CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The curly-haired alpha laid on his bed as he conversed with his fellow brunette and friend Penelope. The male was putting in a few good words for his roommate who had admitted to having a crush on the Park girl that had been going on for a little over a year, "Look, Penny, I'm not asking you to have sex with him. All I'm asking is for you to give him a chance, just hear him out"
The female scoffed, readjusting herself on the Whitaker boy's bed, "You just told me he's in love with me and planning to ask me out. And now you want me to stand there when he tells me how he feels?"
"Like a normal person does? Yes," Adrian answered. He sighed, "Give him a chance. You've known him longer than I am, we both know he's good people. It wouldn't hurt to admit that you might feel something for him too"
Penelope cocked an eyebrow before she scoffed, "Might' is a very strong word"
The wolf chuckled, "I'll remind you of this in the future when the two of you are married and you've become this suburban mother of two that you hate so much"
The witch slowly rose from the bed as she glared at the male, "Keep talking Aquilo, you might not be able to finish before I strangle you"
"No one is strangling anyone!" The door to the dorm burst open and in came a worried Hope.
The brunettes faced each other, their eyes wide before they burst out laughing at the reaction the girlfriend had when she heard the threat, "Relax, princess, I wasn't going to strangle him"The Park girl assured the tribrid. She glanced back at the male, "At least not when he's awake"
Adrian gaped, "Thanks, Peez, I love you too" The Park witch sent the boy a smile and flipped him off before she exited the room to give the teens some privacy.
"Thanks for that, I've been trying to get rid of her all morning" The male chuckled but the tribrid didn't seem to find it amusing. He furrowed his eyebrows, now taking in her crestfallen expression as she stood in the doorway, pondering what she'd lead with when she'd tell her boyfriend about the news she had received, "What is it?"
The Mikaelson teen sighed, "I just talked to Dr. Saltzman and for what I'm about to tell you, I think you should sit"
The Aquilo boy crossed his arms, "What is it? Did Penelope and Josie hook up? Is Landon back? I mean, I thought I saw him when I went to grab some breakfast but that was probably someone el—"
The auburn-haired girl nodded, "Landon is back. And so is his brother. They came in yesterday, per Alaric's request"
The curly-haired male chuckled, "Jed is gonna have a field day when he hea—"
"They're burying your mom today" The tribrid revealed. She knew by the way he looked at her that the wolf wanted to know more, anyone would, "I know it's been a while since...uh, that day but Dorian said that they didn't want to bury her until the case was closed. And Doctor Saltzman said that he wouldn't let you out had it been under other circumstances and since there's a chance you're on the NYPD's most wanted list but he insisted that you went. He didn't want you regretting not being there for the burial"
The wolf snorted, the only thing he had heard was that he was on the NYPD's most wanted list, did the police really have nothing else to do or someone else to chase who had done worse than what they thought he had, "Me? On the most wanted list? You're kidding, right? I mean, there has got to be people who've done much worse than what they think I've done"
Hope sighed, taking a seat on the bed her boyfriend laid on, "To them, you've committed multiple crimes like second-degree murder, assault, and arson" She took his hand in hers, her thumb stroking the back of his hand, "I know how hard it can be, just please let me come with you. I'll stand as far away as you need me to... I just wanna be there to support you"
The male sighed, he didn't like the idea of going back to Brooklyn on his own but he didn't want to bring his girlfriend with him because of his grandfather. A few moments of silence passed as the brunet thought about it, he wouldn't do anything reckless and stupid if Hope was with him and Landon wouldn't even get a chance to exchange a word with the girl during the day which was a win-win for Adrian.
✶
Alaric had been skeptical about letting two of his students travel across the country to wander alone in a cemetery with Adrian's estranged family on his mother, Claudia, 's side. To be fair, they hadn't exactly traveled, the Mikaelson girl with the assist of Penelope Park was able to teleport herself and her boyfriend to New York City and from there, Adrian would take her to the cemetery. The suited Aquilo boy walked beside his dress-wearing girlfriend left the cab— that they had gotten in when they were in the city— once they reached their destination; Green-wood cemetery.
Hope glanced over at her boyfriend as they walked towards the entrance, "Are you okay? You've barely said a word since we got here"
The female took the silence as a way to tell her to stop talking but she couldn't, she felt like the situation was familiar. She had been there before: just wanting to get through the day, not talking to anyone, "It's hard coming back, isn't it? I stayed in New Orleans for a while when my parents died but we came and got you so quickly... you were never given the time or space to grieve"
Adrian nodded slowly, "I'm okay, Hope. I promise"
The male reached out to grab his girlfriend's hand to reassure her that he was doing alright. He took it in his, intertwining their fingers as they entered the cemetery by walking through a brownstone double-gate covered in panels depicting biblical scenes of death and resurrection from the New Testament. The couple walked towards a limestone chapel, people entering and exiting the building. A man in a suit and sunglasses stood outside, handing out the funeral program. He took his sunglasses off when the two wolves approached him, he watched the young Aquilo boy, eyes scanning him. The man didn't say anything, instead, he handed a program to Hope and Adrian and let them continue.
"Who was that?" The Mikaelson girl questioned when her boyfriend pulled her into the chapel.
The brunet looked back at the entrance as people came flooding in behind them to take seats before the service began, "My mom's uncle. They're all my mom's family"
"And your dad's?"
"They're all dead"
Hope nodded, she was left speechless. Her gaze drifting off to the decorations in the church and the flower arrangements that reminded her of the funeral they had for her mother back in New Orleans but without the jazz band per Nola tradition, "I— I've never been to one of these before" She spoke again, "A real funeral. The Crescents, we— they give a eulogy to a body covered with flowers and a person's grave goods before they pour the bourbon over it, light it and then they send the body on a float into the river where it burns under the crescent moon. A real Norse funeral"
Adrian didn't say anything, he knew that being at the funeral could bring back memories of the deaths of her parents. He directed his girlfriend to the seats in the back of the chapel where they'd sit to avoid getting recognized. The male began to explain to the tribrid beside him and tell her who everyone who passed them to get to their seats was.
"Adrian?... Is that you?"
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FUCK
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The wolves turned around upon hearing the boy's name and found a brown-eyed, freckled-faced blonde who looked to be around their age and the male's height standing behind them, her name was Meredith Ceasar, the girl that he had gone on a date on with his friends the day his family died, "Meredith?" The girl nodded.
The Aquilo boy got up as the female looked to be expecting a hug. The two hugged for only a few moments before the boy pulled away, "What are you doing here?"
"It's his mother's funeral" Hope answered the girl before her boyfriend could.
The blonde furrowed her eyebrows as she took in the tribrid's presence before she faced Adrian again. The boy cleared his throat, "Uhm, Meredith this is Hope, uh, my girlfriend"
There was a hint of shock in the Ceasar girl's eyes but it wasn't anything that Adrian had noticed but the Mikaelson girl, however, did. The tribrid had also seen the comfortable hand of the human that rested on her boyfriend's arm as she smiled, "I— I'm shocked. I thought you died"
The brunet shook his head, "N—no, I uh, I wasn't home when it happened. I guess I got lucky"
Adrian didn't know what to tell the girl or his other friends. He had been gone for more than two months, gone to a school for supernaturals and made new friends but he couldn't tell them that, it would sound as if he dropped everything to get a new life but he didn't. Doctor Saltzman had come to get him and at the end of the day that was something he was thankful for, "I went to go talk to Kevin after the movie"
The blonde's smile faded when a common friend of theirs and Adrian's best friend was mentioned, "About Kevin, uh, we need to talk—"
The Aquilo boy looked back at his girlfriend and the people who had gathered in the chapel, the service was starting and they were going to lose their seats if they didn't sit down right away, "Later? The service is about to start"
"Right, later" Meredith smiled and glanced over at the girl beside the boy, "Nice meeting you, Hope"
"You as well" The tribrid feigned a smile and a pleasured expression before the girl walked away. Getting back to the seats in the back with her boyfriend, the tribrid faced Adrian, "So, who was that?"
"The service is starting"
✶
The two Salvatore pupils rose from their seats the moment the service ended. The guests got dressed in their coats before making way for Adrian's grandfather, Gabriel, and his men as they carried his mother's coffin out of the chapel to her final resting place.
The guests followed closely behind as they all traveled from the funeral site to the burial site by foot. The Aquilo boy froze every time his grandfather looked back at the crowd, he feared that the man would grab him and try to kill him but he hadn't even glanced his way once.
The wolves walked slowly behind everyone else. Hope held Adrian's hand to comfort him as they followed the coffin to the Santos family mausoleum where all the Santos' and their men had been buried for years. She glanced up at him every now and then to see how he was doing, a neutral expression on his face as he clenched every muscle in his body to keep himself from approaching his grandfather and saying anything he'd regret. He clenched and unclenched his jaw, his free hand tapping against his thigh as the other held his girlfriend's.
He internally begged that he wouldn't have one of those panic attacks that ended with him calming down only to have him yell and scream at anyone near him out of anger. That was how it usually went: a panic attack then he'd have an episode that could last from two days to a week. He didn't feel like having one right now and if he did, he wouldn't know how to handle it what with his grandfather and their family around, it wasn't safe.
✶
Adrian and Hope wandered around his childhood home— his grandfather's mansion— in Brooklyn Heights. He had taken the girl on a tour around the house as the reception was underway. He had passed his grandfather and his men many times but neither of them had said a word to each other. The wolves were supposed to leave the city as soon as his mom had been laid to rest but he wanted to show his girlfriend his hometown while he could, he didn't know if he'd ever get the chance to come back.
The supernaturals walked down a hallway, looking at all the paintings of the Santos family members that hung on the walls, "We used lived here with my grandfather for a while but dad and mom got in a fight with him and they decided to move to Dumbo. My sister, Olivia, and I used to stay over here during the weekends and the days our parents worked so that we could see papa which is what we called our grandfather but he never had the time"
Adrian went on about his mother's family and the tribrid listened to every word, fascinated by the way their family seemed to function. Much like her own, the Santos were a dysfunctional family. The difference between them and the Mikaelsons was that the Mikaelsons had learned from their mistakes, joined forces and worked together to mend their broken relationships while Gabriel Santos shut his daughter and her family out.
The teens left the hall and entered a ballroom where the reception was held. The Aquilo boy looked around, their place looked ridiculous. The decorations looked fairly new, they had never been used before because this wasn't just for Claudia's funeral, it was to benefit Gabriel. He was to go into business with a well-known company and the men owning that company were there at the reception.
The wolf stood in silence as guests snuck a few glances at him, people danced and some even held eulogies on the makeshift stage which the male hated because none of them knew her, the only ones who knew Claudia was her husband and her children.
"Adrian" Hope spoke, she had called out to the boy two times already but he had been lost in thought however the girl's third try pulled him out of his thoughts.
He looked back at his girlfriend, "Hm?"
The Mikaelson girl gestured to the stage. As Adrian had let his mind wander off, his grandfather had given another eulogy before he announced that his grandson and only living relative was present at the funeral, asking him to give a eulogy before the night came to an end. The boy looked up towards the stage, unfortunately locking eyes with his grandfather.
"Step forward, son" Gabriel spoke into a microphone, his voice sounded calm but his eyes told the boy to take Hope and run for the hills.
The Aquilo boy shook his head, taking the female wolf by her hand, "I— I'd rather not. I'm not good at that stuff"
"We never know what we're good at before we try" The Santos male spoke with an intimidating voice.
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WHAT THE FUCK
DOES THAT MEAN?
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"You can do it" The girlfriend encouraged. The boy had told her much about his grandfather and she knew how worried he was that he still believed that Adrian was the reason that the Aquilos were murdered but it didn't stop him from leaving her side and getting up on the makeshift stage beside his grandfather who patted him on his back before he handed him the microphone.
"Uh, hi. I'm Adri—" The high pitched squeal of microphone feedback filled the air and the guests winced at the piercing noise. One of the Santos men went up on the stage and fiddled with the microphone before handing it back to the boy, "I'm Adrian, Marcus and Claudia's son. I'll just say this in English and hope that you all understand. uh, so my mother.... my mom she uh she was one of the nicest, most magnificent people you'd ever meet. She, uh, she had this saying..." Adrian's eyes flickered through the crowd when he found Hope watching him with a confused yet sympathetic one that urged him to continue but suddenly, he couldn't. His throat closed up as if someone was choking him to make sure he didn't tell lies, at least that's what it felt like to him.
"My mother grew up with the devil incarnate; her brother, a psychopath, who tried to rape her while my grandfather did nothing but tell his men to close his office door. His son fell in love with his daughter yet my father, a man who fought to get where he was, was considered a bad choice. Gabriel would rather have incest in his family than someone who would riot against his manic ways. This family killed my mom, the pressure, her brother, the fact that she'd never get to have her own family if her father got to choose: we all killed her. One way or another, we're all responsible for her death"
A few of the guests stared the boy down, they looked ready to jump him as soon as they got the chance, "Now, I can see that half of you are ready to bury me too... so, uh, gracias for coming to my mom's funeral, even though I'm sure she hated you all. Thank you for at least trying to lower your voices when you talked shit about my dad in the chapel and thanks for not calling me a murderer in god's home"
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MAN, DO I HAVE
DEATH WISH OR WHAT?
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Gabrial cleared his throat and ripped the microphone out of his grandson's hands, "Agárralo" He ordered, demanding that his men come up on the stage to grab the young boy and take him away.
Adrian's eyes widened at this but stood speechless as his grandfather continued. The older male neared the young boy, venom in his voice as he spoke, "I let you come to the funeral, I let you and your friend stay in my house, you eat my food and you say those things? Asesino" The guests gasped, backing away from the Aquilo boy and his grandfather as the word murderer left the older man's mouth, "Agárralo" Gabriel repeated his order. His men engaged immediately, moving towards the boy to do as told.
"I can walk myself out," The young wolf told the men that surrounded him, "For what it's worth, I hope you live a long life, papá... haunted by the mistakes you made by failing as a father"
"Get the hell out of here!"
The curly-haired boy had been on his way out when his grandfather called out again and it made him want to stay and provoke him, "Am I embarrassing you in front of these people? These people who didn't even fucking know my mom?"
The plan to provoke Gabriel didn't go too well as his men had taken Hope, two guards keeping her from running away as they held her back by her arms, "Adrian"
The supernatural teen's demeanor changed from a playful one to a menacing one, "Tell your men to let her go"
Mr. Santos didn't seem fazed by his grandson but instead, he looked rather amused. He didn't believe the boy had the guts to cause any harm to anyone at the reception as it was surrounded by guards, he didn't think the Aquilo boy to be so stupid, "Or what?"
"Or I'll do worse than what I did to the fucker that killed my family" The young Santos relative spoke with venom as he addressed his grandfather. He had no problem hurting others for the ones he loved but feared his mother's father more than anything yet here he was, threatening one of the most known crime bosses in Brooklyn.
"Tell them to take their fucking hands off her" Adrian's eyes flickered from their usual chocolate color to an amber color as a low growl escaped past his gritted teeth. He looked back at his girlfriend and the men that held her, the gold in his eyes frightened the males at first. The men let go of the girl to reach for their weapons which instantly made the wolf regret his words and attitude even if he may have gone through with killing them.
The alpha reached out for Hope's hand and pulled her along as he began to exit the ballroom, the frightened guests making way for the teens. The two hurried out to the foyer to rapidly come up with a plan, "Now would be a great time to do your witchy woo thing and get us out of here"
The female nodded. Letting go of her boyfriend's hand, she clapped her hands before she placed them on Adrian, closing her eyes as she cast her spell. The teen opened her eyes and found herself still there.
Hope's eyes widened in alarm when she heard the Santos men in the hallway, approaching them, "It's not working. I— i don't know... it just stopped. My magic doesn't work"
"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" The male threw his head back and groaned. He huffed and scratched his neck as he tried to come up with a solution, "Okay, uh, you go find a way out or a way to get your magic to work and I'll g—" The Santos men surrounded the teens before the male could finish. The teenagers fell to the floor just a moment before the men could take them away.
The Aquilo boy fell on the floor in his dorm back at SBS thanks to his girlfriend's magic. He looked around and found her on the floor not far from him but what he found in the corner of his shared room shocked him; Owen and Penelope were locking lips on the blonde's bed.
The Whitaker boy, who previously had his eyes closed, stared at his roommate with wide eyes, looking like a deer caught in headlights, "What the fuck?!"
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YEAH, WHAT
THE FUCK?
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