So for like a millisecond I felt super confident in the mission and then... we parked the car. All that gas that was hyping me up? GONE. Why was I confident to begin with? Matty Blue Blue and I are both human. HUMAN. AS IN KILLABLE. Like anything can kill us. Had he been a bad driver, we'd been BOOM: DEAD. Had we been allergic to latex with the amount of that shit lying in this ambulance, it'd have been a slow death but best believe death was coming! SHIT I COULD DIE RIGHT NOW FROM THE ANXIETY IM GIVING MYSELF!
"Catia are you okay?" Why he asking that? Obviously I'm good!
"Yeah. Yes. Yup. Why would I not be okay, Matt? Mmm like we got this in the bag. I have a plan!" Right the plan. What was the plan again? My genius plan that got us here.
"Alright how about we take some deep breaths before we make any giant moves?" Giant moves? Anything we do next is giant! Because our lives are so miniscule and whatever we do next will indicate just how miniscule they are!
"I know how to breath Matt. It's only human, just like US!" Expendable. That's the word, if ever a word represented us right now, it would be that one.
"Yeah you haven't taken a breath since I parked the car. So here's what I'm gonna do for you, I'm gonna play your favorite song for you. What's your favorite song?" Maybe he's right. I should breath. Like all the way down to my asshole. That's how big my breaths need to be. In. Out. In. Out. In. Oh my god what the fuck is the next step?! Im gon need the song.
"Hips Don't Lie."
"Really?" Is he really judging my song choices. What he got against Shakira? What he got against hips? Hips that do not lie? This is an ICONIC song, that will 100 percent stand the test of time. But I ain't got time to beef with Matt if I aint get this breathing all the way down to my bootyhole.
"Are you gonna play the song or not?!" He quickly connects his bluetooth and soon I'm soothed by Wyclef Jean. Just like that, my breath finds its way to my butthole and my hips begin to shake.
"Oh baby, when you talk like that, you make a woman go mad." YASSSS this is my motherfucking song! I'm up now and your bitch got moves if I do say so myself, and your boi Matty Blue Blue is shooketh, as he damn well should be.
"Matt, show me what you got." If we gon die we should at least dance one last time. I aint about to go out, wack and dry as fuck. One last dance should leave me good.
"I can't do what you're doing. You're literally breaking your hips." His eyes wide. Like I said shooketh. I know he ain't seen this latin spice around here.
"You don't need to do what I do. You just need to FEEL IT." I say grabbing on to his hips, and he closes his eyes. He straight up looks like he summoning the ancient lords of belly dancing, but when they popped open again my boy gave me a BODY ROLL, I will readily admit that I was not expecting that, today, tomorrow, or in a hundred years. This wasn't no Matty Blue Blue this had to be Trevor Banks.
"YASSSSS BITCH!" Trevor Banks and I popped off in the ambulance. I know that if we make it out alive we are definitely going to Drag Night. Just as my boy and I getting in sync, the music cuts and the phone starts ringing. It's Damon's dusty ass. Matt picks up cause I would just let him go to voicemail, killing my party like that.
"Why aren't you in the building yet? We've seen the ambulance at the edge of the frame for like 5 minutes now." Is he rushing me? Cause I know, he. Not. Rushing. Me.
"Ughh we've been... preparing." Matt answers.
"Yes.. preparing."
"Well how long does it take to prepare?" Honestly everything Damon ever says is beyond irritating.
"However long we need, son. You know mentally preparing myself to go into a battlefield, so I'm gon take some time." I say grabbing some scrubs and throwing it at him, while slipping mine over my look.
"Can't believe we're trusting a bunch of amateurs."
"Damon if you don't put someone else on and/or shut the fuck up, I will hang up." I truly do not have the patience to be tested today. Cap. Mask. Gloves.
"I give you thirty seconds be-"
"Hey Catia, its Stefan. If you could just alert us when you do enter the building. If you need a breath beforehand take it, we understand that this isn't easy." Awww my baby Stefan. If I could send him a kiss I would.
"Will do. Now I'm going to give Matt my bluetooth headphones so that y'all can three way call us and we'll all be linked. I have found another pair of headphones that I can hide in my hair. I will also give Matt the hat so that you also have a visual of his movements. Sounds good?" Matt gives me a thumbs up as he slips the hat on.
"Yes." A unanimous yes from the squad at headquarters. We switch from speaker to headphones. They dial in Matt and we are all linked. Matt grabs the medical equipment bag.
"Alright Trevor it's showtime." I smile. This is where we find out if I'm gonna be a cool enough character to not be killed indefinitely. Matt and I hop out the back.
"Let's give em a show, Christiana." So far I think we are nailing this!
"Who are you guys talking too?" Caroline asks and she needs to mind her business. Trevor smirks at me and I say Trevor because that was too smooth to be Matty Blue Blue. I strut my way to the front door of the school thinking this too damn easy, the door is just mere feet away from me.
"Excuse me! We are with Channel 6 News can you tell us a little bit about what's happening here?" And there it is. Why this girl gotta be so nosy? Oh right she's a news reporter. But like ain't she compelled to think she got facts already. Mmmmmhmm interesting development.
"It's classified information. It would be best if you clear the area for the safety of the citizens inside and yourself." OKAY TREVOR FOR THE WIN.
"Yup. What he said." Really bitch? Don't you study theatre/ You couldn't even, Yes And, that one? Okay, okay I messed up but next one I for sure got it.
"Now if you will excuse us, we have work to do." Thank god for Trevor. He leaves abruptly this is a man on a mission. And I need to catch up because I am also on this mission. We walk inside and honestly I'm a little surprised at how easy that was but I know the hard part will come after everything goes right as it usually does.
"We're in." I whisper as I begin taking off my scrubs. My job is to get to the boiler room downstairs.
"We see that." Ughh they let Damon on the speaker again. I cough a shut the fuck up and leave my scrubs in Trevor's medical bag.
"Hey you killed it back there and now it's my turn to step up. I'll see you on the other side." I say as I tie my hair up in a bun. Matt smiles at me so bright I have no choice to believe that the other side will not be the Other Side but the parking lot as planned, at least I hope.
"We got this." Matt nods and then Trevor marches away like a soldier going into battle. Okay I'm up.
"Caroline, get me to that boiler room." Two hallways and a set of stairs later I'm starting to wonder where the heck these bad guys at? It's actually making me more nervous that I don't know where they are. I reach the boiler room.
"Who are you? And who sent you?" Oop and that's bad guy number one talking to Matt. I pause.
"Hi, yes, I'm the "paramedic". The boss sent me in because the kids were starting to get suspicious." Wow, where is my boys Tony? Matt really is a natural at this because I'm over here sweating gallons and I'm not even in his vicinity. Catia. FOCUS. No Christiana focus. Instantly my anxiety melts away. I'm too cool to be freaking out.
"Okay that's the valve all you have to do is switch it to the vervain supply." Stefan says I'm sure he the one who turned it off.
"Easy." I go to the valve and push until I am winded. "Okay, not easy." I look at the valve and it is rusted and eroded. Also bent out of proportion like they never wanted it turned back. Awesome. I am a strong woman. This will not be my defeat. I hit the ground, a couple of pushups oughta get me there.
"Is... she doing pushups?" Damon asks.
"Yes, do you want me to flip this valve or not?" I say attempt take number two, confident it will work this time. It doesn't. I hear Matt whispering instructions to the kids and telling them not to panic because he's gonna get them out of here but he needs them to slowly migrate towards the parking lot exits in the gym. So basically, I'm hearing him succeed over the sight of my own failure. And trust me I have given it my all because a girl is huffing and puffing.
"Stefan you coulda gave me a heads up and told me I was gonna need a club for this."
"Apologies, I forget that we are not of the same strength." So he forgets he's a vampire, I don't buy it.
"Alright guys, the students are alerted, ditching scrubs to blend in and start distraction."
"Do not start a distraction until I turn the valve."
I squeeze myself in between the small space between the wall and the valve and start kicking it from the side. I imagine my legs gotta be stronger. I mean they hold my body up and I am not light. With a little more resolve the valve actually starts moving, thank god! But it's going like a millimeter at a time.
"I'm being watched. I have to start the distraction."
"I repeat do not start the distraction until I have turned the valve." Lord come on, I straight start donkey kicking the valve.
"I have to start now."
"I REPEAT do not start yet." I am kicking the hardest I can and I can just hear the bated breath on my mic as they watch me commit physical labor. Why did I give myself this task again? Oh right because it was supposed to be the easiest one. And yet here I am still not achieving my damn goal.
"I'm sorry but I'm starting now."
"Give, Storm a minute!" Was that Damon? Did he just call me something other than ladyboy? Good cause that term needs to die.
"Did you just call her Storm?" Bonnie asks and I get it ideally she's Storm in this narrative what with her witchy woo woo powers and she woulda made a great Storm on X-Men but alas here we are. I even pioneered the campaign of her getting that role.
"Yeah I like her hair." Damon mutters. Ha. He likes my hair. He thinks I'm cutttteee. Okay now that I got my kindergarten mentality out of the way, it's time to go hard.
"The candle is lit." Damn Matt/Trevor for killing the game right now. But this plan doesn't work unless I make this work. So it's time. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
"Super Saiyan mode activate." I open my eyes, it's go-time. I feel the energy coursing through my veins and kick like my life depends on it because it do. And my foot connects with the valve and it clicks into the vervain supplies. I exhale in disbelief and everyone at headquarters applauds. Mentally I'm on cloud nine right now but physically my back is killing me and I totally over extended my leg. The rest of this mission is gonna consist of me limping, how pathetic. I should be Naomi Campbell strutting after this.
"Okay and the hallway is on fire." More claps, but dare I say less claps then I received? I limp my way out thank god the water system is activated, I did my job. But also I am hot as all hell and want nothing more than to strip under these sprinklers. I'm so glad the gang can't see me because I am sweating through this lace front honey and my man Stefan can't be seeing me like this. I see one of those trash can on a cart things that janitors use and put all my body weight on it because I need it to be my new legs. I'm finally starting to breathe at a normal rate. God bless the water hitting me in the face right now.
"What are you doing down here?" Fuck. Fuck. Bish you need to get it together!
I turn around to be met with what I gotta guess is a heretic because this man looks like he is glitching thru the matrix. His skin burning cause of the vervain and healing itself because of his magic. Honestly it's both cool and repulsing.
"Did you hear me? Who allowed you down here?"
"Catia keep your cool it's clear the vervain is slowing him down, so if anything run." Bonnie tells me. Except I can't run, he'll catch my limp noodle ass two steps in. No, I need to outsmart him.
"Que Señor?"
"What?" He steps closer. It's like the ugly became high definition.
"Mira yo nadamas trabajo aqui! Entonces si tu me puede dejar tranquila para que yo puedo recoger mi cheque al fin de la semana, por favor." I hear Stefan chuckle. I love it when he understands me.
"Bloody hell, an immigrant." Says the immigrant in his British accent.
"Do YOU SPeAk EnGLisH?" Lord.
"NO! Do ju speaky SpANIsH?" Two can play this game, colonizer. I'm telling you we are staring at each other in this wet hallway anime style, because it's about to go down if it has too. He groans.
"You know what you're not worth my time Mexican, or whatever you are?" Cough, cough racist. My boy has never seen an Afro-latina before but I guess I can't blame him. He's been dead for like a century and apparently only white people existed back then, according to history books.
"Vete par diablo." I smile.
"What?!" Lord you would swear he's deaf.
"I say ju should go doctor. O que te busque una crema para ese piel por que tu si estas feo." Okay I'm pushing my luck but I had to roast. He just rolls his eyes and walks away AND my limp just got a lot easier to strut with. Trevor aint the only one who got it like that.
"Clever Catia." Stefan says and I know he's smiling.
"Gracias."
"So I locked the gym doors as best I can, but it seems like all of them are outside trying to get in. I need you guys to take care of it as I try to evacuate the kids."
"You guys? You guys is me!" I squeal under my breath.
"It sure is Storm, you're up." Sigh I really thought I could get away with this without endangering myself, but who was I kidding?
"Señor Ugly! Donde estas me cheque, lo quiero ahora! ¡Odio este trabajo! Y yo se que tu trabajas aquí gringo entonces traeme mi cheque!" When in doubt throw a fit.
"Alright that's enough I'm bringing you to the others, we'll decide if exotic is on the menu." He says grabbing me.
"No me toque, Señor Ugly, yo nadamas quiero mi dinero!" I say yanking my arm away from him and walking alongside him, he decides it's easier for him if we just do that I mean he is still glitching and of course he's not gonna consider little crazy, nagging, me a threat.
"Did I hear correctly, are you calling me ugly?" …. It means something else in Spanish. Insert Papi's laugh from The Proud Family. I actually just look at him in utter confusion and he just shakes his head. I pretend to start talking to God.
"Ayyy Papacito Estefan dile a la muchacha poderosa que cuando llegamos al lugar donde están todos que encierra el lugar y que pare la magia." I am deep into this character, prayer hands to the sky, this isn't Christiana this is my Yubelkis.
"Roger that." Stefan snickers. Glad I could make him laugh before I do this reckless act. But at this rate I need this ugly man to go faster if Matt's relying on me.
"You'll find out if there's a god soon enough." He laughs at me. I smile at him naively as if I understand him as we finish walking up the stairs.
"Donde estas el gimnasio?" He chuckles as if I'm stupid and he would love nothing more than a helpless supper.
"Straight down the hallway take a right at the end and it's your last left." Stefan answers. Beautiful now I need the adrenaline to kick in to make this Forrest Gump run. I stop and take a giant breath, ugly looks back at me, and I bounce. I'm no trackstar but I feel like one the way I'm whippin through this hallway on this limp. I don't bother looking back cause I rather not see him catch me, but I do hear him screaming behind me. The turn is what fucks me up. I'm zipping through these streets but these floors are soaked and lemme tell you I am no longer running. I am sliding down this hallway that seems to still have some flames that have yet to be doused courtesy of Trevor but hopefully I slide long enough to get to the gym via a flame less path. But there's a group of people and I knock all of them to the ground with me. If this were bowling I'd have won but honestly, ouch. I look up and I see we're outside the gym. Meaning I did it! I just took care of the threat, yes! Wait, that means I'm lying in a pile of heretics…. Oh shit.
"Hey you get back here!" Ugly limping towards me.
"La magia ahora!" I say as I start crawling out of this disgusting game of twister.
"Bonnie seal the hallway and eliminate the magic."
"Working on it." I have full faith in my hoe she can totally do this. Although it's most definitely never been done before. I'm almost out of this pile of rotting and refreshing skin, until one of them grabs my foot and raises me off the ground. Great now all my blood is gonna rush to my head and the sprinklers are getting water in my nose.
"What do we have here?" Says some white woman as her dummy keeps a hold of me. I smile at them innocently. Wait this isn't just any boring middle aged white woman, it's
"Mother." Damon and Stefan growl. Mommy issues much. Mama Salvatore herself. She's actually quite tiny. If she wasn't magical I could easily throw hands. Right now though I'm just impressed my wig isn't slipping off my head, Caroline's girl does some good work.
"Some janitor, I believe she works here, I can't understand her." Oh thanks to Ugly for reminding me because I totally forgot about my cover.
"Señora yo nadamas quiero mi cheque y estas gente no me lo quieran dar. Despues me voy a mi casa y lo dejó tranquilo. A mi no me importa lo que los gringos hacen para divertirse." I say as if on the verge of tears.
"Put her down, can't you tell the woman is scared?" She smiles. Ahhh she's going to do the lure me into a fake sense of safety. I'm down to play along, goonie number 1 puts me down. She walks up to me and runs her fingers through my hair. I swear I hear Bonnie and Caroline gasp. It takes everything in me not to swat that gringas hand from my hair but I eat it and shelve it deep inside along with the long list of other micro aggressions I've suffered through and smile at her as if I can maybe trust her. Viola Davis who? Just kidding I love that Bitch she's my idol. But Mama Salvatore best recognize, I will not forget that her first instinct was to put her hand all up in my hair.
"Don't trust her Catia." Damon whispers like obviously was I born yesterday? But he said my name right which means he's deadly serious.
"Aren't you young? Are you sure she's not a student? You look a little sick darling, maybe we should get you some help like the rest." She leads me to the gym doors that I know are locked. I need Bonnie to do her juju like now.
"Me no sick, ju es sick." I point to some rotting flesh worried. Her white savior smile cracks.
"Don't you worry about me sweetheart I'll be okay." She says clearly not okay as she drags me to the gym door and grabs the door handle just about ready to rip the door off its hinges.
"I evacuated all the students onto the buses. Just waiting on Catia now." Damn how did Matt end up getting the easiest job.
"Que? Que estas pasando?! Dime si puedo correr ahora?" I say as I back away from her.
"Bonnie?"
"Almost there." She sounds like she's draining.
"No, Bonnie you have to stop!"
"I'm not watching you die again." Lord did I not say she not allowed to die this time that was the one rule I gave her. What can I say martyrs love to martyr.
"Dile que pare! Yo voy a salir de aqui yo sola!" Damn if someone gonna die today, it's gonna be me! How dare she try to steal my big moment. She better wipe the blood from her nose cause I'm about to do something DUMB DUMB.
"She said stop Bonnie! She'll figure a way out!"
"You have no reason to be scared." Mama Salvatore says in the scariest way possible. She starts to cough as do the rest of the heretics, which means Bonnie isn't listening but she is saving my ass. And I run for it, yup that's my plan, so far it's worked. I'm looking back at these heretics hacking up blood and run right into a hard ass body at the end of the hallway. Like are these people made of metal, damn? I look up it's Enzo. He's just as surprised to see me. Before I could open my mouth he whisks me away into a classroom. This could be sexy if my anxiety level wasn't through the roof.
"What are you doing here?" He whispers as if his crew isn't busy choking to death.
"Honestly? I'm trying to save the day, so if you could let me do that. It would be super awesome and cool of you." I hope he thinks me adorable enough that he lets me live and betray Mama Salvatore.
"Since when do you two know each other?" Stefan asks and I can hear Caroline huffing. But I'm just wondering if Stefan a lol jelly cause clearly I'm hot on these streets. Everybody want a lil some of this.
"Do not tell him anything!" She squeals damn this girl can be annoying. Enzo clocks my headphones and pulls one out and talks directly into it.
"Why on earth would you send this poor girl here?
"Why on earth would you be working with the bad guys to do this?"
"I tried to warn you about this but you wouldn't listen to me!"
"What? No."
"Caroline what is he sayin?"
"You knew about this?!" Oooop looks like headquarters heated with Caroline as is Enzo.
"As much as I love being in between this lover's quarrel, I need to go. Matt needs me. Also if Bonnie is still fighting the heretics despite my strict instructions not to do so you guys should evacuate the boarding house because the barrier has to be down as long as she is." Sometimes I'm a genius now if I can just find a way out. Maybe if I will my way into teleportation.
"Smart idea and we will get the magic to stop shortly after." Stefan answers.
Enzo clenches his jaw and runs to a window and smashes it open. He points his hand out.
"Here. Go. Now." I look at him in awe.
"But, why?!" Caroline screams so damn loud that it blows my ear drums but Enzo hears it clearly.
"Let's just say love is powerful enough to make anyone crazy." He says it to her but he's talking to me as he smirks. Cute we have an insider. Finally he shut that blondie up. See if I were real petty if tell her that he's explicitly talking to me and she ain't shit but I'm a hero today.
"It sure is." I smile back and jump out the window. Tom Cruise who? Actually that hurt badly and I will probably need a chiropractor after this.
"Besides you're the funniest person I've met in this dried up town. I don't really wanna see you dead just yet, love."
"I am pretty fucking funny." I laugh but him saying that really touched me because someone wants me to stay alive here.
"Don't let them heretics kill you."
"Oh I'll take care of them." He winks.
"Until next time." I wave as I zip out of the fucking area and start running to the cheddar cheese buses like they have a million dollars in each of them.
"Anyone else confused with what just happened there?" Caroline asks.
"I can't believe it. Little Storm pulled it off."
"I know it's amazing what you can do when people like you Damon." I chuckle.
"I'll allow it, Storm." Wow did I just gain Damon's respect.
"On my way to you Matt!" I can't even feel my legs as I run across the football field. I make it to the bus and lemme tell you the word elated don't even cover it. Like I'm high on happy juice right now. I jump into the drivers seat and look out my window to nod at Trevor Banks and he smiles.
"Okay kids let's get you home." Look at me adulting, as if I'm not just a year older than some of these kids. They cheer though and I release my bun because my hero hair should be on display although I'm sure I look like a wet dog right now. It takes me a few tries to get the bus out the driveway because I ain't never driven a bus before.
"Caroline if you could text Enzo to please return that ambulance nice and tidy that would be great and don't act like you don't have his number." I hear her huff. Trevor and Christiana said we'd have that ambulance back and tidy. I don't think Matt and I realized that we would have to give all these little rugrats a ride home. I was so hyped but after two hours of dropping these kids off gotta say the hype died a bit. I'm a hero. I should be getting an award right now not working some minimum wage shift. In one day, I've impersonated an EMT, a janitor, and a bus driver. Next time I'm impersonating a supermodel. Finally Matt and I pull up to the boardinghouse. I run out and hug him immediately.
"We did it!" Matt and I are jumping up and down. When we see the rest of the crew outside the house watching us. Awkward. But I don't care so I run to them too, dragging Matt with me and pummeling them.
"WE DID IT! I didn't die today!" They all laugh. They will give me a group hug whether they like it or not. I have had a taxing day and by god it will end with some friendly love. After some reluctancy they give in to me. I'm not even a huggy person but this huggy worthy.
"We didn't do anything that was all you and Matt."
"More like Trevor and Christiana." Matt smiles.
"Don't forget Bonnie who once again didn't listen." I wanted to slap her on sight for not loving herself but she did save my life.
"Hey I'm okay, it wasn't that bad because I didn't seal the room off." You know what and I actually believe her.
"You better be okay hoe. While I'm here this will be the story where we all live." Ewww I just said some gushy shit that I 100 percent meant. They all smile wholeheartedly cause I know these sad fucks don't be hearing that people care about them but I do. Or else why would I spend so many years dedicated to this shit?
"Where was my invite to this little love fest?" A sexy voice says, of course someone always gotta kill my beautiful moments. I turn around and the voice does indeed belong to someone sexy.
"Kai?"
"The one and only."
Thank you for the patience guys. Every time I get a random review on my fics I always revisit and start to write. And with enough time this chapter came about. Can't say I'll be dropping another chapter soon but it makes me so happy to see that you guys love the narrative. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and have a Happy Holidays!