ACT TWO; TARGET IN SIGHT
SCENE SEVEN; THE STORIES WE TELL
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SALEM'S HAND MOVED SMOOTHLY ACROSS THE CHALKBOARD AS SHE FILLED IN THE SHADOWS OF THE LANDSCAPE SHE'D BEEN DRAWING. The dust of the chalk swam around her head and she felt it tickle her nose, making her scrunch her face up as a sneeze crept up on her.

Dropping her hand away from the drawing on the board, she used her chalk-free hand to cover her mouth as she sneezed. Shaking her head, she huffed out a displeased sigh when she realized she'd snapped the chalk in her hand, and she dropped the two pieces onto the tray beneath the board.

"Salem!"

She startled, head snapping towards the door as Alaric rushed towards her, quickly wrapping her up in a hug. She groaned as he squeezed her, and she patted his back before demanding to be put down.

"Jesus," She rubs her sternum, glaring up at him. "You'll break my ribs at this rate, Ric."

He disregards her dramatics, looking down at her with pure relief shining in his eyes. "It's so good to see you," He sighed softly. "I know we talked on the phone, but I just– I needed to see it with my own eyes, you know?"

Salem shrugs, giving him a slightly sarcastic smile as she turned in a circle before him. "Here I am, in one perfect piece. Did you miss me that much?"

Alaric rolled his eyes, but smiled at her. "'Course I did, you left me here with Damon all summer."

"A crime worthy of the death penalty, honestly," She hummed, turning back to the chalkboard to pick up a new stick of chalk and continue shading the large, crashing wave stuck in motion on the board. "But you survived, didn't you?"

"Barely," He snorted, eyes watching as she filled in some empty space with the white chalk. "You, uh– were you here last night? When everything happened?"

"I was,"

"And..."

"And?"

Alaric shifts, looking uncomfortable. "Well, Stefan's– Klaus turned his humanity off. He's, uh, a bit of a wildcard. And he had Elena in the hospital,"

"I'm aware," Salem turns her head, raising an eyebrow at him. "Ric... I know that you've been taking care of Elena and Jeremy since everything happened with Jenna– and I know that it's been hard, but I,"

She shakes her head, looking away from him again. "I don't know if Elena or Damon told you, or if Stefan did at some point, but I'm not exactly playing for your team. I never was."

"Salem,"

"You should get to class, Ric," Salem drops the stick of chalk, turning to face him as a warning bell sounded through the school. "You don't want to be late on the first day back."

He hesitates, hurt flashing through his eyes, but he forces it away and backs off with a short nod. As he turns to leave, he gives her one last once over, pursing his lips. "I'm glad you're back, Salem. Despite... everything."

She nods, giving him a small smile. "Me, too, Ric."

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She'd expected an interrogation from one of them at some point or another. Caroline was naturally a very assertive girl, so it wasn't entirely surprising she took the lead. Her presence had predominantly been as their unsuspecting art teacher, and then she'd abruptly run off with Klaus for three months, only to come back and actively work against them; they were bound to have questions eventually. And if her brief interaction with Alaric that morning was anything to go by, said confrontation would be happening sooner rather than never.

Elena seemed to stick behind as well, though her curiosity was more subdued than the blonde's. Salem hadn't known Elena well enough to observe her character, but she did seem to be more downtrodden than usual. Whether that was from her now ex-boyfriend's lack of humanity, or the fact that two of her few-remaining relatives had been sacrificed for her sake, Salem couldn't tell.

Even though she was technically working against Elena now, she had a sliver of pity for the girl. Elena hadn't done anything in life to deserve this sort of karma besides wear the same face as Katherine Pierce. But from what little she'd witnessed from Katherine, and the things she'd been told about the dopplegänger, she figured that was more than enough.

As soon as the last student had left, Caroline bounded towards her desk with a frightening look of determination in her eyes. Salem's friendly smile fell into a practiced look of ease as the blonde slapped her hands down on the edge of her desk.

"Where have you been? You sell your soul to the hybrid devil and disappear for three months? Alaric was losing his mind!"

Salem raises an eyebrow but stays silent, her eyes darting to Elena as the girl winced at the outburst.

"And then Stefan ghost calls Elena on her birthday, and of course she tries to save him, but Damon wouldn't let her, and then Ric spends the entire summer looking for you, even though Damon tells him it's a lost cause–"

"Caroline, I think she gets it–"

Elena's soft interjection is cut off by Caroline's continuous rambling. "This summer has been one big what if, and you just walk into class like nothing happened?"

Salem stays quiet for a moment longer and the blonde lets out a huff, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you done?"

Caroline nods, her lips pursing with a pout.

Salem looks at Elena, making a brief gesture with her hand. "Anything to add?"

Elena hesitates before a hurt, confused look crosses her face. "You... you helped save me, so why are you suddenly so okay with me being killed or– or used as a blood bag?"

Salem tilted her head in a conceding nod before heaving a heavy sigh. "I didn't really help save you, though. What happened was you all found out about my powers, and assumed I would help save everyone. But no one seemed to understand that I'm not willing to die for Elena, or any of you, for that matter. I was on Klaus's radar, and I was doing what I needed to do to save myself. And, admittedly, I was there for Alaric's sake. In the end, I stabbed you all in the back and you still think I'm on anyone's side but my own."

She says it so matter-of-factly that both girls can't help but momentarily be rendered speechless.

Caroline quickly blinks herself out of her stupor, though, and an incredulous noise rips its way out of her throat. "Wh– that's so– so–"

"Selfish?" Salem supplies.

Caroline nods.

"Well," Salem shrugs, grabbing a pen as she opened one of the folders on her desk. "I'm a very selfish woman, Caroline. And I'm also your teacher, which means I could fail you both for basically harassing me, and then you won't be able to graduate in May. So, how about you two head to your next class before you're late and I will continue to do whatever I want because– immortal or not– I'm still the adult and I have the authority here."

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When lunch finally rolls around, Salem is relieved, and she takes her moment of peace to head towards the empty bleachers by the football field. She pulls out her phone and dials the most recent number in her contact list, and it only rings a few times before the line is picked up and her words are pouring out of her.

"Was there a reason you failed to tell me Rebekah would be parading around as a student? And, while we're on the subject of my immortal students, why have you given me a Ripper bodyguard?"

Klaus's chuckle rings through the speaker and she rolls her eyes. "Not wasting any time, then, are we?"

"I have fifteen minutes before I have to be back in class, just answer my questions or I'm going to make things difficult for you."

"Fine, fine," He sighs, conceding quickly. "So bossy."

"Nik,"

"Stefan was a problem, so I took care of it. I figured I'd put him to good use and have him watch over you while I'm busy. You don't need to worry about him, he can't hurt you,"

Salem scoffs, eyes drifting to the distant figure of Stefan standing near the school with her in his sights. "He couldn't hurt me before. I don't need to be watched over, Klaus, I'm not a pet."

He laughs at her pouting tone, and she can't help the slight smile she gives at the sound. "Of course not, dear, but you are something of importance to me and I can't have any of those imbeciles thinking otherwise, can I? Now, as for my sister, she's pathetically out of touch with humanity and I need you to help her adjust, and perhaps get her to leave me be while I handle my hybrids."

Salem grunts, though she's not that annoyed at the prospect. "Have you ever considered that she's out of touch because you kept her daggered for almost a century?"

"It crossed my mind once or twice,"

"Oh, how generous of you," She simpers, rolling her eyes again. "Look, you and I both know that I could handle any one of these idiots that would try and hurt me, so what's the deal with my vampire bodyguard?"

Klaus pauses, seemingly contemplating her words despite the fact that Salem has no doubts in her mind that he's already got an answer ready for any question she may ask. "As I said, Salem, you serve a greater purpose than they realize. I can't let anyone think they can take you away from me."

"You know I'd kill anyone who tried,"

He hums, satisfaction thrumming through the speaker. "I know. But that means you can afford to humor me, can't you?"

Sighing loudly, Salem feigns exasperation. "I suppose so. But was it really necessary for him to watch me on my lunch break?"

"Yes, although I am beginning to rethink it, seeing as I wasn't anticipating so much complaining."

"That's entirely your own fault," She huffs, walking past Stefan and ignoring the fact that he was following behind her like a dutiful dog. "I could get rid of his compulsion, you know that, right?"

"But you won't,"

"Maybe not right now, but only because you're still on my good side."

He sighs wistfully. "I fear the day that I'm not."

Pausing briefly, Salem looks around the lingering students in the hallway as she heads back to her classroom. "When are you leaving?"

"Missing me already?"

A short laugh leaves her lips as she sits down at her desk. "Funny. Look– I have to go, but we'll be having a conversation later without all of the ass kissing, okay?"

"I look forward to it. Tell my sister I said hello."

Rolling her eyes as she hangs up the phone, Salem's eyes fall to where the familiar blond is standing in the doorway.

"Was that my brother?"

She nods shortly as Rebekah takes her seat. "He says hello,"

Rebekah rolls her eyes, huffing. "He's such an ass."

Salem chuckles lowly as other students start to pour in, and she shakes her head, tapping her fingers on her desk. "You two are ridiculous."

Rebekah smiles, apparently happy with Salem's fond exasperation. "It runs in the family, love,"

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Once the school had emptied of students later that afternoon, Salem had acquired a short-lived peace that was disrupted by the all too familiar Original walking into her room.

Salem raised her brows in slight surprise as Klaus pulled up one of the desk chairs, sitting before her on the other side of her desk. "What are you doing here?"

"I have a proposition for you,"

"Last time I heard those words I slept with someone, and I refuse to defile my classroom again."

It takes a moment for her words to process, but she sees the second they do as a delighted look crosses his face. "Again? Naughty teacher," He gives her a pointed once over, eyeing the expanse of her desk. "A thought for another time."

Salem attempts to look annoyed by him, but she can't quite stop the smile that pulls at her lips. "What do you want, Klaus?"

"Well, now that my mother's posthumous lies have been sorted out, I'm going to make my hybrids with the doppelgänger's blood."

She raises a brow. "Are you just gonna drain Elena dry, or what?"

Klaus leans forward onto the desk, fingers brushing hers. "Initially, yes, but I realized that if she stays the delicate little human she is, then one day she'll go on to have doppelgänger children, and I can continue to sire my hybrids until the end of time."

"Are you telling me you're going to steal blood from children?"

He shrugs, feigning innocence. "I'd wait for them to turn eighteen,"

"You're such an ass," She reaches over, smacking his arm in response to his sarcasm. "You still haven't told me what you want."

"I have enough blood right now to make the first batch of hybrids,"

Salem nods slowly, biting the inside of her cheek. "So, what, you want to cash in on our deal?"

"Not quite," He hums, eyeing her with interest. "I need your help finding werewolves to turn. Much to my inconvenience, word has spread about me breaking the curse and all the packs nearby have gone into hiding from the big, bad, Original hybrid."

His fingers tapped a nonsensical rhythm on the desk as he scanned the room, seeing the various states of disarray left over by the arrival of students throughout the day. His bright eyes fall on the chalkboard behind her, and the expansive oceanscape drawn onto the surface. Briefly, he registers that this is one of the only things he's seen from Salem. She'd traveled with a sketchbook all summer, but even in their most private moments she kept it from prying eyes.

Salem leans forward, tapping her fingers against the back of his hand. "I can't leave again, Klaus. I have a job that I'd actually like to keep, and I don't have the gift of compulsion to avoid things like that."

He heaves a put-upon sigh and she rolls her eyes at his dramatics, smiling despite herself. "I suppose you're right. I guess I'll just have to track them down myself and turn them all whether they like it or not."

"As if that wasn't your plan all along," She huffs a slight laugh, getting a smirk in response. "You know, you really shouldn't be here. Teachers stay after school every day– Alaric could see you."

"Oh, yes, I'm so scared of what the history teacher would do to me." Klaus lowers his voice, still smirking as he sees right through her deflection. "Would he get jealous, seeing his precious, delicate Salem working with the bad guy?"

Salem purses her lips, still trailing her fingers up and down the lines of his hand. "And why would Ric get jealous? Hm?"

"Oh, it's quite simple, sweetheart," Klaus hums, leaning closer towards her. "No man can look at you and not want you, including your pitiful friend."

"No, I mean," She smirks slightly, tilting her head as she feigned confusion. "Why would he be jealous when he's already had me?"

A noise of surprise leaves her lips as Klaus moves quickly, cupping the back of her head to pull her in closer to him. His eyes flash, a gleam in them that says mine, and Salem's eyes seem to shine brighter in response to his possessiveness.

He breaks their heated stare to look at her lips, and doesn't look back up at her as he pulls her into him, earning a sharp intake of air from her as their lips finally touch. She quickly moved, standing from her chair and propping a knee up on her desk as Klaus continued to pull her into him.

She slides her hands through his hair, eyes squeezing shut as she presses further into him, tongue swiping out over his lips. He drops his hands to her waist and she lets him pull her the rest of the way over her desk, knocking her pencil holders and nameplate into the floor carelessly.

She slides onto his lap sideways, legs hanging over his own as she twists to press her chest against his, letting out a breathy laugh against his lips that he echoes before bringing her into another earth-shattering kiss.

Pulling back, Salem brushes her fingers through his hair, tilting his head back slightly so he can look up at her. "That was an interesting response,"

He narrows his eyes at her, though a smirk plays at his flushed lips. "The innocent act won't work on me,"

She hums, swinging her foot just above the floor, abruptly changing the subject back. "When do you leave, then?"

Klaus's hands tighten where they sit wrapped around her waist, and she sinks into the touch. "Tonight. I'm sure Rebekah will take her hurt feelings out on someone else."

"Like Stefan?"

"Perhaps before his switch was flipped," He mutters. "But she'll want someone who will give her a reaction. Maybe she'll get herself killed– that'll take care of one of my problems."

"Be nice," She tugs at one of his curls, grinning when his head jerks back and his eyes briefly shut. "I like your sister."

"I don't know why," He huffs, pouting. "She's an overgrown teenager with an attitude problem."

Salem's brows raise and she nods slowly. "I wonder who she gets it from,"

"So cruel," He groans softly, feigning hurt. "I just told you I'm leaving and you hurt my feelings. Are you even going to miss me?"

She shakes her head, laughing at him. "In your dreams,"

"That's certainly not what we do in my dreams,"

"You are ridiculous," She leans in, pressing a kiss to his lips that he instantly tries to deepen, even as she pulls back. "This is a place of learning, not debauchery."

Klaus hums lowly, looking into her bright eyes. "Come with me,"

"I can't," She drags her thumb across his cheek, smiling softly. "But I'll be here when you get back."

"I'll hold you to that."

She holds on to him as he stands, slowly depositing her on her feet, leaving her to crane her neck back to look up at him. "It's a promise."

He leans down, kissing her once, and then two more times just as quickly. Smirking, he tilts his head, looking over his shoulder at her desk. "You know, there's plenty of time, we could just clear things off your desk and–"

"Out,"

Klaus's laugh rings out as he departs, and Salem can't help her own laugh from echoing his as he disappears. She turns, flicking her fingers towards her door to shut it as she bends down to clean up the mess she and Klaus had made.

She remained oblivious to the upset look on Alaric's face as he ducked back into his classroom, trying to push away the thoughts of her and Klaus running through his head.

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Leila once told Salem a story about a witch. A witch so powerful that she was killed by her coven for going after what she wanted.

The witch's name was Inadu, and she lived thousands upon thousands of years ago. She was one of the most powerful witches to ever walk the Earth, and it was all because of her coven. They wanted her to be a beacon of hope, to keep people aware of the true strength that witches had. But they also wanted her to be an honest power, and bring peace amongst the different species.

But instead of being an honest peacebringer, Inadu was born with a hunger for power. She killed unapologetically to get what she wanted, and when her coven finally had enough, they killed her beneath a full moon one fateful night.

Amidst anger, in a quick act of revenge, Inadu bound all the witches to the full moon she died beneath and made them four-legged monsters that grew weak beneath the light of the moon they once used to kill her. Inadu created the curse of lycanthropy to punish her coven for killing her, even though she'd done nothing but what they wanted. She created peace out of fear. She made people so scared of her power that no one dared speak against her, and they killed her not because of her actions, but because she had become what they would never be capable of. They were envious, and fearful of the depths of her power, so they killed her– and they faced the consequences of it.

Her mother told her this story, and told her that far, far back in their lineage, they were related to Inadu. They were descendants of the woman who used magic to create werewolves, somehow, Salem was the first and only to be born with both. She's the only one to be born with enough power trapped inside her body that it leaks into her eyes, into her skin. It can hardly be contained.

Her mother told her this story when she was six years old, and Salem has never forgotten it. She tried to think of her mother as little as possible, but her constant fear and warnings that someone would try and hurt Salem because of her abilities always followed her. Even as Salem got older and began to resent her mother for keeping her locked away from the world because of her own paranoia, she always remembered the way her mother warned her that one day she would face the same fate as Inadu.

It haunted her even after she moved away for college, even after her mother died. The way she saw it, it was her mother's fault. Leila fell into bed with a werewolf knowingly, and instead of teaching Salem control and fairness, she taught her daughter to be just like the woman she feared her being.

She spent her entire childhood telling Salem that people killed Inadu because they were afraid of her power, and that the same would happen to her, so Salem figured if she was going to face the same fate, she'd live like Inadu did. She wouldn't be afraid of what she may face out in the world, because she was powerful. She was something unknown to anyone else, something new, and people feared new. People feared Salem.

For the longest time, she had that knowledge but she'd never been able to do anything with it. She'd never been faced with anything considered a threat because of her mother's fears.

And then she met Klaus.

She met Klaus, and she was given an opportunity to step up to the fate her mother had put on her shoulders from a young age. She felt powerful at his side. People feared her, they feared what she would do, what she could do. And it made her feel more alive than anything ever had before.

She hadn't put much stock into her mother's warnings, but if what Leila said was to be treated as true, and perhaps inevitable, then Salem had no issue enjoying the power that Klaus Mikaelson gave her. Her fate, wherever it may lie, was intertwined with his.

Leila had ultimately signed her daughter's life away from the day she was born. Her inevitable rise and fall was signed, sealed, and delivered. But Leila had never anticipated Klaus Mikaelson. No one ever did.

That's what made him so perfect in Salem's eyes. After all, there was no need to be scared of the threat that someone may pose if that someone was dead.

It also just so happened that most people that die around her never stay dead.

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Salem's brows furrowed as she heard Damon's voice echo into the empty hallways of the high school. She shifted, locking her classroom door behind her as she shuffled down the hallway, searching for the source of the ruckus.

"Aren't we forgetting about someone? I don't know if you remember or not, but your art teacher has been fondling the homicidal hybrid we all love to hate." 

Salem raised an eyebrow as she stepped into Alaric's doorway, an amused smirk on her face at their topic of conversation. "A warm welcome back, Damon, thank you." 

The group faces her with wide eyes and she rolls her shoulders back, raising her chin daringly. "I don't mean to bring down the mood of justice and moral high ground, but I guarantee whatever you're trying to do to stop the big, bad hybrid is going to fail terribly. And Damon– let's not split hairs about who's fondling who, alright? If I recall, you were trying to do the same with me a few months ago."

She waves her hand smugly, laughing as she turns to leave.

"You aren't going to try and stop us?"

Alaric's voice stops her and she glances at him over her shoulder, seeing the confusion in his eyes muddled together with an array of emotions she doesn't bother with identifying. Klaus's comments about jealousy suddenly pop into her mind and she shrugs a shoulder, glancing at all of them.

"Like I said, it probably won't work out. At least not without something backfiring terribly. But good luck."

She leaves them in silence, her smirk slowly fading as she walks to her car. The faint glow from the bonfire casts an orange glow on the parking lot and she sighs as she opens her car door. Her eyes flicker into the reflection on her window and she bites back a curse when she sees the familiar face behind her shoulder.

"Shouldn't you be plotting with the rest of them, Ric?"

The man sighs from behind her. "I wanted to talk to you for a minute without them around,"

She nods to herself and turns around, leaning back against her car. "I really hope you're not going to give me a good guy speech, for both of our sakes."

He looks her up and down, seemingly searching for something he seems disappointed not to find. "Come on, you're gone all summer and you can't talk to me for five minutes? You're my best friend, Salem. I was worried about you."

"I missed you, Ric, I really did, but I find it hard to believe that you still want to be around me after all of the shit that I've done."  

"Salem," Alaric furrows his brows at her, shaking his head at her defensiveness. "Of course I was worried about you. I spent all summer trying to find you and bring you home, even though Damon kept telling me to just leave you be."

"What would you have done if you found me? Genuinely, Ric– what would you have done? Klaus could kill you without even blinking, and Stefan was entirely off the rails." Salem scoffs lightly, shaking her head. "You know, I had no idea if Elena was even alive until you called me the other day? And then you told me that you'd been looking for me, and that you had actually found us in Tennessee, even though Stefan never even tried to hint to it around me. After I found that out, I realized– you may still want to be my friend, you may still like me, even though I'm sleeping with the guy that killed Jenna, but I don't matter. Not to Stefan or Damon, or even Bonnie or Caroline."

"Salem,"

"No, I'm not upset about it," She cuts his pitying voice off, holding a hand up. "I wasn't involved in all of this long enough for any real trust to be formed. I don't care that they don't care. I just... I'm not wasting my time on people who would let me take a bullet for Elena Gilbert. I'm not the self-sacrificing type, Ric."

He flinches, gaze dropping down before he meets her eyes again, a myriad of emotions passing over his face as she continues.

"It feels like everyone in my life keeps saying they need to protect me and keep me safe, but I can't seem to figure out what from." She turns and swings her car door open, narrowly missing Ric amidst her rushed movements. She goes to slam it shut, but Alaric stops it with a strong, calloused hand.

"I'm not letting you do this, Salem. No matter what you say, I'm not letting you push me away. If you– if you're happy with Klaus, then I'm happy for you."

"Alaric,"

He shakes his head stubbornly, his fingers trailing off of her car as he takes a step back. "You're my friend, Salem– one of the few I have left. I promise that my moral compass isn't strong enough to risk losing that over someone else's actions."

Narrowing her eyes, Salem heaves a sigh, though a slight smile pulls at her lips. "You are such a stubborn ass, Ric."  

He smirks at her surrender, shrugging a shoulder. "That's why you love me."

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author's note; the scene between salem and nik in the classroom is one of my favorites ever

edited and published; 4.1.23.

- liz