Chapter Thirty Eight

Beggars Can't Be Choosers

"Not that I'm not flattered you went to me with your boy troubles, but isn't that what sisters are for? And don't you have three of those?"

Halia shook her head, her curls bouncing. "Gemma's moping around the house, acting miserable, and won't talk to any of us. Bella's always so busy with everyone else, I don't want to bother her. And Adora, well we don't get along, especially when it comes to Niklaus," she explained.

"You mean, the last time you tried to talk about boys with her she killed you?" I said dryly.

Halia sighed, running a hand over her face. "I'm sorry for bothering you, Hailey. I'll just let you get back to your life." She stood up and began to walk towards the door.

I blurred to the door before her, cutting her off. "Woah, Hallie, I didn't say you had to leave," I told her. "I'm supposed to go to this party with my friend, but if you want to, you can come along."

The idea of taking Halia to a party with kegs and beer pong and horny high school boys probably wasn't that smart, not when her big sister was the highest ranking officer of the fun police and her boyfriend would tear apart any man who so much as blinked at her. But Halia needed to get her mind off of the drama in her life, and I always found that the easiest way to do that was to get shit faced drunk.

Halia raised her eyebrows. "Party? What kind of party? Will it be fun?"

I smirked at her. "Well, I always enjoyed them."

She frowned slightly. "Would Bella approve of me going to this 'party'?"

"In no way, shape, or form," I told her honestly, smirk widening.

"Then I'm in."

I grinned. "Then you need different clothes," I said, already heading to my closet.

Halia frowned down at the dress she was wearing. "What's wrong with this? I think it's cute."

I rolled my eyes. "Please, Snow White. You look like you've spent the entire day in church. You go to a party dressed like that, and they'll eat you alive. A little thing all sweet and innocent and naïve like you, you need to look edgier or you won't stand a chance."

She shifted uncomfortably, and I softened. "Look, Hallie. You'll be fine. I won't leave you. When I say they'll eat you alive, I don't mean physically. I mean emotionally, mentally. These are just high school kids. The worst they can do is make you feel like shit about yourself. They won't do any actual bodily harm."

"If that's supposed to make me feel better," Halia said slowly, frowning. "It doesn't."

Shrugged. "In a few hours you'll be so drunk you won't even remember this conversation, so what does it matter?"

I started digging through my closet. "I think I have a skirt in here somewhere, but I'm not sure. Go get started on your makeup. The older you look, the better. And we're ditching the curls for tonight. They make you look like you're six years old."

Halia looked on warily. "I'm going to regret going with you tonight, aren't I?"

I smirked to myself as I picked a blue tank top out of the disaster that was my closet. "You came over here saying that you wanted me to distract you from Klaus, here I am supplying a distraction. Beggars can't be choosers, Hallie."

I threw her the outfit I had chosen for her- blue tank top, black miniskirt, and a leather jacket. She frowned at the clothes. "Are you sure? More of my skin is exposed than it's covered."

"That's the point," I told her. "Hurry up, I gotta go take a shower."

I headed towards the bathroom. Elena wouldn't be happy that Halia was crashing our "normal" weekend. But Halia thought she needed normal in her life, and I was hoping the party I was going to bring her to would convince her normal was exactly what she didn't need.

~EL~

"Bella, if you want to yell at me, can you please do it when I'm sober?"

Bella let out a huff of annoyance as Jace rubbed his temples. "I don't want to yell at you, Jace. What I want is for you to not get my brothers drunk in the middle of the day."

He smirked up at her. "Do you prefer a certain time of day? Because I'm open to suggestions, Bella."

The look she shot him wiped the smirk right off of his face. Jace cleared his throat and sat up straight. Bella terrified him, to his very core.

"There really is no difference between you and your sister, is there?" she muttered, letting out a sigh. "You're both infuriating and you don't listen."

"I think the prime difference between me and Hailey is that you scare the shit out of me. Hailey, on the other hand, won't openly admit she's afraid of you," he pointed out.

Bella frowned. "Speaking of Hailey, where is she? I've been calling her nonstop for days. I know Halia is back, so I'm assuming she is as well."

Jace nodded. "Yeah, she is. I talked to her earlier today. She said she's going to be unavailable for a few days, and told me to tell you that."

"Why couldn't she tell me herself?" Bella questioned.

Jace sighed, head pounding. "I don't know. Something about avoiding you and secret keeping, I don't really know." He paused, eyes widening. "I don't think I was supposed to tell you that."

"Hailey's hiding something from me?" Bella took a deep breath, her head starting to hurt. This was all spiraling out of control. She needed fresh air. What she really needed was a bottle of very strong alcohol, but she couldn't get drunk right after yelling at Jace and her brothers for doing the same thing.

Turning on her heels, Bella started towards the door, not giving Jace a second glance. She walked towards the living room, towards the one person in the world she would allow to see her lose control. Elijah looked up when she entered, and she closed the door promptly behind her.

Neither said anything, and Bella was breathing deeply, trying to calm herself down. "What happened?" Elijah asked finally.

"I'm struggling," she answered quietly, closing her eyes. "Struggling to keep control of the family, struggling to keep everyone together, struggling to keep everyone under control. And I'm failing. I'm failing, Elijah. Adora's in New York City, Klaus is one step away from killing everyone, Gemma and Rebekah are pouting, I haven't a clue what's going on with Finn and Kol, Joseph and Garrett are day drunks, led by our half-witch descendant, Adrian hasn't stopped punishing himself since he came back from the dead, and Halia is- I don't even know. I can't even spare time to find out how she's doing, how everyone is doing, because I'm too busy failing. Hailey's keeping secrets from me, she doesn't trust me. I don't even know how to go about getting my siblings' powers back, and I don't even know if I should. Why give a group of unstable fairies dangerous powers? And, to top it all off, I hear Adora's voice in the back of my head, constantly mocking me, telling me how much of a failure I am. And I can't shut it off. I can't."

She looked at him, like she always did. Elijah had been her rock for a thousand years, the one who held her together when she started to come apart. He expected this to come sooner or later, for Bella to crumble eventually under the stress she had forced upon herself. That's why she had him, to lessen the burden she forced herself to carry.

Elijah chose his words carefully, like he always did. He knew how to handle Bella when she was as emotional as she was at that moment. "I think your problem, Bella," he said slowly, looking up at her. "Is that you're forcing yourself to take responsibility for people you really shouldn't be. I once told you that your compassion and selflessness are two of your greatest traits, and I believe that to this day. But I also believe that they cripple you, and that you allow them to. For the lack of a better term, Bella, I think you're mothering our siblings, and the Ellis siblings. And I believe that if you continue to do so on this great a scale, it will continue to eat you away."

She frowned at him, her eyes narrowing in the way they did when she was debating whether or not to be offended by what he had to say. "What do you want me to do, then, Elijah? Not give a damn about them?" she asked bitterly. "I remember when I used to not give a damn about things; you weren't rather fond of me then."

Elijah frowned at her, and Bella sighed, knowing she had gone too far. Those years were something they had agreed not to discuss, a dark period for both of them. "I'm sorry," she whispered, eyes going to the floor. "But what do you think I should do, if you think I care too much about our family?"

He stood up, towering over Bella. Despite their height difference, Bella never felt small with Elijah. Her hands rested on his suit covered chest, and he seemed to relax under her touch. "Despite how they act sometimes, our siblings are grown adults and they can handle their own business until proven otherwise. I believe that until things get too out of control, it'd be best for everyone if you just let them be." She opened her mouth to argue, but he raised a hand to stop her. "Yes, we do have to get your siblings' powers back eventually, and I do think that Adora is someone we should watch carefully, but you need to resist the urge to mother, Bella."

Her eyes narrowed. "I can't help it, I am a mother. It's a natural instinct."

Her eyes widened slightly when she realized her mistake, and Elijah stiffened. She mentioned the dark period and their children within five minutes, two parts of their lives that were connected yet completely different at the same time. If talk about the twins made Bella depressed, it made Elijah cold, distant. It shut him down.

Bella was worried that was what was going to happen then, and she watched him warily as he blinked, exhaled slowly, and then finally relaxed. Then Elijah went on as if she hadn't spoken. "And, as for Hailey, she's a teenager. She's uncontrollable, so don't even bother to try. But, I promise you this, she is loyal to us, to you. I can tell. You may not agree with her actions and decisions, but whatever she's doing, it's not to purposely hurt you."

"Do we trust her, though?" Bella asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think she's quite remarkable, despite her poor attitude," Elijah replied.

Bella smiled slightly. "As do I."

Elijah kissed her lightly on the lips, then on the forehead. It had been a habit of his ever since the earlier days of their relationship. "I love you, my Bella," he told her, before pulling away and walking towards the door.

She was still smiling when she turned to look at him. "Where are you going?"

"You're not the only one with family problems," he reminded her, teasing.

"Take your own advice, Elijah," she replied lightly, not seeming bothered in the slightest.

"I'm not mothering them," he corrected her.

"You're fathering them." Bella grinned at him, and it hurt his heart, thinking about how long it had been since he had seen her smile a real, genuine smile.

"It's a natural instinct," he teased her, and Bella scoffed. He quickly got out of her way before she could throw something at him.

"If you two are done flirting," a rather cold voice called. "I do believe we have business to attend to, Brother."

Klaus appeared in the doorway, his face void of any emotion as he addressed Elijah. "Well, then, if you're done here," he said, not even glancing at Bella. "Shall we be on our way?"

~EL~

"You said no originals, Hailey."

I sighed as Elena stared accusingly at me as we stood in the crowd of drunk teenagers. I made sure to keep Halia in the corner of my eye, so that I wouldn't lose her. "She's my family, Elena. What was I supposed to do?"

Elena just sighed and shook her head. "Whatever, Hailey." I watched her walk away from me, jaw dropping slightly.

"Elena, come back, okay? Don't be this way!"

"Are you fighting about me?"

Halia looked older when she didn't have ringlets framing her face and a flower printed dress grazing her knees. She looked in her twenties maybe, but that innocence that came with the wide eyes would never leave her. It was who Halia was. She was forever innocent, forever kind. And I admired that she accepted that.

But sweet little Halia was also unsteady on her feet. I could smell the cheap beer on her breath, and I let out a sigh. That had to be her second beer, and Halia was already drunk? I had a feeling she'd be a lightweight.

"Nah," I said, shrugging, deflecting the question. "How's the party treating you, Hallie?"

"Great!" her face lit up. "People in this century are so welcoming. Especially the men. They want my number, Hailey. They want to hook up with me. What number could they be wanting? And what's 'hooking up' exactly?" she frowned in confusion.

I sighed. I knew bringing Halia to this party would cause trouble. Just then, a boy who I recognized from the halls but didn't care enough about to know his name came up to Halia. "Hey, Hallie. A bunch of us are playing beer pong. You in?" he smirked at her, his eyes undressing her.

Halia grinned back, not noticing the way he stared at her. "Yes! I don't know what beer pong is, but it sounds interesting."

He laughed. "Your cousin is great, Hailey. Where is she from?" he asked me, but still looking at Halia.

"England," I answered bluntly, not liking the way he was looking at her.

"Great," he said vaguely, his hand sliding up to Halia's waist. "Coming, Hallie?"

I gripped his wrist and slammed him against a nearby tree. "Watch your hands, Rick. She's taken," I told him bluntly.

"It's Ryan," he sputtered out drunkenly, eyes widening.

"Sure it is," I said, releasing him. "Now go away."

He was gone, and turned back to Halia, who was frowning at me. "Who am I taken by?" she asked me, arms crossed over her chest.

I rolled my eyes. "I think we should get you out of here, Halia. This was a bad idea."

She didn't budge. "Answer me, Hailey."

"You know damn well who," I snapped.

She glared at me. "I'm not Niklaus', alright? I don't belong to him."

"Look," I said. "I don't know what happened between you two, okay? I don't know what makes you want to go out and get drunk and get hit on by creepy high school guys, but all I know is that Klaus Mikaelson waited a thousand years to raise you from the dead because he loved you that damn much. Now if that's not dedication, I don't know what is. And I know you love him too. And I know what it's like to be in love with the bad guy, and I know for someone like you, it's not something easy to swallow. But just, please Halia, stop using me as a distraction and just face

She stared blankly at me. "I think I need a refill."

I groaned. "Fine, do whatever you want. I'm gonna go get really drunk right now, okay?"

I walked away from her. Stubbornness definitely ran in the family.

~EL~

Her last conversation with Niklaus made Halia either want to rip her hair out or cry. She couldn't tell. So instead she continued to drink the rancid beverage called beer and lean her head against the tree.

"I need you, Halia."

She exhaled sharply. How it must've killed him, to admit that. She wasn't sure she knew this Niklaus well, but human Niklaus hated relying on people.

"How can I get you to forgive me? Just tell me and I'll do it- I'll do whatever you want, just please-" he cut himself off.

"It's not that simple, Niklaus," she told him. "You can't undo the past."

"It can't just end like this," he said then, jaw tightening. "I won't let it. I'll-"

"You'll what?" she asked sadly. "Hold me against my will? Force me to stay with you when I can't even look you in the eye? Is that what you do now? Force people to be your friends so you won't be alone?"

She hated what she had said to him, even though it had to be true.

"Halia… I love you. I do."

And she knew it was true. He did. And it hurt because she loved him too.

"I'm sorry, Niklaus. I can't. I'm sorry."

And the look on his face when she walked away would break Halia's heart for the rest of her life.

So Halia continued to drink because it numbed her heart, or at least it felt like it did.

~EL~

It was half past two when I pulled Halia into the original mansion, her head rolling onto my shoulder. When I finally found her again at the party, she was completely wasted. It was then I decided to get her home.

"I don't feel so good, Hailey," she moaned as I half-dragged her into the house.

"Yeah, wait until you wake up tomorrow," I muttered.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Halia whined.

"Oh God, please don't throw up on my boots."

"Where are we?" Halia straightened suddenly, as if completely forgetting she needed to throw up.

"Your boyfriend's house," I told her dryly. "I figured I'd have less of a chance running into your sister here."

"Is Niklaus here?" she asked me, her words slurring together.

"I'm not sure," I said, pulling her towards the living room.

"I want to talk to him, Hailey. I need to talk to him."

"Nuh-uh-uh, nope, not happening. Friends don't let friends visit their estranged lovers when they're completely shit faced," I told her.

"But-" she started to argue, before cutting herself off. "Oh, I feel sick again, Hailey."

"What's going on here?"

When Klaus entered the room, Halia's face lit up. When Klaus saw Halia, he almost flinched. But then he probably smelled the alcohol on her before he noticed her sloppy movements. "Is she drunk?"

I shrugged. "More or less."

"More, by the looks of it," he said dryly.

"Oh, Niklaus, I've been looking for you!" she exclaimed suddenly, dashing towards him. Halia made it two feet across the room before stumbling forward and losing her balance. Klaus blurred to her and caught her in his arms before she face planted.

"Easy there, Love," he told her, and Halia seemed to melt into him.

She smiled at him. "I've been looking for you," she repeated.

He frowned at her, conflicted, before he looked back at me. "I can take her," he told me.

"You sure?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "You don't have to."

"It's fine," he said gruffly, before swinging her up into his arms. She giggled as he did. "Bella will be tearing the flesh from your bones as soon as she discovers you got Halia drunk, anyway."

I pursed my lips. "Yeah, that's not going to go over well."

He almost smirked. "May my sister-in-law have mercy on your soul."

Then Klaus was gone, and I was left to see myself out.

~EL~

A/N: We'll get some Klalia, some Kemma, some drama, some more drama, some violence, and some actual plot development *gasps* all coming up soon.

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~Abby :)