A/N: A Halloween Story for you

***

You sat in front of the fire with a glass of whiskey wrapped in your hands while you stared at the flames. Another shiver wracked your body and you sucked in a breath. The Mikaelson's gazes sat heavy on your shoulders as they surrounded you in their living room. You hadn't spoken a word since you arrived half an hour ago and your silence had to be grating. None of them were the most patient.

You cleared your throat. "Could I—Could I stay here tonight?" Just forcing the words out made your head spin a little. Maybe you should focus on breathing. That should help.

"You know you are always welcome here, Y/N, but you sound terrified. What is going on and why don't you want to go home?" That was Elijah. Of course, it was. Always direct and to the point.

They'd require answers at some point, you might as well give them to them now. "I can't go home. It's too scary."

Klaus huffed a laugh.

"Niklaus," Elijah snapped.

"What?" the hybrid asked and gestured in your direction. "She's sitting in a room with four originals and asking to stay here because something else scared her. You have to appreciate the irony."

Rebekah came to sit beside you and placed a hand on your back. "What is it, Y/N? What's going on?"

You sat your drink down and dropped your head into your hands. They were going to have a field day with this. "My house is haunted."

***

Once the four of them had a laugh at your expense, they had convinced you to return to your house with them so they could find out what was actually to blame for the goings on in your home. You accompanied them despite knowing they weren't going to find anything except ghosts. Some rather nasty ones at that.

As you all stepped into the house, you reached over to grasp Kol's hand in your own. He looked at you in surprise but gave you a comforting smile when you glanced back. He linked your fingers together and tugged you a little closer to his side.

Elijah turned as if to say something but he was interrupted by a childish giggle and the sound of running footsteps from the floor above you. He immediately sped off only to return with a frown on his face. He glanced between you and the floor above several times.

"You seriously found nothing?" Rebekah asked, interpreting his silence as a failure to produce the cause of the noise.

A loud slam came from the other room, drawing everyone's attention and you clutched Kol's hand more tightly. He closed the bit of distance that remained between the two of you and wrapped an arm around your shoulders. "It's all right, Y/N. Nothing's going to hurt you with us here." He sent a worried look to his siblings.

You hated it at much as you hated feeling like this. This wasn't who you were. Vampires, werewolves, witches, none of it phased you. But this was something else. How were you supposed to fight something you couldn't see?

A series of slams reverberated through your house and you cringed. "Kitchen, but I wouldn't go in there," you answered their curious gazes.

Of course, they ignored you and headed toward the other room. You kept hold of Kol to keep him with you. "Don't go in there."

"What the devil?" Klaus asked and you had no doubt he'd caught sight of the reason you'd fled the house in the first place. He confirmed your suspicion when he appeared seconds later with a large knife in hand. "Would you care to explain why you're driving cutlery into your wall, love?"

You shook your head. "Something threw it at my head. That's when I left and went to your house."

Klaus and Kol exchanged a look but said nothing though Kol did give you a little squeeze. Several thuds sounded followed by the appearance of the other two siblings. Rebekah dashed past you all and straight out the door. Elijah paused to straighten his jacket and cleared his throat. "I believe it is time for us to take our leave."

As soon as the last of you crossed the threshold, the door slammed behind you under its own power. You jumped and Kol tugged you off the porch and out to the yard. The five of you stared up at the house. "What happened?" you asked, your voice far quieter than normal.

"It threw a rolling pin at my chest. If I hadn't moved to the side, it would have gone straight through me." Mixed with Rebekah's fury was a thread of shock.

You shifted your gaze from her to the elder brother.

Elijah gave you a tight smile. "Chopsticks. Buried in the wall where I had been standing a moment before. It would seem your spirit is rather violent."

"Why do you think I went to your house? It's not as though the place suddenly became haunted overnight. I've been dealing with slamming doors and footsteps since I moved in. Today it shoved a glass off the counter and when I bent over to pick up the pieces the knife landed where my head had been."

The siblings exchanged another look before turning back to you. "Well, consider yourself welcome to stay with us for as long as needed, love," Klaus offered.

"And I'll take you shopping." Rebekah pulled you from Kol's hold and began walking back toward their house. "Nothing you have in there is worth going back for. It's too scary even for me and I live with the three of them."