The Modern Fairy Tale Town Book 2: The Price of Magic

Chapter 15: It's Goin' Down

The following morning was a very grim one in the town of Storybrooke as Archie Hopper was declared dead by everybody, much like when they had lost Graham Humbert. The tombstone read: "Archibald Hopper – Friend and Conscience".

"Some of us knew him as Archie, others as Jiminy, but we all knew him as a true friend. And though he may now be gone he will always live on inside of us, reminding us to be our best selves," Mary Margaret soon delivered the eulogy to her fellow residents. "To do the right thing, to always fight for what we believe in. So we shouldn't think of today as goodbye, just as a way of saying, Archie, we'll be listening." she then concluded before she and David soon embraced each other as today was a very painful one for many residents.

Marco soon approached Archie's grave and places his umbrella by the tombstone. "I miss you so much my friend, but at least you're in a better place." he soon said softly as even Scarlet O'Bell looked very upset.

However, unfortunately, Archie was not in a better place as he was held captive in The Jolly Roger. Not everyone attended the funeral and final goodbye.

"So... Carlos wants to try out for sports," Ben said to Mal as she hung out while he swept up the floor in his father's shop. "I can understand Jay, but I don't think Carlos is really sports material if you ask me."

"That sounds about right," Mal agreed. "I guess he was just feeling a sense of adventure."

"Whatever you call it, it's still a pretty interesting thing to think about." Ben remarked.

"Totally." Mal nodded.

"So... Uh... About that party coming up for school... They say that there's going to be a King and a Queen for the best dancers." Ben soon began to say to Mal.

"Yeah... I've heard about that," Mal nodded before smirking a bit. "You think you might wanna go?"

"I could try anyway," Ben shrugged before he suddenly took her hands and swept Mal off her feet literally and held her, leaning over her in a seductive dance pose. "I'm quite a skilled dancer after all~"

"Oh... Oh, Benjamin Gold... I think you're trying to seduce me." Mal chuckled as she looked up at him.

"I dunno if I'm trying, but... Is it working?" Ben smirked as he held onto her.

Mal chuckled a bit as they were having a rather sweet moment together.

Soon, Rumple walked into the shop with a slight spring in his step, nodding his head at the two teenagers in greeting. "Benjamin... Miss Draconis..." he then greeted the duo.

"...Hey, Mr. Gold." Mal replied softly.

"Uh... Hi, Dad..." Ben said, looking very wide-eyed and a bit awkward suddenly before he quickly picked Mal up back on her feet as they looked a bit mature in their movements together. "Uh... Um... I was just... Helping Mal... She was about to fall over..."

"Well, you two seem to be rather cheery this morning." Rumple remarked.

Ben and Mal blushed together, though Ben was a lot more sheepish than Mal right now as they sorted themselves out.

"Guess we just thought about having a little fun out of work today." Ben sheepishly said to his father.

"Well, luckily for you, I'm actually in a rather good mood," Rumple told the two teens. "Just keep quiet for a little while, I have to call Belle." he added.

"Right... We'll do that..." Mal nodded.

"What's going on, Dad?" Ben soon asked. "Anything we need to know about?"