Shadows Within

THIRTEEN

This Sunday morning, Hope Mikaelson awoke to an empty bed and open window, the wind blowing through her room, chilling her to the core.

Fucking Ryan. He should have closed the window before he went off. I would talk to you later, but I have an early work today; the note he had left on her counter had said. Sighing, she had brushed her teeth and walked into the shared kitchen where Lizzie was cooking something with an awfully cheery smile for somebody who was fighting with their twin sister and Jed Lockwood was watching, looking quite uncertain that whatever she was doing would work.

"What are you doing?" Lizzie cooking was a miracle itself. She couldn't cook to save her life. It was Josie who had spent many mornings with Caroline, cooking one thing or another.

"Hope, just the person I wanted to see! Come on, help me to prepare banana cream pie."

Hope arched her eyebrows at her almost sister questioningly. "Banana cream pie?" She asked, bewildered. "Why?"

"So, I can make Josie forgive me for the whole Nell — I mean, Penelope thing." She beamed excitingly and Hope exchanged anxious glances with Jed Lockwood, both of them knowing full well this wasn't going to end well.

"Right. Obviously." Hope awkwardly smiled and turned to Jed, "Have you heard from Rafael?"

Apparently, Rafael was still a sort of sore subject for Jed. Which now that she thought about it, was understandable. He did got his spot as an alpha get stolen by a basically amateur. It wouldn't go well on his track record. "No." He shook his head. "But I do have to meet with him later. So, if you have anything to say to him, I can rely it to him."

Hope smiled. "Thanks, Jed." She said. "Can you ask him about Landon? He's been avoiding me." Since he had witnessed her kiss with Ryan, it was like every time she went to seek him out and explain, he wasn't there or went running off, saying something about an important business he had to attend.

Jed nodded his head curtly. "Don't mention it." He then signaled his head towards Lizzie. "She's been up all morning. Went through five failed attempts of cooking. So, you'd probably end up doing it for her, Mikaelson. You know how Lizzie is with cooking."

"Why can't you?"

Jed gave her a slight, throaty laugh as if he thought that was the most hilarious thing he had ever heard in his whole life. "You do realize who you are speaking to, right? From our friend group, Penelope was the only one who could do anything remotely close to cooking. Lizzie and me? Don't even mention it. We were just so awful at it. Always ended up in a trashcan. So, before we turned thirteen, we just decided to give it up altogether."

Hope chuckled at the story. She could just imagine Jed and Lizzie glaring grudgingly at Penelope because she was the only one who managed to somehow cook something remotely edible. Suddenly, Jed's phone beeped and Jed quickly picked it up, "Yes, it's Jed. Uhuh. Understood. I would be there in few minutes after picking it up, Ms. C."

"What does my mom want?" Lizzie asked.

"She wants me to pick up something from the library." He bid them farewell, doing a mock salute and went off, stalking away.

After he was gone, Hope grinned widely at Lizzie. "So, you are friends again?"

"After Penelope left, we decided we should give us another try. Be friends again." She smiled. "We've always been better friends than lovers anyway." Lizzie clicked her tongue, smirking. "And what's up with you? Suddenly, you just disappeared."

Hope bit her lips hard, resisting the urge to smile at her friend and failed, beaming quite happily. "I've slept with Ryan."

Lizzie's eyes widened and she gasped in the surprise, smacking her playfully on the shoulder. "Shut up!" She dragged her by the hand to the stool by the counter. "Forget about cooking. Tell me everything. I want every detail. It's not every day Hope Mikaelson loses her virginity. Oh, I know! We should like, celebrate!"