A Night On The Town

[Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries. No copyright infringement intended. I'm just borrowing brilliance and adding my own.]

PART ONE

7. You're Undead to Me Pt 1

Dear Diary

I think there are other vampires in Mystic Falls. I'm debating on whether or not to call Andrew. Really, the only thing stopping me is my uncertainty. I want to be sure. Or close enough.

The Facts: Caroline had vervain in her bloodstream. One drop of blood nearly brought me to my knees, so someone must've given her a heavy dose of it. Her memories of her relationship with Damon are scattered. She said there are a lot of gaps, blank spots she can't account for. And she had several bruises on her arms in the shape of handprints, along with several bite marks. Fanged bite marks.

So now I have to do something I really don't want to do. Elena speaks very highly of Stefan, so I'm hoping his kind nature on top of my being Elena's sister will work to my advantage. I'm going to stop by the Salvatore Boarding House before school and see if I can find anything. Or get Stefan to talk.

It's a poorly planned plan. It's all I have, though. I need to know what's going on. Andrew would kill me if he knew I was taking matters into my own hands.

Whatever. I might not live through today anyway.


To say I was nervous as I pulled up in front of the old boarding house would be an understatement. If Damon was a vampire, he no doubt had a few years on me. The older a vampire was, the stronger they were. I was new. Fresh. I was only just starting to get my emotions under control. I was still adjusting. That's why it took my three days to work up the courage to do this.

Three days of adjustment, constant thirst, worrying, and contemplating. And eating!

I stepped out of Jenna's Mini Cooper, already missing my rental car. I made a mental note to look into buying my own car.

I walked up the front steps of the boarding house and crossed the porch to the large oak front door. I raised a hand and knocked three times.

"Coming!" a voice shouted somewhere within the house. Footsteps pounded down some stairs and rushed toward the door.

I smiled as Zach pulled the door open. "Hello, Mr. Salvatore."

"Alex Gilbert," he exclaimed in surprise. "What brings you here?"

"Actually, your nephew brings me here. Stefan." Technically, Damon brought me here, but I wanted to speak to Stefan.

He frowned. "Why do you want to see Stefan?"

He's cautious. "Well, in case you haven't heard, Stefan is dating my little sister." I smirked at him. "I've been out of town for a while. Came back to find out my sister has a mysterious boyfriend. I have to give him the 'if you hurt my baby sister' talk."

"Ah," He snorted. "I see." He glanced over his shoulder, then back at me. He looked apprehensive. "Well, um…okay. Come on in, Alex."

He held the door open for me. I entered without hesitating. "I've never actually been in your house, Zach. Known you for years and never been here before."

He closed the door and led the way into the monstrous parlor. "Listen, Stefan is a little busy right now, but…I'll just…go tell him you're here."

He paused before turning and walking out of the room. I turned on the spot, taking in the parlor. The walls were lined with bookshelves and hundreds of books. Everything was made out of wood. Oak and mahogany. It was all so beautifully crafted. Artifacts—spears and swords—hung on the walls and above the empty fireplace. The boarding house held history, that was for sure.

I sat down in one of the cushioned chairs in the middle of the red-carpeted room. The whole place was quite impressive.

And quiet.

I listened intently for any movement in the house. I heard a low, pained groan somewhere below me.

"Where's my ring?"

The voice was weak and raspy, but I recognized it as Damon's.

"You won't be needing it anymore."

That was Stefan.

I shifted forward in my chair. I never used to be such an eavesdropper.

Damon groaned weakly. Breathing wasn't coming easily to him. "How long have I been here?"

"Three days."

Since the party.

"What are you doing?"

Damon was definitely in pain. Why isn't he in the hospital?

"During the Dark Ages, when a vampires' actions threatened to expose or bring harm upon the entire race they would face judgment," Stefan explained, completely emotionless.

My breath caught in my throat.

"They sought to reeducate them rather than to punish them."

"You know what will happen," Damon replied weakly, "if I don't feed on blood."

Holy. Shit. I froze in shock, my mouth gaping open.

"You'll grow weaker and weaker," Stefan explained. "And eventually, you won't be able to move or speak. In a week, your skin will desiccate and you'll mummify. A living corpse. Unable to hurt anyone. Ever."

Jesus Christ…

"So, what? You're just gonna leave me in the basement forever?"

"I've injected you with enough vervain to keep you weak."

That answered my question about the vervain…

"Once your circulation stops, I'll move you to the family crypt and then in fifty years, we can reevaluate."

"I'm stronger than you think," Damon warned, his voice shaky.

"You always have been. But you're not stronger than the vervain and we both know it." Stefan paused. "I'm sorry. It didn't have to be this way."

I heard Damon groan and Stefan walking. He ascended a few steps, then stopped.

"He's awake. He's weak, but it's probably best to stay out of the basement. He's Damon. I'm not sure how dangerous he still might be."

"You're going to school?" Zach asked in surprise.

"I came here to live a life," Stefan answered. "It's about time I get back to that. And Elena, if she's still speaking to me."

"Why haven't you called her?"

"What am I supposed to do, feed her another lie? I hate lying to her, Zach. I'm not good at it. She already thinks I'm hiding something."

And I was now privy to his secret.

"What choice do you have?" Zach pointed out. "You came back here to live as normal a life as you could. You knew this was going to be a part of it."

More footsteps.

"First, you have a visitor."

The footsteps stopped. "Who?"

"Alexandria Gilbert."

Alex, I corrected silently. It's Alex!

I stood when Stefan entered the room. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder. He was holding it in place with his right hand. His right hand was adorned with a big, tacky ring with a familiar blue stone. How had I not seen that before?

Zach appeared behind him and slipped by. "I'll leave you two to have your talk." He took off through another doorway.

Stefan walked into the living room, looking genuinely surprised to see me. "Alex, what brings you here?"

I gulped and gave a shaky laugh. "Well, uh…it's complicated."

He frowned, his brow furrowed. But even with a frown on his face…

God, he's handsome. Elena, you lucky girl!

"Are you okay?" he asked in concern, setting his bag on a table at the end of one of the couches in the parlor.

I took a deep breath before saying, "I came here to ask you about Damon."

He blinked in surprise. "Damon? Why?"

"Did Elena tell you where I've been these past couple of months?"

He nodded. "Yeah, she said you were in Europe."

"I went to England to stay with a friend," I explained quickly. "I visited Scotland for a while before heading to Paris." I sighed heavily. "Everything changed in Paris."

I could feel his confusion growing. "What does your trip have to do with Damon?"

"Nothing," I answered. I was beginning to itch with anxiety. "Can we sit? Or…can you sit? You should probably sit down. This is going to be quite shocking."

He hesitated before sinking into the chair closest to him.

"Okay," I began, focusing on keeping my breathing slow and even. "Andrew told me not to tell anyone, but I'm pretty sure it's safe to tell you, considering…we're kind of in the same boat. And I feel like I can trust you. I have really good judgment. That's a fact."

"Alex, maybe you should sit down, too. You're clearly upset about something."

I shook my head. "I really just need to say this."

He nodded and leaned forward, his entire attention on me. He propped his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together, waiting.

Another deep breath. "Bonnie called me a few days ago when I was in England. After Paris, I returned to England with Andrew and Maria. Actually, I retreated to England. It wasn't safe for me anywhere else. I was there for two weeks. They were helping me. And then Bonnie called saying I needed to come home. She described the strange attacks happening in town. Told me Vicki was attacked by an animal." I huffed and rolled my eyes. "And then I find Caroline covered in bite marks and bruises. She has large gaps in her memory, can't explain why she's been acting strangely, and refuses to answer questions about Damon."

I could see the apprehension growing in his eyes. He knew I was on to Damon.

"And then there's the vervain," I added, watching him closely for a reaction. "Vervain in Caroline's blood."

I wasn't disappointed. His body went rigid. "How do you know that?"

"Because when we found her out on the Lockwood's back lawn, she was bleeding. I got some blood on my hand and it burned right through my skin. When I tasted it, it nearly burned a hole through my tongue."

His eyes flickered with the shifting of his emotions. Apprehension, confusion, shock, and then disbelief.

I walked to the end of the couch next to his chair and sat down with my body turned toward him. "During my last scheduled day in Paris, I was attacked—"

"By a vampire," he finished for me.

I lifted my left hand and wiggled my fingers, flashing my ring at him. "Royce. He was the vampire that attacked me. Another vampire saved me by giving me some of his blood. I would've died. My head was cracked open from being slammed against a brick wall and I was almost completely drained of blood. Then he compelled me to forget."

"How…how did you die?" he asked, his voice thick.

I tripped over my handbag… "Uh, it's really embarrassing. Let's just leave it at 'it was quick and painless'. An accident."

He nodded slowly, his eyes drifting away. The concern had returned to his face. "You're new."

"Yep."

"How's your self-control?"

I shrugged. "Better. Actually, Andrew says I'm pretty impressive. I've never attacked anyone." I leaned back against the couch, stretching my legs out in front of me. "It's hard. I'm constantly hungry, but it helps if I gorge on whatever's in the house. Takes the edge off the urge to feed on people."

"Where did you get your ring?" His eyes flickered down to said ring.

"Andrew gave it to me. Andrew was the vampire who saved me." I brushed my thumb over the ring. "It once belonged to his brother, but he was killed. Andrew gave it to Royce when he was turned."

"I'm guessing Royce didn't just hand it over?"

"Definitely not. Andrew killed him. I guess he'd been causing problems for Andrew and Maria for decades. Andrew gave it to me as a way of…apologizing for what Royce did to me."

Stefan sat back in his chair and raked a hand through his hair.

"A lot to take in, huh?" I asked with a smirk.

"I definitely wasn't expecting it." He stared at the floor for a few minutes before continuing his questioning. "So you said Andrew compelled you to forget."

I nodded. "He first compelled me to tell him where I lived. I gave him the name of my hotel and room number and he carried me there. Then he compelled me to forget."

"I don't understand. Why did he return? How did he know you died and turned?"

I didn't answer him immediately. I weighed the pros and cons of telling him, remembering Andrew's warning of never telling anyone everything about myself. But when I looked up at Stefan again, I felt safe. I felt like I could trust him. I knew I could.

"Because Royce told him exactly why he attacked me in the first place." I sat up straight and linked my fingers together. "Andrew warned me to never tell anyone this, but for some reason, I trust you, Stefan. Like I said before, I have really good judgment. My instincts are usually spot on. I know who I can trust and who I can't."

I still fidgeted though. I glanced from his face to my hands, back and forth. I was worried about how he'd react.

"The day he attacked me, I had dinner at a small café down the street from my hotel. I was planning on visiting this alleyway where music is always played and people gather to dance and just have a good time. It's a very romantic place. I wanted to see it one last time.

"It sounds kind of unbelievable, but I swear to you that what I'm about to say is completely true." I fixed him with a serious look. "Ever since I was a little girl, things have happened around me. When I get angry or upset, things explode. When I get excited or just really happy, everything around me seems to…liven up."

His eyebrows were furrowed again, but there was a hint of understanding in his eyes. "Liven up?"

I shifted closer to him. "I once made a dead flower come back to life," I said bluntly. "When I was six or seven. My mother was upset because it died. My father had given it to her for their anniversary. I took it and held it in my hands until it started to come back to life. When I dropped it, it died again."

Stefan's lips were parted in surprise. His disbelief had doubled. "You're a witch?"

"No," I said firmly. "I'm not a witch. I just have…tendencies. I've just discovered that I know when people are lying. I know whom to trust and whom to stay clear of. And I can bring dead flowers back to life." I paused before adding offhandedly, "And I can sometimes predict when someone is about to call me. That's it."

"That sounds a bit like magic, Alex," Stefan said pointedly.

I rolled my eyes. "But it's nothing big."

He frowned. "You still have these abilities?"

I nodded.

He stood up and paced to the end of the couch and back. "That shouldn't be possible. I've never heard of a vampire…witch." He stopped after walking several couch lengths and looked at me curiously. "Have your powers changed at all?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He turned and sat down next to me. "Have your abilities heightened at all? Do you feel more powerful?"

"I've never felt truly powerful. I feel strong now, but I'm a vampire. Vampire strength, you know?"

"No, I mean do your abilities come to you easier? Has anything about them changed?"

I thought about it for a few moments. "Actually, yeah. Kind of. Like with the trust thing…it was always just a feeling. A small feeling or vibe. Now I just know. I knew the moment I met you that I could trust you. And I was always good at guessing when people were lying, but now I know for certain."

He nodded. "Makes sense. You see, when you become a vampire, everything is heightened. Hunger, emotions, strength. All your senses double. Triple. Now your sixth sense has been heightened."

I slumped into the couch. "This is incredible." I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. "Just…incredible."

A few silent minutes passed as we both let all this new information sink in.

"You don't think you're a witch?"

I shook my head. "No. I can't cast spells or anything."

"Not all witches cast spells," he pointed out.

"Whatever I am, I really don't want to label it."

He tilted his head at me and smirked in amusement. "Alex, you're a vampire."

I chuckled. "Oh, right. I almost forgot," I muttered sarcastically.

"Speaking of which…"

I held up a finger to stop him. "You want to know about my feeding habits," I stated.

"Did you predict that?"

I laughed. "No. I don't need to be clairvoyant to see that inquiry coming."

He gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but I really need to know. There are several things we need to clear up."

"It's okay, really. I don't mind talking about it." I turned my body toward him, leaning my back against the arm of the couch. "I drink both human and animal blood. Maria, Andrew's wife, helped me a lot with this. I get…well, I got my human blood from blood banks. Hospitals. Maria taught me how to hunt and feed on animals. You know, in case I can't get my hands on blood bags. I can sustain on both."

"Isn't that difficult for you? You live with humans. That's dangerous."

I shrugged. "It's bearable most of the time. It's hard, but I can do it."

"But what if it becomes unbearable? What if you lose control and attack Elena or Jeremy? What if you attack Jenna?"

"Stefan," I reached out and took one of his hands in mine. "I can't really explain it. I just know that I won't hurt them. I know it sounds foolish. You can scoff at it and question it all you want, but I'm sure of it. I won't hurt them." I squeezed his hand in reassurance. "I won't hurt Elena."

He didn't like it. I could feel his unease through his skin. I could taste the worry rolling off his body.

"You can trust me, Stefan."

He didn't respond. He just sat back and sighed.

I released his hand. "Now we have to talk about Damon."

He nodded reluctantly and pushed off the couch. "I'm handling Damon."

"Damon is a vampire."

"Yes." He leaned against an end table and slipped his fingers into his jean pockets.

"He feeds on human blood?"

Stefan nodded.

"Do you?"

"No. I hunt animals. Human blood doesn't…it makes me…"

I nodded in understanding. "I get it. How old are you?"

He smirked. "I'm a hundred and sixty-one years old."

I whistled. "Are you serious?"

"Very. I'm actually going to be a hundred and sixty-two soon."

"Um…I turn twenty in several months." I chuckled, then shook my head. "I still can't wrap my mind around the whole undead, immortal thing."

"You'll come to terms with it."

"Yeah? When?"

He didn't answer.

"I'm guessing after all my friends and family are dead?"

Despair and dread and anger washed over me in a tidal wave. Stefan shifted uncomfortable, as if he could feel my emotions as well.

"Are you alright?" he asked, standing up straighter. The look of concern on his face surprised me.

I swallowed before answering. "Yeah. I'm fine." I waved it off and changed the subject. "So Damon…I'm guessing he's the one behind the attacks?"

Stefan stared at me a moment before nodding.

"And now he's locked up in your basement." I shot him a smirk. "Nice. How did you manage that?"

It all clicked into place—the vervain in Caroline's blood—a second before he answered, "Vervain. Because he feeds on human blood, he is much stronger than me, but—"

"Not the vervain," I finished. "Yeah, I heard you tell him that."

"Did you hear everything I said?"

I nodded. "I'm sorry for eavesdropping. I sometimes can't help it." I stood up and crossed my arms over my chest. "I don't know Damon, so I have to trust you to know what is best in this situation."

"I'm watching him. He won't get out. Only Zach and I, and now you, know he's down there."

I nodded. "Good." I checked my watch. "We have to get going. We're late for school."

"You're a senior right?" he asked as he grabbed his bag and slung it back over his shoulder.

I nodded again. "Yeah, but my schedule is rather empty. I have a lot of free periods because I took most of the core subjects last year." I grinned at him. "I'm kind of an overachiever. Pays off. I have every other day off."

He chuckled. "What are you going to do with your spare time?"

"Work," I replied as we made our way to the front door.

"Where are you working?"

"Mystic Grill. Matt set up an interview for me with the owner. I guess they're pretty desperate down there. I was hired on the spot."

I didn't even need to use compulsion. Not that I would have…

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

I paused as he opened the front door. "There's still quite a bit I'd like to talk about," I said unsurely. "I have a lot of questions. And some…concerns."

He nodded. "Come by after school. Or after work. I'll try to answer all your questions."

"I'll come by after work. Thank you, Stefan." I stepped through the door onto the porch. I turned back just as he was closing the door. "Just so you know, Elena is very persistent," I warned. "Sooner or later, she's going to start digging. She won't stop until she has all the answers."

He remained silent with a worried frown on his face.

"Would you like a lift to school?" I offered.

He nodded. "Thanks."