WARNING: This chapter may be perceived as too dark for some of you. Be warned.
Chapter 36: Crying Wolf
The morning after Phoebe and the Salvatore brothers rescued Caroline from the werewolves, the remaining wolves burned their dead in the woods. Afterwards, one of the remaining wolves – Stevie – tells Brady and Jules about the sun and the moon curse, and that he thinks Mason was looking into breaking it. More than that, he suspects the vampires of attempting to break the curse. There are several vampires in Mystic Falls, Mason was here looking for the moonstone, there are witches, and that human girl that was helping the vampires last night looked a lot like Mason's girlfriend Kathy. That's enough for Brady. He refuses to leave town, until they've stopped the vampires from breaking the curse.
Meanwhile at Caroline's, the three girls are awoken by Elena's phone ringing. Bonnie and Caroline kick her out of the bed, and she slinks away to answer it. It's Stefan. He asks her how her slumber party went, and she tells him it was much needed for all of them, but asks him to take her far, far away. Stefan makes sure she's sure about taking a trip together, given everything that's going on, before the pair begin planning a weekend getaway.
Elsewhere, Phoebe and John return home from a morning jog – Matt had to work, and John needed the exercise – to find a girl sitting on their porch. It was Hayley, and she didn't look too happy.
"I'll be inside, if you need me," said John, sensing the tension.
Once he disappeared inside, Hayley let loose, "You lied to me. You said you wouldn't tell your vampire friends about the wolves, but you did. And what's worse, you helped them kill the wolves!"
"That's not true, I kept my promise," Phoebe argued. "Your alpha – Jules – called us threatening to kill my friend, if we didn't give her what she wanted."
"Well, I guess you shouldn't have kidnapped that werewolf guy," said Hayley.
"We didn't...I've known Tyler since I was a kid. He's my best friend's best guy friend. Caroline – the girl they kidnapped and tortured – helped me keep it secret that Tyler was a werewolf from our vampire friends so that they wouldn't kill him," said Phoebe.
"If you didn't kidnap him, then why did they kidnap your friend, and demand a trade?" Hayley asked.
"It's a long story. Cliff notes version: Werewolf Jules came to town, met Tyler, and started filling his head with all that old-world vampires-are-our-mortal-enemy nonsense, turning him against the one true friend he had – Caroline. Caroline has been there to help him through all of this supernatural transitioning, since day one. She risked her own life to sit with him through his entire full moon – well, except for one point when he completely lost control and almost bit her. The only lies she told were to protect him from being killed by our one friend that believes in werewolf genocide, and to protect our vampire friends from Tyler. Eventually, once he became better adjusted, we were going to tell him the truth. But Jules didn't give us that chance.
"Anyway, she confused Tyler so much, that when we tried to talk to him he freaked out and made her think that we were holding him hostage. That's when she took Caroline...And we had every intention of a fair trade – well, at least two of us did – but they had other plans. Hayley, that entire pack believes all vampires should die. Now, I will fully agree that there are vampires out there that are real monsters, and deserve a stake through the heart; but they're not all like that."
"Of course you'd say that, you're in love with one," Hayley retorted.
"Yes, but make no mistake, I'm not one of those vampire groupies that's waiting to be made immortal and live happily ever after with my vampire lover. Nothing lasts forever, especially relationships between immortals," said Phoebe, in a mocking tone. Hayley still didn't seem to believe her. "Believe what you want, Hayley, you're going to anyway. You feel I broke my word, then tell everyone my secret. I'll do my best to keep everything together. You still wanna join their pack, go ahead. But you could do better than a group of bigots."
With that, Phoebe walked into the house, and closed the door, leaving Hayley to think about what she'd said.
Over at the Boarding House, Damon compels Andie to be in love with him, and makes sure she's been compelled not to tell anyone that he's a vampire. After she leaves, Rick drops by to see this magic dagger John gave to Damon that will supposedly kill an original. They both agree that they do not trust John, so they can't trust that this dagger thing will be able to take down Elijah. On another note, though, Damon's decided to go to the Historical Society High Tea so he can finally meet Elijah properly.
Later at the Grill, Bonnie and Caroline have an early lunch together. Bonnie explains her plan to get information out of Luka about Elijah's plan to kill Klaus. While they talk, Matt passes by, giving Caroline a cold look. Something neither Caroline nor Bonnie understand.
Meanwhile in the woods, the remaining werewolves get a surprise visitor. The first wolf Hayley saw was Jules.
"Hi. Are you Jules?" Hayley asked her, carefully approaching her.
Jules eyed her suspiciously, "Depends. Who's asking?"
"My name's Hayley. I heard your pack was coming to Mystic Falls," said Hayley. She saw the unsettled look in Jules' eyes, and added, "I've been on my own, pretty much, since I triggered my curse. I was just looking for a pack, when I heard the one in Florida was headed to Mystic Falls."
"Heard from who?" Brady asked, rounding the corner of the camper, with Stevie.
"Just some werewolves I've met along the way," Hayley answered.
"Why didn't you wanna stay with any of them?" Jules asked.
"They weren't really in a pack. They were mostly alone," said Hayley.
Jules shared a look with Brady, "We could use more members, after last night."
"What happened last night?" Hayley asked, pretending she didn't already know.
"Vampires. Them and their little doppelganger friend killed the rest of the pack," said Stevie.
"So, does that mean we're leaving town?" Hayley asked. She had been assuming that was the case after everything that happened last night – that's why she'd come to them still.
Jules shared another look with Brady, "Not exactly."
"We need to find something called a moonstone," said Brady.
"What's a moonstone?" Hayley asked, genuinely confused.
"It's a stone that helps break the sun and the moon curse," said Stevie.
Hayley looked at him funny, "What's that?"
"It's an old curse placed on both vampires and werewolves," said Jules.
"They're free to walk in the sunlight, but we're stuck only turning at the full moon, aka werewolf Armageddon," Stevie added.
"But if we break it, they're stuck as night-walkers, and we can turn whenever we want," said Brady.
"Aka werewolf domination," Stevie added.
"Wait, so if we can turn at will, doesn't that mean we never have to turn again?" Hayley asked.
Jules nodded.
"So, what, we just need to find this stone?" Hayley asked.
"And the doppelganger," said Stevie.
"How do you know who the doppelganger is?" Hayley asked.
"Mason had this vampire girlfriend – no one liked her – but last night a chick that looked an awful lot like her teamed up with the vampires," said Stevie, pulling out his phone to show Hayley a picture.
Jules saw the questioning look on Hayley's face, and explained, "Mason was our friend. He came her for his brother's funeral, then stuck around to find the moonstone."
Hayley looked at the photo on Stevie's phone, and pretended to be shocked, "Wait, I know her. Her name's Phoebe."
"Do you know where we can find her?" Jules asked.
"Yeah. Do you think she has the moonstone?" replied Hayley.
"I don't know, but at the very least she's the doppelganger, and we need the doppelganger to break the curse," said Brady.
Back at the Grill, Caroline tries talking to Matt, but he's still cold to her. She persists, and finds out that he knows she lied about being with Bonnie last night, because Bonnie was at the Grill. Caroline is at a loss for words. She doesn't want to lie, and even if she did no lie was coming to mind to be told. Matt returned to work, leaving Caroline to think about how she was going to fix this.
Meanwhile at the Gilbert House, Stefan and Elena leave for their romantic weekend getaway. Shortly after they leave, the werewolves arrive for Phoebe, but she's already leaving the house with John. The wolves decide to split up. Brady and another wolf stay at the house to search for the moonstone, while Hayley and the others follow John and Phoebe.
They follow the pair to the Lockwood estate, where there are dozens of witnesses, so they're forced to stake them out and wait for them to leave. Inside, John leaves Phoebe to do his own thing, while Phoebe begins searching for a corner to hide in. What she finds instead is a stunned Elijah – though he hid it well.
Phoebe was wearing the black cocktail dress that Jenna tricked her into buying several months earlier, with her black flats. Her hair was down and loose, but still neat. She wore a long-chained necklace – to play with when she got nervous – and her makeup was more prominent than normal, yet still subtle.
When Elijah saw her enter the room, he did a double-take. He may have done well to hide his awe, but it cost him an involuntary smile. And when Phoebe saw him, she returned his smile. Mrs. Lockwood – with whom he was talking – didn't seem to notice his lack of attention towards her.
"Have you spent much time in Richmond for your book? There's such a wealth of history there," she asked Elijah.
"No. I'm focusing mostly on the smaller regions of Virginia. Lots of research, but it's worth it," replied Elijah, returning his attention to Carol. As Phoebe approached, he added, "Miss Gilbert's been a great help in researching your town's history."
Carol smiled, "I'm glad to hear it."
Phoebe smiled awkwardly, as the three stood there silently for a moment.
"Where are my manners? Miss Gilbert, may I get you a cup of tea?" Elijah asked.
"Oh, uh, I can get it myself," said Phoebe.
"Nonsense. It's no trouble. How do you take it?" Elijah asked.
"Straight. Thank you," said Phoebe.
Elijah excused himself to retrieve her tea, and Phoebe smiled involuntarily to herself.
"I didn't know you had it in you," Carol remarked.
Phoebe looked at her, "Ma'am?"
"First Mr. Salvatore, now Mr. Smith," she noted, smirking.
"Oh, no. No, it's not like that...No...No," said Phoebe, shaking her head.
Carol's smirk spread, "That's an awful lot of 'no's, Miss Gilbert. Be careful, or someone might think you mean the opposite."
As she walked away from Phoebe, Rick appeared by her side, "What was that about?"
"Mrs. Lockwood just accused me of having a thing for Elijah," said Phoebe.
Rick made a face, and was going to ask why she would think that, but he became distracted by Damon's arrival. As soon as he stepped inside, Andie clung to his side, and he kissed her.
Rick looked at Phoebe – she saw it too, "You okay?"
"Honestly? Yes," she replied.
Rick made another face, "Hmm. Maybe you do have a thing for Elijah."
Phoebe nudged him, playfully, and they both smiled, "No, I'm the one that told Damon to call Andie."
"Why would you do that?" Rick asked.
"Because he's more bothered by Rose's death than he'd care to admit, and there's only two ways that Damon Salvatore knows how to relieve stress: killing, or sex – sometimes both. By encouraging him to pursue a relationship with Andie, he gets to relieve stress through sex instead of killing innocent people; and he gets to practice being someone's boyfriend – monogamously," said Phoebe.
Rick smirked, "And the real reason appears. You just want him to use Andie to work out all the kinks, before he's your boyfriend."
Phoebe looked away, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Rick laughed into his tea, and Elijah returned with Phoebe's tea.
"Straight. As requested," said Elijah, handing her a cup and saucer.
Phoebe smiled, "Thank you."
Damon noticed Elijah bringing her tea, and a wave of jealousy washed over him. It seemed stupid to be bothered by something so trivial, but there was something about the way Elijah looked at Phoebe.
"Damon!" Carol called, waving him over. She walked back over to Phoebe, Elijah, and Rick. "Elijah, I want you to meet Damon Salvatore. His family is one of Mystic Falls' Founding Families."
"Such a pleasure to meet you," said Damon, with his usual arrogantly-cocky grin.
Elijah looked like he wanted to slap that grin off of Damon's face, but still managed to force a smile, "No. Pleasure's mine."
Phoebe and Rick hid behind their tea cups, as they watched the two forced themselves to be civil and shake hands.
Elsewhere, Stefan and Elena arrive at the Gilbert lakehouse. Elena jokes with Stefan that she doesn't have the ability to invite him inside the lakehouse, that John is the only one who can do that. After making him sweat a little, she invites him in, and the two get settled in. Elena shares a few memories with Stefan, like when her father taught her how to fish on the dock in the back.
Back at the Grill, Bonnie give Luka a frozen coffee, spiked with a powerful witch roofie. When he collapses Anna, Caroline, and Jeremy help her carry him out of the Grill.
Back at the Lockwoods', Damon and Elijah retreat somewhere more private to talk.
"What's Damon doing with Elijah?" John asked Rick, as the two watched the two vampires enter the mayor's old office.
"How would I know?" Rick replied.
"Because you're his little helper," said John.
Rick gave him a sarcastic smile, "If you say so, John."
John smiled back, "I don't think you should sleep over anymore. It's inappropriate with children in the house. And that ring that Isobel gave you, that's mine. I'm gonna want that back."
Rick kept smiling, like he didn't care, "You're a dick."
John didn't deny it, as he walked away.
Meanwhile, in the mayor's old office, Damon and Elijah have a little chat.
"What can I do for you, Damon?" Elijah asked.
"I was hoping we could have a word," said Damon.
"I heard about your little werewolf problem last night," said Elijah.
"I'm sure you did, since it was your witch that saved the day," replied Damon.
"You are welcome."
Damon ignored him and went on, "Which adds to my confusion on exactly why you're here."
Elijah gave a light smile, "Why don't you just stay focused on keeping Phoebe's sister safe, and leave the rest to me."
Elijah tried to leave, but Damon blocked his path, "Not good enough."
That was it for Elijah. He had enough of Damon's attitude. He grabbed him by the throat, and pinned him against the wall. Damon tried to retaliate, but it had no effect. Elijah was too strong.
"You young vampires, so arrogant," Elijah sneered. "How dare you come in here and challenge me?"
"You can't kill me, man. It's not part of the deal," Damon wheezed.
"Silence," Elijah commanded, shoving a wooden pencil into Damon's throat. Damon cried out, and Elijah dropped him. He took out a handkerchief from his breast pocket, and cleaned the blood off of his hands. "I'm an original. Show a little respect."
Elijah held out the handkerchief to Damon and he snatched it out of Elijah's hand. As he held the handkerchief over his neck, Elijah continued to speak, "The deal you so fondly cling to as an excuse to do what you want, only extends so far, Damon. The deal states that the rest of you are to go about your lives, normally, while Phoebe and I work on developing her powers. Now, I realize you don't trust me, but you don't need to. The only person whose trust I need is Phoebe's. And should you get in the way of our work, I will be forced to take action, and I guarantee you will not like it."
Damon laughed, "Is that a threat? Because I've got news for you, if you kill me, your own weapon will turn against you. I'm too important for you to kill just for getting on your nerves."
Elijah smiled, "Oh, there are other ways to get rid of you, without getting on Miss Gilbert's bad side. I can have you locked away, until Klaus is dead. Or I could simply take her away from all of you, which might be preferable. I could take her somewhere with no distractions."
"Phoebe would never agree to that," Damon replied.
"Are you so sure about that?" Elijah asked, tauntingly. "She's quite the logical girl, it wouldn't be difficult to convince her it was for the best."
Damon glared at Elijah, but said nothing. He made a very valid point. Elijah simply smiled, victoriously, as he left Damon alone with his thoughts. He decided to go outside for a breath of fresh air, before returning to schmoozing. Elijah was pleasantly surprised to find Phoebe had the same idea, and was sitting on the steps in the backyard.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked. Phoebe jumped a little. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's okay, I was just lost in my own thoughts. Pretty easy to sneak up on me when that happens," said Phoebe. She scooted over, so Elijah could sit with her.
"May I ask what you were thinking about?" he asked, sitting next to her.
"I was thinking about the next two elements," she replied. "Finding a song or a memory to use for fire is no problem – everyone's had times where they're so angry they could break something – but finding something to use for air is hard. You said air is connected to emotions like boldness, and freedom."
Elijah nodded, "Mhmm."
"But I've never been either of those things," said Phoebe.
"If I recall correctly, You were quite bold the day we met," said Elijah.
"Yeah, I have a bad habit of being pretty bold with vampires. I don't know why," she replied. "But for an element like air the feeling of being free seems like the best emotion to focus on for that. I mean, just look at birds. They soar through the air, and they're free."
"You make an excellent point," Elijah admitted. "Why do you feel you've never been free?"
"Because I never have been," said Phoebe. "All my life I've been needed, and when you're needed you aren't free. When you're needed, you have responsibilities."
"Surely there's been a time when you were free to do what you please," said Elijah.
Phoebe shook her head, "Matt's always needed me to be his best friend – there for him through thick and thin. My siblings and aunt needed me to be their rock, when our parents – who were actually our aunt and uncle that raised us as their own – died. My aunt that raised us wanted me to be more feminine and lady-like. Stefan and Damon need me to be the anchor that keeps Damon good. Everyone else needs me to be the one that figures everything out and always has the answers. And they all – whether they want to admit it or not – need me to be this weapon you say I am so I can destroy Klaus. No one's every just wanted me around, because they like me the way I am – not because they need me to be something for them. Well, there was one instance, but even that was tainted."
"How do you mean?"
"Damon was the first person to ever show any romantic interest in me. He also made me feel attractive the way I am. But I still have to dull my intelligence around him, because he doesn't some of the things I say. He definitely won't understand any sci-fi references I think of making at times," she explained.
"So you still have to hide who you are from him. Pretend to be something you're not," Elijah guessed.
"Exactly," said Phoebe. "There's also Katherine...Damon was only taken with me in the beginning, because I look like her. I mean, he doesn't see her when he looks at me, anymore, but now there's the need for me to be some kind of anchor that keeps him grounded."
"I see," said Elijah, thoughtfully.
"I'm sorry. We don't even have to worry about that for a while, because I think my next element it going to be fire," said Phoebe.
"You've shown signs of fire element?" Elijah asked.
Phoebe nodded, excitedly, and told him what happened last night, when she was talking to Tyler.
Later at the Gilbert lakehouse, Stefan cooks, while Elena watches from the couch. She tells him that her mother used to do the same thing, when her dad would cook – her mother couldn't cook either.
After more exploring around the house, the pair find a hidden room through her parents' closet. The room was filled with weapons fit for killing vampires, and the rest of Johnathan Gilbert's old journals. All of it coming as a great shock to Elena.
Meanwhile, Bonnie prepares herself to go searching through Luka's mind at Caroline's house. When they have a moment alone, Caroline tells Bonnie she's noticed the way she's begun to look at Jeremy – it's obvious she likes him. Bonnie doesn't deny it, but she does point out that he's dating Anna, who isn't likely to be going anywhere, anytime soon. Even then, it's weird, because he's her bests friend's little brother.
Meanwhile at the Boarding House, Damon, Phoebe, and Rick sit in the library talking.
"Today was a bust," Damon complained.
"Throat still sore?" Phoebe asked.
Damon looked at her funny. How did she know what happened in that office?
"Elijah told me," said Phoebe, as though reading his mind.
"Yeah, that Elijah's one scary dude, but with nice hair," said Rick.
Damon looked at Rick with furrowed eyebrows.
"I think he'd look better with a haircut...and a tie. Ooh! No, a three-piece suit," said Phoebe. She didn't appear to be talking to anyone in particular – more likely thinking out loud. "Not many men can pull off a three-piece suit, but he definitely could."
Damon's eyes narrowed, and he had to do his best not to break the glass in his hand.
Rick noticed this, and stood up, "You want another one?"
Damon handed him his glass. It was better if he wasn't holding something he could break so easily, and he could definitely use another drink.
Phoebe hopped up, "I'm gonna practice making bubbles in my fancy new bathtub."
"You're staying here tonight?" Damon asked.
"Yyyeeessss? Is there a problem with that?" Phoebe replied.
"Nope," said Damon. "Just wondering."
Phoebe looked at him suspiciously, then headed upstairs to her room.
When she was out of hearing range, Damon sighed, "He's gonna be hard to kill."
"Yeah," Rick agreed. "I'd think twice before I'd trust that dagger and some ashes to do the job. You're gonna need more info."
"I'm outta sources," said Damon.
Rick grunted, then told him, "I gotta go. I gotta pick up Jenna. Just, please, don't kill the news chick. She and Jenna are friends, and it's bad enough that I'm lying to her about everything else. I hate the lies."
Damon reclined in his seat, propping his hands behind his head.
"Don't worry, I'll, uh, show myself out," said Rick, heading out.
A moment later, and there was a loud crashing sound that came from the hall. Damon hopped up to see what was going on, and found Rick with a knife sticking out of his stomach. The next thing he knew, he was being attacked by one of the surviving wolves. He injected Damon with a syringe full of vervain – it took the whole thing to bring Damon down.
Phoebe heard all the commotion from upstairs, even over the sounds of her running bath water. She was still wearing her black cocktail dress, as she raced for her phone. She wasn't alarmed enough to warrant calling Elijah, but she still took a precaution to text Stefan:
"Something might be up at the boarding house. If you don't hear back from me soon, call Elijah."
After hitting send, Phoebe hid her phone under Marvin on the bed. Mere seconds later, wolves were breaking through her bedroom door. One of them was Hayley. They grabbed her and brought her downstairs to the library, where Stevie was in the process of chaining Damon to a chair by the fireplace. Along the way, Phoebe saw Rick's lifeless body laying in the hallway, as well as a couple of other wolves standing guard outside the front door.
Meanwhile at the Gilbert house, John and Jenna argue about her letting Elena go away with Stefan for the weekend. John doesn't like the idea of his teenage daughter spending the weekend alone with a boy. Jenna tells him Elena just wanted to get away from him for a while, as does she – which is why she'll be staying at Rick's for a while. John bit his tongue, and walked away.
Back at the Boarding House, Stevie's finished chaining Damon to the chair, and putting on some kind of obedience collar with wooden spikes. Unfortunately, Damon is still unconscious.
"What are you still doing here? Elijah told you to leave," Phoebe asked.
"And we will. Once you tell us where the moonstone is," said Jules.
Phoebe made a funny face, "Have you tried Amazon? I hear moonstone rings are becoming a thing, since the Twilight movies. You know, because Bella has a moonstone ring."
Jules smiled in annoyance, "You're funny. But I have a feeling you know exactly what I'm talking about."
Phoebe made a face and shook her head.
"Fine. You wanna play it that way? Two can play that game. And I'm pretty sure I'll win," said Jules, walking over to the fireplace.
"Who's playing a game? I told you where you could buy some moonstone," said Phoebe.
"You know, I was waiting for your little friend here to wake up, so I could ask him; but I think you might have a looser tongue than him," she said, her back to Phoebe.
"Is that so?" Phoebe asked, uncaringly.
Jules said nothing in response. She simply gave a look to one of the wolves, who signaled the two wolves that were nearest Phoebe. They grabbed her, and bent her over an ottoman – facing the fireplace. Jules turned around holding a red-hot poker. Phoebe instantly became serious. Who was she planning to stick with that?
"Wait, a minute, I thought you said you needed the doppelganger to break the curse," Hayley spoke up.
"She'll have time to heal before the sacrifice," said Jules.
"Sacrifice?" Hayley questioned.
"The doppelganger has to die to break the curse," said Stevie, casually. "What did you think we were gonna do with her?"
"She has powers, I thought you needed her cast the spell, or something," said Hayley.
Stevie laughed, and Jules continued to walk around towards Phoebe's backside.
"Wait. Wait!" Phoebe cried. The poker was so close to one of the bare parts of her back, she could feel the heat wafting from it. "The curse isn't even real. It was made up by a cursed vampire, 500 years ago."
Jules laughed, dropping the poker away from her back, "Did you really think I would fall for that? How gullible do you think we are?"
Phoebe's heart was racing "It's the truth."
"Nice try," said Jules, raising the poker again.
"Stop!" Hayley objected, stepping forward. "You can't just torture her. What if she's been compelled not to say anything about the moonstone? She hangs out with a lot of vampires, she could very easily be compelled."
"Or she could just be lying. There's only one way to find out," Jules argued. She pressed the poker to Phoebe's back, and Phoebe screamed in pain.
The pain was excruciating, but brief. Hayley snatched the poker away from Jules and pushed her away from Phoebe. The other wolves pounced on Hayley, restraining her.
Hayley fought to get out of their grip, "This isn't right! If you do this, you're no better than they are!"
Jules ignored her, as she retrieved the poker, "Where's the moonstone?"
Phoebe knew she couldn't tell her, nor could she use her powers to get her out of this. They wolves had prepared for that. The one that tied Damon had a stake to his chest. If Phoebe even so much as thought about using her powers to get her out of this, Damon would die. So she just had to hold out until Elijah got there, and hopefully he'd arrive soon. Since Phoebe said nothing in response, Jules pressed the poker to Phoebe's back and held it there. Phoebe screamed, and tears began to fill her eyes.
Meanwhile at the Gilbert lakehouse, Stefan leaves Elena to go through her family's vampire-hunting secrets. He grabs his phone to call Phoebe and tell her what they'd just found, but finds a Phoebe's disconcerting text waiting for him instead. He checks the time of the text, and compares it to the current time. Phoebe sent the text almost thirty minutes ago. Stefan tried calling her, his heart rate increasing with each unanswered ring. When he finally reached her voicemail, he hung up and called Elijah, as requested.
Elijah arrived at the Salvatore Boarding House mere minutes after Stefan called him. He was horrified by the scene awaiting him in the library. Phoebe was slumped over the ottoman, completely exhausted. If Jules were to poke her again, it was doubtful she'd have the energy to even scream.
"You know, I could've sworn my associate told you to leave town," said Elijah, stepping down into the library.
All wolves snapped their attention towards him. Jules, who was heating the poker back up in the fire place, replied, "We know you're planning to break the curse. Give us the moonstone, or your friend here gets a stake through the heart."
Elijah stared her down, "You see, that's your problem. You don't bother getting all of the fact, before you pick a fight. That boy means nothing to me. This poor girl you've tortured, on the other hand...Well, let's just say you've made a grave mistake in harming her."
And with that, Elijah flitted about the room, tearing the hearts out of every wolf he could get his hands on. They tried to fight back, but they were no match for an original. The wolves holding Hayley released her to fight back, and Hayley ran to Phoebe's side. Jules ran away – discovering Elijah had already killed Brady and the other wolf standing guard outside, as she ran.
After killing the others, Elijah turned on Hayley.
"Don't!" Phoebe called. "She wasn't part of this."
Elijah released her, and bent down to Phoebe's side. He rolled up his sleeve, bit into his wrist, and held it to Phoebe's lips. Phoebe drank his blood more eagerly than she'd meant to. All she could think about was making this pain go away, and healing the wounds. But as Elijah watched her back, the burns simply finished turning into burn scars, rather than disappearing entirely. He tried letting her drink more of his blood to see if they would go away, but they only stayed.
Elijah pulled his arm away from Phoebe, and handed her a handkerchief for her mouth.
"Thank you," said Phoebe. She said it to both of them.
"How do you feel?" Elijah asked.
"Better. Pretty sore, but better than a few minutes ago," she replied. She saw the solemn look on Elijah's face. "What is it? What happened?"
"The heat from the poker cauterized the wounds on your back. They were already fairly healed, before you drank my blood," he began.
Phoebe didn't like the sound of this. She swallowed hard, "What are you saying?"
"...Your back is permanently scared...I'm sorry," said Elijah.
Phoebe stared off into space, silently. She had no idea what to say, much less what to think. Jules had scared her for life, literally.
Damon began to stir in his chair, groaning groggily.
Phoebe's initial reaction was to hop up and help free him, but the moment she stood up, she became light-headed. Hayley, caught her, and set her down on the couch. Elijah walked over to Damon and ripped off his chains. He stopped at Phoebe on his way out, but he didn't know what to say. He tried to say something, but words eluded him – like they often did when she was around.
He began to just leave, but Phoebe stood up and stopped him. She grabbed his hand, and he looked at her, "Don't tell anyone. Please."
She looked back at Hayley, as though making the same request of her, too. Hayley nodded.
"Of course," said Elijah. He lingered, waiting for her to release his hand, rather than pull it away. When she did, he took off.
Phoebe turned back to Hayley, "Okay, while he's still groggy, I need you to run up to my room and grab me a pair of pajamas out of my wardrobe. I need to change before he gets too awake and sees my back."
Hayley was confused as to why she was asking her for help, but did it anyway. She ran upstairs, grabbed the clothes, and ran back down. Phoebe walked out of the room for a moment, changed, then sent Hayley back up to return her dress to her room. This way, she could tell Damon she was already undressed when the wolves came in and attacked him, and she threw on her pajamas, while she called Elijah.
While the three of them work together to clean up the death werewolves in the library, Bonnie finds what she's looking for in Luka's mind. Someone anonymously left a file at their doorstep saying that the anomaly will either burn out from the amount of power required to destroy an original, or become an unstoppable force. The only way to avoid it is to attack when Klaus is in a weakened state – which requires him to go through with the sacrifice.
Bonnie calls Damon to tell him what she found, while Rick – who's finally woken up – calls Jenna to apologize for not picking her up. He tells her that he fell asleep grading papers, and promises to make it up to her tomorrow night.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Hayley thanks Phoebe for not letting Elijah kill her, and tells her she should probably get going.
"Where will you go?" Phoebe asked.
Hayley shrugged, "Look for another pack, I guess. Hopefully one that has morals of some kind."
Phoebe smiled, "You could stay here, in Mystic Falls."
"With a vampire that thinks all werewolves should die? No, thanks."
"I promise he won't hurt you. I won't let him," said Phoebe. "Trust me. Damon's seen my bad side, and he knows he never wants to be there again. Especially not now that I've got these nifty little powers."
Hayley laughed, "Even if I did stay, where would I stay?"
"With me," said Phoebe. "We supernatural creatures have to stick together."
Hayley laughed again, "Before give any answer, tell me one thing: how often do you stay here?"
"Not often at all," said Phoebe.
Hayley looked doubtful, "You have your own room here."
"Yeah, that's new," said Phoebe. "My sister's boyfriend lives here – he and Damon are brothers – and so does my brother's girlfriend – three vampires total. Anyway, I used to spend the night here, fairly often, always sleeping on the couch in the library. Damon finally decided to just make me a room to stay in when I stay here. It's really not that often. But even then, it doesn't mean you have to come, too."
Hayley thought for a moment, then sighed, "I guess I could stick around a little bit longer."
Phoebe smiled, "Groovy."
When they were all done cleaning up, Rick went home, Damon called Stefan, and the girls got ready for bed. Hayley left to get what few things she had, while Phoebe finally took her bath. Damon told his brother what happened with the wolves, and that Phoebe was fine, as well as what Bonnie had found out from Luka.
When Stefan told Elena about her possibly being sacrificed, she was surprised for a brief moment. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense, and the more okay she was with it. Stefan was furious with her willingness to die in the sacrifice if she had to, but Elena was willing to do whatever it took to keep her sister from dying instead. If it came down to one of them having to die, she'd gladly give her life for her sister.
Elsewhere, Caroline returns Luka to the Grill, where he'll have no memory of Bonnie reading his mind. Tyler Packs a bag, and writes a note for his mother. He's decided to leave town with Jules. He stops by Caroline's to see her one last time, but doesn't let her know he's there. He then drops by the Grill to say goodbye to Matt. He admits he has fallen for Caroline, but how could he blame him? Caroline is an amazing girl. But she deserves better than him. She deserves someone like Matt. His last words to his old friend, before leaving town with Jules, are to be good to Caroline.
Later that night, at the Boarding House, Hayley wakes up to the sound of Phoebe's shower running. When she goes to investigate, she finds Phoebe sitting fully clothed on the floor of the shower, just letting the water run over her.
Hayley opened the door, "Phoebe? What are you doing?"
Phoebe wiped tear from her cheeks – something Hayley only now noticed, because of the running water mixing with the tears, "The shower keep any vampires from eavesdropping."
Hayley looked at her, sadly.
"I don't know why I'm so upset. I'm usually so good at keeping it together," Phoebe said, laughing at herself.
Hayley knelt down in front of her, "Phoebe, you were tortured, and left permanently scarred. You're more than allowed to be upset, you're encouraged."
Phoebe looked at her, still trying to fight the tears, but eventually gave in. She buried her face in her arms and cried away. Hayley moved to sit next to her, and held her new friend. This was the moment that sealed a lifelong friendship between the two girls.
I apologize if Phoebe being tortured was too dark for some of you, but I felt that Phoebe couldn't escape unscathed forever. Everyone else ends up with scars or is forced to undergo some kind of torture that someone – usually Phoebe – has to help them get through. I don't really remember how the idea came to me, but it did and I liked it, so I went with it. Again, I apologize to those of you who may have found it too much or too dark.
So the next chapter is the dinner party where they try to dagger Elijah. Will they succeed? Or will Phoebe stop them? Who was the anonymous person to leave the file about Phoebe dying if she tries to kill Klaus? Is there any truth to it? Or just someone trying to stop Phoebe from further developing her powers? How will Phoebe learn to control air if she doesn't know what freedom feels like? Will Phoebe figure Klaus out before the dance? Will Katherine warn him about Phoebe?
What do you guys think so far? What do you think will happen next? What do you hope to see in the future?
Oliviasladky: There will definitely be more interactions with Hayley, now that she's sticking around. I'm glad you like Phoebe's powers, I enjoy writing them – especially the more silly ones, like the bubbles or fireworks. I have so many plans for those in the future. How do you think everyone will react to hearing Phoebe's secret?
AnnaB:
EmmyAltava (aka My #1 Fan): I'm glad there was enough Stoebe in the last chapter for you, and I'm sorry there wasn't any in this one. This chapter was more focused around Phoebe and Hayley building a relationship. It was so weird to read when you guessed that Hayley was the one coming in early and said that she should've had more TVD time, because it was like you were in my head (great minds and all that, I guess). I absolutely love Hayley, and have always felt she and Phoebe would make a brilliant friendship pairing. I couldn't wait until I was able to write her in (though I had to plan so much ahead to make sure I could bring her in early, without messing anything up later on). It is sad that Phoebe's dying. When I was doing research on the condition, I had no idea that people with the condition had a shortened lifespan. It was by complete accident that I found it. That's one of the reasons I decided to go with cystic fibrosis, because unless you're looking for it, there's not really much mention of a shortened lifespan. It just made for an interesting plot twist – that will twist many times. On a side note, I'm sorry I haven't updated my Harry Potter fanfiction in a while. The chapter that I'm working on is really long, and requires a lot of research. I also handwrote most of it, so there's more time right there, having to type it up. Haha.