A/N:
Hey guys! Happy New Years! You guyssssss we hit 500+ reviews last chapter! :D
Have you guys seen Into the Woods? When I first saw it, I hated it and was totally annoyed with all the singing (I didn't realize it was a musical when I went) A few days later, after talking about it with my friend, I can't stop singing all the songs... {The way is clear! The light is good! I have no fear nor no one should! The woods are just trees, the trees are just wood! I sorta hate to ask it, but do you have a basket?}
Kudos to my beta, as usual! (:
Previously on Everything Changes...
"No, I mean it." I went over to Damon and wrapped my arms around his waist. "Thank you." I said earnestly.
Damon had froze under my touch, but eventually his arms snaked around my waist.
"You're welcome." he murmured in my hair.
I could feel Klaus watching us, almost jealously, but he didn't say anything.
I pulled away after the appropriate time and went over to Klaus, hugging him next.
I felt him smirk against my hair as he eagerly returned my hug. "My pleasure, love. Anything to help a friend."
After I pulled away I pushed my hair behind my ear. "Alright. I'm going to head to bed...and Zach and I are moving out tomorrow, I think."
Both men nodded and I gave them a little wave before going into my room.
Caroline's POV
The next morning, Zach and I got up early, loaded our boxes into the back of his SUV and my hatchback. The whole process of moving was spent in silence, with Damon was no where to been seen.
Elena had left some time early this morning, telling me that Stefan was in and out of consciousness.
I'd been down to check on him right after I woke up, peering in on his motionless figure.
The trunk clicked as the latch snapped into place, and I sighed, leaning back onto my car.
"That's everything, then?"
Zach shoved his hands through his hair, smoothing it back. "Yeah, that's everything."
I let out another long breath and stared at the house. "I'm going to miss this place...it honestly feels like I moved in with you yesterday – not almost 6 months ago..."
My godfather nodded knowingly. "It's even weirder knowing that the day after tomorrow is Thanksgiving."
"Oh my god! That's right! We- we have to make food! And have like a housewarming party!" I clapped my hands together, a plan forming together in my mind.
When I noticed Zach's expression, I jutted out my bottom lip. "Aw, c'mon Zach! Please?"
He stared at me for a brief moment before chuckling. "We'll see, Care."
I broke out in a wide grin. "Yay! Okay, well I'm going to run up to my room, make sure I got everything I needed, and then I'll be down. Do you wanna go ahead and head over to the apartment and I can meet you there?"
Zach shrugged, "Sure, why not?"
I bobbed my head in conformation, already heading to the front door of the Boarding House.
"You have the address and key I gave you, right?" he called, seconds before I entered.
Nodding, I patted my keys at my side. "Yep!"
Scurrying up the stairs, I stared out my old bedroom window, watching Zach pull out of the driveway and speed off.
I turned to face my bare room. I'd left my smaller dresser, my bed, and one of the two nightstands I had. The smaller dresser had a pair of pajamas, a shirt and jeans, some socks I never wore, and some undergarments. The other drawers were filled with little knickknacks I knew I probably wouldn't have room for in the new apartment.
Going over to my bed, I slid out the box of Forbes' journals, and set it on the bed. I carefully placed my own journal on top of the others and re-shut the box. After one last look around the bedroom and bathroom, I left the house.
Once I'd placed my box on my backseat, I locked the car doors and went downstairs to check on Stefan.
Creak.
My head turned to the sound of the noise, and I saw Damon come around the corner.
"It's sad; seeing him locked up like this..." I murmured, and Damon came to a stop next to me.
His eyes looked sad as he stared at his younger brother. "You're the one who had this idea, Blondie."
I frowned, raising an eyebrow. "You helped."
Damon scoffed as if he had no part in the matter. "I couldn't have him running around chewing on people, now could I? The town's going crazy looking for vampires. Him being a ripper only furthers my danger."
I rolled my eyes, not hiding the small smile playing on my lips. "You and I both know, that this had to do with you actually caring for him."
He shrugged, eying me innocently. "Your words, Blondie. Not mine."
Third Person POV
Stefan laid on the cold cement floor of the Boarding House. His throat burned, his veins felt dry, and he thought he was thoroughly tortured.
Flashback/Hallucination:
"Circle around that way!" Stefan commanded Damon, gesturing the right direction. "I'll distract them."
When Damon didn't move, his eyes wide and darting from the group of men in the distance to his younger brother, Stefan said, "Go!"
Damon turned and ran into the woods, doing as Stefan said. The younger Salvatore turned to the group of men he'd seen searching for more vampires.
"Over here! There's another one! Quick! Help me!"
The group ran over, and Stefan recognized Jonathan Gilbert and William Forbes in the crowd.
"Arm yourselves!" William commanded, and they all pulled stakes and guns from their belts.
Stefan led them away from the carriage Damon had headed to.
The carriage that had their true loves inside.
A lone civilian stood guard over the carriage. Unbeknownst to him, Damon was sneaking up behind him, a large boulder in his hand.
Crashing the boulder of the civilian's head, he crumpled to the floor.
Hearing approaching footsteps, Damon glanced up to see Klaus and Stefan returning. A small smile crossed over the older Salvatore's face as he fished out the keys from the unconscious man's pocket and unlocked the carriage.
"Chandra?" Damon called, peering into the dark cage. "Chandra?"
"We don't have long, mate," Klaus hissed. "It's only a matter of time before they find me."
Stefan and Damon gently moved Klaus out of the way, and hauled out the first body they found.
Katherine.
Stefan untied the brunette, his wide green eyes staring down at her. Removing the muzzle, he shook her awake.
"Katherine! Katherine!" Klaus called. "Where is Chandra?"
When she only groaned, his face darkened. "Where is she?!"
"She's...not...here?" Katherine moaned, and Damon kicked the carriage in fury.
"It's okay. We're going to get you out of here, Katherine," Stefan whispered to her, stroking her face. "Klaus, Damon, hurry!"
In the distance, a gun went off. Damon crumpled to the ground, a red stain blossoming across his chest.
"No!" Stefan yelped, running over to his brother, only to be pulled away by Klaus. "No. Damon."
The men were close now, and their eyes locked onto Klaus' suspiciously.
"C'mon, let's go!" They ordered as they neared the men and Katherine.
Stefan jerked his arm out of Klaus' grasp and went for the unconscious man's gun. Another shot came from William Forbes' gun, and Stefan joined his brother on the forest floor.
During the commotion, Klaus disappeared, desperate to find Chandra.
~0~
Stefan shot up, breathing heavily. Hands fumbling at his shirt, where he had been shot, his eyes widened when he saw blood cake his hands.
With further exploration, he noticed his wound was gone, replaced with smooth skin. A glint of something shiny caught his eyes, and he noticed a ring on his hand.
"Katherine had me make that for you weeks ago," Emily said, making her presence known.
Stefan shook in surprise, scrambling back before realizing who it was. "Where am I?"
Emily glanced down with a wry smile before saying, "The quarry just north of town. My brother and I brought you here last night. We found you dead in the woods."
"Where's Damon – and Klaus?"
Memories flooded back into Stefan's brain, and he struggled to grasp onto them. "Am I...? Am I a..?" he tried, and Emily shook her head slowly.
"Not yet. You're in transition, just like your brother, wherever he may be," she explained to the confused man calmly.
"But how? I..." Stefan continued to grasp his memories like grasping at straws.
"You had Katherine's blood in your system when you died, Stefan," she said gently.
"No, I never..." Stefan got to his feet, looking around the quarry.
"She's been compelling you to drink it for weeks..." Emily murmured, and the sight of Katherine's big brown eyes staring into his own flashed into his mind.
"And Damon? You said..." Stefan asked.
"No compulsion was necessary. He drank from Chandra willingly."
~0~
"I woke up last night," Damon said to his brother, who had found him standing by the river. "I didn't know where I was. I found Klaus, and we went to the church. Somehow he'd managed to avoid the riot. We watched them drag Chandra and Katherine inside, Stefan. Then, they set fire to it..." Damon trailed off, his head pounding with the memory. "And... the whole church went up into flames. They killed them, Stefan. They're gone."
The two sat on the bank of the river, silent. They'd both been through so much in the last twelve or so hours. Everything in their lives had changed, all because of those two girls.
One brother wouldn't want it any other way. The other...he wasn't as sure if he wanted his life to change.
~0~
"Hey," Damon said, when Caroline answered her phone. "You got a minute? I need to tell you something."
Caroline paused, in the middle of helping Zach unpack the kitchen. "Yeah, sure. Do you need me to come over or...?"
Damon, who was by the fountain in the middle of town, just a short walk from the apartments, shook his head, forgetting Caroline couldn't see his actions. "No...actually, I'm by the fountain in the middle of town, if you wouldn't mind coming down here."
The blonde frowned, wondering what had Damon acting so civil. "Okay...I'll be out in a minute."
Hanging up the phone, she turned to Zach. "Damon needs to talk to me for a minute," she pushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Um...I'll be right back,"
She pocked the apartment key and headed out. After getting onto the small elevator, she went down to the ground floor and started her short journey to the fountain.
Damon was sitting on a bench under a tree when she arrived.
"Hey, Damon," she greeted uncertainly, taking a seat next to him. "What's up?"
Damon's facade was up in an instant, a smirk slipping into place. "Blondie, hello,"
The man explained to Caroline how Pearl and Anna had cornered him last night, and gave him the circular object – one of William or Jonathan's inventions – and said that there was no catch. He'd told Elena late the night before, while the two of them were observing Stefan.
"So, you have absolutely no idea what this is?" Caroline asked once her friend was finished. Turning the object around and around in her hand, she studied it. It seemed useless to her; there wasn't any dials or noticeable writing or anything on it. "What about Klaus? Did you show it to him?"
"Yep," he popped the 'p'. "He's seen it before, but doesn't know what it is."
Caroline handed Damon back the invention.
"Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to work." he said, slipping the device back into his jacket pocket.
"And Pearl didn't know anything about it either? She didn't say anything else at all?" Caroline asked. She knew that none of her friends trusted Pearl or Anna, and for good reason.
Damon shrugged, turning his gaze from the blonde to watch the town hustle and bustle around. "She thought she was stealing his vampire compass, but that was a pocket watch."
Caroline nodded slowly, remembering hearing about how the council had found Vicki with that compass.
He snorted. "Jonathan Gilbert and William Forbes were quite a pair of crazy scientists," he paused a beat before asking, "Have you spoken to your uncle lately?"
She shook her head, looking annoyed. "Thankfully, no! I've actually been avoiding him. He tried to give me a ride to the Miss Mystic pageant, but Alaric was there," Caroline explained.
A frigid blast of air hit her, and she tightened her scarf around her neck. "I don't think he knows I moved, so he might be around to bother you again."
Damon scowled. "Oh, great."
The two sat in silence, neither knowing what to say next.
"So, how's that going? Moving into Zach's apartment and everything."
Caroline smiled slightly as she looked at Damon. She had to admit, she was surprised he asked.
"What, do you miss me already?" she teased, nudging him with her elbow.
"God no, you're a nuisance!" he rolled his eyes, but he was smiling slightly.
Getting up, she laughed and turned to look at him. "It's slow, but it's starting to look more like home," she said honestly. "See you later, Damon."
And with that, the blonde walked back to the apartment.
"Caroline?" a voice said as she walked into the side hallway where the elevator and stairs were located.
Caroline's eyes widened as Ric exited the stairwell. "Ric! Hey, what are you doing here?"
"I live here!" He said, chuckling. "What about you? Why are you here?"
The blonde grinned, fishing the key out of her pocket for him to see. "Zach and I just moved in on the fourth floor. He wanted to get away from all the..." she trailed off, bringing her hand to her face to tap her incisors. "For a while. That and he made a promise to my mom that'd he'd keep me safe if she ever died. He didn't think letting me live in a house where most vampires could get in and out of was keeping that promise."
Ric nodded. He'd never met her mom, the previous sheriff, but he'd heard a lot about her from the residences around Mystic Falls. "Oh, cool, I live on the third floor!"
She smiled, slipping her key into her pocket. "I better go and help Zach again. See ya later, neighbor!"
Caroline went over to the elevator and pressed the button, waiting for it to come down.
"Bye, Caroline. Let me know if you and Zach need any help!" Ric waved to her before exiting the building.
~0~
Monday morning rolled around, and Anna spotted Jeremy walking to class.
"Surprise!" she said as she matched his stride.
"What are you doing here?" he smiled, noticing the paper in her hand.
"Picking up this!" Anna said, still grinning.
Jeremy stopped at his locker. "A class schedule?" he gasped, throwing open his locker.
She pressed her lips together to conceal her wide smile as she nodded. "Starting tomorrow, I'm officially a student here!"
"You're kidding me, right?"
Anna shook her head. "Nope!"
Meanwhile, Caroline was walking to her third block class when she noticed Anna and Jeremy talking.
What was she doing here? She wondered, opening her locker door and tossing in a book. I didn't know she went to school!
Jeremy took a look at the paper she'd handed him, and smiled widely.
Huh, maybe this will be good for him, having her here. Even though she tried feeding me to her corpse-mother.
They kissed, and Caroline averted her eyes, feeling like she was intruding.
~0~
At the Salvatore Boarding house, Damon had just pushed a bottle of animal blood through the bars for Stefan.
Couldn't have his little brother desiccating on him now, could he? Elena and Caroline would both want his head on a pike.
"Brought you something to eat..." Damon called, staring through the bars at his brother. "100% Stefan diet approved!"
Stefan was leaning against the far wall of the cell, his elbows on his knees, head bowed. "You know what will happen if you don't eat. You'll get all rotting and crusty," Damon continued.
"I'm not hungry," Stefan said, voice low and rumbling.
Scoffing, Damon rolled his eyes, saying, "Of course you are. We're eternally hungry," he slid the bottle full of blood onto the lip between the bars. "Take it."
When Stefan didn't move, Damon shifted his weight onto his other leg, leaning most of his weight onto his hands, which were positioned on each side of the cell door. "The human blood should be gone by now. You want to explain why you're still in here feeling sorry for yourself? Come on. Drink up," Damon used nudged the bottle, and it fell off the lip, hitting the dirt floor inside with a thunk.
Stefan's head raised slightly at the noise, and he eyed the bottle for a brief moment, before lowering his head once more.
Damon shook his head to himself. "Fine. Starve. What do I care?"
Damon turned and left the basement. By the time he entered the living-room, his phone rang.
"Hello?" he answered, not recognizing the number.
"Hey, it's Alaric Saltzman," the teacher slash vampire hunter greeted, and Damon scowled.
Sure, he tolerated Alaric, but he didn't want to.
"Before I hang up, how did you get this number?"
"Ah, it's a mystery," Alaric paused, and Damon faintly heard the sound of papers rustling. "Listen, I've, uh, been doing some digging on Caroline and Elena's uncles. You interested?"
Was he interested? Of course he was. But there was no way Damon would let Alaric know that.
Damon paused and looked around the living-room, brows lowered. "What kind of digging?"
"I've got an old friend from Duke, who studied criminology when we were there together. Let's just say he's become a very proficient digger," Alaric responded smoothly.
That piqued Damon's interest, and Alaric knew it.
"Well, did he find anything?" Damon queried.
Alaric chuckled and picked up the paper with his friend's findings. "Well..." he started, trailing off just to annoy the older vampire. "I had him run a track on both John and Ezra's cell records. John's records seemed a little off at first, but when he investigated it further, he found out that Ezra was the one getting calls from the same number Elena dialed to get Isobel. And then, that number was disconnected."
"So Isobel probably knows both Ezra and John. Whatever. We knew that," Damon leaned onto the back of the couch, furrowing his brows.
Why would Isobel be talking to Caroline's uncle if she was in a relationship with Elena's uncle/father in high school?
"Right," he mused, mostly to himself. "Well, after that, Ezra started getting calls from a new number. And I had my friend run a geotrack. Got the address. It's...it's an apartment in Grove Hill," Alaric flipped the paper over, reading out the email his friend had sent him earlier that morning. "This is where it get stranger. Ezra had most of the connections with Isobel early this month, but recently John's records have had more communication with her than Ezra."
"So Isobel's in Grove Hill, and now John's communicating more with her than Ezra?" Damon stood up, analyzing the evidence he'd just learned.
Grove Hill was close – like not even an hour away close. And if Isobel had been in contact with Ezra right around the time he arrived in town and reached out to Caroline, did that mean Caroline was connected to all of this? Or was the uncle just interested in getting to know his niece? Now that Isobel and Ezra knew that Caroline was aware of vampires and not too fond of Ezra; was Isobel using John as her eyes and ears?
"I don't know. I thought we could take a look and see what we find," Alaric scribbled out the address onto a post-it note and shoved the note into his pocket. School had just let out, and he had the rest of the evening free.
"Perfect!" Damon chirped. "Give me the address."
Alaric chuckled, knowing the game Damon was playing all too well. "Oh, so you can go without me?" The teacher put all the information he'd gotten back into the manila folder, and then put that into his backpack. "No. I don't think so."
"I'm not going with you!" Damon exclaimed. "You tried to kill me!"
Damon didn't trust Alaric, and both men knew it.
"Yeah, well, you did kill me," he pointed out, exiting his classroom.
Damon's phone buzzed in his hand. "Hold on."
Pulling it away from his ear, he saw he was getting another call from Elena.
Accepting it, he greeted the brunette with a, "What?"
"I'm just grabbing some clothes, and then I'll be right over. How's Stefan? Is Care over there yet?" Elena announced, and Damon frowned.
He was used to Elena inviting herself over whenever Stefan was hurt or she just wanted company, but he had to admit it was kind of irritating. Blondie on the other hand...he didn't mind as much. His heart, if he had one, would've leaped at the thought of her coming over – much to his annoyance.
"Extra broody. And no, Elena, Caroline is not here yet. She moved out, and she probably won't be over here for a while," he glanced at his phone, making sure Alaric's call was still there. "Hold on."
Switching back to Alaric's call, he said. "You drive. Pick me up in an hour."
"Done," the teacher said as he climbed into his car.
Damon hung up, and went back to Elena. "He won't eat anything."
Stefan's girlfriend let out an exasperated sigh, slamming her dresser door shut. "He has to eat something! What's his favorite...kind of, um."
"His favorite kind of what?" Damon repeated, feigning confusion.
Outside, Caroline's car approached the Boarding House. Elena had asked Caroline if she wanted to go over with her and see how Stefan was doing. Caroline happily obliged. She wasn't going to abandon Stefan in his time of need, that was for damn sure.
Damon heard the car, and knew that must be Caroline.
"Type of animal blood that he prefers?" Elena clarified on the other line, as if Damon really was slow enough he didn't know what she was talking about.
"Ew, gross!" he retorted.
"I know you are!" Caroline walked into the living room, her small duffel bag thrown over her shoulder. The blonde grinned at Damon's annoyed look.
"Blondie's here," Damon announced to Elena. "Oh dandy," he added to himself.
Elena giggled. "Your joking doesn't help, you know."
Damon shrugged, and he wiggled his fingers at Caroline, flashing her his usual smirky eyebrows lowered grin.
Rolling her eyes, the blonde dropped her bag onto the couch and plopped down unceremoniously next to it.
"It helps me. Now, hurry up. I don't want to baby-sit Blonde and Stefan all night. I have things to do!" Damon said, earning a scoff from Caroline.
"I would say, 'drop dead', but..." Elena quipped and Damon smiled slightly, rolling his eyes.
"You're hilarious." he said, voice oozing with sarcasm. He leaned onto the back of the couch that Caroline was on. "Stefan likes...puppy blood...little golden retriever puppies with cute, floppy-"
The phone was suddenly gone and in Caroline's hands. "Don't listen to him," she got up off the couch, moving to the other one. "He likes wildlife I bet. Like deer or something."
Klaus had appeared behind Caroline, inhumanly silent.
Taking the phone from her, he tossed it back to Damon.
"Don't listen to her, puppy blood is his favorite." Damon said to Elena, and she responded by curtly hanging up on him.
Caroline laughed, knowing what her friend had done.
The doorbell rang, and the three exchanged confused glances.
"I'll get it, then," the blonde hopped up off the couch and walked to the door.
Most of their friends would just walk in, so who could this possibly be?
She pulled open the heavy door and a frown overtook her face when she saw her uncle Ezra.
"Caroline," he greeted, his face softening. "I thought we could talk. We haven't really had a chance since..."
"Since the dinner we had where you basically said I was living with vampires?" Caroline scoffed, still playing like she didn't know.
Ezra's face hardened, and a mask of annoyance and nonchalance slipped over it. "You can quit with the games, Caroline. I know that Stefan, Damon, and Klaus are vampires. So does John. I haven't ratted them out yet, so don't worry," he waited a beat, studying her furious expression. "It's really silly to keep pretending. Don't you know both your father and your mother would be furious with the idea of you living and being friends with vampires?"
"What father?" Caroline scoffed, voice laden with rage. "And for my mother, don't you dare bring her up! You may have known her when she was young, but she despised you, as you said. You have no right to tell me what she would think or what she would do concerning me or my friends!"
Caroline felt tears pooling in her eyes at the thought of her mother possibly being upset with her choice of friends. The tears were quickly dispersed and overtaken with the anger that had filled her with her uncle's words.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than to waste my time with your complete and utter bullshit!" With that, Caroline slammed the door in Ezra's shocked face, causing a tremor to rocket through the house.
"Damn, love," Klaus remarked as Caroline turned around. "Remind me to never make you mad," he chuckled, grinning wolfishly, but immediately stopped when Damon, whom was standing beside him, sent him an annoyed glare.
"I need a minute," Caroline said, walking past the men to go outside onto the back patio.
"Hey, the teacher had some news on Ezra and John concerning Isobel," Damon said in a low tone to Klaus.
Klaus raised an eyebrow, interested to meet this Isobel character he'd heard so much about.
~0~
Downstairs in Stefan's cell, the younger Salvatore flashed back to right after he and Damon woke up.
"I bet Jonathan Gilbert or William Forbes has told father by now. Wonder how he took the news that we're dead," Stefan thought aloud.
He stuck his shirt into the pail of water, swooshing it around. His brother was unusually quiet and broody.
"As if he cares," Damon growled, ripping his shirt out of the water in one fluid motion. "He betrayed us."
Stefan sighed, looking to Klaus for advice.
"Don't look at me, mate," Klaus murmured. "Your brother does have a point."
Klaus had witnessed quite a few fights between the two brothers. Most were petty; about girls, who did what, or something equally as silly. This one was no different. The fact that their emotions were heightened definitive didn't do anything to help the matter.
Stefan huffed out a heavy breath. "He thought he was protecting us," his hands wrung out his shirt, the water dripping into the dry grass below. "He thought he was protecting this town."
Klaus watched the brothers, but decided it would be best to not intervene further.
"God," Damon balled up his shirt and squeezed, keeping his head low. "This sun hurts my eyes."
Klaus moved to stand in front of the boys, blocking the sun from their eyes. "It's part of the transition. Your muscles aching, the sick feeling. Your bodies are pushing you to feed, to complete what you started."
Damon slipped on his wet shirt, goosebumps rising on the backs of his arms, despite the warm sun. "That's not gonna happen."
He may have drank from Chandra willingly, but that didn't mean he wanted to be a vampire. Chandra was gone – dead – he couldn't think of any important reason to live for.
"Is that your choice then?" Stefan asked as he too pulled the wet cloth over his head. "To die instead?"
"Isn't it yours? This was all to be with the ones we love. You to be with Katherine; me to be with Chandra. They're gone. I want it over," Damon mumbled in despair, getting to his feet.
A memory – memories – flashed into his brain. He was suddenly standing outside Chandra's room, his fist raised to knock. A moan hit his human ears and he frowned. Peeking through the crack in the door, his eyes widened. Klaus had Chandra in his arms, and he was kissing her passionately. Damon's heart dropped, and if it was possible, shattered into oblivion.
"Chandra," he murmured, despite any better judgment.
The blonde immediately froze, and stared over Klaus' clothed shoulder to lock eyes with Damon.
"Damon," she whispered, and Klaus too froze. The man turned to stare at Damon, then looked back to Chandra.
"C'mon, love," he murmured. "It's not worth it. Let him be."
Tears pooled in Damon's eyes and she was suddenly in front of him, the door opened. He turned to flee, only to have his wrist held tight in her grasp.
"You're going to forget that you saw Klaus and I together. You came to my room to see if I was here, but I wasn't," Chandra said in a low tone, her pupils shrinking as her words lulled the memory out of his brain.
When the river and it's surroundings came back into focus, Damon gasped.
"What is it?" Stefan asked, having noticed Damon fade away for a moment.
"I remember."
~0~
Elena arrived at the Boarding House and greeted Klaus and Damon before going down to see her boyfriend.
She noticed Caroline's absence, but knew she was somewhere in the house, since her car was in the driveway.
"How you feeling?" She said, staring in through the bars.
Stefan was still leaning against the back wall, head slouched down. "Damon says you need to drink that," she continued, noticing the still full bottle on the ground. "You need it, Stefan. Can't survive without it."
He raised his head just enough so he could stare into Elena's wide brown eyes. "I don't want to survive."
"What?" she exclaimed, her brows furrowing and mouth dropping open. "Don't say that!"
"I'm sorry, Elena," he whispered. "No more. After what I've done to you, to Caroline, to everyone...it has to end," Damon's words flashed into his mind. "I just want it over."
He lowered his head again, and Elena fled, tears streaming down her face.
Caroline's POV
Once I'd finally cooled off and went back inside, I was sufficiently frozen and ready to see Stefan.
I still couldn't believe Ezra had the guts to come here to say all that crap to me. I guess he doesn't know that I've moved yet, which is good I suppose. Maybe he won't bother me or try to apologize for a while...
As I approached the parlor, I heard voices in the living room, so I went there first.
"Hey Elena," I greeted.
After a moment, I noticed she had been crying. My expression softening, I went to go sit with her.
Damon and Klaus reentered, and Damon handed the brunette a box of tissues.
"He's just being overly dramatic, Elena," Damon insisted. "He's not going to starve himself."
My brain fizzled out for a moment at the thought of a suicidal Stefan. "What? He's starving himself?"
Elena sniffled, nodding. "Why would he even say that? Why would he do this to me?"
The small voice in the back of Caroline's brain, the one who was always annoyed with Elena, said, making it about yourself, I see.
"He feels bad about hurting that girl," Klaus put in with a shrug. "It's expected. Typical martyr Stefan stuff, right?"
Klaus shot Damon an expectant look, and the older Salvatore looked from Klaus, to Elena, to me, before finally catching on and plastering a smirk onto his face.
"Yeah, just typical Stefan stuff. It'll pass. Don't worry – that means you too, Blondie," Damon said, raising his eyebrows and pointing his fingers at me for added 'oomph'. "I don't want you moving back in just because you're worried about Stefan."
I rolled my eyes, deciding to play along with his, 'you're such a nuisance, I'm glad you're gone' thing. "Oh trust me Damon, I'm just as glad as you to to be out of this place!" I turned to Elena, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. "They're probably right, 'Lena, they've known him longer than we have."
Ignoring my comment, she turned her attention to the boys. "Will it pass? Because he seemed to be in a lot of pain. You didn't hear it in his voice, Caroline. You didn't see it in his eyes," her voice wavered and she sniffled once more.
I sighed quietly, locking eyes with Klaus and Damon.
"Yeah," Damon shrugged. "Well, that'll pass too, once he eats."
Klaus bobbed his head in agreement. "The bloke's bound to be going crazy with hunger."
"I didn't mean physical pain," Elena corrected, shooting Damon another steely glance. "Caroline, will you go talk to him in a little bit, maybe try to persuade him to eat something? Please?"
I smiled slightly, grabbing a tissue to hand to her. "Of course, Elena. I want him to eat just as much as you do."
She took the tissue and wiped her eyes.
"I know what you meant," Damon said, mostly to himself. "Look, are you two going to be okay if we have to run out? We have to go on an errand with the teacher."
I cocked my head to the side. "The teacher? You mean Alaric? You killed him once Damon, don't you at least owe him the kindness of calling him Alaric and not 'the teacher'?"
"Are you two friends now?" Elena asked, looking increasingly confused.
Damon frowned, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't have any friends, Elena."
"That's true, he really doesn't," Klaus smirked after he said this, as if he was implying that he and Damon weren't actually friends.
"Right," I nodded my head in one quick movement. "Of course you don't."
"Caroline, can I talk to you for a moment?" Damon suddenly asked, walking over to the parlor's entrance.
I glanced at Elena before getting up. "Yeah, sure."
Walking over to Damon, he led me into the other room, out of the earshot of Elena.
"You guys should – uh – you should stay up here. You shouldn't be down there by yourself."
"Is that worry or caring I detect in your voice?" I teased, eyes widening.
Damon did care, and I knew he wouldn't ever admit it, but he did. Him warning me in this awkward way was probably the only way he knew how to show it.
When Damon simply scowled and stared off past my shoulder, I smiled. "We'll be fine, Damon. I'll be fine."
"You know...you're very trusting of him, given the circumstances," Damon said, looking down at me through his lashes.
I felt my cheeks heat up slightly at his gaze, but quickly banished the nervous feeling. "So are you. If you didn't trust Stefan, you wouldn't be leaving Elena and I here by ourselves," I pointed out, and Damon huffed in exasperation.
"I won't be long."
A while later, a car honked from outside the Boarding House, and Damon and Klaus left.
"I'll go talk to him, 'Lena," I said to my friend, leaving her curled up on the living room couch.
Third Person POV
Pearl entered Mystic Grill, her dark eyes scanning the restaurant for the man she was here to meet.
"Hello, Mr. Forbes," she said, taking a seat across from Ezra. "Where is Mr. Gilbert?"
"Pearl," Ezra greeted, nodding his head slightly. "Nice to finally formally meet you. I must admit, I'm surprised that you came." He lifted his glass of water to his lips and took a long drink. "John is currently tending to...other business. He sends his regards."
Pearl inclined her head in acknowledgment, analyzing Ezra with thinly veiled curiosity.
"Jenna tells me that John wanted to discuss the sale of the building, yet here you are."
The corners of Ezra's lips quirked up in a smirk. "This must have taken quite the risk, revealing yourself to me like this. We have some of the same intentions, you and I. I think we all could benefit in some way if you were to-"
Pearl held up her hand, and Ezra stopped mid-sentence. "I'm not stupid. Mr. Forbes. You and Mr. Gilbert would be wise to keep that in mind. You knew who I was when you requested this meeting." the woman paused, leveling her gaze on Ezra to convey her seriousness. "So, Damon tells me that you're looking for the device I took from Jonathan and William. I'm sure you realize, I have absolutely no intention of giving it to you or John."
Ezra took another sip, delaying his response.
He knew that Pearl was a very calculating woman, and had many years over him, but he hadn't expected such cordial sternness from her.
"That's why I wanted to meet you," Ezra's signature smirk materialized onto his face. "I plan to change your mind."
Pearl cocked her head to the side. His confidence and certainty was refreshing, yet slightly annoying. He reminded her of Giuseppe in that way.
"Really? How so?"
Ezra laughed to himself for a moment before saying, "With my Forbes charms, of course. And if that doesn't work, then I'll have John talk to you. I know you have a weakness for creative men," he raised his hand and signaled the waiter. "May I buy you a drink?"
~0~
Meanwhile, Pearl's daughter, Anna, was at the Gilbert house, up in Jeremy's room. They'd been discussing Jonathan Gilbert and her mother for some time now. Jeremy had filled in Anna what he'd learned from simply eavesdropping and from reading Caroline's journal. His uncle John had mentioned there were more Gilbert and Forbes journals, and that was their theory on how John and Ezra seemed to know everything about 1864 Mystic Falls – he'd read them all.
Anna finally managed to get her boyfriend – for lack of a better word – off the topic, and the spent some time kissing, and enjoying the other's presence.
~0~
Alaric's car pulled into a parking spot outside the apartment in Grove Hill.
"That's the one there," He informed Damon and Klaus, pointing to the brick apartment with a 104 on the door.
The three got out, and Alaric continued talking in a low voice, "The records showed that it was paid 3 months in advance."
Klaus narrowed his eyes, listening for anything out of the ordinary. He heard a muffled heartbeat, but decided it was coming from the apartment a few doors down – the lights were on inside.
"This is where it gets tricky," Damon murmured as they approached the door. "Klaus and I may or may not be able to get in."
While he said this, Klaus leaned around Damon, and rapped lightly on the door.
"Yeah, how does that work?" Alaric asked, furrowing his brows and staring at the vampires. "You always have to be invited in?"
Damon didn't look at Alaric as he responded, as he was listening for any sounds of moment inside, much like Klaus was.
"By the owner or the person of entitlement. Short-term rentals and hotels are a bit of a gray area." Damon shrugged, narrowing his eyes when he didn't hear anything.
"Usually got to play it by ear," Klaus added, with a smirk. "It's a real pain in the ass sometimes."
Damon jiggled the door knob.
Alaric chuckled, before growing serious. "Could we not kill anyone tonight, please?"
Smirking, Damon and Klaus met glances before Damon looked to the teacher. "What, you mean you just brought us along for company?"
With a strong wrench to the right, Damon broke the lock inside and opened the door. Peering curiously inside, he pushed it open for Alaric and took a step back.
Alaric went into the dark apartment. "It doesn't look like anyone's home..."
Damon looked up at the threshold and picked up his foot. When he was able to cross without any trouble he smiled to himself. "Yeah, we're good."
Klaus glanced over his shoulder at the empty parking lot before going inside. "No permanent resident, apparently." he said, shutting the door behind him.
The three of them wandered into the kitchen, and Damon went over to the fridge. Opening it, he saw blood bags.
"Uh, guys, we have company."
A man – vampire – came out of nowhere, leaping onto Alaric.
Klaus glanced up from a few feet away, where he was studying something on the fireplace's mantle.
Alaric shoved the vampire off, shoving his wooden knuckles into his gut. This only seemed to annoy the vampire further. Klaus used his speed to get over to the fight, and rip the vampire off, sending him careening to the floor.
"Easy there," Klaus growled, losing his patience.
"Klaus?" the vampire asked, eyes wide.
"I know you," Damon said, staring hard at the vampire on the floor.
"Damon?" the vampire got to his feet, looking awe struck.
"Your name his Henry, isn't it mate? You were in the tomb," Klaus stated, remembering him from 1864.
Henry nodded, getting to his feet. "Yes sir. What are you two doing here?"
~0~
Flashback to 1864:
Stefan approached his house, his steps silent.
As he approached his father's window, he heard voices.
"May I offer you a drink, Mr. Gilbert?" Giuseppe asked, pouring himself a glass.
The man bobbed his head, and Stefan heard another glass being filled.
"Thank you, Mr. Salvatore," Jonathan said. He was leaning over quite a large book, writing furiously.
"This won't take much longer," Giuseppe said, referring to his friend's writing.
"I want to make sure the founder's archives are accurate." Jonathan said, still writing.
"Be sure you document the loss of civilian life in the church," Giuseppe added.
Jonathan stopped writing and looked up. Giuseppe brought him his drink and read over his work.
"They were hardly civilians, Mr. Salvatore," Jonathan mumbled. Stefan walked closer, and he was now beside the building. His hearing was enhanced, and it was amazing to him how much he could hear with so little effort.
"As far as anyone needs to know, they were. As the record keeper for the council, what you write will be passed down through generations. Certain details should be kept only between you and me," Giuseppe responded calmly.
"For example?"
"My sons," he clarified.
This got Stefan's attention. Furrowing his brows, he turned his head to stare up at his father's second story office window.
"They will be remembered as the innocent victims of the Battle of Willow Creek, not for their shame."
Stefan's furrowed brows turned into a scowl and he went into the woods.
~0~
Caroline's POV
"Stefan?" I called as I rounded the corner and headed down the hallway with cells. "Are you awake?"
"You know," his voice drifted from his cell and to my ears. "Damon hasn't fed me vervain in a while...I could be at those bars in a flash and you'd be dead."
Rolling my eyes, I came to a halt outside the door. Staring in at his hunched over figure, I said, "Yeah, you could. But you won't. You can't just scare me off"
Stefan groaned. "Please, just go away, Caroline. I don't want you here."
"Yeah, well too bad," I countered. "I don't want you here either. I want my best friend back, and I know you're in there."
I unlocked the heavy door and stepped inside, hoping my hunch was correct.
I must have lost my mind, Damon would kill me if he found out I was in here.
"What are you doing?" Stefan's head snapped back up to look at me. "Get out of here."
I scoffed, shutting the door behind me. Leaning against it, I crossed my arms. "No. I'm not leaving until you rather drink that," I gestured towards the untouched bottle with my head. "Or you make me."
"You're taking a stupid risk, I could hurt you." he warned.
His voice was low, and he was staring at me intensely, face in the shadows.
I bent down, picking up the bottle in my hand. "You need to drink this Stefan. I'm not going to let you just sit in here and mope for the majority of your undead life. Your brother may let you, but I sure as hell won't. You can thank me later."
"Caroline," he said, his voice even. "Get out of here, or you'll regret it."
I scoffed, knowing he was too weak to actually hurt me – and that he didn't want to hurt me. We were friends, and he couldn't just ignore that just because he was feeling mopey and guilty.
"Drink," I presented the bottle to him in a flourish, expecting him to take it.
Stefan growled dangerously, and he jumped to his feet, smacking the bottle out of my hand. His green eyes were dark, and the vampiric veins snaked beneath them.
"I said get out!" he roared.
Gulping, I forced myself to stand my ground. "No."
My heart was racing, and I took a slow breath, willing it to calm. "You may be able to scare Elena off with your whole doom, gloom, and danger routine, but I'm not that easy."
"Why are you doing this?" he asked, still vamped out and staring at me.
"I'm your friend, Stefan. This is what friends do."
He stared me down for a moment, panting heavily. Then, like he made a decision, the blood rushed from his eyes and face, and his vampire side melted away. He bowed his head in shame and stared at the ground for a moment.
My gaze softened, and I wanted to hug him then and there.
When he sighed heavily and straightened, turning around to go sit back down, I grabbed his arm.
He tensed, but allowed me to pull him towards me. I wrapped my arms around his cold body and squeezed. He was tense, every muscle tightened and on alert.
After a moment, I let him go and he sat back down on the cot. He lifted his eyes to meet my own.
~0~
Third Person POV
"So, how well do you know Ezra Forbes and John Gilbert?" Henry asked after a while of catching up.
"Well, I've known them for years!" Damon grinned, shooting a glance at Klaus and Alaric. "They're good friends. Ezra's niece is my uncle's god daughter, actually! How do you know him?"
"I met John right after I got out of the tomb. He and Ezra have been helping me out," Henry explained. "I wonder why they hasn't mentioned that you all lived here?"
Klaus shrugged, easily lying. "There'd be no way they'd know that we knew each other back then."
Henry nodded, understanding Klaus' logic.
Klaus and Alaric exchanged glances when Henry's back was turned, but neither said anything. Damon was good at manipulating people if he wanted, he'd learned it from Klaus.
"Helping you out how?" Alaric asked curiously, changing the subject.
Henry tossed the empty blood bag into his trash. He'd been filling up two mugs of blood for Klaus and Damon while they were talking.
"Adapting," Henry grinned, handing his old 'friends' their drinks. "It's a whole new world...cars, computers, . There's so much to learn."
Picking up his own glass, he took a swig. "Ezra even helped me get this place."
"So, do you live here alone, or is there someone else around?" Alaric asked, and Klaus groaned softly.
Could he get more passive-aggressive?
"That's my mate's very – passive-aggressive – way of asking," Klaus jumped in, saving Alaric's skin. The git would definitely owe him a thanks later. "Do you know a woman named Isobel?"
Henry hesitated, just long enough for both Klaus and Damon to know that whatever else came out of his mouth next, would be a lie. "Uh, no. No. I don't know an Isobel." He chuckled. "I know John and I know Ezra. They're my only real friends. Ezra really showed me the ropes... how to use a microwave, separate my whites. Haven't seen John in a while though. Dunno why. Said he had to go see an old friend, and that he'd be back."
"Sounds just like good ole' John!" Alaric chuckled, catching onto the fact that Henry actually did know Isobel. "What else do you help them with?"
Henry shrugged. "I help keep an eye on things...y'know, with the others."
"The others?" Damon asked curiously, not following.
"Yeah, from the tomb. They're still pissed at the Founding Families for trying to burn them alive," Henry shrugged again, taking another drink of blood. "I'm cool, but those tomb boys, they want revenge."
"What do they want with them?" Alaric mumbled, thinking aloud.
Henry glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. "He's just keeping an eye on them is all. Trying to make sure they stay outta trouble."
Damon widened his eyes and glared at Alaric, trying to get him to shut up.
"Well, that's John and Ezra for you." Damon chuckled nervously. "They're such do-gooders."
Henry's phone rang, and he fished it out of his pocket.
Henry read the name on his phone's screen and chuckled, "That's John now!"
"Oh, hey, let me talk to him!" Damon urged, getting up from his seat at Henry's dining table.
"All right. Yeah," he handed Damon the phone, which was still ringing.
"Are you going to answer that?" Henry asked, eyeing the phone.
"Am I gonna...answer that?" Damon repeated, glancing at Alaric and Klaus, whom were standing behind Henry.
Klaus smirked and shook his head slowly.
"Afraid not, mate."
"What's going on?" Henry asked, and the phone stopped ringing.
Suddenly, he whirled around, and tried to attack Alaric. Klaus grabbed the boy's jacket and Alaric plunged a stake into the boy's back.
Henry slumped to the floor with a dull thud.
"'Let's not kill anyone tonight.' Your words. Just pointing that out," Damon patted Alaric's shoulder and glanced down at Henry's gray body. With one more look around the place, the three left.
QOTC: Who do you think will persuade Stefan to live? Caroline, Elena, or someone else?
Replying to reviews:
One of you guys said you thought the Klaus/Caroline hug was kind of awkward! It was lol! Silly Klaus ruining Caroline's attempt on thanking him as a friend lol
Maryrose16: If Caroline won, then what happens next episode wouldn't be able to happen/etc. Make sense? c;
All of you say how much you love my story and tbh it makes me so happy and just c: