Forever The Name On My Lips

twenty-one.

"Are you really leaving tomorrow?"

"Stefan isn't compelled anymore," you said. "They can help him turn it back on themselves. I just...I should have left a long time ago."

She didn't respond, and you closed your eyes. In the morning, you would grab your things and leave. Will already had your new identity waiting for you. You would make a pit stop in New York to grab it and then you would disappear. Tomorrow...

• • •

You left Caroline's while she was still sleeping. The sun had barely begun to rise, but you knew it was time. You just needed to grab your stuff from the Boarding House, and given the early hour, you were hoping you wouldn't run into anyone before you left.

You sped over to the house, ready to put this place behind you. This place was once your home, but now, it brought you nothing but misery. You were right to avoid it for a millennium. You wouldn't make the same mistake of coming back again.

Klaus was waiting for you outside when you arrived. You sighed as he approached you. "I don't want to hear it, Niklaus," you said. "I said all I needed to say last night."

"This isn't about that," he said. You looked at him questioningly. "Have you seen Stefan?"

"Why?"

"Oh no reason really, just that he took something from me and I want it back," he said.

"That sounds like a you and Stefan problem," you rolled your eyes and crossed your arms. If this was a last ditch effort to make you stay, he had picked the wrong one.

"Actually, I think it's an us problem," he said. "Seeing as what he took is my coffins."

You froze, your hands dropping to your side in shock. "The coffins? How?"

"Seems he spent his time after earning his freedom going on a bit of a revenge rampage," Klaus said.

This was a problem. Because those coffins weren't just important to Klaus. They were important to you too. Your family was encased in them. Kol and Elijah and Finn and... "Nik, did he take all the coffins?"

"Now you see the problem?" he asked. "And to top it all off, it seems Rebekah has decided to disappear. You wouldn't have happened to see her either, have you?"

"She let Mikael compel me," you said. "I'm done with her along with everyone else."

His eyes flashed as he learned of the latest layer of Rebekah's betrayal. "So it seems like it's just you and I then," he said after a moment.

"No, it's just you," you said. "You don't need me to handle this."

"I'll always need you," he said softly, his eyes meeting yours.

You looked away first. It was too late. Your heart was too broken to let his sugary words affect you. "I'm leaving town," you said.

"No," he said firmly. "You are not leaving."

"I am," you said. "I can't stay here anymore. I can't do this anymore."

"Y/N...please," he said, taking a step closer to you. "I need you. Now that I've found you again...I can't lose you again. I know you said you're not on my side anymore, love. But perhaps, we can find our way back to each other."

"It's too hard," you said. "I'm tired."

"I love you," he said.

"Why?" you asked.

"What?"

"I've done nothing but stand against you since we met again. We are not the same people we were a century ago. You've been fine without me all this time. Why do you love me? Why do you need me?"