Hey guys! Man, I really hate what happens with Alaric through the rest of the season. I am still not over it. So please bear with me through these next couple of chapters. Then we will be on to season 4! And as usual, I own nothing but Vivian.
I braided my dark hair and got dressed in jeans and a sweater. I was going to split time between Stefan and Alaric and helping Rebekah decorate the gym for the decade dance. She had somehow managed to wrestle control of the dance from Caroline and switched the decades from the seventies to the twenties. I had to admit that I was fond of her idea. Besides, to get everyone back on her good side, I decided it wasn't a bad idea to be friendly with her.
Alaric was locked in the vervaine cellar in the Salvatore house. His alter-ego had hidden the only other stake that could kill an Original and Stefan was hellbent on getting it out of him. I wanted to be there to make sure he didn't do anything rash but there were more important things to think about.
Rebekah had to be my main priority. Besides, being her friend had never exactly been a chore.
Damon and Elena were heading to Denver to bring Jeremy home and hopefully, through his powers, find out who sired Rose. I was dreading that because once they figured out whose line they belonged to, Damon was going to kill the other Originals. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Rebekah hadn't sired their line so she was definitely on the hit list. It took everything in me to not tell her everything and beg her to leave town. That left Klaus and Elijah and I couldn't choose between the two of them who would be better off dead. If Stefan managed to kill Klaus, there would be at least one casualty other than just Klaus himself… and that was Tyler.
I forced those terrible thoughts back and helped Rebekah set up a few tables, constantly checking my phone for updates on Alaric.
Stefan called me when I was heading over to tell me not to bother. He had gotten Evil-Ric to come out and tell him where the stake was and about that time, Rebekah and Klaus showed up, begging for it. He figured it would be better for me to stay home, where neither of them had been invited in. I had to admit that I wasn't the least bit concerned about Klaus or Rebekah trying to force their way into my house but I didn't say that to Stefan. I just decided to appreciate that he was back to worrying about appropriate things and that he was concerned enough for me to warn me about it.
The next day, Damon, Elena, and Jeremy were back on home turf. After hugging Jeremy, he admitted to me that something happened on the trip that I might be interested in; Damon and Elena had been making out and Jeremy walked in on it.
It was clear that Elena was wrestling with it and when I was helping Jeremy hang some cardboard stars from the ceiling in the gym, I heard Caroline suggesting that Elena go back to Stefan. I shook my head at Elena.
It wasn't that Stefan wasn't deserving or that Damon was so much better… Actually, I couldn't give a logical reason other than that I thought Damon was really trying to prove himself.
Elena looked at me when I shook my head and Caroline turned too.
"Vivian, if you're so fond of him, why don't you ask Damon to the dance?" asked Caroline. "Oh wait, you've got your own mass murderer on your tail."
"What?" asked Jeremy. I shook my head again but I could feel my cheeks getting hot.
"I am not going to the dance with Klaus, thank you very much," I responded, my footing feeling shaky on the ladder.
"Are you kidding? Another Original?"
"It's not what it sounds like," I said, turning back to Jeremy.
Elena laughed. "Then who's your date?" she asked.
"Um, I don't have a date… Like every other dance I've ever been to." Elena rolled her eyes.
I had to admit that I always enjoyed the decade dances and the twenties were entirely my element. Elena and I got dressed in a flurry, more concerned about our hair than our dresses. Elena wore a gorgeous white dress and I wore a pink one that was beaded. Elena secured her hair with a headband and curled it. I finger-waved mine and folded it under, trying to give the illusion of shoulder length hair. I actually liked the look so much that I contemplated cutting my hair.
Stefan came to pick up Elena and he gave me a look so I climbed in the backseat of his car. I hated feeling like a third wheel but Stefan had saved me some grief so maybe it was okay.
Once there, I stood next to the wall. The first song I heard was a slow song and I groaned, crossing my arms. At least during a fast song, it didn't really matter whether you had a dance partner.
I broke out of my pity party when Damon arrived in front of me.
"My own knight in shining armor," I said, expecting him to offer me his arm. But then I took in his appearance. Normally, when he came to a dance undercover, he at least pretended to belong. This time he was wearing a leather jacket and dark jeans. "What's going on?"
"Alaric isn't taking the herbs that Bonnie's fixed for him," he responded. "We need to do something about it."
"Like what, Damon?" I asked. "Alaric is not even remotely okay. He's not even the same person."
"I know. Which is why we need to do something about it." Damon looked over his shoulder, trying to spot Elena and Stefan. "On second thought, I'll grab Stefan and Elena. You have better things to do."
"What on Earth are you talking about?" I responded. "There's nothing more important than helping-"
Damon moved from blocking my view and I saw what he meant. Klaus was walking towards us at a mile-a-minute. I turned my head a little and looked up at Damon, my mouth almost hanging slack.
"Have fun, kiddo!" Damon patted me on the arm and walked off.
I took a deep breath before Klaus came to a stop in front of me. He didn't look angry, which was a good sign. I let myself smile, though it was hard to block out what was happening with Alaric. Damon was serious about this. He was also absolutely right. Something needed to be done to either help Alaric or stop him. Right now, the only option might be to stop him.
"Vivian," said Klaus with a grin, "why aren't you dancing?" I mustered a laugh.
"I don't have a partner," I responded.
"You do now," Klaus replied, offering me his hand. I bit my lower lip and took it.
I really loved to dance every now and then. But this made me feel nervous. There was something going on that Klaus had yet to tell me. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why he was even attending a high school dance. Surely, his interest in me wasn't enough to encourage a thousand year old hybrid to come to Mystic Falls High.
"I must admit I have a bit of an ulterior motive in asking you to dance with me," said Klaus, his pretty voice almost making me flinch.
"And what would that be?" I asked quietly. Klaus pulled me into a hold and tugged me so close that I thought our chests might touch. I clenched my hand around his.
"I'm leaving town tomorrow." My eyes widened.
"That might not be such a bad idea because I don't think Stefan and Damon are going to give up on this. You and Rebekah… and Elijah would be much safer elsewhere." My voice almost cracked on Elijah's name but I did sound better than I had intended.
"Well, I'm thinking you'll come with me." I paused for a minute.
"Really?" I asked. The idea didn't shock me as much as I thought it would.
"I could say it's about the blood but I might be fibbing a little." I sucked in my breath.
"Well, thank you for asking me nicely and not just kidnapping me." He laughed.
"Do you think that little of me?"
"Only sometimes," I said. I almost caught myself before I said it because it sounded too much like something I would say to Damon. But when Klaus smiled at me, I realized I hadn't made a mistake.
"You're loosening up around me. That's a good sign." I nodded. "Especially since we'll be seeing more of each other."
"That's very true. Well, I just want to be able to tell Elena and Jeremy… and maybe pack or something." Klaus nodded at me.
"Take your time," he said. "I need to find Rebekah anyway. She's the one behind this dance and she begged me to be here only for her to not show herself. You haven't seen her, have you?" I shook my head.
"The last time I saw her was yesterday. She didn't even show up this morning for last minute prep, which I thought was weird." Klaus made a face.
"I think I'll call her."
Klaus dropped my hand and nodded at me before walking out of the gym. He must really trust me, I thought to myself. There's no way he would have left Elena by herself like this when he was about to drag her out of town.
I looked over my shoulder and I saw Caroline looking at me with wide eyes. "I knew it," she mouthed at me. I pretended to laugh and then I walked out of the gym too.
When I arrived outside, after seeing Elena and Damon nowhere, I saw Stefan talking to Klaus. Neither of them looked particularly happy.
"Vivian, there's a boundary spell up," said Stefan when he saw me approaching. "Esther's back in town."
"What?" I responded.
"She also has Elena." I covered my mouth with my hand, following the both of them back inside where Bonnie was attempting to break through the spell.
"There's a loophole to every boundary spell," Klaus said to me. I nodded.
"It only applies to vampires?" I asked.
"So far," said Damon. "In fact, Viv, it might be better for you to go on home."
"Does this have something to do with Alaric?" Damon closed his eyes, frustrated.
"Yes," he said thru gritted teeth.
"Then I'm staying." I saw Klaus purse his lips beside me. I could tell Damon and I amused him and I could also tell that we didn't amuse Stefan.
Matt walked through the doors behind us and I turned to look at him. "Look, people are walking right out of the dance and past the barrier," he said.
"Well, if Matt, Vivian, and I can leave then we can stop Esther ourselves," said Jeremy.
"Don't be stupid, Jer," I said. "She's the Original witch."
"It's suicide, Jeremy," said Stefan.
"No," said Klaus, "suicide would be disappointing me. Now work your magic, witch, or I'll start killing people." I felt like gasping but I settled for sucking in my breath through my teeth.
"You should've gone home when you had the chance," muttered Damon.
"Fine," said Bonnie. "I'll do a locator spell for Elena but Vivian or Jeremy, I need your blood."
"You got it," I said, walking over to her.
I walked with her into another classroom where Bonnie retrieved a map of the area. Damon and Klaus followed us in, which made Bonnie roll her eyes. She didn't want either of them breathing down her neck.
"Do either of you really need to be here?" she asked before grabbing hold of my hand.
"You're still mad about what happened with Abby," said Damon. "Well, let me apologize. I'm sorry Elijah forced us to turn your mother into a vampire to save Elena's life." I flinched then. Bonnie looked up at me in question; she hadn't drawn the blood yet. I only shook my head. I turned my head to see Damon and Klaus. Both of them knew exactly what was going on. "All I'm saying is, we didn't exactly have a choice."
"There's always a choice," said Bonnie. "Whenever you make one, someone else suffers."
"Let's cut the dramatics and begin, shall we?" said Klaus.
Both of the guys moved beside us. I used my free hand to grip the desk when Klaus moved to stand beside me. Damon was looking over Bonnie's shoulder, waiting. I took a deep breath and turned my hand palm up for her.
"I'll have to go deep so this will probably hurt," said Bonnie. I nodded.
"I know," I whispered.
She pressed the blade of a letter opener onto my palm and pushed in. I gasped. She dragged the letter opener through the meat of my hand and I watched as my blood burst forth, dripping off my hand. Bonnie made me form a fist and hold my hand over the center of the map. Thick blood fell off my palm and hit the paper of the map with a thud. I hissed in pain when Bonnie made me push my fingers into the wound, opening it further. More blood hit the map.
Bonnie let me go and I brought my hand back to myself, immediately putting pressure on it. I felt a hand against my back and I turned, knowing it was Klaus. He only nodded at me.
I stared down at the map as Bonnie was chanting in Latin. Normally, my blood would have moved to a location by now.
"Esther's fighting me," said Bonnie in disbelief.
"Esther couldn't possibly have this much power," said Klaus. "No, she's channeling something."
"A hotspot."
"Then I know where she is."
Jeremy and Matt struck out after I handed Jeremy the Gilbert ring and after I bound my wound. They were better at attacking people than I was so I stayed behind. But soon after, Esther stopped fighting Bonnie and she was able to take down the boundary spell. All of us made our way to the old cemetery where Alaric and Elena had been taken.
Once there, Jeremy grabbed me and took me aside, trying to explain everything. Esther had been intent on turning Alaric into a vampire… his evil side, that is. She'd even been able to make him drink Elena's blood and kill him. He was halfway through the transition and we had him to thank for taking care of Esther. But if this meant what I thought it did, did that mean Alaric was going to die?
I watched Klaus take Esther's body with a nod my way before leaving. He hadn't asked me to come with him so I know he knew what was going on.
I went into the mausoleum behind Jeremy and saw Ric and Elena there together. The look on Ric's face all but said it; he wasn't going to finish the transition. My first thought was to call to Damon. My second was to rush forward and hug Ric and tell him that in the end he was probably making the right decision. Who knows who he would become as a vampire? Himself or his alter-ego? Besides, he hadn't really been himself in so long.
"This is not happening," said Jeremy. "We are not locking you in here and letting you die."
"Jeremy," I said, my voice breaking. Elena was already crying.
"Come on, guys," said Ric. "Let's not make this harder than it already is. The three of you should go. Damon's here. He'll make sure it'll all go down the right way." I nodded, blinking back tears.
Jeremy moved forward and hugged Alaric. Then he moved back and walked out of the mausoleum. I took my chance and hugged Alaric too, trying so hard not to start shaking.
"Thank you so much," I said, "for being me and Damon's friend… and for taking care of us." Ric nodded but didn't respond.
I let go and rushed out the door before I could start crying. I grabbed hold of Jeremy and I thought of not letting go for a while.
Man, this episode was such a buzzkill. Like I said, I hate what they ended up doing to Alaric but that group scene at the cemetery gets me every time. The only other episode that touched me more than that was when Elena burned down her house after Jeremy died. I can't wait to write that episode. Well, hopefully, I'll update again soon! But I'm going back to college classes on Monday so I'll be juggling schoolwork soon.