Drawn to Love

Chapter 20

After arriving home from the trip, Hope went into the woods behind their house and set the urn down, placing multiple barrier and protection spells around it. She didn't tell anyone where she had hidden it, not even Landon. Which was yet another secret she was keeping from him. Another secret that clawed at her insides, but at least this one wasn't something personal. Something deep down that she knew she should tell him. 

The next day was school, and Hope kept to herself once they got to Mystic Falls High. She walked into her class and pulled out her notebook before starting to take notes once it started. Notes were a welcomed attempt at a distraction. But her mind still drifted to everything she had learned recently. Everything about Landon and Malivore and Seylah. The question of why Landon couldn't remember but she could. No amount of note taking could truly distract her from that.

She let out a sigh and continued writing, trying to focus on class for the moment, wanting as much of a distraction as her brain would allow. Just for now. She sketched on the margins of the notebook during her free moments. Each of her classes continued like that until finally it was lunch time. Which meant no more of keeping her distance from Landon. It wasn't his fault. And she hated hurting him like she was probably doing. But things were complicated. And she knew that it was hard being around him and not telling him everything. She took a seat in their usual spot instead of walking there with him. He walked over with a grin and sat beside her. 

 "Hey." Landon greeted, pulling out his sandwich he had brought to school. 

 His grin was a bit unsure but loving. He loved her. He loved spending time with her. But he knew she was going through a lot in her mind. First with everything involving the Necromancer, which she still hadn't told him about. But also involving the memory gap and the mystery of what had happened. He didn't want to push her into talking to him about her feelings. But he also was not sure where they stood right now. 

 "Hey" Hope greeted, looking over at him as she cloaked them both. She frowned in concern as she noticed a bruise forming on the side of his face a little and his lip a bit banged up.  "What happened to you?"

"Ah- it was one of the members of Connor's group before he was, well, possessed by an Arachne that you killed" Landon said and winced. "Turns out you're pretty intimidating to them too. And hot. So they steered clear of me after the dance. But, uh, I guess they stopped"

Hope gently placed her hand on the lower part of his cheek, careful not to touch at least the parts she could tell were bruised. Her thumb brushed his busted lip just slightly as she looked at him. "They did this to you because I'm being distant?"

"No, they did this stuff long before you showed up. But yeah they stopped after the dance, and now they are starting back up again" Landon said, looking at her. 

Hope drew back her hand. "Assholes" she muttered, scowling a bit. "How hard is it to be a decent human being?"

"It's okay, Hope. I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't be" 

Landon didn't say anything to that. Instead, he asked, "Any theories yet about what could have happened that got us to Georgia?" 

 The tribrid shook her head, not willing herself to speak the lie she was telling. "I've been thinking about the Salvatore School actually. And the Malivore situation. I was thinking...." She paused, recalling Seylah's story about how Landon had been conceived. "I was thinking maybe it's about time we start going to the Salvatore School. If you're okay with it. It's just... With everything going on, we might be better off being there and more involved."

"I'll go where you go for as long as you want me. Always. if you believe that the Salvatore School is the place we should be at right now, I support your decision. When do you want to transfer?"