Thank you all for your reviews, favorites, and follows last chapter. They all mean so much to me!

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

Chapter 10 - The Friend and Sibling Trap

"Come on, Hayley!" Keelin yelled, knocking on the bathroom door. "Freya is waiting!"

"I changed my mind. I'm staying here. You go," Hayley responded, looking at herself in the mirror and frowning.

She was not up for going out. But she's told Keelin she would. Still, though, if she didn't want to go then she shouldn't have to.

"Hayley Andrea Marshall! Don't make me have to come in there and drag your ass out," Keelin threatened.

Hayley could imagine her standing on the other side of the door with a glare on her face and her arms crossed over her chest. She was proven right when she pushed herself away from the bathroom counter and opened the door.

"That's what I thought."

"You didn't have to full name me."

"Apparently I did," Keelin pointed out. "Now come on. I just texted Freya. She is on her way over here now."

Hayley sighed, dropping her shoulders and slumping over. "Fine, let's go."

"Cheer up, Hayley." Keelin smiled. "Something tells me your night will get better."

"What?" Hayley asked perking up ever so slightly.

Keelin shrugged, turning towards the door. "Nothing."

"Keelin! You do mean something! What do you mean by that?!" Hayley called after her, rushing out the door behind her.

Keelin just laughed as she continued down the hall to where Freya was standing and waiting for them.

Walking at a brisk pace behind Freya and Keelin, Hayley couldn't help but think how cute they were. They were walking side by side, bumping gently into each other and talking and laughing. They truly were so cute together. They just seemed to fit like puzzle pieces.

"...Hayley..."

Hayley perked up and her attention was fully on Freya and Keelin when she heard her name mentioned. Why were they talking about her? And what about her?

Jogging to catch up with them, she asked after catching up, "Did one of you say my name?"

"Yes, but it's nothing important," Freya answered, avoiding eye contact.

"Keelin? What were you two talking about?"

Keelin smiled at her, a questionable smile that Hayley didn't quite believe was just a sweet one. "Nothing important. Promise."

Hayley glanced at her, challenging her with her eyes. If she had to guess Keelin was currently crossing her fingers behind her back because no way she was telling Hayley the truth.

"Yeah, sure. Nothing important," Hayley said, her tone conveying just how unconvinced she was. "Just mentioning me for nothing."

Hayley couldn't help but be extremely curious what was so big that Keelin had to lie to her about. She was sure she'd heard her name mentioned, and Keelin and Freya both confirmed she had. But they were both insistent on not saying why her name was mentioned. They were hiding something big from her. She wanted to know what, but at the same time she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

~AllAtSea~

It didn't take long for Hayley to realize why her name was mentioned. Maybe it wasn't the exact thing Freya and Keelin were talking about, but it was most likely pretty damn close. The instant they walked into the restaurant, Hayley spotted Elijah standing at the hostess podium. She should've known that Keelin and Freya were planning something like this. This was definitely a Keelin thing to do.

Grabbing Keelin's arm and yanking her towards her, Hayley spoke through clenched teeth, "What the hell, Keelin?!"

Keelin shrugged her shoulders. "I had no idea he was going to be here."

Hayley glared at her. If only looks could kill. "Bullshit! You knew!"

"No, I didn't," Keelin insisted unconvincingly.

"Damn you!"

"Someone had to!" Keelin exclaimed just as they made it to the podium and the hostess walked up.

"Your table for two is ready," the hostess said with a smile, looking between Hayley and Elijah.

"What?!" Hayley asked a little too loud as she turned to look at Keelin. "Table for two!"

Both Keelin and Freya had guilty but unashamed looks on their faces.

"You two have fun," Freya said with a smile.

"We're going to go to the other restaurant," Keelin told Hayley. "Our table should be ready soon."

"What the hell, Keelin?!"

"You need to listen to Elijah and talk things out," Keelin said, looking at Hayley and daring her with her eyes to challenge her. "You wouldn't do it on your own so we had to complete the first step for you."

"See you later." Freya smiled at both Hayley and Elijah before she and Keelin turned to leave.

Hayley wasn't sure if she wanted to run after Keelin and slap her upside the head, or if she just wanted to stand there and start screaming. Or maybe even both. Start screaming, run up to Keelin and slap her. Truth was though, she would do neither.

Taking a deep breath, she turned towards the hostess. She smiled and nodded her head slightly to signal her to take them to her table. As much as she wanted to just run away, Hayley knew she had to stay. She needed to hear Elijah out or risk letting her ex control her life when it comes to relationships forever. That was something Hayley did not want at all.

Once at the table, Elijah pulled her chair out for her. As she sat down, Hayley smiled and thanked him. She took another deep breath as he sat down across from her. She could do this. She could apologize, hear him out, and then they could move on from this. It needed to happen like that. She had to be an adult about this.

"Your waiter will be right with you," the hostess said, placing the menus down in front of each of them and then leaving.

"Hi," Hayley said finally looking at Elijah.

"Hi to you as well."

"I should start by apologizing and then let you explain," Hayley said. "I am honestly sorry about how I acted earlier today. It was extremely childish of me to act that way."

Elijah smiled. "Your apology is accepted."

"Thank you for being understanding," Hayley said just as the waiter came up and asked for their drink orders.

Once the waiter left, Hayley asked Elijah to explain everything. She was all ears.

"It appears that my ex had my password."

"Crazy ex?"

"Something like that."

"It seems that after seeing a picture of us that was posted on Facebook, she got jealous and logged in to change the status."

Hayley sighed. "I clearly fell for that."

Elijah shook his head. "It wasn't anything you did," he assured her. "We both have exes that like to mess around. In different ways. But mess around none the less."

"What are the chances of both of us have not so good exes?"

"Very likely from what I've gathered."

Elijah laughed, causing Hayley to as well.

"Something else to cheers to then," Hayley said, picking up her drink that the waiter just put down.

"A weird something, but yes," Elijah agreed, following suit with his own drink.

"Here's to crazy exes."

"To crazy exes."

"You made sure she can never access your account again?" Hayley wondered, placing her drink down.

Elijah nodded. "Changed my password and also unfriended her."

"Ooh, you go hard," Hayley teased, winking at him.

"So I've been told."

"By who?"

"By you."

Hayley burst out laughing. "For someone who wears suits a lot... you have a great sense of humor. You don't act as serious as you look."

"As the saying goes, looks can be deceiving."

"That they can," Hayley agreed, nodding her head. "Again though, I honestly am sorry about everything. It's just that..." Hayley paused, shaking her head and running a hand over her face. "Jack was just like you when we first met. He was a true gentlemen, at least I thought so. Turns out it was all an act. He apparently had always had a crush on me and then when I gave him a shot... he must've learned quickly that the idea he had of me wasn't the real me. And when I refused to change for him... he cheated on me with someone who would."

"I am sorry you went through that," Elijah said sincerely, placing a hand over hers.

"And it seems that whether I want to admit it or not... the whole Jack situation affected me much more than I ever realized it did." Taking a moment to clear her mind, Hayley turned her head to look at Elijah. "I'm truly sorry for jumping to the worst conclusion and not letting you explain right away."

Elijah shook his head and offered her a small smile. "No need to apologize."

"You're too sweet." Hayley smiled back at him. "But I really do. I know that you're not anything like Jack. I always had a gut feeling that he was bad news, but I never did anything about it. With you, however, no bad gut feeling."

"I assure you that I am not anything like your ex."

"And I believe you," Hayley replied, looking down at where his had laid on top of hers. "Even if I don't always act like I do."

"It's understandable," Elijah assured her. "You went through a bad break up... it's hard to trust someone else after that."

"Thanks for being so understanding."

"Of course. I do my best to be it all the time."

"I'm surprised you're being so forgiving right now."

"Holding grudges isn't much something I do."

"That bodes well for me," Hayley teased, flashing him a grin. "Never know when I'll do something else that needs forgiving."

"Hopefully whenever and whatever it is won't be too bad."

"I hope so. I do have a tendency of sometimes acting without thinking first."

"Thank you for the heads up."

~AllAtSea~

A short time later, Hayley and Elijah were relaxing in her room. Hayley's phone went off next to her. Upon grabbing it and looking at it, she found that it was a text from Keelin. She opened it and read over it. A small smile found its way to the surface upon her lips.

"Are you up for staying with me another night?" Hayley asked, putting her phone down on the table.

Elijah sighed. "They're at it again?"

Hayley shrugged. "Apparently they are taking full advantage of every second they have together since it's a CVF going on between them."

"CVF?"

"Cruise Vacation Fling."

Elijah nodded his head, understanding. "Ah, right. I got it."

An easy silence fell between them.

"Say hypothetically..." Elijah started, breaking the silence. "Say that we really did get together during the cruise. Would that also count as a CVF?"

Hayley grinned, thinking back to the other day when Elijah was teasing her. "I guess we will never know," Hayley replied, trying to stifle the giggle that wanted to come out. "I mean, hypothetically speaking," she added as an afterthought, reaching for her phone to text Keelin that it was okay.

Another night sleeping in the same room as Elijah sounded really good to Hayley. And it was about to become a reality. Well that and also sleeping in the same bed together. Hayley could sleep in Keelin's bed again, but she really wanted to sleep in her own. Or maybe that's just what she told herself to justify sleeping in the same bed as Elijah again. Either way, she'd sleep happily and well.