Bad Moon Rising
"You're sick," Jenna said, evidently not believing Jessica. "Again. You went to the carnival last night and you were just fine."
"Well, it's come back," Jessica replied. She fake-coughed. "See? I'm sick."
Jenna folded her arms. "Oh really? So, is Matt sick too, then? What's going on between you two, Jess? You seem really close."
She shook her head frantically. "Nothing. Nothing. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Nothing!" she insisted. Jenna gave her a look of disbelief and Jessica sighed. "Fine. Something. I don't know what it is, but since yesterday at the carnival... I've been having..." She put her hand beside her mouth as if telling a huge secret and whispered "...feelings."
Jenna laughed. "Feelings?" Her niece glared at her. The college student raised her hands defensively. "Hey, I'm just saying, but isn't he with Caroline?"
Jessica plopped back onto her bed and hugged her pillow. "Yes. He is. And I don't want to give Caroline anymore reasons to hate me."
"What did you do?" Jenna asked, obviously not caught up on the situation.
Oh, I only turned her into a vampire.
"I did something," Jessica said. "And it was really, really bad and she's probably never going to trust me again and she's going to hate me forever."
Jenna sat down beside Jessica. "No. No she's not. I know things might seem huge right now, but in ten more years you guys are going to laugh about whatever it is you did. Unless you slept with Matt. Did you sleep with Matt?"
Jessica laughed. "No, I didn't sleep with Matt."
She smiled. "Then you should be fine."
Stefan and Bonnie were sitting at a table in the Grill. He was given the impossible task of persuading Bonnie to give Caroline and Jessica daylight rings.
"I don't know how to make a day-walking ring," Bonnie said.
"Emily made mine," Stefan told her. "She made Damon's too, instructions must be in the grimoire."
Bonnie still wasn't sure she could do it. "That doesn't mean I can cast the spell."
"Bonnie, you know how to drop vampires with a single look, okay?" Stefan gave her a small smile. "I think you can figure it out."
"Jessica killed someone, Stefan," Bonnie stated. "And she turned Caroline-"
"Katherine manipulated her, Bonnie."
"I know that," she continued. "But there's a large chance that Katherine's going to manipulate and threaten her again and who's it going to be next? I can't make it easier for her to kill someone."
"No, we're not making it easier for her," Stefan argued. "We're just giving her the chance to survive. Listen, every day that she's cut off from her old life: from you, from Elena, from her family, it'll make It that much harder for her to hold on to her humanity. Same for Caroline."
"And how do you know she won't hurt anyone else?" she asked. "How do you know that Caroline isn't going to kill someone because of one slip up?"
"I don't, but if we don't do everything we can to help them or at least trust the fact that they can keep it together, we might as well just stake the two of them right now," Stefan said.
Bonnie shook her head. "I don't know if I can trust her... I don't know if I can trust either of them! Not with this."
"Then trust me."
Jessica was playing with her new ring. It was ugly, just like Damon's had been, but it kept her from burning.
The curtain's were wide open for the first time in what seemed like forever, and she could bathe in the sun. Stefan told her that they made a ring for Caroline too, and Jessica was happy that her life could return back to normal as well.
"She hates me, doesn't she?" Jessica said sadly.
Stefan looked pitifully at Jessica. "She's angry, just like you are, and she's channelling all that anger at you."
"But it's not my fault!" she insisted. "Katherine told me... she made me, I mean..." Jessica sighed. Her shoulders fell and she wore a look of utter despair. "I should have found a way."
"There was no other way, Jessica," Stefan said, sitting down beside her. "Katherine wanted Caroline as a vampire, and whatever Katherine wants, she gets."
Jessica was about to cry. "But it's not fair," she stated childishly.
Stefan placed a hand on her back. "I know, which is why we're going to find a way to get rid of her. But for now, we're going hunting."
Her head snapped over to look at Stefan. "Hunting? Like... people? Isn't that bad?"
He laughed. "No, not people. Animals."
"And what exactly am I supposed to do when I see the rabbit?" Jessica asked, dreading having to kill an innocent animal.
"Speed up to it, kill it, and then feed on it," Stefan answered.
Jessica groaned. "Why can't I have human blood?" she whined childishly. "You know, from a blood bag?"
"Because you might not be able to control your urges," he said. "Once you begin feeding from human blood, you mightn't be able to stop."
"But Damon can control his urges," Jessica insisted. "When he wants to," she added as an afterthought.
Damon seemed to have the skill and the ability to control his vampiric urges, he just didn't want to. Damon loved to kill and hurt people, which was why he was a monster in Jessica's eyes.
Stefan shook his head. "It takes years to master it," he responded. "I haven't even mastered control and I've been a vampire for over a century."
She felt the need to pout. "So, I have to feed on animals - innocent animals - for over a century?"
He nodded. "Yup."
She was acting childish, but Jessica wanted stomp and cry over the unfairness of the situation. Well, killing animals was better than murdering innocent humans.
"It sucks being a vampire," Jessica complained. "I mean, it looks so fun in Twilight. Their urges aren't even that bad and they have these cool super powers! And they don't burn in the sun, they sparkle! How is that fair?"
Stefan chuckled. "It's fiction, Jessica."
"I know, but still!" she exclaimed, throwing around her arms for emphasis. "It's not fair!" Stefan was laughing hysterically. He was laughing at her! Jessica folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing, nothing," he assured.
"No, go on," Jessica urged, with a look that would make even the oldest, strongest vampire wince.
"It just that..." Stefan began, tempted to stop, but one look from Jessica was enough to force him to continue. "It was the same with Caroline. Your personalities are amplified now that you're a vampire. For example: when I was a human I cared deeply for people, how they felt. If they were hurting I felt their pain and I felt guilty if I was the one who caused it and as a vampire all of that got… magnified."
Jessica's eyes widened. "Great. Just great," she said ruefully. "So now I'm a fussy, hot-headed, impulsive, insecure perfectionist by ten?"
Stefan chuckled. "Your response is so similar to Caroline's. You guys are a lot alike, you know."
Sighing, she sat on a stump of a tree. "It's always been like that. We were both as immature as the other, ever since kindergarten. We were best friends, and now she hates me."
The older vampire sat beside her. "Hey, hey," he cooed. "Don't say that. I'm sure Caroline will forgive you eventually."
Jessica scoffed. "Eventually. Maybe in a hundred years she'll forgive me."
"You've got to give her time," Stefan said. "She'll realise that it wasn't your fault and everything will be back to normal. Well, as normal as things can be when you're a vampire."
"Yeah," she agreed, melancholy dripping in her tone.
Stefan stood up and offered her his hand. "Come on. We're gonna hunt for an hour or two and then you can go to the party down at the watering hole."
She let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God."
Jessica pulled up to the watering hole. It amazed her how humans took the sun for granted. As a vampire, she was supposed to burn in the sun, but thanks to Bonnie's daylight ring, she was immune to death by sun.
She noticed Matt standing on his own, watching the rest of the teenagers in the water.
It was a warm day. Jessica smiled like an idiot as she got out of her car and approached Matt.
"Hey, Jess," Matt greeted with a smile.
"Hey, Matt," she replied. She gestured towards the water. "So, why aren't you with the rest of them?"
He pointed towards his cast. Jessica's mouth shaped an 'o'. She saw it last night, how could she had forgotten he injured his arm in the car accident? "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I forgot."
Matt laughed. "Yeah," he responded. "Unfortunately, it's not waterproof." Jessica laughed along with him. "You getting in the water?"
She shook her head. "I don't think I will. Not in the swimming mood today."
He quirked an eyebrow. "You're wearing a swimsuit underneath your dress," he pointed out.
Jessica looked down at her attire, despite being full aware of what she was wearing. "Oh, would you look at that?" she joked. "I am. Well, can't a girl change her mind?"
Matt grinned. "Hm... to swim or not to swim. That is the question."
Jessica raised an eyebrow. "Quoting Shakepeare? I didn't think you liked him very much."
She loved Matt. With him, she didn't have to pretend to be someone she wasn't. She didn't have to fake anything. If Jessica had to pick her favourite physical feature of Matt's, it would have to be his eyes. Even Bonnie commented on his baby blue eyes numerous times.
"Matt!"
She hadn't realised she had been staring until Caroline's screech interrupted them. Although, her interruption was, for once, welcomed.
"What the hell?" Matt exclaimed, recovering himself surprisingly quickly. "I've been calling you?"
"I know, I got held up but I'm here now." She shot Jessica a dirty look. "Anyway, it looks like you were just fine without me."
Her voice was sharp and bitter; it could easily cut steel. "Hey, Caroline," Jessica said sheepishly. giving her a small smile.
Caroline scoffed and folded her arms. Matt looked between them, bewildered. "Did something happen?"
Jessica shook her head. "No, no. Nothing happened-"
"I think you should go find someone single to stalk," Caroline demanded sternly, once again giving Jessica a look that would frighten Voldemort.
"Caroline!" Matt reprimanded.
"No, it's fine," Jessica said. "I'll go. See you, Matt."
She turned around and walked away. "Seriously?" Matt exclaimed to Caroline.
"She was flirting with you," the vampire insisted firmly.
Matt rolled his eyes. "She's harmless. You don't have to be rude."
"You're mad?" Caroline asked.
He scoffed. "You've been dodging my calls all day and you get to show up here and be the jealous girlfriend. It's kind of lame, Care."
Matt stormed away from her.
Jessica poured some punch into a glass. It was red. Why did everything red make her think of blood? She imagined it was beautiful, creamy blood and downed it. Anything tasted a whole lot better with a bit of imagination.
Stefan joined her and poured himself a glass of punch. "Things not going well with Caroline?"
She scoffed. "You were listening to the entire conversation, weren't you?"
He smiled. "It'll get better. She'll forgive you. Despite what Caroline might be portraying right now, she has a big heart. And you're her best friend. She can't hate you forever."
"Sure she can," Jessica said. "And she will. Did you see the way she looked at me? I'm the reason she's a vampire, Stefan. If I had found some way to... to fix it - to avoid this - she would still be human. It's all my fault."
His smile became sympathetic as he observed her. She was the image of Elena and Katherine, but she was different to both of them. She had a strange sense of innocence about her, and an ignorance that had been shattered. He remembered the girl he met on his first day at Mystic High. The girl who wanted nothing more than to look pretty and be popular. Looking at her now, he realised that girl was long gone.
"Sometimes, we do bad things when we have only good intentions," Stefan told her. "You wanted to protect your family. Katherine didn't give you much of a choice, Jessica."
"Do you think I picked the right one?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I don't know. But I do know that everything you did was out of love. Nothing can be wrong when love is involved."
Jessica looked at Caroline. She was upset, and all that Jessica wanted was to run over to her and give her a hug. If Caroline's transformation was going as badly as hers, she would definitely need it.
"I think you're wrong," she said. She put her glass on the table and walked off.
The forest was large and creepy. Jessica knew that she shouldn't be wandering off alone, but she was a vampire now. Nobody could hurt her. Not like they could before.
Of course, she was completely at Katherine's mercy. And Damon's. There was a certain sense of freedom about being a vampire. Her speed had increased, and she loved running through the woods. Here, she was free.
Her phone rang. She reached into her pocket and flipped it open. Stefan. He was probably worried about her. Everyone's afraid that I'm going to go off the edge. Nobody realises that I already have.
She was being pathetic and selfish, and she ignored Stefan's call. A wolf howled from somewhere near. She looked around, but she could see no wolves, only bristling branches. Her heart pounded in her chest.
"Hello?" she called out. "Is anyone there?"
No one answered. The wolf howled again, sending a shiver down Jessica's spine. She told herself that she was being silly. There was nothing out there, and the wolf was probably miles away.
But he wasn't.
A wolf, with grey and white fur, crept towards her, his eyes glaring. She backed away and held out her hand. "Good, doggy," she cooed. "Good, doggy."
The animal growled and snapped his jaw. A whimper escaped her lips. This isn't the time for being a scaredy cat, she reminded herself. She took a deep breath and sped away, but the wolf was just as quick as she was.
She hadn't heard of a wolf that was as fast as a vampire. She raced for miles, trying to lose the fearsome wolf, but his stamina was brilliant. She was growing tired and wanted to collapse.
The wolf jumped on her. She tried to pull him off her, but he was too strong. He scratched her shoulder, leaving a wound, and ripped her clothing. He beared his teeth, displaying a pair of terrifying fangs. She struggled beneath him, but she couldn't get out.
There was a small branch a feet from her left. She reached for it, but it was out of her grasp. The wolf was about to bite her and rip her head off, that small branch was her only hope. Her fingers touched it, and she rolled the branch closer to her before grabbing it.
With one strike, she got the wolf off her. His ear was bleeding and for a moment, she felt sorry for the animal. She raced away from him, knowing that if she stayed, she would be dead in seconds.
Her breathing was rapid as she sunk onto the floor, her back supported by the trunk of a tree. She clutched her chest. It was frightening how easily she could have died that night. The wolf was only one movement away from ripping her head off.
How could she have been so foolish? Maybe that was what Stefan was calling her about. And she had ignored him.
"Jessica!" someone shouted. "Jessica!"
The voice was coming closer and she eventually recognised it as Stefan's. She stood on shaky legs and walked towards him.
He breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw her. "You're alive," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder and inspecting her ripped clothing. "Was it the wolf...?"
She nodded. "He came out of nowhere. I... Is that what you were calling me about? The wolf?"
"Elena, Damon and Alaric found some useful information," he said. "I'll tell you about it in the car."
He led her to his car, which was only a few feet away. He told her about the werewolves, the sun and moon curse and the lethality of a werewolf bite to a vampire. Guilt flooded through her. If she had answered Stefan's call, she could have avoided the whole incident. Stefan had risked his life by coming into the forest to find her.
"I'm sorry," she said after a few moments of silence. "I didn't mean to run off... or to have you risking your life by following me. I'm so sorry."
He smiled kindly at her and laid a hand on hers. "Don't worry. I'm fine, and so are you."
She gave him a smile back. He parked in front of her house and walked her to the porch. All of her wounds had healed and the only indication of her attack was her ripped jeans and top.
Elena answered the door. Suddenly, Jessica was strangled by her brown hair. She didn't return the hug. She was still mad at Elena, and it wasn't about to change anytime soon.
"I was so worried," she gushed once she had let Jessica go. "What if the wolf had gotten you? Are you alright?"
She rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. I'm going upstairs to get a shower." She turned to Stefan and smile. "Thank you, Stefan. For everything."
He nodded to her and she rushed off upstairs. Elena sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "She still hates me," she stated, tears welling in her eyes. "My sister actually, properly hates me. I'm sure she blames me for the fact that she's a vampire. And maybe it is my fault. I should have told her sooner, and I shouldn't have allowed Damon to compel her memories away."
"She won't hate you forever," he assured her. "I don't think anyone could hate you forever."
Elena smiled and let him wrap his arms around her, kissing the crown of her head.
The amount of alcohol she was consuming lately was worrying. Everything was falling apart for her, so she turned to alcohol. She wasn't even of age yet, and she drinking alcohol.
Matt wouldn't serve her. No matter how many times she begged him.
"Please, Matt!" Jessica pleaded, grabbing his hand so he couldn't leave her. "I need alcohol!"
"I can't serve you," he said. "I can't serve anyone. I'd be fired if anyone caught me."
She cheekily winked at him. "But nobody will catch you."
He chuckled. "It also doesn't help that your already drunk," he said. "Aunt Jenna's stash?" Jessica nodded and Matt shook his head disapprovingly, though he had a smile on his face. "She's going to notice someday, you know."
Jessica waved her hand dismissively. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. But right now, I want more alcohol. And Jenna came home so I can't have anymore. I need alcohol, Matt. I've had a suckish day, and by suckish I mean suckish."
Matt let out a sigh and sat next to her. "So have I. But do you see me getting wasted? No."
"Because you decided to become Mr. Responsible Guy," Jessica teased, pushing him slightly. Her good humour died quickly. Even alcohol wasn't making her happy. "We grew up too early. Only a few months ago we were sneaking out to parties and doing the dirty in the back of a truck. What happened?"
"Your parents died, my sister died and my mother left me," he said sadly.
She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You're mom's a bitch," she gently said.
Matt laughed. "Yeah. She is."
Jessica heard footsteps marching up to them. She turned around and saw Caroline, looking furious and ready to kill her. Caroline glanced at her hand on Matt's shoulder and Jessica removed it quickly, looking down at the floor sheepishly.
"Seriously, Jessica?" she scoffed. "I thought you were my friend!"
"I am your friend!" Jessica insisted. "Matt and I were just talking."
Caroline rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's what you call it?"
Matt looked at Caroline with exasperation and slight fury. "Are you kidding me?" he exclaimed.
"No, I'm not, Matt," Caroline said. "She's into you and anyone can see it. And you're into her. You always have been!" Tears filled her eyes. "And you always will be, won't you?"
Jessica touched Caroline's arm. "Caroline, don't..."
"No!" she yelled, flinching away from her. "I don't want your comfort. Why can't you just leave me alone? After all that you've done to me, can you just give me that?"
It was supposed to be pretend, but Caroline knew it was more than that. Everything she wanted to say to the both of them was pouring out of her mouth and she couldn't stop it. All of her previous insecurities had resurfaced. She couldn't hold them in anymore.
"Caroline, please."
"Get out," Caroline whispered seethingly. "Now."
She stared at her once best friend, not believing a word she was saying. She knew things were bad, but she hadn't expected things to be as bad as they were. Caroline didn't seem likely to ever forgive her.
Jessica stood and, with one last look at Caroline, left the Grill.
Matt was glaring at Caroline. "This isn't my fault, Matt, okay?" Caroline said. "You two are into each other. I know it. So I'm going to give you a choice. Me or her."
His eyes widened. "Caroline, what the...?"
"Choose," she ordered. "If you choose Jessica, then you can be with her, but you won't have me. If you choose me, then you can never speak to that tramp ever again."
Matt shook his head. "You're being crazy."
"No, I'm not," Caroline maintained. "Do you know what it's like? To live in her shadow? I've tried to be a good girlfriend to you, but I've always felt like I was never enough, because I wasn't her. Prove to me that I was. Prove me wrong."
He couldn't choose. "You said that there wasn't going to be anymore drama," he reminded.
She gave him a sad smile. "I suppose it comes in a package when you have me."
"I don't want that," Matt said and Caroline's face fell. "I don't want a jealous girlfriend who forbids me from seeing my friends. I don't want any drama. I want-"
"You want her," Caroline finished, tears swelling in her green eyes. "You've always wanted her. Did you ever want me? Did you ever love me more than her?"
It hurt more than she could put into words. It was what she wanted, it was what she planned, but it still hurt. She had some foolish hope that he would choose her. That, despite everything, he loved her more than Jessica. Of course she was going to be wrong.
Matt swallowed back a giant lump in his throat. "No," he said quietly.
He stood up and left her, tear streaming down her cheeks. Matt had never felt so heartless, and Caroline had never felt so alone.
Author's Note: Matt and Caroline have broken up, and Matt has feelings for Jessica. Jessica is furious with Elena, and Caroline hates Jessica, now more than ever. Poor Caroline! Everything bad seems to happen to her lately! She's one of my favourite characters though, and I thought this scene in the show was brilliant. It shows how selfless she's become.
What would you like to happen next? Leave your suggestions in a review!