ᎻᎬᏚᎢᏆᎪ

CHAPTER THREE

hestia had taken to hanging around the grill in the few days since she'd arrived in mystic falls. she encountered carol here quite often over these days, the two of them always finding something to talk about. it also warded off teenagers that approached hestia, when they saw her sitting and laughing with the major of their quaint little town.

on this particular day, matt was serving her food once again, the two of them chatting because the grill was empty for the most part.

"so, you and all your friends have lived here your whole lives?" she asks, hand resting on her chin with obvious interest in her face. the teenager nods, wiping down the table next to hers and smiling.

"yep. that's how it is for most people in small towns. a lot of people never really get the chance to leave unless they have the motivation to."

"yes, i've heard. i've been all over the world, but it's really humbling to come across places like this, sometimes," she says, sipping from her water. matt goes wide eyed slightly at her saying she'd been all over the world, but then he checks his watch and panics.

"oh, crap, i've gotta go."

"school, right?"

the boy nods, making to leave and put his things away. on his way towards the exit, he stops and smiles at hestia, saying, "bye, hestia. see you later."

she nods, smiling back. "likewise, matt. be good to your friend, it's her birthday, right?"

he leaves the grill after they said goodbye, heading off to school, and hestia lets out a sigh. she ended up leaving the grill not long after, having finished the pancakes she'd ordered as well as her water, so now she was roaming around mystic falls. as the goddess walked around, she faintly noticed that someone was tailing her the entire time, but she didn't do anything about it.

it had been like that since she'd first met klaus the other day. there was always some supernatural following her around, so she acted as causal as usual. hermes had limited his calls after she'd texted him about the eavesdropping, but he still checked in with her.

persephone had contacted her aunt once in place of her husband, considering he'd been dealing with zeus pestering for anything about their runaway sister. the olympians had been searching for her high and low, but thanks to the few gods she'd stayed in contact with and the minor gods that had always adored her covering her tracks, none of them had found her. sure, artemis and apollo had been much closer to finding her than the others, but she had carefully stayed hidden from the twins.

"well, don't look so dejected, love." the voice has her smiling, and she turns to face the british man as he turns up at her side. the presence that had previously been following her left after klaus showed up, and she relaxed slightly.

"hello, again, klaus," hestia greets, smiling kindly at him, and he returns it with a genuine smile of his own.

"hello. now, what's got you looking so melancholy? i was used to your smile, so what could've dimmed it?"

she chuckles at the flattery, hitting his arm lightly in a playful way. klaus grins at her being comfortable around him, heart warming despite knowing that she had no clue as to who and what he was.

that made his smile dull momentarily, but hestia brought him back to the present by letting out a sigh.

"just thinking about my family."

the hybrid raises an eyebrow, and follows her to sit on a nearby bench. facing the street in front of them, he asks, "what about your family?"

she lets out a sigh. "they're a difficult bunch. hard to handle, but i always made due. i was the mediator, as my mother called me once. they get into fights very often, especially my brothers, and some of my nieces and nephews. the quarreling is almost never-ending, and it gets tiring."