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Mia woke up the next morning in one of the guest rooms of the Mikaelson mansion. She kicked off the bedsheets and headed straight for the kitchen to cook up something to eat. She guessed that Klaus went grocery shopping because the fridge was filled with various foods.
A smile appeared on her lips when she prepared some toast, fruits, and a cup of coffee to drink before leaving.
"What a sight," Kol walked into the room with his hands inside of his pockets.
The girl rolled her eyes and continued to eat her breakfast. Kol was just standing there, leaning against the wall, staring at her.
"Kol," She set her coffee cup down harshly, "what do you want this time?"
Last night, he kept trying to tease and talk her into sleeping in the same room. To "keep you safe" he constantly told Mia, until Klaus showed up and they had a discussion. The wolf didn't want to listen on it because she was so tired, so she fell asleep early.
"Where's Kara?" Kol took a seat across from the doppelgänger, "why isn't she here?"
"She comes and goes whenever," Mia finished the last of her food, "she doesn't have many friends here."
His facial expression sadden a bit, "what my brother says about her, is it true? Kara's not the same anymore?"
Kol didn't want to believe what they were saying. Just because he wanted to hang onto hope.
"I don't know how she was like as a human, but she doesn't have any sympathy or limits towards people," Mia sighed, "maybe it'll be different if she sees you– I'm not entirely sure. You shouldn't expect too much."
There was silence between them until the wolf looked at Kol's face. His expression was despondent and it looked as if he was thinking very hard. Mia decided to speak up.
"Do you remember? What she was like before?"
"You could not have gotten someone else to run errands with? You had to drag me along?"
Kol complained the whole way to the late night farmer's market. The streets were lit with paper lanterns, decorated with flowers to celebrate the summer, and flooded with visitors from other towns.
"What fun is it with them?" Kara shook her head as she held her basket, "Yes, Miss Radford. Anything for you, Miss Radford. They are much too afraid to engage in basic conversation with me in fear of my father."
"Perhaps they do not like you much," Kol teased and smiled at her, making her chuckle.
"I had never thought of that. Perhaps I am too insufferable to be with," Kara joked and went up to one of the stands. She picked a few peaches for a new recipe she wanted to try, alongside some other baking ingredients.
"Which should I go with?" Kara picked up a sample of blueberry jam on a cracker, holding it up to feed Kol, "blueberries or strawberries?"
He was hesitant, but he reluctantly allowed her too. He was almost too flustered to answer, "definitely strawberries."
"I could use leftovers to make cookies too," Kara mumbled to herself and nodded. The basket was beginning to fill with various foods, it looked too heavy for her.
Without a word, Kol took the basket away, and held it for the rest of the night. Kara was surprised at the sudden gesture, but when she saw how shy he looked, she smiled to herself.
"Beautiful flowers.." Kara awed at the flower stand on their way back. She wanted a second to admire them, "growing flowers takes a lot of work. These get chosen for festivals and balls.."
"You like flowers?" Kol noticed how she would pick little flowers sometimes, braiding them into her hair for the day.
"I have always wanted my own flower shop. Women cannot work, my father says, but I wish to have one," Kara stared at the bouquets sadly, "my brother would get me flowers every day when he came home. It is a term of endearment to me.. Receiving flowers is the same as saying I love you."
Kol watched and listened as Kara talked. He didn't notice this before.. He didn't know why, but tonight she looked beautiful. Even more than any other women he had seen in his life, he wasn't much of a romantic either, therefore he didn't understand what he was feeling.
"Oh!" Kara turned to leave, but she almost bumped into a little kid in her way.
They could tell he didn't have much as his clothes were torn and he had ripped woven bag to carry his groceries. He was staring intensely at the flowers, wanting to get them but knowing he couldn't.
"Which ones do you like?" Kara asked him softly, bending down to his level to hear him better, "are they for you?"
"My sister is sick," he looked at her sadly, "she is sick and she is bed ridden. She cannot go outside.. I want to bring them for her.."
His voice got quieter after the last part, he began to mumble. Kara's heart grew heavy, she was reminded of her own brother, and she insisted to buy the flowers for the young boy.
"Anything your sister would like," she nodded, "would you like a piece of advice? This one right here— it is a symbol of good luck. Let this rest under your pillow and it will..."
Kol again listened while Kara was talking to the little boy, she had acquired great knowledge about flowers and their origins. She mentioned she would sometimes study in their library when her father wasn't home, a little detail that Kol found interesting.
He was experiencing genuine kindness in front of eyes, a kindness that he never seen before. Being stuck in a coffin for years isolated him from the good in the world. He didn't know such good could exist in one person.
Kol snapped out from his pondering, "kind, empathetic, generous– every characteristic opposite of what Elijah says she is now."
He got up and pushed in his chair, "I'd hope somewhere she's still in there."
Mia raised an eyebrow, "where are you going?"
"Work," Kol winked and made his way out of the house. She shrugged her shoulders, got up to wash the dishes, and saw Klaus sitting by himself in the living room.
Mia took a seat next to him, "what's going on?"
In between the secret discussions of Klaus and Kol, alongside Rebekah being gone for the whole day, she knew something was wrong.
Klaus brought his hand to his face and rubbed his forehead, "Rebekah and I found out that a white oak sapling still exists, here, in Mystic Falls. With all of us connected together, someone might have to courage to take us down."
He glanced at her, "perhaps your friend group you're so fond of."
She remembered the talk Elijah and her had before everything happened, the only weapon that can kill an Original vampire would be a white oak tree.
"But if they kill you, they're going to kill everyone. The whole bloodline."
"That's a little twist for them," Klaus got up from his seat, "I've got a few errands to run– the first is visiting my oldest brother, Finn."
He smirked, "don't worry. I told Rebekah to watch over you just in case something happens."
"After you find Finn, how are you going to break Esther's bond?"
"I've got witches here and there," Niklaus playfully rolled his eyes, "here– Bonnie Bennett."
Mia didn't have to warn Klaus to not be hasty. In fact, she trusted his intentions and only felt nervous at the fact that there's a chance he might die. She tried to bury her feelings by not thinking about them, yet the worry was seeping through.
"Um, okay. Can you drop me off home then? With a car," Mia glared at him, "I saw one in your driveway."
"Why not–"
"Use the car."
❦
The car ride back home felt nostalgic to Mia. The only difference this time was that Niklaus allowed her to put her feet on the dash.
Listening to the music playing faintly in the background, watching the world around her blur by, and relaxing back in the car seat; that was her whole Summer.
It sounds terrible, being stuck in a car. But why do I miss it? Mia frowned a little.
Klaus pulled into the driveway and turned to the little wolf. She had a lonesome look in her eyes, but he didn't want to bother by asking. Mia gathered her stuff and hopped out of the car, but she hesitated.
Her hand was holding the car door open when she was glancing at the hybrid.
"Klaus. Be careful, okay? I don't mean be careful with those around you. You. You be careful."
He was touched by the concern Mia was suddenly showing him, so Klaus reassured her by making a joke.
"The Original Witch couldn't kill me. What makes you think a group of lanky vampires will?"
"Just..take care," Mia slightly chuckled at his jest and walked into her house. She looked out the window until his car sped away from her view.
When the girl turned back around, Danielle and her sister, Zella, were sitting on the stairs.
Mia furrowed her brows, "bad news?"
She took a seat on the fifth step behind Danielle.
"Sort of. Dani will explain," Zella gave courage to the youngest sister, "Also, please don't freak out."
"Why would I freak out?"
"Okay–" Danielle asked for Mia's attention. "After failing to find a substitute plan from yesterday, Damon came by to tell me himself that he killed Abby– Bonnie's mom. She was in transition to become a vampire, but Bonnie was not too happy about."
She played around with the curls of her hair,
"I was so devastated. Bonnie lost her mother and I could have done something, I just didn't know how. So I thought about it.. And I want to go back and live with Alecia."
"Live with her? Why?" Mia's calm mindset turned angry.
Danielle sighed, "because she only taught me control over my powers. Now I need less of that. I need to learn more advanced spells and loopholes around everything."
"You're going to leave?" Mia felt more angry, "us? Your family?"
"Mia– I knew that you would react like this, but it's something that Danielle needs to do. And as a family, we need to support her," Zella talked some sense into her, "she's going to come back."
She sighed and rubbed her face. Zella was right– it was witch thing that couldn't be understood by anyone else.
"When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow morning. Michelle's going to drive me."
"How'd Michelle react?" Mia imagined the oldest sister freaking out and yelling.
"It took a couple tries to convince her.." Danielle rolled her eyes when she looked back at the argument, "She made up her mind this morning."
Mia nodded her head and sighed again. She pulled her sisters into a big hug, "be safe. And when you come back, you better know how to turn bread into a five-course-meal."
"It doesn't work like that," Danielle laughed and pulled away from the hug. "Well, I have to go say goodbye to my school friends. The only ones I've ever made."
She took her house keys and a jacket before leaving.
"She grew up so fast," Zella joked. "I'm heading to work– don't go to the Grill today," she grabbed her car keys and left.
Mia couldn't help but smile to herself, she loved her sisters more than anyone. She shuffled upstairs to charge her phone that has been dead since last night.
Once it turned on, the device revealed various notifications from Sage, Damon, Michelle and Caroline.
"Ugh," Mia groaned as she explained her situation and texted them all back. Sage, however, asked if she was available today and wanted to grab a cup of coffee. Of course she agreed, she hasn't seen him in awhile considering everything that happened. Mia changed into a different set of clothes, then left to go meet him.
As she was sitting there, half listening to Sage's story, she couldn't help but wonder if she truly liked him.
Maybe she liked the idea of him or the fact that they get along easily, however her feelings for him were questionable. Mia has never liked a boy or even turned to look at them– there wasn't any time while searching for her parents.
"You okay?" Sage waved his hand in front of Mia's face, "what's got you distracted?"
"Oh–" She didn't notice that he finished his story, "I'm sorry. It's just my family.."
Mia trailed off, it wasn't what she was thinking but it was a perfect excuse.
"Lots of family complications," Sage noticed that was her automatic lie, "Everything good at home?"
"Um– not really," she shrugged her shoulders, "nothing that you could help with."
He let out a small sigh, "but I can listen."
"Yeah?" Mia laughed, "it's more complicated than you think. Way more complicated."
He'd probably laugh at her face if she talked about witches, werewolves, and vampires.
"I'm all ears."
"God–" she gripped the ends of her jacket sleeves, "it's going to be weird. And I'll understand if you don't ever want to talk after this."
Mia went on from the beginning– her parents, Kara, meeting Elijah. Until the end– which was killing an Original vampire and witch. She didn't leave out any details.
While talking, Sage kept his focus and eyes on her. He already knew of the supernatural world. When Mia stopped talking, he crossed his arms and sighed.
"Here comes the I don't believe you part," Mia hung her head low and squeezes her eyes.
"No– I believe you," Sage smiled. "I know that witches, vampires, werewolves and even hybrids exist. I believe all of it."
"Really?" she felt relieved, "or are you teasing me?"
"I'm not teasing," he laughed, "when I said my family moved here, it was because my adoptive family didn't want to stay in a city that only had bad memories for me. My real parents and my older sister were killed by a vampire."
Sage took a few seconds to compose himself, "I watched them as they died. At first, I thought it was a bad dream and I went back to sleep. Then, I woke up and saw their dead bodies.. again.."
Mia widened her eyes at him. She placed her hand on top of his, "Sage. I'm sorry... How did you know it was a—"
"Because I looked at their reports when I was older. There weren't any weapons used. Just open wounds on their necks," he sighed again, "I started to do my research and– yeah. Found out they were real. After being in the foster care system for a few years, my adoptive parents chose me and they decided that living in Colorado wasn't going to help me anytime soon."
She began to feel immense guilt from bringing up the topic. They were more emotionally connected than she thought.
"Again, Sage– I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," he entangled their hands together, "there's nothing I can do about it now. I've learned to let go."
Let go? Mia repeated, letting go of your family?
"So, did you study for the calculus final?"
"Ugh– can we not talk about that?"
❦
The two ended up reviewing homework and Sage walked Mia home. Since the coffee shop wasn't that far from her house, he wanted to make sure she got home safe.
"Okay, this is it," Mia made a face at the dark painted house they stood in front of, "looks like real vampires live here."
"You're going to scare the shit out of children on Halloween," Sage smiled, "It's a cool house though."
"Thanks."
Awkwardly, the teenagers stared at each other. Mia thought he was going to say something, but Sage held his tongue.
"Okay, bye," she unlocked her door and began to head inside, but there was a grip on her wrist.
"Mia," Sage's eyes softened as he called her name. "I just don't know how to say this any other way, but.. I really like you. Like you, like you."
Mia turned towards him; her stomach filled with butterflies and her cheeks heated. She tried to hold in her giggles, but it was unavoidable.
"Like me, like me?" She jokingly mocked, "as in more than a friend?"
"More than a friend."
Her eyes shifted around because she was nervous and she bit her lip, "well, I think the same. For awhile now, I have."
"Really? That's- that's good."
Again, the fell into silence. Mia was too excited and bewildered to say anything. That and she didn't know how to end the conversation.
"Children, children," Zella's voice was heard from the driveway. She returned from her shift and saw the couple standing on the porch.
"I can even feel the awkwardness," The older sister pushed past Mia and went inside.
Sage and her glanced at each other before laughing, Mia inhaled deeply and took hold of his cheek, then kissed it, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Oh– um–see you," he nervously nodded and waved goodbye.
Mia closed the door shut and locked it. As she relaxed her back against the door, her face was filled with happiness.
"Thank you, Universe!" she looked up at the ceiling.
"No– thank you, Zella," her older sister winked from across the room, "You guys would've been still standing there, all awkward and such."
The younger sister started to jump up and down, "I have a boyfriend! A human boyfriend!"
"Congrats, but," Zella opened the fridge, "I thought you had a boyfriend already."
"Klaus?" Mia shook her head, "he's not my boyfriend. He's.. an ally."
"Hm–" She took a spoonful of pudding, "an ally who gives you constant gifts, tries to show affection, repeatedly tries to protect you–"
"Shut up," Mia rolled her eyes, "by the way.. where's the gift that he left last time?"
Zella walked towards the cabinet and pulled out a yellow-brown shaded paper, "it's cute."
The paper revealed to have a drawing on it. It was Mia's face, with the same up-do and makeup she had on at the Mikaelson ball. In the background, there was a sketch of a wolf.
At least you're honest, the text below the wolf sketch read.
She scoffed, "nice drawing."
Mia ran up the stairs to hide the paper beneath her bed. While doing so, her phone began to ring.
"Hello?"
"Wolfie," Damon spoke into the receiver, "How are you?"
"I'm fine?" Her tone of voice rose at last vowel, "why?"
The door of her bedroom shut closed as Damon appeared in front of it. He ended the call and smirked at Mia's surprise, "I'm just checking on you."
"Warning?" She gasped and sat down on the bed, in which Damon followed after, "and did you set me up that time at the Mystic Grill?"
"Yes– only to distract your boyfriend, no hard feelings."
"He's not my boyfriend– I have one already."
"Two boyfriends?"
"One," Mia punched Damon's arm, "His name is Sage."
He was taken back, "His name is Sage? Are you sure she isn't a tall, blue-eyed, red-head vampire?"
"No, he is a human guy," Mia showed him a picture of Sage she took, "See?"
Damon examined the photo with a confused expression, "anyways– there's an older vampire named Sage. She has something to do with the Original family, so stay away from her. Also, Rebekah is snooping around. And something's wrong with Alaric. He's being possessed by some evil spirit that's making him kill people."
"W-what!?"
"He keeps saying he doesn't remember anything, but they've got him under control," Damon placed a hand on Mia's shoulder for reassurance, "Stay away from him too, we're not sure what he's capable of."
He got up to leave, his only job was to fill Mia up with the latest news. She quickly grabbed Damon's attention, "Damon, don't kill Klaus. He's–"
"Wolfie. I know you're not on our side, but it's not your business," He placed his hands on top of her shoulders, "And let me remind you– Klaus has been threatening us for the past months. I would think you'd like to protect your friends."
"But–"
"I'm sorry, but I've got work to get to," He patted Mia's head, "Be safe."
But if you kill him, you'll kill a whole bloodline, Mia wanted to say it aloud, but Damon sped away.
The wolf fell back into her bed and sighed– what am I going to do?
❦
The next morning, Mia got up early to take a jog around the neighborhood. She wanted to get everything out of her mental system by pumping adrenaline.
"How are you and Klaus?"
Mia turned her head at the younger Salvatore brother that showed up. He was jogging alongside the wolf with a small smile on his face.
"It's none of your business," she reverted her attention back, "Damon told me about how you and Elena are plotting against me, so–"
"So you think Damon won't tell us everything you say?" Stefan was trying to trick her into losing trust in the older vampire, "He's my brother."
"Yeah, you guys seem so close. Sharing the same girl and all."
"Mia–" Stefan stood in front of the wolf to stop her, "It's just a simple question— what is Klaus up to?"
"You should know he's always one step ahead. We spent the whole summer with him."
"Then you should know how cruel and manipulative he can be– don't tell me you've developed sympathy over this psycho?"
Mia shook her head, "again– not your concern. Now leave me alone."
She tried to turn her back on him, but Stefan gripped Mia's wrist.
"Stefan–" her werewolf strength couldn't beat vampirism, so she was stuck being crush by him.
"If you're not going to help us voluntarily, then I guess I'll have to make you."
Mia's eyes glowed and her teeth grew out, she attempted to bite the Salvatore, yet he pushed her back. She was sent flying away a couple feet, hitting her back against a tree.
Stefan was no where to be seen and Mia was left to herself, stupid son of a bitch,"
She lifted herself up and started to jog back home.
Instantly, she locked herself in and called her sister. Warning them to stay away from any of the brothers and Elena– in fact, staying away from any member of the Mystic Falls gang. Then, Mia called Rebekah to check on her.
"Where are you?" Mia heard multiple voices and mumbling in the background.
Rebekah sighed, "I'm at the Wickery bridge opening. Still looking on leads– what do you need?"
"Stefan attempted to threaten and take me as hostage a couple minutes ago."
"For?" Rebekah wasn't surprised, she knew that the girl was capable of protecting herself.
"He wanted more information on Klaus," Mia sighed, "He's really keen on killing him."
"Obviously, Nik ruined his life." Rebekah's voice turned into a whisper, "try your best to not get yourself killed. At least not until my brother comes back. I've got to go." She hung up the call.
Mia groaned and slumped back into her couch. Danielle and Michelle left in the early morning. After crying a bit, lecturing, and giving advice, the two finally left to go find Alecia. Zella was at work, again, and Mia was left alone at the house.
She decided to call up her boyfriend and ask what he was up to, "Hey, Sage."
"Mia, hey," he chuckled, "You need something?"
"No, but do you wanna go get something to eat together?"
"Yeah– I'm in the middle of something, but I'll call you in a few, okay?"
"Alright."
On the other side of the phone call, Sage was sitting in his living room with a group of vampires. The same ones that were chasing after Mia's parents. They were discussing their whereabouts and how to find them.
"So, let's go over this again. Shall we?" Sage set down his phone and smiled.
"After Mia and I get closer, I'll trick her into coming inside my house while all of you guys hold Michelle and Zella hostage. Then, once Tristan and Alannah have confirmation that the situation is real, they'll come here. And you'll kill them as their children watch, then you'll kill Mia's siblings as she watches."
"And are you going to keep her alive?" One of the vampires, Desmon, asked.
"For awhile. After everyone else is dead, you can leave. The rest of the mess is mine," Sage smirked. He rose from the couch to grab his coat, "the plan will start soon. Keep provoking her parents."
He walked out through the door and unlocked his phone. Sage clicked on a video from years ago– the security camera footage that caught a glimpse of his family's killer. His fingers paused the screen and zoomed on their face, a face that perfectly mirrored Mia's.
Sage scoffed, we're a lot alike, aren't we? He thought to himself before calling his "girlfriend."
"Mia, I'll pick you up at your house now. How about we watch a movie too? I'll pay, don't sweat it."