Burnin' Up | J. Saltzman - Legacies [1]

T H I R T Y - T W O

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Stella waits outside the Salvatore School, her knee bouncing anxiously. She sits on one of the many wooden benches with her body hunched over her legs, elbows resting on her thighs. Surveying the fields, she watches the entrance gate with narrowed eyes.

Footsteps draw her attention to the side as Landon cautiously approaches. "Hey, Stella," he says. "You mind if I talk to you for a minute?"

With a sigh, the girl motions for him to sit. "I heard about your date with death," she says as she looks back at the gate. "Phoenix, huh?"

Landon nods. "I guess."

"I can do some research. I do specialize in fire. You and I might be more similar than we thought."

"I'm honestly just glad to know what I am," he says. "But I actually wanted to talk about Hope."

Stella rolls her eyes. "What, is she upset about something? I get that you rising from your dead corpse would be traumatic for her, but she's been through worse." Landon opens his mouth to disagree but Stella stops him. "Or maybe she thinks I'm avoiding her, which I'm obviously not. Why would I avoid her; she's my cousin. I can't be mad at her for something that happened years ago or for something that was out of her control."

She turns to face Landon as the potted plant beside her begins to wilt and smoke. "I was the one who kept calling her all spring break, but did I get a call back? Not once. And when she got back, she instantly went to rescue you! I mean, for gods sakes, I'm her cousin, and she forgot about me for weeks!"

As Stella pauses for breath, the horrified look on Landon's face makes her shrink back. "Never mind. What did you want to talk about?"

"Um, she had a nightmare this morning," Landon says, his voice hesitant. "She woke up, screamed, and threw me across the room with magic."

"Sounds like regular witch stuff," Stella replies. "After trauma, it's sometimes hard to control it."

"Is there something I can do to help her?"

Shaking her head, Stella sighs. "She's gonna close herself off. You just gotta be there when she realizes she needs you. Or someone. If he could just get here on time..."

Landon frowns as Stella balls her hands into fists. "Um, Stella?"

"What?"

He points at the plant beside her. When she turns, she sighs at the damage: there is no longer a plant, or even a pot, for that matter. Only molten clay spreading over the pavement. "Damn it," she mutters.

"Wow, you did a number on that plant."

Stella jumps to her feet and spins around at the sound of his voice, her eyes darting over every square inch of space in around her. When she sees the man approaching the bench, she sprints at him and jumps into his awaiting arms with a squeal.

Landon stands from the bench as the man spins Stella around in his arms with a wide smile on his face. Once Stella is back on the ground, Landon coughs.

Rolling her eyes, she says, "This is Landon, Hope's boyfriend."

With a wolfish grin, the man approaches Landon with an outstretched hand. "We've met before. I'm—" he pauses, turning his head towards the school. "Actually, let's have this conversation on the way down to the gym."

"Why?" Stella asks.

"Hope doesn't seem too happy with her boyfriend right now," the man sends Landon a smirk before he walks into the school, Stella trailing behind him.

After a moment of silent confusion, Landon grumbles, "Oh, hell." before he follows them through the mansion down to the gym.

Alaric's voice echoes from the gym as Stella approaches. "I mean, with your family history, I just want to make sure—"

"That won't end well," Stella mutters as she and the man pause at the entrance to the gym.

"I said, I'm fine!" Hope yells. Alaric flies through the air, landing on his back, before the group.

"If you're fine, I have to reassess what I am," the man muses as he helps Alaric back to his feet before turning to face Hope.

The woman freezes with wide eyes. "Teddy," she breathes. A smile blooms on her face as she runs at the man. In return, the wolf scoops her up in a hug, inhaling deeply as he chuckles.

"I missed you, Hope," Teddy replies as he sets her down. "Met the boyfriend. Interesting choice."

Hope hits his arm. "What are you doing here? I thought you were finishing your year in France."

"Spring break," Stella replies as she joins the family reunion. She only glances at Hope as she says, "I told him to come for a visit. I sort of wanted to see him."

"Aw," he laughs, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her into his chest. She groans and playfully pushes at his shoulders. "My little sister missed me."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" The voice makes the group turn to the humans at the door. Alaric stands there with the most annoyed expression on his face as Landon eyes Teddy with a jealous glint in his eye.

Hope steps forward, grabbing Landon's hands. "Landon, this is Teddy. My cousin. You met him before. With my uncle."

Landon's eyes widen the slightest bit as he forces a smile on his face. He extends a hand towards Teddy with a nervous chuckle. "Teddy, the famous cousin. I remember you."

Teddy crosses his arms over her chest and stares down at Landon with a famous Hale glare. He arches an eyebrow at the phoenix's attempt at a greeting.

"Stop it," Stella mutters. "You're gonna scare him."

"What's the point of imitating Dad if I can't scare Hope's new boyfriend?" He replies. "I'll do the same for you." Stella's playful expression drops the moment the words leave his lips. He winces as he realizes what he said. "Stella, I—"

"I don't have anyone for you to intimidate, T," she says softly. "Not by a long shot."

He looks down at her with a frown of concern. She just walks out of the gym with her hands tucked under her arms. Before she can leave, however, she bumps right into Lizzie Saltzman.

"Hey, Stella," Lizzie greets happily. "You are gonna help me out today." Without waiting for a reply, Lizzie grabs Stella's arm and drags her back into the gym. "Daddy, I need you—Whoa." The blonde stares at the other blond in the room with her mouth wide open. "Hello, there, tall, handsome stranger."

Stella gags as Teddy smirks. "See, sis? I'm handsome."

Lizzie turns back to the witch with wide eyes. "You have a brother?" She exclaims "Why didn't you tell me you have a hot brother?"

"EW!" Stella covers her ears with her hands. "Why does this always happen to me? God, why?"

Lizzie rolls her eyes before turning back to her father. "They won't unload the trucks without your signature," she says as she hands him a clipboard.

Stella slowly removes her hands to see Hope and her brother whispering. He eyes Lizzie with a glare, but a single word from Hope alleviates the harsh lines covering his face.

"Tables, chairs, flowers, a-a helium tank?" Alaric looks back at his daughter with wide eyes. "Who ordered all this?"

"You did," Lizzie replies. "A few months ago."

"Why?"

Lizzie glances back at Stella. "You know what today is, right?" She shrugs as Lizzie turns back to her father with a hard stare.

Alaric gasps. "Miss Mystic Falls. Shit."

TEDDY!!!! I MISSED MY BABY BOY!!!

Hope you enjoyed!

-L