""And where have you been?" Rebekah snapped as Klaus came into view.
She was lying on the hood of the car they had swiped for the trip. She wasn't sure what it was exactly. All she knew was it as fast and sleek, and Matt would probably give his right arm for it. Perhaps she would inquire about it once they were back in New Orleans and send him one as a birthday gift.
The sky was so much clearer in Mystic Falls. The stars was sparkling and the air was crisp. In an odd way, she missed this place. This was the place she had wanted to be her home and even though it had only been mere months since she had been here, it seemed like a century. It amazed her how quickly priorities could change. How easily the heart could be swayed.
"None of your business," Klaus seemed to be trying desperately to lick the smirk off his lips as he slid onto the hood beside her.
"Oh please, I have ears. I know what you were up to...Its disgusting."
Klaus couldn't suppress his smile or the delightful laugh that escaped his lips.
"And how is the quarterback? Oh wait...I have ears," he raised an eyebrow as he leaned back against the windshield and crossed his arms behind his head.
"May we leave," she sighed "Ding dong the witch is dead and all that..."
"Where is your sentimentality little sister?" he glanced over at her "I assume you heard that I have decided never to return to this town."
"You promised never to return," Rebekah let out a little sigh "Your promises mean nothing"
"Well I meant this one," his face grew more serious "I never want to see this wretched place again."
"This was our home once," she reminded him "Several times, actually."
"And every time ended in misery," he closed his eyes "No one in this town can be trusted...No one."
He slid off the car and held out his arms to his sides with a shrug.
"Shall we, then?"
"Why did you bring me along on this trip?" Rebekah raised her eyebrows at him, her arms crossed over her chest as she held firm in her place on the hood.
"As I remember correctly, you chose to be my travel companion."
"I didn't choose. Elijah made me come along because he said you wanted me here...Why?"
"Perhaps I thought you might want to say goodbye to Mystic Falls and that pathetic teenage boy, for good."
"Just because you promised never to return doesn't mean that I have," she sat up and jumped off the car.
His once smile, smoothed out into a disappointed scowl.
"You don't get to make decisions for me, Nik. Not anymore. If I decided to move back to Mystic Falls and build a life here..."
"With the quarterback? I don't think Marcel would like that...or maybe he wouldn't even care at all," he chided her.
"This isn't about Matt. Or Marcel. Or you," she shook her head "This is about me. This is my life. I am tired of you controlling it. I have lived on this earth for a thousand years and I have had a man controlling every step of the way. I am sick and tired of being seen as a second class citizen in this world you have created for yourselves."
The frustration was building up inside of him, as he tried to keep an even keel to his demeanor.
"We don't have time for this Rebekah," he rolled his eyes and opened the passenger's side door "Get in the car."
This whole exchange seemed familiar. They had been down this road before and he hated it when she challenged him.
"Not until I am finished speaking," she said sternly.
The firmness in her words was enough for him to close the door back, leaning against it with the intent of keeping his disapproval bottled up so she could speak her peace. Once she was finished, they could get out of this town.
"I have always done as you asked me, Nik. When you said run, I ran right along with you. I defended you to both your enemies and our own brothers. I forgave you for murdering our mother and then hiding it from me for ten centuries! I watched you die before my very eyes, I mourned you and then had you laugh in my face! I have played my part as the dutiful and blind sister long enough. No more. I am not blind. I see you for everything you are. And everything you're not...I know what it feels like to place all your love and loyalty in someone's hands who doesn't deserve it. To be willing to do anything to protect someone who doesn't give a damn about you when it counts!"
A few stray, angry tears were forming in the corners of Rebekah's eyes. Klaus shifted uncomfortably, trying to once again hide the fact that her opinion of him mattered far more than she knew. Rebekah's words could cut through him, sometimes making him lose his breath, leaving him stunned and shamed and furious all at once.
"Its time that you start proving things to me. If you truly value family, if you want us to all live in New Orleans as one...Then prove it. Prove it to me, and then you will have my loyalty. Then you will have my respect. I will not sit idly by, waiting for the next betrayal, the next sacrifice of my happiness to benefit your greater good."
They stood there in silence for a few seconds. Just the sound of the outdoors around them, the wind blowing slightly through the trees.
"Are you quite finished then, little sister? Elijah is expecting us by sundown tomorrow. We have a witch to attend to, remember?" he tried his best to seem unaffected by her words.
"Witches, doppelgangers...pathetic baby blonde vampires..." Rebekah inched closer to him, her nose almost touching his "You will find a distraction anywhere to keep you from facing the truth. Won't you, big brother?"
"Would you care to walk then, little sister?" his hot breath on her face, his heavy demeaning glare staring into her eyes.
She nudged him out of the way, and jumped into the car, slamming the door.