Black and White

Part 9

Hope gasped to regain her breath and coughed hoarsely, sliding down the lockers to sit. Her legs were wobbly and refused to hold her up any longer. Lizzie rushed to her side immediately and slid an arm around her shoulders, hugging her gently. She wondered if Hope could feel her tremble with all of the repressed furies a demon girl with historically poor impulse control could contain. Lizzie's next instinct was to set the whole gym aflame until only she and Hope remained.

"It's fine. I'm fine. WE are fine. Just give me a minute to catch my breath and get cleaned up. Dana only gets like this when things are bad at home. If you thought this was rough you should meet her mom. I'm a werewolf and a Mikaelson. This will heal up just fine." Hope seemed to be settling herself with her words as much as she was attempting to settle Lizzie. Hope squeezed the demon's arm lightly and as soon as her breathing evened out she pushed herself back up to her feet.

"You still shouldn't have to take that. It's bullying. Absolute bullshit and a completely unacceptable coping method." Lizzie laid a hand feather lightly across the back of Hope's head and the knot ceased it's stinging then dissipated completely. The blood-spattered across her clothing and the lockers vanished as well.

"Thank you. Just let me finish up here and I will join you outside. I just... I need a moment. A moment to myself." Hope's eyes were full and her jaw was clenched tightly, golden light brewing behind the thin veil of tears. Too many emotions flickered across Hope's face for Lizzie to accurately assess.

Her breaths came heavily as she tried to regulate her oxygen intake. Hope allowed her tears to fall now that she was alone. She gasped quietly to herself and bit down roughly on her first knuckle to keep her sobs from escaping, and drawing Lizzie's attention back to herself. The crescent moon charm began to pierce into the palm of her hand. She counted quietly to herself in every language she knew the way her father had taught her to. Even just thinking about him seemed to help her a lot. The smell of paints, turpentine, the slight hint of blood only barely covered by his sandalwood and cedar cologne. She could also imagine her mother hugging her tightly around the shoulders and waist with all of her strength, lending her strength to her daughter.

Emboldened by her mental image, Hope stood once more on her own two feet, reminded of her badass family and that she was, at her core, a Mikaelson, forever and always. She pulled a clean Mystic Falls Stallions t-shirt over her head and stepped out into the gym. Lizzie stood beside the door, her arms crossed tightly across her chest, and her expression stern. Her other classmates were all doing laps around the gym nearby or Hope would have patted the demon's shoulder. Instead, Hope maintained her stubborn and brave face.

Her expression almost faltered when out of nowhere, Lizzie's face took on a scarily familiar mischievous glint. Hope was reminded of her Uncle Kol during some of his past shenanigans or her father when he was on a killing tear. She was immediately a little afraid, a little excited, and braced herself for the worst. Lizzie shot her a wink and pointed to one of the girls running around the court, a thin sheen of sweat already beginning to bloom across her brow. Hope followed along, blue eyes wide only to see previously tightly tied shoelaces undo themselves, watched Dana step onto one and soar forward onto the hard floor, her nose and chin taking the brunt of the damage. Her hands appeared to be held back behind her by some unseen force by the name of Lizzie and she was not able to catch herself.

Time seemed to stop completely, Hope's breath caught in her chest as she heard the thump and the sick crack of bone. She winced and sank her teeth into her lower lip. She wasn't exactly happy to see Dana faceplant but she wasn't sad about either. Hope swallowed her conflicted feelings and joined into the run as though she had been there the entire time. Her heart was pounding once more after having just calmed down and for a moment she genuinely suspected she might puke.

Hope pretended as though all was well for the remainder of class, waiting for a moment of privacy where she could speak to Lizzie. She had never liked gym class in the first place and this incident was certainly not going to change her preconception. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts of all that had happened over the past hour, Hope didn't even remember to pretend as though she were working hard. On the other hand, Lizzie wasn't sure of what she had done wrong. It was clear already to her that Hope was in some way displeased with her actions as the other girl steadily refused to even look at her.

Lizzie bamfed herself to the top of the bleachers for a bird's eye view of all the students to make sure no one else was going to try anything with her charge. Over the next hour, despite the day she had, Hope helped all of her remaining classmates if they seemed to need her and used only a typical human's amount of strength, speed, and agility, though it was clear that she was unfocused, though she was still much more capable than any of the others. There was no sheen of sweat on her face, not a single ball struck her during dodgeball, and she seemed to forget that the average seventeen-year-old girl was not capable of doing a kip-up.

Hope was drawing quite a few more eyes than usual, but they all seemed to be appreciative or respectful as opposed to the usual derision she had become accustomed to. Lizzie decided to let the attention pass for the time being since no harm seemed to be coming from it. The rest of the class passed without incident.

Hope gestured subtly for the demon to follow her, after changing in a private bathroom stall while all of the other girls were in the locker room. She didn't want to risk anything with the other girls, even with Dana tucked far away in the nurse's office with her smashed nose and her bruised jaw. Hope was very glad to be away from her, though she hated how it had to happen.

"You really can't do things like that, Lizzie. I want the people around me to be safe. Whether I like them, they like me, or not. Unless it seems as though my life or my secret is in jeopardy. You can intervene then, but I really don't want anyone getting hurt. Whether or not I am allowed to remain in this school is contingent upon that. I have seen enough pain and death in my life already. I don't care to see anymore... and I am deadly serious about that." Hope put her foot down for once, anger and an unnamed ache in her glittering and pained eyes.

Lizzie hated to have played a part in putting any of it there. It had been years since she had felt any kind of guilt like this. She wasn't sure of how Hope Mikaelson had managed to climb beneath her skin in the way she did. Now she was ready and willing to do anything for the tribrid. Lizzie had not been prepared for this at all.

"Understood. It will not ever happen again. You have to understand that doing 'the right thing' is not my default setting. I am an archdevil, a temptress, and a demon. The way you do things, will be a learning experience and I will make more mistakes, but I am who I am. That's not going to change." Lizzie shrugged, her eyes downcast.

"I know those facts and I... had yet to put them together. We will figure whatever this is out, okay? I promise." Hope patted and squeezed Lizzie's shoulder. "Thank you for caring enough to try to do better for me and for trying to do something about what was happening. It wasn't necessarily the right something to do but it was something, nonetheless, when I needed something to happen desperately." Hope smiled softly, the ache in her eyes slackening a bit. Lizzie was relieved to see the change and the pressure building in her chest lightened, just a bit as well.