Endgame ⚜ Sweet but Psycho

0. Prologue

Poppy stood in the foyer of the Salvatore Boarding Home, alone in the dimly lit room. The fireplace was lit up with a fire, which cracked and hummed a silent song. Her arms were folded over her waist over her black nightgown, her posture tense but also relaxed. 

It had been a few days since she returned to Mystic Falls, a few days since she had killed Dahlia and Esther. Alaric, and Jo, had been staying at the Boarding Home for the days she had been back, a bit wary of the girl, but also comforting. 

Poppy gave it thought, and maybe Alaric was right to be wary of her. 

"I'm going to head to bed," Silas said softly, placing his hands on his wife's shoulders and giving them a small massage. "are you okay?" 

His wife turned her head to look at him. "I'm okay," she kissed him gently. "go to bed, I'll be there soon." 

Silas kissed her one more time before leaving the foyer, leaving her alone once more. Poppy let out a sigh and looked back at the fire, tears pricking her eyes. Truth be told, she wasn't okay. She carried an incredible amount of guilt. She hated herself. She felt like she would never be happy again. She thought about the vision she had about the graves, and so far, it was true. She began to think about Aiden, and the fun times she had with him over the summer. He made her smile, he gave her advice, he taught her things. She watched as he learned to be comfortable with who he was. She loved seeing him happy with Josh. 

Josh...

She knew Josh was heartbroken, and she was too, and so was Davina, and Cami, and the pack. All because she couldn't save him. She felt like a burden, like the cause of anger and death. She felt that she was the reason Hayley didn't want to be a Mikaelson. 

She was also upset that she killed Mikael, and Freya was heartbroken. She felt upset that he didn't know why he couldn't love her or her dad. She was upset that Dahlia hurt everyone just to get to her. She was upset that she was a payment to her, a source of power. She was upset that she died again. 

Poppy was tired of losing people, and tired of feeling the pain. She wiped a stray tear and stared at the fire. She hated fire, she hated that she hated fire. 

"Hey, kiddo." Alaric sounded from the entrance of the foyer, wearing plaid pajama pants a t-shirt. 

The girl turned to look at him. "Hey, I hope I'm not keeping you up." 

He shook his head. "You're not, I just can't sleep, and my guess is that you can't either."

Poppy shrugged and looked back at the fire. 

Alaric joined her at her side, folding his arms over his chest. "Are you okay?" 

"No." The girl replied, her voice small. "Isn't it obvious?" She asked, wiping a tear away. "I feel so stupid for it." She wiped another tear. "I hate crying, I feel like I'm always crying. I mean, why can't I be strong like everyone else? I'm so weak."

The man frowned, looking at her. "You are strong, Poppy. Everyone's hurting...they just don't show it like you do." He let out a sigh. "Do you want to talk about it?" 

Poppy's lip trembled, more tears forming in her eyes. "What am I supposed to say, Ric?" She asked, her voice not as quiet. She lowered her arms and turned to face him. "What can I say? What can I say that explains the guilt, that explains everything that I'm feeling? I mean-there are no words!" She wiped away more tears. "There are no words to explain everything." The tribrid turned and walked to the couch, where her phone was. She picked it up and turned to look at Alaric again. "I can say that everything that happened is my fault, but that wouldn't even scratch the surface! I just-I can't find the words!"