Hey Everyone. I'm really sorry about how long this took, but there was a storm that took out power, college applications, and family emergences. But i'm back now and i am so excited to be writing again. I know you guys will like this chapter, and i know that you guys are going to love this story. Thanks again to everyone who has favorited and reviewed and left your support it means so much to me and honestly, if it weren't for you guys i probably wouldn't be continueing. So thank you all so much and please let me know how you feel about this chapter. LOVE YOU (:

Disclaimer: Own the plot and Abigail, but the Vampire Diaries is not mine.

Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
In the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face
That she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?
-Eleanor Rigby, The Beatles

She collapsed on her bed in a heap of awkward limbs and bunched up clothing.

Too tired to remove her dress, and too tired to truly care, she reached around for the covers, grabbing the material roughly and throwing it across her shivering form. It had gotten quite cold as the night wore on, and as Abigail kicked the shoes from her feet, she allowed herself to be immersed in the warmth that now encompassed her.

The liquor had done a good job in rendering her quite exhausted, her legs aching and her feet itching to be freed of the restraining heels. Her head hurt too, the pins now becoming more a bother than anything else. But she was already so comfortable in her bed, the light off and the sounds of cars already lulling her to sleep that she merely ran her hands roughly through the red curls, loosening the pins until they laid haphazardly amongst the newly freed strands.

But just as sleep tugged at her conscience, the bed morphing just right beneath the weight of her body, familiar thoughts popped up in her brain, memories from the night flooding her mind that she couldn't quite suppress.

She guessed it was karma, breaking the law had to have its consequences, and this was hers. She wasn't allowed sleep because that god of a man had once again crept into her thoughts. He was all pearly whites and cheeky dimples, a flirt in professionally pressed linens.

And she was inescapably intrigued.

The minutes rolled by as she shifted into a more comfortable position, her back flat against the mattress as her gaze drifted toward the ceiling, painted with water marks and other unknown stains. Sleep no longer tugged at her mind the way it had before, instead, thoughts of the enigma that was Niklaus kept rolling through, like a freight train with dismantled brakes.

She rolled the name on her tongue, wordlessly, carefully, until she could manage to put noise to her efforts.

" Niklaus." She whispered, the soft noise barely audible in the stuffy silence. And the way it rang like bells, the noise familiar and welcoming made her smile giddily to herself, repeating the name until it lost any real meaning. But that didn't stop her from replaying the way his lips quirked up into that sly grin, the way his eyes twinkled a seafoam blue, the way his voice was all gruff and sensual, words sparkling like cold champagne.

Never had a man made her feel the way he did, nor had any man ever left her as awe-stricken and mesmerized as he.

Oh, the field day Chloe would have when she heard of this.

And her night continued much like this, a stream of consciousness full of the roguishly handsome stranger and all things pertaining to him. It wasn't until much later that she realized, somewhere along the way, she had fallen asleep.

She lost track of when her thoughts left off, and her dreams picked up; images of dancing legs and polished smiles enveloping her unconsciousness.

The sun was high in the sky, clouds having cleared if only for the time being, and Abigail's apartment was severely lacking in its essentials.

And, of course, she had waited until the last possible second to run her errands.

So this is why she sat in the line at the market, hair a mess and her eyes blood shot. The alcohol from the not prior had left her feeling a bit uneasy when she awoke, but she had no choice. She had to get out of her apartment, leave the comfortable confines of her home to be bombarded with screeching sirens and ignorant bodies moving this way and that.

As if her head wasn't already about the burst when the sun decided to be extra bright that day.

But she tried to push such negative thoughts to the side for the time being, trying to focus more on the positive than the negative. Like the bright colors of her fruit that day, or the new dress that hung in the window of the store across the street.

But she kept being pulled from her dream-like reverie with every shuffle of the line in front of her, the line that seemed to move at a snail's pace. Her heel began tapping out of impatience, irritation eating at her resolve as her teeth ground together.

And with each passing second, her impatience only grew.

How was she expected to make it through the day? How did no one else seem to be as bothered as she? But as her head rang with girly shrieks, her face remained stoic, serenely stone-like. And she continued her fearless battle against the never-ending market line in the confines of her mind, feet shuffling and fellow shoppers chattering away around her.

After the nightmare of a morning that never seemed to end, Abigail found herself in one of the boutiques downtown, not that she truly had planned on buying anything, but curiosity got the best of her. She hadn't gone shopping for clothing in a long while, and while she wasn't exactly Daddy Warbucks, she did have a nickel or two lying around waiting to be spent.

An elaborate red number stood out from all the rest, hanging off a mannequin against the back wall. Sleeves that hung gracefully off the shoulders, red the color of an apple at it's peak of ripeness, and a shape that formed the body snugly were all attributes that glorified the dress even more. Abigail could barely pry her eyes from the glittering beauty. A few more rings of the door opening couldn't even deter her from the dress that would match oh so beautifully with her fiery locks.

But as she stepped nearer, her hands running along the scarlet fabric, her eyes found the price and she gasped softly.

"If only." She whispered softly to herself as her fingers traced along the folds. There was a soft chuckle from behind her, one that was barely discernable, but evidently meant for her to hear.

Her head whipped back in a flash, straightening up as though she had done something wrong as the owner of the voice emerged from behind racks of colorfully crafted clothes.

" It's a beautiful dress, isn't it?" The short brunette girl said, with hair cut short in a way that resembled Dorothy Janis, as she seemed to float forwards, hands trailing along fabric as she drew closer. Her eyes never really met hers, instead resting solely on the red gown. But as she came to a stop next to Abigail, she turned. " And it would look just lovely with your eyes. Tell me, are your eyes naturally that green?" Her voice held a twinge of something foreboding, something sinister masked with sick sweetness. Yet Abigail remained perplexed, thrown off by the aberrant question.

" How could they not be?" She replied with a slight laugh, nervously switching her weight from one black heel to the other. The small brunette cocked her head to the side, eyes narrowing noticeable, but not malevolently, almost in a knowing way. Abigail stood speechless, waiting, uncertain and certainly a bit wary. Though something about the girl in front of her seemed familiar, but with another shift of her feet she lost any sense of that familiarity.

" Just curious, no real reason behind it." She said dismissively, eyes traveling up and down the length of the blonde in front of her before continuing. " I saw you out last night, at the club." She whispered, eyes sparkling and voice soft. " You seemed like you were having fun, but that it wasn't really your thing, like you were a bit uncomfortable."

Abigail was again rendered speechless, slightly suspicious, and definitely confused. But she couldn't make a move towards the door, she could barely make a move to speak. And yet, everything that was being said was almost exactly true.

" I guess you could say that…Um, I'm sorry, but have we met before?"

Running a hand through her dark locks she smiled a reply.

" We've crossed paths once or twice," a taunting chuckle, " but it's been a while. I'm Emma." She extended her arm out in a manner that feigned friendliness, and Abigail warily extended hers as well.

When their hands interlocked, Abigail cringed, eyes snapping shut as images and emotions ran through her psyche. Fire lapped at her skin and pleasure rocked through her body. There was anger and passion and laughter and war. There were bloody smiles and kohl black eyes.

And then she was snapped back.

Her breathing was ragged and her heart was pounding, she watched the Girl, Emma, smile before she pushed her way towards the door.

She was out of the store and into the cold air in seconds, leaving Emma behind to gaze back up to the red gown unperturbed. " I'll be seeing you soon, Abigail."

With the door securely locked and her mind effectively scattered, Abigail fumbled around her apartment in a sort of unorthodox frenzy. She could still feel everything, and her mind was screaming at her that all of this was just too crazy to be real. It had to be some trick, something that Emma had done. Or it could have been nothing. And as much as Abigail couldn't fully believe it had been a figment of her imagination, she knew the latter was the safest choice. But she still continued her unusual stumbling, beginning to clean then moving to make food, then cleaning again, then reading.

She couldn't quite calm herself down.

But as the sun crept lower on the horizon, she couldn't help but feel a heightening in her paranoia. So much so that when a knock sounded at her door, she jumped, glass slipping from her fingers and smashing against the floor. " Shit." she breathed, torn between cleaning up the shattered remains and answering the door. But running a frustrated hand through her hair, she stepped over the glass and walked towards the door.

Flinging it open almost too aggressively, she shocked the person standing on the other side of the mahogany door.

" Oh my god Abby, you scared me. Wait, are you alright?" Her voice took on a tone of concern almost as soon as she took in the disheveled look of her friend. Abigail laughed dejectedly, opening the door even wider for her friend to enter. And as soon as the door closed, the hysterics began, Abigail retelling her story in all its glory, Kleenex's littering the ground and pillows forming a makeshift fort on the floor. And the girls remained together on the floor for hours, talking and laughing and reinforcing the friendship that flourished all those years ago, when both girls were still in uniforms and they walked together home from school.

After calming own from another fit of obnoxious laughter, both girls heaving for breath, chests in pain, Chloe spoke.

" You're not crazy, Abby. You were exhausted from last night, and you were drinking remember? Plus, this girl sounds totally bonkers. Just…don't let this get to you, okay?" Her voice took on a level of sincerity that had been lacking within their relationship lately, and Abigail welcomed it with open arms, throwing herself at her best friend and suffocating her in a hug.

" Maybe I just need some more sleep."

The both clutched each other tightly, but Chloe was the first to pull away.

" No what you need is another night out to calm your nerves, release all this stress and paranoia…hey, don't give me that look. I'm not even giving you a choice. You're coming over and we are going out. I have the perfect dress for you to wear."

Abigail was reluctant to give in, but she was far too exhausted and far too weak to really put up much of a fight. So, with a limpness in her limbs, Abigail obliged, rising from the floor and gathering a bag of her things.

Off for another night of never- ending alcohol and flourishing dresses; count Abigail in.

Walking through the same thick curtain, smelling the same aroma the flitted through the air, and meeting some of the same people still didn't stop Abigail from being just as amazed as she was the previous night. If anything, she was more so, having a different perspective this time around. Gloria was in a Blue dress tonight, and her voice was just as magical as it had been the night before.

And in not time, Abigail was sipping on her glass of wine, mingling with Chloe as she refused to leave her side.

They spent most of their time on the dance floor, dancing with Paul and a few of their other friends, but they always found themselves twirling towards one another again, laughing and drinking and having a marvelous time.

Tonight went by a bit more smoothly than the previous, a lot more rehearsed, planned. It lacked the stress that was ever-present the night prior, the anxiety and the tension that left Abigail's muscles taught and sore. And the thoughts of the mysterious Emma were almost completely forgotten, liquor sliding down the tunnels of their throats blurring anything that could resemble reality.

Abigail had just let her hands slip from the chest of their friend Johnny when she found herself being twirled into the arms of another man; cologne wafting around his crisp suit, eyes alive and roguish stubble lining his jaw.

And the second their eyes met, Abigail melted.

" Miss me, sweetheart?" His voice rolled through her ears like sand in a bottle, smooth and rough and majestic all at once. Mesmerizing was an understatement, and Abigail couldn't even control all the emotions that flooded through her. All the girlish fantasies conjured up the night before rising to the surface, and all the doubts about the afternoon disappearing entirely.

But with a flip of her hair, the red curls hanging from her bun loosely, she played off her blushing cheeks, licking her lips in an almost predatory manner.

" I'm not quite sure, ask again later." A sly grin placed itself on her lips as he chuckled humorously, eyes alight with hunger.

" You little minx."

His hands held her waist securely, fingers linking together against the curve of her back as he pulled her closer. Her own hands, which rested on his shoulders joined together as their bodies moved towards one another, and another blush flooded her creamy visage.

" I wasn't sure I'd see you again, especially not tonight." He divulged eyes bouncing around the room before falling upon hers once more. And Abigail only fell harder.

" And why is that, planning on skipping town sometime soon?" There was laughter in her voice as she spoke, and his lips curved upwards in response, but there was still a hardening to his eyes that confirmed her remark.

" I don't spend too much time in one place, there's simply too much to see in the world for me to spend too long situated in a singular area." Abigail felt something break a little at his words, something that made her stomach do an uneasy and unwelcome flip. But she quickly tried changing the course of the discussion, in hopes of lightening the dreary mood she found herself falling into.

" I like that, traveling the world. There's a lot of very interesting places I'd love to discover." There was wonder in her voice as she spoke, and his eyes twinkled in surreal amusement.

" There are so many marvelous things in this world, you just have to uncover them." Silence fell on the pair as they continued they waltz, but it was comfortable and as the song ended, their feet never slowed their movements, moving right into the next tune.

" So what's a pretty girl like you doing here without a date?"

She was pulled from her trance so abruptly that she stuttered her reply, but as she caught his gaze, she felt a strange sensation. A sickening in her stomach as she felt the need to vomit overcome her. Her mind went fuzzy and she had the strangest urge to just shut up and oblige. But then their was the turning of her stomach and a stinging in her brain that caused her to stumble backwards, her hand flying up to her forehead and her eyes falling to the ground.

And as soon as she did, the pain stopped.

It took her a few moments to compose herself, straightening up as she felt a pair of feminine hands wrap around her shoulders. Rising up, the sound of Chloe in the background, she looked up to the bewildered face of Niklaus, staring at her with a peculiar expression on his face before walking towards her, placing a hand against her cheek as he spoke.

" Are you alright there, love?"

But she couldn't quite concentrate on the words coming from his immaculate lips, or the soothing comfort coming from her best friend. Her eyes were transfixed on the end of the club, where a small brunette girl sat swirling a drink in her hand, playing with the olives that sat in the glass. And after a moment, her eyes jumped to hers, a smile spreading across her cheeks as she gave her an encouraging wave.

Off in the distance, Jazz was playing.

Did you guys like this chapter? I really enjoyed it, but it was also kind of filler. But stuff gets interesting and wierd realll soon so get ready! I mean this Emma chick, what? (; Anyway, not that Vampire Diaries is over till January ( btw what the fuckkk really?) I think i'll be able to catch up with this season in time for it to pick back up again wooo! So While we won't have that, we have this! Really hope this is interesting for you, and i'd love feedback!

Also, i'm shipping Klaroline lately, and i'd love to know if you think i should write anything with them in it? yes, no maybe? Anyway night alll!

Review Sweethearts (;