•.•.•.•.•

Mystic Falls, circa. present day

"MY God, I didn't expect you to show up so soon. Just couldn't stay away, could you?" Grace teased, poking Klaus in the chest.

There was a joy on Klaus' face that was a rarity for everyone to see.

"Uh- I'm sorry. If I could just say something really quick," Damon interjected, walking over to the pair.

"Grace, why are you even associating with him? He's the bad guy here, if you didn't catch the drift."

She hid her smirk, raising an eyebrow at Damon. He was still somewhat pissed about their brief conversation last night, she could tell.

"I didn't," she said, looking to Klaus with a frown.

"Nik, I didn't know you were a bad guy. This- this is shocking."

Klaus smirked, looking away and allowing her to finish the conversation with Damon.

"How do you two know each other?" Stefan asked. The two brothers seemed off with Grace.

"We've kept in touch over the years," Klaus explained briefly. He had no reason to be here, other than for Grace. There were more important matters to handle.

"It's not a big deal, really," Grace said with an innocent smile. "Why can't people just be friends-" "You're a traitor, Grace, that's the problem!" Damon said.

She could see in his eyes that he was genuinely hurt.

"Do you know what Klaus wants, Grace? Are you aware of why he is here?" Stefan said, crossing his arms.

Grace was never really close to him, anyway.

She turned her head, giving Klaus a signalling look of what she was about to do.

"What- what do you mean?" she asked, suddenly stepping away from Klaus with a concerned look on her face.

"He's here for Elena. To break his stupid little curse. She's apparently the only one who can fix it." Stefan said.

Grace frowned. "Why can't he have her then? Will it kill her or something?"

Damon and Stefan both nodded frantically. Grace found it so amusing how they were still smitten over the same face.

"Nik? Is this true, Nik?" Grace asked, slowly turning to look at him.

Klaus showed no remorse on his face. They were both playing their parts incredibly well.

"Yes. And, as far as I care, I'm going to get what I want."

Klaus took an ominous step toward Grace, who pretended to be intimidated. He held his hand out.

"Come with me, won't you?" he said, giving a small and knowing smile to Grace.

Just then, Caroline bustled into the parlor.

"Hey, is Grace ready- what's going on?" Grace's head snapped over to Caroline, who she had nearly forgotten about.

Wrinkling her nose a bit, she said, "Nothing. I was just about to ask if you were ready to leave."

Caroline nodded with a smile, choosing to ignore the others in the room.

"Great. Let's go." Grace took a step, and Klaus grabbed her arm.

"You're making a mistake, Grace," he said in a warning tone.

She gave her infamous smirk, and a wink to go with it.

"See you around, Nik."

She shook her arm away, following Caroline out the door. Caroline was full of questions, as soon as they were in her car.

"Who was that? He seemed a little... edgy. He's really hot, too."

Grace looked up at Caroline, feeling defensive for a strange reason.

"That was, uh- that's my friend Nik. We've known each other for ages."

Caroline nodded as she drove onto the road. "So... he's like a, vampire?"

Grace smirked, rummaging through her bag for her lipstick. "Uh... he's something else. Really, there's no one quite like him," she explained, though she felt more like she was talking to herself.

"Oh my God!" Caroline exclaimed, startling Grace out of her daze.

"What?" Grace said, concerned.

"You totally like him! Does he know? You have to tell him!"

Grace scoffed, raising her eyebrows. "What are you talking about? There's nothing to tell him, Caroline."

She gave Grace the side eye glance.

"Yeah, okay."

Grace tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at Caroline, but gave her a soft smile.

"You mind if I let you in on a little secret, Caroline?" she said, closing her tube of lipstick.

"I don't see why not."

"I knew Stefan and Damon back in eighteen sixty-four," Grace began, changing the subject matter. "And I thought things would be normal for awhile. But I was so, terribly, wrong. Do you know Katherine Pierce?"

Caroline's eyes widened for a moment.

"Uh- yeah. I'm not really her biggest fan, if I'm being honest."

"Yeah, me either. Anyway, up until about the year after we left Mystic Falls, I finally got up the courage to fight her and make my escape."

"That sucks. I'm sorry she treated you so badly. But I'm glad you got away. We might never have become friends," Caroline said with a glowing smile.

"True enough. But it looks as if Katherine beat me back here. Although it won't last long now that Nik has arrived."

Caroline turned into the driveway of what Grace presumed to be her house.

"I just need to run in and get my phone. I don't know why I leave it everywhere all the time."

Grace grinned at Caroline's bubbly personality, taking out her own phone as she exited the vehicle.

There was a missed call from Nik.

Quickly, she dialed him back, running a hand through her hair. He picked up sooner than later.

"Grace, love, I can't believe you made such a scene back there."

Grace giggled. "Would you have expected anything less?"

"Oh, not from you, Gracie Lou." She rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless.

"When will I expect to see you again, Nik? I do have intentions to meet up with the fun Niklaus I know."

On the other end of the line, Nik chuckled.

"We have to tend to other matters first. And don't let your little friendship with the Salvatore brothers get in the way. I don't want your act to get too real."

Grace laughed light-heartedly, then glimpsed Caroline leaving the house.

"Shoot, I gotta go. Call you back in a bit," she said, hanging up.

Caroline got back in the car, cranking it up.

"Okay, let's go get this jewelry. You know, you can come tonight, if you want. I've been so busy planning that I didn't even get a date."

Grace thought for a moment. Then, she suddenly realized that Elena Gilbert would most likely be there.

"Yeah, I'd love to! I believe I've got a few pieces to go with my own flapper attire. I rented an apartment at Belmont. Just go there."

' ' ' '

"Grace, this stuff is amazing! How did you manage to keep up with it over the years?" Caroline marveled, twirling in the full-length mirror.

Grace fell back onto her bed, giving a small shrug.

"It's something to keep me on my toes. Making sure I don't lose that stuff is like a small competition I have with myself. The longer I keep it, the more it's worth."

Grace liked to play games. It was her favorite hobby. Video games, board games, pranks, you name it. Having fun was a personality trait of hers, if you will.

"Alright, well, I'm ready to go if you are- oh wait! We have to find your outfit!" Caroline exclaimed, rather startling Grace again.

"What do you mean? You want me to dress up for this thing?" Grace groaned, sitting up.

"Uh, yeah. My date is not going to look out of character."

Grace gave her a reluctant smile.

"Alright, fine. But just so you know, I put a limitation to shopping. I can't stand it."

Caroline was shocked.

"You don't like shopping? But you look so cute!"

With a small chuckle, Grace stood, gathering her purse and cell phone.

"Thanks, Caroline. I'll bear it this time, just for you."

Together, the two left and took a trip to the mall. Grace absolutely hated shopping. She had never had the patience of looking around for clothes and then going through the trouble of trying them on. It was all too much, in her opinion.

"You know, if Katherine wasn't so evil, the two of you might get along," Grace informed Caroline. She was somewhat shocked by this.

"I can't tell if that's an insult or not."

"Of course it's not! Look, she and I were best friends for like, two hundred years. I went that long without getting sick of her. She's not all bad. There's good in her," Grace said. And strangely enough, she actually believed it.

"I find that hard to believe. But, since I like you, I'll take your word for it. Now," Caroline said, or demanded, rather.

"Now I want you to go try on these dresses-" "Ugh-" "Don't complain! I've narrowed it down to only three! It's not that bad."

So, ten minutes later, Caroline was still making the decision on which dress Grace should wear.

Finally, they both called a truce, and purchased a lavender-colored flapper dress with a matching pair of heels.

The two left the mall after Grace's protests, and swung by the Mystic Grill for lunch.

Just as they sat down, Caroline got Grace's attention and said, "Hey. Hottie staring at you, three o'clock."

Grace raised an eyebrow, having an instant deja vu feeling.

Caroline was just like Lucy.

Resting her hand on her chin, she cut her eyes over to the dude Caroline was talking about. Then she nearly fell out of her seat.

"I'll be right back, Caroline," she said, pushing herself off of the booth.

She approached the young man, who was quite the familiar face. He pretended to not notice as she approached him.

"Hey, douchepants. The hell are you doing here?" Grace began light-heartedly, watching as the young brunette turned his head.

After a brief moment, he broke into a grin.

"Gracielle... it has been-" "Forever, yeah. You could've called, you know. You and Nik both. I missed you, 'Lijah."

He smiled softly, standing to embrace the girl.

"Have you found her?" Elijah whispered into Grace's ear, so low that not even another vampire could hear. She gave a curt nod.

"It's a work in progress. But I've got it under wraps."

Elijah gave a slow nod, then pressed his lips to her cheek briefly.

"I've gotten word that there is a dance of sorts tonight. I presume you're going, because social events are your thing."

Grace smirked.

"I decided to swing by. You should too, you know. Refresh some of those moves from the Roaring Twenties."

Elijah chuckled softly, glancing over to Caroline.

"I'll let you get back to your lunch. See you soon, little jokester."

He brushed her cheek lightly, as Grace turned and left. The pair had met not too longer after Grace's introduction to Niklaus.

New York City, New York - 1956

"NIK, is it? You have yet to answer my question. What are you?" Grace questioned, tightening the man's coat around her.

"Grace, love, I'm cursed. I want you to stick around a bit longer, so I can tell you all the details of what's going to eventually happen. If you don't mind, that is."

Nik gave Grace a sincere smile, to which she could not help but to return.

"I- well... I suppose I don't mind. Just for one night. I'll have to tell my friend, Lucy, though-" "Don't worry about it. I told her to get home safely once you left. She should be fine."

Grace raised an eyebrow, then nodded slowly.

"A-Alright, then. I guess we can go..."

Nik grinned at the raven-haired girl, dolled up in the latest fashion and makeup trends. She wore leather and deep red lipstick, which stood out more with the blood surrounding her mouth. Her eye makeup was intricately done, and Nik could tell that she took pride in her look.

He admired her, to understate it.

"Well, love, without further ado. Our vehicle awaits."

Nik offered his arm to Grace, who took it rather apprehensively. He guided her to the front, where she laid eyes on a lavish car with a chauffeur.

"You're rich?" she said, meeting his eyes as he opened the car door.

"Filthy," he replied, clambering into the car behind the girl. They, however, were not the only two in the back.

There was a man, perhaps slightly younger than Nik, having deep brown hair and intelligent brown eyes.

Sitting beside him, just as equally done up as Grace, was a young woman. She had hair curled in blonde ringlets and up-doed, with a Barbie-like face and eyes. To Grace, she came off as rather gaughty.

"Love, these are two of my siblings."

The man gave a subtle wink as he took her hand, pressing his lips to it gently.

"Elijah Mikaelson. You are the lovely Grace Fredricks, I assume?"

Grace gave a curt nod, returning his smile. "Yes. Pleased to meet you."

He released her hand, and she looked to the woman with some reluctance.

Patiently, she waited for an introduction. The woman was reapplying her lipstick, busying herself in the compact mirror. Finally, she snapped it shut, looking Grace up and down.

"Rebekah Mikaelson. You're Grace. Pleasure."

Grace knit an eyebrow, unable to hide her displeased expression with the woman.

"Same to you," she responded slowly, looking back to Nik.

"Where are we going, Nik?"

"Our home, of course," he replied simply.

She frowned a bit, slightly confused. This was the snobbish part of New York City. The Manhattan downtown, and Fifth Avenue just around the corner.

Eventually, the car came to a stop. They awaited for the doors to be open by the chauffeur. Despite having the ability, Grace had never decided to make herself rich through compulsion.

"I know what you're thinking," Nik whispered to Grace, offering his hand to her to help out of the car.

"We seem like the Gatsby type, snobby and rich. And that may be true. Just bear with me."

For the first time that night, Grace laughed at something Nik had said.

She adjusted her dress, then laid eyes on the massive mansion that sat in front of her. Grace's mouth fell open slightly, looking to Nik.

"You weren't kidding. You're filthy rich," Grace admired, mouth still slightly gaping.

Nik chuckled light-heartedly. For the first time in a long, long time, he had met someone who was neither an enemy or nuisance in general.

There was a way about her.

Once more, Nik offered his arm to Grace, who wholly took it without hesitation.

"How long have you been living in New York?" Grace asked. She guessed they had been here for awhile, if they were living in the monstrous home.

"Only about a week. We move around quite often. It's just nice to have a place to stay in if we ever revisit."

Grace nodded, then frowned after a thought crossed her mind.

"When you say 'we', does that include your siblings? You all live together?"

Nik looked down at the girl, slightly amused.

"I question it too, love. They aren't complete pains, though-" "I heard that, brother," the woman, Rebekah, called.

Grace laughed a little as Nik rolled his eyes, guiding her through the door.

The inside made the exterior look simple.

It was elegantly decorated in a Victorian style, with Gothic influence. The place had a warm and laid-back tone about it, yet lavish.

"Uh," was all she could say, her eyes wandering to every inch of the place.

The other man, Nik's brother, gave a laugh as Grace turned to face him.

"It's personally too much of an earthy tone for me, but we let our little sister pick this one. Right, Nik?"

He raised his eyebrows, showing some amusement.

"It's better than your Windsor mansions you love so much," he remarked in a playful manner.

As ominous and ancient as these siblings seemed, there was much less to be afraid of.

"So, let's get to business, shall we?" Grace said, clasping her hands in front of her.

Nik smirked. "Love, do you really expect me to go over all of this tonight? You can stay here. There are plenty of rooms to spare."

Grace raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback.

"I- uh- I didn't really think you wanted me to stay."

Nik smiled upon the girl once more. He took a few steps forward, taking her arm. "I have to make sure you don't escape."

He turned, walking away.

"Show her up to her room, will you?" he called to his brother, Elijah.

Grace turned to the other man, Elijah, with wide eyes.

"Don't be alarmed, dear. Niklaus does this often. I mean, acting like he's threatening. He's not nearly as harmful as he chalks himself up to be. Just give us this one chance. We aren't kidnappers."

Grace smiled softly, growing on Elijah quickly.

"I think I like you."

NOTES
i'm sorry it's been forty million years forgiveth me children