Chapter Text
Hope walked into the school library, her auburn hair swaying from the soft breeze of the open windows. It was well past midnight, hardly anybody was wondering in the corridors still, and the few stragglers that were up we’re making their way to their own rooms. She wandered down the aisles, looking for something that would hold her insomniatic minds attention for a while. Finding a couple of art history books in the first few aisles, she crept closer to the back of the library, towards the lounge area, hoping to get through at least half of the first book without being disturbed. As she opened the door to the lounge, she grinned upon noticing a familiar figure slouched down against the window furthest from the door. She set her books and walked quietly towards the sleeping boy. As she drew closer to him, she noticed little details, things she couldn’t pick up on when he was awake. He had a short patch of stubble, the tiny dime sized scar along the underside of his jaw, the way his face seemed so calm and peaceful, not showing the lines of stress and anger she usually associated with his waking self. She shook her head softly, chastising herself internally for even thinking of the wolf in such a way. She stopped next to him, hesitating, then reached out and gently grasped onto his arm, softly calling to him as she did so. “Raf…hey sleepyhead, wake up.” She called out. They taller boy startled awake, seemingly disoriented as he looked around.
“Hope? What are you doing here again?” He reached up, placing his hand on hers. “What do you mean again.” She asked as she slowly pulled her hand off his. “Am I still dreaming?” Raf asked as he stood and turned away from her. She shook her head and took a step back, giving him space. “No, I just came in and noticed you were asleep by the window. I figured you would prefer a bed to this drafty old room.” Raf nodded slowly, then reached up and scrubbed at both of his eyes with his hands. “Thanks.” He muttered. “Are you okay?” Hope questioned gently. The older wolf scoffed, then he picked up his bookbag, and without looking at her left the lounge area. ‘What the hell was that all about?’ She wondered as she sat down by the window. She could pick up faint traces of his scent, and could feel the warmth that had radiated from him against the wood behind her. She tried to think of other things, but her mind kept crawling back to the sleepy boy with the dark, haunted mocha eyes.
The next day found Hope in the garden, helping Pedro and some of the other lower class students detect which of the plants had died, and which needed more attention. The Salvatore School grows most of their own rare herbs and plants for potions, and all the students learned how to upkeep the plants from a young age. The young witches could remember the names of the plants seemingly easy, but the young wolves and any new vamps could scent out the rotting plants faster. It was a blisteringly hot summer day, and even though there were students who left the school to be with their family, most of the students stayed year round to be with their friends. Most of the students didn’t have homes to go back to, so they stayed and took up a couple remedial summer classes, like potions, or for the younger students, art and history. As Hope was watching the students, she noticed a bunch of students down by the lake rushing into the water in bathing suits happily. Class was almost finished, so she left the rest of it up to the teacher Dorian, longing for a cool bath.
She was lucky, because her room was down the hall from one of the woman’s bathing rooms, and she could be back in her room enjoying the cool air conditioning when she was done. She gathered her stuff after she finished in the washroom, but when she went to grab her clothes from her locker, she realized that they were gone. The only thing left was a small towel that could barely wrap around her, and a typed up note that just said ‘good luck L’. Hope groaned angrily. She scrunched up the note and pulled out the towel, quickly wrapping it around her, and grimacing at how little it covered. She hated showing off skin, she hated even wearing crop tops preferring to stay fully covered in public. She sucked in air through her teeth, then quickly shut her locker. She stalked over to the door, peering out slyly, before emerging from the bathroom, and hurrying to her door. She tried to open the door, but she couldn’t open it. “Barrier spell?! I’m gonna kill her!” She could hear students coming down the long corridor, laughing rambunctiously.
Hope looked around quickly, looking for something she could hide behind, but just as she was turning to go back to the girls bathroom, the door next to hers opened, and Rafael stepped out with just his sweatpants sling low on his broad hips. He didn’t seem to notice her at first, then when he did, he did a double take. “Uhh… what’s up?” He questioned. He wouldn’t look at her, instead he focused his eyes solely on his wooden door.
“Lizziestolemyclothesandlockedmeoutofmyroompleasehelpme.” She rushed out in one deep breath. She clenched her hands tighter around her towel, feeling too vulnerable and uncomfortable to do anything but ask, for help. Rafael opened his door, then turned around and looked at the ceiling. “You wanna hide out in here until the spell wears off?” She gulped, then nodded and muttered a quick thank you as she sped walked into his dorm, shutting the door behind her. As she turned around, Raf handed her the blanket from his bed. “Wrap up in this and I’ll grab you some smaller clothes of mine. They will probably still be too big but I’m sure you would feel better with clothes on.” She was stunned at the situation and waited until he had turned towards his dresser, before quickly taking off the towel and wrapping the large comforter around her body. She watched as he pulled out a pair of jersey shorts, and a hoodie with a tee shirt, before turning and placing them on the bed. “Stay in here as long as you need but I gotta get to a sparring class with the other wolves. I’ll be back in like an hour so just do what you need to stay comfortable.” He still hadn’t looked at her, but as he was talking he put a sweater on and zipped it closed, effectively cutting off the first view she had taken of his toned and muscular chest. She side stepped away from the door, and faced the floor as he walked closer to her. “Do you want me to grab you anything?” He asked gently, hand on the door knob. She shook her head slowly. “This is more than enough, thank you.” She muttered stiffly, as she tucked a wet curl behind her ear. The door opened and closed, and she waited until she couldn’t hear his footsteps, before taking a deep breath, and realizing the situation that she was in.
She eyed the clothes on the bed, and quickly made her way over to put the pieces on. The shorts fit her a bit too big, so she rolled the top down twice, then she pulled on the thick oversized hoodie, leaving the folded shirt back on top of his dresser. She finally sat down, and her thoughts ran rampant in her head. Why did Lizzie do this? Why was Raf being so nice all of a sudden? Why was he always leaving when she tried to talk to him? How long until the barrier comes down on its own? Why did the bed smell so good? She halted her thoughts at that. ‘Stop it. Don’t be weird.’ She thought to herself, but even as she thought it, she still found herself curling up on the bed, inhaling the sweet musky scent of the kind wolf. She lay her head on one of the pillows and closed her eyes. ‘He won’t be back for an hour, I’ll just rest my eyes for a couple minutes.’ She closed her eyes, resisting the gentle lull of sleep for a few minutes, before it took her under completely.
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Rafael grunted as he wandered the long hallways of the Salvatore School. He had been properly ambushed by Jed, the former alpha had tried again to reclaim his spot as alpha, but yet again he wasn’t able to defeat Rafael. The rest of the wolves had found it humorous, watching the overly confident wolf get his ass handed to him, but Raf found that it was like an annoying fly that wouldn’t go away. That wasn’t the only thing he had on his mind lately though. Ever since they had found out that Landon was a phoenix, things seemed different. No longer was he the fragile human to the rest of the students, now he was a walking talking legend that even Penelope wanted to get to know. Now landon was actually starting to make friends, besides the adventure squad, and Rafael was happy for him, but he couldn’t help but be a little jealous. Raf was just a wolf, and even though he was alpha, he knew he didn’t hold a flame to the unknown potential of a myth brought back from death. He knew he shouldn’t compare himself to his brother, but in the dark parts of his mind, the thoughts just slithered around. It wasn’t that Raf was jealous of his brothers power, he just hated seeing him with Hope. In assemblies when they can’t help but sneak a kiss, after classes when they can be found in each others arms, or even after hours when they could be seen walking around the campus, enjoying the cool Virginia air. It made him grit his teeth, not because they were bad for each other, but because he could see how they complimented each other.
Hope was a tough badass, with a fractured past, who cried when she healed a dog that had been hit by a car. She was as beautiful as she was deadly, and not even Cassie could hold a flame to what Raf felt towards Hope. Landon was always the kind one, he thought logicly, but sometimes he couldn’t help but to lead with his heart. He didn’t even blame MG for killing him, he blamed himself, because for as long as Rafael had known Landon, he was always totally selfless. They were the it couple on campus, because he was the Phoenix back from the dead, and she as a Michaelson was essentially royalty, then throw in how she was the only living Tribrid, and they had enough rumours to go through for the next year. Raf hated feeling jealous of his brother, but he couldnt help himself. Rafael turned the corner, and almost immediately ran into someone. “Sorry excuse me.” He said automatically, his manners impeccable even as he was lost in his head.
“Oh Rafael good morning.” The headmaster said from behind the tall man Raf had just ran into. “This is Hope’s uncle Kol.. he and his wife came by to check on her.” Raf took a double take at the man. He had an impish smile, bordering on a snear, and he oozed an air of magic that seemed strange, given that he was a thousand year old vampire. “Nice to meet you wolfy.” Kol drawled. Rafael nodded, acknowledging the older man. “Same to you man. Sorry again about before I wasn’t really paying attention.” Kol smiled, not unkindly, and Alaric cleared his throat. “Actually Rafael would you feel up to showing Kol to Hopes room? I have a call on wait that I need to get back to.”
“Uh well actually-”
“That sounds like a grand idea! I do hope we can have a chat on the way there.” Kol interrupted. He threw an arm around Raf’s shoulder, then slapped him on the chest. The teen sighed internally, then turned around, leading the way towards his dorm.
The pair walked in almost companionable silence for a couple minutes, then Kol started talking. “I always did say she would have good taste, she is the spitting image of her father but she has a good mix of her mother in there to. I reckon even Elijah would have approved. I am gonna have to tell my own darling wife that Rebekah was right, though I am glad she isn’t with a vampire i’m just slightly beside myself she couldn’t find herself a handsome witch. I guess if not a witch than a polite werewolf i can put up with right?” Rafael gapped, feeling lost. “What?” he asked confused. Kol laughed lightly. “Well i guess it’s a good thing you’re pretty mate, im talking about how the family is gonna react to Hope’s werewolf boyfriend. She has mentioned you before, but she is so very concerned with privacy i will never understand it.” Rafael stopped walking in disbelief.
“She talks about me?” Kol nodded, stopping beside him. “She has mentioned you in a lot of recent conversations, you and some Landon bloke, then she talks about some adventure squad, but once my darling little niece started talking about monsters i decided it was time for a visit. Got her fathers’ penchant for danger that one did. Are we there yet?” Raf nodded, finding himself at a loss for words. He started walking again. Then he realized what else Kol had said. “By the way, me and Hope aren’t actually dating. Her and Landon are together.” He said it with no emotion, keeping his eyes forward as the older man watched him. “Hmm interesting. Well i guess im gonna have to meet him now too. We can only hope that he is more of a Jackson than an Elijah though right?” Kol smirked, but Rafael found himself confused again. “I have no idea what your talking about dude, but okay?” They stopped in front of Raf’s door.
Rafael pulled out his key, then unlocked his door and quietly stepped inside. As Kol walked inside Raf quickly shushed him. There laying on his bed, was Hope Mikaelson, curled up and sleeping peacefully. Raf was entranced, his surroundings leaving him, as the intertwined scents of him and Hope reached him. He breathed it in, then he let out a quiet groan, feeling his eyes shift colors. Kol snapped his fingers in front of Raf’s face, bringing his human side back to the front. Rafael shook his head. “Sorry.” he apologized, to who he has no idea but he did it without thought. Kol looked at him thoughtfully. He seemed about to say something, but before he could they both heard someone behind them. “Whats up Raf?” the pair turned, and Raf felt his stomach fall. Landon stood at the door, looking towards the bed. “What is Hope doing in your bed?” Landon asked hesitantly. Kol raised an eyebrow. “I was gonna ask the same thing.” Landon walked forward, “and who the hell are you?”
“I am family jackass. Let me guess your the damned boyfriend right?" The older vampires eyes flashed angrily.
"Yeah i am now get out of the way so i can get to her." Landon tried to walk past Kol, but he stopped him.”You?! Talk about a dumb move. You’re definitely a Jackson buddy boy.” “Look guys maybe we should talk about this outside..” Raf tried, but his voice was drowned out by Kol and Landon arguing. He turned to look at Hope again, just as a shock wave sent him flying. “Kol I cant leave you anywhere can I?” Raf groaned, holding his head as a petite brunette walked through his door. 'Damn now i know where Hope gets her sunny disposition from.' He had been thrown into the wall by the door, whereas Landon had hit the opposite wall, and Kol was lifted off the ground and slammed back onto it. He must be used to it, because the older vampire had quickly just rolled over with a smirk and adjusted his shirt. “Awe but Davina if you had been with me i never would have come upon our niece in a wolfs bed, nor would i have seen what an absolute idiot her supposed boyfriend is.”
Hope had since been woken up by the sounds of the three boys hitting the walls, and she quickly flew out of Rafael's bed. “Hi Hope sweetie.” Davina smiled sweetly as she walked over and pulled Hope into a hug.
“Hey D, what are you guys doing here?” The tribrid twisted her hands together nervously.
“Your uncle seems to be stirring up trouble already unfortunately. Something about you being in a bed thats not yours or your boyfriends?” Hope gasped as everyone turned to listen to her response. “Its not what it looks like! Lizzie had stolen my clothes and spelled my door so i couldnt get in, and Raf was nice enough to let me stay in his dorm until the spell wore off. He let me borrow some clothes then went to class. Sorry i must have fallen asleep.”
“Why didnt you come to me for help?” Landon asked as he got back onto his feet. Hope shrugged. “Raf just happened to be leaving his room, and i didnt want to let anyone else see me running around like that, besides all it takes is someone being a jerk for two seconds and taking my towel and i didnt want to deal with that.” Kol started laughing, he jumped up from the ground, and walked over to Hope. “I just decided, i am absolutely going to be team Wolfy. The other one is too whiny.” Rafael bit his lip to keep from laughing, and Landon scoffed. “Kol stop it!” Davina and Hope both said.
“Why don’t I help you unspell your door, and then we can talk to our niece in private?” Davina added. Hope nodded at that. The girls walked to the door, and the boys with scattered looks at each other followed. It took about a half hour, but they finally managed to unspell Hopes’ dorm room door, and then Raf and Landon were left to go back to Rafael’s room.
They didnt speak a word until the door was closed, then as predicted, Landon started talking. “Why didnt you tell me Hope was naked in your room?” He was leaning against the door, arms crossed over his chest. Raf shrugged. “She seemed embarrassed, and i was running late for physical with the other wolves. Then i got jumped by Jed again, and on my way back Alaric saw me and i literally ran into her uncle. They asked me to take them to Hope so i did. Thats it bro, nothing else happened.”
“Did you see her naked body?” Raf sighed, and sat by the open bay window, the cool fresh air helping air out his and Hopes scents.
“She was wearing a towel, and i didnt even look at her i just pulled out some sweats and a hoodie and i put them on the bed and then i left. I didn’t even stay while she got dressed dude.” Landon nodded slowly, then shook his head. “Yeah.. yeah sorry just her uncle made it seem like she and you were like.. I don’t know. Sorry”
“It’s all good dude. It’s been a hell of a day. You wanna go get some food from the cafeteria? I could use some pastries right about now.” Rafael said, he took a deep breath of the fresh outside air, then left his window open as he walked to the door where Landon was. The shorter boy nodded, then they both left the dorm, speed walking past Hope’s door, hoping not to bother the three inside. As they entered the cafeteria, a random thought crossed Raf’s mind. Kol had said he was team “wolfy”, and as terrible as it probably sounded to Landon, it seemed wonderful to that dark place in Raf’s mind. “Hey man wanna go down to the lake later? I had been going up to ask you earlier, but then everything happened and we got thrown around by a little witch and her vampire hubby.” Raf laughed easily, and agreed to go, feeling his skin crawl in anticipation of the next nights full moon.