Abrasion (Mikaelson)

Chapter 35: Triangle

Evangeline POV:

The after party was being held in a venue, a pleasant change from the compound. Elijah and I had arrived a while ago and Elijah was outside greeting guests leaving me inside to mingle with the guests as they entered. Klaus had arrived some time ago, upon entering he had offered up a quick wave of his hand before disappearing. I hadn't laid eyes on him since. Currently I was talking with Francesca Guerrera, the temporary head of the human faction. She seemed a bit nosy but was pleasant enough to talk to.

"So how do you know Elijah Mikaelson?" She questioned me, taking a dainty sip from her champagne glass. "The two of you seemed rather close."

I took a quick sip from my own glass before answering her. "I've known Elijah for over 120 years. We have a history of being extremely close."

"An informant of mine had mentioned your personal relationship with Klaus." I could tell where she was going with this and I resisted every urge I had to simply smack her across the face in front of all the guests. "Yet the two of you don't seem close, certainly not as close as you are with Elijah."

I pursed my lips at this. "Why are you so curious about my relationships with the Mikaelson brothers, hm? You must have a motive."

"I just want to understand you, get to know you a bit better." Francesca replied but I was still a bit uneasy with the sudden interrogation into my private life. "Since we'll be working closely in the coming weeks, it's best we get to know each other sooner rather than later."

Suddenly there was an arm draped casually over my shoulder and an accented voice intruded on our conversation. "You'll be working closely with my brother, that business has nothing to do with Evangeline." He snapped at Francesca and I was a bit taken aback by the harshness in his tone. Then he turned to look at me, my eyes meeting his and the harsh expression on his face softened. "Come, Evangeline, let's get you some more champagne."

"It was nice to meet you." I bid a speedy farewell to Francesca before following Niklaus out of the main hall and into another room. This room was much less crowded with only a couple people in it, talking amongst themselves about things I didn't really care about at the moment.

Klaus quickly removed his arm from me once he was sure we were out of Francesca's sight. "You looked a bit uncomfortable, so I figured I would help you out. Apologies if it made you even more uncomfortable."

"Don't apologize Klaus, thank you for helping me out." I replied, placing my hand on his upper arm to get him to look at me again which he did. "Francesca was being weird so I'm happy you excused me from that conversation."

Klaus smiled and for the first time it a long time the smile actually looked genuine. "Despite our arguments, you're still important to me. I don't want you to be put in a situation where you're uncomfortable again."

"Klaus-" I began but I was quickly interrupted.

"Evangeline!" It was Elijah. "Where have you been?"

Elijah approached where I was standing and he glanced to Klaus, something unfamiliar flashing within is eyes when he looked at him. It took me a moment to recognize the look, it was the same kind of look Klaus had in the cemetery when he spoke about Elijah. Rage. "Hello brother." Klaus greeted him calmly, with a smile as Elijah continued to glare at him. It was like a complete reversal. Elijah was the angry one while Klaus simply smiled and played nice. 

"Have all the guests arrived?" I asked Elijah, trying to pull his attention away from Klaus. 

It worked and Elijah's eyes drifted over to me, the anger in his eyes dissolving. "Yes, we are going to begin the offerings in a moment. That's why I came to look for you."