Doug?" Evie then asked with narrowed eyes once she had an idea of who was really behind this and not Chad.
"Carlos said he saw Doug writing that gift tag and Doug accidentally dropped the pen and spilled ink all over the card," Ben explained calmly. "Also, I was going to give that rose to the hospital after school, but I thought he could use it more than me."
"That's funny..." Evie said with a small smirk even though she was slowly starting to put 2 and 2 together. "I did see Doug with a Valentine not too long ago and trying to hide it."
"Yeah... What does that tell you?" Ben smiled innocently. "He really should've asked a friend to help him out, who do you think gave those to you?"
"Chad, but I knew he couldn't have done it..." Evie replied. "Chad is charmless if anything, no matter what everybody else in school thinks."
"People change as they grow older, I guess," Ben shrugged before he saw Magda, Amalie, and Scarlet blindly ogling him. "Erm... Hello there, ladies." he then greeted.
"Hi, Ben~..." Magda, Amalie, and Scarlet grinned hopefully.
"Evie... Do you, like, know Ben personally or something?" Scarlet spoke up.
"Um... Uh... Yeah, totally!" Evie replied, trying to talk like the other girls now even if it made her feel sick to her stomach. "#Totes."
"Ugh... Hashtags..." Ben groaned and rolled his eyes before looking over. "Evie, why are you talking like that? You hate hashtags."
"Erm... Uh... Not now, Ben..." Evie then said. "I have someone to expose and give the courage to own up what happened."
"Oh... Okay... I was hoping maybe you could help me with something or that we could hang out?" Ben began to suggest. "Ya know... Like old times?"
Evie just looked at him before she suddenly got up and walked over to where she had seen Chad.
"Or not...?" Ben blinked before frowning firmly. "Evie, why are you avoiding me all the time?"
Magda, Amalie, and Scarlet continued to ogle over Ben.
"Um... Hi..." Ben said to them.
"You're probably the second cutest boy in this school after Chad~" Amalie swooned. "You're like a prince just like him."
"Ah, I dunno if I'd call myself a prince..." Ben shrugged and smiled sheepishly.
"Either way, you're a real Golden Boy 'cuz of your father~" Magda added. "#PrinceCutie."
"#PrinceCutie!~" Amalie and Scarlet added dreamily.
"Ugh..." Ben groaned and rolled his eyes. "No wonder Dad hates hashtags."
"So 300 autographs later, my pen finally gives out, but there are about 100 more girls to find..." Chad was soon telling his fangirls a story with a grin.
"Uh... Chad!" Doug whispered loudly as he came up behind the boy.
"Shh! Don't bug me now, Derek." Chad whispered back firmly as he was busy with his fangirls right now.
"But Chad... Evie hasn't said anything." Doug told him.
"Well, I can't help that, can I?" Chad replied as he tried to stay focused with the other girls. "So anyway, where was I? Oh, yes..." he then beamed to the girls.
Doug sighed and groaned as he walked off and went to go sit in a chair by himself by the punch bowl while everybody else was having a good time. "I'm starting to think maybe Mom was wrong... Maybe Evie isn't meant to be my true love after all..." he then sulked. "Besides, why would a girl like her go for a guy like me? It would never work out."
"Stick with me, buddy..." A voice said beside Doug.
Doug then looked over to the boy in school who hung out in the library a lot who was known as Simon Monocolao.
"I don't get many girls either," Simon said to Doug. "It's probably just the way of life as a nerd."
Doug sighed and shook his head. "I really thought that I had a chance with her... Mom even seemed to think so, but maybe you're right..." he then said.
Evie soon walked on over to the blonde boy. "Chad?" she then spoke up.
"What is it now?" Chad complained before he then looked over and smirked since he had attempted to win her heart again so that he could use her for test and homework answers again. "Oh! Hey, Evie... How's it going?"
"I wanted to talk to you." Evie then said.
"Well, of course you did." Chad grinned and winked at her while the three girls stood around in the background.
"I was just telling the girls about what a sweet poem you wrote inside my Valentine the other day." Evie then said aloud, hoping Doug would overhear that somehow.
"Oh... Uh..." Chad stammered as the three fangirls looked annoyed and angry with Evie for interrupting their time together.
Doug blinked as he did hear that before he jumped up to his feet. "He wrote?" he then asked.
"Um... Poem...?" Chad asked Evie, looking nervous suddenly.
"Yes... I left my Valentine at home and I can't remember exactly what you wrote, but I'm sure you do, Chad." Evie then said.
"Erm... Uh..." Chad continud to stammer, acting dumb, though for him, that came naturally.
"His Valentine?" Doug glared before he decided to muck up the courage to recite the poem himself. "Roses are red, Violets are blue, Sugar is sweet, Evie Mills is too!" he then announced before blushing as he had said it out loud.
The girls just giggled as Chad began to look unfortunate and embarrassed.
"Thank you, Chad," Evie then said with a smirk as she walked away. "That just answers everything I need to know."
"Oh, but! I... I... Erm... Uh... Oh..." Chad cried out and stammered before looking bashful as his three fangirls were soon giggling at him.
Ben backed away from the girls as Evie soon came back. "Oh, Evie. You solve the mystery of your rose and Valentine?" he then asked.
"I knew all along that Chad couldn't have done something nice for me like this, though probably would go along with it so that I would tutor him again," Evie said as she rolled her eyes. "So... I guess Doug likes me..."
"Yeah, it's pretty out there..." Ben smiled knowingly. "Maybe you two could hang out sometime?"
"Gosh... Hang out with Doug..." Evie repeated. "I wonder if-"
"Did you just say 'Doug'?" Magda asked as she stepped over.
"Erm... Uh... Maybe?" Evie replied. "What do you think of Doug?"
Magda soon erupted into a rather mean and wicked sounding cackle, almost sounding like a witch. "That weird nerd in the marching band and Mr. Deley's pet?! Who'd wanna go out with someone like him?!" she then taunted. She then looked over at her friends. "Girls, what do we think of Doug?"
Amalie and Scarlet soon looked at Magda before looking at each other and then laughed out loud together. Ben firmly frowned as the girls began to make fun of Doug together and looked expectingly at Evie to defend the boy who was at least brave enough to write a poem to Evie and try to give her a rose for Valentine's Day as he knew she knew better than to pick on Doug.
"Uh, yeah," Evie soon joined in with the girls she so desperately wanted to be friends with. "Doug's a total #geekbait!"
"Evie..." Ben whispered firmly and a bit disappointedly.
Evie just gave Ben a small shrug in response. However, The Pinkettes seemed to really like the term "#geekbait" and decided to call Doug that from now on.
"Evie, you know better than that!" Ben firmly pouted at his childhood best friend.
"Ben? I'm finally friends with The Pinkettes now... Can we talk about this later?" Evie whispered sharply as she winked at him with her teeth gritted together into a forced smile to keep up appearances.
Ben flinched as he felt his stomach turn. "...Fine," he then said. "You wanna be friends with those girls instead of me? That's fine by me."
"Ben, I didn't say that..." Evie pouted at him. "You were my best friend first after all."
"Yeah, well, it sure doesn't feel like that..." Ben glared at her before he heard a certain song coming on before smirking. "Say, this is like from when we were kids. Remember?" he then asked.
"Ben, not now." Evie hissed before she came to sit back down with The Pinkettes who continued to chant "#geekbait".
Mal was soon seen coming to the party with a black rose. "Maybe this will shut that Golden Boy up for a while... Though, he is kinda cute..." she said to herself with a small smirk before she shook her head. "No, no, Mal. Stay focused. You don't like him like that. Remember that..."
Back at the cabin, Mr. Gold had taken off Moe's tape and had the other man sitting in a chair.
"Let me explain, okay? Let me explain." Moe begged nervously and fearfully as Mr. Gold sat across from him in another chair.
Mr. Gold pushed his cane against Moe's neck, cutting off his air as he smirked darkly. "Oh. Well, that is... Fascinating. Truly fascinating," he then taunted. "I'm going to let you breathe in a second, and you're going to say two sentences. The first, is going to tell me where it is. The second, is going to tell me who told you to take it. Do you understand the rules?"
Moe gagged and merely nodded as that was all he could do for now.
"Good. Let's begin." Mr. Gold then said as he pulled his cane back from Moe's neck.
"I needed that van!" Moe soon cried out.
"Now, you see, that is not a good first sentence." Mr. Gold then said before hitting Moe with his cane.
"Ow! Gold! Listen!" Moe cried out from the pain.
"Tell me where it is!"
"Ow! Stop!"
"Tell me where it is!"
"Ow! Stop! It wasn't my fault!"
Mr. Gold scoffed a bit. "'My fault'? What are you talking about, 'my fault'? You shut her out. You had her love, and you shut her out!" he then glared before hitting the other man again. "She's gone. She's gone forever; she's not coming back. And it's your fault! Not mine! You are her father! Not even Benjamin can see her or even know who she is! Yours! It's yours! It's your fault! It's your fault!" he then got ready to hit one more time as Moe was being badly beaten, only he suddenly had to stop because of an outside force.
"Stop." Emma said as she soon appeared right behind the man and grabbed his arm to prevent further injury to Moe.
Meanwhile, back at the Valentine's Day dance, the teenagers continued to have their fun, though Ben was shown to be dancing in a rather silly way. Evie sunk in her seat as she looked and felt nervous as Ben danced in a rather child-like way. Some students laughed at Ben a little, but he didn't pay them any care or mind or attention.
"Sing it, Evie!" Ben announced cheerfully.
"No! No!" Evie soon cried out as she stormed over to him in frustration in annoyance. "No, you are not singing or dancing to this song right in front of The Pinkettes! No, you are not!"
"You know you like it!" Ben smirked a little as he leaned in.
Evie looked nervous as the other students then looked at her and she began to turn redder than her lipstick. She then smiled and waved at the crowd as Ben continued to dance in a rather mortifying way before he soon gasped and stumbled as he slipped and fell down a set of stairs. "Whoo! Okay, that was, like, so totally good! Thank you! Thank you so much!" she then said as she applauded, still attempting to use the Valley Girl accent. "Okay, Piper, you can stop the music now."
"Oh." Piper blinked before he then turned the music off.
"How fun was that, dudes and dudettes?" Evie then smiled innocently to the crowd after the song had ended.
No one really said anything, especially The Pinkettes.
"Okay, let's just go back and, like, enjoy the rest of the party," Evie smiled at the crowd. "Pay no attention to Ben Gold's freestyle dancing. she then came over and helped Ben up to his feet.
"Augh!" Ben groaned as his feet hurt a little. "I'm not sure, but I think I might've twisted my ankle."
"Come on, let's sit down." Evie told Ben before rushing him over to a different table where no one would really see or hear them.
Everybody then went back to the party and Piper soon went to play some more acceptable and jamming music for everybody.
"Anything hurt, Ben?" Evie asked her childhood best friend.
"Just my heart." Ben said as he turned away from her.
"Oh, Ben..." Evie frowned.
"I thought we were friends, but you don't seem to care or be very interested in me anymore," Ben said as he looked away from her. "I was gonna ask you for help with a personal problem I was having too."
"You wanna tell me about it?" Evie asked him.
"Maybe later... When you're not too busy trying to impress those Pinkettes... I'll be fine though," Ben rolled his eyes as he looked away from her. "Don't worry about me."
Evie just sighed in defeat. "Well, as long as you're sure..." she then said.
"I am." Ben replied firmly.
"...Okay. I guess I'll see you in school tomorrow." Evie said before she walked away and left him alone.
"See you then." Ben nodded as he stayed right where he was.
Evie then looked back at Ben before she came to go back to The Pinkettes as she just hoped they wouldn't look at her funny or differently after Ben's little show for the school.
Mal had seen Ben and Evie sitting together before she then threw the black rose down in the trashcan and stormed off. "It's not fair! She always gets what she wants! It's always gotta be Evie, Evie, Evie!" she then complained as she decided to just forget about giving the black rose to Ben, even to get him to calm down around her since he had been acting funny around her lately.
Soon after, it was time for the teenagers to leave the party and head on home for the night.
"Well, Ben, it was interesting to catch up with you again," Evie said softly. "We have to talk about what happened between us 10 years ago."
"Indeed," Ben nodded in agreement. "We'll have to meet up again some other day then. I don't know when yet if I'm not too busy studying or working at home tomorrow."
"Well... Okay then..." Evie said softly before shrugging. "I guess this is goodbye until next time then?"
"I... I guess so..." Ben replied.
Soon, the honking of a familiar car horn was soon heard.
"That's my mom," Evie then said. "Looks like I gotta go."
"Oh... Okay..." Ben said with a nod. "See you later then."
"See ya later, Ben." Evie said as she came over to her mother's car.
"Hello, dear," Regina smiled at her daughter before looking over as Evie came into the car. "Ah. Good evening, Benjamin."
"Good evening, Mayor Mills." Ben nodded.
"You should probably come back home with us." Regina suggested.
"Huh?" Ben blinked. "Why?"
"Your father has been taken into custody by Sheriff Swan." Regina replied.
"What?!" Ben's eyes widened as he gasped. "B-B-But... Why?!"
"It's complicated," Regina told him. "Come along. You can spend the night with us and we'll probably see your father at the station tomorrow."
"But what did he do?!" Ben asked frantically as he grasped his hair. "What did you see?!"
"It's not too much of my concern, now calm down," Regina told him gently, but also firmly since he was having a meltdown. "You'll give yourself an anxiety attack."
Ben bit his lip before he merely nodded and soon came to ride in the backseat of the car.
"Mom... What's going on?" Evie asked as she climbed into the front seat next to her mother.
"Don't worry about it, my little Apple Dumpling," Regina replied. "I think he's just going to spend the night. You know how crafty Mr. Gold can be sometimes."
"I... I guess so..." Evie said before she and Ben soon buckled up their seatbelts.
"It'll be all right as long as you don't worry about it," Regina reassured them beofre looking at them as she began to drive away from the school. "Hmm... Interesting. I think this is the first time you've slept over since elementary school, Ben."
"I think so too, Mayor Mills," Ben nodded. "Dad keeps me very busy with my schoolwork and working in his shop which he wants me to take over someday."
"Ah, yes, I completely understand," Regina nodded as she soon began to drive them back over to the mansion. "Plus things change when you get a bit older."
"Yeah, I keep telling Henry that." Evie agreed.
"Oh... But what about clothes?" Ben then spoke up. "I mean... No offense, but I don't think your night clothes would suit me, ladies... Plus Henry's clothes might be just a little too small for my liking."
Regina chuckled a little to that. "No worries, Ben. You can borrow some of Graham's clothes if you want." she then suggested.
Ben looked a little green around the gills at the idea of wearing a dead man's clothes, especially too soon, but it might be for the best. "Erm... Thank you, Mayor Mills," he then said. "I'll try not to be too much of a bother around your house."
"It won't be a bother I'm sure," Regina said. "You two could probably try to catch up with each other."
Evie and Ben glanced at each other and soon rode off together. However, as Mal stepped out of the school, she narrowed her eyes a little as she saw Evie and Ben riding off together and she seemed to be a bit disgusted and jealous. She then shook her head and began to walk on over across the street and seemed to be heading over to the library of all places, going through a secret way inside even though it had been closed a very, very long time ago.
"Now, because you're a boy and girl, I'm afraid you can't sleep in the same room anymore like you did when you were little." Regina said to Evie and Ben.
"Oh, come on, Mom. Ben's not even my type to do that sort of thing with." Evie defended.
"Wow. Thanks." Ben rolled his eyes before smirking playfully to show that he wasn't truly offended.
"Oh, hush, you know what I meant." Evie smirked back at him as she playfully punched his arm.
"Hmm..." Regina paused thoughtfully.
"Please, Mom?" Evie replied. "I think Ben would find a spare mattress, blanket, and pillow a lot more comfortable than the couch. Besides, we're going straight to bed anyway... That party took a lot out of us."
"Well... I guess that's a good point," Regina said with a small shrug. "Hmm... Okay, but you aren't going to be sharing the room when you get changed into your pajamas."
"Yes, ma'am." Ben and Evie then said.
"Okay, very good," Regina nodded. "Don't stay up too late. It's late enough as it is and Henry's fast asleep in his room right now."
"I hope he'll be in a better mood with that dessert I got for him... Since... Well... Ya know, he lost his favorite thing." Evie then said softly.
"He'll be fine," Regina replied. "Now good night and I will see you two in the morning."
"Okay. Good night, Mom." Evie said before hugging her mother.
"Good night, dear." Regina said softly, patting her daughter on the back.
"Good night, Mayor Mills." Ben then said softly and bashfully.
"Good night, Benjamin," Regina replied. "Make yourself at home."
"Yes, ma'am." Ben nodded before he went to follow Evie upstairs in her bedroom to get ready for bed after a rather long day.
Soon, the two teenagers went to get some pajamas on together and brushed their teeth before heading into Evie's room for the night. It was almost just like old times when they were little and were best friends long before Henry had been adopted into the family.
Evie soon looked over at Ben as she sat on her bed and he stood up in front of her to get the mattress ready for him to sleep on. "You hurt my feelings at the party." she then said softly and a bit firmly.
"Ah... There's the old Evie I know and love," Ben remarked, sounding a little sour over what happened earlier that night. "Nice to see you again. I missed you."
"I'm serious, Ben." Evie replied.
"You hurt my feelings too," Ben then retorted, but trying not to get angry. "Pulling away from me in front of your new friends because you were embarrassed."
"Ben, I didn't stop dancing because I was embarrassed of you. I stopped because I saw that you were embarrassed and I just wanted to make that stop." Evie clarified.
Ben frowned and looked away briefly.
"Were you not embarrassed?" Evie then asked him softly.
Ben sighed and shook his head before he came over to sit on the bed with her. "Of course I was," he then confessed lightly. "I guess a well-built college student in a public high school dancing with a bunch of high school girls can be awkward. Could be worse... Could've been at a funeral," he then added with a shrug. "At least I didn't fall downstairs into a coffin."
Evie giggled a little with a small smile. "We were best friends when we were little, Ben... What happened to us?" she then wondered. "I even remember that you came to meet Henry and I taught you how to hold him and he was even smiling at you."
"Well... You shut me out that time with those girls..." Ben said.
"I shut you out?" Evie asked. "That doesn't sound like me."
"Well, it happened," Ben defended. "We used to play dolls all the time whenever we slept over and I never minded or cared."
"...I think I know what might have happened," Evie said then. "That time when Scarlet and Amalie came over for a sleepover and we were gonna start playing Barbies, you just got up and left."
Ben thought about it for a moment before sighing as he remembered that time when they were getting a little older. "Right. Because... Boys aren't supposed to play with dolls," he then sighed sharply. "And I was embarrassed... So I tried to play with Hot Wheels like all of the other boys, then we began to see each other less and not sleep over with each other as often... Boys had to have sleepovers with boys and girls had to have sleepovers with girls... Or slumber parties. Then we just drifted apart because we were getting older and we couldn't sleep in the same room together anymore after we hit puberty... It all makes sense now." he then realized.
"One little difference just changed our friendship..." Evie said. "...Man, growing up sucks."
"...Evie, I'm so sorry," Ben then said. "I never wanted to stop being friends with you... I really missed you, especially whenever we'd play with your Barbie dolls... You'd be a brave princess saving the day instead of me being the prince to save the day all the time."
"Right..." Evie said softly as she looked away. "I wish it had never happened... I'm sorry."
"No, Evie, I'm sorry," Ben told her before he took her cheek and turned her face over to look at him. "I apologize for what happened at The Sweetheart's Dance. I... I was totally out of line."
Evie heaved a sharp sigh as she looked back at him into his eyes. "Not totally. You're right. I'm not myself anymore," she then admitted calmly. "I've been trying to impress those girls and having them be my friend when my real best friend had been with me all along and I just forgot about the good times we had because we grew up and I had changed, not you."
"Growing up is fine, Evie... But you just can't forget about the good times that help make you be you," Ben said calmly. "Just let me help you come out and enjoy your life even when we're 100 years old and we don't remember a thing about when we were little."
Evie chuckled softly and nodded with a bit of a small smile.
"...Evie, one more thing?" Ben then requested.
"Yeah?" Evie replied as she looked back at him.
"You have something on your face." Ben said.
"What?!" Evie gasped and yelped as she put her hands to her cheeks. "...Is there a big giant zit on the tip of my-"
POOF!
"Got it." Ben smirked as he had hit her in the face with a pillow like when they were kids.
"You jerk!" Evie cried out. "How could you?!"
Ben frowned a little. "Oh... I'm sorry, Evie... I just wanted to lighten up the-" he then started to add as he apologized rather quickly.
POOF!
"Princesses go first, you know!" Evie smirked as she had hit him with a pillow in his face for revenge.
"Oh! That's it..." Ben smirked back as he soon hit her back with his pillow.
Evie laughed as she then tackled him and hit him back with a pillow. They both started to laugh out loud before flinching as they heard a loud pounding through the wall which startled them deeply.
"Settle down, you two! I thought I told you to go straight to bed!" Regina called out firmly from the other room.
"Guess I am getting pretty tired," Evie smiled sheepishly at her friend before she suddenly yawned rather quickly. "How about you, Ben?" she then asked.
"Yeah... I guess..." Ben nodded before he came to lie down on the mattress on the floor and pulled his blanket over himself.
"Night, Ben." Evie smiled.
"Night." Ben nodded before he rested his head on the pillow.
And with that, the two soon drifted off into a deep, long sleep.
The next day, Mr. Gold was soon shown sitting in a cell at the station.
Emma was watching him, while eating lunch in her office. "Pastrami, you want half?" she then offered him her sandwich.
Mr. Gold didn't say anything and just sat there in stilted silence.
"You know, I still owe you that favor," Emma then said to him hopefully. "Nice, fatty pastrami. Delicious way to clear the books."
"Well, I don't need a reminder that you owe me a favor and when the day comes that I make my request, it'll be for more than half a sandwich." Mr. Gold replied.
Soon, Regina came inside with Henry, Evie, and Ben.
"Hello, Father." Ben greeted.
"Benjamin," Mr. Gold replied. "It looks like you have the day off."
"Wow... Really?" Ben asked. "Will you be in there long?"
"Long enough for me to be on time-out and think about what I had done last night," Mr. Gold told his teenage son. "I'm feeling generous with you, so you can have time off to do whatever you please."
Ben cracked a small smile as that sounded amazing to him.
"Sheriff Swan? I'm letting you have 30 minutes with my children and their guest," Regina soon spoke up to Emma. "Take them out, buy them ice cream."
Ben then bit his lip as he looked over to his father behind bars. Mr. Gold merely nodded as he seemed to allow Ben to have some ice crea, today.
"You want me to leave you alone with a prisoner?" Emma asked in concern.
"29 and a half minutes." Regina soon stated firmly.
"I'd make the most of it while you can." Evie suggested as she and Ben walked over to Emma as Henry trailed behind them.
"Good idea, Evie." Emma replied.
"Hi, Emma." Henry smiled innocently.
"Hey." Emma smiled back a little.
"Come on, guys, I know the perfect place to go." Ben suggested.
"I think I do too, Ben." Evie smiled warmly.
Soon, it looked like they were about to leave.
"Bring me back a cone?" Mr. Gold asked them before they would be gone.
"Just this once," Emma said as she grabbed her coat and got ready to leave with the kids. "Come on; let's go."
"Right behind ya." Ben said as he soon left with them for an ice cream date together.
Regina watched them go before she then looked back at the man who was sitting in the cell all by his lonesome.
"Well, you really wanted that little chat, didn't you?" Mr. Gold asked Regina.
"Apparently, this is the only way I could do it." Regina replied.
Mr. Gold gave her a long look before he narrowed his eyes. "Please... Sit." he then hissed out to her in a chilling tone of voice.
Regina then walked over to the couch, seeming forced to do what he asked of her because he said "please". She then sat on the edge of the couch that was near the cell so that they could talk.
"Now, when two people both want something the other has, a deal can always be struck," Mr. Gold then said to Regina once they were alone together. "Do you have what I want?"
"Yes." Regina nodded.
"So, you did put him up to it, then." Mr. Gold then smirked.
"I merely suggested, that strong men take what they need." Regina defended.
"Oh, yeah. And you told him just exactly what to take, didn't you?" Mr. Gold then asked, still sounding quiet but also firm.
"We used to know each other so well, Mr. Gold, our children were the best of friends. Has it really come down to this?" Regina reminded.
"It seems it has, yeah, but you know what I want; what is it you want?" Mr. Gold nodded.
"I want you, to answer one question," Regina said as she stood her ground. "And answer it simply: what's your name?"
Mr. Gold gave her a strange look. "It's Mr. Gold." he then reminded.
"Your real name." Regina clarified.
"Every moment I've spent on this Earth, that's been my name." Mr. Gold retorted calmly.
"But what about moments spent elsewhere?" Regina asked with a small smirk.
Mr. Gold felt puzzled before he smirked back at her. "...What are you asking me?" he then asked after a few moments.
"I think you know," Regina smirked. "If you want me to return what's yours, tell me your name."
Mr. Gold seemed to pause for a few extra minutes. He then gave her a rather dangerous smile once he realized what she was truly asking him before he gave her a different name than "Mr. Gold" which ended up becoming, "...Rumplestiltskin."
Regina flinched only slightly once she got what she wanted from him which proved that Henry was right all along about the curse.
"Now give me what I want." Mr. Gold soon demanded once he stood up and gripped the bars.
"Such hostility." Regina remarked.
"Oh, yeah." Mr. Gold nodded.
Regina soon reached into her purse and brought out a teacup that appeared to be chipped. "Over this? Such a sentimental little keepsake." sh then taunted and dangled it in front of him through the bars.
Mr. Gold reached out to take the cup before he soon took it. "Now I have more to tell Benjamin about his mother..." he then said softly as he accepted the cup. "Thank you... Your Majesty," he then told her. "So. Now that we're being honest with each other, let's remember how things used to be, shall we? And don't let these bars fool you, dear. I'm the one with the power around here. I'm going to be out of here in no time, and nothing between us will change." he then warned and threatened slightly.
"We shall see." Regina replied, soon leaving the station to leave Mr. Gold alone with his thoughts.
Meanwhile, Ben and Evie had shown and told Emma about Storybrooke's ice cream parlor which was called "Any Given Sundae" owned by a woman named Sarah Fisher and her young apprentice, Elwin. They soon came inside and came to pick out their favorite kinds of ice cream to have and Emma would bring back a vanilla cone for Mr. Gold as she wasn't sure which flavor he would prefer and Ben reassured her that that would be a fine choice. Ben and Evie smiled together as they enjoyed their ice cream and seemed to unite a broken friendship that had shattered years ago, but only time would tell. Especially since Evie was insistent on being friends with The Pinkettes.
Mal was soon going over to the shop as Ben looked over and watched her, but he decided not to say something. She then spoke with Elwin a few moments and took a tub of ice cream that was brought to her after she had paid for it.
"Is that a friend of yours in school?" Emma asked Ben and Evie as she licked her ice cream.
"Oh, you mean Mal? She's a rather... Interesting case." Evie replied.
"Yeah?" Emma asked.
"It's best not to worry too much about her," Evie suggested. "She's often out to get me."
"How come?" Emma then asked.
"I'm not sure to be honest with you," Evie shrugged. "She says I did something a long time ago, but I don't know what it could've been. She's a very odd girl though..."
"Heh... Yeah... Mal's pretty strange..." Ben smiled sheepishly.
Henry didn't say anything, he just continued to enjoy his ice cream and the time he could have with Emma until he would have to go back to Regina.
"Hmm... She almost reminds me of someone I used to know..." Emma said curiously. "Not to mention this place reminds me of someone I used to know too."
"Maybe that's part of the curse?" Evie suggested, also as an attempt to humor Henry a little.
"Very funny..." Henry rolled his eyes playfully.
They all then chuckled and continued to enjoy the time they had together until it would be over before they knew it.
"Oh, by the way," Ben spoke up. "I have to visit the hospital after this."
"The hospital?" Emma asked.
"Ben visits the hospital every week to deliver a rose to a lonely patient who's been locked up for a very long time." Evie explained.
"Oh... That's sweet of you... You're a real Prince Charming..." Emma then said to Ben.
"I don't know about all of that," Ben smiled bashfully. "But thank you."
Emma gave a small smile in return. Ben smiled back as he soon began to finish up his ice cream cone, crunching the cone instantly before shaking chills down his spine. Soon, everybody else finished up their ice cream.
"Have a super frozen day!" Elwin called out from behind the counter.
"Thanks, Elwin!" Ben and Evie replied as they left the ice cream shop with Emma and Henry.
The woman, Sarah Fisher, poked her head out and took a close look at Emma while Elwin went to collect the money. "It's not too cold for you, is it, Elwin?" she then asked the boy.
"You know me, Ms. Fisher," Elwin replied calmly. "The cold never bothered me anyway."
Sarah chuckled warmly as she patted the boy on his platinum blonde head.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Moe was in a wheelchair in the waiting room as Ben came over to one of the nurses for his usual business.
"Delivering roses to our patient down in the basement?" The nurse asked Ben as she accepted the rose from him.
"Yes, please," Ben nodded before frowning a little. "Has anyone been to see her?"
"No, sir. Not today, not ever." The nurse replied as she accepted the rose.
Ben frowned before nodding. "Just make sure that she gets the rose." he then requested.
"She always has been receiving your roses," The nurse reassured. "You have a nice day now, Ben."
"Thank you, Nurse Hulda." Ben said before he turned around to leave the hospital. He then noticed Moe in a wheelchair before cupping his mouth and wanted to talk to the man, but just decided to get going and maybe visit him too later as Emma, Evie, and Henry had a deadline and they were waiting for him outside.
And at that, the rose was delivered to the lonely patient inside of Storybrooke General Hospital who was... Unknown to Ben... His long-lost mother.