Music

Never Play by Emily and the Woods [Compound]

Corpse Road by Keaton Henson [Klaus]

Feel It Now by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club [Elijah/Hayley]

Hayley stepped forward and looked over the railing, watching at the compound below. Since she'd turned, everything in New Orleans felt new again, but still oddly familiar. She'd met all these people, was a part of this messed up society. But now she looked at them as an outsider, as someone who should never have been there in the first place.

With her backpack over one shoulder and her matte-black, motorcycle helmet, she gave all the vampires below one final look. She started walking and only looked forward. Before, the vampires watched her like she could try to kill them at any second. Now Hayley was able to slip pass them almost as if she were invisible. She'd reached the bottom of the stairs and was almost to the dark hallway that led to the streets.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Hayley recognized it and rolled her eyes. Half of her wanted to just keep walking, but his annoyance would just follow her. Slowly, she turned around to meet Diego's glare.

"I'm leaving." She stated evenly. There was no way of knowing how much of her cover had been ruined in the past week or so. Did they all know she had been without humanity until now? Did they know it was back?

"Yeah, I can see that." Diego retorted. His rudeness caught some attention from a few of the others. Hayley's eyes flickered around at the attentiveness she had wanted to avoid.

"I didn't realize there was a rule against leaving New Orleans." Hayley snapped right back. "Even if there was, I couldn't give a shit. Besides, who are you to try and enforce it?"

Diego squinted and stepped forward, invading her space. "I wonder how tough you are without the Originals around."

Hayley couldn't help but smile. "Oh I don't need them around to kill you, Diego. As I recall, the only thing that kept me from ripping out your heart was Marcel tackling me to the ground." She then looked around dramatically and put up her hands. "I don't see him around."

Without notice, Diego grabbed the collar of her black, leather jacket. "For someone who's still new in town, you've got a big mouth."

Hayley could so easily shove her hand into his chest, grab his heart, and rip it out. It would take seconds and barely any effort on her part. But that wasn't her anymore. She had to deal with the consequences of her actions now. Suddenly, she lost her edge and shifted uncomfortable.

Hayley tried to push around him. But Diego kept shifting to be in front of her, blocking any exit. She was about to shove past him, but something else threw and pinned her against the nearest wall. It wasn't Diego; there was no way he could get that momentum from so close. Hayley glanced up to see that Mel at his grip around her throat.

"You have 5 seconds to start explaining…or I'll put a stake in your heart." He growled.

Hayley glanced over his shoulder to see Thierry only a few paces behind Mel, ready to back him up if necessary.

"I don't have to explain anything." Hayley struggled to speak under his grip. "I let you think what you wanted to think. You were so desperate to see me as some helpless new vampire that I barely had to lie."

"You set me up! I would still be stuck down in the garden if Klaus hadn't fessed up about framing us!" He became more violent the longer he spoke. The old-fashioned and sweet vampire had vanished.

"Then maybe next time you shouldn't make it so easy." Hayley proposed sarcastically. The back of her mind was telling her to shut up, that she was just making it worse. But the Hayley without humanity was pushing her, wanting her to turn it off and become a monster again.

Mel slammed her harder against the wall. Hayley barely winced. She had enough of letting them push her around. Striking her knee up, she hit Mel right in the groin. While he winced in pain, keeled over, Hayley quickly snapped his neck. One down, how many more needed to go?

Hayley dropped her backpack and helmet, getting into a predatory and defensive stance. "I would really rather not snap anymore necks." She sighed. It was her only warning. But Thierry was already glaring at her as if he wanted to stake her a million times.

Thierry's weight went to his back heel just before charging forward. Hayley side stepped his attack and recovered her footing again. Thierry was already turned around, fuming even more from being embarrassed. He was about to start forward again.

"Stop!"

Hayley's glaze flickered over to see that Elijah had just walked down the stairs. He seemed irritated, looking only at Thierry and how the young vampire was staring down Hayley.

"Would somebody mind telling me what is going on?" He asked to the entire room. However, the question was clearly not directed to Hayley.

"Just a little payback." Diego foolishly decided to say like Elijah would accept that and let them all carry on. "She almost got Thierry and Mel locked up for a century!"

Elijah then noticed Mel, lying unconsciously on the floor. He glanced up at Hayley, like a father would to a child who had done something wrong but he was too proud to yell at them for it.

"I was just leaving." Hayley finally spoke. She sounded formal. But he already knew that she wasn't the one who started it.

Elijah nodded and squinted like he was deep in thought. Then he addressed the entire compound, raising his voice slightly so they could all hear him loud and clear. "Hayley is a friend of the Original family. To kill or even harm her in any way would be a death wish."

Diego's smug smile was wiped from his face.

Then the rest of the vampires dispersed and ignored the scene, talking amongst themselves once again. Without regarding Elijah, Hayley walked over and picked up her backpack and motorcycle helmet. In the same motion, she was walking straight to the exit.

"I wish you hadn't done that." Hayley muttered in annoyance. She didn't have to hear him to know that Elijah was walking after her.

"It was necessary. The only thing they respect his Marcel. Threatening is the method that provides the preferred response." Elijah answered smoothly. He didn't seem concerned or apologetic at all for annoying Hayley with his intrusion.

Hayley stopped walking and quickly turned around to face him. "Now they fear you while I look weak. By showing any signs of protectiveness over me makes me as something that can be used against you or your siblings." Her words spluttered out in angry spats.

Elijah calmly listened. Then he glimpsed at the motorcycle behind her. "Well it seems you're leaving, so I don't see why any of that matters anymore."

Hayley sneered and shook her head at his come back. "You know what? You're right." She turned her back on him and mounted her motorcycle.

Elijah kept glancing around outside the compound and back down the dark hallway that led to the inside. Hayley observed him for a few seconds. He was stressed. But it wasn't just about her leaving town.

"What's going on?" Hayley asked. She immediately regretted showing that she cared.

Elijah stopped fidgeting and looking around. "While you were succumbed by your werewolf bite, Klaus was attacked by the witches. He was stabbed. But their plan did not end there…they continued to tell him of Rebekah's betrayal decades ago that brought our father here." Also, Andrea was missing, but he knew better than to bring that up.

Hayley listened but stared down at the motorcycle's starter switch. She had overestimated the witches. They hadn't meant to kill them; they had meant to get the Originals to kill each other.

"Klaus will try and kill Rebekah now, won't he?" She asked quietly, still looking down at her motorcycle. Then a lump of guilt aches in her gut because she could've stopped all of it.

"You know, more than others, how Klaus handles betrayal." Elijah answered without actually saying the 'yes'.

Hayley took in a deep breath. "It's my fault." She whispered with her head bowed.

"Hayley, how could it possi-" Elijah started.

"I knew!" She cut him off abruptly. "I knew that Sabine was Celeste…and I knew that the harvest had worked, it just didn't bring back the right people."

Elijah was caught of guard. He studied her face, trying to decide if she was telling the truth or if it this was just a side effect from getting back her humanity. "How?" He interrogated.

"I saw them on the streets after the harvest was complete…I heard them talking." Hayley breathed and then finally met his gaze. "I wanted it to happen." She confessed. "If I couldn't destroy you, I wanted someone else do it." She sought to see him angry, for him to give her a reaction that she deserved. But he remained the calm and honorable Elijah that he has always been.

"Elijah!" They both were taken out of their small battle to see Cami rushing towards them. "Did you find something that could help Kieran?"

Elijah seemed reluctant to turn his attention away from Hayley and to the human girl. "I can try. But I called you because Niklaus needs your help. Go." He pointed to inside the compound. "I'll be right behind you."

Hayley's hand hovered over the starter switch. She could leave. This didn't have to be her problem anymore. Whatever happened to the Original family from now on didn't have to affect her. But that's not you…because you know you still care. Said a voice from deep within her mind. She wanted it to shut up.

"I'm not staying." Hayley clarified to Elijah. "But I'll try talking to him…not that it'll do any good." Then they met Cami inside and Elijah led them to Klaus' room. He was shirtless and covered in sweat, lying on his bed. There was a red line down his abdomen with veins spreading out across his skin from it. Clearly that was where he was stabbed.

Cami glanced at Hayley, never having scene her before. But Hayley gave off a very clear vibe that she didn't want to talk to her, let alone introduce herself.

Elijah rolled up his sleeves, picked up a scalpel, and cut open Klaus' skin right down the red line. Then he thrust his arm inside his abdomen and pulled out a bone dagger. Elijah looked at Cami. "I need you to watch over him. Feed him every so often."

Cami's eyes widened. "What? Why me? Isn't there someone better suited for that? Don't you have blood bags you can give him?"

"Your blood has vervain. It will keep him weak, but alive." Hayley muttered evenly, looking at Klaus as she spoke.

Elijah nodded. "It needs to be you because you are one of the few people he wouldn't immediately slaughter. He speaks of you with respect…a rarity for my brother." Then he looked at Hayley, thinking that she was one of the few in that group as well. "But we will excuse ourselves for a moment, Hayley needs to speak with Niklaus alone."

Cami reviewed Hayley, trying to use her psychological studies to figure out this mysterious and new person. But she nodded and followed Elijah out of the room. He closed the door behind them.

Hayley approached the bed. It was a risk to sit on the edge of the bed, but danger wasn't really coming onto her radar clearly anymore. She placed her backpack and helmet on the floor next to the bed before sitting down.

"What did my brother do to convince you to speak with me?" Klaus whispered so quietly that Hayley had to concentrate quite hard to hear him. Despite the dagger being removed, he was weak and still in pain.

Hayley smiled sadly. Her hands fidgeted in her lap. "He didn't have to convince me." She corrected.

Klaus squinted at her like he was putting together a puzzle. Her eyes met his and they were the missing puzzle he needed. That was when he realized that she was back to normal. He closed his eyes again.

"You didn't have to turn your humanity back on for me, love." He practically snickered.

"She's your sister." Hayley reminded him, ignoring his comment.

"Who betrayed me."

"How many times have you daggered her?" She gave him a moment to answer, but he was quiet. "You pushed her to it. All Rebekah has ever wanted is to be loved and free. You made sure that she never felt either of those. Clearly desperation brought her to the extreme. I'm not saying that she didn't make the biggest mistake of her life, but she's blood and she loves you."

Silence filled the room.

"How did you get this curse of deceiving yourself to believing everyone has goodness in them?" Klaus muttered.

"I don't know what curse you're talking about." Hayley answered bitterly. "Since I got to where I am because I chose to see the worst in everyone I loved…but I also only wanted to see the worst in myself."

Klaus observed her, as she was no longer present in the room. Hayley was thinking about all the horrible things she had done in the past few months, all because she wanted to turn the people who loved her into her enemies.

Hayley's eyes filled with tears. But she held them back as she stared down at her hands. "You're going to live forever, Klaus. You should want to have the people, who truly know you, throughout that forever. Rebekah and…Elijah," She struggled to say his name. "They'll always love you."

Hayley cleared her throat, hating how horse it became as her emotions overwhelmed her. She patted her thighs and stood up to leave. "I'm not an idiot. I know no one can stop you from hurting her. But I tried." She picked up her things and headed to the door.

Klaus didn't have to ask if she was leaving, he already knew she would if she ever turned her humanity back on. He didn't want to say goodbye. Because of the people she spoke of that truly knew him, that he should keep throughout his forever, she was one of them.

Hayley opened the door to see Cami and Elijah already looking at her. Elijah's face was readable: he'd every word Hayley had said to his brother. Cami, however, looked patient and calm. Her human ears couldn't hear that well. Then she watched how the two of them were looking at each other. The tension was obvious. Cami cleared her throat and went into the bedroom to leave them alone.

Hayley felt awkward, just standing there in silence.

"Thank you." Elijah told her gently.

She shrugged. "I don't think it did anything."

But Elijah shook his head in disagreement. Then his demeanor softened. "You do not have to leave." Except it sounded more like begging.

"Yes, I do." She couldn't let him say any more. She needed to leave. Without giving him any sort of goodbye, Hayley quickly walked away, got on her motorcycle, and drove as away from New Orleans as fast as she could.

Please review! I think a lot of you will be excited for the next chapter. Just a little tease ;)