She was hungry.
Hayley crushed the empty blood bag in her hand, snarling at it and herself. And the whole damn crazy, fucked up world too, while she was at it. If this was what being a vampire meant, what being a hybrid meant, then maybe she wasn't cut out for it. How could any of them bear it, spending an eternity starving for more of anything and everything?
She dropped the bag on the floor, in the pile of the others that were just as drained of every drop. There were not more left in the fridge and still, it wasn't enough. She looked around, blinking, trying to focus on the world around her and not on the mess of feelings, physical and emotional.
There, on a shelf ... a bottle of booze, she didn't even care what. She had it in her hands a moment later after a flurry of movement, something that was still unusual this far from the full moon. She opened it and placed its mouth against hers, tipping it down her throat. It burned so much and so wonderfully. For a moment, it was all the world, it was enough.
And then the bottle was empty and so was she.
"Hayley?"
She spun around to face Elijah, who had somehow snuck in without her realizing it. He was watching her with concern in his eyes, the only thing she ever saw there these days. It wasn't what she wanted, not from him.
He glanced over at the discarded bags, then back at her, taking a hesitant step forward. "I know this is a difficult period, but-"
She didn't let him finish. She grabbed him, fingers wrapping themselves in his suit jacket, pulling him close and crushing her lips against his. Fangs knocked against fangs and she tasted blood, though she wasn't sure if it was new, old, or very old. It didn't matter anyway.
She felt his arms wrap around her, fingers tangling in her hair. His lips traced the line of her jaw, then trailed along the veins of her neck, something she would only have noticed now. She pulled at his jacket, almost tearing its seams before he let it fall to the ground. She felt his lips pull away from her skin.
"Hayley, are you certain?"
"Yes," she half whispered, half growled. "Yes."
She reached for his shirt and this time she did rip into it, buttons flying as she took in the sight of his bare chest. No names written on his flesh anymore – she racked her nails along it to mark him as her own now.
He lifted her up by the waist and the world rushed around them, all bodies and sweat, until somehow they ended up standing on the pool deck, clothes thrown and ripped around them. She clutched at Elijah's shoulders, looking into the water. Staring directly at the lights hurt her eyes but she did anyway, letting memories sweep over her.
She closed her eyes, letting her head fall back. She knew what she wanted. Her feet touched the cool tiles as she took a step back, getting closer and closer.
"What are you doing?"
"Davina will break that link. We just need time."
She heard him, saying so many things at once. And then there it was, the edge, right behind her toes. She looked into Elijah's eyes and smiled at him, surprising them both. And then she grabbed hold of him and leaned back, crashing into the pool.
"She's burning up. We need to do this now."
Here she was, in the water and in his arms. This time for all the right reasons. She wrapped her legs around his waist, not caring that it sent them both under the surface.
Eventually Elijah found his footing and steadied himself, positioning their bodies. She inhaled slowly, then let the air out as sigh as she lowered her body, taking him inside. It had been too long and so long and it felt so right.
"Hayley, look at me."
He said her name like a prayer as they moved against each other, searching for the right rhythm.
"Focus on the sound of my voice."
She could hear both of their hearts pounding, spurring her on faster.
"You'll be okay ..."
It felt like she was going to explode.
"You'll be okay ..."
And then she did.
They stood beside each other in the water. Suddenly, Elijah froze. "Niklaus is home," he said. "I will go and ... make sure he does not come out here." A blink later and he was gone, before she could comment that it wasn't like Klaus hadn't seen it all before.
She slowly swam to the ladder and got out of the pool. She stood at the top, letting the cool air hit her bare skin. And that's when she felt it, realization hitting her like a punch to the gut.
She was still hungry.