Rousseau's was packed when Frankie finally made it into work, the bar bustling so much so she needed to slide through the back door, unable to even near the front. All the streets along her way too were bursting so full that she'd barely been able to skate across, eventually needing to carry her board lest she hit someone.

There was a band playing, of course there was, this was New Orleans and there was a festival on today. It was nights like this that made Frankie fall in love with the city for more than just its status as her hideaway, but for its energy and its life. She could feel the energy moving with each splutter of laughter or collapse into applause as the band fell silent and the crowd took over again. The music would start up again and the room would fall silent, each member of the audience entranced by the music.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Frankie apologised, rushing as she stashed her board in the back of house before wrapping an apron around her, "I took a nap and I missed my alarm, please tell me no one noticed."

Being twenty minutes late for work wasn't a common occurrence for Frankie and while she knew she wouldn't have been penalised for her absence, she did feel bad holding her friend up from her break.

She'd been struggling to sleep lately, the return of the Mikaelson's keeping her up as she ran through what she was going to say when Elijah was inevitably undaggered. Frankie had expected to run into Elijah and his siblings one day but she hadn't been prepared for how soon they'd been reunited and it was keeping her from sleeping properly as she worried. As as result, when she'd felt her lids droop a little before lunch time it wasn't hard for her to let them fall, slipping off into a nap before her shift.

"You're fine," Cami grinned at her friends flustered appearance, "I told them the ice machine was broken and you were getting us more."

"You're a saint."

"Aren't I?" Cami bowed.

"Truly a god."

"I know, I know. Stop it now or I'll get an ego like yours. So, Frankie, this is Davina," Cami was unwrapping her apron as she pointed to a girl sitting at the bar who was young with dark hair and a full face, "She's a friend of Marcels."

Frankie faltered for a moment, she caught herself before her face showed shock but she was surprised to see Cami with a friend of Marcels. The night of the charity event, Frankie had ended up calling Cami a little they left and Cami seemed certain that Marcel was bad news and that it was best she stuck away. She'd seemed to change her tune the next day, deciding to give him another chance at least but when a few days later she'd told Frankie that Marcel had asked her to spend some time with a girl he was mentoring Cami had certainly said no.

They'd even talked about it for half of their shift the day before, about how Marcel described the girl with anger issues and a knack for rebelling against authority. They'd thought that Marcel had supposed with her psych degree, that she could help but Cami had talked about how she didn't feel comfortable getting involved like that.

On the one hand, Davina sitting here in an angelic white dress looked so innocent it seemed difficult to believe she could be the one he'd been referring to but really she knew it was no coincidence and that this was the girl Cami had refused to do it.

It seemed strange to Frankie that twice Cami seemed to change her mind over Marcel so quickly, perhaps she really was just softening up, feeling apologetic for a harsh judgement that she was giving him, but perhaps too there was something larger at play helping to change her mind.

"Davina," she grinned, disregarding her worries as she turned to the girl, "Cool name. It's nice to meet you, I'm Frankie."

"Hi," Davina smiled nervously, tearing her eyes away from the musicians reluctantly, "You work here with Cami?"

"Yeah," Frankie nodded, grabbing Davina's glass and refilling it for her, "So, what's his name? Hot guy with the fiddle?"

Davina had barely been able to tear her eyes from the boy in the band, with floppy hair and a violin, from the moment that she'd entered the bar and Frankie was amused by her clear schoolgirl crush. It seemed to sweet and innocent her affection, even as Frankie asked it took her a moment to reply, a blush covering her cheeks as she turned to her, surprised she'd been caught so easily.

"Tim."

"He's cute," Cami agreed, sliding into the seat next to Davina now she was on her break.

"I knew he'd be here," Davina told them, "he always performs at these kinda things."

"How long have you two known each other?" asked Frankie.

"Since we were ten. I had to leave school and I didn't get to say goodbye. So, I was just hoping to talk to him tonight."

"Oh Cam and I can make that happen," Frankie said, swapping a conspiratorial glance with Cami where they both silently agreed to make her teenage dreams come true.

Frankie had ended up getting pulled away from them soon after, leaving to refill more drinks and serve the drunken tourists. She felt disappointed she was stuck and unable to help reunite the teens though she knew that Cami would be just as helpful as her. After more than an hour of music, the band played their last song and finally began to pack up, she watched as Davina's joy turned to nerves, a happy anxiety taking over.

The bar was clearing out, people leaving as the music ended and while Frankie continued working, she kept her eyes on her friend and Davina, watching them search for Davina's crush Tim.

"Everything okay?" Frankie asked, sliding out from behind the bar as Davina argued with Cami and then turned and ran away.

"We lost him," Cami explained.

"Oh?" Frankie turned to search the bar, "They only just got off, he can't have gone far."

"One of the musicians gave me this," Cami told Frankie after a moment, Frankie turned to see a note in Camis hand that hadn't been there a minute ago, "It's for Davina, I'll go give it to her."

"Which musician?" Frankie asked, "No one's talked to you since I came over."

"Wait, Davina," Cami called out before turning to Frankie, "I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

Frankie opened her mouth to argue, to tell Cami that she and Davina shouldn't be chasing after some boy in the night in a town overrun with vampires but before she could, Cami was gone. Reluctantly Frankie returned to the bar, catching her coworkers pointed glance at the couple waiting to order.

As she continued her shift, Frankie's thoughts ran wild with what was happening with Cami. She'd changed her opinion on Marcel twice recently which concerned her and now she'd received a note seemingly from nowhere. Though she had no proof, Frankie was sure there was something nefarious going on, that someone had compelled her to slip Davina the note and pretend it was from the boy.

When her break finally came she slipped in the back to call Cami who ignored her, not even replying to the messages she'd sent checking in. By the time Cami returned for clean up, an easy grin on her face as she told Frankie that Davina and Tim had been reunited, Frankie was almost sure she'd been compelled though by who she didn't know.

-

It took three days more for Frankie to be certain about Cami's compulsion, she'd started writing it down, each instance where her friends opinion changed from being set one way, then different the next day. She felt neurotic documenting her friends life like this, but she needed to know, needed to know if it was just paranoia brought on by knowing she was around vampires again or if it was real, that someone was messing with her friends mind and that there was nothing she could do to stop it.

She'd started keeping track of Marcel too, though he was sneaky he was infatuated by her friend and so more than once she'd caught him hanging around the bar hoping to catch a glance of Cami at work. They hadn't had a proper conversation since their introduction, he was friendly to her when they needed to interact but it wasn't hard to sense her distrust of him and he made it clear he thought she was a Mikaelson spy.

Cami was doing better though, that was what had eventually tipped Frankie off that she really was being compelled, that her friend was happy. What a messed up world they lived in.

Much like Frankie, Cami didn't reveal all of her background to many but she had revealed what had happened to her brother and how eaten up inside she was over it. It wasn't that she'd really ever intended on sharing the news with anyone but Frankie had been skating by the cemetery one day soon after they'd gotten close when she saw her standing at a grave, staring at red paint sprawled across the tombstone.

Frankie didn't ask who he was, she wasn't one to pry, but at the pain on Cami's face she'd snuck back in the night and cleaned it off. She didn't tell her she was the one to do it, it wasn't important who did it, but Cami had known. The next night she'd turned up at her apartment with two bottles of wine and an explanation, an explanation of her brother Sean, the boy who'd murdered his classmates.

The four months Frankie had lived in New Orleans and in the three months since she'd gotten really close with Cami, she never exactly seemed all the way happy. She was happy at times, but there was always a pain beside her eyes, worry clouding her head when there was a quiet moment. Now though she seemed fine, they were together and Frankie wanted so desperately to be one to pry so she could discover how Cami seemed to lighthearted so suddenly.

"So, we never talked about you and the hundred dollar guy," Cami said, they were on their second bottle of wine and skating on tipsy, "What was up at that event, you two seemed close, did you date?"

"Oh god no," Frankie laughed almost choking out in surprise at Cami's assumption, "No, god no we definitely didn't. No we did go on like a weird three month road trip but no, he's the brother of a complicated, long story."

"You dated Rebekah?" Cami spluttered out in surprise, putting two and two together when Rebekah had introduced herself at the party and described an on again off again relationship, "Really?"

"No, no," she laughed again, "I mean yes, she's his sister, but no. He's got a brother, a lot of brothers actually, but we didn't exactly date, it's just . . . complicated."

"Damn," Cami shook her head, disappointed by the revelation as she refilled their glasses, "Is the brother hot? Rebekah and Klaus are like otherworldly hot so he has to be, that family has some good genes."

"He's not bad."

"You're not gonna give me anything? Tall, short, fat, thin, brunette, blonde-"

"Oh my god it's like you're designing a sim. What about you and Marcel, what's going on there?"

Frankie was good at changing the subject and while Cami could recognise the blow off, she took the switch and Frankie's gulp of her wine with ease, letting her off the hook for an explanation.

"I don't know," Cami rolled her eyes in annoyance, "He's been blowing me off. We've been on two dates so its whatever, but I can't stop thinking about him."

"I can talk to him," Frankie grinned a toothy devilish grin she'd picked up from her time with Klaus, "teach him a lesson."

"Please don't."

"I mean, if you change your mind-"

"I won't."

"It's always good to have options," she replied nonchalantly, taking a sip of her wine, "Aside from Marcel though, you seem good Cam, really good these days."

"You think so?"

"Why do you sound like that's a bad thing?" Frankie asked curiously, noting the way Cami's face fell and her shoulders tensed at the assessment, "Are you not doing well?"

"No I am, that's the problem," Cami told her. Frankie's brows furrowed in confusion and she motioned for Cami to keep going, to explain what the issue was if she was doing well, "I sleep like a baby every night, even though my brother," here she leaned in to whisper the next part quietly, "hacked nine priests to death. I'm fine, I'm more concerned with Marcel blowing me off, than someone writing 'MURDERER' across my brothers grave."

"They did it again?" Frankie asked sharply, concerned with her friend seeing the graffiti knowing how much it hurt her last time it happened, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Cami nodded, "I'm fine. For months I couldn't think of anything but what Sean did, and suddenly, I'm fine."

She knew that someone had been in her friends head, while before there had been pieces of information that tipped her off, now she was sure, certain someone had taken her pain away. However great a gift that might be, that they were doing what they could to allow her to move on, the lack of choice infuriated her. While she wished many times that she could take away Cami's pain over her brothers demise and actions, knowing that it happened without consent and seeing how anxious it made her disgusted Frankie.

"Look Cam," she said after a moment of silence, "I've watched you spend months feeling guilt and pain and anxiety over what happened. I'm not saying you should forget what he did and stop caring, but if you're not feeling pain over it now, you should accept it, let it happen and let your life move on."

"Do you wanna do a shot?" Cami asked, turning away so Frankie didn't catch the frown on her face, "Little tequila always brightens the mood."

Though Frankie absolutely did not want to do a shot, her mind too focused on finding the person responsible for her compulsion and telling them to stay out of her friends head, she downed the liquor with a grin to match her friend.

"Hey," Frankie said coyly as they exited the bar, each turning opposite directions to head home, "I know you've only been out with him twice, but do you know where I can find Marcel. I think he might know where I can find Klaus and his brother and-"

"Of course," Cami grinned, "Yeah, he lives in that huge house in the quarter, the one with all those dramatic M's that look like they're from the hunchback of Notre Dame or something. Tell me how it all goes, alright?"

"Cheers, I will. Text me when I know you're home safe?"

It hadn't been hard to find the building Cami was talking about, she'd skated by it more than a dozen times and when she arrived she saw Rebekah sliding out the side entrance, clearly furious. Though she'd bucked herself up to yell at Marcel, he too seemed annoyed, storming out and along the street. Curious as to his rage, she followed a little behind with her board under her arm, finally pausing when they reached one of the large plantation houses a little way out.

Frankie was good at sneaking, she'd started sneaking out of the house when she was fifteen, but clearly she'd lost her charm a little because Marcel suddenly turned, speeding quickly to lean against the tree in front of her.

"Did you need something sweetheart?" Marcel asked, an insincere grin on his face as he tossed an apple in the air, "I'd expect Klaus' spy to be a little less obvious when they're tailing someone."

"Oh my god," she rolled her eyes, "If I was gonna be anyone's spy it certainly wouldn't be for Klaus."

"And yet here you are following me. If not for Klaus then for who?"

"For Cami," she said, suddenly angry as she remembered why she was here. Marcel faltered for a moment, confusion flooding his face and she took the opportunity to snatch the apple from his hand, "Stop compelling her. I don't give a shit if you think you're helping, stay out of her head."

"I'm not in her head."

"Like hell you're not. Leave her alone or I'm giving her vervain and letting her know exactly what you and Klaus are."

"Klaus," Marcel muttered softly.

"Marcel I mean it," Frankie barrelled on furiously, "I don't want her involved in all this. Fine, she's an adult, I'm not stopping her from dating you if she wants to, but you need to stay out of her head. It's clear you're compelling her."

"I'm not," he told her, his eyes meeting hers, "Really, I'm not. I compelled her once, yeah. Rebekah got a little possessive and tried to use Cami to find Elijah but all that I told her was to forget what Rebekah did and to go home. That's the only time I compelled her, I don't want her in this world either, I want to keep her out of it and keep her safe."

Frankie faltered, she'd been so certain that Marcel had been the one to compel her that she hadn't even thought over other possibilities.

"If you're not compelling her, then who?"

Who else could it be?

She'd figured that with Marcel being the one trying to woo her, the compulsion was him trying to ensure their relationship, it seemed like every time Cami was compelled, it pushed her closer to him, but if he wasn't compelling her, who else was invested in their relationship?

"I'm gonna find out," Marcel promised, "Did you really follow me all the way out here just to confront me about compelling your friend? Don't you have any survival instinct, I'm a vampire."

"Oh get off it," she rolled her eyes, "I might not trust many of you, but you said it yourself, you hurt me and your head will roll. You know what that family is like, apparently."

"And yet you don't seem the least bit curious as to where Elijah has been these past few months."

Frankie's eyes were going to fall out of her head if she didn't stop rolling them soon but it was almost hard to stop, so badly did she want to. Marcel, whilst harmless, was somewhat infuriating, it seemed without even trying he'd hit the nail on the head, curious as to why the fated Francesca Rossi hadn't asked even once, where her soulmate Elijah was. Her face furrowed for a moment, her eyes narrowing and her lips screwing up before she replied, half curious if he'd really tell the truth.

"Care to share?"

"I'd love to," he grinned the toothy grin that she'd learnt from her time with Klaus, "I believe he's right through those big fancy doors over there."

"Really?" Frankie asked, unconvinced as she stared at the door of the mansion nearest to them, "Right."

"In fact, why don't we go say hello."

"Oh," Frankie stepped back, "It's alright, you go, I'll catch up with you."

"Don't be silly," Marcel grabbed her arm, speeding them suddenly to the front door and knocking before she could protest.

"I ran away from them, from him," Frankie said, seething under her breath as she whispered out, "That's why I was surprised to see Klaus, I'm not ready to face him. Speed us back away, please."

"Too late," Marcel whispered as the door swung open, "Hi there, I'm Marcel. I don't think we've met."

"Right," said the girl who'd opened the door, her voice dry and disinterested though Frankie could tell the fear hidden behind it at their presence, "Can I help you with something, Marcel."

"Just meeting the neighbours," he grinned a toothy grin that told them all he was only there to stir up trouble.