Breathing ∞ Kol Mikaelson [1]

[5]

Emma and Rebekah walked through the darkened town square with the moon as anyone's only source of light. All the lamps on the streets and within the homes surrounding them had been turned off for the lighting ceremony. But with the clear night sky shining down on them, it wasn't as hard to move around and see as Emma expected it would be. Rebekah also seemed to have an easy way with moving around, her arm linked with Emma as the two tried to find a pair of seats.

"Hello Mr Saltzman." Emma greeted their history teacher as they passed by him, the man sending her a somewhat strained smile as he tried not to be wary as he spotted the blonde Original simply moving around the square without a care in the world. No matter how much they wracked their brains over the situation, none of them could really find a connection between Emma and Rebekah. Damon's theory was the best one they had; Rebekah simply compelled herself a friend because she was lonely and desperate for attention.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." The sound of the mayor's voice made both Rebekah and Emma pause in their movements, turning back to the stage to watch the woman as she spoke. "Mr Fell seems to have been detained, so the history department's very own Mr Saltzman has agreed to fill in."

The crowd clapped as the history teacher walked up to the stage. And while they did Rebekah send Emma a somewhat pointed look, as if trying to say the special event couldn't even go to plan. It made Emma stifle a small giggle, her eyes returning to the stage as she tried to avoid her friend's silent messages.

"On behalf of Mystic Falls High School Historical Society," Mr Saltzman started to talk into the microphone once he climbed up on stage, however, as she felt Rebekah tense up beside her, Emma's attention shifted away from their history teacher.

"Everything okay?" She questioned the blonde with furrowed brows wondering why her demeanor so quickly changed from being annoyed and bored and showing it very openly, to tense, looking around as if she were expecting something to jump out at them.

"I think we should go." Rebekah said. And while Emma thought it was just her annoyance with being at the event, the tone in which Rebekah had said the words made her suspect there might be more to it. However, before she could ask what it was, the lanterns around them lit up the square and a sharp scream echoed over the crowd, silencing everyone for a few moments.

However, once all caught on to what was going on, screams and yells started to spread even more, people pushing past each other to get as far away as possible. A thousand thoughts passed through Emma's mind when she saw it, but to sum it all up, it was really frightening to think they'd all been there, gathered around ever since the sun set while someone did... that.

"Come on. Let's get out of here." Rebekah called over the loud crowd, breaking Emma out of her thoughts as she felt the blonde pull on her hand. with her mind still in shock, Emma silently followed after the blonde, the two rushing away from the square, something Rebekah wanted to do from the moment she smelled the blood and sensed something was wrong.

"Are you sure we shouldn't have stayed? Talked to the police?" Emma questioned fifteen minutes later as she and Rebekah walked down her street and towards Emma's house, the blonde having insisted on walking Emma home.

"Did you see anything worth sharing?" Rebekah asked with a raised eyebrow, and after a couple of moments, Emma shook her head in denial. "Then staying wouldn't have yielded any results."

"This is me." Emma announced as they came up to a simple house. Everything inside was dark, no lights turned on or shadows cast by the screens of electronic devices or a TV; nobody was home. "Thanks for walking me, even though it wasn't necessary." Emma said with a smile as they came to stand on her porch while she fished through her bag for the key.

"What are friends for if not walking you back home when a town founder has been murdered?" Rebekah asked, her nonchalant tone making Emma send her an odd look.

"You know, it's weird how cool about this you are. It's like you're not freaked out at all." She couldn't help but comment, and for a moment Rebekah remained silent, unsure of how to excuse it. She couldn't tell Emma that after a thousand years she'd seen much worse, and done at times.

"I suppose I'm good at compartmentalizing." Rebekah finally answered with a small shrug of her shoulders as Emma unlocked the front door of her house.

"Well I'm not, so I was wondering whether you'd want to sleep over?" Emma asked hopefully, leaning against the door frame as she sent her friend a pleading look. "I understand if you can't, your parents won't let you or something, but my mum's working the night shift at the hospital again, so I thought we'd use it to our advantage."

"I'd love to." Rebekah's answer came quickly and without hesitation. While Emma was simply thinking of a friendly sleepover, Rebekah's mind flashed back to that morning and the suspicious revelation that her attempt to compel Emma last night hadn't worked. A sleepover would be a perfect way to try and learn more.

"Great, come on in and make yourself at home. You can borrow some of my clothes if you wanna be more comfortable and then we can watch a movie, order some food, the normal stuff." Emma suggested, walking into the house and leaving the door open for Rebekah to follow after her. Which she did, stepping over the threshold and letting her senses take in the surroundings. Tonight was bound to be interesting.

And it was. Even the part while Emma was still awake as Rebekah found herself glued to the screen as they watched the dinosaur park get out of control. As dinosaurs were one of the rare things Rebekah hadn't seen in her lifetime, and movies like this were quite foreign to her, she actually found herself having so much fun.

Only once the second movie came to an end did Rebekah notice her friend hard asleep next to her on the couch. Listening to Emma's heartbeat and breathing, Rebekah easily concluded the brunette was in a deep sleep and knew this was her chance. Creeping silently, the blonde started to move through the house, first headed to Emma's room, believing if she'd find anything to answer the questions in her mind, it'd be there.

But to Rebekah's disappointment, she didn't find a single clue that would suggest Emma even knew about vampires, much less all of the supernatural upheaval in Mystic Falls. It was only when she came into the kitchen to get herself something to drink did Rebekah stumble upon what she was looking for.

Hidden on a shelf full of spices and herbs meant for cooking, Rebekah soon spotted a jar holding a familiar looking plant. She reached for it, taking it into her hands so she could have a closer look. And as she did, it wasn't hard to identify the purple petals of a vervain flower. Once she did, a memory flashed through her mind, something Emma had said during the bonfire before they got separated.

She couldn't cook to save a life. Those were the exact words that Emma used. She said she didn't even know how to properly salt something, and everything she made she burnt. Emma's mother was the cook in the house, the one handling the spices and seasoning. The one who hid the vervain among them. The one who knew about vampires.

And while it brought Rebekah some peace, knowing her friendship with Emma wasn't just a hoax, it also made more questions appear in her mind. Why in the world would someone who knows about vampires choose Mystic Falls of all places to move to? Even before her family came to town, it was a vampire circus. So what was it that brought the Park women here?