Hello, everyone! How is everyone doing in the current circumstance? I'm trying, I kept myself busy with household chores and spending time with my family, video=calling my friends and writing.

I think I'm nearing a writer's block but I'll try to write as much as I can until I run out of ideas.

This story is also published both on Wattpad (Vicky1599) and Archive of Our Own (Vicky19) although in Archive of Our Own it's a chapter ahead so you must be warned for spoilers!

In this chapter, I suggest listening to:

''Stay Alive'' by Hidden Citizens (feat. REMMI)

Enjoy!

Be Somebody

Chapter 07: Wolves

"Please don't be dead." Jed whispered for what felt the millionth time.

Nansia lay motionless and cold, not breathing very strongly yet her heartbeat was low too yet stronger than her breathing.

He then decided to risk it and start performing CPR to her.

He started applying pressure to her chest and after three times and then put his face over her mouth and waited to feel her breath but it was very faint so he decided to close her nose, open her mouth and breath in a breath of his own. Then he let go and waited on her to breathe. Nothing he started again, compressions and then breathing into her mouth three more times.

He didn't pay attention to the electric jolts he felt every time his mouth would touch hers because he wanted her alive.

After the 3rd time he tried he saw Nansia's chest rise and then she started coughing and puking water as Jed helped her turn to her side and held her hair.

"Why did you do it?" Jed asked Nansia and he couldn't stop his voice from cracking.

"Because I disappoint everyone and my efforts are never enough. I'm tired of trying...so tired!" Nansia started to cry not only because of the emotional pain but the physical too.

"What happened to my body? Why does it hurt?" She asked as she cried and Jed explained to her what limps she had broken and she sighed in annoyance.

"Have you called an ambulance or someone else?" She asked him and he showed her his wet phone.

"Nope, can't do that now..." Jed said awkwardly and Nansia groaned then her eyebrows went up as she felt a tingly sensation to her arms and legs.

"Tell me I'm turning into a mermaid now..." Nansia grumbles with disbelief and displeasure. Jed looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?" Jed asked her as he sat down next to her and trying to pick up anything weird.

"I feel this tingly in my bones...it's tickling me but at the same time makes me feel less pain, what is it?" Nansia asked Jed who by the time she finished describing to him what she felt his eyes widen and he was scratching his head.

"I thought you were a witch! Not a werewolf! What you are feeling is how we feel when we are hurt and our wolf gene heals us!" Jed explained in complete shock and Nansia looked slightly confused.

"So, Thalia was right...I am a wolf witch...cool!" Nansia said semi-excited semi-shocked.

"A what? You mean a hybrid?" Jed asked confused as he got closer to her.

"Not exactly, from what I gather, Thalia, my ancestor told me that my bloodline got married to wolf packs because they loved each other not because they were forced and their children were born with both abilities to use magic and they had heightened senses and could turn into wolves in free will, they weren't cursed by the full moon. Down the road, after generations, those gifts started to show up less and less to the point it became rare and the new generation passed off as good hearing, good agility and whatnot. I guess in my blood those genes are stronger that is why I have better hearing and healing. Which doesn't make sense why I still have two autoimmune diseases…but who knows how fucked up my DNA actually is after what I've been through." Nansia said to Jed who by now was staring at the stream waiting for Nansia to heal completely and then help her back to school.

"What brought this up? I mean your suicide attempt." Jed asked after a while and Nansia sighed.

"Something that, Penelope said. It reminded me something my entire family and college professors used to say...that I don't do enough, that I'm not enough, that I should be trying harder and achieving more. Those words had literally drove me insane and manic, I would get obsessed with always trying to be on time, the best, having my essays ready on time, being there for my family and friends and putting myself last to the point I collapsed both physically and mentally. I had reached a point where I couldn't bring myself to care anymore, I was so so tired that the only thing I wanted to do was stay in bed and sleep for a millennia, maybe never wake up again. And when I would force myself to do things I would always feel that I was on the brink of collapsing physically. Then, I had my second psychic meltdown and I ended up here..."

"Here is where I want to stay but hearing what Penelope said made me feel the same again as before and I didn't want to have a psychic meltdown and vanish from here, I rather die than leave this place and return back to my dimension where there is no one that can even the slightly relate with me." Nansia finished her true explanation to Jed. She knew she had to be honest and she felt that she could trust him for some reason even though they never talked much before.

Jed stayed silent for a while looking at the stream and picking rocks and throwing them while Nansia felt her bones heal slowly.

"Penelope was always very straight forward with her words and she doesn't really think what her words might do before she says them, she does regret them later though. I would suggest go talk to her once you've healed." Jed said wisely and Nansia looked at him studying him and his tone when he said that about Penelope.

"How do you know?" Nansia found herself asking a little surprised.

"Penelope and I used to be friends since we showed up in this school on the same day and prior to that we were living in the same area, we knew of each other since we would see one another around our previous school...I triggered my curse because of Penelope, she was getting bullied back then and I didn't like watching it especially since the person who was bullying her was one of my best friends back then and part of the football team that I was in. I tackled him to the ground one day after he on purpose brought fake blood in school and made sure to put it over the library door where Penelope used to eat alone during lunch. She already had started to develop her witchy powers and everyone in school were scared of her because she wasn't in control. I wasn't scared of her, actually, our family used to have exchanges of healing potions for wolfbane infected bullets and they helped with giving birth...Penelope's mum helped my mum give birth to me and my mum returned the favor with Penelope. We are three months apart actually. So, I felt a little responsible for her and when I saw what they did to her...she was coming out of the library after lunch when she opened the door and the bucket fell on her splashing blood all over the place."

"Penelope was embarrassed and heartbroken as she ran away and I ran after her, we stayed in the woods for the majority as she tried to cast a cleaning spell because she didn't want her parents knowing of the bullying. I was just there for emotional support. Then during the afternoon of this day after the big game, I found Davis in the lockers and I started punching him again and again until he was dead. After that, I ran away and found Penelope in the woods where she was burning her bloody clothes after many failed attempts to clean them. After, that I told her about Davis and when the first full moon came Penelope helped me through it. Then Alaric found us, a day later, when we arrived in this school we decided to become stronger and we became the polar opposites of who we were back then. Until we met you that is, you made Penelope show a side of her I thought she had buried and that is good." Jed said with a nostalgic and a little guilty tone to Nansia who by now had started to feel better since her bones were almost healed.

"I'm sorry you both had to go through that." Nansia said after a small silence that made Jed get lost in his thoughts;

Thoughts of the feelings he was having for Nansia...which weren't all that friendly, they went beyond that, and how if he acted on them he was risking destroying a very good friendship that lasted ten if not more years.

But then a thought occurred in his head...why was he feeling so attached to her? Especially his wolf? They couldn't be mates because...well...he didn't believe in them...his parents weren't mates but loved each other very much.

Also, he was of a different pack and so was she...in a way...did she even have a pack?

He was aware of her being from a different dimension that is why he questioned the fact if they could be mates...not that he believed in them.

Nansia's words made him snap back to reality where both of them sat wet and against some rocks waiting for Nansia to heal and their clothes to dry.

"It's done now, I'm moving forward and that is what Penelope does, I'm sure of it." Jed said smiling to Nansia and the look they shared made him freeze. Her eyes had this olive color that went between brown and green but they looked sad but the smile she was giving him showed a hopeful attempt.

"Could we keep this, what happened today, a secret?" Nansia asked him hesitantly after she witnessed him staring at her for some weird reason...weird to her not him.

"Of course! It's not my story to tell." Jed said as he tried to shake himself away from staring at her.

"Thank you!" Nansia said with a small smile and then turned and tried to move her leg and arm and saw mobility and smiled wider.

"You're almost all healed, right?" Jed asked her and she nodded before turning to look at him and hugged him.

"Thank you for everything! I need to go talk with Penelope." Nansia said as she tried to stand up and she did with a little help from Jed who nodded too shocked from the hug that he received.

"No, problem. Just don't break Penelope's heart." Jed yelled after her retreating figure and then he looked at stream.

'Get your shit together, Jed! She's Penelope's.' He scolded himself before he sat back down and got lost in his thoughts.

Penelope had angrily refused to run after Nansia and continued studying, she was sure if she did run after her they will be words said that can destroy what they were trying to build.

Two hours passed and Penelope grew anxious and worried but still refused to look for Nansia when the two hours and a half passed she determinedly stood up from her desk and swung the door open only to see Nansia in wet clothes.

"Um...what happened to you?" Penelope asked shocked.

"I took a dive in the stream nearby." Nansia said with a shrug as she walked towards her bed and started getting undressed.

"Why? That place is wolves' territory." Penelope said confused and sat on her bed and Nansia turned to Penelope with a smug expression and her eyes light up yellow and then she smiled as she went into the bathroom leaving a shocked Penelope behind.

Nansia was done being an emotional train wreck. She was in a universe where the impossible was possible! She had to enjoy it as much as she could. Penelope was right. She had to up her game.

She got into the shower and started washing her past away.

She was hyping herself up while she was having a shower while in the other room, Penelope was sitting frozen in shock on her bed and was looking at the bathroom door and was hearing the water running.

What was she? What happened in those two and half hours? She seemed like a different person, behavior wise.

Penelope knew they needed to talk.

Jed grew colder by the second as he decided to finally head back to the school and that his return after Nansia wouldn't rise unwanted questions and rumors circulating.

He walked into his room and wave at his roommate, another werewolf, who was reading a book and just nod his head at him.

Jed went into the shower and had a warm shower in order to prevent himself from having cramps because of cold muscles. Once he was warm enough he decided to sit and finish whatever homework he hadn't done.

It was half hour later when a knock on the door made him close his computer with a defeated sigh as he really wanted to waste time browsing through YouTube and at the same time look online for a new phone.

He walked to the door and saw a suspicious Penelope looking at him with folded arms.

"Hi!" Jed said trying not to sound awkward or guilty.

"Hey, need advice…how is possible for a witch to be a werewolf or werewolf to be a witch? Has it happen before? Are there any evidence?" Penelope started rambling as she marched into his room.

"Hey, Marcus!" Penelope said dismissively and Marcus waved from his bed and went back to turning another page in his book.

"Um…no?" Jed said confused and a little baffled.

Did Nansia and her had a talk? What did she know?

"Well, Jed, the Crescent Wolf pack in New Orleans along with all the other Original packs were witches at first and they were cursed by the Hollow into being turned into wolves every full moon and having no magical powers….weren't you careful in History class, Jed?" Marcus spoke from his spot on his bed as he closed the book because he knew there was no peace left for him to read as he liked.

"Really? Where did you read that? Can I see it?" Penelope asked Marcus who nodded and reached for his history book that neatly placed in his bag for the following day and threw it at her and she caught it mid air.

"Thanks, Dobrev! Jed be careful in class because you might get really hurt if you don't…especially with Malivore and all the monsters looming our halls the past few months." Penelope said thankful at Marcus who just winked at her and opened his book again. Then Penelope turned to Jed and advised him in a serious and concerned tone which made Jed feel guilty.

"I will, I promise. I already try to stay out of Malivore business, my last name isn't Saltzman or Mikaelson or Kirby so I'm in the safe, don't worry." Jed reassured her with a small soft smile as Penelope hugged him.

"No one is safe, it's Mystic Falls, Jed!" Penelope whispered in his ear before placing a soft kiss on his cheek and she hurried out of the door.

As the door shut behind her she laid her head on the wall and closed her eyes as memories she saw in Jed's mind when she kissed him played in her mind like a black and white movie on fast forward.

Her eyes misted as she pushed herself from the wall and started walking towards the woods as she refused to have tears spilled before she was in her safe place.

But her safe place wasn't unoccupied, there he was MG in all his nerdy glory reading Green Lantern comics and eating sugar gummy bears and blood.

Penelope couldn't hold it in anymore and broke down crying, MG's attention shifted to her and he rushed to her asking what was wrong.

Penelope shared her broken heart with her second most trusted person, now the only one after what Jed felt for Nansia.

How could he? He knew how she felt for her!

Yet she liked how he had advised how not to break her heart. She saw how much he cared for her and how he wanted her and Nansia relationship to blossom yet when she saw his memories she felt what his wolf was feeling for Nansia, it was overwhelming, and that hurt her feelings.

"How is it possible for Jed's wolf to feel like this so quickly? They only talked like what? For three weeks? And then who am I who I tried to have a relationship with her just as she arrived…was I wrong to do that?" Penelope rambled to MG who had put his comic books and all the rest aside and had sat down with her and rubbed her back as she cried, sobbed and sniffled. He listened intently.

"You know how wolves are, Penelope, they can't control their wolves and you know about the whole myth about mates…it might be true." MG tried to comfort her and not talk shit about the wolves, he feared them in a way since he was a vampire and their bite was lethal and he didn't want any conflicts.

"Maybe you're right…about what about me…did I do wrong to ask her out on a date?" Penelope asked as she tried to stop crying.

"Yes, she's new, she's new to this whole thing and she is completely and utterly lost. Try to remember how you felt when you came here." MG said in a wise tone.

"MG, I knew about witches and werewolves prior to coming to this school, mine and Jed's families were protecting each other from hunters in the area. At least I was told our heritage when I turned 14 years old." Penelope reminded MG who looked a little taken aback by the new info.

"Wait…what?"

"I guess Lizzie didn't spill the beans after all…she was in front of the whole exchange with my parents and Jed's parents. I guess she can keep her mouth shut…" Penelope mused to herself and MG was just blinking confused.

"And you are right…I pressured Nansia into a relationship when all of this must be so surreal to her…She needs a friend not a girlfriend…" Penelope said in a defeated tone.

"Maybe it's not the right time for us…thanks MG." Penelope finished her own rant but MG hadn't talked he let her reach that conclusion semi-on her own.

"No problem, that's what friends are for!" MG called out behind her as she walked out of her safe place. Now MG's too.

She hadn't return to her room, she's been roaming the school grounds on her own lost in her thoughts of hows and what ifs if she broke up with Nansia, what would change in their dynamic and their co-habitation.

Would it be awkward?

That and many other thoughts filled her mind and she didn't realize that she had fallen asleep in the couch in the common room.

Fabian, Marcella and Christina, the cooks, woke her up in the beginning of their shift at 5 am and Penelope joined them to watch how the produce the morning breakfast for over 1000 kids. She even helped a little and set the tables.

At 6:30 am Fabian let her know the time and she quickly rushed to her room to get ready for the next day and then went back to help set up the self serving tables with the breakfasts options and all that so she wouldn't meet Nansia right away. She was chickening out and she knew it but didn't care.

She needed to find the courage to do this and she was on the way and that was her process and she knew she shouldn't feel bad or angry and impatient with herself just like Professor Emma Tig said in their sessions.

She then saw the morning rush coming in as she set the last set of plates.

Here we go…

So? What do you think will happen next? I look forward to your reviews!