Chapter 4

I wake up in the morning feeling like…well, crap actually. My stomach hurts from all the cookies and candy and chips we ate and the couch wasn't the most comfortable. Bonnie moves when she feels the couch rise after I get up and she cracks an eye open.

"Breakfast?" She asks me and I shake my head. Even though it's not the most nutritious breakfast, I grab a couple of cookies and scarf them down before walking into the washroom.

I pull my shirt down to reveal the dark purple bruises around my throat and I grit my teeth, the fear returning with the memory of what Damon did - and is probably doing currently - to Caroline. My breakfast almost makes a reappearance and I grip the sink tightly as I take deep breaths. Once I finally have my disgust under control, I put the hood of my sweater up, trying to hide the bruises. It probably looks suspicious as hell, but the bruises would lead to a lot more questions than the alternative. I splash some water onto my face and take a few gulps of water, trying to force all the emotions back.

"Hey Leo! You have a bunch texts and voicemails from Elena!" Bonnie calls out to me and I groan.

"Fucking hell," I mutter. "Just text her for me! Tell her I stayed the night at your place!" I shuffle back into the living room, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"She wants you to call her," Bonnie tells me and I sigh, running my hand through my hair. I nod and hold my hand out for my cell phone. Bonnie hands it to me with a smirk, and I make a face.

"Wish me luck," I mutter and dial Elena's number. "Hey Elena!" I don't get a cheery greeting back however.

Where the hell were you!?

I cringe at her instant yelling and roll my eyes. "I stayed over at Bonnie's." Elena's silent; she knows why I would spontaneously sleep over at Bonnie's house.

How bad was it?

I bite my lip and look down at my feet. "Pretty bad. He made a comment about how he doesn't need or want us in his life, yet again, and I snapped." I hear Elena sigh.

What did you say?

I sigh with her and answer hesitantly. "I told him that he's going to lose everyone if he keeps pushing us away." I sigh guiltily. "I can't say I regret finally telling him what I feel, but I can say it wasn't the best way or time to say it." There's silence on the other end and I can't tell if she's angry at me.

Well, he certainly understood. He's been unusually nice to me and Jenna, guilty even. So maybe, just maybe, you finally got to him. He really cares about you, Leo. I would say you're his favourite, and I don't think he would risk losing you. I guess all it took to get him back on track was hearing it from you.

I can't help it, I smile. "Really?"

Yes, really. I'll pick you up, okay?

I nod, but I realize she can't hear me. "Sure, sounds good." With that, we hang up.

Bonnie raises her eyebrows. "So? Did she give you hell?" She asks. I laugh but shake my head.

"No," I say softly and smile. Bonnie gives me a look, so I elaborate. "Apparently, Jeremy might have finally gotten back on track because of what I told him." Bonnie smiles happily.

"That's great, Leo!" She cheers and I smile gratefully at her. The doorbell rings and we both head to the door. "Hey, Elena." Elena waves at Bonnie, but most of her focus is on me and I send her a reassuring smile.

"Hey," I say. Elena smiles gently, taking my hand.

"You alright?" She asks and I nod. We wave goodbye to Bonnie and head to the car, Elena jumping in the driver's seat and I jump into the front. "Look." I raise an eyebrow and turn to look at her. She gestures towards the backseat and I turn.

My eyes widen in surprise. "Jeremy?"

He smiles guiltily. "Hey," He whispers. "I wanted to apologize. I never wanted to push you guys away, I just-" He pauses and breathes deeply- "I just didn't know how to deal with it." I give him a grim smile and pat his hand.

"You could've talked to us." He hangs his head sadly.

"I know, and from now on, I will," He answers solemnly. "I promise."

"Cross your heart?"

He smiles softly. "Cross my heart."

"What are you doing?" I ask Elena, walking into the kitchen to see her dumping pasta from an aluminum container into a dish with Bonnie standing beside her, looking grim.

"I invited Stefan and Bonnie for dinner," Elena answers simply. I raise my eyebrow.

"Why?" Elena looks at me and sighs.

"To hang out, why else?" I look over at Bonnie, who shrugs helplessly, and I scrunch up my eyebrows.

"Bonnie doesn't like Stefan," I answer, and Bonnie snorts. Elena looks at both of us with a shocked expression on her face, almost offended, but she quickly composes her expression and rolls her eyes.

"Well, she'll get over it once we have dinner."

I smirk at her. "You're trying to get them to like each other by forcing them into dinner?" Elena tilts her head and shrugs.

"I wouldn't say force. I'm simply making them have dinner together." Bonnie rolls her eyes so Elena sticks her tongue out. "It allows them to have the opportunity to get to know each other."

"Forcing them to have dinner doesn't guarantee that they'll like each other," I point out. "Who knows, maybe they just hate each other naturally." Elena snorts.

"No one naturally hates someone else. There's always an underlying reason." She dumps a salad into a bowl, and crosses her arms, looking sternly at me. "Either way, if it's an unfounded reason, getting to know each other will fix the hostility between them." I roll my eyes.

"You hope." Elena practically slams the salad down in exasperation when she goes to place it on the table.

"What's wrong with having hope, Leo?"

We have a stare down until I look away. I'll let her have this one, since tonight's the first time since our parent's deaths that she's actually been eager to have people over.

I slump my shoulders in defeat. "Fine Elena, I guess they could try to work it out." I roll my eyes when she gives me a triumphant smile, walking towards me.

"I knew you'd see reason," She says affectionately, kissing me on the top of my head before going into the cabinets to grab some plates. "Here. Set the table." I roll my eyes again but listen, quickly putting the plates down. Once I'm done, I start heading to the stairs just as the doorbell rings.

"Leora, get that!" Elena yells to me and I wave my hand in acknowledgement before pulling the door open to reveal Stefan.

"Hi Stefano," I chirp. He smiles at me before handing over a bottle of wine. I look at it approvingly and nod. "Nice wine. Good choice," I say delicately but Stefan just rolls his eyes. I clear my throat. "You do know Elena's underage, right?" Stefan again rolls his eyes at me.

"The wine's for you aunt," He says. "I don't know any other dinner gifts other than wine, so I brought it." I just nod and skip into the kitchen, placing it on the counter, looking over my shoulder to see if Stefan's coming in.

"What's for dinner?" He asks and I shrug.

"Ask Elena, she bought it from the store," I answer, and Elena coughs, giving me a look. I blink, but quickly understand. "Wait, no never mind, she…didn't buy it?" But it's more of a question than a statement so Elena sighs and gestures with her hand, telling me to keep talking. "Um… I guess she made it," I finish undoubtedly, looking at Stefan confidently. He raises his eyebrow.

"She made it, huh?" Stefan chuckles and I snort.

"Yep," Elena laughs. "Cook Elena at your service." Stefan laughs along with her and I smile. The food is finally ready so we sit down to eat, Bonnie, Elena, Stefan and I.

After a while, Stefan and Bonnie do start to warm up to each other, and Elena sends me a smug smirk. I roll my eyes at her before sticking my tongue out and she starts to laugh. Just as Stefan is getting into the interesting parts about Bonnie's witchy heritage, there's someone else at the door.

I send Elena a curious look but she just gestures at the door for me to go and answer it. I shrug and get up, walking over as they ring the bell again.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" I shout, finally reaching the door as I roll my eyes and open the door. My eyes widen in shock when I see Caroline and Damon standing on the front porch, a friendly, slightly dazed smile on Caroline's face and a cruel smirk on Damon's. My eyes narrow at the sight of him, and I turn to Caroline instead, ignoring him. She beams at me, so I smile tentatively back, and she gives me what she has in her hands.

"We brought red velvet!" She sings and I take it from her, turning to walk back into the kitchen. I pause, looking over my shoulder to see Caroline come skipping in after me, and Damon frowning coldly at me.

I turn to look at him and I see his eyes flash dangerously before he growls, revealing his sharp fangs. I shudder but successfully hide it before placing the cake on the counter. Caroline turns to me and so does Elena.

"Is there someone else at the door?" My sister asks and I shake my head vehemently.

"No, no, I just left it open by accident!" I shout while I run back to the front door, slamming it in Damon's very violent and very malevolent face. Caroline comes up to me.

"Hey, what about Damon?" Caroline asks, confused. I take advantage of her confusion and give her my own look of bewilderment. I shake my head.

"Who?" I ask stupidly. Caroline stares at me, her mouth open, still confused.

"My boyfriend…" She trails off and I shake my head again, tilting it to the side.

"Caroline, I didn't see anyone with you," I say slowly, putting as much concern in my voice without making her suspicious. Caroline's mouth opens and closes with shock, and she starts to believe me.

"Really? I'm sure I came with him." I shake my head again.

"I didn't see anyone." I shrug. Then I give her a worried look, placing my hand on her shoulder when she puts her head down. "Hey, are you okay?" Caroline looks up at me and shakes her head weakly.

"I don't know," She admits, looking over at the door. "I'm sure he was there…" We stand there in silence, both puzzled. Well, she's puzzled. I'm planning. After a few seconds, I snap my fingers.

"I know why, Care," I say, relieved. She looks at me hopefully. "You've spent so much time with him that it feels like he's always with you now." Caroline looks at me for a second and then nods slowly.

"Yeah," She says, before nodding faster. "Yeah that makes sense."

"Okay," I say, patting her shoulder. "Come sit down with us." She nods, taking a seat, but she still has a sad expression on her face and after a few minutes pass, she starts to cry.

"He promised he'd come with me," Caroline sobs and I shift guiltily. In hindsight, gaslighting her wasn't the best thing to do and I wince.

"I'm sorry, it's okay," I soothe. "Maybe he's just late." She looks up at me.

"You think?" As she says this, there's a knock at the door. I go to stand up but Elena's already halfway there, Stefan trailing after her. I panic and catch his eye, and I see him shake his head subtly in warning.

"Maybe that's him," Elena says, smiling at her best friend. Caroline perks up, going to follow them. I stand up after a soft sigh in defeat and go with them to the door.

"Sorry I'm late," Damon says, smiling cordially, and he turns to Stefan. "Hey, little brother." He smirks and then hands some flowers over to Caroline, kissing her on the head. "You got the cake, right?"

Elena smiles at him. "Yes, thank you." Damon just nods his head. He then turns to look at me. I narrow my eyes at him but his expression barely changes, hardly noticeable by anyone who doesn't know what he is. There's just a slightly more sinister edge to his smirk accompanied by a dangerous flash in his eyes. "Nice to see you again, Leora."

"You've met?" Elena asks, looking between Damon and me in surprise. I just glare at him.

Damon smiles delicately. "Yes, we ha-"

"No, we haven't," I interrupt him, panicking. Damon just raises an eyebrow at me, the smirk still there, and I fight the urge to slam the door in his face again, claiming that everyone's hallucinating now.

"Oh?" He asks. "I just imagined it then?"

"You must have me mixed up with someone else," I say innocently and he laughs.

"You're right, of course," He agrees, and smiles politely at me. "So, Leo, can I come in?" Something in his eyes, smile, his entire face, just irks me and I snap.

"Actually, we're full, sorry," I hiss. "No more room at the table." I move forward to slam the door in his face again but Elena pulls me back, grabbing my arms before I can reach it. She gives me a disappointed look before turning to Damon, the devil incarnate, and smiles apologetically.

"We can pull up a chair. Come on in," She says, giving me a look. I only shrug, gritting my teeth. Damon looks around the doorway with a smug smile before gliding through with ease. Elena smiles and turns with Bonnie and Caroline to head back into the dining room. "I hope you like pasta!"

"Love it!" Damon calls after her, having stopped just beside me. I keep my gaze focused on him and he turns to me. He doesn't meet my eyes right away, looking around the house instead. "You have a really beautiful home, Leora." I watch him silently for a few seconds but he doesn't say anything more.

"Thank you," I spit out and he smiles derisively. I curl my hands into fists, taking a deep breath in an effort to soothe my anger.

"Of course," He says. He steps closer to me and I take a step back, but he grabs my shoulder before I can get very far. He leans down to whisper in my ear. "It would serve you well to remember that I'm invited in now. I can come into your house any time I want to." He turns his face to look at me and I see the sadistic glint in his eyes. I recoil, the fear making the urge to get as far away from him as possible almost impossible to ignore. "If you try anything like this again, I will kill you."

"Go to hell," I whisper. His fingers dig painfully into my shoulder.

"Uh uh, it's not just your life you're risking here, little mouse." He leans forward, his lips brushing my ear. "It's just too easy. When they're asleep, all unawares of the monster that can come and go whenever he pleases, do whatever he pleases."

"Leave my family alone," I hiss and Damon laughs.

"Well, that's up to you," He says simply, shrugging. "I'm just telling you how it'll go if you displease me one more time."

"Fuck you," I snarl. "You fucking asshole." I clench a fist but before I can even begin to take a swing, Stefan has my elbow and is pulling me away from his brother. Damon smirks at me.

"Wow, little mouse, you're feisty." He laughs, shaking his head. Stefan scowls.

"You made your point, Damon," He hisses. "Get out of here."

Damon grins. "Oh come now. I was invited for dinner. It would be rude of me to leave now."

Stefan steps in front of me, his teeth bared at his brother. "Damon-"

"Careful, little brother." The joking tone is gone from his voice now, replaced with dangerous malice, a promise of horrifying consequences if pushed, and I shiver.

Stefan ducks his head. "Damon, please," He whispers, but any threat is gone from his voice, and Damon smiles.

"This isn't about you, little brother," He says, turning to walk into the kitchen. He pauses, his back to me, but turns his head so I can only see the side profile of his face. "Just remember my warning." I shiver in fear and he chuckles at my racing pulse before continuing to the kitchen.

Stefan and I stand there, both trying to wrap our heads around what the hell just happened. After a few seconds, I scowl.

"Little mouse?" I bristle at the name, and turn to Stefan, who frowns apologetically.

"My brother's a dick," He says and I only grunt in agreement, before we both follow him into the kitchen.

They're currently sitting around like old women with cups of tea and having small talk. I hide a giggle as I silently do my homework in the T.V room, curled up in a chair, eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team!" Caroline gushes to Stefan. "Ah, Tyler must be seething. But, good for you, go for it." She is impervious to the awkward looks that are on Stefan and Elena's faces and I wonder if the compulsion that Damon obviously has her under is messing with her social skills.

"That's what I always tell him," Damon begins and I automatically scowl at the sound of his voice, looking up to see Stefan's reaction to Damon's obvious insult. "You have to engage. You can't sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it." I narrow my eyes at the looks that Stefan and Damon are sending each other because they're definitely not filled with brotherly love. Quite the opposite, really. Not surprising, obviously, but I am curious about the history between them that made them this way, and despite it all, I really want to ask.

"Yeah Elena wasn't so lucky today," Caroline states. "It's only because you missed summer camp. I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines."

"I'll work with her. She'll get it," Bonnie assures Caroline. But Caroline's still talking to herself.

"I guess we could put her in the back," She muses. Elena sends her a look and again, Caroline's oblivious. It's like she has no filter. Granted, sometimes my filter disappears, but only rarely. Caroline's usually good at refraining from insulting her friends, so this has to be something more.

"Yeah you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena," Damon comments.

"Oh it's just cause her parents died," Caroline says it so easily and tactlessly that I choke, spluttering as she continues. "Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase," She starts to laugh. "She used to be way more fun." She finally notices the looks on Elena and Bonnie's faces, and my indignant choking sounds. "And I say that with complete sensitivity."

Something's definitely up.

"I'm sorry Elena," Damon says. I look up, interested to hear what he's got to say. "I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die."

"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon," Stefan says. His voice has an undertone of condescension and the air noticeably thickens.

"Huh, you know what you're right, Stefan," Damon says, almost mockingly, and I notice that I'm not the only one that's sensing something off with their relationship. From the look on Bonnie's face, she's feeling a little uncomfortable too. "I'm sorry, the last thing I wanted to do was to bring her up." I roll my eyes at his lack of subtly.

Elena looks at Stefan and he clenches his jaw, turning to look away from his brother. From what Elena mentioned earlier, this girlfriend they're talking about is most likely Katherine, the elusive vampire that's actually alive, and also probably Kat, the vampire that had attacked me before. I'm itching to figure it out, but I hold my tongue. I can wait for a better moment. Who knows, maybe I'll hear a conversation about it.

Lady Luck likes me this time.

"Earlier, did you mean Katherine?" Elena asks as she loads the dishwasher with Damon. "How did she die?" Damon seems to hesitate, but only for a moment.

"A fire," He hesitates. "Tragic. Fire." I roll my eyes.

"Recently?" Elena asks, aghast.

"Seems like it was yesterday," Damon answers, but I know it must be a while ago. They're super old.

I ignore them as they go into what she was like, only listening at the mention that she was beautiful like Elena, and I make a note to look up the definition of a doppelgänger later. Having gotten what I needed pretty early into the conversation, I head back into the dining room to do my homework.

Luckily for me, I'm in just the right spot to eavesdrop on another conversation. Not that I get a lot of information - something about a scarf with Caroline - but I can put two and two together, especially once Damon replaces Caroline in the conversation.

"They're people, Damon," Stefan says, disgusted. "She's not a puppet that exists for your amusement, for you to feed on whenever you want to."

"Sure she does," Damon says simply. "They all do. They're whatever I want them to be. They're mine for the taking." I move my seat further forward, ensuring that they cannot see me from where they're sitting. I'm sure my pounding heart gives me away, but neither of them say anything, so I remain where I am.

"You've had your fun; you used Caroline to get to me and Elena. Now it's time for you to go."

"That's not a problem," Damon says cruelly. "I've been invited in. I'll come back tomorrow night, and the following night, and I'll do with your little cheerleader whatever I want to do. Because that is what is normal to me." I freeze and clench my fists hard, trying to keep myself from freaking out. Eventually they're done talking and I focus on steadying my breathing and keeping my heart from jumping out of my chest.

"Hey, little mouse." Damon's voice is in my ear and I jump, backing away from him. Unlucky for me, it's kind of hard to move backwards on a chair and I start to fall. Damon, even if he doesn't have the decency to see Caroline as something other than a way to get sex and blood, does have the decency to help me, stopping me from hitting the ground. And even with everything that happened, I'm polite; manners were practically ingrained into my very being as a child, so I reluctantly smile at him.

"Thanks for catching me," I say haltingly.

"No problem Leora," He says, and smiles kindly. For a second there, he almost looks like the vampire I had a conversation with the night of the party, the one who empathized with grieving lost loved ones, and who comforted me and tried to help me move on. And then after our conversation, he went and attacked Vicky. And now he's going around, killing people and using my friend as a walking blood bag.

"What do you want, Damon?" I ask weakly, confused and hurt. I hate myself for being weak, for being confused, because when people show you who they really are, you ought to believe them.

"I want what every vampire wants," Damon says easily. I shiver and he laughs at me. "I want power, revenge, control." He grins. "Blood." He inhales. "By the way, your blood smells delicious." I don't know how to respond to that so instead I turn my eyes to the ground, unable to look at him. "Do you remember what I told you on the street, Leo?" He asks me and I freeze. Psychopaths are manipulative and charming. I clench my jaw, shoving whatever empathy or pity I may have towards him away.

"Yes," I grit out and finally dare to look him in the eye. He raises his eyebrow but otherwise doesn't change his expression or intimidating stance.

"Then you know not to interfere," He reminds me. "Like I said to Stefan, and like I told you before, I've been invited in, and I can do with your sister whatever I want to. That goes for you too." He leans closer towards my face, fangs visible behind his lips. "So don't you dare test me, or underestimate me, because I can tear you limb from limb in an instant."

"I got it," I whisper and he chuckles, patting me condescendingly on the head.

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other," He says cheerily, before walking off.

Damon and Caroline leave first, and I got to say, the atmosphere lightens almost instantly, like we can all breath normally again. Bonnie and Elena are talking, leaving Stefan alone, so I go up to him.

I look down at my feet, biting my lip. "Stefan, can I ask you something?"

He looks up at me. "Yeah, shoot," He says, turning his full attention towards me.

"Elena told me that Katherine looks like her. Is that true?" I see his face darken, and I begin to panic. He seems to see my fear because he smiles reassuringly at me.

"Yes," He admits, and my heart starts to race. I take a deep breath.

"Like a doppelgänger?" I ask him and he raises his eyebrow. "A doppelgänger is a supernatural creature, clones pretty much. Since Katherine's older, Elena would be a carbon copy of her."

Stefan nods. "Then yes, like a doppelgänger." I nod, trying to keep my cool. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason, just curious," I answer, and then turn to stare seriously at him. "You loved her?"

Stefan pauses, considering it. "I loved her in the beginning. Near the end, I-I realized she'd been playing us the whole time." He sighs, shaking his head. "I made some mistakes, thinking it was love, even after that reveal, but now-" He runs a hand through his hair- "She's dead to me." I can only nod, knowing how that statement isn't as true as the two of them thought.

"Do you love Elena because you see in her what Katherine could have been?" I ask slowly. Stefan shakes his head.

"No," Stefan says easily. "Katherine was a vampire; she turned way before I was born, in fact. Whatever - whoever - she was back then was gone by the time Damon and I came along and nothing could bring that girl back. Elena is not like her. She's more compassionate, strong and loving than Katherine could ever be."

"Okay." I look down at my hands. There's a moment of silence, but it isn't an uncomfortable silence, so I let it continue on, glad to have time to think to myself. "Could she be alive, do you think?"

"I don't know," He admits and just shrugs. "If she is, we'd have heard about it by now." I nod.

"Okay," I repeat. "Does Damon love her?" He looks down at his feet.

"She was dating us both, convincing both of us that it was only us that she loved, but she loved neither of us. She was playing us all along." Stefan sighs. "I told my father eventually that Katherine was a vampire, because I knew that the towns folks, and him, were planning to kill the town vampires." Stefan closes his eyes. "But I hoped that he'd leave Katherine out of it." He pauses, opening them again and looking at me sadly. "He didn't, of course. He got her, and before Damon and I could free her, he killed us both with vampire blood in our system."

"That's how you turned." I look at him grimly and he nods.

"Yes," Stefan confirms. "I was the reason Katherine died, and he loved her." He sighs again. "It was the final nail in the coffin when I made him complete the transition by killing our father, and making him feed."

"You killed your father?" I ask, slightly appalled at how one can do that. Stefan nods.

"Yes." Stefan's lip curls up from his teeth. "Giuseppe, my father, was a terrible man. He loved no one, sent my mother to a sanitarium to die, and he beat Damon and I on a regular basis."

"Then why did Damon hate you? It sounded like he'd be fine with it."

Stefan sighs. "Because he didn't want to change. He wanted to die so he could be with Katherine, since she died, but I made him live an eternity without her."

"And now he hates you." Stefan nods. "That's why he's ruining our lives as well, because you're here."

"Yes. And I'm sorry Leo, I really am." I shake my head.

"You don't have to be," I assure him. "You're not responsible for Damon's actions, so I don't fault you." I look at him. "So that's how you turn into a vampire? Dying with vampire blood in your system?" Stefan nods in confirmation. I consider this. "Is Caroline at risk?"

"Very little," Stefan assures me and I sigh in relief.

"But he's still hurting her," I lament and he nods guiltily as well. "I can give her vervian." Stefan's eyes widened. "What?"

"You have vervian?" He asks, astonished. I scrunch my eyebrows.

"Yes?" I say, more of a question than affirmation. "I got it from some weird pawn shop. Not here though, in another town." He nods in understanding. "Why?"

"Vervian doesn't grow here anymore," Stefan elaborates. "Damon made sure of it a while ago."

"Oh." I clear my throat. "Thanks Stefan." He smiles, nodding, before getting up and heading over to my sister.

I sigh, and just plead desperately to fate that history won't be repeating itself.

"She's alive."

I sigh in reluctant agreement. "I know, Adaline, but how can I be sure that you're right?" I plead with her and she huffs.

"Do you really think that the vampire you met that looked exactly like your sister, who even guessed the person you thought she looked like, wasn't suspicious? It isn't a coincidence that the Salvatore brothers are here and so is Katherine." I purse my lips and sulk. "I'm right, Leo, just admit it."

"So your vision then?" I ask weakly. "It's true, is it?" Adaline nods, but rolls her eyes slightly as well.

"Of course it's real," Adaline pauses. "Mind you, just because you know what's going to happen doesn't mean you can do anything about it." She pauses, hunching forward. "At least, I wasn't able to change anything, so I don't think you'll be able to change anything either." She sighs heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose, and I frown. "I don't change fate, Leo, I just predict it."

"Then what's the point?" Adaline pauses again, thinking about it.

"The point is that you know," She finally answers. "You know what's coming, and even if you can't change it, you can decide how to deal with it. Whether it's bad or good, you know ahead of time how to get through it. My power allows you to prepare for any situation," She sighs, as if it's a terrible weight to have. "To prepare for the emotional, mental and physical effects of the event and figure out how to deal with it in a healthy way."

I sigh and sit down onto my bed. "So everything in your vision is going to happen?" I whisper and Adaline nods in unenthusiastic affirmation.

"Yes," She winces. "But you know what's going to happen," She enthuses. "You know how to help her, how to help her move on from it in a way that leaves the least emotional and mental damage. You can help." I nod, reassured.

"Okay," I whisper. "What about Caroline? Should I give her vervian?" Adaline shrugs.

"Stefan's going to deal with it," She assures me and I sigh.

"Yeah, but I still want to help her."

"Yeah, but you're human."

"Ugh!" I flop down onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. "Sometimes, it sucks being human," I complain.

"Yep," Adaline agrees. "But you're not completely human." I blink. She gives me a look and a smirk creeps up my face when I realize what she's implying.

"I can astral project and stake Damon!" I grin. Adaline looks shocked.

"What? You're really jumping right to murder?" She asks incredulously. It almost feels like I'm getting scolded by my disappointed grandma and I give her a look.

"Would it really be murder?" I argue but Adaline gives me a look.

"Yes."

"He's not really alive though," I protest and Adaline glares at me, her hands on her hips.

"No staking the vampire," She says. I sigh.

"But he kills people!" Her look is still there. "Come on, you can't be saying that he should be given a chance!" She only raises an imperious eyebrow and I throw my hands up. "Wait, you are?!"

"Bingo!" Adaline grins and I groan. "Hey, don't be like that. You can't really believe that he's a monster through and through, can you? Remember that conversation you had with him?"

"Yeah, before he attacked Vicky!" I protest and Adaline gives me such a pathetic look that I feel myself beginning to relent. She must sense her impending victory because she increases the puppy dog eyes to max capacity and I only last a few more seconds before giving in. "Okay fine! If I'm giving Stefan a chance, I guess I'll give Damon one too," I grumble, but before Adaline can be too happy, I continue. "But he has to prove himself. If he shows he's truly a monster, through and through, I'll consider murder, okay?" Adaline tilts her head.

"Technically, that's kinda hypocritical," Adaline points out and I shrug in agreement.

"Well, since I'm throwing my original views on what it means to be good and evil out the window, then I'm also negating any hypocrisy and the rules surrounding that, alright?" Adaline nods.

"Fair enough," She concedes. She turns to look at me. "You'll give Stefan and Damon equal chance to prove themselves good people and you have to give them at least three chances. If they mess up, then you're allowed to do whatever." I nod, and sigh.

"To be honest, I don't think I'd even be able to go through with staking them," I admit. "I mean, they're still essentially people in a way, and by the time the third chance rolls around, I'll probably be pretty attached." I pause and Adaline raises an eyebrow.

"What do you want to do then?" She asks quietly, and I frown, shrugging.

"I don't know," I whisper. We're silent for a few seconds before I turn to her. "I'll figure it out when I need to. But not right now."

Adaline smiles softly. "Not right now," She agrees. "Besides, it doesn't matter right now anyways, you're still not strong enough to interact with the mortal plane yet, even if you astral project tonight." I nod. Just a week after I first met Adaline, I was able to control my astral projection. Now I can leave my body whenever I choose to; even when all I do is close my eyes.

"Okay. Night, Adaline."

"Good night, Leo."

"Leora!" Elena calls. "We're going to the game, meet us there, okay?"

"Yeah," I call back. "I'm going with Kara and Jess, so I'll see you there!"

Eventually, after Elena leaves, my friends arrive, and I run to the door, smiling.

"Are you ready for the game?" Kara cheers, dressed in our school colours, complete with a foam finger.

I laugh. "Of course! I love football." I try to fake enthusiasm. Kara is all for it, but Jess, who I'm closer to than Kara, just smirks and rolls her eyes. She knows me.

"Fake it 'til you make, am I right?" She asks, and I snort.

"Oh yeah," I chuckle and shrug. "Honestly, I think Kara's the only one here who actually likes football." Kara gives me a look, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Oh, no, I like the people who play football way more than the actual sport," She purrs and Jess laughs.

"You slut," She teases and Kara just smirks, flipping her hair. I laugh with them and we walk out of the house. "But even I have to admit, Stefan is hot." She licks her lips.

Kara raises an eyebrow. "Aren't you, like, a devout Christian or something, 'no-sex-before-marriage' and all?" I nod along with Kara and Jess just rolls her eyes at us.

"Just because I can't actually enjoy the feast, doesn't mean I can't appreciate how delicious it looks."

We look at her, shocked at first, before bursting into a fit of giggles. "I can't believe you just said that!" Kara squeals.

"Hey, I'm fourteen, not a prude!" Jess protests and I roll my eyes.

"No one's blaming you, Jess, I mean, he is quite nice to look at," I admit and they nod in agreement.

"Wait," Kara says, stopping us. "Is your sister and him a thing?" They both look at me, and I shrug.

"I think so," I tell them, and Kara gives me a look. "Hey, don't look at me like that! He's not my type anyways, I'm just saying that I understand why people do find him attractive." If type you mean fang-y and immortal, then no, that is definitely not my type.

"Good," Kara states, patting me on the back. I laugh. "Don't go stealing your sister's guy." I roll my eyes. "Really, Leo, that's like, a rule," She insists, so I cross my heart and pinky promise, and she smiles, satisfied.

"We're here!" Jess sings, and she waltzes towards the bleachers, Cara and me following.

I sigh. Time for a boring game of football. Honestly, I don't know why I go to these things.

This was quite the event.

Mr. Tanner died, and I find it hard to believe the lie the officials are feeding the public. An animal attack? C'mon now.

"Two chances left," I mumble and look at Adaline out of the corner of my eye.

"Honestly, Leo, at this point, I don't think you should keep track," Adaline advises. "Pretty soon, you're going to lose track, especially when it reaches the hundreds." I nod in agreement. Stefan walks up to me.

"It was Damon, wasn't it?" I ask him and he nods. "Why?"

"He's trying to ruin my life," Stefan says grimly and I shake my head angrily.

"Stefan, he's not ruining your life, you're not the one dead," I say harshly. "Why are you here? If the reason he's killing people is to get at you, then why are you here?" I turn to look at him, and my gaze softens at the guilty look on his face. "Wait, Stefan, I'm sorry, I really didn't me-"

"No it's fine, Leo," He sighs. "It's too late. Even if I leave tonight, go somewhere else, he will still know that I care about Elena, about you." He looks down at me. "And that means everyone's still at risk."

I grit my teeth, staring ahead of me as I try to control my anger. It's not Stefan I'm angry at, and I don't want to take it out on him. "Why me?"

"What do you mean?" He asks and I sigh.

"Why do you care about me?"

He smiles softly. "You look like our sister." My eyes widen.

"Evangeline," I whisper and Stefan nods, confused. I elaborate. "Damon called me that when I first ran into him." I pause, the realization hitting me like a ton of bricks. "That's probably why I made it out of that meeting alive." Stefan nods in agreement.

"Probably," He admits. "You do look like her. Not a carbon copy, or a-" He tests the word- "doppelgänger, but you look similar, and your similarities with Evangeline probably brought out the humanity my brother has left." I nod, relieved that he might not be a complete monster. I give him another chance in my head, making him equal with Stefan. "The whole reason he attacked Tanner was because I talked about his humanity. I thought it was Katherine, the love he still has for her." Stefan pauses. "But maybe it's Elena, or my sister." He looks over at me. "Or maybe it's you."

"Maybe," I whisper. "But why would it be me?" Stefan looks up at the stars.

"We loved Evangeline very much," Stefan states. "She wasn't related to us by blood, but her family were friends with ours for a very long time. After her parents died when she was six, she moved in with us." Stefan pauses, sighing heavily. "Through it all, she remained innocent, naïve, despite the horrors that my father brought to us." Stefan pauses, sighing deeply. "She was our humanity, and when she died when we turned, our humanity died as well." I look over at him, alarmed.

"She died?" I ask him. "How?"

"When I came back to the house, to get my father, she was there," Stefan chokes. "She screamed. She was terrified of me. But, when my father came back and pointed his gun at me, she jumped in front to save me from the bullet." He stopped, collecting himself. "That's when I killed my father."

"And what happened when you told Damon? About Evangeline?"

"That's when he lost hope," Stefan murmurs. "And that was when he truly, completely, hated me."

"Leo." Bonnie's in front of me, terrified and shaking.

"Holy shit, Bonnie what's wrong?" I ask her and she begins to cry. I pull her into a hug and after a few seconds, she manages to collect herself enough to explain. She gives me a sad and fearful look and I subconsciously tense.

"Those numbers I saw?" I nodded, remembering her mentioning them to Elena. "Look. 8. 14. 22." I freeze, turning towards her, but she's staring listlessly at the ambulance. At least she's not crying anymore. I get her attention and she turns to look at me wearily, tear tracks on her face but no longer sobbing.

"Bonnie," I whisper. "Have you talked to your Grams?"

"No," Bonnie says, collecting herself. "She'll just say that I'm a witch." I give her a look.

"You should really think about that witch business." She looks at me alarmed.

"What? No I can't- no I can't be a witch," She stutters. "Th-that's impossible!"

"It is possible," I insist, and she shakes her head. "Listen, if you are, I told you already, I won't leave you."

"Thanks, Leo," Bonnie says after a few seconds of silence. "I'll ask her." She has a reluctant look on her face so I smile softly.

"It's going to be okay." I hug her. "If you are a witch, it could be pretty cool. And if you get very powerful, you can prevent this from happening again."

"Let's hope so," Bonnie says grimly, and I can't help but nod in agreement, even though I'm not completely certain that hope can help us.