Thank you for your everlasting patience. It means the world.

Hayley didn't hear from Nick for two weeks. And during that time, Luke had failed to come to school. She began to think he was dead. There were missing signs all over town. There was an announcement about him every day in school on the intercom. Along with that was the memorial for Joey's death. Hayley seemed to be the only one who knew the truth. No one else was even suspicious about the two events being connected.

Over the short time, Hayley's anger and hate had grown. There was too many secrets to keep, too many things she couldn't let out of her mind. As she sat in math class, her eyes had heavy shadows underneath. She hadn't heard from Elijah and she had already started convincing herself that Klaus had found someway to kill him just like his brother had planned for him.

The last bell of the day finally rang and Hayley grabbed her backpack, rushing out of the class without even waiting for the teacher to excuse them. As she was at her locker to grab all of her things, she felt someone's presence. She looked up to see her best friend, Janet, watching her closely.

"Hey." Janet said softly.

"Hi." Hayley responded curtly.

"Listen, I don't know how else to say this…but you've been acting weird ever since Luke went missing. You guys were friends and I know that you deal with things differently. But Hayley...are you okay?" Janet waited carefully.

Hayley didn't look at her friend as she slammed her locker shut. "I'm fine." She snapped before walking away without another look at her friend. As she walked through the student parking lot to her car, she ignored everyone. Over time, she'd disconnected herself with everyone around her. It was easier, but it also hurt more. Her car sped through the streets back home. She didn't know why she was in such a rush to go back to an empty house. Hayley slowly walked inside, dropping her backpack on the tile and her keys on the kitchen counter.

She sprawled across the couch in the living room, her hands covering her eyes. Her parents hadn't been home in a month while her sister was always busy with work and lived on her own. The time after school to the time she went to bed she had all to herself. But Hayley didn't want it. She was sick of it.

After minutes upon minutes past, Hayley grabbed her cell phone from her pocket. Without even thinking about it, she started dialing his number again. It was such a pathetic habit she'd developed. Ever since she'd tried calling Elijah the night Luke almost killed her, she called him every day. But it was always the same. He never picked up. Hayley had come up with two theories: either Elijah was dead or he decided he wanted nothing to do with her anymore.

She stared just at his name on her phone. That alone bothered her. She tossed her cell phone on the carpet a second before it started ringing. Hayley practically fell off the couch about to answer it. She was so shocked that she didn't even bother looking at the screen. Her heart was to blame; it yearned for it to be him so badly.

"Hello!" Hayley nearly shouted.

"There's no need to yell, sweetheart." Nick said. She could hear his words being said through a smile.

"Nick." She barely whispered, too disappointed to even try to hide it.

"Sorry, were you expecting someone better?" He teased her. They both knew that they shouldn't be acting as if everything was fine between them. Hayley hadn't talked to Nick since she basically kicked him out of her house that night.

"No…No, sorry." Hayley muttered as she squeezed the bridge of her nose. She waited for him to continue, but she was only given silence. "Is there something you wanted?" She asked him rudely.

"Now why do you assume I want something?" It sounded like he was smiling, but Klaus was actually hurt that she would simulate such a thing.

"Because there's rarely a time when you don't." Hayley stated harshly.

"Well…you won't have to deal with my neediness much longer."

Hayley sat up straighter and her brow creased. "What's that supposed to mean?" She challenged him, feeling like he was trying to start some kind of game.

"I found something that I once believed was lost. And I've been searching for quite some time. I'll be leaving soon. I thought you ought to know."

Hayley didn't want to hear it, just another person going away. Was she the only person that didn't have some reason to leave, the only one who was always left behind? Before she could stop her rage from completely taking over, Hayley hung up the phone without saying anything to him.

Once night had fallen, Hayley's doorbell rang. She quickly walked to the door, expecting it to be a stranger of some sort. But her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Nick standing on her porch. He was in his usual attire: a cotton shirt with the first few buttons undone and medallions that looked quite old hung from his neck. Had also had on a leather jacket, the collar popped up slightly. But Hayley was too distracted with the two people standing a few yards away, watching her. She looked back and forth between them and Nick.

"What's going on?" She asked him slightly nervous. The only thing keeping her calm was Nick's relaxed demeanor. But there was something different about him. He seemed excited or happy in a way she'd never seen. His eyes were filled with something that he'd never had since she'd known him.

"I simply came to say goodbye." Klaus said charmingly.

"Didn't you already do that on the phone?" Hayley accused rudely.

For a second, Klaus' smirk vanished and was replaced with the responsibility of upsetting Hayley. He knew he would regret leaving her. But she would only get in the way at Mystic Falls. Niklaus was the most feared original. If he brought someone that his enemies could recognize as valuable, it would be his only weakness.

"It was not a proper goodbye." Klaus said smoothly. He took a step closer, but Hayley backed away. Her arms were crossed as she glared at him. "I'll come back. I give you my word." Klaus urged. But he didn't realize the effect of his words. Hayley's eyes widened at them and her entire body froze. It was exactly what Elijah had said before he left.

"What did you just say?" She whispered without meaning to.

"I will come back. I give you my word." Klaus repeated. His eyes squinted at her racing heartbeat as she heard him say it again. Somehow he caught on. He knew it was something his brother would say to her. Where was Elijah? He was a fool to leave her all alone, though Klaus took full advantage of his mistake.

Hayley shook her head, trying to act normal again. Her eyes stared at the two that had come with him. One was a man who looked like he hadn't smiled in years. He was short and stocky with his facial features all dominant. The other was a girl who didn't look much older than her. She had dark skin and deep brown, curly hair.

"Who are your minions?" Hayley mocked Nick, not realizing that it was exactly what they really were.

Klaus barely glanced over his shoulder at them. "Maddox and Greta…they're friends of mine."

"Do you have any 'friends' that have normal names?" Hayley ridiculed. Not only did she not believe they were his friends, but she made fun of them too. Her eyes didn't stop glaring at them, even as she continued to talk to Nick.

Klaus finally gave them his full attention. "Wait for me at the car." He instructed them less severely than usual since Hayley was in his presence. Otherwise, she would find it suspicious. She was smart and read him too well.

"What the hell is going on?" Hayley indicted.

Klaus smirked at her suspicions. "You worry too much."

"Something's changed. You're acting different." He took a step closer, about to fabricate a huge lie of some sort. But he stopped himself. He wouldn't lie to her; he would just simply keep her in the dark. Hayley didn't step away from him this time. Her eyes looked at the ground as she finally uncrossed her arms. "Whatever you're doing…wherever you're going…will you tell me what it is once you're back?"

Klaus smiled sadly. He nodded his head. Then Hayley rushed to him, hugging him tightly. Her chin rested on his shoulder for just a moment before she ripped away. Hayley accidentally locked eyes with him before retreating back inside and slamming the door shut. Klaus knew what happened, as did she.

A few days had passed since Klaus left. Hayley now sat outside in the unkind weather. Every day seemed to get colder and colder. Winter was threatening to take over soon. Hayley's nose was red and she stared at the white air that escaped her mouth every time she let out a breath.

She glanced behind her at the door back into the house. Through the glass, she could see the two bags she had packed. She'd had enough of this town, of this loneliness. Elijah was dead. She could feel it. Luke was most likely dead or had completely lost himself to the monster that he'd transformed into that night. Nick was living a secret life he refused to share with her. But could she really be mad at him for it? Especially after she kept so much from him as well.

But Hayley couldn't think of reasons to stay any more. Her sister would understand. Janet would understand. Anyone, who was worth caring about leaving, would understand. She didn't know where she would go or how. All she knew is that it was time to leave. There was nothing left for her anymore. Hayley scraped a layer of frost, from the early morning, off of a flower's petal. A smirk appeared on her lips when she guessed how long it would take her absent parents to notice she was gone. A week at least, maybe weeks if she were lucky. Will they even call the police?

Hayley's cell phone started vibrating in the pocket of her leather jacket. She didn't want to answer it. She couldn't see the point. But just before it was too late, Hayley got a strange feeling. It was just like the sensation her and Elijah got when their skin even just barely grazed. It was the prophecy proving to them that they were meant for each other. But Hayley didn't realize any of this as she picked up the cell phone. It was a number her phone did not recognize.

"Hello?" Her voice said quietly.

"Hayley." He almost whispered, as if he couldn't believe he was speaking with her. His desiccation made his absence from her feel like a century instead of the month or so it had actually been.

Hayley immediately recognized Elijah's voice. It was like she'd been completely thrown off her feet. She couldn't breath. She couldn't talk. Her lower lip began to shake as her eyes gained a layer of tears. Her heart had dropped.

"Hayley." He urged, wanting to hear her speak.

"I…I thought you were dead." She whispered.

"It was the daggers. I did not expect them to know so much…I underestimated them." It was his only clarification. He hadn't called her to explain all of that to her. There were many other things on his mind.

"Please…Can you just please come back now?" Her words began to shake. She didn't realize Elijah could read the desperation in them perfectly.

"Niklaus." He began. "Niklaus is coming here. He's already possessed a body. It's only a matter of time before he is here himself. This is what I came here to do." Elijah didn't want to say any of it. He wanted to tell her he was on his way back to Chicago as they spoke, but he wasn't.

A single tear slowly slipped down Hayley's cheek. The wetness turned cold on her skin from the sharp weather. She didn't even bother try to rub it away. Once again, she turned to face the bags that were waiting for her inside. She tried to clear her nose that had now become runny from the mixture of being outside and her eyes uncontrollably watering.

"I was going to leave." Hayley muttered.

"What?" Elijah asked, not fully understanding what she meant.

"I was going to leave town. I'm looking at my bags right now. I was ready to leave. There was nothing left. Elijah…I'm leaving."

It was a poor explanation, but it didn't matter. He completely understood what she meant, what was happening. Elijah had completely misjudged how much had changed with her in such little time. "Hayley, stay where you are." He said sternly. "The full moon is tomorrow night." He paused for a moment. "Just one day and I will be at your side."

Hayley let out a shaky exhale. She could wait two days. But there was something else. "Elijah…what if something happens?" She started speaking faster. "What if you get daggered again? What-What if your brother kills you before you can kill him?" She challenged.

"Hayley…" He started.

"But what if he does?" Hayley asked slow and loud, already knowing he was going to try to reassure and reason against her in some way.

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Elijah could have argued that Niklaus didn't even know he was in Mystic Falls, that he didn't even know his older brother had been searching for ways to kill him all this time. But Elijah knew none of that would make Hayley feel better.

"One day." Elijah confirmed.

"If you're not here…" Hayley started to whisper, but stopped herself. They both knew what she was about to say '…then I'll know you're really gone." But she couldn't bear to say the words aloud.

"Hayley, I-"

"I'll be here." She cut him off. "Waiting. Like I always have been." She knew he was about to tell her he loved her. But she couldn't handle knowing that if he was going to his death. Other people would want to know after what they'd been through that he loved her all along. But knowing that and then losing him would destroy Hayley. She would never mend.

"You will never have to wait for me again." Elijah told her.

A sad smile appeared on her light pink lips. "Good-bye Elijah."

Klaus could feel the pain, the suffering. But it took him a moment to realize it wasn't from the transformation. He wasn't becoming the hybrid he'd dreamed about for centuries. He was dying. Somehow the bloody witch was alive and she was killing him. There was no way it would be enough, not even if she killed herself in the process. That was when the scattered flames lit the figure that was slowly walking toward him. He recognized the face immediately, even though it had been over a century since he had seen his older brother. So this was how he was going to die, by the hands of his own kin?

"Elijah." He gasped through the pain.

"Hello, brother." Elijah said as he looked down onto him. There was no mercy in his eyes, no sympathy. He'll do it. Klaus thought. He'll kill me. Before he could say anything, Elijah had thrust his hand in Klaus' chest. A sound of agony escaped from his mouth. He could feel the pressure around his heart from his brother's grip.

"In the name of our family, Niklaus." Elijah started.

"I didn't bury them at sea!" Klaus immediately indicated.

"What?"

"Their bodies are safe." He assured his older brother. "If you kill me…you'll never find them." Klaus gasped.

"ELIJAH! Don't listen to him." Stefan interrupted. And for a second, Elijah almost listened. But then Klaus continued.

"If I die. Hayley will be killed." He lied. Elijah's eyes snapped away from Stefan to meet his brother's once again. There was rage and fright in his own. He couldn't dare challenge his brother on her life. It was absolutely possible. There could be vampires outside her house, waiting to be called off. It was all a lie though. Klaus would never truly threaten her life. But Elijah was completely unaware of what had transpired between them when he was gone.

"Let me take you to them." Klaus sustained. "I give you my word, brother. They will be safe and so will she."

"Do it and I'll take you both out!" Bonnie warned.

"You'll die." Elijah growled.

"I don't care."

Time seemed to slow as Elijah looked back and forth between his brother and them. He'd made a promise to Hayley. She was waiting for him, the girl who was always expecting him. He couldn't let her down. Elijah watched Klaus for a second before rushing away with him, saving his little brother from the death he deserved. As they escaped, all he could hear was Bonnie and Stefan's cries as he betrayed them and broke the promise he had made them. But there was another promise he valued above all and this was the only way of keeping it.

Through all of Niklaus' feeding and slaughtering, Elijah couldn't get a hold of Hayley. He was too busy cleaning up after his brother. What had he done? The whole night was filled with screams of terror from Niklaus' victims. But all Elijah could think of was Hayley. He didn't even have a phone to call and inform her of everything that had changed. When he had spoken to her before, it had been with Elena's cell phone when she had left him at the Lockwood mansion.

Elijah now watched his brother slowly waking up from the forest floor. He was completely unclothed, but his clothes were not far from him. Elijah had made sure of that. He tossed them over as his younger brother stared at the sun.

"You've been busy." Elijah stated darkly.

"That was amazing." Klaus said. "How long has it been?"

"Almost two days. The full moon came and went, you remained a wolf."

Klaus smirked at the observation. "I can change at will then. Good to know." Suddenly, he looked pleased with himself. "I can remember every single kill."

Elijah remained unfazed. "Yes, I've been cleaning up your mess along the way." He informed his reckless brother.

"Just like old times, brother." Klaus sneered.

But Elijah had enough of their small talk. He shoved his younger brother across the meadow and into a tree. "If she's hurt in any way, I'll finish what I started the other night." Elijah growled and barely took a step back. "You've had your fun. I believe we have a bargain." He shoved boots into Klaus' hands.

"That's right!" Klaus mocked him. Then his eyes darkened. "We both know that no one can kill me now." Then he read Elijah's face. It was different. At first he didn't recognized what it was. But he soon figured it out. It was Hayley; that was what was different: his concern for her safety, his yearning to get back to her. Klaus hadn't seen love in his brother's eyes before, not like this.

"She's safe." Klaus confirmed. "I give you my word." Elijah didn't show any relief at the statement. Klaus took a step closer, his eyes narrowing as he observed his older brother. "I didn't believe the prophecy when I heard about it. But looking at you now, I have no choice but to give it credit."

"You know nothing of it." Elijah snapped.

"When did you become so self-centered?" Klaus questioned. "Your time apart from me really has ruined you." He smirked when he saw Elijah's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Prophecy's are never as simple as people believe." He stated vaguely. Then his demeanor became frighteningly serious. "It's not all about you."

Elijah glared at him, trying to hide his confusion. Then Klaus' amusement slowly disappeared as he recognized how truly in the dark his older brother was. "You really don't know, do you?" He asked seriously. But Elijah's only response was the tightening of his jaw and his eyes narrowing in annoyance. Klaus put on his jacket, loving how he was torturing his brother by faltering.

"The prophecy was never just for you. Hayley is more connected to our family than you realized apparently." Then Klaus' playfulness was back. "I've heard her beauty is quite unmatchable. Oh, how I can't wait to meet her!"

"I'll never let you near her." Elijah said evenly. But inside, he wanted to fully understand what Klaus meant about the prophecy. Was this just another one of Niklaus' games? He wondered. His response caused Klaus to smile even more. If only Elijah knew how familiar Hayley and his brother already were. But he was so oblivious to their strange and unexplainable bond.

"So touchy." Klaus said with a mischievous leer.

Elijah ignored him. "I believe we had a deal. Take me to them."

"Patience, dear brother. You will be reunited with our family soon enough."

But little did Elijah know, it was not in the way he was expecting. Klaus didn't know why he planned to go back on his word and betray his brother. Maybe it was because he refused to get over the fact that Elijah would have killed him last night if he hadn't said what his brother wanted to hear. Or maybe he was jealous of Elijah and Hayley's relationship. As soon as they were reunited, it was only a matter of time before Elijah figured out that Hayley had met and befriended Klaus. Then he would never allow her to see Niklaus again.

Klaus and Elijah walked back into the unimpressive apartment of Alaric Saltzman. Elijah carefully stood behind his brother as they both spotted Katarina and Stefan. Apparently, the old doppelgänger didn't escape from the originals as easily as she had hoped.

"Look who decided to come for a visit." Katarina tried to sound calm and collective. Elijah tried to repress a smile at how easily he saw through her act. Then his eyes fell uncomfortably on Stefan's. After all, he had betrayed the young vampire.

"You just keep popping up, don't you?" Klaus said to Stefan.

"I need your help...for my brother."

Klaus didn't appear surprised by the request. "Well, whatever it is, it's going to have to wait a tick. You see… I have an obligation to my brother. It requires my immediate attention." He motioned casually to Elijah before walking from the room.

Elijah watched Stefan for a moment before confidently stepping forward. "You understand the importance of family or you wouldn't be here." He stated. "Something beyond my family was in danger." Elijah added vaguely, causing Stefan to narrow his eyes in confusion. Stefan was able to hear Klaus mutter a girl's name before Elijah could finish him. Hayley, was it? But Elijah didn't explain further. "My brother gave me his word that he would reunite me with my own."

"And so I shall." Klaus said casually. Just as Elijah turned to face his younger brother, his heart was met with the dagger. He let out a cry, more from betrayal than pain. He tried fighting Klaus, putting all his quickly fading strength into trying to rip the dagger back out. But Klaus was the brand new original hybrid. And there was nothing Elijah could do.

Klaus dramatically brushed his brother's cheek. "Shh." He calmed Elijah condescendingly. "Don't worry dear brother, I'll look after her." Klaus purred. But he knew all along it wouldn't comfort his older brother, but only desiccate him with the thought of Hayley being in danger.

Elijah could feel his body getting weaker and weaker, shutting down as the effect spread. Just before the darkness completely incased him, he saw visions of her. It felt just like the very first one where she was on the beach. It had been the first time he saw her or even knew of the prophecy. But this was something he'd never seen before. Elijah gasped as the he let the vision take over.

Hayley was fast asleep on a bed. Her blonde-red hair all pushed on one side of her neck. The rising sun was peaking through the window and fell on the back of he head, making her hair shine and almost shimmer. She slept on her stomach, her back completely exposed. Thin white sheets hid the rest of her body. Then Elijah heard her whisper in his head. She was still asleep, yet he heard her talking to him.

"I'm waiting, Elijah." Hayley's voice whispered. "I'll always wait for you…Please…please come back to me."

There was an inhaling noise just before a ringing of silence. Elijah was now completely desiccated. Those were the last images and sounds he heard before his time was forced away from him.

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