Victoria entered the Sock Hop, THE 1950'S diner that had become a favorite, standing on tiptoe so she could see if Diana or any of the others had arrived and gotten a table. It didn't take her long to find Diana nearby.
"Good!" She exclaimed and ran over to the table and giving her aunt a smile. "I'm not late! I thought I was." She removed her jacket and hung it on the back of her chair.
"No, you're just fine," Diana replied and took a big drink from her glass of Coke. "You're only the second one here."
"Am I crazy or are you wearing a skirt?" Victoria teased before gesturing for the waitress to come over to take her order.
The woman signaled she'd be there in a minute.
"Hey!" Diana smirked. "It's just an old mini skirt I found at thrift store."
Victoria smiled. "Well, you look good in it."
"Thanks, but I'm not into woman," Diana replied teasingly.
"How do you know you're not?" Victoria asked and took a drink of Diana's Coke. "Did you find a guy you like at school or something?"
Diana froze, even feeling a little sick as the image of a certain man popped into her head. She shook her head and it disappeared. No way in hell would the first man she thought of in her whole life be Lucifer Morningstar!
"No," she shook her head. "There isn't anyone. Just a hunch I have. Instead of focusing on men, I'd rather just think about how amazing I am," she teased.
"That goes without saying," Victoria winked.
"If not for that…if not for the fact that I feel more important, I would be attracted to men," Diana concluded.
"What are we talking about?" Elise asked as she appeared seemingly out of nowhere and took a seat at the table.
"Diana and I were talking about how she's attracted to men," Victoria replied.
"Oh, who has time for them, Diana?" Elise grumbled as she grabbed the menu to look it over.
"I didn't say I was into men at all!" Diana protested. "I'm not paying attention to men at all! I'm paying attention to me!"
"Good," Elise nodded. "Glad to hear it."
"Well, hello, lovely ladies!" Froy exclaimed, nudging Elise over just a little so he could sit beside her. "Who's attracted to men?"
"Diana is, apparently," Elise shrugged and went back to the menu. "Does anyone else know what they want? I'm so hungry that I'm having a cheeseburger, a milkshake, a hot dog, fries, onion rings, cheese sticks…"
She trailed off as they all stared at her, dumbstruck.
"Are…are you ordering for all of us, El?" Froy asked sarcastically.
"No!" Elise huffed. "And you're not very funny, Froy!" She took a sip of water and spit it in his face, making him cry out.
"Okay, enough," Diana said. "No more, or we'll get thrown out!"
"Right," Froy cleared his throat and blew the water out of his nose. "So, Victoria…do you like chicks or dudes?" He then pulled a comb out of his coat pocked to neaten his hair.
"Oh, I guess it's a man for me," Victoria replied. She blushed as an image of the particular man popped into her head.
They all stared at her, surprised.
"A man?" Elise questioned, setting the menu down, her elbows resting on the table.
"What?" Victoria was now realizing what she said. "I meant men!"
"No," Diana shook her head. "You said man. I swear that's what I heard."
"One man!" Elise agreed. "Singular. Not two!"
"Okay, spill," Froy grinned wickedly. "Who's the lucky guy?"
"The lucky guy is no one!" Victoria insisted and shook her head.
"Seems like she's shy and doesn't want to tell us," Elise waved a hand.
"There is no one to tell about, Elise!" The youngest Mikaelson insisted.
"Wait, wait, maybe it's not a guy her age," Diana suggested and winked. "Maybe it's a grown man!"
"No guy, no main," Victoria said firmly. "Shut up all of you."
"Looks like we'll never know his name," Froy remarked with a smirk. "It's not me, I hope? I know I'm irresistible!"
"No, Froy, it's not you!" Victoria snapped. "You do realize we're cousins?"
Froy shrugged. "I mean do you really think that's always been a barrier for our family?"
"Why are you pressing?" Victoria asked, leaning forward. "Are you in love with me, Froy?"
Froy shook his head and kept his eyes on hers. "No, of course not. I'm just making an observation."
"Good," Victoria said firmly and sat back in her chair in case he got it in his head to look down her blouse.
"He has a good point about your family's past," Diana chuckled.
"Maybe, but I think Froy is out of the running because Victoria said she wanted a man," Elise remarked and pinched Froy's cheek. "Now does that baby face look like a man to you?" She looked at them and then looked back at Froy. "Surely you can tell the difference."
Froy narrowed his dark eyes at her and pushed her away. "You're always so mean to me, Elise."
"Am I?" There was wickedness in her blue eyes as Elise tilted her head and smirked.
"What is taking the waitress so long?" Diana craned her neck to get a better look around the restaurant. "I'm hungry!"
"It might be a while," Victoria pointed out and took a couple of fun sized candy bars out of her purse. "Eat these."
"Are those yours?" Diana asked.
Victoria shrugged. "Just emergency snacks. Dad always sticks some in Mom's purse and I thought that wasn't a bad idea. I guess it's not."
The bell over the diner's entrance rang, and all heads turned as a group of novices made their way across the restaurant.
"Well look who just arrived?" Diana teased Victoria. "Maybe they came to take your confession about your man."
"Oh, stop," Victoria elbowed her friend, who burst into laughter.
"Ladies," Froy caught their eyes and smiled.
"Froy, don't you do that!" Elise chided him. "Those aren't ladies! They're nuns!"
"They're novices," Victoria corrected as Elise gave her a look. "They're not nuns yet."
"See, she knows the difference between the two because she has such pure thoughts about her man," Diana teased Elise.
"Oh, for fuck's sake, Diana, you don't have dirty thoughts about people at night?" Victoria rolled her eyes.
Diana looked down at the floor to hide her red cheeks. "No, I don't have dirty thoughts, Victoria! About anyone!" Except, she told herself, Lucifer Morningstar, who needed to get out of her head.
"You've got a crush on a man too?" Froy asked Diana in surprise.
"No," Diana shook her head. "Now shut your mouth!"
"I just have one more thing to say," Froy replied. "I know no one is asking but…I have dirty thoughts sometimes. I use a sock. That helps a lot."
"Oh, gross!" Elise frowned. "You could have kept that yourself!"
Then they turned their heads as one of the novice's voices rang out clearly. "Sir, please let me go!"
"Why? How about you sit in my lap instead, nun?" said a man with a chuckle. "Don't you want to sit on my lap?"
Almost immediately, Froy had stood up and made his way across the room to interrupt the exchange.
"Let the young lady go!" Froy demanded.
"You call this a young lady?" The man replied, trying not to laugh as he was not threatened by Froy at all. "What will you do about it if I don't, punk?"
"I don't think you want to know," Froy told him, his eyes turning red.
"This frightened the man so much that he loosened his grip on the novice without further discussion before he ran from the diner in fear.
"Are you all right?" Froy asked the young woman as he sat her down and handed her a glass of water.
"I'm fine, thank you," she told him. "I have God on my side, and I don't need you as my savior."
"Good for you," Froy told her, then turned and headed back to the table.
"Wow," Elise watched, wide-eyed. "Even novices don't want our Froy!"
That made Diana and Victoria burst out laughing.
"I hate you so much, Elise!" Froy snapped. Then he looked over and caught his novice's eye for just a moment before she looked away.
Eric turned his head to take a quick look at the only other passenger in the small airplane: She who should not be named. The pain in his ass who, to people who loved her, was known as Kristin Mikaelson.
She sat in her seat looking very bored, her red nails tapping the cover of her magazine impatiently.
That bit needed some serious life lessons and if all went as planned, she would at least get one from him!
"Are we there yet?" Kristin whined and heaved an impatient sigh. "Can't this piece of junk go any faster?"
"No, unfortunately I can't teleport us there, Miss Mikaelson," he returned dryly. "This is a plane. I need to keep a close eye on my speed and direction in the airplane corridors."
"Fine!" She threw her magazine on a nearby table and unbuckled her seatbelt, taking a few unsteady steps to get to the cabin.
"What are you doing?" Eric cried out in surprise as he saw her come close. "You sit down and put your seatbelt on!" When she got close enough, he grabbed her wrist and tried to push her back toward her original seat.
"Oh, calm down!" She freed herself from his grip of steel. "I'm bored and I just want to sit next to you. Is that a problem?"
"Go back to your seat, Miss Mikaelson," he replied through clenched teeth. "That's an order!"
"No," she replied and sat down next to him. "Do I need to remind you that if you order me around, I can very easily call my father and tell him that you slapped me?"
"I wish I could do it again," he muttered, facing away from her.
"What?" She asked. "What did you say?"
"Nothing, Ms. Mikaelson," he shook his head. "I said nothing."
"I don't know why I can't just zap us there," she pointed out. "I'm the daughter of powerful witch! I have magic!"
"Right," he grinned. "You could do that but I'm not sure all your luggage would have followed. It would be so sad if you didn't have your hundred pairs of shoes with you!"
Little did she know that his plan was, in fact, to let her rot without luggage for an entire week on an island. And not just any island. Klaus Mikaelson's island! He knew it like he knew the back of his hand.
"True," she conceded. "I couldn't zap my suitcases there."
Not that you'll need them where you're going, sweetheart, he thought with a smirk
"This whole thing with all the buttons is so cool!" She exclaimed. "What does this button do?" She reached out to try and push it, but he stopped her.
"Don't you touch that!" he snapped and slapped her hand away.
"Okay, okay, would you just calm down? Chill!" She rolled her eyes and crossed both her arms in front of her chest. "Damn, old people are annoying as hell!
Eric tried not to laugh at her pouty face as he knew how much fun he would have teaching her the biggest lesson she'd probably learn in her life. "A plane dashboard is not a toy like a video game or a phone," he reminded her dryly.
"Whatever you say, Captain!" she gave him a salute.
Eric shook his head and looked at his watch. It was finally time. The charade was about to begin! He'd asked one of his pilot buddies to be in on the trick, and Frank had agreed without hesitation. They were both werewolves and had had each other's backs from childhood.
"Are we descending?" Kristin asked. "I see blue water and some ridiculously small islands from here." She was now looking out the cockpit window.
"Not for another hour," Eric lied through his teeth and grinning before pushing a button that made the plane shake.
"Oh, my Steve!" Kristin cried, gripping her seat for dear life.
"It looks like one of the motors is…" he bit his lip so he wouldn't laugh and spoil the lie.
One of the motors is what, for fuck's sake?" Kristin demanded. "Now is not the time to be all secretive!" She cried and grabbed his wrist in desperation.
"Let go of my wrist," he ordered firmly.
Granted, what they were about to do wasn't too dangerous, but if she continued to carry on like this, they really would fall into the ocean!
Finally, she took a deep breath and released his wrist.
"One of the motors is failing and I'll have to make an emergency landing," he informed her.
"You've got to be joking…right?" She asked hopefully, eyes wide with fear.
Eric avoided her gaze and tried to busy himself with the controls. Damn! Now he was feeling kind of bad, but not enough to stop this.
The plane began to descend.
"Oh, no!" Kristin cried. "What's happening now?"
"Mayday! Mayday, Mayday! I'm Pilot Eric Anderson. I departed on a Gulfstream G700 from Canada Five hours ago, climbing up 16000 feet and flying toward the Bahamas. We should be an hour away, flying above the ocean. One of our motors has just stopped."
He turned his head to get a good look at Kristin, who was now white as a ghost. Sure, Frank knew exactly what was going on, and he'd had to change all his pilot jargon or he knew she wouldn't have understood a word.
"Bahamas control tower, Frank Thompson speaking," came the reply "I'm receiving you GulfStream G700. What do you plan to do now?"
"I don't think I have any other choice but to make an emergency landing," Eric replied and heaved an exaggerated sigh.
Kristin just stared and put her feet on the seat. "Are you joking? You're joking, right?"
He shrugged. "Well, it's either make an emergency landing or pray really hard because the plan is gonna explode. I just figured you'd want to live."
"It's going to what?" Kristin asked, her eyes filling with tears.
Fuck! Maybe he was going too far, but it was too late to back down now.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Mikaelson," he shrugged.
"I wish you good luck and a safe landing," came the voice from the radio.
"He's got to be joking!" Kristin cried. "We're about to die, and all that idiot can do is wish us good luck and a safe landing?"
Eric turned to look out the window, chuckling quietly.
"Gulfstream G700…I can't hear you…I'm losing the connection…" Then static.
Kristin turned her head to glance at Eric as her breathing picked up. "We're gonna die, aren't we?"
Eric took the radio from her and put it back on the dashboard. Then he grabbed her seatbelt and put it on, making her cry out in pain.
"Buckle up, sweetheart," he said firmly, locking eyes with her. "It's gonna be a bumpy landing!"
Then he turned back to the window, getting a glimpse of Klaus' island, a satisfied grin curving his lips.
Malachai Fale paced back and forth down the length of the Council building's first floor where the administrative offices were. His meeting with Alistair, Dexter, and Kol Mikaelson had ended just five minutes ago. He had noticed that Avery had strode past the office and had quickly followed her. Since se seemed upset, he wanted to be sure that she was all right. But as he looked around, she wasn't in sight.
Now, the only way she could have vanished so quickly is if she'd used magic, and that seemed the only solution as he continued to look for her.
Then he heard a few noises as he passed by a closed janitor's closet. Curious, he strode up to it and knocked gently.
"Go away, whoever you are," she demanded shrilly before bursting into tears.
"I wouldn't do such a thing, Avery," he told her. "Not when you're in such distress." Then he grabbed the door handle and opened the door. Then he turned on the light and looked around. He and Avery were crammed into a very small space, filled with a bucket, mop, and several cleaning supplies, mostly in the form of bottles lining the shelves on the walls
It took Malachai a few seconds to spot her hunched in a corner, her legs pulled up to her chin as tears fell down her cheeks.
"Oh, Avery," Malachai explained, dismayed. "Why are you crying?" He ruffled her hair. "Give me your hand and we'll go to the cafeteria. I'll get you a coffee and you can rest."
"I won't let you drag me to the stupid cafeteria!" Avery shouted. "I want to stay here. Please?" She begged as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Malachai did as she asked and then frowned. "You're lucky that I like you," he said with a chuckle. "I'm getting to be too old to kneel in small spaces." Then he knelt beside her.
Avery scoffed. "Don't sell yourself short. You're not just too old to kneel in small spaces, you're too old to do everything!"
Malachai frowned. "Well, thank you," he said as he rolled his eyes, nudging her aside on the bench was sitting on to make space for himself, only to hear her shriek as she slipped off her seat and fell on her butt.
He didn't hesitate to laugh at her. "Remind me again why I'm here with you again?" He asked when he could take a breath.
"I have no idea!" She remarked savagely as she struggled to get to her feet. "I don't need you here so you can leave!" She sniffled.
"Here, take this," he said as she managed to sit down next to him, offering her a handkerchief. "Blow your nose so you're not covered in boogers."
Avery made a face. "Did you just say 'boogers'?" She laughed a little. "And who is carrying around a handkerchief these days? And an initialed one, no less."
"Oh be polite," he said. "Be nice and say thank you." He stabbed a finger in her direction. "I mean, in the span of a few seconds, I made you smile by saying boogers and gave you a handkerchief." He paused. "And Elijah Mikaelson carries a handkerchief too, not just me!"
"True," she sighed in defeat, not having the strength to fight him anymore. "I can't blow my nose with this, it's too nice. I think I'll just use a tissue from my clutch bag."
"Don't be silly!" Malachai took her hands. "It's fine! Just think of it as a donation to the Council." He winked playfully.
She did her best to smile as she wiped her tears away.
"What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?" He asked gently and gave her a smile.
"Don't try to flatter me," she said and pulled her knees up to her chin.
"Come on, Avery," he told her "I think it's the other way around, if you're completely honest with yourself. But that doesn't change the fact that you're a very beautiful woman!"
"Thanks, but I know that's a lie. I have no doubt I look like a rat right now." She put her head in her hands.
"The first beautiful rat I've seen," he winked. "Now, will you talk to me, please? We've lost our connection, but that doesn't mean I want to find you crying your eyes out in a janitor's closet."
She swallowed. "It's all too much for me, Malachai," Avery replied. "I mean, there are more and more supernatural crises happening every day because my father can't be found! Did you hear what Dexter said? A whole flock of birds attacked a grocery store. What's next?"
"I don't know," he said truthfully, even though he wished he could say something more comforting.
"And…" She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the handkerchief. "My brother has transformed into a thug running a nightclub, so I can't ask him for help!"
Malachai cleared his throat. "Not to be the bearer of more bad news, but…your brother isn't just a thug. He's the devil himself." He elbowed her playfully.
"Do you realize Alistair wants me to take my father's place?" She cried. "I can't do that! I'm the newest of my father's children and most of them still see me as a troublemaker who's ruining everything!"
"It doesn't matter what they think," Malachai told her. "You're quite powerful. I'm certain you could take your father's place and perform your duties commendably."
"Have you forgotten everything I put in place for my brother?" She stared at him.
Malachai winced in pain. "Don't remind me that you've set things up so that Eleanor and Julian Johnson's offspring has been joined to your brother."
"I'm almost a hundred percent sure she'll redeem him," Avery defended herself. "Even if she's my niece by marriage."
"Just the fact that you mentioned that Diana's your niece by marriage makes me want to throw up!"
"Oh, you can talk!" She responded, giving him a good hard push. "You have the same last name as Alistair!"
"Well, that's not my fault!" Malachai said. "The magical community has a sick sense of humor when it comes to marriage and keeping our married names."
"I can't take my father's place, Malachai!" She protested. "I'm a disaster!
"And do you think your father is perfect?" Malachai tilted his head comically. "Come on!"
She stared at him for a few seconds and nodded.
"And you won't have to do this alone. I'll be right by your side," Malachai promised.
"You will?" Avery eyed him hopefully. "Even if I've always been nothing but a pain in your butt?"
"Yeah, well," he grinned and ruffled her hair. "I've kind of gotten used to it." Then he winked.
"Okay, but what about your girlfriend the secretary?" She asked. "I wouldn't want to get in the way of anything. That's not right."
"Her?" Malachai shook his head. "Don't worry about it. She's getting married in a month."
"Oh, well…to you?" Avery asked, even though it required swallowing all her pride to get the words out.
"No, Avery," Malachai shook his head and grinned before gently wiping the remaining tears away with his gingers. "To the love of her life, who, if I have to make it clear, is not me. I guess that's something I still need to figure out. With your father's help or otherwise." He kissed her hand and winked again.
"I'll see what I can do," she smiled back.
He nodded and jumped to his feet, offering her his right hand to help her up.
As she tried to get to her feet, she stumbled and fell into Malachai's arms.
"I got you," he murmured and kissed her hair. "Don't worry, I got you." He pushed some of her hair behind her ears.
"Thank you," she stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek.
Then he turned and stared into her big brown eyes, gently grabbing her chin and kissing her gently. "Just to assure you that I meant it when I said I would always be here for you." Then he opened the door and gestured for her to go out ahead of him.
The petite brunette started to ride the man lying on the bed, getting faster and faster, straddling his waist as his hips moved in rhythm with his thrust.
"You're quite the sex addict now, little one!" He sat up and slapped her butt hard.
"Ouch!" She cried, pausing for a few seconds. "Don't do that, Leighton. It hurts!"
He smiled. "Good! I like it when things are getting tough." He winked and buried himself deeper inside of her.
"Leighton…" She leaned her head back to grant him full access to her perky breasts.
As he increased his thrusts, his lips found the delicious curve of her neck, and kissing down a fiery path to her breasts, then biting fully into her nipples.
She cried out in a mix of pain and pleasure as her orgasm overtook her in delicious waves.
"Oh, fuck!" Leighton cried out, biting her shoulder as he had his own orgasm.
They both rolled away from each other and Azrael caught her breath, then noticed that her lover was in deep pain because of his leg.
"Leighton!" She cried, smoothing out his heir "Are you okay?"
"Don't worry. It will pass," he promised, grabbing her hand to kiss her knuckles.
"I can see that you're in pain," she kissed his sweaty forehead. "Please, let me…"
"No!" He cut her off savagely. "I'll endure this pain again and again if it means I can be close to you."
She began to cry. "But I can't bear to see you suffer."
He smiled and tried to cheer her up. "Take a deep breath and give me ten minutes. Then we'll do it again. Round Three."
"Oh?" She winked and tried to relax him. "I thought it was round four."
"You're probably right," he chuckled and brought her into his arms as he took several deep breaths.
"Are you okay?" She raised her head and looked deep into his eyes to reassure herself.
"Oh, of course!" He laughed. "It always helps with my pain when you look at me like I'm your favorite meal!" He caressed her cheeks, his eyes full of light.
"You can never be serious, Leighton Fale!" She scolded him.
"Why would I want that when I have such a beautiful woman in my arms?" he asked, grabbing her chin and kissing her lips.
She kissed him back and tucked herself in his arms. "Please reassure me that you're not in pain anymore, Leighton. I need to hear those words."
"It's not gone," he said truthfully. "But it hurts much less now. You're an excellent pain killer!"
"I don't really want this, but…we have to go back to the city now," Azrael reminded Leighton, her voice cracking as she spoke because she hated to wreck the mood.
"I know, we will soon," Leighton promised. "I don't want to leave either though." He began playing with her hair. "We don't have any other choice. I don't have shaving cream and I think my razor has gone dull, so my beard is growing more by the day."
"Oh, don't be silly," Azrael smiled and stroked the scruff. "I love your beard."
"Well, thank you," Leighton smiled.
"When we…after we leave here," she paused and swallowed. "Are you going to…" She stopped and bit her lip to keep herself from crying.
"Am I going to kill myself when I get back to the city?" Leighton asked, putting a hand on Azrael's face.
She stayed silent.
"No, we'll still have time together," he promised. "And I want to say goodbye to my parents and sister…"
"I know you're in pain," she said, putting a hand on his arm as she tried to talk him out of his plan to end his life. "But you know Dad doesn't like stuff like that. It's against his will to…"
"Your father made it so I was in pain, so he better accept that I'm done with it and mind his own business," Leighton replied dryly. "Anything else, I don't give a damn."
"Of course," she sniffled, pushing her pain away, her hand going to her stomach. Her dearest wish now was to be pregnant and have a piece of him with her, always."
"I love you, Azrael," he said, his voice breaking and full of emotion. "You don't have to say it back to me. I just wanted you to know it. And the fact that, perhaps, I've love you since I was a baby." He chuckled timidly.
Azrael raised herself up on her elbows and smiled back at him. "I love you too, Leighton. Your…your love helped me become the woman I am today."
"Hey, that transformation's not over yet, woman," he teased and winked. "We still have round four to do."
"You promise?" She grinned and tucked herself in his arms.
"To cherish your body as much as I cherish you? Always." He promised with a chuckle.