Erotomania

Chapter 4

Ryan didn't know how to react to the feeling of Hope's lips against his. But before he could figure something out, and kiss her back, Hope had turned back to continue watching the movie and simply snuggled further back into Ryan's embrace. That, Ryan knew, was done on purpose, because Hope had made sure the rub her ass against his erection... again. Damn he was going to have to take a cold shower to get rid of his arousal. But if Hope could tease him, then Ryan sure as hell was going to tease her right back. Societal percussions be damned. Moving his hands lightly up Hope's sides, Ryan ghosted his fingers around her breasts until Hope was breathing heavily.

"Stop it Ryan. I can't concentrate on the movie." Hope commented.

"And you think I can? You're pressing pretty firmly against my dick. And it's getting a bit painful, to be perfectly honest." Ryan replied.

"Hey, I would have been perfectly happy laying on the bed next to you. You put us in this position." Hope said. "And you could have said something sooner." She added as she moved away from him.

"Not so fast, Mikaelson." Ryan said as he quickly wrapped his arms around Hope's waist and pulled her back against his chest.

"Think very carefully before you do anything else, Clarke." Hope said slowly.

"I didn't say anything sooner because you're right, I put us in this position. A position that you could have changed at any time. So I am going to deal with this later. You, on the other hand, are staying right here for the rest of the movie." Ryan said firmly.

Hope paused the movie and turned part way in Ryan's arms to look up at him. The look he was giving her was as if daring her to go against him on his stance. Turning around completely to face him, Hope leveled his stare with one of her own. Ryan reached for the hem of Hope's shirt slowly, but Hope put her hands on his again and stopped his movements. The look in her eyes had changed from challenging to uncertainty, and Ryan simply rested his hands on her hips.

"You're really stopping?" Hope asked.

"You stopped me, Hope. I told you last night to tell me if I do anything that makes you uncomfortable. Stopping me from taking your shirt off is very clear indicator that you are uncomfortable." Ryan said as he repositioned them so that Hope was fully sitting on his lap.

"It's not that you taking my shirt off makes me uncomfortable, it's just that I'm not sure if I'm quite ready to do what usually comes after that." Hope admitted as she traced the lines on Ryan's hand.

"Hope, I know that a relationship beyond what we have now isn't in the cards... but if it were, please tell me that you know I would never force myself on you. Or force you to do anything that you're ready to do." Ryan said with a frown.

"I do." Hope said in a small voice before resting her head on Ryan's shoulder.

"Good. Because it would kill me if you thought anything else." Ryan said as he placed a light kiss on the top of Hope's head.

Hope nodded slightly and resumed the movie, only to pause it again. Sitting up from Ryan's lap and taking his hands in hers, Hope pulled him up from the bed and pulled the sheets back. Pushing Ryan back down onto the bed, Hope crawled back into his lap and pulled the covers over them before curling up against Ryan and continuing the movie once again. Ryan tucked Hope's head under his chin and wrapped his arms around Hope's waist and just enjoying the feeling of her being in his arms. When the movie came to an end, Hope gripped Ryan's shirt to stop him from leaving.

"Please don't go."

"Hope... I have to go. Believe me, I would much rather stay here with you than be at home dealing with my loser little brother, but I don't have a choice. My father isn't in the picture at all, so Seylah needs me to help out around the house. Landon just kind of sucks up all of her energy being so whiney all the time." Ryan said as he rubbed Hope's side with his thumb.

"Text her and say that I insisted you stay the night in the guest room instead of driving home." Hope suggested.

"I like to keep my private life... well... private from my family. If Seylah knows that I've been here, then Landon is going to find out, and he has this idea in his head that he can impress you, and your dad, enough to be allowed to date you." Ryan said as he shifted them so that he was hovering over Hope.

"That's never happening. Your brother's nice and all, but I kind of only allowed him into my inner circle because Raf vouched for him. And because it gave me a reason to extend friendship to you, too. But if it wouldn't make me look like a total rich bitch, I would kick him out and keep you." Hope said with a short, humorless laugh.

"You continue to be a woman after my own heart, Hope Mikaelson. But I really do have to go. The offer to save you from Lizzie tomorrow still stands." Ryan said as he moved off of her.

"Ryan, wait." Hope said as she sat up and moved to the edge of the bed.

"Did you forget something, Mikaelson?" Ryan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." Hope replied as she pulled him in and pressed her lips to his in a hard kiss.

Hope had thought that by kissing him fully, that Ryan might change his mind and stay the night, but by the time she opened her eyes after the kiss ended, Ryan was gone. Falling back onto her bed, Hope let out a sigh. She knew it would be a long shot that he would kiss her back, let alone stay, but she had taken a chance, and he had bailed. Despite everything else that had happened between them that night, Ryan clearly didn't want her the same way she wanted him. Grabbing a pillow, Hope pulled it over her face and screamed into it. She was so screwed up. Even with the clearest sign of all that he wasn't interested in her as more than a friend, all of his touches, and the fact that he had been an inch, if that, away from dipping his fingers into her pussy, had turned Hope on, and she knew she wouldn't be falling asleep any time soon.

Legacies – Erotomania – Legacies

As Ryan sat in his car, still parked in front of Hope's house, he was kicking himself for leaving Hope the way he had. But he knew that if he had stayed, that he would most likely push her to do something she wasn't ready for. And that was not something that Ryan was okay with doing. So instead of staying and telling her that, he had made a dick move and left in the middle of an amazing kiss with the girl that he couldn't stop thinking about. He vowed to himself that if she called him the next day to save her from Lizzie dragging her to the mall, that he would make it up to her.

I know that it might not mean much, but I really enjoyed spending most of the day and tonight with you. Thank you for making me feel better. – H

You're still talking to me? I thought after how I just left... – R

It's fine. You had to get home. I understand. – H

So there's a chance that I'll be rescuing from Lizzie and the mall tomorrow? – R

I'd say a solid 99.99% chance of that. – H

What about that other 0.01%? – R

That would be Lizzie doesn't drag me to the mall in the first place. – H

Hm, well, text or call me either way. I want to apologize in person. – R

Apologize, or apologize? – H

That depends on you. – R

I'll let you know tomorrow. – H

Sleep tight, Princess. – R

Stick with that one. I like it. – H

G'night Ry. – H

Good night Hope. – R

Ryan smiled as he went into Hope's contact info and added in the nickname. His smile didn't falter the entire way home. He was thrilled that he hadn't completely screwed things up with Hope and that had him looking forward to being able to spend more time alone with her going forward. His good mood, however, instantly plummeted the second he walked through the front door and he was bombarded by questions.

"Where have you been?" Seylah asked.

"I was hanging out with a friend." Ryan replied. "Not that it's any of your business, since I'm 26 years old, and can do what I want."

"You were supposed to have been at work. But when I needed you, I called the restaurant, they said you were sent home early hours ago. I tried your cell and got no response." Seylah said.

"With all due respect, Mom, I have nothing from you on my phone. No missed call, no missed text. Nothing. So don't give me this crap that you tried getting ahold of me. And what could have possibly been so important that you had to call the restaurant to talk to me?" Ryan asked.

"That's not the point." Seylah said.

"Clearly it is, because it's the exact reason you're ambushing me before I've even taken 2 steps into the house. And I swear to god, Mom, if you are about to say that Landon needs help with something, I will walk out that door and never look back."

"You have nowhere else to go, Ryan. No one wants you around." Landon commented from the living room.

"I know for a fact that isn't true." Ryan said with a scoff. "Now I'm going to bed." He added before pushing past his step-mother and heading to his room.

"You were with Hope, weren't you? Why can't you just leave her alone? She doesn't want you. She only tolerates you being around because you're my half-brother. She deserves to be with someone that appreciates who she is and what she wants." Landon jabbed and Ryan spun around with a flash of fury in his eyes.

"Tell me, Little Brother, do you know anything about Hope? Her favorite movie? Her favorite flavor milkshake? Anything at all? Do you actually know what she wants? Or are you just assuming you do? Because I am willing to bet that you don't know the first thing about Hope Mikaelson, other than the fact that her father is the Dean of the University." Ryan was near yelling now.

"You act like you do know those stupid little things about her." Landon said.

"Say that again and see what happens Landon."

Ryan didn't give Landon a chance to respond before he turned around and headed to his room, making sure to slam his door a lot harder than he normally would. He was fed up with his family. His father had left them when Ryan had been 10, and Seylah had never fully accepted Ryan as her son before that, and over the last 16 years, she saw him as nothing more than an extension of her worthless husband. Not really thinking things through, Ryan grabbed a duffle bag from his closet and started throwing clothes into it. Once it was full, he glanced around to see what else he would need to take with him. Grabbing his book bag from school, made sure all of his textbooks were in it before sliding his laptop into it, and tossing his phone charger into it as well. Pulling his phone out of his back pocket, he pulled up Hope's contact, praying that she hadn't fallen asleep yet.

"Ry? What happened?" Hope asked.

"Can I come back and stay in the guest room for a few nights?" Ryan asked.

"Of course you can. You can always come over. But tell me what happened." Hope pleaded.

"I'll explain when I get there."

After a quick confirmation from Hope, Ryan hung up and tucked his phone back into his pocket. He would figure something out and would come back for the rest of his stuff. He was done living with people that didn't want him around. Hope had told him herself that the only reason she kept Landon around was because she didn't want to look like a rich bitch, but that she actually wanted him in her life. So he was starting there. If it went from a temporary thing to looking more permanent, he was willing to pay rent, if Klaus needed him to.

Surprisingly enough, or rather, not surprising at all, Ryan didn't cross paths with Landon or Seylah as he headed back out to his car. He drove a little faster than he should have been late at night, but he wanted- no, he needed- to get to Hope's house. Because the closer he got to her house, the farther he got from his. Upon parking the car, Ryan grabbed the two bags and headed towards the front door. Before even reaching the door, it swung open and Hope was standing there, waiting for him, and looking concerned. Glancing behind her, Ryan saw Klaus standing by the stairs, and he did not look thrilled. Ryan could only hope that Klaus' foul mood was directed at someone other than himself.

"Ryan, what happened?" Hope asked as she took his face in her hands and searched his eyes.

"I hate having to tell you this Hope, but you made a mistake in trusting Landon. I didn't tell him where I've been today, but his initial thought, and really his only thought, was that I was with you. He said things that I know aren't true about how you feel about me, and I laid in on him. I asked him what he knew about you, and I could see it written clearly on his face... he knows nothing about you, Hope. He even went as far as calling those things 'stupid'." Ryan explained as he leaned his cheek against Hope's palm. "I needed to get out of there. And being here with you was the only place I could think of coming." He said. "I hope I'm not intruding, Klaus." He added as his eyes drifted to look at the man behind Hope.

"Of course not, Ryan. You are always welcome here. But in order to move forward with anything, I need to know. How long will you be staying here?" Klaus asked.

"Just a couple days, at least. Time to figure out my next move, and get my stuff moved out of that house. If it starts to look like it'll be longer than that, I will gladly pay rent, or help out with anything you need to thank you for your hospitality." Ryan said, glancing down as Hope grabbed his duffle bag.

"Okay, we will discuss logistics in the morning of how to proceed from here." Klaus said with a nod. "Hope, you need to cut Landon out, immediately."

"Dad let me deal with Landon. I don't want to lose Raf too, so I need to figure out if there's a way to deal with this without perpetuating the image a lot of people have of me being a rich bitch." Hope said with a sigh as she took Ryan's hand.

"If you lose Raf, Hope, then maybe he shouldn't have been in your life either." Ryan commented softly.

"It's because of Raf that you are in my life, and I plan on keeping you in my life. So let me see if there's a way to cut Landon out, and keep Raf. If there isn't then they're both gone." Hope said.