SHE PROMISED ( the originals )

0074. NIGHT TIME TALKS WITH MY KINDA-WOLF FRIEND

"What, you don't miss me either?" she said playfully. Over Hayley's shoulders, she could see there were several other people stumbling out of the woods, quickly grabbing at the clothes and shoving their bodies into them. Some of them had abandoned the clothes altogether, instead heading straight for the food. It must be nice to have actual food instead of squirrels and rabbits, but that still didn't make Elle squirm at the sight of naked people. "You're not going to eat?"

"I'm good." She moved over and sat on the edge of the porch, still holding Hope and her eyes darting across her people. Most of them were quiet, barely mumbling out sentences to each other. It must be heartbreaking to see her people like this... "Anything interesting happen this month?" Hayley had given up on asking Elle how her spell was going. Even though she was going directly against Klaus' orders, she was still trying to figure out how to reverse this curse but evidently was failing, and the hybrid knew this. She didn't want to put pressure on her friend, knowing full well that Elle was beating herself up about this, so she stopped asking.

Elle nearly barked out a laugh. Interesting was such a strange word to describe the past month's events. "Besides the usual intense glares from across the rooms, not really, no," Elle said with a shrug. She looked down at Hope, who was happily chewing on Hayley's pinky finger.

"Uh oh. I know that look."

"I don't have a look. I'm not giving a look."

"Yes, you are," Hayley said, moving to poke her finger against Elle's cheek. "You have this whole I'm Elle and I'm moody look, don't act like it doesn't exist." She arched one of her dark brows, giving Elle an expectant look. "Spill." She readjusted herself so that one of her legs was dangling off the edge of the porch, her bare toes nearly touching the water below. Hayley balanced Hope on her thigh.

The young witch grit her teeth and slowly reached into her bag, turning so her back was now facing Hayley. After finally latching onto the pictures, Elle pulled them out and shyly handed them to Hayley. "I took some pictures," she said slowly, seeing the smile fade on her friend's face. "I thought that since you weren't there, it'd be nice if you saw her growing... kinda."

Hayley flipped through the polaroids, staring endearingly at the sweet images of her daughter. The hybrid nearly teared up when she sees a giggling Hope standing up and leaning against her crib. It was the first time she stood up by herself, without any other assistance from nearby furniture or people. "You know, I just thought you might like it," Elle continued, "especially that one 一 stood up all by herself, like a big girl. She might be walking soon. And then I remembered why I was doing this and then I got hella upset just thinking about you and your pack are like this and how I'm literally just sitting at home doing nothing because I don't know how to fix this. And my siblings probably hate each other and I just 一" Elle cut herself off by groaning loudly into the night, ignoring the looks the other werewolves were giving her as she fell back against the wooden porch. She moved so her denim sleeve was shoved into her mouth, and she let out a muffled scream. Everything was just so... aggravating. "I feel like crying," Elle added with a sigh.

She felt a hand settle on her thigh, and she nearly jumped in fright. She wasn't completely comfortable with people touching her; hugs and handshakes made her feel strange and on edge, like they would somehow morph into Joseph Mitchell. Elle had to remind herself that he's dead, he's gone, and that the person touching her isn't him but Hayley.

Hayley is good, she's nice and kind and strong 一 everything Joseph wasn't.

"I'm sorry," Hayley said slowly, moving her hand down to gently squeeze the young witch's knee. "You're still a kid and you shouldn't have to be going through these things. You should be going to school and making friends, going on dates and stuff; not worrying about... wolf pack curses and aggravating family feuds." The hybrid adjusted Hope on her lap, then moved closer to Elle. "You shouldn't have to do this."

Elle's eyes turned glassy, and she sniffled loudly as she sat up. She rubbed at her eyes. "But if I don't, who will?"

Shaking her head, Hayley sat even closer and wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders. She brought Elle closer to her, so that her face was now resting in the crook of Hayley's neck. "It shouldn't be your responsibility." She comfortingly rubbed her hand up and down Elle's arm, shaking her head. "I need you to know that... that it's okay not to be okay."

"I know." The witch exhaled a long breath, nodding her head and shutting her eyes in discontentment. "Can we just..." Elle once again exhaled. "Can we just sit here and... I don't know, not talk, I guess? Just sit in silence..."

"Yeah, sure," Hayley said slowly, nodding her head. Biting the inside of her cheek, she held her daughter and friend. The hybrid leaned her head so it leaned against Elle's, and together, they stared out into the night.

A/N: if it wasn't clear last chapter,
this chapter takes place a few months
BEFORE season 3 takes place