Stay The Night.

So I told myself I was going to wait till season three premiered before I post another fanfic.
Yet here I am, with yet another story.
Hope you enjoy it.
Especially SuckerForDelena, who gives such great feedback.

Chapter 1

It was a windy evening in New Orleans. The trees danced to the rhythm of the wind, shedding a few leaves onto the streets in the process. It was a Friday night, and despite the violent breeze, the streets of New Orleans were bursting with music and celebration. But not on the street where Camille O'Connell's small apartment was located.
Camille was seated in her armchair, legs crossed with one of her many psychology textbooks held up to her face, but her eyes were barely open. She had a test the coming week that she wanted to ace badly, so she sat up straight and rubbed her eyes, only to doze of three minutes later.
She jerked up suddenly when she heard a knock. Yawning, she glanced down at her watch. 8:05pm. She must have been dreaming. She waited, hoping to hear a second knock to confirm the first one. One second passed another... A second knock.
"Who is it?" She yelled
"Camille, it's me," a male accented voice replied. Camille jumped up immediately to unlock the door. Was it really...
"Elijah," she said, clearly surprised. He gracefully stepped in and followed her to the small but comfy living room.
"I'm sorry I interrupted your studies," Elijah eyed the textbook in the armchair.
"Oh don't worry. I was dozing anyways. Please, do sit."
He was dressed in his usual dark colored suit. Camille noticed a tiny spot of blood his left cheek but chose to ignore it.
Elijah had come to Camille to talk about a thousand year-old problem he needed to get off his chest: Klaus.
"I needed someone to talk to, and I remembered our time at the safe house, how you helped with my...predicament. Camille I know this is not Red Door related but..."
Camille cut him off, "Elijah, its fine. I'm all ears."
And so he started. All the weight he had carried for Klaus for a thousand years, one by one he began to offload. He paced up and down, recounting every single thing he hated about Klaus as Camille sat quietly in her armchair, listening with rapt attention.
"Do you believe in his redemption, Camille?" he asked. He had taken off his jacket and stood with both hands in his pockets.
Camille was silent for a moment.
"I strongly believe that, anyone, no matter how stubborn, can be redeemed from his or her demons. It's just a matter of time and the willingness of the person. I think Klaus wants to be saved; he just doesn't know it yet."
Elijah looked out the window.
"What about you?" she threw the question back at him, "do you think he can be saved?"
"In the past, I had an unwavering faith that someone; something could save him from himself. I thought art would, it did, but he would go into numerous mood swings. I thought getting rid of our father- the source of his rage- would, but it only fuelled his inferno of anger. Alas I thought Hope would tame him, and she would have, if her birth had not acted as a magnet drawing old enemies back to us, only to drive Klaus even madder. The presence of yourself and Hope gives him some sort of peace, however those moments are fleeting, and "he sighed," I... I give up."
Camille stared at Elijah pitifully. She was impressed by how well he controlled himself, not once did he allow his anger show in his gestures. "Would you like a drink, Elijah?"
"A cup of coffee would be lovely, thank you."
She was back soon, with his cup of coffee and a tumbler of bourbon for herself.
"Ending Gia's life and condemning Hayley to the body of a beast were the last straws that broke the camel's back," he said after he sipped his coffee, "For a thousand years I have sacrificed all my chances of happiness for that sake if his ridiculous redemption. No more."
After a minute of silence, Camille assumed Elijah was done talking. That was her cue to give her professional advice. She contemplated on what to tell him. With Klaus, she never struggled with what to say. But Elijah was different. After a minute, she decided on what to do.

"Well this is nice," Camille commented and looked up at Elijah, whose eyes were fixes straight ahead. They were strolling casually on the shoulders of the street. They had been walking for five minutes, and the only time Elijah had spoken was when he asked whether there was a point to their nightly stroll. Camille shifted her gaze down, focusing on the pavement. Maybe it was best to leave him to his thought.
Her nostrils caught a familiar aroma.
"Do you smell that?" Camille asked, excited.
"You have to be very specific. I can smell a lot of things at the moment."
"Popcorn," Camille replied, her eyes searching their surroundings, looking for the source of the aroma. She spotted a red and white vending cart and walked briskly towards it.
"How much?" Camille asked as she rummaged through her pockets for her wallet with one hand and the popcorn in the other.
"Please," Elijah whispered to Camille as he handed money to the vendor, "allow me."
Camille smiled sheepishly, a little blush touching her cheeks.
They sat on a bench along the street in silence as Camille munched on her popcorn. Elijah was lost in thought when he noticed a heap of popcorn stretched out to him.
"You can have some," Camille said with a smile, "Sorry I didn't offer it earlier."
"I'm quite alright, Camille. Thank you."
Camille tilted her head in curiosity, "When was the last time you had popcorn?"
"I've never tried it."
That was more than enough encouragement for Camille to persuade him to join her in eating it.
"Come on Elijah! It's really good! Seriously, you do not know what you are missing. Just one. Just try one!"
"If it stops you from yapping, alright." Elijah picked one from the pile held up to him and gently chewed it, savouring every bit of it as Camille watched in anticipation.
"Well?" Camille asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Butter, salt and corn," he commented, "It's quite tasty."
Camille grinned victoriously. "Should I get you one?"
"That will not be necessary Camille. Thank you."
They spent the next hour talking about what he had been up to since Dahlia died. Camille was cautious, avoiding matters that concerned Klaus, Hayley or Gia.
They talked about Rebekah, who, as Elijah said, had found herself in Australia and had sent a photo of herself posing courageously by a freakishly huge kangaroo.
Camille laughed when Elijah showed her the photo.
"Wasn't she scared?"
"I believe frightened is a more appropriate word. But I asked for proof that she was in Australia and she found it appropriate to take a photo by a rather giant kangaroo," Elijah sighed and looked down at the photo of his beloved sister on his phone.
They moved on to other subjects; taking care of Hope and watching her grow to teaching Freya how to use modern gadgets. Soon all the possible subjects they could talk about were exhausted, and they were back to silence. Camille took the opportunity to observe the beauty of nature. She watched as dead trees from nearby trees floated slowly in the air and landed lightly on the floor. She followed the path of one particular leaf, and watched while it lands on a round object. Out of curiosity, she stood up and went closer, only to realize it was a basketball. She picked it up, dusted it off and also saw a rusty old hoop above her head. She had discovered an abandoned basketball court. She began to bounce the ball, catching the attention of Elijah.
"Do you play?" He asked with a chuckle.
"A little. Do you?"
"Something tells me you'd rather see for yourself, no matter what I say," Elijah replied.
"You know me so well, Elijah Mikaelson," Camille stated amusingly as Elijah stood up and passed the ball to him.