Elijah sat in his brother's mansion in one of the many dens. It was easy to find a space alone in this giant home of Klaus'. He was finally awake and reunited with his family. Even his long ago diseased mother has rejoined for reasons Elijah was still figuring out. He should be joyful to have all of his loved ones back, especially his mother whom he thought he would never speak with again. But his thoughts were focused on only one. He was ashamed to know it wasn't Klaus, Rebekah, Finn, Kol, or his dear mother Esther. When the time came, he had made a rule that he would never speak of her aloud. It would only ruin the decisions he made. But a part of him knew it was also to ease the pain, the suffering. But Elijah was never able to stop his mind from wandering.
One would think that a vampire's memory would never be able to retain its entire beloved memories, especially a vampire as old as Eliah. It's expected that many keepsakes would slip through the cracks and be sadly forgotten over time. But with her, Elijah remembered every detail. He tried, but he couldn't stop as she rushed into his memory.
She was at a coffee shop by herself, reading Jane Eyre. She had on black skinny jeans, combat books, and a leather jacket plus a latte within her reach. Every Saturday she was there for an hour, constantly looking at her phone to make sure she wasn't late to wherever she rushed off to that day. For reasons unknown, at first, she caught Elijah's eye. It was the second time he saw her there as he walked by the glass windows. He made sure she never noticed him, which was easy since her eyes were always racing across every word of her book.
It was Chicago 2009. One of the many cities Elijah went to during his time of searching for the keys to killing Klaus. The whereabouts of the doppelganger and the moonstone were still a mystery then. Elijah was constantly on the move looking for answers, helpful witches, vampires with information, but most of all having his whereabouts kept a secret from Klaus until he wanted to be known.
It was no time for personal agendas, such as talking to the beautiful girl in the coffee shop. Elijah told himself she was much too young and he had more pressing matters he needed done while visiting Chicago. But his third Saturday walking by the windows, something about her made him enter the coffee shop. He smoothly walked over to the counter and ordered a coffee he had no intention of drinking. As he waited he studied the girl closer than he usually was able to when walking by. Her hair was medium length and so strawberry blonde it could be mistaken for red. But her eyes were what drew Elijah in. They were a mix of blue and green, but when the sunlight reflected9 into them, he couldn't look away. The barista called his order and before he knew what he was doing, Elijah was walking over to her table.
"Are you being forced to read that for school?" Elijah spoke softly as he gestured to the book in her hand. She quickly looked up; he had taken her out of the book and brought her attention back to the real world. She laughed slightly, not at him but at herself.
"No, just for fun." She smiled confidently. She continued to eye him, waiting for what he would say next.
Elijah couldn't stop himself. He reached out his hand, "My name's Elijah. Do you mind if I sit down?" He pointed to the other seat at her table.
But the girl looked confused. It was obvious that he was much older than her. Elijah couldn't help but smile at how he could tell she was measuring his intentions.
"Umm, sure." She replied slowly and she shook his hand. For some reason she looked around the coffee shop seeing if anyone else was paying attention to them. But the coffee shop was mostly empty except for an old man who always sat in the corner reading the newspaper. She closed her book, looking uncomfortable at the situation that had so suddenly unfolded.
"Aren't you a little young to be reading Jane Eyre for fun Miss…May I ask for your name?" Elijah raised an accusing eyebrow as he asked.
With that comment she ignored the awkwardness of the situation; narrowing her eyes, she was clearly annoyed with the question. She leaned forward, placing her forearms defiantly on the table. "Since when is there an age limit to reading a Bronte novel? Aren't they supposed to be timeless or something?" She didn't care if she came off as rude.
Elijah couldn't help but laugh at the spunk she had. "I didn't mean to offend you. I just found it amusing to find someone so young reading that book. It seems to become less popular with every generation. And I believe most people your age would never read that for their own enjoyment. By the way, you've yet to tell me your name."
"You're right. Most people at my school probably don't even know this book exists." She sighed as she continued. "As nerdy as it sounds, I have a personal goal to read all the classics this summer. Pride & Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Darien Grey…" She looked up at him, amusement written across his face, "Well you probably get the point." She sat back, slouching in her seat as she took a sip of her cup. Elijah's vampire senses could smell the coffee off her breath.
He looked down at her hands and saw the tips of her fingers were dirty with something black. The girl, who still had failed at giving him her name, wasn't paying him attention anymore. She was instead looking out the glass window up at the skyscraper buildings. There was something in her expression that Elijah couldn't completely read, was it content or was she simply daydreaming?
"Don't let anyone ever tell you that is nerdy. I find it ambitious. Truly, I am impressed by your personal drive to broaden your literary horizons." He smiled. And she gave a nervous laugh at the compliment.
"I assume you're here by yourself?" Elijah asked but immediately regretted when he heard her heartbeat speed up. He cursed himself for scaring her. Any smart girl would realize the question was off. He quickly tried to save himself. "I didn't mean it like that, it's just surprising that your parents let you go downtown by yourself." He let himself breath when he heard her heartbeat slow down again. She glanced at her phone. "Oh shit!" She whispered. "I have to go." Packing her things, she started getting up but her backpack somehow wrapped around her leg, making her quickly trip. Elijah swiftly stood up at an inhuman speed, catching her before any harm was done.
"Thanks." She breathed. Elijah nodded as he slowly let go of her waist. But she stood there for a moment, dazed, before she grabbed her backpack again and turned to leave. She only took a few steps before stopping and turning to face him. "Hayley…that's my name." But before Elijah could respond, she rushed out the door. He sighed. At the corner of his eye he saw Jane Eyre sitting on the floor, underneath their table. He couldn't help but smile. Now he had an excuse to talk to Hayley again.