𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐀
hope is the only thing stronger than fear

HOPE FILED OFF the bus along with Allison, Lydia, Scott, Stiles, and the rest of the Beacon Hills' cross-country team.

Seeing as though traffic and a tornado warning made the cross-country meet be rescheduled for the following day, they were now stopping at a small run-down motel.

The tribrid glanced up at the neon-sign above them, reading: Motel Glen Capri. And quite frankly, it looked like something out of a scary movie.

"Yeah..." Jed clicked his tongue, "that place is haunted for sure."

She found herself standing next to Isaac, and the two of them stared up at the building with distaste.

They had gotten to know each other a little more on the ride over to the motel. He is really a great friend and she couldn't be happier that she has met him.

Caroline cooed, slapping Bonnie's arm happily. "I love them!"

Jen rose her brows at the young blonde vampire; she's never seen someone so happy and preppy before. It's... refreshing.

"I've seen worse," Scott mumbled, gripping the strap of his bag tightly.

"Where have you seen worse?" Stiles asked with furrowed brows. He was a little grumpy due to the whole ride having to listen to Isaac and Hope laughing and getting along.

Lizzie snorted. "He's got some jealousy problems."

Coach blew his whistle, silencing all of the teenagers. "Listen up! The meet's been pushed till tomorrow. This is the closest motel with the most vacancies and least amount of good judgment when it comes to accepting a bunch of degenerates like yourselves. You'll be pairing up — choose wisely. And I'll have no perversions perpetrated by you little deviants. Got that? Keep your dirty little hands to your dirty little selves!"

Caroline snorted, "as if that's gonna stop them."

Isaac and Boyd took off together without another word, so Hope turned to notice that Lydia hadn't moved since they got off the bus.

Allison seemed to have caught on as well, and glanced back toward the strawberry-blonde. "Lydia?"

"I don't like this place."

Hope walked over to the girls, and laid a hand on her arm. "I don't think the people who own this place like it." She ran her hand down the girl's arm, and then held her hand. "And if you're that scared, Lyds, I'll be here to hold your hand."

Elena smiled, "she's so kind."

"You're over here talking about how kind she is, and I'm over here fangirling over the fact they're holding hands," Caroline stated, smiling so wide she thought her face might crack.

"Why is it so easy to see her with like... anyone?" Bonnie asked, it sounded rhetorical but she wanted to know the answer.

"Right?!" Lizzie exclaimed, turning around to face the Bennett witch. Since she had scooted closer to them to tell them about the Sabrina vs Olivia gossip, she hasn't moved back by her sister. "She has chemistry with everyone! It's ridiculous!"

Stiles rose his brows at the scene. Of course he knew something happened between them because they seemed to get along really well since Hope's birthday. And although the sight of Lydia finally being herself around others, something still irked him with they way she was around Hope.

Between Lydia and Isaac, Stile felt like he could never compete. Though, he didn't know what he was 'competing' with or for, but it just gave off that vibe, and he didn't like it one bit.

"Sweet, precious boy doesn't even know he has a crush on my niece," Rebekah remarked with raised brows. "Adorable."

Davina giggled, "it's so innocent. They're so cute!"

Marcel crossed his arms, "if they're gonna end up together, I'm gonna need to talk to him. A brother's gotta protect his sister."

Hearing Marcel call himself Hope's brother really threw Rebekah off because she used to date him. It made the relationship feel nasty and weird... and honestly, what was she thinking about dating the boy Klaus practically called his son?

"A lot can happen in one night," Lydia mumbled as she absently ran her thumb across Hope's hand.

Of course Lydia saw the way Stiles looks at Hope. Hell, half the town looks at her that way. But, even though she does think the two of them would be cute together, that doesn't mean she won't make him suffer for a little while. She wants to see how long it will take him to finally realize his feelings and then snap from frustration.

Lizzie grinned, "she's like me. I like her."

Caroline smirked, "I think Lydia and I would be the best of friends."

"Oh, for sure," Rebekah said, "and then she would favor me, of course."

Caroline rolled her eyes at the blonde Mikaelson. "Sure, Mikaelson, sure."

Jen just shrugged, "I think all of you are fine as hell and would totally hit that."

All the girls turned up her and blinked in surprise. It was such a random comment.

"Thanks?" Elena said but framed it as a question.

Jen grinned, peeking up. "You're welcome."

Lizzie bit her lip, looking the girl up and down.

Hesitantly, the three teenagers — though Stiles likes to call him the power-puff girls — made their way up the stairs and towards the rooms.

Caroline paused and then glanced at Elena, and then at Bonnie. "Hey! We're the power puff girls!"

Elena and Bonnie looked to each other and snickered.

Lizzie tilted her head, "wait... does that mean, Josie, Hope, and I are the power puff girls as well?"

Rebekah looked over at Freya and Hayley, "does—"

"Stop," Hayley held her hand up, trying not to laugh.

Lizzie snorted.

Kol flicked his hair and grinned down at his wife. "If anything, I'm a power puff girl."

Davina snorted and patted him in his chest. "Yes, you are... yes you are."

"Hope, can you come to our room?" Stiles asked before she slipped into the room with Allison and Lydia.

"Suggestive," Jen waggled her brows.

"I think I like you," Lizzie said with a grin.

Josie glanced over at her sister who still hasn't moved from her spot by their mother and aunts. She frowned, feeling a little left out. And maybe a little replaced.

Hope squeezed Lydia's hand and then made her way into the boys' room.

When she entered, the stench of nicotine instantly burned at her nostrils, and she saw them lay back on their beds.

The tribrid smiled fondly at them before bouncing onto the bed Stiles was on. He let out a yell of surprise, bouncing a little, before turning to her with wide eyes. "What?" She innocently blinked over at him.

"Cute," Rebekah commented.

"They let her inner child out," Freya said slowly, "it's good for her. I'm happy to see her thriving... even if bad things are thrown their way."

He scoffed playfully before turning on his back again.

"All right, so I have four." Stiles stated, holding up four of his fingers.

"Four? You have four suspects?" Scott asked, turning to look at Stiles.

"Yeah, it was originally ten," Stiles pointed out. "Well, nine, technically, I guess. I had Derek on there twice."

Hope's smile disappeared and she sighed heavily while looking up at the ceiling. It was her fault he wasn't alive.

"No, baby girl, no," Hayley whispered; she wishes she could be there for her daughter, hold her hand, kiss her forehead, and tell her everything will be alright.

"So who's number one?" Scott wondered out loud, "Harris?"

Stiles nodded. "Just because he's missing doesn't mean he's dead."

Hope nodded in agreement. "I can definitely see him him sacrificing students."

Caroline nodded, "me too."

"Well, what if it's somebody else from the school?" Scott asked, eyes narrowing as he thought. "Like, you remember Matt?" Of course they remembered Matt, he tried to kill everyone by using the Kanima. "We didn't know that he was killing people."

Lizzie scoffed, "Stiles sure thought so."

A look of shock flashed across Stiles' face as he quickly moved into a sitting position before rising to his feet. "Excuse me? I'm sorry, what?" He asked, baffled at Scott's accusation. "I - yes, we did. I called that from day one, actually."

Josie nodded, "he did..."

"And he was correct!" Kaleb pointed his finger in the air to get the fact across.

Scott nodded, pushing himself up onto his elbows. "Yeah, but we never really seriously thought that it was Matt."

"I was serious. I was quite serious, actually. Deadly serious. No one listened to me."

Caroline held her hand to her chest, "I solemnly swear to listen to him from here on out."

Lizzie rose her brows, "Harry Potter quote?" She's amused; she thought referencing Harry Potter when showing new students was her dads doing, but now she thinks it might be her mothers.

Hope giggled and sat up, pulling her legs to her chest. "I'm sorry for not listening to you."

Stiles gestured to her with his hands and smiled brightly. "Thank you for the apology."

"Who were the other three?" Scott asked, shaking his head at the two of them.

"He sees the vision, I know he does," Caroline stated with a crazy grin on her face. "I'm still the captain, though!" She reminded everyone.

The Stilinski sighed and then said, "Cora. No one knows anything about her, and she's Derek's sister." He then held out his fingers, putting one down for Cora. "Next, your boss." He lowered another finger.

Scott sat up on the bed fast, his eyes wide. "My boss?"

"Yeah, your boss. I don't really like the whole Obi-Wan thing he's got going on, you know. Freaks me out," Stiles interjected, shaking his head. Scott looked at his best friend with confused eyes. "Oh, my God. Have you still not seen Star Wars?"

Lizzie's mouth hung open in shock. "Scott is seriously uncultured."

"Seriously, though," MG commented, looking over to Lizzie with love struck eyes.

"Seriously, MG," Lizzie rolled her eyes, "I'm not into you like that."

MG just shrugged, "that's okay."

Kaleb leaned forward to slap MG on the back. "There's other fish in the sea, brotha."

"I swear, if we make it back alive, I will watch the movie." 

"Biggest lie ever told," Lizzie retorted.

Stiles shook his head in disbelief, running his hand over his mouth, "It just makes me crazy."

"Who was the last one?" Scott asked, his brows furrowed in thought.

Stiles shuffled a little, letting out a huge sigh. "Lydia."

Hope frowned and stared up at him with furrowed brows. "What? Why?"

He shrugged, rubbing his hands together. "She was totally controlled by Peter, and she had no idea, so... who says it's not happening now."

The auburn haired girl bit her lip before pushing herself off of the bed. "Okay. Well, how about I keep an eye on her just in case?"

"No!" Stiles shouted and his eyes widened as both of them turned to him in surprise. "I—I mean... well, if it's her, you'll get hurt."

Most of the girls awe'd, seeing the signs of jealousy but also the worry.

Klaus narrowed his eyes. "As if a tiny red head could hurt my daughter."

She smiled, happy that he cared for her that much. "Stiles, I can take care of myself." She made her way over to him and laid her hand on his shoulder. "And she's currently with Allison who isn't suspecting anything. So, if it is my strawberry blonde friend, well, then I'll be there to stop anything from happening to Allison and anyone else." She patted his cheek fondly and then walked out of the room.

"Fondly!" Caroline blurted out loudly. "She patted his cheek fondly! I can't, the cuteness is overloading!" She placed her hand on her forehead and faked fainting.

Bonnie shook her head at her dear friend, reaching over to pat her on the head as if she's a dog. "There, there."

Elena giggled, holding onto Damon's hand, her thumb caressing his knuckles. "I love you."

He grinned down at her. "I love you, too."

Hope took a few steps down the hall, trying to make her way to her shared room with the girls, but froze as she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"Hello, monster."

Klaus tensed at that voice.

A voice he knows all too well.

Hope swirled around to come face to face with Mikael, and she noticed that the atmosphere suddenly got darker.

"Another hallucination?" Bonnie frowned.

"Who is that?" Ben asked with a tilt of his head.

"Father," all the Mikaelson's murmured in horror and disgust.

"Mikael," Klaus breathed out.

Hayley held onto Klaus' hand tightly, caressing her thumb against his knuckles to show that she is there for him.

Swallowing thickly, her eyes grew wide as she took a step back.

The eldest Mikaelson smirked at her smaller figure. "I assume my reputation precedes me."

The tribrid shook her head, letting out a shaky breath. "This is a nightmare. I'm dreaming."

"On the contrary, my darling — this is very real." He vamp-spec over to Hope and put her in a headlock, and she gasped in surprise.

"Let go of her, you monster," Klaus growled out, eyes glowing a bright yellow, standing up from his seat slowly and menacingly.

Hayley was tense in her seat, eyes flickering between gold and her normal hazel green eyes.

"Welcome to my hell, stuck in an eternity of watching over the atrocity known as the bastards child!" He spat out, tightening his hold on her. "You useless, girl!" He laughed manically as she fought against his hold. "You will never be loved and you shouldn't even exist. Just like your father." Her heart started pounding as that sounded awfully familiar. "None of those people in that town will ever care for you. You are a monster! That's all you'll ever be. You don't have a heart or soul, you are void. You scavenge, you kill, and the only way to pay for what you have done is to rip out your heart."

"Don't listen to him, baby girl!" Hayley shouted, standing up to stand beside Klaus, eyes glowing brightly.

They both looked effortlessly beautiful and powerful... and frightening.

Jen and Ben's hearts clenched tightly at the words that were thrown at Hope, hating how eerily similar he was to their father.

Elena's heart broke at those words that were harshly spoken to this beautiful and wonderful girl. And once upon a time, he must've spoke those very words to Klaus. She hated that for them.

She gasped as it felt like something was gripping her heart and squeezing it. But, she grew angry at the words that he must've yelled at her father. Clenching her jaw, she shouted, "I am loved!" as her eyes turned lupine-gold.

She slammed her head back into his nose, and broke his arm by twisting it behind his back. Then, she picked up a picture on the wall, swinging it at his head with all the force she can muster.

"Yes!" Lizzie stood up excitedly.

"Beat his ass!" Caroline shouted.

"You tell yourself that, girl!"

She kicked the bannister to the staircase to break off a piece of metal to use as a stake. Of course it wasn't wood, but this was an hallucination and any weapon will do.

"You are an atrocity and I don't know why your parents ever decided to keep you!" Mikael spat out as he looked up at her with narrowed, disgust filled eyes.

"You don't understand cause you're terrible father!" Kol spat out, angry and disgusted at the sight of Mikael.

"Leave her alone!" Marcel growled out.

He jumps up onto the second floor balcony, startling Hope who let out a shaky breath. She didn't know what was happening, why she was seeing Mikael or how none of her friends have heard her.

"Where are her friends?" Bonnie mumbled.

Everyone was standing up at this point, too on edge to be sitting.

Quickly, Hope launched herself off of the balcony and onto the first floor. But, he just jumped down, growling.

Spinning around rapidly, she picked up a flower pot, throwing it at his head. He moved quickly and she jumped onto a table, did a front-flip, and landed behind him. Quickly, she stabbed him in the heart with the piece of metal, grinding her teeth angrily.

"Yes!"

"Tear him apart!"

"Damn!" Clarke couldn't help but exclaim.

"My father was the best man I have ever met and I am so glad he is in peace instead of with your pathetic ass. Rot in hell!" She twisted the piece of metal and then smirked maliciously before biting him on the neck. "I hope that stings."

"Holy shit," Marcel breathed out.

"Like father like daughter," Freya remarked, swallowing thickly, still worried about Hope.

Hope was shoved forward with a loud gasp, and found herself laying on the floor of a room. Sitting up quickly, she looked around with furrowed brows, having no clue on what had happened.

"Wha—"

Everyone frowned at the screen, bewildered.

"What the hell?" She murmured to herself and moved to open the door to exit the room, but was knocked back by a powerful source. The wind wrapped around her like a tornado, her hair blowing everywhere, getting in her eyes and mouth.

And then suddenly, it stopped.

"What the hell is going on?!" Lizzie snapped, annoyed for Hope. Too much is happening all at once. And if she were Hope, she would be having a break down right about now.

And Hope found herself in front of Landon who had piercing eyes. "Did you really not love me enough? You left me. You jumped into Malivore with my brother without a second thought about anyone else. You are the epitome of selfishness."

Everyone slowly turned to Landon who shrunk in on himself, shoulders to his ears.

"I— I didn't — I'm not..." he couldn't get any words out.

"Is that really how you feel, brother?" Clarke rose a brow, crossing his arms.

"Not everything is about you, you overgrown chica pet," Lizzie spat out, her hands clenched at her side.

Hope narrowed her eyes. "I did that for you. I did that for everyone back at the school. How is that selfish?" Deep down, she knew this wasn't Landon, but she also knew must've hurt everyone back at Mystic Falls. Well, not that they would know that now. They have forgotten all about her. "What did you expect me to do? Just give up and allow Malivore to take over? No!"

Alaric was frowning as he watched the screen. Never in a million years did he expect to ever know and like a Mikaelson. But, apparently he knows her in the future. And now, he feels bad for her, and something almost protective.

Landon rolled his eyes. "It's not like any of us remember you. And that's probably a good thing. Because everything you touch, dies. Maybe we're better off without the Mikaelson legacy roaming around free. Maybe we will all finally live happily ever after."

Landon was suddenly held up on the air by his neck, and Klaus was there, growling angrily. "Is that how you really feel about my daughter?!"

Landon chocked out a, "n-no, si-sir," before he was roughly dropped to the floor.

"You better hope not, mortal, or I will rip your head from your body and use your skull as a paintbrush holder," Klaus spat out, eyes glowing brightly in the dimmed room.

The words hit her like a brick to the face and she stumbled back in surprise. "You... you don't mean that."

"I think I do." He smirked at her dad expression. "Is your feelings hurt? Good! Because you don't deserve to be loved. You don't deserve to have a happy life when all your family has done was destroy others. Maybe it's about time you did us all a favor and just kill yourself." He took a step towards her and she stumbled into the wall.

Hayley gasped at those words.

A warm and sticky substance made a squelching noise and she turned around, only to let out a gasp.

The wall was covered in blood. It was raining down from the wall, and covering the whole surface.

"Ew," Lizzie screwed up her nose.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Rebekah rasped out.

"Something isn't right in that motel," Freya said. "It's haunted... it's thick with blood."

"Oh, god!"

"Remember those vampires you killed? Do you remember the screams?"

Hope turned around to face Landon who was inches away from her. He had a dark look in his eyes and had no expression revealing what he was thinking.

"I think it's about time we hear you scream." All of a sudden, a knife was in his hand.

But, then Landon disappeared and the knife was in her hand. Maybe it was always in her hand and she was just now noticing it.

Either way, it felt heavy in her hand, and she had the urge to ram it into her stomach.

Hayley felt like throwing up, her stomach coiling.

Everyone held their breaths in anticipation.

"No!" A distant scream could be heard and then the room felt like it was a thousand degrees.

A burst of pain spread throughout the arm that was holding the knife, and then it was like a switch was flipped. Everything rushed in at once, and the knife was falling to the floor, making a loud clanking noise.

Stumbled backwards into the now clean wall, Hope looked up to see Stiles' worried, tearful eyes staring at her.

"Yes, Stiles to the rescue," Caroline said, tears in her eyes, and a breath of relief left her.

Jen, who was subconsciously holding her breath, also let it go in relief.

Lizzie shook her hands out by her sides, releasing her pent up emotions in a way she knew wouldn't be harmful.

"Hope?" He murmured, tentatively reaching out to caress her cheek with his hand. "Are you alright?" His voice shook violently at the thought of both his best friend and Hope trying to kill themselves.

"She wasn't the only one?" Bonnie asked with a head tilt.

She slowly nodded and absently raised her hand to rest on his that was on her cheek. "I... I'm fine. I'm fine." She swallowed thickly and briefly closed her eyes, thinking about what she was close to doing.

She hasn't fell that feeling since her parents and uncle died. And she never wants to feel that way again.

Elijah frowned. He doesn't seem to be brought up much, and that hurts.

Klaus and Hayley glanced over at Elijah, all three of them feeling responsible for the trauma that Hope holds in her tiny body.

THE NEXT MORNING, Hope found herself being woken up by the sound of Finstock's voice. He wasn't exactly pleased with the sight in front of him. 

On the bus were seven sleeping teens; Hope was curled up in Stiles' side, Scott in the seat in front of them, Allison and Lydia beside him, with Isaac and Boyd in the back. After last night, they decided it would be best to keep themselves away from the motel.

"I love this friend group," Rebekah said, "I wish I had that."

Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie looked to one another with small smiles on their faces.

Lizzie looked over at her friends, at her sister, but something still felt missing. Something didn't feel right.

"I don't want to know. I really don't want to know," Finstock muttered as the cross-country team lined up behind him. "But in case you missed the announcement, the meets canceled, so we're heading home. Pack it in. Pack it in!"

Hope yawned, snuggling further into Stiles' hoodie which he had given to her as a blanket. Stiles had his arm's wrapped around her waist, and he had his back to the window, her head resting on his chest.

Caroline smiled, knowing that they're going to be endgame, she can feel it in her bones.

"I'm happy she has people who care for her," Rebekah smiled, wishing her niece was close so that she could wrap her in a hug.

A rumble was low in Klaus' chest. Yeah, he's happy and relieved that his daughter has a strong friendship, a pack she can trust, but he is allowed to not want to see his daughter in the arms of a boy.

Ethan found himself slipping into Scott's seat, the McCall sliding against the window in surprise.

"I don't know what happened last night," Ethan began. "But I'm pretty sure you saved my life." 

Stiles scoffed and then gestured to himself, trying to not make Hope move seeing as he loved her cuddling against him. "Actually, I saved your life, but not that it matters that much. It's a minor detail." 

Ignoring Stiles, Ethan continued, "So I'm gonna give you something. We're pretty sure Derek's still alive." Their eyes widened in surprise, and Hope sat up further, ignoring Stiles' whine of protest. "But he killed one of ours. That means one of two things can happen. Either he joins our pack—"

"And he kills his own," Scott murmured.

"Or Kali's younger sister goes after him, and we kill him," Ethan stated, and they blinked in surprise at the news. The alpha then turned to Hope. "She'll be coming for you too seeing as you killed Kali."

Hope smirked. "Bring it on."

"That's my girl," Klaus grinned.

Stiles sat up and glared at Ethan. "You know, your little code of ethics there is sort of barbaric, just FYI." 

Ethan rolled his eyes and got up, making his way toward the back of the bus.

Finstock then began to make his way down the aisle.

Lydia shot up from her seat, "Coach, can I see your whistle for a second?" she then tugged it off of his neck, not waiting for a response,

Finstock watched in confusion, stuttering, "Hey, I'm gonna need that back." He continued making his way down the aisle.

Lydia examined it, wrapping her hand around the whistle before blowing into it.

Allison, Stiles, Hope, and Scott watched her in confusion, wondering what the whistle had to do with anything.

She pulled her hand away, holding her palm to reveal light-purple dust scattered across her hand, "Wolfsbane."

Hayley's eyes widened, "someone poisoned them!"

Klaus growled. "I'll kill whoever it was."

Hope's eyes went wide, "So every time the coach blew the whistle one the bus, Scott, Isaac, Boyd..."

"Ethan," Lydia added, "and you."

"We all inhaled it," Scott mumbled.

"You were all poisoned by it," Allison continued, her dark brows pulling together in thought and concern.

"So that's how the Darach got into their heads," Stiles finally pieced together. "That's how they did it." He then snatched the whistle out of Lydia's hand, leaned toward the window before chucking it out of the bus.

"Hey, hey, hey! Stilinski!" Finstock's voice boomed loudly, storming over toward Stiles.

Lizzie snorted. "He makes everything so comical looking."

Hope giggled loudly, leaning her head on Stiles' shoulder, shaking her head.

At that time, the engine began to rumble, the bus taking off the Motel Hell and finally back to Beacon Hills.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆

— reminder that i have my stories set as 'completed' but they're not (the ones im currently working on at the moment) like this one for instance. it's not finished, i have MANY chapters left to write for it <3