The Casket Girls: Part One

Flashback, New York City: 1990:

"Seriously, O'Malley?" Lola's face twists with slight disgust as she walks into O'Malley's bar, not approving of the music choice playing, "Don't you think you should change the music in the jukebox?"

James laughs slightly as Lola sits at the bar, "All of this music is going to go down in history, Salvatore. Mark my words."

"Is Scott still around?" Lola glances around the busy bar before putting her attention back to James standing behind the bar, "I'm guessing he was around considering The Clash is playing right now. It's almost closing so I am surprised that he and Nate aren't here on the piano singing Great Balls of Fire."

"You just missed Scott, he said something about going to your apartment."

"Why does everyone treat mine and Ade's place as a free for all?" Lola scoffs as she stand up from the bar stool, she smiles towards James as she starts to walk away, "Thank you."

"Wait, before you go." Lola turns to face James who gestures further into the bar, "There's someone who has been lingering about here all day. Guy sitting in the corner over there wearing a fancy suit." Lola turns around as a group move from a certain spot to reveal Elijah, "I'm guessing he's the guy you've mentioned before?"

Lola quickly turns to face James again, cringing to herself, "He's already seen me, hasn't he?"

"Doesn't look like you're getting out of this one." James chuckles slightly, then places a bottle of red wine on the bar, "Take this with you, already added your little speciality to the bottle."

Lola releases a heavy breath as she takes the bottle, "Wish me luck." Lola walks towards the table where Elijah is sat, he notices her walking over to him. A warm smile graces his lips as he comes to a stand to greet her, "It's only been three years, Elijah." Lola teases as she sits opposite Elijah, throwing her leather jacket on the back of the chair, "Are you missing me already?"

Elijah clears his throat as he sits back down, "You're not exactly being discreet are you, Charlotte?"

Lola purses her lips slightly, leaning forward on the table, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Amelia!" Elijah frowns slightly as he sees a red haired girl approach them both, smiling broadly over to Lola, "Uh, Amelia?" Lola then looks over to the girl who stands awkwardly, a hint of embarrassment flushes her cheeks, "It's Natasha!" The girls clears her throat when Lola continues to look at her even more confused, "...from the other night?"

"Right!" Lola remembers, she flashes a fake smile over to her, "Natasha...hey."

"I just wanted-"

"You're not going to remember coming over here tonight," Lola begins to compel the girl, "You're going to go back home and spend quality time with your cats. If you don't have a cat, get one. You could do with the company."

The girl blinks a few times before walking straight out of the bar without saying another word, Lola grimaces as she watches her leave, "I couldn't remember her name." Lola turns her attention back to Elijah, with no expression on her face, "Could you tell?"

"What game are you playing, Charlotte?"

Lola rolls her eyes slightly, slumping into the chair as she pours herself a glass of red wine, "Why don't you just tell me why you're really here, Elijah?"

Elijah stays quiet for a moment, watching the girl before him as someone he considered family but now sees her as a stranger, "I'm worried about you."

Lola forces a smile, "You don't need to be worried about me, I'm fine."

"Are you?" Elijah deadpans, seeing straight through Lola's false posture, "Because from what I've seen and heard you're not being yourself in this moment in time."

Lola shrugs, looking away from him, "Maybe you don't really know the real me."

"We both know that's false, you can't even look me in the eyes saying that." Lola's cold stare meets Elijah's warm one, with a hint of tease, he shifts forward in his seat slightly, "Don't you think this has gone on long enough, Charlotte? Might I suggest-"

"No."

Elijah laughs slightly at Lola's abrupt response, "You don't even know what I was going to say."

"You were going to suggest I stop running and face Klaus. Am I wrong?" Lola rolls her eyes when she's greeted with silence, she scoffs, "Exactly, so no I'm not doing that."

"He knows you're here." Elijah watches as Lola's demeanour completely changes, once a stone cold exterior, completely broken down and looking fragile. Just like Klaus' did when he spoke to Elijah saying he knows Lola is in New York, "He's known for some time now."

Lola shifts slightly in her seat, she looks down at her hands against her lap, digging her nails into the skin, "How long has he known?"

"A few months."

"That's bullshit." Lola laughs spitefully as she looks back over to Elijah, "If Klaus knew then I'd be dead." She watches as Elijah looks away momentarily with an amused grin, "Something amusing?"

Elijah clears his throat, taking Lola's glass of wine, "I often find myself wondering if I know my brother at all and yet I know for a fact that over the course of a thousand years, you are the only person Niklaus wouldn't harm."

"I hurt him, Elijah." Lola shamefully admits, flashbacks from that night in 1958 flashes before her and all the horrible things she said come flooding straight back, "I said some of the worst things I could ever say to him. So honestly, I don't even blame him if he wants to kill me."

"This life isn't you, Charlotte. You're worth more than this life." Elijah gestures towards Lola, "I look at a woman before me as someone I can barely recognise. You can allow yourself to create this web of deceit but know this, it won't work on me."

"It was truly a pleasure to see you again, Elijah." Lola flashes a forced smile as she grabs her jacket from the back of her chair, "But if you're just going to sit here and insult me then I'm leaving."

Elijah takes hold of Lola's hand against the table, stopping her from leaving, "I'll be in the city until tomorrow. If you change your mind-" Lola stands up to walk away, Elijah quickly stands in front of her, his hands holding against Lola's arms, "Charlotte, please. If you change your mind and wish to speak to Niklaus then I'll take you to him. I give you my word I won't let anything happen to you."

Lola moves her arms slightly to make Elijah's hands let go, "You don't need to stay until tomorrow." She smiles slightly as she straightens his tie, "My decision isn't going to change."

—✤—

Lola rests against the wall of the elevator, waiting for it to reach her apartment floor. There has always been a part of her mind that is constantly thinking about Klaus, ever since the night she could practically hear her shattering Klaus' heart. A part of her is wondering if she made the right decision walking away from Elijah. Maybe Klaus doesn't want to harm her. She gets pulled out of her thoughts when the elevator dings, arriving at her floor. 

She frowns slightly as she can hear loud music coming from her apartment, she groans slightly thinking she's going to walk in on a candlelit date between Adrianna and Nate, again. As she gets closer to the door she can hear that it's American Pie playing. Lola slowly opens the door, peaking her head round it to see Scott dancing around the living room, singing along to the song with two beers in his hands.

Lola clears her throat as she steps further into the apartment but Scott doesn't notice and continues to dance around. Lola kicks the door shut making Scott jump, he looks over to her shocked, "Lola...you're back."

Scott quickly turns the boombox off when Lola steps further into the apartment, frowning at the various empty bottles of beer around the room, "Why are you acting surprised to see me in my own apartment?"

"I just didn't think you'd be back so soon."

Lola sighs as she drops onto the sofa, glancing around the apartment, "Where's Ade?"

"Date night." Scott grabs a beer out of the cooler, holding it out towards Lola, "Want a beer?"

Lola smiles as she takes the bottle, "I need ten." She removes the cap from the beer, drinking most of it in one go before pulling a face towards Scott who sits beside her, "Is this Scott's Sexy Mixtape that gets you all the girls dropping to their knees for you?"

"Nate ratted me out, didn't he?" Lola's lips form a thin line, shrugging her shoulders as she tries to fight back laughter. Scott sighs as he runs his hand through his hair, leaning back in the sofa, "Wanna know an embarrassing truth?"

Lola's brow raises in interest, she sits up slightly in the sofa, turning to face Scott, "Always."

"I haven't had sex in three years." Scott admits, he looks up towards the ceiling as he closes his eyes, "I came close to, you know, but then I sorta ripped the girl's head off."

"Oh, wow." Lola blurts out, her eyes widen slightly not expecting that to be Scott's embarrassing truth. She purses her lips as she crosses her legs, completely facing Scott, "So, you basically cock blocked yourself?" Scott looks towards Lola, glaring at her as he hits her softly with a cushion. Lola raises her hands up in surrender before her face twists slightly, "Seriously, though, three years?"

"Yep." Scott scoffs before finishing the beer in his hand, "If we wanna get technical it's been three years, four months and ten days."

Lola gets up from the sofa, she grabs two more bottles of beers before sitting back beside Scott handing him a bottle, "So, you haven't had sex since you became a vampire?"

Scott laughs slightly as he takes the beer from her, "Pathetic, right?"

"It's not pathetic at all. There's more to life than sex, Scott."

Scott rolls his eyes, "Yeah, says the woman who probably had sex only like a week ago." He glances over to Lola who isn't fazed in the slightest by his accusation. Scott smiles slightly as he sits up, "You totally did, didn't you?"

Lola shrugs as she starts picking at the label on the bottle, "It was three days ago to be specific."

"And you never gave any of us the chance to embarrass you in front of the guy?"

"Who said it was a guy?"

Scott brows shoot up in surprise, watching as Lola takes a sip of beer, expecting her to say she was joking yet doesn't, "No way. Really?"

Lola frowns as she shrugs, "What's the big deal?"

"It's not a big deal, I just-" Scott laughs slightly, "I just wasn't expecting that." He looks over to Lola who leans back on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling as she sighs heavily, "What's going on with you?"

Lola raises her head up, glancing over to Scott, "What do you mean?"

Scott picks up on Lola's mood, knowing there is something clearly on her mind, "I may not have known you long enough but it's obvious when something is playing on your mind. You'd have insulted me a lot more after I told you my embarrassing truth on any other day."

Lola clears her throat before smiling faintly, "He's found me."

"Who-" Scott's eyes widen as realisation hits, he leans closer to Lola, face full of concern, "The original?"

"His brother, who is also an original." Lola leans forward placing the empty bottle on the floor, elbows rest against her lap, "But he knows where I am and apparently has so for months." 

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I don't know." Lola sighs as she runs her hands through her hair, before turning around on the sofa to face Scott fully, "You've shared your embarrassing truth, want to know mine?" Scott goes in the same position, facing Lola fully as he nods. Lola smiles as she rolls her eyes, "I can't stop thinking about him. I think about Klaus all the time, no matter what I'm doing. There's always something that makes me think about him." Lola rests her elbow against the back of the sofa, her hand rests against her cheek, "I just need something, anything to make me not think about him. Even if it's just for a short period of time."

Scott pauses for a moment in thought before taking his bottle and Lola's empty one off the floor and standing up from the sofa, "You need something a lot stronger than beer."

Lola watches as Scott vamp speeds into the kitchen and out again holding a bottle of tequila. Lola narrows her eyes towards the bottle as Scott walks back towards her and sits on the sofa, "Tequila?"

"Tequila is hands down the best drink to have when you want to forget about certain people." Scott flicks the lid off the tequila before taking a drink then holding it out towards Lola, "Once this bottle is finished, you won't be thinking about he who shall not be named."

—✤—

"Wait, hold on." Scott holds his hand out to stop Lola from speaking. Hours have passed since the pair started on tequila, already on their third bottle of it. Both so drunk they are finding everything amusing and sitting on the floor beside the sofa, "So before you and Ade moved to New York, you were both living in London?"

"Yep." Lola nods as she passes the bottle back to Scott, "We moved back in '86."

Scott hums to himself in thought before taking a drink, Lola reaches out for the bottle but Scott pulls it back slightly, narrowing his eyes at her, "And while you were in London, you also snuck into Live Aid?"

"We never snuck in." Lola smirks as she snatches the bottle out of his hand, "A friend gave us backstage access for the duration of it."

Scott matches the same amused smirk as he leans closer to her, "What friend?"

Lola shakes her head, looking away from Scott, "You don't know him."

"He's famous, isn't he?" The silence from Lola makes Scott laugh, he edges closer to her as his interest grows, "Hundred bucks I bet I can guess who it was."

"Even if you guess who it is, I'm not saying anything." Lola presses the bottle against Scott's chest for him to take it, "I have a better story anyway. There was this one time in '56 when-" Lola's smile wipes from her face, realising the story she was going to bring up also included Klaus. She glances over to Scott who picks up on her change in demeanour, she laughs slightly, clearing her throat before taking the bottle back from Scott, "Actually, you know what? It doesn't matter. Your tequila theory is bullshit because it's not working."

Lola cringes as the next song begins to play on the boombox, "You have U2 on this mixtape?"

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with U2." A hint of tease sparks in Scott's eyes as he points towards Lola, "We also agreed about half a bottle ago you'd stop making fun of this mixtape."

Lola smiles slightly, leaning her arm against the sofa, "You know what, Scott. I was wrong about you."

"What do you mean?"

Lola covers her mouth as she hiccups, she shrugs her shoulders, "Well when you first started hanging around with us, I hated you."

Scott bursts out laughing getting a confused glance from Lola which makes him laugh even more, "You made that pretty obvious."

"I get that a lot." Lola shrugs, "But I'm serious, you're a good guy. Awkward as hell, but I like you."

Scott eyes soften, a warm smile gracing his face towards Lola, "It's a good thing I like you too, Salvatore."

Lola pats Scott's shoulder, smiling over to him before leaning to the side to grab another bottle of tequila. As Lola sits up straight, Scott's hand runs through Lola's hair, pulling her in a soft kiss. The kiss was quick, but unexpected on Lola's side, she frowns slightly looking at Scott shocked as he pulls away.

Picking up on her expression, Scott groans slightly, "I'm sorry. I just totally misread that, didn't I?" Scott runs his hand through his hair as he turns away from her, "Fuck. Lo, I'm really sorry." Lola is as still as a statue, a million things going round her head, she watches as Scott sighs heavily before looking back over to her, "I just-"

Both of Lola's hands cup Scott's cheek, without saying anything she pulls Scott back in a deeper kiss. With more heat, the kiss is electrifying. They both pull away breathless, their eyes both wear the same glow that they both want this to happen. 

Lola pulls away slightly, "Don't overthink this."

"Wasn't planning on it." 

Scott towers over Lola as their lips collide again, lowering Lola onto the hardwood floor. His hands go under Lola's shirt, gripping hold onto her bare waist as Lola's run through Scott's long curls. It's like a trail of heat goes down Lola's neck as Scott leaves kissing along her neck. Lola spins them round, towering over Scott, a burning passion grows as they connect their lips. This exact moment is what they both need, both needing to let go about different things going on in their lives. Without even breaking apart, Scott sits up, his hands grip on Lola's upper thighs as she continues to straddle him. They break away briefly as they rip each other's clothes off, throwing them across the apartment. Scott vamp speeds them both up, pushing Lola against the wall. Her breathing becomes erratic as she feels Scott's mouth explore her entire body, her body feeling as hot as fire, her breath halts at the back of her throat as she feels Scott's lips against her inner thighs. Scott slowly brings himself up to stand, a smirk on his face matching Lola's before attacking her neck with kisses once more as he walks Lola backwards into her bedroom. His hands explore her entire body before she pushes him onto the bed. Scott watches up in awe as Lola climbs on top of him, her lips colliding with his once more. His hands grip against her hips, pushing her against his lap, pressing their naked bodies together.

—✤—

The distant sound of New York traffic and summer's sunshine beaming through the window wakes Lola. She squints her eyes to adjust to the light, groaning slightly at the faint headache from the various bottles of tequila. Lola frowns as she glances down to see her barely covered in her bed sheets and then eyes widen noticing she isn't wearing anything underneath. Her body stiffens when she can hear breathing beside her, she looks down at herself to see a tanned arm wrapped around her waist. She slowly turns to see Scott sleeping beside her, she turns her back on him again, burying her face in the palm of her hands. 

She bites her lip as she slowly moves Scott's arm from around her waist, trying not to wake up. Scott shifts slightly in his sleep, removing his arm himself and turning around in the bed to face the other way. Lola slowly moves the bed sheets from herself and vamp speeding into the adjoining bathroom. Lola turns the shower on, immediately getting into it to wash away the night before.

Lola tries to figure out how long she's been in the shower, hoping it's been long enough that she'll walk back out and Scott will have left. Hating herself that there's a possibility their friendship is now ruined by one night. Lola wraps a thick white towel around herself before taking a deep breath and stepping out of the bathroom. She straightens up slightly as she walks out to see Scott now fully dressed standing at the side of her bed. 

She smiles awkwardly over to him, "Hey."

Scott matches the same awkward grin, "Hey."

Lola clears her throat as she fully steps out of the bathroom, "So, uh, last night..."

Scott nods slightly, his lips form a thin line, "Did you find it as weird as me?"

Lola releases what feels like a relived pent up breath, "Yes!"

"Thank god."

Lola nods as she sits at the foot of her bed, "Don't get me wrong, it was good..."

"Really good." Scott sits beside Lola on the bed, "But weird."

"Not exactly what I meant by a distraction." Lola laughs breathlessly, feeling relived Scott feels the exact same way, "This doesn't change anything, right?"

"Not at all. No one will know about it. It will just be our little secret." Scott stands as he walks backwards towards Lola's bedroom door, "We'll continue on as normal where I beat you at darts every night."

"You beat me once." Lola scoffs, glaring over to him, "Seriously, Scott, you need to lower the ego. But I agree, continue as normal." Lola stands beside Scott at her door, "No one will know."

Both their eyes widen as they open the bedroom door to reveal Adrianna standing in front of the door, hands crossed against her chest as she looks over to the pair amused, "Afternoon...everyone."

Their mouths are agape, looking at each other both as equally helpless. Scott clears his throat as he points towards the front door to the apartment, "I'm just gonna...yeah."

Lola purses her lips as her and Adrianna both look towards the other waiting for the door to shut behind Scott, silence overcomes. As soon as they hear the door close, Lola looks over to Adrianna sternly, "Before you even start, no judging."

"Scott!?"

"I said no judging!"

Lola walks back into her bedroom, pushing the door closed but Adrianna catches it. She follows Lola into her bedroom, "Yeah, but Scott!? Seriously, Lo? Since when were there feelings between the two of you?"

"I know it's not your kind of thing anymore but you don't need to have feelings to have sex." Lola shrugs as she stands in the doorway to her bathroom, "We got drunk and it just happened. It wasn't anything serious."

Lola closes the door to the bathroom slightly as she gets dressed. Adrianna sighs slightly as she starts to pace around Lola's bedroom, "I seen Elijah last night. He told me that he spoken to you." She looks over as Lola walks out of the bathroom now dressed wearing an unamused stare, "So that doesn't have anything to do with what I walked in on?"

Lola sighs as she sits on the edge of her bed, "I just needed to forget about everything just for one night, okay?"

Adrianna walks over to a walk in cupboard in Lola's room, taking out a large bag and throwing it onto the bed beside Lola, "Pack your bags."

Lola frowns as she glances between Adrianna and the bag, "What? Why?"

"We're going on a trip. It's just gonna be you and me. You need a distraction?" Adrianna opens up one of Lola's drawers, grabbing a pile of clothes, she looks back over to Lola with a teasing grin, "How about the South of France? I know you're a sucker for an accent."

Lola stands up from her bed, watching as Adrianna places the pile of clothes into the bag, "Right now?"

"First thing tomorrow. Tickets are already booked. We'll tell the boys tonight at O'Malley's." Adrianna picks up Lola's posture completely change making Adrianna scoff, "Why do you hate Nate?"

"I don't hate Nate!" Lola exclaims, she moves past Adrianna and grabs more clothes, "I barely know the guy."

"Exactly! You barely know him and I would really love it if that would change, Lo." Adrianna sighs as she sits on Lola's bed, before quickly standing up and pulling a face remembering what she walked in on. She sighs as she closes the gap between her and Lola, taking hold of Lola's hand, "He is part of my life now and it would suck if two of the most important people in my life didn't get along."

Lola rolls her eyes when Adrianna starts to flash her puppy dog eyes, "Fine but I better be higher up on the important list."

—✤—

A/N: this is the first part of chapter 12, the next part will be up in an hour or so! This flashback was longer than I imagined so thought it best to split the chapter!

Hope you liked it!!

Holly x