1965
Klaus held her dying body in his lap. Her dark hair was cascaded on the ground. He was loosing her once again. She was a helpless human, drawn to Klaus and him to her.
She has died many times before, but this one was new. Pushed off a cliff, by a passing by stranger. Of course naturally Klaus killed him on sight.
"Klaus," Layla whispered, "I don't want to die."
Klaus had tears streaming down his face, "I love you Layla, don't leave me again, please don't go."
"You will have to find me," Layla smiled, finally closing her eyes.
Klaus looked at her as she drew her last breaths. He held her closer, burying his face in her dark hair.
"We will be together again love, I know it," he whispered.
***************************
Layla Kinney's alarm went off, signaling she had to get up for school. She rolled out of bed and quickly pulled out some clothes and ran a brush through her hair. She looked into the mirror, she did not want to face this day, the her parents died.
Two years ago, her parents were brutally murdered, drained of blood. Living in Mystic Falls, Layla knew all about the vampires, in fact she was friends with most of them, Damon, Stefan, and Caroline.
She sighed before going down stairs. Elena would soon be outside to pick her up, she was right Elena was waiting outside. Layla quickly picked up her backpack and headed out the door for another day in hell.
"Hey," Elena greeted with a smile.
Layla gave her a small smile back, "Hi Elena."
"Listen I know today is going to be hard, but I want you to know we are all here for you," Elena said.
Layla nodded, "Thanks Elena."
Elena smiled, "Anytime. Now are you going to the dance tonight?"
Layla shrugged, "Yeah I think."
"Good, it will be fun," Elena said.
****************************
It was first period history, and Ric was late per usual. There was a reason for that, Klaus took over his body. He finally walked into class, "Okay class what are we learning today?" Klaus asked catching sight of Layla in the back of the room.
She looked just as perfect as the day he last saw her. That day was 1965, the day he held her in his arms as she died for the millionth time. He soon began to regret coming here, even if that meant to break the curse. She would eventually die again, and he could do nothing, as the fates laughed upon him.
"With the decade dance tonight, we are talking about the sixties," Dana said, bringing Klaus out of his thoughts.
"Right the sixties," Klaus mumbled, now catching sight of the doppelgänger in the front. "The, uh, ahem..."
"The sixties. I wish there was something good I could say about the sixties, but... Actually, they kind of sucked. Except for the Beatles, of course. They made it bearable," Klaus mumbled on.
" Uh, what else was there? The Cuban missile thing, the... we walked on the moon. There was Watergate," he said.
"Watergate was the seventies, Ric. I mean, Mr. Saltzman," Layla chimed in.
"Right. It all kind of mushes together up here, the sixties, seventies. Thank you, Layla," Klaus said.
Layla couldn't help to notice how flustered Ric seemed to be. He talked about the sixties as if he was there. He wasn't that old was he?
The bell rang signaling for the class to be over. Layla was the first one out of her seat and she hurried out of the class.
Layla went to Elena's locker to wait for her. Bonnie and Elena soon trailed down the hallway.
"I told Jeremy he had to dress up," Bonnie was telling Elena.
Elena began to laugh, "What about you,what are you going as?" Elena asked Layla.
"I don't know yet," Layla mumbled.
Dana was running down the hallway after Elena, stoping in front of her locker.
"Hey, Elena, there you are. Okay. This is going to sound freaky, but this totally hot guy just asked me to ask you if you're going to the dance tonight," Dana said
"Tell him she has a boyfriend," Layla told her.
"You could at least meet him. He'll be at the dance tonight. Look for him. His name is Klaus," Dana panted.
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Elena asked worried.
"His name's Klaus. I know the name's stupid, but I swear he's hot," Dana said.
"Where is he? Is he here?" Bonnie asked frantically.
"I don't know," Dana sighed.
"She's been compelled," Layla said, shaking her head slightly.
"Layla, he wants to know if you'll save him the last dance. How cute is that?" Dana squealed.
**************************
The whole gang sat at the Salvatore boarding house, discussing the threat Klaus sent Elena. Nobody brought the fact up that he asked Layla to save her the last dance. It scared her, Klaus was the last person she wanted to meet, little less dance with.
"So we go to the dance, we find him," Damon said.
"Really? How are we going to do that? We don't even know what he looks like," Stefan asked.
"Something tells me he's not going to be 16 and pimply," Layla mumbled.
"He could be anywhere at any time. He compelled somebody at school," Stefan told them, "I guess it's not as safe as you guys thought, huh?"
There was a knock at the door and it revealed Klaus in Alaric's body.
"There you are," Damon told him.
"Sorry I'm late," Klaus said.
Layla caught the gaze coming from Alaric. He looked at her in the most peculiar way.
"Hey, I need you to put me down as a chaperone at the dance tonight. Klaus made his first move," Damon told Alaric.
"Okay, so we find him and then what, hmm? What's our plan of attack?" Elena asked.
"Me. I'm the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel. If you can find him, I can kill him," Bonnie told them.
"That's not going to be that easy. I mean, he is the biggest, baddest vampire around," Alaric smirked.
"Alaric has a point. I mean, what if he..." Damon began before Bonnie put up her hand throwing Damon straight across the other side of the room.
"Well, I was impressed," Layla smirked.
"It doesn't matter if he's an Original. I can take down anyone who comes at me. I can kill him, Elena. I know I can," Bonnie pleaded.
******************************
Back at Alaric's apartment Klaus just walked in while Katherine was pulling a knife out if her leg.
"You were right, the witch is all juiced up," Klaus told her.
"That's terrible," Katherine grunted.
Klaus pushed Katherine back and looked at witch Maddox. "Put me back in my body, I am leaving, I will wait for another doppelgänger to come around."
"Wait? What?" Maddox asked awfully confused.
"I can't stay here, she is her, and if I have to watch her die one more time, I will go insane!" Klaus yelled.
"Stay away from her, we have everything we need, you have been waiting 500 years to do this!" Maddox told him.
Klaus glared at his witch, "That is impossible to do, stay away from a face like hers, I won't be able to do it."
"Did Klausy fall in love?" Katherine smirked.
Klaus ran, pinning her against the wall, "I didn't say to stop now did I?"
Katherine glared at him before, stabbing herself in the leg again.
"Maybe things will be different this time, you can feed her vampire blood, you could be with her for eternity," Maddox told Klaus.
Klaus ran the thought through is head. For the past 1,000 years he has been to late to save her, what will the difference be this time around?
"Once you break the curse, it will be different, you will be more powerful, you can save her," Maddox told him.
Klaus smiled, "Do you think this Alaric guy has anything vintage?"
******************************
At the dance, Layla stood next to Damon, looking for Klaus. Layla and Damon were more of best friends, than dating. Growing up here, Layla was always the quite one out of there friend group. She never had to many boyfriends, she never felt as if she needed one. This heightened after her parents death. Once Layla was pushed into the world of supernatural, she became more cautious, never to commit to anything.
Dana got on the stage catching Damon's attention, "This is for Elena from Klaus," she said.
"That was a lame cheap shot," Layla told Damon, "I know everyone here."
"Maybe he's not here. Just wants us to believe that he is,"Damon said.
"It's a party, people blend. Let him come to us," Layla told him.
"Good idea,"Damon mumbled.
"There's Ric. Let's see if he seen anything," Damon told Layla.
The pair made there way across the dance floor to speak to Ric.
"Special dedication, huh? This guy's a little twisted," Ric said.
"I'm not impressed," Damon smirked.
"No?" Ric asked.
"Let me know if you see anything out of whack," Damon told Ric, leaving Layla and Ric alone
"Are you afraid of him?" Ric asked.
Layla shrugged, "He seems like the person, if he wanted to kill you, he would already do it."
Klaus/Alaric smiled at her, "I think you are safe."
Layla smiled at him, "You always know what to say."
He looked nervously at the ground, he was getting to close to her, falling for her again, "I have to go," he told. He turned away, leaving Layla alone.
**************************
Bonnie and Jeremy were dancing on the floor, as Damon cam up to the pair.
"May I?" Damon asked making a motion to dance with Bonnie.
Jeremy spared Damon a glance before leaving them.
"You heard Jeremy and I talking, didn't you?" Bonnie asked Damon.
"Is it true?" Damon asked.
Bonnie nodded. "Yes."
"The part of you having a 50-50 shot of surviving? Is that true?" He questioned her.
"He was upset." Bonnie sighed, "I didn't want to worry him."
"So you lay it out on the line for Elena, no matter what." Damon said.
"No matter what." Bonnie clarified.
Damon nodded. "Good."
"You can't tell her or Layla." Bonnie told him.
"Your secret's safe with me, but I mean... With all that power, is there no way to increase your odds?" Damon asked.
Bonnie smirked. "Careful, Damon. I might start to think you actually care."
Damon shot her his irresistible smile. "We wouldn't want that."
Over on the other side of the dance Elena moved so she could stand beside Layla.
"We need to talk." Elena told Layla, with urgency in her voice.
"What's wrong?" Layla asked.
Elena looked around the gym before grabbing her wrist, and guiding her out to a the hallway.
"Elena what's wrong?" Layla asked again.
"Bonnie is going to try to stop Klaus," Elena said, "Tonight."
Layla shook her head, "She can't, that would be suicide."
"That's what I told her," Elena groaned, "But she is being stubborn."
"It's not either of your choices," Bonnie said, stepping out of the gym door, "It's mine and I want to do this for my friend."
"I can't let you."
"Elena, if the roles were reversed would you do the same thing?" Bonnie asked.
Elena was silent, knowing very well she would do it for her friend.
"So you know why I have to do it."
"Elena!" Alaric's voice rang though the hallway. The three girl turned to see Alaric jogging up to them.
"What is it?" Elena asked.
"He has Jeremy."
"What?" The three girls asked together.
"Yeah, Klaus has Jeremy," Alaric nodded, "Come on."
Layla was the first to leave as she followed Alaric through a side door and into another hallway. "Okay, so where are you taking us?" She asked.
"Just a little further," Alaric told them.
Layla looked back at her friends slightly confused. Elena suddenly spoke up, "Wait...Something's not right."
"Where's Jeremy?" Bonnie asked.
Alaric stopped walking and began to laugh, causing confusion for the girls. "I just had to get away from that dance. The sixties, ugh. Not my decade. Or yours Layla. I mean, whose call was that, anyway? I much prefer the twenties. The style, the parties, the jazz."
"Alaric," Layla said softly, "Are you on vervain?"
Alaric smirked at Layla, "Now why would you ask me that question, Layla?"
"He's being compelled."
Alaric shook his head, "Nope. Try again."
"What's going on?" Bonnie asked.
Alaric sighed, "Okay, I'll give you a hint. I am not Alaric."
Layla's eyes widened, but something told her not to be afraid, "Klaus."
Klaus smiled broadly, "Surprise!"
Elena was shaking in fear, "Oh, no. No, it's not possible."
Klaus sighed, "Just relax, Elena. I'm not here to hurt you. You're not on my hit list tonight." He looked at Bonnie, "But you are."
He started toward Bonnie but she used her powers to throw him against a wall. He stumbled before standing up.
"Now, did I mention that I knew a witch?" Klaus asked, "You're gonna have to hit me a lot harder than that." He rushed over to her and she threw him against a display case, smashing the glass.
"By all means..." Klaus laughed, "Fire away!" He stood up and brushed the glass off of himself, "If you kill this body, I'll just get a new one. Maybe Jeremy."
"Go. Run. Run!" Bonnie yelled at Elena and Layla.
They ran through the door, and Bonnie locked them with her powers. Layla was frantic, she know they needed to find Damon or Stefan. It seemed as if her prayers were answered, because soon enough Damon joined them.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Klaus is in Alaric's body," Elena told him.
"What?"
Layla shook her head, "He's possessing it or something."
Damon looked at Elena and Layla, "Go find Stefan. Now."
"Okay."
"Now," Damon commanded.
••••
Layla and Elena rushed into the gym, running into Caroline.
"Hey! Are you okay?" She asked
"Um...Yeah," Layla mumbled.
"We're just...I'm looking for Stefan," Elena answered.
Layla spotted him across the gym, but before they could make their escape, Caroline stopped them again, "Seriously, what's wrong?"
"Uh, just, um, just stay with Matt, okay?" Elena said as she grabbed Layla and walked over to Stefan.
After catching Stefan up, the three ran in the halls, looking for someone. Damon stepped out in front if them, "There you are."
"What are you doing? Where's Bonnie?" Elena asked.
Damon sighed, "She's doing what she has to do."
"What?"
"Where is she?" Stefan asked his older brother.
"Stefan, let her do this," Damon said.
Layla groaned, "Damn it, Damon, where is she?"
After Layla finally got the location out of Damon, they arrived just in time to see Bonnie turn around. Her nose was bleeding and the lights were flickering with papers blowing everywhere. She shut the door, so they couldn't enter.
Layla was watching thought the window in fear of her friends life. Lights began to burst, as Bonnie channeled more and more magic. Layla watched helplessly as Stefan tried to open the doors, but couldn't. Bonnie turned to look at her friends with a smile as Klaus got up from the ground to face her. Suddenly with a jerk of her body she bent backwards and fell onto the floor.
The doors suddenly opened and Stefan, Elena, and Layla ran inside.
"No! Oh! Bonnie! Bonnie, Bonnie! Bonnie! Hey, hey," Elena yelled, taking Bonnie into her arms, "Stefan, she's not breathing!"
Layla couldn't move or speak. She only stood there like a deer in the headlights, unable to do anything. The last time she felt this was when her parents are killed. The numbing pain she wished to never feel again, came back.
"Stefan! Stefan, I can't find her pulse! Stefan! Do something, please! Stefan, please! Just give her blood, do something, please!" Elena began to cry.
Stefan slowly looked up at Elena and then to Layla. "It's too late. I'm sorry."
Elena shook her head crying, "No! No. No, no, no, no, no! Bonnie! Bonnie, please, no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!"
Damn stood beside Layla, looking at her with a worried expression, "Stefan, get Elena and Lyla out of here. I'll deal with the body."
Layla senses came back to her suddenly at Damon's words, "What do you mean, deal with it?"
"The sheriff can't know about this," Damon said, "Last thing we need's another mysterious death."
Layla turned to face Damon, "This is Bonnie!"
Damon looked at Stefan, "Get them home. Now. So I can clean this up."
Stefan grabbed Elena and Layla, trying his best calm them down, "Hey, hey, hey."
Elena shook her head, "No. Jeremy. Oh, my God, Jeremy. What about Jeremy?"
"I'll find him," Damon said.
Elena got up and looked at Bonnie's body, still screaming and crying. Stefan take the two girls and the left.
Layla sat in the backseat, not crying, but she knew she would, once reality would hit. But lately reality was even feeling fake.
••••
Elena and Layla were sitting on the couch in the Salvatore house, numb from the previous events.
"Hey. Here, drink this," Stefan told the girls, handing them both cups.
"I can't," Layla muttered.
Stefan smiled sadly, "Yeah. Yeah, you can. Please drink this."
She took the glass and put it to her lips, but suddenly reality settled and she began to cry. She cried because Boonie was dead. She cried because Klaus was here. She cried because of the fear of never getting Alaric back. She cried because soon she would be losing another friend. But mostly she cried because, she was caught in the middle of bad things, once again.
Elena began to cry also, "This is my fault."
Stefan sighed at both of the girls, "No, no, no, no, no. No. Hey. This was Klaus. Listen to me. Klaus did this."
Suddenly the door opened and Damon walked in. Layla saw him and got up. "What did you do with her?"
He looked at Stefan for help, but he wouldn't give it, "Will you please calm her down?"
Layla pushed him away from he by his chest, "Don't talk like I'm not standing right in front of you."
"Please calm down."
"You knew! Didn't you?" Layla yelled, "You knew that if she harnessed all that power, that she would die, didn't you?"
Damon sighed, "Yes. Yes, I knew."
Layla's eyes filled with tears again, and she slapped him. She kept hitting him to try to get the pain and anger that was building up inside her. Damon easily restricted her arms to her side, tying to calm her down.
"Layla, Layla. Hey. You have to calm down. Hey."
She stopped fighting back and went limp in his arms, sliding to the floor. Damon went down with her, cradling her to his chest as she was choking on sobs.
"You need to listen to me, and prepare for what I'm about to say. Bonnie had to die," Damon said, looking at Stefan and Elena, hoping Layla was listening, lKlaus using Alaric's body was a total surprise. She wasn't prepared for that. And he wasn't going to stop, and we weren't going to be able to stop him until he knew she was dead. He had to believe it."
"Explain."
"She cast a spell," Damon said, "Bonnie's okay."
Layla came back and looked into Damon's baby blue eyes and began to laugh. "She's okay?" Layla turned to Elena, who was crying again, this time out of joy, "Did you hear him? She's alive."
••••
Elena and Lyla, were sitting in front of the laptop, anticipating Bonnie's call. Soon Bonnie shows up on the monitor, and the three girls broke out into smiles.
"Bonnie!"
"Elena, Layla, I'm so sorry," She said.
Layla smiled, "It's okay, it's okay. I just needed to see you for myself."
Bonnie began to cry, "There wasn't enough time for me to tell you."
Elena nodded, "It's okay, seriously. Damon explained it all."
After the call, Layla walked into Damon's room looking for him.
"Ugh. Look. Klaus had to think she was dead. Your reaction had to be real," Damon said, turned away from Layla with a glass of bourbon in hand.
I understand why you did what you did. Klaus was fooled, and Bonnie's alive," Layla said.
"Here's to duplicity," he said raining his glass and taking a drink.
Layla walked up to him and took the glass from his lips and drinking the rest of it. She set the empty glass on the table and looked at Damon this time with sincerity. "I'm sorry I hit you and flipped out on. I just can't lose any one else I love Damon. Including you. You're my best friend, I would be lost without you."
Damon smirked, "Apology accepted."
Layla smiled, "Good." She wrapped her arm around his shoulder, "Now take me home."