Chapter 10: In Da Club
"Your nose is always in that stupid book…" Rebekah sighed as she fell over the side of the couch letting her long blonde hair swing over the edge. "It's quite boring." Elena looked up from the leather bound spell-book to acknowledge Rebekah's comment.
"I'm not here to entertain you." Elena rolled her eyes, "This book is going to help me find your brother, I know it." She'd spent multiple days hypnotized by the pages of these books searching for answers to the location of Klaus.
"You said that about the last stupid book Marcel slipped you from the original library." Rebekah smiled, "And you also said you'd go out once you finished reading that book. I'm tired of being in this house all the time hiding from the nightlife of New Orleans."
Elena slammed the book close, "One night, one break and I don't want to hear anymore complaining until I find your brother."
It was always happy hour down at La Pure Séduction. The exclusive club was literally on the worst cobble-stone road for stilettos but still, girls flocked like desperate pigeons to get pass the red velvet ropes. That night happened to be the annual "Slutty Costume" night- translation: Too much booze and the need to be carried through the roads equals regret and sinful activities. Still, she stood at the entrance in her Lady Luck Costume in honor of the impending Saint Patrick's Day. It was a mini-dress with puffy sleeves and a ruffled bottom and a green corset with four leaf clovers on it as well as the matching thigh-high white and green stockings. In total, with her hair in low pigtails she looked like she belonged in the club…but her mind was somewhere else.
Rebekah on the other hand dressed like a slutty vampire, or as she joked earlier "Katherine Pierce" but Elena could not speak ill of the dead to follow up that joke no matter how true it happened to be. Elena went to the bar to order the cheapest whiskey they had, compelling the bartender to keep it coming all night long. She glanced around the room seeing Rebekah on the phone with someone as she waited.
"Here you go." He said sweetly, Elena rolled her eyes as he tried to flirt with her. If he only knew the competition against him… She downed the shot turning over the glass, then another and another until Rebekah returned to her side.
"Started the party without me, I see." Rebekah laughed, "I think tonight we should rent a hotel room in the heart of New Orleans and get a stripper."
"That's completely random, why wouldn't we just bring a stripper back to the house?"
Rebekah giggled, "If they know we're completely loaded they'll expect a bigger tip. If we go to a hotel, they won't expect such a hefty tip!" Rebekah and Elena toasted one another before they took a shot together. "Oh!" Rebekah coughed, "That's bloody dreadful! Why are you drinking that?"
"When I was human and before I knew of any vampires and before my parents died my friends and I would go to these abandoned places and drink the cheapest things we could get our hands on… I don't know, drinking cheap is a real party- drinking expensive is a boring event."
"Hmm." Rebekah said, "You have a point. My wildest nights during the 1920's came from excessive consumption of cheap liquors." Rebekah's faced shifted to worry in half a second as she reached towards Elena's face. "Are you okay?"
Elena noticed her reflection from the glass behind the bar, her eyes were bright yellow and veins were crawling from her eyes to her cheeks- she could feel her fangs pushing through her gums. What caused this sudden reaction… or who? It was him. The intoxicating aroma that wafted through the bar and probably a mixture of the shots she was throwing back. She shook her head, returning back to her normal face as he pushed through the crowd to join the two. "Elena." He greeted her with a formal nod of his head.
She rolled her eyes, reaching over the bar to grab whatever she could put her hands on. She pulled up a full bottle of some type of white wine and with an equally formal nod she blended in with the crowd leaving the original siblings alone. "You're new." She heard a deep voice from behind her say, "And beautiful."
"Half the people in this bar are new, this is New Orleans." Elena said simply, "But I'll bite at your lousy pickup line because I plan on getting really drunk and making terrible mistakes." The guy liked her speech, he probably said his name and a little background information too but Elena wasn't interested in knowing his family history or his name. She was too busy watching Elijah's movements through the reflective objects in the area. She noticed the way he kept looking at her and how he tried to disguise his obvious interest in her actions.
The guy moved in closer as he placed his hand on her waist, "Do you want to get out of here?" He asked her with a smirk on his lips. He was attractive, she would give him that. Still, he wasn't her type at all. He was too focused on getting home to ask her what her name was or where she was from or if she was a native. She would have lied, she wouldn't have cared if he asked…but he didn't. Of course, a deep feeling started settling in Elena's stomach as she reminded herself she wasn't that type of girl. She didn't have sex with people she didn't care about at random because someone was making her feel unworthy. "Hmm?" The guy pestered her once more about leaving the bar, touching her wrist firmly.
She never saw Elijah move from the bar- but he was there grabbing the guys wrist with paranormal strength. "She doesn't want to go home with you." He compelled the guy, "Now leave." Once the guy disappeared in the darkness the two watched each other and soon moved closer as the music acted like ocean waves.
"I can take care of myself." She reminded him just to break the silence as they embraced on another on the dance floor.
Elijah's voice echoed in her ears above the melody of the song, "You were going to leave with him."
"I thought about it." She confirmed.
Elijah stopped moving, "Why would you do that?"
"Why does it matter? I can make my own choices. We aren't together and I don't know what game you're playing but it's getting old." Elijah took her hand and pulled her gently outside so they could get some privacy from Rebekah's nosey ears. "I've made it crystal clear what I want but I'm prepared to stop fighting you."
"You have to understand…It's not that I don't. Yes, God, Yes Elena I want you. How could I not? You and I are so similar that it's unbearable to even have a conversation with you sometimes… I've never met someone with a soul as pure as your own and I will probably never meet another like you but there are many factors when it comes to having a relationship."
Elena laughed, "It's funny because for the longest time I thought relationships were two people who love each other and wanted to be together but you, you have shown me reality! We can't be together, we can't even try because you're scared."
"I'm not scared."
"Yes you are" Elena said as she started naming off reasons why he was scared of being in a relationship with another doppelganger. Elijah threw his hands up in the air in a fit of passion.
"What if he takes you from me?" He yelled over Elena's reasoning, "What if we become involved, fall in love and we find my brother and he's not satisfied. He'll stick a dagger in my chest and chase you to the ends of the earth to keep you away from me."
"You're scared of Klaus's reaction?" Elena scoffed as she squinted her eyes, "I know I don't really let on how much power I have but you have to know that when it comes to a fight between me and Klaus…there's no way he could win."
Elijah said simply, "We can't." as if that were the end of conversation altogether and nothing she said would matter because he'd made up his mind. Elena moved closer with determination, pressing her forehead against his as he opened his mouth- holding his breath in resistance. "We can't." He repeated, but did not move- did not run.
"We can tonight." Elena said with an eerie calmness in her voice, her lips inching closer to his. "Tell me it's okay, Elijah."
"I think it's reasonable to rid ourselves of this immense tension." He said as he touched her cheeks, veins appearing once more around her eyes. "I'm going to kiss you." He told her before their lips touched in the most damning moment Elena or Elijah had ever been in. Sure, they'd kissed before that very moment but it wasn't like this one.
The streetlights didn't flicker as magic pulsed through Elena's body and the wall didn't crack when Elijah pushed Elena so passionately up against its ancient texture. Something animal came over the two as the two hastily grabbed at one another as if the hours, the sun and the moon were fighting a war against them. Elijah broke the kiss- ever so politely- and breathed heavily, "Where?"
"We can't go to my house… Rebekah…"
"And we can't go to my house because of Marcel and the others."
"French Quarter Inn?" Elena suggested as she stepped away from him, fixing her hair and her outfit. "I'll meet you there. Can I have your word that you'll meet me rather than skip town?" Elijah only kissed her softly as a confirmation.