SHE PROMISED ( the originals )

0042. RUNNING AWAY SOLVES PROBLEMS, RIGHT?

SHE PROMISED
( part two, chapter forty-two )

KLAUS HAD LEFT HER A number of voicemails, all of which Elle hadn't listened to yet but knew they were all angry. It also seemed that he had gotten several other people to call her, like Hayley, Davina, Elijah and even Kol. And although she had been gone for about thirty-nine hours, she had over twenty-five missed calls and several dozen texts from all five of them. She knew it was kind of them to worry and she didn't want them to, but she did not respond to them.

When Elle awoke the next morning, she shook her head and body wildly in hopes to shake off whatever bugs or animals had crawled on her in the night and decided to use her for warmth. There was a rather terrifying centipede that had gotten into her jacket but she shook it off and fed it to the bird in the corner.

She stood up and grabbed her backpack, retrieving the bag of Cheetos. She opened it and immediately started to munch on the snack. She should have brought more food with her but she wasn't planning on staying for much longer.

With her camera in tow, she headed outside while still eating her Cheetos. She sat right by the door with her back against the wood and her legs stretched out before her.

She shouldn't have lied 一 or she should have at least told Cordelia her true heritage. She knew that her sister didn't like vampires, that she hated them with a passion because of how she had been hurt, but she deserved to know the truth. Elle owed her at least that much. But Cordelia was often blinded by her anger, like now. She knew that Cordelia would get over it and see Elle's side of the story, but if she would forgive her for lying for so long, she did not know the answer to.

Each time she went out here, she thinks to herself, THIS IS STUPID AND CHILDISH. JUST GO BACK HOME. But each time, she ignores it and continues to stay out in the woods. She knew that it's an incredibly childish thing to run away from your problems because she'd never get any closure, but it was the only way that she would be alone and control her emotions (and her magic).

She licked the Cheetos crumbs off her fingers and stuffed the empty bag into her back pocket. She wiped her hands on her jeans before grabbing hold of her camera. Elle looked around the trees, hoping to get a glimpse of something inspiring, but instead she happened to lock eyes with a blue eyed hybrid.

Elle instantly scrambled onto her feet and into the cabin, slamming the door shut with a loud BANG! She pressed her back against the door and heard his footsteps on the porch. "How the hell did you find me?" she asked, quietly panting.

"Does that matter?" Klaus yelled. "Grab your belongings, we're going home."

"Actually, it does matter!" Elle shouted. "And I'm not going home! Not yet." She slides down the door and sits on the floor. "Just go away, Nik."

"Stop acting like a child, Elle!" Klaus shouted. "You're acting ridiculous! Get out here. Now!"

"No!" she shouted back in return. "Just leave me alone."

"I'm not leaving you out here," Klaus said. "Do you have any idea how worried you've made us all?"

Elle nodded. "Yeah. And I'm sorry that I didn't tell you guys about this, but I needed time."

"Time for what? To think and self-pity?" Klaus replied.

"Not for," Elle said. "I needed time away." She looked around the cabin, hazel eyes scanning over each of the rotting pieces of wood. She could practically feel his confusion radiate from the other side of the door. "I'd come here a lot when I was young; I haven't been here in about a year. Since I met you guys, in fact. This place was 一 is my safe haven. I'd come here a lot ever since Stephanie died."

Klaus was silent and placed a hand against the door. "Why?"

"Because I wanted to feel... normal, I guess." She shrugged. "Normal teenagers argue and run away when things aren't fair, right? But not for me. Instead I got my adoptive mother offing herself, my adoptive father coming into my room at night and abusing me and Cordelia, my blood family being the Original vampires, and my sister..." She sniffles, rubbing at her eye. "I just wanted to find somewhere where I could feel normal and not feel stressed or pressured for once. I just wantes to be a normal teenager, not a witch. I wanted to go somewhere where I could... I just wanted to feel normal, okay? So can you just please leave me alone?"

She didn't expect a reply. She thought he would agree to her wishes and walk away, leaving her alone for however long she desired. Instead, he knocked on the door lightly and asked, "Elle, can you please open the door?"

Elle snapped her head up, confused. She bit her lip and said, "Why? So you can literally drag me back home and keep me under your watch?"

"No." She hears some shuffling and movement, and knows that he's now sitting on the other side of the door with his back pressed against the wood, similar to her position. "I know how you are feeling."

"Yeah, I seriously doubt that," Elle said pessimistically.

"I do, I really do," Klaus said and he moved his head as if he were looking right at her. "When I was about your age, I wanted to run away. While I had the love of my family, our father had caused me so much misery and pain and I couldn't handle it anymore. I wanted to run, to leave and never look back. Sometimes I think that if I had run away, I wouldn't be here; there wouldn't be so much blood on my hands and my daughter would not have been born." He looked up at the rising sun, which currently rested on just atop the trees. "But then I remembered why I was staying: it was my family."

Elle moved to where she was sitting on her knees, pressing her ear against the door to hear him clearer.

"Yes, Mikael was a beast and a horrible patriarch. But I stayed because of my sisters and my brothers and my mother, because no matter what happened, I knew they'd always be at my side." He looked down at his hand, clenched into a tight fist. "You run away because you want to escape your life, but why do you return? For the same reason I did: because you know there are still people that care for you, that will always light your otherwise cloudy life. You are not alone, Katrielle."

He stood up and brushed off the dirty and dust from his pants. "We'll be here, little sister." He started to walk away, already off the porch when he heard the door open. He was almost thrown off balance when a pair of arms wrapped tightly around his body and Elle pressed her face and chest against his back. He looked down at Elle to see her silently crying, burying her face into his jacket. Klaus chuckled and gently pried her off, allowing her to hug him properly.

Klaus placed a hand against her back and cradling the back of her head, kissing her head lovingly.

"I think it's time I head back home," Elle whispered, not looking into her brother's eyes.

Klaus smirked. "I do as well."

A/N: i think so far this has
been one of my favorite
chapters to write because it's
a very different version of
klaus we've seen ((which i love))

ALSO my spring break just
started so expect a new
chapter in a few days