You're My Everything
Chapter 1: Hope's Birthday Disaster
Summary: Freshly turned 15 year old inactivated Tribrid, Hope Mikaelson meets 20 year old human, Ryan Clarke at the local bookstore. They are instantly drawn to each other.
Disclaimer: I don't own Legacies. This story is inspired by ElijahElena's story, Hope is Where the Heart Is.
It was Hope's 15th birthday and her mom and Aunt Freya had come to Mystic Falls from New Orleans to take the young Tribrid out for the day. The three women headed to the Mystic Grill for lunch, walked around Town Square for a little bit and did some shopping. Hope was already getting worn out from the day and was ready to head back to the school when she passed the bookstore and asked if they could go inside. Not seeing a reason to say no, Hayley and Freya nodded and the three headed inside. While her mom and aunt looked around at a bit of everything, Hope made a beeline for the Young Adult section.
Hope knew which book she was looking for, and she immediately found the aisle that had the author's last name, but as luck would have it, the book she wanted to get was on the top shelf, and even with her heeled boots, and standing on her toes, the book was just out of her reach. Hope was ready to either climb on the small ledge or use magic to get the book down, but before she could do either, a hand was lightly placed on her hip before another hand reached above her head to grab the book she had been reaching for. She wanted to be pissed. Because how dare this taller person so rudely grab the book that she was clearly reaching for, but the book was lowered directly into her outstretched hand and then the person stepped back from her, taking the hand from her hip.
"You know, you could've asked… if I…" Hope trailed off as she turned to find a cute, slightly older, guy giving her a lopsided grin.
"Did you not need help? Because if I misread the annoyed look on your face at the book being just out of your reach, I can easily put the book back." The guy said, continuing to smile lopsidedly at Hope as he leaned back against the bookshelf behind him, his legs crossed at the ankles and his arms folded across his chest.
"Do you like, work here, or do you make it a habit of pressing yourself against the bodies of underage girls without their consent?" Hope asked.
"First of all, I do actually work here, my name is Ryan. Second of all, I placed my hand on your hip, I did not press against you. Not that either of those actions are appropriate, so I do apologize." Ryan replied, clearing his throat and standing up straight.
"It's um… it's okay. You just didn't want me to back up into you, right? And you moved away without your hand having wandered, so I won't press charges or anything." Hope responded, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
"May I know the pretty, underage girl's name?" Ryan asked.
"Hope. My name is Hope." Hope replied.
"It's nice to meet you, Hope. As I mentioned, my name's Ryan. Is there anything else I can help you with?" Ryan asked as his eyes quickly roamed over Hope's body.
"Your number?" Hope inquired in a small voice before ducking her head and biting her lower lip.
"Only if you give me yours as well." Ryan replied, his voice even though his eyes were wide.
"Of course." Hope replied with a small nod.
Hope watched as Ryan pulled a pad of paper and a pencil out of his pocket. When he stopped just before placing the tip of the pencil to the paper and looked up at her, Hope's breath caught in her throat.
"Before we exchange numbers, I need to ask… just how old are you?" Ryan asked.
"15… as of today." Hope replied.
"And this isn't like… a jailbait scenario, is it?" Ryan inquired.
"God, no!" Hope squeaked out. "I just… I don't have many friends, and I'd like to talk to someone on my birthday who isn't related to me." She explained. "And you seem like a nice enough guy. You did help me get the book down that I couldn't reach and then immediately backed away."
"A pretty girl like you definitely shouldn't to be alone on her birthday. So if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know." Ryan commented as he handed Hope his number and then the paper and pencil so that she could write her number down as well.
Once she had finished writing her number, Hope slipped the paper into the front pocket of Ryan's jeans and lightly tugging him closer to her. When she had him close enough, Hope pushed herself up onto her toes and pressed a light kiss to the corner of his mouth. Ryan clenched his hands into fists at his sides. He wanted to pull her into him, wrap his arms around her petite frame and just hold her close. But he couldn't. So he held back from touching her, only letting his lips brush against her forehead in a light kiss when she moved far enough away that he could turn his head.
"Text me when you're able to." Hope murmured as she grabbed the book and turned to walk away.
"Hey… whenever you need to talk to someone, no matter what time it is, you text me. Don't be afraid to initiate the conversation." Ryan replied. "And if we don't talk for the rest of the day, Happy Birthday, Hope." He added with a smile.
Hope nodded and walked away to find her mom and aunt. As she was walking towards them, she pulled out her phone and went to put Ryan's number in her contacts, but she couldn't find the paper he had given her. Turning around to head back to the aisle, she collided with a solid chest, causing her to stumble.
"Easy there, Hope." Ryan commented as he reached out to steady her before quickly dropping his hands.
"Sorry… I, uh, I dropped the paper you gave me, so I was going back to grab it." Hope replied, her cheeks flushing.
"I noticed, which was why I was coming to find you so that I made sure you had it before you left." Ryan replied, slipping his number into Hope's hand. "You unfortunately don't have a pocket that I can slip it into." He added in a whisper.
Hope's cheeks flushed a deeper red at Ryan's words and she simply stared at him, mouth slightly open, with a dazed look in her eyes. But as Ryan stepped back to put some distance between them, Hope realized she was the only one out of the two of them that was showing any outward signs of how their closeness was affecting them. Ryan looked completely un-affected as he gave her another lopsided grin.
"If you ever need any recommendations on a good book, feel free to stop by. I'll gladly offer my expertise." Ryan said with a hidden wink that Hope could have sworn she imagined.
"Uh, thank you. That would be really helpful." Hope replied, not entirely sure what else there was to say.
As Ryan walked around her towards the register, Hope couldn't help but look over her shoulder to watch him walk away. Damn he was gorgeous. She didn't even care that he was human, he was the perfect example of the male specimen, and not just because of his boyish good looks. No… he was respectful and comfortable to be around. By the time Hayley and Freya joined her, Hope had turned around to actually face Ryan and was full on staring at him while biting her lower lip. She really hoped this wasn't just some silly teenage crush. She wanted to get to know him, and his life, while sharing what she could with him about her life.
"He's cute. Maybe a bit too old for you right now, but maybe in a few years…" Freya commented as she followed her niece's gaze.
"He's human, Freya, even if age wasn't a factor, there's no way to determine how he would handle the news about our world." Hayley said, softly.
"But you aren't against me getting to know him? Determine for myself if he could be trusted with knowing about the Supernatural?" Hope asked, looking up at her mom.
"Of course not, Hope. Just, tread carefully. And if you do decide to get to know him, we have to promise to keep it a secret… from everyone. Especially Klaus." Hayley replied.
"Niklaus wouldn't even take the news of Hope being interested in someone from our world well… let alone a human. And I'm not about to be the one he turns his ire on for letting him know. My lips are sealed." Freya said.
"It's not like he'd show up if he found out. He'd just continue his murder spree elsewhere." Hope muttered as her eyes filled with hot tears.
Of course, that was the exact moment Ryan glanced over at her and his face fell. Why was she crying on her birthday? He had the urge to go over and wipe her tears away while telling her that everything was okay, but he had customers that he had to ring up, and Hope was with two older women, one of which Ryan assumed to be her mother. And the age thing poked at the back of his mind… again. He needed to be careful in his interactions with Hope. As he continued to ring up the other customers, Ryan's eyes kept darting over to Hope, needing to make sure she was okay. By the time she got to the register, Ryan was relieved to see that her tears had dried, but she still looked upset; he made a mental note to text her when he got off to make sure she didn't end her birthday being upset.
"Everything okay?" Ryan asked slowly.
"Not even remotely, but there's nothing that can be done to make it better." Hope replied and Ryan raised an eyebrow.
"That was not the answer I was expecting." Ryan commented as he rang up the books that Hope and the two women with her handed him.
"It's the honest one, though." Hope replied with a shrug.
"Hope, honey… are you going to introduce us, or do we have to introduce ourselves?" Freya asked.
"Right… uh, mom, Aunt Freya, this is Ryan… Ryan, this is my mom, Hayley, and my Aunt Freya. They came up from New Orleans to visit me for my birthday." Hope said, suddenly feeling awkward.
"It's nice to meet you both." Ryan said with a small nod, his eyes drifting back to Hope's sad ones and holding her gaze.
"Likewise." Hayley commented, looking between her daughter and the young man. "What time are you off of work, Ryan?" She asked, and Hope whipped her head around to stare wide-eyed at her mother.
"Mom!" Hope exclaimed.
"Uh, at 5… why?" Ryan asked, thankful that the rest of the customers had already left.
"Would you like to join us for dinner?" Freya asked.
"I really don't want to impose on Hope's birthday celebration." Ryan said.
"You wouldn't be." Hayley said with a smile. "It's rare that we get to meet one of Hope's friends, given that we live in Louisiana." She said.
"Really, Mom?" Hope asked, silently pleading with Ryan to agree.
"I insist that you join us, Ryan. If you don't already have plans, that is." Hayley said.
"I don't have any plans, so if it's okay with Hope, then I'd love to tag along."
"Sure. It'd be nice to have my only friend join us for dinner."
Hope caught Ryan's look of surprise when she stressed him being her only friend. She had ambiguously told him earlier that she didn't have many friends, but there was no point in hiding the truth. She didn't have friends. Once upon a time, the twins might have become her step-sisters, but then everything with the Hollow happened, and her father had to leave to keep her safe, and Caroline wasn't about to abandon her daughters to go with him, so Hope and the twins weren't close, like, at all. And while the twins were the only ones at school who knew that her last name was not, in fact, Marshall, everyone still kept their distance. They could tell Hope was different than the other witches. And witches at school were cliquey and shunned those that were different. Then there was Henry. He was a part of the Crescent Pack back in New Orleans, part of the pack that her mother was the Alpha of, and there for a part of Hope's pack if she ever triggered her curse, but they weren't friends, either. Hope was a loner. She desperately wanted Ryan to help change that.
"Hope?"
Hope blinked and glanced around. Her mom and Freya were gone, and Ryan had come around the counter to stand directly in front of her. He was lifting her chin with his pointer finger and Hope was snapping out of her thoughts entirely only to get lost in Ryan's dark brown eyes.
"You okay?" Ryan asked.
"I think so?" Hope replied.
"You don't sound sure about that." Ryan commented as he stepped closer.
"That's because I'm not sure. I know I got lost in my thoughts, but I don't know what happened while I was lost in thought." Hope said as she ran her hands up Ryan's chest and over his shoulders.
"I've been given the honor of having your hand in marriage. The eve of your 18th birthday, we are to be married, with the celebration lasting until past midnight so that when we consummate our marriage you will be of legal age." Ryan said with a smirk.
"Seriously?" Hope asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, Hope, not seriously. That would be preposterous. But your mom and aunt said that they would meet you back at your school." Ryan replied, a small laugh bubbling past his lips.
"Hey… I love Medieval romance stories. So if something like that ever happened, I would totally be all for it." Hope said, her eyes sparkling.
"I'll keep that in mind." Ryan said before leaning in. "That just makes you My Princess, if you'll have me." He whispered and Hope felt shivers run down her spine.
"Only if you'll be My Dark Prince." Hope murmured back.
"Why 'Dark'?" Ryan asked.
"The perfect do-gooder prince is boring. The allure of something akin to the forbidden fruit is much more appealing to me."
"Then your Dark Prince I shall be." Ryan agreed.
"I should get going. I need to get back to school and change before dinner." Hope commented while biting her lower lip.
"It's not something formal, is it? I don't have anything formal to wear."
"Oh, no, it's not formal. I just don't want to wear my school uniform to dinner."
"For what it's worth, I think you look adorable in your uniform."
Hope hummed at that while Ryan gave her a grin. She was transfixed with his mouth. So much so that she couldn't stop herself from reaching up and stealing a quick kiss, just to know what it felt like to have his lips against hers. It was short and sweet, and as she pulled away, Hope pouted.
"Please don't pout, Hope." Ryan requested with a groan.
"Why not? I'm a kid, I can pout if I want to." Hope countered.
"Fine… please don't pout around me. It makes me want to do things that I shouldn't since you are still a kid." Ryan said.
"Oh! Sorry." Hope exclaimed as she bit her lip and stepped back.
"Damn it, that's not much better." Ryan grumbled as he ran his hand over his face.
"Sorry." Hope repeated. "I'll just head out, and I'll see you in a little bit."
"Do you need a ride? It's close enough to being 5 that I can lock up a little bit early and drive you back to your school." Ryan offered.
"If me pouting and biting my lips makes it difficult for you to not do something illegal, us being alone in a car together might not be the best idea." Hope replied with a frown; flashes of what they could do while alone in a car flitting across her mind.
"You're probably right." Ryan agreed with a nod.
"I'll see you in a little bit."
"See you soon."
With one last smile, Hope headed out of the bookstore and turned towards the direction of the school. She made it about half a block before she felt like she was being watched and she turned around to find a boy, about her age, staring at her from in front of the Mystic Grill. 'Creep.' Hope thought as she pulled her jacket tighter around her body and turned back towards the school, thankful to see her mom and Freya up ahead. As Hope neared her mom and aunt, her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket and she pulled it out to see a text from Ryan.
Is there anything I can bring to dinner?
Would it be cheesy if I say bringing yourself is more than enough?
Absolutely not. I happen to like cheese.
You are a dork, Ryan.
Thank you, I try. Plus, I am trying to put a smile on your face… I didn't like seeing you crying.
You saw that?
I did, but the tears were gone when you got up to the register, so I didn't say anything. Do you want to talk about it?
Maybe later. Talking about it today of all days… it would just end with more tears.
Which is the exact opposite of what I want to do.
You're a really nice guy, and really respectful. Thank you for that.
Of course.
When Hope looked up from her phone, she was met with matching, knowing looks from her mom and aunt. Both had a smile on their face, and Hayley was handing her phone to Hope. Raising an eyebrow at her mom, Hope took the phone and sucked in a breath when she saw who was being called.
"Hayley? What's wrong?" Tears sprung to Hope's eyes at the sound of her father's voice.
"Dad?" Hope asked softly.
"Where's your mother?" Klaus asked after a moment of silence.
"She's right here… she and Aunt Freya came to spend the day with me, you know, given that it's my birthday and all." Hope snapped.
"Hope…" Klaus said slowly.
"You weren't even going to call, were you? I guess I should have known better than to believe this year would be any different than the last 4 birthdays."
"That's not fair, Hope. You know I can't be around you." Klaus commented.
"Calling your only daughter on her birthday doesn't require you to be anywhere near me, Dad! You claim to love me, yet you've distanced yourself so much from me that you can't even see how not calling me and not responding to my letters has hurt me. You're a selfish bastard that only cares about himself." Hope said as she slammed her finger down on the 'end call' button and handed the phone back to her mom. "I just want today to be over." She mumbled as she moved to slide into the back seat of her mom's car.
Hayley and Freya shared a look and both of them sighed. Klaus was getting worse, and it was only was only affecting Hope even more negatively.
"I think it's time we talk to Caroline." Hayley commented. "She's the only one that I can think of that Klaus might actually listen to."
"I agree. We'll talk to her when we get back to the school." Freya agreed.
Why do fathers have to be such jerks sometimes?
I take it that your father isn't in your life much?
Not by choice.
Divorced parents and your mom has custody, or something else?
Something else. He claims to love me, yet he wasn't even planning on calling me to wish me a happy birthday today. Not that he's called me on my birthday since my 9th one… but still, I let myself have hope that this year, being my 15th birthday, that things might be different.
This is gut wrenching, Hope. All I want to do is hold you in my arms and tell you that everything's going to be okay… and I can't, for multiple reasons.
I wouldn't be opposed to that happening.
We can't, Hope. If anyone saw us…
I know, I know. Age difference and everything. Just letting you know that I want that as much as you do. So it's not just a one sided thing.
Good to know.
Hope sighed as she rested her head on the back of the seat. Meeting Ryan had improved her day immensely, and then talking to her father had ruined it. Hell, even having her father's name mentioned in conversation had ruined it. She just wanted a nice, normal birthday, for once. But as she thought back on her life, hot tears sprang to Hope's eyes once again… not even her birth had been normal.
Do you ever feel like you should have never been born?
Sometimes, but when those times come around, I try to remember all the good things that have happened in my life that probably wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been born.
There aren't a lot of good things that have happened in my life. Just one disastrous thing after another.
I'm sure that's not true, Hope.
Oh, it is… it all started on this day, 15 years ago…
You're supposed to be happy today, Hope. It's your day. If you don't like how the day is turning out, change it.
Hope contemplated Ryan's words as the short car ride back to the school stayed silent. She eyed her mom and aunt as they shared silent glances back and forth but didn't comment on it. She couldn't bring herself to really care about what their conversation was about. She just wanted to get back to school and change out of her uniform before heading to dinner. But when they pulled up to the school's gate, her mood worsened. It was started to look like the only thing that was going to let her end her birthday on a somewhat good note was seeing Ryan again.
"Caroline, Alaric, what's going on?" Hayley asked as she put the car in park and got out.
"We need to put the school on lockdown." Caroline replied.
"What happened?" Freya questioned.
"Henry... he tried killing himself." Alaric replied.
"Is he okay?" Hope asked.
"He is... since he came back as a vampire. He's asking to talk to you, Hope. And only you." Caroline replied, and Hope swallowed.
"What did you do, Hope?" Hayley asked, rounding on her daughter.
"Nothing!" Hope denied.
"Hope Andrea..." Hayley said slowly.
"Henry asked me for information on Hybrids. I told him what I knew, but that's it." Hope replied.
"So you didn't give him any of your blood for before he killed himself, and more to drink after he woke up again?" Alaric inquired.
"No. Of course I didn't. I'm not stupid. I know what my blood does to wolves. And I know what it's like to be different, and how horrible teenagers treat those that are different. I would never want to subject Henry to something like that. Now can I go to my room and change? I'd really like to end my birthday on a somewhat good note."
"Hope, we need to talk about this." Hayley said.
"Mom, Henry is the only other teenage wolf in the Crescent Pack. He's the only one, aside from the twins, that knows who I am... who Dad is. With as strained as things are because the Pack and the Vampires back home, why would I put a target on Henry's back? I had nothing to do with this." Hope stressed.
"Then why is he asking to talk to you, and only you?" Caroline asked.
"I don't know. He's a scared kid that clearly didn't think this through and is now suffering from heightened emotions from becoming a vampire. You're the adults and the heads of the school, you figure it out." Hope said. "I want to get changed and go to dinner. Since you invited someone else along mom, it would be rude of us to keep him waiting while this gets sorted out." She added, gripping her phone in one hand and her book in the other.
"You're not going anywhere, Hope. Not until we get to the bottom of this." Alaric said.
"You can't tell me what to do. Not when my mom is standing right in front of you. She and Aunt Freya came up to celebrate my birthday, and then invited a friend along to dinner. So while you and Headmistress Forbes sort out what happened with Henry, we're going to dinner. Right, Mom?" Hope asked.
"Hope, it just be best if we cancel dinner." Freya commented.
"SERIOUSLY!?" Hope yelled. "Just cancel my birthday dinner like my birthday doesn't even matter? Mom invited a friend to join us. But fine, follow Dad's lead and pretend like I don't exist and that my birthday doesn't matter." She added before running back towards town.
"HOPE!"
Hope kept running as fast as her legs would carry her, not bothering to look back to see if her mother or Caroline were following her. She didn't hear anyone following her and soon enough she got to the edge of town square and came to a stop. Glancing back and forth, but not sparing a look over her shoulder, Hope set her sights on the bookstore and walked directly to it, right as Ryan as stepping out of the building and locking the door.
"Hope? Is everything okay?" Ryan asked as he turned the key in the lock and pushed the door back open to let Hope step inside.
"No." Hope replied, sniffling a little as she wrapped her arms tightly around her waist.
"What happened?" Ryan questioned as he locked the door from the inside and moved Hope away from the front windows.
"A kid at my school... he tried hurting himself today. The headmaster and headmistress think that I had something to do with it, even though I told them that I didn't. They put the school on lockdown, which is why I'm still wearing my uniform, and my mom and my aunt were seriously considering cancelling dinner... my birthday dinner... despite my mom having invited you along. I was trying to take your advice and change how the day was going, but it just crashed and burned around me. Being around you today... it was the only good thing about my birthday. And so I ran back to town and came straight here. You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course not. My Princess needed to see me... why would I mind that?" Ryan asked as he tucked a lock of Hope's hair behind her ear and lightly stroked her cheek with his thumb.
"Because we barely know each other, and I didn't know if you had changed your mind about wanting to come to dinner tonight or not." Hope replied, leaning into Ryan's hand.
"I know enough, Princess." Ryan muttered as he leaned in and pressed his lips to Hope's in a light kiss before pressing a quick kiss to the tip of her nose and a lingering one on her forehead.
"Ryan..." Hope whispered, biting her lower lip.
"You know what that does to me, Hope." Ryan whispered back as he lightly pulled the lip out from her teeth with his thumb.
"I don't think my family loves me as much as they claim to." Hope admitted.
Ryan was stunned at that admission. As tears silently slid down Hope's cheeks, Ryan pulled her into his lap and held her close. For the first time since meeting Hope earlier that day, the impulses to do something he shouldn't weren't lingering at having her in his arms. And he was thankful for that. He just wanted to comfort Hope. Tell her that her family loved her unconditionally, because that's what families did, but he couldn't find the right words to say, so he simply held her in his arms on his lap, rubbing her back as soothingly as possible, trying to calm her down. He didn't know how long he held Hope in his arms, but by the time there was a soft knock on the front door of the bookstore, and the voice of Hope's mother calling through the door, Ryan could tell that Hope was asleep, and it was going to be awkward to open the door for Hayley without putting Hope down, and he really didn't want to wake her up. With a sigh, Ryan stood up, shifting Hope in his arms so that he was cradling her and slowly made his way over to the door, carefully unlocking it and being sure to stay hidden so that Hayley could slip inside.
"I take it Hope told you what happened?" Hayley asked.
"She told me that a student tried to hurt himself and that the heads of the school are trying to blame Hope. But how could she have been to blame if she was with you and her aunt, here in town, all day?" Ryan asked, glancing at the beautiful girl in his arms. He couldn't fathom Hope helping anyone to hurt themselves.
"The students at Hope's school, Hope included, have all had hardships in their lives. And even though both Alaric and Caroline have experienced some of those same hardships, they aren't teenagers anymore. They don't remember how hard it can be on a kid to experience some of the things that they've experienced, and at such a young age, that they tend to treat the students like adults that need to be held responsible for their actions, instead of kids who need help and a listening ear." Hayley explained.
"Is the student who tried to hurt himself okay?" Ryan asked.
"He is. He had been insisting on talking to no one but Hope, since they've grown up together, which is why Alaric and Caroline suspected Hope was partially responsible for what he did, but it's been sorted out." Hayley replied.
"Good. Then there's no reason to cancel Hope's birthday dinner. Something that really upset her more than one of her classmates trying to hurt himself." Ryan commented.
"Ryan, tonight just isn't a good night anymore." Hayley said.
"Forgive me if I'm being too forward here, Ms..." Ryan trailed off.
"Marshall."
"Ms. Marshall, but that isn't okay with me. Not just because you're rescinding an invitation, but because from what Hope has told me, she has not been enjoying her birthday very much. She deserves to have her birthday end on a good note, doesn't she? Now, I know that it isn't going to be much, but I would still very much like to have dinner with Hope, yourself and Hope's aunt, and I would like to invite the three of you to my place to do so."
"How long have you and my daughter been friends?"
"About 3 hours."