CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Times were getting harder at the Salvatore School, February was coming to an end and midterms were less than three weeks away but it didn't matter how far away it was, the students were stressed none the less, however, a now well-accustomed werewolf found himself more relaxed than ever which was terrible since he was the one who had to study everything the students in his grade had studied this semester yet, passing the midterms wasn't his priority right now.
Adrian's first duty as one half of an official couple was to check up on his girlfriend, who had been feeling under the weather for a few days, with a feel better potion his friend Penelope had brewed.
Knocking on the Mikaelson girl's door, the male brought the potion— that looked like a normal plastic water bottle— to eye level to inspect it. Specs of green floated around in the shimmering coral water.
The door opened by itself and the boy strolled into the room, his eyes roving around for his girlfriend and found her sitting by her desk with her nose stuck in a book which was why she had opened the door with her magic, "Daughter of the great evil"
Crossing the room, the male made his way over to the desk and set the potion he brought down in front of the female before he took a seat on the window sill, facing her, "How are you today?"
"Great" Hope answered, meeting her boyfriend's gaze, "That was until you waltzed in with 'daughter of the great evil'"
The boy nodded, "I finished the reading you sent me to do since you're lazy and won't tell me anything about your father"
The tribrid shook her head, returning to her book, "It's not because I'm lazy"
"Right" Adrian got up from the window sill to take a seat on a piece of comfortable furniture. He laid stomach-down on her bed, "It's because you're biased. And so you thought I should trust a more unbiased source or someone who wasn't as close with him as you were like, I don't know, the population of Mystic Falls. Also, Dr. Saltzman's books are literally body count lists and Klaus Mikaelson's memoirs aren't exactly what I thought they'd be when Penelope told me about him. He seems to have been... what's the word? Murderous? Vindictive? Oh, I got it, a sociopath"
"And that's my father for you" Hope sighed, placing her book down on the desk to drink the coral potion that Penelope had brewed for her, "Well, who he once was"
┏━━━━━━━━━━┓
I ALREADY FUCKED UP
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The male licked his lips as silence fell over the room. Earlier today, when he sat in the Stefan Salvatore memorial library, the boy found interesting stories about Klaus Mikaelson not wanting his daughter to be born. He wanted to ask her but feared that she would react badly, "Did uh— Did he really tell those witches to get rid of you and your mom?"
"He did" The girl admitted, "But you don't understand. My dad, well, he was—"
"You don't have to tell me," The Aquilo boy told the girl which she appreciated. Hope felt comfortable knowing that with Adrian, she wouldn't have to tell him anything until she was ready, "I trust you and his memoirs more than I trust Dr. Saltzman's somewhat biased opinions... And soon enough I'll have enough knowledge about your dad to write a fucking essay, wouldn't that be something?"
The tribrid shrugged, "I mean, I had a project in eight grade and I decided to write about Dad and got an A" She smiled, remembering how happy she got when she finished her project, "Now, I'm doing my homework which is something that you should get started on. You missed the deadline for the English paper, it was supposed to be turned in two weeks ago and you haven't even started on it"
Adrian pushed himself up from the bed, "I was thinking that we could head out to a party"
"A party? Now?" The male nodded which left the girl unable to decide, "But I was just getting started on my chemistry of magic assignment"
The wolf born male groaned, falling back onto the bed, "Can't you do that tomorrow? I'm willing to be your lab rat if you come to the party with me"
The female pressed her lips together, a serious expression spreading across her face, "Adrian"
"Hope"
The tribrid took a shaky breath and exhaled through now barely parted lips, "Fine but you owe me" Hope got up from her chair with a sigh. She approached her dresser to search for some clothes that weren't her school attire, "So, who's throwing the party? Jed? Penelope? The Saltzmans? Rick and Oscar?"
"The cheerleaders from the local high school" Adrian answered.
"What?" The Mikaelson girl dropped the clothes she held in her hands, "You want me to— Why are we going to a party thrown by the students from the local high school? Nonetheless, the cheerleaders?"
"Cause it's fun" The Aquilo boy approached the girl and her dresser. He pulled out the second drawer and grabbed a skirt and a top before handing them to his girlfriend, "And this is a part of the high school experience, isn't it?"
"Crashing another high school party? Yes, sir"
"Can we just check it out?"
✶
"You know, I was fine with Penelope and Owen tagging along but I think bringing everyone else is an exaggeration"
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THIS IS THE MOST ANTI
SOCIAL I'VE SEEN HOPE
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The Aquilo boy and the Mikaelson girl stepped out of a Salvatore school bus on their way to a two-story eggshell-colored house down the street from where they parked. They had been accompanied by their friends Penelope, Mg, Owen, and Santana but also by the Saltzmans, Jed and a few other Salvatore students. Hope hadn't been too happy about the Saltzmans and Jed tagging along because wherever Jed went, chaos followed and Lizzie and her remarks always seemed to cause a fight.
"The more the merrier" Adrian smiled at his girlfriend, "And we don't have to actually hang out with them"
"You could've just stayed home, Hope," Lizzie told the tribrid as the group walked down the street, "We'll have more fun without you anyways"
Owen turned around to face the blonde female as he walked, "Why are you always so mean to her?"
"She's the reason everything in my life has gone to hell" The light-haired siphoner responded.
The Aquilo boy chuckled, "You're exaggerating"
┏━━━━━━┓
EXTREMELY
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Hope furrowed her brows, "Why do I always have to be the bad guy, Lizzie?"
The blue-eyed Saltzman girl shrugged, "I don't know. Why am I the pretty one? We all have our thing"
"And yours is being a complete bitch" Penelope spoke.
Lizzie stopped, dead in her tracks and faced the brunette witch, "I thought that was your thing"
The Park witch hummed and smiled, "Can you see the 'fuck you' in my smile?"
"Wow" Elizabeth chuckled, turning around and walking up the porch of the house where the party took place. The loud music blasted throughout the house and out to the lawn, "You're really competing for bitch of the year, aren't you?"
Penelope nodded, a proud smile playing on her lips, "As defending champion, you nervous?"
"Do you ever stop to wonder why you hate me so much?" Lizzie questioned, "I mean, when have I ever given you a reason to hate me?"
"When has Hope ever given you a reason?"
The blonde Saltzman girl shrugged, "Would you like me to answer chronologically or alphabetically?"
The group of supernatural teens entered the jam-packed house. Penelope and Adrian kept pushing each other and hitting other people in the process as they walked further into the house.
Owen chuckled as he and Hope followed their two brunette friends, "You know at one point in my life, I thought Adrian would sleep with Penelope. They're made to be each other's partner in crime, they're literally the same person" The blond male's eyes widened when he realized that what he had said shouldn't have left his mouth since the Mikaelson girl was dating the Aquilo boy now, "I— I mean not that you two don't—"
Hope nodded, "I know what you meant, Owen"
"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here" The music stopped and the guests all faced the DJ booth to see who killed the party and found Dana Lilien, Mystic Falls High School's resident it-girl, a girl Adrian had crossed paths with more than once, standing next to the DJ, "The Salvatore students"
Lizzie grimaced, "I suddenly have the urge to hurl"
┏━━━┓
THEN HURL
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"Lizzie Saltzman" Dana faked a smile as she approached the group of supernaturals, "Here's some advice from the students who always beat you at the annual flag football game. Make sure to not literally bite the dust this time. Keep your clumsy sister from playing and you might actually have a chance to get at least one point"
"Appreciate the passion in that but maybe you should exert some of it practicing for the game cause we're taking you down this year" Santana spoke.
Josie and Owen shuffled their way past the crowd of humans to get to their friends, "You know what you are, Dana?" The brunette Saltzman shook her head in disapproval, "A rude person. You're a real douchebaguette"
The Salvatore students all mentally facepalmed themselves at the Saltzman girl's attempt at trash-talking, "Wow, Josie, go easy on her"
Lizzie narrowed her eyes, "Hey, Dana, why don't you go tongue chum your best friend's desperate low life quarterback boyfriend again?"
✶
"It's true," Mg told his friends. The Salvatore students had taken up space in the kitchen whilst the party went on in the backyard and in the living room.
Humans left and entered the kitchen in search of drinks and each time, they'd shoot nasty glares at the outsiders. And Dana was the worst, she and her friends had made it a habit to walk up to the supernaturals and pester them, attempting to drive them out of the house and get them to leave the party. The only reason the Aquilo teen was even there was because Dana and her friend Cheryl, who was celebrating her birthday tonight, invited him. They invited him and Penelope, not the whole school.
"Smaller creatures are more vicious"
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LIKE WAY MORE VICIOUS
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"Mhm" Penelope agreed, "It's because their anger has less space to be bottled up in"
"That's ridiculous" Owen laughed but then his face turned serious, "Give me one example"
"Spiders" The Park witch spoke, the eight-legged creature was her favorite animal to prank people with. After she broke up with Josie, she cursed Lizzie and the blonde had spiders crawling out of her mouth for a week.
"Wasps" Josie added.
"Chihuahuas"
The blonde Saltzman girl faced the auburn-haired female, a smug smirk on her face, "Hope"
"Speaking of, how would you guys describe our short auburn-haired friend in three words?" Penelope asked the group of supernaturals as she lazily slung an arm over Hope's shoulders, attempting to change the subject.
"Oh, I know the answer to this" Adrian took a swig of the drink in his hand before he leaned forward and handed the bottle to the Mikaelson girl who sat across from him, "She has a boyfriend"
"Four words"
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STILL TRUE
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"My turn!" Lizzie exclaimed. She took the beer bottle from the tribrid, surprising everyone and not in a good way, "Bitter, short... and a tryhard"
"Careful" Adrian warned, taking his bottle back from the blonde beside him before she drank from it. Letting Lizzie share his drink with him wouldn't exactly sit well with Hope, "She might strangle you"
The blonde scoffed, "Can she even reach my throat?"
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NO, BUT SHE COULD STRANGLE
YOU WITH HER MAGIC, I'VE EXPERIENCED IT... FIRST HAND
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Penelope let out a chuckle, "You know sometimes I wonder why neither of us hasn't hit or slapped you yet"
The light-haired Saltzman girl cocked a brow, putting on a challenging face and pursing her lips, "Then why don't you?"
The Park girl sighed, internally wishing that she could hit the girl but she wouldn't, at least not with Josie and Owen there, "It would go against my moral compass"
The Whitaker boy snorted, "Bullshit, Peez. Your moral compass is a fucking roulette wheel"
✶
Adrian and Penelope had left the party to talk in private and Lizzie Saltzman had taken it as her chance to finally get back at Hope for everything she had done to her over the years, which was close to just about nothing. Sure, the Mikaelson girl had been drawing attention to herself, she needed a lot more help accustoming herself to the fact that she couldn't be a wallflower for the rest of her life.
Owen, Josie, and Mg tried their best to keep the girls away from each other as the blonde Saltzman's remarks were enough to light the fuse and forced the tribrid to give in and, unfortunately for Lizzie, punch her which ended up in a huge brawl where the police quickly got involved, the party was shut down, and the Salvatore students were all escorted home.
Once the teens had returned to their school and been sent upstairs to their dorms, their headmaster cleared things with the Sheriff and his deputies. When he solved everything with the authorities, Dr. Saltzman left to find Hope and Lizzie to have a very serious conversation with them. He found his daughter on her way down to the dining hall and the two of them ran into the Mikaelson girl in the hallway on her way to her boyfriend's room.
It only took a few moments until the girls began to argue again in the upstairs corridor. Alaric tried his best to silence them and calm them to not wake the students who were asleep.
Hope sighed, "Okay, so I did hit Lizzie. But you have to understand, I was pro—"
The dorm door closest to the three of them opened and a confused and tired Adrian stood in the doorway. He yawned, wearily rubbing his eyes. The tribrid glanced over at her boyfriend for a moment before she met her headmaster's gaze.
Alaric sighed, "Why can't you just be the bigger person, Hope?"
┏━━━━━━━━━━┓
SO ITS HOPE'S FAULT?
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The Aquilo boy furrowed his brows, to him it sounded like the older male was blaming Hope and only Hope for what went down. The brunet hadn't been at the party when it happened but he had heard about it from Owen when he returned to their dorm, "How do you know that she wasn't? Maybe Lizzie was the one who threw the first punch"
"First of all, I didn't" The blonde Saltzman crossed her arms, "And second, she's five two and bitter, she physically unable to be the bigger person—"
The Mikaelson girl faced the other female, borrowing her brows in anger, "Oh, really, Lizzie? How low can you—"
"Cut it off" Alaric snapped, "Or you'll all be locked up in a room to make amends"
"Make amends?!"
Elizabeth dropped her arms, an annoyed expression spreading across her face, "You always try to solve things by threatening us with detention or locking us up somewhere. It doesn't work, Dad"
"We'll see about that"
✶
"Is anyone else having complete Deja vu? I feel like we've been here before"
Adrian, Hope, and Lizzie sat in the male's dorm room. Alaric had gotten a witch to place a boundary spell that only she could break which meant that the teens were trapped inside until they solved things. The only problem was that the two females were far from making amends.
The couple were sitting on the male's bed while the blonde girl sat alone by one of the desks, banging her head against it multiple times, "I just want to get out of here"
The tribrid turned around to face the Saltzman girl, "There's half an hour left"
Lizzie looked up, "I wasn't talking to you"
Hope sighed, getting up from the bed, "Look, we wouldn't have been here if it wasn't for you being so desperate"
"Desperate?"
"I mean, the lengths you went to go on a date with Adrian. You literally isolated him from the world by spreading lies, you tried everything you could possibly come up with to get him to date you" The male laid down on his bed as the auburn-haired girl spoke. He placed one of his earphones in his ear so he could listen to music and ignore the girls.
Elizabeth rose from the desk, an incredulous look on her face, "Oh, excuse me for wanting to date someone at my own level and not some lowlife from Mystic Falls High"
The Mikaelson girl nodded, a smile on her lips, "Then how about you date the trashcan outside?"
The siphoner faked a pout, "Did you forget all mean things you could tell me when your boyfriend got back from sucking faces with Satan?"
Hope sighed, "Look, I get it, Lizzie. You hate me, fine keep doing that but you can't blame me for whatever Adrian has done"
"Whatever Adrian has done?" The Saltzman girl had grown tired of Adrian and the drama that came with trying to date him but what she never realized was that he wasn't the only one at fault, "He dumped me at the Valentine's Day dance to go look for you. He ignored me for you"
"But I had nothing to do with that!"
"No, you two getting together was just the tip of the iceberg. Face it, Hope, I'm over your issues. You've been tormenting me for a decade and I'm done" Lizzie told the Mikaelson girl, raising her voice with every word, "So you know what? Yeah, I do hate you. More than anyone. You've taken every chance you've gotten to ruin my life, was it that hard to realize that I hate you?"
Hope took a deep breath, taking a step closer to the other female, "No. And since I just learned that if you hate me with every fiber of your being, I'll hate you with every inch of my body"
"Oh, Hope" Adrian sighed, facepalming himself and shaking his head in disapproval, showing that he had heard everything they said even if he had music on.
"Am I suppose to be scared?" Lizzie chuckled, "You're like five inches"
┏━━━━━━━┓
TRUE BUT STILL
┗━━━━━━━┛
"You don't have to be mean to her"
"Easy for you to say, you're dating her"