Of course Klaus had been happy to accept Rachel's suggestion to go to the bar and meet Brody. He had made a great impression on Rachel and the Original hybrid wanted to see if he could trust the young warlock or not. Rachel was the person he loved the most in the world and he didn't want to risk losing her to someone he didn't even know. He needed to face this potential enemy.

They arrived at the bar a little late and Brody was already inside, along with a lot of other people. Once again, Rachel swore she saw Kurt at some point but when she turned her head again to look for him, she couldn't find him.

"Something wrong Love?" Klaus asked her.

"I keep getting glances of Kurt, you know Kurt Hummel, but when I turn to look for him he's gone..." Rachel tried to explain.

"Is he even in New York?" He asked her.

"I know he didn't get into NYADA but I call Puck this morning and he learned from Finn that Kurt found a job in an online magazine here so he's definitely in town and planning on auditioning again for NYADA after Winter break." Rachel replied.

By then they had reached the table where Brody was and so Klaus only nodded to show Rachel he had heard her before she introduced the two of them.

"So, this is the famous Original Hybrid who's rumoured to be so powerful?" Brody asked in a joking tone.

It was obvious to Klaus that the boy didn't take him seriously.

"Trust me, it's not a rumour." Klaus replied as he helped his girlfriend sit down like a gentleman and ordered them some drinks.

"So Brody, I didn't know this place was so popular. Is it always so full?" Rachel asked, trying to change the subject and to ease a bit the tensed air.

"Yes, it's mostly NYADA students, or some NYADA wannabe. It's always open mike." Brody explained with a flirty smile that Rachel didn't notice.

"Place looks nice." Klaus said and Rachel nodded in approval.

"So Klaus, do you sing? I mean, most people that come here do and Rachel is so talented, I'm sure singing a duet with her can be very intimate. I don't even think it would be possible to be in a couple with someone who couldn't sing with her often." Brody told the hybrid, trying to upset him.

It didn't take long for Klaus to see that Brody had views on Rachel and he knew that the boy would try to make him look bad, to make him lose his temper so he did his best to stay calm.

"Well, singing is mostly Rachel's passion, I don't like to intrude." Klaus replied as he gently squeezed Rachel's hand making her smile brightly at him.

"No talent then. I see." Brody replied.

"That not true! Klaus has plenty of talent and we've sung plenty of times together. Plus, he even sung me a few songs on his own. He's a great singer too. Just modest and more at ease with painting." Rachel intervened and it made Klaus happy to hear her defending him in front of the boy who seemed to want her.

"If you say so... Did Cassandra July ease up on you a bit today?" Brody asked her.

"No, she didn't but it's okay, I don't mind a challenge once in a while. It's no fun accomplishing anything if it always comes easy to you. If you don't have fight to get what you want, then you don't really deserve it and the victory doesn't smell as good." Rachel replied.

"That's my girl." Klaus said before he kissed her softly, making Brody instantaneously jealous.

The rest of the night went by the same way. Brody kept on trying to get in Rachel's good books while keeping Klaus out of the conversation, Rachel would do her best to include Klaus and Brody would then try to upset the hybrid. All in all, it wasn't a bad evening but when the time came to go home, Rachel hadn't noticed that Brody was flirting, she was convinced that he was just trying to be a friend to her and that Klaus made him nervous.

"Trust me Rachel, that guy has views on your pants." Klaus told her as they walked back to his car.

"Don't be ridiculous, we're just friends...and I wear skirt..." Rachel replied rolling her eyes.

"If you say so..." Klaus said.

He didn't want to force Rachel to see the truth, he figured that she would see it eventually. All he had to do was to keep an eye on this guy. He did have a few hybrids and vampires loyal to him in this town...maybe he should ask them to keep an eye on Brody for him... He'd have to think about it.

.

The next day, Rachel called Santana and they talked for a while, catching up on everything. Rachel told Santana about Brody and Klaus' reaction and if Santana didn't believe Klaus to be the jealous type, she felt that there was something weird about Brody. She however kept her worries for herself and made a mental note to tell Kol that they needed to go to New York to see them as soon as possible.

.

Kurt had been following Rachel around for the past couple of weeks since school started and he was confident that he knew a lot about her already. He knew her routine, he knew what class was the one she liked the least, which teacher was the hardest on her... He even found out about Brody who wanted to break up Rachel and Klaus.

For a while, Kurt considered joining Brody on his plan but if this guy wanted Rachel to remain somewhat happy, Kurt wanted her to suffer so he changed his mind. He needed to find a plan of his own.

.

The first two weeks at NYADA had been hard on Rachel. Cassandra July was harder on her than on the first day, she barely saw Klaus because she had to take extra dance practices with Brody (who kindly volunteered) and the few times she saw him, they argued about her new friend and his reasons for being friends with her.

Maybe she was fooling herself, maybe she shouldn't have had such big dreams. At first she had told herself that the few other students who mocked her had simply been jealous of her talent but now she even doubted this.

She was already exhausted and she was about to head into the changing rooms (common for boys and girls) when she heard Brody's voice. She recognised the second voice as the one of one of his warlock friends that also went to this school part time.

"So, how are things going with the hybrid witch?" The other guy, Tom, Rachel remembered, asked Brody.

"I think it's going pretty well...too slowly for my tastes but well, I don't really have a choice." Brody replied.

"Are you sure you need her? I mean, what if your plans fail? What if her hybrid boyfriend decides to kill us all? Are you sure that you need her to have more power?" Tom asked and Rachel silently walked closer, staying hidden.

"Yes, with her by my side I'll lead every coven in this city in less than a year and later I'll rule the world. All she'll have to do is give me a few powerful heirs and stay at home." Brody bragged.

"She doesn't seem like this kind of girl..." Tom argued.

"She will be when I'm done with her." Brody chuckled confidently.

"By the way, did you tell her? I mean, about your side job...the one we share..." Tom asked and Rachel managed to calm her rage down long enough to listen for more.

"Escort? No way! She doesn't need to know. I'm not even sure I'll tell her when she breaks things off with Klaus and starts dating me." Brody chuckled and Rachel turned around and left, not wanting to hear more.

She didn't take the time to change, grabbed her bag and left the school, rushing to her car and driving home as fast as she could.

Tears were already running down her cheek when she entered her apartment and saw Klaus waiting for her with dinner ready. Of course, seeing her cry, he rushed to take her in his arms and between sobs, Rachel explained what she had heard.

"Is that why you're crying?" He asked her.

"No...Maybe a little... It's just... I'm exhausted and I feel like I won't be able to make it and... The past two weeks have just been very hard and I'm tired of it all I guess... Plus, we've been fighting so much and I hate fighting with you and now I know that you were right and I'm so sorry..." Rachel replied burying her head in his chest.

"Do you want me to kill him for you Love?" He asked her, making her chuckle.

"I don't deserve you..." She sighted.

"Yes you do Love. You can make it, I know you can and so do you. Remember what you said: there's no fun in winning if you didn't have to fight to get to the top." He reassured her as he kissed her.

"You always know how to make me feel better..." She smiled.

After that, they ate dinner and went to bed early, deciding to enjoy simply being alone and together. In the end, Rachel felt better and she was confident that when Monday morning came, she'd be able to confront Brody and face Miss July. She wasn't alone and Klaus had just reminded her that she was capable of doing anything she wanted.

Wow, 145 chapters!

We're close to the end, things are going to start going faster now (as you can see in this chapter).

Don't forget to review please.

Lorelei Candice Black