The Unknown Doppelganger

Chapter Thirty

It had been a little over 3 weeks now since Kol's last visit. There was still no word on Katherine. Klaus had said he would ask Elijah about it but with everything going on the name Katerina hadn't been spoken once. Dalia and Tyler's relationship was going well, they were a happy couple and a hit at school with everyone thinking the doppelganger to be Elena's twin. Kol had come by a few days, each time bringing with him some other art piece from Niklaus. Whenever Kol did come by, Dalia would ask him to stay and hang out with her as long as possible, though they were confined to her bedroom for their secret hangouts since no one knew she'd given him permission to enter the home. 
Dalia wasn't just excited to see Kol whenever Klaus sent him out, she was also looking forward to seeing the new piece Klaus had created. His art was beautiful and Dalia was always impressed. All the pieces, the canvas paintings, the paper drawings, they all remained hidden under her bed. While she would have loved to display them it wasn't possible. The sudden appearance of art in her room would lead to questions and she didn't need to be scolded by the gang for her seeing Kol. They were best friends and she could trust him. 

Standing in her room Dalia wrapped her sweater around her as she looked out the window. The sun had been hidden all day behind dark grey clouds that brought with them a lot of rain. Checking her phone she saw that Kol was late for his usual arrival with the new art piece, though she suspected it was due to the weather. Running her fingers through her hair she unlocked the balcony doors, allowing Kol access if he arrived while she headed downstairs for a bit. Skipping down the steps she saw Caroline, Elena, and the Salvatores. 
"You were up there a while, you okay?" Damon asked nonchalantly as he poured himself a drink. 
"Yeah, I was just cleaning some stuff." Dalia lied smoothly as she plopped down on the couch next to Caroline. 
"So, I was thinking..." Caroline started as she sat up and looked at Dalia. The doppelganger arch an eyebrow at the sentence. Despite their initial rocky start, Dalia and Caroline were a lot more civil towards each other now, verging on friendly even. "how about, you, Elena, BonBon, and me go shopping tomorrow?" Caroline suggested with genuine interest.
"Uhm." Dalia hummed. Hearing Damon snicker, she shot him a glare briefly before looking back at the blonde. "You know what Caroline, sure." she accepted. "Maybe we can buy Damon something decent."
"Hey, my style is great." Damon defended playfully. "If anyone needs help it's Stefan."
"Hey." Stefan chuckled, taken by surprise. 
Everyone's attention was grabbed as they heard the front door opening and they watched in anticipation. Tyler slowly entered into view, surprised by all the eyes on him. "Hi," he said looking around at everyone. His clothes and hair were slightly wet from the rain, though not drenched, so he'd most likely driven over. 
"Hey, come just us, we're talking about shopping," Dalia told him, faking an enthusiastic smile, though her wide eyes told all.
"Actually, uh, I wanted to tell you something."
"Okaaay." she drew out with a shrug, waiting for him to say whatever it was. 
"It's important." 
Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked him up and down, his tone was serious and everyone else had picked up on it too. "I'll be back," she told the others, not taking her eyes off Tyler as she got up from the couch and walked towards him. Tyler turned, intending to make his way upstairs so they could talk. Remembering she'd left her balcony unlocked to incase Kol showed up, she quickly grabbed his arm to stop him. "Let's talk outside." she said, adding a smile.
Although slightly confused Tyler nodded. Closing the door after them, the pair stood by the door, still sheltered from the rain. "What's up?" she asked, folding her arms.
"Something happened... I need to leave town," he said, his gaze lowering.
"What, why?"
"Some old stuff connected to Mason and other wolves. I gotta leave, I don't know for how long," he admitted, avoiding her stare.
"Okay, so do I have time to pack?" Dalia asked, leaning her head down trying to make eye contact.
Tyler shook his head. "You can't come." Finally, he looked at her, seeing both hurt and confusion on her face. "And we can't be together... please don't hate me for this, I'm trying to keep you safe," he explained, reaching forward to cup her cheek.
Dalia didn't hesitant in pushing his hand away. "Don't." Her voice croaked. "You're dumping me... after a month, and your excuse is you're doing it to keep me safe?" she scoffed, narrowing her eyes. "You're the first guy I've let in, in centuries!" she exclaimed as tears started to well. Clenching her jaw she turned away from him and grabbed the door handle.
"Wait, don't." Tyler stopped her, placing his hand tightly on hers. 
Just as Dalia scowled at him the door was opened from the other side and Damon stood there. "Tyler." he addressed the hybrid sternly. "Let her go."
Tyler looked at Damon and then Dalia for a moment before slowly releasing his grip. As soon as his hand was off hers, Dalia walked past Damon and straight up the stairs. Tyler watched her sorrowfully and took a step, though Damon blocked him. "You can't come in. Best to leave her alone for now."
Exhaling heavily Tyler shook his head before disappearing in a blur. Damon closed the door and walked into the living room where everyone else resided awkwardly, their vampire hearing having enabled them to hear everything.
"I'll go check on her," Elena said, breaking the silence as she got up from the couch. Damon smiled at her thankfully as she walked past him. Jogging up the stairs and to Dalia's door, Elena knocked rather than just walking in. "Dalia?" she called while fiddling with her fingers. "Are you okay?" Not getting a reply Elena decided to let herself in so she could check on her. Not immediately catching sight of the doppelganger she knitted her brows. "Dalia?" she called again, moving towards the en suite, though that was empty too. Worry set in fast and so Elena blurred back downstairs to everyone. "She's gone."
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Minutes earlier...
Passing Damon, Dalia tried to hide her face from everyone, embarrassed by the tears she allowed to fall down her cheeks. Racing up the stairs she slammed the door shut and angrily grab onto her hair as she began pacing back and forth. Her breath was heavy and rapid as she began reprimanding herself in her thoughts. 'That's what you get for letting people in, you idiot.' Blowing out a shakey exhale she moved her hands to wipe away the tears that continued to fall. 'Stop it! Don't feel, don't cry.' she tried to tell herself internally. Her breath worsened as she struggled to get air in, placing her hand on her chest while a sick feeling formed in her gut. 'I... I can't be here.' Rushing to her purse she grabbed whatever money was in there, checked that her phone was in her pocket before heading for the balcony and scaling down it. She had no idea where she was going, but she couldn't stay. This was her specialty, running. Running away, just like Katherine thought her. 'I'm no better than her.' Dalia thought as she began to run. The only extra layer she had on was the cotton sweater which would get soaked in seconds, but she didn't care. The rain was slamming down hard, but it was nothing compared to what she was feeling inside. 
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Kol let out a huff when he reached the balcony. He ran his fingers over his wet hair, trying to rid of some of the droplets. Opening the balcony doors he quietly stepped inside. "Dalia?" he whispered. He left drips of water on the floor as he walked over to her bed and hid the canvas beneath it. Just as he stepped away from the bed, a floorboard creaked. Before he knew it Dalia's door opened and he was seeing the confused faces of Caroline, the Salvatores, and Elena. Kol grinned at them sadistically. "Is this a welcome party for me?" he taunted.
"What're you doing here?" Damon snarled.
"Looking for Dalia, any ideas?" he asked, rubbing his cold hands together.
"She's gone," Caroline answered with sass. Though that sass was gone as soon as all eyes were on her and she realised she wasn't supposed to tell him.
"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Kol boomed.
Tucking his hands into his pockets Stefan looked down for a moment before answering, "Tyler broke up with her, and now she's missing."
Kol scoffed and shook his head. "And did you idiots not think of looking for her?"
"We thought she just needed some space to cool down," Elena explained timidly, still fearful of Kol.
"No, no, no," he repeated shaking his head as he walked to the balcony doors. "When Dalia leaves a place in this manner when she runs away, she doesn't return," he informed them angrily, knowing the ways of his best friend very well. Exiting the door, he popped his head back in for a second to speak again. "Tell Tyler I'll be back for him." he threatened before vanishing.
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Kol's figure was a blur as he entered the Mikaelson residence and appeared directly outside the study, banging on the door. "Nik! Nik, I've got something to tell you," he yelled over his banging.
Klaus opened the door with an annoyed expression for his brother's interruption. "What?"
The younger brother swallowed the lump in his throat before talking, "Dalia's gone. Your hybrid broke up with her and she left, no one knows where she is."
In an instant, Klaus's expression changed from annoyance to concern, and stepped out of the study, for the first time in a long time. He moved swiftly, grabbing his jacket from the rack and walking to the door. 
"What're you going to do?" Kol asked walking after him.
"I'm going to track her, like any of you idiots could have done." Putting on his jacket he left the house and began to use his heightened speed, not getting as wet while doing so. Firstly Klaus went to the boarding house and started to track Dalia's scent, his hybrid nature making it easier than it would be for a vampire or werewolf. Suddenly the scent got stronger and so he slowed to a human pace, keeping an eye out for other signs of life along the deserted road he found himself on. There was a figure up ahead. "Dalia?" he yelled out. He saw the figure turn and look behind them before quickening their pace; it was definitely her. Klaus blurred in front of her, his hands holding either side of her arms to stop her stride.
"Let go!" Dalia yelled looking down. Her hair and clothing soaked from the rain she'd been running and walking in.
"Love, I came to get you." Klaus told, trying to keep her on the spot despite her emotional struggle to break from his grip.
"I don't care!" she shouted. "I don't need you Klaus, or Tyler, or even Kol! I've made it without you, or anyone before, and I can sure as hell do it again." The one good thing about the rain was that it masked her floods of tears. 
"Hey, hey." Klaus cooed in an attempt to calm her. "I am not the one who abandoned you, I am the one who has been painting for you, I'm the one that cares about you, Kol and I care about you!" Slowly Dalia lifted her head to look at him, her chest jumping as she took in another shaky breath due to her crying. "Don't cry love," Klaus moved his hands to cup her cheeks and wipe away her tears. "Please Dalia, come with me?"
Dalia stood looking into his eyes. She was freezing, drenched, vulnerable, hurt. There were so many emotions, so many thoughts racing around in her head but she sniffled and nodded in reply, wanting to go with Klaus. 
"Thank you." Klaus nodded and flashed her a sympathetic smile. Bending slightly he picked her up bridal style and carried her off at speed back to the Mikaelson house.