One breath and then another. Ruby was always afraid of becoming like Clancy. She knew that after everything, some people said she’d gotten cold. She didn’t want to be cold, she didn’t want to turn into Clancy. But she’d held people close to her heart to make sure that wouldn’t happen. Here, she didn’t have Liam or Chubs, not even Zu. There weren’t any children who needed her to rescue them. She was alone, and feeling adrift. A hand dropped onto her shoulder, forcibly dragging her out of the memories she’d been replaying of better times, and she reacted harshly, shoving them back. “Don’t touch me!” She was already gearing up to use her powers, not that she wanted to. But she had to protect herself.
“sorry ‘bout that. my bad.” liam smiled slightly, hands held up in surrender as his eyes met hers. a hint of confusion found its way onto his features as he looked at her, brows furrowing slightly. she didn’t look familiar, and yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that she was someone he was supposed to know. there was no way he could have forgotten a girl with such a strong presence. she’d spoken three words and already, liam knew he wouldn’t want to get on her bad side. “do i–have we met?” he stumbled over his words, not-so-smooth southern charmer that he was.
“that’s not how trust works where i come from. okay? ain’t just gonna’ hand it over ‘cause you say so.” however, there was a smaller smile on her lips now as she watched the other with somewhat hesitant eyes. it was nothing personal, peyton had a hard time trusting anyone and lately the barriers she had worked so hard to bring down were cementing themselves back up again. that’s what waking up in unknown surroundings with a husband who doesn’t remember her and no baby bump could do to a person. how could she trust someone else when she was even struggling to trust herself right now? “‘kay. tell me again? what happened exactly? promise i’m all ears this time.” she also knew that despite all the weird crap going on that she couldn’t shut absolutely everyone out because that was no way to live. it wasn’t.
elle wasn’t sure what was going on. honestly, she was still completely confused. ever since getting her memories back, she had been overwhelmed with fear that campbell was on his way to claim her as his. it scared the shit out of her, and after catching a glimpse of someone who looked like campbell she had nearly lost it. her hand had reached for the closest person next to her–a woman with a kind smile–and she had begged her to block her from the man’s view. “i just need you to trust that–that i’m not safe.” she whispered, inhaling shakily. “it’s a long story and it’s really complicated. i just need you to believe me.” she inhaled shakily, rolling her sleeve up to show the crescent scar on her arm that was left from the time campbell hurt her. “he did this. can you please hide me?” she asked in a soft voice.
Campbell was walking back home from being in school all day. He was already having a bad day when he woke up and by going to school it didn’t get better. He failed three tests, got yelled at by one of the teachers and to top it off had gotten detention. He was ready to just go home and forget about this whole shitty day but of course someone had to run into him. “Seriously, do people like not look where they are going anymore?” He asked annoyed. “Sorry, just had a shitty day.” He said immedialty feeling bad for snapping at the person.
elle stared at him, her body freezing. hands clenched at her side, eyes wide and filled with a terror. she blinked, hard, and forced that fear down. it was easier for everyone if she played into his games. he’d hurt her in ways she never saw coming, and she needed to get out of that situation. but she knew him. she knew he wasn’t going to let her leave. when she’d stayed with helena, he’d still found her. she’d been frozen when he ran into her, but it was far too easy to hide the fear from her eyes. she could be cold when she wanted, sure, but she wasn’t like him. she didn’t get pleasure out of hurting people, holding them under water and watching them struggle. that was him, not her. but she’d been caught in his web and she knew there was no easy way out, despite the fact that she was in a relationship with eddie. “hey, babe.” she whispered, hand reaching up for his face. just how he liked it. “are you okay?” she asked, noticing the look in his eyes. there was no recognition, nothing familiar. he looked like a stranger. she pulled her hand back, sucking in a breath.
Hope had been enjoying the party more than she at first had been expecting to, her fake life was different than her real one so memories sometimes combined together, and with a number of familiar faces, she was hoping to stumble into someone, but until then, she could try and befriend some new people. “Would you like to dance?” She questions the man nearby, her hand sticking out towards him in case he does agree.
landon bit his lip, eyes staring at her cautiously. the trust was yes, he wanted very much to dance with her. she was pretty, and she exuded kindness, so what excuse did he have to turn her away? none, as far as he was concerned. “sure.” he smiled, holding his hand out for her. “what’s your name?” he asked curiously, hand extended towards her own.
they had come full circle. it had been over two years since they first met at a party, his stupid hook immediately catching her eye. they had flirted unashamedly, and she found herself actually falling for him despite every intention she had not to. because honestly? she knew she could do better than him. at least tyler lockwood didn’t have the iq of an idiot. at least he hadn’t flirted with everything with a pulse. it only made sense that she gave up on trying to date him after he’d taken things too far.
liv hadn’t been trying to break up with him. they were trying to scare him, sure, but after a fight had blown up between the two of them, they lost it and ended things. but honestly? they hadn’t been expecting him to go out and get engaged. especially not in such a short amount of time. they loved him, and it had been too easy for him to move on. as they stared at him across the room, their heart caught in their throat, they realized how badly they’d messed up. taking another two shots at the bar, they straightened their dress before heading straight past him. “of course you’ve still got that fucking hook.” they commented as they brushed past him, their shoulder bumping against his. “oops.” they shrugged, pausing to look back at him with an unapologetic yet wounded look.
closed starter for millie harcourt / mike warren !
liam loved millie. was that too much to sahy? probably. but he didn’t care. he’d fdowned three whiskey sour’s and didn’t have plans to lookj back. once he’d gotten his memores back, he distinctly regretted agreeing to marrying elizabeth. sure, she was amazing and sure, he liked her. but he didn’t love her. not like he loved millie. and just like that, it was liike she had been summoned by some powerful being. “millie harcourt? is that you?” he teased, a grin playing on his lips as he held his hand out for her to take. there was still so much for him to tell her, but it broke his heat knowing the truth might hurt her. he loved elizabeth, he really did. but somehting hurt inside her, something telling him that he wasn’t summosed to love her like this. “hey, mills.” he grinned as heis eyes landed on hers, arms wrapping around her waist automatically. “i didn’t think i’d see you here.” he admitted a teasing grin palying on his lips.
[ surprise ] for your muse to show up at mine’s house without explanation. ( JORAH & CASSANDRA )
— one of the sociology courses that he was teaching for that semester had concluded its final session for the week several hours ago. after holding office hours briefly, jorah packed up his belongings. he was headed home for the weekend— but first, there was somewhere that he needed to stop. at the dwelling where CASSANDRA lived. it took him a brief amount of searching, to spot her place— given that he’d never been there before— but he found it. JORAH was not in the habit of knowing where his students lived, but he knew that this one would not mind. she was one of his favorites— someone who was always vocal in class, and who consistently encouraged her classmates to expand the grounds of their thinking on important subjects. after a single knock upon her door, jorah waited patiently. when she arrived soon thereafter to greet him, a light line-of-a-smile unfurled on his face. “CASSANDRA,” he greeted, knowing better than to continue to refer to her in the form of miss-followed-by-her-last-name. she’d informed him nearly from the start, that he did not have to be so FORMAL with her. “my apologies for stopping by unannounced.” jorah extended his hand, and produced her most recent term paper, folded neatly in two, so as to conceal her identity. “i thought that you might like to see the mark for your paper— prior to the onset of the weekend.” the female had been absent from class, which was rare for her. as a result, it raised some concern from her professor. “it has some of the finest ideas that i have come across.” once she had her paper, she could review his comments at her leisure. “forgive me, if you do not wish to answer,” jorah continued. he lifted his blue eyes. both of which were dotted with his genuine CARE. “i was worried when you did not show up to class.” there was no need for an apology. he simply wanted to know that she was okay. “is everything ALL RIGHT?”
cassandra was incredibly picky when it came to sharing about her weak heart. not even her significant other was in the know. while she knew sharing that information could potentially benefit her, she was rather comfortable with not being treated like fine china. had she been in west ham, she would have had her medicine and nothing to worry about. but in the twenties, unfortunately, the medication she’d been taking hadn’t yet been created. nor had pacemakers, which meant she had bad health days more often than she would have liked. usually it wasn’t bad–fatigue, shortness of breath, nothing she couldn’t handle. but when she woke up with a blue tint under her fingernails and lips, and a slight pain in her chest, she’d known there was no use in trying to get out of bed, which frustrated her endlessly. it was the last day of her sociology course, and she’d made it a habit of not missing up until this point. she’d been eager to say goodbye to her professor–he had easily become her favorite–and she made a mental note to visit him once she was feeling better. upon hearing the knock on her door, she rolled out of bed and ran a finger through her hair. “one second!” she called out, tossing on a robe before opening the door. a wary smile immediately spread across her lips upon seeing the aforementioned professor, eye’s lighting up automatically. “professor,” she greeted him, albeit slightly surprised. “it’s not a problem, i–” she cut herself off, taking the paper from his hands. she scanned over it quietly, her grin growing. “thank you. i had a lot of to say regarding interpersonal relationships.” of course, she usually had a lot to say about most things. but sociology was something she was incredibly passionate about, and she looked forward to taking another class of jorah’s next semester. “thank you for checking in. i really appreciate it.” she was being honest. aside from allie and westley, few people checked in on her. while she usually disliked being monitored constantly by the people she cared about, it did feel nice to know that her absence had been noticed. “and i’m sorry i wasn’t in class, i wasn’t feeling well. but everything’s fine.” she reassured him honestly, glancing behind her. she knew it would have been obvious she was ill from the moment she opened the door–the blue tint on her lips hadn’t lessened, and she was still sweating. there was no point in hiding it or trying to downplay the truth. he was a smart man, he would be able to tell she was lying.
Hope wasn’t sure how much time had passed since she had first been in Josie’s mind, which means she wasn’t sure how long it had been since she last saw everyone, but Landon especially. She wasn’t sure if Plan B had even worked, the last time she had seen him she had been so focused on saving Josie and helping Lizzy that she didn’t think it could have been the last time she saw him if everything went bad. Now though, she was in this world, and she had no idea if he was even here, or if he would even remember her. No, she couldn’t go down that road again, and if last time taught her anything, it was no matter what they always made their way back together. Though, if Hope had it her way, she would have already found him instead of wandering around the mountains. Maybe though, today was her lucky day. She would recognize that curly hair anywhere. “Looks like your still in one piece.” She finally called out when she was within speaking range.
after getting his memories back, landon had spent every day (when he wasn’t studying or working) looking for hope. she’d kept him going through some of his darkest moments, and without her he just felt… empty. she was the reason he’d broken up with mallory, and considering fate had it out for him, of course it had taken him so long to find her. and of course it was by accident. turning around at the sound of her voice, a smile found its way onto his face as his eyes met hers. “hope.” he breathed softly, eyes lighting up at the sight of her. “i could say the same about you.” making his way over to her, he cupped her cheek lightly with his hand. “i really missed you.” he admitted with an awkward chuckle, thumb brushing across her skin.
