Honestly did not realise how long it had been since I last updated. I'm so sorry.
His heart starting beating faster. What a stupid decision to work out alone in the woods. Especially these wood. He should definitely now better. I saw a trip and stepped out creating a loud snap in the otherwise silent forest. He head snapped up and he jumped to his feet. While in a defensive stance he surveyed the area. Poor guy he should know he doesn't stand a chance against me.
Stalking up behind him I kicked his legs out and threw him to the floor, landing on top off him with my Fangs bared. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he smiled. "Cute." His hands had settled onto my hips, and he made no effort to remove me from him.
"You're showing your age." I smirked. "You can't even tell when there's a predator ready to kill you."
"Maybe I knew it was you." He countered with a wink.
"Is single Stefan flirting with me?"
He frowned and rolled me off him before standing up and offering me his outstretched hand. "So on a scale of one to ten how psychotic are you feeling today?"
"At the moment a 4." I grinned taking his hand. "But that could drastically change depending on your answer to the question I'm about to ask." He stayed silent waiting for the question. "Will you be my date to the Miss Mystic falls Pageant?"
"I'm not going." He answered, all emotion draining from his face into an emotionless mask.
"Aww come on, what better way to show Elena that you're okay. Even if it's just on the outside, we'll be the only ones who need to know that."
"I am okay Dani." He stressed. "I know people won't believe that but honestly I'm okay."
"Riiiiiight." I dragged out not believing him at all. "Then go for me. Caroline promised a date with me in exchange for Klaus' information yesterday."
"She did what?!" He growled.
"My thoughts exactly! Which is why I've told them both that Caroline bargained the date so Caroline will be attending it. But if I go alone he'll just follow me around all day, which is where you come in. Plus I actually really want to go. I tried to make it back for mine but I got the dates wrong and missed it, so it'll mean a lot to me."
Stefan stared at me for awhile before agreeing. "Fine, I'll meet you there. I have a few things to do before it starts."
"Thank you." I smiled. "Damon explained that to find the cure we need another hunter."
"Yeah, so?"
I let the emotion bleed out of my face and voice before I started. "So those things you need to do today better not include anything to do with Jeremy."
"No, they don't."
"Good because if you're lying Stefan. You'll pay with your life. Or maybe Damons, I haven't decided just yet."
"Is that Dee talking?"
I threw a smile over my shoulder as I starting walking away. "No Stefan, that's all me."
How I ended up at the Lockwood Mansion helping April pick out her Miss Mystic Fall Pageant dress I'll never know.
"Blue." Caroline and Elena agreed. Elena was wearing a knee length black lace dress with her hair tied to the side while Caroline had chosen a floor length gold dress with her hair flowing down around her. I myself had chosen a plain black floor length strapless dress with my hair pulled back in to a bun.
"Really? The blue seems a little safe." April replied.
"Safe is good when it comes to the judges." Elena explained.
Caroline nodded. "She's right. Gracie Lockwood had a three-foot slit her year and practically got laughed off the court."
"I'd go red. Be bold. Be different. Blue is boring." I countered.
"She's got my vote." Damon smirked walking through the door.
"I think someone's moving in on our territory." Dee stated. Following her gaze I watched as Elena openly stared at Damon almost as if she'd stopped breathing.
"Get out, lurker!" Caroline cried as she threw a book at him, hitting him in the chest.
"Ouch." Damon moaned mockingly. "Where's Professor Shane?"
"Check the judges' table." Caroline replied, trying to push Damon back out through the door
Before she could push him out completely, Damon said to April. "Red one, definitely."
"We've already agreed that the red one is a little bit too showy." Caroline argued.
"It's a pageant. That's the whole point." I laughed.
"Did you win Miss Mystic last year? No. I don't think you did."
"Neither did Elena and she wore blue." Damon smirked.
"She also had you as date so I'm sure she got marked down for that." I winked at him.
"Nobody cares what you think." Caroline spat.
"I care." April whispered.
"See? April cares. Red, right, Elena?" Damon asked.
"The red is pretty." Elena back tracked, flicking her eyes between me and Damon.
"And my work here is done." Damon smiled, then locked eyes with me. "I need to talk to you."
"I shall see you girls later." I smiled I got up and followed Damon out. "What do you need?" I questioned once Damon and I were a safe distance away from the girls.
"I didn't. I just thought being how your now a psycho manic being in a situation like that might just send you on a killing spree." I laughed and then his face turned serious. "But serious question, how are you?"
"I'm fine Damon. I don't need you and Stefan mothering me." I stated as Dee narrowed her eyes.
"If they carry on they might just find their hearts missing from their bodies."
"If you both keep annoying me and questioning my every move I might just compel you to forget what I said." I said instead.
He grabbed my arm gently pulling me towards him so he could look me in the eyes. "I'm sorry okay, I'll stop. I just need to know you're okay Dani. Not being with you doesn't change the way I feel about you. I love you."
I leaned forward and pressed my lips gently against his. "You shouldn't." Then after a second I pulled back and walked away from him.
"Way to toy with his feelings. I approve." Dee laughed.
"Why are you glued to your phone?" Elena questioned as she caught up to me outside the Lockwood mansion.
"Stefan's not her and he's not answering his phone." I replied distractedly.
"Caroline mentioned he wasn't coming."
"Well he promised me he would." I spat out through gritted teeth. "And the fact that he's not here makes me think he's gone and done something stupid."
"He's working with Klaus, he couldn't possibly do anything worse than that." She replied a with a slight edge to her voice. "Come have a drink with me. I'm sure he'll find you when he arrives."
"Trust me there's a lot worse he could do." My mind flickered to Jeremy as my anger rose.
"The pageant is about to start."
"Elena just give me five minutes." I ground out through clenched teeth.
"What should I do while I'm waiting for you?" She asked.
"I don't know Elena!" I shouted. "Go count the flowers or something." Before I'd even finished my sentence shed scampered off.
"Whats got your knickers in a twist, my love?" Klaus asked approaching me with two glasses of champagne.
"What have you done to Stefan?" I questioned.
"Absolutely nothing." He smirked. "Not my fault if your date has stood you up. But I'll happily stand in for him."
"I'd rather attend alone." I laughed taking the champagne from him and downing it in one before placing it on a passing waiters tray.
"You owe me date." He stated. "So if not today, I can pick you up tomorrow instead."
"Caroline owes you a date, not me. So go pester her." I responded as Stefan's phone went to voicemail again.
"Caroline agreed that you would go on a date with me exchange for me helping save yours and Elena's life. You don't go on a date with me then that deal is void and I might be forced to end Elena's life."
I laughed my anger rising even further. Dee was nowhere to be seen but I could definitely flowing through me. I leaned forward so barley any space separated us. "What makes you think I care?"
His brow furrowed as saw how serious my expression was. He opened his mouth to reply but Elena got there first. "78, 652 flowers." She gushed out, barley catching her breath. " And I did it in four minutes and 32 seconds."
"Great! Wouldn't want to miss the pageant, let's get going." Klaus tilted his head to the side and stared at Elena curiously and then he smirked before looking back at me.
As I turned giving him my back, he grabbed my arm pulling me back to him. "Now we really need to talk." He whispered into my ear so quietly I doubt another vampire could have heard him. "Tell me, does anyone else know what you've done to Elena."
"I haven't done anything yet." I grinned.
"Mind if I cut in." Relief flowed through me as Stefan stepped in between us pulling my hand in to his.
"We'll talk later." Klaus promised as he walked away with his eyes locked on mine.
"Elena." Stefan greeted.
"Hi Stefan." She replied, her eyes barley meeting his. "I just remembered Caroline asked me to help her with something." And then she was gone.
"Where have you been? I've been calling you." I asked him as we walked towards the mansion.
"I couldn't find my phone, I'm sorry. And then when I realised the time I was already late. But im here now."
"I thought you'd done something stupid."
I watched his eyes for a sign that he was lying but he just smiled at me. "Wouldn't dream of it. But I do have a surprise for you so we really need to hurry." He pulled me along to him where the Miss Mystic Falls contestants were standing.
"Hi, everyone, I'm Caroline Forbes. As the reigning Miss Mystic Falls, it is my honor to introduce this year's Miss Mystic Court." I looked at Stefan in confusion as Caroline's voice drifted towards us.
"Just trust me." He smiled. "Wait here a second." Then he was gone.
Caroline introduced each contestant first and then who was accompanying them and one by one they walked down the stairs, leaving me with April. "I can't see Jeremy." She whispered, nerves wafting off her.
"He'll be here." I promised. I may not like April because of her father but I know Jeremy wouldn't abandon her. Her name was called and she made her way down, he hand shaking around the hand rail.
"And we seem, we seem to have a last minute entry." Caroline stuttered out, the confusion evident in her voice. "Danielle Gilbert accompanied by Stefan Salvatore."
A few gasps could be heard from the crowd as I slowly made my way down the stairs to where Stefan was waiting for me. Holding his hand out to me I grasped it as we made our way towards the dance floor where all the other couple were lined up. "Surprise." He whispered in my ear.
"Why did you do this?" I questioned softly my heart beating so fast in my chest.
"You said you tried to come back for it. So I figured you deserved to finally take part in it."
"Thank you." I grinned my eyes never leaving his as the dance began. Butterflies danced in my stomach as our hands barley touched and we moved round each other. I couldn't even see the other contestants, I only had eyes for Stefan and him for me. He pulled me in tight for the last part of the dance and when it ended I didn't want to pull away. As we turned to give a bow, I noticed Matt with April. My whole body tensed and the fog that Stefan had clouded me with lifted. Still with a smile on my face as everyone appalled I asked. "Where is Jeremy?"
His hand clenched in mine quickly before releasing. "I don't know."
"For your sake Stefan, I really hope you're not lying." Then without waiting for anyone to dismiss us I started walking away back towards the mansion.
Walking inside, I continuously rang Jeremy only for it to go to voicemail. Passing by one of the room I paused. A sinister smirk crossed my face, this was just what I needed – the perfect release. Hayley was standing in the middle of the room in a red dress talking with Tyler. Stupid stupid girl. While she was mid-sentence I appeared in front of her wrapping my hand around her throat and throwing her head back in to the wall with a sickening crunch.
"Dani what the hell are you doing?!" Tyler shouted trying to pry me off her. With my other hand I sent him flying through the air and crashing in to the table.
"What did I tell you would happen if I ever saw you again?" I asked sweetly. Her face started turning red as she tried to gurgle out a breath. "I told you that I would kill you if you didn't leave town."
"Dani Please! She's a friend! You need to let her go!" Tyler said as he pulled himself to his feet.
"I don't have to do anything Ty." I smirked. "You more than anyone should have known how serious I was when I made that threat. You should have made her leave while she had the chance, but instead you get to watch her die." I couldn't control the glee in my body as I heard her heart rate slow down and her struggling movements slackened.
But just before her body shut down I was tackled from the side and thrown across the room. I was stunned for a moment before it clicked that Stefan and Damon were both holding me down. "Get her out her now!" Damon screamed at him but Tyler didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed a gasping Hayley from the floor and was gone in a blink.
"What is going on in here?!" Caroline questioned as I pushed Stefan and Damon off me and rolled to my feet. "Is this going to become a thing with you three now? Every time there's an event you're going
"No everything's fine." Damon reassured. "Go back to your party. We've got everything sorted here."
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Stefan questioned once Caroline had left. "Anyone could have walked in here and saw you do that."
"Then I would have just killed them as well." I spat out.
"Your being reckless right now!" Damon yelled. "Your letting her win, it's like your not even trying to control her anymore."
Maybe I wasn't. But then a thought occurred to me. "Are you two following me?" They glanced at each other nervously giving me my answer. "You two are unbelievable." I laughed. "I'm absolutely fine. But if you want to help someone then maybe you should start trying to find Jeremy. Because if someone's hurt him there's no words for what I'm going to do to them." My eyes met Stefan's. "No matter who it is." Then I stormed out.
Making my way down a corridor I ran into Elena. Grabbing her hand I pulled her into the nearest bathroom with me. Once I made sure it was empty I said to her. "We need to change clothes now."
Without even questioning me she started unzipping her dress. "Is everything okay?"
"Stefan and Damon are following my every move and I don't want them to, so I need you to pretend to be me and I'm going to pretend to be you." I passed her over my dress while I slipped hers on.
There was a moment of silence as we continued swapping and started doing our hair. "Do you still love Damon?"
"Yes." I breathed out. "But we're not good for each other. One day he'll realise that and he'll find someone who's perfect for him."
"Will that bother you?"
"Honestly? All I want is for Damon to be happy. Someone loving him and finding the happiness he deserves will make me the happiest person in the world." I paused but then I had to ask. "Would it bother you if it happened to Stefan?"
She frowned in confusion but didn't answer. It was silent for a few moments and then the door swung open. April walked in and smiled when she saw us. "Hi." She greeted, then turned to me. "Jeremy turned up Elena, he was just in the drawing room looking for you."
"Perfect, thank you. I'll go and find him now. I'll see you later Dani."
Walking towards the drawing room I passed Stefan along the way. His eyes were flickering everywhere like he was looking for someone, when they landed on me he paused slightly before carrying on. "Elena." He greeted, I smiled slightly before averting my eyes and then we passed without incident. This was working perfectly.
"Jeremy." I greeted, relieved once I caught up to him. "Where have you been?" The room we were in was empty bar us two and that's when I realised he was holding a stake in his hand. "What are you doing with that?"
"Connor was right. All I can think about is killing vampires." He replied his voice flat and his eyes empty.
"You're nothing like Connor." I assured walking towards him.
"I want to believe that. And I know I don't want to hurt you, but everything inside of me is telling me to drive this stake through your heart."
" Why would you say that? It's me, Jeremy."
"And you're a vampire." He stated.
"Yeah, but I'm also your sister." I countered. I took hold of his wrist gently. "Did Stefan do something to you?" He didn't answer and that's when I saw the long cut in his wrist, looking up at him his eyes were locked on mine waiting for a reaction. "What are you doing?" I dropped his wrist and stepped back. He thought I was Elena. "I'd never hurt you Jeremy." He lifted his wrist up so the blood ran down his wrist. I had more control than this but I was supposed to be Elena. I looked away and took another step back. "Get – get it away from me."
Pain ripped through my neck as a chocked gurgle left my throat spitting blood in to Jeremy's face. My blood from where he'd just shoved the stake in to my neck. I clutched my neck as Jeremy smirked at me. "Jeremy!" Matt screamed as he charged in to the room.
"Get out of here, Matt."
"Jeremy, you don't want to do this, okay. That's your sister! It's that stupid mark on your arm." Matt pleaded.
"Shut up, Matt!"
"Jeremy, look at me! I'm human and I'm telling you not to hurt her."
I looked in to Jeremy black soulless eyes and I knew in the very depths of my being that this was Stefan's doing. I could have snapped his neck in a second or pushed him away from me but I wanted to see this play out. "She's not my sister." He stated before ripping the stake out of my neck and before I could blink he'd plunged it through my chest staking my heart.
A choked cry passed my lips just as Stefan rushed in to the room. "NO!" He screamed tackling Jeremy.
"Elena!" Matt cried out.
Jeremy went slack in Stefan's arms his eyes looked on my greying skin. Stefan gazed up at me in horror, guilt flowing through his eyes. I couldn't hold it any longer. I doubled over laughing much to all their shock. "I've got to say, I did not see that coming!" I pulled out the stake and pointed it towards Jeremy. "Well done you, I didn't think you had it in you."
"Dani?" He questioned.
"Bingo." I grinned. Looking over at Matt I gestured towards Jeremy. "You should get him out here. Take him home. I'll meet you there. Stefan and I have some business to attend to… say your goodbyes while you can." Matt rushed over and grabbed Jeremy by the shirt pulling him from the room.
"Dani, I can explain." Stefan pleaded his palms out stretched towards me in a calm down manor as he backed away. Before he could get far I'd plunged the stake through his wrist impaling his arm to the wall. Then quicker then he could see I broke a chair in the room and staked his other wrist to the wall, rendering him unable to move. "I didn't know this would happen!" He cried out his face scrunched up in pain. "I'm starting to think that when a Hunter kills a vampire, the urge to keep killing gets stronger."
"Tell me that Jeremy hasn't been with you this entire time." Stefan looked away. "Tell me that you haven't been making him kill vampires, Stefan." He stayed silent. "TELL ME!" I screamed stabbing him in the stomach with another piece of broken chair.
"Kill him." Dee whispered in to my ear.
"We need the map to get the cure." He groaned out in pain.
"All this for precious Elena." I laughed. "She dumped you Stefan. Making her human won't change that!" I pulled the stake out and pushed it back in again causing him to cry out. "And if giving her her humanity back means stripping Jeremy of his then I won't allow you to get the cure. Even if that means killing you."
"Dani stop!" Damon stormed in to the room with Elena hot on his heels sending me an apologetic look. Guess Matt had spilled his guts on the way out. "You don't want to do this!"
"Do it!" Dee ordered.
"He hurt Jeremy!" I screamed back.
"He's the only way to fix all of this." Stefan whispered brokenly.
"You mean me." Elena questioned. "The only way to fix me. You don't have to love me like this. This is who I am now. The old Elena died when she went off that bridge. Let her go." Then she turned on her heel and left.
I left the stake where it was and took a step back. Stefan was so broken and defeated killing him wouldn't be any fun. "Come near Jeremy again and I will kill you." Then I followed Elena out, leaving Damon to pry his brother off the wall.
"Are you sure this is the best thing?" Elena asked standing in the kitchen with her duffle bag slung over her shoulder.
"Of course it is." I agreed. "Right now, it's not safe for you to be around Jeremy until we get him under control. Matts going to move in with him to keep an eye on him. Jeremy can't actually hurt me so I'll stay tonight just to make sure he's okay. You'll be safe at the boarding house okay. Tonight Damon will look after you and I'll be back there tomorrow okay?"
She nodded. "Will you come to school with me tomorrow?" I pulled a face. "Please?"
"Fine." I agreed, then frowned staring at her navy polka dot top. "Are they my clothes?"
"Yes, sorry I hope you don't mind."
"It's fine." I pulled her in for a quick hug. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Once she'd left I headed upstairs to Jeremy's room. "You shouldn't be here." He whispered from where he was sat hunched over at the bottom of his bed.
Sitting down beside him I smiled to him. "I'm exactly where I should be. From one psycho to another, I think we can keep each other in check." Jeremy laughed without humour.
"You should kill him before he figures out how to kill us!"
Not a chance.
"Beside Matt's moving in. He's human, he can keep an eye on you and make sure you keep this Hunter business in check. And just for tonight I'm going to stay here with you to make sure you don't sleep walk or anything like Rick used to." He leaned his head on my shoulder and squeezed my hand. No matter what happened as long as Jeremy was okay I would be too.