Disclaimer: I do not own the vampire Diaries.
A/N: Hot off the press, so I hope there aren't many mistakes. I wanted to get this to you guys ASAP! Also, WARNING. If you don't like abusive references, I'd like to warn you about this chapter. It gets back into AJ's past a little.
Ten
High and blood-curling, her scream cut through the silence of the warehouse like a butcher knife through flesh, ending abruptly as she panted for air. Anxiety pressed hard onto her chest, like a hundred pound weight was trying to crush her. Her heart throbbed as it charged at an unbelievable rate in her chest, and a near consuming surge of fear shot through her, weakening her knees.
His features were flawless. Those deep green eyes shining like gems, alit with a dark tenor she'd once known so well, years ago. Framed with heavy, dark lashes, they grew even more menacing. They looked her up and down hungrily; the sinister hunger mixed with fury that always came before the first blow, the first bruise or cut. Under the bright fluorescence illuminating the warehouse, his rich brown hair gleamed, its shine fresh and glossy. His lips were curled into a perturbing smirk, sending shudders through her body. It was so different than the last time she'd seen him; his body had been twisted, his eyes glazed with death, his face white.
No, she thought wretchedly, shrinking back until she felt the cold surface of the SUV press into her back. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't be here. Lucas—her abusive ex-boyfriend, returned to Mystic Falls and murdered by Klaus. Lucas was dead.
"It's odd, really," Lucas began without preamble. With amusement, he encroached upon the space she'd put between them. He lifted a hand to brush against the side of her face; she bit her lip as she trembled, drawing blood. The salty crimson trickled into her mouth, and she swallowed hard. "You always look so lovely when you're scared. The walls are down, and I can see you, the real you."
AJ's breath hitched in her throat, and she fought back a whimper. She peered over his shoulder to find Klaus, and made a pained noise. He wasn't where he'd been last—he'd vanished from sight.
"Oh, I wouldn't look for the hybrid to help you," Lucas noted blithely. He grinned. "I'm afraid something else has caught his attention."
Pressing harder into the truck, AJ set her quivering jaw. She let out a shaky breath, gathering her bearings as she met Lucas's eyes steadily. "How is this possible? You were killed—I saw your body." She stumbled over her words, cringing at herself.
His grin turned lopsided—the crooked smile that used to send flutters through her stomach. She grimaced as he spoke. "Let's just say a friend of yours—Bonnie, I believe—opened a door. A door she can't shut." Lucas was now only inches away from her. He studied her skin, running a finger over its smoothness. "But that's not what's important right now, is it?"
"You tell me," she said in a wavering voice. It was one thing that he was a ghost—it was a complete other thing that he could touch her. Come on, AJ, she thought to herself, feeling silly, it's not real. You don't fear. Especially not him. "You obviously came here for a reason. Just wait until Klaus gets back—"
Lucas cackled with laughter, cocking an eyebrow. "So you're having someone else step into your fights, now? Where's that gall I loved, huh? What happened to the AJ that could take a hit or two?"
"She learned that love wasn't abuse," she spat, feeling the flames of a long-dead fire begin to flicker to life once more in her chest, a loathing, defiantness. "And trust me, no one's stepping into any fight for me. I can take care of myself."
He grew more amused, peering down at her with intrigue. "There's that fire of yours." He leaned down to her, brushing his mouth against her ear. "I want to let you in on a little secret, A. You're the reason I'm here, you know. If it weren't for you—for the love we share—I wouldn't be able to cross the threshold of the door. You brought me back."
Warm breath tickled her skin. She dug her fingernails into her palms, refusing to give him whatever reaction he hoped to achieve. "The only love we share is the delusion you've created in your mind. So you can go, now, because I hate you, Lucas. I know you weren't that person—the person I thought you were before you died. No, you're a sick monster. A sick, heartless monster." She ended with passionate fury, and her chest rose and fell with her anger. Ghost or whatever, she didn't care. He had no right to do this to her. No right.
It only took a moment for him to tap into his rage and react. Her body was pinned against the truck in an instant, his hands on her hips, pressing into her skin painfully. His eyes blazed with fire. "You do not speak to me like that. You remember the rules, A. You respect me."
AJ laughed now, even through her slight quavering. She met his eyes defiantly and enunciated, "I respect no one. I don't follow the rules, Lucas. Whatever you're hoping to get here—it's useless. You're dead. You hardly even exist. You can't hurt me."
His fingers pressed harder into her skin, gouging her with his too-corporeal fingernails. "You're ignorant," he spat, his voice venomous. "Do you really think I can't hurt you? Want to test it out?" He raised an eyebrow for a brief moment before swiftly pulling her away from the truck and throwing her into a mess of cardboard boxes on his far left. His strength was shocking, and she found herself flying through the air until she hit the mass of boxes, scraping her arm and bruising her face as she tumbled to the floor. An instant later, he was picking her up by her hair, effortlessly tossing her face first into the cement wall. She tried catching herself with outstretched arms only to meet it with a shocking force; a splitting surge of pain went through her wrist, and stunned, she fell back to the ground once more. Lucas fumed with anger as he stood over her. "Do you still think I can't hurt you? Want me to show you some more tricks?" His voice rose until he was shouting at her, clenching his fists.
Cradling her wrist against her chest tenderly, AJ peered up at him; blood trickled from her nose and a shallow gash on the side of her face. Where he'd pulled her hair, her head ached. Her teeth ground painfully together as a confluence of memories flooded into her mind. Lucas finding out about his father's death, and beat her until she was bloody and bruised and broken on the floor, like she was nothing but some punching bag to him. Weeks later, he'd built up so much anger again that he took a bat to her ribcage, and then a while after that, things grew even worse. He'd loved her once, she knew. She'd loved him as well. He'd been everything to her. But then he'd decided to break her, and he never stopped. She was sick and tired of people like him—and vampires—being unchangeable. She was disgusted at herself at how weak she'd grown, just over the past few months. Her hopes had been shattered, but that didn't mean her strength had to go with it. If anything, she found she was stronger.
"Why are you doing this?" She demanded, her voice a sharp cut through the silence. "If you get to come back, why come back and do this?"
Lucas folded down into a crouch, his arms hanging over his knees almost carelessly. In his eyes, she could see the rage, the bent up anger facsimile to the way he looked at her years ago. There was something underneath the rage, slowly deteriorating it, breaking it apart until it was no more. "I didn't come here to hurt you," he said, sounding resigned and tired. His face tightened with regret as he looked her over, and he sighed. "I came here to warn you."
"No," she said through clenched teeth. "No—you don't get to do that. Not anymore. You can't hurt me one second and try to make up for it the next. I'm not letting you get away with that again. I'm not letting anyone do that."
His eyes narrowed, but he kept his distance. "Today, you're just going to have to deal with it."
"I won't!" she shouted angrily, through the pain throbbing all over her body. "I don't want to deal with it anymore!"
Lucas stood, folding his arms over his chest and cursing. "There isn't time to screw around," he said peevishly. "I didn't mean to hurt you, so I apologize. It's just—the last time I saw you, I wasn't me. That hybrid—he had me controlled like a puppet, making me say things, or do things. I'm not perfect, A. I know that." He looked down at her sadly, and her chest only tightened with anger. "I'm not that person he made me out to be. But I'm not this person anymore either. I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just—you do get that you're the reason I'm dead, don't you?"
AJ had prepared a retort, only now she was struck speechless. Blinking up at Lucas, now unconcerned about her injured wrist or the sting in her cheek, she pondered his words. Was she to blame for his untimely death? Was it really her fault? Klaus had killed him, but she had been the reason for it, the cause. And Klaus wouldn't have even known nor cared who Lucas was, were it not for her ties to him. Death by association with her had been the only sense in the senseless act. Could that really be her fault, though?
"I don't think that's fair," she said finally. "It's not like I wished for you to die, Lucas. Besides, you used to hit me. You were abusive. You never would have been brought in to this mess if it weren't for your own actions."
Lucas seethed. "No, I never would have been brought into this mess if you hadn't befriended vampires of all creatures! How could you be so stupid? Do you really think being around them is better than who I used to be? It's worse! They could kill you, A, and they will! They'll be the death of you, just like they were for me. Someone needs to talk some sense into you before that happens."
Snorting, AJ pushed herself to her wobbly feet, ignoring the pain shooting through her arm. She braced her good hand against the wall. "And you think you can talk some sense into me? Do you really think you have any right to talk to me at all?"
He took a short step forward, getting in her face as a muscle in his jaw bulged. "I have every right to talk to you. Besides, I have to warn you. Didn't you hear that, or did you choose to ignore it, as you do with anything that isn't about other people? You've always lived on the brink of life, A. Now is the time to step back and take care of yourself."
Laughter escaped her lips, and she found that she was taken over by it. "I've always lived on the brink of life, have I? Gee, Lucas, did you ever wonder why? Did you ever stop to think that maybe you did this to me?" She grew more serious. "Maybe I should be thanking you. After all, fearlessness has its uses."
"You can tell yourself you're fearless all you like," he said, his tone quieter. "You were scared when you saw me, weren't you? That was real fear. And I have stopped to wonder why you are this way, A, and I get it. You feel alienated—and, yeah, I suppose you have every reason to, since there isn't another Warrior living. You don't feel like you belong with the rest of the human population, do you? You feel different, inhuman, out of place, and that's perfectly understandable. I think that's why you act the way you do. I think—"
"I think you're so dense, you can't even see things straight even after you've died," she countered bitterly. "That's sad. A ghost with no self-awareness? That's simply tragic."
Lucas scoffed, shaking his head. "You even deflect everything, still. Haven't you changed, AJ? Haven't you realized that you don't need to be tough all the time? Word was that you found people you could trust, that you were working on it. That you didn't have these walls up still. I guess I heard wrong." His voice had grown soft and saddened; not as if he pitied her, but as if her were disappointed. .
AJ stared at him intensely, but her thoughts were teeming. It was true that she weaved in and out of the walls she'd erected so long ago to keep other people at a distance. Things changed, and she changed with them, adapting in the only way she knew how to. There was Elijah first, and now, admittedly, there's something with Klaus. It brought her walls down, alleviated them so that she no longer was exhausted at pushing them away, at hiding who she was and what she felt. But at her very core, she was still the same. There were some things she still never shared with either of them. There were things she would never tell them, no matter what. She was still fearless, yet now so attentive of fear. Bravery had never left her, but she'd let things go without speaking her mind, without stopping it in the way she should have, or could have; the way she knew would be right in her heart. Her hand flitted up to Klaus's necklace—the sun pendant that was so cool on the surface, emanating a calmness into her body. She knew what made these strange changes within her. She knew that the fusing of her good and dark side had been a part of that, too. But what did that mean, exactly? Who did that make her? Were these changes for better or worse?
Closing her hand over the pendant, AJ refocused on Lucas, composed and calm. "Why are you here?" Without inflection, her voice sounded empty, morose.
Lucas straightened up immediately, looking relieved. He sighed lightly. "Like I've been telling you, I have a message—a warning. I've heard whispers, here and there, about what's coming for you. I need to tell you that—"he cut himself short as his eyes widened. He was looking behind her at something, and his mouth dropped open, as if to protest. A second later, a blur crossed AJ's vision. She blinked, finding Klaus holding Lucas up to the cement wall by his throat, his fingers pressing deeply into Lucas's skin. Klaus was fuming, his eyes ablaze with fury, and his body tense. Lucas simply looked annoyed.
"You do realize that I'm a ghost," he pointed out frankly. "I could just manifest somewhere else in the room."
Klaus squeezed Lucas's throat, choking him. His eyes narrowed, teeth clenched. "You," he spat lividly. "It is you that plays these games. You convinced the girl I drank earlier to come back, did you? Nice trick. I have better ones, though." Klaus raised his hand to delve into Lucas's chest, but Lucas disappeared in a flash. Whipping around, Klaus growled.
Lucas reappeared several paces away from him, looking at AJ for help. "AJ," he said, a waver of panic inflecting his pitch. "I need to tell you—"
"You need to stay the bloody hell away from her," Klaus said, stalking towards him. He was on Lucas in another second, looking like a lion cornering its prey. Lucas disappeared a second time, appearing on the other side of the room. Klaus swore. "I hate ghosts," he muttered, eyes piercing Lucas once more. "They're cowards."
"If you'd just listen to me—"
"I think I gave you too easy of a death, back in Mystic Falls," Klaus said venomously. "I should have torn you limb from limb, let you watch as you bled—"
Galvanized, AJ stumbled toward Klaus. "Klaus!" she chastised. "Just let him talk for a second."
Both men looked at AJ, surprised. Klaus was livid. "Why should I allow him a thing like that? I'll show him what it's like to die twice. I find that to be much more ideal."
"Klaus," she implored. "He says he's heard about what's coming for me. The spirits. At least hear him out, for that."
Lucas shot her a dirty look. "What are you implying he can do after that?"
"Please Klaus," AJ slowly reached him, and was surprised to find he was grasping her arm, looking at her with concern. It was as if her blatant injuries were now dawning on him.
"What's happened to you?" he demanded. "It looks as if someone—"he stopped, his eyes narrowing. Turning back to Lucas, he bared his fangs. Just as he was about to do God-knows-what, AJ tugged on his arm, holding him back.
"It doesn't matter what he did," she said quietly, not meeting his intense gaze. "We need to know what he knows."
"I don't think you understand," Klaus said, a biting undercurrent in his tone. "The boy you knew in Mystic Falls was not real. Lucas did not change. This is the same boy who hurt you, AJ. Who kicked you bloody, or beat you until you were unconscious." He caught her look of surprise. "Oh, trust me, I know all of his dirty little secrets. Every last one of them."
AJ stuttered, caught off guard. "No—you couldn't. If you did—"
"Why do you think I killed him, love?" Klaus's austere expression softened as he looked at her. The near-pity in his gaze made her stomach churn. "He nearly killed you," he spat, the anger returning immediately. "I should have made his death an everlasting torment. In fact, I shouldn't have killed him. Feeding him my blood would have fixed him up for another round of torture, easy."
Casting her gaze off to Lucas, she frowned. The sides of her lips twitched as she held back any appearance of tears. "It's terrible to make someone suffer through death, Klaus. You know that."
"And just what would you call what he did to you, that night on your birthday?"
Her eyes went back to Klaus, widening. So he truly did know. He knew what even Elijah didn't about the worst of all things; not just the blood and bruises and scrapes. The memory didn't have to come back to her; it'd been on the edge of her mind since Lucas appeared, balancing precariously like a feather urged forward by shifting wind. They'd just been celebrating her sixteenth birthday, with friends and family, so of course Lucas had been there. She'd adored him, forgiven him for hitting her just three nights before. He'd said he was sorry. He didn't mean to. But when he asked her for a moment of privacy together, she hadn't anticipated his anger with her. She definitely hadn't anticipated a knife. What an unforgettable birthday he'd made that. She'd left, not long after, for Mystic Falls.
"That was years ago," she whispered; she could barely bring herself from her reverie, from the pain of betrayal and the serrated edge of the knife.
Klaus set his jaw. "It doesn't matter how long ago it was. It was wrong. I tried making it right, but now I'll have to try again."
Lucas made a noise, a plaintive, pained noise. However, he didn't move from his place or speak. He seemed frozen by some sort of emotion.
"Klaus," she pleaded, transfixed to his deep blue eyes. "He's already dead. You can't really hurt him anymore. Just… allow me one thing."
He said nothing, but stared at her expectantly with a darkness concealed beneath his angular features.
AJ turned to Lucas, feeling her chest tighten. A hand went to her stomach, on the right side, where she still had a shiny scar. Proof of what a tragic love he'd had for her. Pulling her shoulders back, she canted her head. "Tell us what you know." She could feel Klaus go unnervingly rigid beside her, but ignored it. "What's coming after me?"
Lucas's Adams apple bobbed at his throat. It almost seemed that he'd disappear again, until he decidedly spoke. "More like who. I've heard bits and pieces of things—really, it's hard to make everything out since I rarely come across anyone. But when I have, they seem to know exactly what's going on, though not why. Which, I suppose, is probably important. I just haven't heard that part yet. Anyway, I mostly know that the spirits are strong—really strong. If it weren't for how powerful that necklace of yours is, you'd already be possessed, doing God-knows-what. But I heard that they're looking for a way around it. A loophole, I guess. Apparently, they're getting close. That's why, when the door was opened, I wanted to come to you. I wanted to warn you. You're not safe, AJ. Not for long."
Blinking at him, AJ shook her head. "I don't get it. The Lemurė—they're trying to find a way around this protection amulet? Is that possible?" She turned to Klaus.
His lips were pressed tightly together, turning a bloodless white. "You're amulet is the strongest and oldest of its kind. I highly doubt any spirit can find a way around it, no matter what knowledge they may possess or seek."
Lucas's eyes narrowed. "Really? What about the whole, 'This pertains to your safety," he mimicked Klaus's accent, "'I will not dismiss anything, however big or small, that may affect your well-being.' What about that? Does her well-being not concern you anymore? Are you really that confident in yourself? Think about how you'd feel if I'm right."
"How do you know about that?" AJ demanded. Her face whitened, and her chest fluttered.
Rolling his eyes, Lucas said, "I've got more than enough time on my hands. I've watched you." His challenging eyes flicked back to Klaus. "I really think you should take this more seriously, if you're actually going to keep her safe."
It took less than a second for Klaus to move directly in front of Lucas. Though he held back from striking the ghost, he made it very clear that he wanted to. "The Original Witch herself made that amulet. There is no loophole. Besides, I will be by her side at all times. Unlike you, I will let no harm come to her. Did you care about her well-being, when you were wedging a knife into her stomach? Did you care when you beat her bloody and senseless? What about that time—"
"Stop!" AJ cried, pushing the two men apart. She shot Klaus a reproachful look. "Stop it. I don't want to hear about that, Klaus. I can't." She frowned at Lucas. "Do you really think that they could find a way around it? Does it really sound like a possibility?"
"Yes," Lucas said with a wavering confidence. "It does. They seem bent on obtaining… your body. From what I've heard, you're the only person on this planet they can use. Even the doppelganger—"
"Don't," AJ said plaintively, giving him her darkest look. "I don't want to hear about that, either. It's too painful." A nervous feeling blossomed in her chest along with a baffling sense of guilt, and she didn't dare look at Klaus. Did he buy her words, her act? Did she sound anguished, or did she not play it up enough? Lucas nearly brought up Elena, about how she was alive, and not dead like Klaus thought. That was the one thing she'd lied to him about, and would still lie to him about, no matter what. Elena was her best friend. She'd give anything to ensure Elena's safety. Swallowing hard, she tried her best to look mournful. But she could feel Klaus's gaze piercing her. "I already know they need a powerful supernatural being for their revenge-plot thing. That's me, and only me. Is there anything else you know?"
Lucas's face tightens with reluctance. A sad sentiment softens his gem-green eyes. "There is one more thing…"
Shifting on her feet, she felt a dreadful feeling rest on her shoulders like ten-pound weights. "What? What is it?"
"When I met you—I didn't know—I mean, there was no way I could have known—its just—"
"Complete sentences," AJ interjected flatly.
Lucas cleared his throat, and nodded. "I'm sorry. It's just, well you've only just learned about your parents, that you're Alexandra Jaeger, not AJ Echo. I know this shouldn't come from me."
"Lucas," she enunciated his name with a twinge of menace. "Tell me what it is now, or I'll lose my patience with you. What shouldn't come from you?"
He sighed deeply, averting his eyes to his shoes. The same shoes he died in. She pushed away that thought. "AJ, it's your parents."
"Robert and Laura? What about them?"
He shook his head in consternation. "Your real parents. The biological ones. I don't know how to tell you this, but—you can't find them."
Eyebrows pulled together in confusion, she blinked at him again. "What are you talking about? I mean, I probably should've taken the opportunity to use Gloria's laptop to search for them, but something didn't feel right. It's not like I'm going to keep putting it off though. Just until things settle, until I feel like I—"
"AJ," he implored sadly. "Please, stop. It'll be easier if you just let me say it. You know how I said that I heard about all these things? About the spirits and what they're doing?"
Slowly, she nodded. She wasn't sure how it was possible, but it seemed that Klaus was even tenser beside her.
Lucas continued quietly. "I didn't hear them from just anyone—I mean, I've been pretty much alone, watching over you. But I'm not the only one watching over you."
A terribly cold shiver went up her spine. "What are you talking about? Who else is… watching over me?" Even as she spoke, the pieces were clicking together inside her head. Her eyesight faded to black on the edges as she took deep breaths, trying to fight it. She could feel Klaus's hands around her waist, holding her up and close to him. Still, she managed to meet Lucas's eyes as tears pricked in her own.
"Your parents, A." The words were so faint that she'd barely heard him speak. "You're parents—they've always been with you. Making sure you were safe."
AJ felt a deep, serrated pain tear through her chest, and she immediately knew it was what a broken heart felt like. A sob escaped her lips before she could help it, and she gave in to her weak muscles, wanting to simply fall to the floor. Klaus held her close, but she barely registered it. All she could think of was her parents—her true, biological parents who she'd planned to search for were already gone. It was too late. They were dead. A sudden, shocking rage at Elijah erupted in her, and she quickly quelled it, lulled back into the empty, lost, and pained awareness of self. As Klaus held her, he stared intensely at Lucas.
"Leave," he growled, scowling at the boy.
Lucas shook his head, his sad eyes on AJ. "Not yet. She wouldn't want me to leave yet."
Klaus nearly scoffed. "She didn't want you here in the first place."
"No," Lucas reasoned. "She doesn't know how yet. She'll want to. When she absorbs it, she'll want to."
"He's right," AJ said, her voice gravelly. She cleared her throat, collected her bearings, and put on her brave face. Wiping away escaped tears, she found her strength. She met Lucas's eyes without hesitance. "How did it happen? Why—why aren't they here, now?"
"The things coming after you," he answered quietly. "They… well, they did it."
"They killed my parents?" She felt as if a bolt of electricity hit her, vaporizing any lasting attempts to look unfazed, unaffected.
Lucas's frown was deep. "Yes. They didn't really tell me much—just that. And… well, they tried coming here, for you, to warn you themselves. They didn't want me to. But something prevented them—they couldn't cross the threshold. So they wanted me to."
Her thoughts were teeming, but she forced herself to focus. "What could have prevented them? I mean, why couldn't they come?"
Lucas opened his mouth in reply, but suddenly he flickered, like a candle might. When he did, repeatedly, AJ could see right through him, could see the back of the truck he stood in front of.
"Lucas?"
He shook his head, eyes wide. "No, no, no!" He cried, looking around as if he could see things they couldn't. His panicked eyes found AJ's. "AJ, I still need to tell you—"And just like a candle, he flickered until he was gone.
AJ felt frozen, staring at the spot he'd only just occupied when she finally acknowledged Klaus's firm grip on her. She looked up at him, baffled and upset. "What just happened? Where'd he go?"
Klaus shook his head, tearing his gaze away from the empty void. "You should sit. And you need to drink some of my blood—you're injured." He tried leading her over to an empty chair, but she wrenched herself from his grasp, spinning on him.
"Did you know, Klaus?" Her arms were folded over her chest, and her eyes were guarded.
"Did I know what?"
"About my parents—did you know they were dead? Did you tell me about them just so I'd eventually find out they were killed?" She could hear the accusation in her own voice, the blatant distrust, but held his gaze. There was only so much she could handle right now, and Klaus lying to her was not one of them.
Klaus almost looked taken aback. It was quickly covered up by a scowl. "Why would I do that? Do you really think I would? I'm as surprised as you are about this."
"That's funny," she said, clenching her fists to keep her anger from getting the better of her. She tried being calm, but it had a twinge of indignation to it. "Because you tried to get Lucas to leave, you didn't take the whole thing serious in the first place. I'm just trying to get things straight."
He was still for several minutes, watching her with indifferent eyes. AJ felt a nervous squirm in her stomach, but kept her head up.
"Why didn't you let him say anything about the doppelganger?" Klaus asked suddenly. "Elena? Pardon me for wondering, but it rather seemed that you were almost afraid. I'd like to get things straight as well."
AJ could hear her heart pounding in her ears, and she looked away from him. Settling into a chair, she shook her head, abashed. "I'm sorry," she said, resigned. "I just—after thinking they were alive, that I could maybe meet them, I just don't feel right anymore. I feel like everything's wrong."
"What's wrong?" It was Rebekah's distinctive voice. The Original slowly strolled into the room, making AJ cringe. She looked down at her hands, putting in a studious effort to block everything out. "Well, what is it?" Rebekah pressed, passing by Klaus with curious eyes. She looked at AJ. "Did my brother hurt your feelings, AJ? He can be capricious, but he always figures out what he wants again. You shouldn't worry."
AJ clenched her teeth, her efforts wasted.
"I thought I told you to go away, Rebekah," Klaus groaned.
She raised a presiding eyebrow. "Yes, well, that was when Stefan was away, too. Now that he's returned, I see no need to keep away. Besides, you should go check on Gloria. I don't want to keep waiting, and maybe she's finished." She turned, then, and headed in the direction of the caskets.
Klaus looked extremely peeved, but seemed to consider her suggestion. "AJ," he said. "Don't leave the warehouse. As long as my sister's around, you'll be safe. I'll only be a moment." With that, he vanished from sight.
Curious, AJ buried her feelings deep and stood to follow Rebekah. She couldn't find it in her to dwell on what just happened without Klaus, so she decided it could wait until later. A strange emotion now welled up in her stomach, and she was certain it had something to do with Stefan. Where'd he go for so long?
She held back as Rebekah made her attempt to be flirtatious, hiding behind some metal carts. It wasn't that she wanted to spy on them, but she was certain something was off. If Stefan had her back, which she was almost certain he did, then she had his.
Stefan was just about to open one of the coffins when Rebekah said, "You're back," and gave him a dazzling smile. "Nik went to check on the witch."
Stefan straightened up immediately, looking surprised.
"Dreary, isn't it?" Rebekah continued, walking closer to him. "The family cargo."
He pressed his lips together, scanning his eyes over the coffins. "Why don't you undagger them?"
"Because he would hunt me down and kill me," Rebekah said simply, but there was a tinge of sadness in her voice. "He's a vindictive little bastard, my brother."
"But you still care about him," Stefan pointed out lightly. "Why?"
Rebekah sighed. "Well, I hated him for a long time. It was exhausting." She walked around him and sat on one of the smooth cases, crossing her legs.
Stefan joined her. "You know," he said. "When I met you two, you were both on the run." AJ's eyebrows rose and she froze in place. They were on the run? Klaus was on the run? From what?
Rebekah gave him a small, guarded smile. "Also exhausting."
Although he smiled back, Stefan seemed to hesitate before asking, "Who were you running from?"
AJ held her breath, praying dearly that Klaus wouldn't come back. Not now.
"What do you mean?" Rebekah asked, diverting the question.
"The last night I saw you," Stefan clarified, "there was a man looking for you. You both seemed afraid. I just… I wouldn't think Klaus would be afraid of anybody."
Rebekah looked uneasy. "No one in this world is truly fearless, Stefan. Not even Nicklaus."
"Then who was that man?"
Rebekah looked away from him, and then stood abruptly. "I can't. Please, if Nik knew we were talking about this, he'd flip."
Stefan put a reassuring hand on her arm, standing with her. "No, no, I'm sorry," he said gently. "Just forget I asked."
AJ's stomach churned as she saw how close they were, only a few inches away from each other. What was Stefan doing?
"Nik told me about the girl you loved," Rebekah said quietly. "The one that died. He also told me that you're only with him because he saved your brother."
Stefan pressed his lips together, reluctant. "That's true."
She smiled at him. "I think he secretly admires that about you. The way you'd sacrifice anything for family. Don't tell him I told you that," she whispered, getting him to smile back.
"You're secret is safe with me," he said. AJ could hear the flirting, recognized it from hearing him talk to Elena. It felt like bees were swarming in her head; something wasn't right. Rebekah wasn't right.
Stefan moved to leave, but Rebekah pulled him back to her, kissing him. AJ looked away, feeling utterly embarrassed that she was curious enough to watch this. But she'd heard valuable information, though they left many things unanswered. Who had Klaus been running from? Is he still running from that person?
She could hear Rebekah speak again, and nearly pitied the vampire.
"Do you think you'll ever love anyone like you loved that girl?" she asked softly.
There was a pause. "One day, maybe," Stefan said.
AJ moved to leave them, but then she froze as fear crept over her. She finally figured out why Stefan was doing this—he was playing Rebekah, of course—but, apparently, not well enough.
"I can always tell when you're lying, Stefan," Rebekah said icily.
"What?" Stefan began, perplexed.
"Don't bother," Rebekah removed herself from him. "Your kiss already gave you away."
AJ flinched, then, when her eyes landed on Klaus, walking rapidly towards her. "Gloria's gone. She's cleared out. We need to find a new witch immediately." He'd walked up to AJ, and looked over at Stefan and Rebekah, who were now turned towards her. Stopping, he became suspicious. "What's going on?"
"Something's wrong," Rebekah said, a grave look on her face. "He was asking about Mikael. And your little Warrior was a bit too curious to hear about it, too."
AJ's eyes widened. Mikael? The person they'd been running from was Mikael, their father? She could feel Klaus's piercing gaze on her until it moved to Stefan. He was just as uneasy as AJ.
"He's not with us, Nik," Rebekah said. "I can sense it. And I don't think she is either."
"She's wrong," Stefan insisted. "Klaus—"
Within a second, Klaus launched himself at Stefan. AJ's hands flew over her mouth as she heard the definite crack of a neck snapping, and watched as Stefan's body slumped to the ground. She backed away, her fight or flight instincts kicking in. In a second, Rebekah had her shoved against a wall.
"Don't," Klaus said through clenched teeth, standing before Rebekah before the vampire could sink her fangs into AJ's flesh. "Release her."
Rebekah's eyes narrowed, but she retracted her fangs and backed away. "She's been lying to us, Nik. There's no use in keeping her around anymore."
"Rebekah. Load up the truck. Put Stefan in it," Klaus directed. His eyes pierced AJ. "I will deal with her."
AJ pressed her back harder into the cement, as if somehow it'd disappear and she could get away. The injured wrist that he'd planned to heal ached, and the gash on her cheek stung terribly. His anger emanated off him in waves, and imbued her with certain fear. This wasn't the Klaus she'd grown used to. No, he'd disappeared the moment he'd learned of her treachery. Who was it, then, that stood before her?
"Klaus—"she began.
"Quiet," he snapped. His blue eyes seemed to blaze, scorching her. "It's going to be a long ride. Plenty of time for a chat."
She shivered. He didn't have to say anymore. She knew she was doomed.
A lot happened in this chapter! What did you think? (-: