screw endgame

Ethan and I have hardly talked recently. Ever since he broke his arm, he's been keeping his distance. It hurts, he was so nice to me. I want to ask what happened, but it's hard when I can't even find him.

He's going through a lot to avoid me.

I still haven't stopped thinking about Hope. Where she is, how she's doing. If she misses me as much as I miss her. It's hard, and I'm not sure what do do about it anymore.

I've also had more random combustion's of flames. I've had to replace the comforter in my bedroom, as I burned it in my sleep. I know I should tell Mr. Saltzman, but there's already enough going on, me burning a blanket doesn't need to be on that list. For example; the decade dance is tonight, and Landon is making sure I'm attending. Date or no date. So, of course, I had to pick something out for later that night.

However, just as I step into the tan car, my phone rings. "Hello, goblin." I answer.

"Rude." MG pouts. The vampire didn't remember me, meaning he didn't quite remember killing me. I'm sure he still feels bad, but I made sure to try and keep it out of mind. "Listen- STOP IT!"

I frown. "Who are you yelling at?" I ask him.

"Where are you?"

"My schools parking lot." I reply.

MG lets out an annoyed grunt. "Listen, I have a problem with a ghost vampire. Come help?" Suddenly, the sound of something being smacked fills the phone. "OW!" He screams.

I giggle, leaning back. "Yeah, I'll come help."

"GREAT, THANK YOU-" He grunts. "ALRIGHT, GET OVER HERE!"

The line goes dead and I can't help but laugh at MG's struggle. I begin to wander what he means by ghost vampire. Shrugging, I start the engine of the car before driving out of the parking lot.

♞

Walking into the Salvatore School, I'm surprised to see everyone decorating. "What's going on?"' I ask a student as they walk buy.

"Decade dance." He says. I nod, walking farther inside

Landon and Raf are smirking as they talk, when Rafael turns his head to look at me. "Hey, Lena!" He chimes, the two walking over. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm meeting up with MG, he needs help with something." I explain. "You never told me about the dance being held here." I say as we begin to walk.

"Yeah, I've been really busy with the whole, trying not to get eaten thing." I giggle, nodding slowly. "But, we have a band coming to perform some old eighties music, plus some new stuff." Landon explains. "You're coming, of course."

I look over at him. "I guess so," I say in a bored tone. "I gotta go, catch you later?"

"Definitely." Raf says. I smile at the two, before walking away.

After lots of walking and searching, I find MG's room. I knock on the door. "MG? You in there?"

The door cracks open, and MG nervously pokes his face out. "Lena, hey," He scoots over slightly, giving me room to walk in.

"What the hell is going on?" I ask.

Kaleb groans. "It's a long story." He grumbles. Frowning, I turn to MG for an explanation.

MG sighs. "Basically, Lizzie was talking about this new guy she met, Sebastian. I didn't think anything of it at first, but then I realized she was the only one who could see him." I raise my eyes in shock. Lizzie had problems, but I didn't think she had those problems. "I thought she was going crazy, until I started seeing him too!"

"So, he's a ghost?"

"And a vampire. He's been desiccated for years, and when Kaleb and I had to move the blood fountain in the basement, we must have spilled blood and somehow he got some of the blood."

I raise my eyebrows. "A blood fountain?"

"Another long story." Kaleb mumbles.

Nodding, "Okay, so now what?" I ask the two vampires.

"We have to find his body."

♞ IN THE LABYRINTH♞

Hope and Lizzie, stuck in a Labyrinth, walk through the forest. "The school's up this way." Hope Mikaelson says.

And Lizzie, who got her memory back of Lena and Hope, stands next to the tribrid, "If only there were something to talk about on the way." The blond hums "Some burning question. Some mysterious choice that demanded an explanation."

Hope rolls her eyes. "Okay, fine. I was gonna tell everyone that I was back. But then I saw Lena and Landon. And how happy she was." She explains. "I had caused so much pain between the two of them. It just seemed like you all were better off without me."

Lizzie stops in her tracks. "What is wrong with you? Do you really have that much of a martyr complex that you couldn't just oh, I don't know ask one of us how we were doing?" She snaps.

"Look, I know that it seems kind of-

"Dumb? Selfish? Controlling?" Lizzie lists.

Hope sends her a look. "Painful."

"No one's been better off without you. Landon and Josie are just filling a void left by you, Lena, and Penelope. My dad is lonely. Raf's a mess again, and apparently I'm hallucinating boyfriends." Lizzie rambles. "If my broken mind can remember you, then maybe that spell Josie did could bring everyone's memories back." She says. "And now that I remember Lena, I clearly know shes absolutely heartbroken over the fact you abandoned her, again!" Hope looks down, feeling guilty. "Lenas not going to keep forgiving you Hope."

"I know." Hope whispers. She loves Lena, but she also knew how horribly she hurt the girl. She missed Lena. She missed the girls smile, the warm kisses, the hugs. Hope missed Lenas contagious laugh. Uncomfortable, she changes the topic. "You hallucinated a boyfriend?"

Before Lizzie can answer, the two of them are shot with darts. "Tell you in a second." She groans before collapsing.

♞

MG and Kaleb lift the lid of the casket off, revealing the desiccated vampire. "Oh, he's attractive." I whisper, leaning down to look at him closer.

"Yeah, he's real, all right but damn. Dude smells worse than that blood fountain." Kaleb mumbles.

MG shifts his head. "Shut up. Your face look like beef jerky." Snaps the boy.

I look up excitedly. "Oh, is he here? Tell him to talk to me." I smile.

MG listens to the vampire closely. "Um, he says that you have to be on, like, the same spiritual wavelength."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, no. I know how this works. Give him a drop of my blood."

MG's eyes are wide. "What? No!"

"Not enough to do anything, just enough so I can talk to the pretty boy." I turn, looking around the dirt floor. Shattered glass lays on the ground, and I pick it up. Pricking my finger, I let a droplet of blood come to surface. Slowly, I move back to the vampires body, letting it fall onto his tongue.

I smirk, feeling accomplished with myself. "Might I say, you are stunning." Turning around, I see a much more lively version of the vampire. "I'm Sebastian,"

"Madeline." He walks over to me, staring me down.

"Listen, Madeline, the blood those two turnips gave me was simply not enough, if you provide me more of your fresh blood, I will be restored." He explains. His bright blue eyes catch me off guard. I can't help but feel my heart swoon at the idea of dragging this vampire into my hotel room.

Or maybe, to make myself feel better, on Hopes bed.

"No way we're doing that." MG says, cutting my thoughts off.

"Doing what?" Kaleb asks.

Sebastian looks away from me. "Not even if I can give you what you want? Hmm? Elizabeth Saltzman all to yourself. Without my competition." I frown, confused.

"Come on, MG, what's he saying?"

MG holds up his hand. "Hold on. He's just getting to the good part."

"Set me free, Milton, and I give you my word, I will leave this town at once."

I frown, confused. "He wants us to wake him up."

♞ AUTHORS NOTE ♞

this is the second to last chapter, and then alive is over *insert crying here*

i am giving y'all a good ending, but there are still some unanswered questions i wish i could've gotten to before i ended the book. alas, i am accepting the stories ending and i'm still very proud of how far it's come since january.

the next chapters a long one, and i hope you enjoy it:))