Chapter 33: thirty

{1.14 | Let's Just Finish the Dance | part two}

The preparations for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant were going well, all things considered. Nothing had caught fire, the decorations were starting to look nice, and Elara didn't get into any fights.

Yet.

When they'd finished everything in the library, Hope's team dispersed themselves throughout the school to help the others, and it was Elara's luck that Lizzie asked her to help in the main hall. Although she tried to work with Hope, the ringing in her ears pushed her towards the hall. She knew better than to ignore it by then.

She'd rather have stayed with Hope. Hope was incredibly stressed out, and with all the humans on campus, she couldn't release the tension the ways she normally would. Dealing with the death of Landon, trying to break up with Landon, and the reappearance of her ex were not helpful. Elara could practically feel Hope's stress, and she wanted to help however she could.

Elara leaned against the railing, looking down at the few people moving about the hall. She watched as Lizzie stopped next to one of the white tables, clipboard in hand. She'd been burying herself with preparation for the pageant, hardly taking any breaks.

She had known Lizzie the same amount of time as her twin, yet she hadn't spent as much time with her as she did with Josie. Despite that, she still knew Lizzie better than she'd care to admit, and it was this familiarity that allowed Elara to recognize that Lizzie was hiding behind the pageant. Like Elara, she used things as distractions to avoid confronting her emotions, her thoughts. A part of her almost felt sympathy for Lizzie.

Clearing her throat softly, she shook her head. Elara didn't do sympathy. She didn't do empathy. She didn't help people with their feelings, but it seemed that she'd accidentally picked up some of Josie's tendencies.

At the sound of footsteps, she turned her head to the side to see Josie Saltzman slowly approaching. Josie leaned against the railing, reaching down to adjust one of the string of lights.

The two hadn't spoken since Josie had killed the mummy and nearly burned Elara in the process. It did feel odd, not speaking to Josie every day, but Elara was used to people betraying her. It wasn't the first time a "friend" turned their back on her, and she knew it wouldn't be the last.

"How does this look?" Josie asked. She looked towards Elara shyly.

"Fine," Elara answered, keeping her eyes trained on Lizzie. She watched as Hope appeared from under the stairs, approaching Lizzie. Her steps were quick, and she was fidgeting with her hands. "Looks just fine."

"Good, that's good." Josie cleared her throat. "So, uh, how have you been?"

The hound's eyes shifted towards Hope. She was talking to Lizzie about something, glancing up at the balcony. "Fine," she said with monotony, "turns out when I'm not surrounded by snakes I do just fine."

Josie swallowed. Elara's snide comment poked at her heart, and Elara heard it jump. "Lara, I-- I'm sorry."

Elara hummed, tapping her fingers on the railing. "Apology not accepted."

"It was a mistake--"

"A mistake would've been you letting it slip that I lost a bit of control at the charity game," Elara interrupted. Her tone remained steady as a calm anger seeped in. "You told your father a lot of things that I trusted you with, Josette."

"I thought... I thought I was doing the right thing." Josie dropped her head, looking down at the people in the hall.

Her blonde hair fell to the side as she turned to look at Josie, her expression blank with a brow raised. Elara's anger was like a bonfire, roaring and engulfing of everything around it, but not this time. This time it was like a small flame, slowly and carefully coating the surface. "Maybe you were. Maybe you weren't. Hell, I'm definitely not the one to know the answer to that, but you betrayed me. I trusted you, and it's obvious I shouldn't have. You broke that trust."

"I did," Josie admitted, "and I'm so, so sorry. I did- do think of you as my friend."

"Yeah, well--" Elara pushed herself up off of the railing, catching the sight of Penelope Park slowly approaching the duo-- "thinking isn't going to fix whatever we were. Why don't you deal with the she-devil while I go somewhere else?"

A chuckle escaped Penelope. "Sorry, didn't realize I was ruining a moment here."

"Trust me, it was already ruined," Elara remarked, sending an annoyed smile to the witch.

The conversation ended quickly as Elara walked down the stairs, hands in her pockets. Elara was angry, yes, but a part of her was angry with herself. She still liked Josie despite the betrayal. She still felt that closeness with the twin, and Elara hated that she let her guard down only to get hurt again.

As she approached Lizzie, ready to ask for literally anything else to do, Hope jumped to a stop next to her. "I need another task," she said, drumming her hands on the table. "Something more strenuous if you have it."

Lizzie cocked a brow and grinned. "Does this have anything to do with the return of Roman Sienna? Because I can think of something real strenuous--"

"Please don't finish that sentence," Elara interrupted. "If you do, I might actually rip off my ears, and yours."

Lizzie grimaced. "Geesh, okay. Someone's a little grouchy."

Hope sighed, looking at Elara. A look all too familiar to the Elara flashed over Hope's face-- guilt. "I just need a release," she informed. "With all these humans coming to campus, I can't wolf out."

"Okay, I'll make you a list." Lizzie gasped, her eyes widening as she looked past Elara. "The judges are here. Excuse me." She rushed past the roommates to what Elara assumed was the location of the judges of the contest.

A split-second of silence passed before Hope turned towards Elara, reaching out a hand a lightly grabbing her wrist. Elara looked down at her hand and raised a brow.

"What's wrong--"

"I didn't break up with Landon," Hope spit out. "I tried. God, I tried, but he seemed so happy and hopeful, and he literally just died, and then Roman showed up from nowhere and Landon started going all alpha-dog on him--"

"Okay, okay, okay," Elara said softly, letting go of the tension in her chest. She still felt that burning anger, but there was no way she was going to take it out on Hope. "One thing at a time. What was the first thing you said?"

"I didn't break up with Landon yet," Hope admitted, darting her eyes between Elara and the floor. "There hasn't been the right moment to."

Elara slowly nodded. People were not her forte, but if Hope needed her to be an expert, she'd be an expert (Elara was starting to realize that she'd do a lot of things for her not-yet-but-totally-should-be-girlfriend). "Okay. That makes sense to me. He does of remind me of, like, a lost puppy. Plus, he did die. Being like 'hey, I know your life just ended but so did our relationship' would not be the best thing to do."

Hope's brows furrowed at Elara's attempt at her voice. "You think I sound like that?"

"No, I was just- never mind." Elara shook her head. "I understand that you haven't broken up with him officially. It's a hard thing to do, especially considering the past few weeks we've had. There's no need to rush." At that, Hope nodded, some of her tensity seeming to vanish. "What about Roman being here is bothering you?"

"Everything. Roman's just- he's just a picture of bad memories. I don't blame him anymore for what happened, but Landon seems to be bothered by that."

"Yeah, well, Landon's opinion about that doesn't really matter, even if he is your kinda-boyfriend." With a warning glare from the tri-brid, Elara removed Hope's hand from around her wrist and grabbed it with her own. "Which I'm not saying because that's a bad thing. My point is it's not his choice if Roman is forgiven or not. It's yours."

Hope nodded again. Elara's words seemed to help a little bit, but they weren't quite hitting the source of Hope's stress. It wasn't for lack of trying. They just weren't the only thing that could help Hope.

Lizzie's rapidly approaching footsteps pulled them out of their bubble, making Elara quickly let go of Hope's hand. The twin didn't seem to realize that she'd interrupted a moment, not catching the way that Elara had been looking at Hope. "Emergency," Lizzie said. "Follow."

With a brief look of confusion between the two and a shrug, they followed Lizzie into one of the side rooms with a sliding door, and not a moment later Penelope and Josie arrived. The tension between them was almost as readable as the tension between Elara and Hope. Something was going to happen between them, and had things been different, Elara would've tried to help fix it.

It seemed that Elara was doing a lot of helping lately, and she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Lizzie closed the door before turning to the group with a somber expression. "I am withdrawing from Miss Mystic Falls. Effective immediately."

Standing on the other side of Hope, Elara let out a sigh, turning around the chair and sitting in it. She crossed her arms along the top of it and placed her chin on her arms.

Hope tapped her hands on her skirt, leaning back to sit on the table. She voiced what the two were thinking, saying, "I thought you had something important to tell us."

"Come for the underwhelming announcement, stay for the epic meltdown," Penelope commented. "All we have to do is wait."

Josie shook her head. She was the only one concerned with what Lizzie had said. "Why are you quitting?"

"A personal issue with one of the judges," Lizzie answered. "A direct result of that bitch Dana's sabotage."

"She's dead, Lizzie," Hope scolded.

Elara bit her tongue to stop herself from commenting.

"Correction: that dead bitch Dana's sabotage. Costing me the crown from beyond the grave." Lizzie sat down, folding her hands together. "The head judge is her mother. The town pharmacist." She looked between the four teens. "There is always next year for me. But that does not mean that we here at the Salvatore School shouldn't bring home the title and stick it to those townies."

Lizzie's eyes settled on Elara, who lifted a brow. "So, I have studied all of the stats and advanced metrics, and I have chosen a replacement."

"If you say me, I will throw you out of that window," the wolf quickly threatened.

Lizzie scrunched her nose then shook her head. Elara expected her to say Josie. Despite her current anger with the brunette twin, she still knew how much the competition meant to Josie. They weren't strangers who knew too much about each other. Not yet at least.

Elara watched as Lizzie flickered her gaze over each of them before finally settling on-

"Hope Mikaelson."

Elara's brows lifted. "Hold on, what?"

"You heard me, your girlfriend will be my replacement."

"Why not Josie?" Elara questioned, gesturing towards the mentioned girl, who wore a brief look of disappointment, then she looked shocked. As did Penelope (and they all noticed that Elara didn't comment on the fact that Lizzie called Hope her girlfriend). "I'm not saying Hope isn't a great candidate-- she definitely is-- but Josie just logically seems like a pretty good replacement to me. She's well-spoken, knows the competition like the back of her hand, and she's a legacy. Winning pageants is in her blood."

"Well, you're not known for you logical decision, Lara. Might I recall you holding onto a mummy as it was being lit on fire?" At that Elara huffed softly, leaning backwards. Lizzie did make a fair point. "Trust me on this. Hope is the perfect candidate. With her running, we're sure to win this year-- with my help of course. So, what do you say, Mikaelson?"

While everyone turned to look at Hope, Josie was looking at Elara. Earlier Elara had been short with her, pushing her away, but now she was pushing Josie towards something she wanted and trying to help her? It didn't make sense to her.

Truthfully, it didn't make that much sense to Elara, either.

When Hope shyly agreed to do the pageant, the group dispersed, Josie heading towards her dorm and Lizzie and Hope heading towards the latter's. Elara made to follow Hope, not wanting to be far from the tri-brid, but a hand caught her wrist.

"Wait," Penelope said softly. Her grip was firm, yet Elara knew she could pull away if she wanted to. "I need to talk to you about something."

Elara paused mid-step, quirking a brow. "And it can't wait until later--"

"You'll want to hear what I have to say, Elara."

Penelope hardly used her first name. "Fine." Elara sighed, watching as Hope turned around the corner. She pulled her arm free from Penelope. "What is it?"

Penelope reached into her jacket, a smirk playing on her lips. "While you've been busy looking everywhere for impossible answers, I've been the one holding them, and while we may not always see eye to eye, you've been good to our deal."

Right, Elara thought. With everything going on-- the monsters, the feelings, the betrayal-- the deal with the devil had slipped out of her mind.

Penelope pulled out what looked like a small-leather bound journal. Its cover was faded, the edges tattered and beaten by age and other types of damage, and there were a small set of initials in the bottom right corner.

Elara narrowed her eyes. The font was small and jumbled together, making it hard for her to correctly read the letters.

"I found this when I was moving some stuff into Dr. Saltzman's office." The cogs in Elara's head were turning. She took the journal from Penelope and traced a finger over the faded letters. "He, uh, unfortunately left one of his drawers unlocked, and I accidentally opened it.

"You found it in Dr. Saltzman's office?" Elara asked, half-listening. A conversation with a certain Bennett witch had started to replay in her mind as her fingers skimmed the edges of the journal. There was a familiarity to it. The old, dusty smell hit her nose like a wave of nostalgia, and the texture felt as if it unlocked a memory in her mind.

"Mhm, I think this is ample payment for your services."

C. L.

Cedric's journal. Penelope had found the very journal that Bonnie had told her about, and she'd just given it to her.

Elara tucked the journal against her chest. "Thank you, Penelope. Thank you."

A smile settled on Penelope's face although it didn't reach her eyes, but instead of acknowledging what was on her mind she merely nodded.

"Consider us even, Wolfie."

~-~-~

The door to Elara's bedroom flew open as the Hellhound came rushing in, a million thoughts fighting to free themselves from her lips. After receiving the notebook from Penelope, she immediately made a dash for the dorm.

"Hope, I have so much to tell you--" Elara paused, stopping in the middle of the room-- "why does it look like a school supply store exploded in here?"

Hope laid on her stomach on Elara's bed, one binder in her hands and several others surrounding her. A stack of binders, some filled with different colored folders, was propped up against Elara's side table, and an empty bin sat on Hope's desk.

"Because that's basically what it is," Hope answered. She dropped the binder, propping herself on her elbows. "All of this is Lizzie's Miss Mystic Falls research."

Elara whistled, tucking the journal under her arm. "Damn, and I thought I was a little research crazy."

"Speaking of..." Hope gestured for Elara to move closer.

Elara grinned, crossing the room--having to step over a stack of books that she'd been hoarding on the way-- and jumped next to Hope on the bed. She laid similarly to the tri-brid, partially pressing against her. With them, personal space had started to lose its meaning. "I have in my hands the very important journal that Miss Bonnie Bennett told me about."

Hope's eyes widened. "Cedric's journal? But I thought--"

"That Dr. Saltzman had it," Elara finished. She ran her finger along the spine of it. It was hard to believe that she even had it despite being able to touch it. It felt as if she'd found the last piece of a thousand-piece puzzle. "He did, but Penelope Park 'accidentally' took it as part of our deal. Supposedly, it contains the answers I've been looking for."

"Supposedly?"

"The answers should be in here, but the problem is I can't actually read it," Elara admitted. She opened the journal to the first page, pointing at the first sentence.

The symbols didn't look like letters of any known languages, and there wasn't any punctuation. Hope had never seen anything like it.

"It's not like with the other languages where I can just let some control slip and let the hound read it. It's like that piece of information is locked away, and I have to unlock it somehow. Only problem is I don't have the key."

Hope hummed, leaning into Elara to get a better look at the journal. Every symbol looked different. She could make out that there were words on the page, but she was unaware of any ciphers that would match the code.

Elara let out a long groan, closing the book and burying her face into her comforter. She couldn't help but notice that Hope was right about her bed. It was pretty comfortable. "Which means I still can't find what I'm looking for." Elara should've been used to the feeling of disappointment considering how many times it had happened before.

She felt a hand gently pat her back. "We'll figure it out, El. I promise," Hope said.

"We?" Elara questioned, her voice muffled.

"We," Hope confirmed.

A sigh escaped Elara's lips as she lifted herself, sitting on her knees.

"Well, until then, we should focus on this stupid pageant." Elara glanced at one of the binders that was filled to the brim with notes with Lizzie's handwriting. "Apparently, you've got a lot to learn before tonight."

Hope hummed in agreement. "That and we've got another problem."

"I'm sure it's not that bad--"

"Lizzie registered Landon as my escort."

Elara groaned again, face planting once more. Like always, just when things started to look up, it all came crashing down.