#And after that Chloe came to Elena because she knows her and she saved Family Day and I’m sure they got to chat before Elena left Norberg

[lieutenant-amuel]

Those two are friends, you cannot tell me otherwise.

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

TATMILB, CHAPTER 3

Penelope spent her life writing love letters, which didn’t seem like a terrible idea until the letters were mailed out and Schneider received one of them. Hoping to fool their exes, they agree to fake a relationship. But are they lying to everyone around them, or to themselves? aka my To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before-inspired AU.

Penelope x Schneider, ODAAT. available on ao3 with extra author’s notes.

Chapter 3: Penelope tries to bond with Alex during movie night; he and Lydia bring the family’s donations to Goodwill. Schneider returns from vacation and confronts Penelope. She panics.

While Schneider was away with Nikki over the weekend, Penelope splurged on a trip to the movies--luring Alex with the promise of food he didn’t have to sneak in.

She was trying to focus on silver linings instead of her anxieties about Elena, and the upsides included her new availability for Alex. Twice as much parent to go around could only lead to more bonding, right?

He had lobbied for an R-rated comedy, which she was definitely not willing to pay for. On her own, she would’ve headed right for the newest Bradley Cooper drama, but no amount of chocolate could convince Alex to sit through that.

So they compromised on an action movie--which would have the added benefit of covering up the sound of her soda later. Agreeing to buy concessions for Alex didn’t make her a different person. Her discount snacks were better than their overpriced junk, anyway.

He grinned at her over his bucket of popcorn while they waited for the lights to go down, and she considered her bribery a success. See, she could be the cool mom. Even if she had Raisinets in her cargo pants.

“Hey, Mom?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you still miss Max?”

Where did that come from? The question hurt, mostly because it was so unexpected. With Max exiting her life right before Lydia’s stroke, neither Alex or Elena had mentioned him much in the last year. They’d all had other things on their minds.

She let the pain pass by before she answered.

“Yes, Papito, I still do. It’s hard to let go of people you love. Sometimes, a part of you misses them even after you’ve moved on.”

He nodded, sipping his soda.

“Do you think you’ll start dating again anytime soon?”

That question was even more out of character for her son, whose world had been so often self-centered since he first came into it.

Penelope narrowed her eyes at him. “Why are you suddenly so interested in my dating life?”

“I was just wondering.”

”Well, I’m having fun the way things are. You and me, catching a movie on a Friday night, mother and son time with Elena away. Why would I want to date when I could be doing this?”

She grabbed a handful of popcorn and caught the way he cringed. Or flinched. Whatever it was, there was guilt there. Her mom radar went up.

“Alex, what is it? Is something going on?”

“It’s nothing!” He assured her in a rush. “It’s just...I kind of--did have a date.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. You wanted to go out together, so I rain checked it with Chloe for next weekend. But I mean, let’s be real, Mom. This can’t last forever. I’ll go off to college too, or modeling school, whatever, and then who will you hang out with?”

The trailers started playing, just in time, letting her wallow until the movie started.

Penelope couldn’t keep the sadness off her face as she watched Alex settle in with his snacks. He was growing up so fast on her. Too fast. And Elena was practically out of the house already.

She didn’t want to date just to avoid being alone, but hearing that concern from her teenage son? Ouch. So much for being the cool mom.

Now Penelope was glad that they’d picked an action flick. She was ready to watch some stuff blow up.

****

Alex emerged from his room the next morning waving his phone at her.

“Mom, that was the third text I’ve gotten from Elena since she left reminding us to take that stuff to Goodwill.”

“Good morning to you, too,” Penelope replied. 

She was almost out the door, but her son had the luxury of sleeping in on Saturdays until baseball season started. He was taking full advantage of it.

“Seriously, she woke me up--and I need my beauty rest. She’s not gonna stop bugging me until you drop it off.”

“Alex...” Penelope shrugged into her coat, kissing her Mami on the cheek in thanks for the quick cafecito she had substituted for breakfast. “It’s all boxed up, we finished it before she left; it’ll get there.”

“I’m just saying, she’s gonna start texting you next, and I don’t think you’ll enjoy the lectures any more than I do.”

“Well, I’ve got plans with Jill today--and I’m about to be late. Mami?” She raised hopeful eyebrows in Lydia’s direction.

“Hmm?”

“Can you go with Alex to the Goodwill donation dropoff? I won’t be back until dinner.”

“Si, Lupita. Go have fun with your friend, we will handle it.” 

“Great. Thanks. The things I’m getting rid of are in my room, next to the closet.”

“You know, this would be much easier if Schneider had not taken his girlfriend on a vacation.” Lydia frowned. “He could carry much bigger boxes than myself or Papito.”

“Hey, I can lift heavy stuff,” Alex protested. 

“Yes, but you should not have to! You should save your strength for wooing your future wife.” Lydia patted his face.

“Luckily for us--and Alex’s future wife--none of the boxes are all that heavy,” Penelope said. “And there aren’t too many of them. Now, I really have to go. I’ll see you both tonight.”

****

Absorbed in work and school, Penelope didn’t give their Goodwill donations another thought until Tuesday, on her way out of the hospital. The two boxes she’d packed in her room were gone, concluding that chore.

Or so she thought.

Penelope was  digging in her purse for her keys when she saw Schneider striding her way. “Oh, hey! I thought you were gonna be off the grid with Nikki for another couple of days.”

“No, that trip is kind of...over. That whole thing is kind of over.” 

“Again?”

Hurt crossed Schneider’s face before he buried it. He was really good at that, she’d learned--mostly from moments when she was the one hurting him. Way to go, Penelope. 

“I mean, I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

“Eh, I will be. Eventually. It’s not like we were engaged, right?”

Schneider shook his head. “That’s not why I’m here, though. Nikki may have dumped me for one of the jock dads at St. Bibiana’s, but that doesn’t mean I think you and I should blur the lines on the rebound.”

She stared at the creased blue paper he held up as he continued.

“Not that I’m not flattered, obviously. You’re the most badass woman I know, an amazing mom, anybody would be lucky to--”

Penelope’s field of vision narrowed to the letter in his hand, a letter that she definitely recognized. She didn’t hear the rest of his sentence. She could only hear her heart pounding in her ears, making her wonder if she was about to pass out there, next to her car.

How did Schneider get that? What was happening right now?

“I found it slipped under my door when I got home. And honestly, Pen, if you needed to tell me this stuff, you could have just done it in person--we’ve had enough late night chats that nothing’s really off limits at this point.”

She took a deep breath, trying to focus on a technique that worked for her during panic attacks and after nightmares. Since the moment felt like an actual waking nightmare, slowly counting backwards didn’t help much. He was still there. Waiting.

“Schneider, that letter--it’s not what it looks like, I swear. I don’t want to date you. At all. I wrote it because...”

She was still trying to find the words to explain something much too complicated for a parking lot when she saw motion past Schneider’s left shoulder.

Max was exiting the hospital and heading straight for them, holding a bright white envelope in one hand.

It didn’t take a genius to know what he was coming over to say.

Which was good, because Penelope’s mind was not exactly in top condition. It was already a five-alarm fire up in there, and every part of her was screaming I cannot deal with this.

In the fraction of a second she had to consider her options, Penelope acknowledged that the mature response would be to face it now--to explain the situation to her ex-boyfriend and her best friend at the same time.

Or, she decided, as she felt both men’s eyes on her and her palms started to sweat...she could do literally anything else.

Going with her first impulse, Penelope reached up and grabbed Schneider’s shirt with both hands, pulling him toward her. Before Max could get one step closer, she kissed Schneider like her life depended on it.

She couldn’t have explained to anybody why kissing Schneider seemed like a better idea than letting Max think she was still pining over him. Right then, she just needed Max to stay back. To leave them alone. 

Did it work? She wondered. She couldn’t check without breaking off the kiss, but the silence seemed promising.

Of course, the quiet only emphasized the situation she was now in. She was kissing Schneider. She was in a hospital parking lot, a few yards away from her ex-boyfriend, kissing Schneider. 

Pressed against her, Schneider didn’t react. Not after the initial moment, or several more. He let her kiss him, but he didn’t kiss back. And that was fine, Penelope told herself. That was better.

“Thank you,” she said when she let Schneider go. He stood there, flushed and baffled, looking at her like he had never seen her before. 

Though confusion was written all over his face, Schneider nodded. “You’re...welcome?”

Penelope wasn’t willing to push her luck any further. She couldn’t avoid the embarrassment forever, but at least she had managed to postpone it until she got home. She needed time to figure this out.

Without another word, and without glancing back to where Max was probably still holding his own letter, she got into her car and drove home.

****

Her reprieve was brief, not that she’d expected any different. She caught the aroma of dinner as soon as she walked through the door, and barely had time to praise her Mami’s cooking before Schneider arrived.

“Oh, good, Schneider, you are home from your vacación,” Lydia said. “I made enough for you to join us, just in case.”

“Hey,” Alex added from his spot at the table. “You’re back early, right?”

“Yeah, Nikki and I broke up.”

Schneider offered that explanation to Alex, but he was looking at Penelope. She shook her head in response, hoping the tiny movement would go unnoticed by the others. Hoping that Schneider would understand. Not now. Not in front of the family. Please.

His shoulders tensed where he stood, like her silent plea was a blow he had to absorb. But when he finally looked away from her, smiling at Lydia and taking his seat, Penelope knew he would let it go for now. “So you can see why I needed a nice, comforting family dinner this evening.”

“Oh, pobrecito Schneider,” Lydia said, patting his back before she sat down across from him. “You can do better.”

They were waiting for her to settle into her place at the table, but Penelope couldn’t join them until she knew for sure. She headed for her bedroom, straight to the spot where her army duffel would be. 

Or where it used to be.

“Mami?” She returned to the table and sat, trying to sound calm. “What happened to my duffel bag?”

“I don’t know,” Lydia said, pouring herself some rum as though her daughter’s world wasn’t spinning out of control in front of her. “Where did you see it last?”

“I keep it in my closet,” Penelope snapped back. “It’s been there for years. Where did I see it last,” she added in a mutter.

“You do not need to take that tone with me,” her Mami scolded her. “I did not touch your ratty old bag. I do not know where it is.”

“Well, I know I didn’t move it, and it’s gone. So can anybody explain to me how it up and disappeared?”

Lydia thought it over. “I suppose...if it was in your closet...it might be at the Goodwill.”

She clamped down even harder on her temper. “Why would it be at the Goodwill?” 

“As I said, Lupita, I have done nothing wrong. But your boxes were next to the closet. So if it is missing, that may be why.”

“It was just an old duffel bag, right, Mom?” Alex was halfway through his dinner, but he couldn’t ignore the tension in the room. “You can get a new one.”

“Not everything’s replaceable, Alex. That old bag had a lot of memories attached.” She picked up her fork and tried to focus on her food while her mind reeled. It also had five incredibly personal love letters tucked into the inside pocket. Letters she’d never wanted their subjects to read.

Now Max knew she never got over him, and wanted him back. God, after more than a year, how pathetic he must think she was. 

And that didn’t begin to address the other letters. How long until those came back to haunt her, too? What about the man currently watching her while he ate, pretending that he wasn’t? How could she possibly explain any of this to Schneider?

She stabbed at her salad, lost in thought until she was done eating. 

Worried she might snap at him next, even Schneider was quiet during the meal. The scraping of utensils against dishes filled the silence until Penelope cleared her plate and went to her bedroom.

Schneider swallowed loudly after Penelope left, but didn’t offer up his usual attempts to paper over the unease that lingered behind her. 

Instead it was Lydia who broke the silence. “Lupe hasn’t used any of her old bags in years. I do not understand why she is so upset about this one.”

“Maybe she’s going through menopause,” Alex offered up.

Schneider’s fork clattered loudly onto his plate. 

Lydia shook her head. “No, that can’t be the problem, Papito. She is far too young.”

“It can start between the ages of 40 and 50,” Alex argued, ignoring the way Schneider was gaping at him. “Mom’s just inside the window.”

“This is very inappropriate talk,” Lydia scolded him, standing up to clear the rest of the plates.

“Elena wouldn’t stop lecturing me about it, okay? She wanted me to be ready when it happened in case she was moved out already. You know how she never shuts up.”

Schneider left Alex sitting alone to go find Penelope--normally she would be back out with the family after dinner, but if she was going to try this hard to avoid him, she wasn’t giving him much choice. 

With Lydia at the sink and Alex’s face in his phone already, Schneider doubted the others would even notice him gone. 

He tapped lightly on her door. “Penelope?” 

The long silence wasn’t comforting, but eventually he heard a quiet “Come in” and let himself in. 

“Hey,” he said as he shut the door behind him. “You know, Max seemed just as confused as me, back at the hospital. He just sort of stared at me, once you drove off, for the longest five seconds in history, and then he left without saying anything.”

“Yeah?” Penelope was looking at the floor more than him, but he could tell she was listening.

“Yeah. I think he wanted to talk to you too. Which made me even more confused. What’s going on?”

A brisk rap on the door sounded before it opened--not giving either of them time to respond. 

“Mami.”

“It’s time for dessert,” Lydia told them. “What are you two doing in here?”

Penelope ignored the gossipy insinuation in her tone--she knew better than anyone that it was her Mami’s way of hoping something interesting was about to happen, whether it actually was or not. “We were talking about dessert, actually. I was asking Schneider if he wanted to go with me to get ice cream.”

She raised her eyebrows, hoping he would follow her lead. “What do you say? Dessert run?”

Whatever he was thinking, or feeling, Schneider kept it to himself. “Sure, Pen. Sounds good. My treat.”

“Oh, Schneider, you are such a generous man,” Lydia told him with a hand on his arm--laying it on a little thick even by her usual standards. 

“Mami, calm down. It’s ice cream, not new shoes.”

“Lydia, did you want new shoes?” Schneider perked up, and Penelope grabbed him by the arm to pull him past her mom before they could get any ideas. 

“She doesn’t need you to buy her shoes. Let’s go.”

Penelope rushed him to the door with one hand on his back, nudging him forward as she opened it.

She was in such a hurry, she almost shoved him directly into Ben--who was standing on the other side, hand raised to knock. 

“Oh, hey, Penelope. Is this a bad time?”

[auri-ahna]

So, after binge watching Lucifer after finishing season 5, I have some thoughts on why the writing of Mazikeen upsets me as a Black woman. 

Now, I understand that she’s supposed to be an enforcer, a tough-nosed demon from hell that came with Lucifer to watch his back, but once she began to find her own identity separate of that, this is where the conflict came in. As Black women, we’re often seen as the stereotype of a “strong, take no shit, always down to help” type of person, with no room for feelings or general emotions. 

Throughout the series, Maze is shown to be more than just the torturer she was in hell. She has real feelings, wants love, and wants friendship. I love Lucifer’s character, but the way he disregards Maze’s feelings irks me, because his immediate go-to for not including her in his plans to go back to hell or why she can’t have a soul is “Oh, you’re just a demon, you can’t have a soul”, or defend his ignorance by not thinking of her feelings at all, and stating he thought she’d fight first without realizing how she felt in the moment. I know that Maze is a “strong”, and “tough” character, but that’s not all she is. She’s soft, she feels things just as they do. 

In fantasy TV series, the Black women I’ve seen are always the ones utilized for their strength or what they can bring to the main, white protagonist. Their feelings and wants are never a priority. Case in point - Bonnie Bennett, from the Vampire Diaries. She was Elena’s best friend, and the resident witch of the series, but she had to literally have EVERY family member taken from her, and relationship broken at the expense of saving the other non-POC characters.  She was given the bare minimum “happy ending” at the end, while suffering through the 8-season run of the show. 

Now, I recognize that Maze has her faults, in S3, she goes rogue, hurting her friends, and S5, she teams up with Michael to betray Lucifer and Amenadiel. However, it still doesn’t justify that Maze has recognizable feelings and wants just as everyone else on this show. It broke my heart when she told Linda that everybody leaves her, and that Linda probably would too. She tried to make a real connection with Eve last season, putting her heart on the line, and in the end, she was still left alone. Lucifer found his love with Chloe, Amenadiel found his joy with Charlie, and Maze still hasn’t been given a steady story line of balance with either love or life. I commend this show for giving a highlight to police brutality with Amenadiel, because that needs to be said, but what also needs to be said is how as Black women, we can stand up and raise our voices for those that need help, be “strong” for everybody, but when it comes to our needs, our emotions, our wants -- it’s never simple. 

I’m not bashing the show in anyway, I really love what they’ve done as a whole so far, and am eagerly awaiting the release of 5B, but I really just want some balance for Maze’s character. Lesley-Ann Brandt is an amazing actress, and has delivered EVERY SEASON, and I can’t wait to see what she does next. 

[paganvamp]

Saving Grace: Chapter Seven

Meet Damon Salvatore!

(Holy shit this a long chapter)

2009 AD: The Other Brother

Elena was soaked, standing chest-deep in the muddy lake as Ric looked on from the woods above.

“Damon! How are you even here?”

“Thanks for the tip, brother.” Damon’s voice, disapproving and frustrated, sounded from his place behind Ric, leaning against the tree trunk next to him. Neither of them seemed too bothered that he had just launched Elena into the water, though Ric did have the decency to look a bit sheepish.

“You sold me out!” Elena accused.

“You think I'd take you to a mountain range of werewolves on a full moon without backup?”

“Get out of the water, Elena.”

“If I get out of the water, you’re gonna make me go home.” Elena protested.

“Yes, because I’m not an idiot like you.”

“Right now, you’re both acting like idiots.” Ric groused, rolling his eyes, and walking further away from the bickering pair.

“Well, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time. Probably won’t be the last.” Grace’s voice could be heard before she came into view, but it was clear from the tone she meant the jibe with affection and good humor.

“You dragged Grace all the way out here just to babysit me?” Elena frowned at Damon.

“He dragged Grace all the way out here because she doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.” Grace responded in Damon’s stead. A moment of silence as Damon and Elena stared accusingly at each other.

“You gave up on him, Damon.”

A klaxon-sounding bell tore Grace from her vision-dream, and she was momentarily too discombobulated to realize it was her own alarm clock. Who the fuck are Damon and Ric? Grace sighed. And why the fuck are they looking for werewolves? She’d just gotten over her strange Stefan vision, and the uneasy feeling of her hand in his. Elena liked him, seemed to trust him, and Caroline thought he was God’s gift… it was only Bonnie who seemed to share Grace’s reservations.

Pulling her phone off the charger, Grace found she had a string of new messages. Navigating to the three-way chat between herself, Bonnie, and Elena (some things needed to be Caroline-free), she noticed that the other two girls had apparently had an entire conversation while Grace was asleep.

E: Any word on the psychic front? Am I gonna win the lottery today?

B: ha-ha. I told you, Grams was drunk. No winning lottery numbers here

E: 2 bad. Aunt Jenna really wanted that new tv

B: Grace, I hope Ur not ignoring us. That’s very rude

E: She’s probably still asleep, Bon. It’s like 5 am

There were more, as well as some texts from Caroline, but all Grace could see was one word floating in front of her eyes: psychic. She’d prayed that Bonnie would show some inclination toward magic, that she would have someone to talk to and practice with. Could this be the first signs of her Tapping into her powers?

Quickly - so quickly her first draft was unrecognizable as English – she typed out a response to Elena and Bonnie.

G: I’m awake. Psychic???

While waiting for a response, she alternated between reading the rest of her notifications and beginning the arduous process of brushing and braiding her elbow-length hair. Strangely, Grace had yet to receive Caroline’s customary ‘good morning’ message, which usually consisted of a precise list of all the plans she’d made for the entire day, and maybe an actual ‘good morning,' if she remembered. She did, however, have multiple texts from Caroline dated the night before.

C: If you notice any new tall, dark & handsomes around town, know I’ve already called dibs – 8:00 PM

C: could you please tell Elena she just needs to jump S’s bones already? She listens to u – 8:30 PM

C: OK srsly, I’m asking — has Vicki always been such an attention whore – 8:45 PM

C: don’t answer that – 8:46 PM

No other texts had come in from Caroline until hours later, when she sent the last message of the night:

C: Elena may be a prude, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get some. Don’t wait up ; ) – 10:30 PM

So, clearly Caroline had run into her ‘tall, dark, and handsome’ last night and taken him home. The last part of the message, ‘don’t wait up ; )’, sent a pang through Grace. She remembered when she was the one sending her friends texts like that. Not now, Grace. It’s school time. Mostly, she was fine, didn’t think of Bryan at all… but sometimes a memory would hit her like a fuckton of bricks. She shook off the sudden melancholy and gathered up the scattered grimoires and spiral notebooks strewn across her room from the night before. No wonder she’d stopped answering messages at 8:00 – after pouring over magical tomes for hours, she had fallen asleep early.

“Grace, hurry!” Aimee’s voice urged from her room across the hall. “Don’t you have practice today?” Oh, shit. No matter how good Caroline’s mystery man had been last night, she would happily skewer Grace over a bonfire if she were late for practice again, and her practice clothes were in her duffel in the school locker room. If she was late to school, she wouldn’t be able to grab them before class, which would mean she’d have to detour before practice to get them and… well. Either way, she needed to move her ass or she’d be late to first period. She winced; It was kind of a habit of hers, unfortunately.

“Shit, Aims, I really have to go! Are y’all ready, or can you get dad to drive you?” ‘Y’all,' a phrase reminiscent of her childhood in Louisiana, usually only made an appearance around family members or when she was in a hurry.

“Neither.” Chloe called grouchily from the bathroom, down the hall from her sister’s rooms. She was not a morning person — which was lucky for her, since she’d somehow ended up with study hall (aka an hour to sleep in) first thing in the morning. “Dad left already, which you would know if you ever woke up on time.” Since she didn’t have time to argue, Grace let the snide comment go this once.

“Then get in the car, we have to leave, Chloe!” Where is my damn history book? Grace’s room was a mess of grimoires and textbooks and writings by and for witches. The history book was buried somewhere in the sea of paper and ink.

Chloe’s head popped out from the bathroom, a furiously indignant look on her pretty face. Her hair was to Grace a rat’s nest of clips and curlers and bobby pins, though she was sure it made sense to Chloe.

“Not all of us are okay with looking like Leif Erikson every day, you know.” As mothers are wont to do, Cecile somehow sensed an argument brewing and appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Grace, you go. Take Aimee if she’s ready. I don’t have anything until the afternoon – I can drive Chloe.” As Assistant Curator of the history museum in the city, Cecile worked strange hours and dealt with a fairly lengthy commute every day, but she and Joseph – manager at a bakery in town — felt it worth the sacrifice.

“I’m ready!” To prove her point, the only brunette among them sailed past her mother and sister down the stairs, bag over her shoulder and shoes already on. Shoving her feet into the first pair of tennis shoes she saw, Grace stuffed her history book — found under her bed, for some reason — into her bag and followed Aimee to the car.

Grace needn’t have worried about Caroline’s wrath; when she reached the school, Caroline was nowhere in sight. Bonnie and Elena were, though, so after saying goodbye to her sister, she headed their way, just in time for Stefan to join them.

“Good morning, Elena. Good morning, Bonnie, Grace.” Grace smiled and nodded at him, more focused on Bonnie’s reaction to him than a warm welcome. She hadn’t had any time to see if either of the two girls had responded to her inquiry about Bonnie’s supposed psychic powers, so she’d just have to observe and bring it up later.

“Hey,” the greeting was short and uncomfortable, even for Grace, as Bonnie cast her eyes around for an escape route, “Um, I gotta find Caroline. She’s not answering her phone. So, I’ll see you guys later.” Late and unreachable? Maybe mystery man was more Ted Bundy than Casanova? But before Grace could ask if Caroline really was AWOL or simply being used as an escape route, Bonnie was gone.

“She doesn’t like me very much.” How astute.

“She doesn’t know you.” Elena corrected gently, smoothing ruffled feathers as usual. “She’s my best friend. She’s just looking out for me. But when she does, she will love you.”

“Bonnie’s one of those resistant-to-change types, at least when it comes to the friend group.” Grace offered. She felt awkward, as she agreed with Bonnie but was standing with Stefan.

“Here’s what we’re gonna do.” Uh-oh. That’s her ‘I have a plan’ voice. “Are you free tonight?” Grace didn’t need any powers of divination to see where this was going.

“Yes.”

“Perfect. Dinner; My house, 8:00; You, me, and Bonnie.” Elena turned to Grace, an invitation on her lips.

“Oh, no. I’m not getting in the middle of that. This is Bonnie’s thing.” No need to mention her own reservations, especially if it meant getting out of the sure-to-be-awkward dinner.

“Fine. Stefan and Bonnie will spend some quality time and she’ll get to see what a great guy you are. Mission accomplished.” Elena had quite the self-satisfied smile on her face, as if she’d solved world hunger and not Bonnie’s bad attitude. In the silence, a familiar voice sounded in Grace’s ear.

“….Do, Ty?” It was Matt, clearly, but the words were faint. Grace could only make out a few of them,“…made…choice.”

“…One.” Tyler responded.

“Hey, I didn’t know Matt was here already.” Grace exclaimed, just to say something. Elena gave her a strange look.

“What are you talking about? How do you know Matt is here?” Elena knew Matt’s voice as well as Grace did. It should have caught her attention as well, shouldn’t it?

“You didn’t hear him and Tyler?” It was Stefan’s turn to give a strange look, but this one she couldn’t decipher. She wasn’t willing to read him again, so she was left bewildered at the searching expression on his face.

“…Ty, don’t! Ty!” That was louder, but before Grace could make a comment, Stefan was whirling around to catch the football that had been aimed directly at his head. He threw it back — a good throw, maybe better than Tyler’s. Elena laughed at Tyler’s shocked reaction, but Grace was focused on something else. They’re so far away… Grace had always had good senses — perfect vision, a sometimes-too-sensitive consciousness of smell, good hearing — but that was almost… inhuman. No wonder Elena was confused. She hadn’t heard a thing they’d said. Noticing more students arriving, they made their way inside the school, where Elena was not ready to forget Stefan’s display outside.

“That throw was insane. I didn’t know you played football.”

“I used to.” He looked nostalgic for a moment. “It was a long time ago.”

“So why don’t you try out for the team?” Grace asked. Football player and cheerleader may have been a cliché, but it was a cute one.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Stefan appeared to think the suggestion was ludicrous.

“So, you don’t like football?” Elena clarified. I hope the mixed signals aren’t a Thing with him.

“No, I love football. I think it’s a great sport.” Grace would beg to differ, though she would never tell Matt. “But in this case, I don’t think football likes me. You saw Tyler over there, and we both know how Matt feels.” The word ‘both’ let Grace know she was heading into third-wheel territory, so she told Elena she’d see her at lunch and made her way to her locker, where her worst nightmare had come true.

Tyler and Vicki. Kissing. She supposed the pair were always either fucking or fighting, so no option was great, but at least when they were fighting, they weren’t a unified front. They wouldn’t tag-team to make her day more difficult. In fact, one of them might even go out of their way to make her life easier, just to spite the other.

Maybe she was glad to be single after all.

“Luctor et emergo.” Grace muttered, as she elbowed her way past the writhing couple to her locker. Grace’s parents had insisted on all three of their children learning both Latin and French from an incredibly early age. Back then, Grace simply thought they were classists or wanted to set their kids apart somehow. Now she knew their true motives – Traditional Magic, and its spells, were almost entirely recited in Latin; the witches of the Quarter use Ancestral Magic – a large part of which was in French. Since childhood, Grace had a habit of slipping into another language in times of stress or hardship — similar to her use of ‘y’all’ — which seemed to be happening a lot more lately. Luctor et emergo: I struggle and emerge. A frequently used phrase when walking the halls of Mystic Fall High School. Another thing becoming more common lately was upper arm work-outs — for days, Grace had been shoving every textbook and spiral bound she could into her backpack and lugging it around all day, just so she could avoid the two forces of nature currently sucking each other’s faces off. The one bright spot was that Vicki had seemed to loosen up on her vendetta against all associated with Elena Gilbert.

Slamming her locker door shut, Grace glanced at her phone again. Bonnie was right — not a peep from Caroline. She began to type a message when the warning bell clanged, signaling two minutes to get to class. She would have to locate Caroline later.

Cheerleading practice was the highlight of Grace’s day. There was almost nothing she loved more than the rush that came from flying and tumbling, except maybe magic. Yes, she hated football — basketball was much less boring, without all that stopping and starting — but cheer was worth it. Of course, she’d made her three closest friends through the squad, and it was one of the few subjects she and Chloe seemed to agree on. Then there was the adrenaline rush, as well as the benefits of having to keep her body in such good condition. It didn’t hurt that the uniform was adorable, either; Grace was proud of the body both nature and cheer had given her, and tended to prefer silhouettes and styles that accentuated her curves, complimenting her features — which, of course, the uniform was basically designed for.

After dropping her water bottle and bag at the edge of the field, Grace began stretching near Bonnie.

“Seriously, if you could maybe make yourself look a little uglier next practice, I think we’d all appreciate it.” Bonnie japed, eyeing the cherry-red spandex shorts and black sports bra Grace had donned for practice.

“You’re one to talk.” Dana, doing the splits a few feet away, called to Bonnie. “Like, could you turn down the glow a little bit, Bonnie?” Grace herself dropped into the splits, having loosened up enough, and slowly rotated forward until she was flat on her stomach. She looked up to see Bethany, a fellow senior, inches away doing the same. Beth, who shared Grace’s weird sense of humor, grabbed Grace’s hand.

“Tell my family…” she whispered, as though she were dying. “Tell my family I died well.” She collapsed loosely on the grass as Grace wailed in feigned grief.

“No, Beth! Come back! I’ll miss you!” Before the charade could continue too far, Grace heard Bonnie’s voice from just outside her limited field of vision.

“Oh, my God! You’re here!” She sounded stunned.

“Yep.” Elena! Grace contorted herself as far as she could without spraining something and saw her two friends standing above her. “I can’t be sad girl forever. The only way to get things back to the way they were are to do things that were.” Grace wasn’t sure that made sense. She slowly pushed herself back up into a sitting position and Bonnie and Elena each grabbed a hand to help her up. “Oh, and you're coming to dinner tonight.” This could end poorly.

“I am?”

“Mm-hmm. You, me, and Stefan.” Bonnie gave The Look. “You have to give him a chance.”

“Tonight's no good. Have you seen Caroline? I texted her like a hundred times.” So, Caroline was still missing… Grace was seriously starting to worry. Missing practice was perhaps the most Un-Caroline thing that could possibly happen.

“Don't change the subject, Bonnie Bennett! You're going to be there.”

“Fine. I'll go.” No one could talk Elena out of something when she set her mind to it, not even Bonnie Bennett.

“Good.”

“Can I circle back to the Caroline thing?” This was probably an appropriate time for Grace to circle back to the psychic thing, but anxiety was gnawing at her. “Neither of you have heard from her. Like at all?” They both shook their heads, then all three girls looked around as if Caroline might pop out of a bush.

“Seriously, where is Caroline?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like her.” Grace was already reaching into her bag for her phone.

“I’ll try her again.” Before she could, however, a car pulled up to the field, containing none other than Caroline… and ‘Damon’. Dream Damon. Grace couldn’t equate Caroline’s sexy-bad-boy mystery guy to the obnoxious but lovable older-brother type she’d dreamt earlier.

“Uh…”

“Oh, my God. That must be the mystery guy from the grill.” Grace suggested. Her friends seemed dumbfounded, and some part of her found it good to know they were just as lost as Grace.

“That’s not a mystery guy.” Or not. “That’s Damon Salvatore.” Grace’s head swung toward Elena so fast she almost gave herself whiplash.

“Salvatore, as in Stefan?” So, she’d had visions of both brothers within days of each other? Each one an indication of future best-friendships? Caroline sauntered over to them, looking smug as all hell even with that ridiculous scarf around her neck. I’m all for a fashion statement, but at cheer practice?

“I got the other brother.” She said to Elena. Well, that explained some of it. Grace knew about Caroline’s deeply buried resentment of Elena, and the fact that never dealt with it or addressed it — she didn’t need to be an Empath to know that, because Caroline had told her. But even if she hadn’t, Grace could practically smell it radiating off of Caroline, she was so upset. “Hope you don’t mind.” Clearly not true. “Sorry I’m late, girls.” She addressed the whole squad this time. “I, uh, was busy.” That little smirk at the corner of her mouth let Grace know that she wasn’t completely wrong about Caroline’s activities the previous night. “All right, let’s start with the double pike herkey hurdler, what do you say?” The girls quickly formed lines, never willing to risk Caroline’s drill-sergeant-esque wrath, and Caroline began counting. Grace, who was behind Elena, could see the younger girl struggling with the maneuver and wondered if Caroline had chosen it on purpose. “Elena, sweetie, why don’t you just observe today? Okay?” It was never a good thing when Caroline used the word “sweetie," and smoke was practically coming out of Elena’s ears. “Keep going! Okay. Do it again, from the top! And 5…” as she went back to counting beats, Grace and Bonnie threw Elena as many commiserative looks as they could. But Elena’s attention had been drawn to the football field, where Stefan Salvatore himself was running plays. The girls watched as Tyler rammed into Stefan, all his weight behind it, and they went down.

“…Gonna live, Salvatore?” Coach Tanner called to the boy, still prone on the grass. Grace could fucking feel Tyler’s emotions from across the field, he was so worked up; he was pissed that some new guy was climbing the popularity ladder so fast, and though a part of him truly did hate Stefan for Matt’s sake, mostly he was jealous himself. It was moments like this when Grace remembered why she hated Tyler so much. The douchebag is using Matt as an excuse to deal with his Alpha Male Complex. Maybe next he’ll pee all over the school like a dog, just to mark his territory.

Stefan got up, and the boys huddled up again; Grace turned her focus back to Caroline’s instructions.

Grace was not looking forward to the football game. Between Caroline’s pettiness being at peak capacity, Elena’s patience at an all-time low, and Bonnie still refusing to come around and give Stefan a chance, Grace figured every moment spent not cheering would be in mediation. As soon as she arrived, she made it her mission to finally talk about the ‘Bonnie’s psychic’ text that had been hovering around her mind all day. Along the way, she ran into Elena, who had apparently quit the squad, and Stefan, who had apparently joined the football team — not quite the stereotypical couple she’d imagined earlier, but whatever.

Finally managing to locate Bonnie, Grace dove straight into what she’d been itching to ask all day.

“So, Bonnie. Psychic?” Bonnie scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“You know how my Grams will get drunk and then start telling me all these stories about magic and fairies and everything…”

“Yeah, I’ve experienced it a time or two.” Perhaps because Sheila knew Grace herself was a witch, she had even less of a filter when Grace was around.

“Well, the other day she starts going on about how I’m psychic.” As Bonnie explained Sheila Bennett’s drunken rambles, Grace realized what Bonnie had yet to put together. Her Grams was telling the truth – Bonnie was a witch. A powerful one, judging by her lineage and psychic abilities — not as strong as Grace’s, but present enough to mean Bonnie’s powers were likely almost unparalleled. “… I mean its crazy, right?” Bonnie was laughing, but there was the smallest part of her that was starting to think maybe it wasn’t so crazy after all.

“Yeah, maybe.” Grace didn’t think it was quite time to reveal herself to Bonnie, but she didn’t want to be unsupportive either. “But, I mean, I totally predicted the end of that movie the other day, so maybe Grams is on to something.”

“Guys, hello?” Caroline had found them. “Are you going to cheer, or are you going to chat?” The two girls rolled their eyes.

“Good to see you, too, Care Bear.” Caroline ignored them, instead using that freaky talent of hers to hone in on the slightest of imperfections.

“Hey, Tiki, it’s all wobbly. Can you stand straight, please? Could someone please help Tiki?”

Grace had her arms wrapped around Matt, despite his protests that he was fine.

“You’re not fine, you dumbass. You just found your teacher and coach…” She didn’t want to say it out loud. “You’re the one who found him, okay? Don’t pretend that didn’t suck.” They were standing by his stupid truck, the light from the ambulance and police cars throwing strange red and blue shadows over everything. The cab door was open, as Grace had bodily slammed into Matt’s back as he made to get inside and clung to him like a monkey.

“Yeah, Gracie, it sucked.” He sighed. “What kind of animal would do something like this?” Caroline’s mom had made the announcement not long ago – Coach Tanner was the victim of another animal attack, this time right in town. Grace shrugged.

“A starving one, I guess.” But Tanner hadn’t been eaten. Just attacked. Like the others. Matt rubbed his hand down Grace’s back as if he were the one comforting her.

“C’mon, Gracie. I’ll drive you home. You can get your car tomorrow.” He walked her around to the passenger’s side, the door of which sometimes stuck shut, and helped her climb up before finally getting in himself. The air conditioning rattled, a comforting, familiar sound in the silence. Grace toed off her white Nfinities, flexing her aching feet. She’d been an idiot in practice last week and fucked up her ankle during a particularly poorly executed scorpion stunt. She’d wrapped it in elastic wrap her mother had spelled with healing charms before the game, but it was no miracle cure. Matt must have noticed her grimace, because he glanced at her with a disapproving big brother look, despite being a year younger than her.

“How many times have I told you to keep your legs straight?”

“Well, look at you, Mr. Cheerleading Expert.” Grace mocked him, not wanting to admit that he had told her that countless times. After nearly 7 years of watching (and sometimes unwillingly participating) in backyard cheer practice, Matt was somewhat knowledgeable in the sport. Knowledgeable enough to know a stunt will fall if the flyer can’t keep her fucking legs straight, anyway. “Don’t worry, Caroline already tore me a new one.” Damn, had she ever. The moment Grace went down, she’d felt Caroline’s hawk-like gaze on her, even through the bodies of her bases. ‘Stop giving me excuses, Sinclair. It’s been four months! Get it together.’ Elena had been in Grace’s stunt group when her parents were killed, which left the foursome someone bereft of a base when she quit. Caroline had frantically rearranged but getting used to a new base was always an adjustment. Selfishly, Grace was just glad none of this had happened when she was captain.

“Yeah, well Caroline can be a nutcase but this time she’s kind of right.” Grace could feel herself getting defensive, even though he was once again correct, but didn’t want to say something that might stall the effectively distracting conversation. Matt might pretend to be blasé, but Grace was calling bullshit.

“Yeah, I get it mom, I need to be more careful.” By this time, they’d reached Matt’s house and, despite Grace living literally fifteen feet away, Matt drove past his own driveway and pulled into hers. “Seriously, dude?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’m a gentleman,” Matt smirked, “sue me.” Rolling her eyes affectionately, Grace moved to unbuckle her seatbelt when she noticed Matt staring toward her house with a strange look on his face. She’d seen that look before. She waited for him to break the sudden silence, but he was lost in thought.

“Matt?” She prompted quietly. She knew what he was going to say, and if talking about it was going to keep his mind off Tanner’s mangled body a little longer, then she’d talk about it.

“It feels weird.” That’s specific. “Looking at… this.” He gestured vaguely towards her house, then back towards his. “I mean… yours is so…”

“Big?” It wasn’t really, not for a family of five — it was actually a completely average house in every way. Two floors, four bedrooms — well, three bedrooms and a converted office — two bathrooms. But next to Matt’s she supposed, it did look a bit extravagant.

“And your car is so…” Again, he trailed off, searching for a nice way to call her spoiled. She didn’t take offense.

“Fancy?” She did drive an Audi - cherry red and the love of her life — but (here comes the justification, she nearly cringed) her father had wanted an Audi for years. By the time they’d saved up enough, they had three little kids and it was impractical. So they kept the savings set aside and when Grace turned 16, her dad finally got his dream car… for her. ‘If you so much as scratch the paint, this car is mine,' her father had warned. Chloe, much to her disappointment, had gotten a Honda as her first car. It was a perfectly good car, but certainly not an Audi. Matt sighed and gave her a sheepish look.

“I’m sorry. I just look at the difference between the two… who knew one yard could feel like such a big divide?” It wasn’t like Matt lived in the “bad part of town” and Grace’s house happened to be the closest. His house should have been perfectly normal, just like hers. But his mother wasn’t the best with finances… Or upkeep… Or mothering. She hated that her family’s good fortune made Matt feel so inferior.

“Well, if anyone can bridge that divide, Donovan… it’s you.” Matt would almost certainly settle quite happily into the small town life, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be a better small town life. He smiled at her, shaking off the seriousness.

“Well, it certainly won’t be the girl who can’t even keep her legs straight.” She punched him, both of them laughing. She gathered her shoes and bag and jumped down onto the still-warm asphalt.

“Goodnight, Donovan.” She called, circling around to his side of the truck. “But seriously. If you’re ever not fine…” she paused, searching for a way to end that statement that didn’t sound too smothering. “Well, you know where I live.” He smiled at her, backing out and pulling into his own car port, before waving goodnight as the side door into the kitchen slammed behind him. Making her way inside, Grace was nearly tackled to the ground by her sister, and she suddenly knew what Matt must have felt like when she leapt on him at his truck.

“Oh my God, Gracie, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Aims. I wasn’t…” I wasn’t there. But she was there, was just around the corner when a wild animal viciously attacked a man she knew. “I didn’t even…” I didn’t even see the body. But she had, just before the coroner draped a white sheet over her old history teacher and loaded him into a van headed to the morgue. “Matt found him.” Matt had it worse. That’s what she meant. She wasn’t fine, but Matt had it so much worse, so how could she admit that? Maybe that’s what Matt himself had felt, in some form.

“Oh my God, that’s awful.” Her sisters weren’t at the game, thank God, as Chloe had dance rehearsal and Aimee a date. All of their knowledge was second-hand and incomplete, which possibly made their worry worse. Or would, when rehearsal was over, and Chloe checked her phone to undoubtedly find dozens of messages ranging from factual to wild rumor. “Was it really a bear?” Grace snorted. She had no idea what kind of animal had attacked Tanner, but whatever story Aimee had heard probably involved some hulking Goliath of a grizzly storming onto the football field and biting the coach in two.

“I have no idea, Aims. No one saw anything.” So it was probably not a bear. Something stealthier, like a cougar. “Have you spoken to mom and dad?” Their parents were also out on a rare date night and Grace wasn’t sure if the news had reached them yet. If so, they were likely speeding their way home at this moment. But Grace’s younger sister shook her head.

“I don’t think they’ve heard yet. I didn’t want to spoil date night and tell them.”

“What about your date? I’m sorry it was cut short.” It was Aimee’s turn to snort, sounding just like Grace.

“I’m not. He spent the entire time bouncing between checking his phone and his reflection.”

“Yikes.” Grace knew her sister’s pain. “I guess maybe one good thing came out of this evening then, yeah?” Aimee worried her lip, something clearly on her mind. “What’s up, Aims?”

“I just… all these animal attacks… do you know of anything that could help?”

“What, like hunting the thing down?”

“No, doofus. Magically. Are there… protection spells or talismans or something, so I don’t have to constantly worry about you and Chloe and mom and dad?” As the only non-witch in the family — though their father practiced very rarely – Aimee’s knowledge of magic had limitations.

“Um, sure. Probably. But I’ve already got my jet.” To illustrate the point, Grace held her hands out her sister, the black rings sparkling on her fingers. She wasn’t technically supposed to wear much jewelry while cheering, but the thumb ring was inconspicuous and unlikely to cause problems. It was also a security blanket of sorts. The other one, the one she’d bought for herself only a few years ago, she took off right before cheering and put on again immediately after.

“Yeah, I don’t know if Chloe’s into the whole black-jewelry thing.” If Grace was into it, then Chloe likely wasn’t, more out of conscious decision than personal preference, but it didn’t matter. There were other alternatives. Grace sat at the dining room table, sliding her mother’s grimoire to her sister.

“Pick your favorite, then.”

Grace completely fucking forgot about the Founder’s Party. Like, literally, would not have remembered to go if her mom and sisters didn’t scream at her to ‘go get ready because your date is picking you up in an hour’. Actually, they walked into Matt’s house, uninvited — where she had been celebrating the news that the culprit of all the animal attacks had been killed (a cougar, like she thought) — and marched her back home.

When Jeffrey Lockwood-Hamilton had approached her and asked her to go to the Founder’s Party with him, quote ‘because it’s going to be so boring and you might actually make it bearable,' she’d been flattered, if confused. It wasn’t that she and Jeffrey were unfriendly, but they didn’t associate much, what with him being two years younger. Grace supposed that, the times they had hung out had been at other excruciatingly dull parties such as the Miss Mystic pageant, which Caroline required Grace to go to every year for ‘moral support’. They’d entertained each other while their respective ‘dates’ had been occupied, so she supposed it had become somewhat of an unspoken tradition that she and Jeff would hang out at parties.

So, here she was, digging her red party dress out from the closet and wincing as Chloe none-too-gently twisted her hair into an updo. The dress was pretty, standard, just passed the knees with a simple, straight silhouette and thin straps. She threw on some strappy sandals and grabbed a purse right as Jeff rang the bell.

“Ready to have some fun?” He asked sarcastically by way of greeting.

“Cheer up, Jeff.” Grace coaxed. “There’s always champagne.”

When they arrived, Grace immediately spotted a potential problem: Damon Salvatore, looking unfairly handsome in his dark suit, was on Caroline’s arm, and they were chatting with Elena and Stefan. Caroline was still sporting that weird-ass scarf.

“I’m about to be super fucking tacky, Jeff, and leave you alone for a few minutes.” Grace grimaced as she made her excuse. Jeff laughed.

“You’re fine, Grace. Go say hey. Bring me back a glass or two of champagne if you can sneak it past my mom.” He nodded to the corner, where his mother had one eye on the heritage display and one on her son.

“Sure thing.” As Grace approached, Caroline began dragging a wary Stefan onto the dance floor before spotting the older girl.

“Gracie, you’re here!”

“I am! And you’re with Stefan.” It was a question phrased as a statement.

“Damon won’t dance with me,” Caroline pouted, “but apparently Stefan is quite talented.” He looked like he would rather be anywhere else.

“Well, he’ll have to be to keep up with you, Miss Mystic.” Caroline beamed at the reminder of her potential title and the compliment.

“Why don’t we find out?” Stefan suggested, motioning Caroline forward. That was clearly code for “let’s get this over with,” but Care either didn’t notice or didn’t mind. Grace continued forward to Damon and Elena, who were studying the heritage displays.

“…I just… I hope you two can work it out.” Elena was saying, in her “Elena voice”.

“I hope so, too.” Damon’s tone rang of double entendre, but Grace dismissed it and made her presence known.

“Founding Families, huh?” She asked, looking over the document they were in front of. “Riveting.”

“You make fun, but you New Orleans-folks have your traditions too.” Elena poked fun right back at Grace, the age-old debate familiar and affectionate. Damon turned to her.

“You’re from New Orleans?”

“I am. I’m Grace.” Knowing he was Stefan’s brother, Grace was beyond reluctant to shake his hand and experience that same slimy emptiness, but it would be extremely rude not to.

“Damon.” He extended his arm and Grace placed her small hand in his, hoping she didn’t look as apprehensive as she felt. His hand was warm, but his soul was cold. Cold and dead, like Stefan’s, but there was something else… a warmth not from life or love, but bitterness and hate and malice all festering inside of him. There’s more than this to him. The Damon she had seen in her vision, the one she had been friends with — closer even than her and Stefan would become, judging from the emotions in her vision — was not this embittered, cancerous thing currently in front of her. So, she pushed deeper and deeper, shoving her way past all the black and bad, until finally, finally, there was something else. Something surprising. Insecurity and… longing. Love, or… something he thought was love. Something that maybe used to be love but was now merely the impression of it. Intelligence still glimmered in every corner of this part of his soul, but it wasn’t the cold cunning of before. It was hard won, a lifetime’s worth — several lifetimes worth — of mistakes and knowledge and experience. This was the Damon she would come to know, someone broken but too proud to show it, who used acerbic humor as both a defense mechanism and a show of support for those few he cared for. Suddenly becoming aware that this handshake was starting to become too long to be normal, she pulled her hand away as he looked her over, assessing. Too deep. She’d pushed her powers too far, had already reached her limit and was practically exhausted and out of breath, like she’d been running. She tried to covertly catch her breath, hoping Damon and Elena didn’t notice.

“Have you been? To New Orleans, I mean.”

“I lived there. Once.”

“Really?” Grace’s eyes widened. It wasn’t often she met other people who’d experienced the magic of New Orleans, let alone lived there. “Do you miss it? I know I do.” He smiled a touch nostalgically.

“Well, it was a long time ago.” There was something in his voice as he said "long time,” the same thing that had been in Stefan’s as he said the same words about playing football. Something that implied more. “But it was a hell of a lot fun.” Grace gave him a once-over.

“You know, Damon, I think you and I are going to get along just fine.” Damon’s eyes gleamed with something even she couldn’t quite place.

“I look forward to it, Grace.”

As Damon and Elena headed off toward the dance floor and their respective dates, Grace noticed Bonnie sitting at a table by herself. She knew that she was ignoring Jeff, but she hadn’t spoken to Bonnie all day, and she had the rest of the party to hover by his side. She made her way over, but when she was a few feet away, the breeze blew out the candle sitting as the centerpiece on the table. Bonnie turned her head, focusing her attention on the candle.

It re-ignited.

Grace stumbled, nearly fell over. Bonnie started, blowing the candle out and glancing around to make sure no one saw. From this short distance away, Grace could feel Bonnie’s budding realization that her Gram’s drunken rambles were true, her fear and confusion, her paranoia and loneliness. And Grace couldn’t let Bonnie believe she was alone in this. So, she righted herself, marched over to her friend, and grabbed her arm. Bonnie looked up at her, obviously scared she had witnessed the candle incident.

“I think we need to talk.” Grace pulled her friend out of her chair and away from bustle of the party. “There’s some things you need to hear.”

[lucy-shining-star]

So, I rarely do episode reactions but this is finale, so I need to do it:

Mingo, Zoom and Estrella <3

Hi Marlena. I think Marlena is my one of my favourites minor characters for if only because I think she has sibling like relationship with Mateo. So I’m glad she did get lowkey bigger role this season even though it’s still small.

I must note despite everything kids didn’t boo at ‘lying cousin Esteban’

Shuriki from Spirit Wolrd: I do not do high-fives, and did you just make me dance? And I wouldn’t let Esteban dance also. 

Puppets facial expressions are something else

I love how Armando had puppet Gabe on his head for a moment

Lmao, I think getting public to not be angry at Esteban wouldn’t be that hard if now it can be singed ‘Poor Victor and Carla Delgado’ after they have been wanted criminals for like...two years?

Puppet Esteban hiding behind puppet AshXD

Armando and Marlena are so cute

I love the parts when kids are singing

I really love ‘long may she reign’ part

Also, I was confused everytime when someone was singing/saying ‘four years’ cause I was not sure if that was ‘four years’ or ‘for years’

Zuzo, don’t scare her

‘You can’t believe everything a whispering campfire tells you’ I love Zuzo being dissmisant of prophercies.

Elena with that excited ‘I waited four years’ 

I saw that people were worried that Francisco was dying because of that and later and I’m like...it didn’t cross my mind that it could mean that.

Well, it’s not last

Naomi,Isabel,Gabe and Mateo are relatable.

Sorry, Dona, Zuzo ruined your chance in previous episode

How Elena doesn’t know she has to do these things? She was heir to throne since birth? She was so busy preparing two episodes ago? HOW litterally everyone else knows and treats like it’s obvious!? 

Elena making Gabe and Mateo hold hands <3

Royals <3

‘I can’t wait to try your fine cuisine’ I see king Toshi has same priorities as me.

I see Alonso looks slightly different than last time?

Valentina being in carriage with Alonso and his father <3 Now that I think about it, Cordoba and Paraiso are both close to Avalor, so they are probably close to each other too?

Hector in carriage with these two kings who he used to boss around until Elena came. I assume they made up and now are equal friends?

Poor Armando. Also, Valentina little too late to say thatXD

Wait, what they were about to do? What runthrough?

That looks beautiful

Lmao at Ixlan not caring

Warning isn’t enough, but does that mean they didn’t warn her? Or they did? Though, if they did they shouldn’t be surprised that she came

Lmao at them knowing she will go anyway

So...that means when Craig said that Franciso may now be ashamed (that was what he wrote?) of his vote about Esteban he was probably just tired of that question and decided to troll?

Elena’s ‘Not anymore’ is kind of scary.

I still can’t believe how naive Ash is

Chatana...Tziloco found it? Okay, he didn’t notice that he found it, but still, that was joined effort.

How did she know it’s under the ocean not on it?

I love how they look at Isa with such admiration cause she invented poisonous arrows.

Only Antonia from the rest of the guards?

Ooo...you are both adorable sidekicks.

Esteban and Elena conflict third season is really direct opposite of Cassandra and Rapunzel conflict in tangled third seasonXD I mean in how how traitor-antagonist and protagonist react to each other.

I’m lowkey surprised that Mateo is surprised that she got his name rightXD 

Esteban and Ixlan sceneXD

I think Isa also thinks that jellyfish is a baby.

Marissa!

Poor Carla.

Why Esteban teleported there?

Wow, Elena really control her emotion powers.

Unforunately, she still let emotions decide for her.

Lmao at Shades renaming themselves.

Mateo, sweetie, that was stupid.

Ixlan finally seeing challenge.

Mateo with glowing green eyes looks nice. Scary, but nice.

Isa already taking charge.

At first I thought Elena’s angery magic started kicking in here. Also her angery face here is glorious.

Okay, Vuli’s face colours changing are like Elena’s dress, but his main colour is green so...I dunno,it’s kinda weirdXD

I think that is my favourite song in whole episode. 

Those Shades really likes to invade Esteban’s personal space

I heard Ozai with angery ‘Tell us!’

I see Hetz actually have to think about what to sing.

Cahu’s voice hypnotizes me. Like when she talks also,but singing is double powerful. Also, I’m not sure if she is the most powerful? Like,on one hand, her powers is the scariest. On the other,she is the only one that needs a tool.

Oh, even Cahu saluted

I love how Cahu sang ‘We’ll meet them’

‘So you can rule your subjects like their puppets on a string’ I see Yolo is planning Esteban rule to be like this Zuzo au.

Did Esteban realize something is off when Cahu sang ‘And we’ll finish what we started long ago?’ I guess he did and then forgot the second she finished that line.

I’m sad we didn’t get to see Ash face when Bobo said ‘The one and only’. She was probably like ‘Hey,that’s my line’

...Now I’m imagining Ash trying to rule the Zanies. Just out of spite.

I wonder, did Isabel and Elena tell anyone else about that vision?

I see Naomi remembers Valentina’s got magic since I guess it’s like ‘Valentina definitely can help, and maybe someone else’

Elena finding out she has more body count than she thought.

‘Oh,drama’XD He is so happy about it

She plays pretty well for someone who can’t stand it.

‘Us probably’ it’s great line,but they are already looking away.

So the answer is Valentina.

Do they know Marissa? Also it’s nice to see Naomi and Marissa coming here together after Naomi hated Marissa that much.

Lmao at Raul and Lucia’s reactions.

Hi Orizaba

First of all: Zoopitole is Mateo’s body count

Which makes me remember I used to think Mateo is ‘looks like cinammon roll,is a cinnamon roll’ while Naomi is ‘looks like they could kill you,can actually kill you’ but it sure looks different. Naomi, you dissapointed me.

So I need to completely change how I see this meme when it comes to all four amigos. So Mateo ‘looks like a cinammon roll,could actually kill you’, Naomi is ‘looks like they could kill you, is actually cinammon roll’ Gabe is ‘looks like a cinammon roll, is a cinammon roll’ and Elena is ‘looks like could kill you,could actually kill you’

Although actually I think they are all capable of killing.

Second of all: Here they should be Flo shouting ‘I was right!’

‘Elena victims club up high!’ is great, tho.

Oh, I didn’t notice earlier that Cahu did little ‘no,don’t say that’ geture to Vulu after he said ‘let’s make it ours’. It looks kinda cute.

‘It’s that you,moustache’ ‘That’s king moustache too you’ lmao

‘They are our allies’...um,Esteban? 

It kinda looked like Vuli is about to touch Abigail’s bust

They are pretty calm for being touched with chaos touch. Like they just hit the hitting bals with clubs.

Chloe and Dona hereXD

Also, is Dona escaping and Naomi right after saying she has some ideas finale foreshadowing on her being new chancellor?

‘If I told you,you wouldn’t let me do it’ ‘What? Isabel!’ Isa, he has enough of this with your sister

‘Your forecast, looks bleak’ I like that line

Isa on her way to have body count

Isa killing powerfulf shade. Gabe and Luna being proud of her <3

Yolo getting scared and Hetz appearing in spirit world immadietely. I love this whole sequence

Hi,Cacahute

Elena looks so cute here when she realised she should go after Ash

‘If you keep hearing in the darkness of your past, you will never see a brighter future’? Though I’m not sure if hearing was the word used here

Wait, that’s still don’t explain everything. Did Esteban make deal with Shuriki knowing that she would invade anyway hoping if he help her she wouldn’t hurt his family? Did he try to convince her to not attack and then she manipulated him with saying she is going to listen to him when his family didn’t?

Vuli really likes to sing.

Ixlan is sure confident.

What exactly Valentina wanted Alonso to do? He has no magic, no sword, no lasso, no fancy cool inventions? I doubt he has much body strenght?

Oh, Vuli being sad for Hetz <3

Oh, Alonso protecting Valentina <3 

Did Esteban just...slide down the railing?

Luisa had great speech 

Esteban really did not realise he is a villain? 

Cahu summed up Esteban great.

But that also mean they saw everything...I think they know that is was really Ash who freed them.

Also, Elena is too focused on revenge, is too emotional, and too focused on past, and Esteban trusts who pretends to listen and wants power to be heard...

They are both Anakin 

That’s why everything ended well in episode with Mark Hamill XD

When you walk in to some evil lady being dangerously close to your first cousin who happens to be often swayed by evil ladies (oh,and also you grandparents are turned to a stone right next to it). No, but seriously she really was close. Isa is going to have trauma

Some time later:

‘Isa: Please tell me you are a gay or ace.

Esteban: What? Why...I’m...

Isa: Please!

Esteban: Okay...So...I’m ace?

Isa:That’s a relief, thanks.-she goes

Esteban:What was that about?

Elena,seeing scene from some distance:No,seriously, what was that about?

Naomi,Mateo and Gabe who know what this is about exchanging”we are not telling her” looks in the bakground’

Rafa didn’t notice something is wrong?

Hi,Alacazar

Flo making sure she annoys Grand Macaw enough she would let her out too

...Actually Elena could just tell him she brought Flo to life with her emotions and he would kick her out to not risk having more creatures like this in his nest.

Thank you Bobo for vocalising your irritation with that. You saved Elena

Didn’t Ash find it suspicious that Elena stopped Bobo or she didn’t notice?

Hi Sanza 

Hi Shuriki, I see you saw that kid eating popcorn during the song in the beggining and decided you want it too.

Also, she is probably happy right now that Elena loses only to find out Elena goes back to real worldXD Unless she knew it, Troyo didn’t seem surprised.

Also, I wonder how music and dance hater feels about being stuck at eternal party. I suppose she found that olaball game moment of relieve

Zoopitole, that was harsh. I can’t believe they made me feel sorry for Ash. I hope she didn’t hear ir.

Mateo’s sad voice when he told shades had taken over Avalor :(

Isa’s sad voice when she said ‘I’m sorry’ :(

‘Pride had put my heart to sleep, but now I’m wide awake. I have hurt everyone, the damage is done’ I love this part. Also love Esteban’s eyes when he opens the door.

The change of scene with fountains is beautiful.

I’m little dissapointed that Isa didn’t talk during that part so I would have all main characters kinda-shared song. Even though only two sing, but still that would be little something.

Elena hugging Skylar <3

Esteban on that throne :(

Carmen’s face after little touch of chaosXD

‘You don’t wanna mess wtih Vuli’ ‘Okay’ I love Migs here

Vuli, you really are attacking your friend for accident?

I love that Gabe didn’t use tamborita in the finale but got his main skill show off just with his tool powered up by a Mateo. 

Also love that got to use his signature move that got stolen by two peopleXD in real fight.

Also, Antonia used tamoborita...I’m kind of starting to think there is some general rule that women more often have natural talent for magic.

‘Or send us’ and not reacting to Elena’s ‘wait, you didn’t mention that’. Same feral energy as Isa’s earlier.

Oh, Yolo (Vulu too? I’m not sure) is happy to see Hetz again <3

Mateo and Gabe turned into a stone right after their sucess :(

Also, I think they are the only one besides Francisco and Luisa to be two people turned into same stone? That’s kind of shippy

Elena’s face after that

Skylar :(

That’s sadistic on one side, but on the other,good that she decided to torture her before killing

Good choice, Esteban. Extremely predictable way to reedem him but that’s a good thing.

Congratulations Esteban on earning your redemption.

Hmm, now all of show main male characters are turned into stone. 

<3

The forgivness dress is white! Yeah, I thought so for longer time!

Though the reason is most probably either cause white is angelic colour or mixed coulour of rainbows I thought this because of that dress (and...that might be foreshadowing of white forgivness dress?):

And to lesser extent that:

Because of that first dress being in episode where Esteban after making mistake decided that he (well,and Naomi and Mateo and Luna.Though not really Luna) owes her more than apology, and also because that’s where we got little more of his backstory.

And the second because Esteban was reffering to this episode in his clue, even though she didn’t have that dress in scene he was reffering to. Also, in that episode Elena was especially worried about being noble leader, and she was afraid of losing everything again even though there was no real threat at those point.

Also, that’s why I kinda tried to find connections to certain episodes in Elena’s other colours. 

'You can’t change what you did before, but you can change what you do next’ right?

Wow, how she control that. And it’s beautiful <3

Oh, and she remembers that others need to be saved to without having to see them

Valentina hug-spinning Alonso <3

Gabe and Mateo nicely landed.

Also, I was lowkey surprised here that Naomi first checked on Mateo, despite being suggested to being in love (in relationship?) with Gabe, but since every other from amigos ships was teased, and that was only Naomi and Mateo one-on-one interaction in the whole special, I’m happy with that.

...How Esteban managed to aim correctly when Elena has to work on that pretty long?

Elena:Well, I let you use my tool, so now I’m going to use yours

Did flames told Quita Moz after the test what it was or he just didn’t tell Elena earlier? Or he figures out himself what test was?

Wow, Luisa is surprised that Elena forgave Esteban

Elena and Esteban hug <3

Elena and Isabel hug <3

Amigos hug <3

We have a queen to crown <3

That pose during changing of the scene is cute:

Mingo, Zoom and Estrella <3

Hector bowing <3

Tomiko doing ‘<3′ <3

I love how all teen(wait,no...young adults?) royals are in the same shot <3

Elena looking at Esteban and he bowing <3 Dona smiling <3

Hi Sofia! And Amber! And James! And Miranda! And Roland!

Although James, Sofia and Amber look kinda weird

Technically, Elena isn’t one yet too, since she isn’t crowned yet

 Also now I kinda wish we had seen Vor in spirit world cause I still don’t know if Sofia has body count or that was just exorcism

‘Elena,queen of Avalor’<3

‘All hail the queen’<3

Lmao at Gabe and Mateo

I saw people saying it looked like marriage proposal before I saw episode, and I thought it was just shipping googles, but damn, it really did look like that.

Daniel and Scarlett already proud in the background

‘With the best insticts in the kingdom’ Naomi, you are awesome

‘Gabe,you’ve been by my side since my first day of rule’ <3 Love Gabe’s eyes here. 

‘Mateo,we’ve been through so much together, you and I’ <3

Mateo is so cute here

Okay, so that was like super cute and ship teasing all ships between Elena and her amigos,but...Does Gabe and Mateo’s new titles change anything for them? Or was Elena just like ‘Okay, I’m going to be queen, I’m going to make Naomi chancellor and Isabel royal inventor...boys would have feel left out. My boys also need fancy titles’

Isa being royal inventor and that hug <3

Elena teasing Mateo and Gabe XD

Kinda thought she might choose Esteban. Still,cute <3

Four servants giving guitars, to four people, and one of them isn’t even from royal family. Wow

Elena touching all amigos hands <3

For some reason I kinda don’t like line ‘And now you’ve crowned me’ but like. Literally only that line. And I don’t know why.

Elena dancing with Francisco <3

Elena hugging Isa and Luisa <3

Elena twirling with Naomi <3

Gabe and Mateo twirling Elena in the while lifting her <3

Gabe putting his hand on Mateo’s shoulder <3 

Elena hugging Skylar <3 Luna being only one eating, relatable. And Skylar coming for more hugs <3

She seemed surprised that they started signing here. But only for a moment

That hand move with ‘I know we gonna be alright’ looks so cool

Mateo and Gabe lifting Elena while she is sitting<3 

Esteban breakdancingXD Though, for being such major character there was very little of him in that last song.

I love the way Naomi pulled Gabe into dance

Isa and James look cute

Lmao, Craig said that he THINKS Ixlan and Antonia share some scene when they actually had a dance with in which Antonia holds Ixlan down with that face? 

Also, Ixlan is impressed

‘Are you ready for day two?’ ‘I am!’ <3

Mateo and Carla buming heads and holding hands <3 I was hoping for some positive interaction that could be seen as ship tease with tight shipping googles but turns out googles didn’t need to be that tight. Also I think I would be happy if that actually means they are confirmed. Like, eleteo is still my otp, but I really love this one too. Kinda like I’m happy with ichihime being canon depsite ishihime being my fave Orihime ship also though it probably helps that ichiruki is my notp and renruki is my otp for whole manga but also why i’m taliing about bleach while didn’t read most of it. Altough that could be just, okay now let’s dance together like normal people

Alonso and Valentina being their extra selves together <3 I waited for any interaction for so long, and now I’ve been fed so much <3

Oh, Hector and Abigail walking-jumping hand in hand. Cute

Marissa twirls beautifully. I lowkey laugh at Marzel’s walk though.

Dona seemingly kissing Julio behind that fan really took me by surprise. I didn’t expect that level of ship tease.

Elena and Sofia being last dance <3

I didn’t notice earlier Naomi threw scepter to Elena

That beautiful spoiled shot <3

Elena’s crown falling down, and she having to adjust it, and Naomi’s face and Isa laugh <3 

Wow,background to credits is stunnigly beautiful.

So anyway, I really love the finale! It’s so emotional and beautifully concludes everything. 

[parttimerper]

misc muses

Ok I have joined in the past those indie groups, where you could have as many characters a you wanted. Because of that, I’ve created a looooong list of muses I never got to play much, but would lot. So under the cut are those I’d be most interested in trying out again. If you’d be interested in playing against one of them, please message me!

Alessandra “Sandy” Caravalho: Camila Mendes fc, cisfemale(she/her), panromantic asexual, actress(most principally in musicals), quite popular but she tries to act and live as normally as possible.

Amber Jackson: Emily Browning fc, cisfemale(she/her), pansexual, “looks like a cinnamon roll but could actually kill you” trope, acts like a vigilante, I also have a superpower AU in which she has pyrokinesis.

Angelica Cain: Crystal Reed fc, cisfemale(she/her), bisexual, inherited the family business which includes a crime ring.

Anthony Powell(Anton Popov): Skeet Ulrich fc, cismale(he/him), heterosexual, part of the Russian mafia, was expatriated to the States for his own safety, had a daughter when he was 18 that he loves a lot but the mother is now deceased.

Arina Kosolova: Natalie Dormer fc, cisfemale(she/her), bisexual, kinda Black Widow inspired, she moved to the States after the Russian organization she worked for was disbanded.

Beverly Jordan: Vanessa Morgan fc, cisfemale(she/her), pansexual, a science nerd, she ran away from home because of a gang harassing her and had to stop her studies, she now works as a cashier.

Bianca Rutherford: Caitlin Stasey fc, cisfemale(she/her), homosexual, a hacker with a thing against men, I have a vampire AU for her in which she was turned by a men who manipulated her centuries ago.

Bradley Hines(Patrick Langford): Zane Holtz fc, cismale(he/him), bisexual, an hired assassin/spy, he was hired to track a specific target, get close to them, and take them down.

Cassiopée Monaghan: Lily Collins fc, cisfemale(she/her), heterosexual, has a twin, her father was a big time criminal in Russia but her mother moved her and her twin to the States to protect them, totally boy obsessed.

Cecelia Rose: Shailene Woodley fc, cisfemale(she/her), pansexual, a writer who took time off to travel the world after her mentor overworked her to the point she couldn’t write anything anymore.

Charles Myers: Matthew Daddario fc, cismale(he/him), bisexual, a police officer dating his work partner’s kid.

Darren Bates: Ryan Mccartan fc, cismale(he/him), homosexual, a quite popular model who’s been on/off with his non celeb boyfriend for a long time, kinda stupid.

Elliott Whitley: Luke Bilyk fc, cismale(he/him), homosexual, was kicked out of his house and now works as a bouncer, definitely dates girls just to cover up the fact he’s gay.

Emely Lindner: Alexandra Daddario fc, cisfemale(she/her), bisexual, a ballerina dancer turned model, she moved to the States in order to find out who her real father is.

Evan Rendall: Harry Lloyd fc, cismale(he/him), bisexual, Norman Bates inspired, owns a motel that rarely gets clients, and the clients often disappear.

Felicia Porter: Elizabeth Olsen fc, cisfemale(she/her), pansexual, an overly sweet journalist who got pulled into a polyamorous relationship and is trying to make it work as best as she could.

Finlay Ainsworth: Jack Falahee fc, cismale(he/him), pansexual, a recovering addict who now works as a waiter in a restaurant, I have a supernatural AU in which he is a hybrid.

Gail Erickson: Katie McGrath fc, cisfemale(she/her), bisexual, an artist who opened her own little gallery, but she also does forgery.

Isabella Perez: Becky G fc, cisfemale(she/her), homosexual, comes form a dysfunctional family, ran away many times but always came back home, but now it’s been almost a year and she doesn’t plan on going back soon, works in a movie theater.

Janet Montrose: Evangeline Lilly fc, cisfemale(she/her), pansexual, a con artist who doesn’t trust anyone.

Kavia Desai: Naomi Scott fc, demigirl(she/her/they/them), homosexual, an ex popular soft child turned rock singer, she has a twin sister.

Kieran Doyle: Aidan Turner fc, cismale(he/him), demiromantic bisexual, part of the Irish mafia, also a forensic pathologist, I have mythology AUs for him in which he’s either a son of Thanatos or Thanatos himself.

Laurence Juneau: Bryce Dallas Howard fc, cisfemale(she/her), bisexual, a fashion designer with a growing brand across the country, has definitely designed a dress for a celeb at one point.

Madeleine Stokes: Kylie Bunbury fc, cisfemale(she/her), bisexual, Regina George is her idol, complete bitch with an actual burn book, became a weather girl for the visibility.

Monica Hunt: Felicity Jones fc, cisfemale(she/her), pansexual, stupid/innocent girl who was abandoned by her parents, she still thinks they’re coming back soon, works as a barmaid now.

Natalie Calloway: Jenna Louise Coleman fc, cisfemale(she/her), heteroflexible, a corrupt detective, married to a criminal and helping him in secret without him knowing that.

Natasha Grimes: Danielle Campbell fc, cisfemale(she/her), bisexual, Michelle Richardson inspired, she was in a toxic relationship and just got out from it, but is lowkey still into her ex.

Philip McGee: Dacre Montgomery fc, cismale(he/him), bisexual, has anger issues he got from his dad, his mom abandoned him when he was a kid because of that, but he’s actually a softie.

Preston Wagner: Cody Christian fc, cismale(he/him), pansexual, a college student who was facetiming his ex when she was murdered.

Raphaelle Delong: Zoey Deutch fc, cisfemale(she/her), pansexual, a personal assistant who takes her job very seriously, definitely needs someone to make her loosen up.

Rebecca Blackstone: Eliza Taylor fc, cisfemale(she/her), bisexual, had a kid when she was 19 and has been struggling a lot with money, single mom who changes job often.

Robert Jefferson: Tom Hiddleston fc, cismale(he/him), bisexual, a politician son who was forced into this life even if he doesn’t want it.

Timothy Watts: Landon Liboiron fc, cismale(he/him), bisexual, soft boy who got mixed in the wrong crowd and now has a bad reputation, he’s a mechanics.

Valda Blake: Chloe Bridges fc, cisfemale(she/her), bisexual, an ex pageant queen and Queen Bee who fell down and now works as a barmaid, still a total bitch.

THE FINAL GIRLS: they’re a group of sorority sisters, and the only survivors of a serial killer targetting their sorority. They’re also heavily inspired by Scream and Scream Queens characters, obviously.

Alyssa Mullins: Carlson Young fc, cisfemale(she/her), pansexual, she was the mayor’s daughter and vice resident of the sorority, she never got over the incident and stopped her studies to become a stripper.

Lea Cole: Billie Lourd fc, cisfemale(she/her), pansexual, a ‘bastard’ child with a criminal father, her emotions have always been a little dissociated but she’s working on that, during the killings, she was saved by someone who had a crush on her so she’s been trying to explore that possibility, she’s an on-set assistant for tv shows.

Phoebe Newton: Abigail Breslin fc, cisfemale(she/her), bisexual, she was kind of the idiot of the sorority, the one they made fun of, but she had money so they wanted her, after the incident she started studying in pre-med.

Seraphina Brisbane: Willa Fitzgerald fc, cisfemale(she/her), bisexual, the only reason the sorority wanted her in the first place was because she was smart and pretty, but she didn’t come from a privileged family like any of them, she has a lot of PTSD and has continued her journalism and criminology studies.

THE CONFECTIONERY BROTHERS: just two brothers who started a confectionery because they felt there weren’t enough of those in their town.

Edward Hale: Luke Benward fc, cismale(he/him), bisexual, the soft one in the two, he grew up in the shadows of his brother, he usually work the front of the shop since he never pursued studies after high school.

Terrence Hale: Glen Powell fc, cismale(he/him), pansexual, a complete mess, but a smart mess, studied accounting because that’s what his parents wanted, decided he wanted a confectionery after watching Harry Potter.

THE RUNAWAY SIBLINGS: they have a complicated backstory, he was taken at 7, she was 1, and she ended up in an orphanage. When they finally found each other, they just ran away.

Elena Richmond: Alycia Debnam-Carey fc, cisfemale(she/her), pansexual, at 10, her parents were murdered in front of her, and she was taken to an orphanage, she was always troubled and went out to find her brother when she was 18, thinking he’d abandoned her.

Tyler Oaks: Nicholas Hoult fc, cismale(he/him), bisexual, he was taken from his family at 7 and was forced into the mafia and hitman life, very mentally troubled with the only goal being to find his sister.

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

In and out (Part 2) (Nathan Drake x Male Reader)

Description: There was a deal between Elena and Nathan to make her way to Yemen for managing to get them to the city. But plans don't go so easily as they should. Well, isn't that pretty common thing for Nathan & Co.™?

Based on the request from @march-moon

A/N: So we’re establishing the relationships between our main characters, getting to know them (like I know you know Nate the Pure Boi™ and Sully the Womanizer™), and so on. Enjoy! Also, their song will most probably be I’m your man from Leonard Cohen. (Youll see whose song I'm talking about, especially you, @missdictatorme ) 

Warnings: None really, just some my adding to adjust the story and making Sully a caring old man. And it looks like it will be a slow-burn fanfiction. Sorry! 

Word count: 1 884 (+/-)

They walked into the airport in a rushed pace, their eyes were almost burning by the light of evening sun which was getting low. Sully couldn't be concentrated for one minute straight, thinking only about their friends being in danger. He was constantly nervous about it.

And Drake smiled when he saw the woman who he and Sully were talking about. It felt relieving that he didn't lie to Sully and she was truly alright. She has clothed some nice jeans and a clean sweater, her hair was loosely held in a black clip and her face looked straight murderous. She was sick worried for both of them, almost broke in tears on the airport when they weren't answering her calls. They got lost the track of time in there and Sully’s phone broke. 

But now she saw them alive and she seriously thanked God for seeing them.

"Where were you?" She whisper-yelled at them in her nice voice, coming to hug them and help them with the beverage. Her name was Florence, but Nathan rather called her Carter, and she was one of them.

For Nathan it was just a friend who could kick ass pretty well and who laughed at his stupid jokes, she even shared his love for archeology, but she was so much more for Sullivan. Not like they were in an openly well-known relationship, but it was quite some time ago since Sully proposed to her. To be quite honest, Nathan had the suspicion that she made him propose because Sully wasn't exactly the family-life or commitment man. Their history was a bit... Complicated, per se, but it always felt somehow good to see them back by each others' side.

They had huge ups and downs in the last few years, and they even broke up for two years, getting back together just shortly after they came back from the Himalayas last year. Especially hard it was when Sully just disappeared with Nathan for a few months all of a sudden without even letting her know to Greece-or-where-the-fuck-did-you-two-assholes-go (as she called it).

'Ya know Nate, there's something about that girl that just makes me twirl inside,' Sullivan always said to Nathan when he got the news of them putting it back together.

It all started in 1996 when Florence and Sullivan meeting on Cuba. He was forty-six at that time and to be honest, Nathan had to admit that he was a real hit with the ladies around that time - but she was only twenty-one at that time and unbelievably, they put it together only a year after that. And since then, they somehow managed to stay together... Let's put it that way.

She tolerated all his ailments as well as he managed to keep her nature under control. They were never directly explicit about their relationship, they didn't hold hands in public or kiss each other in front anyone much often - the biggest reason for that was their seriously huge age gap, but there were looks and sparks in their eyes when they were talking about each other or when they were around each other. When Sullivan spoke about her and Nate, he always said:

“These two are the worst catastrophes that stumbled into my life and both of them had the best outcomes that changed my life eternally. I never wanted a fiancé or someone, who will be a son to me and yet I got them.” 

"I almost went mad from fear," Florence bumped her head in Sullivan's shoulder as she put his hand oh the back of her neck. "I'm so glad that you're all right, big guy," Flo smiled firmly and circled her arms around Sully's neck, while he bumped with his forehead to hers lightly, smoothing her cheek with his thumb. "Sugar," Sullivan answered with a low and firm voice and Flo made a step backward from him.

She hugged Nathan too, but that hug was faster and lighter than Sully's hug.

"Thought they took you as hostages. Were you two trying to get killed again?" Florence started to calm down and joked around in an unsure voice, taking Nate's bag and following Sully to their seats which Florence took by the rest of their beverages.

Nate was still fascinated by how that woman could lift spirits to his best friend so easily, just by being present somewhere near him. Even if he looked pretty calm down, he still frowned a little, because of the fear for Frazer and Cutter.

"Don't say that you were worried about two big hunks like us," Nate answered with a childish tone and she managed to give him a gentle punch to the shoulder.

"Don't let her lure you into her lies, she wasn't afraid, she was just happy that no one will irritate her anymore," Sully warned him and Florence laughed at that, finally getting back in the mood. But Drake looked kinda scared. "Hey, if you don't want to have a dinner today, just continue. I want to eat, so I'll say that she would definitely kick some arses on a way to our rescue. If necessary, of course." He put a hand on his heart with a serious expression on his face.

"You are an incredible social ranking climber, Drake," Florence threw him a cold burrito wrapped in cellophane. Flo also got one for Sully, giving him the burrito and a bottle of coke directly to the hands. 

“About that gig,” Nathan touched his bum and pulled a little diary out of his pocket. He handed it to Florence and suggested to her, which page she should open. And when she opened it, she just opened up her mouth and looked at both of them with a surprise in her face.

“Are you two kidding me right now?” Florence said and her voice went up and down as the voice of a boy going through puberty. “You actually found something in there?"

“We do know, in fact.” Nate agreed, but Florence ignored him completely. She was so excited that she actually quit noticing reality even at the slightest. 

“She has her own little Christmas right now. Let her be, she calms down eventually.” Sully whispered to Nathan in a low voice, but he was smiling at the sight of her fiancé being so happy.

“It’s next clue, some sort of amulet I would presume!” Florence whispered to herself as Nathan sat on his arse on of the airport seat, slowly eating his burrito.

“Do you think that she’ll,” Nathan looked at Sully with a question in his eyes. He was curious about Florence lecturing them about things they already knew. And just as he looked at Sully, Florence turned to them with a look of a small child in her eyes. “And here we go,” Nate whispered as he listened to every word Florence said. 

She was pretty right about everything she said and Nate with Sully just slowly nodded their heads in the rhythm of her speech. Nathan sorta saw what Sully liked about her so much - it wasn’t her big brown eyes or curly ginger hair, no. It was her personality. She managed to stay optimistic at most of the times and she could be seriously stubborn sometimes, and Nathan knew that her stubbornness is what she got Sully on. 

He was a huge ladies man before he met Florence or tried his luck with Maggie during their break up, Sully spent every one of his nights with a different lady. And that was the problem, they went directly to the bed and not offering him to fight for it. When Nate met him, he was on the top of his strengths and he was a definite womanizer.

And one day Sully just came to the flat they were living in with a huge smile on his lips, talking about some pretty pert girl in the museum they were doing research in. And she seriously made him fighting for even a drop of her affection, Florence sometimes did that till that day when she got mad at Sully. And his adoration for her was seriously infinite because of that.

“... So that’s why I find it so fascinating, boys.” She finally finished her speech and went to take a bite of Sully’s burrito. 

“You had your own, missy,” Sullivan warned her as she gently put her fingertip on his own hand and took a huge bite. Florence almost ate half of Sully’s burrito.

“But it’s so good.” She moaned. Nathan just looked their direction with a disgusted and confused look on his face. She frowned to his direction and she looked seriously murderous. “What's your problem, Drake? We're talking about the burrito you pervert.” 

“And I don’t doubt that Florence,” Nate answered innocently, but something on Victors amused look told him that she’s probably lying. But what should he do about that? “Not at all.” 

His motto, expect Greatness from small beggings, was Live and let live. This situation was in fact seriously ideal, just partially fucked up as they were used to. Everyone was safe and sound, everyone was alive at that point and they were together. And Nathan had to be true; he had cheesier pickup lines than Flo had. 

And so they joked there around an hour, waiting for their airplane to Syria. They stood under the sun which was getting lower and lower and watched the stars which started to show up above the plane. It was so beautiful because they were at the end of the world in France, on a small airport distant at least two kilometers away from the city. 

Sully started to showing Florence the stars as countless times before to keep her entertained and to keep her from thinking about Cutter and Chloe who they were about to save of at least to find if they weren't in any sort of danger.

When the plane finally took off, Nate assumed that he better get some sleep even though the people were seriously watching them with a curiousness written in their faces. They smelled pretty bad and they had the dirtiest clothes on them, so people assumed that they’ve done something pretty wild. 

They had three seats, one next to the other, and Florence sat in the middle, letting Sully put a pillow on her shoulder to get some sleep too. And when Nathan started to slowly fall asleep, he heard Sully and Florence bickering about her engagement ring. 

“Why don’t you still wear it, honey? I'm back for almost half a year and haven't seen it once on your hand.” Sully asked in a low raspy voice and Nate heard that he's about to fall asleep too. He saw their hands entwined in almost secretive was just as if they were afraid of the judging that could come anytime and from anyone.

“Because of I'm afraid that I’ll break it or lose it and I just think that you would not buy me a new one, would you Victor?” Florence laughed back, smoothing his sweaty jaw. 

“I will buy you every ring on this goddamn planet if you promise me that you'll stay safe.” He promised and with that, they went completely silent, slowly entering the realm of dreams together. 

[stxrmwithskin]

Name: Esmeralda Rae Hastens.

Nicknames: Esme, Es.

Biological Age: 24.

Birthday: December 21st, 1993.

Star Sign: Sagittarius.

Place of Birth: Falls Church, Virginia.

Current Town: Falls Church, Virginia.

Sexuality: Pansexual.

Marital Status: Single.

Species: Death God.

Occupation: Stay at home mom, Heir to Heaven.

Education: General Studies, University.

Faceclaim: Phoebe Tonkin.

Relations: 

Parents:

Brett Hastens (Father)

Adelya Petrova (Mother)

Landon Sandell (Step-Father)

Siblings:

Delilah Aurora Hastens (Twin Sister)

Adeline Avalina Petrova-Hastens (Eldest Sister)

Phoebe Hazel Hastens (Elder Sister, †)

Blair Elena Hastens (Elder Sister)

Jade Zoe Hastens (Younger Sister)

Sophia Gemma Hastens (Younger Sister)

Roxanne Chloe Hastens (Younger Sister)

Kyle Scott Hastens (Eldest Brother, †)

Matthew Zander Hastens (Elder Brother)

Gillian Sandell (Half-Sister)

Mark Sandell Half-Brother, Twin of Maia)

Maia Sandell (Half-Sister, Twin of Mark)

Other Relatives:

Zander Hastens (Uncle)

Veronica Claw (Non-Biological Aunt)

Octavia Hastens (Aunt, †)

Emberly Hastens (Aunt)

Nesryn Hastens (Aunt)

Children:

Iliana Phoebe Hastens (Adoptive Daughter, Biological Niece)

Vasilisa “Lissa” Adeliah Hastens (Daughter).

Romantic Partners:

Nathan Forbes (On/Off Boyfriend)

Julian Adello (Ex-Boyfriend)

Jasper Reese (Ex-Lover)

Rhysand Verselle (Ex-Lover).

Friends:

Elain Silvena (Best Friend, Former Handler)

Elody Killip (Best Friend, Roommate).

Physical Features:

Build: Slim.

Weight: 123.5 lbs.

Height: 5’7 ft.

Ethnicity: White.

Skin Tone: Olive.

Hair Color: Dark Brown.

Eye Color: Hazel with dominant green shades.

Tattoos: “Joy” in cursive on outer side of left wrist.

Birthmark: Crescent moon on right shoulder.

Scars: N/A.

Species Information:

Main Powers: Telepathy, materialization, elemental powers, flying, healing, resurrection, death prediction within family, aura reading, ability to see spirits, telekinesis, superhuman strength, speed, agility, dexterity, enhance senses, self-regeneration, shapeshifting into wolf, spell casting, immortality, ability to kill others with a thought. Main Weaknesses: Seraph blades are harmful but not lethal to Esmeralda. This will delay her regenerative capabilities for a certain amount of time depending on the grade of the wound. Seraph blades are blades angels are susceptible too, and because one of her more dominant species is angelic, she too is susceptible. Mort daggers are lethal to all death gods. If struck through the heart with one of these blades, Esmeralda would die. Mort daggers were five daggers created by Lucifer and hid all over the world meant for the original five death gods that original were born into existence, since Esmeralda is the child of one of the children of those death gods, she too is vulnerable to them.

Species Features: White feathered wings, wing slits, crescent moon birthmark originally meant for the Heir to Hell as she was supposed to be.

Diet: In order to maintain and keep up her extensive set of powers, Esmeralda must drink blood. This blood can be the blood of any other species.

Personality:

Esmeralda wasn’t always as cold and cynical as she’s become. Despite her family troubles, she was rather innocent and looked at the world hopefully. However, over the years she’s become colder and has had her eyes opened to what she believes to be the way of the world. There are a few exceptions for her iciness, and those are her children and her siblings. They get to see a warmer, more compassionate side of her. With them, she is understanding and kind. Esmeralda tends to avoid intense feelings and emotions using wit, a blunt attitude, sarcasm, and deflection. She feels a great deal, but is known for bottling things and pushing them down, so when she does deal with something head on, it brings all the other emotions to surface and she gets rather overwhelmed, often falling into states of depression. Because of the one constant of people walking out of her life and sometimes never coming back, she’s learned to push people away, to keep them at an arm’s length, which is another reason she avoids emotional honesty and intimacy, because it keeps people from getting too close to hurt her. She prefers superficial relationships with no true roots because they don’t result in a broken heart. She has trust issues, so if she ends up letting someone in and allowing them to get close, it’s not a common occurrence. She will be completely loyal to those she develops this bond with. However, if she’s hurt or betrayed, she can be extremely spiteful. Esme had a high temper and tends to snap first and ask questions later, though the exception to this is her kids. Her temper is volatile, and if someone she loves is especially threatened, violence tends to be a medium of that rage. She often finds rage and anger are the easiest emotions for her to feel, and knows if she dips far into the others, she won’t be able to control it, which is something she’s had a great deal of difficulty with, losing control. In most things, Esmeralda is blunt and uncensored, she has the tendency to say the things that if people noticed, they wouldn’t talk about. Though, the one thing she isn’t quite as blunt about is the rejection of her ‘destiny’. She fears the angels taking action against her, or worse, someone she loves if she full out rejects what they believe she is to do. And so, she lives her life just within the lines they’ve set for her, if only to avoid getting tortured, or having someone she loves targeted. More so than her sisters, she has the tendency to be reckless and impulsive, something that goes hand and hand with her blunt attitude and her temper. She acts and thinks on how she’s feeling in the moment, and doesn’t always take the time to sort it out. Despite a constant show of bravado and a generally cocky defect, Esmeralda is insecure, and believes herself to be expendable, something that started as early as her parents mistreating her, and developed more so with struggles in other relationships. Despite not wanting to get close, she’s rather extroverted, though she keeps the deeper parts of herself reserved, she tends to be more outgoing, however not everyone can get along with her attitude. Her biggest weak spot are her two children, and her biggest fear is that one day the angels will use this against her if she steps out of line. Despite her tendencies favoring rash actions, she’s intelligent, and she’s capable of being calculated.

Biography:

Background & Birth:

From the beginning of her pregnancy, Adelya knew that something was different. It had not been like her other pregnancies in any sense. She wasn’t sure what it was, but there was something. As the pregnancy developed, she found her own health declining rapidly. She grew weaker and weaker the longer she was pregnant. Finally, Brett took Adelya to a shaman healer. Upon seeing her, the shaman was struck, and with a deeper, more magical search, he realized that the children Adelya carried had a far greater purpose than even their lineage would suggest. He informed them there had been a prophecy, long foretold within both the Hell and Heaven realms, that one day the time would come for new heirs to rise to take over Heaven and Hell. The heirs would be twin girls, with the first born being destined for darkness, meant to be future Heir to Hell, and the second born being destined for light, meant to rule Heaven. At first, neither was willing to believe it, but eventually came to terms with what their daughters were meant for. In preparation, they did as much research as they possibly could on the prophecy, something Adelya had a great deal of time to do with all the time spent on bedrest.

Adelya’s health continued to rapidly decrease. Near her seventh month of pregnancy, it was evident that she would not survive carrying the children to term. Even her vampire nature would not be enough to save her and her children. Two weeks into her third trimester, she discovered she was bleeding. Both she and Brett knew they had to save the children, so an emergency c-section was performed, which is where it all went wrong. The procedure was complicated because of her vampire nature, but alongside of that, the twins were not born in the natural order intended. Esmeralda, in line with the prophecy was intended to be heir to Hell, and was meant to be born first, however, because of the c-section, Delilah was born first, and despite the way fate was meant to swing, she was to be the Heir to Hell. Esmeralda was removed second, taking place as the Heir to Heaven.

Childhood:

Using complicated to describe her childhood would be a severe understatement. From day one, people doted on her twin sister over her. Where Delilah had been an easy, happy baby, Esmeralda had been a difficult one. While Delilah had a natural light charm about her, Esmeralda always had something darker about her, even when she was innocent, she was not her sister, and life had seemed set up to remind her of that fact. Though, despite being ignored, strangle enough she bore no ill will to her siblings that got more attention, to her it was a tragic but given fact that she came last. Anybody putting her above others often was met by surprise from Esmeralda. As long as she was able to comprehend the environment around her, she can remember the fights between her parents. More often than not, Esmeralda found herself caught between the fights of her parents. The couple did not simply squabble with each other or have small disagreements – when they fought, the house hold shook with the volume of their screams. They’d go on for hours, and more than often her relations with her parents were one or the other trying to sway her towards their side of the argument, if they even paid attention to her. If it wasn’t for the fact her elder sister Adeline was there to look after her and care for her, to give her the time of day when others would not, she might never have held onto her innocence and hopeful nature as long as she did.

She was eight the first time her father left. Even though she wasn’t always the closest with him, she mourned his departure. A lot of the times she questioned herself, what she could have done to make him stay, or what actions she had done to make him leave. The cycle continued each time he came back. She lost track of the times he’d leave, disappear for weeks, sometimes months or years. During those times, she couldn’t rely on her mother. She was either occupied with a new boyfriend or child. The only thing she could rely on were her parents abandoning her.

Teen Years:

The pattern of her father’s disappearances carried well on into her teenage years. The cycle became so normal, she began to forget that her father’s patterns had laid the groundwork to her always keeping a distance from people. Even as in her youth, she found ways to avoid intimacy, often through avoiding people in general. She was more introverted. And though her mother had them attending a human school, no true connections ever came of it. In class, she focused only on her courses and tasks at hand. She didn’t gossip with the other students or pass notes in the back of the class. The only time she was really open was when she was around her two sisters, Delilah and Adeline. While she and Delilah would always meet for coffee in the local café, in school, they were often avoided each other.

When Esmeralda was thirteen, her mother told her and Delilah about their prophecy. Though it had remained clear from the start to her that she wasn’t exactly like her other siblings, at least in terms of powers, she knew that. But she hadn’t expected the bomb that was dropped on her by any means. She had always believed that she was meant to be in the background. Delilah she could imagine as a leader, but herself, it hadn’t dawned on her in any sense. She spent almost two years scoffing at the idea, finding new ways to deny what she was meant to do. While she didn’t rebel against the idea in so many ways, she rejected it.

When she was fifteen, she started to shift, losing the innocence and optimistic nature. It started rather simply, in fact, with something that might have been normal by most circumstances. She got involved with a man. His name was Rhysand, and he was from an ancient family of hybrid vampire-werewolves. She found him wounded, and offered him her blood to heal. She knew the risks at the time, knew that her angelic blood could be addictive to those who craved blood, but she wanted to ensure he healed. And so she fed him her blood. Predictably, he got addicted to it, and she too got addicted to him in a way. He was escape from all the things at home. Her mother and father’s flightiness, the stress of the prophecy. For a time, she could just be carefree. She started skipping some days of school, spending most days at his house, often letting him feed off her just because she enjoyed the thrill. Eventually their relationship became sexual, and he took her virginity. They continued the rather unhealthy interaction for about a year. Unfortunately, Esmeralda fell for him, yet he hadn’t wanted that type of relationship with her, so when she told him of her feelings, she was rejected, and not kindly.

She was changed by it. The cruel rejection from the man she had loved stirred up all the feelings of a similar rejection from her parents and it basically took the lid off the bottle. She snapped. She started partying, often taking supernatural drugs to feel alive, to let her hair down and be out of control of something. She slept around, and didn’t regard anyone’s feelings but her own. Despite her close relationship with Delilah, they grew distant over the next two years as Esme changed. Delilah kept confronting her about her problems and habits, and Esme didn’t want to face them. Instead she grew closer to her sister Phoebe, who turned into her party buddy, someone who wasn’t trying to change her back into the girl she’d been before.

When she was seventeen, the angels took her for the first time. They had been watching her since birth, certain she would mess up since she hadn’t been intended to be the heir at all. Seeing her behavior, they believed it to be a disgrace to heaven and wanted to nip it in the bud immediately. They’d use a series of torture techniques. Physical and emotional. Whether they were messing with her mind, or ripping into her body, they found their ways to make Esme fear their wrath. The first time, they released her after a week. The second time, she was not nearly so lucky. They kept her for three months that time. No one came to save her as they simply believed she’d gone off the rails partying. And even though after two times of being tortured by the angels enough to fear them, she still went on partying. The third time she was taken for half a year. They allowed her to experience the fall from heaven to earth. She collided in her hometown in an alleyway, slamming hard enough into the ground to make her bones shatter. The pain knocked her unconscious.

Upon waking up, she was at the house of a male named Nathan. He had bandaged up her external wounds and had watched over her while she had healed. She had been more than alarmed and paranoid at first, but after spending a few days in his home, their relationship switched to the blossoming of a friendship. And perhaps it was because she didn’t know him, and he didn’t have expectations of her, but he was the first person she told about being tortured by the angels. He helped her come up with a loophole for the angels strict rules so she could continue to be her partying self. They spent three months around each other, and her platonic feelings for him developed into something more romantic, though she kept them hidden because Nathan had a girlfriend at the time. Eventually he broke up with his girlfriend two months after meeting Esme, simply because of her attitude and behavior. Eventually, he fell for Esme too. She let him in, trusted him and they started a relationship. It didn’t last long, eventually Nathan returned to his ex, breaking Esmeralda’s heart in a much deeper manner than before, and further affirming her trust issues.

Determined to go back to her lifestyle, she moved to Los Angelos with her sister Phoebe. For a while, they went about partying, doing so under the radar with Esmeralda dancing around the angels set lines. Phoebe started growing paranoid and carried an odd behavior. Esmeralda was scared she was losing it. Things only got worse when Phoebe discovered she was four months pregnant. It seemed to be her undoing. She spent most nights pacing the house, muttering about how something was coming for her. She gave birth a month before she was due, to a little girl.

Later in the evening after Phoebe had given birth, Esme woke up to the sound of the infant child crying. At first she thought nothing of it, until the crying persisted on. Eventually she got up, worry striking her. She went down to her sister’s room and found the child alone in her sister’s bed, and next to her, a letter. Esme calmed the infant down despite her confusion, then settled her back on the bed to read the letter. The letter was from her sister. Most of it was scribbled thoughts of her paranoia, but there was some clarity to it, telling Esme she loved her and that she was sorry.

Adult Years:

With her sister’s disappearance, there was no one to look after the daughter she’d left behind. Esmeralda was left to take on a child she had not been prepared for in any sort of way. But, despite her lack of being prepared for such a thing, she took it on. It was difficult, extremely so. But it was good for her, because it gave her a reason to smarten up. It gave her something to care about, to drive her. She became a mother to the child, adopting her as her own. She became more responsible, stopped partying and got sober of the spell ridden drugs she’d been relying on to take her from the cruelty of the world she’d been in. She struggled with it, but she always had something to anchor her, something to drive her to keep going. She ended up naming the child she adopted Iliana Phoebe, in honor of her sister and Iliana’s biological mother. It was one of her better kept secrets, at an early age she even imprinted a copy of her own birthmark onto Iliana’s shoulder, knowing that any biological child of hers would have it, and it would be necessary to make it seem as if Iliana was her true child.

She ended up meeting Julian two years after taking in Iliana. He was everything that she needed. He was safe, reliable. He had a daughter the same age as Iliana named Rose. They ended up getting together, but despite the fact that he was safe and secure with him, there was no passion. She loved him, but she was not in love with him. She made it work for as long as she could. Things started getting more serious, and when he proposed to her, she almost accepted, but realized it wouldn’t be right because while she loved him, she could never be in love the way he was. She ended things.

When Iliana was three years old, she felt a familiar echo of power, one she’d felt only three times before – when family members of her had fallen. Only this one was different, closer, it felt like a part of her. She knew what it meant, that her sister Phoebe had died. She wasn’t sure how, but she spent over a year trying to find her body, or her killer. She couldn’t find anything. It was hard to deal with the loss, but when she was finally no longer consumed by trying to find her, she mourned for her sister.

It was just after the death of her sister when Nathan came back into her life. She couldn’t believe it. At first, she kept him at a distance, scared to let him back in after he’d left her for his ex. She was terrified of being hurt. But she was vulnerable, with the death of her sister, and more than that, despite her better efforts, she still loved him, she ended up getting close again, and they became close to getting back together again. One morning she woke up, and he was gone, leaving her heartbroken all over again.

She never truly got that close to anyone romantically after that. The closest she came to romance was Jasper Reese, who came into her life two weeks later when she took Iliana for a check-up. He was a doctor known for treating the supernatural, and Iliana had a worrying fever. At first it was strictly professional, she relied on him solely for medical help with Iliana. It shifted when she discovered he was Iliana’s birth father. Knowing what it was like to be raised without a father, she told him that he was Iliana’s father, and let him be part of her life, even though she was scared he would try to take Iliana from her. Esme got involved in a physical with Jasper, and feelings started to develop, but then he too left. She discovered she was pregnant two weeks later, but knew because of the date that it was not Jasper’s, but Nathan’s. However, because the answer was easier, because Jasper held less power over her, she lied and told those who asked about the father that he was.

She had a daughter whom she named Vasilisa, though it was an incredibly rare day that she ever used her full name. Often she affectionately called her “Lissa.” She had her hands full with two daughters, but during her pregnancy she had taken the time to fully repair things with Delilah, whom she’d pushed away but always held closer than others. Those were her main emotional ties, as she swore of almost all romantic connections, certain they could only lead to pain. She still rejected her destiny in a more quiet manner, but never quite said it allowed, because she feared the angels may come and take the two most important things in the world to her, her daughters.

[paganvamp]

Saving Grace: Chapter 1

This is a long chapter, but it’s the setup for Episode 1 of TVD

Disclaimer: I do not own the vampire diaries or any affiliated content

                                            2009 AD: The First Signs

Grace Sinclair woke up with a single, urgent thought on her mind: Elena’s coming back to school today. I have to make sure she’s okay. It was a mantra she repeated to herself all throughout her morning routine, even sloppily hurrying through her signature braid, before tugging on her clothes and grabbing her bag.

“Morning, Gracie!” Her mother chirped as Grace hurtled into the kitchen. When she nearly knocked her youngest sister off the chair in her haste to grab a slice of bread, Aimee gripped the edge of the island counter tightly.

“Woah, Grace, where’s the fire?” At Aimee’s exclamation, both middle-child Chloe and Grace’s father looked up, seemingly equally amused and concerned. 

“Elena,” Grace muttered, far too concerned about her friend to form a complete sentence.

“Elena Gilbert?” While Grace herself was a year older than her three closest friends (Elena Gilbert, Caroline Forbes, and Bonnie Bennett), Chloe was in the same year, and shared several classes with the three girls. Grace nodded, popping her now toasted bread into her mouth and running out the door.

“Sorry, got to go,” she exclaimed around the toast, “I need to make sure she’s okay!”

The kitchen was silent for a few moments as the family listened to the car door slam and Grace pull out of the driveway. Aimee was the one to break it, with a valid concern:

“Did she leave us here?” 

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Grace was antsy, tapping the steering wheel and nervously bobbing her head as she somehow managed to hit every single red light on the way to the school. She was talking to herself, giving herself tips on how to handle the situation.

“Be calm, Grace. Don’t overwhelm her. She hasn’t seen anyone all summer. Just be cool, be reassuring. You’re her friend. She’s way more nervous than you are.” She kept a steady stream of murmured assurances the entire drive, only pausing when she pulled into her designated parking spot. “Okay. Deep breath,” she followed her own advice, breathing in deeply and out slowly, before nodding to herself. “Let’s fucking do this.”

It took her only a few minutes to locate the huddle of cheerleaders where she knew she could find Elena. Only Elena wasn’t there yet. That makes sense. Why would she want to get here early and have to deal with everyone’s shit? She decided to wait with Bonnie and Caroline. As a junior, she normally wouldn’t have been close with the three sophomore girls. Bonnie was actually her distant cousin somehow, but Grace’s parents weren’t the type to stress extended family connections, so the two had only a passion knowledge of each other. And, of course, she’d vaguely known all three of them since she moved in to town, as they were close friends with her neighbor, Matt, but cheerleading had forced them to get to know each other, and they couldn’t help becoming fast friends. Elena’s generosity and warmth had drawn Grace to her immediately, while Bonnie brought a steady, reassuring presence to her life. But it was, surprisingly, the perky yet neurotic Caroline who had become Grace’s closest friend. Caroline’s need for organization and her control-freak tendencies helped to keep Grace grounded and on track, while Grace’s easy-going personality and unconditional support had mediated Caroline’s neuroses. However, this particular morning, Grace was reminded that Caroline wasn’t exactly the most sensitive person – not that Grace was either, but at least she was aware of it – so Grace was sure she and Bonnie would need to be there to ensure she didn’t unintentionally say anything to set Elena off. As Grace came up behind the group, she caught Bonnie’s attention.

“Hey, good morning, Grace!” Bonnie waved, alerting Caroline to Grace’s presence. The other blonde narrowed her eyes at Grace.

“You’re late.” 

“It’s 7:20.”

“We agreed to meet outside the school at 7:15.” Knowing it was futile the argue the point, Grace just nodded and smiled her apology.

“Sorry. Won’t happen tomorrow.” Bonnie had just opened her mouth to say something when Grace spotted Elena approaching, hand in hand with her football-player boyfriend, Matt Donovan. “Elena!” Grace waved, jogging a few feet to meet in the middle. Forgetting all of her previous advice to herself, she placed a comforting hand on Elena’s arm. “Are you okay?” Elena simply blinked at her for a moment before giving that signature smile.

“Of course, I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be okay?” What?

“Well, because-“ but now that she had to think about it, Grace realized she had no idea why she’d believed all morning that Elena was grieving, or that she’d just returned to school even though Grace had seen her in class yesterday. She’d simply woken up knowing that something terrible had happened to her friend and she needed to comfort her. “I… don’t know.” Shaking her head and trying to wave off the concerned looks her four friends were giving her, Grace smiled and shrugged. “I think I just had a super realistic dream and got confused. That ever happen to you?”

“Oh, yeah I’ve done that before!” Matt, the only one in the group she’d been close friends with since childhood, assured her in a tone that suggested he most certainly had not done that before but didn’t want her to feel bad about it.

“Okay, so if we’re going to ignore the fact that you’re being super weird, can we at least go over the plans for tonight?” Caroline cut in. Grace had completely forgotten. The bonfire was tonight. Though, how she had forgotten, she had no idea. It would be Grace’s first party of the year and Caroline was prepared to use violent physical force if she showed any hesitation about showing up.

“Care, I told you. It’s family night, I can’t go.” Elena explained again as patiently as she could. Even Elena had a limit when it came to Caroline. As the three girls began walking toward the school, Matt turned to Grace.

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay? I could drive you to the hos-“ Of course, his go to - ‘I’ll drive you to the hospital’. If Grace seemed anything less than 110% around Matt, he seemed to be transported back to last summer. 

“That’s really sweet Matt, but I promise I’m fine. It was just a weird dream that I couldn’t shake off.” He didn’t seem completely convinced, but he wasn’t the type to push, so he simply nodded towards their friends who, by now, were significantly ahead of them.

“We should catch up, huh?” Giving her shoulder one last reassuring squeeze, Matt led the way towards the school. It really is a shame, Grace thought, that Elena doesn’t love him. Matt was sweet and devoted and probably far too much like Elena, but he was too head over heels to notice she’d been pulling away recently. Grace was quite close with both of them, would probably count Matt among her best friends, so she hated to sit back and watch the obviously doomed relationship run its course, but she had no clue what to do about it, or even if she should. Caroline and Bonnie must have felt the same because none of them had made any mention of it. Whatever. It’s not my business.

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Unsurprisingly, the combined efforts of Caroline’s nagging and Matt and Bonnie’s pleading had convinced Elena to ditch family night (though it was probably mostly due to the nagging). While Matt refused to part with his beloved truck, even for a night, Grace offered to drive Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie to the party, partly to convince Caroline about her enthusiasm for the event and partly to convince herself. Matt wasn’t happy about her driving in the dark, not after her accident last summer, but he could suck it. 

“I don’t think I even knew this was out here.” Grace was awed at the natural clearing that had been turned into a perfect spot for a party, complete with a raging bonfire smack in the middle. Of course, she’d known there were parties out here, but knowing and knowing were two different things. She hadn’t attended any previous parties in the clearing thanks to her and her sisters’ previously packed schedules, not to mention her boyfriend Bryan’s preference for ‘quiet nights in’, as he put it. But Bryan isn’t here, Grace reminded herself harshly.

“You don’t remember having to come out here when the elementary school decided we were all tyrants and needed to ‘clean up the environment’ or whatever bullshit they fed our parents?” Tyler Lockwood inquired as he handed Grace a solo cup filled with surprisingly cheap beer. She blinked in surprise - not at the beer, or the fact Tyler was here, because of course he was. Rather, that he was speaking to her so casually. I don’t think Tyler and I have managed a casual conversation since… well. It didn’t matter. She would rather not think about the last time she and Tyler managed a conversation - or what that conversation had led to. Again, she had to force herself back to the present.

“I moved here when I was eleven, dumbass. I didn’t go to your elementary school.” Matt choked on his beer at the scandalized look on Tyler’s face when the word ‘dumbass’ left Grace’s lips. If he wants to pretend nothing happened, so can I, she told herself. 

“Shit, I totally forgot!” Ben McKittrick interjected, the Senior football player already a little drunk. “You’re, like, from the swamp or something right?”

“I think the word you’re looking for is ‘bayou’, Ben.” As the rest of the football team converged onto the girls, Bonnie rolled her eyes at the apparent stupidity of teenage boys.

“Yeah, I’m from New Orleans.” Grace shrugged, trying to play nonchalant. She always got uncomfortable when people asked about her beloved but rarely mentioned hometown. She still didn’t know how much to mention, how much of their past her parents wanted kept secret.

“How do you go from New Orleans to Mystic Falls, Virginia?” Tyler called as he continued filling cups from the keg for the steady stream of newcomers. Slightly unnerved by his chill demeanor, Grace directed her answer to Ben and the girl currently sitting on his lap - Jessica, maybe, or Janet?

“Uh, my dad transferred jobs. So, you know… we had to come with him.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, running her fingers up and down the contours of her braid. It wasn’t technically a lie. Joseph Sinclair had changed jobs; it was just after they’d already gotten to Mystic Falls. But Grace remembered her parents as completely different to the people they presented themselves as in this town. Joseph and Cecile had always cared for their children dearly, but they hadn’t always extended the same courtesy to others. They made enemies, or at least rivals, and kept secrets. They always kept the door at the end of the downstairs hall in their French Quarter home locked, even to Grace. Over the years, Grace had gathered that her parents must have been Wiccans, and someone in the Quarter – a dangerous someone, someone they mockingly called ‘The King’ – hadn’t liked that. Grace’s parents had gotten sloppy in hiding their doings, and the Nine Covens had chased them out, fearing The King’s wrath against them all. She could still remember the night they left as if it were yesterday. 

As they were packing up to leave in the middle of the night, Grace ran out into the courtyard, hoping to spend her last moments in the city in her beloved garden, filled with night-blooming flowers. But there was a man standing on the other side of the wrought iron fence. His mocha-colored skin seemed to glow in the moonlight and Grace could have sworn she saw dark veins under his eyes before she blinked and he was just a normal man, staring at her as if she wasn’t supposed to be there, even though it was her house.

“Hello there,” he said softly. His voice was gravelly, more comforting than she would have expected. “What’s your name?”

“Grace. Grace Sinclair.” Her mother would have had a fit if she knew Grace had told her name to a strange man standing outside their house, but he didn’t seem scary. Something told Grace he wasn’t going to hurt her. 

“What are you doing up so late, Grace Sinclair?” 

“My parents are making us move.” Grace was perfectly aware 11 was too old for the undignified sulking she was currently displaying, but she couldn’t help it. New Orleans was her lifeblood, the soul of the city thrumming in time with her heartbeat. She didn’t want to leave, even though her parents told her it wasn’t safe anymore. “It was my job to pack for my sisters and I, but…” she trailed her fingertips over the petals of the flowers nearest her, a mixed bed of moonflowers and night gladiolus. “It’s so beautiful here.” Her voice was quiet, more for herself than him, and Grace didn’t expect that he even heard her. But he had.

“I agree. This city is certainly… something else.” Grace smiled at him, glad to have found a kindred spirit, even if it this strange man’s opinion on the city wouldn’t change her parent’s minds. “You mentioned you have sisters?”

“Two of them,” she nodded, again giving him more information than probably advisable, “Chloe and Aimee. They’re younger than me.” Upon hearing this news, something seemed to shift in the man’s expression, though Grace couldn’t say what it was. “They won’t even tell us why we have to leave! And where are we supposed to go? They never see any of our other family!” Grace shook her head stubbornly. “I won’t go.” He stared at her for several long moments, his gaze flickering to the house behind her a few times before returning to her; he appeared to be indecisive about something. Finally, the man reached into the pocket of his suede coat and his hand reemerged, clasped around a small metal object.

“Come over here, Grace.” A part of her knew walking closer to this strange man was not a clever idea, but again that voice inside told her he wasn’t going to hurt her. When she was within an arm’s reach of him, just on the other side of the fence, he leaned down so they were eye level. His eyes were captivating. The deepest brown, like freshly churned soil, and deep set into a face she could now see was quite handsome. Grace found she couldn’t look away from those eyes, didn’t want to. “This is a ring made of a stone called jet. Have you heard of it?” She nodded vaguely, barely glancing at the ring he now held out to show her. It was quite pretty, seemingly naturally forming a rough teardrop shape. But his eyes demanded her attention. “Jet will protect anyone who wears it from anybody who tries to hurt them.” He looked at her even more intensely now, his eyes dilating slightly before returning to normal, despite there being no change in the light. “You’re going to take this ring, Grace. You’re going to wear it or keep it with you, and you’re going to tell your parents you’ve decided you do want to move.”

“I’m going to take the ring.” She assured him. She would do whatever he wanted her to, this captivating man who would never hurt her. “And I’m going to tell my parents I want to move.”

“You’re going to tell your parents that you want to go find family, have relationships with them that you couldn’t before.” Grace distantly remembered her parents mentioning a set of cousins, originating from some extended relative somewhere in Salem… maybe they could live with them? “Do you understand that Grace?”

“I’m going to tell my parents that I want to see my family.”

“And you’re not going to tell anyone that you saw me tonight, Grace.”

“I won’t tell anyone.” She swore. He finally broke their intense stare down, leaving Grace feeling a bit bereft. He reached through the rods of the fence, his much bigger hand wrapping around hers and plopping a silver and black ring into her palm - the jet was cased in the center in a rather masculine style, silver fleur-de-lis forming the shoulders off the center stone. It was clearly made for a man, but Grace found it beautiful.

“Gracie!” Aimee called out from somewhere in the house. “Gracie, come inside!” Grace knew the stress was getting to them all, that little Aimee was trying her hardest to keep her tone light and carefree. She turned her head to make sure Aimee wasn’t at the window, wouldn’t see her talking to the stranger. But when she turned her head back, he had vanished. 

“Earth to Sinclair! You still in there?” Matt was in front of her, waving his hand in her face.

“What?”

“You just totally spaced out.” Caroline explained. “We thought you were having a stroke.”

“No one thought you were having a stroke.” Bonnie rolled her eyes fondly. “But you were off in your head. Is something wrong?” Grace twirled the mysteriously gifted silver-set jet ring, just small enough to fit on her left thumb. Another jet ring she’d bought for herself, this one not natural but princess cut and set in a thin gold band, flared bright on her right hand in the light of the fire.

“Yeah. Just worrying about a history test.” Jessica-or-Janet, another Junior in Grace’s history class, groaned loudly from her perch in Ben’s lap.

“Please don’t mention that damned test. I just want to have fun tonight!”

“Amen to that!” Grace laughed, raising her beer in the air as if she were toasting the sentiment. Finally moving from her spot on the perimeter of the clearing, she led the way towards the fire with Caroline and Bonnie trailing behind. 

None of them noticed Matt pull Elena aside.

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Grace was the designated driver for the night - and had been every night since her accident - so she nursed her single, watery beer for the next several hours. Bonnie and Caroline did not have the same hesitations. As the keg got emptier, the clearing got louder, and soon Grace could hardly hear herself think over the music, laughter, and drunken, too-loud conversations of her peers. She watched, amused, as Caroline stumbled over to her on cute, but ill-advised heeled boots. 

“Have I tol’ you how much I love your hair?” She slurred with a smile.

“It’s exactly the same as yours, Care Bear.” Before Grace could even finish her protestation, Caroline was waggling her finger and scowling as if arguing a particularly important topic.

“No. No, i’z not! Tizz longer, and ‘s lighter, and i’z very, very thick!” Somehow managing to mispronounce a word three separate ways in one sentence was a new personal record for Caroline. But Grace knew from experience that, when drunk, Affectionate Caroline was very closely followed by Crying Caroline, so she set her own beer on a tree stump next to her and gently tried to pry the red plastic cup out of Caroline’s hand. “Get your own!” But Care’s reflexes were much slower, and by the time she tried to yank the cup away, Grace already had it in hand.

“I think you’ve had enough for tonight, Care.”

“But-“

“How about I undo my braid and you can style my hair?” Pleased with that trade off, Caroline clapped and giggled in excitement, nearly bouncing up and down while waiting for Grace to carefully separate the two braids running down the right side of her head.

“You look like a Viking when you do it like that.” Bonnie’s speech was significantly more stable than Caroline’s, but her gait was far from graceful.

“That’s the idea.” Grace muttered. Caroline was right, Grace’s hair was exceptionally long and thick, and to keep it manageable she wore it in some kind of braid nearly every day. She tried to change it up a bit, switching from a French braid to fishtail, twin braids to crowns to plaits, but her favorites were inspired by her mother’s Nordic heritage – half-head braids and the traditional ‘Viking braid’ especially. Having finally unwound the two thin, vertical snake braids that made up today’s look, Grace shook out her hair for a moment before moving her and Caroline’s discarded beers to the ground and sitting on the tree stump, a perfect height to be her friend’s Barbie doll for the night. 

“Where did you get your hair?” Bonnie asked, unprompted.

“I was born with it?” Grace’s confused response came out sounding more like a question.

“No, I know that”, Bonnie rolled her eyes. “I meant, like, genetically. We might be third cousins or whatever, but your dad still gets his hair from my side of the family.” That was true. Joseph Sinclair’s hair was thick and mahogany brown, very unlike Grace’s. “And your mom is blonde, but her hair is like…” Bonnie paused for a moment, alcohol dulling her ability to find the right word. “Thin. Her hair is thin, and her and Chloe’s hair is browner than yours.” That was also true. Grace’s younger sister could have been a carbon copy of Cecile 20 years ago, both of them with dark blonde hair and brown eyes. Aimee, two years younger than Grace, looked the most like their father, whose own mother had been the white bartender at the bar frequented by Edward Sinclair - Joseph had been raised by his mother and though that could not possibly have changed his physical appearance, he certainly looked more like her. His own children, had they been lined up in order, would have looked like a printer being re-filled with ink - Grace, pale, platinum haired, and as Swedish-looking as her mother’s ancestors; Chloe, dishwater blonde and American as apple pie; and Aimee, whose brown hair and broad features echoed their father’s. 

“Who knows?” Grace shrugged, not that concerned with the origins of her hair color. “Maybe some long-ago ancestor had white-blonde hair or something.” Caroline had managed to pull together one decent braid down the left side of Grace’s back and was moving to the right half when a bit of a commotion caught their attention.

“Seriously?” Matt cried from somewhere deeper into the woods. Elena stomped into the clearing, beelining directly for their tree stump.

“I’m going home.” She muttered, seeming more exhausted than angry.

“Okay, yeah, let me just-“

“No, stay, Grace. I’ll call my parents. Give us a chance to do family night, anyway.” She smiled wryly.

“Are you sure?” Grace was already starting to stand when Elena gently pushed her back down.

“Yes. Stay. Have fun. I’m not ruining three peoples’ night just because I fought with my boyfriend.” Grace started to speak again, to ask about the fight and make sure Elena was okay, when she barreled on. “Besides, you look like an idiot with only half your hair braided. I couldn’t risk being seen with you.” Laughing through her fake indignation, Grace and the girls waved goodbye to Elena and promised to talk more tomorrow, when Caroline would no doubt give her the third degree and analyze every second of whatever happened between her and Matt. Grace watched Elena walk towards the road and pull out her phone, putting it to her ear, before the distance and the lack of light became too much and she was lost to the night. Assured that Elena would soon be safely headed home, Grace turned back to her friends.

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Despite having little to no alcohol in her system, Grace had been convinced by both Caroline and Bonnie to stay until they were almost the last people in the clearing.

“Come on, you two.” Grace sighed, attempting to guide both Caroline and Bonnie towards her waiting BMW. She vaguely wondered if Matt had gotten home alright, since she had only glimpsed him once since Elena’s departure and it was at the keg. But then Caroline tripped over her own foot and Grace lurched forward to grab the usually graceful girl before she face-planted. Caroline thought the whole thing was hilarious, and Bonnie for some reason thought it would be a good idea to mock her friend, and Grace had to catch her as well - but somehow Grace finally managed to get them both in the car and buckled, though not completely cognizant or upright, before heading home. Thank fuck Caroline is staying the night with me. If the Sheriff caught her daughter acting completely sloshed and sneaking in way past curfew, she might very well ship Caroline off to live with her father. Or in a nunnery. Who knew with Liz Forbes? Wanting to avoid taking the nearer Wickery Bridge, as even before the Worst Night of her Life bridges had seemed shady in Grace’s opinion, she took the longer, more sensible route back into town. If only I had been driving that night… but with Caroline and Bonnie drunkenly arguing in the backseat, now was not the time to be thinking about the accident.

Both girls were asleep by the time Grace got home, but she was able to rouse Bonnie enough for them to half-carry Caroline inside and up to Grace’s bedroom, where they deposited her on the bed unceremoniously. 

“I’m getting water and Aspirin for tomorrow. Try to make sure she doesn’t die while I’m gone, yeah?” Bonnie drunkenly waved off Grace’s request but sat down next to Caroline’s prone form anyway.

When her two charges were taken care of, Grace took up Bonnie’s position next to Caroline while Bonnie curled up on the bench at the foot of the bed. Not wonderful sleeping conditions, but no one really cared.

“G’night Gracie.” Bonnie mumbled. Caroline snored in response, but Grace was asleep before any other comment was made.

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At 10:30 the next morning, all three girls stumbled into the kitchen to begin their attempt at pretending they hadn’t broken the law right under their parents’ noses last night. Cecile was making bacon and eggs and Joseph had coffee and Bonnie’s favorite creamer ready to go. The TV in the corner was on, beginning the 11:00 news as everyone dug into their food.

“…A fatal accident last night on Wickery Bridge has left two local teens grieving-“ Every head popped up and focused on the television with laser precision. Dread settled in Grace’s stomach as déjà vu began to creep over her. “…Grayson Gilbert was driving last night with his wife Miranda and daughter Elena, a sophomore at Mystic Falls High School, when he lost control of the car and drove off Wickery Bridge.” Horrified silence filled the room. Someone dropped their fork. The clatter of metal against ceramic seemed entirely too loud. “Miraculously, Elena Gilbert managed to escape the car and swim to the riverbank, where police say she fell unconscious. Grayson and Miranda were, unfortunately, trapped in the car as it sank. The two locals leave behind 16-year old Elena and a son, 15-year old Jeremy Gilbert.”

“Oh my God.” Bonnie whispered. Aimee and Chloe covered their mouths, shocked and speechless.

“My mom.” Caroline croaked. “I have to talk to my mom.” As the Sheriff, Liz Forbes likely would have seen Elena and Jeremy by now and would certainly have more information. Joseph seemed stunned but nodded vaguely. 

“I’ll drive you. Bonnie, is there…?” He trailed off, not quite knowing what he was asking. She nodded anyway.

“I’d like to come if that’s okay. I want to ask if we can see Elena.” The trio filed outside, unnaturally stiff and quiet. 

“I’m… I’m gonna see if anyone else knows anything.” Aimee murmured, her and Chloe walking out of the kitchen holding on to each other as if that would rewind the last 12 hours. The kitchen was silent again, the only sound the droning of the news, which had moved on to the weather. As they heard Grace’s father’s car drive away, Cecile spoke.

“You said something happened to Elena.” The words were almost too quiet to hear, would have been if anyone had been moving.

“What?” Grace now noticed that her cheeks were wet, throat tight with a million questions no one could answer. That goddamn bridge… why is it always that goddamn bridge?

“Yesterday morning.” Her mother repeated, a bit louder. “You said you needed to get to school because something bad had happened to Elena and you wanted to make sure she was okay.”

“Yeah, but nothing had happened. I just had a bad dream.” Grace’s mind was sluggish, not connecting the dots.

“Did you? Or did you know that something bad was going to happen to your friend?” Grace’s gaze slowly moved from the TV to her mother’s face, which was attempting to communicate a message Grace didn’t want to understand. Because her mother was right. Now that the dreadful thing had happened, Grace could clearly remember the dream she’d had that caused her to worry the previous morning. It was the first day of Grace’s senior year and hardly anyone had seen Elena or Jeremy all summer as they dealt with the fallout of their parents’ car driving over the Wickery Bridge. Grace had just wanted to make sure Elena was doing okay, or as well as could be expected. 

“Holy shit.”