Hey guys,=)

Thank you for the reviews and I will make more paragraphs from now on, I am sorry that I confused a few of you, but I will better!;)

And I am sorry, but my character Bonnie turned out to be quite stubborn. I haven't figured her whole part of the story out yet, but she will not be easily convinced to to go pro Klaroline, so please be patient. As for Bonnie and Kol/Elijah...who knows=D

This turned out as being more or less a filler chapter, but the next one is ready and will be uploaded shortly.

Title reference: People Like Us - Kelly Clarkson

Hayley put all her belongings into the pockets of her jeans. There wasn't much that she had with her, a knife, a wallet with some cash, a mobile phone and a carved stone with some intertwined lines on it. It looked a bit like an old rune, but it was none.

Tyler had given it to her on the road. Their way had taken them to the coast and Hayley had loved the sight of the wide blue ocean. Up above the wild sea she had stood on the cliffs and stared at the horizon. When the wind had blown wildly into her face she had felt free like she had never before. She had spread her arms and a drop of hope had settled down inside her that maybe one day she would know where she came from.

One thing she had known back then, she had never wanted to lose that freedom. Tyler had come up behind her and given her the stone that he had found somewhere near the rocks. She had smiled at him and Tyler had tilted his head to kiss her.

Hayley twitched her lips at the memory. Then she leaned back stretching her hand out behind her and with a swift forceful movement she threw the piece of rock into the forest. There was a banging sound when it hit a tree. The wolf girl straightened again and looked into the direction of the throw. She wasn't someone who would cling to things because of emotional value.

It would wear her down and she didn't want that. No, she preferred her freedom even if it meant that she had to let go of Tyler and his presents. She had always wanted to find her family and she was close, so why would she stop now, just because of a silly emotion? She didn't want to let go of Tyler, but she wouldn't let him wear her down either.

Reese had watched her silently from behind a tree. When his feet shuffled over the leaf covered ground Hayley flew around raising the knife that was suddenly in her hand. The sandy haired man raised his palms and smiled at her while he stepped out of hiding. "Easy there, killer. Just me."

The corners of her lips twitched before she stuffed the knife back into her pocket. She licked her pouty lips. "Sorry, I didn't know you were hiding out there."

Reese chuckled. He walked over to a tree stump and sat down. "You certainly do know how to hold your stance."

Hayley shrugged pulling the zipper on one pocket. "I have been alone for most of my life that taught me to be careful around everyone."

Reese nodded. "I guess it does. So, lone wolf, you are going into the bayou today?" His tone was playful and Hayley noticed that it was his trade mark. He looked at her out of lime green eyes, a colour that she had never seen in anyone's eyes before. They always had a twinkle in them, even when he was angry, however then it made him look more frightful. When he was happy it reminded someone of a young boy and made him look younger than he probably was.

"I am." Hayley simply answered.

"Alone?"

She suddenly smirked. "A lone wolf has to do what a lone wolf has to do."

Reese nodded amused. He stood up and Hayley noticed once again how tall and broad shouldered he was and she mused that if Cortez didn't have this certain strength of character and determination Reese would make a run for the alpha. She figured that he was Cortez' right hand anyway.

"Would the lone wolf mind some company for a change?" He asked frankly looking at her with open eyes. Hayley studied his face for a moment suspiciously. She couldn't help it, life had taught her to always be suspicious. Reese opened his palms towards the sky in an open gesture. "Your choice." He shrugged and finally Hayley nodded and a smile crossed her lips.

"Yeah, why not, it's not like I got a reputation to lose." She joked and started walking.

Reese shook his head and followed her in long strides. "Is that why you didn't join a pack?"

Hayley shook her head. "Well, I did join two in the past, but I always just wanted to find my family after my adoptive parents kicked me out when I turned for the first time."

Reese drew in a sharp breath. "That must have been a surprise for them."

Hayley laughed. "Yeah, kinda."

The forest was dark because the sun was hidden behind a thick layer of grey clouds. The air smelled of rain, but it hadn't rained yet and Hayley hoped that it wouldn't until they were back. She hated to get wet, because someone had told her once that it made her smell of wet dog.

"So, for how long have you been running with Cortez now?"

They didn't follow a path through the forest. As a werewolf you developed a very good sense for orientation and they didn't need a solid path to lead them. Hayley couldn't explain it, but she just knew where she had to go.

"I have been with him for a couple of years now." Reese answered. "He's a really good leader and friend." The leaves rustled around them and here and there crossed a mouse their path but other than that it was quiet.

"What is going on in the city?" Hayley asked interested.

Reese let out a short laugh. "It seems as if the vampires have gone nuts once more. If you ask me they are a bunch of arrogant maniacs. I mean come on, there is this guy Marcel who rules the city like a king and there are rumours that he even got to the witches somehow, it's all pretty mental, I think."

Hayley snorted. "They have always been like that, haven't they?"

Reese grinned. "You have been around them for some time, haven't you?"

Hayley wrinkled her nose at him, because she didn't want to admit it, but he obviously knew and she had just given herself away anyway. She should have kept her mouth shut. There were wolves who didn't appreciate it at all when wolves mingled with vampires. They were enemies after all and they would always be.

"Well, I did what I had to do in order to survive."

"I guess the original family is the most arrogant of them all, maybe that's the reason."

"How do you know?" Hayley asked and paused carefully. Suddenly she felt caught. Her interactions with them especially with Klaus had been the greatest mistake ever and it just seemed to keep catching up with her everywhere she went. The guy was haunting her or maybe her bad conscience was.

Reese laughed at her face. "Look at you! I caught ya, didn't I?" He kept laughing at her and Hayley crossed her arms over her chest with her trade mark pout. "I was just guessing, but it seems like I hit home." He clicked his tongue still grinning.

Hayley wanted to shoot herself, because she realized that it was all her. Reese knew nothing, but her bad conscience drove her to the assumption that everyone knew everything about her deepest dark secrets and she learned that she had to remind herself over and over again that no one knew. No one but her.

She started walking again with an angry crease on her nose. Reese was enjoying himself and sprinted after her. "Come on, don't worry, I am not judging or anything, but you made me curious."

"Shut up!" Hayley simply said kicking a branch out of her way.

"I take it then that it is not a good sign that they are in town."

Hayley sighed heavily and said. "No, it is not, because everywhere they go there is nothing but trouble and I really don't want to have anything to do with them, okay? I am just here for my family and the bloodsuckers can screw themselves!" She was pissed at him, at her, at the vampires.

"Okay, okay, I got it." He followed her again and peeked at her out of the corners of his eyes. Her past must have been rather unfriendly towards her and there was something that she had done that she couldn't forgive herself, probably something that involved the vampires, Reese mused. For him it had never been difficult to read people and look through them and it wasn't any different with Hayley. Everyone attentive enough saw that she was trying to cover her pain up with her independence.

"I'm sorry." He apologized and Hayley nodded. The crease on her nose disappeared and she let her arms fall at her sides.

"Not your fault."

They walked in silence for a while until Reese called her name silently. "Hayley."

"Hm?" She turned around and her eyes followed the wave of his hand.

"We're here." He said and motioned at something between the trees.

Hayley tilted her head and just then realized that there in the shadows stood a crooked little shack. She looked around herself and noticed that there were others, all of them broken. She walked into the direction of some, but she figured that there were only piles of wood left. Her hand stretched out to touch a remaining door that simply fell off its hinges under her touch.

She jumped back when it fell down in front of her, missing her toes by an inch. There were remains from a bed and maybe a table inside. She frowned and something inside her dropped to the floor. She walked over to another little cabin, but it was all the same. Her feet stumbled onto some pots on the ground and she picked up something that looked like a cup.

Reese watched how her face fell when she saw all the destroyed places where once someone must have been living. She picked up a metal cup and turned it over in her hands with the sad look in her eyes that suddenly hardened. A grunt escaped her throat and she threw the metal thing into the woods. "Damn it!" She cursed under her breath. She had been close. Really close this time.

Hayley's shoulders dropped and she drew a deep breath looking up at the sky. Why?

She went to sit down on a broken piece of wood that might have been a chair once. Supporting her weight with her elbows on her knees she looked around once again picking at her nails.

"What do you think happened here?" She asked Reese who scratched the back of his head.

"Well, looks like no one is left here."

Hayley snorted. "Yeah, well, I can see that."

The blond werewolf walked around the place and searched the ground for any traces, but it looked like whoever had been living here once was long gone.

Hayley stood up and patted the dust off her jeans. "Well, we better get back before it gets dark, I guess."

"I am sorry Hayley." Reese said but Hayley shrugged. It didn't matter anymore. She had been living without her real family her whole life and she certainly would survive the rest of it.

"Hayley wait." Reese said suddenly after Hayley had already started walking off. He raised his hand into her direction while his eyes were looking into another. Hayley frowned at him and noticed that he wasn't only looking, but fixating something between the trees. He raised his finger too his lips and motioned for her to be silent. Very carefully she stepped closer, avoiding branches and uneven ground.

She tried to see what Reese was seeing but there was nothing but brushwood. They waited in silence. Birds were chiming and leaves rustling in the wind, in the…suddenly Hayley realized that it wasn't just the wind but something else. Something else was moving through the dried leaves on the ground. She held her breath in order not to make any sound so she could focus on her hearing. The concentration was evident on both of their faces. Hayley blinked when she thought that she heard a sniffing sound. Her hand was clenched, a reflex reaction she had picked up.

A gust of wind hit her face and it brought something familiar. A familiar smell that settled inside of her nose and it caused her to look at Reese in surprise. He mirrored her look and was confused himself. This wasn't possible!

Their heads snapped back towards the bush from which the sounds came growing louder and louder the closer it got. Hayley and Reese stared at it.

Suddenly a nose stuck out of it with a pair of yellow eyes following. Hayley's jaw dropped when she saw the large wolf approach. Reese raised his eyebrows as well. The animal watched them suspiciously and started growling. It bared its teeth at them and then sniffed once nodding his head before it snapped back up with the same growl. A paw heaved off the ground as if the wolf wanted to make a step, but it didn't. It kept his head low looking up at the humans while the guttural growls never ceased.

Instinctively Hayley and Reese tried to make their appearances smaller. The bend their knees slightly and Reese showed his empty hands. "Okay. We're leaving." Without looking away from the animal he took a step backwards and Hayley did the same. She watched how the angry creases on its nose disappeared. The growling stopped and the wolf watched them retreating. It was merely keeping them off his patch and as soon as the other two had left the boundaries he jumped back into the brushwood.

"What…? Was that…?" Hayley was too confused to finish her sentence, but Reese nodded.

"Yap, I guess so!" He shook his head in disbelief.

"But that's not possible!" Hayley almost yelled and Reese nodded.

"Yap."

"There is no full moon! It can't have been a werewolf!"

Reese cocked his eyebrows and he was still looking at the spot where the wolf had vanished. He whistled through his teeth not knowing what to say. They both knew that it was a werewolf. Their smell was different from any normal wolf, their size and their eyes. They reacted like normal wolves that's why they never had any memories of their transformations, but their instincts told them to never harm a fellow werewolf. They recognized each other in human and wolf form.

"It certainly wasn't Tyler." Hayley assured Reese. "I know how he looks like and that wasn't him that was another werewolf."

Reese laughed. "This is something you don't see every day. Maybe Cortez knows something. Come on let's get back, it's getting dark anyway." Reese shook his head and Hayley cast one last look at the bush. She had a strange feeling with this.

"You have been accused of practising magic inside the quarter." Marcel announced loudly and his voice echoed back inside the narrow alley way. He looked down at the witch kneeling in front of him. She had an olive skin colour and nice curly black hair. The look she gave Marcel was proud and cold. "So, how do you plead?" Marcel taunted with a bright smile on his face.

The witch said nothing but spit right in front of his shoes which made the surrounding vampires cheer and hoot. Marcel licked his teeth. "Oh, I see. You are either brave or really dumb." He addressed his crowd. "What do you think?" He called. "Is she brave?" Some of them cheered loudly and the smile never left Marcel's face. "Or dumb?" He yelled again and the noise grew louder.

The king turned back to the witch on the ground. He shrugged. "Well, the jury has spoken. You have been found guilty, Teresa. You know the rules."

"Go to hell!" She spat keeping her head up despite the turmoil.

Marcel simply chuckled, but all of a sudden his expression changed from joyful to dead serious. He locked eyes with her for a moment before he suddenly drove forward. The sound of breaking bones filled the air and the witch's head lolled to the side before Marcel let her body drop to the floor. Everyone cheered and Marcel raised his arms appreciating his people. The dead witch on the floor would be yet another warning for all the others out there. Marcel laughed walking away from the dead body whose eyes were still open looking accusingly at the murderous king.

Marcel put an arm around the boy's shoulder. "I thank you, my friend, for finding her. I have to admit that she had a very good hiding place, really I am impressed, but you found her anyway." Marcel smiled at him.

"No problem at all. My sense of smell does come in handy."

"It is impeccable." Marcel nodded and patted his shoulder. "You really have been useful for me over the last couple of days."

"Just showing you that you can trust me. We are on the same side."

Marcel looked at him amused and nodded slowly. "Discard the body, would you?" He squeezed his shoulder one last time before he turned around. "Diego!" Marcel called and left the crime scene with his right hand.

Tyler turned towards the body. A smirk ghosted over his lips. "Marc!" He called out to another vampire. "Give me a hand here, okay?" The vampire nodded. He grabbed the dead witch and threw her over his shoulder. Tyler followed him quietly.

He had worked for Marcel trying to convince him of his loyalty. Marcel had been very suspicious of Tyler in the beginning, because of his hybridism and his past with the Mikaelson's, but Tyler had insisted on helping him with the situation, so Marcel had decided to give him a chance. He figured soon that Tyler was ruthless and determined to bring Klaus down.

However, he disliked the fact that his revenge was swallowing him up which he found very dangerous, but then again a hybrid on his side might come in handy. So he had insisted on Tyler proving his loyalty and the young hybrid had been nothing short of willing to do it.

The witch they killed tonight had been the second one Tyler had sniffed out. The witches became very imaginative when it came to their hiding places and a good nose was just what Marcel had needed. But it wasn't only the witches that suddenly had to be afraid of Marcel's newest member of his inner circle. The vampires suddenly had to be very careful around him too.

Tyler had cold-heartedly taken out a vampire who had questioned Marcel's rules and since then everyone had become guarded. Marcel didn't mind too much, but he knew that he had to keep an eye on the youth.

"Do you think it is a good idea to work with him?" Diego asked concerned and Marcel drew in a sigh.

"I know, he is eager."

"Too eager, if you ask me." Diego answered honestly and Marcel patted his shoulder.

"I'll keep him under control."

Diego nodded. "I hope you do."

There were steps outside of the door and Davina looked expectantly at it, waiting for it to open. Please, she prayed silently. She could need some company. Marcel had been there before but he didn't really have much time these days which made Davina sad. She had wanted to spend more time with him, but he was always so busy. He promised her that it would be over soon and then he would take her out and they would spend some fun time together, but Davina just wondered what exactly would be over then. She hadn't asked though.

Please open!

She stared at the door. The handle was pushed down from the outside and Josh stuck his head through the door. "Joshi!" Davina squealed and jumped towards him.

Josh laughed and caught her midair. "Hey, what's up with the warm welcome?"

"I swear I am gonna die of boredom! I am so glad you are here!" She said honestly. "Come on, tell me the news! What's going on out there?" She let him over to the bed and sat down next to him.

Josh smiled. "Well, first I got you this." He said excitedly and pulled a small box with a red bow around it out of his pocket. Davina's eyes lit up and she bit her bottom lip enthusiastically.

"Oh my gosh, for me?" She asked and Josh nodded laughing.

"Of course it is." He held it out to her and Davina took it hesitantly staring at it for a while. She couldn't remember the last time that she had gotten a present from someone. Marcel brought her stuff as well, books or pencils or something, but this was a present with a red bow. A present from someone she called her best friend by now although she hadn't even known him for long. It was silly what a big red bow could do. Very hesitantly she pulled at one end and loosened the knot. The ribbon fell off the box and Josh watched excitedly how Davina pulled the lid of it carefully.

She gasped when she saw the content. "Oh my…" She pulled a small MP3-Player out of it and smiled happily.

"There are compositions by Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Yiruma and Yann Tiersen on there, but I can always go and change it if you don't like it." Josh explained but Davina shook her head quickly while she eagerly tried to plug the headphones into her ears. The device lit up and awoke to live. The girl pressed a few buttons and suddenly her ears were filled with the sweetest music she hadn't heard in a long time.

Her eyes closed and she smiled. The sounds swirled inside of her head and her body was filled with joy. She missed her piano sorely, but now she could at least listen to one. She could carry it with her everywhere she went and she could fall asleep to the sounds of it. It would take a bit of loneliness away and that was the best part of the present.

Her eyes were wet when she looked at Josh and he suddenly became unsure, but Davina smiled brightly. "Thank you so much!" She whispered in a grateful tone. She threw her arms around Josh and he almost toppled over. "This is the best present I ever got!"

"I'm glad that you like it." Josh answered happily.

"I love it!" She assured him flipping through the songs and Josh watched her happily. He liked to see her happy because it was contagious and you simply enjoyed watching her.

"How did you know?"

Josh shrugged. "I knew you missed your piano and so I thought of a way I could bring you a piece of it, quietly, so no one would hear." Davina beamed at him and laughed. A sound that he rarely heard.

"Now tell me the news!"

"Okay, er, there is this new guy in town everyone is afraid of."

"You mean the hybrid." Davina said and Josh frowned at her so she explained that Marcel had seen her earlier. "Yeah, that one. Well, I am not sure what to think of him."

"Marcel says that he needs him for his plans of defeating the original."

Josh widened his eyes. "Defeating? As in…killing him?"

Davina nodded and frowned. "I thought you knew that."

Josh shook his head wildly. "No, I didn't…" He sounded surprised and he wondered why he hadn't noticed what was going on. "But you can't kill an original." Josh wondered.

Davina shrugged. "Maybe they just want to desiccate him?" She mused, because she wasn't familiar with the original vampires. Marcel told her some parts of his plans but never really anything and honestly Davina wasn't really interested. She wanted to stay alive and since she couldn't do that by living outside of this church, this church had become her centre of the world and the rest of it didn't really concern her anymore.

She liked to hear the gossip form the streets, the fun stuff, but the war games that the adults were playing didn't really interest her. She was a sixteen year old girl and adult business was out of her league so she didn't bother asking for the details.

Josh pulled a face.

"Do you know the originals?" Davina asked watching Josh's reaction. She watched a haunted look ghosting over his eyes that disappeared quickly again.

"Er, no, should I?" He asked and sounded nervous which made Davina frown. Josh thought about Elijah, but he couldn't tell Davina anyway because of the compulsion.

She finally shrugged. "I don't know. Aren't they like the kings of your vampire world? I mean they are kind of your ancestors, right?" She chuckled thinking about it. "I always think of them as these really old guys who appear once in a hundred years to make sure that all of their sheep are in file or something."

Josh burst out laughing because the picture was too ridiculous.

They laughed together and Josh shook his head. "No, they aren't old, well technically yes, but they were all turned in their twenties or late twenties, I think. And they don't look after any vampire, only those who try to kill them, because you see they take what they want regardless of the consequences."

"They sure sound like great guys." She mocked, but Josh shook his head again.

"They keep their word once it is given. Actually I think they are honourable if you don't try to defy them." Davina raised her eyebrows unconvinced. "And they are all quite handsome." Josh added thinking about it. His gaze became distant and Davina's face suddenly fell.

She opened her mouth but no sound escaped it for some seconds.

"Josh!" She suddenly exclaimed. He snapped out of it and looked at her in surprise.

"What?"

Davina gasped. "Oh my god! I think you left out some vital part about your person!" She smiled at him and Josh became nervous.

"Er, I don't know what you mean." He said, but Davina shook her head.

"Josh, do you have a girlfriend?"

He widened his eyes and gulped. "Well…"

Davina laughed warmly and took his hands. "Don't worry I won't tell anyone." She winked at him and Josh tried to swallow his uneasiness.

"How is she?" Caroline asked when Elena entered the living room.

She shook her head and sat back down on her seat. "She doesn't want to come down." She picked her cards up again from the coffee table in front of her. Caroline sighed.

Ever since they had arrived in New Orleans Bonnie had refused to leave her room.

"Well, what's the surprise? She hates most of the people inside of this house." Rebekah said and placed a card in the middle of the table. The three of them had settled down for a simple game of cards since the men had retreated to the study, well Klaus, Elijah and Stefan had while Damon had somehow managed to get Kol to accompany him into town.

"Maybe she just needs time to adapt." Caroline said silently. Somehow she hoped that Bonnie would come around, but it didn't look like it. She hadn't spoken to her since they had left Mystic Falls. Elena had been the only one she had spoken to and Caroline tried to ignore her jealousy as good as she could. She placed a card onto the table and so did Elena after her.

"And this is it!" Rebekah said placing one card after the other onto the centre of the table. "Thanks for the game ladies, but I won!" She said.

"I guess that's healthier for all of us." Elena mocked and Caroline chuckled.

They heard the front door opening and closing accompanied by the sound of two pairs of footsteps.

"Isn't it a bit early for them to return?" Rebekah wondered glancing at the clock. The others agreed with her when the door suddenly opened.

"Ladies, you might want to join us in the study." Kol announced. "There is news."

Elena tilted her head in wonder and stood up following Rebekah who got up first.

"What news?" Caroline asked and Kol looked sternly at her, but instead of answering he nodded towards the study.

Elena walked straight over to Damon. "What's going on?"

Damon's face was a serious mask without any humour in his eyes.

"That's what I'd like to know as well." Klaus answered tensed. He didn't like the stern looks from Kol and Damon, it was unlike them.

"It seems like there is a new guy in town." Kol started. "Actually an old friend of yours."

Looks of confusion and surprise were exchanged by this cryptic sentence.

"Who?" Stefan asked and Damon answered:

"Tyler Lockwood."

Thanks for reading!