Chapter Five
Hello! Here's another chapter and I don't know what else to say except thank you, as always, for the reviews/favourites/alerts :D Oh – read my author's note at the end, please!
Disclaimer – I do not own the Vampire Diaries but I do own Teagan.
I hated Mystic Falls. I loathed the people, disliked the lack of entertainment, and completely abhorred the council that was apparently two-faced in dealing with vampires and werewolves. Rebekah had decided that going to high school was the best idea since sliced bread, but I downright refused. With her going to school with Stefan, it meant I didn't have to face the completely horrifying reality of everything. Of course, Damon was too old for school.
"Look who finally decided to show herself," he commented dryly as I got out of my car, parked as close to the door as possible. Rolling my eyes, I shut the door and twirled my keys around my fingers.
"I've been gone for an hour – hardly cause for alarm," I bit back, waltzing past him and into the house with ease. He snorted and came up behind me, uncomfortably close. I did not move, waiting for the big reveal of his intentions. He was too pathetically in love with Elena to flirt with me, so I was curious.
"There's lots about you that I can't figure out . . . but only one thing that's really bothering me," he hissed into my ear. I found it amusing that he was trying to intimidate me when I could crush him in a split second. All the same, I let him think he had the upper hand, just for kicks.
"And that would be?" I asked in a low tone, twirling around to look him directly in those lovely blue eyes of his. I could not deny the attractiveness of Damon Salvatore, with his black hair and pale skin, but I had more interest in Stefan. Maybe the elder Salvatore wasn't the only one pathetically in love with someone in the house.
"If you're an Original, why was Rebekah so worried about you being barbequed? After all, Originals can't die that easily." I refused to show fear or trepidation, instead pulling a sly smirk over my lips and watching him falter the tiniest bit. He was playing my game and I wasn't about to let him cheat his way to winning.
"Some things are better left unsaid," I replied, picking up a glass of blood I liked to assume was for me and purposefully walking towards the stairwell. Damon did not give up so easily, always needing the last word. Not even a week had passed and I already had him all figured out.
"I think you're full of crap. You're not an Original and I'm going to find out just why you're important to Klaus, of all people." Swallowing thickly, I turned round and let my vulnerability show for the second it was necessary.
"That's where you're wrong, Damon. I'm not important to Klaus . . . I don't think I ever was." With that, I made for the stairs and successfully made it to the room next to Rebekah's, flopping on the bed. There were no questionable sounds from Damon and I slowly ignored any other noise aside from my own breathing.
Obviously, he had worked out that I wasn't an Original and he thought that had given him leverage for Klaus. As I'd pointed out, I was no longer important to the man I'd once considered my brother. The only person I was important to was Rebekah, and her loyalty lay primarily with Klaus. I was second choice, once again.
My emptied glass crashed into the wall, crystal pieces scattering across the wooden floors. I just watched the mess with a deep frown and an irately curled lip. I didn't move for hours, not until Rebekah came back from school, trading savage insults with Damon, then came up the stairs. All the while, she was holding a conversation with someone on the phone.
"This is a bad idea, but obviously you're missing the part of your brain that makes reasonable decisions – especially with Teagan," she snapped as she entered my room, throwing a bag down near the door. I watched with interest and a thick feeling in my throat as Rebekah first looked at the smashed glass then at me. "I don't think now is the best time," she told the person on the phone. I didn't know why I continued to deny who it was.
"Put her on, Rebekah," Klaus' voice ordered and my blonde sister grudgingly handed over the device. I stared at the state-of-the-art phone in my hand for several long seconds, looking at the name 'Nik' on the screen and remembering the last time I had called him that – both out loud and in my head.
"What could you possibly have to say to me?" I asked blandly, though I was genuinely curious. After everything, I knew he wouldn't say sorry. So, what else was there?
"How about: I'm glad you're alive?" he answered bitingly and I chewed my lip in irritation. "It would have been pleasant to know before now."
"Then you shouldn't have gotten rid of me," I responded easily, my normal sarcasm missing its mark due to the other emotions swirling inside my chest and the thoughts tumbling through my head. I could feel Klaus rolling his eyes wherever he was.
"Why don't we put the past behind us, sweetheart? Everyone makes mistakes." Whilst that was the closest Klaus would ever get to a genuine apology, I would not be accepting the request, no matter how much of an order it was. I scoffed to prove it.
"There are many issues in the present that would contest the stability of that suggestion. For example, where is Elijah? And what is happening to Stefan? Just why is Rebekah keeping me far away from your precious Elena, who was all too ready to kill me?" I questioned, the arguments springing to mind with the accuracy of well-shot arrows. Even if I was to forget that he daggered Kol and Rebekah, then told me I was not his family and then abandoned me, he still had lots to answer for. A heavy sigh came from him.
"Teagan, I understand your anger over these things-." I snapped.
"No, you DON'T! Funnily enough, Klaus, despite your many problems with inner demons, the only ones suffering are those around you! These things do not happen to you, you make them happen to other people. You disgust me, you arrogant, selfish dick. Find me if you will, kill me if you wish – but I am leaving Mystic Falls because I do not want to see you ever again," I growled before hurtling the phone at the wall. Only Rebekah's quick reflexes stopped her expensive device smashing to little pieces.
"You can't leave, Teagan," she said in a pleading voice as I went about packing the small amount I'd decided to unpack. I ignored her desperation in favour of getting the hell out of dodge and avoiding Klaus for as long as possible. He did not favour those that disrespected him and I had done that and more with my miniature rant. I had no wish to see the outcome of such rash statements and, when I was fully packed, I turned to look at my sister.
"I love you, Bekah, I always will. You are my big sister, I promise, and I'll keep in touch – but I . . . I can't see him again." I didn't want to outwardly admit that Klaus had broken me but the truth was that he had. I didn't wear my rings anymore because they reminded me of the family I had once had and, by the looks of things, never would again. Rebekah seemed to understand immediately, no questions asked.
"Take care of yourself, Teagan. I'll miss you," she whispered into my ear as I was pulled into a tight hug. I grasped back tightly in an effort to take in as much affection as possible. I knew she was loyal to the point of no return when it came to Klaus and I would not be second choice, not again. Stefan had chosen. Rebekah had chosen. Klaus had chosen. None of those choices were me and, as I drove away from Mystic Falls with angry tears staining my cheeks and clouding my vision, I despaired silently.
XXX
The world was a lonely place. Everywhere I went, I always witnessed people that were alone. I wondered what their stories were, if they had family, if they were meeting someone or they just sat by themselves on that bench in that park as a routine. I wondered if they enjoyed the solitude or they wanted desperately to talk to someone, anyone. Large chunks of the previous ninety years had been spent being the former – but leaving Mystic Falls and Rebekah made me transform to the latter.
I texted her every day and answered her calls whenever she called me. For two weeks, I drove hundreds of miles over state lines and through multiple cities and towns. For the first time in a very long time, I felt the true misery of loneliness. I hated it.
I was in Milwaukee the day before the exact two week mark, seriously considering travelling to Chicago to revisit old spots and relive golden memories that should probably stay locked away, when I received another phone call. The caller ID told me it was Rebekah and, needing her to potentially talk me out of a disastrous situation, I answered it quickly.
"Chicago: good or bad idea?" I asked before chewing my lip and analysing the map I'd spread across the front of my car. I really needed to put fuel in the car otherwise I'd be walking wherever I planned on going and I was attempting to find the nearest station.
"I don't think it could go any worse than your visit to Mystic Falls." My haste to straighten up caused the map to slip off the car and my back twinge in what could be considered discomfort. That was not my sister's voice.
"Elijah?" I breathed in disbelief. Very pleased that there was no one around to see the loss of control, a blinding grin lit up my face when I received a noise of confirmation. "Is that really you?" I demanded warily, concerned over what tricks Klaus would be willing to pull in order to punish me for my insolence.
"Do you wish me to relay to you the events of summer 1912?" he checked and, laughing elatedly, I picked the map up and tossed it through the open side window of my car. "Rebekah has informed me – in gruelling detail – what occurred the last time she saw you," he told me and my lips twitched in annoyance. I knew Rebekah would tell him, it was the reliving of the memory that irked me.
"I suppose the almighty hybrid won't discuss it?" I questioned, already knowing the answer. Elijah's sigh gave it away anyway.
"Niklaus is very stiff on the subject, though I believe that is out of shame, rather than anger at you." I laughed mockingly, the very idea seeming ridiculous. "Teagan, you underestimate Klaus. He truly values his family."
"You sound like you are rehearsing a speech," I pointed out, twisting so that I was half seated on the hood of the car. I watched the sun hang overhead and wondered vaguely if my sunglasses were near the top of one of my bags.
"I have concocted a plan with Damon and Stefan to un-dagger the rest of our family," he informed me and my head tilted to the side, eyes narrowing in sudden suspicion.
"What happened to Rebekah?" I asked, dread filling my very core. Elijah's silence was very revealing and I closed my eyes in painful denial.
"Elena daggered her on the night of the Homecoming dance. Niklaus has seen to it that she remains in that state and I found the details of your experiences in her phone, ready for someone to find." I had to grin at Rebekah's devious behaviour. Then my anger kicked me in the gut.
"That doppelganger bitch killed Rebekah!? Does she have it in for us or something?" I demanded loudly, thankful there was no one around to hear my conversation. Elijah sighed once more and I pictured him pinching the bridge of his nose.
"The Salvatore brothers and I will bring her back, make no mistake. Then we will leave Niklaus to the loneliness he so deserves. I called to inform you of such a plan, and to ask you to join us." I smiled weakly, crossing my ankles.
"You want me to return to Mystic Falls?" I asked hesitantly, not particularly wanting to go back to the place that had destroyed so much in so little time. And the involvement of Stefan was yet another complication, given I could not forget the dead stare he had given me. I did not know why he saved me only to reject me so coldly, but I had no care to find out. The Stefan I knew was gone.
"Only temporarily, to ease the transition. Finn will want to meet you," Elijah responded and it was my turn to sigh deeply as I ran my free hand down the left side of my face. My lip felt abused as I consistently bit it in thought, frantically flicking through the pros and cons of the situation. Of course, I knew from the second Elijah asked what my response would be. I just had to check some things.
"This isn't some sort of cruel trick, is it? Klaus isn't luring me back to Mystic Falls?" I asked suspiciously, as was my nature. Elijah, who knew full well what my feelings were on being second choice and being abandoned, immediately soothed my concerns.
"He has done far too much damage to be forgiven, Teagan. I assure you that I am being entirely sincere, and the others will not be very forgiving either," he argued softly and I felt eased. Rebekah would be screaming with rage – both at Elena and at Klaus – Finn would be truly irate, especially having missed so much, and Kol would be positively murderous.
"I cannot be back in Mystic Falls until tomorrow," I said, glowering at my fuel-lacking vehicle and considering whether it would make it as far as a service station.
"That will do nicely. The plan will take place tonight – I will make sure we are ready for your arrival. I assure you that you cannot miss the house that Niklaus has constructed." I gave a derisive snort at the thought of Klaus is his large, fancy mansion under the delusion he was safe and secure.
"Then I will see you soon," I responded before hanging up and quickly getting into the car. The engine revved reassuringly and I sped towards the spot the map had informed me was the nearest station. Kol was finally going to be awake! The euphoria from that thought was uncontainable and I let out a small trill of excitement at finally seeing my brother once more.
It had been so long since I had seen him, even his coffin, and I could not wait to be just encased in his arms once more. We could finally get up to our old tricks again, Elijah would get mad at all the havoc we caused, and Kol would tell me that I would find someone better than Stefan to occupy my affections. Then he would let me choose some victims.
True to my word, I didn't make it back to Mystic Falls until the next day due to several complications. What awaited me there was not what I had been led to believe would be waiting.
Definitely not what I expected.
So, I'm thinking of writing a few AU one shots that have both Teagan and Lissa in them (my OC from I'm Gonna Be Strong – which I hope to update soon). What do you think? Teagan and Lissa in a different, AU universe? Let me know and I'll see you all in a week! PS – Kol and Teagan reunite in the next chapter :D Love, Bianca :) x