Chapter 1: A Trouble That Can't Be Named
Damon sat in the backseat of the yellow cab with Elena, unflinching. He's been to New York, of course, a long time ago. Nothing has changed. Grays were still grays, blacks were still blacks, and yellows were still yellows. The city was dull and it was a drab compared to the greens of Mystic Falls. He suddenly felt homesick. Elena, however, looked amazed, like a little kid who's been brought to Toys 'R Us for the very first time. She looked like a tourist everywhere she went. The city lights were awe to her. She's never been in a city as big and as bright as New York which drew it to her attention. She considered living there when the chaos is over, when silence sinks in; away from Mystic Falls; away from the mess of a life that she had.
Alaric, the adult male figure that he was, sat in the passenger's seat and tried to not mimic Elena whose face was practically pressed against the window. He, also, has been to New York as a child. He never remembered it being this wonderful. Unlike Damon, he saw the colors. A little piece of home on a huge patch of land in the middle of the island covered in very fall reds and oranges and yellows—central park. The last time he saw it, it was white as snow.
"What I don't get is why he's in New York," Elena broke her silence, "I mean, he killed a pack and just flew here. I don't understand it."
"Who knows? Maybe he's running from something. Maybe he found wolves here. Maybe he has a lover." Damon grinned.
"Right. Like anyone would like Klaus." Alaric said.
The taxi driver stayed silent. He was compelled not to remember anything he would hear inside his taxi. And he also was compelled to actually not charge them with anything (it was Damon's idea). After a short pause Damon's phone began ringing. It was Caroline. Damon practically tied her to a bed post just to stop her from packing. She was practically in tears. Good thing Bonnie was there, and Tyler, and Jeremy, and Matt, to brace her while they went.
"What?" he answered.
"Don't 'what' me. I just called to, you know, ask how New York's going since you did not let me come with you! Which, I believe, is so unfair."
"It's a big-people trip, sweetheart. We'll come home with presents, I promise."
"You're unfai—"
"Bye now," he grinned like the Cheshire cat and hang up. He's discussed numerous times why she needed to stay home. He found Elena giving her a death stare. "What?"
"You're being rude."
"I'm being efficacious, Elena. And besides, we're here." He nodded to the other side of the door and there stood The Hotel Wolcott. It wasn't the most luxurious New York could offer but it was enough. They were sure Klaus wouldn't come near it though. And he never would. He was obviously not the type to stay in some cheap hotel. Not that it was cheap, but there were better hotels in New York.
The three of them opted to be in one room. It had two single beds in one room for the boys, and one single bed for Elena in the other. It bothered them mostly but they weren't there to lounge. They were there to hunt Stefan down and get him home sans evil hybrid wolf-vamp, but as soon as they've set their bags down they were lost. Not only was the flight nerve wracking but the thought of being in a city where thousands and thousands lived and having to find a Stefan Salvatore and a Klaus, master of not being found, was a tad bit overwhelming and now it felt impossible. They slept on it. Well, Alaric slept on it. Elena kept tossing and turning, and Damon listened as she did so.
xxx
He was there, right in front of her, saying the things she's always wanted to hear from her. The only thing she wanted for him to say forever ago. She froze. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to act around him anymore. She was Blair Waldorf, daughter of Eleanor and Harold Waldorf of the New York Waldorfs. She was the queen of the Upper East Side. She wasn't who she was when she was with him. Hardly.
"I've come home to you, Blair," he took two steps forward with a shy smile on his face and she stood back, "I'm complete now. I've finished what I had to do. I'm here."
Their eyes never left each other, trying to calculate what the other's next move was going to be. Blair soon eased and crossed her arms across her chest. This was her life now. New York City. Serena, Chuck, Nate, and even Brooklyn boy Dan, and everyone else who love-hates her. This is her world, and in her world the name Klaus didn't exist except for Christmases.
"Are you done?" her head was held high, confident and secure without a doubt.
"Done?"
"With your speech. Are you done, Klaus? That is still your name right? Or did you go mad and finally realize that your name started with a Nik." He hated his name. She knew it. His blood rose for a second before he reminded himself that it was Blair he was talking to and he could not harm her. Not even if he wanted to.
"Blair, I thought you would be happy. I am back, better than before."
"I don't care. I've lived hundreds of years without you. I've grown used to it. How dare you just waltz into my life without permission and just assume that after all of these godforsaken years that I still have space in my heart for you?" She was right and she knew it.
It was too late for him, he thought, but he came to New York for her. He came because he failed and he needed her to tell her what to do. Something in his formula was wrong. The pack of wolves just turned into little annoying monsters. He had the werewolf, the vampire and the doppelganger. So why didn't it work? Unless…
"How can I? Because I made your heart beat again in the first place, Blair! Or did you forget that you're a monster just like me living in this mundane world. Look at you! Pretentious with all your glory as what? A queen of amongst the bees? You can't fool me, Blair. And you certainly cannot fool yourself. I gave you that heart and I will claim it."
His words were firm, fast, and certainly angry. Without him even giving her a second for rebuttal, he walked back inside of the elevator and left. Blair sank in her seat and closed her eyes. When she opened them he was really gone. She tried to convince herself that it was all just a dream. He hadn't been there. She did not see him. They did not talk. But he was right. He couldn't fool herself and even though so much has happened for centuries without Klaus he will always be a part of her.
Why though? Why now? She was stable, or at least she thought she was. She was a high school senior with a bright future in Yale in front of her. How dare he? He's just going to ruin my life, as he always does. But he gave her that life. She didn't want to acknowledge that though. He was gone for most of it anyway.
N/A: I just made minor changes to TVD's plot. (Let's all forget about Caroline being her dad's prisoner okay?) And Bonnie's home. No ghosts right now either. This is basically drabble I guess. I don't know where this would lead to at the moment but I will try to finish it. XOXO.