And finally it has arrived. :p Sorry, I couldn't get this out a little faster but you know…stuff happens and on that note, I regret to tell you that the one shot I promised…is going to have to wait as well. My laptop f*cked up on me and I lost some documents and that one shot being among them. I'm working on rewriting it but it might take a little while. It was pretty long and I have to try and remember everything that went on in it.
Anyways, I got my 100 reviews and then some which is freaking awesome!
Shout outs go to:
Silently Tearful, NicoleR85, bg99275, SomebodyWhoCares, Earwen85, Esm3rald, Guest(5), LighteningMcMonica, Revenger's Sister(2), Charmedbycharmed, ThephantomismyLove, and Azera-v for all your reviews. Keep up the reviewing guys, there what keeps me going! xD
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's.
Chapter 11: Our Town
"The animal diet isn't as bad as some people make it seem." Caroline glares across the study at the raven haired male sipping from a glass of bourbon and he lifts it in a mock salute at being noticed. Caroline rolls her eyes turning back to the blonde resting comfortable in the arm chair across from her, her bare feet propped up on an ottoman.
Caroline had stopped by the boarding house on Elena's request this morning. It had been two days since Adele's transformation and nobody had seen or heard from Adele or Damon in those two days, Elena was beginning to worry and if she was to be truthful so was she. There was no telling what Damon was trying to teach her. Adele being in a fragile state of being at the moment would listen to whoever she trusted and she would learn their way of living from that one person. Damon wasn't the most reliable source to learn from and he was undoubtable the one person in the entire world who Adele trusted the most.
When she had arrived around 2 in the afternoon, having been held up and unable to go by in the morning she had knocked on the door for almost 10 minutes before Adele opened it dressed in sleeping shorts and one of Damon's t-shirts, her hair thrown up in a wild bun at the top of her head looking like she'd just rolled out of bed and Caroline had almost stopped breathing by the sight of her smooth pale skin, porcelain like in its overall perfection and her blue eyes standing out that much more against it, as intense as ever.
"Did you just wake up?" Caroline had not been able to stop herself from asking.
"Possibly." She had answered and even her voice sounded different, more confident if that was even possible. She leaned against the open door looking carefree but Caroline could see the tense undertone and the bit of anxiety with in her blue depths. "What are you doing here?" She hadn't sounded unhappy but she hadn't sound welcoming either.
"I came to check on you, see how you are doing." Caroline said to which Adele tilted her head to the right slightly as if looking for a lie.
"You came to check on me or you came to check on how Damon is helping me?" She asked always the one able to catch the secret meaning to anything anyone did.
Caroline sent her a sheepish grin. "A little of both?"
"Hmm." She hummed to herself before pushing off the door and disappearing into the house leaving the front door open, a silent invitation to come in. It had been better than having her slam in the door in her face right away. "Damon!" She had called from the bottom of the stairs. "We have company."
And something about Adele's relaxed state as she sat in the arm chair waiting for Caroline to start talking had been a little unnerving. Caroline remembers the first few days of her transition had been frightening and over-whelming but here she was looking like she'd been a vampire for far longer than 2 days. She reminded her of Damon in those few minutes and the minutes that follow. The way he always seemed relaxed but there was that underlining threat of danger that followed him.
And when Damon entered the study in a pair of black plaid sleeping pants and no shirt, he sent her a smirk that said he knew what she was thinking right away. That he was slowly and effectively doing what everyone feared, teaching her his ways to being a vampire. "There's no need to worry Barbie, I've got this all under control." He had said while moving to pour himself a glass of bourbon pushing a hand through his dark hair. Despite it being the middle of the day and the two looking like they'd just rolled out of bed, Damon looked worn, like he hadn't slept in a few days.
"Yeah," Caroline snips, her voice accusing. "I'm sure you do. What exactly have you been teaching her Damon? That killing is okay because it's in our "nature" or Drink and compel? Or Both?"
"I haven't killed anybody." Adele spoke up and her voice was soft compared to Caroline's raised one. Damon's hard eyes that had been boring into her from behind the couch soften at her words.
"No she hasn't. I haven't been teaching her it's okay to kill people because she's not a child. She's still Adele and Adele has always known that killing isn't right. Drink and compel is another story…"
"You know you don't have to drink from humans." Caroline cut off whatever he was planning to say next to justify his self, turning back towards Adele. "The animal diet isn't as bad as some people make it seem."
"He hasn't stirred me away from the bunny diet if that is what you're implying." She says.
"No I haven't. We tried the bunny diet actually and just like I knew she would, she prefers the real stuff." Damon says refilling his glass. "It all comes down to preference Barbie."
"If it came down to preference Damon, we would all drink from humans. It comes down to what's right and what's wrong and drinking from humans is wrong." Caroline argues.
"Says you." Damon counters.
"Says any decent person!" She snaps.
"Hey!" Adele's voice booms causing the other two vampires to jump and when Caroline turns back to her, she find her standing up from the arm chair. "Look Caroline, I know the difference between right and wrong. Just because I'm a vampire now doesn't mean I've lost who I am and what I stand for. Right now, I'm just getting a feel for what being a vampire means but I'll learn control and I'll learn to do things my own way but until then I'd appreciate if you didn't come in here and start telling me everything Damon does is wrong and that I can't be like him."
Caroline stares at her, watches the first real signs of emotion flutter through to the surface and it becomes all too clear to her. She may look composed but in realty she was like any new vampire.
Over-whelmed, frightened and confused.
It also became clear when her blue eyes moved away from her to glance at Damon that he wasn't just helping her adjust to her new life style; he was being what he'd always been for her since they met. A consist figure of support, someone to stop her from drowning in this new form of chaos.
"I'm sorry." Caroline mutters, realizing how far she'd jump the gun. It was still hard for them to trust Damon, he had once upon a time been the bad guy of their story and in some ways he still could be, it was going to take some time adjusting to having him on their side. "We're just worried about you."
"I know." Adele sighs. "But I'm fine. I just need time to get used to things."
"I understand." Caroline nods. "Just please don't shut us out. Let us help you too."
She wraps her arms around herself before nodding slowly. "Okay." She agrees. "Just let me have the rest of today. Tomorrow is your birthday." Adele smiles, her full pearly white smile and nobody makes a comment on the fact they it's so clear that it's forced. "You know I would never miss that." And Caroline doesn't acknowledge that she would rather not think about that she just smiles back and reaches for her best friend. Adele lets her pull her close hugging her tightly.
When she pulls away Adele is taken back by the shine of tears in her best friend's eyes. Realizing Caroling quickly wipes at her eyes being careful of her makeup. "I'm just so glad you're still here."
*VD*
When he reaches Damon's bedroom fully prepared to barge in and drag his brother by his slightly over-grown hair out of the house if need be, he's actually surprised to find it already opened which doesn't slow him down any, just peaks his curiosity.
He glances in, eyes automatically falling on the king sized bed and the blonde currently occupying it. She's sitting in the center bare legs crossed under her, blonde hair cascading down over on shoulder and blue eyes focused intently on her IPhone in her hand and he jerks in surprise when she calls out a good morning to him, eyes never leaving the small device until she doesn't get a response.
And when she does look up, he involuntarily takes a wide step back.
"Isn't she glorious?" Stefan's eyes are drawn to his brother as he emerges from the bathroom, a white towel wrapped around his naked waist as he gazes over towards the bed, a large love-sick grin pulling at his lips. It would seem his brother wasn't all that upset with her for dying for him; he seemed way too consumed with her to be anything but stupid and in-love.
He chooses to ignore the question wanting nothing more than to get to the point of him even being there in first place. "You're late." Adele is watching him and if he was going to be truthful her stare was a little unnerving. "We're supposed to meet you know who at the you know what in ten minutes."
"If you're talking about Bonnie and the coffins, I know about that." She informs and Stefan's unease quickly fades into annoyance as he looks back over to his brother who is pulling clothes from his closet.
"You told her?" His tone is all accusing and Damon snorts like the idea that he wouldn't tell her is funny.
"You called last night if you don't remember, to tell me all about this meeting with Bonnie about the coffins and you must have let it slip your mind that she happens to be a vampire now and of course one of the first things I'm going to teach her is how to listen in on conversions you know you're not supposed to hear." He explains only to shrug a minute later. "Not that I'm saying I wouldn't have told her anyways. We're a team here you know."
"You can't tell anyone." Stefan warns watching as she moves, sliding off the bed, fixing her shorts and sliding into her heels.
"Who am I going to tell Stefan?" She asks her voice light and amused. "Klaus?"
"Elena." He answers his tone flat not finding her sarcasm the least bit funny.
"Not likely." She snorts at the very idea before she grins at him and he fights the urge to grin back. "God Grandpa, it's like you don't know me at all."
*VD*
She walks between the brothers towards the old abandoned witch house trying hard to ignore the tension swirling in the air around them. It would seem the two brothers are once again having problems and Adele can only guess it has everything to do with Stefan's "betrayal" though she had come clean about the whole thing being her fault.
Damon was looking for someone to blame and he wasn't going to point fingers at her, not after she'd died and came back to life. Not after she chose to join him in eternity.
And she was…adjusting to her new life style.
Despite her initial fear of turning she found herself fascinated by all the changes, by all that she could do now. Her senses are heightened, her vision crisper and her hearing incredible. She was fast, being able to move at lightning speed though while running it looked like she was moving at a normal pace, she could clearly see where she was going and though she's never been weak, she's wasn't nearly as strong as she is now. Though weaker then Damon, it didn't stop her from holding her own for the most part against him when he'd opted to testing out the new found strength over the weekend.
And like her senses, her emotions we're heightened as well. She could feel the swirl of emotion inside her at all times despite having been able to push it all back when she was still human. Her annoyance became anger and her anger became rage within seconds while when she was happy she felt giddy and even the slightest amount of pain or sadness had her bursting into tears.
But her most overwhelming emotions so far have all come from being around Damon. Everything he had made her feel while human was just that much more consuming now that she was a vampire. All the love and desire, there we're times over the weekend when she thought she'd die she'd been so overwhelmed by them. She wasn't sure yet if she liked the heightened emotions or not.
There was one thing though that she was positive she didn't like and that was the thirst and it was the thirst that made her doubt herself and her decisions. Damon has been doing a good job of helping her. They'd tried the animal diet but she had been barely able to stomach it, it was single handedly the grosses thing she'd ever tasted there for Damon had taken to the steps of Drink and Compel which was best learned through the experience of partying at least that's what he said, so they'd spent most of their weekend in the depths of parties, drinking and dancing and feeding which she found to be a great distraction from her overwhelming thought process.
Damon had taught her and he was there to help her control herself but the hunger remained, it was a consist thought, a consist burn in her throat. Even when Jasmine had come by to charm the anklet for her, Damon had to remain close by her side the whole time.
Even now as they are nearing the witch house, Adele can hear Bonnie's heartbeat from inside, she can imagine the blood it's pumping flowing through her veins and as if sensing her discomfort Damon slips his hand into hers which helps to remind her of what he told her. To breath threw her mouth and drink the coffee he'd made them stop and get.
She doesn't like coffee but she forces it down anyways, it helped enough to be considered useful and she'd do anything to hang on to her control.
The brothers are bickering not that she can make out what they are saying. They've almost reached the house and she can hear Bonnie within it but there is also the sound of footsteps making the old worn floorboards creek.
"Hey shut up." She snaps and there bickering comes to a halt in seconds both turning curious eyes towards her. "Do you hear that?" She whispers and they turn curious gazes back towards the witch house each brother tapping into their hearing and Damon's eyebrows shoot up as Stefan's furrow and they glance at each other over Adele's blonde head because they've finally picked up on what they failed to from the beginning.
Someone else was in the house with Bonnie.
They agree on a silent plan of attack, Damon disappears silently into the house to check up on the young Bennett witch as Stefan inches closer towards the door and Adele moves around the side of the house quickly circling around the back and up the other side.
As Stefan is nearing the front door a guy unknown to them all comes strolling from within the house turning towards the vampire and freezing as he catches sight of him. Adele hears the guy let out a hiss of warning and she reacts as Stefan's eyes narrow and he poses ready to strike back at the hybrid. She comes up behind him and without a weapon she does the only thing she can think up, she shoves a hand through his back her fingers brushing the beating organ she'd been aiming for and she rips it from his back coating her hand in thick crimson blood that would surely stain if not removed quickly.
She glances down at the heart in her hand before turning her blue gaze up towards the open door to Damon standing there. "That…" She drops the unbeating heart towards the fallen hybrid holding her coated hand out as if it was diseased. "Is disgusting." She snaps barely giving a second thought to Bonnie standing behind him watching her with wide hazel eyes.
Damon lets out an exasperated sigh. "These hybrids, really bringing the neighborhood down."
*VD*
Elena sticks another bright bow to the metal locker in front of her, pressing it down for a good few seconds to make sure it was going to stay and not for the first time this morning she thinks about how she shouldn't be the one doing this. Decorating Caroline's locker wasn't her place. Sure she's been present every year since middle school when the locker was decorated but she nor Bonnie had never been the ones to actually do it. That had always been Adele's job.
But Adele wasn't here and she wouldn't be here and Elena wasn't sure exactly how long it would be before she'd be able to come back so the task has fallen to her. This also gave her a good chance to talk to Caroline about her visit to the boarding house yesterday. She'd only gotten a vague answer about how Adele was doing and she wasn't satisfied with it. She needed to know exactly how her sister was doing, the consist worry was going to make her start to grey prematurely.
"Hey." Bonnie calls as she's hurrying through the hall, moving past the many teens crowding around before class. "Sorry I'm late." She's holding a purple Happy Birthday Caroline sign, decorated in the girlest of fashion. She makes it over to Elena, stopping beside her to admire her work so far. "I got held up."
"It's okay." Elena assures. "I just got here to. Will you pass me the balloons?" Bonnie bends down to retrieve the pink balloons from the ground before handing them off to her best friend. "Thanks. What's got you running late?" The brunette asks and Bonnie almost freezes.
She'd been expecting the question because it was just how Elena was. She's a curious person by nature but still it didn't stop her from almost tripping over her answer. "I was…working on some new spells." She explains. "What about you?" She quickly redirects the conversion, wanting to give Elena no time to think on her answer.
"Working out with Alaric." Elena answers, completely distracted with what she's doing. When she finally turns to Bonnie, Bonnie holds up the Birthday sign with a small grin. It was clear that both the girls just weren't into what they we're doing and Elena gives her a small smile in thanks as she takes it. "I shouldn't be doing this." She mutters as she turns back.
"It's Caroline's birthday, we always do this." Bonnie reminds her, confused on her meaning.
"I meant that I shouldn't be the one decorating the locker. We always stood back and looked pretty, we never actually did…" Elena waves her hand towards the locker after the sign is in place. "This. This was always Adele's doing." Now Bonnie understands. It wasn't a matter of Elena not wanting to celebrate Caroline's birthday in their traditional fashion, it was that she didn't feel right doing it without her sister.
And Bonnie wasn't about to say anything on the matter. She didn't exactly know what to say. She'd just witnessed the same sister rip out a guy's heart and sure the guy was technically a bad guy being one of Klaus's minions but still she'd ripped his heart out without so much as a flinch.
Thankfully she's saved from having to give a response as Elena quickly continues on. "Anyways," She turns away from the locker finally. "I have something to tell you and I know you're not going to like it." She says and Bonnie can feel her anxiety levels rising already.
"What happened?"
"Jeremy is going to be leaving town for a while." Elena says and it hadn't been exactly what Bonnie was expecting but the news still feels like a blow to the gut. "He'll be staying with some old family friends in Denver, until this whole Klaus thing blows over."
"Jeremy wouldn't just leave you and Adele to deal with Klaus on your own." Bonnie says, clearly confused.
"I know…Adele and I asked Damon to compel him." Elena explains and Bonnie's hazel eyes widen slightly as she lets her words sink in completely.
"You what?" She hisses.
"I know, Bonnie." Elena sighs. "But it's not safe for him here anymore. Leaving will give him a better life." Elena is practically pleading with her to understand. "The only reason I'm telling you is because I know that you two haven't really worked out your stuff and I thought that maybe you'd want to say goodbye."
*VD*
"Stefan is flying completely off the handle about this whole hybrid thing, I mean he's willing to call Klaus's bluff which I'm sorry but I'm not sure it's such a good idea." Damon is ranting over the phone and she's listening intently as she leans against the door to her mustang. "He's planning something and I'm afraid of what that something is, I'm actually afraid Kitten."
"Just keep an eye on him Damon, don't fight with him. I mean maybe and I'm saying maybe, he's on to something, I don't think it's a good idea to exactly provoke Klaus at this point but we do need his hybrids off our backs." She says.
"I know but…oh god, this whole thing is going to blow up in our faces I just know it." He sighs taking a minute to collect himself before changing the subject. "Did you make it home okay?"
"Mm." She hums, pursing her lips and looking up towards the blue sky above her. "Not exactly." She mutters squinting at the sun, she can feel it's warmth on her face which despite having known she'd be able to walk in the sun it was still a huge weight lifted from her chest now standing out in the middle of it. She loves the sun and it would have broken her heart to give it up.
"What do you mean not exactly? I told you to go straight home, where are you?" She drops her gaze from the sky letting her eyes roam over the many students clustered around in front of the busy high school.
"I'm just making a quick pit-stop. Don't worry about me Damon, I'm fine." She assures listening to him snort on the other end.
"Don't worry? You're barely in control Adele, which is exactly why you need to go home." He points out and she rolls her bright eyes.
"Well I'm certainly not going to learn control sitting all alone at home now am I?" A shadow moves across her and she glances to the side, the corner of her lips tipping up into a smirk at the imposing figure moving towards her. "I'll check in with you Damon, I promise I'll be fine." She hangs up turning towards him in time to be scooped up, his arms wrapping securely around her waist as he pulls her in tightly to his chest face bared in her blonde locks.
When he pulls back, his black eyes search her features and her smirk turns up into a grin. "I hate you so much." He almost chokes and she reaches up to run her finger tips across his cheek bones, in the way she used to do when they we're younger.
"I'm so sorry Mikey." She whispers. "Please don't do that." She's referring to the tears making his black eyes look glassy and he blinks.
"You died and I was right there." He whispers and she shakes her head at him, expression serious.
"You couldn't protect me Michael, nobody could. I had a death sentence placed on me by someone far more powerful than the lot of us. That witch was experienced and even after she was dead, I was still doomed." She tucks her hair behind her ear once her feet are placed back on the ground and sends him a small smile. "This was bound to happen anyway to tell you the truth I'm surprised we held it off this long. I'm sorry that you guys had to go through that…How is Justin?"
"A little freaked I think. He wants to see you but I think he knows it's probably not the wisest decision at the moment. I told him I would make sure you are okay. Don't be surprised if Nate shows up at some point." He pauses briefly to look her over again and she's not surprised that out of everyone, he's the one that isn't the least bit surprised by her overall appearance. "We thought we lost you and I'm not ashamed to say I cried when Damon called Jasmine."
The apartment is silent besides the occasional hiccup from Jasmine, though it was hard to detect from the living room as she's locked herself up in the bedroom and Michael glances down the hallway again, his black eyes resting on the pile of white fur huddled by the closed bedroom door. Willy has refused to leave the door and no amount of coaxing from Michael could make him budge.
It's been hours, he's not exactly positive as to how many but he knows it's been hours since they'd gotten back to the apartment. After Jasmine had woken up back at the party, she'd put up a small fight against him when he'd tried to get her on the bike, he hadn't been able to tell her right then. Hadn't been able to get the words out but he'd begged her to get on the bike, to just listen to him and not fight him and sensing something was wrong she'd given in.
It hadn't been till they got back and she'd refused to let him go up to the apartment that he'd told her.
"She's dead." He had blurted, almost yelled and he'd watched the way she froze by his words. "Adele…She's dead."
"Wha…" Jasmine's eyebrows had furrowed, her green eyes lighting up in confusion. "I don't understand." She whispered. "She's not dead, I…"
"She's dead Jazzy." He whispered and the weight of his words seemed to finally sink in as she swallowed and her eyes glazed over, automatic tears rolling down her porcelain cheeks. "I'm sorry." His words we're stiff, his posture tense as she stared at him. He couldn't bring himself to move, to comfort her not that he'd been given much chance when she suddenly whirled past him, rushing up the steps towards the apartment. He'd watched her go but had stayed where he was for another few minutes wanting to try and gather his thoughts.
When he does make it into the apartment Nate and Justin are standing at the end of the hallway leading towards the bedroom both looking wildly concerned towards the closed door and when they hear him moving towards the kitchen they whirl on him. "What the hell is going on?" Justin asks but he doesn't answer.
"What did you do?" Nate accuses and Michael's hands slam against the kitchen counter causing even the hunter to jump by his sudden outburst of anger which is completely uncharacteristic of him.
"I didn't do anything!" He snaps. With a deep breath, he clams himself down finally piecing together his racing thoughts as best he can. "I didn't do anything." He repeats as he pushes his long fingers through his disheveled blonde hair. "Something happened." He mutters.
"Well no shit." Nate snorts. "We can tell."
"What happened?" Justin asks moving closer and shoving Nate to the side as he passes silently telling the vampire to shut up. Michael is silent for another minute, black eyes unfocused as they stare into the counter.
"There was…something went wrong…with a plan or something tonight. Something to do with the original Klaus and the Salvatore's." He begins to explain and Justin is already backing away. He already knows and he can feel the anger flooding his veins. Michael's black eyes lift from the counter and they look directly at him. "Adele's dead." A muscle in his jaw ticks as Michael nods slowly and Nate is silent; out of the corner of his eye he can see his slack jawed expression. "And I mean dead. She's not coming back."
"Justin, wait!" Nate is yelling as Justin is fleeing the apartment and Michael just watches him, he doesn't blame him. When Bonnie had said the words "She's dead" he'd wanted to flee too. He couldn't even piece together his thoughts or emotions long enough to express them which has always been a problem for him. Ever since he was little he'd had a hard time expressing emotion, he'd gotten better at it with a little help from the friends he'd made in this town, with help from Adele. She'd been the first one besides Jackie who was able to break through his inner walls, to see the first little flare of emotion he'd let out the night his father had tried to hit Jackie for the first time.
Of course that emotion was anger but she'd told him that it was better than nothing. She'd told him that it wasn't good for him to bottle up so much emotion which at the time he thought was rich coming from the girl who since he'd known her did everything in her power to hide behind an act of indifference though he knew she was right but it still didn't make it any easier.
It was a good few hours later when she finally emerged from the bedroom all puffy cheeks and red eyes. Justin was still gone and Nate was sitting silently in the arm chair with his elbows on his knees while he paced. It was all he could make himself do.
"How are you?" Nate's accented voice registers in his mind though he can't focus on it too much.
"I just can't believe this is happening. I mean after everything she'd been through, after everything she's survived…it just doesn't seem real." Her answer is barely even a whisper but the vampires can hear it as if she'd spoken in a normal tone.
"I'm sorry, love." Nate mutters.
"It's…" Jasmine swallows back more tears. "It's…" She stops abruptly fingers reaching down to dig into the pockets of her sweat pants. She must've changed out of her homecoming dress at some point in the hours she's been locked up. She pulls out her phone and Michael stops to look at the device in her hand, lit up with an incoming call. "Damon…" She breathes. "Hello?" She answers just a notch above a whisper.
It takes a moment for the vampire on the other line to say anything but when he does, Jasmine's sob fills the apartment as the emotions willing up inside him hit an all-time high and for the first time since his father went to prison, he cries. "She's alive."
"Well…" Adele grins up at him. "I'm still here. I've come to the realization that apparently I'm a really hard person to kill and now that I'm immortal, it seems that it'll be even harder. I don't think you have to worry about losing me anytime soon."
"And you have no idea how happy I am to hear that." He laughs hugging her to him again.
"Adele?" They break apart both turning towards the feminine voice to find Caroline rushing over to them. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here! It's dangerous, you could hurt somebody or worse. I mean what are you–"
"I actually came here to see you." Adele admits to which Caroline pauses in her initial rant.
"Me?" She questions glancing over towards Michael briefly. "Why?"
"Why?" Adele laughs. "It's your birthday that's why."
"Ah, yes." Michael says turning towards the taller blonde. "It is. Happy Birthday."
"Thank you." Caroline sighs and Adele's brows furrow in confusion at her obvious lack of enthusiasm.
"What's wrong?" She asks. "You love your birthday. You claimed it as everyone's favorite day of the year. What happened?"
"What happen is that I died." Caroline almost slaps herself for blurting that out before remembering what Jeremy had once said about Michael being in the know. "I'm stuck at 17. 17 is a filler year! I'm stuck in a filler year."
"You're not stuck Caroline." Both Michael and Adele say and Caroline scowls at them.
"That's easy for you guys to say." She looks towards Adele. "You are 18, at least you can be considered legal even in 100 years." She says before turning on Michael. "And you still get to age."
Michael averts his eyes to the crowd of students making their way into the school as Adele opens her mouth to respond only to close it. Caroline catches onto the obvious lapse in conversion quickly enough. "What?" She demands. "What aren't you telling me?"
"Nothing." Adele says a little too quickly. She never realized what she would do if every confronted with the prospect of others finding out about Michael. It wasn't an option to tell Caroline about James.
"No, it's not nothing. What it is?" They refuse to meet her eyes and she stomps her foot, her hands falling to her hips. "Tell me!" Adele sighs gazing over at Michael who shrugs.
"He's not exactly going to be aging. Ever again." Adele says slowly watching confusion fall over her expression as she looks towards Michael until realization hits and she gasps, her mouth falling open.
"No way!" She exclaims drawing a few students attention before they continue on their way. "You're a vampire. How did that happen?"
"It's a long story." Michael mutters, a dark look crossing his face. It's dark enough for Caroline to realize he doesn't want to talk about it and she decides not to push it. She can get the story from Adele later.
"Anyways…" Caroline says turning to look up at the school looming behind her. "I have to get to my locker, the bells about to ring." Adele nods with a small smile waving at her as she backs away.
"Wait!" She calls suddenly running up behind her and turning her back around. "I wouldn't go in there if I was you."
"What?" Caroline frowns. "Why?"
"Um, I'm almost positive that Elena and Bonnie will be waiting for you." She reminds her and Caroline groans.
"I honestly want nothing to do with it." She mutters and Adele smiles up at her with bright eyes.
"Then don't. Come hang out with me."
*VD*
Caroline is laughing as she climbs the steps to her porch. She happily left school that morning with Adele and the two opted out to watching stupid romantic comedies and eating junk food in Damon's bed. She'd had a good day despite the lingering dread of her birthday and now the two we're stopping by her house for her to pick up more movies and some extra clothes. They figured it's time for a girl's night.
"My mom's not home." Caroline says as she's nearing the door. "Which means I can't invite you in so you'll have to wait here. Sorry."
Adele shrugs leaning back against one of the railings of the porch. "Take your time." She mummers her fingers already dipping into the pocket of her shorts to retrieve her phone as Caroline unlocks her front door and steps into the house.
After closing the door and lying her stuff up on the small table, she gives a gasps of surprise as Elena, Bonnie and Matt jump out from around the corner of the living room yelling "surprise" at her.
"Happy Birthday!" Matt cheers from behind the girls as Caroline stares at them, her blue eyes wide with a slight hint of terror.
"What are you guys doing here?" She asks her voice breathless.
"Well you blew off school and missed our work of birthday art, so..." Elena is explaining as Caroline slowly walks over to them and Elena takes the plastic tiara off her head and places it gently on top of hers.
"Change into warmer clothes." Bonnie says. "We are going to the Falls. S'mores, camp fire…"
"Cake." Elena cuts in with a huge grin.
"Like when we we're little." Bonnie adds on.
"Expect for the tequila." Matt sings causing the girls to giggle.
"Thanks guys." Caroline sighs. "Really, I'm just not feeling my birthday this year."
"I'm sorry, what?" Bonnie exclaims. "You've already claimed your birthday as everyone's favorite day of the year."
"Yeah, and now, it's just a reminder that technically, I'm dead." Caroline snaps, feeling a moment of déjà vu having already had this conversion once today. "Look, I didn't even like 17. And the only point to being 17 is to get to 18. It's a filler year; I'm stuck in a filler year."
"You're not stuck, Caroline." Elena tries but Caroline is already shaking her head.
"Yeah I am, but it's okay." She smiles sadly. "You know, it's all good, I'll be fine. But I just need some time to wallow in it."
"Okay, well I think I have another idea." Elena smiles and Caroline stares at her for a moment before sighing again.
"Okay, but if we're going to do this…I have a surprise for you guys as well." She explains moving towards the door. Elena frowns at Bonnie who shrugs as they move closer to the door as well. Caroline opens the door wide and steps aside turning back to stare over at them.
Elena shakes her head not understanding what was going on until the sound of heels clicking against the cement floor on the porch as her breath catching in her throat and she braces herself as the tall stature of her sister fills the doorway and Elena could cry with the relief and slight horror that floods through her veins in that moment.
The blonde in the doorway, sends her one of her "I couldn't careless" smirks as she shoves her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. "Hello Sister."
*VD*
Elena leads them all through the cemetery and even for the two undead teenagers this was a little creepy especially when she leads them up to a crypt instructing them all to enter.
"This is creepy," Bonnie finally voices. "Even for us."
"No, Caroline was right... technically, she's dead." Caroline flinches slightly at her words. "Sorry." Elena smiles. "But you don't need a birthday, you need a funeral. You need to say goodbye to your old life, so that you can move on with your new one." Everyone is silent for a moment as they think over Elena's words before Caroline finally smiles.
"Okay." She says. "Here lies Caroline Forbes…" She begins.
"Cheerleader, Miss. Mystic Falls, Third grade hopscotch champion." Elena begins to list off as she opens the cake that they'd brought and begins sticking candles into it.
"Best friend," Adele starts smirking over towards Caroline who smirks back. "Over-achiever…"
"Ha!" Caroline laughs. "You're one to talk."
"Daughter…" Bonnie continues on.
"Mean-girl." Matt says and laughs when Caroline's mouth falls open. "Sometimes, no offense." They laugh.
Elena picks up the cake and moves slowly into the center of the crypt. "She was 17, and she had a really good life. So rest in peace, so that she can move forward. That's what you really need. What we all really need." She smiles turning towards Bonnie. "Bonnie?" Bonnie closes her eyes briefly and the candles spark to life, lighting up the dark crypt. "Nice. Okay…make a wish."
They watch as Caroline closes her eyes and she stands there for a minute before opening them and slowly blowing out the candles.
*VD*
Adele leans against the crypt's wall, looking out at the dark sky and taking deep breaths like how Damon showed her. She realizes now that coming here and confining herself to a small space with three human's was probably not her brightest idea, but Caroline had wanted her to come and she didn't want to leave her best friend in a time where she really needs her.
"Ah-ah…" She hears Elena behind her. "I need it more than you do, trust me." She's saying and Adele turns only briefly to see it's the tequila. "Caroline…" Her sister calls to the tall blonde standing at the back of the crypt. "What are you doing?"
"What?" Caroline quickly pushes her hands down towards her legs, her phone clenched tightly in her right hand. "Nothing."
"Okay," Elena shakes her head. "You're a bad sober liar; you're an even worse drunk liar."
Caroline drops her eyes to the floor a good amount of shame filling her face as she sighs. "I might have texted Tyler."
"Caroline…" Elena groans.
"What?" Caroline shrugs a shoulder. "I'm delicate."
"Give her a break." Bonnie cuts in eyes glazed over from the alcohol. "You can't control what everyone does all the time." Everyone goes silent and Adele turns away from the doorway of the crypt to look fully at her sister and Bonnie sitting on the benches, she can practically feel the tension grow as she watches them stare at each other.
"Ouch, Bon." Matt mutters after a moment of silence.
"Sorry, I know it's Caroline birthday, funeral or whatever but," She takes a deep breath like she's preparing herself for what she's got to say and when she starts back up, her gaze is directed at both Elena and Adele. "I just feel it's really wrong that you compelled Jeremy to leave town." Adele straightens up, she was wondering what all the hostilely towards her was about but she had chalked it up to what happened this morning and left it at that, apparently she'd been wrong.
"We're doing it to protect him." Elena tries to reason with soothing doe eyes that Bonnie isn't falling for. "We want to give him a chance to have a quiet, normal life."
"He should be able to choose how he wants to live it. You're taking his choices away." Bonnie argues back and Adele takes the chance to step forward, she can't have Bonnie running off to tell him what they've done, it'd ruin everything and Jeremy would never get the life he deserves.
"You can't tell him." Adele says.
Bonnie turns away from Elena to look up at the blonde, forgetting momentarily about her new status as she straightens her shoulders and sends her a leveled glare. "Why?" She sasses. "Are you going to compel me to?"
And while her anger used to bubble up inside her before her transformation, it wasn't quite the same now that she's changed and the slow burn of anger that she use to experience is shifted quickly into a white hot rage that has her control snapping for a mere second but in that mere second Bonnie could swear she saw the devil in Adele's blackened eyes as the veins pulse furiously under them and her sharp fangs poke against her bottom lip.
It was only seconds of loss control but it's enough for Bonnie to pale as she sucks in a shaky breath. It was foolish of her to poke at the fragile self-control of a new vampire, she sees that now and she quickly stumbles to her feet searching for the words to excuse herself in her jumbled mind. "I-I'm sorry." She mutters quickly. "I'm going to go sleep it off." She rushes past Adele towards the door, making sure not to once turn her back on the blonde. "Happy Birthday." She calls out to Caroline before rushing out the crypt's gate and she inhales deeply, trying to calm her trembling hands.
*VD*
The sound of snapping twigs catches her attention as she makes herself comfortable on a tree stump. She turns her head in the direction of the noise in time for Tyler to come stumbling into the clearing. He catches sight of her and freezes. "Adele…" He breathes and she clicks her tongue off the roof of her mouth in annoyance. He was one of the last people she wanted to see at the moment.
"Tyler…" She mumbles.
"Are…How are you?" He asks softly stepping closer and she raises an eyebrow.
"Am I really the one you should be asking? I mean Alaric is the one who got hit by the car meant for Jeremy who was compelled by Klaus to stand in the middle of the road after you swiped his vervain bracelet." She says in a rush ignoring the way he flinches. "So really I think you should be asking Alaric if he's okay."
Tyler nods slowly, accepting the third degree is stride. He knew he deserved it and he was too happy to see her sitting there alive to fully comprehend her anger. He doesn't say anything else having known her long enough to know it wouldn't make a difference.
When he disappears into the crypt, she pulls out her phone and dials his number waiting the few rings it takes for him to answer. "Kitten…" He sighs out throw the phone and she smiles, her nerves and urges calming.
"You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice." She mutters and he responds with a throaty laugh.
"I think I do." He answers. "I'm surrounded by crazy no matter where I turn."
"I think I scared Bonnie." She says to which he snorts.
"How did you do that?"
"She was going on about how it's not right that we had you compel Jeremy to leave town and…" Adele trails off long enough to watch Tyler and Caroline disappear into the woods before continuing. "I think she was getting to the point that she was going to tell him and I may or may not have lost control for a few mere seconds."
"Oh Kitten…" He sighs, a hint of amusement and affection laced in his words. "You can't kill the witch. Take it from me, I've thought about it. I'm planned it out in vivid detail but you can't do it. I repeat Kitten, do not kill the witch."
"I'm not going to kill her Damon. I can't. She ran off. Like I said I think I may have scared her."
"Just remember, deep breathes."
"I know." She mummers.
"I got to go. Stefan is flying off the handle over this Hybrid thing; I need to take care of this. You hang in there and I'll see you at home."
"Alright, I love you."
"I love you too." And with that he hangs up and she returns her phone to its rightful place in her pocket. She sits there for a minute just basking in the cold night air until she hears a soft whimper coming from the woods. "Caroline?" She calls out softly, standing up. The whimpering continues and she quickly follows the noise deep into the trees where she finds her leaning back against a tree, tears streaking down her cheeks as she holds a hand to her neck. "Caroline!"
"Tyler…" She sobs out as Adele bends down in front of her. "Tyler bit me."
Adele feels her words like a wrecking ball and she turns her eyes in the direction of the miles of trees ahead of them. What was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to handle this? "Oh shit." She mutters out into the open air in a form of desperation.
*VD*
She stumbles into the front door of the Forbes house, her fist banging at the door in harsh knocks. Elizabeth appears from around the corner and when she catches sight of her daughter barely being supported by Adele's arm wrapped tightly around her waist and her daughters arm thrown sluggishly over her shoulder she rushes forward unlocking and swinging open the door. "What happened?" She asks panic causes her voice to squeak slightly.
"Invite me in." Adele demands and Liz does. Adele steps freely through the door dragging Caroline with her as she gives a rushed response to Liz's question. "We we're down in the cemetery and Tyler Lockwood bit her." She barely pays any attention to Liz's soft gasps of horror as she pushes into Caroline's room laying her as gently as possible on the bed.
"Caroline, Hunny…" Liz says rushing to her daughter's bed side as Adele steps back.
"I'm sorry, Mommy." Caroline cries through her pain.
"She's been hallucinating," Adele says as she presses her phone to her ear and listens to the ringing. "Be careful, she could become violent. I'm trying to call Damon but…" She curses when it goes to voicemail once again. "He won't answer." She says trying once more. It goes to voicemail as well. "Damn it Damon, Answer your phone!" She snaps to the voicemail and ends the call squeezing the phone in her hand.
Adele's not sure how long they sit there watching as Caroline slowly becomes sicker and sicker. She can't seem to get ahold of anyone and she feels like she's going to explode if she stands there any longer.
"That's it!" She finally snaps and whirls around heading towards the bedroom door.
"Where are you going?" Liz calls after her but can't bring herself to leave her daughter's side as Adele disappears down the hall.
"I'm going to find help." She calls as she swings the front door open and freezes when her blue eyes meet another pair of blue eyes and she snarls at the man they belong to as he sends her an overly innocent smile.
"Well what a nice surprise, Love." Klaus dwells having not expected to see her, not with her new vampire status at least and just like he expected, she was captivating.
"What are you doing here?" She snaps despite knowing that he was in fact the only person who could help and she had initially been heading out to track him down anyways.
"Tyler came to see me." Klaus says, his expression sorrowful but his eyes burning with amusement. "Poor boy, he seemed quiet distressed. He said Caroline had a terrible accident."
"No!" Adele snaps, her anger getting the better of her as she steps forward her darkened eyes ablaze with uncontrolled rage as the veins under them pulse and she bares her fangs at him. Klaus find himself surprised only briefly by her demonic features but still she's beautiful and he's consumed by her anger, her piercing glare. "You did this! You made him do this! He would have never done something like this!"
"I'm here to help." He tells her, in a smooth voice that she supposes is meant to be soothing as if he's trying to tame a wild animal on the verge of attacking and she supposes that that is exactly how she feels, wild and out of control. "As you already know, my little Firebird, my blood will heal her. Please, ask the sheriff to let me in." With the mention of the Sheriff Adele realizes that Liz had at some point ventured into the room and she tries to get her anger under control as she turns to look at the sheriff, her features just beginning to become natural once more.
"I know how this game works." Liz says her voice strong despite her fear as she refuses to make eye contact with her daughter's best friend, the girl she watched grow up. It was frightening to see her in such a state. "You want something in return."
"Just your support." Klaus responds and despite Adele not knowing what that means, Liz looks to be considering his proposal.
"Come in." She finally mutters in a way of accepting and Adele slowly steps to the side to let him in slamming the door shut behind him.
Adele is the first to enter Caroline's bedroom, to find her finally fast asleep and Klaus is right behind her. She stops close to the door and reaches out to press a hand against Klaus's chest the second he makes a move to pass her. He glances at her well-manicured hand against his chest before meeting her eyes.
"How am I to be sure you're not going to kill her?" Adele mutters, her eyes untrusting and he seems slightly discouraged by her question.
"On her birthday?" He notes taking in the happy birthday balloons. "You really think that low of me?"
"Yes." She whispers without a second's hesitation. Klaus moves past her hand and she lets him, letting her hand fall back to her side as she watches him slowly exam Caroline's bite mark.
"It looks bad." He observes and she rolls her eyes as he returns to his full height. "My apologies." He says turning back to her and she knows she isn't the one he should be apologizing to. "She's what's known as collateral damage, it's nothing personal." His gaze returns to the Balloons. "I love birthdays."
"Yeah well, aren't you like a billion?" She mutters and he laughs, actually laughs and once again it surprises her.
"You have to adjust your perception of time when you become a vampire, Adele. I can see you haven't quite grasps the fact yet or you just simply don't want to. But soon you'll realize. You're free."
"Free? That's what you call this? Free?" Adele shakes her head. "I'm not free. I didn't want this. The only reason I even went through with this transformation is to protect the people I love. That's not freedom Klaus. 24 hours isn't enough time to decide if you want this kind of fate."
"You have so much to learn, love." Klaus smiles as he moves to stand in front of her. "Truth be told, I've thought about death once or twice over the centuries but I'll let you in on a little secret." His voice has dropped and he leans in and despite everything in her screaming at her to move, to get away from him she can't. Her feet are glued to the spot as she loses herself in his gaze. "There is a whole world out there waiting for you, waiting for the moment you find the strength to break free of your personal prison. Great cities and art and music, genuine beauty and you can have it all as soon as you realize just how free you can be."
Adele swallows, blinking slowly as she begins to regain movement. She takes a wide step back from him, her mind whirling in all different directions as she averts her gaze to the wall behind him. "Can you please just…just save her?"
His gaze remains on her for another few seconds before he slowly nods. "Of course."
*VD*
His frosty eyes gaze unblinking into the empty fireplace as he swirls the small amount of amber liquid around in his glass. He can feel the heaviness of his eyes, the way they want to fall closed but he fights the urge to slip into the overwhelming darkness. He can't sleep; he hasn't been able to sleep for days.
Every time he closes his eyes, all he can see is her. Her dead eyes staring back at him, her sightless eyes blaming him for her death, telling him he was too weak to save her and by the time he's able to break free from his nightmares, he's left screaming on the inside, a war raging on.
He doesn't know how many times he can apologize, how many times he can beg for forgiveness. In reality he knows she doesn't blame him but he does. He blames himself for everything that's happened. He could have saved her if he had just been faster. He could have saved her if he had just been stronger.
He takes the last sip of his drink, feeling it burn all the way down his throat. It was his 5th full glass in just that hour, because she's not there to assure him that everything's okay, she's off taking care of her own form of chaos. He was left alone with his thoughts and he was sure they'd slowly drive him insane and at least the alcohol would help slow down the process.
"Damon…" He jumps the glass tumbling from his trembling hand and he watches her catch it with amazing speed and grace, speed and grace she wouldn't have if he hadn't failed. "Damon…" She sighs out replacing the glass to its rightful place before taking his still trembling hand into her own steady one. "It's okay Damon." She assures, her voice soft and welcoming as she bends to the fireplace, setting it up and casting light into the dark parlor. "You're okay."
But you're not! He wants to scream. You're suffering and it's because of me!
With the now roaring fire heating the room up little by little, Adele leads Damon towards the couch where she's able to sit comfortably with Damon, resting his head in her lap. "You're exhausted Damon." She mummers to him as his mind begins to fog over with the lullaby that is her voice. "You need to sleep."
"I can't." His protest are weak. "It's my fault…It's all my fault." His words slur together and she runs a delicate finger across his right brow watching his eye close slowly before snapping back open. "You died and it was my fault. You didn't want this and I couldn't save you."
"It wasn't your fault Damon." She smooth's her finger tips over his cheeks and down his jaw. "What happened to me wasn't any bodies fault but mine, mine and Katherine's. There wasn't anything you could have done." She explains to him and she wonders if he'll ever believe her. She's not sure how many times they've been through this same conversion in the past weekend but she was determent to make him believe her. "I choose to save you and if I could go back I wouldn't do anything differently because I choose you. I'll always choose you and if being a vampire means I get to be with you, then Damon, I can happily deal with my fate just as long as I have you." He's watching her…slowly falling into that unwelcoming darkness. "Promise me again Damon; promise me you'll never leave me?"
"I promise." He whispers just before he succumbs to the darkness, succumbs to his never ending hell.
*VD*
She steps up to the open door, it was early, almost 8 and Elena was standing just inside the house hugging Jeremy tightly to her. Adele clears her throat alerting them to her sudden appearance and they both jump apart, Elena somewhat surprised to see her and Jeremy almost dumbstruck.
"You know…" Adele says looking up at the doorway and her gaze is wistful. "I never thought there would come a day that I couldn't even get into my own house without having to be invited in." She sighs turning her blue eyes back to her siblings. "But…unfortunately things change."
Jeremy isn't sure what compels him to rush over to her, maybe it was the forever image of her lifeless corpse or that greyish sickly hue she had been sporting the last time he'd seen her but he didn't give even a second's thought to wrapping her in his arms with the intentions of never letting go but after a quick hug she's pulling away from him all too soon, not wanting to test her fragile self-control on her little brother.
"Adele…" Elena calls and she looks up at her sister still standing in the same place Jeremy left her. "Come in." She says and Adele's smile is wide as she steps through the doorway she turns back to Jeremy who is smiling down at her.
"Remember Jer that this is going to be good for you." She says and Jeremy's smile widens. "And please be careful okay?"
"I promise." He says before glancing out towards the driveway. "I have to go, Alaric is waiting." And Adele nods stepping away from him so he can grab his bags and as he's reaching for them all three of the Gilberts catch sight of Bonnie moving into the doorway.
"Good, you haven't left yet." She breathes as if she had run all the way there.
"Bonnie…" Jeremy is surprised by her appearance as are Elena and Adele. "What are you doing here?"
Bonnie gazes between the twins taking in their different expressions. Elena's pleading one and Adele's glaring one before she sighs. "I came to say goodbye." She mummers and Adele mirrors Elena's sigh of relief as the two embrace.
*VD*
When she arrives back at the boarding house, Damon isn't there so she sends him a quick text, asking him what's up. It must have been important if he hadn't even left a note or texted. She doesn't think too much into it, instead moving into the bedroom to take a much wanted shower.
She grabs a change of clothes and hooks her phone up to its charger as she turns on the radio letting the music fill the room and making it loud enough so she could hear it in the shower. As she's moving into the bathroom something catches her eye and she quickly back tracks back into the room.
On the dresser is a square jewelry box made out of black velvet and her brows furrow as she looks around the room. How long has that been sitting there? It wasn't there when she left this morning. Did Damon go out and buy her something else?
She moves over to it, throwing her clothes over her shoulder and she takes the box into her hands, noting the small white card. On the top of it, it reads "My Little Firebird" and her frown deepens. Where has she heard that before?
It hits her like a brick to the gut and her mouth parts open in shock as she flips the card over to read what's written in neat black pen on the back.
Here's to Freedom
Klaus
She sets the card onto the dresser before slowly opening the box to find a small gold chain with an equally small gold feather charm attached to a tannish card and she recognizes the necklace. She's seen others like it, each charm meaning something different then the next and this one was,
Free Bird
Make a wish and put on your necklace. Feathers are symbols of freedom.
They awaken our curiosity and open our hearts and minds to possibilities.
Wear your necklace as a reminder to follow your dreams.
She closes the box and sets it back down, tearing up the card so Damon doesn't see it. She wishes that things could be that simple but Klaus doesn't understand. He doesn't understand the sacrifice. She'd do anything to save the people she loves and she believes that he just doesn't understand.
And there is the end.
So what did you all think of this chapter? What did you think of Adele's small problems with her anger management? And what did everyone think of Damon's thoughts on the whole thing? A bit dark but that's understandable. I mean she died in his arms that has to leave a few mental issues yeah?
Let me know what you all are thinking.
