AN: Hey guys! So I have a pretty considerable amount of views but I'm not getting a lot of feedback and I'm curious about what you guys think and where you see the story going. So can you write up some reviews for me after this chapter letting me know? I usually don't like to update so much without more input from readers. Thanks so much! (:

Part Fourteen: Cooperation

Rin stood, brushing herself off and unable to wipe the scowl off her face. It wasn't the fact that she was so obsessed with Damon that she couldn't bear the thought of losing him, her anger stemmed more from the fact that Klaus thought he had a right to swoop and ruin her night.

"Hey, Klaus?" He didn't stop walking but shouted his reply over his shoulder.

"What, love?" There was a distinct edge to his voice.

"I'm not your student anymore," she said evenly. She refused to even take a step forward to follow him. Klaus stopped in his tracks but still did not turn around. He laughed to himself, amused that Rin thought she had that kind of control over the situation. After composing himself, he finally turned to face her.

"Rin, you seemed to be a little confused." He started approaching her, taking a few slow steps forward. "You don't get to decide whether or not you train with me." There was absolutely no way he was letting her go. Without her, his plan would never be able to take action. "You will cooperate, and you will do it on my terms," he said, still approaching her. I'm going to have to figure out how to control her, he thought to himself. The menacing approach could only go so far.

"No, Klaus, you don't get to make decisions for me." Rin was still glaring at him, arms crossed over her chest. Klaus stopped a hairsbreadth away from her. She could feel him exhale on her face. Klaus had a knack for using proximity to make her uncomfortable.

"It seems I actually have to clarify this. Unless you cooperate, you have absolutely no value to me. I'm a thousand years old, and perfectly capable of hunting down another telepath. So…" his face slowly morphed into a menacing growl. His fangs protruded vulgarly from his mouth and black veins became visible beneath his eyes. "You listen, or I kill you. Your choice."

It took a great deal of fighting against her instinct to resist stepping away from him. She could see every detail of his pale, animal form, and it was horrifying. She knew that if she were to tap into her powers right now, he would fight back before she had a chance to weaken him enough and probably kill her anyway. So, she simply nodded once and swallowed hard, biting her tongue. Klaus' face immediately turned back to normal.

"Good girl," he said, turning back around. Rin was already planning a way to get around him. There had to be something. She had a feeling Damon would tell Bonnie and her friends what happened, so it wasn't completely out of the question to ask them for advice – after all, they'd been dealing with Klaus a lot longer than she had. "Come on, now, let's go home," he said. Suddenly, he was acting perfectly normal. Rin sighed and followed him through the cornfield, but not before shooting a quick text to Bonnie: "something happened. need to talk to you soon."

"Where's home?" she asked, catching up with him.

"Across town," he replied simply. Rin would see when she got there. Klaus was not in a talking mood. Rin was only wondering how long the walk would be – it was easily past midnight and she hadn't gotten any rest the previous night either, and her car was still at the Grill as well. After about fifteen minutes of walking, she found herself blindly following Klaus into a small wooded area with her eyes half-closed. He glanced back at her after a while and noticed the expression of utter exhaustion on her face.

"Tired?" he asked. Something in his voice didn't seem quite concerned.

"Yes. Very," said Rin quietly. She could have curled up on the ground and fallen asleep then and there – the energy withdrawal combined with genuine human tiredness was really getting to her. Klaus sighed.

"I need you awake," he said simply. Rin's eyes opened completely for a moment. Did he just imply what she thought he was implying?

"Are you saying I can feed on you?" she asked, hopeful. Klaus stopped, sighing. He really did need her awake. He wanted to drag her home and begin their next lesson now, but he couldn't do that with her falling asleep. However, he would probably have to compel her to stop again – the girl had absolutely no restraint. He turned around and leaned against a tree, his head tipping back. He spread his arms wide, gesturing that it was alright.

"Have at it," he said simply. He hoped she wasn't becoming immune to compulsion. He didn't care who she decided to drain to their death, as long as it wasn't him. In a moment, she was in her transformed state and drawing Klaus' energy out into the air in droves. She willed it to enter her mind and realized sucking energy from someone was a thousand times more enjoyable when she didn't need to exert any of it to cause damage as well. Eventually, she stopped sucking into the clouds and jus established a steady stream between Klaus and herself. Klaus, meanwhile, was buckling against the tree. He could feel his body weakening. It was as if he hadn't fed in several days. How much does she need? he wondered. He was fairly certain she was just being greedy. That, or getting her revenge.

In reality, revenge was the last thing on her mind. She was simply exhausted and wanted enough energy to hold her over for several days, and so far, Klaus' was the best quality. She would deal with the Damon issue later – she was confident that she could convince Damon that Klaus was making all that up about them being in a relationship.

After several more minutes, Klaus was getting to the point of exhaustion. "You don't need all this," he said, struggling to maintain his voice's level tone. "Stop," he said. He wasn't attempting compulsion yet, hoping she would listen to him. Now he was tired as well and using compulsion would only exhaust him further. "Rin! For fuck's sake!" He would not beg her again, not after what had just happened in the cornfield.

Rin heard his voice in the back of her mind and looked away, remembering what Damon had shown her earlier. But it's Klaus, she thought. If she killed him now, it would solve her problems.

She recalled Damon's words over dinner. You don't gain anything from murder. Was that true? Did she want to know through experience? Something told her no. Sighing, she dropped the transformation as well as the energy draw. She couldn't kill him.

Klaus found his footing and straightened out, cracking his neck. She'd released him, and he didn't even have to compel her.

"Right. Let's continue, then." He started in the direction they'd been walking before and Rin noticed he was walking more slowly. She, on the other hand, felt like she could fly. Once again, Klaus' life force was flooding her brain, and it made her feel incredible. She could see through the darkness of the forest. Everything felt like it was either more real than before or not quite as tangible, she couldn't tell.

Klaus was suddenly overwhelmed by his thirst, but he knew it was be counterproductive to feed on her now. He would have to wait.

Damon, meanwhile, returned home shortly after what happened in the cornfield. He slammed the door behind him and crashed onto the couch, flipping on the TV. The fact that Rin had been cheating on someone bothered him more than the fact that she wasn't into him after all – this always seemed to happen to him. That, or the girl just went and died, like Rose did. Katherine, Elena – they both cared for Stefan more. But Stefan was one thing, Rin was into Klaus. That was a whole new level of crazy. At least Stefan wasn't a maniacal, power-hungry killer.

Sighing, he wondered when he would return home with Elena. As if on cue, the door opened and the two of them walked in. Neither of them noticed him on the couch as Stefan pushed her against the wall next to the door, kissing her hungrily. Damon closed his eyes tight as he heard a tiny groan escape her lips.

"Guys, seriously, take it upstairs," he snapped, annoyed. He did not need this right now. In a flash and without a word, both vampires were gone. Damon's heart sank. No matter what he did, there was no way he could get over the fact that Stefan had the girl he loved, probably forever. And on top of it, it seemed like he couldn't even rebound with Rin.

He scrolled through the guide, feeling defeated and sorry for himself as he tried to block out the sounds of his brother and Elena's torrid lovemaking upstairs.

Klaus and Rin were now walking along a quiet road, nearly at the Mikaelson Estate. Klaus was desperate for a drink before he returned home – Elijah had some blood bags in the fridge but he wanted it warm and fresh. It was simply a pity that he couldn't just feed on Rin, considering she was wandering alone with him at night. If she were anyone else, she would have probably deserved it.

"Are we close?" asked Rin. It was the first thing she'd said since she'd been allowed to feed on him.

"Yes, almost there," said Klaus absently. He was waiting for someone to walk by. Rin didn't reply. Within minutes, Klaus spotted a teenage boy crossing the street in front of them. Without waiting for Rin to react, he used the last of his energy to speed over to the boy, immediately biting into him viciously. Rin stopped in her tracks. She'd never seen a vampire feed on someone else.

Klaus was ruthless – he wasn't being careful, as he had with her. He had no concern for this boy's life. Rin knew better than to cry out for him to stop. It wouldn't have had any effect. Not a minute later, Klaus was done. He dropped the boy's body to the side of the road and looked back her, waiting for her to catch up. She'd simply stood by and watched the whole thing. His chin was dripping grotesquely with gore, completely unlike the delicate drop from the night before.

"So that's what they keep calling an animal attack," she said as she approached him. She wouldn't show it, but it shook her that he could kill so mercilessly. She knew that he would do the same to her if she was caught disobeying him again. "He's dead, isn't he?"

"Indeed he is. We're here," said Klaus as they turned a corner. Before them was a massive white house Klaus led her inside, hoping Rebekah wasn't home. He had no such luck.

"Klaus, do you smell—" She stopped as she noticed both the massive amount of blood on his face and the human girl next to him. "Oh. Her. So you've been meeting a human girl every night. Wow." Rebekah crossed her arms and shifted her hip to one side.

This was not what she had expected. What was he up to?