𝗐𝗋𝖺𝗉𝗉𝖾𝖽 𝖺𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋

━━━━━━━━━━

1997

It was nearly midnight, the night sky so clear with the moon surrounded by an ethereal glow. Millions of stars were sprinkled behind it, a few large ones but mostly a multitude of sparkle dusts. Every now and then a twinkle caught Evelyn's eye as she counted as many stars she could spot.

Taking a glance over her shoulder, she listened to the silence filled in her home and took this opportunity to quietly step out her room, tip toeing down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Where is it?" Evelyn murmured, as her small hands wandered inside the freezer, trying to find the one thing she was desperately craving for.

"Yay!" She whispered to herself, grabbing the tub and turned around to walk back to her room.

But a creak was heard from the stairs and she quickly hid behind the counter when the footsteps were moving closer into the kitchen.

"I can see you, Eve."

Evelyn's eyes widened, and she looked up at the figure looming over her, smiling innocently, "Hi, mommy."

Miranda rested her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at her. "What's behind your back?"

"My butt," she replied cheekily.

"Evelyn," Miranda scolded. "Who told you that?"

Evelyn refused to look her in the eyes. "I pinky swore Aunt J. Oopsies," she grimaced and slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Of course she did. Let me see the other hand," Miranda demanded.

Evelyn sighed, bringing her hand out forward. "Jemmie wanted to have ice cream so he told me to get it," she lied.

"Jeremy's asleep," Miranda pointed out.

"It was Elena. She's scared to get it herself."

"She's asleep too."

"Oh– uh– Aunt J actually wanted it."

"Jenna's gone home," Miranda did her best to keep in her smile.

Evelyn gave the tub back to her. "Sorry mommy," she pouted and look down at the ground.

Miranda sighed, crouching down so she could meet Evelyn's eyes. "Only a bit," she said and her daughter nodded.

When she turned around, Evelyn pretended to wipe the fake tears away, smiling mischievously to herself.

Miranda looked back at Evelyn, eyeing her suspiciously and the little girl faked a sniffle, the small pout still playing on her lips.

"Here you go." Miranda lifted Evelyn up, seating her on the stool at the kitchen island.

"Thank you. You're my favourite," Evelyn whispered as though she was telling her mother a secret.

Miranda laughed, removing the fallen piece of Evelyn's hair behind her ear. "I thought your dad is your favourite."

"That was yesterday," Evelyn sassed with an eye roll.

Miranda laughed. "Will I be your favourite tomorrow?"

"I'll have to think about it," she shrugged, her concentration fixed on the bowl in front of her.

Evelyn wrinkled her nose when Miranda pinched it, following by a giggle.

"Did you have a nightmare again?" Evelyn tensed, remaining quiet as she removed the thoughts of the blood and gore she'd seen.

Miranda sighed. It was very rare for Evelyn to open up about her nightmares. The one thing she hardly expressed about.

"Do you want to sleep in our room tonight?" Miranda asked instead.

"Can we stay in my room? Daddy snores too loud. Like an elephant," Evelyn giggled quietly.

"He does," Miranda smiled back making Evelyn laugh more.

"Come on." She lifted Evelyn up in her arms, walking back upstairs and into her room as they laid down on her bed.

Miranda caressed her daughter's hair as she sighed in content. "I love you, mommy."

"I love you too, Evie," she whispered back, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Evelyn smiled, closing her eyes as her mind allowed her to relax after a long time, unaware of the new visitor she would eventually meet in the future.

━━━━━━━━━━

She giggled, watching the insect sitting on the tip of her finger, wings of purple and black, the butterfly then rose up in the sky, fluttering it's wings into the sky and curling into swirls.

Evelyn smiled, her legs running in an attempt to catch the butterfly as she weaved her way through the once dark, cold forest to a now colourful filled with tranquility and happiness.

Without noticing the log of tree she was approaching, she yelped, closing her eyes and ready to meet the floor, but instead a pair of arms lifted her up.

"It's okay," the soft voice soothed the panic arising in her. Evelyn took deep breaths, her eyes opening and looking to see who her new visitor would be this time.

The red hue of her hair ignited, expressing her enticing, emerald eyes that were gazing at Evelyn with such fondness. Her smile was like a sudden beam of sunlight, reassuring a sense of comfort to the little girl.

"Hi," Evelyn politely greeted.

"Hello, little one," the woman's smile grew bigger.

"Thank you for saving me," the girl whispered shyly.

"Always," the red hair beauty said.

"I'm Evelyn. What's your name?" Evelyn asked.

"Grace."

"Cool. Pretty name."

"Yours too, Evelyn," Grace smiled back.

"You look like a princess." Evelyn reached out to play with a strand of Grace's silk hair. "Are you a princess?"

Grace let out a laugh, taking Evelyn's hands in hers. "I am much more than that," she said.

"Huh?"

"You'll find out one day," Grace caressed Evelyn's cheek.

"Is that a castle?" Evelyn looked over her shoulder. "Do you have horses?" Excitement lit up in her eyes. "Do you have dragons too?"

"Evelyn, look at me," Grace tried to get her attention.

"This place is so cool," Evelyn whispered in awe.

"You need to wake up," Grace told her.

"But I want to see it now," Evelyn let out a huff, stomping her foot.

"You are so stubborn," she muttered to herself. "Another day."

"Urgh, fine. Will I see you again?"

"Yes, but for now this is just a dream," Grace cupped Evelyn's cheek as she whispered words under her breath.

"What?" Evelyn murmured, feeling her eyes flutter close.

"We'll meet again one day, Evelyn. All of us." Was the last words Grace whispered, but Evelyn would forget for now.

━━━━━━━━━━

    "Nik, you can choose this time. Marvel, Harry Potter or Star Wars?"

"Not tonight, my love."

Evelyn, who had been laying down on Klaus' bed, sat up straight with a frown playing on her lips, "Why not? I'm even letting you choose."

"Yet you always change the movies I choose halfway through," he muttered to himself.

"Is this because I asked what colour leash I wanted to get you? I'm just being helpful here. You'll need it one day," she shrugged whilst flipping through her book.

"Enough with the dog jokes."

"Never," she giggled. "And what's taking you so long in the bathroom? Have you got explosive diarrhoea? Wait, do vampires even shit?"

It was silent for a moment as Evelyn waited for Klaus to answer her. "Hello? I asked you a question." She looked up from her book, the sight in front of her immediately making her jaw drop and stare at him with wide eyes.

Klaus stepped out of his bathroom, standing in only in sweatpants, hanging low around his hips and showing his defined v-line as he leaned against the doorframe whilst running a towel against his wet hair.

Fuck my life.

Evelyn bit on her lower lip, shifting slightly, and ultimately deciding to sit on her knees to keep her thighs pressed tightly against each other.

Don't look further down. Don't look at his–

With the remaining will power she was glad to have left, she forced herself to shift her eyes away. Her thoughts about him lately had been inappropriate. Ones that she had never ever expected to imagine about him.

Don't even think about it again.

Looking back down at the book Evelyn tried to distract herself. Klaus approached her, standing at the foot of the bed, his palms resting on the mattress as he bent forward to meet her eyes.

"My love."

Evelyn was taken aback when she found him standing in front of her, his face just inches away from hers. "Hi," she whispered with a smile.

"Hi," he smiled back.

Evelyn made a mental note of the count she had been keeping up every time Klaus would genuinely smile a day. It was currently at 4 today.

"So what are we watching tonight?" Evelyn asked.

"Nothing."

"Look at me. Nod your head," she motioned with a nod, but he shook his head.

"No."

Sighing in frustration, Evelyn reached out to grab a hold his necklace, giving it a tug to make him nod, but it just moved him closer to her as his nose almost brushed against hers.

Evelyn cleared her throat, releasing her hold on him and leaned back to look at him. "You're boring."

"We agreed that we would work on your magic," Klaus reminded her.

She groaned, throwing her head back and waved the book in the air. "I've tried with the grimoire you gave me too. Nothing is working."

Klaus gave a gentle pat on her thigh, motioning her to move back to make space so he could sit in front of her.

"You're not concentrating. What's going on in that crazy head of yours?"

You. Your gorgeous blue eyes. That annoying smirk but adorable dimples. Not so PG 13 thoughts like–

"Nothing," she shook away her thoughts again. "And I told you stop calling me crazy." Grabbing the pillow she threw it at him.

Klaus caught it, narrowing his eyes at her, "Only if you stop calling me puppy."

"You technically are one," she shrugged.

This time Klaus threw the pillow at her. "Ha!" She quickly caught it. "Now, be quiet. You're distracting me."

He chuckled, watching her wrinkle her nose at the grimoire she was reading. His crazy girl.

"Whose grimoire is this by the way?" Evelyn asked.

"Esther's," he replied back.

Her eyes widened, looking back at him. "Your dead mom who cheated on your dad? I shouldn't have said it like that. Sorry," she slapped a hand over her forehead.

He raised a brow, "How do you know about that?"

"Elijah told me."

"What else did he tell you?" Klaus asked.

"A little bit about your family. Your siblings, Finn, Kol and Rebekah that you daggered. You're such a lovely brother by the way," Evelyn sarcastically humoured and Klaus rolled his eyes at her.

"It's for their own good," he said. Evelyn looked at him like he had lost his remaining brain cells.

"I give up with you. When will they even be undaggered? I would love to meet them and I miss Elijah. I want to talk to him about the book he recommended to read."

"Here we go again," Klaus sighed in exasperation, leaning back as he started to feel himself get annoyed. "What is it about my dull brother that has you talking about him everyday? Is your taste in men really that tragic?"

"Excuse me?" Evelyn gasped, feeling offended. "I have great taste in both men and women."

"So you fancy my brother?"

"Nobody says fancy anymore, ancient fossil. And what's it to you anyways?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Answer me," he demanded.

Evelyn raised a brow, refusing to tell him. "Please," he added.

"See? It's not that hard to say one word," she sassed.

"Go on," he urged for her to continue.

"Elijah is not my type. He is handsome though and he's a sweet gentleman, but I hate his hair. I told him to get a haircut actually. He was quite bitter about it though so he told me my sense in fashion was horrible, but we're even now," she shrugged.

Klaus' jaws clenched when he listened to Evelyn talk about Elijah with fondness and a smile gracing on her face.

Well it's a good thing he won't be undaggered anytime soon.

"He's really sweet. A good listener too," she continued to talk highly of him.

"Have you finished talking about him?" He asked, his tone low.

"But you just asked me–" Evelyn looked baffled. "You wanted to know. What the– Huh?"

"Open the grimoire," he said.

"I don't think I should use this," she said.

"Why?"

"Um– because it belong's to your dead mother's. I don't want to risk anything happening to me," she explained.

"Nothing will happen," he reassured her.

"Are you kidding me? What if her spirit is lurking around and she finds out. She'll probably haunt me!" Evelyn exclaimed dramatically.

"Do you really believe in that nonsense?" Klaus asked with an amused brow.

"We're part of the supernatural world. Anything could exist at this point. I wouldn't even be surprised if baby vampires existed."

"Vampires can not procreate, love."

"Oh."

"Can we get back to this?" He gestured to the grimoire.

"I'm too tired for this," she sighed as she threw herself back on the bed.

"My love."

"What?" Evelyn snuggled further into his pillow, pretending to fall asleep. "I'm sleeping."

"You wouldn't be responding back if you're sleeping," he pointed out.

"Sleep talking," she mumbled.

A laughter erupted from Evelyn's lips when Klaus' hand clasped around her ankle and he pulled her towards him.

"Stop," she giggled, trying to move back but he kept a firm grip on her, continuously moving her towards him.

"Eve," he warned.

"Okay," she let out a huff and sat up to face him.

"Now, tell me what's going wrong?"

"I don't know. I've tried the spells I practiced back in Mystic Falls with Bonnie– oh Bon Bon. My girl is so amazing at magic. She showed me this cool trick–" Once again Evelyn went off track again.

Klaus sighed, rubbing at his temple as he shook his head at her. He noted how terrible Evelyn was at focusing on one matter. She procrastinated a lot.

Evelyn looked at Klaus, giving him a sheepish smile. "Sorry. I'll concentrate now."

"I give it five seconds," he muttered sarcastically. She took the grimoire back from him, flipping through the pages as she tried to find a less complicated and harmless spell.

"Does your mom have a food spell in here? You know a way for food to magically appear right in front of me rather than going through the full process to cook it?"

Klaus gave her a look which Evelyn had noticed. He was done with her.

"You are the grumpiest person I have ever met," she sighed.

"Focus."

"Wait a second," she said.

"What now?" Klaus groaned, rubbing his hands over his face.

"What? I'm just taking my sweatshirt off. I'm hot."

Klaus just in time caught Evelyn lift the sweatshirt over her head. This time it was his turn to check her out. His gaze roaming down her body. She was wearing a sports bra, and he tuned out her voice, watching as she stretched her arms, rolling her neck to the sides then gathered her hair to tie it into a ponytail.

Bloody hell.

He removed his gaze away from her, gulping and taking a deep breath. He wasn't sure how long he would be able to control himself.

"I'm ready," her voice brought him back to reality.

"You're– you're what?" Did I just stutter again.

"To do the spell. Duh," she stated the obvious.

He blinked, clearing his throat and made sure he looked at anywhere but her. "I'll be back. Just going to get myself a drink," he muttered.

"Okay. Can you get me a lemonade while you're at it," she said and he nodded without even sparing a glance to her.

Evelyn frowned, wondering what had him so tensed and frustrated.

He returned back with two glasses, giving her a lemonade and she happily took a sip, sighing as the cold liquid hit her throat. Klaus drank his bourbon in one sip, pouring himself more. He needed this to get himself through the night.

"Let's do this," she said. "Can you pass me the candle?" He gave her the candle as she fixated her eyes on it.

"I can't do it with you invading my personal space," Evelyn motioned him to move back. "Turn around actually."

"What? No."

"Do it," she ordered with a stern look.

Klaus sighed, turning around. Evelyn used this opportunity to stick her middle fingers at him.

"I saw that." He turned back around.

Evelyn quickly moved her hands down, "Saw what? You're hallucinating."

"The mirror says otherwise." He pointed to the side.

"I was just testing your senses," she lied.

"Sure you were. Now, come on." He gestured to the grimoire and candle. "Don't expect me to turn around."

"Okay," Evelyn sighed, looking back at the candle. "Incendia," she whispered.

Yet nothing worked again, the room filled with silence.

"Hello? Incendia. Where are you?"

Klaus sighed and Evelyn shrugged, both feeling annoyed. "I give up," she said.

"I'll find a witch to help you," he said.

"Nik, you've already tried multiple times, but they seem to now want to do business with you let alone willingly help. The witches hate you. I don't think they'll even want to help me since i'm with you."

"Witches are a pain in the arse," he rolled his eyes.

"Hey! Not all witches are. Bonnie isn't," she argued. Klaus scoffed, rolling his eyes again.

"It's been on my mind for some time, but I have this feeling," Evelyn began.

"Are you going to confess your undying love for me?" Klaus teased.

"You're not the lucky one today," she gave him a snarky smile back. She would never fall for him.

"That's a crying shame," he pretended to look hurt.

"I think my magic has been taken away from me," she revealed.

Klaus frowned, watching as Evelyn nervously bit on her lip. "It's just that ever since we left Mystic Falls. I've had trouble trying to connect with my magic and there's also–" Evelyn stopped, trying to figure out why Grace hadn't been seen in her dreams at all.

"And?" Klaus asked.

"When I fainted," Evelyn instead said. She wasn't completely sure if she was ready to trust and tell Klaus that her unhinged mind spoke to a ghost.

"But it's okay. At least I have my trusty crossbow and sprays," she shrugged with a smile. Klaus looked horrified when she mentioned the crossbow.

"What's your favourite colour?" She randomly asked.

He gazed into her eyes, "Green."

Evelyn nodded. "What's the size of your–"

"You are not measuring my neck to buy me a leash," he interrupted her.

━━━━━━━━━━

"What's your zodiac sign?"

Stefan chuckled, "Eve, you need to stop believing in that. Whatever is written in that magazine does not determine how our lives will be."

"But it's fun to read them, and my weekly horoscope came true last week."

"That's because you forced yourself to make the predictions come true," Klaus chimed into the conversation.

He was sat opposite them in a small cafe they stopped by since Evelyn couldn't stop complaining that she was hungry and they most certainly did not want a repeat of last time when they lost her.

"I did not," Evelyn gasped.

"You did," Stefan nodded.

"Whose side are you on? His or mine?" Evelyn asked with a raised brow. Klaus let out a smug smile.

Stefan raised his hands up in surrender. "I'm on my own side."

"Look, Scorpio," she ignored Stefan's complaints and continued reading. "You will have a peaceful week ahead of you."

Stefan glanced between Klaus and Evelyn. "Yeah, I don't think so," he muttered.

"Oooh. You may receive compliments and gifts," Evelyn wiggled her brows at him. "I may or may not have a hand in this," she smiled.

"And what are you planning to give him? A rat?" Klaus humoured.

Evelyn and Stefan both simultaneously turned their heads to Klaus. Both weren't smiling at his attempt to joke.

"Were we meant to laugh?" Evelyn asked and Klaus rolled his eyes, ignoring their conversation.

"Okay. My turn. Cancer," Evelyn turned back to reading. "This one is interesting," she mumbled.

"What is it?" Stefan asked, resting the side of his head against hers.

"I thought you didn't believe in this," Evelyn mocked him.

"Shh. Just read," Stefan chuckled.

Klaus frowned at the two when they decided to have their own conversation, laughing and whispering to each other.

"This is what's going to happen," he interrupted them.

"We were having a conversation here," Evelyn said.

"You can talk later," Klaus said, bitterly.

As the two men spoke to each other with Stefan mostly listening to Klaus' plan to find and make his hybrids, Evelyn snuggled further into Stefan's side and looked over at the window.

She felt a sharp throb against the side of her head, bringing a hand up to massage it. She was starting to get frustrated with these headaches.

She jumped up slightly when she heard a whisper, furrowing her brows in confusion.

"What?" She asked Stefan.

"What?" Stefan asked her instead. Klaus was equally confused as him, noticing the way Evelyn's eyes slightly widened but quickly composed herself.

"Actually, I forgot what I was about to say," she dismissed it and Stefan nodded.

Klaus, however, was concerned, his eyes still fixed on Evelyn. She was looking down at her fingers, fidgeting with them and he could sense the way her body was slightly shaking by the way she was bouncing her leg, up and down anxiously.

And it wasn't a first time he had noticed. There had been countless of other times, he would find her like this, as though she spaced out for a moment and when she was back to her senses, she was confused but mostly struggling with herself.

He sighed, annoyed with himself that he couldn't seem to see through the act she was too good with fooling everyone with.

Finally capturing Evelyn's attention, the two shared a small silence, as she shook her head with a smile which she attempted to form on her lips, letting him know she was completely fine.

It was a lie.

━━━━━━━━━━

"Okay!" Evelyn clapped her hands and took a glance around her room. "I'm already crazy, but let's do this."

"Grace, I know you're somewhere in here," she called out. "You said you kept an eye on me so show yourself."

"We need to speak so I demand for you to see me right now." She walked around her room and looked up at the ceiling. "I know you're hiding somewhere in here."

"Are you hiding under my under bed?" She looked under her bed. "I guess not."

"Oh, Gracie. It's Evelyn. Remember me? The unstable girl who loses control and does weird voodoo shit with her hands. Yeah, Evelyn, the one who has the same powers like you. I know you can hear me."

She let out a sigh and sat down on her bed. "Is she still mad that I ate the plum when we first met in my dream," she mumbled.

Evelyn groaned and laid down, lifting her legs in the air and began to think of ways to call Grace so she could find answers about her powers.

"Oh wait." She ran into her bathroom and looked at herself through the mirror. "This is how we met first well a glimpse so here I go," she took a deep breath.

"Spirits on the Other Side, I summon thee Grace." Evelyn clicked her fingers. She waited for a response but nothing happened. "Maybe I need to clap my hands. I summon thee Grace." She clapped her hands together.

"Did she decide to move to heaven or hell?" She murmured.

Evelyn groaned in annoyance and walked back to her bedroom. She stood on top of her bed and glanced up at the ceiling. "Grace get your ass over here," she began to grow frustrated.

"That's it. We're not friends anymore. You lost an amazing friend. We could've been best friends. My first ghost best friend but it seems like you forgot me."

Evelyn heard the door to her room open and quickly laid back down, getting under the covers but struggled to even wrap it around her.

"I know you're awake," Klaus leaned against the doorway as Evelyn pretended to sleep.

"You're wearing your shoes in bed," he said.

Peeking her head out of the blanket, she saw Klaus looking at her with a raised brow. "Oh hey, Nik." Evelyn sat up and gave him a smile.

"Why are you shouting?"

"Me?" Evelyn pointed to herself. "I wasn't shouting. It was Stefan."

"Who's Grace?"

"What is Grace?" Evelyn raised a brow.

"I heard you shouting this name," Klaus stated.

"The real question is." Evelyn got up and walked over to him. "Is the old age finally getting to you? You're hearing things too now," she tutted.

"Do I look old to you?"

"I can see the white hairs growing," she teased and he gently swatted her hands away from his hair.

"I could perfectly hear the word, Grace, from your room," he narrowed his eyes at her.

"You caught me." Evelyn caught her hands up in surrender.

"Well?" Klaus urged for her to continue.

"I was singing Amazing Grace," Evelyn blurted instead.

She refused to tell Klaus that she met a ghost. The embarrassment of him laughing and mocking her was clearly pictured in her mind.

"Amazing Grace? Why the bloody hell are you singing that?"

"Did I ever mention I used to be in a choir? Well, I wanted to test my vocals. See if I still had it in me." Evelyn cleared her throat. "Amazing Grace–"

"I give up," Klaus muttered under his breath.

"That's not how the lyrics go. Sing with me, Nik," she smiled widely. "You want to sing something else instead. You choose then."

Klaus now regretted entering her room. "I don't want to sing with you."

"You don't want to sing? It's okay. You can dance whilst I sing. Yeah, let's do that. Be my personal cheerleader," Evelyn encouraged him.

"No way," Klaus shook his head.

"Yes way." Evelyn held on to his hand to move him around. "Move those hips." She placed her hands on his hips but Klaus had his lips pressed tightly and didn't move.

"You're a bit stiff. Loosen up," she said.

He took a step back and walked out of her room, closing the door without uttering a word to her.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you how to dance tonight. By the end of it you'll be a pro. I promise!" Evelyn called out. "I'll even show you how to twerk!"

"None of that is happening!" She laughed when she heard Klaus shout.

She took a deep breath and face planted herself on the bed. "I've definitely gone crazy," she mumbled as she wondered why Grace wasn't in contact with her.

━━━━━━━━━━

"I don't want to be your girlfriend today," Evelyn said and Klaus looked offended.

"Why do you make it sound like it's tiring to be with me?"

"Well, you never include me in your actual plans and I even let you use mine. So I refuse to be your girlfriend today. It's a boring position. In fact I resign."

"I–" Klaus tried to come up with an excuse.

"I have everything I need to fight back if they resort to violence, which I hope they don't, and if it does happen my dad taught me how to put someone in a headlock," Evelyn stated proudly.

"A headlock now? It's always something new with you everyday," Klaus sighed.

"I've been a victim to that." Stefan strode into the room.

"That's because I thought you were stalking me," Evelyn exasperated.

"We had the same lesson that day," Stefan pointed out.

"I didn't know that," Evelyn mumbled. "You looked like a weirdo walking behind me so I assumed you were stalking."

"Really, Eve? In a school?" Stefan chuckled and she waved him off.

"So am I included in your plans?" Evelyn asked Klaus. "I can show you how I do a headlock if you need proof."

Klaus stopped her before she could. "There's no need to that. You're included."

"Yes!" Evelyn gave Stefan a high five.

"Before we go, please don't argue," Stefan pleaded to them.

Klaus and Evelyn looked at each other then back at Stefan. "Don't worry. We don't have anything to argue about yet," Evelyn reassured him with a smile.

"Yet," Stefan mumbled. "Why do I even bother?"

━━━━━━━━━━

"Whatever you're looking for you can do it when we get back, love. We really need to go now," Klaus watched as Evelyn ran around her room.

"I need this now, Nik," she insisted. "Where the hell is it?"

"Where's what?"

"My crossbow. Have you seen it?"

"No." He stole and hid the crossbow.

Evelyn faced Klaus, eyeing him as he pretended to glance at the watch on his wrist. "Let's go."

"Fine," Evelyn sighed. "I'll have to check again when we get back."

Klaus was now panicking. He signed himself a death wish if Evelyn were to find it was in his room. He didn't even want to think what she would do to him.

I'll hide it in Stefan's room. He thought to himself.

They arrived at the lobby, walking towards the exit as Evelyn gave the doorman a smile and a wave with her hand. He returned the smile back with a nod.

"Have a great day, Mr and Mrs Mikaelson," he said.

"You too– wait what?!" Evelyn's eyes widened. "We're not–"

Klaus placed a hand on the small of her back, ushering her towards the car. "Nik, did you hear what he said?"

"I didn't," Klaus hid the smug smile threatening to form on his lips.

"What the hell?" Evelyn murmured to herself.

"What's wrong?" Stefan asked.

"I think i'm going to throw up."

━━━━━━━━━━

"Stop trying to take photos of me," Klaus placed a hand over the polaroid camera Evelyn had shoved in his face.

"I'm just trying to create memories," Evelyn let out an annoyed huff. "I would like to show my children one day who my kidnapper was."

"I shouldn't have bought that for you," he mumbled to himself.

It was Evelyn's obsession for the week. After gazing longly at the polaroid in a vintage store, Klaus bought it for her. Evelyn refused at first, telling him to return it back as it was too expensive, but he had reminded her that it cost nothing to him.

Evelyn almost gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

And from that day, she would not stop taking pictures of anything that caught her sight. There were plenty of goofy pictures of her and Stefan. She had also sneakily taken some of Klaus when he wasn't paying towards her attention.

She continued to walk, taking pictures when she lowered the polaroid down. "Why didn't you tell me we were hiking today? I could've prepared a backpack for us with supplies, food and drinks."

"I didn't know the information given to us would involve hiking," Klaus said and Evelyn sighed.

"Are you okay, Stefano? Want to sit down and take a break? Hungry?" She hooked her arm around Stefan's.

"I'm good, Eve," Stefan smiled at her, giving her an affectionate side hug. Klaus gave them a side eye.

A sudden squeal escaped Evelyn's lips and they both turned to look at her as she ran ahead of them. "Look what I found!"

She crouched down to pick up the squirrel and happily skipped back to them. "It's a squirrel, Stefan. A snack for you. Just don't kill it though and drink a bit of the blood then heal it."

"I really don't want to," Stefan politely declined.

"Okay." Evelyn stood in front of Klaus. "You want a snack?" She shoved the squirrel towards his face.

Klaus scrunched his face with disgust and shook his head. "Put it back down."

"Are you sure you don't want it?" Evelyn asked, shoving it more in his face. The squirrel almost bit Klaus' nose.

"Yes, i'm sure," he said as he took a step back.

Evelyn set the squirrel down. "Be free, Mr or Miss Squirrel." She gave the tail a little shake and watched it run away. Klaus snorted at that and Stefan smiled at Evelyn.

"You both lost a snack there," she pointed to them.

Evelyn then decided to walk ahead of them, her eyes stopping in front of a tree that had scratch marks on them. "It looks like it's been there for quite a long time." Klaus stood besides her and trailed his fingers down the marks, his eyes scanning around their surroundings.

"We'll split up," Klaus instructed Stefan to search the other side of the woods and he left.

"See you in a minute, guys," Evelyn began to walk in the opposite direction by herself.

She was stopped by Klaus, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Um– you told us to split up?" Evelyn questioned. "Is the old age making you lose your memory too?"

"No, you're staying with me."

"Why?"

"Because you'll end up having a conversation with a stranger and consider them as your friend within minutes."

"But you weren't my friend when we first met," Evelyn said.

Klaus ignored her remark. "Come on."

Evelyn dragged her feet towards him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Quit sulking," he smirked.

"I'm not," she mumbled.

As minutes passed by, Klaus no longer felt Evelyn besides him and whirled around to see if she was walking behind him but she was nowhere in sight. He lost her again.

"Why don't you ever listen to me for once?" He muttered, as he tiredly rubbed the side of his head.

"Evelyn!" He shouted out her name. "Get your arse back over here!"

"Hi, Nik!" He heard Evelyn's sweet voice. "I'm up here." Klaus tilted his head up to find Evelyn sat on top of a huge tree branch. "You look so small down there," she let out laugh.

"Here catch this." Klaus winced when an apple was thrown directly at his face instead. "I told you to catch it."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a huge deep breath. "Get. Down."

"Wait. Wait. Look what I can do." She hooked the back of her legs around the branch tightly and bent her body upside down. Laughing, she waved at Klaus. "I'm upside down."

"You're going to hurt yourself," he snapped.

"Don't worry. I did gymnastics and i'm flexible. I'm a pro at this," Evelyn reassured him.

"I don't care. Get down."

"Liven up, Nik. Stop being grumpy." Evelyn stayed seated on the branch. "I found another apple." She reached out to pluck it off.

Klaus having enough of her antics, used his speed and in a blur, Evelyn was set down on the ground, clutching on to his arms for support.

"I wanted that apple," she mumbled then noticed the look on Klaus' face. "Maybe not. Okay. No more giving you white hairs," she teased to lighten up the tension.

"I don't have white hairs!"

"I found one." He let out yelp when she plucked a strand of his hair. "Oh wait, it's not," she laughed.

"You certainly do know how to stress me out. A lot," he grumbled under his breath.

"Glad it's working," Evelyn smiled innocently. "Are you now regretting taking me in this trip?"

"Not even the slightest." Klaus turned her around so he could keep an eye on her.

"Don't you be staring at my ass, pervert," Evelyn called out with a playful tone.

"I'm not."

"Then walk in front of me."

"I'm not staring at your arse, love."

Evelyn laughed as she looked straight ahead of her, tilting her head she narrowed her eyes above her, "Oh, it's a butterfly." She slightly ran ahead to catch it. "I actually haven't seen one of those for a long time."

A sudden gasp escaped her lip when she froze in her spot.

"What are you up to now?" Klaus sighed tiredly.

"Nik," she warily spoke.

"What's wrong?" When he saw a look of shock and fear on Evelyn's face.

She gulped. "I think– I think I stepped on a bomb and I can't move at all." Klaus took a glance down at Evelyn's foot that had a metal strap around it and vervain encasing it.

━━━━━━━━━━

"I have to say whoever set up this trap is a genius," Evelyn rested her hands on her hips as she remained still.

"Are you seriously praising them?" Klaus asked, hissing when he removed another strand of vervain.

"Yeah?" Evelyn anxiously laughed.

"Well, i'm going to kill whoever did this to you," he muttered under his breath.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked when she heard Klaus hiss again after removing the vervain.

"I'm fine, love."

"Can't you just yank it off?"

"You're already in pain as it is. I'm not hurting you anymore," Klaus said.

"I don't feel anything. Just yank it off," Evelyn reassured him.

"You were just complaining just seconds ago that your foot was hurting. Stay still," Klaus scowled.

"I am still!" Evelyn exclaimed. "My foot is literally strapped to a metal."

"Stay calm."

"I am calm! You saying it makes it worse. Oh God, i'm going to die aren't I? This is the worst way to die," Evelyn rambled as realisation struck upon her.

"You're not going to die," he said.

"Well, if I do I should confess my sins before I go to heaven," Evelyn said.

"What sins did you even commit? You're not going to die." Klaus tilted his head up to look at her. "And stop moving."

Evelyn ignored him as the panic in her arose with each second. "My sin is that I cheated!"

"You cheated on who?!" Klaus furrowed his brows as he kept his concentration to take the strap off her foot.

"Not on someone. I cheated on my history test," Evelyn confessed.

"Bloody hell," Klaus muttered.

"I have a good reason. It was supposed to be a couple of hours nap but I overslept," Evelyn explained. "I'm going to hell for doing that, aren't I?"

"Heaven would happily greet you with open arms."

"I've been a bad person, Nik," Evelyn cried out.

"I doubt that. Don't worry, love. You're not going anywhere."

"I once messed up my dad's paperwork thinking it was a colouring book and accidentally shredded some of the papers so I put the blame on Jeremy because I didn't want to be banned from having ice cream," Evelyn blurted out once more.

Klaus gave her a look that said 'are you serious?'

"Tell Jeremy i'm sorry for that and I love him."

"Bloody hell woman! You are not going to die!" Klaus argued with her.

"We don't know that! I'm under a time bomb!" Evelyn argued back.

"If you could just let me take this off and stop arguing with me–"

Evelyn cut him off. "You're the one who started to shout at me. Don't pin the blame on me," she snapped. "I'm on the verge of dying and I really don't want to end on a bad note with you."

"How many times do I have to tell you? You are not dying!"

"Just in case. Don't cry, Eve," she muttered. "Okay, i'm about to cry."

"Don't cry then," Klaus suggested.

"I won't," Evelyn nodded. "Maybe a little."

"Don't."

"Can I sit down or crouch down? My legs are hurting," Evelyn whined.

"This is no time for jokes," Klaus scowled in disbelief.

"I'm being serious. You know if you didn't let me stay with you this wouldn't have happened."

"So this is my fault now?"

"I'm not blaming you. I'm just stating the possibility of me not stepping my foot on a bomb if you had just let me search the other side of the woods by myself."

"Sounds like you're blaming me."

"Yes! I am! Happy?!"

"I am now." Klaus stood up and showed Evelyn the strap he took off in his hands. "Hold on to me."

"What? Why?" Evelyn asked. Klaus rolled his eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, lifting her up and using his speed to get them far away as possible from the bomb that exploded.

Evelyn gasped when her back gently hit the tree and Klaus towering over her body. "Oh. I'm not dead. Yay!" Was all she said and he closed his eyes, sighing deeply.

"The bomb went off," she said.

"Oh really? I didn't know that," he remarked sarcastically.

"What the hell happened here? I heard a loud explosion." Stefan ran over to them.

"Oh hi, Stefano. You know the usual supernatural shit that happens in my life. I stepped on a bomb today," Evelyn casually informed him.

"A bomb?!" Stefan exclaimed. "Are you okay? Where are you hurt?" He searched her for any injuries.

"I'm fine. Ow. Ow," Evelyn winced as Klaus held on to her. Stefan rushed over to her and took her in his arms. "Yeah. I think my foot is bruised, but it's cool," she laughed it off.

Stefan and Klaus turned around when they heard a sound of shuffling. Evelyn's eyes widened and shrieked when an arrow flew past them, causing a small explosion to happen away from them.

Evelyn groaned. "More hunters?! Oh shit. They're the ones who set the bomb. Catch them. We need to have a talk about bruising my foot." She limped forward but Stefan brought her back to him.

"Stefan take her to the car," Klaus instructed and Stefan lifted Evelyn up in his arm.

"But I need to deal with them first," Evelyn protested.

"I'll do that," Klaus said with a clenched jaw.

"Is that code for killing?" Evelyn whispered to Stefan but he silenced her.

Stefan sped them back to the car and Evelyn held on to him tightly. He set her inside and sat down himself.

Evelyn grimaced, knowing there was no chance the hunter was spared alive as she heard a scream. "So it was code for killing," she hummed.

"He's angry. Don't bother him or else he'll hurt you too," Stefan told her.

"Okay."

Klaus opened up the door, slamming it harshly and making her slightly flinch in surprise.

"There were no wolves. It was a trap set up all along," Klaus informed them as he kept everything in him to not lash out and scare Evelyn.

Evelyn gave him a side glance and slowly handed him a wipe from her bag, watching as he silently cleaned the blood off from his hand with it.

He noticed how Evelyn was sat very closely by the window to make sure she was away from him and began to fiddle with the hem of her dress, sitting in complete silence and he sighed.

Stefan gave Evelyn a look to not speak at all, and for the first time during their trip, the car ride was filled with utter silence.

Evelyn refused to even turn on the radio.

━━━━━━━━━━

Snuggling the blanket closer that was wrapped around her, Evelyn smiled in content whilst watching a movie later that night.

As soon as they arrived back to their hotel, Klaus walked away into his bedroom, slamming the door shut without saying a word to them. Evelyn had the urge to check up on him, but Stefan had refused her to in fear that Klaus would vent his anger on her.

Now, here she was, wrapped up in a blanket and sipping on a mug of hot chocolate until she heard footsteps approaching towards her and turned her head to the right as Klaus strode into the living room.

Maybe I should leave. He needs his space. Evelyn quickly got up, the blanket still wrapped around her and she carried her mug, ready to walk back into her bedroom.

"Stay," Klaus' voice stopped her. "Please don't be afraid of me." She heard the desperate plea in his voice.

Evelyn slowly sat back down on the couch, making sure there was enough space in between. She tightened her hands around the mug, glancing down at it. Should I ask him if he wants a hot chocolate? Maybe it'll make him feel better too.

"How's your leg?" Klaus broke the silence between them.

Without uttering a word and out of fear that he might snap at her for speaking, she gave him a thumbs up to tell him she was fine. Klaus laughed and Evelyn frowned, confused with him.

"You can speak, love. Your voice doesn't irritate me nor will it make me angry."

"Oh thank you," Evelyn released a breath. "I felt so suffocated that I couldn't speak. How are you feeling? Would you like a hot chocolate? I always have it when i'm feeling down. It's a family recipe. You'll love it and feel better, and i'm going to shut up in 3... 2... 1," she pursed her lips in a thin line.

"Keep talking," he insisted. It brought him a sense of peace when he heard her voice.

"Oh," she was shocked. "Well, are you okay? I wanted to check up on you before but you needed space and I didn't want to annoy you."

"You don't annoy me, my love," he reassured with a smile.

It was the kind of smile that he only gave her. Warm and gentle. Evelyn couldn't help but admit that she loved seeing this sight on him. It was her favourite along with his grumpiness.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"It's nothing you should trouble yourself with," Klaus told her. "I'm fine." He was angry at failing to find the wolf but the other part had been because he could've lost Evelyn, the thought of her dying in front of him terrified him.

"You can tell me. I'm a good listener." Evelyn shifted closer to him and he let out a deep sigh. He could never say no to those eyes.

"I'm failing and every time I believe we are close to finding the wolves, they evade us," Klaus confessed.

He stopped mid sentence when he felt Evelyn was the one to turn his attention to her now, taking one of his hands and tracing patterns on his palm. "Is this okay with you?" She asked him as she searched for his eyes. "This usually helps to keep me calm."

He looked up into her eyes, a gentle smile on her face that told him all he needed to know, a sense of calm when she was near, as if she was the only one who was able to bring him back, and she did.

Klaus wished he had met her when he was human, and made her as happy as she could be. Be the man she deserved. Instead, she got a broken and evil monster, and every time he would look at her, she radiated so much kindness and never failed to see the good in people. She was too perfect.

And here she was looking for the good in him and he knew it would be impossible for her to find it. He didn't deserve her.

"Yeah," Klaus nodded.

"Go on. Rant about whatever you want," Evelyn urged for him to continue.

As he continued to speak about his problems, he felt comfort in the way she would attentively listen to him. Her eyes fixated on him and her fingers lightly tracing on his palm, letting him know she was not leaving him.

"Do you feel better now?" Evelyn asked.

"I do," Klaus nodded.

Evelyn moved to pull her hand away before he held it in his own, meeting her eyes as he whispered softly, "Thank you for listening. It means a lot to me more than you know."

"There's no need to thank me. You're sad and angry. It's totally understandable. We have them days," she shrugged.

She didn't even know how happy he felt to know someone would listen to his problems.

"Anyways, guess what? It's your lucky day and i'm being generous so you can pick whichever movie we can watch but from my choices." Evelyn rested herself on the end of the couch.

"Why not mine?" Klaus complained.

"I'm letting you choose. Appreciate this opportunity i'm giving you." Evelyn gave him the remote control.

He thought for a second before giving in. "Fine."

"Yes!"

He noticed the way Evelyn was struggling to sit comfortably and lifted her legs up, placing them on his lap. She gave him a shy smile and laid the blanket over him too.

"Oh," Evelyn began. "What I said about cheating in my history test. Do not tell Stefan. He was supposed to be the one to have top marks."

Klaus chuckled, "I won't because I know you will."

"I won't," Evelyn said.

"The guilt will get to you and then you'll just tell him," he pointed out.

"It won't happen."

━━━━━━━━━━

"I cheated on the history test," Evelyn revealed to Stefan whilst they ate breakfast the following morning.

Klaus gave Evelyn an 'i told you so' look and she groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"I knew it!" Stefan exclaimed. "I knew there was no way you could get full marks."

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" Evelyn asked.

"Because you looked happy and I didn't want to ruin it," Stefan shrugged.

"No, I wasn't. I was dying on the inside that I would get caught," she sighed. "I'm sorry for stealing your spotlight, Stefano."

"Don't apologise for that. It doesn't mean anything to me," Stefan dismissed it.

"I want to hug you." Evelyn stood up and pulled him in a hug. He smiled and tightened his arms around her.

"My waffles are here."

━━━━━━━━━━

"You told me your ankle was fine," Klaus said as Stefan wrapped a bandage around Evelyn's ankle.

"I tripped over my own foot," Evelyn mumbled, feeling embarrassed.

"Why am I not surprised?" Klaus muttered under his breath.

"Easy Stefan," Evelyn winced.

"Sorry," Stefan apologised, being careful not to cause her anymore pain.

"I guess I can't go out today," she sighed, meeting Klaus' eyes with a frown. "You'll have go without me."

Klaus eyed her for a second, and Evelyn quickly looked down, wincing. "Okay. We'll be back in a couple of hours."

"How many hours exactly?" She asked. "Stefan and I have plans that's why," she added quickly.

Klaus shrugged, "3 or 4."

"Okay," she nodded. He wouldn't stop staring at her.

"Done," Stefan said.

"Thanks," Evelyn smiled.

"Do you want me to carry you to your room?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. Stefan lifted her up taking her back to her room, and sat her down on her bed.

"Could you pass me my book?" Evelyn gestured to the book sitting on the drawer opposite her.

Stefan grabbed it and placed it in her hands. "Do you want anything to eat when we get back?"

"No. I'll just order room service, but I will let you know if I change my mind."

Stefan nodded, placing a kiss to the top of her head then left the room.

"Bye boys! Don't miss me too much," she waved and blew them a kiss.

"I won't," Klaus replied with sarcasm.

"You'll be the one to cry," Evelyn teased.

"Don't do anything stupid," he pointed to her.

"I won't."

━━━━━━━━━━

Evelyn kidnapped a bunny rabbit.

Running down the street, she held the backpack close to her chest where the bunny had been safely kept inside and made sure not to squeeze the bag to tightly.

She glanced over her shoulder to see if the furious owner was catching up to her, and swiftly turned to the corner, leaning against the wall and catching her breath.

She faked her injury. Searching for the wolf was boring her out, and she knew Klaus would not let her stay by herself if she refused to go. So this had been the only way in order to explore the city.

"Don't worry. You're safe," Evelyn whispered to the small, furry animal as she opened up her bag. "I'm sorry you're in there but I had to get you away from that horrible guy. He was hurting you."

A hand clamped over her mouth, and her scream were muffled against it as her intruder dragged her in an alleyway.

Evelyn reached out insider her back pocket, tasering her intruder then kicking them in the guts as they staggered back from her and she pointed the taser towards me.

"Do it again. I dare you," Evelyn warned them.

"It's me!" The voice snapped at her.

"Kitty Kat?" Evelyn asked, narrowing her eyes at Katherine.

"You tasered my boobs," Katherine scowled at her.

"You literally dragged me in an alleyway," Evelyn argued back. "What is wrong with you?"

"Why were you even running? And where are your two bodyguards?" Katherine asked, narrowing her eyes at Evelyn.

"I was taking a jog," Evelyn lied.

Katherine noticed the backpack which Evelyn clutched on to tightly. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing. No!" But Katherine already snatched the backpack off Evelyn, opening it up and looking inside it as her eyes turned wide just seconds later.

"I don't even want to know why or how." Katherine gave the backpack to Evelyn.

"It's not for Stefan," Evelyn said.

"For Klaus?" Katherine raised a brow.

"No. I'm keeping the bunny," Evelyn said. "What are you doing here?"

"That's none of your business," Katherine remarked back.

"Oh my God, are you stalking us? You weirdo. Nik is going to kill you."

Katherine clamped a hand over her mouth, quietening her as she took a glance around their surroundings. "Which is why you won't tell him, okay?"

Evelyn nodded. "Can you take your hand off my mouth?" Katherine took it off. "Nik is still going to kill you if he finds out himself."

"Klaus lets you call him Nik?" Katherine asked instead.

"Yeah. Is that a problem?"

"He hates it when–" Katherine mumbled then laughed to herself.

"Why are you laughing?" Evelyn looked at her with confusion. "Stop laughing."

"Are you seriously going to cry?" Katherine looked at her with disbelief. "I wasn't even laughing at you. Please don't cry and don't tell Klaus about this."

"I'm sorry," Evelyn held back in the tears. "It's just you look like my sister, minus the hair and the clothes, and I miss Elena so much."

"Elena looks like me," Katherine argued.

"Can I hug you?" Evelyn sniffled.

"No," Katherine placed her hands on Evelyn's shoulder to stop her. "I'm not letting you stain my top with your tears."

It was too late. Evelyn wrapped her arms around Katherine tightly. "You don't hug like Elena though," she mumbled. "You're a terrible hugger."

"Okay. That's enough," Katherine looked too uncomfortable and awkwardly pat her back, moving her away.

"How are they?" Evelyn asked.

"They don't miss you," Katherine smirked, trying to annoy her.

"Don't lie Granny Kat," Evelyn smirked back.

Katherine let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. They're a miserable bunch acting like you and Stefan had died," she rolled her eyes. "Damon's been at it day and night to search for you two." 

Evelyn frowned at that. "Are you returning back to Mystic Falls?"

"No."

"So why are following us? Are you still obsessed with Stefan?" Evelyn asked. "Jeez. Get over him," she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not stalking him," Katherine rebuked back.

"Whatever you want to call it then. Anyways, do you want to go shopping with me?" Evelyn asked. "I need to buy a carrier, food and other supplies for the bunny."

"No."

"I'll tell Nik I saw you," Evelyn sweetly threatened.

Katherine's jaws clenched, forcing a nod. "Fine. I'll go."

Evelyn smiled brightly. "I also need to buy a few other things too. I'm paying," she waved the card towards Katherine's face.

"Is that Klaus' credit card?"

"I'm borrowing it."

━━━━━━━━━━

"Welcome to your new home," Evelyn set the carrier down on her bed and brought out the bunny. Sitting down, she caressed the fur and smiled.

"I need to find a way to convince Nik," she spoke to herself.

"While I think of that. Let's get you fed," Evelyn placed the bunny on the floor watching as he hopped around near her leg.

Sitting on the floor herself, she giggled when the bunny nuzzled his head against her hand and waited for her to pick him up. Placing a bowl in front of her, she filled it with hay, vegetables and pellets. She continued to tickle the bunny's back as he ate, occasionally snuggling closer to Evelyn for comfort and safety.

"What shall I name you, huh?"

"Eve!" Her eyes widened when she heard Klaus' voice.

"Shit," she whispered, standing up and running towards her door when she heard his footsteps approach closer.

When she noticed the door slightly opening, she slammed it shut and locked it. "I'm naked!"

"Oh– uh– sorry, love," she heard Klaus mutter an apology.

"I'll– I'll be there in a couple of minutes," she panicked and moved around her room to hide everything she bought and the bunny in her bathroom.

Fixing herself and taking a deep breath, she opened up the door, peeking her head out only. "You're back early."

"We found nothing," Klaus said. "Are you still–" He gestured to her head that he could only see.

"Yeah. I was taking a bath."

"Okay. I just wanted to check to see how you were feeling," he said.

"I'm great," she smiled at him. "Anyways, bye."

Klaus raised a brow at her behaviour, "Crazy girl."

Evelyn rested her head against the door as she took a deep breath. A loud crash startled her and she rushed inside her bathroom. "No, no, no," she whispered.

She hadn't even heard Klaus entering her room, stopping to a halt just outside her bathroom, his eyes widening at what he was seeing.

"Hi," she nervously laughed. "Meet our new child. He's alive this time." She raised the bunny and lifted one of it's legs to wave at Klaus. "Say hi to Nik."

Klaus opened up his mouth to speak, but closed it as he pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes for a moment. "This is the fourth animal you've tried to take. How many times do I have to tell you, you can not take someone else's pet? Whose is it this time?"

"I can explain," she said.

"You faked your injury," he stated.

"Well, technically the bunny was not on my agenda. I didn't want to go search for the wolf with you and just explore the city myself then I found him."

"Then you should've not taken him," Klaus spoke over her, but Evelyn ignored him.

"The guy was being a dick and kicking bunny around even after I told him that it's animal abuse but he wouldn't listen, so I used my pepper spray on him and took off with the bunny," Evelyn explained with a proud smile.

"We're taking him back," Klaus said.

"Over my dead body," Evelyn snapped. "Actually, I take that back. Don't kill me."

"Evelyn–"

"He's gone!" Evelyn yelled, running past Klaus when she saw the bunny hop out of her room.

Klaus followed after her, walking past, but Evelyn pushed him, making him fall face flat on the floor. "Ouch," he groaned.

"I didn't mean to do that, but you can't take him away from me," Evelyn looked over her shoulder briefly and continued to follow after the animal.

"Why is there a bunny in my room?!" They heard Stefan exclaim. "Eve, I told you to not kidnap them for me!"

"Don't eat the bunny, Stefan!" Evelyn yelled, skidding to a halt in his room.

"Is that shit on my floor and bed?" Stefan furrowed his brow and wrinkled his nose with disgust. "It is."

"I'm sorry. I'll clean it up, but you can't eat him. This is my new pet."

"Absolutely not," Klaus stood behind her.

"Don't make me push you on to this shit covered floor too," she threatened him.

Klaus moved away from her.

Stefan glanced over to the pet in her arm. "Promise me you won't eat him," Evelyn looked him in the eye.

"Uh–"

"You're hesitating," she gasped.

"I– I won't," Stefan quickly spoke.

"Pinky swear," Evelyn brought out her pinky towards him.

"Pinky swear," Stefan linked his with hers.

"Good," Evelyn nodded and turned to Klaus. "What?"

"This is not happening," he shook his head.

"Then we'll take a vote. All those in favour to keep the bunny rabbit?" Evelyn raised her hand along with the soft bunny's leg too.

"He doesn't count," Klaus scoffed.

Evelyn glanced over to Stefan with a raised brow. He hesitantly and slowly raised his hand up.

Klaus bit his inner cheek. "Fine," he said, bitterly and left the room.

━━━━━━━━━━

Evelyn stood in front of Klaus. "Quit sulking, would you? You can do that later. We need to go to the vet."

"What for?"

"There's bruises on his body," Evelyn frowned. "I'm scared and we need to see the veterinarian right now please."

Klaus stood up, walking back into his room. Evelyn gasped at him, "Wow. You're an ass. A hairy one too."

"I'm going to get my jacket," Klaus remarked back.

"Oh. You're not a hairy ass," she mumbled an apology.

"Come on," Klaus walked past her.

Evelyn smiled, placing the bunny inside the carrier and followed Klaus. "We still need to name him."

"What do you want me to do about that?"

"Since you're giving me that attitude. I'm naming him after you and you are now officially his dad," Evelyn remarked.

Klaus looked horrified at the thought for both of them. "I will not be his father."

"Too late," Evelyn sent him a sweet smile.

This time Klaus smiled as he watched Evelyn bump into the wall, and refused to stop her from falling on her ass. "Ow."

"I love karma sometimes," he chuckled.

━━━━━━━━━━

"Nik, look. They have a panda," Evelyn nudged Klaus who was seated next to her. "Can we–"

"No."

Evelyn gave him a nasty side glance and looked away. Klaus felt out of place, glancing around to find too many pet animals surrounding him.

"Did you use my card?" Klaus looked up from his phone.

"No," she lied.

"Then who would spend over $500 at PetSmart?" He arched a brow.

"I don't know. You are a dog yourself," she shrugged.

"That's it. We're going back to the hotel, " Klaus stood up.

"Okay, okay. No more dog jokes," she nodded. For now.

"Don't be sad. I'll pay you back."

"You spent it all on him," Klaus pointed to the bunny resting on her arm.

"Excuse me? He was being abused by his previous owner and lived like crap. So i'm sorry for trying to give him a better upgrade at living. He deserves love," she scolded.

"It's our turn," Klaus sighed, placing his hand on the small of Evelyn's back as he guided them into the veterinarian's office.

"Hi," Evelyn smiled at the kind woman.

"Hello, and this is?" The vet gestured to the carrier.

"He's–" Before Klaus could speak, Evelyn beat him to it.

"Niko. With a K," Evelyn blurted, sending Klaus a sheepish smile. He shut his eyes briefly, giving up with her.

"And what's wrong with Niko?"

Taking the bunny out the carrier, "I noticed bruises on his legs and back."

"Was this recently?"

"Today actually. Basically I kid–" Klaus gave a gentle pinch to Evelyn's hip to keep her quiet and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"We found him. His owner was abusive," Klaus interrupted her.

Evelyn gave him a look and he shook his head at her. "You don't just say you kidnapped an animal," he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Oh," she nodded. Returning back to answering questions from the vet and Evelyn also asking questions to maintain a healthy diet and safe environment.

"What are you doing now?" Evelyn looked alarm. "Don't hurt him," she scolded the vet.

"She's not, love. It's just procedure," Klaus reassured her.

"Don't worry. I'm only giving him a vaccination," the vet gestured to the needle she was holding.

Evelyn bit on her lower lip. "I hate needles." She felt a little faint looking at the needle itself. "I don't think I can look at this part," she whispered.

Klaus placed a hand on her back, bringing her closer to him and Evelyn instantly placed her head on his chest, her arms around him as she embraced him and he rubbed her back to comfort her, leaning his chin on top of her head and whispering reassuring words.

"It's over, my love," Klaus' lips murmured against her temple.

Evelyn looked back and smiled in relief. "Make sure he is fed plenty," the vet reminded her.

"Thank you."

Evelyn smile widened as Klaus waited for her by the door, offering his hand to her and she took it, intertwining her fingers with his, whilst his other held the carrier with Niko inside as they stepped out of the office.

"Niko?" Klaus scoffed with bitterness. "What is this obsession with naming an animal after me?"

"I panicked," Evelyn defended. "I'll think of another name. This is just temporary."

"It better be," he said.

"We can keep it as his middle name?" She suggested.

Klaus shook his head, walking ahead of her and being completely done with her.

"Is that a chimpanzee?" Evelyn awed with wonder.

"Don't even look at it," Klaus pulled her back to him.

━━━━━━━━━━

Klaus was extremely annoyed. He had been waiting for Evelyn for their usual night talks and movies, but she was too fascinated with spending her time with Niko. The nights was their thing and now the bunny had to ruin it all.

Drinking his bourbon, he glanced over to Evelyn's door, hearing her laugh and talk. A frustrated sigh escaped his lips, guess he was spending the nights with himself from now on.

It wasn't till an hour later when Evelyn walked over to him. "He's so adorable. He would only sleep in my arms," she laughed. 

Klaus continued to draw in his sketchbook, ignoring Evelyn. "Why are you so moody today?"

"You've been spending the entire day and night with Niko," he mumbled.

"I'm just making sure he's comfortable here," she said. "Wait a second."

"What?" Klaus gave her a brief glance.

"Are you jealous because you're not my pet?" She teased.

He ignored her, sliding the plate towards her. "Apples and nutella. Just how you like it." This had also became their thing. Evelyn knew he had secretly liked them, after catching him one night making himself a plate. It also seemed to be the only food Evelyn was willing to share with Klaus.

"Thank you," she smiled.

They settled down on the porch swing outside the balcony, spending the rest of the night thoroughly enjoying each other's conversation and laughing at Evelyn's failed jokes at teasing Klaus, well mostly she was laughing and he kept his usual stoic expression.

Her head was now laying against the side of the headboard porch, knees tucked under her chest as she gazed at him. "You're staring." Klaus turned his head to fully face Evelyn.

"I'm thinking."

"Then why are you looking at me like you're about to use your sprays on me?" He chuckled.

"There's something about you," she murmured, thinking back to her thoughts.

Klaus shifted his body to the side, sitting opposite her. "Oh yeah?"

Evelyn nodded. "You're a mystery."

"So are you," he threw back.

"You know everything about me," she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Not the real you." Evelyn tensed for a second, frowning at his words. "I can't seem to figure you out, love," Klaus said.

Me too. She wanted to say.

"Because there's nothing to figure out."

"You're lying."

"I'm not," Evelyn said and he sighed in defeat. She was never going to open up.

"Now, you're staring," she pointed out.

"I'm thinking," he repeated the same words to her this time.

"There's nothing to think about," she rolled her eyes at him. Klaus sighed, letting the matter go.

"You know you can be nice when you want to," Evelyn softly spoke.

Only for you, my love.

"But don't worry this will be our secret," she giggled.

"Good. Don't want to ruin my big bad wolf image, do we?" Klaus sarcastically mocked, a smile evident on his face which made Evelyn laugh more.

She caught the sight of Klaus laughing with her. Staring at him, her body tensed at this new emotion inviting itself in and she couldn't understand what it was, but all she knew was that she enjoyed his presence around her.

The way he paid attention towards her. Made sure her needs were fulfilled. Stayed awake every night with her so she didn't feel alone. She was thankful yet at the same time all this bothered her a lot.

Was Stefan right? Was Klaus faking it all just to use her powers for his own benefit?

Evelyn couldn't help but wonder Klaus was hiding something from her.

I'm still debating if I should keep Niko as his first name. What do you all think about this or do you have any suggestions?

Reminder that this is a slowburn. Don't bring up when the smut will happen. Eve and Klaus understanding each other is the important part of their relationship.

But can we agree that touch is their love language? Especially for Klaus. Puppy Kevin is so needy.

Take care of yourself and remember you
are all loved.