"THIS IS A BAD IDEA," I announced, folding my hands and not moving from my place.
"No, it is not Katerina," Elijah said with a tired sigh, annoyed with my whining.
"It is Elijah," I insisted stubbornly. I turned to face him, still remaining in the passenger seat of the car. "You have gone bonkers if you think the people won't get suspicious when they see Elena Gilbert accompanying an Old man instead of her sweet boyfriend to a Historical society tea party."
Elijah just opened my side of the door and bent over to unfasten the seatbelt by himself before he voiced out his points. "It is just a beautiful girl accompanying the new author in town as a gesture of kindness while her boyfriend is out of the town." He then pulled me out of the car, holding me by my arms gently. Once I was dragged out, he hooked our arms, pulling me along inside the Lockwood Mansion, "And what's it called ―ah! FYI, I am not an old man."
"Says the thousand-year-old Original," I said with a snort.
"It's not like you are 18 years old either. And I am still good looking than you. I wonder why?" the Original said with a smirk. Before I could retort him with another comeback, Jenna announced her presence.
"Elena ―I thought you will be going to the lake house with Stefan," Jenna said in a confused tone, making her way to us.
"Lakehouse. Is it your idea?" Elijah murmured next to my ears.
"Uh ―Stefan ―er, had to go see his grandmother in Italy, as she was not feeling well. So we had to cancel the plan," I managed to say, trying not to be phased by Elijah's presence next to me.
"Elijah, I didn't know you two will be coming ―together," she said, glancing at our curved arms not so subtly.
Elijah gave her a charming smile, flattering her even before he spoke. "I asked Miss. Gilbert here to be my date since I don't know many people here, and she gladly agreed as it was not a school day considering it's Good Friday," replied Elijah. Just as we are finishing up the conversation, Rose, Damon, and Carol made their way to us.
I hated social interactions. Absolutely despised the fake pleasantries that are a must. But like everyone on earth, I had to also give them my best false smile when introducing myself.
"Elena, Elijah, Damon? I am surprised you are all here," Carol said, hugging Damon and me.
"I am too―" Damon said, looking at me with narrowed eyes. I shrugged at him, saying I didn't want to be here anymore than he. Damon gave me a look that said we have to talk later, and when I nodded, he turned towards the host of the event. "Carol, this is Rose. She is a friend of mine ―visiting," and both women nodded their head in acknowledgment.
"Oh, Elijah ―this Damon Salvatore," Carol introduced the two men. "He is one of the founding families of Mystic Falls," She stated. As they began interacting, I slipped away slowly.
"What are you doing here?" Alaric asked as he saw me drinking tea I didn't even want in a corner.
I rolled my eyes, "Elijah wants to protect his bait." Alaric nodded his head sympathetically as I added, "And he knows where Elena is, Jenna, spilled the beans. Ask them to come back or go to some other place."
"What is Damon doing?" Alaric asked a minute later, looking over my shoulder. I turned my head to see Damon taking Elijah into a secluded room.
Rose chose that moment to join us, saying, "Getting himself killed."
I huffed and turned my attention back to them. "How is walking in the sun?" I inquired Rose.
"Perfect," Rose said, smiling giddily. "I can't believe I didn't feel the sunlight for 500 years."
Goody.
Just then, my phone rang, and I excused myself. I came out of the house, away from the crowd, and answered the call.
"Yes, Caroline?" I said
"Er ―Kat," She started hesitantly, and I knew she was doing something stupid just then. "So, uh, we kinda have Luka over at my house," she muttered, "You see, Bonnie took your advice to heart and did some juju on him. He is currently knocked out. And now, she and Jeremy are trying to figure out if he is an enemy or not. And if they are related to this, she will find out how they are planning to kill Klaus―" she stopped abruptly, before she started gushing, "By the way, did you know Jeremy is totally crushing on Bonnie. Like―"
"Caroline," I interrupted her plainly, "Back to the point, please. Don't you think the warlock will be pissed once he gets up and finds out about this?" I questioned.
Caroline sighs at this, "Bonnie says she knows what she is doing."
I shook my head, taking a deep breath. "Just ―don't get yourselves killed, alright? I can't come there right now. I am stuck at a historical society tea party."
The blonde chuckled at that, "How did you get roped into it?"
"It's not funny," I said. "Elijah dragged me here, quite literally."
She stifled a laugh before she said, "Just don't kill anyone, alright?" And with that, she hung up before I could get another word out. Did she just hang up on me?
Young vampires. So arrogant.
As soon as the thought left my mind, Elijah came out of nowhere and stood next to me. His pressed white shirt had a speck of blood that was quite visible.
I sighed, shaking my head. "Whom did you eat?" I asked, trying to fade the bright red color a little before anyone could see it. But then I realized, "Oh my God! Damon," I said and turned to look for the blue-eyed vampire.
But Elijah stopped me, grasping my hand. "He is alright," he said. "Now we need to go home."
"Like hell, I will," I snapped and freed my arm and went in search of the younger vampire.
I know Damon will be okay. But I just really hated how Elijah was treating me. Trying to control my actions. It's really starting to get on my damn nerves.
By the time I entered the study, into which Elijah had followed the Salvatore brother moments ago, Damon was sprawled on the floor, leaning against the walls as he took the broken pencil out of his neck. The blood was all over him. I went and sat beside him in hopes that I might lessen the mess the two made.
"Are you stupid enough to take on an Original?" I snapped at him angrily. These guys weren't even trying to be stealthy, which infuriated me even more. What if someone came and saw all this and shouts at the top of their lungs. How the vampires in this town managed to avoid it until now amazes me.
"Hey, I am alright. I heal, remember. I just pissed him off more than I thought to do. The guy got some ego on him," Damon said, holding the handkerchief I gave him.
"Were you worried about me," he asked with a smirk on his face once I am done.
"No," I said with a scoff.
"Whatever you say, honey," he said, chuckling and getting up.
"Will you be alright, going home? I will call Rick," I said, leaving to find Rick, but Damon grabbed my arm before I could take another step.
"Thank you," he said, "For still caring about me even when I was a dick to you."
I really didn't know what to say to him. His tone was really genuine, "Welcome?" I said more like a question.
With the situation solved, I decided to find Alaric. I saw him speaking with Rose, so I asked the pair to take Damon home without causing any suspicions, to which they agreed readily.
★ ➷ ｡• ☆
I am pretty sure I pissed the guy off to the point that he wants to commit mass homicide ―starting with me. That is why I didn't go home that day. I mean, I did, but just before I could go inside, my conscience warned me otherwise. And so I went and laid down on the rooftop, looking at the stars. It was a habit I had —to just sit and stare into the calm night. It was a pleasant experience, and I did it quite often as it helped me question my choices and reveal some stress off my shoulders.
Just like every time I find myself sitting alone, the questions of my existence in this fictional universe come back to me. The same questions I have been asking myself for over a month. And no matter how many times I ask them aloud, answers always seem to be out of my reach ―What am I doing here? Why am I here?
However, I didn't have much time to dwell on the answerless questions much longer. Because, after a little over ten minutes, I felt a presence beside me, prompting me to release a sigh. I don't even need to look back to see who it was. The woody cologne already gave me my answer.
"If you are here to kill, Elijah, then just be done with it," I said, my eyes never leaving the starry night.
What if dying the only way to go back? I couldn't help but question myself. Which was quickly followed by, But whom am I going back for? I don't have anyone there.
"Now, why would I do that Katerina," Elijah sought as he came over to sit next to me.
"Maybe because I pissed you off again. And you have had enough of my tantrums," I said.
"Believe it or not, Katerina. I am not here to kill you," he said, leaning back to lay on the roof.
"Of course," I muttered dryly, "You are waiting for your brother to take the opportunity."
Elijah stayed silent at that. I sighed again, breaking the silence, "Do you believe that all the people that died turn into stars?" I asked, randomly. If they did, then canon Katherine would've created 30 percent of them.
Are my parents one of those stars?
"From what I know, the supernatural creatures go to a place called the other side after they die. And the humans, maybe they turned into stars," he said, lying next to me, looking at the sky. It was kind of sad ―that I can't even look at them in the stars.
"Then I guess my parents aren't here," I said. There's a Universal gap between our skies, after all.
"Why is that?" he asked, getting me out of my trance.
"Huh!" I asked, neglecting to hear the question the first time.
"Why do you think your family isn't there?" Elijah questioned again.
"Oh," I scrunched my face. As I desperately tried to conceal my blunder, all the while, I cursed out loud in my mind. "Er ―I came from a supernatural family," I said, turning away from him, getting into the character, "My father was a Traveler."
"Travelers. I heard about them," He said. "They hate witches with a passion. I didn't know you possessed magical abilities."
"Well, I never got a chance to practice it," I shrugged. "I didn't know anything about this world until I met you both. I knew about my family after they died."
Or did she knew before? Eh, who cares? No one will know unless they try to talk with the ghosts.
"Do you know, my mother was a witch as well?" Elijah spoke, turning the conversation into a lighter topic, obviously seeing I wasn't interested in talking about mine.
"So, she is the one who made you," I said, sounding as if I just deduced it.
"Yes, she did." He said, "When we came to the Old World, the werewolves and witches were already there. On one full moon night, my younger brother Henrik died because of some werewolves. My mother couldn't save him. So she decided to use her powers to make us more powerful and stronger than the wolves. That is how vampires are created."
"Your mother is sure powerful to create a new kind of species," I really liked the amount of power she held. But she was an A-Class bitch, and her plans were faulty, more so than Damon's. And that's saying something.
"However, we never practiced magic. Our Father was a Viking, and so he wanted us to hunt and be warriors. However, my younger brother Kol. He loved doing witchcraft. It was his greatest passion," he said.
"Have I met him?" I asked, wrinkling my nose
"No, he isn't around us, often. He liked to travel alone, used to run with witches trying to find some connection to his old life," said Elijah.
"He sounds a lot like me," I mumbled to myself. I then turned to him, "Do you know―" Before I could complete my sentence, two cold lips touched mine. Elijah's hand came to rest on my cheeks as his lips nipped at mine. I was in shock, and I didn't grasp what's happening around me. It took me a moment to realize who was kissing me and where we are.
I couldn't help be lost in the moment as Elijah showed me how to kiss someone. His hands slowly came down until they reached my waist, and he brought me closer as I kept my one hand on his chest. I don't know how much time passed as we laid down like that, kissing under the moon and stars. A moment later, he pauses, pulling away from me slowly, giving one last peck to them as he let go completely. And just like that, I came out of the daze.
"I ―I should go ―and sleep," I stammered, getting up from his side and dashed to my room. I am such a dumb idiot. I should be angry at him, not learn seduction 101 from the thousand-year-old Original.
Shit!
★ ➷ ｡• ☆
Elijah didn't know what to do when he saw her run away from him. He wanted to go after her, of course, but he decided to give her some time. The noble Mikaelsons didn't want to scare her away, just yet. He didn't exactly know why he kissed her either. Witnessing her under the moonlight only made her appear more beautiful and enticing. He couldn't restrain the feelings that he kept buried inside him all this time.
If anyone had asked him how he felt about Katerina a few weeks ago, his answer would be something along the lines like she deserves to pay for the betrayal or maybe something even more dramatic. But if you ask him now, he can't say anything for sure.
His interactions with her made him change his opinion about her. He always thought he is good at judging people, but he was proven wrong. He can't figure this Katherine out. He didn't expect her to be hostile to him ―frightened, yes, but not resentment. Now that he thinks about it, he couldn't help but agree with her. Would he have saved her even after Niklaus said not to? Also, if he did, would she be alive for more than a few years? Knowing Niklaus, he would have killed her just to get back at him at some point. She would've faced the same fate as that of Celeste. For a second, he agreed with her.
Katerina ran away without telling him and missed her horrible fate.
When he saw her for the first time after 500 years, a ton of emotions crossed him ―the satisfaction that she was finally found, betrayal for running away, and causing a rift between Niklaus and him. There was also a curiosity to get to know this new 500-year-old vampire. He knows vampirism changes people. He and his siblings are perfect examples of that. At least they had each other, but the 18-year-old girl from the 15th century went through it alone ―no one to lean on to. Not when Niklaus had killed her entire family just a few days later, she turned into a vampire.
He wasn't sure if she could handle it. Elijah honestly believed she would be a lost cause.
But again, to his surprise, a few years later, he heard the stories about the legendary Katherine Pierce. He wasn't sure if he was relieved that she became brave enough to fight her own battles or worried that she became ruthless as his brothers Kol and Niklaus. Possibly sad that she had lost hope in the love, she used to believe so much when she was human. After overhearing about her for over three centuries, he didn't think she perished in a fire in the 1860s. And he hoped that it is true.
But seeing it for himself, now ―he is glad. Katerina didn't completely lose herself in the process. She still believes in love. He heard her history with the Salvatore brothers and saw how they still care for each other. Even if they don't express it, it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Though the Salvatore's may say they want to protect Elena, he knows they would never want Katerina in danger either. They would do anything to keep her safe. It was confirmed to him today when he talked to Damon Salvatore at the tea party. One of the reasons he desired to rip the young vampire's heart out. Because he can't say, he didn't feel anything when Katerina was worried about the other vampire.
Maybe that was the reason he came to stay at her house instead of residing at the Martin's or some other hotel. The Original wanted to mend things with her and get to know the new her. He fancies her to be the same girl he used to talk to in the 1400s. That woman was someone that connected him to his human days, or at least her appearance did. Now that his siblings are at the bottom of the ocean, he didn't want to lose the last thing that kept him human.
He will bring back the girl who talked to him with a smiling face about anything and everything and used to listen to him when he speaks with so much concentration. Maybe that's the reason he kissed her today. She has reminded him of the days he used to care for her. He has taken the first step to accomplishing what he wants. He is not going to lose her. He was the first person to notice and understand her, and he may as well be the last.