|Unedited|

"You are my forever, Hope Mikaelson."
HB

2028

As Roman left, Hayden stood behind his girlfriend wishing he could've murdered he fledgling that killed her mother. But much to his dismay, she wouldn't let him. Instead she focused on getting the two to Lizzie for more assignments, as the Gemini witch liked to call them.

On their way to the blonde witch of annoyance, Hayden overhead to witches talking to one another. Landon stood in the hallway staring out, which made Hayden curious as to who the two voices were. After listening more, he realized it was Josie and another unfamiliar witch.
To Hope's confusion, Hayden walked over to Landon and plopped an elbow on the Phoenix's shoulder looking down at him with a smirk. "What's Josie doing with that girl over there?" Landon shrugged off the vampire's elbow and glared at him.

Hayden raised a brow just as Hope made her way over to the two. She listened in on the conversation between the two shortly before realizing it was a private conversation and slapped the side of her boyfriend's head.

"Don't eavesdrop! That's a private conversation."

Hayden turned to look down at the tribrid, clear curiosity sitting on his face, "Just how private are we talking about here?"

Hope huffed as she looked over at Landon who looked upset for one reason or another. His arms crossed over his chest as he watched Penelope, a witch that Hope didn't particularly like, lean toward his girlfriend. Hope knew that the two had once dated, and that they were very much in love with one another. She also knew that Penelope was leaving tonight after the ball, and that Josie had destroyed the letter given to her from Penelope.

The tribrid sighed heavily as she pulled her boyfriend by the back of his neck and looked at Landon with sad eyes. "Josie really likes you, Landon. Penelope was her past... and plus, she won't be around for long."

Before Landon could ask what she meant by that she pulled Hayden and left the scene of heartbreak. The vampire whined in his girlfriend's ear, which shouldn't have turned her on, but did anyway. The tribrid pulled the vampire until he was up against the wall and she was in front of him with her chest against his.
Hayden breathed out a breath of pain at the fact that he was about to get it from her, and from the fact that he would very much like to have his way with his girlfriend at this moment in time. If Hope were taller than him she would've been hovering over her, but lucky for him, even in her heeled boots she was still a good four inches too short.

Even as she had him pinned against the wall, Hayden had his arms wrapped around her waist and had pulled her into his body dominantly. The tribrid tried not to let her cheeks heat up, but it was no use as the vampire straightened up to now hover over her, breaths mingling.

"H- Hayden... We're in public!" The vampire leaned down until his lips were mere inches from hers, a playful smirk on his lips. "So?" The tribrid groaned before pushing him back a little, only to be pulled back into him more harshly. She wouldn't be complaining had they been in their shared room, but because they were in the middle of the hallway, Hope tried to push him away.

"What if I take us somewhere else?"

Hope thought he would take them to their room, but the thought of Lizzie looking for them tirelessly clawed it's way up in her mind. She didn't want the witch to angrily throw a tantrum because there was no one to help her with the pageant, but the way her boyfriend's hand were slowly climbing up her thighs toward her chest, made every thought that wasn't about him slip away. Without a moment of hesitation, Hope nodded.
Hayden smiled widely as he was about to take the love of his life to the house he had almost finished with. All that was left was the interior designing, and since he didn't know if shed like it, he decided now would be the perfect time to get her opinion on it. Without a warning the vampire sped off and out of the school.

Hope could tell they weren't going to her room, and although she was slightly disappointed, she was more confused when she was put down on her feet and looked up to see a two story house standing in front of her. The tribrid tilted her head as she looked up at it, confused as to what it meant. And before she could ask any type of question, Hayden was in front of her with her hands in his and a bright look in his eyes.

"Hope Mikaelson. One day I hope to be with you forever. I hope to get to call you mine for all of eternity, and to get to hold you until the day I day, which will most likely be never. My past has led me here to you, and my past is exactly that, my past. Every past love I had, was never such as you and I. I love you, with my all, Hope Mikaelson, my little tribrid. And from this day forward, I want you to live with me here. I built this house so that you wouldn't be too far from the school, and until the day we decide to leave this wretched town for good, it'll be ours to call home. So... what do you say?"

Hope couldn't believe what she was hearing. Everything he'd said to her made it all the more real, and although they had only been officially dating for about four months, she felt the exact same way. She was ready to one day marry him, be with him for the rest of her life.
Tears blurred her vision as she nodded, pulling the taller male into a hug. His arms easily wrapped around her waist as she hugged him. He was glad that she said yes, no in words yet, but with the nod of her head. He didn't know if he was moving too fast, or not fast enough, but the fact that she said yes made it all worthwhile.

"Come on, I want you to see the inside."

As Hayden took the tribrid's hand he pulled her up the stairs and onto the font porch. It was the first thing that Hope noticed, the porch. It wrapped around the entire left side of the house, and if you walked around you could see the forest that led straight to the Salvatore School. Hope smiled when she saw a porch swing sitting int he corner and a small coffee table in front of it. She then saw the wide front door with a key hanging from the doorknob.
The tribrid took the key off the doorknob and slowly unlocked the door. As she was handing it to Hayden he shook his head and told her it was her key that she held in her hand. Hope looked around to see a rustic, yet modern styled living room in front of her. It was everything and more than what she could've dreamed.

She noticed the dark oak wood furniture was paired with the colors of different shades of blue and beige colors. It was like an aesthetic of them together from what she could see. Hope walked around the living room before seeing the kitchen through the open door to her right.

With a bright smile she walked into the kitchen that blew her mind and took her breath away. It put the Salvatore School's kitchen to shame with how shiny and new it looked and felt. Walking through the kitchen she came to the dining room where a table that looked to fit at most ten sat. There were beige placemats in front of each chair, and what looked to her her father's paintings around the room.
Hope gasped as she neared a painting on the nearest wall, eyes flickering over the strokes that she knew had to be her father's, and his signature in the corner of it. It was a painting of her uncle Elijah, uncle Kol, and Hayden himself. She turned toward the vampire with tears in her eyes and a question in her mind.

Hayden nodded as she walked over to her, he stopped to place a kiss on her forehead before sighing and looking up at the old painting from way back. It was so old he didn't quite remember when it was painted, but he knew it was a time when they were all happy.

"Kol called me the other day, a few weeks ago actually. He told me that Niklaus left behind a vault with all of his most prized possessions... He left if for me, surprisingly, but it was only because the vault could only be opened by me. Don't ask. Anyway, when I looked inside it, well... I found a bunch of his old paintings... And I thought you might like them in our new home."

Hope was speechless, completely and utterly speechless.

"Hayden... I love it. I love our new home. I love you."

Again, the two found themselves in a kiss that seemed to make the house shake, lips so tightly entwined with one another's that it felt as if it were the only way they could breathe. Hope pulled away after what seemed like forever, staring into the icy blue orbs that she loved.

"There aren't any in our room, right?"

"Uh- No, I didn't put any in th-" Hayden was interrupted as a finger was placed over his lips, silencing him.

"Good. Now take me there."

Hayden raised his brows at the tribrid who was now outwardly aroused, "Wh- What about the rest of the house?"

Hope chuckled under her breath at the fact that she was making her overly confident boyfriend nervous. She smirked as she let her finger run from his bottom lip to his pants, a devilish look in her eyes. Hayden shuddered with lust as he looked down at her, and almost completely forgot that he had asked her a question.

"I'll see it soon enough, won't I? Now take me to our room."

The nearly nine hundred year old vampire was now more focused on getting the two to their room than anything. There was nothing that could stop him now from devouring his girlfriend, and the moment he set her down on their new bed in their room, clothes were gone in a mess of wind and bodies were pressed against each other's in a fiery dance of passion only they knew.

Lizzie was freaking out after talking to the judges. That damned Dana was still ruining her life even from the grave. Who would have known that her mother would be one of the Miss Mystic Falls pageant judges? Now that she had had that confrontation, Lizzie was more frazzled than ever now. There was no way she would be able to win this pageant with Dana's mother as a judge.

With as much dignity as she could muster, she made a new group text and sent out that they needed to have an emergency meeting pronto!

To: New Group
From: Lizzie
Emergency meeting ASAP!

Soon enough Lizzie found herself standing in an empty classroom with her clipboard in hand thinking over the fact that she would have to resign from her position in the pageant. Lizzie thought it over and over and only came to one conclusion. Someone would have to replace her in the pageant, and she knew who it had to be.

The blonde witch groaned after standing at the front of the classroom with Penelope and Josie staring at her with annoyed and confused looks on their faces. Just as Lizzie was about to complain and have each of the witches in the room call the one missing witch, the auburn haired tribrid waltzed into the room with her boyfriend fast behind her.
Although Lizzie was long told her self she would be happy for the couple instead of trying to break them up, she still rolled her eyes at the fact that they both looked like they had just gotten out the shower after a major sex sesh. Lizzie moaned out a finally!

"What took you so long? I have an emergency!"

Hope slumped against one of the desks, as did Hayden who looked at Lizzie like he was bored with the conversation already. Lizzie was quick to advert her eyes from the two and stared down the three witches in the classroom.

"I'm withdrawing from the pageant."

Hope groaned, "I though this was an emergency!"

Josie frowned, "Why would you withdraw?"

Lizzie looked away from her sister for a few seconds before looking back at her, "Personal issues with the judge. Who happens to be Dana's mother! But that's not why I called you all here. Look, the Salvatore School has to bring home this win one way or another, so in order to do that... I've chosen a replacement."

Hope's eyes widened as she looked around the room. Penelope stood with a smirk on her face while staring at a smiling Josie. Both thought that Lizzie would say her own twin would replace her, but the vampire in the room could see that that wasn't the case.

"Hope Mikaelson."

Both Penelope and Josie's faces fell in utter disappointment, and the only thing Hope could do was stare at the Gemini witch in shock. Next thing Hope knew she was being dragged to Lizzie's room where she was sat down and was being told how the pageant would go.

About an hour after Lizzie started, she had finished telling Hope all she would have to do and look out for. Hayden laid back on Josie's bed with his arms behind his head without another care in the world. He listened intently as to what Lizzie was spewing out, but to think of the fact that he would be able to waltz with his girlfriend in a suit and her in a dress? He was excited.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Hope sat slumped over with her head in her hands in front of Lizzie, whose eyes opened wide when she said the word regret.

"Regret it? You are the perfect candidate! You are pageant-pretty, reasonably well-spoken, and not to mention you have the added bonus of being an orphan. Classic charity case."

Hayden snickered from the bed, causing the tribrid to turn and through a small wave of force his way that made him fly into the wall for a few seconds. When he fell back onto the bed he sat up and looked at his girlfriend with shock. He placed a dramatic hand over his heart and stood up, walking toward the door but pausing with Lizzie spoke again.

"Plus, you have a smokin' hot partner."

The vampire turned around at that one to smirk at his tribrid, "Well, she's not wrong about that one."

Hope was still a little on edge about it, and Lizzie could see it well written on her face. She huffed, standing up and looking down at the tribrid who sat contemplating in front of her.

"No one from the Salvatore School has ever come close to winning... Until today."

Hope stopped herself from thinking in her head to look up at the witch who held desperation in her eyes. The tribrid sighed, knowing that there was no way she could get out of this anyway.

"Fine! I'll do it."

In a matter of hours Hope was drug away from her boyfriend who only smiled obnoxiously as he watched her be pulled by her ex-nemesis toward the rehearsal part of the pageant. Hayden let the girl's be on their own now, and walked mindlessly around the empty school which was usually filled to the brim with magic users and werewolves.

The vampire soon found himself outside of Alaric's office door where he heard another voice inside. "You didn't tell me Hope had a boyfriend." Alaric could be heard sighing inside, "Oh- Yeah, didn't think you'd be interested in knowing."

"And just who is he? He gives me... Klaus vibes..."

Hayden snorted as he walked inside the office, speeding over to the young fledgling that was taller than he was, but less powerful in every other way.

"That might be because I'm his first adopted son."

Hayden stepped away from the young vampire and took a seat at the window seat he had concluded to be his seat. Roman could be seen visibly shaking just the slightest by the trained eye, even Alaric could tell something was wrong with the vampire.

"I- I thought Klaus only took in Marcel."

Hayden laughed, leaning against he wall, "Oh, no, that little bastard was taken in one hot summer day on our family walk. Poor thing was being abused when daddy dearest found him. Of course the man said to have no heart grew one for the boy. Then he raised him, and let me tell you, biggest. Mistake. Ever."

Alaric shook his head because he knew deep down inside, Hayden did care for Marcel as a younger brother. Somewhere deep down he did think of him as family, otherwise he wouldn't have approved him marrying Rebekah.

"Anyways! Why do you ask about me fledgling?"

Roman took an unconscious step back from the menacing tone in his voice and tried to find a way to come up with an excuse to leave. Alaric turned to glare back at Hayden, who only smiled sweetly back.

"Roman, you have nothing to worry about. Hayden will not harm you. But now that I think about it, where is Hope?"

"You didn't know? Lizzie withdrew and recruited our very own tribrid to take her place."

Alaric was surprised, to say the least, but nodded with the shrug of his shoulders. Lizzie always had a plan and if she withdrew, then she had a good reason to in the end, whatever it may be. Hayden sighed before standing up and buttoning his suit jacket, "And speaking of my lovely little tribrid, I can hear Lizzie yelling at how I'm late in the hallway. So off I go gentleman. Hope to see you at the pageant."

When Hayden arrived just outside the room of rehearsal that he soon learned meant with their partners, Lizzie was already there to lecture him all the way until he was next to his girlfriend. He knew that Hope didn't know much about pageants, and not saying that he's been in some... but he's been in a few, so he knew the dances well.

The tribrid stared up at the vampire with anxious eyes, which lessened as she saw the look of pride and determination in his eyes. A throat was cleared throughout the stiff air, leaving silence as the band began to play their instruments. He loud sound of the violent swept through the air, and as beautiful as it was, it made Hope more nervous when the head judge told them to begin dancing.

"Honor your partner."

Hope had no clue what she was doing, but staring in Hayden's eyes made it better. She looked around and saw all the girls around her curtsying, so she followed along and curtsied as Hayden bowed. He smiled at her as the two stood up straight again just as the head judge spoke again.

"Right hand around."

Both the tribrid and vampire held up their right hands and began circling one another. "Flirt, with your eyes." And flirting, Hayden did. His eyes felt such passionate Dan grace for the art of dancing that Hope felt like a potato compared to him. And then she started wondering how he knew the dance so well. Had he taken other girls and escorted them? Just how many other girls had he done this with?

"Left hand around." For a few seconds they twirled with their left hands an inch away from each other's until the head judge called for both hands. Hope followed the domineering vampire before her, who seemed to knew the dance all too well. In deed he did, but only because he'd learned the dance since he was young. Pageants used the dancing he'd done hundreds of years ago, and he was proud that now he knew it and could help his girlfriend win the pageant.

Before the tribrid could tell what was going on she was pulled toward Hayden and he held one of her hands out in his, and placed the other on his shoulder. He could feel the stares of others on the two of them, most of them out of envy.

"How do you know this dance so well?"

Hayden already knew what was going through her head,