I Hate That I Love You

Chapter 17

Lizzie didn't know why her heart was pounding so violently as she snuck Hope into the school through the back door. The Salvatore Boarding House had been her home for as long as she could remember. Having Hope back in here again, like during the first few weeks Lizzie and Hope had started seeing each other... It felt nice.

Lizzie glanced at Hope, and was startled to see that the tribrid's eyes were red. Had she been crying? Lizzie was smart enough not to ask or act like she had noticed.

"Would you mind using your vamp hearing to see if Penelope is still in my room?" Lizzie asked hesitantly.

Hope didn't reply, and Lizzie thought for a second that Hope was ignoring her, until she realized Hope was focusing on her supernatural hearing. "She's still there," Hope answered.

"Damn it."

"They're really going at it, too," Hope said.

"That was such an unnecessary comment, Mikaelson," Lizzie groaned.

Hope cracked a smile.

"Well, now we're just going to have to take over Penelope's room, aren't we?" Lizzie said.

"We have no other choice," Hope nodded.

Penelope's door was locked, but Hope broke off the doorknob with her werewolf strength. "After you," Hope opened the door for Lizzie.

Lizzie smiled. Though she knew Hope's niceness was far from genuine, it was good to see that Hope was at least capable of pretending to be mockingly kind.

"Who knew the witch bitch had fashion tastes?" Hope said, letting her fingers travel over Penelope's coats and designer dresses.

"Her family are filthy rich Europeans," Lizzie scoffed. "She thinks she's so much better than the rest of us."

"Tell her you have a friend whose family are filthy rich Europeans, too, who grew their wealth over the course of a millennium."

Lizzie should be feeling relieved that Hope was making decent conversation with her- She had been worried for Hope's mentality, after all. But all she felt right now was a pang of bitterness at the word, 'friend'.

"About that moment in the cemetery..." Lizzie began, remembering how Hope had kissed her.

"It never happened," Hope said.

"Right," Lizzie sighed. Then she shook her head. "You know what? No."

"Excuse me?"

"I know you're used to everyone going along with what you say. You're the daughter of the founders of the school, after all," Lizzie said, forcing herself to talk faster so that she could get all the words out before her nerves froze her in place. "But here? I'm the daughter of the founders, and I'm used to getting what I want, too. And I'm done with letting you order me around."

Hope looked at Lizzie skeptically. "You know I could kill you if I wanted to, right?"

"You know I know you're not going to, don't you?"

Hope turned away so Lizzie wouldn't be able to see the soft smile on her face. "Fine, Saltzman. What do you want, then?"

"I want you to acknowledge the fact that you care about me!" Lizzie said angrily. "And don't try to deny it, because I know you do."

"I care about you enough not to kill you when you get on my nerves," Hope shrugged. "For the sake of your safety, Saltzman, I suggest you stop pushing it."

"Again," Lizzie spat, "I'm done letting you order me around."

She pulled Hope towards her and kissed her. The response that Hope had was instantaneous, and it definitely wasn't the reaction Lizzie had been expecting.

Hope wrapped her hand around the back of Lizzie's neck, preventing her from pulling away. Not that she wanted to. Hope kissed her vigorously, as though she had been hungering for this all along. Trying not to think too much of the fact that they were still in Penelope Park's room, Lizzie backtracked towards the bed. She turned them around halfway so that when they reached the bed, Hope fell first.

"I hate you," Hope breathed right before she crashed her lips into Lizzie's.

"You mean you hate that you love me," Lizzie smirked.

Hope rolled her eyes. "Keep flattering yourself, Saltzman."

The two of them kept exchanging insults whilst gasping as they took from each other what neither one of them could find in another. In that moment, they could forget that they were two of the rarest supernaturals in the world. They could even forget that they were daughters of the founders of two rival schools. They were only Hope Andrea Mikaelson and Elizabeth Jenna Saltzman, brought together despite fate never having intended it to be this way.

Hate. Love. It was too fine a line, a line that could be melted away in the heat of the moment. Their emotions mixed together until it was no longer resentment or compassion that bound them as one. It was a beautiful mix of both, one that made them want to strangle each other and hold each other in their arms at the same time.

"Lizzie Jenna Saltzman," Hope whispered.

"Hope Andrea Mikaelson," Lizzie murmured back.

"Thank you for not giving up on me."

The tribrid quickly fell asleep, but the Gemini witch stayed up long after that. 'Thank you for not giving up on me.' Those eight words were simple enough to string together, and yet Lizzie was sure there was a deeper meaning behind them. Hope had spent most of her life feeling abandoned. Her father had given up on being a parent to her. Yes, it had been for her own safety, but it had been neglect, nonetheless. Hope had been too afraid to trust after that, too afraid to believe in others. She had been sure she would only get abandoned all over again.

Lizzie would never do that to Hope. She made a vow right there and then. Hope could act tough all she wanted, but in the end, she was just a girl whose heart had partially been fragmented. Lizzie would mend it, piece by piece.

She would teach Hope how to trust, just as Hope had taught her to care.

"Always," Lizzie said quietly. "Always."