The flight from New York to Tanner was supposed to be a peaceful one - or at least Kolby hoped.
It didn’t take long for him to realize that he was wrong, however. Hayden had been giving him the silent treatment since early this morning; The flight was full of turbulence, screaming children, and stewardesses who obviously had better places to be. Making it through TSA was hard enough without Hayden trying to fight people - which she did in her own typical fashion.
Kolby didn’t know rather to scold her or buy her an engagement ring during her violent rages, but one thing he could say was that he always enjoyed the show.
Grabbing his bags from the retrieval station, Kolby turned to look at Hayden, and attempted to try and start their first real conversation all day.
”So… excited to meet everyone?”
Hayden had an interesting few days to say the least. After getting into a fight with about half of a coven gang and still coming out on top, Hayden was ontop of the world. She had however picked up a couple of scars on her face, which she was pretty sure was scaring any children that joined her on the plane. That in turn was enough to wind Hayden up with the constant screaming and crying. She knew Kolby wasn’t trying to push her over the edge, but she couldn’t help but have a little dig at him in order to make herself feel better.
”Oh, I can’t wait to meet your former friends and to spend some time getting to know them in your wonderful hometown” She retorted in a sarcastic, high pitched, good wife voice ”Nah, I am leaving everything I know to go to a shithole in the middle of nowhere on the otherside of the country, and I get to hang out with a bunch of preppy losers. 50 bucks says I knock out at least one of them in the first day?”
Walking towards the entrance of the airport now, Kolby tried his absolute best to keep his cool.
He knew that all in all, bringing Hayden to Tanner was a bad idea. She was from a different Coven, with different beliefs, and Kolby had no idea if his fellow witches and warlocks would accept her. She was too hot-headed, and too independent - similarly to Celeste, but –
’Oh fuck. Celeste.’
Kolby had been planning to tell Hayden about his manipulative, flirtatious, mind bending best female friend weeks ago - but it had never come up organically in conversations. Besides, why bring something up that’s only going to get him knocked down the stairs?
But then again, all of the reasons that Kolby thought the Coven wouldn’t accept Hayden were the exact reasons that he loved her. Besides, Carlisle had always been easily manipulated, and Hayden was a master at playing her cards just right. As long as she didn’t set the Coven household on fire, Kolby reckoned that everything would be alright.
The young man chose not to speak until he and Hayden were both outside, waiting on the Uber to arrive. Taking a seat on a nearby bench, Kolby laid his bags on the ground beside him.
”You know, you didn’t have to come,” he began, eyebrows knit together in frustration as he stared towards the runway. Looking at whoever he was talking to had always made it harder for Kolby to express his emotions, and sadly Hayden wasn’t any different in this case.
”I didn’t force you to get down on your hands and knees to take me back, and I didn’t force you to beg to get on this plane, either, but you did beg me, didn’t you, Hayden?” As he spoke, Kolby stood up, and tucked his hands into his pockets. ”I don’t like most of these people either, but I know that you know how to act when the situation calls for it, so just…. behave? You can murder some of the locals after we get breakfast if that helps, but for fucks sake, just be my Hayden when we meet our new friends, okay?”
Just when Hayden thought she had one on over Kolby, he always found a way to wriggle out of it and leave her looking like an idiot. She didn’t like to admit it, but she did have to beg. It wasn’t exactly her proudest moment, but it was what the situation called for. She did what she had to do to survive. While she would never openly tell Kobly what she really thought; she was grateful for what he did.
”Fine. I will behave. I won’t go around killing people. I will play fair with your fellow coven-mates” She smirked and brushed some of her hair out of her eyes. ”I will let them get at least one hit in first before I go all in on them.” Sitting back on the bench, Hayden was starting to feel the boredom set in.
”Well, We have a trip back to Tanner, So why don’t you give me the rundown of the new coven. Who do I need to look out for? Who to charm? Who to smack with a flame?”
Looking back towards the highway, Kolby pondered over which information to give his girlfriend. He hadn’t seen most of these people in years, so anything that he could tell Hayden would most likely be from memory. Sadly, he couldn’t just blow off her question. Hayden always seemed to know when things were not as they appeared. So with a heavy sigh, Kolby returned to his spot beside her on the bench. Checking his phone once more, he would see that their Uber was roughly ten minutes away.
”Well, first and foremost there’s Carlisle; He’s one of the kids from the three founding families. His mom wants him to take over the Coven, but he’s not confident enough and the rest of the council lacks faith in him as well. He’s a… quiet guy.” Taking a deep breath, Kolby relaxed further into the bench, putting his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.
”There’s someone that I’m sort of excited for you to meet - my friend, Celeste.”
He took a moment to let that sentence sink in. It was a rare occasion when Kolby wanted to introduce Hayden to anyone - and this was the only woman that Kolby had ever mentioned from his past besides his mother. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to lose his head before he proceeded any further.
Hang on… excited? That is something. I don't think I have ever heard Kolby use the word excited when describing anyone." Hayden was clearly playing this up a bit. She knew that from the wording there was history. It was amazing how a single descriptor could give her sooo many details. The question was how far to push this. She could lay into him, but given that he had let her hitchhike this far, perhaps she shouldn't be as asshole as she normally was.
"Cool, I can't wait to meet her. So I am guessing I am going to have to convince this Carlisle to let me into the coven then?" Hayden decided to respect Kolby's boundaries and not push her luck. Not at least until she could see this Celeste for herself.
Shocked that Hayden had next to nothing to say, Kolby did his best to control his facial expressions and emotions - however he couldn’t help but raise his right eyebrow curiously as he glanced at her. Quickly looking away, Kolby took another second before responding.
”Yes and no,” he began. ”The Council will be the one to make that decision. So Carlisle’s mother, as well as Celeste’s, and then whoever the third council member is - I forget - they are the ones who will make that decision. Of course Carlisle’s opinion could help sway them - but then again, almost anyone that you meet today could sway their opinion.”
The next few moments lingered in an awkward silence. Only thankfully interrupted by the fact their Uber had finally arrived. Sitting up and then standing up, Hayden picked up her bags.
"So shall we go meet this crazy extended family of yours?”. With that she threw her bags in and let Kolby get in before her. Closing the door and buckling her belt, she looked at the airport one last time as it pulled away from view. one step closer to safety.
The trip was somewhat both long and short at the same time, more so when in comparison to the plane trip. Buildings and streets were replaced by trees and winding roads, as for a whole the whole of civilisation seemed to disappear, only to suddenly reappear as a small town. Tanner was certainly more upper-class than she was expecting, especially when she looked at Kolby. "So this is where you came from then? Doesn't suit you."
The ride into Tanner had put Kolby on the edge of his seat. Hayden wasn’t acting right at all. The situation in which Kolby had found himself was confusing. The familiarity of the town did nothing to calm his nerves. All but lost in a trance of stress, Hayden’s comment snapped Kolby out of his daze.
”Not many things do suit me, now do they?” he asked playfully.
Coming up on the Coven house, Kolby took a deep breath. Soon, the next chapter of his life would start. He had no idea what said chapter was, or why he had been called back to Tanner. All he did know was that whatever he was about to face through those doors would change his life forever.
Pulling up to their destination, Kolby tipped the driver before climbing out of the vehicle to grab his belongings.
”I know the town seems uptight, but the people here are really cool. I promise.” At this point, Kolby wasn’t sure if he was trying to reassure Hayden or himself more.
Hayden followed Kolby out of the car, making sure to grab her belongings. It seemed as if Kolby was filling up with nerves, and while she was the typical joker who liked to push buttons, even she knew how to read the room. She and Kobly may have dug into each other in the past, but she did owe him.
”Well, we will have to wait and see what happens. I am willing to give this place a shot if you are. But I will say, that if they make me wear some silly dress or uniform, then someone is getting punched” With that Hayden would lead Kobly upto the front door, taking the lead as she knew that Kolby wasn’t exactly eager to start walking himself to his fate.
With a small smirk on his face, Kolby grabbed the last of his belongings from the car before proceeding up the path to the Coven House. He noticed a few people standing outside, and others walking the halls. While he recognized a few faces, Kolby’s nerves were too wound tight to really give anyone the time of day. Leading Hayden towards the sound of voices, Kolby wound up flopping his bags down beside the entry of the dinning room, before turning to face the crowd with his arms opened wide.
”What have you heathens been up to?” he asked, arms falling to his side as the mischievous glimmer returned to his eyes.
Hayden followed up behind, placing her bags beside Kobly’s. It was nice seeing him talk, however she herself was a little too nervous, preferring to stand behind Kolby and instead observe the furniture of the place. It was old, but well maintained. This wasn’t the suburbs of NY anymore, and Hayden felt like a fish out of water. Still, having Kolby nearby calmed her nerves. She was calmed enough that she eventually popped her head out from behind Kolby and gave a casual wave.
”Sup?”
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