Chapter Text
The flight seemed to go by in the blink of an eye.
One minute he's watching the young woman leaning against him and the next the flight attendant is informing him that they're landing.
Klaus wanted to growl at the thought of parting with the beautiful brunette. However Bella must have been a light sleeper because not even a second later she is waking from her impromptu nap.
Mocha brown eyes fluttered open, instantly alert as the 20 something woman did a full body stretch. Ever since Volterra Bella has been hyper aware of her surroundings.
The Original Hybrid was enraptured with every nuance the woman next to him exhibited. His fingers itched to draw her portrait. One thing he knew for certain was that he couldn't let this be the last time he saw her.
"Do you need a ride to Mystic Falls luv?"
Klaus caught sight of her blush before a curtain of lush brown hair came between them.
Bella quickly shook her head no, "A friend of my dad's is giving me a ride home. Thanks though."
"Who's your friend? Maybe I know them," the blonde man pressed on.
"Sheriff Forbes. Her and my dad were partners when he lived in Mystic Falls."
On the outside he gives nothing away, but on the inside Klaus cringes a little. To say that there was history between him and the good Sheriff was a bit of an understatement. "Will you be staying with her as well?"
Mocha eyes pin him with a hard stare. She didn't know this guy from a hole in the ground and he seemed really invested in her. After getting her inheritance under control she had hoped not to have another repeat of Fork. The only ones who should be reacting like this were her mates. And there's no way that she could be lucky enough to find one of her mates already. Could she?
Shaking her head slightly to get rid of the intrusive thoughts. Bella turned back to thee man in front of her. "No, I'll be staying at my Grandma Marie's old house while I'm here."
Klaus nodded his head in relief, "I guess I'll see you around then."
"A little sure of ourselves aren't we," the brunette teased.
"Nah," the blue eyed man gave an impish grin. "It's a small community. Everyone knows everyone, so chances are we'll run into each other at some point."
Flustered Bella was unsure how to respond when Nik grabbed her hand. The blonde pressed a brief kiss to her knuckles, "Until then good luck with your studies."
The petite brunette stood frozen to her spot in the terminal when she heard someone familiar call out her name. Twirling around with a bright smile, "Aunt Liz!"
The elder blonde woman came rushing up to give Bella a hug.
"Wearing civies for once," the 23 year old teased. "Well don't I feel honored."
Liz tugged lightly on brunette locke, "How was the trip? I know flying makes you nervous."
"It was fine," Bella's cheeks colored slightly as she shrugged nonchalantly. "I slept the whole way."
The forty something raised a dubious eyebrow.
"I may have fallen asleep on the guy next to me," Bella pinked up even more.
Liz chuckled drily, "Okay kiddo, let's get you something to eat and then get you settled in at home."
For all that Mystic Falls was a small town it was nothing like Forks.
It was full of sun and bustling like a bee hive.
Hopefully Bella could find a certain amount of anonymity here that she couldn't get in Forks.
The pair pulled up to what seemed to be the sole restaurant in town.
Liz led Bella toward an empty booth in the back hoping for at least one afternoon free from supernatural bullshit. According to her father Bella had been through hell the last few years and could use some peace and quiet. Which seemed like a pipe dream for Mystic Falls given the amount of bullshit, supernatural or otherwise, has gone through the last couple centuries.
Liz and Bella were catching up on all things mundane when a familiar figure swooped through the Grill and came to a stop at their table.
"Well Sheriff isn't this a nice surprise," the tall raven haired man smirked before bright blue eyes sweep over Liz's companion assessingly.
The Sheriff frowned, "I'm kind of busy Damon. Can this wait until later?"
The stranger pouted before turning on the brunette with the sheriff. "I'm sorry for Liz's abysmal manners," the blue eyed man gave his most charming smile. "I'm Damon. You must be new to town."
Liz stiffened when she realized that Damon was trying to compel her friend's daughter.
As for Bella, she just gave the stranger an unimpressed stare. Jesus Christ, of course there were vampires here too. Bella wanted to scream, maybe it wasn't to late to transfer some place else. Maybe defer a semester. Deliberately Bella ignored the raven haired stranger and turned to face her aunt.
"I'm gonna go wait at the bar Aunt Liz." Mocha eyes spared a glance for Damon before turning back to the blonde woman. "Come get me when you're ready to leave."
Liz nodded frozen in her seat. She was sure Damon had compelled Bella.
Damon took the recently vacated seat, "Handing out vervain to every newbie in town?"
Choosing to ignore the question, "What do you want Damon."
"Klaus is back in town."
"Shit," Liz swore before seeking out Bella. She was definitely the type to attract trouble and Klaus was trouble with a capital T.
What she found when she looked across the Grill was in no way reassuring because next to the brunette was Elijah.
The older Original was in no way as bad as his brother but he was still extremely dangerous in his own right. And right now he was chatting up Bella.