『Chapter Forty-Eight』
『a constant annoyance』

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   Bodie knew that he needed to get some form of a life given that he spent most of his time trying to keep an eye on Hayley. As much as he knew that there were other things that he needed to focus on, there was still a small part of Bodie that wondered about Hayley and why Bodie felt the way that he did when it came to her and him being in his werewolf form. He shook his head, knowing that this wasn't entirely important to him right at the moment.

   He shook his head. He knew that the last thing that he should be doing is hanging around with people that are of high school age, which he realised that he'd been doing, and he found himself hating it more than anything. As much as he knew that he wanted to look out for a selection of people, he still found it weird just as a whole.

   And yet, the one thing that he found was weird, at least to him, was the fact that Hayley really reminded Bodie of his sister. He knew that the possibility of his sister being able to live this long to give birth to Hayley was unlikely, but there was just something about Hayley that made him feel as if he was staring into the face of the sister that he missed so much. Bodie felt as if he was going crazy, as if this were going to finally drive him to insanity and yet, Bodie found that the last thing that he wanted to do was talk to her.

   He knew that if he were to talk to Hayley about any of this, there was a chance that she might think him insane. Of course, that might be outside of anything else that she thinks of him. As much as he knew that there was a chance that he was simply overthinking all of this, it still didn't stop the fact that there was something so familiar about Hayley that was really annoying him. He tried to drop it, knowing that there was a chance that it was nothing.

   He found himself shaking his head slightly, knowing that he needed to stay a bit more focused on everything going on around him. Tyler made him promise that this was something that he needed to keep away from Klaus before anything bad happens. And yet, there was still a small part of Bodie that was worried for the safety of everyone involved, the last thing that he wanted was for anyone else to lose their life because of Klaus.

   Bodie wondered about all of this, wondering whether or not any of this was a good idea. Though, he knew better that he needed to top worrying as a whole. Both Tyler and Hayley knew what they were doing, and they were helping Leo break the sire bond between the pair of them. Bodie had to believe that what they were doing were something good, something that allowed others to have their freedom.

   The one thing that surprised Bodie more than anything else was the fact that both Hayley and Tyler told him where they were planning to break the sire bond between Klaus and his hybrids and such. It felt rather odd, though, Bodie didn't mind and yet, there was a small part of Bodie that wondered as to why they trusted him with such a thing, but he didn't want to ask.

   He'd gotten a text from Henry earlier saying that he was going to the Miss Mystic Falls thing with Caroline which made Bodie somewhat happy to some degree. There was a small part of him that hoped that there was a chance that both Henry and Caroline could work something out between the pair of them.

   Bodie was standing in the barn with Hayley and such, with a werewolf in front of him, turning and screaming due to the pain. All that seemed to go through Bodie's mind is the fact that he was grateful that whenever he shifted, it didn't hurt all that much. He felt himself cringing in some way at what was going on in front of him and he felt bad for all the hybrids that go through this.

   "Scream." Hayley was saying. "Let it out. We're on an abandoned farm, no one can hear you for miles."

   "Easy for you to say wolf girl, you never turned twenty times in a row." The girl—Kimberley—said.

   "No, but I watched a bunch of your hybrid friends go through it." Hayley stated.

   Kimberley's bone snapped once more, and she fell to the floor with a groan. "Why's it have to be like this? Why break every bone over and over?"

   Hayley looked towards Bodie for a moment, and he wondered whether or not he should say anything. Though, before he could, Hayley was the one to speak. "That's what the sire bond is. You're grateful to Klaus because he released you from the pain of having to turn every full moon. So, you're gonna keep turning until it doesn't hurt, and you have nothing to be grateful for."

   Kimberley—who'd been breaking her bones over and over—looked up to Hayley but not before glaring at Bodie. "What's in all this for you?"

   For a moment, Hayley seemed almost hesitant in answering. "I don't hear bones cracking."

   Kimberley's bones did break at that, and she started to yell. Bodie wondered whether or not he should say something, but he knew that the last thing that this hybrid needed was an original to tell her what to do. Or that his voice needed to be heard at all.

   "Caroline bought us another day." Tyler said. The sound of his voice almost made Bodie jump, and he hated the fact that he wasn't paying much attention. "Klaus wants to go with her to Miss Mystic Falls tomorrow."

   "Henry was going to go with her." Bodie stated without thinking. There was a look on Tyler's face as if that were something that he didn't know. "Henry's going to be crushed."

   He knew that this was something that neither of them cared about but it was something that Bodie cared about more than anything. He knew that Henry had a thing for Caroline, that Henry had some kind of feelings towards her. Of course, he knew that Caroline didn't owe Henry anything, but there was a small part of him that wished that there could be something.

   "So," Hayley said. "Does that mean we're going?"

   "Watching Klaus fawn over Caroline at some lame-ass pageant?" Tyler asked. "No, thanks."

   "Oh, come on." Hayley begged. Kimberely continued to break her bones and scream out in pain. "We need to hide what's going on here by pretending that I was the one that broke you two up. And besides, isn't it at your house?" Kimberely screamed once more.

   "Guys, like this isn't torture enough?" Kim asked. "Can you take it outside?"

   Bodie found himself wandering towards Kim, picking up a water bottle and handing it towards her. The hybrid just glared at him as if he'd done something wrong, but he still offered the drink which she took and downed almost all of it in one quick sip. Bodie smiled, though tried not to react when she threw the bottle away and allowed her bones to crack more.

   "Fine." Tyler was saying. "We'll go. Wear a dress."

   Tyler was about to go, though Bodie found himself speaking without meaning to. "Do you want me to stay with the hybrids, keep making sure that they complete all of this?"

   "We can't let Klaus know what we're doing." Tyler restated.

   Bodie shrugged. "I understand that, but the last thing that I'd want to do is be within the same space as Klaus. It would be better if I weren't there to save bloodshed."

   There was a moment of silence then, Bodie noticed the way that they shifted then and looked at one another. "Fine. Just don't ruin this for us."

   Bodie shrugged. "What benefit would I get out of ruining this for you?" He'd given Tyler a look. "If you're worried about me telling Klaus, that's something that you don't have to worry about. Klaus hates me more than anything, he'll be more than willing to kill me than he would with you."

   Hayley gave him a look. "Why's that? I thought you lot were all in-love and everything."

   "Best to keep believing that, wolfette." Bodie said with a small weak smile. He didn't have the energy to explain and be judged over the fact that he killed a child. Despite the fact that he knew that Hayley might understand, he just didn't want to explain fully. "Don't want others to believe anything else."

   "You're still in love with him." Hayley commented with a look on her face as if she wanted to tease him. It pained him in some way, all Bodie could see was Ingrid.

   "A thousand years and my biggest mistake cannot change the way that my heart still longs for him." Bodie stated. He straightened himself up. "Go, the pair of you. You both have a plan that you need to follow."

   The hybrid yelled out in pain more as she snapped her bones. "Do you mind!?"

   Both Tyler and Hayley shared a look with one another. "We'll be back soon." Tyler then looked towards Bodie. "Don't do anything that makes me regret trusting you."

   "I don't have anything to gain if I betrayed you!" Bodie countered.

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   Bodie wasn't sure as to how long he'd been here with Kimberley—who continued to transform between human and wolf—but he felt as if he were getting a headache at all the screaming. Though he knew that there was a chance that he didn't have to stay here, that there was a chance that she was fine on her own, Bodie found himself a tad bit curious over all of it, how the painful process of breaking the sire bond.

   The more that he thought about all of it, the more that he was somewhat worried about Leo and how he was dealing with all of it. He knew how painful the transformation was when it came to the full moon, but this—breaking the sire bond via the most painful method—made Bodie almost feel guilty over ever making hybrids.

   He'd allowed Leo to come here—he'd previously known about where Tyler was breaking the sire bond—and dropped a few things off before leaving. Leo mentioned how he couldn't stand the sound of the screaming, though Bodie mentioned that there was a chance that he'd have to go through the same thing again. And it was then that Leo mentioned that he'd started it, that he'd already began trying to break the sire bond but paused half-way though.

   After that conversation, Leo left, leaving Bodie alone with Kimberley who looked tired out of all the transforming, however, she continued. Every so often, Bodie would try and get her to eat something or to drink something just so that there was something in her system. She tried to fight against all of it, but Bodie wouldn't allow her to argue against him.

   Her bones clicked and broke once more. "Why are you being so nice? Aren't you an Original? The other original hybrid?"

   Bodie stared at her as if she'd said something wrong, though he knew that she hadn't. "I am an Original Hybrid, the other one. I'm being nice because I know that I could become Klaus and we both know that one Original needs to be stable enough." He half-smiled at that. "I don't want to hurt others the way that Klaus has."

   Her bones snapped once more. "And yet you turned Leo."

   Bodie sighed slightly and looked down. As much as he knew that there was a chance that she might bring it up, Bodie found himself knowing that he kind of walked himself into it. "I did. It was a moment of weakness."

   She looked at him then. There was this hatefulness glare in her eyes as if she hated everything that Bodie just said. "You're an Original Hybrid, what's to stop you from being like him?"

   Bodie knew who she meant and as much as Bodie knew that there was nothing from stopping him from becoming Klaus or worse, he knew that he had his reasons. He tilted his head up slightly. "Nothing. Nothing is stopping me."

   He knew that he could become a feared being like Klaus and he knew that there was nothing stopping him from doing such a thing and yet, Bodie knew that the only reason why he chose not to was because of his family. He knew that it was a stupid reason, but for some reason, the small fear that his family would hate him was something that allowed him not to get to the point that he became Klaus. Of course, he knew that he was still a bit cruel when needed to be, but he tried to hold himself back. He supposed that all the times his parents and Ansel told him to restrain his strength was something that played into it as well.

   "Now, would you rather me continuing to tell you my life's story or continue to break this sire bond?" Bodie asked. He gave her a look and for a moment, Bodie wondered whether or not she was going to ask him another question.

   Kimberley just stared at him as if he was the worst person to exist. She continued to snap her bones. Bodie just shook his head slightly, as much as he wanted to care about any of this, he found himself wondering if he allowed himself to be someone like Klaus from the start, he knew that there was a chance that he'd have been known as something far worse. He'd often wondered about what kind of person he would've become if he allowed himself to be as cruel as Klaus and the rest of the Mikaelson's.

   Bodie somewhat lost track of time, his mind wandering more and more towards this entire idea of the kind of person he could've become if he didn't hold himself back as much as he did. As much as he knew that there were times in his long life where he did find himself loosing control over himself, but even still, he always assumed that it was never as bad.

   He somewhat shook his head, he knew that these thoughts were something that he shouldn't entertain at all, that there were other things that he needed to worry about. He wondered about Leo instead, wondering whether or not if there was any kind of relationship could grow between the pair of them. Though, the more that he thought about it, the more than he realised that while Klaus was in town, there was nothing else that he could do—he couldn't allow anyone else to get close to him in hopes that it wouldn't mean their life.

   Bodie found himself wanting to do something though he knew that there was nothing that he could do. He knew that there was this Miss Mystic Falls thing going on, but the last thing that he wanted was to mistakenly cause a blood bath at the event. Not only that, but the last thing that Bodie wanted was to watch as Klaus flirted with Caroline, knowing everything that he knows when it came to Henry and Caroline. Not that there was much between the pair of them.

   There was a small part of Bodie that hated everything that was going on, he knew that there was a chance that he was being somewhat dramatic, that he should've expected that there was a chance that everything that he ever knew was going to change drastically. There was still a small part of Bodie that wished that he could change everything, that wished that everything could go back to the way that it used to be.

   He knew that his thoughts and his wishes was something that didn't matter given what he'd done, but even still, there was a small part of him that had hope. And yet, there was a small part of him that knew that no matter how much he wished that it would never become truth. He knew that no matter how much he wished that he could change everything that's happened, he'd have to earn their forgiveness. And yet, even with the amount of time that he's known the Mikaelson's the one thing that he was unsure on was what the best way was to earn their forgiveness.

   Bodie tried to push those thoughts away from his mind, knowing that the one thing that he didn't want was to obsess over these kinds of thoughts. He knew that the longer that he allowed himself to be consumed by such a thing, the more likely he was going to miss out on something important. And yet, because of knowing what would happen between him and Klaus, he's allowed himself to somewhat isolate himself from those that he loves just a little bit. He knew that he had no reason to do any of this, to watch over Kimberley for Tyler and yet, he still did, and for what reason other than to avoid Klaus?

   Though, the more that he thought about it, the more than he tried to fight against it. The last time that he allowed his thoughts to consume him, he turned Leo. The last thing that Bodie wanted was to do something rather impulsive and stupid that got himself into more shit than he needed. He found himself standing up and walking out of the barn as Kimberly continued to do what was needed of her.

   He felt as if everything within him was almost too much for him to bear, he knew that he needed to get all of this out and there was a part of Bodie that wanted to fight with Klaus. As much as he knew that the last thing that he needed to do was to fight Klaus, there was a voice inside his mind that told him that the one thing that he needed to do the most was to clear his mind with a fight against the only other person that could match his strength if he refused to hold himself back and fight with all his strength.

   He knew that this was something that he shouldn't do, that he needed to think more clearly, but this little urge inside of him basically begged to fight someone in order to clear his head was something that was becoming more of a need than anything else. He tried to shake his head, knowing that if he were to act on his need to fight Klaus then it would end with quite a lot of bloodshed. He knew that he needed someone to tell him not to do this, he wished that his father was here to talk him out of doing something as stupid as picking a fight with Klaus.

   Bodie shook his head, needed nothing more than to clear his head of the thoughts that were bound to consume him more than anything. It took him a moment to realise that it was dark outside, that he'd spent the entire day here, with nothing but his thoughts to consume him more than anything else.

   It took him a minute more to realise that Tyler was coming up to the barn in a suit. Bodie just gave him a small nod to which he returned and Bodie found himself walking towards where he parked his car. He needed to get back to his house and somehow have both Will and Henry yell at him for considering fighting Klaus. Being yelled at by the pair of them was something that Bodie needed more than anything else.

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   He wasn't sure how long it took him to get back to his own house, but the second that he got home he found himself laying on the sofa, which meant laying across both Will and Henry's laps. Both Heretics made a noise about Bodie's sudden weight which made Bodie grin in some way, the one thing that he liked to do was annoy his brothers more than anything else. The pair of them tried to push Bodie off of them, but he didn't move, so they both resorted into poking him until Bodie got annoyed.

   He didn't get annoyed, though he sat between the pair of them. The Tv was playing on a random channel and there was a small part of Bodie that wanted to be even more annoying and change the channel, but Will seemed to know what he was thinking and moved it out of his reach which made Bodie pout. He found himself crossing his arms and leaning his head back against the sofa to look up at the ceiling.

   "What is it?" Will asked, annoyed.

   "I spent the entire day having to listen to a hybrid break her bones in order to break the sire bond between her and Klaus." Bodie complained. "All because I knew that if I went to that fucking Miss Mystics thing, it would've ended up in a bloodbath."

   Henry made a noise at that, as if the dance was something that he didn't want to hear about. "Klaus is an obtuse asshole and I hate everything about him." He crossed his arms then. "Fuck Klaus." He then looked towards Bodie. "Not in the literal sense."

   "Figurately, he's already fucked me." Bodie muttered.

   "Not the time, Bodie." Will stated.

   For a moment, Bodie stayed silent, knowing that the last thing that he wanted was to say the wrong thing. He knew that he wasn't present and that he didn't seem present since everything happened between both him and Klaus, but there was still a small part of him that somewhat smiled when he looked at Henry. "You really like her, don't you?"

   Henry gave him an odd look. "Who?" There was this almost guarded look that found its way onto Henry's face, as if Henry knew who Bodie meant but didn't want to say it.

   "Caroline." Bodie said. "You really like Caroline."

   Henry's face turned almost as red as a strawberry and Bodie wanted to tease him about it. "I do." He sighed, his crossed arms loosened, and his hands were now in his lap. "She's really pretty, and she's really nice. She's amazing and yet I know that I can't compete against Tyler and Klaus, that I'm just some random guy that will forever live in the shadows of the people like Tyler and Klaus." He shook his head slightly. "I know that she's not interested, and I've tried to force down my feelings in hopes that they go away, but every time I see her it's like everything stops and it's just her and I, that there's no one else in this world other than just us." He looked down. "It's stupid, really."

   Henry then stood up as if he was going to leave but he turned and faced the pair of them with this almost sad look on his face. "As much as I know that there's things going on between her and Tyler as well as her and Caroline, I still want to hope that there's something that might happen between us. But I'm not someone like Tyler, whose known her throughout her entire life, and I'm not Klaus whose a complete and utter wanker."

   Bodie felt the way that his heart broke for Henry. Throughout the entire time that he's known Henry, there's barely been anyone who's managed to catch his eye, who Henry fell madly for. And to know that Henry loved Caroline in such a way only to know about everything going on, all that he could feel for Henry was some form of pain over someone that he likes. Bodie was familiar with such a thing, knowing that it was what he used to fill with Klaus before they all became vampires.

   "Henry," Will began. There was this look on his face that made Bodie wish that he had his sister with him. "I know that you love Caroline and that you want to be with her, but you can't force her to like you back and want you the same way that you want her. Her and Tyler are still together while putting on an act for Klaus. You know that."

   Henry looked down as if he was a child that was caught doing something that he wasn't meant to. "I know that." He nodded slightly. "I know that better than anyone, it's all that goes through my head."

   Bodie found himself standing up and placing his hands on Henry's shoulders. "I promise you, Henry, that you'll find someone that you love like this, and they'll be the right one for you."

   "But what if I don't find someone that I like the way that I like Caroline?" Henry asked.

   "You will, Henry." Bodie assured. "I promise you."

   Henry shook his head and then he hugged Bodie, which surprised him more than anything, but he returned it. The one thing that Bodie hoped for both Henry and Will was that they'd be able to experience anything and everything that they could, including love. He hoped that Will and Henry fell in love and that they were happy. It's all that Bodie wanted for them.