The dress that Klaus had given Cami for Frankie to wear was stunning. More than just stunning it was possibly the most beautiful thing she'd ever even seen. It was red, a rich deep burgundy with crystals all over it that made it sparkle with each glint of light it caught. The skirt itself flowed to just above her shoes while the top half had sleeves just past her elbow with a such a deep V that even for Frankie was a little scandalous.

"My tits are out," she groaned, turning to face Cami dejectedly, "like basically out for a free show."

"Don't be such a drama queen," Cami laughed, "I've got tape, we can just-"

"Tape?"

"Oh my god did you miss the lesson on how to be a girl, yes, tape."

"I don't think I want to duct tape my tits away," Frankie said wearily, stepping backwards as though Cami was about to attack her, "I don't know if this is worth the free champagne. Do you even know who this Tristan de Martel is?"

"No," Cami shook her head, "I asked Klaus and he said he did and that Tristan would know enough about you not to hurt you. I mean the actual words he used were that no one sane would dare lay a finger on you but I presumed that distinction meant you were in the clear."

"Lovely," Frankie rolled her eyes, "An evening of 'exquisite excess' with someone who knew the dead me. Is this a bad idea, me going? I don't want to just barge in there, if he hates me and all it would be-"

"He doesn't hate you," Cami cut her off, "It's clear he doesn't. I mean we talked a decent bit in that cabin, he didn't like talking about you but I know he wasn't over you."

Frankie felt a twinge of guilt as Cami mentioned the cabin she and Elijah quarantined themselves in the year earlier when both had come under fire. She knew they'd stayed there together with Hope and that their friendship had developed there. That had been one of the moments that made her feel most regretful that she'd run, hearing that both Cami and Elijah had needed to hide away and she hadn't been there for them.

She almost hated that she'd left, the guilt so prevalent when she thought of her friends suffering alone. Frankie pushed the pain away but it was with a reluctance that she knew would likely allow it to bubble up again later.

"But," Frankie paused again, the ridiculousness of her dress and her plan filling her again as her fingers gripped the gown, "come on, this isn't me. Why don't I just ditch the dress and skate over later, see if he wants to talk with some wine."

"Okay no," Cami said bluntly, "I know you don't like when I shrink you but-"

"Just do it," Frankie groaned, "lemme have it."

Frankie did hate it when Cami was honest with her like that. Most often their relationship consisted of jokes and teasing but the rare moment where Cami was honest she knew Frankie well enough to hit hard and Frankie knew that what she said was true. It was a good thing, she could always count on Cami to tell her the truth, it was just that she didn't always appreciate it.

"You run. When things get too much you run and you let yourself do it by convincing yourself that the grass is greener."

"I know that," she mumbled, "I'm well aware, that's how I ended up here and thats why I left."

"So you avoiding the party tonight is just a way for you to hold back, to not open yourself up to Elijah. You're putting the party off and then you'll put off skating over tonight for tomorrow and then in three days you'll make up some excuse to see your brother and you'll leave. You're scared to do this and so you're letting yourself run again instead of facing him. You just need to be honest with him."

"But its not as if I'm proposing to him," Frankie argued, somewhat petulantly against the look Cami was giving, "I just wanted to see him is all, I'm not back to tell him I love him. It's just- I miss him a little."

"You're going," Cami declared again, "Just rip the bandaid off. It's not going to be any easier the longer you leave it, just go to the party and tell him you missed him."

"Ugh," Frankie sighed, sinking to the floor while the dress fluttered around her spectacularly, "I hate this."

"Come on," Cami laughed, "We can at least do some shots before you go. I have to spend the evening studying while you're going to a gala where you'll drink champagne and confess your love-"

"I don't love him."

"Uh huh," Cami said condescendingly though a grin twitched at her lips, "try and work on that one a little more before you head over then perhaps."

Frankie didn't love Elijah, she knew Cami was just winding her up by teasing her about it, but she knew she certainly missed him. She'd missed him a lot. She hadn't expected to care so much for him and she hadn't expected how long the affection she had would last. Even with a year apart she still thought of him. She could still feel the gentleness of his fingers grazing across her skin and she still missed his kind words and short laughs.

There were few people Frankie had ever really been open with, few who knew what truly terrified her and what secrets about herself hurt more than lies. Elijah didn't know all of her secrets, but he knew all of her fears and that was more than most.

She hated sharing pieces of herself with people, she sometimes felt terrified that if she shared too much about herself it was as though she'd give herself away and disappear in entirety but with Elijah, sharing didn't feel so much like losing. Sharing with Elijah made her feel stronger, it was as if he took her fears and replaced them with his support and she felt like before she'd hurt him and run away, that she was beginning to do the same.

Frankie was well aware of the horrors Elijah had endured in her time away from New Orleans, those that all of them, Hayley, Klaus, Elijah and Davina had endured while she was away. Klaus had been the one to tell her and even with his words which were no doubt tweaked to show him in a better light she knew the year had been tough for all of them.

The moment she'd most regretted her decision to run and not come back was after one such call from Klaus, one where he told her what had happened to Elijah, the suffering he was enduring. Klaus though he was usually one who'd not mince his words had kept vague about the situation, about the mental horrors that plagued Elijah with such intensity he'd needed to quarantine with Cami.

That was the first moment she thought to return too, the first moment where she realised that her life in Mystic Falls wasn't what she thought she'd be able to make it into and that it in fact made her feel as though she'd taken ten steps back in life.

That too however was the first time Klaus told her not to come, he'd been honest when he'd spoken, actually asking her to call him and then speaking genuinely when he did so. Explaining that with what Elijah was suffering with, it would be too much for her to be here lest he need to worry about her too. It twinged a little bit, hearing Klaus tell her not to come but she understood too, they were at war in New Orleans and neither Klaus nor Elijah needed another human to protect especially when there was nothing she could do but distract.

Klaus had asked her to stay from New Orleans, to stay from their war zone at least until things had settled amongst his family and after everything she'd done, how could she refuse? Now it was different. Things had settled slightly, their notorious Aunt Dahlia had been vanquished and though she knew things weren't perfect between Klaus and Elijah, they weren't nearly as fractured or stressed as they were then.

It was different for her too, she was different from when she was last here. Certainly there were things that still plagued her, her mothers abandonment, the fear of her brother dying, but she was better too. She had a career now, not just a job but a career, one that gave her a steady income and actually made her happy to do.

It felt like in their year apart she'd sort of started to piece herself into a person, one who's heart didn't pound into an anxiety attack every other week with her bottled emotions bubbling over. Certainly things still held her back, things attached to a certain well dressed person who's touch was almost intoxicating but not as much as the words which accompanied it and caused her panicking heart to settle each and every time.

Frankie and Cami had done six shots before they even started on eyeliner, realising simultaneously how screwed they were. Fortunately, of those six shots, four had been Frankie's and only two were Camis so while Frankie giggled and squeezed her eyes shut, Cami had the great misfortune of treating Frankie like her own dress up doll, painting her gently with eyeliner and blush and a little more. It wasn't so much that Frankie didn't recognise herself, that wasn't quite her style, but it was enough that she certainly had more of a spark than she normally did.

With her make up done, both collapsed back on to the couch with a pizza and the newest season of love island playing. It was a slow that Cami had somehow gotten them both into and they were shamefully obsessed with it, burning the hour before she needed to get ready quickly.

Eventually the dress was pulled back on and an overly scandalised Frankie allowed Cami to tape her though she was relieved to hear that the tape only worked to stop the dress from slipping to show too much of her, rather than to act as a makeshift bra like she'd imagined.

She even had heels too, black strappy things that she borrowed from Cami, thankful both that they weren't obscenely high and that she and Cami were a similar enough size that she didn't need to buy her own.

Cami was excited as she left. She knew her friend was terrified, terrified that she'd get to the ball and that Elijah would send her away, that he'd tell her that everything had been in her head and she'd return home with her heart shattered into a million pieces but Cami knew the truth. She knew however much Elijah threw himself into his family and into his democracy that underneath all of it he spent his time thinking about Frankie. She knew too that he'd do anything to have her back with him, and that he'd never allow himself to do anything to truly hurt Frankie.

It would all be alright, that much Cami knew with more certainty than anything.

Whether things returned to the way they had been immediately she didn't know, but she knew that no matter the time, Elijah hadn't stopped caring for her, just as she hadn't stopped caring for him.

Frankie brought the invitation along with her, wondering vaguely if a party that she had no doubt would be this grand needed a true invitation for entry. When she arrived there was no one guarding the doors but a pair of likely compelled humans who tugged them open at the sight of her. Fortunately Klaus' dress had pockets and she used them to shove the invitation inside, beside her phone buzzing with messages from Cami wishing her luck.

Perhaps it had been a naive thought, but Frankie had wondered if she'd be the only human at the gala. Heads turned as she entered, hungry eyes that followed her curiously though by the huddles of people in the corners of the rooms feasting on grinning models. It was clear that Frankie wasn't the only human in attendance after that, that and the compelled dancers moving in perfect sync on platforms surrounding them, though she was perhaps the only human here not for entertainment but as a guest.

The place where the gala was being held was huge. An enormous mansion with so many rooms and people she could barely breathe. She was heavily aware of how alone she was and the eyes that followed her with each step didn't help. Eventually she spotted a free place by the wall, making a beeline for it and almost sighing in relief as she spotted a familiar face with a red dress.

"Hayley," Frankie grinned when their eyes met, "how are you?"

"Oh my god," Hayley said, surprise flitting across her face as she tugged Frankie towards her with a grin, "Oh thank god you're here. Elijah went to go talk to someone and I've been alone for fifteen minutes and there's not enough booze left in my glass to stop me wanting to jump off a cliff. Shit, how have you been? I heard about your brother."

Frankie laughed, she was relieved by the easiness which Hayley accepted her return and the way that, though she mentioned him, she didn't dwell on Elijah.

"I've been good," she said, "Yeah, no, just back in Mystic Falls. My brother's an original, kind of, but he's alive at least. How's Hope?"

"God, she's the most perfect thing in the world," Hayley said wistfully, "She's incredible, if you stay around I can't wait for you to meet her."

"She's one isn't she? I'd love to meet her."

"Almost one and a half," Hayley said, seemingly excited though Frankie noticed a hint of pain flash across her face, "You know, I actually think Rebekah said you met her while she was looking after her, that they visited you."

"I did?" Frankie said with surprise, her eyebrows furrowing as she thought back, "Last year, before Dahlia I guess?"

"Yeah," Hayley nodded, she'd tugged out her phone by this point and was swiping through photos of Hope, "But she would've compelled you to forget. No one knew she was alive but us really, Cami met her too while she was in hiding but Klaus compelled her afterwards so Esther and the witches couldn't take her."

Frankie didn't remember meeting her at all, nor having seen Rebekah in her time away but she knew she'd have had no qualms about Rebekah compelling her if it meant she kept Hope safe and hoped when she saw Rebekah again she could lift the compulsion and return her memory now it was no longer a secret.

"Fuck, she's gorgeous," Frankie grinned, "My god look at those little red cheeks."

Frankie was so at ease at that moment, so delighted by the photos Hayley was showing her on her phone that she barely noticed the presence behind her. She heard her name being called but her eyes were so fixed on the video of Hope doing a bobbing kind of dance that it took her a moment to even look up.

Finally she did, tearing her eyes reluctantly from the phone, her breath catching in her throat a moment later.

"'Lijah," she said, a blush tinting her cheeks in surprise as he stared at her with shock, "Hi."