Beauty of Darkness (Elijah Mikaelson)

Chapter 5

I never expected to have friends in New Orleans.

When I moved, I expected to be alone almost constantly. The whole purpose of moving there was Danielle's internship, so I didn't even expect to have her. On top of that, I thought that my job at Rosseau's would be entail a daily routine of work and inner monologues. Even if I did manage to catch the attention or kind words of a random person, for who knows what reason, I never expected them to listen. Cami, despite me being unable to return barely half of the energy she gave me, made the huge, terrifying pond of the Quarter seem smaller. She was somehow able to falsify every assumption and prediction I had about the life I would have here.

Even after having a meltdown in the middle of her workplace, she always offered to sit down with me to talk things out after my shifts. I don't even know how she let me keep my job after that; let alone getting a personal coworker-therapist. Of course, I didn't allow myself to take up those offers, but the kind thoughts of someone I barely knew was comforting. 

Cami and her family were apparently infamous in the Quarter, but I never got to the bottom of what made people stare and whispered when she walked out of the bar for her shift. I wasn't one to pry, and this may sound horrible, but it was nice having someone that understood stares. I was too afraid to ask more details; I mean, why would I have authority to play therapist to a woman I just met when I could barely handle my own demons?

Saturday finally came again and, to avoid another needless and embarrassing episode in the middle of a crowded bar, Cami put me on kitchen duty. It was the best news I received in weeks; I get to make crappy nachos by myself and not have to deal with social interaction? Score.

Of course, as my luck usually dictates, Cami got sick and asked me to take over the counter. Not feeling the ability to handle another counter-shift, but feeling indebted to Cami for her kindness, I took over. The bar that had seemed to run-down during the daylight had turned into the Quarter's to-be spot. Despite wanting to crawl back to the comfort of the kitchen and away from the judgement of strangers, I blacked out my worries as best as I could and continued pouring shots for bachelorettes.

After hours of continually worrying about everything that could go wrong or had gone wrong, the beautiful sound of the clock striking two in-the-morning had rung across the room. Despite having to shove numerous wasted partiers from every corner of the bar, I was in high spirits. But keep in mind that for me, high spirits entailed not wanting to eat a pint of ice cream and stare out my window. After the dust had settled, I grabbed my phone to see an apologetic text from Cami. Of course I forgave her: she's had to deal with my absence and act. While walking to the door and responding with a basic-girl paragraph to show my forgiveness, I suddenly felt myself ram into something that felt as solid as steel. My immediate thought was my clumsy-ass had run into one of the ancient-building's enormous wooden pillars. After getting my bearings, I looked up to investigate what damage I had done to the antique wood. When I looked up, however, I didn't see a pillar. I saw something that couldn't help but take every breath from my body.