Raw Love [SLOW UPDATES]

Chapter 12

"Lizzie?" Landon squints his eyes at the blonde sitting in the driver's seat. "What are you doing here?"

"Get in muggle, the monsters aren't following you." Landon scrunches up his eyebrows in confusion making Lizzie scoff. "Can you just get in? A Krampus is terrorizing the school and it might come after you next."

"Since when have you ever cared about me?" Lizzie rolls her eyes and then hops out of the car.

"I didn't choose to come. I came for Hope." Landon's face softens and he looks behind him.

"I can't go with you." Landon turns back to Lizzie. "I'm leaving Raphael here and I'm venturing on my own.

"Leaving Hope and Josie without having the balls to say why is one thing but now you're ditching Raph?" Landon sighs as Lizzie scoffs.

"As long as monsters are after me he's in danger too so I had to find someplace where I knew he'd be safe."

"Except the monsters aren't after you right now." Landon's face falls. "So what is your plan Huck Finn, ride the rails?"

"My only plan is to make sure nobody else gets hurt because of me because that really sucks." Lizzie's face softens and she takes a deep breath before talking.

"Come back to the school with me, face Hope and Josie, and then they will help you face whatever comes next." When Landon doesn't answer she continues. "We all will. What do you say?" Landon's about to answer when Sebastian speeds up behind him and snaps his neck. Landon falls to the ground in a heap and Lizzie looks at Sebastian in surprise.

"I say that you people talk entirely too much when action is required."

****

Hope walks into the main room of the school and stops in her tracks when she sees practically every student dressed in holiday clothes, talking merrily with one another. "What in the hell is going on?"

"Hope." Ric walks over to Hope with a bedazzled Christmas sweater on and he holds out a glass of eggnog to her. "Eggnog?"

"God, not you too." When she doesn't take the eggnog he pulls his hand back and smiles.

"Come on! It's Christmas, cheer up." Hope gives Ric a pointed look. "Your loss."

"Wai-." But he's already walking and Hope's phone rings. "Please tell me you found Landon."

"I did but he was going to tell Raph where he was going and Sebastian snapped his neck." Hope gapes and Lizzie laughs. "He comes back remember?"

"I know." Hope then hears cars passing by but it doesn't sound like Lizzie's driving. "You're not driving."

"No, the car broke down and Sebastian's trying to fix it."

"Isn't he from like- the 15th century?"

"Yeah but he keeps saying he's going to get it." Hope hears the car start in the background and Lizzie quietly cheers. "Listen, we'll be back soon so just wait a bit longer. Maybe then we can figure this whole Krampus thing out."

"Maybe." Hope ends the call and shoves the phone back in her pocket.

****

When Hope walks back into the main room a full party is in swing. "Can I have everyone's attention?" They don't answer and continue dancing. "I need everyone's attention!" Everyone stops dancing and they turn to Hope. Kaleb stops the music and Hope smiles as she steps down the stairs. "I um, I have bad news. A Krampus is in the school." Someone coughs as Kaleb turns the music back on and the party continues, Hope rolls her eyes. "Onconceido." Hope raises her hands and the record player and the tree lights explode making everyone scream. She turns slightly and makes the food on the table explode and fly everywhere. "Alright, didn't want to deploy the nuclear option but- Santa's not real." A girl gasps in the room somewhere. "He's a myth and you're all acting like a bunch of children." Ric scrunches up his eyebrows and brings a hand to his forehead. "So let's put the partridge back in the pear tree and grow the hell up." Hope turns and her face falls when she sees Pedro's tear-stained face. He gets up and runs past her out of the room. "No Pedro wait." Hope sighs and turns back to everyone else.