Ficlet as promised 🙂 Follows on from this ficlet.

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Belle paused outside the store which was next to Gold’s pawnshop. She took a couple of deep breaths and wished she didn’t feel quite so nauseous. Nothing about today was
going right and it was because she wasn’t thinking anything through. She’d been so focused on getting the words out, and finally telling Mr. Gold how she felt about him, that she hadn’t considered what would happen if he said yes. She had numerous concerns about the looming date at 6pm that evening, but the first problem was that they hadn’t arranged it properly.

She swallowed and tried to relax her grip on the piece of paper she was holding. It had
crumpled where she had gripped it too tightly. They hadn’t arranged where to meet, and she’d blithely said that there would be a showing of something, and that was just too up in the air for her comfort. She’d looked up the movies and the showing times on the library computer. The sci-fi movie which had prompted all of this wasn’t showing until 7.30pm and it wouldn’t take anywhere near that long to get to the movie theater.

“Do the brave thing,” Belle whispered to herself.

Before she could change her mind she strode forward, past the pawnshop window, and opened the door. She blinked at the change in lighting, it was a lot darker in the shop than outside. There was the sound of the gentle tap of Gold’s cane on the floor, and the man himself emerged through the curtain that led to the backroom. A smile crossed his face when he caught sight of her.

“Miss French, how lovely to see you.” Gold’s tongue darted out to wet his lips, Belle’s eyes were drawn to the motion and a beat later she realized she was staring. Gold
frowned. “I hope there’s not a problem with tonight?”

“Oh no, no, no,” Belle stammered. “I looked up the show times.” She brandished the slip of paper as her passport and Gold nodded in understanding.

“What were they?” Gold asked.

“Oh erm.” Belle looked down at the paper, and then thrust it towards Gold. “You can look if you like.”

Her face burned as Gold took the piece of paper and scanned it. How was she supposed to get through this date, if she had trouble with him focusing on her for more than a minute at a time? Belle’s blood ran cold. For all that she had been nursing a
crush on Mr. Gold for months now, and fantasizing about asking him out, she didn’t even know his first name.

“How about the 8.30 performance? We could get an early dinner beforehand,” Gold suggested.

“Dinner?” Belle repeated weakly. That sounded fantastic but the movie was easier, as their attention would be on the screen and they wouldn’t have to make conversation.
“Ok,” she agreed nervously. “Where should we meet?”

“I’ll pick you up,” Gold decided. “There are several restaurants around the movie theater. I don’t have any allergies, you are welcome to choose.”

“You choose,” Belle insisted.

“Very well.” Gold smiled. “Until 6pm Miss French.”

“Belle,” Belle blurted out. “Please, it’s Belle.”

Gold’s smile deepened and he took a step forward. “Belle, I’m Liam.”

He reached out and gently took her hand, raising it to his mouth and brushing his lips against the back. Belle felt like swooning, and wondered for a minute if she had fallen
asleep in the library again, and she was dreaming. This felt more like a dream
than real life, this was almost like a scene out of a Jane Austen novel.

“See you tonight,” Belle mumbled.

She stumbled backwards, keeping her eyes on Gold as she left. The cooler air outside was a relief for her hot cheeks. Dazed Belle staggered over to the library, collapsing into her chair the moment she got there. She’d fixed the logistics and she still had a date! Belle gulped – she still had a date. She glanced down at herself critically, she needed to wear something nice but not too nice, but then again Mr. Gold – Liam, was always impeccably dressed in a suit. Perhaps overdressed was the way to go.

Belle bit her lip and her eyes flickered to the clock. A moment later she bolted to her feet and strode to the door, flipping the sign for community hours. She wasn’t supposed to leave her post until 5.30pm but with the date set for 6pm, she needed more time than that. In fact she really didn’t have a moment to lose. She wanted – no she needed – to look her best, she needed every scrap of confidence she could muster. She really didn’t want to screw this up.