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chapter twenty-six ━ loyalty, my love

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❝ give him a chance ❞

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ON A SCALE of one to ten of just how pissed he'd be, Melody guessed that Klaus would break the scale with a record—but solid—seventy-six at least. She had decided to test the waters a tad and see just how much he had warmed up to her. His anger was prominent in the time between in which they discovered Stefan kidnapped the coffins and that moment. Despite it, Klaus had begun to work on a mansion for himself and his family. Melody was invited to stay, of course. She accepted because well, she wasn't staying at the Boarding House anymore and why stay at a motel or hotel while you have a newly built mansion and an immortal hybrid to accompany you?

Her room was a work in progress but for the most part, it was over halfway complete so she did have a bed to sleep in and a bathroom to keep up her hygiene. Klaus's room was oddly right down the hallway. I mean why would he do that? He treated her like an ally, not quite a friend even though they were friends. Perhaps it was because he hadn't had a friend in a long time and he was still skeptical about her. But killing Mikael did give her some extra points.

At the moment, Melody was sneaking into Klaus's room where the hybrid slept soundlessly. It was around six o'clock in the morning and because she was Peter Pan's daughter, she was up at the crack of dawn. Now normally, she'd just go back to sleep because sleep was a hobby of her's. However, she didn't want to give up the opportunity of waking Klaus up. She was excited, her magic burning in her veins with each step she took.

Klaus looked peaceful as he lied there. His hair was unkempt, his eyes closed which made his face look relaxed. In that split second, he didn't look angry or upset. He looked calm just lying there. Melody diverted her eyes when she noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt. There was a tattoo of a feather, flocking into birds on his arm, extending to his collarbone. She would've marveled at it if she hadn't forced herself out of the trance.

Melody conjured a bowl of water, smirking to herself. And then she tipped it. Klaus sat up with a gasp when the cold water came in contact with his skin. A musical laughter filled his ears, wiping away the water that reached his eyes. He turned to see Melody laughing, holding her stomach next to the bed, an empty bowl in hand. "Oh my gosh. You should've seen your face! Priceless!"

She continued to laugh uncontrollably. Klaus felt anger seep through his spine. As he stared at the fairytale woman, the rage slowly vanished. She looked happy. Her lips were curved upward into a huge smile, laughter spilling out, her body shook, and it was then that he noticed that she wore nothing but a t-shirt and long pants. It was her pajamas. No one else was in the house so it was just them. So he flashed up, standing in front of her so that his bare chest faced her.

"That wasn't very nice, love."

He was standing so close that Melody stopped laughing and froze. She opened her mouth to say something, looked down at his chest, then back up at his eyes. A blush covered her cheeks and yet she managed to reply, "But it was funny."

"Are you nervous?"

Klaus took a step toward him and she cleared her throat, taking one back. The distance between them was filled with electricity as cliche as it was. Both of them were fighting the urge to pull the other one close. Never had she been this close to anyone before. Melody kept eye contact with him. "With you standing shirtless in front of me? Yeah. A bit."

There was no other sound besides their breathing. Klaus listened to the brunette's heartbeat, hearing how fast it was beating. She was nervous. He relaxed his shoulders, turning his back on her and going to his drawer to grab a shirt. Melody let out a sigh of relief, her heart rate slowing back down.

Once the hybrid was in the appropriate attire, he smirked. "Would you like some breakfast?" She simply blinked back at him, looking at his wet sheets, then back at him. The uncertainty and confusion were clear on her face. Melody blinked back at him innocently, her dark lashes fluttering.

"Breakfast sounds... nice."

Klaus nodded and exited the room, leaving her there. Gaining some composure, the fairytale woman left the room and followed after her. Well, that was surely an odd conversation. One minute he was flirty and half-naked in front of her, the next he was a gentleman and offering her breakfast. Perhaps he saw the way her posture was and just how uncomfortable the situation was for her.

Melody had never been in a relationship before, never kissed anyone, she was so innocent and pure and Klaus couldn't bring himself to change that now. And especially since they had only known each other for a few months. But the desire to bring her to his chest and claim her his was too hard to fight. He fought himself though because she was innocent in that sense. And if she ever wanted that type of relationship, then he would wait until she told him so.

Without so much as asking what she wanted, Klaus made something simple for her: bagels and eggs. He assumed she liked that. Melody sat at the bar, sipping her milk when he sat the plate in front of her. The hybrid was quiet, only nodding when she provided a small "thank you". Because of the lack of reply, she began to think she did something wrong.

A frown stayed present on her face while she ate. Klaus left her for a moment to take a shower and get dressed. Melody finished quickly, doing the same before joining him in his car. He was still quiet, clenching his hands on the wheel that they turned white. The silence was infuriating. And the entire time she kept thinking how he was angry at her. But why? He didn't seem upset at her little prank.

"Stop the car," she ordered. Klaus didn't reply or listen. "Klaus stop the car before I jump out—"

The car came to a roaring stop as he eased over to the side of the road and out of the way of other cars who were going by. Melody opened the door and stepped out, slamming the door closed. Klaus followed her movements, going to stand in front of the car to meet her. She glared at him. "What the hell is your problem? What did you expect me to kiss your naked chest or something?"

He threw his hands up. "I have no problem. And sure, that would've been nice-"

"Are you kidding me?" she exclaimed, now full on yelling at him. "I'm sorry I'm not some girl who just lets guys have their way with them. I'm sorry that I actually want to wait for the right guy to come into my life before I do stuff like that."

Their banter continued back and forth until an older lady in her seventies called out to them from her porch. "You need to be kind to your lady, young man." They both spun around to face her. She put her hands on her hips. "Because if you don't you'll lose her."

Klaus smiled sarcastically. "Are you speaking from experience?"

Melody glared at him again, slapping him on the arm roughly. The old lady did not seem fazed by his comment. She appreciated that someone intervened. Because she was so close to snapping Klaus's neck and burning his body. Did he really just expect her to be that type of girl? She wasn't. Not anywhere close.

"You need to give her time, young man. Show her that she can trust you and that you are willing to wait however long until she is ready." The old lady turned and sighed. "Young love." She retreated back into her house, allowing her door to close.

Klaus's smirk fell and he looked over at Melody. "I'm sorry, love."

She looked at him, putting her hand to her ear and leaning close. "What was that? I don't believe I heard you." Her teasing only made him roll his eyes, clenching his jaw before he forced out the line again. Melody smiled, laughing to herself as she went back to the passenger side. "This is a great morning."

He shook his head and looked up at the sky. "Bloody hell. This woman is going to be the death of me."

———

The plan was terrible and downright evil but Klaus had told her that this is what needed to be done in order for them to get the location of the coffins. If the little Mystic Falls gang weren't going to cooperate, they needed to use force. Jeremy was compelled and Melody was supposed to go to the Boarding House to speak to Damon to see if he'd spill on Stefan's location. Klaus didn't say what he was going to be doing while she was busy. Unbeknownst to her, the hybrid was giving her a test to see if she was truly loyal to him and would do what he asked. So, he waited nearby and listened to the conversation between Melody and the eldest Salvatore brother.

Melody entered the parlor, making Damon turn around from where he was pouring his drink. He made a face. "Did your master finally let you go?"

She scoffed, stepping down the steps and further into the room. "I'm not a dog, Damon. I'm here because Klaus is my friend and Stefan stole his family. We want them back." Once said the word we, Damon—and Klaus who was outside—was surprised, raising an eyebrow. "I'm going to give you a chance Damon. Tell me where Stefan is."

"Why are helping him? He's a monster, Melody." The same brotherly look he used to give her was back. Quite frankly, that pissed her off because Damon was so quick to point fingers earlier. And now he was back to treating her like the sister he never had? No, she wasn't going to stand for that.

Another scoffed passed her lips. "The real monster was Mikael. But he's dead. Now tell me where Stefan is. Or better yet, tell me where Rebekah is. I know she's close by. Don't make me force it out of you." It did pain her to be like this to him. But he was the one who betrayed her. He was the one who chose a girl who was tearing him and his brother apart. Melody despised being betrayed or lied to. And yet, Klaus had dodged the truth for a while. She couldn't bring herself to look at him the way she used to: with hatred and disgust. Because now she saw the man behind the mask.

"He killed his own mother. He daggered his siblings. He has killed more than Stefan and I have. Klaus will throw you out when he's done with you. It's only a matter of time."

Melody used her magic to explode the glass in his hand. She narrowed her eyes at him. "How can you say that about him? The bitch deserved to die by his hand. She took away a part of him because she was ashamed of cheating on Mikael. If you were Klaus, you'd be doing the same exact thing." She shook her head, looking around the room. "I'm not saying everything he's done is right. But his reason for is understandable. His parents took everything from him all he wants is someone to care about him and to stay. 

"And you know what Damon? That's exactly what I've always wanted. I was cursed. That curse left me feeling alone. Klaus has stayed with me for months. Yeah, I hated him at first. Hell, I hated him for two months. Because now I know the truth. And I understand him more than anyone else does because I feel the same way. We are the same. If you try to harm Klaus, you'll have to go through me first."

She let out a sigh to relieve her anger. Melody shook her head again. "And now you get to know that it was your fault."

Damon looked confused but then she got out her phone. Klaus—who was frozen in shock from her speed outside—saw her text that gave him the go. He smiled to himself and quickly called Jeremy. The hybrid began his journey back to the mansion. "There he is! So, that thing I told you to do...why don't you go ahead and get on with it?"

He hung up, stuffing the phone into his pocket, and flashed back to the unfinished estate. The smile never left his face. Melody was loyal to him. Well, it was a start at least. Their relationship improved rather quickly which did make him a bit skeptical. But then he reminded himself the reason why it did. They were destined to be together. No one else understood them like they understood each other. And instead of diving head first into a romantic partnership, they started off with a friendship. That's all he could ever want. A true friend, ally, and hopefully, lover.

Melody was making her way back to the mansion as well. The first thing she heard when she entered was, "Compel the men to open up this wall. We need sun. I want a fortress, not a dungeon." She turned the corner and approached Klaus, smiling. He saw her and grinned. "Hello there, love. Glad to see you're back in one piece."

"You sure this is going to work?" she questioned, stopping right in front of him.

"They will hand over Rebekah and the rest of the coffins eventually. We just have to be patient." He saw a look on her face and despite his noncaring attitude, he grew concerned. "You alright, Melody?"

She nodded, trying her best to put a nonchalant expression. "Yeah, I'm fine." Klaus gave her a look, not even having to hear her heartbeat to know that she was lying. "Okay so maybe I'm not fine. It's just Damon..."

"Did he harm you? I swear when I get my hands on him—"

Melody grabbed his arm to prevent him from leaving. The feeling sent shivers down both of their spines. "He didn't. It's just the things that everyone keeps saying about you. Does no one see where you're coming from? I'm not going to lie, I expected you to be married or at least dating someone. You aren't a bad person and yet everyone else seems to think so."

All the hybrids had left the room long ago which left the two alone. Again. Klaus watched as her hand fell from his arm. "Everyone sees me as a monster. What kind of person would want to be with a monster?"

She put her hands on her hips. "Now don't you start me, Klaus. I will fight you on that and you know it." He smiled slightly. "As your friend, I will spare you the speech and simply tell you that you're stupid. I don't want you to ever call yourself a monster again, understand?"

"Yes, mom." Yet another slap was given to his arm. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he got it out to see it was a text from Elena. Melody peered over to see it. "I'll return soon."

Melody bid him farewell and retreated to the safety of her bedroom. She sat down and got out her own phone, deciding to call her family from an update.

———

She had heard him arrive not too long later. The sun had set and night approached. Her family was more understanding once she gave them a rundown of how she was feeling in terms of Klaus. He was her friend and she couldn't imagine betraying him. Klaus didn't deserve that. They understood and listened to her every word. While Pan wasn't too happy with the close relationship between the two, he was happy that she was content where she was. He trusted that Melody was where she wanted to be.

Now Klaus hadn't texted or called her when he came back. But Melody could feel that something was wrong. She snuck down the stairs and into the future living room. On one of the tables lied Rebekah's grey-toned body. Klaus stood next to her, staring down. Melody stood in the doorway. He hadn't noticed her which meant he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings and was more focused on his sister.

"Here we are, Rebekah. Home sweet home. Only took a thousand years...And to think I was counting on you being here with me. But that's all ruined now, isn't it?" There was a twitch and Rebekah's finger moved. "I'm so sorry." He stroked her cheek. "Sister...We'll meet again one day..." He took out the dagger and put it through her chest.

A lone tear slipped down his cheek. Melody didn't need to see it to know how he was feeling. She could just tell. Crossing over to him, she reached him and hugged him to her chest. Klaus was surprised at first. Then he realized who it was and relaxed, hugging her back. Melody laid her head on his shoulder. "She'll understand, Klaus." She pulled back to cup his cheeks, wiping the tear. "We'll make them pay for what they've done. I promise you that. Nothing will stop us from finding those coffins and reuniting your family. We're going to give Elena and her friends hell."

Klaus nodded. "And Hell they will get." He let her go and stepped back, intertwining their hands, they left the room together. Together. And together they would be until the end.

———

This was an awful chapter. I've no inspiration for this book at the moment but I hated not to give you guys an update. I really just want to get this book over and done with so I can get to book three which will be fun to write. I hope you guys have a great day/night and don't forget to vote on this chapter, comment your thoughts, and follow me for updates!

( credit : @pepperronys )