Stranger Things Than a Tribrid

Chapter 6: I Said Talk to Her, Not Yell At Her

Hope's POV:

The next morning I wake up to my alarm clock going off. I groan and turn it off before getting up and getting ready for school. Once I'm dressed I bang on Steve's door. He doesn't answer so I walk in to find him knocked out. Sighing I raise my hand.

His pillow flies into it and his head drops harshly onto the mattress. He groans. "Seriously?" "Yep, we have school I we need to drop by your place so you can get some clothes. Now hurry up. We leave in fifteen minutes." With that I walk downstairs to make some coffee.

Elijah is in there, drinking a cup when I pour my own. "Had a guest last night?" I nod. "Yeah, Steve and Nancy had a falling out so I offered him some advice and he crashes here. Hope that's ok." I say, sipping my coffee.

"Of course, and smart move putting him in a guest room. Your father would have killed him if he slept in your room." I roll my eyes. "He's dating Nancy, at least, I think he still is, and he's a friend. Nothing more. Dad has nothing to worry about." I assure him.

"You tell him that. I haven't seen him paint that angrily since Rebekah courted Marcellus." He muses softly. I chuckle. "I bet." That's when Steve walks into the kitchen. "Oh, Steve, this is my Uncle Elijah, Elijah, Steve Harrington. He's a friend." I say, emphasizing 'friend'.

"Good to meet you sir." Steve says, extending his hand like he did with my father. Elijah takes it firmly. "Likewise. Now Hope, I have things to attend to today, but Niklaus should be here if you need him." I nod and with that Elijah walks out of the kitchen. "Niklaus?" "My father."

"What a name." "I prefer Klaus, but my brother always prefers to be more formal." My dad's voice sounds from the doorway. Steve jumps slightly as he spins around. I roll my eyes at my dad's theatrics. "Come on, we need to leave or we'll be late for school." I walk towards the door.

"I'll see you later." I tell my dad as we pass him and leave. "You family is scary, you know that. Also, how long ago did you ay your dad and his family were born?" He asks as we climb into his car. "A thousand years ago, give or take." I say as he pulls away. His eyes widen. "A thousand?"

"Yep. He had a big family too. Freya, Finn, Elijah, then him, Kol, Rebekah, and Henrik." I list off as we drive. "Dang. And Freya is the witch, right? The one your Great Aunt took?" I nod. "Yep." "And Henrik was the one that died and made your grandmother create the vampirism spell?"

"Uh huh." He lets out a breath. "What?" I ask. "Nothing, it's just...you're family is just so interesting. And your dad seems to really care about you." His voice softens at this last part. I know of his nonexistent relationship with his parents. I feel for him.

No one should look at their parents and not know if they would give a crap if something happened to them. No one. I take his clenched hand, holding it softly, yet firmly, in my own. He doesn't say anything, just squeezes my hand in appreciation.

Soon we're at his place and he rushes in to change while I wait in the car. Once he's back he drive to school together, him agreeing to drop me off at home afterward. When we reach the school I think of something. "Wait, don't you drive Nancy to school every day?" He shrugs.

"Johnathan can drive her." I furrow my brows. "What does that mean?" He shrugs again. "Hey, I gotta get to first period. I'll see you in gym." I nod and he rushes away. I sigh and head into the school, going straight to class. When I sit down Robin is already there.

"Whoa, what's got you in such a mood?" She asks me. "Nothing, friend drama is all. Don't worry about. Now, did you do the homework cause I definitely didn't." She laughs, but hands her her paper. I quickly copy down the work and the answers before Miss Ferris walks into the room.

I discretely hand the paper back and once I do, class starts. Second period comes around and Robin and I walk to the gym together. Most days I would participate in the activity, but today the boys are playing basketball so today the girls are sitting on the bleachers.

Steve and Billy are going up against each other and every few minutes Billy would send a wink my way, to which I would respond with an eye roll and the occasional middle finger. About fifteen minutes into the class Nancy storms into the gym. "Steve." She snaps, looking angry.

He sighs and quickly follows her out of the gym. I use my enhanced hearing, not much, but I do hear him yelling at her. I groan. Where did I go wrong in my pep talk? I walk down the bleachers and wait for him to come back in. When he does I place a hand on his chest, stopping him.

"I said talk to her, not yell at her." He groans. "I don't have time for this Hope. I'll talk to you later." With that he heads back out on the court. I sigh, but walk back up the bleacher steps. "Uh oh, what did Harrington do?" Robin asks. I sigh.

"He's being a boy and being stupid. I don't know what I expected." I grumble. "Don't worry too much about it. Whatever he did, it seems to be between him and Wheeler. I wouldn't sweat it if I were you." I nod. She's right.

I don't know why I even thought I should inject myself into Nancy and Steve's relationship. It's none of my business. With this new train of thought, I go about my day. Nancy and Johnathan left school early.

To do what, I don't know, but if it was important, I know they would have told me. On the drive to my place Steve seems angrier than usual. I mean, I know what his anger is towards. I hate this. Everything was good. Everything was normal. With normality comes normal teenage drama.

When we pull up outside my house I turn to him. "You gonna be ok?" I ask him. He sighs. "I'll talk to her tomorrow. Apologize and all that shit." I roll my eyes. "Talk, yes, but only apologize if you're sincere. If you're not, then she'll know and it'll only make things worse."

"How could things actually get worse?" He asks. I roll my eyes. "When will people learn to not ask that question?" I grumble to myself, getting out and closing the door. He drives away when I open the door.

I sigh and drop my bag on the couch in the living room before going into the art room. "Rough day?" My dad asks. "Yep, you could say that."