Chapter four

Live a little

"Kassie! Stop it!"

"Stop what, Peter?" she asked innocently, her hazel eyes twinkling with mischief. Kassandra raised her hand and ruffled her little brother's hair again, his blonde hair- the exact shade of Kassandra's- hitting his shoulders.

He pouted and pushed her hand away again. "Stop it, Kassie!" he whined. "Stop it, or- or- I'll tell mother!" His eyes lit up at the threat. Mother always worked as a threat for him, but Kassandra wasn't afraid of any so-called authority figure.

Rolling her eyes, she just mussed up her little brother's hair again. "Oh, mother! I'm so scared, Pete! You've really got me now!" she said sarcastically. "And if you keep calling me 'Kassie,' I'll cut off your hair in your sleep," she added as an afterthought.

Peter pushed his sister away and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why are you so mean to me?" he asked her, pouting.

Kassandra rolled her eyes to him. "You have no right complaining, Peter. This isn't me being mean. Trust me, you would know if I was being mean to you. This is just how I show affection," she told him, making to muss up his hair again. Peter dodged her hand, though.

"If this is you showing affection, I do not want to be there when you're angry," he retorted, and Kassandra smirked.

"No, you wouldn't, Peter," she agreed. "Now, what should we do on our big bonding day?" she asked, smoothing down her wrinkly dress. Then she grabbed her brother's hand and began to walk towards the village. Already, the townspeople were buzzing, trading objects and buying things necessary for survival.

Peter pulled his hand away, embarrassed in case any of his friends saw him holding his sister's hand. "Actually, I was supposed to go with Henrik and his brothers into the woods today. They were going to teach us how to swordfight…" Peter trailed off awkwardly.

Kassandra frowned, eyebrows furrowed. "But… we had plans, Peter. We were supposed to sibling bond today. We haven't spent a day together in forever," she said, disappointment thick in her voice. No matter how embarrassing it would be to admit it, Kassandra had been looking forward to spending time with her little brother.

"I thought that was just something we said to get mother off of our case," Peter said, causing Kassandra to frown even more. Sensing her disappointment, he added, "But we can spend the day together, Kassie, if you really want to. I can tell Henrik to go on without me." But by the way Peter bit his lip and slumped his shoulders in disappointment, he really didn't want to.

Kassandra shook her head. It was fine, no big deal. Of course Peter would rather spend time with Henrik and his big brothers, fighting and doing manly things, than with his big sister. He wasn't a child anymore. It was now considered embarrassing to get caught spending time with your big sister. Still, she was hurt and disappointed. She missed the days where Peter worshiped the ground she walked on, like she had been a goddess. She missed the days when he idolized her. She missed the days where Peter actually wanted to be seen in public with her.

"Go, Pete. Okay? We can spend another day together, right?" Kassandra forced a smile down at her little brother trying her best to pretend that everything was normal.

Peter nodded excitedly, knowing that she was going to let him go. "Are you sure, Kassie?" he asked, though he was already searching for Henrik.

"Yes, Little Man. Now get out of my sight before I change my mind and make you spend the day picking out fabrics for dresses with me," she threatened weakly.

Peter rolled his eyes and then began to walk away. Kassandra watched him go, already planning on what she would do. She pushed all plans with Tatia aside for this day with Peter. Maybe she'd hide out in the woods, so that her mother wouldn't spot her and force her to practice magic with her.

Suddenly, Peter stopped and turned back around. Kassandra frowned and opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing, when he suddenly ran back and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her.

Kassandra softened, a small smile gracing her lips. She mussed Peter's blonde hair one last time before pulling away from him. "Scram, Little Man. I'd hate for you to miss-" her hazel eyes widened at the sight of her brother's face, and her words cut off into a scream.

Peter's blue eyes were blank and empty, glazed over with death. Blood dripped down his face, from every crevice possible. There were visible bite marks on his neck, dripping fresh blood. His arms went slack, and he fell backwards onto the ground.

"Peter!" she screamed, falling to her knees.

"Why did you let the monsters kill me, Kassie?"

Kassandra bolted up in her bed, sweating like crazy and her dead heart beating fast in her chest. Just another nightmare. It was just another stupid fucking nightmare.

She sighed and covered her face with her hands. Her nightmares were starting up again. Once every couple centuries, nightmares would hit her heard, when they were usually just scattered out. Now all Kassandra could do was wait until they were over with- and stock up on coffee, since she wouldn't be getting any sleep for a while.

After lying in bed for what could have been minutes or hours, Kassandra got out of bed and took a long, hot shower. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Peter's lifeless face. She heard his words "Why did you let the monsters kill me, Kassie?" repeated over and over again in her ears, muffled only by the running water.

"Shut up!"

Kassandra startled even herself by her outburst. She was yelling at her dead brother for words he had never said- at least to her face. She was losing her mind. Finally, Kassandra was being driven to insanity.

Even when she got out of the shower, she could still hear the words echoing in her head, over and over again. Why did you let the monsters kill me? Why did you let the monsters kill me? Why did you let the monsters kill me? Kassandra could find no peace. She turned on music- loud, obnoxious music. The kind that made her neighbors knock on walls and yell profanities. Still, the words wouldn't stop running in her head. Her brother's voice wouldn't stop haunting her. He was just another one of her ghosts.

Finally, she had had enough. She needed to get out of her apartment. Kassandra turned off her music and changed into jeans and a plain green long sleeved shirt. It was her favorite because it brought out the green in her eyes.

Kassandra's wavy blonde hair made the back of her shirt wet as she walked through the streets of New York City, buzzing even though it was only six forty-five in the morning. That was why she loved New York City. It was still alive while the rest of the world was dead. It truly was the city that never sleeps.

Her feet found the all too familiar path to a grungy diner that served the best pancakes on planet earth. She considered calling Ruby, but knew that the witch would turn her into a frog if she woke her up before ten o'clock. Besides, the noise of the city had sufficiently blocked out her brother's voice. She'd be fine once she got herself chocolate chip pancakes and coffee.

"Morning, Kassandra," the greasy fry cook who she had secretly nicknamed Bubba in her head said gruffly to her. The diner was the kind of place where the staff knew their regulars by name and took extra special care of them.

"Morning." She nodded to Bubba before walking to her usual booth in the corner and sitting down. A few seconds later, the familiar waitress who snapped her gum loudly, had a sleeve of tattoos, and bright colors in her hair came to her booth to double check that Kassandra wanted her usual.

She loved the diner because everything was safe and familiar. She knew everything and everyone, from the layer of grease on the tiled floor to the bored looking cashier who secretly stuffed twenties into his pocket when he thought no one was looking. She knew all of the fellow patrons there- an elderly couple who talked about their grandchildren constantly, three hungover college students who she had probably served the night before, a trucker with a grizzly beard who checked out the waitress' ass when she walked past him, Elijah, sitting a few booths away from her, nose wrinkled in disgust by the coffee, watching her-

Kassandra started, jumping slightly. So, there was one change in the diner. Elijah. He had never been there before. He wasn't a part of the routine there. She wasn't supposed to see him so soon. Not this week, maybe not even this decade. Yet, there he was, staring at her, eyebrows furrowed slightly. And he remembered her. That was her fault too.

Kassandra sighed before getting out of the booth. She didn't really feel like avoiding Elijah's questioning looks and pretending he wasn't there. So much for routine. She walked over to Elijah's booth and slid in across from him, disrupting the routine of the diner, the normalcy. For all Kassandra knew, she might've put a tear in the space-time continuum. But she doubted sitting in a different booth, talking to an original caused that much trouble. She was just being over-dramatic.

"Kassandra," Elijah said casually, as if he had always known who she was. He took another sip of his coffee before pushing it away in disgust. She smiled slightly.

"Elijah," she greeted. "The coffee sucks here, by the way."

"That much I figured." He raised an eyebrow at her. "If the coffee is less than desirable, why do you come here? By the way everyone reacts to you, you seem to be a regular here."

"For the pancakes," she replied. "This place makes damn good pancakes. I've lived a thousand years, and I've never tasted better pancakes in my life. I come here pretty much every day."

The corner of Elijah's mouth twitched upward in amusement. "For the pancakes," he supplied, brown eyes full of curiosity and amusement.

"Well, definitely not for the staff's winning personalities," Kassandra retorted, gesturing to the glowering cashier, glaring waitress, and scary looking fry cook.

Elijah smiled a full-blown smile. "I don't think you should be judging them, Kassandra," he told her, and she decided absentmindedly that she loved the way he said her name, the way his accent wrapped around it, making it sound better, fancier than it was.

She just shrugged. "At least I can make a decent cup of coffee," she muttered.

"Not to forget your winning personality," Elijah added, eyes twinkling with amusement.

Kassandra grinned despite herself, as the waitress with the tattoos delivered her pancakes and terrible coffee. She was slightly amazed at how easy it was to have a decent conversation with Elijah about nothing at all. She had never really come across another person who possessed that trait. She remembered him to be an honorable man, aloof yet still charming. It had to be that charm of his. Kassandra possessed about as much charm as the bottom of her shoe.

She stabbed a square of pancake, transferred it into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. The pancakes were like heaven to her taste buds. She had never tasted anything better in her life. Elijah watched her curiously as she devoured half her pancakes before raising an eyebrow back at him and pushing her plate towards him.

"Have a bite," she said, but he was already shaking his head.

Kassandra fake pouted. "Come on, Elijah. Live a little. Share a plate of pancakes with a girl you haven't seen in a thousand years," she said.

He hesitated and she sighed. "It really must get tiring, being so boring all the time," she said innocently with a devilish smirk. Elijah couldn't help but chuckle. She and Kol would get along just fine, he was sure of it.

He gave in and ate a small square of pancake. Kassandra was right, of course. Those were the best pancakes he had ever tasted. Now he knew why she came to this dreary, dirty diner.

Kassandra smirked to herself and pulled her plate back to her. He didn't need to say anything- she knew she was right. He loved them.

"Best damn pancakes in New York City," she murmured to herself as she finished off her breakfast.

When she was done, the waitress cleared away her plate. Kassandra looked back to Elijah, eyebrows furrowed slightly. She could go back to her apartment and listen to her little brother's voice in her head, or she could spend some more time with the original.

On a complete whim, Kassandra asked, "What are you doing today?"

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Nothing, I suppose. Why do you ask?"

"Wanna take a walk down memory lane with me?"

He thought for a few moments, Kassandra's earlier words coming back to him. Live a little. "Why not?" he said eventually.

Kassandra grinned as she got out of the booth and then paid for her meal. As she walked out of the diner, Elijah at her side, the fry cook called, "Goodbye, Kassandra."

"Later, Bubba," she replied without a thought as Elijah held the door open for her.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Bubba?" he asked curiously.

She shrugged. "I think his real name's Howard or something."

Elijah chuckled again. "You are a strange girl, Kassandra," he told her.

She shrugged again. "I've been called worse."

~SYH~

A/N: thank you to: SomebodyWhoCares, Katherine Sparrow, Lady Wesker, and Belinda for reviewing!

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~Abby :)