In the previous chapter, Elijah hired a masseuse for himself in order to relieve himself of the stress accumulated with the disobedience of the vampires. Melanie, the masseuse working for Elijah, was suspected by Camille, as being used as a rebound, as Elijah had used many women after Gia's death. After the main vampires, Victor and Simon threatened and nearly sexually abused the girls at Rousseau's, Camille needed to use every ounce of her energy to convince Elijah to control the vampires. Klaus and Hayley had a very intimate discussion about their lives, after which they were surprised with the arrival of Aurora, a past acquaintance of Klaus'.
PLOT: Camille and Vincent have a special phone conversation on which they agree to meet one another for dinner. As things backfire that night, Vincent is forced to renounce on his plans with Cami, which leaves her depressed and lonely, thinking alcohol is the best solution to her problem. Board games and booze seem to be the methods applied to a drunk Cami and a cranky Elijah, as things escalade where Hope is concerned. Meanwhile, Klaus and Hayley are invited at a bar, where Aurora works, for more drinks, jealousy and revelations.
Cami woke up the following morning with a slight headache as she remembered the events which occurred the other day. Another fallout with Elijah, after she practically had to drag him out of his bed and force him to take a stand against the vampires, who were bothering the ladies at the bar. What frustrated her even more was her friend, Claire, who had suddenly started criticizing her for not appreciating the so called wonderful things Elijah had done for them. After brushing her hair, she headed to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face, hoping that would be the perfect solution to what was going on with her. She went to the kitchen, grabbed some pancakes for herself and headed back up to the bedroom, not wanting to see the particularly grumpy Elijah Mikaelson that morning. On cue, Cami groaned as she heard the yelling from the nursery. Hope was waking up the entire compound with her wailing. "I'm coming!" Cami called out to her and went to the door even though she barely felt any energy inside of her legs, to carry her there.
"Oh no." she mumbled to herself as she watched Elijah already standing over the crib, and caressing the child's forehead, making her giggle and forget about the wailing. "When did you get here?" she asked as she grabbed the baby's bottle, already filled with fresh milk, prepared by the maids. "Just now. I figured that it would be better for me to spend some quality time with my niece." "Good for you. I am sure Klaus and Hayley would be very proud to see this change of attitude." He glared at her, as she would not meet his eyes. Gently, the blonde picked up the baby in her arms and headed over to the rocking chair, where she sat down and fed the baby her bottle. "Camille, I do not wish for there to be this rift between us. Why do you think there might be any rift? I am fine with what is going on. In fact…I don't care, just as long as you don't cause problems for me. My life is way more fragile and useless than yours is." Elijah noticed the sadness in her tone even though she was trying to be bitter with him.
Taking a seat on a chair, he asked, "And why would you believe that your life is useless? You are young; you are caring, passionate, intelligent, even though your psychological skills are a bit…old fashioned, should I say." She looked up at him and raised her eyebrow. "Old fashioned? Really? I think that you are just grumpy because I managed to get to you at the plantation house." "You did not." "I got a true breakthrough with you. You have to admit that, Elijah." "You…did…not." He snapped more firmly this time. His nostrils were flaring and more and more, Cami noticed that he was starting to act just like his brother, in complete denial of who he was. "Okay, then. Suite yourself. I am just happy with what I accomplished. You should be too." When he didn't answer, she looked up and noticed that his eyes were on the child she was feeding. "Yeah, my life is boring and useless for many reasons. For one thing…nothing interesting ever happens with me. I just want to feel different at times. I want to have some excitement in my life…and I did for a while…also because of your family's troubles."
"You believe that the simplest things you do in life…are boring?" Elijah asked her in a whisper. Once he saw her nod, he bit inside his cheek and expressed himself. "Your life is simple, Camille…and that is what makes it so special in every way. You have nothing to fear. You lead a life of comfort." "Comfort?" Cami exclaimed in shock at how he chose his words. "You think that my life represented comfort?!" she almost yelled out and at once, Hope started crying in her arms, grabbing a hold of her breasts and squeezing tightly with her little hands, making Cami yelp out at the strength of this baby. "No, no, no. You shouldn't do that." Cami whispered and pried the child's hands off of her. "Melanie!" Elijah called out and Cami's eyes widened as she saw the masseuse entering with a small smile on her face. "You called for me, Mr. Mikaelson?" "Yes. Camille seems to be in pain. Take the child and feed her. Can you do that?" he asked and Cami gaped at him as Melanie took Hope from her arms, bowing slightly with a seductive smile. "Yes, of course, Mr. Mikaelson."
The moment she left, Cami stamped her foot. "Why would you do that? Hope is my responsibility. Hayley wants me to take care of her. You can't just give that child to a person we barely know." "What I know is that you are under a lot of stress and the baby can do a lot worse for you. Until you settle down, I believe that Melanie is perfectly capable of feeding and taking care of Hope. I am paying her as well." "So what are you now, my watchman?" Cami demanded with her hands crossed over her chest. She winced lightly at the pain she now felt on her breasts. Elijah looked down onto the place where pain was making it impossible for her to think clearly, and she flushed, not bearing the idea of him looking at her breasts. Clearing his throat, Elijah looked up and rubbed his chin. "You were saying that your life brings you no comfort. I believe you ought to be given arguments against your beliefs." "And why do you feel that?" "Because as I have said it before, your life has never been as complicated and as messy as mine." Cami could feel the tears filling up in her eyes, threatening to fall like waterfalls. "Really? That's what you think?" she asked in a soft voice, which made him stare at her in surprise.
He felt he couldn't understand her emotional stress. "My brother and my uncle died, Elijah. The only family I had left and now the only people I feel are as close to being my family is yours. And after what happened with Klaus and Hayley…I feel even further apart from your family. I have no one. You have so many people around you who want to help you recover from your loss. I have no one! No one! Do you understand me?" Camille escaped her tears, making Elijah feel like a complete fool of praising her life when she was suffering so much. "Forgive me." He whispered and cupped her face, and embracing her, as her head rested on his shoulder, and sniffled from the tears and the emotions which overwhelmed her. Her phone started ringing, which made both of them snap from their trance and pulled away from each other. Looking at the caller ID, Cami smiled when she saw Vincent's name. "I have to take this." She told Elijah, but he didn't move to leave, so she just answered the call.
"Hello, my beautiful blonde! How are you?" Cami could hear Vincent's voice from the other line and had never felt more excited than at that moment. "I'm fine." She whispered and watched as Elijah glared a little. "Are we still good for dinner right now?" "Now? It's morning, Vincent. You said tonight." She argued and let out a small laugh, after wiping away the tears from her face. She couldn't deny that this man's voice just brought a smile on her face and lightened up her day. "Yes, of course. My mistake. We are going to listen to jazz, so prepare yourself." "You know how much I love it. Of course I will be ready." "Okay, sweetheart. I will pick you up at…7 PM…maybe…?" "Yes. 7 o'clock on the dot is perfect. I will be ready." "Very well. I will be there…on the dot!" Vincent told her before hanging up. "You are going out tonight?" Elijah asked as he looked through the shelves of books placed in the nursery. Cami rolled her eyes and growled, "How convenient for you to eavesdrop on a personal conversation." "I am a vampire, Camille. I tend to listen without even wanting to do so."
"Well that is why I asked you to leave the room." "It wouldn't have helped." Elijah answered. How did he become so infuriating? Cami was wondering to herself. "More and more, you are becoming the spitting image of your brother. I thought you should know that." Cami whispered, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. She wondered what the real problem was with him. Yes, it was one thing for someone to grieve when losing a loved one…but Elijah had been acting like a complete incompetent ever since he lost Gia, at the hands of his brother. "That is impossible. My brother and I couldn't have been more different than we are now." "You can say that again. It's like you've switched personalities. He is acting like the responsible one…and now you are acting like the irresponsible one." "I beg to differ." Elijah mumbled, looking over a child's book in surprise at what it contained. "How is it possible that we read this to children? It is unethical." "That's what you think." Cami snapped and placed the book back on the shelf. "I ask you again. Are you really going out tonight with…Vincent?"
"Yes. Why does that seem to be a problem for you?" Cami asked, with her hands on the opposite arms, liking his reaction to the conversation she shared with the warlock on the phone. "Because you are to keep Hope company." "I thought that you were eager to keep her company as her uncle, Elijah. Now you have your chance. I won't be long tonight. An hour or two tops. If she wants her bottle, I am sure that you can always ask Melanie to feed her, right?" Before Elijah could answer, Melanie came inside with the child in her hands. "I'm sorry for disturbing but…someone asked for me?" "Yes. I am going out tonight, and if you are so eager to take care of Hope, I am sure that you wouldn't mind taking a few hours off from your…therapy, let's call it that, with Mr. Mikaelson here." Melanie opened her mouth to speak but Cami cut her off. "Good. The date starts at 7 PM. I will go and get ready. I need the perfect dress to wear for the occasion." Smirking at the grunt of contempt Elijah released, Cami headed out.
…
The night was quiet and it was expected by Elijah, who found himself a good book to read after dealing with the city business. Checking his time, he noticed it to be 7 o'clock already. "Camille must be on her way." He whispered, a discomfort washing over him for an unknown reason, at the thought of this woman on a date. This was his chance, to do as he planned and spend a quiet evening with his niece. Just as he left his study, someone exclaimed, "SHE'S MAD!" Elijah headed over to the place where the sounds were heard and noticed Victor running around and letting a hand go through his hair. "Victor!" Elijah exclaimed, still displeased with this vampire, who tried to come as close as rape a couple of bartenders. "Yes." Victor said. "What is the meaning of all of this shouting? Need I remind you that Hope might be a powerful being but she is a baby still and requires her rest?" Victor smirked and mumbled, "Maybe you should tell Cami that." "I beg your pardon?" "She's gone mad. See for yourself." Victor pointed towards the Art Room and then left.
Frowning, Elijah made his way there at once and opened the door. His eyes widened as he saw a bucket of paint being thrown at him. Yelling out, Elijah took a step back but it was too late, as his clothes were spattered with rich colors of red, blue, green and yellow. "Camille!" Elijah exclaimed, outraged by her behavior. The girl could only laugh as she threw another pile of paint at him. She herself was in all colors. "What is going on with you? Why are you acting like an unreasonable…?" before he could scold her, he noticed four bottles of wine on the table in his brother's Art Room. "Wow! You really are a jerk." Cami said and grabbed a hold of a vase and threw it at his head. Elijah managed to dodge it just in time before it hit him. Furious, he speeded forward and grabbed her by her hands and growled, "What is the meaning of this? What are you doing?" Cami looked at him in an innocent way and whispered, "Vincent stood me up! The bastard stood me up! Oh…the jerk! You're just like him!" Cami started laughing like a crazy person before pulling herself away from Elijah.
"Please be reasonable. It is not my fault!" he snapped but Cami grabbed another vase and missed, throwing it far away from him. "LIAR!" she yelled out and then started getting dizzy. "Oh, for goodness' sake." Elijah whispered to himself, not believing what was happening. He caught her before she could fall off her feet and held her close to him as she mumbled, "He is a jerk. So are you. Jerks." Rolling his eyes, Elijah scooped her up into his arms bridal style and took her to her bedroom, where he laid her down on the bed. She was not passed out, not at all. Looking up at him, Cami started smiling and then laughing all of a sudden. "You are such a sweetheart…but still a jerk." "Very well. I will leave you here so you can rest. You cannot handle a child in this state. I will make sure Melanie tends to her." Before he could move away, her legs got wrapped around him and was pulling him on the bed towards her. The seductive grin frightened him as he tried to detangle himself from her. She was drunk and she did not know what she was doing. He was trying to convince himself of that.
"My dearest Camille, even as drunk as you are, I am not going to allow such behavior. It is rude and…" "Shhh." Cami placed a finger on his lips to stop him from talking. "Do you know what your problem is? You are so boring, Elijah. I mean…like…you are the noble one, but still so…" She scrunched up and looked like she couldn't say anything. "Boring?" Elijah asked her, wondering if this was the word she was looking for. A goofy smile appeared on Cami's face as she nodded at once and mumbled, "Yeah, that's the word." "You have used it before. Try finding a synonym." Elijah decided to play along with her mind for a while, as she continued to hold him in place with her legs wrapped around his waist. Punching into his chest, Cami growled. "See? You are…out of place. A mess. Get away from me, you pervert!" The moment she yelled out the last sentence, Elijah panicked and got off of her as Cami arranged her clothes. "Why were you leaning over me like that? Do you like me? Do you want to sleep with me?" Elijah was in complete shock that he didn't know what to say.
Afterwards, Cami started grinning again as she whispered, "I knew you would like me eventually. But I didn't know I would like you, because you are so…" "Boring?" "Yeah, that's the word." Elijah felt like slapping himself at that moment as he whispered, "Camille, you are far too young and intelligent for this. I am sure that you will regret all of this the moment you become sober again. Let me see to it that the maids prepared a soft drink for you. Or just plain water…or coffee to sober you up." As he went to the door, Cami yelled out, "You need to get out more! You need to loosen up, Elijah! God you don't fool anyone with that noble stag crap!" He didn't know the reason why a small smile appeared across his lips at her words. A couple of moments later, the ground started shaking and Elijah held on to the door for dear life as Camille yelled out from the bed, "WOAAAAAAH! FUN! FUN! FUN!" The earthquake stopped, as Melanie came out of the nursery without the child in her hands. "What's happened?" Elijah asked her at once. "I don't know. There is something wrong with that baby!" Melanie pointed at Hope, who was sitting peacefully in her crib. "She did this! She produced the earthquake!" Melanie exclaimed.
Before he knew it, Elijah found himself at the coffee table with his legs crossed, as Cami was opposite him and was gulping down another bottle of beer. "Oh, this is so good! WOAH!" Cami exclaimed and smirked as she saw Elijah had let his hand go to his forehead, in annoyance, and confusion. "Listen…I got dumped and you are being here like a…" "Boring jerk?" Elijah asked sarcastically, knowing that these two words were the only ones she used to describe him as she was drunk. "Yeah. That's the word." Elijah shook his head in frustration just as Cassandra came towards them with a cup of coffee. "Yes, this is for Camille. Thank you." After a lot of effort to make her drink the coffee brought to her, Elijah pulled out the board game they once played at the safe house, when they were watching Hope all on their own as well. The board games seemed to have attracted Cami's attention, who grinned widely. As the games progressed and Elijah and Cami took turns asking and responding to questions, Elijah felt relieved as he saw that she was getting calmer and the alcohol was seeped out of her system. With that smile on her face while she was drunk, Elijah couldn't help but notice the change in atmosphere. He liked it. He liked spending time with her.
"Ugh." She mumbled as she soon as she came to her senses and put down the cards, rubbing her forehead. "Elijah, why am I feeling this way? Why have I been drinking?" she asked him. "Perhaps because...Vincent stood you up." "He didn't show up?" "That is what I understood from you." "What are you…?" Elijah sighed and put down the cards, standing up and going over to her, picking her up bridal style and taking her up to her bedroom. "Why are you putting me to bed?" she asked, groggily. He smiled and mumbled, "You need your rest. Now, go to sleep before I am forced to compel you to do that." "But I feel fine." "You will have a massive hangover when you wake up. Trust me. You drank five bottles." "Five?" "Yes…and for a human…that means a long period of headaches. Now, ho to sleep." "But Hope…" "I will take care of it. Go to sleep now. We will speak in the morning." "Elijah…" Cami mumbled and looked like she wanted to say more, but the tiredness in her voice was noticed. Slowly, her eyes closed and Elijah left the room, amazed of the day he had.
…
"Aurora, I would like for you to meet Hayley Marshall. She is the mother of my miracle child, but also the love of my life. Hayley, this is Aurora. We were friends once." Klaus had presented his past lover to her, in an extraordinary way and Hayley had to give him credit that he was doing everything possible as to not upset her. Hayley took a deep breath as she put on her earrings that evening, and looking in the mirror at the dress she was wearing. At once, she felt his lips on her neck and her worries ceased to exist. "You look stunning, sweetheart." Klaus mumbled and bit into her earlobe playfully, as she turned around to face him. "You don't think that this is too formal, right? After all, we are going to a bar, not a ball." Klaus frowned and pulled her towards him. "Since when are you this interested in fashion, love?" "I am not. I just…don't want to look like a prissy woman, if you know what I mean. That isn't really my type at all." Klaus chuckled and added, "Knowing your type, you would have probably preferred attending this small gathering in jeans and a sweatshirt."
She hit his chest playfully and shook her head. "You know that I am not like that either." "We'll see. Perhaps after a couple of drinks tonight…I shall discover more about you." Hayley laughed and shook her head. "There is nothing to know more than what I have already told you and you know a lot about me anyway, Klaus." "What I know for sure is that you never cease to amaze me, little wolf. And if I were to know everything about you right now…I wouldn't have liked it. But there is more about you, and I wish to learn it in the future. Now, shall we go?" He saw her lips pursing. "What is it?" he asked her. "You know why we came here, right?" "Of course. We came in order to relax." "And define relax." Hayley nearly snapped. Klaus frowned and said, "Love, I am not sure that I understand what you mean." "You know what I mean, Klaus. I came here for us…not to spend time with your ex. And we are going to a bar. We go to bars in New Orleans too. The bars there are better anyway." "You wished for something more formal for tonight?" "Yes. And not with Aurora." He didn't know what to say so he pressed a firm smile on his face and mumbled, "Let's just go. We have been invited."
The drive to the bar was more peaceful, and when they arrived, they were hoping for a bit more fun, used to the craziness Rousseau's had presented throughout the years. The beautiful Aurora was serving drinks to the French as Klaus and Hayley entered through the door. "It's too quiet. What kind of bar is this?" Hayley asked and Klaus simply laughed. "I suppose not all French bars are lively and colorful as ours was in New Orleans." He turned to look at her with an amused expression on his face but his heart dropped when he saw that she was not smiling, and was looking rather upset. "Love, what is it?" he asked, pulling her aside, as for the others to not see her disappointment. "I just don't want to be here." "Love, Aurora invited us. I don't believe it is polite to refuse her, especially since I have known her in the past. She just wants to catch up, and to know you." "Really? That is what you think she is doing?" "What is that supposed to mean?" "It means that you just don't know when to let go of your past, Klaus. You keep telling me, or rather showing me that you hold so much care and respect for me, and yet you bring me to a bar where your ex works. How would you feel if you were in my shoes?"
"I don't know what…" She scoffed and crossed her hands over her chest. "No, of course you don't know what to say. You just do what you like, with no remorse whatsoever. You must be very proud of yourself." "I am not proud to see you like this. I know that she and I have had history, but she was my past. I have already expressed that you are my present and my future. Why do you create so much antagonism towards me, little wolf?" "BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO…" Hayley yelled out and everyone at the bar turned around to look at her, even Aurora, who frowned. Hayley took a deep breath and whispered, "I don't want to see you with your ex, Klaus. And I didn't come here in order to see her try to win you back. I have pride to protect for myself." She told him firmly but more quietly. Aurora made her way to them at that moment with a small smile, which Hayley knew was just fake. "Is everything okay?" she asked with that sweet and innocent voice of hers. "Everything is fine. Unfortunately, I am not feeling well and I want to go back to the hotel. If Klaus wants to stay, then he can stay." Hayley told her.
As she turned to leave, Klaus grabbed a hold of her hand and stopped her. "Hayley, stop it. You are being ridiculous, love." "I should not be forced to handle all of this. If you want to stay, fine. Stay and drink as long as you like. Stay with your ex and talk about the good old days. I came here to relax, not to feel more stressed than I felt at home. Thank you for changing that for me. I will see you in the room when you're…done." Turning around, she stormed out of the bar, with her heels pressing hard against the cold floor.
A/N: Camlijah might just start to patch things up now, but the next chapter is going to be more hilarious this time. Both Elijah and Cami will be traumatized their entire lives :D As for Klayley, I always planned to put Aurora as an obstacle for them. Let's see what Klaus' intentions are, but Hayley was completely right in what she told him. This was supposed to be their vacation, for their love for each other...not for him to meet an ex.
Thank you for reading and please leave me reviews!
