To JennyMikaelson: Ah, I see by your penname that you love the Originals, too. I won't say how close you are (don't want to spoil the story for you), but you're on the right track! There's more to it, though. I'm an author who loves complicated plots and plot twists. Expect the unexpected from me. I'm glad you like it! Thanks so much for your review, I love every one of them.
To taramegareader: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're liking this story of mine, and I'm happy to present you with the next chapter. Feel free to guess away at what E.J.'s secret is as well. If you have no idea, then just come up with some random nonsense that I can get a good laugh from
To Marauders12345: Thank you for the review, my faithful reviewer! Does Klaus have to be up to something? Okay, yes, probably. He feels an attraction, non-romantic, to E.J., if that helps. You're on the right track, too, but there's a lot more to it! As I told another reviewer, I love complexity! It breathes life into an otherwise boring story. Trust me, E.J.'s secret is complicated. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
AN: Again, thank you to my reviewers! That's the most I've received so far, and I'm ecstatic! Anyway, instead of just the first, I am going to give you all of the three points:
Who are E.J.'s parents and why is that significant?
What is it about that box of E.J.'s, anyway?
What does Gloria have to do with everything?
Guess away, lovely readers! The first point will begin to be revealed in a few chapters, so that's the first to go with. They're not necessarily in order, by the way. But they all tie together, sort of! When you're ready for your final guess, say so. That's the one I'll take. The first one to correctly guess the first point (as a final guess) will receive a point. And so on and so on. I'll explain more next update, this is getting really long. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: E.J. and the idea belongs to me. Nothing else.
The foyer was empty when Kol carried Niklaus through the doorway on his shoulders. The drive home had been an eventful one, with Niklaus trying to "break free" every thirty seconds. Kol had nearly broken his brother's neck just to keep him still. The only thing that stopped him from doing so was the fear of a sober Niklaus's retaliation if he ever found out.
"Hello!" Kol bellowed, his voice echoing more than once in the large foyer. He was not too keen on having to care for Niklaus himself, and he really hoped that one of his other siblings was home. He only had to wait for a few seconds before someone approached him at vampiric speed.
Finn did not look happy, standing there with a bowl of popcorn cradled in his arms. He had not bothered to change his clothes from yesterday, still dressed in his gray sweatpants and SpongeBob Squarepants shirt. His siblings could not seem to explain to him that people of the modern time did not wear the same clothes every day. And that they bathed regularly, brushed their teeth, shaved, etc.
"What?" Finn grouched, shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth and chewing noisily. How did he ever land a hottie like Sage? Kol thought to himself.
Finn froze and glared at him. "What did you just call my fiancée?" he snarled, although the menace was lost when said around a mouthful of popped kernels.
When Finn had informed his siblings of his proposing to Sage, they had been more than a little surprised. Elijah had gone on to lecture him about the commitment of marriage, Niklaus had laughed himself silly for a good ten minutes, Rebekah had demanded to know where Sage was and had stormed off when Finn had told her without thinking (her brothers still did not know where she had gone), and Kol himself had simply asked, "When's the wedding?" They were still not yet used to the idea, but Finn and Sage were in no hurry to "take the next step" and hadn't even picked a date yet, disappointing Kol when his question went unanswered.
"Reading minds is rude, Finny," Kol whined. "And so is not bathing for two weeks."
"The water falls from the ceiling!" Finn exclaimed, his eyes widening in horror. Kol knew that the distraction would only last a few minutes before Finn remembered his earlier thought-comment. "It is not natural!"
"It's just like rain, Finn," Kol sighed, adjusting Niklaus on his shoulders. Hadn't Finn noticed him yet? He was acting oblivious to Niklaus's presence (unconscious though it was).
"It does not rain indoors!" Finn retorted. He suddenly set his bowl of popcorn down on the floor (Elijah would not be happy about that) and looked Kol in the eye. "Are you going to tell me why Niklaus is passed out on your shoulders, reeking of alcohol, or do I have to ask?" he followed with a question, startling Kol.
"We went to The Grill," Kol explained mildly. "I went off by myself, and, when I sensed that Nikky was getting more riled up than normal, I tracked him down and found him drunk off his ass." Finn looked confused. "That's modern-speak for the buttocks, Finny."
"Why would they call the buttocks a donkey?" Finn asked in confusion as he stepped forward to assist Kol in lowering Niklaus to the ground.
Kol snorted, unable to stop himself. When Finn said it like that, it did seem rather ridiculous. "Same reason obnoxious women are called female dogs, I guess."
Finn had apparently dropped the topic, for he was now focusing his attention on Niklaus. "Niklaus!" he hollered with a slap to the younger Original's face.
The strike awoke the hybrid, who jerked up and groaned loudly, reaching up to hold his probably pounding head. "Hvað er að gerast?" ("What is going on?") Finn and Kol were surprised to hear their native tongue come from their brother's lips, but Niklaus did not even notice. "Hvers vegna er höfuð mitt meiða?" ("Why does my head hurt?")
"You had a wild time at a bar, Nik," Finn answered calmly, the first of the brothers to recover. Niklaus hadn't spoken in their childhood language since before he had learned another, which had been very soon after they had turned. Niklaus held anything to do with their native home with contempt, especially their language. His siblings suspected it had to do with their father, but none of them were sure.
Niklaus blinked at Finn in confusion. "Hvers vegna talar þú svo undarlega, bróðir?" ("Why do you speak so strangely, brother?")
In a panic, Finn grabbed his brother and snapped his neck with one strong twist. Kol stared at him, but he had been tempted to do the same thing. "What the hell?" Kol breathed in shock. "He just got drunk, not amnesia."
Finn looked shocked, staring down at his hands and Niklaus's unconscious body in horror. "Why did I just do that?" he murmured, looking horrified.
Kol sighed and rolled his eyes, strolling over to slap his older brother on the back of the head. "Snap out of it, Finny. We've gotta get Nik up to his room. Maybe he'll remember who he is when he wakes up?"
Finn didn't reply as he robotically bent down to pick his brother up. Kol watched as Finn lifted Niklaus up onto his shoulders, adjusting him more gently than necessary. "He's not going to break, Finn," Kol spoke quietly. For once, Kol did not feel the need to "break the tension" with an inappropriate joke, like he normally would. "You didn't really hurt him," Kol continued. "He can't be killed, remember? How many times has he reminded us of that?" Kol suddenly stiffened and cleared his throat. "'I am the hybrid!'" he badly mimicked his brother.
Instead of smiling, like Kol had been going for, Finn glared heatedly at him, spun on his heel, and trotted up the staircase. Kol's face fell. "Well, I thought it was funny," he muttered as he followed his brother.
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Elijah did not get out often, certainly not to be with a woman. Carol Lockwood was a lovely woman, and Elijah had grown quite fond of her. When she had called him that morning to ask him over for afternoon tea, he had been delighted to oblige her. He did find it strange, though, how she kept complimenting him, laughing at nearly everything he said (and he was not one for being funny), and obscenely fluttering her eyelashes at him. Even with a thousand years of experience under his belt, Elijah still did not understand the many ways of women, and had yet to pick up that the woman was flirting with him.
Elijah loved his siblings dearly, but he was grateful to be away from them, even if it was only for a few hours of his afternoon. When his cellphone initially went off, he ignored it, but, after the second time, he pulled it out and irritatingly looked at the number.
"Who is it?" Carol asked, sounding almost annoyed herself.
Elijah huffed in annoyance and ignored the call. "Just my brother. He knows not to bother me when I am out." He picked up his teacup and smiled graciously at his host. "Now where were we—?"
He was interrupted by a familiar ringtone, one he had heard not seconds before. "Excuse me," he grumbled as he once more fished his phone out from his pants pocket and glanced at the number. "What do you want, Kol?" he muttered under his breath as he once more ignored the call. Perhaps his youngest brother would finally get the message!
Carol was no longer smiling when Elijah once again turned his attention to her. "Somebody really wants to talk to you," she pouted, sounding dejected.
Elijah sighed and wearily shook his head. "My brother can be thickheaded. I do apologize for—"
When his phone went off for a fourth time, Elijah dug it back out, checked the number, and huffed in annoyance, the closest he would come to losing his cool when a lady was present. "Excuse me," he mumbled as he stood and exited her parlor to tell his brother off in words.
Before he could say a word, the minute he answered the call, the other end exploded, "Elijah, Thor's hammer, I've called you like eighty times! Something's wrong with Nik! Finn broke his neck because he was speaking our tongue, and acting like he didn't know English, and now he's freaked out and totally useless, and I have no idea what to do in this kind of situation! Why the hell did it take you so long to answer, anyway? Where are you? When are you—?"
Elijah was holding the phone several inches from his ear, but his brother's words were still very loud to his hypersensitive hearing. He hadn't caught but a few words of what Kol was saying, and was only waiting for the rampage to stop so he could figure out why on earth his brother felt the need to disturb him on his "day off."
Kol finally trailed off, perhaps sensing he was not being listened to. "Er, Lijah, are you still there?"
Sighing in relief, Elijah put the phone back to his ear. "Yes, Kol, I am. Now, why are you calling me when I'm out?"
There was a short pause. "Come home, Elijah, please? It would be easier to show you."
Elijah frowned, deciding between being annoyed and being worried. "Kol, I can't just—"
"It's Nik, Lijah," Kol interrupted. "Something's happened to him."
That was all Elijah had to hear, memories of his brother's recent illness still fresh in his mind. "I'll be right there."
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Elijah was met at the door by a very stressed-0ut Kol. Without a word, the younger Original grabbed his arm and dragged him across the foyer, up the staircase, and into Niklaus's room. Finn sat in an armchair beside the bed, his head buried in his hands and his shoulders shaking. Niklaus was lying on his back under the covers, his eyes closed and his breathing even.
Elijah extricated himself from Kol's tight grip and strode over to stand over Niklaus. He reached out and ran a hand lightly down his brother's cheek, watching for some reaction. He noticed that his brothers had not bothered to change Niklaus, not that he was surprised. Finn seemed to be beside himself about something, and Kol wouldn't have done it even if Elijah had paid him.
"What happened exactly?" Elijah carefully sat down beside Niklaus, keeping his gaze trained on his unconscious little brother.
Kol sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making his curls stand up on end to a comical point. "Nik and I went to The Grill, and I went off on my own for a couple of hours, only to sense Nik's temper giving way. I tracked him down, and stopped him from ripping Damon Salvatore's heart out, and dragged him home. When I brought him in the door, I called Finn and Finn slapped him to wake him up, but when he woke up he was speaking our native tongue and acting all weird." He frowned. "When Finn spoke English to him, he replied with 'Why do you speak so strangely, brother?' Needless to say, that kinda freaked us out and Finn, uh, broke Nik's neck in his panic. And he hasn't quite forgiven himself for that yet."
Elijah turned to look at his younger brother, whose hands were now dangling between his knees, his gaze focused on him. Elijah smiled and reached out to lay his hands on Finn's shoulders. "It's all right, Finn," he spoke calmly, quietly. "You just panicked. It happens to the best of us. Whatever is wrong with Niklaus, you were not the cause, understood? Even if he wakes up and is still acting strangely, you are still not the cause."
Finn tried to smile, but it fell flat. "Don't try to coddle me, Elijah," he sighed. "I'm not one of them." He jerked his chin at Kol to make his point. "I know it wasn't my fault what happened to Nik, but I acted on impulse." He sighed again and pulled away from Elijah's hands. "Bad things happen when I act on impulse, Elijah. It just scares me that I might do it again, and I might do something worse than just break somebody's neck who can't even die."
Elijah understood. Finn had had some problems with anger and impulsiveness when they had been human. As a teenager, it had often gotten him in trouble and, as an adult, it had nearly cost him or one of his loved ones their lives on several different occasions. Finn was afraid that something would happen and he would do something irreparable.
Elijah might have tried to say something if, at that moment, Niklaus hadn't stirred. He immediately turned his attention to him, reaching out to grasp his younger brother's hand and squeeze it hard. Niklaus's eyes blinked open slowly and he stared up at Elijah uncomprehendingly for a few moments.
Then he noticed where he was and that his hand was being held. "What are you doing?" he muttered, in English, thankfully.
Kol breathed out in relief and laughed. "You had us scared there, Nik! I actually thought you had lost it!"
Niklaus glared and pulled himself up. His movement, unfortunately, brought his post-binge-drinking headache on with a bang and he buried his head in Elijah's shoulder, moaning in pain.
Elijah smiled humorlessly, unconsciously knowing why his brother was suddenly in so much pain, and wrapped an arm around his back. "There, there, little brother," he soothed, half-teasing. "It will go away eventually."
Elijah heard Finn sigh in relief and stand up. "Hangover?" Finn asked his older brother mildly. Elijah glanced up to see Finn gazing down at his younger brother, his eyes looking him up and down. In the back of his mind, Elijah recognized it as concern. Finn might not have said it, but breaking his little brother's neck so abruptly had made him feel guilty. Niklaus might have been the un-killable hybrid, but he was still their kid brother. It was hard not to see him that way, even after all of these years.
Elijah nodded. "That would be my guess. Kol, would you go see if Niklaus has any aspirin in his medicine cabinet?"
Normally, Kol would have argued, but he had experienced enough hangovers in his long life to feel sorry for his older brother. He skipped off to the bathroom, suddenly elated at the chance to search through its contents. He had never been in Niklaus's bathroom before, under fear of an imminent beating if he did, and he was eager to see what it contained.
It was just as elaborate as he had anticipated, and he busied himself with inspecting the enormous claw-footed tub residing in the far left corner of the room, the golden toilet across from it, and the dark-wooded, marble-topped vanity to the right of the tub. Over it hung only a mirror, which reminded Kol of what he was there for.
He first checked under the sink, but found nothing resembling a medicine stockpile. It wasn't until he thought to check the linen cabinet that he found it. The medicine was all lined up neatly, organized by ailment and alphabetized by brand. Niklaus really needed a hobby.
Kol thumbed through the rectangular boxes, gladly messing up his brother's carefully organized system, until he found his objective: a bottle filled with aspirin. "Bingo!" He smirked, trotted toward the sink, and filled up a glass of water halfway. Wouldn't Elijah be proud! He was thinking ahead!
Kol returned a few minutes later, trotting over and holding out the aspirin bottle and glass of water to his eldest brother. Elijah raised an eyebrow and accepted both. "Thank you," he said with an amused smile.
Niklaus was sitting back against his pillows, holding another pillow in front of his face. "Take these, Niklaus," Elijah spoke quietly. "They will help your head.
Niklaus peeked out from behind his improvised sunblock, glanced at the offered medicine, and reluctantly laid his pillow aside. Elijah handed him the glass and quickly unscrewed the cap to the bottle. "How many?" he asked formally.
Niklaus grimaced and held up five fingers. Elijah gave him a look and Niklaus sighed and put down two of his fingers. That seemed to satisfy the elder Original, who shook out three pills and handed them to his brother. Niklaus quickly swallowed the pills dry and then downed the water before he could gag.
"Thank you," he grumbled once he was done, handing the glass back to Elijah. "Can I sleep now?" He burrowed back down into his pillows, reaching out and blindly fumbling for his sunblock pillow before putting it back over his head.
"We'll talk when you feel better." Elijah patted his brother's shoulder, making Niklaus jerk away from his hand, and stood up. He herded Kol out ahead of him as he left the room, saying nothing when Finn sat back down in the chair.
"Why are you still here?" Niklaus's voice drifted from within his mound of pillows.
Finn settled back into the chair, put his foot up on his knee, and closed his eyes. "Go back to sleep, Nik," was all he replied.
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"I'm sorry!" E.J. exclaimed upon entering the boarding house. Her head was pounding and she was beyond irritable, but Damon didn't seem to care. She sniffled as he grabbed her by the elbow and marched her into the main sitting room. "I shouldn't have drunk so much!" she continued, whimpering at Damon's crushing grip.
"You shouldn't have drunk anything at all!" he responded, throwing her down on the couch and turning at vampiric speed to smash his fist into the wall. The force formed a fist-sized crater, but Damon was too delirious with rage to notice.
E.J. tried to become one with the couch. "I'm sorry!" Her voice sounded pathetically small even to her own ears. "I won't do it again, promise!"
"Damn right you won't!" Damon turned on her, snarling. He was on her in seconds, lifting her from the couch and shaking her. "I don't care if you're 'not my kid,' I'm officially grounding you! Hell, I think I'll have Bonnie put a spell on the house just to make sure you don't go anywhere!"
E.J. yelped in pain when she was dropped to the ground, her ankle twisting under her. "You'll be in a helluva lot more pain if you ever think about doing anything so damn stupid again!"
Damon sped out of the room and up the stairs. E.J. could hear his door slam even from where she was. She reached down to rub her ankle and cried, shaking her head.
For nearly ten minutes, she sat there until her ankle began to feel a little bit better. She sniffled and climbed painfully to her feet, testing her weight on her ankle before heading to the door. "Dick," she muttered under her breath, slamming the door on her way out, not caring if Damon heard. "Thinks he can order me around. I'll show him!"
Damon heard the slam up in his room and froze. "Oh, she did not!" He sped down the stairs and out the door, but it was too late. E.J. was nowhere to be found. "Dammit!" His fist smashed another crater in his wall, this one on the outside, but he was still livid.
Okay, he had definitely not been "nice" like Elena had asked. Actually, he had been the exact opposite of "nice." This was why Damon should never be in charge of a kid!
He went back inside to search for his cellphone. When he finally remembered that it was still in his pocket, he fished it out and dialed Stefan's number. If his brother was in town, he could keep an eye out for E.J. He would call Elena but he really did not need to hear her saying "I told you so!" right now.
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Kol was in the middle of an Adventure Time marathon, giggling gleefully to himself at the sad moments and rolling his eyes at the funny, when the doorbell went off. "Bekah, doorbell!" he bellowed before remembering his sister had gotten special permission from Elijah to go to the library to study for some test. What a little kid! "Finn, doorbell!" he called instead before remembering that Finn had had a date with Sage that afternoon. "Nik, doorbell!" Oh, wait, Niklaus was still incapacitated from his hangover. "Lijah, doorbell!"
Satisfied, he returned his attention to his program, burying his hand into his bag of chips. Ten seconds later, the doorbell went off again. He jerked his head up, listening for the sounds of his eldest brother's answering it. Is Elijah even home? Kol thought to himself. Oh, well!
The doorbell went off for a third time.
"Oh, fine!" Kol climbed to his feet and begrudgingly went to answer it himself. "People nowadays!"
When he finally answered the door, a very familiar person was reaching out to ring the doorbell for the fourth time.
Kol raised an eyebrow. "Why, hello there, love. What can I help you with?"
E.J. glared up at him. "What took you so long? I've been standing out here for like ten minutes ringing your doorbell!"
Kol shrugged. "I was busy. What do you want, exactly?"
E.J. sighed and looked from side to side before peeking up at Kol from underneath her eyelashes. "This might seem a little awkward, but . . . . I need some help."
Kol leaned against the doorframe, looking thoughtful. "With what?" He was usually the last person people would ask for the help of, and he was intrigued.
E.J. suddenly looked nervous. "Um, is Elijah home by any chance? Or better yet Nik?"
"If he is, he's apparently too busy to answer the doorbell," Kol replied smartly. "And Nik's a little preoccupied at the moment. You'll have to make do with me, love."
E.J. frowned. "You hate Damon Salvatore, right?"
Now Kol was interested. "That I do, love. Why do you ask?"
E.J.'s eyes narrowed. "Damon's being a total dick right now and I don't want to stay at the Boarding House anymore. I can't get my stuff back alone or else he'll find a way to keep me there. I was wondering if I could stay here for a while?"
Kol grinned and stepped outside, closing the door and offering E.J. his arm. "My dear, I would be more than happy to assist you in relieving yourself of Damon Salvatore."
E.J. actually smiled and took Kol's arm. "I have to say," she said, "I wasn't really expecting you to help me."
Kol grinned at her. "It's my specialty, love." Before E.J. could say anymore, he had sped them both off.
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When the doorbell went off, Damon sped over to answer it right away. He was just getting ready to release a tirade on E.J. (whom he assumed to be at the door) when he opened it and got the shock of his life.
Kol grinned maliciously at him. "Hello, mate. Can I come in?" Before Damon could inform him that "No, you dick, you cannot!" E.J. appeared from behind Kol and brushed past him into the house.
"Thought I'd bring some backup with me!" she cheerfully called over her shoulder.
Damon was struck dumb by these turn of events. Kol didn't need to be invited in, and E.J. knew that. "What do you want me to do with him, love?" Kol called up the stairs to E.J., who had disappeared into her room.
"Just keep him busy until I can get my things!" she called back.
Leaning against the doorframe, Kol returned his attention to a stunned Damon. "You heard her, mate. I'm to 'keep you busy.' What do you suppose that entails exactly? A little up to interpretation, if you ask me."
Damon glared but if he made one wrong move Kol could be on him in seconds. He was debating between cursing E.J. and trying to kiss up to her. Since when did E.J. have Originals at her disposal, anyway?
A few long minutes went by and Kol yawned. "Boy, females sure are long in their packing," he quipped. "What do you suppose she's doing up there?"
Damon could only glare, clutching onto the door, which he had never let go of. "I wouldn't know," he grumbled back.
"Sorry about that!" E.J. sped down the stairs carrying two suitcases, which she tossed at the door. "I just have my box left, and I don't need to pack that!"
Kol raised an amused eyebrow as she once again disappeared up the stairs. "She asked to come stay with us, you know," he informed Damon. "Apparently you were being a 'dick.' Do you enjoy making people's lives miserable, Salvatore?"
Before Damon could reply, E.J. reappeared with a heavy, dark-wooded box under her arm. "I'm ready!" she cheerfully informed Kol.
"I like her," Kol told Damon. "She's like the darling little sister I never had." He flashed Damon a wicked grin as he stepped past him into the house to pick up E.J.'s suitcases.
"We'll be off now!" Kol sing-songed as he stepped aside to let E.J. out first. "Don't follow us now, mate. It won't end well for you."
Damon could only watch helplessly as E.J. trotted off with Kol. Apparently, they had sped over and were content on walking back. Once they had disappeared from sight, he slammed the door shut and leaned against it in frustration.
"No, no, no, no!" he hissed under his breath. "What have you done, you moron?" He shook his head as he fell to the floor.
That obstinate little girl had been his responsibility, and now it was his own brashness and lapse of control that had put her in harm's away. Damon really couldn't figure out for the unlife of him why the hell he cared so much about that girl, but . . . he did. Something about her attracted his attention. If something happened to her while she was "staying" with the Originals, he very well might stake himself. And he had absolutely no idea why!
Right when he thought he might actually break down, his phone went off and he ripped it out of his pocket.
"Hello?" Stefan asked on the other line. "Damon? I got your message. Have you found E.J. yet?"
Damon sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, Stef." Stefan immediately began asking questions, but Damon cut him off, "She came here with Kol, Stefan. She's buddy-buddies with the Originals, now? What are we supposed to do?"
Stefan was quiet on the other line for a few moments before he spoke, "We get her back, Damon. She doesn't know what she's getting herself into. We do everything we have to. We were responsible for her, and now we need to make sure she stays safe."
Damon laughed humorlessly. "Famous last words, little brother."
AN: And now the interesting part begins! What's wrong with Klaus, you might ask? You'll have to read on to find out. Has to do with point #2, I can tell you. There was another clue about the "special-ness" of E.J. is in this chapter, point #1, if you can find it. I have to say, I do see that people are guessing well. Unfortunately, I am not an author who will spoil the surprise, and there are a few more chapters left before the first point's answer will be revealed.
I'll make a deal with you all. If I receive 5+ reviews, I will update Saturday. If I receive four, Sunday. Three or less, Monday. It's up to you! Keep the guesses coming! I will tell you this: You're all on the right track, but there's a lot more to it (as revealed by the three points in first author's note). Thanks for reading!