y'all are gonna hate me. Damon's gotta work for his redemption, but he'll get there don't y'all worry.
10
The Haunting of Bonnie Bennett
Clara pulled on a black Bon Jovi shirt as she finished getting ready for the day. She felt drained, though that had more to do with the fact that she had gotten in late last night after a fun road trip with Lexi. Oh, she never thought that she'd be able to go to a concert again in her life. She'd learned a lot from Lexi, about Stefan and how she thought her friend was making a mistake in allowing history to repeat itself. Yet, she still respected his right to make his own choices. She yawned in thought, and exited her room while pulling on a heavy-duty jacket. Elena had gotten a ride with Caroline that morning and so, she didn't have to deal with the judgment from the twin of doom.
"Morning, thanks for tying to be quiet when coming back in last night," Jenna greeted as she came down the stairs, "must've been one hell of a time."
"Bon Jovi in concert was awesome," Clara admitted, "I'm glad she invited me along, too bad we didn't get Stefan to join."
"Lexi is his best friend?" Jenna asked as she got the whole story.
"Yep," Clara confirmed as she poured herself a travel mug of coffee, "and a killer singer."
"I'm glad you had fun, and thanks for the heads up," Jenna said as she handed her some toast, "don't let your grades slip, or else I'm revoking your road trip privileges."
"I won't, see you later, Aunt Jenna," Clara called as she grabbed her bag and headed out to her car.
A loud caw got her attention and she looked at the roof to see a crow. She shook her head at that and unlocked the door. She could still smell the faint scent of cigarettes from when she dropped Lexi off at her boyfriends. The smell had sunk into their clothes during the concert, so there wasn't much they could do about that. She was only glad that a quick wash for her shirt was enough to rid it of the smell. She waited until the crow was off her car to start it.
"You look like crap," Caroline said as she greeted the slightly taller gilbert girl.
"A bad night's sleep will do that to you," Clara shrugged before letting out another yawn, "I might just sleep through history."
"The new teacher is in, so that might not work," Caroline informed her.
"Any information on him yet?" Clara asked with a slight smile.
"Just that he has a dead wife, and that he's quite attractive," Caroline answered, "But he's way too old for me."
"If he ever tried to put the moves on, let me know," Clara said as she held up her fist with a serious expression.
"I will," Caroline laughed, before a frown appeared on her face, "what did you say to get Damon to apologize to me?"
"Wait, he apologised?" Clara asked in confusion.
"Yeah, I didn't accept his apology, but it was strange to hear him admit that he'd done something wrong," Caroline admitted.
"Good, you didn't have to accept his apology you had every right to decline it," Clara nodded, "you deserve more, Caroline. You deserve a guy that treats you like you hung the stars and moon."
"Look at you showing a hidden romantic side," Bonnie teased as she walked up to the conversation before shaking her head, "Damon might've apologized due to Clara threatening him all the time."
"If it works," Clara shrugged, "I guess he fears these tiny hands."
She held up her hands and Caroline laughed at the sight of her fingers poking out from the sleeves of her jacket. Bonnie knew that she was putting up a front to distract Caroline from feeling guilt about not accepting the apology. It was in her right to decline it, and she would fight for her to keep that right. She could start to cut Damon a little bit of slack, but not much. He still had a lot to do if he wanted to win her over as a possible ally. He didn't do friends; she knew his type. Friends created lose ends, and you couldn't have that as a vampire. Something about that caused a slight churning sensation in her stomach. She didn't like that feeling and chose to ignore it. She was a teenager; she could do that again.
"All right, so we have a new teacher who might be a possible tilf," Clara stated, "should we try hooking him up with Jenna?"
"Why?" Bonnie asked.
"Just someone to scare away Logan Scumfell if he tried to come crawling back," Clara answered, and the other two girls nodded their understanding of that.
They somehow got Jeremy involved, seeing as he didn't like Logan either it was a given. So, there were four people involved with plan Get Jenna a good Boyfriend. They didn't invite Elena, because she was too wrapped up in her own problems involving her relationship. Honestly, Clara didn't know what Stefan saw in her sister. According to Lexi, he said she was selfless and kind, but all she'd seen so far was contrary to those claims. She'd never once been selfless around her, and she wondered if she just wasn't around to see those moments. She shook her head and waved to her friends before heading to her first class.
Her phone kept vibrating in her pocket. She waited until the teacher turned around to see who was texting her. She stared at the contact name. Damon. How did Damon of all people get her number? She was tempted to block him in retaliation for going through her things. Until he sent her a message saying he only put his number in her phone, nothing more. She paused at that. She didn't like the idea that he could tell what she was thinking. She narrowed her eyes slightly when her cheeks grew a tad warm. No, she would not allow his "charm" to win her over. It didn't matter if he apologised to Caroline, he shouldn't have done what he did. Just what did he want? Well, according to his texts, he wanted a truce. A do-over so to speak. She wouldn't make it easy for him. She wanted his word that he wouldn't sexually prey on women anymore. Catch, feed, erase, and release. That's what she wanted promised to her. She put her phone away when the bell rang and knew he'd contemplate his next move. It gave her time to do the same.
"You need to get going, you have several cases," Michael's voice hissed in the back of her mind.
She'd go during thanksgiving break and get all her cases out of the way. The first would be Texas, and then she could finish up in New York. That plan didn't seem to sit well with Michael, and she froze when she started to cramp up. She was relieved that she was next to the closest bathroom and wore a lot of black.
"Damned Angels and their ability to mess with the human body," She grumbled under her breath as she came out of the bathroom.
She hurried to her next class, shared with the lovely Caroline, and sat down. She was folded over on the desk in front of her, art was an easy period one she enjoyed. The teacher was an old lady who let them do whatever as long as they didn't disrupt the nearby classes, and turned something in at the end of the week. One of her monster drawings had made it up on the wall next to Jeremy's. Ah, she was proud of her brother.
"You okay?" Caroline asked.
"I feel like Mike Tyson is using my ovaries as punching bags," Was her muffled reply.
Caroline stifled a snort and watched as Clara turned to look at her. Her face was paler than usual, and she seemed to be in a lot of pain. She never used to get it that bad. She dug around in her purse and passed her friend two tablet of Motrin. The grateful expression sent towards her was so genuine that she was taken aback. When was the last time that someone was that grateful to her? It sure wasn't Elena, she knew that much.
"I appreciate you, Care," Clara informed her, "I'll take these during lunch, that way I don't get sick on you."
"Not one for a free day from school?" Caroline teased, as she shook her depressing thoughts from her head.
"I like having road trip privileges," Clara quietly answered, "I need to take one to Georgia soon, and then Texas. I have so much I need to do, but I also wanna make Jenna proud, ugh so confusing..Sorry for dumping you on that, you have enough on your plate."
Caroline understood that feeling. The sound of a phone vibrating got her attention and Clara dug her flip phone from out of her pocket and flipped it open. She needed to update her phone; it was sad to see the Nokia phone. Clara was looking at something in genuine surprise before it quickly faded from her face.
Damon agreed to her terms. Just what scared him into submission? The fact that she's friends with Lucifer or that there's more to his little world than he originally believed? Somehow she felt bad for thinking that. It was cruel, she could remember her first hunt that made everything truly real to her. Colorado, a kappa of all things was bothering people. It wasn't fun being dragged underwater. It was a negative ten out of ten, she would not recommend. She gave him a thank you text before sending a message to Lexi about the situation. Even she was wondering what was going through his mind, and if he'd be able to keep up his end of the bargain.
"So, what art pieces do we do today?" Clara asked and Caroline gave her a smirk.
"Portraits," Caroline answered, "I draw you and you draw me."
"All right, but he warned my people usually look a lil funky," Clara teased.
They took out some clean paper and pencils and started the rough sketch of the other. They wouldn't show their finished products until it was time to turn it in. Class went by too fast in their opinion and soon it was time for them to part ways. Clara to history and Caroline to English.
"Good Morning, everyone," A man greeted as Clara entered the class and quickly took her seat next to Bonnie, "alrighty."
"He's definitely a tilf, think he's Jenna's type?" Bonnie asked.
"Oh yeah, she'll go nuts for him," Clara said with a nod before noticing something, "you feeling okay?"
"Just low energy from the bad dreams that Emily keeps giving me," Bonnie answered, "I can handle it."
"I'd offer to do an exorcism, but I don't know if that would cause a conflicting energy on the magic that might be in the necklace," Clara said, "I've got your back though, I'll gladly throw hands at a ghost for you."
Bonnie didn't doubt that. It was a little scary how ready she was for a fight that might not happen. If it did, she would hope that the Hunter would take it easy on her ancestor. She felt that she was a no prisoners type of hunter. Clara gave her a small smile and Bonnie saw some of her feelings towards her job. She may be good at it, but she hated it. Clara turned towards the teacher and watched as he wrote his name down on the board.
"Alaric Saltzman, it's a mouthful, I know," The teacher informed them as he cracked a smile, "Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Saltzman is of German origins. My family emigrated here in 1755 to Texas. I, however, was born and raised in Boston."
Clara tilted her head to the side in thought. There was something about the ring he was wearing. It was large and gaudy. It reminded her of the daylight rings that Stefan and Damon had. Her fingers twitched when she had the strange feeling to inform the brothers about it. It was ludicrous, if she didn't know what it could do then why would she text someone that might lash out without thinking. Damon was a someone who had a problem with doing that.
"Now the name Alaric belongs to a very dead great-grandfather I will never be able to thank enough," Alaric continued, "You'll probably want to pronounce "Ala-ric" but it's "Ah-la-ric," okay? So, you can call me Rick. I'm your new history teacher."
"And Jenna's new boyfriend," Clara muttered to herself.
Bonnie raised a brow at that and shook her head. Yeah, the four of them could get the two of them together. Clara was good at moving people around and Caroline could put ideas into anyone's head if she put her mind to it. Those two would make a terrifying team. Alaric went over the lesson for the day, more history about Mystic Falls itself than anything else. With all the founder's events on the horizon it made sense. The bell rang and Alaric let them leave as soon as it did.
"Clara Gilbert, can you stay behind?" Alaric asked.
"Go on, I'll see you guys later," Clara smiled at Bonnie and grimaced at Elena.
Bonnie nodded and quickly ushered Elena out of the classroom as Clara walked up to the new history teacher. She caught sight of the ring again. It was even bigger up close. It also looked awfully familiar. If she could memorize it's look, then she could possibly do a search for it online. She knew of a few hunters only sites that might have some information.
"What did you need me for?" She asked in a pleasant tone.
"You and your little brother made it onto the last teacher's bad side," Alaric said as he brought out two folders and slapped them onto the table, "granted, your brothers is bigger than yours."
"We're talking about the same man who belittled his students and tried to make my sister feel guilty about grieving over our parents," Clara said without any emotion, "I'm sorry if it seems like I don't care what he thought about me, but I really don't."
"Smart kid," He mumbled before speaking up with a pleasant tone, "I heard a rumor that you were looking into the history of Mystic Falls."
"More like history in General," She Said in a calm tone, "I'm a huge fan of true crimes and unsolved cases are a particular interest of mine."
Alaric was quiet for a few seconds and she smiled up at him with all the pleasantry she could muster. She knew that if Jeremy or Damon could see it, they'd be nervous around her. She didn't need someone sniffing around her territory. He acted like the wannabe vampire hunters that already resided in Mystic Falls, they didn't need another one.
"What got you into them?" He asked, trying to make conversation.
"Oh, midnight documentaries while studying," She answered with a shrug, "I'm sorry, but is there something you need? Because I need to find my brother and head to the gym with him."
"I was planning on giving you and your brother some extra credit," He informed her, "find a topic and write on it for me, anything that deals with history is fine."
"Of course, may I leave now?" She asked, her pleasant smile back in place.
"Have a nice day, Miss Gilbert." Alaric excused her as Jeremy walked in, "I'll send your brother out in a few minutes."
Clara nodded her understanding and went to wait outside. Her phone was out, and she was quietly texting back and forth with Lexi and Damon. The fact that Damon responded was something, but what was even nicer was learning about Lexi's boyfriend. She had taken a picture of him and sent it to her. They were cute together, and obviously incredibly happy. Drinks sat between the two. It was an anniversary picture, judging by the clothing. She apologized to Lexi and wished her a happy night before asking sending Damon random riddles. She couldn't tell if he was annoyed with her or amused by her little riddler moment. She put her phone away when Jeremy came out of the class with a frown on his face. They walked to her car and he waited until they were inside it to say anything.
"Do you think he's a hunter?" Jeremy asked.
"No, he seems too much like the vampire hunters here in town," Clara answered as she began to drive them to the gym, "too focused on whether or not the vampire is a danger, or if they're killing people. They seem to forget that other supernatural creatures exist and one day, they'll run across one and won't survive it."
"Like what?" He asked.
"Wendigo is a good example, trespass on certain native lands and you'll run into one," She stated, "fire will take them out, and certain symbols will protect you from them, but if you don't know that you become dinner."
Jeremy looked a little green at the thought but nodded his understanding. Clara opened their locker and they put their jackets and backpacks inside. He went and borrowed the hand wraps before they hurried to the mats. He was taught how to use his knees and elbows while fighting and she ran through the positions with him, showing him how to fix his balance while doing so. When they finally made it to the fighting portion, he found himself acquainted with the mat repeatedly. She would always give him time to get up on his own and retaliate before taking him down. He paused once and waited to see what she would do.
She stood there, her shoulders relaxed and her eyes watching him intently. He went to elbow her in the face, and she used his own momentum against him. He got up again and this time he landed a hit. He attacked her leg and got her calf, it didn't bring her down, but she gave him a small smile. She seemed proud of him. They went longer than usual. He felt his body aching and he rolled his shoulders to try and alleviate the burn. They split up, he was going to have dinner with their aunt while the girls did their nails and hung out.
It didn't take long for Clara to get home. She made sure to take a shower first before going down the stairs to make something for them all to eat. Caroline was the first to show up and she smiled as she held up a pack of sodas. So far, they had everything planned. She sat down at the dinner table and looked at some of the food that Clara had made. It was all snack food. She grabbed a small handful of the homemade popcorn and ate some of it.
"I'm home," Elena called as she entered with Bonnie, "sorry we took so long."
"It's not a big deal," Clara stated, "it gave me a lot of time to make food."
"Smells great," Bonnie complimented as she sat at the dinning table as well, "what's your plan for dinner?"
"I was thinking of just the snack food," Clara shrugged, "it should be plenty, right?"
"Yeah," Bonnie nodded and grabbed some of the popcorn.
"What happened to your necklace?" Caroline asked as she noticed the chain that was missing.
"I threw it away," Bonnie answered with an uncomfortable expression on her face, "it kept giving me nightmares, I had to get rid of it."
"How can a necklace give you nightmares?" Caroline asked with a confused look as she opened a can of soda.
"Never mind," Bonnie muttered, "are we doing manicures or what?"
"I feel bad because my nails go through hell," Clara stated as she grabbed a soda herself.
"Who has their kit?" Caroline asked.
"Mines in my bag," Bonnie answered.
Caroline got up and went to grab Bonnie's kit. It should be easy to find, her kit was a cream colour and the oldest one. They'd been doing these girls nights for years, and Bonnie was the first to buy a manicure kit, and then Elena. Clara was the only one that had yet to buy one. She needed to bring her along the next time she visited a beauty store. They needed to make her girly again, though the confident bad ass girl was always appreciated to see.
"So, what's been going on with you and Damon?" Bonnie asked Clara and the reaction was instantaneous, soda went down the wrong pipe and she started coughing.
"Nothing, nothing is going on," Clara denied, "I'm just waiting for Caroline to beat the crap out of him, she deserves it with the amount of crap he put her through."
"He does seem nicer to you than anyone else," Elena admitted, "what did you so to him?"
"I don't take his shit laying down?" Clara asked with a frown as she became increasingly uncomfortable, "I guess I garnered his respect that way, I don't know."
"Hey, let's back off of her for now," Bonnie said, trying to defuse the situation seeing just how uncomfortable her best friend was.
"I thought you said you threw your necklace away?" Caroline said as she came back into the room with both the kit and necklace in her hand.
"How?" Bonnie asked with a frown before noticing the look of hurt on Caroline's face, "I'm not lying to you, Caroline. I swear."
"It's true, I watched her throw it into a field," Elena backed up Bonnie.
"Then explain it," Caroline exclaimed as the hurt turned into frustration.
"Emily brought it back to Bonnie," Clara said with a slight shrug as she picked up another piece of the snack food she made, apple slices of all things.
"Who's Emily?" Caroline asked.
"The ghost attached to the necklace, one of my ancestors," Bonnie explained.
"Oh, the ghost has a name now?" Caroline mocked, but it was easy to see that she was hurt she was out of the loop.
"Caroline, please," Elena quietly begged.
"I wonder why she won't leave me alone," Bonnie quietly said to Clara.
"She has a message, or left over business that's keeping her here," Clara informed her, "whatever it is, she's getting more powerful if she was able to get the necklace all the way here."
"Why am I not a part of this conversation?" Caroline asked as she looked between the three, lYou guys do this to me all the time."
"That's not true," Elena immediately denied.
"It kind of is," Clara muttered, getting an elbow to the side from her twin.
Elena winced as she rubbed her elbow. Her sister was built like a rock and seemed a little amused that she had gotten hurt elbowing her. She reached for another apple slice and bit into it. Elena didn't really trust her sister at the moment, something was off there. Where did she learn anything about spirits?
"It is, I can't talk to you," Bonnie informed Caroline bringing her attention back to the problem at hand, "you don't listen."
"That's not true," Caroline denied.
"I'm a witch, and Clara's a hunter of the supernatural," Bonnie said.
"We al knew you were a witch, but a hunters new," Caroline said, slightly mocking them because she was internally freaking out.
"Hunter of the supernatural? What is Bonnie talking about?" Elena turned on her sister.
"It's as she said, I hunt the supernatural," Clara said with a raised brow, though she was a bit annoyed at Bonnie for spilling her secret she understood the need to be unified against the naysayers, "don't worry I'm not going after you know who."
"I'm trying to tell you something and you don't even hear it," Bonnie said in a frustrated tone as Elena glared at her sister.
The arguing continued, though Clara was just sitting there looking at her can of soda. She had the blank expression on her face as Elena tried to get her to talk more about "hunting". Elena didn't believe her sister, not one bit. Bonnie sent her best friend a look of apology before being brought back into the argument with Caroline. Hey, Clara had her back. It wasn't like she gave any key information away. Just her occupation. Elena kept trying to get her to open up and she was slowly growing annoyed. Her head bag an to hurt and her ears started ringing. She was losing her hold on her temper. The sound of glass breaking got her attention and she relished in the silence that fell upon the room. She could feel the wetness going down her face from her nose.
She got lucky that she didn't hurt anyone from the temporary loss of control. She brought a hand up and gently pinched her nose to try and stop the bleeding. Caroline seemed freaked out by the blood and frantically went into the kitchen to grab some towels.
"Oh my god," Elena said, "are you okay?"
"It's just a bloody nose," Clara said with a calming tone, "give me a few minutes and I'll be fine."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Bonnie quietly asked as Caroline came back with paper towels and handed them to Clara.
"Just a small headache, I'll be fine," Clara said with a tired smile, "we still need to watch some scary movies, or Rom-coms."
"Oh, we can watch the Notebook," Caroline said, as she tried to break the awkward tension between everyone, "Bonnie, I'm sorry. You know me, I don't believe in the supernatural, if you and Clara do then I'm in."
"Thanks Care," Bonnie said with a small smile.
"Right, now that we've moved past the drama and spontaneous bloody nose," Caroline said, teasing Clara who gave her a smile at that, "why don't we do a séance?"
"That might not be a good idea," Bonnie said and Clara tilted her head side of side in thought.
"Depending on what level of the spiritual plane Emily's on, I'm inclined to agree with a Bonnie on this," Clara quietly said with an apologetic smile.
"C'mon, Emily has some serious explaining to do," Caroline said, a slight pout on her face.
They somehow found themselves in Elena's room because Clara basically shot them down when they asked to use hers. She didn't want to invoke any residual spells on her Grimoire or the seals that she wrote on some of the pages. A spirit could use those and grow stronger, though that's not what she told them. She basically said that she hadn't cleaned up in there and it was messy. Clara was stuck on candle lighting duty and gently put them in the pattern of a pentagram. She even laid salt down the perimeter of the candles to try and make sure that whatever they summoned didn't come through and hurt anyone.
"Should I be worried that you know how to make a pentagram out of candles?" Elena questioned as they all sat down around the circle.
"It's a star inside of a circle and doesn't have the satanic meaning that you seem to think it does," Clara said, "think ancient Babylonian sister, its to protect against evil."
Elena held her hands up at that and Caroline wanted to ask if that was why she had it tattooed on her shoulder. She looked at the tension between the two sisters and wisely backed off. She didn't want to be the main reason why Elena and Clara finally ended up at odds with one another. It was coming, she could tell that much. She refused to be the reason behind it. She plopped down on the ground between them and grabbed their hands.
"Since the spirit is following Bonnie, and is one of her ancestors she'll respond to you if you call to her," Clara informed Bonnie as Bonnie sat down next to her and linked her hands with the two Gilbert's.
"All right, Let's concentrate and close our eyes," Caroline said and everyone did as she said, "we're ready for you Bonnie, call her."
"Emily, you there?" Bonnie asked.
"Really? "Emily, you there?"," Caroline asked, half mocking and half amused, "that's all you got?"
"Fine, Geez," Bonnie muttered sending her a half glare, she could take the ribbing, "Emily, I call on you. I know you have a message. I'm here to listen."
Clara felt it before the candles burned brighter and stronger. A cold chill crept across her skin like spiderwebs. She opened her eyes and paused upon seeing a woman standing behind Bonnie. They looked alike. She blinked, that had to be Emily. She noticed the hoop skirt and it clicked in her mind. That's who she saw at the party? Emily had already began to search for Bonnie. Emily seemed to notice that she could be seen and lifted a finger up to her lips. Clara frowned slightly. What was Emily doing?
"Did that just..." Elena trailed off.
"Yeah, it just happened," Caroline confirmed as she looked over at Clara.
"It's just the air conditioning," Bonnie explained, though she was starting to feel unsure of that.
"Ask her for a sign," Clara quietly said, "she'll respond to you and no one else."
"Emily, if you're among us, show us another sign," Bonnie requested.
Emily tilted her head and looked around the room. She smiled as a thought came to her. She moved to the window and turned to them again. It was like she was waiting for something.
"See? It's not working," Bonnie said with slight relief.
Emily waved her hand and the windows burst open, bringing in cold gusts of air. Bonnie stood up to her feet and tossed the necklace down into the candles, which went out at the next gust of wind. Clara winced when her hair whipped her face and she pulled some strands form her mouth. They should be fine, unless. She inwardly cursed and went to fix the salt line when Emily appeared in front of her. She was tempted to use her abilities when the expression on her face stopped her. Emily looked scared, and determined. This wasn't a vengeful spirit.
"Someone get the light," Bonnie said as she took deep breaths to calm down.
"Hold on," Elena said as she moved towards a wall and flipped a switch, "got it."
"The necklaces it's gone," Bonnie said as she noticed the missing jewelry.
"Okay, the fund over, Caroline, Clara," Elena sighed and she got an insulted looked from her sister, "you made a point, now give it back."
"What? We didn't take it," Caroline defended and Clara looked around the room to try and pinpoint Emily.
Oh, Emily did not like Elena. The slight crinkle of her nose and downwards tilt of her mouth said it all. Did…did Emily not like Katherine as well? She seemed fine with Clara, and Clara resembled the vampire more. Well, apparently in personality more than physically. A thump came from down stairs and the other two went to investigate.
"Bon?" Clara asked as Bonnie slowly moved towards the bathroom.
The moment she picked up what she saw the doors slammed shut on her. Bonnie's scream kicked Clara into action and her first thought was to try the door. She rammed her shoulder into it, of she broke it then she'd pay for a new one with the last check from the case in New York. She could hear the wood screaming in protest at her bashing of it, but it wasn't budging.
"Bonnie, stand back from the door!" Clara called and she heard a sniffle move away from the door as she brought her foot up and slammed it into the wood.
The door started to fall from its hinges and she could see Bonnie standing at the sink. She convulsed for a few seconds before calming down. Her posture and composure informed Clara that it wasn't her best friend, but Emily. Emily turned towards her and gently nodded her head as the doors swung open.
"Bonnie, you okay?" Elena asked.
"I'm fine," Emily answered, her voice sounded unnatural coming from Bonnie.
"Unbelievable, you were totally faking it," Caroline said as she ran a hand through her hairs
"Caroline, come in," Elena muttered as she eyed Emily.
"No! You scared the hell out of me!" Caroline exclaimed, "Clara even went all Jack Nicholson on the bathroom door."
"I can fix it," Clara stated as she watched Emily slowly leave the bathroom.
"I must go," Emily informed them as she headed down the stairs, moving faster than she previously had been.
Clara didn't even think, but hurried after her. She wasn't going to let her possessed friend. Elena followed, but not as fast. She was trying to piece everything together. Caroline was talking in the background, distracting Elena.
"Thank you for having me," Emily said, "I'll take it from here."
"Where are you going?" Elena asked as Emily reached the front door.
"Back to where it all began," Emily answered before turning towards Clara, "I won't let him have it, it must be destroyed."
"What?" She quietly muttered as she headed out the door with Emily.
The door slammed behind her and Emily walked away from the house with a brisk pace. She didn't know what was going on, really there was a lot about this town she didn't get. It was a hotbed fit activity. Shifters walked around, but they didn't act like regular shifters. The vampires were a given, and she had seen one or two quarter angels and nephilims as well. It didn't make any sense. She ignored those thoughts and walked after Emily. They went into the woods and she felt nervous as they neared the ruins of an old church. There was something wrong with the church.
"What are you planning, Emily?" Clara quietly asked.
"Please, stay there and be quiet," Emily politely requested before snapping her fingers.
Clara moved back as the roots of trees spring out from the ground and blocked her way towards her possessed best friend. She was starting to grow even more uneasy. She heard footsteps coming towards the area and she took Emily's distracted state to move away from the bars crafted from roots.
"Hello, Emily," Damon's voice caused her to pause and she crinkled her nose, "you look different."
"I won't let you do it," Emily informed him as she continued her spell prep.
Of course, it just had to be something caused by Damon. Clara pinched the bridge of her nose as she slipped through a small crack between the roots and the trees. She scratched up her arms a bit, but those quickly healed.
"We had a deal," Damon said as he frowned.
"Things are different now," Emily informed him, "I need to protect my family."
"I protected your family," Damon stated, "you owe me."
"I know, I'm sorry," Emily admitted.
Damon didn't even get to saw anything else when Emily used her magic to throw him against a tree. He was impaled by a branch and he wheezed in slight pain. Clara was torn at helping him or keeping an eye on Bonnie. Bonnie wasn't going to go anywhere, and she wanted a promise from Damon to not hurt her.
"Hello," She greeted Damon as she stood on a nearby stump to be eye level to him.
"Not you," He groaned.
"Hey, I have no problem letting you down as long as you promise not to hurt my best friend," Clara I formed him with a frown, "she's an unwilling participant in this."
"No promises," He said and he frowned at the expression on her face.
"Fine, but I will stop you if you attack her," Clara informed him, "put your arms out, I need to be able to wrap mine around your torso."
He did as instructed and she wrapped her arms around his torso and pulled him off the branch. Her grey shirt was slowly being stained by his blood as she took on his full weight. Clara found that he was similar to dead weight as she finally got him off the branch. He dropped to his knees and she made a face at the arm around her shoulders.
"This is why I feed on people," Damon muttered and Clara let out a sound of disbelief.
"Remind me to take you on one of my hunts," She said as she put a hand on his back, "you get thrown around like that all the time."
"Not all of like to be manhandled by spirits," He sneered and she slowly pulled away from him.
She stood by his side by her expression was unreadable as she watched Emily. Maybe she was petty, but whatever Emily was doing had to be the right thing. Consequences of breaking a deal be damned. She just couldn't figure out what Damon had negotiated with the witch.
"Stefan," Emily greeted the younger Salvatore in a kinder tone.
Clara almost felt bad for Damon. Even a ghost was happier to see his brother over him. Did he go around pissing everyone off? Or was this just a new thing he was doing? She'd ask, but didn't want the argument she was sure would come with those questions.
"Hello, Emily," Stefan greeted.
"These people don't deserve this," Emily said, more to Damon than Stefan, "they should never know such evil. You of all people would know that, right Misa Clara."
"Depends on the evil you're referring to," Clara said as she felt her body tense at the sudden fight or flight sensation that rose in her, "just what did you do?"
"Emily. I swear to God, I'll make you regret this," Damon said as he slowly got to his feet.
"Damon, please the supernatural are talking," Clara quietly said and he shot her a glare as she turned back to Emily, "please, continue."
"To save her, I had to save them," Emily said.
"Oh," Clara said before it fully sunk in, "OH, with one comes all."
"A key rule to magic," Emily nodded.
"I don't care about them," Damon said as he buttered into what was becoming a strange conversation, "I just want Katherine."
Clara tried to pinpoint why that declaration bothered her. They weren't friends or anything, the time they spent in the library didn't count as a hang out session. He was rude to her friends and her. Still, he had his moments of clarity where he was bearable. She ignored those thoughts and kept an eye on him in case he charged at Emily. She was using Bonnie as a meat suit and she wasn't about to let her friend get hurt.
"I knew I shouldn't have believed a single word that comes out of your mouth," Stefan scoffed, "This isn't about love, is it? This is about revenge."
"The two aren't mutually exclusive," Damon said and Clara was inclined to agree.
"Damon, you can't do this," Stefan said.
"Why not? They killed twenty-seven people, and they called it a war battle," Damon argued, "They deserve whatever they get."
"Twenty-seven vampires, Damon," Stefan argued back as Emily continued to set up her spell, activating a circle of fire, "They were vampires. You can't just bring them back."
"This town deserves this," Damon said.
"No the fuck it doesn't," Clara exclaimed and that got his attention, "these are all innocent people who never did a damn thing. If it was a hundred and fourth-five years ago I'd be for this, but not in the present day."
"That's concerning that you'd be okay with revenge," Elena pointed out and she got a dirty look from her sister.
"You reap what you sow," Clara said in a strained tone, as she turned back to Damon, "you can't just go around harming innocent people because of something their ancestors did."
"There is nothing innocent about these people," Damon argued, "you act like it wouldn't happen again. What about people like you? Those that hunt the supernatural! Oh, have you still not told sister dearest that her lovely twin is actually the combination of two people? With memories of both?"
"Clara? What is he talking about?" Elena questioned.
"They'd burn you and your little witchy best friend over there if they found out," Damon continued, oblivious to the wide-eyed look he was getting from Clara, "trust me."
"Things are different now," Emily informed him.
"Don't do this," Damon almost pleaded.
"I refuse to free them, I can't do it," Emily refused and she began her chant.
"No! No, please," Damon begged.
Clara stared at him, and her expression was cold. There wasn't an ounce of sympathy. The spell was finished and she could feel the flames die down. Bonnie was released and it took one hint of Damon letting his temper surface in the form of veins around his eyes for the wind to be knocked from his lungs and pain to explode in his body. Clara didn't even look at her friend and sister.
"Elena, take Bonnie out of here and explain everything to her," Clara said in a deceptively calm tone, "Stefan, I will let your brother go when I'm sure they are safe."
"Clara," Elena started to argue and the look her sister shot her stopped her dead.
Cold, unadulterated fury. She swallowed surly and went to Bonnie. She led the other girl away and Bonnie looked at her best friend. She knew her well enough to know that she was hurting, and hurting deeply. Damon had betrayed what little trust she had put in him, and that had been a bad move on his part. She couldn't help but be a little relieved that she stopped him from hurting her.
"Clara," Stefan softly said as he moved towards the other Gilbert.
"Don't." Clara cut him off, "Don't you dare apologize for him."
He watched as she took in a deep breath to keep her temper down as she waited for something. He nervously crossed his arms across his chest as his brother coughed up blood and let out sounds of pain. She took out her phone and Damon could suddenly breathe again. She didn't say anything to either brother and briskly walked away from them. If she said something then she might just lose what ever shred of control she had. She already lost it once, she refused to lose a second time.
"Oh, dear," She turned to see Luci standing there with an apologetic look on her face, "c'mere."
Clara didn't even think twice before allowing herself to be enveloped in the archangels arms. She had to wonder when Luci had gotten so tall. It had to be the heels they were wearing. The bright red stilettos didn't do much to brighten her mood. The sudden shift to an unknown area didn't either. She actually felt her body revolt at the sensation.
"Heartbreak always hurts," Luci said as they their fingers through her hair, "granted, it went too far in this case."
"Was this Michael?" Clara quietly asked.
"Partially," Luci admitted, "the rest of it was hurt."
"Heartbreak?" Clara was slowly catching up on Luci's previous wording, "I wasn't in love with Damon, I barely tolerated him."
Luci gave her a sad smile at that and she frowned. Her friend obviously couldn't say anything, but was on her side. The hands in her hair didn't stop and she slowly fell into an uncomfortable sleep. A frown on her face. Luci waited until they were completely sure she was asleep before stopping.
"What did he say to her?" A mad voice asked and they looked back to see Gabriel standing there with a suitcase in his hand.
"Just a break in trust, we all know how hard it is for her to trust," Luci said, "I don't doubt that he'll try to get her back on his side again, but that man has a lot of work cut out for him."
"Is it even worth it in the end?" Gabriel asked as he put the suitcase next to Clara, "She's never closed herself off like this before."
"Hell will do that to you," Luci answered in a strained tone, "one thousand years of suffering and torture. She refuses to really talk about it, and it's hard for her to really conceptualize."
"She can't handle it," Gabriel muttered as he got it, "poor kid, she always burned so bright."
"She will continue to do so," Luci said in a snappish tone, "you act like any fight or morality is gone from her."
"She can crush lungs and possibly kill people with her abilities," Gabriel pointed out, "hell she could probably take out Michael if he sets her off."
That didn't sound like a problem to Luci. They looked away to the side and felt anger at their brother. He'd caused far too many of their hunters grief. Hell, if he hadn't started playing with destiny than none of them would've become hunters in the first place. Clara was a prime example of that. They could remember the first time they met. She had hidden behind her fathers leg and shyly looked up at them with a kind smile. No judgment, just kindness. That kid was pushed under years of hurt and grief. Clara acted like that part of her didn't exist, and now with a thousand years of hell it would take someone as stubborn as her to bring it back out. They were hoping that the night would've played out differently, but they could work around it. They had to, because Luci had noticed something that no one else did.
"Why are you pushing them towards one another?" Gabriel asked in curiosity, "Sure, they make a good match on paper, both good looking people that know what makes the other tick but in execution it hasn't worked."
"Michael," Luci said as they sighed, "he keeps interfering with the one destiny he sees but refuses to see the other paths."
"Damn, I'll keep an eye out in the office for his movements," Gabriel said as he ran a hand through his red hair, "make sure the kid gets my present to her."
"She would appreciate it if you gave it to her yourself," Luci pointed out.
"Yeah, but I don't want him to know," Gabriel shrugged before winking, "I'm outtie."
Luci shook their head, their wild curls bouncing with the motion. Sometimes they couldn't believe their brother. They sighed as Clara curled up on herself. Her dreams weren't pleasant ones, but they weren't going to mess with them. So much had to be moved around Michael that it drove them crazy. They blinked and looked around the room. Clara's room. It didn't suit her, not like she was. The walls were a light pink and the wood floors were too light.
They'd send little miss Jenna a message and make sure a contractor came in and fixed this room. Clara just won a free room makeover from Lucifer themself. It was the least they could do, she always had their back and willingly listened to their side of the story when something went wrong. They covered Clara up with a blanket, they weren't going to change her it felt weird to even think about. The suitcase was left on her desk and they left her. They couldn't just hang around like they used to, they needed to put her plan into it's first stage.
Their little fight had only begun.