descent | 𝐊𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐒 [HIATUS]

𝟎𝟑

"Are you going to stay?" Klaus asks. "Here, I mean."

Rory sighs, lowering her head. "I don't know," she confesses. "I'm here with, um...with my boyfriend," at the word boyfriend, Klaus' head snaps towards her. His hand tightens over the edge of the bar so hard he's pretty sure it splinters under his palm. "I'm staying with him and his brother. I didn't know that you lived here."

"You have a boyfriend?"

"I do,"

"Oh," Klaus forces himself to remain aloof. He releases the counter, and he pulls the small wooden splinters out of his hand with faux disinterest. "Who is he?" What is he? Vampire? Werewolf?

"His name is Dean. He's...human,"

Human. She's dating a human. Is he the one that likes pie?

"His brother is a vampire, though. Sam," Rory continues. "You may remember him from, uh...New York," Klaus looks up at the mention of the city ▬ their city ▬ and nods for her to go on. "It turns out he was a snatch-and-erase victim when I killed him. He had vampire blood in his system and...the rest was history."

"I see,"

"Yeah,"

There's a tense silence that blankets them both as Rory fiddles with the glass in front of her. She tucks her hair behind her ear, and Klaus looks away. Cami's still behind the bar, pretending that she isn't paying attention to Rory and Klaus' exchange, but her eyes keep flickering over every few seconds that it's way too obvious that she's trying to listen in. Klaus ignores the blonde, turning back to Rory.

"Do you love him?" Klaus inquires.

Rory exhales. "Klaus, I don't want—"

"—Just tell me the truth," Klaus interjects. "Tell me if you love him."

"I don't know. I don't know, maybe. I could grow to love him,"

"So, you don't love him,"

"Does it matter?" Rory turns towards him, defensive. "Do I have to love him? I-I like him. Isn't that enough? He treats me well, and he...he sacrificed everything to be with me."

"You're supposed to be with someone that you love. Someone that loves you,"

"He loves me," Rory looks defeated when she says it, like she hates that he does. Klaus knows the feeling too well. "He does. I just..." Rory trails off, looking at her hands. She fiddles with the daylight ring on her finger, and Klaus is reminded of the day he told Katherine to give it to her. "I don't..."

"You don't love him because you're still in love with someone else," Klaus finishes. Rory doesn't respond, simply pursing her lips. "You don't love him because he's not someone that you want to spend your life with, and you know it. That's why you've spent your time running away with him—because being with him is easier than accepting that you love someone you pushed away."

"I don't want to talk anymore," Rory pushes herself off the barstool, turning to leave. "I don't want to have this conversation with you. Not now."

"Then when?" Klaus trails after her as she shrugs on her coat, pushing the door to Rousseau's open. "You've pushed me away for two years, Rory. Not just me, but everyone you love. Your family. When are we going to have this conversation if not now?"

"Never!" Rory whirls around to face him. "I don't want to have this conversation with you, ever. Because I spent so long trying to forget you, and I was hoping..." Rory trails off, letting out a frustrated sound. She stomps her foot against the floor like a child, just because she feels like it. "I wasn't supposed to see you again, Klaus. Ever."

"Well, I'm here. I've always been here, Rory," Klaus walks towards her, cupping her face in his hand. "Don't push me away."

"I have a boyfriend, Klaus," Rory turns her head away from him, pursing her lips. "Please don't make this difficult."

"Tell me that you love him," Klaus says. "Tell me that you love him, and I'll let you go. Look me in the eye and tell me that you don't feel anything for me anymore," Klaus tilts her chin up, connecting her gaze with his. "If you want to be free, give me the choice to be as well. Tell me that there is not a chance in this world that you'd ever feel the same way about me—that there's not a sliver of hope for us."

Rory swallows thickly, her heart slamming against her ribcage. "There's no hope for us," is all she manages to say.

"When you lie, your nose turns red," Klaus murmurs. His thumb ghosts over the skin of her cheek. He untucks the hair behind her ear, letting it fall against her face. "You can't look me in the eyes when you fib—you can't look at anybody in the eyes. You've convinced yourself that you're a good actor, and you think people believe you when they agree, but they just don't want to deal with your whining when they say different."

"Klaus..."

"I told you to look me in the eye and tell me that you love him, Rory," Klaus says. "You couldn't even try to lie about that."

"Don't," Rory notices him leaning in before he does. She pulls away from him before he has the chance to kiss her, shaking her head. She steps away from him, putting a good distance between them. She inhales deeply, trying to calm her nerves. "Like I said, please don't make this any more difficult than it has to be, Klaus."

She turns on her heel to walk away. Klaus doesn't take his eyes off her until she disappears.

A/N: yooo what the fuck is up gang... sorry if this chapter was short it was actually super heavy for me to write and for some reason i was just super exhausted to keep going right after so...

a part of me is rooting for klory (just because im always their #1 shipper) and another is just sorry for dean. nothing's fine i'm tornnnnn...