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A/N: Sorry I won't be updating as regularly.

Chapter 51

Klaus was still looking at her wickedly and yet with curiosity at the same time. He hadn't said anything after she'd suggested that he let her go back to the party. She wasn't sure what was going through his head. They just stood there, her back up against the tree and his body pretty close to hers, and looked at one another. Until finally he spoke again.

"Another thing I find interesting, AJ," he began, putting a hand on the tree and leaning down near here, "was that after I sent that 'werewolf' after you, I followed you. And I saw you get hit by the car—"

"Wait, hold on," AJ said, holding up a hand as her eyebrows furrowed together, "You sent the werewolf thing after me? How? And… how was the moon full? I checked a calendar and it says that there shouldn't be a full moon for another two weeks." That'd been the most civil and somewhat normal thing she'd ever said to him. It was a little shocking.

He laughed. "Like I said, AJ. Greta was not happy with you. She asked if she could test out some spells, and I figured she deserved to play with you a little. I asked her to use a werewolf," he said as if he were merely stating that there wasn't a cloud in the sky that night. Right. The werewolf thing wasn't a big deal at all. "Anyway," he continued, "I saw you get hit by the car. And I could smell the blood coming out of a gash on your leg—it was… very appealing. But all of this was just last night. And you do not seem to be injured." He cocked an eyebrow at her. "So I ask this only to be polite. May I examine your injury?"

Oh no. She thought things couldn't get any worse. What would he say when he saw she was completely healed? Would he know that Elijah is around? She wasn't sure what to expect. But she did know that if she told him no, he'd only get violent and more touchy. She sighed. This absolutely sucked, especially because the wound had been on her thigh… That was pretty close to a spot she didn't want him near. He was looking at her expectantly.

"Is this just so you can get touchier with me, Klaus? How much older are you than me? That's just… creepy," she said, hoping to deter him. If he thought that it would repulse her to have him… look there, then would he reconsider?

Klaus laughed. "Trust me, AJ, if I wanted to be touchier with you, I would simply do as I please. I was simply asking you out of courtesy."

"Right…" she sighed again. Suddenly, she wished she had said no to going to the ball. Yes, she had some fun with Elijah, but the things they were going to do before Elena called were a thousand times more appealing than the dance she'd had with him. And Klaus putting his hands where he shouldn't. She just wished she could be in Elijah's arms, right in that moment. But she looked back up at the reality in front of her and slowly nodded. She knew it was her best option.

"Fantastic," he smiled wickedly, but replaced it quickly with a gentleman-like somberness. He remembered exactly where he'd seen the injury, so he reached down to the bottom of her dress and lifted it so it only exposed the skin he needed to look at. And there was nothing there—not even a scar.

She was biting her lip and holding her breath, partly trying to control the side of her that liked the feeling of Klaus's knuckles just barely touching her skin near the side of her upper thigh, and partly trying not to fully shudder because he was so close. "See what you needed to yet?" she asked impatiently.

He returned her dress to the way it had been before and stood up straighter to study her. What an interesting creature. "Yes. Do you always heal so quickly? Or does another factor play into it?"

She couldn't tell if he was being serious or suggesting that she'd had help. She decided to play dumb. "I didn't realize other… factors could affect how quickly I healed? I just know that I heal a lot faster than normal humans do." She prayed he'd buy her act. She was actually a very good actress.

He nodded slightly and narrowed his eyes, examining her completely. He'd once come across a Warrior who could heal within seconds. That'd been a hard bitch to kill. It seemed to him that AJ's healing was either speeding up somehow—since he'd once seen her hurt and it took her longer than a day to heal from it—or she was getting blood. From an Original.

He took a step closer to her, putting his body only millimeters away from hers. She looked up at him, her eyebrows coming together. What was he doing?

"There are many things I do not understand about you, Warrior. But there is something I'm beginning to get," he said, deciding to actually use this approach. He hadn't in many, many years. But he could tell it was true with her. "Some part of you," he said, bringing his face close to hers as he caressed her face again, "has some sort of… feelings for me. Am I right?" he smiled at her wickedly.

"Disgust?" she said, trying to look innocent. He could not be realizing that. He couldn't be. It wasn't the dominate part of her! It was the small part that she fought! So those… feelings or whatever they were, they didn't count! She loved Elijah.

He shook his head slowly and laughed. His dark blue eyes looked black in the night. "Oh no. I don't think its disgust." He'd heard the way her breath hitched in her throat and her heart began eating rapidly when he'd lifted up her dress. And he knew it hadn't been out of fear. The girl was fearless. He tilted his head a little bit, looking at her lips. Sending her the message of what he was thinking.

"Klaus! What—what are you doing?" She tried backing up more, realizing just what he was thinking, but she was still trapped between him and a tree. A tree whose bark dug into her skin, although that was the least of her worries. Had he lost his mind?

"Only what you want me to do, you just won't admit it," he said musically, leaning in further.

She was suddenly terrified—of herself. The part of her that actually wanted to kiss him—the part she'd thought was small—was getting stronger and stronger. But she couldn't let it. She couldn't kiss Klaus.

"You're a sick monster!" she spat, turning her head away from his encroaching lips. She didn't know why he was trying to get to her in that way, but she was thoroughly annoyed and disturbed. Mostly at herself. Now she almost wished Elijah would come and find her. But she knew that would end badly. Very badly.

He grabbed her arms and pinned them to the tree, but strangely found himself being gentle at the same time. He shrugged off the thought. He put his knee in between her legs to hold that part of her steady so that she'd stop kicking him. Now only her head wasn't cooperating. "AJ, darling, I ask you to stop trying to fight me. It won't end well for you."

"That's what you've said a bunch of times, and look! You still haven't hurt me!" she shouted at him, angry that he was so much stronger than her. She couldn't fight him off.

He growled. "Do not test me and my patience. I've only refrained from hurting you because I've made myself do so. I would have no problem inflicting just the right amount of pain on you to get you to beg for mercy," he said menacingly.

"Then do it! Go ahead and do it!" She felt helpless and alone and angry. She was being rash and stupid for yelling at him, but she couldn't control her temper. Klaus's fangs popped out and the area around his eyes turned dark with veins showing through. She felt dumb for provoking him—she was certain he'd actually hurt her this time. She closed her eyes and waited for him to strike. She wasn't sure how long she was held there with her eyes pinched shut, but when she felt no attack, she opened them back up. He was looking at her strangely—it was an emotion she couldn't read.

And then he was gone and she was free from his hard grasp. She rubbed at her arms and looked around, thinking he was playing some sort of sick game with her. But she didn't see him. He didn't come back. She grabbed the heels that had fallen to the ground at some point during their encounter and ran back to the Lockwood's house. She picked up her dress's skirts as she ran, her hair flowing behind her. She made it to the patio easily, not even out of breath, and continued to run to the door. She needed Elijah. She needed to feel his comforting arms around her, his breath tickling the back of her neck and her ears. She needed him. The after affects of being around Klaus were closing in on her, making her feel like she was suffocating. Somehow, a part of her darker side had been unlocked and she wasn't sure how to put it back in her cage. That scared her.

She was inside the house that was still full of people laughing and having a good time. How long she'd been out there, she wasn't sure. But she suspected Elijah was looking for her. She hoped he was. She stood on her tip-toes, searching the room for his face. But she couldn't find it. She pushed through people, looking this way and that, but she still didn't see him. Where was he? Where was Elena and the rest of her friends? Suddenly she heard Stephen's voice and turned in the direction of it. He was near the staircase, talking to the Mayor. She rushed over to him. When his eyes landed on her, he was surprised but relieved.

"There you are!" Stephen said to AJ, then saw the frantic look on her face. He turned back to the Mayor. "If you'll excuse us, I know Elena's been looking for AJ…"

"Yes of course," Mayor Lockwood said cheerily, "Have fun kids!"

Stephen was leading AJ towards the room that was a study and probably not in party-limits. Once they were out of ear-shot from the Mayor, he gave her his full attention. "Are you okay? Where have you been? We've looked for you everywhere," he said, sounding concerned. The pale look on her face wasn't helping.

"Where's Elijah?" she asked immediately, skipping his questions. She just wanted to find Elijah first.

Stephen gestured towards the study's closed door. She rushed over to it and he opened it for her, glancing around before he slipped in behind her.

Her eyes found Elijah pacing back and forth, his arms crossed as a worried frown stayed on his face. He looked up once the door opened and looked surprised once he saw her, then extremely relieved. She rushed up to him and he held his arms out, pulling her as close as he could, wrapping his arms around her. Her skin felt strangely cold. He kissed her forehead, the relief overwhelming. She'd been gone for an hour and no one had known where she went. From the way she was holding on to him, he had an idea that whatever had happened to her hadn't been good.

"It's okay, love," he murmured quietly in her ear so that her friends wouldn't hear it. But the other vampires in the room could, of course. He rubbed his hands up and down her back, trying to comfort her. When he noticed she was shaking—he wasn't really sure if it was from nerves or the fact she was so cold—he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. She looked at him appreciatively.

"Thank you," she said, and with just those two words everyone in the room could tell something wasn't right. They were all in the Mayors study—it was the only place they thought to go to get some privacy while they tried to track down AJ. Stephen had gone to talk to the Mayor if she'd seen AJ and to ask just how far the party out on the property extended when she'd shown up.

"What happened?" Elijah asked, still holding her close to him. He rested his chin on her head, still trying to warm her up.

She shook her head. "Can we go home?"

"Yes of course," Elijah answered without thinking twice. If she wanted to go home, he'd take her there. He'd do anything to make her feel better, even if he didn't yet know what was wrong.

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