𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐍
to the divine, mischievous spark in you

TWO FULL DAYS have passed since Hope Mikaelson openly sought Millie Moore out just to talk, and the little blonde can't be more ecstatic, especially seeing as there is a football game about to take place in their very own backyard.

Millie skips between her sisters, excited to see them play. She's never been much into sports, but she's here to support them anyway.

Lizzie's Salvatore Stallions jersey is cinched at the waist, and she's holding a notebook in her hand full of game strategies. It's obvious by the expression on her face that she is serious about the upcoming game. "Let's hit the dining hall and carb-load. It's game day."

Josie—feeling guilty about setting fire to Penelope last night for hurting Millie—looks away from both her sisters evasively. "I'm not hungry."

Lizzie immediately stops walking and stares at Josie with a knowing expression. "Well, uh, funny thing, actually, Josette." They continue walking as Millie looks at them, intrigued. "This morning, as I was desperately trying to make this trash bag of a jersey look cute, I suddenly had the urge to purge. So I fled to the bowl, and lo and behold, I heaved up a gallon of black goo." Josie's eyes widen as she realises what it means, and Lizzie stares at her accusingly. "So, seeing as I haven't been dabbling in any illicit black magic recently, I can only imagine it was a twin sympathy hurl."

Josie looks away guiltily, confirming Lizzie's suspicions.

The younger but taller blonde raises a brow. "And here you are, denying the day's most important meal. So fess up—what did you do?"

As the sisters turn the corner, they pass Penelope, who is lurking in the corner—and based on the smirk on her face— obviously has been listening in to their conversation. "Maybe you're pregnant, Lizzie?"

Millie halts and purses her lips, crossing her arms as she glares at the witch. Her hands ball into fists and she tightens her jaw, feeling the urge to punch the dark-haired girl.

Penelope smirks and continues mocking Lizzie, "Oh, or maybe it's just how that jersey fits."

Josie narrows her eyes. "Go away, evil one."

Penelope smiles at her with fake sweetness. "Already gone." Before she walks away though, she makes eye contact with Josie, who is using all of her energy to maintain her cool. "Hot tip? Next time you burn your ex's hair off, make sure she can't rock a lob." She flips her now much shorter hair over her shoulder before strutting away, much to the sisters' displeasure.

Just then, MG, also ready for the game, approaches the trio. "Morning! Big game today!"

Lizzie immediately scowls at the sight of him because of his hook-up with Penelope last night. Both she and Millie had to comfort Josie who had been upset by the fact that her best friend made out with her evil ex.

"Bounce, MG. If you hurry, you can catch up with the Blair Bitch and tongue-chum her again," Lizzie spits, pursing her lips.

MG, knowing he's in the wrong here, reluctantly walks away with a frown.

Millie's nose scrunches up. "I feel like punching something." She looks to her left at Josie and then her right at Lizzie. "That's not good, is it?"

Lizzie can't help but chuckle. "That depends on who you want to punch. If it's Penelope, go right ahead. You won't hear a protest from me."

Josie shakes her head. "There will be no punching today, okay? Let's go. We have a game to get ready for."

Millie smiles and hooks their arms together, skipping in between them.

MILLIE SITS ON the bleachers, nearest to the team bench and closer to the field. There is a big smile on her face. She's decided to try and forget Penelope's existence so that it will be a good game.

She doesn't notice Hope standing to the side of the benches, arms crossed, blue eyes focused on her.

Dorian—who is acting as head coach in Alaric's absence—has gathered the referee, the Mystic Falls Timberwolves coach, and the starting players from both teams.

"Alright, guys. Let's have a good, clean, entirely uneventful game," Dorian emphasises the last few words, making a point of looking at Lizzie and Josie to make sure they understand his meaning—no powers or any other behaviour that could reveal their supernatural status.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves smile smugly at the Stallions.

"Like we do every year when we beat your asses down." Connor smirks.

Dorian gives him a look. "Not exactly the spirit, Connor." The referee pulls out a coin and prepares to flip it. "Alright, call in the air."

Dana throws Lizzie a scathing look. "Tails never fails."

The coin falls onto the grass, the tail indeed face-up. Connor and Dana low-five each other and continue to smirk smugly at them.

Dorian looks between them. "Your ball. Shake hands and let's do this."

Josie and Kyle shake hands without incident, but when Kaleb tries to shake hands with Connor, the latter just walks forward and shoulder-checks him.

Kaleb is appalled and looks as though he's about to retaliate when Josie comes over and puts her hand on his shoulder to stop him as they walk away.

"Kaleb, come on. Suck it up. We have to go through this every year, okay?" Josie says, frowning at him.

Millie, who is still on the benches, is clenching her hands and glaring at Connor and Dana.

Kaleb glares at the brunette. "I was being recruited by D1 schools before I got here, alright? I don't lose."

Josie, out of concern that he might not follow the game plan, once again puts a hand on his shoulder and stops him. "Hey—you do today. Okay?" She walks away to sit on the team bench beside another side player, giving Millie a smile and wave as she does so.

Meanwhile, Lizzie is still standing in front of Dana, holding out her hand with an extremely fake-nice expression in the name of good sportsmanship. "Good luck out there."

Dana smirks and ignores the offered hand. "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

Lizzie rolls her eyes in annoyance. "I'm pretty sure I've seen that on a poster at the dentist."

Dana tilts her head and says sarcastically, "Oh, my dad's a dentist. But he still made time to be here. Guess I'm lucky that way, huh?"

Lizzie, shocked by this low blow, glares at Dana as the girl winks and waves at her before walking away.

Millie leans closer to Josie, gazing heatedly at the blonde on the opposite team. "Does that no punching rule still stay?"

Josie glances back at her. "Yes. We have to listen to Dad."

Millie huffs and crosses her arms, really wanting to fight the blonde who upset Lizzie.

Lizzie—who is playing the quarterback position—has the football in her hands, setting it in its stand while she gives Kaleb a warning, "Remember the game plan, Kaleb."

Kaleb scoffs, seemingly offended by the entire concept of their plan. "Girl, I used to eat townie scrubs like this for lunch—and that's before I was a vampire."

Kaleb quickly assesses where all of the Timberwolves players are on the field until the referee blows his whistle, signalling the start of the play. Kaleb psyches himself up briefly before sprinting toward the ball and kicking it hard.

MG runs for the hall, but Connor catches it and dodges an attempted tackle before throwing the ball to Dana, who rushes down the field with it. MG makes it look as though he is about to tackle her but ends up somersaulting onto the ground, much to Dana's delight.

Dana shouts, "Yes!" as she runs off.

Lizzie scowls at MG, who smiles and gives her a thumbs-up as though he played his part perfectly. Meanwhile, Connor has once again shoulder-checked Kaleb, this time with such force that the vampire falls flat on his stomach. Connor laughs as he passes him, the boy looking as though he is using all of his strength not to attack him.

Dana ultimately scores a touchdown, and the referee calls it as such. Kaleb angrily hits the ground with his fist before getting to his feet.

Lizzie sneers at Dana and speaks with fake kindness, "Nice moves, Dana."

Dana grins. "I know I'm supposed to do this in the end zone, but..." She slams the ball down onto Lizzie's toes as part of the touchdown move and laughs as she walks away.

Lizzie's hatred for her nemesis grows stronger as Josie runs over to her and pulls a piece of grass out of her hair. "That went well, all things considered..."

Lizzie sneers. "One word. One word, and I could burn her perky little boobs to ash!"

Millie waves at Lizzie from the stands and then points at Dana, doing a middle finger to the bully's back. Lizzie smiles and giggles at her sister's antics.

Josie sighs and looks between them. "Hey, but we're not gonna do that today. Today of all days, right?"

"You got this!" Millie cheers and jumps up, waving her hands at her sisters to show support.

THE STALLIONS ARE on the sidelines for a huddle before the next play.

Lizzie is trying to make an encouraging speech. "Alright, I just want to take a minute to let you know how proud I am. You're all doing a great job."

Kaleb looks at her as though she's lost her mind. "We're getting our asses kicked," he states, pursing his lips.

Josie nods. "Which means we're doing a great job."

"What's the play?"

Lizzie doesn't even glance at MG's way. "Same one as always—run around, make it look like you know what you're doing, then fail. On three."

The team all claps in unison—except Kaleb who is scowling—before getting into position.

"Ready! White 80! Set. Hut!"

Josie passes the ball between her legs to Lizzie, who takes off with it.

Dana counts aloud as she visually tracks her. "One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi..."

Dana stops counting and goes to tackle Lizzie who throws the ball to MG at the last moment.

In an amazing twist, MG tosses the ball in the air and runs just slow enough that no one can guess he's a vampire until he reaches the end zone. He does a varsity in the air and slams the ball down onto the ground.

The Stallions crowd goes wild, and Penelope looks pleased by his work as MG and Kaleb shoulder-bump each other.

Unfortunately, Lizzie is not as pleased as the others are by his score. "MG, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

MG, who is clearly working under Penelope's instructions, looks wide-eyed for a moment until Dana, who is nearby, jumps into their conversation. "Pretty obvious, isn't it? He's saving your ass." She turns to look at MG, who smiles bashfully. "Nice hands."

MG preens, pleased by the reaction, but Lizzie just glares at him once again.

Millie scrunches up her face. She thinks MG is a cool guy, but the fact that he made out with the girl who not only broke Josie's heart but bullied Lizzie, has said and done harmful things to her, and is now actively flirting with Lizzie's other tormentor... It makes her not like him as much anymore.

Usually, it takes a lot more than this to make her dislike someone, but for some reason—which may have to do with the brain she ate—she's full of rage and wants to fight.

The game continues, Josie once again starts the play by tossing the ball between her legs to Lizzie once she calls it.

"Set! Hut!"

Lizzie catches the ball and goes to throw it as Dana rushes toward her. "Blitz!"

Lizzie tosses the ball to Josie, who is in such a perfect position to catch it, that she is forced to slap the ball away from herself to avoid doing so on accident, making it obvious she missed it on purpose.

When the Timberwolves look at her questioningly, Josie simply shrugs and walks away.

Dana gazes at Lizzie with feigned sympathy. "Your sister sucks at football. You should have absorbed her in the womb."

Lizzie, sick of Dana's taunting, is unable to take any more of it without fighting back in the same manner, "You know what? We've been playing this game for years, and for years, you've been digging at me." Dana mockingly hums as Lizzie steps toward the other girl and looks her up and down. "Is it because I'm prettier than you?"

Dana tilts her head and smirks. "Honestly, I just get a thrill from tormenting all the crazies. Speaking of... it's been a while since you paid a visit to my mom's pharmacy. Maybe you're feeling a little delusional because you're off your meds."

"I swear to—" Millie grinds her teeth, not noticing as Hope slowly moves closer to her, ready to pull the blonde back from a fight.

Lizzie grits her teeth and turns around before she burns the bitch alive, jogging to the team as they gather on the sideline for another huddle. "New plan. The gloves are off. Let's burn these bitches to the ground!"

Josie, knowing this can get them into trouble with their dad, immediately tries to talk her out of it, "Lizzie, no."

The blonde ignores her and continues her pitch, "We're gonna give these townies a taste of what we're really made of." She puts her hand into the middle of the circle, and MG, trying to win her over, wastes no time in placing his hand on top of hers.

Kaleb looks relieved that they are finally ready to win, and he puts his hand atop MG's. "Hey, I'm with you. All the way."

The rest of their team put their hands into the group except for Josie, who looks visibly against their cause.

Lizzie turns to beg for her help, "Come on, Jo. You're ruining an epic moment here."

The brunette shakes her head in disagreement. "No. No, this isn't what we talked about."

"Just do it!" Millie exclaims from nearby, giving Josie puppy dog eyes.

Josie glances over at her and sighs before reluctantly putting her hand in the pile as well.

Lizzie smiles. "Here we go!"

Their hands glow red as Lizzie and Josie siphon magic from them before clapping in unison to break. The teams get into position, this time with renewed confidence.

This time, the game starts for real. And it's chaotic and energetic as hell.

Millie loves it.

THE GAME BECOMES rather interesting to watch once the Stallions actually try to win the game. Although, Josie continues to try to do as she was told—lose the game.

The score is now 42-48, with the Timberwolves in the lead.

Lizzie gathers the team on the sidelines for one last huddle. "Okay, guys. Last play of the game. It's Hail Mary time. Everyone but Josie—go long."

Josie frowns in confusion. "Wait, what do I do?"

Lizzie gives her a look as though the answer is obvious. "It doesn't matter, because there's no way I'm gonna throw you the ball."

MG smiles at the blonde. "Lizzie, look my way. I'll catch it."

Lizzie scoffs and rolls her eyes before retorting sarcastically, "Probably caught something from Penelope Park, too."

Kaleb, eager to win, gets back to the task at hand, "Knock it off. Look, we score, and those clowns can't say crap to us for an entire year. Y'all feel me?"

Lizzie nods. "He's right, guys. Let's do this. Ready?"

The team claps and jogs back onto the field to get into position.

Dana does the same and wastes no time taunting Lizzie with a sneering expression. "I'm gonna eat you alive."

Instead of being offended, Lizzie smirks. "Why, so you can throw me up later?"

This seems to hit a nerve with Dana, and Lizzie smiles smugly when she sees it. The two crouch down and get ready to play.

"Set! Hut!"

Josie tosses the ball between her legs to Lizzie, who hesitates for a moment as she decides whom she should pass to.

Dana starts to count threateningly, "One Mississippi, two Mississippi..." Josie holds up her hands and jumps up so Lizzie can see her. "Four Mississippi, five Mississippi..." Dana takes off in a sprint towards Lizzie.

Lizzie gets ready to throw it to Kaleb, and when Josie sees Dana rushing toward Lizzie with a vengeful expression, Josie leaps forward and tackles her.

Lizzie's throw goes long, and Kaleb is preparing to catch it.

Unfortunately, Josie—who is still on the ground after her tackle—loses her nerve and decides to sabotage the play by rubbing her left thumb over her fingertips and whispering an incantation under her breath, "Spesmiss."

Kaleb reaches out to catch the ball and it magically moves just an inch or two away from him, causing him to drop the ball. This fumble surprises him so much that he trips and falls to his knees before looking down at his hands as though they had betrayed him.

Meanwhile, the Mystic Falls Timberwolves and their fans go wild due to the team winning the game, while the Stallions look devastated.

Josie, still sprawled on the ground, looks guilty for what she's just done.

Millie frowns, standing up as she looks at Lizzie—the girl gripping her hair in frustration.

The Stallions and the Timberwolves line up to shake hands in a show of good sportsmanship, though the former are visibly upset at their performance in the game.

Josie is about to pass Dana in the line, kindly addressing her, "Good game."

Dana sneers at her. "Suck it, loser."

The comment makes Lizzie snap—she punches Dana hard in the face, much to the shock of the team members and Millie's amusement. "Not now, Dana!"

Dana glares at Lizzie, wiping off the speck of blood from the corner of her mouth.

Suddenly, everyone in the stands and on the sidelines rushes to where the girls are fighting, escalating into a mob riot.

Millie runs into the crowd, not noticing Hope following after her with panic on her face.

The smaller blonde jumps on Dana when the girl gets a good punch in on Lizzie. She yanks Dana's hair, whirls her around harshly, and punches her so hard in the face that she's knocked to the ground.

Millie snarls and pulls the girl up by her shirt. "Never touch my sister again or else." She headbutts the girl, successfully knocking her out and roughly letting her fall to the ground.

Hope rushes into the crowd, and once she realises a boy is about to attack Millie, she grabs his hand and twists it enough to only hurt. She pulls the boy closer to her face by his hurt wrist, teeth grinding together. "Never try to harm her again."

She throws him to the ground and makes her way to Millie who smiles at the sight of the auburn-haired tribrid.

The blonde moves to punch someone else, but Hope grabs her and drags her away from the chaos, realising the brain Millie ate must've been a fighter.

Millie pulls away from Hope once they're inside the school, turning toward the slightly taller girl. "Why did you pull me away? I was having fun."

Hope's cheeks brighten at the question and she finds herself unable to answer it. "Come on." She turns and walks away from the now-confused blonde.

A FEW HOURS later, Millie finds herself in her shared room with the twins, having a girl's night with ice cream and chick flick movies.

Other than the urge to fight anyone who wanted to make conflict, today had been a pretty good day for her.

She honestly finds herself happy that her mother, Liv, had made her come to this school. She wouldn't change that decision for the world.