Review responses:
Guest: Maybe someone will...Maybe someone will...
Gosh this was another hard one to write. Part of me didn't think I was going to meet this deadline. Still, I'm hoping I can at least finish this story without any delays (Hopefully!) and then I might have to take a break for a few months before writing the next story. As when I started this I already had a lot of season 2 planned out, especially with the first few episodes. I've hardly got anything laid out for season 3 and I don't want to rush into it without a plan. I also might try and do shorter chapters so I can update more regularly, but that'll only be with the next story.
Just an idea I'm having. Let me know what you think?
Chapter 33: Doppelgänger Tricks
"I'm begging you, stop it," groaned Sarah, closing her eyes as she tried to resist the smile on her face.
"Absolutely not," declared Jenna from the table she, Sarah, Elena and Bonnie were sharing. Caroline had abandoned them to shack up with Matt in the bathroom, a fact they only knew because Elena had walked in on them and returned to the table with a cheeky gossiping grin on her face. And after they'd talked about the inappropriateness of making out in public bathrooms – as well as how they were all happy for Caroline and Matt – the topic then became about relationships.
Jenna's was currently a disaster zone, so they steered clear of that. Elena and Stefan were in a good place right now, so that was boring. Which then left the single Bonnie and Sarah, and with the sneaky witch thinking ahead, she quickly shoved the heat onto Sarah, thus making her the certain of game her friends had lovingly dubbed, 'Who should Sarah go home with tonight?'
"What about him?" Jenna suggested, pointing with her empty beer bottle towards a pretty teenage boy making his way through the crowd.
"Okay, if you're going to insist on doing this, then you have to stop pointing at any random boy who looks my age," argued Sarah with a critical look to the amber blonde headed friend sat beside her.
"Fine," sighed Jenna, before looking for someone else to point out. "What about him?"
"You literally pointed to him a minute ago," pointed out Sarah, to which Bonnie and Elena laughed.
"What can I say, I think he's a catch," Jenna defended with a shrug, encouraging more laughter before she stood up. "Right I'm going to get another beer, back in a moment."
"Get me one as well, would you?" asked Sarah.
"No, I'm cutting you off, seeing as you're…underage!" Jenna whispered hissed dramatically, before walking off towards the bar.
"You know it's just cruel to drink in front of others who can't!" Sarah called after Jenna, before slouching into her seat. "Of all the ages to be trapped in for eternity and I get seventeen," she groaned, prompting Elena and Bonnie to chuckle at her dramatics.
"I'll be back in a moment," Bonnie said, suddenly getting up. "Just going to the toilets."
"You think you'll get past the trolls, Caroline and Matt?" Elena teased, to which Bonnie pointed back at her with a smirk.
"I'm going to tell her you said that," she said before backing away. "And if I can't get past them I guess I'll have to brave the boys' toilets."
"Remember to hold your nose," Elena called after her with a grin.
"And close your eyes," added Sarah before the two giggled together.
"Sorry, about Jenna," Elena found herself apologising once their laughter died down. "I know you said you weren't ready…"
"It's fine," Sarah said, waving her hand. "If she gets really pushy I'll just sleep with whoever she tells me to, just to shut her up."
Another laugh from both of them before Stefan arrived, breathing heavily and leaning on the table before them. "Stefan? What's wrong?" Elena asked, a frown appearing to contrast against her smile – she and Sarah were both very much aware their good time was about to come to an end.
"It's Jonas," Stefan said hurriedly. "He's here, and he's after you."
"What? Why?" exclaimed Elena, after she and Sarah shared confused and alert looks.
"It's too long a story for right now, but I've called Damon and we have a plan," Stefan said, before then telling them both the plan.
"No, no way, absolutely not!" declared Sarah in fury, as she glared up at her brother as if he'd lost his mind. Which considering who his plan relied on, he very well might have.
"I'm with Sarah, Stefan. You can't seriously think this is a good idea?" Elena asked.
"I know it's a gamble–" Stefan began.
"Try suicide," Sarah cut in.
"–But we can talk about it once we've gotten Elena out of here." Since that wasn't entirely unreasonable, Elena and Sarah rose to leave with Stefan when they saw that Jonas had already arrived and was talking with Bonnie. "Damn it, he's already here," groaned Stefan, before all the lights in the building suddenly burst.
"And something tells me he's not in too good a mood," agreed Sarah, as the trio backed away into the shadows, not having been spotted by Jonas yet.
"Someone needs to distract him while I get Elena out," Stefan said, pointed look to Sarah.
"Yeah, considering what happened after you and Damon's latest brilliant idea, I'm not leaving this one in your hands," Sarah argued, before remembering the other vampire in the building. "We can get Caroline, come on," she declared, before they followed the wall towards the bathroom, where the saw Matt running out to try and help the panicking public.
With him out of the way, Sarah lead the way into the bathroom where Caroline was stood alone, smiling into a mirror. At least she was until she saw her friends enter and turned to face them. "Hey," she said awkwardly, instantly picking up on the serious atmosphere around the three.
"We have a problem," Elena said simply.
"What's going on?" Caroline asked, looking between her friends.
"Jonas is here and he's after Elena," Stefan answered.
"Oh my God!" Caroline exclaimed in surprise.
"We need to get her out of here, but considering he's a witch, we might need a distraction," Sarah explained.
Caroline quickly caught on, and stepped up. "What can I do?"
"We're going to try and take Elena out the front. We need you to keep your eyes on Jonas and if he tries to stop us, you stop him," explained Stefan, to which Caroline nodded before the four moved out of the dark bathroom and into the equally dark infested Grill.
Caroline went first, locating Jonas before motioning the others forwards. After that they split up, Stefan and Sarah taking Elena towards the exit while Caroline snuck around to get closer to Jonas and Bonnie who was still trying to reason with him.
It wasn't going to well though, and didn't seem to be improving when parts of the Grill suddenly caught alight, a fire spreading across the bar and several of the railings around the restaurant. For obvious reasons, people started screaming and running for the exits, which actually added cover for the Salvatores and Elena. Or at least that was what they thought until they saw that Jonas had spotted them.
"Dr. Martin, I'm so sorry about Luka!" Elena shouted over to the angry glaring man. He did not seem to appreciate Elena's condolences. "I never wanted that to happen. But, at least least let us help you get your daughter back," Elena pleaded, trying to reason with the grieving man. Something which Sarah and Stefan could have told her was futile. The man had lost everything that mattered to him in his life, and there fore had nothing left to lose. And he was hurting, so he wanted to hurt others, not make peace – especially with those responsible for killing his son, the one thing he still had, until recently.
"Only Elijah and Amelia can do that," Jonas shouted back, over the panicking people still screaming as they fled the Grill.
"You don't need them," Elena continued to argue, but Jonas was done talking, as he recited an incantation and the flames around the Grill doubled in size. The screaming people screamed loud, and everyone backed away further from the surging fire, the heat from which was pushing Elena and the vampires towards Jonas.
Having raised their arms to shield themselves, they turned to find Jonas raising his arm towards them, another spell already being chanted when Caroline pounced from behind, tackling Jonas to the ground with her fangs bared. "We've gotta go!" Stefan shouted to Sarah, who nodded as they both grabbed hold of Elena and vamp sped out the door, leaving Caroline to handle Jonas.
From the shadows of the alleyway, Scarlett watched, huddled against the wall as the mad crowds of people flooded out of the Grill. She could see the glow of flames from inside, and the sense of danger and anxiety was overwhelming. But as the crowd fled the scene, so did the feelings they were experiencing. However, the sense of panic didn't leave Scarlett completely. Not because of what was happening here at the Grill, but because of Jeremy.
Was that really the end of it, were they over. Had she just made the worst decision of her life by coming clean? Maybe. And no matter how much she tried to focus on the situation at hand, her mind kept going back to Jeremy, and everything she'd put him through.
Maybe he was better of without her in his life. What had she really given him other than hurt, a broken heart and more of a burden to bear than he already had. The guy had lost his parents, he didn't need Scarlett's drama on top of that. A werewolf unlike any other, one who didn't have nearly as much control as she liked to think she did. Really the only control she'd ever had was in keeping the truth from Jeremy. Now that she'd told him and the inevitable had happened, she just felt lost.
Shaking her snout, Scarlett brought herself back to the moment, trying to think strategically like Sarah would. She couldn't shift into human form. Being a naked teenager wasn't going to help and would draw attention to her. The same could be said for being a wolf in the centre of town. But of the two she was more dangerous and protected as the wolf. But as the wolf, it would be safer to wait until Jonas came out, rather than going in and risking the fire and glass.
She knew Stefan had gotten Elena and Sarah out. And since Elena was Jonas' target, he should have followed out. But Scarlett was still yet to pick up his scent, and the increasing amount of smoke in the air wasn't making that any easier. The crackling fire and screaming people made it impossible to hear what was going on inside, so for the time being Scarlett really could only sit and wait. Keep her nose on alert, along with her ears, and do her best not to think about how badly she'd just screwed up by telling Jeremy the truth.
It was another few minutes before Jonas finally emerged from within the restaurant, stepping out onto the empty street and looking around. After seeing him, Scarlett did the same, checking the coast was clear of anyone who might get in the way, before she ran at Jonas. If he did see her coming – the blurring shadow that she was – there was no indication that he tried to stop her, as Scarlett clamped onto his leg with her canines and dragged his feet out from under him.
He screamed out in shock and pain, as he hit the ground, Scarlett clamping down all the more, feeling his blood erupt into her mouth.
She had him, and a little more pressure and she'd have his foot clean off. But before she could go through with it her head began to ache. At first a subtle pain until suddenly it was like her head was on fire with the worst headache of all time. In fact it was more than that, it was like the inside of her head was exploding. She released Jonas' leg, unable to control herself as she began to sway, losing her sense of balance on her four legs.
One side ended up giving way and she collapsed, whimpering in petty as she squeezed her golden eyes shut, trying to will the pain to stop. But it didn't stop, it only increased in volume, until Scarlett suddenly felt her body shifting back, as if to compensate for the pain. She felt the fur recede along her body, her tail bone pushing itself back inside her rear, her bone structures returning to human rather than wolf.
For once the pain was actually a relief, as the throbbing, indescribable, headache paused, while her body and brain were twisted and shoved into their original place.
When it was all over, and Scarlett was once again human, the pain didn't return. But when Scarlett lifted her head up off the concrete floor, Jonas was gone. A small puddle of blood before Scarlett, but with nothing to show which direction he'd gone off in.
All she could hope was she'd given the others an enough time to either escape, or in act a plan to protect Elena.
As for as she herself was concerned, Scarlett had failed in doing anything good this day. She'd been unable to stop Jonas, she'd basically set off the bomb that had been her and Jeremy's relationship since she slept with Mason. And now she was lying on the street outside the burning Grill, naked save her mother's necklace, and alone.
Or at least she thought so, until someone put a jacket over her. She looked up through tired, saddened eyes, at the woman who'd come to her side. Bonnie of all people. "Are you okay?" she asked in concern, bending down next to Scarlett who held onto Bonnie's jacket like it was the blanket she'd just woken up in. Refusing to leave it or the warmth and protection it offered.
"It's been a hard day," Scarlett muttered tiredly, just wanting it to end as she let her gaze drift back over to the burning Grill. Her English teacher would probably love the symbolism right about now.
"Come on, let's get you out of here," Bonnie said as she helped Scarlett up to her feet, making sure to keep the jacket around her as to conceal her nakedness. "My car's nearby, I can drive you home," she offered, before guiding Scarlett around to the nearby car park. Once there, Bonnie put her in the passenger side, making sure she was okay before starting up the car and driving away as the police began to arrive.
During the car ride Scarlett must have zoned out, because before she knew it they were outside the Gilbert's house, and Scarlett found herself wishing she'd told Bonnie sooner to take her home and not back to Jeremy. Even after Bonnie opened her door, Scarlett continued to remain seated in the car, just staring up at the Gilbert house, as if it might suddenly collapse on her the second she stepped over the threshold.
"Are you alright with me bringing you here?" asked Bonnie from next to Scarlett, hand on the handle of her open door. "Or would you rather I take you to boarding house?"
"No. Here's good," Scarlett said emptily.
Still holding Bonnie's jacket tightly against her, Scarlett opened the door before getting out. All the anxiety must have been slowing her down, because by the time she'd gotten out, closed her door and turned back around to the Gilbert house, Bonnie was at her side.
Scarlett suspected Bonnie might know about her and Jeremy. Maybe not specifically, but it was probably a witchy power of hers that was telling her not all was right. Thankfully though, Bonnie didn't say anything. She just stood silently next to Scarlett, and remained by her side as they walked up onto the porch. She even rang the bell for her, seeing as if Scarlett were to do it she'd risk exposing herself.
Scarlett offered Bonnie a smile in thanks, but from then on it was nothing but doom and gloom on her face. Especially after Jeremy opened the door. He seemed to go through three stages of seeing Scarlett. First it was the, 'Oh, it's you,' spiteful and angry stage. Then he flicked over to confused, seeing her half naked and with Bonnie. And then the realisation of something serious had happened, and in his eyes Scarlett saw a spark of concern that lit up her world as she exposed her own hurt and saddened eyes.
"What happened?" asked Jeremy, to quickly to stop the overwhelming concern that slipped into his voice. However, in the silence that followed, he managed to pull back, returning to his aggravated expression at Scarlett presence. She should probably get used to that, she thought.
"How about we get inside first," suggested Bonnie, when Scarlett didn't offer up an answer. Instead finding more interest in the threshold between her and Jeremy – though in her mind it was more like a canyon.
With Bonnie prodding her in the back, Scarlett stepped inside, half thinking she was going to walk right into Jeremy until he moved at the last second to accommodate. She quickly found herself wishing that Bonnie had left her in the street, naked and exposed. The only real difference between here and there was Jeremy's judgemental eyes – and even if Scarlett couldn't get them out of her head, she would prefer to not have them on her as she sat down on the living room couch.
"Was she hurt?" Jeremy asked Bonnie. The two of them stood behind Scarlett's back and behind the couch she'd sat down on, staring into the lifeless fire as if it might provide an escape of some sort.
"You could ask her yourself," Bonnie said awkwardly, gesturing to Scarlett as the girl in question grimaced.
"Yeah, I don't really feel like talking to her right now," Jeremy stated, ignorant to the fact that he was crushing Scarlett's heart. Or maybe he was very much aware, and only doing it because of how she'd burnt his own. No matter what way you describe it, their relationship wasn't look too good.
"I'm fine," Scarlett spoke up, disguising a sad sniffle as a dry cough. "Just a headache is all."
"You've been through worse," Jeremy muttered in response.
If he was talking about the witchy headache, he was probably right. If he was talking about the heartache from the fight they'd had, Scarlett would probably have to argue with him on that one. Or she would if she didn't think about how much worse she could make the situation. John was still lurking around after all, and the last thing she wanted to do was give that man more ammunition to use in driving a permanent wedge between her and Jeremy.
Another awkward silence fell upon the room. With Jeremy having gotten in the last word, and Scarlett not brave enough to speak, it was Bonnie who finally ended the ceasefire of communications, when she spoke up. "I think I'll go and get Scarlett a glass of water," she said, obviously looking for a reason to leave the room filled with so much tension that she was probably drowning in it. Even so, she calmly walked out of the room before the sound of the sink being turned on came from the kitchen. A few minutes after the sound stopped however, Bonnie still hadn't come back.
She was fine, Scarlett could still sense her presence in the kitchen, but she wouldn't be joining her and Jeremy in the living room again. If she was Bonnie, Scarlett probably wouldn't have joined them either.
Twiddling with her thumbs, Scarlett founding herself asking before she could stop herself, "How are you feeling now?" At the mere sound of her words she cringed, instantly regretting them as Jeremy snorted.
"How am I feeling? You think just because you got yourself hurt I'm going to magically forget what you did?" asked Jeremy. His tone was anger, but there was something close to concern underneath it. However it was nowhere near strong enough to break through the anger he was experiencing right now. He had been worried though, Scarlett had seen it. But it was going to take a lot more than her getting hurt to fix things.
"No, Jeremy," Scarlett quickly said, trying to clear the air as she looked back behind the couch at him. "I just want to know where we stand? Are we… Are we…" It made her heartbreak to think of those next words, but she had to say them, to know if it was all over now. "…Broken-up?"
He stared at her for a moment. Letting out heavy breaths before then letting out an even heavier sigh. "I don't know," he finally answered, walking around to sit next to her on the couch.
Once sat, he too began to play with his hand like Scarlett had. "I'm honestly not even sure I can even trust you anymore," he then added, making Scarlett shrink away from him, rather than cuddle into him like she once had.
"Do you still love me?" Scarlett asked bravely, daring to watch him as he motionlessly tried to make up his mind.
"…Yes," he said quietly. "I think," he then added as an after thought.
Not the greatest, but at least he doesn't want to kill me, Scarlett thought, trying to be as optimistic as possible. But even then she was reaching.
"Why am I even saying this," Jeremy suddenly snapped at himself as he stood up, turning to wave his hand at Scarlett. "You cheated on me! I should want you dead. I should be cutting you out of my life. I shouldn't be talking to you at all – in fact I shouldn't even care about you!"
"Don't give up on me, Jeremy," pleaded Scarlett as she sat up, begging him to give her a second chance with her watery blue eyes. "I made a mistake. But I'm willing to do whatever it takes to put things right… Even if that means we have to break-up."
"That wouldn't be the worst idea," agreed Jeremy, a pang of hurt shooting through Scarlett. Again, trying to be optimistic, at least they were agreeing on something… "I mean, how do we know this, 'werewolf-instinct-mating thing,' won't just happen again?" Another fair point, but Scarlett decided to switch subjects for her own safety, and that of their dying relationship.
"I understand it's going to take a long time to earn your trust back, Jeremy. But if you give me another chance, I promise I won't take it for granted, I'll fight whatever urge I have to protect what we have. Because I do love you Jeremy. You make my world so much better, and I don't want to lose you from it," she begged, standing as she approached him. When he backed up a step however, she stopped herself, even if it hurt. She had to be respectful of what he wanted right now, that was the key to saving what they had. Even if it was killing her inside.
"You don't have to decide now," she explained, hoping that with time he's feelings for her would allow her a doorway back in. "But if you want me to leave so you can think, I'll go."
He was silent for a moment, arms folded as he stared down in thought. Scarlett waited for him to send her away, to say he'd give her a chance, or even to say that they were done. He didn't say anything though. For a long time. And in some ways, that was worse.
It was so long, that Scarlett began to think her insides might eat her up whole. The longer the silence went on, the more she felt herself sweat, her breathing quickening in fright – even if it was quiet and unheard, she still felt it, her heart racing with anticipation. She needed to know, needed a clear answer, a label on what they were now. She needed to know what he was thinking, it was killing her inside.
And she needed to be more clear, make him understand how it had been for her. She hadn't made that clear enough. "Jeremy–" Scarlett began, right before the front door burst open and the two turned to find Elena, Stefan and Sarah piling in through before shutting said door behind them.
Only since this morning, Scarlett had been taking an extra sniff whenever she saw Elena, to confirm it was her. And after one whiff she knew that wasn't Elena who'd walked through the front door.
With her eyes beginning to glow, she stood up, canines forming as she growled. But then to her surprise, she saw Sarah shake her head and put her finger to her mouth. Confusion more than anything else had Scarlett transform back into her normal human self, staring at Sarah while Stefan pushed Katherine towards the stairs. "Go up stairs, we'll be up in a bit," he said aloud.
Nodding, Katherine continued to play the part of Elena, even though they all knew it was her. Scarlett was well and truly confused now, and still waiting for someone to explain as the two Salvatores moved into the living room along with Bonnie who entered through the hallway.
Credit to her, she did bring the glass of water she'd promised Scarlett, but the werewolf was no longer in the mood for it. In fact, what she really wanted was to find out what was going on and why Sarah and Stefan were allowing Katherine to go around as if she were Elena. She opened her mouth to speak, but Stefan got his question in first.
"When did you guys get home?"
"A few minutes ago," Bonnie answered.
"But I've been here the whole time," Jeremy added.
"Did you check the house when they got back?" asked Stefan, looking around with a critical frown.
"Why would we check the house, I just said I've been here the whole time," Jeremy repeated, some of the attitude from his row with Scarlett seeping into his voice.
"Scarlett?" Sarah said with a pointed look.
Knowing what she was asking, Scarlett closed her eyes and took in a deep breath through her nose. She could feel the scent of everything in the house passing through her nostrils then. Those smells that primarily occupied the house, such as the food, planets, washed cloths, the carpet, bed sheets the furniture and so on. And she could also pick up the new scents of those inside right now; Jeremy, Katherine, Bonnie, Sarah and Stefan. There was nothing – other than Katherine – that suggested danger.
"No one we don't already know about," she answered after opening her eyes, only to then hear the sound of a struggle and painful groan from upstairs.
"You were saying," muttered Jeremy, as Stefan and Sarah lead the charge upstairs, the other three behind them. They did't have far to go to find the source of the commotion – the bathroom door was open, and inside lay Jonas, part of his neck torn out and Katherine standing over him with blood all over her mouth.
"You're welcome," Katherine said with a smile, brushing aside a loose – and now bloody – strand of her hair.
"Okay, can someone please tell me what's going on?" Scarlett asked aloud, completely bewildered by what had just happened in the last minute.
"Can't you stick a muzzle on her," muttered Katherine, rolling her eyes as she leaned back against the bathroom counter top.
"You're luck we don't stick one on you," Sarah snapped back, as Bonnie stepped past her and Stefan, kneeling down next to the deceased Jonas.
"You didn't have to kill him," Bonnie said sadly as she looked up to Katherine.
"Yes, we did," Katherine said matter-of-factly. Not that she looked too broken up about it.
"Just be quiet for once in your life," Sarah snapped again.
"I'm sorry, but wasn't this what you wanted? Him dead and Elena safe?" asked Katherine in mild outrage.
"You're not helping," Stefan warned with a look that said to be quiet, but that was never going to work on Katherine, and they all knew it.
"Beg to differ," Katherine said as she gestured to the dead Jonas. "He's dead isn't he," she said again as Bonnie leaned over to close his still open eyes.
Then suddenly Jonas was sat up right and his hands were on Bonnie's head. She was screaming in pain and he was chanting something. Scarlett jumped from the shock, but before she could even recover, Sarah had her hands on Jonas' head and had snapped his neck by the next second.
With his body limp in her hands, she let him go and he collapsed onto his back, hands sliding from Bonnie before Katherine stepped over and placed her foot over his throat, just in case he came back once more. "What was that you were saying about him being dead?" Sarah asked with a glare to Katherine who once again rolled her eyes at the technicality of it all.
"Is he dead, now?" Jeremy asked from the hallway, where he was still stood along with Scarlett, looking into the bathroom past Stefan.
"Looks like it to me," Katherine mumbled, pocking the dead Jonas with her foot.
"Right… Will someone now please tell us what is going on?" Scarlett repeated tiredly, just wanting to know so she could go to bed and end this miserable day.
Since Sarah wanted to spend as little time as possible in Katherine's presence, she opted to take Scarlett, Jeremy and Bonnie down stairs and tell them what had happened while Stefan handled clean up with Katherine. Naturally there had been complaints, all of which came from Katherine, but since she was trying to get on their good side, she didn't stop them when they ignored her.
So Sarah took the others down stairs, at which point Damon and Elena arrived, having been listening in from down the street. From there they then told those that didn't know everything what had happened, starting with Jonas' attack on the grill, to the Katherine Elena switch, to Jonas' death. Afterwards Bonnie had been pretty quick in leaving, but Sarah could understand how Jonas' death might have effected her, if not his then definitely Luka's. From what she'd heard there had been something there between them.
Once she'd left though, the rest of them just sat around the living room waiting for Stefan and Katherine to come down stairs.
"How did you guys convince her to do this?" Elena asked, leaning against the archway that lead into the living room.
"We didn't. It was actually her idea," admitted Damon uneasily, an expression that was then mirrored in everyone else.
"Oh, that's…not good," sighed Elena.
"You're right about that," agreed Sarah in the same depressed tone. Working with Katherine after all was hardly an ideal situation, and even if it had worked, Sarah wasn't keen for a repeat. But what was more worrying was that Katherine had wanted to do this, and from what Damon had told her and the others, Katherine had actually been instant on it. That meant she was planning something, because Katherine only did something if it aided her, or whatever scheme she was planning next.
"I'm sorry you had to put up with her for me," Elena said with a sorry look to her friend, but Sarah had come to expect it by this point – especially when Katherine was involved. Elena knew after all how much Katherine had hurt Sarah, and that even now she still loved to torment her. It was what made there friendship a challenge at times, the fact that she shared a face with the woman who'd caused Sarah so much pain. And sometimes it felt like Elena was always sorry for that, sharing a face with Katherine when it really was unavoidable. A cruel twist of fate.
Thankfully though, when Sarah knew it was Elena, she did fell at easy. And rather than remembering everything Katherine had done to her, she now thought of everything Elena had done for her and her family. There were even times when she thought she could see differences between Elena and Katherine, physically speaking, but theory was still yet to be tested and proven.
"It's over now, no sense dwelling on it," Sarah said, trying to downplay how sick the whole thing had made her feel.
"Everything's taken care of," Stefan announced as he walked down the stairs and everyone turned to see Katherine at his heels.
"I'm guessing you're going to want this back?" Katherine asked rhetorically as she yanked off Elena's necklace, holding it out as she leaned against the banister of the staircase. "But your pretty little outfit is going to need a good dry clean," she added smugly, before Elena marched over and snatched her necklace out of Katherine's grasp.
"Can you get her out of here, please?" Elena asked, looking to Stefan who nodded in acknowledgement.
"Is that all you have to say to me?" Katherine asked in annoyance, as if deserving more after all she'd done in the past ten minutes.
"Oh, I've got plenty to say to you," snarled Elena angrily, glaring into Katherine who seemed more intrigued by this side of Elena than anything else. "But right now I want you out my house before Jenna comes home."
"Fine, let's go Sarah," Katherine said with a smirk as she looked past Elena to the youngest Salvatore still stood in the archway to the living room. "We can pick up were we left off." The mere thought made Sarah shrink on her self, wanting to be sick until she felt Damon move to her side. His presence enough to calm the storm inside her.
However it wasn't apparently enough for Elena, who quickly stepped into Katherine's space and said warningly, "Don't you dare talk to her like that."
"I'll talk to whom ever I like, however I like," Katherine replied with a smirk, knowing there was nothing Elena of all people could do to stop her.
"Not her, you won't. Not anymore," Elena said lowly, bringing an amused laugh out of Katherine. And then something snapped inside Elena, as she threw her curled up fist right at Katherine's laughing face, only for the vampire to catch her wrist before it could connect.
There was a beat, everyone staring in wide eyed shock and waiting to see what would happen next. Everyone ready to step in if Katherine made a move against them. But there was still a part of them that was shocked that Elena had even tried to attack Katherine in such a pitiful way. And maybe that was why Katherine looked so amused by the whole thing, another giggle floating out as she stared into Elena's eyes. As if seeing something no one else had yet, with intrigue forming in her own matching eyes.
"Well, well. That's certainly interesting," Katherine said with a click of her tongue, watching Elena as the human girl tried to pull back her hand. Only finally succeeding when Katherine released her, bored now.
"What's interesting?" Damon asked, frowning as Elena stepped away from Katherine, rubbing her wrist and feeling like a fool for giving into her outburst of anger.
Katherine shrugged innocently, as if it wasn't anything important. "Just how similar me and dear Elena are," she said, but they all felt like there was something more to what she was saying.
"Well, that's brilliantly elusive," muttered Scarlett, before Katherine's dagger like eyes found there way over to the couch Scarlett was sat on with Jeremy, both looking over it and into the hallway, where all the action was.
"I'm sorry, I'm I not providing a big enough distraction from your break-up with baby Gilbert over there?" Katherine snapped, her words filled with enough venom to kill a small mammal, and apparently silence the whole room as everyone looked to Scarlett.
Like Katherine, Sarah had overheard Scarlett and Jeremy talking prior to them coming in, and for anyone in the know, it hadn't been hard to work she'd finally told him about Mason. But even if you weren't in the know, the vampires had heard enough to know those two kids weren't in as good a place as they'd been this morning.
A look of pure heartbreak passed over Scarlett's face, and Sarah felt her own heartache at the sight of her ward in such pain. What didn't help was the satisfaction Katherine took from all this. And it lit that fire once more inside Sarah, as she got ready to drag Katherine out, only to then find her up against the wall as Scarlett bit into her.
The supernaturally fast movement was enough to have Elena and Jeremy jumping back while the three vampires who hadn't just been bitten stared on in utter shock for the second time in a matter of seconds. Even Katherine seemed petrified by what had just happened, but then again, she'd just pissed off the one bite killer werewolf. And apparently, she'd pushed her one step too far.
Turns out karma, had finally caught up to Katherine Pierce.
"Say one more word, about me and Jeremy, or Sarah, and I WILL sink my teeth into your perfect little skin, got it?!" shouted Scarlett as she pulled away, revealing what she'd really done was tear of part of the shirt around Katherine's shoulder – and luckily for Katherine she hadn't broken the skin. But the fright in her eyes, that had been real. And for maybe the first time in Sarah's life, she'd seen Katherine genuinely acknowledge that she'd gone to far, and made the wrong decision.
Stepping back from Katherine, the woman quickly slide her mask back on, but like several times already, she'd been caught off guard by Scarlett, and she'd been an inch from death. Something the great Katherine Pierce, wasn't found of having happen to her. Maybe that was why she was so silent as she allowed Stefan to shove her towards the back of house, Damon falling into step with his brother, as they escorted her out.
Sarah remained along with Scarlett, watching as the poor girl looked back at Jeremy, only for him to look away. Masking his own feelings as Scarlett's head dropped shamefully. It had definitely been a long day for them all.
Sarah sighed, as she stepped towards Scarlett and put her arm around her. "Come on, let's go," she said softly, before leading her towards the back of the house. She could hear Jenna and Alaric outside talking, and now wasn't the time for questions. And with Scarlett still only dressed in the jacket Bonnie had given her, Jenna would undoubtedly have questions if she caught them.
So they left out the back, silently, and then headed for home.
Once they got there, everyone went their separate ways. Scarlett went up to her room, Damon grabbed some books he'd been reading through from the living room and then went to his room. Stefan waited until Sarah got away from Katherine, but then retired to his own room for the night.
Sarah had gone into the study, looking for either a book or a drink – she hadn't decided yet. She'd full expected Katherine to come after her, to taunt and torment her some more. Thankfully, she didn't, and Sarah managed to drink her bourbon in peace before grabbing a book of short stories to pass the time until she fell asleep.
Heading up the stairs, and already having started the first page of the book, Sarah came to a stop, looking up when she heard voices from Damon's room. Focusing her hearing, she realised that it was Katherine he was talking to.
"You hurt me today," purred Katherine, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Sarah could say she hardly cared, but she kept listening to their conversation from the staircase, needing to make sure she wasn't getting into Damon's head.
"Tit for tat," Damon replied, in a seemingly careless manner.
"You were mean and very rough and monstrous," Katherine continued, going from angry to alluring, as she slid over to Damon's side of the bed they were both sat on.
"You deserved it," Damon stated simply. "Besides, you think after what you did to Sarah I was just going to let you off the hook?"
Katherine giggled at this, a flirty giggle that unsettled Sarah even from down the hallway. "I like this Damon," she whispered, inching in towards him.
"Katherine," Damon whispered back, as if he were under her spell.
In a sudden panic, Sarah started to walk towards his bedroom door, determined to stop him from making the same mistake again. "Katherine, there are six other bedrooms in this house," continued to Damon before Sarah heard the familiar intake of breath – the one you took right before you kissed.
Sarah's step turned into a jog that stopped as quickly as it began when she heard Damon say, "Go and find one," right before the sound of Katherine being shoved onto the floor echoed into the hallway. Having stopped, Sarah let out a mixture of relief and amusement in her breath, smiling at her brother through his bed room door, as she imagined Katherine pouting at him.
As it turned out she didn't need to imagine it for long, as Katherine then walked out with said pout, turning to a glare when she saw Sarah down the hallway with her own smug smile. "Smug doesn't suit you, Sarah," Katherine said bitterly, wallowing in yet another defeat, and because of that, Katherine couldn't break her right now. Because Sarah now realised something Katherine just couldn't accept.
"You no longer have a hold over any of us," Sarah stated confidently, closing the book in her hand with an audible thud, as the spin folded in and the ends clapped together. "That must kill you," she added knowingly.
"Please," scoffed Katherine in denial, rolling her eyes as she did. "All you've done is trade me in for Elena. She's got a more possessive hold on all of you than I ever did."
Sarah shrugged, ignoring the crux of what Katherine was saying and pocking at the one part she knew Katherine couldn't stand. "I say it was a worth while trade, and a definite upgrade."
"You can't hurt me, Sarah. I know how you really feel about me," Katherine declared, turning to face her full on as she took a few steps towards her, but still leaving plenty of space between them. "So why not just stop the games and come out and say it. You love me," Katherine announced with a confident smirk in place as Sarah approached her, book now held to her chest like a shield.
"You know I hate you, Katherine," Sarah said directly into her face, watching as Katherine's smirk faulted. "You just haven't accepted it yet," she added, sounding as if she pitted her – she didn't of course but the desired effect was to get under Katherine's skin with the remark. And from the look of irritation on her face, Sarah had certainly done that.
This morning might have shaken her, worse than usual because of what had happened the previous night. But after spending time with her friends, she realised she didn't have to be scared of Katherine any more. She had them, Katherine had nothing. No one to trust, and no one to manipulate, not in this town. She'd used up all her tricks, played every card she had, and now they all saw right through her.
Sarah was starting to win again. And this time, she wouldn't let Katherine get inside her head. Now, it was time for her, to play inside Katherine's head.
"Good night, Katherine," Sarah concluded, in mocking civility, as she backed into her bedroom door, bumping it open as she stepped in. And with her smug smile still on her lips, and Katherine's irritated eyes on hers, Sarah shut the door on the Bitch – knowing that Lexi would be proud.
That would have been a nice note to end her night on, but instead she fond Scarlett on her bed, curled up in her pjs with a sorry look on her face. With a soft smile Sarah approached her, placing her book down on the night stand, before kicking off her shoes and joining Scarlett on the bed. "You okay?" Sarah asked, though she already knew the answer.
"No," Scarlett answered simply, allowing herself to cuddle against Sarah when the vampire put her arm around the uncharacteristically timid werewolf.
"Do you think I can fix things with Jeremy?"
"Yeah," Sarah said optimistically. "I think it's just gonna take time. But you did the right thing by finally telling him."
"Then why does it feel so crappy?" asked Scarlett in a very young and naive way. Your first true heartache was never an easy one to get through. It wasn't even something that got easier with time and experience, but it was something everyone had to go through at some point in their life.
"You want me to say that's life?" asked Sarah, as she looked down at Scarlett, who'd begun playing with her mother's necklace.
"No," she said quietly. Letting the silence stretch on before she then said, "Do you think he'll ever forgive me?"
It felt like a drastically different question to the one she'd asked before that, but even so, Sarah knew which answer her ward needed to hear in order to get through this. "Yes, I'm sure he'll forgive you one day," Sarah promised, squeezing Scarlett in her one arm. "Unfortunately you might just have to wait a little while before he gets there."
"I hate waiting," mopped Scarlett, to which Sarah let out a soft chuckle.
"Me too," she agreed.
"Can't I just skip to the part were everything is perfect?"
"That's not how life works," Sarah explained, a sadness to her voice. She didn't think it was right to add, that life never got perfect. From Sarah's experience, it only had extremely high points, and then extremely low ones – constantly going up and down until the final end. All you could do was hope to create as many ups as possible before that time. But since Scarlett was currently in the middle of one of her lowest downs, Sarah decided to keep all that to herself for now.
"You mind if I sleep in here tonight?" Scarlett asked quietly, afraid of Sarah's possible rejection, much like Jeremy's. "I can keep Katherine away if she tries to come in," she added a little louder, hoping to sway Sarah. It was a nice idea, but after her little chat with Katherine out in the hall, Sarah doubted the vampire would be dropping in on her again. At least tonight.
Even so, she wasn't about to turn away the werewolf in need. She hadn't yet, and hopefully she never would.
"Sure, you can be my guard dog," Sarah agreed as she stroked Scarlett's hair in a soothing motherly fashion. Scarlett merely nodded, cuddling into Sarah before the two drifted off, just grateful the day had finally reached its end.