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Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with The Originals...I just like to play around with the characters at times. I only own the plot...mostly.

Chapter 3 - The Bet

"Hayley!" Keelin yelled, pounding on the bathroom door. "Let's go! Hurry up!"

Hayley swung open the bathroom door and glared at her friend. "What the hell is the hurry today, Keelin?" she asked. "We are only going to lay out by the pool."

"I want to get a good tan."

"It's only 11 in the morning right now," Hayley pointed out. "The sun will be out for at least another seven hours."

Keelin stood there contemplating something to say for a minute or two before finally turning and stomping away from the bathroom door. "Whatever. Just come on."

Hayley rolled her eyes and went back into the bathroom to change into her swimsuit, closing the door behind her.

"Something has to be having you in such a rush," Hayley called out to Keelin.

"It's nothing. I just want to go get a tan," Keelin insisted.

Hayley shook her head. "Yeah, right," she muttered to herself. "I bet it has something to do with Freya."

After the conversation Hayley had with Keelin last night, she was pretty sure that's what it was. As much as she loved her friend, Keelin could latch on to someone she liked pretty quickly and intensely. It's what happened with her and Sam. Speaking of Sam, it seemed like Keelin had already forgotten all about her. Maybe her being into Freya would be a good thing after all.

Hayley smiled to herself as she changed into her swimsuit. Yes, this could be a very good thing. From what Hayley knew of Freya so far, albeit only a day, Freya already seemed like a step up from Sam. So if hanging out with Freya would continue to turn Sam into an even more distant memory, then Hayley was fully on board with it.

"Okay. Ready," Hayley said once she was dressed, exiting the bathroom and grabbing her pool bag from by the door.

"Finally!" Keelin exclaimed, rushing past her friend towards the door. "I thought we'd never get to the pool," she called from already half way down the hall way.

Closing the room door behind her, Hayley laughed. "The pool is still going to be there no matter when we get to it. Even tomorrow."

"But we're going to be there now!"

Hayley laughed even more. That had completely gone over her friends head. Keelin truly was already on her way to being head over heels for Freya. Hayley wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. She was no stranger to falling for someone quickly. But look where that ended up getting her. She could only hope that Keelin would have a better experience at it than she did.

~AllAtSea~

Hayley smirked as she and Keelin walked into the pool area. It was easy to spot Freya and Elijah. Well not without help. As soon as they'd entered the pool area, Freya was waving them over from where she and Elijah were sitting. So Hayley had been right about Freya being the reason for Keelin's rushing around so far today.

"Thank you for the invite." Hayley smiled as they made their way over. She was pretty sure she was correct in her assumption that Freya had invited them poolside. "Keelin's been rushing around all morning because she was thrilled at the idea of us spending the day with the two of you."

Keelin's eyes grew to the size of saucers. She reached beside her and smacked Hayley on the arm. Hayley just brushed it off and laughed upon seeing Keelin turn red with embarrassment.

"It's not like that," Keelin tried to explain.

Hayley stared at her, confused. So now she got shy. That was definitely weird. In all the years they'd known each other, Hayley had never seen Keelin get sigh like this. She was typically a very outgoing person no matter who she was around.

Shaking it off for now, Hayley turned her attention over to Elijah.

"Oh, so you are one of those types," she noted.

Putting the book in his hands down, he looked up at her. "What type?"

"The type who read at the pool instead of enjoying the sun and the water," she answered. "Is that not what library's are for?"

"My dear sister threw a fit when I told her I was going to spend the day in the library instead of out here with her."

Hayley nodded in understanding. "Keelin was being bossy earlier as well."

"Good to know I'm not the only one with a less than easy travel companion."

Hayley smiled, looking over at the two of them. "Not that it even matters," she pointed out, taking in the sight of Freya and Keelin once again in their own world. "We already don't even exist to them anymore."

"I'm not at all surprised."

Taking a seat in the lounger next to him, Hayley pulled a bottle of sunblock out of her bag.

"You probably never expected this to be how your cruise would go," Hayley said as she began applying the sunblock to the parts of her she could reach.

"If you're referring to having my sister ditch me for someone, then no," Elijah agreed. "Not this quick, at least."

"Honestly, I was hoping something like this would happen," Hayley admitted.

"How come, if you do not mind my asking."

Shrugging her shoulders, Hayley replied, "Let's just say that I'm not a big fan of her current... not girlfriend, but... eh, whatever that girl is to her right now."

"Considering she is that girl instead of her actual name, I can tell just how much you're not a fan of her."

Hayley laughed. "I just... Keelin deserves better."

"Someone like my sister?"

Nodding, Hayley turned her head to look at him. "Yeah, someone like her. I literally know nothing about her at the moment, but she already acts better with Keelin than that girl ever did."

Elijah chuckled. "I'm sure I sound biased, but my sister is a good person."

"Normally I would say you do sound biased... so far though you've given me no reason to think something other than what you say."

Hayley frowned as she finished applying the sunblock to her front, but realized she couldn't reach her back. Turning towards Keelin, she sighed upon seeing Keelin already in the pool. And still occupied with Freya. What was she to do about her back now?

"Umm... Elijah," Hayley said, glancing at him.

"Yes?"

"Would it be weird to ask if you'd um..." She trailed off, trying to figure out the best way to approach what she was trying to ask of him.

Nodding his head towards the bottle in her hands, he asked, "Would you like me to apply that to your back for you?"

Hayley cracked a small smile. "Such a gentlemen of you to offer," she teased as she held out the bottle to him.

"Such a lady of you to give me an opportunity to offer," he teased back, a grin on his face as he took the bottle from her.

Turning back to face away from him, Hayley asked, "So does politeness run in your family?"

"Somewhat," Elijah answered as he gently began applying the sunblock to her back.

It took pretty much every single fiber in Hayley's being not to shiver at his touch. She bit her lower lip almost hard enough to draw blood. Hayley had known Elijah for less than 24 hours, reacting this way was not a smart idea. She needed to keep her composure as well as she could. But that was easier said than done.

Elijah's hands were like pure freaking magic. Someone putting sunblock on another person's back wasn't supposed to be anything sexual. But damn if Hayley wasn't having a hard time convincing her body of that. She, figuratively speaking, felt like she was going to burst into flames because of how hot Elijah's hands on her body was making her.

To distract herself, Hayley said, "I bet they'll hook up before the second week of the cruise even begins."

Elijah continued applying the sunblock as he replied, "Is that so?"

Hayley shook her head yes.

"Alright, well... in order to make things more interesting, I'll say during the second week of the cruise?"

Somewhat shocked, Hayley turned her head to look at him with a grin. "You sure about that?"

"I know my sister better than you do."

"Ah, that may be true... But I know my friend better than you do."

Elijah pondered it for a moment or two. "I'll stick with my decision."

Hayley shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"What's your wager?"

Raising an eyebrow, Hayley asked. "Say what?"

"Usually a bet comes with a wager," he pointed out.

"Oh, right," she said, nodding her head. "So this is a real bet then?"

"Did you think it wasn't?"

"I guess I don't know what I thought."

"Your wager?" he asked again.

With a smile, Hayley said, "You tell me yours first."

Elijah chuckled. "What are we in Kindergarten?" he asked jokingly.

Hayley laughed, shaking her head. "You tell me yours or I don't tell you mine."

"Okay, fine," Elijah relented. "Dinner."

"Dinner?" Hayley asked, a hint of curiosity in her tone.

Elijah nodded. "You heard me."

Hayley smirked. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you're trying to make us be like your sister and Keelin."

"Says the one who just had me put sunblock on her back," Elijah challenged.

"One, I don't want to get sunburn. Two, you offered."

"Yeah, sure," Elijah replied sarcastically.

"It's the truth," Hayley insisted, crossing her arms.

"Uh-huh," Elijah said clearly not believing her words. "So what's your wager?"

Hayley smirked mischievously. "You will find out when I win."

Elijah was taken aback for a moment before he finally said, "That's not fair."

Laughing, Hayley told him, "I never told you that I was a fair person."

Elijah shook his head as a moment of silence fell between them.

"What counts as hooking up?" Hayley asked, breaking the silence.

Elijah stared at her with a confused expression. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, does making out count as hooking up? Or do they have to go all the way?" she reiterated. "This way we will know who wins the bet?"

Elijah nodded his head in understanding. "Oh, right."

"So which is it?"

"I'm going on the record here and saying how uncomfortable I am all of a sudden and that I did not think this all the way through," Elijah said, blushing profusely.

Hayley would be lying if she said she wasn't attracted to him when he was embarrassed like this. Red suited him well.

"But, I guess in this case..." Elijah trailed off before taking a deep breath and quickly saying. "I say when they spend the night together."

Hayley laughed, clutching her stomach. "I would have never taken you as that kind of guy."

Elijah chuckled, shaking his head. "Making out doesn't always mean that it'll go any further than that," he pointed out.

"Now I definitely never assumed you would think that way."

Elijah grinned. "I am full of surprises."

Hayley grinned back. "I don't doubt you."

~AllAtSea~

"I'm so glad I came here with you," Keelin said giddily from where she sat on her bed cross-legged, flipping through the channels the ships TV's had; the TV's had quite a few good channels, the people in control of the ship definitely went all out to make their guests happy.

Hayley shook her head, laughing. "You've mentioned that at least a hundred times."

"Just to think I actually almost stayed with Sam."

Hayley looked up from rummaging through the dresser and stared at Keelin in the mirror. "If I'm not allowed to think about or say you know who's name, then you're not allowed to think about or say her name."

Keelin dropped the remote, watching it bounce off the bed and onto the floor, opening her hands in a show of mock surrender. "Okay. Okay. Fair is fair."

"You're damn right it is!" Hayley grinned, returning to her previous task. "Ah-ha! Here we go," she said, finding the pair of jeans she had been searching for.

"Why does it matter what pair of jeans you wear?"

Hayley shrugged her shoulders.

A mischievous grin suddenly appeared on Keelin's face. "Wait a second... aren't those the jeans that show your ass off real good?"

"Pfft. What? No!"

"They are!" Keelin jumped up to settle on her knees. "You're hoping you run into Elijah aren't you?"

Closing the dresser drawer, Hayley turned to grab her chosen shirt off the bed. "No, I am not."

"That's your 'here is a tease of my cleavage" sweater!" Keelin exclaimed, jumping off the bed to run after her.

Hayley made it to the bathroom and slammed the door just as Keelin made it there.

"If that's not confirmation then I don't know what is." Keelin laughed.

Just then there was a knock at the room door.

"Maybe it's Elijah," Keelin teased, still laughing.

"Shut up!"

Hayley heard Keelin open the door and her laughing ceased. Before the person at the door even spoke, the sudden change in Keelin's tone when she greeted the person gave away the person's identity.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Elijah and I were wondering if you and Hayley wanted to go to dinner with us," Hayley heard Freya say.

"We were actually just about to go try to pick a place to eat," Keelin replied.

"Pick a place." Freya laughed. "Isn't it crazy how many restaurants this ship has?"

"Tell me about it. You'd think we were on land and in the city still."

"So you two will come?" Freya asked, her voice hopeful.

"Of course!" Keelin replied. "Believe it or not, Hayley's actually already preparing for..."

Hayley swung the door open, interrupting Keelin's train of thought.

"Okay, Keelin. Time for you to get yourself dressed," she told her, steering her towards the dresser. Then she turned back to address Freya. "We will come to your room in about half an hour and we can figure out where to eat."

Freya smiled. "Alright. Great. See you then."

Hayley returned the smile as Freya turned and made her way back down the hall to her room.

~AllAtSea~

"With each and every passing second, the bet gets deeper and deeper into my bag," Hayley noted with a smirk.

"There's still time," Elijah replied, placing his drink back on the table.

"Not that much more."

"We will see."

"So are you and I only here to keep each other company?" Hayley asked Elijah as they sat across from Keelin and Freya who were all into each other like the night before.

"It appears that way."

Picking up her glass, Hayley took a sip of her drink. "I feel oh so loved."

"Likewise."

"I guess it's for the best, though," Hayley said, turning her body towards him.

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "And how is that?"

Hayley smiled. "It gives us time to get more acquainted."

Nodding his head in agreement, Elijah replied, "Good point."

"Easy things first. Rapid fire."

"You do the honors."

"Okay. Favorite color?"

"Red."

"Red. Favorite animal?"

"Wolf.

"Wolf. Favorite liquor?"

"Whiskey."

"Whiskey. Favorite seafood?"

"Shrimp."

"Shrimp."

"Okay seriously? Either we really have a lot in common, or you're copying my answers!" Hayley exclaimed, feeling somewhat confused by their same answers. Could it be that they really were that much alike?

Elijah chuckled. "I assure you, I'm not copying your answers. They are mine, too."

Hayley shook her head, laughing. "What are the chances of this actually happening."

"It seems pretty they're good," Elijah answered rhetorically.

"It appears that Captain Obvious showed up tonight," Hayley teased.

"He has his moments."

"Clearly." Hayley laughed as she pushed her chair back and stood up. "Well if you'll excuse me, I have to go use the restroom. I'll be right back."

"I'll be here."

Hayley smiled as she turned and walked away. She could feel his eyes lingering on her as she walked, and purposely made a show of it... just not too much that he would easily know what she was doing. So maybe Keelin was right. Hayley had worn these jeans specifically cause her ass looked good in them. And she fully planned on hopefully being able to show it off to Elijah that night somehow.

~AllAtSea~

After taking care of her needs, Hayley washed her hands and then checked herself over in the mirror. Hayley looked over when she heard the bathroom door opened just in time to see Freya walk in. This was the first time that the two of them had ever been in the same room together alone.

"I am so glad I caught you," Freya said, walking over to stand next to her.

Hayley raised an eyebrow. "You are?"

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you alone."

"About what?"

"Is Keelin seeing anybody?"

"No. Not officially," Hayley answered, crossing her arms. "Why are you interested?"

Freya grinned, leaning back against the counter. "I think we both already know the answer to that."

"I know. I just wanted to hear it from you."

"So she's not in any serious relationship or anything?" Freya asked, double checking.

Hayley laughed, shaking her head. "Serious, definitely not. Nothing serious at all."

"Good to hear," Freya said, pushing off of the counter and walking into one of the stalls.

"I'm surprised you two haven't talked about it already," Hayley said, furrowing her eyebrows.

"No, not yet. I wanted to make sure I wasn't stepping in on something I shouldn't first."

Hayley nodded. "Well that does make sense."

So they're both definitely interested in each other... there was no way in hell that she'd lose this bet. She'd better start thinking of her wager for when she won. Which was something she'd make sure she did sooner rather than later.

"And you're okay with anything that happens between you two to most likely not go on after the cruise is over?" Hayley asked, even though she knew this was something Keelin and Freya should talk about amongst themselves.

"I am. Do you think Keelin is?"

Cruise Vacation Fling flashed in front of Hayley's eyes then.

"I'm pretty sure she is."

"That's good," Freya replied. "I don't want to pursue this if either of us would end up hurt in the end."

That response was all the more reason for Hayley to like Freya more than she ever liked Sam. Sam had never cared whether Keelin was with someone else or not. Sam always had to get her way no matter who she had to run over to get it. Thank god Freya was the exact opposite.

"How about I get Elijah to walk me back to my room so you and Keelin can have some alone time together?" Hayley suggested, grinning to herself; She was so going to win this bet.

Freya opened the stall door and walked out with a big smile on her face. "That'd be great."

Hayley smiled back. "Consider it a done deal."

"Thank you, Hayley."

"No need to thank me," she told her. "Your brother will do that for you."

Not that she would ever say that out loud to her.

~AllAtSea~

Upon returning to the table, Hayley sat and talked to Elijah for a while longer. That is until she and Freya locked eyes over the table. Freya gave her a subtle nod and a smile, and Hayley nodded back with a smile as well.

Turning to Elijah, Hayley said, "I bet they wouldn't notice if we got up and left."

"Probably not," he agreed.

"You want to get out of here?" she suggested. "Maybe take a walk around the deck like last night before calling it a night?"

Elijah glanced around the restaurant before nodding his head. "I could go for some fresh air."

"Great." Hayley smiled, standing up.

Elijah followed suit and followed her outside.

The sun was just beginning to set when they walked outside. The sunlight made for a warm and romantic feel to the atmosphere. It was the perfect time for a romantic stroll... if only she wasn't walking with someone she just met. Damn her cheating asshole of an ex for ruining everything.

"Is everything okay?" Elijah asked, breaking Hayley from her thoughts.

Hayley glanced over at him, offering him a small smile. "Everything's fine," she assured him. "I was just thinking."

"It must've been something unsettling," Elijah guessed.

"What do you mean?"

"You were frowning," he noted. "Unless your were frowning because of me?"

Hayley's eyes widened. "Oh no! It wasn't because of you," she insisted frantically. "I assure you that it had nothing to do with you."

"No need to freak out. I believe you," Elijah assured her, placing a hand on her arm in a comforting manner.

In order to change the subject and lighten the mood, Elijah asked, "I know what you're trying to do by asking me out here."

Hayley squinted her eyes. "I am not trying to do anything."

"You're trying to win the bet by leaving those two alone."

Oh, right. The bet.

Hayley smirked. "I thought you said you know your sister well."

"I do."

"Then why the worry?" Hayley asked, her tone teasing.

Elijah shrugged, pointing out, "Everyone is capable of surprises every now and then."

"Uh-huh," Hayley laughed. "But let's be honest, for all you know losing the bet could be even better than winning it."

Elijah grinned at her. "Are you saying that your bargain is a good one?"

It was Hayley's turn to shrug her shoulders. "You'll just have to wait and see when I win."

Elijah chuckled. "When you win?"

"I am going to win," Hayley said matter-of-factly.

"You sound so very sure of yourself."

Hayley winked at him as her response. "Could it be that you want me to win?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"Because you're not doing anything to keep them apart until next week."

"Maybe I believe in whatever is meant to be will be."

"I believe that, too, but even fate needs a little push in the right direction sometimes."

"I guess that's true."

They continued to walk and talk for a bit until Hayley suddenly stopped mid-step.

"Look, Elijah!" She exclaimed, rushing over to the railing. "Dolphins!"

She could feel Elijah come stand next to her.

"Is that not the most gorgeous sight you've ever seen?" she asked, watching them jump up out of the water.

Elijah whispered something under his breath that sounded a lot like, "I'm already looking at something more gorgeous than dolphins."

Hayley quickly turned her head, looking over at him, wondering if she heard him correctly or if her ears were playing tricks on her. "What did you say?"

Elijah immediately denied everything. "I didn't say anything."

"Are you sure?"

Elijah nodded.

Part of her wanted to press further, but she decided to let it go for now. Especially when she caught him staring down her sweater. If that wasn't nonverbal proof that she had heard him correctly, then she didn't know what was.

"This shirt never fails," she thought to herself with a smirk. "He's definitely into me."

A short silence fell between them then.

"You should come back to my room with me," Hayley suggested when she felt herself get cold, reminding her that she still had his suit coat.

Elijah turned to her, his eyes wide.

Hayley shook her head, laughing. "Not for that. We've barely known each other for a whole day," she said. "I meant that you should come because I didn't give you your jacket back last night."

Elijah sighed, relieved. "Oh, right."

Laughing some more, Hayley teased, "Seriously, I mean... what kind of girl do you take me for, Elijah?"

"I... I..." Elijah couldn't think of how to respond to that.

Shaking her head again, Hayley pushed away from the rail. "Come on." She grabbed his hand and pulled him after her.

There's chapter 3! I hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought of it in a review!