The Young and Gifted

84. trenches of misery

Stephanie locked herself in the bedroom, closing all the curtains and shutting out any sources of light. She didn't even want to go back home anymore for Spring Break so she missed the flight. She knew that if she went, it would be more painful to see her mom look around for Landon when he wasn't there. People planned to leave as well, Mason and Kaura flying out to meet Pedro again.

She had heard somewhere that Landon and Hope were going to New Orleans to see family and the thought of it only pained her. She clutched the sheets and poured her never-ending mental pain into the pillow. 

As the days trickled into each other, she squinted her swelling eyes when the door cracked open. "Stephanie? Your mom just called, she's telling me you're not picking up the phone and she's worried."

"Tell her I'm fine," she muttered and turned to the other side of the bed, her back facing the doorway light.

Except Caroline didn't leave. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I thought everything between us was fine," she said in a broken voice. "I thought that we would be the couple that would last for 2 years at least and he just...leaves. I thought he was different."

Caroline sighed and sat on the bed. "I'm sure Landon didn't mean to hurt you, he's just been going through a lot with Hope back."

"Yeah, I know. Everyone's been through a lot. I've been through a lot, Josie's been through a lot, MG and even Kaura. But somehow Hope's been through a lot more and because of that, Landon just has to go back to her, right?" She rolled her eyes and sniffled.

"You know, I was in a situation where a boy I thought was different broke my heart as well," Caroline smiled. "And I'm not talking about Clarke. His name was Klaus Mikaelson."

Stephanie turned to the vampire. "Hope's dad?"

She chuckled and nodded. "Hope's dad. Actually, when I first met him, I was dating a werewolf, Tyler Lockwood. Things got messy, Tyler got jealous of Klaus and our relationship broke. But Klaus...no matter how much I declined his advances, he would be there, listening to me. I knew that if I completely told him to back off, he would have aimed to get my friendship instead. It's what made me fall in love with him. He has his flaws and a lot of my problems were thanks to him but he wasn't as bad as everyone painted him out to be. And then news of the pregnancy got out and he changed. I was heartbroken that he didn't reach out to talk to me about it and when I finally got the courage to go and talk to him, I found him with his tongue down a girl's throat. I realized then that he had already moved on, started a family, a home and met new people. I was embarrassed. And very, very sad for a very, very long time."

"But you got over it right?"

"I never really got over it. It's still at the bottom of my heart because it still hurts. Even now, knowing that he's dead, I still love him. But I've also moved on, I've also started a family, a home and met new people. But what the lesson is, heartbreak doesn't mean the end of the line. It means that you get to put back the pieces together and solve the mystery that your heart is because deep down, you're the only one who knows what's good for you."

Stephanie smiled and rose, throwing her arms around her. "Thank you, Caroline." Small prickling tears stained the vampire's shirt and Caroline rubbed her back in comfort.

"Any time, Stephanie."

But even after Caroline's schpiel about broken hearts, Stephanie couldn't see herself out of the trenches of misery. Soon, it was the last couple of days of Spring Break and she still hadn't left her room.

But today felt different. Now that she and Landon weren't together anymore, she had no more ties to his group. In fact, she didn't even want to see them when they returned from their trip.

Stephanie made herself as presentable as she wanted to and trudged out into the empty hallways. As mentioned, most were on trips to see family members so she wasn't surprised to see half of the school gone. She found herself making her way to the Old Mill and when she stepped into the building, she knew that it would be a place of comfort. It was secluded and most didn't want to go there because of how unstable it looked like. Perfect.

But all of her thoughts were wiped away when she spotted a figure sitting in the far corner, sucking on a blood bag. Sebastian.

"What are you doing here?" Here as in why aren't you gone for the break?

"I don't have any family," he muttered and didn't even bother to look at her as he continued sucking. He was staring off intently into the horizon.

Stephaine didn't say anything and sat in the silence. And then the tears began to come in and soon, she was wailing restlessly, making her face numb.

Sebastian huffed and tossed the empty bag aside. "No man who left you deserves your tears."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. Of course he knew. "You tried to feed on me so leave me alone."

Sebastian grinned. "You're absolutely right. And I'd do it again."

She shook her head and sank her head into her knees, releasing another shattering sob. "I thought we had something. I thought he loved me, he told me he loved me. And the second his 'ex' that nobody freaking knew about comes back he leaves me for her. I mean what's so special about Hope Mikaelson anyway? I mean sure, she's prettier than me, sure she's a tribrid and I'm a human, sure she fits in better than me but..." She trailed off and her eyes widened as an idea came across her features. "Wait a minute. I need to make him regret what he did. I need to make him realize that I can be better than her."

Sebastian's eyebrow rose in question. "Really now?"

"I have to fake it."

"Fake what exactly?"

"A relationship."

The vampire threw his head back in laughter and stumbled to his feet, rocking with even more amusement. "That is not the way to go, if anything, it's an all-time low. But I wish you the bestest of luck." He saluted and made his way to the entrance to leave.

"For it to work, I have to fake a relationship with...you. He hates you, it might even make him jealous," she said more to herself as if she cracked some code.

He laughed again. "Hilarious."

Stephanie scrambled to her feet to stand in front of him. "You owe me after what you tried to do in the library—"

Sebastian's hand jerked out and he gripped her arm with his vampire strength viscously. "I don't owe you anything. I should rip through your throat and watch the colour seep out of your cheeks but I can't."

Stephanie swallowed and tried to shake off his grip. He didn't let go. "Please, I just need him to love me back. I'll...I'll give you my blood. I don't know if this is important but I came from one of the last doppelgängers. My blood must be—"

"Ravishing." Sebastian finally let go and scanned her from head to toe. He seemed to ponder the idea a bit but when a smirk fractured his face, he said, "Offer accepted."

~

"Shut down the exorcist, would you?"

try to guess who said it and don't forget to vote ;)