I'm currently at Rebekah's party, standing in a corner, waiting for Bonnie or Caroline. I didn't really dress up because it wasn't required, so I'm wearing a brown tank top, black wide-leg jeans, a brown flannel, and my black converse along with my extensive jewelry. I see a blonde walk through the door and immediately go up to them. "Caroline!" I hug her tightly.
"Hi," she says seemingly sad.
"Who hurt you? I will rip out their heart and it won't be quickly," I ask her with a murderous look on my face.
"No, no. Please don't. It's Tyler. He was being weird when I went over. He barely kissed me, said someone was there and was secretive about who, and he said that he wasn't going to the party and he didn't want to hang out without me," she tells me, clearly annoyed.
"Why don't you go find Elena and Stefan? Or April! I'll see you soon but I have to go quickly, okay?" I give her a hug and a kiss on the forehead before leaving.
Once out of sight of the party goers, I speed to the Lockwood mansion. When I approach the house, I knock on the big white door. Tyler opens it and instantly I flip him onto his back, kick him where the sun don't shine, and kick his stomach. He groans. After I get some revenge, I offer him a hand which he takes. He looks at me, angry and confused.
"What the hell was that for?" He asks.
I sigh, "That was for upsetting Caroline. Now," I put my hand on his shoulder, "what's the real reason you're trying to shoo her away?"
"What? You flipped and kicked me," he complains.
"Revenge for shooing Caroline. As I was asking, what's the real reason?"
"Someone who helped me break the sire bond is here and they are a girl our age. Something may have happened, but I don't want Caroline to overthink it." He sighs and looks at me for a reaction. I knee him in the stomach. "Ow! What the fuck?"
"That's for the shitty reasoning. Caroline would have a reason to be upset, but you lying to her will only make it worse. Get your shit together and be honest," I tell him, raising my voice. I start to walk towards the study, turning around and walking backwards so I'm still looking at Tyler.
"But how? She'll be mad!" He walks after me, looking upset.
I groan, "Tyler. You're a hybrid who has few ways they could actually die and you can't tell your girlfriend the truth?" I spin back around, entering the study. "You must be the person who helped Tyler," I say, seeing the back of a brown haired girl. She spins around and nods hesitantly. I walk over to her and hold my hand out. "Aspen Bell, but please, call me Penny," I introduce myself.
"Hayley," she responds cautiously.
"Well, Hayley, it's nice to meet you. You're really beautiful," I compliment.
"Thank you! You too," she replies more comfortably.
"As much as I'm sure you want to see Tyler, do you want to go get dinner with me? Also, don't get the wrong idea, it's not a date. I just want to get to know you and maybe show you around. I guess the asshole can join if you want," I add, motioning to Tyler.
"Sure," she responds, "if you're okay with that Ty?"
"Yeah! Penny and you might have quite a bit in common." He shrugs and leaves the room.
"So... shall we?" I ask, holding out my hand.
"We shall," she replies in a fake posh accent. We interlock our hands and I tell her to get on my back which she contemplates but agrees to.
I speed us to a street down from the grill. I put her down. "Welcome to Mystic Falls, it can be hell on earth," I say sarcastically.
She laughs and looks at me. "What do you normally do when you're not busy?"
"Well," I start, "it's not very often, but when I do have time, I read. Mostly books, but other times I read old grimoires I've collected over the years. I enjoy looking for and finding abandoned houses that used to house witches and looking at the spells. I also enjoy a lot of forms of art."
"Cool! The grimoire thing is interesting. Maybe you'll show me one sometime?" She asks.
"Absolutely, I'd love to!" We reach the door of the Mystic Grill and I hod it open for Hayley. "What about you? What are your hobbies?"
"I don't have much time for hobbies. I guess just hanging out with people." She tells me as we sit down in a booth.
She starts to look through the menu that a waiter gives to us as we sit.
Hayley and I continue to talk and get along pretty well. We get to know each other as we eat and become fast friends. After all, I don't blame Hayley, I blame Tyler. Unless she also knew about Caroline's relationship with Tyler. In which case, I blame both.
⇢⇢⇢⇢
I'm home alone when I hear a knock at the door. Sighing, I get up and slowly walk into the foyer, opening the door to reveal Klaus. "What time should I pick you up tomorrow?" He asks.
"What?" I question.
"The Miss Mystic Falls pageant. I assume you're going since Caroline is your friend," he explains.
"Oh... yeah. Never." I go to shut the door but he speeds inside, placing his arms on either side of me, trapping me against the closed door.
"You sure about that, love?" He whispers in my ear. I feel a shiver go down my spine. It takes everything to not let my breathing falter.
"I don't know. What would you taking me to the pageant entail?" I ask, bringing one hand to the back of his neck.
"Consider it you being my date or vice versa. We'd go together then go back to mine for a bit afterwards and see what happens," he says suggestively.
"Okay. Pick me up at 2." I lean into his ear and lower my voice, "Don't be late."
I go up to my room and pick out a dark green dress with white flowers on it for the event.
⇢⇢⇢⇢
I finally escaped the party and am sitting on a bench a few hundred feet away under a tree. "Why did you leave?" I hear Klaus ask from behind me. He takes a seat next to me.
"I can't take too much social interaction at one time and everything is so complicated recently. I needed a break," I explain.
"Understandable. I honestly need a break too, but that never seems possible. Do you plan on staying here for a while? In Mystic Falls?" He asks, placing his hand on mine.
I meet his gaze and take a mommy to appreciate his blue-green eyes. "No," I sigh. "No, I couldn't stay here. I'm only really here for Damon and Stefan, but I think I'm going to leave somewhat soon."
Suddenly, I notice a strawberry blonde girl. When she turns around, I immediately get up, noticing that face anywhere. "Excuse me for a second," I tell Nik as the familiar strawberry blonde runs over. I take a few steps towards her and engulf her in a hug, me being significantly taller. "How's my favorite wolf bestie?" I ask her, pulling away and putting my hands on her shoulders.
"Great, how about you? You are the reason I'm here, after all," she responds.
"Is your mother okay? Do you need me to come help?" I question anxiously.
"She's fine, I just wanted to see you."
"Aw, Lils, I missed you too. It's been like a year since I've seen you in person!" I step back a bit, a smile present on my face.
"And I haven't grown, I'm 18 and still 5'1," she complains.
"I think it's cute," I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "How's the family?"
"Good, they miss you too but are too busy to visit." She looks at me apologetically.
"I'll just have to find a time to see them then." I hear someone clear their throat and look back to see Klaus. "Oh! Klaus, this is Lily. Lily, this is Klaus," I introduce them.
Klaus nods his head in her direction and she does the same.
"I think I'm going to leave and go back to the boarding house. Lily do you want to stay there?" I ask.
"Yes, but I think I'm going to meet people and explore a bit. I'll find my way," she replies happily.
"Alright, be safe," I tell her with a stern look.
"Okay, okay!"
She turns and leaves. I start walking in the opposite direction towards the parking lot. "Klaus, can you drop me off?" I ask.
"Of course, sweetheart," he responds politely.
We walk to the car and drive to the boarding house. I'm about to open my door, but Nik beats me to it.
"You wanna come in for a drink?" I ask.
He nods, "Sure."
We walk up to the house and I unlock the front door with my keys. Upon walking inside, I toss my keys on the table. I lead Klaus to the study and grab a bottle of bourbon from Damon's "secret" stash. Klaus holds up two glasses and I pour the bourbon into the crystal cups.
I stroll over to the couch and sit crisscross. I pat the space next to me and Nik promptly sits there.
We talk for an hour before Nik asks to kiss me. I nod and our lips connect in a short but romantic kiss. Afterwards, he seems a little spooked suddenly and gets up, saying a quick goodbye, and leaving.
What the hell?
⇢⇢⇢⇢
"You WHAT?" I look at Lily in disbelief.
"Okay, yeah, I know you like him and I'm sorry, I just got carried away." Lily looks down at the mattress she's sitting on in my room.
"No, no. It's nobody's fault, we weren't a thing, we never discussed anything. It was consensual, correct?" I ask not because I don't trust Klaus, but because I'm protective of Lily.
"Yes, it was. It was kinda weird though because at one point he muttered really softly, almost so that I couldn't hear, your name. I ignored it." She flops back on my bed.
"I'm sorry that happened. That's also kinda weird. When did it happen again?" I question.
"Like a week ago. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, I just didn't know how or how big of a deal it would be to you. I can't lose you."
I smile at her words and sit on my bed, bringing her into a hug. "You won't lose me," I mumble emotionally.
My phone starts to ring abruptly and I sigh, looking at the caller ID. Stefan. I pick up.
"Hello?" I ask.
"Hey. Penny there's something you need to know. Tyler just informed me of it..." he starts.
I pace as he talks. After 2 minutes, he hangs up. "That BITCH!" I raise my voice.
"Who's a bitch?" Lily queries, sitting up.
I look up at her and sigh, "Hayley. She manipulated multiple people and did something horrible. Now the doing something horrible I can sometimes excuse since my past isn't perfect, but it's the way she did it and the way she knew what would happen and yet risked twelve fairly innocent lives!" I flop on the bed. Lily starts to play with my hair and we catch up more on everything that has happened in our lives.