One and Only || OUAT (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 24

  The reason I'm writing some much about clothes is because I'm super stoked for my school dance, and I don't really get a chance to be super girly that often because I'm (according to my dear best friend Maddie) the least girly person she's ever met. My friend is going to help me get ready for the dance because I don't know to makeup or dress like a girl. I don't even own a blow dryer or a dress/skirt.

*Disclaimer: The following song was used in this chapter

•   "Criminal" by Britney Spears

Ok I'll stop talking. Enjoy the chapter!!
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Last chapter recap...

"Remember when you said that you owe me something for turning around?" Arran explained reminding Regina. 
  "Of course I remember that was like fifteen minutes ago." Regina chuckled.
  "Well, I think I know what you owe me?"
  Regina looked at him with a confuse face...
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"What is it?" Region asked with a smile.
"Well uh my uh shift is just about over, and I was wondering is you would like to um uh accompany me to the ball tonight?" Arran asked scratching the back of his head.
Regina tried really hard not to have her mouth drop to the floor. Her eyes were as big as baseballs. This took her by surprise. She was completely caught off guard. The last thing she was excepting was for someone from a foreign country of all places to ask her out. She would never except someone to ask her out even in America.
Apparently her thoughts had gotten the best of her because Arran's smile started to fade. He got the wrong I idea. "I understand. It was worth a shot." Arran said turning around and beginning to walk away.
"Arran wait!" Regina said.
Arran turned back around. "I'm sorry. It's just I haven't been in a real relationship in a while. I just don't want to get hurt again. The serious boyfriend I had wasn't exactly nice. I don't exactly have the best track record with boyfriends." Regina explained. She chuckled lightly.
Arran chuckled and took a step closer to her. He looked down, then looked back up at Regina. He looked at her directly in the eyes. She felt like he was going to burn a hole right through her with his green eyes. "I understand Regina." Arran said calmly. He looked Regina directly in the eyes.
There was something about Arran that seemed way too familiar to Regina. She couldn't quite figure it out, but there was a feeling inside Regina that she couldn't quite understand. She felt as though she had already met Arran multiple times, she just couldn't figure out why. There was something about his wavy, dark blonde hair and big, green eyes that seemed oddly familiar to Regina. Even though he was covered in a thick dark blonde beard, Regina still wondered if they had crossed paths before. She just decided to put the thought in the back of her mind. "What the hell!" Regina said with a smile. "Of course I'll go to the Wilson's Masquerade Ball with you."
"Really? Wow! I wasn't excepting you to say 'yes." Arran said running his hand through his hair and smiling.
Regina realized that Madison had her mask and the extras. "Can you stay there for a second?" Regina asked.
"Of course." Arran said with a smile.
"Thank you! I'll be right back." Regina said.
Arran leaned against the limo and put his hands in his pockets. Regina ran up the steps of the Wilson's mansion and caught Megan and Madison right before they went in the house. "Madison!" Regina said out of breath.
Megan and Madison turned around. They saw an out of breath Regina behind them. "Yeah?" Madison asked quirking up her eyebrow.
"Can I have my mask and the extra mask?" Regina asked catching her breath.
"Why do you need the extra mask?" Megan asked.
Madison gave Regina the masks. "Are you stupid?" Madison asked in a voice that made Megan think she was missing something.
It only took a few seconds for Megan to realize what Regina and Madison were talking about. "Oh, right." Megan said remembering.
  "Oh, right' is right. Now pay up." Madison demanded holding out her hand.
  Megan scoffed and rolled her eyes. She took out some money from her small purse. She slapped it into Madison's hand. "It has been a pleasure doing business with you." Madison smirked.
  "As much I love watching you to bicker, can I have the masks now please?" Regina asked in a slightly impatient and irritated tone.
  "Oh yeah. Here you go. Have fun Regina." Madison said handing Regina the masks.
  She handed Regina two masks. The first mask was shimmery, navy blue mask with silver outlining the mask and the eye holes. The mask also had black feathers on the edges. There was a thin, black elastic band that was attached to both sides of the mask. The feathers hid the edges. The second mask was a lot more minimalistic. It was black with a blue undertone and only a few black feathers. The mask had a clear elastic band attached to it.
  Regina admired the masks as she walked back down the steps. Eventually she reached the limo where Arran was leaning against.  She handed him the black mask. "Here's your mask." Regina said giving the mask to Arran.
  "Thank you." Arran said with a smile. He put his mask on. "Shall we?"
  He held his arm out to Regina. She put her mask on and made sure it was on securely. Then she looked up and smiled at Arran, looping her arm through his arm. "We shall." Regina smiled.
  The two walked up the stairs and two men dressed in long, red velvet coats and black lapels opened the doors for Arran and Regina.
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  Robin was standing on the staircase that faced the giant double doors. He looked over the crowd of people looking for Regina, but he couldn't find her. It was particularly hard to find her because he had no idea what she was wearing, and of course the masks didn't help at all. Then two blonde girls passed by Robin. One had partly bright red hair, and he immediately knew it was Megan and Madison. He turned around and got their attention. "Hey, have either of you seen Regina?" Robin asked.
  "I'm sorry who are you?" Megan asked.
  Robin lifted up his simple black mask. "Megan, it's me." Robin said.
  "Oh hi Robin. And no, we haven't seen Regina around."
  "Well you must've seen her somewhere. She drove over here with you." Robin stated.
  "Last we saw her, she was talking to someone outside." Madison said.
  "I'm sure she's fine, just be patient and wait for her." Megan said putting a hand on Robin's shoulder.
  He gave her a weak smile. Robin continued to wait for what felt like forever. He checked the large grandfather clock on the left side of the room. It was 7:30. He sighed and continued to wait, grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing caterer.
  About ten minutes later, Robin heard the double doors open. He turned his head and saw a man and a woman walk in together. The man was much taller than the woman, at least six inches. The woman only came up to a little above his shoulders. The man was wearing a blue velvet suit jacket with black lapels. He wore black suit pants, shiny black dress shoes, and a bow tie. He was wearing a black mask with a few black feathers.
  Even though Robin couldn't see the face of the woman, he knew she was beautiful. Her raven hair was curled up put into a half up do, and her mask covered pretty much the upper half of her face. Her mask matched her navy blue dress almost perfectly. It had a silver outline and had more black feathers on her mask than the man. The mysterious, beautiful woman was wearing dark red lipstick and had dark brown eyes.
  Her dress accentuated almost every part of her body. The navy blue dress was tighter on the top and a little more elegant and flowy on the bottom. The bodice of the dress was made of lace as were the sleeves. Robin watched the woman turn around because someone grabbed her attention. When she turned around, Robin noticed that the woman's back was pretty much completely exposed. The in,y thing holding her dress up was a small, golden button.
  The woman turned her head and saw Robin looking at her. They stared into each other's eyes. The woman quirked up an eyebrow at Robin and gave him a small smile. He smirked back at her. He felt he'd stared into those dark brown eyes countless times before. He felt like he could stare into her eyes forever. The moment seemed to last forever, but the woman broke their eye contact. She turned to look back at the man she had come with.
  There was something familiar about the mysterious woman, Robin couldn't quite put his finger on it though. Something about the woman's dark brown eyes and raven hair seemed too familiar for Robin not to know who she was. Then Robin saw the woman smile. He immediately recognized that smile. He could've recognized that smile anywhere. It was none other than Regina Mills. His best friend who he also just so happened to be in love with for the past fourteen years. The only question he had was "Who was the man she was with?"
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  Regina looked around for Robin, but she couldn't find him. Of course having a masquerade ball didn't help at all. And not knowing what he was wearing was even more infuriating. However, Regina still continued to look for Robin. She turned her head and noticed that there was a tall man in the middle of a large staircase looking at her. She raised her eyebrow at him and gave him a small smile. He smirked at her in return.
Regina thought that there was something oddly familiar about the mysterious man and his smirk. She had to admit, even though she couldn't see his face, he looked rather handsome in his suit. The mysterious man was wearing a simple black tuxedo and a black mask.
  They stared at each other, and to Regina, the moment seemed to last an eternity. His sandy blonde hair was perfectly styled. It was clear that he had mastered the art of styling his hair, and it made Regina chuckle to herself slightly. Regina's attention was taken away from the mysterious man by Arran whispering something in her ear. It made her smile and giggle.
  Out of the corner of her eye, Regina noticed that the mysterious man was still looking at her. She noticed a certain twinkle in his eyes. The only time she had seen a twinkle like that was in a certain pair of ocean blue eyes. Once she saw that twinkle, she immediately knew that it was Robin. The Robin Locksley who was her best friend, and who she had been in love with for the past eleven years.
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  Arran heard some music start, and he smirked.

He is a hustler, he's no good at all
He is a loser, he's a bum, bum, bum, bum
He lies, he bluffs, he's unreliable
He is a sucker with a gun, gun, gun, gun

  Arran looked at Regina who was looking around at the scenery. "Care to dance?" Arran asked with a smirk looking down at Regina. He held his hand out to Regina.
  She smiled at him and took his hand. "Delighted." Regina smiled.
Arran took Regina to the dance floor in the next room. He took her to a spot on the floor. Arran put his hand on Regina waist and the other took her hand, and Regina put her hand on Arran shoulder. The song was somewhat fast so they were dancing fast along with the rhythm of the song.
  Regina used to be a dancer, so she knew her way around a dance floor. And apparently Arran was a pretty good dancer too. Her dress twirled around her as Arran spun her.

I know you told me I should stay away
I know you said he's just a dog astray
He is a bad boy with a tainted heart
And even I know this ain't smart

But mama I'm in love with a criminal
And this type of love isn't rational, it's physical
Mama please don't cry, I will be alright
All reason aside I just can't deny, I love the guy

As the song finished, Arran dipped Regina, and the two of them stopped dancing. They let go of each other and awkwardly stood there as the song finished. "That was fun." Arran smirked looking at Regina.
"Yeah, it was." Regina smiled. Then she noticed Robin standing against the wall. She watched as a passing caterer walked by him, and he grabbed a glass of champagne. "Hey, Arran?"
"Yeah?" Arran asked.
"Can you get me something to drink? I'm parched." Regina said with a smile.
"Of course. Anything in particular?"
Regina thought about it for a moment. "Surprise me." She said shrugging.
"Ok."
Arran walked away to find the bar. Now was Regina's chance. She walked over to Robin and took his champagne glass from his hand and took a sip. "Do I know you?" Robin asked quirking up a brow.
"Yeah ya do." Regina said lifting up her mask.
Robin eyes widened. She scooped her up in his arms and spun her around. "Well it's good to see you too. I just saw you like eight hours ago. Why are you so cheery?" Regina asked with a smile as Robin set her down.
  "I'm just...happy to see you." Robin said with a smile.
  "Well I'm happy to see you too."
  "You look great tonight Regina."
  Robin looked at Regina up and down. "You not look too bad yourself Locksley." Regina smirked as she nudged him in the arm.
  "I'm assuming Megan and Madison helped you get ready."
  "Well, what do you except? The only time you've ever seen me wear a dress was at Mr. Gold and Ms. French's wedding, and that was like what...twelve year ago or something."
  "That's not true. I've seen you in a dress recently."
  "How recently?"
  "When I was hitting on you in that bad."
  Regina chuckled at that memory. "Oh right."
  "If you don't mind me asking: who was that guy you were dancing with?"
  "Why does it matter?"
  "Because we're best friends, and I want you to be safe."
  "That's sweet Robin, but I can take care of myself."
  "Believe me, I know you can. I just want to know who he is."
  "Fine, if you insist. His name is Arran."
  "How did you meet him?"
  "Interesting story: he was my limo driver on the way over here."
  Robin eyes went wide. "Why are you here with him then?"
  "Robin. Why are you asking me all of these questions? And why do you care who I go out with? It's not like you're my boyfriend. I haven't been on a date in god knows how long. I have a right to go out with whoever I want. I'm a grown ass woman for God's sake. I can make my own decisions." Regina was starting to get annoyed.
  Robin took a deep breath. It wasn't right to question Regina on such a personal level, even if they were friends. She was a grown woman after all. She had the right to make her own decisions. "I'm sorry Regina. I don't have the right to question you. I should give you some space. You are fully capable of making your own decisions." Robin apologized.
  "It's fine Robin. Thank you for apologizing." Regina said calmly. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."
  "I forgive you Regina. And as a payment for your apology, you're going to dance with me." Robin said with a smirk. He held out his hand.
  Regina rolled his eyes and crossed her arms. "You really know how to charm a girl don't you?" Regina smirked.
  "Well, I've had a lot of practice." Robin winked.
  Regina rolled her eyes again. "You are such an idiot."
  "Likewise."
  Regina punched him in the arm. "Ow." Robin said rubbing his arm.
  "Are we gonna dance or what?" Regina asked with a smirk.

  This shall continue in the next chapter. Based on the description you've read about Arran...do you think anything is familiar? If you decide guess, please comment and guess. However if you do decide to guess and comment, I will either confirm nor deny. I hope you guys liked this chapter! PLEASE COMMENT AND VOTE!!!