Evelyn shot up with a start, looking around bewildered. She found herself in some sort of hotel room and a nice one at that. She was lying on a king-size bed that faced an archway. From her viewpoint, it seemed to be a penthouse or something close to it.

She was confused as to how she ended up in a place like this and then the memories of the night before came rushing back. Finding Hope, the fight, and then nothing. Evelyn reached up to rub her head, finding a small bump that was sore to the touch.

"That explains why I don't remember coming here," Evelyn muttered.

Evelyn slid her legs off the side of the bed, her toes making contact with the fuzzy rug on the floor below. She slowly walked through the archway, which led to a wide-open space that included a living room, dining room, kitchenette, and a door to the small bathroom.

One of the walls was made entirely of windows, so she wandered toward them to see if she could figure out where she was. Outside were skyscrapers and a lot of them, which meant she was in a big city and definitely not New Orleans. She tried to pick out any buildings she may recognize that would determine where she was, but nothing from her vantage point gave Evelyn any information that was helpful.

"It's a nice view, isn't it?" Evelyn turned to find Hope leaning against the counter. When their eyes met, Hope smiled, coming to stand beside her. "After last night's squabble, I decided we needed to go somewhere it'd be difficult to track us."

"Where are we?" Evelyn asked, her gaze returning to the view below.

"You'll find out soon enough, don't worry," Hope said. "The place is warded so no spell can locate us and no magic can be performed inside, except by me of course. I took your phone and removed the chip, just in case they decided to track us the old-fashioned way. We are completely undetectable, well, for the most part anyway."

"Why did you kidnap me?" Evelyn asked.

Hope grasped Evelyn's chin with her hand and turned her head so they were facing one another. "I took you because as you said in the bar you feel connected to me. Well, I feel the exact same way about you and I decided that I want to figure this all out, but I'd like to have you with me when I do."

"You know I'm just going to try and get you to turn your humanity back on, right?" Evelyn muttered.

"I know you will and maybe you'll succeed, but for now you know how I feel and what my answer will be," Hope said, her gaze traveling to Evelyn's throat. "I thought you and I could have some fun before we get back to bickering."

Evelyn's heart began to race as she noticed the intensity of Hope's gaze on her throat. Hope noticed the rise and smiled to herself before her eyes returned to Evelyn's.

"Is your heart beating that fast because you're afraid of me?" Hope asked, leaning in a little closer. "Or is it because you're excited about the idea of me biting you again?"

"Of course I'm afraid. Why would I be excited for you to attack me?" Evelyn asked, pushing Hope's hand away.

Evelyn took a step back as Hope stepped forward. "Whoever said I was going to attack you? I want you by my side because I feel close to you, Evelyn. Your blood is just … an added bonus."

"I won't give it to y-you," Evelyn stuttered.

She backed up once more, the heel of her foot slamming into the three small steps that led to the bedroom. This caused Evelyn to fall backward. As she lay upon the stairs, Hope quickly crouched down beside her, eyeing her up and down.

"I know you're afraid I may hurt you, Evelyn, but I won't. I will not take enough to hinder you. I will not hurt you, I promise," Hope explained, her gaze returning to Evelyn's.

"Hope, I'm … scared," Evelyn muttered.

Hope quickly got to her feet and brought Evelyn with her, pulling her into a tight hug. "There is no need to be afraid. I will not hurt you and if anyone else tries, they won't be alive long enough to blink."

Evelyn hugged Hope in silence for several moments. She knew this wasn't the real Hope, but she honestly didn't care. For the moment, she pretended it was and that everything was going to be fine, but then she opened her eyes and realized where she was.

She pulled back from Hope and studied her eyes. They were the same ones from before, but there was less life behind them; less light. Almost as if part of Hope had died and in a sense … it had. Evelyn wanted to push her back and scream, but she didn't want to risk what may happen if she did.

She had to stay on Hope's good side and figure out a way to bring her back before she did something unforgivable. So, with a deep breath, she made a decision that an embarrassing part of herself loved.

"You promise to only take a little?"

Hope smiled. "I promise."

Lizzie tried to blow the boards apart, but it kept fizzling out. MJ noticed and offered his hand. He knew it would weaken him, but they had to get back in. She met his gaze to make sure and he nodded.

Lizzie grasped his hand and siphoned some of his energy as she pointed her palm at the door. With a few muttered words, the door flew open with wood shards flying everywhere. Lizzie, MJ, and Wade burst back into the room to find the others worse for wear. Jed was on his feet covered in cuts and bruises. Josie had a gash on her forehead and was helping Alaric to his feet; a bruise covering the entirety of one of his eyes.

"I'm assuming Hope got away?" Lizzie asked, looking around the bar that was now covered in broken furniture, glass shards, and the smell of alcohol.

Alaric nodded, placing one of his hands over his eye. "Yeah, she's gone, and she took Evelyn with her."

"Why would she take Evelyn?" MJ asked, looking around in confusion.

"I don't know. Could be from loneliness or maybe it's just bloodlust. Half the time, I do not understand the actions of Hope and now that she has no humanity even more so," Alaric explained.

"So, what's our plan to get them back?" Wade asked, looking around at each of them. "We do have a plan, right?"

"Should we honestly go after her at all?" Josie asked, shrugging. "She hasn't hurt anyone, well, besides us. If we leave her be, maybe she'll come back to the school and we can reason with her then. She took Evelyn, but I don't think, even in her state, she'd hurt her … seriously anyway."

"And why not?" Jed asked. "I mean she doesn't have emotions and she beat the crap out of us. What's stopping her from doing the same to Evelyn?"

"She's in love with her, ya idiot, even if she'll never admit it to Evelyn or herself," Lizzie blurted out.

Surprise reflected on Wade's, MJ's, and Jed's faces while Lizzie, Josie, and Alaric weren't. MJ was deep in thought trying to see where the signs were, realizing how close the two had gotten in a short amount of time, the care for one another, and the willingness to die to save the other.

"Well dang, I completely missed that," MJ muttered.

"So, why did Hope turn her emotions off at all then?" Jed asked. "I mean if she was falling for Evelyn, why would killing Landon affect her this badly?"

Alaric shook his head. "Just because she was falling for someone else doesn't mean she didn't still love Landon. He was the first true love she ever had and she had to kill him. It doesn't mean it hurt her any less."

"So, we're just going to give up on them?" Wade asked.

"No, we aren't giving up on them. Hope will be extremely careful about where she goes and will make sure tracking is impossible. We will not be able to find her even if we tried. We'll just have to wait until she returns," Alaric sighed. "If she does something monstrous before then, we'll step in, but until that happens, we wait."

Hope's fangs were embedded in Evelyn's neck, flows of pleasure shooting through her. Evelyn clutched at the back of Hope's sweater, wrinkling the material under his fingertips. When Hope removed her lips, Evelyn gasped, the type of gasp you made begging for more.

"You taste delectable, Evelyn," Hope said, licking her lips. "Like the finest wine."

Evelyn took a raspy breath, slowly regaining her composure. She didn't want to admit how much she honestly enjoyed Hope's bite, but the sounds she just made kind of revealed her true feelings. She wanted to hate it, but she just … couldn't.

"Thanks," Evelyn muttered, looking away.

Hope noticed this suddenly shy awkwardness in Evelyn and smiled, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at Hope. "Don't be embarrassed. I meant what I said."

"Okay."

"Did you enjoy it?" Hope asked, swiping her finger over the bloody mark and bringing to her lips, her eyelids flickering with pleasure.

"I … I did," Evelyn muttered, her cheeks turning bright red.

"Did you?" Hope asked with her gaze intensely on Evelyn's.

"Yes, I enjoyed it … I enjoyed … every second."

"I'm happy to hear it," Hope said, laying down on the bed and looking up at the ceiling.

"Did it feel good to you?" Evelyn muttered as Hope's gaze returned to hers. "Since you … turned your humanity off?"

"I still feel emotions, they're just muted. Happiness, anger, fear, loneliness, you name it, but I still feel sensations of pleasure and pain and whatever else. What you felt when I bite you was exactly, if not more so, than what I felt," Hope explained.

Hope maneuvered on the bed so she was leaning over Evelyn. She moved close so their faces were above one another's, so close Evelyn could feel Hope's breath on her face.

"Hope, I…"

"Shhh," Hope said, placing a finger to Evelyn's lips. "Get some rest, we can talk more in the morning."

Evelyn wanted to say what was on her mind but instead silently agreed as Hope moved back on the bed. She cuddled into the pillow as Hope covered her with the comforter and left Evelyn to sleep.