His heart was pounding in his chest. He couldn't do this, he couldn't, he wasn't strong enough...he was weak, he always had been, Mikael had been right. He was staring at the building in front of him and he was just about to start crying, when he felt a pair of good and protective arms around him. Elijah got down on one knee so he was below Klaus' height, a position he had often adopted since gaining custody of Klaus. Nik was getting taller and taller with each passing day, and was even starting to put on some weight, he didn't look anywhere near the scarred little boy the doctors pulled out of Mikael's basement all those years ago. Elijah hugged him to his chest and klaus didn't care one bit that the whole high school could see him.
"I'm so proud of you, can you hear me, Niklaus? I'm so proud of you, you've been through hell, but you survived. You can call me anytime if you want me to come pick you up. I talked to the teachers, I know your situation, you can go into an empty class if you feel it's too much or if you're tired, you can tell any teacher and they'll call me... It'll be alright, honey bee."
Elijah still had a little bit left and was literally lifting Nik up in the air, the blonde boy hiding his face in his brother's shirt as Elijah praised him, but Klaus' ears weren't listening, they weren't believing him, they were too scarred by Mikael's words to do it
"I'm walking you to class, baby wolf?"
Klaus nodded no, but he hadn't shown any intention of moving, so Elijah took his hand and walked with him, knowing full well that the only reason Niklaus said "No" was because of their father's instilled fear of to show that he has emotions.
Inside the building, Elijah knocked on the door where Niklaus was going to have his next class, then silently motioned for the teacher to come out. Lucy Bennett was a young woman, probably in her first job, only a few years older than Niklaus.
"You must be Mr Mikaelson, which means you are Niklaus."
The teacher said, speaking softly, but Elijah couldn't help but notice how his brother shivered when she said "Mr Mikaelson".
"Just Elijah Mikaelson would be fine, and yes, this is Niklaus." Elijah said, giving Klaus, who was still hiding behind him, clinging to his older brother's ribcage, an encouraging smile.
"Good...morning..." Nik said in a small voice that made him look much younger than his actual age of fifteen.
"Oh, hey there, Niklaus, I'm Miss Bennett, your new English teacher. You're going to like here."
Lucy was trying to speak as softly and lovingly as possible, being more than informed about Klaus' situation. About their parents, about the days Niklaus spent in the hospital, about other days going back and forth to different doctors or therapists, about the nights and mornings when Niklaus was stuck in Elijah's arms, too scared to even open his eyes, about the years in which Elijah homeschooled his brother, about how today will be Niklaus' first day of school since he was saved from his "father's" house...
"Alright...Nik, I'll pick you up after class, but you can call me anytime you want and I'll come earlier. I'm so proud of you."
Elijah wiped a few stray tears from his eyes, and Klaus hung his head, ashamed of the show of emotion. When Elijah realized this, he lifted Klaus' head with a finger and smiled sweetly at him, trying to tell him that it was okay, it was okay to be you, you be scared, to have feelings.
"I-I'm fine." Klaus pulled away from Elijah. "I'm alright. See you after class."
There was no emotion on Niklaus's face, it was...hard, blank. He didn't give Elijah another hug, despite the fact that he desperately wanted to, because he knew that if he did, he wouldn't be able to pull away, and he'd probably give up on this whole "back-to-school" crazy idea.
Klaus followed Miss Bennett into the classroom. The room was full of kids and it seemed like everyone was looking at him. Breathe, Klaus, breathe. Usually the new kids were asked to introduce themselves, but Miss Bennett didn't ask Klaus to do it, knowing he couldn't do it and feel good at the same time.
As he passed through the benches, Klaus' brain began to replay various memories in his head, memories that he wished he could burn forever. The dark windows, the bars, the white wall against which Mikael had hit his head so many times...it was as if everything from this class reminded him of his stepfather. Klaus' hands started shaking again, and by the end of the class he was already feeling like he was running out of air.
As soon as the bell rang, Klaus rushed out of the classroom, entering a visibly empty hall a few grades down and closing the door behind him. Breathe, slowly. Breathe, Niky. Elijah's voice echoed through his mind, and Klaus hoped it would be strong enough to push Mikael's away. Breath in, breath out. Breath in, breath out. It wasn't working. It wasn't working, why wasn't it working? A fresh round of tears fell from Klaus' eyes. God, he was pathetic. He was so weak. No, Elijah didn't like when he thought like that. He wasn't pathetic, he wasn't weak, and Mikael lied to him. He had calmed down, but he still couldn't get his breathing to even out or the tears to stop. Maybe he should call Elijah, tell him to come get him. All he wanted right now was for Elijah to hold him, pick him up, rock him, sing him a lullaby and tell him that everything was going to be okay, that he was safe. All he wanted was to be in 'Lijah's arms... But he couldn't do that, he wouldn't have the courage to go back to school, and he really wanted that. He needed to calm down, he would be fine, he could do this on his own. He was strong. Mikael was behind bars and will never get out. Bars...like the cage where father used to lock him at night. No, he couldn't start this again, he had to calm down, breathe, tell himself it was going to be okay. He slowly walked out of the classroom, clutching his schoolbag, and going into his next class, Arts. At least he knew that he liked it, that it would be okay.
However, he didn't believe that anymore when he finally entered the classroom, being the last one (he was excused as the teachers knew his...delicate situation), and sat down in the last available seat, next to a boy with a big nose who introduced himself as " Tyler Lockwood".
"So…the scars on your neck…what happened, did you fight with a kitten?" Tyler laughed, as did the three boys in front of them.
No, Mikael had gotten angry after Klaus had breathed in his direction.
"I..."
However, before Klaus' eyes could involuntarily fill with tears, a harsh voice was heard from the table next to them:
"Ignore him, he's a jerk, I wish I'd killed him when I had the chance. I'm Katherine, Katherine Pierce. This is my sister Caroline."
Klaus went back to homeschooling after that day, glad that Elijah was there to hold his hand whenever he felt down. Not all stories have a happy ending. But, still, Klaus chose to keep in touch with Katherine, his best friend, and with Caroline, his girlfriend.
