A/N: This is one-shot, au, kinda far from canon, and basically a eulogy for Alaric.

A little background: Takes place the day after 4x01. Sophia Saltzman (Ric's sister, my OC) accepts a teacher's award on behalf of her brother. She was born a year after Alaric, but she is a vampire and was turned when she was 21. She came to Mystic Falls when Alaric was stabbed by the "Founder's Council Killer" (aka, himself) and hasn't left. She stays at the Boarding House seeing as it has tons of empty rooms and no chance of awkward sibling nakedness.

Mirrors the world in my fic "I Won't Love A Ghost Forever" where Damon and Alaric were together.

Another piece of semi-important information: Sophia is not fond of Elena, Jeremy, or Stefan. She also may or may not symbolize the Dalaric fandom.

Have fun.

7:30am. Sophia wants to kill the inanimate object that is the alarm clock next to the bed she's in. She doesn't, however, and she simply turns it off, dragging herself out of the incredibly comfortable bed. She had no idea where the Salvatores had acquired such lovely beds, but she was definitely not complaining.

Still in her pajamas, Sophia slowly made her way downstairs and was hit hard by the strong scent of coffee, coming from the kitchen. She smiled and inhaled deeply, making her way towards the magnificent smell. She found Damon in the kitchen, shirtless, and sipping a large cup off black coffee.

He looked at her incredulously over his cup. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Sophia poured herself some of the hot liquid, mixing it with French Vanilla cream, and lots of sugar. She knew it was ridiculous, but just because she was a vampire didn't mean she had no tastebuds.

Damon smirked at the sad-looking girl. "I'm an early bird. But seriously, why are you up? You normally sleep until, like, four."

Sophia gave him a look, which told him he knew he was over exaggerating. "I have to be at the school by nine to accept a teacher's award for Alaric."

"Ooooh, sounds fun." Damon smiled slyly, downing the rest of his coffee. "I'm going with you."

"No, you're not. I don't need you embarrassing me or my brother." She pushed back a strand of dyed black hair from her face, trying to keep it out of her coffee as she drank.

Again, Damon looked at her strangely. "Helloooo! Boyfriend of the dead guy, RIGHT HERE." He pointed to his chest. "I have a right to go just as much as you do, missy, and I am."

Sophia rolled her eyes at him, and began to walk away. "Be ready in an hour." She didn't wait for a response from him before she sped up the stairs and into one of the giant bathrooms of the house. She spilled coffee all over her front when she had stopped, and she cursed under her breath at herself. "Perfect start to a fantastic day."

Looking up into the mirror, she wished she hadn't. She saw Alaric in her reflection. It wasn't her perfectly tanned but pasty skin, or her curved but thin body, or even her facial features. It was her eyes. She had the exact shade of deep ivy green eyes as Alaric, and for the last two days she had been forcing herself to change her face before looking in the mirror. The greed faded a little with bright red blood around it.

She took a shower quickly and put on some of her best clothes, which happened to be a very cute fitted black dress, with cherry red pumps to go with it. She let down her long hair and allowed it to air dry, and it did so beautifully, with soft waves everywhere. She finished everything with red lipstick and black eyeliner, skipping on the eyeshadow for the day. She thought it would be a little too slutty for a high school.

Damon was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. He had cleaned up well, too, but he always dressed nice. Sophia would normally be seen in a loose shirt, skinny jeans, and any kind of old boots. She had stolen most Alaric's boots from when he was a teenager, thrown some mud on them, and worn them until they fell apart. He would always laugh at her when he saw she was wearing his shoes, but he never minded.

"You alright?" Damon's soft voice pulled her out of her thoughts, and Sophia smiled at him as best as she could.

"I'm trying to be."

Damon looped his arm with hers, smile never fading. "You look nice. Ric would be proud." When she said nothing, he motioned to the door. "After you, Miss Saltzman."

They arrived at the school in Damon's Camaro with fifteen minutes to spare until nine o'clock, but the gymnasium was already filling up quickly. On the walk up to the gym, Damon stopped Sophia and turned her to face him. "You don't have to do this. If it's too much-"

"Elena can do it? Or Jeremy?" She cut him off, shaking her head. "No, Damon. He's my brother, and as much as it fucking hurts, I have to do this. I have to be strong for once, it's what he would want."

Damon said nothing more. He only nodded, and they continued inside.

Sophia's nerves hit her like a goddamn freight train when she saw just how many people were there. The entire gym was now full of students, teachers, and townspeople alike. The room was alive with chatter, laughter, and even tears as the now frightened vampire scanned the faces in front of her. She didn't have time to say anything to Damon about backing out, because Elena was in front of her before she knew it. The girl was dressed nice, in a clean white dress and white heels, but she was different. Paler, more sad. Burdened. Her chocolate eyes more filled with anguish. Her hand was cool on Sophia's arm and her voice was covered in compassion.

"What are you doing here?"

Sophia gathered herself and stood up more straight, moving her arm out of Elena's hand. "I'm here to accept Alaric's award."

Elena looked at her strangely. "How did you know about this?"

"I came to get the rest of his things from his classroom and the principal asked if I would do it." Sophia smelled something on the girl, it was almost like stale blood. She smiled to herself. "Couldn't keep the animal blood down, I see."

Elena ignored Sophia's last comment. "I got a letter addressed to you at my house asking you to do it, and I figured you wouldn't want to, because I hadn't seen you since..."

"Since he died?" Sophia finished her sentence, and Elena nodded, but didn't say anything. The older girl pursed her blood red lips. "I'd rather you not assume things when it comes to me, Elena. I ought to have your heart in my hand for thinking I wouldn't do something like this for my own brother." Her tone was annoyed, but bored, as she tried to keep it when she spoke to Elena. Something about the girl rubbed Sophia the wrong way. Maybe it was the way she toyed with Damon and Stefan, or maybe it was because the entire town seemed to think she was absolutely perfect. Whatever the reason, Sophia didn't make it a point to be nice to the girl, no matter how Alaric had felt about her.

Elena didn't respond. She looked at Damon, who seemed to be enjoying watching the two girls speak. "And what are you doing here?"

Damon scoffed. "Boyfriend of the dead guy. I have no idea how you all keep forgetting that." He threw his arms in the air, and Elena gave him a look, much like the one Sophia had thrown at him that morning.

"We're not forgetting it, Damon. Everyone's just finding out."

"Sophia knew."

"Damon."

"Elena."

"Miss Saltzman!" The two immature children were interrupted by Carol Lockwood and the school principal walking up to them. It was Mrs. Lockwood who spoke, and she looked strangely at Damon when she saw him. "And, Mister Salvatore? What are you doing here?"

Damon smiled, and narrowed his eyes. "B-" Sophia jabbed him in the gut with her elbow before he could even begin to say it. His voice was a bit strained after that. "Best friend of the dead guy, Carol. I hear you were impeached, hm?"

The woman gave him a glare. "Now is not the time to talk about that, Damon. We're grieving."

"Gotcha. I'll be over here." He tried to walk away, but Sophia pulled him back. She gripped his arm hard for a moment before letting go. "Guess I'm staying here."

"Damn right you are." Sophia whispered the words so only he could hear, and Elena probably heard too, but she didn't care. She looked at the principal and smiled. "Principal Lewis, good morning. I want to thank you for letting me do this."

The man smiled back, placing a strong hand on her shoulder. "It's my pleasure, Sophia. Your brother was one of the best history teachers this school has ever seen."

"He would disagree with you, but I know he'd be wrong." Sophia couldn't help the frown that captured her face. Alaric had been great at what he did, but he let his heart get in the way of everything and ended up dead. Sophia wanted to go back and change everything, make it to where she never turned and Alaric was never exposed to that world. He wouldn't have married Isobel, he wouldn't have had his heart broken, he wouldn't have wanted vengeance, he wouldn't have met anyone in Mystic Falls...and he would still be alive. She wanted to change it, but she couldn't. That killed her.

Damon ran his fingers over Sophia's hand, bringing her back into the real world, where her brother was gone for good. She smiled sadly, looking back the the school principal. "What do I need to do?"

They told her all she had to do is sit in a chair until they said her name, and she nodded, smiling when they told Elena she needed to sit down. Sophia and Damon followed Principal Lewis and Carol Lockwood up onto the stage at the far end of the gymnasium. She gripped Damon's hand tightly the entire time they walked, and when they sat down next to each other. If she didn't, she knew she would have started crying hysterically.

The room quieted, and a few thousand eyes burrowed into Sophia, making her even more nervous than she had been. She squeezed Damon's hand tighter, leaning a little bit to him and whispering as the school principal spoke. "I'm freaking out."

"You're fine, Soph. Just calm down." Damon whispered back to her, gripping her hand just as tight. He knew people would start suspecting the two of being in some sort of romantic relationship when they noticed them holding hands, and he was ready for it. It wasn't true at all...he was just being there for her, and she was doing the same for him. That was more than Damon could say for his own brother, to be completely honest.

Sophia shook her head slightly. "I can't stay calm. But I can't let Elena do this, either. I'll never forgive myself." Damon sighed, but said nothing more, and Sophia took that as a "you're being ridiculous" and "shut the fuck up before I slap you in front of all these people" so she kept her mouth shut and scanned the crowd of students as Principal Lewis talked about how great of a loss Alaric was. Almost immediately, her eyes locked with Caroline's, who smiled and waved. Sophia returned her smile. She actually liked Caroline, which was strange, because she didn't really like anyone in Mystic Falls except for Damon. But Caroline reminded Sophia of herself, only younger and much more neurotic along with dramatic. Not to mention blonde. Sophia got along with Caroline because Caroline didn't put her nose in other people's business if the situation was serious enough. Sure, the girl was a gossip, but that meant nothing because gossip is petty. When it came down to it, Sophia had learned that Caroline would do just about anything if someone asked, and the girl wouldn't question it at all. Sophia admired that, because she and Alaric were like that, as well. They always had been...it was how they were raised. If someone asked something of you within reason, you did it immediately, and saved the questions for later. If it wasn't important, they wouldn't have asked, anyway.

Just like how Alaric had asked Sophia to stay in Mystic Falls with Damon and make sure he didn't do anything too stupid after Ric was gone. She had agreed immediately, and it was why she was still there. Although, she was beginning to think that Alaric hadn't known the town would make a big hubbub over him, or else he wouldn't have made her suffer through all of it. The last two days had been filled with "I'm sorry for your loss" or just "sorry about Ric." Every time, it almost brought tears to her eyes, but she would smile, and she would thank them...because it was what Alaric would have wanted.

She had to keep telling herself that.

The room filled with applause just after the principal said her name, and Sophia took in a deep breath, closing her eyes and almost swinging back and punching Damon when he shoved her to her feet, still holding on to her hand. He looked at her with those big, pale blue eyes and mouthed "Go on." She nodded, finally letting go of his hand. She walked across the stage, past a few giant pictures of her brother, and took the rather heavy, golden award plaque from Principal Lewis. She shook his hand, and was surprised when he pushed her towards the microphone at the edge of the stage, whispering "you have to give a speech" in her ear. She made a mental note to feed unpleasantly from him later.

In his seat, Damon's mouth had dropped, and he leaned forward, clasping his hands together and bringing them to his chin. He shook his head. "She is gonna choke."

Sophia ran a hand through her ridiculously long hair, staring nervously out at the now silent crowd. "Uhm...hey guys. I'm Sophia Saltzman." She paused, not sure of what to say next. "I'm not really prepared to give a speech, so I'm sorry if I sound stupid. If Principal Lewis had told me, I definitely would have worn different shoes." The crowd laughed, and she heard Caroline shout something about looking fabulous. Sophia smiled, then sighed, realizing that she had absolutely nothing to worry about. Her nervousness was unjustified, so she calmed herself. "I haven't been here in Mystic Falls for too long. Some of you know me, and some of you don't. Some of you don't like me, and to be honest, I don't really like some of you. But we all have one thing in common, and that's my brother. He taught each and every single one of you every day something you hadn't known the day before, in and out of the classroom. I know he taught me things he could never have learned in a book or in college. He taught me how to be strong in the face of danger, even if you're on your deathbed. I'm not sure where in life that would apply to any of you, but it might one day, and you get to say 'my history teacher taught me that.' And, I'm not gonna lie...Alaric had some darkness. A darkness some of you would and never will understand, but that's good. That means you'll never be lost in it. As for my brother, well, he may have been a little bit of an alcoholic, but he never let it affect his work. He was here as much as he could be, eager to teach all of you. If you fell behind, he let you catch up, because he was a real person who knew what it was like to be going through things in your own life." At that point, Sophia had tears in her eyes, struggling to keep them back and to keep her voice from cracking. "Alaric loved and cared with every fiber in his heart, unconditionally. I know some of you don't know that, but it's true. For those of you who do know that, regardless of whether I like you or not, Ric did. He loved you, and that says something. He may have been broken, but he tried, and he did his best. My brother was a good soul, and it means so much to me that he finally found people who see that in him, too."

Sophia was flat out crying when the entire gymnasium of students and teachers and just everyone stood up, applauding her. She hadn't noticed Damon at her side until he wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders and led her off the stage and back outside. They could still hear the applause from inside until a few moments after they exited. Damon took the plaque from Sophia and walked them both to his car, setting the plaque in the back seat and returning to the crying girl on the other side of the car. He quickly wrapped his arms around her. "That was perfect, Sophia." She didn't say anything in response. She cried into him for a few more moments, and Damon pulled her away from his chest and really looked in her eyes for the first time in days. He had avoided it because when he looked at her eyes, all he saw was Alaric. "You did good, okay?"

"Can we just leave, please? I-I'm hungry." Sophia wiped her tears away. She hadn't realized what she had said, but she didn't really care. She hadn't let herself feel fully since Alaric's death, and saying all those things had let entirely too much emotion back into her body. She willed herself to shut it out again, but she wasn't going to forget. She could never forget. It was her brother, after all, and she would love him forever…for the rest of eternity. And she would never, ever forget.