It had been a few days since Toby told Elena to turn off her humanity, and in all honesty, Elowen was trying to avoid that whole situation. Toby had brought that onto himself and she wasn't going to sit there and try to pick up the pieces of the mess that he created with Damon's help. Speaking of Damon, she was still mad at him for intervening in Toby and Elena's business and he was still mad at her for kissing Kol, so they hadn't seen each other or had any contact at all since coming back from the island. So, you can imagine her surprise when she entered her bedroom after taking a shower and found Damon lying on her bed.

She was already dressed, but she had her hair wrapped in a towel. She unwrapped it and tossed the towel on the back of her desk chair and walked over to her dresser where her brush was. Damon slowly sat up as she walked over to the mirror in her room and started brushing her hair.

"You're not even going to ask why I'm here?" He asked. "We're in the middle of a fight and you aren't the least bit curious as to why I'm sitting on your bed?"

Elowen didn't answer him.

"Ah, the silent treatment. I see."

Damon swung his legs off of her bed and stood up. He walked over to Elowen and stood behind her, his eyes watching her through the mirror. Finally, her eyes flickered up to Damon. She still didn't say anything, and Damon rolled his eyes. He grabbed her hips and turned her around, then his hands went up to her face.

"I'm here to call a truce. I miss you. That, and I know that Stefan's been sneaking over here every night since Elena burned her house down and sleeping over, and I admit, it's making me a little jealous. Just a little. No more than a smidge."

Damon sighed when Elowen still didn't respond.

"Okay, that's not all I'm here for. I wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have stuck my nose in places it didn't belong and now wolf boy is in a hole that he can't dig himself out of. It's my fault and I take full responsibility."

"You're not actually sorry, are you?" Elowen asked, finally deciding to speak.

Damon opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He tilted his head from side to side as he tried to figure out what to say before finally sighing.

"Alright, fine, you caught me. I'm not sorry."

Elowen shot him a look and she reached up to take Damon's hand off of her face. She turned back towards the mirror and resumed brushing her hair.

"Look, Elena's a vampire. Off switch is one of the biggest perks. If being undead gets you down," he snapped his fingers, "vampire prozac."

"She burned down her family home with her brother's dead body still inside," Elowen deadpanned.

"Saves us the trouble of having to do it ourselves. I call that a win."

"See, this is exactly why I'm mad at you. Jeremy deserved more than that. You could at least act like you care."

"Oh, come on. We both know I don't care unless it comes to you. It's one of my fatal flaws. Hey, speaking of your friend, do you know how he's doing?"

"No. I told him he needed to deal with this himself and that I wasn't going to help him."

"Well, that explains why he was asking for my advice yesterday."

"Please tell me you turned him away."

At Damon's silence, Elowen groaned and turned back around.

"Damon!"

"What? I figured I should at least help him out a bit since it's sorta my fault he's in this mess. Actually, it's still partially his fault since he was dumb enough to listen to me. I always knew he was an idiot."

"Well, what did you tell him?"

"I told him not to worry and to just use the sire bond to make her turn it back on, but he started whining about how forcing all of her grief on her at once would overwhelm her, so I told him to show her a good time and give her a reason to want to turn it back on. Look, I'm trying to help him fix this. Doesn't that count for something?"

Elowen crossed her arms. "He still wouldn't be dealing with this if you just kept your mouth shut."

"Probably."

Elowen shook her head and once again faced the mirror and went back to brushing her hair. Damon sighed again.

"I really do miss you, you know. I'm trying to forgive you for the whole Kol thing, so could you at least do the same for me?"

"Are you really willing to forgive me?"

"Let's just say that if Bonnie really does bring the veil down and Kol comes back to life, the first thing I'm gonna do is kill him."

Elowen's face showed that she wasn't amused.

"Oh, come on! I said I was willing to forgive you, not Kol. Look…" Damon trailed off as he searched for the right words. "You're… one of the best things to ever happen to me and I'd really hate to lose you over something so stupid, so mundane, so… human. If we're going to break up, I'd prefer to be over something epic, you know? I've had time to think it over and I guess what I'm trying to say is… I love you, Wen, and I'm not letting you go because you made a mistake. To a normal person, it's a big one, but I've been alive for almost two centuries, and to me, it's tiny. I was just hurt. Can you really blame me? God, this must've been how Ric felt when he found out your mom had the hots for Elijah. Ugh."

Elowen started to smile. She turned around once more and wrapped her arms around Damon's neck. "The only difference is, I didn't have the hots for Kol. Marisol did."

"Right. What are we gonna do about that, by the way?

Elowen shrugged. "I don't think there's anything we can do. I am her, and she'll always be apart of me. Her soul might be gone, but… her memories are still intact, and so are her feelings. I think we're just gonna have to deal with it."

Damon groaned. "Great, so that means you can play tonsil hockey with Klaus at any given moment and you won't be able to control yourself."

Without a word, Elowen twirled around and went back to her hair. Damon stared at her through the mirror in disbelief.

"Oh, seriously? I was just joking!"

"I know, which is why I'm keeping my mouth shut."

Damon narrowed his eyes. "Don't test me. I just forgave you. Next thing you're gonna say is that Kol was better than I am."

Elowen didn't say anything again. Damon whined.

"Oh, come on, Wen! You're not being fair."

"You're really asking to get your feelings hurt, aren't you?" Elowen asked, finally replying.

"Come on, my ego's not that big."

"Uh, yes it is."

Damon pouted at her from over her shoulder. "You can't share even the littlest detail? Please? For me?"

Elowen finally finished brushing her hair and she walked over to set her brush back down on her dresser. She walked past Damon and over to her window where her backpack was sitting.

"I have school this morning. I should go."

"Oh, no you don't." Damon sped across the room and grabbed her bag before she could reach it. "Not until you share with the class."

Elowen huffed and crossed her arms. "Fine. You want to hear it? Kol was a phenomenal kisser. Guy was like, a thousand years old. Of course he was more experienced than you."

"Okay, now you're just saying this to fuck with me."

"I'm really not. Kol really knew how to use his tongue. Like, really knew how to use it. He did this little trick where-"

"Okay, okay! I get it." Damon shoved her backpack against her chest. "He was better than I am."

"Aw, is someone upset that he isn't as great at what he does as he thought he was?"

"Whatever. You're not getting any, any time soon."

"That's fine. I still have Stefan."

"Okay, now I'm mad at you for a completely different reason."

"Hey, don't blame me. I told you that you didn't wanna know." Elowen glanced at the clock on her nightstand. "I have to go." She got on her tiptoes and kissed Damon on the cheek. "Don't let the window hit you on the way out!"

Damon glared at Elowen as she turned and skipped towards her door. It opened and closed behind her, leaving him alone in her room by himself.

xxxx

"So, that's the plan?" Damon asked Toby as they stood in Damon's bedroom with Stefan. He'd come home after seeing Elowen and found the annoying hybrid in his house, along with Elena. Something about the boarding house being the only place they could take a shower without being burned by the vervain in the water supply.

"You're gonna take her back to school?"

"Well, the fun route didn't work," Toby replied. "She nearly killed someone last night. Look, do you think I want to go to school and play chaperone? You obviously can't help since you're not a student, and you wouldn't have helped anyway if you were. I've already dragged Stefan into this because Elowen's iced me out and I have no one else to turn to."

"Besides, you've got to look for Katherine," Stefan said. "I mean, clearly, Elena needs this cure now more than ever."

Caroline entered the room, wearing a pink bathrobe, with Veronica in tow.

"Not that anyone asked me, but I think taking her back to school is a great idea," Caroline piped up.

Damon looked at her. "Why are you here?"

"Uh, blame it on your fancy water filters-"

"Right. Only vervain free showers in town. So many people to kill."

"Hey, so how does this humanity switch thing even work?" Veronica asked. "I've been wondering about that. Like, any vampire can do it?"

"Pfft." Damon rolled his eyes at her question and she frowned. Stefan sighed and turned so he could patiently answer her questions.

"Yes, any vampire can do it, including your brother. Vampires often teeter totter between humanity and no humanity, so some of us, like myself, Toby and Caroline, do human things in order to stay in touch with it. Damon, on the other hand…"

"Hey, hey, hey," Damon chided. "Watch it."

Stefan ignored him. "As I was saying, Damon likes to use Elowen as his moral compass instead of acting like a big boy and doing it himself."

Toby openly laughed while Caroline let a giggle slip and covered it up by clearing her throat. Damon narrowed his eyes at Stefan in a glare.

"More seriously, though. We're constantly aware that the switch is there and it's always tempting to shut it off when things get too overwhelming, which is often seeing as vampires feel more intensely than humans do."

"Can you just turn it back on whenever you want to?" Veronica asked curiously.

"Well… not exactly. Turning off your humanity becomes sort of like a crutch. You don't feel anything, anything at all, so you don't see a point in turning it back on. The thought of all of your emotions hitting you like a ton of bricks is something you don't really want to think about, so you just… don't."

"Oh."

"Not to change the subject, but my mom said that things are about to get worse around here for vampires because of Bonnie's dad," Caroline interjected. "She could use a little help."

Damon grumbled. "Fine, I'll go after the psychotic doppelganger. Stefan, you wanna go talk with the Sheriff?"

"Hey!" Toby exclaimed. "He's already helping me with Elena."

"I'll help," Caroline said. "Stefan, you go deal with my mom."

"Can I do anything?" Veronica asked.

"No," Damon immediately shot her down.

She pouted. "I thought you were supposed to be the fun one."

"I am, you're just useless and don't contribute anything to the situation. If anyone is gonna even remotely help me with anything, it's either your super hunter sister or your vampire brother." He turned to Caroline. "Blondie, help the werewolf."

"Sounds like fun."

They all turned around at the sound of Elena's voice and found that she was standing there completely naked. Stefan, Damon and Caroline all looked away while Toby and Veronica didn't. Veronica tilted her head as she looked Elena up and down.

"Hm. I knew your boobs weren't really that perky. You totally wear pushup bras," she commented.

"Can you not ogle my girlfriend, please?" Toby asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Veronica shrugged. "Tell her not to prance around naked and maybe I won't."

Elena smirked and wrapped a towel around herself. "As for the 'going to school' idea, I've got nothing better to do."

Stefan cleared his throat. Toby looked over at him and found him nodding his head towards Elena. He got the hint and walked over to her.

"Elena, it would make me very happy if you came to school with me and Caroline today. Study hard and get involved in extracurricular activities, you know? And please, for me, no matter what, don't eat anyone, okay?"

Elena nodded. Toby glanced back at everyone else, then back at Elena.

"Go get dressed. We should get going."

Elena shrugged and turned to leave. Toby followed, leaving everyone else alone.

xxxx

Elowen met up with Caroline and Josiah in the hallways. Caroline was just hanging up her phone when Elowen walked up.

"Tyler?" She asked.

Caroline nodded. "Yeah. I know it's silly of me to keep calling, but, you know, Tyler is my friend."

"Yeah, I get it. You don't have to explain yourself to me."

Matt came up behind them a second later. "Hey, have you seen Bonnie?"

Josiah nodded. "Yeah, I called her last night. She's fine. She's just a little drained from, you know, everything."

"Can't really blame her."

"Yeah."

Elena and Toby approached the group.

"I have an idea." Elena held up the flyer in her hand. "Can you get me my old spot back on the cheerleading squad?"

Caroline nodded. "I mean, technically, yeah. I'm captain, but I thought you hated cheerleading?"

"I did, but now I think it would be really fun to jump around and toss people up in the air. It's not like the routines are that hard."

Toby smiled and wrapped his arm around Elena's shoulders. "And that would make me really happy."

Elena smiled back, but it was vacant and devoid of any emotion. Elowen watched her carefully, but decided not to comment. The bell rang, indicating class was starting. Elowen nodded down the hall.

"I'm gonna get to class. See you."

xxxx

Hayley and Alani exited a small store at a truck stop and walked out into an empty parking lot. Hayley cautiously looked one way while Alani looked the other. When they saw the coast was clear, they carefully walked their way down an aisle of semi trucks. Suddenly, they heard a noise, like something hitting metal. They stopped and turned around. They heard the noise again, except now it was behind them. They whirled around and saw a man standing there. He sped at the both of them, knocking Alani off of her feet and grabbed Hayley around the throat. He slammed her against one of the semi's and Hayley and Alani both gasped for air. Hayley because the man was squeezing her throat, and Alani because the wind was knocked out of her when she hit the ground. Spots also clouded her vision because she hit her head as she went down.

The man threw Hayley next to Alani and snarled down at them. Before he could advance any further, Klaus sped out of nowhere, grabbed him by the jacket and spun him around. His fangs were bared and his eyes glowed amber.

"Have a care, mate. That's no way to treat a lady."

He bit down on the man's neck, who screamed in pain. When he was done, Klaus carelessly tossed him against one of the trucks. Hayley started picking herself up from the ground while Alani slowly sat up, holding the back of her head.

"You came," Hayley said.

"Well, you did say it was urgent."

The man that Klaus attacked was writhing around on the ground, holding his neck where Klaus had bit him and groaning. Klaus didn't spare him another glance, but instead held his hand out to Alani. She looked up at him and took it. He helped her up and she stumbled a little once she made it back to her feet.

"Ow," she moaned. "I think I might have a concussion."

The man on the ground suddenly sped off. Hayley watched him go in alarm, but Klaus waved her off.

"Oh, don't worry about him, love. He'll never make it through tomorrow night."

"What if there are more?" Hayley asked.

"You were foolish enough to make a deal with Katerina Petrova-"

"No, she was foolish to make a deal with Katherine." Alani pointed at Hayley. "I told her to walk away from the shady she devil, but she didn't listen to me, and since I'm associated with her, the bounty is on my back, too."

Hayley scoffed. "Oh, way to sell me out."

Klaus chuckled. "As I was saying, she used you two to find the cure and now you're nothing but loose ends. You'll be lucky if she lets you live."

Hayley pushed past Klaus. "You said you would protect us."

"And I will, just as soon as you tell me everything you know about Katerina."

xxxx

Elowen, Josiah and Toby were all at the cheerleading competition that was underway. Elowen was ignoring Toby, as much as he hated it, and Josiah was trying to keep the peace. They were all awkwardly standing there in silence when Caroline came up to them.

"Remember how you sired her to behave?" Caroline asked Toby. "It didn't really work."

Toby furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

Caroline gestured across the gym at another cheerleader who had a scarf wrapped around her neck. Toby, Elowen and Josiah all looked over.

"Goddamnit," Toby swore under his breath.

Stefan walked up behind them and looked between them all in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Remember what Toby said to Elena this morning?" Josiah asked. "Well, it didn't work."

"What do you mean it didn't work?"

Josiah signaled out the cheerleader. Stefan followed his gaze.

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

"I don't understand, though." Caroline shook her head. "Why didn't the sire bond work?"

Realization dawned on Elowen's face. "Oh. Shit."

"What?"

"Think about it. Elena's sire bond stems from her feelings for Toby, right? With her humanity off, she has no feelings."

Toby cursed again. "All I wanted was to break this damn bond. You're telling me now this whole time all she had to go was turn it off? What happens if she turns it back on?"

"I don't know, but more importantly, you need to get her out of here."

"You can't," Caroline butted in. "We go on any minute now."

Stefan nodded. "Okay, okay. I'll find her. I need to ask her something, anyway."

Elowen tilted her head. "Ask her what?"

"Sheriff Forbes told me this morning that all of the blood has been stolen from the hospital."

"And you think Elena did it?"

"Who else would do something so careless and not care about the consequences?"

Caroline nodded. "Okay. We'll find Elena, and after we go on, you can take her back to the boarding house."

Toby reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial. "Good thing I brought this."

Stefan reached out and took it. "Vervain."

"After the stunt she pulled last night, I figured I should carry some around."

"Good idea. Now, let's go find Elena."

xxxx

"If you can't keep up, you might as well go home," Damon quipped as he glanced behind his shoulder.

Angel curled his lip in annoyance. "You think I want to be here?"

"It's not my fault your sister is nosy."

"I'm not denying that she's nosy, but she only pushed so hard because she feels useless, and it doesn't help that you said exactly that to her face."

"It's the truth."

"I know that, you know that, she knows that, but you don't have to be a dick about it."

"Right, you're still new here. I am a dick, always, 24/7, most of the time, unprompted. It's how I get things done. Somebody has to be the bad guy, and I happily fill that spot."

Angel laughed. "It's ironic you say that because you sound exactly like Veronica. If you actually let her come, I think you'd find out that you're more alike than you think."

Damon snorted. "She's a 20 year old little girl who hasn't realized she's not in high school anymore. What exactly do we share in common?"

"You're an asshole and proud about it, and you're content with that title. She's a bitch and she knows it. She's okay with that and okay with being called one because it's what she is. She assumed that role when we were kids to make sure the other kids on the block and in school didn't make fun of us for being 'poor little Mexican immigrants'. She figured out quickly that that's how you got things done and how you got people to listen. People might hate you behind your back, but they fear you too much to say anything."

"Huh. Tell me, what's the worst thing she's done?"

"Ha! That list is way too long, dude. What's the worst thing you've ever done?"

"Alright, you got me there."

Angel sighed. "If you must know, it all started when we were in the 2nd grade. Some white boy called Adriana a slur I will not repeat and Veronica kicked him off of the playground. He landed on his arm and broke it. He didn't want people to know a girl kicked his ass, so he told everyone he fell. It was a win for us because she never got in trouble for it."

"Kicked him?"

"Right in the stomach. She also punched this girl in middle school because she spread a rumor around about Adriana sleeping with the quarterback under the bleachers. Adriana was torn up about it. She locked herself in the bathroom and cried for hours."

"When you say punched…"

"I mean punched. No cat scratching or hair pulling, Veronica straight up decked this girl in the face. She broke her nose. She was suspended for a week, but she said it was worth it."

"I'm starting to see a pattern here and it seems to always involve Adriana."

"Adriana's the baby. She's always been the more reserved one out of the three of us. She's shy, doesn't have the voice to speak up for herself and she gets hurt easily. I mean, losing the cure absolutely crushed her."

"Oh, I get it. That's why Veronica wanted to help so badly."

"Now you're getting the picture." Angel looked around the truck stop they were at. "You're sure this vampire guy is here?"

"No, but it's a start."

"Didn't that Klaus guy say he bit him, though? Elowen told me werewolf bites are deadly to vampires. How do we know he'll even be able to tell us anything?"

Damon paused. "I figured we'll deal with that when we find him."

"Wow," Angel sarcastically drawled. "You're such a genius."

"Oh, shut up. Come on. Let's go. There doesn't look like there's anything here."

Angel nodded and they both turned around. They found Rebekah standing behind them.

Damon groaned. "You. I thought you were still vacationing on Numbskull Island."

"Well, I was looking for answers, and all I found was your Professor Shane, dead, and with him, anything anyone knows about the cure," Rebekah replied.

"Guess you won't turn into a real girl after all." Damon nodded his head at Angel and they both started to walk away.

Rebekah followed them. "Oh, I'll get the cure. I just need Katherine, and I'm betting you two can help me find her."

Damon rolled his eyes and turned around to face her again. "Why would we help you?"

Rebekah helped up a vial of blood. "Because, I was smart enough to bring a pinch of my brother's blood. How else would you interrogate a vampire who's practically dead from a wolf bite?"

"Now I see who thinks things through," Angel mumbled.

Rebekah smiled in triumph while Damon turned to glare at him. He looked back at Rebekah and sighed.

"Fine," he said begrudgingly. "Follow me. I might know where to look."

xxxx

Hayley and Alani were sitting across from Klaus in his dining room. Hayley had a glass of wine in her hands while Alani had nothing. She looked over at Klaus.

"Don't you have anything stronger?"

Klaus smiled in amusement. "I didn't take you for a hard liquor kind of girl."

"I'm being hunted by a psychotic vampire," Alani deadpanned. "I think I deserve something stronger."

"She can drink me out from under the table," Hayley commented as she took a sip from her drink. "It was a fun way to get money out of men who bet that they could out drink her."

"FYI, I always won."

Klaus chuckled. "Very well." He gestured to the drink cart that was across the room. "Take your pick."

"As long as you have whiskey, I'm good," Alani said as she stood up from the table.

"That would be the bottle in the middle."

"Thanks."

Hayley turned back to Klaus. "Most men get their power kick from torture and intimidation. With you, it's drinks and fine dining."

Klaus smiled again. "Well, in your case, I favor hospitality over unpleasantness, but I have been known to change my mind on a whim."

"I mean, we are talking about the guy who slaughtered 12 of his hybrids," Alani commented as she came back with her drink.

Klaus chose to ignore her. "Where is Katerina?"

Alani snorted, reclaiming her seat next to Hayley. "You seriously think we know?"

"You two tipped her off as to what we were up to and set her on a course to find the cure. In return, she sent her lackey to snuff you out. Tell me, what did Katerina promise you?"

"Oh, she didn't promise me anything. Hayley, on the other hand…"

Klaus turned his attention to Hayley. She sighed and set her glass down so she could lean forward on the table.

"We were in New Orleans trying to find information about my real parents. Katherine found me and told me she could help."

Klaus raised an eyebrow. "An orphan? Well, that does explain your charming bravado. Abandonment issues will do it every time."

"Sounds like you would know," Hayley shot back.

Klaus smirked. His eyes flickered over to Alani. "And you? You're clearly a long way from home. Scotland, I presume?"

Alani shifted in her seat. She downed her drink in one go and stood up to refill it.

"Ah, you're dodging. I won't bite, I promise, unless you make me. Come on, what is it? Dead parents? You were kicked out? Shunned?"

Alani didn't answer him and instead poured more alcohol into her glass. Klaus smirked and turned in his chair to face her.

"I know. You ran away from home."

Alani gripped her glass tightly and it shattered, sending shards of glass onto the ground and into her palm, as well as spilling the whiskey everywhere. It made the cuts on her hand sting when it splashed against her. Klaus's smirk widened.

"Ran away from home it is. I think I've got it figured out. Tell me if I've got it wrong. You killed someone, triggered the werewolf cure, got scared and left in the middle of the night in the name of protecting your family. Am I correct?"

"Shut up!" Alani barked. "Just shut up!"

"Alright, you've had your fun," Hayley cut in quickly before the situation could get worse. "Now cut it out."

She got up from the table and crossed the room. She stopped in front of Alani and carefully grabbed her hand so she could pull out the pieces of glass. Klaus leaned back in his chair.

"I'm the only one that can protect you both. I'm happy to do so, provided you cooperate."

Hayley glanced back at Klaus before pulling Alani out of the room so she could clean her up in the bathroom.

xxxx

Josiah, Elowen and Toby were in the crowd inside the gym. Stefan and Caroline had left to go find Elena, so it was just them.

"Ladies and gentleman, give it up for your very own Lady Timberwolves!" The announcer said. Everyone in the gym cheered, including the three of them. Stefan met up with them just as the cheer team assembled their positions.

"Did she take the blood?" Elowen asked quietly. Stefan shook his head. A second later, the cheer team started their routine.

"L-O-L, O-M-G, you're looking at Mystic Falls Varsity! B-E-A-T, beat those cats!"

Two other cheerleaders and Elena all took hold of Caroline and tossed her up in the air. As she came down, Elena deliberately stepped backward and didn't help catch her. Caroline hit the ground with a loud thud and the crowd gasped in worry. The rest of the team rushed over to make sure Caroline was okay. As she was a vampire, she was fine, but she had to play the part. Elena looked at Caroline, then up at Toby, Stefan, Elowen and Josiah, as if daring them to react. When none of them did, she smirked and left the gym.

xxxx

Damon was leading Rebekah and Angel down the hallway to the Grove Hills hospital.

"Why exactly would you think a sick vampire would check into a hospital?" Rebekah asked.

Damon pointed upwards at the ceiling. "See that little bright thing in the sky? It's called the sun. He needs to avoid that. Plus, the hospital's open 24/7, not to mention, he's hungry and delusional."

Damon stopped in front of a door and cautiously pushed it open. Angel and Rebekah followed him. It was a storage room with big refrigerators inside. Damon walked over and opened one, but found that all the blood trays were empty. Angel frowned. That didn't sound right. He walked over to the next fridge and pulled it open. All of the trays that were supposed to hold blood were also empty. Angel and Damon shared a skeptical look.

"Impressive," Rebekah commented from behind them. "You're like Sherlock Holmes with brain damage."

Damon and Angel checked the rest of the fridges and found that all of them were devoid of blood bags.

Damon shook his head. "Stefan said that the Mystic Falls hospital had its entire blood bank raided, too."

"It looks like our vampire gets around."

It was Angel's turn to shake his head. "No, it doesn't make any sense. If what Elowen told me about werewolf bites are true, then this guy is weak, hallucinating and in excruciating pain. How would he have time to steal from both hospitals?"

Damon nodded in agreement. "Castiel's right. This is someone else."

Angel made a face. "Castiel?"

Damon turned to him. "Have you never seen Supernatural?"

The connection clicked in Angel's head and his face turned unamused.

"Oh, fuck you, dude. I can't believe you've even watched Supernatural before."

Rebekah furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm lost. What am I missing?"

Angel sighed. "Supernatural is a stupid CW show about these two brothers who fight demons. Castiel's an angel."

"Oh. And your name is Angel. Got it. Anyway, if this wasn't our guy, then who stole all of the blood contraband?"

"That's another problem," Damon waved her off. "But, on the plus side, if our guy did by chance come here, he's got nothing, which means he's nearby and he's hungry."

Damon started to walk back to the door when Rebekah moved to block his way.

"This better not be a wild goose chase."

"I want to find Katherine as much as you do."

"Really? Why? You certainly don't want the cure for yourself. Is it for Stefan? Because I know you don't give a damn if Elena gets it or not." Rebekah's eyes shifted over to Angel. "And you?"

Angel shrugged. "I'm trying to give my sisters' closure."

"Hm. I think you're best off leaving it for me."

Rebekah twirled around and left the room. Angel snorted once she left.

"Right, like I'm just gonna back out of the fight." Angel glanced at Damon. "If you want to just go back to Mystic Falls, you can. I'll be fine on my own."

"Oh, no you won't. Rebekah will eat you alive."

"Since when do you care what happens to me?"

"I don't, but my girlfriend would be really mad if I left you to die, and we sort of just made up from a different fight. I'd like to keep it that way. Come on, let's just go."

Angel shook his head as him and Damon left the storage room.

"God, you're so whipped."

"Shut it."

Angel threw his hands up and went quiet.

xxxx

Hayley walked into the room that had all of Klaus's paintings. She had her glass of wine back in her hands. Alani trailed behind her, also carrying a drink. One of her hands was bandaged up, but the pain had subsided and she forgot it was there. Klaus was following them and he stopped in the doorway.

Hayley pointed at one of the paintings that was propped up. "Hate that." She flipped through some other paintings that were stacked together. "Too much. I don't get that."

Klaus walked further into the room. He opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. Instead, he smiled in amusement and said nothing. Alani was admiring the rest of the paintings in the room while Hayley continued to criticize everything else.

She picked up another painting that was on the table. "Hmm… I don't care." She tossed it away. "Hm. This one." She took hold of one and looked over at her shoulder at Klaus. "It doesn't make me want to puke."

Alani rolled her eyes. "You never did understand fine arts or performing arts, or any kind of arts, for that matter."

"Oh, please. That stuff is for uppity, snobby rich people."

Hayley didn't notice the way Alani's face fell slightly, but Klaus did. She covered it by taking a sip of her drink. He tilted his head at her in curiosity. Hayley set the painting down.

"Why'd you paint it?"

"Painting is a metaphor for control," Klaus replied. "Every choice is mine. The canvas, the color. As a child, I had neither a sense of the world nor my place in it, but art taught me that one's vision can be achieved with sheer force of will."

Alani started to smile at his words. Hayley had her back turned to her, so she didn't see, but Klaus had a full view of her. He had a feeling this meant something to her, but she wouldn't say it in front of Hayley. Hm. He'd have to get her alone later.

"The same is true of life," he continued. "Provided one refuses to let anything stand in one's way."

Hayley snorted, but smiled anyway. "So, this is your thing? Show a girl a few mediocre paintings, whine about your childhood, and I swoon and spill all my dirty secrets?"

"I felt I had many charms, but, uh, regardless, I'm enjoying myself."

"And you do whatever you enjoy," Hayley said suggestively. Alani had to stop herself from reacting in any way. Hayley always was the flirter, and she'd never admit it, but sometimes it made Alani feel inferior. She always did think Hayley was the prettier one of the two of them. She turned away so she could hide her face. From over Hayley's shoulder, Klaus glanced at her.

"Up to and including hunting my friend Tyler for the next century." Hayley's tone had changed to an angrier one.

"Oh, surely not the next century. Only until I kill him."

"You talk a good game, but the truth is, you let him go. My guess: you know if you kill him, Caroline will hate you forever. Tyler's one of her best friends, after all."

"I don't know." Alani turned back around. "Think about it. If he kills Tyler immediately, his revenge is over in an instant. Dragging it out so Tyler feels nothing but paranoia and fear for the rest of his life… that seems like a greater revenge than just killing him."

Klaus smirked. "I like you. You get it." He turned back to Hayley. "You never really thought there was a future for you two, did you?"

Hayley shrugged. "I don't know. There might've been one if I'd used the cure to kill you."

Klaus laughed. "You know, if Tyler has even half of each of your resolves, he may actually make it through the year."

Alani shook her head and took a sip from her drink. "It doesn't take resolve. It takes allies, a network of people willing to do anything for you, including chase down loose ends to their death. That's how Katherine escaped you all this time."

Klaus left Hayley's side and walked closer to Alani. "Perhaps you know the names of Katerina's special little helpers."

Alani shrugged. "Maybe."

"And are you willing to share those names?"

Alani quirked an eyebrow. "I don't know. Am I?"

Klaus smirked down at her. Hayley watched them suspiciously. She knocked back the rest of her drink.

"I'm too sober for this," she mumbled. "I'm getting another drink."

As she left, Alani finished up her own drink and set it down on one of the tables in the room. She went back to looking at the other paintings in the room. She felt Klaus come up behind her and swallowed when she felt his breath on her ear.

"Tell me, what do you think of my artwork?"

"I think your brush work is really fluid and clean," Alani answered immediately without thinking about it. "Your imagination is slightly limited, though. None of these particularly stand out, do they?"

Klaus chuckled. "You seem to certainly know a lot about this. Tell me, which were you? A performing arts child, or did you prefer the fine arts?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Klaus stepped around from behind her and stood beside her. He grabbed onto her hand that wasn't bandaged up. "The faded calluses on your fingers say otherwise."

Alani ripped her hand from his grip. Klaus smirked.

"You were a musician."

It was a statement, not a question. Alani scoffed.

"You're a little too observant, you know that?"

"Reading people is one of my specialties. So, what did you play? Clearly it was a stringed instrument. Guitar?"

"Violin."

"Classically trained?"

"Yes." Alani sighed. She couldn't believe she was about to open up to Klaus when she was barely ever able to do it with Hayley, and she considered her her best friend.

"My dad wanted me to pick up something 'proper' that could get me into a prestigious university by scholarship. I was 5 when I started lessons. He used to say that if I practiced hard enough, I could be the next Yo-Yo Ma." Alani avoided Klaus's eyes, instead focusing on the painting in front of her. "I even had a university picked out. Royal Academy of Music in London."

Klaus hummed. "You certainly aimed high, didn't you?"

Alani laughed. "Yeah, back when I had my whole life mapped out in front of me. God, that feels like so long ago."

"So, how did you and Hayley meet? Something tells me it wasn't by chance."

Alani chewed on her bottom lip. She contemplated telling this story before deciding to do so.

"I met her when her adoptive parents had just kicked her out. She was 16, I was 17. I took her in because I guess she reminded me of myself. Scared, alone, newly triggered werewolf curse. I'd been on my own for a couple of years at this point, so I knew the drill. I figured I could show her the ropes of being out on your own."

"Yet, you didn't go your separate ways once it was all set and done. You kept her around. Why?"

Alani shrugged. "I don't know. I guess she reminded me what it was like to have a sister."

"You have a sister?"

Alani closed her eyes when she realized her slip up.

"Oh, come on, love. There's no reason to get all quiet now. I thought we were bonding."

Alani opened her eyes. For the first time, she looked over at Klaus and they stared at each other for a moment.

"... She was 12 when I left. I spent the first year traveling all around the UK, then I hopped on a plane as a stowaway and came to America. I haven't seen or heard from any of my family since."

"Hm. Do you miss them?"

At this question, Alani appeared to shut down. She hated talking about her family under any circumstances and Klaus was getting too close. She turned around and grabbed her empty glass.

"I'm getting a refill," she announced before leaving the room.

Klaus watched her go with his hands behind his back. He wasn't sure why, but Alani intrigued him far more than Hayley did, despite the fact that Hayley was much more direct and engaged. Something about her way to seem both tough and thick skinned, but also vulnerable and so beautifully broken at the same time was interesting to him.

After a few minutes, Klaus decided to follow her out of the room.

xxxx

Author's Note: So! I'm setting up the backdoor pilot for The Originals in case I ever decide I want to give that a shot. It's still up in the air since I'm still writing PTL and writing two big stories at once would be too overwhelming and basically impossible for my current schedule. I'm just letting it hang there as a possibility :)