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

T H I R T Y - S E V E N

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The halls of the Salvatore School seem darker as Stella makes her way to the kitchen. She had gotten an urgent text early that morning from a distressed Lizzie; in response, she has slept an extra hour and then gotten dressed to save the day.

She drags her feet against the wood floors, ignoring the students she passes. When she gets to a certain bedroom, she finds herself pausing at the brunette making the bed. In a burst of confidence, Stella knocks on the door. Her chest tightens as the girl meets her gaze. The grimace that passes over Josie's face makes Stella's confidence plummet. "Hey, Josie," she says softly as she crosses her arms over her chest.

As a greeting, Josie just nods before finishing the bed.

"Did you sleep in here?" Stella asks, glancing at Penelope's room. "I heard she left last night."

"Yeah," Josie replies with a clipped voice. She straightens her back and squares her shoulders. "She left."

Stella nods with a sigh. A moment of awkward silence passes as the girls stare at each other. Before long, Stella breaks, lowering her gaze. "We should talk about the pageant."

"There's nothing to talk about." Josie turns around to grab her books. "I blew my shot at winning so you could win, and, as always, Lizzie screwed me over."

Swallowing thickly, Stella chances a look at Josie. "I'm sorry for the part I played yesterday. I-I never meant to push you away. You probably hate me right now..."

Josie finally meets Stella's gaze. Brown meets blue and the world stops around them. Stella loses her breath as the chestnut of Josie's eyes capture her, luring her into a forest of serenity and peace. A smile almost blooms on her face.

"I don't hate you," Josie replies, her cheeks tinged with pink. "I could never hate you."

"I would understand if you did," she whispers.

Josie shakes her head. "I'm just mad at the world right now, not you. You tried to get me to see what Lizzie was doing, what I was doing to myself. I'm not mad at you, Stella." The siphoner takes a step forward. "I just need some time."

Without emotion, Stella steps out of the doorway and into the hall. "I understand," she says. "I'll stay away."

A body hurls into Stella; it throws the Hale witch into the ground without regard for her yelp. When Stella looks up, she sees Hope pause just past her. Their eyes meet.

An apology falls from Stella's mouth. As she pushes herself off of her skinned knees and bruised shoulder, Stella reaches out for Hope. The trybrid jerks away. "Not now, Stella," Hope says a little too quickly. "I know you didn't know about the dress, but I just—I can't deal with you now. Leave me be please."

She disappears down another hallway.

Stella stares at the spot her cousin stood seconds before. The noise around her melts away as the guilt weighs on her shoulders; ringing replaces the sounds of students walking down the halls, leaving Stella grasping at nothing. She sees Josie's hand through the mess before her and takes it. As the siphoner helps Stella stand, the Hale witch avoids eye contact. "Thanks," she says. "See you later."

Josie is the first to leave. After a few minutes of standing alone beside Penelope's room, Stella begins to walk down to the kitchen. To calm her nerves, she texts as she walks, avoiding anyone and everyone who attempts to start a conversation.

When she walks into the kitchen, she stops short of the table when she sees the copious amounts of flour and sugar sprayed all over every surface. "There you are," Lizzie sighs as she wipes her hands on her apron. "I got tired of waiting, so I attempted a banana cream pie by myself."

With wide eyes, Stella asks, "Where is it?"

"In the garbage. I said 'attempted.'" She smirks as she removes her apron and hands it to Stella. "So we're gonna go back to plan A, and you are gonna make it for me."

Sighing, Stella reluctantly takes the apron. "Just an FYI, I suck at cooking," she says.

Lizzie's expression falls as she lets her hands hang at her sides. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

Shrugging, Stella purses her lips. "I may have texted someone who can actually bake to come help us out."

"What's up, witches?" Teddy smirks as he walks into the kitchen. When his eyes find the mess, he frowns. "Whoa, you really need my help."

Lizzie stares at Teddy with wide eyes, like a cat eying dinner. Stella hands the apron over to Teddy with a grateful smile, gently telling him to make a banana cream pie, before she settles next to Lizzie.

With a shove from Stella, Lizzie breaks from her trance but always keeps one eye on Teddy baking. "Status update: Josie didn't come back last night. I think she slept in Penelope's old room, which is a really good way to get Hepatitis B."

Placing a hand on Lizzie's shoulder, Stella asks. "Have you slept at all? You seem a little—"

"Focused? Motivated? On point?"

"Sure," Stella nods. "Yeah."

Lizzie shakes her head, sharing an odd look with Teddy as if both know something Stella does not. She huffs in annoyance as Lizzie continues. "Not sleeping in the same bedroom means that Twin Forgiveness Cuddle is off the table. But she's been holed up in the library, so a snack offering should do the trick."

"You know," Teddy grunts as he mixes something over the stove. "At some point, you might have to apologize."

With a dramatic gasp, Lizzie turns to face him. "Never apologize. Trust me. This is what we do. I'm selfish, then she sulks, and then I offer baked goods."

"Someone else's baked goods," Stella mutters.

Lizzie glares at the witch. "It's giving you both something to do with yourselves, isn't it?" She shakes her head before putting on a faux smile. "Your turn for an update. Any word on our devil trybrid?"

Stella glances at Teddy before she sighs. "She says she needs time. She doesn't want to deal with me right now. Can barely look me in the eye. Neither can Josie—I talked to both this morning." When Lizzie opens her mouth to respond, Stella adds, "They were short conversations. Nothing to note, really. I just...I need to figure out what to say, and I've never been great with..." Stella motions around her.

"Great with what?" Lizzie asks.

"Words," Stella says. "Talking. With other people. Especially real people."

Teddy snorts. "What non-real people have you talked to?"

She puts up her middle finger; he sticks his tongue out in response.

"So, practice," Lizzie says suddenly. "Emma has this prism that simulates a conversation. She makes me use it to talk to my mom and dad when I'm...in a state."

"I could give it to Hope," Stella says. "Maybe she can figure out what to do with Landon."

"So you're not gonna use it to figure out your own problems?" Lizzie asks.

"Hell no, what do you take me for, a sane person? This is the twenty-first century. Teens can't do reasonable shit to save their lives."

Reluctantly, Lizzie nods in agreement. "I'll trade you one prism for one bomb-ass banana cream pie."

"Give me another half hour, and I'll give you a banana cream pie," Teddy huffs. "It takes finesse and skill and—"

Stella smirks. "Just shut up and make the pie."

I'm excited for where this is going :)

Hope you enjoyed!

-L