Poison & Wine - Chapter XXVII

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"No," I shook my head, staring at the replica of me. "You're dead. Klaus killed you himself."

She rolled her eyes at me. "He did, but Elijah had been giving me his blood for days by then. I was in no real danger; why do think I was so willing to sleep with Klaus?"

I swallowed the lump I had in my throat; I knew now how Elena felt when faced with Katherine. "How did you find me?"

"The same day Elijah did," She walked over to the railing and leaned against it. "I have been watching over him for five hundred years, Andrea, and when he got a call from Rose and Trevor, I suspected it was a trick that Klaus had set up to kill him so I followed him. As soon as I saw you, I stopped watching over Elijah and begun watching you."

"You watched me?" I asked, turning toward her. "Like, in some guardian angel way or in a creepy stalker way?"

"I tried to prevent Klaus from finding your sister and you, if that's any indication of what way."

"Why would try to stop Klaus from finding my sister and I? I mean Katherine practically wrapped a bow around us."

"Because I went through that and it cost my human life as well as my sister's."

I hesitated for a moment. "You followed Elijah… Why? If you weren't going to tell him you were alive, why follow him?"

"I loved him and still do. I followed him because I knew he needed to move on from falling for the women in the Petrova line; when I saw the way he looked at you, especially when I saw you two almost kiss at the pond, I knew it was too late. Even though he had only seen you at first as Anastasia – or maybe even me. Anyways, when he realized you weren't, and that's when he started falling in love with you."

"No," I started to go into the hotel room. "You don't know that."

"Andrea, I followed him for five hundred years; I've seen him fall in and out of love so many times. I know what it looks like when he begins to," She turned to face me again. I shook my head and went back into the hotel. I went into my room and sat on my bed, picking up the note that Klaus left me. A few seconds later, Emmeline walked in.

"Wow," She looked around at all of the roses. "Klaus, I assume?"

"Yeah," I nodded and handed her the letter.

She read it over with a scowl. "He was always the flirt. Please tell me you're not falling for this crap."

"No, I'm not," I shook my head. "I don't fall for BS."

"So I've seen," She handed the note back and walked around, touching the roses.

"Why haven't you made yourself known to Katherine?"

"Well, despite what I did for my sister, we did not end things well. We were best friends, but when I chose to leave Bulgaria with her after she was kicked out for having a child, our relationship never repaired. Klaus and Elijah both showing me affection didn't help; Katerina only saw it as I was trying to ruin her happiness and abandon her. She blamed me for Klaus trying to kill her, and I said that I forgave her for everything she has done to me before I forced her to run. Once Klaus and I were finished, he discovered Katerina had run. Angry, he killed me and told Elijah I had run as well, but Elijah knew me; he knew I'd never run. That was the breaking point for two different pair of siblings. I followed Katerina at first, but after discovering Klaus murdered our family, I went to Elijah where I kept an eye on him. There were a few times he and Klaus reunited… Anyways, you know the rest."

"Klaus killed you because you saved your sister from death."

"Yes, but I never really saved her. She became a monster…" She turned her back to me, and I suspected she was getting choked up. It was a long moment before she spoke again. "Your fate as well as your sister's will become the same as Katerina's and mine if you don't get off the course you're on, Andrea," She turned toward me with sadness in her eyes. "I'd give anything to become human again."

I stood from the bed and folded my arms. "You're wrong, Emmeline, I won't end up like you because I won't play one of them while I'm in love with the other. Besides, Elena survived the ritual. She isn't a vampire."

She dryly laughed. "You think she won't become one, Andrea? The Salvatores will be her downfall just as yours will be Klaus and Elijah. You are foolish if you think otherwise. I should have given you the dreams about me, not Anastasia." She murmured.

"Wait, what? You have been giving me those dreams?!"

"Yes, to try to turn you away from Klaus."

"How? You even weren't alive then!"

"I had a witch friend. We did this spell that showed the past so I saw every single moment of Anastasia's life. It doesn't end pretty, Andrea."

I snorted. "I've been seeing all of those dreams because of you . . . So how am I connected to Klaus? Why did I feel his pain?"

"My witch explained it in this way: 'The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.' Somehow Klaus and you are connected and transformed one another; it's just a supernatural thing having to do with the fact you are a doppelganger. I highly doubt it will kill you, considering you weren't killed the night of the sacrifice, but I have to imagine it will come into pay sooner or later. The same thing for Elijah, but your supernatural link to him doesn't appear as strong."

"So, you're telling me that you experienced this as well?"

"No, I did not."

"Oh," I sat back on the bed. I looked down at the floor for a few minutes trapped in thought before looking up at her. "You came because Klaus wasn't here, didn't you?"

"Yes, I only came to get you to not give into Klaus. He's done horrible things and definitely doesn't deserve to be happy."

I was going to argue that I had, too, but stopped myself. Actually, every vampire I knew had done horrible things but they were allowed happiness; why was Klaus any different? Also, why did she care whether he was happy or not? Anyways, I didn't care anything about Klaus's happiness, not after all he has done to me.

"Vampire blood doesn't heal me."

"That's probably dealing with the same thing, Andrea," We sat in silence for a good minute, just looking at one another. "I should go," She sighed and I tore my gaze away. "Andrea, before I go — look at me."

I lifted my eyes to look at her. "Yes?"

"Live a long, happy human life. Go to college, get a good career, fall in love with a human whether it be Matt Donovan or that Sam guy. You do not want to be this... Don't waste this beautiful, human life that you've been given — that you've been blessed with."

And with that, Emmeline disappeared. For no reason at all, I started crying. I don't know why, I just cried until I had nothing left in me. I changed into pajamas after a while and laid down, but I couldn't fall asleep. I was mentally drained, but my body did not want to shut off and let Emmeline mess with my head.

Hours upon hours passed, I had heard the phone ringing but ignored it, and eventually I gave up and moved back onto the stone balcony. So there I sat, in jogging pants and a hoodie, staring at the city. It rained off and on, but I did not move; I didn't even think. My brain had shut down my thought process which could be a good and bad thing. The sun rose eventually, it was actually very beautiful, and I felt the heat hitting my skin. I closed my eyes and all I could see was Elijah and Emmeline, or was it Anastasia? There was a running theme so far in all of this, Elijah got the girl before they die, or at least that what it seemed like. Emmeline appeared to absolutely hate Klaus, and since Anastasia was dead, I couldn't say for her feelings.

I felt a hand on my shoulder; it was cool and strong. "Andy?"

I tensed up at hearing the voice. "Klaus, you're back."

"You don't seem too excited, love," He moved in front of me and saw my face. Pure worry engulfed his face and he bent down so he be face to face with me. "Andy, what's wrong, sweetheart?"

I barely shrugged and closed my eyes but he shook me.

"Did you stay out here all night? You're soaked," He sighed before he picked up bridal style and brought me into the hotel suite. He brought me into the bathroom in his room and sat me on the toilet. I was too out of it to look at his room. He took off his jacket and slung it back into his room. He rolled up his sleeves before he turned on the water in the tub before turning back to me. "I assume you don't want me to undress you," I didn't answer him and he sighed. He took my socks off before grabbing my chin. "Andrea Gilbert, do you want me to strip you down?"

I shook my head finally.

"Okay, then," He left the bathroom but left the door open, which made me suspect he would return in a moment which he did. We waited in silence as the tub finished filling up; after it finished, Klaus placed his hands on the side of my face. "I'll check on you in a little while." He left and I slowly peeled the clothes off of me. I climbed into the hot tub and it instantly felt better against my cold skin.

Everything Emmeline said replayed over in my head. "He's done horrible things and definitely doesn't deserve to be happy." If he didn't, then Stefan and Damon didn't. Caroline wouldn't either. I didn't feel very well at that moment; she messed with my head intentionally to get me away from Klaus, though I didn't believe her intentions were that innocent. Something didn't seem right with her.

I don't know how much time had passed, but Klaus appeared in the doorway with his back to me. "Are you finished, love?"

I didn't answer, I just stood and grabbed a towel. I dried myself off before finding my voice. "Do you have a shirt I can borrow?"

Klaus, seeming a little excited by that, disappeared into his room. I had wrapped the towel around my torso by the time he returned, but he still didn't look. Dropping the towel, I slid on the thermal shirt he had thrown to me. It was grey and clung to me in some places. I walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you," I said as he turned to face me. "And I'm sorry I was out of it there for a while."

"Don't worry about it, love," He pushed some hair out of my face which I tensed at his touch. "May I ask why you were in that state?"

I could tell him about Emmeline, I could tell him that she was the one haunting my dreams, but something was holding me back from doing that. "I was just thinking about my future," I lied smoothly. "Getting scared and whatnot."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," I forced a smile before walking around him. "I'll give your shirt back."

"Oh, keep it. It looks much better on you."

"It's 'cause I got boobs," I called back as I headed into the kitchen, I was hungry. "And why do you get the bathtub in your bathroom?!"

"You can use it anytime you want to, love, I can even join you sometimes if you wish."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. I opened the fridge and pulled out eggs, bacon, and orange juice. Then I pulled out some pancake mix from the cabinet. It was about seven in the morning, and I didn't eat hardly anything yesterday, so this would be a good breakfast, especially since Elena wasn't cooking it.

"I can do that," He walked over and tried to take over but I pushed him away.

"Nope, I'm cooking, Nikki," I said as I started frying the bacon. I decided that, since I would be stuck with him for however long, if I acted as if I was warming up to him I could go home earlier.

"Nikki?" He questioned, slight irritation in his voice.

"Your name's Niklaus, right? Well, you're called Nik by some so that wouldn't be an original nickname – heh, original. Anyways, Nikki has yet to be used, no?"

"No, it has not."

"If you would rather me not call you that, just tell me."

He was silent for a moment. "No, it's fine."

"Then sit down while I cook for you," I pointed to the island, to which he immediately went to.

"How was your day yesterday?" He asked after a few minutes of just watching me work.

"Good, actually. I think I'm in love with PSU."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. It looks amazing there and Sam gave me a complete tour. I'm going to apply when I get back to Mystic Falls," I admitted with a smile to him.

"Sam didn't take advantage of you, did he?"

"No," I turned half of my body to him. "Is it assumed that every man is going to use me? Even if he had, what would you have done?"

"I would torture him, slowly and painfully, so he feels pain like no one has ever. No one will ever hurt you as long as I'm around, Andy," He told me, a fire burning brightly in those blue eyes.

I turned back to the stove. "People will hurt me for the rest of my life, Klaus, it's how life goes."

"You can believe I will always be there to catch you."

I exhaled. "You say that now, but someday it'll be different. You won't want me around."

"Possibly," He said. "But that's how healthy relationships work. If we don't get sick of each other every once in a while, we'll run out of things to discuss and become a bore to one another to the point we cannot be within fifty feet of one another."

"You've thought this out, haven't you?"

"I am always one step ahead."

"Really?" I questioned, my thoughts going to Emmeline. "So then why don't you tell me about when Emmeline got the better of you?"

"What of it?" He asked after a long moment.

"What was your thought process?"

"Emmeline used me; what do you think my thoughts were?"

"You're telling me that you've never used a girl?" I asked him and there was no reply. "Exactly; you were blind-sided by her. You thought she genuinely liked you, didn't you? That maybe it was different than it was with Anastasia, but it wasn't. When you found out, you felt betrayed and you took it out on her. Was it worth losing your brother?"

"Every drop. Besides, I didn't completely lose him. He returned and stayed with me a few more years periodically."

My skin crawled and I looked at him to see he had become teary eyed. I swallowed and looked back to the frying pan. For his sake, I decided to change the subject. "So what did you do to break Stefan of his usual self?"

"A little compulsion, as always."

I didn't speak, my anger returning. I remembered he had locked me in the hotel room, had people following me, and this wasn't helping it at all. I was ready to punch him in that pretty face of his. I finished cooking breakfast and fixed him a plate and a glass of orange juice. Once I fixed myself one, I stood beside the island and ate.

"You can sit down, love."

"I'm good," I said, taking a bite of a piece of bacon.

After a few minutes of silence, he sighed. "What did I do this time?"

"You remember when we were in Gloria's bar? What I told you?"

He puckered his lips. "Yes,"

"I've got a continuation to that," I took a sip of my OJ before walking up to where we were inches away. "You can't compel people to be your friend or fight for you."

"I have and it works."

"That's not true companionship, Klaus," I shook my head. "When my siblings and friends had lied to me about the supernatural world and I found out, I felt betrayed. If it weren't for you storming into town to sacrifice Elena, I would not be talking to them. Once my good opinion is gone it's lost forever."

"And what is your opinion of me?"

"You manipulate, you thirst for power, you control, you punish, but your actions are driven by one, singular place deep inside," I said and paused for a moment before continuing. "You're alone, and you hate it. That's why you create hybrids and keep your family daggered until you can wake them… because you don't want to be alone. But, Klaus, if you want to connect with people so you have companionship, you actually have to open up. You can't just get by with charming and manipulating people. That's not how it works. You have to open up eventually."

Klaus had stood up and we were glaring at one another. "And how came you by this conclusion?"

"You're more easily seen through than you think," I put my hands on my hips.

"Oh, am I? What about you, Andy?"

"What about me?"

"You latch onto any man who shows you the slightest attention. You act like you're a broken little thing to get attention when you're actually a scared little girl who is going to hit rock bottom before she changes into anything amazing."

"I hate you," I was seething and I slapped him. "I wish I'd never met you! You're just a bastard who is trying to make himself better by dragging me down!"

"No, you know what? I'm trying to get you to show something other than hatred for me, but perhaps bringing you along was a bad idea."

"You're choosing a horrible way to do that!"

"Am I?" He said in a softer tone and I realized how close we had gotten. "You feel something right now, don't you?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "No, I feel nothing."

"Yes, you do. One word love: curiosity. You long for freedom. You long to do what you want to do because you want it. To act on selfish impulse. You want to see what it's like. One day you won't be able to resist," He whispered that last part in my ear. "You are constantly finding something to start something, you are trying to find a reason to not like me."

I pushed him back. "I do not 'latch onto any man' who shows me attention, Klaus. I've only ever kissed one person while in your time I imagine you slept around with multiple women. I've loved, yes, but not thrown myself at every interested party as you can see with our relationship. You've offended me in more ways than one, Klaus, and I know I have things wrong with me, I accept that. I apologize if I was too honest with you."

I stood there for a moment before turning and going to my room. That had started friendly and turned sour very quickly. Maybe it was inevitable… I mean, Klaus and I seemed to clash about something always that was just one of those times. I changed into better clothes and sat around the room for a while before there was a knock on the door.

"Andy?" Klaus's voice came from the other side. I didn't answer him, I just walked over to hear him better. "Andy, I shouldn't have said what I did… I-I apologize."

I sighed before opening the door. He was apologizing, which was a major shock, so I figured I would forgive him. "I forgive you for that but angry at you for kidnapping me and the other stuff you've done."

He held his hand out, a goofy smile on his face. "Well, good thing I have a big day planned. What do you say, Andy?"

I nodded. "Okay, but I get to drive and I'm not going to hold your hand."

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The End of Chapter XXVII