Once Upon a Time 1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Please read and review and let me know what you think of the beginning so far. I would really appreciate it :) As far as the show goes it will very loosely follow it for the most part, but some of the events in the show will be somewhat the same depending on what I decide to do.**

**Chapter 1**

"Henry, I will be right back. Stay in the car," Regina orders as she opens her door.

"Ok," Henry sighs as she gets out and closes her door.

Henry watches her as she makes her way into a shop. Once she is inside, he decides to stare out his window across the street.

He turns his head just in time to see a girl trip, and drop all of the bags she was carrying.

He notices that all of their contents had spilled out as well.

He watches as she frantically picks herself up, and begins picking up the items and putting them back into the bags.

_I should go and help her. _He thinks as he continues to watch her. _She appears to be having a rough time._

Henry turns his attention away from her for a moment to check on his "mother."

_She looks to be in a deep conversation, so she shouldn't notice I am gone. I will just have to hurry. _He thinks as he opens his car door and gets out.

He looks into the shop one more time to make sure that she isn't coming, and then hurries across the street.

When he reaches the girl, he sees that she is almost done picking up her items, but she is struggling to hold it all and pick up what is left at the same time.

"Need some help?" Henry asks her.

The girl jumps at his voice and looks around before her eyes land on him. He smiles at her.

"Yes, I would really appreciate it," she says and returns his smile.

"My name is Henry. What's yours?" he asks as he bends down and begins to pick up some of the items.

"Clara," she answers as she sets the bags she has already started to refill on the ground to make it easier for him to put the items in. She continues to pick up things as well. "You are the Mayor's son right?" she asks.

"Yeah," Henry replies, "Well she is my adoptive mother."

"Oh," Clara says not really knowing what to say to that.

There are a few minutes of awkward silence.

"All done," Henry says breaking it.

"Thank you so much for your help," Clara says gratefully as she retrieves her five paper bags.

"You're welcome." Henry smiles, "You looked like you needed it."

"You were right," she says with a slight laugh, "This is what happens when you are a klutz."

Henry laughs too, which makes her laugh harder.

"That is a lot of groceries," he states after a few minutes, and after their laughter has died down.

"Well, I have a big family," Clara explains.

"I see," Henry says as he curiously studies the girl in front of him.

He is just about to ask her something when Regina's voice stops him.

"Henry, I thought I told you to stay in the car."

Clara and Henry turn around to see a very displeased Regina.

"I know but…" Henry starts to say but Regina cuts him off.

"Go back to the car Henry. We will discuss this later," Regina orders.

Henry lets out a sigh knowing it would be pointless to argue.

"Goodbye Clara, it was nice meeting you," Henry says and then begins making his way to the car.

"You too," Clara calls hesitantly.

Regina turns and watches Henry as he walks to the car. Once he is inside Regina turns her attention back to Clara.

Clara starts to become nervous.

"What were you doing talking to my son, Miss Shore?" Regina asks as she crosses her arms over her chest.

"Oh, umm, he…" but she doesn't get a chance to explain because Regina continues to talk.

"Just watch yourself, Miss Shore," Regina warns, "You have a nice day," she says and then begins to make her way back to the car.

"You too, Miss Mills," Clara calls very confused about why she had said that.

Clara watches her get into the car and then her eyes travel to the backseat to see Henry waving at her.

She returns the wave along with a small smile and then watches as they drive off.

Once they are out of sight she glances at her watch to see it is 6:20pm.

_Crap, I am late for supper and I am also the one who has the food. _She thinks as she begins to run to her house, careful not to trip again.

As soon as Regina pulls into the driveway and parks the car, Henry quickly hops out and makes his way to the house.

Once he reaches the front door, he opens it, and hurries inside.

He is just about to make his way to the stairs to his room when Regina's voice stops him.

"Why didn't you stay in the car?" she questions with her arms crossed waiting for an answer.

"Because, when I looked out my window, I saw Clara trip and drop all of her bags and everything inside them spilled out as well. I watched her for a little bit, but it looked like she was having trouble so I decided to help her," Henry explains.

"Well that was very nice of you to help her," Regina says although she is not happy that he did, "Even so, I still do not like you talking to strangers."

"But she is really nice!" Henry protests.

"That doesn't matter. She may seem really nice, but she may not be. It is just dangerous to talk to people you don't know. If I would have been there it would have been different, but I wasn't and you were all by yourself," Regina reasons.

Henry lets out a frustrated sigh and mentally rolls his eyes.

"Sorry I didn't listen," he apologizes halfheartedly.

"It's ok," Regina says uncrossing her arms, "I am going to make dinner. I will call you down when it is done," She says and then makes her way to the kitchen.

As soon as she is out of sight Henry hurries to his room.

Once in his bedroom he closes his door and hops on his bed. He grabs his fairytale book from the drawer of his nightstand and begins flipping through it.

_I wonder who Clara could be? _He thinks as he flips through stories. _She is obviously not Snow White or Cinderella. Hmm could she be Sleeping Beauty? _He wonders stopping at that fairytale._ Nah, I don't think so._ He thinks for a little bit, but dismisses the thought and resumes flipping through the book. _I guess I will just have to wait until I learn more about her, although that doesn't mean I can't pick a few stories and start making comparisons. _

He continues to flip through the book until Regina calls him for dinner.

"Coming," Henry calls while shutting the book and putting it back into the drawer.

Finally, Clara reaches the building that says, _Shore's Pet Shop_. It is her family's pet shop and their apartment is right above the store.

Clara looks at her watch and sees it is now 6:45.

"Crap!" she exclaims and digs through her pocket for her keys to the store, while trying to hold on to everything she has.

Finally she finds them and quickly unlocks the door and hurries inside.

Once she is inside she closes the door and makes sure to lock it again.

Once she is done she hurries to the very back of the store to the door that leads to the stairs, to her apartment.

As soon as she reaches the door she flings it open, walks in, slams it shut, and then hurries up the stairs.

She makes it to the door of the apartment in no time and quickly makes her way inside.

"Clara, is that you?" she hears her Dad call as she shuts the door.

"Yes," she replies while beginning to make her way to the kitchen.

"What took you so long?" he questions while walking into the kitchen, "You left at 5."

"I know," she sighs while starting to unpack the groceries, "I had trouble finding everything on the list and then on my way home I tripped, dropped all of the bags, and everything spilled out. Then as I was picking them up the Mayor's son, Henry, walks over and asks if I need help, which I said yes, and he started helping me. After we had finished picking up everything his mother comes over and…" her Dad cuts her off.

"See, this is why I don't like you going anywhere but the apartment and our shop. I should have gone like I had wanted to and not let you talk me out of it like you did," he says a tad angry.

"But, Daddy, you let Clover and Shelly go sometimes too and I just get so bored!" Clara reasons.

"I don't care if you were bored, I still shouldn't have let you go," he says with finality, "Now are you going to help me with supper?" he questions.

"Yes," Clara says although she is still frustrated.

Clara and her Dad have dinner made by 7:30.

"Supper is ready!" Clara calls, informing her sisters.

Once they are all downstairs and seated at the table, they begin to eat.

There isn't much talking and when there was Clara didn't join in. She was still a little upset with her Dad and she was still thinking about what the Mayor had said to her.

_You need to stop worrying about it. _She thinks to herself. _It didn't mean anything. _She tries to convince herself. _The only reason it bothers you is because of the way she said it, almost like a threat._

Clara is pulled out of her thoughts when she hears her name being said.

She looks and sees that it is only her and her Dad left at the table.

_When did everyone leave? _She wonders.

"What?" she asks looking at her Dad.

"Are you ok?" You didn't talk the whole time," He asks concerned.

"Yeah, I am fine, just tired," Clara assures him.

He looks at her for a few minutes. "I am sorry for getting upset with you," he apologizes.

"It is fine," Clara says with a small smile.

"It is just…" he starts to say but doesn't finish, "Go ahead and go up to your room, I will clean up," he says while standing up.

"Ok," Clara responds while wondering what he was going to say, if it was what she thinks he was going to say then she has heard the conversation plenty of times.

She gets up from her seat and begins to make her way to her room.

"Love you," her Dad calls.

"Love you too," Clara calls back as she makes it to the stairs that lead upstairs to her room.

Once she is up them, she makes her way to her room and then goes inside and closes the door.

She looks at the clock and sees it is almost 9:00, so she decides to get ready for bed and go to sleep. She has to get up at 7:00 to get ready for work and be at the shop by 8:00 tomorrow. It's been a tiring day, and she thinks it would be nice to get a good night's sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So here is the next chapter, I hope you all like it. Thanks for the alerts and reviews! I really appreciate it :) Please continue to review I would like to know what you all think of this so far. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any fairytale characters that have already been created and have had profit made from them. **

**Chapter 2**

Clara wakes to the sound of her alarm clock beeping.

She groans and hits the snooze button, then buries her face back into her pillow.

5 minutes later her alarm goes off again and she sighs. She sits up in her bed, stretches, and then turns her alarm off.

She glances at the clock and sees it is 7:06 and she has to get ready and be at the shop at 8:00.

Clara pulls her covers off and gets out of bed.

She walks over to her closet, grabs a shirt, then goes to her dresser and picks out a pair of jeans.

Once she decides on a pair she wants to wear, she exits her room and makes her way to the bathroom.

_Hopefully nobody is in there, and if there is hopefully it is not Clover because she takes forever, and I don't want to be late. _Clara thinks as she reaches the bathroom.

She knocks but no one replies, so she opens the door and goes in.

_Thank goodness! _She thinks with a smile as she sets her clothes on the sink. Clara then takes off her night clothes and hops into the shower.

Once she is done in the shower she turns the water off, steps out, and then wraps her towel around herself.

She glances at the clock on the wall to see it is now 7:30.

_That should be just enough time to get ready. _She thinks as she looks at herself in the mirror. _Now what to do with my hair? _She wonders as she looks at the wavy mess.

In the end she decides to blow dry it. Once she is done blow drying it, she smiles. Due to the gel she put it in; it gave the waviness more of a curl which makes it look tamer.

She quickly changes into the outfit she picked, which is a green V-neck shirt and faded jeans with holes in them.

Once she is dressed she hurriedly puts on some eyeliner and mascara.

When she is finished she glances at the clock to see it is 7:55.

"Crap!" she exclaims as she runs out of the bathroom.

Once she reaches the stairs, she runs down them and then runs out of the apartment, down to the pet shop.

When she reaches the pet shop, she glances at the clock and sees it is 7:59.

_One minute to spare! _She thinks with a smile as she walks over to the front door of the shop.

She flips the closed sign to open and unlocks the door, then makes her way to stand behind the counter.

She lets out a sigh and looks around the shop.

_Might as well feed the animals and clean their cages. _She thinks as she walks from behind the counter to the storage closet with all of the food.

She reaches the closet and grabs the hamster, ferret, and guinea pig food because all of those animals are by each other.  
She walks over to their cages, fills up their bowls, and then checks their water.

Once she is done with them, she then proceeds to feed the spiders, snakes, and lizards. After them she feeds the birds and the bunnies.

Finally, once she is done with them she feeds the fish, turtles, and hermit crabs.

This pet shop doesn't have dogs or cats and that is ok because there would be no room for them anyway.

Clara smiles as she watches the fish swim to the top to feed.

She turns her attention away from the fish and looks at the clock to see it is 9:00.

_Wow, that is the fastest I have ever fed and cleaned the animal's cages. _She thinks happily.

She is pulled out her thoughts as she hears the familiar ding-dong sound which means that someone had entered the shop. She turns her attention to the front of the shop to see it is Mr. Gold who had entered.

_I wonder what he is doing here. _She thinks as she makes her way to the front of the shop.

"Good morning, Mr. Gold. Is there something I can help you with?" she questions while trying to muster a smile.

"Good morning to you too, dear," he says with what she thinks is supposed to be a smile but comes off more as a smirk. "Actually, I am looking for your father. Do you know where he is?" he asks.

"He is up in the apartment. I can call up and see if he is awake," she offers.

"I would appreciate it, dear," he says with that smile/smirk of his.

_Why can't he just call me Clara, he already creeps me out and the dear just adds to it. _She thinks as she walks behind the counter.

She picks up the phone by the cash register and dials the number for their apartment.

The phone rings three times until someone finally picks up.

"Hello," her father says sleepily.

"Daddy, Mr. Gold is down here in the shop and he would like to talk to you," Clara says and then glances toward Mr. Gold to see he is looking around the shop.

"What does he want?" her father asks although he is already thinking of the possibilities.

"He didn't say," she answers and glances back to him again to see that he is now staring at her. She quickly looks away.

"Tell him I will be down in 10 minutes," her dad says and then hangs up.

Clara hangs up as well and then turns her attention back to Mr. Gold.

"Well?" he questions.

"He said that he will be down in about 10 minutes," Clara informs him, "If you want I can get you a chair so you can sit down," she offers politely.

"No, that's alright," he says, "I saw you were talking to the Mayor's son, Henry, yesterday. Is that the first time you have met him?" he asks curiously.

"Umm, yeah," Clara answers, "But how would you have seen us? I didn't even know you were around, I didn't see you if you were," Clara says.

"My shop is a little ways up the street from where you two were talking. I had glanced out my window and saw you two," he explains.

"Oh," Clara says forgetting that his shop is indeed on that street, "Well that explains it."

Mr. Gold just gives her a slight smile.

There is silence after that but it is broken by the sound of a door opening and closing.

Clara and Mr. Gold turn their attention to the back of the shop to see Clara's Dad making his way toward them.

"Good Morning, Mr. Gold," her dad says once he reaches them, "What is it that you need?" he asks trying to not come across as rude.

"Could we talk in private?" Mr. Gold asks.

"Uh, yeah," he says and then turns his attention to Clara, "Clara could you please go up to the apartment, I will call you back down once we are done talking," he says.

_I don't want to sit in the apartment. _She thinks annoyed. _Hmm, I wonder if he would let me take a walk._

"Can I take a walk instead? I won't go far," she asks hopefully, "Please?"

"No, Clara, I already let you go to the store yesterday and I am regretting it. Please just go sit in the apartment." he says with finality.

"But…" Clara starts to say.

"No buts, we shouldn't be too long anyway then you can come back." he says.

Clara lets out a frustrated sigh and makes her way to the apartment.

_He's still overprotective. _Mr. Gold thinks as he watches the girl leave.

They wait until Clara is no longer in the shop before they start talking.

After about 15 minutes, Clara gets the call from her Dad and heads back down to the shop.

Once Clara is in the shop she notices her Dad leaning with his elbows in the counter and his face in his hands.

"Daddy, are you ok?" What did he want?" Clara asks as she approaches him.

"Huh?" he says lifting his face from his hands, "Oh, nothing you need to worry about," he says with a smile, but Clara can tell that he is troubled.

"Daddy, something is wrong." Clara states.

"No, everything is fine. I am going to go back up to the apartment. Were any of your sisters awake?" he asks changing the topic.

Clara looks at him for a few minutes before finally answering. "Umm, I don't think so, but they could be now."

"Alright, sweetie, love you." he says giving her a hug.

"Love you, too." she says and then he lets go of her and heads back up to the apartment.

Clara sighs and makes her way behind the counter and sits on the stool.

_I know that something is wrong. _She thinks frustrated. _I just wish he would tell me. _She thinks as she turns her head to look out the window.

She glances at the clock behind her to see it is almost 10:00.

_This is so boring! _She thinks as she begins to tap her fingers on the counter.

She doesn't mind working at the shop and it is not like she has to every day, either, because her and her sisters take turns. It is just the fact that it gets so lonely and boring sitting here.

She decides to get up from the stool and goes back to where the fish and other sea creatures are. She watches as the fish swim around. Out of all of the animals in the shop, she definitely likes the fish, turtles, and hermit crabs the best.

After watching them for a little while she decides to go to where the bunnies are. She looks at them all snuggled together asleep. Her favorite is the brown and white speckled one. It is the tiniest one and she finds it the most adorable. She named it Thumper because, well he is a bunny, and she loves his character in _Bambi._

After observing the animals for a little longer she makes her way back to the counter and sits down on the stool once again.

After sitting for about an hour she hears the door in the back open and then close.

She looks and sees her sister Sierra walking towards her.

"Having fun?" she asks with a smile.

"Not really." Clara mumbles.

"I figured," she says, "That is why we are going to go to Granny's and get some lunch."

"I would love to, but what if Shelly or Clover see us and tells Daddy? He is already mad about letting me go to the store yesterday," Clara says, although she really wants to go.

"Well dad is asleep on the couch and everyone else is still in their rooms like always. Although Clover and Shelly were sitting at the table in the kitchen drinking coffee, oh and I think Melanie might have started lunch," Sierra says.

Clara looks at her for a moment.

"Umm, but you just said Melanie started lunch," Clara say, "Shouldn't we just eat here?"

"Yes, but you know as well as I do that Melanie's cooking isn't the best and half of the time it usually catches on fire," Sierra says.

"I am up for going to Granny's, but what about once Melanie is done and she wakes up Dad and they come down looking for us?" Clara asks trying to make her sister see reason.

"I didn't think about that," Sierra says with a frown.

"I am usually always up for sneaking out, but you have to plan it better," Clara says as she looks at her sister who seems to be in thought.

"I got it!" Sierra exclaims after a few minutes.

"How about we go over, get the food to go, and come back here and eat it. We can dispose of the evidence later, plus we will still be getting out of the apartment and shop for a little bit."

Clara thinks about it for a few minutes. This way they definitely had less of a chance of getting caught.

"Sure, why not, but we have to hurry." Clara says walking out from behind the counter.

"Yay!" Sierra exclaims.

Sierra and Clara leave the shop, but Clara makes sure to put up the sign that says 'went to lunch, be back soon', and locks the door.

Granny's restaurant is only like five minutes away so it doesn't take long for the girls to walk there.

Once they reach the restaurant, they open the door and walk in.

"Hey you two," they hear a familiar voice say.

They turn their attention to behind the bar where the person had spoken and smile.

"Hey, Ruby," Clara says as her and Sierra walk over to the bar.

"So your Dad actually let you out of the apartment, or you snuck out," she says with a knowing smile.

"The second," Sierra confirms.

"New it!" Ruby says triumphantly.

"Yes, but like always please don't tell anyone you saw us here," Clara says although she knows Ruby won't rat them out. The only person they really have to worry about is Granny and the other costumers, although they never usually bother to acknowledge them and there aren't that many people here right now anyway.

"My lips are sealed," Ruby says and then runs her fingers over her lips like she is zipping them shut for emphasis.

Clara and Sierra let out a little laugh at this while Ruby smiles.

Ruby doesn't usually act like this around other people but she has become friends with them, and she is all for helping them be rebels and disobedient.

"So, what can I get you guys to eat, and is it for here or to go?" she asks.

"To go," Clara answers, "And I will have a Caesar Salad with fries and a small Coke."

"Alright," Ruby says jotting it down, "What about you Sierra?"

"Umm, a cheeseburger, fries, and small Pepsi," Sierra answers.

"Alright, I will be right out with those," Ruby says before disappearing into the kitchen.

Clara looks around the restaurant to see if she recognizes anyone who knew their father and would tell on them, she doesn't. Sierra and her had looked through the windows before they went in just to be safe.

"How are you girls doing?" Clara hears someone say and she turns her attention back to behind the bar.

_Uh oh, we could be in trouble now. _Clara thinks as she looks at the elderly woman.

"Sneaking out again?" she questions.

"Umm…" Clara starts to say, but stops.

"Of course not!" Sierra says acting like she is offended that she would even think that.

"No need to lie to me. I know how your father is and if I was cooped up all the time, I would want to get out too," she says with an understanding smile, "Don't worry, I won't rat you out."

Clara and Sierra both let out a breath they didn't realize they were holding.

"Thank you," Clara says relieved.

"Yes, thank you," Sierra says as well.

The elderly woman nods, "I am going to go check on how your food is coming," she says and then walks away.

Soon after she goes into the kitchen, Ruby walks out.

"How long has she known that we sneak out?" Clara asks.

Ruby shrugs. "I don't know, I guess she just figured it out one day."

There is an awkward silence after that.

"Here you go, girls.," Ruby's grandmother says walking out of the kitchen with two bags. Once she reaches the girls she hands them their food.

"How much do we owe you?" Clara asks reaching into her pocket to get her money.

After they pay for their food they exit the restaurant and make their way back to their shop.

Clara unlocks the shop door once they reach it and takes down the sign.

They make their way to the counter and Sierra grabs a chair from the back and they begin to eat their food.

"This is really good." Sierra says.

"Mmmhmm," Clara agrees.

They have their food finished in about half an hour and Clara takes the evidence and throws it in the trash can on the sidewalk in front of their shop. Once she goes back in the shop, she walks behind the counter, grabs the air freshener she keeps in the shelves under the counter, and sprays it around to get rid of the smell of food.

Just as she gets done, they turn their attention to the back of the store where they hear the door that leads to their apartment open and close. They see their sister Crystal walking over to them.

"Melanie sent me down to tell you that lunch is ready," She informs them once she reaches them.

"I am not hungry right now, just ask her to put some in the refrigerator and I will come up and eat it later," Clara says trying to not sound suspicious.

"I'll come up, but I can't guarantee I am going to eat it, I mean, Melanie was the cook," Sierra jokes.

Crystal looks at them for a moment, and then lets out a little laugh.

"Ok," she says and makes her way back up to the apartment and Sierra follows close behind.

_They totally snuck out! _Crystal thinks as her and Sierra reach the apartment.

Once they are gone Clara looks at the clock to see it is almost 2:30.

She goes around to all of the cages again and checks to see if any of the animals need more water.

After she refills the bowls that need refilled, she goes back to the counter and sits back down.

Her thoughts drift to why Mr. Gold was here this morning. She knows that whatever the reason, it probably wasn't good news.

She is pulled out of her thoughts as she hears the ding-dong again meaning that someone had entered.

_I hope it isn't Mr. Gold again. _She thinks as she turns her attention to the door.

She lets out a sigh of relief when she sees it isn't him.

"Henry, what are you doing here?" she asks curiously, hoping she is not sounding rude. It is just that she is surprised to see him here.

"Well, my 'mom' sometimes picks me up from school, but today is one of the days I usually walk home," he explains, "And I saw you sitting in here and thought I would say hi," he says with a smile, "Is this your shop," he asks as he looks around.

"Yep, this is my family's shop," she confirms, "My sisters, Dad, and I all take turns working it," she explains.

"You know I have walked by this I don't know how many times but have never really looked at it," he says turning his attention back to her, "But when I saw you in here I had to confirm if it was your shop as well as saying hi."

Clara lets out a little laugh. "Want to see my favorite animals?" she asks the boy.

"Sure," he answers as he walks over to her.

"Then follow me," she says walking out from behind the counter.

Clara leads Henry back to where the fish and other creatures are.

"So the fish are your favorite?" he asks as he looks at the different fish in the tanks.

"Yep," Clara answers, "Although I like the turtles and hermit crabs too," she says as she watches Henry look at the different fish.

"Over here," she says, getting Henry's attention and pointing to a shelf full of fish in different bowls, "Are our Betta Fish, we have to keep them in separate bowls or else they would fight each other to the death," she explains, "They are Japanese Fighting Fish."

"Neat," Henry says looking at them, "They are very pretty."

"Yes, they are, the ones with the longer tales are the males and the shorter tails are the females," she explains as she looks at them too.

"You sure know a lot about them," Henry says looking up at her.

"Well, when you work in a pet shop you have to know a little about every animal in order to take care of them," she says, "Want to see the turtles?" she asks him.

He nods his head yes and follows her. They look at the turtles for a little bit and then Clara takes him to the Hermit Crabs.

"What time is it?" Henry asks as they look at the crabs.

"Almost 3:30," Clara answers looking at the clock.

"I have to go," Henry says making his way toward the front of the shop, "I need to get home before she does," Henry explains meaning he needed to be back at the house before Regina is, "Goodbye!" he says as he opens the door.

"Goodbye," Clara says and then watches as he leaves the shop.

Clara goes back to sit behind the counter.

Soon enough it is 7:00 which means it is closing time.

Clara walks to the front of the shop, locks the door, and then shuts all of the lights off and heads up to the apartment.

"Did you sell anything today?" her Dad asks her as she walks into the apartment.

"No," Clara answers.

Her Dad lets out a sigh.

Clara looks at him to see he is rubbing his face with his hand.

"Daddy, are you ok?" she asks him concerned.

"Yeah, I am fine," he says with a forced smile although he really isn't. He has been a mess since Mr. Gold talked to him in the shop this morning.

"Come on into the kitchen, Crystal and Shelly made supper," he says grabbing her shoulder and leading her to the kitchen.

Clara doesn't say anything and lets him lead her to the kitchen. She knows something is wrong and it is killing her that he won't tell her.

After supper they all decide to watch a movie, although Clara didn't really pay attention because she kept on thinking what could possibly be bothering her Dad.

_It has to have something to do with Mr. Gold's visit. _She thinks as she stares at the TV attempting to watch the movie.

Once the movie is over, they all head to their rooms.

Clara doesn't have to work the shop tomorrow so she decides to read a little bit before she goes to sleep.

After about an hour of reading, Clara sets the book on her night stand and turns off the lamp, then lies down and closes her eyes. Soon enough sleep finds her.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favorite. :) Please continue to do so. Hope you enjoy the chapter! Sorry for the wait. College is getting busy, so my updates may be a teeny bit apart. I appreciate the support :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any other fairytale characters that have been created or have had profit made from them.**

**Chapter 3**

Clara wakes with a start and looks around her room.

She sits up in her bed and tries to get her breathing under control.

_It was just a dream. _She thinks reassuringly.

She knows she was having a bad dream, although, as she continues to become more awake, she realizes she can't really remember what her dream had been about.

She has had nightmares before and that is all thanks to her overactive imagination.

Whatever she had dreamt though really seemed to get her more worked up than usual.

_Oh well, if I can't remember it, it must not have been that bad. _She thinks as she brushes away the feeling of uneasiness.

Once she gets her nerves and breathing under control, she glances at the digital clock on her nightstand. It reads 4:00 AM.

"Ugh!" Clara exclaims as she dramatically lies back down on her bed.

Clara tries to go back to sleep, but after a half hour of trying and constantly tossing and turning, she sighs and sits back up.

_So much for going back to sleep. _She thinks annoyed.

The clock on her nightstand now reads 4:35.

Clara blows a few stray strands of hair out of her face and then swings her legs over the edge of her bed. She then rubs the remaining sleepiness out of her eyes.

_Hmmm. _She thinks as she swings her legs back and forth. _What to do since I am clearly not going to be able to go back to sleep._

She stares at her wall for a few minutes and then an idea hits her.

_I could go take a walk. No one should be up yet and Marie probably will not be up until seven. _

It is her turn to work the shop today and Melanie usually goes down and helps her later in the afternoon.

Clara ponders this idea. The only thing she has to worry about is waking people up when she exits the apartment.

She stands up from her bed and walks over to her window.

She pulls the curtain back and looks at the empty streets of Storybrooke.

_Of course no one would be up at this hour, unless people are having trouble sleeping like me. If people are up this early just for the heck of it, then they are mad. _She thinks as she continues to look at the empty streets, with their streetlights on. She also looks around at all of the darkened buildings and shops.

She lets out a sigh and lets go of her curtain, and watches as it falls back into place.

She rarely ever gets out of the house and most of the times she does, it is after she begs her father.

_A little walk won't hurt anything, and maybe it will make me tired so I can come back and sleep. _She thinks as she walks over to her closet. _I just have to be careful I don't get caught or I will never be allowed outside again. _She thinks as she grabs a sweatshirt.

She then puts on the sweatshirt over the t-shirt she wore to bed. Then she makes her way to her dresser, grabs a pair of sweatpants, discards her sleep pants, and puts them on.

She quietly opens her door just enough to slip out and then closes it once she is out.

She listens for signs of anyone being awake and when she doesn't hear anything she proceeds walking down the hall.

_Ugh, I have to go to the bathroom! _She thinks.

She backtracks through the hallway until she makes it to the bathroom.

The door isn't closed and the lights are off, so she steps in and closes the door. Once she is inside she turns on the lights.

_Hopefully this will not wake anyone up. _She thinks.

Once she is done using the bathroom, she flushes the toilet and washes her hands, then dries them on a towel, turns off the lights, then opens the door so it doesn't creek, and then exits the bathroom.

Once she is standing in the hallway, she listens for a few minutes to make sure she hasn't woken anyone up.

She glances at her watch, she had made sure to grab, and sees it is now 5:00 AM.

After she is positive no one is awake, she tip-toes down the hall and makes her way to the kitchen.

She makes sure she walks as cautiously as she can across the kitchen floor so that it doesn't creek.

Finally she makes it to the door that leads to the stairs, which lead down to the shop.

She quietly unlocks it and then opens it. She waits a few minutes to make sure no one is up, then goes to the top of the stairs and closes the door.

She quietly tip-toes down the stairs to the door that leads to the shop. She unlocks that door as well and steps into the shop and proceeds to relock the door with her keys.

She quietly makes her way to the front of the shop and, as she does, she looks around at the animals and sees most are asleep.

Once she reaches the front door of the shop, she unlocks it and then open it. Once she steps out of the shop, she shivers. The early morning air is a lot colder than it is during the day.

She quickly closes the door and then makes sure to lock it again.

She turns around and looks around the town. It is so silent and weird not seeing any life about.

_Hmm, which way do I want to walk? _She thinks as she looks to the left and to the right.

If she went to the left, that would be heading toward Granny's and Mr. Gold's shop.

_I will go right. _She thinks and begins walking down the sidewalk.

The early morning air may be cold but she finds it nice in a way.

She walks down the street looking at the different shops and buildings.

She doesn't usually go to this part of the town and that is because the grocery store and everything else is in the opposite direction and that is usually where she goes when her father lets her out of the apartment.

This part of the street has more buildings than shops.

She knows that the hospital and school is down this way though.

She doesn't know how far she has walked, but she sees a bench under a street lamp and decides to sit down.

She glances at her watch to see it is now 5:30.

She lets out a sigh and then runs her hand through her hair.

She looks up at the stars and tries to find some of the constellations she knows, which is mainly just the big and littler dippers.

Her stargazing is interrupted when she hears a loud clatter behind her which startles her.

She turns to look behind her in the alleyway and sees that a trash can had been knocked over.

_Probably just a stray animal. _She thinks nervously. _No need to be worried. _She assures herself.

She is just about to turn her attention back to the stars when she sees something move in her peripheral vision.

She stares at the spot where something had moved, but she doesn't see any signs of there being anything there.

_Maybe it was just my imagination, or maybe it was just a trick of the light. _She thinks, but just as she thinks that, she sees movement again.

"Is…is some there?" she asks nervously as she stands up from the bench and walks toward the alley.

_This is a stupid idea. _She thinks as she reaches the alley. _If it is a person they could kidnap you, or worse! _She thinks.

She looks where she had seen the movement and she can make out the outline of a person.

"Hello," she says, cautiously taking a step toward the person.

The person doesn't give a response and continues to act like she isn't there.

"Umm, you know I can see you, right? Well, not really see you but I can see the outline of a person," she says after a few minutes.

"I know, but I was hoping if I didn't answer, you would go away," says the person, who she can now tell is a guy due to his voice.

He steps completely out of the shadows of the alley and into the light of the street lamps.

Clara had already started to back away once he had started moving and was already standing on the sidewalk.

Clara looks at the boy in front of her and her breath catches in her throat.

His clothes are a bit tattered and torn and he is a little dirty, but that still doesn't cover up the fact that he is extremely handsome.

Clara realizes she is staring and quickly looks away.

"Why were you in the alley and was it you who knocked over the trash can?" she asks still not looking at him.

"I have my reasons," he says and Clara can tell that he isn't going to discuss it further.

_Oh goodness, I hope he isn't a criminal! _She thinks and looks at him again.

He looks to be about her age, maybe a few years older. She can't recall ever really seeing him before, although that isn't surprising. She barely knows anyone in this town aside from a few people. The reason being her dad barely lets her out of the house.

"Why are you out this early?" he counters after a few minutes.

"I… well… I wanted to take a walk," she answers.

"Most normal human beings don't take a walk this early," he says while studying her.

"Then I guess we are both not normal human beings," Clara says with a small smile, hoping he would laugh or something.

He doesn't and there is an awkward silence after that, which makes Clara shift back and forth.

"My name is Clara," she offers after a few minutes to break the silence. She also holds out her hand for him to shake.

He doesn't say anything right away and Clara starts to think that he is not going to introduce himself and slowly starts to lower her hand.

"Kevin," he says and grabs her retreating hand and shakes it quickly.

"Nice to meet you, Kevin," she says with a smile.

"You too," he says, "Well, I need to get going," he says and then turns around and begins walking.

Clara watches his retreating back and sees that he breaks into a run.

_Hmm, that was interesting. _She thinks as she watches him a few seconds longer, then walks back to the bench and takes a seat.

She looks to the sky and sees a faint yellow glow, which means the sun is starting to rise.

_I better head back. _She thinks as she gets up from the bench and begins to make her way home.

Once she reaches the shop, she unlocks the door and steps inside. She cringes when she hears the ding-dong sound.

_Hopefully no one heard that. _She thinks as she relocks the door and then makes her way to the back of the shop to the door leading to the stairs.

She quietly opens the door and then enters, then locks it behind her.

She hurriedly tip-toes up the stairs and stops once she reaches the door to the apartment.

She puts her ear up to the door to see if she can hear any signs of life in the house. When she doesn't, she quietly opens the door and then locks it once she is inside as well.

She looks at her watch as she makes her way to her room to see that it is now 6:35.

_Marie will be up soon. _She thinks as she opens her door and walks inside. Once in, she closes the door and makes her way to her bed.

She yawns as she lies down and pulls the covers over herself.

The walk definitely made her sleepy.

As she closes her eyes, her thoughts drift to the boy she met.

_Kevin. _She thinks. _I wonder if I will see him again. _She ponders. _I wonder, though, if he had got into a fight or something, because he did not appear to be in the best shape, health wise that is. He was really skinny and pale and the tattered and torn clothes didn't help the fact, nor did the fact that he was dirty. _She thinks and with that she drifts to sleep.

"Are you ready for school, Henry?" Regina calls from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah, just give me a minute," he calls back.

"Ok, I will be in the car waiting," Regina informs and then exits the house and makes her way to the car.

Henry hurriedly puts his fairytale book into his book bag, and then exits his room.

Once he is down the stairs he walks over to the front door, quickly puts his shoes on, and then exits the house.

He reaches the car and hops into the front seat and buckles up.

He glances at the cars radio and sees it is 8:15. School doesn't start until 8:30, so he doesn't have to worry about being late.

"I am not going to be able to pick you up from school today," Regina informs him as she begins to drive, "I expect you to walk straight home once school is over," she says while quickly glancing at him.

"Why can't you pick me up?" he asks, although not that he cares.

"I have to do a few things, but I will be back around four like yesterday," she answers.

"Ok," Henry says as he looks out his window just as they pass Clara's family's shop.

_I wonder if she is working today. _He thinks.

"Here we are," Regina says as she pulls up to the school.

Henry unbuckles his seatbelt and gets out of the car.

"Love you, sweetie, have a good day." Regina says with a smile.

"Love you too." Henry says halfheartedly as he closes the door.

Soon after, Regina drives away.

"Hey, Henry." he hears someone call behind him.

He turns around to see a girl walking toward him.

"Hi Paige," he says with a smile.

"Ready for school?" she asks as they begin to walk toward the building.

"I guess so." he shrugs as they reach the building and walk in.

"Wake up, Clara, breakfast is ready!" Sierra calls as she knocks on the door.

Clara groans and sits up in her bed. She looks at the clock to see it 9:15.

"Clara!" Sierra yells again.

"Ok, I will be out in a few minutes." Clara calls.

"Hurry up," Sierra says and then walks away.

Clara lets out a sigh and pulls the covers off of her and stands up.

She stretches and then walks over to her closet. She grabs a shirt and then walks over to her dresser and picks out a pair of jeans.

Once she is dressed, she makes her way to the kitchen to see that everyone is seated at the table, minus Marie who is working the shop, and Clover and Shelly are at the stove.

"What is for breakfast?" she asks as she takes a seat between her Dad and Sierra.

"Eggs and home fries," Shelly answers as her and Clover start setting plates of eggs and home fries on the table. Clover also walks over to the refrigerator and grabs the orange juice and milk and sets them on the table as well.

Once they have everything set out, Clover and Shelly take their seats beside each other.

"This looks really good, girls." their father compliments.

"Thank you, Daddy." Clover says with a smile.

Clara doesn't join in much of the conversation; she is too busy thinking about the boy she met earlier this morning.

"Ok, class, it is time for recess," Mary Margaret says as she looks at the clock to see it is now 2:00, "We will come back in at 2:30," she informs them as they all begin to stand up and make their way to the door.

Once they are outside, Henry takes a seat on one of the benches by the playground. He takes his fairytale book out and begins flipping through it.

"Why are you always looking through that book?" someone asks as they sit beside him.

He looks and sees it is Paige.

"Because, I like fairytales," he replies, and it is not a complete lie. He does like fairytales, but that isn't the reason why he does it.

"So do I, but why can't you look at it at home? It is recess, you should be playing," Paige says.

Henry shrugs. "I do not feel like playing."

"You never do," Paige says while rolling her eyes, "What story are you reading?" she asks curiously.

"None right now. I am still looking for one that seems interesting."

"Do you have _Alice in Wonderland_ in there?" she asks, "That has got to be my favorite story," she smiles as she glances at his book.

Henry looks at the girl for a moment. He had already figured out that she was the Mad Hatter's daughter. She has talked about _Alice in Wonderland _before, which was one of the big hints to help him figure it out.

"Yeah," Henry replies after a few minutes.

"You should read it if you haven't already. It is really good!" she says enthusiastically, and then skips over to talk to people by the swings.

_Now back to finding out who Clara is. _He thinks as he resumes flipping through the book.

A story catches his eye and he smiles. _Hmm, this is definitely a major possibility. _He thinks as he begins reading the story.

"Time to go back inside," Mary Margaret calls after a while.

Henry closes his book and puts it back into his book bag, then makes his way back into the school.

Once they are all in the school, everyone files into the classroom and takes their seats.

It is now 2:30, so there is only a half hour of school left.

_I wonder if I can meet up with Emma after school. _He thinks as Ms. Blanchard starts teaching.

Soon enough it is 3:00 and they are dismissed form school.

Once Henry is out of the building, he begins to make his way toward the police station to see if Emma is there.

After a little bit of walking, he reaches the police station and he opens the door and goes in.

"Emma, are you here?" Henry calls making his way to her office.

"Henry, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?" she asks as she stands in the doorway of her office, just as Henry stops in front of her.

"No, I just wanted to talk," he replies.

Emma sighs in relief. "Ok," she says as she steps aside to allow Henry to walk in.

She takes a seat behind her desk and he takes a seat in front of it.

"So what do you want to talk about?" she questions.

"Well, I met this girl named Clara a few days ago," he starts, "She had dropped all of her groceries and I helped her pick them up. Anyway, I think I know who she may be," he says excitedly.

"Oh?" Emma says playing along.

"Yeah, I have a few possibilities but the one just makes the most sense," he says, "You will have to meet her, she is really nice!"

"Care to tell me who you think she may be?" Emma asks.

"Well, I don't want to until I am 100% sure, but as soon as I am you will be the first to know."

"Alright," Emma says and then glances at her cellphone to see what time it is. It is 3:45.

"What time is it?" Henry asks figuring that is what she is checking.

"3:45," Emma informs him.

"I got to go!" Henry says jumping up from his seat, "Bye, Emma!" he calls as he exits the room, with Emma following behind, stopping in the doorway of her office.

"See you later kid," Emma calls as she watches his retreating back until he is out of the station.

_I am definitely going to have to stop by Clara's shop tomorrow to see if she is working. _He thinks as he hurries to his house.

Once he reaches his house, he stops on the sidewalk to catch his breath. He glances at the driveway to see that Regina still isn't home.

When he catches his breath he hurries inside the house and up to his room.

Once in his room, he settles down on his bed, grabs his fairytale book from his book bag, and resumes reading the story he found during recess, while waiting for Regina to get home.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the alerts, reviews, and favorites :) I really would appreciate it and would like if you would continue to do so. Hope you enjoy the chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any other fairytale characters that have been created and have had profit made from them.**

**Chapter 4**

Clara wakes to the sound of her alarm and sighs as she sits up in bed.

She looks at the clock to see it is 7:00AM. The only reason she is up this early, is because she had told Sierra she would work the shop with her. Yeah, she already worked her day, but this way she could hang out with Sierra.

Not wanting to move yet, Clara lies back down and stares at the ceiling.

Yesterday had been absolutely boring. After breakfast, she went to her room and pretty much did exactly what she is doing now. She had come out of her room for lunch and supper, and played a few board games with her sister, but that had been about it. Sierra and her had hung out in Sierra's room for a little bit, and that is when she had said she would work the shop with her.

She continues to stare at the ceiling and her thoughts begin to drift to the boy she had met yesterday morning. She can't seem to get him out of her head.

_You are probably never going to see him again, so stop thinking about him! _She thinks frustrated.

She sighs and glances at her clock to see it is now 7:30.

_Better start getting ready. _She thinks as she sits up and throws the covers over her.

She then proceeds to swing her legs over the edge of the bed and stands up.

She stretches, then walks over to her closet, grabs a shirt, and then grabs a pair of jeans from her dresser.

She quickly changes out of her night clothes and into the clothes she picked out, which are a blue V-neck half sleeved shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans.

Once she is dressed ,she exits her room and makes her way to the bathroom.

_I wonder if Sierra will be in there. _She thinks as she reaches the bathroom.

The door is open and the lights are off, so she enters the bathroom and closes the door behind her.

After she finishes up in the bathroom, she exits and makes her way back to her room.

When she makes it to her room, she opens the door, steps in, and then closes it.

She glances at the clock on her bedside table to see it is now 7:45.

_Hmm, might as well go wait in the kitchen for Sierra. _She thinks and then exits her room.

Once she makes it to the kitchen, she takes a seat at the table and rests her head on her hand.

_I wonder what Sierra is doing? _She thinks as she begins to tap her nails on the table. _Hopefully she didn't fall back to sleep. I was actually surprised she wasn't in the bathroom getting ready when I had gone. _She thinks as she continues to absent mindedly tap her nails against the table.

She looks at the clock on the stove to see that it is now, 7:52.

_Sierra better hurry up, we have to be down there by 8:00. _Clara thinks as she stares at the wall and continues to tap her nails. Her thoughts once again, begin to drift back to the boy she had met.

_Stop thinking about him! _She mentally orders herself.

"Alright, I am ready. Let's go!" Sierra says running into the kitchen, breaking Clara out of her thoughts.

Clara quickly gets up from her seat and follows Sierra to the door that leads to the stairs, which lead to the shop.

As soon as Sierra has it open, she runs down the stairs, leaving Clara to close the door.

Once Clara closes the door, she hurries down the stairs to catch up with Sierra, but Sierra is already in the shop by the time Clara reaches the bottom of the stairs.

Clara steps into the shop and then closes the door behind her.

"Yes! Right on time!" She hears Sierra exclaim from the front of the shop.

Clara walks to the counter and looks at the clock, and sure enough it is 8:00AM exactly.

"What took you so long?" Clara asks as Sierra walks over to her.

"Well I had been up at 6:45 and had gotten ready by 7:15," she starts as she moves to stand behind the counter. "And I still had like a half hour to kill, so I decided to read. I was so caught up in the book that I lost track of time," she explains.

"Oh," Clara says and then laughs. "I thought you might have fallen back asleep."

"Nope, but I learned I shouldn't read before work," she says with a smile.

"We should probably start feeding the animals and cleaning their cages," Clara suggests after a few minutes.

"Yeah, you are probably right," Sierra says and then sighs. "You take the fish, turtles, and ferrets. I will take the hermit crabs, hamsters, guinea pigs, and rabbits. We can both do the snakes, lizards, and birds," she says as they walk back to the closet with all the supplies.

Clara grabs the fish and turtle food first, since those animals are by each other.

After she is finished with them, she then proceeds to feed the ferrets and clean out their cage.

She glances at Sierra and sees that she is still working on the hamsters, guinea pigs, and rabbits, so she decides to start feeding and cleaning the cages of the other animals left.

Once they are done feeding and cleaning all of the animals' cages they put the supplies back into the closet and then make their way back to the counter.

When they reach the counter they both glance at the clock to see it is 9:10.

"That is my least favorite part of working in the shop," Sierra says while taking a seat behind the counter.

Clara remains in front of it and leans on it. "Yeah, well, that is what you have to do when you work a pet shop," Clara states matter-of-factly.

"Unfortunately," Sierra says with a sigh.

There is a silence after that and both just stare out the window.

"So what book were you reading?" Clara asks after a while breaking the silence.

"Umm… _The Phantom of the Opera,_" she answers.

"I love that book!" Clara exclaims with a smile. "Right now I am reading _Lock and Key._"

"I have seen that on our bookshelf but have never felt the need to read it," Sierra says.

"You should, it is really good," Clara says enthusiastically.

"Maybe, after I finish reading Phantom and you are done reading it," Sierra says.

"Ok," Clara says, happy that she is considering it because it really is a good book.

"I wonder what Marie is cooking for breakfast?" Sierra says, changing the subject.

"I don't know," Clara says with a shrug.

It is silent again but neither of the girls care or make a move to talk.

Clara's thoughts again, drift back to that boy.

"Ok, class, before you go to lunch, I would like to discuss something with you," Mary Margaret starts.

The kids just look at her waiting for her to continue, while wondering what she could possibly want to talk about.

"I was thinking about getting a class pet, like a fish or a hamster," she explains, "It will teach responsibility because each week someone will be assigned to take care of it during recess," she explains further, "Either for the whole recess or only part depending on what I decide to get, but I am only going to do it if you think it is a good idea and will promise to take care of it," she finishes and looks at the class waiting to see what they will say.

"I think it would be a neat idea," Henry quickly inputs.

_If she wants to get a pet, that means she will have to go to Clara's family's shop. I don't know of any other pet shops in town. _He thinks. _I could ask Ms. Blanchard which pet shop she is planning on going to if she does get a pet just to make sure. Then maybe I could talk her into letting me come with her so I can see if Clara is working again. _He ponders.

"I think so, too!" Paige says excitedly after a few minutes.

The rest of the class nods their heads in agreement.

"Ok then, it is settled," Mary Margaret says with a smile. "You are all dismissed for lunch," she says, and then the kids start filing out of the classroom, all but Henry.

"Ms. Blanchard," Henry says as he approaches her desk.

Mary Margaret looks up from the papers she was grading upon hearing his voice.

"Henry, what can I do for you?" She asks.

"Umm, well, I was wondering, are you going to Shore's Pet Shop to get the pet?" he questions.

"Yes, why?" she asks, with a raised eyebrow, curious as to why Henry would possibly want to know.

Henry quickly explains about how he met Clara. "And I want to see if she is working today," he finishes.

"I would love for you to accompany me, but I don't think your mother would like the idea very much," Mary Margaret reasons.

"She won't even have to know. She is not picking me up from school today and as long as I am home before 5:00 it will be ok," Henry counters. Usually it is 4 but she said that she wasn't going to be home until 5:00 so that gives him a little longer than usual.

Mary Margaret thinks for a moment_. Even though Regina isn't picking him up from school, I really don't want to chance running into her, especially while I am with Henry, and that would be what would happen. She would manage to pop up and find us._

"Please," Henry says breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Henry, I don't think…." but she stops as she looks at his pleading face, "Fine, you can come with me," she decides.

"Thank you!" Henry says happily.

"You're welcome, now you better get to lunch," she orders, but not harshly.

"Ok," Henry says and with that he exits the room and makes his way to the cafeteria.

Once he is in the cafeteria and gets his food, he takes a seat at one of the tables in the corner and gets his fairytale book out of his book bag.

He opens it up to the story he had found yesterday and flips through it again. Today, if Clara was working, which he doesn't honestly know if she will be since she was working Monday and today is only Wednesday. She had said that her father and her siblings, which he believes are all sisters, and with how many he thinks she may have, it is very unlikely that she will be working today. If she is working, however, he wants to see if he can find something that will confirm his suspicion.

_And if she is not working, I will either stop by this weekend, or again on Monday, or maybe I will just ask whoever is there when she works. _He thinks as he takes a bite of his food and continues to flip through the story. _If she is there, however, and I confirm who she is, I will have to make a stop by the police station to tell Emma. Speaking of Emma, I will have to introduce her and Clara, but when. _He wonders.

"Lunch time!"

Sierra and Clara turn their attention to the back of the shop where they see Melanie walking toward them with food.

"What did Crystal make?" Sierra asks curiously.

"Pulled chicken sandwiches and fries," Melanie answers as she reaches them.

"Mmm, yummy," Sierra says as Melanie sets the food on the counter.

"Mmmhmm," Clara agrees.

"Well, I better get back upstairs before they start eating without me," Melanie says and then walks back to the back of the shop to the stairs.

Once she is out of sight, Sierra and Clara begin to eat.

As Clara takes a bite of her food, she glances at the clock to see it is 1:30.

_This day is going so slow. _She thinks as she takes another bite.

"This is so good," Sierra says with a mouthful of food, after a few minutes.

"Yeah, it is," Clara agrees with a smile.

"Even so, I still wish we would have decided to go to Granny's," Sierra says and then takes another bite.

"Yeah, but I didn't want to risk getting caught and by the time you had mentioned about lunch it was already 1:00, and I figured Crystal would have lunch ready soon anyway," Clara reasons.

"I guess so," Sierra agrees with a sigh.

"Yep," Clara says and then finishes up her food and so does Sierra.

"Ok, class, you are dismissed, see you tomorrow and don't forget tomorrow you will get to see your class pet," Mary Margaret says as she opens the door so the students can exit the room.

Henry stays at his desk until all of the students are gone and then walks over to the door where Mary Margaret is standing.

"We will leave in a minute, Henry, just let me grab my purse and jacket and then we will go," Mary Margaret says as she makes her way to her desk.

"Ok." Henry says as he stands by the door and watches her.

Within a few minutes she has everything she needs and they exit the classroom and make their way out of the building toward her car.

Once they reach her car, Henry hops in the passenger's seat, closes the door, and buckles up. Mary Margaret is in the car a few seconds after.

"So you met this girl after she dropped all of her grocery items and you helped her pick them up?" Mary Margaret questions trying to start a conversation as she starts up her car and begins to drive.

"Yeah," Henry says, "And then the next day when I was walking by the shop I saw she was in there and decided to say hi and learned that she worked there along with her family."

"What did you say her name was again?" she asks.

"Clara Shore," Henry answers.

"Hmm, I don't think I have ever met her but I have heard that last name before," Mary Margaret says.

"Well, she is really nice, I am sure you will like her," Henry says as they reach her shop and Mary Margaret parks the car.

Once it is parked they exit, and make their way to the shop. As they get closer to the shop Henry sees that Clara is in there as well as someone else.

_Hmm, that must be one of her sisters. _He thinks. _And I wonder if she is working or just hanging out._ He wonders as he and Mary Margaret enter the shop.

Clara and Sierra turn their attention to the front of the shop after hearing the ding-dong which means someone had entered.

Clara smiles when she sees it is Henry but looks curiously at the woman with him who is definitely not his mother.

"Hi, Clara!" Henry says as he and the woman make their way over to them.

"Hi, Henry," she says with a smile. "Who do you have with you?" she asks curiously.

"This is my school teacher, Ms. Blanchard," he introduces.

"Hi, my name is Mary Margaret," she says and holds out her hand to shake.

Clara shakes it. "Hi, I am Clara and this is my sister, Sierra," Clara introduces.

"Hi," Sierra says and she and Mary Margaret shake hands.

"And Sierra this is Henry, Henry this is Sierra," Clara introduces.

"You are the mayor's son right?" Sierra questions as they shake hands.

"Yep," Henry answers. "So are you working today or just hanging out down here with her?" Henry asks Clara.

"I am helping her work, but it is her turn today," Clara explains. "So what can we do for you two?" she questions.

"Well, I was looking to get a pet for the class," Mary Margaret answers.

"That's cool," Sierra says with a smile.

"What were you thinking about getting?" Clara questions.

"Either a fish or a hamster, and I was hoping you could tell me what goes into taking care of them," She answers with a smile. "I have never had an animal before."

"Well, I will start by saying hamsters are harder to take care of than fish. They need more attention and more of everything in general," Clara says and motions for them to follow. Sierra hops out from behind the counter and follows behind.

She doesn't mind that Clara is taking the costumers, and this is because she actually seems to know the boy.

_I will have to ask her how she knows him. _She thinks as they stop at the hamsters.

"These are the hamsters," Clara says as she points at the cage.

"Aww, they are so cute!" Mary Margaret exclaims as she looks at them.

"What kind of fish were you thinking about getting?" Clara asks Mary Margaret as she continues to look at the hamsters.

"I am not sure, umm, I am not even sure what which animal I want yet," she answers honestly. "What is your personal preference between the two?" she questions curiously, turning her attention away from the hamsters.

"I would have to say I would rather have a fish, a Betta Fish to be exact. Fish are my favorite animals but I would have to say I find Betta Fish the prettiest," Clara answers.

"Can you show me where those are?" she asks politely.

"Sure," Clara says and they all follow her. She listens as Mary Margaret continues to ask questions.

"What do you think, Henry? Which do you think would be better for the class?" Mary Margaret asks him as they walk to the fish.

"I am not sure. Clara is right, though, the Betta Fish are pretty. She had shown them to me the one day I was in here," Henry answers.

"What about you?" she asks Sierra.

"I am with my sister on this one. I would rather have a fish," Sierra replies.

"You said they were easier to take care of then the hamsters?" She asks Clara as they stop at the Betta Fish.

"Yes," Clara responds. "You only have to feed them once a day and make sure you clean their bowls out when they need it," she explains, "They don't need to be played with and cuddled like hamsters."

"Hmmm," Mary Margaret says as she studies the fish. "Since it is their first class pet, maybe I should start with a fish," she muses out loud, "Ok, I will get a fish!" she decides.

"Ok," Clara says with a smile, "Which one do you like? They come with the bowls and after you have one picked out I will get the other items you will need and explain what you have to do," Clara says.

"What do you think, Henry? Which do you like the best?" Mary Margaret asks him.

"How about, this one," Henry answers pointing to one that is teal and aqua.

"That one is very pretty," Mary Margaret comments. "Alright, I will take this one," she decides.

"Ok, great!" Clara says excitedly, she is also really happy that they are making a sale, "Sierra will take it up front and I will show you what you will need and explain to you how to take care of it," Clara says as Sierra takes the fish and walks to the front of the store.

"Sounds great," Mary Margaret says with a smile.

Once Clara is finished explaining to her what all goes into taking care of it and what needs to be done, they walk to the front of the store to the counter so she can pay.

Clara glances at the clock to see it is 3:45.

"Thank you so much for your purchase and enjoy," Sierra says as she hands Mary Margaret her change.

"You're welcome and thank you both for your help," she says sincerely.

"You're welcome," Sierra and Clara chorus.

"Alright, Henry, let's go, I will drive you home," Mary Margaret says as she walks to the door.

"No, that is ok, thank you for letting me come here with you, but I want to talk to Clara and I can walk home," Henry says.

Mary Margaret thinks for a moment. He seems to know the girl well enough and his house it not too far away.

"Ok," she says, "But please be careful on your way home."

"I will," he promises.

"Goodbye," she says to him, "And thanks again and goodbye Clara and Sierra," she says as she opens the door.

"Goodbye, it was nice meeting you," Clara says and Sierra nods her agreement.

"You, as well," she says and then she is out the door.

"So what do you want to talk about Henry?" Clara asks as she walks over to him.

"Actually, can we take a walk and talk?" he suggests.

"Well, umm, you see, I am not really allowed out of the shop," Clara explains.

Henry is about to ask why, but Sierra cuts him off.

"Go ahead, I will cover for you if anyone comes down," Sierra says.

"Thank you," Clara says gratefully.

"It's no problem and you're welcome," She says with a smile. "But don't be gone for too long."

"I won't. Come on, Henry," she says as she opens the door to the shop.

She holds the door open for Henry and once he is out she let's go of the door.

"So what do you want to talk about?" She asks as they begin walking down the sidewalk.

"Actually, I want to ask you some questions," he says.

"Oh?" Clara says with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, one of them being, why are you not allowed out of the shop?"

"Actually, neither my sisters nor I are allowed out of the apartment or the shop unless Daddy says otherwise," she explains, "One of the reasons is because he is overprotective and he has been like that since my mother died and that is understandable because it was tragic and he doesn't want the same thing to happen to us," she answers, "But I almost feel as if there is another reason too," she says going into thought but then adds, "But I still sneak out sometimes."

"Oh, I am sorry to hear that," Henry says referring to the fact that her mother is dead.

"Thank you," Clara says with a sad smile.

He wants to ask how she died, but he can see she is sad so he decides to ask a different question.

"How many sisters do you have?"

"Six, and I am the youngest out of all of them," she answers.

She wonders why he is asking all of these things, but she figures he is just trying to get to know her.

"Wow, you were right, you do have a big family," he comments.

"Yeah, but we keep each other company so it is nice," she says as she looks around.

"Do you like water?" Henry questions.

_Ok that is a little random ._She thinks. "Actually, yes I love the water. My Mom and Dad use to take my sisters and me swimming in the lake all the time when we were younger," she answers and then glances at her watch to see it is 4:10. They have been walking for 20 minutes. She had checked her watch before they left and saw it was 3:50.

This doesn't go unnoticed by Henry.

"What time is it?" he asks.

"4:10," Clara answers.

"I have got to go, but first I want to know when the next time you work is. I have someone I would like you to meet," he says.

"It depends, the days are different all the time," Clara answers, "Stop by the shop Saturday if you can, I should know by then because we usually plan out the days on Friday," she says.

_I will just tell Melanie what is going on. _She thinks.

"Ok, I will see if I can. Will you be working?" he questions.

"No, but I will tell my sister Melanie to expect you," she says.

"Alright, it was nice talking to you again," he says with a smile.

"You too," she says.

"Bye," he says and begins to walk away.

"Goodbye," she calls as she watches his retreating back.

After watching him for a few minutes, she quickly heads back to the shop.

_I am positive of who she is now! _Henry thinks excitedly as he hurries to the police station to inform Emma.

Once he reaches the police station, he hurries inside.

"Emma, are you here?" he calls as he makes his way to her office.

"Yes," he hears her call. "You look excited," she says as she steps out of her office to see him running toward her.

"I found out who Clara is for sure," he says as he stops in front of her.

"Oh?" she says as they walk into her office.

She takes a seat at her desk and he takes a seat at the chair in front of it.

"Who is she?" she asks playing along.

"She is Ariel, the Little Mermaid," he answers. "I am going to have to introduce you the next time she works. I am finding out this weekend." he says standing up. "I would talk more but I have to get home, see you later Emma," he says as he walks out of her office.

"Bye," she calls and once he is out of sight she shakes her head.

_Now he thinks someone is the little mermaid too? _She thinks as she resumes looking through some files she had been looking at before he had come. _He is one interesting kid. _


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. I hope you like this chapter. Thanks for all of the reviews, alerts, and favorites :) I really appreciate it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or the Little Mermaid. **

**Chapter 5**

**~Enchanted Forest~**

Ariel grabs her bag from beside her bed and swims over to her door, which is made of seaweed. She pushes the seaweed aside and peeks her head out.

She looks to the left and the right of the hallway.

When she doesn't see anyone, she quickly swims out of her room and down the hallway.

She swam to the left of the hallway, which leads to the back of the castle.

Once she reaches the end of the hallway, she stops swimming.

She looks around one more time to make sure no one is around, and then quickly swims out of the castle.

Once she is far enough away from the castle, she begins to swim toward the surface.

She reaches it in no time and quickly breaks through. The sky is dark and gray and she can sense a storm coming.

"Ariel!" she hears from somewhere around her.

She looks around and sees two dolphins swimming toward her.

"Hi, Coral and Sandy," Ariel says with a smile.

"Ariel!" one of them exclaims again as they reach her.

The only way she can tell them apart is by their mouths. Sandy has a long scar that goes down the left side of her mouth. Ariel had saved her from a fishing net, but not before she hurt herself. Coral is her sister and she is also the one who found Ariel and asked for help. Since then they have been friends.

One of the pluses of being a mermaid is being able to talk to sea creatures, unlike the humans in the surface world.

"Where is Flounder?" Coral questions.

"Flounder couldn't come today, he is sick," Ariel explains.

"Aww, tell him I said to get better!" Sandy says.

"I will," Ariel says with a smile.

"We saw a ship, but we don't know if it is the one you are looking for or not," Coral informs her.

"Yeah," Sandy inputs.

"Well then take me to it," Ariel says, "Lead the way."

Coral and Sandy nod their heads and begin swimming.

Ariel has no problem keeping up with them.

After a little while of swimming, Coral and Sandy come to a stop.

Ariel stops swimming as well and breaks through to the surface again. It is raining now and the waves are becoming rough.

"The ship is over that way," Coral says pointing straight ahead with her head. "Just a little past the palace."

"We would go with you but…" Sandy starts to say.

"I know," Ariel says with an understanding smile.

Since the incident Sandy and Coral have been too afraid to go near any ships and that is completely understandable.

"You guys are already such a big help, and I appreciate it," Ariel says sincerely.

"It's nothing. It is the least we can do for you saving me," Sandy says.

Ariel smiles.

"Go and check out the ship. We will talk the next time you sneak out and come to the surface," Coral says and then laughs.

"Alright, see you later," Ariel says as she begins to swim.

"Bye," she hears them say in unison as she dives back under the water.

_Hopefully it will finally be the right ship. _She thinks as she swims. _And if it is not, I guess it is back to searching._ Ariel thinks bitterly.

Once she swims a little bit past the palace, she breaks through to the surface once again.

By now the waves are extremely rough and it is pouring and the wind is becoming stronger.

Ariel looks around her for the ship and finally spots it. She swims a little closer to get a better look.

When she is close enough to see, she lets out a disappointed sigh.

She has spent four years looking for that ship and she was really hoping this would be the one.

_Well, might as well check it out. _She thinks as she begins to swim closer to it.

As she gets closer she can hear a commotion on the deck. She also sees that the ship is rocking terribly.

"We need to get back to the docks!" one of the crewmen yells.

Eric looks around him and watches the crew hurry around the deck. The ship is rocking and the wind is making it hard to stand.

Eric walks over to the side of the ship and looks over the railing to see how rough the waves are.

"Prince Eric, come away from the railing!" his butler shouts over the thunder.

"What?" Eric calls having not heard him.

"I said come away from the…" but it is too late, a giant wave crashes onto the deck knocking everyone down and causing Eric to go over the railing.

"Eric!" his butler cries.

Ariel watches as the wave crashes onto the ship. She sees it has knocked everyone down, but something falling down the side of the ship catches her eye.

_Is that a person? _She wonders just as it hits the water. _Oh my goodness, it is!_ She thinks as she begins to swim toward the now sinking person.

By the time she reaches where the person had been, they are no longer there.

Ariel quickly dives under the water and looks down to see the person sinking down to the ocean floor.

She quickly begins to swim toward them. She notices as she gets closer and closer that the person is a boy.

When she finally reaches him, she wraps her arms around his middle and begins pulling him toward the surface.

Finally, they break through to the surface and Ariel looks around for his ship. She finally sees it way off in the distance, it would take forever to reach it, especially with the waves.

_The waves must have pushed it further out to see. _She thinks.

She looks to the unconscious person in her arms.

_What should I do? _She thinks frantically as she looks around.

She spots the shore and begins swimming toward it.

Finally after what seems like forever they reach the beach.

Ariel swims as close as she can to the shore until she has to scoot on her tail. This becomes a very difficult task while pulling a person along as well.

Once they make it onto the beach, she gently lays the boy's upper half down. She made sure that they were far enough away from the tide so that she didn't have to worry about him getting pulled back out to sea.

Ariel takes this time to study the boy, since he is still unconscious.

_I hope he is ok. _She thinks as she looks at him.

She brushes his hair back from his face and gasps at the sight. He looks to be about her age or older, actually she definitely thinks a few years older. He is extremely handsome as well.

It is still raining hard and the wind is still strong.

Ariel doesn't want to leave the boy, but she doesn't know what to do. The longer she stays on the beach, the better chance she has at being seen by the humans.

She is broken out of her thoughts by the boy beginning to shake and jerk around.

Ariel starts to become panicked, not knowing what is happening.

He soon begins to cough and his eyes snap open taking Ariel by surprise.

Eric begins to become aware of what is around him as he coughs and it hurts because of the water coming up.

_What happened? _He wonders as he blinks and looks around. _How did I end up on the beach?_

He then looks in front of him and is surprised at what he sees.

There is a girl staring at him, a girl with beautiful blue eyes and red hair.

He blinks a few times to see if he is hallucinating, but she is still there.

_Am I dead? _He wonders as he continues to stare at her.

As the boy stares at her, she continues to stare back.

_Oh no! He's seen me!_ Arielthinks worriedly, but she can't seem to break away from his gaze.

"Eric! Eric!" she hears someone shout.

She looks all around her and then sees a group of humans rowing toward the beach in a little boat.

Ariel quickly makes her way back to the ocean and dives under, making sure the humans don't see her.

"Eric!" his butler shouts again.

"With how rough the waves are, he has probably drowned," one of the crewmen says as they continue to row the little boat.

"Don't say that!" his butler says angrily, "He is fine. He has to be."

"There is something on the beach!" another crewmen shouts, "It appears to be a person."

"Row faster!" his butler orders.

The men do so and they reach the beach in no time, even with the rough waves.

All four of the men and Eric's butler, quickly hop out of the boat, and drag it on to the beach far enough so that it won't get taken back out to sea, and run towards the object.

As they get closer they realize that it is indeed a person, and not just any person, it is Eric.

"Eric!" his butler shouts again.

Eric realizes that someone is calling his name and looks around him.

He finally spots five people running toward him.

He is still coughing terribly and shaking uncontrollably.

"Eric!" the person shouts again.

As they get closer he sees that it is his butler.

"Oh, Eric, thank goodness we found you, and that you're ok!" his butler exclaims as they reach him.

Eric looks at them but as he continues to cough and shake, he feels himself losing consciousness.

"Eric!" his butler shouts as he watches the boy's eyes start to roll back into his head. "We need to get him back to the castle now!" he orders the men.

He turns his attention back to Eric to see that he has lost consciousness. He is still shaking, however.

The men quickly have Eric picked up and begin hurriedly making their way to the castle. They would come back for the rowboat later and the other crewmen should already be back at the docks and safe.

"Faster!" his butler says as they continue to make their way to the castle.

Ariel had broken through to the surface again when she was far enough away from the beach to where the humans wouldn't see her, but close enough that she could watch them.

_I hope he will be ok. _She thinks as she watches them carry him away.

Once they are out of sight, she dives back under and begins to swim back to her castle.

_Hope Sebastian or nobody was looking for me. _She thinks. _If so, I will just have to make up some excuse like I always do. _

"Ariel!" she hears someone call from behind her.

She stops swimming and turns around to come face to face with a sea turtle.

"Hello Wave," she says with a smile.

"Where were you at?" he asks although he already knows.

"Oh, you know," she says as she shrugs, acting like she did nothing wrong.

"Was it the right ship? I ran into Coral and Sandy and they told me about the ship they found," he explains.

"No, it wasn't," she says disappointedly.

"Aww, I'm sorry," he says sincerely, "I am sure that you will find it, just don't give up," he says encouragingly.

"Oh, I won't, I have spent four years searching for it and I don't plan on stopping now, and thank you," she says with a smile.

"I had better get going, goodbye," Ariel says and turns to begin swimming again.

"Goodbye," he says and then she resumes swimming back to the castle.

Once she reaches the castle, she sneaks back in and begins swimming back to her room.

She finally reaches her room and hurries inside it.

She puts her bag back on the floor beside her bed and lets out a sigh of relief, glad that she hadn't been caught or captured by humans.

She looks to the right, and sees that Flounder is still curled up and asleep on her pillow.

As she lies on her bed, her thoughts drift to the boy she had saved.

_I hope he is ok. _She thinks worriedly. _I wish I would have caught his name. One of the humans shouted it but I can't remember what they said. _She thinks frustrated. _Maybe next time I sneak up to the surface, I can see if he is ok. _She thinks. _And maybe catch his name. _

**~Storybrooke~**

Clara wakes to the sound of her alarm and sighs as she sits up in bed.

She glances at the clock to see it is 8:00AM.

_Ugh! _She thinks as she swings her legs over the side of her bed and stands up.

It is her turn to make breakfast and that is why she is up this early.

She quickly picks a shirt out of her closet and a pair of jeans from her dresser. She decided on a purple V-neck baby-T and light jeans with holes in them.

After she is dressed she makes her way to the bathroom to finish getting ready.

She quickly finishes getting ready and then makes her way to the kitchen.

Once she reaches the kitchen she begins to root through the refrigerator to see what she can find to make for breakfast.

After a while of looking she decides on eggs, bacon, and home fries.

As she gets everything she needs to cook, her thoughts drift back to Wednesday when Mary Margaret and Henry came into the store, and how Mary Margaret actually bought a fish.

_I wonder how the class liked the fish. _She thinks as she begins cooking. _She would have shown it to them yesterday, since today is Friday and she got it Wednesday. _She thinks as she flips the bacon. _Or maybe she could have waited until today for all I know, although I bet she didn't. I wonder what they named it. _She thinks as she continues cooking.

...

"I'll pick you up after school today," Regina informs Henry as she pulls up to the school.

"Ok," Henry says as he hops out of the car.

"I love you, have a good day," Regina says as he gets ready to close the door.

"Love you too," Henry mumbles as he closes the door.

"Hi Henry!" he hears someone say.

He turns around and sees Paige waving at him from the steps of the school.

"Hi Paige," he says with a smile as he walks toward her.

"Did you think of a name for the fish?" she questions as they walk into the school.

"Uh, yeah," he answers as they make their way to their classroom. "Did you?" he asks.

"Yep," Paige answers with a smile as they reach the classroom.

They walk into the classroom and take a seat at their desks.

There is a row in between them and Henry's desk is towards the back of the classroom whereas Paige's is towards the front.

She smiles at Henry and then turns to talk to her friends.

Soon after, the rest of the students file in, along with Mary Margaret.

"Good morning, class," Mary Margaret says as she closes the door.

"Good morning, Ms. Blanchard," they reply in unison.

"Did everyone think of a name for the fish like I asked?" she questions as she walks to the front of the classroom.

Everyone nods their head yes.

_Hmm, it will be interesting to see what everyone thought of. _Henry thinks.

"That's great!" Mary Margaret says with a smile. "Now I am going to go around the room and I want everyone to tell me the name they thought of. Once we have everyone's name, we will begin to vote on each name to see what we keep for the top ten, then we will get the top five, and then whichever one wins will be the fish's name," she explains, "However, we will vote on each name individually and you cannot vote for your own name at any time," she says, "Everyone got it?" she asks.

"Yes," everyone choruses in understanding.

"Great, oh and remember it is a boy fish so I hope the names are somewhat boyish," Mary Margaret reminds them, "Ok let's get started," she says walking over to the right side of the room, which is by the door.

"We are just going to go in order of rows, so you guys will start," she says pointing to the first row and then walks over to the chalkboard. "Go ahead and give me your name," she says to the first kid in the row.

The kid does and so does the next and so on.

Henry listens as each kid gives their name and finally it is Paige's turn.

"Aquamarine," she says and Mary Margaret writes it on the board.

_She named it after the color it is. _Henry thinks.

After Paige's row is done, the row in between them goes.

Soon enough it is Henry's turn.

"Splash," he says and Mary Margaret writes it on the chalkboard.

After a few minutes everyone has given their name.

Henry looks at the board to see names like, Flash, Seafoam, Speedy, and Gill.

"Ok, class, now we are going to vote," Mary Margaret says, "You cannot vote for your own name and you can only vote once. Close your eyes and I will call out the names one by one and raise your hand for the one you want to vote for," she says and everyone closes their eyes.

Mary Margaret starts calling out the names.

Henry ends up voting for Paige's and Paige ends up voting for Henry's.

"Ok, you can open your eyes now," Mary Margaret instructs.

Henry looks at the board and sees ten names circled Flash, Fighter, Speedy, Gill, Seafoam, Ocean, Tropic, Seaweed, and his and Paige's.

"The circled ones are the ones we are going to vote for to get our top five," Mary Margaret explains, "Close your eyes again and I will read off the names one by one again and raise your hand to vote for the one you like," she says and then begins to say the names.

Once they are done this time, Henry opens his eyes to see only five names left on the board, Gill, Flash, Fighter, Speedy, and his.

_Aww, Paige's didn't make it this time. _Henry thinks as Mary Margaret once again instructs them to close their eyes.

After they vote she tells them to open their eyes once again.

"And the fish's name is Splash!" Mary Margaret says enthusiastically.

Everyone claps and Henry smiles as he claps too, happy that his name got picked.

"Monday I will have the schedule ready for who will be taking care of it and the weeks that they will be," Mary Margaret says as she erases the board.

...

"Breakfast was great, Clara," her Dad compliments as Melanie starts clearing the table and doing the dishes since it is her turn.

"Thank you, Daddy, I am glad you liked it," she says with a smile.

He smiles at her and then stands up and stretches.

"I am going to go work up a schedule for the shop, and once Clover and Shelly get up here after they are done working, we will go over it," he says to the girls and then walks away.

"Want to play a board game?" Sierra asks Clara.

"Sure," Clara says, "Do any of you want to?" she asks her other sisters who are still sitting at the table.

"I will after I finish the dishes," Melanie says.

"I will," Crystal says.

"Me, too," Marie inputs.

"Alright, I will go pick out a game," Sierra says standing up from the table.

Sierra comes back with the game _Monopoly_ and they all start to play once Melanie is done with the dishes.

They play two games which ends up taking up the whole day.

"I can't believe you won both times!" Melanie exclaims.

"Yeah," Marie agrees, "I bet you cheated!" she accuses playfully.

"I agree," Crystal says with a smile.

"I did not!" Clara defends herself, "I can't help that I am good at it!"

"No, you totally cheated!" Sierra says now joining in.

"Fine, believe whatever you want to," Clara says folding her arms over her chest and turning her head away from them to show she is mad, although she really isn't she knows they are just teasing.

"We will, because you cheated!" Marie says again.

"Hmm," Clara says dramatically now turning so that her back is to them.

"What is going on in here?" their Dad asks coming out of his room.

"Clara cheated at _Monopoly_ because she won both times," Melanie explains.

"Yeah," everyone choruses and then laughs.

Clara laughs too and turns around to face them again.

Their Dad watches as they laugh and a smile forms on his face. He rarely ever hears them laugh like this and he loves when they do.

They hear the door open to the apartment which means that Clover and Shelly are done working and that it is also 7:00.

"Oh, I've got to make supper!" Sierra says jumping up from the floor of the living room where they had been playing. "I completely forgot it was my turn!"

Their laughter starts to die down.

"That is ok," their Dad says reassuringly to her, "You can do it after we go over the working schedule for next week, since Clover and Shelly are here now," he says just as they walk into the living room.

"What are we doing?" Clover asks as she takes a seat at the couch and Shelly sits beside her.

"Going over the work schedule for next week," their Dad explains and Sierra sits back down on the floor and their Dad takes a seat on the couch by Clover and Shelly.

"Oh, ok," Clover says.

They get through the work schedule in five minutes.

Marie got Monday, Crystal got Tuesday, Clover and Shelly got Wednesday (they always work together since there are only seven days in a week and their Dad works every Sunday), Melanie got Thursday, Clara got Friday, and Sierra got Saturday.

_I will have to tell Melanie about Henry possibly coming to the shop tomorrow and to tell her to tell him that I work on Friday. _Clara thinks as she walks to her room.

Sierra just started supper once they finished with the list and it won't be ready for a little bit, so Clara figured she would go to her room and read _Lock and Key_ while she waits.

After about an hour Sierra has supper ready and they all eat.

Once they are done with supper, Clara goes back to her room and continues to read her book until she falls asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait on the update. College got even busier with finals, and then there were also the holidays. I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year! Thanks for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites :) I really appreciate it. Please continue to do so. I hope that you like the chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or the Little Mermaid.**

**Chapter 6**

Clara wakes with a start and sits up in her bed.

Her breathing is normal for the most part and she doesn't feel shaken or frightened, so she doesn't think that she had a nightmare.

_What could have woke me up? _She wonders as she looks at the clock on her nightstand to see it is 4:30AM.

_Ugh! _She thinks as she lies back down to try to go back to sleep.

After about five minutes of tossing and turning, she sits back up in her bed and sighs.

_I have to go to the bathroom. _She thinks as she gets out of her bed.

She walks over to her door, quietly opens it, and then steps out of her room.

She quietly makes her way to the bathroom, and then goes inside once she reaches it. She closes the door and then turns on the lights.

Once she is done, she quietly makes her way out of the bathroom and begins to slowly walk back to her room.

_I am thirsty. _She thinks just as she reaches her door.

She then walks past her door and begins making her way to the kitchen.

She reaches the living room and is just about to go into the kitchen, but the light that is on it stops her.

_Who would be up at this time? _She wonders as she tip-toes over to the entrance of the kitchen.

Once she reaches the entrance, she peeks her head out and looks around the kitchen.

When her eyes land on the table, she sees that it is her dad who is up.

His face is in his hands and his shoulders are shaking.

_Is he crying? _She wonders as she continues to look at him.

When an audible sob escapes his throat, all doubt that she had disappears, and that answers her question.

_What on earth could he be crying about? _She asks herself mentally.

Another sob escapes his throat, and she can't take it anymore.

_I should go see what's wrong.___She thinks.

She enters the kitchen and makes her way over to her dad.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Clara asks once she reaches him. She also puts her hands on his shoulders.

He jumps at her sudden voice and contact.

"Clara, what are you doing up this early?" he questions as he quickly wipes the tears from his eyes and turns his head to look at her.

"Daddy, what is wrong?" Clara asks again, ignoring his question. She takes a seat beside him and gives him a look that says, 'don't you lie to me'.

He sighs and turns away from her to stare at the wall.

Clara is about to ask him again, when he turns his attention back to her and opens his mouth to begin speaking.

"I was thinking about your Mother," he admits.

Upon hearing this, Clara's heart begins to ache.

"I wonder if she would think I was doing a good job with you girls, or if she would be disappointed and think I am a failure," he says and his eyes begin to tear up again.

Clara's heart truly breaks upon hearing this.

_Why on earth would he be thinking like this? _She wonders as she watches the tears spill from his eyes. _What could have brought this on? _She thinks as the tears begin to sting at her own eyes as she watches his continue to fall silently down his cheeks.

"Oh Daddy," Clara says giving him a hug, "Why would you ever think that Mom would think you a failure when it comes to us?" she questions, "You have done a great job in raising us, and you are the greatest Daddy ever, certainly not a failure," she says firmly.

At this, her Dad begins to sob again and his arms tighten around her and Clara lets the tears fall from her eyes and joins him in crying.

After a few minutes of crying, they compose themselves.

Clara's Dad let's go of her and puts his arms on her shoulders, and pushes her away from him so he can look her in the eyes.

"It means a lot that you think that," he says sincerely, "You know you look almost exactly like her," he says with a small smile.

Clara smiles upon hearing this. "I miss her so much Daddy," she says sadly.

"Me too, sweetie, me too," he says pulling her in for another hug.

It is silent for a few minutes.

"Daddy," Clara says breaking the silence, while also breaking the embrace so she can look at him. "What brought this on?" she asks curiously.

_I really hope he answers too. _She thinks. _I mean I know he thinks about Mom a lot, and I have heard him crying in his room before, but this seems different. I know he is sad, but he also seems troubled over something. Come to think of it he has seemed troubled ever since Mr. Gold stopped by. I am still curious as to what they talked about. Was there something that went on in this conversation that is making him think he is a failure? _Clara wonders. _I mean maybe he is just honestly worried. Maybe I should ask him about Mr. Gold again once he answers… nah, I don't want to upset him more than he already is._

"Just the result of thinking. I had been dreaming about your Mother and I woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep, which started making all these thoughts float around in my head and…" he just stops and sighs.

"What were you dreaming about?" Clara asks curiously.

"The first day we had met," he answers with a smile, "I was walking from the lake back to my home, when I quite literally ran into her," he says and then laughs a little. "She landed right on her butt due to the force of the collision. I felt so bad," he says and Clara watches as his eyes glaze over as he becomes lost in the flashback.

Clara smiles at this. She had heard this story numerous times, but she loves how happy it makes her Dad whenever he tells it.

"I held out my hand to help her up, which she accepted. I was so afraid that she was going to be mad at me, because I really was not watching where I was going and it was definitely my fault. I told her that I was so sorry and asked if she was ok. She laughed a little and then assured me that she was fine and no harm was done," he retells. "I had sighed in relief at that but I still felt bad. We talked a little after that and introduced ourselves until she said that she had to get back home. I told her that I did too and we said goodbye. Although I didn't realize how much of a big part she was going to play in my life at that moment in time," he says as he smiles fondly.

"And she did," Clara says with a smile as well.

"Yes she did," he agrees, as he glances at the clock on the stove to see it is 5:30AM. "You should get back to sleep," he says to Clara as he turns his attention back to her. "It is still really early."

"Oh no, that is alright, I don't want to leave you out here alone," she says.

"I am alright," he assures her. "I think I am going to go back to bed as well," he says as he stands up from his chair.

"Alright," Clara says as she stands up too.

"I love you," he says as he gives her a hug.

"I love you too," she says and then he lets go.

"Thank you for talking with me, and for saying all of those things," her Dad says as they walk back to the hallway where all of their rooms are. "It really made me feel better."

"You're welcome," Clara says as they stop at her door. "I meant everything I said," she says sincerely.

"I know you did," he says as he gives her another hug and then kisses her forehead. "Go get some more sleep," he says and then opens her bedroom door.

"Alright, and you try too," she says as she steps into her room. "I love you," she says again.

"I love you too," he says and then she closes the door.

Clara walks over to her bed and sits down. She puts her head in her hands and lets out a sigh.

_Poor Daddy. _She thinks sadly. _He misses her so much. _

After sitting like that for a little while longer, Clara lifts her head from her hands and looks at her clock to see it is now 5:45AM.

_I wonder if I ever talked to Melanie about Henry possibly stopping by? _She thinks as she tries to remember. _Oh crap, I didn't! _She thinks as she jumps up from her bed. _I could just not go back to sleep and wait for her to wake up and then tell her. _She thinks, but then lets out a big yawn. _That probably wouldn't be the best idea. I could set my alarm for 7:30 and then tell her before she goes to work. _She walks over to her bookshelf. _Although, if I did, I definitely wouldn't get back to sleep after. I could write her a note. _Clara thinks as she spots a notebook on top of her bookshelf. _Yeah, that is what I will do._ She thinks as she grabs the notebook off of the bookshelf.

She grabs a pen out of the drawer at the bottom of her nightstand and then sits down on her bed.

_Ok, how do I word this? _She wonders as she opens the notebook. _Ok, let's see. _She thinks as she starts to write.

_Melanie,_

_A boy named Henry Mills (yes, he is the Mayor's son) might possibly be stopping by the shop today. I met him when he had come into the shop one day when I was working, and then he had come back again with his teacher. Anyway, he is stopping by to see when I work next. I told him that I would let you know that he may be stopping by. I would really appreciate it if you would tell him I work Friday. Thank you so much. _

_Clara_

_P.S. I was going to say something to you last night, but I forgot. _

"There, that sounds good," Clara says aloud as she tears the paper out of the notebook. "Now all I need to do is slip it under Melanie's door," she says as she stands up from her bed and walks over to her door.

When she reaches her door, she opens it and then steps out.

She quietly tip-toes to Melanie's room, slips the note under her door, and then tip-toes back to her room.

She quietly closes her door and then walks over to her bed and lies down.

She closes her eyes, and slowly drifts back to sleep.

…

"Henry, breakfast is ready," Regina calls from the bottom of the stairs.

"Be down in a second," Henry calls back.

"Alright," Regina says as she makes her way back to the kitchen.

Within a few minutes Henry is downstairs and sitting at the table.

Regina brings over the food and sets it on the table and then takes a seat herself, across from Henry.

"So, how was school this week?" Regina asks as they begin to put food onto their plates.

"Good," Henry replies with a shrug. "Same as it is any other day."

"How is the class fish working out?" she asks.

"Fine, I get to be the first to take care of it this coming week," Henry answers a little excitedly.

"Well that should be interesting," Regina says as she takes a sip of her orange juice.

"Mhmm," Henry says as he continues to eat his food.

There really isn't much talking after that, as they continue to eat their food.

"Breakfast was good," Henry says once he is done.

"Thank you," Regina says as she stands up and starts collecting the plates.

Henry gets up as well and starts to make his way to the stairs that lead up to his bedroom.

"Henry," Regina says making him stop just before he can make it out of the kitchen.

"Yes?" Henry asks curiously.

"I just wanted to let you know that after I am done with the dishes I have to go out and I won't be back until supper," she explains as she rinses off the dishes in the sink. "I don't want you leaving the house," she says sternly. "And there is food in the fridge and freezer you can make for lunch."

"Alright," Henry says with a sigh as he has heard all of this a thousand times.

"I love you," Regina says.

"Love you too," Henry mumbles and then continues walking to the stairs and up to his room.

Once Henry reaches his room, he flops down on his bed and looks at the clock on his nightstand to see it is now 10:00AM.

_I need to go to Clara's family shop and ask her sister… Melanie I think is her name, when Clara works next so I can introduce her to Emma. _Henry thinks as he stares at his ceiling. _I just have to wait until Regina leaves. _

Henry rolls onto to his stomach and leans over his bed so he can he grab his fairytale book out of his book bag.

Once he has it, he flips it open to the story of _The_ _Little Mermaid, _and continues to look through it and reread some things.

When he finally hears Regina leave, he glances at his clock and sees it is 11:00.

_I'll wait about 15 minutes to leave because I want to make sure she gets to where she is going so I don't get caught. _Henry thinks as he sits up in his bed and puts his fairytale book back into his book bag.

At 11:15, Henry grabs his jacket out of his closet and heads downstairs.

When he gets downstairs he walks to the front door, puts on his shoes, and then exits the house and begins making his way to Clara's family's shop.

As soon as he reaches the shop, he goes inside.

The girl at the counter looks up upon hearing the ding-dong and he sees that she has light brown hair and green eyes.

"Can I help you?" she asks as he walks over to her.

"Umm, yeah, I am Henry, and you're Melanie, right? Your sister, Clara, was supposed to tell you that I might be stopping by," Henry explains to her.

"Oh yes!" Melanie says remembering the note she found in her room this morning. "Nice to meet you, Henry, and yes my name is Melanie," she says as she holds out her hand for him to shake, which he does. "You want to know what day Clara works this coming week, right?"

"Yes," Henry confirms.

"Ok, she works Friday," Melanie informs him.

"Alright, thank you very much," Henry says with a smile as he begins walking toward the door.

"You're very welcome," Melanie says with a smile as well. "It was nice meeting you."

"You too," Henry says as he opens the door. "Goodbye," he says as he steps out of the shop.

"Goodbye," Melanie calls just as Henry lets go of the door and it begins to close.

Henry begins to make his way to the police station to see if he can find Emma to tell her when Clara works.

He reaches the police station in no time and quickly makes his way inside.

"Emma," he calls as he begins walking to her office. "Are you here?" he questions.

"Yes," he hears her call and then sees her step out of her office.

"So I found out when Clara works," he says as they walk into her office and take their seats.

"When does she work?" Emma asks curiously.

"This coming Friday," Henry answers, "I would really like to introduce you two. I could come here after school, and then we could walk to her shop," he explains.

"Oh?" Emma says with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, Regina isn't picking me up form school at all next week, she already told me early this week that she couldn't," Henry explains to her. "So that will give us plenty of time to go talk to Clara."

_What harm could it do? _Emma thinks as she looks at Henry.

"Alright," Emma says, "Although how about instead of you walking here, I meet you at the bus stop," Emma suggests. She knows he walks home most of the time but she has seen him ride the bus a few times.

_That could work, I mean usually I walk home, but I ride the bus every now and then. _Henry thinks.

"Ok, that sounds good," Henry decides with a smile.

Emma smiles too and then checks the time on her cellphone to see it is almost 12:00.

"I am going to go grab some lunch at Granny's; do you want to come with me?" Emma asks not really caring if they would get caught by Regina, although she highly doubts they will. She figures Regina must not be home if Henry is here and doesn't want him to sit alone at his house.

"Yeah, sure," Henry says happily.

"Ok, just give me a second and then we will go," Emma says as she stands up and puts some of the things that are on her desk away.

"Alright," Henry says as he watches her put some files away.

About ten minutes later, they finally leave the station and make their way to Granny's.

Once they reach Granny's they go inside, find a booth to sit at, and then soon after Ruby comes and takes their orders.

Emma gets a chicken sandwich with fries and a coke, while Henry orders a cheeseburger with fries and a coke as well.

"Thanks for taking me to lunch," Henry says as Ruby brings over their food.

"You're welcome," Emma says with a smile.

"Alright, here you go," Ruby says as she sets their food in front of them.

"Thank you," Emma and Henry say.

"You're welcome," Ruby says with a smile, "Enjoy," she says as she walks away.

While they eat they talk about things like how school is going and if she likes the town. Henry also talks a little bit about his fairytales from his book, and Emma listens, although she doesn't believe a word he says, but she doesn't want to break his heart either.

Once they are done eating, Emma pays for the food and then they leave the diner.

She looks at her cellphone to see it is now 1:30.

_Wow, we were in there longer than I thought. _She thinks as they begin to walk down the street.

"How about I walk you home," Emma suggests as they continue to walk.

"Ok," Henry says and they begin to head in the direction of his house.

When they reach his house, Henry thanks her once again for lunch.

"You're welcome," She says with a smile, "It was nice."

"Yeah it was," Henry agrees, "I will see you later," he says as he opens the door to his house.

"Goodbye kid," Emma says as she watches him step inside and close the door.

Emma turns and walks slowly away back to the station, with a smile on her face as she thinks about the nice time she had with Henry today.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites. I really appreciate it and would like you to continue to do so. I hope you all like this chapter :) Sorry this chapter took so long too. I hope everyone had a Happy Easter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or the Little Mermaid.**

**Chapter 7**

Clara wakes with a start and sits up in her bed. Once again her heart is beating fast and her breathing is coming out in short gasps. She knows she definitely had a nightmare this time because she can remember bits and pieces of it.

_Calm down, Clara, everything is ok. _She thinks, trying to calm herself down. _It was just a dream. _She tries to reassure herself.

"But it wasn't," she says out loud, arguing with her thoughts. "Not really."

She knows she had been dreaming about the day her mother died, so in a way it was a memory, a horrible, awful memory.

Her heart is still beating faster than it should, and she tries desperately to get her breathing under control.

After a few minutes, she finally gets her heart rate to a decent pace and her breathing much slower.

She looks at the clock on her nightstand to see it is 3:30 AM.

_I definitely won't be going back to sleep any time soon. _She thinks as she pulls her knees to her chest and stares at the wall.

_This is going to get real old, real fast, if I start having nightmares again. _She thinks with a frustrated sigh.

She leans her head against the wall and closes her eyes. _Hmm, what to do now?_ She wonders. _I could go take another walk like I did last time. _She thinks. _Dad shouldn't be up until 6-6:30, so I have time, unless he is up like he was the other night. _

After debating for a few minutes, Clara decides to take the chance and gets out of bed. She quickly throws on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, while making sure to grab a sweatshirt as well and puts it on along with her watch.

She quietly opens her door and listens for a few minutes to see if she can hear if anyone is awake.

Once she hears that no one is, she quietly closes her door and tip-toes to the bathroom. No one is inside so she steps in, closes the door, and then turns on the light.

When she is finished, she quietly exits the bathroom and begins to make her way to the kitchen.

She pauses right before the entrance of the kitchen to listen to see if her Dad may be awake. She doesn't see any lights on so she doubts that he is, but he could be sitting in the dark for all she knows.

After listening for a few more minutes and hearing nothing, she walks into the kitchen, then over to the door that leads to the stairs, which lead to the shop.

She quietly opens it and then closes it once she steps through. She makes her way quietly down the stairs and into the shop.

She hurries to the front, unlocks the door, exits, and then relocks the door.

She takes in a deep breath of the cold morning air and shivers.

_Which way do I walk this time? _She wonders as she looks to the left and to the right.

As she is deciding which way to go, a thought pops into her head.

_If I go to the right again, I wonder if I will see that boy again. _She thinks as she looks to the right.

Her curiosity gets the better of her and she decides to walk to the right again.

As she walks, she looks up at the stars.

"They're so beautiful," she says to herself.

She is so absorbed in looking at the stars, that she stops, and, unfortunately, doesn't hear the footsteps of a running person behind her.

As she is just about to start walking again, the person runs right into her and the force knocks her down and causes the person to fall as well.

"Ouch!" Clara exclaims as she hits the sidewalk. She lands on her side and her elbow is the first thing to hit.

She cradles her elbow to her chest as she rolls onto her back.

She hears someone groan beside her and looks to her left. She watches as the person jumps up without so much as even looking at her or apologizing, and resumes running.

"Hey!" Clara calls as she quickly gets up, ignoring the pain in her elbow, and begins to run after the person.

She wants to know who the person is because she couldn't get a good look at their face because they were up so fast. Even with the dim light from the street lamp further down, she couldn't get a good enough glimpse of their face.

When the person doesn't stop she yells again. "Wait!"

The person continues to ignore her.

_I wonder why they won't stop. _She thinks as she continues to run.

She is pretty far behind but risks stopping for a few seconds to catch her breath.

_Wow they are fast!_ She thinks as she resumes running.

"Please stop!" she tries again.

They still don't.

_I wonder where they are going. _Clara thinks as they pass the school. _Wow, they have gotten some distance. _She thinks as she continues to try to catch the person.

"Hey, I am the person you ran into! I would appreciate it, if you would stop!" she yells with more force.

Again they ignore her.

"Please!" she calls out desperately.

This time the person comes to a sudden stop and she is able to catch up with them.

"Why do you keep following me!" they ask angrily as they turn around to face her once she is closer.

Clara is close enough that she can make out the person's face and a small gasp escapes her.

The person realizes who she is as well and rolls their eyes. "Oh, it's you," they say annoyed. "Why can't you learn that when people don't answer you, they don't want to be bothered and left alone?"

Clara winces at the harshness of his tone.

"You're the person I met last week," she says as she looks at him. "Kevin, right?" she questions ignoring how he once again rolls his eyes.

"Yes," he answers, "And you're the girl who kept bugging me last time too, Clara is it?" he asks still with a sense of harshness.

"Yes," Clara confirms, "Why were you running?" she questions curiously.

"That is none of your business. What are you doing up and about this early?" he questions.

"I could ask you the same thing," she counters.

"Once again I would say that is none of your business," he retorts.

"Then it is also none of your business to know why I am up and about this early," she says starting to become frustrated.

_He didn't seem this rude last time. He was actually kind of pleasant. _She thinks. _I wonder if this is how he really is._

"Is there any specific reason you chased after me?" he asks after a few minutes.

"Well, you ran into me, knocked me down and didn't even apologize or ask of I was ok," she says.

"So let me get this straight, you chased after me to get me to apologize and ask if you are ok?" he questions with a raised eyebrow. "If that is the case, I am so terribly sorry! Are you ok? I don't need to take you to the hospital, do I?" he asks overdramatically, with mock concern.

"What is your problem?" Clara questions angrily. "You weren't this rude last time! No, that is not the reason as to why I chased you, although a sincere apology and concern would have been nice before you ran off! The reason why I chased you was to see who you were!" she shouts, done with trying to be nice and civil and sick of his attitude.

Kevin looks taken aback by her outburst, but quickly composes himself.

"Well, now you know, so stop following me and go back the way you came," he says firmly as he points in front of himself. There is no harshness in his voice this time.

Clara doesn't move and crosses her arms and stares at him, actually she is really studying his appearance. His clothes are still tattered and torn, a little more so than last time, and he is still a little dirty, but handsome all the same. She notices, too, that he still looks a little undernourished and is skinny, but not extremely, she can see that he does have some muscle to him. She blushes as she notices that.

_I wonder if he is poor, or if he just works or does something to him to look all dirty and ruin his clothes. _She wonders as she continues to study him.

"Are you deaf? Why are you staring at me?" he questions extremely annoyed.

When he says this it breaks Clara out of her thoughts and she looks away, embarrassed.

"No, I am not deaf," she says after a few minutes as she turns her attention back to him. She ignores the question about staring.

"Then why aren't you leaving like I told you too?"

"Because you don't have control over me and I can do what I want," Clara explains with a slight smirk.

"Whatever, I don't care, but if you are not going to go, I am," he says as he starts to turn around, "And please, don't follow me," he says over his shoulder and then begins to walk.

"What, no goodbye?" she asks sarcastically.

He sighs and turns around.

"Look, I am sorry for being rude but I would appreciate it if you didn't bother, talk, or follow me anymore," he says as he looks at her, "Goodbye," he says and then turns back around and begins to run.

_Well, this encounter was unpleasant. _Clara thinks as she watches him run.

After a few minutes of watching, Clara turns back around and begins to make her way back to the shop.

Clara glances at her watch to see it is now 4:45 AM.

_Wow, it is a lot later than I thought and I still have about a ten minute walk back to the shop. _She thinks.

She looks around the deserted streets and houses as she walks. As she is walking though, her thoughts drift back to the encounter she had with Kevin.

_I really wonder why he is out this early running around, and why he looks like he could be a homeless person. I mean do his parents know he is out? Actually wait, he definitely looks old enough to do whatever he wants and besides you are technically old enough to do whatever you want too. The only reason why you don't is because… well, you're not entirely sure why, you just know that if you would leave it would break Daddy's heart, then again, you really don't have to do what he says, but it is his house and his rules and you can't really blame him for having those certain rules after what happened with your Mother. Anyway, back to Kevin, if he does still live with his parents, are they homeless too? I mean he could have a job but at this early in the morning I really doubt it. _She thinks.

Finally, she makes it back to the shop and looks at her watch to see it is 4:55 AM.

She quickly unlocks the door and hurries inside. She cringes as she hears the ding-dong.

_You know, we really should shut that off at night. _Clara thinks as she relocks the door.

Once she is finished, she hurries to the door that leads to the stairs of the apartment, unlocks it, and hurriedly tip-toes up the stairs.

She pauses and puts he ear to the door to see if she can hear anyone up and about.

When she doesn't, she unlocks the door and hurries inside. She locks it as quietly as she can once she is inside and quietly makes her way to her room.

When she reaches her room she quickly goes inside, shuts the door, and then flops down on her bed, as she does this she winces as she once again becomes of aware of her aching elbow.

She pushes up the sleeve of her sweatshirt and looks at it. She can already see in the faint moonlight coming through her window, that it is already starting to form a nasty bruise.

_Well, that should be fun to explain. _She thinks as she pushes her sleeve back down. _I will need to have a good excuse if anyone asks. _

She lets out a big sigh and stares up at her ceiling.

Her thoughts once again begin to drift to the boy.

_I want to find out more about him. _She thinks as she puts her hands behind her head, winces as she moves her elbow. _Even if he doesn't want to see me again and is rude, I am still curious about him. I mean, I have only ever seen him when I have snuck out at night these last couple of times. I don't recall ever seeing him during the day when I sneak out, even so, I wouldn't have known who he is or paid attention to him. I don't even know his last name; if I did, I bet I could find out more about him. _She thinks with a big yawn. _Maybe Henry will know who he is. _She thinks as her eyelids start to grow heavy. Soon enough, she is fast asleep.

…

Clara wakes with a start to hear someone knocking on her door.

"Clara, you need to get up! Breakfast is ready!" she hears Sierra call through her door.

"Ok, be out in a minute," Clara says as she tries to wake herself up.

"Better hurry or we will eat without you," Sierra says and then walks away.

Clara sits up and stretches, and a pain shoots through her arm as she does. She can barely bend her elbow now without it hurting. Once she stretches, she then swing her legs over the side of the bed and stands up.

She glances down at herself and realizes that she fell asleep in the clothes that she had snuck out in.

She quickly picks out a pair of light blue jeans, and a white log sleeve shirt from her closet and then quickly changes. _No one will be able to ask about the bruise if they don't see it. _She thinks, as she finishes getting dressed.

Once she is changed, she quickly throws her hair into a ponytail, due to it being too tangled to brush and mess with right now, and then quickly exits her room.

She hurriedly makes her way to the kitchen, glad to see that they hadn't started eating yet, and takes a seat in between Melanie and Sierra.

"Where's Marie?" Clara questions when she notices she isn't at the table.

"She is taking breakfast to Dad," Crystal informs her. "She should be up any minute."

Sure enough, Marie is back up in the apartment and taking a seat at the table between Crystal and Shelly, within a few minutes.

"Dad said it looked good Sierra," Marie says.

"Glad he thought so," Sierra says with a smile. She had made cheese and pepper omelets with home fries.

Everyone starts putting some food on their plates and then they begin eating.

"Whose turn is it to make lunch?" Shelly asks breaking the silence that had formed.

"Mine," Clara answers.

"Ok, I thought so, but I just wanted to check and make sure," Shelly says and then takes a bite of her omelet.

There really isn't much talking after that. Sometimes someone would try to start a conversation, but it would stop after a few minutes. This is how it always is when there Dad isn't with them and since their Mom died. They just never have anything to talk about because they never get out of the house and they never know what is going on in the town. They know some of the major things like Sheriff Graham's death, and also about how the woman who came to town a little while ago took his place. The only reason they know this is because their Dad found out about it one time he was out getting groceries. The new person in town is apparently named Emma Swan, but Clara has yet to meet her, that she knows of, although she could have and just didn't realize it was her. Heck, she doesn't even know half of the people in the town, so she could have seen her when she was out for groceries or when she had snuck out with Sierra, and thought she was just a member of the town.

When everyone is finished eating, Clover collects the plates and puts them in the sink since it is her turn to wash them and Clara notices that Shelly stays to help her, which is no surprise, they do everything together and this can be attributed to the fact that they are twins. Crystal and Melanie are twins as well. No one, however, is identical to each other.

Clara makes her way to her room, opens the door, steps in, and then closes it. She then makes her way to her bed and flops down.

She looks at her clock to see it is 9:45AM. She wouldn't have to start making lunch until around 11:30.

_Hmm, I wonder what I can make. _She thinks as she stares at the ceiling.

She grabs the book she is reading, which is _Lock and Key_, off her nightstand and resumes reading it.

Sometimes after a little while of reading, her eyelids become heavy and she drifts to sleep.

…

Clara wakes with a start and knocks her books to the ground as she sits up.

She glances at the clock to see it is 11:40 AM.

"Crap!" she exclaims as she jumps off her bed and rushes out of her room to the kitchen, ignoring the fact that her book is still on the floor.

When she reaches the kitchen, she begins looking through the refrigerator to see what there is.

She realizes, too, that she hadn't seen any of her sisters on her way in here.

_They must still be in their rooms. _She thinks as she continues to look for something to make.

After about 5 minutes of searching, she decides on making grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.

She gets everything she needs and begins making them.

When she is finished she glances at the clock on the stove to see it is 12:15.

She sets a sandwich on each plate on the table as well as a bowl of tomato soup, and glasses.

She grabs a pitcher of water and lemonade from the refrigerator and sets them on the table as well.

"Lunch is ready!" Clara calls informing her sisters.

Soon after she calls, she hears them open their bedroom doors and walk into the kitchen within seconds.

"I love grilled cheese and tomato soup!" Melanie exclaims as she walks into the kitchen.

Clara just smiles at her in response.

Within a few minutes everyone is seated.

"You guys go ahead and start eating. I am going to take Daddy's down to him," Clara says as she grabs the bowl of tomato soup she has for him, puts the plate with the sandwich on top of it with the spoon for the soup on it as well, and grabs a water bottle from the refrigerator.

When she reaches the door that leads to the stairs, she glances at her sisters and sees that they began eating like she said.

She opens the door, while being careful not to drop anything, and steps through, closing the door behind her.

She slowly makes her way down the stairs and stops at the door to readjust the stuff she is holding, and just as she is getting ready to open the door, she pauses upon hearing the ding-dong which means someone has entered the shop.

"Mr. Gold, what can I do for you?" she hears her Dad ask.

"I am here to collect what you have for rent so far, and to remind you once again that the rest of it is due this coming Sunday," Mr. Gold replies. "You haven't forgotten have you?"

"Oh yes, that is right, and no I-I haven't forgotten," her Dad says nervously and this makes Clara start to become nervous.

"Well, then, let me see what you have so far," Mr. Gold says sounding somewhat impatient.

"Ok, just give me a minute," her Dad says and she can her him root through something.

It is quiet for a little bit and Clara nervously bites her bottom lip.

"This isn't even half," Mr. Gold says finally breaking the silence. "Is this really all you have?" he questions.

Her Dad doesn't say anything and she can imagine that he nodded in response.

"Are you even going to have the rest of the money come Sunday, or am I wasting my time?" he asks a little harshly.

"I… I, could you just give me a little more time?" her Dad asks desperately.

"I told you last time I was here that the rent is due when it is due, Mr. Shore, and if you can't pay it then you no longer get to live in the apartment and lose the shop as well," Mr. Gold says, becoming a little frustrated.

Upon hearing this, Clara's heart starts to race and she starts to become angry.

_That heartless man! _She thinks bitterly.

"But…" her Dad starts to say but then stops, trying to think of something to say. "If I don't have all of the money isn't there something I can do?" her Dad asks desperately trying to come up with a solution.

"Not this time," Mr. Gold replies, "I let you make a deal with me last time you had this issue after your wife died and then after a while you wanted out and after a little negotiation and a new deal I let you," Mr. Gold explains. "Now you have to face the consequences, if you would not have wanted out, you wouldn't be having this problem right now."

"I had been doing fine for a while afterwards, but I don't know why I am having such trouble once again," her Dad defends.

"I need the rest of the money, by this coming Sunday, or you lose the apartment and the shop. Goodbye, Mr. Shore," Mr. Gold says and within a few seconds, Clara hears the ding-dong meaning he had left.

Clara doesn't know what to think and she just stands there for a few minutes, forgetting about the food in her hands, and just stars at the door.

She hears her Dad let out a frustrated yell and that snaps her out of her daze.

She hesitantly opens the door and sees her Dad standing behind the counter with his head in his hands and she can see his shoulders shaking, and she can tell that he is crying.

"Daddy," Clara says softly as she approaches him.

He jumps at the sound of her voice and quickly wipes the tears from his face before looking at her.

"Oh, Clara, what are you doing down here?" he asks, his eyebrows scrunching in question.

"I brought you lunch," Clara says setting it down in front of him. When she takes the plate off the bowl she is happy to see steam still coming from the soup meaning it hadn't gotten cold.

"Oh, thank you very much, it looks delicious. Did you make it?" he asks and she can see that he is trying to force himself to act like nothing is wrong.

"Yes," Clara answers. "Daddy, what is wrong?" she asks even though she knows, but she doesn't want him to know that she heard everything because it would only make him more upset. She is hoping that he will tell her himself. "Why were you crying?"

"I… I was j-just thinking about your mother again," he stutters.

She is disappointed that he doesn't tell her the real reason but she doesn't want to push because she doesn't want him to become suspicious.

"Oh," Clara says trying not to show she is disappointed about him lying but knows she must play along. "If you are thinking again that she would think you are a failure, remember that I said she would be proud of you and she would not think you are a failure," Clara says reassuringly.

"I know," he says with a small smile, but it disappears quickly and he turns his head to stare out the window.

"Are you sure there is nothing else that is wrong?" Clara asks after a few minutes trying to bring his attention back to her, and hoping that he will tell the truth this time.

"Huh? Oh, no, nothing else is wrong," he says trying to sound reassuring.

"Ok," Clara says, "If you are sure."

"I am," he says nodding his head yes for emphasis. "Thank you for lunch," he says with a smile. "You should go back up to the apartment because, knowing you, you came down here to give me mine before eating yourself."

"Guilty as charged," Clara says sheepishly. "Love you, Daddy," she says reaching over the counter and giving him a hug.

"Love you too, sweetheart," he says giving her a gentle squeeze and then breaking the embrace.

"See you at supper," Clara says and then hurriedly makes her way back up to the apartment.

Once she is back up at the apartment, she notices that all of her sisters are already done eating and are no longer in the kitchen or in the living room, which means they are all in their rooms.

Clara makes her way over to the kitchen table and slumps down in one of the seats, no longer hungry after hearing what she heard.

_We can't lose this house! _Clara thinks as she puts her head into her hands. _We have nowhere to go! I wonder why Mr. Gold can't just be a nice person for once and give my Dad a little more time. I also wonder what he meant about my Dad making a deal the last time he had this problem and then getting out and making a new deal. I wonder what he meant by this is one of the consequences of getting out too. I didn't even know we had this problem before. I wonder what sort of deal my Dad could have made. Could it have been the reason he had been going out a lot a while back and wasn't home as much as he is now? I would ask him but I don't want him to know I heard. There has to be something we can do to get the money by Sunday. Somebody has to know a solution to our problem. I mean I could go talk to Mr. Gold myself, but I don't know what good that would do. I could try to convince him to give us more time, but…. GRRR! There has to be something we can do!_

"What is wrong with you, and why aren't you eating?" Clara hears someone question, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Clara takes her head out of her hands and looks up to see it was Sierra who had spoken.

"I am not that hungry," Clara says avoiding the, "what is wrong" question.

"Ok, I know something is wrong, so spill the beans!" Sierra says taking a seat across from her.

_Should I tell her what I heard? If I do, maybe we could figure out something to do, but if I do I risk everyone else over-hearing. _Clara thinks, debating about what to do.

"Come on, I know you well enough, so out with it, now!" Sierra says after a few minutes.

_I will tell her. _She decides.

"Well…" Clara says motioning for her to lean forward so she can whisper and once she does Clara begins to tell her everything.

"What?!" Sierra exclaims loudly after Clara finishes telling her everything.

"Shh!" Clara scolds, "Keep your voice down."

"Sorry, but I mean, what are we supposed to do?" she questions.

"I don't know but that is what we need to figure out," Clara says.

"Should we tell the others?" Sierra asks.

"No, at least not yet, and we can't let Dad know we know either," Clara explains to her.

"Alright, but we need to figure something out," Sierra says.

"Agreed," Clara confirms.

**A/N: I know the ending is kind of crappy but this chapter was already so long and I didn't want to keep dragging it out, plus I really didn't know how else to really end it. I also know that none of Ariel's sisters are twins but I did that because of how old I made everyone and I didn't want one of them being a lot older than the others. Please review!**


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