Hope, Love, and Some Minor Complications

Before you begin reading, please know some base facts:

I do not know where I intend to take this fic, so please give suggestions. I only know that I want to include some Hope x Josie and maybe some Hope x Lizzie. The story starts out with Hope x Landon, but if you are not a fan of this particular pairing, worry not, for there will be others down the road. So, please, comment! Suggest! What do you want to happen? Tell me.

(Characters are not mine and belong to the TVD, TO, and LEGACIES franchise, I do NOT claim any of these characters)

Chapter One:

There were very few times when Hope Mikaelson was happy. For example, she was happy when spring break came, and all the other students at the Salvatore School went home to their families, allowing her to have the whole school to herself. She was happy when she talked to her aunts and uncle, and she was happy when Christmas came around and she finally got to see them again.

Hope was also, decidedly, happy at this very moment. It was a cool winter night, and she and her boyfriend, Landon Kirby were nestled together under a mound of blankets in the back of one of the school vans, watching the stars.

After some debate on how they'd get to this spot, the two teens decided to borrow (steal) one of the school's vans and drive it just to the edge of town, down by Wickery Bridge.

In Hope's opinion, the stars always looked brighter by the water.

When she was little, Hope would often find herself down by the bayou, simply watching the stars gleam off the lake. Her fascination with them was no different now, simply shared with the boy beside her.

Landon looked stunning in the starlight. His curly black hair was slightly damp from the snow, pasted against the back of his neck, and his eyes looked almost silver in the moonlight. When he turned his head to look at her, the shadows in the van accentuated his features, and his lips parted slightly.

"So, what do you think?"

Hope shook her head and flushed, realizing belatedly that he had been talking while she sat there daydreaming.

"What? Sorry, what were you saying?"

Landon smiled at her evident embarrassment, and pulled her closer to him affectionately.

"I said, silly, what would you think if we headed into town?"

"Into town?" Hope questioned, "For what?"

Landon ran a hand through his hair and blushed, stuttering somewhat in his reply. "Well, I remember when I used to work at the grill, and you'd always come for milkshakes, and I just -I just thought we could go back there, for old time's sake?"

He phrased the proposal like a question, something that had always made Hope love him even more. The still coyness and hesitation he carried and…

"Hope, what do you think? If it's too late, we can just go back, I'm sorry-"

"No, it's a good idea! I-" Hope cut him off, slapping a palm to her forehead. "-I'm just really out of it tonight, sorry. But yeah, I would love to!"

Relief was evident in Landon's eyes, and he smiled as he lifted her face up to kiss her. Kissing Landon was something Hope never got tired of. She loved the way his hair felt under her fingertips, the soft shyness of the kiss itself, and the way he made her feel.

Normal.

When she was with Landon, Hope didn't feel like a tribrid freakshow, an outcast, a mistake, or even a witch. She just felt normal. Right now, they were two normal teens, kissing in the back of a stolen van by Wickery Bridge.

The Mystic Grill was at its busiest on Saturday nights, and it took Hope and Landon almost an hour to get seats. They'd parked the van around back in case Dr. Saltzman, the school's headmaster, came snooping after them.

Even so, it wasn't like this was the first time Hope or Landon had broken curfew. Or apparently, thought Hope, as she checked her phone to see that it was around thirty minutes past twelve, stayed out past midnight.

But it was Saturday, -well, Sunday now- and she was on a date, and she would enjoy this time with her boyfriend.

"How do you think we should sneak back in this time?" Joked Landon. It was a long running game for them to plan an elaborate sneak-in routine, and then be foiled by Dr. Saltzman before they could even put it into action.

"Lazers. Ooh! No, a hole under the school!" Hope proposed, giggling. "I use magic to spell a hole into the basement, and then we sneak into our rooms."

"Why not just spell a hole directly into our rooms?" Her date argued, "Skip to the point!"

Hope covered her mouth with her hand as she doubled over, laughing. Landon was the only person who could make her laugh like this.

Just then, the front door chimed. Hope and Landon looked up as a quite aggravated-looking Alaric Saltzman strode into the Grill, and, after a brief sweep of the restaurant, headed straight for them.