Thankfully Matt hadn't drunk too much so that he wasn't over the limit and could actually drive the two of them over to where Stefan wanted them to meet, which so happened to be the Mystic Falls high school.
A place where Payton hadn't been since the first time she came to town and was with her Dad. It was the carnival night and she had managed to persuade him to bring them along so she could hopefully bump into Mason who was also going to be there with Tyler.
So much had changed since that night.
She had lost them both. It hurt a lot still. The grief was still very real. But each day it was getting easier and she knew she had to face up to going places again without the two men in her life.
Jumping out of Matt's truck for the third time that day, they saw Jeremy, Elena, Caroline and Stefan sat on or stood beside a group of benches on the front of the school premises.
"What's going on?" Payton asked, as the two of them joined them.
"Stefan just told us to wait till the rest of you get here." Caroline answered.
Payton shifted her eyes over to look at Stefan in confusion, as he climbed up from his spot and wondered round to a box. Shrugging at his behaviour and what this was even about, Payton took a seat on top of the bench and Matt sat down on the lower level as they waited.
A few minutes later, Damon and Bonnie both pulled up, obviously in separate cars, but they were also sharing the same confusion as to why Stefan had gathered them all here tonight after what had occurred today.
"What are we doing here?" Damon asked, just like Payton had moments before.
"I don't know," Bonnie told him, as the two walked across the small part of grass over to the rest of them, "ask Stefan."
"Stefan, what are we doing?" Damon questioned his brother.
"We're finishing the memorial we didn't get to have earlier," Stefan explained, getting out some white lanterns from the box and he began to hand them out to everyone, a lighter also in his hand, "we need to start healing, Damon. We've all lost so much, especially recently,"
Payton took the lantern from his grasp and stared down at it, knowing full well who she had lost, as Stefan continued on his explanation, "I think we're numb to it. We push it away, we make a joke out of it, ignore how we feel. Time to just let ourselves grieve."
"So you're lighting lanterns.." Damon concluded with raised brows.
"Yeah," Stefan glanced down at the laten in his own hand and then back up at his brother, "yeah, we need to do this."
"What we need to do is find out who this hunter is and what he know's about the death of the council," Damon tried to make him see sense and that this silly mourn idea was pointless, "we have more important things to be doing right now than this."
"Not tonight, we don't," Stefan replied, as Damon scoffed and Stefan went to light his lantern, "This is for my Uncle Zach. My friend Lexi,"
His eyes rolled over to Payton's, who caught with his almost immediately, as she listened to his words and felt her chest tighten at his next mention, "For Alaric."
She forced a light smile on her lips in gratitude of his respect towards her father, as Matt took the lighter from Stefan and lit his own, continuing on with the memorial idea the Salvatore had thought up.
"This is for Vickie." Matt stated.
Caroline hopped up from the bench and took the lighter from him, "This is for my Dad. And Tyler's."
Payton felt the lighter being pushed her way by Caroline, so she slowly took it from her and went round to join them. Carefully she lit her own lantern and felt all eyes fall on her, as she glanced up from it and knew she had to play her part to really help her heal and move on.
"This is for my Dad and Mason." Payton said in a quiet and sad tone.
Turning to Jeremy who had now came over, she handed the lighter to him and he was next to say his piece.
"This is for our parents, for Vickie..." He paused looking at Matt who smiled back at him, "Anna, Jenna. And Alaric."
Jeremy glanced over at Damon and went to give him the lighter, but Damon held his hand up in refusal, "no way. I'm not doing that."
Turning on his heal in an arrogant strop like always, Damon headed back over to his car and leaving, after choosing not to partake in their memorial service for all the people they had lost.
After watching him leave, Jeremy motioned the lighter over to Bonnie who took hold of her lantern and the lighter, before coming over to join the rest of them, "This is for my grams."
Stefan glanced over at Elena, as she slowly stood up onto her feet, her breathing was shaky, "This, um...is for my Mom, my Dad and Jenna..." she looked between them all, "everyone that you've all lost. Everyone that this town has lost. And for me. I guess."
Jeremy and Elena glanced between each other, before they all took a deep breathe and let go of their lanterns, letting them float into the sky and travel far far far away, just like the people they had lost had gone far far far away, but would always remain close to their hearts.
Tying the serving apron back around her waist, Payton headed back out to the front of the restaurant after taking a short fifteen minute break during her lunch shift the following day.
So far her Dad had been going slow yet smoothly. She'd been busy waitressing the brunch and now lunch food orders to customers that had come to The Grill that day. Like everyday since she had lost her father, the job was keeping her distracted from her self destructive thoughts and preoccupied with continuing to live her life.
She was just moments away from going to check on a table she had left a while before her break, when one of her co-workers called her from behind the bar, "Yo, Payton! Get over here."
Looking back over at them, she flashed the guy a warm smile and wondered over to where he was stood beside another girl she worked with, "What's up? She asked leaning over from the other side.
"How do you reckon the pastor and the other council members got killed?" The guy asked her curiously.
Payton raised her brows up at the guy in confusion, "Why do you want to know what I think?"
"It's just weird, isn't it?" The girl added, as Payton looked over at her now, "how they all happened to be in the same place at the same time, then boom they're gone."
"Well, it was an explosion," She reminded them, after she had read the news and heard the town talking about it all week that it had been caused that way, so why did it matter what she thought, "and I think they were having some sort of meeting, so that's why they were together."
"Yeah, but those things rarely happen," The guy jumped back into the conversation, "we think that someone was actually behind it."
"Who would want to blow up a group of council members?" Payton asked them.
"Crazy things happen in this town all the time." The girl stated.
Oh didn't Payton know it!
"Someone who had a vendetta against the council could have been behind it." The guy reasoned.
"Yeah and the mayor's son, Tyler, he got shot yesterday at the memorial. I reckon someone is out to get the leaders of this town." The girl went on with her theory.
"Yeah that was tragic..." Payton breathed, really trying not to act irritated by all their speculation.
Couldn't they just leave the cops to get on with it and forget about Tyler's incident yesterday?
"How's your Dad?" The girl then asked, causing Payton to look back at her with a worried look, "I haven't seen him in town or at the bar in a while..."
"Uh, he left town." Payton lied, trying not to let her emotions come over her.
No one apart from the people involved knew what had really happened to Alaric.
"Oh, you didn't tag along?" The girl was surprised to hear this.
"Didn't fancy the travel. I've travelled most of my life. I think I'm going to stay here for a while," She explained, before leaning back up off the bar, "plus someone's got to keep the two of you in line."
The two lightly laughed at her joke, before a group of office workers came over to the bar and they went over to take their requests for drinks, given Payton the perfect opportunity to walk away from the awkwardness.
Spinning back round on her heal, she felt her stomach drop when she saw a familiar woman slip through the entrance of the Grill, their eyes instantly meeting with her own and it wasn't long before they began to approach Payton.
She felt herself speechless and unable to move.
What the hell was going on? What were they doing here?
They weren't suppose to be here!
"Mom," Payton couldn't believe that the woman was actually here, in Mystic Falls, in the place she worked at and now stood right in front of her, "What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean what am I doing here?" Amanda questioned her daughter like it was the norm for her to turn up here, "you work here, of course I'm going to come here to visit you, Payton."
"Uh," She didn't know what the hell was going on right now, Amanda wasn't suppose to be here, "how did you know I worked here?"
"You always had a thing for bars, just like your father and it wasn't too hard to track you down once I got here." Amanda explained, but continuing to act slightly strange with her.
"But how did you know I was in Mystic Falls? I never told you I was here," Payton tried to get more of the truth out from her, "don't you remember the last time we spoke? You drove off from me in Florida at the beach house.."
"Oh don't be so silly!" Amanda waved her hand in the air.
"I'm not," She couldn't help but laugh lightly in disbelief that her mother was acting so weird, "you and I haven't spoken since we had that fight over Mason."
"Sure we have," Amanda wandered past her and leant her bag on the bar side, "we caught up not too long ago, didn't we?"
Payton titled her head to the side slightly, before she folded her arms and headed round to the other side of the bar, so she could talk to her Mom properly and see if she was lying.
Because it sure as hell felt like she was right now.
Payton had been sure enough that day to compel her and it had worked. Her Mom had accepted it and allowed them to leave with no recollection of her time there. It was the best option for the time and what she needed to do.
Unless it never worked...
But how was that even possible?
"Let's cut the crap, Mom," Payton found her inner anger and fear beginning to get the better of her as her tone went bitter, "Why are you here? and I mean, really, why are you here?"
"What do you mean, Payton?" Her mother continued to stare back at her innocently, but only this time a wicked smile grew on her lips.
What was her mother's game?
"Well, you haven't exactly come for a catch up, so please do tell me the real reason as to why you've shown up here." She tried again to get the truth from her.
Payton wasn't going to back down and play along with whatever joke her Mom was getting at.
"Well, I was visiting the town with my new boyfriend and I thought I'd pop in to see you." Amanda explained.
Oh, it definitely did not come to a shock that her Mom had a new boyfriend. She always did have. That wasn't anything new. But it still didn't explain why she had come to town and knew that she would be there.
"That's funny because I never told you I was here." Payton reminded her Mom with raised brows.
"That's the crazy thing about vervain, huh?" Amanda's smile grew bigger.
She couldn't believe what she was just hearing come out of her mother's mouth.
This whole time she knew! Her Mom knew about vampires! She knew what vervain was and she was even on it. The day when Payton came to visit her and spoke about her father, then compelled the memory of her visit away, Amanda had remembered it all and waited until now to confess to Payton.
How was it even possible? How did Amanda know about vampires? How did she even get a hold of vervain?
"So you know..."
"Of course I do. I've known for a very long time," Amanda began to admit to Payton, who was still trying to get her head around even seeing her Mother again, let alone that she knew about this crazy world, "I've been on vervain since the day your father warned me about vampires."
Payton scoffed in disbelief that no one, not even her father when he was alive, had bothered to inform her about this news.
Now she had made a right fool out of herself by trying to compel her mother when it hadn't even worked properly.
"He never told me you were one though," Amanda said after Payton went silent and was now lowering her head slightly, "I have to say it shocked me after you came to visit that day."
"Well, he didn't know until recently." Payton explained, ignoring the other comment from her mother.
She was just hurt by all this and pissed at herself for not realising sooner.
"Must have hurt him a lot to find out that you were one." Amanda remarked.
"Of course," She glanced back up at her mother with a stern look, "but we moved on from that."
"How is that possible?" Amanda didn't understand how Rick, someone who had been so against the supernatural and in particular vampires, could have ever accepted Payton for who she was now, "I take it he didn't take a liking to Mason too well either..."
"I don't have time for this..."
Payton began to walk out from the side of the bar and head over to the table she had been serving earlier, not wanting to hear another word out of her mother's mouth, when it was all beginning to make sense to Payton now.
Her mother was still being just as harsh as ever. She wasn't over the whole Mason thing. Amanda had clearly been playing along that day Payton came to visit. Now she had an even bigger disliking to her daughter now she was aware of her true identity.
She didn't want to even be in Amanda's presence right now.
Payton was hugely hurt and angry by all of this. She was only then starting to rebuild her life after her losses. Now her mother was storming in here trying to make her feel awful again for everything that had happened the past few months.
She wouldn't let it happen. She wouldn't let her mother be the reason she went over the edge again.
No way! It wasn't happening.
But before Payton could take herself away from the nasty woman and the situation, her mother grabbed her wrist and prevented her from going any further, which followed by a harsh stinging sensation to erupt over her skin from where her mother was touching.
With all the strength she had, Payton snapped her wrist out of her mother's grasp and saw the burn now beginning to heal on her wrist, her eyes rolling away from the mark and down to her mother's hand where she saw some vervain held tightly in her fingers.
"What the hell..." Payton hissed at her Mom, looking back up at her face in disgust and anger that she had just done that to her.
What had her mother turned into?
It felt like since the day Payton turned eighteen, her mother had been out to get her for no apparent reason. It never seemed to make sense to her. The Mason situation had been the last straw. But this was next level.
"I really hate to have to put you in this position, Payton, but I have to finish what your Dad started..."
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" Payton eyed her mother integratedly.
"You'll see." Amanda grabbed her purse off the bar counter, before shoving the vervain back inside and then pushing past Payton, heading back towards the door she had come in not too long ago.
Payton glanced down at her wrist in annoyance, seeing the burn now completely gone, but the emotional scars that her mother had inflicted were very much still there and so was the confusion as to what her mother's plan was and what it meant for Payton.
A little while later, after Payton had slipped out back to calm herself down and then get back to waitressing, she was relieved when she saw more of a friendlier face walk through the doors of the Mystic Grill and come over to meet her in the far corner of the room.
"Hey," Matt greeted her, noticing that she didn't seem or look right from the moment he had walked in the door, "everything ok?"
"No," She shook her head, figuring honesty was the best policy, "I'm not."
"What's wrong?" He asked, his concern now growing.
"It's so messed up..." Payton mumbled.
"Isn't most of our lives?" Matt raised his brows with a small smile, before he nudged her arm, "c'mon, what's happened?"
"You saw me that day compel my Mom, didn't you?" She asked him.
"Yeah, of course." He nodded, wondering where she was going with this.
"Well it didn't work." Payton answered.
"Oh," Matt was confused, he thought it had, Payton's Mom had certainly acted like it had worked, "how do you know?"
"Because she shew up here just a while ago! At first she tried to make it out like I was the one who didn't know about the visit, but once I figured out what she was up to, she basically confirmed it herself." She explained to him in an angered tone.
"What the hell..." Matt was now just as confused as she was when her Mom had showed up.
"I know! That's not even the worst part.." Payton ran her fingers over her hair in distress.
"Go on." He urged her to continue.
"She know's everything. She know's my Dad's dead. She know's about the supernatural. She know's I'm a vampire. She's been on vervain since the day my Dad told her about all this crazy ass stuff," She explained to him, the recollection of it all was making her anger rise once again, "she burned me with vervain and told me that she's going to finish what my Dad started..."
"What your Dad started?" Matt repeated in confusion, before the realisation hit him, "You mean...the whole hunting thing?"
Payton looked back at him worriedly, the idea had been flooding through her mind since the moment her Mom had walked out of the Grill, but hearing Matt say it out loud now was making her feel physically sick.
"God, Payton, I don't even know what to say," He felt so terrible for her, but knew he had to confess something else to her, "I really don't want to be the bearer of bad news today, but there's something else you need to know..."
"What?" She folded her arms, feeling more worried now.
Was her whole life just one big never ending circle of bad luck?
"The hunter was at school earlier." Matt confessed.
"What?" Payton looked at him in shock, "is everyone ok? No one's hurt are they?"
"Everyone's fine," He assured her of that, but that wasn't the problem, "but I don't think he was there for them."
"What do you mean?"
Matt looked back at her worriedly, "He asked me about you. He thought you were my girlfriend, probably because of last night..."
"What do you mean last night?" She asked him in confusion.
They hadn't seen the hunter!
Heck, she didn't even know what he looked like.
After the memorial Stefan had arranged for them, they had gone back to Payton's apartment and shared a couple of drinks, before Matt headed home for the rest of the night and Payton went to bed.
They hadn't past anyone in town nor had they been out for long.
"At the Grill. We were at the bar and that guy asked about my neck," Matt reminded her, causing her eyes to roll down to the floor in realization, "we didn't know it at the time, but he was the hunter, Payton. He threatened me at school today with a knife if I didn't tell him the truth about you."
Her head snapped back up at his words, even just hearing that this guy had threatened Matt sent more rage flooding through her body. But it wasn't just the threat that was playing on her mind.
It was also that this hunter had asked him about her.
Why her out of all of them? Why was she so important to him? What had she done so bad as a vampire to deserve him coming after her? How did he even know her name?
Surely she had been careful enough not to blow her cover.
"Ok," She slowly nodded her head, trying to process all this craziness, now it wasn't just her Mom she had to worry about, it was this psycho too, "so what happened next? You didn't tell him about me, did you?"
"No," He shook his head, "I told him you weren't a vampire."
"How did he take that?" Payton asked him, "Surely he didn't believe you..."
"Well, I pointed him in the direction of another." Matt informed her.
"Who?"
"Rebekah."
Payton sighed lightly at his confession, before her hands were running over her face again and she could have burst into tears right there and then. But she had cried so much lately, it felt like it was impossible for her to break down anymore.
This wasn't what she needed right now.
Her mother and a hunter on her tail.
Matt reached over and took his hands in her own, "Hey, c'mon. It's going to be alright. We'll figure it out. We always do. I'll get the others to be on look out for you if you're worried about him coming after you..."
"It's not that." Payton shook her head.
"Then what is it?" He asked.
"It's just, my Mom," She glanced back up at him with tears in her eyes now, "why does she hate me so much to do that to me? Am I not even her daughter to her anymore? Does none of that matter to her?"
"Payton..." Matt didn't know how to respond.
He didn't know Payton's mother well or what their relationship had been like before all the drama had occurred after the Mason situation. Matt only knew what Payton had told him and from what he had seen that day they visited.
Just like she had, Matt believed things were ok between the mother and daughter now after everything. But it seemed like it was far from ok. It had all been a lie.
He felt so bad for Payton.
"It's ok.." Payton said, going to push his hands away and pull herself together, when something caught her eye on Matt's wrist.
Grabbing hold of his wrist tighter, she rolled his sleeve up slightly and ignored his complaints of her hold on him, before she saw the band aid on his wrist and it wasn't long before she swiftly ripped it off to see a fresh looking bite mark on his wrist.
"What the hell is this?" She spat at him in anger, wanting to know what the hell was going on and who had been feeding on him.
It clearly was a vampire and no wonder Matt had been targetted by the hunter with band aids all over him.
Matt snatched his wrist back from her, giving her a look as to say 'don't go there, but Payton raised her brows at him to persuade him to confess all to her, "It's Elena. I'm helping her out."
"Helping her?" Payton repeated in confusion, before she shook her head and corrected him, "you mean, you're letting her use you as a human blood bag."
"Payton..." He warned her, not wanting to do this with her, espically out in the open with people around and when she was suppose to be working.
"No," She shook her head again, "this is stupid, Matt! Do you realise what you're letting her do to you? Surely Stefan doesn't approve of this..." Matt glanced down at the floor, "Oh, so he doesn't know."
"No one does," He told her, after he had finished putting the band aid back on and had rolled his sleeve back down, "it's our arrangement."
"Oh and let me guess, it's because you owe her one, because Stefan saved your life first and she got turned into a vampire.." Payton presumed, the harshness ringing in her voice.
She couldn't help but act this way towards him. Not only was she furious and hurt from what her Mother had done, but she was also worried about the hunter who seemingly was after her and now Matt was risking himself for an out of control Elena.
"Payton," Matt knew she was right, but he didn't mind doing it if it meant Elena would be alright, "just let me do this. Please, don't get involved and just focus on you. I'll be fine. I've got it under control."
Payton shook her head in defeat, knowing he was partly right that she had to focus on herself right now, but it still didn't mean that it didn't sit well with her that he was letting Elena do this to him.
It was a disaster waiting to happen in her eyes.
"What are you going to do about your Mom?" Matt asked her after silence fell on them.
"I don't know," She told him honestly, her head was all over the place, "all I know is that I'm going to continue working my shift and think about this when I'm drowning myself in booze tonight."
Payton went to walk past Matt, but he caught her arm and got her to wait, "I'm sorry, Payton."
"Just forget it," She brushed it off, sending him a small smile, "you do what you want. Thanks for saving my ass with the hunter."
"No worries," He returned the gesture, "I should probably get back to school. I only came to check on you."
"You're a good friend," Payton said as the two began to walk out of their corner and towards the exit way, "maybe too much of a good friend..."
The two stopped close to the door, Matt gave her a look, "I'll be fine. Stop worrying. I'll call you later, ok?"
She nodded her head at him, before opening up the door and letting him walk out of the Grill, a short sigh following once she was out of there and it meant she could go back to distracting herself with work.
And that she was exactly what she did for the next couple of hours.
Once her shift was over, Payton grabbed her things out of her locker and began to make her way back home. She had arranged with Stefan earlier this morning to meet later that afternoon for a hunt, so she was going to freshen up and then head out to meet him.
Pulling her cell phone out from her jacket pocket, Payton hit the home button on her phone and was surprised yet also worried due to recent events, when she saw an unrecognisable number had called her three times within the space of the past half an hour.
Her gut instinct was telling her to delete the call and block the number.
If it was the hunter trying to wean his way in, then she should have just run for the hills.
But her head wanted to know whom it was and figure this out her way.
Redialing the number, Payton put the phone up to her ear as she came into the apartment building and headed on up to the apartment, the ringing tone flooding through her ear drums as her heart beated rapidly in anticipation.
After several rings, the person finally picked up the phone and she felt an awful confusion come over her when she heard the person's voice, completely not whom she had been expecting to call her.
"Damon?" Payton tugged her hand into her pocket to pull out her keys, before she put them into the lock and headed inside her apartment.
"Finally," He exclaimed, causing her to frown deeper at why it had to be him who had been trying to get in touch with her, "what took you so long?"
"I've been working, you know some of us actually have to work to survive on this earth." She spat back at him, shrugging off her jacket and hopping up onto a bar stool.
"You're a vampire..."
"Shut up," Payton knew what was coming and she didn't want to hear it from him, no doubt it was some remark about how she could just compel someone to give her money or dodge her bills, "what do you want?"
"Well aren't you all wondering now..."
"Damon!"
"Well you didn't want me to talk so, I might as well just hang up..."
"Stop it!" Payton hissed at him, not in the mood for his stupid little games, "Why did you call me?"
"You may have a little problem.."
Payton felt her heart sink once more that day.
What else could possibly be so wrong that Damon had to be the one to tell her about it?
"What?" She said dryly.
"Our little hunter friend may be onto you." Damon admitted.
But Payton already knew that...
"Well tell me something I don't know.." She grumbled.
"What do you mean?" He asked her in confusion.
"Matt already told me earlier that the hunter had been asking after me." Payton explained.
"He has?" Damon was surprised.
"Yeah, I thought that's what you knew about too?" She was more concerned now Damon was acting unaware about it.
What else did he know about the hunter and what he wanted from Payton?
"No," He answered, causing her to feel her chest tighten, "I broke into the trailer he's been staying in and found a picture of you."
"A picture of me?" She repeated.
"Yeah," Damon said, causing her frown to grow deeper, "it wasn't recent. Maybe more than five or so years old.."
Payton was so completely lost and puzzled by all of this.
Why was the hunter so adamant on targeting her?
Out of all of them, surely she had been the one to do less vampire destructing things.
Stefan and Damon were god know's how old and both done terrible things, but they didn't have the hunter going after them as much as he was going after Payton.
But all of a sudden, something clicked in Payton's mind.
"The picture..." Payton spoke up after she had gone silent for a while, "you said it was from a few years back..."
"Yeah?" Damon said.
"Tell me more about it." She pressed.
"Uh, well, um, let's see," He began, causing Payton to roll her eyes in annoyance, "you looked ridiculously younger and less pissed off than your usual face looks.."
"Not funny." Payton shot at him.
Damon dryly laughed at her remark, before he continued, "you were in a white sundress and it looked like you were somewhere hot, european, lot's of hills and the suns setting in the background..."
Payton felt her chest tighten once again, the description he was giving her clearly making her theory she had just thought about become more and more true, which meant just more and more hurt piercing through her body.
"I think my Mom's working with the hunter."
"What?" Damon scoffed back now, clearly now the confused one, "why would your Mom be working with a slayer?"
"Because it makes perfect sense! Before my Dad died, I went to visit her and confessed that he was dying," Payton explained to him, "but then I regretted my choice and ended up compelling my visit and what I told her away,"
She hopped off the bar stool and began to pace up and down the room, "then earlier today, she turned up at the Grill whilst I was working and was acting like she remembered the whole thing, which of course in the end I found out that she did actually know about my visit and everything I said because the compulsion didn't even work!"
"Well you suck..."
"But that's not just it, Damon," Payton interjected before the guy could slam her anymore than he already was, "my Mom couldn't be compelled. She's been on vervain ever since my Dad told her about vampires. I had no idea about this until earlier today."
"So why do you think she's working with him?" He asked.
"Because she told me that she was here with her new boyfriend and that she was going to finish what my Dad started." She informed him.
"So the reason the guy asked Matt about you and had a picture of you was because your Mother's working with him..." Damon gathered.
"I think so." Payton answered.
"Well that is a problem.."
"Everything alright?"
Payton glanced up from the animal blood she had just consumed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, looking over at Stefan now who was pulling two blood bags out from a cool bag for them to drink for their rations that day
"Yeah," She nodded slowly, bending back up and giving him a weird look, "why?"
"I don't know," He began to come over to her, before he handed her a blood bag, "you've just been more quiet than usual."
"Hmm..." Payton took the bag from him, before ripping it open and taking small sips out of the bag, trying to keep herself in control and work on her thirst.
But with how she was really feeling, it was more of a struggle than usual and it wasn't only her who had noticed it, but Stefan too.
"What's going on?" Stefan asked, watching her worriedly
"Didn't Damon tell you?" She looked back at him.
"Tell me what?" He repeated in confusion.
"That our little hunter friend is after me." Payton confessed, before downing the rest of the blood and handing the empty bag over to him.
"What do you mean 'after you'? Isn't he after all of us?" Stefan questioned, taking it from her and putting it away.
"Well technically yes," She nodded in response, watching him as he ripped open his own blood bag, "but he threatened Matt at school today. He was asking him about me and then Damon called me to tell me he found a picture of me in the hunters trailer,"
His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion at her revealation, but Payton still had more to explain, "and that's not the worst part..."
"There's more?" He asked.
"My Mom showed up at work today, which she wasn't even suppose to know I even worked at the Grill let alone was even in Mystic Falls. The day my Dad was suppose to die and not follow through with the transition, I went to visit her and told her as briefly as I could that he was dying,"
"but then I chickened out and wiped the whole lot, including my visit and everything I said from her. I compelled her and I thought it had work. It did work even, just not on her. She's been taking vervain ever since my Dad apparently told her about vampires,"
Stefan frowned deeper at everything she was saying, "she's known about vampires and the supernatural. She knew that my Dad was a vampire hunter and she's back in town with her so called boyfriend to finish what my Dad started."
"God, Payton," He sighed in hopelessness for the girl, feeling terrible at she had experienced today with her Mom showing up and having the hunter on her back, "what are you going to do?"
"Honestly, I don't know. But I reckon this so called 'boyfriend' is the hunter. It has to be! Why else would he have a picture of me from Italy where I use to live with my Mom before I went off to college and the same place my Mom still visits?" Payton theories with him.
"It does make sense," Stefan nodded in agreement with her, "but why would your own mother want to take you down and work with some psycho?"
She lowered her head at his words, the painful reminder of what her mother's arm were hitting her, "because she's lost. She has no one else. She probably blames me for my Dad's death since I'm a vampire."
"It wasn't your fault though." He reminded her.
"But my Mom probably believes it is," Payton glanced back up at him, "she's only going by what she think she know's and whatever that psycho has got into her head."
"Well we won't let either of them get to you," Stefan informed her convincingly, "I promise you."
She lightly smiled over at him, appreciating his kindness, but also knowing that not everyone could be around to protect her always. Payton would have to stand up for herself and look out for her.
Something she felt like she was use to anyway.
"I just really don't need my Mom coming here and being like this with me, you know?" Payton grumbled, her eyes trailing to the floor once again, "I already feel so alone and like I don't belong anywhere. The two people closest to me are dead. My Mom's trying to kill me. Matt just relates to my pity and everyone else, well, they just put up with me because I'm Alaric's daughter and I'm just here."
"Payton, we went over this the other day..." Stefan sighed lightly, wishing she'd just accept that she was apart of their group and very much welcomed.
It was painful to watch her keep putting herself down, especially now with her Mom working against her, it wasn't what she needed to be doing.
"I don't have anyone back home either. I killed Emma and everyone else we were close with was so suspicious of me that they just got up and left." Payton said in a frustrated and saddened tone.
"Well they suck," He responded jokingly, as she looked over at him with a confused look, "because they don't get to put up with you and your wonderful personality."
Payton rolled her eyes playfully at his comment, before shoving him away and letting out a small laugh, "Yeah right..."
"Oh c'mon," Stefan chuckled back at her response, he knew that the old happy go lucky Payton was in there somewhere, "it made you smile though, didn't it?"
"I guess." She raised her brows slightly at him.
Stefan ripped open his blood bag and went to drink, but before asking her "Do you think you could come back to the house with me? I want to talk to you and Caroline about something."
"Oh," Payton was surprised to hear that she was going to be included, "what's it about?"
"Just something important. I need both of your opinions. I trust you both to help me." He answered, before consuming the blood.
"Yeah," She slowly nodded, seeing that she could do with the distraction from her own worries and wouldn't then have to be alone in the apartment, but also special that he wanted her to help him, "I'll come."
They arrived at the Salvatore boarding house a little while later. It was quiet and tense. The ride over had been silent. Both of them had been in their own heads, trying to figure their way out of their own problems.
Payton was also curious as to what Stefan's was. It felt somewhat unusual for Stefan to ask for her opinion on something. She thought he would have just asked Caroline's since the two were closer. But maybe her view mattered to him too.
Maybe she did belong in this town more than she originally thought.
Coming through the front door, Stefan lead the way through and motioned over to the sitting room, "Take a seat. I'll be back in a sec."
Nodding back at him, Payton wandered over to the couch and took a seat down, before her eyes trailed over to one spot in the room in particular. The spot she always looked at whenever she came back to the boarding house.
The spot Mason died.
It still made her stomach do somersaults and her heart sink every time the painful memory hit her. It was hard. She believed she'd never be able to get over what happened and be able to get the images of his death out of her head.
She was only now beginning to accept his death.
But everytime she stepped through the front door of the Salvatore residence, she just saw Mason sat there in a chair, chained up and wounded, his bloody heart lying on the floor, whilst she held his dead head in her hands and sobbed her heart out, whilst Damon watched on smugly from the side.
"Would you like a drink?"
The sound of Stefan's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and her eyes quickly trailed over to where he was stood behind the couch opposite near the drinks cart, holding up a bottle of bourbon and a glass.
As she looked at him, she saw that a few tears had formed in her eyes and it also didn't go unnoticed to Stefan, who had already gathered the moment he had walked back in the room and saw her staring that she was thinking about Mason's death.
"Uh yeah, sure." Payton responded dryly.
Stefan began to pour himself and her a drink of bourbon each, before he came over and handed her over the glass, "It will get easier, you know?"
Taking the glass from him, she watched as Stefan took a seat on the couch opposite and looked back at her, "What will?" She said pretending to act oblivious.
"You know, coming to this house and seeing where Mason died. It might not ever go away, but it will get easier to live with." He answered.
Payton lowered her head slightly at his words, before taking a large gulp of the bourbon and leaning back with a slight sigh. She really wanted to believe Stefan was right. Deep down she did know he was right. But right now, it just seemed so hard to accept that she would ever be able to deal with it any easier.
An uncomfortable silence came over the two of them again, so when the door opened up and a familiar blonde female strolled into the house, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief to have someone else's company with them.
"Hey you two." Caroline greeted them in her usual cheery tone.
"Hey." Payton forced a smile at her, leaning up slightly in her seat.
"Hey," Stefan also greeted his friend, looking over at her, "thanks for coming."
"Not everyday I get summoned by a Salvatore and a Saltzman," Caroline exclaimed with a light laugh, before standing in front of the two of them, noticing how off the two seemed, "so what's up?"
"I want to ask you both a question," Stefan began, looking between the two of them, "Do you remember what you were like before you turned?"
"Mm, you mean an insecure control freak?" Caroline remarked, before she took a seat down on the arm chair in the middle of them, "yeah."
"Trust me," Payton cut in, wanting to have her say on the matter, because she felt like they had to know, "I was polar opposite. I was a lot better than this. I was actually fun and a lot less emotional too."
"Yeah, but you both grew into yourself when you became a vampire," Stefan said with an amused smile on his face, "You changed. And Elena, she's changing too. And I want her to be able to enjoy it without all the guilt and shame that I went through,"
Payton felt her eyes roll down slightly, knowing fully well that's how she felt right now, so didn't understand why Stefan wanted to her involved when she was in the exact same mess as he was,
"and there was a moment today when she did. And when I'm with her, every bone in my body tells me to join her, to enjoy it. But I know that if I do, even a little...I risk becoming him," he paused slightly with a shake to his head, "the ripper,"
Caroline and Payton both glanced over at each other sadly, before their eyes fell back onto Stefan, "I love her, and I don't want to hold her back."
"But you don't know how to be around her and still resist the urge," Caroline guessed, as her eyes then trailed back over to Payton, knowing she had to include the girl in this too, "neither of you can be around human blood, especially you Stefan, at a time like this..."
Now Payton was somehow understanding why she was here.
Stefan wanted to confide in Caroline about his blood control, the same blood control Payton was struggling with. He wanted her to felt assured and part of the group by being there with him when he got advice.
"Damon promised he'd help me stay off the edge, but, uh, he and I we're not in a very good place right now, not when it comes to her," Stefan explained further, "I just thought you're both so good at it, at being a vampire..."
"No..." Payton quickly interjected, knowing fully well she shouldn't have been included in that.
She wasn't good at being a vampire. She sucked at it. Payton would never come close to being 'good' at it.
"No, seriously, you say you're not and you do have your struggles, but you're in control," He assured her, which definitely caught her by surprise, "a lot more than you actually think you are and I envy how much easier you have it. You're doing so well in your training,"
Payton shook her head again at his words, not agreeing with him at all, whilst Caroline was just curious as to find out how close the two actually seemed to be. She knew that Payton also struggled with blood. But she had no idea that the two confided in each other about,
Plus what was this training all about?
"I'm lagging behind and I don't want to hold you back either."
"Because of you, Stefan" Payton told him before he could go on, "I'm good at it because of you. You've helped me so much. I'm better because of you."
Caroline couldn't help but smile at the moment the two were sharing, it was sad to hear about their problems, but inspiring to hear they stuck together, "What training?" she asked.
"Uh, Stefan and I," Payton began, looking over at the girl now, "We've been hunting and rationing our human blood count. We're working together and it's been helping a lot."
Stefan smiled lightly over at Payton, as Caroline continued to smile at them both, "Well that's great! But the two of you can come to meet whenever you want and I won't let either of you lose control."
Payton nodded back at her in appreciation, before finishing off the rest of her drink and looking over at Stefan. He smiled lightly back at her, before also having some of his own drink and leaning back on the couch.
Maybe, just maybe, Payton did belong here.
Author note: Hello everyone! Sorry updates have been SO slack lately. I'm just having trouble writing at the moment. Nothing is flowing and I suck. But I hope this chapter was good enough for you guys and that you enjoyed it. I hope you liked Payton's Mom being brought back into it. She'll be making an appearance from now on and is coming with A LOT of baggage, so prepare yourselves for that and an emotional rollercoaster.
Special thanks to kuppcake, RHatch89, LMarie99, Adela, HPuni101 and the guest reviewers for reviewing the last part. Maybe Payton's Mom shouldn't have come back in it kuppcake hahah she isn't here to take care or comfort her daughter that's for sure. So many mixed comments on Stayton or Mayton? Like ahhh I can't even chose myself!
Thank you to everyone for reading :) means the world.
I'd love to know what you thought about this one - What do you think Payton's Mom is going to be like? How do you think things are going to go between Matt and Payton? Will they remain friends or will they ever develop into something more? What about Stefan? Could there be something between him and Payton if Elena wasn't around?
Have a great weekend,
guiltypleasurexo
