Katherine walked up to her favorite barista with a smirk on her face. And luckily, he was expecting his usual customer. He handed her the paper cup.
"A cappuccino with double foam and half a packet of Sweet-and-Low, just like you like it," the blonde said with a goofy smile.
"You're a darling Matt," she said, taking a sip before putting her drink back on the counter. "However... I was in the mood for an americano today. With the slightest hint of vanilla and a spoonful of cinnamon."
The former high school quarterback rolled his eyes. "I see what you're trying to do here. Trying to put me to work."
Katherine eyed him up and down. "Oh honey, you will definitely know when I want you to work."
The model winked before walking off and going to her usual seat, waiting for Matt to call out her name. It had been a week since she found out about her sister and her ex, and she thought she was taking it well. For example, instead of having half a bottle of vodka for lunch, she settled for a salad and espresso. Her mind was completely cleansed from the subject.
She took a bite of her salad and started reading her magazine, some of the only true literature left in America. She was having a lunch meeting with Bonnie, and insisted on paying because her intern was completely pissed.
Bonnie did not handle her interview being cut well. In fact, she might have cursed Katherine's whole entire family and first born child, and she possible may have called her employer a power-hungry leech. But since Katherine was the mature one in the situation, she invited the intern for a friendly chat.
At last, Bonnie arrived in a less heated mood.
"Before you say anything Katherine, I promise you that I am truly sorry. I... was in the moment. I'll work extra hours. Hell, I'll even scrub the floors. I just really need this job," she exclaimed, completely defeated.
Katherine stared at her as she took another bite of her salad. "Bonnie, I'm not going to fire you. You are arguably one of the smartest- if not the smartest- person currently in the company. I know how much that article meant to you, however I still refuse to publish it." Bonnie attempted to interrupt, but Katherine stopped her. "But, I do have one more spot open for junior writer, and I think you deserve it."
Bonnie's jaw dropped to the floor as she stared at her boss. "Wha... are you serious?!"
"The position is yours, Bonnie. /But/, to secure this position, I'm putting you on one field test."
"Anything," Bonnie quickly interjected. "Anything you tell me to do, I'll do it."
"You need to document the wedding between Elijah and Elena."
Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "Really? Are you really that threatened by their relationship?
Katherine crossed her arms and scoffed. "Please. I'm not threatened in anything where Elena Gilbert is concerned. I'm hotter, richer, and a hell of a lot more fun than she is. And I don't run to the first rich boy with obvious attachment issues to my sister who wants to support my dying acting career. I will always be relevant, and the only reason they're famous right now is because of me, not the other way around. That being said, our main buyers are teenage girls, who are idealistic idiots, and 25 year old women, who are just desperate for a love story, even if it will end with the worthless rich boy divorcing the gold digger. We can't let our target audience down, or they'll go elsewhere. Pierce Magazine must always be on top of the competition."
"So what I'm hearing is... you're threatened. That's cool. I'll do the story. But you don't pay me enough for me to buy a ticket to Cali so..."
"I'm having my secretary book it now. You'll leave tomorrow."
Matt came up to the table with Katherine's drink. "For my favorite customer."
The brunette smiled, tucking a $20 in his back pocket as he turned to leave.
"Anyways, Bonnie, you're free to go. Better start packing. That article's not going to write itself."
Bonnie beamed. "Thank you again Katherine. I could hug you right now, but I'm assuming you don't want me to wrinkle that Louis Vuitton jacket."
Katherine shook her head no, and her intern bounced out of the door. She continued reading her magazine, up to an excellent post about how eating carrots boosts your appeal to the opposite sex. It wasn't a tip she needed, because duh, but she just loved the talent of her writers.
She was halfway through the article when she got a call Stefan Salvatore, a medical student at the University of Chicago who happened to be another one of her exes. He had been trying to contact her all week, and she ignored him simply because he reminded her of her crappy past with Elena.
During their sophomore year of high school, Elena began dating Stefan even though she knew about her sister's feelings for the boy. To counter this, Katherine started "dating" Damon Salvatore, Stefan's college age older brother who every girl in the school vied for. Katherine may have eventually tricked Stefan into bed with her, and Elena got revenge with Damon. A couple of fights later, Katherine ended up living in Connecticut with their father, John, while Elena remained in Virginia with her mother, their half-brother Jeremy, and their stepfather Alaric. They hadn't spoken since.
To say the Salvatores ruined their relationship would be an understatement. Although the boys had their spat, they were able to bounce back. But not Elena and Katherine. The two already had a strained relationship and the two boys just pushed them off of the edge. So when it came to Stefan and Damon Salvatore, Katherine tended to steer clear unless it was absolutely necessary to interact with them.
But Stefan was being persistent, so she finally picked up the phone (but not before rolling her eyes until they almost fell out of her head).
"Katherine! I've been trying to reach you."
"I'm aware. I just didn't feel like picking up. Make this quick. I have life to get back to."
"Well hello to you, too. I'm assuming you've got your invitation already. Does that mean you're not going...? Because if you change your mind, I kinda need a date still and if you wanna get back at Elena..."
She stopped him in the middle of his request. "What? My invitation?"
"Yes," Stefan told her. "The one that she sent out. And emailed. Don't you have a million dollar company or whatever? You should probably check your mail more often..."
"I check my mailbox daily and my emails at least once an hour," Katherine drawled. "Does this mean- I cannot believe that bitch. She invited you but she didn't invite me to her wedding."
"Oh..." Stefan said, his tone hinting how awkward he felt.
"I just have one question, Stefan," she said through her gritted teeth. Stefan hesitated to answer, but finally he asked to know what the question was.
"Was Damon invited?"
No response.
"Was Damon fucking Salvatore invited?"
Stefan sighed. "Ye-"
"Okay. Okay. I know all I need to know. Nice chat."
She hung up the phone, slamming it on the table. She understood why Elena wouldn't invite her, but inviting the Salvatore brothers? Did she really want to slap Katherine in the face that badly. Well, if she Elena wanted to hurt her, she was going to have to do it with her disgusting nails and weak punches. Because all of a sudden, Katherine Pierce had an urge to pay her sister a nice visit.
"Hope, I love you sweetie but stop crying. Please. You are going to give me grey hair before I'm 30," Hayley said while rocking her baby, failing to make her fall asleep. It was four in the morning and she was beyond stressed out. She was in the mood for sandy beaches and a margarita, or even just a nap. But no, her daughter was being particularly fussy.
"Jesus Hayley," her roommate shouted from the other room. "Calm down the demon spawn. I need my beauty sleep."
"Do not call her that Rebekah!" she shouted back.
In a few seconds, her roommate was in her room, with messy hair and slightly ajar eyes.
"Well her father is Niklaus," Rebekah slurred, sitting next to Hayley. "Since it seems like I will be getting sleep like, never, I might as well tell you the good news. I meant to tell you earlier but you were passed out straight on your bed. And due to my schedule, you probably won't be seeing much of me tomorrow so-"
"Just spit it out," Hayley said, sighing. "It's 4 AM and I'm not in the mood for a lot of words."
"Fine." Rebekah took a lengthy pause, reconsidering what she was going to tell her friend. "You're going to Elijah's wedding."
Hayley, who was only half paying attention at first suddenly became completely alert. The usual grogginess from interrupted sleep was definitely gone as she widened her eyes at her roommate.
"What do you mean Rebekah?" she said, her voice laced with suspicion.
"Look, Nik is going to be in America for the month of the wedding ceremonies. But right after that, he's spending six months in South Korea. This is your only window! I've booked you a ticket for today."
"Today?! Rebekah-"
"Don't drop the 'I can't just leave my life behind for a month long vacation' excuse because face it Hayley, you don't have a life. Instead, you have a baby. Which you are definitely bringing with you. Besides, this will be good for you. I'll be there in a week or so once I wrap up loose ends, so I can watch Hope while you relax for a change."
Hayley was convinced that Rebekah had finally lost it. She didn't even prepare what she would say to Klaus yet. And what about Elijah? She was dreading having to tell her ex flame that she slept with his brother, regardless of his current relationship status.
"I need more time than a day." Hayley placed Hope back in her crib, and walked around the nursery.
She remembered when she created this nursery. Rebekah insisted on helping, but she refused the offer. She wanted to create something for her baby girl that would give her hope. Hope of a better life, hope of a real family, hope of being better than Hayley had ever been. She wanted her daughter to know that she would always be loved. Regardless of whatever happened, her mother would always be there for her.
Somehow, she didn't think that was a gospel Klaus would live by.
She knew Klaus well. He was tyrannical, manipulative, and popular in tabloids for his escapades. Yes, he could give Hayley financial support but would that be enough for her daughter? Hope deserved more.
"What if he simply doesn't want to be a father, Rebekah? What do we do then? What happens if he rejects the idea and I'm stuck at the wedding proceedings of a man I once loved and his brother who denied my daughter? You know your brother as well as I do and you know he takes nothing seriously. I don't want to hurt my daughter."
She knew rejection better than anyone else, and she didn't want that for her daughter. Her whole entire life she had been in foster care, and she spent every second from birth to 18 thinking that she was unwanted. Thinking that she was lesser. Thinking that things would never look up.
And then she met Rebekah Mikaelson. Hayley started working as Rebekah's secretary, but the two bonded in a much deeper way that neither of them expected.
And then she "bonded" with two of Rebekah's brothers. Skip a bit more than a year, and this is where she was. Asking the Mikaelson family for even more handouts.
"I understand where your reluctance is coming from, Hayley." The blonde walked up to her friend, putting her hand on her shoulder. "But I know my brother. And believe it or not, family is the most important thing to him. He'll love Hope, once he actually believes you."
Hayley sighed, her head still spinning. She didn't really want to go. But she knew Rebekah would give her no choice. So she decided that for her daughter's sake, she needed to just suck it up.
"As long as there's scotch and free childcare."
HELLO! Thank you guys for the overwhelming support. I hope you like this chapter!
LitLover101: I hope you like this chapter too! Okay honestly when I saw you reviewed this I internally died because you're literally my idol and I've followed you on a previous account of mine and loved EVERYTHING (I just have been too busy to start following back people yet X( but I will do that this weekend). Thank you for taking the time to comment and literally making my day. And yes, Enzo and Caroline just have a perfect dynamic and I think that they should have gotten a spinoff with Katherine but that may just be my opinion... Rebekah and Hayley are literally my favorite female friendship on TVD, because at least they actually care about each other and don't try to constantly screw each other over. I'm just upset new Rebekah isn't as close with Hayley. No spoilers - honestly, Elijah just has a lot of decision making to do. I wish the best for him.
Chhavi: Thanks for commenting! That thought hadn't even crossed my mind honestly, but they would be SO good together. You're right. I'll start planning that fanfiction now. But for Bride TBD, I'm sorry but no. I planned this story a while ago and it has a clear endgame. But I'm kinda feeling a Katherine/Hayley roadtrip fanfiction... any takers?
Aml: I LOVE Kennett. They have real chemistry and Kol didn't completely ruin Bonnie's life. I still ship this despite the possibility of this couple being really bleak in the TVD/TO universe :(. As for Bonkai, I'm so torn because while you can't deny the chemistry, you also can't deny the fact Kai stabbed her twice and is the reason for her almost committing suicide. I think that this couple would definitely work in an AU universe or in a later season of TVD (season 7 and maybe IF they have a season 8?) but I don't want Bonnie to forgive him next episode. Maybe like mid season 7 so their relationship is natural, and not completely forced (the current state of Delena since the Nian break up... love Delena but the actor's personal issues are getting in the way of their characters' relationships)
PracticallyCharmed: Thank you so much! And thank you for supporting both of my stories! It means a lot :)