A/N - You guys are amazing, and I love you all. THANK YOU!
Next story I'll be updating is FFF, as I have a whole bunch of unhappy reviewers over there who are incredibly patient with me and my quite frankly APPALLING updating. Either that or they've given up on me, I don't know. Anyway, I'll try and update after that, I promise!
Disclaimer - I own a box set of S1-4 of TVD, which I watched this morning (3x14 is my favourite episode ever, followed by 5x11) and emotionally (and loudly) rediscovered my love for Klaroline. Unfortunately, I don't own the right to make them get together ASAP :(
Elena arrived in New Orleans in the evening, after a long train journey in which she was forced to share a compartment with a acne-covered teenage boy absorbed in his phone, a couple of aging hippies and an overweight man who smelt strongly of cigarettes. She shuddered as the train stopped and she could finally move away from her strange group of travelling companions.
Dragging her small pull-a-long suitcase down the high street, she sighed, and gave into the hunger that'd been nagging at her since lunchtime. She ducked into a small bar on the corner, and dumped her bag on the floor next to a seat at the counter, sighing loudly as the weight left her hands. Several people looked over in her direction at this, but she didn't care. Let them stare if they wanted.
"Hey," the blonde bartender asked Elena as she seated herself and ran a aching hand through her pin-straight locks. Now there was something she could do while she was here; maybe try something new with her hair.
"Hi, could I get a plate of fries and a martini please?" Asked Elena. She didn't care right now how bad it was for her or how odd a request it was, only about her growing hunger.
The barmaid seemed unfazed, however, and wrote down the request without complaint.
"Thanks, 'Camille'," Elena read her name-tag, and smiled. "That's a really pretty name."
"Most people call me 'Cami', but thank you. And you are..."
"Elena."
Cami smiled. "Your own name is really nice. It suits you."
"Thank you."
"So what brings you out here?" Cami asked, gesturing towards the suitcase at Elena's feet.
"I'm actually looking for a friend of mine. I've been told he lives here now. His name's Elijah." Elena stirred her martini with the olive cocktail stick, and looked up at Cami.
"Elijah Mikaelson. Now there's a name no one forgets in a hurry," Cami replied, wiping down the counter. "He comes here quite a lot, actually. Him and his brother Klaus."
"Oh?" Elena snapped her head back up from where it had been fixed on her plate.
"Yeah," Cami said absent-mindedly. "They live in the big house down the road, through the big archway. You can't miss it."
"Thank you," Elena replied gratefully. She finished up her food and saying goodbye to Cami, headed out the doorway, groaning when she was reminded just how heavy her suitcase was, and tugged it up the street.
She approached the large archway, and frowned when she heard music coming from the area Cami had indicated. This couldn't possibly be where quiet, serious Elijah was living, nor Klaus, who wouldn't be able to have a party without brutally slaughtering at least half the guests.
Of course, she was proven wrong.
Walking through the archway Cami had mentioned, Elena stopped to take in her surroundings. The courtyard in front of her was crowded with people dancing, while a dark-skinned man she didn't recognized observed everything from a balcony above. She watched as a young brunette attempted to pull him downstairs to dance, and he gave in with a smirk, grabbing her and jumping down to the floor below with such a grace that Elena knew he must be a vampire, and a powerful one at that. She spotted other people (who presumed must also be vampires) leaning over the railing with bottles of scotch held tight by the necks, and more sitting subtly at the sides gorging on blood straight from what Elena gathered must be servants, from their matching white blouses and black skirts.
She knew that going into this party would be a big mistake. She was sure everyone here was a vampire, or at least knew of them, and a human walking straight into a vampire party was never a good idea. But if Elijah was here, she would have to take that risk.
So she picked up her suitcase handle again, and tried to maneuver her way through the sea of moving bodies. She was almost halfway through the crowd when she heard a voice coming from her left.
"Psst!"
She turned her head to see a short girl with long dark hair and expressive blue-grey eyes standing next to her, except that before she knew it, she was standing in an alcove at the side with both the girl and her suitcase.
"What di you just do-" Elena started, but the girl cut her off.
"You shouldn't be here. Nearly everyone at this party is a vampire, it would be so easy for you to get hurt."
"What's stopping you?" Elena asked.
"I'm Marcel's personal witch, no one's allowed to hurt me and they won't, for fear of losing favour with him." She smiled. "You must be new to town. I'm Davina Claire."
"Elena Gilbert," Elena replied. "So, do you know who lives here?"
Davina laughed. "Everyone knows who lives here, Elena. Marcel and I and the Old Ones. Oh, and that girl...her name keeps slipping my mind."
Elena smiled at looked out at the party. Now that she was looking, she could see the details, like how Kol could be seen in one corner of the courtyard sandwiched between two girls as he danced, while Elijah was standing by a table talking to a young couple, dressed in his signature suit. Even Finn was out on the dance floor as far away from his little brother as he could be, twirling that redheaded girlfriend of his around.
She turned back to Davina. "I'm sorry," she told Davina, "but I really need to talk to Elijah about something important."
"I'll come with you then," Davina offered, and Elena frowned. "Look, I won't listen in on your conversation; I don't have vampire hearing. I'm just saying that no one will hurt you if you walk with me."
Elena shrugged. "Okay, fine."
Slipping between the dancers, Elena kept her eyes trained on Elijah's head. She was almost there when she was distracted by a large group cheering by the stairs.
"What's going on?" She hissed to Davina.
Davina smiled and shook her head. "Oh, that'll be-"
She was cut off as Klaus emerged from the crowd, continuing down the stairs. There was a large grin on his face like nothing she'd even seen before. He looked... Happy, like a man who had everything in life. And as he moved, she suddenly realized that Caroline was with him, with her arm hooked through his like it was meant to be there.
Elena looked at her friend; really looked at her. She never would've guessed that Caroline of all people would fall for Klaus and all his big bad hybrid glory, but she had, and Elena had to say, she'd never seen Caroline look so happy with a guy. Not even with Matt, who had to be the sweetest person Elena knew. She watched as Caroline smoothed down her mid-length aubergine-coloured dress with her free hand, and said something to Klaus.
"Please?" Caroline asked, giving Klaus her best doe eyes.
"I don't trust most of these people," he answered. "It's not safe for you. Someone could kidnap you and use you against me, or hurt you."
Caroline rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine. Besides, Sophie's a witch: she can protect me. And I am a vampire, I'm not entirely defenseless."
Klaus growled in defeat. "Okay, fine. But I want you back in ten minutes. You owe me a dance."
"Of course." Caroline closed the gap between them to kiss his cheek softly and grin at him. "I wouldn't miss it."
"You are totally whipped, my friend." The man next to him teased, watch the blonde flounce away from him and his smile as he reached up to touch his cheek.
"Marcellus," Klaus warned. "Unless you want me to start commenting on your non-existing relationship with Camille, I suggest you shut up."
Marcel did as he was told. He would still have time to tease his sire later, after all.
After Caroline joined a small group of girls near the bar, it wasn't long before she started scanning the crowds for her youngest witch friend. Of course, she also caught sight of someone else while she was at it.
"Elena?" She squealed, squeezing through the crowd to where her best friend was standing. Oh, I can't believe it's you!" She threw her arms around Elena, and Elena sunk into the hug. She had missed her best friend.
"I was looking for...you," Elena lied. She would let her friend in on her plan, but not yet.
Caroline grinned. "I'm here." Then she spied Elena's suitcase by her feet. "Are you staying? You are going to love it here, it's going to be so awesome!" She threw her arms around Elena and hugged her tight. Elena relaxed her arms around her friends's slender frame, and smiled. She had missed Caroline. Bonnie was lovely, but she had missed the cheerful bubbly whirlwind that was the blonde vampire in front of her.
"I know the perfect bedroom for you," Caroline told her, Davina already levitating her suitcase up to the balcony from the courtyard. "It used to be mine, but I moved into Nik's room two weeks ago. You'll be right down the hall."
"From... Klaus?" Elena said cautiously. She didn't know how she felt about that.
"From me," Caroline corrected. "It'll be okay. In fact, I'm going to stay with you, I think."
She turned to Elena. "I'm going to let Nik know. Do you want to join Rebekah or Elijah for now? I think 'Bekah's by the bar."
"Sure," Elena shrugged. "You know, you can stay where you are, if you want. You don't have to stay with me just because I'm here."
"I want to," Caroline said firmly. "You're my best friend, and he gets to see me everyday. He's got to learn to stop being so clingy. Don't bother waiting for me; this might take a while. He might need...persuading."
Elena rolled her eyes. "Uh, Care...too much information."
Caroline winked at her friend, and flounced off to Klaus, who was talking in the corner with the man on the balcony Elena had seen earlier. She sighed, and headed to the bar.
"Can I get some shots please?" She requested, and then scanned the crowded courtyard wearily.
"Do you mind if I join?" Asked an accented voice, as the female Mikaelson looked up to see who she would be sharing drinks with.
"Elena? What the hell are you doing here?"
Elena sighed. She so did not need this right now. "It's a long story."
"Well, has Davina spelled you? You're not safe here, or do you still have that annoying habit of trying to sacrifice yourself for everyone else? I assure you, neither my brothers nor I mean you or your little friends any harm. Or is this about Caroline? Even you must know that he cares for her, he doesn't exactly make a secret of it-"
"Why do you care?" Elena wondered aloud, throwing back her first shot. "You hate me."
"I do," she agreed. "But unfortunately my brother for some reason seems to hold you in high regard, and no matter how much I'd love to rip your heart out, he'd never forgive me if anything happened to the doppelganger. So consider yourself lucky."
She drank two in quick succession. "So you're staying in Caroline's old room?"
"I think so."
Rebekah snorted. "I've come to think of Caroline as a sister, so let me give you some advice. Let me show you around first. There's a reason my brothers and I tend to keep away from Nik's rooms."
Elena frowned. "Why?"
Rebekah cringed. "Let's just say that he and Caroline like spending a lot of quality time together. Unfortunately, they're quite loud about it, and those of us who have vampire hearing don't want to know. At least Finn and Sage have the decency to be quiet about it, but then my middle brother has never been a decent sort."
Elena grimaced. "Thanks for the warning."
Rebekah slid the last shot to Elena. "Well, I may hate you, but even I wouldn't offer you the chance to stay somewhere more suited for us lonely souls away from my brother and his loved-up fairy-tale romance. You'll see. They seem adorable now, but they get sickly sweet after a while."
Elena wasn't sure, but she thought she could detect a hint of jealously in her tone.
"I should phone home. Check everyone's okay and all," she motioned to the phone-sized bulge in her jacket pocket, and Rebekah nodded.
"Go ahead," she said, adjusting her necklace, which Elena recognized as the one Stefan had given her all that time ago. It felt like another lifetime. "I get it. You have priorities."
Elena felt bad for leaving Rebekah, especially when they were getting on so well for once, but she slipped into a corner and pulled out her phone.
"Hey Bonnie?" She said, frowning. "Why did we come up with this idea? This is crazy."
"It definitely sounds crazy," came Bonnie's familiar soft tone down the line. "What's going on there?"
"Oh, you know..." Elena looked round at the party and realized the noise would definitely travel down the phone. "New Orleans likes to party."
"Ooo..." Bonnie laughed. "Are they there?"
"Yes, but so far I've only bumped into Rebekah. Oh, and Bonnie?" She added. "We can't use Klaus."
"Klaus is there?" Bonnie asked.
"Yeah, and he's strutting around like he freakin' owns the place. Knowing him he probably does."
"And Caroline?"
"Seriously, Bonnie, I've seen them for five seconds, and you'd think they were married. He can't take his eyes off her." Elena glanced over to Klaus and Caroline talking near the bar. "Caroline's already offered me the room down the hall from her and 'Nik'."
"Wow." Bonnie blurted. "Well, I guess they're stuck for life then. But he wasn't our first choice anyway."
"This is good news," Elena agreed. "I didn't want it to be him anyway, and he and Caroline are like, soul-mates or something. Two birds, one stone."
"It's like a mansion here," she heard herself say. "It's huge. Why don't you come down? There's more than enough room."
"'Lena, I can't just come down there and demand to stay. They're thousand-year-old predators, I can't just crash their house."
"Elena smirked. "Kol is here,"
"Is he now?" Bonnie tried to keep the interest out of her voice.
"Yep." She glanced over to where Kol was laughing, his hands on the back of his head, as he excused himself to the three women he was dancing with and headed over to join Rebekah at the bar. "I can see him right now."
Bonnie huffed. "Fine, I'll come." Elena smiled victoriously, but Bonnie hadn't finished. "I'll come in a month."
"A month? I can't stay here a month! What if Stefan and Da-"
"They can't find you. I'm the only one who knows and the only witch they know, so you're covered. As far as they know, you're on holiday. Just call Damon, tell him you've gone to visit distance family in Ohio, and you'll be fine."
"Okay, okay."
"Much as I would love to come now, it'll be really suspicious if the two of us just turn up here. Wait a while, and then I can come visit."
"Fine," she pouted. "I miss you."
"You too, Elena. Keep me updated!"
"I will." She disconnected the call and looked up to see Kol's honey-brown eyes staring at her from across the courtyard. Rebekah must have told him that she was here.
Damn.
She looked down and shoved her phone back into her pocket, stalking off to grab a champagne glass, and bumping into a red-headed woman who she vaguely recognized.
The woman peered at her for a second. "Do I know you?"
"No," Elena squeaked, hurrying away to find Caroline, who was, to Elena's dismay, still talking to Klaus.
"Please?" She heard Caroline say in a voice covered with maple syrup and sugar as she approached the two. "I'll do anything."
"Anything?" Klaus asked, grinning devilishly at her.
"You know, if Elena is here, I'll be happy," she flirted, but Klaus's eyes widened, and he looked at her, concern etched on his handsome features.
"I thought you were happy here. Am I wrong? Do you want to leave?" It was clear that he was worried about her answer.
"No, it's not like that. Of course I'm happy here. I just... Miss my friends. I love Rebekah like a sister, but Elena's known me since we were in kindergarten together, and I've never been away from her for so long before."
Klaus looked into her eyes, bright with emotion, and softened. "If this will make you happy love, then she can stay here, for however long you both want. I doubt Elijah will complain once he hears about our guest," he joked, and Caroline threw her arms around him and hugged his chest. "I love you, Nik."
"And I love you, Caroline," he told her, breaking away from her. " But you still owe me a debt!" He called as he walked away.
"I won't forget!" Caroline laughed, spotting Elena arriving next to her. "He said yes!" She cried, hugging her friend.
"So I heard," Elena replied, putting her arms around Caroline, and shutting her eyes. She was to stay in a French-styled mansion, with her best friend and her boyfriend and her boyfriend's family of Original vampires, in a supernatural town full of werewolves, vampires and witches.
God help her.
So I just realized I never mentioned my lovely reviewers so far (you guys are amazing!): Butterfly13, beverlie4055, KevinH1997, kristin, beverly, RedRaven1888, Abigail Mikaelson, Ella1983, Too hard to be called Love, Bryanna, Vampireluver, bulldozed88, Amaterasu1969, Guest, stephanie, siberia21, Blonde4ever, Guest, chiwi-luv and erevin!
I'm now on 29 favourites and 48 follows. Woah, you guys are amazing, and I love you all!
To Blonde4ever: I really miss Katherine too! She was just a way more interesting, sassy and just downright more awesome character than Elena. I used to watch the show for her and for the whole Quetsiyah/Silas/Amara drama, because Silas was just amazing... and then they died... and then they killed off Katherine... so now the only reason I really watch it is for Steroline (their friendship is way too cute), because every second scene nowadays is full of Delena drama, and I'm more of a Elejah/Stelena shipper. So basically right now I prefer The Originals, because that family are just way too attractive for their own good :) Thank you for reviewing!
And in response to Amaterasu1969: I totally agree with you! I know loads of people out there ship Halijah, but I've never been one of those people. Elejah, definitely always and forever! I'm glad you feel the same! :)