Chapter twelve

Belief in love

"Don't be like that, Kassandra," Jackson sighed as Kassandra pushed past people, ignoring their glares and curses. She didn't want to even be in the same club as the asshole following her.

"It's been two years!" he shouted after her. "Are you really going to hold a grudge on me forever?"

"Rot in hell, you disgusting douche-dick," she shouted after him, over the loud, pulsing music.

She slammed the drinks on the table when she made it back to Ruby. Her best friend raised an eyebrow at her. "What's wrong, Kass?" she asked, slightly concerned that she would vamp out from all the anger coursing through her at that moment.

She took a deep breath, running a hand over her face. "Jackson's here."

Ruby sighed. "Well, this night's ruined," she said.

"You think?" Kassandra shot back, tossing her drink back, the alcohol doing nothing to calm her down.

Ruby silently handed Kassandra her drink. "What'd he say to you?" she asked curiously, eyes scanning over the wall of bodies separating their booth and the bar.

"He had the nerve to act like we were friends, like he hadn't singlehandedly destroyed any belief I still held in love," she muttered. "God, I hate him. No, I loathe him. Why haven't I drained him dry yet, Ruby? Why haven't you cast any of your witchy voodoo on him? Why haven't we done the world a favor and ended his terrible, horrific life?"

"You know why, Kass," Ruby said with a sigh. "I just can't believe he's here. I thought he moved to Miami or someplace down south."

"Apparently not," Kassandra said, slamming the martini glass down on the table and putting several cracks in the glass.

"I need to get out of here, Ruby," she said now, running a hand through her hair. "I can't stay here now, knowing that testa di merda is here."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "I don't even want to know what you just called him in Spanish," she said.

"Italian," she said, the corner of her mouth flickering up slightly. "You can stay if you want, Ruby. I don't want to ruin your night."

But she was already shaking her head. "No way. Nu-uh. I'm not staying here with that mofo walking around. We can just go rent a movie, alright? Girls Night In."

"Fine," Kassandra said, nodding in agreement. "But I'm not watching The Notebook, or A Walk To Remember or Dear John or anything based on a Nicholas Sparks book."

"Fine," Ruby said, sliding out of the booth. "I'll just make you watch Casablanca. That's not a Nicholas Sparks book."

Kassandra made a face, as the two friends walked out of the noisy club. Her thoughts were already drifting away from Jackson. And, with enough alcohol, she might manage to forget about him that night.

~SYH~

Ruby was asleep on Kassandra's couch by the time the credits on the movie rolled. Kassandra shut the TV off and threw a blanket over her friend. She was debating whether or not to go to bed too, when she decided that taking a walk would clear her mind. Because, unfortunately, Jackson was still on hers.

Kassandra was wearing a tank top and shorts, but she pulled on a sweatshirt before walking out of her apartment. She wasn't sure where she'd go, but she wasn't really concerned either. She'd just walk in whatever direction her feet would take her.

It was lightly raining as Kassandra walked down the wet streets of the city. There were still people out and about, though a lot of them were drunk and not wearing much clothing. She didn't even want to know what time it was.

"Hey, Gorgeous!" a young man cat called her, looking drunk as he swayed on unsteady legs. His friends were snickering, looking just as drunk as him.

Kassandra just rolled her eyes and kept walking. Drunk jackasses were the least of her worries. Besides, she was 50 times their age.

"Aw, don't be like that, sweetheart!" he yelled, a sloppy smirk on his lips. "Come on, join us. We'll have a lot of fun together!"

Kassandra turned around and flashed him a glimpse of her vampire face. Red eyes, long fangs. That'd be enough to frighten any jackass looking for some action. His eyes widened, full of fear, and he stumbled away from her.

"Oh my God!" he screamed as Kassandra walked away, smug with herself. She didn't doubt that he'd think he'd imagined it tomorrow. Hell, he might've been doing drugs along with getting drunk. You never knew these days.

Kassandra hadn't been completely conscious of her own steps. So, it was to her complete surprise when she found herself in front of Elijah's door. Her eyebrows furrowed. How had she made it into the elevator and up to the sixth floor without realizing where she was going, what she was doing?

Kassandra made to walk away from the door, but then she stopped herself. Without really thinking, she knocked on Elijah's door. Obnoxiously, to the point where even if he was sleeping, he'd wake up.

The door opened, and Elijah frowned at her. "Kassandra? What are you doing here?" he asked. "It's two thirty in the morning."

It was two thirty in the morning, but he hadn't been sleeping. She could tell. He was still in dress pants and a slightly wrinkled button up shirt, the first couple buttons popped open. He didn't look annoyed to see her, merely curious and confused.

Kassandra shrugged. "It's just- it hasn't been a great night for me," she admitted. "So I'm here. Can I come in, or are you busy?"

Elijah shook his head. "No, come in," he said, opening the door wider for her. She walked in, feeling self-conscious about her appearance for half a second, but it was half a second too long. Her clothes were damp and wrinkled. Her blonde hair was messy and frizzy and up high in a ponytail. Her makeup was very messy and probably all over her face. She shouldn't have cared, though.

That was a bad sign, caring about her appearance in front of Elijah. She made a mental note to never tell Ruby that. It would only fuel her argument that her "friends with benefits" situation would blow up in her face.

"What's wrong, Kassandra?" he asked her as she sat down on his couch. "What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

Kassandra shook her head. "I don't mind," she said. And, strangely, she didn't. "Nothing, really. It's just- this jackass I used to date is back in town. I ran into him tonight, which was supposed to be Girls Night Out with Ruby. It totally ruined the night, and now I'm just… on edge. I don't even like being in the same city as him."

Elijah frowned as he sat down across from Kassandra. "Did he break your heart?" he asked her.

Kassandra smirked humorlessly at him. "I don't let people break my heart," she told him dryly. Then she sighed and ran her hands over her face. She was tired. Not physically, but mentally. Emotionally. She nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, yeah he did. He broke my heart," she admitted.

Elijah ducked his head. "Did you love him?" he asked, not sure why he was so curious of the man that broke Kassandra's heart. He also wasn't sure why hearing her talk about this nameless man angered him. Was he upset that a man had hurt Kassandra? Or was he upset that she had clearly fallen for him? Or was it both?

Kassandra shrugged. "I'm not sure, really," she said honestly. "I don't believe in love, Elijah. Especially after Jackson."

So Jackson was his name. Elijah would be sure to remember that. "I don't either, Kassandra," he told her.

She looked up, surprised. "Really?" she asked. "But- you were in love with Tatia."

That was the first time Tatia was ever brought up between them. Kassandra's ex-best friend. Elijah's infatuation. It caused an awkward feeling between them. He nodded. "Which is exactly why I choose not to believe in love," he said. "How well did it all turn out last time?"

Elijah was reminded of a conversation he had had with Katarina, when she was still human. He had admitted to not believing in love to her. If we cease to believe in love, why would we want to live? She had replied.

Elijah admitted to not completely understanding her words then. But looking at Kassandra, he thought he understood what Katarina had said a bit more than before.

"I'm not gonna tell you what Jackson did to me," Kassandra told him suddenly. "At least, not tonight. Not right now."

"That's fine, Kassandra," Elijah said with a nod. "You may tell me what happened whenever you would like to."

Looking at Elijah, Kassandra felt even more unsteady, more lost. Seeing Jackson again had shaken her up severely. It had made the scars burn more. Seeing Jackson made Kassandra want nothing to do with love ever again.

So, as if to mock love, Kassandra jumped up and threw her arms around Elijah's neck, her lips crashing down on his. Maybe if she slept with him, she'd feel better. She'd feel steady and she wouldn't be lost. Everything would be better with sex.

Her fingers had already unbuttoned half of the buttons on his shirt before he pushed her hand away. Elijah pulled free from Kassandra, and she frowned at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Elijah shook his head. "Not tonight, Kassandra," he told her.

"What do you mean, 'not tonight?'" she demanded, her frown deepening.

He sighed. "We're not having sex tonight," he clarified.

Kassandra blinked, rejection stinging her. "Ouch," she muttered under her breath, standing up and moving away from him.

"What? You've slept with me twice already, so you're done with me? You don't want me anymore? Is that it?" she snapped, averting her eyes from him.

"Kassandra," he sighed. "It's not that-"

"Then what is it, Elijah?" she said, eyes narrowed.

"You're mess, Kassandra," he told her bluntly. "Right now you're a mess and I respect you too much to take advantage of you right now."

"Take advantage of me?" she repeated. "I'm literally throwing myself at you. How is that 'taking advantage of me?'"

Elijah just sighed, as if she didn't understand. Kassandra scowled at him, anger in her eyes.

"Go to hell, Elijah," she snapped, storming towards the door. She slammed the door shut after her, and the slam continued to echo in Elijah's head minutes after it happened.

How did it all escalate so quickly?

~SYH~

"I'm not in the mood, Ruby," Kassandra muttered the next morning, as Ruby raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you still upset over Jackson?" she asked, passing the blonde who had just woken up a bowl of cereal.

Kassandra shook her head. "It's more than that," she said. "I don't want to talk about it."

Kassandra didn't even want to think about last night. She had made a complete ass out of herself. Elijah had been a gentleman. He had refused to take advantage of her when she clearly hadn't been thinking straight, and Kassandra had yelled at him for it.

He definitely didn't like her very much anymore.

"What? Troubles with you and your sex friend?" Ruby asked.

Kassandra hesitated, and Ruby's eyes widened. "I'm right, aren't I?" she said.

Kassandra just sighed. "I don't want to talk about it," she repeated.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, saving Kassandra from anymore questioning. "Maybe it's your boy toy," Ruby suggested as she made to go answer the door.

Kassandra shook her head. "I can hear a heartbeat," she said, taking a spoonful of cereal.

The door opened, and Kassandra heard Ruby sigh. "I swear to God, I'll curse your ass if you don't get out of here in five seconds," she threatened.

"I just want to talk to Kass, Ruby," an unfortunately familiar voice said warily.

In a blur, Kassandra was at Ruby's side. "Get out of my sight, Jackson," she growled, before slamming the door in his face.

~SYH~

A/N: I'm really sorry guys! I'm working on updating regularly, I swear!

Thank you to: Katherine Sparrow, SomebodyWhoCares, Lady Wesker, and for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)