#witchibeth

𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐍 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍. rafael didn’t know what alright meant anymore. he couldn’t remember the last time that he’d actually been okay. cassie died, he triggered his werewolf gene, and then he was admitted to a boarding school for supernaturals. once he got there? chaos ensued, and rafael genuinely didn’t know what the hell was going on. down was up and up was down, and rafael couldn’t figure out where he belonged. he was stressed out at every turn, and his whole body slumped as beth asked if he was alright,  ❝  i… don’t know.  ❞  he answered, his voice soft as he looked down at his hands,  ❝  i honestly don’t know if i am or not.  ❞

𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒𝐍'𝐓 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐌 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐎 𝐌𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑. she’s a cosmic mistake and an absolute mess most of the time. maybe it’s because she keeps to herself, maybe it’s because she works her ass off in order to survive… she doesn’t know. but the world often seems to think she’s got her shit completely together, even when she doesn’t.  ❝  what makes you think that?  ❞  hope asked, letting some of that vulnerability crack through,  ❝  because i…  ❞  she shook her head,  ❝  i don’t know if i see it.  ❞

𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐎 𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐀 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘. she’s got a powerful mom right there on campus. she doesn’t need to hide. people like kaleb? they didn’t have that option. he had to think through every move ten times before he actually made it. it wasn’t easy for him, but beth couldn’t possibly understand that. witches didn’t have as much stigma as vampires, it was easier to blend in.  ❝  stay out of it.  ❞  he tells her,  ❝  that’s your cover story. you weren’t involved.  ❞

𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃. that was true for everybody. no one who had any sense of self preservation trusted someone instantly, and hope understood that. she lived by that philosophy. her father had always kept people at an arm’s length, and it was a quality she picked up as well. her own safety required her to think long and hard before trusting someone. this often resulted in her putting someone through a series of tests without them knowing that they were being tested. and lucky for both of them? beth passed. hope needed a friend in her life, and beth fabray was good for that.  ❝  i guess it does. don’t ruin that.  ❞

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐔𝐄. fear was generally the driving force behind most actions. that was the case in almost all of jason’s experiences. he’d learned it pretty early on in not only his life, but in his tenure as a hero. he knew what fear could do to people, especially when it came to things that were different ( and beth fabray and those like her were definitely different ). he looked over at the blonde,  ❝  i disagree,  ❞  he said calmly,  ❝  but what do you think the issue here is? if it’s not fear?  ❞

❝ 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄. ❞ the word does absolutely nothing to instill confidence in anybody, in any circumstances, sure is never the word that means things are on the up and up. that makes it the perfect word to describe rafael’s life right now. he’s scared and on the edge of a breakdown, and he can’t let more people down. he can’t let people in because he absolutely refuses to be even more of a disappointment. if people are relying on him and he cracks, there’s no coming back from that. no matter how much he wants to.  ❝  i’m fine beth. really. just fine.  ❞

❝ 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐌𝐄. ❞  kaleb issues the words as a challenge, meeting the blonde’s eyes. he’s been preparing for this. he knows how to snatch, feed, erase with the best of them. he knows how to do anything and everything on his own, something he’s been preparing for for a long time. he knows that the salvatore school is safe, but someday something’s going to happen, and kaleb needs to be prepared for what lurks beyond the walls. he needs to see it without the salvatore safety net.  ❝  i can handle myself, and i’m offended that you doubt me.  ❞