"You're ignoring Elijah." Rebekah comments randomly as she takes a seat on the desk.
After Rebekah's indirect compliment, the blonde hadn't said much and started to type away on her phone instead. Eloise hadn't been certain what to do with the awkward silence and had quietly begun some grading work. She didn't feel the urge to send the blonde away, partly out of fatigue, partly out of fear that the blonde wouldn't appreciate being shown the door.
"I am not ignoring him." Eloise carefully places the cap on her pen before looking up at Rebekah. The blonde had finally torn her gaze away from the device. Eloise was somewhat curious about who she was texting, and her mind immediately went to Kol. "I am simply avoiding his calls."
"Ignoring." Rebekah echoes while rolling her eyes. "He was in a foul mood this morning because of your silence." Her tone is accusing. Their household had already been a bit tense because of Esther's sudden return, but after the fight, things had turned miraculously worse.
Kol and Elijah hadn't fought again, but had simply ignored each other, whilst still making passive-aggressive comments regarding the whole Eloise situation. Kol had, of course, felt the need to boast loudly about his friendship with Eloise to Niklaus, and Elijah in turn had commented on certain people's irredeemable qualities and their despicable behavior towards humans.
Eloise furrows her brow, Elijah could throw a fit all he liked, even if she couldn't imagine him doing so, she deserved some time to process all that had happened.
Rebekah continues, ignoring the uncomprehending look on Eloise's face. "But then again, so was Kol. It's probably because mother forbids either of them from visiting you today."
Eloise lets out an incredulous sound, she couldn't imagine Kol liking his mother's orders much. "I just need some time."
"Time away from him? Or from Kol as well?" Rebekah asks at once. If Eloise wanted nothing to do with either of them, Rebekah could rub her newfound companionship with Eloise in their faces.
"No, just to think things over."
"What's there to think about? You knew Kol was a vampire, and you knew that Elijah was-"
"I didn't know Elijah was a vampire, he hadn't told me." Eloise cuts Rebekah off.
"Really? Idiot." Rebekah scoffs, unimpressed with Elijah's actions. She would have expected Elijah to inform the girl if he was serious in pursuing her. "So, what's your plan here?"
"I'm-I beg your pardon?"
"No need to beg with me, darling. What is your game plan? Do you intent to charm all of my brothers and have them fight over you?" Rebekah keeps her voice uninterested whilst slyly looking at the girl. She didn't think Eloise had bad intentions, but then again, the blonde had been fooled before.
It hadn't escaped her notice that both Elijah and Kol had been in a better mood than usual for the past week. Even Finn was in good spirits when he returned after driving Eloise to her house last night.
"No, no. Not at all." Eloise shakes her head a little too enthusiastically, making her already sore neck ache a little. She really had to stop sleeping with the window open.
"Really? Doesn't it sound appealing to you? I know of a few girls who would absolutely love to be in your situation, brothers competing over them, for their love."
Eloise couldn't imagine someone enjoying the prospect of two people fighting over her, especially not brothers. Alright, her friend Alex liked to flirt with multiple people at the same time, but she always cut it off before anything more serious could happen. "Rebekah, I went on one date with Elijah, I wouldn't call that-"
"I don't know what Kol has told you of us. But as vampires, we have heightened emotions. One date may not seem like much to you, but it is to us, especially Elijah, who hardly dares to make any commitments, afraid of losing them to his family." Rebekah rambles heatedly, ignoring the sound coming from her phone, indicating a new message coming in. It was probably Kol, again.
Eloise suppresses a groan. A guide to possibly dating a vampire would have been nice, but then again, she hadn't known what she had agreed to at the time. "What happened to his past... infatuations?"
"Nik, Kol or even me, we would kill them." Rebekah shrugs. "We have a tendency to hurt each other's loved ones."
"Why would you deny each other of happiness like that?" Eloise was secretly relieved that neither Finn nor Elijah's name was mentioned. It was nice to know that at least two of the Mikaelsons would not randomly kill her out of spite.
"Call it a petty rivalry, complex family dynamics, or simply boredom." Rebekah remarks thoughtfully whilst crossing her legs.
"You would kill me out of boredom?" Eloise blinks up at Rebekah.
"Don't ask questions you don't want to hear the answer to." Rebekah snaps. Her gaze softens when she sees Eloise's pale complexion. Regretting her harshness, she offers the woman a small smile. "But no, I wouldn't."
• • •
"Can I modify my earlier statement?" Eloise mutters as she takes a seat beside Alaric, placing a cup of coffee in front of him.
"Which one?" Alaric gratefully grabs the cup, turning his head to face Eloise after taking a small sip.
"My request for you to not punch Damon on my behalf." Eloise replies shortly.
"What did he do?" Alaric's brow furrows and his eyes narrow suspiciously. He had been quite serious in his offer of harming the vampire if he did anything to hurt Eloise.
"He walked into my classroom, unannounced, and started interrogating me about Kol."
"Eloise, he probably means well." Alaric does his best not to roll his eyes at his own response. Damon didn't do anything if it didn't serve him. He knew this and suspected Eloise to also be aware of this, but he needed her to not hate Damon actively. If Eloise became a liability in Damon's eyes, he wouldn't hesitate to harm her.
"Why? Does he know Kol? Do you?" Eloise's tone is a bit sharper than she would have liked. She had a feeling Alaric was holding something back for her, and she didn't appreciate it. She didn't believe Alaric to be aware of Kol's true nature, but perhaps he had some information on Kol, or the other Mikaelsons.
"Not personally. We do know who he is associated with, and let's say we don't exactly see eye to eye." Alaric clears his throat.
"Who?"
"Ellie, it's fine. If you... trust Kol, then there's nothing to worry about."
Eloise remains quiet, not certain if she should tell Alaric she didn't trust Kol, not with her life anyway. Despite Kol's claims of not hurting her anymore and protecting her, she couldn't be too sure that he wouldn't simply change his mind. Rebekah's earlier words come back to mind, and she shivers at the thought of Kol killing her purely out of boredom.
• • •
Eloise looks away from the TV when she hears a new email coming in. Reluctantly she gets up from the couch, careful not to wake Bowie who had been curled up beside her, and walks up to the table where her laptop was placed.
A smile spreads over her face when she sees the contents of the email, tomorrow she would substitute for the kindergarten class again. Eloise was actually looking forward to a day without either Kol, Rebekah, or Damon strutting into her classroom unexpectedly. The idea of a drama-free day almost sounded like a holiday.
Closing the email tab, she looks at her digital agenda. Friday was the ball Elijah had invited her to, the Mikaelson ball. She had forgotten about it until now.
A feeling of anxiousness settles itself into the pit of her stomach. She should clear the air with Elijah to avoid things becoming uncomfortable, more uncomfortable than now anyway. None of the other Mikaelsons had mentioned the ball to her, so perhaps it was possible to just skip the entire thing. She didn't even know if Elijah still wanted her to come in the first place, he had invited her with the idea that she was oblivious about his family and his vampire nature.
Eloise silently scolds herself. She had made a promise to herself to watch the stupid romcom she had found on the streaming service and not think about any of the Mikaelsons for the next hour and a half, but she was failing.
She didn't believe it to be healthy to obsess over the family of supernatural beings, but then again, how could she not think about them?
Eloise felt a bit like a detective, trying to decipher the mixed signals and conflicting feelings she had about the various family members. Shaking her head and releasing a long sigh, she eventually grabs her phone, she needed to be the adult she claimed to be, and resolve things with Elijah.