The Red Herring: A Mikaelson Love Story

Chapter 3: A Monster Amongst Men

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" I told him pulling my bracelet away from him. "I didn't realise you were a vampire! I forgot vervain like burns—" I never got to finish my sentence as he pulled me into his arms and used his hand to cover my mouth.

"Do you want to yell it any louder?" He said with a chuckle. He took his hand off my mouth but still held me in his arms and I thought I might melt into him.

"Right. Sorry." I mumbled, unable to stop grinning due to his tight embrace.

"Are you scared?" He asked me, clearly worried that I might just run away.

"Why would I be?" I replied with a shrug. "One of the first things you ever did was save my life. I feel safe with you. Besides, I know a lot about inner darkness myself."

"Inner darkness in the town's it girl! Scandalous!" As he said this he leaned down even closer to me.

"About as scandalous as last night." I answered sheepishly.

"Last night?" He furrowed his brow in confusion and that somehow made him look even hotter. "Hate to break it to you love, but nothing happened last night. I took you to my home and you simply stripped yourself down and fell asleep." I went bright red at this and he started laughing.

"That is not funny." I said in complete embarrassment.

"Trust me love, when we get there, you won't be drunk and you will remember." He whispered in my ear and sent shivers all the way through my body.

"When we get there? A bit presumptive, isn't it?" I said with a smirk.

"I'm a vampire, I can hear your heartbeat from a mile away, but now I can feel it. It's beating just as quickly as it did when we kissed last night." He told me with an even bigger smirk slapped on his face.

"I don't actually remember that kiss, sorry." I replied with a shrug.

"Maybe I'll have to jog your memory." He leaned down and kissed me and just like the night before, it was breath-taking. It made me feel a way that I didn't even think was possible.

"Consider my memory jogged." He chuckled at me and finally let go, making me pout.

"So, do you plan to merely spend your days wiling away here in a graveyard?" He asked gesturing to our surroundings. "A bit morbid, is it not?"

"That's rich coming from the undead himself." I said, rolling my eyes as I sat on one of the commemorative benches. "Besides, I happen to know that graveyards are where all the best secrets come out."

"Is that so?" He asked as he came and sat beside me.

"Of course. The dead can't talk." I said with a shrug. I lay my head down on his lap looking up at his perfect face.

"I see. And what secrets do you have to share, Iliana the It Girl?"

"I don't know if you'd look at me the same if I told you." I murmured, beginning to fidget at the remnants of my past.

"Maybe that's not such a bad thing." He looked into my eyes and I somehow found myself wanting to pour out all my secrets.

"I left Mystic Falls a while back because I tried to kill my sister." I turned away from him, unable to take in his expression. "Elena and I have never really gotten on, Caroline always used to say she was jealous of me. I said it before, I was the It Girl but as my twin, Elena always got the backhand of it. One day we got into a massive fight, I don't even remember what it was about. I just remember the two of us getting so heated that I pushed her. She hit her head really hard and got knocked out. She was in the hospital for weeks. I didn't even have the heart to stay until she woke up because I was so horrified of what I'd done. So, like the bitch I am, I moved away and let our relationship get better from afar. She's forgiven me now, she always was so forgiving that girl, but I can't let myself get even close to that situation again."

"Unexpected." He said, cocking his head slightly.

"In other words, you think I'm a psycho." I said with a depressive chuckle.

"I think nothing of the sort. And even if I did, the call of the abyss is irresistible." He took my hand in his and squeezed it. "As are you." I couldn't help but smile at the sound of that. I had somehow managed to have the burden that I had carried with me for years uplifted just at the sound of his words.

"Don't think your cuteness is gonna let you off the hook. I've given a secret away, your turn now Nick." I said, egging him on.

"I killed my mother." He said with a nonchalant shrug. "She allowed me to suffer because of a mistake that she made and then when I became a vampire, I killed her. My siblings would despise me more than they already do if they found out. So, they can't."

"Oh." I murmured in shock. "Not what I was expecting at all."

"In a bad way, I presume?" He asked me, somewhat hurt.

"Not at all." I told him, lightly caressing his face. "Everyone loves their mom, if yours kept a secret that was so bad you wanted to kill her, then maybe she deserved it. You're a good person Nick, I know that much."

"I think you'll find I'm actually a monster amongst men." He said with a bitter laugh.

"But I don't believe in monsters." I told him earnestly. "Ever seen Scooby-Doo?"

"Can't say I have, no." He answered with a confused laugh.

"Well, people are always scared of monsters, but at the end of the episode, the Mystery Gang take off their masks and there's always a person under there. Because we might think someone's a monster, even ourselves sometimes, but that doesn't make an untrue thing true." I looked up at him and smiled at his surprised face. I sat up and pulled his face to mine, kissing him again. "I may not have met you mother, but I already hate her."

"Is that so?" He said with a happy chuckle.

"Yup." I answered, nodding my head with conviction. "Because she made you feel like you were a monster. But you're under my protection now and that means that anyone who tries to make you feel like you are anything but what you are, has to deal with me."

"Quite protective, aren't you love?"

"Very." I said with a shrug. "Even with Elena, I hate her sometimes but I have to protect her. From anyone that would ever try and kill her. She's special too. A doppelganger. This guy Klaus, wants to kill her so he can lift a curse or something, I don't know. He's the one that killed Isobel. The thing is, I can't let him kill her. And he won't. Even if it means I have to kill him myself."

"Hm." Nick muttered, starting to get fidgety himself. "Iliana, I should probably leave you."

"What? Why?" I asked him in confusion. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's not you, you're—you're perfect. So, so perfect. It's me." I pulled his face to mine and kissed him again hoping to convince him to stay but nonetheless he pulled away.

"We shouldn't do this." He rested his head on mine and sighed deeply, I couldn't understand what was happening but it felt like my world was crashing down around me.

"Why not?"

"You may not believe in monsters, but I do." He told me earnestly. "And monsters, they destroy everything that they find beautiful, and heaven knows you are beautiful."

"Nick, I—" He shook his head and kissed my forehead.

"I'm sorry." He dashed off into the night, leaving me sobbing on the bench.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed! If you did please vote, comment and follow! And check out my other stories! I really appreciate it! X