MOONS.
011. | ❛ pick me, choose me, love me. ❜

Pain comes in all forms. The small twinge, a bit of soreness, the random pain, the normal pains that we live with everyday. Then there's the kind of pain you can't ignore. A level of pain so great that it blocks out everything else; makes the rest of your world fade away until all we can think about is how much we hurt. How we manage our pain is up to us. Pain. We anaesthetize, ride it out, embrace it, ignore it... and for some of us, the best way to manage pain is to just push through it.

Luna's phone rang for what seemed like the hundredth time. Looking over to the Caller ID revealed Klaus once calling again. She reckons that at this point her voicemail is probably full from all the missing phone calls she got.

After the fiasco of last night, Luna headed to a place where she knew that felt like home, the bayou. It was peaceful and was remote to anybody. The swamp was alright and at least she wouldn't necessarily be found easily.

She sat on the porch of the shack and was just reminiscing over the time that Klaus and her would meet and have a quick rendezvous under the full moon. Thinking back to those simple times brought on much heartache thinking of Klaus and Aurora.

Hearing the crumpling off leaves, she shot up to her feet ready to attack, when she sees her Alpha queen.

"I got to say I'm surprise that they sent you. "Luna sitting down on the steps once again.

"They didn't sent me. I knew that you would come here. After all, I can see why." Hayley said taking a seat next to Luna.

"I heard what happened."

"I'd rather not discuss the topic, after all he's probably with her right now." Luna stood to her feet and started to walk away deeper into the bayou.

"Luna, you can't walk away from this. Sooner or later you're going to have to face him." Hayley yelled after her.

"She kissed him right in front of me and Klaus, after moments pulled away. I would like to believe that he felt something for me but her coming back into town is the downfall of our relationship." Luna jerked back at her.

"Love is putting yourself out there, making yourself vulnerable and hoping you don't get dropped on your ass. But its so worth it because that guaranteed happiness and deep connection with one person is a feeling no one could replace.I'll admit Klaus is a bit of a bastard but..... I never saw him more happier than with you. It's like you make him a better person and when he's around you it's like nothing else matters but you." Hayley said trying to sway her.

"He should of thought of that when he was kissing her!" She said throwing the mug at a tree causing it to break into pieces. Only after seconds did Hayley see that Luna was fighting back her tears. Hayley rushed over to her and hugged her from the side.

"It's okay Luna. It's okay" She said trying to calm her down. Only then did Luna's heartbeat slow down and the tears seemed to vanish.

"I'm okay." She said getting back up and heading towards the shack.

"I know we had our differences but Luna I consider you my friend." Luna stopped at her confession and turned around and gave her a weak smile.

"Can you please not tell the others where I am? Just tell them I'm alright. I still need time to think." Luna said to Hayley, who nodded at Luna. Only when Hayley left did Luna reconsider that Klaus might love her but that Aurora would still have a piece of his heart.

Luna left the bayou at midday to the Lafayette cemetery in search of her friend Davina. Luna strolled the graveyard and to no avail. Luna heard with her enhanced senses some footsteps along the way. Only then did she hear that accent that she has grown to hate.

"Why would you bring me here? It's so morbid."

"They call these graveyards the Cities of the Dead-- elevated mausoleums meant to honor those who've passed on. It's a very human attempt to overcome fear of mortality by celebrating death. Morbid, certainly... But pure."
They were coming closer and Luna hide behind one of the mausoleums.

"Oh, pure. Like your intentions."

"My intentions are quite the opposite. How about yours?"

Aurora, realizing they're back on the topic of the so-called sireline war, sighs in annoyance and tosses the pastry she was nibbling on aside before she turns to face him.

"Hmmm. You know, over the long centuries, I would dream of you-- my bright light in an ocean of darkness, whose despair mirrored my own, and whose love brought me a joy I had not felt, and have not felt since. But, if only it were real, this charming stroll through your melancholy preoccupations... But, I know it's really an interrogation under the guise of pleasantries." Klaus walks toward her and looks her in the eyes.

"My desire for answers is only fair-- we are on the brink of war. But, if you doubt the veracity of my feelings for you... Then our tour has one final stop."

After Luna was sure that they had gone, she decided to follow them. Let's just say that Luna's curiosity and jealousy was getting the best of her.

******************

Luna followed them far behind so she couldn't be spotted but not so far than she'd lose sight of them. Klaus brought Aurora to the compound, where they are walking through the front gate and into the courtyard. Aurora takes in the room, which is still trashed and wrinkles her nose in distaste.

"So is this your family home?"

"Please forgive the detritus my brother and I had a slight disagreement. Over you, as a matter of fact."

"Oh! A duel in my honor. How chivalrous. But, I'm afraid if this is what you wish to show me, it's--"

Klaus interrupts her before she can continue.

"If you want to know what's been in my heart for the past few centuries, come with me." Klaus leads her up the stairs and into his art studio, where he pushes a dresser out of the way and traces his hand over the brick wall behind it. Aurora stands behind him and watches with a confused expression.

Luna took this opportunity to follow them upstairs, and use her vampire hearing.

"Life is like a city-- built in layers. No matter what new experiences come along, the foundation remains."

Klaus then punches the wall with such extreme force that his fist goes through the brick, crumbling the wall into pieces until he finally reveals a beautifully painted portrait of Aurora from the early 11th century. Aurora gasps in shock, visibly overwhelmed by this revelation.

"What is this?"

"Two hundred years ago, it was my art studio. It became a tomb for my memory of you."

He turns toward her, visibly uncomfortable with the vulnerability he's showing her.

"I thought if I painted what haunted me, I could free myself of you forever. In all my years, I have never been more wrong about anything."

Aurora, overwhelmed with emotion, kisses him passionately. Luna could hear the kiss which just confirmed her suspicions. If she wasn't angry then she was now, the more that she stayed there the more that she was herself was causing more heartbreak. She quickly speed away back into the streets on New Orleans, once again to revert back into the swamp of the bayou.

****************

Night has quickly fallen and Luna was sure that maybe the Crescent Curse wouldn't be the worst thing anymore.

She peered out of the window to see that a full moon was in place. She could of sworn that she saw a wolf out in the woods but quickly dismissed it knowing that nobody would come for her.

Luna looked down at her phone and all the missed calls that Klaus had made, the afternoon that Klaus and Aurora shared, and what Hayley said.

She quickly picked up her phone and dialed until she heard the voice that she missed,

"Just listen, I lied. I'm not out of this relationship. I'm in. I'm so in, it's humiliating, because here I am, begging..."

"Luna" his thick accent came through.

" Shut up. You say Luna and I yell, remember? Your my sire and it's my duty to protect you. Okay. Here it is. Your choice? It's simple. Her, or me. And I'm sure she's really great. But Klaus, I love you. In a... really, really big... pretend to like your taste in music, let you eat the last piece of cheesecake, hold a radio over my head outside your window, unfortunate way that makes me hate you, love you."

"So pick me. Choose me. Love me."

"I'll be here at the bayou where we always meet. So if you do decide meet me, meet me here."

She hung up trying to predict if her once lover was going to choose her.

Pain, you just have to ride it out, hope it goes away on its own, hope the wound that caused it heals. There are no solutions, no easy answers. You just breathe deep and wait for it to subside. Most of the time pain can be managed, but sometimes the pain gets you when you least expect it, hits way below the belt and doesn't let up. Pain, you just have to fight through, because the truth is you can't outrun it, and life always makes more.