I was taking short, deep breaths as I backed away and leaned on a wall. As I began to release the fear and shock from within me, hysterical tears fell from my eyes and I dropped the stake on the floor.
"I have to admit, for a minute there I actually thought you're going to kill me" Klaus said as he took a step towards me
I was having difficulty breathing, so having him march towards me didn't make it any easier.
"Hayley its alright, we're fine, why are you crying?"
I gripped my head and began pacing around randomly, speaking sobbingly
"I…could…have…failed" I said hardly "He…could…have…killed…me…"
"We're fine Hayley. You were a smart, brave girl"
He opened his arms and tried to pull me in for an embrace but I shrieked and push him off of me. I was having a panic attack.
"Okay, listen to me Hayley, you need to take a deep breath and calm down"
"You stabbed me" I said as I hardly controlled my hysteria and looked up at him "You betrayed my trust"
"I did it for your own good" he said, as if that was enough to justify his actions "If I hadn't daggered you unconscious you would be at risk"
"At risk of what? Being captured by Mikael? Cause that surely happened"
I pulled my hair up in a bun and tried to calm myself down.
"Clearly my methods were unwise, but we're a great team, and we made it"
"There…is…no…team" I said unstably
"Hayley you clearly got really frightened, let me help you calm down"
He extended a hand to me but I shook my head and hurried towards my bag, grabbing it and leaving him behind in the room
He followed me and caught up with me easily
"I want you to stay away from me" I said with hot tears pouring from my eye sockets
"Hayley don't let this ruin what we had, that's just what Mikael wanted"
"You know what Klaus" I said as I finally stopped running and took control over myself "In the brief period I spent with Mikael he was more straightforward and honest than you ever were during our relationship" I confessed, to his dismay
"What are you saying? That he's a better person than I am?"
"I'm saying anyone can be a better person than you are, because at the end of the day the only person for whom you have a grain of empathy in your heart is yourself. I won't be anyone's puppet anymore, Niklaus Mikaelson. I want you and everything about you out of my life"
"You're being overdramatic love"
"I am being smart, for the first time since I met you I am choosing logic over love, and as much as that may hurt my heart, I am willing to endure the necessary pain for the greater good"
"Hayley listen to me" he said more angrily now as he grabbed me from the waist and pulled me to him, forcing me to look into his eyes "I am not going to accept defeat. I am not letting you go"
"I am not a trophy Klaus. Your war with Mikael was never meant to be about me, you made it so" I said as I tried to get out of his grip
"You are mine" he insisted and plunged his lips into mine
I tried fighting him off but it was no use. He kissed me, thinking it would change my mind somehow, but my mind was set. When he felt my tears touch his skin he came to the realization that his plan wasn't working, and pulled away.
"Why can't you see that I care for you? Why are you still crying?" He asked with shaky eyes
"I can't do this anymore Klaus. I feel like I'm in an abusive relationship, like I'm under your control or something and I don't want that. I am not a follower Klaus, I'm a leader. I cannot allow you to stomp over me this way"
"Hayley we're both leaders, we work well together"
"You're not even letting me control my posture at the moment, how am I to believe you're willing to work together"
He understood what I was referring to and pulled away his hands from me.
"I need time Klaus"
"I will prove to you that we can survive this. We are survivors, you and I"
"Then let me be one" I said and walked away from him.
To my surprise, he did a mature thing and let me go on my own.
When I unlocked the apartment door and walked in I was greeted by a group of nervous Mikaelsons and Marcel, all watching me walk in with great excitement.
"Hayley? So Klaus managed to save you on time?!" Elijah asked excitedly
"I didn't need his saving" I said coldly "I killed Mikael"
They all froze and stared at me jaw dropped, with a hint of doubt in their eyes
"Listen I'm just here to grab some stuff. I'm sure Klaus will tell you everything once he's here"
"Wait where are you going?" Rebekah asked as she took a step closer
"You're leaving him, of course you are. Any sane person would" Kol said
At the end of the day Kol was the last Mikaelson I met but he was the one with whom I could create a connection to without much effort
"I'll be at the Sorority"
"But Hayley Klaus may be stupid and his actions may make you angry but he had your best interest at heart" Rebekah said
"Come on Rebekah, after everything you've been through yourself how can you say that?" Marcel questioned his on-again, off-again girlfriend
"I'm sorry guys, I really don't want to have this conversation right now"
I pushed through them and went upstairs to the bedroom. Grabbing a small suitcase, I began filling it in with all the stuff I could need. I still had some clothes left in the Sorority, so I didn't need much.
I heard a knock on the door which made me sigh and look around.
"I apologise for my sudden entrance, but are you alright?" Elijah asked as he stepped in
As I looked at him memories of our first introduction flooded my head
"Excuse me" I heard a strong, British accented male voice call out from behind me
I turned around towards the source of the voice. It was a tall, dark haired gentleman in a suit
"How may I help you?" I asked
"My name is Elijah, I was hired as a History teacher here and I was told to ask the students when I'm lost for directions. Can you help me out?"
"I'd love to, we don't get that many new teachers around her, especially young ones" I said as I stood up "I'm Hayley by the way, Hayley Marshall"
"Nice to meet you Hayley Marshall. I'm Elijah. Elijah M…Elijah Cooper. Will I have the pleasure of having you as a student?"
"What exactly do you teach?"
"I'll be teaching for the Medieval and Renaissance studies faculty"
"Well then no, well maybe sometimes, but generally no"
"What do you study?"
"Music. I'm the music faculty. I'm studying to be a music critic. I'm also sort of a musician"
"You're studying to be a music critic…I know someone who is studying the same" he said, his smile weirdly turning into a worried frown
I decided to break the awkward pause
"What were you looking for?"
"Ah yes, I was looking for Auditorium F?"
"Through that entrance, to the left and down the hall. You'll see it"
"Great. Thank you very much Hayley. I hope to see you around"
"You're welcome. See you around Mr. Cooper"
"Please, call me Elijah"
I nodded with a smile as he turned around and left in the direction I told him to. What a newbie filled day this was.
"I sometimes like to think that even though you were Mr. Cooper you really did care for me at the beginning"
"I still care for you Hayley. I like to think that we're friends"
"You told me you loved me, in your own sickening way"
"You little bitch" he snapped "I just wanted you to love me. I wanted to be chosen, I wanted to put myself first" I remembered him tell me
"As you said, I was sick. I had no control over my actions or emotions"
"You know why I'm asking you this?" I said with a broken, sad smile "Because I'm in a state where I'm beginning to think that falling in love with anyone would be better than falling in love with Klaus"
"MY brother can be thoughtless at times, he can be heartless too, but if I know one thing for sure it's that he really does care for you. More than he has ever cared for anyone romantically in the past thousand years"
"Well I am not in the mood to play games anymore. I am tired and I think Klaus finally understood that…so, this chat was nice but I'm going to get going now"
"Hayley just try to find space in your heart to give him another chance, because I honestly can believe you can be his…"
"Redemption? Well I'd rather not be a chess piece in someone else's game, if you don't mind"
I refused to wait for him to say anything else, and instead pulled my suitcase after me and walked away.
"Why don't I drive you over?" Kol asked as I reached the bottom floor
"No thanks, I'll get a cab"
"Come on Hayley, don't be so dramatic"
I rolled my eyes and nodded. He smiled and waved at the others before leaving the apartment, followed by me.
"You're doing the right thing" he said as we sat in the car
"You think so?"
"I know so" he corrected "I felt what you're feeling over and over again for centuries, but was never brave enough to walk away from him. I always fought, I always complained, but I eventually came back"
"I'm sorry to hear that"
"You're going to come back too" he said, to my surprise
"I doubt that"
"So did I, but you know what brought me back every time? Not stupidity or cowardice, but love. At the end of the day he is my blood brother and I am bound to him by this idiotic thing humans possess which is love"
"Are you serious?"
"Hell yeah I am. And something tells me you're just as in love, if not more, with Klaus"
"We'll have to live and see" I said and leaned my head on the window
One Week Later
I woke up and found yet another bouquet of roses on my doorstep. There were seven of them this time. The exact number of days since Klaus and I officially broke up.
"Girls you have to stop helping him out like this!" I called out in the corridor, hoping whoever the person who assisted Klaus in leaving these little emotional effectors would fess up
"I have no idea what you're on about" I heard Lisa say from her room
I laughed and went downstairs to grab something quick to bite before leaving the house.
I walked through the Campus garden to the over side to get a cab. While passing by I caught sight of Klaus, who had a soccer match with his fellow Fraternity boys organised for today.
He gently nodded in my direction and I returned the gesture.
I felt my knees shake so I hurried up towards the street in order to avoid looking weak. Klaus was actually behaving quite well for someone as stubborn as himself, making sure he didn't bother me in unwanted situations, but he still managed to pressure me to a reconciliation by sending flowers or leaving my favourite box of chocolate in my bag when I wasn't looking.
It was hard to resist the romantic Klaus, but if I wanted this to be permanent I had to stay strong. Besides, I wasn't sure if I wanted to get back together or not.
I pulled over a cab and blurted the address I was heading to, my eye still caught on Klaus. He seemed…dare I say it…sad and uneasy. Could the infamous hybrid really be sorry about losing me? A nineteen year old werewolf?
When I arrived at my destination I decided to put all my relationship drama on hold. When the door finally opened and I set my eyes on the little Billy Junior I did so without much trouble.
"He's growing up so fast" I said as I walked in and took a seat in Maria's place
"He is…but he really wishes he could see his godmother more often"
I smiled at her and nodded
"I know, I'm sorry, I've just been a bit preoccupied
"Of course, the years coming to an end, you've got exams and all"
"Yeah, that's why" I said as I snuggled to Billy
"I know we took a darn long time, but we're christening him in a week"
"Oh, that's great. Congratulations"
"You should be there"
"Oh no, I'm not really the religious type. Besides, I doubt having me there would please the Gregory family…especially not Alicia Gregory"
"How else are you to be his godmother?" she asked logically
"Ah yes, you need the whole shebang" I said as shifted Billy in my arms "If you say so"
"I really cannot believe how mature you are" she said as she put her hand on my shoulder "Thank you, honestly"
"William may have made a mistake, but his memory deserves to live on. Especially through his son"
"Hayley I actually wanted to tell you something" she said, looking uncomfortable
"What is it?" I asked as the little one cutely yawned in my arms
"I spoke to your old friend, Mike"
I froze and hardly looked over at her.
"He told me you used to visit him and stopped doing so lately"
How could I visit the boy I, alongside everyone else, deemed crazy for saying William was attacked by a man who became a werewolf after I found that werewolves did in fact exist?
"Why would you visit him? He's not well, you know that"
"I listened to his version of the story, and unlike what the police suggests it actually lines up"
"You're telling me you believe that a person became a werewolf and attacked William, and that makes sense to you?"
"I know it's crazy, and I don't know how exactly that's possible, but I know for sure that a wolf attack, which is the animal to whom the scratch and bite marks were matched to, in New York City, no matter what outskirts of it you are in, is unlikely" she said emotionally "and I owe it to my son to figure out what truly happened to his father"
This was a dangerous path, and I had no intention of letting her go down it.
"You know what? I need to get going now, but why don't you, Mike and I meet up sometime and think through this?" I proposed
"Are you, are you serious?"
"Yeah sure I am. Like, what about tonight?"
"That would be great, the more people trying to figure it out the better results we get"
"Exactly…I'll text you when I'm free. I need to go now though"
She nodded and took William Junior from me after I placed a kiss on his forehead
"Who will you leave Junior with?"
"His nanny. I don't really get along with Ms. Alicia lately"
"I can imagine why" I said as I went to the door "I'll see you later"
"Bye for now" she said
I hurried off and pulled over a cab. Once seated, I texted Klaus. This would also be a chance to see how the tension between us was.
"Need you to do me a favour, can you meet me at the sorority?" I wrote to him
When I arrived at the Sorority he still hadn't replied.
"Bollocks" I said under my breath
"Is now not a good time?" I heard Rebekah asked, which distracted me from my phone
"No, why?" I said
Before I could listen to her reply I felt my phone buzz in my hand
"I'm at the door in a second" he had replied
Surely, the door knocked moments later. I hurried up to it and opened to find Klaus still in his soccer jersey, looking at me sweaty and worriedly, which was a good look on him. His breathless state really did a number on me, I could feel my pulse raise as memories of him looking similar yet naked on top of me filled my brain.
"I'm sorry I didn't check my phone earlier. What seems to be the matter?" he asked
There was an awkwardness between us that was very unfamiliar to both of us
"Come in, it's not that urgent, sorry I worried you" I said and allowed him in
"When I saw your text I thought it was serious"
"No, I just need to ask you to do something for me" I explained
There was an awkward pause which was interrupted by Rebekah
"As I was saying…Hayley, meet Camille, the newest member of our Sorority"
"Hey, hi, my name is Hayley Marshall, welcome to our little group"
"Seems pretty big to me" she said with a grin
"What do you study?"
"Actually I just transferred from New Orleans, I study psychology"
"Oh, New Orleans…I've…got family there" I said with a smile "What brought you to NYU?"
"I was having some family troubles back home and needed a fresh start" she replied "I hope I fit in, it's hard to join the second year in the middle but I hope I'll manage"
"I'm sure you will" Klaus said unexpectedly "I have always had a fascination in psychology students. You are truly brave, discussing in detail something one could find in oneself can be frightening. It exposes your weaknesses"
"Yeah, I guess it makes you reflect upon yourself" she replied
"Klaus Mikaelson" Klaus said and extended his hand to her
"Camille O'Donnell" she replied "Nice to meet you"
I was starting to feel uncomfortable, and I didn't like it.
"So Camille, I hope you fit in nicely. Klaus, can I speak to you privately please?" I said and beckoned him to follow me to my bedroom
"Ah the memories…" he said as he came in
"Firstly, thanks for the flowers everyday but you really don't have to"
"Don't you like them?"
"No, I find them unnecessary"
"I thought you'd find them romantic"
"That's not why we're here Klaus, I need to discuss something serious with you"
"What happened?" he asked in curiosity
I explained the matter in hand and he listened carefully
"So you want me to compel them to forget?"
"I want you to compel them to believe they were wrong, for their own good" I elaborated
"If you feel its necessary then very well, I'd be glad to help"
"Thank you" I said and smiled at him
"I have to say though, you could have asked your new BFF Kol, or any other vampire. Why me?"
"I don't know, shouldn't I have?"
"Oh no, you did the right thing, just wondering is all"
I smiled and lead the way out of the room. Once he grabbed his stuff and changed into normal clothes I texted Maria and we drove to Mike's place.
"Hayley" he said in shock at the sight of me "It's been months"
He still looked as fragile and fazed as he did right after the death of his best friend
"How are you Mikey?" I asked as I pulled him in for a warm hug.
"Better now" he said and allowed us in
Klaus hesitated to come in and looked over at us pleadingly.
"Klaus what are you doing?" I asked
"I, may I come in?" he asked weirdly
"Of course, please feel free, come in, any friend of Hayley's is a friend of mine"
Klaus smiled in relief and walked in
"What was that?" I whispered to him
"Vampires need a goddamn invitation" he hissed and took a seat
"Mike Hayley is here to discuss our shared theory of William's death" Maria stated
"You are?" he asked in joy
I looked over at Klaus and took a deep breath. I owed it to Mike to allow him to feel for a second, even if he'd forget it not long later, that he wasn't crazy and that he was right.
"I believe you Mike, because you're right" I said "You were right all along. William was killed by a person, a werewolf, on a full moon night just as he turned into a wolf. He was killed by a werewolf only because I was in love with him, because the said werewolf had an unhealthy obsession with me. I killed him, I avenged William, but you deserved to know the truth"
Everyone's jaws were dropped.
"I knew it…" he said under his breath
"I had no idea you knew this much" Maria said
"He died because of you then" Mike added
I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces and I, unable to control my emotions any longer, broke into tears and hurried out of the room.
"Sit…" I heard Klaus order one of them "You too, sit down and listen to my every word carefully…"
When Klaus walked out I pulled him into a hug and allowed myself to feel safe for a moment before pulling back.
"I shouldn't have done that"
"Hayley it's alright, you and I…"
"Don't you get it? It's not alright. I won't let you be the person I associate safety with. I won't let myself fall for you again. I shouldn't"
"Hayley all I want is for us to…"
"I'm sorry, I can't. Thank you" I whispered and hurried out
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