When Lilah got back to the Salvatore School, she decided to take a walk by herself. She ended up in the Stefan Salvatore Memorial Library, looking through books and seeing the plaque with Stefan's name. She put her hand on it, her finger tips feeling the wood go in with the engraving. There were a few students in there still, including that Arianelle girl she had drove in with, sitting with one of the wolves, Jed. She had yet to speak to him, but he had been pointed out to her.
"Hey Stef," she said softly. "My world's a little crazy right now, especially with the whole memory loss stuff and memory adding stuff. I've never been compelled to forget something before, but I wonder if this is how that feels. If this is how you felt. And I'm sorry."
She looked around, really taking in her surroundings for what felt like the first time since she had gotten there. She arrived as a New Orleans vampire, a New Orleans bartender, and now, she was the missing Mystic Falls student. Now, she was the missing piece to some Malivore issue. Now, she was starting to get attached to people and things here.
"And I could really use your advice," she said softly. "We were wild and free once, Stefan. And now I'm just wild, and you're truly free."
When she got into Roman's car to embark on a trip to uncover hidden memories, this wasn't what she was expecting. She didn't think she would find the girl from the photos, or that she had been "the girl from the photos" for all these students for so long. She wouldn't have expected to be dealing with a Malivore pit, and she sure as hell never imagined being back in Stefan Salvatore's house, minus the Stefan Salvatore, plus a Stefan Salvatore Memorial Library.
"You look good," she heard, and she turned around. No one was there speaking to her.
She turned back to the plaque, her heart rate increasing as she recognized the voice. She blinked rapidly, her eyebrows scrunching together as she tried to hold onto that voice.
"Not a day over a thousand."
"And you look exactly how I left you." Wait, that was her voice she was hearing. She shut her eyes, trying to envision the scene. "Dreams really do dig up the past sometimes, don't they?"
"This isn't a dream, Lilah," he said, shaking his head.
Stefan, the person talking was Stefan. The background was hazy, but she saw his face. She reached out in real life, grabbing onto the plaque to steady herself when she felt her knees getting weak.
"I came to New Orleans once, when Hope was still a baby, and I went on a little trip with Hayley. I think that if you were around then, I might've fallen in love with you all over again."
"When Hope was a baby?" she whispered to herself. "How long have I known that girl? Stefan knew Hayley?"
You were my first epic love, Stefan. I could've danced with you in this speakeasy for eternity."
Lilah smiled at that comment, because it was true. Neither of them had their humanities on at the time, but there was something blissful about being together. To be able to have an epic love at a time when emotions were supposed to be off. When nothing but hatred and void should have been filling her mind.
"I can do this forever," he said. "I'm dead. You? You lose time being here, you don't get to go back until I'm positive I've finished my job here."
"I'm not losing any time. I'm a vampire, I live forever."
"Time hasn't stopped for that wolf you're fond on, the one you like talking to. What's his name? Rafael?"
Lilah opened her eyes at the mention of the wolf. The conversation with Stefan felt so real, but he was dead. When could she have possibly spoken to him, especially about Rafael Waithe? And out of the people she's spoken to so far, why was the wolf apart of her few triggers?
"Hey, Mystery Girl."
Her attention moved to the blonde who came up next to her, staring down at the plaque.
"My dad was friends with this guy," Arianelle said, pointing to Stefan's name. "It's crazy to think about what life looked like about sixteen years ago around here."
"Yeah," Lilah let out a breathy response, almost sighing her reply. A silence befell them for a little while before she found something to change the subject with. "How's acclimating to the boarding school life treating you?"
"Everything here is so weird," she admitted, sitting down at a nearby chair. "It's so different than the world my mother raised me in, but not quite the romanticized epic story that my father lived out either."
"You've heard about the memory wipe pit, and you're telling me you don't think this is some romanticized epic story?" Lilah retorted jokingly.
"I guess you're right," chuckled Arianelle. "How about you! How's acclimating to the whole getting her memories and memories of her wiped by a pit treating you?"
"Horribly," she admitted, sitting down in the seat next to her. "If someone told me a few months ago I'd be sitting here giving a shit a lot about some baby vamps and werewolf fledglings and knock-off witches, I would've called bullshit, but...."
"But here you are," Arianelle concluded. "Giving lots of shits about lots of baby vamps, werewolf fledglings, and knock-off witches."
Lilah laughed, nodding. "Sadly."
"Is that really a bad thing?" Arianelle asked her. "You just found out that there's a place in the world full of people who didn't even know you, but wanted you here so badly that they've been holding onto some idea of you for an entire summer?"
"Please, I cannot handle any deep, philosophical questions right now."
"Was that really philosophical?"
"Fledgling werewolf..." she said in a warning tone, and Arianelle got up with a teasing look on her face.
"Just think about it," she said. "I'm gonna head to bed. I have Mikaelson History in the morning."
Lilah scoffed out a laugh. "Don't be too frightened by the creatures that used to go bump in the night."
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Lilah made it back to the dorm room that she was crashing in with Roman to see the boy sitting under the covers already, a book in his hand.
"Hey," he greeted her. "How was your long day with Landon and Raf? I heard Hope was there. Any more memories get unlocked?"
"Yeah, actually," she said, walking over to the bed slowly. She sat down, feeling a bit out of herself.
"Lilah?" Roman askedd worriedly.
She blinked at him a few times, unsure if she should say what was on her mind. That she thinks she had something going on with Rafael, that she had a memory of an ex boyfriend. She also came to terms that, despite their obvious feelings for each other, Roman wasn't her boyfriend. That meant she didn't owe him any explanations, so why did she feel so inclined to telling him the full truth?
"I, um, found out that Rafael is another person who can trigger my emotions," she admitted, scratching her temple. "And Stefan Salvatore's plaque."
Roman's eyebrows rose at the news, and he nodded softly.
"And what memories came back from them?"
Ones about Raf being important to me, she thought to herself.
"Just that Raf can be added to the list of things I would've died to protect, I guess," she explained. "But it's getting easier to remember things. I don't fall to the ground hazy anymore."
"That's good," Roman nodded, and Lilah nodded as well.
Slowly, she stood up. "I'm gonna get changed," she told him, walking over to her drawer.
Roman couldn't help but take note that she had fully unpacked her clothes instead of leaving it in the luggage like he had.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
ngl, i'm in a HUGE peyton alex smith typa mood rn. just give me raf honestly! also, if you're an all american fan, i made a fic for damon sims (raf's character) ehehehe
DISCUSSION BOARD
· okay, so lilah had memories from the limbo spell with stefan! but all that's really given her is questions about raf
· question: do we want roman to go or stay? i'm sort of leaning towards having him to back "onto the field" but this doesn't mean its the end for lilah and roman, considering they got this whole "no matter what, i'll find you" prince charming and snow shit going on lately
· going to be incorporating arianelle a bit more since i did introduce her (honestly idek why i introduced her but here we are)
· also finally came up with an idea for lorelle, since i threw her in without really thinking about the why and the how, and i am loving it
· also starting trying to make plans for who lilah will be endgame with and the truth behind why dahlia turned her into a vampire
· ahhh everything is coming together, i am so excited