Oh my god you like me, you really like me!
I think it's safe to say I'm never going to take a fortnight to drop a chapter aha! I hope you guys are still having fun!
Be warned, the next few chapters will be an emotional mess.
KeylethL! Thank you so much! That means a lot because I was genuinely worried it was going to be a lot to swallow. I had a stage to set and I was extremely impatient about doing it ahaha! I wanted the story to start, damn it!
Phonixonyxwolf! I'm so, so sorry. So sorry. Just remember I love you and I'm here for you.
Guest! Thank you once again for your kind words!
On with the show!
Chapter 10Lia was sipping on her milkshake while listening to Caroline simultaneously envy and praise her ability to look adorable in anything with fond amusement. She had arrived to the pep rally dressed in a pastel multilayered rainbow tulle skirt that didn't pass her knees, a spaghetti-strapped, cropped, white lace bustier, an acid wash denim jacket that was a size too big with its sleeved rolled up just below her elbows and cute white flats that had a little bow on each shoe. Her giggling ceased immediately when she spotted Elena approaching the group, not in her cheer uniform.
"What happened?" Caroline asked, frowning at the casual attire.
"I'm sorry, Care, I just-this isn't me anymore," Elena shrugged helplessly, offering an apologetic smile. Lia immediately offered her best deadpan glare as Caroline closed her eyes and released a breath.
"Elena, this is exactly what we talked about last night. I don't mind if you need to miss a day, a week, want to drop out entirely. It's fine. What's not fine is not telling me at all. I'm not OK with this," Caroline glared as she stomped off to the rest of the team. Lia stood her ground when Elena turned to look at her.
"You disappoint me, Elena Gilbert," was all she said before following after her favourite blonde.
Elena was still staring at the spot Lia had been, mouth ajar, when Stefan happened upon her.
"Hey, what happened? No more cheerleader?"
"Uh-hey! Wow, look at you, all hot in your jersey," she grinned, the smile slowly fading as she registered what he'd said. "I-yeah, I quit. I'm a quitter. And a terrible friend."
"Hey," Stefan frowned, stepping closer and grasping her hands in his. "You've suffered a great loss, you're not the same person. That doesn't make you terrible."
"No, I am. They're right. I should have at least let them know. It's not fair that I just made up my mind and stuck to it, expecting everyone to just accept it. I should have at least told them I wanted to quit the team rather than just turning up without my pom poms."
Stefan just offered a sympathetic smile. "Now, at least, you can start to look ahead."
Elena smiled in gratitude, feeling better about both herself and her decision. She tilted her head in curiosity when Stefan took a step back and let go of her hands.
"I uh- hope you don't think this is too soon, or too weird, but I wanted you to have this," he pulled out the vervain necklace he'd prepared for her.
As Stefan and Elena had their moment, Caroline was fielding questions about the routine they were going to be performing instead since they were a member down and so had to miss some of the lifts. Lia watched their last-minute practice while the rest of the school set up the bonfire and the food stands, trucks and Utes coming in to park for some party seating. Soon enough, not-so-secret booze was being passed around and the place was packed. Lia looked around, not seeing Damon anywhere.
She smiled at Care as Tanner raved about Stefan's hands, wagging her eyebrows suggestively. Caroline cackled before she could stop herself.
She left Caroline with her cheerleaders as she decided to go talk to Jeremy Gilbert. His soul was calling to the siren; a call she wasn't all that eager to resist any longer.
She wasn't the only one heading for him, apparently, because just ask she came into human hearing distance, she heard Tyler egging him on about Vicki. She came to a stop next to said girl just as the young Gilbert took the first swing.
Lia huffed, her breath puffing out her cheeks and sending her bangs flying. She blocked out Vicki's incessant screaming as she watched the two boys rough it out. Seeing Stefan rush over, she decided she'd better grab the younger boy while Stefan took care of his fellow team member.
Just as Stefan grabbed Tyler's wrist, Jeremy grabbed the broken bottle and swung. Lia caught his wrist, accidentally breaking it. Jeremy shouted, instantly dropping the broken glass and drunkenly tumbling to the floor as he held the broken bone to his chest.
The sound had drawn Stefan's attention, distracting him long enough for Tyler to get a solid hit on his nose. He instantly started healing even as it started bleeding.
Lia grinned at the sound of Stefan's nose breaking, instantly making her regret at Jeremy's injury cease. Giggling as she grabbed the kid by his collar, Lia reefed him up off the floor. He shouted in surprise then cried out in pain as his wrist was jostled.
"Come on, Baby Gilbert. Upsie daisy," Lia chirped, making sure he was steady on his feet before stepping back. "You're an idiot."
She left him to Elena's lecture, not bothering to look back at the mess of drunken teenage angst and drama.
Jeremy didn't bother paying attention to his sister, he just watched the mysterious girl vanish into the crowd. He'd never seen someone so pretty, but regardless, she'd broken his wrist as easily as he snapped his fingers. Not only that, but all 5'4" of her had lifted him to his feet, one handed. He knew he didn't help; he hadn't been trying to stand, he'd been trying to get his feet under him to reclaim his balance.
As soon as he lost sight of her, he snapped at Elena before stalking off, not sparing Vicki a glance. He'd had enough for tonight. He was so tired. He liked Vicki, he really did, she'd been there for him in his darkest hour, dragging him above water when he'd been drowning and helping distract him from the pain, showing him how to have fun and leave the hurt and ignore the world for an hour or so.
It seemed he'd ignored the world for long enough.
Spitting the glob of blood to the side, Jeremy shook his head and continued walking, knowing he'd have to go to the hospital and get a cast. He was managing OK at the moment, the alcohol in his system doing an excellent job of numbing the pain. He refused to call Jenna, sick of her 'I was cool once, too' speeches that she'd been trying lately. There was no way in hell he'd ask Elena.
He was contemplating just walking there, when someone called his name. He turned, surprised to see the girl that had broken his wrist in the first place leaning on Caroline's car.
"You know my name, but I don't know yours," he said in way of greeting, cautiously approaching the enigma while hugging his arm to his chest. She grinned cheekily before grabbing the sides of her skirt and dipping into a perfect curtsey.
"My apologies, Mr Gilbert. My name is Kaliope Athánatos. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Right," he snorted, rolling his eyes. "How did you do that?"
"I'm afraid you're going to have to be a little more specific," Lia teased, her posture relaxing against the boot of Care's car once more. Jeremy stumbled a little as he moved to join her, falling heavily against the metal with a wince as he jostled his wrist.
"Lifting me, breaking my wrist?" he groaned, grabbing his forearm tightly to try and cut off circulation and make the pain fade again.
"Ah, well, before I get into that, can I see it?" Lia raised her eyebrows expectantly and held out her hand, earning herself a look that suggested she'd grown a third eye. She huffed when he made no move to comply. "Oh, do hurry up, child! I'm getting bored and I'm normally only this nice to a very select few!"
Jeremy was still sceptical, but gently lay his forearm in her hand nevertheless. She immediately moved her hand so it was under his wrist, laying her other on top of it. Before he could shout in pain, Lia's hands started glowing.
Jeremy's entire being felt like it was flying. Not like a high; it was a weightless, healthy, whole feeling. Unconsciously, he straightened his stance as he felt his body start to mend itself.
The cuts on his face pulled taut, knitting back together His wrist felt like it was grinding into place but it didn't hurt, it felt numb. He also felt the aches of potential bruises recede and the alcohol leave his system.
If Lia was honest with herself, which she always tried to be, she was relieved. She was glad that she still had the ability to heal. Jeremy was her first test subject since she'd… adapted.
She'd known from the beginning that her voice wouldn't affect souls the same as they had on her own world, but she'd overestimated how much power she thought she'd have. Her voice was made of divinity, true, but that divinity did not rule this world. Sure, it was connected to it now, but these people did not pray to her Gods and so her sway was limited purely to ability, not being able to rely on the people's religious faith.
Enzo was perfect proof; a man who'd been tortured for years, she'd only managed to make feel the warm fuzzies. She hadn't been able to instil the instant trust, respect and adoration that usually came with a siren's song. He'd trusted her because of her actions, thought she was cute as a button and respected her once he'd heard her plan, and even then, he had still been wary. The only reason Stefan had been so affected was because he'd wanted to be.
It's why she'd decided to evolve.
She'd discovered, through a combination of her branding research and her study on compelling, removed the divinity from her voice, she would be able to attach it to her eyes. In doing so, she would sacrifice her power over emotions, never able to delve deep into a person's soul again. Though she wouldn't be able to enter the deepest part of a person again, didn't mean she couldn't enter them at all. In theory, Kaliope would be able to use the bridge created by eye contact – 'windows of the soul' = fact – as a direct passage into their minds, leaving her with the ability to compel just as well as vampires could without the restriction vervain presented.
Again, in theory.
The night of the comet, after she'd met Damon, she knew she'd needed to up her game and so she took the risk and went for it while Enzo was sleeping. It had hurt, a lot, but she'd made it through her transition with plenty of time to spare for a long hot bath. There had been a little risk that she would lose other abilities in her brief disconnect with her divinity, but it was slim as her entire being was soaked in the holy energy. She was a self-aware creature; sirens had to be in order to literally reorganise themselves to develop abilities. They were probably the only species she knew of that could make themselves evolve or devolve. So far, her abilities with water, air and her shifting were all absolutely fine, as were her strength and speed. It was her healing, the ability to compel and what remained of her voice that she had left to try out.
Enter test subject 001, codename Baby Gilbert.
"How does this feel?" Lia asked curiously, watching the awe on his face.
"It- it feels like I'm floating. What are you?" Jeremy breathed, afraid that, if he spoke too loudly, it would pop the precious bubble he found himself in.
"Uh, rude," Lia scoffed. "I'm your neighbour."
Jeremy's head snapped up at that, shock coating his expression. "What?"
"Yeah, have been for like 3 weeks now," she raised a judging eyebrow. "I'm in the house that the construction dudes are constantly coming and going at. They're building our indoor pool. It's gonna be wicked," Lia bounced on her toes, a gleeful grin stretching her features, so contagious that Jeremy couldn't stop his even if he tried.
"Can I see it when it's done?" Jeremy asked casually, his eyes not able to hide the wary hope he was feeling.
"If you remember, sure," Lia shrugged.
*TVDM*
Damon was stalking Elena. He'd been amused that she'd listened to him regarding the cheerleading, seeing her apart from her friends. He rolled his eyes at the coach, wanting to kill him for suggesting there was anything praiseworthy regarding his little brother.
He watched the fight break out between Anger Management and Gilbert Jr, taking great pleasure in listening to the bone in the kid's wrist snap when his Little Snow caught it in her supernatural grip. He waited for Elena to apologise and thank Stefan for his help, wondering how he'd healed so fast. Stefan brushed it off, saying it wasn't that hard a hit. Elena smiled, though the frown didn't completely leave her face. She went in search of the Bennett, asking about what she'd felt.
Death.
That amused Damon even more.
He smiled at the startled Elena, having snuck up behind her as she shut the boot of her car. He really couldn't get over how identical she was to Katherine.
He admitted he was hiding from Tina, which honestly wasn't even that big of a lie. She was driving him insane. She didn't stop ranting about Lia and Caroline. He was about three words away from ripping out her throat.
Or giving her to Little Snow.
"I don't really see it going anywhere in the bigger picture," he admitted, taking a step forward. "I think she'd drive me crazy."
"Tina does have some annoying traits but she's still a normal teenage girl. If you're not happy, don't string her along. It's not fair," the copy chided, while taking a step back, putting her against her car. Her words immediately had his hackles raising but he blinked the anger away, offering a chastised smile.
"Duly noted. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable; that's not my intention."
"Yes, it is," Elena immediately replied. "Otherwise you wouldn't put an alternate meaning behind everything you say."
"You're right," he admitted before his eyes snapped to hers. "But so do you."
She didn't look impressed. "Really?"
He hummed his agreement. "I see 'em. You want me."
"Excuse me?" She was offended.
"I get to you. You find yourself drawn to me. You think about me even when you don't want to think about me. I bet you even dreamed about me."
That pulled her up short, of course, and he knew exactly why.
"And now," his pupils dilated. "You want to kiss me."
He smirked, leaning in and hoping that someone was nearby that would report the infidelity to Saint Stef-
His cheek stung.
Fucking vervain.
"What the hell?" Elena asked through gritted teeth. "I don't know what game you're trying to play with Stefan, but I don't wanna be a part of it. And I don't know what happened in the past, but let's get one thing straight. I'm. Not. Katherine."
Elena stomped off, leaving Damon alone with his quickly rising rage.
Fucking Stefan.
Spoiling his fun even when he didn't know what kind of fun Damon was trying to have.
He narrowed his eyes as he listened for his baby brother, honing in on his location and taking off.
*TVDM*
Jeremy blinked in surprise, bringing his hand up to his face as he twisted it this way and that. He felt nothing wrong at all.
"That's impossible," he hadn't realised he'd said it out loud until he was clutching his forehead in agony. "What the fuck?!"
"I flicked you because, again, rude," Lia tugged the ends of her hair, twirling and enjoying the way the skirt flared out. "It's entirely possible. Don't discredit my efforts. Now!" Lia clapped and was in front of the teen in the same second, staring deeply into his eyes while her own brightened as if lit from within. "You will not remember this encounter. You fought Tyler, you almost cut Stefan with broken glass, you stormed away from Elena angrily. You will now go straight home."
Jeremy blinked, his eyes flashing green before he huffed angrily, stomping in the direction of home without a backwards glance.
Lia blinked. She blinked again. Her whole body started to shake as her excitement swelled to ridiculous proportions.
With shaking fingers, she quickly pulled out her phone, finding Slater and hitting call.
"Li-"
"I'M A FREAKING GENIUS!" she cackled, twirling on the spot. "God! This is why I get paid the big bucks!"
"What?"
"It worked, Slater! I'm a compelling God!"
"You- ohmygod, LIA! You weren't supposed to transfigure yourself without me there! What if something went wrong?! What did you end up doing differently? I told you that if you used that method, you'd lose your connection to the elements! Did you at least tell Zoey? Did he help you?"
Lia scoffed. "Of course, I didn't! He would have just worr- Zoey? Oh, boy, you're going to have your spleen ripped out! I didn't change anything but I figured the comet would help, being a celestial event and adding to my power and the connection I have to this universe and all."
"I'm not exactly going to use his name when there's someone around that could hear it, if they haven't already! Don't distract me! That you did was too risky, Lia!" Lia grimaced at his scolding tone. "I can't believe you would just jump in like that!" a loud sigh dragged on the other side of the line before Slater hesitantly asked, "so, what tests have you done?"
Lia grinned. "The only ability I've yet to test is my voice and what affects it has, if any. If my research continues to be proven correct, it will just be another pretty voice, no mystical properties what-so-ever."
"God, you took a leap of faith and it paid off this time, but Lia. Do not do it again. What if you'd died? What do you think Zoey would do to you if you let anything happen to you that could have been avoided?!"
"Oh, darling," Lia sighed fondly. "I was never in any danger of dying. That is the one truth that can never be tampered with. I'm sure if I tried hard enough, I could take away ever ability I have, but it is a siren's curse to swim the seas for eternity. It was a whole thing with the mother of our race being killed because of reasons and our father panicking. He is a God and by that point he'd only sired offspring with other immortals. He connected us to the water. Literally, as long as there is a drop of water on this planet, I will live, and it's a connection that cannot be broken by anything."
"Oh, my- dude! You've totally been holding out on me! When I get back, you better sit down and explain everything!"
Lia blinked, feeling the air shift. "I'll pencil you in. Anyway, I'm heading back to people. Just thought I'd let you know the sitch. I'll talk to you tomorrow to go over everything more thoroughly."
"Yeah, cool. I expect everysingledetail."
"Nothing less for my one and only Ravenclaw," Lia cooed before hanging up and turning to face a bloody Salvatore. She offered an exasperated sigh. "Who taught you table manners?"
Damon gave a bloody grin, both at her blasé attitude and the confirmation that she knew exactly what he was. "I'm afraid I had to teach myself."
"That explains so much," she muttered, shaking her head as she started in the direction of Caroline. "I suppose there'll be no game tonight."
Damon offered a smile full of false sympathy paired with a 'what-can-you-do' shrug. "It might be a little hard to focus on the game, what, with the coach's dead body lying outside the locker room," he clucked his tongue with a mockingly sympathetic face. "Some poor footballer is going to find themselves a little traumatised after tonight."
Lia paused, turning to face Damon fully as her jaw dropped. "Get out of town," she breathed, looking at Damon with an intensity that surprised the vampire. "You ate Tanner?"
"Oh, dear. He wasn't your favourite teacher, was he?"
Lia surprised him again by gifting him a genuine smile, brimming with glee and so bright it made the moon look like a busted bulb in a street light. "I would kiss you right now if you weren't such a monumental dick that deserved to have his lungs ripped from his asshole and his kidneys stuffed in his empty eye sockets!" she gushed, bouncing on her toes and squealing with glee. "Oh! I have to tell Care the great news!" she took off at a sprint, leaving Damon too shocked to do anything other than stare after her.
What the fuck had he ever done to her?
*TVDM*
Bonnie had been jittery all night, a feeling she chalked up to first game of the season nerves. Her anxiety had climbed at the serious expression on Elena's face when she questioned her about what she'd sensed from Stefan.
Now, as she watched Tanner's body be wheeled into the back of a van, looking at the numbers that surrounded the area, she realised that she needed to talk to her Grams. Not only that, but Lia was right. Her apprehension had, had nothing to do with tonight's game and everything to do with whatever supernatural power was trying to tell her that someone was going to die.
Sitting in the bleachers, Caroline tried to process her feelings and thoughts. Tanner was dead. 'Animal attack,' her ass. She couldn't figure out what she was feeling, especially when she tried to compare it to what she should be feeling. He was a human being, he'd had a life, he was a jerk but he didn't deserve to die.
But he didn't just die; he'd been eaten. Vampires were something she'd come to terms with, and Tina's situation was something that she'd processed and been fine with, but she was still alive! Caroline felt alarmingly little in the wake of someone she knew dying because of something she associated herself with.
"Caroline!"
The blonde jumped, head turning to see Lia, her little mermaid, skipping toward her. She gracefully fell next to her on the bench, wrapping her arms around one of Care's.
"Damon nom nommed on Tanner," Lia whispered, amusement and excitement coating her words. "I hope our next history teacher isn't such a dick."
"So, that's it?" Caroline heard herself say. "We gloss over the fact that a person died just because we didn't like him?"
Lia pulled back, confused. "Humans die all the time. Every human will die eventually. I'm not going to be sad over one I don't like."
Caroline sat silently, watching as other students mill around, some climbing into their cars, others climbing into their friends, some waiting for their parents. She felt disconnected, like she was looking at a catalogue, or a menu. They were all oblivious, all potential victims of animals and vampires and accidents and so many other things because they were mortal.
Caroline let her arm slip out of Lia's as she stood, heading straight for her car. The pair climbed in and sat in silence, Caroline lost in her inner turmoil and Lia unsure about what she could do to help her friend. After what seemed like an age, the drive was over and they were in front of Lia's house. Caroline kept the car running as she finally turned to face the confused and concerned mermaid.
"I can't stay tonight."
Lia's eyes couldn't hide her confused hurt but she still smiled at the blonde, bidding her a good night. She didn't head inside until Caroline's car has disappeared from sight.
Frowning, Lia went straight to Enzo. He was in his bedroom, reading in bed. He took one look at her face, set his book down and opened his arms. She blurred into them.
They said nothing for at least an hour, just soaking in the comfort each provided. Finally, Lia admitted her confusion and told her brother what had happened.
"You did nothing wrong, angel," Enzo cooed, holding her tighter as he glared at the wall across from him. "Caroline has just come into the realisation that we are not human." Enzo frowned, looking down at the top of his songbird's head. "Did she feel angry or confused?"
Lia ducked slightly before tilting her head to look at her brother. He immediately honed in on her sheepish expression. "I, uh. I kind of can't tell anymore."
Enzo blinked. Lia sucked her lips between her teeth. Enzo blinked again.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Yeah…" Lia spilled the beans, letting him know about the research she'd been doing and her conclusion and the extremely impulsive decision to go ahead without any kind of backup.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me," Enzo was shocked. He knew better than to be hurt, his little angel was an impulsive sort, but to know what could have happened… he needed to call Slater.
"I still can't believe it worked," she admitted before grinning. "Awesome, right?"
He chuckled and rolled his eyes, tucking her head under his chin as she started singing. Enzo was pleasantly surprised that the effect she had. He hadn't noticed before, but whenever she used to sing, there was always an incessant tugging coming from deep within. Now that it's gone, he can actually tell that his soul isn't trying to attach itself to the melody. He said as much, causing Lia's eyes to widen in shock.
"Remember to explain it all to Slater, too," she rolled her eyes. "He's documenting the entire process."
"Such a Ravenclaw," Enzo clucked his tongue, making Lia laugh.
She started her song again and all too soon Enzo surrendered to slumber.