Chapter 2
He gapes at me. "You know what I am?" I roll my eyes. He already asked this question.
"Yep." I pop the p. "Ran into your kind just a minute ago." I gesture towards my neck. "As you can probably see."
I feel some blood slowly drip down my neck so I watch the vampire's expression carefully. His eyes are held tightly shut and I can see his muscles quivering, fighting the instinct ingrained into his very being to suck me dry. After a few more minutes, he still hasn't snapped, but he's looking incredibly troubled.
"Please. I don't want to hurt you." His voice is full of angst and I puzzle over the weird idea of a brooding vampire. I snort.
"You're a strange vampire," I blurt out, tilting my head to the side. He opens his eyes to look at me, his face incredulous.
"Oh yeah? Well how does a normal vampire act like?" He challenges me, the angst gone, replaced with a teasing smirk. I pretend to think about it.
"Hmm. More badass. To be honest, you don't have a really threatening vibe to you." He shakes his head.
"Well, you're not a very normal human." He grins. I raise my eyebrows at that.
"Then how should I act?" I humour him. His smirk falters a bit and the sullen look returns. He glances back at me with a hungry, yet guilty, expression. It shocks me and I take a step back.
"The way you are now," He says harshly. "Scared. Disgusted. Horrified." He walks towards me, his eyes on my neck. I take another tentative step back. "You should be running away from me, listening to your instincts and getting as far away from me as possible." Despite his threatening behaviour, his eyes remain normal and there's no sign of his fangs in his mouth. I huff out a breath.
"Okay, enough with the brooding bad guy act." I roll my eyes. "You haven't killed me yet so just stop." He turns to shoot me another incredulous look.
"You're really bad at this whole prey-has-to-run-from-predator thing," He frets.
"Well, I'm not giving you, the 'predator'-" I use air quotes- "the pleasure of enjoying the chase." I give him a determined look. "If you do kill me, it will be very boring and I'm not going to just roll over and take it. So if you want to, just know I don't plan on making it enjoyable for you at all." The vampire gives me a long, hard look, his brows furrowed and mouth in a taut line. I fidget under his scrutiny and my eyes dart everywhere but his face.
The longer he takes to answer, the more worried I become that my gamble is not paying off. If he really is one of the bad ones and I made the wrong assumption, then revealing the bite mark might end up with me dead. The vampire seems to figure out what he needs to know because he finally looks away.
"I never learned your name," He says and his disquieting eyes turn to cut into mine. I startle, but he doesn't seem to notice and I catch myself.
"My name's Leora Gilbert, but people usually just call me Leo," I say. "What's your name?"
"Oh you're Elena's sister," He realizes. I nod, rolling my eyes slightly. Thankfully, his observation skills aren't on par again. "My name's Stefan. Stefan Salvatore." I smile at him.
"Nice to meet you," I say politely. The adrenaline starts to leave my body and all the emotions that I wasn't consciously aware of before start flooding in now that the fight or flight situation is over. Well, pretty much over. Either way, now I'm able to fully analyze what exactly is going on and my doubts about how I handled this situation come back. Plus, the fact that he's a very real and terrifying vampire that has probably been around long enough to kill numerous people, makes me worried. I feel my heart jump nervously and I breathe deeply to calm it, but with his advanced vampire hearing, he notices and seems to figure out pretty quickly why my heart just stuttered like that.
"Is it really?" He asks cynically. I give him a small, soothing smile.
"Well, you're the second vampire I met so far, and you're doing way better than the first," I assure him, patting his arm undoubtedly. "You haven't bitten me so that's a bonus." He laughs.
"I guess it is," He says, smiling. "May I ask who the other vampire was?" I scrunch up my eyebrows. Surprisingly enough, I find no struggle when I try to tell him her name.
"Her name was Kat," I say, nodding my head in confirmation. "Do you know her?"
Stefan thinks about. "No," He finally answers. But he still seems unsure. "No, I don't think so." He gives me another curious look. "She didn't compel you to forget?" It's my turn to give him a confused look.
"Compel me?" I ask him.
"Did she try to force you to forget or not to move or anything like that?" He asks me. I nod swiftly.
"Yeah," I answer. "She told me to stay still. I did for a bit, even though I didn't want to, but I was able to move and scream after she fed from me. She seemed pretty confused with that. She also told me not to tell anyone about what happened." Stefan gives me a thoughtful glance.
"But you did," He says slowly. "You told me."
"So does that mean I'm not compelled?" I ask. Stefan nods. He looks me over.
"Do you wear any jewelry?" Stefan asks. I nod, pulling off my bracelet. I hold it up to show him.
"Yeah," I say. "My parents gave me it." Stefan reaches out to touch it, hesitating at first, but when his fingers finally brush it gently, nothing happens. It seems to make him even more confused.
"Weird," He says. I tilt my head, and Stefan starts to explain. "Jewellery can be made with a herb called vervain, which is a herb that makes compulsion useless on humans, and also hurts vampires. A protection of sorts." He holds out my bracelet and I take it back from him, waiting for him to continue. "I thought your bracelet would have vervain, but it doesn't."
"Then why wasn't I compelled?" I ask. Stefan shrugs, looking back at my bracelet.
"Not sure," He says slowly. "You weren't resisting at first, but you did manage to break it. Might be something else, but it means you can't be compelled." I nod, considering his words, and I slowly start to smile.
"Well, that's pretty cool." I grin, and Stefan rolls his eyes but he's smiling as well. There's a pause in our conversation and it's silent. It's not an uncomfortable silence and I'm glad for the chance to think. "Are you and Elena friends?" I blurt out, and then blush at my sudden question. Stefan laughs.
"I hope so," Stefan says pensively. "But I'm afraid I'll hurt her. That she'll be disgusted of me if she figures out what I am." I shrug easily.
"She's pretty chill," I answer. "She'll probably freak out at first but she's pretty understanding." Stefan laughs. I smile at him before growing serious. "You treat her well, got it?" Stefan salutes me.
"Yes ma'am." I laugh along with him but our laughter is interrupted by my ring tone.
"Hello?" I answer my phone.
Where are you!?
I wince at my sister's frantic voice and hold the phone away from my ear.
"I'm talking to a friend from school," I answer, shooting a glance at Stefan. "The new kid."
Stefan?
"Yeah. We ran into each other and started talking."
Oh, okay. Be home soon.
Elena's voice is calmer, less frantic. I relax. "Yeah sure." I give an apologetic look at Stefan. "I have to go."
"No problem." Stefan shrugs.
I pull my hand away from my neck. "What should I say about this?" I fret. Stefan bites his lip and looks down at my neck.
"Hickey?" He suggests weakly. I roll my eyes.
"Elena would freak if I told her I have a hickey." I snort.
"Did you know that vampire blood heals?" Stefan asks. I blink. He points to himself. "Hint: I'm a vampire." I stare at him blankly, but I quickly realize what he's implying. I try to stop myself from looking too disgusted, but I don't think I really succeeded, because he flinches. I quickly smile at him.
"That's cool," I enthuse. "Well?" I ask, pointing to my neck.
"Ready?" Stefan says, and smiles, revealing a sharp set of fangs. Nervous shivers race up my spine, but despite my fear, I nod. He bites into his wrist.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I sigh, then grab his wrist and bring it up to my lips.
I open my front door and quietly slink up the stairs. I drop my bag in my room and slip into the washroom, avoiding my siblings. Grabbing some paper towel, I try to wash away the left over blood on my neck. The wound has completely healed and leaves no hint of a scar, but the blood did not disappear, and it dried on my skin. Once clean, I flush the bloody paper towel down the toilet before heading back to the kitchen where Elena and Jenna are sitting at the table.
"Where's Jer?" I ask. Elena looks away and Jenna turns to look at me with a surprised expression.
"I don't know. I thought he was with you," Jenna says. I shake my head.
"Nope," I sneer. "He stayed at school to get high instead of walking home with me." Throwing Jeremy under the bus shouldn't be as fun as it is. But, after everything that has happened, I take some grim satisfaction out of it. Take that you selfish asshole.
"That boy. What is he playing at?" Jenna scowls, shaking her head in disappointment. After a second she turns back to look at me quizzically. "Walk home? I thought Elena was driving you guys?"
Out of the corner of my eye I see Elena's pleading expression. The look is almost enough to make me cave but I decide to get on my sisters bad side as well. What can I say; they've been acting pretty shitty for a while now.
"Nope," I chirp. "She skipped fifth so we had to walk home." With that, I turn and slip back up the stairs to my room, stopping only to look back at Jenna as her disappointment is directed on Elena. Poor, innocent Elena turns to send me a glare from Hell and I smirk smugly at her before continuing to my room.
I go into my room and open my laptop, waiting as the ancient machine powers up, a faint buzzing in the background. I press the internet icon and quickly type in vervian, finding a local store that sells it. I smile and scrawl the address on a piece of paper, folding it neatly to put in my pocket.
I sit at the top of the stairs as I listen in on the conversation between Jenna and Elena.
"Please Jenna," Elena says weakly. "I know this isn't like me and I shouldn't have left Jer and Leo. I swear I won't do it again."
Jenna sighs. "I want your computer and your phone when you come back from the Grill. For a week."
Elena doesn't protest and hugs Jenna. "Thanks Jenna. I promise I won't do it again." She comes to the bottom of the stairs and I scramble to my feet and hurry into my room before Hurricane Elena can come my way. I sneak back into the living room and turn on the television once I know she's in her room.
Elena flounces down the stairs. "Bye Jenna! I'm going to meet Bonnie at the grill now." Jenna waves and Elena comes into the living room and towards the front door. I avert my eyes and stare at the T.V, but Elena doesn't say anything, much to my relief. "Oh. Hey."
I turn to look and see Stefan at the door. I raise my eyebrows at him when he looks at me for a moment, and I see his subtle smirk. Rolling my eyes, I turn to Elena and see the eager, hopeful look that's on her face whenever she's around Stefan and despite everything, I can't help but smile.
"I was about to knock…" Stefan trails off. Elena flashes her winning smile and turns her brown doe eyes on him. I hide my giggles as I see him flounder. I turn back to the television, keen on missing their flirty antics. My show keeps my interest until Elena comes back through the living room, so I walk to the door and sit down on the stairs to see Stefan.
"Why are you standing out there?" I ask him. He raises his eyebrows and looks around the door frame.
"Because I like the cold," He drawls sarcastically. I roll my eyes then give him a curious look. "I need to be invited in," He elaborates, and then raises his eyebrows at me. I smirk at him.
"What?" I ask innocently.
"I assume I'm not getting an invitation anytime soon," He asks dryly. I shrug my shoulders delicately.
"Elena will give you one." I pause and smirk at him. "Eventually. When she feels inclined to." I waggle my eyebrows at him and he rolls his eyes.
"We're just friends," He says seriously.
"That's the understatement of the year." I snort. "You fancy her. Come on Stefano, admit it." He raises his eyebrows again.
"Stefano?" He gags. "Really?" I nod firmly.
"Yep. It suits you," I chirp. "I think it'll catch on." He remains silent and I barely keep my laughter muffled. But his damn vampire hearing seems to one up me because he looks up to send me a death glare. I hesitate for a second, not sure if he's serious, but his teasing grin reassures me.
"If it wasn't for the invitation inside, you wouldn't be so confident," Stefan mock threatens. "Watch your back Gilbert."
I smirk at him and stick my tongue out. "Sucks."
Elena comes back so I retreat up the stairs and sit at the top. She turns to Stefan and smiles at him. He holds his hand out to her.
"Sorry," He says. "Were you going somewhere?"
Elena nods. "Yeah, I'm meeting a friend." She pauses and smiles. "Do you want to come?" Stefan smiles slightly and nods, looking at Elena with admiring eyes. They make their way out the door and I give Stefan the thumbs up.
"Woo! Go Stefano!" I cheer; quiet enough so Elena can't hear me. I know he heard me because he turns briefly to meet my eye and smirks. Once they leave, I walk back down the stairs, money heavy in my pocket, and enter the kitchen. "Hey aunt Jenna." I pop my head around the corner. "Can you drive me to-" I look down at my piece of paper- "194, Elgin Street?" She tilts her head in my direction in a delicate nod and I grin. "Thanks! I'll meet you in the car."
I run out to Jenna's car and hop into the front seat, programming the address into her GPS. Jenna comes out after a few minutes and I smile at her, thanking her again. She just smiles kindly at me and gives me a curious look.
"Why didn't you ask Elena for a ride when she left for the grill?" Jenna asks. I scrutinize her, seeing if she's innocently asking or if she's fishing for the details of this afternoon. I give her a look.
"Um…well I assume you already have a good idea why…" I trail off, shrugging my shoulders noncommittally again. Jenna rolls her eyes at me.
"Yes. I do." She laughs. "How long are you going to be in there?" I shake my head.
"Not that long," I answer cheerfully. "Be back soon."
I walk into the store, and much to my relief, the vervian is there, a good amount for a cheap price. I bring it up to the cash and look away awkwardly when the cashier gives me a weird look, hastily paying for my purchase and racing back to the car.
Jenna smiles at me. "What did you buy?" I shrug, the bag of vervian rubbing against my side in my pocket.
"Nothing. They weren't selling what I was looking for," I lie, faking disappointment. Jenna gives my arm a squeeze and smiles.
"Wanna look somewhere else?" She asks. I shake my head.
"No I'm okay," I answer, and fake a yawn. "I'm kind of tired actually."
"Okay. Let's go home."
When we pull into the driveway, I thank Jenna again and walk upstairs, pulling the bag of vervian out of my pocket when I'm safely in my room. Even though I couldn't be compelled by Kat, I don't want to take any chances in case that was only a one time thing. I pace, trying to think of a good way to use the vervian, wanting a way to use it discreetly, yet effectively, without it being easy to get out of my system or removed from my body.
The idea pops into my head, and I laugh in anticipation, going into my drawer to get some fabric. I pull it out and start cutting small patches, two layers each, and sew it onto the side of my pants, right where it sits on my lower back. Leaving a side open, I put the vervian into the pouches, sewing the open side closed once it's successfully in. Satisfied with my work, I do it on all my pants and pajamas, so I have a piece of clothing with vervian patches on at all times, putting the patches on my shorts and bathing suits as well. Some shirts get vervian too, because I'm paranoid. Everything that I may wear gets a patch.
After a good 2 hours of steady work, I peep my head out my door and head downstairs to boil some water when I don't see anyone, getting it ready for phase two of my plan. Jenna walks in and looks at me.
"Making tea?" She asks, raising her eyebrows. I glance at the kettle and nod. "Okay. Anyways, I'm going out, we need more food, so text if you need anything. Okay?" I nod again; trying not to smile too wide in case I give away my plans. She nods slowly and then turns to walk out the door, spouting the usual don't-burn-the-house-down warnings.
The kettle finishes boiling and I pour it all into a bucket, dumping some vervian into it. I repeat the process another three times and use the water to fill up two old water guns that we have, securing the cap tightly to make sure it won't leak before bringing it up to my closet, hiding it behind the dresses I never wear. Phase two a success.
I waltz down the stairs and, with a good amount of vervian left, I grab the can of coffee grounds. The vervian is just a tiny shade lighter than the coffee, so I grab a mortar and pestle and dump the vervian in, grinding it down until it's at the same consistency as the coffee. Then I dump the ground up vervian in with the coffee and mix it well, ensuring that there will be vervian in every scoop. Jeremy, Jenna and Elena all drink coffee, meaning vervian will be in their systems. I put the can back into the cupboard and hop off the counter just as Jeremy and Elena walk back in from the Grill.
Jenna enters after them, holding a pizza box above her head. "I got dinner!"
After eating (which was a tense affair - both Elena and Jeremy were grounded by Jenna, and neither were very happy about it. I sat on Jenna's side of the table and tried to ignore their glares), I go upstairs with noble plans of completing my homework, but it's barely past 8 when my eyelids droop and I'm out.
Dreamland is weird tonight. I look around myself in a panic and breathe deeply to calm down. It's all too realistic and palpable, and I'm way too lucid for this to be a normal dream. I swing my feet to the ground and stand up, spinning so I can look at the faded, greyed out version of my bedroom. The horror is like a jolt through my system when I see my body, my living, breathing body, sleeping in my bed, while I'm staring down at it. I scream. I can't help it, and I watch as my body twitches, which only makes me panic some more.
"Woah there. It's okay."
I shriek again, my heart racing, and me - or rather, my body - starts to whimper, thrashing even more, and I spin around to face the person that just spoke.
"What's going on?!" I shout. "Why am I here? What-Where am I!?" The person in front of me holds up her hands in a soothing gesture. She's about my age, maybe a bit older, and her eyes are wide, as if attempting to be reassuring. It doesn't really help, the situation too wild and bizarre to allow for any reassurance.
"I'll explain once you calm down," She cautions. Although I don't fully trust her yet, I can see how her suggestion could be reasonable, so I breathe deeply and calm my racing heart. In response, my body stops twitching, sleeping peacefully again. She smiles. "I need your help."
"My help? But- How- Wha?" I stutter embarrassingly and my cheeks burn. She smiles warmly at me and laughs. "Why am I here? Where is here?"
"You're on the Otherside, as I call it." She's moving her hands up and down at me as if that will calm me down. "It's a place where ghosts go, supernatural ghosts, to be more specific." My mouth opens and closes like a fish, and I blink a few times.
"I'm…" I exhale quickly. "Dead?" I can't help the hysteria as my voice rises to a shout, and my body thrashes and whimpers yet again. I breathe to calm myself before she tells me to, and my body stills. "What about my family?" The girl smiles reassuringly again and shakes her head.
"It's called astral projection," She elaborates. "You're a special kind of witch." She pauses, tilting her head. "Your birth mother's the kind of witch you are as well. It's rare, and you're the first one I've seen that has this much power."
"Is that much power-" I pause- "dangerous?" She nods slowly.
"Sometimes. Spirits can talk to you, like I am right now, if they want to. But not all have the best intentions when they talk either," She cautions. I give her a wary glance and take a step away from her. She laughs again. "Don't worry; I don't plan on exploiting you for my evil plans." She smiles wickedly. "Maybe." I falter, but I see the teasing glint in her eyes and I relax, rolling my eyes.
"Yeah, sure." I smirk. "So…why now? Why can I suddenly do this?" She turns serious.
"Your birth mother had a witch put a spell on you to keep your powers at bay until the right time." She looks thoughtfully at me. "I guess meeting a vampire opened up your supernatural side." I open my mouth again, but she holds her hand up, smirking. "Do you just want me to give you a rundown of everything I know?"
I smile and nod sheepishly. "That'd be great."
"Okay, so you already know that you can astral project, meaning your soul leaves your body, and you can interact with the Otherside. Not just the supernatural side, you can interact with the human souls as well, like your mum and dad, if they haven't passed on." That peaks my interest and I straighten up, making sure to focus on what she's revealing.
"I could see my parents?" I can't help but whisper, so many emotions raging through me at this revelation.
"Possibly," Adaline says. I can only nod. "Anyways, the easiest way to astral project is by sleeping. Right now, you'll astral project every time you sleep, but eventually you'll be able to control it. As you get more skilled, you can astral project just by closing your eyes." I nod, understanding the information despite how overwhelmed I feel. The girl continues. "Also, once you grow stronger, you can interact with the mortal plane when you're on the Otherside. You can move stuff and people can see you, supernatural and human. But if you die and go to the Otherside, you can interact with the mortal world, but only other supernatural beings can see you, not humans."
"What if I don't want to? Can I just...move on, or whatever?" I ask and Adaline nods.
"Yes. Whatever you choose," She says. "And, if you die, you can come back to life."
I raise my eyebrows. "Come back to life? Really?" She winces and I shake my head. "That sounds impossible. There must be a catch." She nods her head solemnly.
"There is. You have to kill five witches, vampires, werewolves and humans, each. And the humans and witches have to be innocent beings."
My heart skips a beat and I shake my head vehemently, not expecting that killing others would be involved with this. "Yeah, no. I'm not doing that." The girl smiles at me and nods her head in approval.
"Good. I was worried you'd be a psycho or something." She makes a face,and I can't decide whether I want to be offended or not. Before I can say anything, she continues. "Oh yeah, now that you astral projected for the first time, you'll see the dead while you're awake. Only supernatural spirits, but you can see the humans as well if they want to see you." My heart starts pounding but before I can ask more about human ghosts, Adaline continues. "The ghosts can interact with you too, you can physically touch them, and they can touch you." I nod slowly, letting it sink in, though the thought that ghosts can touch me whenever they want scares me. But I take a deep breath, trying to push the fear away because there really isn't anything I can do about it now.
"Can they hurt me?" I ask softly. She shakes her head.
"No. If you want them gone, you can just make them go away. You're in control in the mortal plane," She answers. I nod, relieved.
We stand there in silence for a couple minutes, which I'm grateful for since it's a chance for me to organize all this new information.
I narrow my eyes, studying her carefully. "How do I know I can trust you?"
Adaline glances at my body, eyebrow raised. "I mean, what else would explain this?" She gestures between the two of me. I nod, conceding.
"Okay, fine, you have a point there." I lean my chin against my hand, still feeling anxious about this whole thing. "What's your name, how old are you, and when did you die?" A part of me is aware that asking when someone died may not be the most appropriate thing to ask, but I ignore that part.
"Adaline, 15 and the 1920's." She recites quickly and I nod.
"Oh, so you were young," I murmur, the guilt creeping up. I wince. "I'm sorry."
Adaline shakes her head, sending me a soft smile. "Don't worry about it. It was a long time ago." I nod but don't comment, not quite agreeing that time makes death easier to deal with, one's own death or otherwise.
"I'm sorry if this is too personal, but how-"
"Did I die?" Adaline interrupts. I nod slowly, blushing. Adaline only smiles softly. "I saw things."
"You see things? What-" I stutter. Adaline smiles delicately. I blink, but then it suddenly hits me. "You're a seer?!" She nods. "You have visions." I shake my head, as if that can clear the confusion clogging up my brain. "So…where do I fit in to this?"
"Basically, when you're in the Otherside, spirits can show you their memories and thoughts when you make skin contact with them. If you initiate contact, you can pull out of the memory whenever you want. But if they initiate contact, you cannot pull out, they have to end it. This will never change as you grow stronger." I nod slowly again.
"Well, why do you need me for your visions? I understand you want to show them to me, but why?"
"I have seen things in the future that affect many people, all because of your sister."
I raise my eyebrows. "Excuse me?"
"Elena is a special type of supernatural," Adaline elaborates. "A doppelgänger. A lot of people want her, and that causes a lot of problems."
"So you want me to see your visions, because I'm alive, so that I can help stop the bad things," I say slowly, and Adaline nods.
"Yes. And because you're easy to contact. Remember how I said that ghosts can interact and touch you when you're awake?" She inquires. I nod "Well, they can also show you memories and thoughts when they touch you when you're awake, but this time you have full power in ending the memories." She looks out the window. "It's almost morning, but I'll see you soon. I'll teach you how to get back into your body now."
She coaches me on how to do it, and I nod, lying down on top of my body like Adaline says, closing my eyes, and thinking of going back into my body, imagining entering it and merging my soul with my physical body.
I open my eyes and get dressed, dreading the school day. The remnants of my dream still cloud my thoughts, and I shudder at how real it felt, what the girl said. I look around my room, trying to see if there really is an 'Adaline', and the relief is strong when I don't see her.
I walk blearily into the washroom, closing my eyes as I yawn and I stop in front of the sink, splashing water onto my face. When I look up, I swear I can see a figure of someone in the mirror and I shudder, but I brush it off when I turn and see no one there.
Damn overactive imagination.
"Bye Jenna!" I chirp, hurrying out the door. I see Elena enter her car, cell phone not in her hand, so I turn and head towards the school, keen on avoiding a car ride that would no doubt be tense and full of unspoken grudges.
Classes are boring. Going to sleep early was a bust since I didn't do my homework and then there was the nightmare so I'm left feeling exhausted as usual. I simply shrug it off and doodle through the class, the relief palpable when the lunch bell finally rings and I race out of my seat. I see Stefan walking down the hallway and I hesitate for a second, trying to push the fear away at the sight of his half-starved look with his tired eyes and gaunt cheeks. Starving vampires are dangerous. I shake it off though and run up to him.
"Hey Stefano!" I call, and catch up to him in the hallway. "Where's my sister?" He winces at the name but otherwise answers amiably.
"I'm sitting with her during lunch," He says. I chicken out as we near the cafeteria and wave goodbye, heading to the library instead. It's quiet and I don't have to worry about running into Elena or Jeremy in here. It takes me a moment to notice her presence, since I have my nose buried in a book, but I look up when a shadow falls over the pages.
"Hey Bon." I smile. She grins at me.
"What ya doing in here?" She asks me, looking around the library, which is virtually empty. I shrug.
"Avoiding Elena," I answer timidly. She raises her eyebrows at me.
"Why?" Bonnie asks. I give her a startled look.
"She hasn't told you yet?" I ask. Bonnie shakes her head. I giggle. "I kind of snitched on her to Jenna about her skipping yesterday." Bonnie snickers.
"Of course you did." She smirks. I just roll my eyes at her and continue reading. I look up when I notice that she's still sitting beside me. Raising my eyebrows, I look around the room and then back at her.
"Not to be rude, but why're you in here instead of the caf?" I ask her. She holds up a thick book that has a tattered cover and smells of dust. I crinkle my nose as a few dust bunnies fly into my face and I sneeze. "What is it?"
"It's a grimoire. My Grams says I'm a witch or something, and says I'll find my answers in here." She scoffs, rolling her eyes. The panic is strong when a memory of last night's dream pops up suddenly and I pale. Witch. That word again. A part of me doesn't want to just brush it off as a coincidence, but the rational, scientific side of me, which is much stronger, ignores my apprehension. I smirk at Bonnie.
"Sabrina the teenage witch?" I tease. Bonnie rolls her eyes.
"Whatever." She looks down at her watch and stands up. "Oh shit, I'm sorry. I gotta run, but I'll see you later?" I nod and wave goodbye and she walks off.
I lie on my bed and wait for something, anything, to happen.
"You bored?"
I jump when I recognize the voice and turn to see Adaline, in all her glory. My heart thumps nervously and I can feel myself starting to panic.
"Damn it! You're real!" I curse, rubbing my eyes hard.
She rolls her eyes. "Of course I'm real." She pauses. "Well, as a ghost. I'm dead though." She smirks mockingly and it makes me shiver, but she doesn't seem to notice.
"What do you want?" I ask, and I curse myself as the apprehension leaks into my voice. I see Adaline flinch and she sends me an apologetic look.
"I don't want to scare you Leora," She says softly, and her smile kind and gentle. "I need to show you a vision to keep you safe."
I raise an eyebrow and we stare each other down for a few seconds. Finally, I sigh, the one to break. "Fine. But we're doing a test first. I still don't really believe you're real." I know I probably sound pretty rude - it's not exactly polite to question someone else's existence, methinks - but I don't apologize.
Adaline sends me an amused smile. "Whatever makes you comfortable."
"It will," I say, slightly petulantly. Adaline only laughs softly, so I continue and explain my plan. She stands there patiently, agreeing to humour me and go along with it. We walk downstairs and I find Jeremy sitting at the table. "Jer? I want to ask you something." He looks up and his eyes widen as Adaline pulls me by my arm, making me jerk to the side rather oddly.
"Are you okay!?" He shouts, alarmed. I send Adaline a glance and she smirks smugly at me. "It was like someone pulled you, but-but-no one was there!"
"I don't know Jer," I lie. "I feel fine." He nods and gives in when he convinces himself that he just imagined it. I smile reassuringly at him before going back upstairs. "Now what did you want to show me?" I turn to Adaline and hold out my hand to her. She takes it promptly and I feel my body slump forward as my mind's pulled into Adaline's vision. But I'm not just watching the memory. I'm a part of it, acting out the part that I'll be playing in the situation once it rolls around.
"Bonnie!" I shout, panicked. "Emily! One of you, answer!" I finally find her, standing in a little clearing with an amber necklace dangling from her hand, surrounded by flames. Stefan, who I didn't see in the shadow of the trees, runs up to me.
"Leo, go home," Stefan says urgently.
I pull my hand away. "Wait, wait, what the fuck?" I feel the panic creeping up and I turn my wide-eyed gaze onto Adaline. She pats my hand gently before grabbing it again.
"Just watch," She soothes, and I get sucked back into the vision.
I shake my head and continue towards them. The fire makes me hesitate for a second but I continue on when I see the vampire standing in front of her, fangs bared as he stares at Bonnie/Emily with hate. I keep walking even as my heart doubles in speed, coming to stand in front of him and blocking Emily/Bonnie from his sight. Elena comes running in then and she stares at me in shock, but I ignore her.
"What are you doing?" The vampire snarls. He has dark black hair and blue, blue eyes, which are currently surrounded by red.
"You need to stop!" I shout. "Damon, you don't need that necklace, Katherine isn't in the tomb. She isn't in there!" I push Damon's chest roughly, sending him stumbling back. Snarling, his anger turns on me, and he holds me by my neck against the tree. Despite the fact that now I'm the one in danger, relief floods through me, since his back's to Bonnie now, allowing her to escape.
"What the hell are you talking about," He hisses, voice quiet yet absolutely terrifying with its malice.
"She's alive. She escaped by bribing a guard." His expression darkens and I rush to continue. "It's the truth! If I'm wrong, you can kill me yourself, but I'm right," I choke out. It must have only taken a couple seconds for him to see what he needed to see on my face in order to be convinced, but it felt like hours, and when he finally drops me, I immediately fall to my knees, muscles weak as I cough. He stands over me, uncomfortably close, and growls threateningly. I force myself to look up and make eye contact with him, and his evil blue eyes make me shiver.
"You better be right," He growls lowly. "Or you will have a slow and painful death."
"I'm right," I say calmly. "You'll see soon enough."
I come back into reality with a gasp and look at Adaline.
"See?" She whispers. I can only nod, not sure if I can trust my voice at the moment. Before I can gather myself, she disappears, going off somewhere in the Otherside. I fall back onto my bed and curse.
"Fuck." I run my trembling hand over my face, suddenly very exhausted from the energy it took to see those visions. Sleep is pulling at my consciousness, and I close my eyes, ready to give in.
Of course, right before I can drift off, my phone starts to ring. I scowl and reach over to pick it up.
"What?" I snap.
"Jeez, what's got you all pissed off?" A voice laughs.
I roll my eyes, even though she can't see me. "Yeah, yeah Caroline," I grumble. "What's up?"
"Come to the party. I'll pick you up," Caroline demands. I bite my lip and admire my nails.
"That might be a problem." I roll my eyes exasperatedly. "I don't think Elena's too happy with me."
"Why? What happened?"
I snort. "I told Jenna that she skipped."
Caroline laughs along with me. "Sounds just like something you'd do."
I sigh. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, I'm petty. What else is new?" I grumble. Caroline snorts.
"At least you're self-aware," She sniggers and I roll my eyes again, smirking.
"Whatever."
"Anyways, you have to come to the party! The hot new kid is going to be there!" Caroline gushes. I sigh, exasperated.
"That's not a good enough reason."
"Aw, Leo!" She whines. "Don't be a spoilsport. Please, come, for me?" We're silent for a few seconds, both too stubborn to budge. "It would piss Elena off."
I sigh. "Fine. I'll meet you there."
"Great!" She giggles. "There's beer too, if you're interested."
"Caroline!" I gasp in mock outrage and I put my hand against my chest in indignation as I fall onto the bed. "I'll have you know, I'm 13, I'm just an innocent child! What would your mother think about you corrupting the young people?"
"You're not so innocent, Leora Gilbert," Caroline scoffs. "Be there by 8."
I sigh and sit up. "See you then."
I put the phone down and open my door, creeping out into the hall and watching as Caroline arrives at our door to pick up Elena. They drive off and I skip down the stairs, wave bye to Jenna, and continue out the door, since Jeremy's already at the party. I throw on a light jacket and slip on my converse, throwing on some mitts for good measure.
I walk down the dark street towards the party and I fiddle with my vervain patch underneath my waistband, hoping that I won't run into any vamps. I have to stop suddenly, however, when a crow flies in front of me, nearly crashing into me.
"Shit!" I curse and turn to look at the dumb bird. It's standing on the sidewalk, looking at me with dark, black eyes. I take a step towards the bird and jab my finger at it. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, you little buggar. I'm far too young to have one, so shoo." I wave my hands at it and it takes off. I turn to stare as it flies into the sky.
"Evangeline?" A voice asks, startling me. Heart pounding, I turn to look at the person who spoke. He's looking at me with a hopeful expression and other emotions that I cannot name. I raise my eyebrow.
"Sorry wrong person," I say, giving him the once over. He has dark black hair, pale skin, and he looks to be about 25. I glance up at his face and he turns away from me, but not before I see veins shiver up his cheeks to his eyes. Vampire. Of course. Just my fucking luck.
The fear and anger flash through me and I take a breath, curling my hands into fists. I try to shake the fear away, but it's not just the fact that he's a vampire that's making me nervous. His voice and face are oddly familiar.
"What's your name?" He asks imploringly, his voice like honey. My eyes narrow even more and I can't stop the side of me that craves adventure from leaping to the grotesquely exciting idea that he's a bad guy and I finally get to use my vampire ass-kicking tricks I learned from the internet on someone. But the opportunity doesn't present itself so I answer his question.
"My name's Leora, but people call me Leo," I say cautiously. "What's your name?" He looks at me with a weird expression, an almost nostalgic expression. When he doesn't answer I raise my eyebrow, giving him a look. He smirks at me and laughs, like he understands an inside joke and I don't. I huff out petulantly.
"Nice to meet you Leo. My name's Damon," He says. The name has my mind racing back to the vision and my heart jumps when I recognize him. But I stay put and smile warmly, all while scrutinizing his cordial smirk.
Now it's my turn to give him a thoughtful glance. I bite my lip. "Why did you think I was someone else?" I blurt out and instantly blush, cursing my curiosity that could definitely be seen as invasive. His eyes darken and I tense.
"You just look like my sister," He says, glancing down at me. "When she was younger."
"What happened to her?" I ask and again curse my impetuosity. "If you don't mind me asking." I rush out, holding my hands up in a peaceful gesture.
"She died," He says softly. I give him my condolences and he nods in thanks. "It was a while ago, but I feel like it was only yesterday. She was really special to me, and it nearly killed me when she-" He swallows thickly- "died."
"I know the feeling," I answer empathetically. "My parents died four months ago." I look down at my hands, tears forming in my eyes, but I blink them back, refusing to cry in front of a vampire. "At the beginning, I couldn't let go, terrified if I forgot what it sounded like when they were sad, or angry, or happy, that I would be losing them. But then I realized that I can move on with life, while still keeping them in a safe place in my heart, and they won't ever be replaced by someone else. It's hard, but I keep that in mind when I feel sad." He turns his startling blue eyes onto me and bends down to stare deep into my eyes. I see his pupils dilate and I know he's going to try to compel me.
"You're going to be happy again. You're going to move on and live the life you deserve, and through it all, you'll remember your parents, without their memory holding you back," He says. "You'll be okay, Leora." Even though the compulsion doesn't work, I believe him, and I smile despite the fear still racing through me. "Now, you have to forget about me. Can't have anyone knowing I'm here," He whispers, and then straightens up. One last nostalgic look from Damon and he disappears, as if he was never there.
I make it to the party, and I quickly wish I hadn't. Caroline rushes up to me and grabs me by the shoulders.
"Where the hell were you!?" She shouts, shaking me slightly. My teeth rattle and I glare at her.
"Walking here," I say, pushing her off me to stop her shaking. "What's going on?"
Caroline gives me a despairing look. "They found Vicki. She's alive, but there was an animal attack. Took a big bite out of her neck." I feel the blood drain from my face and my mouth falls open.
Fucking vampire.
"Would you like to come in?"
And those were the magic words, allowing Stefan to come into our house. Stefan smiles kindly at my sister, slowly putting one foot into the door before smiling wider, continuing in completely. I watch him from the top of the stairs and give him a small wave. He smiles back at me and then follows Elena into the living room so that they can talk. When Elena goes to the washroom, I go over to Stefan, staring at him intently.
"Was it you?" I ask him. He shakes his head.
"No, I don't k-" He breaks off, swallowing thickly- "Animals. I drink animals." I can only nod as the relief rushes through me. I don't know what I would have done if he had admitted to doing it, but it's still a relief that nothing has to be done. About him, at least.
"Who was it then?"
"I don't know. I male vampire, that's as much as I know."
I step back from him, by head pounding. He had said he doesn't want anyone to know he was back in town, and that must include Stefan. At least, if Stefan does know, he's not telling me. A worrying, crazy and horrifying idea springs into my mind and I quickly dismiss it. Stefan wouldn't work with him, not when he saved me the other day. He wouldn't.
But I can't be certain. "I know who he is, Stefan," I hear myself whisper, barely even aware I said anything until I had spoken. Well, if Stefan is working with Damon, I just revealed the one thing that would certainly get me killed.
"What?" Stefan asks, shocked. I watch him warily, waiting for an attack. However, Stefan doesn't look angry or murderous, instead a look of anguish is on his face and he puts his hands in his hair, shaking his head. "How?"
I look away. "I ran into him, the other night. H-He was nice to me." I turn to look at Stefan, confused and angry. "Why'd he hurt her when he was nice to me?"
"I don't know, Leo," Stefan whispered. "My brother is unpredictable but one thing is certain. He doesn't care about humans. He might have been nice to you that one time, but it doesn't mean he'll be nice to you the next time."
I nod, barely listening. "Wait," I say after a few seconds when I finally comprehend what Stefan had just said. "Damon is your brother!?"
Stefan shushes me, looking around. I wince, smiling apologetically at him and quiet down. "Yes."
I put my face in my hands. "Fucking hell."
Stefan sighs exasperatedly. "Indeed."