No spanking in this chapter.
"Where's Kol?" Davina asked looking around when Rebekah got into the car.
"Oh, he's going to stay a bit longer. Elijah, Kol said he'd catch a ride later. We can go," Rebekah replied smiling as if nothing had happened.
"These boys need to take their baths and go to bed early tonight. It's been a long day," Freya commented from the passenger seat, smiling back at them.
Finn was upset and jealous of the attention Henrik got. Why had he chased him into the road? Was he trying to get rid of his own brother? He tried to remember him from before, and aside from his death and the subsequent events, he had very little memories of him left. Finn knew he was supposed to be older and that Henrik had been his youngest brother, but he didn't feel older anymore. He rested his head on the glass of the window and fell asleep before they got home.
"Someone's asleep," Rebekah whispered to Davina.
She yawned, "I might be next. It has been a long weekend. I can't believe I have to go back to school Monday. Can I take a day off?"
"Absolutely not. Unless you are sick, you go," Elijah said firmly from the front. Rebekah made a face, but knew he was right.
"My mom never cared if I went or not," Davina pouted.
"Well, we care. Do you understand?" Elijah pressed.
"Yeah, I get it. No skipping. Not that much even happens at the beginning of the year," Davina griped.
"Davina, you were the one who wanted to stay here to go to school remember? Plus, it's only Saturday," Rebekah said gently.
"I know. I mean it was only a couple of weeks ago, of course I remember," Davina said sharply.
Elijah bit his lip and didn't say another word. This girl was clearly trying to argue with someone. It wasn't his place to set her straight. Rebekah and Marcel could deal with it. They drove in silence the rest of the way.
Kol ordered his drink now sitting at the bar of the Grill. He wanted to just go home and hang out with Davina in the game room or just watch a movie. He should even be plotting the next move against the French Quarter coven witches with his brothers and Marcel, not sitting here stewing.
Did Rebekah realize that he had barely touched Davina? He did see Henrik running towards the road again and again in his head. No matter how fast he was, he wasn't as fast as that car. Rebekah was right about one thing, he should have watched Henrik better. The look on Finn's face bothered him a little. Was he jealous of Henrik?
"Hey, long time, no see, right?" a voice to his right purred.
Kol turned.
"Vanessa, right? The teacher?" Kol asked, knowing exactly who she was. He wondered if she was full of vervain and looking to trap a hapless vampire. Why didn't this lady get a life? Her hunting exploits had already got her chained up in their basement one weekend before, though she was compelled to forget that little incident.
"Yeah, you remembered. Ah, aren't you a little young to be, ha, you know, sitting at the bar?" Vanessa laughed pointing at his drink.
"Oh, yeah, I guess. You know it's different in Europe so I guess I didn't think of it. Silly me," Kol muttered. He could compel any bartender to serve him, plus he had a fake ID.
"So, you didn't enroll at MFHS this year?" Vanessa went on.
"No, some family things came up. How's it going with you? I think you gave my nephew Matt detention. He's in your class," Kol smiled.
"Oh, Matt Donovan? He's your nephew?" Vanessa asked.
"Yeah, it's kind of a long story," Kol added.
"Of course, it's been kind of an adjustment for me to go from college to high school. I might have been a little hard on him. Hope Matt didn't get in any trouble at home," Vanessa remarked.
"Oh, he did. But that was his own fault," Kol preached.
"Well, it's none of my business, but he apologized so beautifully to me the next Monday, I was almost in tears. So sincerely. It's funny but I had almost been really to throw in the towel and go back to research, but Matt encouraged me to keep at it, teaching that is," Vanessa said sipping on her apple martini.
"He's a good lad, mostly. Hold that thought, luv,...," Kol saw Matt and Jeremy stumble into the Grill.
"Is that Matthew? Are they wasted?" Vanessa asked horrified.
Kol looked out the window and saw the white truck that Matt had been driving.
"Excuse me, darling. I best see to them. They might be in a spot more trouble," Kol said getting up and walking over to the entrance.
"Uncle Kol!" Jeremy laughed, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh shit, is that Miss Monroe? Are you like on a date or something?" Matt snickered.
"Are you two pissed? For Christ's sake!" Kol sputtered, he could smell the beer on them.
"No, why would we be mad? We're having a great night, man. We're alive!" Matt jabbered.
"No dummy, he means drunk. Nah, we had a few beers at my old house, but please don't tell Alaric," Jeremy pleaded, starting to sober up.
"Matt, did you bloody drive here like this?" Kol asked starting to get a headache. He really just wanted to find a lovely girl and sip off her slowly. He needed to feed.
"It's not that far, really!" Matt said realizing what he just admitted.
"Give me the keys! I'm driving you home. Hurry up, before I hide you myself right here," Kol barked.
Matt dug the keys out of his jacket and Kol snatched them and dragged them back out into the night.
Kol pushed the two drunk boys through the garage door into the kitchen. Marcel was standing at the kitchen island talking to Klaus. Both had mugs of blood and they were looking at some kind of map.
"Hey, there you guys are. Late night," Marcel said enviously.
After his "talk" with Klaus, he had slept and then worked around the house all day. He really had wanted to see that movie.
"Some of us had more fun than others, eh lads?" Kol said smacking both of them on the back of the head lightly.
"What happened?" Klaus said. He could hear the boys hearts beating fast.
Kol fixed a hard glare on Matt, "Tell him, mate. I'm not going to do it."
Matt's face colored and he felt completely sober, "We-, I had a couple of beers and then drove over to the Grill."
"You, what?" Klaus said loudly.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't like drunk. It was all that...far," Matt stopped seeing the look on Klaus' face.
"Dad, it was my fault. We were at my old house and we stole some of Alaric's beer from the downstairs fridge. I didn't think it was a big deal," Jeremy rambled.
Marcel and Kol looked at each other and went upstairs.
"Honestly, boys, I do not know what to say. If you wanted to have one or two beers and we thought you could handle it, you could do it here at home. However, Jeremy, with your substance abuse issues and Matt, with your family history, did this seem like a good idea? But it is the driving and the getting in the car with some drinking that is the problem," Klaus began.
"I think the two of you can forget about driving or going any place after school for the next month. And tomorrow, you can tell Alaric what you did. I'm sure he will be most disappointed," Klaus went on sternly.
"Sorry," Jeremy said hanging his head.
Matt looked at him and said, "I'm sorry, too."
"Good. We'll talk about this more tomorrow. Go to bed," Klaus ordered. The boys looked at each other in surprise and started to turn around to leave.
"Wait!" Klaus said getting up. "Come here. I'm not angry at you, but disappointed in your actions. Okay? I mean it, though, one month- no car, no going out." Klaus hugged both of them at the same time. They had been through a lot yesterday, but this could have been just as deadly as the witch attack.
"Where were you two?" Tyler said putting down his controller. He had been playing Call of Duty alone for the last few hours since everyone was gone.
"Ah, well, we had been getting fucked up at my old house on Alaric's beer when Matt here decides we should go to the Grill," Jeremy glowered.
"Dude, it wasn't that far!" Matt snapped.
"So, we run smack into Uncle Kol at the Grill who had been sitting at the bar with Miss Monroe. The timing was just great," Jeremy said sarcastically.
"So now we're like grounded for a whole month and no driving. Oh, and we have to tell Alaric we drank his beer," Matt groused.
Tyler doubled up laughing, "The man is going to kill you. What the hell were you thinking?"
"Clearly, we weren't," Jeremy scoffed going to brush his teeth.
"I think Jeremy is trying to get in Bonnie's pants and impress her. I was just happy to not be dead. Sue me," Matt said getting dressed for bed.
"So please tell me you two idiots are going to get the hell beat out of you because my ass was almost purple from being a fucking hero yesterday. Do you want to see?" Tyler said pulling down the back of his shorts.
"No, I don't want to see. Dude, it looks...fine," Matt said looking at the small white area Tyler had revealed.
"Really?" Tyler went to the mirror and pulled down one side of his shorts. As Matt said, his backside was completely white and healed. Was this his werewolf healing kicking in? He was about to test this theory with a knife when Elijah came to the door.
"Boys, I just wanted to say good night," Elijah said.
"Goodnight," Tyler said slipping the knife back into the drawer.
"I heard you were drunk driving, Matthew, and you with him Jeremy," Elijah said quietly.
Matt just nodded. Elijah went over and cupped his face.
"You went through a traumatic experience yesterday. It can be hard to deal with things like that. We're here if you need to talk. Dealing with things with alcohol and drugs never seems to work out well," Elijah explained.
"Honestly, Uncle Elijah. I feel like we were more celebrating being alive type of thing, rather than being messed up," Jeremy added honestly.
"Alright. But driving inebriated is not thinking clearly. Listen to me, someone would have picked you up. I never want you to worry about getting in trouble when it is your life in danger. I promise you, if you are as drunk as a skunk, you call me any time and I will pick you up without saying a word. Okay? I care more about your lives than anything else," Elijah finished.
"Really? You wouldn't even bust our butts for being drunk?" Tyler asked skeptically.
"Tyler, I know we are hard on you boys sometimes, but it is all to keep you safe and growing into people you can be proud of. I mean it when I say you call and I will come if it comes down to you driving drunk or getting in the car with someone intoxicated, okay?" Elijah said seriously.
"Thanks, Uncle Elijah. Hey, I'm sorry about earlier today. I should have listened the first time. I did, you know, what you told me to do," Tyler said referring to himself standing in the corner. He flushed recalling the experience.
Elijah put his arm around him.
"I'm really proud of you. I know that wasn't easy. I wish you could have come out with us today, but I know your father wanted to talk to you. What comes next may be hard, but we will all be here for you," Elijah said tilting his head down a little.
"Oh, Dad did plenty of talking all right. I think my curse is triggered all right because I think I'm healing fast already," Tyler said.
Elijah was interested, "Really, I didn't think that happened until the first first moon. However, Tyler, there is a lot we don't know about werewolves. Niklaus only turned once and wolves are very secretive. They typically only communicate with their pack once they turn."
"Will I have a pack?" Tyler asked.
"We'll be your pack," Elijah smiled.
Matt howled from the bathroom.
Jeremy scoffed, "He still might be drunk. Ignore him."
"Goodnight, Matt. Jeremy, we'll do something soon," Elijah said letting go of Tyler and patting him on the back.
"Now to bed," Elijah said leaving.
Jeremy asked, "What did he tell you to do?"
Tyler groaned in shame,"Don't ask."
The next morning in the war room meeting, Klaus shared that he had talked to Mikael and the Strix didn't know anything about the attack. The New Orleans' witches did not seem behind it either. Alaric, Damon, and Bonnie joined. Marcel was pacing and the rest of the Originals were sitting on the couches in Klaus' study.
They told Bonnie about Henrik's power and they decided to induct Davina and him into the Bennett coven that night. Bonnie wasn't sure even with all that power, they they would have enough to break the Sun and the Moon curse. They still needed a vampire and werewolf that had to die. With the surplus of Elena's mystical blood, they thought that that was enough.
"So Elena doesn't have to die for this curse to be broken?" Damon asked.
"We don't think so," Elijah added.
"Good, because she is not going to," Damon snarked.
"Damon, she is part of this family. We protect her, we would never harm her. Now, Katerina Petrova, on the other hand..." Klaus added. Elijah looked up. Kater
"Klaus, you can do whatever you want with Katherine, but Elena..." Damon drifted off.
"Damon, we know, please don't concern yourself with this any longer. And Katerina is long in the wind," Elijah said gripping his shoulder in support.
Bonnie cut in,"After tonight, we can start preparing more for the spell. The problem is that we won't know if it works until the night of the full moon. There is a celestial event that night that we can also draw power from, I'm just not sure that it is enough. This was one of the most powerful curses."
"Could we suppress Tyler's werewolf side, like our Mother did for Niklaus?" Elijah threw out.
Freya answered, "I don't think so. That spell was for an Original vampire. That immortality spell needs the white oak ash and a greater amount of power than any of us could possess."
"Very well. We shall try to break the curse and make Tyler a hybrid. Is it possible that Celeste was acting on her own? Trying to sacrifice Davina for her own dark purposes?" Klaus wondered aloud.
Marcel thought for a second, "Anything is possible. I have my guys rousing the witches in the cauldron now for intel. Also, Thierry is going out with a witch and she slips him information from time to time. We'll know soon enough."
"Alaric, Damon, any word on the hunters? Kol said that Miss Monroe has been hanging around the grill," Elijah asked.
"No, the council has been quiet. If they have anything planned, they are keeping it from the Mayor and ourselves, Alaric answered.
"Good. Mikael asked me to call him back. Let's reconvene next week. As always thank you for coming. Alaric, ready to call those petty beer thieves in?" Klaus said getting up.
Rebekah muttered, "Odd to hear you calling back Mikael. Dear old dad!"
"Yes, I am," Alaric said also standing.
"Kol, want to stay?" Klaus asked. "After all, you are the one who saved the day here, brother." Klaus clapped him on the back.
"Ah, no thanks, Nik. I need to catch Bex about something," Kol said leaving.
Rebekah was already waiting for him outside the study alone.
"Kol, I shouldn't have said that about Henrik. That was cruel," Rebekah said pushing back her long, blond locks.
"No, Bex. You were right. We could have lost him again. I need to do better," Kol confessed looking down at her.
She shook her head, as he went on,"But about the other thing, I've never touched her. I wouldn't. I know she is young, Rebekah. I just have never felt like this with someone. When I'm with her, I feel like I like myself. Just being around her makes me happy, I don't need anymore. I swear to you, I can wait. Do you trust me?" Kol said holding her arms.
"Of course, I do. But you understand that I have to protect her? If you hurt her...," Rebekah threatened.
"I won't. I promise. Just let me be her friend. If she wants to go out with other guys or friends and have a normal life, I won't stop her. I promise," Kol vowed.
Rebekah didn't answer, she nodded and let him hug her.
Matt and Jeremy trudged down to the study reluctantly. They knew they had to face Alaric. Matt couldn't help but recall the awful smacking he had received from him for trying to shoot Damon. Matt really had no idea how hard that man's hand was.
"Boys, come now. I think you have something to say to Alaric," Klaus said.
"We shouldn't have helped ourselves to your beer. Sorry. It was an abuse of your trust and if you don't want us back, that's okay," Jeremy mumbled.
"Hey, first of all, buddy. That is always your house. I'm your uncle now and I always want you guys around. I am hurt that you stole from me and snuck around. Secondly, the beer isn't what bothers me, it's the...," Alaric stopped and looked at Matt.
"The drunk driving. It was really stupid. I wasn't thinking straight. If you need to punish me, I'll take it this time without complaining. I swear," Matt said flushing hotly.
"Matt, I'm going to tell you guys about something that happened to me. Why don't you have a seat," Alaric said. Klaus excused himself to make that phone call.
"So, my cousin and I were about your age, maybe a little older and he was visiting me at my college. And just like you, we were with the guys, had a couple of beers and then got in the car to go to another party. My cousin didn't think he was trashed, he could walk straight, he wasn't slurring. Seemed fine. But guys, he wasn't fine," Alaric stopped and grabbed his bottle of water.
"Uncle Alaric, you don't have to tell us if it is too much," Jeremy said.
"No, I'm okay. So we're driving, you know how it is, blasting the music, laughing, talking about girls, and bam! My cousin hit an old man crossing the street. Just like that. We freaked out. We didn't know what to do. We were all good kids..." Alaric paused.
"Oh god, is this going to turn out to be like 'I Know What You Did Last Summer?'" Matt asked in awe.
"No, we called the police. My uncle was a lawyer and they came out. My cousin got arrested. The old man was injured, pretty bad, but didn't die. It turns out he was homeless, a veteran. He ended up in a hospital and my cousin got probation," Alaric ended.
"So it kind of turned out okay?" Jeremy asked.
"No, not really. Because though my uncle got my cousin off with a slap on the wrist, we had to live with what we did. That old man, a hero to this country, was hurt, because we didn't feel like staying home and getting drunk. My cousin ended up having a tough couple of years. What I'm saying guys, is that the consequences can be worse than losing your car keys for a month," Alaric ended.
Neither boy knew what to say.
After a short silence, Alaric said, "Guys, I know this is heavy. Next time, call someone or just don't get in the car. There are going to be other times that stuff like this happens. When you are young, you feel indestructible, like you are going to live forever. I hate to break it, though, we ain't Originals. And even they have to live with the consequences of what they do."
"So, are we in trouble with you?" Matt dared to ask.
"Yes, since you are already grounded, I think a paper from each of you should do the trick. Matt, you do drunk driving and the dangers. Jer, how about alcohol abuse? 1000 words, cite your sources, no mistakes. You can use the library at school during your study hall," Alaric smiled.
Jeremy wanted to groan, but he couldn't stop thinking of the story about the old man. Matt felt overwhelmed as writing wasn't easy for him.
"Matt, you can do this. You know if you need help, stop by my classroom, but I want these papers by next Monday," Alaric pronounced.
"What if we can't get it done in that time?" Matt asked.
"Oh Klaus assured me that you would have them finished early," Alaric said getting up.
"Guys, I wish I could go back in time and stop my cousin. It was my idea to head to the next party. But I can't. Now, he's a lawyer, like his dad specializing in DUIs. He actually makes about 10x more money than I do, but he doesn't get to inspire like I do," Alaric said smiling.
"Yeah, we're real inspired here!" Jeremy quipped.
"Good. Best get to it, guys. No slacking. Now I have to get back to Jenna. She knows nothing about this, so please don't tell her," Alaric cautioned.
"We won't. Hey, thanks Uncle Alaric. Again, sorry about this whole thing," Jeremy repeated.
"Part of growing up, I guess. Hope you two don't make as many dumb mistakes as I did," Alaric smiled.
"I feel like there are more stories here," Matt predicted.
"Oh, you have no idea!" Alaric admitted guiding them out of the office.
"Niklaus, I have been troubled by something Finn said to me earlier when I spoke to him," Mikael said speaking from Cern.
"Oh?" Klaus said.
"He mentioned that everyone likes Henrik better than him and he almost did something bad," Mikael shared.
"They were playing and he almost chased Henrik into an oncoming car. We thought it was an accident," Klaus admitted.
"Oh my, I'm not sure that was an accident. I think Finn is becoming very jealous. I thought it was a stage, but he almost had a pathological envy of how the rest of you got along. I'm not sure you should leave them alone together," Mikael cautioned.
"Father, I must go. I left them alone in the bath..." Klaus said hanging up quickly and vamping to the bathroom.