Frankie certainly didn't intend on joining Klaus and Stefan on whatever road trip Klaus had organised but she wasn't exactly given a choice. Klaus had, in his words very graciously, allowed her to gather her skateboard and pack up her backpack she'd brought with her, before pressing her along with him and Stefan to a car.

They had a little time before they left and Klaus had summoned someone to take his brothers body while Frankie got a crash course on the supernatural from Stefan who seemed more miserable even than her.

She learnt about compulsion, that was how Klaus had made Katherine do what he wanted. Stefan had tried to look at her necklace when she'd asked why it hadn't worked on her and the way he'd hissed as he touched it had been explanation enough for him to tell her about Vervain. She learnt Klaus had been possessing Alaric when she'd first come to town and that her brother likely didn't even know she was here. She'd learned about what happened when she was in her magical coma too, about how Alaric's girlfriend and her niece had been killed by Klaus.

Most importantly, she learnt that the dagger that Klaus had plunged into his brother hadn't killed him and that when it was removed, he would wake.

The last piece of information had been the most interesting to Frankie, she resolved that the moment she could, she'd pull the dagger away from Elijah and allow him and Klaus to fight while she escaped. She had to be smart about it though, Klaus was faster than her, he could apparently hear better too. She couldn't rush to him, she had to wait and do it in secret or when he was distracted by Stefan.

So perhaps she'd learned that last bit through a little trial and error. Frankie had found out about the dagger and then when a little later they arrived at a warehouse where Klaus' mind controlled servants had placed Elijah in a coffin. She'd kept her eyes on the coffin itself, Klaus' phone had rung and her hand had shot out to reach for the dagger. Klaus hadn't even turned to look at her or ignored the phone call, pulling the phone to his head he caught her hand and shook his head disapprovingly.

Klaus kept hold of her wrist until he hung up the call, turning to her menacingly, "Go wait in the car."

"Why?"

"Do it," he ordered, nodding to one of the men by the car, "Take her to the car but don't let her leave or hurt her."

"I can walk," Frankie snapped when the man took hold of her arm, tugging it away she moved towards the car, slamming the door behind her. It wasn't long before Klaus had joined her, sliding into the drivers seat and turning around to see her frowning with her arms crossed.

"Where's Stefan?"

"He's coming."

"Can I have my phone back?"

"No."

"Why not?" she argued, "You just killed my brothers girlfriend and you're kidnapping me, at least let me talk to him."

"Is it really kidnapping when we're practically family?"

"I met you three days ago, just because you possessed my brother doesn't make us anything. Dick move by the way, pretending to be him."

"You'll get over it."

Frankie felt her blood boil at his chuckle and cavalier attitude, she could feel her nails digging into her fists as she let out a growl of frustration and turned her head out the window. Just as she did, Frankie heard a scream coming from inside the warehouse they'd just left and her face fell, reaching for the handle she was out the car door in a moment trying to reach the sound and help.

"Get back in the car," Klaus told her, he'd rushed around in front of her and caught her before she could get more than a few feet away.

"Move, they sound like they're hurt."

Klaus' face was indistinguishable as he pressed her backwards, pulling the car back door open for her, "It's not your problem. Get in the car, I won't ask again."

Disgust crossed her face as she realised why Klaus wasn't surprised and why he didn't care, "That's Stefan?" she asked, his face stayed neutral answering her question, "You're fucking disgusting."

"You'll get used to it," Klaus said, flinching back when she slid into the car away from him and slammed the door harshly behind her.

In truth, she did get used to it, the summer was long and that first night wasn't the only time she heard Stefan murdering someone. She never grew to take pleasure from it like Klaus clearly did, but she learned to hate Stefan less for his part in it. It wasn't hard to see the pain on his screwed up face each time he came back after killing someone, the guilt he felt.

Klaus confused her, he regularly threatened her and her brother but he seemed to allow her to get away with a lot more than he did anyone else. Frankie would argue with him constantly, she'd tried to hit him at least four times and she'd tried to escape six. Actions that would get Stefan a punishment seemed to have no consequences for her aside from his annoyance.

He pretended to treat her as callously as he did Stefan and yet it was clear he cared at least a little for her wellbeing. Nothing more had been explained to her about why exactly he cared, why he knew who she was and why she was important to him and his family. Klaus made several more cryptic comments over their time together about her being family, acting as though he knew her when he didn't.

She knew there was more to his fascination with her, something certainly to do with his daggered brother, but he shut down so absolutely whenever she brought any of it up even she let it go. Instead she enjoyed her privileges because of it, and worked hard to annoy him enough make him mad, but not enough to make him send Stefan to kill her brother.

Frankie was currently enjoying one of these such privileges. They'd been travelling for several months now and she'd made it abundantly aware of her disgust when they interrogated people. Most of the time Klaus ignored her complaints or just sent her to wait in the car but today, surprisingly, he'd pulled to a stop at a diner near where they were headed.

"If you're not here when we return, mark my words our next stop will be to Mystic Falls to torture your brother until he dies from the agony of your betrayal," Klaus said to her as he let her out in the parking lot.

"Jeez," she replied, screwing her face up at the graphic image, "I'll miss you too."

"It will be weeks of pain, do you understand me?" Klaus said, serious as ever at her rolling eyes.

"Where am I gonna go?" Frankie snapped, "We're in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, I'll be here Klaus."

Klaus narrowed his eyes at her before nodding and returning to the car, Stefan who'd been standing behind them stepped to the side revealing her skateboard. He passed it to her quietly with a grin before following Klaus to the car, watching her through the mirror as they pulled away.

Frankie wouldn't let them know but secretly she was grateful, she kept it to herself, but truly sometimes she couldn't get the sounds of people yelling in terror out of her head. She knew it was worse for Stefan, he was the one who had to do the murdering and sometimes it was like he wasn't even with them, retreating into his own head as he replayed his actions. It was worse for Stefan but it was still hard for her, not to mention the fact that she was cooped up in a car for several months with no contact with anyone besides them, she was starting to go a little stir crazy.

Frankie would go inside the diner, she was hungry and she relished the opportunity to sit in silence and have some coffee, but first she was going to go for a ride. It was rare that she was alone and rarer still that she'd been left with her skateboard. Klaus seemed to have some preposterous idea that she'd escape back to Virginia with it and so it was rare he left it with her and certainly not as she sat alone.

She wasn't exactly sure how it all eventually happened, she'd been cruising for a while, nearly an hour she thought although she couldn't know with her phone still held hostage, when she'd stumbled across a group of kids skating too. They went to a college in the town over but came here to skate because of an on campus ban and they invited her to ride with them. After circling the town for a while, they finally reached a park, pulling to a halt, they all piled in and went to sit.

Frankie declined the drinks they offered from the flasks they were all drinking happily from, while she wasn't exactly against it, it seemed ill-advised. They were unbothered by her refusal, chugging gleefully, but when they held up a bowl and offered to get her high she accepted with a grin.

She was fairly certain if she'd even alluded to the way she was spending her evening away from Klaus and Stefan they might've murdered her but she figured she'd earned a little night off from her thoughts.

Frankie hadn't been with the group long but when she asked one of them for the time she discovered it was nearly midnight although she'd been left by Klaus just as the sun was setting. Even in her inebriated state she knew she needed to get back to the diner, with a laugh at her sudden change of state, her new friends pointed her in the direction of the diner.

If not for Stefans convincing to wait around just a little longer Klaus would've turned around and headed back to Mystic Falls to find her brother the moment they arrived to see her gone. When he finally heard the sound of her wheels rolling down the empty road, Klaus' head spun to find her with a glower on his face. He considered speeding towards her furiously but Stefan's hand grabbed his arm pointing out that it would likely result in her falling off and injuring herself.

"Where the bloody hell have you been," he snapped at her, the smile on her face enhancing his rage as she rolled to a stop before them.

Frankie wasn't that stoned, she really wasn't, but the way his face screwed up and his lips pursed out was enough to send her into a fit of giggles that made her fall off her skateboard. His face seemed to darken even still and then she caught sight of Stefan who was watching her a with a confused expression.

"Thanks," she said, smiling sleepily as Stefan helped pull her to her feet, "What're you guys doing here?"

Klaus was staring at her in disbelief while Stefan slowly began to put the pieces together, placing the smell that surrounded her with surprise. If Klaus had paid better attention he certainly would've noticed, he'd been around in the sixties and seventies of course and was well acquainted with the stench but he didn't even think to realise that could be the cause for her bizarre behaviour. Over the three months they'd been travelling together, whilst Frankie was certainly the most lighthearted of the trio, it was rare to see her laugh or even be so open with him around and his head was baffled by it.

"Oh no!" Frankie said suddenly, neither Stefan nor Klaus had responded to her question but she'd suddenly remembered the whole purpose for her being at this parking lot, "I forgot to get dinner."

Stefans face quirked up in amusement as she started walking towards the diner, "Frankie," he called out, "Are you stoned?"

"Uhhhh," Frankie spun on her heels to look at Stefan and Klaus, she knew they'd be annoyed that she'd smoked she was considering lying when she saw her skateboard laying abandoned beside their feet. Walking over she scooped it up happily before remembering Stefan had asked her a question, turning back she looked up, "One more time, what did you say?"

"Where on earth did you get marijuana from in this town," Klaus asked incredulously.

"Hmm?" Frankie asked, "I'm not stoned."

"Get in the car, love," Klaus said, pinching his brow in annoyance as he handed Stefan her skateboard to place in the trunk.

"What about dinner?" she'd caught sight of someone inside eating a burger and she couldn't pull her eyes of the fries that sat on their plate. Her stomach rumbled as if on command and she turned to Klaus to ask him to let her stay.

"Dinner's for road trip passengers who didn't get high when they were graciously left to relax while we were following the lead."

Frankie looked forlornly on at the fries on the plate as Stefan pushed her towards the car eventually pulling away to wherever they were headed next. Klaus' rage at her absence slowly began to dissipate into amusement as he looked back at her to see her silently mouthing the words to a song that wasn't playing.