ALWAYS LOLA // KLAUS MIKAELSON OH

BEAUTY IS A TERROR

"This is who we are, a product of war."

WHEN SHE WOKE UP DAMON WAS ALREADY GONE. He had left behind an empty, messy bed. There was no note, because Damon wasn't one for notes and Lola could respect that. But she also knew that Damon got himself into more trouble than it was worth. She pushed the thick blankets away from herself and put her bare feet onto the wooden floors. Now she could ground herself for a minute, think about life and then get on with it again. There was no time for breaks in Mystic Falls.

When she entered the Gilbert house the smell of food cooking overwhelmed her. She realized that she hadn't actually eaten anything since the breakfast at Caroline's, the morning after she rose from the grave. "Hello," she yelled as she entered the house, the door had been left open for her.

Then she spotted Elena Gilbert on the couch and remembered that Damon had told her where he went. He had called her earlier this morning while on the road to dump Klaus's body and had told her of Elena's ailment. She walked towards her friend and gave her a high five.

"I'm living for the dramatic nosebleed to be honest." Elena smiled in return and sat up a bit straighter on the couch. Lola continued into the kitchen where Matt and Stefan were cooking up an omelet.

"Hey you," she said to the pair and received an embrace from Matt, who hadn't seen her since her funeral. Stefan responded like he always did, "Hey you."

"Is she okay?" Lola asked the pair, obviously talking about the girl laying on the couch. Stefan's brows scrunched up.

"I'm being over coddled! I feel completely fine." Elena responded from the couch in the living room.

Stefan messed around with the pan on the fire, "you're on house arrest. You're supposed to be coddled." He flipped the omelet from one side to the other.

"Wouldn't it be smarter if we just go the hell out of town." Matt asked while wiping his hands with a tea towel. Sure, Lola thought. Try to convince these two martyrs of that idea.

"And do what? Go on the run for the rest of my life? No thank you." Elena got up from the couch, "And I'm not an invalid, I'm done with that couch." She walked out of the room. This was easy for Lola and Stefan, but Matt didn't feel as comfortable, "So, you're just gonna let her call the shots?"

"What do you suppose he should do, Matt? Keep her locked up here for the rest of her life." Matt shook his head. "I'm letting her make her own decisions." Stefan added.

"Even if they're wrong?"

"Nothing wrong with free will, Matt. Trust me, you don't realize that till you lose it."

Suddenly, Elena's voice came from the front doorway. A worried voice.

"Stefan." The group looked towards the front door and saw that it was wide open, in front of Elena's face the one and only, Elijah Mikaelson.

"'Lijah." Lola said with an almost smile on her face at the exact same time as Stefan said his name in a much more serious tone.

"Hello again."

They were all standing or sitting around the kitchen isle now, after Elena allowed Elijah entrance into her home. "All we need is to take that stake away from him. Once he's been disarmed, the weapon's in my possession, my family will scatter to the ends of the Earth and Alaric will follow us."

"And you'll just run?" Stefan wondered. He sat down on one of the bar stools next to Elena.

"We've done it before. Klaus and Rebekah spent the better part of a thousand years evading my father. What's another half century while Elena is able to live out the rest of her natural life?" Elena shook her head and grimaced while looking at Elijah, "We've finally stopped him, Elijah. After everything he's done to us, I can't just let you bring him back."