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┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚➶ ｡˚ ☁︎
┊ ┊ ┊ ☁︎
┊ ┊ ☪︎.
┊ ✱
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❝THIS SEMESTER WILL BE DIFFERENT❞

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The morning was rather warm, as expected for a late summer day. Olivia currently walked with Lexi, along one of the roads exiting Mystic Falls."Vervain is in the town's water supply, so we need to grab someone before they enter Mystic Falls." Lexi explained, as Olivia nodded.

Lexi laid herself down on the road, as Olivia crouched down beside her. "What happens if someone doesn't stop and hit us?" Liv suggested as Lexi shrugged, "We'll heal. And they better run because I'll be after their ass." The Salvatore responded, causing Olivia to laugh slightly.

As expected, a car began approaching the pair and Lexi did her best to look dead, while Olivia kept her eyes on the brunette. She wasn't the best actress, but she knew she had to act as though Lexi was in trouble.

The car halted, and a man got out of the driver seat. "Is everything okay here?" He asked confusedly, to them blocking the road. Liv looked up, as she wore a distressed expression. "My friend just got hit by a car!" She blurted out, trying to sound panicked. "She's... she's not breathing and I don't know what to do!" The Auclair added as Lexi was trying her absolute hardest not to giggle.

The man quickly approached the pair as Olivia looked at him, deciding to test whether or not he could be compelled. Looking into his eyes, her pupils began to dilate, "Can you help me?" She asked.

The man seemed frozen for a moment, before he nodded. "Yes of course." He answered as Liv's expression looked relieved. Today was the day she was finally going to learn how to feed off of people and make them forget.

She hoped it wasn't something she'd ever have to do, but the tribrid knew if she had no choice but to feed off of a person, she wanted to learn control. Olivia was the first vampire of her entire bloodline, and she had no idea what an Auclair vampire would be like.

"Perfect." Lexi sat up, causing the stranger to jolt in shock. "We— wEREN'T YOU UNCONSCIOUS?" The stranger panicked as Lexi gave him an amused grin before she answered, "No."

As the man seemed freaked out, Liv placed her hands on his shoulders which forced him to confusedly look at her. "I need you to remain calm and stay quiet. I promise this won't hurt for long." Olivia compelled, though she instantly felt bad that she was about to feed off of a stranger without consent.

The man stayed quiet, and Olivia elongated her fangs before she fed from his neck. Lexi watched, as she tried to gage Liv's movements, hoping silently that she wouldn't be a ripper.

After a short moment Lexi looked at the Auclair. "Okay, that's enough." She ordered as Liv pulled away, her vampire eyes showing. The tribrid closed her eyes and tried to breathe deeply, taking her mind elsewhere so that her vampire eyes would disappear.

When they did, she opened them and made eye contact with Lexi, who looked relieved that she didn't seem to be a ripper. Olivia then looked back to the stranger and continued to compel him, "You won't remember this ever happening. You're going to get back into your car and go on about your day... and have a good day too—"

Lexi tried to stifle a giggle as Olivia took a step back. The man got back onto his feet and turned around to walk back to his car. "Let's go." Lexi decided before the pair used their vampire speed to move themselves out of the stranger's sight.

Once he drove away, Lexi looked to Olivia. "You did it!" She realised before she smiled, "I'm proud of you." She added, as Liv was taken off guard for a moment. "Really?" Olivia asked as Lexi nodded. "You didn't seem to have it easy as a hybrid... but you're managing your vampire skills quite well." The Salvatore admitted.

"Why don't we get coffee before school." Lexi then suggested, as Olivia realised that she really needed caffeine. "That's a great idea." The ravenette smiled.

Moments later the pair were in the town square, approaching Mainline coffee. Lexi paused when she saw Stella, Nina, Finch and Maya inside, before she smiled.

The duo entered the coffee shop, as Stella was looking through the menu. "How about an iced latte?" She asked Nina, as the brunette frowned. "Too overpriced." She replied. "What about a milkshake?" Stella suggested as Nina shook her head, "Too heavy." Finch suddenly suggested, "How about a frappuccino?" to which Nina replied, "Too sugary."

"Why are you being so picky?" Maya then asked her sister, as Nina turned to her. "Well, for one I'm limited on money. And two, if I want to be head cheerleader I have to stay in shape. I don't play as much sport as Clara so I have to be more careful." The brunette decided.

"I think you're being too harsh on yourself. Plus, you're more likeable than Clara so you'll definitely be the next head cheerleader." Maya reassured her sister.

Finch then noticed Lexi and Liv enter the store, and her eyes lit up. "Hey Liv, hey Lexi." She greeted, as Nina, Maya and Stella all turned to face the pair before saying hello also.

Finch hadn't really seen the girls much since the accident, other than at Laura's funeral... as the Tarrayo had been quite occupied with helping Maya through everything. The Machado had about a million questions regarding the supernatural, and she'd used this sudden fixation as a way to get her mind off of Laura.

The Tarrayo was completely relieved to see that Liv was okay, though she hadn't really picked up on the fact that the Auclair was now undead.

"Hey guys." Liv offered them a smile before Lexi spoke, "Hey it's nice to see you guys. Grabbing coffee before class?" The Salvatore asked as Finch nodded, "If Neens ever makes a decision." She said as Nina looked bashful.

"Okay maybe I'll just get a skinny latte." Nina decided, although she did prefer cold coffee, an iced latte was so much more expensive than a hot one despite being easier to make.

The six girls ordered their individual coffee orders before they moved to wait for them. "I didn't realise you guys were talking again." Lexi confessed, as her eyes moved to Finch and Maya. The pair looked at eachother before Finch said, "Yeah, we're just friends now." She explained as Maya nodded before she smiled at Finch, "It's nice to have my best friend back." She added.

"Are you guys going to the party tonight?" Nina then asked as Liv and Lexi shared a look of surprise upon not hearing about a party, before they turned back to Nina. "I didn't know there was a party." Lexi admitted as Stella piped up, "It's kind of a back to school thing. A party at the falls." The Lewis spoke.

"That sounds fun." Lexi replied before she looked to Olivia. "Would you wanna come?" She asked as the tribrid thought about it. She didn't really have fond memories of parties, since the last time she went to a party she was drugged by her bully.

"Um... yeah, I'll come. I don't think I'll drink though." The tribrid reluctantly decided, worried she would sound lame. "That's okay, I won't be drinking either." Nina replied, and although she didn't say it, Stella knew it was the Machado being mindful (or perhaps paranoid) about what she eats or drinks. "Can we invite others from the Salvatore school?" Lexi asked as Finch shrugged, "I don't see why that would be a problem." She confessed.

The group received their drinks at last. As they were about to leave, Stella looked to Lexi, "Goodluck on your first day Lex!" She said as Finch smiled, "Yeah, I'm sure you'll love it there." Lexi glanced at Liv who wore a small smile before she replied, "Thanks. I think I will."

With that, the group began to disperse as Lexi and Olivia headed towards the Salvatore school while Maya, Finch, Nina and Stella walked towards Mystic Falls high.

Stella, who was holding hands with Nina, made eye contact with Finch and silently motioned for her and Maya to walk further ahead so that she could talk privately to her girlfriend. The Tarrayo gave her sister a nod before she started to lead Maya away from the pair.

Now alone, Stella looked to Nina. "Babe, I'm worried about you." She said as Nina frowned, "Why?" She asked. "Because you're being really strict on what you consume and I'm worried you're going to make yourself sick." The blonde confessed.

"All summer you cut down your eating when you were already very healthy to begin with." Stella added before she frowned, "Taking you to emergency when you passed out was one of the scariest experiences of my life." The Lewis added as Nina's face fell, as she felt guilty.

"You don't need to be worried, I'm being kinder to myself now." Nina began, "I think that trip to emergency taught me to not be so strict." She added. "But... my dreams feel so out of reach, Elle. Clara is the head cheerleader and gymnastics coach and those roles are everything I've dreamed of... and I know she worked a lot harder than me to get there."

"You will get there, I know it." Stella said, as she gave Nina's hand a gentle squeeze. "But I won't if I don't make progress. I'm not perfect like Clara she... she does everything right and I need to work harder."

Stella's face fell, "Nina... you're the most perfect person I've ever met." She spoke, as Nina seemed slightly surprised. "Seriously, you are. You're so kind to everyone, even your biggest rival. You're one of the smartest people in our year level. You have all of this pressure yet you're so happy? Also you're the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on." Stella continued as Nina giggled a little before she looked to the Lewis with a loving expression.

"Thank you, Stell. You always know what to say." Nina admitted as Stella assured her, "I'm just speaking the truth." Nina smiled before she placed her forehead against Stella's gently. "I love you." The Machado insisted as Stella smiled back at her girlfriend, "I love you too."

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Tori approached a dark vehicle with tinted windows, expecting that it was the vehicle Faith had organised to drive them to Miami.

The O'Connell-Mikealson opened the back door, seeing her older half sister inside, sipping on a blood bag. The blonde then noticed a small cooler on the floor, which she assumed were filled with blood bags.

"Now I understand the tinted windows." Tori confessed, as she climbed inside the backseat and closed the door. "I figured it's going to be a long drive, so we need some food." Faith spoke nonchalantly, as she opened the cooler and grabbed a chilled blood bag before she handed it to Victoria. "Thanks." Tori awkwardly answered.

The front driver door opened and Ezra slid into it, before he turned to face Faith and Victoria. "So, Miami?" He asked as Faith nodded. "Just head to Miami beach. I'm sure she is there." The Mikealson replied.

Faith then glanced at the Zhang's neck, noticing that he was wearing the necklace she had made for him. She offered a faux smile before she turned to face Tori, "You must have questions." She pointed out.

Ezra turned back to the front of the car and began to put the location into the maps on the screen. He then started the car and began to drive, leaving the hotel well and truly behind them.

"Yeah. Just a few." Tori answered, sounding way blunter than she had expected. "But first of all, I need my phone. I need to tell my girlfriend and my friends that I'm okay." The blonde ordered as Faith offered a faux smile, "I will return your phone after this car ride. This is important so it's ideal that we talk without disruption." The tribrid insisted.

"Fine. Then i'll bite. You told me the mission is to unlock our werewolf sides, yet you have been hiding what it entails and what this Salem has to do with it." Tori admitted. "Well, you see... the process of unlocking our werewolf sides will probably turn your friends against you." Faith admitted bluntly as Tori furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance.

"Why would it turn my loved ones against me?" She asked, not understanding. "Because the process may seem unethical, but in the end everyone involved will be fine." Faith replied as Tori seemed to be growing frustrated as Faith was super cryptic.

"When are you going to make sense?" Victoria asked before Faith turned to the front to speak to Ezra, "I thought you said Victoria was sweet and kind.. so far she's impatient and frustrating." She confessed as Tori frowned at Faith. "Well Faith, you have been very cryptic. I think Tori deserves to be annoyed." Ezra admitted, though he kept his eyes on the road.

"Fine. Well, Salem is a good ally to have because she seems to be goal driven much like myself. Besides, I have something she will want and in return she will want to help me." Faith began to explain.

"Now onto the process of the ritual." Faith continued as Tori raised an eyebrow, "Sorry, what? A ritual?" The younger Mikealson asked.

Ezra's eyes lit up as he noticed a drive thru coffee store and unintentionally interrupted the sisters, "Shall we stop for coffee?" The vampire suggested.

"Yes, actually. You know my regular order." Faith hummed before Ezra made eye contact in the rear vision mirror with Tori, "What would you like, T?" He asked. "Um.. just a chai latte please, with honey." Victoria answered as Ezra turned into the drive thru.

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Caroline was seated at her desk, her eyes fixed on Jade. "Do you have any questions?" The blonde asked her stepdaughter, as Jade shook her head. "This all seems pretty straightforward, and what I've been doing with you already." The Salvatore answered as she held a list of placed to visit and contacts to seek out.

Jade was going to continue helping to find a Gemini merge cure for the triplets, while Caroline had to stay at the school for a while. Jade didn't mind doing it alone, as she had done this a few times with Caroline and knew what she was doing.

"What do you want me to tell Penelope?" Jade asked as Caroline seemed slightly amused, "Tell Penelope that she should be staying in school and keeping up with her school work." The older Salvatore answered.

Jade laughed a little before she nodded, "I've been trying. She keeps telling me she can do her schoolwork on the go, and that solving the merge problem is more important... she really cares about Josie, you know." Caroline nodded knowingly.

"I'll start packing and leave in a couple days. I want to spend a little more time with my siblings if that's okay." Jade admitted as Caroline offered her a smile. "That's more than okay. I appreciate your help more than you know."

Jade returned the smile, and quickly covered up the information she was given before she turned to leave the office, passing Alaric who entered.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" She asked once Jade was gone, as Alaric nodded. "Yes, I mean you already have somebody to take my place while I'm gone. It will only be temporary." Alaric said as Caroline nodded.

"Just making sure... because once Vardemus gets here later today, it will be too late to change your mind." The Salvatore reminded Alaric. With Mystic Falls high having no headmaster, Alaric had been asked to fill in while they tried to find a permanent replacement. This meant Caroline would fill his role temporarily with an older man named Professor Vardemus.

This also meant Caroline would be stuck at the school for longer than expected, and would be unable to keep searching for a cure for the Gemini merge, so she was having Jade take over temporarily. The Salvatore had been working quietly on a plan to give the young vampire.

"I have to head in early today, will you be able to make an assembly regarding Vardemus covering me?" Alaric asked as Caroline was back to writing her plan for Jade. "I'm already one step ahead of you, Ric. I have it all planned out." The blonde spoke.

"Okay, well I'll see you later then." Alaric decided, as he offered the Salvatore a smile. Of course, he'd be still residing at the Salvatore school, but most of his time would be taken up by his temporary role at Mystic Falls high. "See you." Caroline responded, as Alaric left.

The Salvatore placed her pen down, deciding to take a break from her planning and go to check on Niko. The blonde closed the office doors behind her and started to walk down the corridor.

Caroline noticed Corentin, Dante and Veronica in the hallway, as Corentin was currently using his magic to float a pile of books in the air. Dante seemed amazed, as he was always amazed by magic... and he was always amazed by Corentin.

Veronica just looked at Corentin with a smirk, "Alex, I just know you've been waiting to do magic in an open space." She teased as Corentin placed the books down gently, in a neat pile. "Yeah, because we've always had to be so careful using magic in New Orleans." The Claire confessed.

It was strange. New Orleans had abolished their rule of witches being unable to use magic in the city, many years ago after the completion of the Harvest Ritual which killed Corentin's cousin Davina (fortunately it was temporary)... yet witches tended to be careful when they used magic.

Perhaps it was because a lot of humans weren't aware of the supernatural (although honestly a lot of humans in New Orleans were aware, but there were still many that were clueless)

Caroline smiled at the trio before she continued on to Niko and Charlie's dorm. She knocked on the door, and was surprised when she didn't receive an answer. She knocked two more times before deciding to open the door but to her surprise the dorm room was empty.

The Salvatore wore a look of confusion and surprise, although what she wasn't aware of is that Niko was in the gymnasium, training with Glen, Charlie and Landon. Glen was running the training session, and was stricter than the trio had expected.

Niko glanced at Charlie and Landon, feeling a little relieved to notice that he wasn't the only one struggling to keep up with Glen.

"Okay, water break. You've got thirty seconds." Glen declared as the trio got to their feet after doing fifty pushups, and rushed to their water bottles which sat nearby.

"Damn, I didn't expect this to be so intense." Landon confessed, as he looked to Glen. "Nobody gets special treatment in the gym, not you as my best friend and not Charlie as my boyfriend." Glen declared as Landon tried to stifle a laugh before he said, "You've given Charlie special treatment in the gym before."

Charlie choked on his water, as Niko patted him on the back although the psychic was trying not to laugh. Glen's cheeks heated up before he slightly tilted his head at the Kirby, "Looks like you'll be doing fifty more pushups, Lan."

"God fucking damn it." Landon groaned, although he was trying not to laugh as he got back down onto the ground and started to do fifty pushups.

Valerie, Jed, Casper, Wylan and Ezekiel then entered the gym, as Jed's eyes instantly landed on Landon as he seemed impressed by his work. "Maybe I should have you run the wolves gym sessions from now on." He said.

Valerie eyed their boyfriend, "I think you mean I will have Glen do that." They teased, as Jed's shoulders slumped slightly as a reminder that he was no longer the alpha. Though that being said, Valerie did include their partner in a lot of decisions regarding the pack.

Ezekiel felt a little out of place as he entered the gym, but he was grateful Valerie invited him to workout out with them.

The Mikaelson-Lockwood glanced over at the group, his eyes passing Glen, Charlie and Landon as they eventually landed on Niko. He hadn't seen much of the Shiratori, as he'd kept to himself on the camping trip.

Zeke's eyes trailed Niko up and down, as he found the boy to be attractive. He then locked eyes with the raven haired boy and blushed, quickly averting his eyes away from him. Niko chuckled to themself, though he realised that the boy who had been checking him out was kinda cute.

"Do you... mind if we join in?" Casper asked nervously, as he stood beside Wylan. Glen shook his head, "Not at all." He responded.

"Now that we have a crowd. We're gonna take turns hitting the boxing bag next. Fortunately Caroline bought more than one this time." Glen admitted with relief, since the boxing bags tended to break when being punched by an overwhelmed supernatural creature.

Casper's eyes lit up as his eyes were fixed on the boxing bags. Boxing was his all time favourite sport. The curly haired blonde then turned to Wylan, who also looked excited as the untriggered wolf also enjoyed to box, though he wasn't quite as passionate as Casper was.

The shyer Olmo hoped one day to compete in boxing championships, while the louder of the twins found basketball to be his passion.

Glen then looked to Charlie, offering him a grin. "Do you want to start us off?" He suggested as Charlie seemed surprised. "Me?? No definitely not." He responded shyly as Glen couldn't help but to find it adorable when he got flustered.

"You've been doing so well in our other training sessions." Glen offered an encouraging smile which Charlie couldn't say no to. "Fine." He decided, feeling a little more confident.

"Niko, you take the other bag." Glen suggested as the Shiratori nodded before they approached one of the punching bags. The Salvatore approached one of the punching bags and the roommates began to punch it at a decent pace while Glen timed them. Ezekiel watched Niko box, as he seemed impressed. Picking up on the Mikealson-Lockwood's thoughts, Niko tried to hide his smile.

Meanwhile, a pair of witches were perhaps working out in a different manner. Aphrodite and Lizzie were on Aphie's bed, seeming to be in a heated makeout session as Lizzie ran her hands through Aphrodite's red hair.

Aphrodite pulled away and began to plant kisses on Lizzie's neck, as the girlfriends tried their best to ignore Lizzie's phone which was getting a heap of messages.

The blonde sighed and eventually reached for it, as she looked through her messages and seemingly typed a response. Aphrodite pulled away and frowned, "Am I seriously getting cunt-blocked in the 21st century?" The De Martel asked.

Lizzie snorted in amusement before she looked up at her girlfriend. "Sorry babe, it's Josie. She's wondering why I didn't stay in our room last night and if I'm gonna be on time for class."

Aphrodite reached out and began to play with Lizzie's hair as she continued to type away on her phone. "Is it such a crime that you wanted to spend the night in your girlfriend's dorm?" She asked innocently.

"No, but it will be when I tell her that I'm changing dorm rooms." Lizzie admitted uncomfortably as Aphrodite tilted her head. "Wait, really?" She asked.

Lizzie nodded, "Mum suggested that Lexi and I share a dorm. And I actually want to? Lexi and I really get along well. But I do love Josie, and I don't want to make her upset but we've shared a dorm room our whole lives.." The Saltzman rambled on.

"Oh man I've totally killed the mood." Lizzie realised as Aphie shook her head, "In all honesty Josie killed the mood with her persistent messaging. I think you should move in with Lexi, maybe a break from rooming with Josie will help to fix the relationship between you guys." The De Martel suggested.

Granted, Lizzie and Josie were getting along a lot better than they had been in months, but their relationship was nothing like it used to be. Now it felt like they were stepping on eachother's toes.

"Josie won't see it like that." Lizzie sighed. "She won't, but give her time. I'm sure she'll like whoever her next roommate is." Aphrodite offered a smile. "Mum was thinking of rooming Jo with Veronica."

Lizzie placed her phone back on Aphrodite's nightstand, as she felt bad for ruining the mood... though she quickly had an idea. "Why don't we... finish what we started, in the shower."

Aphrodite's expression turned into a grin, "I love your mind." She said before the pair locked lips again, as Lizzie threw her arms around Aphie's neck. Aphrodite then placed her own arms around Lizzie as she lifted the girl up before vampire speeding them towards her bathroom.

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Myrical sat in the kitchen, drawing in her sketchbook and listening to music with her earphones in. Suddenly, a mug was placed in front of the hybrid, catching her attention.

The ravenette removed one of her earphones and looked up, surprised to see Cleo. "Hey." Myrical greeted, taking the mug of peppermint tea that Cleo had made her, while Cleo offered her a smile, "Morning. What are you drawing?" The Sowande asked curiously.

Myrical blushed, as Cleo looked at the sketch she was drawing. The Benning stuttered a couple syllables out before she slammed her sketchbook shut, feeling as though her art was far too personal to share.

"Just some... stuff." Myrical managed to answer, before she realised she was sort of pushing her new friend away. The werewitch paused, thinking about it... ever since Liv turned into a tribrid, she had been spending time with other people meanwhile Myrical had been hanging out with the werewolves more. Of course they were still best friends, but Riri figured she should probably make other friends too.

"I'm trying to draw a design... because I want to get a tattoo." Myrical confessed. "I was thinking of showing my designs to Aphrodite because she loves to design tattoos... she is hoping to become a tattoo apprentice and I'm hoping she'll be interested in stabbing some art onto me." The hybrid began to ramble awkwardly.

"That is cool... may I see the design?" Cleo asked, moving to sit into the chair beside the Benning. "Uh... Do you mind if I show you the design when it's complete? I don't really like showing anybody my incomplete work." Myrical admitted as Cleo shrugged, "Sure."

"Have you been drawing for very long?" Cleo asked curiously. "I've always drawn... since I could a pencil to paper. But I haven't always been consistent... actually I found only over the past week or so that I've felt very inspired."

Cleo tried to bite back a smile, knowing it may have been her doing since she had powers to inspire. "Do you make art?" Myrical asked as Cleo nodded, "Yes I do. I love to sculpture."

"Oh wow... that's so cool." Myrical admitted as Cleo smiled, "I'm really looking forward to using the art room to sculpture. Is it open to students outside of class?" She asked. "It should be." Myrical replied.

"I mean... I also took art as an elective this semester but—" Cleo was cut off by an excited Myrical. "Wait really?! Me too!" The hybrid said before her face fell, "Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt. I just... get so anxious about not knowing anybody in my classes." The Benning confessed.

"Well you don't have to worry. You'll have me to keep you company." Cleo teased as Myrical blushed, before she reached for the mug to take of her drink.

"Oh, thank you for the tea by the way." Riri said once she placed the mug down. "It is not a problem, I had to guess what you would have liked." Cleo admitted as Myrical smiled, "Well you'll be happy to know I do like peppermint tea. Actually, I think I like all teas."

Cleo smiled back at the girl, before she reached for her mug to take a sip of her own tea.

━━━━━ ⋆⋅♥︎⋅⋆ ━━━━━

Veronica's expression turned into a bright smile as she met up with Bellamy in the hallway. "Morning!" She greeted as the werewitch offered her a small smile. "Good morning, Ronnie." Bellamy greeted as Veronica realised that Ezekiel was no where to be seen.

"Where is Zeke?" Veronica asked as Bellamy linked her arm through the Mikealson-Malraux's as they walked. "I may have spoken to Valerie and asked that they try to include Zeke in the pack. He wanted so desperately to meet them but he was too nervous to approach them... so I guess I made things happen."

Veronica smiled, "That's really kind of you." The heretic admitted as Bellamy brushed off her compliment. "I just want him to enjoy his time here. It was him who wanted to move here... I was happy to stay in New Orleans with my Mum." Bellamy admitted.

"Well for the record Bell, I'm glad you're here with me." Veronica spoke sweetly as Bellamy offered her cousin a small smile in response.

They walked down the corridor, just as Glen, Charlie, Landon, Niko, Ezekiel, Valerie, Jed, Casper and Wylan all exited the gymnasium and started to disperse after their training session.

Conveniently as Glen was passing by with Landon and Valerie, a wheelchair suddenly zoomed into the school entrance, carrying a girl with black choppy hair that she'd clearly cut herself (though it didn't look terrible). The wheelchair was completely bedazzled with gemstones.

"Gia?" Glen blurted out, as the smaller ravenette wore a bright smile. "Glen!" They chirped, wheeling their chair through the entrance at a speed so impeccable that Val and Landon took a step back. They stopped in front of Glen and wrapped their arms around him. "It's so good to see you!" Gianna assured him, through her thick Italian accent.

"Gianna, what are you doing here? I thought you were travelling?" Glen admitted, still processing the surprise that Gia was here. "Glen, who is this?" Landon asked curiously as Gianna let go of Glen and turned to Valerie and Landon.

"This is Gianna, Glen's very awesome cousin." Valerie said, offering a smile. Gianna couldn't help but to get excited that her cousin's best friend remembered her as she moved her chair forward to hug the Harlowe. Valerie hugged them back.

"Just call me Gia though. What's your name, cutiepie?" Gia faced Landon after pulling away from Valerie. The younger Forde looked Landon up and down, causing him to blush. "Uh, I'm Landon." Landon confessed, seeming surprised by the nickname. Valerie couldn't help but to snicker, finding flustered Landon to be hilarious.

"And to answer your question my dear cousin, I wanted to come visit. School on the go wasn't really working for me because I was too busy partying during my travels. I was not going to do my schoolwork hungover... but you see the hangovers weren't really ending so... now I'm here." Gia spoke rather quickly, as Landon and Valerie found it hard to keep up with her accent.

"Drinking?? Did you not get checked for ID?" Landon asked with shock as Gia shrugged, "In Europe they don't really care for ID. In Italy I started going out and partying at the ripe age of 13." They explained as Landon seemed a little disturbed while Valerie thought it was very cool.

"We'll leave you guys to catch up." Valerie decided, "It's nice to see you Gia." They said before they started to walk away with Landon. "Bye Val! Bye cutie!" Gia called out to Valerie and a flustered Landon as they left, before she turned back to Glen. "So where do I enrol?"

"Oh, you're actually going to stay here and go to school?" Glen asked, with surprise. Gia nodded as though it was obvious, "My Mum said she's gonna kick my ass if I keep failing my classes so I promised I'd do better and I think the only way that's gonna be achievable is if I stop and actually go to school. My moving from hostel to hostel will resume with time." Gianna shrugged.

Glen thought about his Aunt Mariella angry and felt a shiver go down his spine. You did not want to cross an angry Italian woman, that was for sure.

"Anyway, where's Tori? I've been working on my cheesy pickup lines since I last saw you guys and I just know she's gonna love them." Gianna said with a bright smile which caused Glen to let out a humourless chuckle, "She didn't actually find them funny, she gave you laughs of pity." The older Forde teased. "And besides, Tori and I—"

"Aren't together. She's with me." A stern voice spoke, belonging to Clary. Gia turned around to see Clary standing there, her arms crossed. Gianna looked at Glen with a shocked expression that said wtf dude, why didn't you tell me, before she turned back to Clary. "You're... Tori's girlfriend?" Gia asked, still processing as Carice scoffed before she replied, "That is what I said."

Gianna nodded, "My apologies... I'm Gia by the way, I'm Glen's cousin." The Forde introduced themself as Clary rolled her eyes before she turned to leave. "Wow. She seems friendly." Gia said sarcastically before they turned back to Glen.

"She's... stressed. Tori's been gone for several days any nobody knows where she is. I mean, that doesn't justify her being a bitch but Alaric has been really giving her a hard time over the summer." Glen admitted as Gia paused, "I can't believe you and Tori aren't together anymore... wow I was really rooting for you guys."

Glen shrugged, "I'm over it... actually, I'm seeing somebody new." He admitted as Gia seemed intrigued. "Oh! Who is she?" The younger Forde asked excitedly. "He is Charlie. If you're hanging around, you'll definitely get to meet him."

"He?? Oh wow this is so exciting Glen!! I definitely need to meet him!" Gia rambled on excitedly. "Does he make you happy?" Gianna then asked as Glen nodded, "Actually he's made me the happiest I've been in a while."

Gia couldn't help but to smile brightly, "Glen!! That's cute as fuck!!" They blurted before they realised, "Oh shit I still need to enrol. Can you show me where the reception is?" Gianna asked as Glen chuckled, "Yeah sure... do you want me to push your chair?" He asked as Gia shook her head before she started to wheel herself quickly, "Nah. I'm on xgames mode."

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"I hate uniforms." Lucas complained, as he stood facing the mirror as he tied his tie. "Uniforms hide the fact that you have no fashion sense, Lu." Beau spoke, as he exited their shared bathroom without wearing a shirt.

The Lazuli approached his bed and picked up his shirt before he pulled it on. He turned around to face the Saltzman, who gave him an unamused look. Beau couldn't help but to crack an amused smile before he laughed.

"That's not what Landon tells me." Luca mumbled under his breath as Beau shrugged, "Landon has no fashion sense either, boo." He insisted before his attention moved to the door, as somebody knocked.

Beau approached the door and opened it, his face lighting up as Sebastian stood there. "Sebby!" The Lazuli greeted as the pirate stood in his buttoned up white shirt, but held the tie in his hand.

"Good morning Beaumont, I'm hoping you may be able to help me with this." Sebastian said as he held out his tie to Beau. "Oh, yeah sure." Beau answered before he did the buttons to his own shirt.

"I'm gonna go grab a coffee, see you guys later." Luca said as he left the dorm, leaving Beau and Sebastian alone. "Bye Lucie." Beau replied, as he noticed the boy cringe slightly at the nickname. Lucas had insisted that Beau didn't call him that, after the first time Beau had done it... but it seemed to continue anyway.

Beau reached out and flicked up the collar of Sebastian's shirt, before he fed the tie around and pulled the collar back down. "So, are you liking this place?" Beau asked, hoping the boy was fitting in. "I think so... it's just a lot to get used to." Sebastian confessed as he kept his eyes on Beau while the Lazuli was focussing on his tie.

"There's this nice witch boy who has been helping me... he's quite a catch actually." Sebastian said as Beau looked up the pirate, wearing a grin. "Oh really?" He asked as Sebastian slightly chuckled.

"Yeah... I hope he and I can spend more time together." Sebastian said as Beau finished tying the tie. "That can be arranged." Beau winked at the pirate, before he quickly glanced down at Sebastian's lips.

"Can all students head to the assembly hall, thank you." Caroline's voice could be heard over the P.A. "I guess I better show you where that is." Beau suggested, grabbing the last of his things before he and Sebastian exited the dorm.

"Yes, that would be ideal. This building is an easy place to get lost in." Sebastian admitted as Beau chuckled, "You would have hated Auclair academy." He said before he linked his arm through Sebastian's, before leading him down the hall.

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Jade was about to exit her temporary dorm and head to the assembly, when Penelope called her. The Salvatore closed the door and answered the video call. "Hey Pen." Jade greeted. "Hey Jade, how is everything going?" The Park asked.

"Everything here is fine. The triplets are still clueless about the merge. I'm heading back to Europe in a couple of days, but I'm starting in Italy this time." Jade explained as Penelope nodded, "Let me know where you're flying in and I'll meet you there."

"Caroline will kill me if she realises you're missing school again." Jade pointed out. "Well, she isn't my headmistress anymore so she needs to relax. Plus, I officially changed to studying online instead of on campus so it works perfectly for all of this." Penelope responded to the blonde.

"How is Jojo?" Penelope asked as Jade smiled, "She is about to get the shock of her life. I just saw a note in Caroline's office about Lizzie and Josie changing dorms." Jade began to spill the tea, though Caroline hadn't been aware that Jade had seen the note.

"Oh, really? Could do Josie some good being away from Lizzie." Penelope retorted as Jade frowned, "Look, I'm trying to remain unbiased when it comes to my siblings, but Lizzie seems to be more of the victim here. Josie has said some awful, ablest things to her." The Salvatore responded. Penelope didn't seem to agree.

"Josie must finally be tired of being around somebody so soul-sucking." The Park pointed out. "You seem to forget that Lizzie has a mental illness and her brain works differently to most. She can't help the way she is, but she is getting therapy and trying to better herself. Josie hasn't been helping at all with some of the comments she makes, so I think it will be good if they are in different dorms for a while." Jade responded.

"Who are they rooming with?" Penelope asked. "Lizzie will room with Lexi, and Josie will room with Veronica." Jade replied as Penelope raised an eyebrow, "Veronica? Should I be jealous?" She asked. Jade seemed unsure but still said, "Veronica seems to be interested in one of the wolves."

"How is Charlie?" Penelope then asked. "He's actually really happy... probably the happiest I have seen him." Jade admitted. "Oh, really?" Penelope seemed surprised, but it made sense. The Park hadn't exactly given Charlie any reason to be happy while she was at the school.

"Yeah, he's been dating somebody and they seem to make eachother really happy." Jade said as Penelope's expression seemed to falter slightly, though she then smiled, "That's great. Who is he dating?" The Park asked. "This werewolf boy— Glen is his name!" Jade remembered.

"Glen..." Penelope frowned slightly as she remembered the Forde. "He doesn't seem like Charlie's type." The witch admitted. Truthfully, neither Charlie nor Glen had really considered one another to be eachother's type.... But yet they had been falling for eachother regardless.

"I've gotta go, Caroline called an assembly like ten minutes ago but instead of going, I have been too busy yapping to you." Jade realised, "I'll see you soon." She added. Penelope nodded, "Yeah, I should probably get some study done. I'll see you in a couple days."

With that, the call ended and Jade reentered the hallway, not expecting to bump into Lucas and Landon, as the Kirby had showered after his gym workout.

"Morning Luca, Landon." Jade greeted as the pair offered her a smile. "Hey J." Lucas smiled. Jade glanced between the boyfriend's, noticing that with Lucas' free hand, he was holding one of Landon's. "So... I've been meaning to ask, is the epic wedding story Charlie told me, true?" The Salvatore teased.

Both Lucas and Landon blushed as Luca nodded, "It sure is. Landon saved me from marrying this royal bitch." The Saltzman admitted as Landon chuckled. "Wow... that feels like so long ago." The Kirby realised.

Landon couldn't help but to feel a little surprised that Charlie of all people was sharing this information since for reasons unknown to the Kirby, Charlie had never liked him. He had noticed that the Salvatore's snarky comments and glares seemed to have stopped the day Landon and Lucas had started dating though.

The relationships of the Salvatore students had been a lot for Jade to get her head around, but she couldn't deny that secretly her favourite couple were Lizzie and Aphrodite. The Salvatore had comforted Lizzie numerous times when the Saltzman had been let down by boys, so to see her finally comfortable with her sexuality and in a relationship where she had a partner that loved her completely, made her so happy.

Caroline tested out the microphone as everyone began to pile into the assembly hall and fill up the seats. Once everyone sat down, Lexi was the first to notice the unusual man standing on the stage beside Caroline.

"Did that man just appear from the 50s or something?" Lexi asked Lizzie and Liv, who she was sitting between. Olivia tried to stifle a laugh while Lizzie agreed, "Yeah, no shit."

"Good morning everybody, and welcome to the first assembly of the year." Caroline smiled, though nobody seemed enthused. "Now, this will come as a shock to everyone, but Alaric will be covering as headmaster at Mystic Falls Highschool for the term, so Professor Vardemus will be filling his role during his absence." The Salvatore said as she motioned to the strange man.

"Hello, hello. It's a pleasure to be here." Vardemus said into the microphone as some students began to chatter amongst themselves quietly. "Classes will begin in half an hour so I'm expecting you all to be in them. Please make Professor Vardemus feel welcome." Caroline spoke into the microphone now as the short, impromptu assembly came to an end.

"Well... he can't be worse than Alaric." Lexi stated before she turned to Lizzie, "No offence Liz." Lizzie just ignored her cousin as she got to her feet. "I need to find Josie, see you guys later."

Before either Liv or Lexi could respond, Aphrodite suddenly appeared in front of them. "Lexi, can I speak with you for a moment?" Aphie asked as Lexi nodded, "Yeah, sure. I'll see you later Liv." The Salvatore said before she followed the redhead. 

Olivia got to her feet and was going to leave when Beau's voice caught her attention. "Motherfucker, you have got to be kidding me." He complained as a confused Eden and Sebastian each looked at him. "What's wrong, B?" Eden asked skeptically.

"The bitch is back." Beau grumbled, as his eyes were fixed on Alyssa, who had walked through the doors of the assembly hall. "Oh, hope I didn't miss anything too important." Alyssa grinned while Lucas grumbled, "Way to ruin the peace."

"And where have you been, orphan?" Lizzie asked, as her arm was linked through Josie's as they were about to leave the assembly hall to speak in private. "While you losers were in the woods singing kumbaya, I was travelling my way through Asia." The Chang answered.

"Hold the fuck up, why did you get a free pass to go on a vacation but I had to be forced into camping instead of trying to find my missing girlfriend?!" Clary suddenly asked, as she crossed her arms. Beau decided to have his input, "She probably played the orphan card."

"You have a girlfriend? Here I thought the only person that would ever love you was Rachel... unless it is her." Alyssa sassed as Clary glared at the Chang. "Do not talk to me about that skank." Carice growled.

Alyssa took a step towards Clary, causing Sebastian to raise an eyebrow. "Shouldn't somebody stop the situation from escalating?" The vampire asked as he went to take a step forward. Beau raised his arm to stop Sebastian from taking another step, "Ssh, I wanna see how this plays out."

"Well if you want some empathic insight... they're both angry and hateful." Eden decided to add as Beau grinned, "I wanna see Clary destroy Alyssa." He insisted.

"Did you really drive away your only friend?" Alyssa asked Clary before she scoffed, "You know I always expected my biggest competition to be Rachel or Penelope... not some Blair Waldorf wannabe."

"Clar, don't listen to her shit." Ashley said, as she moved to approach her cousin. Carice turned to Ashley, "Do not try and stop me, Ash." She spoke sternly before she turned back to Alyssa in hopes of clapping back at her, but the Chang had more to say.

"I have to say, you do have the same amount of Mummy issues as a Waldorf." The ravenette insisted, hitting a nerve with Clary. The Bailey had enough and lurched forward to attack Alyssa when Ashley tried to stop her. "Oh yeah, well at least I have a mother." Carice snarled.

"Clary— No!" Ashley tried to hold her back though Clary managed to break out of her grip and balled her fist before she went to punch Alyssa.

"Enough!" Caroline's voice rang through the assembled hall, as Clary, Alyssa and everyone else remaining in the hall turned to look at the headmistress as Vardemus still stood beside her. "Carice, Alyssa... my office, now." Caroline insisted.

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Victoria sipped on her chai latte as they continued to drive. The blonde faced Faith, with an expectant look on her face. Faith rolled her eyes as she sipped her iced cold brew before she began, "So prior to the ritual, we need an object called the moonstone."

"It's a white oval like stone, and it's supposed to be somewhere in Mystic Falls. The witch will need it for the ritual." Faith continued as Ezra sipped on his green tea, as he listened in while he drove.

"Okay... so tell me about this ritual." Tori insisted as Faith nodded, "Firstly, it needs to happen the night of a full moon. Also, we need a witch to complete the unbinding. I'm going to find the perfect one." She said as Tori pointed out, "Aren't you a witch?"

Faith nodded, "Yes, but I'd rather make someone else do the job. I have to be completely alert to make sure nothing gets in the way of completing the ritual." The tribrid decided.

"So for the ritual we need a werewolf, a vampire and a Petrova doppelgänger." Faith began as Tori asked, "What on Earth is a Petrova doppelgänger?"

"The Petrova bloodline has a history of doppelgängers." Ezra spoke up. "Every so often the universe likes to spit out a woman with exactly the same physical features of an ancient lady named Amara."

"The notable ones are Amara, the first doppelgänger. And Tatia, the doppelgänger who had the hearts of Klaus and Elijah. There's Katherine, who we can assume to be Salem's mother. And lastly Elena, a girl who lost a lot." Ezra continued, "Of course there are doppelgängers inbetween but I personally have never met them."

"So, what happens to these three individuals during this ritual?" Victoria asked as Faith shrugged, "They die." Tori's eyes widened, "What the hell— so they're sacrifices?" She blurted confusedly as she hoped Faith was joking.

"It's only temporary. I'm a tribrid, Tori. I'll be able to use my magic to bring them back to life." Faith added as Ezra seemed surprised by this. He had seen this ritual happen when Klaus had used Elena, and all of the sacrifices (except Elena) remained dead. But there was a big difference here, being that Faith was the most powerful creature to roam the Earth, she probably had the ability to bring people back from the dead.

"Faith... that's awful." Tori admitted before she asked, "Will you definitely be able to bring them back... whoever the three sacrifices will be?" Faith nodded, "I'm the most powerful creature to ever exist, are you doubting me?"

"I don't want to kill anybody, Faith." Tori spoke sternly. "I want to unlock my werewolf side so badly but nobody deserves to die." She added. "The doppelgänger, the wolf and the vampire will be brought back to life." Faith looked genuinely at her sister.

"Look, once the unbinding of our wolf sides to this curse is complete, under the full moon and with these sacrifices, we will finally unlock our full potential." Faith pointed out.

Tori took one last sip of her drink, deciding to try and put trust into her half sister... unfortunately after the childhood she had dealing with Klaus' enemies, she figured this wasn't the craziest thing ever.

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Now standing in a laboratory, Lexi looked confusedly at the device in front of her. "Aphrodite, please explain."

"So I need a small sample of your blood." Aphrodite began as she referred to an enchanted pin (yes, you heard that correctly) she held before motioning to an open vial to collect the blood. "Then once the blood is in this vial here, this machine will spit out some information about your vampire bloodline." The De Martel explained.

Lexi's eyes glanced at the blank screen which was connected to the empty vial, "What would it tell you about my vampire bloodline?" She asked curiously. "Well, it would create a family tree-like map which would go back through many generations of vampires, all the way up to the Original vampire that began it all. It also would show patterns throughout the vampire bloodline like... any rippers." The redhead explained.

"So you're doing this to... learn more about Liv's vampire bloodline?" Lexi asked as Aphrodite nodded, "If there's any patterns within the vampire bloodline, I want to be prepared." The De Martel insisted.

Lexi held out her hand, "Okay then. Stab me, doctor." The Salvatore said as she struggled to keep a straight face. Aphrodite couldn't help but to laugh before she took the pin and pricked it into Lexi's thumb.

The vampire seemed amazed as her finger bled into the vile for some time, as it didn't heal instantly. "The pin is enchanted with magic. Actually, so is this machine." Aphrodite explained as Lexi seemed impressed.

"So... now what?" The brunette asked as her finger healed once the magic wore off. "Now we wait. Sometimes it takes a few hours to conjure all the details." Aphrodite said before she pulled out a notebook and a pen.

"Oh... you're taking this very seriously." Lexi realised as Aphie opened the book, "I care about Liv, and I know she has been having a hard time adapting to being a tribrid... I want to help her as much as I can." The De Martel admitted.

"So, what can you tell me about your vampire bloodline?" Aphie asked as Lexi shrugged, "Well I was technically turned by my father Damon, since he was formerly a vampire making me born with vampire blood." Lexi began, "And I believe the Original my Dad's vampire bloodline began with was Klaus."

"Okay sweet, any rippers?" Aphrodite asked. "Only Uncle Stefan, that I'm aware of." Lexi answered. "Okay, sweet that should be all. Thank you for your help." The redhead smiled.

"No worries... I gotta start to move my stuff into Lizzie's dorm, so I'll see you later." The Salvatore spoke. "Okay, see you." Aphie responded.

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"Okay, what is it?" Josie asked, once herself and Lizzie were back in their shared dorm. Lizzie went ahead and grabbed some things she had needed for class, and put them aside in an organised pile before she turned to Josie, clearly working herself up to tell her triplet something.

"Should I be worried?" Josie asked, as she could see Lizzie was hesitant to talk. "Mum wants me to share a dorm with Lexi." Lizzie finally confessed, as Josie seemed taken back by this. "Oh... do you want to?" Josie asked, though her expression showed that she was nervous for the blonde's answer.

Lizzie nodded before she finally spoke, "Yes, Jo. I do." Her words stung Josie, and she moved her eyes away from Lizzie for a moment. "Are you ever going to be able to forgive me? Or have I ruined our relationship forever?" Josie suddenly asked, her expression showing that she was anxious and this had been on her mind for a while.

"Hey, you haven't ruined our relationship forever. I actually think perhaps changing dorms could... mend our relationship?" Lizzie rambled, as Josie nodded. "Okay." She replied.

"I guess I'll start packing my things before class." Josie decided, knowing that Caroline planned for all the new enrolments to be in their assigned dorms by the end of the day.

"Do you want some help?" Lizzie then asked as Josie made eye contact with the blonde, before she offered a weak smile. "Sure." She responded.

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Carice sat in a chair outside Caroline's office. Alyssa had been called into the office minutes earlier, which left Clary to wait alone in the corridor.

The door to the office eventually opened and Alyssa stormed out. Her eyes met Clary's and she gave her a nasty glare. Clary maintained eye contact as she lifted her hand to flip the Chang off.

The Bailey then turned towards the office, expecting her honorary Aunt to be standing in the doorway, but instead she'd seen Vardemus. Clary's face faltered, knowing she was really gonna get in trouble now.

"Miss Bailey, please step inside." Vardemus insisted as the ravenette got to her feet and entered the office. Vardemus closed the door behind them and moved around the desk to sit in Caroline and Alaric's chair.

Carice took a seat across from the fill in headmaster. The Bailey remained quiet, her eyes moving up to the headmaster. "I was hoping I'd be dealt with by Caroline." Clary pouted.

"Well, I figured that may be a conflict of interest. And I wanted to speak to you personally." Vardemus admitted as Clary raised an eyebrow. "Why?" She asked, a little too bluntly.

"Well, despite the fact that you picked a fight with a fellow classmate, raised your voice and used foul language... there is more to it. Something is plaguing your mind." The man continued as Clary remained quiet, knowing he was quite obviously correct.

"You mentioned a missing girlfriend. Care to elaborate on that?" The assistant headmaster asked as Clary felt a bit of relief that somebody was finally listening to her about her concerns for Tori.

"My girlfriend Victoria, she disappeared a few weeks ago." Clary began to explain. "Her best friends and I tried to use magic to find her but we didn't succeed. So I pitched my worries to Alaric and it's as though he didn't care enough to find her."

"I could be overstepping by suggesting this, but what if she doesn't want to be found?" Vardemus raised a point as Clary shrugged, "I just want to know that she's safe."

"I may be able to help you with that." Vardemus admitted before he opened a drawer on his side of the desk and pulled out what seemed like a grimoire. "I have collected many spells in my time, and I believe I have one in particular that will help you reach Victoria."

"How, I've already tried everything." Clary pointed out as Vardemus slid her a piece of paper, containing a communication spell. "The magic used for these spells I have acquired, is a different type of magic that the average witch may use." Vardemus explained.

"Is it dark magic?" Clary asked hesitantly as Vardemus nodded. The Bailey seemed reluctant, as she could remember her previous conversation with Liv about dark magic, and how the tribrid really lost touch with her magic because she was terrified of hurting people.

"I will do whatever it takes to contact Tori... but I want to make sure that this magic won't destroy me. I've never done a dark spell." Carice confessed as Vardemus' expression softened. "Dark magic will not harm you if you use it in moderation." He admitted.

"Okay." Clary said as she took the sheet of paper. "Then I will be taking this and I will be leaving... that is unless you had more to say?" The Bailey seemed impatient, instantly wanting to try the spell.

"No, that is all. Though I should request that you don't try and pick anymore fights with your other classmates." Vardemus spoke as Clary shrugged, "I'll try my best." She said before she turned to leave the office, closing the door behind her.

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After the second class, Charlie and Olivia both had a free period. The pair found themselves by the docks sparring together as Charlie wanted to help Liv practice using her vampire skills.

Truthfully, the vampire was tired after his boyfriend's training session that morning but there was nothing a can of monster wouldn't fix. Of course, Charlie was the only person allowed to raid Glen's stash of energy drinks. He selected a peach flavoured monster before he went to his first class of the day.

After sparring for some time, Olivia managed to sweep Charlie off of his feet, causing the vampire to fall on his ass. "Really? That was a cheap trick." Charlie pouted as Liv offered a hand, "Sorry. I was getting kinda bored." The tribrid giggled as Charlie took her hand and got back onto his feet.

"You kinda have your guard down too, making this too easy." Liv admitted, hoping not to seem too blunt. "Well, I was dragged out of bed at the ass crack of dawn to train with my boyfriend, my brother's boyfriend and some of the wolves? And training twice in a day is more exercise than I usually do in a week."

"Don't you play football?" Liv asked with a giggle as Charlie shrugged, "Yes but I don't really train because we don't really have an actual team. Other than that annual game against Mystic Falls high there's nothing else really going on." The Salvatore admitted, seeming a little disappointed.

"Maybe you could bring that up to Vardemus." Liv suggested as Charlie shrugged, "That guy gives me weird vibes." He admitted. "Same... but it's worth a shot?" Olivia asked.

"True... but Aaron and Ezekiel both like football and they don't really like me so that is kind of a worry." Charlie pointed out as Liv frowned, "Well from a lot of team based movies I have watched, nobody gets along with all of their teammates." She confessed.

"Oh yeah, what's your source?" Charlie asked teasingly as Liv wore an amused smile as she answered, "Marvel." The pair broke out into a fit of laughter before they moved to sit down on the docks, their legs hanging over the edge.

"You seem to be controlling your vampire skills really well." Charlie pointed out as Liv smiled, "That's a relief." She admitted. "You have no issue using your enhanced strength or speed." Charlie added as Olivia shrugged, "I think I'm controlling my enhanced hearing a bit better too."

"Lexi has been helping me when it comes to feeding and... I think I'm getting the hang of it." Olivia added as Charlie nodded. "Are you mad at Lexi?" The ravenette then asked. "I was... for most of the summer." The Salvatore confessed.

"I saw how much you struggled when it came to being a werewitch, and for Lexi to turn you into a tribrid only made things so much harder. I was so angry at her for that." Charlie began to explain. "But then I saw Lexi taking responsibility for her actions. She's been helping you through it and teaching you everything she can... maybe she isn't as bad as I've believed her to be." The vampire trailed off.

"Lexi's been an amazing help, seriously. So have you and Aphrodite." Liv said with a smile. Charlie smiled back, before he had a burning question. "Have you been using your magic much since you turned?"

Olivia nodded, "Yes actually... I was really scared but I casted a spell while were camping and it made me realise that using my magic isn't something I should be scared of. I just have to monitor myself so I don't like... go all dark again." Liv trailed off.

"I've been using my magic ever since and— oh actually this just reminded me that I made a present for Niko." The ravenette realised. "Oh?" Charlie asked. "I used my magic to make him a necklace, I should go find him and give it to him before I forget again." Liv laughed awkwardly before she got to her feet.

"Are you going to come to the party tonight?" Liv asked as Charlie asked, "The party that Lexi is telling everyone about?" He asked as Olivia nodded. "Yeah, I am." The Salvatore offered a smile.

"Sweet. Well thank you for the sparring session, I'll see you later." Liv said as she started to walk away. "Okay, see you!" Charlie replied.

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"There is a special place in hell for teachers who assign homework on the first day of school." Lucas grumbled, sitting into a chair as he dramatically dropped his books on the table. "You're not wrong about that." Landon sighed, sinking into the chair beside him before he flopped his head onto Lucas shoulder.

Sitting on the other side of the large table were Corentin and Dante, sharing earphones and listening to music as they studied. Dante paused the music to stop and talk to Landon and Lucas.

Before Corentin could even stop to look at the boyfriends, Dante was out of his seat and walking over to them. "Did you guys get a lot of homework too? I didn't realise it would be this much." The Rosza admitted as he leant on the back of Landon's chair and glanced at their work for a moment before he stood up and began pacing around.

"Damn... I want whatever he's on." Lucas admitted, watching the raven haired boy walk around. "Uh ADHD? But I may have something that could interest you." Corentin insisted, motioning to a tea pot that sat near his belongings.

"Tea?" Landon asked as Corentin shrugged, "Somewhat, let me grab you some cups." He suggested before Dante walked past Corentin's chair. "Already on it, Corey." He announced, using a nickname only he used for Corentin. The werewolf was already out the door before Corentin could even utter a syllable.

"So, tell us about whatever is brewing in that little pot." Luca suggested. "It's a concoction of witch herbs that help you to stay awake, mixed with some caffeinated tea. My cousin Davina originally made it, and now us Claire witches sort of... continued to make it."

"Oh, actually I think I have had this before." Lucas realised. "One time at Auclair everyone was struggling to stay awake and study the night before exams began. Amelia made us all this crazy tea that kept us awake for so long that everyone that drank it ended up pulling an all nighter and sitting the first exam on no sleep." The Saltzman explained.

"Sounds a lot like drugs to me, I'm not gonna lie." Landon confessed, seeming a little cautious. "I wouldn't put it past Amelia." Luca responded.

Dante returned and placed two mugs on the table, before Corentin poured some tea into the mugs. The Rosza then took the filled mugs and rushed over to place them infront of Landon and Lucas. "Thanks." The boyfriends spoke in unison.

"Hey, mind if we join you?" A voice asked, belonging to Ashley, as she approached the table with Casper and Wylan. "Not at all." Corentin answered as the trio each took a seat.

"I had Vardemus for History today and it was so boring." Ashley admitted. "I was struggling to pay attention the entire time... and now I have all this homework to do." The Bennett drawled on.

"I genuinely fell asleep." Wylan confessed, as he opened his notebook and sighed as he could see where he'd stopped taking notes and instead fell asleep because there was a bit of drool on the page.

"Well I took notes... we could make flash cards! That way it will be easier to remember all of this content." Casper thought aloud. "That's a good idea. I always use flashcards to study." Corentin admitted.

"Damn this tea definitely hit." Luca admitted, feeling suddenly very wired. When he looked at his boyfriend, he noticed he looked much the same. "We're gonna get so much homework done now." The Kirby admitted.

"Are you guys on drugs or something? You're kinda weirding me out." Ashley admitted awkwardly as Casper couldn't help but to laugh nervously. "No, just some energising hot drink Alex whipped up." Landon answered.

Before either of the Olmo twins or Ashley could ask about it, Dante had left the room and returned with three mugs. "What the fuck— you just appeared conveniently with these cups?" Wylan asked as Dante shrugged without saying a word though he wore a smile.

"Honestly, after Vardemus' class, I wouldn't turn down that offer." Ashley thought aloud as Corentin poured each of them a glass. "Thanks!" Casper awkwardly blurted as each of them received a cup.

"You know... I could think of a more exciting way to use this energy." Luca spoke quietly, only so that Landon could hear. "Cute." Landon admitted, taking Lucas' hand in his. "But I know damn well you're trying to procrastinate." He said as the Saltzman groaned, knowing Landon was onto him.

"Lucie!" Beau's booming voice entered the library, his arm linked through Eden's as the Winslow wore some bulky headphones to keep out others emotions.

"Beau, what's up?" Lucas asked as Beau stopped when he saw everyone studying and drinking what looked like tea. "Studying on the first day?" Beau asked before he scoffed, "Losers."

"Didn't you get 3 F's last semester?" Landon asked as Beau rolled his eyes, "Yes, Kirby. But I threw money at my problems and my F's turned into A's." He answered. "Anyway I came here to speak to my best friend." The Lazuli said as he dragged a chair to sit beside Lucas while Eden played some music into her headphones and glanced around the library.

"Lucie, I think I wanna make a move on Sebastian." Beau spoke, facing the blonde. "To be honest, I'm surprised you haven't already." Luca confessed as Landon tried to stifle a laugh.

"Ugh, this is why I need Tori. She would be much more enthusiastic than you, even if she didn't have her humanity on." Beau groaned, missing the Mikealson. "It's not that I'm not enthusiastic. You never talk about your hookups, they just happen—"

"Lu, I don't think I want Sebastian to just be a hook up." Beau spoke. Lucas looked to Beau with surprise, but the person who seemed more surprised was Landon. "Wait... really?" The Kirby blurted.

"Yes. Is it so hard to believe?" Beau asked as Eden poked her head into their conversation, "Sebastian and Beau would be a total power couple." The empathic witch had her input, before she leant against the back of Beau's chair. "At least somebody sees the vision." Beau added.

"But yes, Eden is right. Sebastian and I would be a total power couple, plus he is very charming and I'm sure he's fantastic in bed." Beau drawled on.

Ashley screwed up her face as she looked at Landon, Luca, Beau and Eden. "Could you guys take your conversation elsewhere? Not really wanting this imagery in my head while I study." The Bennett cringed. Casper had to agree.

"It is pretty hard to concentrate." Dante admitted, though he was struggling to focus without their chattering anyway. The werewolf then flopped his head on Corentin's shoulder as he looked at the work the Claire was doing.

"Ugh, fine we'll leave. You people are really boring." Beau sighed as he got to his feet. "Wait... does this mean you and MG are done?" Lucas asked curiously as Beau shrugged nonchalantly. "I have no idea." He responded.

Meanwhile on the other side of the library, Myrical was reading on her own. She'd been growing interested in poetry again, and found her head in a book. She was so focused that she didn't hear somebody approach her.

"Do you know how to play chess?" Myrical looked up to see Bellamy standing in front of her. "I do." Myrical admitted before she tilted a head, "Are you needing somebody to play against?" She asked.

Bellamy nodded, "If you're not busy." She admitted as Myrical closed her book, as the Mikealson-Lockwood glanced at the cover to see it was poetry. The hybrid quickly pushed the book aside, hoping Bellamy would stop looking at it as she feared she was being judged for her choice of reading material.

Myrical was relieved to see that Bellamy's expression actually didn't seem judgmental (for once) but actually it showed interest.

Bellamy's brown eyes darted back up to Myrical's face, as the Benning wanted to shrink under her gaze. Her expression suddenly seemed intimidating. "So... chess?" The brunette asked.

"Sure." Myrical answered, as she got to her feet and placed the poetry book back on the shelf before she turned to follow Bellamy to a table where the other hybrid had seat up her things.

On one side of the table sat her grimoire, and a couple of class books as well as a pencil case. Then there sat a chess board with all the pieces.

Myrical took a seat across from where she assumed Bellamy had sat. Bellamy set up the pieces, deciding to take the black pieces for herself as she favoured darker colours, allowing Myrical to play the white pieces.

"Are you... liking it here?" Myrical uncomfortably forced herself to chat. Bellamy shrugged, "It's okay. It's nice to see Veronica, though I wish Tori were here." The brunette answered.

"We all miss her... I don't know why Alaric wasn't taking her disappearance more seriously. Hopefully Vardemus will though." The Benning trailed off.

"Are you apart of the wolf pack?" Bellamy asked as Myrical nodded. "Yeah... I only joined it recently with Liv. The other wolves are cool... I'm slowly working up the courage to speak to all of them." She explained.

"Are you going to join?" Riri asked as Bellamy seemed unsure. "I... don't know yet. I think the pack is more of Zeke's thing to be honest." The hybrid admitted before she knocked one of Myrical's pieces off the board.

"Really? I... I don't want to sound like I'm pressuring you but... it would be nice to have more werewolves in the pack who aren't stereotypically jocks." Myrical admitted, as she felt like herself and Olivia were the only werewolves who weren't super athletic, though Liv seemed to be on thin ice since she'd been training so much since she turned.

"I do like to break stereotypes." Bellamy admitted, knocking another piece of Myrical's off of the board, causing the Benning to frown. "You're good at this." Myrical admitted with a low huff. "I know." Bellamy grinned.

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The rest of the car ride seemed to have dragged on. Tori asked a few more questions but for the most part herself and Faith had fallen asleep. Truthfully, the O'Connell-Mikealson had offered to drive a couple times but Ezra insisted that he'd keep driving... mostly because he knew Victoria had no idea how to even drive.

Now in Miami, the trio were at the beach. "Okay, my guess is that she should be here. According to my sources, she wanted to sit by the beach and drink so... this seems like the perfect place." Faith confessed.

"I'm going to look for her and speak to her alone. Why don't you two just... enjoy the beach?" The tribrid asked, though it only made Tori feel like Faith was more secretive. "Sure." Ezra answered, "I haven't been to Miami in years... I'm sure it will be nice."

"I've never been here in my life." Victoria confessed as Faith offered the pair a tight lipped smile. "Great. Well have fun, Little birdie. Meet back the car in two hours." The Mikaelson said before she started walking away from the pair.

Faith looked around, noticing many people on the busy beach, lying in the warm sun or splashing around in the cool ocean. It would be a lot of work to look through people individually, so the tribrid turned and entered the tiki bar nearby.

The auburn haired girl looked at the drinks being made, as they were placed onto a round tray to be delivered to the people who had paid for them. Beside each drink was an order slip containing a name.

Faith looked around, noticing the appearance of another bartender who was running drinks out to some patrons on the beach. Using a spell, Faith took on the appearance of her face temporarily.

Faith then looked through the drink trays, as she read the names. "Chelsea.... James... Salem. Perfect." The Mikealson picked up the drink tray before she glanced at the bartender. "Hey, which customer was this one again?" She asked.

"Brown hair, tanned skin, wearing a blue bathing suit. She said she was going to sit on one of the sun lounges under an umbrella." The bartender said as Faith offered a tight lipped smile in response as she turned to walk outside with the cocktail.

Faith's walked towards the beach umbrellas and indeed found a girl of the bartender's description sitting on one of the sun lounges. Removing the temporary illusion, Faith approached the girl noticing that she wore sunglasses and was reading a magazine.

"Order for Salem." The tribrid hummed, catching Salem's attention. Before the Pierce could answer, Faith took the straw and placed it into her own mouth as she took a sip. Salem sat up, raising her sunglasses to sit atop her head, "What the hell?!" She hissed. "What kind of a bar bitch are you?"

"I'm not. Actually I'm just here to talk." Faith spoke innocently as Salem frowned and went to stand up. "I'm good, thanks." The brunette replied as she went to walk away, though Faith was swift and before Salem could take another step, found a stake impaled into her chest.

Salem inhaled, grimacing as she pulled it out and dropped it to the ground as Faith maintained eye contact all the while. "This is a new bathing suit." She spoke with visible frustration.

"Sit, or I'll use magic next." Faith warned as Salem rolled her eyes before she fell back into the sun lounge. Her eyes averted to Faith, seething with hate.

"What do you want to speak about?" Salem asked angrily as Faith smirked, "How about we start with the Auclair witch you failed to kill?" She asked before she took another sip of Salem's cocktail.

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Out on the oval, Aaron and Ezekiel were throwing a football back and forth. "So what do you think of this place?" Zeke asked, catching the ball before he threw it back to Aaron.

"It's okay so far. I wish I could get closer to the other jocks though." Aaron admitted as he caught the ball. "Why can't you?" Ezekiel asked as Aaron shrugged, "They're all friends with Rafael and I hate him."

Aaron threw the ball and Zeke caught it again, "Why do you hate him so much?" The Mikealson-Lockwood asked curiously as Aaron huffed, "It's none of your business!" He huffed as Ezekiel frowned, "Sorry."

Aaron's face then fell, "No I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so rude.. I have a short fuse." The Bennett confessed. "I just... have an uncomfortable history with Rafael and everytime I see him I'm reminded of it so I want to punch him in the face." Aaron answered in a nonchalant way.

"I know how it feels to get angry easily... I get that with being a werewolf, even though I haven't activated my curse. It really sucks." Zeke admitted before he threw the ball back to Aaron. "It definitely does suck." Aaron sighed.

"How are you liking it here?" Aaron then asked as Zeke shrugged, "It seems nice... I'm kinda starting to talk to the werewolves which has been something I really wanted to do." He admitted. "I was scared they wouldn't accept me since I haven't activated my curse yet." He added.

"Well Alaric was always banging on about everyone being super inclusive here, so I guess he would have been mad if they didn't accept you." Aaron admitted as Zeke frowned, "It's funny you say that, because when my cousins Tori and Amelia first moved here, they said it wasn't inclusive at all."

"Really?" Aaron raised an eyebrow as Zeke nodded, "Apparently Alaric's inclusivity rules disappeared when Caroline decided to merge two schools together."

Nearby sat Niko, who was quietly watching the pair. He was intrigued by Ezekiel and wanted to know more about him, yet for some reason he felt hesitant to approach him. So lowkey, he was stalking.

The Shiratori focused on the pair and tried to read their thoughts, but upon realising they weren't talking about anything too interesting he sighed.

"Are you... watching them?" An amused voice spoke, belonging to Liv. Niko jumped in fright as they turned to the tribrid, "No— I just needed some fresh air." He defended himself.

"Really. Because it looked like you were pretty fixated on them— oh my gosh do you have a crush?" Liv asked as Niko shushed her, before turning to make sure the boys were far enough away. Obviously they were, but Niko was paranoid.

"Maybe." He admitted. "Which one is it?" Liv asked teasingly as Niko blushed. "Well I don't know if it's a crush but... it's Ezekiel." The psychic admitted as Olivia craned her neck to get a better look at the Mikealson-Lockwood.

"Gosh don't make it so obvious!" Niko huffed, as he placed his hands on the tribrid's shoulders and pulled her away so her eyes would move away from Ezekiel.

"This morning I joined Charlie in a training session with a couple others and Valerie and some of the wolves joined us. Ezekiel was there and it was the first time I'd properly looked at him and... he's a little pretty." Niko trailed off before he added, "Okay... he's a lot pretty." as Liv smiled, "Aww!"

"And... I kind of read his thoughts and I know he finds me attractive too." Niko added as Olivia gasped, "Niko you sly dog— you read his thoughts!!" She managed to say between giggles. Niko blushed, "I know... it's kind of invasive but now I'm really wanting to talk to him."

"Well... there is a party tonight. You could always strike up a conversation there. Lexi is trying to get everyone to go." Liv admitted as Niko thought about it. "Actually... that's a great idea. I don't think I would want to drink though." The Shiratori decided, as he'd been doing so well to stay away from alcohol and any other substances. "That's fine, myself and some of Lexi's friends won't be drinking either." Olivia responded.

"Oh— I came here to give you something." Liv remembered, before she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small drawstring bag before she handed it to Niko. The Shiratori seemed surprised as he opened the bag, which revealed a necklace.

Niko took the necklace out of the bag, being a silver chain with a pendant that revealed to be a silver paper crane, just like Laura's origami. "I used my magic to turn one of Laura's little paper cranes into silver." Olivia explained as Niko looked lost for words as he held the necklace.

"Wow... this is incredible! Thank you." Niko managed to speak, as they were amazed. He put the necklace on and then reached to take the crane pendant in his hand, his mind instantly drifting to Laura as tears pricked the corners of his eyes. "This is such a special gift."

Olivia's expression softened and before she could say anything, Niko lurched forward to hug her while he tried to keep his tears at bay. Liv let out a squeak as she'd been taken back by force, but instantly she hugged him back.

"Thank you so much." Niko spoke, as Liv sunk into the psychic's arms, "You're welcome."

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Jed entered the gymnasium, as he found his partner practicing gymnastics on their balance beam. The Tien eyed the purple haired wolf up and down before Valerie caught their eye.

"Hey babe." Valerie smirked, as they got off of the balance beam. "Hey." Jed smiled, approaching the Harlowe as they shared a chaste kiss. "Can we talk?" Jed asked as Val nodded. "Sure, what's up?" They asked.

Jed moved to sit down on the seated area of the gym, as Valerie followed. Once they sat down, Val placed their hand in Jed's and intertwined their fingers. "What's up?" Valerie asked.

"I... I think I want to be the alpha again." Jed admitted as Valerie seemed surprised. "While I think you've done a wonderful job as alpha, I miss being able to make more rules. And I feel like even though I'm the second in charge, you undermine me a lot."

Valerie's face fell, "I'm sorry, I only meant any comments in a joking manner. I didn't intend to undermine you." They began. "And... actually I think I want less responsibility." The Harlowe paused as now it was Jed's turn to be surprised.

"Since I've become the alpha, I've had no time for myself. I'm always worrying about everyone else and... I think I've been losing myself in the process." Valerie sighed as Jed looked concerned. 

"At Auclair I was known to be a rebel. I played pranks, I was sarcastic and putting others in their place... since I've had to step up and become alpha all because I broke up a fight between you and Rafael, I've become soft. I hate it." Valerie pouted as Jed looked sympathetically at his partner.

"I'm sorry... I never knew that was how you felt." Jed admitted, as he gave Valerie's hand a gentle squeeze. "Why don't we... break tradition and share the responsibility?" The Tien suggested. "We can be co-alphas."

Valerie snorted in amusement, "Co-alphas? That definitely doesn't exist but... I kinda like it." They grinned as Jed smiled, "Really?" Valerie nodded, "Yeah really." Jed grinned before he lurched forward and kissed Valerie. Their eyes fluttered shut as they kissed back.

Once they broke apart Valerie sighed, "There's something else I need to talk to you about." They admitted as Jed nodded, "Yeah sure." He replied. "I know this conversation didn't go well last time but I can't seem to ignore it anymore..." Valerie began nervously.

"I like Kaleb, Jed. Over the summer my feelings for him have gotten stronger and I want to pursue something with him because I'm poly, but I know the idea of you seeing me with somebody else makes you uncomfortable." Val stopped for a moment, "But these feelings aren't going away and I don't know what to do."

Jed froze for a moment, as he couldn't deny the discomfort he felt of seeing his partner with somebody else, but he also felt guilty for denying them to be who they truly were.

"I am uncomfortable... but you aren't monogamous and I guess I shouldn't expect you to be." Jed began. "Just... maybe keep whatever happens between you and Kaleb to yourself, please?" The Tien asked. Valerie nodded, "Yeah, okay. Thank you." They smiled back.

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After packing all her things between classes, Josie found herself walking towards her new dormitory. The ravenette had found it quite nostalgic to pack up her side of the room with the help of Lizzie, as the girls had found things they hadn't seen since they were young kids. Guess that's what happens when you live in the same room for your entire life.

Josie reached out to open the door to her new dorm, as she could see Veronica inside. "Hey." Josie greeted as she walked inside. "Hey Jo." Veronica greeted, as she watched the Saltzman places some boxes an empty bed.

"Welcome to your new dorm." The Mikealson-Malraux offered a smile as Josie wore an awkward expression. "Thanks. Sorry it... feels kind of weird being here. I've shared a dorm with Lizzie for as long as I could remember." The witch confessed.

"I've never had to share a room before, since I don't have any siblings." Veronica admitted. "But I'll try to be as accomodating as I can... I guess just let know if I overstep." The heretic rambled on.

"Uh, sure." Josie responded as she started to unpack, though Veronica could see that something was on her mind. The blonde took a seat on her bed and pulled out her phone, wanting to message the Mikealson-Lockwood twins to see how they were settling in.

"I think my sister hates me." Josie suddenly blurted, as Veronica looked up. "Lizzie?" She asked unconvincingly as Josie nodded. "I mean... she wanted to us to change roommates, maybe this is her way of teaching me a lesson."

"For keeping her and Lucas apart?" Veronica asked as Josie seemed lost for words over the fact that Veronica knew about it. "She may have told Alex last time we were here." The heretic admitted.

"I didn't realise they were friends." Josie confessed as Veronica shrugged, "She thought his accent was cool... genuinely I think that's why they started talking." The Mikealson admitted as Josie laughed awkwardly. "And they're both total perfectionists so... they seem to get along pretty well." Ronnie added.

"Look, I don't like Lizzie at the best of times but that is something pretty significant to be upset over." Veronica confessed as Josie sighed, "I... I know and I agree but it's been months and I tried to make it up to her and Lucas."

"Did you apologise?" Veronica asked as Josie shrugged, "I made her and my other siblings breakfast and tried to talk to them about it." She managed to say before Veronica asked, "But did you actually say the words I'm sorry?" The blonde asked.

Josie tried to speak, but words didn't seem to escape her. Her silence served as an answer to the Mikealson. "Apologising could go a long way, you know." Veronica added.

"I hate that you're right." Josie confessed, letting out an awkward laugh. Veronica laughed before she nodded, "I know... but you should keep inflating my ego." She teased.

Josie rolled her eyes playfully before she smiled at Veronica, feeling like sharing a room with the heretic may be for the best.

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Luca reached out to knock on Carice's door, and was surprised when she opened it so fast. "Hey. Come in." Clary said, moving aside so Lucas could enter her dorm. "Mind the boxes, Ashley is in the middle of unpacking." The Bailey added.

"You said you had a way to contact Tori." Lucas said as Clary nodded. "Well, where is Beau? He should be here too." The Saltzman admitted. "I sent him a message too but got no answer. My guess is that he is too fixated on getting into Sebastian's pants." Clary spoke bluntly.

"Okay, sit." Clary demanded as Luca raised an eyebrow before he sat on the floor, where Clary had set up some stuff for her spell. A couple of candles were set up, as well as Tori's Mikealson emblem necklace.

"Are you needing assistance with this spell?" Lucas asked as Carice shook her head, "No. But if this works I figured you'd want to see that she's okay." The witch added as Lucas nodded, "More than anything."

Clary grabbed the spell sheet from her nightstand as Lucas looked intrigued. "That doesn't look like a spell Alaric would allow us to do." He admitted as Carice shrugged, "It was from Vardemus."

"Ah, my guess was gonna be Kiara." Luca joked as Carice rolled her eyes playfully before took Tori's necklace in her hands and closed her eyes as she began to chant a spell.

The veins in Clary's arms began to flicker with darkness, as Luca raised an eyebrow. As it spread around her body, the Saltzman grew concerned.

"Clary? This doesn't look good." Lucas confessed as Clary continued to chant the spell, ignoring his concerns. "Carice?! Stop, you're turning all dark and twisty." The boy reached out to place his hands on Clary's shoulders but her eyes suddenly opened, causing the boy to halt.

The Bailey suddenly got to her feet, and grabbed Luca by the wrist as she lead him towards her large mirror, that was placed on the wall. Lucas wore a confused look, until he glanced at the mirror and realised he could see what looked like a beach in the glass. "Tori?" Clary called out.

On the beachside, a confused Tori span around upon hearing her name being called. "Clary?" She asked. "Tori!! Over here!" Carice could be heard as Tori confusedly walked around, though she stopped when she looked at a window of the tiki bar, seeing Clary and Lucas in the reflection.

"Woah— Tori!" Lucas blurted out, surprised that he could see the girl through Clary's mirror. "Oh my god... Clary, Luca— I have no idea how I can see you guys but... it's nice." The Mikealson admitted.

"Where are you Tori, are you okay?" Clary asked as Tori debated what to tell them, but she decided to tell them most of the truth. "I'm okay I... have a sister." The blonde began as Carice and Lucas both looked confused.

"You're an only child." Luca reminded her. "So I thought... but it turns out I have an older half sister named Faith, she's been trapped in Malivore for quite some time. She... sort of kidnapped me and now we're.... Spending time together." Victoria chose her words carefully. 

"Why did she kidnap you?" Carice asked as Tori went to answer but the Bailey had another question, "Why haven't you called us?" She asked the obvious question. Tori froze, realising that if she told them that Faith had her phone, they'd worry a lot more about her safety. "I lost it. We've been at the beach and I guess I lost it in the sand."

Clary continued to look into the mirror at her girlfriend, feeling like something was off with Tori. By the look on Lucas' face, he felt the same.

"Are you definitely safe? This sister of yours isn't some psycho?" Lucas asked cautiously as Tori nodded, "I'm safe. And Faith is... I'm not sure. I'm still getting to know her but I hope she isn't some psycho." The Mikelason laughed awkwardly.

Carice's mirror began to flash, indicating that the spell was about to fade. "Oh god we're about to lose you. I'm glad you're okay, I've been so worried." Clary admitted, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

"Will you be home soon?" Lucas asked as Tori nodded, "Yeah, I'm hoping to be. I miss you guys a lot, and Beau too." She said before the reflection on the window with Clary and Lucas disappeared, as the magic had worn off.

Tori continued to stare at the glass window, already missing the duo so much. "Tori?" Ezra confusedly asked, as he approached the O'Connell-Mikealson. Victoria turned to the Zhang, not expecting him to approach her.

"I got you a drink." The vampire-sorcerer offered her a glass, which seemed to be filled with some yellow drink. "Ooh, thank you." Tori took a sip of the drink, tasting pineapple.

"It's a virgin pina colada." Ezra said, noticing that the hybrid couldn't quite put her finger on what the drink was. "But... I'm not a virgin." Tori mumbled, wishing it lowkey was alcohol.

"Perhaps, but you are sixteen so..." Ezra reminded her as Victoria frowned, "You're not my Dad." She half joked. "You should be glad... your Dad would probably have killed any person you have been supposedly intimate with."

Tori paused, "Well he would need a list, no humanity me was a hoe." She confessed uncomfortably as Ezra just about choked on his drink. Victoria bit back an amused smile, though she instantly regretted oversharing.

"Okay I think I've had enough of this conversation." Ezra decided as Tori laughed, "Aw, I was just about to tell you about my best friend Beau... you see while I would have a list, he would have a series of filled notebooks." The hybrid admitted as Ezra couldn't help but to chuckle.

Tori sipped on her drink, before she looked over at the ocean. Maybe it was the fact that Faith had finally opened up to her more, or that she'd been able to speak to Clary or Lucas... or simply because she was at the beach, that she felt like she could slightly relax for the first time in several days.

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AUTHORS NOTES

Enemy has reached 30k reads! Thank you so much! 🩷

I got so carried away with writing that I had to split chapters, again. Even so, this chapter is sitting around 15,000 words.

I was debating on even cutting this chapter but I figured since I had total writers block throughout the entirety of December, a larger chapter is deserved 😂

In the next chapter, the students will go to a party in the woods with the Mystic Falls high students and Hope... and a couple of unexpected guests. I won't share much more, but there's a lot of drama and also some flashbacks.