A/N: Don't ask me where this fits in the timeline. I have no idea. The idea just came to me. I make up all the things.

warning: brief mentions of abuse

You flipped through the clothes in your closet looking for just the right dress. Nik and Elijah had invited you to attend some sort of formal tea or something. You didn't really pay much attention after "Niklaus and I would like you to attend...". Honestly, Elijah could have been inviting you to a virgin sacrifice and you probably would have said yes. Your fondness for the Originals was going to be your undoing one day. You just knew it.

Not finding anything to your liking, you huffed and glanced at the clock. Ten AM. All the stores would be open and the event wasn't until two. You had plenty of time to go shopping. You grabbed your phone and your purse and headed out the door. You planned to stop by the Mikaelsons on your way out of town to see if Rebecca wanted to go with you. You'd just call her, but if you dropped by you might get to visit with her brothers. You had no shame.  

The drive to their house wasn't long but when you were little more than half way there, you pulled off the road and slammed on your brakes. There was something seriously wrong. Your hands gripped the steering wheel and your eyes darted around taking in your surroundings. Something had changed suddenly. What was it? You licked your lips and realized they tasted of copper. That only made you frown further. You were human. There was no reason for you to taste blood.

But that wasn't what had made you stop. Then you realized what it was. The car was silent. Hadn't you been singing along to a song on the radio just a moment before? You went to rake a hand through your hair only to find it pulled back. While you normally did wear your hair up, you'd decided to leave it down today. You tugged the tie out of it and tossed it aside.

Your phone buzzed and you answered it without checking the screen.

"Hello?"

"Y/N," Elijah said, sounding relieved. "We've been worried. Are you all right?"

"Of course," you answered. "Why wouldn't I be?"

There was a long stretch of silence. "Did you forget that we had an engagement today? When Nicklaus and I arrived to pick you up, you were not there. As that behavior is unlike you, we have been attempting to reach you. This was the first time we've had any success."

A shiver ran up your spine. "Elijah...what time is it?"

"It is nearly six."

You didn't even know what to say that. That's when you noticed the light outside of the car had changed. What was going on? "I'll be at your house in a moment. I'm almost there." You hung up without waiting for a response. You'd lost nearly eight hours of your life. If anyone could help you figure out where it went, it was the Originals. 

Elijah had the door to your car open before you even turned off the engine. He offered you a hand and helped you out. Immediately, you threw your arms around him and clutched him to you. His presence alone made you feel better. He hugged you back and as you gazed over his shoulder you saw Nik and Bekah both watching from the door of the house. You released Elijah and hurried past him toward the house. Nik came to meet you and by the time he embraced you, tears were running down your face. 

Rebekah put her arms around both of you. 

"What is going on here?" you heard Kol ask, amused. 

"We're not certain as of yet," Elijah answered. His voice was close and you realized he had his hand on your back in an attempt to comfort you. 

You sniffed. "Group hug," you managed to get out, though your voice was muffled as your face was still pressed against Nik's chest. 

"Well, count me in," Kol said in a cheeky tone. He threw himself at the rest of you and you rocked on your feet. 

You laughed despite your tears and straightened. You swiped at your cheeks to get rid of the tears. Kol threw his arm around your shoulders and tugged you against his side. "Come. I will get you a drink and you can tell us what this is all about." You nodded and let him lead you into the living room. The others followed in your wake. 

Kol was true to his word. He settled you on the couch before fetching you a glass of your favorite liquor. "Speak," he ordered and took a seat. 

Your gaze darted around the room. Everyone was watching you but it didn't bother you. They were worried about you. That was all. You took a deep breath. "I needed a dress. I decided to go shopping and thought I'd run by here to see if Bekah wanted to go with me." You took a large swallow of your drink. "I left my house at ten. I pulled over halfway here and that's when Elijah called to tell me I'd missed our outing and it was six."

Nik straightened in his seat. "What?"

You glanced at him. "I lost eight hours. I have the feeling something horrible happened, but I don't remember any of it."

"I thought you were on vervain?" Elijah said.

"I drink vervain tea every morning."

In a flash, he stood in front of you and held out a hand. "May I?"

You put your hand in his and nodded. His face vamped out and he turned your hand so he could bite your wrist. He only took a sip and glanced up at you as he pulled away. "I'm afraid there's not even a hint of vervain in your blood, Y/N."

You didn't know what to say that. You'd had your tea this morning just like every other. Your eyes shifted from him to Nik as the hybrid came over and crouched in front of you. He placed his hand on your knee as he looked in your eyes. He gave you a small smile. "Lets see if we can get your memories back, love."

You nodded and he cupped your face in his hands as he locked his gaze with yours. "You are going to recall every detail of what happened today. Any compulsion you were put under by anyone other than me will no longer affect you."

You gasped and jerked back as images flooded your brain. Stefan had done this. You shook your head. That couldn't be right. He was your friend. But no, he'd told you that he'd planned this. He was getting revenge on the Mikaelsons for everything, but Nik especially. Nik loved you, Stefan had insisted despite your arguments to the contrary. And Rebekah was your best friend. Rebekah who had betrayed him by sleeping with Damon. And the ever noble Elijah who was anything but and needed to be taught a lesson. Even Kol liked you and would be devastated should anything happen. And then of course there was you who had chosen the Mikaelsons. Who had befriended them despite everything they had done. 

As the memories flooded back, it was apparent Stefan had turned off his humanity again, but that didn't excuse this. Nothing did. And if you told the people in this room with you, they'd never forgive themselves for being the cause of your pain. But you knew that you wouldn't be able to keep it from them, either. 

"I-I need a minute," you managed to choke out before pushing your way past everyone. You ran from the house. When you'd put some space between you and it, you bent over and put your hands on your knees as you sucked in air. It occurred to you that you were on the verge of having a panic attack, but you felt entitled.

Stefan spent the majority of the day tormenting or torturing you in one way or another. He had intended to take his time, then leave you for the Mikaelsons to find. You were nearly dead when Damon interrupted and saved you. He'd fed you his blood and he'd been the one to compel you. It was hard to remember because you were in so much pain at the time, but you thought you recalled him locking Stefan in one of the basement rooms at the boarding house.  

"What's wrong, Y/N?" Bekah asked in a trembling voice from behind you. 

You straightened and shook your head but didn't turn to look at them. You weren't this person. In fact one of the reasons you got along so well with the Originals was how level you were under stress. 

"Now, Darling," Kol coaxed. "I believe I speak for all of us when I say that you're starting to scare me a bit. You can tell us anything, Y/N. You know that."

 "Do I?" you asked before you could stop yourself. You pressed the back of your hand against your mouth and closed your eyes. Your other hand was propped on your hip. 

Nik and Elijah came to stand behind you. You didn't look and they didn't say anything but you knew they were there just the same. They stepped closer to you as you began to talk, but none of them touched you. Somehow they understood that any contact from them would break you. You began with Stefan waving you down and ended with Damon's rescue and compulsion. You skipped nothing, telling them of every cut, every strike, and every word.

There was silence when you finished speaking, but you still didn't turn, keeping your gaze anywhere but on the people behind you. 

"Elijah," Nik said, his voice cracking. The sound had a tear rolling down your cheek.

"Kol and I shall see to it immediately," he answered. His tone was clipped and angry. 

The hybrid came to stand directly behind you, his hands settling on your upper arms. "Would you give us a moment, Rebekah?" he said quietly.

"Don't do anything stupid, Nik," she told him before she walked in the house. 

Nik turned you and pulled you into his chest. His arms wrapped around you and held you tightly. "I am so sorry, love," he said into your hair, his voice cracking again.

"Don't do that, Nik," you told him. "Don't take this on."

"And how do propose I avoid that, Y/N? It is, after all, my fault. I should never have said hello to you."

You leaned back and ran your eyes over his face. Hurt pierced your heart making it skip a beat.  "So now, you wish you hadn't even met me?" 

"If it would have spared you this, than yes."

You shoved away from him and he reached after you but ultimately let his hand drop. You raked your hands through your hair in agitation. "Damn it, Nik. I would repeat today a thousand times as long as it meant I got to keep you. All of you. What kind of life do you think I had without you in it?"

You shook your head and turned away from him again. You were raw, exposed and you didn't like it. But everything you'd said was the truth. Before Nik, before the Mikaelsons, you were alone even in a room full of people who claimed to be your friends. You'd spent a lifetime on the outskirts, of being the afterthought. 

Nik sighed. "He told you the truth, you know."

You frowned in confusion and turned back to face him. "What?"

He put his hands behind his back and glanced at the ground before looking back to you with a little smile. "When he told you that I loved you. He was correct."

You huffed out a laugh of disbelief and the hybrid turned his attention back to the ground. Realizing he'd misunderstood you said, "You don't need to try and make me feel better , Nik. There is no way someone like you would feel that way about someone like me. I faced that fact a long time ago."

His head jerked up and he tilted it to the side as he studied you. "What makes you say that?"

"I'm not that girl. I never have been. I'm not the one a guy sees in a group and decides he wants. And that's okay. I'm happy with who I am." And you were. Not that it hadn't taken you a lot of work and time to get to that point. 

He stepped forward and cupped the side of your face in his hand. "You're right. I didn't see you in a group and think that." You couldn't help the small thread of disappointment that curled through you. "Because I only saw you, Y/N. When I walked in the grill that night you might as well have been the only one there. In all of my thousand years I've never experienced that before."

You studied him, looking for any hint of deception from him, but you found none.

He grinned. "Don't get me wrong, Love. I'd certainly been attracted to women before. After all, I am who I am. But this went beyond that. I knew then that if you would have me, I'd never need anyone else. And I still believe that."

"And you'd give that up?"

"If it kept you from being hurt? Absolutely, love."

 You shook your head again. "Well, I won't let you. Not for my own good, not for yours. We're just going to have to suffer through eternity together."

He looked into your eyes. "Whatever you say, love." Everything else was forgotten as his lips found yours and you lost yourself in his kiss.