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The Other Man

Flashback - 2 years ago

Scarlett, like usual, had spent the night with Marcel despite Savannah's continued protest while they had been out partying the night before. Marcel had gone, having a meeting with the mayor and others. Not having much else to do, Scarlett stayed around the compound, eventually settling in the study. Sitting sideways on the couch, she laid back against the pillows, reading one of the many books on the shelves when she felt someone sneaking up behind her, kneeling and kissing her cheek.

"I said I'd be home later Savi," Scarlett joked, giggling now as Marcel moved so he was holding himself over her.

"You and Sav, huh?" Marcel teased her, kissing her once. "Should I be jealous?"

"Oh, extremely," Scarlett laughed, Marcel smiling as he kissed her once more.

"I love when you spend the day here," he told her.

"Me too," Scarlett was smiling up at him. Marcel bit his lip now, looking her over once. "What?"

"I won't say it," Marcel shook his head. Scarlett knew what he was talking about. Every now and then he would let it slip out, telling her that he loved her. And, of course, as she was still waiting around for Elijah she never said anything back.

"Why ruin a perfect day," Marcel said lightly, kissing her forehead before moving away, sitting on the edge of the couch. It made Scarlett sad that he felt so bad, with her not ever saying it back to him. "You wanna get dinner or something Princess?"

Scarlett found Elijah in the same study room, reading what looked to be like a Bible. While she didn't sneak up on him, he didn't seem to notice her coming into the room. She walked up behind him, leaning against the back of the couch and wrapping her arms around his shoulders before kissing his cheek.

"Hi," Scarlett murmured to him, resting a chin on his shoulder.

"Mmmm, hello," Elijah sighed, tilting his head down to kiss her arm, but keeping his eyes on the book.

"What are you looking at?" Scarlett asked curiously.

"Eve gave this to Hayley," Elijah was explaining. "I'm trying to see if there's anything on her family, other than this tree in the back."

"Shouldn't Hayley be looking at that?" Scarlett asked lightly, trying to hide that it was bothering her.

"She did," Elijah said, turning the page. "She asked me to be a second set of eyes."

"Of course she did," Scarlett muttered, standing upright now.

"What's the matter?" Elijah asked curiously, looking back at her now, not having heard what she said.

"Nothing," Scarlett shook her head at him now, not wanting to have this fight. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to go out tonight."

"For what?" Elijah asked her.

"Um, it's New Orleans," Scarlett laughed a little. "And, things are finally normal around here. Or, as normal as they can be." She shrugged. "I thought it would be fun."

"Sounds like it," Elijah agreed, still half focused on his reading.

"Guess that's it then," Scarlett muttered to herself, going out the door. As she rounded the corner to go to her and Elijah's room, she ran right into Marcel. Not allowing him to say anything to her, Scarlett turned and sped the other way, going downstairs now. That was when she ran into Savannah and Klaus, who were becoming the sickeningly sweet couple Klaus always accused Elijah and Scarlett of being so many years before; how times had changed.

"I'm borrowing her," Scarlett announced, taking Savannah's hand and dragging her to another room far down the hall. They ended up in Scarlett and Elijah's room and, given Elijah's new project, Scarlett didn't expect him from the study for awhile.

"What's going on?" Savannah asked curiously while Scarlett started pacing.

"I need you to tell me that I'm being crazy," Scarlett told her. Savannah was always good at talking her best friend down, but she was especially good being so biased in the continued Elijah and Marcel debate. As of now, no one else knew about the kiss.

"Well, that's a given," Savannah teased her. "What's going on with you?"

"I've been getting really...annoyed," she decided on the word. "With Elijah lately."

"He's just worried about his niece," Savannah shrugged back. "You don't think he actually has feelings for that Hayley girl, do you?"

"No, I know that," Scarlett agreed. "But, it's just, it's all her. All the time. And maybe I'm being selfish," she was rattling off. She stopped shaking her head. "And, it's stupid, but ever since Marcel kissed me the other night I can't stop thinking about-"

"Whoa!" Savannah stopped her now. "What?" Scarlett wasn't really looking at her. "You kissed him?"

"He kissed me," Scarlett clarified. "I stopped him."

"But, you're still thinking about it," Savannah said and Scarlett nodded. "And, clearly, not telling Elijah about it because he would-"

"Would he?" Scarlett interrupted. "Would he really do anything to Marcel? Because he could barely be bothered to look at me just now."

"You're both being idiots," Savannah informed her now. "And, if you go back to Marcel, I'll kill you both."

"I'm not going back to him Savi," Scarlett muttered.

"You're just thinking about him non-stop since he kissed you," Savannah clarified sarcastically.

"I'm just thinking about someone who only ever had time for me," Scarlett corrected her. "Not his brother's knocked up one night stand."

"That's fair," Savannah agreed. "But, I'm not the one you should be telling all this to."

"I've tried talking to him," Scarlett told her now. "And he always gives me the same family worry crap." She sighed. "It's the same stuff that caused him to leave in the first place."

"Hey," Savannah stopped her now, her voice gentle. "He's not going anywhere Scar. You know that, right?" Scarlett shrugged. "You need to talk to him."

"Yeah," Scarlett finally agreed.

"Tonight," Savannah told her.

"Tonight," Scarlett repeated.

Elijah was in the study while Scarlett and Savannah were having their talk, still looking through the book Hayley had given him about her family. Distantly, he could hear people moving throughout the house and talking, though he didn't pay much mind to them. He was wrapped up in his reading, not wondering just about Hayley's family in the bayou, but about the wolves there related to Klaus as well. Hearing his brother's chuckling, he looked up now to see Klaus leaning in the doorway, looking amused about something.

"Something funny brother?" Elijah asked, raising an eye brow as Klaus came in and took a seat in a chair across from the couch.

"You," Klaus laughed a little still, observing his brother. Elijah ignored his brother now, not in the mood for any of his games. "You want to know why you're so funny?"

"No, but I'm sure you'll tell me anyway," Elijah commented.

"So, you spend the better part of a century missing some girl," Klaus started off, relaxing back in his seat with a smirk. "Come back here, and manage to win her back because it turns out she was crazy enough to miss you too."

"That's funny?" Elijah asked without much amusement.

"No, what's funny," Klaus clarified now. "Is, now that you have her back, you don't really seem to know what to do with her." He shrugged. "And you're losing her."

"I'm not losing her," Elijah said in annoyance.

"No?" Klaus raised his eye brows now. "Then, why is it you're in here," he motioned to Elijah on the couch with the book. "And she's down the hall talking to Savannah about how Marcel's kissed her, and now it's all she can think about."

"What?" Elijah demanded now. "Marcel's tried to get her back?"

"Don't forget how she seemed to enjoy it," Klaus added with a grin as Elijah left the room. "Please don't kill him," Klaus said now. "Don't need the others rioting." Elijah ignored his brother, setting out to find Scarlett to talk to her or Marcel to put him through a wall; whichever came first. The first person he ran into though wasn't either of them, it was Savannah, who just shook her head at him.

"Where's Scarlett?" Elijah asked her.

"Oh, you noticed she's gone?" Savannah asked back with sarcasm.

"Savannah," Elijah said seriously.

"She took Davina out," Savannah shrugged now. "Davina's figured out that Marcel lied about Agnes being killed, so you might have to get in line to take his head off," Savannah said lightly. "But, since she's safe now and the girls are friends, Scarlett figured she could use a day out."

"I really missed this," Davina said, walking down the street in the French Quarter with Scarlett. Though she had been out for the music festival, that lasted only a few hours. She was free again to come and go as she wanted, no longer fearing the witches. "And, you're sure Agnes is dead?"

"Klaus and Savi killed her," Scarlett assured her. "The same night you unlinked Sophie and Hayley." The young witch nodded.

"I can't believe Marcel lied to me," Davina continued. "He was just using me."

"It comes with the territory of being powerful," Scarlett shrugged, remembering how her sisters struggled. "People want in on that."

"Yeah, well I can't wait till I'm normal," Davina said, waiting for the witches' power to go away. "Things will be so easy once I don't have all this magic."

"I wouldn't quite say that," Scarlett said lightly.

"You miss being a witch?" Davina asked curiously.

"Sometimes," Scarlett nodded. "I think you might too." Davina shrugged, not really seeing it that way.

"You seem sad," Davina commented now. "Are you ok?"

"Fine," Scarlett shrugged.

"Was it Marcel?" Davina asked curiously. Marcel was already high on her list of people that she was going to get revenge on, but he was going to jump to number one if he had upset her only friend or hurt her someway.

"A little of him, a little of Elijah," Scarlett brushed it off. "Nothing I can't handle." She half smiled. "Or for you to worry about so much."

"Can I ask what happened?" Davina asked.

"Ugh, it's a long story," Scarlett groaned now. "Love just makes things complicated, that's all."

"I don't think I ever want to fall in love," Davina said now.

"I wouldn't say that," Elijah commented now, walking up behind them. Scarlett and Davina both turned to look. "Love makes the complications worth it," he told Davina. "I'm hoping Scarlett will agree with me." Scarlett was quiet.

"I can go," Davina was saying.

"You still shouldn't be by yourself," Scarlett stopped her. "We'll talk later Elijah."

"I want to talk now," Elijah said, keeping her and Davina from leaving. "It's come to my attention," he started off. "That I've been...neglectful lately."

"Neglectful?" she asked with raised eye brows.

"Enough to make you question how much I care about you," he said back. "Enough for you to keep things from me."

"I haven't kept-" Scarlett started off.

"So, Marcel didn't kiss you?" Elijah cut her off. Davina backed away, leaving without notice. While the teen was completely interested in what happened, as well as what was going to happen next, she knew that they needed their privacy. "Why wouldn't you tell me?" he asked now, a little afraid of the answer. "Were you afraid of what was going to happen when I get my hands on him?" he continued while she was still silent. "Did you...hope it would happen again?"

"No," Scarlett said like it was obvious. "When Savannah ran to tell you he kissed me, did she mention that I shoved him away?"

"I didn't hear about it from Savannah," Elijah informed her. "I had to hear about it from my brother, when I should have heard about it from you." He was angry, she could tell and he had every reason to be; it wasn't like she didn't deserve to be a little angry too.

"I'm surprised you have a spare moment to care," Scarlett said back. "Shouldn't you be doing something for Hayley right about now?"

"Is that what this is about?" Elijah asked in exasperation. They had been having this argument since the night he had helped Hayley when she had her fever, carrying her in the pool. "I shouldn't have to tell you again that I don't care for her in that way."

"And I shouldn't have to tell you I don't care about Marcel like that," Scarlett snapped back.

"You have to know how it looks, when I have to find out from Klaus that-"

"Just like how it looks when you're the one that spends all your time taking care of her," Scarlett told him. "How about this, how about the baby's father takes her to the doctor. How about the baby's father makes her breakfast. How about the baby's father, who also has family in the swamp, worries about that too." She motioned to him. "You said it yourself, he's changing and he seems to care about this baby."

"Scarlett," Elijah stopped her. "I'm sorry it seemed that way, but you have to know that..." He was half smiling at her. "I'm crazy about you."

"I know it's stupid," Scarlett shook her head at herself. "I just...I don't want to share you."

"I don't want to share you either," Elijah said, coming closer, kissing her forehead.

"I don't suppose we can just call this whole Marcel-Hayley thing even," Scarlett joked, looking up at him as he had his arms around her.

"If by even, you mean I get to speak with Marcel about keeping away from you," Elijah said back.

"Just speaking?" she asked.

"Well," he smiled down at her. "You're not the only one with a jealous streak in you."

"Fair enough," she agreed. "But, you might have to wait until after Davina gets a hold of Marcel." She stopped. "Where did Davina go?"

"I assume to give us a moment alone," Elijah assured her. "Why are you so worried?"

"She still shouldn't be out on her own," Scarlett shook her head. "We have to find her."

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