Chapter Three: Family Ties
After the majority of the craziness had died down, Jessalyn was forced to sleep in the same room as Tess because she feared being killed in her sleep. Not that Tess wasn't capable. She kept rolling around until Tess smacked her in the head. Then Jessalyn growled and curled up on the edge of the guest bed. At some point she must have gone to sleep because she woke up with a cool, hard pillow under her head and arm.
It wasn't until a hand stroking Jessalyn's hair lightly made her begin to surface from dreams of men with black eyes and the frantic tearing of clothing that she awoke.
Blinking at the unfamiliar surroundings Jessalyn's head rose slowly to meet the amused gaze of Stefan Salvatore. Jessalyn laid her head back down on his chest and whispered. "I am going to close my eyes and when I reopen them I will wake from this nightmare."
"Is that anyway to talk to the guy you've been having such exciting dreams about?" Stefan whispered back with more than a hint of amusement.
That was enough to set Jessalyn off. "AHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed, jumping to her feet and falling on top of Tess, who groaned. Tess began to curse Jessalyn before shoving her off and onto the floor.
"What exactly is your problem with sleep?" Tess grumbled at Jessy, who was pointing at empty air.
The door to the room flew open and Damon walked inside. "Hey! Hey! Hey! Are you trying to wake the dead in here?!" he called, starring down at Jessy, who was rubbing her butt because of falling on the floor hurt. "Mission accomplished. I'm up. I have other things to attend to other than babysitting the two of you but I called Blondie and she'll be over some time soon since Stef is still all crazy, ripper douche vamp. So, you should be safe for now. Jeremy and Bonnie are coming over for a play date. Other than that I will be back to fix that hair of yours. I had a nightmare about it last night. It might be contagious," Shivering, Damon sped off.
"I'm..food," Tess grumbled sleepily as she got up to leave the room and Jessalyn sneered relieved to be getting rid of "The Kid." Not that she was that much older but still… 'Anyway, shower and then food,' Jessalyn thought, yawning. Spotting something on the nightstand, she walked over to Tess' side of the bed. 'Gee, I bet she stole this, too. So, she won't mind me borrowing it for a couple of minutes.'
Flipping through the playlist while walking over to the bathroom, Jessalyn smirked. If she had looked in the mirror she might have noticed who she resembled at that moment but she didn't. 'This by far does not belong to Tess of the ill manners and thievery anonymous.'
Climbing into the shower, Jessalyn mindlessly began to sing Michelle Branch's "Are You Happy Now?" after the iPod finished and she was rinsing her hair. She had her eyes tightly closed and was oblivious to everything around her while she belted out the lyrics. "Are you happy now? Can you tell it to my face? Or have I been erased. Ohhhh. Yeah!" Jessalyn sang. Although she couldn't stand the singer, she liked the song.
For some reason (Jessalyn wasn't sure why) she whirled around and faced the curtain to see the outline of a man.
"I am so not going to be in the remake of Psycho if you don't mind, Stefan. So, go away." Jessalyn shouted and reached for a towel but there were none on the rack. "Not funny, Ripper," she growled before forcing herself to be courageous and yank the curtain back. Jessalyn's jaw dropped and her eyes widened to find herself face to face with Klaus Mikaelson.
"Holy shit," Jessalyn moaned. Waiting for Klaus to try to kill her, given the serious expression on his face, she was shocked when he held out a towel.
"Good morning, Jessalyn," Klaus said with a smirk, his eyes moving to the ceiling as Jessalyn wrapped the towel securely around her body. He held out a hand to help her out of the bathtub. "I told you yesterday we needed to have a little chat."
"Okay," Jessalyn said before sitting down on the toilet lid. She began to tap her foot nervously. "About what exactly?"
"Who you are? How you have come to arrive in this quaint, little town and what your plans are?" Klaus replied, leaning against the wall and staring down at the terrified human. He did so love the smell of fear.
"You already know my name and if I told you my real story you wouldn't believe me," Jessalyn told him, shaking her head. "I guess this where you kill me, right? Could you make it quick because I'm not big on pain although I have a surprisingly high tolerance level for it and you could probably tor-"
"That's enough, love," Klaus growled. He could hear Caroline downstairs and he needed to speed up the process so he might spend his time with his new favorite blonde. Though there was something about this human girl. It wasn't an attraction. Yes, she was lovely and he usually would have some reaction. Oddly, this young woman did not excite in him the werewolf's lust.
Placing his hand on Jessalyn's temple, Klaus entered her mind easily, feeling her memories pour into his own head. 'Hmm… she has a crush on me. That's amusing. Wait now. That is not right. I am not on a TV show. Oh, yes, alternate universe. That would explain it a bit,' he thought, frowning. Still he felt himself being pulled further into matters Jessy didn't know about herself and Klaus' eyes snapped open as he forced himself to not take go too far. "Thank you, sweetheart. You've been very helpful."
Opening the door to the room, Klaus' mouth grew somewhat dry as he found Caroline standing in the bedroom, her arms crossed over her chest. "Caroline, fancy meeting you here," Klaus murmured, forcing a wide smile as Caroline stared at Jessy, who was standing behind him in a towel.
Scoffing, Caroline stared at Klaus. "You are just… Ugh… You're a pig," Caroline snapped.
"Actually, he's a werewolf," Jessy defended Klaus making Caroline's jaw drop. "And, yes, he's crazy and evil. But he likes you. A lot. And you could do way worse." Walking further into the room, Jessy looked around. "And I have no clothes and it would be great if I didn't have to wear leather pants all the time because then people will think I'm a villain or a slut."
Staring at Klaus and Caroline, Jessy shook her head. "You two are hopeless. You with the pride," Jessy waved at Klaus. "And you, Care, seriously. Do you have any idea what most women would give to have a guy care about them like Papa Hydrid does you? Do you? Just get over yourselves and get on each other." Blowing out a frustrated breath, Jessy walked out of the room to leave the hybrid and the vampire to themselves.
"Who in the hell does she think she is?" Caroline gaped, staring at the open door to the hallway through which the girl with the multi-colored hair had walked.
Klaus came up to stand in Caroline's personal space. "She's right, love." He raised a hand to tuck a curl behind her ear.
Turning and narrowing her eyes at Klaus, Caroline glared. "I am with Tyler." Then she sped downstairs to be confronted by Stefan attempting to braid the hair of the girl she had listed as enemy number one.
"I need clothes," Jessy whined as Tess munched on a bagel and mimicked Jessy's whining from behind. "Stop that! And get your feet off the counter. This isn't our house… little sister." She added with an evil gleam in her eye directed at the brunette.
Caroline rolled her eyes. "I'm so glad I will not have to meet your parents." Then her eyebrows rose. "I won't, will I?"
"I'll protect you," Tess said between mouthfuls of cheese.
Gritting her teeth, Jessy rolled her eyes as Klaus walked into the room. "Caroline, can I borrow some of your clothes?" Jessy begged.
Caroline opened her mouth to respond when Klaus stepped forward. "That will not be necessary. Someone is on their way."
"Really?" Caroline snapped, her voice rose decibels with every new letter. "Now, you're having your minions running around for your little girlfriend."
"I'm not his girlfriend!" Jessy shouted, her cheeks turning scarlet and she let go of the towel as Rebekah and Kol walked into the room.
"I volunteer," Tess whispered in the background, Stefan sniffed her neck.
"Nik, you did not tell me there would be naked women here; otherwise I would have been over a lot quicker." Kol informed Klaus with glee. He started to speed toward the embarrassed human when Klaus stopped him.
"Do not dare, Kol," Klaus seethed as Stefan retrieved the towel around Jessy who glared at him.
"Stop touching me!" Jessy snarled.
"Stop touching her!" Klaus shouted at Stefan, whose eyebrows rose at the look of fury on Klaus' face.
"See what I mean," Caroline muttered although everyone heard.
"I do," Tess told her nodding with semi-fake emphatically.
"Shut up!" Jessy shouted at Tess.
"Who needs clothes?" Rebekah called holding up bags.
"I do," Jessy and Tess replied at the same time and then glared at each other.
Rebekah's eyebrows rose as she looked at them. "Well then." She handed one bag to Tess and the other to Jessy.
Jessy took her bag and ran toward the entrance of the room. "Don't follow me," She ordered Stefan and then ran off.
"Excuse us," Klaus called placing a hand on Rebekah's back and directing her out of the room. When they were far enough away Rebekah opened her mouth but Klaus held up a hand and shook his head. Placing his hand to Rebekah's temple he allowed her to see what he had.
"How?" Rebekah muttered.
"I have no idea, sister, but I intend to get to the bottom of this," Klaus informed her.
Rebekah frowned, thinking. "What about the girl? Do you plan on telling her?"
Klaus shook his head. "No. Not yet. But you understand that she is not to be trifled with, yes?"
Shaking her head, Rebekah glowered at her brother. "Coming from someone so manipulative and calculating I do find that rather funny. Not to mention how you usually treat fam-"
"Tess," Klaus murmured, lacing his fingers behind his back and glancing at the girl behind the curtain. "Are you lost, sweetheart? Would you like me to direct you somewhere?"
"Nearest bathroom," Tess regarded Klaus with an innocent expression as Klaus narrowed his eyes at her but pointed down the hall. When she scurried away he wondered why he allowed her to leave unscathed.
"We need to watch that one," Klaus murmured to Rebekah, who nodded watching the witch walk away.
After several hours of discomfort at being in the same room the group was relieved when Damon returned. "I see that everyone is still alive. And the Originals are here. Yay." Rolling his eyes, Damon waved for Jessy to get up. "Come with me, my pretty," he called. "That hair just needs to go."
"Have you gone gay? Is that where you've been?" Jeremy asked, only to be ignored— as usual.
Jessy got up to follow as Klaus stood up and began to follow her. "Whoa there, Klaus. Where do you think you're going?" Stefan called as everyone stared at the hybrid.
"Aren't you curious to see what horrors a Damon makeover will produce?" Klaus replied with a grin. Then he regretted his comment as everyone got up to follow Damon and Jessy upstairs to Damon's bathroom.
Once everyone was in the bathroom, Damon groaned, "This is not a good work environment."
"What are you complaining about?" Rebekah snapped at him. "Your bathroom is huge."
Muttering to himself, Damon pulled out various bottles of dye and then began examining Jessy. Tess was sucking on a lollipop and making little popping sounds every time she pulled it out. Kol was admiring Tess and her lollipop with a wide grin that she didn't seem to notice. Bonnie was glaring at Klaus as Caroline huffed because Klaus kept inching toward the newest human in their group. Rebekah was sitting on the edge of the bathtub and making snarky comments at Stefan.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Jessy asked Damon, who was mixing colors together in a bowl and then made the girl lower her head into the sink. Washing her hair quickly, Damon smirked at the others.
"I was a hair dresser in the 60s." Damon told Jessy and Rebekah began to laugh until she fell into the bathtub. Then Kol began to laugh at the look on his sister's face. "Well, that and part time serial killer."
"Really?" Jessy asked and Tess began to laugh as Jessy turned and glared at her. "Would you please leave?"
"No, Seaweed Head," Tess shot back with a happy grin. Jessy groaned as Damon dyed her hair in seconds and then shooed everyone out of the room except for Rebekah.
"Let the artists do their work and get out of my room, too," Damon ordered and Rebekah waved everyone downstairs except for Tess. They needed to talk. She was interested in finding out what the girl was up to.
Tess complained as Rebekah pulled her by the hair into one of the guest rooms. She pushed the blonde away and they glared at each other in silence. It was clear they were both sizing each other up.
"Listen little girl, I don't know what your aim is here but if you come after my brother—"
"You'll rip me apart? Yeah, heard it all before," Tess then put her hands on her hips and muttered, "literally." Clearing her throat, she continued. "Besides, I thought you hated him."
"I beg your pardon?" Rebekah's eyes narrowed. "I love my bro—"
"Yeah, yeah. Always and forever, blah, blah, blah." Tess rolled her eyes. She never did understand that weird, protective bond the Originals had with each other. It all seemed a little annoying and clingy to her. "But don't you hate him even a little bit, y'know, since he killed your mommy." Tess' hands scraped at Rebekah's knuckles that were suddenly tightly wound around her neck.
"How do you know about that?" Rebekah's fangs protruded and Tess concluded that provoking an original was not the best thing she could have done.
"So you admit," Tess wheezed, "that you're planning to double cross him." The blonde vampire's face returned to normal and she released the witch, who gasped for breath.
"I don't know how you knew that but if I tell you my plan, will you help?" Rebekah crossed her arms over her chest.
"The devious the better," Tess smirked. Rebekah slowly returned it.
Another hour later Damon was done with Jessy's hair and he left Rebekah to her work of getting the girl dressed. Rebekah sauntered down the stairs before the human made her appearance at the top of the stairs. Jessy was nervous as she stood looking down at the characters and Tess. They had a variety of expressions that she could not understand. The hardest to read was Klaus' as he came to stand at the bottom of the stairs. Forcing herself to draw in a deep breath, Jessy began her descent.
Damon was happy with his and Rebekah's work. The girl looked completely different in a good way. Jeremy thought she looked hot which is the same thought that was going through Kol's head. Rebekah was amused by the reactions of the others. It was just clothing and better hair. Stefan was having feelings and trying to suppress them. Bonnie was impressed. Caroline was pissed because of the way that Klaus was behaving.
As for Klaus he was quite pleased as Jessy walked down the stairs. The grey, velvet dress that hugged Jessy's curves was right unlike that horrid outfit from before. The black designer boots were obviously his sister's and the black and white reversible coat made him smile at the irony.
Of course, Jessy was wearing the coat so that it appeared black with the white of the collar flipped around her neck. There were tiny sapphire drop earrings hanging from the girl's ears which belonged to Rebekah as well. In Klaus' opinion the human looked like royalty in the way she held herself with the air of dignity. He was now well aware of the pride that she tried to conceal but now it was clear to anyone with eyes.
Holding out his arm, Klaus smiled as Jessy took it like it was natural. He then turned to the group and did not miss the look on Caroline's face as her lips pressed into a tight line and she made a little growling sound. "We're going to the Grill," Klaus announced. "It's not good for Jessayln to stay cooped up with you lot the entire time."
"What? No!" Damon snapped.
"Damon," Jessy sighed, looking at him and placing a hand on to her hair which was now a light brown with red and blonde highlights. She had a hairstyle that was now made famous by Jennifer Lawrence but Jessy couldn't help touching her short locks every few minutes. "I want to go."
Damon shook his head. "I'll go with them," Stefan volunteered, without thinking.
"Whatever," Caroline muttered as Klaus raised an eyebrow.
"You could come with us, love," Klaus called.
"No," Caroline snapped before walking away.
"Off we go," Kol called, opening the front door and walking outside. Rebekah followed her brother. Klaus and Jessy walked outside while Damon shook his head and then Stefan walked out with them.
Tess was standing in the doorway with her lollipop in her mouth, shaking her head as the group walked to Klaus' car. Jessy pulled away from Klaus and then ran back to the house. She stood in front of a surprised Tess. "Be careful," Jessy told Tess, her expression softening toward the girl for the first time since they had arrived. Jessy hugged Tess quickly, whispering, "Little sister," in the witch's ear before running back to the car to join the Originals. The wheels turned in Tess' head, having ex-seaweed head on her side couldn't hurt. Plus, it would slot in nicely with Rebekah's plan. She honestly never saw the werepuppy thing coming, although it did explain the mood swings.
a/n - why did we not update this sooner? Idk, I hope you guys are still with us.
WG and LL
