Little White Lies | Klaus Mikaelson (1)

Taking a Swim

3 months later

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I woke up with ripples of sunlight in my eyes. I groaned, hiding under the covers. I half expected the sound of my blaring alarm to begin echoing throughout my mind. I felt Matt moving around next to me, and his arms wraping themselves around me. "Morning, Em," He murmured.

Matt and I. We weren't really a thing. No, not emotionally. Most of our "love" came from the two of us being lonely and bored. So, over the summer, we'd become a little more than friends.

I turned towards him, my hair a mess around my head. I offered him a lazy grin as I murmured, "Morning, smelly,"

He groaned, turning the other way. "You know I hate that nickname,"

"Maybe put some deodorant on your onion-smelling arm pits and I'll consider it," I responded, grimacing at the own taste in my mouth.

He rolled his eyes, "You realize there are other pet names... like babe,"

I scoffed, shaking my head, "Fuck off. That's the worst couples nickname I've ever heard. But if you start calling me 'Mama's' I'll hit you with a car,"

He shook his head in exasperation. Matt turned to face the ceiling, glancing up at the fan. "I feel like I'm being cooked alive," He muttered, referring to the heatwave Mystic Falls was currently dealing with. It was rather hot. The kind of hot where your thighs stick to the chair and you need to take cold showers just to cool down.

I heard my phone ring and turned to pick it up, Matt's mattress groaning underneath me, "Hey, Elena."

"Hey, Em. There's been an attack in Tennessee," She whispered. We'd been tracking animal attacks for quite a while. Ever since Klaus whisked Stefan away, we'd been hot on their trail. I'd gotten better since my ordeal with Klaus, but that's not to say his name didn't haunt my nightmares and make the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I tried to tell myself I wasn't scared of him, but deep down I knew I was. I just didn't want to appear weak.

"Okay, are we gonna go check it out?" I questioned, sitting up in my elbow.

"Yeah, we're heading out at one," she responded, a sigh coming from her end of the phone.

I nodded, "Okay, I'll see you then." I hung up and glanced at the clock. 9:45. I groaned, knowing I should probably get up, but knowing that was the exact opposite of what I wanted to do.

I turned to Matt and offered him a soft smile, leaning in and placing a soft peck of his cheek, "Cya, loser,"

I got up and grabbed my clothes, which were thrown askew around the bedroom. "I prefer Smelly," Matt responded with a frown.

"Put on some deodorant for me, okay," I said as I ran into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I heard his frustrated sigh and laughed as I turned on the shower. I gave the water a few moments to warm up before taking out my hair and stepping into the boiling-hot water. As the warm water cascaded down my back, I became unfocused. I sighed in content and let my shoulders relax as my eyes drifted towards my wrist, which was still scarred from years of cutting. I'd stopped. I couldn't tell you why. Something inside of me was trying to tell me I was gonna be okay.

I shampooed my shoulder-length black hair, making sure to do so thoroughly as to get out any curls and knots.

I stepped out of the shower quickly, throwing a towel over my body in one swift motion. I propped my phone up and shuffled my music, which began playing Taylor Swift, unsurprisingly. I'd always been a big fan of hers.

I sang along to the music quickly as I washed my face. I gripped my toothbrush and began brushing my teeth. As the music grew louder, so did my voice.

"You sound like a dying walrus," Matt yelled from another room, "Are you in pain?"