oh god, I have awful writer's block... how am I going to finish NaNoWriMo... aghhhh but enjoy this in the meantime... the lack of feedback is making me sad :(
readers still out there? some love?
Disclaimer: See prologue. some dialogue is taken right from the episodes, cuz it's hard not to ya know?
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... ... ...
… … …
An empty room,
I'm empty too
And everything reminds me of you
So many things
I shouldn't have missed
The more that I push
And the more you resist
It's easy to say it's for the best
When you want more
While you leave me with less
I know you're fine, but what do I do?
(I rewrote this part a million times. Once because I lost it all, another because I was going to let Damon and Kenzie reconcile with Damon knowing and her knowing that Damon knew. Basically he learned her whole story, where she was and promised not to tell anyone else yet but I decided that I wanted an angry Kenzie a little longer and seeing more angry scenes and more her and evil Stefan scenes, so… just thought I'd throw that out there because I never rewrite to the extent that I did here.)
Kenzie was scowling as she threw herself onto the couch at Alaric's, crossing her arms as she did.
"You both look dishevelled." Ric noted. "Let me guess, you made up."
"No." Kenzie snapped, her scowl deepening "Someone doesn't know how to take no for an answer."
"Oh my god." Elena cried. "Did he try to- I mean did he force-"
"Please stop talking." Kenzie told her when she realized what Elena was getting at. "No. I told Damon I didn't want to come here for this stupid meeting and he picked me up and carried me out of the house and I fought him the whole way."
"She has a good right hook." Damon said, motioning for Elena to get into position across from him. She took up a fighting stance, stake in hand. "Anyways, I caught her up. So do you know anymore?" Elena lunged at him and he easily batted her away.
From what Damon had told her, they had found some symbols in a cave and wanted Kenzie there to talk to Rebekah, since she was the only one the Original Sister could stand. When she opened up the door to see Damon there, she had told him to get lost and closed the door in his face but because he was Damon, he let himself in and told her part of the story before she told him she didn't care and to get lost. That's when he decided he didn't care what she thought and picked her up, leading to a small struggle, a squirming Kenzie, a punch in the face and finally, the redhead being thrown in the car. She had spent the whole car ride pouting and ignoring him.
Now, Kenzie tuned them all out, instead watching Elena trying to beat Damon. Even as a human, Kenzie knew she could easily do it better. She wasn't a fighter or anything but she did know how to move. She was a dancer for years, a cheerleader as well and she always had that grace about her. Elena was graceful and maybe Kenzie was a bit petty at the moment but she knew she could do a lot better.
Finally, Elena threw her hands up, "Give me a break, I'm new at this."
Damon smirked, grabbing the stake out of her hands and tossing it at Kenzie who easily caught it, raising an eyebrow at him. He turned to her, an odd glint in his eyes. "Let's see what you got Red."
The way he said it made her pause for a moment, like he knew more then he let on but she brushed it off, standing up and facing off against him. The stake in her hand, she lunged at him, going at a human speed, faking with her right and swinging with her left. He easily blocked her hits, trapping one arm, and then the other, pulling her close.
"That all you got?" he whispered to her.
She stomped on his foot, causing him to loosen his grip in surprise. She grabbed the front of his shirt, rolling onto her back and using the momentum to flip him over her head. He easily landed on his feet and when he spun around towards her, she was kneeling below him, the stake hovered just beneath his heart.
"I think you're dead." She whispered back.
He scowled as he batted the stake away and yanked her to her feet.
"How did you do that?" Elena asked in disbelief.
Kenzie shrugged. "Damon underestimated me, that's it that's all, so I was able to take him by surprise. If people underestimate you, you are at an advantage. I'm little so written off and that right there, works in my favor. Also I'm like a green belt in karate."
"Really? You seemed extra strong there, I didn't think I was underestimating you that much."
Kenzie raised an eyebrow. "You were. No way I could do that otherwise."
"Let me try again." Elena said and Kenzie sat down on the couch.
"So why am I here?" She asked. "obviously it's not for research and stuff."
"Because, we need to find out some information." Ric explained. "We think these images might tell us what the weapon Mikael has is and we need someone who can tell us about the images."
Kenzie sighed. "You want me to talk to Barbs."
"No, we want you to talk to Rebekah." Elena told her.
The redhead shot her a dirty look. "Are you being serious? Who do you I think I'm talking about? I mean really?"
"Oh." Elena looked away, embarrassed.
"Do you think she'll talk to you?" Ric asked.
Kenzie shrugged. "Why not? Might as well try, it's better than sending Elena, who would just get her pretty little neck snapped." She stood up and grabbed some copies of the pictures, just wanting to get out of there now. "I'll see what I can do."
… … …
It wasn't until cheerleading practice the next morning that Kenzie got a chance to talk to Rebekah. After practice was over, Kenzie was going through her bag and watching Rebekah show some of the girls this new tumbling pass. When she was done, she called the Original over, pulling the pictures out as she did so.
"What?" Rebekah asked, standing in front of her.
"as the only person you haven't really threatened to kill yet, I've been sent on a mission to ask you some stuff."
"Some stuff I'm probably not going to like?" She suspiciously asked.
"Definitely." Kenzie replied, holding up the pictures. "Anything you want to share about Daddy Dearest and why you're running from him?"
"Where did you get those?" Rebekah snapped, ripping the pictures out of her hands.
"Where do you think? So?"
"Look, it's none of your business, let it go Kenzie." She turned to leave but stopped at the redhead's next words.
"If you don't want to tell me, I'm sure Mikael will share."
"You're bluffing, you don't know where he is."
"Actually he's already been found."
Rebekah stepped up close to her. "If Mikael is woken, we are all doomed. Who put you up to this, Kenzie? It was Elena, wasn't it? That nosy little bitch. I like you Kenzie, don't ruin it now, let this go." She turned and walked away and Kenzie threw her arms up in frustration.
She had tried, which, really, was more than Elena deserved.
… … …
Kenzie let herself in to the Salvatore house, following the sound of the music to the front room where 5 girls were modelling dresses for Rebekah and Elena. She had received a text from Rebekah a little while ago, asking Kenzie to come over and the redhead had obliged, thinking the Original sister wanted to open up to her, she had no idea why Elena was there and couldn't help but wonder what she was up to.
"Okay, now twirl please." Rebekah was telling the girls.
"You compelled your own private runway show?" Elena asked in disbelief.
"I need a Homecoming dress. So, what do you think? Pick one."
"I'm not here to help you shop. I'm here to talk about why you don't want me to wake up Mikael."
Kenzie rolled her eyes, wondering if Elena was really that stupid to push the blonde.
"Personally the blue or red would look great on you and I would love that green one in the middle if you're not going to use it. I don't have a dress either."
Both girls turned to Kenzie who stepped further into the room.
"What are you doing here?" Elena asked.
"I texted her when I texted you." Rebekah announced. "I know you put Kenzie up to this Elena and I don't appreciate you trying to pit me against the only person I can stand in this god awful town. Now pick one."
"Kenzie already did."
Rebekah vamped out and rushed one of the girls, yanking her head to the side to bare her neck. "I said pick one."
"The red one." Elena finally chose.
The blonde relaxed. "That wasn't so hard now, was it?" She turned to her models. "go away, remember nothing." Her hand snaked out and grabbed the middle one in the black and green dress. "You, I want you to have this altered and dropped off, understood?" the girl nodded before walking away and Kenzie grinned.
"You're going to let her do that?" Elena asked Kenzie in disbelief.
"I need a dress. Beats me having to buy one or get it altered. Thanks by the way."
"No problem." Rebekah told her. "Because I actually like you."
"I figured as much. So what's the what? Why are we both here?"
"Since she put you up to this, I thought it better to share with both of you at the same time." The blonde leaned in close to Elena. "You do not threaten me. You'll learn what I allow you to learn. Is that clear?"
Elena nodded, sending Kenzie a look clearly asking for help but the redhead ignored her, instead picking up the glass of champagne that Rebekah had abandoned and finished it off. Rebekah left the room and Elena followed after. Kenzie drifted back to the room where the champagne was and grabbed the bottle. She could hear them talking in Stefan's room and knew Rebekah was telling the story but she was only half listening as she drifted away from them and towards Damon's room.
It wasn't until she was in front of his bed that she realized where she was. She took another swig from the bottle of champagne before turning and walking into his bathroom. She put the bottle on the counter as she slowly walked around. In the shower, her shampoo and conditioner were still there as well as her scented body wash. As she moved to the counter, she could see her face wash on the counter and when she opened up one of the drawers, various makeup and other toiletries were in there. He hadn't removed them and she briefly wondered why as she walked back into his bedroom and really looked around, still seeing little bits and pieces of her still there. A pair of shoes, a scarf, one of her jackets and when she opened his closet, she saw some of her clothes still in there. She never realized how much she had moved into his room, but why did he still have everything? Was her sister right? Did he still care?
A hand reached out to touch one of his shirts, a small part of her even going so far as to think about taking it before she pulled away and walked towards his dresser. Sure enough, more of her items were in the drawer and on top of the dresser, a necklace caught her eye. She picked it up, frowning a little at the sun pendant on the end of it as she wondered who it was for. Elena, perhaps? She dropped the necklace back on the dresser with disgust as she looked around before moving to sit on the bed. She missed this bed, it was really comfortable and she allowed herself to crawl up it and lie down on the pillow. She sighed and closed her eyes, letting Rebekah's voice from Stefan's room lull her to sleep.
… … …
Kenzie woke up and knew it was much later by the way the light played across the room. She stretched and stood up, looking around before leaving Damon's room.
"Why are you doing this to me? I've done nothing to you."
Kenzie frowned, hearing Rebekah's cry and followed the sound of her voice to the living room as Elena spoke.
"Klaus killed your mother. He has a hold on you, on me, on everyone. He has for a thousand years. We have to make it stop."
"Shut up! Shut up! Don't talk anymore. Nothing."
She heard Elena's strangled cry and as she stepped into the room, Rebekah was vamped out, holding Elena by the throat. The brunette gasped, clutching at the hand around her throat and Kenzie entered the fray, placing a hand on Rebekah's arm. The blonde looked at her, a stricken look on her face as she released Elena who gasped for air as she held her throat, staring with wide eyes. Rebekah let out a sob before crumbling and Kenzie grabbed for her, letting the original sister take them both to the ground as she sobbed into her shoulder. Kenzie looked up at Elena, unsure of what really happened but knowing it was Elena's fault.
"You should leave."
"But-"
"Go." Kenzie snapped. "I don't know what you did but just leave."
Elena finally left and Kenzie waited for Rebekah to calm down and speak.
"Why would you stand up for me?"
"Why not?" Kenzie asked. "You're the one on the ground crying, not Elena, what happened?"
"You didn't hear?" Rebekah asked.
Kenzie shook her head. "I was still sleeping. So what happened?"
"She said- she said Nik killed my mother, not our dad. She's lying."
"Is she?" Kenzie couldn't help but ask, pulling away to look earnestly at the blonde. "Your brother has spent years manipulating people. I know he's your brother and I know you don't want to believe it but could there possibly be a chance Elena was telling the truth."
The Original sister shook her head with a small sob. "She was our Mother, why would he do this?"
Kenzie shrugged. "I don't know, that's something only your brother can answer."
"What would you do?" Rebekah asked, giving her a searching look.
Kenzie sighed with a shrug. "Your brother has a tendency to dagger the hell out of you when it suits him. Hell he does that to all your brothers. He's a manipulative bastard and really, I would believe Elena in this case. I know he's your brother but he does need to be stopped before this gets out of control. What's going to happen when he has him family full of hybrids? What happens to you then?"
"I need some time." Rebekah whispered, her hands coming up to cover her face. "I'll help you but I need some time alone."
Kenzie nodded as she stood up and went to leave, stopping in the doorway. "This isn't easy. If you need me, at all, come see me. You'll be welcome into my house."
Rebekah looked up at her in surprise and she just sent a small smile before leaving the blonde to her own thoughts.
… … …
Kenzie let herself into the Salvatore house the next day, having received a text from Rebekah, requesting her presence. When she arrived, Stefan, Damon, Elena and someone she didn't recognize were in the living room.
"Who is this?" the guy she didn't know asked, staring at her with curiosity.
Kenzie smiled and gave a small wave. "Kenzie. Former friends to all of them here."
"Then why are you here?" Damon asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Rebekah asked me to come over. What's going on?"
"We're luring Klaus back." Stefan explained, watching her with a small smirk.
"So you must be Mikael." Kenzie said with realization.
He inclined his head towards her. "Yes and as I was just saying that the known location of the dagger is my insurance policy."
"Against what?" Stefan asked.
"you leaving this in my heart." He held up the dagger. "You see, a vampire can´t dagger an original without dying. So- it falls to Elena or, Kenzie did you say your name was?"
She nodded, seeing everyone was looking at her but she didn't move to take the dagger. "I came here for Rebekah, not to dagger Daddy Dearest, have fun." She left them all there, walking off to Rebekah's room.
When she entered, the older Vampire was holding her dress up to herself in front of the mirror and looking herself over.
"That will look really pretty on ." Kenzie noted.
Rebekah turned around with a small tight smile. "Thank you for coming. Mikael is here, I haven't seen him yet."
"I just met him, they're about to dagger him."
"What?" Rebekah asked in disbelief, laying her dress out on the bed before turning and pulling another dress out of the closet. "Here's your dress by the way."
Kenzie took it with a smile, holding it up to herself and looking in the mirror. "We're going to look pretty awesome."
"This is my first dance." Rebekah told her, sounding a little embarrassed.
"Then we'll make sure it's memorable, won't we?"
"You're needed in the front room. We're calling your brother."
Both girls turned to look at Damon, whose eyes were on Kenzie, an indecipherable look in his eyes.
"Will you come with me?" Rebekah asked, reaching over and grabbing her hand.
"Of course." Kenzie replied, tossing the dress on the bed as she let Rebekah lead her into the next room.
She stood beside the blonde, ignoring Damon's eyes as Rebekah took the phone and spoke to her brother, who promised he would be home soon. When she hung up, she took a deep breath, sneering down at her father's body before walking out of the room, the redhead following after.
"Why don't we go do fun girly things?" Kenzie suggested, "Take your mind off everything."
"When did they become such good friends?" Stefan asked from the other room, sounding amused.
"Rebekah is using her." Elena stated, sounding very sure.
"Pathetic." The Original sister huffed.
"What?" Kenzie asked, acting as though she didn't hear them. She did hear Stefan's snort of amusement and resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"They doubt our friendship." She turned around and grasped Kenzie's hands. "We are friends, aren't we?"
Kenzie frowned as she looked at the other vampire, not because she didn't think they weren't friends but because of the insecurity that showed through on this thousand year old woman. How horrible could it be to go through so much of time and be so insecure as to doubt that someone, who she thought was completely human, wasn't her friend.
Rebekah's face slightly fell as Kenzie hesitated and the redhead quickly shook her head. "No, no, I hesitated because I couldn't believe you didn't think we were friends. We are Rebekah. Now, let's go to the spa and you can compel us some mani-pedi's appointment.
The blonde smiled as the two girls left the house.
… … …
When they arrived back at the Salvatore Mansion, Rebekah told her to go on to the room as she wanted to speak with her dad who was bound to wake up at any moment. She obliged, sitting on the bed and listening to Rebekah yell at her Dad for making them the way they were and destroying their family. She walked into the room and stomped by Kenzie, going into the bathroom and slamming the door.
She sighed, pulling out her phone and smiling at seeing Katherine had messaged her.
I'll see you tonight.
Kenzie wanted to call the older Vamp and see what she was talking about but with so many vampires in the house, she knew she wasn't about to risk it. She sent back a message, asking why Katherine would be there and Katherine's reply was instantaneous.
Damon of all people talked me into it. But if it's to get rid of Klaus, I'm all for it. But really, it's only to see you and Stefan.
Kenzie grinned. Oh please, it's to see Stefan again. I'll see you soon.
Play dumb.
Moments later, the redhead looked up to see Elena, Damon and Stefan looking at her.
"What?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Look Kenzie." Elena started, sharing a glance with Damon. "We don't want anyone going alone tonight, we don't want to leave anything to chance."
"Fine, I'm going with Rebekah, I think I'll be fine."
"Actually, I'm going with Matt." The blonde announced as she came out of the bathroom. "I'm sorry I forgot to tell you. Tyler was kind enough to find me a date, I assumed you already had one, I've seen several guys ask you."
Kenzie resisted the urge to pout. It was true, many boys at school had asked her, her popularity level shooting straight up since she was named captain of the squad but she had turned them all down.
"They all sucked." She muttered.
"Or perhaps you were waiting for a certain boyfriend of yours to ask you."
Her face shot up to Damon's smirking one. "You're not my boyfriend." She grounded out.
"Well, either way, you need a date." Elena interrupted them. "And if Klaus is coming back, we think it's better if you have someone who can protect you."
Kenzie heard Stefan's quiet snort but forced herself not to scowl at him.
"Do you really think Klaus is going to give two shits about me?"
"My brother will be too obsessed with our father tonight." Rebekah chimed in.
"Still, we'd feel better."
"I'm not going with Damon." Kenzie hissed.
"Fine, then you can go with my brother." The elder Salvatore snapped.
The redhead stood up, defiantly raising her chin. "Fine, I'll go with Stefan." She didn't wait to see all their surprised looks as she stomped past them and into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.
… … …
She took her time taking a shower, doing her hair and putting her makeup on. When she finally left the bathroom, it was to see Rebekah standing in front of the mirror in her dress, Elena standing behind her and smiling at the blonde, telling her how nice she looked. Elena's arm moved and Kenzie's eyes widened, seeing what was in her hand.
"No." She screamed.
Rebekah turned towards her and Elena moved with her, stabbing her from behind. The blonde gasped in pain as Kenzie ran forward, grabbing the blonde as she pitched forward.
"I didn't know." She whispered but she wondered if the blonde was far too gone to hear her. She reached around the grab the knife, to pull it out, when she was sent flying across the room. She hit the wall before sliding down, landing in a heap.
"You're not ruining our plan." Damon told her.
"Kenzie! Are you okay?" Elena cried, running towards her and grabbing her arm to help her up.
The red head struggled to her feet, ripping her arm away from Elena. "You guys are all kinds of fucked up. She offered her cooperation."
"She could've double crossed us." The taller girl explained. "Just like Elijah did. We couldn't leave anything to chance."
"I would've kept her in check." She hissed.
"What? With your non existent super strength?" Damon sneered at her.
Kenzie's eyes narrowed because the way he said it and the way he looked at her had her feeling yet again that he knew more. But how? And if he did, he would've confronted her about it, she knew how he worked. "You guys are assholes and when she ends up having that dagger pulled out, I'm going to laugh my ass off when she comes for each and every one of you."
Not waiting for a reply, she turned and stomped out of the house, almost wanting one of them to follow her just so she could take her frustration out on them. But no one did so her walk home was uneventful and when she arrived, she threw the door open, wincing when the doorknob went through the wall. She knew how to control herself but sometimes, her anger leaked through and she did something vampire like.
"Is everything okay?" her dad asked, coming into the entry way. His brow furrowed as he looked her up and down. "Why are you wearing a robe?"
Kenzie glanced down at herself, groaning to realize she never changed out of her robe after the whole Rebekah debacle. "I got into it with Damon and Elena. They staked Rebekah."
"Why would they do that? I thought she offered her cooperation."
She moved to sit on her steps, Darren taking a seat beside her as she told him of her afternoon. When she was done, her Dad patted her leg.
"For what it's worth, I think you could have kept her in check."
Kenzie sent him a small sad smile. "Thanks Dad. I just- I just wish that I didn't have to compel you to be okay with this."
"Who knows, maybe I would be okay with it?"
She leaned her head against his shoulder. "I can't willingly bring you into this world Dad. I'm not- I'm not your little girl anymore… I'm a monster."
He wrapped an arm around her, placing a kiss on her forehead. "You'll always be my little girl, You're not a monsters Macks."
She didn't bother correcting him, instead wiping at the tears on her cheek just as the doorbell rang.
"Want me to answer it while you finish getting ready?"
Kenzie shook her head, rushing to the door and throwing her arms around Katherine.
"And you know I'm not that annoying twit how?" the older vamp asked.
Kenzie rolled her eyes, noticing that her hair was straight but the smirk was very much intact. "Lucky guess. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the mansion?"
"I should just thought I'd stop by and say hi first, and ruin your little family moment."
"You heard that, huh?"
"For the record, kid, you're not a typical vampire. You're the most nonvampire vampire I know, even if it does annoy me to no end."
"Gee K, that was almost nice."
She pulled a face. "Good, I'm getting into Elena mode. I should move it, Stefan is on his way." She was gone in the blink of an eye and a puzzled Kenzie stayed in the doorway watching Stefan's car pull up.