{1.09 | What Was Hope Doing in Your Dreams? | part 2}
Later, they called a meeting with-- as Hope called it-- the Super Squad, and it took a few minutes for all of them to arrive. Elara, Hope, and Landon were the first to reach the room. Landon sat on one of the tables, waiting, and Hope and Elara lingered in the doorway, keeping an eye out.
"The two of you seem to get along pretty well," Hope commented, a hint of joy in her tone.
"Yeah. When he's not being annoying, he's not so bad," Elara remarked. She rolled up the sleeves of her white button up. "And definitely when he's not-"
Elara cut herself off, clearing her throat. She had meant to say, "flirting with you", but her filter caught it. "When he's not stealing Malivore artifacts, y'know."
"I guess so," Hope muttered. Elara watched as a thought seemed to pass behind Hope's eyes, but she didn't know what it was. She couldn't actually read Hope's mind.
The memory of Landon mentioning he wanted to ask Hope to be his girlfriend suddenly reappeared. Elara wanted to tell Hope, to essentially warn her, but she didn't have a good time to bring it up.
At the sound of footsteps, they decided to head into the room. Kaleb and MG arrived together, and Rafael was last.
"Alright," Hope began. Elara walked to stand between her and Landon. "I've called this meeting because I have a plan to take down the Oneiroi, which is a black-winged shapeshifting dream demon."
Kaleb blinked in confusion, leaning against the back of the couch. "A black-winged what?"
"Shapeshifting dream demon," Hope, Elara, and Landon answered in unison.
"I know it sounds bad, but now that we know what the creature is, we can fight it," Hope continued, attempting to reason with the others.
Elara wasn't opposed to the idea. A fight wasn't something she ran from. If Hope had a plan, she was going to follow it.
"How the hell are we supposed to kill a dream demon?" Rafael questioned.
Hope answered quickly, "leave that part to me. But since I can't fall asleep without compromising the location of the urn, I need someone else to pull it out of the dream plane and into our waking reality."
"So, Freddy Krueger," MG commented, glancing at Kaleb as if to send a secret message. "Like I said."
"Wait, how the hell are we supposed to do that?" Rafael asked.
"If it's anything like the movies, we just grab and pull," MG responded.
"Which makes sense," Elara added. "If it can hurt us physically, it's reaching through realities to do so, maybe we can do the same to it."
Honestly, she was feeling really smart. She figured out how she could read other languages, she found an explanation for the Oneiroi. Her brain, despite being exhausted, was on fire.
Kaleb shook his head. He didn't like the idea. "Yeah, okay. Is it too late to get on the, uh, evacuation bus?"
"No," Hope said quickly. She looked at each person in the room, and her eyes lingered on Landon and Elara a bit longer than the others. "I mean, I'm not gonna ask all of you to stay for this, it has to be your choice."
They all exchanged a look, waiting for someone else to speak. To no one's surprise, it was Landon who did first. He stood up. "I'm not leaving unless Hope does."
Hope slightly rolled her eyes. "Well, we all know the answer to that, so..."
Rafael spoke next, rising to his feet. "I'm not leaving Landon behind."
Next was MG. "I'm a founding member of the Super Squad," he reasoned, "so I can't bail."
Kaleb sighed. "Y'all gonna get yourselves killed." He paused, looking between each of them. "But if MG stays, I stay. No child left behind."
They all turned to look at Elara, who kept her arms crossed. A moment of silence passed as she examined their expressions. Landon and Rafael looked expectant, like they were waiting for her to say yes. MG looked proud, and Kaleb looked frustrated. Her eyes landed on Hope. Hope, whether intentional or not, gently and subtly shook her head.
"Obviously, I'm in," she declared. "I said 'we.'"
Hope's lips twitched upwards at that. "In that case," she breathed out.
"It's naptime."
~-~-~
Elara stood near the center of the gym with her mat tucked under her arm, watching the others set theirs up. Nightmares weren't something she was unfamiliar with, but that didn't mean she wanted to have one.
Then again, what was the worse that the Hag could do? Elara had already lived through the worst nightmares possible.
Well, she hoped so, at least.
Her head perked up at the clicking of heels. Hope stopped next to her, her eyes flickering between her and the others, who were forming a circle of mats in the center of the gym.
"You don't have to do this," Hope said softly. "I know you're still struggling with nightmares of your own."
Elara tightened her grip on her mat. "I know, but I'm going to. We need all the hands we can get to take down this bitch."
"Do you know where I hid the urn?"
"Nope, despite being weirdly attracted to it, I can't locate it right now."
Hope's brows lifted. "'Attracted?'"
"Drawn," Elara corrected, laying down her mat. "I'm drawn to it, it's like the hot and cold game. The farther away, the less I can feel it. The closer I am, the more I feel it, but it doesn't seem to work all the time. I'm not attracted to an urn."
The laugh that escaped Hope lifted her spirits ever so slightly. Although nervous, it let Hope loosen up a little. "That'd be weird if you were."
"Very. Plus, it's not my type," she joked.
"What is your type, then?" Hope asked, her voice becoming a whisper. Her brows lifted suggestively.
Elara blinked. Was Hope... flirting with her? It couldn't have been another dream. She pinched herself earlier to make sure of it. Flirting. Hope was flirting with her.
Wow, that was not what she expected to happen. Then again, she could be misreading the situation, but there was a glint in Hope's eyes. Her eyes paused at Elara's lips, and all she wanted to do was answer the question.
But she couldn't let it go any further. The part of her-- the part of her screaming "no"-- was stronger than her heart.
"Landon."
Hope's brows furrowed, disappointment washing across her. "Landon?"
"Yes, Landon. Wait, no, Landon isn't my type," Elara corrected. She shook her head. "What I mean is Landon wants you to be his girlfriend."
"Oh," Hope breathed out, glancing over her shoulder at the mentioned boy. He wasn't paying attention, focusing on setting up his mat.
Elara hummed. "I think you should say yes. The two of you are good for each other."
"Elara-"
"No, don't say it's complicated." Elara shook her head. "Whatever is complicated, it's not Landon. You're my friend, Hope, and I want you to be happy. We can talk about it later. Right now, let me help you take down this dream demon."
Hope thought it over for a moment, another memory passing behind her eyes. Then, she sighed. "Okay, then I need you to do something to help me." She leaned forward, cupping her hand around her mouth.
As she whispered, Elara realized just how close she was. Her breath on her skin called the butterflies into her stomach, the brush of her hand against her cheek made her heart skip a beat, and unless she imagined if, she was certain that Hope's lips ghosted across her cheek before she pulled away.
Hope's closeness felt different now that she understood what she was feeling. It was calming yet exciting, but she couldn't let it show. She couldn't let it go further.
Elara stepped back, shooting her roommate a reassuring smile. "I'll see you on the other side."
"I'll see you on the other side," Hope echoed.
Without another word, Elara laid down, getting as comfortable as she could. Sleeping on the floor wasn't the worse thing, but she had gotten used to her soft, dorm bed. It was uncomfortable. Fortunately, she was already exhausted, and sleep found her easily.
She didn't know when she fell asleep, but the next thing she knew, she was standing in an old, run-down house. The walls were crumbling, the air was stale. It felt familiar, strangely. Like seeing something from childhood--
Her childhood home in New Orleans.
She knew she recognized it. The boring beige walls, the carpet beneath her feet. The table next to the door where she remembered her mother putting a new flower every month. It had all been blurry, pieces of memories squished together, but now it was clear. Too clear.
"Ellie," a familiar voice said from behind. She whirled to face it, and her eyes widened in shock.
Felix stood there, covered in blood, with a gaping wound in his neck and claw marks across his chest.
"Felix," she breathed out. Instinctively, her eyes flickered to her hands. They were covered in blood.
Her shock remained for a moment, but she managed to shake it. It wasn't her first time having a nightmare about him. "You're dead. You're gone, and I've accepted that."
"I know, Ellie," his voice answered. It was his voice, but it wasn't him. "You killed me. Ripped me to pieces, in fact."
"I did kill him, but not like that." Elara shook her head, turning back around. "That's just what the monster wants me to think."
Carefully, she walked towards the front door.
"Elara," another voice called out.
She couldn't help but look. Her head turned to the side, and the image she saw frightened. It was Cedric, standing where Felix stood. He wasn't covered in blood, instead it was splattered across his chest and on his hands. It dripped from his mouth, from his fangs.
"Come on, kiddo, there aren't many of them left. We can take them down together."
She jerked her head forward, increasing her speed. It wasn't real. He was gone, too.
Her focus was the demon. The Oneiroi could've been anywhere. She took a deep breath, and suddenly her body moved on its own.
The smell of blood pierced her lungs. It wasn't coming from her hands but from the other side of the door. Someone else was hurt. Someone was hurt, and she had to help them. It wasn't a choice, or a decision. It was an instinct.
She shoved open the door to the house, expecting the outdoors, but she was met with another room-- a bedroom.
Her dorm room.
You, a voice rang out. Shrill and cutting through the air like a knife. You are frustrating.
Elara stumbled into the room, the smell almost unbearable, then she saw it. Bodies, tossed onto the floor like dirty clothes, and they weren't just anyone. It was her friends. Rafael, Kaleb, MG, Josie...
Even Lizzie and Landon.
Your fear is... exciting. It was like peeling back layers, having to reveal what has been concealed.
"Where the hell are you?" Elara growled. The room was dim, but she could still see the blood lining the walls. The claw marks.
What about your handiwork? Don't you care to relish in it?
She swallowed, her eyes darting around the room, but they caught a red smear on her sleeve. She raised her hands, and she could hardly bite back her gasp. They were covered in blood. The color of her skin was completely saturated with a deep, sickening red. Her nails were long, like claws.
"Show yourself!" she cried out, her hands curling into fists, the point of her fingers digging into the flesh ever so slightly.
I'm right here.
Elara spun to face the demon, a hand raised to swipe at it, but she froze. It wasn't a demon in front of her.
It was just Hope, looking at her sympathetically with a sad smile on her face. Instinctively, her body relaxed, her hand falling to her side.
"Hey, it's me. It's just me," she said, her voice soft and soothing. Her hands raised, gently holding Elara's face. "It's okay. You didn't mean to."
"Didn't mean to?" Elara echoed weakly, her voice catching in her throat. Hope was there to comfort, like she always was. She understood Elara in ways no one else could.
"Kill them. You didn't mean to kill all of them." Her thumb comfortingly stroked across her cheek, wiping away tears Elara hadn't meant to spill. "You couldn't help it, Elara."
"I-I didn't do it," she muttered, her voice cracking. "It wasn't me."
"You did," Hope said. "And that's okay. You're just a monster. It's in your nature, and I'm okay with that."
Elara blinked away her tears, forcing her composure. Hope wouldn't say that. This wasn't real, and that seemed to knock her to her senses. It was just a nightmare like the ones she had before. "What?"
Hope's grip tightened. "Isn't that what you want, Elara? You want me to be okay with you being a monster? That way, you can't hurt me when you inevitably give in to the beast."
She yanked herself out of Hope's grasp, stumbling backwards. The blood was slippery, and she almost lost her balance. It wasn't real. It wasn't real.
"It's why you're pushing me towards Landon," the fake Hope continued, her voice slipping into that of the creature's. "You can't control yourself, and you're gonna hurt everyone."
"I'm not!" Elara cried, baring her teeth. The Oneiroi was trying to make her seem like a monster. A real monster. "And you're not real. You're not her."
She blinked, and suddenly the Hag was where Hope was. The coldness that she remembered from the morning reappeared.
"Maybe not, but I can show you how to stop this. How to stop this nightmare," it hissed. "Bring me the urn."
Elara chuckled dryly. "You want the urn? Show me your face."
The creature growled, raising its claws. It grabbed the veil, pulling it back, and revealed a frightening, hollow face with rotten, pointed teeth.
"Your real one," she growled.
It titled its head curiously, then raised its claws again, peeling away the appearance of the Night Hag. A large, hulking, winged creature remained, its skin dark as the night. Its toothy maw screeched at her.
"You know where it is, mutt," the creature growled. Its voice was deep, booming.
"Yeah?" She rolled her shoulders. "Come and get it, then." And she launched herself at it, wrapping her arms around it.
Elara awoke with a gasp, shooting up into a sitting position. Her hands flew upwards, and she checked them quickly. They were clean.
She scrambled to her feet as the others jostled awake. Hope was nowhere to be seen, and she didn't see a dead demon anywhere.
"Hope?" she called out, looking around frantically. "Hope."
"Are we alive, dude?" she heard MG ask. He jumped to his feet. "Did we win?"
"Hey, is everybody okay?" Rafael questioned.
Kaleb stood. "You see any dead dream demons laying around?"
Landon voiced from nearby, "where's Hope?"
"I don't know," Elara breathed out, wiping her hands on her pants as if the blood were still on them. "I grabbed it just like we said, and then woke up."
"She was in my dream," Rafael said. Everyone turned to look at him, "and then, I don't know, she was gone."
Elara's brows furrowed. She knew why Hope appeared in her dream. A part of her was terrified of hurting her because of whatever the hell she was. Why would Rafael dream of Hope? The two were friends, yeah, but that was it.
Unless...
She didn't have time to think more on it as a rumble came from further into the school. Elara looked up, noticing a ceiling light wobbling.
"What's that?" Kaleb questioned. Elara shrugged, looking towards the entrances. Where was Hope?
"Wait," Landon began, turning towards. "Wh-what was Hope doing in your dream?"
Rafael looked everywhere but at Landon, guilt plastered on his face. Oh, Elara was right, and that wasn't a good thing.
"The usual," he answered, "just being a badass."
Elara's head snapped to the side as the ringing made its appearance. The door to the gym shattered as the Oneiroi flew threw it. She lunged forward, grabbing Landon by his shoulders and pulling him backwards. With her help, he dove away from the incoming demon.
It landed with a crash, and it wasn't alone. Hope rose to her feet.
"Pretty much like that."
The Oneiroi spread its wings and let out a roar, and Elara couldn't help but get a sense of deja vu.
Elara moved to advance, but Hope's voice stopped her.
"Stay back, guys, I got this."
Hope launched herself at the monster, knocking it to the ground. She landed on top of it, but it didn't do much good. The Oneiroi's arm launched out as its hand wrapped around her throat. Elara wasn't going to stay back, but she heard footsteps rapidly approaching the broken entrance.
"Hope!" Alaric yelled, crossbow and bolt in hand. "Eyes!"
He tossed the bolt, and Hope caught it easily. She snapped it with her bare hands and drove them as hard as she could into the monster's eyes. With a screech, the monster--literally-- disintegrated under her.
Hope rose to her feet, breathing heavily. She turned to look at Elara, and the two shared a nod. They made it through to the other side.
"Damn," Kaleb began, drawing everyone's attention. "Sexy as hell."
He was right. Oh, he was very right.
~-~-~
With her legs crossed and a book in her lap, Elara sat on her bed. She was fresh out of the shower, her damp curls falling past her shoulders, and she felt better than ever.
The defeat of the monster was satisfying. Not only did she figure out what it actually was, she played a big part in taking it down. Afterwards, she bid everyone a goodbye as she left to clean up and finally relax. Granted, she still had more exams to take, but she was going to enjoy the peace while she could.
However, she couldn't stop the feeling of dread sinking into her chest as she waited for Hope to return. Elara couldn't help but wonder if Hope had left out details of their trip to Elara because of something that happened between them, and she kept thinking about it.
What could've happened?
The door clicked open, and Elara slowly closed her book, blinking. The sinking feeling grew bigger as her eyes fell on Hope, who looked adorable in her pajama shorts and t-shirt with her long, auburn hair falling on one shoulder.
"Hey," Elara greeted.
"Hey yourself," Hope echoed. Hesitantly, she approached Elara's bed. "Whatcha reading?"
Elara bit back her surprise at the phrase as she remembered her dream- nightmare from the night before. "A little something on werewolves. Did you know the Laurent line is technically one of the original lines because it appeared as its own werewolf line decades after the first wolves?"
Hope shook her head, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I did not."
"The more you know," Elara remarked. "You don't have to sit there. I'm not going to bite." She pat the spot on the bed next to her. "How'd it go?"
Hope knew what she was talking about, her conversation with Landon in which he asked her to be his girlfriend. It had been tense at first as Landon questioned why she had been avoiding him, but it grew lighter as time went on. She bit the inside of her cheek, almost reluctant to answer.
"Okay, I guess."
Elara lifted her brows expectantly. "'Okay?' Come on, Hope. I need the details." She was Hope's friend, arguably her closest one at that. She couldn't let her feelings get in the way of Hope's happiness.
Whatever they had wasn't going to work out, not in the long run, and Elara wasn't going to lose her friend because of a stupid crush.
"He asked me, and I said yes," Hope confessed, her eyes suddenly looking everywhere but Elara, and that almost hurt more than what she said. Her expression said one thing, but her heart said another.
"That's great," Elara encouraged as she put every ounce of support she could into her tone. It was good. Hope was going to be happy with Landon. He was the safest option for her, the best option.
At least that was what she kept telling herself.
"I'm sure he's ecstatic about it."
Hope hummed. "Yeah, me too," she muttered although it did not come out as joyous as Elara expected. She cleared her throat. "I don't want to talk about Landon anymore. Can we talk about something else?"
"Would you like to hear about the discovery I made today?"
"Please," Hope answered, scooting closer to Elara.
Elara gave a brief yet concise explanation of the discovery she made with the Bright Wolf and its literacy skills.
"Really?" Hope asked, surprised. She hadn't heard of something like that happening before.
"Yup," Elara said, popping the p. "It seems my werewolf-ness is becoming more and more of a mystery every day. Maybe I could join your faction."
Hope smiled widely. She really liked that idea, but she had to tease her a little bit. "I don't know. I'll have to take it up with the current members." She paused, taking a moment as if she was actually considering it. "You're in."
Elara sobbed jokingly, wiping away fake tears. "I'm so honored. I can't believe I get to be in the same group as the Hope Andrea Mikaelson." She pretended to sob, again. "She's so awesome."
"Shut up," Hope whined in annoyance, gently shoving Elara by the shoulder, but the grin on her face showed she enjoyed it. Elara had a way with teasing that never bothered Hope. "Not as awesome as the Elara Laurent."
Elara grinned at that, laughing. "For once, you're wrong. You're definitely cooler than me."
"How about we agree to disagree?" She extended a hand towards Elara, and Elara took it, shaking it firmly.
"You drive a hard bargain, Hope."
Hope looked down at their hands, a flicker of a thought passing through her eyes. Her bottom lip found itself between her teeth. Elara was her friend, just her friend, but their conversation in the motel room made her want to believe differently.
But they just became friends. She cared so much for Elara despite the shortness of their bond. It had taken them weeks, almost months to get to where they were, and Hope wasn't going to let it go. Their conversation in the motel-- where Elara admitted to having some type of feelings for her-- created a divide between them. When Elara walked out of the motel, Hope wasn't sure she was going to see her, again.
Elara was so insistent on Hope choosing Landon. She was terrified of Hope choosing her, and Hope wasn't even entirely certain why. Maybe their feelings were twisted, a mis interpretation of a bond they desperately needed. Maybe Hope's feelings for Elara were entirely platonic, and Elara's weren't.
God, it was complicated. All of it was.
But one thing was certain. Hope was going to do whatever it took to keep Elara.
Even if it meant dating some guy she barely liked.