McKenna sighed and opened the door to the boardinghouse. She had been with Elijah since getting off at ten thirty. It was interesting. The older man had taken her to a small bistro and insisted on paying. McKenna fought him at first but the look on his face was so happy she couldn't tell him no.

After dinner, they walked around the square in silence. It was a clear night and a little chilly but that was normal in Virginia in early November. She got a good look at the small town at night. During the day it was a bustling area of town. At night, it was peaceful. There was no shouting, no cars honking, and virtually no people on the sidewalks. She enjoyed it she forgot Elijah was with her.

They came around the courthouse and there was a gazebo on the other side. Automatically she laced her arms through Elijah's and looked up at him.

"Can we go sit over there?" she had asked.

Elijah heard a little bit of happiness in her voice. He smiled. "Of course."

He had led the way and they had sat together on the bench. The gazebo was lit with white Christmas lights and cast a glow all over the place. It looked like the gazebo in Twilight when Bella and Edward went dancing during prom. Except this gazebo only had small lights.

She looked over a couple of times. Elijah had been looking off and it gave her time to study his features. He had a strong jaw that was accentuated by high cheek bones. His mouth was full and his eyes were deep set. When she looked at him, they were shadowed by the flickering lights around them. All those lights cast a nice glow around his skin and hair.

When the clock struck eleven forty-five, she stood. She had to get home because it was a school night. He stood with her and walked back to the car. She got in the driver's seat and headed towards home with him riding shotgun. Music played lightly as they rode along.

And now here they were.

Elijah stopped at the door as she put the lock in the door. When she got it open, she stepped through and turned to look at him. He smiled.

"Are you coming in?" she asked.

"I think I should be heading home as well. I trust you had a good night," he said, a slight smile playing at his lips.

She nodded. "I did. Thank you."

He stood there for a few moments and watched as she cast her gaze down to the ground. Without thinking, he stepped forward and kissed her forehead gently. She jerked her head up and their noses collided. He heard and felt her hiss in pain but didn't move. Her eyes found his and they stared at each other for a few moments.

McKenna moved first. She took a step forward and gently pressed her lips to his. He inhaled deeply, bringing her scent into him and memorizing it. Slowly, he gripped her upper arms and pulled her closer to him. He waited a few moments before wrapping his arms around her back and pulling her flush against him. By this point the kiss had deepened.

She was taking over every part of him. All he thought about was how she felt pressed up against him. She was only five foot five but compared to his five foot eleven stature, she was perfect for him. He felt her hands grip his jacket momentarily before she linked them together and held him tightly.

It occurred to Elijah that McKenna needed to breathe at some point so he pulled away. He was right. She was breathing heavy as she looked up at him. She smiled and huffed out a breath. This hadn't been his plan but he wasn't going to stop it.

As he went in for another, she was jerked out of his arms with a yelp. Elijah looked up at Damon as he stood between him and McKenna. Stefan had his arms wrapped around her in the doorway. That unnerved him but he wasn't about to go after them. She was in the way and she could get hurt.

"I think it's time you left, Elijah," Damon said with a spark to his voice. His blue eyes were hard and cold.

"Damon, stop. Elijah, you don't have to leave," McKenna said as she fought her way out of Stefan's arms. He really didn't put up much of a fight but she shoved him anyway. She came up to him. "Please don't leave."

Elijah smiled and framed her face with his hand. "I'm going to go. You have school in the morning and I don't want to mess up your schedule."

"But…"

He silenced her with a kiss to the forehead. She opened her eyes slowly and looked at him. He suddenly lost himself in her eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her again. She came up on her tiptoes to returned it and to wrap her arms around his neck. When Damon cleared his throat, he stepped back and careful unwound her arms from his neck. He kissed her knuckles then turned and walked from the house.

McKenna watched until he was gone from sight before turning on the brothers. Without saying a word, she walked past them and into the house. As she was heading up the stairs, one of them caught her arm so she stopped.

"We're only doing this to protect you," Stefan said after he let go of her arm.

"As long as Elijah doesn't sell drugs or isn't a serial killer, I don't need you to protect me," she said calmly. She could talk that way with Stefan. He didn't get carried away like Damon did.

"It's not just Elijah. It's his entire family, especially Klaus and Rebekah," Damon said as he came in and poured a drink. He felt her glare through his clothes. When he turned around to look at her, he wasn't surprised.

"I'm not afraid of his family."

"You should be. Rebekah is very vindictive."

"If you hadn't slept with her, she wouldn't have it out for you."

"How'd you know about that?"

"You just told me."

Aggravated that she had conned him into it, Damon set his drink down. "Stay away from Elijah."

"News flash, Damon. I don't take orders from you." She turned and went up the stairs, slamming the door for good measure when she was in her room. She paced for a few moments before she remembered something. She pulled out her phone and dialed the newest number. "Kol? It's McKenna. Can you meet me tomorrow after school at the bar? Really? Good. See you there." Throwing the phone on her bed, she went to get a shower so she could go to bed.

(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)

Kol walked into the Mystic Grill the next afternoon with a spring in his step. He was going to show up the Salvatores, who were undoubtedly there keeping an eye on their new roommate.

He spotted McKenna behind the bar and walked over to her with a smile. She spotted him a few seconds before he got to the bar. Damn if his brother didn't already call dibs. If Elijah hadn't been the one to make a move first, he would have. She was pretty. But the only thing he was worried about was the fact that she didn't they were vampires. That was the only downside to this whole thing.

The upside was Elijah found someone he truly cared about.

Before he made it to the bar, a man stepped in his view. Kol stopped dead in his tracks and looked at him. He was a hunter. He was the new hunter in town. Sources said he had two companions. Kol took a moment to look around. One was obviously sitting at the bar and the other was playing pool facing him. He had to be careful, but most important he had to watch out for McKenna.

"I got your number, vampire," the hunter said as he stopped shoulder to shoulder with him.

"Then you'll also know that I'm not alone here. Go after me, you'll have them to contend with," he said.

"We'll gladly take all of them on and any others who deem you worthy of life. That includes any humans." He looked right at McKenna when he said that.

Kol had to restrain himself against acting against this man. If he did anything, they would hurt McKenna then Elijah would hurt him for allowing something to happen to her. He simply stared the man down levelly. "Leave people alone and you won't get hurt either."

The hunter looked at him. "You're cocky. I like that. It'll make it even better to take you down. Watch your back, vampire. One day you may not have it."

Kol watched as he walked towards the door. The ones he identified as the rest of the group filed out after him. He walked over to the bar and sat down. A drink sloshed on his hand as it was set in front of him. He looked up. McKenna smiled at him. That smile alone brightened his mood.

"What'd that man want?" she asked.

Of course she'd see that. He shook his head. "It was nothing. I accidently bumped into him. I was just apologizing."

She didn't look convinced. "It looked more than that."

He shook his head. "It wasn't. So why did you call me here?"

Her face took on an expression that could rival Klaus's when he was with Caroline. Her eyes lightened with joy. "I know you know your brother took me out last night. I want to know what he likes so I can repay him." She frowned when he laughed. "What?"

"If there's one thing you need to know about Elijah it's that he doesn't like to be repaid for an act of kindness."

The look on her face made him shut up. What had he just said? "Was I an act of kindness?"

"No!" He really needed to curb his tongue. "No, you weren't an act of kindness. Elijah really, truly likes you. He doesn't do things like this often. He doesn't show his emotions often. To see him like this, the way he thinks about you and talks about you, it's truly something miraculous." He watched the way her face lit up. She truly liked his brother as much as he liked her. This was going to be interesting. "He likes art."

She refilled his drink which he didn't remember drinking. "Art?"

"Yes, art. Klaus sketches and draws sometimes. I've heard them talk about it on many occasions. His favorite is paintings. He has them decorating his room." He watched her face change to something he couldn't translate. "Do I get to know the secret?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

He held one hand to his chest. "You wound me." She smiled at him. He grabbed a napkin and motioned for a pen. When she handed it to him, he wrote something carefully. "This is our address. Drop it off whenever you feel like it." He waved at her then paid his tab. As he was walking out, he saw Damon and Stefan. They always seemed to be around. So he waved at them. "Bye, boys."

(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)(%)

Later that night Kol answered the doorbell. McKenna stood outside with a black bag clutched in her hand. She smiled at him and winked. Snorting, he took her by the elbow and escorted her in the house. Everyone heard the car pull up but only Elijah would have known whose it was. Kol was about to have a little bit of fun.

He crooked a finger at her and she followed him. He opened the cabinet and the fridge and poured her a glass of juice. He never understood why Klaus drank it but the second oldest liked the stuff so they had it in the house. He could tell she was slightly nervous by the shaking in her hands.

"Elijah! You have a guest!" he called from the kitchen. She gave him a weird look. "He would kill me if I didn't offer refreshments so I went ahead and got it out of the way." He smiled when she laughed out loud.

"It's good to see you made friends with my brother," Elijah said as he walked into the kitchen. He was dressed casually in jeans and a long sleeved black shirt. It was completely different than the way she had met him.

"He's been very helpful these last couple of days," she replied.

"See, brother? I'm not totally useless," Kol said as he leaned against the counter.

Elijah reached over and ruffled his brother's hair. "I never said you were, Kol." The youngest Mikaelsen smiled. Elijah turned and offered his hand. "Would you like to see the rest of the house?"

McKenna slid to the floor and took his hand. "I'd love to."

"Wait. What about the bag?" Kol asked.

"Oh! Oh, yeah." McKenna freed her hand and reached for the bag. She unzipped it and pulled out a canvas. She looked at it for a few moments. When she looked up, deep emotion was playing across her face. Smiling, she handed the canvas to Elijah. "Here. I want you to have this."

Elijah took the canvas gently from her hands and looked at it. He looked up at her and noticed she was looking at the canvas. He tilted it up so Kol could see it over his shoulder.

"It's a pack of wolves," the youngest brother said. He looked up. "It's excellent. Did you do this?"

McKenna shook her head. "No. I was there when it was painted, though. We went camping in the Poconos one weekend. My mother and I stayed up all night by that lake and waited for that pack to come to drink. My mother painted it in thirty minutes. I got to watch them until my mother ushered us away. It's the first in a long line she did right before she died."

Elijah shook his head. "I can't accept this."

She pushed it back into his hands. "No, I want you to take it."

"This is your mother's. You should keep it."

"I have two hundred more. Giving one away won't hurt me." She looked over his shoulder. "Kol told me you liked art. This is my thank you for taking me out last night."

Elijah laughed. "I hope this isn't what you're going to do every time. My room won't have enough wall space."

McKenna looked at him. "You mean we're going out more?"

"Oh, I plan on it. Now, allow me to show you the house." He smiled when she looked over her shoulder at Kol. He could only imagine what his brother was doing.

He led her up to his room. He walked across it to hang the picture on the wall. When he turned around, she was running her fingers over everything. He just watched her. She looked good in his room, as if she belonged. When she looked up, she looked around the walls. Art was in her blood so she was drinking it all in.

"Do you like what you see?" he asked into the silence.

She turned to look at him so fast her hair whipped out behind her and it looked like she was on fire. Her eyes were bright with delight. "I love it. You have some paintings that I would die to have even though I can't afford them."

He smiled. "One day maybe they can be yours."

"You can't give one of these to me. I won't accept it."

He moved closer to her. "Then you'll have to come over here more often so you can see them."

She watched him. "You'd allow me to come back?"

"You're welcome here at any time." Her smile took his breath away and he couldn't help but reach out to pull her to him. She fit in his arms perfectly. "I want you to come back."

"I'd like to."

Elijah lowered his head until he was kissing her with the fire catching in her hair and burning bright.