CHAPTER THREE
The Aquilo boy learned his way around the Salvatore school quickly for someone who had only been there for two or three days. He had learned his way between classrooms and how many steps would take him from the dormitory to the Grand hall that he had yet to dine in since his roommate, who he had gotten along with very well, had taken the new wolf out to eat lunch at the Mystic Grill the past two days. Owen claimed the seating arrangements both indoors and outdoors gave them an opportunity to spot the prettiest non-supernatural girls in all of Mystic Falls.
The sound of a pointer hitting the blackboard drew Adrian out of his thoughts. He lifted his eyes from the splinter sticking out of the wooden table in front of him, he had been picking at it since he got to where he was. He was seated in the back row of his geometry class that took place in a light-colored classroom with his feet propped up on the chair beside him, the sun shining through the windows, warming his skin despite the cold January weather outside.
The wolf had learned to absolutely despise his mundane classes but had yet to appear in any of his supernatural classes because of his acknowledgment that the alpha of the Salvatore school's werewolf pack was searching for him, thanks to Owen. The brunet wasn't one to avoid people, on the contrary, he confronted pretty much anyone who seemed to have a problem with him but at this new school— nay, when he had been given a chance at a new life, he was going to try to avoid conflict.
"You're a new face"
The boy glanced over his shoulder to see a pale blue-eyed blonde— the same blonde that Hope had told him about when they caught her whispering about the Mikaelson girl in the hallways on his first day. She was one of Alaric's daughters: the meaner, bitchier one; Elizabeth Saltzman, "A handsome face but a new one"
The girl pulled the chair beside the wolf out, forcing him to drop his legs on the floor and sit properly, "Is this seat taken?"
Adrian was hesitant, not only because he wanted to sit alone but because he thought he saw the familiar long auburn locks that belong to one Hope Mikaelson, "Actually—"
The blonde smiled as she took a seat on the chair, making the boy cut himself off, "Thanks" Realizing that she had yet to introduce herself to her classmate, the girl stuck her hand out to greet him, "Lizzie Saltzman. Twin, siphoner, blonde but most importantly— single"
The Aquilo boy only nodded, as he reverted his focus to the splinter. He didn't want to be rude but Lizzie's energy level was at a hundred and his energy level was at a sinking ten, "Anywho... there's a party tomorrow night that my si— that I am throwing to, uh, kick off the school year"
Adrian chuckled, "A back to school party... in January?"
Elizabeth's smile grew as she admired the boy, getting lost in thought. She could already see them going to all sorts of school dances together, the dates they'd have, their wedding invitations, or if one would want to go down a more morbid path— their joint tombstone. it was obvious that the siphoner had taken an interest in this handsome new werewolf and she wasn't planning on letting anyone get in the way of the possibility of them having a relationship.
The brunet, having been left beside the now spaced out girl, reached out and touched her shoulder, "You okay?"
Lizzie nodded, pulling herself out of her train of thoughts, "Yeah, uh, where was I?... Right, the party" She cleared her throat, a smile decorating her lips, "Since I'm hosting the party, which is going to be at the old abandoned mill in the woods, I was wondering if you wanted to come as my date?"
Adrian hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to come off as rude but he wasn't going to be anyone's date tomorrow or for the next year, "Look, Lizzie—"
"The school year has just begun and you've already found someone to torture?"
The boy couldn't help but smile to himself. He may have only known her for a few days but he would recognize that voice anywhere— Hope was there. She wasn't keen on being friends with him but she seemed to be the only one apart from Doctor Saltzman who knew what Adrian had been through. And she couldn't have had better timing.
The siphoner looked up to find the auburnette standing in front of her. She sighed, "Please leave. We don't need your negativity, Mikaelson. Adrian and I were having a nice conversation that we'd like to get back to so shoo"
Hope glanced over at the silent wolf for a moment. She crossed her arms and turned back to the pale-skinned girl, "Actually, Lizzie, you're in my seat"
The blonde rolled her eyes, "Can't you, like, go somewhere else?"
The tribrid scoffed, "You're not even in this class"
Lizzie narrowed her eyes at the shorter girl who seemed to be close enough to Adrian to want to interact with him and not shut him out, like she does everyone else. The Saltzman girl released a defeated sigh before she got up and left the geometry classroom to follow her own schedule.
With the pale blonde gone, there was nothing but semi peace within the Aquilo boy as he leaned back in his chair. Hope sat down on the now available chair, "You're welcome"
Adrian glanced at the girl for a second, "So, she's a bit... intense"
The tribrid nodded, her arms folded over her chest, "It's Lizzie"
The male wolf chuckled, "Yeah, she said that but what's with her? What's her deal?"
"Like I said, it's Lizzie"
✶
Students chattering, silverware clattering, and the smell of food everywhere— this was the Grand Hall, a dining hall that looked to be inspired by the fictional Hogwarts' dining hall where the Salvatore students met at least three times a day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The Aquilo boy looked around the Hall as he searched for an available seat, a tray of food in his hands. He noticed Hope sitting on her own at a table in the corner and immediately found himself walking towards her. They hadn't spoken since she saved him from Lizzie Saltzman the day before.
The Mikaelson girl seemed to have noticed the wolf walking towards her table because she gathered her things on her tray to make room for another person to join her, she didn't seem to mind Adrian joining her but someone else did. The tray was suddenly ripped out of the brunet's hands, he turned around to face the culprit and found two girls standing in front of him: Lizzie and a pretty brown-eyed brunette who shared some features with the blonde.
The wolf furrowed his eyebrow, confused as to why they approached him, "Can I help you?"
"No, but we can help you" The brown-eyed female smiled, "I'm Josie, Lizzie's twin"
"Fraternal" The blonde twin added. She hooked her arm through the boy's and her sister copied her as they began to lead him away from Hope's table, "Trust me, you don't wanna sit there"
The Saltzman girls led the boy around in the grand hall, introducing him to groups of people and seating arrangements, "And why not?" Adrian questioned.
"Adrian, where you sit in the Grand Hall is crucial" Josie stated but her sister interrupted her before she could continue.
"You've got everybody here," Lizzie began, pulling the male a bit closer, "The lower grades, preps, nerds, cool people, varsity jocks, unfriendly hotties, desperate wannabes, burnouts, drill team members, sexually active geeks, founding family babies, cool people, the best people you will ever meet, which—"
"So, pretty much every single person I don't want to interact with? Great" The curly-haired boy pulled himself out of the twins' hold on him and took his tray back, "But, hey, thanks for the warning"
"But what about—"
"I'll be alright" Adrian assured the Saltzmans before he left their side. With his tray in hand, the youngster made his way towards Hope's table but she was gone.
"If you're looking for our lone wolf, she just left"
The Latino boy turned around to find Owen standing behind him with a tray of his own, "She usually eats in her room but I heard Doctor Saltzman sent her to find you and eat with you"
The male wolves sat down at the table with their trays, Adrian scanned his roommate's plate; Owen had filled his plate with beef, croutons, and broccoli— a weird combination in the newcomer's opinion but he kept it to himself as he picked at his plate full of french fries and ketchup.
The brunet watched in silence as his roommate ate when something his younger sister used to say popped up in his mind. She used to make fun of her mother's healthier meal choices that differed from the Aquilo siblings usual take out fast food.
┏━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
'ONLY PSYCHOPATHS WOULD CHOOSE VEGETABLES OVER
FRENCH FRIES'
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━┛
Realizing that he had taken too long to respond the chocolate eyed boy tilted his head, confusion written all over his face, "What?"
"I said I heard Doctor Saltzman sent Hope to find you and eat with you" Owen repeated, shoving his food inside his mouth like a savage. He shrugged, "He said you and I have been taking too many trips to the Grill"
Adrian nodded in response. He began to pick at his food, covering everything in ketchup when an idea suddenly struck, "Hey, uh, you wanna go to a party tonight?"
The blond shrugged, "I've got nothing better to do"
"Party it is"
✶
Loud music bouncing from tree to tree in the woods, red plastic cups, and styrofoam cups everywhere, the sound of drunken teenagers cheering each other on as they all jumped around to the beat of the music— this was what those teen drama movies taught. This was what they made brooding teenagers think high school was all about.
Adrian and Owen made their way towards the old abandoned mill where the primary school students were prohibited from and the heathens, as Doctor Saltzman called them, were throwing what they considered to be the best party of their lives.
The blond slung an arm around his friend as he led him inside the mill, "This, my friend, is your official welcome to the Salvatore school" The two made their way over to a table full of cups, drinks, and what looked to be brownies. The olive-skinned boy furrowed his brows in confusion and his roommate saw it. Owen chuckled and took a step forward, he scanned the brownies before stealing one off the plate, "These, my friend, are Salvatore pot brownies"
"Why don't you try one?" A voice urged from behind.
The werewolves turned around to face the person who had addressed them and found Josie Saltzman walking towards them with another plate of brownies and a smile on her face. She set the second plate down beside the first and removed the saran wrap that covered the brownies, "My sister and I made them. It was our first time but I think it turned out good" The girl's sunny disposition and smile faded when her eyes fell on someone or something and it forced her to walk away.
With his roommate off to greet his friends, Adrian was left alone with the alcoholic beverages and the aforementioned brownies. He glanced back and forth at the dessert laced with morning glory for a moment, contemplating if he should take one. He picked one up but it was slapped out of his hands.
Gaping, the curly-haired boy turned to his side to find the culprit: a hazel-eyed olive-skinned brunette witch, various inches shorter than him but not as short as Hope, stood before him with a smirk plastered on her face, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"I just saved your life, asshat" The girl spat, "Do you even know what that is?"
The boy shrugged, "Uh, pot brownies?"
The brunette chuckled, "You've never had pot brownies like this, they're baked with crushed morning glory seeds and eye of newt. I basically saved your life, so you're welcome"
"Well, I never asked for a stranger to slap the shit out of my hands..." Adrian retorted.
"Penelope" The female spoke, "There you go, we're not strangers anymore, wolf boy"
She opened her hand and held her palm over the table as she continued to speak. The wolf watched as a liquor bottle filled a cup on its own before the girl grabbed it, "You were about to swallow the whole thing. Lizzie Saltzman made those, she doesn't exactly measure things... And for all we know, she placed a spell on them to make you like her" Penelope looked up at the boy, "Not that it would work, you're too hung up on little miss Hope Mikaelson over there"
At the mention of the tribrid, Adrian turned around to search for her, eyes scanning the crowded woods. The hazel-eyed witch couldn't help but smirk to herself as she waved at someone who was leaning against a tree— their silhouette being the only thing visible as the campfire the teenagers had made lit up the night.
The person, Hope, leaning against the tree furrowed her brows not only at the fact that the brunette beside the boy, Penelope, was waving at her but at the fact that she was with Adrian. Thinking that they both had seen her, she started to walk away. Realizing that she had been caught watching them, she began to walk away to leave the party.
It took a moment for the Aquilo boy to realize that the Mikaelson girl was leaving the party. He jumped down the steps leading out of the mill and shuffled past the partying crowd to get to the tribrid. Adrian reached out to grab her wrist and pull her back. Hope turned to face him when he pulled her towards him, she stumbled forward but he managed to get ahold of her before she fell.
The brunet let go of the girl and they both took a step back, "You're leaving?"
The ivory-skinned teenager sighed, "Yeah, I've been here for a while. Plus, I can't stand Lizzie taking jabs at me anymore"
Adrian glanced back at the blonde Saltzman girl and her crowd of mean girls who had gathered around the campfire not far away from the two wolves. He could hear her taunting the auburnette in front of him, "Who invited her? You'd think Daddy's girl would stay in her room like the lone wolf she is. There's enough trouble going on with her and my dad getting close and now she just had to take the new wolf from me too" Lizzie complained to her friends, "I just wish that Hopeless Mikaelson would disappear"
The Aquilo boy glanced down at the girl in front of him who suddenly found her shoes more interesting than anything in the world. Deciding that it would be best to leave the party and avoid conflict, he took Hope by her hand and began to lead her away. Lizzie couldn't help but snicker and roll her eyes when the two passed the campfire, "Speak of the actual devil"
The male looked at the tribrid again, it was obvious that the siphoner's words were getting to her, "Ignore her"
Hope shook her head and let go of the boy's hand. She faced the pale girl by the fire, "I'm warning you, Lizzie, don't mess with me. Not today"
The blonde snickered as she rose from the lodge she had been sitting on, "What are you gonna do? Tell your parents?" She feigned a frightened look, "I'm so scared of your dead dad" The teenagers around the fire, who all seemed to be the 'we hate Hope' club, laughed at Elizabeth's words.
The Mikaelson girl gulped, she had never felt like this before: vulnerable and embarrassed. Normally she'd fight back but she didn't have the energy to deal with the siphoner tonight, especially not after downing a cup of an unknown bronze liquid. Adrian watched her struggle to walk properly as she tried to carry herself away. It was clear that she wasn't one to attend parties as most people knew not to accept a drink that has already been poured, especially not if you don't know what kind of drink is in it.
The wolf scanned the campfire surrounded with legacy kids, some of them from founding families— rich privileged assholes was what the boy guessed while they all laughed with the blonde who made fun of Hope, "Face it, without your big bad hybrid of a father backing you, you're nothing"
A scowl appeared on his face when the brunet realized that Hope was going to take the harsh words that had been thrown at her, he, however, wasn't. Lizzie was acting like a bully and it didn't sit well with him, especially not when she was bullying Hope. He looked around and found Penelope's hard gaze on him. She nodded, urging him to take action and do something.
"Hey, uh, Libby?"
"It's Lizzi—"
Before anyone, any single partygoer could react, Adrian ripped a red solo cup out of Penelope's hand which she happily let him do. He threw the cup's contents at the blonde, completely soaking her.