Elena had offered to listen to Stefan explain what he is, so they are sitting in the Grill opposite of each other. However, before he could get straight to the point, he had to clear something up between the two of them.
"Before I answer any questions you have, I need to clear something up. After everything that happens today I want us to stay friends." Elena looked confused for a second before Stefan elaborated, "Nothing more. Nothing less."
"What do you mean?" Elena asked. Did he not want to be my boyfriend anymore?
"I don't think that we should continue being together anymore," Stefan said bluntly. He didn't want to be too harsh, but he had to make sure that everything was ended with Elena if he ever wanted anything to happen between he and Madeline.
Elena shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She was definitely not expecting him to be the one to end things with her. Not only that, but he also didn't show any remorse. She awkwardly cleared her throat and just asked the first question she had about vampires to change the subject.
"You said you would explain everything. That's why I asked you to meet me here. When you Google 'vampire' you get a world of fiction. What's the reality?"
"I can tell you whatever you want to know," Stefan said, placing his hands on the table.
"I know you eat garlic," Elena pointed out, since a lot of fairy tales and stories noted that vampires are repelled by garlic.
"Yes," Stefan confirmed.
"And, somehow, sunlight's not an issue?" Before Stefan had a chance to answer, a waitress came over with drinks.
"Hi, here are your drinks," she said, before setting down the drinks. Stefan offered her a kind smile while Elena said, "Thank you."
As soon as the waitress left, Stefan held up his hand to show his ring.
"We have rings that protect us."
"Crucifixes?" Elena asked, simply trying to get each and every-one of her questions answered quickly; thankfully Stefan was complying.
"Decorative."
"Holy water?"
"Drinkable."
"Mirrors?"
"Myth."
"You said you don't kill to survive."
"Animal blood keeps me alive, but not as strong as Damon. He can be very powerful."
"And yet, you let him get involved with Caroline?" Elena judged.
"Forcing Damon not to do something is much more dangerous, believe me," Stefan tried to justify his actions.
"He was hurting her!" Elena exclaimed, but tried to keep her voice down so she wouldn't draw attention to herself.
"He was feeding on her. He was able to take away her memories of being bitten using a form of mind compulsion. She never knew what was happening to her. If he wanted to kill her, he would have." Stefan tried to get her to see it the way he did, but of course that didn't work.
"Is that supposed to make it okay?"
"No, none of this is okay, Elena. I know that," Stefan told her.
"Are there any others, aside from you and Damon?"
"Not in Mystic Falls; not anymore."
"Not anymore?"
"There was a time when this town was...very much aware of vampires, and it didn't end well for anybody. That's why it's important that you don't tell anyone."
"I can't promise that," Elena said stubbornly.
"Elena...give me today. I will answer any questions that you have, and when it's over, you can decide for yourself what you want to do with what you know. It'll be your choice."
Madeline woke up fairly late, and surprisingly by herself. She pushed herself out of bed and a piece of paper on her nightstand caught her attention.
'Had to leave to make sure Elena didn't tell anyone what I am.
Didn't want to wake you. Text me when you wake up.'
As Madeline read the note, she couldn't help but let a smile stretch across her face. She quickly grabbed her phone and shot him a text saying that she just woke up and saw his note. She set her phone back down and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.
She had to be at work soon, so when she got out of the bathroom, she started digging through her closet for something to wear. She decided she was just going to dress in something comfortable so she grabbed her adidas pants and a plain white t-shirt. She straightened her hair and let it fall over her back.
Just as she was about to leave, her phone started to ring. She saw it was Stefan and answered it.
"Hey," Madeline said first.
"Hi. I just left the Grill with Elena to go get Damon's rings," Stefan said.
"Okay, I'm just heading to the Grill to start work," Madeline said, as she grabbed her glasses and put them on her face.
"By the time you're done, I should be back. You should stop at Elena's house after work. I'll be there," Stefan suggested.
"Are you just saying that because you think I'm going to go and try to talk to Damon?" Madeline queried.
"I know you, Madeline. I know that you are going to want to go and see if he is okay, even though you know he is dangerous to be around, especially since you are human," Stefan explained.
"He won't hurt me, Stefan."
"You don't know that. Just please listen to me." Stefan pleaded.
"Fine. I'll see you later." Madeline hung up before anything else was said.
She rushed out of her room and down the stairs, only to be stopped by her mother.
"Hi mom," Madeline said standing in front of her.
"Hi honey. I just want to let you know that the day after the Halloween party you need to come with us to a dinner. It involves your father's work," Mrs. Clairwell informed her daughter.
"What time?" Madeline asked.
"6 o'clock." Madeline nodded her head and said okay before walking out the door.
Work went by quickly and before Madeline knew it she was driving to Elena's house. When she got there, she knocked a few times. It didn't take long until Stefan opened the door with an exasperated expressing on his face.
"Something happened," Stefan said to Madeline before moving out of the doorway to let Madeline enter.
Stefan turned to the others in the house, "Everything is going to be alright. You guys just take her upstairs and make sure you watch her." Elena looked at him worriedly, but he just dismissed it.
Madeline watched, as Matt, Jeremy, and Elena took a distressed Vicki upstairs. What's going on here?
"What's going on?" Madeline echoed her thoughts once everyone went upstairs. Stefan turned to her with a look of sorrow.
"Is something wrong?" Madeline asked, sensing the tension.
"Vicki is in transition," Stefan told her.
Madeline's P.O.V
What is Stefan even talking about. Transitioning into what?
"What do you mean, 'in transition'?" I acted confused, but that didn't last long, as Stefan gave me a 'you-know-what-im-talking-about' look. You have got to be kidding me. Of course this would happen.
"How did this happen?" I asked with wide eyes.
"Damon must've gotten to her," Stefan decided. Did Damon really do this? Could he? Of course he could. I watched him kill at least 4 people without any remorse whatsoever. If he can do that, I'm sure he could turn Vicki into a vampire.
"She's new. She hasn't completed her transformation yet."
"And how does she do that?" The fear was clear in my voice.
"She has to feed on human blood." Stefan said.
"And I'm guessing if she doesn't finish the transition she won't just go back to being human again, huh?" I said with dying hope.
"She'll die if she does finish the transition," Stefan said with soft eyes. I could tell that he didn't want me to be a part of this and that he didn't think I was ready to handle all of this. I had to prove him wrong. This world of his might be a messed up one, and one that would most likely make me qualified for crazy, but I can't just turn my back and pretend it doesn't exist. Even if I wanted to.
"How long does she have?" I said straightening my posture trying to look more mature than I felt on the inside.
"A few hours maybe," Stefan answered looking up the stairs.
"Is she going to be okay with them upstairs." I really don't want Vicki eating her friends and family.
"Yeah, right now she doesn't know what's going on. A part of her is still human, but slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition, the memories will start to come back, and then she'll know she has to make the choice." Stefan explained. I digested these words slowly and carefully before nodding.
"Hopefully it's the right one." I'm honestly not sure what the right decision would be. The way I see it is; she dies, then everyone will mourn her loss and Matt will be left with nobody. She lives, she could end up killing innocent people. Either way it is a lose, lose. But hopefully, one way or another it will ultimately work out for the best.
All of a sudden I heard Matt and Jeremy calling after Vicki. Stefan and I shared a look before walking out of the kitchen and seeing Matt, Jeremy, and Elena running down the stairs and out the door.
"What happened?" I asked as we all got outside.
"She was fine, and then she just...she just freaked out." Jeremy answered. Poor, Jeremy. It was so clear how much he loved her and he didn't even know what was really going on.
"I'm going to go to look for her. Call me if you find her," Matt said before running off.
I ran my hand through my hair and just thought about how complicated things have gotten.
"I can track her." Stefan said stepping in front of me. I quickly nodded, untangling my hand from my hair. Before he left he leaned towards me and whispered in my ear.
"I'm sorry you got involved in this." He leaned back and looked me in the eyes.
"It's fine. I would've gotten myself in a bigger mess than this sooner or later." I assured with a sincere smile. He returned it before running off.
As soon as I turned around I met eyes with Elena and Jeremy.
"You can stay here until we hear any news." Elena nicely offered. I kindly said thank you before entering the house with the two Gilbert's.
Jeremy sat up in his room calling Vicki thousands of times, whilst I sat in the kitchen with Elena who made coffee for us.
"You know me and Stefan are over, right?" Elena said out of nowhere. It made me feel a little awkward considering I just kissed him yesterday. Although, I didn't expect Stefan to end things with Elena completely after just one kiss.
"No, I didn't. I haven't had much time to talk to Stefan today. And me and you aren't exactly best friends." I commented taking a sip from my cup.
"I want to change that. I feel like me and you got off on the wrong foot. It was stupid of me to not like you because I felt threatened. I should be confident in my own relationship. So, with that said, now that me and Stefan are officially over, you can have him, if you even like him." Elena giggled. I could tell that she was actually being genuine and I actually appreciated it.
"Thanks, but with all of this vampire stuff going on I'm putting my feelings on hold," I told her truthfully.
"That might be a good idea. We should get to know each other more. You know become 'best friends.'" Elena said with a laugh.
"Okay, sounds good to me."
For a while Elena asked questions about my favorite movie and my celebrity crush, you know thing like that. After that, we sat down on the couch and watched "Law In Order". It was dark now and there was finally a knock on the door. We both got up and saw it was Stefan.
"You're bleeding." I pointed out as I went to touch his shirt.
"No, it's okay. It's okay. I'm okay. I couldn't stop her. I tried." Stefan said with sadness. I scrunch my eyebrows and Elena said, "What does that mean?"
"We lost her and she fed." He elaborated.
"Oh my god." I said. I knew there was a heck of a good chance Vicki wouldn't want to to die, but now that it's real and she is actually a vampire it's finally sinking in. Stefan probably saw the wheels spinning in my head because a grabbed my shoulders and looked me dead in the eye.
"I'll take care of it. I'll find her, and I will show her that she can live like I do. I will make sure that she does not hurt anybody, Madeline. I promise you." I stepped out of his grasp and next to Elena.
"What is she suppose to tell her brother?" I said gesturing to Elena. "Oh yeah sorry, but you can't see the love of your life because Stefan's psychotic brother turned her into a vampire and she might want to kill you if you get to close." I said sarcastically. "And what about Matt, huh? Vicki was the only family he had left and now he will probably never know what is happening to her and be kept in the dark." I panicked starting to pace back and forth.
"We'll come up with a story." Stefan said as he watched me pace with concern.
"You mean we'll come up with a lie." Elena butted in.
"I'm sorry." Stefan told her as I sat on the bench that took place on the bench.
"I gave you today just like you asked. I understand that you would never do anything to hurt me or my family. And I'll keep your secret, but I can't deal with all of this. It's to much." Elena said before walking back into the house. I put my head in my hands and tried not to think of the worst.
I felt Stefan sit next to me and it was just silent. It was a kind of silence that you wanted to break. It was a comfortable one. One where neither of us didn't know what to say so we just sat there and enjoyed each other's company.
