Lizzie and Josie grabbed a paintbrush of Hope's, closing their eyes as they chanted. They felt Hope for merely a second before the feeling vanished. The two tried again with a sweater, a necklace, and even her diary, but each time they tried the connection broke before they could get anything concrete.

After what seemed like the 100th attempt, Lizzie ripped her hands from Josie's and sighed. "This is useless. She isn't going to let us get close. Trying to track her is a waste of time."

"Trying to find her is not a waste of time," MG said with crossed arms. "If we don't bring Hope back, she may do things that'll make her never turn her emotions back on. If I were in her shoes, even if I denied it, I would want you all to bring me back in any way possible."

"Hope has saved us countless times and now it's our turn to save her," Josie muttered.

"Well, since tracking her won't work, what are places she may go to hide?"

The three looked toward the door to find Evelyn leaning against the door frame. She was still pale and tired-looking, but her legs no longer wobbled and her expression was firm and determined. Evelyn may not have known Hope as long as the others had, but she was going to do everything in her power to get her back.

"Well … there's here, but I highly doubt she'd hide here," Lizzie sighed. "The woods, Mystic Falls High, um…"

"She's most likely in New Orleans."

Evelyn turned to find Alaric pushing past her. He was holding a jumble of stuff, blocking almost all of his vision. He maneuvered around the others to a table where he laid out everything he was holding, Evelyn leaving the doorway to join everyone else.

The table was littered with all sorts of potions and weapons. From wolfsbane and silver to vervain and stakes. He even brought crossbows, swords, and guns to add to the arsenal. He took every weapon from myth and brought them. It was better to be over prepared than to find yourself defenseless.

Jed, who had been leaning against the wall in silence, moved forward and picked up the silver bullets in his hand. "You know silver doesn't actually work, right?"

"I'm not an idiot, Jed," Alaric muttered, taking the bullets from him and placing them back on the table. "I know silver has no effect on werewolves, but they will sting, if we have to use them."

"So our plan is to go in guns blazing?" Evelyn asked, lightly picking up a crossbow.

Alaric quickly grabbed said crossbow and placed it back on the table. "The plan is to try and convince her to come back with us willingly. If not … then guns may have to be involved."

"How do you know she's in New Orleans?" MG asked.

Alaric ran a hand through his hair, gazing toward MG. "She grew up there. The only thing tying her to Mystic Falls is the Salvatore school and we all know she isn't going to hide within the walls. Her family home and her father's old haunts are in New Orleans. If she had to go anywhere, it'd be there."

"How are we going to get close without tipping her off?" Evelyn asked, shaking her head. "She doesn't want us coming for her. If we show up on her doorstep, she may run before we get the chance."

"Luckily, I have a plan for that. We need a distraction, so the rest of us can sneak in from behind, blocking the exits," Alaric said.

"You mean bait?" Lizzie asked with crossed arms.

"The question becomes … who's the bait going to be?" Josie asked.

The room was filled with silence. As the silence lengthened, the groups' eyes wandered. First Alaric then MG then Jed and finally Josie and Lizzie. All of their eyes locked on one person; Evelyn.

Evelyn had been looking at her feet as the silence filled the room and when she looked up she noticed everyone looking at her. At first, she was confused, and then she realized why they were looking at her.

"You want me to be the bait?" Evelyn asked with surprise. "Why would I be the bait?"

"You two have grown close over the last few weeks and she doesn't know what you're lying tells are. If you can convince her that you came alone and start talking with her, we can come up from behind and surprise her before she has the chance to escape," Alaric explained.

"Plus you could always use your blood to distract her." MG shrugged as everyone eyed him down. "What it's true! If the conversation didn't work, she could use her blood as a backup."

"She's weak enough as it is. More blood loss isn't really a great idea," Lizzie said.

"I said it was a backup, not the go-to," MG retorted.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Evelyn asked.

"I know it will."

The group discussed the rest of the plan, each of them grabbing a few weapons from the arsenal. Evelyn wanted to grab some as well, but if she brought weapons to meet Hope she would suspect something was wrong and they couldn't take that risk.

Alaric made preparations so the students left behind would go back to class as usual. The others got their weapons ready and Evelyn began to follow when she felt a hand grab hers. She followed the owner's hand up to their face to find a sullen Ethan standing behind her.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Ethan, I really have to go."

"Please…"

Evelyn noticed how shaky Ethan was and nodded, turning her full attention to him. He removed his hand and looked down at his feet. With a sigh, his gaze returned to hers.

"I'm sorry for hurting you in the cellar. I thought Malivore's control over me was gone … but I was wrong. I didn't know what was happening until I woke up in the infirmary and all the memories came rushing back. I never meant to hurt you," Ethan blurted out.

"Ethan, it wasn't you," Evelyn said, placing her hand on his shoulder and squeezing softly. "I don't blame you, so please don't blame yourself."

"But I hurt you … I made you bleed," Ethan said.

"Your hands may have hurt me, but you weren't in control. I'm not mad at you and I never will be. Hopefully with time you can learn to forgive yourself like I've already done," Evelyn said with a small smile.

Evelyn stepped back and turned to leave once more. Halfway down the hall, Ethan yelled after her. "Where are you guys going? I woke up to everyone scattering about."

"We're going to bring Hope home."

After leaving the school, Hope went home; her true home. She hadn't been back to New Orleans in way too long, so seeing the familiar streets made her feel peace, even if she couldn't truly feel anything.

She went to her old home, which was boarded up and abandoned. Normally, she would've cried due to the family she lost, but with her humanity turned off, she just felt empty. After walking through the dust-covered place, she headed off to Bourbon Street.

Hope found herself at her father's favorite bar, one that had a special menu for the supernatural of the city. With a sigh, she headed inside to find it almost completely empty, but at 3 in the afternoon, that was to be expected. She made her way up to the bar and slid onto one of the stools.

The bartender finished cleaning the mug in his hand and made his way over to Hope. When he saw her, a suspicious glint appeared in his eyes. He looked her up and down with crossed arms.

"You look a little young to be a day drinker," he said.

"I'm older than I look," Hope replied, releasing her fangs with a grin. "Bloody Mary, extra on the blood please."

He looked her up and down once more before beginning to prepare her drink. She smiled to herself as she tapped her fingers on the counter impatiently. Luckily the bartender was fast and reappeared with her drink, setting it in front of her.

"Thank you." Hope dug into her pocket and pulled out a fifty, sliding it across the counter. "Keep the change."

The bartender's suspicious look changed into a joyful one as he grabbed the money and slid it into his pocket. He gave Hope a smile and a nod before heading down the bar to help another customer.

She spent the rest of the afternoon drinking bloody mary after bloody mary, but no matter how much she consumed, it just wasn't the same as sinking her teeth into something. As time went on, she caught herself staring at the bartender's neck. He was slim and tall. Brown fluffy hair covered one of his eyes and he carried himself like he didn't care, but deep down it was obvious he cared way too much.

When the last customer said goodnight, leaving only Hope and the bartender in the building, she decided she couldn't leave without a taste. After chugging her current bloody mary, she wiped her lips and jumped over the counter, using her speed to appear behind him.

He set his glass down and turned with a start. "What are you doing back here?"

"I thought your bloody mary's were delicious, but I was hoping you could give me something a little more personal," Hope said, her gaze traveling to his neck.

He followed her gaze and realized what she was asking. Instead of getting scared, his smile widened. "Well, that's on the special menu, but it costs a little extra."

"Money is not a problem when a delicacy is on the table."

Hope pulled out a wad of cash and placed it in his hand. He quickly counted the bills and smiled wider with each one. After he finished, he placed the money in his pocket with the rest and unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt. "I'm all yours."

Hope smiled as she grasped his hand and pulled him forward, walking around the bar. She pressed him up against one of the walls. He was a little taller than her, so she had to pull his neck down to her level, but it didn't bother her in the slightest.

She started out by kissing his neck, feeling his soft moans against her skin. Hope smiled even wider at the reaction as she sank her teeth deep into his flesh. He gasped aloud before it returned moans, which got louder with each sip. The more excited he got, the more she did.

The flavors exploded in her mouth like a fireworks display on the fourth of july. She should've become her true tribrid self a long time ago if she was missing out on things like this. He tangled his fingers in her hair as she ripped holes in the back of his shirt with her sharpened nails.

The fun was disrupted by the front door opening. Hope lifted her mouth with a deep breath. The bartender put a hand to his bleeding neck, his eyes rolled back into his head as he did his best to stay standing. Hope wiped her lips and turned toward who had come into the bar and a familiar face was looking back at her.

"Evelyn, what a lovely surprise."