[I] Freedom {Klaus Mikaelson}

I. Joint

The raven-haired girl played with the ruby jewel that hung from her necklace as she waited for the rest of her classmates to enter the classroom.

"Nice necklace," Faith glanced at Stefan as he sat on the desk next to her. "Where'd you get it?"

She let the jewel drop from her hand and lied. "Family heirloom. Had to practically beg my mother to give to me after my father passed away."

"I'm sorry," Stefan said, his eyebrows knitted together.

"Why?" Faith looked at him with cold blue eyes that reminded the vampire of his older brother. "It's not like you killed him. He died in a car accident."

Stefan blinked and instantly a smile was across the raven-haired girl's face as her attention was on a girl with light brown skin and dark brown hair. The girl smiled back at the Everly girl as she sat down in front of her and Stefan took that as his cue to leave.

"Everly," Bonnie greeted her.

"Bennet," Faith smirked. "Still going on about being psychic?"

Bonnie shrugged. "Maybe."

Faith rolled her eyes but had a light smile on her lips. The minute Bonnie's attention wasn't on her, Faith's expression became cold yet held almost a mischievous glint. Faith never really thought of Bonnie, Caroline, or especially Elena as her friends. Acting nice and friendly was her mother's orders, the woman she hated most in the world.

Although, she found it amusing yet frustrating as everyone in the small town didn't seem to realize that Faith Everly was being abused.

Her only friend was Vicki Donovan. A bit bitchy, the brunette was, but she was the only one who figured out who Faith's mother really is. Even with being abused by her mother, Faith made it her life goal to displease her mother, even in the simplest things.

• • • •

"Could've chosen a better boy toy, Vick," Faith told the older girl as she served a couple their drinks.

Vicki scoffed. "Please, I'm not the one who deflowered him."

Faith smirked and placed the black tray on the bar. "But who's the one who kept doing it one after the other?"

Vicki places more drinks on her tray. "It was the drug haze plus I'm dating Tyler."

Faith sat down on one of the stools near the bar. "Keep telling yourself that and I dated Tyler as well and I know how much of an asshole he is. Don't get me wrong he's good at sex, but not exactly dating material."

"Well there isn't much to choose in Mystic Falls who's great at both," Vicki replied.

"I'm sure Jeremy Gilbert is," Faith smirked. "I mean from the details you've told me, he seems to actually like you."

Vicki deadpanned and only shook her head before walking away from the raven-haired girl.

"Hey, Faith."

She turned around to see Caroline and Bonnie smiling at her. She smiled back, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"We're meeting up with Elena in a bit," Caroline answered. "You can join us."

"Yeah, sure," Faith shrugged. "I'm almost done with my shift anyway."

• • • •

Faith listened, bored out of her mind as Elena, Bonnie, and she heard Caroline's flirt attempts toward Stefan Salvatore. They all sat at a table in the Grill. Of course, Elena and Bonnie seemed to be interested in the conversation, but Faith wasn't.

She was regretting not leaving the minute her shift was done.

"Parents?" Bonnie asked the vampire.

"My parents passed away," Stefan glanced at Elena.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Any siblings?"

Faith's blue eyes narrowed on Stefan when she glanced at her before answering, "none that I talk to. I live with my uncle."

"So Stefan," Caroline interrupted Stefan's and Elena's moment. "If you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow."

"It's a back to school thing at the falls," Bonnie explained.

"My favorite kind of party," Faith smirked, glad that the subject changed. "No adults and we drink as much as we want."

"Says the alcoholic," Caroline rolled her eyes to which Faith's smirk grew.

"Are you going?" Stefan turned toward Elena.

"Of course she is," Bonnie answers for her with a smile. Faith rolled her eyes as Elena smiled, shyly, and pushed her hair behind her ear and stared at Stefan.

• • • •

Faith unlocked the front door before walking inside the house. She dropped her keys in a small key dish before walking inside the living room.

Her blue eyes seemed to dull as she saw her mother's figure sitting on the sofa with a glass of red wine in her hand. Her mother looked up at her daughter with distaste as she stood. She placed the glass of wine gently on the coffee table before walking up to the young girl.

Faith's head was forcibly turned to the side by the brute force her mother's hand used to slap her.

"When is your curfew?" Circe Everly questioned, bitterly.

"10 pm," Faith mumbled in response. She bit her lip as she felt tears swirl around in her eyes.

"And what time is it?" Circe asked, her emerald eyes glaring at her daughter.

"Twelve fifteen," Faith whimpered.

Circe sighed, frustrated before harshly pulling Faith from her forearm across the living room to a hallway. She stopped at the end of the hallway at a door. Tears welled up in Faith's blue eyes from her mother's sharp nails digging into her skin and what's about to come.

The door creaked open to show a set of stairs by a dim light. With a rough push, Faith tumbled down the stairs. Circe stared with cold emerald eyes at her daughter's body slumped onto the cold hard ground at the bottom of the steps before slamming the door shut.

Faith raised her head at the steps as she heard a few clicks meaning her mother had locked the multiple locks on the door. With great struggle, Faith managed to sit down against a wall. She pulled her knees up and crossed her arms over her knees as she stared blankly in the empty basement.

She knew soon her mother would walk down the stairs and start her attacks on Faith while blaming her father's death on her and telling her how much of a disappointment she was as her daughter and as a witch.

Faith Everly wasn't a witch. She was a siphoner.