What Do We Have Here?

[What Do We Have Here?]

"You were my hobby."

Peyton pulled the buzzing phone from her pocket: One new message. Before she even read the thing she could guess what it was. Guessing wouldn't help though; she needed to know where he friend was. Reading over the message, her attention half on her phone - half on the vodka she was pouring, the redhead almost dropped the bottle. Suspiciously looking over her shoulder, Peyton gritted her teeth and pulled a funny face.
 

'At a place called the Mystic Bar & Grill.

Got us a place.

You're welcome.'
 

Peyton went to the address she was sent some four hours later. She presumed her friend had spent the entirety of the time drinking her self-pity away and was only now ready to actually talk to her. Jogging up the porch steps and straight in through the door, the redhead's eyes landed on the blonde lulling around on a plastic wrapped sofa.

"Nice of you to finally show your face, Lily."

Easing herself up, the blonde peered past the backrest. "Are you going to the dance tonight?"

"Yeah why, are you?"

"Hm." Picking up the bottle that was on the floor beside her lazily, the older woman played. "Do me the honour and be my date." The blonde thought she was being funny but the joke was cut short when the redhead held her hand up in mock apology.

"Sorry, I already have a date."

Hissing, Lily turned to the bottle of Jack for comfort. "Fuckin' traitor."

"When did you get here?"

"Around..." Older woman trudged through her alcohol soaked day. "Three."

"You should hurry up and start getting ready. The ball starts at eight."

"Trying to shove me off already." Lily swung her legs around and sat up groggily. "You could at least say you're happy to see me."

"I am happy to see you." Peyton told honesty as she snatched the drink off of her new housemate. "But I know better than anyone that you take forever to get ready." She took two swigs and then returned the lid to the bottle.

"Fine." The blonde hiccupped as she moved around the sofa and towards the stairs. Pausing for a moment, Lily looked back over her shoulder. "You're stuff's in the room at the end of the hall."

The redhead quirked an eyebrow in wonder. It had been around five years since they last took their belongings out of storage. Maybe her friend was planning on staying longer than just a few weeks this time.

Whatever the case, it didn't matter. The reason was always the more interesting thing to ask about.
 

The two females had arrived and entered the house without hold-ups. They decided on divide and conquer as their strategy and had been drinking and conversing with the townsfolk for a good two hours before they had eventually, without intention, met back up at the threshold between the hallway and the main room.

The blonde clocked a certain male and then patted the redhead on her arm, gesturing for her to follow.

"Good evening, Niklaus." The blonde in the crimson Victorian gown curtsied like they would way back when.

"Well I never. Liliana." Smiling through the shock, the notable man quickly turned to the group he had been speaking to. "Please excuse me." He reattached his attention to the two women standing in front of him, his face lit up in surprise.

"Nice house." The blonde gestured up at the gleaming chandeliers. "Sorry for gate-crashing." She didn't sound very sorry at all, but at least she wasn't using her usual rude tone.

"I didn't know you were here."

"We haven't been here long. How have you been?"

"Oh, you know. It's all blood and betrayal. No need for that kind of talk tonight though." Holding out a hand, Klaus gestured for the women to follow. "Let me get you lovely ladies a drink."

"This is my friend, Peyton Ryder." The blonde gestured to the redhead in the white silk sheath dress before she took his left arm.

Sounding excited, the Mikaelson son leaned forward ever so slightly and extended his hand out for the redhead. "I've heard a lot about you."

Peyton smiled as she accepted the man's right hand. "Nothing too bad I hope."

He smiled something wicked as he looked her in the eyes. "Oh love, you should hear what they say about me."

"I'll just..." The blonde freed her arm and took a passing glass off a tray. Inclined her head, Liliana patted her old acquaintance on the shoulder. "Have a look around."  
 

Niklaus had been conversing with Peyton for some time now. About who he was and his family, about how much he didn't care for the lifeless town they were in, slipping in charming compliments about the woman's attitude and appearance whenever he got the chance. He did that all the way up until he caught one of his siblings coming down the stairs. Holding his hand up apologetically, Klaus gestured for his company to hold her thoughts before waving at a slightly older looking man with dark hair. "Brother, there's someone here to see you."

"To see me?" The eldest son seemed surprised as he stopped in front of his younger brother and the redhead he'd never seen before.

"You should go and find her. A blonde wearing red." Taking a sip of his drink, Klaus pointed towards the hall. "She went that way."

Once his brother had pulled a strange face over the even stranger statement, the eldest moved along.

Peyton asked sceptically. "You're sending him to Lily?"

"Oh~" Klaus smirked into his glass. "She must not have mentioned." Downing his drink, the suited man held out his arm so the redhead could link her own arm with it. "You should definitely watch this."

And that is how Peyton, for the first time, watched her best friend lose her usual facade.

Stopping just behind the blonde, the man Peyton had just seen leaned in towards her friend's ear a little to speak. "It's been a long time, Liliana."
 

I'm dying to catch my breath.
Oh, why don't I ever learn?

Though I've surely tried to turn it around.
 

Snapping around in fright, the blonde tried not to gawp. Breaking eye-contact immediately, the woman chocked on the memories temporarily. Clearing her throat and taking a breath to build her composure back up, Liliana dared to look back at her company. "Hello, Elijah."
 

Can you still see the heart of me?
 

Giving a simple smile, the eldest rested his left hand on her shoulder as he tilted his head ever so slightly. "You look ravishing."
 

All my agony fades away...
 

The blonde couldn't say anything, she just stared up at the slightly taller man. Her hand constricted around the champagne flute, the last shred of self control barely managing to keep her from crushing the glass right there.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked, not quite sure.

"You know it's not that." She turned her back on him again, downing her drink quickly. "I've been wondering how you were."

Disregarding personal space, Elijah leaned over her shoulder, speaking lowly into her ear as she picked up another glass with a trembling hand. "I knew you'd get along fine without me. You have something about you that keeps the people around you in line."

"We didn't exactly part on the best terms."

"Don't dwell on it." He gripped her shoulders and calmly forced her around to face him.
 

...When you hold me in your embrace.
 

Peyton paused her eavesdropping to turn to her company. "What did she mean, they didn't part on the best terms?"

"Shall we talk over a more satisfying drink?" Klaus gave her a smirk unlike any she'd seen before. And damn, she'd seen a lot.

In the moment of excitement, Peyton accepted the offer. She didn't even care what they would end up talking about. Or even if they would talk at all. He should just keep making eyes like that and she'd be happy.

Glancing back to where her friend was, the redhead saw the blonde quickly turn from the eldest Mikaelson man and hurry away without looking back, leaving the man to ponder as he ran a hand over his hair.

"I wouldn't get involved in that if I were you." Klaus warned facetiously.

Peyton understood what he meant. Her friend had a terrible temper and after seeing her reaction to Klaus' brother, it made her especially weary of the result of trying to talk to her right now. Forgetting the scene and accepting the out-held hand, the redhead followed the man she'd already heard quite a bit about out of the main hall.
 

As she'd noticed a familiar back lurking outside behind the parked cars of the guests, Liliana cooed. "Look at what we have here."

Spinning around, the man asked open mouthed. "Lia."

Pulling a cigarette from her purse and placing it to her lips, the blonde hoisted herself up onto the hood of the nearest vehicle. "I'm away for a couple of decades and I return to find you've been chatting up doctors." She played, pretending to be hurt.

Kol held his hands up, smirking as per usual. "How else do you expect me to pass my time?"

Lighting the end, the blonde blew out a cloud of smoke roughly. "Get a hobby that wouldn't get a person arrested."

"You were my hobby."

"So says he." She took another drag, this time deeper, before blowing the smoke upwards. "It seems you don't need me anymore then." She slid right back off the navy car with a humph and straightened out the non-existent creases in her dress. She turned and made an attempt to walk away but just as hastily, she was caught by her company's grip.

His expression turned serious. "Let's talk for a bit."

"Talk? You think I want to talk?" She grinned.

Kol's expression changed again, this time into one of mischievousness. "If there's something else, I have a room upstairs. Just say." He pointed back towards the house.

"Do you remember when we met?"

"I even remember what you were wearing back then." He noted as he snaked his left arm around the woman's corseted waist and began leading her up the pathway.

"It's probably because you were thinking about taking it off." Resting her right hand on the shoulder closest to him, Liliana pouted dramatically. "I bet you got a shock when you realised I wasn't supper."

"It was rare to find a woman so confident and outspoken then." He looked down at her face for a moment before checking back to where they were going.

Taking another satisfying drag on her vice, the blonde propped her chin on his shoulder. She looked up at him with a strange stare before cutting the silence with a fake serious tone. "A woman's intelligence is a man's deception."
 

[Flashback - 1870]

After travelling from her hotel room on the main street, the blonde had found herself down a dark alley after following boisterous music. She had soon come to a wooden door left open while a group of three men conversed just outside of it. Keeping her head high, the woman in scarlet entered the dim establishment by herself. Plentiful décolletage on show and her platinum locks left loose and reaching her waist, the female fixed her posture and shimmied through the narrow hallway.

She'd been in the city for only a night and needed to relax but she still knew the general rules. Women back then did not go to bars unless they were whores, and a whore she wasn't. It was clear to see on the faces of the men present that they were confused, some even outraged. The barman didn't seem to care much though, as he had taken her order without hesitation and pointed her in the direction of a table where she would not be bothered.

Picking up the glass that had been poured for her and then the entire bottle itself, the blonde weaved through the crowd and sat smack bang in the centre of the musky room.

Thick smoke circled the up above her from the men enjoying cigars and the floor was sticky with only God knows what. Even the chair she was sat on felt somewhat unstable. But it didn't put her off. She'd been in worse places, she thought. Pulling a packet of thinly rolled smokes from her purse, the woman lit the end and lounged back carefully as she took in the foreign sights.

That heavy 'Leans sound played just loud enough to be heard above the chatter and clank of glasses as men made life-long pacts and pledged brotherhood to one another.  

Full rouged lips gave her cigar a place to rest as she scouted the space out of curiosity. It was nothing like she'd ever seen before. She was brought up on a small island with firm borders between the rich and poor, a place laden with smog and full of pretentions. It was new to her and it was something welcomed. She was beginning to think that maybe Peyton's idea wasn't so bad after all.

And while she was doing all the thinking she did, chartreuse eyes met a strangers from across the haze. The man was relatively young, fair of complexion and hair, and definitely dressed better than almost every man but the ones he was sat with.  A few seconds passed of them exchanging polite smiles before he turned spoke to those either side of him.

Both brunettes either side of him glanced over and Liliana couldn't help herself. She tipped her glass with a semi suppressed grin and then downed the spirit before letting it thump off the scratched table top. She poured herself another as her vice continued to hang from her lips. Taking the occasion drag as she tried not to look back at the bunch of good looks sitting up in the booth she presumed to be a reserved spot. As her curiosity would have it, she couldn't hold off any longer. Glancing up she noticed the apparent youngest was missing. Not a beat managed to pass though before the disappearance was stood right in front of her with his left hand held neatly behind his back. Holding out his right politely, the man gave a smile.

"My brothers and I would like to ask if you would join us?"

"Before you get the wrong idea, I'm not some floozy." Her tone was rather rough for a woman, and had a definite foreign accent to it.

"That's even better to hear." He tilted his head with a smirk.

Taking a final glance at the two men in the booth, Liliana grinned back the smart remark on the tip of her tongue and cocked her eyebrow. "The name's Liliana." She told as accepted his hand and she stood up.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lia. I'm Kol Mikaelson." The man led her through the crowd and towards his company. "Brothers, this is Liliana." Her escort told as he waited for her to take a seat before sitting next to her, leaving her between him and the man she'd first made eye-contact with.

"An unusual name."

"I'm not from around here." She stated the obvious.

"We never would have guessed." The blonde male cut in with sarcasm, yet left out the malice from  the blunt way he replied. "My name is Niklaus." He held out his hand and the girl took it and shook it with a smile. "And this is our older brother, Elijah."

The man on his right, and the furthest from Liliana, took the woman's hand from across the table and kissed the back of it. "It's a pleasure."

"It's all mine." Lowering her eyes with a smile, the blonde unscrewed the top of the bottle she'd bought and began pouring it into the empty glasses.
 

[End Flashback]

Kol leaned against the wall Liliana was stood beside, inspecting her expression as she lit a cigarette. "So what is it? You've come back to deceive and lie?"

"What if I said yes?" Her line of sight landed on him with a small smile.

Looking up as if thinking, the youngest Mikaelson stuck his lower lip out briefly. "I'd say, let me in on it."

"I've got a better idea for now." He gave her an interested look, telling her to continue. "Take me to dance." She held out her hand expectantly.

His expression remained blank for a moment before that same cheeky grin from their first meeting crossed his face. "My pleasure." Taking the woman's hand, Kol bowed his head in jest.

 

Updated: 27th July 2013 - 01:00