"I run into the river, and dive straight right in. I pray that the water will drown out the din…"

Aly moved through the beat of the drums, letting it overwhelm her. The lights, which flickered in an array of colors, blinded her eyes. It didn't matter. She knew the words of the song, the melody of the call, the space of the stage. Her movement, seen by others, was hypnotizing. Her voice even more so.

"But as the water fills my mouth, it couldn't wash the echoes out…"

In her mind, there was no crowd. Only the thrum of her heart.

"I swallow the sound and it swallows me whole, 'Til there's nothing left inside my soul. I'm as empty as that beating drum but the sound has just begun…"

There was no Mystic Falls, the land of terrifying magic and men.

"As I move my feet towards your body, I can hear this beat. It fills my head up and gets louder and louder..."

The past few months couldn't reach her, it couldn't hurt her. It might as well be just a dream.

"There's a drumming noise inside my head that starts when you're around. I swear that you could hear it, it makes such an almighty sound…"

No vampires, witches, or death. Nothing

"Louder than sirens, louder than bells, sweeter than heaven, and hotter than hell…"

Here, she was untouchable.

The applause reached her ears the moment she opened her eyes. Aly grinned up wildly as her bandmates went up in a row and bowed. Feeling relieved for the first time in ages, Sarah and her arm's linked together in camaraderie as they walked up to the side of the bar, Jamie leading them. Jenny and Nick were already fighting, albit playfully. The dimmed lights seemed to contribute largely to this.

Mr. Raymond,the owner of the bar, approached them looking obviously pleased. Jamie shook hands with him first. "Absolutely wonderful." He tells them, "You've gathered quite a crowd."

"It's the song." said Jamie, "Florence and the Machine are one of the best bands out there right now."

The bar was modern, half of it was out in open space, the other half in a loft, making it easy for civilians to tune in whenever a performance was going on. The design was beautiful as well. Soft lights fell off the ceiling and blended with the stone walls.

Mr. Raymond shrugged, having no idea what kids listened to nowadays. He was just glad that a crowd had gathered around his bar. "Well, Sarah, tell your father that he's welcome here anytime." He winked, giving them a kind smile. "Along with your band."

Sarah beamed. "Thank you."

"What did he say?" Jenna asked excitedly as walked away, swatting Nick's hand away from her cheeks.

"I think he liked us." Jamie admitted, looking amused at the two.

Nick let out a boisterous laugh. "Well, duh! Did you hear how good we sounded? I told you those songs were a hit!"

"Fine!" Jenny playfully pushed him away. "But I'm choosing the songs next time."

Aly laughed at the two, still feeling the high that came from singing in front of a crowd. Her eyes caught a certain blonde, and she bid her bandmates goodbye as she practically flew towards Caroline.

"You made it!"

"Of course I did!" Her best friend caught her hug, squeezing her in return. "You were so good up there!"

Aly grinned, "Thanks." she said, "When did you get here?"

"I reached the last song." Caroline confessed. Aly couldn't help but feel happy that her friend was there. Caroline had her school officer duties that day, the fact that she managed to make it there at all meant a lot to her. "I would have come sooner, but Maggie wanted to talk about the upcoming Halloween Party."

"It's fine." Aly deflected, rubbing up her arm. The duo were separated when a delivery man came up, a bouquet of lilies and windflowers on hand. Aly bewilderedly accepts it, looking at Caroline in surprise. She seemed to be just as shocked.

"What is that?" she gushed, immediately holding it for her. "Look-" Caroline held a card up, adorned strategically on the bunch;

Dearest Alyssandra,

And on the back

The situation in Fell's Church will be dealt with. Do not worry yourself.

Your voice is finer compared to ones of an angel. Soothing, honeyed, thick. To hear your mellow is my greatest wish.

Despite the kind words, Aly felt a shiver go up her spine, remembering what happened that night at the ruined chapel weeks before. Next to her, Caroline frowned.

"Fell's Church?" She questioned, but she seemed to get over it quickly. "You have an admirer! Your voice is finer compared to ones of an angel- Oh Aly! Does it have a number on it?"

A quick flip answered her question. "No," she said. Aly looked around her surroundings, trying to find another girl with blonde hair.

She couldn't spot her anywhere.

~ soulmark ~

After days for no end filled with nightmares, Aly finally gathered up some courage and paid Sheila an unexpected visit. The witch still didn't have an answer on why she had the strange dreams and instead gave her an actual dream catcher- in the form of a bracelet. Their meeting was odd, and Aly took special note that for the first time, Sheila had taken her seriously. She shrugged it off as a reaction from what happened to the tomb. At least now Aly was finally able to sleep longer than a couple of hours, making her well-rested for the first time since school started.

She hadn't opened the grimoire she got since the tomb, and she had no drive to, wanting nothing more than to forget the supernatural existed and simply carry on with her life.

It was surprisingly easy to fall back to her old routine despite the life-threatening situation she had. It made Aly glad that she had such a busy schedule. Soon, the tomb became nothing but a disturbing faraway memory.

True to his word, there was no sign of Stefan or Damon anywhere in Mystic Falls. Elena was devastated and back to her old gloomy self- she even dropped out of the cheer team! The fact that her best friend, Bonnie, who now lived with her dad far from Mystic Falls didn't help out either. Elena at least tried to act normal, no longer just camping out in her room like last summer. But she was way quieter, and didn't smile as much.

It made Aly want to punch a wall in frustration.

Nevertheless, the damage was done. Stefan's disappearance has left a mark, just like she expected. There was no use in blaming the guy when he's not coming back. At least she hoped he wouldn't, vampires carried more trouble than they're worth.

Currently, Aly comfortably laid down on her bed, fiddling aimlessly with the Gilbert watch. It turns out, it was Emily that magified (or whatever) the watch for it to turn into some sort of vampire tracker. It remained unmoving, signaling that there weren't any vampires nearby. That was a relief.

The other Gilbert inventions remained dusted up either in their attic or in the lake house. There was a curious nagging voice inside Aly's head telling her to open it up and explore. She still had the Gilbert journals to read, after all. Her interest in history was still there, and her family was surely rich with it, being a founding family. If there was something like the Gilbert watch, there were probably more amazing trinkets to find.

Aly pushed the thought away, she can't just read the Gilbert journals. What did her dad say? Maybe when she was older.

Besides, she and Jer were assigned to decorate the house.

Aly jumped out of her bed, sighing. She placed the watch back in her pocket, thinking that she should probably return it to Jeremy soon. Her brother in question was already getting the house ready, carrying a skeleton outside.

"Ew!" Aly exclaimed, "That shit looks so dirty!"

"I'll give it a wash later." Jeremy shrugged, he placed it on their porch, letting it sit on the bench. Jeremy took out a hat and placed it on its head. Aly snorted.

"That looks terrible."

"Don't you have pumpkins to carve?" Jeremy snapped.

At that, Aunt Jenna's head popped out the door. "Did someone say pumpkins?" she questioned, "Wanna carve some? We can make an afternoon out of it." she snapped her fingers, pointing up to them with a happy smile, "Aly can make pumpkin pie! Or stew- whichever you guys like more."

"I'm not really in the mood for carving," Jeremy mumbled, going back inside the house. Jenna and her share look.

"Let's make it a competition!" she exclaimed, "Whoever wins gets a hundred dollars! Elena-"

Her sister, who sat in the living room watching romcoms, looked at them in surprise. "What?"

"Pumpkin carving contest," Jenna repeated, still forcing a smile. "A hundred dollars?"

"I'm in to win," Aly said confidently. "I'm making a zombie," she glanced at Jeremy hopefully. Her brother had taken another blow since Vicki had 'run away'. Yet there was no way he'd say no to a hundred dollars. The same could be said with Elena. Jeremy shrugged.

"Sure, why not."

Elena stood up from the couch, offering them a small smile. "I'm in."

Aly and Jenna shared a relieved look. "Let's get to it then!" Jenna exclaimed.

They ended up making a mess in the kitchen, to no one's surprise. But the room was light with laughter as they all made fun of each other's pumpkins, and praised Jeremy's artistic one. For once, the Gilbert-Sommers household lost their gloom and they all enjoyed the pie Aly made while they finished off the day with the latest Harry Potter movie.

~ soulmark ~

Caroline wasn't kidding when she said they were going to find her a dress.

Aly was sure that they had raided all of the shops in Mystic Falls- but the blonde remained absolutely relentless. Caroline would get a costume, hold it up to Alyssandra's frame, huff, then move on.

"Oh you're smiling now," Caroline sassed, roughly putting the next costume down. "I can't believe you didn't get anything." she muttered angrily.

Aly grinned, "How else would I steal your time?" she asked, "Besides, my costume's always better when I have you picking with me."

"That's true." answered the blonde, making Aly snort. "What about this one?" she asked, holding it up. It was a flowy white dress, it was long and had a plunging neckline. "You could let your hair down." she gushed, "You should let your hair down more," she added, gesturing to her hair updo. "It looks way more pretty."

Alyssandra rolled her eyes, taking the dress from her. There was nothing wrong with her hair, headband, and pony-tail combo. "It does look nice." she complimented. "I can add in a black corset, heels, maybe a sword from the 14th Century."

Caroline rolled her eyes, taking the dress back from her and into the rack.

"I was being serious!"

"Really now?" The blonde's voice was laced with sarcasm. Aly took the dress back, it was rather pretty and was wearable beyond Halloween.

"I'll buy it." she said, already heading to the counter. Caroline huffed.

"You better look hot." she snapped, "You used to be way more fun." she murmured.

Aly frowned, taking offense to that. "I'm still fun!" she exclaimed, not caring if it sounded in denial. "What do you mean 'used to be'? I think you're forgetting who you're talking to. I'm no Elena."

Caroline bursted into giggles at that. "Oh don't be mean," she waved off a hand. "But is it true that she and Stefan broke up? I haven't seen him anywhere! Do you think he'll be at the party?"

Aly shrugged. "They definitely broke up." she confirmed, "And they're staying 'broke up' if I have any say with it." Caroline ooo'd, eyes wide over the gossip, "But no I haven't seen him anywhere either, I'm not really sure if he'll be at the party this weekend."

"That sounds juicy!" Caroline playfully nudged her as they went out of the shop. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Oh come on, Aly! Are you seriously telling me you haven't jumped Damon's bones yet?"

Aly grimaced at the mental thought. "Hell no! How many times do I have to tell you: I'm not into him! He's way too moody anyways. I don't think I can handle that." she muttered, her mind briefly flashed back to her previous boyfriend. "I don't wanna get myself another Tyler."

"How about that bandmate then?"

"It's a no, Caroline!" Aly nudged her back, glaring at her friend playfully. "Give me a hot guy I've never met- then we'll talk."

"Fine." Caroline sighed, "Though I kinda get what you mean."

Aly gave her a questioning look. "Caroline Forbes? Not wanting a boytoy? Who are you and where is she?"

The blonde rolled her eyes. "You said before you broke it off with Tyler because you weren't ready." she started. "You know, for that commitment and all that. But I don't think that's the case. I know what you're like, Alyssandra Gilbert, and I know that you don't half-ass things. I think you broke it off with him because people expected you guys to get together. Like, Mystic Falls is such a small town and we met everyone since we were babies!" To clarify her point, she added, "We met when we were babies! I just- I think there's too many things that are already expected from us- along with the boys, you know?"

Aly blinked, staring at Caroline in surprise. "Yeah!" she weakly agreed, not expecting that from her. "That's- that's very well said."

"That was very well said." Caroline mocked, Aly rolled her eyes. "But like, I get it. I don't want to sound love-starved but yeah. The people here just don't compare because they're the ones we're comparing it to!"

"You're absolutely right." Aly nodded, "Though it does sound a little unrealistic, you know? To think that there's a guy out there that'll get everything right- that'll understand you, listen to you, live with you. A guy that'll love you, and choose you." Aly gloomed, thinking if she'll ever get the fabled happy ever after. If the supernatural were real, then surely so did the happy endings? Vampires did. Nothing should be impossible at that point.

"The sex is still great though."

Aly snorted, bursting into giggles along with Caroline, momentarily pushing her thoughts away. Happy endings didn't matter right now, not when her story had just begun.

"More than great." Aly sighed. "Think you can find a snack for me?" she smirked.

Caroline mock-gasped, "I thought you'd never ask."

Aly listened on as Caroline tattered on with the latest Mystic Falls gossip, feeling only slightly bad. Bare minimum. Aly hadn't told Caroline about the tomb's events, fearing the worst. She was so used to telling her blonde friend everything- snarking behind her sister's back. She wanted to tell Caroline about the supernatural but she didn't think the blonde would handle it well.

It was probably better that way, the less Caroline knew, the less likely she'll be placed in danger. Besides, she has Liz looking out for her. If the sheriff knew about vampires and thought it was best if Caroline didn't know of it, then she wouldn't disagree. Despite their differences, Aly knew that Liz adores her daughter more than anything in the world. They just- didn't communicate well.

They ended up getting ready in the Forbes residence after picking up Elena and the rest of Aly's outfit from their house. Caroline ordered up pizza and blasted up One Direction as they dressed up. She looked between the twins, a frown on her face.

"You're both wearing white!" Caroline exclaimed. Elena rolled her eyes. "And Elena- you're wearing the same costume from last year! At least Aly's doing something different."

Aly glanced away from the mirror, she was in the middle of fixing her hair. She smiled coyly, "Different is my middle name, baby."

"I'm sure it's fine."

Caroline huffed. "You're gonna look identical!" as if they weren't already "Please tell me you're not curling your hair."

"I'm not curling my hair," Elena confirmed. Aly could hardly remember the last time she did, was it last year's cheer competition? Their hair was their trademarks, they hadn't had the same hairstyle since they were children. "And besides, this is fine. Nurses, nursing. Sexy nurse vampire."

The twins share a look.

"Sexy nurse vampire is so last year," Caroline complained, she sighed. "But fine, if that's what you want. Don't be surprised if Matt Donovan shows up wearing his doctor costume though."

Aly cooed, "Match made in heaven!"

Elena rolled her eyes, throwing a coat hanger at her. "Shut up."

It was their first year of Halloween without everyone present. Bonnie's absence was glaringly obvious, from the way they walked and to their dynamic. The twins had one of each Caroline's arm linked, and they knew from the looks they were getting that their little witch friend's absence was duly noted.

Ah, nothing like the epic highs and lows of highschool drama.

Soon enough, the trio ventured off on their own. For once, Aly stayed on the sides, moving along to the party rock songs that boosted off from the speakers. She had to hand it over to the coordinators, the school looked magnificent. The ambiance was dark and spooky enough to feel the halloween vibe. The wide array of booths also helped, everyone was busy either getting black-out drunk or eating to their heart's content. Although, Aly was sure that if she looked hard enough, she'll see her old stoner friends throttling around somewhere.

Despite the normalcy, she felt oddly tense. She had an inkling feeling that something was going to go wrong. She sighed, shaking her head. A drink will surely calm her nerves.

Aly went outside school, sure that she'll spot a bar. Their school wasn't at all that tight to their underage drinking students, but even they wouldn't have a bar set up inside school premises. Aly was a little surprised to see Matt Donovan tending.

Caroline was right. Matt was wearing his doctor costume from last year.

"Hey." He gave her a polite smile, they weren't really that close. She hung out more with the likes of Caroline and Tyler. The friendship drifted off even more upon Elena and Matt's breakup. "What can I get for you?"

"Just a Long Island." Aly sat up on the stool. "How's it feel on the other side?" She gestured to his workbench.

Matt already began preparing. "Not that bad. I need it right now with…" He trailed off. It didn't take a genius to know what he was talking about. To her knowledge, Vicki was alive and well with Stefan and Damon. To his, she had run away with absolutely nothing on her name.

Despite their differences, Aly softened. "How are you? I couldn't even bear to think of Elena or Jer gone..."

Matt took a deep breath and gave her a strained smile. "Fine," he handed her the drink. "I got this job from ." was the owner of Mystic Grill and the plenty other establishments seen in Mystic Falls. "I thought about applying to the Mystic Grill soon too."

"That sounds great!" Aly gave him a wide cheerful grin, "I'm glad you have things working out."

"What's working out?"

Tyler wore half of a firefighter outfit. He was bare and shirtless besides the pants and hat. Aly took a gulp from her drink, grimacing. Red and orange were not his color. "Hey Tyler." she mumbled.

"I'm thinking of getting a job."

"What? But what about football?"

Ah, nothing like the epic highs and lows of high school football. Aly let out a depressed sigh. The appeal didn't seem that fun anymore, with her outside knowledge of the bigger things in the world. It wasn't that much enjoyable without cheering for someone.

"Not everybody has a trust fund to rely on, Ty." Matt muttered.

Aly grimaced again. Her head quickly turned towards Ty, waiting for him to blow up. Tyler had narrowed his eyes, his chest was all puffed up in a defensive position.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly as he said, Ty." Aly answered in a bored tone. Though she felt a sympathetic jab, her parents did what they could to ensure they had their future secured even in their deaths. Not everybody was as lucky. "I'd have another round."

"It's pretty early to get drunk." Tyler commented.

Weren't they supposed to be friends again? Why was he acting so douchey?

"I have no idea what that means." Aly answered, grabbing her new drink from Matt.

"I thought Elena doesn't drive anymore, how are you two supposed to get home?"

Both Aly and Matt gave him a look this time. Tyler rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"What's his problem?" Aly asked Matt, frowning. Tyler had already walked away, stomping his feet as he walked.

Matt shrugged, "You know how he's like."

She took a sip from her drink, the frown never leaving her face. "Prissy and moody?" She raised an eyebrow. "I guess I do."

"He's not handling… Vicki, very well." Matt said slowly. "They were pretty close."

With that, guilt had finally settled in. Aly looked back to her drink, downcast. "Yeah I saw." To think that Vicki had actually died before turning into a vampire. "Maybe she'll come back." she murmured, "When she's ready."

Matt looked like he swallowed a lemon. "Maybe."

Their conversation was abruptly cut short after Aly receives a call from Elena. "Hello?"

"Alyssandra!" her sister's frantic voice met her. The bad feeling came back, and Aly tried to contain the familiar feeling of panic creeping up to her. "Where are you? Are you still at school?"

"Yeah I'm right here-"

"Have you seen Jeremy?" that sent her another wave of panic. Alyssandra eyed her surroundings, trying to catch a glimpse of her brother. When she saw nothing but the light from the full moon, she hurriedly went back inside the school.

"Aly? Aly?!"

"No- no I haven't!" she yelled out, the music was loud. "Where are you? Did something happen? What's going on?"

"Vicki's here!" said Elena.

If Vicki was there, the likeliness of Stefan and Damon being there as well were high. Taking a deep breath, Aly asked where Elena was. In her hurry, Alyssandra tripped, grazing herself on the floor and wounding her hand. Elena's frantic voice asking what happened annoyed her ear.

"I'm fine." she grunts out, glaring at the wire she tripped over. "I tripped." But Elena's worry soon transferred to her when she heard her sister yell out.

"Vicki- no!"

Alyssandra broke into a run. She sees them outside the school entrance. Stefan had his hold on Jeremy and to her horror, Vicki had Elena pinned down- Aly froze, she felt a whoosh go through her ears. "Let her go!" she yelled out, and Vicki gets blasted to one of the school busses.

Aly felt her mind buffer, tumbling towards Elena, her sister shook like a leaf and held up her neck. She had bitten her. Aly looked up to where Vicki was- but she was gone. She looked up to her side, only to see that Stefan had gone as well. Jeremy comes running up to them.

"Elena-" Jer's voice sounded scared and it was enough to bring Alyssandra back down to earth.

"Get up." she said, holding her twin up. The wound on her sister's neck was still bleeding, she immediately pressed down to it, wincing slightly as Elena flinched. "Elena, are you okay?"

"I-"

"Everything alright here?" Alyssandra completely spun around, holding her sister defensively. Her arm flew out to grab Jeremy. It was Damon.

Aly gritted her teeth. Of course they haven't left Mystic Falls. Aly was a fool to think of otherwise. He raised up both of his hands. "I come in peace!"

"Peace?" Elena's voice echoes, she moved away from Aly's grip. "Elena!" Jeremy went up to her sister but Aly held him at place.

"This is your fault!" Her sister spat, slapping him across the face. "You did this!"

"Elena come back here!" Aly's voice was harsh. Jeremy looked at her then back to Elena, he shook off from Aly's grasp, walking up to them. "Jeremy!"

Damon roughly grasped her sister's hand. "None of this matters to me. None of it."

"Let her go!" To her horror, Jeremy punched Damon on the face.

"That's enough!" Aly yelled out, putting herself in between Damon, Jeremy and Elena. Inside her mind she was panicking, Damon could easily snap their necks if he were in the mood. "Elena you're losing blood." she said.

"You think you're tough, you little shit?" Damon growled towards Jeremy, holding up his jaw. There was no bruise- and Alyssandra was sure it hurt nothing but his ego.

"I said that's enough." she hissed, pointing a finger at him. He glared at her but he did flash away.

"What?" Jeremy's eyes were wide, he stood next to their sister. Looking both concerned and scared. "What just- what?"

There were obvious tears in Elena's eyes. "Oh My God Jeremy." her sister sobbed.

Aly gritted her teeth. "Let's go home."

The ride back to the Gilbert house was tense- the only noise was Elena's crying. The two sat on the back, with Jeremy holding their older sister comfortingly. Aly gripped the steering wheel tight.

"What happened?" asked Jeremy. "That- Vicki- Vicki bit Elena and Aly, you- you did something. She just- catapulted."

"I have magic."

Elena's protests were instant. "Alyssandra!" Elena sat upright, tears were still streaming down her face. She shook her head. "Don't. Aly- Jeremy, Jeremy shouldn't know all this."

"No- I want to know!" Jeremy demanded.

"Later!" Alyssandra answered through gritted teeth, looking carefully at the speed of her car. She felt angry, scared, and annoyed over the sound of Elena crying- she's been hearing it constantly since Stefan's disappearance. But she needed to keep her composure. She was driving, and the responsible thing was to get her siblings back home before something else happened that week. Like a car crash.

"We'll talk later." she added, once both Elena and Jeremy calmed down. "Alright? We'll sit down and talk later once we get home."

Elena protested again. "Aly-"

"Shut it, Elena." Aly glared at her through the rearview. "We're all surprised, and shocked, and- everything else. Later, okay? Take a breather."

It didn't take long for them to arrive back in the house. Aly swore, Stefan and Damon both stood outside their balcony. Hadn't they done enough?! She was quick to park the car. Glaring at the two boys once she got out. Stefan holds up a hand before Aly got any word out of her mouth.

"We're just here to see if Jeremy understands."

"Understands what?" her brother asked, having gotten out of the car as well. He still held Elena- who still had a hand on her neck but it looked like it stopped bleeding.

Inside the Gilbert house, the living room lights open. "Shit." Alyssandra quickly went inside, plastering up a huge fake grin upon seeing Aunt Jenna. "Hey," her aunt greeted. "Everything alright?"

"Oh yeah-" she lied, "Elena's drunk. Jer's just about to bring her in."

Jenna smiled, "Do you guys need help?"

"No-no," Aly rushed the words out. "Everything's fine. She'll be fine."

Jenna looked at her, amused. "Well if you say so," she said. All of the sudden, Jenna reached out for a hug. "Thanks, Aly. You've been helping me out so much lately."

"No problem." she choked out. "Go watch a movie."

Jenna went back upstairs, and Aly quickly went back outside. Jeremy greeted her at the door. Except something was wrong- he had none of the panic or confusion he wore earlier. She grabbed him by the arm as he went in. "Hey wait- we still need to talk."

Jeremy frowned. "Why?" he asked, "Something wrong?"

Aly blinked, letting him go. A chill went down her spine. The word 'compulsion' sprang out from her mind. "Nothing!" she exclaimed, smiling at him again. "Forget it, go- play a video game." Jeremy gave her a confused look.

"I think you had too much to drink at the Carnival." he said, "G'night."

She gulped, turning around. Aly focused on the anger she felt, ignoring and burying the fear that slowly crept on her spine upon looking at the two Salvatores. "You compelled him." Aly accused, letting the door bang shut behind her. "Elena step away from them! Why are you two still here?!"

"They didn't compel Jeremy." Elena answered guiltily. "I mean- Damon did. But I asked him too."

"What?"

Stefan shook his head, "I'm sorry."

"I'm not." said Damon. "Your brother could've been traumatized." Alyssandra glared at him, knowing fully well that he didn't care whether or not anyone was traumatized.

"It's for the better." Elena explained. "He shouldn't know all of this."

Aly looked at her in disbelief. "Elena that's not your choice to make!"

"What do you want him to think!" Elena argued, "That his girlfriend's a vampire? That his sister's a witch?"

Aly took a step back, shocked by her words. Elena backtracked in an instant, eyes wide. "That's not what I meant-"

"Then what did you mean?" Aly demanded. Damon and Stefan looked around uncomfortably as the twins stared at each other. Realizing that Elena wasn't going to say anything else, she spun around in disbelief.

"Aly!"

"No!" She exclaimed, "I'm not talking to you until you-" she spun back, harshly pointing a finger towards Elena, "-understand what you just did!"

For the second time that day, she shut their house door with a bang. She wiped her eyes, feeling hurt by the implication of what her sister just said. Upstairs, Jeremy looked at her with concern.

"Are you two okay?" he asked.

Aly shook her head. "No." she told him honestly. She felt heavy over everything that's happened that year. She had lost count on how many times things have exploded on their faces. "But it's alright- okay? Don't, don't think about it." She entered her room, not seeing the pained look on Jeremy's eyes before he shut his door as well.

Outside, Aly sees Elena give Stefan a hug, before giving the younger Salvatore a kiss on the cheek. She shook her head, wondering what was going on in Elena's mind. Is being Stefan's anchor messing with her mind? She let herself plop on the bed, chucking in her earphones and putting on her softest music as she willed herself to go to sleep- hoping that no nightmares will come.

"Hey."

Alyssandra refused to open her eyes. Knowing that the voice's owner was her least favorite vampire. "I'm sorry." he said. "But it's better this way. At least one Gilbert's not in this whole mess."

Aly feels her room go cold. She opened her eyes, seeing that her window had opened. She angrily stood up, intending to seal it shut. Outside, she sees Damon standing in their backyard, looking up to her. She stared him down, entire body taut. She couldn't believe he had the nerve to even appear before her after everything that he's done. She watched as he flashed away.

With a heavy heart, Aly finally accepts the truth.

Vampires, witches, mayhem? This was her new normal.

A/N: This chapter's late! I know, i know. Shame on me. I didn't mean to, honest! I just found some really good Elijah fanfics and got distracted. Also, I'm going insane with the timelines, I might just drop them altogether and just create my own- ignoring canon.

The song Aly sang earlier was 'Drumming Song' by Florence and The Machine!

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