Havana giggled watching the scene in front of her.

Alaric and Jenna just had a lengthy discussion about the state of their relationship and the events that led to their rocky condition. This included Alarric's dishonesty about his presumed dead ex-wife who was actually turned into a vampire (by Damon no less), John Gilbert and Isobel Flemming (Alaric's ex-wife) were the actual parents of Elena, and so forth...However, in the end, Havana was relieved that they had finally made up in front of her. The couple sat comfortably on the brown couch in the parlor, with Jenna leaning her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.

That was until the witch who was in love with Jenna casually plumped onto the teeny tiny space between them and wiggled her butt to fit in forcing the couple to move away from each other. Havana could see Alaric mumble under his breath as the look of annoyance inhabited his face. He didn't say anything in protest whatsoever as this woman who was driving him mad was his girlfriend's best friend. Jenna too had nothing else to say and plastered a noticeably distressed smile. She knew that Janet was clingy...especially towards her, but the way she has been acting since Alaric has arrived made her question this strange behavior.

As for Havana and the Gilbert siblings, it was still a surprise to them that Jenna was oblivious to Janet's obvious love for her. Even Alaric had an idea of what was going through the witch's mind since she 'accidentally' dropped her bulky grimoire on his foot an hour ago.

Havana continued to giggle and shook her head at Janet who sent her a secretive wink. Janet comfortably nestled herself between the two and casually sent them an innocent smile before reading she started reading the grimoire she told Havana about; the one she dug up from a centuries-old witch's grave in Salem.

All of a sudden, a shriek from the second floor echoed throughout the house. Everybody in the parlor instantly sprinted upstairs where they found Damon forcefully feeding Elena his blood. Elena was squirming trying to get out of his tight grip but Damon wouldn't bulge and just continued shoving his blood-covered wrist into her mouth.

"NO!" Havana screamed in horror remembering what Elijah said to them before he left.

"...oh, and If Elena consumes any of your blood-" He looked at the Salvatore brothers "-the elixir will be rendered useless."

The group rushed to pull Damon off but Stefan had already beat them to it and threw Damon across the room. Jenna and Janice rushed to Elena who was panting on the wooden floor while Alaric and Havana froze by the doorway and stared at the scene with horrified expressions.

"What did you do" Stefan hissed at his older brother.

"I saved her life!" Damon yelled. He then looked at Elena and added, "You're so bent on dying. At least this way, I know you'll come back."

"YEAH! AS A VAMPIRE YOU SELFISH ASSHOLE! HOW CAN YOU OF ALL PEOPLE TAKE THAT CHOICE AWAY FROM HER!" Havana's fists were balled up. She didn't care if Damon was a hundred years old. She was going to punch him any minute now.

"It's better than nothing else!" Damon defended cockily. Elena groaned some more before setting her eyes on Damon. The look of betrayal was evident in her brown orbs. "Go ahead and wish me an eternity of misery. Believe me, you'll get over it."

That's when Stefan had enough and sped towards his brother. He punched Damon in the jaw. Damon recovered quickly and tackled Stefan to the floor. The brothers began throwing punches at each other and breaking the furniture around them to use as weapons.

"DAMON! STEFAN! STOP IT NOW!" Havana and Elena screamed.

"Admit it, you just wished you had the balls to do it yourself!" Damon taunted his brother before Stefan broke the leg of a wooden chair and held it against Damon's throat.

Damon, however, had no plans of being chocked and flipped them over. The sharp object was out of Stefan's hands and into Damon's. He held it up Stefan's head and aimed at the shoulder. However, Damon unexpectedly dropped it to the floor and yelped in pain. Havana twisted his earlobe harder and dragged him away from his brother who he was about to stab.

"What the hell Havana!"He had to crouch down to her height.

"SHUT IT SALVATORE"

On the way outside, she ordered Alaric to come with them.

It was only when they all were in Damon's car that Havana decided to let go of his ear. Damon's hand instantly covered his now swollen ear.

"Quit whining you egotistical moron. You weren't hissing in pain when Stefan beat your ass up there."

"He didn't beat my ass! And what the hell did you do back there? Who are you? The Bride from Kill Bill?!"

"Whatever," Havana grumbled turning the ignition. She was behind the wheel while Damon sat beside her and Alaric at the back.

"Where are we going?"

"Heeelllooo?"

"Phsyco chick?"

"Frank Gallagher?"

"Ohh bridezillaaaa"

Havana ignored Damon and focused on driving. It had been like this ever since they left the Salvatore Boarding House which was almost ten minutes ago. Her head started to ache due to all the irritable things that keep coming out of Damon's mouth.

"Why is Alaric even here?"

In all honestly, she even forgot that Alaric was in the back seat until Damon asked.

"It's because he's my number one best friend."

Damon scoffed, "Really? You're seriously picking the boring school teacher over me?! "

Alaric rolled his eyes at Damon's comment while Havana continued to pretend as if there wasn't an obnoxious vampire beside her. She was too pissed to even acknowledge his comments.

Havana yelped a little when she swerved the car slightly when she came too close to the car in front of her. Aggressive honking came immediately from the cars nearby.

"Ugh! Can you shut up! I'm trying to drive here."

"We know you're a terrible driver with or without the anger Havana." Damon snorted. Alaric pinched the bridge of his nose knowing what was about to come next.

"OH YEAH??"

Havana stomped on the accelerator. Their backs hit the seats with a smack as the car ran at full speed on the road.

Alaric quickly strapped on his seatbelt and hold on to the back of Havana's seat bracing himself for a possible collision. "I'm gonna be sick." He announced. "Havana, let go of the accelerator! You're gonna get us killed!"

"Haven't you heard Ric? Damon's a vampire! Maybe he can cut his wrist and shove it to our mouth! That way, when we die, we'll just all come back as vampires!" Havana mocked.

Damon cursed. He wanted to argue more; he can go on for days without losing any energy. But even he had to admit that this was getting out of hand. He glanced at Alaric who looked like he was about to pass out then back at Havana who had a deranged gaze. In a flash, Damon grabbed Havana's head (not paying attention to Alaric's loud protests) and forced her to look into his eyes. He knew that there was no vervain in her system since she had stayed the night in his house. "Havana," He started to compel her. "Stop driving like you want to die any minute now and relax."

That's all it took for Havana to let go of the accelerator and pull over.

"Okay, breathe in. And out. In, and then out." Havana followed Damon's instructions clutching her eyes shut and focusing on her breathing.

It had been a while since she was last compelled and though this would usually add fuel to her anger, she had to admit that what she did was irresponsible.

"I'm sorry Ric." She breathed out looking at her best friend in the backseat who was trying to recover from the speeding as well. Alaric was still visibly in distress with his both hands still gripping the back of her seat yet he managed to give her a quick thumbs up.

As for Damon though, Havana hesitantly turned to him and muttered a thank you for calming her down. She switched the ignition again and drove slower this time.

Damon Salvatore is a reckless person. He does stupid things that consequently hurt other people. Havana knew that and she was pretty sure the whole Mystic Falls did too. He was also very impulsive. So with those two unlikable characteristics combined, she wasn't surprised that Damon went below the belt by taking Elena's freedom to choose between a supernatural life or a normal one. If she were Elena, she would've jumped off the roof just to die and come back as a vampire and torment him for all eternity. Havana was hurt and pissed off at her best friend. However, deep deep down, she knew in her heart that if the time did come, she will do anything to make sure her loved ones are alive and safe, that included Elena and Damon. If the roles were reversed, she also knew that they would do the same for her. So yes,

Damon Salvatore is a reckless person.....but he has good intentions.

Havana stopped the car after a couple more minutes of driving. The trio went out and stared at the building in front of them.

"The Mystic Grill? What are we doing here?" Alaric asked.

"I'm using Damon to get my job back."

"Oh"

Havana turned to them and grinned, "And, It's been a while since we last had our bourbon-filled hangout session, don't you think boys?"

The both of them smiled nodding to her words.-----------

"Here's to compulsion!" Havana raised her glass up to be followed by Damon and Alaric repeating her action.

She was successful at getting her job back though it wouldn't be possible if Damon wasn't there to compel the owner to do so. So the trio clanked their glasses together before sipping the cocktail Havana made for them. Havana took her usual place behind the bar while the two sat on the bar stools in front of her.

Alaric scrunched his face putting the drink down after a few sips, "Believe me, it's good but my God. What did you put in this?"

"It's strong, right? It's called Death in the Afternoon and fun fact: it was invented by Ernest Hemmingway hence why some people also call it The Hemmingway. It's also my new personal favorite." Havana drank some more.

Damn, it felt good to be back.

Damon had been silent since they arrived at the bar area. He stared blankly at the wall behind Havana as if the answers to his problems were found in the bottles on the shelves. Even so, Havana knew that he wasn't thinking about the liquor behind her but of her cousin, Elena, the one who unintentionally captured his black heart. Havana made eye contact with Alaric who was thinking about the same thing upon noticing the silence of their friend.

"You can have this if you like. Looks like you need it." Alaric slid his Hemmingway to the Salvator brother.

"I screwed up," Damon stated, his eyes never leaving the wall.

"Yeah, yeah you did." Havana huffed placing her palms on the counter.

Unbeknownst to her, her empty cocktail glass was in the way. It shattered to the ground after her hand accidentally swatted it from the counter. Havana flinched feeling the glass make contact with her exposed feet. Thankfully, the fragments of glass didn't cut into her skin. The two men stood up ready to help their friend when Havana held her hand up stopping them.

"It's fine, I'm fine. I got it." She made her way to the traffic door behind her which lead to the supply closet after going through the kitchen.

The two men continued their conversation about 'Damon's screw up'. The vampire shook his head in grief downing the drink Alaric gave him in one go while the history teacher tried to console him. In the middle of their conversation, a voice they did not recognize stole their attention. They definitely did not know someone in Mystic Falls who had a British accent.

"Gentlemen, Why so glum?"

Damon and Alaric turned their heads to see a man in his mid-twenties smirking at them. He was dressed in a black dress shirt and sported dirty blonde hair. 

Then it finally clicked.

Damon groaned begging the world to give him a break just for the day. Huffing, he said, "Klaus I presume?"

"In the flesh." Klaus replied before nodding at Alaric "Thanks for the loner mate"

Havana walked through the door with a broom in her hands but gasped and halted herself from taking another step upon seeing her ex and her best friends talking. They all looked like they were going to murderous expressions. This. Is. Not. Good. She quickly crouched down and crawled to the bar area not wanting to be seen. "Why so glum?" The voice continued.

She managed to make it to the bar in time for Damon to stand up from his seat and walk closer to Klaus challenging his dominance. "Any reason why you stopped by to say hi?" He sneered.

"I was told that you and your brother fancy my doppelganger. Just thought I'd remind you not to do anything you might regret." Klaus warned.

Damon gave a short laugh. "Thanks for the advice. However, what if I talk you into postponement by any chance?" he shrugged, his tone completely changing.

Klaus chuckled shaking his head until he noticed the seriousness on Damon's face. "You're kidding...He is kidding right?" He looked at Alaric who replied, "No, not really."

"C'mon, what's one month in all grand scheme of things," Damon added as if he was succeeding in convincing Klaus to not Elena for another month.

Havana shook her head from the opposite side of the bar counter.  Klaus didn't like games. She knew that very well.

The Original's voice became more deeper and threatening in response. "Let me be clear. I have my vampire, I have my werewolf; I have everything I need. The ritual will happen tonight so if you want to live to see tomorrow, don't screw it up."

"But you don't have Havana."

Fucking hell Damon.

This pissed Klaus off more. His face fell before it turned into a menacing scowl. The temptation of ripping the Salvatore brother's heart at this moment was growing on him. Damon Salvatore was no use to him anyway, just a nuisance to his plans.

Seconds before he was about to lift his hand and plunge it into Damon's chest, a tiny squeak caught the men's attention. They all looked at each other (still inhabiting intense stares), before peering over to see Havana on the floor. Shards of glass occupied the floor she sat on the floor clutching her right palm. It grazed her skin drawing out blood.

Havana was caught off guard by the three men looking down at her. Her eyes scanned their worry-stricken faced before locking eyes with Klaus. Her mouth slightly went agape taking in his appearance as it had been a year since she last saw him physically. Nothing had changed over the past year. He still had the same soft curls on his head and plumpy red lips. To Havana's disadvantage, she couldn't quite seem to bring herself out of that hypnotic trance. Neither did Klaus. He didn't show any sign of confusion or panic (unlike Damon and Alaric) upon taking in Havana's position on the floor. Instead, the Original had a gentle smile on his face as he was entertained by Havana's usual display of clumsiness. It brought back a lot of memories for him.

"Hi" Havana out. Her eyes were still locked in his.

Hi?! What the hell! Rip his throat out already!

The only sane thought she had at the moment brought her out of her daze. She quickly stood up and covered her embarrassment with a cough. Damon and Alaric both looked at her with the same expression-disappointment.

"There aren't any blood bags around if that's what you're here for...Oh wait, why don't you feed off of me instead?" Havana shot at him displaying her slightly bleeding palm.

Klaus chuckled, totally unaffected by her words, "I see we're still not over this issue love." This pissed Havana even more.

"First of all," She started to point out, "There is no 'we', there never was. Second, don't call me 'love' as if I would actually swoon over that pathetic overused pet name. Third, I will never get over the fact that you manipulated and deceived me for half a decade which brings me to my fourth point. Fuck. Off. Klaus."  She emphasized the last word.

"Is that what you're calling me now?"

"Nik was the love of my life and the nicest guy I've ever met. But he apparently doesn't exist."

Klaus's eyes softened at Havana's words. He wanted to come to her and explain that he did love her and was willing to do whatever it takes to make her take him back.  He wanted nothing but to kiss her and hold her close.

But he still had issues, one of which was his ego.

The emotion he displaced quickly vanished as he turned to Damon completely ignoring what Havana had just said. "Just a reminder to stay away from my doppelganger. Because I always get what I want." He shot a glance at the glaring Havana. Before Klaus finally left them alone in peace, he had one more message for Damon. "Heal your friend mate."

"I can take care of myself," Havana grumbled to herself while grinding her right hand. Damon offered her his blood but after what she saw in his room earlier with Elena, she politely declined.

"I know what to do to delay the ritual," Damon spoke suddenly. Alaric and Havana's attention was now on the vampire who had a formulated plan for his help. "If I take his werewolf out of the equation, Klaus won't perform the ritual which will happen tonight which means that will buy us more time until the next full moon."

"What do you need us to do?" Alaric asked. Havana nodded, also on board with the plan.