The New Deal


September 26, 2010

"I feel like I'm going crazy." Elena confided to Louise and Bonnie as they sat around a table in Grill. "Totally paranoid all the time."

"You have a right to be." Louise agreed. "Klaus is still out there and he knows you and Damon tried to kill him."

"Why hasn't he made a move?" Elena asked, throwing her hands up. No one had an answer, however rhetorical her question might have been, and that frightened them more. "There has been no sign of him. Nothing." She touched her forehead and closed her eyes. "Just my slow spiral into insanity."

"Join the club." Bonnie retorted. "Every time I close my eyes, I have that nightmare. On repeat."

"The same dream?" Louise asked with furrowed brows, referring to Bonnie's reoccurring dream about Klaus' coffins.

Bonnie grimaced. "Yeah! Four coffins, Klaus is in one of them. It's weird."

"What if it's not just some dream? What if it's like...you know...witch dream?" Elena suggested, taking a sip of her coffee.

The witch shrugged. "It's just stress. I'll figure it out." Her eyes darted between the two brunettes. "And what about Stefan? Has there been any sign of him?"

Elena flinched internally before she shook her head. "He betrayed us Bonnie." She let out a heavy sigh. "The Stefan that we know is gone."

Bonnie turned to Louise. "How is Damon handling it?"

"Damon is...Damon." Louise answered nonchalantly before looking in Damon's direction, smiling when she caught his gaze. The expression faded quickly as she registered his obvious displeasure. A slight frown appeared between her brows as she began to rise to her feet. Bonnie's hand on her wrist halted the movement, however.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I, um..."

"Louise, wait," Bonnie said pulling her friend's hand and keeping her in her seat. Damon was relieved to see her sink back to her seat. Reluctantly, she tore her focus from him and back to her friends. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Okay...what?" Louise asked after Bonnie hesitated. The witch cast a wary look in Damon direction, still not realising he was watching, and spoke so quietly he had to strain to hear her.

"Has Damon...I mean are you still..." she swallowed and looked down at her hands for a moment before drawing a fortifying breath and squaring her shoulders. "Has he turned you into a vampire yet?"

Louise's jaw dropped and she reeled back as if she'd been slapped, but it was nothing to the metaphorical sucker punch to the gut that robbed Damon of breath. Time seemed to stop as Bonnie's question crashed over him, pounding against his brain like a jackhammer. Had he turned her? Goddadmit. Leave it to the witch to assume the worst of him. He was still the bad guy, still incapable of being trusted with Louise.

And what's this yet bullshit? he wondered bitterly, clenching his jaw. Had Louise been discussing it with her friend? Turning her was none of Elena or Bonnie's business, it was between him and Louise, nobody else.

Reigning in his anger, he caught Louise staring at him with trepidation as he realised he'd missed her response.

Shaking his head, he looked away and abruptly slammed his glass on the bar. "Oh man I can't believe you're making me drink alone."

"I'm busy." Alaric responded, not even bothering to look up from the paper he was currently grading.

Damon scoffed. "It's the eve of Klaus-ageddon. You're doing homework?"

"This may come as a shock but I am not here to hang out with you. I'm here to see Jeremy." He looked down at his wrist watch. "Who is an hour late for his shift."

"Kids today...Where are their values?" Damon grinned as he knocked back another shot.

Alaric placed Jeremy's mid-term paper on the counter which has the title "American History 201" and an 'F' grading on it. "That's his mid-term paper. Copied it straight off the Internet. Didn't even try to hide it."

"Ohh, somebody's getting grounded."

A blonde bartender approached the pair. "Did you say you are waiting for Jeremy-as in Jeremy Gilbert?"

Alaric nodded. "Yeah."

"He was fired last week."


Louise paced back and forth with her phone pressed to her ear, out the corner of her eye, she could see Damon shooting darts. She groaned when the call went straight to voicemail. "Goddamit! Jeremy, pick up your phone. The minute that you get this call me!" Louise hung up and rubbed her aching temples. "Unbelievable! Wait till I get him hands on him." she mutter under her breath.

Damon got a bull's eyes before he turned around. "You are feisty when you are mad." he slurred through his early morning drunken stupor.

"It's not that I'm mad. I'm just-I'm worried." Louise corrected him as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"But why?" Damon countered. "He lost his job at the Grill. He can survive, Louise."

"I don't care about his stupid job. I...He is spiralling." she told him. "Ever since Bonnie broke up with him, he is moody, he is not really talking to anyone."

"It's typical teenager."

"Who's seeing ghosts and has lost everyone that he cares about." she reminded him.

"Not everyone. He still has you. And Elena." Damon shot another dart before he moved forward to retrieve them from the dartboard.

Louise let out a heavy sigh then studied her boyfriend. "You okay?"

Damon turned around to her and gave her one of his best smouldering looks. "What makes you think I'm not okay?"

"Well, you're daydrunk." Louise pointed out. "It's not exactly your most attractive look."

"Hmm- what is my most attractive look?" The vampire smirked and swaggered over to her.

Louise couldn't help the smile that pulled at the corners of her lips as she ran a finger against his jawline. "There are many attractive looks on you, Damon-"

"Oh?" He smirked.

"-but I'm saying this is my least favourite one..."

"Noted." Damon said. "See if I can make any improvements."

"Bonnie wanted me to tell you that she's sorry," she began, starting with the easier hurt to fix. "She wasn't accusing you of anything, she just wanted to know." Louise paused before continuing. "She stopped having the dream."

The dream where I die a horrible death and wake up as a vampire, she added silently. Bonnie had been quick to explain her inquiry. Her friend had no way of knowing what a sore spot the issue of 'turning' was for her and Damon, but her apology had been genuine. "It's been three weeks," Louise added after the silence between them reached an uncomfortable level. "Since the last time."

He scoffed angrily. "So, naturally she'd assume that I'd-"

"She didn't assume anything, Damon." Louise quickly clarified. "You know how much she believed that the dream meant something. She needed to know why it went away."

He scowled and dragged a hand over his face. She'd shared his opinion that Bonnie's dreams were meaningless - well, mostly meaningless. She couldn't deny the fact that she'd been affected by her friend's revelation that the dreams had ceased.

What if it meant that she'd never...

Shaking her head, she banished the thought to the back of her mind. She continued. "Bonnie feels really bad. She actually offered to speak to you in person and apologise herself, but I told her it might go over better coming from me."

"Are you trying to tell me the witch actually felt that bad about hurting my feelings?" he asked after a moment. The faint glint of amusement in his blue eyes loosened something within her. For the first time since Bonnie opened her mouth, Louise could draw a full breath.

"I guess so," she replied with a small smile and he shook his head in disbelief.

"Don't mind me." someone said, interrupting them.

Louise turned to see Klaus Mikaelson standing before them. She feared her brain might short circuit. Her lungs seized up, trapped in a vise of shock as her heart beat furiously against her ribs. Klaus stared at her, betraying no emotion with his piercing gaze, only wary curiosity, and she found she couldn't look away. Standing next to her, she could feel the tension radiating off Damon's body.

"Klaus." Louise uttered.

Damon stepped protectively in front of Louise. "You gonna do this in the Grill?" His eyes hardened as they narrowed at the hybrid. "In front of everyone? It's a little beneath you, don't you think?"

"I don't know what you are talking about. I just came down to my local pub to grab a drink with a mate." Klaus said as one of his hybrids stepped closer behind him. Louise's breath hitched as images flashed in her head of the man following Elena on her jog this morning. So Elena wasn't paranoid, Louise thought. "Get a round in, would you Tony?"

"I'm surprised you stuck around town long enough for happy hour." Damon muttered.

Klaus sighed. "My sister seems to be missing. Need to sort that out."

"Cute blonde bombshell, psycho." Damon raised a brow before he shrugged. "Shouldn't be too hard to find."

Klaus turned to look at Louise. "Where is she?"

"I don't know." Louise muttered. She wouldn't betray her sister like that.

Klaus tsked. "I know you're holding something back, Louise."

"I don't know, Klaus." she stressed. "I know some people she was supposed to go to the dance with. I'll ask around."

"Tell me who." he demanded.

Louise scoffed. "Erm, no. I said, I'll find out what I can and let you know. Besides, Rebekah's a big girl, she can handle herself."

"Truth is I've grown to rather like your little town." Klaus snatched the darts off of Damon and brushed pass him. "Think I might fancy a home here." Louise turned and her gaze didn't waver off of the hybrid. "Oh I imagine you're wondering how does this is affect you. The answer is: not in the slightest. As long as I get what I want and everyone behaves themselves you can go on living your little lives however you choose." He paused. "You have my word."

Louise scowled. "And your word is suppose to mean much?"

"I admit, it's not as honourable as Elijah's...but it's my word, nonetheless."

"What more could you possibly want from us?" Louise demanded.

"A few things." The original smirked as he eyed the brunette up and down. She grimaced under his gaze. "But most importantly, you can tell me where I might find Stefan."

Damon chimed in. "Stefan skipped town the second he saved your ass."

"Well you see that is a shame." Klaus threw a dart and got a bulls-eye. "Your brother stole from me. I need him found so I can take back what's mine."

"You should've been a little more specific when you removed your compulsion." Louise sniped. "Now you have yourself a Klaus and Stefan problem."

Klaus narrowed his eyes and moved towards Louise but Damon was quick and stepped between the two which made Klaus chuckle. "Well this is me broadening the scope, sweetheart."


"So, you're ready?" Alaric asked. Elena had joined Alaric and Louise in a sort of intervention for the youngest Gilbert.

"Vampires, hybrids, and Originals? No problem." Elena said sarcastically causing Louise's lips to twitch in amusement as she poured the chilli into a serving bowl and placed it on the table. "My rebellious brother...I'm worried." Elena admitted.

Alaric pointed a knife at her. "Proof that you're still human."

"He's not rebellious, Elena," Louise argued. "He's just...lost."

Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, they heard the front door slam shut and Louise looked up to see Jeremy strolling into the kitchen casually.

"Don't mind me. Just passing through." Jeremy announced as he went straight to the fridge.

"Just in time!" Elena grinned. "We're cooking."

"Sorry, just passing through." Jeremy said, very unapologetically as he pulled a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Ah," Alaric cooed falsely. "Well I thought we would all stay in, have a meal together like a typical, atypical family."

Jeremy raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Maybe because you got fired and you didn't tell anyone." Elena proposed.

Louise's head snapped towards her sister. "Elena! I thought we were gonna do this slowly."

Jeremy had stopped dead in his tracks suddenly realising what this was and wanted nothing to do with it. He wasn't in the mood to be lectured or judged. He let out a deep sigh. "Ahh- look, can we do this later?" he pleaded. "I made plans with Tyler. He's right outside."

"Oh wait!" Alaric said. "When did you start hanging out with Tyler Lockwood?"

Jeremy shrugged. "I don't know...Does it matter?"

"Yeah, Jeremy!" Elena snapped. "It matters. He was sired by Klaus. He's dangerous."

"He can still hear you." Jeremy gestured toward the front door. "He is right outside. Besides you of all people are gonna lecture me on who I can and can't hang out with?"

Louise made a face. "What is with the attitude, Jer?"

Jeremy huffed. "Yeah, whatever, this is lame. Tyler is waiting."

He made his way toward the entrance once again but this time Elena blocked his way. She shook her head. "Oh, no no! You're not going anywhere, especially not with Tyler."

Jeremy looked toward his other sister for help. Louise's lips pressed into a thin line. "I'm with her on this, Jer. Sorry."

"All right, fine. You want me to stay in? Let's all stay in then." Jeremy craned his head slightly toward the door and shouted. "Yo, Tyler! Come on in!"

"Jeremy!" Elena screeched as the door opened and Tyler strolled in.

.Tyler stepped into the kitchen and the younger Gilbert handed him a glass of water. Louise placed a bowl of chilli in front of Elena and sat down beside her. Alaric dropped down in the vacant seat beside the eldest Gilbert teen who was eying Tyler.

"This is weird." Elena said exasperated, not bothering to hide her annoyance. "Klaus has hybrids stalking me and now you're just sitting in our kitchen."

Tyler put down his glass of water. "Look, maybe I should go."

"Oh, stay. You're not doing anything." Jeremy reasoned, placing his hand on the hybrid's shoulders and pushing him back down in his seat.

"Unless you have to, you know, check in with your hybrid master." Elena drawled sarcastically.

Tyler laughed. "It's not like that Elena.

"Tell me Tyler..." Alaric spoke up. "What is the difference between being sired and being compelled?"

"Hmm, that's a good question." Louise commented taking a sip of her own drink.

"Compulsion-that's just mind control-like hypnosis." Tyler started. "And being sired is...it's like faith. You do something because you believe it's the right thing."

"Even if the thing you're doing is bad?" Louise asked. "No offense, Tyler, sounds like mind control."

"So you believe that serving Klaus is the right thing?" Elena questioned leaning forward in her seat.

"I don't serve him." Tyler corrected. "Klaus released me from a curse that was ruining my life. I owe him for that."

"What if he asked you to jump off a bridge?" Alaric.

"He wouldn't!" Tyler asked. "And even if he did I'd be fine. I'm a hybrid."

Louise's eyes narrowed curiously as she inquired. "Okay, so what if he asked you to, hmmm, I don't know...rip your own heart out?"

"Again, he wouldn't-"

"What if he did?" Louise insisted.

"I don't know! Then I'd rip out my heart!" Tyler shouted. Everyone at the table eyes widened in shock and concern. Tyler threw his hands in the air as he rose from his seat. "You guys sound like Caroline, getting all freaked out over something you don't understand."

"You're right Tyler I don't understand." Elena said. "Klaus has terrorized every single one of us and you're just blindly loyal to him."

Tyler shook his head. "You're over-thinking it."

"You said Klaus released you from your curse, and he made your life better. If that's true where's your free will gone, Tyler?" Louise asked softly.

"I can still make my own decisions."

"Really?" Louise cocked an eyebrow as the others watched on. "Yet you will still rip your own heart out if he told you to."

Tyler did not have a response for that. They ate their dinner in angry silence before Jeremy excused himself from the room to take a phone call.


Damon was all alone in nice, pure solitude.

Then it was ruined.

As the vampire poured some bourbon in his tumbler, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up when he felt a gust of wind behind him. The Salvatore turned to see Klaus Mikaelson stood in his doorway with a big grin on his face.

"I think it's about time we had a drink, don't you?" Klaus challenged, still grinning.

Damon gave the hybrid a bitter smile. "I'd say we're overdue."

"Well, you've been so busy with all your plotting and scheming." Klaus accused.

"You know me. Never miss a chance to plan an epic failure." Damon brought his glass to his lips.

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Klaus smiled widely. "Who could have guessed your own brother would betray you?"

Damon shrugged. "Well, I did have a front row seat when your sister lied to you."

"Yeah, well she's fickle that one. And you say you have no idea of her whereabouts?"

"That's the thing with younger siblings. You just never know what they're gonna do." Damon held up his glass. "Drink?" he offered Klaus, turning around and pouring a glass for the original. Once he filled it up, he turned back and offered the glass to Klaus, who took it.

"Cheers mate!"

"Down the hatch."

Two two clinked their glasses together and drank. Damon stared at the older vampire and waited for him to continue the conversation.

"You know, we've actually got a lot in common, you and I. But, there's one thing I've come to realise about you." Klaus announced as he walked further into the study and Damon hummed with a raised brow in response.

"Really?"

The hybrid crossed his arms and nodded with a smile. "You're wrong about Louise. You think she's sweet and docile. She isn't. She's not your type at all. She has a spirit and a fire in her that you wouldn't know what to do with."

Damon scoffed. "And you would, I suppose."

Klaus slowly smiled again. "Oh, yes."

"Huh." Damon chuckled slightly. He decided to change the subject. "Well, besides Louise, maybe we can bond over our mutual loathing of my brother. Why are you so mad at him?" Damon poured him another drink. "He stole something?"

"My family, the Originals." Klaus filled in. "I had them daggered, boxed-up awaiting the day when I saw fit to wake them. And he went in and pinched the bloody lot."

Damon shook his head. "Of course he did. Such a buzzkill, my baby bro." Damon slowly walked over to the hybrid. "Well, I'd love to find him. Just the trouble is, I sure as hell don't work for you."

"You know, your drink stinks of vervain-" Klaus noted with a smile. Damon looked down at his glass knowingly. "so I can't compel you." Damon squared his jaw. "There'd be no point in killing you because you're actually the one with the most hope of getting me what I need. And yet it would seem a demonstration is in order. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough when I told you to find Stefan." The Salvatore titled his head in response with a smug smile plastered on his face. "Well, it seems you people respond best to displays of violence." Klaus began to reach into his pocket to grab something. "Why don't you take this as an example of my reach?" He pulled out his phone and dialled a few numbers in it. Damon stared at the hybrid curiously and Klaus only smiled. "There he is!" he chimed into the phone. "So, that thing I told you to do...why don't you go ahead and get on with it?"

"Cryptic." Damon praised sourly. "Mind telling me what your evil little mind has in store?"

"Oh, you'll see." Klaus drank the remains of the alcohol in the glass before handing it back to Damon. Damon just narrowed his eyes and gave a bitter smile.


Jeremy was compelled by Klaus. The point the original hybrid referred to making before he'd left the boarding house earlier had been to get Jeremy to stand in the middle of the road and be run down by one of his hybrid minions. Kicker was that Klaus had told Jeremy to take off his ring. When he died, he would stay dead.

Gratefully, Alaric had pushed the younger Gilbert out of the way just in time, resulting in his death. Luckily, Alaric had the protection of his own ring. Sort of. Something had gone wrong with the ring, as if the magic was wearing off. Alaric still had not come back to life.

Louise sighed heavily as she stretched her back. Jeremy was sitting by the doorframe while Elena was hovering over Alaric who was currently lying on the sofa, still dead. Damon came barging into the Gilbert residence.

"How is he?" The older Salvatore questioned.

"He's dead, but he had his ring." Elena told him.

"Klaus' hybrid hit him." Louise said. "Now we just wait."

Damon nodded and looked over at Jeremy for a moment. He threw his hands up in the air in disbelief. "Jeremy," The Gilbert boy looked up at him. "Why aren't you wearing vervain? Where is your bracelet?"

Jeremy looked down at his wrist, and his eyebrows knotted together. "I don't know."

"It was Tyler!" Elena concluded. Damon looked over at her. "It had to have been. That's why he was hanging out with you. To get you off the vervain."

"Klaus is trying to send us a message." Damon stated.

"What message?" Louise questioned.

"He wants us to find Stefan who stole his coffins full of his dead family members."

Louise raised a curious brow. "Coffins?"

Damon nodded. "Yep! So all we have to do is find four coffins and voilĂ ! No one else on your family's Christmas list needs to die!

Jeremy immediately got up from the floor. "Wait- that's your big plan? To steal back four dead originals so this evil hybrid doesn't kill me and everyone else we know?"

"You got a better idea?" Damon asked as he stepped up to the younger boy but Louise moved in between the pair.

"Yeah!" Jeremy exclaimed. "Let's get the hell outta here! Pack our bags and go!"

"Hey, Jeremy calm down." Elena soothed.

"No, no! I'm not gonna calm down, Elena!" Jeremy shouted. "This happens every time, no matter what we do!" His eyes flickered toward his other sister. "Get on my case about school and work...Who cares? None of us are gonna make it out of this town alive." He turned around while everyone kept quiet, grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.

"Jeremy, where are you going?" Louise called as he fled past her.

"I need some air." he muttered and slammed the front door shut.

Louise sighed and turned to her boyfriend. "He said he wants his family back."

"No! No!" Damon shook his head. "I know what you're thinking. The answer is no!"

"If we give him Rebekah-"

"Yeah, then Klaus undaggers her, first thing she does is kill Elena and possibly you! Frying pan, fire. Not an option!" Damon finished.

"But, Damon," Elena began only to be cut off by her sister.

"Wait," Louise cut in, holding her hand up. She looked at Damon. "Did you say that Klaus wanted four coffins back?"

Damon blinked at her. "Yeah, why?

Without answering, she pulled out her phone and dialled Bonnie's number before putting the phone to her ear.


Bonnie had told Louise earlier in the day to tell her she had gone to the old witch house in an attempt to figure out the dreams only to run into Stefan. Now knowing Stefan's whereabouts, Elena had insisted that they go and talk to him and force him to give Klaus his family back. Louise wasn't particularly pleased to face Stefan. He had either saved Klaus in exchange for his freedom, which meant the had betrayed Damon, or he saved Damon because his humanity was back on, in which case Louise felt incredibly guilty that she was willing to let him stay trapped as a minion to Klaus in exchange for Damon.

The mission was unaccomplished and the Gilbert twins entered their house just as Alaric stumbled off of the sofa, groaning.

"Ric, hey!" Elena breathed out.

"When did you return to the living?" Louise asked.

"Oh just a few minutes ago." Ric rushed out as he clutched his stomach. "How is Jeremy?"

Elena took a deep breath. "Hating me. Hating life. Hating the fact that we can't even have a family dinner without somebody dying before dessert.

"Ric-" Louise stepped forward as she noticed the unreadable expression Alaric's face. "Are you okay?" Suddenly he began coughing violently into his hands which revealed bright red blood. "Oh my god!"

"Something's wrong! The ring!" Alaric stammered as his legs gave way and he collapsed onto the floor, moaning.

"'Lena? Elena, call an ambulance now!" Louise called as she watched her guardian slip in and out of consciousness.

Moments later there was a knock at the door and the eldest Gilbert rushed to open it, letting two paramedics inside their home. Louise moved away from Alaric so the paramedics had better access to Alaric.

"What happened?"

"He got hit by a car and...he's coughing up blood." Elena rushed out, worry and panic written all over her face.

"Get his vitals." One of the paramedics ordered his colleague as they crouched down beside an unconscious Alaric. He shone a light into Alaric's eyes while the other paramedic took his pulse.

"Pulse pretty weak." The first paramedic said. "Looks like internal bleeding. We gotta get him outta here."

"Let's move!"

"Let's not and say we did." An unfamiliar voice called from the doorway, and when the two girls turned around they saw Tony, one of Klaus's hybrids. "Why don't you two meet us at the hospital?" The two paramedics simply nodded and began to leave.

"What?" Elena questioned as the paramedics brushed past her. "No, no, no, wait. No wait! You have to help him! What are you doing?"

"You guys can still save his life. Here, take my blood." Tony raised and offered his wrist. "I can't get in." His eyes flickered between the two brunettes. "One of you are gonna have to invite me in."

"No." Louise said firmly. "Why are you doing this?"

"Klaus asked for his family. You didn't deliver."

Just then Alaric began coughing again and Louise rushed to his side. "Ric! Oh my god! I'm right here."

"He's gonna die." Tony taunted. "Might want to invite me in."

Louise and Elena both exchanged looks. But before the sisters had time to consider the deal, the hybrid was sprawled out on the front porch, an arrow sticking out of his back. The girls rushed to the door to see their little brother clutching a crossbow.

"He's not dead yet." Jeremy stated. He had managed to graze his heart with the crossbow. He rushed into the house and returned with a meat cleaver. With one quick motion, he sliced Tony's head off. "Now he's dead."

"Oh my god." Louise breathed out. Of all the horrible things she had witness Stefan and Klaus do to their victims over the summer, and all the times she had seen Damon covered in blood, Louise always managed to fight the nausea that hit her. But watching her little brother take off someone's head with a meat cleaver had made her violently ill.

Elena stood in her spot, had cupped over her mouth in horror.

"We've gotta get Alaric to the hospital now." Jeremy dropped the knife and re-enters the house. This seemed to get the girls out of their state of shock as Elena began to help her brother lift Alaric off of the couch. Louise followed closely behind them and slammed the front door shut.

"I'll take Damon's car and meet you there." Louise walked toward the car parked on the curb since this afternoon. They sped off.

Louise quickly dialled Damon's number and he answered the phone with some cocky, flirtatious greeting and she didn't sigh in annoyance or chuckle in reluctant amusement, she did not say anything and he knew immediately something was wrong.

"Louise, what's-"

"It's Ric, Damon," she cut him off. "His ring isn't working and he needs your blood. Elena and Jeremy are taking him to the hospital now." She hung up and dialled another number.

"Hello, love."

"It's Rebekah. I have some information but I'm not going to give it up for free." she said, forcing a sense of false confidence into her voice.

Warily Klaus reminded her. "You know I don't like bargains."

"Then I guess you don't like information."

"I do relish in the thought of killing one of your loved ones. Bonnie? Caroline?" Klaus paused for a moment. "Damon?"

Louise scoffed. "You're trying to prove something, like you always do." she shook her head. "You're trying to prove you can hurt him. That you can take him out of the equation just to get me, aren't you?"

"I don't need to take Damon out of the equation to accomplish that, but if I must do that, then I will." Klaus promised.

Louise spoke very slowly. "You may believe you are truly immortal but if you continue to use the people I love against me to do whatever you want, I promise you I will find a way to destroy you!"

"Are you threatening me?" he questioned with mild interest.

Louise ignored his question. "Are we clear on the 'no threatening people I love' thing?"

There was a brief pause over the phone before Klaus answered. "Sure. What's the information?"

"Not so fast. That was a general understanding. Before I share this, I need your word that there will be no repercussions to anyone involved." she told him. "I don't exactly expect you to give this out empty handed so for now, I can say that your sister is perfectly safe."

"What do you know about my sister?"

"I'm gonna need your word first."

He snarled. "Fine."

"She's been daggered." Louise rushed out.

"What?!"

"Meet me at the boarding house and you can have her back."


Knock, knock.

Louise braced herself, taking in a deep breath as she reached for the doorknob of the Salvatore mansion. When she pulled open the door, Klaus standing outside, leaning against the threshold.

"Louise," Klaus said, savouring the name as his posture relaxed.

"Klaus," Louise replied tersely, standing her ground. "Thank you for coming."

"So you've known my sister was dagger in the cellar this whole time?" Klaus challenged as he stepped over the threshold, moving closer to Louise.

Louise held her own cause by refusing to wither beneath Klaus's gaze. Lifting her chin as he came within inches of her, she met his eyes as she said. "I had no knowledge of what my sister was going to do."

Klaus narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her but Louise never wavered under his gaze. The hybrid smiled. "Well, shall we get down to business. Where's my sister?" he asked, and she nodded at him. Louise led him down into the basement, where Rebekah was kept. She opened the door of the cell and let Klaus inside. Klaus sighed heavily. "My poor sister." he whispered at the sight of his daggered sister on the floor. "I can't turn my back on her for a moment."

"You have Rebekah. Take her." Louise stated. "A deal is a deal."

"The life of my sister in exchange for your brother? Yeah I'd say that's a bargain." Klaus walked up to her and she stiffened. "Consider him spared."

Louise stared at him for a moment and sighed. "Since Elena was the one that daggered her, when she wakes she'll come after her and possibly even me too. So I need assurance me or my sister won't get hurt."

"You think that low of me?"

Louise shrugged. "You haven't given me a reason to think anything good about you since you let me go."

Klaus squared his jaw. "You know, despite popular opinion, I would never do anything to jeopardise your life." he told her and Louise uncomfortably shifted in her spot. "I can control Rebekah." The hybrid bent down and pulled the dagger out of Rebekah's back. "Besides I still need your help finding Stefan."

Louise huffed. "I told you I don't know where he is."

Klaus got up on his feet and stared at her. "You're lying." He cocked his head. "What about Elena? When she asks Stefan to give me my coffins, he'll be sure to give me what I want. And there you have it.

"He doesn't care about her anymore." Louise scoffed. "You made sure of that. You turned him into a monster. Now he's your problem. And just so you know I'm not the only one that Rebekah wants dead. She knows what you did to your mother. She knows that you killed her." Klaus let his eyes slip to the floor and Louise began to walk away. "You can let yourself out."


"You did what?" Louise snapped. While she was busy with Klaus, Elena had convinced Damon to compel Jeremy to leave town.

Elena sighed as she crossed her arms. "Oh, come on, Lou. You would've done the same thing to protect him. This keeps him safe. Jeremy isn't safe here. You know he'd never willingly agree to leave-"

Louise cut her off. "I warned you once to never do this to Jeremy again. You can't control him, Elena!"

"Lou...I was just trying to do the right thing."

Louise scoffed. "And if Jeremy was doing this on his own free will, I wouldn't be pissed. People aren't puppets."

"He's going to have a better life." Elena stressed.

Louise shook her head, looking at her sister completely appalled. "You don't know that! You don't get to decide that! What - Why the hell do you think you have the right to take away someone's free will?"

Elena sighed, running a her hand through her hair. "I know he'll have a better life because that was part of the compulsion, Lou. He's going to stay with some nice family friends in Denver. He's going to be at a new school, maybe take an art class. Jeremy is going to leave Mystic Falls behind and never think twice about it. He's going to be safe. He's going to be happy. Isn't that what you want for our brother?"

Louise narrowed her eyes at the trick question. Of course she wanted Jeremy to be safe and happy. And it was obvious that he was currently neither. Instead of answering, Louise changed the subject as her eyes found the pool of blood on the front porch. "I bet clean this mess up."

Louise rushed inside the house before Elena could respond and soon returned to the front porch with a pair of yellow rubber gloves on and cleaning supplies in her hands. She was then on her hands and knees scrubbing the hybrid's blood off of the hardwood floor.

The sight of her baby brother chopping off the head of another would be permanently ingrained in her mind forever. She could never remove it; the sight of him pulling back that knife and slamming it down full force. How he turned to her, blood splattered in sickening dots across his face, eyes hard with no remorse.

And now her very own hands rung out the towel she had been scrubbing the porch with in the kitchen sink. Behind her, she heard someone approaching - but she didn't need to look to know who it was.

As she thought about today's events, her hands scrubbed together harder and harder, trying to remove every trace of red stain.

"How are you?" Damon asked from behind her.

She sighed deeply and her voice began to crack. "Think I got most of the blood off of the porch..." Something round and large wedged itself in the back of her throat.

"Louise..." he began, watching her, knowing that she was upset and at any moment about to break. Her face twitched and she shook her her head, every part of her body feeling ready to snap in half. The weight of everything was on her shoulders. "Look at me." he demanded.

She sighed once and turned. And because she was facing him, Damon could see it in her. He could see the fragile teenage girl that she was. "It's gonna be okay." he promised, eyes trying desperately to hold hers.

Her face crumpled and the tears clinging to her lashes slipped down her cheeks. Briefly, she fought to regain her composure before giving in and jumping into his arms. He held her as she hid her face in the crook of his neck.

"I don't want him to go to Denver." she said in a small voice as her hot tears hit his skin.

"I know." he replied, smoothing her hair as his heart broke for her in ways he never would have believed possible before meeting her.

"He's going to be all alone." she continued, sniffling as she wiped at her wet cheeks. Already the burst of emotion had shifted from despair to concern. "I don't want him to be alone. What if-what if something happens? Who will protect him?"

"Jeremy's not a complete idiot." he said, using a phrase that she usually used on him.

"I just can't stop thinking about what happened the last time Elena asked you to compel him." she cried, lifting her head to stare at him in horror.

"He found out. And he got over it." he said, cupping her cheek and wiping away the tears with his thumb. "Again: not dead, Louise! He's so lucky to have you for his sister."

She looked away, a baleful expression on her perfect features. "I just want him to be safe."

"I know." he replied, tilting his head to catch her eye. Once he had her attention, he raised a brow, and continued. "And Jeremy knows. If nothing else, he'll try to be, for you."

Bowing her head, she pushed her hair behind her ear. "Can I just...wrap him up in plastic and put him in a bubble?"

Damon scoffed. "Yeah, sure," he nodded, smoothing her unruly hair. "Right after you let me do that for you, trouble."

"Damon?" she chided, fighting a smile as her gaze danced between his face and hands.

"What?" he replied, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Do you know how weird this conversation is? Me trying to convince you that Jeremy's going to be safe? It's freaking ridiculous.." She chuckled softly, gradually relaxing against him.

He pressed his lips to her forehead, before murmuring. "He'll be okay, Louise."

"Do you promise?" she asked.

He closed his eyes, setting his mouth in a grim line as he tightened his hold on her. That, he couldn't do.

Louise hesitatingly pulled back from his embrace and looked up at her boyfriend. She bit her lip nervously. "I have to tell you something." With a shaky hand, she wiped her eye. "I made a deal with Klaus. I gave him Rebekah."

"What?" Damon growled. "No. No, no, no you did not do that. She's gonna come here and try and kill Elena! Your sister literally stabbed her in the back!" he exclaimed, desperately trying to bite back the anger he was feeling towards her.

Louise shook her head. "No she won't. Klaus won't let her because he needs Elena alive to make more hybrids."

"And suddenly you trust him?" Damon he scowled her, the words tasting bitter.

"No I don't trust him."

"You're pretty stupid when Klaus is concerned." The words came flying out of his mouth before he could check them.

"Oh?"

His shoulders sagged wearily at the challenge in her voice. "That's not what I mean. You just make some stupid decisions when he is involved. You provoke and antagonise him. You saved his life. You-"

"To save your life."

"-spend the summer with him. You befriend his sister."

"Maybe playing nice with the psychopath isn't such a bad idea." Louise shrugged.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Just because it worked on me doesn't mean it'll work on him."

"You're worried about me falling for the bad guy again because I've done it before?" The brunette questioned with a raised brow. She squared her chin. "Clearly you must see similarities between the two of you if you're worried about that."

After recovering from the shock her statement, Damon groaned loudly. "I don't want to fight you, especially about him." he said, but she only bit her lip and sighed deeply. "You've had a long day and it's late. You should get some sleep."

"Will you stay?" she asked softly.

"Of course."


A/N: So, here's another chapter. Thank you to everyone who favourites, follows and those who take time to review. Also feel free to check out my tumblr ( tangleddd) to see some edits.

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