When Hayley finally got close to the camper he was busy getting something out of his car. She watched him carefully and waited for the right time to make her approach. Klaus was ducked off unseen farther away from them waiting on her cue. When the camper closed his car door and turned around he gasped and instinctively jumped back when he saw her just standing there.
"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you." She said sweetly with a fake innocent smile. When he realized she was just some pretty brunette who probably meant him no harm he relaxed a little.
"No worries darling, you just came out of nowhere, I didn't even hear you walk up."
Hayley smirked and took a few steps forward getting closer to the man. "I was hoping you could help me with something, I'm out here all alone and my car broke down."
"Well sure I can help with that just take me to the car."
Hayley gave him a sweet smile and batted her eyelashes at him. "Thank you so much for your help, follow me it's right past this thick patch of trees," she said pointing in the direction of the trees where Klaus was waiting for her.
Klaus saw her point towards him and smile, indicating that it was almost his turn to join in on her scheme. His lips curled into a mischievous smile as he watched her flirt with the unsuspecting guy while she led him to his impending death. The guy was so distracted by Hayley that he didn't notice that Hayley was leading him into the middle of nowhere and to an area that you couldn't even get cars to. "That poor fellow" Klaus whispered to himself with a laugh as he waited in the wings. He watched her effortlessly charm him and enamor him. He watched her stay completely focused on her task and not even blink twice about how wrong what she was doing was. He watched her brush her fingers through her long hair and toy with the ends while she crinkled her nose and curled her lips up in a flirtatious laugh. He observed her play coy and bite her bottom lip as the guy showered her with compliments for being such a pretty lady.
He had known she was manipulative he also knew the allure of her charms, but he had never truly seen her in this form, he had never seen her be so effortlessly and subtly intoxicating to get what she wanted. For a second it made him question if that quality would one day bite him in the ass or if it already had unknowingly, but those thoughts soon faded as he kept watching her. For some reason watching her made him remember how she so expertly seduced him that night in mystic falls. He had no idea what really happened that night until the next morning when she suddenly came to his mind while he lay in bed, causing him to replay their heated night in his head. It was then he realized what she had done to him and he scoffed at how easy it was and how unsuspecting he was. His pride made him curse her as a meaningless seductress that he luckily would never come in contact with again, but deep down as he thought about it a certain part of him longed to give up that control to her again, and again, and again.
"I do pity the fool.," he whispered to himself as he unknowingly got just as entranced with Hayley as their victim was. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even realize that Hayley was almost to him. She walked towards him a little slower than she was before as she saw his eyes strangely fixed on her. She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side as she watched him stare at her seemingly unaware that she was looking right back at him. It wasn't until Klaus unconsciously shifted his position that he saw her curious eyes locked on his. He quickly blinked and gave himself a slight shake to snap out of it once he realized what he had been doing. Hayley saw his sudden movement and decided she would put it off on him being lost in thought about something important to him.
"How much farther do we have to go, we've been walking for a long time now" the man finally spoke up.
"Oh not much farther it's just up here beyond these trees."
"How on earth did you manage to get a car stuck all the way out here?" He asked as he looked at the dark patch of trees curiously.
"You'd be surprised at some of the seemingly impossible things I can do." She smirked. "I had a little help too," she said as they took more steps into the darkness.
"Help? I thought you said you were all alone?" He asked now really suspicious of Hayley.
"Nonsense, she has me." Klaus let out menacingly as he suddenly appeared behind the man. He stood with his arms crossed in front if his body and his death filled eyes locked on the man. The guy turned around quickly when he heard the strange accent of a man behind him. "Who the hell are you? What's going on here?" He barked with a hint of fear behind his voice.
Hayley stood back in silence, as Klaus got closer to the man. She could hear his heart racing and his breathing change as fear washed over him and it thrilled her. Being able to tune her advanced hearing was something Klaus taught her one night while they were out. He told her that the sounds of fear came from more than just the voice, that you could literally hear it in the way the heart started to beat and the way the lungs took in and released air. You could hear the very moment that fear strikes and he said that being that in tune with your prey makes the kill all the more satisfying and he was right.
"Who I am is of no importance to you sir." Klaus began. "All you need to worry about it what I am."
"I don't know what you two have going on but I want no part of it, I'm out of here." He said as he started to run away.
Hayley quickly cut him off with her vamp speed. "You see," she said coldly as she approached him. "I just can't let you do that."
"What the hell kinda monsters are ya'll", the man shouted.
"The worse kind." Klaus said from behind as he suddenly extended his fangs and bit into the man's neck causing the guy to immediately let out a yell that no one heard.
"I think I've heard enough of you," Hayley said as she finally extended her fangs and bit into the other side of the man's neck. His yells immediately went silent and the life began to drain from his body.
Hayley was the first to finish up. She took one more really long suck from his wrist and then nonchalantly tossed his arms away from her. Klaus on the other hand kept drinking from his neck for a little while longer. Hayley sat on the ground and observed him finishing is work, scoffing at how greedy he was being. He could be so vicious and unrelenting sometimes when he fed she had noticed. She could always tell his mood depending on how he fed while they were out. Sometimes he was delicate and slow, carefully choosing where he wanted to bite and not feeding the entire time. Other times he was almost too aggressive. He would bite in and latch on for dear life not caring about how fast he was going or how much damage to the body he was doing. Sometimes he even acted like he didn't want to stop. She knew when he was in that kind of mood something was bothering him more that usual, something was eating away at him that he was trying to cope with. It appeared to her that this was one of those nights as she watched him continue to feed on that poor innocent man. By the time he was done Klaus had bit into his neck so much he was nearly decapitated.
Klaus tossed the dead body to the ground and wiped away the blood that was tricking from the corners of his mouth. He stared down at Hayley who was looking up at him with a puzzled and angry expression on her face.
"Problem love?" He asked. "You don't look like you enjoyed yourself, don't tell me you're growing a conscious." He said teasingly.
"You were supposed to follow my lead this time what was that?" She said as she got up from her seated position.
"I did follow your lead, you played your part quite well actually I was impressed little wolf."
Hayley stiffened at the sound of the familiar nickname rolling off the tip of his tongue.
"No you didn't. I was supposed to get the first bite, we agreed you would do whatever I said yet you still did what you wanted to do." She barked out. "And don't call me that," she said firmly.
"Okay so I got a little overzealous, that happens sometimes, nothing to get bent out of shape about love, next time you can go solo for all I care" he replied with a slightly angry undertone as he started to walk away from her.
That caused Hayley to roll her eyes. She sped to him and cut his path off causing him to take a few steps back. "You and I both know solo wouldn't be as fun, if it was you would have never dragged be out here like this."
"You think I need you Hayley?" Klaus laughed. "Let me make something clear, I simply indulge you for your sake, not for my own. I haven't needed anyone in centuries and I still don't."
"So you don't need anyone? Anyone at all?"
"Not you, not anyone" He said as he brushed his shoulder against hers and walked away from her again.
"Not even our daughter?"
Klaus suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and he immediately tensed up. Hayley could see his hands ball up into fist at his side and she could see him shifting his weight around on the balls of his feat. She could also hear the sound of his teeth clattering as he firmly clenched his jaw. It was a few seconds before he turned around to finally face her again and when he did Hayley could see the anger at her words and the hurt at their implications behind his eyes. Oddly enough however she didn't regret saying it.
"How dare you" was all he managed to whisper.
"You said you haven't needed anything in centuries right, that must apply to our daughter as well right, go head tell me you never needed her Klaus, tell me you still don't need her, say it." Her tone was very accusatory although she was only goading him into talking about what was bothering him.
"You know good and well that is not true, and the fact that you would accuse me of such a thing after everything I have-"
"After what," she said cutting him off.
"I will not stand here and listen to anymore of this, I'm leaving and you can find your own way home." He said angrily as he started to walk away.
Hayley sped past him and cut him off again much to his dismay. "No, you're not leaving" she said firmly.
He was so confused and angry at her behavior and he wasn't sure how much more he could take.
"I know you need her Klaus, you need her just as much as I do. I want to say it out loud. It's eating away at you isn't."
"I have heard enough of this!" He shouted at her but it did not deter Hayley in the least.
"That's why we're out here isn't it" she said as she started taking a few steps closer to him. She was almost right in his face. "That's why you were so zealous with that guy, it's why you were so unrelenting as you fed. Just admit it."
"OF COURSE I NEED HER!" he yelled at her. He was so close to Hayley, their bodies were mere centimeters apart. "Are you happy now, are you pleased with yourself now." He abruptly walked away from her only to stop himself and turn back around.
"She was everything to me!" He began as tears welled up in his eyes. Hayley watched and listened to him in silence. "You have no idea what it's like to go for centuries without anyone, anything worth living for only to find it when you least expect it then have it taken from you before you can even enjoy it. "
"I do know how that feels Klaus, I-"
"No you don't!" He yelled cutting her off. "That is why I have never allowed myself to need anything all this time. When you need someone, when you are that invested you are incredibly vulnerable. You are weak, love is weakness, caring is weakness, family is weakness, and people around you can exploit that weakness and hurt you in ways unimaginable. For centuries I sought to prevent that, for centuries I was successful until you came storming into my life with this child that I did not ask for and I let myself care against all my better judgment and look what happened. The person I cared about most is gone and you and I are completely and utterly destroyed because of it. I knew better and yet I did nothing but allow myself to turn into a hopeful fool and the people I care about most were hurt because of it."
"I know you don't regret her Klaus so just stop that nonsense right now. It's okay to need her you know." She said tenderly.
"And if I do regret her? Then what? Does that make you think less of me?" He asked.
Hayley didn't respond. She wasn't quite sure how to exactly.
"Go on Hayley, tell me." He said as he approached her. He knew it would push her buttons and after how she had pushed his he was not going to care about hurting her feelings at the moment. "If I told you that I regretted her how would that make you feel? What If I said that I regretted even sleeping with you in the first place then what, because I do sometimes," he said coldly to her.
Hayley stood speechless staring at him. Klaus could hear her heavy breathing and he could tell that she was getting angry but it's want he wanted, he needed her to feel hurt the way he felt. He invaded her space even more and finally told her what he knew would drive her over the edge.
"I regret the day I even met you Hayley Marshall." His tone was so harsh that no matter how many times Hayley told herself that he was just acting out and deflecting she couldn't stop herself from getting angry at him. Before she knew it tears were welling up in her eyes and her hand was colliding with the side of his face forcefully.
Klaus absorbed her slap effortlessly and when he smirked at her she slapped him again. After the second slap he grabbed her arm to prevent her from doing it again. Doing so brought her a little closer to him than she was before. Their faces and their bodies were only inches apart and their forearms were touching. They were so close they could almost feel each other's heavy breathing as their frustration with each other spilled out. Hayley looked at Klaus and started to say something but she couldn't manage to get it out and instead of words forming tears did, tears she didn't want him to see so she jerked her arm away from him and walked away.
Klaus saw the expression on her face just before she walked away. It finally hit him that he was being cruel and dishonest to her for no other reason besides not wanting to hurt alone. It was selfish he thought to himself, but he was so used to being that way he didn't know any other way to deflect. He looked at her brown waves getting farther and farther away from him, disappearing into the darkness and suddenly desperation hit him. Watching her walk away felt like she was leaving him for good. The visual of her figure fading into the darkness made it feel so permanent even thought he knew it was probably only temporary. It made him realize how much he didn't want her to walk away from him. He needed her to stay; he couldn't take another person falling just out of his reach.
Before he lost complete sight of her he finally found the nerve to try to stop her. He sped in her direction and finally caught up to her. He grabbed her by both of the back of her arms halting her footsteps.
"Wait," he whispered into her ear causing Hayley to shiver. She turned her head around slightly and stared as his fingers wrapped around her upper arms.
"Let me go Klaus" she ordered him, although there wasn't much authority or fight behind her voice.
"Hayley I…I didn't mean-"
"No!" She said cutting him off and pulling her body away from his. She turned around and finally faced him. "You don't get to do that. You don't get to preach to me about anger and sadness and how you can't let it consume you then turn around and do that same thing. You don't get to make me feel like we can get through this together then turn around and push me away when you don't want to deal with how you're feeling. That's not fair you know it!" she said angrily.
"Things are not as uncomplicated for me as they are for you Hayley, what else am I supposed to do? Am I to break down and cry all the time like a wounded child? Am I supposed to let you coddle me through my grief every day as if you don't have grief of your own? Yes I need her, yes she is the greatest achievement in my considerable lifetime and not a single minute goes by that I regret creating her. What then?"
"It's funny you say that because that's all I see right now, a wounded child who can't fathom the idea of actually showing the least bit of weakness."
"Is that really what you see when you see me?" He asked solemnly.
"Yes, but I don't care and it's okay, that's what you don't understand. I don't know what comes after that part I haven't even figured it out for myself, you know I don't have the answers and it sucks but the point is at least we both don't know. You don't always have to be so strong you know, I can handle it, you've been there for me why can't you just let me be there for you in return?"
She wasn't quite sure where her brazen attitude towards his unwillingness to open up to her came from but she wasn't backing down. She didn't comfort Klaus much in this way but something in her couldn't find the urge to do it, despite how much he was fighting against her.
He looked away from her and didn't answer her. For some reason his obvious avoidance of something that was clearly affecting him made Hayley want to try even harder to crack him so she finally decided to go out on a whim and cross one of the boundaries she had set between them. She walked closer to him and gently cupped his left cheek with her palm, lightly rubbing her thumb against the stubble along his jawline "Klaus…look at me."
The smoothness of her palm and the tenderness of her voice was so comforting that he couldn't keep fighting against her attempts to get him to open up. He slowly lifted his head up and met her eyes with his.
"Just let it out…you miss her, you need her. It makes you feel sick and angry that you had to give her away and all you want is to hold her and look into her eyes and tell her how much you love her…but you can't and it eats away at you and knowing that neither can't do any of that either eats away at you too. Just let it out it's okay"
Just then a single tear fell from his left eye wetting her palm. Hayley gently brushed the moisture away from his cheek with her thumb. He blinked away his other tears and solemnly turned away from her, choosing to retreat to the ground. He focused his attention on a light reflecting on the nearby water that he could see through the trees. Hayley quietly took a seat next to him and stared out into the clearing as well.
"The sounds she made when she was born, you know the one I'm talking about, the soul piercing fragile wails that she let out just as you took her into your arms… I can still hear it. Sometimes I awake in a frenzy and it's because I had been dreaming about that moment, the moment that should have been our happiest moment. It haunts me."
"I think despite what happened shortly after that still is my happiest moment Klaus. When I looked at her face, it was unlike anything I had ever experienced, it was magical. That's why I had to look up at you…. she really was ours, part you and part me, and she was perfect, she was absolutely perfect." Hayley said sniffing away tears.
"That she was." He blankly replied.
"She'll probably look nothing like that when we finally see her again." Hayley said with sadness. It was breaking her heart all over again that she's only had three brief moments with her daughter.
"You may be right, but she looked just like her mother so regardless she will still be perfect and beautiful." He absentmindedly replied.
At that Hayley smiled and lowered her upper body onto the ground. She curled up and stared up at the stars as that moment replayed over and over in her head.
"You know we can leave now if you want to. I think our work here is done." Klaus told her as he looked down at her and observed the stars reflecting in her eyes.
"Can we stay a little longer? It's peaceful here."
"Sure, we can stay however long you like love." He replied.
"Thank you." Hayley responded.
Klaus sat up and tried to block out his daughter's wails ringing in his ears with the sounds of the insects chirping and the wind whipping against the trees. After a while the sounds had completely drowned the wails out, giving him some much-needed solace. Hayley had drifted off to sleep by that time. Klaus noticed hues of pink and orange start to paint the once dark sky, indicating that sunrise was fast approaching. He figured they should head back now before Elijah noticed they were gone so he carefully picked Hayley up and carried her to the car. He laid her down in the backseat of the car so she could keep sleeping then got in and made the short drive back to their home. Hayley still had not wakened so he retrieved her sleeping body from the back seat and slowly carried her into the house.
Elijah was sitting in the study when he heard a car pull up to the compound. He had been up all night waiting for Hayley to return home but she never did and the longer that Klaus stayed gone the more he was sure they were somewhere together. He sat ducked off in the back out of the line of sight of the door so Klaus didn't see him when he opened the door and looked around to see if anyone was awake or watching. Elijah however could see all of his movements. He had Hayley in his arms. Her head was laid against his shoulder and her arm was draped around his neck. The visual confirmed just what he suspected, Klaus and Hayley had stayed out all night with each other and his mind went over the millions of things they could have been doing. Given their history half of those things made him extremely uncomfortable and the other made him seriously concerned for his brother and Hayley.
He couldn't see Klaus open Hayley's door but he heard it as it opened. He assumed Klaus was putting her in bed and would be out shortly, but it was a few minutes, too many minutes actually, before he saw Klaus's shadow retreat down the hall to his own quarters. For some reason that made his mind jump to the last time he saw Klaus trying to secretly retreat from Hayley's room, to that morning he ran into him sneaking out when he was going to talk to her. He now wondered if what he believed happened that morning was truly what happened and he wondered how many other moments like that one and the one he saw tonight had taken place without his knowledge. He didn't know what was going on between them and he talked him self out of thinking the worse but the sinking feeling he felt in his chest indicated that whatever it was, he was not going to be happy about it.
AN: okay so I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I felt like most of the story thus far had focused a lot on Klaus helping Hayley so I thought this was a good time to show the reverse of that. That's just my take on how Klaus would possibly handle Hayley trying to get him to open up, you'll see a bit more of that a we get farther into the story as well. I can't wait to see how the show handles that. As you can also see things are starting to get a little bit more intense between Klaus and Hayley and Elijah now knows for sure that Klaus and Hayley have been spending late nights together. Sounds like a recipe for some good stuff if you ask me ;) anyways as usual REVIEW!