"He did not know which was more painful, the waking or the sleeping. When he slept, he dreamed: dark disturbing dreams of blood and broken promises. When he woke, there was nothing to do but think, and his waking thoughts were worse than nightmares."

~A Game of Thrones~

...

If she hadn't already committed to going to New York, if she had not had everything set up to a T then she would have stayed after her encounter on the stairwell. She was so worked up over the audacity of Stefan, of the stupidity of the vampire, of the hypocrisy of the situation that she actually cried. Marcella was so angry that it brought her to tears. The whole thing was just so ridiculous, her best friend was a vampire who's younger brother was a self righteous douche it was just too much. With all of that in mind she worked on loading up her car for her trip to the city.

Damon was there 'helping' supposedly but she knew he was trying to get in good graces with her mom. Liz was pretending she didn't approve of their newfound friendship in the slightest, but Marcella knew that her mother wasn't actually as concerned as she was playing at. Marcella had her mother's unwavering trust, she was the daughter their mother didn't have to constantly worry about.

She put the last bag in the trunk and closed it with a loud thud. Marcella winced slightly, she hadn't intended to slam it down that hard. "Careful there princess. What did the car do to you?" Damon snickered at her, his question dripping with careful sarcasm.

Marcella rolled her eyes but she didn't have an answer for him. Not one he'd like anyway. Instead she turned her attention to her mother. The sheriff was watching the exchange with a hidden smile. "Remind me again the details?" Liz asks walking over to join them. The teen smiled at her mother.

"I'm driving straight through today, hopefully to arrive by three. I'll call when I get in the city as always. Next the plan is for me to meet Roman and Isadora at the studio. We'll get a few hours of brainstorming in before meeting the rest of the company at Gaia's for dinner. Next two days will be spent teaching the dance to the rest of the company and I should be home by Monday at the latest." Marcella tells them both in one go, Liz nodded at the itinerary.

"You'll call if anything changes?" She asks in return and Marcella nods.

"Yes mama. As always if you can't reach me at any point of if there is an emergency Roman has your number and you have his." Marcella tells her mother and then throws her arms around the woman. Liz returns the hug with just as much measure as her daughter gave.

When Marcella let go of her mother she turned on her heel meeting Damon's gaze. She echoes the previous gesture. Throwing her whole body weight into him as she wraps her arms around his neck. Damon catches her easily as she throws herself on him, at this point all to used to it. Marcella was the most cuddly human he'd ever met.

"I expect regular calls, if I even suspect something is wrong I'll be back before Monday." She tells him her voice a low whisper, the words only for him. Not that it would matter if Liz heard any way since the woman had been home when they both arrived last night and had seen the aftermath of how upset Stefan had made Marcella. But this was a promise only to Damon, a promise made by a concerned friend.

He chuckled at her expense, at her concern regardless how deeply it touched him. Damon nodded his head. "Same to you princess, you wouldn't want me to come to New York if I think something's happened to you." She smiles into his collarbone before pulling away. Knowing that if Damon suspected any sort of foul play on her side, that if anything happened to her, he would paint the city red. Marcella was glad that he was her friend.

"I'll be fine. Promise." He rolls his eyes at her, somehow doubting that. Marcella seemed like the type to get into all sorts of trouble if no one was watching. She gives him this look like she knows his train of his thought and doesn't appreciate the implication.

"Alright dear I think you need to get on your way." Liz interrupts their silent conversation an amused smile on her face. Marcella takes a look at her watch and sighs. She needed to leave now.

"I'm going, I'm going. Bye." She waves over her shoulder while bounding over to the driver side of the car getting in quickly. Marcella pulls away from the house a moment later leaving Damon and her mother behind. Despite the reservation in her heart about such actions.

She couldn't shake the sense of dread in her core. Marcella didn't want anything to happen while she was gone. Maybe she'd need to put these trips on hold now. Having the distinct feeling that nothing good would come from being gone.

…

Roman planted his feet firmly into the wooden floor for the ambush he knew was about to happen. His back was turned, facing away from the door that had just opened. He listened for the tell tale sign of her arrival, the studio door slamming open a bag hitting the ground and he braced himself for his dancing partner.

Marcella dropped her bag as soon as the door opened all the way, she slipped out of her flats and took off across the wooden floor. She knew he would catch her, she leaped, practically soaring to him. His back was to her he turned at just the right moment light on his toes catching her with ease. The next movement flowed flawlessly, she was in his arms and then spinning her over his shoulder and then she was landing on two feet in front of him.

She giggled gracelessly throwing her arms around his neck kissing both of his cheeks. Roman chuckled. In the distance the sound of snorting could be heard. Isadora watch the whole thing with a sense of amusement, mirthful air to her. Marcella was easily the most adorable person she'd ever met and Roman was not.

Roman was probably a Greek god in his last life. He was a beautifully stoic young man, nice chiseled jawline, deep expressive amber eyes, thick but maintained brows. The structure of his face matched that of the perfect man. With all that in mind, Roman was an articulate person, no nonsense sort of personality. Which contradicted heavily in comparison to his dancing partner.

Now Isadora isn't denying the attractiveness of her blonde friend. Marcella was a pretty girl, with her big innocent eyes, ringlets, and frecalls. There was no way to deny that she was a cute girl. All the dark haired woman was saying was that comparing Marcella's aesthetic to Roman's it didn't really mesh.

Looking at them together you'd never think they'd make a good dancing pair. Their height difference alone painted a funny picture. But seeing them together, dancing, interacting. It was as if the dancing gods themselves had made this pair. They were meant to perform together.

She found herself at the receiving end of one of Marcella's hugs a moment later. Isadora shouldn't have given her position away like that, snorting at Roman's discomfort had been a bad move. Marcella repeated the process kissing her dark haired friend on both of her cheeks as well. The gesture was returned.

There was never a doubt that the tiny blonde was an extremely affectionate person to those she cared about. Her close friends usually indulged her eccentric which never really helped the matters. The two people in the room with her currently were her closest friends, they knew all of her deep dark and dirty secrets. Well the ones she could tell that is. Like vampires were real and her new best friend was one. Marcella knew that Damon wouldn't really care if she told his secret to her friends, it said a lot about how much he trusted her at this point.

Of course, it should also be noted that Marcella would never tell anyone who she perceived to be a threat to him. Damon was her friend now. She was protective of her friends.

Roman ran a hand over his face, he couldn't even with Marcella at times. "But why? Why go out of your way to befriend him?" The young man asked once his partner had finished her story of what exactly she'd been up to since her last trip to the city. Not even questioning the person's apparent supernatural status. No, just why Marcella had decided to befriend him. Isadora also raised her brow in the direction of the younger girl.

"Better yet why a vampire? Why couldn't he have just been a nice normal human? Roman and I are supposed to be your only supernatural friends." She contends, pouting playfully at the teen. Marcella rolled her eyes at both of them.

"I think I'm well past the point of being normal. Now are you two going to keep judging my choices in friends or do you want to hear more about the drama back home?" She waves off their questions, tone unbothered.

Roman sighs, but he nods in response. He didn't exactly trust Marcella judgement not to befriend every seemingly broken supernatural creature now. If she thought they were worth saving, then the gods knew she'd try. Isadora's pout transformed into a wicked grin, clapping her hands together in excitement. "Of course, you know we both love to know the happenings of small town USA." Marcella ignores her semi sarcastic tone.

"Great, 'cause it just starting to get interesting." Marcella trotted over to where she had abandoned her things upon entry. Her shoes are picked up as she goes, slipping into them easily. The two dancers follow her slowly. Knowing that they wouldn't be getting anymore work done at that moment.

"You say that like you know what's meant to happen next." Roman points out lazily drawing his arms over his chest staring pointedly at the back of her head. She cranes her head over her shoulder looking back at him. Then she winks. He shakes his head in response.

"I thought we already decided Ella was clairvoyant." Isadora draws out in a lazy resigned tone. She takes a step towards Roman.

"We did, but I distinctly remember having a conversation about trying not to be so obnoxious about it. Which our friend here is currently forgetting." The annoyance in his tone isn't hide well. Marcella just rolls her eyes looping the bag back over her shoulder.

"That was also the conversation where we decided that Roman was probably a god and that cheetos were not chips. Forgive me if I elected to ignore that one decision." Isadora grinned at Roman's exasperated face as she skipped over to Marcella and linked her arm around the younger girls. He threw his hands up, completely done with both of them.

"Fine, whatever. When it gets you in trouble don't come crying to me." She laughs, throwing her head back carelessly. Marcella had missed them.

"Please, as if you'd even let her. Don't listen to him Ella, be as adorably obnoxious as you want to be. Now tell us everything!" Isadora's encouragement only made their male friend sigh. These two were going to give him grey hairs.

"Coffee?" Marcella turned her full attention to the dark haired girl, offering her a hopeful look. Her question asked in giddy anticipation. Of course Isadora nodded yes before turning her on expecting eyes to Roman.

"Coffee." He conceded with reluctance but nodding his head in agreement at the same time.

…

Everything was going accordingly, nothing of interest had happened the entire time she'd been in the city. Damon called every day to update her on the proceedings of Mystic Falls and vampire dickery while she was away. He'd gone ahead and killed Zach after she left. Not to mention that by day two of her absence he'd managed to infiltrate the town vampire hunting council. So everything was mostly on track now. It was all seemingly working out.

She knew instinctively that it wouldn't keep working out and that eventually her meddling was going to bite her in the ass. Although she didn't really care too much about those specifics. It wasn't like it was going to kill her, at least she didn't think it would. Marcella pushed those thoughts away for the time being.

It was her last day in the city and she'd rather not let it be clouded by such dreary particulars. She just wanted to enjoy her day, enjoy that last peaceful moment, the calm before the coming storm. Marcella wasn't stupid. The storm was still coming even if she'd distorted it's original path. Under no circumstances would she allow it to hurt her sister, the shit show that was headed their way, it wouldn't dare try and touch Caroline. While she might not be able to stop everything, even if she'd wanted to that was, she could at least spare her sister some amount of pain.

She shook her head. Now was not the time to musing over all of this. Her gaze falls down into the dark lyquid of the ceramic mug sitting in front of her. Marcella had stepped into the small coffee shop a half hour earlier with the intentions to enjoy some time to herself before rehearsal later in the day. Just a moment of peace. Instead she'd barely taken a sip of her favorite drink and had lost herself completely to her melancholic thoughts.

So just another day in the life. Normal. For her that was. Worrying over everyone and and everything. She should have relished the moment, shouldn't have taken it for granted, let it pass by her. Marcella missed the simplicities of her life before today. When everything made sense, before day turned to night and night to day.

Because no sooner had she completely pushed the awaiting drama in Mystic Falls from her mind. The door was quickly reopened as the bell tolled alerting the shop to a new patron. She looked up accidentally meeting their gaze as a result of her own nosiness. That moment changed everything.

She looked away quickly trying to hide the recognition in her eyes. But it was too late, he'd noticed. He always noticed when people looked at him like that. Except this was different. Normally his presence was met by fear or begrudging respect, sometimes it was both. The look he'd found when he met her gaze was neither of those, but he knew that when she looked at him that there wasn't a single doubt in her mind as to who he was. His eyes narrowed as she ducked away from his gaze.

Niklaus Mikaelson had never seen her in his entirely long life. Whoever this human was she shouldn't look at him with such hauntingly knowing eyes. His order was going to have to wait.

XOXOX

And on that note I draw this chapter to a close. Thank you guys so much for all the love! All the reviews and favorites! You honestly have no idea how much that means. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, I wanted to give you a little insight to more of Marcella's character by showing you her friends outside of Mystic Falls.

In regards to the question I know you'll ask. Yes, both Roman and Isadora are supernatural creatures. They will both be making more appearances later on and what they are will be revealed then. No, they are not the same type of being. Marcella loves them both very much so they will play roles in the story. As to what all they know about her, well you'll just have to see.

Once again thank you so much for reading! Please keep letting me know what you think. Love you guys, have a great day!

Sincerely, La'Rae