The sun was like an experienced sniper, aiming its beam of light through the living room window at a sleeping Camille, lying sprawled out on the couch. A mass of tangled hair stuck to her cheek from the position she had been lying in. The blanket she had wrapped herself in had been kicked off through the night and now lay on the floor in a crumpled heap. As the light fell on her face, she let out a groan as she began to ebb and flow out of her hazy sleep. As her mind began to drift back to reality, her eyes shot open at the dawning realisation that she had failed to complete her dissertation. She darted out of her makeshift bed and checked the time. Her face fell. She had an hour and a half to get ready, finish her dissertation and hand it in. An impossible task for a mere human. She gathered her notes before her in a pile and booted up her sluggish old laptop. It took a ridiculous length of time for the ancient pile of crap to load up and in that time she contemplated the perks of being a vampire. Vampire speed would do nicely right now. She could zoom about the apartment, get ready, toast a bagel and maybe a minute or two would have gone by. But then, her uncompromising laptop would still be half-asleep by the time she sat down to type. She sighed, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes. Those eyes drifted to the clock, where the increasing sound of the tick, tick, tick, tick felt like a pin prodding away at her brain. The swell of anxiety rose with the volume of the clock, signalling alarm. She had never missed a deadline.
When her laptop finally awoke from the dead, she was relieved to note that she had completed a larger chunk of her thesis than she remembered from the night before, granted it still wasn't nearly enough. Camille bit her lip and looked towards her cell phone lying on the side table. An idea had formed but it would involve a favour from Klaus, who would no doubt use it as leverage against her at some point. Was it really worth it? Could she really go there and would her moral compass even allow it? With a sigh, she picked up the phone and typed out a text message, finding it easier than having to vocalise her need for his assistance at that moment.
"Klaus, I have a favour to ask. You know I wouldn't normally do this but these are exceptional circumstances. My dissertation is due in this morning and with your visit last night and my catnap turned coma, I haven't been able to finish it. I could really use your powers of persuasion to grant me a couple more hours to get it finished. If you wouldn't mind…?"
A few moments later, her phone vibrated with an incoming text message from the helpful hybrid.
"Consider it done."
Camille let out the breath she had been holding and felt the power of relief wash over her. Now was not the time to worry about the repercussions of asking Klaus for help when she had a dissertation to complete.
It had been one of the slowest shifts of her life. Rousseau's was bordering on empty most of the night. Normally, Camille would take a break to study but since powering through her dissertation earlier that afternoon, she hadn't the will to look over any of her psychology notes. She looked at the row of pint tumblers she had cleaned, predicting that a new record had been broken for most glasses cleaned in a night. She picked up another glass, intending to clean it and add it to the rest when it slipped out of her hands, smashing to pieces on the floor. She cursed herself inwardly and bent down to pick up the broken pieces of glass.
"You need some help there?"
Camille shot up, caught off guard by the voice at the other side of the bar. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment before she adjusted to the realisation that it was no longer Finn standing before her, but Vincent. He looked calm and assured in comparison to the flustered Camille, her flushed face betraying the embarrassment she felt.
"Hi…sorry, you gave me a fright." She looked down at the broken pieces of glass on the floor. "Butter fingers…I'd better clean that up."
Vincent rubbed a hand over his dark stubble. He could sense the awkward, nervous vibes Camille was throwing at him and it unsettled him. He'd never get over the fact that his body was taken over by a psychopath and he would have to live with the uncomfortable way his presence made people feel. He vowed to change people's perceptions of him and what he was capable of, starting with the beautiful woman before him. He was drawn towards her from the moment she allowed him to open up to her and made him feel like he wasn't crazy.
"Has it been a long night?" Vincent enquired
"Yeah, it's dragged in. It's been really quiet. How's things with you anyway?"
Vincent sighed and shook his head. "Long story. I could really use a drink though…"
Camille shone her radiant smile and nodded, proving him with a glass of whiskey.
"Can I buy you a drink, Cami?"
"I don't finish for another hour and a half. You can owe me one? Another time maybe?"
"I don't mind waiting. It's not like I have any other place to be. I won't get in the way though or put you off your work, seeing as you have so many customers to serve right now." Vincent looked around at the virtually empty bar and smirked at Camille. She was taken aback, not only by his playful, roguish personality, but by his kind eyes. This figure who had recently been at the centre of her worst nightmares was now making her laugh. Granted, he wasn't the same man, but it was still a bizarre situation.
For the next hour or so, Camille and Vincent engaged in conversation while Cami carried out her duties behind the bar and started cleaning tables and chairs in preparation for opening up the following day. With a large sigh of relief, Cami grabbed a bottle a Gin and poured herself a Gin and Tonic.
"So, now that I've cracked open the Gin, do you fancy telling me about your long story? Does it have a happy ending? I'm a sucker for happy endings."
"Well yeah, it was a crazy day but it has a semi-happy ending."
"Excellent. Spill!" Camille grinned as the first sips of G&T made its way down her parched throat, warming up her insides, leaving her feeling refreshed and relaxed for the first time all day.
"To cut a long story short, we saved some children from a cloaking spell used by Eva. She was channelling them for power. The thought that she had killed those children broke my heart but when I found out they were alive I had to do what I could to free them."
Camille's face fell and her eyes widened. She didn't realise his day had been that crazy. "Oh my…and Eva?"
"She's gone. For now at least." Vincent tore his eyes from Cami's and focussed on his drink.
"I'm sorry. Are you doing okay?" Cami's concern was touching, considering they hardly knew each other.
Vincent's phone rang. He ignored the call, in favour of gazing into Camille's eyes. They really were hypnotic. She was first to break eye contact, unwilling to give the impression that this relationship might become anything more than platonic.
That familiar voice had returned in her head. Klaus' voice.
"Camille. The Brave Bartender."
He was under her skin and no matter what she tried to do, she could not change that. So, for now at least, everyone was firmly in friend-zone. She had ended her friends with benefits situation with Marcel when she walked into the compound for the first time in months and felt Klaus' presence. Despite the fact she was not lying when she told Marcel they had to stop fooling around so she could focus on her studies and human people, she neglected to mention that her undeniable connection to his sire was a major factor in her decision making process.
Vincent swallowed his disappointment. "Sorry, what was the question?"
"I asked if you were okay." Camille said. "It must be hard, given that she was your wife?"
Vincent's grimaced, this was not something he particularly wanted to discuss. Normally Camille had a way of reading people like a book, getting them to open up and lay their thoughts and feelings out on the table. However, she was trying not to make too much eye contact and in doing so, only succeeded in making the situation awkward, rendering Vincent a closed book.
"I'm okay, thank you for asking. Your company does help so thanks for letting me hang out for a bit."
"Listen, my shift dragged by. The last hour and half with some decent conversation really flew in so no, thank you." Her trademark smile had returned. "And listen, like I've said before, I'm here if you ever want to chat. You can never have too many friends in this place."
"Indeed." Vincent felt a lightness in his chest, a pull towards his drinking companion. "I'll drink to that."
Klaus stood outside Rousseau's. The lightness in the chest of the witch, sitting side by side with Camille, was the mirror opposite of how Klaus was feeling. He felt heavy, the weight of jealousy; the weight of hurt. With everything going on with Hope, the imminent fight with Dahlia, his family disputes over the honesty of Freya, he had found time to do as his therapist, his bartender, his friend had asked. That unfamiliar feeling of pride in carrying out a good deed had warmed him on his way to Rousseau's to see Camille. Now that warmth was well and truly gone; all he felt was cold. The bitter chill of disappointment. He left the bar and Camille in the company of a witch he didn't particularly care for, with the vow to focus on family matters at hand. Defeating the enemy and protecting Hope was his sole purpose. No more distractions.