The second Margot walked into the Salvatore boarding house after being invited in by Elena a vervain dart had been shot into her neck.

Pain filled her body as her knees caved in. Her body harshly hit the ground as she stared at Elena.

"Why?" She whispered as her eyes closed.

"Grab her legs," Damon told Elena as he grabbed the girl's arms. The pair dragged her into the basement before shoving her into an empty cell, one filled with vervain.

The older Salvatore sighed, he didn't want to do this but it was necessary. She was too close to Klaus. She was a liability, just like Rebekah who lay daggered in the cell beside her.

Elena glanced down at her fallen friend, "How long until she wakes up?"

"We have until morning... That will give us enough time to kill Klaus without her getting in the way."

"... Does Stefan know?"

"No," He answered as he grabbed the human's shoulders, "He can't find out about this Elena. He would let her out immediately and then Klaus will continue to taunt us, to taunt you."

"But Margot-"

"Margot will be fine. Besides, she's used to being locked up in basements."

— — —

She couldn't breathe. It felt like knives were stabbing her lungs with every little breath.

She slowly sat up, taking in her surroundings as she leaned against the wall. Her eyes widened as she took in a heavy breath.

That breath led to a fit of coughs. She gasped for air between coughs as tears threatened to fall from her sunken eyes.

She hadn't felt like this since she was human. It was like an asthma attack all over again, except this time, she didn't have her inhaler.

She quickly stood up, and ran over to the door, tugging on the handle only for nothing to happen. A choked breath escaped her lips as she stared out the small window.

"Damon."

"Hey, kid," He answered, a guilty smile on his face as he stared at her through the bars.

"What-" She coughed, "What is this?"

"You woke up earlier than we thought you would. Guess we didn't put enough vervain in you, huh?"

"Vervain?" She looked at him confused, "Why am I in the basement, Damon? You- You know I hate places like this."

Damon stayed silent as he passed her an old inhaler that had been in her room, "Not sure if those things work on vampires but uh... You might need it. Try not to freak out too much... not sure how much air's down here."

"No..." She whimpered as she stared at him.

"Sorry, Maggie. I really am, but we gotta take down Klaus and we can't do it if you're with him."

"So, what's your plan, huh? You gonna keep me locked in the basement for the rest of my life? My dad already tried that and it didn't work out. Come on, Damon. Just let me out– please."

Damon started to walk away.

"Damon? Damon, please don't leave me in here!"

Her screams, however, did nothing to stop him. He kept walking. She was alone once again, stuck in a never-ending nightmare as she leaned against the metal door.

It seemed as though Damon had taken a page out of her father's book. That page consisted of a single sentence, 'lock the teenage girl in the basement'.

By the time 3 am rolled around, the vervain had left her system completely. She immediately stood, regretting it as her vision went slightly black. She quickly recovered before pulling at the door.

It didn't budge.

It was like she was a child all over again. Except this time, she had an unlimited supply of magic to bend the metal into nothing but a small ball.

She grinned slightly before walking out, not seeing a very dead Rebekah laying in the cell next to hers as she quickly left the boarding house.

She ran as fast as she could with the little strength she had. Eventually, when she had run out of strength she stopped only to see a mansion in front of her.

All the lights were turned off except for a single one that sat by the entrance, illuminating the door in a golden glow.

The house felt different; safer even.

She slowly walked up to the door, seeing a small 'n.m' engraved on the knocker. She grinned slightly, only he would be extravagant enough to engrave his initials on the door.

She listened in, trying to hear a heartbeat only to hear nothing but pure silence. He wasn't home, and neither was Damon which meant their plan was still underway.

Margot took a breath in before she opened the door. It was unlocked. For an all-powerful hybrid, he was quite stupid.

She entered the house immediately, seeing multiple expensive jackets hanging from a coat rack along with an array of shoes neatly lining the ground.

One would assume it was just some rich guy's home, Margot however, knew differently. Firstly, no one in Mystic Falls was rich enough to own a Prada jacket, let alone seven. Secondly, only he would be extra enough to have his name written on every tag. 

She now knew why the home felt safe. It was because he made her feel safe.

She could still feel how cold the basement was as she walked into the hybrids kitchen. There wasn't much in there, just a few necessities.

Her body worked on autopilot as she pulled out the flour, eggs, milk, and butter. 

People worked under stress in odd ways. Some cleaned, some threw themselves into work and Margot? Margot stress baked. 

50 cupcakes, 3 dozen cookies and 1 cake later she was lying on the floor, crying her eyes out surrounded by red velvet cupcakes when the door opened.

She didn't even hear it. It was safe to say her mind was a tad jumbled from the past hours.

Nik had just gotten home after a tiresome evening of multiple attempts on his life. He was properly surprised to see the lights turned on in his home, even more so when he found Margot covered in flour, surrounded by desserts as she cried in his living room.

He had never seen her cry. Not like this at least. Nor had he seen that many cupcakes.

"Love?" He started as he moved closer to her, completely forgetting the past events of the night.

"Hey, Nik," She whispered as she stared up at the ceiling, a fresh set of tears falling from her sparkling eyes.

"What's wrong, love? I thought you were coming to be my date tonight... Damon told me you weren't feeling well," The Original spoke as he moved to sit beside her, moving her head so she was laying in his lap.

She stared up at him. "You have pretty eyes," She whispered.

He smiled, "You have pretty eyes too, love."

It was silent for a few minutes. Margot had been focusing on the man's heartbeat as she tried not to cry.

"What happened tonight?" He asked, his voice soft as his fingers straightened her hair, moving the stray strands away from her face.

"They- They locked me in the basement..."

His mouth dropped slightly as anger filled his senses.

She sighed as she wiped her fallen tears away. "I shouldn't be crying. I'm an adult. A stupid basement shouldn't affect me anymore– I'm sorry for coming. I uh- I'm gonna go back ho- home."

Before she could leave the comfort of his arms, he stopped her, tightening his grip on her. "It's not stupid, love. What happened to you is not stupid, it is a tragedy and they are not worthy of your love if they were willing to put you through it all over again."

She stayed silent, focusing on the gentleness of his touch as his fingers traced partners on her skin. He had done this multiple times before but this time was different.

The feeling of his skin against hers calmed her. If anything it was just his mere presence that calmed her.

She slowly moved out of his hold, quickly adjusting herself to be sitting in his lap as she buried her head in his neck. Her arms had made their way around his back as she gripped his shirt.

"I'm really happy I met you, Nik," She whispered as she closed her eyes, quickly falling into a dreamless sleep.

He smiled softly, his hand holding her waist, the other holding the back of her neck as he stood up, walking into the bedroom he had prepared for her. "I'm really happy I met you as well, Margot Salvatore."

He gently set her on the bed before covering her with the grey duvet. The bed was warm already. He had known she hated the cold and installed a heating blanket which turned on every night at exactly 8 pm.

He leaned down, placing a kiss on her forehead before standing up, about to leave the room however, before he could she grabbed his hand. "Don't leave," She whispered, her eyes still closed as she fought sleep.

He smiled slightly before slipping off his shoes and slipping into the place beside her.

It felt like it was meant to be. Margot had quickly moved over to his side, her arm had sprawled across his chest as her head rested on his shoulder.

Through all of their time together, they had yet to actually sleep in the same bed. This was different. It was just Nik and Margot. No sex, no stress, no supernatural. 

Just Nik and Margot. 

The lovers who were yet to be lovers.