Faye had decided that the worse thing about this whole trip were the motels.

There was a lot of things to hate about it. The first was the television. When gifted with a horrible plague of nightmares and you can't sleep, TV can help be a good distraction. Well, not so much when the only channel there is plays Sesame Street 24/7. If she saw Elmo one more time, he wasn't going to have a head.

The other was the thin walls. Faye couldn't even get to sleep when she heard two people banging inside the room next doors to hers. Stefan slept through it, but she would be up all night, trying to cover her ears with the pillow on the bed. Super hearing didn't help with this at all.

It also bothered her that she wasn't at home and instead, she was in an uncomfortable bed while Elmo taught kids how to wash their hands and someone next door screwed a hooker.

That's why Faye wandered around outside of the motel most of the nights. She didn't really need sleep and it wasn't like she wasn't going to get it anyways.

Faye walked up to one of the vending machines stood and dug in her sweater pocket for some cash. She pulled out three dollars and began letting them slid into the machine.

"What are you doing up, love?"

Faye turned her head, still holding two dollars in her hand, "I'm getting a snack. Am I not allowed to do that?"

"No need to get defensive. I was just curious." Klaus raised his hands in surrender with a chuckle.

Faye rolled her eyes, turning back to put in the other two dollars she had, "I can't sleep and since I got hungry, I'm getting a snack."

"Why can't you sleep?" Klaus questioned.

Faye scoffed as she punched in the numbers to get a bag of chips, "You don't care. Just like I said in the bar, don't try to act like your my friend, Klaus."

"Maybe I am concerned about you." Klaus said with a simple shrug.

Faye turned, narrowing her eyes at him, "Are you serious?" She laughed hysterically, "If you really ever gave a shit about me, I wouldn't be stuck in a goddamn motel listening to the people next door fucking and watching Elmo teach kids how to wash his hands." Klaus chewed on his bottom lip guiltily.

Faye turned back to get her snack, only to find it stuck in the machine. She growled, getting angrier than she was before. Faye drew back her fist, driving into the glass.

The glass shattered, falling to the pavement below. Shards of it became embedded into Faye's fist and her blood ran down her hand. Faye winced, looking down at it.

"We should clean that up." Klaus said, glancing at her hand.

Faye shook her head, "No, I'll clean it up." She reached down, grabbing the chips she wanted, "And then I will my chips and continue this night in hell." Faye walked away from him, going back to her room with Stefan.

Another thing she hated about motels; Klaus was always there with her.

__

Faye trudged up the hiking trail in the Smoky mountains behind Klaus and Stefan. Ray was thrown over Stefan's shoulder.

"You okay? Is Ray getting heavy?" Klaus asked Stefan tauntingly, "What about you Faye?"

Stefan huffed at him, "I'm fine."

"Same here." Faye muttered,

"You sure about that?" Klaus asked both of them, "You know, we've been walking for quite some time now. If you need some water or a little sit-down..."

"You know, I get that we're, uh..." Faye smacked her lips as she tugged at her shorts, "We're stuck together, but if we could maybe just skip the chitchat, it'd be great."

Klaus chuckled lightly, "So much brooding with you two. Your self-loathing is suffocating you, my friends." Faye wanted to tear him apart. He always made a joke about everything.

"Maybe it's 'cause we're a little tired of hunting werewolves." Faye retorted through clenched teeth, "We've been at it all summer."

Klaus stopped in front of a small clearing in the woods, "Thanks to our pal Ray, we found ourselves a pack. There." He pointed to the campground were werewolves staying. Tents cluttered the area and a fire pit stood in the middle of the place.

Stefan and Faye went into the camp first, drawing the attention of the wolves to themselves. Stefan through Ray to the ground, gaining gasps from the pack before them. One of the she-wolves rushed towards Ray's body, crouching down besides him.

"Ray! Oh, my God." She looked up at Faye and Stefan in confusion, "What's going on? Who are you?"

Klaus walked up behind the pair, "The important question is who am I." He said, turning the attention towards him, "Please forgive the intrusion. My name is Klaus."

The woman got up and backed away from Ray and towards a blond man, "You're the hybrid." She realized in horror.

Klaus grinned from ear to ear sinisterly, "You've heard of me. Fantastic."

__

Klaus, Stefan, and Faye were sitting on a pair of logs while all the wolves looked at them. Ray was still dead on the ground, twitching from what Faye noticed.

"It's fascinating, actually..." Klaus praised his own species, "A werewolf who isn't beholden to the moon, a vampire who doesn't burn in the sun. A true hybrid."

Ray woke up with a startling gasp. Faye gritted her teeth and stood up, walking over to him ,"Excellent timing, Ray. Very dramatic."

"What's happening to me?" Ray asked, panting.

"Stefan?" Klaus gestured forward, telling him to do as they planned.

Stefan got up and sighed, "Are any of you human?" He asked and no one made a move to step forward, "Your friend here needs human blood to complete his transition to vampire. If he doesn't get it, he will die."

"Doesn't take much, just a sip." Klaus told them, going to stand next to Stefan, "Anyone? A boyfriend, a girlfriend, along for the ride?"

Faye sniffed the air, catching a human scent. Her head snapped towards the blond man the she-wolf had back into earlier. She pointed at him, "You."

Klaus blurred towards him, grabbing his forearm, and biting into it. He through the man into Stefan's arms. The she-wolf protested and Klaus grabbed her by the throat.

"If you don't drink it, Ray, I will. Problem is I don't know how to stop." Stefan urged Ray to drink the man's blood, pushing the bleeding wound towards Ray's mouth.

Klaus looked at the she-wolf, "It's the new order, sweetheart. You join us, or you die."

"I rather die than become a vampire."

"Wrong choice." Klaus bit into his own wrist and then shoved it into her mouth, forcing her to swallow his blood, "She'll thank me for that later. Heh."

Ray began drinking the blood from the man, completing his transition. Klaus snapped the woman's neck, causing Faye to shudder at the sound.

Klaus turned around, his face in it's hybrid form, "Okay, who's next?"

That was when Faye had to cover her ears so she wouldn't be reminded of the night she murdered her parents.

__

Faye pulled her wrist away from the mouth of the human they were using to feed the newly turned hybrids, "There. Good as new." Her pupils dilated as she compelled him, "Now you relax, okay? We're gonna need you when the rest of them wake up." She got up, moving towards where Stefan and Klaus were watching Ray.

"They're dead. They're all dead." Ray chanted as he rocked back and forth. Faye gave him a weird look.

Klaus clapped his hand on her shoulder, "Ah, he's through his transition. He should be feeling better soon."

"So is this your master plan?" Faye asked him, nudging his hand off her shoulder, "Build an army of hybrid slaves?"

"No, not slaves. Soldiers, comrades." Klaus corrected.

"For what war, might I ask?" Stefan questioned.

Klaus looked at him and smirked, "Oh, you don't arm yourself after war has been declared, Stefan. You build your army so big that no one ever dares pick a fight."

"What makes you so sure that they'll be loyal?" Faye asked. She had been with Klaus for two months and hadn't felt one ounce of loyalty towards him. How could people he turned against their will feel loyal to him?

"Well, it's not difficult to be loyal when you're on the winning team." Klaus responded to her question, "That's something you two will learn once you shake that horribly depressive chip off your shoulder."

Stefan laughed dryly, "That's why you're, uh..." He couldn't stop laughing, "You're keeping us around? To witness our attitude adjustment?"

"You'll know why I'm keeping you around when I've decided that I want you to know." Klaus answered.

Faye had drifted away from the conversation and paid attention to Ray. Her eyes widened when blood began seeping through his own eyes.

"Something's wrong." Faye said, alerting Klaus and Stefan.

She racked her brain for any reason that could happen, but since he now had vampire blood running through his veins, she decided that any disease that could've caused this would've been cured by now. Faye declared it something supernatural.

"That shouldn't be happening, should it?" Stefan asked Klaus.

Klaus gave him a look, "Well, obviously."

"You said it was gonna feel better." Ray stuttered, "Why doesn't it feel better?"

"Some master race." Stefan said snarkily.

Klaus looked at him, annoyed, "Lose the attitude."

A she-wolf woke up with a gasp, shoot up. Klaus sighed, turning towards the human Faye had healed, "Derek, come feed your girlfriend."

Suddenly, Ray jumped up from his spot on the ground and ran out of the camp ground. Faye watched as he sped away.

"Go get him." Klaus ordered Stefan.

Stefan ran after Ray and Faye went to follow. Stefan tackled Ray to the ground, only to get bit in the process. Ray was forgotten about as Stefan yelped in pain and Faye went over to help him.

"Shit." Faye muttered as she looked at the wound. She helped Stefan to his feet before suddenly stopping.

Damon. She could hear Damon's voice. Then Elena spoke and they both bickered back and forth. Alaric was next, scolding the pair as if they were children.

Faye wanted to laugh in relief, cry or even yell at them because it was dangerous. Her and Stefan both spotted them walking not to far down the mountain.

"Where did he go?" Klaus asked, walking up to them. Faye immediately blocked his line of sight so he could not see Alaric, Damon, and Elena.

"He, uh..." Faye's tongue wetted her bottom lip, "He got away. Forget him. Let's go."

Klaus noticed the bite on Stefan's arm, "A fatal werewolf bite. Ouch."

"Yeah. I'm gonna need your blood to heal me." Stefan told him.

"Well, I tell you what. You two find Ray, and then I'll heal you." Klaus said, pointing towards the wound.

Faye scoffed in disbelief, "You can't be serious."

"You better hurry, 'cause that bite looks nasty." Klaus hissed the last part jokingly. Faye looked at him in disgust before she sped off in another direction, going to find Ray so she could save Stefan.

__

Faye blurred throughout the woods in search of Ray. She stopped in a small clearing, looking up at the sky. The sun was close to setting on the horizon. She sighed, knowing she had to find Ray before the morning.

Faye moved to run, but something hit her and she collapsed to the ground. She let out a puff of air as she tried to get the thing off of her.

"Get off of me you fat turd or I swear!" She growled out.

"Faye?"

Faye opened her eyes, looking up at the person on top of her, "Elena?" Her and Elena got up and she saw both Damon and Alaric standing behind her. Faye let out a laugh as tears sprung in her eyes.

"Faye." Damon ran forward, bringing her into his arms and hugging her tightly to his chest. Faye nuzzled her face in to his shoulder, sobbing softly. She had missed him so much over these two months.

"You guys are so stupid." Faye muttered as she pulled away from Damon, "You should not be here. It was a bad idea. Klaus could've seen Elena."

Alaric nodded slightly, "Yeah, we've realized that when we ran into a hybrid."

Faye's eyes widened and she jumped, "A hybrid? Was he bleeding from his eyes and he was kind of good looking?"

Elena nodded, "Yeah."

"Which way did he go?" Faye asked, glancing around her. No one answered, "This is life or death, guys. Where is he?"

"We left him tied to a tree in that direction." Elena pointed towards it and Faye was ready to take off again, but Damon grabbed her.

"Where the hell are you going?" Damon asked her.

"I have to go get that hybrid." Faye told Damon, getting ready to move again. His hand tightened around her forearm as he looked at her in disbelief.

"No way. We just found you and you're coming home." Damon protested against her leaving.

Faye shook her head, "As much as I want to leave, I have to find that hybrid. Stefan is out there with a werewolf bite and this is the only way to get the cure for him. Even if Stefan didn't have the bite, Klaus will come back to Mystic Falls and kill you all." She tugged her out of his grip, "I love you all, but I cannot go back with you."

"Get out of here." Faye instructed before kissing Damon's cheek and blurring away. Damon could feel the tears in his eyes as he watched Faye's form disappear within a section.

All three of them stood there for a moment before they all began running once again.

__

Faye ran until she found Stefan who seemed to get weaker by the second. She helped him stand, holding him up.

"Elena, Damon, and Ric are here." Faye informed him, "They saw Ray."

Stefan looked up at her, "Did they happen to keep him where he was?"

"They had him tied to a tree, but he wasn't there when I ran past. He most likely shifted and ran." Faye glanced around them, checking for any threats.

"We need to find Ray and get the cure. They need to leave." Stefan spoke, wheezing.

Faye nodded, "We'll get it. I told them to get the hell out of the mountains too. They want to take us home."

"Do they not understand that, that will get them killed?" He asked her.

She smacked her lips, "I don't think so."

Faye's super hearing perked up when she heard snarling not to far away. She instantly knew it had to be Ray.

Stefan took notice to the sounds too and they both sped towards the source. Ray had Damon pinned below him as he snapped his jaws at him.

The younger Salvatore rushed over. He tore his hand into Ray's back and ripped out his heart. Ray collapsed to the ground; dead.

There was a long silence as Faye and Stefan looked down at Ray's body. Damon had been the one to break it.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Stefan grimaced at Damon, "What part of "don't follow us anymore" got lost in translation, Damon?"

"Might want to take it up with your girlfriend." Damon told him, "You don't want her chasing you, I'd stop with the late-night phone calls."

"I didn't call her." Stefan lied. Faye knew he had. He had told her about it when they were in their motel together and Klaus was going out to find a "snack".

"Sure you did." Damon said in incredulity, "She's not going to give up on you."

"She has to." Stefan responded, "Because I'm never coming back."

"Why don't you get her home?" Faye suggested, speaking up for the first time, "See if you could keep her there this time."

With that, Faye grabbed Ray and the pair Klaus had forced into a deal sped away, going back towards the campsite.

Damon slammed his fist down on the dirt once they were gone, knowing he may not have a chance to convince them to come back with him once again.

__

Dead.

All of the werewolves Klaus had turned were dead.

The dead bodies of the hybrids laid throughout camp; some missing heart and other just covered in their own blood, seeming to have bled out.

"They went rabid." Klaus informed them from where he was sitting in the middle of the camp with a beer, "Some of them, I killed. The others just..." He stuttered, "Bled out. In the end..." He sighed, "They're all dead."

Klaus suddenly jumped up, yelling in frustration. He threw the beer he was holding across the camp, "I did everything I was told!" He calmed down slightly, "I should be able to turn them. I broke the curse. I killed a werewolf. I killed a vampire. I killed the doppelgänger."

Stefan shifted uncomfortably, but Faye kept herself under control. She wasn't going to get Elena caught for looking like she was hiding something.

"You look like hell." Klaus noted when he saw Stefan's complexion.

"Last I checked, I'm dying..." Stefan coughed out, "And you don't want to heal me."

Faye threw Ray to ground, showing him to Klaus, "I had to take him out." She said, taking the cover for Stefan. She wasn't going to risk him not getting the cure, "I didn't have a choice. I failed you. I'm sorry. Do what you have to do."

Klaus caught of glimpse of her. She stood tall, ready take any punishment she would receive. He grabbed another beer bottle and for a moment Faye thought he was going to use it as a weapon against her.

"It should have worked." Klaus muttered. He bit into his wrist and let his blood pour into the bottle. He handed the bottle to Stefan, "Bottoms up." Stefan began drinking from the bottle.

"We're leaving." Klaus informed the pair, "It appears you two are the only comrades I have left."

He walked away, going towards the car. Faye spared a glance at Stefan before following, done with this day.

__

Later that night, in another motel near the border of Tennessee, Faye couldn't sleep once again. They had a little seating area in the lobby place. Faye sat there, staring at the small chess board.

"Let me guess, you saw me leave my room and you couldn't help yourself but follow me?" Faye asked, slightly annoyed.

Klaus walked over and took the seat across from her, "Actually, love, I couldn't sleep." He looked at the chess board and the back up at her, "Would you like to play."

Faye nodded, moving one of the pawns forward, "Why can't you sleep?"

"I'll tell you when you tell me really why you can't sleep." Klaus negotiated.

Faye huffed, "I already told you-"

"Yes, you did. Though, this motel had a variety of channels to choose from and the only room you are next to is mine." Klaus cut her off, watching as she moved one of the pieces towards his side of the board.

Faye gritted her teeth together and sighed, "I have nightmares." She informed him, keeping it short and simple.

"About...?"

"Doesn't matter." Faye responded, "Your move."

Klaus took one of his bishops and took out one of her pawns, "Unlike you, I don't have nightmares. My thoughts are racing."

"Ooh, nothing keeps you up like the good ol' thoughts about if he likes you or not." Faye muttered, taking out one of Klaus' knights.

Klaus scrunched up his face in confusion, "And who would I be thinking about liking me?"

"Stefan." Faye said.

"Oh, really now?" Klaus asked her in amusement.

Faye nodded, smirking, "Yep. You totally got a thing for his "rippah" side."

Klaus laughed at her accutation. Faye soon joined in, falling into a fit of giggles herself.

"What about you, love?" Klaus asked a long drawn out laughing session.

"What about me?" Faye asked, not sure how to answer his question.

"You sound like you've experienced this before, thinking about if one man likes you or not." Klaus explained his question, "Who is it?"

Faye pursued her lips and sighed, "The werwolf you were going to sacrifice in the ritual before me and Damon saved him. I found out he did like me and we kissed, but he was never my boyfriend." She shrugged, "He was more an ex-almost, an ex-maybe." She moved her queen and knocked his king into his lap, "Checkmate, bitch."

"How?" Klaus asked in disbelief.

"What do think Stefan and I did when I first shifted back to human?" Faye asked, "I had a short attention span and I wasn't allowed to go anywhere, but the boarding house until Stefan was sure I wouldn't kill anyone. He taught me how to play." She helped put the chess pieces in their original spots, "Want to play again?"

Klaus nodded and moved the first piece. They played chess until they had to leave in the morning. Faye found herself smiling and laughing for the first time that summer.

It was then when Faye realized that she didn't hate motels that much anymore, maybe Klaus too.

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A/N: This was a bad chapter, but I wanted to update because it's been so long. Big chapter up next, you'll love it.

Next chapter: Chicago, witches and birthdays.

-Karina