AN: Anddd here we are in the club. Thanks for your review, VampireJacinta. If everyone isn't already worshipping her, please start. Now. (:

Part Twenty-eight: Psycho

Everything in The Giorango was bathed in a dull, purple glow. Klaus sat at the bar and sipped his martini, watching the horde of bodies on the dance floor. Such a lively crowd made him hungry, but there was no way he could feed here without someone noticing, and over the years Klaus had learned the important of stealth. Rin and Breezy had long since disappeared onto the dance floor, and he kept losing track of them. They moved so quickly. One minute, Rin was dancing with her friend, the next minute, she was… Wait. Where was she?

There was no sign of her. His stomach turned as he pictured her flirting with some stranger in another room. He pushed the thought out of his mind. What she did here was none of his business, right?

Rin was, in fact, flirting with a stranger, but with a purpose. She and three other well-dressed young people were crammed into the women's bathroom, passing a joint around, which just so happened to belong to said stranger. The man next to her was tall, had dark blonde hair, and perfect, sloping features. What caught her eye in the first place, however, was his well-tailored suit. It perfectly accentuated his lean shoulders, and she had been interested in pursuing him, at least for a little while. Unfortunately, now she was getting a little bored. Pressing her back into his chest, she leaned up to whisper in his ear.

"I might have to disappear soon," she said huskily. He wrapped an arm around her waist as he took a hit, and then held the joint to her lips.

"But we're having such a good time, babe," he said. His use of the word "babe" was seriously killing her high. He was cute, but there was no reason to stick around if he didn't impress her mentally. She smiled up at him and twisted around to place a light kiss on his neck just as someone across the circle finished up the joint.

"Au revoir," she said, waving over her shoulder at him. He grinned back at her, but with a bit of a cold expression on his face. Rin immediately procured her phone from her clutch. Time to spice up the night a little.

"i'm at the giorango in nyc. come find me?" Damon snatched up his phone from the couch and read the text as he flipped through channels.

"my princess awaits. i'll be there soon," he sent back.

"more like your queen." Damon smirked, glad she'd found a way out. Earlier, he had contemplated inviting himself over to Klaus', but had a feeling he wouldn't get through the front door. That was a project for another day.

Rin smiled and put her phone back in her clutch. Now all she had to do was kill a couple of hours while Damon got here. Her eye landed on Breezy, who was shining like a flashlight in the dim lighting. As usual, Breezy was drinking too much, surrounded by a group. She marched over to her friend's seat at the bar and decided to interrupt her shot consumption. Before Breezy even noticed, Rin had plucked a glass from her set and downed it quickly, fighting back a gag at the taste of vodka.

"Care to introduce me, Breeze?" she asked, leaning in toward her friend. Breezy threw her arms around Rin.

"Rin! Oh my god. Guys, this is my best friend Rin." The group nodded their greetings, all fairly drunk themselves.

"Nice to meet you, Rin," said one of the guys as he came around the group to approach her. "Jack. Can I buy you a drink? You look familiar." His eyes were bloodshot. Judging by the smile on his face, it was pretty clear he was stoned as well.

"You must have seen me in a dream last night," she said sarcastically. The "you-look-familiar" line was one she'd gotten a few times now. "And I'd love a drink." The twenty-something grinned at her and ordered two New York cocktails. He was about as tall as her friend from earlier that night, with spiked brown hair and Mediterranean-looking features. Rin didn't find herself particularly interested, but she was getting a free drink.

Jack settled onto the barstool next to her just as the bartender brought over their drinks. He took a sip, looking at her over the edge of his glass.

"Rin. Got a last name?" he asked casually.

"Yamamoto," she replied, wondering idly what his energy might feel like,

"So you're Japanese. Cool."

"Yep, one hundred percent. What about you?" she asked, flashing a sultry smile and leaning towards him.

"Greek. One hundred percent," he said, returning her grin.

Klaus saw the two of them from across the bar. It was an L-shape, and he was on the opposite end of the L. Some brunette model had been asking him what he did for a living while he watched Rin and the stranger exchange pleasantries over drinks. Something about it made him uncomfortable, but he couldn't quite place what it was.

"Excuse me," he said to the young woman, grabbing his martini and pushing through the crowd to find her.

"Rude," said the woman, pursing her lips as he walked away.

"Hello, love," said Klaus, plastering a smile on his face as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Who's this?" Jack was a little put off. Was this her boyfriend or something? Rin looked up at him, smiling, but with a deliberate look in her eye. Stop that, she seemed to say, turning back to Jack. She was getting a little buzzed and the last thing she wanted to deal with was Klaus expressing his ownership over her in front of a random stranger. Well, that she could probably deal with, but if he kept this up when Damon got here and she couldn't get away, she would blow a fuse.

"This is Klaus. He's—"

"We live together," he interrupted, staring at Jack.

"Temporarily," said Rin, taking a huge gulp of her cocktail. Perhaps getting drunk faster would block out the memory of Klaus dropping a nuclear bomb on her social life for the moment. It wasn't like she was going to sleep with the guy, she was just flirting. "It's not like a… romantic thing," she said, taking another sip. Klaus rolled his eyes, a gesture Jack did not miss.

"Temporarily. Got it," said Jack, eyeing Klaus. "You know, I'm gonna hit the dance the floor for now. I'll catch you later, Rin." He got up, gathering up his cocktail. "Klaus," he said, nodding at the original vampire. With that, he was gone.

"Are you serious?" she spat, turning to Klaus. "What the hell was that?"

"I didn't like the way he carried himself," said Klaus somberly, finishing off his martini.

"He was buying me a drink. It doesn't matter how he carries himself, I was just talking to him!" she cried, taking another massive gulp of her cocktail. It was almost gone.

"Well, now I'm buying you a drink, and you're talking to me," said Klaus, taking a seat on what used to be Jack's barstool. "Bartender, I'll have two glasses of Cristal." Rin raised a brow at him. That was an expensive drink. The bartender returned a moment later with the glasses and Rin slowly took a sip, wondering what Klaus' motive was here. Earlier, he'd let her drive the db9, and now he was buying her expensive wine. He wouldn't do all these favors without some kind of ulterior motive. "There. That's a real drink," he added, still annoyed at Jack.

In fact, all week he'd been acting strange – he hadn't lost his temper, really, and although he'd been in a good mood, but he'd been weirdly possessive of her. After already getting used to his usual, explosive self, this new Klaus was a little strange to adjust to, and difficult not to be suspicious of.

"What're you doing, Klaus?" asked Rin. It was a loaded question. He looked at her strangely for a moment.

"I don't know what you mean," he said, handing a hefty tip to the bartender.

"All this. Coming with me, letting me drive, the wine. What are you planning?" Klaus had gulped down half his drink already. Vampire's tolerance called for more alcohol than usual, and faster.

"I came with you so Kol wouldn't get the idea he could follow you here. I let you drive because you've been cooped all week, and I bought you the wine because you ought to improve your taste in drink and in men," he said briskly, thrilled that he was actually feeling a slight buzz.

"So you're trying to sway me away from the most elite of New York's party-goers. Interesting," she said, taking another sip. "Who could possibly be more fitting for me?" she asked. "Who could be richer, better looking, or more understanding of my needs?" she paused, letting her pointedness sink in. The alcohol was taking its effect on her faster than she remembered, probably because she rarely made a habit of drinking. "Or are you trying to remind me that I should be more faithful to Damon?"

"I honestly don't know why you're so taken with him," said Klaus, ignoring the rest of her inquiries. He simply did not have an answer.

"Because he's fun. It's a relatively new concept; you might not be familiar," she said, cutting him deeply. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she was being cruel. He'd only shooed off a guy she wasn't really interested in to begin with, but for some reason she was feeling bitter.

"Yeah, Klaus. Because I'm fun." Damon was suddenly next to her, smirking at Rin's drunken coldness. It was even worse than her regular coldness. Immediately, she forgot her bitterness.

"Damon! You made it," she said, flashing her half-smile at him.

"You invited him?" asked Klaus, irritated. He supposed it was only fair to let her spend time with whoever she pleased, but for God's sake, Damon? Now? Was this really necessary?

What happened next caught him off-guard. Right in front of him, Rin leaned up to deliver a passionate kiss to Damon's lips. Instinctively, he pulled her close for a minute before pulling away, smiling down at her curiously. It was very unlike her to put forth such a public display of affection.

Klaus could barely stop himself from crushing the glass in his hand. If there hadn't been so many people around, he might have punched the younger vampire right then and there. Even after Damon pulled away, he couldn't get the image of her leaning up towards him out of his mind. Why him? One of the Salvatore brothers. His sworn enemy until one of them died. Surely there was more to him than the fact that he was "fun" that attracted Rin.

"Care to dance, princess?" he asked, taking Rin's hand. She quickly downed the rest of her wine and placed the glass back on the bar.

"I've been waiting," she said, smirking at him. She turned back to Klaus. "I'll see you in a bit, Klaus!" Suddenly, she was smiley and bright. For the moment, it disgusted him. He watched as Damon led her to the dance floor and the two of them moved to the music, pressed close to each other. Breezy tapped him on the shoulder. She was thoroughly inebriated.

"See, I can see that you're totally in love with her," she slurred. "But don't get too sad about it. She's with that guy because he's easy and reckless, and Rin likes reckless guys. They never push her, you know? She can take advantage of a reckless guy in a second." Breezy took another sip of her drink. "What I think is that one of these days someone is going to come along and push her and she'll actually love somebody for once. Yeah?" Klaus eyed her curiously. Sometime in the twenties, he'd learned that alcohol did sometimes make a person honest. Was Breezy being honest here?

"What do you mean by 'push'?" he asked, knowing she was past the point of remembering this in the morning.

"Challenge her. Put her on the spot. No guy has ever had the balls to challenge her. Especially not Damien or whatever. He's in love with someone else, even. It's hilarious how she can get into his head like that," she said, laughing far too much at her own words.

But hadn't Klaus challenged her already? He'd forced her to starve herself of energy for two days. That was quite a challenge. "But I can tell you right now why she doesn't like you, Mr. Rich Older Guy," continued Breezy. Klaus stared at her as she finished off her drink, awaiting her answer. She was silent.

"Well?"

"Oh! Sorry, my last drink for the night, I think. Um, she doesn't like you because…" She trailed off, as if trying to remember. "Right, 'cause secretly she's like scared of you. I think. But she thinks you're hot." She paused. "Like she said she thinks you're a psycho or something but at least you're hot, yeah?" Klaus narrowed his eyes at her. Rin wasn't scared of anything. Had she really called him a psycho?

Mentally, he shrugged. Klaus was a bit of a psycho, and he knew it.

"Intriguing. Doesn't matter, since I'm not interested," he added for good measure. Without skipping a beat, he ordered another drink, abandoning thoughts of Rin and Damon for the time being.