p align="left"Elijah was whistling when he came in. In the four years they'd been roommates and coworkers, Josh had never heard the man whistle, before. In fact, he would bet a substantial amount of money that neither had Klaus or Rebekah. "I take it you had a good time, tonight?"br /br /"It was quite pleasant, yes. Thank you, by the way."br /br /"For what?" Yes, playing dumb was probably the best way to get information. And there were a whole lot of people who were rather breathlessly waiting to hear Elijah's side of what happened tonight. Not the least of which was "Andrea" /br /"For giving Andrea your ticket to the art show. I know that you only did it because you didn't want to go, anyway. But, I rather enjoyed spending the evening with her."br /br /"So, you were with her this whole time, then?" Oh man. Josh couldn't wait to read the interrogation she was going to be getting from everyone. But first, he had to get the other side of the story. That was, after all, part of his job. Keeping the others in the loop about what was going on with Elijah. He knew that the stories he told weren't really enough for them. Especially Klaus, Rebekah, and Hayley. But, it was the best they could /br /"Yes." The soft smile he gave at that was possibly the cutest thing Josh had ever seen. Elijah "Montgomery" Mikaelson was completely smitten. Already. After just a few hours. Had it been like that the first time, too? Would anyone even know?br /br /"All right, spill. I have seriously never seen you like this. This girl seems like she's something pretty special."br /br /"It's far too soon to call her something special. Though… if she didn't have places to be… if she wasn't on the rebound… If I'm being completely honest, the only thing that kept me from kissing her was knowing she couldn't stay, and that even if she did, I would be nothing but a rebound. And…" He trailed off, seeming at a loss for words to explain what was going through his head at that /br /"And you don't want to be a rebound. You wanted there to be something real there."br /br /"Yes! Which is completely illogical. I just met the woman a few hours ago. And I was behaving like an utter lovesick fool."br /br /Josh laughed. "Sounds like love at first sight." Or, more likely, like his soul recognizing its other half. If ever anyone wanted proof that those two belonged together, it was right here. "All right. So, other than wanting to kiss her but not, what happened between you guys?"br /br /"We talked. We might have flirted." Another one of those soft smiles. "She called me cute and charming. We danced. I almost kissed her. And then I said some stupid thing about seeing her in the next life."br /br /Josh blinked. He could just imagine the others' reactions to that line. "What did that even mean?"br /br /"I honestly have no idea. I was thinking about how I wished I had met her in another time and place, sometime before some other man had broken her heart. In some other life. And… 'I guess I'll see you in the next life' just came out. I had no idea what I meant by it. And I still don't. Then she told me that if we're destined to meet in another life, that she'll be waiting for another dance. And then she kissed my cheek and walked out of my life." He sighed. "I can't help thinking I may have made a mess of that. And now I'll probably never see her again. And, even if I do… Well, the fact that I'm not human would probably end up being an issue."br /br /"Maybe not. Because, neither is she."br /br /"And how do you know that?"br /br /"Because you may be a lovesick fool, right now, but it's my job to look out for you, remember? You think I didn't talk to her before telling her where you were? She's a vampire. She's actually in her thirties. She's from New Orleans. She certainly has some secrets, and some of them may turn out to be pretty big, but I did feel confident that she's harmless." He smirked. "Of course, I was looking for potential physical harm. If you manage to get your heart broken, that's all on you."br /br /"And how can you be so confident that she means me no harm?"br /br /And time to make up a story on the spot. Great. At least he had gotten much better at lying than he had been back when he was trying to fool Klaus… "My mother was a shrink. She taught me to read body language and shit. Only time I got a 'hiding something' vibe was when that ex of hers was mentioned. Which, does lend weight to your rebound concerns, I guess. I think he may have really done a number on her." Because, yes, Elijah really had done a number on the poor girl. If he lived forever, which he had a pretty damned good chance of doing, Josh would never forget the pain in Hayley's eyes when she told him about Elijah's decision to forget all of them - including her. "But, I don't think she's got anything to do with the people you're running from." Which was a blatant lie. But, it wasn't like she would ever do anything to hurt /br /Elijah shrugged. "Like I said, though. Not much chance of me ever seeing her, again. By the time she gets home, she'll probably have forgotten all about me. I was just some random guy she spent a few hours talking to because I was better company than Otto at Hotel Saint Louis." He looked so sad, that it was all Josh could do to not try to reassure /br /"Seriously, man. Are you okay? I've never seen you like this, before."br /br /"I don't know how to explain it. I just felt… drawn to her. Like I had known her my whole life. Which, you of all people can see the irony in that. I… I don't know how to explain it."br /br /No, but Josh did. Elijah's mind didn't recognize Hayley, but his heart did. Damn! This story just might be enough to turn even emKol/em into a hopeless romantic. And Rebekah and Caroline were going to positively swoon. It was all Josh could do not to laugh at the thought of what Hope's reaction was going to be, /br /"So, what are you going to do, now?"br /br /Elijah sighed. "What can I do? I don't even know her last name. And even if New Orleans wasn't a huge city with probably thousands of Andreas running around… hopping on a plane sounds like a pretty stalkerish thing to do. So, the ball is in her court, as they say. If she still remembers me when she gets home and wants to find me… she knows where I am." The next line was said so quietly that if Josh wasn't a vampire, he never would have heard it. "I just hope she does."br /br /emOh Elijah. You poor, lovesick fool. If you only knew./em "Well, you never know. I honestly don't think that a connection felt that deeply can really be one-sided. And she did go to that art show just to see you, again." He realized his mistake a second too /br /"What do you mean?"br /br /"Come on, Elijah. You really think she took my ticket when I offered it because she was just that interested in the art? Nobody goes to those things because they actually want to. Not even you. People go to art shows because they know the artist. Or somebody involved in the show. Or, because there's somebody else that they know will be there that they really want to see."br /br /Elijah smiled at that. "Well… she knows where to find me. I guess I should stop obsessing about her. At least for now. Because there isn't a damn thing I can do about it, anyway. I should probably get to bed. It's been… an interesting night."br /br /As soon as Elijah was out of the room, Josh picked up his phone. He couldn't help but laugh at the conversation the others had been having while he was interrogating Elijah. But, he didn't join in. Hayley deserved to be the first to hear this. But he was damned if he would tell her about it while she was still in France. She would end up back in his bar tomorrow. Better to wait until she was safely /br /p
p align="center"strong~You Can't Fight Destiny~/strong br /br /p
p align="left"It had been almost a week since Hayley had seen Elijah. And Josh wasn't talking to anyone, not even Davina. It wasn't until Klaus threatened to hop on a plane himself to make sure that Elijah was okay, that Josh finally sent out a group text saying that everything was fine, and he had his reasons for ignoring everyone. Said reason turned out to be not trusting Hayley to not hop on a plane. Which she realized as soon as he sent her a private text /br /JR: Sorry about that, Hayley. I know all of you, and especially you, have been dying to hear Elijah's side of what happened between you two. But, I needed to give you time to settle down a bit. And, in all honesty, give him time to settle down a bit, too. Forgive me?br /br /HM: Of course. But, why did he need time to settle down? What's going on?br /br /JR: "Andrea" made quite the impression on him. To the point that he's STILL talking about her, and… that he hopes she hasn't forgotten him…br /br /Hayley could only stare at her phone, trying to catch her breath. Her hands were shaking as she typed out her /br /HM: Tell me everything. Please?br /br /JR: I'll start by answering everyone's question. The reason he didn't kiss you was just because he was afraid of being a rebound. You were right about him wanting to, though. Actually, the way he put it was that he almost did. Literally the ONLY thing that kept him from kissing you was knowing that you couldn't stay and that if you did, he would be nothing but a /br /HM: He actually said that?br /br /JR: He did. He also looked really sad when he said that to you he was probably just some random guy you spent a few hours talking to because he was better company than Otto, and that by the time you got home you would probably have forgotten all about him. And was talking about how drawn to you he was, like he's known you his whole /br /HM: I shouldn't have gone. I've made things worse. For both of us. He doesn't even remember me, but now I've gone and given him "Andrea" to pine over. That was never my intention. I never would have imagined that it would even be possible. I was just supposed to be some random girl he was enough of a gentleman to rescue from /br /JR: So, now that you're more than that, what are you going to do?br /br /HM: I don't know. I need time to /br /JR: Okay. And, one more thing. He knows that you're a vampire. Considering my purpose in being here, it made sense that I would interrogate the fuck out of you to make sure you weren't after something or intending him harm before telling you how to find him. So… I found out about you being a vampire, but the only time you seemed to be hiding anything was when talking about your /br /HM: All right, thanks. Would you have told me the truth about you two, or should I wait until he tells me? I mean… If I figure out a way to keep in touch with him?br /br /Because she definitely had decided to at least try to find a way to keep in touch. She could even try to pretend that it was simply because she didn't want to break his heart, and pretend that the burning need for any kind of contact wasn't a consideration at /br /JR: You know about us. br /br /HM: All right. Thanks. I mean that. Thank you, /br /She put her phone down and sighed. And then squealed like a teenage girl. Somewhere inside him, there was a part of Elijah that still loved her. She had to talk to somebody. But, not Freya. Elijah was her brother, and she could hardly be objective about this. Okay, nobody that Hayley knew could really be objective. But, there was one person who at least wasn't a Mikaelson. She got into her car and drove like a crazy person to Mystic Falls./p
p align="center"br /strong~You Can't Fight Destiny~/strong/p
p align="left"br /Caroline's eyes just kept getting wider and wider as she read the conversation on Hayley's phone. "Holy shit! That's it! If ever there were two people who were just destined for each other, it's you two. You need to figure something out, girl!"br /br /"Yeah. Too bad there's the not so little problem of him and my daughter being in the same city causing death and destruction - starting with them."br /br /Caroline rolled her eyes at her. "Hello! Salvatore emBoarding/em School! Leave Hope with me and Ric, and you go get your man! This is not hard!"br /br /"And then what? I can't just abandon her, Caroline. I was abandoned. I want more for her than that. Most of her family can't even be in the same city as her, but at least she knows that they love her. If I leave her here and move to France to be with Elijah? What will that tell her?"br /br /"That some things are worth fighting for? In all honesty, she would probably actually tell you the same thing that I am."br /br /"She's twelve, Caroline. I am not letting a hormonal, hopeless romantic of a twelve year old make major decisions for me." She started pacing around the room. "But, at the same time… Elijah thinks he's nothing special. That I've forgotten about him. And I can't let him think that, either. I can't abandon him, either."br /br /"Hayley…"br /br /"The thing is… it isn't just my parents that have abandoned me, Caroline. Elijah did, too. I know what it's like to love someone who… has forgotten that you even exist. I can't do that to him, either. So… what do I do?" She knew that Caroline knew all of that. They had talked about it, before. After her nervous breakdown two years ago. Caroline and Klaus were the ones she talked to the most about it./p
p align="left"Caroline smiled. "Okay, this deserves more than just me on it. Hold on." And then she opened her laptop. Within minutes, Klaus, Rebekah, Marcel, Kol, and Freya were all staring back at them in shock as she read Hayley's conversation with Josh to them. "So, now Hayley wants to know what she should do. Because she can't abandon Hope, but also doesn't want to abandon Elijah."/p
p align="left"Hayley nodded. "Elijah abandoned me. And so I know what it's like to love someone who doesn't even remember that you exist. You guys saw what that did to me. And I don't want to do that to him. I mean, not that I think he's in love with Andrea, or anything. But, after what he said to Josh... I don't want him thinking that he's nothing special, and that I've forgotten him. But, at the same time, hopping on a plane to France is hardly an option. And I don't know what to do."br /br /"Hayley… the answer is literally staring you in the face."br /br /"Can you be a bit less cryptic, Beks?"br /br /"You can't move to France. But, there's no reason you can't have a long-distance relationship. There are letters, and phone calls, and Skype, and Facetime, and… There is no real reason why you can't keep in touch with Elijah the exact same way you keep in touch with the rest of us."br /br /"She's right. Send him a letter to Josh's bar. Josh will make sure he gets it. You become pen pals. And then just go from there."br /br /Caroline was bouncing around like the teenage girl she would always look like. "And then you just let things happen naturally. And just imagine the stories you can tell Hope's children someday about how Grandma and Uncle Elijah fell in love emtwice/em. Do it, Hayley!"br /br /Hayley laughed. "All right! I'll write to him! Thanks, guys. I love you!"br /br /A chorus of "Love you, too" came from Caroline's computer before she shut it down. "Do you want me to tell Hope that you're here?"br /br /"No. Don't pull her out of class. I'll see her later." She hugged her friend. "Thanks for your help. I guess I have a letter to write."/p
p align="center"strong~You Can't Fight Destiny~/strong br /br /p
p align="left"It had been almost a week since Hayley had seen Elijah. And Josh wasn't talking to anyone, not even Davina. It wasn't until Klaus threatened to hop on a plane himself to make sure that Elijah was okay, that Josh finally sent out a group text saying that everything was fine, and he had his reasons for ignoring everyone. Said reason turned out to be not trusting Hayley to not hop on a plane. Which she realized as soon as he sent her a private text /br /JR: Sorry about that, Hayley. I know all of you, and especially you, have been dying to hear Elijah's side of what happened between you two. But, I needed to give you time to settle down a bit. And, in all honesty, give him time to settle down a bit, too. Forgive me?br /br /HM: Of course. But, why did he need time to settle down? What's going on?br /br /JR: "Andrea" made quite the impression on him. To the point that he's STILL talking about her, and… that he hopes she hasn't forgotten him…br /br /Hayley could only stare at her phone, trying to catch her breath. Her hands were shaking as she typed out her /br /HM: Tell me everything. Please?br /br /JR: I'll start by answering everyone's question. The reason he didn't kiss you was just because he was afraid of being a rebound. You were right about him wanting to, though. Actually, the way he put it was that he almost did. Literally the ONLY thing that kept him from kissing you was knowing that you couldn't stay and that if you did, he would be nothing but a /br /HM: He actually said that?br /br /JR: He did. He also looked really sad when he said that to you he was probably just some random guy you spent a few hours talking to because he was better company than Otto, and that by the time you got home you would probably have forgotten all about him. And was talking about how drawn to you he was, like he's known you his whole /br /HM: I shouldn't have gone. I've made things worse. For both of us. He doesn't even remember me, but now I've gone and given him "Andrea" to pine over. That was never my intention. I never would have imagined that it would even be possible. I was just supposed to be some random girl he was enough of a gentleman to rescue from /br /JR: So, now that you're more than that, what are you going to do?br /br /HM: I don't know. I need time to /br /JR: Okay. And, one more thing. He knows that you're a vampire. Considering my purpose in being here, it made sense that I would interrogate the fuck out of you to make sure you weren't after something or intending him harm before telling you how to find him. So… I found out about you being a vampire, but the only time you seemed to be hiding anything was when talking about your /br /HM: All right, thanks. Would you have told me the truth about you two, or should I wait until he tells me? I mean… If I figure out a way to keep in touch with him?br /br /Because she definitely had decided to at least try to find a way to keep in touch. She could even try to pretend that it was simply because she didn't want to break his heart, and pretend that the burning need for any kind of contact wasn't a consideration at /br /JR: You know about us. br /br /HM: All right. Thanks. I mean that. Thank you, /br /She put her phone down and sighed. And then squealed like a teenage girl. Somewhere inside him, there was a part of Elijah that still loved her. She had to talk to somebody. But, not Freya. Elijah was her brother, and she could hardly be objective about this. Okay, nobody that Hayley knew could really be objective. But, there was one person who at least wasn't a Mikaelson. She got into her car and drove like a crazy person to Mystic Falls./p
p align="center"br /strong~You Can't Fight Destiny~/strong/p
p align="left"br /Caroline's eyes just kept getting wider and wider as she read the conversation on Hayley's phone. "Holy shit! That's it! If ever there were two people who were just destined for each other, it's you two. You need to figure something out, girl!"br /br /"Yeah. Too bad there's the not so little problem of him and my daughter being in the same city causing death and destruction - starting with them."br /br /Caroline rolled her eyes at her. "Hello! Salvatore emBoarding/em School! Leave Hope with me and Ric, and you go get your man! This is not hard!"br /br /"And then what? I can't just abandon her, Caroline. I was abandoned. I want more for her than that. Most of her family can't even be in the same city as her, but at least she knows that they love her. If I leave her here and move to France to be with Elijah? What will that tell her?"br /br /"That some things are worth fighting for? In all honesty, she would probably actually tell you the same thing that I am."br /br /"She's twelve, Caroline. I am not letting a hormonal, hopeless romantic of a twelve year old make major decisions for me." She started pacing around the room. "But, at the same time… Elijah thinks he's nothing special. That I've forgotten about him. And I can't let him think that, either. I can't abandon him, either."br /br /"Hayley…"br /br /"The thing is… it isn't just my parents that have abandoned me, Caroline. Elijah did, too. I know what it's like to love someone who… has forgotten that you even exist. I can't do that to him, either. So… what do I do?" She knew that Caroline knew all of that. They had talked about it, before. After her nervous breakdown two years ago. Caroline and Klaus were the ones she talked to the most about it./p
p align="left"Caroline smiled. "Okay, this deserves more than just me on it. Hold on." And then she opened her laptop. Within minutes, Klaus, Rebekah, Marcel, Kol, and Freya were all staring back at them in shock as she read Hayley's conversation with Josh to them. "So, now Hayley wants to know what she should do. Because she can't abandon Hope, but also doesn't want to abandon Elijah."/p
p align="left"Hayley nodded. "Elijah abandoned me. And so I know what it's like to love someone who doesn't even remember that you exist. You guys saw what that did to me. And I don't want to do that to him. I mean, not that I think he's in love with Andrea, or anything. But, after what he said to Josh... I don't want him thinking that he's nothing special, and that I've forgotten him. But, at the same time, hopping on a plane to France is hardly an option. And I don't know what to do."br /br /"Hayley… the answer is literally staring you in the face."br /br /"Can you be a bit less cryptic, Beks?"br /br /"You can't move to France. But, there's no reason you can't have a long-distance relationship. There are letters, and phone calls, and Skype, and Facetime, and… There is no real reason why you can't keep in touch with Elijah the exact same way you keep in touch with the rest of us."br /br /"She's right. Send him a letter to Josh's bar. Josh will make sure he gets it. You become pen pals. And then just go from there."br /br /Caroline was bouncing around like the teenage girl she would always look like. "And then you just let things happen naturally. And just imagine the stories you can tell Hope's children someday about how Grandma and Uncle Elijah fell in love emtwice/em. Do it, Hayley!"br /br /Hayley laughed. "All right! I'll write to him! Thanks, guys. I love you!"br /br /A chorus of "Love you, too" came from Caroline's computer before she shut it down. "Do you want me to tell Hope that you're here?"br /br /"No. Don't pull her out of class. I'll see her later." She hugged her friend. "Thanks for your help. I guess I have a letter to write."/p