The sun had been beating down on her for hours, and Tessa Eriksen reveled in it. She hadn't sweat nor tanned in a thousand years but the warmth soaking in her skin felt nice. The salt had begun to dry, crinkling her skin, an obvious sign of how long she had been stretched out on her lounger. The waves were a relaxing hum in the background. It was peaceful and Tessa had no plans of moving for hours. That was until from the crumby depths of her purse, a musical chime began to ring out.

"Goddamnit." There were a few more curses before she pushed the appropriate button to make it stop. "Can I help you?" Her annoyance leaked through more than she had hoped. Luckily the person on the other end only laughed at her.

"Am I interrupting Tessie?" Klaus's voice filtered through the cheap phone. "You don't sound happy to hear from me."

Tessa huffed, mouth pulling down. "It's been quite some time." It had been a year or two since they had talked, Klaus opting to leave her behind on whatever he was doing currently. She had long since left her pettiness behind.

"Don't pout love." Her skin unstuck from the plastic beach chair lounger as she sat up.

"I'm not pouting, I can't pout, I'm on vacation." To accentuate her point, she grabbed her colorful mixed drink, sucking down a few gulps.

"Are you still in Fiji?" There was complete silence in the background of his phone call and Tessa strained to hear any clues of his location.

"Why?" Her eyes scanned down the beach, somehow expecting him to appear next to her umbrella.

"Are you going to answer my question?" His voice shifted, taking on an icier tone.

"I see you still haven't developed manners." She took a long sip from her drink, the icy margarita had been infused with blood. "Don't shame me from asking questions, it's been a long time. You said so yourself."

"Is it so bad to check up on you?" His voice began to echo, obviously Klaus was on the move now. "We have lots of enemies." Tessa's mouth twitched, she highly doubted he was calling just to check up on her but perhaps.

"I'm still in Fiji, I haven't moved since you left me." She huffed, flipping on her beach chair.

"Is that a touch of bitterness I hear?" Klaus was laughing at her and she took another long pull of her drink. The straw whistled as she drained it.

"I have no doubt that laying on a beach is significantly better than whatever dangerous situation you've concocted." That was the reason he had dropped her on this beach, she was sure. He had begun to get into something where it was better that he had no attachments but now he needed something.

"Perhaps but I bet the company isn't better." His cockiness made her smile. She hated to admit it but she had missed him.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that Klaus." Her mind started to drift before she pulled it back to their conversation. "I've moved to a nude beach so there might be some competition."

"Have your puritan sensibilities finally faded away?" She let out a sharp laugh, surprised that he managed to out-maneuver her.

"Maybe you should come to Fiji and see." Tessa swirled the ice in her drink, looking down the beach at the bar. The shift had changed over and now her favorite bartender was working, the cute one. They always made her drinks strong enough and had compelled them to open a vein to give them that extra punch.

"You aren't listening, are you?" Klaus's voice rang suddenly in her ear and Tessa realized her fangs had descended.

"Sorry, I was scoping out my afternoon snack. Can't blame a girl for getting a little hungry."

"Am I bothering you with this conversation?" Tessa waved to the bartender, a sly smile in place.

"Of course not, Klaus. You've just interrupted my daily routine. Not all of us are constantly working on plans for world domination." He huffed into the phone, halfway between laughing and annoyance.

"I suppose I should be glad that you're keeping busy. A bored Tessie doesn't do anyone any good."

"Ha! It's quite the vacation. My drink is calling, chat later?" She really was hungry and Klaus didn't seem to be in the mood to divulge any of his plans.

"Yes, I'll see you soon." The phone beeped and Tessa immediately stood, heading towards the cabana. She had a date with a drink.

The sun was finally setting and Tessa swirled her drink in hand, occasionally sipping. The phone call with Klaus had been unexpected but pleasant. She had missed him over the two years that they had been apart. They often took breaks but this one had been different. This had been a break with a purpose. Klaus was up to something and had chosen not to involve her. She had been pissed for the first couple of months but it had gradually faded away.

"Phone call went well?" The bartender, Charlie, asked. Tessa nodded absentmindedly, waving her hand.

"Just an old friend." They smiled as they refilled her drink.

"Are you heading out then? You have been here awhile." Charlie said, taking a seat on the beach lounger across from her.

"Getting sick of me?" She supposed two years was a long time to a human. In comparison to her long lifetime, this felt like a short vacation.

"No, just wondering how it is you have nowhere else to be. I'm jealous." Charlie laughed, a small smile appearing on their face. "It's also the first time I've heard about an old friend. Can't blame me for being curious." Tessa caught their chin in her hand and looked into their eyes.

"I'll tell you but you won't remember after the end of this conversation." She compelled before sitting back and relaxing on her lounger. "They are old friends. Very old. Thousand years if you can believe it."

"Really? I knew you were a vampire but I didn't think that.." Charlie trailed off, staring at her face.

"26." Tessa clucked, running her hands through her hair. "I was 26 years old when I became a vampire. My friends are the original vampires from which almost all myths and legends have sprung."

"But not you?"

"You could call me the first vampire but I was turned, not created." Charlie nodded and Tessa patted their leg. "It's a little confusing, it doesn't help that I don't remember all of it."

"Why not?" Their eyes had drifted down to her throat, obviously expecting to see scars.

"It was violent and not entirely on purpose." Her voice went flat but she shook her head. She didn't feel like giving a history lesson today. "I have nowhere to be because I'm supposed to be here. I'm waiting."

Charlie's eyebrows raised with an obvious question,"What are you waiting for?"

"No idea."

Three days later, the weather was exactly the same, sunny and perfect. Tessa had returned to her usual beach lounger, beach bag in hand. Though the interruption from Klaus had been unexpected, she was determined to throw herself back into her beach routine. It was obviously a quality of life checkup. Charlie waved at her as she spread her towel out across the plastic chair. She waved back before laying down. Then from underneath a layer of beach towels, her phone began to ring. Instantly she was on edge and quickly retrieved the device. An unknown number flashed on the screen, phone still ringing in her hand. Cautiously, she pressed the answer button.

"Hello?" Her voice was perfectly calm.

From behind her and on the phone, a voice answered. "You really are in the same spot I left you. Did you do any exploring?" Tessa whipped around to see Klaus standing there, mobile phone in hand. He looked terribly out of place on the beach, still in a long henley and jeans. She threw her phone onto the sand with a curse.

"That was mean. You scared me." She stood, glaring at him. He only laughed before pocketing his own device.

"Come now, don't tell me your instincts have completely left you." Klaus moved over to her lounger before taking a seat on it himself. "Sit." She made a face but obeyed, sitting next to him, legs brushing.

"Why didn't you tell me you were on your way?" Tessa asked, still looking at him. There was something off but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"I didn't want to ruin the surprise."

"How kind of you. I hope you know that I'm not quite ready to leave yet." Tessa said, standing back up. "Come down to the cabana with me and grab a drink." She looked him up and down again. He certainly would make waves at the cabana but for more than one reason.

"A cabana?" Klaus's head tilted to the side, looking down the beach. "You've truly embraced the beach life."

"When in Fiji." Tessa grabbed his hand, pulling him alongside her. "Besides you should want to spend more time with me. You haven't seen me in two years."

"You're being melodramatic." He still allowed her to pull him along towards the cabana. His hands ran warmer than she remembered.

"What do you want? Margarita? Beer? Sex on the beach?" Tessa winked at him as she settled onto the barstool.

"Two beers." Klaus said, sitting next to her. Charlie took only a moment before sliding two cold bottles across the counter.

"So why have you come down to paradise? Normally you snap your fingers and I'm expected to come running." She took her first sip and enjoyed the ice cold liquid.

"Am I not allowed to have a vacation?"

"Ah but anytime I've invited you, you've always turned me down."

"But it looks like vacation is treating you nicely." His eyes flickered along her body, taking in her bikini.

"This is what not caring for two years look like. You should try it sometime." Tessa smiled at him before sipping her beer again.

"Should I be worried about you not coming back with me?" Klaus raised his hand for another beer while Tessa laughed.

"I guess I'll leave my beautiful vacation for you."

"Good. Where are you staying?"

"You want to leave now?" Tessa set her drink down before gesturing at the surroundings. "I haven't even shown you all the perks of living here."

"I wasn't planning on staying long." He kept her gaze before turning away.

"You still haven't told me why you are here or what you even need me for?" She didn't plan on moving her butt from her beach lounger until she absolutely had to.

"Tessa." He said tightly. His temper was back in full force.

"Klaus." She shot back, not budging.

Charlie broke the silence by sliding two more beers across the counter, and suddenly the tension was gone.

"Charlie, leave us alone." Tessa said before sipping her beer. The bartender nodded before disappearing into the back. "Don't play dumb Klaus, something is up."

"Don't be ridiculous." Klaus glared at her.

A deep breath through her nose started to calm her boiling blood. "Let's go out. Maybe I can sell you on Fiji."

"Out?" He asked, confused by the sudden change in mood.

"Go see the town." She could see him wavering and she pulled him off his stool, "I shouldn't have phrased that as a question because it's not." She dragged him back to her home so that she could change. She would let him stew in his damn jeans.

It wasn't Tessa's first time going out downtown but the addition of her personal black cloud, Klaus, definitely wasn't making things any easier.

"If you keep frowning, no one will let us in." Tessa tugged her skirt down, glaring at Klaus.

"Then we compel them." He refused to look at her. She couldn't figure out why he was putting up such an act. They had gone to parties or nightclubs before, and had a great time.

"Or you could pull the stick out of your ass and have some fun with me." Tessa grabbed his hand and pulled him forward with her line. "We are already going to get looks because you are wearing a pair of jeans."

His forehead wrinkled. "I like my jeans."

"We are in Fiji. Who the hell wears jeans in Fiji?" He huffed, unwilling to concede her point.

"What's so special about this club anyway?" Klaus grumbled, obviously shifting the topic away from her. His hand was still intertwined with hers.

"It's my favorite." She gave him her high-watt smile, meant to dazzle. It worked because his eyes softened and his shoulder loosened. Success.

"Why?" They moved forward in line again.

"The decor is 1950s themed. It's adorable." The two of them had made quite the pair back in that decade.

"I don't remember you particularly enjoying those years. " Klaus said, as they approached the bouncers. He drew himself up to his full height in front of the big man, easily projecting an aura of do-not-fuck-with-me.

"IDs?" The bouncer asked before Tessa moved in front of Klaus.

"It's me! Rocco!" She laughed as he waved the duo in. Immediately the pair were assaulted by a deep bass.

The fun, themed decor of the club was at odds with the electronic music that it played. Klaus and Tessa shoved their way through the crowd, heading for the bar. Something subconscious in all the mortals kicked in, and they subtly moved out of the way. It was a funny thing, human instinct. The drunken clubgoers didn't even realize they were doing it. As soon as their hands touched the bar, the bartender was there, head tilted in a silent question.

"Tequila shots." Tessa called over the music, holding up two fingers. The bartender waited for payment but Tessa just leaned over the bar and stared them down. "For free, please." In a daze, they moved away.

"Are you actually gonna dance with me tonight?" Tessa asked, as they slid into a booth. She ignored the fact that Klaus had intimidatingly stared down the previous occupants until they saw fit to move.

"I'm aging myself here but how the hell do you dance to this love?" He shook his head, staring at the writhing mass of bodies on the floor.

"You're not really supposed to dance. You just kinda move." Tessa bit her lip, trying to decide if she should explain the true motives most had.

"It was much easier when you were expected to know all the dances." He threw his shot back, completely ignoring the lime.

"Unfortunately it's not the 1500s anymore. Nobody is waltzing anymore." Tessa followed suit, nose still wrinkling at the taste. You would think that after a thousand years, alcohol would taste better. It doesn't. The bartender hand delivers another couple rounds of shots, some of the surrounding tables eyeing them.

"Would you like to race?" Klaus asks, waiting until she's just about to take another one. One of her eyebrows raised at him.

"Is Nik finally loosening up? I didn't know vampires could catch fevers." He glared at her. "There's the Nik I know returning."

"You ready?" He wrapped his fingers around his shot glass, gesturing to hers.

"Fine. Let's go." They started and to no one's surprise, Klaus won. Turns out wrinkling your nose takes extra time. "Alright, let's go dance."

The two of the split, both hunting for their dinner. Tessa had zeroed in on some nice looking tourist. A young man with fluffy hair and green eyes, and a particularly delicious neck. She lets him grind on her, his hands sitting on her hips. It takes every bit of her control to not turn and sink her fangs into his neck. The beat changes and she adjusts, still moving her hips against him. She looked up from her chosen prey and almost magnetically, she's watching Klaus across the club. He has a girl in front of him, disinterestedly letting her grind on him. the television reel throughout the years of him in that same situation plays in her head. waltzing, around a bonfire, at court. A thousand years and still, they hadn't really changed. As if he can feel her eyes on her, he looks up, catching her gaze right away. Something swirls around her heart before slowly drifting down to her stomach. A slow smile breaks out on his face and his hands move up the woman's sides, just until they're about to-

"What do you say we get out of here?" Her prey interrupts and she's forced to twist to look at him. Her facial muscles unwillingly pull into a believable smile.

"Sure. Follow me." She grabs his hand, refusing to look back at Klaus right now. Refusing to acknowledge the tension that had just snapped. The crowds easily part for her yet again and soon she's cornered her prey against a wall in an alley.

"Ya know, I've got a hotel room not far from here." He starts, a nervous tic in his voice. Tessa smiles at him. Humans always wore their heart on their sleeve. She could smell the salt of his skin as he sweat his nerves out.

"If I didn't have a guest tonight, I might've taken you up on that." His eyebrows knit, obviously confused on where this was headed. She grabbed his chin, keeping his face steady when he started to struggle. "Stop moving and be quiet." She compelled before allowing her fangs to come down.

She easily walked back into the club, taking the time to stop in the restroom to ensure that none of the blood had gotten on her top or face. Tessa had always been a bit of a messy eater. She had wanted to look at herself in the mirror and get a hold of herself. Whatever moment She and Klaus had shared was odd. Not in a terrible way but in a rocky path sort of way. Sometimes their relationship felt as though they were standing on the edge of a cliff, not falling, not yet but waiting to do so. Toeing the line of friendship but never crossing. Or at least she thought so. Klaus was like a damn brick wall when it came to feelings so maybe she was bat shit.

Someone pounds on the door and Tessa rolls her eyes before flinging it open. Klaus stood there, a hint of blood at the corner of his mouth.

"You alright love?" He asked, the picture of casual leaning against the doorway. She's reminded again of the past, before they learned the trick of compulsion and before they learned not to tear apart their meals with their teeth. Before the guilt stopped bothering them.

"Cleaning up my mess." She shrugged, dabbing a wet paper towel delicately at her mouth. "Unlike some people." His hip bumped her out of the way as he eyed himself in the mirror, taking his own paper towel to his mouth.

"You'd think some days that we were damn newborns." He chuckled, tossing his in the bin. "Are you ready to get out of here?" She smiled and nodded, intertwining hands once more to exit the club.

AN: Here is the rewritten first chapter! I'm hoping to have the second one posted in the next couple days. Hope you enjoyed!