A/N: This chapter isn't quite as long as the others have been, but it was necessary. The next chapter will be up tomorrow and it's the last chapter in Mystic Falls for a little while.


Once again, Ryleigh was the center of attention, something that she was growing to hate. She had to tell them, she could tell that she needed to, but she didn't understand how that worked. She began to pace, she was severely worried about pissing off an original, but she knew from Grady that they couldn't actually kill her. She plopped down on the couch and Elena was instantly at her side, holding her hand. Elena really was a good person. She saw the best in anyone and put everyone's life ahead of hers. Knowing that they were all waiting for her and several of them were becoming impatient, so she began.

"Tyler and I ran into the hunter, Connor, at the Grill tonight." She saw Caroline stiffen out of the corner of her eye at the mention of Tyler, but she barreled on to keep her from causing a scene.

"I shook his hand, and I saw way more than I expected or wanted to. He's killed a ton of vampires and vampire sympathizers. He has no remorse for doing any of it, either. He followed Rebekah to the school because he saw her feeding, where, I don't know. He knows that there are more than her, but he doesn't know specifically who. Rebekah is planning a party, I heard a few people talking about it, and he's going to make a move there. I don't know what exactly he's planning, but I saw all of us there, minus Damon, Alaric, Elijah, and Klaus. I saw Tyler in the hospital, but Care and Stefan…well it was bad." When she finished, there was absolute silence as they absorbed her words. Klaus stood there shaking his head, while Elijah was already dialing his phone. His velvety voice was the only sound to pierce the silence of the room.

"Rebekah, Niklaus and I need to speak with you immediately, can you meet us here at the Salvatore's house? Well, we didn't tell you because you didn't want any interference while you attended school. However, this is extremely important, so exceptions must be made. Perfect, see you then." He put his phone up and glanced in her direction. She quickly lowered her eyes only to have Caroline come to a stop in front of her.

"So, why were you at the Grill with Tyler, Ryleigh? I know that you two have a history, but that was almost two years ago, and you have plenty of other people fumbling all over themselves to get to you." Bonnie sighed and was the first to respond to her rant.

"Caroline now is seriously not the time to be worrying about any of that." Ryleigh held her hand up to stop Bonnie from continuing and addressed Caroline herself.

"That's seriously your first thought about me? Wow, see I knew that nothing was different with you guys. This is the last time that I involve myself with any of this mess; you are on your own after this." She'd pulled her arm away from Elena and stood, moving off to herself. Elena followed her, a hurt expression on her face.

"Wait, that's not fair, Rye, we're here, and we're trying, but you keep making things so awkward and painful." Ryleigh scoffed at her and couldn't refrain from responding because this pushed even her buttons, separate from the fake memories.

"God Elena, could you be any more self-absorbed? After I met Connor at the Grill, you were the first person that I tried to call following with Caroline and Bonnie. It was like a bad flashback because all three of you ignored my call and none of you attempted to call me back. I don't have anyone else's number, so I had to accost Mr. Saltzman at the bar to get everyone together. Don't talk to me about making things difficult because that isn't me." She watched as all three of them looked incredibly guilty. Bonnie started to respond, but Ryleigh rolled her eyes and waved her off, addressing Caroline again.

"For the record, I was at the Grill by myself when Tyler sat down at my table. He's always been a player and a douche, so stop projecting your insecurities onto me." There was silence once more until Klaus's laughter broke through, causing them all to jump. Caroline glared over at him, but he couldn't stop laughing as he replied.

"I'm sorry luv, but she's got a bit of a point there. Listen, I like a good catfight as much as the next bloke, but we really do have more pressing matters than listening to your ridiculous love lives." At that precise moment, Rebekah entered the room haughtily but halted when she saw everyone. When her eyes landed on Ryleigh, she scowled darkly.

"What the bloody hell is she doing here?!" Klaus just smiled and motioned for her into the room while Elijah answered.

"Rebekah, this is our new friend, Ryleigh Fell. She's a witch, and she has some valuable information on the hunter that's here." She stopped glaring when her brother mentioned a hunter.

"What, so one of the five is here?" Klaus, never one to mince words, spoke rather coldly to her.

"Yes, and as usual, my dear sister, it's your fault that he's here at all. He saw you feeding, and he followed you here." Rebekah opened her mouth to say something but thought better of it. Elijah sighed and walked over to his sister and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"This party that you're planning to throw, you need to cancel it. He intends to make a move, and everyone will be put in danger." Rebekah stiffened at his words and her eyes once more went to Ryleigh.

"This is because she says so, and you're all just going to take her word for it?" Damon was the one to answer this time; he hated when Rebekah threw tantrums, so he tried heading this one off.

"She hasn't been wrong so far, and I'm not going to let you put my brother in danger." Klaus interjected once more, apparently bored with the back and forth.

"Come on, of course, she'll still throw the party." Everyone jerked their attention to where he lazily leaned against the wall. The expressions were a mixture of confused and disbelief, and it caused Stefan to speak for the first time that evening.

"Klaus, you can't be serious, it's a blood bath of innocent lives waiting to happen." He ignored Stefan and rolled his eyes, annoyed they didn't understand.

"Yes, I am serious, Stefan, when have I ever not been? It makes the most sense because we know exactly where he'll be and it's the best place to take him out." Ryleigh saw the sense in the plan. He was going to be there anyway, and it eliminated the need to look for him. No one had anything else to say about it, so they started to disperse. Ryleigh grabbed her purse, but Caroline stepped in front of her once more, blocking her path.

"Rye, I'm so sorry that I automatically jumped to the wrong conclusions. You know how insecure I am, and these vamp emotions only heighten that. Yes, I did ignore your call, but it was because my mom was lecturing me on being careful and safe. She actually took my phone away from me when it rang, and you know how scary my mom can be. You were my best friend once, so, please…can we just try again?" She could tell that Caroline was genuine, she had tears rolling down her cheeks. Ryleigh felt herself thawing to the other girl and felt her own tears start to fall. She'd always wished for a friend like Caroline, so she nodded and hugged her for real this time, causing her to giggle. When they broke apart, Elena and Bonnie were there too. They both apologized and soon they were all crying and hugging. When they stepped away from each other, they were thoroughly embarrassed but found only Stefan and Damon in the room, the others deciding to give them a moment, and both brothers were smiling.

Ryleigh knew that it was time to leave, it was time for the cuddles to start and she had no desire to be a third wheel. She grabbed her purse and headed for the exit. She honestly felt like a part of the story just then, and she was filled with a giddy sense of belonging, it was a heady experience. Bonnie was talking to Damon, Elena and Stefan were retreating to his room, and Caroline was chatting with Klaus. She slipped out of the room and headed towards the exit when Rebekah was suddenly in front her, her face full of rage.

"Look, I know you grew up here and all that, but just stay away from Matt. He's finally starting to warm up to me, and you're ruining everything! So, if you know what's good for you, you'll back off." Ryleigh had never liked Rebekah as a character and cheered on more than one occasion for Klaus to dagger her permanently. She was a spoiled brat who whined like a baby when she didn't get her way. Plus, she really didn't like being threatened, especially by her and she was done playing the helpless damsel in distress. She shifted her purse onto her other shoulder and returned her cold stare with one of her own as she responded.

"Please, Matt can't stand you, and he has no interest in dating vampires, he's barely friends with them. If I want to date him, then I will, and there's nothing you can do to stop me because you don't scare me. You're used to getting your way, but guess what princess, life wasn't designed to cater to you. Now, get out of my way so I can leave." She watched as the other girl began to shake with fury and Ryleigh almost groaned. It was such a perfect plan, let's goad the one vampire who hates her guts and can't be killed. Rebekah's eyes started to change, and she charged forward, unable to control her anger. Rebekah's hand grazed her throat when she threw her head back and screamed. She watched as the girl clutched her head as Damon had done, only this time Ryleigh was in complete control. Keeping her concentration, she took a step towards her, aware that everyone was milling behind her. She bent down so that Rebekah would be able to hear her over her pain.

"Come at me again, and I'll do worse than give you a headache, do you understand?" When she stood back up, she broke the contact causing Rebekah to stop screaming. She continued to cower, clutching her head, and groan. Rye turned her back on her and found Klaus and Elijah with her eyes.

"That's twice in two days that I've been attacked. The next time, I won't be so nice about it." Klaus smirked at her unable to hide his amusement and fascination.

"My my do you get more and more intriguing by the minute. You have more power than a witch I've seen in a very long time, including that of our Ms. Bennett here." Bonnie walked towards her with her eyes wide and nodded as she spoke.

"He's not wrong; I almost died trying to take Klaus out." Ryleigh's eyes jumped to his, and he merely shrugged and continued to grin.

"As I said, you're powerful. Despite what you said earlier, I expect you to be at this party of Rebekah's. We may need your special talents after all." Her feathers were ruffled once more as she pursed her lips, ready to leave.

"Klaus, I do not take orders from you. I'm going home now; my dad is going to be wondering where I am." Turning on her heel, she stepped around a still cowering Rebekah and walked outside. She could distinctly hear Klaus's voice as she walked away.

"Well that was something to witness, I understand completely why you're so taken with her, brother, though she is a bit young for you. Oh Rebekah, do get up and stop…" She didn't hear the rest of his words, but she was smiling as she climbed into her car.