Making her way to Mr.B's Bakery through the Villa, Dani smiled at the sight of a familiar female bear as she stood outside of her floral shop.
"Hi, Mama Bear!" Dani called out with a wave.
Mama Bear turned around and waved back with a smile as she said, "Hello, dear!! You look lovely today!"
"Oh, thank you! Mother says your sweaters should be available for pick up tomorrow at noon," Dani informed her.
"Okay, dear, thank you! Have a wonderful day!"
"You too!" Dani said and headed off to Mr.B's Bakery.
Despite the nightmares it held and the horrible judicial system, StoryBrooke was a reasonably good town filled with relatively gentle townsfolk. It seemed as if everyone had a story of their own, which sort of brought them closer together as a community. As strange as it may have sounded coming from her, Dani honestly couldn't imagine herself living anywhere else.
Storybrooke was her home, and she'd be damned if she were to allow anyone to take it away from her.
A bell ringing above her head signified Dani's entrance as she walked into the bakery and smiled as she instantly spotted her best friend right at the cash register. Greta gave the girl a smile in return once she looked up and saw her.
"Hey! It's about time you showed up- Ooo are those Momma's pancakes?!" she asked as she saw the bag in her best friend's hand.
Dani rolled her eyes playfully and nodded. "Yep. Frankie insisted you have some, which means you must be pretty special if he's willing to give up some of Momma's pancakes for you," she mocked while giving the blonde a knowing look.
That time, it was Greta's turn to roll her eyes playfully as she took the bag and walked beside Dani to the back room. Luckily, the bakery wouldn't officially open until 11:30, so the girls still had about five minutes to fully prepare themselves.
"You're damn right I'm special!! Tell him I said thank you!... Oh! and give him this for me!"
Before Dani could ask what it was that Greta wanted her to give her brother, a big sloppy kiss to the side of her face caused her to grimace.
"Eww, Greta gross!" she exclaimed and wiped at her cheek.
Greta laughed as she unwrapped her plate and began to dig in.
"I honestly don't know what he sees in you...anyone who messes with Goldi Locks is automatically unappealing to me," Dani told her best friend with a playful smirk.
Greta scoffed at her words, which kind of grossed Dani out because a piece of pancake flew out her mouth, before she said, "Don't you ever mention that she-devil's name again!! I don't even want to acknowledge her existence."
"Hm. That's funny considering you were talking about her non-stop just last month," Dani retorted.
Greta rolled her eyes. "Shut up!!"
Dani laughed as she tied her apron on and headed to the kitchen.
As it turned out, porridge wasn't the only thing Goldi was good at stealing. It was surprising to Dani that Greta had even started dating her in the first place since they'd hated each other throughout Middle and the majority of High school. Plus, Greta had a thing for people's personalities, and Goldi didn't exactly have the best one. The girl had a major talent for getting under people's skin, which wasn't shocking there since she broke into someone's home at seven years old.
"Good morning Mr.B!" Dani greeted the male pig that occupied the kitchen as she walked in.
Yes, Dani had just eaten bacon for breakfast. But don't worry, everything made around StoryBrooke was plant-based.
"Morning, Dani!" Mr.B greeted his goddaughter back with a smile that she'd happily returned.
Mr.B had always treated Greta and Dani like the daughters he'd never had and had gladly offered them both a waitressing job during their senior year of high school. His real name was Benjamin, but because he'd found it old-fashioned, he allowed everyone to just call him B instead. To Dani, it was quite ironic how everyone called him "Mr.B," and he lived in a house made of bricks...she often wondered if anyone had ever really thought about the fact.
Heading back out to the front after washing her hands, Dani walked in just in time to see their regular customer as he strolled in and walked straight towards his usual booth. Though she had already known what he would want, Dani grabbed her pen and notepad and headed over to him anyway.
"Good morning Papa Bear!" she greeted the male with a smile.
Papa Bear smiled back as he said, "Morning, Dani! How's the coffee looking today?"
"Just got it started, Papa B, but it should be ready soon. Let me guess. You're here for raspberry scones?" she questioned and smiled as he laughed while handing her the menu.
He hadn't even needed to use it. Papa Bear had been a regular ever since Mama Bear had opened up her floral shop a couple of years back. He worked with David down at the Lumberyard, so he had been a close family friend of theirs for years.
A ding from the back snapped Dani out of her thoughts as she gave the male Bear a warm smile and walked away to retrieve his order.
"Just give me a few minutes, and I'll have his coffee out for him, Dani," Mr.B informed her.
Dani gave him a nod and turned around to face the counter.
"Ooo, look who just walked in," Greta sang, which caused her to frown.
Dani then looked up to see Mikey Darling as he walked in, and though she hadn't wanted it to, her breath immediately caught in her throat at the sight of him. His brown hair was just long enough to hang slightly over his forehead as he wore a dark green sweater that perfectly matched his eye color. His lips curved up into a smile as he caught Dani's gaze while walking over to the counter, which caused the girl's eyes to slightly widen as she realized what had happened and turned around to busy herself with wiping down the counter.
Greta snorted at the girl's actions as Mikey's smile turned into a small frown.
"Hey, G," the Darling boy greeted his blonde best friend, who smiled at the sight of him.
And butterflies had immediately erupted in Dani's stomach at the sound of his voice.
"Hey, M! What can I get you today?" Greta asked him-- a little too happily, in Dani's opinion.
"Oh, I'm just here for a quick bite before heading off to class," Mikey said. "Are there any blueberry muffins available yet?"
"You know what?" Greta said. "I think there's some fresh ones in the back. Why don't I go get them for you!"
The feeling of someone's hand smacking her butt caused Dani to jump before turning her head to glare at her best friend.
"Bitch," she mumbled.
Greta tilted her head back and winked before disappearing into the kitchen.
Mikey shook his head with furrowed brows as he watched the two before smiling at his other best friend as he said, "Hi, Dans."
The butterflies returned as Dani turned around to meet his gaze and smiled softly. "Hi, Mikey," she said in a quiet tone that caused his smile to grow.
"You um...You look...really pretty today," he said, which caused heat to form in Dani's cheeks as she hopped on her feet out of nervousness.
"Thank you," she said.
Had the two always been that awkward? The answer was no. Growing up, Dani, Mikey, Greta, and Greta's twin brother Hans had been as close as four peas in a pod. When Dani and Mikey were fifteen, they both had decided to take their friendship to the next level and admit their romantic feelings for each other, which resulted in the two dating for a year and a half. It had been three years since their abrupt breakup, but it was clear their feelings had never gone away as the ex-couple had always ended up with reddened cheeks and awkward atmospheres whenever they were in each other's presence.
"Aww," Greta said as she returned with Mikey's muffins. "What a suck-up."
Mikey scoffed as Dani shook her head. "Shut up, G," he mumbled. "Are you jealous? You look pretty too."
Greta rolled her eyes. "I'm always pretty," she said. "And so is Dani! But of course, you already knew that."
"Greta," Dani said through gritted teeth as Mikey's cheeks reddened.
"What?" the girl asked with a shrug. "He does, and you are! So stop denying it!... And stop denying him!"
"Okay, you know what? That's my cue to leave," Dani said and nodded as a bell rang. "See? Right on time."
She turned around to grab Papa B's late breakfast.
"Duty calls...I guess I'll see you later?" she then asked Mikey, which caused him to nod.
"Uh yeah. Sure. See you later," he said with a smile.
Dani smiled back at him and walked away to give her awaiting customer his order, who grinned once he spotted her.
"Ahh, there she is and right on time!" Papa Bear exclaimed as he clapped his hands together.
"Here you go, PaPa B! Six hot raspberry scones and a large coffee, black with two sugars and a spoonful of honey," Dani announced as she handed him his order that he gladly accepted.
"Ohh, thank you, Dear Dani!" Papa Bear said with a smile before digging into his food.
Dani gave him one last smile and returned to her station at the counter, and her eyes seemed to roll at their own accord as she was met with her best friend sporting a broad goofy grin on her face and Mikey nowhere in sight.
"What, G?" she asked while placing the tray back onto the counter.
"You two are so in love!!" Greta dragged out with a smile.
Dani's features scrunched in fake disgust as she said, "Me and Papa B? Ew! Look, I know you're into the whole sugar daddy thing, but just because we're best friends doesn't mean that I have to be into it too."
"What? Ew, shut up! You know I didn't mean him!"
Dani laughed as Greta pushed her half-heartedly.
"I meant you and Mikey!" she then said. "You can't even deny it! The tension between you two is so insane, I'm afraid one of these days I'm going to catch you two in the breakroom!"
Dani gave the blonde an unamused look as she burst into laughter. "Shut up!" she said. "That will never happen because there isn't any tension."
"Aww, what? You're so in denial," Greta said with a frown.
"I am not in denial!!" Dani exclaimed before sighing. "I can't just...forget everything that happened and go back to him, G...at least not yet."
Greta's frown deepened as she examined her best friend's features before she softly asked, "But you want to, right?"
"It's not that easy," Dani said with a shake of her head.
"What's so hard about it?" Greta asked with a shrug. "I know you guys didn't have the whole perfect fairytale thing, but even you have to admit that it's pretty damn close...I mean...He went and got better for you, Dani. If that doesn't scream True Love, then I don't know what does."
Dani sighed. "But what about me and-"
"When you decide to tell him, there is a more than likely possibility that he'll get mad about it," Greta said and shook her head. "But it won't last forever, and he won't hate you. He never will. Your guys' love is far too strong for that to happen."
Dani smiled and pulled Greta into a hug while saying, "See? This is why you're my best friend. I love you."
"Aww. I love you too, D," Greta said with a smile. "And I also love Dikey, which is why it needs to rise again!"
Dani scoffed and rolled her eyes as she said, "You and that horrible ship name of yours."
Greta pulled a fake offended look that Dani snorted at.,"I beg your pardon! Dikey happens to be the best ship name in the entire existence of ship names!!"
Hours passed before it got close to closing time, which left Greta and Dani to start cleaning up the bakery since Mr.B had left earlier after leaving a pink box of muffins on the counter as he knew Frankie asked for them almost every day. As Dani walked out of the supply closet after putting the broom away, she came face-to-face with a frowning Greta, which immediately caused a look of concern to cross her features.
"Hey. What's wrong, G?" she asked as she moved closer to her.
Greta sighed before placing her phone in her pocket to give her best friend a pleading look as she began to ask, "I know I've already asked you this once this week, but I just got a call from the facility about my brother and I-"
"Greta. Go. It's fine, I understand," Dani cut her off with a smile. "He needs you way more than I do right now."
Greta gave her best friend a thankful smile in return and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug that made the girl groan out in fake pain.
"You're the absolute bestest friend in the whole wide world, and I don't know what I'd do without you!!" she exclaimed while rocking them from side to side.
Dani laughed at her statement and pushed her towards the door after they let go of each other. "I know, I know. Now go, and make sure you tell Hans I said Hi!" she told her with a grin.
"I will! Love you!!" Greta shouted as she grabbed her coat and left.
Dani sighed as she was left alone and began to stack the chairs onto the last table.
An incident that occurred in their childhood caused Greta's twin brother Hans to go through horrible trauma, which ultimately ended up with him being placed in a mental facility. Their father had passed away a couple of years ago, so it was just Greta alone in their house. The death of their father only caused Hans's condition to worsen, and while she could already no longer afford to keep up with her brother's medical bills along with regular house bills, Greta was forced to place him somewhere else. Fortunately, the workers there allowed her to visit him whenever she wanted, or Hans needed her to. Since their father had passed, Greta was the only person he fully trusted and would cooperate with. It was a very heartbreaking situation, and Dani honestly wouldn't wish it on anyone.
With one last sigh, Dani grabbed the pink box of Frankie's muffins and walked out the door, making sure to turn off the light before she began her journey home.
✧
"Ellie!!" was the first thing Dani was greeted by after walking through the front door.
A wide grin spread across her features as she watched her baby brother run down the hall.
"Hey, bud!!" Dani said and kissed him on the cheek.
Frankie leaned back and looked at the pink box in his sister's left hand. "Are those booberry muffins?!" he questioned as his eyes lit up with excitement.
Dani nodded with just as much excitement as she laughed and said, "Yes, they are!! Courtesy of our wonderful chef Mr.B!!"
Frankie took the box from her hands and ran off to the kitchen while exclaiming, "Momma, Dadda!! Ellie bought booberry muffins!!"
Dani chuckled and took off her coat to place it on the rack by the door. As she turned to take off her snow boots, a hint of white caught her attention, which made her look over at the table to see a brown envelope. Curiosity flowed through her once she spotted her name in cursive writing on the front of it, and she grabbed it before heading off to the kitchen where she'd heard the sound of her mother's humming.
"Hey, Mom? What's this?" Dani questioned once she got in the kitchen and held up the envelope so her mother could see it.
Michelle looked up from the stove and furrowed her eyebrows at the object in her daughter's hand. "I don't know, babydoll. Didn't check the mail today. David did. Why don't you ask him?" she said before suggesting with a shrug.
Dani nodded once and walked over to give the woman a greeting kiss on the cheek before stepping into the living room, where she found Frankie drawing at his art table and David watching a basketball game on T.V.
"Hey, David? What's this?" she asked the man while holding up the envelope again.
David looked over to his daughter and shrugged once he saw the envelope in her hand. "Beats me. Found it underneath the regular junk of mail we get. You order something online?" he said before asking with furrowed eyebrows.
Dani's eyebrow raised in slight amusement at his question as she walked over to sit down in the lounging chair. "If I did, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't come in an envelope," she playfully retorted with a smirk.
In the same manner, David rolled his eyes at her remark before refocusing his attention back to the basketball game that played on the television screen. Dani shook her head at his actions and looked back down at the envelope as she began to open it.
You could never have David's attention for long once a certain sport played on T.V. Honestly? Dani couldn't understand how her mother had dealt with that for so long. She was sure she'd go crazy if her future husband ever ignored her to watch a stupid sports game.
Dani's attention soon focused on the tan letter that she had taken out of the envelope, and with furrowed brows, she smoothened out the letter and began to read it:
" Daniella Richards,
This is Chief Stewart Bridges from the StoryBrooke County Jail. It has come to my notice that inmate 27127 has requested your visitation. While it is entirely understandable as to why you would deny this request, please know that the offer will remain available until any time you feel you may want to accept it. If it comes to the time of acceptance, you will be escorted to a room full of other inmates with their visitors, and guards will be on standby at all times. It is your choice as to whether you may like to visit alone or with others, though inmate 27127 has requested you meet alone. You must call in advance to let us know that you will be visiting.
With full regards,
Chief S.B."
By the time she'd finished reading the letter, Dani's blood had turned cold, and she felt as if she would throw up her lunch. She knew exactly which inmate had requested to see her...but she didn't know why. Why now? Why ever?! Of course, her answer was no, but she couldn't help to think...Why the hell was he even trying to speak to her again?!
Dani sighed and stared down at the letter in distaste.
Great.
That was JUST what she'd needed.