Hell Hound on My Trail
The morning is stirring awake when Elena meets Bonnie at the park for a walk. They agreed on the early hour because the afternoon heat makes it nearly impossible to be outside, but Elena can't help yawning her regret into the back of her hand. Bonnie's perkiness reminds Elena exactly how tired she's been lately. Not that she'd ever been a morning person, but being pregnant was more exhausting than she'd thought it would be.
"I don't get it. He's back, but he's not answering your calls." Bonnie's gone over this again and again. Elena is starting to feel like she's back in high school.
"I haven't. Called him. It would be easier for him to call than to organize that display with Kol," she scoffs.
"I'm impressed."
"I just don't want to keep feeling pathetic. I tried so hard to reach out, Bonnie."
"I think you're doing the right thing. For what it's worth."
"Really?" Elena whines, grabbing onto Bonnie's upper arm and leaning her head down.
"Hell yeah. Elena! Let him wait. Make him sweat it out a bit. He was terrible to you when he left. Though, personally, I'm really curious to see what his excuse is for not coming back to help with Silas. You could have died. We all could have." Elena nods in agreement while Bonnie squeezes her into her side with one arm. She wrinkles her nose a little and tilts her head to Elena. "Those flowers were extraordinary though."
"Wait. How do you know about those?"
"Finn sent me a photo," Bonnie replies with a forced casual air.
"Hold up. Pump the brakes, Bonnie Bennett," Elena smirks, turning to face her friend. "When did you two exchange numbers? And when did Finn even learn how to send a photo?"
Bonnie purses her lips for a moment before exhaling a long sigh. "We've been spending some time together. I told him I would help him with the coffin. He's obsessed with the idea that someone is in there. It made sense to exchange numbers and then I realized how little he understood his cell phone so I showed him how to use it."
"So, what's going on with you two?"
"Nothing! Don't look at me like that." Bonnie's voice charts into higher octaves at the disbelieving look Elena gives her. "He's weird and way too formal, but he's nice. It's been a great distraction getting to know him. That's all."
"Well, I'm glad. Finn is great." They keep walking, Elena occasionally sneaking peaks at Bonnie, catching her grinning from time to time.
They talk about Bonnie's plans to renovate and modernize the boarding house and Elena excitedly offers to help, looking for any chance to throw herself into another project. Their lives are so different one year later since they met up in Venice. Thinking about it makes her a little dizzy, like there are two realities living in her body fighting to win.
The bulk of their conversation surrounds Caroline and the updates they've been getting in the group chat about Paris. They are impressed with how many landmarks Caroline has managed to visit in the short time she's been away and the girls bet over how long before she starts to want to come back home to Mystic Falls.
In the days between Silas and her impending birthday, Elena spends most of her extra time with Tyler. At first, it's Tyler who calls her up for coffee or walks in the park. He needs someone to be with after losing Liv and Elena feels safe. Eventually, she begins to lean on their daily, mundane excursions into town; needing the distraction just as much as Tyler does.
Kol returning has put a tailspin on the rest of the house. In his absence, Finn had grown more comfortable opening up. Now he was making himself scarce, coming out of his room only for Elena or Bonnie. Rebekah seemed to become the physical embodiment of Elena's internalized irritation that Klaus was close, but still hadn't shown his face opting instead for grand gestures. She is prone to go on rants to Elijah or Kol, accusing them of enabling Klaus's bad behavior.
Every morning, Elena wakes up to some kind of trinket left on her nightstand. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings. She's given up trying to figure out how he was managing it without waking her up. It is all so overwhelming and she looks forward to the consistency and simplicity that Tyler offers. Though, as much as she enjoys his company it doesn't stop her from craning her neck over her shoulder to keep an eye out for Klaus.
Typically, they've only been hanging out in the mornings and afternoons, but tonight Tyler insists on taking Elena out to dinner. Their only real option is the Grille, but Elena likes how comfortably nostalgic it feels. Their jokes are familiar and their stories repeat in a way that replenishes her soul.
From the other side of the street, Klaus fumes as he watches how effortlessly Tyler makes her laugh and how at ease she seems with the wolf. He was always aware of how Elena's nature leans towards tactile and flirtatious, but watching it from the other side leaves him feeling cast out.
"This approach is certainly working." His sister's sarcasm breaks the reverie of his evening; his self-imposed torture of watching Elena from the shadows.
"Funny. I don't recall inviting you here, Rebekah."
"To the sidewalk? I hardly think I require an invitation." She takes a step into her place beside him.
"Have you come to gloat? Rub her growing affection for you in my face?"
"You have so little faith in me, yet I've proven myself to you time and time again. I was the only one who stayed by your side from the beginning. And you trust Kol over me? I came here because you've reached out to Elijah and even enlisted Kol in your schemes. I understand why you haven't contacted Finn, but why not me? Why not me, Nik?"
"Come now. What are you whining on about, Rebekah?"
"Mature stance for a man who just spent the last month avoiding all calls and messages from the mother of his child."
"I'm not avoiding her now." Rebekah eyes Klaus with a disbelieving brow. "I'm planning."
"How long do you intend on forming this plan before executing it?"
"As long as it takes."
"Will it take much longer than a week? Elijah said Elena's birthday is soon and I intend to throw her a dinner celebration at the house." Stunned in silence, Klaus watches Rebekah with hesitation. Exasperated with his antics, she sighs. "You're coming, aren't you? You're still my brother. It would be weird if you weren't there."
Taken aback with her offer, as impatient as it was, Klaus accepts her offer and splits his attention between the two women. She stays with him awhile, watching Elena with him and noticing, but not acknowledging, the way her brother's eyes shimmer in the dark night.
The unrelenting summer sun beats down on her skin and she soaks in that warm, familiar feeling. Tyler is showing off on the rope swing and Elena, in protest, pretends that she isn't jealous and sun-bathing is exactly what she wanted to do today. Finally she relents and joins Tyler in the lake, dunking her head under the surface and forgetting that she'd put on mascara that morning.
"You look like a raccoon. Or the leader of a punk band," Tyler laughs at her and she fights against a returning smile.
"Why not both?" she relents and beams at him, though she still tries to carefully wipe away the smeared make-up under her eyes.
The water is refreshing and she sinks into the weightless feeling it provides as she leans back on her float. They splash around for around an hour before the repetitiveness sets in and Elena bails on Tyler to go back to her beach towel.
Her phone blinks blue with several missed calls from Elijah that worry Elena. She's scrolling through her messages when Tyler walks up to her from the beach, his face falling when he sees the wrinkle between her eyebrows working its way to permanence on her face.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"I need to call Elijah. He's left, like, a ton of messages but he didn't really say what's going on just that there's an emergency at home." Tyler's eyes never leave her as she waits for Elijah to pick up the phone.
"What's going on? Why do you need me home?" She looks back to Tyler, shaking her head.
"Well, why can't you do anything about it?" She huffs and holds the phone between her ear and shoulder while she starts packing up her beach gear.
"Fine, I'll figure it out. But you owe me." She drops the phone in the sand when she tries to hang up and Tyler bends down to pick it up, placing a hand on her shoulder. "He says Finn is intent on opening the box right now. He's worried and thinks I'm the only one who can talk him down from trying to force it open. He thinks there might be some kind of protection spell on it that could hurt him."
"I thought Bonnie was working on it with him?"
"Yeah, I guess he just got impatient. Do you mind if I leave and come back to pick you up?"
"Nah, its fine. I'll call my mom or something. Don't worry about me. Text me later though?" She assures him she will before gathering her bag in one arm and leaving. He's so focused on her walking away until she disappears into the parking lot that he doesn't notice Kol approach him.
"Sorry about this, but we need to borrow you. Well, not you," he emphasizes. "More like the appearance of you." Tyler is sucked into Kol's vampire gaze like he's fallen into a manhole, watching the world from a distant place in the back of his head.
Klaus hides in his car, leaning far down in his seat to avoid Elena catching sight of him. He peeks over the dashboard to watch her car take a right out of the parking lot. It isn't his proudest moment, but he hasn't been above spying on her in the past. Nothing has changed. His eyes light up with delight when he spots Kol walking Tyler back to their car. His dazed expression can only mean that Kol has compelled him into blissful compliance.
When Elena makes it home, she only finds Elijah alone in the library. He explains to her that Finn eventually mellowed and went to visit Bonnie. She doesn't think much of it and shoots a quick text to Tyler letting him know she made it back to the house safely. Rebekah swoops in to distract her with the new dresses she bought and Elena doesn't notice that Tyler doesn't return her text.
Klaus shrugs his shoulders in an attempt to get used to Tyler's broader body. His dark hair is courser and even though he's done this hundreds of times in the past, switching bodies always makes him appreciate his own even more. His own body lays lifeless on the bed and Klaus eyes Kol with these new, dark eyes.
"Don't let anything happen to me. No tricks. No mischief. I mean it, Kol." His brother holds up his hands as if it were the furthest thing from his mind. Elijah sitting in a chair in the corner of the room is the only reason Klaus feels comfortable leaving his body behind with Kol. Both brothers agree to stay behind to watch over him while also making sure the witch stays compelled in one place. Klaus has no intentions of staying in the former football player's body forever.
Elena waits for him outside with a blanket folded over her arms. Her smile lights up her expression and it almost makes him re-think tonight. He wants that smile all for himself, but he opens the door for her anyway even though she looks at him confused.
"What is this, Ty?" she asks, looking from him to the open door.
"What do you mean?"
She shakes the confusion off her face and looks out the window to the setting sun. They drive out to the lake where both of their families own houses. The night sky is clearer in the country away from the light pollution of even Mystic Falls.
"We haven't been out here in so long. When was the last time we were even here?" she asks, innocently.
"When we were children?" Klaus guesses and from the way Elena nods he must have guessed right.
"What did you want to do out here?" Elena helps grab the blankets from the car while he carries the bags down to the dock. It's a small spark of jealousy that simmers in his heart that she would be so willing to trust Tyler enough to come all the way out here with no plan or explanation. All he had to do was ask and she agreed. Selfishly, Klaus wants to be that for her, but his own insecurities act as blinders to the truth. Elena would trust him the same if he were to ask.
"Meteor shower tonight. I thought you and I could test our luck and perhaps we will see a few shooting stars."
"I didn't know about that."
"It's supposed to start tomorrow, your birthday, but I thought maybe if we stayed out here until midnight that we could catch the beginning of it. The Bootids should be coming from the herdsman, just next to the great bear." Klaus points up to the sky and Elena follows the line Tyler's finger creates in the sky.
Her shoulder bumps into his playfully and Klaus's heart wrenches. "Ty! When did you become so interested in the astronomy?"
"We all have our secrets, Elena."
The way he says her name freezes her in place on the docks, watching Tyler curiously as he continues walking to the end. He calls for her again and she snaps out of it, catching up to him as quickly as she can manage and laying the blankets out.
Klaus lets her talk well up until midnight, only offering the occasional one word response to avoid giving himself away. They still haven't seen anything in the sky and Elena is about to suggest they go home when he surprises her.
"How do you feel about being a mother?" Tyler's face looms over her as Klaus waits for her response. She struggles at first to come up with a good answer, but settles on the truth.
"It's complicated. Of course I'm excited, but I'm also scared."
"What scares you?"
"Doing it alone. I mean, of course Klaus's family has made it clear that they aren't throwing me to the wolves. Elijah always looked out for me before and I think a baby is only going to make him more protective. Rebekah is probably the most excited. But still, I wanted my kid to grow up with both parents." Through her explanation, Tyler's face has gravitated closer to hers and Elena swallows hard.
"Certainly."
"What about you?" she asks, trying to shift focus.
"Me?"
"Sure. Would you ever want to be a dad?"
"Why would I want that?" Klaus probes her for answers he doesn't have. For himself or for Tyler.
"You've never really talked about it in the past. I wasn't sure where you stood on it with…" she struggles for the words. "Everything?"
"The werewolf gene?"
"Yeah, that and your dad," she trails off like she wants to commit to the statement but she's afraid of it.
"What about my dad?"
"I dunno, Ty. Maybe I'm just projecting?" She tries to leave the conversation by collecting the blankets and the snacks, but Klaus has a hand on her forcing her to stay next to him. "It's like, sometimes I worry about raising a child in a world that seems so desperately to want me dead. I worry that I'll die like my parents and my kid will have to grow up too soon, too fast. I was just…I had assumed that maybe you were hesitating about kids for a similar reason."
"My father being the reason?"
"Tyler," she begins softly, unsure of if this is even her place. "I remember what it was like when our families came up to the lake together. He had a temper. I know it's not right to speak ill of the dead, but it's true. He could be scary at times."
"Right, I remember how he could be." It's Tyler's voice, but Klaus's emotions and memories.
"But our parents don't define us. Maybe at first, but we are adults now. We choose what kind of people we are and you are a wonderful person. It's been so long since I've even seen you get angry and ever since we both came back, I've really enjoyed getting to know this Tyler."
"You believe people can change?" he hopes for a comforting answer.
"Over time when they work at it, yes. I mean, no offense, but you are clearly a different person." Anxiety rises through Klaus's throat and it must reach his face because Elena quickly continues her explanation. "You were one of my closest friends as kids, but you were kind of an ass in high school. Now, you are a little like that kid, but better. Kind, sweet, understanding. People change all the time. You are proof of that."
"Thank you." Elena leans into him and lifts up his arm so she can rest her head on his chest. If he closes his eyes and doesn't think too hard, Klaus can pretend that it is just the two of them under the stars tonight.
"I hate to complain, but I don't think we are getting any stars tonight. I think we are too early."
"It's alright. This was mostly an excuse to get you out here. I wanted to be the first person to wish you a happy birthday. It's only another ten minutes away." She's quiet for a long time before releasing a quiet, shuddering breathe against his side. "Is everything okay?" he asks.
"It's not you. This was a really nice gesture. I just keep thinking about a year ago. I was opening up and entertaining the possibility of love. Now, it's like everything is ruined."
"You're thinking about Klaus?" The possibility that she was pining for him is too much and he doesn't even bother keeping the hopeful yearning out of his voice.
"I'm worried that he will never come back. That it wasn't so much that he thought he couldn't have a child, but that he never wanted one at all." She turns further into Tyler's side and Klaus curses this plan a thousand times silently.
"He'll come back."
"How can you be so sure?" she asks, sitting up to look him in the eye.
"Elena. Look at you. How could any man truly abandon you?" He pushes back her hair and holds his hand along her cheek. Klaus ignores how different this hand feels on her skin, focusing only on the sensation of her beneath him. "He would regret it the moment he left, cursed by his own pride to stay away until he could no longer bear such distance."
Tyler's face inches the distance to hers and Elena closes her eyes, shaking her head side to side. Klaus knows he shouldn't, but being with her again under the stars makes him forget himself until he hears her make an uncomfortable, squirmy sort of noise in the back of her throat. Klaus diverts and leaves a gentle kiss on her forehead with Tyler's lips. "I'm sorry, Elena. It's late and I'm not sure what came over me."
He drives her back to the house in silence and she waves off his efforts to come around to open the door for her. She slinks back into the house and out of sight. Klaus is left standing in front of his own house, watching Elena walk away from him thinking that her friend made an uncomfortable move on her. He's not sure if he feels disappointed that he didn't get to kiss or proud that she wouldn't let Tyler.
A/N: I wanted to say thanks for all the guest reviews. I wish I could respond back to you, but sadly I don't have that ability. I see you and thank you.
Writing this chapter made me kind of realize how much Tyler and Klaus had in common which was fun. Check me out over on tumblr if you want. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Did the pseudo date with Tyler/Klaus and Elena make your skin crawl as much as it did when I wrote it?