sober up || Belle
 The last few days he'd spent in his dorm room continuing to wallow in his misery. When Hans wasn't off charming the student body and in their shared room, Gaston spent his time locked in the bathroom, sat in the tub with a bottle of whiskey, headphones in as he listened to The Black Keys on repeat.
 That was how he ended his holiday break. Although, he'd elongated the days a bit by sleeping off his drunkness and didn't start attending classes again until two days after everyone else had returned.
 It was rare that Gaston caught Belle in the hallways and this was due to how different their class schedules were. He hadn't seen her since winter break, when she'd broken her ice skate and that was partly because he's been avoiding her but also, perhaps because she was avoiding him as well.
 So, when he saw her in the middle of a class transition, walking the opposite direction he grabbed her arm and pulled her aside into an empty classroom.
 "Belle, can we talk for a moment?" It was phrased as a question but Gaston's voice was pleading and the way he stood in front of the door indicated that he wasn't going to take 'no' as an answer. "I assume you've heard, so... I'd like to explain myself-- If it's not too much trouble."
