Her hands trembled as she took in the sight of the beautiful art deco windows of Rousseauās smashed into tiny little pieces. She had spent months saving for those ornate windows and even longer deliberating with Jane-Ann and Monique over which ones would suit her restaurant. Now it was destroyed. Clutching the broom and shovel, Sophie started cleaning up the mess. Her mouth was set in a thin line as she crouched outside what was left of the window that looked out onto the street.
Distracted for a moment, Sophie accidentally sliced her hand on a shard of the glass. āShit,ā she hissed, scrunching her face up in pain as blood started flowing out from the wound.Ā
āDo you need some help?ā Grey asked carefully, crouching down beside her and frowning at the wound.Ā āWere you hurt in the explosions?ā He couldnāt remember if heād seen her that day or not. He carefully picked up a shard of glass and turned it over in his hand, frowning at it.Ā āThese were beautiful windows, by the way.ā
āMaybe so, but that doesnāt change anything.ā The womanās eyes were locked now on Grey, her fingers tapping the table in an attempt to release her tension.Ā āMarcelās grip is only slipping because itās been chaos ever since the Mikaelsons showed up in town. If he can manage to pull them completely to his side, weāre utterly screwed.ā Despite her bitter tone, she relaxed enough to lower her hand to her lap.Ā āAlright. Iāll bite. Were you a witch before you were turned?ā
Grey shrugged his shoulders.Ā He wasnāt worried about the Mikaelsons and Marcel coming together. There was too much distrust between them right now.Ā āPulling them to his side would take a lot of time and I donāt see it happening right now. Too much bad blood.ā He smiled and laughed at her next question.Ā āWell, according to rumor, yes.ā
āYouāre implying youāre better than I am," she acknowledged aloud, assuming that was what had been said. It was clear how quick-tempered the woman was, especially with all those emotions heightenedĀ by her new species. After long glaring at him without hesitation, Victoria glanced down at her drink. "Wouldnāt be fucking surprised to hear so," the woman murmured, a sorrow in her intonation. "Apparently Iām the scraps of our kind. Newborn, full of mistakes, abandoned vampire.ā
Grey shrugged his shoulders.Ā āI imply that Iām better than a lot of people,ā he answered easily, a smirk on his face.Ā āItās a funny little habit of mine.ā He tilted his head some.Ā āNot necessarily the scraps, just...ā He paused to think of his words.Ā āYou just need guidance. Your maker abandoned you?ā
"Iām not judgmental, nor a shrew. Iāve just experienced first hand what your kind like to do to mine." Lowering her voice, Nora settled back in her chair, her arms folding defensively in front of her. "And how do I know this isnāt a trap? This could all just be you setting me up to practice magic so I can be ambushed and publicly strung up in the middle of the quarter." She paused, licking at her lips and finally meeting his gaze again. "Iāve seen it happen once or twice."
"All subjective," he said dismissively. "Yes and I've experienced what yours can do to mine. Witches aren't solely innocent beings either." Grey sat back, relaxing some. "You don't, but it's not. I think you need to be brought up to speed, love. Marcel's grip on the coven in this city is slipping. But I don't care if you practice or not. I've got other witches for that. It's a shame he feels so negatively towards them, though. Magic is such an interesting subject."
āItās just a bottle of water, I think Iāll survive," she responded with bitterness in her voice. Even though the source of her bad humor wasnāt the man, it had certainly been directed towards him, accidentally. Victoria suddenly halted when she sensed the smell of something familiar. āYouāre like me," she remarked, not minding if that sounded strange, to say the least. She still wasnāt accustomed to identifying people by their smell. āGood.ā
"Of course you will." Grey brushed off her annoyance and raised an eyebrow when she realized he was another vampire. "Darling, I am nothing like you," he said with a smile. "But yes, we share a species. You're young though. Younger than I am."
WHO: Grey Montgomery and Brinley Simmons
WHERE: Rousseau's and Grey's Apartment
WHAT: Bombs go off in the Quarter and Grey and Brinley deal with the aftermath.
Brinley pushed open the door to Rousseau's, stepping out into the Quarter and scanning their surroundings. āWhat do you think is going on?ā She asked Grey, looking back at him. Weird things happened in the Quarter everyday, but explosions were unheard of. Everyone in the bar brushed off the first detonation, but there was no ifs, buts or maybes after the second blast. The streets were crawling with people, as they usually were at this time of the day, but people were agitated and running around. The blonde held the door for Grey, who was right behind her and waited for him to follow her outside.
Grey frowned as he followed his companion outside. Their lunch had been nice but he knew something was happening, and as soon as he stepped outside it was all confirmed. The smell of smoke hung in the air along with something else he couldn't quite place. "We should probably get you home," he said. "Because whatever it is, doesn't sound safe." Looping an arm around her waist, he moved to lead her away from everything, only for another noise to catch his attention. "Get down!" he commanded, covering her a split second before another bomb went off. He bit down on his lip as he was hit with shards of glass and pieces of rubble and... vervain? Grey hissed in pain as they were tossed to the ground. "Are you alright?" he asked, though he was having trouble breathing. He could feel something sticking out of his back but was unable to tell what it was. "Sorry."
Brinley looked around, dodging people as they elbowed their way through the crowd of frantic tourists and townies. The air smelled like something burning and she looked back at Grey, worry in her blue eyes. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," she agreed, gripping his side as he pulled her towards the only bus stop that led to Tulane's campus. They could barely take a step before they were stopped by another loud noise, much closer to them this time. She didn't hesitate when he barked an order at her, dropping to the floor and covering her head with her hands - as if that was going to stop whatever was coming at her. The burning or sharp pain she was expecting never came and the ringing in her ears slowly faded away. Shaken, she lifted her head to look at Grey who was hovering over her. "I'm fine, I'm alright," she said quickly, pushing herself up and looking at her friend. "But you're not!" She crawled over to him, immediately seeing a huge chuck of metal sticking out of his back. "Oh my god, we have to get you to a hospital. Don't freak out, you'll be okay."
Grey winced again as he sat up. His skin was burning, but the pain was nothing compared to the large piece of metal currently cutting into him. "I'll be fine," he muttered through grit teeth. "No! No, we can't." Grey dug his fingers into the ground for a moment, almost scraping off pieces of the cement. He tried to reach around to his back, barely grasping the debris. "I need you to do me a favor. Get me home. Please, Brinley. Don't argue."
Brinley narrowed her eyes at him in disbelief, shaking her head. "What do you mean get you home?" She asked, unable to hold back a sarcastic laugh. "You're not fine, you have a huge chuck of metal coming out of your back. Now, I'm not going to pull it out and you shouldn't either, so we need a doctor. I'm not bringing you home to die are you insane?" She pushed his hands away from the piece of metal coming out of her back. She wasn't a doctor, but she was pretty sure pulling it out wasn't recommended. "Do you have a surgeon and medical equipment at home? Because that's the only way I'm getting you there."
Grey growled slightly, finally getting to his feet and using the building to support himself. "Brinley," he snapped, his voice rough but commanding. "I promise you I will be fine if you just get me home. I'll explain then," he lied. He would never tell her the truth. He couldn't. But he was too weak to compel her right now and there was too much vervain in the air. Right now, he just needed to get some blood and maybe convince her to stay long enough until he was sure she could be compelled again. "Please," he sighed tiredly. "Just do this for me. It's not far."
Brinley stared at him for a few moments, weighting the options. He seemed to know what he was doing, but she couldn't imagine any scenario that started with her bringing him back to his place and ended well. "Fine, I'll bring you home. You have ten minutes to convince me you're going to be okay once we get there before I call an ambulance." She got up slowly and dusted off her clothes, sliding her arm under his so he could put her weight on her shoulders. "Okay, show me the way," she muttered, still convinced she'd just signed his death certificate.
Grey groaned in pain as they moved away from the wall and tried not to put too much of his weight on her. "It's just that way," he answered, leading her towards the loft he'd been renting for the time being. The stairs proved to be some trouble but eventually they'd made it through screaming crowds, smoke, and ash. At least his apartment was quiet and clean and free of whatever had gone on in the Quarter. Once the door was closed he leaned against a bar that ran separated the kitchen area from the front room. "I need you to pull the shard of metal out. Don't hesitate, okay? You can't flinch."
Brinley was glad for all the training she had to do for tennis. "Alright," she muttered, still finding it a little difficult to support a grown man's weight. Soon after, they were climbing up the stairs - painfully slowly - and they made it inside his apartment. She helped him to the counter and untangled herself from him, crossing her arms over her chest. "What now? Can I call the hospital now or would you like to drink some tea first?" She was getting a little twitchy, the last thing she wanted was to watch someone die. "Excuse me, you need me to what? Are you insane? I'm not going to pull that thing out. First of all, you'll bleed out. Second? Disgusting."
Grey let out a heavy sigh. He was going to have to do this himself. Reaching back, he got as good of a grip as he possibly could and started tugging on it. It hurt like hell but the more he pulled on it, the easier it became to hold on to. "You might want to look away," he told her, finally ripping the metal chunk out of his back. "Bloody fucking hell!" Grey snarled in pain, the counter top cracking under the strength of his grip. He let out a couple of deep breaths and slowly turned to look at her. She was so tempting just standing there, but he knew he had to tread carefully here. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" He straightened up and began to unbutton his shirt, sliding out of it. "How does it look? Is there a lot of blood still?"
Brinley kept her arms crossed over her chest, having no intention of budging on this. She was usually a very bold person, but she had no intention of pulling out a giant chuck of metal out of someone's flesh. "Why would I look away? I'm calling an ambulance," she muttered, reaching down for the phone in her bag. She didn't even have time to find it before she saw movement from the corner of her eyes and looked up in time to see Grey pull it out himself. "Oh my god, Grey," she shouted, looking away and covering her mouth quickly. Brinley waited a couple seconds before glancing back carefully, curious when he just started talking again like what he had just done was no big fucking deal. "What the fuck?" She said, frowning and stepping around him to look at his back. "It's not bad at all... Not nearly as bad as it should be at least. What in the world..."
Grey stretched some, looking over his shoulder as best as he could. "I told you it would be fine," he said, turning slowly to face her. He smiled and put a hand on her arm. Grey knew he should explain everything but he really had no intention of ever letting her in on this secret. He could only hope she didn't fall into this world in some other way. She was a beautiful girl and that was the way of this world. "Are you alright?" he asked her softly, brushing some hair out of her face. He was still weak, and he needed to feed. Hopefully she wouldn't scream too much.
Brinley stared at the wound, if she could even call it that, on his back and glanced up at him. "How is that even possible? No one heals this fast." She backed away slightly when she felt his hand on her hand. "You're lucky, I hope you know that," she muttered, staring at him in confusion. It was impossible. All of it was completely impossible. He was supposed to be on the floor bleeding out, but he wasn't. It was intriguing and a little bit terrifying. "I'm fine. I'm not the one who was impaled," she said simply, looking down at him. "Although you seem perfectly fine too."
Grey smiled carefully, moving with her, keeping her close to him. "I'm very lucky," he admitted. "I wouldn't call that impaled. I've survived worse." Grey looked down with her, running a hand over smooth skin and shrugging. "I feel a little tired, but you can help me with that too." He stood right in front of her, resting his hands on her arms. "Do you still trust me?" He caught her eyes but didn't try to compel her. He couldn't risk it. Instead he hoped she found him charming still. At least charming enough to go along with whatever he needed her to. Grey slowly pulled her closer to him, relying on the crush she usually harbored for him. She smelled amazing. "Well?"
Brinley narrowed her eyes at him, surprised that he was choosing now, of all moments, to reciprocate her advances. She'd been trying to seduce him for months and it took a near death experience for him to show any interest. It was suspicious to say the least. "How can I help?" She questioned, keeping her gaze on his. "If you ask me to get you a cup or coffee or a Redbull, I'm calling a shrink. Forget about the ambulance." The blonde cracked a smile when he pulled her closer, letting her dumb crush cloud her better judgment. "I trust you."
Grey shook his head. "No coffee or Redbull," he chuckled, bringing her closer until they were right up against each other. "There's no need for an ambulance either." Grey slowly ducked his head closer, kissing her jaw and leaving a trail to her lips. "How much do you trust me?" he asked gently, cupping her face in his hands and pulling her in for another kiss.
Brinley shrugged, still feeling a little uneasy about whatever he was about to do. "Yeah, you keep saying that, but I'm still not convinced you're okay." Her eyes closed slowly when she felt his lips against her jaw, her fingers clinging to his sides. "I trust you. Completely," she whispered with more confidence, keeping her eyes on his. No matter how weird he was acting and how close to dying he'd come, she still wouldn't pass up the opportunity to get with him.
Grey didn't answer her. He couldn't convince her otherwise right now. He couldn't convince her not to trust him either, he needed her to. Removing his shoes he walked her towards the bedroom. "Completely," he echoed, standing with her at the foot of the bed. Grey smiled at her, for once it was mostly genuine. She wasn't terrible company, and while he had no feelings for her, this could still be enjoyable. He carefully pushed her onto the bed and moved in closer, taking his time, and leaned in. Compulsion could work here, at least enough for one simple command. "Don't scream," he told her, voice heavier some how, carrying more weight than normal. Sure she would remain silent, he bowed his head and pressed his lips to her throat, kissing tenderly before biting down with fangs extended. Grey ran a hand down her side and to her hip, pulling her closer to him.
Brinley followed him to his room without complaint, thinking they were finally about to do the one thing she'd wanted since day one. She wasn't used to people turning her down and the fact that he had drove her nuts. This was like winning. She fell backwards onto the bed, lifting herself up on her elbows. "Careful with your back," she said softly as he leaned closer to her. Staring into his eyes, she had no choice but to nod at his command. Her hand found the back of his neck and she smiled blissfully when she felt his lips against her neck. The bliss was quickly replaced by a sharp pain, though, and her eyes shot open. "Grey," she said quietly, her hand gripping the back of his neck. "Grey, stop, that hurts." She squirmed under him, trying to get out from under him.
Grey knew that he could have prepared her more for this. Had he been stronger he would have just compelled her to be compliant like usual, but there wasn't time. His hand slid down from her hip to her thigh and he pressed closer. Grey didn't normally like playing with his food. It was a rule he had. But right now he knew that he was going to break that rule. Brinley tasted too good, smelled to sweet. She was intoxicating. Grey carefully pulled back, licking his lips clean in the process. "Sorry," he murmured to her, leaning back in and kissing her shoulder as he pushed the fabric aside.
Brinley ignored his lips on her shoulder and reached for the painful spot on her neck, feeling the skin there. "Did you bite me? What the hell was that?" She frowned, feeling two small holes on her skin. "I'm into kinky shit, but this is kind of weird." She reached for his back, feeling where the piece of metal had been minutes earlier. "Where's the wound?" She questioned, sliding her hand on his back. "Okay, what's going on, Grey? This is just... weird." She attempted to wiggle herself out from under him, sitting up and staring at him.
Grey smiled down at her, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his mouth, gently sucking the blood off of her fingers. "It's nothing," he answered, leaning back in and catching her gaze. He could compel her now, he was strong enough. "You won't remember the bite, you won't remember the wound, you won't remember that I healed or that I was ever even hurt. The lunch was real, the explosions, racing to my place, it was all real." Grey paused only slightly. "And then I kissed you. I made the first move this time." He smiled at her, leaning back down to her neck to kiss her throat. When he pulled back, the blood was clean and he could heal the wound there later. "All of the weirdness never happened. Everything else did." Grey looked down at her, wondering why this girl was interested in him at all. He smiled anyway, moving her hands to his belt. "Well, since we're here..." he laughed, pulling her back into another kiss.
Brinley stared into his eyes, listening closely to what he was saying. Slowly, her worries dissipated and was replaced by another type of feelings completely. "It's nothing," she repeated, a smile appearing on her lips when he mentioned making the first move. She'd been waiting for him to make a move - or even just reciprocate her advances - for months now and it was finally happening. Snapping out of the trance she was in, she glanced down at her hand on his belt and quickly pulled it off. She smiled, planting her lips on his firmly and pulling him against her. Brinley forgot all about the wound on her neck, the chuck of metal coming out of Grey's back and all the things that made absolutely no sense. "About damn time," she whispered against his lips, grinning.
"So a vampire that has an extensive knowledge on witch culture. That is always wholly comforting." Noraās retort came out a bit higher than she had intended ā Ā maybe she was a little frightened, mixed with intimidated, mingled with curious. He was still a vampire, and in this town, admitting to being a witch to the wrong people was practically a death sentence. "How is it that you are so aware of what weāre capable of? Youāll have to forgive me if I seem rude ā but typically your kind arenāt ones to help." Her eyebrows were tightly knitted together as she stared at him ā trying to work out the mysterious stranger.
"A vampire with extensive knowledge of many things, witchcraft being only one of them." Grey shrugged at her. "I've learned by being close to witches. Not all of you are judgmental little shrews." He glanced down at the book, flipping through the pages. He just needed to figure out how to manipulate her, that was all. "You learn a thing or two when you've lived like I have."
āHey, stop that!" The detective protected her face by raising an arm, a plastic bottle hitting her shoulder and bouncing onto the ground. "Itās not my fault youāre underage, go find somewhere else to drink.ā
"Everyone has their uses. Doesnāt mean I have to like them for it."
"But Klaus killed him," she all but growled. It was a sore subject, obviously, enough to conduct a mission of revenge for him. āI wouldnāt dare take a step into that town. It sounds worse than this one.ā
Grey shrugged. He wasn't about to argue with her. "Yes, he did," he agreed carefully. It was unfortunate and she seemed to be more focused on that piece of information than anything. "It wasn't so bad. I passed through recently. It definitely had it's... perks."
Youāre so hip, Grey. So down with the times. I must say, if I hadnāt seen your birth certificate Iād have no idea you were an old man.
Cookies sound amazing. I think I have whip cream in the fridge - not for anything fun, just at the behest of the in-and-out strays; but we should totally put it on the cookies.
And please, youāve seen me far more wasted than this. Puking blood in a bus stop wasted.
Oh, I know. I stay up to date on all the important slang.
Don't they? Well, we'll just have to do that. Are you sure your strays aren't using it for other than cookies? And I know, but I wasn't going to mention it. A lady never likes discussing her indiscretions.
"True, but Iāve really become someone who wants to be able to do it herself. Relying on people can get messy." Noraās eyes locked on Grey as he sat across from her, confusion briefly washing over her features before staring at him blankly. "A source that could help me out?" Her voice lowered as did her gaze for a brief moment before she glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. "And why would a vampire want to help me?ā With a knowing tone and the smile full of confidence she did not have, Nora continued explaining. āI may not be the most talented, but sensing your kind is something weāre sort of born with ā even I canāt mess that up.ā
"That's also true," he smiled. "There's nothing wrong with being self sufficient. But you will never be on your own if you're constantly stuck accessing your ancestors for magic." Grey shrugged, watching her for a moment. "Perhaps." He grinned when she called him vampire. "Oh, I know very well what witches are capable of, love," he answered. "My business is my own, all that matters is that I'm helping you. I'm not asking anything in return either." At least not now, but even that wasn't clear as he spoke.
"Theyāreā" Rosaline stopped at the other vampireās last sentence, her eye twitching at the mention of Mikael. She flexed her fist and took a small breath. Not too large to attract attention, but enough to control her emotions. Heād be pleased with her scheming, but not yet proud that she had finished any of her plans; their plans, rather. His plans. "His step father, you mean? Mikael? It wouldnāt matter if he was. Either way it goes. Heās gone."
Grey raised an eyebrow at her pause. "Either way, yes, he is. He would have been helpful here. He's hunted his children as well." He looked away from her then, shaking his head. "Maybe we should take them back to Mystic Falls. It's proved to be an unlucky town for the Original family."
"Thereās an idea. I wanted to be fond of Rebekah, before meeting her for the first time. Sheās tooā¦ well, she doesnāt see her brother for who he truly is, despite the centuries of abuse heās gifted her. Weāre on the same page, you needed only a little push."
"Just a touch. It's something I cultivated with my maker."
"Neither she nor Elijah care to admit what a monster Niklaus is. They see it, but they do nothing about it. All of the terrible things he's done to their family and they still stand by his side. And that is their greatest weakness." Grey smiled at her. "Always and forever can be a real bitch, love." He raised an eyebrow at her and shrugged. "A push, yes. I wasn't thinking large enough. Mostly because my quarrel is with Nik only, but I am more than open to the idea of using his siblings against him. If only his father were still alive."
