Author's Note: just wanted to say thanks for your reviews, follows and favs!
Chapter Seven: The Brawl
"Oh, God," Elena sighed yet again, both exasperated and morbidly amused, when the front of the mansion became visible.
A large circle of people had gathered around five figures who were in the middle of a very heated dispute.
So many things seemed to be happening at the same time, it was hard to take it all in at once.
Damon and Kol were perhaps a few feet apart, locked in a fierce stare down while hissing threats at each other. There was a red gash on Damon's forehead and blood was trickling down from his mouth and chin. Kol appeared to be in a somewhat better condition though his nose was a bloody mess.
Right behind Damon stood Stefan, holding his brother back by his arm, preaching something in the lines of "peace and love", trying to calm Damon down, though his words seemed to have an opposite effect.
Kol was restrained by Niklaus, who had his hands on his shoulders, although he looked to be as angry as his brother, his eyes moving between Damon and Stefan as he was quietly explaining to Kol that this was not the right time for a fight with so many witnesses around them.
The gap between the two pairs of brothers was occupied by Rebekah, her hands extended in opposite directions. Her expression was determined as she demanded them to stop "this insanity".
The mass of people around them was as if chanting in unison for the fighting to continue. The low collective "fight, fight, fight" acting as a background to the louder, ruder commentary, bouts of jolly laughter, and other drunken shenanigans.
There must have been at least a few of dozen people out there, more spilling out of the front door.
It was amazing how much noise the whole situation generated.
Among the crowd Elijah spotted a wide-eyed Jeremy, a bottle of beer in his hand, and an anxious looking Caroline.
Elena and he became to a halt a little farther away, staring at the scene in front of them, not knowing whether to intervene or not. She'd brought her hands to her face as if trying to shield herself while her mouth formed a small 'o'.
"You really needn't prove anything to us, dear brother," Rebekah sneered at Kol, "we all know you're mad enough to do just about anything."
And they did, truly. Over the centuries his family had grown well aware of Kol's impulsive nature and his obsession-nearing desire to be emerge as the winner from anything he'd set his mind on. Though, it could be said that he wasn't the only family member who possessed that particular quality.
But Rebekah was, of course, the one who always knew how to make things worse. She enjoyed pouring fuel into the fire, regardless whether she was doing it knowingly or not.
"Oh, stop protecting your little boyfriend," Kol spat, flashing an annoyed smirk at her, his fists clenched.
"Little boyfriend? That's rich, brother," Klaus laughed gleefully, his eyes on the Salvatore across from them. He was obviously enjoying the taunting Damon part of the whole thing.
"Hey hey hey," Damon piped up, acting unaffected by the jibe, "I am in no way her boyfriend so let's get our facts straight here."
Rebekah looked slightly offended by the definitive words, her eyebrows risen as if to say 'you'd be lucky to be with me, you idiot'. Or maybe Elijah was just making stuff up, seeing things? He didn't really know… and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know anything regarding his sister and the eldest Salvatore. Anyhow, they were all far too drunk to act adequately.
"Come on," Damon drawled, grinning, "if you'd consider everyone I've slept with my girlfriend, you'd have one hell of a competition on your hands. And by the way, I don't need any protection." He directed the last part at Kol. He really was a smug, arrogant buffoon, Elijah noted, but then again, alcohol had the tendency to make people unduly courageous.
"Sure about that, mate?" Klaus said, smiling pleasantly.
"Please, guys, can't we be reasonable for a moment now," Stefan almost pleaded. "Why can't we all just be friends?"
"As soon as your brother takes his leave," Klaus said, shooting Damon a warning look.
"Oh, so your little boyfriend can stay?" Rebekah demanded irritatedly.
"Rebekah," he growled at her, "You know I have the greatest respect for the 'family above all' notion, but I won't stand for cheap slandering."
"God forbid, you start with the daggers again," Kol groaned, pulling away from him, which made Klaus's grip on his shoulders to tighten in order to keep him from moving away.
Elijah wondered briefly what the eager 'spectators' thought of the whole daggers ordeal, but his attention was pulled back into the conversation before he could contemplate further.
"Guys, honestly," Stefan tried again, his gaze moving from Damon to Rebekah, Kol and then Klaus. "Let's go inside, have a drink, and discuss this in a friendly atmosphere." He gave them a goofy grin, which, Elijah assumed, was supposed to gain support.
"I think that would be sensible," Klaus nodded demonstratively, beckoning them to agree.
"Of course, and maybe we'll have a slice of cake and brush each others' hair while we have this heart-to-heart?" Damon said mockingly. "Ugh, go back to Dreamland, Stefan, this is for the grown-ups."
"Oh, yeah, sure," Stefan replied exasperatedly, voice flat, "borrow me a unicorn, will you?"
"No need to be snappy about it! It's just the simple truth – the good Stefan is back and wants to get all chummy with our freaking archenemy," Damon said snidely, pointing his finger at Klaus with the last phrase.
"Well, if you haven't noticed, Damon, we can't exactly kill him!" Stefan nearly shouted, pushing his brother enough to separate the two.
Elijah cringed at his use of words, once again thinking what the crowd around them made out of the conversation. At least he said 'can't kill him' and not the other way around. Because, truthfully, he wasn't very enthusiastic about compelling some half a hundred people, not to mention how difficult that would be.
Klaus, whose eyes had grown narrower, pulled Kol back instinctively, probably expecting Damon to plunge at them, but he only had eyes for his brother.
He smiled at Stefan, but there was nothing pretty about it, and when he spoke, though his tone was light, there was real venom to his words.
"Oh, so in that case I suppose it's okay if Klaus uses El-" He stopped for a second, glancing at the excited teenagers around them. Elijah had to hand it to him, he might have been a fool, but he wasn't stupid.
Apparently whatever he had had the chance to say was enough for Stefan to get the point – …if Klaus uses Elena as a blood bank for his hybrid army.
It seemed as if a dark cloud fell over Stefan's face during the few seconds he took to digest his brother's hurtful words. His eyes turned black and his shoulders became tense, and then, the next instant he swung his fist at Damon's head.
Elijah could hear Elena gasp beside him, jerking a bit forward as if she wanted to rush over and stop them but couldn't quite force herself to move.
Damon moved aside fast enough not to take a hit straight in his face, but Stefan's fist still grazed his jaw.
Another quick moment later they collided, they're fists flashing as they tried to punch each other. And although they weren't crazy enough to do so in vampire speed, some excessive strength was definitely used.
"This is priceless," Kol sighed, smiling happily.
"Who invited these two idiots, anyway? Because it sure as hell wasn't me," Rebekah whined, seemingly finally fed up with Damon's behavior. She set her hands on her hips as she looked around like she was expecting the person responsible to step forward. No one did though.
She shrugged, annoyed, and stepped forward to separate the two Salvatore's, whose scrimmage looked more like a wrestling match, their arms wrapped around each other's necks as they tried to deliver blows in the close proximity.
Everybody, even Klaus and Kol, observed curiously as Rebekah tried to pull them apart, which turned out to be a lot more difficult than expected. Somehow the whole farce ended with Rebekah getting an elbow in the face, making her stagger back, staring at the brothers furiously.
"No, Rebekah, darling," Klaus cautioned her, sensing she might act rashly.
The Salvatore brothers had stopped brawling, their hands still entwined as they gazed at her, mouths dumbly ajar.
Rebekah took a step back towards them again and slapped Stefan, who had accidentally whacked her, leaving a red blotch on his cheek, and then, to everyone's surprise, she slapped Damon, too.
A split second later, Klaus was at her side, taking her arm. "Let's end this clownery now," he told her softly, guiding her away from the Salvatore's.
But, as always, that wasn't still the end of it, because when had Kol ever let a chance to cause some mayhem slip away? And when had Damon ever set aside a grudge?
So as soon as Klaus and Rebekah were a few steps away from them, the three remaining in the center of the circle were pulled together as if by some powerful magnet, so very eager to use their itching fists.
This time the Salvatore alliance had truly crumbled. They were all fighting each other; the two brothers not able to reunite even to fight a 'common enemy'. Damon seemed to be facing a dilemma whether to concentrate on punching Stefan or Kol. Stefan appeared to be so mad at his brother that he barely registered that Kol was even there and Kol was just taking full advantage of the Salvatore's inner turmoil.
Klaus turned around, rolling his eyes while his expression was saying something like 'not again'.
He and Rebekah both descended on the quarrelsome trio, but it was nearly impossible to say whether they were still trying to separate them or simply knock them out cold since snapping necks was obviously out of the question.
The perimeter of the fight was stretching gradually and with that the cluster of people started retreating farther away, screaming and shouting as they went.
For a long moment Elijah couldn't do more than simply gape at the bundle that consisted of his siblings and the Salvatore brothers kicking and tearing at each other like a pack of wild animals. Then he turned towards Elena whose eyes were fixed on the astonishing scene before them as well, and when she met his gaze, she looked as bewildered and unwitting as he felt, so for a short while they just stood like that, staring each other with the dumbest expressions on their faces.
This whole charade was so past the state of ridiculous that it was nearing tragic.
Elijah set the cooler at Elena's feet. "We'll be needing that later," he said, motioning towards the scrimmage. He gave her a reassuring look and dove into the mass of people, pressing past them to reach the center.
When he did, he encountered the Salvatore brothers standing with their backs towards him. At least that made it easy…
He grabbed both of their collars and yanked them back quite roughly. They were startled by his appearance, trying to swing their head enough to see who had taken such firm hold of their shirts.
Elijah felt his head throb; the noise around them had simply become so damn loud. He saw Kol's mouth moving, uttering words he couldn't hear. Klaus was whisking with his hands, explaining something, he presumed.
But none of their voices reached him, he felt overwhelmed and puzzled because he didn't understand what they wanted him to do.
And then, suddenly, without much thinking, Elijah brought his hands together, almost by accident smacking Damon and Stefan's heads against one another's with a sickening crack, which resulted in both brothers passing out instantly.
The racket stopped like an orchestra at its conductor's lightest gesture.
Then Elena was there, crouching down beside the Salvatore's, checking up on them. Elijah contemplated whether she was just keeping up the pretence or whether she was truly concerned, which would have been irrational since they were vampires and would recover from this easily, but at the same time very human.
"They're fine," she announced to the general audience. Some of them had the decency to leave, but most kept their places as if waiting for some new form of entertainment to be introduced.
"Let's take them inside," Klaus said tiredly, motioning the others to help him.
"Can't we just throw them in the river or something?" Kol groaned sullenly, earning a glare from almost everyone close enough to hear him.
So they gathered closer to drag the Salvatore brothers' unconscious bodies into the mansion. Rebekah insisted on carrying Damon, arguing that Kol would definitely try to stake him. Maybe she did feel some shred of warmth towards him, then.
Kol pouted derisively at her and picked up Stefan's feet. Elijah put his hands under the Salvatore's arms, lifting him up. He wanted to stick with Kol to launch a little bit of an investigation of his own. He knew that if he wanted to find out what had made them come to blows in the first place, this brother was the one to ask.
Klaus shook his head peevishly, moving to stand next to Rebekah to help her carry Damon.
As they walked towards the entrance, Elijah glanced back at Elena who had met up with Caroline and Jeremy. They were talking to each other quietly, but her eyes followed Stefan and Damon in turns, her face worried.
Elijah was fairly sure there was no reason to be concerned, though. The Salvatore's were safe, at least as long as Damon and Kol weren't set loose in the same room.
When he caught Elena's gaze, he swayed his head towards Rebekah's retreating back, Damon's feet in her hands. She got her meaning at once, picking up the cooler and starting towards the front door, too. Jeremy caught her half way there, relieving her from the container, and they walked on side-by-side.
Elijah figured the other trio would need the fresh blood more than them since he had recently fed, Stefan was back on the restraint wagon and Kol… well, Kol could have a drink to relieve his cravings.
After entering the mansion, Elijah and Kol maneuvered through the corridors, which was a lot easier with the majority of their houseguests still outside.
His youngest brother had suggested they'd take Stefan into Klaus's study since there was something they "desperately needed" in there. That made Elijah slightly anxious, but he indulged him.
When he first set his foot into the den, Elijah though he might actually choke. The room was reeking so strongly of marihuana that its smell hit him in the face like a bat.
There were a few stoners sitting on the couch, sending wisps of smoke towards the ceiling, and on the massive desk stood a big glass bong, grimy from extensive use, no doubt.
"Out," Kol commanded dismissively and two of the potheads mumbled something and exited the study, leaving one 'fallen comrade' sleeping in an armchair by the hearth.
They dumped Stefan's limp body on the couch with a soft thud.
"So what was that tiny incident all about?" Elijah asked, pacing lazily around the study as Kol searched something from the cabinets.
"Oh, the tussle outside?" he said absent-mindedly. "Just Damon being his caddish, dishonorable self. He's a sore loser who refused to acknowledge the terms of our wager; he deserved a lesson far more severe than the one he received."
Kol gave himself a satisfied nod as he pulled a bottle of champagne out of one of the cabinets. He turned around swiftly, presenting it to Elijah as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
"We didn't have the time to drink for our victory, so let us do it now."
For an instant Elijah felt thoroughly at loss, he'd totally forgotten about winning and losing in the chaos of everything. Now his eyes lit up and he sighed with relief. They had won! Why did it make him feel so ridiculously proud at the moment?
Kol produced a couple of old-fashioned champagne coupes, seemingly out of nowhere, opened the bottle with a loud pop and filled the glasses.
He handed one to Elijah and lifted the other up ceremoniously. "To the sweet taste of victory!" he bellowed merrily.
Elijah clinked his glass against his and took a long, thoughtful sip. "And what did we win exactly?" he inquired carefully.
"Hah! Of course, you disappeared so quickly I didn't even have the opportunity to tell you!" Kol laughed, draining his glass and refilling his and Elijah's again. "We won the Mystic Grill."
"Pardon?" He stared at him unbelievingly.
"We won the rights to the Mystic Grill. We have a new Salvatore-free hanging place now," he announced with pride, grinning brightly.
"Kol…" He felt some anger rising in him. "You know I couldn't care less about the Grill and you let me stew with that wager for the better part of the evening…?" He didn't even know if it was a real question or only a rhetorical one.
"I wanted to aim for something a bit more thrilling at first, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the Salvatore's to participate in a wager that would have required them to drop their Elena habit," he explained innocently. "They're so drab, real killjoys."
Kol really was the never-stopping thrill-seeker. Elijah would have suggested him some good book to read if he felt so deprived of entertainment, but he doubted his brother would listen.
"But it's all well, my Mystic Falls take-over plan is steadily in motion," Kol added nonchalantly.
"Your what?" Elijah blurted, spluttering champagne everywhere since he'd been in the middle of sipping his drink. He honestly was a far cry of his usual elegance tonight. Maybe tomorrow they'd all wake up with no memory of this strange evening?
"We have the Grill, I'm thinking of taking on the school next… That is if I can coax the Salvatore's to take part of another wager," Kol said casually, keeping his face serious so Elijah couldn't tell whether he meant it or whether it was just another one of his jokes. Probably the latter… or was that wishful thinking?
A light sound of coughing came from the couch and they turned around to see Stefan slowly waking up.
He lifted his head from the pillows, looking at them confusedly. When he realized he was alone with them and his brother was not in sight, his expression changed from cautious to alarmed.
"Don't look so frightened," Kol reproved. "I won't deny that I'd enjoy tearing out your brother's heart, but you haven't quite tested me enough to earn that 'honor'."
He pulled out a third glass, poured champagne into it and handed it to Stefan. "Have a toast for…" Kol hesitated, "…uh, still being alive, I guess."
"Whoopee," Stefan cheered with the grimmest of voice and downed the whole glass with one gulp, setting it aside. "But I think I need something slightly stronger to fully appreciate my continuing existence."
"Not a problem," Kol said optimistically, moving across the room to raid Klaus's alcohol cabinet – most likely one of the only places in the house that hadn't been plundered yet.
Elijah found himself laughing at nothing and at everything as his brother set an array of colorful bottles on the desk next to that smelly bong and swirled around to retrieve proper glasses.
Kol mixing weird drinks was the last memory Elijah had of that evening, so later, as he thought about it, he could only conclude that he had to have in the least tasted them. It's funny how blackouts work in sort of a retroactive way – you never can recall which one of these damn drinks was the last straw.
So the next chapter will be the last and it will take place in the next morning. Some loose ends still to tie up and then this story will be done. Hope you've enjoyed it this far, I've had quite a bit of fun myself.