Hey! Happy New Years guys! This chapter is one I was very surprised that it came out like that!
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
With this chapter, I suggest listening to Adam Lambert's Runnin'!
Be Somebody
Chapter 21: A True Miracle and A True Story
Nansia watched Hope have her eyes closed and her hand over her shirt for ten minutes already. Anxiously looked at the girls who nodded reassuringly at her before they jumped at Hope's gasp and she let her arm down and looked amazed.
"Malivore didn't create Ryan, he abducted him! He was a kid, a witch kid! Malivore knew that the kid was dying so he fixed him by baptizing him in mud from his own body which had the effect of altering his DNA, he's essentially two things, a golem and a witch, the witch part of him was bound away and the golem part of him is now the prime force but the witch in his gets stronger every time he dies, if we can get rid of the mark of Malivore from Ryan, he would be free! He doesn't have to die!" Hope exclaimed and she grabbed her phone and texted someone.
"Who are you texting?" Nansia asked confused still processing the new information.
"Ryan, he needs to hear this!" Hope exclaimed but Lizzie grabbed the phone from her hand.
"No, it's our leverage! Besides he's mad at Nansia and I don't think he would even believe us. Let him cool down first." Lizzie said wisely.
Nansia nodded agreeing and Josie was busy typing away.
"The guys are all online, should we get over with it?" Josie asked after a while and the girls nodded.
The video call didn't go as planned. No one could connect to them long enough without freezing or being thrown out of the chatroom.
The girls gave up and went for breakfast.
Nansia ate in silence and then went to change and practice some spells with Bonnie, Malivore was still an issue and she needed to help. Even if Ryan didn't want her help anymore. He made his choice.
It was after breakfast when she was about to have a shower and just mop around when the doorbell rang and Nansia came face to face with Ryan fucking broke and tore her heart apart Clarke!
She looked terribly tired and the moment their eyes met he got to see an emotion he has never seen in her, he saw pain.
"What do you want, now, Ryan?" Nansia asked with a tired tone.
"Aren't you surprised to see me?" Ryan asked confused.
"Um…did you smoke weed and you forgot what we talked about last night?" Nansia asked confused and in emotional turmoil and cruel accusatory tone.
"Nansia, what are you doing in front of the door with this cold? Ryan? What do you want now? Did you regret what you said yesterday?" Lizzie asked protectively and angrily.
"Yesterday? Yesterday I just landed at 1 am here and went straight to bed at my hotel!" Ryan exclaimed in defense.
"WHAT?" Lizzie and Nansia exclaimed confused.
"I never came to this house, Nansia. What happened yesterday?" Ryan asked worried and a little distrustful.
"You came here and you told me that we can't do anything to save you and you were going to die either way. And then you started yelling at me that I'm helping you because of future you and not because of the current you, remember that?" Nansia said sarcastically and Ryan was gaping and Lizzie was glaring at him.
"I was never here! Nansia, I wouldn't do that to you! I know why you're doing this and either you like this me or future me you still like a version of me which is good enough for me. But you have to believe that theme you talked to last night wasn't me! It must have been my father sending a shapeshifter pretending to be me! I can show you what I did last night." He said took his phone out and showed her they were still friends on everything and Nansia showed him that he had her blocked. Then he showed her his Instagram story saved in his phone documenting his trip planning to post this once the actual surprise was done.
Ryan looked shocked and confused at Nansia's phone and the sight of his account in her phone, a clear sign he had blocked her on her end somehow and Lizzie went from protectively angry to unsettling confused before she sighed annoyed a plan forming in her scheming mind already with a probable solution.
"Meet us in ten minutes at the neighborhood park down this street to your left from this house, we have news! And you better not trick us dude because you don't want to know what happens when you pissed off two Gemini witches and a Mikaelson witch!" Lizzie said annoyed and angry before she shut the door not waiting for an explanation or answer from Ryan.
She grasped Nansia's shoulders and moved her away from the door while she was frozen and had furrowed eyebrows and her eyes were plagued with confusion and hurt even hints of guilt. Her heart was in pain, physical pain, and her brain was foggy! Lizzie got her upstairs and into hers and Josie's room before she let the other two girls know what had just transpired downstairs.
Hope and Josie were gaping at them and blinking before Lizzie left them with a Nansia that was sitting on Lizzie's bed staring at the door.
"Girl, you're alright?" Hope asked concerned and hesitant as Nansia turned to Hope with a lost and confused look in her eyes and face.
"Shapeshifters are a thing?" Nansia asked as tears started welling up in her eyes and Hope rushed to hug her.
"I…He…he was so gentle at first and then so mean…I believed him…how can I trust myself now to tell which Ryan is the imposter and who's the real deal? If his dad sent him and he knew about everything that means our tries and research were for nothing and he already knows our plan! How long was he pretending to be Ryan? How did he know to be Ryan?" Nansia rambled confused and unsure of herself as tears silently fell from her eyes.
Hope and Josie rubbed her back while they let her ramble they had no helpful answers.
Lizzie rushed downstairs to ask if they could take a walk since Nansia seemed to be off today hoping to cheer her up, Elena and Caroline said yes since they were the only adults in the house at the moment since Bonnie, Damon, Jeremy, and Alaric had gone for a stroll to spend some time together. Damon and Bonnie were best friends and Jeremy with Alaric had also grown closer as friends other than family and Damon had found a hiking trail that wanted to share with them.
Lizzie rushed upstairs to let them know they had the okay to go so they got dressed and dragged Nansia with them.
Elena and Caroline were worried about Nansia but they thought that she was down because of the new information she got from the ancestors and remembering about the war in her dimension and that maybe she fought with Jed guy Lizzie and Hope said she was meeting for a bit before bed yesterday night.
They understood the need to digest and mop when heartbreak occurred and Elena personally liked seeing how the girls were treating Nansia, her niece…ha!
Caroline also liked how the girls got along but she still had reservations about Nansia.
They saw Ryan sitting on the swings and swinging while looking confused and troubled but when he noticed them he jumped up quickly and jogged towards them.
"It's the actual me, not the shapeshifter!" He said in defense of the girls' glares.
"That's what shapeshifters always say!" Josie exclaimed defensive and distrustful.
"Tell us something only Nansia and you would know." Lizzie suggested also distrustful and suspicious.
Ryan showed his phone to show he hadn't blocked Nansia on Instagram and then he sighed and looked at Nansia with pain in his eyes because the same pain was mirrored in her eyes.
"The kiosk back in Mystic Falls and the photo." Ryan then said referring to the time she had taken his picture without asking to reverse image search him and he had pinned her on the bench and there was this whole sexual tension going on, the moment he realized how strong his emotions were for this girl.
Nansia felt uncomfortable and folded her arms to her chest.
"What happened at the kiosk?" Hope asked a little confused and suspiciously.
Ryan really didn't want to do an entire love confession in front of the three girls he wanted to be only him and Nansia! And certainly not to be fighting to prove his authenticity because of a shapeshifter who fucked up his friendship with her!
"Because in that kiosk and that bench I realized that I had a crush on her! I know twisted and disgusting but she's the only person to ever and I mean ever fight with me to get away from my father even after what I've done to her which I will never forgive myself for! Is that enough to prove that's really me?" Ryan exclaimed desperately and looked only at Nansia showing every emotion he had for her in those loaded words and pleading eye contact. During his speech, he had gotten closer to Nansia and the girls had tried to get between them but Nansia looked at them and shook her head.
Nansia still looked at him suspiciously and hurt as she tried to avoid eye contact with him as she took a step back and said;
"How do I know it wasn't an imposter during the kiosk too? Or anywhere really we've been to all this time?" Nansia challenged him with a cold tone but her eyes were so hurt it made Ryan flinch and physically stop himself from stepping back too.
Ryan couldn't believe his ears at Nansia's question, anger boiled in him not towards Nansia but that fucking shapeshifter and his father. He always did that! Isolating him! No! He won't let him win this time! Enough is enough!
"Alright, and would an imposter do that?" Ryan asked rhetorically as he launched at Nansia and cupped her face before kissing her passionately putting everything in that kiss.
The three girls in the background gasped at the sight out of shock.
Nansia was frozen yet she reached his hands and tried to get them off her but when that didn't work she cupped his face and tried to get him off her, she was successful for a second before Ryan protested by shaking his head no and kissing her again. The girls didn't know if they should get in the middle or not especially when Ryan protested once Nansia was successful in getting him off her because they saw the eye contact they held for a second.
Nansia saw his glance, it was dark with desire and want yet so genuine she seemed oddly familiar look in him like she had seen it before. Then when he kissed her again she couldn't help kissing him back and this time his hand left her face and grasped her waist bringing her closer to him and hugged her before he stopped the kiss and just hugged her tight while tears run down his and her faces.
"It's really me, Nansia." He whispered to her ear as they hugged.
Nansia started to shake and Ryan understood she was crying and just held her in his arms and rubbed her back.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry I didn't believe you! Please forgive me!" Nansia sobbed in his arms and Ryan looked at the girls in question.
"He was really mean, he left her in the snow crying on the pavement," Hope said quietly at him and he got very pissed and protective.
"Whoever he's is I'm going to kill him!" Ryan growled as he held her in his arms.
"And we will help!" Josie said in solidarity and he nodded in thanks.
He let go of Nansia and cupped her face.
"I love you and I forgive you! I know it's too early to say this but I really do love you. You can take your time saying this back to me, don't force yourself now if you don't feel it but this is how I feel and I need to let you know." Ryan told her softly and with so much love in his voice that the girls felt awkward sitting and witnessing this. So much that Lizzie coughed a little bit to alert them of their presence still.
Nansia just nodded as she kept silently crying which broke Ryan's heart and filled him with so much rage against his father and this fucking shapeshifter.
Ryan kissed her one more time before he kept holding her and turn to the other three witches.
"Alright, tell me everything he did and what you wanted to meet here for." He said seriously yet he held Nansia in his arms and the girls had to agree they looked kinda cute or they would look cute if Nansia wasn't crying and Ryan had a twinkle in his eyes that called for chaos and mayhem.
Nansia was trying to compose herself she was feeling so much at once and being in Ryan's arms, in a male's arms, in such a caring way was so alien to her that it took her so much strength not to use her instincts and flat him to the ground.
Ryan expected one of the three girls to speak next but his girl…is it too early to refer to him as his? Anyways, Nansia started speaking slowly and in a lower tone than usual which concerned him.
"He said you were dying and that your friend in Prague, Fabian, told you that there was nothing you can do to free yourself from Malivore. You had to finish the mission and then kill yourself, that death was the only ticket out of this. I started exclaiming that this wasn't true and that we both have seen our futures and he started blaming me for gas lighting him, that I was helping him because I cared for the future version of you, not the current one which is bullshit! I care about you and only you if that means that includes a future version of you then cool! He called me a liar and he just left me there…in the rain and I don't know how long I was standing there but it started snowing at some point." Nansia spoke with a haunted and sad tone as she looked at the ground while speaking and Ryan just squeezed her in his arms.
Ryan was angry hearing this.
"You are not a liar, Nansia, he was a dick! But he's right, Fabian did say those things but to me not the shapeshifter. This means that this shapeshifter has been watching us and me for a long time, we must get him somehow." Ryan told her as he made hugged her and Nansia just squeezed him.
"Enough with the PDA guys!" Lizzie whined and Ryan laughed as he let go of Nansia who had a small smile and a little blush. She was too cute!
"Sorry!" Ryan said chuckling amused by Lizzie's reaction.
"In addition to the Dick Ryan, Hope found a spell that can distinguish supernatural from human DNA and we found out something about you." Lizzie said in a soft tone as she slowly came forth and Ryan gulped.
"There's a way for us to see if we could somehow alter your DNA from a golem to a witch's so you wouldn't have to die. My original plan was to get your subconscious into a different body and then try to find a body that you either liked or looked like your original one. But, we found out that we don't need any of those plans because you are a witch, Ryan. You were just a kid when Malivore abducted you and then let you free when he wanted children, he infected you with his mud by applying it all over you essentially baptizing you and muting and binding your witch side allowing the golem side to always be on top. If we can isolate and eradicate the infection we can free you from him and then unbind your powers and you can be a free witch!" Lizzie explained in a soft tone as she tried to be sensitive to Ryan's reactions when learning that news.
"No…that can't be…" Ryan said confused and Nansia hugged him while rubbing his back soothingly.
"It is Ryan. Every time you were close to remembering and unbinding your magic he would imprison you." Hope added with a sympathetic tone.
"So, I'm not related to Landon?" Ryan asked confused as tears run down his eyes and held on to Nansia.
"Actually you are. His mum was a descendant of the same family you were part of when you were a child. You are distant, very distant, cousins. That is why Malivore chose Landon's mum." Hope explained and the girls looked shocked at the new information.
"Why you didn't say that before?" Josie asked Hope shocked.
"The door rang!" Hope exclaimed in defense.
"My god! It makes sense why he hates me! How do we separate the golem infection?" Ryan exclaimed in realization and sadness.
"We are looking for that. Can we have some of your blood so we can study it at the lab at school?" Hope asked him softly and Ryan nodded eagerly.
"I'm a witch! That's…that is wow!" Ryan mumbled shocked and happy as he looked at the sky and Nansia hugged him while he kissed her happily and then held on to her. After a moment of that, he let go of Nansia and hugged Hope and Lizzie, and Josie thanking them relieved.
"So, we are going to walk the block and let you two talk things out but we need to head back because the sun is setting the snow will crystallize and be dangerous to walk on and I bet dad and Jeremy with Damon and Aunt Bonnie will be back or are back already." Lizzie said smiling kindly to Ryan and Nansia while wiggling her eyebrows cause the couple to blush before she grabbed Hope's and Josie's arms and started dragging them away as they waved.
Nansia and Ryan sat on a bench and looked at the snowed playground while holding hands.
"I'm sorry for what he did." Ryan said seriously and with a soft tone.
"Don't be, it wasn't you." Nansia said with a soft smile her eyes still holding sadness in them.
"How do we track a shapeshifter down though?" Nansia asked Ryan who smirked.
"A tracking spell, did he touch you while he was with you?" He asked a little possessively but mostly concerned.
"Yeah, he hugged me I gave my shirt to Hope to do the spell. I can tell her to hold on to it." Nansia said as she texted Hope to not let the shirt go and to look for a tracking spell.
"We will do it tomorrow now we bask in the good news we got! It's a miracle!" Ryan said calmer and rubbed Nansia's arm as he had his arm around her. Nansia rested her head on his shoulder.
"I think I love you too, Ryan but I was dating Penelope a couple of months ago and it ended well so can we keep it a secret? I will talk to the girls to keep their mouths shut but we keep it between us and take it slow, please." Nansia said to Ryan with a hesitant tone as she looked at him.
"Of course! I understand." Ryan said to her in an understanding tone.
Then Nansia was about to kiss Ryan when suddenly she's flying across the playground. She slammed on the ground and groaned when she stood up her eyes glowing yellow and she hissed as she saw two versions of Ryan! Then, Hope, Lizzie, and Josie were by her side!
Ryan had started beating other Ryan and held him by the neck.
"Now! Nansia kill him!"
"No, don't it's me, Nansia! He's the imposter!"
"Believe me!"
"Believe me!"
"Nansia!" Hope asked horrified.
"I don't know!" Nansia exclaimed terrified and stressed. She then locked eyes with the Ryan holding the other Ryan.
"If you're my Ryan then tell me the first thing you learned about me that shocked you!" Nansia challenged him and he smiled softly.
"Easy! You're part Irish and part Greek!" Ryan said proudly and then her eyes rested in the struggling Ryan. She kept her face as straight as she could without showing if Ryan got it right or not.
"What about you?" She challenged him.
"The scar on your foot from your baby sister's bottle that you had to take out on your own while being locked in your room for days as a punishment." Struggling Ryan said as he looked at her with pleading eyes as he struggled to breathe.
Nansia then sighed and shook her head no as she bend down and lift her pants and in lighting moved she pulled out her Swiss knife and threw it at Ryan who was holding Struggling Ryan and stab him in the head freeing the struggling Ryan who rushed away while Nansia charged at the fallen Ryan and grabbed her knife from his head and seeing as he was alive she sat on him and pressed it again his neck.
"Who sent you!" Nansia yelled angrily almost growled the words out.
"Malivore!" Imposter Ryan said and Nansia nodded before she sliced his throat. She stood up and wiped the blood on the snow.
She looked at the surviving Ryan who watched her in awe and shock.
"How did you know?" Josie asked confused.
"When he tortured me and asked me questions I told him everything about my abusive childhood and I saw the shock in his eyes when I told him about the scar on my foot." Nansia said as she shrugged and Ryan rushed to her and kissed her.
The Imposter Ryan didn't liquefy so Hope set him on fire and then made the ashes fly away.
The supernatural group decided to split after that much excitement and go home and to their hotel rooms.
In Nansia's room, she was blow-drying her hair when Hope sat on her bed.
"Now, it will be easier to tell the others since Ryan is also a victim..no offense." Hope stated in a tone that showed optimism.
"Yeah, also do you mind keeping it a secret from everyone that we are a thing? I don't mind knowing we are friends but I don't want to make Penelope uncomfortable making her think I moved on from her so quickly and with Ryan of all people." Nansia said concerned and Hope nodded as she patted Nansia's shoulder before she walked out of the room.
Nansia then went to Lizzie's and Josie's room to tell them the same thing and they agreed to keep it a secret.
Then they were called down for lunch.
Bonnie, Jeremy, Alaric, and Damon were back and Caroline with Elena had whipped up a very delicious lunch. They listened to Bonnie's and the others' stories of their hiking saying they went somewhere the snow wasn't too much.
Elena noticed how uplifted Nansia looked and was happy about that.
Ryan arrived at his hotel smiling happily as he had a shower and then took a much-deserved nap.
Nansia woke up from her nap with a smile and grabbed her phone and saw her phone and there was a notification that she was being followed by Ryan's account. She eagerly grabbed the phone and opened their texts and she saw their conversation and she smiled and texted him a hello and heart eyes emoji.
She got a photo back with a lovesick smile and Nansia had the same smile as him. She felt she would burst!
She got up and went to check what people were doing. She found Jeremy in the garage while Damon and Stefanie were watching Lord Of The Rings together and declined their invitation having seen every movie with her step-dad while she was a child and didn't want to betray those memories.
"Hey, are you having fun?" Nansia asked him as she sat next to the toolbox. She liked Elena's car it was a Toyota RAV4 SUV Hybrid model of 2021 in a silver color and from what Nansia saw the battery of this car it was a 70 Ah, she didn't know much about cars but she thought it was a nice car, it reminded her of her dream car a bit.
"Right now, not so much, but in general yes! It's been an eventful week and holiday so far. You?" Jeremy said as he was under Elena's car and he was fixing something.
"It's been eventful yes, and my third favorite Christmas. What are you fixing in Elena's car?" Nansia asked deep in thoughts at first but then she looked confused at Jeremy's legs.
"Elena was called back at the hospital and her car wouldn't start, I checked everything under the hood and I can't see why it's not starting." Jeremy said baffled.
"Have you checked the car's safety board? Maybe it's isn't making enough connection to feed the car to start?" Nansia suggested as she studied Elena's car.
Jeremy slid out of the car and looked at her.
"Do you know about cars?" Jeremy asked her suspiciously but to his disappointment, she shook her head no.
"No, my dad once let went over a bad pothole too fast and it shook the car cracking the safety board and sometimes would work just fine and other times it would stop working in the middle of the road and we got into a car accident once because of it. Then my aunt's car had gone over the limit driving in some dirt road and went over a rock it rattled the car and it suddenly stopped. She was left in the snow waiting for emergency help surrounded by mountains and farms in the middle of rural Thessaly and she saw a bunch of foxes and wild dogs. As Greeks we have this saying you are burnt once and you keep blowing the yogurt...it loses translation but when you mess up once you are constantly prepared for anything after that even if it's unnecessary." Nansia explained with a shrug and Jeremy shook his head and chuckled as he stood up and popped the hood and checked the safety board.
Nansia saw him taking it out and checking it and he ahed and went to tell Damon about the fact that Elena's car's safety board was dead having been cracked one too many times to actually keep working.
Nansia followed him and she got there after Jeremy was done telling Damon that it was her idea to check the safety board and Damon praised her and she smiled in thanks.
She went and grabbed a snack when she remembered that Elena had left probably had no dinner snack.
"Did Elena take dinner or a snack with her at the hospital?" Nansia asked and Damon yelled back no.
She then went down to make her some and asked if Caroline could take her to the hospital to give the dinner/snack. Caroline was willing to take her.
Atlanta General Hospital:
Colin O'Connell had been driving himself crazy trying to catch a glimpse of his daughter but every time it was pointless! He had found her and talked to her, his daughter but his son was nowhere! The portal was always sending him to this hospital and he didn't know why!
His other son was back home in Dublin and was about to go to college and here he was eighteen years in the future looking for his long-lost children.
And yet Doctor Salvatore lied to him that she had no idea who he was looking for and angered him yet for some reason whenever he would try to follow her car or try to catch up to her in the hospital someone was turning the hospital into a maze for him!
And today it was one of those days and he was ready to give up when he walked outside and saw her, his little girl, pulling up in a car he didn't care to memorize and saw her carrying a cooler bag up to Doctor Salvatore who ran out to meet them.
"I thought you might need it knowing it's the holidays and sometimes during those times people's stupidity gets higher and transcends!" Nansia said anxiously with a small smile and Elena hugged her thanking her for the sandwich and the salad and risotto.
"I needed it yes! Thank you, sweetie!" Elena said thankful hugging her
Watching this Colin made three steps towards her only to see the face of an angry woman.
"No! Not yet! Leave her and the boy!"
Then next thing he knows he wakes up behind the hospital portal in the alley! He was heartbroken but the pain he felt in his mind hearing this woman's voice in his mind, he knew had pissed off the spirits of a witch! He knew not to mess with this.
He had to wait he guessed….he waited nineteen years…what's a few more? He was a Watcher he didn't age as fast.
He regretted cheating on his wife but didn't regret the births of Vasiliki and Thomas. And with these thoughts, he returned home.
Nansia and Caroline rode in silence until they reached the hospital and afterward Nansia was smiling at her phone because Ryan texted her, a message asking if she wanted to go on a date the next day.
"What are you smiling about, Nansia?" Caroline asked as she drove.
"A friend is in town and asked if we can go for coffee tomorrow, I have to ask Jeremy if I can go, you know being grounded and all." Nansia said smiling and Caroline laughed and said;
"I used to get the same smile whenever I would receive texts from a friend, alright…" Caroline said smirking.
"You mean Stefan Salvatore?" Nansia asked amused and Caroline chuckled and shook her head no.
"No, it was Klaus Mikaelson." Caroline said smiling fondly and Nansia gasped and slammed the dashboard and said;
"SHUT UP! GET OUT OF HERE! WITH HOPE'S DAD?! WOW!"
"Yeah…" She said smiling.
"I'm sorry for your loss then." Nansia said serious and apologetic and Caroline smiled at her.
"Thank you!" Caroline said smiling.
"I loved them both dearly, but I knew that with Klaus…although I wanted to give us a try we were in different points of our lives all the time, right place wrong time. With Stefan…with Stefan came out of nowhere, he was dating Elena and then he helped adjust to vampirism, and somewhere in there, he became my best friend but yet the friendship I had with him was completely different from the friendships I had with Bonnie and Elena, with Stefan I could be unapologetically honest because Stefan understood or wasn't getting unreasonably offended because he was older and had experienced other complex situations and knew not judge right away unlike how Elena and Bonnie and even I at times reacted because we were so young and inexperienced back then. Then he left and started this whole different love and I saw him with another girl and it tore my heart out, I realized that I had fallen for him. Enzo, Bonnie's late boyfriend, saw me being a sobbing mess in my car and went to beat the shit out of him." Caroline said as they drove and had a small but fond smile on her lips. Nansia studied her and smiled a tight-lipped smile.
"So, how did you and Stefan get together?" Nansia found herself asking intrigued by how it happened.
"Well, it happened periodically, we started as my best friend's boyfriend, to my friend, to my best friend, and then somewhere that crush I had on him when he first got here and I had shoved it way down came back up. And he reciprocated and soon we were together it was hard because I got pregnant with the twins in the middle of it and then I lost my mum and turned it off and then he was under Sybil's, a siren's control, and we got married. Oh! When I first met him I told Bonnie that I was planning a June wedding and we got a June wedding…in the end. Mine and Stefan's love was so deep…deeper than I realized when he was alive but the pain I felt when he died…I never wish it on anyone." She told Nansia with this faraway look on her face but the smile was still there. Nansia studied her face and smiled too.
"I'm happy you experienced that type of love. I only wish I get to have such an epic love." Nansia mused with a little smile as her thoughts drifted to Ryan.
"I'm sure that you have already found that someone, Nansia, not all of us have vampire hearing but I do, I know Jed's voice and that voice wasn't Jed's at the door this morning. And if I remember correctly from what Alaric told me he's name is Ryan Clarke? You like bad boys, huh?" Caroline said to Nansia with a smirk and Nansia's eyes widen.
"Don't tell Aunt Elena!" Nansia exclaimed terrified and Caroline laughed.
"I won't until you need to be saved because you are an adult and have lived more than anyone and I don't know if you had a relationship in 2149 or your actual life. But be careful, please!" Caroline explained softly with a hint of a mothering tone.
"I never had a boyfriend…but I had a girlfriend, we broke up a couple of months ago, Penelope Park?" Nansia said awkwardly.
"Oh! Wait! Josie's Penelope?!" Caroline said with a shrug she didn't mind that Nansia liked both genders, one of her daughters was Pansexual, and even without one of her daughters she didn't mind LGBTQ+ people. But felt shocked to realize that her daughter and Nansia had already an ex in common…Nansia wasn't here for more than half a year!
"Yeah…we are cool though…" Nansia explained awkwardly and Caroline smiled.
"Not all love is true love but enjoy it while it last and learn from your mistakes." Caroline said smiling but her eyes were serious.
"This one is, I've seen our futures…I even met future Ryan he saved me from this version of Ryan when he kidnapped me." She explained with a hesitant tone.
"Futures can change, Nansia. But I'm glad he saved you. I won't tell Elena or anyone but if anything and I mean anything goes wrong you tell someone, a teacher anyone!" Caroline advised her and Nansia nodded agreeing.
Then the rest of the ride was silent and Nansia enjoyed this weird music.
"Was all that bad back in your dimension?" Caroline asked worriedly.
"No, there was a Neo-Nazi parade in Sweden when a woman who was of South African and Jewish descent and part of the LGBTQ community and her child was of special needs she stepped in front of them and raised her hand with the scene of power. Cops and the Neo-Nazis warned her that if she didn't move they would open fire on her. The people around her gasped and instantly they formed a human chain and they started singing "Down fascism and racism power to the people and peace in the world!" and soon people saw that and Neo-Nazi groups retaliated and started parades and so did our people forming chains and yelling the same words in their own languages to the point we created the biggest human chain in the world we go into the Guinness World Record. And because people used social media we got those neo-nazis arrested and in jail." She told Caroline who smiled proudly.
"Now I like your dimension a lot more." Caroline said as she turned into Elena's and Damon's street.
Nansia had answered yes in Ryan's message and said they meet at 6 pm at the neighborhood park.
Hope was looking at her pictures with Landon and was smiling as she decided to call him and they were talking for hours. Then she started to look for a spell that golem infection.
She found a spell where she put the patient in a sleeping state and both sides fight but if another person can get into the patient's mind they could assist him and make sure the witch side of Ryan won. She connected the two spells and created a new one and prayed it worked.
Then she had a mini spa day while watching Orient Express after she had showered and done a face mask. She fell asleep once the movie ended.
Lizzie and Josie were also spending some sister time while doing face masks and they had a random upbeat pop playlist while they talked.
"So, Ryan and Nansia…cute huh?" Lizzie asked smiling and curiously.
"I don't know…he's with TRIAD, right? So, I don't trust him but seeing his state today and the confession, I think he's like us, tortured by the same people that should have protected him, his family, or in his case, his family failed to protect him from the hands of Malivore and since we can save him we have to try since he asked us. As for him and Nansia…she moved on from Penelope way too fast. I don't like it but I shouldn't put myself in the middle. I'm not in Nansia's shoes nor I want to be in them…she had a terrible life." Josie said to Lizzie with a wise and indifferent tone. Lizzie nodded understanding where Jo's point of view came from and after that, they enjoyed the silence.
Bonnie was working out in her room when her phone rang with her a number that made her smile like a teenager again.
"Hello, stranger!" She said smiling
"Hey, Bonnie!" The voice of Davina Mikaelson was heard from the other side. During her travels, she had a flat tire while touring Rhodes and out of nowhere Kol with Davina pull up, oceans away, and here they were! They were visiting the island too and they helped her with her tire and then stuck around with them which started a newfound friendship with Davina and Bonnie and Kol.
"Thought to check-in. Did you know that Elena had invited us through Rebekah to come here in four days? Make them three now?" Davina's voice was heard from the other line
"No…oh shit! She's Hope's Secret Santa! The irony of that is epic!" Bonnie exclaimed laughing and the relatively young Mikaelson couple laughed too.
"Then I look forward to seeing you, guys!" Bonnie said smiling excited and they agreed with her then they started catching up.
Landon and some other students were left in the boarding school with skeleton stuff during the holidays but thankfully he had Rafael with him and he wasn't that bored.
His and Hope's daily calls were nice too.
Ryan was in his hotel room watching a movie and eating a pizza celebrating his small victory. Then his vision got blurry and the next thing he knows he's in the spirit plane.
"Hello?" He asked a little on edge.
"Ryan Clarke…remember me?" Thalia asked him and he nodded.
"If you hurt my descended I will reign hell on you!" Thalia threatened and Ryan gulped nodding.
"Then I'm done! Have fun lovebirds!" Thalia said smiling amused as she left and Ryan woke up back in his actual room.
"Alright…I guess that's normal…" Ryan mused loudly and he heard a chuckle before he continued his movie.
Elena was busy in the ED some idiot burned his eye with fireworks and another stabbed himself trying to show off his Chef nature. When she saw a girl holding a teddy bear and watching her, the girl had red-eye and an open eyebrow that had blood running to the side of her head. Her clothes were dusty and she looked terrified.
"What's up with the kid on the right?" She asked the ED intended called Carol and was fifty-three years old.
"There was an apartment building fire, the hospital near the neighborhood wasn't able to take all the injuries and many are being re-routed to us." Carol told her as she was busy signing papers.
"Fuck! Can I help somehow?" Elena asked Carol in a saddened tone.
"Sure, take the girl." Carol said without raising her head to face Elena who nodded walked to the girl and smiled.
The little girl was alone while the FD was looking for her parents. Her name was Helen and was five years old. She had hidden under her bed and had second-degree burns on her legs and feet. Elena calmed the girl as she take care of the girl's burns when a firefighter came to her and sighed in relief.
"I'm her dad! Sweetie!" The firefighter exclaimed as he dropped his helmet and the little girl started sobbing as her dad embraced her and Elena smiled happily at the reunion.
Once everything was alright with Helen she went to see if more patients needed help and soon she was on her lunch break…well dinner break…it was 4 am by now.
She was eating the food Nansia gave her and was going through her messages and saw a confirmation message from Rebekah regarding her and her siblings' attendance at her New Years' festivities.
Elena smiled happily and answered back that she was looking forward to it.
Who would have thought it would be like this! If she could go back in time and tell younger her and younger Rebekah of their joined festivities they would have thought she was mental!
Once she was done eating and checked in with Damon who told her that he would be gone in the morning because the bar was having some deliveries and he needed to check in with his employees because they were shouldering the festive shifts while he was at home. Also, he needed to prepare for the New Years' festivities, the very same ones, Elena had invited the surviving Mikaelsons to.
She was also reminded that she didn't have a car and that the battery was done and needed one and that Jeremy ordered her one for a friend of his but it would be here after the holidays and that Jeremy offered to drive her from and to the hospital when need to.
After that, she went back and worked for four more hours until the morning shift took over and she saw Jeremy at 8:30 am waiting for her in his car.
"I bought croissants for all of us, here's your coffee." Jeremy said as chipper, as he could be this early, and Elena, nodded thankfully for the croissant and coffee as she started eating.
"You are heading to bed, we got it handled. Caroline and Bonnie are cooking lunch, we will wake you up for this but the rest is handled, alright, sis?" Jeremy said as he drove and Elena hummed a yes as she was munching on her breakfast.
They arrived at the home to see Bonnie and Nansia setting the breakfast table and Stefanie run to her mum hugging her.
They ate breakfast and then Bonnie with Nansia they were going to be doing some magic lessons and trying something Bonnie wanted to check.
Elena was too tired so she went to bed after a hot shower.
Hope was about to talk with Landon on the phone and the twins had some more Christmas shopping to do they claimed so Caroline and Alaric were taking them to the mall.
Jeremy stayed back and cleaned the breakfast mess and tidy up the living room a bit. Then went to check on Nansia and Bonnie who was in the backyard.
"I don't know how I did it back then, Professor Bonnie!" Nansia whined self-consciously.
"You need to learn to harness your magic, it needs to become second nature to you because it's the only way to survive here, your martial arts skills are a nice bonus. Focus!" Bonnie instructed her seriously and encouragingly.
Nansia nodded and closed her eyes and focused on the vibrations around her, the cold of the winter wind, the sounds of birds, cars, and the neighbors.
Bonnie looked at Jeremy who was watching from the window as Nansia slowly opened her hands who were close to her hips and turned her hand to face the cloudy sky. Jeremy had folded his arms to his chest and watched with furrow eyebrows while Bonnie watched her in awe.
"Now, focus on what you want to do. What do you want to happen Nansia?" Bonnie asked her encouragingly and Nansia said;
"I want wind." Nansia said softly and the small wind picked up causing small snow tornados on the ground and Jeremy saw some clouds moving and the sun shining through them.
"Well done! You got this! Now, tell the wind to stop." Bonnie instructed and Nansia lowered her hands down and the wind stopped.
"Did I do it?" Nansia asked as she opened her eyes and the green in them was more vibrant than normal and Bonnie smiled happily. Nansia jumped and hugged her before she turned to the sound of applause from Lizzie, Josie, and Hope who had opened their windows and were watching. Nansia smiled happily and Bonnie smiled proudly.
"Now, focus, you manage to control the weather a little. There's so much more to do. But now we will focus on your telekinesis and some healing spells. First, the telekinesis, since you managed to conjure wind it will be a little like this but now you are moving things with the help of the wind but not through your hands but your mind! That is the difference!" Bonnie stressed that and Nansia nodded as Bonnie walked over and grabbed a log of wood that Jeremy had chopped for the fireplace and on top of it she set a cup.
"Move this empty cup." Bonnie pointed and Nansia nodded as she focused her mind on that cup and pictured it moving an inch but her hand itched to use it and she did instinctively.
"Use your mind not your hands!" Bonnie scolded her and she sighed.
"I can't without my hands! I've tried!" Nansia exclaimed annoyed and defeated.
"Maybe she's the type of people who use their hands for telekinesis and not their minds." Jeremy's input surprised both girls and Bonnie sighed and nodded.
"Maybe but that doesn't mean you don't need practice. Do it again." Bonnie said seriously and moved the cup back and Nansia sighed.
They continued like this for two more hours before Bonnie dragged Nansia to her room and gave her some homework, to study some healing spells before dismissing her for the day.
Nansia was exhausted she had a shower and checked her phone for the first time today and saw Ryan telling her that he will pick her up at 6 pm and to wear something warm because they were going ice skating and then for dinner.
"I need help! I have a date with Ryan and I don't know what to do with my hair and makeup!" Nansia exclaimed as she knocked on Lizzie's and Josie's room.
Josie was with Hope watching a movie in Hope's room and Lizzie was reading an e-book on her bed, a book she had found on myths about Watchers.
"Shit! Come here! Tell me the details of the date, what clothes are you wearing?" Lizzie asked her excitedly and left the book aside in seconds.
Nansia and Lizzie messed with combinations of clothes and makeup for an hour before settling on exothermic leggings with a deep red sweater dress on top and Lizzie forced her to borrow Lizzie's leather jacket and paired them with her black army boots. And her necklaces, her makeup was nude red eyeshadow and black eyeliner and mascara and matte puce red lipstick.
"You look gorgeous but I forgot my curler at home so I need to borrow Hope's! One sec!" Lizzie exclaimed as she run to Hope's room and then Hope came with it refusing to allow Lizzie to touch it saying last time Hope lost a whole fist of hairs and fear that Lizzie might kill them if she touched it.
Josie just took pictures of her and wished her to have fun.
"Where are you going?" Jeremy asked them as he peeked through the ajar door making the girls jump at his presence.
"Oh, they're going out." Caroline said behind Jeremy and gave a meaningful nod to Nansia.
"Then why aren't they ready and she didn't ask me for permission, she's still grounded." Jeremy said to Carline confused.
"I was about to ask you." Nansia said hesitantly.
"And if I said no? What would you do to the outfit?" Jeremy asked her rhetorically.
"I would take a bunch of photos for Instagram and then get rid of it." Nansia said shrugging and Jeremy sighed.
"Can I go?" Nansia asked hopeful and she smiled sweetly.
"Yes, you can…be careful!" Jeremy said sighing and left shaking his head.
Caroline smiled at her and then walked inside the room.
"If he tries anything on you, knee him and sucker punch him but I have a feeling you already know how to do those things." Caroline said smiling as she winked before she shut the door.
"YOU TOLD HER?" Lizzie exclaimed in overdramatized disgust and betrayal.
"Yes, she heard us at the door yesterday." Nansia admitted in defeat.
"She's trying to swerve her way into my life by learning about yours, don't let her!" Lizzie said angrily Nansia rolled her eyes as she took her phone out and typed
"Don't worry. I will keep her at arm's length! I will never betray your trust." Nansia typed and showed it to her and Lizzie smiled when Nansia pointed to the door and then her ears.
Lizzie hugged her and whispered a thank you before she smiled and told her to get off her ass and get to meet Ryan.
Ryan texted her and told her that he was waiting at the park. Nansia met him there and they went ice skating.
In the ice skating ring, Christmas music was blurring and it was such a nice and festive atmosphere.
Ryan seemed to be an expert at ice skating while Nansia transformed into a gripping monkey at the sidebar surrounding the ring and caused Ryan to hysterically laugh at her as she glared at him and for him to show off.
"NICE TRIPPLE TOLUP, RYAN!" She exclaimed sarcastically as she did a thumbs up and Ryan smiled with pride but his eyes held surprise as he skated up to her and kissed her passionately having his hand gently gripping her waist and bringing her closer to him. Then he just wrapped his arms around her and held her
"So, you don't know how to ice skate…" Ryan said chuckling as he held her in his arms and swayed a little to the music from the megaphones.
"Or do anything on rollers or blades…I can ride a bike though…" Nansia said laughing as she looked into his eyes and she got butterflies in her stomach.
"Sorry! Want to go do something else? But how did you know what I did a few minutes ago?" Ryan asked her with a guilty smile but then his smile turned confused.
"A rare peaceful thing my mum and I did was watching figure skating and most times I would watch this I was sick and I was staying at home." Nansia said to Ryan who frown at her but Nansia's smiled and he copied at her smiled and peck her on the lips.
"I'm sorry about your mum. Want to get out of here?" Ryan asked softly as he kept holding her and they realized that they had reached a few steps away from the sidebar. They chuckled seeing their progress and instantly Ryan took them back to the sidebar.
"I would like that, want to just go to that Christmas festival that is happening couple blocks that way?" Nansia suggested as she pointed the way and Ryan nodded as he helped off the ring.
They walked holding hands to the festival and walked around exchanging stories of weird holidays they had experienced.
"You are being serious? So, the fireman came an hour later?! What if the church had burned down?" Ryan exclaimed in horror and disbelief and Nansia laughed at his reaction while shrugging.
"The neighborhood pitched in and helped put out the fire though, I've never seen my neighborhood helping one another, they were constantly criticizing or keeping to themselves." Nansia said as they walked and Ryan held her in his arms.
It was nice and comfortable and they walked around for a bit and then decided to go for some food they end up sitting at a food truck and they ate as they played, guess what's on my plate, game where they would guess what each of them ordered and if they liked it.
She had an amazing time and it was the first time she ever felt at peace being beside a male and knew she would have to be ready to pull her Swiss knife out or punch and kick and run away. She had things to talk about with Ryan and they had a conversation and she wasn't trying her hardest to find equally knowledgeable topics to talk about or find the right Greek/English words to express herself in. It felt natural and relaxing. He knew her dark side and she knew his, they accepted each other and yes they were so many things to learn from and for one another but they got time.
She returned home after Ryan stayed with her on the bus until her stop came, kissed her goodbye and he then continued with the bus to his stop which was a block away from the hotel. Both of them had fun. When she returned home Hope, Lizzie and Josie waited for her in the twins' room and once she changed she went to them.
And she filled them in on how it went. After that, all of them headed to bed.
How did you like this one? Were you surprised by how things turned out to be?
I can't wait to listen to your thoughts in the comments!