I own nothing but my own words.

Her Someday

"Clarke…"

Lizzie wasn't sure what to expect as they followed the muddy footprints to Andi's cabin.

When the towel clad, dripping wet male walked out of the bathroom and greeted them—or more precisely, Hope—with an "Oh, hey" and a smirk, Lizzie knew this guy was trouble.

Hope staring at him and breathlessly whispering his name had Lizzie instantly on alert.

Sure, she saw Clarke once before. There was no forgetting the night of the mummy when she had to hurl bugs. But she had never met him or spoken to him or been close enough to recognize him immediately. She had only heard of his manipulative devious behavior.

Like how he had Landon kidnapped so Malivore could rise and take over his body.

Like how he pretended to be headmaster of the Salvatore School.

Like how he played Josie by encouraging her to use black magic to create a dark object.

Like how he tried to use that dark object to take over Hope's body.

She thought they were done with him when he died closing the portal and hadn't once thought of him since.

If she had thought of him, she would've assumed everyone disliked him as much as she did. Especially Hope.

But Hope's voice as she uttered his name screamed the exact opposite.

She couldn't see Hope's expression, but she didn't sound unhappy.

Surprised, yes, but pleasantly so.

For the first time she wondered if there was more to Hope and Clarke's association than enemies.

"How'd you sleep?"

Again, he could have been talking to any one of them, but he had eyes only for Hope.

It would really help if they would stop staring at each other.

"Put some clothes on, for crying out loud," Lizzie finally snapped.

That infernal smirk drifted down to take in his attire.

"More than I was wearing thirty minutes ago," he said with a shrug. "You didn't seem to mind then, though you did pass out right afterwards, so…"

Eww, gad.

"For the first time I'm glad Andi doused us in that hallucinogen," Lizzie said, glancing heavenward in thanks.

She would take the illusion of Lord Marshall over a naked Clarke any day.

"You're not the only one," Josie muttered in disgust.

"Clarke," Hope said in a no-nonsense tone, telling him without words to do as Lizzie said and get dressed.

"Fine," he turned for the bathroom.

While Clarke was—hopefully—making himself decent, Lizzie waited impatiently.

She tried to convince herself the vibes she picked up on between Hope and Clarke was not sexual tension. It couldn't be. Hope was beyond gone for Landon.

"Still as handsome as ever," he said gleefully into the mirror close to the bathroom door.

Well, at least he was relatively decent in a white robe. It was better than the skimpy satin robe she saw Andi wearing before.

"Oh, admit it."

Clarke turned from the mirror, still talking to Hope as if they were the only ones there.

"You totally missed me."

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer," Hope said. "I will, however, indignify it with a question. How are you even here?"

The longer Lizzie listened, the more incredulous she grew. The familiarity between Hope and Clarke was not what she expected. He spoke to her as if he really knew her.

"Long story short, uh, someone chopped off my head, woke up in the blackness, endless loneliness, suffering, existential agony, blah blah blah," Clarke explained.

This time, he looked around the room instead of just at Hope. Lizzie didn't think he was trying to include them. She knew how it felt to share things she didn't want to. He couldn't maintain eye contact with Hope for another reason entirely.

"And then an industrious Triad witch brought me back to the here and now," he continued. "Where you've obviously made no progress in killing Malivore."

Lizzie's eyes narrowed.

How dare he act like they hadn't done anything against Malivore? What did he know?

"We did manage to lock him in a prison world," Hope was quick to defend.

That ticked Lizzie off even more. Hope didn't owe Clarke any explanations. None of them did.

"Well, there's no prison that will contain my father," he said. "You know it."

Hope's non-response was answer enough for him and for Lizzie.

He was doing it again, acting familiar with Hope. Hope not only allowing it but responding in kind raised Lizzie's hackles even further.

"Is he still sending monsters?" he asked as Lizzie glared at him.

"A couple," Josie bit out with gritted teeth.

"Jo," Lizzie looked fiercely at her. "Stop giving him information. That goes for you, too." She said to Hope.

She couldn't see, but she felt like Hope made some kind of face at her words because Clarke seemed almost amused.

"Then he's up to something," Clarke continued like Lizzie hadn't spoken at all. "But lucky for us, I have a plan."

"What kind of plan?" Hope asked as if she was really contemplating listening to his plan—as if he could offer anything truly helpful.

As if Hope not only liked this person, but she trusted him.

Enough.

"Not interested," Lizzie spat out the words. "Ad somnum."

Clarke fell to the floor in an instant sleep and Lizzie stepped forward to take his place so she could talk some sense into Hope.

"Lizzie," Hope said with a sigh, much the same way she said Clarke's name earlier in that no-nonsense way.

"Don't. Okay?" Lizzie said. "Have you completely forgotten that Clarke once faked being Vardemus, turned Josie evil, and then tried to hijack your body? Not to mention a zillion other shady things?"

Hope looked down and Lizzie thought she might be reaching her until she realized Hope was looking at the asshole on the floor.

"We are not trusting him!" Lizzie insisted in disbelief.

"Fine," Hope said. "Then what's your plan?"

The way she said it angered Lizzie even more, almost like she was patronizing her. Did Hope really think any plan Clarke came up with would be better than a plan by Lizzie?

"Take him back to the school and let the grownups deal with something for once," Lizzie said indignantly, angry at the situation—and angry that she didn't actually have a real plan of her own. But she was not following Clarke's plan.

She left the cabin in a huff.

What was happening?

She hoped she was wrong, but; no, she was picking up on actual sexual tension between Hope and Clarke.

Unbelievable.

Hell, she barely ever picked up on any sexual tension between Hope and Landon, not that she noticed any chemistry between them either. There just wasn't any passion there. Love and grand declarations came with any teenager experiencing first love; but, that didn't necessarily mean passion. In this case, it really didn't. She always figured Hope was going for the safest guy since she had no experience at all. She never figured Hope and Landon would last forever. She was more certain of that after he dumped her.

But for Hope to possibly discover true passion with someone else and that person being Clarke?!

Worst. Cliché. Ever.

Girl suffers devastating loss of parents.

Girl meets boy.

Girl starts 'living again' because of boy.

Then, girl is drawn to boy's older, sexy, and devious brother—the baddest of bad boys.

Girl and boy break-up.

Girl gets with boy's brother.

Girl and boy's brother live happily ever after.

Lizzie knew this story.

She was in the friggin musical!

This time, Lizzie didn't want to get with the "boy" like her mother did.

She wanted the "girl."

Lizzie stopped dead in her tracks on the way to the car.

That wasn't true… was it?

A year ago, a month ago… hell, even a week ago, she would have said no. It definitely wasn't the truth.

But after sharing a psychedelic dreamscape, she now understood Hope better than she ever did before. She now knew everything Hope had been dealing with all her life. She knew how much Hope wanted to be friends with her and Josie before but didn't feel like she could take the step to being friends because she couldn't be herself with them.

She didn't want to lie to them, so instead she closed herself off.

Hope deserved so much better than she had ever been given, especially from Lizzie.

Also, she looked amazingly gorgeous in scavenger clothing that was a near-perfect replica to a character from a Star Wars trilogy.

All of the new information about Hope made Lizzie see her in a whole new light. When Hope spoke with them after the dream was over, Lizzie found herself feeling incredibly protective of Hope, like she would move heaven and earth to keep her from becoming the tribrid. It was different from the protectiveness she felt for Josie.

She just couldn't identify it until now.

She genuinely liked Hope Mikaelson.

Not just as a friend but as more.

Lizzie realized that her disdain towards Clarke wasn't just for all he had done.

She was jealous.

Or maybe she really just hated Clarke.

Or both.

Or.

No.

She couldn't be falling for Hope. That just sounded so ridiculous.

Lizzie Saltzman and Hope Mikaelson?

No.

It's not jealousy. It's not jealousy.

She was just feeling protective of Hope. Clarke would only try to hurt her again. He hadn't succeeded last time. Lizzie didn't want to give him another chance.

Probably she was reading things between Hope and Clarke all wrong. It wasn't like she was the greatest at picking up on things like that.

She would just stick to her original plan.

Clarke was bad news and the adults needed to deal with him, not the teenagers—and not Hope.

"My blood sugar is crashing and my bladder is splashing," Lizzie declared some time later when she stopped for gas. Closing her car door, she glanced mostly at Hope. "I'm gonna go grab some snacks. Anyone want to come with?"

Hope was quiet on their journey home. Lizzie wasn't sure if the silence came from being down over breaking up with Landon, being lost in her thoughts of becoming the tribrid, thinking about the dead weight in the trunk, or all three. She really wished Hope would speak up.

"I will once the trunk is full," Josie said, indicating the pump. "In the meantime, can you get me a Razzleberry slush?"

"Only because genetics dictate that I love you," Lizzie told her. "Hope?"

Hope glanced her way and silently shook her head.

Feeling disappointed, Lizzie headed for the store.

Josie joined her a little while later, and they shopped for snacks.

They spent too long shopping apparently, as was proven when they left the store just as Hope drove the car away.

With a familiar figure in the passenger seat.

"Son of a bitch," Lizzie bit out the words.

Hope ran off with him.

Dread filled her.

Maybe she had been right. Maybe there really was something going on between Hope and Clarke. Why would Hope take off with him? Did she really trust him that much? But, how could she?

She thought she knew everything there was to know. Though, honestly, Hope never really spoke about the time spent with him. Just a brief overview of being inside Malivore, she barely mentioned him other than his presence. She knew the pertinent details of Clarke going after Hope at school. In fact… everything between Hope and Clarke actually happened when Hope…wasn't technically with Landon.

The dread in her gut clenched furiously.

It's not jealousy. It's not jealousy.

"Nobody at the school is answering the phone," Josie said, hanging up the pay phone.

"So, what, we're just supposed to walk home?" Lizzie asked.

This was ridiculous.

Sure, Hope, run off. Leave your friends stranded. You're just winning at the friend game.

Why did she think she might like Hope?

"I'm more concerned about Hope," Josie said. "Clarke obviously talked her into doing something, and it's probably not good."

"Hope made her choice," Lizzie said. "And she clearly didn't choose us."

Breathe.

The truth hurt. Even with their whole conversation about working together, being there for each other, and a very reassuring group hug, Hope chose to ignore it all and run off with Clarke.

"Then I guess my next question is 'why'?" Josie said.

Lizzie drank her slushie thoughtfully.

Maybe she was jumping to the wrong conclusion. She really wanted to be wrong. If she was wrong, what would be another reason Hope would run off with Clarke?

The only other connection she saw between Clarke and someone Hope cared about was…

Sigh.

"I'm guessing it has to do with Malivore's other son," Lizzie said, annoyed in general now. "As usual."

Just let him go, Hope.

"Landon makes Hope happy," Josie defended. "Though, admittedly, their breakup probably wasn't the best for her mental state."

Of course, Josie would keep defending Hope. Of course, Josie would only be worried about Hope's happiness. Not that Lizzie wasn't worried about her happiness too! But, Josie hadn't picked up on the same vibes Lizzie did, which was ironic because Josie had harbored feelings for Hope years ago.

Crap.

She couldn't even entertain the thought of getting together with Hope, not when there was even a possibility it would hurt Josie. Josie had gone to extremes years ago to keep Lizzie and Hope apart. Lizzie had very graciously forgiven her for that even if the repercussions were still being felt.

She had to forget all about these stupid feelings she thought she might have for Hope. It wasn't what their friendship needed anyway.

Instead, maybe Lizzie could do something to help Hope. Lizzie was quite experienced in working on her own mental health. Why couldn't she be the friend Hope needed and find a way to help her get past Landon once and for all?

Lizzie's eyes widened.

"Which is why we need to strike while the iron is hot!" she declared.

"Strike what, exactly?" Josie asked.

"Hope is technically single and ready to mingle, so this is our shot to break that cycle," Lizzie revealed. "And, as her two best friends in the entire world, it's practically our sacred duty to help her find someone new before she inevitably moves heaven and earth to try and get back with Landon."

"You're saying it is our sacred duty to get Hope a rebound?" Josie said doubtfully.

"Mmhmm," Lizzie nodded.

"Lizzie, with who?" Josie shook her head in exasperation.

"We can't afford to be picky. Anyone who won't dissolve into a puddle of goo when they have sex will do," Lizzie said.

Well.

That put Clarke firmly out of the running.

Lizzie couldn't be happier with that realization.

Being with Clarke presented the same problem as being with Landon. No way would Hope put herself through that again.

No matter how good the guy looked wearing nothing but a towel.

"I am more concerned about Hope's actual life than her romantic one," Josie insisted. "Clarke is a master manipulator and a killer. And, what, you think some eligible whatever is gonna just fall out of the sky?"

Someone drove up in a pickup truck and honked the horn, capturing their attention before Lizzie could respond.

"Saltzman twins," Ethan said out his open window. "Do you need a lift?"

Lizzie looked at Josie knowingly.

"Target acquired."

Ethan was the perfect rebound for Hope.

Lizzie suddenly felt like fate was looking up!

She remembered quite clearly Hope flirting with the 'muggle'. Hope was not emotionally available at the time, but she obviously liked him. Lizzie also remembered the way Hope acted at the bar in their dream.

"Sorry to break up whatever the hell this is," Hope interrupted Lizzie and Dak's, aka Ethan's, staring as he placed the address card in her hand. "I think we're done here."

"Oh, for the love of God," Hope said, rolling her eyes in exasperation when Lizzie and Dak dramatically got lost in each other's eyes again. "Let's go!"

Scavenger Hope seemed a little too pressed over the idea of Lizzie and Ethan together. It seemed to Lizzie that maybe Hope could have been a little jealous because she still liked Ethan?

Or maybe Hope was jealous because she didn't like seeing me with someone else?

Speaking of the love of God… Stop it, Lizzie!

Hope was probably just still smarting from her breakup with Landon; being around a lovey-dovey couple—albeit a fictional one—was too much for her.

Which was why Hope dating Ethan as a rebound was the greatest idea she ever had!

And, once Hope figured out that Ethan was basically Landon 2.0 as a human who wanted to play the hero, she would drop him like a hot potato. She would get all that out of her system, get over her slump, and gain some confidence by being the dumper instead of the dumpee this time.

Maybe with Ethan, Hope could gain some practice with someone who wouldn't melt from the toxicity of her… secret places.

Not that she wanted Ethan to explore Hope's secret places, because she wanted to explore them.

Okay! Stop thinking about Hope's secret places! she admonished herself.

Either of them was better than Clarke exploring though.

She glared unconsciously at the thought.

She spent the rest of the afternoon and evening waxing on quite poetically about the greatness of Hope. She laid it on extra thick with Ethan, extolling every virtue Hope had ever even hinted at. She wanted to impress Ethan so much that he would beg her to set him up on a date with the Mikaelson goddess.

"Damn!" Ethan said, catching the ball. "Take it easy on me."

"Why?" Lizzie said saucily. "You didn't take it easy on us at last year's game."

She saw his face and winced.

Crap.

There she went again, saying the worst possible thing. She always did this around guys, especially guys she liked. Not that she liked Ethan…

She mentally smacked herself.

He may have filled in for Dak Romo in her dreamscape, but it was only a dream. Dreams were crazy like that. Why would Ethan show up as the man of her dreams in a universe she created when she was eleven years old? Who knows!

At least it was better than her actual two week crush at eleven years old showing up. She wasn't sure she could stomach kissing Jed even in a dream.

"Sorry!" she apologized, feeling terrible. "Your arm. That was a really stupid thing for me to say."

"Ah," he shrugged. "Maybe things happen for a reason. Besides, it's not like you broke it."

No, but I know who did.

"Hey, it's all good," he said. "You okay?"

Great, now he was asking about her when he was the one who was injured.

"We're supposed to be talking about Hope," Lizzie said, changing the subject because no way did she want to continue talking about that. "I know we've covered a lot of ground, but do you have any questions?"

"Now that you mention it," Ethan said. "Do you always spend this much time worrying about other people's romantic lives?"

She laughed.

It seemed that was all she worried about lately. How long ago was it that she helped Josie overcome her insecurities and go for Finch? She still felt badly for forcing Finch to remember those things from her childhood. At least Finch and Josie ended up together in the end.

Hopefully this whole Hope and Ethan thing went a lot smoother.

"Not until very recently," she said. "But it beats talking about my own."

"Oh, come on," he said. "It can't be that bad. Try me."

Feeling uncertain about sharing, but also still a little freaked about mentioning the incident with his arm, she decided to answer truthfully.

"Uh… I was seeing this guy named Sebastian not too long ago," she said softly. "But he had to relocate. Like, permanently."

Like, he died and was never coming back.

That was a depressing thought.

"He had a bit of a drinking problem," she volunteered.

Not to mention, he needed as much therapy as she did.

"Hmm," Ethan said noncommittally.

"And then there's this guy at school and we've had this whole 'will they, won't they' thing forever," she said, thinking about MG. He wanted to be with her… right up until she wanted to be with him. And some people say girls are fickle. "Just when I thought we might…long story short, still single."

"Well, I'm sure someone will come along."

Like a strong, saucy, opinionated tribrid who she recently saw in a hot new light?

Stop it, she commanded herself. Hope wasn't for her.

"You're sweet, but I don't need your sympathy," she said, struggling to get back on topic. "Hope does, however. She's fiery, you know? You'd totally balance her out. So, if you're free on Friday, I might be able to set something up for you."

"It's getting pretty late," he said. "We should probably head back before you fumble again."

He grabbed the ball from her and ran before she realized what he was doing.

"Come on!"

Chasing after him, she didn't know why her bait wasn't snagging him, but at least she was having some fun while dangling the carrot.

"You still got it," Ethan said later once they finished playing.

"Thanks," Lizzie said. "And you should get to thinking about how you intend to ask out Hope."

"Well, last I heard, she has a boyfriend," he said.

"Who's out of the picture now," she explained. "And in the spirit of keeping it that way, what about that date?"

"Listen, Lizzie, I think you're an amazing wing woman," he said. "But, if I'm being honest, I'm kind of into someone else."

What the hell?!

"Why didn't you mention that before now?"

"'Cause I didn't know," he said.

"Whatever," she said, exasperated. "You know what? Whoever she is, she does not hold a candle to Hope Mikaelson. Come on. Tell me her name and I'll prove it."

"I guarantee the candle burns just as bright, if not brighter," he said.

"I'll be the judge of that," she said.

"Elizabeth Saltzman," he said. "What are you doing Friday night?"

Oh.

"What happened?" Josie asked anxiously when Lizzie wondered into the hall alone later after Ethan left.

"With my plan?" Lizzie said, dazed. "Epic fail… Ethan asked me out. And I'm pretty sure I said yes."

Pretty sure?

She did say yes.

Not once had she thought about going for Ethan herself. Even if there may have been a tiny crush at some point that caused their intergalactic romance which was only a mere subplot, she never thought anything would come of it.

Guys she liked never went for her—unless they were obsessed over some girl she reminded him of ala Sebastian—and she always stuck her foot in her mouth when it came to guys she did like. She still cringed every time she thought about the day she met Rafael. Of course, he eventually had gone for her… for all of two seconds.

Case in point, guys and Lizzie generally didn't mix well.

But Ethan asked her out even after she said something embarrassing and tactless. He already didn't mind one of her biggest flaws.

How could she resist?

Besides… spending all day talking to Ethan, she had to admit she did like him. Going on a date with him wouldn't hurt. It wasn't like anyone else was asking, and he was pretty attractive.

Her potential feelings for Hope… it was brand new territory. She wasn't sure about anything as far as Hope was concerned besides being her friend.

Maybe someday there could be more… maybe at some point in the future—before she was forced to merge with Josie—maybe Hope could be her someday.

Though, who knew if Hope would ever really be available to be her someday?

For now, she was going to explore the possibilities with Ethan.

Having that decision made, she felt ten times better.

"Did it work?" Hope asked, sitting up from the floor as Josie and Lizzie entered the room.

"Well, I remember Cleo now, so yeah," Josie said.

"If only her being devoured by Malivore could have been avoided," Lizzie said pointedly.

"I'm sorry," Hope said. "To her and to you."

At least Hope apologized. Plus, as far as Lizzie could tell, Clarke was nowhere to be seen. That was a good thing, right?

"Why did you ditch us?" Josie asked.

"Especially since we've been over this," Lizzie pointed out. "Did our saving the galaxy together mean nothing to you?"

"Actually it meant everything," Hope said with a smile. "It took Clarke, of all people, to really make it set in."

Of course.

And Hope even smiled when she said it. The first real smile Lizzie had seen on her face since she arrived at the cult in the woods.

Had Clarke put that smile on her face?

Lizzie glanced heavenward in annoyance…

It wasn't jealousy. It wasn't jealousy.

No, it was just Hope listening to Clarke instead of Lizzie when she said the exact same thing!

Feelings for Hope aside, Lizzie still intended on protecting her from that conniving, scheming, manipulative slab of dirt.

"But I promise I won't do it again," Hope said.

Lizzie exchanged looks with her sister.

That was the thing about having a twin. They could talk to each other with just a glance; and, in that split second, they knew they had both already forgiven Hope.

Now that they were friends, Lizzie was finding it harder and harder to stay angry with her—potentially killing Josie by using an ascendant to open a prison world notwithstanding.

"What kind of promise?" Josie asked with raised eyebrows.

"Panda promise," Hope said.

Inside jokes were at the core of any good friendship. At least she would always have that with Hope.

"Well… you're lucky that we had a good day while you were gone," Lizzie said. "But you're totally on Panda Probation."

"In that case, come with me."

Hope explained everything as they followed her to the gym, where they were joined outside by Kaleb, MG, and Dad.

Turned out, the internal conflict with her potential feelings for Hope was for nothing.

Now she knew what put that smile on Hope's face.

Landon wasn't the one to breakup with Hope, Malivore was.

Therefore, Hope and Landon weren't quite as done as she thought they were.

"We want our friends back," Hope demanded.

"There's something I want too," Malivore said. "Fate's a bitch, isn't it?"

It sure is.

Finished.