hard to love ( klaus mikaelson )

Chapter One

     THE wind breezed through her hair as she drove her heavy truck over a speed bump. Dahlia checked the gas and realized her tank was almost empty. She had been driving and driving for hours, trying to escape her previous life. After her mother's gruesome death, a stake to the heart, she was left to survive in a big city on her own. She had no friends other than a blonde-dimbo from her American History class, and they rarely spoke. She usually didn't care for a friend, but she just wanted someone there for her while she grieved for her mother.

 Things only got worse from there. She barely had enough for a month of their apartment's rent and couldn't pay for her mother's funeral. Thanks to a generous donation from her loaded, distant relatives, the funeral was able to happen. Elaine Vixen's funeral was a blur. People passing by and offering their condolences. She didn't even recognize some of them. Actually, she didn't recognize about 90 percent of the people there. Once she was seated, she tried to listen to the Father of the church talk about loss and mourning but she was thinking about who these people were. She didn't want to believe it, but maybe her mother had a whole other life she had no idea about. That would explain all the unfamiliar faces mourning over her death. 

She stayed seated, even while everyone took off. She sat staring at the casket on display. It was a brown, wooden box that held her best, and only, friend in it. She walked over and took a deep breath before she opened it. Dahlia was met with her mother on her back with her eyes closed and hands on her chest. Only it wasn't really her mother. This clone of her mother was a ghastly shade of grey and had black veins sticking out of her skin. No one knew why. No one knew anything come to think of it. Not the cops, not the paramedics. Not even the doctors who performed her autopsy could explain why she looked like that even after death. She wanted closure, to wish hell on Earth to whoever killed her mother. But she had to live with the fact that she would never get the end she wanted.

So she ran. She packed all her things this morning, a week since her mother's funeral, and set off. She took all the money her relatives lent her along with a briefcase filled with clothes and shoes and whatnot. She also took her mother's big red, broken truck as her getaway car. 

She realized she was literally almost out of gas. The raven-haired girl tried to remember where she was as she had just passed a large sign that welcomed her. She thought hard while searching for a gas station. She looked around until finally a gas station was visible. She pulled into the gas station and filled her tank. Dahlia paid inside and drove off again. 

"Mystic Falls!" She finally said out loud as she recalled the name of the town she was in. She smiled because she had a friend here, Caroline Forbes. Just the thought of her cheered her up. The last time she saw her was probably when she was about 11 years old. She knew her because their moms were best friends. Or so she thought before she didn't see any of them at the funeral. She wanted to be mad, but she didn't have the energy to be mad anymore, so she decided to forget it and pay them a visit. But she needed food first, so she drove in search of a restaraunt or a fast food place. 

She entered what she assumed was the central heart of the town, as she saw more people walking around and stores along the street. She slowed down and looked out the passenger seat window to see if there was any food places. She looked up and conviniently saw a grill. She quickly drove up and parked in front of the Mystic Grill. 

As she walked in, the shining lights mixed with the chatter of people eating gave her a sense of warmth and peace. She sat herself down at a table for 2. Dahlia almost laughed when she realized she couldn't name one person that could've sat with her. Snapping her from her thoughts, a tall, muscular brunette boy wearing a blue Mystic Grill shirt approached her with a notepad and pencil in hand.

"What can I get you?" He asked kindly. Dahlia thought, but realized she hadn't seen a menu or known what they had.

"Do you guys have burgers?" She asked stupidly. 

"I'm sorry, I've never been here so I don't know what there is." She said quickly after with a smile.

"It's no problem. Yeah, we do have burgers." He smiled back.

"Then I'll just have that, thank you." He nodded while writing down the order and walked off. 

Dahlia sat patiently for her food. She tapped her fingers against the table and looked at the pool table across the restaraunt. She remembered the first time she played pool with her mom. Her mom let her win, and Dahlia knew, but she went with it. Her burger arrived some time later and she ate. She loved it and ate half of it in a blink.

 She felt eyes on her and turned to see a blonde and a brunette at the table behind her. The blonde was straining her neck to see Dahlia's face while the brunette looked as well, but not as eagerly. Dahlia's mouth opened wide when she realized who it was. 

"Caroline Forbes?!" 

"DAHLIA!!!" Caroline yelled while running to Dahlia. She threw herself at the dark-haired girl and the two embraced one another in a tight hug. 

"I'm so sorry. About everything. I wish I could've come but-" The blonde said immediately while pulling away.

"Don't worry about it, Caroline. I get it, it's okay." Dahlia smiled at her. She saw a brunette standing behind Caroline. She looked so familiar, and Dahlia knew she'd seen her somewhere back home. 

"Oh! Dahlia, this is Elena Gilbert. Elena, Dahlia Vixen." Caroline introduced the two. Dahlia smiled at her and said a brief hi and Elena did the same. Dahlia studied her face but her attention was pulled towards Caroline speaking.

"So what're you doing here?" She asked in a polite way.

"I.." She didn't really know what she was doing here.

"I think I'm gonna stay here for a while."