"Obviously, nothing's gonna come out of it. I mean, I may never see her again... I mean I hope she does come back, but she said she won't be back until Landon is safe and that could honestly be a really long time." Hope trailed off, talking to Emma about her crush on Ruby.

"And nobody wants a phone-thing. Though, I do like the sound of her voice. It's sweet and happy.. kind of soothing... And her eyes! Her eyes are like, this gorgeous brown color and—" Hope caught herself and realised she'd been talking for several long moments without any pause and groaned suddenly as she looked down at the floor.

"Oh, my God. Who am I right now?" She asked aloud as Emma giggled and sat her coffee mug down on the table between them. "A normal teenager?" The witch responded.

Hope seemed surprised by the emotion she'd just shown in talking about Ruby, but Emma smiled, clearly happy at the progress Hope has made in the last few weeks.

"Though I do love hearing you talk about something as simple as having a crush on a girl, you do not need a counselor, Hope..." Emma confessed, "You need a friend." She spoke, before she squeezed Hope's shoulder affectionately.

❤︎

"Woot woot! Happy birthday, witches!" Penelope cheered, opening the door to the Saltzman twins dorm, as she held two birthday cupcakes in her hands. Monica stood beside Penelope, and suddenly took ones of the cupcakes. Lizzie's face lit up when she sees the blonde.

"It's Satan in a crop top. Come to burn my world down?" Lizzie asked Penelope, who was too busy looking at Monica with a frown, as she'd taken a bite out of the cupcake. "That's not for you." The witch huffed, causing Monica to shrug. "Lizzie and I can share it." She declared, though she wanted to eat the entire thing to herself. "Oh no, go for it." Lizzie replied in a chirpy tone, as Monica grinned, before she continued to eat the cake.

"What do you want?" Josie asked annoyedly. "Oh, just to cheer you two up. You know, 'cause your mom's not coming..." Penelope replied to her ex. Josie and Lizzie's faces fell as Penelope just smirked. Monica paused, not having any idea about this either.

"Oh, I heard them cancel her pickup at the office. I thought you knew. Oops!" Penelope said as Lizzie glared at Penelope before telekinetically slamming the door in her face.

❤︎

"I swear I had no idea Caroline wasn't coming." Monica confessed, as herself and the twins were approaching the office. Lizzie shook her head in annoyance, because she tried to open the door, but it didn't budge. Josie and Monica frowned, before each trying to open the door, only to meet the same result.

"Uh, Dad? Why is your door locked?" Lizzie asked, suspiciously, as she crossed her arms. "And when were you going to tell us that Mom wasn't coming back?" Josie called out. Monica just smirked slightly, as she could imagine that Alaric was scrambling to think of a believable lie. "I was about to. There.... there's a strike at the airport in Mozambique." Alaric's voice called out, as Monica snorted in amusement and thought to herself , "Yep, there it is."

"She couldn't compel a pilot and hop on a private jet?" Monica suddenly called out, adding fuel to the fire as she could feel the headmaster's unamused look from the other side of the door.

"She'll explain everything later, okay? But right now, I just need you to go, because I'm wrapping your presents—" Alaric stopped as Josie cut him off, "No, you're not! You're lying through your teeth!" Josie and Lizzie then placed their hands on the door "Salva." They both said in unison, siphoning the spell and then opening the door.

The doors opened, and Alaric was seen with a woman that doesn't seem familiar to the trio. Lizzie, who assumed they were up to something since the doors were locked, asked "Who's this trollop?"

Josie seemed to recognize the woman standing in front of them, who looked between Josie and Lizzie. Monica looked pretty lost right now, though her eyes glanced over at a photo frame sitting on the bookshelf, of Alaric and his dead fiancé.

Her blue eyes then glanced back at the woman standing beside Alaric, who wore a wedding dress and had the exact same features as the dead fiancé. Putting two and two together, she covered her mouth in shock, trying to find the words to explain what she'd just discovered. While her mind was a jumble, Josie had figured it out too.

"I'm sorry... How old are you?"

"Sixteen— Today. It's our birthday."

"You're twins?"

Lizzie suddenly remembered what they've just walked into and returned the subject to the events at hand, "What are we interrupting here?" She asked.

Monica, realising what was going on and feeling out of place, turned on her heels and said, "It seems to me like you guys have some explaining to do. Or catching up to do." She blurted, before she left the office. Lizzie just gave her crush a confused look before she was out of view.

❤︎

Hope lead Monica to the top of the staircase, as she was walking through the process of being Lizzie's party date. "So, the emcee will then announce Lizzie and her escort." Hope said as Monica's eyes narrowed in confusion, "Her what?"

"Kind of like at a... a debutante ball?" Hope explained as Monica nodded, before remembering when she wanted to attend her high school's debutante ball.

Monica approached the tall, jock with fluffy black hair, with a nervous smile on her lips. She took a deep breath, before quickly straightening her posture, and when feeling calmer, she called out his name. "Hey, Teddy." She greeted him, with a smile. The boy faced her, and gave back a weak smile, "Hey Monica."

"I uh.. wanted to ask you something." Monica confessed, trying not to nervously shuffle her feet. Ted tilted his head, not saying anything but intently waiting for her to continue. "I um.." Monica began, blushing slightly. "I wanted to ask if you wanted to be my date.. to the debutante ball." Monica asked.

There was an awkward moment of silence, before Teddy snorted, causing Monica to frown. "Really Monica?" He asked. Monica's smile faltered, as she felt embarrassed, "I mean.. we've become such good friends and.. I thought it'd be really fun to do this together." She confessed, as Teddy just laughed.

"Monica.. I can't be your date to the ball.. I will be made into a laughing stock if I take a boy to the debutante ball." Ted explained as Monica felt rage fill her, "I am not a boy!" She hissed as Ted looked at her, with sympathy. "I can't take a tranny mess to debutante, Mon. Please tell me you understand?" He asked.

Monica felt tears fill her eyes, but she refused to cry in front of him. "You're a fucking jerk." She growled, before turning around and leaving her so called friend behind, as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Monica?" Hope asked, as Monica had fallen quiet, her face looking a little pale. "Huh— sorry." The blonde blurted, as she snapped out of her trance. Hope just looked at her, a little concerned. "I never did a debutante ball... there wasn't a cute enough guy or girl to be my date." Monica insisted. "But I know a bit about it." She then added as Hope nodded.

Hope turned them so that they were at the top step and pointed down at the first landing, "So, you're gonna meet her halfway down." She explained. Hope continued to point until Monica caught the hint and proudly walked down the next few stairs, strutting dramatically as she does so.

"How do you know all this stuff, Mikealson?" Monica asked curiously, looking to the tribrid. Hope smiled at the memory of her Aunt Rebekah and her fondness for parties and all things glamorous. "One of my aunts has been around for more than a thousand years. This kind of thing is her jam." She explained to the vampire.

Hope, pretending to be Lizzie, delicately walked down the staircase to meet Monica. The tribrid lightly tossed her hair over her shoulder as she faced the Montgomery, who could help but to burst out laughing. "So, what, I just stand here?" She suddenly asked.

Hope nodded and raised her right arm so that it was bent at the elbow and hovering parallel to the floor next to Monica's own, "Then you take her arm. Sort of like you're putting yours on top." Hope explained, before she linked their arms together, grabbing Monica's arm in a formal manner.

"Yeah, like that." Hope then steered them both toward the rest of the staircase. "And then you descend together." She said as the two walk down the staircase slowly. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Hope turned to face Monica and bent low in a formal curtsy. "And now you curtsey." She said.

Monica, who obviously thought this was a bit ridiculous, laughed humourlessly and rolled her eyes in a joking manner. Hope's mocking smile made it clear that she was being very truthful before reminding her of what he's about to experience.

"You think this is bad? You know it's only gonna get worse, right? Lizzie Saltzman has been planning her Sweet Sixteen since she was five. You probably should've thought twice before asking to be her date." Hope rambled on to the Montgomery.

"Well, I didn't ask her." Monica insisted as Hope looks at her skeptically. "She asked me and I said yes... Being the spotlight at her birthday sounds like fun to me." Monica explained as Hope rolled her eyes, "I feel like there's more to this than your big ego." She insisted.

"Fine. I slept with her, Hope." Monica confessed as Hope's eyes widened in surprise at this answer. "Oh my god.." The tribrid trailed off. She stepped away from Monica and paced around for a moment before finally facing the vampire as she blurted out with a laugh, "I can't believe you slept with Lizzie Saltzman..."

Monica groaned and rolled her eyes, before saying "Look, I needed a distraction, and she was there." Hope continued to maintain eye contact with the vampire as she said, "Well I'm sure that was one hell of a distraction, Montgomery. What could of been that bad that you needed something like sex to take your mind off of it?"

Monica frowned before sighing, "Stupid little Ruby... ugh it doesn't matter." She declared, before turning around, her back now to Hope. "I can feel your judgy little eyes, Mikealson. I didn't say I was proud of it." The blonde huffed as Hope bit her lip. "What does that have to do with Ruby?" She then asked, defensively. Monica blinked in surprise before she turned to face Hope again.

"You like her, don't you?" The blonde asked. Hope blushed, "I.. I don't know... do you?" The Mikealson asked in response. Monica shrugged, "Romantically? God no. But... I hope that useless mutt makes it back here in one piece."

Hope linked her arm with Monica's again, to continue mentoring her to dance. "Is that your wicked way of saying you care about Ruby?" Hope asked, with surprise. Monica scoffed, not giving an answer, which caused the tribrid to eye her curiously. "Shut up." Monica simply responded, a little flustered.

Monica took her right hand off of her hip so Hope could spin for a moment before returning to position, and she gave her a very pointed look when she done so. "There. You're officially a trained escort." Hope grinned as Monica laughed weakly, "Thanks for this. I guess I'll see you at the party?" The Montgomery asked. Hope just shook her head, "No, you won't."

Monica, who'd been strutting towards the gymnasium exit, suddenly stopped. "So, what, you're just gonna stay in your room alone while everybody else is out having fun?" She asked, not turning around to face Hope. Hope just nodded and replied in a sarcastic tone of voice, "Yup. Works for me."

Monica scoffed, "What a loner." She spat before walking to the exit. However, just as she was about to cross the threshold into the hallway, her body slammed into an magical barrier. The vampire frowned and backed away, clearly confused by this. "The fuck?" She blurted out.

Hope expression fell as she raced toward the threshold and slammed her hands against the barrier, which confirmed what she already assumed to be true. "Barrier spell. Fantastic." She complained.

Suddenly, Penelope appeared in the doorway, smiling in what seemed to be a combination of smugness and apologism for what she'd just done. "Sorry, kids. Nothing personal."

Penelope's eyes then met Monica, who gave her roommate a nasty glare. "Penny, let us fucking leave." Hope, also visibly furious, glared at Penelope before replying in a stern tone of voice, "Let us out of here, Penelope!"

"You'll be free in an hour. Plenty of time for you to practice that waltz." Penelope grinned before her eyes meet Monica's again. "You'll forgive me later, bestie. Besides if you really don't care about anyone... surely you don't care about letting Lizzie down, hm?" Monica rolled her eyes at this, "I don't care about that— I do not want to be stuck in here with loner hybrid when I instead could be the spotlight at the Saltzmans 16th." She huffed. "Tribrid!" Hope corrected her.

"Toodles!" Penelope smirked at them before walking away, leaving Hope and Monica to look at each other with frustrated expressions.

❤︎

Ruby and Landon walked down the surprisingly busy streets of Lawrence, taking in the views as they did. "This place is nice.." Landon confessed, looking around. "Yeah it is.. it was really nice of Hope's friend Vincent to help us, hey?" Ruby asked, really excited for Landon as he was going to meet his birth mother at last.

"Yeah it was.. I'm really nervous." Landon admitted awkwardly, as the pair stopped walking now. Ruby looked at Landon, with a slightly confused expression, "Why?" She asked. "Why? Seriously— I'm about to meet my birth mother! What's not to be nervous about?" The boy huffed as though it was obvious. Ruby just laughs weakly, "I'm sure she'll be happy to meet you." She confessed, with a smile.

Landon smiled back, though his smile soon faded. "I take it you're happy to offload me so you can go back to smooching Hope." He asked as Ruby frowned, noticing the obvious jealousy in his tone. "Lan.." The pinkette sighed, annoyed by his accusation though by not answering his question, Landon assumed he was right.

"I love you and Raf, so much... but everytime I have feelings for a girl... they always seem to go for either of you instead of me... it feels like a curse." Landon suddenly vented, as Ruby's face fell, she felt bad for her foster brother.

Truthfully, she knew what he meant though and understood how it hurt... Ruby had feelings for Cassie, but obviously Cassie had fallen for Rafael. "It just feels.. selfish that you went for Hope.. despite knowing my feelings for her." Landon admitted suddenly, taking his foster sister by surprise.

"I don't know how I feel about Hope.." Ruby admitted. "When I'm around her.. I feel happy and safe.. loved." She explained. "But... she's the first real friend I've made that I can tell will stick around for a while.. and maybe I could have confused the feelings I have for her.. as romantic." Ruby concluded. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Lan. I didn't think about your feelings.. I realise now, it was selfish." She apologised.

After thinking about it for a moment, Landon felt guilt wash over him, believing he had overreacted about this. "Ruby.. no I'm sorry I—" He paused for a moment, to think about what he wanted to say, as his mind felt jumbled. "You're not selfish.. you're the furthest thing from selfish. And besides.. I'm probably never going to see Hope again, so I shouldn't get so worked up about this." Landon confessed, looking apologetic. Ruby smiled weakly, "It's okay."

They continued to walk, as Ruby tapped away on her phone, messaging back and forth with Rafael, letting him know they were safe. "Hey Lan, let's snap a picture to send to Rafi!" Ruby suggested as Landon seemed reluctant. The pinkette held the phone up, fitting herself and Landon in the frame, before she smiled. Landon gave a half smile, not being very fond of pictures, and Ruby took the photo. She then lowered the phone and tapped away at the screen again, sending Rafael the selfie.

"Hey Ruby.. I think this is the one." Landon spoke up, as the pair stopped walking. They peered into the large glass window of a cafe, seeing a tall woman with long black hair, standing behind a coffee machine, making a hot beverage. Landon just looked at her, suddenly feeling like he was overflowing with nerves, as the woman lookee exactly like the one in the picture he had with her.

Ruby turned to Landon, with an eager smile. "You up for coffee?" She asked as Landon gulped, before reluctantly turning to the Waithe girl. "Sure."