A/N: Hey you! :) Thank you so much to those who reviewed the last chapter, it really means a lot to me guys! Also, thank you to those who have put me and/or this story on alert/favorite! I really means a lot to be acknowledged in such a way!
Now though, back to this chapter! It's a bit shorter than the last couple of chapters have been, but I do hope you like it anyway!
If you want to see Steffy's outfit for the carnival, please check out my tumblr page and then move on by clicking on the link where I've posted the news that I've updated! ;)
Disclaimer: I still own nothing... I just felt like reminding you... If I did, the show would have played out a bit differently!
Enjoy!
Chapter 24 – Brave New World
"No!" I screamed, sitting up straight in the bed. Looking around, trying to catch my breath, I saw Elena standing by the bathroom door with her toothbrush in her mouth. She was looking at me wide eyed before she went to the bathroom to rinse to toothpaste away. When she got back into the room, she sat down on the bed next to me.
"A nightmare?" she asked and I nodded, closing my eyes, willing my heart rate to slow down. "Do you want to talk about it?" Her tone was sincere but I honestly didn't want to talk about it, so I just shook my head. "Okay," she said, standing up to get dressed.
I stood up and got into the bathroom and brushed my own teeth, once again thinking about the nightmare. It was Caroline, just as last time. She was screaming and begging for me to save her, but I just couldn't find her in time. Shuddering, I took a quick shower, dried myself off with the towel Jenna had gotten me and finally got dressed, wearing some simple jeans and a shirt I had borrowed from Elena.
After checking on Jeremy, Elena and I got into her car and drove to school, where we would be preparing for the carnival that was being held to raise money for the school. Caroline had given me strict orders to not mess up and I wanted to do this for her, thinking that this could be the first step to that normal life I wanted for myself and her.
As we arrived to the school, Elena and I separated since I wanted to call the hospital to check up on Caroline. Elena didn't bother asking me about my dream again, and I was actually glad to avoid the subject.
"Hello, Mystic Falls Hospital, how may I help you?" one of the nurses asked as she picked up the phone. I had called directly to the department where Caroline's room was.
"Yes, hi," I greeted. "My name is Stephanie Blake and I wanted to check up on my cousin, Caroline Forbes?"
"Yes, Miss Forbes is resting at the moment," the nurse informed me. "Would you like me to deliver a message?" She sounded sweet on the phone; almost a little too sweet.
"Could you tell her that I can't come visit her today, please?" I asked.
"I'll tell her as soon as she wakes up," the nurse said, sounding as if she wanted to end this phone call as soon as possible. Maybe she was busy? But wasn't it her job to answer the phone?
"Was everything okay over the night?" the nurse sighed at my question.
"Everything was fine Miss Blake. Miss Forbes has been sleeping soundly and hasn't woken up yet. I checked on her ten minutes ago and everything was fine," she said.
"Okay, thank you," I said, looking around once to see where Elena had gone. "I'm sorry for bothering you, I guess I was just worried."
"It's alright Miss Blake. It's my job," the nurse said, sounding chirpy again. "You have a nice day and I'll deliver your message to Caroline."
"Thank you," I said. "You have a nice day as well." I hung up the phone and put it back in my jean-pocket before walking off to find Elena or Bonnie.
Knowing that Caroline was asleep didn't really make me feel any better for some reason. I was still worried that something might happen to her because I wasn't there to protect her. Although, I did know that it was impossible for me to keep an eye on her every second o every day, it still would have made me feel much better if I had gotten the chance to talk to her myself. Nevertheless, I decided that she was probably still asleep because of exhaustion. Right now all I needed to do was make this carnival the best carnival ever, for Caroline's sake, because she deserved it.
I met up with Bonnie as I went to get some plush animals for some of the games and we talked a bit about Caroline's recovery. It didn't take long until Bonnie turned to conversation to Katherine, who had almost attacked her at Mayor Lockwood's wake.
"She looked just like Elena," Bonnie said as she checked off plush from the list she carried. "It was really freakish, you know?
"I know, I've seen her too, but at the moment I didn't know it was her," I told Bonnie, who nodded.
"Yeah, Elena told me about the mix-up," she said. "I'm sorry about Damon, even though you know how I feel about him."
"There's no need to be sorry," I said, trying to smile, even if it hurt. "Damon and I were friends and now were not. I'm done with him."
"Steffy, there's no point in denying that you have feelings for him," Bonnie argued. "I don't like him, but I know that you did. Otherwise, you wouldn't have said the things you said at Founder's Day-"
"Can we change the subject?" I snapped. "Please?" I continued, a bit softer after seeing Bonnie's face.
"Okay," Bonnie agreed. "Back to Elena and Katherine then; freakish."
I nodded, picking up an empty can on the ground and throwing it into a trashcan. "I think I read something in my Grimoarie about something called doppelgängers," I told Bonnie. "It could be relevant to all of this."
"Really?" Bonnie asked. "What did it say about them?"
"Honestly, I just saw the word in a passage as I flipped the pages to look for a protection spell, but I can try to read into it and tell you what I find so you can do some research yourself?" I suggested. "I just don't want to get mixed up in all of this again."
"Yeah," Bonnie said. "Elena told me that Stefan told her that you had said that you want nothing more to do with vampires and the secret world we live in."
"Is there anything that Elena hasn't told you?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow at her.
"She hasn't told me how you're feeling after everything that has happened," Bonnie said, looking at me expectantly.
How does one answer to that? Should I be honest and tell her that there is a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that makes it feel like everything is about to come crashing down on me? That I'm worried, because my nightmares are returning and I keep dreaming about Caroline dying? Or that ever since I started avoiding Damon, no matter how angry and hurt I am because of him, it feels as if something is missing?
I cleared my throat and smiled at Bonnie. "I'm okay," I said, not really knowing I I was trying to convince her or myself. "Dealing with everything is just a bit tiring."
She didn't look fully convinced, but nodded anyway. "Okay then," she said. "We've checked off the plush and now we need to see if the T-shirts have arrived," she explained, looking down at her list. "I talked to Elena earlier and she told me to check a few things off before meeting up with her again. Do you have something to do?"
"I was supposed to help pitch the tents for some of the games, but it looks like they already did that," I said, looking over at the colorful shelters. "I'll just go see if Elena can give me something else to do. Something like, arrange the stuffed animals in alphabetic order," I grinned and Bonnie laughed.
"I think you've been spending too much time with your cousin lately," she joked.
"Well, she is also my housemate, but you might be right," I winked before going to look for Elena.
I found her by the popcorn machines, helping with some cables that weren't working. It didn't take long for her to give up and let me try it instead and I looked at the cables intently for a moment, before performing a spell to untangle them discretely. As they started untangling, I pretended to pull at them so that it wouldn't look suspicious, but for some reason, the cables stopped untangling half way. I frowned, trying the spell again, but it didn't work this time.
Deciding to dismiss this, just like I had with Caroline's new sleeping schedule, I untangled the rest of the lines myself.
"The tents are already up, Elena," I told her as I stood next to her to look down her list, flexing my fingers because of the numbness I suddenly felt in them. "Is there something else I can take care of?"
Elena looked at me warily before speaking. "I think we've got it all taken care of," she told me. "Why don't you head home and get some rest? You tossed and turned quite a bit last night."
"I'm not tired, Elena," I said dismissively. "I want to make this all good for Caroline."
"I know that," Elena nodded, "but it doesn't change the fact that what happened last night was traumatic for you."
She was referring to how Damon had snapped Jeremy's neck after I had refused him. "You were also there, Elena," I told her. "Why don't you go home and rest?"
"Because I need this," she tried but I rolled my eyes at her.
"And I don't?"
She sighed deeply and shot me a look. "Steffy, it's not just about Damon killing Jeremy," she whispered as she took a step closer to me. "It's also about Damon trying to pressure you into admitting that you like him-"
"You know what?" I interrupted. "You and Bonnie seem to have all of this under control. Maybe it's better if I just go home and get ready for tonight." I offered her a sarcastic smile.
"Are you saying this just to avoid talking about what happened last night?" she asked.
"Yes," I admitted, still smiling. "Believe me when I tell you that I don't need to talk about it. It's forever burned into my brain."
She gave me a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry for bringing it up then," she told me and embraced me with one arm, still holding onto her clipboard.
"It's okay," I said. "I'll call you later, okay?"
"Okay," she agreed. "Hear from you later."
"Bye." I turned around and walked off. Since I didn't have my car with me, I walked home in silence. Halfway home, I stopped to try a simple spell that would make the wind pick up slightly, but it didn't work. Once again, I flexed my fingers and looked over them. My hands looked pale and for a second, I wondered if Elena had been right. Perhaps my lack of sleep these last few nights had caused my magical abilities to falter?
-Deffy-
After getting home, I checked for something to eat in the fridge, but there wasn't much there since neither aunt Liz nor I had been home much lately. I wasn't really hungry anyway.
Shrugging out of my jacket, I ran upstairs and took out my training outfit. A run outside would probably do me good. When I was halfway with getting my training bra on, my phone started ringing. I pulled it up only to see Matt's name on the screen.
He told me he had gone to see Caroline at the hospital, but that she had been acting really strange. Once again, I thought back to the phone call I had made earlier today and the way the nurse had sounded off. The memories of my dream weren't exactly making things any better. I shrugged it off, not wanting to worry Matt, and told him that it was probably the medication she was taking. He laughed and agreed, but told me that he was still worried about her and I told him not to be, because she would be out of the hospital in a day or two.
When I finally got out on the street and started running, music was blasting through my ears so loud that I wasn't allowing myself to think at all. I was trying to block everything out and keep all the problems in. Running through the neighborhood, through the park and past the old Lockwood grounds, I felt myself starting to relax a bit. My heart was beating fast and my blood was rushing through my body as I started running faster, pushing my limits. As I ran past the Lockwood grounds, I rounded a corner and suddenly felt myself get knocked to the ground. I winced as I felt my knee scrape against the pavement and my left elbow started bleeding a bit.
"Ouch," I mumbled, taking out my ear buds to look up at the person who had knocked me over, only to see Tyler.
"Steffy?" he asked, his eyes widening. "I'm so sorry," he said, offering me a hand up immediately. I took it and stood. His hand stayed in mine just a moment longer as he kept talking. "I rounded the corner and I didn't see you," he explained, sweat dripping down his face.
"It's okay, Tyler," I smiled, seeing Mason jog up behind him.
"Everything okay here?" the older Lockwood asked, giving me a once over. I was wearing my usual training leggings and my sports bra. His eyes locked on Tyler's hand that was still holding mine and I quickly let go, happy that I was probably red in the face from running already, which didn't allow the blush to show.
"Yeah," I said, brushing my knees off and checking my elbow. "Everything is fine."
Tyler looked at his hand and then at me, a slight blush appearing on his own face as he cleared his throat, forcing himself to put his walls up again. "So you're running," he pointed out, running a hand through his hair. I glanced at Mason, who was grinning because of his nephews embarrassment.
"I was, before you knocked me over," I laughed and he chuckled slightly, seeing that I wasn't mad.
"Sorry about that," he said.
"Yeah, we were competing and I let Tyler run ahead a bit, so he wouldn't be so sad when I caught up to him," Mason joked, causing Tyler to smack his arm and roll his eyes.
"I bet I could beat both of you if I wasn't injured," I grinned at Mason, winking once. His eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief at my playful tone.
"I'd like to see that," he said.
"Maybe some other time," I smiled. "I need to get home and get washed up. Maybe clean up this mess," I said, motioning to my elbow again.
"Yeah, you should," Tyler agreed, catching my attention again. "Hey..." he trailed off for a moment. "Are you going to the carnival tonight?" he asked and I nodded.
"Yes, I am," I told him. "I need to be there anyway to check I everything went as planned. Strict orders from Caroline," I joked and he chuckled lightly.
"What do you say about a game of Skee-ball?" Tyler suggested and I raised an eyebrow at him. Was he...asking me out? "A friendly game, of course," he added, seeing my look. "I mean, you are injured after all, so it wouldn't be fair otherwise, am I right?" He motioned to my elbow, which wasn't hurting anymore.
"Sure," I told him. "But injury or not, be ready to lose tonight," I winked. "I'm a master at Skee-ball." Once again, I glanced at Mason, who winked at me.
"I would love to see you beat the crap out of Tyler at Skee-ball," he told me, that glint o mischief still there. I could feel myself blush and offered him a small smile before telling them I needed to go. They said good bye and ran off, apparently still competing, but Mason was way ahead of Tyler this time. I shook my head, laughing slightly as I started my music again before running home.
-Deffy-
It was already dark outside when I arrived at the carnival. I had taken my time getting ready, putting on a pair of jeans and a simple shirt, but paired them with a pair of black high-heeled boots that Caroline had bought me once when she visited her dad. My hair was still damp from my shower but was starting to dry up, causing it to become naturally wavy. I wore a black beanie and walked slowly through the crowds of people enjoying themselves. I had been at the carnival for about five minutes when I saw Jeremy buying popcorn. Hurriedly, I walked over to him, hoping to speak to him alone for a moment to see how he was doing. I hadn't really talked to him since Damon killed (it still hurt to think about it) him.
At the same time as I approached him however, I saw another figure doing so too. The two of us stopped just a few meters away from Jeremy and glared at each other. It was the first I had seen of him all day, which surprised me. Usually, when the two of us weren't on speaking terms, he would follow me around like a lost puppy and try to get me to talk to him, much like he had done at Mayor Lockwood's wake. Now though, Damon seemed to be avoiding me, just as much as I was avoiding him. Perhaps it was because we both knew there was no way for us to just go back to the way things were, or it could be because the last time I saw him, he tried to forcefully get me to admit that I loved him, and then proceeded to kill one of my friends when I refused to.
Damon finally averted his gaze from me and turned toward Jeremy, who was still buying popcorn. How long had we even looked at each other? It had felt like ages. As Damon smirked, I felt my own stomach drop. He would do something bad, I just knew it.
He approached Jeremy again and grinned at the kid. "Jeremy, it's so good to see you alive," I heard him say, just as I walked up to them.
"Aren't you a little old for a high school carnival?" Jeremy mocked.
Damon's eyes only glinted with mischief as his eyes met with mine for a brief moment. "A hundred and fifty years too old," he joked lamely.
"You're pretty funny cracking jokes when I could, I don't know, blow the whole lid off this thing by telling someone what you really are," Jeremy threatened.
"Jer, stop," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at me when I motioned for him to come with me. As we started walking away however, Damon caught up to us and grabbed Jeremy, pulling him away from the crowd, ignoring me completely as I told him to let him go. I hurried after the two of them, now cursing my unpractical boots that were certainly not made for running after emo-teenagers and grumpy old vampires.
"Please tell me that that is not a threat," Damon smirked at Jeremy.
"Maybe it is," Jeremy defied. Taking his hand up, Jeremy showed Damon the Gilbert ring that he was wearing.
"Jeremy," I began, but froze when Damon suddenly spun Jeremy around and held him in a choking grip. "Damon, stop!" I yelled, but the vampire ignored me.
"This is what we're not gonna do," he began, his voice low and dangerous. "We're not gonna walk around like we are invincible when it's this easy for me to end you," he said, releasing Jeremy who gasped for air as I clutched to his shirt, glaring at Damon. "If you want to tell people what I really am, go ahead and try," he continued, holding up Jeremy's ring, which he had managed to steal from him. "I will shove this ring so far up your ass, you'll really have something to choke on," he finished, throwing the ring at the ground in front of me and Jeremy. I let go of him and glared at Damon as I took a step forward.
"Leave him alone," I snapped. "Back off before I hurt you."
Damon glared at me before taking a step forward, getting into my space. His dark gaze quickly turned into a devilish smirk. "You keep saying how you want out, even though you are still so clearly in," he mocked me.
"I will always protect those who need protecting," I told him, holding my head high. He looked at me for another moment, but before he had the chance to reply, I turned to Jeremy. "You, get out of here and stay away from him." My order clearly got through because he turned around without protest before turning around and walking away. I turned back to Damon and glared a little more, but before I had a chance to say anything else, Tyler showed up.
"Hey, Steffy," he grinned. "You made it. I've been looking for you everywhere... Am I interrupting something?" he asked after receiving a glare from Damon.
I smiled at him though, trying to hide the fact that he actually had interrupted something that could have escalated into a very dangerous situation if it had gotten out of hand. "No, you're not," I said.
"In that case, how about that game?" Tyler asked, not fully ignoring Damon's glare.
"Yes, let's go play," I said, turning to smirk at Damon, before walking off with Tyler. I don't even know why I had smirked at him, but I suppose it was because I wanted to show him that I could in fact have fun without him.
-Deffy-
"Are you and Damon still together?" Tyler asked me as he threw a ball and missed the hole he had been aiming at.
I frowned at him before throwing the ball, watching it fall through the hole perfectly. "Me and Damon aren't, nor have we ever been together," I told him. "We were just friends, but now we're not even that... Why do you ask?"
"Just trying to get to know you, I guess," Tyler said. "It's nice knowing that I won't have to watch out for some boyfriend who doesn't like me hanging out with you though." He threw another ball and hit one of the holes. We were taking turns throwing.
"Don't worry, I'll tell you if my ex ever comes to town," I joked, throwing my ball next, hitting my target again.
"Why didn't you tell me you were good at Skee-ball?" Tyler asked when he missed again.
"Why didn't you tell me you sucked at it?" I mocked. "I thought you might actually be a challenge, but turns out I was wrong," I grinned, getting my last ball into the hole with most points. "Yes!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air as the man at the stand told me I had won. Tyler groaned as the man pulled out three plush animals for me to chose from.
"Who won?" Mason asked as he arrived at the scene.
"Do you even have to ask?" I grinned as Tyler pointed at me.
Mason grinned back, "Honestly, I'm not even surprised," he laughed, earning a solid glare from Tyler. I turned back to look at the prizes: a monkey, a tiger and a wolf.
"I like the wolf," Mason commented, but I still picked the monkey, giving it to Tyler who raised an eyebrow at me.
"What's this?" he asked, holding the monkey up and waving it lightly.
"A cancellation prize," I winked, causing Mason to laugh.
"Thank you," Tyler muttered, but soon a smile appeared on his lips as well. "Maybe you should give it to Caroline though. As a get well present instead," he suggested, handing it back to me.
"As long as I get to tell her how I kicked your ass at Skee-ball, I don't really care what we do with the monkey," I grinned.
"Hey, guys," Mason interrupted. "The reason I came to find you was because of this arm-wrestling game taking place in one of the tents. Thought Tyler might need a way to win back his manliness."
Tyler glared at the two of us as we laughed and for a moment, I actually found myself thinking how nice it was, to at least be able to pretend that I was normal.
"Not that I need to win back anything," Tyler said, "but let's go!" He hurried off in the direction of the tent Mason had pointed at, leaving me and Mason behind. We walked together toward the tent but Mason stopped me before we could enter.
"Hey, I wanted to ask you something," he said, his hand still on my upper arm.
"Ask away," I said, looking up at him. He seemed to be thinking his words through before actually speaking.
"Are you and Tyler dating?" he blurted out. I stared at him for a brief moment, my mouth opening before closing again as I shook my head.
"No, we're not," I told him.
"Are you sure? Because the two of you seem kind of close," he pointed out, clearly referring to the way we had acted by the Skee-ball game.
"Look," I said, "Tyler and I are just friends. Honestly, the two of us have never really hung out together before his dad died," I admitted, giving Mason an apologetic look as I mentioned his brother. "The thing is that my cousin told me that I should hang with Tyler because he and his best friend have been fighting and because she felt bad about him being alone through all of this. But me and Tyler dating? I'm sorry, Mason, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon because I just see him as a friend and honestly, he is kind of a player," I finished, earning a small smile from Mason.
"I appreciate your honesty," he said. "But does that mean that it's okay for me to make a move on you sometime?"
I couldn't help but laugh, once again getting that feeling of being normal in my mind. "I'll leave that for you to decide," I winked before entering the tent.
-Deffy-
I watched as Tyler beat opponent after opponent and cheered him on, like a normal friend would do.
"I do believe he got back his manliness," I whispered to Mason as he applauded. "Unless you can beat him?"
Mason quirked an eyebrow at me. "I think I'll pass and let him be in the limelight once," he said, but there was amusement in his eyes.
"Come on," I said, pushing him lightly. "He's one of the stars of the football team! He gets enough attention as it is!"
"I suppose you're right," Mason laughed. "I'm doing this for your entertainment," he winked before stepping up to the table after Tyler beat yet another opponent. I watched bemusedly as Mason sat down on the opposite side of the table and got ready to go up against Tyler.
"I bet I could beat you," Mason said, glancing over at me with a smirk on his face. I grinned back and watched as the two of them started their match. Less than ten seconds later, Mason had Tyler's arm down on the table and I clapped my hands excitedly as I laughed.
"Go Mason!" I called out and Tyler shook his head standing from the table.
"Okay, he's the champ," Tyler professed. "Who wants to go next?" he asked openly.
"Stefan wants to go," an icy voice replied and instantly chills rose on my skin. What the Hell was he doing here? I looked over at Damon and Stefan, who had apparently been standing there for quite some time watching the game. I shot Damon a look, asking him silently what he was doing here and if he had followed me, but he ignored it completely, his eyes flickering between me, Mason and Tyler.
"Yeah, sure," Stefan said. "I'll give it a shot." He sounded hesitant, but still stepped up to the table with a smile. I knew that with his vampire strength he would be able to beat Mason without even trying, but still clapped my hands to show interest in the game. I watched the game begin and after a while, Mason pushed Stefan's arm down and won the game. I smiled, knowing that Stefan must have let him win, but seeing the serious look on his face, told me something was wrong. I excused myself and walked over to the Salvatore brothers who were talking in a hushed whisper.
"Okay, what's going on?" I asked them, but Damon glared at me.
"It's no longer any of your concern," he said coldly. "So why don't you go hang out with your normal boyfriend over there instead?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "First of all, Mason isn't my boyfriend, and secondly, are you implying that he isn't normal?" I turned to Stefan, who had a torn look on his face. It was obvious that as much as he wanted to respect my wishes and keep me out of all their business, he felt the need to share some information with me at least.
"All you need to know right now is that I did try to beat Mason," Stefan said.
I let his words sink in for a moment before I spoke. "What exactly are you saying? That Mason beat you fair and square?"
"Well, if it had been fair and square, he wouldn't have beaten him, would he?" Damon asked. The annoyance in his tone was obvious. "Come with me Stefan," he said and started to make their way out when I grabbed Damon's elbow to stop him.
"Tell me what's going on," I demanded, ignoring how angry I was with him for a second.
He gave me a small smile and patted my head lightly. "Don't worry your pretty little head, Steffy," he told me. "I have your little boyfriend over there under control." He started walking away again, but I stopped him once more.
"That's exactly why I'm worried," I told him. It was the truth. Most of the time when Damon had something under control, it all went to hell one way or another. Or maybe that was because everything our small group of friends ever did always went to hell? Maybe Damon wasn't the issue at all...
He looked down at me curiously, and then at the hand I still had placed on his upper arm. Realizing that I was still holding onto him caused me to let go, almost as if I had been burned by him.
"You wanted out, Steffy," Damon reminded me once more. "This isn't you being out."
The way he had so sincerely said it bothered me. Why was he being so nice all of the sudden when he knew that I hated him and was mad at him?
"You're right," I said, taking a step back from him. "I'll leave you guys alone." I walked back to stand next to Tyler. Glancing back at the Salvatore's again, I saw something flash in Damon's eyes before he turned and walked out of the tent with Stefan. Something in my gut was telling me that something was off. I looked over at Mason who was winning game after game and then gazed at Tyler, who was standing by my side. The device had somehow affected Tyler, Mason had beat Stefan at an arm-wrestling-game, fair and square... Mayor Lockwood had also been affected by the device considering that he had been burned alive with the rest of the vampires. I looked over at Mason again, suspicion finally getting the best of me.
What was wrong with the Lockwood family?
-Deffy-
Half an hour later, I had excused myself from the Lockwood's, needing time to think things through. I wasn't ready to let go of having normal people around me, and if there truly was something off with Mason and Tyler, then it probably wouldn't take long for me to get all wrapped up in the supernatural again.
My phone let out a beep, which startled me. Taking it out, I looked at the text I had just received. It was from Damon and he was asking me where I was. I decided to ignore him, still needing time to think through the Lockwood thing and decide what should be my next move. Should I investigate it all by myself or should I stay out of it and hope that Damon and Stefan didn't find anything? Not that Stefan seemed to want to get involved in it at all, but Damon seemed pretty hellbent on proving to me that I couldn't be normal, because no one in this town was.
Another text arrived. Damon was once again demanding to know where I was and was telling me not to be stupid apparently. Next followed a call, which I still ignored. Three ignored calls later, Stefan tried his luck, but I ignored him as well, knowing that it was probably Damon on the other line anyway. Finally, when Elena tried calling me too, I groaned, realizing that they would never leave me alone unless I answered.
"What?" I snapped.
"Steffy, you need to hurry! Find Caroline! Damon is trying to kill her!" Elena said quickly, causing me to freeze.
"What?"
"Caroline was turned into a vampire," Elena explained, "and now Damon wants to kill her." I hung up the phone and stared at it as if it was the worst thing in the world. I had not needed that. It couldn't be true. It must have been some kind of misunderstanding... Caroline wasn't a vampire.
"No... No, no, no..." I whispered, feeling tears welling over in my eyes. "No, no, no!" I started running, letting my gut guide me. I followed the invisible string that was tugging at my heart, telling me where to turn and when to do it. Everything around me was shattering along with my heart as I remembered the nightmare I had had about Caroline. She was dead, sort of. She had died, much like she had in my dream, but had come back because of Damon's blood in her system.
I turned at a corner, only to see Damon embracing Caroline, who's face was covered in blood. I almost didn't see the dead body on top of the container when I saw Damon lifting a stake behind Caroline's back.
"Damon, no!" I screamed, running forward at the same time as Stefan appeared out of nowhere and pushed Damon away from Caroline.
"Stefan!" Damon protested, struggling to get the stake again. Elena and I ran to Caroline.
"Get away from me!" Caroline pushed, trying to get Elena's hands off of her. "You killed me!"
"No, Caroline," I tried to silence her, touching her face softly.
"No, no, no," Elena said. "It wasn't me. It was Katherine."
"No!" Caroline cried. "Then why did she look like you?" she asked Elena. "Why did she do this to me?"
"It's okay," I hushed. "It's going to be okay," I said, tears streaming down my face as well as I watched all the blood on her face. I didn't even know if I was trying to convince her or myself anymore.
"It's okay, Caroline," Stefan said, arriving at our side. "Come with me," he said, trying to get her to come with him so that he could help her.
"She'll die," Damon said. "It's only a matter of time." I turned to glare at him.
"Yeah, maybe so, but it's not gonna happen tonight," Stefan told him.
"Oh, yeah it is," Damon said, picking up the stake, rushing at Caroline. I acted automatically, standing between her and the stake. Damon froze, the stake centimeters away from my heart.
"Damon please," I cried, not even bothering to wipe away my tears. "I only have her." Our eyes met for a moment and I could see his anger fading, but his annoyance was only growing. "I'm begging you. Leave her alone. Give her a chance," I continued. "If you kill her, I swear to God I will never even consider forgiving you for what you've done. But if you let her live..." I left the end unspoken, but he knew what I meant.
His arm fell to his side, the stake with it. "Whatever happens, it's on you," he told me and I nodded.
"Thank you," I said, turning around to see Stefan lead Caroline away along with Elena. I started walking toward them, when I heard someone gasp behind me. I turned around, wiping my face from the tears as I saw Bonnie standing there, staring at Caroline.
"No, not you," Bonnie said, looking horrified. "It can't be-" she froze when she touched Caroline, probably feeling that my cousin was no longer human. "No..."
"Bonnie?" Caroline whimpered as Stefan led her away.
Bonnie looked at me, still terrified. "I can't believe this is happening," she said just as Damon arrived with a shovel in his hands.
"Come on, don't pout about it," he said. "I've got a body to bury." The coldness in his tone sent chills all over me. Then he looked at me. "I thought you were calling the shots, no? It sucks to be you, buddy." The next thing I knew, Damon was on his knees, writhing in pain, clutching is head. I turned to look at Bonnie, who was humming a spell.
"I told you what would happen if anyone else got hurt," she said, anger and hurt dripping in her voice.
"I didn't do this," Damon protested, still squirming as water started coming out of hose that was on the ground.
"Bonnie, it wasn't his fault," I began, because a part inside of me blamed myself for ever accepting Damon's help.
"Everything that happens is his fault, Steffy!" Bonnie exclaimed. Following her words, the water that had spilled from the hose caught on fire, in a line that lead straight over to Damon, who was still suffering from the agonizing headache.
"Bonnie, stop!" I yelled, as I watched Damon catch on fire, panic instantly there again, much like it had been on Founder's Day. "Stop it Bonnie!" I raised my hands and felt that warmth in me as the frames went out, but Bonnie was still concentrating on keeping the flames on Damon alive. I stood between the two of them and raised my hands, causing the water that was coming out of the hose to stand as a wall between Damon and Bonnie, breaking her concentration.
"Why did you stop me?" Bonnie cried. "Why do you always protect him? Why-"
"I don't know!" I exclaimed. "I don't know, Bonnie! But this is wrong! This isn't us! We are not killers!" I told her, shaking her lightly, forcing her to look at me.
"I just don't understand..." Bonnie said as I embraced her, letting the water-veil behind me fall.
"I don't either," I told her before letting her go. She walked away without even giving a second glance at Damon, who looked up at me. I could tell that he was torn between thanking me and staying mad at me and honestly, I was just as torn on whether or not I should ask him if he was okay or if I should stay mad at him. Instead of saying anything at all, I walked over to the bathroom that Stefan had taken Caroline to and watched silently as he spoke to her and tried to explain some things about controlling herself.
"I don't understand any of this," Caroline cried as Stefan held her.
"It's okay, Caroline," I whispered, stepping forward. "I'm going to explain everything to you. And Stefan is going to help you control it," I said, looking at Stefan for confirmation, which he gave me by nodding. "Everything will be okay."
-Deffy-
Stefan drove me and Caroline home that night and I talked to her in her room together with Stefan as we explained everything that had happened to her. When I told her the truth about me, she just stared at me for a moment before saying that she now understood why I had always acted so strange and why I was always hanging out with Damon and Stefan.
After Stefan left, I made sure to cover to windows properly so that the sun wouldn't make it's way inside the room in the morning. At least not until I could get Caroline a ring or something that would protect her from it's deadly rays.
"How could you keep all of this from me?" Caroline asked suddenly. I turned to look at her as she sat on her bed, hugging her legs close to her body. She looked so small and helpless that I felt just the same.
"I wanted to protect you," I told her honestly. "I swore to myself after your accident that I wouldn't bother with vampires anymore."
"It's too late for that now," Caroline told me in a hushed tone, looking at herself in the mirror. I walked over to her and grabbed her hand, but she looked kind of scared. "Don't," she said. "I could hurt you."
"You won't," I said, trying to offer her a reassuring smile. "And I know," I agreed, referring to her earlier statement. "But we're in this together now and I'll help, in any way possible."
Caroline watched me silently as I sighed, kissing her hand before walking to the door.
"I love you, Steffy," Caroline said, her voice trembling with fear that I wouldn't say it back this time, knowing that Bonnie hadn't spoken to her after finding out she was a vampire.
"I love you too, Caroline," I said, turning back to smile at her, even if tears were once again threatening to fall. "Always."
Caroline shot me a small smile before laying down and turning the light off.
As I walked down the stairs I realized that Damon had been right all along. There was no way for me to ever truly get out of all of this vampire business. I had tried, for Caroline's sake and look where that had gotten us. Caroline was now a vampire, the very thing I had tried to avoid in the first place after her accident. Bonnie had blamed Damon for it, but deep down I knew he hadn't turned Caroline. He had only fed her his blood, on my order, to try and heal her. Katherine had been the one to kill her with Damon's blood still in her system. Katherine...
The Salvatore brother's ex was clearly not here to make peace with them. She was obviously stirring up problems just for the heck of it. What surprised me however, was the fact that both times I had encountered her, she had tried to avoid talking to me. So the first time was when I though she was Elena and I saw her kissing Damon, which made it understandable why she would want to get away from me, but the second time was at mayor Lockwood's wake. I had tried talking to who I had then thought was Elena, but she had been so evasive, almost as if she wanted to get away from me... And then she killed my cousin.
Without even knowing what I was doing first, I picked up my phone and dialed a number.
"Hello?" A rough voice answered.
"Alaric," I said. "Could you meet me at the Grill? I need to ask you a favor," I said numbly.
He seemed to hesitate for a moment before saying, "Sure, I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
"Thank you," I said and hung up before he had a chance to ask me what it was all about.
-Deffy-
When I arrived at the Grill, Alaric was already sitting at the bar, waiting for me. I offered to buy him a drink, which he laughed at.
"I do believe it's highly inappropriate for a student to encourage a teacher's drinking problem," he told me but I shrugged.
"I see you more as a friend anyway," I said. "And normally, I wouldn't encourage anyone to drink."
"Also, I don't think you're allowed to buy drinks," Alaric said but I dismissed him, saying that I would take care of it. "So why did you ask me to meet you here?" he asked me after a while.
"I wanted to ask you if you could teach me vampire hunting," I said and he raised his eyebrow at me.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me," I said.
"Yeah, I heard you alright," he agreed. "But what I don't understand is why?"
"Caroline was turned into a vampire," I told him and he looked slightly taken aback by this.
"I'm sorry..." he mumbled. "But I still don't understand what that has to do with killing vampires."
"I couldn't protect her," I told him. "And I can't be weak around her either. I would like you to teach me combat so that I might actually have a chance at defending myself if anything were to happen."
"You are aware of the fact that you're witch right?" he whispered so that no one would hear. "And that you can set things on fire with your mind?"
"I know, Ric," I said. "But I want a back up, in case something ever goes wrong," I explained. "My powers have been acting up lately. They aren't what they used to be, for some reason..."
He seemed to take my words into consideration before finally nodding."Okay, I'll teach you a thing or two," he agreed.
"Thank you," I said, offering him a smile and leaving him money to pay for his drink before finally going home again.
-Deffy-
I got ready for bed after checking on Caroline again. I would have to make sure that aunt Liz didn't go to her room in the morning to open the window or something, so I set the alarm early. After sitting down on my bed, my phone rang out again with the familiar text-ring tone. I looked at it and saw Damon's name flashing back at me. Hesitating, I opened the text and read what he had written.
"I'm not expecting a reply from you, but I wanted you to know that I still think letting Caroline live was a mistake," he had written. I frowned at the text for a moment before continuing reading. "However, I do also think that you should stop hanging around with Tyler and Mason Lockwood. Something's off about them... That's all... Good night..." The text didn't say anything else, but I read it through a couple of times anyway.
I clicked at the reply button and started writing: "Thank you for your concern Damon and thank you for trusting me enough to not hurt Care-" I stopped abruptly and looked at what I had written. I shook my head and erased it, leaving his text unanswered.
A/N: Unanswered text messages, feelings creeping up from all sides, Steffy performing elemental magic...but still wanting Alaric to teach her a few things! What do you guys think? How does that sound? ;)
Next episode, we'll be going to Duke guys! To read all about werewolves and maybe, perhaps, possibly learn a thing or two about Blake witches? Would you like that? ;)
Also, expect a couple of Deffy moments in there! Because as you just read, Steffy still can't bring herself to just let Bonnie get rid of him, even if he is a condescending asshole. The connection is still there, because we all know that feeling like that don't just go away...
Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed the chapter! I would love for you to tell me what you liked most, liked less and if you thought something was sort of weird...
Love you guys!
xoxo
Spicy
P.S By the way: As I posted on tumblr a while ago I've been writing these small companion one-shots that are from Damon's point of view, regarding some Deffy moments in this fic! As of now, I have just written the "awkward bathroom scene" from his POV and I don't know whether or not I should post it yet, or just wait for a bit! What do you think? Also, I will be writing the "big kiss" from Damon's POV next and the season 1 finale fight. the fourth one-shot that I have planned will be about last chapter, the moments after Damon left Elena's room leaving Steffy there. Maybe it'll just be a small drabble that I'll post on tumblr though... We'll see. Share your thoughts!