Hello, my lovely readers. There's some more Freddy and duh, duh, duh… #Jachope! On with the show…
Chapter 9: Get to Know Me
The part of Gwen Lords would be played by Lily James.
Freddy
Stomping across Caroline Forbes' lawn; Freddy Lockwood headed toward his car. He needed to be anywhere but here. What in the hell was wrong with Sandy and Jos? Had they lost their freakin' minds? First, they wanted to offer Hope up to Jacob the-psycho-killing-machine Salvatore. Now, they wanted something of his dad's. Like he had so many of his father's things to spare.
Freddy shook his head in disgust. He heard the sound of the front door opening and closing but did not bother to look back to see which one of the girls was following him. He didn't care.
"Freddy!" Fanny Salvatore shouted, running after him. She had to work for it as she moved across the lawn. Her short legs pumping faster to meet him at the car. Stopping, Freddy leaned his body against the driver's side door, placing his right arm on top of the hood. His eyelids lowered as he stared at Fanny, silently.
"Freddy." Fanny took a moment, inhaling sharply and then blowing out a breath. "You're right. I need to stop running around so much." She offered him a smile.
Freddy did not smile in return. Fanny's smile slipped and she tucked her black curls behind her ear with her right hand. "So… I know. You're pissed at them." She hooked a thumb in the direction of the house.
Eyes moving to the house, Freddy glowered at it before he looked back at Fanny. He still refused to speak to the nervous kid. Her cheeks were beginning to turn pink. How in the hell had this kid been hooking up with Todd Donavon? She seemed so damned young and inexperienced. Innocent.
"Freddy," Fanny began again, her eyes skimming the hood of his car. "I need you," she said softly. Lifting her head, she hit him with those doe eyes. Big, brown and full of an unnamable feeling. Maybe he did know how she handled Todd as she shifted her weight to one hip, tucking her hair behind her ear again. Man, she would be trouble in another year or two.
Sighing, Freddy looked at the hood of his car. "You owe me, Salvatore," he told her, his voice low, grudging as he pinned her with a long look.
Fanny's smile was slow and he shook his head. Yup. Trouble with a capital T. Looks like little Fanny would take after her daddy. From the tales that his dad told his mom, Freddy gathered that Damon Salvatore had been popular with the ladies. And his daughter would popular with everyone; if she kept up at this rate.
Walking around the side of the car, Freddy walked ahead of Fanny, trying to not show that her little act had gotten to him. He was only a year and a couple of months older than she was. It's not like someone would say boo about his wanting to date her. Well, her dad might. And Li would flip. Hope would probably give them cursory stares; like she did when Li was all over him. There were other girls who would be crushed. But he didn't want to be the guy who crushed the innocence that Fanny still had. Nope. He wouldn't be that guy.
Opening the unlocked door, Freddy stopped in his tracks. He cocked his head to the side to watch Jos Saltzman with her body pressed against Sandy Bennett-Gilbert's; their mouths glued together. "Wow!" He let out a chuckle. "Man, can I get some popcorn?"
Jos sat back on the couch, her hand going to her mouth, her cheeks flushing a deep red. "Do you knock?" she snapped.
Sandy adjusted her shirt, her own face flushing crimson. She stood up, recovering quickly. "Does this mean you'll help us?" she asked him, her green eyes glowing.
Freddy folded his arms over his chest. "It depends."
"On what?' Jos demanded, smoothing her skirt underneath her, with care. She avoided looking him in the eye.
"I want to watch next time," Freddy told them with a huge grin.
"Watch what?" Fanny asked, peering around him and staring at Sandy and Jos. Her lips pursed and she narrowed her eyes before she gave Freddy a disgusted look.
A pillow came flying across the room and Freddy grabbed it before it hit him in the face. "Hey!" he cried at Jos who had sent it flying his way with a flick of her eyes.
"The next thing I toss will be bigger and heavier," Jos threatened him. Her hazel eyes burned into him with a look of rage that made his smile slip a little.
"Hey, I was kidding. Unless you guys are into that kind of thing," Freddy replied, with a shrug.
Jos' eyes widened and then she scowled. The coffee table began to levitate as she grabbed Sandy's hand. "Kid with someone else," she shot back as Freddy stumbled toward the door. "This is not a joke. This is our lives."
Freddy gulped. "Okay. I'm sorry. I'll shut up."
"Good idea." Jos let go of Sandy's hand and the table dropped to the floor in front of her.
Fanny moved around Freddy to stand next to him. "He's going to help us," she told the other girls. She refused to look at them, her arms folded over her chest. Yeah. She would have to learn to share her friend. You'd think a child with a sibling would know better; unlike Freddy who never had to share anything in his entire life.
"Great," Sandy cried, smiling. She looked at the others like this was the best day of her life. For all Freddy knew, it was the best day of her life. He didn't really know anything about Sandy. She was a little geek who barely registered on his radar. Now, she would be Jos' girlfriend and either her popularity would spike or she'd take Jos down with her. Time would tell.
"Are we going to Freddy's now?" Fanny asked no one in particular, her foot creating a line across the rug with the tip of her sneaker.
"Yeah," Sandy said. She held out a hand which Jos took and they headed to the door.
Fanny took the lead, Freddy right behind her, and the new couple right behind him. This time no one had to figure who would sit where. Freddy sat in the driver's seat, Fanny in the passenger side, with Jos and Sandy riding in back.
The drive to his house was a quiet one. They only started speaking when Freddy parked in his driveway. "I hope this works," Fanny grumbled, checking her phone, chewing on her bottom lip and frowning.
"Nothing from Mom and Dad?" Sandy questioned Fanny.
"Nope," Fanny replied coldly, shoving her phone into the back pocket of her jeans.
Sandy looked at Jos who looked at Fanny with a frown. Thankfully, Jos kept her trap shut. The last thing they needed was another argument.
Unlocking the front door, Freddy found his mother in the living room, phone in hand. "Mom?" Freddy was not used to his mother being at home. As a professor at Whitmore College, teaching anthropology, she usually worked every day. If she was not at her office, she was in her study—with the door shut.
Gwen Lords folded her arms over her chest, her eyes burning a hole in Freddy's chest. "Where have you been, young man?" the tall, blonde demanded, her dark blue eyes burning a hole into him.
"Ms. Lord!" Fanny cried from behind Freddy's back. "Hi!" she cried excitedly. Geeks tended to love his mom. She knew all kinds of things about history, studied old bones, had traveled the world on excavations, and had given talks on prehistoric dinosaurs. The type of thing he loved as a little boy. But Freddy was not a little boy anymore.
"Fanny?" Gwen's eyebrows rose, her expression softening into a sweet smile. "How good of you to come by? I have a pterodactyl wing that you must see."
"Oh, actually, I would love to but we have a project," Fanny gestured toward Jos and Sandy. "For school. And we've got to get something from Freddy's room but I'd love to come back and take a look. If that's okay?"
"Of course, darling," Gwen's British accent became slightly more pronounced as she spoke and Freddy rolled his eyes. His mom loved to impress people.
Freddy headed up to his room with the girls right behind him. "I can't believe she's here," he grumbled. He loved his mom but this was not a good day for her to be here. Not with vampires on the loose.
Opening his bedroom door, Freddy crossed the length of the floor, to his bed, kicking the Playboys under it before the girls caught sight of them. He walked over to his closet and opened both of the folding doors. Kneeling down, he pushed at a slate of wood and then pulled two more out of their places before removing the wooden box in the floor. "Is this what you wanted?" he asked the girls, warily. Even touching the thing made him queasy.
Sandy stepped forward; looking at the blade. "Yes. That's it."
"How did you know what it is or that Freddy had it?" Fanny demanded, her eyes pinning Sandy with a look of annoyance.
"My parents talk about things when they think I'm asleep," Sandy replied. She held out her hand for the blade but Freddy held on to it.
"You know this thing packs some major bad mojo?" Freddy asked Sandy, looking from her to Jos, who gulped, looking at the blade.
"Yes. I know," Sandy replied.
"Okay." Freddy handed the blade to Sandy. "Don't touch it," he warned her.
Sandy took the blade, careful not to allow the cloth that covered it to slip past her fingers. "Time to call Jacob," she told Fanny.
Fanny pulled out her phone and made the call.
~0~
Standing outside of the Forbes's house, Freddy dug a hole with a garden spade that Jos brought him. He buried the blade, wrapped in its' cloth, before standing up and wiping his hands on his black jeans. "Your turn," he told Sandy and Jos.
The two girls looked at each other and then knelt on the ground, their hands clasped, eyes closing as they pressed their hands to the earth. Freddy could feel something in the air, something powerful, as the girls spoke in Latin. He thought it was Latin. Foreign languages were not his strong suit.
"Is it done?" Fanny asked when Sandy and Jos sat back, looking at each other.
"Yes," Sandy said.
"Good." Fanny walked back to the front of the house. She would be waiting for Jacob while Sandy, Jos and Freddy waited in the backyard. They hoped that Jacob did not become suspicious and come back here. Otherwise their plan would be blown to bits.
Jacob
Humming, Jacob strode down the streets of Mystic Falls. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. His cousin was about to hand him the key to his plan. All he needed would be in place. Then he could leave this boring little excuse for a town. If he could convince Hope to leave with him, all the better. If not, well, he had other methods of persuasion. But he would prefer that she came of her own free will.
Fanny stood outside Caroline Forbes' house. Once Salvatore, but it looked like her five-minute marriage to his father had left her wishing to return to her old life and her surname. Jacob did not care what Caroline did—so long as she stayed out of his way—life would be pleasant for both of them.
"Stefanie! You grew up!" Jacob called to his cousin with a wide smile. "Looking well, darling."
"No thanks to you," Fanny retorted, sneering back at him.
Jacob placed a hand to his heart. "You wound me, cousin. You know that I would never mean you harm. It was a foolish mistake. One I do not intend on repeating. I love my family." Stopping a few feet from Fanny, he noted the way she stiffened, recoiling from him.
"Where are my mom and dad?" Fanny demanded.
"All in good time," Jacob replied.
"I want my parents or you don't get what you want," Fanny snapped at him, her eyes darkening. She might even be scary if she had any powers. Sadly, for her, she did not.
"Do you plan on glaring me to death?" Jacob teased her, cocking his head to the side. "Or shall we step inside and discuss matters?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you." Fanny's feet were firmly planted on the path up to the house. Jacob could remedy that but he did not feel the urge to. "I held up my end of the bargain. Tell me where my parents are?"
"Your parents are in the Miller's place," Jacob said in a bored tone. "I'm hurt. I thought after you so rudely left your house the moment I stepped foot inside; you would spare me a moment of your time."
"I don't like you," Fanny spat back at him.
Jacob nodded. "Alright." He stepped closer and Fanny moved away from him. He grinned, walking right past her. "There might be a time that you need me and you will sorely regret this decision. Until then, good-bye, Fanny." He stepped inside the house and looked around. He heard the sound of a heartbeat upstairs and grinned. Moving to walk up the stairs, he heard the sound of sudden footsteps. Multiple footsteps.
Frowning, Jacob turned and walked back to the door. He peered outside, his eyes narrowing as he took in Sandy, that annoying friend of Fanny's, Sandy, Jos, Hope's little sister, and Freddy, the wolf boy who bit him. "What are you four up to?" he inquired, leaning against the doorframe.
"Keeping you in there. Where you can't hurt anyone else, until we figure out how to end you!" Fanny shouted at him.
Jacob let out a laugh. "Oh, so that is your plan. Right. Well then, carry on." He grinned at the four before closing the door in their stunned faces. He heard an argument erupt between the children but they were not his concern.
Striding to the stairs, Jacob walked up them and then turned to move down the hall. Hope's door was open and he walked inside. He smiled, watching the girl sleep. She'd forgotten to take off her heels and he walked over to her. Running a finger over her foot; he felt the thrill of her magic run through him.
Jacob's hand cupped Hope's ankle, removing her shoe, his eyes on her face. Jacob expected that she would wake at his touch but she continued to sleep soundly. He removed her other heel. Lying down beside Hope, he brushed a long layer of hair over her back and then pressed his nose against her, bare shoulder blade, over the tiny birthmark. His lips pressed to her skin as she shifted in her sleep. "Jacob," she cried out and he looked at her face. The longing he saw there made him want to wake her. His hand cupped her cheek, his lips hovering over hers as she moved again, on the edge of waking.
Jacob sped out of the room. Standing in the living room, he debated with himself on the best way to approach her, but she did not give him enough time. He heard the sound of her footsteps on the stairs as he flicked the downstairs light switch on. "Li? Jos?" she called and then they were face-to-face.
Hope's eyes widened in a manner that would be comical if her expression did not dissolve into rage, her eyes burning with intense distrust, and some might say hate. "Sweet dreams, I take it?" he teased her, his head cocked to the side as she glared at him, her hands balled into fists.
"Get out!" Hope cried and Jacob chuckled silently at her order, shaking his head. Even if could; he wouldn't.
"Can't," he told her, a smirk twisting his lips upward. Yes, this would be fun.
"What?" Hope's expression transitioned from rage to confusion in an instant. Such an expressive face. He wished he were an artist, he would spend months creating her likeness.
"We're locked in here, for now," Jacob informed her. He could no longer resist the urge to touch her, his fingers reaching out and fingering her curls. His fingertips trailed down her arm. He wanted her. He did not remember wanting someone as madly as he wanted this girl. Her power radiated off of her and he wanted to feel it coursing through him as he made her his.
Hope looked distraught and she moved to the door and away from him. That was alright. They would have time. "What?" she cried as she attempted to leave the house, opening the door and trying to step out, to no avail. "What did you do?" she shouted at him. When she turned, Jacob felt his breath catch. Her teeth were bared in a snarl, her entire face that of the predator that lay beneath the surface of the human facade. He felt another thrill shoot through his body, excitement making him act rashly.
"Not it," Jacob told her, speeding forward and pinning her to the invisible wall. He felt her body shudder against his, and the feel of her, this close, made his body cry out for more. More of her. He had to have more. He smiled down at her and she looked disgusted. "While we're here, why don't we get to know each other better?" he suggested.
Jacob seemed to have used the wrong words to woo her. Perhaps he had been a little too forward with his intentions. Women had told him he could be a bit aggressive. His thoughts stopped, to be replaced by blinding pain, as Hope's eyes pinned him with a lethal look, and he felt her power, being used against him.
Sinking to his knees, Jacob watched Hope race from his grip and heard her feet pounding up the stairs. Sighing, when the pain dissipated. Jacob got to his feet. "I guess we'll be doing this the hard way," he muttered under his breath before speeding to her door.
"Hope, darling, let me in," Jacob called through the thin wood. "We have much to discuss and all the time in the world."
"Go to hell, Jacob!" Hope shouted back at him through the door. He could hear her fumbling around in her room; looking for something.
Placing his hand on the door—he ran his fingers over it—imagining it was her flesh. "Hope, let me in," he called sweetly.
"Go away!" Hope shouted back. "You're a gross, creepy stalker!"
"That's not what you were saying in your sleep!" Jacob called back.
There was a pause in the movements on the other side of the door. Then the sound of rapid movement toward the door. Hope jerked the door open; glaring up at him. "You were in my room? Watching me sleep? You really are a stalker!" she yelled at him before shoving the door, to close it, and turning on a heel to go back to her search.
Jacob placed a hand on the door, stopping it from closing and walked inside. "What are you looking for?" he asked her.
Hope looked up and sneered at him. "I'm looking for my phone. Ha!" Pulling out the phone, she grinned happily and dialed a number. An annoying, shrill beeping sound made both of them wince. "Seriously!" she screamed, causing Jacob to wince again before he walked over to sit on top of her bed; crossing his arms behind his head.
"Did you do this?" Hope demanded, a hand going to her hip, waving her phone at him.
Jacob shook his head. "No. I do not work for your phone company. If I did, would you be interested in having dinner with me?" he asked her, leaning forward, on one elbow, eyebrows rising as he offered her a playful grin.
Hope's eyes widened and she let out a cry of rage before she jumped on her bed, crawling over toward him, on top of him and shaking him. "How did you trap us in here, you freak, and what in the hell did you do to jam the damned signal?"
"If I knew that being trapped in a house with you was all I needed to do to get you into bed; I would have done that day one," Jacob told her, rolling over and pinning her wrists above her head. "Where were we? Ah, getting to know each other."
"I'm going to kill you. You do know that, right?" Hope demanded, trying to free herself. She was strong. Very, very strong. Just not strong enough. Not yet.
"Yes. I'm sure you will try. But I think you'll regret it; if you do," Jacob told her, watching her eyes soften for a second before she began to fight him again. "I do not want to fight you, Hope. You see, we have something in common."
"I doubt it," Hope snapped at him.
"Oh, but we do. You want your father back," Jacob said and Hope settled beneath him.
"How did you know that?" Hope asked him.
"Word travels. There are people who would like nothing more than to stop you and to end him. I have succeeded in ending a number of your enemies for you. You're welcome, by the way." Jacob watched Hope look uncertain.
"Why?" Hope said, searching his eyes and relaxing in his grip.
"Would you believe me if I told you that I love you?" Jacob asked her.
Hope scoffed. "Sure."
"Right. How about this: I want you to help me bring my father back. And I will help you with yours," Jacob offered her.
Hope's expression finally turned warm; a slow smile lighting up her face. "Okay," she said. Jacob leaned down, kissing her on the lips and feeling triumphant when she kissed him back. His plans were working out rather well already.
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Answers to guest reviews:
Day Day: Now, we know what Jake's plans are and more of our new favorite, guilty-pleasure couple, Jachope.
HopeMikaelson: Thank you so much!
Guest: I hope you enjoyed the Hope scenes. S5, here we come!
Haylijah01: Thank you!
Tori: Thank you, and, yes, the wait is nearly over!
Peace,
Jessica