10.
Jenna was at college, and Elena had been out all day. So there was no one but me to deal with the situation that was currently unfolding in my kitchen. Vicki Donovan had burst through the front door as soon as Jeremy had opened it and was now digging through my fridge, very clearly in the middle of a bad trip.
"Hey, that's mine." I frowned when she pulled out a covered plate of nachos.
"I'm hungry!" she answered, a growl to her tone as she added it the rapidly growing pile on the counter.
I exchanged glances with Jeremy.
"My head hurts!" she continued, pulling out plate after plate of food, "I need quiet!"
"Wow, I don't know Vicki, why don't you go to your house for some quiet?" I hinted rather bluntly.
Jeremy scowled at me, "Danny. You can stay as long as you need, Vicki."
"Stop talking!" she snapped.
I turned away, pulling out my cell, "I'm calling Matt." I murmured to Jeremy as I slid past him into the hall. He picked up on the first ring.
"Danny?" he sounded confused.
"Matt, Vicki's here. We think she's taken something; she's acting really weird-"
"Got it." He said immediately, "I'm on my way."
I felt bad for him as I hung up. He'd been trailing after first his mom and now his sister all his life.
In the kitchen, Vicki was munching her way through every piece of food we had in the house, and demanding silence. She sank to the floor, her sunglasses lopsided and by the time Matt arrived looking panicked she was gulping down a bottle of lemonade.
"What's she on?" he asked, almost tiredly.
"We don't know." I answered. We had asked repeatedly to no avail.
Matt knelt down in front of her, "Hey, Vick, how you doing?" he gently lifted her glasses off.
"Not good Matty." She said pathetically, her face crumpled, "I hurt."
"Okay, where does it hurt?"
"My gums. My jaw hurts." She pressed her fingers against her teeth, "My gums – there's something in my gums! It hurts!"
"You're okay." He reached out a hand to her, a reassuring smile on his face.
"No, just leave me alone!" she began to cry, batting his hand away.
"Don't be like that," he said patiently, "Let's get you home."
"Just turn it off!"
"Turn what off?" Jeremy exclaimed.
"The talking, the chatter!" she leapt to her feet and ran into the living room, "Just turn it off!"
We followed. The news was playing, the volume turned so low I hadn't realised it had been on. Jeremy hurried forward and turned it up, focussing intently on the screen.
"…three bodies were found dead in a drug deal gone awry. The bodies have yet to be identified. They were discovered at the old Mystic Falls cemetery-"
"That's where we were last night!" Jeremy whirled around to face her.
Vicki was crying silently, eyes glued to the screen.
"Did something happen, Vicki?" I asked her, trying to ignore the anger settling into my chest. She had taken Jeremy there. A drug deal gone wrong – he could have been one of those bodies.
"Mystic Falls Police Department are looking for suspects. They ask anyone with information to come forward-"
"I'm calling the cops." Matt went for his phone, but Vicki grabbed his arm.
"No, don't."
"What happened after I left last night, Vicki?" Jeremy reached to take her hand.
She shoved him so hard he went flying backwards into the sofa.
"Hey!" I exclaimed furiously, reaching for Jeremy at the same time as Matt.
"Jer, you okay?" Matt's eyes were wide.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Jeremy batted our hands away.
"Okay, you need to go home." I snapped at her, as Elena and Stefan burst into the room. I hadn't even heard them come in.
"What's going on?" Elena looked from Jeremy on the floor to Vicki, shaking where she stood.
"She's really messed up, I'm sorry, Danny, I'm taking her home." Matt said. But I wasn't looking at him. I was watching Stefan who had approached Vicki and was holding her chin, murmuring soothing words as he searched her face.
"Focus." He breathed, "You're gonna be fine."
She had calmed to a complete stillness, not even blinking as her breathing evened out and her shaking came to a stop.
"Guys, take her up to bed, shut the blinds." Stefan told Matt and Jeremy, "She's gonna be okay."
"Come on," Matt and Jeremy each took an arm and pulled her towards the stairs.
"How did you do that?" I turned my gaze to Stefan, "Do you know what's wrong with her?"
"It's a bad trip." He said immediately, "I just calmed her down."
I felt my eyes narrow a little. He wasn't a very great liar. But I let it slide and jerked my chin at the T.V, "Elena have you heard about this?" it was now showing the cemetery – there were charred patches of dirt here and there and I didn't want to think about what had caused it.
"No, I've been with Stefan all day." She told me, frowning.
"They found three bodies in the old cemetery. A drug deal gone wrong. Vicki and Jer were there last night."
She turned to look at Stefan, an unreadable expression on her face. He seemed to understand the hidden meaning, though and gave a quick nod.
"Danny, could you take Vicki this?" Elena grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water.
I sighed, taking it and ran up the stairs. Elena and Stefan began to whisper amongst themselves as soon as I left the room. I had the distinct feeling they were getting rid of me… and curiosity had me hesitating on the top of the stairs. Whatever he hadn't told me, I was sure he was going to tell Elena. And sure enough, her voice came almost immediately, hushed and barely audible.
"What's wrong with her?"
There was a long silence. Footsteps. Then Stefan spoke, his voice even quieter than Elena's.
"She's transitioning."
Transitioning? Thankfully, Elena asked the question I couldn't.
"Transitioning to what?"
"What are you doing?" I jumped so hard the glass nearly slipped from my hands.
"Matt!" I reprimanded in a hiss, holding my chest as my heart hammered.
I moved away from the stairs and entered Jer's room. The blinds had been closed, and Jeremy sat with Vicki on the bed.
"Here." I set the glass down on the bedside table. Her watery eyes looked between Jeremy and I.
"I'm sorry I'm so much trouble." She sniffed
I softened a little towards her, "It's okay, Vicki."
"You just need to sleep it off, okay?" Jer said gently. I realised he was holding a damp flannel, wiping her face with it.
I backed out of the room, leaving them alone. Matt was stood in the doorway and followed me back downstairs. Stefan and Elena fell silent as we came into the kitchen.
"What do you feel like eating?" Elena fixed a stiff smile on her face.
I opened my mouth to answer and then stopped, frowning. Someone was running down the stairs. I looked into the hall just as Vicki ran past, clutching her shoes.
"Vick – Vicki!" he yelled, chasing after her.
Elena, Stefan and I dashed out into the hall. Matt was stood by the open door, looking around. Jeremy came sprinting down the stairs.
"What happened?" I grabbed his arm.
"She was fine and then she just freaked out!"
"I'm gonna go look for her – call me if you hear anything." Matt jumped into his truck, tearing down the street.
Stefan hurried off in the opposite direction.
"Should we-" I began.
"No." Elena cut me off, coming back up the porch steps to me and Jeremy, "Matt and Stefan will find her."
She insisted we go inside and eat dinner as usual, though Jeremy was bouncing his leg hard enough to make the table shake and I quietly mulled over what I had heard Elena and Stefan say about Vicki. She was transitioning – to what? And I didn't much like the guilty looks Elena was sending our way – the kind she got right before she told a big fat lie.
When we were done eating, we wordlessly began to clear the dinner plates and the mess Vicki had made of the kitchen. Elena loaded the dishwasher while I swept up the crumbs and chunks of food covering the floor. Vicki was not a tidy eater. Jeremy wiped the spilled nacho cheese from the counter.
"Maybe we should check in with Matt." Jeremy was the first to break the silence.
"He'll call when he finds her." Elena reassured him.
"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Jeremy demanded, picking up Chinese boxes from the floor.
"We wait. We're supposed to wait."
"I don't know what's wrong with her." Jeremy stopped, shoulders sagging. His voice had taken a painfully vulnerable edge.
"She'll be fine. It'll all be fine." Elena insisted.
"Elena's right." I nodded, "She just needs to sober up."
The doorbell forced us all into stillness for a moment before all three of us started towards the door. Elena got there first, opening the door just enough to catch sight of Damon's face. She gasped and tried to slam the door, but he gripped the wood and forced her and the door back open. I froze, my hands clenching into fists. Damon looked past Elena to Jeremy and I and offered us a lazy smile.
"You two, go upstairs." Elena's voice shook.
Jeremy went to do what she asked, but I shook my head.
"No way." I met Damon's eyes, "Not after what you did to Caroline yesterday."
He didn't look surprised. Or particularly bothered.
"Please, Danny!" Elena cried, still wrestling with the door.
"You're afraid of me," Damon grinned, looking absolutely delighted.
"Yeah, so she should be, you psycho." I scowled, wrapping my fingers around a heavy, ornamental candle stick from a side table. One step over the threshold and he was getting it in the face.
"Danny, I've been… burning to see you again." His smile broadened at my panicked glance to Elena. I hadn't told her about what happened. Hadn't told anyone.
"Stay away from us." Elena was terrified.
"Hey, hey, there's no need to be rude. I'm just looking for Stefan." He raised a brow, "Can I come in?"
"No, you can't!" I glared.
He seemed to think for a moment, eyeing me carefully, "Alright. I'll cut to the chase, shall I? Where. Is. Stefan?"
"Out looking for Vicki." Elena told him.
"Don't look at me with those judge-y little eyes." Damon scowled, "Girl's gonna thank me for what I did to her."
"You did that to her?" I demanded, brain racing. Had he given her something?
"Did you thank Katherine?" Elena breathed.
The air seemed to go static, like the moment before lightning struck. Damon cocked his head very slowly, eyes fixed on Elena. My grip on the candlestick tightened, the goosebumps prickling down my arms. For a single, terrible moment I was convinced he was going to grab Elena and bash her brains against the doorframe. Saw his fingers twitch with want.
"Mm." he still had a dangerous look in his eyes, but he regained himself and took a step back onto the porch, "Got the whole life story, huh? Tell my brother I'm looking for him."
Elena went to shut the door, but Damon jammed a foot in the way.
"Oh, tip for later," he smiled wickedly, "Be careful who you invite in the house."
The door slammed shut. Elena stood with her back pressed against it, breathing heavily.
"What did he do to Caroline?" she swallowed hard.
"What did he do to Vicki?" I countered.
"You saw her." She lied to my face, "He just freaked her out. Like Caroline."
My jaw tightened. I gave a jerky nod and turned away. Whatever Stefan and Elena were hiding, I was sure it was about Damon.
