Enjoy! I'm tidying up that Spotify list, so I might put it up soon. I'll let you know!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries, only my own characters and plots


I'd called, and I'd texted, but Bonnie still hadn't answered anything. After getting back to town I'd parked my bike next to a tree and sat down, leaning back against it. The sky was slowly getting darker. In my head, I went through the places she could be at while calling her another time. This was the one thing I felt like I could help with, and I felt like I'd already screwed it up.

''Come on,'' I mumbled, calling her another time. ''Pick up.''

''Moreau!'' A voice called from somewhere. I looked around.

''Boo.''

''Jesus,'' I exclaimed, and put my hand over my chest. ''That's not funny.''

''A little,'' Damon smirked. ''Come on, let's go,'' he said. ''We're going to get some witchy business done.''

''You found Bonnie?''

''I did, so get up,'' he urged impatiently. ''And they're already digging. You read fast right? There's plenty of books, so come on.''

''How did you even find me?'' I asked, scrambling to my feet and dusting some dirt off my pants.

''You're predictable,'' he shrugged. ''And louder than you think. Now, come on.''


Damon led me on what was, according to him, a shortcut through the woods to where we were going. I could barely see anything, the forest was that dark.

''Where are we?''

''Almost there,'' Damon said. ''Here.'' He threw me a torch. I had to pick it up from the ground, yet again realising how human I was.

''Really?'' I huffed. ''You've had that this entire time?''

He shrugged. ''I have to see what you're made of.''

I shone the light at his face.

''Hey!''

''I just had to see what you're made of.''

''Ha,'' he said. ''Come on, Joker. We're almost there.''

Damon, who obviously had perfect vision no matter what, wandered off quickly. I struggled to keep up, and bringing the bike certainly didn't make it any easier. At least he got me a torch, I guess.

''Please don't go too fast,'' I said.

''Don't worry,'' he sighed from up ahead. The light of the torch swept across the back of his head. He was somewhat considerate, at least.

''See? There it is.''

I could make out the outlines of a big house a bit further up the path. So that was the old witch house. I didn't really walk around the woods around here just for fun, so of course I'd never known about it. It was more of a small mansion, to be honest. It had that old plantation style, like all the old buildings around town.

When we got a little closer, I could, in the light from the torch, see someone standing outside the house.

''Elijah,'' I said in surprise. I didn't think I'd see him anymore tonight.

''Evangeline.''

''I'm here to help,'' I explained, without him even asking. I didn't know why.

He nodded. ''Of course.'' He didn't say anything about me barging out of the woods.

Damon looked between the two of us, shrugged, and went into the house. ''Get in here when you're done,'' he called over his shoulder.

Elijah put his hands in his pockets. ''The original plan stands, it would seem.''

''Why am I always three steps behind everyone else?'' I muttered, and pulled a stray hair away from my face, tucking it into my ponytail.

''What happened earlier this evening?''

I felt the blood drain from my face. ''What do you mean? Stefan's probably all better by now.''

Elijah eyed me, his features serious. ''You know that's not what I mean.''

''I really don't know what you're talking about,'' I lied, wiping my now sweaty hands on my legs. I hated trying to lie, especially when he wasn't buying it.

''I can hear your heartbeat,'' he sighed. ''And, you revealed to me how terrible a liar you are.''

''Really, I don't know what you mean.''

Of course he could hear my heart. It was beating so hard, even I could.

''You know,'' Elijah looked up at the dark sky above us. It was pretty clear, a few passing clouds, but I could see stars. ''Usually, when I want something – I take it.''

''So why don't you?'' I asked quietly.

His brown eyes seemed black in the darkness. ''I don't know.''

We stood in silence for what seemed like forever, but it was probably only a minute. Damon hadn't gotten impatient with me yet. I wanted to get started with the reading, but something seemed to be holding me back.

''How are you feeling?''

Elijah raised an eyebrow. ''You're asking me how I am feeling?''

I shrugged. ''Yeah, well...''

Just there and then, he looked at me like I was something from another planet. Like I was completely out of my mind.

''You do realise that I am considered one of the... bad guys?'' He rolled the words off his tongue as if they were foreign to him.

''I know,'' I said. ''But you're not all bad. I can tell.''

''Is that included in your powers as well?''

''No comment.''

I looked at him, and couldn't tell anything from his face. He seemed determined, but, what did I know?

''No one can be all evil,'' I continued.

''You sound convinced.''

I shrugged. ''I like to think that way, though.''

''That might prove dangerous,'' he commented, the beginning of a smirk on his lips.

''I'm not naïve,'' I huffed. ''But... it's a decent starting point. And true, to almost a hundred percent.''

''Ah,'' Elijah said. ''Almost.''

''Yes, well,'' I cleared my throat. ''One can never be completely sure of anything. People thought the earth was flat once.''

''Sometime today, Moreau!'' I heard Damon's voice faintly from within the house.

''Yeah, yeah,'' I said, knowing he could hear me. ''I'll... um...'' I paused. ''I'll see you, I guess?''

His eyes were piercing. I never knew brown eyes could hold such intensity. Involuntarily, a nervous smile crept onto my face before I turned my back to him and walked towards the front door of the house.

As soon as I stepped over the threshold, a gust of wind swept around me. I frowned. Not a single hair on my head had moved.

''Yeah, that's the witches,'' Damon appeared, looking around him. ''A piece of advice – don't piss them off.''

''I wouldn't dream of it,'' I mumbled, and shuddered when the same feeling came over me again. It was eerie.

''Come on, it's down here.'' He led me through the house and down to the basement.

Every step I took, I felt like I was being watched. The air felt heavy, and not because of all the dust, but something else. Something old. Something powerful.

''There has to be something in here to keep Elena from becoming a vampire.''

''And we'll keep looking. Until the last minute.''

Bonnie and Jeremy were sat on the floor, completely surrounded by books, talking to each other in quiet voices when I entered. Candles were everywhere, spreading a dim, yellow light throughout the room.

''Evangeline!'' Bonnie said, looking a little overwhelmed. ''Good, the more the better.''

''Which ones haven't you checked yet?'' I asked, looking at everything and realising the amount of pages to go through.

Bonnie pointed to a pile to her left, and I dug right into it. The brittle pages felt so fragile beneath my fingers, I was afraid of tearing them.

''Hey Moreau?'' Damon said. I looked up and met his gaze. ''Find something.''

Smiling softly, I nodded, and he left. We would do everything we could.

''Ev...'' Bonnie began slowly. ''There's something you should know.'' She glanced at Jeremy, who clenched his jaw when he heard the tone of her voice. Obviously, he already knew what she was about to say, and it didn't seem like something good.

''Okay...''

''Klaus made Katherine call Jenna,'' Bonnie said slowly. ''She thought it was Elena.''

An chill went down my spine.

''And he's going to use her... as the vampire in the ritual.''

''What?'' I whispered, my eyes darting to Jeremy. He was staring intently at the book in his hands, lips tightly pressed together.

I tried to make sense of what I'd just heard, but it just kept spinning round and round in my head, never really stopping and allowing me to focus.

''Is it ever going to end?'' I asked, defeated.

''It will,'' Bonnie said, her eyes glowing with determination. ''Tonight.''


We'd been going through books for over almost an hour, with no luck. Jeremy was getting irritated, Bonnie and I even more determined. But we were all frustrated. Bitterness was heavy in the air. Jeremy had found something about a resuscitative spell in one of Bonnie's ancestor's grimoires, but it wasn't really clear what it did.

Steps coming down the stairs had me looking up, seeing a familiar man come through the door. He was carrying a box. That had to be John, Elena's biological dad. I couldn't remember if I'd seen him before. Jeremy had called for his ancestor's journals, because he thought Johnathan Gilbert might've written about that spell in more detail. Apparently, Bonnie's and Jeremy's ancestors had some sort of fling, too. All this history repeating itself was making things confusing, sometimes.

John tensed up when he saw me, and his eyes bore into mine.

''Who's this?''

''Evangeline,'' Jeremy said. I raised a tentative hand in greeting. ''She's helping us.''

''You trust her?'' John asked, keeping a watchful eye on me.

''Yes,'' Bonnie answered. John looked at me one last time, before deciding that Bonnie's word was good enough.

''I brought the journals,'' he said, and placed the box on a nearby table.

''Where's Damon?'' Bonnie asked.

''Upstairs,'' John replied. ''Alaric wanted to talk to him.''

We all grabbed a journal each from the box and began skimming through the pages. The handwriting made reading slower, but at least I could manage it.

I finished mine first, and rushed to grab a second one. We had to get through them as quickly as possible.

Just as my eyes were getting tired, I came across a part that looked interesting. I had to read it twice before I was convinced that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me, and that it might be something useful.

''Hey, I think I might've found something.''

All eyes were immediately on me, expectant. I cleared my throat. ''It's about a mother. Her... um... her baby was really sick. It was dying. The witch cast a spell that would bind the woman's life force with her child.''

''And?'' Damon's voice urged. I hadn't even heard him coming. ''Skip to the save Elena part.''

''Wait,'' I mumbled as I skimmed ahead. ''Here. ''The child died... but the mother's life force flowed through her... restoring her to life.''

''We already know Elena's going to come back to life,'' Jeremy said, exasperated. ''But she'll be a vampire.''

''Hey, wait...'' I frowned as I read further. John walked up to me and grabbed the journal from my hands. ''Not if her soul remains intact,'' he said. He looked at me, daring me to speak. For some reason, I couldn't get a word out.

''Her soul, really?'' Damon spat. ''You're going to put your faith in some act of god mumbo jumbo?''

''Damon...'' I protested.

John took a few steps forward, closing the gap between Damon and himself and staring him down. ''I refuse to let Elena become the thing I've spent my life protecting her against,'' he said seriously. ''And you can call that God or mystical energy, whatever you want, but yes... I'm putting my faith in it.''

John went back to Bonnie. ''You know what you need to do?''

''Yeah,'' Bonnie said, skimming through the pages of one book she was holding. John nodded, dragged a chair to the middle of the room, and sat down.

Before placing her hands on either side of his head, Bonnie took one last look at what was written. Then she closed her eyes, and started speaking latin. I'd never heard her do anything like that before, and I watched curiously.

After her chanting for a minute or two, Damon started getting impatient.

''Come on, Bonnie, we got a hybrid to kill.''

Bonnie opened her eyes. ''It's done.''

''That's it?'' Damon asked. ''Let's go.''

Bonnie let her hands fall down to her sides, and went to leave with Damon. She stopped next to Jeremy. ''I'll be back soon.''

''Wait, what do you mean?'' he frowned. ''No, I'm coming. I need to be there, I need to make sure you guys are okay.''

Bonnie sighed. ''And who's going to make sure you're okay?''

Jeremy held his hand up, and I saw that large ring on his finger. ''I've got my own ring. Look, I'm not taking no for an answer.''

I let my eyes fall to the floor when Bonnie gave Jeremy a goodbye kiss, but looked up when I saw him collapsing, body limp.

''What did you do?'' I asked.

''It's for the best,'' Bonnie said, and I guess I had to agree. Like me, Jeremy would probably be more of a nuisance than a help.

''We'll stay with him,'' I told her, and glanced at John, who was carrying Jeremy to the chair.

When they left, the room was awkwardly silent.

''You know what that journal said,'' I stated, eyeing John worriedly.

''I do.''

''I know Elena doesn't talk about you much but-''

''Look,'' he began, cutting me off. ''We might be stuck here together right now, but that doesn't mean we have to talk.''

''I'm sorry,'' I mumbled. ''I just... I read what you signed up for.''

''Then why didn't you tell them, huh?'' he asked.

I looked at him sadly. ''I guess... it- I don't know.'' I couldn't help that I cared. Even if I didn't know him, I still cared.

Suddenly, Alaric came barging down the stairs.

''Bonnie locked me in,'' he said, like he couldn't believe it.

I frowned. ''With a spell?''

''Yeah,'' he seethed. ''I'm stuck here.''

He was angry, pacing back and forth across the room, grabbing the back of his head in frustration. I wasn't going to tell him to stop, because I knew he had to get it out of him. I don't think anyone of us wanted to just sit and wait.

''I'm stuck here, while Stefan goes off to play hero, and Jenna-''

''Wait,'' I cut him off. ''What do you mean, play hero?''

Alaric pressed his lips into a thin line. ''He's offering to take her place.''

My eyes widened. ''He...'' I felt my mouth go dry.

Alaric clenched his fists, and hit the wall in anger. I felt the emotion behind the punch echo through my body. Why did it have to be like this? Why was it always one life for another? Why?

I sat down, leaning against the brick wall and closed my eyes. I focused on trying to keep my mind shielded, and little by little, Alaric's anger left my body, leaving me with only my own emotions. Not that they were easy to handle.

Now, all we could to was try to cope with all that we were feeling, as we waited.


''We should've heard from them by now.''

The night had passed, and the morning sun shone outside. My phone had run out of batteries a couple of hours ago, but I knew my mum wouldn't be home from her shift yet. And if she was, she'd be going straight to bed. At least that was one less thing to worry about.

''I know,'' I said, and looked outside. The crisp spring weather was refreshing, but sinister. The trees were bare, the ground was was bare... it all looked grey. From where I was standing, inside the house, I knew the air outside would be much lighter and easier to breathe. The witches' presence was like carrying a constant weight on my shoulders.

When we went back down into the basement, John was busy writing something. His forehead creased, he looked somber... but focused.

If what I'd read was correct, he would die. I don't know what it was that made me keep my mouth shut before. Maybe it was the look in his eyes. Determination. He was bent on going through with it. It was like it was all he wanted. His desperate way to help. I don't know. Something in him made me stay silent.

''Did you read all this?'' Jeremy suddenly spoke up, eyes going from John to me. ''Ev?''

Noticing he had the journal in his hands, I squirmed, glancing at John. He was looking at Jeremy calmly.

''I did.''

Jeremy frowned. ''So you understand what happened to the child's mother after the baby was brought back to life?''

''She saved her daughter,'' John said. ''She found peace.''

There was so much pain in him. So much regret. I wondered if Elena knew that.

Jeremy shook his head slowly. ''John...''

John got on his feet, grabbed what he'd been writing and handed it to Jeremy. ''I need you to give this to Elena for me. And also this.'' He slid a ring off his finger. A ring like Jeremy's.

''What's going on?'' Alaric asked and looked worried.

John sighed. ''Take care of each other. Please.''

When the sound of a door opening travelled from the upper floor down to the basement, a wave of anxiety swept over me, my own and others.

''I think they're here!''

And they were. After rushing up the stairs, we found Elena unconscious on the worn sofa. Damon was on his knees next to her, gently stroking her hair.

''Is she-'' I gulped. She was dead, wasn't she? If the spell hadn't worked, she would come back a vampire.

''I don't know yet,'' Damon confessed.

''What about Jenna?'' Alaric asked, hope in his voice.

Damon turned his gaze from Elena to us, and his look said it all.

''No.''

My chest tightened, like someone was squeezing my heart. I stared blankly at the floor in front of me.

''I'm sorry Jeremy,'' Damon said regretfully.

I'd just been sitting there, in that house, idle, with no idea what was happening. And now...

Neither Alaric nor Jeremy uttered a word. When I looked at them, the vacant stares in both their eyes told me they weren't able to process it either. They weren't even feeling sad yet, not so I could feel it. They were in shock.

I suddenly felt sick, and walked slowly towards the front door and out of the house. As soon as I stepped outside, the air got lighter, and I felt a little less nauseous. I felt like crying, yet no tears would come. It was like I was completely empty.

Steps approached me from behind. When I turned my head, John was standing there, looking back into the house.

Then his eyes met mine, and... I'd never felt such peace in my entire life.

I watched as he fell to the ground.

Gasping, I put my hand over my mouth and stared at him. I crouched down, and buried my face in my hands as tears stung my eyes.

Another life. Stefan or Jenna. John for Elena. My heart ached for all of them, for everyone else, for any of it even happening at all. I hugged myself tightly, trying to contain all the pain that was seeping out my pores.

I sat there; feet on cold ground, next to John's body, and cried. Silent tears coursed steadily down my cheeks, dripping on my legs and dry grass beneath my feet.

Only when I heard Damon's cry of happiness did I pull out of it. Wiping my face, I took a deep breath to try and calm my shallow breathing. I tried not to look at John when I stumbled to my feet, and staggered back into the house.

Elena was awake when I got back inside. Sitting up, even. Like she'd only been asleep.

The atmosphere in the room was the strangest I'd ever encountered. There had been a surge of relief and happiness when Elena came to, but now it was like no one knew what they were supposed to do.

The front door creaked again, and when I looked behind me, Stefan and Bonnie were there.

''So?'' Damon pressed. ''Is he dead?''

My heart clenched when I saw the look on their faces.

Please.

Please.

Tell me it can't get any worse.