Note: I am SO sorry for how late this is. So much has happened and my muse refused to cooperate with me on a lot of things. I hope this can make up for it, and I hope that it won't take too much time come the next chapter ~xoxo~ more apologies if anything seems off!

Hope pressed her hands on the front of her dress, smoothing out the imaginary wrinkles for the umpteenth time. No matter how many times she did it, though, it didn't take her mind away from the events that played out a week ago.

"Oh...my god."

Of course, Hope could keep away the eavesdroppers but not the trespassers. Then again, could she really call Lizzie a trespasser when Landon was right behind her in the doorway?

Yes, yes she could.

Her little happy balloon had been pin-popped so quickly, only to be replaced with a rumbling cloud of irritation. Like, come on! At this point, Fate could kiss her ass.

"Landon…" Raf started, his tone offering what Hope felt would be his only warning.

"You guys really were doing things behind my back," Landon stated, the accusing tone of his voice prominent. "When you took her side before the break you were really just aiming for brownie points."

There was no mistaking the offended expression on Raf's face or sharp knuckle cracks from his clenching fist, but she wouldn't let him get any further than that. As much as Landon might deserve a slap and a half, guilt would gnaw at Raf's heartstrings later.

Quickly, Hope outstretched her arm in front of Raf. He'd only taken a step, but he didn't make another. Instead, he turned his head towards her, and when their eyes met, she could see the underlying pain in his eyes caused by Landon's accusation. She knew then that she'd made the right decision; again, Raf didn't need that guilt.

She, on the other hand, would be just fine with deflecting her guilt with aggravation and aggression. The protective wolf in her was pissed off.

"God. This is like a scene from a stale reboot of The Notebook," Lizzie grumbled behind Landon, her arms folded across her chest with her hip cocked to the side.

Oh, that does it.

Tearing her attention away from Rafael to face the other pair there, Hope squared her jaws all the while keeping her arm extended in front of the wolf next to her.

"Firstly, I'd rather be in The Notebook than star in The Tale of Two Assholes with the both of you," she retorted pointedly towards Lizzie. The blonde rolled her eyes and scoffed but said nothing more. Hope then shifted her attention pointedly at Landon. "And secondly, how could you even suggest that? There was nothing going on behind your back," she stated. "And given this is the most you've said to me since the pageant, can you really blame us for keeping this to ourselves?"

Landon looked incredulously at Hope, raising both hands in the air as he emphasized his response. "Yes, I can totally blame you!"

Hope stared at her reflection in the mirror, snorting harshly. She knew Landon's irrationality on the situation was coming from an emotional place, but what about how she felt? What about how Raf felt?

She'd be damned three times over before she let someone else dictate her feelings.

Hope felt yet another surge of anger rush through her. "Are you kidding me?" she demanded.

He dropped his arms. "Does it look like I'm joking?" Landon replied, a deep frown on his face.

"Does it look like he's joking?" Lizzie parroted next to him. Landon gave her a look in which she responded with a 'what?' kind of shrug.

An insult was on the tip of her tongue, but she paused when fingertips grazed her arm. Raf gently set Hope's arm down—something her arm was very grateful for after a while—and stepped in front of Hope. How quickly their roles switch between them; Hope would find it a horrible yet adorable cliche if they weren't in the middle of a confrontation.

"This wasn't done out of spite, Landon," he said. "We didn't plan this. It just...happened, and we can't take it back now." The wolf straightened his posture, his next words making her heart skip a beat. "And honestly? I don't want to."

He was right; they didn't plan this. Almost nothing went according to plan over the break. That didn't mean she wanted to take it back either. Not after everything that's happened between them. If she did, she wouldn't be doing something she'd never actively done during her time at the Salvatore School.

She was getting dressed for the dance.

The indigo satin around her form swished about like waves when she moved around. It kinda reminded her of her father's gift to the headmistress. That reminder then reminded Hope of the last part of the altercation she wished she could forget.

Landon gestured with his hands at her and Raf, a cracked laugh following suit.

"Is that right?" he said. "You're perfectly cool with what you've done here. To me?"

Raf looked frustrated and desperate as he audibly groaned. "No! I'm not 'perfectly cool' with this. I would never want to hurt you." He glanced back at Hope for a second then returned his gaze back to Landon. "But yeah, it's right that I don't wanna take back a chance with Hope. It's not the way I wanted things to happen if it ever even would, but it's happened."

Hope could practically feel the sincerity stemming from the wolf next to her. It must be due to the connection of the supernatural beasts. Or, perhaps, she felt more inclined to accept the bond of a pack and its Alpha. Let's just stick to the former.

"I can't be so shocked, right? Backstabbing is pretty much a Mikaelson family trait isn't it?"

The tribrid took a step forward, and Raf didn't stop her. "You don't know a damn thing about my family."

"Yeah? What do you think your dad would say seeing you pull crap like this?"

She unclenched her hand, not knowing she had clenched it in the first place. Steeling the sting she felt from his words, Hope said, "I think he'd be happy to see your head on a spike." She was dangerously close, but no one moved. "And that I made the better choice with you as my ex."

Landon broke eye contact first, casting his eyes to the floor. There might have been a hint of remorse that she detected, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to hurt him at that moment; she very well could do it.

Instead, she surprised even herself when she turned around and walked away. He could not… would not win.

Behind her, she heard Raf take a breath as if he was going to say something, but he didn't. Rather, the sound of his boots was close approaching hers. The last thing she heard coming from that room was the witch who was silently taking things in.

"Wow. Didn't think you had it in you, Fire Bird," Lizzie said.

Ever since there was a mix of tension within the squad. There was hostility and awkwardness alike, all of which Hope knew how to block when she could as long as she didn't think about it. Raf was struggling more than she was, and she hated he was put in the position in the first place. They were nearing or practically adults for Christ's sake!

All the frustration she had been burying hadn't gone anywhere no matter what she tried, and she didn't want to add more grief to Rafael's shoulders. Tonight was supposed to be fun, for the two of them, but dredging up that stupid moment broke the latch containing her built-up pressure.

The tribrid swiped her hand and threw her mirror into the far side of her room. With a kick and slash, her trunk and dresser went along with it.

She growled and undid the pins in her hair, letting it fall past her shoulders. Hope stood there for a moment or so, breathing heavily and taking in the bit of damage she caused. It felt good, but it wasn't enough; she only felt crappier cause someone was waiting for her near the dance entrance. Instead of pretending it didn't happen, she flung herself on her bed and screamed into a pillow. It was better to scream than it was to cry, and she really didn't want to cry. Her tears would be his victory, and the only thing Hope believed he deserved right then was a swift kick in the ass.

Hope had no idea how much time had passed, but a part of her was rooted into her melodramatic self-pity fest—everyone was allowed one every once in a while, damn it. And she was finally beginning to lose herself in it because she failed to notice another person entering the room and coming towards her. As a sob escaped her, the person's hand touched her back, bringing her back to her senses and defenses. Hope spun around swiftly with a spell coming out instinctively. It caused the person to be thrown back against the already scattered and thrashed furniture, though fortunately, not breaking or scraping something in the process. Before Hope could unleash another spell or tell the person off, she recognized who she had thrown off her and immediately scrambled to her feet.

"Oh my God! Raf!"

Rafael had his head leaned back against the wall as he chuckled softly. "Now I see what happens when you get surprised," he joked before groaning lightly.

Hope moved towards him quickly and knelt to his side. "Crap." She caressed his cheek and examined his body for any outward injuries. "I am so sorry," she told him. "One can't be too cautious ya know."

"Yeah, I know." The wolf shook his head with a soft smile on his face. "It's okay, Hope. I'm more worried about you."

She could see the concern in his eyes, and she rubbed her thumb along his cheek. "I'm better now," she answered gently. "How did you know I was still here?"

Raf took her other hand and squeezed it, and the action made Hope feel much lighter than she'd felt before his arrival. "I waited for a while near the entrance like you asked, but I just had this feeling. Naturally, I went looking for you in your Fortress of Solitude."

The brunette snorted lightly. "You've been around MG a little too much, huh," she teased.

"Pfft." Raf scoffed then squeezed her hand again. "Seriously, I could feel something was wrong, so I came to check on you. Looks like I was right." He gestured with his head to the broken glass and wood behind him.

Hope glanced off to the side, and feigned innocence with a shrug. It earned her a skeptically and expected raised brow from Raf. She sighed, slipping her hand away from his cheek and shifting her body so she was sitting next to him. The skirt of her dress rustled as Hope scooted in closer and leaned against his side, resting her head on his shoulder. Raf's arm automatically wrapped around Hope's shoulder, something she was secretly never going to get tired of.

"Landon," he said.

The brunette nodded silently, and it was Rafael's turn to sigh. She played with the dark grey material of his suit jacket, feeling guilty that he had to deal with this when he could be enjoying himself at the Renaissance Dance.

"Don't do that, Hope," Raf said, presumably reading her thoughts. "I get it."

She looked up and met his eyes with a small smile, knowing the guilt wouldn't wash away so easily despite his efforts.

"It was bound to happen," he added. "The school is only so big, and subtlety is hardly our strong suit."

Hope waved her hand dismissively. "Who needs subtlety when we're already pretty awesome. Well, at least I'm pretty awesome anyway."

The werewolf grinned. "I guess I can't argue with that."

She nodded. "Yeah, same."

They laughed together, staying in that spot for a while as it fell into a comforting silence.

Hope broke the silence; they were where they were for a reason. "I'm surprised you didn't go after him that day," she found herself saying. Inwardly she instantly regretted it, but to her surprise, it received a different response than she was expecting.

"I thought about it," Raf said, rubbing her shoulder tenderly. "I really thought about it." He hugged her closer to him and looked down to meet her eyes. "But even the wolf side of me knew you were and still are my priority right now."

After he said that a spark ignited inside the tribrid. It wasn't like he hadn't proven it to her before, but it was something about hearing those words. Hope had become the person who carried heavy loads for the Salvatore School, even after the Big Bad Goo was gone. To have someone that wasn't a father figure putting her first…declaring it without hesitation…not even with—no she would not compare the two and ruin her mind's emotional moment.

There was also the remainder of her pent of frustration being desperate for a release…yeah, she'll chalk it up to primal teenage hormones soaking in how attractive Raf was being and how he was looking in his suit.

Yup, hormones were easier to deal with.

Hope twisted her body so she faced Raf and wrapped her arm around his neck then pulled him into a heated kiss. He kissed her back with much passion as if pouring everything he had into it.

He laid his hands on her sides, a notion she knew was the werewolf truly relaxing in their embrace. His hands started to move further down, allowing him to secure Hope in his arms; Raf used that to lift her and lead them to her bed.

Hope felt the soft material of her bedsheets on her back as she looked up to Raf on top of her. They shared a split second simply staring into each other's eyes before their lips connected once again. Hope leaned into him, and Raf wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her steady. His other hand trailed from her side to her hip, reaching bare skin underneath her dress. The feel of his fingertips grazing on her thighs sent jolts up her spine, and it made her want to act impulsively. So she did by reaching and undoing the button on his pants.

Rafael's breath shuddered, and he broke the kiss. He was breathing heavily and staring down at her with eyes glowing in brazen desire.

He wanted this. She wanted this. Some wanted Hope to believe she was wrong for what she's doing. They wanted her to believe that it was so wrong...that she was the unworthy villain or temptress on a television show.

It didn't matter what they wanted.

The werewolf lowered her back on the bed and shrugged off his suit jacket, his dress shirt soon joining it on the floor. Hope took in his toned form, running her hands over his abdomen before tugging at his unbuttoned pants hanging dangerously around his hips.

She took a glimpse at his black boxer briefs and saw more evidence of his desire. A lot more.

"Someone's gotten excited," Hope murmured.

Rafael leaned in, his lips brushing gingerly against hers as his hands simultaneously trailed under her dress and up her thighs. "Guess I better return the favor," he whispered huskily.

If this was so wrong…

Hope gasped and arched her back, trying to shrug herself free of her dress straps all the while squirming under his touches. "Raf."

It was so worth it.