I am so, so, so sorry for how long it took to post this. My life has become a mess. I'm constantly doing schoolwork. And you guys deserve better. I apologize.

Elijah briskly walked up the stairs and to the bedroom he knew Hayley had fled to. He paused a moment before opening the door. He straightened his jacket, trying to give her a moment. She was upset and felt betrayed by Klaus. All this time, she had tried convincing his entire family that he wasn't what they believed. But Hayley never knew that she would have to convince herself as well. The worst part: she didn't know if she could.

Elijah took in a deep breath and knocked on the door. He knew she wanted to be alone. She always wanted to be alone when she was emotional, ashamed of showing it in front of anyone. But he needed her to know that she didn't have to hide from him. That was the difference between him and his brother. Elijah allowed her to open up, while Klaus let her hide her feelings until she'd explode like him.

"Come in." He heard her say softly.

Elijah pushed the door so slowly that it creaked, as it swung open. Hayley's back was to him as she stared out the tall window across the room. Her arms were crossed and her hair was naturally resting just over one shoulder. She was wearing a thin, white, long sleeve shirt. It was slightly too wide on her, proving that it belonged to Rebekah. Her light-wash jeans were slightly frayed and rolled at the ankles. They clung to her waist from a brown leather belt. Elijah couldn't hold back the displeasure as he recognized them as Niklaus'.

Elijah took a step toward her and then stopped as she slowly turned to face him. The sunlight coming in from the window gave a halo of light on the crown of her head. He had expected to see tears being held back in her eyes. But her blue-green irises just looked lost. And in that moment, he didn't know why, but he saw her as a child again. It was like the first time he'd seen her: sitting all alone, abandoned on the curb of a street. The look her child eyes had been nothing but lost and alone.

"I'm fine." Hayley said quickly when she saw the way he was looking at her. He looked down at the ground, giving her a moment to decide if she really was okay or not. But when he looked up again her face was just as composed.

"Can we just get out of here…I just want to go-" Hayley stopped herself before she could finish what her heart was telling her to say.

"Home?" Elijah proposed.

"I didn't mean to say that." Hayley began sputtering the words out and then stopped when she watched him stand firmer and put his hands his suit pockets. It was his way of saying she didn't need to be defensive. "I know that we can't go back to Chicago. I know." She sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair.

Elijah walked to her. His hand slid down her neck and rested on her shoulder in comfort. "It will be your home again. If that is what you wish. But right now, it is not safe."

Hayley took his hand from her shoulder and held it in her own. "Our home." She whispered. It was meant to be hopeful and strong, but it just sounded sad as her eyes refused to lift from the ground. She cleared her throat and a small smile tried her lips. Then she quickly kissed him and traced the line of his cheekbone as she barely pulled away. "But right now…I just want to go. Please. I can't stay here any longer."

Elijah nodded his head. Why had he forced her to stay here for so long? Mystic Falls was her death place, her inept funeral, and her unmarked grave. But worst of all, it had become her prison.

"There is one last thing I must get." He glances at the few bags that are packed. Most were his, while she refused to let him flower her with gifts. "Then we will be on our way." He had called a loyal acquaintance to forge sets of identification for Hayley. It was the only thing taking them so long to leave. Although, they could travel by car without a passport, she would need it at some point. He wanted to get her as far away from this town as possible. And that involved leaving the country.

Elijah kissed her once again. His hands lingered on her cheeks. "I will be quick. And then we will never return to this place." Hayley quickly nodded.

"Should I find Kol?" She asked.

But he instantly shook his head. "He has disappeared for a reason. If he does not wish to join us, then he simply won't. Truth be told, it would be quite a relief."

Hayley smiled genuinely at that. "Go. The sooner you leave, the sooner you'll be back and then we can leave. I'll go tell Rebekah." Elijah gave her one final kiss on the cheek and then disappeared through the doorway. Hayley listened for him to leave out the front entrance. She took in a deep breath and exhaled, trying to calm any worry about Elijah leaving the house. Even though nothing had happened like Rebekah and her had believed, Hayley couldn't help but still feel that something was going on. Perhaps it was her natural intuition magnified by her vampirism.

Hayley left the room in search for Rebekah. She went to her bedroom but only found half a dozen Louis Vuitton cases of luggage. There were countless magazines strewn about the room. Pages of outfits, movies, and music were scattered in a circle on the room. It was like Rebekah had been studying on how to be a teenage girl in the 21st century.

"Rebekah?" Hayley called softly. She didn't have to raise her voice. The original would be able to hear her name from anywhere in the mansion. Hayley sighed when no one responded. She could look for her downstairs. But she heard Klaus moving around and she refused to face him.

Hayley fidgeted as she tried to deny in her mind that he scared her now. Her best friend had become a stranger. This town, these people had made him believe that he could never be his true self, just the monster they saw him as. Hayley somehow found her way to the edge of the stairs. She stared down, unable to find the courage go to the first floor. Then her ears picked up something, sounds that did not belong.

"Ah, decided the whole day thing was a waste of time, did we?" She heard Klaus say.

"I'm not going with you, Klaus." Hayley's eyes widened when she instantly recognized Elena's voice. She raced downstairs just in time to see Damon Salvatore and a boy she didn't recognize tackle Klaus to the ground. Without thinking about it, Hayley started forward to rip them away from him. But someone grabbed her from behind, their arms wrapped tightly around her.

"You weren't supposed to be here." They said hastily. Hayley didn't have to struggle and turn around to know it was Stefan speaking to her.

"Leave him alone!" She yelled at Damon and the boy as she fought against Stefan's hold on her. Damon hardly acknowledged her as he was clearly having a hard time holding Klaus down. He was the original hybrid after all.

"Stefan! Take her down!" He roared at his brother.

The threat against Hayley threw Klaus into an even greater rage. She watched as he threw Damon off of him, leaving the boy alone to fight him alone. Elena viewed in horror at the edge of the room. But Hayley was busy watching Klaus in dismay as he glared at Stefan for even touching her. Before he could charge at him, Damon and Tyler tackled him once again. And all Hayley could process was Stefan's hands enclosing around her neck just before they broke it and she was thrown out of consciousness.

Klaus tried to hurl himself at Stefan but Tyler and Damon held onto him tightly. Then Stefan sped right in front of him and his fingers grasped into his skin and around Klaus' heart. The hybrid let out an exclamation of pain but continued to fight against the three of them. Then he gasped when he could feel his heart start to slow. They were desiccating him. Klaus could feel his body slowly shutting down. His eyes fell on Hayley who was on the floor, her neck broken. They weren't going to kill her. At least he knew that.

Hayley slowly awoke with an aching pain in her neck and a raging migraine. She was breathing heavily and everything around her was quiet. Her eyes still rested closed. She was scared what they would find once she opened them. Then she felt a finger slowly move a streak of hair off her cheek and behind her ear.

She opened her eyes and saw Kol kneeling down at her side. He had his signature smirk on, but it was different. For once, Hayley felt like he had to force it. Something was wrong. That was when everything rushed back to her. They took Nik. And she had failed to stop them.

Hayley quickly got onto her knees. But she had moved too quickly. Her migraine pulsed against her skull. Instinctively, her palm went to her forehead, begging the pain to subside. Her eyelids clenched shut, trying to reduce the light.

"Easy, darling." Kol said without his usual boldness.

"Is-is he dead?" Hayley whispered. Her eyes were closed as she asked him. She was too terrified to read his face. Somehow she knew that Kol would know whom she was talking about. It would explain his forced smirk and his unusual niceness.

"They can't. The idiots descend from Niklaus. They know if they kill him they will die too." Kol informed her. Hayley stared at him in shock and confusion.

"No one told me they were connected to him." She said, dazed. Then she realized that she was too. Damon had been the one to give her the single drop of blood. Suddenly, Hayley realized that it made her sad to know that it wasn't Elijah she originated from.

"They desiccated him." Kol's statement brought Hayley out of her thoughts. "The Salvatores planned on throwing him in the Atlantic. Even I must admit, it was a good plan…until it wasn't." He said with a smug smirk.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Elijah and Rebekah went to negotiate with them. There's no way they're even leaving town with his body. Elijah has some rather decent connections with witches. Even if the Salvatores try to take him, Niklaus is probably awake by now." His eyes went distant. "He deserves it. A taste of his own medicine would have done him some good."

Hayley stood up from the ground now. Kol stopped kneeling as well and gave her a questioning look. "Where are they?"

"What does it matter? It is all taken care of." He shrugged.

She slammed him against the wall. Her hands grasped his shoulders. It came out of nowhere and that was the only reason he didn't stop her. "Kol! Are you an idiot? They still have two stakes that can kill all of you! Tell me where they are!" In Hayley's anger, her eyes turned black and her fangs showed themselves.

Before she could say anything more to him. He turned her around so she was slammed against the wall and had his hand tightly wrapped around her throat. His eyes remained human but Hayley could read the rage in them. Kol moved so close that she could feel his breath on her face. For a moment, she thought his lips would touch hers just to spite her and show that he was in control.

"Don't ever do that again." His voice was an octave lower and each word felt like it was said for a minute each. Hayley held her breath. Her usual bravery evaporated with the rage Kol was struggling to contain. Or maybe he wasn't trying to contain it at all. Hayley slowly nodded her head and didn't breathe until he released her.

Kol stepped back with a satisfied smirk on his lips. Hayley's eyes narrowed. While Klaus scared her because hiding his emotions made him unpredictable, Kol wanted to be unpredictable. That's what made her more nervous.

"Kol," She started nervously, worried that even uttering a word would cause him to snap her neck. "I have-"

"Oh please, spare me the nauseating details. I know, I know. You're in love with my brothers. You'd do anything for them. Blah, blah, blah." Kol said tiredly.

"What?" Hayley's fear faded slightly from his statement. "Kol, I'm not in love with Klaus. We're friends…were friends. I don't know anymore. But I was never in love with him. I mean… I love him. But not in the way you think." Then she could tell that he was observing her closely, measuring every word she said to see if he believed it or not.

"You toy with them and you don't even know it." Kol said softly. There wasn't any aggression left in his tone. "I don't think you realize the impression you have on others."

Hayley glared at his underlying accusations. "Need I remind you that this is the 21st century? You missed a lot while you were locked in a coffin. Like the fact that it's possible for a guy and girl to be just friends." Then she held up her hands and shook her head. "You know what? Why am I wasting my time even trying to explain this? They're in trouble! So, please Kol, I'm begging you. Just tell me where they are."

But Kol's lips just tightened into a straight line instead of opening to tell her what she wanted to hear. He took in a deep breath and stepped closer to her once again but not as far as invading her space. "I'm sick of seeing you try to save this family. It's pathetic. We're broken and we will forever be that way. We were broken before our mother even turned us into vampires. Just stop trying to fix us already."

Hayley's jaw clenched as she broke eye contact with him. It was a shameful thing to be called pathetic, even if it was being said from someone like Kol. She'd doubted her ability on fulfilling Esther's last request the moment it was absolute to her. There was no need for anyone to give her any more disbelief. But Kol gave it to her anyway.

"I never tried saving or fixing any of you." Hayley whispered. "I only wanted to show you that you didn't have to be the people you've tricked yourself into believing you are."

Kol tilted his head, considering her plea. He reached forward and traced the line of her cheekbone. She flinched away after a second. He smirked at her repulsion. But his hand remained extended in the air, just hovering over her skin. "I knew from the time I met you that you were tough…tougher than anyone of Mystic Falls. But I never thought you were a fool, until now." He finally put his hand down and away from her face. "Daggering siblings when we disagree with them. Look at what this family has become. Elijah's disgusted with our constant bickering."

"But he's here! And he spent a hundred years trying to avenge your deaths, to punish Nik for everything he believed he did!" Hayley defended.

"The only reason he's stayed is because of you, your friendship with Niklaus', and your recent transformation into a vampire. If you never came here and he had awoken us, he would have immediately seen that our years in the coffin didn't change us one bit. We're still the immoral monsters that were daggered. Elijah would never have showed his face again he'd be so sickened with us." Then he laughed darkly from imagining the alternate place. "How long did you honestly think Rebekah and I would've lasted with you?"

Hayley saw when there was no condition to fight any longer. Kol would think what he wanted, no matter what she pointed out to him. But maybe he was right. Maybe Elijah was as disgusted with all of them as Kol believed. But she just couldn't see it.

"I'm not giving up…on any of you." She confirmed.

"Then you're an even bigger fool." Kol stated firmly.

Hayley shook her head. "Whatever. I'll find them myself." She shrugged; truly appalled by how little Kol cared about his family and how easily he'd given up on them. She shoved past him and knew he wouldn't try to stop her. She'd find them on her own. As she walked outside, she flipped the hood of her leather jacket over her head. Not out of cold, but just out of habit. She shrugged and tried to think of where she could possibly find them.

As Hayley quickly moved through the small town of Mystic Falls, she found dark wonderment at how her life had become this way: constantly in fear for the people she loved, risking her almost immortal life, dying while trying to survive as a human. Then a memory from her childhood flickered into her mind. Ever since she had been turned, they appeared out of nowhere, as if they were upset they'd almost been completely forgotten during those last years of her human life.

"They threw them out." She'd said to Elijah. Her head hung low. She was only seven at the time. It was one of the visits where Elijah's only interaction was walking her home.

"Excuse me?" Elijah asked her calmly, not fully understanding what she was saying.

"My parents threw out all my coloring books. They said I was too old for them. And the doctor said I color too much." She had been holding his hand as they walked and her shoulder kept brushing against his leg from walking so close to him. But her eyes had stayed glued on the sidewalk pavement.

Elijah stopped abruptly at the mentioning of a doctor. He let go of her hand and kneeled in front of her so they were at eye level. "Doctor?" He asked her gently.

"Yeah. At first I thought it was one where I get shots. But the room was really weird. And he kept asking me weird questions and writing in his notebook. Then he made me go sit outside and he talked to my parents for a really long time." Elijah nodded and tried to give her a small, reassuring smile. It may have been confusing to Hayley, but he knew that she was talking about a psychiatrist. But why on earth could a child, especially her, require one?

"My parents say I need to learn how to control my anger." She whispered, hoping he wouldn't actually hear her. It sort of slipped out accidentally. But even as a naïve child, she trusted Elijah with the secrets no adolescent should possess. Her small eyes finally looked up at him, trying to gage what he would say about her confession. His eyes were filled with understanding and patience, but she wasn't able to read it. "I can't help it though! My parents ignore me. They like my sister more than me!" She panicked from not knowing what he was thinking.

"And what about this?" Elijah made the mistake of teasing her by pointing at her nose that had just been bleeding moments ago from the fight she got into.

"He deserved it!" Hayley defended.

Then she became confused when Elijah chuckled at her. "I'm sure he did."

Hayley crossed her arms and eyed him. "Why aren't you yelling at me?"

"Why should I?" He asked earnestly as his head tilted.

"Because you're a grownup." She informed him softly.

Elijah took a deep breath and leaned in a little closer. "Hayley, did that doctor say anything to you?" A flicker of anger passed as he thought of someone talking to her in such a condescending and superior tone, saying she needed to change. Her childish temper gave her a certain fire that he found admirable. But Elijah cleared his throat when he realized it reminded him of Niklaus when he was only a child.

"He said I should talk to someone. And I told him I already did." Hayley said it as if it was the most obvious this in the world.

"Who do you talk to?" He asked curiously, expecting her to say it was her sister.

"You." She shrugged with an innocent smile. Elijah waited for her to continue. "I talk to you even when you're gone. I use my imagination." She told him proudly. "You're the only grownup who listens to me. So whenever I get mad, I just pretend you're with me." Elijah's expression appeared slightly stunned. Hayley saw it and giggled with her hands covering her mouth. When she removed them, she smiled at him so sweetly that anyone would adore her.

"'Lijah?" Her smile fell while waiting for him to get out of his daze.

"Yes."

"Do you get mad?"

He smirked at her question. Elijah was known throughout the supernatural world as being one of the most frightening vampires. But he always remained composed, even when he murdered his victims. "Not very often." He admitted charmingly.

"Hmm." Her face scrunched. "What do you do?"

"I take a deep breath." He said after thinking about it for a few seconds. And he could immediately tell it wasn't the answer she wanted. It was too simple for her liking. Elijah could send the little side conversation had come to an end. He started standing up from his kneeling.

"Wait!" Hayley shrieked then started giggling. "Piggyback ride!" She urged. Elijah opened his mouth to refuse, but stopped. He couldn't deny this little girl anything she wanted. Finally, he nodded and turned around.

"Don't let me fall." Hayley whispered in his ear.

To a vampire, she was like carrying nothing. "I would never." He stated.

Hayley let out a deep breath as she stopped reminiscing on the past. She turned slowly in a 360, completely lost on where to even look for the Elijah and Nik. For once, Elijah needed her whether he knew it or not. He had always been there for her. But she needed to be the hero this time.

Im just gonna say sorry again. I never meant to make you wait this long.