The Young and Gifted

39. sugar donuts

The remaining days went by quickly. Raf avoided any and all interaction with people by locking himself up in his disorganized room. Some people would swing by Landon's grave to place notes, teddy bears and flowers. Most just slept through the trauma.

And before they knew it, it was the day Hope and Kaura were meant to return. Both girls rolled their luggage up the pathway to the entrance of the school, exhausted.

"Come on, you've got to admit it. Those beignets were amazing," Hope pressed, smiling as she glanced back at Kaura.

Kaura rolled her eyes. "You spent half the flight trying to force me to say it."

"Because I know you liked them! I could tell you wanted to buy more but you're too stubborn to admit it," Hope snorted, eyes twinkling with joy.

The trip had gone better than she thought it would have. She caught up with Freya and Kol, telling them all about the human boy she fell in love with. She got to introduce Kaura to a couple of her witch friends she made in the Quarter, got to show her around the compound and the city. Surprisingly, Kaura and Marcel got along.

After that, they went to the Bayou to meet Jackson and spent a night camping out there with the other teenage wolves. The city was dormant because of the mourning so no music or festivities were ongoing so that was a missing factor. Hope also took Kaura to church, to meet Father Kierran. When the priest told her that the altar was where Bonnie had given birth, Hope hadn't spied any sort of emotion from the witch.

And then it was time to visit the graves. Hope didn't lie, Bonnie and Kai were right beside the Mikaelson name, along with Hayley. There were vibrant, fresh flowers there as if someone tended to them hourly. So when Kaura knelt in front of her parent's graves, Hope respectfully waited outside of the tomb. She couldn't hear any crying but she was sure Kaura was getting emotional in her own way. And then after, they went to the rage yard and both girls smashed things for hours upon hours, no words between them. After the city continued to mourn for the 6 days, Hope made sure to show Kaura around her favourite places. Definitely including the beignets shops.

Kaura was about to finally admit that she enjoyed the sweet cultured donuts more than she should have when someone stepped out from the entrance of the school. It was Josie.

"Hey," Hope greeted. And turned back to Kaura, waiting. "You know what? I'm sure Landon will appreciate my sugared beignets. I should probably take him to New Orleans this Spring Break too."

Abruptly, Josie threw her arms around Hope and began to cry on her shoulder. "I am so sorry, Hope."

Hope was taken aback and she was overall confused. "Josie? It's okay, I've been doing this for years now. I'm used to the feeling, the anniversary is actually a way for people to understand and learn about them." She chuckled nervously.

Josie pulled back, eyes tinted red. "I'm not talking about your parents. I'm talking about Landon."

Her heart dropped, taking in the downcasted emotion on Josie's face. "Did the monsters take him?" Josie shook her head and Hope grabbed her arm persistently. "Then what, Josie? Tell me what happened."

"Landon..." she said slowly. "Landon is dead."

Hope stared into Josie's eyes, the words travelling through her head. Hope didn't notice it but when Kaura glanced up at the sky, dark grey clouds were rolling in. Hope didn't say a word and pushed past both witches to enter the school.

Hope didn't even notice that her march was shaking the school at every step she took. She began to sprint the halls, screaming, "Landon. LANDON." Her voice was rumbling the halls, knocking over objects from desks. "LANDON, WHERE ARE YOU?"

It started to thunder outside, small pellets of rain coming down. Josie tried to catch up to Hope, who was quickly spiralling out of control. At this rate, she was going to tear the school down.

Kaura was about to follow when Penelope stepped into her path. She watched both witches disappear down the hall and turned to her best friend. "What happened?"

"Raf killed Landon," Penelope informed quietly.

Kaura's eyes widened at the sudden load of emotion that hit her. His curse. She rapidly made a detour towards Raf's room and before knew it, she was pounding on his door. "Raf. You idiot, open up. Open this door right now." No matter how much he didn't want to, Kaura knew that he needed her.

Penelope was at her side, shaking her head. "He's been in there for days after he transformed."

"He transformed already?" She turned back to the door, swallowing deeply. He was alone through it all. "Raf, please open up." Kaura knew that she could have easily opened the door with her magic. But it was Raf's choice on whether or not he wanted to let her in. But there was no indication of it from the other side of the door. She stepped back and took a deep breath, muttering to herself, "I'm going to give him time."

Meanwhile, Hope was shredding apart the halls, screaming and throwing things. For anybody who came her way, she would blast them back with her magic. She made her way outside and before she knew it, she was before his grave. She wailed in affliction, loss and emotional drain, digging her knees into the ground. She pounded the dirt, begging for him to come back. I love you, please come back. Please don't leave me.

After her parents—after her family, she didn't need another loved one dying out on her. So she stayed in the rain, crying restlessly as the weather began to destruct around her. She picked up the picture laying on the tombstone. The moment she touched the glass, it shattered, cutting her fingers. She didn't care, not as she brought the broken frame to her lips to kiss his picture.

She didn't know how long she stayed there. All she knew was that she was begging him to come back to her. And not once did he answer.

~

"Everybody lies."

try to guess who said it and don't forget to vote ;)