Blair awoke to the sun shining in on her face. She jolted into a sitting position when she realized her head was still on Damon's leg.
"Morning, sunshine. You sleep well?" He asked, grinning, as he got up from the couch. "Breakfast?"
"You should have woken me up," Blair was annoyed as hell. Not just with him but with herself.
Damon laughed. "Hey, I tried. You told me to shut up so I just let you sleep. Besides, I put your feet on my lap. You're the one that moved around to make me your personal pillow." He got all dramatic as he said, "If you think about it...I'm the victim here."
Blair glared at him as she searched for her ringing cellphone. "What?!" she shouted, louder than intended. Blair held the phone out away from her ear to dull the piercing of Caroline's voice. She was shouting about the Founder's float and how being Miss Mystic actually meant something and yada yada yada. Finally Blair cut her off and shouted, "Oh my god! I'll meet you there!" After ending the phone call, she ran a hand through her hair.
"Have fun with Caroline. I know I did," Damon smirked, knowing that would get under her skin.
Blair grabbed one of the pillows off the couch and threw it at Damon's head. She was too flustered to think of a snarky reply so she just put her bag over her shoulder, shot up a middle finger, and stormed out the door.
As soon as Blair entered the school cafeteria, Caroline went straight for her and dragged her over to the table. "Where have you been?! You're Miss Mystic! You have a responsibility, now sit." Caroline just about shoved Blair down into a seat.
"I'm too tired for this," Blair groaned, dropping her head onto her arms.
"Perk up, Han!" Caroline exclaimed, setting a cup of coffee in front of her before typing on her computer. "This is what they did last year and it's so not what we're going to do this year."
Blair lifted her head to drink the coffee and looked at the computer screen. "Ugh, what the hell is that?" She didn't attend the parade last year so it was no wonder she didn't recognize the float.
"It's what we're not doing this year," Caroline repeated. "Now what do you want to do this year?"
Blair drank her coffee and shrugged, "I have no idea."
Caroline let out an exasperated sigh. "Blair, you're hopeless." After thinking for a moment she said, "Ooo, what about Southern Elegance?"
A brow raised on Blair's face, "Are you saying Gone With the Wind?"
"Exactly," Caroline smiled in such a way that made Blair know she was going to regret this. Looking around for some sort of distraction, she asked, "Where's Elena?"
Caroline typed away at her computer, "I don't know know. And hey, what's going on with you two anyway? You used to be joined at the hip then suddenly you're..."
Andrea's arrival cut Caroline off mid sentence. "Hello, ladies. What did I miss?"
Caroline sighed, rising to her feet. "I'm getting some more coffee."
As Caroline walked off, Andrea asked, "What's up her butt?"
Blair looked at Andrea with a 'shut the hell up' expression before leaving her seat to go anywhere but there.
Andrea raised her hands in mock innocence, "What?" After checking the reason behind her phone's buzzing, she too high tailed it out of there completely. She had other things to attend to.
Blair shook her head, sighing. On a good day this was not what she wanted to do with her free time. If Blair had to guess, she was voted to be Miss Mystic to force her into stuff for the town.
As she weaved around the tables to get out of there, Tyler blocked her path. "Ohh...not now Lockwood. Get the hell out of my way."
"We need to talk," Tyler retorted, blocking her path again.
"No, you need to get out of my way before I make good on my threat on making you pay what you did to Matt." Blair crossed her arms in a 'just try me' manner and Tyler got the hint. He stepped aside to let her pass.
Alas, she didn't get very far before Alaric came over to her. "There you are. I need to talk to you." He didn't give Blair a choice in the matter and led her to another room where Stefan and Elena already were. "What's going on?" Before Blair even finished her sentence, Damon walked into the classroom behind her. "Okay, seriously, what's going on?" Blair was starting to get a bad feeling about all of this.
"I saw Isobel last night," Alaric answered, giving Blair and Damon the gist.
"Isobel is here? In Mystic Falls?" Blair looked over at Elena who appeared to be in a state of shock and anger. And honestly, Blair couldn't blame her.
"Did you ask her about Uncle John?" Damon asked, sitting on the small bookcase next to Blair. "Are they working together?"
"No," Alaric replied.
"No you didn't talk to her or no they're not working together?" Blair asked, hating when people answered like that to a doubley asked question.
"No, I didn't ask," Alaric clarified.
"What about the invention?" Damon questioned.
"Didn't ask," Alaric answered and that was starting to bug Blair.
Blair got off the bookcase. "Not to be self centered her or anything, but maybe, perhaps, you asked why she tried to have her goon kill me?"
"No, I didn't ask that either." Alaric's responses were definitely infuriating Blair, and Damon could see this. Before she could say anything she might end up regretting, Damon chimed in with "Did words completely escape you?" Damon would rather he be the target of their wrath than Blair.
Alaric was frustrated and defensive when he shot back, "No, I was a little too distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask any questions."
"Then what did she want?" Blair asked, hoping that would get an actual response from the teacher.
"She wants to see us, Blair," Elena answered and Stefan added, "Alaric is supposed to arrange a meeting."
Blair flexed her hands at her sides, "She wants to meet? Fine. Maybe I'll be able to beat some answers out of the bitch."
"Blair," Stefan spoke in a warning tone but Blair wasn't in the mood for it.
"What?!" She shot back. "Yeah, Elena and Isobel have one hell of a baggage claim but she tried to have some guy kill me. Excuuuuse me if I take that personally." Turning to Elena, she said, "Look, I'm going to the meeting you don't have to if you don't want to because I'm sure I have enough questions for the both of us."
"I don't have a choice," Elena informed her and Alaric clarified.
"Isobel threatened to go on a killing spree if both girls didn't show up." Alaric wasn't any happier about this than pretty much everyone else in the room.
"It doesn't matter," Elena interjected. "I want to do it. I want to meet her. If I don't, I know I'll regret it."
"And not because of the killing spree that is sure to ensue if you don't?" Blair asked and after the looks she got from both Stefan and Alaric, she crossed her arms. "Fine, I'll shut up now, jeeze."
Andrea walked into the vacant, yet no so vacant, mansion and followed the sound of voices to the bedroom. Isobel was just saying to John, "If we're going to be partners, you're going to have to stop being such a hater."
A wide grin spread across Andrea's face. "She's right you know. And maybe if you didn't hate our kind so much, Harper could have been spared."
John groaned, looking at Andrea. "Are you still hooked on that?"
Andrea made swirling hand motions on either side of her head, "I'm craaaaaazy, remember? Who knows what I'll do." She winked at John and made her way over to Isobel. "Hey, sexy lady."
Isobel smiled and hugged Andrea. "It's been awhile."
"Not my choice," Andrea replied with narrowed eyes then plopped down onto the bed. "Carry on. This will be entertaining."
John's face hardened. "As I was going to say, we are in this partnership because we have a mutual goal. Don't ever confuse this for an acceptance to your lifestyle."
Andrea pouted, "But I thought you said I was special? Important?" Her tone was a bit whiny as well.
John was starting to lose his patience. "You are. But, as I said, don't confuse that for an acceptance to your lifestyle."
"Aww...someone's cranky," Andrea teased causing Isobel to go, "Hush!" That shut Andrea up real quick.
Isobel walked over to John and said, "I assume you still don't have the invention?"
"I'll get it," John replied. "I said I would."
Andrea snickered because she was thinking the same thing Isobel was voicing, "Uh, you threatened Damon Salvatore and that didn't work. The two of you killed that Pearl lady. Still no invention. I really don't think your plan is working, John."
"Well, you being here isn't going to help anything," John retorted. "And what about her little facade? Is your pet getting anywhere on her end?"
Isobel turned to Andrea for an update and said, "You may speak now."
Andrea sat up, pulling her knees to her chest, "I'm playing nice which is so boring. But don't worry, I'll get what I want."
Isobel turned back to John with a 'so there' expression before backhanding him across the face so hard he ended up on the floor. "You failed, John. I'm gonna take it from here. And don't you dare question Andrea's progress again. As you've said, she is special. Important. She has her own time." Isobel gave John a look of disgust as she plucked a brush off the vanity then sat next to Andrea on the bed and began brushing Andrea's locks.
Blair sat next to Elena in the Mystic Grill, waiting for Isobel to show up. While Elena was having a whispered conversation with Stefan across the room, Blair looked around to see if Matt was there. She really didn't want him to be in case things went south.
Her attention was quickly turned forward when Elena grabbed her arm. Blair's eyes turned to the woman in front of them and her posture straightened. So this was the woman who wanted her dead. How quaint.
Isobel sat across from the girls and smiled, "Hello, Blair. Hello, Elena." With her eyes locked on Elena, she said, "You look just like her. It's eerie."
"You've met Katherine?" Blair and Elena almost asked this in unison.
"She found me after I turned," Isobel replied. "Genetic curiosity, I suppose. She would be fascinated by you."
Elena turned the topic back to her and away from Katherine, "Who's my father?"
"Not important," Isobel answered. "He was a teenage waste of space."
"A name would be nice," Elena retorted.
Isobel grinned in a way that made the girls think of Andrea. "It would, wouldn't it? You ask a lot of questions."
"Why did you compel that man to kill himself and Blair right after he told me to stop looking for you?" Elena knew she was pretty much taking Blair's question from her, but she didn't care.
"Dramatic impact. Wish it would have been more effective," Isobel answered nonchalantly. "Does human life really mean that little to you? Does the fact your best friend, your sister, almost died mean nothing to you?" Isobel grinned again, "Perhaps there is a bit of Katherine in you."
"She's nothing like Katherine." Blair almost seethed those words.
"How can you think human life means nothing to me when you're the one that compelled him to do it. What does that say about you?" If Elena was trying to hit a nerve in Isobel, she failed.
"It says that's all part of what I am." Isobel slid Elena's coffee away from her and took a sip.
Elena shook her head. "No, I know other vampires. That's not true."
"Oh, you mean your little boyfriend over by the pool table?" Isobel asked then looked at Blair, "Or one of your many vampiric booty calls over the years?" Isobel turned her attention back to Elena, "Why Stefan Salvatore? Why not Damon? Or do you enjoy them both like Katherine did?"
Blair could feel her blood boiling and she hit her fist on the table. "Don't talk to Elena like that. Don't even talk about Damon, period."
Isobel laughed at Blair, "Oh, so you're the reason why she didn't go after Damon? Because you're in love with him. Fascinating."
"I'm losing my patience, Isobel. Why did you want to meet us? Elena I get, but why me?" Blair crossed her arms, raising her brows.
"I'm curious about you. Both of you." Isobel looked at the girls. "The girl who has known Katherine for two lifetimes and the girl who looks just like her. Fascinating."
Blair clearly didn't believe her. "You're right. I have known Katherine in two of my lifetimes, which means I can tell when she's lying. It must run in the family because I can see that you're lying right now."
A slow smirk crossed Isobel's lips. "You're right. The real reason is because I want what John wants. Johnathan Gilbert's invention."
Elena scoffed a chuckle, "How do you know my uncle?"
"I used to spend a lot of time here when I was younger. John isn't the only person in town I crossed paths with." Isobel looked at Blair with those words. "Your mother was quite the woman. I used to think she had a crush on me, but John, oh John had a crush on me for years. He was the first person to tell me about the vampires."
Blair literally put her hand over Elena's mouth to keep her from talking. "You knew my mother? What?"
Isobel laughed, "Why yes, I did. She was never the motherly type. I suppose we had that in common."
Before Blair could ask anything else, Elena pushed her hand away and asked, "What made you want to become a vampire?"
Isobel liked the tension between the girls. To answer Elena's question, she said, "It's a long list of reasons, Elena. All of which I'm sure you've thought about."
Elena shook her head to disagree and Blair made a soft 'pfft' sound because even she didn't believe her. Isobel made a 'tisk' sound before saying, "That was your first lie. It's inevitable. You're gonna get old. Stefan won't. Forever doesn't last very long when you're human."
"I'm sorry," Elena replied with sass. "We don't have what you're looking for." She tried to stand but Isobel shot out her hand and grabbed Elena's arm, pulling her down.
"Sit down," Isobel said firmly. "And tell your boyfriend to walk away."
Blair slid a stake down her sleeve and held it out towards Isobel. "Let go of her arm or I will kill you right here, right now. It wouldn't be the first time I've killed a vampire and I highly doubt it will be the last."
Isobel released her grip on Elena and said with a smile, "I want the invention. I know you don't have it, but Damon does. I'm sure between you two girls, one of you will be able to get it for me. If neither of you do...well...the blood will be on your hands." Isobel stood up, grabbed her things and walked away as she said, "It was nice meeting you, girls."
Blair slid the stake up her sleeve and hurried off after Isobel. She was nowhere near done with her questions and she was damn well going to get some answers. But by the time Blair made it through the crowd and out the door, Isobel was nowhere to be seen.
Andrea walked into Isobel's commandeered bank foreclosed mansion and stopped in the living room's doorway just in time to see a little action. Damon had Isobel pinned to the floor by her throat and he was far from happy.
"Now that I have your attention, listen up." Damon was as firm with his words as he was with his grip. You do not come into my town, threaten people that I care about. Going after Blair- bad move. You leave her alone, or I will rip you to bits, because I do believe in killing the messenger." Damon moved closer and whispered, "You know why? Because it sends a message." He lifted Isobel's head and hit it to the floor. "Katherine wants something from me? You tell that bitch to come get it herself."
Damon moved away from Isobel and sped past Andrea, out the door.
Andrea had a look to kill on her face as she moved closer to Isobel. "Katherine? Katherine is behind all of this? Did you fail to tell me something?!" Her voice rose with every other word.
Isobel got to her feet and held her hands out towards Andrea like a lion tamer in a circus. "Andrea, please calm down. She asked me not to tell you. She told me to."
Andrea's vampire side came to the surface as she moved closer to Isobel with every intention of ripping out her head. Just as she was about to act on that urge, Isobel cried out.
"You will never get her back if you kill me!" Isobel hoped that would resonate with Andrea, and it did. As Andrea's face turned back to normal, Isobel continued speaking. "You need to stick with the plan if you want her back. After what you did...you have a lot of making up to do."
Andrea felt a wave of sadness move over her and she dropped to the floor in sobs. "I miss her so much!" she cried.
Isobel knelt down beside Andrea and pulled her close, smoothing out her hair. "I know, Andrea, I know. But you help us and get what you need, you will get her back. You will."
The next day, Blair was helping Matt put the float together for the Founder's day parade. As they worked he spoke with laughter, "I cannot believe you agreed to the Gone With the Wind theme."
"Oh, I didn't, believe me," Blair replied as she hammered. "But I bailed on the meeting so Caroline took over. I have to admit I'm pretty relieved about that."
Matt gave her a knowing smile then gestured over to a nearby box of stuff. "Could you grab that while I get this set up underneath?"
"Sure," Blair replied and went over to grab the box and suddenly she heard a loud snap followed by a crash. She dropped the box in her hands and cried out, "Matt!" He was pinned under the trailer the guys were trying to lift. Thanks to Stefan's help they were able to get it off him. Blair quickly helped get Matt out of there.
"Oh my god, Matt, are you okay?" Blair felt her heart stop when she thought something even worse than this had happened to him. Her attention was pulled away from Matt when she heard Elena call out for Jeremy. Seeing Isobel near Elena made it clear that the vampire bitch was behind this.
Caroline had called the ambulance and just informed them it'd be fifteen to twenty minutes. "That's too long," Blair stated, something she and Caroline agreed on.
"I have my car, I'll drive you," Tyler interjected but Matt wasn't having any of that.
"Blair will drive me," Matt answered firmly.
"I didn't drive her, Matt! And you're not waiting. I hate him as much as you do right now, but it doesn't matter. You're going to the hospital with Tyler or I will beat you into submission!" Blair got violent when she was worried and her worry was hitting an overload.
Matt could see the worry on his girlfriend's face. "Fine."
Blair looked at Tyler and shouted, "Go!"
Tyler quickly took off to bring the car around.
Blair gently pressed her forehead to Matt's and whispered, "I have to go, I'm so sorry."
Matt couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What? Blair?...Blair!" He called out to her but she had already run off into the crowd.
Blair couldn't find anyone anywhere so she called Elena's phone and hoped for an answer. She was told to meet them at the boarding house and Elena filled her in on the phone the whole way there.
By the time Blair arrived they group had already told Damon their plan about the device and Bonnie's involvement in the plan. Blair walked into the room and said, "Don't bother saying no, you're going to do it."
"I'm not going to give the device to Isobel who's going to give it to John who's going to turn around and use it to kill me," Damon replied. "I like being a living dead person."
"But it'll be useless," Elena stated again. "Bonnie is going to take away its power."
"I don't trust her," Damon pointed out the obvious there.
"I can remove the original spell," Bonnie interjected. "John and Isobel will never know."
"No, no. I'll get Jeremy my own way." Damon shook his finger to emphasize his decision.
"Damon, Isobel can have Jeremy dead the second you walk through the door. You may be willing to risk that, but I'm not." Blair looked at him pleadingly. "Damon, please do this."
Damon looked conflicted as his eyes moved to Blair. He didn't trust Bonnie one bit but he didn't want Blair to lose another person because of him. Not liking what he was considering, he looked at Bonnie and asked, "Are you even up for this?" He then added with sarcasm, "I mean, no offense, but you're no Emily Bennett. Emily Bennett knew what she was doing."
"I've been practicing," Bonnie answered in confidence.
Damon scoffed a chuckle, "It's not piano lessons, honey."
Elena cut off their exchange with, "We're doing this Damon. And we're gonna do it my way."
Blair turned Damon's attention onto her, "Damon...this is our best shot. Give us the device. We don't have much time."
Damon shook his head. "I don't trust her. I tried to kill her." Once again, he was stating the obvious.
"You're right, you can't trust me," Bonnie replied.
Blair shot her a 'shut up' look before turning back to Damon. "You can trust me. Damon, please."
Damon looked into her eyes for a moment before reaching into his pocket. He lifted Blair's hand and placed the device on her palm, closing her fingers around it.
Blair softly kissed Damon's cheek. "Thank you," she whispered before handing the device over to Elena. Was this the best idea on the planet? No, probably not, but time was short and after what Isobel planned for Matt...she couldn't even imagine what she would do to Jeremy.
Bonnie proceeded to do her little hocus pocus and said the spell was removed. Blair had a bad vibe about it, but she wasn't sure if that was because her relationship with Bonnie was tense or if there was really something wrong. Blair bit her tongue when Elena said they were going to give it to Isobel now. Deep down, she was starting to regret convincing Damon to hand it over to begin with, but that was overshadowed by her worry for Jeremy and need to keep him safe. So there was nothing else she could do but agree...it was time to give it to Isobel.
Blair and Elena walked into the town square to give the device to Isobel. Elena held said device in her hand while Blair was ready with a vervain dart and stake hidden up her sleeves just in case.
As soon as the girls reached the center of the square, Isobel appeared behind them. "Where's the device?" she asked.
"Where's Jeremy?" Blair asked in reply.
Isobel slightly shook her head. "This isn't a negotiation. Where's the invention?"
Elena crossed her arms in defiance. "Where is my brother?"
"Do you really think that I came alone?" Isobel asked, causing the girls to look behind them to see Isobel's little minions.
"Do you really think that we came alone?" Elena asked as the Salvatore brothers approached behind Isobel.
"Or unprepared?" Blair added, sliding the stake down her sleeve into her hand.
Isobel rolled her eyes and droned, "For god's sake, call home."
"What?" Elena asked, confused.
"Call home, ask to speak with your brother Jeremy," Isobel clarified.
Elena did just that as Blair stood at the ready. She didn't trust Isobel so Blair wasn't going to get blind sided. She could hear Elena's side of the conversation, asking Jeremy if he was okay and telling him that they'd be home soon. "He's alright?" Blair asked, needing to hear it for herself.
"Yeah," Elena replied, slipping her phone back into her pocket. She looked at Isobel and said, "You were never going to hurt him."
Blair scoffed because she didn't believe that one bit and she was right. Isobel confirmed that.
"No, I was going to kill him. But a little birdie convinced me otherwise." At the expression on Elena's face, she added "Don't look for any redeeming qualities in me. I don't have any."
"But you took a risk with Damon," Elena replied. "How did you know he was going to give us the device?"
"Not you," Isobel corrected, looking at Blair. "Her. And why? Because he's in love with her."
Blair tried very hard not to look at Damon in that moment, but she failed. Their eyes locked and it just confirmed what Blair already figured. Isobel was right, he was in love with her and if she was being honest...she was still in love with him as well.
Isobel handed out her hand for the device that Elena handed over with a sigh. "Thank you," Elena said with anger yet sincerity. "Thank you for being a monumental disappointment. It keeps the memory of my real mother perfectly intact."
Isobel got what she came for so no more words were needed to be exchanged. All she said before departing was, "Good Elena, Blair." And on that note, she and her little compelled minions walked away.
After she left, Elena was clearly upset. Stefan came over to comfort her while Blair started to walk over to Damon. He didn't stick around though. After looking at Blair once more, he too left the square and even though Blair knew she wasn't...she felt completely alone.
The girls went home and Blair sat outside Jeremy's room while Elena was talking to him. After awhile, she came out and looked at her. "Talk to him," Elena almost demanded then walked off into her room.
Blair sighed, hating that Jeremy knew about all of this and hated even more that she led him straight to Elena's diary. It was nagging at her ever since that night of the party but it was too late. The cat was out of the bag. Forcing herself to her feet, Blair went into Jeremy's room and closed the door behind her.
"Jeremy..." Blair started hesitantly, "We need to talk."
"I don't have anything to say to you," Jeremy replied. "Except for what I just told Elena. Get out."
"No, Jeremy. I'm not going anywhere not until you hear what I have to say." Blair was firm with her words and walked right up to him, almost getting into his face. "You know about vampires? Fine. You know the gist about the night Vicki died? Okay. But I highly doubt there was anything in there about me or why I wanted you to be compelled." Jeremy was about to speak and Blair quickly shot up a finger to shush him. "I. Am. Not. Done."
Blair took a breath to compose herself then explained, "Long story short, a long time ago I was cursed. Every time I die, I am reborn as a baby in a whole new life with all of my memories. Technically I have been alive for centuries, and that's even putting it lightly. Keeping that in mind, that night when Vicki died...I...I saw your face. It was the mirror of another from a long time ago. The loss, the despair...it terrified me. I thought you were...I was afraid you were going to take your life Jeremy. I couldn't go through that again. I couldn't lose someone I loved like that again. So Damon took away your pain. Was that selfish? Suppose it depends on who you ask but I don't regret it. Not one bit."
Jeremy took deep breaths to control his temper. "Blair, just get out...please."
"Fine," Blair replied and walked out of his room. She said her piece and now it was up to him to do something with it. If he hated her, so be it. At least he was alive.
Blair was about to pull down the ladder to the attic when suddenly she stopped mid reach. She couldn't get what Isobel said out of her head and it was driving her crazy. Blair had always needed to hear things for herself so that's what she intended to do. Before she could change her mind, she ran down the stairs and right out the door. In fact, she ran all the way to the Salvatore's house.
Without even knocking, she went right inside the boarding house and straight into the living room. Damon was at the drink cart pouring himself a glass. "Say it," Blair stood in the doorway as she spoke.
Damon looked at her confused. "You're going to have to be a bit more specific," he answered with a bit of snark.
"If what Isobel said is true, say it," Blair clarified without coming right out and saying it herself.
Damon, being Damon, drew this out. He sauntered over to her and said, "Now what difference would it make? You're clearly with that Donovan character and that's not going to change, so what's the point?" After downing his drink, he added, "Not that I'm saying she was right."
Blair nodded, "You're right. It's not going to change anything between me and Matt." She let that hang in the air for a moment but looked at Damon with softened eyes. "Say it." Her voice was barely above a whisper.
He set the glass down and walked right up to her. "I love you. Is that what you want to hear? Those three words that rip my heart out because I can't be with you? There, you have them. I love you. I love you so much that I am willing to let you go so you can live your life with some other guy. You've done something to me, Blair. Whatever you've done is keeping me from snapping his neck so I can have you all to myself."
Blair reached out to Damon and put her hands on the sides of his face. "I love you too, Damon. That will never go away. I need to see this life through. Give me this one and I will see you in the next." Blair softly pressed her lips against his with tear filled eyes then whispered, "Goodbye, Damon." Before anything else could be exchanged between the pair, Blair ran out of the house, all the while hoping that she decision she made...was worth it.
End Episode 21