After I left the Mikaelson mansion, I hid in my room for the rest of the weekend, not wanting to see anyone.

Late Sunday afternoon, I was in my room reading when I heard a knock on my opened bedroom door. I looked up expecting to see C and received quite a shock to see Klaus standing there instead.

"How did you get in?"

He smirked. "We both know I don't need an invitation, love," he said, repeating my words from yesterday.

I smiled, slightly, "I'm sorry."

"What could you possibly have to apologize for, Riley?"

"I should not have dropped that bombshell on you like that. It was a completely inappropriate situation."

"Rebekah is the one at fault, not you."

I didn't agree with him, but I could see the pointlessness in arguing. "What brings you by? Checking on me to see if I've had an emotional breakdown or something? Not yet." I tried to make light of the situation; I tried to ease some of the seriousness.

Klaus ignored my comments. "I came to seek a redo of the dinner I had planned to make for you."

"Ah yes, Klaus the master chef," I chuckled. "Thank you for the offer, but I don't think that is a good idea."

"Because of Rebekah? I'll make sure she's not around when you come over."

"No, not because of Rebekah. And I don't want you to banish her from her own home just because I will be there. That would be silly."

"It's nothing she wouldn't deserve."

"No. Please don't." I paused. "I just don't feel like going anywhere today."

"Perhaps another time, then." Klaus turned to leave.

"How about tomorrow?" I asked as I walked towards my bedroom doorway. Klaus turned around with a huge smirk on his face. "I am intrigued by the idea of you cooking," I said with a shrug.

Klaus chuckled. "You don't think I can?"

I shrugged again. "I honestly have no idea."

"Tomorrow it is." He smiled. "I'll pick you up from school."

"That's not necessary."

"I insist."

"Do you pick Rebekah up from school?"

"Sometimes, because she doesn't drive. But she can walk tomorrow."

"No, I can walk tomorrow."

"Riley, you are not walking from the school to my home."

"And I will not let you make Rebekah walk home after school. So I guess you'll have to pick up the both of us after school."

"All right I will. See you tomorrow, love."

As he walked away, I found myself wondering if that really just happened.

Did I just allow myself to have a one-day carpool from school to the Mikaelson mansion with Klaus and Rebekah?

C is so going to freak out if she finds out about this.

The drive to Klaus's home from the high school was entertainingly awkward, to say the least. Klaus wouldn't speak to Rebekah except to tell her to sit in the back so I could sit up front and Rebekah was too afraid or embarrassed to look at me, let alone argue over the seating arrangement.

Once we arrived at the mansion, Klaus and I made our way towards the front door, but Rebekah spoke. "Riley, may I speak with you for a moment?"

I stopped walking and turned around. Klaus stayed right beside me.

"I would have said something today at school, but I knew that if I apologized to you without Nik present he would never believe it. Even if you told him, he would probably think you were just being kinder to me than I deserve."

The edges of Klaus's mouth turned up in a tiny smirk, but he said nothing. Rebekah shot him a knowing look and continued. "Riley, I apologize for my behaviour and my attitude the last time you were here. It was terribly rude of me and I'm glad to see I have not kept you from returning."

I smiled at her. "Thank you, Rebekah."

She smiled back at me before walking past us into the house. Klaus and I followed her through the front door. I didn't know where to go from there; I had only seen the entrance and the front living room. Klaus seemed to notice my lack of direction.

"The kitchen is this way," he said and I followed him into a large and immaculate kitchen. Should I expect anything less?

I noticed some brown paper shopping bags on the counter; I peeked inside. "What are you making?"

"Chicken alfredo," he replied as he took the chicken from the fridge.

"Seriously?"

"Do you have a problem with chicken alfredo?"

"No, it's one of my favourites. How did you know?"

"Lucky guess?" I crossed my arms and gave him a look that clearly said 'I don't believe that.'

"All right, all right," he said, raising his hand, palms out, in defence. "I may have noticed that you ordered it a few times at the Grill."

I was silent for a few moments, thinking. "I don't know whether to be flattered or creeped out by that comment."

"Oh please, choose flattery."

"Well, since you said 'please.' "

We laughed.

Then next day at school, I walked into the cafeteria and saw someone sitting at what had become my usual table. Odd; I usually sit here alone — or occasionally with Jeremy. It wasn't until I got closer that I recognized who it was: "Rebekah." I said in greeting.

"Hello Riley. Mind if I sit here today?"

"No, it's fine." I was a little weirded out; Rebekah and I have never interacted at school before. And until this past weekend, I had never even spoken with her. But I sat down anyway.

"I wanted to tell you the real reason I was so hostile towards you. I couldn't mention this in front of Nik; he would never let me get the idea out." I waited for her to continue. "I don't trust the people of this town. I certainly don't trust your cousin or any of her friends. And I was quick to lump you into that bunch. None of them ever gave Nik a chance. Not once. He fancied your cousin, but she always turned him down. She even used his feelings for him as a distraction to hurt me and our other brothers. And then I see him getting close to you, someone who lives with Caroline and I just thought…" she trailed off.

"That I was out to hurt him as well."

"I'm sorry, Riley. I know I shouldn't presume you will do something before you do it, but I did anyway. After Caroline turned down his advances, I was afraid Nik would shut down, or turn further in on himself. He didn't, but I'm afraid what would happen if someone else were to get close to him and then hurt him."

"Are you wanting me to stop spending time with your brother?"

"No. On the contrary, actually. I want you to spend more time with him. My brother can be… difficult to understand. But he does care for you. I have not seen Nik look at anyone the way he looks at you. Not in all of our thousand or so years. But he does not deal well with his emotions, so it is sometimes hard to see them in him. Riley, I'm just asking you to give him that chance that no one else in this stupid town gave him."

"Rebekah, you don't have to ask that of me."

"I know. I can see that you are. And I'm grateful for that."

We both smiled at each other, and then sat in silence until I remembered something she said. "Really? No one gave him the chance to be something other than the evil Original?"

"No."

"That's probably because he came to town with the sole intention of killing Elena."

"Probably." She paused for a moment. "Some people gave me a chance... for a while."

"Until you killed Elena." I said, simply.

"You're not upset with me about that?"

I shrugged. "It was before my time here. I'm trying not to judge people based on things that happened before I arrived. I want to form my own opinions about everyone." I paused. "Besides, based on what C has told me, you were either still in shock from losing your brother or already in grief; either emotion does not hold you responsible for your actions, in my opinion."