𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁

In The Shadow's

"Is that-"

"Reiner Lockwood? Yeah. He's the one who found that cheerleader, in the woods. Said he heard a scream."

"Yikes, that's traumatic. Poor Lockwood kid can't catch a break."

Reiner pretended not to be able to hear the nurse's aids whispering about him as he passed. People didn't even try to pretend not to stare in this town. Sometimes he caught himself fantasizing about escaping, and going somewhere else – anywhere else. Somewhere people didn't know his face everywhere he went. It was a pipe dream though.

He walked into Hitch's hospital room and found her asleep. Her neck was bandaged where the bloody gash had been. Reiner tried not to remember how bad she'd looked when he found her in the woods. He was angry at himself for not doing more to intervene before it could happen. As soon as he heard the name Eren Salvatore, Reiner had panicked.

Centuries of diaries discovered in his parents' attic from generations of Lockwood men and women had taught him to dread the name 'Salvatore.'

So, hearing that it was the name of the new kid at Mystic Falls High was jarring, to say the least. So much about this didn't make sense though.

Why was Eren here? After all this time, why enroll in high school? Ymir had been an even bigger surprise. He recognized her as soon as he saw her at the party, just as he'd recognized Eren's scarred face right away. There were paintings and drawings of them in his parents' attic, along with the collections of Lockwood diaries.

Why was Eren going to high school but not Ymir? Maybe that was part of the plan. Throw off any remaining members of the council by drawing attention to Eren while Ymir hid in the shadows and did whatever the Salvatore siblings had come here to do.

If that was the plan, maybe the Salvatores didn't know how truly fucked the council was. That was good. The leeches didn't need to know how much of a disadvantage the townspeople were at.

Hitch's eyes fluttered open. She looked immediately panicked. She stood up and looked around with wide, terrified green eyes. Reiner tried to put a comforting hand on her arm but she just started screaming.

"Whoa – hey!" Reiner ran out into the hall. "Hey I need a nurse!" he yelled. He didn't see anyone in the hall, so he ran back to the lobby. "Hey, Hitch needs a nurse!" he said.

A girl wearing scrubs, with blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun followed Reiner back down the hall to Hitch's room. When they got there though, Hitch was fast asleep again. The nurse gave Reiner a quizzical look.

"She seems fine," the girl said. Reiner glared. This girl didn't even look old enough to be a nurse. Actually, he was pretty sure she was just a nurse's aid. She looked bored with this whole thing. Reiner wished someone a little more qualified had paid attention.

"She's not-" Reiner stopped himself. "Okay, thanks," he said. The girl shook her head and walked away.

When the girl was gone, Reiner shook Hitch's arm a little. At first, she didn't stir. Reiner tried again, and she woke up, looking sleepy.

"Reiner?" Hitch asked, sounding confused. "What – what happened? Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital," he said, frowning. "You don't remember?"

"I-" Hitch seemed to be thinking hard.

"Hitch, what attacked you in the woods?"

She stared at him hard, like she was trying to understand something. "An animal?" Hitch said. It sounded like a question rather than an answer, though. Like she thought she was being quizzed. Reiner stared at her, trying to read her expression.