"So, pesky little hunter was no big deal?" Lexi asks with the phone nestled between her shoulder and her face as she lugs boxes into her car. The trunk, already full of cardboard, struggles to shut, even with Lexi's added weight.
"Nik took care of it," Rebekah replies. "How's your Alpha situation?"
"Dealt with," Lexi replies. "Now, I do believe I'm truly free of responsibility. I'm thinking Europe? Maybe Bora Bora? Some sort of beach, but it must have some sort of forest as well. Oh! And a library." She chuckles as she finally manages to close her trunk. "I plan on rereading all my favorites."
"You're not coming back?"
"To see Elena as a vampire? No."
Rebekah pauses. "What about me? And Nik?"
"Nik does not want to see me," Lexi sighs as she glances at the Beacon Hills Preserve so close to her car—the trees she once ran by, the leaves she once watched change color. "And, honestly, I do not want to see him. Not yet, anyway."
"So, your plan is to, what? Find a beach in the middle of nowhere? Settle down? Find a nice man or woman?"
Lexi shakes her head. "I don't think I can even fathom a partner anymore. Everyone I care about has betrayed me, except for you. Or they hate my lying guts. I'm not sure I trust anyone anymore. But you have the beach part right."
"Got room for two more?"
Lexi frowns, turning to find Cora standing behind her with a duffle bag at her feet. Derek jogs up behind her with an uncomfortable expression on his face.
"Cora, seriously—" he starts.
She shushes him, pushing his chest. "You don't remember. I do."
Lexi drops the phone. It shatters on the concrete below her as she gapes at Cora. "Y-You what?"
Cora grins. "Hey, Lexi." She twirls her fingers in a wave. "Been a long time."
"H-How?" Lexi glances at Derek. "Do you—?"
"He's clueless," Cora laughs. "I, however, remember everything. And, I want to catch up. After all, you've saved our asses enough times."
Lexi stares at them both. "I-you-I—"
Cora leans over towards Derek. "I think we broke her," she jokes. "She never did like when things didn't go according to plan."
Stepping up to Cora slowly, Lexi narrows her eyes. "Please tell me you're joking."
Cora shakes her head. "I must have died for a few seconds, so all that compulsion went away. Perks of dying, right?"
"Do you understand how much danger you're in right now?" Lexi exclaims. "There is a reason—"
"You do what you do, I know." Cora waves her hand. "But Mikael's gone. And Jennifer is gone. And Mikael 2.0 is gone. We're fine. So, you got room for us or not?"
Clenching her jaw, Lexi crosses her arms after scooping up her phone. "You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?"
Cora shakes her head with a grin. "Great! This is all we have, so we can fit it in the back seat." Stepping around Lexi, she throws the back door open and climbs inside. "Get your asses in the car!"
Meeting Derek's gaze, Lexi shifts her weight. "What did she tell you?"
"Not much, to be honest," he replies. "I think she's waiting until we're stuck in a car together."
"Absolutely!" Cora shouts. "Now, come on! We're losing daylight!"
Lexi sighs as she scoops up her shattered phone. "This is going to be a long car ride."
Derek looks down at her, his eyebrows rising in surprise. "You're actually going along with this?" He asks as she begins to move towards the car. "You're taking us on your runaway adventure?"
"Why not?" Lexi replies, pausing right before the driver's door. "Cora won't stop bugging me if I don't." A smile tugs at her lips. "You're welcome to come with, I mean—"
Peeking her head out of the car, Cora glares at her brother. "Derek, if you're not in the car by the time I count to five, I'm going to make Lexi give you a pig's tail."
"What?" Both ask as Cora holds out her hand.
"One."
"You can't be serious," Derek huffs.
"Two." Cora arches an eyebrow. "Three, don't test me."
Derek glances at Lexi.
"Four."
He grimaces as he walks—more like jogs—to the passenger's door, sliding in. "Fine," he mumbles. "Against my better judgment."
"Yay!" Cora exclaims, settling back in her seat. "Now, Lexi, if you don't get in the car—" The blonde slides in, closing the door behind her. "See, Derek? Lexi knows what's up! Now, let's get this party started with some truth or dare."
Lexi scoffs as she turns on the car. "Really? That's just some childish nonsense. Is it really necessary?"
"Derek, truth or dare?" Cora asks with a smirk.
He scoffs. "Dare."
"I dare you to kiss Lexi."
The car falls silent. Lexi's cheeks go bright red as Derek looks out the window; meanwhile, Cora grins in the back, glancing between the two.
"Truth," Derek mumbles.
"I'll let you slide just this once," Cora says with a chuckle. "Have you ever wanted to kiss Lexi?"
Lexi sighs. "This is going to be a long ride."
—|—|—|—
As Lexi gathers her stuff into a beach bag, Cora groans, leaning against the doorframe. "Lexi, I really appreciate the ocean view, but I sort of want to go to the actual ocean." She glances out of the large window as the roaring sea calling her name. "Can we go?"
"I'm not stopping you," Lexi replies with a grin. "I am just making sure I have everything I need."
Cora walks over, sticking her hand into the bag. "Sunscreen? You're a vampire. With a daylight necklace."
"Appearances," Lexi shrugs.
"Five books?" Cora crosses her arms and arches an eyebrow. "How fast do you read? And who in their right mind would read Jane Eyre?"
"It's one of my favorites," Lexi replies. "The author was a good friend of mine. We had...a lot of fun." She smiles and bites down on her lip. "A lot of fun."
"That's disgusting." Cora shakes her head.
A knock on the bedroom door makes both girls turn. "Are we going or not?" Derek asks. He, too, has his arms crossed over his chest; his t-shirt—a colorful buttoned one with pink flamingos on it, lays on his chest in a way that makes Lexi stare.
Cora smirks as she clears her throat; Lexi blinks, her gaze now focusing on the ceiling. "You having fun with your dare?" Cora asks.
Derek grumbles as he flashes his blue eyes. "I hate you for this. I don't wear color."
"What do you think, Lexi?" Cora turns to find Lexi's cheeks burning red. "Color looks good, no?"
"I hate you so much," Lexi mutters. When her phone begins to ring, she sighs in relief. "Thank god. Hello?"
"Hello, Lexi."
She clenches her jaw as she mutes her end of the conversation. "Give me two minutes to deal with him. I'll be down before you know it. I'll catch up to you—just have some alcohol waiting for me?" Cora narrows her eyes as Lexi unmutes the conversation. "Hey, Klaus. To what do I owe the displeasure?"
As fast as she can, Cora grabs Derek and races out of the room. "Good luck, Lex! We believe in you!" She shouts over her shoulder, pulling a confused Derek with her.
"You need to control Kol. He has gone too far."
Lexi scoffs as she sits down on the bed. "I don't think you get to ask for favors anymore," she says. "After all, apparently, I am not your sister or your family, right? That's what you said—"
"Enough." Klaus snaps, his voice hurried and borderline concerned. "He's gone too far this time. Only you can reason with him."
"Reason with Kol? Have you met him?" Lexi begins to pick at her nails. "You do not reason with Kol."
Klaus growls. "He ran off with the white oak, Lexi. He almost killed Rebekah. This is no time for your—"
"He did what?" Lexi's voice holds no conviction. "Is Rebekah ok? What happened? Why would he do that?"
"To stop them." Lexi looks up to find Kol standing by the balcony of the hotel room. He has his hands in his pockets as he leans against the glass door, his jacket blowing around him. "They were being stupid."
"I'll call you back." She ignores Klaus' annoyed protests as she walks towards her brother. "What have you done?" She asks as she stands opposite him.
"They are trying to raise Silas," he replies as he looks out at the ocean. "I will not let them."
"Silas?" Lexi shakes her head. "He is a myth. Why would they want to wake a prototype vampire anyway? He is unimportant. A simple witch turned immortal for love—the oldest story in the book."
Kol licks his lips before he chews on the inside of his cheek. "They want the bloody cure. No matter what it costs."
Lexi runs a hand down her face as she scoffs. "The cure is not real. You cannot cure vampirism. It is not possible. Just like Silas." She reaches out, touching his arm; he jerks away from her with a glare as his hand instinctively reaches into his jacket. "Kol—"
"You have to help me stop them," Kol says, his eyes widening as he gulps down his fears. "Silas cannot rise, Lexi, do you understand me? We cannot let them get this cure. Not Nik, not Rebekah, definitely not Elena Gilbert. You have to help me. With you by my side, Nik wouldn't punish me. He could see reason."
"When has Nik ever seen reason?" Lexi asks as she steps closer, carefully watching him. "Nothing we can do will stop him. Let him fail on his own. We need not concern ourselves with this mess."
He purses his lips. "I cannot risk it, Lexi. Will you help me or not? All we have to do is get rid of the hunter. Then the map is gone."
"I will not kill a Hunter of the Five and neither will you," she snaps. "The curse is not worth it. Nothing is worth that hell."
"All we need to do is cut off Jeremy Gilbert's arm. Then, the tattoo will disappear along with his limb." Kol's eyes light up in excitement. "If we leave now, we can get back by nightfall—"
"Kol, I won't help you do this." Lexi takes a step back. "I cannot throw myself back into this mess after last time. We lost Finn—I won't lose you too."
His grin drops. "You're just like them," he sneers. "Cowards, all of you." He turns to stomp away.
Lexi clicks her tongue, reaching for him. "Kol—"
With his fangs out, he spins around and grabs her arm; she gasps when she sees the white oak stake aimed at her heart. The tip barely presses against her skin, but fear courses through her. She pushes down the instinct to adjust her stance, instead, letting the wood just barely pierce her skin.
When he blinks away his fangs, Kol glances down at the stake. It clatters to the floor. "I'm so sorry," he whispers as Lexi stumbles away, pressing her back against the far wall. "I-I didn't...I just..." He scoops up the stake, turning it over in his hands and tracing the metal vines snaking up the wood.
Lexi inhales sharply, her eyes flickering red. "If you're going to do it, just make it quick," Lexi says. "If not, get out."
In a blur, Kol runs from the room. The moment he leaves her sight, Lexi covers her mouth with her hand as she slides down the wall. It takes a moment before she pulls herself up and grabs her discarded phone.
"What happened?" Klaus asks the second he picks up.
"I'll be there before nightfall," she says, sniffling. "and you better have a damn good plan."
Yes, Kol did attack Lexi. And yes, Lexi is now on board with Klaus' plan. And yes, everything goes downhill from here. Guess what happens :)
Hope you enjoyed!
-L