Hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter! This one is a little bit longer and the plot progresses! Thanks to , tablekorner, and cateeter1 for the reviews.
Shiloh didn't question Hope much when she returned from the bus she had seen Landon on. After she and Josie figured out an exact location, the tribrid had sprinted off to inform Dr. Saltzman, who had already received a call from Sheriff Donovan. The left to meet the sheriff at the scene.
The girl was left with the brunette siphon, who had excused herself with a warm smile, seemingly in better spirits than earlier. Probably due to the forbidden black magic she got to take part in.
Death and burnt flesh was the reason Shiloh didn't need to ask what had happened. The scents clung to Hope's clothing in a sickening mixture, causing Shiloh to breathe through her mouth until her roommate stepped into the bathroom to shower.
While Hope was busy, Shiloh glared at the blue and yellow gym suit that was laid out on the bed in front of her. She was not at all thrilled with being forced to play a losing game of flag football against Mystic Falls High School. There were so many places she could think of that she'd rather be.
"Saltzman is making me see Emma after breakfast," is the first thing Hope said to her when she emerged.
Shiloh glanced over, confused about why Hope was upset about it, "Don't you and she have a standing weekly appointment?"
"Yes, but I just saw her two days ago," she reminded Shiloh, fixing her blazer in the mirror. "I really don't think it's necessary to see her again."
"Maybe it'll be good for you," Shiloh raised her hands defensively when a glower was turned in her direction. "I'm just saying, the past couple of days have been rough. It couldn't hurt to talk to someone about it."
"I don't need to talk to someone," the other girl growled, gripping the window sill dangerously. "What I need is to find Landon so I can…"
The sentence trailed off, but the, 'kill him,' that wasn't spoken aloud was still there.
Shiloh frowned at the implication, concerned about the rage bubbling underneath the tribrid's skin. She was unable to come up with a response because she was too busy trying to decipher why Hope was so upset. It wasn't like they weren't going to find Landon.
Sure, he might not be able to be compelled, but he was just a human teenager and couldn't hide for long.
"I hate boys," Hope's change in topic to avoid talking about feelings did not go unnoticed by the other girl as she stared out the windows at some of Mystic Falls who were drawing graffiti on their vans.
"Me too," her preference for girls is well-known amongst the students and staff at the Salvatore School.
The joke gets a small smile of amusement out of Hope, "Yeah, I know."
Deciding she couldn't put it off any longer, Shiloh quickly changed into her gym clothes, pulling at the bottom of her shorts and frowning at the obnoxious blue color.
"Be grateful, Hope," she released the handful of fabric and glanced up at her roommate with exaggerated dread. "At least you don't have to participate in the annual suck-fest."
Her enlistment on the flag football team was all thanks to their resident guidance counselor. Mrs. Tig thought it would be a great way for her to integrate herself into the student body during her first year at school. Then, she continued to make her play with the excuse that it gave her an extracurricular to relieve some of the stress that she has a habit of bottling up.
"Oh, I am," Hope laughed, eyeing Shiloh's outfit with disdain. "Nothing could get me on that flag football field."
The two walked down to breakfast together, Hope eating eggs and toast, while Shiloh chose to go with a waffle and a huge pile of bacon that would probably have clogged her arteries had she not possessed a very high metabolism.
Lizzie stopped by adorned in her team shirt and commended Shiloh for her meal choice, informing her that she should, "Grab another waffle so she has enough energy."
Shiloh didn't miss the side-eye she shot Hope before bouncing away, though.
After they ate, Hope split to go to her meeting with Emma and Shiloh stopped back at their room to grab her phone which had been left on its charger. When she passed the window, she saw Hope and Rafael standing by Dr. Saltzman's car and narrowed her eyes.
If the new kid gets to go, why can't I?
With that in mind, she found herself strutting down the hallway and then the stairs. She made her way up the cobblestone path to where the two teens had been joined by Dr. Saltzman and looked to be preparing to leave.
"Hey, do you guys need an extra set of hands?" she asked brightly, ignoring the way Hope's eyes rolled.
"Sorry, Shiloh," Dr. Saltzman didn't sound apologetic at all. "This time I need you to stay here and represent the school along with the rest of the team."
Stuttering, she objected, "But why does he get to go? I have more experience than him and he doesn't really know how to use his abilities yet," she added, "no offense, Rafael."
Rafael was more focused on finding his friend, so he wasn't paying the girl much attention other than a "none taken," with a lifted shoulder.
"He knows Landon," unwavering in his decision, Dr. Saltzman continued, "he knows where he might go and who he might try to contact, so yes, he does get to go." He turned to the other two students and gestured to the car. "We have to get on the road. Landon already has a large head start and we need to find him today."
Hope was the only one to acknowledge her when they parted, sending her a wave and a glance as sympathetic as Hope Mikaelson could send.
The hybrid watched as the car disappeared down the drive, her chance at getting out of the game vanishing along with it. She steeled herself before turning around and walking towards the field as though she was headed into the heat of battle.
By the time she reached the patch of green, the bleachers were filled with spectators. Parents and other students from Mystic Falls were decked out in red, and the supernatural kids that decided to show up were representing in blue and yellow.
Shiloh couldn't help but notice how adorable Josie looked with her buns that were tied with ribbons and the temporary tattoo taking up residence on the one side of her face. Normally, she would find the whole thing babyish, but Josie made it work. Or maybe it was just her giant crush that gave her blinders.
Brimming with school spirit, Lizzie swiped two lines of eyeblack across Shiloh's cheers so quickly that when she blinked, the blonde had already flounced off to Josie and Kaleb.
Mystic Falls won the coin toss and chose to have possession of the ball first.
Coach Dorian had opted to put the twins, Kaleb, MG, Shiloh and another vampire on the field first, the former three being team captains and all.
Things had started off well enough, the home team played the part of the uncoordinated underdogs who didn't stand a chance, while their opponents scored point after point and rubbed it in their faces.
Though, Shiloh could tell it was starting to get to everyone—well, mostly everyone. Shiloh couldn't really care less about the match, but the others did. She could see in the way Kaleb would pound the ground after a fall or Lizzie would clench her fists and force a smile. MG was too focused on impressing the blonde, which left Josie to try and follow what her dad had told them to do.
It was when she was subbed out for a water break that things started to turn for the worse; and, not just for the Salvatore Stallions.
Out of the corner of her eye, Shiloh spotted MG talking with Penelope, which wouldn't have been weird except for the way Josie was staring at them with a squared jaw. It wasn't her problem, Josie didn't like her like that and she didn't even like Park, so she focused on something else.
Coach Dorian's phone rang and she had a perfect eavesdropping spot from her position on the bench behind him.
The headmaster's voice floated through the cell phone's speaker.
"What's up, Ric?" Coach asked, half paying attention to the players on the field.
Dr. Saltzman's voice cut through the cheering fans, "Dorian, we've got a problem."
Fans for the other team erupted into screams behind her, so she only caught the words fire breathing woman and knife from Dr. Saltzman's next sentence. Whatever Coach heard, though, had him telling Shiloh that he was leaving the captains in charge and then hurried off in the direction of the school.
Shiloh walked back out onto the field for the team huddle, finding a spot between Kaleb and the vampire kid, Daniel, from before.
"Coach Dorian had to run back to the school," she told them, speaking mostly to the twins, "something your dad needed him to do. He said the captains are in charge."
A flicker of something—disappointment, probably—passed through the sister's eyes at the mention of their father. One focused on the new power they held, and the other closed in a little more on themselves.
Lizzie puffed out her chest before leaning into the group of circled up players.
"I just want to take a minute to tell you guys how proud I am. You're all doing a great job."
Kaleb didn't think so, "We're getting our asses kicked!"
"Which means we're doing a great job," Josie reminded him, moving to the side when MG jogged back over.
"What's the play?" he asked.
"Same as always," Lizzie replied, "run around, make it look like you know what you're doing, then fail."
"For those of us that actually don't know what we're doing?" raising her hand, Shiloh wondered the same thing she's been for two years.
"Excellent work," the blonde commended, "keep doing what you're doing."
She was pretty sure the only reason they let her play was that she had absolutely no idea how the game worked and therefore couldn't win if she wanted to.
With a chant, the team got back into their positions, but Shiloh didn't miss the exasperated expression on Kaleb's face as they did. He was reaching his breaking point and she doubted he'd make it to the end of the game.
Surprisingly it wasn't the aforementioned vampire that deviated from the plan.
In a move that she could tell was assisted by supernatural abilities, MG jumped to catch a ball that Lizzie through blindly, carrying the last few feet to the end-zone.
The only other teammate celebrating with MG was Kaleb, who performed an interacted handshake with the other vampire. Lizzie was pissed because she was losing a handle on things and it didn't help that Dana was getting in her head.
"This is not going to end well," Shiloh murmured to herself as they reset for the next play, toying with images of the field covered in dead bodies flashing through her mind for a brief moment
Josie shut down the next throw after Dana rushed Lizzie, slapping the perfect pass like she was playing volleyball and not flag football. She shrugged unapologetically as she shot her sister a look.
The move caused Dana to make a snarky comment to the blonde twin, who resembled a volcano on the verge of eruption. Shiloh didn't hear what was said, but Lizzie's face when she turned back to the team screamed murder.
"New plan. The gloves are off. Let's burn these bitches to the ground!" she growled, a dangerous gleam in her blue eyes.
"Lizzie, no!" Josie objected, but her words fell on deaf ears.
Lizzie stuck her hand out, "We're gonna give these townies a taste of what we're really made of."
"Are we really sure that this is such a great idea?" Shiloh felt the need to take Josie's side. She also understood the reason why they had to lose and the importance of keeping themselves secret.
"I've never been surer in my entire life," the blonde assured her, though Shiloh doubted it.
Shiloh sighed, shooting an apologetic smile in Josie's direction before adding her hand to Lizzie's. "Fine, but I can't promise I'll be any help."
Everyone started putting their hands on the pile.
"You can count on my steel," MG spoke with a failed attempt at a smolder.
"Ew, gross," face scrunched up, Lizzie was not impressed.
"Hey, I'm with you," Kaleb said, "all the way."
Which left Josie, who shifted uncomfortably when they all looked towards her, waiting for her response.
"C'mon, Jo, you're ruining an epic moment here," her sister was not used to her not following along with her schemes.
"No, this isn't what we talked about," Josie reminded her, the only one who really remembered what they were supposed to be doing that day.
It was refreshing to see Josie stand up to her sister since she usually just let Lizzie take the lead. Shiloh liked this side of the girl, regretting agreeing to the new plan.
"Well, I'm calling an audible and I need you to get on board."
Although the shorter twin challenging her sister was a momentous step away from her codependency issue, it would have probably gone better had not so many eyes been on her expectantly.
Josie caved under the pressure and put her hand on top of the pile, the two siphons taking power from the others in order to perform spells. Shiloh rarely got siphoned because the school was like its own magic battery, but she liked the feeling. While it did take some of her energy, there was a warm feeling that accompanied it.
"Break!"
It was gone as quickly as it arrived, leaving Shiloh longing for the feeling. It took her a moment to shake it off before jogging over to her spot and trying to focus on the game.
Now that powers were on the table, the Salvatore Stallions were pulling out all of the stops.
The vampire kids were using compulsion, speed and straight to outwit their opponents, werewolves were leaping and sliding in humanly impossible ways and Lizzie was muttering spells that tripped them—mostly Dana.
Shiloh didn't use any of her enhanced abilities because she felt the need to stand with Josie in solidarity, who would nervously glance over at the scoreboard every time they got another touchdown.
The only time Shiloh really did anything was when one of the Mystic Falls kids was running towards the siphon, who didn't even have the ball. Before he could get far, she stuck out an arm, effectively clotheslining him.
"Oops, I'm sorry," she really wasn't. "My bad,"
Josie sent her a thankful nod, which she responded to with a salute.
During another break, Josie snatched the whiteboard out of her sister's hands, erasing her notes and writing one thing.
LOSE.
This started another squabble between the twins, in which Josie reminded Lizzie why they were supposed to lose for the safety of everyone at the school. The argument split the team in half. Lizzie, Kaleb, and the others wanted to beat them just to shut them up and Josie, Shiloh, and MG didn't think it was worth the risk.
"Or, door number three," Penelope had been lurking around the team all day and finally decided to stir the pot.
Her idea was for them to win without using their powers. It was a pretty decent plan, but Shiloh wouldn't admit it due to her dislike for the witch. Josie was adamant against it, but Lizzie and Kaleb wanted any result that ended in them winning.
"Yeah, or legitimately terrible," Josie pointed out after Penelope explained the option.
"I second that," Shiloh raised her hand, face heating up under Josie's appreciative gaze. "I suck with or without powers, no pun intended."
But, Shiloh could see the wheels already turning in Lizzie's head.
"No, we used to be terrible," she explained, "but Kaleb's new this year—"
"—So am I!" MG reminded her, voice taking on a higher pitch at the assumption that Kaleb was better than him. "I can help us win, too." At the unimpressed look Lizzie shot him he exclaimed, "Yo, I caught that pass earlier."
"Yeah, but you cheated, you used your powers," once again, Josie tried to shut things down.
"No, I didn't!" MG argued, claiming that he was scrappy.
Shiloh scoffed from her spot next to him, "I'm pretty sure scrappy doesn't account for jumping higher than any human should be able to."
"Good idea, Satan," Lizzie spoke over Shiloh's voice, looking at the witch with a blank stare. "but to be clear, you can't have my immortal soul," she turned to the team, "fair and square, let's do this."
Except for Josie, the team cheered, laughing as they jogged back out onto the field, eager to win it without powers. Shiloh waited a moment before joining them, turning to face Penelope, who looked extremely satisfied with herself.
Placing her water down on the bench, she narrowed her eyes at the girl, "What's your deal?"
"What do you mean?" Penelope asked, fluttering her eyelashes with false innocence.
"You know exactly what I mean," Shiloh retorted, stepping closer to her in a rare moment of confrontation for the hybrid. "Why do you care whether or not we win?"
Penelope shrugged, the bored expression she usually wore forming on her face, "I don't."
"Then why…" her eyebrows furrowed, before her gaze hardened, "whatever, Park."
With one last glare, she turned and joined the rest of the team right as the ref blew the whistle to begin the play, not liking how Penelope was seeming to fit herself into the cracks of her thick skin.
The Salvatore Stallions and Mystic Falls were neck and neck as the game went on, one scoring and then the other alternating until the final seconds of play where the home team could make on last vie for the win.
The scoreboard read forty-eight to forty-two with Mystic Falls in the lead. Even though she didn't care about winning, the numbers made Shiloh nervous because the game was so close. All they needed was one more touchdown to come out on top.
"Ok, guys," Lizzie said to the huddle, "it's the last play of the game, it's Hail Mary time. Everyone but Josie, go long."
Understandably, Josie was confused, "What do I do?"
"It doesn't matter, cause there's no way I'm gonna throw you the ball."
"I really don't think you should throw me the ball, either," Shiloh suggested, "I'm more of a defensive player than an offensive."
"Nonsense," Lizzie waved her off, only concerned about winning and seeing her as another number in their last chance, "you'll be fine."
"Lizzie, look my way I'll catch it," ever the gentleman, MG attempt to be smooth failed.
"Well, you caught something from Penelope Park, too," Lizzie's snarky reply caught Shiloh's attention, a flash of Josie's face from the previous night going through her head.
Whatever Kaleb said next was lost on Shiloh as she tried to piece together the new information and how it connected to her run-in with the brunette siphon. The thoughts stuck with her as they lined up the last time and the whistle blew once more.
Shiloh was so busy connecting the dots that she didn't pay much attention as she mindlessly ran down to the end zone, sidestepping players from the other team until she was standing in the appropriate spot.
It came to her in the same moment that Lizzie threw the ball.
Something must have happened between MG and Penelope that Josie witnessed and that was why she was so upset the other night. The times that day where Shiloh had seen the two talking suddenly made much more sense since MG had stopped talking to the girl out of respect for his best friend.
The football heading straight towards her roused her from her train of thought, causing her to book it to the other side of the end zone, away from the ball
"No, no, no," she muttered as Kaleb ran by her to catch it.
Then, the strangest thing happened.
In what would have been the winning score of the game, the ball seemed to land perfectly in the vampire's grip, then appeared to repel away from him and fell to the ground.
The Salvatore Stallions had lost.
Lizzie had thrown the first punch.
That's what Shiloh would remember after Coach Dorian and some of the other faculty had managed to separate them after the fighting had reached its climax.
Granted, it was a reaction to something Dana had said to Josie and every member of the team had heard it. There was pushing and shoving—Shiloh remembered doing a lot more tackling than she had during the game—and had gotten to the point where spectators were joining it.
It had only stopped when Coach had blown his whistle and screamed, "ENOUGH!"
His likeness to their headmaster was uncanny.
Any bruise she had gotten healed by the time they solemnly made their way back to the school, unsure of what their punishment would be, but knowing Mr. Saltzman would deliver it when he returned.
Everyone showered in silence and parted ways to go back to their dorm rooms.
Hope was back when Shiloh shut the door softly behind herself, holding a slip of paper between her clenched fingers.
"I'm guessing your day went about as smoothly as mine," Shiloh didn't need confirmation, she could see it all on Hope's face.
Landon and Rafael had taken off, ditching Hope and the headmaster while the tribrid was performing next level dark magic spells that she had intended to use on the human.
Dragons were mentioned and the supernatural world seemed to be getting much, much bigger.
All because of a stupid knife.