All I Need (Vampire Diaries/Captain America Fanfic)

54. Maybe Things Would Be Different

"Do you wanna... talk?" Davina asked uncertainly as I walked around the loft.

"No. I want to... avoid. And pace," I answered, walking back and forth, back and forth, trying to keep out unwanted thoughts.

She frowned, obviously thinking over the information that I'd given her when I first arrived. "Did you have any idea?"

"No," I said honestly. "We're friends. Steve was in the picture before we even met. I never thought that someone like Klaus would ever..."

"Someone like Klaus?" she asked. "What? An Original Hybrid?"

"No, it's not about that," I told her. "Klaus is the complete opposite of Steve, of the people that I'm usually attracted to. He's aggressive and complicated and ruthless. He would take down his own family to get his way."

"That doesn't explain why you're friends with him," Davina said. "Because if someone like that was trying to worm their way into my life, I'd close them off completely."

She was right. If any of my friends were determined to keep someone like that in their lives, I'd want to know why.

"Whenever someone asks me why Klaus is in my life, I say that it's because we've been through a lot together, and we're friends, but it's more than that. He's the first man I've ever met that looks at me the way he does. My brothers look at me like I'm their little sister, above all I need protecting. Steve's only ever seen me as either a human that he can protect, or a vampire that's stronger than him, more powerful. Even though he's an Original Hybrid, Klaus treats me like an equal."

"That's nice," she smiled.

"Yeah, it is. With Klaus as my best friend, I feel like I could take on the world. But with Steve, I feel like I don't have to take on the world, because he's with me. And he'll do anything to protect me," I said honestly.

"It's a complicated situation," Davina said. "Made even more complicated by the fact that you like Klaus."

"Of course I like him, he's my friend. My best friend."

She gave me a knowing smile. "You know that's not what I mean."

I sighed and sat down beside her. "I don't know if I like him, OK? But it doesn't matter because, even if I do, I choose Steve."

"So why are you so upset?" she asked. "If you've made your choice, and you've decided that you and Klaus will never be anything, what's the problem?"

I put my head in my hands and sighed. "Klaus changed everything."

The door opened abruptly and Marcel walked in.

"Hey D," he said, before noticing me sitting beside her. "Oh, Serena. I didn't know you were here."

"Sorry, I turned up unannounced," I said. "Do you need me to go?"

"No, it's fine," he said, peering at me. "You OK?"

"Fine," I lied.

He raised an eyebrow. "Boy trouble?"

"Not the time, Marcel," Davina said.

"It's OK," I said to Davina, looking at Marcel. "No offense, but men are... shit. Why can't I have just met a nice vampire guy when I first turned and spent the rest of my life with him?" I asked.

Marcel laughed. "I wish it worked like that. But even in vampire relationships, matters of the heart become complicated."

"They don't have to," I told him. "Loads of people can just meet the right person at the right time, and that's it. Match made."

"There's no such thing as the right time," he told me. "The right person is right no matter when you meet them, it's about whether you're ready to make that commitment."

I nodded. He was right, in a way. When I first met Steve, I was adamant that nothing could happen between us because of who we were. However, we gravitated towards each other despite my reservations.

A soft knock on the door took all of us by surprise. My body tensed, as I assumed that Klaus had guessed where I was and had come to find me. Thankfully, it wasn't him.

"Elijah," Marcel said. "What brings you here?"

"I'd love to have a moment alone with Serena, if that's OK?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Marcel said. "Come on D."

Davina stroked my arm reassuringly, before going with Marcel and leaving me alone with Elijah.

"Did Klaus send you to find me?" I asked him

"Actually, Niklaus doesn't know that I'm here. I'd like it to stay that way."

I nodded. "So why are you here?"

He walked to the middle of the room. All of the Originals, I'd noticed, had the same presence. They completely owned wherever space they were occupying.

"I'm sorry about the way that Niklaus revealed his true feelings. He's always been rash and impulsive," he said. "But I'm not sorry that he has those feelings."

"OK..." I trailed off, waiting for him to continue.

"In my 1,000 years, living side-by-side with my brother, I've never seen anything quite like this. Of course, he's had relationships before, he's claimed to be 'in love', usually using someone for his own gain. But nothing like this."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Serena, I genuinely believe that Niklaus has never felt this way about anyone else."

I sighed. "Well, maybe if he'd met me before I met Steve, or if we were different people, more suited to each other. Maybe things would be different."

"I understand that this is a difficult situation," he told me. "But I fear that the longer it's left, the worst it will get."

I nodded. He was right.

"If you have feelings for Niklaus, genuine romantic feelings, then I ask that you pick him. Give him a chance to open up to you."

"Elijah," I said. "Klaus has opened up to me. Why do you think he's still in my life? I love him as a best friend, but I can't let myself think of him in any other way."

"I understand," he said. "If you choose your boyfriend, then I'm asking you for the good of your friendship with Niklaus, and the family, please leave New Orleans."

"What?" I asked.

"It's hard to get over someone, but it's virtually impossible when you have to see the object of your affections every day. I want Niklaus to be a better man, and I'm afraid that if he's constantly acting, or hiding his feelings towards you, then that'll never happen."

I tried to find a way to argue against him, to prove that our friendship was enough to get through anything. But Elijah was right. It was unfair for me to string Klaus along, to stay so close to him when I'd already decided that Steve was the guy for me.

"I don't know how I feel about Klaus," I told Elijah honestly. "But I'm not going to turn this into some teenage-style love triangle and string him along. It would be better for him if I left, you're right."

"We'll be sorry to see you go. Especially Niklaus."

"We're still connected," I reminded him. "And I'll always look out for him. Maybe in a hundred years we can try this 'friendship' thing again," I said hopefully.

He smiled, and turned to leave the room.

"Oh, and Elijah," I called. He turned back to look at me. "I know you said that you want Klaus to be a better man. But even with every single bad thing that he's done, he's one of the best men that I've ever known. And... I'm sorry that I can't choose him. Will you tell him that?"

He nodded and left the room. I sunk to the floor. I knew I'd made the right decision, even if it felt like the wrong one.

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