Crescent City

"Reposado tequila."

Lola sighs dramatically as she lays on her bed, staring up at the ceiling with a pained look on her face, "Single malt."

Adrianna matches the same look as she too lays on Lola's bed the opposite way, "Our special drinks."

The pair both stay silent for a moment, each of them staring up at the ceiling as though they're in mourning for the lack of alcohol they've both ingested over the months. Distant sounds of jazz can be heard from the streets below them as a warm spring breeze flows through the balcony doors.

Lola gasps slightly, her tone lightening up slightly, "Aperol spritz."

"Oh, aperol spritz." Adrianna echoes as she sits up on the bed, "I haven't had one of them since-"

"Amalfi, '96."

Adrianna smiles down at her best friend as she takes hold of her hand, "How long to go?"

Lola rests her other hand against her bump, matching the same smile as Adrianna, "Just under three months." She sits up slightly on the bed, propped up by her elbows, "You know, I won't be mad if you break your sobriety."

"No way." Adrianna scoffs as she dismisses Lola's suggestion, "I'm doing this with you, Lo. Even if I did slap Nate because he was drinking my tequila." Adrianna gets off the bed, walking around to Lola's side, "Changing subject, you still need to show me that thing."

"Oh yeah, it's in here." Lola holds her hands out towards Adrianna, "Help me up."

The pair both walk into the adjoining bathroom, closing the door behind them. It's only a few short moments later that Klaus walks into the bedroom, clutching onto a cup of herbal tea glancing around the now empty bedroom.

"What do you think?" His attention goes towards the closed bathroom door as he hears Lola's voice, "They're bigger, aren't they?"

He then hears Adrianna laughing within the bathroom, "They're definitely bigger. Do they feel different?"

"Not really. I've grown quite fond on the size of them."

"Do they get in the way at all?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ade. I use this scrub to make them smooth as well."

"And it works?"

"Yes! Feel them."

Adrianna whips her head round as Klaus barges into the bathroom with a confused look on his face. She glares over to him, "Klaus! You can't just barge in here!"

Lola bites the inside of her cheek to attempt at masking her amused grin, shrugging her shoulders, "Well it is our bathroom so I suppose he can."

Klaus frowns as he glances between the two equally confused looking women in front of him, "I heard you talking. What were you-"

"My lips." Lola cuts him off, a small hint of a grin appearing, "I was telling Adrianna how the pregnancy has also done wonders on my lips and made them more plump. You already knew that though, right, Nik?"

Adrianna face twists as her arms thrash through the air to silence the conversation, "Maybe save the sex talk for when I'm not in the bathroom with you both."

"Great idea!" Lola exclaims, flashing a playful grin towards her, "Bye, Ade."

Adrianna raises an unamused brow towards her best friend before pointing between the couple, "Don't take too long."

Klaus turns as he watches Adrianna walk out of their bathroom, shutting the door behind herself. He narrows his eyes towards Lola as he faces her once more, his lips twitching up into a mischievous grin, "Did you have that little performance planned?"

Lola's lips are purses as she shrugs her shoulders, "Possibly." She looks down at the floor, unable to keep her laughter in, "Your reaction was priceless."

Klaus chuckles as he closes the gap between them both, he wraps his arms around Lola as he smirks, "You really are a little minx."

Lola's smile beams as Klaus leaves soft kisses against her jawline before she pulls away slightly, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Do we really have to go to church?" One of her hand lightly traces around his neck towards his necklaces, wrapping one around her fingers before pulling him closer to her, their lips hovering over each other, "I'm sure we could find something to do here that's more enjoyable."

"Yes, we do." Klaus smirks as he pulls away a little from her, "We need to look like we are devoted."

Lola rolls her eyes, "Fine." She quickly pecks his lips before she fully pulls away from Klaus and starts to walk out of the room, "I'll meet you there."

Klaus frowns, turning to watch Lola walking out of the room, "Where are you going?"

She shrugs as she continues to walk out, "To Adrianna's." Lola gasps, stepping back in shock when Klaus vamp speeds in front of her, blocking the doorway, "Jesus."

Lola's glare is met with Klaus' narrow eyed stare, "You're meddling."

Her jaw slacks, scoffing in disgust at his accusation, before pushing past him, "No, I'm not!"

"Lola..." Klaus drawls out in a stern tone, he watches as Lola stops in her step but remains having her back to him, "What are you up to now?"

Lola releases a pent up breath before turning to face Klaus, attempting to look innocent, "Nothing!" She watches Klaus' shoulders slump as he raises a brow towards her, she dismisses his unamused stare as she rolls her eyes, "Adrianna may have found out that whoever Scott has the hots for lives in the same building as them."

Klaus steps closer to Lola as his amused grin grows, "So, you are meddling?"

"We just wanna know who this girl is, that's all." Lola shrugs as she grabs her jacket from their bed, swiftly putting it on, "And if I have to go to church, they're suffering with me too."

Klaus clears his throat as he takes hold of the cup he had placed on the dresser, "Before you go."

Lola's face twists with displeasure looking at the herbal tea in his hand. The herbs she acquired swiftly after the night where Thomas was able to get into her head, "Do I have to?"

"Well, you could always not drink it and have the risk of the virus that is Thomas Wetherby get into your head." Klaus presses his lips against Lola's forehead as she takes hold of the cup, "Did you get more of the herbs?"

Lola nods as she gestures towards the bathroom, "Yeah, they're in there."

She forces the unpleasant tasting drink down as she can hear Klaus rummaging around the bathroom, "No, they're not."

"Yes, they are." Lola rolls her eyes, placing the cup of the half drunken tea on the dresser, "Do you ever not have a man look? They're in the cabinet." As Lola walks into the bathroom, she's greeted with a smug looking Klaus holding up an empty jar that was filled with the herbs, "Have you done something to do them?"

"What would I do to them? You must have forgot to get more."

"I didn't forget, Nik." Lola glares at Klaus who is trying his hardest not to laugh at her, "Why are you looking at me like that? I literally got them yesterday, Nate was with me!"

"You must have forgotten, love." Klaus kisses Lola against her temple as he hands Lola the empty jar to then walk out of the bathroom, back into their room, "You have been rather forgetful lately. I'll get one of the lackeys to get more."

Lola scoffs as she follows him, "I didn't forget. That jar was full yesterday! Why would I keep an empty jar?"

Klaus looks towards the floor as he puts his jacket on, trying to contain himself and yet couldn't help but let out a stifled laugh, "I would also love to know why. We've joked previously to say this pregnancy has made you forgetful but I didn't think it would create this kind of scenario."

"Actually, I've never joked about my non-existent forgetfulness." Lola closes the gap between them both, pushing the empty jar against Klaus' chest, "You've joked about it by patronising me."

Klaus' lips form a thin line, shaking his head as he takes hold of the jar "I'm not patronising you."

Lola's brows shoot up, tilting her head towards Klaus, "Oh, really?" She clears her throat before she begins mimicking Klaus' accent, "You're being dramatic, love. It's obvious you're being forgetful because of the baby and that's why you put your phone in the fridge. Excuse me while I go and have some crumpets."

"It's oddly terrifying when you do different accents." He raises a brow towards Lola, the corner of his mouth twitching up into an amused smirk, "Is that how I sound to you?"

"No, you sound even more annoying. I'll see you at the church." Lola begins to walk out of their bedroom, before turning to face him as she reaches the doorway, wearing a smug grin, "Don't go in straight away, I'd like to watch you turn into ash this time."

—✤—

With one hand resting against the wall, Lola repeatedly knocks against Scott's apartment door, only to be greeted with silence, "Open the door, Scott! You're not getting out of this today." She scoffs as she steps back from the door, which is when she notices a plant pot beside his door, "HA!"

After a moment of struggle, Lola manages to crouch down to move the plant to reveal a key for Scott's door, she laughs to herself as she unlocks the door, "Jokes on you, Scott, because I found–" Lola's brows shoot up in surprise as she opens the apartment door, instead of being greeted by Scott, she is greeted by a panicked looking Cami holding up a toilet brush as defence. Lola stays silent, glancing between the toilet brush gripped in Cami's hand and Cami's panicked stare as she purses her lips, "I'll admit...all the years I've been alive, I gotta say I've never had a toilet brush used against me. Did I–" Lola's shoulders slump as she glances back to the open apartment door to see 4F against the door, "Did I get the wrong apartment?"

Cami breathes out a pent up breath as she lowers the brush, "Lola, I–"

Within seconds, Scott walks from the hallway into the apartment as he glances between the two blondes in his apartment, "What did I just walk in on?"

"I, uh–" Cami blushes awkwardly as she looks at the toilet brush in her hand before dropping it onto the floor, "I didn't know it was Lola who was trying to get in and I panicked." All three stay silent until Cami clears her throat, taking hold of her purse before she begins to walk towards both Lola and Scott to leave, "I gotta get to the church."

Scott follows Cami out into the hallway of the building as he nods awkwardly, "We'll see you there."

Scott stays standing in the hallway as he watches Cami walk away until he jumps when Lola stands beside him, "Isn't the way out of this building in opposite direction to where Cami went?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Scott gestures Lola back into his apartment as he closes the door behind them, "She lives a couple floors down." Lola stares down at the ground with no expression on her face until something in her mind clicks. Her eyes widen and jaw slacks, continuing to stare down at the ground which is when Scott crouches down to be at eye level with her, "Uh, Lo? You good?"

The same look on Lola's face remains as she looks up from the ground towards a confused Scott, "You totally have the hots for Cami!"

Scott begins to stutter as his eyes widen but is unable to say anything before there are a few knocks at the door and Nate peaks his head around the door, "You ready to go?"

Scott glances between an obvious Nate and a gobsmacked looking Lola before he nods towards Nate, "Yeah, we'll see you guys downstairs." He waits until Nate closes the door before he turns back to face Lola who wears a beaming smile, "Lo, it's not what you think."

"I didn't say anything!"

"You don't have to. Your face tells it all." Scott runs his hand through his hair before he grabs hold of his jacket, "Look, it's nothing but can you not say anything to the others? We'll talk about it later."

—✤—

Marcel walks into the church first, with Lola and Klaus soon behind hand in hand and then take their seats a few rows from the front of the church. Adrianna laughs slightly as she sits on the other side of Lola, "Do all churches have a creepy vibe or is it just this one?"

Lola glances over to her best friend as she frowns, "What do you mean?"

Adrianna shrugs, looking around the church as the seats all get full, "I don't know. It just feels like bad shit happens in here even though it's meant to be good shit that happens in a church."

"Well..." Lola drawls out, her tone slightly high pitched, "Last time people gathered in here, one of the priests killed all the other priests and then himself."

Adrianna's brows shoot up in surprise, sitting back in the seat she looks towards the front as Father Kieran stands at the altar, "Well, that explains it."

"Thank you all for coming." Father Kieran begins, "It means more than I can tell you. We gather today for the first public service of our newly reopened church. St. Anne's can finally once again be the heart of our community, where we can congregate as a people united. Here, this hour, we come together to praise God and give thanks. The events that took place at our church were tragic."

"Problem?"

Klaus' voice makes Lola break away from her day dream, she glances over to Klaus looking at a perplexed Marcel who shakes his head, "No."

"Then pay attention." Klaus quips, gesturing towards where Father Kieran is stood, "We're meant to seem like devoted parishioners."

"...and it is that hope in our hearts," Father Kieran continues, "And with the help of many benefactors, that allows us to be here today. So, we gather with renewed spirit, made stronger, committed to the ideals of peace and love. Amen."

"Amen."

Once the sermon has ended, everyone makes their way out of the church. Both Klaus and Marcel hang back for a moment, wanting a private word with Father Kieran. Lola leaves the pair to their conversation with him and follows Adrianna and Nate elsewhere.

Adrianna sighs dramatically as her, Lola and Nate group up together outside of the church, "Did anyone else find that as painful as me?"

Lola scoffs, nodding as she kicks dried dirt on the floor, "Half way through the sermon I started to choke on a mint and thought about not fighting it."

Nate nudges Lola beside him with his shoulder, smirking at her, "I'm surprised you were allowed in."

"Meaning?"

Nate shrugs as he points back towards the church, "Well there's holy water in there. What if you got too close to it and you started to melt?" Lola glares over to him, she punches him against his arm with as much strength as she can making him wince slightly, his hand going straight to where she punched him, "How can you still have strength?"

Lola wears a smug grin as she pinches his cheek, "Only when it comes to you, Nathaniel." Nate scoffs as he swats Lola's hand away from him before she glances around the individual groups congregating outside the church, "Where's Scott?"

Adrianna shoots her brows up, looking behind where Lola and Scott are standing, "12 o'clock. Don't make it obvious." She rolls her eyes as Lola and Nate both turn around at the same time, making it completely obvious they're all staring at Scott who is standing with Cami, deep in conversation, "So, much for not making it obvious. There's something going on with them two."

Lola shrugs as she continues to watch the pair speak, "I think it's nice." As Lola turns her attention back to Adrianna and Nate, they're both looking at her slightly shocked making Lola frown, "What? I do. Cami seems sweet and Scott deserves some happiness, they both do." Nate tries to hold back a stifled chuckle beside Lola when she glares at him, "Something to say, Hastings?"

His lips form a thin line as Nate shakes his head, "Not worth another punch."

"Hey." Scott walks up to the trio, standing beside Adrianna with a broad smile until he notices all of them giving him questionable looks, "What?"

The three of them glance at each other, all wearing the same shocked expression until Lola clears her throat, awkwardly laughing, "Uh, Nate was just saying he was thinking of growing his hair out a little. Any tips?"

Scott scoffs, flashing an amused grin towards Lola, "You really expect me to buy that?"

Lola flashes an innocent smile, shrugging her shoulders, "Did you?"

"We just noticed you and Cami seem to be chatting a lot." Nate confesses, he glances over towards Cami as she storms towards where Father Kieran is standing with Klaus and Marcel, "It's-"

"Not a big deal." Scott cuts Nate off, he laughs slightly as he can tell both Nate and Adrianna aren't buying his answer, "Seriously, it's not. One night I was in Rousseau's and Cami was working then we just got talking."

Adrianna crossed her arms against her chest, shifting in her spot, "Does she know?"

"That I'm a vampire?" Scott asks, receiving a nod from Adrianna, "Yeah, she knows." He watches as Cami walks away from Father Kieran before looking back towards the group, "She didn't at first but now she does. Felt awkward at first but think she's sorta cool with it."

Lola jumps slightly as she feels Klaus' hand go against her back, his face full of concern, "We need to get back to the compound. Everyone does."

—✤—

Lola arrives back at the compound, with Adrianna, Nate and Scott, a few moments after Klaus and Marcel get there. They all gather around Papa Tunde's corpse in the middle of the courtyard, throat slit, within a salt circle.

Klaus begins to pace around impatient as Elijah crouches beside the corpse, "Can I get you anything, brother? A magnifying glass? A pipe, perhaps?"

Elijah attempts at holding back an eye roll towards his brother, "You have a theory you'd like to share with us, Niklaus?"

"Back in the day," Marcel begins as he steps forward, "The witches wanted to send a threat, they'd just kill a chicken and leave it on your doorstep."

Elijah sighs as he stands up straight, "It's rather a large and ominous chicken, wouldn't you say?"

"Papa Tunde defeated Rebekah with ease," Klaus gestures towards Marcel standing beside him, "Almost got the two of us as well. If he was supposed to be the prize fighter, why leave him for dead in our front yard?"

Scott shrugs as he shoves his hands into his pockets, "Maybe they realised he was more useful dead, I mean...I'm sure you guys have dealt with worse." He laughs slightly as he turns to face Lola standing behind him, "Like, remember in New York with Felix and you–" Scott cuts himself off as he gets a stern glare from Lola, "Not the time. Got it."

Adrianna rolls her eyes at Scott but then frowns, noticing Lola's face twisting with discomfort slightly, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Lola breathes out, nodding as she takes a seat nearby, "I just need to sit down a sec."

"Well, don't you look cheery." Everyone turns their attention towards a smug looking Rebekah walking into the compound, "Listen to this- A girl literally exploded from a grave today as Sabine was giving a tour of the city of the dead. It was Monique Devereaux."

Klaus' eyes widen towards his sister, "What?"

"The tourists thought it was part of the show," Rebekah continues, "But the witches are celebrating like it's some kind of bloody miracle."

"Maybe it is. They think that all hope is lost, but now suddenly a Harvest girl is resurrected." Marcel perks up slightly, his eyes shine with hope as he looks over to Lola, "This is how we're gonna get Davina back– kill the witch who took her place."

Nate rubs his hand against his jaw before he shrugs, "But how are we gonna figure out who the other witches are?"

"Celeste." Lola whispers but says it loud enough for the others to hear, she looks up towards the group who are looking back at her, "It's has to be Celeste. Davina was trying to tell us, she was drawing pictures of Celeste. She was warning us that a great evil was coming."

Klaus' jaw tightens, growing more agitated at the thought of witches coming back from the dead, he gestures towards Elijah, "First, Papa Tunde returns to settle old scores, now your murdered lover is back. This isn't witches attacking vampires. They're declaring war on us."

—✤—

Adrianna walks into Lola's bedroom, wearing a warm smile, holding a cup out towards where Lola is sat on the edge of the bed, "How are you feeling?"

Lola returns the same warm smile as she takes hold of the cup, she shuffles forward on the bed slightly as she kicks off her heels, "I'm okay, but I think it's safe to say that these heels no longer agree with the pregnancy." She takes a sip of the warm tea before placing it on the side, "Is Hayley already at the house?"

Adrianna nods before getting off the bed and closing the door to the bedroom, "Everything is going to plan. All that's left is for the two of us to get there and help her with the finishing touches."

"Perfect." Lola stands up from the bed, grabbing a different item of clothing from the closet, "Why don't you go ahead and I'll meet you there?"

"You sure?"

"Yeah, of course." Lola finishes the rest of the tea that Adrianna had made her, "I gotta figure out an excuse how to make my escape so while I do that you can start helping Hayls out."

"All right, I'll just–"

Adrianna gets interrupted by a knock at the door, she opens it up to reveal Rebekah stepping into the room. Adrianna flashes the original a quick smile before grabbing her purse and giving Lola a knowing look, "I gotta go and deal with something. But, I'll see you later?"

"I'll see you later, Ade." Lola smiles as she watches Adrianna leave and Rebekah closes the door behind her, "What's up, Bekah?"

"Now, don't go stabbing the messenger with a fork...but," She drawls out as she sits beside Lola on the bed, "The men of this family think it wise that I take you to the plantation until they get more ideas surrounding these witches coming back from the dead."

"Oh," Lola's brows shoot up in surprise before smiling towards Rebekah, "Do you want to go now?" Lola grabs hold of the clothing she picked out and walks towards the adjoining bathroom, "Give me a minute to get changed and we can go."

Rebekah remains sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the now closed bathroom door in shock at the fact Lola never attempted to fight back what the brother's are demanding. Especially considering the plan is to take Lola to the plantation home where she wasn't exactly a fan of when they lived there for a few months.

Rebekah gets brought out of her thoughts as Lola walks out of the bathroom with a beaming smile, "You ready?"

The pair share small talk as Rebekah drives them towards the plantation, and before they know it, they pull up outside of it. Rebekah remains as shocked and confused as she was back in the compound as she steps out of the car not long after Lola does, "I thought I was gonna have to drag you to the plantation kicking and screaming."

Lola shrugs as she continues to walk towards the front door of the house, "Sorta missed the place so figured why the hell not."

Rebekah scoffs, shaking her head as she follows, "The last time we were here, you described this place as somewhere the dull people go when they're about to reach their dull death."

"Well, you know what they say." Lola stops in her step, turning around to face Rebekah as she smiles, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"You made it!" Lola's eyes widen slightly as she hears Adrianna's booming voice. Rebekah looks up at an upper floor window where a wide smiled Adrianna hangs out of an open window, Lola cringes as she slowly turns around to see the same image, "Rebekah, you're joining in on the party!"

Rebekah continues to wear the same confused expression, "What party?"

Lola shoulders slump, glaring up at Adrianna, "Well done."

"Sorry." Adrianna cringes at herself, laughing awkwardly before gesturing into the house behind her, "I'm just gonna–"

Lola slowly turns around to face Rebekah again who has started to wear an amused grin, "Lola Salvatore, what are you up to?"

"Tonight's a full moon, Rebekah."

"So what?" Rebekah shrugs, staying silent for a moment before she begins to smile, "Of course. Every red-blooded American werewolf will be a bundle of fur and sharp teeth tonight, whilst your cursed Crescent Clan will be–"

"Human," Lola finishes her sentence, "But only for a few hours, and won't be again until the next full moon. This is Hayley's chance to get to know her real family, she deserves this much. So..." Lola's mouth twitches up into an up-to-no-good grin, "We got Josh to get a message out to Eve in the Bayou."

"Josh isn't dead yet?" Rebekah's voice perks up, her smile broadening even further, "Aw, good on him. I love a nice survival story."

Rebekah looks over Lola's shoulder, looking confused once more as Hayley is guiding a man out of the planation, "Hey, Lo, the keg should be in the back, right?"

Lola clears her throat awkwardly, turning back to Rebekah who laughs slightly, "Right. It appears you weren't gonna wait for me to grant you permission to throw a kegger."

"Come on, Bex." Lola's eyes light up with mischief, taking hold of Rebekah's hands, "You and I both know a party isn't a real party unless you're there. Look, I know you all want me safe and I'll be safe here. Especially if I have you by my side. So, what do you say?"

Rebekah playfully rolls her eyes, threading her arm through Lola's and begin to walk up the steps into the house, "All right, fine."

Lola's postures straightens up slightly, she bites the inside of her cheek for a second as she fights back her laughter, "I just remembered something. You know when you said you were going around Europe with Matt and you had a little something with a mysterious woman?" Rebekah side eyes Lola making Lola unable to fight back her laughter anymore, "Well, did you know that you were doing the devil's game of twister with Katherine Pierce's long lost daughter?"

—✤—

Lola sighs in satisfaction as she walks back into the plantation, happy with how everything has gone to plan. She glances in each room, in search of Adrianna yet she can't find her.

"Lola..."

What sounded like a man's voice from upstairs catches Lola's attention, she stands at the bottom of the stairs, looking up confused before she walks up there but is greeted with darkness. She walks into what used to be Klaus' office, staring down into the gardens where she sees Hayley hanging up pieces of clothing ready for the wolves.

"On a scale of Sirius Black to Jacob Black..." Adrianna drawls out as she stands beside Lola looking out to the gardens, "How werewolfy are we expecting these guys to be?"

Lola laughs slightly before she shrugs, "They are wolves except for a few hours every month so I'd expect very werewolfy."

Adrianna's playful expression soon leaves, now wearing a concerned expression as she watches Hayley walk back into the home, "What if this doesn't go to plan? Is it too late to cancel?"

"Ade..."

"I'm worried about Hayley. What if all these people get here and they're all assholes. Or what if they don't even turn up?"

Lola tilts her head, narrowing her stare out into the gardens, "I, uh, I don't think them not turning up is an issue."

Adrianna frowns at Lola's expression until she follows her stare out into the gardens to see several people emerging out from behind the woods, not wearing a single piece of clothing. They all glance around the decorated backyard and each picking out pieces of clothing that Hayley had lined up ready for them.

"Hayley, the party's here!"

Rebekah's voice from downstairs brings both girls out of their thoughts and stares towards the groups of men outside. Lola clears her throat as she looks away, taking hold of Adrianna's hands, "Tonight is exactly what Hayley needs. Nothing is going to happen, okay?"

Adrianna nods, squeezing Lola's hands, "Okay. Let's go."

Hand in hand, they both leave the office and begin to walk down the stairs towards the party, until...

"Lola..."

Lola stops half way down the stairs, making her get a confused look from Adrianna. Lola glances back up at the stairs before back to Adrianna, "Did you hear that?"

Adrianna purses her lips, shaking her head, "Hear what?"

Lola clears her throat, flashing a fake smile at her best friend before she continues to walk down the stairs, "Never mind. Come on."

—✤—

Majority of the crowds are in the backyard, some wolves are playing instruments while the others dance along to the music. Lola watches as Rebekah stands awkwardly amongst the wolves until a long haired blonde walks up to her and begins to chat.

"That wolf..." Lola begins, glaring towards the man as he begins to pull Rebekah into the dancing crowds, "Don't you think his hair looks like a mop?"

Adrianna hums in agreement, "A mixture of a mop and Kurt Cobain."

Lola scoffs as she looks around the crowds, expecting to see Hayley but she's nowhere in sight, "Hayley is the one who wanted this party and she's nowhere to be seen. Do you think she's okay?"

"Probably having more fun than we are." Adrianna quips, "Are we too old to be here?"

Lola rolls her eyes before pointing over to Rebekah who continues to dance with the blonde wolf, "Rebekah is a thousand years old, if we're too old then what's she?"

Adrianna shrugs before flashing a mischievous grin, "We could play dares."

"Dares?" Lola echoes before she starts laughing, "Go on then, you start."

Adrianna remains silent in thought for a moment before smirking towards Lola, "You wanna know where Hayley is, right? Why don't you do that invisible spell, we find her and scare her into coming out here and enjoying herself."

"That's a shit dare." Lola mumbles but it's not long until she matches the same smirk as Adrianna, "Take my hand." Adrianna squeals with excitement as she intertwines her hand with Lola's, "Invisique."

Inside the plantation home, Hayley leans against the doorway leading to one of the living rooms where a wolf, Jackson, is sitting by the piano, "I know it's a lot to take in."

"You think?" Hayley scoffs as she begins to pace around the room, "I just wanted to meet my family. I never imagined I'd meet my husband from some weird-ass arranged marriage."

"Husband!?" Hayley jumps at the sudden raised voice of Lola who stands behind Hayley along with Adrianna, both looking as equally stunned, "What the hell did we just walk in on?"

Adrianna breathes in sharply leaning towards Lola, "Technically we didn't walk in for these guys, we just sorta poofed..."

"Ade!" Lola scolds, "Not the time."

Hayley's eyes are wide, giving them both a knowing look, "Guys..."

Lola glares towards the dark haired man standing behind Hayley, "Who's this guy?"

He clears his throat as he stands beside Hayley, "I'm Jackson."

Lola laughs almost spitefully, "Okay, Jackson. Why have we just walked in on Hayley saying that you're supposed to be her husband?"

"Lo, you gotta calm down."

"Hayley," Adrianna sighs, looking concerned as she glances between her and Jackson, "I'm sure you can understand why we are both so confused."

"Lola Salvatore?" Jackson questions, which gets a continued glare and raised brow from Lola, "You know most of the history of our packs and how the Crescents aren't just any pack of wolves. The bloodline goes back to the very beginning, two families. Mine and Hayley's, well, mine and yours. I don't know."

Lola narrows her eyes towards the wolf, stepping closer to him, "Are you the wolf who has been watching us both?"

Jackson smiles slightly as he nods, "I gotta keep my eye on you both. Looking out for the girl who was meant to be my wife, then you've got precious cargo and all."

Lola's hand goes straight to her stomach as she nods awkwardly until her phone begins to ring. She glances at the ID to show Elijah is calling her, "I'll be back in a second." Lola walks out of the room and is just about to answer the phone,

"Lola..."

Lola scoffs, now growing agitated what whoever is attempting at playing games with her. She slams her phone onto the table within the foyer that continues to ring and she makes her way upstairs,

"Lola..."

She follows the voice that is leading up towards the attic, "Is this some kind of sick joke?" Lola calls out but gets no response. She stands at the closed door leading to the attic when she can hear footsteps coming from within. There's a voice in Lola's mind telling her to not continue listening to whoever is calling her name and yet she can't help but move her hand towards the door, twisting the handle and opening it to reveal the dark, empty attic.

Lola scoffs as she steps into the attic, looking around to be greeted with nothing but cobwebs and dust, "I don't know what kind of twisted game you're playing," She calls out to the empty room, "But it ends now." She jumps when she attic door slams shut behind her, her breathing becomes shaky as she hurries towards the door, attempting to open it but it's locked.

Downstairs, Hayley starts to laugh as she feels more uncomfortable at the stories Jackson is telling her, "I'm sorry. This is ridiculous."

"Look, obviously things didn't work out the way anyone thought they would." Jackson's tone begins to sound harsh, "Our pack made a huge misstep with the vampires when we refused to back down, and Marcel had us cursed by a witch. You are the last one of your bloodline, Andrea." Jackson catches Hayley's taken aback stare, along with Adrianna's before he scoffs, shaking his head, "Or Hayley, whatever you call yourself. These people will follow you. You can help them- You and what you represent."

Adrianna steps in front of Hayley, arms crossed against her chest, "And what exactly is it that Hayley is representing?"

"A time when things were different. When our people fought back." Jackson looks over Adrianna's shoulder towards Hayley, "And after everything you went through to find us...you're the one who's gonna break our curse."

Hayley stands next to Adrianna, looking at her confused before wearing the same expression towards Jackson, "What are you talking about?"

"Your witch friend." Jackson explains, his eyes shine with excitement glancing between the two girls, "She told Eve she was coming here tonight to set us free."

"Wait, what witch friend?"

Upstairs in the attic, Lola continues to bang against the attic door, shouting out for anyone to open it up but no one comes to help. Her entire body stiffens when it feels as though there's a hand brushing against her hair and cheek. She inhales sharply, closing her eyes for a moment before whipping around to once again be greeted by nothing or no one within the attic. Lola's heart rate begins to increase as she starts to panic, once again banging against the door in the hopes someone hears her.

Hayley paces around the living room as her phone rings, waiting for Elijah to answer the phone,

"Hayley."

She breathes out a small bit of relief as he answers, "Elijah, something's going on with the witches."

"Listen to me. I need to speak to Charlotte, she was right. Celeste is back. Niklaus, Rebekah-- you're all in danger."

Adrianna already begins to walk out of the room, "She might be outside, come on." Hayley and Jackson both follow Adrianna outside until they all stand looking at the now deserted backyard making Adrianna frown, "Something's not right."

They all flinch as the door slaps shut by a strong gust of wind. Hayley remains on the phone to Elijah as Adrianna tries to break the door down but it's no use. Adrianna begins to panic more and more, "Lola!" She becomes hysterical, continuously pulling at the door handle, "No, no, no, no."

Jackson's eyes are wide, watching as Adrianna attempts to break into the home and Hayley looking just as worried as she stays on the phone, "What's going on?"

"It's a trap." Hayley's voice becomes shaky, "I didn't make a deal with any witch."

"Hayley, put Charlotte on the phone. One of you find Rebekah, you all need to stay together."

"Elijah, it's a spell. I don't know where Lola is and we can't get back inside."

They all step back as a fire begins around the perimeter of the plantation house, quickly spreading up the outer walls of the home. Panicked tears stream down Adrianna's face as she tries to step forward to the house but Jackson quickly pulls her away. "You can't go in there, it's not safe."

Adrianna harshly pushes Jackson away from her, her panic now turning into fury, "Get your hands off me! My best friend is stuck in there!"

Lola presses her ear against the attic door when she can hear the smoke alarms from below going off. She rushes towards a window, ready to break it open but the floorboards beneath her break. Lola screams out in pain when her legs falls through the broken floorboards, it piercing through her leg. As she tries to pull herself up, the broken piece of floorboard goes deeper into her skin.

Lola's eyes widen as she looks towards the attic door where she can see thick clouds of black smoke begin to seep through from under the door. The smoke quickly gets to Lola's chest and she begins to choke on the thick fumes from the quickly spreading fire.

Outside, Adrianna and Hayley grab various pieces of outdoor furniture, throwing them against the windows but nothing happens, they all harshly fall back to the floor not creating any impact. Every time they try to get towards the house where the fire isn't, the fire swiftly pulls towards the exact side of the house making it impossible for them to get inside.

"Lola!" Adrianna's gut wrenching screams would bring a chill to anyone's spine. Hearing the fear, heartbreak and panic within her voice.

Lola's vision becomes blurry, breathing becomes more and more difficult as she continues to choke on the smoke. She doesn't know if its real or an illusion when she can see a figure standing on the other side of the room. A vicious laughter escapes the figure, making Lola's heart rate increase, hearing a familiar dark and twisted laugh.

She uses what little strength she has left to continue to try and break free, panicking as the figure begins to step closer to her. Until something breaks the door to the attic down, her eyes become too heavy to even see who it is that's broken into the room. She gasps as she feels the floorboards around her break even further, feeling the sharp piece of wood being ripped out of her leg before she feels arms wrapping around her and rushing her out of the home.

Adrianna jumps as she looks towards the door of the plantation being broken down, feeling as though she can breathe as she rushes towards Elijah stepping out of the house carrying an unconscious Lola in his arms.

"Lola!" Adrianna rushes towards Elijah as he carefully lowers Lola onto the ground. She kneels to the floor, placing her hand under Lola's head, propping her up, "Lo, can you hear me?"

All of them stare down at Lola, everyone silent, the only noises that can be heard is the windows smashing due to the high temperatures of the fire within. They watch as Lola's brows begin to knit together, she breathes in harshly before coughing.

Adrianna breathes out a large sigh of relief, pulling Lola towards her into an embrace, "I thought I lost you."

—✤—

After what felt like an eternity of convincing Adrianna to leave Lola within the compound on her own, Lola walks into her and Klaus' bedroom, greeted with silence and darkness. She paces around the room, leaving several voicemails on Klaus' phone as she continues to grow more and more anxious.

Her face twists as she looks down at her ruined clothes, now with the overpowering smell of fire. Taking a deep breath, Lola walks into the bathroom and begins to run a bath. As she waits for the bath to run, she allows the warm tap in the sink to flow before placing her hands underneath it, splashing her face with the water. Still with her eyes closed, Lola reaches out for a face cloth, dabbing it against her skin.

It's as though her heart completely falls out of her chest as she stands up straight, seeing Thomas Wetherby standing behind her in the mirror wearing a malicious grin. She screams out, quickly turning around expecting him to be standing there but he isn't.

She once again hears the vicious laughter, "This has been more fun than I imagined." Lola looks around the room, but there is no one else in there with her.

Lola jumps as she feels warmth against her feet, thinking she has let the bath water run over. She screams out once more as she looks down to her feet, instead of being greeted with water, pools of blood begin to form on the tiled floor. Lola steps back quickly, harshly hitting her back against the door. Her hand wraps around the door handle and she rushes out of the bathroom, quickly shutting the door behind her.

Lola runs to her bedside, grabbing her phone and dialling Adrianna's number immediately. Her voice is just as shaky as her entire posture as she rushes her words out to Adrianna down the phone, completely incoherently. But she figures whatever she managed to say did the trick when the call ended with Adrianna saying she was on her way.

Lola sits in the middle of her bed, barely blinking as her stare doesn't leave the bathroom door for a second. Her stare only leaves the door when Adrianna steps into the bedroom. Her heart drops when Lola looks towards her with a tear stained face and a hint of a smile, "You came."

"You called so of course I did." Adrianna matches the same smile as she sits beside Lola on the bed, wrapping her arm around her, "What happened?"

"There's..." Lola tightly shuts her eyes as she takes a deep breath before looking towards the bathroom, "There's blood in the bathroom, on the floor."

Adrianna pulls away from Lola, looking deeply concerned as she steps towards the bathroom. She opens up the door and frowns when she sees no blood at all within the room. Her brows pull inwards as she looks over to a terrified looking Lola, "There's no blood, Lo."

"No," Lola shakes her head in disbelief, she stands up from the bed and steps into the bathroom, pointing towards the bath, "There was blood right there." She glances to a different side of the room, "And he was standing right there."

"Who was standing there?"

Lola's throat becomes dry, all the colour completely drains from her face as she stares at Adrianna, "It's not possible, I–" Lola rushes out of the bathroom, she looks around the bedroom, frantically until she spots what she was looking for, "Shit." She mumbles under her breath as she take hold of the cup of herbal tea that Klaus made her earlier that day, now remembering she barely drank any of it.

Lola jumps when Adrianna takes hold of her hand, "Lo, you're scaring me. What's going on?"

"Marcel!"

Elijah's booming voice breaks them both out of their conversation. They both walk out of the bedroom, just as they stand against the balcony looking down at the courtyard, Elijah throws one of Marcel's vampires across the courtyard, slamming into the brick wall on the opposite side.

"Klaus threw one of his classic temper tantrums, snapped my neck, tried to take on a coven of witches by himself. He got dropped." Marcel admits, making Lola's heart completely drop, "I don't know where he is or how to find him."

Elijah's angry stare meets Lola's anxious one before he glares towards Marcel, "They also have Rebekah." He steps around the courtyard, pointing towards all of the vampires congregating within, "Every one of you will help me to find them. I'm going to kill them all."

All of the vampires hurry off in different directions, ready to go looking for the two originals. Elijah composes himself for a moment, buttoning up his suit jacket before heading up the stairs to be greeted with Lola and Adrianna at the top of them.

His angry posture vanishes, but there's a look in his eyes that Lola has seen before. She stares at him, looking completely exhausted, yet her frighten stature is no more, now replaced with frustration, "No." Lola shakes her head as Elijah looks down at the floor, "Elijah, don't say it."

"It's Genevieve."

Lola's jaw tightens, frustration quickly turning into anger as her hands form fists so tight her knuckles turn white. Adrianna glances confused between the pair, "Who's Genevieve?" Lola stays silent, she storms away from them both and walks back into her bedroom when Adrianna swiftly follows, "Lola!"

As Adrianna walks in, Lola has already got a map laid out across the bed, she picks up one of her grimoires and throwing it onto the bed beside the map. Adrianna cautiously steps closer to her, her tone is calm and soft, "What are you doing?"

Lola stands up straight before turning to face Adrianna, her face is cold but her eyes are dark with fury, "I'm going to find them and I will personally kill that bitch myself."

—✤—

so i had a totally different message written out down here regarding negativity but i soon realised that people giving off negativity are not even worth any more than this part alone.

so swiftly moving on from that, there is something i think is far more important to speak about and that is how i am so grateful for all you lovely lot who continue to show love and support for my stories. nothing is ever missed, i read and laugh along to all of your amazing comments.

you're all amazing and i am so thankful for you all. ily all sm x

even loverquinn despite her constantly bullying me
(you're alright sometimes xo)

i'm not even that happy with this chapter, i've rewritten it so many times and it's got to the point where i don't think i'll ever be 100% happy about it. oh well, hope you enjoyed it anyway.

lots of love

holly x