chapter sixty

❧ ❧ ❧  

  "This is bullshit!" Faye shouted from the back seat, her arms crossed over her chest. "We are in my car and I have to sit in the back like I'm some child." She glared up at Damon and Stefan the former more than the latter, as they drove to where Elena and Rebekah had abandoned the blue Camero of every man's dreams. 

  Stefan had requested Faye's help in the search for Elena, Rebekah and while they were at it, Katherine. Faye had been for it the second the doppelganger she had been itching to kill was mentioned, so she hoped in her own car to go get Damon and be on their way. Little did she know, she would slowly get booted to the back seat the second the raven haired vampire got in the car.

  "Sorry, only people who haven't slept with big bad evil hybrids can sit in the front."

  "You found that out after you took the front seat, you dweeb," Faye sneered at Damon who attempted to push her buttons. "Also, you and Stefan both said you love me and supported everything I did. So, can you shame me for sleeping with him? No."

  There had been a long deep conversation where Faye had come clean about Klaus and her antics with him, expecting a lashing from Damon, at least, of some sorts. There was none though, only support all the way around. They both had told her they expected it to happen at some point and that as long as she was happy, they were too. There was a part when Damon said he still wanted to kick Klaus' ass, but other than that, it was perfect. She had no reason to ever worry about being disowned by her boys.

  "We can support you, but also shame you," Stefan butted in, a grin playing on his lips.

  Faye pulled a pout and slouched back in to her seat. "You both suck," she said. Damon grinned at her in response, reaching back to pull at her knee as if she were a small child. She swiped at his hand with a small smile pulling at her lips.

  When Damon turned back, he looked over at Stefan and asked, "How much further until my car?" The strawberry blonde in the back rolled her eyes. He had spoken too many times of his stolen car, threatening to wage war for it being taken and claiming it his one true love.

  "Not too far. Should just be up the street now."

  And it was. The blue car sat abandoned on the side of the road, in the same condition it was stolen in. Damon let out a heavy sigh the second he saw it. Stefan pulled Faye's car to a stop behind the Camero.

  "If they so much as even scratched the paint on my car..." Damon muttered, getting out with Stefan. Faye stayed inside the car, moving up to the drivers seat.

  The boys went to the back of her car, going to grab the jerry cans Stefan had brought. Damon questioned it, asking why so many, but Stefan's only response came in the form of bitter attacks against him. There were mumbling about owing Sheriff Forbes muffins for finding the stolen Camero. The hybrid didn't pay attention, but instead rested her head against the steering wheel.

  As Stefan took a couple cans to Damon's own vehicle, he called over to Faye. The hybrid turned her head, looking at him through the passenger side window that Damon had rolled down. "Once all the cans are out of the car, Faye you get going. We can't waste anytime. There's 100 miles to Willoughby and this is taking time out of the trip."

  "Wait, I don't even remember seeing that on the list from New York," Damon said with his eyebrows furrowed.

  "Oh, the list. You mean the list they stole from right under your nose after you let your guard down?" Stefan asked him sarcastically. The older Salvatore rolled his eyes at his brother. "They'll be there. Sheriff Forbes tracked down the car they stole after yours."

  "Screw the muffins. I'll get her champagne if Elena is wherever it may be."

  "Willoughby, cream corn capital of Pennsylvania," Stefan muttered. "Let's just hope we get to them before they get to the cure."

  "Well, if they get to the cure then they already got to Katherine. Saves us the trouble of finding her," Faye told them.

  "Ooh, another silver lining," Damon added on, a wicked look in his eyes. "If Rebekah takes the cure, then she's mortal. And then we can just kill her right then and there.

  Stefan, ever so the buzzkill, contradicted him, "Ooh, dark cloud. Elena stays a vampire forever." Damon huffed and went to fill up the gas tank. "Look, why don't you just table the revenge fantasies for now and just keep your eye on the prize? Find Katherine, get the cure, get out before you get your neck snapped. Again."

  "Believe me, I learned my lesson," Damon promised to his brother, raising his hand in a scout's honor movement. "Elena without humanity is a stone cold bitch. And I won't trust her until we get the old Elena back."

  "Look at that. We're finally on the same page about something. 

  "Look at that."

  Faye groaned at the two men looking at each other with a bit of wonder in their eyes. She slammed her hand on the horn of her car, causing them both to jump to attention. "I'm glad to see you guys getting along and bonding over your mutual hatred of no humanity Elena, which I agree with, but time is wasting away."

  "All the cans are out of the car," Damon told her, making her eyes go wide in surprise. She turned around to see the trunk door already shut. She was surprised she hadn't even heard. "If you hadn't been day dreaming about your boy toy, maybe you would've noticed."

  "I wasn't daydreaming about him."

  "Sure you weren't."

❧ ❧ ❧  

  She hated her phone. She hated who ever was texting her.

  In the two hours it took her to drive from the drop off spot of Damon's car, her phone dinged too many times for her to bare. Faye hadn't checked it, remembering the strict rules Caroline gave her during her two-week long drivers course to never text and drive. The second she stopped her car though on the side of the street in Willoughby, she checked it. 

  The anger instantly shifted to anxiety once she saw the messages. Klaus' name continuously popped up with the words, need help, my place and different forms of urgency scattered around in different arrangements. Faye furrowed her brows together at the oddness, seeing as Klaus never acted as so.

  She could feel the worry rising in her. The thought of Klaus being in trouble was eating at her. A part of her wanted to run back and help, knowing whatever it was taking for Klaus to send several texts pleading for help had to have been serious. She couldn't run though. There was the risk she wouldn't make it back in time or the fact that every second she used to handle that, was one allowing Rebekah and Elena to get away with the cure.

  Faye acted quickly, sending a text to Lacey, asking her to check on Klaus for the reasons he had exclaimed. She knew that Lacey could handled it while she handled the matters of the cure. The second it sent, Faye shut off of her phone, hoping for no more distractions.

  The strawberry blonde's mind went back to the main focus, well rather three main focuses. Elena, Katherine and the cure all had to be in that town. Elena had to have been there because the car they tracked was, but Katherine and the cure kept her there.

  Faye got out of her car and began making her way down the fairly busy street. The instant she came in contact with the air, she could recognize the strong scent of Elena Gilbert and Rebekah Mikaelson. It was almost too easy. If it had been anyone else, Faye would almost think she were falling in to their trap, but she knew there was no thought of being tracked and found added in to their journey.

  She followed along the scent, Rebekah's slowly growing stronger while Elena's stayed more of lingering. It could only mean that the latter had gone off somewhere, but Rebekah stayed behind. She was led to a diner where through the window she could see Rebekah and one of the doppelgangers. It wasn't Elena, the similar facial features taking on a much different persona than her. Katherine was sitting in the booth, glaring at the Original next to her.

  A part of Faye wanted to shout out with victory, having found the doppelganger she had been searching for, but she knew it wasn't over just yet. Elena was missing and with Rebekah still keeping a close eye on Katherine, so was the cure.

  The hybrid sighed and went in to the dinner, the door letting out a soft ring as she entered. No one looked up but one of the waitresses, giving her a smile in greeting. Faye returned it quickly before moving past. Her eyes were dead set on where Rebekah and Katherine sat. Neither of them had even noticed she had entered, being so engrossed in their glaring contest.

  It wasn't until Faye slid in to the booth into the empty seat when they noticed. Rebekah grew a large grin while Katherine's mood suddenly shifted. There was something unsettling in her eyes, showing her own worry. Faye hoped it was because she knew the hybrid was there to kill her.

  "You two look like you're having fun," Faye muttered with the largest fake smile on Earth.

  "I was wondering when you would show up," Rebekah said. "Thought my brother would be with you, though. Heard the two of you have been working quiet well together." It was obvious she was trying to poke at Faye for sleeping with Klaus, something Faye didn't even realize she knew. Faye wasn't phased by it anymore, though. She didn't care.

  "Didn't bring him along this time, but don't worry, Stefan and Damon will be here soon." The Daniels girl turned her head to look at the doppelganger across from them,  speaking to Rebekah and then the woman herself. "Well, you caught Katherine already. How you doing, Kat? Murder any innocent teenage boys lately?"

  "Only one."

  Oh, did Faye want to gouge her eyeballs out of her skull. She let out a fake laugh before looking over at Rebekah again.

  "Where's Elena?"

  "Nowhere that concerns you," Rebekah answered, snark etched in to her features. Faye bit down on her tongue, stopping herself from screeching at her.

  "Fine, don't tell me," Faye said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I can always find her myself. You know my nose is pretty impeccable when it comes to her scent. She gets kidnapped so much, they rely on me."

  "May take you a while."

  "May take you a while to do what?" 

  Damon and Stefan walked up just at the right moment, Stefan asking the question. The two looked in between the three girls with a grim smile. Confusion noticeably passed across them at the sight of Elena being gone.

  "Ugh, there goes the neighborhood," Katherine muttered, crossing her arms over her chest in defeat.

  Stefan rolled his eyes and plopped down next to Faye. Damon took it upon himself to pull a chair up to the end of the table. The latter opened his mouth to speak, only before Faye cut him off.

  "Before you ask, Elena's gone and Rebekah won't tell me where she went."

  The blonde clenched her teeth together and stomped her foot like a child. "Because I know your game," she hissed at Faye. "I tell you where Elena is, you shove the cure down her throat, and then I end up in a box, right? I don't think so."

  Faye threw her hands up in frustration. "I'm not shoving a cure down anyone's throat. That's Stefan and Damon's job. I'm here to make sure they don't do anything stupid and then I get to kill Katherine."

  "I'm right here." There was annoyance in Katherine's voice.

  "I don't care."

  "You should. I know where Elena went."

  Everyone immediately turned towards her. Faye rested her hands together in front of her on the table, canting her head at Katherine, "I'm listening."

  "I can only give you a hint," she said to all three waiting impatiently for an answer. "Start by looking at the town morgue. She's probably dead."

  "She went to meet up with a friend of mine," Katherine continued on, this time focusing in on Faye. The uneasy settlement in her eyes were gone. She gained confidence, preparing to play her game and run out as easy as she can. "You may know him... An original brother. Impeccable taste."

  There was only one person it could be. Klaus was in Mystic, Kol was dead along with their brother Finn, leaving one Original that Faye didn't know the sure location of, until now. 

  Faye's heart felt shattered. Her god-father had been here with Katherine instead of with her, his god-daughter and the woman he claimed to love? He had time to be her friend when he didn't have the time to even respond to the voice mails Lacey left him concerning his dead brother?

  "Elijah's here?" Faye asked vulnerably. 

  Stefan took a short glance at Faye with sympathy before speaking to Katherine, "Well, you sort of have to question Elijah's impeccable taste if he's friends with you."

  "Oh, when I say friend, I mean 'Friend'."

  Faye became alert once again with anger the moment she heard that. Her eyes narrowed at the doppelganger who was reveling in the chaos she had just created. Elijah wouldn't do that. Elijah loved Lacey and despite the fact he left, he wouldn't ever, do that to her. He was a man of honor and he would not destroy his own for a women he once loved, but now despised.

  "You're lying."

  "How do you know?" Katherine asked her. "I mean didn't he leave you and your aunt unexpectedly. I bet you wallowed around with your dumb aunt and asked yourself, why would he do this? I didn't seem like him. Do you even really know him, Faye?"

  She was boiling now. All Faye saw was red as she looked at the woman across from her. The three around them noticed to. Stefan watched the scene unfold with careful eyes, waiting for an attack. Damon was waiting too, but was open to it happening. Rebekah, lastly, was prepared for it.

  "Fuck the cure." 

  Faye reached across the table, grabbing a fist full of Katherine's hair. The vampire yelped at the pain, but it only got worse. Faye swung down and allowed Katherine's nose come in hard contact with the table. She groaned out in pain, a loud crack coming before it. She tried to get back up and fight, but Faye held her there.

  "I'm going to kill in this diner with all these people watching," Faye told her. No one in the diner was looking. Rebekah must have compelled them all to turn their attention away.

  "All because Elijah left your sad pitiful aunt?"

  "Because you killed Jeremy. I'm going to kill Elijah for that one."

  "Faye!" Rebekah pulled the girl back, making her let go of Katherine and sit down. "She's lying. She's trying to get a rise out of you." Her eyes moved to the doppelganger now moving her nose back in to place, but with the tiniest smirk on her face. "I know my brother. I know that even though five hundred years ago he was falling at your feet, he never would again."

  "I want to talk to him. Where are they?"

  Katherine said nothing. Lucky enough, Rebekah was open to it.

  "The gazebo at the park."

  Faye stood up from the booth, scooting out in preparation to leave. She wasn't going to waste any time, but Stefan seemed her to want to. He grabbed her wrist, holding her there for a moment.

  "Faye, maybe I should talk to Elijah," he said to her. When is saw her about to protest it, he continued on with reasoning. "Your emotions could get in the way of this and create more chaos then neccesary. Once we get the cure and Elena, you do whatever you want."

  "I agree." Damon rose his hand up, looking over towards his brother once again. "Hey, look, we're on the same page again."

  As much as Faye knew they were right, she still wanted to run out of the diner and find the man. She huffed and plopped down in her seat, knowing that there was too much at risk to let her emotions get the best of her.

  "Then it's all agreed that Stefan deals with Elijah," Rebekah clapped her hands together. "Meanwhile, Katherine will take us to the cure."

  Katherine scoffed. "No, she won't. The cure's my one chance to win my freedom back from Klaus."

  "You're gonna broker a deal with Klaus?" Damon asked in disbelief. Anyone who was anyone knew that would never turn out well.

  "It's pretty obvious that the only reason she's around Elijah is so he can get her to make a deal for him," Faye told him, her eyes sending daggers through Katherine Pierce's ruptured soul.

  Stefan clicked his tongue. "Some things never change, Katherine."

  "Nope."

  "Fine." Katherine finally crumbled after they had figured her out. She nudged at Rebekah, trying to get her to stand up. "Move. You have to follow me."

  And they did so, Faye first in line so she could drill holes into Katherine's back with her harsh gaze.

  ❧ ❧ ❧

  Katherine Pierce led to a home with an unsettling resemblance to the Gilbert house that now laid in ashes. It almost gave Faye the creeps, stepping inside when Katherine unlocked the door. It was if she was trying to almost play the role of a human Elena Gilbert. All that was missing were dead family members with photos scattered around the home and vampire brothers fighting for her affect.

  "No sudden moves," Damon warned as they stepped inside. He wore the same expression of confusion when he glanced around the room. "No tricks either. No Katherine-ing."

  She didn't respond, only walking over to a shelf. Katherine grabbed a lock box off the top and placed it on one of the side tables. She unlocked it and began searching it.

  "A quilt and a fish aquarium," Damon finally muttered after taking it all in. There was a crinkle in between his brows as if he were disgusted.  "Who the hell are you?"

  "A very old lady with dreadful taste," Rebekah

  "It's gone." Katherine alerted everyone when she tossed something back in the lockbox and it created a harsh bang. They all turned to her, eyes wide. The doppelganger herself mimicked a shocked look. "The cure, it was in the safe, but it's not there."

  Faye rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hip. "Not falling for it. Where is it, Katherine?"  

  "I swear it was in the safe."

  "What just like Elijah's really your boyfriend and this is really your life?" Damon asked sarcastically. Hearing it again struck a cord with Faye, even despite the fact she knew it had to be a lie. "And for all we know, this isn't even your house. It doesn't look like the Katherine I know."

  "Maybe you don't know Katherine at all," she responded. "Did it even occur to you that you have no idea who I really am?" 

  "Did it even occur to you that you're not that deep?"

  Katherine curled her lip at him.

  Faye was getting annoyed. The cure was gone supposedly and Katherine was playing another one of her games with the people she cared about, even including the one who abandoned her and her aunt. "I'm sick of this," she said out loud before focusing her attention on the brunette. "This whole small-town girl thing, we know it's an act. Maybe playing Elena got to your head and you thought suddenly that you could become her. Where's the cure?"

  Katherine only smiled at her, not saying a peep. Faye could hear the clenching of Rebekah's jaw from where she stood, knowing the girl was getting just as upset as she was. The blonde rushed forward, ready to attack. Damon intervened.

  "Whoa, whoa," he said. "Hang on. We need her alive. The cure's not here." Damon moved to look at the two on his side. "You and Faye, check upstairs. I'll check down." A skeptical look came from Rebekah. "I got this."

  Faye agreed to it, moving over the where the stair case stood and going up to the second story. She was getting impatient. Not with the fact that she still didn't have the cure anyone wanted, but the fact that she was there with Katherine, who wasn't dead, and knowing her god-father was out there somewhere doing who knows what. She wanted the cure found so she could do what she had to do.

  She began ruffling through draws of cabinets in the halls, scooting things around to look for something she couldn't even recognize if she saw it. Rebekah repeated her actions, going in to a different room. She could hear the blonde mutter something about Katherine being a stupid cow as she moved stuff.

  Time had barely passed before a loud scream echoed throughout the house. Faye jumped to action, rushing downstairs to see Damon clutching his burning skin on the ground. Katherine stood holding up what had to be the cure, a victorious look on her face. Faye went to Damon, going to fuss over him while Rebekah, the second she came down, took Katherine.

  "Give it to me or you're dead," she challenged her. Faye glanced up at them as she made sure Damon was healing. 

  "You're gonna kill me anyway," Katherine said. She held up the cure for her to see, letting Rebekah look between it and her. "So what's more important to you, huh?" She asked. "Killing me or getting the cure?" 

  The answer came in the form of Katherine tossing it in the air and running. Rebekah dived for the cure, grabbing it out of the air before it hit the ground. A short laugh came from her as she held up to her face. Her eyes were filled with wonder, all focus now on the tiny vial in her hand rather than the doppelganger who had just ran.

  "Look, Rebekah..." Damon slowly rose to his feet with the help of Faye. "Don't even think about it. Let's just talk about this, like the two rational vampires and one hybrid that we are." 

  "Rebekah?" Faye slowly said when she didn't hear a respond. Rebekah looked up at the two, scoffing.

  "Oh, give it a rest," she spat at Damon. "Me taking this cure is the best thing that'll ever happen to you."

  "Don't do anything stupid," he said.

  "Admit it. You don't want human Elena running back to Stefan whilst you're left out in the cold again." Rebekah thought she had it all figured out. The smile on her face was wide. "Go on, Damon. Tell me why you want Elena to have the cure."

  Damon couldn't answer. Faye made sure he had the ability to stand before she moved to Rebekah, going to grab the cure from her hand. The Original's speed was greater than hers, opening the cure and taking it before Faye could stop her. Stefan's shout was barely heard as he entered, Damon and Faye too shocked by the scene that had played out.

  Rebekah dropped the glass vial to the ground the second it was empty. She was in a euphoric state, almost high on the fact she was becoming human. Her eyes rolled in to the back of her head slowly and she fell back on the couch, a look of complete bliss on her face.

  "Did you even try to stop her?" Stefan walked in to the home fully, letting both Faye and Damon see him. He moved over to Rebekah coming to check on her.

  "You saw me try," Faye defended. "Damon really couldn't since he was dunked in a fish tank full of vervain."

  "All you had to do was stall her." 

  Damon shrugged. "Sorry. It's Rebekah. I didn't have a pony to distract her, Stefan."

  Stefan was nearly raging. He took a step back from the Original and glared at his brother. "You let her take it, didn't you?" He asked. "You were never on my side. Now Elena will be a vampire for the rest of her life just like you wanted."

  "Hey, no, we're not gonna-"

  Rebekah's loud gasp interrupted Faye speaking. The hybrid stared over at her, her brows furrowed together. She wondered how in the hell that had happened so fast. She thought that if something was completely altering the species of a person it would take longer than a couple of minutes. Magic may have had a play in it, though.

  Rebekah's scent didn't change. Humans usually smelt alive. You could smell their pumping blood in their veins and how sweet it would taste. She only smelled like death.

  "How do you feel?"

  "I..." Rebekah, with her eyes bright and wide, stumbled to speak. "I feel good. I- I feel great. I feel alive. 

  "Slight problem with being alive..." Damon trailed off, moving over towards an end table where at letter opener sat. "I can kill you now." He swung the opener at her. 

  Rebekah was quick to move and catch it, her reflexes nothing like they should be as a human. She dropped the opener, seeing her hand bleeding for a few seconds before the wound it  created closed. The disappointment that crossed her was almost too heartbreaking to watch.

  "I'm still a vampire," she said sadly. "The cure didn't work." 

  "It worked just like she wanted it to," Stefan piped up. "The cure was a fake. It must have been a concentrated shot of vervain or something." 

  "So, now Katherine is gone and so is the freaking cure," Faye grumbled, stomping her foot on the ground. "Great."

  ❧ ❧ ❧

  There was nothing left in Willoughby for Faye. Katherine was no where to be seen meaning the cure was god knows where. Elijah was a lost cause, that was for sure. He had sent a text to Stefan offering up the location of Elena and nothing else. Faye wouldn't be able to confront him and he still remain a missing piece in her life. 

  She wondered if it were for the best as she walked to her car. There were too many things she had heard of that day that changed her outlook. Maybe he actually was with Katherine. She felt as if she were questioning her sanity making it a possibility, but it was that what if? Maybe she didn't know Elijah, neither did Rebekah, as well as they thought they did. There was no way to know for sure unless the source was asked himself and he was no where to be found.

  Faye sighed as she grabbed her keys out of her pocket. She was alone, Stefan and Damon having gone to collect Elena, allowing her to embark on her journey home. She would spend it alone in her own thoughts, wondering how to tell Lacey the love of her life may have been, quite possibly, screwing an evil doppelganger.

  She was seconds from pressing the unlock button when she heard a voice across the street, one she recognized clearly. Faye glanced over her shoulder, seeing Katherine speaking to a man in a suit, handing something to him. She froze, watching the two interact. She wanted to turn away, but she couldn't. Faye had to know what was going on.

  She narrowed in with her hearing and listened to what they were saying.

  "Thank you for the cure,"  the man said, stuffing what looked like a ring box in to his pocket. Faye raised her brows. It was like everything she was looking for sat in one place. She couldn't make a move for it, though.

  The man turned on his heel and was prepared to walk away when Katherine stopped him.

  "Elijah, this can't be it," she told him, reaching out for his arm. Hearing the confirmation that it was him, actually there with her, made Faye's heart clench with a combination of anger and sadness. "You can't just leave me. There's something here."

  "Katerina," he addressed her with a click of his tongue, "all we were, were business partners. We had mutual interests and now, that is over."

  She shook her head. "You care about me. You told me."

  Elijah placed his hands in his pockets, narrowing his eyes at her."You always will care about a past love, correct?  Emphasis on the past."

  The words calmed Faye down. It wasn't true. Katherine had lied to her to rile her up. Elijah had easily confirmed it, along with the hurt reaction that came from the woman with him.

  "You played me. There never was a chance."

  Elijah shut down the idea she had quickly. "I never did a thing to make you believe we would become something more than what we truly were. You should have known better."

  Faye could see Katherine clench her jaw, a shocking sight to see. The woman was actually hurt. If it was anyone else, she would've felt some sympathy, but it was Katherine searching for the affections of someone who didn't need to give it to her. 

  "I should've," Katherine said, almost choking it out. There was a second where Faye thought the conversation was finished, but then she spoke up again. "It's always going to be her. Isn't it?" She had to have been speaking of Lacey.

  "From the moment I saw her and until the moment I take my last breath."

  That was all it took to finally break her. Katherine shook her head at him, her face morphed with pain. She didn't hesitate to speed away from him, leaving him alone on the dimly lit sidewalk, the only company of his unknown to him.

  "Huh." Faye called out once she was gone, squinting at her god-father. She had grabbed his attention. He turned towards her, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes. "So, you weren't with her? Or was that all a show because you knew I was standing right here?"

  "Faye."

  "Hi, Elijah," she greeted him with the sweetest voice she could muster. The hurt and anger seethed through her words, making the attempt she used to hide it worthless. "It's been awhile."

  "You have every right to be angry with me." The first words that came of from Elijah were not ones she had expected right away, but accepted it. 

  "Damn straight I do," she told him, going to make her way across the street to speak closely. He watched her every movement as she stormed over. "You left and never came back, not even when you found out Klaus was okay. You ran off and no one knew where you went. You broke Lacey's heart." There was a small flinch he made, one that he had hoped she wouldn't notice, but she did. 

   "I don't know what was running through your mind when you decided to abandon us all, but I know what was going through mine," Faye continued on speaking. With each second she spoke,she could feel the tears forming in her eyes. "We needed you. Mystic Falls went to shit and you weren't there to do anything. There were hunters trying to kill everyone and Kol's dead and so is Jeremy. The apocalypse is fucking upon us and you were gone. Then you were helping Katherine for who knows what. Maybe you were only working with her for the cure, but you still weren't there, Elijah. You weren't with me and Lacey and your freaking family."

  There was a long pause that began the moment Faye stopped speaking. The hybrid reached up to wipe away a tear that had fallen from her eyes, collecting herself in the silent moment. She took in a long deep breathe and stood up straighter. 

  Elijah glanced down at the ground, unable to look her in the eye. He finally spoke up. "Faye, I'm sorry. It was never my intention to hurt either you or Lacinia."

  "Then why did you never come back?" She sounded like a child. 

  He took in a deep breath, finally glancing up at Faye once again. He was having trouble finding what to say. "I have let Lacinia down more times in the past four centuries than I have anyone ever," he said. "After I left, I knew it would break her heart. I wanted to come back after knowing my brother had survived, but then the song would remain the same. I would let her down time after time again. That had to become the last."

  Faye understood what he was saying. It dwindled down her anger towards him, but could not allow that to become his truth. She shook her head at him. "Elijah, there's better ways to make it the last. For example, stop doing things that let her down if you can help it." She took a step towards him. "Stop running. Confront your problems. You have people who will stand by your side when you do." 

  Elijah remained quiet, taking in her words. He didn't know what to say say back. Instead of making him respond, Faye gave him another question to answer.

  "Well, what's your shitty reason for hanging out with Katherine then?"

  Elijah listened to the question before digging in his pocket. He pulled out the box Katherine had given him and opened it. Inside, was a replica of what Rebekah had taken, thinking it was the cure. The difference was, this one was actually it.

  "This vial has created such chaos in the vampire community recently," he said, pulling it out to hold it up. "I knew that it could be turned in to a weapon and if it fell in to the wrong hands, things could go terribly wrong." He placed the vial back in the box and shut it. "When Katerina had contacted saying she had it, I decided to procure it myself and give it to the one person I knew would use it for good."

  Faye wasn't expecting the box to be held out to her. She looked at in surprise before glancing up at Elijah. She couldn't believe he would trust her with what he considered a dangerous weapon. 

  "Are you trying to bribe me to forgive you?" She asked him, her eyes flickering back down the box.

  He let out a chuckle. "It's a start."

  "I can't take it," the hybrid told him, pushing the box back towards him lighting. "I'm not the best person to make the decision. I want to throw that thing down a well for what it's done and never see it again." Elijah seemed disappointed by the rejection of it, until she spoke again. "But you're right. It should go into the hands of someone who would use it for good. You take it. You went through the trouble to find it, so you get to decide what happens to it." 

  "I understand," was all he said before placing the box back to rest in his suit pocket. 

  "If you want me to forgive you, though..." Faye said after. He glanced up in anticipation, waiting for what she would say. "Come back home. Do what you were supposed to do. Talk to Lacey, apologize and be in love again."

  "She would never forgive me."

  Faye smiled with a shake of her head. "I know my aunt better than anyone. She would." She began walking back towards her car, having gave him her ultimatum and leaving it up to him to choose. He followed after her. "So, want a ride? We can talk about what you should say to her when you get there?" She suggested.

  "That would be nice, actually," he said, growing a smile she hadn't seen in a long time.

  "Cool." Faye finally unlocked her car. She climbed in to the driver's seat while Elijah rounded around to get to the passenger side. Once he was inside, she start up the car. "Here's the first tip. Don't try to bribe her."

  The laugh he let out made her realize that the day she thought she had failed in, did not. Maybe Katherine was gone and Faye didn't get to get her revenge, but the cure was in a safe place, Elena and Rebekah had been found and Elijah was on his way back home, where he belonged.

❧ ❧ ❧  

A/N: OKAY UM WELL I POSTED TWICE IN ONE WEEK??? ARE YOU ALL HAPPY??? 

No Klaye in this chapter except the short mention. Would guys like to see the scene I deleted out of Lacey and Klaus? 

THERE'S ONLY LIKE FIVE MORE CHAPTERS LEFT OF ACTUAL FTHOAW (ONE CHAPTER WILL BE THE LEAD IN TO LACEY'S SEQUEL SO IM NOT REALLY COUNTING THAT) ISN'T THAT FUCKING CRAZY??? I'm gonna do a final Q&A here soon so look out for the chapter where you can comment your questions.

Also, sorry if this chapters a little crappy. I kind of got in to the vibes and then out of em and back in so it's fluctuating. Ill fix it when I eventually edit everything.

Next chapter: Faye Daniels does high school things with high school people, No Humanity Elena needs to stop trying to ruin Prom, and Klaus is lowkey Prince Charming

REMEMBER I NEED TEN COMMENTS THAT DON'T INCLUDE THE WORD "UPDATE" OR ANYTHING LIKE IT FOR ME TO DO EXACTLY THAT.

- Karina