______

Tennessee was hot and the people were incredibly annoying, the people being Klaus and no humanity Stefan. The actual people who lived in Tennessee weren't all that bad, from the two people Emersyn had actually met at a hotel lobby.

While Emersyn sat in the backseat as Stefan went to kill two ladies, Klaus sat in front of her, trying to charm her into being his friend. It wasn't working.

"Are you from Tennessee?"

"I'm from New York. You know that, dumbass," Emersyn replied, rolling her eyes.

Ignoring her, he continued, "Cause' you're the only ten I see."

Emersyn blinked. "If you use another terrible pick up line like that, I will cut your dick off and superglue it to your forehead."

"Okay, okay. Let me try another one." He thought for a minute before his eyes lit up and he looked back at her, "Do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I walk by again?"

"If you're gonna walk by again, do it on a busy freeway."

"Mean. You know, there is something wrong with my cell phone."

"Mmm. And what would that be?"

"It doesn't have your number in it," he replied with an innocent smile.

"Yes it does, moron. You compelled me to put it in."

"Right... Um, give me a minute." He shuffled around for a minute before looking back at her, "Can you feel my shirt?"

"Why? I don't want to touch you."

"Please?"

Emersyn sighed but moved her hand out to feel his shirt, "It feels fine–"

"That's boyfriend material."

"Alright, that's it. I'm going to check on Stefan."

Klaus grabbed her wrist, this time much softer than the last time he had. "Don't. Just stay here."

"Stop flirting with me. Nothing will ever happen between us so give it a rest."

He grinned, "I know. I just like to mess with you. Besides, you aren't really my type. You see, I'm more into blondes."

"Yes, and I am more into people that are not cannibals."

"I see."

"Can you?"

They were silent for a moment before he spoke again, "I have a really good one."

"No."

"Please?"

Emersyn breathed heavily, "Fine. Make it quick."

"Didn't we take a class together? I could've sworn we had chemistry," he smiled at her, giving her a waiting look as though he was waiting for her to fall to his feet.

Instead, Emersyn walked out of the car, leaving him in silence.

"That bad, huh?" Klaus muttered under his breath.

Kol and Elijah, still dead, watched their brother with disgusted looks.

"Since when could he not flirt?" Kol asked.

"Since he met her," Elijah replied.

"That was awful. No wonder she hates him. I hate him for having to hear that. If I had the choice of hearing that again or getting daggered for three more centuries, I would jump into the dagger with a smile on my bloody face."

Elijah nodded, "I must say I agree with you, brother."

They watched with disappointed looks as their brother ran off to Emersyn and continued on with his terrible pick-up lines.

Emersyn was sitting next to Stefan in the backseat as she pressed fast-food napkins to his face.

"God, you made a mess of yourself," she muttered under her breath as she wiped the blood off his chin.

She gasped in disgust when a drop of it got on her finger, "Ew, ew," she spoke before wiping her finger on his shirt.

"Hey!"

"Oh shut it. You can suck on your shirt later when you get hungry. Now stay still, you dirty bastard."

Minutes later, Klaus parked the car at a bar and looked back at the pair, "Bloody hell. If you're going to be on top of each other, at least do it while I am not in the same car as you."

As the hybrid left, Emersyn chuckled, "What's wrong with him?"

Stefan shrugged, "He's had a stick up his ass this whole trip. Maybe it's finally reached his heart."

Glancing at the bar's doors, they both saw Klaus glaring at them.

Emersyn laughed in amusement before getting out of the car. Walking past the hybrid, she bumped his shoulder, "Calm down, will you? It's getting tiring."

"If you would stop flirting with Stefan, I would be happy to calm down," he told her as they entered the bar and Stefan began to compel the occupants.

"Why does it bother you so much?"

"It doesn't. It is just incredibly annoying. If you want to sleep with him that much, just do it. It's not like his girlfriend will be upset."

Emersyn scoffed, "You're such a dick."

As Klaus went over to his werewolf that was sitting at the bar, she decided to sit in an empty booth. Putting her legs up on the seat, she leaned her head against her jacket which she had folded up in an attempt to make a pillow.

She hadn't slept much during the past couple months, not with Klaus waking her up every five minutes when he thought he had found a lead.

Closing her eyes, she breathed out softly. Moments later, when she was half asleep she felt something fall on her.

Opening her eyes, she frowned when she saw Klaus standing there, his jacket gone.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"You looked cold," he replied as he continued to drape his coat over her body.

Emersyn stared at him, unsure of what to say but before she could come up with something, he walked back over to the werewolf that was now tied to a dart board.

As Klaus grabbed another set of darts, Emersyn closed her eyes before she could see what was about to take place.

When the man's screams filled the room, she heard Klaus speak again, "Keep it down, mate. My friend is trying to get some shut eye and your screams are not helping."

If Emersyn wasn't so tired, she would have laughed.

Emersyn woke up a few hours later to her phone ringing. Grabbing the device out of her back pocket, she sent a look to Klaus to which he nodded, silently saying it was okay to answer it before he went back to throwing darts at the werewolf.

Glancing at the caller ID, she smiled slightly before she pressed the answer button.

"Hey, Bucky."

"Don't 'hey' me, doll. Tony said you got kidnapped... willfully. Are you on some sort of death cruise now that Steve broke up with you?" he asked, his tone annoyed but somewhat concerned.

Standing up from the booth, Emersyn stretched her back before walking over to Klaus and sitting beside him.

"I am not on a death cruise, Bucky," she responded and she took the darts from Klaus' hand, forcing him to stop his torture. "Did you even try talking to him first?"

"Of course, I did, love."

"Well try it again."

"Is that him you are talking too?" Bucky asked.

"Yes."

"Of course, I should've known he was going to be British. You do love an accent."

Klaus sent her a smirk. He was listening to their conversation.

"Stop talking, Buck. The guy is nosy as shit and is listening to your every word."

"Good. When I find you, and trust me, I will, I'm going to shove my hand so far down your throat it will come out of your ass–"

"Bucky!"

"What? I could have said a lot worse, doll. He kidnapped you. Do you know how annoying Tony has been since you left? My god, I think I might shoot myself the next time he asks if we have any leads."

"It can't be that often..."

"It's every two minutes. He asks me when I'm asleep. He even asked me when I was on the toilet. It's creepy and invasive."

"Just tell him I'm fine. I'm not dead. Klaus is taking somewhat well care of me and I have Stefan–"

"Yes, the vampire that currently has his humanity turned off–"

"How did you know that?"

"Well when I found two dead bodies that were seemingly put back together after being mutilated, I put two and two together. It's not safe for you to be there."

"It's not like I have much of a choice." Emersyn glanced at Klaus, "Do I have a choice?"

"No. You try to run and I'll catch you."

"See, Bucky. He'll want to play some sick game of hide and seek if I run."

Bucky sighed, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine–"

"No... Jessica. I really can't make the date this weekend. I got... better plans," Bucky's voice cut through, earning a confused expression from Emersyn and Klaus.

"Who's Jessica?" the hybrid asked, moving over to sit beside her, giving the werewolf a break.

Emersyn shrugged.

"Sorry, Steve walked in. I figured he would be the last person you wanted to talk to."

"Poor Jessica," Emersyn mused, smiling slightly.

"Ah, she's just not my type. Not like you, dollface."

Emersyn rolled her eyes, "Jesus. What is it with all of you and your shitty ass picking up lines?"

"It's just the effect you have on me, doll."

The Stark glanced around the bar and noticed Stefan's absence. "Where's Stefan?" she asked, turning to Klaus.

"His brother is getting closer. I sent him to take him off our trail."

"How are you sure he'll come back?"

"I threatened to kill you if he didn't."

"That doesn't sound very safe!" Bucky yelled through the phone.

"He's just dramatic, Bucky. Don't worry, here I'll even turn on my vitals so you can track them and make sure I'm not dead."

Bucky sighed, "Fine. But even a slight spike in your heart rate and I am calling you."

"Alright, Mom." Glancing out the window to the parking lot, she saw Stefan getting out of their car, "I gotta go, Buck. Tell my dad I love him?"

"Sure, cause that won't sound incredibly awkward coming from me."

"Just do it, you big baby," Emersyn told him before hanging up.

Klaus looked at her, "I never said you could turn on your vitals."

"It's not like they can track me through them. It'll just give them some peace of mind. I'll even show you how the watch works and which buttons tell them where I am, okay?"

"Fine. You can turn them on. Just wait until tonight when we go to a hotel and you can show me how it works."

"Fine."

Stefan entered the bar, causing Klaus to stand. "I was getting worried. I was starting to think I'd have to kill our sweet little Avenger."

Both Emersyn and Stefan rolled their eyes at the comment.

"Did you doubt me?"

"Not for a second. I knew you'd pass the test. You still care for Emersyn, for your old life."

"I don't care about anything anymore."

Klaus grinned as he got up and grabbed the werewolf's body off the dart board and laid him down on the pool table, "You put on a good show, Stefan. I almost believe you."

His eyes moved to Emersyn, "Love, you might want to look the other way."

As soon as the Stark turned around, he bit his wrist and shoved it in the werewolves mouth before snapping his neck.

"Let's hope, for your brother and Emersyn's sake, he does. You never stop caring about family, do you? But every time you feed, the blood... makes it easier to let go."

It was nighttime now, and Stefan was outside, making a phone call to Elena while Emersyn distracted Klaus from the vampire's disappearance.

"Alright, we've gotta work on your game. Because currently, you have none."

Klaus sent her an offended look, "I have game. I am a fantastic baseball player."

Emersyn rubbed her forehead, "Alright. So we've got our work cut out for ourselves. First of all, I am not talking about sports, I am talking about your flirting abilities."

"Oh," Klaus muttered.

"Yeah. Now, as annoying you are, you have somewhat decent looks so that should help us in finding you a girlfriend–"

"Girlfriend? I don't want a girlfriend–"

"Well you clearly need one with all that pent up frustration... Unless you'd rather have a boyfriend? Which is completely fine by the way. Honestly, if you were gay, that would make you so much better."

"I'm not– well there was that one time in the 1400s but it was only one time–"

Emersyn stared at him.

"Okay, it was a few times. I've lived for a thousand years. Can you blame me for trying something different?"

"No. I like you so much more now. Okay, since Stefan doesn't have a girlfriend anymore, we're gonna try some flirting tactics on him, okay? This is gonna be great."

"I don't like Stefan though."

"That's okay. We'll just use Stefan until you find the right person."

"Why can't it be you?"

His question came as somewhat of a shock to Emersyn, "Me? Because I don't like you. Stefan is compelled to like you."

Klaus nodded slowly, "I guess that would make sense. What should I do?"

"Be a bit nicer to him to start. Right now, you're being an a-class dick to everyone, including me, and I am trying to help you."

"I am not–"

"Don't fight me on this. Now, your pick up lines are shit, but first we have something much more important to work on."

"And what would that be?" he asked with a sigh.

"Your hair. It's terrible. It's far too short and you clearly don't know how to take care of your curls," her hands moved to his head and ran through his hair, toking in the knots and gently untangling them, "Have you brushed it in the last century? My god. I'm thinking about an inch longer, maybe a little swoop at the front. No gel. A nice taper at the sides."

"I think my hair is fine–"

"It's not. How long does it take vampire hair to grow out?"

"Not very long. Maybe three weeks?"

"Perfect, so in three weeks you'll be hot which will be half the solution to your problem. We should probably stop at a drugstore too."

"Why?"

"To get you some viagra, obviously. Do you know if there are any hookers around this area?"

"I am not sleeping with a hooker–"

"Well we've gotta get that chip off your shoulder somehow."

"What about you?"

"No way in hell." Glancing outside, she saw Stefan still on the phone. "So where are we going tomorrow?"

"Smoky mountains, why?"

"Well then we are definitely going to need to go to a drug store then."

"And why is that?" he asked, leaning forward slightly.

"Because, as a human, I have this lovely thing called seasonal allergies and they get really bad this time of year so unless you want me using your shirt as a snot rag, I believe it would be for the best."

"That's really gross, love."

"You're the one that kidnapped me," Emersyn reminded him.

Looking outside once more, she saw Stefan was no longer on the phone. Standing up from the booth, she earned a strange look from Klaus. "Where are you going, love?"

"I'm getting tired. We should find a hotel."

Klaus nodded, "Of course, love." 

By the time the sun rose, they were already at the mountain, Stefan carrying the dead werewolf on his back while Emersyn searched her bag for the bottle of eye drops she had picked up with the help of Klaus' credit card.

If he was going to force her to be there, she was going to do it on his dime.

Stopping in front of Klaus, causing him to run into her and trip on a stick, she looked up before dropping the drops into her itchy eyes. Blinking, she felt the liquid run down her cheeks.

"Fuck, I can never do this without a mirror."

Klaus stood up from the ground, causing her to look at him, "You're all dirty."

"Yes, well you knocked me over. Do you need help?"

"Like fuck. You'd probably jab the thing in my eye."

Stefan rolled his eyes at the pair and continued to walk forward, leaving them to their bickering.

"I wouldn't. Let me help you. You look like I killed your family with those drops all over your face."

Hesitantly, she handed him the bottle before she felt him place his finger on her jaw and gently tilted her head up.

"Open your eyes, love," he told her and to his surprise, she complied, revealing her red eyes.

"I guess you weren't lying about your seasonal allergies."

"Why do you say it like that? Seasonal allergies," she spoke in a posh voice, mocking his accent.

"Do you want the bloody drops or not?"

"Yes, yes. Okay, I'm sorry."

"Love?" he asked after a moment. 

"Yes?" Emersyn muttered in response. 

"You have to open your eyes in order for this to work."

"Right... Right." Emersyn slowly opened her eyes, and in a matter of seconds, he had put them in her eyes before handing her back the bottle, "See? I didn't try to blind you."

"Yet," Emersyn muttered before she was interrupted by a sneeze.

Klaus moved a few feet away from her.

"Oh, calm your tits. I'm not going to infect you," Emersyn told him as she reached in her bag and grabbed a bottle of allergy medicine before taking off the cap and drinking it.

When she finished drinking what she assumed to be the recommended amount, she put the cap back on the bottle before tossing it in her bag.

"Are you alright now?"

Emersyn nodded, "Mhm. Just a little sleepy."

Her eyes were hardly open. He stared at her slightly confused until he pulled out the allergy medicine and sighed, "You bought the nighttime one. Not the daytime one. You'll be knocked out before we know it."

"Don't blame me. You haven't let me sleep hardly at all lately."

"Can you make it to the top without falling asleep?"

"Of course I can," Emersyn told him, trying her hardest to keep her eyes open as a yawn forced its way past her lips. "How much farther?"

"We're at the bottom, love."

"Cool," Emersyn muttered as she began to walk forward, her steps slightly uneven causing Klaus to walk close behind her.

As they traveled up the mountain, Emersyn's steps became more and more uneven, until it reached the point that she was holding onto Klaus' arm to stabilize herself.

"You know, I could just carry you–" Klaus attempted to offer.

"Not happening," Emersyn interrupted.

"I'm practically carrying you right now," he told her, glancing down at his arm that was being held by both of hers.

Emersyn sighed tiredly, "You won't drop me?"

"Never."

"And you won't–"

"Emersyn, I am simply offering to carry you up this mountain. I have no ulterior purposes other than the fact that I don't want you to trip and fall when you inevitably pass out."

"Okay," she muttered softly, watching as he turned around and knelt slightly so that she could jump on his back. Lifting her leg, she felt him gently grab it, easing her up till he was holding her by both her legs while she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'm not strangling you, am I?"

"You're alright, love. Just go to sleep."

"But it's so bright out," Emersyn complained, resting her head on his shoulder as she attempted to hide her face from the light in his neck.

Klaus sighed as he took off his sunglasses and handed them to her, "There."

As Emersyn grabbed them and put them on, she rested her chin on his shoulder once more. "Why are you being nice to me?"

He shrugged, "If I'm gonna be keeping you around for an extended period of time, I figured it would be best if we play nice."

"Are you going to apologize for killing me?"

"Probably not. You deserved it."

Emersyn yawned, "Did not. I was just," she yawned again, "just... stating a fact."

"Yeah, alright. Go to sleep before I drop you and feed you to the wolf pack."

When Emersyn next woke, it was due to the sound of screams flooding her ears.

"What's going on?" she asked, her voice filled with sleep as she held onto Klaus' body tighter when she felt his quick movements.

"Don't worry, love. Just some complications. Go back to sleep," Klaus replied before a gushing sound filled her ears, causing her to open her eyes only to see a woman standing in front of them, blood falling from her eyes as Klaus ripped out her heart.

Emersyn quickly closed her eyes and buried her face into the hybrid's neck.

"It'll be over soon," he told her after hearing her heartbeat raise in speed.

A minute passed and the screams died down to silence. The only sounds Emersyn could hear were the birds chirping around them and Klaus' steady breaths.

"You can open your eyes now, love," he told her, his thumb gently rubbing her leg.

Emersyn did as she was told and was met with the sight of his eyes. "Just don't look down, okay?" he asked. "Just keep looking at me."

The Stark nodded. Somehow, during their travels the hybrid had picked up on some of her trauma. Perhaps it was in the way she flinched at the sight of blood, or the way she screamed every other night.

Nonetheless, Emersyn appreciated the way he approached her fears. He never once had asked her to speak about it, instead, he let her open up and if she didn't, he moved the conversation to whatever else he could come up with.

"What happened?"

"It didn't work," Klaus told her, a somewhat sad expression on his face. "I must have done something wrong. It should have worked."

His eyes turned down only to feel Emersyn's hand slowly reach up to his cheek, "It's okay. This was only your first try. We'll figure it out. Besides, you've lived long enough, what's a few more weeks?"

Klaus nodded slowly, "I guess. You'll stay? Even if I let you have your free will again?"

"If you keep up this nice guy streak you got going on, then yeah, I'll stay."

His lip twitched into a small smile, "You're a good friend, Emersyn Stark."

"Oh, we're friends now?"

"What else would we be?"

"Frenemies?"

"I don't know what that means," Klaus admitted, somewhat embarrassed.

Emersyn only grinned, "You know, I understood when Kol didn't understand half the stuff I was talking about, but you, you've been around this whole time and yet you know nothing. How does that work?"

"Easy, love. I said we're friends. I have killed most of my friends in the past."

"Well, you've already killed me, so now it's my turn to kill you."

"You wouldn't."

"With great reason, I would."

Klaus looked over suddenly, causing Emersyn to do the same. Their eyes met Stefan who was holding Ray, the werewolf's body on his shoulders.

Stefan grunted as he dropped the body on the ground.

"They went rabid. Some of them I killed. The others just... bled out. In the end, they're all dead," Klaus told Stefan after seeing his confused expression at the sight of the massacre.

"I did everything I was told. I should be able to turn them. I broke the curse, I killed a werewolf, I killed a vampire, I killed the doppelganger..." Klaus trailed off, his eyes moving to Stefan, "You look like hell."

"Last I checked, I'm dying... and you don't want to heal me."

Emersyn frowned as she looked at him only to see a bite on his arm. She slapped Klaus' arm, "You dick. Give him your blood."

Klaus sent her a glare but instead of starting a fight, he picked up a beer bottle and bit his wrist before letting his blood drip into the bottle.

"Bottoms up," he muttered before handing the bottle to Stefan.

"We're leaving. It appears the two of you are the only comrades I have left."

At the hotel, Emersyn was in her room drying her hair as she sat on her bed. Her mask was no longer on her face, revealing her true face as she watched a random movie on the tv.

The red hair dye was beginning to fade, leaving her hair back to its natural colour of dark brown.

Glancing beside her, she placed her Stark watch on the edge of the bed. "Friday?"

"Yes, Miss Stark?"

"Can you pull up the tower's cameras? The ones of the common room?"

"Of course, Miss Stark."

The camera's soon appeared in the form of a hologram revealing the whole team having a family dinner.

"How have they been doing?" Emersyn asked the AI.

"Not well," Friday answered honestly. "Some days are better than most. Natasha, James and Tony spend most of their days searching for you."

"You're still keeping them off my trail?"

"Yes, Miss Stark. Although I would advise you to give me permission to share your location."

"No can do, Fri," Emersyn replied as she picked up a cup of Mr. Noodles. Crossing her legs, she looked at the camera and smiled as she watched them laugh over something Clint had said.

As she shoved a spoonful of noodles into her mouth, she heard a knock coming from the door. Reluctantly standing up, she looked through the peephole before opening the door, "Hey..."

"Can I come in?" he asked.

Emersyn nodded and moved back to her position on the bed. Klaus followed her, but chose to sit at the desk. His blue eyes looked over at the camera's she had, viewing the avengers.

"I'm really sorry," he said softly, his voice so quiet she could hardly hear the words leave his mouth.

"Never thought I'd hear that," Emersyn replied as she continued to eat her dinner, eyes still watching her family.

"I've never... My family is different from yours. We don't necessarily enjoy spending time together without one of us ending up dead. I didn't realize how hard it would be on you to take you away from them."

"It doesn't have to be that way, Klaus. Your siblings... At least, Elijah and Kol, they do love you. You just gotta give them a reason to like you."

"I've double crossed them all far too many times for that to happen."

Emersyn frowned, "Come over here. Sit with me."

Klaus stared at her for a moment before slowly moving to sit beside her.

"You see him right there?" she asked, pointing at Bucky.

"Yeah?"

"He was mind controlled and tortured me for an entire year and I still forgave him and now he is my best friend."

Klaus didn't say anything.

"And you see her?" her finger pointed to Wanda. "She actually killed me. Her and her twin brother hated my father because his weapons had been the reason their parents died. They tortured me for weeks until I kicked the bucket. And now, I'm starting to think of her as a friend."

"My dad wasn't around for the first seven years of my life. Partially because he didn't know I existed but also because he slept around so much at the time he was more focused on other things. When he first took me in, I hated him. I used to beg Natasha to take me back home. But eventually, after I learned to forgive him, he's now my favourite person in this whole universe."

Her eyes moved to Klaus', "Your siblings will forgive you... If you give them a reason to. You just need to be patient and a bit more understanding." 

a/n

sorry for the crappy jokes. i had a death in the family and i guess i resort to shitty jokes instead of crying and feeling confused as to how to feel. i'll try to keep posting though. sorry if the chapter was really shit.