Don't adjust your screens, it's really me. I'm still plugging away at this and other stuff... I'm onto season 4. good for me.
Enjoy :) Please leave a review though
11/14/16
I live my life the way
To keep you comin' back to me
Everything I do is for you
So what is it that you can't see
Sometimes I wish I could turn back time
Impossible as it may seem
But I wish I could so bad, baby
You better quit playin' games with my heart
Quit playin' games with my heart
Before you tear us apart (my heart)
Quit playin' games with my heart
I should've known from the start
You know you got to stop (from my heart)
You're tearing us apart (my heart)
Quit playin' games
... ...
Kenzie was rubbing her sore neck, muttering to herself as she walked into the Salvatore House. She briefly remembered waking up before her neck was broken yet again and she had no idea how long she had been out for but she was going to kill Rebekah, the bitch killed her twice. But why? She had eventually woken up in her house and immediately left to go see Stefan.
"I'd love that." Stefan was saying into his phone, his back to her as she entered the living room.
"Bye." She heard Elena on the other line before they both hung up.
"I'm thinking Gardenia corsage." Damon said from the other entrance. "Wrist, obviously. You don't want to accidently stab her in the chest with the pin, that could get messy."
"Damon, I-" Stefan began but stopped when he noticed Kenzie there.
"So, you guys are fighting over who takes Elena to some stupid dance while I've been missing for god knows how long because apparently I'm so much fun to kill, people have to do it twice?" She asked in disbelief.
Stefan's brow furrowed as he stepped closer to her. "Who killed you? What do you mean missing? I got your text saying Rebekah has the stake and that you're going home."
She scowled. "That wasn't me. I don't know who has the stake. Rebekah sent me into the cave to get it but broke my neck before I could go in there. I woke up, only to have my neck broken again, I'm guessing by Rebekah again. No idea why."
"I'm going to kill the bitch." Damon muttered before talking louder. "According to Alaric, she has the stake."
"Then what was the point of killing me?" The outraged redhead cried. "Can I stake her? Since she supposedly has the white oak stake, I'm all for daggering her, over and over. Then cut off all that pretty blonde hair, I have a feeling that's what will really get her."
Damon gave her an amused smile, motioning for her to follow him. She obliged, a part of her curious to find out what happened on their little trip.
"Did you find Rose?" She asked as they walked to his room.
"Yes and she helped us but Kol thwarted us."
"Thwarted?" She asked with a small smirk.
He turned back to raise an eyebrow at her as they entered his room, Kenzie stopping near the door, unsure of what to do.
"Why don't you ask what you really wanted to ask?" Damon urged her.
"What am I supposed to ask?" She pursed her lips, taking a couple more steps into his room as he went to his closet.
He stopped, a hand on the door as he looked at her with a smirk. "Did Elena and I kiss?"
Kenzie shrugged, trying to appear disinterested. "How is that any of my business?" She asked.
"I didn't." He reached into his closet and pulled out a box, turning to face her. "Okay, fine, she tried, I stopped it."
"Still none of my business." She whispered.
He held the box out for her and she looked at it before raising her eyes to look at him questionably
"Just open it." He urged her, rolling his eyes.
She stepped forward and removed the lid from the box, looking down at the blue material in confusion. He rolled his eyes, grabbing the material as the box fell to the floor and holding up what she realized was a dress. A sapphire blue dress with a matching headband.
"You bought me a dress from the 20's?" She asked in disbelief.
"Don't you have a dance tonight?"
She scrunched up her nose, vaguely remembering that's what Stefan had been talking to Elena about. "Seriously? Another decades dance? Thanks then, I guess?"
"I"ll pick you up at seven." He told her with a smirk.
"Oh, so now you think I'm going with you?"
"Yes, you are, I'll see you later, Red."
He left her alone staring at the dress with a small frown on her face.
… … …
Kenzie turned to admire herself from another angle, liking how the jewel tones of the flapper dress complimented her skin tone and red hair which was currently curled up and made into a bob that was held up by the headband. She looked good and a part of her was really hoping that maybe, just this once, she'd have a night that was normal, without any supernatural stuff thrown in. But the moment she thought it, she groaned, knowing she had just jinxed it.
With a sigh, she leaned closer to the mirror, touching up her eye makeup and adding the red lipstick before she looked at herself in the mirror again with a small smile. Turning, she grabbed her clutch and her phone, noticing it was past 7 and she scowled, realizing Damon was late. It really shouldn't surprise her but now she was actually ready before he got there. He was supposed to wait impatiently downstairs for her to get ready.
Seeing as she was ready and looked perfect, she went downstairs, sitting on the couch and staring at whichever sports game her Dad was currently watching.
"Why are you dressed like that?" he asked.
"Another decade dance. You ever feel like this town lives in the past?"
"Maybe it's all the Vampires." He replied with a small smile.
She returned his smile, both of them turning back to the TV. Kenzie sat watching, her legs crossed, the bottom leg bouncing up and down as she impatiently waited for him. The clock slowly crept forward and it was 7:30 by the time she texted him. When he didn't reply, she called him, going straight to voicemail. She waited 15 more minutes before she finally gave up and stood up.
"If Damon comes by, tell him I went to the dance alone." She muttered, stomping out of the house, ready to murder him. How dare he stand her up. What kind of stupid game was he playing now?
She got to the school, entering the gym and finally spotted Stefan pulling Elena into his arms. She stomped up to them, crossing her arms with a scowl as she waited for them to notice her. Elena did first, her eyes widening in surprise as she took in her outfit.
"Kenzie, you look wonderful."
"Hey Kenz," Stefan said with a smile. "Where's my brother?"
"I thought you could tell me." Her scowl deepened. "That dickbag stood me up."
"I didn't stand you up." Came his voice from behind her. Kenzie spun around, her hands on her hips as she glared at him.
"You damn well did. You were supposed to pick me up an hour ago. I had to find my own way here."
"I'll explain in a moment." He promised her. "Right now, us four need to talk."
Stefan and Elena exchanged glances before breaking apart and following Damon out, who had grabbed Kenzie's hand, pulling her behind him and out into the hall.
"Alaric's missing." He told them as soon as they were outside of the gym.
"I'm surprised you didn't figure that out before when Rebekah had him in the cave. She probably stashed him somewhere. I'd help but I was busy being dead and all." Kenzie snarked.
"Again?" elena asked with a frown, glancing down at the ring on her hand. "Kenzie, you need to quit wearing your ring."
She waved her off. "It's second generation, I'm not worried. But um, thanks for wanting me to not wear it so I'll stay dead."
"I talked to Alaric after." Damon interrupted them. "He said Rebekah got the stake and he was going away because he was still blacking out but he had Bonnie's herbs so he was fine."
"So how is he missing then?" Stefan asked.
"Because I found these." He pulled out a jar of the herbs Alaric was supposed to have. "I don't think Alaric is even present anymore."
Elena sighed. "Okay we need to find him and if he's sick, we need to find a cure."
"We've tried magic, we've tried medicine." Damon reminded her.
"What if we get him off vervain and compel him?" Stefan suggested.
"To do what?" The elder brother asked in disbelief. "To pretend to be Alaric? The guy that we know is gone. We're talking about some guy who not only hates vampires but vampire sympathizers, which makes one of his most obvious targets, oh, I dunno, you?" He finished, staring at Elena.
"You think he'd go after Elena?" Stefan wondered. "What about Kenzie? She's obviously okay with vampires."
"What are you suggesting we do?" Elena asked.
"I'm suggesting we put him out of his misery." Damon replied.
"I thought he was your best friend." Kenzie finally spoke up, trying not to be bothered by the fact that Damon seemed to be worried about Elena and Stefan was the only one who seemed worried about her own well-being.
"No way in hell." Another voice spoke up, and they turned to see Jeremy there.
"Come on, it's what he would want." Damon Callously replied. "It's a mercy killing."
"You are out of your mind." Jeremy snapped.
"Jeremy-" Elena began, only to be interrupted by him holding up a hand before turning on his heel to walk away.
She turned to glare at Damon before following after her brother, leaving the three vampires alone.
"You know I'm right." Damon told him brother.
"Why don't you do the smart thing and find Alaric first before getting all gung ho about killing him." Kenzie suggested. "you and your stupid half cocked plans." She muttered to herself, crossing her arms and walking away from them, wondering if she could talk to Jeremy. She made her way down the hallway he had gone to, grabbing him as he came running back in.
"Esther is out there."
"Damon, Stefan." She yelled, grabbing Jeremy and rushing outside. As she exited the school, she frowned to see Elena nowhere in sight, turning around to see Damon and Stefan behind her, running past her and to the parking lot. They hit the end of the path, stumbling backwards as they hit an invisible barrier.
"Salt." Stefan muttered, looking down at the ground. "It's a binding agent for a spell."
"We're stuck here." Damon said with a grimace.
"We need to find Bonnie." Stefan turned back to the school.
"What did Esther do?" Kenzie asked as the brother's ran inside.
"Told Elena to come with her if she wanted to rescue Alaric. So she went."
"Of course, martyr Elena to the rescue." Kenzie muttered.
"Hey." Jeremy grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. "I would've done the same thing. Alaric's important to us."
"I know, I'm sorry." She placated. "I'm just taking my frustrations with her out on everything."
He sighed. "I know. For whatever reason, you both seem to be hung up on Damon, I know seeing them must not be easy for you."
Kenzie pursed her lips, going back into the school, not wanting to talk to him about it. She stopped and tried to listen to where Damon was without seeming obvious, going down a hallway to an empty classroom where Bonnie was, already setting up for a spell. She didn't say anything, leaning against a desk as she watched the witch work. Others slowly began to trickle in, Jeremy, then Matt before the football player left again and then Stefan followed by Klaus.
"You haven't seen my sister around, have you?" Klaus asked, seeing the redhead there.
"Not since she snapped my neck back in the caves so she could finish her dealings with Alaric." She nastily replied.
Klaus straightened up and moved at vampire speed towards her, picking her up by the neck. "Tell me everything."
"Put her down." Damon snapped.
Kenzie glared down at the Original. "Listen, asshole, if you would just ask nicely, I'd tell you everything. No need to put on your stupid 'I'm the Alpha Male.' Persona."
His eyes widened slightly in surprise before he gently put her down, flexing his fingers as though he wanted nothing more than to wrap them around Kenzie's neck again and snap it. He briefly wonderedif the redhead knew about his conversation with Caroline when she had also called him an alpha male, but there was no way she could have known. "Alright Mackenzie, speak. What happened in the caves?"
"Alaric wouldn't give up the stake, your sister asked me to go get it, I went to walk into the cave when she snapped my neck. When I woke up, I could only assume she did it again. I woke up again, alone and went to the Salvatore's."
"Did anything else happen?" Klaus asked. "Anything unusual you can think of?"
Kenzie bit her lip, trying to remember everything. "She made sure I was wearing my ring, and she kept calling me Mackenzie, which she never does."
Klaus swore, clenching his fists as behind them, Bonnie began the spell.
"What is it?" Kenzie asked, her curiosity overshadowing her dislike of him.
"That wasn't my sister." Klaus hissed. "That was my mother in her body."
"How the hell does she do that and go back to her body?" She asked in disbelief.
"She's a witch." He replied as if that answered everything before turning to Bonnie. "What's taking so long? Every boundary spell has a loophole."
Bonnie paused to open her eyes and glare at him as Matt returned behind them.
"People are walking right out of the dance, past the barrier." He announced.
"If Matt, Kenzie and I can leave, we can stop Esther ourselves." Jeremy suggested. "We just got to find out where she is."
Kenzie and Stefan exchanged a quick look before he rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. "It's suicide, Jeremy."
Klaus rushed towards Jaime, picking him up by the neck. "Suicide would be disappointing me." He looked at Bonnie, who looked ready to murder him. "Start working your magic, witch or I'll start killing people you fancy."
"Let him go." She yelled.
"Not until you get us out of here."
"Don't be stupid Klaus." Stefan stepped towards them. "Bonnie doesn't give a damn about us. The only reason she's helping right now is to save Caroline and Tyler. You start killing the people she cares about, she'll start telling us to go to hell."
Klaus glared at him, turning to glare at Jaime, then Bonnie before letting the boy go as he stepped back with a glare. "Get it done."
She only glared at him.
"Look, we're wasting time." Jeremy reminded them. "Why doesn't Bonnie do a locator spell, we'll go ahead while she figures out how to break the barrier spell."
Stefan let out a frustrated sigh before looking at Bonnie. "What do you think?"
"Jeremy might be right, I can't break the barrier spell. I'll figure out where Elena is first then go back to trying to break the spell. I need a map of Mystic Falls."
"There's one in Alaric's classroom." Kenzie piped up. "I remember looking at it one day."
The witch nodded her thanks. "I also need Gilbert blood to find Elena."
"Jeremy can do it. Elena and I are probably too distant."
"Wait, what?" More than one person asked, turning to look at Kenzie.
The redhead rolled her eyes. "One Gilbert was an asshole and raped my ancestor, Jill, before she became a vampire, making me part Gilbert. You're caught up, let's move on." She pushed past Bonnie and down the hallway to the classroom to get the map, pulling it off the wall and placing it on the desk for the Witch.
"How does that make you feel?" Bonnie asked, stepping up beside her.
"Does it matter?" Kenzie asked with a small snort, trying to be subtle as she stepped away from the Witch. She couldn't ruin everything now by letting Bonnie touching her. "Maybe it explains my obsession with Salvatore's."
"I don't imagine Jeremy has that kind of obsession." Bonnie replied with a small twitch of her lips.
"Lucky for all of us." She muttered as Damon walked in with a vial of blood, Klaus right behind him. Kenzie took that distraction to put a little bit more space between her and the Witch.
"Here, the littlest Gilbert- in age and not size-" He sent a smirk to Kenzie, "Donated some blood for your little location spell."
"Do I have to do this with you two lurking over me?" Bonnie spat at him.
Damon rolled his eyes. "You're still mad at me for what happened to Abby? Let me tell you again, it wasn't me."
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You expect me to believe that?"
"Then believe me." Kenzie said. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you, it wasn't Damon. He can't lie to me, you know that."
"Maybe he didn't, everyone knows you can lie, perhaps even better than Damon." Bonnie reminded her. "How do I know you're not covering for him?"
The petite vampire sighed, rubbing her temples. "Despite what we just talked about, please remember that most of the time, I can't stand him. He's a dick, who likes to string me along, then go make out or sleep with other people, only to come back and try again by giving me pretty dresses, then stand me up while wearing said pretty dress. Let's be honest, I want nothing more than for you to hurt him, but it wasn't him."
"Hey." Damon protested.
"Let's cut the dramatics and begin, shall we?" Klaus suggested.
Bonnie grabbed the blood from Damon and poured it on the map, speaking in Latin.
Kenzie took that moment to sneak out of the room. If they found where Esther was, Kenzie didn't want to be told to go with them, it would cause so many questions she wasn't ready to answer right then, or quite possibly ever. She made her way into the gym, the dance long over, Caroline and Tyler the only ones in there as they argued about Klaus. She drifted over to the refreshment table, grabbing a drink as they finished their argument.
Stefan entered moments later and motioned for her to join him.
"They're at the old cemetery." He announced. "Jeremy and Matt are headed there right now." He glanced down at Kenzie with a raised eyebrow. "We sent them ahead because they didn't know where to find you."
She shrugged. "I was useless anyways. What could I possibly do against Esther? Not to mention I'd just hold everyone back with my pretty shoes." She held one up to show it off.
"Wait." Caroline cried. "You let them go? You almost send Kenzie with them? They're going to get themselves killed."
"We didn't have a choice, Caroline." Stefan snapped. "We're useless in here." He turned away, running a hand over his face.
"Hey." The blonde softly tried. "She'll be fine. Elena always manages to find her way through this stuff."
He turned back to her. "Yeah, well, I'm just as worried about what Esther's up to. She led Klaus here for a reason. IF she succeeds in whatever she's doing-"
"Klaus will get killed, and I'd die along with him." Tyler interrupted them.
"No one's going to die, okay? Bonnie's still looking for a boundary spell. It's not too late" He turned on his heel and walked out of the gym and Kenzie hurried to catch up with him.
"As much as I want Klaus to die, I would rather he stay alive and keep his whole line alive until we learn who Katherine and her line is sired from." She gave him a pointed look.
He gave a small smile as he glanced down at her and they walked outside towards the barrier. "Who are you worried for Kenz?" He asked, wondering if at last she was worried for her own well-being.
"You guys." She muttered, refusing to rise to the bait.
Klaus stepped outside, walking past them to the barrier. He lifted up a hand, pressing against the barrier. He cursed to see it was still up.
"This is all your fault." He called, not turning around. "You set us on this past when you released my Mother."
Kenzie and Stefan exchanged a look as Klaus turned to glare at him. "I wonder if revenge will prove worth the cost."
Stefan resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the Original but it was Kenzie who stepped up to Klaus with a scowl on her face.
"Have you ever, in your whole pathetic existence admitted when something was your fault? Let's recap, shall we? You showed up, tried to use Elena for your nefarious plans, kidnapped Stefan in exchange to save his brother's life, made his life so miserable, that when he was finally free, he felt he was left with no choice but to get revenge, by any means possible, which yeah, meant your Mother because you wouldn't stop killing everyone, you fucking psycho. So instead of blaming everyone else, why not realize this whole thing started because of you."
Klaus' eyes widened dramatically and Kenzie realized she was in for it now. In fact, she had realized it by the third word but as with everything that came to Klaus, she couldn't stop herself. Sure enough, Klaus grabbed her by the throat and before Stefan could even move, threw her as far as he could. Kenzie went flying towards the barrier, thinking that she was totally in for it now but to her surprise, she went flying through, landing in the parking lot. She landed hard in a heap, forcing herself not to move as she heard Stefan yell her name and watched him come running towards her, seemingly forgetting about the barrier but knowing he'd get through if Kenzie had.
"It's down." Klaus whispered before taking off.
"Red." Damon yelled, having just exited the school and seeing Kenzie go flying. He arrived just moments after Stefan, helping her sit up as she grasped her side.
"Are you hurt? What did he do?" Damon demanded to know. "I'll fucking kill him."
"I'm fine." She groaned.
"Get to the cemetery." Damon ordered his brother. "I'll be right behind you."
Stefan nodded before taking off, leaving the two alone.
"So what happened this time?"
"I opened my mouth." She muttered. "I have this uncanny ability to open my mouth and piss people off."
"You and me both." He replied, standing up and gathering her into his arms.
"What are you doing?" She asked. "You need to get to the cemetery."
"And you're coming with me. Think of it as an apology for not picking you up on time tonight."
"On time?" She asked in disbelief. "You didn't pick me up at all. You forgot about me."
"I bought you a dress. Remember? I said I'd buy you all the dresses you wanted. Would Elijah do that for you?"
"Are you still on about that?" She asked in disbelief as he carried her to his car and gently placed her in the passenger side. "For your information, he asked me to a dance. You're a dick, so I said yes. Also, he bought me that dress."
"And I'll buy you more." He promised.
"This isn't a competition." She snapped as he closed her door and walked to the drivers side. Kenzie took that brief moment to grab her ribs, one that was protruding, and push it back into place, letting out a small grunt as she did so.
"Of course it isn't." he replied, as he got into the car. "He left, I'm still here."
She glared at him, briefly considering telling him that Elijah had asked her to go with him. "You're still here, making a royal fuck up of everything. What do you even want from me anymore, Damon?"
He started up the car before turning to her and leaning across the seat, one hand coming up to cradle her head as he pulled her close and fiercely kissed her. Kenzie could do no more than gasp as he kissed her stupid before slowly remembering she was supposed to respond or push him away. She chose to respond, one hand coming up to tangle in his hair as she kissed him back just as fiercely. When he finally pulled away, she could do no more than stare at him dumbly, as he smirked at turned back to driving his car.
"You. I just want you." He quietly told her, his eyes focused straight ahead on the road now.
"What if it's too late?" She whispered, her resolve weakening even more.
"Then I'll spend the rest of eternity proving it isn't." he promised her.
She stared at him, not even bothering to correct him, a part of her knowing that he knew she was different but now it was a game. Who would break first and tell the other? For once Damon was determined not to and now, Kenzie was far too terrified of what would happen when he finally had his confirmation.
She was royally fucked.
… …
As they arrived, Damon's phone rang and he got out of the car as he answered it, talking to Stefan as he waited for Kenzie to exit. He hung up with a sigh, grabbing her hand as he led her into the cemetery.
"Everyone should be arriving shortly." He muttered. "Someone will give you a ride home after."
"Why?" She asked.
"Because Esther tried to turn Alaric into a vampire to use him as some kind of weapon. He's not going to complete the transition. I'm going to stay here, make sure everything goes smoothly for him."
Kenzie drew in a sharp intake of breath. "Damon." She whispered. "I'm sorry."
"Don't." He told her with a small shake of his head as he gave her hand a squeeze. "Not right now."
She nodded, knowing he needed to come to terms with it on his own.
They arrived at the crypt and sat down to wait, Kenzie leaning in to Damon to offer what little comfort she could. He wrapped an arm around her, kissing the top of her head as Matt entered the area with Meredith behind him, a bag on her shoulder. Slowly their group of friends drifted into the clearing. Jeremy joined them, having exited the crypt, his eyes suspiciously wet. They all waited a few more minutes when the door opened again and Elena walked out, tears on her face. She noticed them all there and let out a small gasp, turning to look back at Alaric. He glanced at everyone, giving Elena a small smile before she left him and walked across to stand beside Stefan. Alaric looked at each one of them in turn, a small watery smile appearing on his face before he turned and went back into the crypt, closing the door behind him.
Everyone stayed silent, staring at the door until one by one, they all began to slowly disperse. Damon went into the crypt to talk to him and when he came out, Meredith went into the crypt with her bag. Everyone else but Damon and Kenzie went back to their cars. Jeremy stopped in front of them, tossing Damon the stake that Esther had made. He caught it, looking at it as Kenzie stood up and hugged Jeremy, unsure of what to say.
"I'll see you later Kenz." He promised, following after Matt.
Kenzie nodded sitting back down and leaning against Damon as she looked down at the stake.
"Are you going to use that on Klaus?" She wondered.
"If I get the chance." He muttered.
"And if it's your bloodline?"
He sighed. "Then I don't know."
They grew silent, Kenzie grabbing one of his hands. At one point he stood up and disappeared for a few moments, coming back with a bottle of alcohol. He sat down with her again and they waited. Finally Meredith came out of the crypt, her eyes wet as she gave them a weak smile.
"I gave him a sedative." She announced. "he'll fall asleep first, he'll go comfortably."
"Well, I offered to snapp his neck and put him out of his misery, but he didn't take me up on it." Damon muttered.
"You seemed surprised." Meredith said with a small smile.
Damon shrugged, uncorking the bottle. "You think a guy so used to dying wouldn't want to drag it out."
"Well it was nice of you to give him that option." She replied.
He let out a non-committal noise, "Apparently my choices have been a little controversial lately.
Meredith glanced at Kenzie who returned the look with a raised eyebrow. She wasn't about to argue that.
"You shouldn't leave him alone in there." The doctor stated.
Damon looked back at the crypt, a pained smile on his face when he faced her again. "That's what he wants."
"Is it really what you think he wants?" She pressed. When he didn't answer, she turned to walk away, stopping when he called out to her.
"Can you give Red a ride home?" he asked, standing up and pulling Kenzie with him. "Go with Meredith, I'm going to hang out here." He went into the crypt and she turned to where the Doctor was waiting for her.
"I know he wants me to leave but I'm going to stay here. He's going to need me."
"Will you be safe?" Meredith asked.
She nodded. "Damon's just a shout away. I'll be fine, I promise."
The older woman nodded and left her there and Kenzie sat down to wait, knowing that when it was all over he would need her. And probably alcohol. No, he would definitely need the alcohol. She glanced around, making sure he was still inside before taking off to his car, grabbing a couple more bottles for the both of them, knowing she would need the alcohol too. It sucked losing Alaric. She liked having him as a teacher and she liked working with him on all things supernatural. It was just someone else being taken away too soon and she had to stomp down on her sudden rage towards Klaus. Everything came back down to him. She wished there was a way to kill him, without the possibility of killing everyone she cared about, plus herself.
After what felt like hours of waiting, she heard a rustling and she stood up, seeing Bonnie walking towards her.
"Bonnie?" She called the Witch's name but was ignored and Kenzie went to stand in front of her, trying to get her attention. The Witch ignored her, staring right through her and when the petite vampire refused to move, Bonnie lifted her hand, sending her flying into the trees. She hit hard, cracking her head against the tree and falling to the ground, hitting what seemed like every single branch on the way down.
"Kenzie." She heard Damon yell as she hit the ground hard.
She opened her eyes to look at him, seeing he was now grabbing his head in pain, falling to one knee. Kenzie opened her mouth to call out to him but it seemed as though she had hit her head harder than she even realized as her vision grew dimmer and everything went black.
… …
"Kenz, Red? Wake up, come on."
Her eyes fluttered open and she groaned against the sun shining in her eyes.
"Did I die again?" She croaked.
Damon gave her a small smile. "No, I think you just hit your head really hard this time. Can you sit up?"
"Help me?" She pleaded.
He grabbed her arm and helped her sit up with a small groan. "What the hell happened?"
"Bonnie." He spat. "She showed up and gave Alaric her blood. So now-"
"We have a psychotic vampire intent on killing the Originals?" She finished for him.
"Got it in one. Come on, we need to go tell the others."
She let him help her to her feet, groaning and wondering why her head still hurt.
"Do you need some of my blood?" He asked, going to open a vein.
"No." she cried, realizing it had been a long while since she fed and perhaps that's why she was slow in healing. "It's just a small headache, it will be gone soon, I'm sure."
"Are you? 'cause you look really pale." He pointed out, one hand coming up to cup her cheek.
"I'm afraid of heights." She mumbled, not thinking clearly. "That was a long fall."
He lifted an eyebrow, clearly showing he didn't believe her. He could clearly recall her standing on top of the catwalk at the school without a care in the world.
"Come on, let's go." He grabbed her hand, letting her previous comment slide as he began to lead her away.
"Wait." She stopped and tugged at his hand. "Where's Bonnie then?"
"I don't know, still in the crypt?"
Kenzie sighed, wondering if she would regret this but knowing they would more than likely need help in stopping Alaric and Bonnie was their best chance.
"Go get her." She said with a sigh.
"What?" He asked in disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me? After what she pulled?"
She turned her eyes on him, making them go wide. "Please? Look, we might need her to stop Alaric. At least give her a chance to fix her own fuck up."
He let out an exasperated sigh as he rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll go get her, start making your way to the car."
She nodded, grabbing her head with a small groan as she turned to go back to his car.
She arrived just moments before Damon did, half draggin, half carrying Bonnie with him.
"Did you not give her blood?" She asked with a scowl.
"She doesn't deserve it." He replied with his own scowl.
Kenzie replied with putting her hands on his hips as she glared at him until he rolled his eyes and opened up a vein on his wrist, feeding it to Bonnie. He put the witch in the back seat, none too gently, motioning Kenzie to get into the front seat. She did with a small huff as he got into the driver side. They were silent on the ride over until Bonnie spoke up from the back seat, pushing herself into a sitting position.
"What the hell happened?" She groaned.
"You released psycho Alaric, so thanks for that." He snarked.
"What?" She asked in disbelief.
Kenzie turned around to face her. "You showed up, threw me against a tree, gave me a wicked headache, gave Damon a wicked vampire headache and fed Alaric. So now, he's probably all psycho and going to kill everyone we care about."
"Oh my god." Bonnie whispered. "I didn't even know what I was doing."
"No but you did enough to throw you off your high horse and stop blaming Damon for everything." The redhead muttered turning back to face the front.
She heard and felt Bonnie move and twisted out of the way to avoid being touched as she turned to glare at the Witch.
"Don't touch me." She hissed.
"Kenzie-" Bonnie began, only to be cut off.
"Take me home." She told Damon.
"We need to tell everyone about this." He reminded her.
"Take me home." She repeated. "I want to change. I'll meet you at Elena's after."
He nodded with a sigh, pulling up to her house to let her out. She practically ran for the front door, slamming it shut behind her as she raced down to the basement.
"Kenz? What's wrong?" Her Father asked, coming down the steps.
"I need food." She gasped, opening up her special fridge and grabbing some blood bags, ripping into them as she began to gulp it down.
"Did something happen?" her Dad asked.
"Go upstairs." She snapped, not wanting him to see her like this.
He obliged and Kenzie finished eating, leaning back against the fridge as the pain in her head receded and she finally finished healing. She sighed and raced back upstairs, telling her Dad she just needed to shower before meeting her friends. He did nothing more than let out a small grunt, tuned to the TV.
She showered, grabbing her closest yoga pants and tank top before throwing her hair up into a bun, not wanting to take the time to dry it. She stopped at the door of Jill's room, the older vampire still lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling.
"I need to catch you up on some stuff." The younger vampire told her, stepping into the room and telling her everything that had happened the previous night. "Look, we need to take Alaric down and we need your help."
"MY help?" Jill asked. "What good can I do?"
"A lot." Kenzie snapped. "Anything really, so you need to stop wallowing here in self pity. Do you think Jack would want you to do this?"
"Jack doesn't care." She tearfully replied. "Otherwise he would've come back."
"You have all eternity to make up with him. So stop the woe is me act and come help us later, got it?" Not waiting for an answer, Kenzie stood up and stormed out of the room, and out of the house. Taking her time as she walked over to Elena's. If something urgent came up, someone would call her, but more than likely, right now they were coming up with a plan. One that probably didn't include Kenzie, so she saw no rush in getting there.
As she approached the Gilbert house, she slowed down even more, seeing the window was broken and the door wide open. She hesitated as she walked across the lawn, wondering what was going on when she heard and felt someone come up behind her with supernatural speed. She didn't turn around, only letting out a sigh as Klaus grabbed her arm.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the bloody thorn in my bloody side. Today is your lucky day Mackenzie. I won't kill you, instead I will exchange you for the doppleganger."
Kenzie let out a small snort. "You really think my life means more than Elena's? They won't do it."
"Damon might."
"I never thought you were that delusional. Why do you have a torch?" She asked, noticing the rolled up newspaper in his hand, one end on fire. "Are we starting a mob? Gosh, and I left my pitchfork at home."
"Do shut up." He snapped at her, shoving the makeshift torch in her hand and leaning down to pick up a propane tank "You will hold this, and I will grab this. Now, up the stairs."
She was pushed ahead of him up the stairs just as Stefan appeared in the doorway, one eyebrow raised at seeing Kenzie there.
"Kenz, put out the torch." He told her.
She went to drop it but her arm was grabbed by Klaus. "Why don't you come out here and make us?"
Stefan stepped outside. "Elena's not here. Alaric has her and Caroline and he's going to kill them both unless you hand yourself over to him."
Kenzie didn't move, instead watching Stefan who was staring at Klaus. The Original finally dropped the propane tank, letting go of her arm and knocking the burning paper to the ground. She stepped away from him and towards Stefan, Damon's arm snaking out of the house and grabbing her, pulling her inside.
"Are you okay?" He whispered to her.
She nodded, turning to the conversation still happening on the porch.
"Stay here." Damon warned her, stepping onto the porch with a piece of a fence post slung over his shoulder.
"Now I know you're not asking me to walk into a certain death." Klaus hissed.
Stefan let out a small snort. "I really wish we could but if you die, there's a one in four chance we die too."
"I'd take those odds." Damon told his brother.
Stefan glared at him. "And 100% chance that Tyler dies."
"Good with that too." Damon replied.
"Why don't we just figure out a way to put Alaric down?" Stefan suggested, turning back to Klaus.
Klaus let out a frustrated sigh as all three vampires relaxed and began pacing the porch, trying to come up with an idea. Kenzie stood in the doorway, leaning against one side as she watched them.
"I got it." Klaus exclaimed, turning to look at them. "Damon sneaks in and distracts Alaric, while Stefan grabs Elena and carries her to safety."
"I don't think so." Kenzie scowled. "What's to stop Damon from getting killed instantly?"
"Nothing." Klaus replied with a shrug.
"Dick." Kenzie muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.
Klaus glared at her, opening his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Damon.
"Caroline's in there, don't you have a thing for her? Or did she just reject you too many times."
"This isn't really helping anything." Stefan pointed out.
Kenzie stepped out onto the porch just moments before Bonnie appeared in the doorway.
"I might have an idea." The witch said. "My mom used a desication spell on Michael that immobilized him for over 15 years. If I can get it, I might be able to use it on Alaric."
"If and might, your words inspire so much confidence." Klaus drawled.
"I'll get it." She snapped. "But even with the spell we'll need a lot of vampire muscle to take him down. Including yours."
"Jill's on standby." Kenzie told her. "She said she would help."
"She's willingly helping?" Damon asked with a snort of disbelief.
"I told her she had to. I'm sick and tired of her moping all the time." She replied with a shrug.
Klaus sighed, looking up at the sky. "Just to be clear, the sun sets in about 8 hours. If we don't succeed before then, Elena will be dead, I'll be gone and the rest of you will be left to fend for yourselves."
"Well then, now that we got that awesome motivation, we should get going." Kenzie rolled her eyes, turning to Bonnie. "How do you get the spell?"
"I'll call Jaime. He can get in touch with Abby."
"Call me when you're ready." Klaus informed them before walking away.
"Thanks for the pep talk." Kenzie yelled after him.
"He's going to kill you again." Damon said with a sigh.
Kenzie grinned up at him, it widening as he shook his head at her.
… …
Kenzie arrived at the school with Damon and Bonnie. They had gone to the Salvatore's house and waited for Abby to show up. Kenzie wasn't too keen on seeing the first person she turned into a vampire so had made herself scarce when she did appear. Apparently she tried her hardest to talk Bonnie out of doing the spell before finally giving in and telling her what she had to do. Unfortunately it required her stopping a human heart, in order to stop a Vampire's heart. Kenzie had heard that part and Bonnie had glanced at her after that, as if trying to figure out if she would go for it but oddly enough, Kenzie hadn't volunteered. She was pretty sure that even if she was human she wouldn't volunteer. She liked her heart just as it was, beating, human or vampire.
"Hand it over." Damon called as they walked up to Jeremy.
"I'm not giving you my ring." He replied, turning to Bonnie. "Let me do this."
"By my math, you already bit it once, possibly twice wearing that thing and if for some reason Bonnie can't restart your heart and you do indeed die, then before you know it, we have another psycho alter ego on our hands, which is bad, so give me your ring."
"I'm not giving you my ring." He reiterated. "Elena's my sister, no one's going to fight harder than me, besides I'm a much better choice than Kenzie. She's died a lot more than I have."
"I'm not volunteering." Kenzie said with a small lift of her shoulders. "I like it when my heart keeps beating."
"You should quit dying so much then." Damon stage whispered to her.
She smacked him in the stomach. "Jeremy's right, let him do it."
"Fine, be stubborn." He turned away, leaning towards Bonnie. "Try not to kill him, okay?"
"He's rooting for you." Kenzie said with a big smile.
Bonnie and Jeremy rolled their eyes at each other as Klaus and Stefan joined them.
"Look at this." Klaus announced. "One big happy family."
Bonnie ignored him, instead holding up a vial of blood. "Drink this, it's my blood. It bridges us all together so when I stop Jeremy's heart, you'll have the power to stop Alaric's. You need to make a physical connection to his bloodstream, a vein, an artery, something connected to his heart."
Damon uncapped it, taking a drink and passing it to his brother.
"If one of us gets a clean shot, take it, the other two hold him down." Stefan took a drink, then passed it to Klaus.
"Before we all walk through these doors, let's get on the same page, shall we?" Klaus looked at all of them. "I was the one who created your vampire bloodline, therefore I am responsible for your lives, and Tyler's life, and Caroline's life, and of course-" He smirked at Bonnie. "-since I'm still convinced it was Damon that did it, Abby's life, in case anything should go wrong."
Kenzie sighed and looked up at the sky. This is not what she wanted to know, at all.
"Or you're just lying to save your ass." Damon challenged.
Klaus glared at him. "I'm not lying but go ahead, call my bluff, let the teacher kill me. You'll all be dead soon thereafter." He grinned, finishing up the vial of Bonnie's blood.
Stefan let out a frustrated noise. "Let's just get this over with, shall we?" he turned towards the school, Klaus following after him. Damon made to follow but stopped, turning back towards Kenzie.
"Don't do anything stupid."
"Actually wasn't planning on it this time." She informed him. "Don't get yourself killed."
He grinned as he began walking backwards. "I knew you still cared."
Kenzie flipped him off and he laughed, turning to follow after the others.
"Are you coming with us?" Bonnie asked.
Kenzie shook her head, taking up Jeremy's spot on the picnic table. "I'm going to stay here and wait. Good luck."
Bonnie and Jeremy left and it took Kenzie all fo two minutes before she got bored and moved closer to the school, hoping she could hear or see something through a window.
Moments later, Caroline was running out the door towards her car, only stopping when Kenzie called her name.
"Where's Elena?" She asked.
"Klaus told me he was rescuing her." Caroline replied, tears in her eyes. "He told me to go home and lock my doors. You should come with me, Kenzie."
The redhead shook her head. "I can't. I have to make sure everyone gets out okay. I'll check on you later, okay?"
The blonde nodded before leaving her and Kenzie went back to waiting. When enough time had gone by, she texted both Damon and Stefan. After waiting with no response, she did the only thing she knew she could do, she went inside.
She never was one for staying still.
… … …
Caroline had gotten out and Damon and Stefan were moving towards where Alaric and Elena were. They could hear Elena yelling out for Alaric to kill her, that he had no humanity left but all of a sudden, he let her go, stepping away from her.
They exchanged a quick look before moving as one and grabbing Alaric's arms.
"Do it now." Damon grunted.
Alaric threw him off and Damon hit the locker, sliding down it with a small groan. Alaric turned and grabbed Stefan in a headlock, just as Damon heard a very girly scream and a blur with fiery red hair jumped on to Alaric's back.
"I told you not to do anything stupid." Damon groaned, standing up and rushing Alaric again.
The overly strong vampire easily flipped the tiny vampire off his back, kicking Damon and sending him flying before putting more pressure and breaking Stefan's neck, taking him completely out of the game. The redhead jumped back up, rushing Alaric again and not seeing until the last moment, the stake he now had in his hand. The wood slid easily into her chest and hit her heart, making her gasp as she looked down at it.
"No." Damon screamed, seeing the woman he loved being staked in the heart.
He could hear Elena screaming Kenzie's name as she began to cry. He didn't care, his only thought was to get to Kenzie. He ran forward but Alaric was too fast, turning and grabbing his neck. The last second before he broke it, Damon had no choice but to stare down at the body of Kenzie as it went through the phases of being staked.
"No." His voice was barely a whisper as Alaric wrenched his neck and everything went dark.
… … …