STAND BY ME


Caroline was scrubbing the floor in Elena' house while Alex was just sat at the table her hands through her hair. She was trying not to show her emotions but it was getting increasingly difficult. Alex and Caroline looked up as they heard the door open.

"Hey, you're home. I was trying to clean the burn mark where Kol-"Caroline trailed off as she saw Stefan carrying Jeremy in a blanket. "I couldn't get the spot out."

Stefan shakes his head at Caroline, he tried to give Alex a look but she wouldn't even look at him, she was in her own world staring at the wall in front of her, tears just begging to fall but she wouldn't let them.

"Come on. Let's get him upstairs." Elena said, she began walking up the stairs with Stefan trailing behind her.

"How long has she been like that?" Caroline asked once Stefan had come back down the stairs. Alex was still in the same position. She couldn't even bear herself to listen in on Stefan and Elena's conversation. She could just picture Jeremy's body lying on his bed. With Elena hoping he was just going to wake up like normal.

Alex knew he was dead, she could smell it. But yet she can't bear to even think of him that way. She was clinging on to the hope that Elena had. It was all beginning to become too much.

"Ever since we found his body. She hasn't said anything except that she's waiting for him to wake up."

"But he's not going to wake up. She knows that, right?" Caroline asked softly.

Stefan holds his a finger to his lips to silence her. He walked over to the sink and turned the tap on, using the sound to cover their conversation.

"Look. Deep down, I think she has to, but we're talking about Elena here. She feels grief more powerfully than anyone else. I think her denial is the one thing protecting her from letting it all in."

"But she can't stay like that forever." Caroline replied.

"I know, but I don't want to be the one to break her out of it, not until we know that Bonnie is safe, not until we get Damon over here to, you know—"

"Use the sire bond to convince her that everything is okay?"

Stefan nodded as Elena trudged down the stairs.

"I'm not in denial. I know that he was supernatural, but did you see? His tattoo is gone. The tattoo had the spell that opened Silas' chamber. Maybe it being gone means that he's fulfilled his supernatural destiny. Maybe he's back to normal. It's possible, right?"

"Elena-" Caroline started but Elena cut her off.

"It's possible, Caroline. There's a chance. It may be minuscule, but it's hope and I'm gonna hold on to that hope with everything that I've got because there's no way that m—"Elena broke off her sentence. She took a breath.

"There's absolutely no way that my brother is dead. I'm not in denial." Elena turned and left the kitchen, Caroline and Stefan shared a look. Then then glanced down at Alex who hadn't moved a muscle. Stefan was beginning to get increasingly worried. He hadn't seen her like this before.

Alex took a breath. "Stefan." She whispered Stefan had barely heard her; he sat down opposite her and held her hand.

She took a breath again and peered at Stefan with her tearful eyes. "Just tell me one thing."

"Of course." He replied, squeezing her hand.

"What happened? All I know is that he's dead. How?" Alex's voice wavered.

Stefan sighed. "It was Katherine. She was posing as Elena, nobody even noticed and she went to find Silas and she fed Silas Jeremy's body."

Alex let go of Stefan's hand harshly and banged her hand on the table.

"That bitch will be the death of me. I'm gonna kill her."

Stefan's eyes widened. "Hey, hey, were gonna find her okay? She's going to pay for what she's done but we will do it together."

Alex's emotionless face turned to that of her best friend. "Then you better hurry up and make Elena see what I see, because I am going after that stupid excuse for a vampire and I'm going to kill her."


Alex walked back in and closed the door softly. She had been in the porch just sitting on the swing thinking when she heard some commotion from inside.

"Elena? Elena, you need help finding something?" Caroline asked. Alex watched on curiously as Elena was rifling through the cabinets.

She took out a bottle of lighter fluid and held it up for all to see and started pouring it over everything, Caroline stood abruptly in astonishment.

"What are you doing?" Stefan asked appalled.

"We need a cover story, right? You think I didn't hear you guys talking earlier? Well, what are we gonna say- animal attack, 'tumbled down the stairs'? No. We burn the house down with him inside of it." Elena replied crying.

Alex had only just noticed that Jeremy's body was on the couch and she trudged over to him emotionless.

"Elena, stop it." Stefan shouted.

"Why? Because you want me to not be in denial? You want me to face the truth? This is the truth, Stefan. I don't want to live here any more. I don't want these sketches. I don't want this Xbox."

Elena reached into a cupboard and pulled it out.

"Not gonna need this bourbon any more. Alaric's not here to drink it, I mean, unless you guys are willing to bring back every supernatural creature on the Other Side to get him back."

Elena turned to Damon and Alex watched him curiously.

"Would you? I know you want your drinking buddy back. Would you, Damon? Because I wouldn't. I don't know, I mean, does that make me a bad person? I- I have no idea." Elena pulled Jeremy's ring off his finger and threw it to Damon.

"He's not gonna need that any more."

"That is enough!" Alex shouted. Everybody stopped and stared at her waiting for what she would do. Damon and Stefan kept a close watch as they knew how unpredictable she can be.

"I am sick and tired of you moping around, crying over Jeremy Elena! He doesn't need this! He needs for you to get revenge. And I will help you do that. We will kill Katherine if it is the last thing that I do. But I swear to God if you carry on with this whole 'Elena's life is so fucked up' bullshit I will go on my own, but I'll bring you a present. I will bring you the head of Katherine Pierce."

"Alex-"

"No Damon. I've had it up to here with everybody! Everyone is thinking about themselves when we need to be thinking about what Jeremy would want." Alex grabbed a match a lit it.

"Alex, please stop it you're scaring me." Caroline cried.

"Enough Caroline, we need to do this, Elena doesn't want to live here any more, I don't want to be here any more. And she's right." She laughed. "We need a cover story and this is the best option. We burn the house down with inside. There's nothing here for anyone, you three have a lost a friend and me and Elena have lost a brother…And..I." Alex started to break down tears running down her face but she took a breath and glanced at Jeremy's dead body. "And I can't lose anybody else. I just won't. There's nothing left for us any- ahh!"

The match had burnt Alex and she dropped it reflexively, but before it could fall on the ground Damon caught it.

Alex started sobbing and wrapping her hands in her hair pulling frustration.

"Alex I need you to calm down." Damon rested his hands on her cheeks trying to coax her back.

"Damon I..I can't breathe." Alex struggled to breathe, he hands clung to her chest and she heaved trying to get her breath back.

"Damon, help her." Stefan commanded.

"Damon, please I can't, I can't-"

"Shh, everything's gonna be fine, I can help you."

Alex stared into his eyes and whispered softly.

"How?"

"Turn it off." He replied stroking her hair.

Alex almost started to have a panic attack.

"What? Damon no I-"

"Everything is going to be fine okay?

"No, Damon you don't understand-"

"Just turn it off, and everything will go away. That's what you have to do. It's what I want you to do. Just turn it off. "

If it wasn't for her love for Damon Salvatore, Alex wouldn't have even thought about turning off her humanity, she couldn't. But thinking about it now, it seemed so easy. It seemed so simple, to just switch the switch and she won't feel any more pain. No more pain for her family. No more heart-ache for Damon and Klaus. No more caring. No more caring. No more-

They watched as her whisky eyes turned darker than blood. They watched as her tear struck face dried. And they watched as her emotions left her. It's like something had died. Something had torn itself inside of her and ripped the good parts out.

Now only the bad was inside. They had no idea what they were in for. No idea whatsoever.

Alex stood up emotionally and walked over to Jeremy's dead body and stared at it, her head tilting slightly, she watched as she overheard the Salvatore's conversation.


"It was a mistake." Stefan spoke.

"It wasn't, and you know it. This is the only way she's gonna survive. We'll help her, keep an eye on her. When she's ready, I'll help her get it back."

"Help her get it back? Damon you have no idea what you've just done! Alex is a ripper, just like me!"

"Then we'll deal with it." Damon bit back.

"No you don't understand, not even love will bring her back from where she is right now."

"Then we'll find something that will."

"Damon, she has nothing left but us and Klaus. And there's no way he's going to help."

"We'll find something. We'll bring her back…I'll bring her back."

Damon and Stefan walked back inside and noticed that Alex was holding the match.

"Alex don't do this, we can find another cover story."

"No. Elena was right." Alex sighed. "This is the best one. No one will ask questions."

"Look, if you burn down the house, it'll be gone. What if one day when this is all over, Elena wants to come home again?"

"My emotions may be off Stefan Salvatore but I know for a fact that she won't want to come back to this place. Her whole family is dead. This is just a disgusting reminder of what a terrible life she's had. And now, she can start over. She can start over with me." Alex smirked as she dropped the lit match on Jeremy's body.

Elena watched on as fire lit up her brother's body and her house. Even though Alex's emotions were off, she was completely right. She won't ever want to come back, knowing that everybody is dead. It's just a reminder of that and now she can start fresh.

All four of them walked out of the house and none of them noticed the crazy glint in Alex's eyes and the smirk on her beautiful face. Nobody knew what she had in store. Not even Alex knew. She just knew she was going to cause trouble. Blood was gonna shed. A lot of it.


Thank you guys for reading, I hope you're not disappointed by the ending! Please let me know what you think, and check you guys out! Two updates in a week! ;) Love you all!