Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.

Chapter 36

She woke in a room she'd never been in before. Sunlight was streaming through the creamy curtains, bringing a warm ambiance into the room. As her senses came to her quickly—she assumed from having such a great night's sleep—so she studied the part of the room she could see. The walls were a rustic chocolate brown color, and the floor was dark wood with a lighter trim around the base. There was an antique dresser with a matching mirror hanging over it in the middle of the wall. There was also a comfy looking chair with a desk and a lamp next to it near the large windows. A couple of books were on the desk. Elijah's arms were around her, down at her waist, as his head rested near her own. She smiled. She was in his room—in his bed, it appeared. She must have fallen asleep the previous night and he brought her here.

"Good morning," he said, smiling down at her. He'd been watching her sleep for the past half hour.

She turned a little on her side to face him, smiling as well. "Good morning. I'm assuming that you carried me here after I must have fallen asleep outside last night, and not that you somehow managed to get me drunk...and other things. Do I assume correctly?" she giggled, raising an eyebrow. She already knew the answer.

He laughed, "Yes. You assume correctly. I would never get you drunk, AJ. Especially not to get you in bed, if that was something else you were implying," he stuck his chin up, mock arrogantly, "I believe I could do that with you completely sober."

She laughed and punched him playfully on the arm, "Shut up. We're so not talking about that."

He raised a teasing eyebrow, "Oh? And why not? You are in my bed at the moment, are you not?"

She laughed, shaking her head as she looked at him with humor, "I may be in your bed, but I'm not in bed with you. There's a major difference, Elijah."

He gave her a wicked smile. "I'm well aware."

She frowned suddenly, her logic finally returning to her. "What time is it?"

Elijah glanced behind him at the clock in his room. "Nine-fifteen."

AJ shot up and out of bed. "Alaric is going to kill me!" she said frantically. She looked down and realized that she was already dressed, but she knew she still had to take a shower and get into different clothes.

Elijah sat up, but more calm than she had been. "What are you talking about?"

AJ didn't let herself get distracted by Elijah being shirtless, although it was hard. "I'm talking about promising him I'd make it to first hour more often. Mid-terms are soon and he said that I may have a perfect A, but he wanted to see me actually in class more often. That, and Elena and the others are going to be so pissed." Then she froze completely. "Oh my god. What am I supposed to tell them about—"she stopped, not wanting to offend him.

He raised an amused eyebrow. "About us?"

Looking at him sheepishly, she said quietly, "Yes…"

He laughed. "AJ, do you even have to tell them? Does it matter what they think?"

She sighed. "Well, no, not really. But they are my best friends. And they won't be happy about it—not at all." She frowned, feeling horrible for having to say that to him. But it was the truth, and she was sure that he knew it.

Elijah emerged from the bed as well and walked over to her, taking her face in his hands gently. "Not telling them yet won't offend me, AJ, if that's what you're thinking. I understand that they will have some reservations about it, and that they are important people to you. You decide what you want to tell them or do not want to tell them." He looked down at her with complete sincerity as he stroked her face.

She looked back up at him, her eyes undecided. "Maybe if you let them see this side of you—the kind, caring side rather than the cold, dark side—maybe then they wouldn't have such a problem with it. Have you ever thought of that?" She wasn't accusing him of being… well, harsh on purpose, but she was curious if the thought ever occurred to him.

He laughed lightly, but shook his head and sighed. "AJ, love, you are the only one who can see this side of me. If others did… like I told you last night, it would be very dangerous for you."

She nearly sighed in delight at being called 'love' so sweetly, but she focused on his point. "And for you, too?"

He nodded. "Yes. But I am not worried about that. I care only for your well being."

She looked away from him, sighing, "I wish you wouldn't say that. If something happened to you, Elijah, then I—I don't know what I would do. So please don't say that."

He tilted her chin up so that she would meet his eyes. "Nothing will happen to me. Or you, for that matter. Don't worry about it, AJ. I will protect you."

She nodded, looking away again. Then she looked at the clock. Nine twenty-five. Damn.

"I have to go," she told him, pulling his hand away from her face but holding on to it. "I'll take my car and I'll be back later. Will you be here?"

He thought for a moment. "I should be back around five. I have errands."

She nodded. She didn't want to know what kind of 'errands' he had. She was sure it was something to do with Klaus. She left his room quickly, on her way to her own to shower and get ready. Once she had dried her hair and gotten dressed, she rushed out the door and into her car. Speeding the whole way there, she managed to make it to the school just in time for fourth hour. But unfortunately, that was the class she had with Stephen and Elena. She dreaded having to keep her new relationship with Elijah from them, but she would figure out a good time to tell them. Or at least she hoped.

She walked into the class, tardy, but there nonetheless. Elena gave her a look, questioning where AJ had been. AJ just shrugged as she took her usual seat in front of the couple. She couldn't very well bluntly tell them that she had been so cozy in Elijah's arms—oh, and his bed—that she hadn't woken up on time. No, she didn't think that would go over well.

"Alaric isn't happy with you," Stephen whispered to AJ as Mr. Robinson began his lecture.

"Thanks for the warning," she replied quietly, careful not to get on Mr. Robinson's bad side that day. She just wanted to get through the class, go to lunch, and then get through the other ones. School had always been a sort of torment for her, even though she wasn't sure why. She loved to learn, she just didn't like the learning environment, she supposed. But who really did?

After an awkward lunch dodging questions from basically everyone at the table, including Jeremy, AJ found herself going quickly through the remainder of the day. She nearly fell asleep in one class, but repeatedly pinched herself to keep from doing so. It was almost two thirty, and then she could leave.

And then it was two thirty, and she was so happy to get back to the estate that she could barely contain her excitement. She noticed the leery look Elena gave her before she got into Stephen's car as they drove off, but that had been all. AJ sighed in relief. She had made it through the day—well most of it—successfully.

But, of course, that had been when a dark car pulled into the emptying parking lot. Its windows were tinted completely black, so AJ couldn't see inside. But something was telling her that it wasn't good. Especially when it stopped in front of her. She gripped her cell phone in her hand, ready to speed dial Elijah if she needed to, when the back window of the car rolled down. Mafia much?

She bent down a little to peek inside. And sure enough, there was Klaus, sitting on the opposite side of the car from her. His face bore no smirk nor look of arrogance—just complete seriousness.

"AJ," he said in his accented voice, "Get in."

She laughed, genuinely amused. "Yeah, right."

His stare bored into her. "I am not joking. Get in."

She smirked at him. "Sorry. My mother told me not to talk to strangers. She said not to get into their cars, too. So—"

"Warrior," his voice beckoned her silent. "Get. In."

She laughed again, but without humor. "Of course, my mother also told me I didn't have any common sense. I suppose she was right." AJ opened the door to the car and slid in, the leather seats cool under her exposed skin since she was wearing short shorts. She closed the door behind her, the idea of it shutting felt ominous. She had a bad feeling.

"I suppose this is us 'sitting down for a chat'," she said, mocking his accent. She could see that he was clearly in no mood for her sarcasm. She didn't care. The car pulled forward in motion as the driver took them on the road. AJ didn't know where they were going.

"Yes, well, I find that it's becoming even more troublesome to keep track of you these days. Tell me, AJ, do you really feel such a need to hide from me?" Apparently he was in the mood to mock her with his cocky smirk.

She sighed dramatically. "I thought we already went through this. I simply needed a change of—"

"I am far from stupid, Warrior. Do not treat me as if I am so. It will not end well for you," he threatened. She could see his fangs peeking out of his mouth.

She stayed silent a moment, thinking. "You won't hurt me, Klaus. You want me on your side," she stated, believing it to be the truth.

"You're useless to me if you refuse to be on my side," he said coldly. He was scrutinizing her; every expression that crossed her face became subjugated to extreme examination. He was tiring of not understanding why this one Warrior was so very different from all the others. He would figure her out. Even if he had to take matters into his own hands.

"But there is always a chance, isn't there? That I could choose to be on your side?" She didn't mean it. Well, she knew part of her did, but her more dominate part—the good side—didn't mean it. She was with Elijah. He was good. She would protect Elena and her friends. She would remain on their side, even if she had to die for them. But a part of her disagreed.

He raised an eyebrow. "I suppose there is. But if you continue to reject, of what use are you to me, Warrior?"

It was a rhetorical question and she knew it. She squeezed her fists together to hide her trembling hands. Something really wasn't right. She could feel it, now. "What are you planning on doing?" she asked in the strongest voice she could manage.

He smiled at her wickedly. Then she heard the car doors lock.

As much as she hated to admit it, it appeared her mother was truly right. Common sense was something she lacked in a severe way.

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