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"My kids, no matter how much it embarrasses them." Says Sheriff Mac. I frown as I walk closer, seeing the damage the Salvatore school did.
Then I see Hope. She's talking to Ethan and Maya, and their mom. "'Cause who doesn't like getting dropped off to school in a cop car?" Says Ethan, rolling his eyes playfully. His eyes land on me, "Madeline!" He cheers. Maya looks over, smiling.
Thankfully, since school started, Maya, Ethan, and I quickly became friends. Ethan and I a lot closer. Maya has this whole idea where I marry Ethan just so she and I become sisters. Their mom likes me too. She knows about the Phil case. And she promised not to tell them about it until I was ready.
She's a pretty amazing mom.
I watch as Hope turns around slowly, her eyes landing on me. I didn't know why she was still here, but Alaric has called and explained that he knows what happened to her, but he doesn't know what's going on between her and I.
I don't either.
Her lips form into a frown, but I keep my eyes away from her. Ethan looks between us, his eyes softening at my gaze. He holds out an arm, pulling me close to him. Hope raises a confused brow, but can't ask before Sheriff Mac speaks up. "I'm on official business." She hums. "Now show me where I can find Principal Saltzman."
♞
Hope and I stand outside Dr. Saltzman's office. I had snuck away from Ethan to get there, and Hope was here too. I lean against a locker, texting Landon on my phone. He tells me something seems off with Josie, and that he's worried about being QB for the annual football match. I tell him that it'll be fine, and that I'll be there as a cheerleader for Mystic Falls.
Yeah, imagine that. Me in a cheer uniform.
Hope looks over at me. "You move on fast." She says nonchalant.
I snap my head up at her. "What?" I reply, raising a brow.
"Well, we just broke up, what, a week or so ago? And you're already-"
"Are you talking about me and Ethan?" I ask her, annoyed. "He's a friend. A good one. He knows that you tend to have a history of leaving people in the dust, and is just trying to help me out." I stand up from the locker, stepping towards her.
Hope laughs. "Yeah, you and I were friends once too." She retorts.
I scoff. "We were never friends, Hope. We hated each other and then made out before suddenly deciding we should try going out. And you know how that went? I got shoved into a pit of black tar, which is a liquified version of my dad, because you wanted to sacrifice yourself and I wanted to protect you." I step in Hopes face, pointing my finger at her. "The whole world forgot I existed, because I am completely in love with you! And when we finally got out of that hell hole, you abandoned me because of your stupid martyr complex." I scoff. Hopes stare is unreadable as she looks over at me. "We weren't friends, Hope. I was just one of your puppets you needed at the time." I hiss. Hopes eyes are wide at my outburst. I spin on my heel, storming away.
My heart races, anger rushing through my veins. I slam the door to the boys locker room open. Ethan stood at his locker, alone. He was pulling out his clothes to the game. I grab his arm, spinning him around. My lips smack onto his, and I can feel his body tense up in surprise. However, he quickly relaxes, kissing back. His hands land on my waist as he pulls my closer. My body shakes from the rage I feel towards Hope. She used me. And I let her.
Ethan pulls away. "What are you doing?" He asks, his voice husky and low.
I lean my forehead on his. Trying to find the right words to say. "Call it a distraction. You've officially moved to nickname status; I'm Lena." I reply, looking up at him. Ethan raises a brow, almost as if he's amused. I feel like he suddenly may not like the idea, and my arms unhook from his neck. "Sorry," I say finally, turning to walk away. However, I feel a large hand pull on my wrist, tugging me back into his chest.
"I never disagreed, did I?" He hums. A tint of red sprawls across my cheeks, and I pull him close once again.
♞
I stand with the small group of cheerleaders, the Mystic Falls High uniform short and slightly skimpy. My ponytail is high on my head, and I grunt as I try to make my head hurt less. I look for Dr. Saltzman, and when I do, I see Hope with him.
My smile turns into a scowl as I storm over. "Why the hell is she here?" I hiss.
Alaric sighs. "There seems to be another monster problem, this time at the Salvatore School." He explains.
"Great, we can handle it without her." I snap, glaring at Hope. She rolls her eyes.
"Lena, you don't need to be so childish." She retorts. Her hair is in two french braids, and she's wearing the football teams uniforms. She was playing, of course.
I scoff. "First off? It's Madeline, again." I point my finger at her. "Second? I can be as childish as I want to be, thank you very much." I give an annoyed smile before turning back to Dr. Saltzman. "I'll be with Ethan on the bus if you need me." I retort. I turn away, Ethan standing close by. He smiles at me, walking towards the bus. I turn to look at Hope. A frown is on her face, and her eyes are unreadable. Her eyebrows tilt down, and her lips begin to form a pout. A smirk grows on my lips, feeling a little bit better about the whole thing.
Maya sits in the seat across from Ethan and I. "So, what did Hope do exactly?" She asks.
I look at Ethan. His arm is placed by his side, and his hand gripped mine tightly. He gave it a gentle squeeze, reassuring me everything would be okay. He was being overly sweet about the whole thing, I feel kinda bad, like maybe I'm playing with his emotions. "She had me fall in love with her, and then left me in the dust." I say, shortly.
Maya raises a shocked brow. "Damn, I'm sorry, girl."
"It's fine," I shrug. "Now, Maya, you've officially moved to Lena status, and I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Mystic Grill this weekend and have a girls day without your ugly brother?"
Ethan fakes a dramatic gasp, Maya smiling wide. "Duh! And now I can call you Lena?" I nod. "I have to ask, where do you get Lena from Madeline?" I giggle at her question.
"When Landon and I were younger, we couldn't say my name, and our at the time foster parent suggested us saying Mads. It lasted for a while, until we were 7. We had decided over a game of uno he was the older brother, which made sense cause the letter L in Landon is before M in Madeline. But, our dependent twin selves, wanted the same initials, and that's when Landon made up the nickname Lena."
Ethan raises a brow. "You practically got a name change because you and your twin wanted to have L names?" I nod, smiling softly. "You two must be close."
I nod slowly. "He's my best friend." I hum, just above a whisper.
