𝟙.𝟠: 𝕄𝕒𝕪𝕓𝕖 𝕀 𝕊𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝔽𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔼𝕟𝕕

—Narrator's perspective—

"After the night I had? Always knew that whenever something good comes up, a disaster is waiting on the other side." Arabella whispered besides Hope who chuckled lowly at her behaviour. "Just grab the keys before Ric goes indiana jones on us." She waved her hands in a dramatic way and Hope smiled at her, time and time again, she would always remember why she likes Arabella.

Hope discreetly took the keys from the drawer and showed it to her. "You happy now, drama queen?" She questioned and walked past her to the exit. Arabella rolled her eyes and closed the office door before following the tribrid.

The two went only as far to the door when Ric showed up out of no where behind them. "Going somewhere?" He asked and it made the two girls turn around. "Better questions, where the hell do you think you're going with my keys and without telling me?"

"Um, you know, I just said some really harsh things to you yesterday, and so I just wanted to get you an oil change as a peace offering." She said and Arabella hid her laughter.

Alaric scoffed, "At 3:00 a.m.? Hope, you don't have a driver's license."

"That's why Bella here is with me. She also said mean things and we're guilt ridden." Hope said in a high pitched voice and nudged the girl's side making her nod to Ric.

"You were gonna commit grand theft auto, which is a felony. You're ditching school right before the midterm exams begin, and you've made it very clear to me that you see me as an authority figure and nothing more. So tell me, why shouldn't I suspend you this very second?" He sighed in question, clearly ignoring Arabella's existence who stayed silent. Hope pulled her sleeve up and showed the bracelet to Ric. "And what is that?"

"It's basically a supernatural compass." Hope blankly said and dropped her act.

"Well, I hope it's pointing you to your room. 'cause that's where you're going." Alaric nodded with his lips pressed into a thin line.

"We're going after Landon. If this thing is glowing, that means that he's in trouble." She explained and the two shared a look before Ric gave in quickly.

He nodded, "Then we're all going, and I'm driving." Alaric said and looked at Arabella. "We're switching shifts." He pointed at her.

"Well great. Change into something more formal then we can go." She said making Hope falter a smile, looking away before Ric could see it.

☘︎︎

"Indiana. Crossroads of America." Alaric

sing-songed while he kept his hand on the wheel. "What's the Capital?" He asked to Hope quickly.

Arabella leaned her head against the window, stuck on having a huge headache and got defeated by Hope Mikaelson on the shotgun seat. It's been hours and the sun already come up.

"We learned that in, like, eighth grade." Hope boredly said and looked back out the window.

"Oh, good, then you should know it." He replied while keeping his eyes on the road ahead of them.

"I didn't say I absorbed the information."

"Yeah, well, you're not saying much of anything. Look, If you can't handle grade school geography you're gonna flunk all your exams. You too Ara." He looked at her through the rear view mirror.

She frowned. "I'm a hundred years old, Ric. You don't honestly believe I haven't travelled the world yet? Keep asking Hope." Arabella gave the girl in front a look making Hope roll her eyes in a playful manner and turn back to look at the front.

"Are Lizzie and Josie studying? Maybe you should focus on them." Hope countered looking at Alaric and having yet to resist the urge on wanting to be besides a certain vampire right about now.

"Yeah, well, they're still in Europe with Caroline, thank god." He sighed out and shook his head.

"Religion has no place in the classroom, Dr. Saltzman. The supreme court made sure of that with its ruling on Engel v. Vitale. And Indianapolis is the capital of Indiana. I'm getting an 'A' in Geography. Chill." She answered smoothly earning a snicker from the vampire which she didn't hear. The compass suddenly turned to another direction. "Take the next left. He's on the move." She added.

Alaric nodded, "Indiana is surrounded by what 4 states?" He asked again and looked at the girl.

"I thought we just established that I am dominating geography." She huffed and looked behind her to see a very bored Arabella about to doze off. Cute, she thought.

"Fine. Then let's move to science." He said and kept asking Hope more and more questions by the minute spent.

Arabella got pulled to reality when Alaric asked her a question about what happened to her mother. "Told me she wasn't the one who condemned me life misery so, I don't really know what to think."

"Seriously? You believed her?" Hope questioned and now more interested of this topic.

"I did because my dad was an ass who only cared about power— weren't you answering Alaric's questions of doom?" She twisted the subject making Hope groan in frustration.

"I hope not." She turned to Ric who snickered in his seat. "I'm much more interested in your back story. What was it like being friends with a highschool alcoholic teacher?"

Arabella laughed and Ric glared at her through the mirror again. "Oh you know, the usual. Him wanting to kill the vampire who killed his wife, then being bestfriends with the said vampire— It's all really confusing to me." She explained and Hope chuckled.

"Okay, you, on the wheel. I feel like my back will snap into two if I don't stop." Alaric complained and pulled over to the side of the road. When he got out, so did Arabella who jumped in the driver's seat.

"Jesus how tall are you?" She asked and adjusted the height of her chair a little higher when they all got in to the car again with Ric on the backseat.

Alaric chuckled lowly. "You're just short." The comment made Hope laugh and shaking her head in disbelief of what he just said.

"I'm contemplating on running this car over a cliff." She fired back and quickly drove out of the side of the road.

With a few more assaults from Alaric who was making fun of her height, he was starting to fall asleep in his seat, leaving the girl's by the front to talk privately. Although Arabella would love nothing more than to go back to sleep, she talked with Hope for a few more moments and hours.

"About last night." Hope started in a mischievous manner and looked over to the girl driving who gave her a questionable look on what is it. "Nothing you just seemed mad at me the first, then slamming me to a wall the next." She whispered.

Arabella coughed by the sudden confidence and glared at her. "You kissed me first so I don't see how you get to tease me on this." She suppressed the smile on her face and stare at the road instead of Hope's eyes that grown to be her weakness.

"It was a mutual development." She replied back and chuckled. "Do you regret it? We never actually talked about it last night."

"What? Does me saying that I like you wasn't enough for Hope Mikaelson?" She snorted and it earned a slap on the shoulder making her roll her eyes and laugh. "No I don't, happy?"

"Very much." Hope smiled, leaning on her seat to kiss her cheek before going back. Arabella smiled internally and kept her gaze on the road. "Are you still mad over what I did with the Necromancer?"

Arabella hummed, "Do you want me to go back on being mad? If so all you had to do was ask." She joked and Hope rolled her eyes, still having a smile on her lips. "Kind of pissed but seeing as my admiration trumped it, you're in the clear."

"Admiration of what?"

"Of you. Duh." She said and clicked her tongue, as if the answer was already obvious enough. "But still, don't do that again. I don't need Klaus rising up from the dead just to kill me of not protecting you."

The two laughed silently, still being quiet before Alaric suddenly wakes up from his much needed nap. Arabella spent the few hours driving their way to Kansas, 2 hours later that Alaric woke up and saved the Vampire from an unbearable back pain.

☘︎︎