Ever since leaving Stefan in the woods, I have stayed with Damon at the boarding house. Some days we wake up and plan an attack to get him back. Other days, Damon has already drunk himself into a stupor before six am. My nights are sleepless as I toss and turn through nightmares. Last nights dreams have left me exhausted, and I cannot muster the strength to move from the bed. Where was Stefan? Why did Klaus take him?
The sun is rising through the treetops and light is beginning to seep into my room. A patch of light flickers to the bed and irritates my eyes. Sighing, I flip over onto my stomach and hug the body pillow. I don't want to go down stairs and watch Damon's mental breakdown. Hearing my stomach grumble, I frown and groan before tossing the blankets off. I slide off the bed just as my bedroom door opens. Unphased by the intrusion, I turn around to see a half dressed Damon. His dark brown hair is sticking out in multiple areas, and he was still wearing his night pants.
"Ah, you're up already," Damon smirks as his eyes roam over my undressed form.
"Yes, and I'm about to get dressed, so please leave," I say rolling my eyes as I walk in my ensuite bathroom door. Damon staring at me while I am only wearing a lace bralette and boy shorts made me a bit uncomfortable.
"No need to be shy, Bellsie." Damon half sang as I shut the door to my bathroom. "Is that a tattoo?"
"Yes, now go." I dragged out the word as I shut the bathroom door. The tattoo was a large blue and black butterfly with wings that tapered off into smaller butterflies of various colors on my back. I got it just recently with Lexi on a trip to Florida. The memory made me smile and my heartache at the same time. Lexi had been so full of life and laughter. I still have not forgiven Damon. Swallowing the rage that had begun to bubble over, I continued toward the closet in the bathroom. Thankfully the bathroom and closet were combined, so I didn't have to walk back out to grab my clothes. Instead, I listened to Damon as I quickly grabbed some clothes.
"I got an interesting call this morning." He says, and I can hear the slight groan of the bed as he sits down.
"Uh huh." I murmur as I pull on my dark blue jean shorts. I grab a dark red halter top and inspect it. There was a hole in the top, so I threw it in the closet and searched for another shirt.
"Stefan is in Chicago."
I paused and placed a hand on my heart. Closing my eyes, I took a deep, steadying breath. "How do you know that?"
"It came to me in a dream." He laughs.
"Damon." I use his name as a warning while I slip on a burgundy v-neck shirt. I grabbed a pair of white low top converses and a pair of white ankle socks before walking out of the bathroom.
"Fine." Damon pouted when he spotted me. "Kitty Kat called me."
"Katherine? Why? Wait. How does she even know where they are?" I questioned while putting on my shoes.
"She's following them, I guess." Damon shrugged. "So, wanna go save St. Stefan? We can even get Elena to go with us. You know she will want to if we do anyway." I looked up from tying my shoes to see Damon smiling down at me.
"Damon, that is a terrible, horrible, incredibly foolish idea." I laugh as I stand up and look him in the eye. "Let's do it and see what happens."
Damon smiled brightly. "Ohh. Maybe Klaus will finally kill me!" Damon squealed before racing off.
I walk back into the closet and pull out a duffle bag. After piling the bag up with clothes and shoes, I place it on my bed and start looking around. We will probably only be in Chicago for a night or two. I notice Stefan's journal next to my bed. I had been reading his journals since the woods incident. The one on the bedstand was from the 1920's, during and after he had a major ripper moment. I picked up the journal and placed it in my bag. It couldn't hurt to bring this one since I'll be in Chicago anyway.
Damon returned with Elena an hour later with a bag in tow. We hopped into my car and started driving. The drive would take approximately 12 hours. Damon took the front seat while Elena stretched out in the back. We had just made a pit stop in White Sulphur Springs, WV when Damon and Elena started talking about rescuing Stefan.
"With Klaus there, I just feel so uneasy!" Elena groaned.
"Well, good. If you were at ease, I'd be a bit worried." Damon laughed.
I noticed Elena playing with the necklace that hung around her neck in the rearview mirror.
"That's a lovely necklace," I say trying to take their minds off Klaus.
"Thank you, Stefan gave it to me." Elena smiled as she fiddled with the locket.
"I sure hope we find him, cause it would suck if the last memento of Stefan were that crappy old necklace," Damon says as he filters through the radio stations.
Elena looks stricken, and I notice a tear beginning to streak down her cheek. I rear back my right hand and smack Damon upside the head.
"Ow, what the hell, Bell?" He hollers and grabs his head.
"You're are the worst person on the face of the fucking planet," I grumble.
"Aw, that's the nicest thing you have ever said about me!" Damon laughs, and I roll my eyes.
"That necklace was a gift. You shouldn't be so callous." I shake my head lightly.
"That necklace is old though!" He whined loudly.
"It's an antique, Damon." Elena sneered, and I felt myself smile at her boldness. "Like you." She added, and I let out a roaring laugh.
Damon glared at me, and I stifle my laughter with a fake cough.
"Hey Bella," Elena's voice weakly comes from the backseat. I look at her from the rearview mirror. "Do you happen to have a book or something I can read? I'm getting antsy and wanna take my mind off it."
"Ah, I wish I did, but the only one I do have is Stefan's journal," I admit with a shrug of my shoulders. "At our next gas up, we can stop at a Walmart so you can grab one. Would that be ok?"
"Su…" Elena starts to talk when Damon leans over the backseat and starts ruffling through my bag. "What are you doing?" She asks.
"Ah ha!" Damon exclaims and looks at Elena with a mischievous grin. "Here, read this." Damon hands her Stefan's journal. "Paints a pretty little picture of Stefan's first experience in Chicago," Damon says before sitting correctly in his seat.
"This is Stefan's journal. I'm not going to invade his private thoughts." Elena huffed as she threw the book into Damon's lap.
"Spoken like someone who has a secret diary." Damon turns his head toward her and smirks. "You need to be prepared for what you're about to see." His voice is a whisper, and she looks at him with large puppy dog eyes.
"I've seen Stefan in his darkest periods." She frowns and looks out the window. "I can handle it."
Could she? Could she handle the Ripper? Damon must have thought what I was thinking. He picked the journal up off his lap and flipped open a page.
"Ok then, here's one. March 12, 1922. 'I've blacked out days. I wake up in stranger' blood. In places, I don't recognize, with women I don't remember'." As Damon spoke, I watched Elena shift uncomfortably in her seat.
"Ahh! I'm shocked! Stefan's not a virgin?" I joke trying to get a smile from the depressed girl. She frowns slightly before looking up and giving me a soft smile.
"Well duh, what are you a blonde?" Damon laughs.
Elena leans forward and takes the journal from his hands.
"Hey!" He exclaims.
"Take a nap, grandpa." Elena sticks out her tongue before leaning back and beginning to thumb through the journal.
"Ugh, fine." Damon groaned as he turned around in his seat. "Hey Bell, wanna play a game?"
"How about the "shutting the fuck up" game?" I smile at him, and he glares at me.
"I'm bored though!" Damon pouts as he beats the seat.
"Well maybe if you wait a little longer, a fuck will fall into my hand, and I can give it to you." I wink at him and hear Elena burst into a fit of giggles.
"You're so mean!" Damon cried out.
"Mhmm." I nod my head as I switch the car's stereo system to the Bluetooth player. Luckily my phone was the only one synchronized, so I pressed the shuffle button.
Once we finally made it to Chicago, Damon asked that I drop him and Elena off at an old apartment complex. I gave them both my cell phone number and the name of the hotel we would be staying at during the trip. Elena's raised eyebrows told me she would enjoy the luxury suite I had placed on hold for her.
I arrived at the Langham Chicago on time for check in and walked through the two rooms. One room had two rooms attached with king beds in each, perfect for Elena and me. Damon's room was on another floor and was a single suite with a king bed and kitchen attached. If we were going to take a spur of the moment trip to Chicago, I wanted to enjoy it at least. I dropped my duffel bag in the room that overlooked Lake Michigan.
Driving 12 hours had exhausted me. I sat down on the sofa and turned on a local news channel. I didn't realize I had fallen asleep until the phone in my pocket had come to life and began singing "Another girl, another planet" by the Only Ones. Groggily picking up the phone, I barely recognized the number.
"Hello?" I groan as I push myself up to a sitting position and look around awkwardly.
"Bella!" Elena's voice was shaky, and I can tell she is crying.
"'Lena? What's wrong?"
"They were here. I saw Stefan and Kl… He..." She started hyperventilating as she tried to explain.
"Shhh. It's ok. Take a deep breath. Shh." I try to console her over the phone, but after a few minutes, the girl is still crying softly into the phone. "Elena, are you still at Stefan's old apartment?"
She mumbled a soft "Yes."
"I'll be there in 10 minutes," I told her and jumped up from the couch.
10 minutes to cross the city was impossible in a car, and it was still day out so running at vamp speed was a no. Sighing, I walked over to the balcony and opened the doors. Closing my eyes, I envisioned myself turning into a large light brown Golden Eagle. I felt my body shift and the wind pushing against my beautiful long wings. I opened my eyes and let out a small squeak of happiness that the transformation was successful. With the flap of my wings, I jumped from the building and started soaring above the vast city. The fluffy white clouds that I admire, I can now soar above or below.
I couldn't always transform into the Eagle. I remember when it first happened and how freaked out I was at the experience. I had called Stefan for advice at the time. Thanks to him, I had overcome the fear and began traveling as an eagle more often. Many times has the transformation saved my life.
When I am in my eagle form, I can easily spot my destination despite the long distance. The flight takes 6 minutes before I have to start my descent. Landing on the top of the building, I command my body to change back. Despite the natural transformation earlier, the pain of returning to a human form causes me to double over for a moment. Shaking off the queasiness, I quickly make my way to the stairwell and call Elena.
The phone rings a few times before I hear her voice muffled a quiet "Hello?"
"Hey, meet me in the stairwell," I say as I jump down a flight of stairs.
"Bella?" Elena asks.
"Duh!" I say with a soft laugh. "No, get that booty moving." I chuckle again as I hit the end call button.
As I pass the 6th-floor stairwell entrance, I hear Elena's voice from the stairs below me. "Bella?" She whispers.
"Lena!" I say with a squeal as I jump down from the stairs above her.
"Oh my god!" She screeches as he presses herself to the wall.
"You ready to go?" I say as I bend down to retie my shoes.
"You scared me!" Elena breathed out.
Looking up to her, I gave a Cheshire cat like grin. "Well, I am naturally terrifying."
Elena looked at me for a second before chuckling gently into her hand. "I'm sorry Bella, I must seem crazy." Elena started to fan at her flushed face.
"Yes, but that's why I like you, doll." I sent her a wink and watched a faint blush span across her cheeks.
"When all of this is over, and Stefan is home, I want my sanity back." Elena smiles sadly down at her hands.
"Hun, to have that returned, you would have had to have it first." I laugh, and she sends me a glare before laughing as well.
"True." She smiles.
"No, but seriously are you ready to leave? Cause I have a hot tub waiting and it has our names written on it." The look of pure joy that splashed across her face made me smile. Elena needed to get her mind off of everything that had gone wrong lately. If at least for a few fleeting moments, I wanted her to be able to laugh and smile freely.
With a nod of her head, I led us out of the stairwell onto the busy Chicago street. Elena stumbled as she followed behind me. Hailing a taxi, I sent the girl a bright smile, but she was staring at a restaurant nearby. I could faintly hear her stomach growling, and I shook my head.
"Elena, come on. We can stop and grab food when we are closer to the hotel." At the sound of my voice, she jumped slightly before nodding enthusiastically at the thought of food.
We spent the ride back to the hotel in silence and absorbed in our thoughts. We had just stepped into the hotel when my phone began ringing. I looked at the screen and sighed heavily as Damon's name flashed across the screen.
"Yes, Damon?" I say as I continued walking through the Hotel's entrance and headed for the elevators.
"I need you and Elena to meet me somewhere." Damon's voice sounds rushed, and I realize he is breathing heavy.
"Why?" I look toward Elena and roll my eyes while pointing to my phone. She smiles softly and shakes her head.
"Because " He accentuates the word, "I know where Stefan will be in 45 minutes, and I have a plan." Damon snickered.
"Great, you have a plan, Damon." I sneer into the phone as the elevator opens and we step inside. "How about you fill us in on this so called plan first, and then Elena can decide if she wants to go."
Elena looked at me with wide eyes, and I smiled at her reassuringly.
"Well aren't you Sergeant Stick-in-the-mud today." I could almost hear his eyes rolling.
"Yes, so spill or I'm hanging up."
"Fine. Stefan and Klaus are meeting at Gloria's. It's a bar on the east side that is owned by a witch."
The elevator came to a stop, and I walked out of the metal contraption with Elena. Our room is only a few feet away, thankfully.
"Ok. So what's your plan?" I ask as I unlock the door to our room and usher Elena inside. I put my phone on speaker so Elena could hear Damon's idea.
"I distract Klaus so Elena can talk to Stefan. You, of course, being our back up if anything happens."
I look to Elena, and she nods her head up and down. "Ok. We are in but give us a few minutes to change."
"Ok. I'll send you the address." Damon says right before disconnecting.
I look back to Elena, and I notice she is frowning. "What is it, Elena?" I ask as I head toward my room.
"I...I left my bag in Damon's car." Her voice falters, and I look back to her. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks still had the uneven lines of her dried tears.
"Don't worry about that. I brought enough clothes. You can borrow some of the mines." I smile at her, and she smiles back. "Why don't you grab a quick shower and I'll pick out an outfit for you?" I suggest, and she nods. She starts to walk toward her room before turning back around and pointing at the door. "Yes," I say before she asks anything. "That is your room." I laugh, and she breathes out a bit of air.
"Thank you," Elena says before walking into the room and shutting the door.
Heading into my room, I strip down quickly and pick up my duffel bag. I dump the clothes onto the bed and stare at the pile as I think of outfit ideas that suited Elena. I find a red and black striped body con dress that stopped mid thigh and had a deep v-neck. Red would look good on the leggy brunette; I thought as I inspected the dress a bit more. Looking back at the pile, I realized I also had a blue jean jacket to combine with the dress. Grabbing the black heels off the bed as well, I carried the dress, shoes, and jacket into the living area and placed them on the edge of the couch.
Racing back into my room, I grabbed my long dark blue jeans and slipped them on. Looking back to the pile of clothes, I snatched up a light green v-neck shirt and put it on. Thankfully, I had remembered to bring my favorite pair of brown ankle boots. I slipped the pair of boots on and started placing the pile of clothes back into the duffel bag. I heard my phone ring and rushed to pick it out of my dirty pants pocket.
"Hello?" I huffed out.
"Where are Y'all?" Damon hissed out through clenched teeth.
Sighing, I looked down at my phone. "Damon, it has only been 10 minutes. Elena is getting dressed, and then we are on our way."
Damon was quiet for a moment before grumbling a quick "Ok" and hanging up.
"Ass," I say softly before walking into the living room. Elena was on the couch, her wet hair wrapped in a towel, and tapping on her phone.
"Hey, ready to go or do you want to dry your hair first," I asked while walking toward the couch she sat on.
Turning her head to my voice, she smiled when she saw me. "Thank you for letting me borrow the dress. The shoes were a little snug, so I think I'll just wear my shoes." She lifted her foot, and I saw she was wearing black converses.
"Anytime Doll." I smile and place my hand on the back of the couch. "So, are you ready."
"Yes," Elena replies instantly before taking the towel off her head. The sweet scent of cinnamon and vanilla fills the air.
"Alright, let's go. Damon sent me the address, and I googled it. It turns out its maybe two blocks away. I say we walk." I say as I grabbed my purse and put it on my shoulder.
As we walked to the bar, Elena and I chatted. I asked her about her studies, and she confided that she was falling behind. We made a plan for me to tutor her three days a week regardless of any supernatural dramas. I was a firm believer in education, and I stressed the importance of finishing school onto her. By the time we reached the bar, Elena and I are laughing at shared terrible science jokes. I spotted Damon first and waved at him. He strolled up and gave us a quick nod.
"Are yall ready for this? It could get ugly." Damon asks as he approaches while staring at Elena.
"This plan of yours could get us killed." Elena states as she shifts uncomfortably under his piercing gaze.
"Of course we are in!" I say as I roughly clamp Damon on the shoulder. He sends me a cruel side ways glare, but I only grin at him.
"Let's get this over with." Elena sighs as she marches forward.
"Woah, Woah. Slow your roll there." I say as I vamp speed in front of her. "We need to make a plan first," I say gently to the young and stubborn woman.
"Oh. Yeah, that would be a good idea." Elena slumps her shoulders and turns back around to face Damon. "So what's the play, Damon." Elena places her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, what's the plan Double D," I smirk, and Damon gives me a quizzical look.
"Double D?" he sputters out, and Elena starts laughing into her hand.
"Damn Damon, it was a joke." I laugh, and he rolls his eyes.
"Your an idiot." He huffs. "Anyway, I go in and confront Stefan and Klaus. Unfortunately, you two took your time, and they have already arrived. I face Klaus, Stefan will hopefully try to rush out, and Elena stands in the doorway waiting for him. He won't run when he sees you." Damon looks into her eyes and Elena nods. "Bella, you will enter before us. Act like an ordinary patron."
"Oh. No. Normal is not my thing." I quip.
"As normal as you can then, whatever." Damon rolls his eyes. "Alright, Elena why don't you just stand across the street?"
"Sure, I can do that." Elena started walking towards the crosswalk.
"Damon, go with her and then come into the bar. She shouldn't walk by herself." I comment as I watch Elena walk away.
Damon waits for a moment before jogging after Elena. I shake my head and straighten my shirt before moving closer to the bar. At the entryway, I felt a strange shift in the air and realize that a magic barrier was in place. The witch who owns the place must use magic to deter humans from getting inside. With a deep breath, I open the doors and make my way inside. Despite the barrier being invisible, I still feel the snap of magical current as I pass through.
The bar is quiet and empty except at the bar where I can see two dark blonde males sitting on the barstools. I know instantly that the man on the right is Stefan, my creator. He was staring at the wall as if he was a statue. The man beside him is a lighter blonde, and he is drinking an amber colored beverage. At the sound of the door shutting behind me, the male who is drinking looked over his shoulder. The red luminescence of the sign behind him caused an eerie glow, and I paused at the entrance. I could see the man has light blonde hair, bright blue eyes, a slight shadow of a beard trickling across his chiseled face, and eyelashes women would murder over. He reminded me of Adonis, the Greek god of beauty and desire. The man lifted a sculpted eyebrow before turning back to face the wall. From the description Damon and Elena gave me, this man must be Klaus.
I let out a small sigh of relief and made my way to the bar. The click and snap of my boots echo in the quiet space before I take a seat at the end of the bar. A few moments later, a small woman walks out carrying a large case of beer. I recognized her immediately as Gloria Adler. I had met her in the late 1950's during my first trip to Chicago. At the time, I was on my own and trying to find someone to perform a spell for me. Gloria was the witch I eventually found and together we made a fearsome duo. She enjoyed my sass and brazen attitude. Funny how she looks the same as she did when I first met her. Beautiful cocoa skin that glistened slightly and dark coffee-colored eyes. She wore her hair shorter now, and the faint lines of age were slowly starting around her eyes.
"Oh, hi. I didn't realize I had another guest come in." The woman sent the two men a sharp glance. "Welcome to Gloria's. What can I get for you?" She asks as she starts filling up the refrigerator.
"Oh no worries, I just walked in," I assure her while taking a quick scan of the inventory. "Can I get a Classic Sazerac?" I smile towards her, and she stares at me for a moment. I decide to go with the drink that she first made me in the 50's. The Sazerac was a classic cocktail from New Orleans which happens to be Gloria's hometown. I hope she remembers me, but there is no light of recognition in her eyes.
"Sure thing, first I need to see your I.D," Gloria says as she walks closer to me and I nod my head as I try to squelch the disappointment building in my chest.
Grabbing my purse, I ruffle through it until I find the I.D. I needed. I had gotten it when I was staying in a small town in Washington. The I.D. wasn't a forgery either, although I did use fakes to obtain the small card. At least the card stated I was 26 which made ordering drinks easier than compelling.
Gloria took a quick look at the I.D. before smiling. "Washington state huh? What brings a pretty thing like you all the way to Chicago?" She starts to pour the whiskey into a crystal glass.
"Lots of reasons but mostly a bad breakup," I say with a shrug.
"We have all had those. Well, bottoms up girl. You will find someone better." She hands me the drink, and I take an eager sip to calm my nerves.
"I'm going to the back for just a moment, but if you need anything just holler." Gloria waves as she disappears behind a swinging door. For the faintest of seconds, I see her wink at me, and I smile into my glass. Gloria does remember me, but she doesn't want Klaus to know.
We sit in silence for a few moments. The sound of rushing cars passing by and the murmur of humans walking by the bar the only music to listen to; until Stefan takes in a large gulp of air and the silence brakes. I keep my face impassive and try not to turn to stare at him.
"You compelled me to forget?" Stefan asks in awe.
"It was time for Rebekah and me to move on. Better to have a clean slate." The man says before polishing off the last bit of alcohol he had in his glass.
"But why?" Stefan turns to stare at the man. Stefan is so engrossed in the man beside him that he has yet to notice me. "You shouldn't have to cover your tracks…" Stefan stops mid sentence. "unless...Unless you're running from someone."
"Story Time's over, Stefan." The man says curtly, and I notice, from the corner of my eye, that he is tilting his head toward me.
I quickly take a sideways glance, and I see Stefan's wide eye stare at me. I pretend not to see him or the man beside him. I simply take a sip of my drink and set it back down on the counter.
"I need another drink," Stefan grumbles. "A real one." Stefan disappears from the bar, and I am left alone with the strange man.
"So, Washington state huh?" The man looks over at me and gives me a smirk.
I tilt my head so that I can see him, but I keep my body angled to the bar. "Yes, Washington state."
"So what kind of fool left you?" He smiled toothily, and I cocked an eyebrow at him.
"He was a…" I thought for a moment. What was the best word to describe Edward? "He was a dumbass," I say with a shrug, and the man lets out a booming laugh.
"Well, that's quite the description!" He snickered as he looks at me. "What brings you into Gloria's though." His voice has lost the mirth he displayed mere seconds before. Instead, he sounds ominous and threatening.
"I guess you could say another dumbass led me here." I sighed before taking a sip of the bourbon.
"I know you're not human, girl." The man whispers harshly to me.
"Of course I'm not human. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to go through Gloria's barrier." I roll my eyes. I hear the whoosh of air, and the man is now within an inch from my face.
His blue eyes stare intensely into mine. "Tell me why you are here and who you are." The small dilation of his eyes confirms my suspicions that this man is Klaus. Unfortunately, his compulsion didn't work on me. Huh. Weird.
The door closed and Klaus turned his head to stare at the new customer. With the click of his tongue, Klaus moved away from me. "I see they've opened the doors to the riff-raff now."
"Oh, honey, I've been called worse." Damon's voice drifted from the door, and I turned slightly in my chair to see him.
"You don't give up, do you?" Klaus took his seat, and Damon moved forward and sat beside him.
"Give me my brother back." Damon nodded his head. "You'll never have to see me again."
"Well, I am torn. You see, I promised Stefan I wouldn't let you die, but how many freebies did I sign up for? And apparently you want to die; otherwise, you wouldn't be here, so…" Klaus extended his hand and pretended to be weighing the air.
"What can I say? I'm a thrill-seeker." Damon started to laugh until Klaus reached out one hand and grasped Damon's throat.
Klaus seemed like someone I could easily anger. He was overly confident and quick tempered. How fun would it be just to ruffle those feathers?
"Excuse you but can you take this shit outside?" I shout at the pair. Damon looked at me with wide bulging eyes and Klaus looked at me like I was insane.
"Excuse me?" Klaus scoffs.
"You're very rude, and I'm trying to enjoy my drink." I huff and turn my face away in aggravation.
Lifting Damon up with one arm, Klaus tosses Damon straight into me, and we collide into the side wall. I send Klaus a scathing look as he takes a sip from his drink.
"Oh, dear, what was that? Hmmm.. I'm a bit boozy, so you'll forgive me if I'm a bit brutish." Klaus laughs.
I push Damon off me and stomp over to the eccentric blonde before slapping him. "Ass," I say as he rears his head back to glare at me.
"Do you know who I am?" He yells at me. Gloria has made her way from the back of the bar and is looking at us with terror in her eyes.
"Yeah, you're a giant douche!" I huff and cross my arms across my chest. "I don't give two craps about your name or how old of a vampire you are."
"I'm the org…." Klaus started to say, but I interrupted him.
"I said I don't care. However, you spilled my whiskey, and that is unforgivable." I pointed to my glass that had crashed on the floor during Klaus' outburst. "Apologize," I demanded.
"Excuse me?" He was obviously taken aback by my command. He had even touched his collarbone in the classic "Clutch your pearls" way.
"I said apologize," I assert again, calmer and with a lethal tone.
"I'm not going to apologize to some...child." Klaus curtly replies and turns his back to me.
Did he just call me a child? I felt my anger flare, and I narrowed my eyes.
"Uh oh." I heard Damon cough.
"Child?" I scoff. "At least I'm not some half assed mutt who has mommy issues." I wanted to provoke him and cause him to attack me. I knew of Klaus Mikaelson and thanks to Gloria, and a few other witches, I knew some of his darkest secrets. I knew Klaus was always on the run from his father, Mikael, and that Klaus murdered his mother. Klaus' mother had been a powerful witch, and her soul still existed on the Other Side. The woman often spoke with witches and clairvoyants and was seeking a way back to the human realm.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Klaus turned around, and I could see his eyes shift to a golden color.
"I said, you are a half assed mutt with mommy issues," I smirk, and I can feel Damon moving closer to me for protection.
Klaus lurches forward to grab me, but I had counted on this. In the blink of an eye, I move away and stand by Gloria. I have her head in my hands, and Klaus turns to stare at me. "Ah ah ah…Wouldn't want to move and be without your witch, would you?" Gloria starts to raise her hands but I apply pressure to the witches temple, and she quickly lowers them.
"Are you clinically insane or incredibly annoying?" Klaus growls.
"I don't know. Probably both." I shrug.
"You want a partner in crime?" Damon's voice calls out, and Klaus turns his head to glare at the man. "Forget Stefan. I'm so much more fun!"
Damon laughs, but Klaus moves forward quickly. Slamming Damon into the ground, Klaus growls viciously. "You won't be any fun after you're dead."
I feel Gloria starting to fidget, and I release her gently. "Sorry about that Gloria," I whisper, and she gives me a soft smile. Gloria touches my face for a moment, and I smile softly at her. Turning around to face the two men fighting, Gloria raises one hand and waves it at the two men. Klaus' body lifts off the ground before crashing into the wall on the other side of the room.
"Really?" Klaus asks as he gets up from the floor. "Is it just Anger Klaus day?" He throws his hands into the air as an act of annoyance.
"It was drinking bourbon day and relaxing, but you messed that up for me." I murmur.
"What was that?" Klaus yells out to me.
"I called you ass!" I yell back. Again, Klaus gives me an incredulous look.
"Why aren't you afraid of me?" He growls.
"What's there to be scared of?" I laugh and start to walk around the bar. "Death? I have already cheated that once. A werewolf? Please, they are more like lap dogs. And you?" I say as I step in front of him. "You are nothing to me so why should I be scared of you?" I level my gaze up to his blue orbs.
"Damn, Bells…" Damon whispers in awe.
"Damon," Klaus' voice grates as he continues to stare at me. "You don't have to negotiate your brother's freedom. When I'm done with him, he won't want to go back. As for you," He growls as he puts two hands on my shoulders, "While this has certainly been entertaining, you will forget everything you have seen here today. You will return to your home with no memory of your time at this bar." Klaus' eyes dilated again, and I smiled: again his compulsion didn't work on me.
"Hmmm… I think not." I laugh in his face.
Blinking back in surprise, Klaus drops his hands from my shoulders.
"Oh, what? Did you think you could control me?" I tilt my head to the side and smirk. "You must be a few fries short of a Happy Meal, huh?
Damon and Gloria's snickers were loud enough that Klaus sent them scathing glances. I decided to use the moment to my advantage and raised on my tip toes, so my mouth is by his ear.
"See you around, Balto," I whisper before dashing from the building.
Dear Readers,
Sorry for the late update. Life has been hectic, and there was even a point that I almost stopped writing. I lost the person who inspired me the most; My Aunt. She was constantly supportive and losing her was difficult. Shortly after she died, my grandfather also passed. I have struggled to find inspiration during this difficult period. Despite the losses, life goes on, and I have to be brave and vigorous. I have to keep moving forward. The days are getting easier, and when I think of them, I don't cry anymore. I won't go into details. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the update at least. Life will hopefully calm down enough for me to get back to writing more often.
XoXo AndriodScout