Havana raised her glass to raise a toast. She sat alone by the bar of the Mystic Grill. There was no one to toast with nor was there anything to toast about. It was a slow Monday afternoon yet a couple of familiar faces scattered throughout the grill. There was Matt the human in his friend group who was busy working and taking people's orders and then there were Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie who hid in the corner booth covering their faces with menus in an attempt for Havana not to see them. She didn't mind them spying on her though, she just wanted to drink in peace. Even if she did not tell anyone apart from her best friend Damon about Klaus officially letting her go from his heart, it was obvious that the Australian was devastated by his sudden exit from town. Everyone was on edge that she was going to slip into her dark alcoholic urges but what they didn't know was that Klaus already compelled her to stop that self-destructing habit of alcoholism the night they left town months ago.

It had been three weeks since Klaus ruined the teenagers' senior prank night. Three weeks since he found out Elena is alive. Three weeks since Klaus forcefully fed Tyler his blood. Three weeks since the Scooby Doo gang found out that Elena's blood was the key to making hybrids. Three weeks since Tyler was successfully turned into a hybrid. Three weeks since Damon showed up and threatened Klaus that he had just woken Mikael and he was on his way to kill him. Three weeks since Klaus left her brokenhearted.

She should feel relieved that he was gone. He was a threat to her kid cousin and her friends. He on multiple accounts almost successfully killed her best friend. Not to mention, all the damage and countless innocent dead bodies he left in his trail. The Original Hybrid only revolved around violence and an insatiable thirst for power. Havana experienced this firsthand when he was hellbent on sacrificing her cousin and killing anyone who slightly pissed him off during their road trip from hell. It was safe to say that Klaus Mikaelson was not a good person. But why did her heart still ache at the thought of him? Every time Havana tried to remind herself about the despicable things he'd done, fond memories of the man she fell in love with and who showed her the world took over instantly. The empty feeling inside of her craved him. She missed her Nik so much.

"Another one please," She called the bartender named Daehyun. She hadn't seen him before when she was still working here. It didn't take her long to realize that Daehyun was the one who took her job. "No no no. Forget the ice. Just pour it straight." She stopped him from adding more ice before adding the whiskey that nearly filled up the glass.

A figure from Havana's peripheral vision started to approach her. She sat there enjoying her drink staring straight ahead as that person sat next to her. Without turning her head, she asked that person if they wanted a drink as well.

"No thank you. I do not drink out of anger like my brother and not out of self-pity...like you." Havana narrowed her eyes at Rebekah who unapologetically shrugged. The two had become fast friends ever since she had woken up from her hundred-year slumber. It also helped that the Original did not know anyone in town apart from her. Besides, it was not like Rebekah couldn't get by without a familiar face close by. On the contrary, she was doing exceptionally well. She had enrolled herself in school and is now on the cheer squad. Her rising popularity was a threat to Havana's other blonde friend who was fuming in her table a couple feet from them.

"Was it really necessary to enroll yourself at a high school? We could've used your free time here to do whatever like annoy the Salvatores, go shopping, and annoy the Salvatore brothers." Havana commented emphasizing on purposely bothering her best friend and his asshole of a brother whose humanity is now turned off.

Rebekah chuckles thinking of the same idea, "That is tempting but what can I say? Just because Klaus may be gone for now doesn't mean that another Mikaelson will take over his place for tormenting these annoying kids. Especially that blonde girl who made googly eyes at my brother during senior prank night."Havana stopped what she was doing. She stayed there in silence for a few seconds processing what her friend just said. She turned to Rebekah who ordered a virgin mojito expecting her to continue. However, Rebekah stared back at her looking as confused as she was.

"Can you repeat what you said? A blonde was making googly eyes at Klaus. This is not..." She hesitated before saying the name in a hushed tone being that she and her friends were present "...Caroline is it?"

Then Rebekah bursted out laughing, "Oh now I see why Nik is extra protective of you. You're too trusting for your good to see what is in front of you. I know the look of desire as I had plenty of experience of it over the last thousand years." She explained. Havana waited for Rebekah to laugh again at her dumbfounded reaction and said that she was kidding, but she never did.

"But she has a boyfriend. She has Tyler, there's no way she'd be into Nik." Havana raised her voice a little defending her friend. However, she knew that the true root of this was denial that her friend would ever do that to her. She tried to recall all those times Klaus was in Caroline's presence but she couldn't remember any details of how her friend behaved. Maybe it was true, maybe she was too trusting to see the intentions of some people she believed to be part of her inner circle.

"Yes, she does have a boyfriend." Rebekah hummed intentionally leaving out the other points Havana made. She noticed her friend's uneasiness, "Oh don't worry dear. She did nothing major. All I'm sensing from her is just a secretive crush on someone she knows is not available. But that's how it all usually starts: subtle glances across the rooms, cute pet names, and before you know it, they're undressing each other in the woods." Before Havana could vomit the contents inside her stomach, Rebekah quickly added "But I doubt there's anything to worry about."

Havana was still not at all at ease after Rebekah's statements. Her body became as stiff as the wooden countertop in front of her as her mind raced to Klaus saying "Love is a vampire's greatest weakness" the day he left her. He acknowledged that Havana was holding him back and that he had to set her free to fulfill his true purpose. Klaus had always wanted to build a kingdom. His plans of enacting it took him millennia to fulfill; from activating his werewolf genes to successfully making a hybrid army which she believes he is doing right now. There was no one to distract him anymore. So does that mean he's ready to take in a new queen who doesn't hinder him from his true potential? Havana's stomach dropped at the thought of that. The thought of someone else, whether it be Caroline or a powerful witch who deserved to be by his side instead of a regular human started to make her feel horribly about herself. She reached her glass and downed it in an instant hoping that her attention would shift to its strong taste from her upsetting thoughts. She raised her hand to call over Matt or Daehyun for another glass but Rebekah quickly put it back down.

"Trust me, I know Niklaus and in all the years we've been together, I had never ever seen him so genuinely in love." The last two words that was used to describe Klaus were a foreign concept for the blonde vampire. She never imaged her viciously ambitious heartless older brother to accept the concepts of love and companionship into his life, let alone be so open about it. "I have only spent a few days with the both of you together yet I clearly see that the connection is undeniable." She confessed. Neither of her brother's past lovers can never hold a candle to her new friend. Even his once so-called "great love" Tatia couldn't be compared to Havana Sommers.

"Then why did he leave?" Havana's voice started to break as she clutched the now-empty glass with tears threatening to spill in her eyes.

Rebekah sighed rubbing her back, "He'll be back for you soon. I just know it. Mikael is a big threat to us so he had to leave for a little while to do some scheming like the calculating sociopath he is." She chuckled trying to lighten up the mood. "He even left me so it's a guarantee that he will come back. Nik is just a tough person to get to."

"Tell me about it," Havana remarked. Even in their five years together, he barely ever opened up about anything that had happened to him before meeting her. The only times he talked about his family was that day in Pamplona and the seldom times Elijah would come to visit them wherein he and Klaus would eventually get into an argument which ended in Elijah suddenly leaving as soon as he arrived.

"Did Nik ever tell you why he's like that? And why he doesn't open up about his past?"

Havana shook her head, 'No'.

Rebekah let out a sigh and emotionally prepared herself to talk about the delicate topic that was her family. Havana may be a new friend of hers who she was still getting to know, yet she felt comfortable around her to share. Rebekah also believes Havana to be a trusting person. "It all started when my family moved to the New World..."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Havana spent the last hour attentively listening to Rebekah. She was already accustomed to living in a world where supernational creatures existed. Yet, the Mikaelson family story was still able to send Havana into a state of shock. Themes of betrayal, death, and family dysfunctionalism were the main themes of their lives. They were also a reminder that although she knew everything about the man she once called her fiancé, there was a whole other side of him that he intentionally hid away from her. She used to think that his thirst for power was driven by his ego; that being the king of all werewolves and vampires was his destiny, a birthright he believed to have. However, it went much deeper than that stemming back to the trauma he endured growing up in the abusive hands of Mikael. The revelation of him being a bastard and being blamed for young Henrik's death further ignited Mikael's great desire to put an end to Klaus's life. When Havana questioned why he hid all of those things from her, Rebekah only shrugged.

"Maybe you should go ask him yourself."

Havana scoffed lightly shaking your head, "He does not want to talk to me."

"Maybe. Maybe not. But by the looks of it, you both need closure. He's a stubborn pain in the ass but I still see right through him. And he does not want to let you go no matter what he told you."

"I don't know where to find him anyway. I doubt Bonnie would help me with a locator spell." Havana huffed glancing at the booth her cousin and friends were seated in. She stretched her neck a little confused about where they had gone. It was now empty.

"Havana, I may be new to this century but I adapt easily, and this-" She held up her brand new phone "-is practically a locator spell with buttons. A quick Google search on 'mysterious deaths within the past week' will lead you straight to Klaus."

Havana opened her mouth but closed it again after failing to find another excuse not to go. "I-I don't know. The last time we saw each other did not go well." Seeing the determined look on the vampire beside her, Havana knew that Rebekah was going to keep persuading her to go. And the temptation to do so was incredibly high. "I'll think about it. I just need to take a nap now before my head starts spinning." She got up from her seat. The two hugged as they said their goodbyes wishing each other well.

When the two had parted, Rebekah transferred to one of the tables where Matt was assigned to. She had taken an interest in the human often striking conversations and flirty banter with him in school and his work. It may seem like she was doing it to further irritate her other blonde rival, but a late-night confession to Havana revealed that her intentions were indeed genuine. Still, terrorizing Caroline Forbes was a bonus for Rebekah.

Just as soon as Havana walked out of the double doors of the Grill, she pulled out her phone and began to type for any recent news articles about 'missing persons' or 'mysterious deaths'. It was a morbid search but the desire to look for Klaus had grown immensely since her talk with Rebekah. Her thumb hovered over the 'search' button still hesitating. After about five seconds, her fingers moved to the power button of her phone shutting it off instead.

"Havana!" Her head snapped to see Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie walking up to her.

"Hey guys," Havana still smiled displaying her deep dimples at the teens whose facial expressions were nothing friendly compared to hers.

"Why are you hanging out with Rebekah?" Elena snapped crossing her arms. Havana's eyes grew wide taken by back her cousin's actions. Elena never spoke to her in this way, let alone scowled at her. Before she could recover from her shock, Caroline spoke up next.

"Yeah, she's literally ruining my senior year! She joined the cheer team, is flirting with my ex, and now afternoon hang outs with you? It's so obvious that she's only nice to you to spite us." Her high-pitched voice screeched.

"Rebekah and I are actually friends.", Havana narrowed her eyes at the invalidation of her friendship.

Still, the teens scoffed at her."I don't think so. Not to be harsh but she's just nice to you because she needs information for her and her killer brother to threaten us even more." Caroline persisted. "Oh my gosh did you actually tell her about what we've been trying to do?" She referred to the ancient cave drawings Alaric found about the Original family. Though her second best friend was happy to have her back, he barely had time to see her since he was still busy deciphering every symbol.

"You can't be serious. We don't even talk about the drama you have with them. How dare you accuse me of doing that?" Havana raised her voice. She loved her family including Elena although she getting on her last nerve at that moment. Flashbacks to Rebekah revealing Caroline's infatuation with Klaus aggravated Havana even more. "I have a life aside from this supernatural bullshit. Not everything is about you, Ms. Mystic Falls." She bit back. Caroline glared at her. It was also the first time Havana had ever gotten into an altercation with her.

Out of the three girls, Havana only had a negative experience with them. It was back when she had just moved to Mystic Falls still in a depressive state after finding out that the man she loved was a vampire. She and Bonnie had somehow gotten into an argument. Though she could not remember what it was about, she remembered the both of them avoiding each other for a week before they sat down and talked about it. Since then, their friendship was repaired and none spoke of it having moved on. However, with the confrontation that was going on right now, Havana was sure Bonnie was going to start another fight.

She looked at the witch expecting a crude comment. However, the Bennie Witch said something else unexpected. "Okay. We were just concerned for you that's all. We wanted to make sure you were okay." The two girls whipped their heads to their friend letting out a loud "what" to which Bonnie replied, "C'mon guys. She has their relationships with the Mikaelsons. So do we."

Havana sent a thankful smile to Bonnie. "I honestly do not know why you are making a big deal out of my friendship with Rebekah. Bonnie's right, my relationship with her and Klaus is different from you guys. And honestly, I am not the only one. Why are you singling me out when you all know Matt is friends with her too?"

They stayed silent. Havana took that as a queue for her to exit. As soon as her back turned, Elena yelled out the last blow "Fine! Don't appreciate us looking out for you because you do have a past of trusting the wrong people in your life." Havana froze. She knew exactly what Elena was referring to—Klaus. She knew so well the troubles Havana had when she was no longer a victim of his compulsion thus making her remember that their relationship during their first year together was a sham and she was nothing but a blood bag. She spent countless nights crying to Elena repeating the same sentence, "I trusted the wrong man to love."

Havana turned sharply to face the three girls. Elena had a look of regret across her face having mentioned an issue that Havana already healed from, but she quickly covered it with pride. There was nothing she could do to take it back now. Havana walked forward until she was directly in from of them looking more confident than she was a couple of seconds ago. "Starting today, I am no longer loyal to you. I won't have to bear the feeling of guilt anymore whenever I feel conflicted about my feelings for the Mikaelsons and my association with you. I am also not loyal to them. I will not partake in any action that will cause you harm because you're family even if you're not acting like it right now. I am loyal to myself and my wants and what I want is to not be involved in whatever scheming or planning you may have. I'm done, Elena." She stared coldly at the three who seemed to slump down during her speech.

"You heard her, now scram before I rip your heads off and feed it to your boyfriends." Another person joined in Havana's defense. The four looked in the direction of the Grill's entrance to see Rebekah standing in front of them. The look on her face made the three believe that her threat was genuine and walked away without a word.

"Thank you Beks." Havana smiled letting her friend hear the nickname she just gave her. The blonde Mikaelson winked in return before heading back inside. Before she left, she yelled out to Havana who started walking away "I think it's time to press that search button by the way!"

Havana's smile deepened as she was already reaching inside her bag to retrieve her phone.