A/N: So this is the last TVD installment for a while. I'll be sending her to a different "realm" in the next chapter which will be up later tonight. Thank you for the reviews. If and when she goes back to Mystic Falls, more info on her witchiness will be explored. I had to keep some of the aspects short because I allowed myself to delve all the way into it, we'd have never left Mystic. I hope you like this chapter and join me in the next chapter as we explore a new fandom with Ryleigh
The next few days were uneventful, but there was a tension in the air as everyone waited for what was going to happen next. They hadn't seen or heard from the hunter, so they kept a low profile. Rebekah's party was scheduled for the last Saturday of the month, on her one-month anniversary of being in Mystic Falls. Gradually, she fell into a routine that was very comfortable. The first weekend, she had a sleepover at Elena's house, though Stefan and Damon were outside the whole time making sure Connor didn't make an appearance. Ryleigh had never experienced anything like this before, not having had any real close friends where she was from, and it was a nice feeling. They talked about boys, caught each other up on their lives, and cried about the people they'd lost. By the third week, the party was growing closer, and she began to grow more and more apprehensive. They were in entirely new territory because the show had been completely different and she hadn't gotten any new visions.
During the week of the party, on Wednesday before, she was sitting next to Matt during Science class, she was extremely nervous about the upcoming weekend. She was also very frustrated because, since that day at the Salvatore's, Matt had been dodging her. He kept the conversations to a minimum and kept his text replies down to three words or less. She hadn't re-encountered Elijah, and she was more than a little grateful. That electrical current that had passed between them had been strange and intense. Maybe they were avoiding each other, but whatever the reason, she was glad to be free of that drama for the time being. When their science class was over, signaling their lunch period, Ryleigh stopped Matt, who was trying to make a quick exit.
"Matt, please stop avoiding me and tell me what I did wrong. You haven't talked to me in over two weeks, and I've gone long enough with radio silence from my friends." His features immediately softened and he sighed, resigned to the situation.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shut you out again. Let's go outside, and we'll talk." Glad that he was finally acknowledging her presence, she followed him out to the common picnic table on the lawn and sat opposite him. Matt pulled two peanut butter sandwiches out of his pack and offered one to her. She smiled as she accepted it and waited for him to begin, not wanting to push. He took a bite first before looking her in the eye.
"I guess I liked having something normal in my life for a change, but then you just fit in so comfortably with them and all of that. Plus, you and that Elijah guy had that weird stare off and it seemed to be going somewhere, so I backed off. I hate all of this vampire crap and how it's infected every aspect of my life. I guess I was just disappointed that you got pulled into it too, and almost immediately." She knew exactly what he meant as he explained why he'd kept his distance. Matt's life was incredibly difficult with his absentee mom, school, and having to support himself. From watching the show, his friends always seem to push him to the side, and he never got a happy ending. It was probably the main reason that their friendship was so easy, they were very similar. She leaned forward and took his free hand in hers.
"Trust me; I didn't expect any of that to happen, I mean who would guess that vampires were real? The witch thing was completely out of left field too, and I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time. I can't lose you as a friend, Matt; your friendship means too much to me. You and I are kindred spirits with our absent families and outsiders to the circle of friends that we belong to. We've known each other too long to let something come between us. Also, the Elijah and me thing, that's never going to happen. The guy is like a thousand years old, and I'm only eighteen and interested in the living." This got a laugh from him, and the tension began to diffuse around them. He squeezed her hand back and didn't take his eyes off hers as he replied.
"I'm so glad to hear you say that. The other girls are so enamored with the whole vamp thing, and I just wish they'd all go away…well okay maybe not Caroline, but still." She gave him a sad, knowing smile.
"By other girls, you mean Elena, don't you?" He stared at her for a few seconds before he shook his head.
"You know at one time; I was really bothered by the whole Stefan and Elena thing, but not anymore. Stefan is a pretty good guy, and she and I have been over for a long time. What about you, though? Do you have any leftover feelings for Tyler? He and Caroline have been fighting a lot lately, and he confessed to me that he still has major feelings for you." She scrunched up her nose in distaste at the thought. It was hard to even drudge up the nostalgia for Tyler that they'd implanted. Her intense dislike of his character was overshadowing anything Grady could have implanted.
"A world of no on that, Tyler was never that kind to me. It's a mystery that we dated for as long as we did, I was stupid to have put up with it. Man, but do we have an incestuous group of friends. I dated Tyler, you dated Elena and Caroline, now Caroline is dating Tyler, and I'm pretty sure that Bonnie is secretly dating Jeremy." This caused Matt to bark out a surprised laugh before he could respond.
"Oh wow, I've never really looked at it like that, but you're so right." She glanced down at her phone and groaned when she saw the time.
"Ugh, I do not look forward to going back in there." He nodded his agreement and stood up, leaving her with nothing to do but follow suit. As they walked back over to the entrance, she bumped his shoulder playfully.
"Are you planning on going to the party this weekend?" He glanced over at her and frowned.
"You mean the one at Rebekah's house where all of the crap is supposed to go down? I hadn't planned on it, no." Ryleigh was a little deflated at his reply since everyone was going to be paired off with dates, but it was probably for the best. She knew that she'd resolved to abstain from any romance, but she loved hanging out with Matt. He paused on the front steps, watching her expression and looked genuinely confused.
"Didn't she attack you a couple of weeks ago? Why are you even going when you hate Rebekah as much as I do?" She knew that he wouldn't understand her explanation, may even get a little upset about it.
"With everything that's supposed to happen, I'd never forgive myself if someone got hurt and I could have helped prevent it. I guess it's a good thing that you aren't going. You'll be one less person that I have to worry about." The bell was going to ring any second, but they continued to linger in the entrance. Matt gave her a small smile as he looked at her.
"Rye, do you want me to go to this party?" She felt her cheeks grow warm at the sudden change in atmosphere. She didn't want to lead him on, but at the same time, she didn't want to lie to him, so she answered honestly.
"Well, it 'd be good to have a friendly face there. Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena are all taking dates." Matt took a step closer to her and her began to race, and she was mildly comforted that she didn't have to worry about him hearing it.
"Is that what this would be, Ryleigh? A date?" She opened her mouth to answer him, but no sound would come out, so she cleared her throat and tried again.
"Well only if you…I mean…oh crap." He gave her a full-blown smile at her fumbling and cupped her face, his hand radiating warmth down to her toes. He leaned forward as if he was going to kiss her, but he stopped inches away from her face, his eyes never leaving her as she spoke.
"How does two sound, I'll come and pick you up." At his closeness, she could no longer form words, so she just nodded, causing his eyes to smolder. At the sound of the bell, the spell was broken, and they jumped apart, both laughing as they raced towards their next class.
When Saturday finally arrived, Ryleigh dressed with the utmost care, she was, after all, trying to make an impression. She slipped on a pale pink sundress that was in her closet and found a cute pair of lace-up sandals. She pinned half of her hair up to get it out of her face and curled the back half until it was perfectly bouncy. When her phone chimed that it was two, she went down the steps to wait in her living room. Fifteen minutes later, she had yet to hear from Matt, so she began to worry. She shot him a quick text and asked him for an ETA. When her phone chimed five minutes later, she was excited only to find a text from Caroline, asking where she was. She quickly shot her a reply letting her know that she was waiting for Matt, but Caroline's instant response was that Matt was at work and to get her butt down there. She stared at the message for a few moments, utterly disbelieving that Matt would be that kind of guy. She headed for her car after she texted Caroline to send her Rebekah's address. Once she was driving, she couldn't stop herself from driving by the Grill, and sure enough, Matt's truck was in the parking lot. Angrily pulling into a spot, she climbed out of her car and searched the dining room for him once she was inside. She spotted him cleaning a table, and she walked over to him, more than a little hurt.
"Matt, did you forget to tell me something?" At the sound of her voice, he turned around with a smile, but it quickly fell off when he saw her outfit and her face. He set his bucket down and took a step towards her, but she retreated backward. His face was full of remorse as he gazed at her.
"Oh man, Ryleigh, I'm so sorry. They asked me if I wanted to pick up a shift and I completely forgot that today was the day of the party." She nodded, swallowing the tears that were forming. She was so mad; she'd promised herself that she'd avoid this very thing and yet here she was. She didn't respond verbally, just turned on her heel and headed for the door. He called out to her and took her hand, alarmed that she wasn't answering him.
"I mean it, Rye, I'm so sorry, I promise I'll make it up to you. Please, I really want this to happen." She turned to stare at him; the entire situation had been a huge wake-up call.
"Don't worry about it, Matt, this wasn't a real date anyway, and it's better that you're not going to be there. You should go back to work; I don't want you to get into trouble." Matt dropped her arm at her tone and sucked in a deep breath.
"Rye, please don't do this, I can meet you there in a few hours, and we'll talk. I swear that this wasn't intentional." She shook her head and opened the door. She didn't leave without replying to his plea.
"It wasn't intentional because it wasn't important enough to remember. Look, it's okay Matt, I mean that. This wasn't a good idea, to begin with." She left then, climbed into her car, and made her way to Rebekah's house.
By the time she arrived there, the place was jammed packed. She sat in her car for a minute, not ready to face what was supposed to happen. When she climbed out and started walking towards the crowd, she turned back around. She debated on whether or not to stay. She'd been looking forward to hanging out with Matt, and now she was going to be an extra wheel among her friends. She searched the crowd but didn't see any of her them. She'd just started to type a message when Caroline appeared next to her, apparently already drunk.
"Ryleigh, you came, I'm so happy!" She forced a smile on her face and nodded, but Caroline knew something was wrong.
"Uh oh, something happened, what's wrong? Was Matt supposed to be your date today?" Ryleigh rolled her eyes, trying to play down her hurt feelings.
"Please Care, Matt and I are just friends. We'd agreed to ride together, but he forgot to tell me that he'd been called into work. It's just as well really; he shouldn't be here if whatever is supposed to happen actually happens." She hadn't fooled her one bit as she enveloped her into a hug and began to rant.
"Uh boys suck so bad, Rye, they're a bunch of jerks! Matt stood you up and Tyler and I just totally broke up last night. I'm so glad that you're here because if I have to see Elena and Stefan making cutesy faces at each other one more time, I'm going to rip someone's face off. Not to mention, Bonnie brought friggin Jeremy, and they've been making out since they got here." Ryleigh didn't know what to say; she ultimately agreed that all boys, even in a fantasy situation, were asses. She told Caroline that she'd be right back because she wanted to find a cup for the keg that was set up. When she made it to the kitchen, she froze, her heart racing. Standing, cool as you please, was Connor. He grinned at her as she approached and she tried to appear nonchalant as she reached for a red solo cup that was sitting in the bag next to him. He beat her to it and handed it over calmly.
"I was wondering when we were going to meet again. That guy didn't give you any more problems, did he?" She smiled at him and shook her head, she was trying to appear normal and not show that she was freaking out.
"No, he's dating my best friend, so his priorities are back where they belong." She started to walk away when he grabbed her arm, and she felt a knife press up against her back. He leaned down to whisper in her ear so only she could hear him.
"Do as I say and you might live through this. I didn't intend to use you as my bait, but your blond friend never came back." He dragged her through the door that led into the dining room, unfortunately, it was empty. He shoved her up against the wall and reached around her to crack the window open. Ryleigh was terrified so when he turned her to face him, she lifted her hand and used her powers to push him away. He hit the opposite wall with a surprised grunt, but she was running to the opposite side that also had a door. She tried to pull on it, but it was locked, and she was too scared to concentrate hard enough to use magic. When she turned around, she cried out as Connor's knife pierced her stomach. She'd never felt pain such as that before, and it only intensified when he pulled the knife out. An alarming amount of blood began to flow from her, and she felt herself on the verge of passing out. He grabbed her arm and roughly dragged her back to the open window. She sank to the floor as her tears began to flow. He quickly bound her hands together and then looked down at her.
"It's nothing personal; you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." He left her then, and she began to gasp for breath as anxiety started to swallow her. She tried to concentrate on the ropes her hands were bound in but cried out in frustration when they wouldn't budge. The door she'd tried to escape into started to shake violently and after a few short moments, it was ripped off of its hinges, wood splinters flying everywhere. Rebekah walked into the dining room, completely confused when her eyes landed on Ryleigh.
"What the hell is going on down here?!" She started to walk over to where she was sitting, and Ryleigh began to cry freely.
"Please don't…please don't kill me." She heard Rebekah swear, and then she pressed her wrist up to her mouth. At the first drop of blood, Ryleigh turned her head away and cried for Rebekah to stop. With surprising gentleness, Rebekah grabbed the back of her head and turned it back towards her wrist, holding her there to allow the blood to flow into her mouth. When she could no longer feel the intense pain, Rebekah took her wrist away and made quick work of the ropes holding her hands in place. She leaned down to look in her eyes, and Ryleigh was surprised to find them filled with worry as Rebekah spoke.
"You're going to be fine; Matt would have never forgiven me if I'd let you die. Now, tell me which way he went so I can go and kill that bastard." Before Ryleigh could tell her not to because of the curse, Elena burst into the room.
"Something is wrong with Caroline and Stefan, oh no, Ryleigh!" Ryleigh heard the hunter's voice comment behind them and then she heard the fighting begin. Elena tried to help her move, but she was extremely weak from the loss of blood. Trying to focus her vision, she saw when Elijah and Klaus entered the room, and Elijah was immediately by her side. When he was sure that she was going to be okay, he kissed her forehead and then joined the fight with his siblings. Her eyes focused long enough to see Rebekah rip Connor's heart out of his chest. Klaus stared for a few minutes and then began to yell and berate her for doing something so foolish and then he plunged a dagger into her chest. It was too much for Ryleigh to comprehend and she began trying to scramble to her feet. Elena told Klaus about Caroline and Stefan, to which he left once she told him where they were. A sob escaped Ryleigh when she was finally regained her vision and saw nothing but all the blood from where she'd been stabbed and Connor's gaping chest cavity. Elijah cautiously took a step towards her with his hands outstretched for her to take.
"You are completely safe, Ryleigh. Our sister is only sleeping until we can figure out a way to break her free of the curse. The hunter is dead, this is all over, and I promise you that you're safe." She jerked away from him when his hand grazed hers gently and ran into a shocked Bonnie and Jeremy. They all tried to stop her from leaving, but she was able to use enough of her powers to subdue them so she could escape.
A few hours later, safely in her fake home, Ryleigh was holding the fob and sitting on her bed. She'd been an idiot to think that Mystic Falls would be a fun vacation spot. She'd been ignoring the calls and texts from everyone. She'd just about pressed the button when the doorbell sounded on her front door. She kept it in her hands as she shakily walked down the steps to see who it was. When she opened the door, she found Matt, who didn't wait for an invite, but walked in and wrapped his arms around her. She returned the hug, but it was an automatic motion, she was still in shock from the event she'd witnessed and been a part of. Over his shoulder, she saw Damon and Bonnie standing on her porch, both looking pensive. Neither attempted to come any closer, sensing she was at a breaking point with it all. Matt pulled away from her and cupped her face gingerly as a tear fell down his cheek.
"God Ryleigh, I'm so sorry, I should have been there with you. That guy would never have gotten his hands on you if I'd have just left the Grill with you" She started to protest the silliness of his musings when his lips cut her off. It was a pleasant feeling, and she allowed herself to kiss him back for a moment before she broke away from him entirely. She shook her head as she spoke, she couldn't go there.
"No Matt, we're not doing this, it isn't real! I just wanted to have friends; I didn't ask for any of this. You have to leave; I don't want any of it!" Matt made a startled sound from the back of his throat as he tried in vain to stop the flow of tears he'd been fighting.
"Okay, Rye, I'll leave you alone." Not waiting for him to turn around once he was back on her porch, she closed the door in his face and locked it. She ran over to the television set and wished for home as she pressed the button on the right. She felt the familiar tug, and after a few seconds, she was back in her own living room. She turned in a full circle, so relieved to be back, but when she faced the couch, she found Grady sitting there, frowning at her.
"So, it appears that we need to talk."
