I own nothing but my own words.

Chapter 19: You Like Him, Don't You?

Hope slept like crap.

After returning from the bathroom, she grabbed her pillow from the other bed and climbed into the empty one. She wouldn't—couldn't—look at him, but she did tell him in a firm voice to stay where he was at. She didn't want him moving next to her like he always did.

She tossed and turned all night, sleeping some, but never for long. She kept dreaming of falling into an endless darkness completely alone. She would awaken slightly, only to fall asleep and do it all over again.

At some point she gave up on sleeping, but she had no clue what time it was. She had been lying there for a while now, eyes closed, sifting through her thoughts about yesterday and the dream last night. And, yes, avoiding him.

It wouldn't have been so bad if she hadn't called him Ryan. The only time he ever told her to call him that was in her last sex dream—which he knew about because he had been there for that one. She gave it away this time without meaning to.

"You awake?" She felt him push against the side of the bed to get her attention. "I need to shower before check out."

She rolled away from him to bury her face in her pillow and mutter, "Yes."

He wouldn't leave her unattended while she was sleeping, even knowing she wouldn't do magic. He still wanted to take every precaution. She liked that he never faltered on trying to keep her safe.

She could hear him gather his stuff. She waited for the click of the bathroom door closing before opening her eyes. The clock read 10:00 am. They had missed breakfast. Oh well, he would just have to be content with her leftovers until they found a place.

She should get up and change while he was in the shower, but she didn't feel like it. She had too much on her mind. Namely, him.

Ryan Clarke.

She liked him.

There was no use denying it anymore.

She liked him, as in, more than friends. As in, he had finally succeeded in getting her to return his feelings. As in, she was so confused right now she didn't know what to think.

The one time she got to focus on something other than monsters and all she could think about was him.

She didn't know what to do with this new knowledge. Liking him didn't automatically mean she wanted to pursue anything with him. Her fantasies may have conjured one helluva image of the two of them together but that didn't mean she was going to try to make the dream a reality.

He wouldn't mind going there, she was sure, but she was struggling with everything—especially the sex part.

She knew all about sex, why wouldn't she? Teenagers talked about it all the time. She knew she was the product of her mother having hate sex with her drunken father. She knew her mother had other lovers as well, including Uncle Elijah at some point. Hope wasn't that innocent. Her mother had always answered any questions she had. Mom had been the one to talk about the birds and the bees when she was younger, just as she had talked about a woman's pleasure when Hope was old enough to be curious about that too.

But in a lot of ways she was innocent, especially innocent to doing the act itself. She listened to her mother, but she had always been a bit sheltered and protected because of the way she grew up. After the mistake with Roman, she spent years never getting close to anyone. So, no, she hadn't had sex yet, and she had never been in a rush to do it.

With Landon, she thought that eventually, given time, she would be okay to do it with him. It would happen as a natural progression in their relationship, based on mutual love and trust. Plus, both of them were virgins and neither of them knew what they were doing, not really. She figured they would be able to figure it out together. It would be light and carefree, with laughter and some awkwardness, but mostly it would be safe and comfortable. She thought she would be able to handle that.

With Clarke, everything was so different. He regarded her with this intensity that could light a fire in her if she let it. Their banter could be rough and exhilarating. They could hold their own against each other and regarded each other as equals at this point. She didn't want to consider what it would be like to really be with him because it scared her. She felt like the passion in his interest in her was too intimidating. Sex with Clarke would be nothing like she had envisioned with Landon, as her dream last night could attest. She felt like he was awakening things inside her that were big and scary.

At least he hadn't been inside her mind to see the details of last night's dream. This way she could sit with it, think about him, wonder if being with him was something she was ready to do without the added mortification of him knowing about and expecting…well, that.

She knew if she told him she returned his feelings, things would change. He would change. He had been around for about eight hundred years—as he revealed to her last night—his experience alone was intimidating. Would he expect things from her that she wasn't ready for? She knew he would never hurt her, and she wouldn't let him; but, it was still all too overwhelming to think about.

Her feelings were making her question everything, even her feelings for Landon.

Just because she had these feelings for Clarke, that didn't mean her feelings for Landon had just disappeared. She hadn't thought much about him over these past couple of weeks, mostly because whenever she did she would have to wrestle with the idea that she might have to kill him.

Before that though, he had broken up with her. She was free to pursue things with Clarke if she decided to. She wasn't spoken for anymore, not really. The question was... did she still have the same feelings for Landon as she thought she had, or had she been deluding herself in the first place to think that Landon was her one true epic love? If she could have and entertain these thoughts about Clarke, what did that mean when it came to Landon? Had she really been that naive, to once again make a huge mistake in picking someone?

That, perhaps, scared her even more when it came to Clarke. Everything that she knew of him from before screamed that he would be another mistake. But everything that she knew now? Well... she didn't know.

Sex aside, everything else about Clarke that she liked had been building up since the Krampus had shown up at school, even before he first showed up in her mind. He was easy for her to talk to. She found herself opening up to him about her past and her family. He wanted to know everything, and she felt no hesitation in telling him. Every story just made them that much closer.

That lopsided smirk of his had gotten to her too.

And then there was the way he insisted on staying with her even though he didn't have to. He had told her once that he was terrified of his father. Yet, he was fighting monsters with her knowing that eventually she was going to have to face Malivore. He was actually going to face something that terrified him for her. Hell, he already had when he came to rescue her from the picnic.

He told her he would never leave her alone. He knew how much the loneliness got to her, especially since he could relate.

Yet, with her feelings for Landon, how could she in good conscious do that to Clarke? To let him know she returned his feelings when she was still in love with someone else? And what if she did figure out a way to get Malivore out of Landon? What would happen then? Would she have to choose between them? None of that would be fair to Clarke…

She had another big decision to make, and she honestly didn't know what to do.

"Still?" Clarke said, leaving the bathroom freshly showered and dressed for another day on the road. "Get up, Hope. I'm starving."

There wasn't any way to avoid it, she had to get up. So she did. She stumbled to her travel bag to pick out an outfit for the day, her other products still by the sink in the bathroom.

She entered the room and took a breath. It smelled like him. Whether it was his shower gel or aftershave, she could smell it. Everything shifted down. Closing the door, she sank back against it and decided if acknowledging her feelings for him was going to cause this kind of reaction just by smelling him, she was in real trouble. Damn werewolf genes.

She hurried to get ready, anxious to get on the road and return to fighting monsters.

Life was so much simpler when that was all she had to focus on.

Alaric stood with Mac, watching Lizzie and MG set up for the spell.

He was anxious to get back to Jed. Half of the wolf's face had been broken last night with that punch. He was lucky to be alive. If not for his rapid healing capabilities, he wouldn't be.

The team may be made up of werewolves and vampires, but they were still just kids on an ill-conceived mission to save the world. Alaric knew he was taking them into unknown territory, but they had been fighting monsters for the past couple of years. They were experienced. But even the most experienced person screwed up. Take Alaric, for example, who was currently beating himself up for taking kids out and nearly getting them killed. He was supposed to protect these kids, yet Jed was upstairs icing his face and hoping everything healed in the same shape.

MG had nearly lost his head in the collision with Jed and the cavern wall. Hope's blood sustaining a vampire like that, it was definitely something Alaric had never seen before. He knew the blood's effect would have to run off eventually. At least it hadn't happened last night. He needed to keep an eye on MG. The vampire couldn't start thinking he was completely invincible. He wasn't an original vampire just because he had nearly drained the blood of a daughter of one.

The wolves were hot headed too, and that made for another problem. Both Jed and Rafael had run into the thick of things without waiting for instruction from him. He couldn't keep taking them out if they wouldn't listen to him. He didn't even want to take them out anymore. At least he was pretty sure they both had learned their lesson. Jed's face would heal. As for Rafael, once he finally accepted the truth about Landon being gone, he had crumbled.

The boy arrived back in the main cavern just as Alaric used the fire from the club to burn out the last stump on the hydra. Rafael was a mess. He was no longer angry that Alaric had tried to shoot his crossbow at Landon. He just waited until Alaric motioned for him and then he hugged him, burrowing his face into his shoulder. Rafael was like that, always open about his feelings around Alaric. He had latched onto Alaric since he first arrived at the Salvatore School, seeking guidance from him and help whenever he was at a loss. Rafael had always been grateful to him for finding him and bringing him and Landon home. The kid was destroyed now. Landon was Rafael's family and losing him was the biggest loss of all.

He wouldn't allow Rafael to be around for this spell. In fact, he hadn't even told Rafael of their plans. He didn't want to get the kid's hopes up. If Rafael knew they might be able to retrieve Malivore's body, then he would know they thought there was a chance Landon was still in his own body somewhere. He would push even more to do whatever needed to be done, no matter who got hurt in the process.

If any of this actually worked out, it would be Alaric's choice to proceed if they determined it would do anything to Clarke too. He wouldn't let Hope hold Rafael responsible if something happened to him. He also knew better than to put the choice in Hope's hands. If Lizzie had been hesitant about the possibility, that spoke volumes of Hope's feelings toward the mud man. That didn't mean Alaric wouldn't try to find another way. He may not like the guy, but the former agent was there for Hope when no one else could be.

"So," Mac said. "I'm going to tell her to find a…golem body? How will she know what that looks like? I don't even know what that looks like."

"She'll know," Alaric said.

"And why am I doing this and not you?" Mac asked. "I mean, you do know what she looks like, right?"

"Because she'll trust you," Alaric said. "She barely knew me."

"It's hard to believe she worked as some sort of international assassin," Mac said, shaking her head.

"Didn't your husband die under suspicious circumstances?" Alaric brought up.

"My second husband, yes," Mac raised an eyebrow at him. "Why?"

"He went fishing after he was served with divorce papers and a restraining order, and he died," he said. "A boating accident."

"He was never very good at angling," she excused.

"Makes me wonder how much Seylah had to do with it," he said.

Mac drew herself up, crossed her arms over her chest, and looked back toward Lizzie. "I'm sure nothing can be proven."

"Huh," Alaric mused. "Unwilling to look the other way when I ask, but you will for your sister." And here he thought she was infallible.

"Now what are you talking about?"

"Never mind," he shook his head. Of course she would protect her sister at all costs. He would do the same thing. He just wished she had been more open when he asked, to make things easier. Case in point, the Brenner situation.

"So I guess your reasons for looking into Kennedy Brenner's report were personal, huh?"

"She forgot her sister, Ric," she said. "Just like me. We both lost a sister and the Mayor told me to ask you about it. Gotta admit, that got me curious."

"The Mayor, he knows I'm the resident authority on weird," Alaric said.

"Nice of him to clue me in," she said flippantly. "Is there anything else besides memory wiping hell dimensions, phoenixes, and witches I need to know about? Christ, I feel like I've stepped into an episode of Stranger Things."

Alaric glanced at MG, who would be Lizzie's anchor for the spell. He hadn't told Mac about the existence of vampires and werewolves yet. It would've been too much too soon. Mac seemed like the type who needed to be eased into all of this. "That's a good show."

"Wanna know what else is a good show?" Lizzie interrupted. "The one I'm about to put on. Are we ready? Or are we gonna arrest more innocent people and drag them in kicking and screaming?"

"A bit overdramatic, is she?" Mac asked Alaric in an aside.

Alaric smiled a long suffering but loving smile. "Lizzie, sweetheart, you weren't arrested; you were just brought in for questioning. Your record remains unblemished, I promise."

"It better be," Lizzie cast a glare at the sheriff.

Mac dropped her arms and walked toward the teen. "Where do you want me?"

"If you only knew," Lizzie muttered to herself.

"Elizabeth," Alaric warned. "Behave."

"Yes, Daddy," Lizzie said as sweetly as possible while clenching her teeth.

"Just step into the circle," Lizzie pointed to the spot on the floor. "We get to hold hands. MG will hold onto me and be the anchor so I don't lose my way or run out of my mojo."

"And you'll be with me?" Mac asked, hesitant to raise her hands.

"Yep," Lizzie said derisively. "The whole time."

"Any other things I need to know?" the sheriff asked.

"It'll be dark?" Lizzie said, thinking about it.

"How am I supposed to see her then?"

"I think they'll be enough light to see something?" Lizzie said. "I can try to conjure a magical ball to light the way once we're in? But trying to connect to another dimension to begin with is asking a lot. I'm using the spell my sister used to project me into a prison world, so hopefully the premise is the same."

"Prison world?" Mac asked, strangely fascinated.

"Yada, yada, yada," Lizzie said, not bothering to give more information. "Are we doing this or not?"

"Okay," Mac said, raising her hands and feeling a little nervous. "Let's do this."

"Lah, lah, lah, lah, oooh, Seylah!"

Seylah glanced heavenward and once again wondered why she kept this kid around.

Chad had proven to be more of a hindrance than a help. He was mostly good at jumping out of the way after he drew the attention of some monster and letting Seylah deal with fighting it off so they could run from the creature and hide. Seylah really wished she could find some weapons, but, alas, the only thing to be found in this place were creatures and more creatures.

Most of which probably enjoyed Chad's off-key singing as much as she did.

Hearing a loud growl close by, she readied herself. "Shhh," she warned the boy who was taking a breath before he launched into his second verse.

Chad shut up and backed away, looking around just as Seylah did.

Seylah felt like she was being watched. She hated that she didn't have more light in this place, she had to be quiet and try to sense the creature before it attacked since she usually didn't see them until they were practically next to her.

This creature must be a fast one, because something hit her hard in the darkness and she fell out of the way, not seeing it at all—only feeling fur.

"Watch out!" she tried to warn Chad, but the creature was too fast.

Chad let out a rather high pitched scream as he was knocked off his feet. Feeling hot breath in his face, and seeing big giant teeth, he threw his arms up to cover his face. The creature missed his face but bit into his arm.

"Seylah!" he screamed as the pain tore through him.

Something landed on the creature and suddenly it wasn't on top of him anymore.

He scrambled to his feet, clutching at his arm, whimpering at the pain. He wanted to cry and scream even more because it hurt so much, but he needed to be quiet or he would attract more creatures—wasn't that what Seylah was always saying?

Seylah jumped onto the large animal, wrapping herself around it, gripping tightly, and tried to strangle it. When the creature let go of Chad, she propelled herself to the side, rolling with it off of Chad. She lay on her back, the creature lying backwards on top of her, and she struggled for all she was worth. Keeping her legs wrapped around it, she maneuvered her arms to get a firm grasp around its neck, then jerked hard.

The creature went limp.

Breathing hard, she pushed it aside and got up to go to Chad.

"Where does it hurt?" she asked.

"My arm! It bit me! I don't think there's any arm left!" Chad whispered, still crying at the pain.

Amused, she took the arm in her hand and wiped at the wound with her shirt, applying some pressure. "The arm is still there. It will heal."

"How do you know?" he asked, hissing in pain when she pressed on the wound.

"When I jumped into the pit, I had sustained a gunshot wound. It has long since healed," she explained. She reached for the bottom of his shirt and said, "Hold tight." She tore off a strip.

"Hey!" he exclaimed in a whisper.

"Your wound, your shirt," she said. "Need something to stop the bleeding." She used the strip from his shirt to wrap it tightly around his forearm above the wound.

"Why did it go after me?" he asked.

"Possibly had to do with your singing," she said.

"Everybody's a critic," he said.

"Keep your voice down, Chad," Seylah admonished, not for the first time. "They won't find us if they can't hear us or see us."

"Right," Chad nodded. "From now on, stealth is my middle name."

Seylah smirked, she wanted to laugh.

"They're not being stealthy," he said, nodding at a point in the distance. "Someone should really tell them."

Seeing a small light, mixed with some mutterings that were growing louder, Seylah shook her head. Someone else was causing trouble for themselves. She really should leave them to their own devices, but on the off chance these new people could provide some skill so she didn't need to worry over Chad so much, she would go and enlighten them on their mistake.

The closer they got to the new pair, the more Seylah thought she recognized the form of one of the women. It can't be…

"Lizzie!" Chad squealed. His voice had started out almost too high but he lowered it immediately. "I knew you'd come back for me!"

"Cyn?" Seylah asked. "Is that really you?"

Chad ran forward and tried to hug the blonde who was batting her arms at him while holding a magical glow ball in her hand. "Who are you…stop trying to touch me!" Lizzie exclaimed, while Chad's arms went straight through her.

Chad stepped back, mouth dropping open. "You're a ghost?!"

Mac immediately went to Seylah, smiling broadly at her sister. "I found you, hot damn, they actually did it."

Seylah saw Chad's arms go through the other girl and realized, "I can't touch you, can I?"

Mac shook her head. "We're…astral projecting?"

"Ohhh," Chad said, realizing. "I did that once before. It's really cool."

"Wouldn't have been my word," Mac said.

"Why are you here?" Seylah asked.

"We need your help, Landon's mom," Lizzie said.

"What kind of help?" Seylah asked. "And how is Landon?"

"He's, uh—" Lizzie tried to start, but Mac interrupted.

"We need you to find something called a 'golem body'?" Mac said. "They want to try to get the body and you, out."

"And me!" Chad said quickly.

"Who are you again?" Lizzie asked.

Chad sputtered.

"He's Chad," Seylah said. "He'll be coming out with me." She said, looking back at her sister for confirmation.

Mac nodded. She would make sure it got done.

"This body, it's important?" Seylah asked.

"It belongs to Malivore," Lizzie said. "We need it so we can put him into it and destroy him once and for all."

"I'm okay with that," Seylah said. "But why now? What's changed?"

"From what I understand," Mac said, "He's taken over his son…Landon."

Seylah looked down and swallowed. She nodded. "I will retrieve this body. How do I let you know what I've found?"

"You can't," Lizzie said. "We'll check in every day until you do."

"How will you get us all," she motioned to include Chad too, "out?"

"Still working on it, but we've got a few theories," Lizzie said. "Don't worry, Dad'll figure it out."

"Your Dad is?" Seylah asked.

"Alaric Saltzman," she replied.

"The headmaster at Hope and Landon's school," Seylah said.

Lizzie nodded.

Just then, a giant blue vortex began forming high in the air.

Seylah stepped back and grabbed hold of Chad's good arm.

"What's that?" Mac asked.

The wind started whipping up and tugging at Seylah.

"It's him," Seylah said. "Its how I came back to earth last time."

"I don't get it," Mac said, looking back and forth between the vortex and Seylah, who was now being tugged feet first up toward the vortex. The only thing keeping her from being sucked in was her hold on Chad.

"Can he hear us?" Seylah yelled. "Does he know?"

"I don't know!" Lizzie said. "How would he know?"

"This place is him!" Seylah cried out.

Chad tried to help hold onto her, but it was nearly impossible with the pain in his other arm.

"It's too strong!" Seylah said, knowing she would be sucked in any minute now. "Chad, you have to be quiet. When needed, run."

"You can't leave me!" Chad said desperately, suddenly very scared.

She tried to tighten her grip, but it wasn't working. She wasn't strong enough to withstand the cyclone tearing her from him.

"Do as I said. We'll find a way to get you out," she promised right before her hands slipped from his and she was pulled into the vortex.

"Stop!" Chad cried out. "Don't go!"

The vortex closed and Seylah was gone.

"Now what?" Lizzie said, groaning.

"Chad, is it?" Mac asked, still reeling from all that she had experienced in the past ten minutes. "Think you can take up the task?"

"Find a golem body?" he asked, rubbing at his eyes with his good arm. "What's that?"

"It's um…" Lizzie looked at Mac who looked back at her, both bewildered. Lizzie thought fast. "Think…mud?" Clarke's a mud man, right? And his father is Malivore, so… "Lots and lots of mud…in the shape of a humanoid like thing, maybe?"

Mac raised an eyebrow and Lizzie shrugged. That's the best she could do.

"Ready to go?" Lizzie asked Mac.

"Wait, Lizzie," Chad reached out to her. "I know I told you and Hope I could do this, but I can't. There're scary monsters and with Seylah I was okay, but I can't do this alone. Please don't leave me."

"I'm sorry," Lizzie said. She knew who he was once she knew his name. He was the one who agreed to jump into Malivore to help take out The Necromancer. He had helped save Josie and Rafael too. She owed him, but she didn't know how to help him. "I'll be back though, okay? Just look for the body."

"Lizzie, please!" he tried again, knowing it wouldn't help. She couldn't stay, and even if she did, she couldn't help him fight anything in her projection form.

Ignoring his pleas since there was nothing else she could do, she ended the projection spell and came back to her body.

"Well?" Alaric asked, seeing the two of them blink and become aware again.

"It didn't go quite as planned," Lizzie said, grimacing. "But…"

"Seylah's back," Mac said with realization. "She's back…somewhere."

"Back?" Alaric asked.

"Yeah, he must've known what we were doing so he up-chucked her," Lizzie said.

"So we can't get the body," he said, sighing and deflating.

"Never fear!" Lizzie said. "I've got my best man on the case."

"Really?" Alaric asked.

"Nah, not really, we're screwed."

On the way to the car to drop off their bags, Hope hadn't said a word to him. He had told her they were dropping off the bags so they could go into the city for breakfast—or early lunch since she had taken so long to awaken. She nodded, the only thing to indicate that she heard him, but that was it.

She was ignoring him again, and Clarke wasn't amused.

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed, or rather, in the wrong bed," he said as he walked by her side. She kept trying to walk faster than him but since his legs were longer, her efforts were getting her nowhere.

"Change the subject, Clarke," she warned, finally speaking.

So we're back to that, he thought. To be honest, he knew her calling him Ryan wouldn't last, but he was still slightly disappointed.

"Why are you mad at me?" he asked. "It's your mind. I have no control over it."

"I'm not mad at you," she said quickly.

"Could've fooled me," he said.

"I'm…" she searched for a better word but gave up and went with the first to come to mind, "embarrassed, okay?"

"You don't have to be," he reached out and stopped her. "I certainly don't mind."

She stared up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time all morning. He felt like electricity crackled between them.

"I've got a lot on my mind, okay?" she said, breaking eye contact. "Can we keep going?"

A lot on her mind, he thought. The last time she was like this, she had been trying to make a decision…about him. Had he been right? Was she finally starting to realize she had feelings for him?

She resumed walking and he followed along saying, "Sure, and maybe one day you'll tell me about that dream."

Her steps faltered, but he kept on going right past her. "After breakfast we'll get that sketchbook you wanted."

Glancing back, he was in time to see a small smile flash across her face at that. He had to smile himself as he faced forward again, slowing down for her to catch up.

He was on her mind. He couldn't ask for more than that.

"Hey, isn't that…" she slowed to a stop again, looking at a corner shop across the street. "I think that's where Seylah's coffee shop used to be."

"Guess it's not serving coffee anymore," he said. The store had been turned into a comic book shop. He shrugged. "That'll work," he pointed at a restaurant across the street—Hawaiian Bros.

The hostess sat them, and Hope immediately excused herself to go to the restroom. She had rushed to get ready that morning, trying to get out of the bathroom as quickly as possible, but she forgot to actually use the bathroom when she was in there.

She was feeling a little better than she had since last night. She still had a decision to make, but at least she didn't feel like she had to avoid him until she decided.

Washing and drying her hands, she left and returned to the table, pausing for a moment on the way when she saw their waitress had arrived and was talking to Clarke—and taking entirely too long for a drink order.

She kept going and slipped into her seat, giving Clarke a questioning look.

"It's so nice of you to take your little sister out for lunch," the waitress said, glancing in Hope's direction before focusing her complete attention on Clarke again.

Hope frowned and opened her mouth to correct her but was cut off by Clarke agreeing.

"Gotta get some quality family time in while I'm in town," he said, smirking for Hope's benefit.

"I'll have a water, bottled," Hope told the waitress, tight lipped.

"Me too," Clarke said, eyes dancing in amusement at Hope's annoyance.

"Be right back," the waitress said before leaving.

"What was that about?" she asked.

He shrugged. "She assumed, and I figured it's a good enough cover story, so why not?"

"Why was she even talking to you? She just had to get the drink orders."

He shrugged again. "Being friendly?"

"Right," she looked away. That waitress wasn't being friendly because it was her job. She was flirting with Clarke.

"But it does remind me," he leaned forward. "Yesterday, you mentioned a brother? Since when do you have one?"

"Oh, Marcel," she said. "My father raised him. It's easier to just call him that. He's also kind of my uncle now too? He married my Aunt Bex." She paused, thinking about it.

"Huh." Her family was clearly more complex than he realized.

"He's a vampire…an upgraded original?" she scrunched her nose in concentration. His story was…complicated. "Long story short, his bite is worse than his bark."

"Here you go," the waitress came back.

She plopped a water bottle down in front of Hope, then made a show of handing the bottle to Clarke, trying to catch his eye while making sure her hand touched his while handing off the bottle. Clarke wasn't paying her any attention, just took the bottle from her, but Hope saw the entire thing and it made her grip her own bottle a little too tightly, morphing the plastic slightly before she stopped when she heard the slight noise from the bottle.

"Ready to order?"

Hope quickly ordered the pacific island salad, while Clarke had to drag out his ordering. Of course he ordered a large plate, but he couldn't decide which kind of chicken. The waitress helped, "The Molokai chicken is really good if you like it hot."

"I do," he said, handing the menu back to her with a quick smile.

Gripping the edge of the table now, Hope was not happy. Why did he have to let the woman think she was his sister? She could've put a stop to this nonsense immediately if he had claimed it was a lunch date. But no, he had to let her assume something that would make it seem strange if Hope reacted like a jealous shrew.

Yes, she was jealous. Yes, she knew it was ridiculous. No, she couldn't make it stop.

She caught a glimpse of the waitress still observing Clarke from afar while putting in their orders. How fast could the orders be made so they could get out of here? She really wanted to find a monster to kill right now.

"Maybe we should get the orders to go?" she suggested.

Clarke looked perplexed. "In a hurry to kill more things? They'll still be there when we're done."

Hope sat and waited, trying to behave when their orders came out and the waitress made a show of setting everything down perfectly for Clarke. She wouldn't be surprised if she opened up a napkin and tucked it into the top of his shirt like a giant bib just to have an excuse to touch him again. Sister or not, Hope wouldn't keep from speaking up about that.

The waitress finally left and Clarke dug in. Hope tried to eat, but after a few bites, she realized she couldn't taste anything because she was too annoyed, so she put her fork down and focused on drinking her water instead.

"Need anything else?" The waitress came by a little later to check on them as any good server would do, except she didn't look in Hope's direction at all. The question was clearly for Clarke only.

Clarke shook his head.

"If you need anything, just let me know what you desire," she said with a wink and walked away.

He just shoved another spoonful into his mouth, but Hope was done.

She was tired, she was cranky, she was afraid she was falling for the wrong guy, and now she was jealous. She couldn't watch this anymore.

She put down her water bottle. "I'm done. I'll meet you at the car."

"What?" Clarke looked up, confused.

"Don't worry, brother, I won't do anything to attract the wrong kind of attention," she said with a glower.

She left him stuttering to figure out what went wrong.

"Hope, wait!" he said, dropping his spoon and trying to slide out of the booth to go after her.

The waitress came back by right then, blocking his exit. "We could meet up later while you're still in town? What's your number?"

Clarke shook his head, "Not interested." He was standing now, trying to get around her while fumbling for his wallet. He pulled out enough to cover the bill and a tip and pushed it at her.

"You've got to pay at the counter," she said, looking displeased and not taking it from him. She was making him follow the rules now that he wasn't giving out his number.

Grumbling because he didn't want to draw any kind of unwanted attention, he went to pay at the front, impatient as he had to wait for two other people in front of him.

Why would Hope leave him like that? They hadn't been apart since their shopping trip. With the way she had reacted that day, he didn't think she would ever let him out of her sight in public again.

What gives?

"So how do we find her?" Mac asked. "She could be anywhere, right?"

"She's in Mystic Falls," Alaric said. "That's where he is, so he'd open a portal here."

"I could send her a fire message?" Lizzie suggested. "Tell her to come to the school?"

Alaric nodded. "Do it."

Mac envisioned a giant fire sending out smoke signals, but Lizzie dispelled that notion by grabbing a piece of paper, scribbling a message, and turning it into a ball of fire in her palm before it disappeared.

"Now, we wait," Lizzie said, smirking.

She was feeling quite accomplished. She had done more magic in the past few days than she usually did. It felt good to know she could accomplish more difficult spells, like projecting someone into a completely different dimension. How cool was that? Pretty soon she would be as kick ass as Hope! Well, maybe not, but still, she could hold her own.

There was a sound at the door, it opened and Seylah walked inside carrying the message in her left hand.

"That was fast," Lizzie observed, frowning.

"Seylah!" Mac said, running to her sister.

Seylah reached out with her right hand and grabbed her around the neck, gripping hard.

Alaric ran and grabbed Seylah from behind, yanking her away, while MG went to the sheriff.

Seylah threw her head back, slamming it into Alaric's face, loosening his grip enough to break free.

Lizzie shot out a binding spell at Seylah, intending for it to wrap around her and keep her from moving, but the spell deflected and flew back at the witch. Lizzie found herself constrained, floating upside down, and completely immobile.

Seylah turned and punched Alaric, then went running for Mac again. MG raced forward and wrapped his arms around her, using enough strength to subdue a human without crushing her.

"Why is she attacking, Ric?" Mac cried out, while Alaric stumbled to his feet, holding his jaw.

"He shouldn't be able to control her," Alaric said, remembering Hope's information. "Malivore can't control humans, which means something else is…"

He ran to the map, aware that Seylah was struggling against MG. He looked at the locater map of Mystic Falls and saw that he was right. "There's a monster here. It must be invisible. MG! Listen, try to find it."

MG gripped Seylah tightly and tried to hear, but he was suddenly being crushed himself.

Gasping, he pulled away from Seylah so he didn't accidentally crush her as he was being crushed in an embrace that kept getting tighter and tighter. "Doctor Saltzman, something's holding me but there's nothing here!"

Seylah went running for Mac again, who ran around the desk. She didn't want to hurt her sister. Alaric grabbed his sword and decided he would try to injure Seylah, he wouldn't kill her. He ran at her but she got around him and grabbed a fighting stick from the wall. Turning, she started attacking him, the wood smacking against the sword.

He fought her while trying to think. A monster was controlling Seylah somehow… It made Lizzie's spell boomerang back to her, like it was mimicking her. Just like MG had been subduing Seylah and was now being subdued himself. But Seylah wasn't trying to do any of this to them, she was being forced to do it… like the monster was making her mimic him. That's it. The monster could mimic others, and could make others mimic it.

How was he going to kill an invisible monster without killing Seylah? Obviously the monster could only control one person at once or it would've already made Alaric turn on the sheriff along with Seylah. That meant even if he could subdue Seylah, he could be the next one to attack Mac.

Fighting became even more aggressive, and Alaric struggled. He realized Seylah was struggling too, if her face was any indication. She was straining. While her body was doing exactly what the mimic demon wanted her to, it wasn't controlling her facial features. She looked haunted that she might be the one to kill her sister.

If she could control her face and eyes then… He saw her eyes flicker to the right again and again while they were fighting. To the right. He maneuvered the fight to get close to his desk and grabbed a tranquilizer gun. He shot a bunch of shots up and down in the direction her eyes were indicating.

He must've been successful because the darts stuck into something before that something fell over and the darts were now aimed at the ground, stuck in the air. Lizzie and MG were released from their prisons, and so was Seylah.

Seylah came forward, grabbed the sword from Alaric, went to where the prone monster must be and started jabbing the sword down into it, over and over again. Grunting with each downward movement, she made sure it would never come back to harm them again.

"How'd you know where it was?" Alaric asked, wondering.

"I could feel its movement while it controlled mine," Seylah said, breathing hard and tossing the sword to the side.

"Seylah?" Mac asked, coming toward her.

"Cyn," Seylah said, smiling and going to her sister.

They hugged, and Alaric could only smile that at least one happy ending could be had here. He even thought he saw Lizzie turn to wipe a tear away.

If only the rest of their journey would be just as happy.

Hope knew she was being ridiculous. She knew she was giving herself away too. He would catch up to her and he would figure it out, he always did. She knew she didn't even have anything to be jealous about. He hadn't once returned that woman's attention. But he hadn't shut her down completely either. She shook her head at herself. He probably didn't even realize he was being flirted with. He definitely hadn't acted like it.

Was this reaction the answer she was looking for? She didn't want it to be though. Jealousy wasn't an answer. It just made it even clearer that she had feelings for him, which she already knew. She just didn't know what to do. Of all the reasons holding her back, she knew the biggest one was the fear. And she hated being afraid.

She glanced around. She had forgotten they had walked to the restaurant from the hotel parking garage, so she cut through an alley to get to the next block over.

Stopping in the middle, she decided she wanted to fight a monster. She was frustrated and wanted to pummel the heck out of some creature.

She used her magic to kick a can and waited.

Nothing happened, and she grew even more frustrated. Maybe the monsters just needed time to find her since she hadn't been on their radar for a while.

She was being ridiculous again. Sighing, she resumed her walk but stopped suddenly and sniffed the air.

Was something burning?

She froze.

Her stomach dropped and her heart hurt.

Her dream.

No.

She turned and ran up the alley, back toward the restaurant. Please, no, please, she begged whoever might listen the entire way.

She saw it unfolding in the distance. It was the woman, the waitress, and she had a gun trained on Clarke. He tried reaching for his, but she already had hers. He wasn't fast enough.

Hope threw out a large wave of magical energy at the woman, screaming with the effort. The magic hit the woman and she fell, but Clarke had already been shot. It was too late.

"No, no, no," she muttered, running to him. "You're okay. You're immortal. Why would you come back any different than you were, right? You're okay. Wake up!"

She grabbed at him, looking at the wound in his chest. Maybe she needed to get the bullet out? She pulled him toward her to look at his back. Exit wound. The bullet went straight through.

"How long did it take before for you to come back? I should've asked. Just wake up, wake up, wake up! You can't do this! You promised, Ryan! Wake up!"

Why wasn't he waking up? She knew he had been out for a while when his neck had been broken before, but he spent a lot of time eavesdropping on her. Who knows how long he laid there aware before he got up.

"You said you weren't going to leave me alone," she said. "Don't you dare leave me alone!" She was just going to wait. She would wait, and he would wake up.

Looking around, she realized she had used magic. Not once, but twice. Monsters were probably already on the way. Not only that…but that woman had shot him. Monsters didn't use guns. This was a Triad agent. Had she called them when he showed up at the restaurant? Were more on the way? Was that why she had been flirting with him? Was she trying to piss off Hope deliberately? Or was she just trying to get him to meet up with her later so she could lead him into a trap?

Either way, it didn't matter now. Monsters and Triad were coming, and he wouldn't wake up!

She put her head in her hands, struggling inside, trying to be patient. She couldn't lose him. Not him too. Why? Why did the universe keep doing this to her? What did it want from her?

She had been fighting them back but now the tears were welling up, starting to choke her.

Just breathe, Hope. Breathe. Calm down.

He's going to wake up. He's going to wake up. He's going to wake up.

"I told you I didn't want to find out this way."

Relief hit like a tidal wave. She jerked her head up and heard him grunt while moving to a sitting position. She grabbed his arm and pulled, helping him.

"We gotta go," she said, her voice raspy from the tears. She cleared her throat. "I did magic."

"And Triad's probably on its way too," he summarized, seeing the woman on the ground with the gun. "I screwed up."

He stood with her helping him although he didn't need it. He was fine now. He walked over to the woman, searching for ID. He pulled out the necklace that was hidden beneath her shirt with the Triad logo on it, just for confirmation that she really did work for his former employers.

"Seylah's memories were returned right along with mine, so why wouldn't they stake out her old café in case she showed up again like before. They'd want to get their hands on her as much as they'd want to get to me." He felt for a pulse and didn't find one.

"She's dead," he told Hope.

Hope didn't know what to say. She hadn't thought when she released her magic. She just struck out with as much as she could.

"They'll be on us even harder now," he said, standing up. "We need to get out of Lawrence."

He pulled out his own gun, which he had finally put a silencer on at her request thankfully. He shot the woman in the chest twice.

"Don't need them looking too closely at cause of death," he said. He didn't want them to know Hope killed her with magic. As far as he knew, they didn't know anything about her even if they knew he was traveling with her. He would prefer to keep it that way.

"I didn't mean to…" she said, looking down at the woman.

"No big deal," he said. "You were trying to protect me."

It was a big deal…or rather it should be a big deal… except it wasn't.

She had been spending all this time feeling more and more like a monster. If she didn't care that she took a human life, did that mean she had already become the monster she was scared of becoming?

"Let's go," he walked over and grabbed her hand to tug her along. He didn't need her going into shock on top of everything else.

She gripped his hand tightly and followed, sprinting to keep up.

All things considered, she was just glad he was alive.

"Ouch, man," Ethan said. "What happened to your face?!"

Jed knew it still looked bad, but he felt like he healed enough he could go to the bonfire on the outskirts of town with the girls and not be a walking bruise. Plus, staying in his bed back at the dorm with Doctor Saltzman checking on him every ten minutes was getting old. Fortunately, since all the bones had healed even though the bruises weren't gone, his headmaster had given him permission to go out. He figured it would be dark enough out that when the bruises were gone in a day or two, no one would be the wiser.

"I got punched by Hercules," Jed answered truthfully knowing no one would ever believe that.

"Someone did that to you," Ethan said frowning, ignoring his ridiculous excuse. "Who? Was it Dennis? He's always messing with the new kids."

"No, no one here," Jed said. "It's fine. It doesn't even hurt," he lied.

"He's alright, E," Jade said. "Don't worry."

Maya grabbed Jade's hand. "Let's check out the keg."

The two took off together, leaving Josie to stare after them in frustration.

Ethan wouldn't let it go though. "Was it someone at your old school? We should go find them."

"Chill, bro," Jed said, noting that Ethan was getting a little heated about it. "I'm good. I'm gonna hit up the keg too." He followed the girls, leaving Ethan to talk with Josie. That would probably be good for Ethan considering he wanted to get to know her—and it would take his attention away from Jed's face.

Josie found herself sitting alone with Ethan and she felt super awkward about it. Her plan to cure his arm hadn't worked, so she still felt guilty every time she saw his cast. To make matters worse, Ethan actually liked her. He had been making a point to talk to her more lately. She refused to flirt back, hoping he would get the hint, but he didn't.

Ethan opened his mouth to speak and Josie scrambled to her feet. "I'm going to, you know, um, keg!" She left before he could say anything else to her, leaving him with his mouth open.

Breathing a sigh of relief that she had successfully gotten away, she headed over and grabbed a red cup.

Relationship drama aside, she was actually enjoying living as a human. She went to school, made friends with people who hadn't known her since she was six, and got to experience normal human things—like a bonfire kegger. She knew her dad had to know what was going on, yet he allowed her to go anyway. He probably figured they would sneak out anyway. She had a curfew, and she was supposed to call if she needed anything.

She knew he and Lizzie had been spending a lot of time together working on figuring out how to destroy Malivore and get him out of Landon. She was happy for her twin. Josie had worried that it would be too much for Lizzie, being away from her so much, but Lizzie was doing just as well as Josie.

After Josie finally got a turn at the keg, she stood to the side, sipping and glancing around on the lookout. She didn't want Ethan to come and join her again.

"Hey you, you're new right?"

Josie looked heavenward. "Yes, Dennis, as I've reminded you three times now."

The footballer had already had one too many and was trying to stand up straight while staring at her. "You're so pretty. You know, my truck is over there. You should see my backseat."

"Oh my God," Josie said. "Would you go away?"

"Hi, Dennis," Jade said, making her way over with Maya following close behind. The vampire had clearly heard their exchange, as her face showed her anger mixed with concern for Josie. "We were just looking for Josie. Why don't you go over there, hang with the guys, and let us girls go do, you know, girlie things?"

"I like girlie things," Dennis said, stepping close to Jade now and leering at her.

Josie could see the look on Jade's face and got worried. "Jade, it's cool. Maya, why don't you take Jade to get another drink and I'll just go find Ethan."

Maya looked at the half full cup in Jade's hand, raising an eyebrow. "She doesn't need another drink."

"No," Jed said, coming up behind Jade quickly. "But I do. Go with me, Jade." He put his hands on her shoulders and led her away before she could do something Doctor Saltzman wouldn't approve of.

Josie breathed a sigh of relief. Jade probably wouldn't have lost her cool, but Jed was there to make sure she didn't. Maya followed them, and so Josie was alone once again—with Dennis.

"So, what do you say?" Dennis leaned in close to her.

Wincing at the smell of his breath, she waved a hand in front of her face and stepped back. "I don't think so."

He reached out to grab her arm. She started speaking a spell but realized belatedly that wouldn't work anymore. Rats.

"You heard her," Ethan said, walking in between them and staring angrily at Dennis. "Back off."

"I can take care of myself, Ethan," Josie said. She didn't appreciate the whole male testosterone thing from either of them.

"Yeah," Dennis said, glowering at him. "Ethan."

Ethan ignored Josie and glared at Dennis, daring him to start something with him.

"Heard your arm might be in need of re-breaking," Dennis said. "I could help you out with that."

"Try me," Ethan said.

"Okay!" Josie exclaimed taking hold of Ethan's injured arm so no one would feel the need to grab that one and make it worse. "Dennis, I said go away. So go away," she said pointedly. "I'm here with my friends, and my friends include Ethan. So I'm gonna go with him now."

"Aw, come on," Dennis complained. He had gone from itching for a fight to feeling scolded like a little puppy dog. At least he wasn't focused on Ethan anymore. "I want to be your friend too."

"When you're sober and not acting like such an ass," she said, moving away and happy to see Ethan following.

"Promise?" Dennis called back.

Josie didn't reply, just shook her head as she walked away.

"You shouldn't have gotten in his face like that," she said to Ethan.

"He shouldn't have tried to grab you," Ethan said, calming down but a little annoyed. He didn't understand her at all. He had been trying to talk to her, ask her out even, and she disappeared on him. Then he tried to save her from the goon coming on to her, but she didn't want that from him either. Admittedly, she had taken care of the situation without needing his help. Maybe she wasn't interested in him and this was her way of saying it? She had just friend-zoned him in front of Dennis.

"Like I said," she repeated. "I can take care of myself."

"Noted," he replied, feeling disappointed. "I apologize for interrupting. Still friends?"

"Friends," she agreed.

They had been on the road for a few hours now.

He was driving north, up into Nebraska. He took precaution to use back roads in some areas and made sure they weren't being followed. He had even stopped to switch license plates again. He wasn't taking any more chances.

Knowing that he was still immortal relieved him. It made things a lot easier for him, and for her, but he was still worried about Triad. They couldn't kill him, but they could capture him. He didn't have any powers, she did. And she, well, she had some explaining to do.

"You left me," he said, figuring he had done everything he could to ensure they weren't being followed, so now it was time to get some answers.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have. I thought we were safe from monsters. I didn't think about Triad," she said with a rough voice, looking down. "I'm so sorry."

"Why?" he asked. He thought he knew, but he wanted her to admit it. He deserved that at least.

She looked up but out the window ahead. "I was jealous."

He smirked. He knew it.

"Might be worth a shot in the heart for that knowledge," he said.

"I'm so sorry." She looked at him this time, her eyes telling him exactly how horrible she felt over what happened.

"I'll live," he said. "You do know you didn't have to be jealous."

"I know," she said tightly.

"To be clear," he said. "I want you. I've accepted that we're just friends, but feel free to change your mind any time."

She stared at him again. He glanced at her, being mindful of the road, but he had to know what she was thinking. She had that look again, like she was trying to make a decision.

What was holding her back? She had basically admitted she returned his feelings by telling him she was jealous. Jealousy didn't happen unless feelings were involved. Even a mud man knew that. She must want him too, especially if she was still having sex dreams about him. So why wouldn't she just give in?

If he liked her, and she liked him, shouldn't that be enough? He had never wanted anyone like he wanted her. He had his occasional hookups, but he never wanted more with anyone else. And he wanted it all with her. Everything he had ever read about or seen; the kind of relationship that had always eluded him. He wanted her always and forever. He just needed her to want that with him too.

Looking back at the road, he waited to see if she would reply. He glanced back when she still hadn't spoken. "Hope?"

Her eyes grew wide before she looked away and took a shaky breath.

She was still scared, he realized. That was the whole reason he had backed off before. She was afraid of him and the emotions he made her feel. Until she could get past that, they weren't going anywhere.

"You've got nothing to be afraid of," he said softly.

She nodded, but she didn't say anything else.

He decided to leave her with her thoughts. Nothing he said was going to change her mind, only she could do that. He would give her time—all the time she needed in fact. He had nothing but time.

A couple more hours passed and dusk was approaching before they spoke again. She started it, but it wasn't the topic he was hoping for.

"It was a big deal," she said. "Killing a human. You said it wasn't, but…"

"If I had died, what then?" he said. "Would you still be upset you killed her?"

"I'm not saying I'm upset I did it," she said. "I'm upset that I'm not upset."

"She deserved it," he said. "This is war. In war there are casualties. Being human doesn't make her better than anything else—believe me, I know." He had seen enough of humans killing other humans to last a few hundred lifetimes. Humans being humans is what disillusioned him enough to return to his father to begin with.

"I wasn't raised that way," she said.

"Well, it definitely wasn't your father who taught you that," he said. "He would've killed that woman and several other Triad agents without batting an eyelash."

"You're right," she nodded. "He would've. But I'm a Mikaelson, I'm their hope. I'm supposed to be better than that."

"Do you hear yourself?" he asked. "Everything I've ever heard about being a Mikaelson from you is about family. A Mikaelson does whatever is needed to protect their family. If that includes killing a few humans along the way, so be it."

She looked at him curiously but didn't say what was on her mind.

He wanted to ask but just then the air charged around them and a paper appeared in Hope's lap in a burst of flames.

"Crap," he said, pulling over at the first available opportunity.

"What are you doing?" she asked, holding on as he came to a stop.

"Lizzie friggin Saltzman sent you a fire message," he said.

"And?" she asked.

"Magic? Monster?"

"That's only when I do magic," she said. "Lizzie does magic near me all the time and no monsters have shown up. Calm down."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yes," she insisted. She looked at the note. "Although…she wants to talk, which means I have to do magic to tell her a good time. I'd say I could call but…"

But he was too paranoid about Triad listening over phone lines.

He resumed driving, looking for a good place to pull over and fight a monster.

"We haven't fought a monster all day," she said. "And you know what they say 'a monster a day keeps Malivore away.'"

"Alright, I'll do it," he said.

"Do what?" she asked.

"Send the message, let her project, and I'll deal with whatever monster shows up," he said.

"What, you suddenly think you're bulletproof?" she asked.

"Technically…"

"I've seen you hide behind me before even when you knew you were immortal. With the mummy, and in the pit? So why would you want to take on a monster by yourself?"

"I'll have you know, with Triad I had to avoid being injured so they wouldn't know I'm not human. As for the pit, well, you didn't want to be around those things either," he pointed out. "I have been sending creatures into the pit for a few hundred years now."

She gave him a skeptical look. "Okay, sure, pull over and we'll do it. Hope you don't mind Lizzie witnessing this." She was glad though. She really wanted to talk to Lizzie and having Clarke occupied would be perfect.

She scrawled out the message, telling Lizzie to come in a few minutes, then sent it to her.

They waited, and sure enough a monster showed up.

"Aw, come on," Clarke groaned.

"What is it?" She could only make out a figure in some kind of coat, or smock, or… it turned around and came into the light more. "Is that a clown?"

"A jester," Clarke said. "Or more like, a Fool."

"You've met it before."

"You see that scar across its face? I did that. It was one of the last creatures I put into the pit before I returned myself," he said.

"Good, then you know how to kill it. Hurry up and go because Lizzie's coming," she tried to shoo him out of the car.

"We captured it, we didn't kill it," he pointed out. "I don't know how to kill it."

"I guess you better figure it out!" she said. "I'll keep watch and help if you need me."

"I need a knife," he said. She grabbed one and handed it over.

Clarke stepped out of the vehicle, closed the door behind him, and tried to figure out his best plan of attack.

This is what the modern archetype of the evil clown was based on.

Jesters were often seen at the side of kings and queens during the middle ages and the renaissance. Triad's theory had been that someone either turned one of those jesters into this, or the creature was completely created to perform a specific task—kill the royal heads of state. The monster must've completed its objective, but lived on, seeking out the greatest authority in each land to keep killing.

Accounts over the years indicated a creature in the attire of a fool would attack using only a knife. Its face covered in white paint, a deep red splashed across its lips and extended beyond its mouth to give a permanent smile. He had tracked this thing in the 1940s and 50s. It succeeded in killing Roosevelt and they had to cover it up with a hemorrhagic stroke. The government asked the organization to keep an extra eye on Truman, so when the fool made its appearance, he and his crew was able to capture it and send it into Malivore.

He had a knife, one that had been bathed in holy water this time, so on the off chance the jester was actually a demon he would have that covered. He also had his gun, and he had his bravado. He told Hope he could do this, so he would. He was immortal, and she had a lot on her mind—giving her extra time to decide would only benefit him in the long run. He hoped.

"Oo, nice car," Lizzie said when she appeared next to Hope, sitting in the driver's seat.

"Hey," Hope said, happy to see her friend. "It's so good to see you. What's up?"

"You first," Lizzie said. "Why are we in the car? And why is Clarke out there fighting a…" she squinted. "Is that a clown?"

As they watched, Clarke backed away from the clown who was advancing with its knife held up and threatening.

"You wanted to project, I used magic to message you back, and my magic is like a living target for these things. He volunteered to fight this one so I could talk to you," Hope explained, "Which is actually kind of weird because I get the feeling he doesn't like when I want to talk to you."

"Aw, does he want all your attention for himself?" Lizzie laughed.

Hope blushed and cleared her throat.

"Sounds like someone never learned to share," the blonde looked pointedly at Clarke.

Clarke had used his ring to turn himself into a version of the scariest clown she had ever known—Pennywise—and was bigger and taller than the Fool. So now they watched as the Fool went running back the other way while 'Clarke' gave chase.

"I killed a human today," Hope admitted. "A Triad agent. She killed Clarke. He's still immortal by the way. At least we know that now. Triad's turning out to be more trouble than I thought they'd be."

"Ugh, I hate them," Lizzie grumbled.

They watched now as two Fools came running at each other, knives held aloft. Clarke must've used his ring to turn into the Fool too.

"So, Seylah's out of the pit," Lizzie said.

Hope looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, Malivore figured out what we were doing and spit her out."

"So she's free," Hope summarized.

"After we got rid of a mimic demon that was controlling her to kill her sister," Lizzie said.

When one of the Fools looked like it was finally going to stab the other one, Hope said, "Crescere arbo." Casting the spell to make chains come up out of the ground and wrap around her target's feet. She was pretty sure this Fool was the real one and it was about to stab Clarke. She would give a little help.

The free Fool ran away and the other Fool looked toward the car, raising its arms and yelling at her.

"Oops," she said, dropping the spell to free him. It was Clarke who was about to deal the death blow.

"Sorry," she called out to him.

He took off after the Fool again, using his ring to turn back into himself.

"Hard to believe Ethan and Maya are Landon's cousins," Hope said, coming back to their conversation.

"I don't really know them, but Josie does," Lizzie said. "The Js are going to a bonfire tonight with them and some kids from their school."

"Josie's hanging out with Ethan?" she asked. "That takes guts."

"Because she broke his arm?" Lizzie surmised. "Yeah, she's not planning on telling him. Jade thinks he likes Josie, but then Jade also thinks Josie likes Ethan so she could be totally wrong because Josie only has eyes for Jade…who's been hanging out with Maya."

Hope shook her head. "Too much relationship drama, my head hurts."

"What about your own?" Lizzie asked.

"I don't have any drama," Hope denied. "Plus, hello, fighting monsters all day?"

"You like him, don't you?" Lizzie nodded at Clarke who finally succeeded in stabbing the Fool, only to find out that a knife wasn't how a Fool was killed.

"What?" Hope squeaked. "No… of course not."

"Liar," Lizzie said with a look.

"Ok, I do," Hope admitted. "It's just…complicated."

"Because of Landon," Lizzie nodded.

"Landon is…he broke up with me," Hope said. "He broke my heart and…" She struggled to explain.

"Out of sight, out of mind?" Lizzie asked.

"No," Hope sighed. "It's just…is it possible to have feelings for two guys at once?"

"It is, but it honestly doesn't matter," Lizzie said. "Eventually you have to choose."

"Which one is the right choice?" Hope asked.

"Only you know," Lizzie shrugged. "My money's on the bird—if he lives through this, that is."

Chad sat down and drew his legs in.

He clutched at his arm and winced.

He had never been truly alone inside this place before. Seylah had shown up that first day and she protected him. She was also someone he could talk to. Now, he was back to being friendless and alone. Kind of like how he felt before he befriended Ted.

Maybe friends were overrated? Look how bad a choice Ted ended up being.

But no, he really liked having a friend.

It didn't matter now, because he was all alone.

He sniffled and wiped at his nose with his good arm. He was crying again, but it didn't matter if no one was there to see him, right?

Unless, of course, there was some sort of tear-loving monster that could sniff out his sorrow and would come and feed on his tear ducts.

Sniffling again, he tried to stop the tears while wiping at his face.

"Hello?" He heard a whisper in the dark, much like when Seylah had first found him.

He worried it might be a monster who could talk, but then he remembered that Lizzie said she would be back for him.

"Lizzie?" he whispered back.

"No," the voice said, coming closer.

A woman walked out of the shadows, close enough for him to see that she looked like a human. She was wearing a purple pant suit that had seen better days, and she had short blonde hair. Her mascara was streaked, as if she'd been crying too.

"My name is Evelyn," she said. "Evelyn Scott. And you are?"

Sliding the key card on the room door, Hope opened it laughing and held it for him.

Clarke had finally figured out how to kill the clown, but it had taken a lot of trial and error. He ended up covered from head to toe in muck from a marsh bed

The clown's fatal flaw was its aversion to water. Washing away the paint on its face caused the melting to start and then, before they knew it, they were standing next to a puddle of clown goo. Some of it ran into the marsh bed too, so there were probably clown bits on his legs and shoes too.

"I'm taking the first shower," he muttered.

She walked to the bathroom and put his travel bag in there. She carried both of them in so he wouldn't get the marsh muck on his stuff too. "Go ahead."

She went back over and started grabbing pillows off the bed, building up a pile on the side closest to the door. Then she sat down in the area next to the pillows, settling in to wait for her turn.

He paused at the doorway, looking to the pile and back to her. She was telling him she was okay sleeping next to him again. He was relieved. He didn't know if he could sit through another night of watching her toss and turn and not doing anything about it.

"You're dripping everywhere," she said.

"I'll be quick," he looked down at himself. "Maybe. Just don't fall asleep until I'm done."

"I won't," she said, reaching to grab the remote off the end table.

Hearing the door close, she took the list of channels out of the drawer, trying to decide which one to watch before she turned the television on.

Her eyes blurred as she read it, and she shook her head. She was tired. It had been a long day that felt like an emotional roller coaster. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to pursue anything with Clarke, but at least she knew she still wanted to sleep next to him.

She looked up when she heard a guitar playing out the window. Someone in one of the other rooms must be practicing. She hoped they didn't get any louder.

When the music stopped just as quickly as it started, she shrugged and forgot about it.

She leaned back, edging closer to the pile of pillows. She wondered how comfortable it really was for him, next to her on those pillows all night. She shifted and lay back against them. This is nice, she thought.

Looking up at the ceiling, waiting for him, thinking about him, she got lost in her thoughts and didn't realize when she closed her eyes.

She didn't realize when she fell asleep.

To be continued…