the boy who still has a lot of good to do

(AUTHORS NOTE: THIS EPISODES CHAPTER MAY BE SHORT DUE TO ME NOT REALLY WANTING TO WRITE ANY FLASHBACKS AND JUST NOT AS MOTIVATED FOR MOST OF THE EPISODE. HOPE YOU STILL ENJOY)

Josie and I curl up in my bed, snuggling tight. "That was an interesting time." She giggles, resting her head on my shoulder.

"You're telling me." I reply, sighing. "I'm sorry for earlier. For reacting the way I did."

Josie sits up, her hair messily falling. "Don't be sorry. I get it. Hopes always came first compared to you. We can all relate." She grabs my hand. "But you're my number one. No matter what." I smile up at her as she leans down, kissing me softly. Her lips are soft as my hands cup her cheeks. I sit up as well, the two of us deepening the moment. My hands move down her body, her satin pajama set loose on her body. She pulls away for a breath. The two of us stare at one another. A look of lust, warmth, passion. I smile, giggling as I pull her closer. My hands find their way to the buttons of her shirt as she grabs the sweatshirt I'm wearing. She pulls away, lifting the sweatshirt over my head. I was in a tank top and shorts now, and she pulls me in again.

Just as I'm about to start to unbutton her shirt, Hope storms in my room. "Annie- OH MY GOD." She yells, turning away. Josie and I nearly jump five feet in the air as Josie hides her head under the blankets. My face turns pink from embarrassment.

"Well, hello to you too." I mutter, crossing my arms. "Nobody's naked, by the way."

Hope turns back towards me. "Still didn't really want to see the pre-makeout." She remarks. My sister exhales sharply, her face turning serious. "I need you, right now."

I frown. "Can't whatever it is wait until the morning?" I plead. Hope shakes her head as I let out a sigh. Turning to Josie, I kiss her softly. "Go to sleep, I'll see you later." I tell her before getting up. I pull on a pair of loose patterned pants and a black shirt before following my sister. "This better be good."

"MG and Landon are missing." She says as we walk down the halls. "Raf was too, but we found him."

"What? What happened?"

"We don't know." She says coldly. "That's what we are going to find out."

Hope leads me to Rafaels room, where Emma and Alaric already are. Rafael looks disgruntled, uncomfortable. His mind races back and forth. "Raf, oh my god." I mumble before rushing over.

"Don't touch him." Alaric says. "He's dangerous."

I look back at Alaric. "I know what it is, Dr. Saltzman. I've been through it plenty."

Hope frowns. "What is it?"

Pursing my lips, I look at Raf. "It's called Lunar psychosis." I say finally. Emma nods, knowing exactly what I'm talking about.

"Lunar psychosis?"

"That's a thing?" Hope snaps.

"Quit talking. Making noise." Rafael grunts. He lets out a growl, jumping at us.

Emma holds her hand out towards his chest. "Tardus pulsatio." Raf pants, but his breathing slows. "It's a thing." She says at Hope.

"What did you do to him?" Hope snaps.

"It's okay. I'm just slowing down his heart. It will calm him." Emma explains.

Rafael breathes heavily as he looks at me. "What's happening to me? I keep...losing time." He whispers.

I feel my lip quiver as I help sit down. "Lunar psychosis. It means that your mind is in limbo, it's stuck, right in between your wolf and human forms, making it harder to access your memories like you normal." I explain softly.

"It's very rare." Says Emma, looking at Hope and Alaric. "It only happens after a premature reversion."

"So something caused your body to shift back before the full moon was over, leaving you like this." Hope says to Rafael.

Rafael looks between Hope and I. "Wh-What kind of something?" He stammers.

I gulp, "Usually trauma." I admit.

"Something bad happened." Hope declares.

"We don't know that." Emma says.

"Three of them left, and only one came back? Something bad happened."

Emma shakes her head. "Hope, why don't you give us a minute? Go on and check on the other wolves."

"I'm worried about this one." She snaps.

"Hope," My sister looks at me, surprised. "Just listen to her." I plead.

Emma looks at me. "I think you should go too, check on everyone else." She hums.

I nod softly, walking out of the room. Hope is a few steps behind as I walk down the hall. I hear her breathing ragged as I turn to face her. "Hope?"

She looks up at me slowly. "Something happened. Something really bad happened." She trembles. I walk towards her as she grips the wall. "Landon's dead, isn't he?"

I swallow the lump in my throat at the thought of Landon being dead. "I can't say yes, but I can't say no." I admit sadly. "But we need to do whatever it is in order to help Rafael, which will then help Landon and MG." She breathes in as I sigh. "I'm going to go check on Josie, okay?"

♚

The next morning, I walk into the room Raf and Hope are in. I see Emma, asleep. "What did I miss?"

Hope shakes her head, not really wanting to say. "Raf was just about to tell me what happened to him and Landon." I nod, sitting next to my friend.

"We didn't want to leave MG behind, but it was getting late. And we knew that I had to get back before I turned, and," He shudders, shaking his head.

"What?"

Rafael looks at us. "We didn't make it back on time, Hope."

"All good." Landon says as he finishes chaining Rafael to a tree.

"You sure this is gonna work?" The werewolf asks.

Landon sighs. "Oh, to be honest, bro, this is actually a first for me. But if you have a better idea, I'm all ears." He hums.

"A better plan would've been not leaving the school at all." Raf points out.

"Well, excuse me for wanting to help MG." He grunts. "Or you."

Rafael leans towards him. "And now we're both screwed. 'Cause, what, you-you couldn't find your parents, so you, you made him get answers from his?" He asks. "That's not right."

"Answers that made his life better." Landon argues. "And this is coming from the guy who won't even have the conversation?"

Rafael frowns. "What conversation?"

"The conversation you have been avoiding all week. And, hey, look at that. I have the key to the padlocks." Landon holds up a key, throwing it into the rubble. "So, we're having it." He declares.

The werewolf shrugs at his bed friend. "I don't know what you're talking about." He tosses his arms to his sides. Chains cling around, echoing in the night.

Landon sighs, shaking his head. "Raf. Come on, man." He practically pleads.

"What?" Rafael snaps.

"Look," Landon breathes, looking around. "We both know you have feelings for Hope's sister." He finally says.

Rafael sighs, "That was the slug talking." He defends.

"The slug lowered your inhibitions." Landon explains. "But it didn't make you do anything you didn't already want to do." Landon uses his hands to gesture to Rafael at every you. Rafael exhales sharply, looking at his friend.

He shakes his head in defense. "Why would it matter, Landon?"

"Because she's Hopes sister and she's one of the few friends I've made here." Landon says defensively. "And I care about Annie a lot."

Rafael blows are out, "Whether or not I have feelings, it don't matter, 'cause I would never act on them." Raf shrugs.

"I know." Landon replies. "Of course I know that."

"Bro, then why did you just make me say that?" The werewolf hisses at his best friend. He was confused, hurt, embarrassed.

Landon shifts his weight. "Because, Raf. I have seen what happens when you bottle stuff up inside. Sooner or later, that bottle's gonna shatter. And I hate seeing you in pain." He pats Rafaels shoulder, who randomly starts to scream. Landon jumps back in shock. "What do I do? What do I do?"

"You got to get out of here." Rafael grunts. "Grab MG and steer clear of the woods until morning." His eyes flash the golden yellow.

Landon shakes his head. "No. There's no way. I'm gonna stay right here. We're gonna get through this together, like we always have." He says confidently. Or at least trying to be confident. Suddenly, there's a growl in the forest, but the two of them see nothing. "What the hell was that?" He asks Raf, now scared.

"I don't know." Rafael says back. Landon exhales, looking around as the growling continues. "Lan. Lan, you need to look at me. You need to run."

"Not without you."

Rafaels body snaps. "I said.."

"Run!" Rafael breathes heavily. I jump back slightly.

"Hey. Hey." Hope leans down, grabbing a bottle. "Here, here, here, here. Drink this." She says.

I look at the bottle. "Is that-"

"Not now, Annie." Hope scolds. "Hey. What did you see? What did you see? What were you running from?"

"I don't know." Raf shakes his head. "I don't know!"

I grab Hopes hand. "Hope, stop.

"Raf, whatever you saw is what made you like this. Did the monster hurt Landon?" She pushes.

"I don't know." He whispers.

Hope shouts at him. "Is Landon okay, Raf?!"

"I don't know, Hope. I don't know!" Rafaels face crumbles as Hope looks down in defeat. "I don't know."

I sigh. "Okay." I look up at him. "Rafi, do you remember where the woods were?" I say, getting another idea.

Rafael looks at me in thought. "I think so. Yeah, I remember."

Hope looks up. "Okay. Okay. I'm gonna get one of the twins to siphon you out of here." She says to us. "We're going to go find him."

♚

Hope gets a call from Alaric. He and Kaleb had found MG. We had found them in the woods. "Hey." Hope says. "Dr. Saltzman?" We look down to see MG, who doesn't look all that good.

"Oh, Hope, thank God you made it."

"What-What's going on?" I ask.

"MG has a werewolf bite." Alaric says. "He doesn't have much time."

Rafael looks down at MG, "I bit you." He says suddenly.

I look back at my friend. "What?"

"This is all my fault." MG cries. "Raf, I'm so sorry."

Kaleb frowns. "What, sorry? What are you sorry for? He's the one that should be sorry. He's the fool that bit you." Kaleb goes after Raf, but I hold him back. Rafael starts to tremble as Hope tries to calm him down.

"What's wrong? What's going on?" Rafael suddenly stops. "What?" Hope asks him.

"I remember now." His face grows cold and emotionless. "The elixir. His face. Being back here." He looks down a MG. "I remember who the monster was."

Rafael tells us what happened. How MG was so hurt, distraught, and in pain. He hit Landon. Except Landon bled. And MG couldn't fight back. He bit Landon's neck. He killed Landon. Hope falls to her knees, sobbing. My eyes are wide. Landon's dead. My best friend. Gone.

"Annie!" I turn around to see Landon jogging over. "Where are you going?"

"Not here." I grumble.

He looks me up and down. "You want to go?"

"Go back to the cellar? Sure, why not." I mumble.

"No, I mean out of here." He says. "Annie, you're probably the strongest person here, if not equally as strong as Hope. You don't need to be locked in a cellar because they're afraid of you." He grabs my hand, gesturing to the forest. "Let's leave Mystic Falls. Go to New York, or LA, or hell even New Orleans." I suck in a breath at the thought of New Orleans, looking down at at my shoes. "We can find a witch or whatever to help with your psychotic powers. Let's just go."

I tilt my hair to the side, my hair falling to one side. "Why would you, Landon Kirby, ask a witch hybrid to join you on your quest to go wherever you want to go?" I smirk.

He laughs. "I need a sidekick." He says blandly. "So, how about you get your little powers goin and lets summon a magic carpet?"

"I did it. It was me. I'm the monster." MG cries. The hurt in his voice, he didn't know what he was doing, I could tell.

Alaric looks at Rafael. "When you finished your turn, y-you got loose and bit MG. Watching Landon die was too traumatic, too human, so you reverted back and scrambled your memory."

"I don't want to remember any of this." Raf spats.

I watch Rafael begin to walk off. "Raf, where are you going?" I ask.

"Away from MG before I finish the job."

"Hey!" Kaleb shouts.

Rafael turns towards us, "Landon's body is out there. I'm gonna go find it." He says coldly. He walks off again as tears run down my face.

I look down at MG, who's sweating all over. "I was so mad." He says softly. "I wanted to h-hurt Landon. I didn't want his blood. I needed it. I needed all of it. 'Cause I'm not a monster. I'm a demon. So many demons in hell." I turn to Hope, who's face crumbles as she and I hug each other. Sobs escape our lips as we cry. The loss of a friend. Once again.

I pull away from her. Turning towards MG, I kneel down. "Come on," I whisper, pulling his head in my lap. Alaric hands me a knife as I close my eyes tight, slicing my hand open.
I place my hand over MG's mouth as he begins to drink my blood. Hope cries softly as we heal him. After we finish, Alaric sends the vampires to the car while Hope and I go find Landon. And when we do, it's like everything shattered around us.

Landon's body, bloody and cold.

Hope sobs as she kneels next to him. I fall next to Rafael, who I hold close as we look at our friend. He was like family. He was the best thing that had came to this school for me.

I couldn't blame MG. MG did nothing but good and he will always have to be better than this. Whether he likes it or not.

Alaric stumbles over, almost wishing Hope and I hadn't seen this. "Annie," He whispers. I look up slowly, remembering the time Alaric and I first met.

I had been killing like a maniac. Alaric heard of me because of Hope. I had killed a small group of wolves. I was a monster. A broken little girl with powers of a god.

I scream in emotional agony as I rip off a wolfs head. I toss it to the side as often it was nothing. Looking up, I see a man with an arrow. It was Alaric Saltzman. Hope had shown me pictures. "Anastasia King?"

My eyes flash yellow for a moment. "What?" I snarl. Tears run down my cheeks as he walks over slowly. "Who are you?" I ask him.

"Ric. Ric Saltzman." He says. I know he's being truthful. He creeps closer as I stumble slightly. "I came to help you."

Shaking my head, blood drips off my lip. "Nobody can help me." I breathe. Kol and Davina along with Freya and my mom had been searching for me for months. Dad was dead. Elijah was dead. I didn't know anyone.

Alaric Saltzman shakes his head. He finally reaches me, and does something few had done.

He hugged me.

Flinching at his touch, I feel everything I built crumble. Did this man care? Did he want to help? I slowly wrap my arms around him, tears continuing to run down my face. I look around, seeing the people I killed. "Oh my god." I cry out, covering my face.

"Hey, it's okay." He whispers. "None of this is your fault." He comforts me. "You'll be okay."

I lift to my feet as Alaric holds out an arm, pulling me close. I saw too much of myself here. I was like MG. I knew it. Hope knew it. Sobbing, I hold Alaric right as he shushes me,

MG and Kaleb slowly walk over. MG looking guilty as he feels the pain he's caused. Raf glares him down, storming towards him. "Raf, stop!" I shout, pushing myself out of Rics arms and holding Raf back. "Think about Landon."

Hope stands up next to me. "Landon wouldn't want this. He wanted us to be better. Give him that respect." She yells. Her face softens as we look up at him. "Give him respect."

Rafael looks down at us slowly as his face crumbles, pulling my sister and I into a hug. We cry in one another's arms, connecting over the loss of Landon. I pull away, looking at MG. I walk over slowly, Kaleb ready to pounce at me. But instead of doing anything harsh, I hug MG. He flinches, startled at the feeling.

"It's okay." I whisper, rubbing his back. "It wasn't your fault." I cry silently as MG hugs back.

Suddenly, I hear a strange sound behind me, I sniffle as I turn to face Landon. His body begins to smoke. "Uh... Am I still delusional or do y'all see this?" MG asks.

Hope turns to see what he means, gasping. She chokes on her sobs as Rafael looks at me. "Put him out."

I shake my head, which is still in shambles. "Uh... Adiuuatur." Landon only continues to steam.

"Adiuuataur." Hope follows. "It's not working." Hope shakes her head at us. "I... Wh-What's going on?"

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this." Alaric says to us. We watch Landon's body, which suddenly comes up in flames. His body burns as we watch in shock and slight horror. The flames are blinding, higher than they probably should be. Rafael holds me tight, ready to pull me away if needed.

The flames suddenly dissolve, leaving a charred Landon. "Damn." Kaleb mumbles. The flames had been so beautiful, but so terrifying.

Hope goes to get him. "No. Not yet, not yet." Alaric pulls her back. "I don't think it's over."

"What's not over?" She snaps back.

I shake my head, not taking my eyes off the body. Alaric speaks up. "We've been wondering if he's supernatural. We have our answer."

"What?" Hope says in confusion. We look back at Landon's body.

The ash begins to make weird sounds, causing Hope to gasp. A piece suddenly shatters, and a moving hand is revealed. I cover my mouth i. shock, watching as it reaches out. A second arm breaks through, ash falling all around us. Suddenly, Landon's face breaks through, the boy covered in ash and dust. He stumbles to his feet as he looks at us all. I push through, hugging Landon tightly while the rest of them look in shock. He hugs back, but looks at the rest of them in confusion. "What's going on?" He asks warily.

Alaric looks at Landon in amazement. "You ever heard of the legend of the Phoenix?"