~ I know I said I wasn't going to update until there was 5 helpful reviews on the first chapter, but I felt with the 2 reviews I did get and feedback I got from other people I've shared this story with, that I would update before the 5 reviews.
~This chapter is longer than the first one. I'm trying to do a mix of scenes from the show and original scenes so it doesn't seem like it's excatly like the show.
After Liz had been able to finish her shower, she tried to forget about Katherine's visit. She had laid in bed for a few hours, just looking up at the ceiling. The visit continuously playing in her head, as if it was on repeat. Liz sighed and turned, hoping a different position would let her have a clear head so she could sleep. She closed her eyes, trying not to think so she would be able to sleep.
Liz woke up sometime in the middle of the night. She looked at her wall for a few minutes before using her bathroom. After she was back in her bed, Liz found it difficult to fall back asleep. She sighed and decided to do something until she would feel tired enough so she could fall asleep. Liz got up and went to a room near hers, trying to be quiet so she wouldn't wake her brothers.
Liz had been in the room for quite a while that she lost track of time. She didn't leave the room, getting distracted on what she was doing.
Stefan was walking down the hall and walked passed the room before realizing someone was in it. He doubled back and noticed Liz was inside.
Stefan looked into the room and saw that she standing in front of an easel. He could see her arm moving and assumed she was painting something. He took a step in and noticed papers and canvases laying on a few of the tables.
"Liz..." Stefan said, not sure if his sister realized he was there "...how long have you been up?"
"Uh...not sure." Liz said as she kept painting. Stefan looked from all of Liz's art work to Liz herself. Her hair was in a ponytail to prevent it from getting in paint. Stefan noticed Liz looked a bit tired, but didn't say anything yet. "What time is it?" Liz asked her brother, still not taking her eyes of the canvas she was painting on. Stefan looked at the clock that was on the wall to make sure he would give Liz the right time.
"Five thirty." Stefan said before he looked back at Liz.
"About three hours." Liz said about how long she'd been up. "Couldn't sleep." She added before Stefan could ask her why she'd been up so long.
"You need your sleep. You know how irritable you get when you don't sleep enough."
"Yeah, that's why I'm painting." Liz said to her brother, finally looking away from the canvas. "So I don't get irritated." She added before yawning. "I'm fine Stef, trust me." Liz said when she saw how worried Stefan looked. They looked at each other for a moment before Stefan sighed, reluctantly nodding.
"I'm going to make breakfast."
"Okay, I'll be down as soon as I finish this." Liz said about the painting she was working on. Stefan debated on saying something, but he decided on just nodding. He watched his sister for a few moments before he left Liz alone.
After Liz and Stefan ate their breakfast, Stefan drove them both to school. Liz had her own vehicles, but Stefan had insisted on driving her. The drive to school had been silent, which worried Stefan. He didn't want to push Liz into talking about why she didn't sleep much, although he had an idea. He knew Liz would talk when she was ready to.
When Stefan parked, Liz started to get out of the car.
"Give this to Jeremy?" Stefan asked before he he showed his sister a small vial. It had a clear liquid inside. "Vervain..."
"Do you really want to him to have vervain?" Liz asked and Stefan nodded. Liz sighed before she took the vial from Stefan. "If he spikes my food, it's on you." Liz said, slightly joking to her brother. Stefan slightly smiled and nodded before watching Liz walk away.
Liz walked in the halls of school as she looked for Jeremy. She wasn't sure about giving him vervain after what he's been through, but Liz knew that he would get it anyway.
After a few minutes, Liz found Jeremy by his locker. She walked over to him and handed the vial over.
"Stefan said I should give this to you." Liz said to Jeremy as he looked at the vial.
"What is it?" Jeremy asked before he looked at Liz.
"Liquid vervain." Liz answered as she leaned against the closed lockers next to Jeremy's. "It's the same as what's in your bracelet." She added.
"It protects me from compulsion." Liz nodde when Jeremy spoke.
"Vervain is toxic to vampires." Liz told Jeremy, not sure what he all knew about the supernatural.
"Like poison?"
"Kind of." Liz said. "It slows us down and keeps us out of a human's head." Jeremy looked back and forth from Liz and the vial.
"But why vervain?"
"I have no idea... It's just harmful to vampires."
"Like a stake to the heart?"
"Just make sure it's medium rare." Liz said as she tried to joke. She caught a faint smile on Jeremy's face. "But if you want to do actual damage, the stake has to be wood." Jeremy nodded.
"Do me a favor though and try not to kill Damon?" Liz asked Jeremy. "He may be an idiot and going through a lot, but he's still my brother." Liz looked at Jeremy, assuming he had been thinking of ways to get back at Damon. She opened her mouth to say something before seeing Stefan and Elena come over. "Isn't it my favorite girlfriend of Stefan's." Liz said to Elena, who looked a bit uneasy at Liz's comment.
"She didn't get much sleep." Stefan whispered to Elena to explain what Liz said.
"I can hear you." Liz said to her brother. Stefan looked to Liz. "I'm gonna look for Tyler." She said before walking away from the three of them.
After spending the day setting up for the carnival, Liz went home to relax.
Liz was sitting on the couch in the living room, her legs bent up as she wrote in her diary. She tried to write in hers as often as Stefan wrote in his, but with all the things that was happening, she was slacking. Liz sighed and stopped, re-reading what she just wrote. She knew at some point Damon would sneak into her diary and read it and she wasn't sure she would want him to know what she just wrote.
Liz looked up from her diary and saw Damon walking into the room with two blood bags in his hand. He tossed one to Liz, who caught it and started to drink from it.
"Oh, let me guess..." Damon said about what Liz was writing in her diary "...'I love Tyler soo much' " Damon tried to imitate his sister's voice, which made Liz roll her eyes
"Actually, I wrote you are a giant pain in the ass." Liz said to her brother with a smirk, teasing Damon back. Damon opened his mouth to respond, but Stefan walked in.
Stefan noticed Liz taking another sip from her blood bag as Damon started to pour his in a bag.
"Care for one?" Damon asked Stefan, who shook his head.
"No, thank you." Stefan said before sitting on an arm of a chair. "I'm not hungry, just ate."
"Aww, the poor bunnies." Liz teased her younger twin with a smile.
"Are you worried that one day, all the forest animals are gonna band together and fight back?" Damon asked as he brought his glass of blood closer to his mouth. "I mean, surely they talk." He smirked before taking a sip. Liz closed her diary, making sure the page wasn't bookmarked so Damon couldn't find what she was writing.
"I'm just happy that's a blood bag and not a sorority girl supplying your dinner." Stefan said to Damon as Liz looked up from her diary.
"I like this. You, walking on eggshells around me because you think I'm gonna explode. Very suspenseful." Damon took a sip from his glass. "Who you should be worried about is our dear sister." Liz looked at Damon with slight confusion. "She loved Katherine more than either one of us."
"At least I didn't kiss her." Liz threw at her older brother. Damon looked slightly annoyed at his sister, but brushed it off. Liz stood up, holding her diary close and the blood bag in the other hand.
"Have either of you heard from Katherine?" Stefan asked. Liz looked at Stefan, silently asking 'Really?' She opened her mouth to say something before hearing Damon.
"I think the Lockwoods have a family secret because the Gilbert device affected them but vervain didn't so they're not vampires, they're something else." Damon said to change the subject. Liz turned to Damon.
"Is this your new obsession?" Liz asked. "Investigating my boyfriend's family?"
"You'd rather some unknown supernatural element running rampant upon our town. Fine, I'll drop it." Damon smirked, but Liz knew he wasn't going to leave it alone.
"We haven't seen the last of Katherine, you twp know that right?" Stefan asked his older siblings. "We have no idea what she's up to."
"Sure we do." Liz said to her twin.
"She came back to profess her undying eternal love for you two..." Damon interrupted his sister. Stefan and Liz both looked at Damon "...so I'm gonna let you deal with her because I have more important things to do like explode." He started to walk away with the glass in his hand. "Cheers!"
Liz watched Damon walk away before she looked at Stefan.
"How's Elena doing?" She asked Stefan.
"She's...hanging in there." He said. Liz gave a small smile. "How are you doing?" Stefan asked his twin, knowing how much she had cared about Katherine in the past.
"I'm just worried about you two." Liz said, not sure herself about how she felt about Katherine being back. "And Tyler." She added because he did just lose his dad. Stefan gave his sister a small nod before she walked away.
Liz made sure to take a nap before the school carnival, knowing Stefan would be worried about her more if she didn't.
After she was rested, Liz headed to the carnival with her brothers. She went to look for Tyler and smiled when she saw him.
"How did I know I'd find you here?" Liz asked, teasing a bit that she found him near the arm wrestling. Tyler smiled at Liz and kissed her. They held each other at the waist and kept kissing until someone fake coughed behind them. Liz blushed before she looked at Tyler. "Why don't you join?" She asked Tyler about the arm wrestling.
"Maybe I was waiting for my good luck charm." Tyler said to Liz, who smiled.
"Well, she's here now." Liz kissed Tyler's cheek. "Go win..." She lightly pushed Tyler closer to the arm wrestling.
Damon stood against a wall as he watched his sister and how she interacted with Tyler. He noticed how happy his sister seemed with Tyler, but wasn't sure how long it would last with Katherine in town.
Liz was standing behind Tyler, watching him win. She smiled and cheered for him each time he won.
"See, you're my good luck charm." Tyler whispered after a match to Liz before he kissed her on the cheek. Liz smiled at Tyler, glad to have him in her life. Damon noticed and rolled his eyes. He looked and saw another person go up to the arm wrestling table.
Stefan walked up to his brother and noticed how he was watching Tyler.
"You're lurking." Stefan said as he stood next to Damon.
"I'm observing." Damon said as if he was correcting Stefan.
"More like obsessing." Stefan said before he looked at Liz, who was paying attention to Tyler. Stefan knew Liz was aware of Damon's new obsession with the Lockwoods.
"He's got strength." Damon said after Tyler won. He noticed Liz clap her hands before she kissed Tyler.
"He's a triple letter varsity athlete, of course he has strength. You're reaching." Stefan said to Damon and noticed Tyler hold Liz's hand. Stefan looked to the side and noticed Mason walking up to them.
"I bet I can take you." Mason said to Tyler before putting his elbow on the table. "I'll try not to break him too much." Mason said towards Liz, knowing she was dating Tyler. Liz smiled a bit and gave Tyler an encouraging nod. Tyler stepped back up to the table and started to arm wrestle Mason. Liz watched Tyler wrestle his uncle, hoping he would win again.
Liz watched Tyler lose against his uncle. She stepped up to them.
"Okay, he's the champ, who wants to go next?" Tyler said as he stepped back next to Liz. "Stefan wants to go." Damon said, which made Liz turn to them. She finally noticed that they were standing next to each other. She gave them a wave, which was returned by Stefan.
"Yeah, sure, I'll...give it a shot." Stefan said about arm wrestling Mason.
Liz watched Stefan as he walked to them. She moved with Tyler to the group of people who were watching the arm wrestling.
"Get him Stef!" Damon said, which made Liz look at him. She gave him a silent look, as if she was trying to ask what he was up to. Damon shrugged before Liz turned her attention back to Stefan.
"My brother over there thinks I can beat you." Stefan said to Mason before Liz turned her attention back to her twin.
"Your brother's wrong." Mason said to Stefan. Stefan and Mason started to arm wrestle.
Liz watched her twin put strength into the match, even though he was defeated by Mason. Liz gave a gentle pat on Stefan's shoulder.
"You'll get him next time Stef." Liz said with a small smile, which had been returned. Liz looked at Mason and then to Stefan, who had walked back to Damon. She noticed how the two whispered to each other before glancing back at Liz. Liz couldn't hear them, even with vampire hearing because of all the noise around them. She noticed Damon walk into a different all. Liz was curious when Stefan followed Damon.
Liz looked at where her brothers had been before she looked at Tyler.
"I'm going to hang out with my brothers." Liz said to Tyler, who nodded before she walked away. Liz followed her brothers, but stayed a bit behind so they wouldn't notice her.
"Is he...?" Liz heard Damon ask Stefan so she stood against a wall nearby, hoping they wouldn't notice her.
"No, no, it wasn't that kind of strength but it was more than human, if that makes any sense." Stefan said, just as confused as Damon.
"What is up with that family?" Damon asked. "They're not vampires, what the hell are they?"
"Ooh, ah, maybe they're, um, ninja turtles!" Liz smiled a bit at Stefan's response, but didn't look to see Damon's reaction.
"You're not funny."
"Or no, zombies, werewolves." Stefan said, adding to his previous comment.
"No comedic timing at all." Damon turned around and saw Carter working on something behind hi,. "What are you up to?" Stefan asked when he noticed Damon's expression.
"Since this is reality and there's no such thing as werewolves or...combat turtles." Damon started to Carter.
"I said ninja turtles, actually." Stefan followed Damon, neither one aware that Liz had been listening to them.
Liz got curious and looked around the corner as she spied on her brothers. She quietly watched as Damon started to compel Carter.
"I need you to pick a fight with someone, a kid named Tyler Lockwood." Liz frowned and felt angry that Damon was targeting Tyler. She forced herself to stay quiet so she could figure out what Damon was up to.
"Damon, don't do this." Stefan said, only to get waved away by Damon.
"It's just an experiment." Damon said and focused his attention back at Carter, who he was compelling. "Get him mad, don't back down no matter what he does, okay?"
"I won't back down." He repeated back before Damon let him go.
Liz quickly moved so she was hidden once again.
"Do you realize someone is going to get hurt right?" Stefan asked Damon.
"No, someone is going to get mad, as in rage." Damon said, which made Stefan sigh.
"What's that going to accomplish?" Stefan asked as he tried to figure out what Damon was planning.
"That Tyler kid is incapable of walking away from a fight. Let's see who intervenes; maybe it's the ambiguous, supernatural mystery uncle." Damon paused when he saw Stefan's expression. "Don't tell Liz..."
"I have to." Stefan said. "This is her boyfriend you're messing with." Stefan took a step away only for Damon to stop him.
"She has enough going on right now. She doesn't need to know about this."
"You do have a heart." Stefan joked with Damon, who rolled his eyes and walked away.
Stefan watched Damon walk away before feeling like he was being watched. When he turned around and didn't see anyone, he thought about Liz. He didn't want to keep Damon's plan a secret from Liz, but he knew Damon was right. 'Liz has enough to deal with since Katherine returned' Stefan thought to himself. He remembered how Liz was in the morning before they had breakfast. 'She doesn't need more to worry about' Stefan thought before he walked out of the hall.
Liz leaned her head against the wall and sighed. She heard the whole interaction between her brothers and became worried for Tyler. 'Damon wants to keep this a secret from me...then I'll find out what the Lockwoods could be myself' Liz thought. Liz knew she would take a less violent path than Damon's when figuring out what the Lockwood family was.
Liz eventually found herself in a classroom with her brothers and Elena. She sat in a desk as she heard Damon explain what happened.
"How did this happen?" Stefan asked as he stood near where Elena was sitting.
"Well, in order to make a vampire..." Liz started, but stopped when Stefan looked at her.
"I fed her blood and Katherine obviously killed her and A plus B equals..." Damon said when Liz stopped talking.
"But why?" Elena asked, worried for her friend.
"Because Katherine is a manipulative, nasty, little slut." Damon said.
"One we all slept with." Liz reminded Damon.
"We didn't have the greatest taste in women before." Damon said in defence.
"And she said 'game on?' What does that even mean?" Stefan asked.
"It means she's playing dirty." Liz said to Stefan and looked at Elena.
"And she wants us to know." Damon added to what Liz said.
"But why Caroline?" Elena asked as she looked at Damon.
"I don't know." Damon said and Liz shrugged.
"Caroline must be completely out of her mind, she doesn't even know what's happening to her." Stefan said as he began to pace. He ran his hands through his hair.
"Oh I think she does. All of my compulsion from the past started wearing off the minute she was in transition." Damon pointed out to Stefan
"We have to find her."
"Yep, and kill her."
"No." Liz said about killing Caroline.
"You're not gonna kill Caroline." Elena said as she stood.
"She knows who we are. She's officially a liability, and we've got to get rid of her."
"Damon, absolutely not." Stefan said to his older brother.
"Need I remind you of a tragic little story of a girl named Vicki Donovan? Caroline, of all people, will not make it as a vampire. Her mother is a vampire hunter. Guys come on, we all know how this story's gonna end, just flip to the last chapter and..."
"It's not an option Damon..." Elena said to stop Damon from talking. She didn't want her friend to die an definitely didn't want him to kill Caroline.
"No?" Damon looked from Elena to Stefan. "Your silence is deafening, Stefan. Wait, wasn't there a school carnival the night you staked Vicki? I never had a town where history repeats itself. You know I'm right." Liz looked between her brothers.
"We're not gonna kill her." Stefan said to Damon as he walked out of the classroom. Liz looked at Elena as she started to follow Stefan.
"It's the only way." Damon said to Elena as she walked out.
Liz looked at Damon.
"You know it's not the only way." Liz said to Damon when they were alone. "You know it's not."
"Just because you have a crush on..." Damon started before Liz stopped him.
"Just because I'm protecting Caroline, doesn't mean I'm crushing on her." Liz said to Damon. "I don't want her dead because she's a friend." She added and started to walk out of the room. Liz stopped at the doorway. "And if you want to be on Elena's good side again, you'd let Caroline live." Liz pointed out before walking away.
Liz looked for Elena and Stefan and found them not far from where the classroom was. She went over to Elena.
"Can I talk to you real quick?" Liz asked. Elena slowly nodded and they take a few steps from Stefan."I know she's your friend..." Liz said, which caught Elena's attention "...she's mine to...but I can't be here right now." Liz added as Elena turned to look at her. "Besides, you having me around Caroline right now wouldn't be a good idea." Elena thought about it and eventually nodded in understanding. "I hope she survives." Liz added about Caroline before walking away.
Liz headed home after noticing a text from Tyler saying he was heading to his house. Liz went to the library that was in her house and tried to look for anything that had reference to the Lockwoods. 'I'll find out my own way while they deal with Caroline' Liz thought to herself, but genuinely hoped Caroline would be okay. Liz carried many of the books she found up to her room where she could read them without her brother's prying eyes.
~As I wrote this, I realized that after Liz eavesdropped on her brothers, it gave meaning to the story's title. At first the title was just a temporary title, but after this chapter I think it fits. Damon and Stefan are trying to keep their curiosity about the Lockwoods from Liz...and now Liz is trying to keep her own research into the Lockwoods from her brothers
~I know the next few chapters will add more to the meaning and I feel will develop more secrets between Liz and her siblings. The secrets will all come out to the open at some point, but for now they remain secrets.
~Please review the story. Any thoughts about the first two chapters, anything you'd like to see or theories on what you think might happen are always welcome (:
