"Will you stop staring?" Amara asks, turning her head to face Kol, who had been staring at the side of her head for the past five minutes. She had hoped he would give up eventually if she kept ignoring him, but admittedly, he frustrated her to no end.
Amara had returned from her coffee appointment an hour ago. She had come up with a whole background story for the Mikaelsons on the spot and had narrated it to Jane. She was thankful that her friend barely watched any TV, otherwise she would have a lot more explaining to do. Likewise, she herself could barely believe that there were currently vampires in her home.
Once back home, Amara noticed the remarkably relaxed atmosphere. She had eyed the Mikaelsons suspiciously, but they simply replied they had done some bonding. Amara hoped this wasn't some vampiric slang for killing people on her street.
"You're just so pretty." Kol replies, still gazing lovingly at his mate's face. He liked the little freckles that adorned her cheeks. He wished that he could kiss them, perhaps one day she would let him.
"Okay, that's enough. If you want to stay here, you will have to earn your living." Amara prompts, rising from the couch to grab her bag.
"Anything, love." Niklaus offers easily, hoping to get in his mate's good graces after his stupid comment from before.
"What do you want us to do?" Rebekah asks carefully, looking up from the monopoly board. She didn't feel like doing chores much.
"Groceries." Amara says, rummaging through her bag to find her wallet
• • •
"I was pushing the cart! Give it back." Kol grumbles, glaring up at Elijah while tapping his foot, impatiently waiting for his brother to cave to his demand.
Amara has made quite a few faulty decisions in her life, but shopping with the Mikaelsons was by far the worst of all. They had only been in the store for ten minutes, and Amara already felt like she could jump off a bridge in annoyance. She thought that thousand-year-old vampires knew of control and the general code of conduct, but evidently, these psychopaths were unfamiliar with the phenomenon of normal behavior.
The human had already looked longingly at the wooden kitchen utensils she had passed by, if she was quick, she could fashion one of the wooden soup spoons in a stake.
Amara had her doubts about going shopping with people who resembled celebrities, but she couldn't find it in her to really care. If they were recognized, they could probably do their compelling trick
During the trip, Kol had repeatedly taken hold of her hand, whereupon she had repeatedly ripped herself free while providing him with an angry look.
After seven tries, she threatened to throw him out of her house, which helped until he saw a man looking at Amara. Kol had put his arms around her tightly and bared his teeth to the man, the man looked at Kol, rightfully disturbed, and walked away carefully, afraid of being attacked just like that.
When Kol wasn't busy fretting over Amara, he was busy throwing unnecessary products into the shopping cart, an activity the other Mikaelsons soon took over from him.
Rebekah had immediately moved to the magazine rack, eagerly searching for the latest fashion trends.
Amara thought vampires didn't eat, but Rebekah threw a worrying amount of frozen waffles into the cart. Amara was almost certain they had enough waffles to invite the entire neighborhood to breakfast for the next two weeks. She wanted to make a comment that it wouldn't fit in her freezer, but apparently, the Mikaelsons all suffer from a selective hearing.
Finn had looked at all the ready meals in admiration, not used to food being so accessible in the 21st century.
Amara wondered if the suckers had given Finn any explanation of this century at all. She thought it was a bit of a jerk move from his siblings to throw Finn in the deep end just like that.
Niklaus and Elijah were the most familiar with this century, but it was clear that they did not do groceries themselves, as the concept of 'supermarket' was heavily criticized by both. They found the carts impractical, the paths too narrow and the music disturbing. In addition, Elijah started to whine about hygiene and Amara was close to whacking a bunch of vampires over the head.
"Kol, no. You've only been ramming the cart in people's ankles." Elijah replies, glaring at Kol's childish behavior.
Kol had been getting antsy the past few hours, which usually meant he would go on a murdering spree. Amara however had warned them that if they did such a thing they could 'Fuck off out of her life', so Kol was looking for other ways to release his energy, irritating his siblings was apparently one of his newfound methods.
"Niklaus, stop spanking that watermelon!" Amara hisses. Did they really have no idea how to behave like humans? She tries to smile kindly at an old couple who watched Niklaus's actions with interest.
"But don't you humans test the fruit?" Niklaus asks, looking a little puzzled. He had seen humans do this plenty of times in movies and the time she had visited markets during his travels. He wasn't sure how often to hit and what sound to look for, but the experience itself was innovative and amusing.
"Sure, but you've been patting that watermelon for about three minutes, and I am starting to suspect you're enjoying it a little too much." Amara narrows her eyes suspiciously at Niklaus. With all the squinting and glaring she had done in the past twenty hours; she shouldn't be surprised if she developed wrinkles prematurely. "And stop saying 'you humans', you're supposed to be one too, remember?" Amara hisses.
Slightly ashamed, Niklaus puts the fruit back, a second later curiously eyeing a nearby pineapple.
"Can I have these?" Rebekah asks, waving several big boxes of sugary cornflakes in the air.
"No, I've already let you into my home, that's enough charity from me." Amara deadpans. There was a good chance that the Mikaelsons would leave soon, and she didn't want to be stuck with food she wasn't going to eat. Which meant that she was going to force the Mikaelsons to eat all the frozen waffles before their departure.
"Amara."
"Brad." Amara says in a cold voice, not bothering to look up as she puts some pears in a bag. She had suppressed a grimace when her name came from his lips. Once she had loved it when he said, groaned, or sighed her name, but now it felt slightly sickening.
"It's good to see you."
"I thought you didn't shop here anymore." Amara remarks softly, ignoring his remark whilst walking into a random aisle, dodging the questioning look from Rebekah.
"But you do." Brad grins, as if proud of remembering something as mundane as Amara's regular grocery store.
"Jesus, do you know how creepy that sounds." Amara scoffs, still walking, hoping to maintain a significant distance from Brad.
"Right, yes. You always had a way of formulating things." Brad humors before continuing in a condescending tone. "You weren't at your work last night." It sounded accusing, as if she should have messaged him about her absence.
"I have told you many times, Brad. You need to stop visiting the club." Amara snaps, glaring furiously at the jars of peanut butter in front of her, not wanting to give Brad the satisfaction of seeing the frustration on her face.
"No need to snap at me, babe." Brad looks up and sees two men approaching Amara's card, arms full of various fruits. "Who are they?" His tone is suddenly a lot less friendly.
"None of your business."
"New boyfriends already?" Brad feigns a teasing tone, which was in stark contrast to his infuriated expression.
"No."
"No need to lie to me, Amara. We all know you have difficulties choosing." Brad snarks.
Unbeknownst to Amara, Niklaus and Elijah freeze behind her and share a dark look with each other. Silently communicating their indignation.
"Stop being a condescending ass. Last time I checked, it was you who had trouble choosing between your partner and a sorority girl who once batted her lashes at you." Amara hisses, finally turning around to glare at the man.
"I think it's best if you leave… Brad." Niklaus walks up to Amara, followed by Finn and Elijah, all three of them wearing dark expressions.
"You don't get to order me around, I'm a paying customer." Brad replies, looking in disgust at the three towering men before letting his eyes flicker to Amara, who was still glaring at him,
"I shouldn't have put it above you, sleeping with three men." Brad scoff. He grins in triumph when he sees Amara's hard expression falter for a moment, sadness and embarrassment shining through.
He shifts his gaze back to the men, who have now been joined by another man and a woman. "A little tip for when she becomes antsy. She had this delightful little sweet spot, right about here." He raises his hand, pointing at Amara's neck. "It always makes her whimper like a desperate-"
Amara pales visibly.
Niklaus slaps Brad's hand away and steps forward, glaring menacingly at the man. "Humiliate her like that again, and I will demonstrate to you that having kneecaps is a privilege, not a right." He growls.
"Are you threatening me? I'm a lawyer." Brad spits out indignantly, whilst taking in Niklaus's appearance, sizing him up.
"So am I." Elijah replies instead, glaring down at the man, looking ready to maul him on the spot.
Brad looks a little taken aback by this reply. Judging by the man's expensive suit, he could indeed be a lawyer or a very important businessman.
Finn looks darkly at the man whilst striding toward him, looming over him. He looks Brad in the eye, pleased to see a hint of fear on the man's face. He seemed to be at least a little aware of the danger he was currently in. "You will leave Amara alone from now on, no more calling or bothering her." Finn compels. He knew his mate probably wouldn't appreciate it if Finn were to maim the man on the spot.
"And pay me back for the student loans I helped you with." Amara chimes in, knowing what Finn was doing. Brad might be a good lawyer, but he was terrible at managing his money, which meant paying back loans was his last priority, especially when it came to what he owed her.
"And you will pay Amara back, today." Finn glares one last time at the man before turning back to Amara. He takes her hand and guides her out of the store, blocking her view from Brad. He was certain Elijah could take care of the groceries.
• • •
"What a dick." Rebekah mutters bitterly while loading the groceries into Amara's car.
After Finn and Amara left, the rest of the Mikaelsons had quickly finished shopping, after threatening Brad once more. None of them felt like snooping around for longer than necessary. Primarily, the men wanted to check up on Amara, all remembering her mortified expression when Brad had insulted her.
"You should get a restraining order, love." Niklaus advises, closing the trunk and sending Kol away to return the cart.
"Well, seeing as he is a 'well-respected' lawyer, that can become quite difficult." Amara mutters. She had been leaning against the car with Finn, waiting for the others, allowing herself to calm down.
They hadn't talked much, seeing as Finn didn't know what would be appropriate to comfort her. Finn didn't believe Amara would cheer up if he started throwing around threats like Niklaus might have done or if he were to hug her as Kol would have surely attempted, so instead, he had silently held her hand. Amara didn't mind, and had found comfort enough in his silence.
"I am going to crush him and his entire law firm." Elijah grumbles to no one in particular, snarling slightly.
"Thank you, for… defending my honor or something." Amara says softly while looking up at the sky. She didn't want this to be a big thing, but she was grateful for their protectiveness.
"You are super welcome, darling." Kol shouts as he runs up to his mate and happily embraces her again. He might not have threatened the man as much as his brothers, but he had made Brad trip on his way out, which counted for something.
Amara allows Kol to hug her for a good five seconds, thinking he deserves some sort of reward, before pushing him off. "Alright, let's not turn this into something that it's not."
Kol pouts a little before remembering that he, unlike his brothers, got to hug his mate. He smirks smugly at Niklaus, rubbing in the fact that all his hard efforts were starting to pay off.