Two Lost Souls

Friends Will Be Friends

"I spent over a year drowning in a box over and over again, and now you're trying to smother me?" Stefan asks, though his teasing sort of falls flat due to fact that he's holding on to her just as tightly.

A strangled laugh escapes her at that and she squeezes him one more time before relenting. She doesn't step out of his embrace though, just loosens her hold enough that she can lean back and take a look at his face, her hands resting on his shoulders as she tries to come to terms with the fact that he's really here.

"We'll go over that drowning comment in excruciating details later," she promises, needing to know what happened to him. "Right now I want to know what you're doing here."

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Not really. How did you get here so fast? I only talked to Elena like two hours ago."

"I was already on my way."

"How? No one in Mystic Falls knew where I was."

"True, but Elena did know that Elijah had been looking for you. She didn't know he'd found you until you called her, but I figured he was my best shot. I came here to ask for his help finding you. Then I got word from Elena as soon as I stepped off the plane, and I called you."

For some reason, this is what suddenly reminds her of Klaus' presence in the room and she gives the hybrid a sideways look, remembering what she thought when Stefan told her on the phone that he wanted to come to New Orleans, how the hybrid would be able to use him against her. She hates to agree with Klaus' theory, but she's suddenly acutely aware of how weak her feelings make her. Taking a step back, she sees Stefan frown slightly at the sudden tension she's not even trying to mask. Sighing, she brings her attention back to her best friend and tries to ignore the growing anxiety that is threatening to make her sick.

"What did Elena tell you?"

"Not much. Only that you just got your emotions back and that you were with the originals. So I called Rebekah and she gave me their address here."

"That's it?"

"Why?" he asks, glancing at Klaus as he senses that he's not going to like whatever it is that she's hinting at.

This is the moment the hybrid chooses to step in.

"What your friend is trying to tell you, mate, is that you're not safe here," he says, his voice taking on this pleasant lilt that will always scare her more than any threat. "I'm sure she's elated to see you, but she's about to ask you to leave."

Stefan's eyes dart back and forth between them, his confusion obvious, before they settle on her. She knows he didn't miss Klaus' tone, and it would be enough to worry anyone who knows him, even if he doesn't know about the hybrid's humanity switch.

"What are you talking about?"

She sees Klaus smirk out of the corner of her eye.

And just like that, she knows.

There's nothing she can do to stop this.

Klaus didn't say that to give Stefan a chance to get out before things get ugly. It's not a warning. He doesn't do mercy. Not usually, and certainly not now. Not when her best friend has just handed him the opportunity to get rid of her without killing her on a silver platter.

If he had any emotions left, he would probably have been giddy with joy when he opened the door to find his former friend on the other side. This is exactly what he needed. Leverage. There is nothing she won't do to protect those she loves, and he knows it.

There is no way around it.

He didn't pounce right away, not because he's giving them a chance or because the plan has only just occurred to him, but because he knows they can't escape him anyway and he wants her to get the full extent of what Stefan's presence means before he acts. He wants her to torture herself trying to find a way out of this only to figure out that there is none. He wants her to realize how much stronger than her he is. He wants her to surrender knowing that she has no other choice. He wants her to ponder her decision – let Stefan die at his hands, or save his life by agreeing to leave him alone and fail in her mission.