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piercexdamien​:

“Yeah, it’s the rewards part of that I have trouble focusing after.” Damien pointed out with a grin. There were very few things he would rather do than make out with his girlfriend, but he’d had a stellar grade-point-average his entire life and Damien knew himself well enough to know he’d be disappointed later to let that falter. “Three, technically. Unless we live together by the time I graduate and you’re starting fourth year.” Which Damien knew was a possibility, and one he had thought about, even if the idea of not living at home still freaked him out. College would be good to figure out if he could do it; sure, Richmond wasn’t far, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be away from his mom for that long. “I think she and our mom both did. I don’t know how she managed to do that and turn out as a Salvatore, but my mom would be the one to figure out how to do it.” Damien laughed. Maybe it was just the fact Damien knew how much the Pierce family meant to Beca, but he had started to spend enough time with Katherine and Liz to see the similarities. His smile twitched up as he placed his hands on her hips and kissed her once, and then again before she could pull back. “Good. I want you to know.” Valentina was the first person he had ever loved and despite how hard he tried to make sure that it was obvious, he still worried. Seeing anyone in love was new to him. It wasn’t like he’d really gotten to see it growing up for an example. “So, I got a text from Cassie earlier about some kind of road trip for music or something. She didn’t elaborate past that though, do you know what she was talking about?”

“And that’s why the rewards usually wait,” because if Valentina was supposed to be the one to have self control there was absolutely no hope for them. She barely had it leashed enough for them to make it through an entire study session before she climbed into his lap. “Three, if I can buckle down and take extra credits. Easier if with my AP classes as long as I pass the exams. I’m not saying it won’t be difficult, but it’ll be worth it if I don’t have to live on campus alone.” She knew she was pouting over it, but it was already hard enough for her to imagine being away from her mom, but to be away from Damien too? For an entire school year? She’d rather force herself to buckle down and be serious. Get it done in a year less than everyone else. Whatever it took. “Honestly if anyone was capable of figuring something out it would be Beca Salvatore. I don’t think there’s anything she couldn’t figure out.” It was something that she admired. Something she wanted to have herself, but she knew where her strengths laid. Happily she reached up tapping the end of his nose with the widest of smiles stretched across her face, “I see it every day when you look at me, Damien. Trust me there’s never a doubt that runs through my head about that. Hopefully it’s not something you wonder about. Otherwise I will happily remind you every second of every day, and be super annoying about it.”

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aliciaxmarshall​:

“Do I even want to know how many times you lectured your mom and used powerpoint to do it?” Alicia asked in amusement. It was so polar opposite of Drea, who made decisions and then enforced that everyone else followed them. She was bossy, but so was Alicia, and maybe that was part of why they had gotten along so well. Although knowing that her niece put so much time into things like that did fill her with pride; it could never be said Valentina didn’t know how to get what she wanted. Just like a Marshall. “Of course I would. Worst case scenario, you don’t want to see Seth and I send him to go find his cousin and do whatever weird shit it is the two of them do together.” She did like Monica, but god, the two of them together was a lot sometimes. “Whatever you’re comfortable with is what we’ll do. I won’t take any offense either way.”

“More times than she would probably admit to. I’m really good at making sure there’s no arguments to be said about what I want. It’s a good habit for when I truly wanted something new to go through the process of making a thorough PowerPoint to show how I could get it, why I needed it or deserved it, and more importantly how I’d care for whatever item it was. Like I said I love to be thorough, and she could never argue why I can’t get it.” Valentina shrugged her shoulders flashing a happy smile over to her aunt. “That’s exactly why I trust that I don’t need a cushion at this dinner. You’ll protect me no matter what.”

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ryan-mikaelson​:

“Gee, thanks, Val. I feel so special.” Ryan’s words were dripping with sarcasm even as he flashed a slight grin in her direction. He wasn’t an idiot, he was well aware that everyone in the world seemed to be trying to babysit him. Not only because Hope had pretty much come right out and said as much. Still, Ryan didn’t waste any time in popping the lid off the bottle and shrugging, holding it to his lips and taking a generous swig. Far more than he should have been able to, but he had plenty of practice in Arizona. “My dad’s like, obsessed with him. It would be a lot weirder if Stefan’s reaction to it wasn’t so funny.” Though he had a feeling that Stefan just leaving when Klaus walked in had more to do with his friendship with Caroline and whatever it was happening with Elena more than anything else. It seemed like the kind of thing he’d do from what little Ryan had seen of him. “Yeah, they’re fine, but I’m not the one with an abandonment complex in that equation so if you want an answer to that, ask Danielle.” Not that he blamed her for that, all things considered, but it was still the truth.

“You should. You’re only third on the list, and that’s above my aunt Alicia which really does say something,” she reminded him not letting him just twist her words to make him less important than he was. He might not be her best friend, but he was certainly up there. Valentina still wasn’t use to the relationships that the adults had; especially considering they were centuries old for the most part. The fact that they even got along at all was a miracle to her. “It’s too amusing watching how uncomfortable Stefan gets. It’s even funnier when you consider if Elena and him get back together, and how close Elena and Caroline is.” And she wanted a front row seat to that. Nothing would be more entertaining after all. She looked over at him raising her eyebrows, “and do you blame her for being a foot out the door? No one has made her feel secure in the fact that they’ll always be there.”

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Something was wrong. There was a feeling deep in her gut that told her something was wrong. If anything happened to Cassie she knew that she was never going to get over it. It would gut her like no other to lose her best friend. “Come on Cass,” she murmured quietly walking around town looking for her. She hated the way it felt as she stepped over the curb onto the sidewalk knowing that something was wrong. She wasn’t a witch. She wasn’t psychic. But there was this never ending pressure in her that something had gone wrong with her best friend. Something dropped in her chest as she collapsed beside her taking in her appearance. “Are you okay?” She asked quietly knowing the answer though. There was no way that she was even close to okay. Valentina’s thoughts swirled around her trying to formulate a plan.

Cassie’s head felt like it was collapsing in on her before she even opened her eyes, though when she did, it was nearly too dark to see anything. There was dirt underneath her hands and as she forced herself to sit up with a groan, the trees started to come into focus. How had she ended up in the woods? And without Ryan, which was even more confusing. Her throat felt like it was on fire, and everything seemed so much louder than it usually was. The tiniest flickers of something that felt like understanding kept flashing through her mind, but Cassie wasn’t thinking about it. She couldn’t. If this was what she thought, it wasn’t how it was meant to happen. Instead, Cassie just pushed herself up, walking towards the vague lights she saw in the distance. The familiar sign of the high school came into view; well, at least she was still in Mystic Falls. She wanted to call her parents, but as she searched for her phone, Cassie remembered leaving it at home. She knew that she needed to go home, or to find Elena or anyone else, but all she could do instead was drop down to the curb and curl her knees into her chest, trying to make sense of why all of her emotions already felt like they’d tapped into a live wire so she maybe calm herself down or at least make it home before she hurt anyone.

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CAMILA MENDES & LILI REINHART Attend Armani Beauty Supports Acqua For Life

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victoriaxmikaelson​:

“You’re a teenager, you should be more focused on your friends and that boyfriend of yours than making sure Alexandrea isn’t being a total shut-in. I know that she doesn’t make it easy, but you deserve to focus on your life and your future.” Victoria knew how difficult it could be, but deciding to prioritize herself had been liberating. She loved Hayley and Elijah, but their lives weren’t hers to take care of. “Well, I for one am very happy you get to be with us now. Our family is messy and estranged half of the time, but we will love you always and forever.” The Mikaelson phrase may have belonged to her father and his siblings, but it rang true all the same. “I don’t make promises that I don’t or can’t keep. It’s something I get from my father, and so long as you’re serious about it and are willing to help me get it up and running, we will give it a shot.” 

“It’s hard not to focus on my boyfriend,” Valentina admitted knowing full well that she was fully grinning at even the thought of Damien. Sure there had been boys before, attractive sweet boys. But none of them compared to Damien. None of them made her heart stop in her chest just by smiling at her. She was a complete goner for him, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be sorry about it. “From what I know based on my classmates most families are messy and estranged. Ours just has more blood involved typically. Yet we all still have each other to truly lean on at the end of the day which is arguably all that truly matters.” She quickly flung her arms around her aunt hugging her tightly. “Of course I will! I’m just excited to do something here and hopefully change things for the better.”

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dreamarshall​:

“Cass? As in Cassandra Mikaelson? She wants to be a vampire?” Drea asked, blinking as she raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t surprising - quite the contrary. Their entire family was built on immortality, and she had no doubt that the twins were going to buy into that. “You will have a whole pack regardless of if your werewolf gene has been activated or not.” She promised, smoothing a hand against her daughter’s hair. “When the time comes, you and I will have a very real, very long talk about what it means to turn for the first time and whether or not you want to take it a step further and become a hybrid. But, that said, we’ll leave that until you’re ready for it. Just tell me when that is, okay? Whenever it happens.” She had chosen not to tell Hayley about becoming a hybrid, though she had realized when Drea became a wolf. She had thought it was the right thing but in hindsight, she did regret not including her mother. Not letting her help. “They make it hard not to,” Drea admitted with a begrudging sigh, knowing that her smile gave her away. “When they’re not annoying, it’s reason to be concerned. It usually means they did something stupid.”

“And probably Ryan. I haven’t really discussed it as much with him like I have with Cassie. I don’t imagine only one of them would change without being sure the other was going to too,” Valentina didn’t blame either of them though. If it was her she would have done the same. She hummed her happiness nudging her head into her mother’s touch grinning, “Mama, if you think there’s even a sliver of a chance I don’t want you by my side every step of the way you’ve lost your mind. I need you by my side every step through it. I literally can’t do any of it without you there holding my hand.” Of course she knew that she was strong enough to do it on her own, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want her mom there too. That it wasn’t as important to her. “I can see that. Especially with uncle Michael. I think if he was ever quiet I’d be more afraid.”

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reaganxmikaelson​:

“Valentina, I already said that you can stay.” Reagan retorted, raising her eyebrows challengingly as she leaned back on her bed. She couldn’t say much one way or the other as to growing up together - the only option there was to be honest, but what good would that do? Just coming right out and tell her niece I only heard about you a few months ago, so I didn’t miss anything wasn’t exactly the kind of thing that would go over well. Even though it was the truth, she didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “You don’t have to justify it, if now was a bad time I’d tell you that.”

“I know some people are afraid of disappointing others and won’t say no even if they want to,” she admitted shrugging her shoulders as she closed the door behind her. No point in mentioning that she was guilty of doing just that to appease her family because the last thing she wanted was to disappoint them. “Besides I actually need some advice and you are kind of the perfect person for it. I want to trigger the curse, and a friend and I have a plan for how to do it, but I want to be sure I know all the things that come with making that choice. I know my mom and Alicia and even grandma would answer any questions I have, but you’ve gone through it more recently.”

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aliciaxmarshall​:

“Valentina, I don’t doubt that for even a minute. Me telling you that my past was messy and not always great isn’t me thinking you’ll suddenly hate me. It’s just me being honest with you.” Alicia was certain if she wanted to, there were ways that she could cause any of her family to hate her. Everyone had their limits, no matter how deep family loyalty ran with the Marshalls, but she was choosing to believe that was never going to be an issue. Maybe once she would have, but Alicia loved her family. She wouldn’t ever push them away on purpose. “Hey, use ’em if you’ve got ’em, right?” Alicia shrugged, letting out a small laugh. It wasn’t as if she could say anything against it with how possessive and protective she got herself. “You two would probably get along even without me to be honest, but it might be kinda weird, so we’ll stick to me being there. I know Drea likes him, so I can bribe her over for dinner or something if you want your mom here for cushioning or whatever.”

“Good, because otherwise I would have to figure out how to kidnap you and make you sit through an entire two day lecture on how hard it is to change my mind about anything. Ask my mom I’m really good at these lectures. They come with powerpoints,” she admitted grinning as she came up with plans already on how to convince her aunt she was never going to change her mind. Although she was certain that it wouldn’t be too difficult to twist anyone’s arms in order to help her out in the family. “I’m sure I could absolutely twist my mom’s arms in order to be at the dinner, but I don’t need a cushion. Not when it comes to you, and I trust you if things are weird for me that you’ll step in.”

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piercexdamien​:

“That’s putting a lot of trust in our ability to study without getting distracted.” Damien joked. They had gotten better about it, but that didn’t stand for much. He did most of his studying either alone or around Rebecka entirely because he was scared of annoying her. But when it had come time for finals, Valentina had been the best study partner out there. He would happily return the favor for her when it came time for her to apply to college, too. “If there’s one for Marshall women, I think there’s probably one for Pierce women out there, too. They all look and act exactly the same, it’s really creepy.” He laughed about his grandmother and aunts. That was without getting into the literal doppleganger part of the equation, but even having that explained to him, Damien still wasn’t positive he understood the weight of it yet. A warm smile, the kind that only his girlfriend ever pulled out of him, spread across his face at her words. “I love you. You know that, right?”

“I mean if you give me my favorite rewards it is worth actually focusing on the books rather than staring at your face. Even if your face is extremely distracting,” she admitted reaching up in order to drag her fingers along his jawline grinning happily at him. Sure Valentina would rather stare at her boyfriend than study, but knowing that she was working towards their future made it worth it. “Besides studying means four years of college with you. Which means four years to make studying interesting. We could make fun games,” she hinted happily winking up at him. Valentina had always had lofty goals that only seemed to get worse when Damien came into the picture. She now had a good motivation to push for even more. She shook her head in amusement as she flashed him a grin, “they’re really something else. I’m pretty sure your sister even popped off the conveyor belt at that factory.” She stood up on her toes in order to slowly kiss him before nodding. “I know,” she whispered quietly, “you’ve told me a time or two. And I mean anytime you look at me tells me. I love you too, Damien.”

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cassie-mikaelson​:

“I was factoring you and Damien because I know they’re friends, but you know what? We should make it a big group thing. You and Damien, I’ll see how much arm twisting I have to do for Aiden to go…” Cassie lit up as the plan started to fall further into place in her mind, bouncing on the balls of her feet before clapping her hands together in front of her excitedly. “And Rebecka and Jo. Maybe Dorian and Sky can come, plus Danielle, you know, Ryan’s ‘not girlfriend.’” She used her fingers in air quotes as she rolled her eyes. “It could be for the two of us, but the people he’s actually taken a liking to. God, that sounds perfect.” She nodded to herself, a smile on her lips as she caught up to what her best friend was saying. “Hotel, definitely. But if we have to stop somewhere to sleep on the drive, we should camp. Small doses would be okay, but if I can get everyone to go then we probably benefit from running water.” She shrugged with a small laugh. For the first time in weeks since their family had moved, Cassie felt a flicker of hope for Ryan. “I bet if I had to, I could use my dad against Damien’s mom, but I’m hoping it won’t be too big of a deal. I think some distance from Mystic Falls and the magnitude of our family now would do him good. Honestly, it would for me too.” Cassandra admitted with a small shrug. “I can kind of understand that. At least, the seeing my parents have people now thing. Getting to know my aunts has been pretty cool, even if knowing my dad has a sister and actually knowing Rebekah are totally different things.” She shook her head a bit, her smile brightening as she nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, I would. If it comes down to it, I can… I don’t know, get blood from one of the vampires and you can snap my neck or something and we can call it good.” That sounded violent and way too casual, but Cassie couldn’t help but try and convince herself that it would work. “And, well…” She let out a sigh as she shrugged a bit. “I think Ryan wants to be a vampire, too. He hasn’t come out and said it, but I have this feeling. And I don’t know, maybe if we did it together, it wouldn’t be as hard or scary.” 

“I think it should be everyone that matters to both you and Ryan. A show of strength that neither of you are alone, and you both actually have this really cool village of people who love you and will back you whenever you need it. Rather it’s somewhere to hide from the parents for a day or two or if it’s just to go out for dinner,” or in this case running away for a music festival. They needed the break from their families to just be teenagers. “Thank god,” she exclaimed looking up at the ceiling grinning widely, “I really thought you were going to say camping and I was going to have to reconsider this entire thing. If it was just a girls trip it would be one thing, but I don’t want Damien to see me after three days of camping. I want to at least pretend like I’m a lady for a bit. Although I’m pretty sure he’d still love me no matter what.” A fact that made her feel like the luckiest girl in the entire world anytime she felt his gaze on her body. “Worst case I’ll happily approach Damien’s mom and remind her that it’s not for me. It’s for his best friend. Something I think won’t be too hard to talk her into.” Valentina sighed dramatically as she flopped back onto the bed grinning. “I got to see my mom with my Kat. Seeing the fact that she loves someone else so much was actually really nice. And the fact that she has someone else that makes her happy. I always heard stories but actually seeing it is different.” She reached up running a hand through her hair as she twisted her head to get a good look at Cass. “We could all three do it at once. That way none of us are alone through any of it. Not that we would be considering our families.”

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ryan-mikaelson​:

It was hard for Ryan to not be jealous of his sister on some level. Things had always come so easily to him, and to see Cassie having a better time hiding the anger and trying to move forward was harder than he wanted to admit. He had been an ass to her, but they were getting through it. If nothing else, his twin sister was the one relationship he didn’t feel like ruining with his constant bad mood. Cassie first, Danielle second. It wasn’t all bad. No, Ryan had made friends; namely Damien and Rebecka, but they were way better than any choices at the school anyway. Valentina might have started as an attachment to Damien and his sister’s new friend, but Ryan liked her. It was kinda hard not to, and honestly that was a little annoying, but back home he had been the same way. “I’m pretty sure Stefan hates him.” Ryan snorted as he looked up from his phone, letting it drop onto the bed beside him as he repositioned. “For the record, I steal booze from my parents all the time and they never notice, but it’s a good effort. What’s the occassion?”

Valentina shrugged casually as she plopped herself on the edge of his best before reaching into the bag to pull out a bottle for herself. “My mom was having a friend’s day with her best friend and usually Cass would be my first choice, but I figured instead I would come and see you to mix things up. Spread my charming personality around my friends.” She handed him a bottle knowing it wouldn’t be enjoyable to get drunk alone might as well as do it with Ryan. He’d make it at least interesting which was what called her name as she headed over to his house. “You know I think he does too. The daggers he was sending your dad damn near rivaled some of the looks I’ve seen you give people around here which was amusing as hell to witness. So,” she shifted to cross her ankles as she took in a good look of him, “how are things with Danielle today? Have you finally realized she’s not going anywhere as much as she might say otherwise?” She asked curiously raising her eyebrows.

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Before Sunrise (1995) dir. Richard Linklater

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Cassie might have been Valentina’s best friend, but she was a packaged deal that she never minded. Having Ryan around was the best part the deal that she had never seen coming. The only downfall was the fact that he was struggling with being in Mystic Falls and not only did she hate the weight that put on Cass, but she hated it more for Ryan. “Okay so your mom is hanging out with some woman named Elena and your dad is making creepy googly eyes at Stefan. Which means I’m kidnapping you and I don’t have to worry about them noticing the amount of alcohol in this bag,” she teased dropping down on his bed with a wide grin, “I figured we needed to get shit faced together.”

@ryan-mikaelson​

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dreamarshall​:

“You do. When I was your age, it was practically all I could think about. Becoming what I am was everything I hoped it would be.” Drea had always known how much her mother revered being a werewolf, and getting to become a hybrid to be just like Hayley was a dream. She wanted to share in that nobility with Valentina more than anything, but it could never be Drea’s choice. She had learned her lesson on trying to make life-altering decisions like that for other people a long time ago, when she had nearly done it to Katrina and it cost her so much trust. “Nobody would get the wrong idea. And if they did, they could take it up with me.” Drea remembered how weird and uncomfortable it had been to meet Alicia, and how awkward things were with Victoria, but there was nothing she would allow to happen to upset her daughter no matter how much time had passed or the context of conversations. “I can’t imagine my friends being anything but as dumb as they are.” She admitted with a laugh. 

“I know Cass wants to become a vampire. I think having each other will make the process a lot easier too,” there was no question that Valentina had plenty of support when it came to family, but knowing that even her best friend would be involved made it even more special. “I know though that you’ll be there every step of the way, and I have plenty more family fighting themselves to be there too. I have a huge pack that will take care of me,” She knew that her family wouldn’t truly think less of her for being curious about a piece of herself, but she never wanted them to wonder if it was all she wanted. It was a big piece of it sure, but not everything. “And you still love them despite that,” she reminded her smiling brightly, “which says a lot.”

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victoriaxmikaelson​:

“I know. It’s not easy to turn off the part of you that wants to worry - and between you and me, you shouldn’t. Caring so much is what makes you human.” Victoria knew what it was like to turn off her humanity, and even if her niece couldn’t do it herself, she didn’t want her to stop caring. No matter how much Drea could induce stress. “She’s your mom. You love her. And I know that she loves you. All of this would be a big adjustment for anyone to make, so it’s understandable that you have to adjust.” An entire life with one reality to then having another was overwhelming. Victoria knew it herself, but she also knew her experience with it was entirely different to what Valentina had grown up with. “But that said,” she said, reaching out and gently taking one of her niece’s hands. “It’s okay to put the full weight of it down. Your mother is tough and she’ll be fine, but we can all carry the weight of wanting the best for her now. You won’t be doing anything wrong by letting us.” She promised. As she listened to her ideas, a smile spread across Victoria’s lips. It wasn’t the Mikaelson family’s M.O. to get involved in business, but the family business tended to rain blood. “Okay. If you’re really serious, I’ll tell you what. I’ll look into what store fronts are open, because I’m sure there have to be some. And if I find one you think would work, we can work out a coffee shop.”

“It does make it a lot easier now that I have you, Alicia, Michael, grandma, and even grandpa in his own weird ways. At least having you guys around now means I can shut off the worrying and concern for a few hours and actually focus on my friends. It’s weird having that now, but I know that she’s so much happier here. And I’m a lot happier too for the record. I always hated that it was just the two of us, I think I was always meant to have a big family around me and not having it was weird,” Valentina shrugged easily knowing though just how much it meant to them, but she knew without a question that everyone felt that way. It was strange considering the kids she had grown up going to school with rarely were close to any of their extended family and yet despite not having them Valentina had been at a loss without them. She knew she lit up smiling brightly, “Do you mean that? I just think it would be great around here, and not to mention if people can sit down and relax they’re more likely to spend extra money.”