VI : I think We're Alone

After my little meeting with Stefan, I simply decided to call an end to this horrible day. I could not really handle another drama now, let alone face Damon when he looked at me like he had done all the time I was in front of him. So I was just going home just to have the soothing surprise of seeing Felix sit on the steps of our porch. Unsurprisingly, the brown needed comfort and that was how we ended up in the same bed recapitulating everything that had happened in our lives during our removal before carefully deviating on his new condition . I even decided to put all my trust in him as I explained to him what I really was. I even dismissed Milana's weakened struggles as I recounted my many dreams and Milana's presence inside me. Felix was obviously skeptical about the whole peaceful cohabitation thing and he soon brought my condition back to his. Obviously, he hated that. It was not a real surprise, he already hated being a monster, a beast and even though he had never said it out loud, I knew he thought the curse against the vampire was the least of two according to him. So, it was not a big surprise that he was not really enjoying his current condition. He saw himself more as an anomaly, a beast that should struggle constantly for his bloodlust and temperament. In a way, he reminded me of my own dilemma. One fact Milana seemed to share as she helped me cast a spell to soothe his spirits to help him sleep.

After that, I'd let myself fall prey to sleep. For the first time, I had the pleasant surprise of spending a full night without a dream. I even found myself flashing my eyes several times when Felix shook me to ask if I had to go to high school, given my current condition in teaching. I had only allowed my brain to wake up for a moment to form a mumbling refusal before letting me fall back into the soft unconsciousness of a dreamless sleep.

Honestly, I did not know how long I stayed in this sweet abyss of unconsciousness but the awakening was more than brutal. One moment I was wrapped up in a warm and cozy cocoon and the second after that, I felt my blanket being snatched from my body, letting me let out an annoyed groan before bringing my knees against my chest in a fetus position.

"I have no qualms about dragging you on the floor, Mila."

Stefan.

The mere listening of his voice reminded me of his expression so detached from last night making me flash my eyes open to give him a dark look. And there stood Dark Stefan in an outfit more like Damon's than the vampire in front of me.

I scanned him for a moment in silence before just rolling my eyes to his statement. "You were not in high school. How am I supposed to keep an eye on you and Elena if you're not in the same place? "

"Mhm, seems like a real dilemma. It's really sucks to you, buds." I muttered with sarcasm dripping with each of my words before pushing my face further into my pillow to avoid the disturbing rays of the sun. "Now you can put my blanket back on."

"I'm not sure you understand the situation." Stefan replied in a dark, threatening tone and had everything I needed to sit up suddenly with my hand up to the vampire.

Unsurprisingly, he fell to the floor with an unbearable growl while holding his skull almost giving me a sense of guilt at sight.

Only he had gone to the dark side, Klaus had taken away his humanity and I was not particularly fond of his new personality. Or at least Milana was not.

"Listen, Stefan, you're on this little power trip lately because of your new found diet and now Klaus has compelled you to turn off the switch but that doesn't mean I'm going to pity you and let you dictate to me. As you see, I also had some changes in my life. I don't need your protection. So ... I ask one last time, can you give me back my blanket."

I just let go of my grip on the vampire just before I went back to bed as if nothing had happened while he made a slight growl, straightening hard. I repositioned my head on my pillow with my eyes closed before waiting patiently for Stefan's next act. I knew that it was rather risky to lower my guard so much after what I had just inflicted on him, but Milana's calm now indicated that I could trust Stefan. He may have been on an actual height of human blood but Milana still thought he was there somewhere. And it would seem that it was not so far from the truth as I suddenly felt my body covered with a new weight before hearing that famous breath of wind familiar to vampires disappearing at full speed.

It was like that I let myself submerge myself again into a recuperative sleep without any worries in the world.

Finally, I was quick to wake up myself this time as I decided to take the situation in the best possible way. I was trying to rejoice that I had managed to have a real recuperative sleep without the slightest dream to bother me.

Unfortunately, Milana knew it was just the beginning and I knew exactly where I needed to go to get all the answers. However, I was not really sure I really wanted to get to where my questions would find their answers. I gave one last look at my undone bed with an almost nostalgic feeling before letting a long sigh go through my lips as I decided to get ready for the day ahead.

So after taking a relaxing shower, a nice hearty breakfast to last me all day, I decided to put on a loose-fitting high-waist stripe shorts and a simple short-sleeved gray T-shirt that I tuck into the belt of my shorts. Once ready and satisfied with my appearance, I descended the stairs again before showing in my SUV to go to the boarding house. As usual, I did not bother to knock as I was making my way inside the huge antique house with an almost new look on the whole house. Milana could not help but feel comfortable in this place and I assumed it had something to do with the prominent wood on the whole surface. That and the various antique supplies strewn my way.

Unfortunately, the heavy silence only accentuated my confusion. I was looking first, the living room, the parlor, the kitchen before finishing in the library just to stop me at the sight of chains lying on the ground.

"What the hell happenned in here?" I asked no one in particular since the space seemed empty before grimacing at the sight of blood-soaked chains.

"Long or short story, little Gilbert?"

I instantly turned on my heels in surprise at the agreement of Damon's voice just to take a sudden step back as I suddenly found myself nose-to-nose with the vampire. The latter hastened to grab my forearm to prevent me from stumbling on my own feet instantly arousing a feeling of repulsion on the part of Milana.

I reacted quickly on it as I personally removed the hand of the vampire before giving him a sharp look. "Damon. "

"Mila." Copies the ebony-haired guy as he checks me openly, immediately making me frown with my arms crossed over my chest. "Long time to see. "

"Will you answer my question?" I intervened quickly in the hope of avoiding the subjects who were angry before giving him a new sharp look at his clueless gaze. " The chains. The blood. What happenned? "

"Long story short, last night was a bust as Rebekah was tailing Stefan and the plan to manage Stefan just failed in general as Vicki Donovan's magical ghost appeared and tried to kill Elena but only succeed in blowing up Ric's car."

"Rebekah is still here?"

"That's all you have listen with what I just told you?" He exclaimed with obvious boredom before taking another wary pause. "Wait, you're not giving us one of your episodes of possession again."

I rolled my eyes immediately before giving him an impatient look at his skepticism. "I'm Mila. How else would I know about little Damon junior? "

"Mhm, interesting choice of memory. "

"The rest, Damon." I asked in impatience as I signed the chains on the ground. "That doesn't explain this carnage."

Damon nodded in agreement before shrugging his shoulders."Well back to the story Vicki then. She wanted to come back and apparently to do that she had to kill Elena which was totally not okay so Bonnie sent her back to wherever it is she came from or so I thought but then something happened or rather this happened. I was attacked by Mason Lockwood's ghost all of last night and into this morning. Gave me a repeat of how I killed him with the chains and the fire hot poker, oh and I'm forgetting he took my ring off and almost burned me to death by exposing me to the sun…"

I was totally calm during his entire story before finally posting a totally unimpressed look as I gave him a disdainful look. "It looks like he literally took the threat: kill me and I'll come back to haunt your sorry ass. Anyway, it just seems fair to me to equalize the scores. After all, you and your obsessions are the reasons he died. "

"Thank you for your unfailing compassion." The vampire replied with a gloomy look at me, letting me just shrug my shoulders. " You know what ? Just help me clean the carpets. Stefan already owes me enough Persian rugs. "

I arched an eyebrow on the vampire at his request before rolling my eyes as I ducked with a grin to retrieve the chains in disgust. "You and your household keys. "

Finally after helping Damon clean up Mason's mess of torture and avoid most of his questions about me, I managed to make a getaway from the moment he left my side. And since a certain Tobias Fell was back in town, I joined the Grill almost immediately to support my best friend trying to keep a semblance of normal life. I watched him closely as he reached the tables of the Grill as usual. I looked more like a stalker at the moment, but I did not really care about appearances when it came to Felix's well-being.

With what I had learned about Vicki and ghosts in town, I dreaded what could happen to him.

"Have I already said how much Milana's taste was certainly more refined in my day?"

I remained totally unmoved at the sudden appearance of the blonde in the bench before me leaving me a totally disinterested look."Rebekah. Feeling lonely?"

"Mhm ... funny." Hummed sarcastically the blonde as she tilted her head to the side before narrowing her light blue eyes on me. "Let things be clear between us, you're only alive because you have the same face as a person from my past and-"

"You can stop with the threats." I interrupted her dryly before leaning over the table to give her a daring glance. "I know absolutely everything there is to know about you. Courtesy of Milana's dreams. Even now, she wants more than anything to hug you. "

An affable glance passed over the threatening face of the blonde as she looked at me, open-mouthed before being quickly surprised by the sudden appearance of another blonde at my side.

This time, even me, I found myself watching the blonde by my side with a bewildered look."Lexi? "

"You're already replacing me with a Barbie?" The blonde asked with a broad, mischievous smile, receiving a dark look from Rebekah at once.

However, I totally ignored her as I continued to watch the vampire in disbelief. " But you're… "

"Dead? Definitively." Lexi answered, holding my gaze maliciously before taking a serious expression. "I don't know why I'm here, or how long it's going to last, but you and I have to talk."

I immediately nodded unconditionally before getting up under Rebekah's annoyed and startling eyes as she rose in her turn. "Can we know what you're doing?"

"Stay out of this. "

And just like that, I felt Lexi's arms around me before being transported at vampire speed. I could soon feel my discomfort doubling that of Milana letting me close my eyes in an attempt to keep the rest of my breakfast of back up.

Finally, the blonde stopped her race in front of an old closed door in a fucking dark place.

I took a moment to regain my senses before casting an incredulous glance at Lexi. "There was no room scarier like meeting place?"

"I still like your sarcasm so much. Unfortunately, I don't really have time for that." The blonde replied, pointing at me before pulling the latch holding the closed metal door before letting me in just to raise my eyebrows at the sight of Stefan tied up on an old chair. "Vampire weaning addict to human blood. Accelerated classes. Intensive training. "

"Mila?" Elena suddenly comes out of the shadows letting me give Lexi a bored look.

"You had to mix her up with that." I sighed, signing my sister before ignoring her offended expression as I crossed my arms over my chest, watching the unconscious vampire. "How do you plan to do it? "

"Well, I warn you that's not going to be pretty. "

"When was it never pretty for us? "

Lexi hummed her agreement, giving me a side look before uncrossing her arms as she stepped towards Stefan to kick him in the ankle."Wake up, lazy!"

Stefan immediately raised his head with a wide look at the sight of the blonde before starting to fight against his ties. " What does that mean ? Take off those chains."

"Imagine it as a kind of an intervention." I intervened from behind the blonde making my presence and that of Elena known in the eyes of the vampire addict. "Let Lexi do the work and be a nice boy you want."

Stefan let out a breath of incredulous laughter before giving a threatening look at my sister."Elena, you'll tell them to leave me. "

"No way. "

"So, first step, deprive him of blood. To permanently remove all desire. And force him to control himself."

I was displaying a pensive expression to the blonde's statement before advancing to the nearest wall to lean against the latter since it might take some time.

Surprisingly, I could feel Milana's calmness and attention to Stefan's attention as Stefan let out another annoyed laugh. "No chance of getting there, Lexi. It will not work. "

"I warned you that it would not be very pretty. "

"Yep. "

"I had heard." Elena agreed as I focused all my attention on the blonde as she leaned over Stefan to enter his mind.

The ripper immediately began to put some struggle in place against her intrusion only it was of no use against the ancient power of Lexi. Stefan's cries and growls soon filled the dungeon, letting my head fall against the wall to look at the ceiling.

Pretty soon, Stefan began to literally ravage as he begged in a panicked tone for blood.

"What's happening to him?"

"It's like visions." Lexi explained as she turned around the vampire gesturing in pain with a kind of mischievous smile. "In his mind it's been three months since he didn't drink blood."

I hummed my surprise before giving Lexi a look. "You would have a blast in a hypnotist's office."

"This little Milana agrees with you? "

I narrowed my eyes on the blonde with a sense of distrust before leaning my head watching Elena leave the room at the agreement of her ringing phone.

I immediately looked back at Lexi, lifting my chin with a new sense of suspicion. "I thought it was only an intervention for Stefan."

"Well, you should know me now." Lexi said as she left Stefan's side to stand in front of me with a smile that didn't inspire me. "I am multitasking. "

I did not even have time to fully realize her intentions that I was suddenly hit with a blow to the head plunging me into unconsciousness.

Elena POV

Elena ended her call with Caroline to ask her to delay the ghosts' return to the Other Side as Anna had called it before returning to the cellar just to freeze at the sight of her little sister being transported by Lexi.

"What did you do to her? "

Lexi let out a small grunt as she tied the little brunette on the second old chair before moving back, rubbing her hands with imaginary dust. "Your sister is inhabited by an old ancestor of more than a thousand years. I just want to make sure she's still the same Mila I met and learned to love."

"You think she's being manipulated? "

Lexi rolled her eyes at Elena's mistaken assumption as she tucked Mila's strands behind her ears to clear her little face. "Your sister is stronger than that to be manipulated. She just seems to forget which side she is on."

"Which means ? "

Lexi immediately let out a sigh easily judging as impatient before giving a look at Elena."You always ask so many questions? "

Elena narrowed her lips as she glanced at Stefan and Mila before suddenly closing her ears to Stefan's agonized scream.

Mila POV

I was soon awakened to the sensation of struggle and screaming around me before suddenly stretching me to the string sensation holding me in place.

"What the hell? "

"Welcome back!" Exclaimed Lexi, giving her an indignant look before giving Stefan an anxious glance at my side as he begged the blonde to stop no matter what she went out to inflict on him. "Don't listen to him. Don't play his game. "

"I will stop. I will change. "

"He lies there. He would say anything to feed himself."

I rolled my eyes obviously before letting myself fall back against the back of my chair since there was no reason to fight for now. " No kidding. "

"Don't be so dark." Lexi warns me with her finger pointing at me on her way to my sister."Don't take into account your own emotions. Don't let him manipulate you. "

I rolled my eyes again at Stefan's entreaties before giving Lexi an impatient glance. "Does he have to stay awake for that? I have small tricks quite practical for this kind of situation."

"See? That's exactly why you're in this chair, Mila." Intervened Lexi making me frown in annoyance. "The more you use magic, the more freedom you give to Milana. That's why she was able to take control the other night. "

I could feel Milana pairing her anger with mine at the blonde's charges finally breaking my composure and my cooperative spirit as I narrowed my eyes on the blonde. I struggled immediately against my bonds since she seemed definitely determined to make me see something. "Lexi, get me off right now. "

"Sorry I can't do that. "

"Lexi! "

Elena jumped at my explosion causing me to move my eyes to her frightened and tried figure juggling between Stefan and me. "Detach me, Elena. Detach me, detach me, detach me immediately."

"Do you hear them?" Lexi intervened again as she entered the room again. "There is the ripper and Milan who spoke. As soon as he's weak enough what we will have to be done to him is bad. So that he finally feels something. Anger, hate, rage, any emotions."

I left a frustrated breath as I clenched my fists in an attempt to control my explosive temper before giving Lexi a look. "Believe me, you don't want to see me in one of those emotions."

"Why? Because you're going to transform yourself into a bloodthirsty beast?" Lexi retorted under Elena's confused and frightened eyes as the blonde stepped toward me, leaning on the chair's supports to support my gaze. "It's Milana, that. Remember, Mila. You are human. These uncontrollable emotions are not yours. Come back."

I let her words dive into my subconscious as I found myself doubting. To doubt Milana's influence on me and what she was doing with my behavior.

Unfortunately, I did not have time to think again as Lexi turned to Stefan again, tearing an scream of agony from him as she plunged a piece of wood into his chest. I jumped into my chair closing my eyes as I felt strangely hurt by Stefan's pain as I had not felt for several months. It was like the controlling Milana's emotions had been somewhat raised letting me feel all that I would feel in normal times. All that guilt and empathy I've always felt for him. Feelings of friendship and pain. And all that without getting the added feelings of Milana. All of a sudden, my emotions seemed too unbearable for me. I tried to drown all the noises around me as the slightest cry of Stefan only served to fuel my emotions.

Elena hastened to leave the room visibly disturbing the situation as a whole. This allowed Lexi to shift her attention back to me with an arched eyebrow. "How are you feeling right now?"

"Peachy." I grumbled under my breath, smirking at Lexi. "You know, we could almost believe it's your trip to torture misguided souls."

Lexi gave a bigger smile to my dark eyes before laughing. "I'm obliged to find some satisfaction because you and Stefan seem to be pros to recidivism."

I mimed a sarcastic grimace at her remark before deciding to let her do what she wanted with me. I did not really have a choice anyway. And then, she had a point. I had to admit that I was totally consumed by Milana's emotions from the moment she offered me a way to avoid feeling the death of Jenna and John.

Although I had suffered during the summer, it was nothing compared to what I would have really felt if I had been alone in this ordeal. And even though I felt Milana's growing despair inside me, I could not leave her any more room in my life. She was not supposed to be here. While I was coming to term with my emotions and Milana's, Lexi had managed to make some kind of breakthrough in Stefan's mind with the exact same thing that was supposed to send her back to the Other side. The famous Elena necklace.

She tempted him all to allow Stefan to return only it did not seem enough. And it seems that Lexi did not really have time anymore because she suddenly froze to give me all her attention.

"He's still in there, Mila." Assured the blonde with a sad look at the thought of her imminent departure letting me shake my head. "Elena will be able to go up to a certain point but we both know that you're best placed to bring him back. It's up to you to do everything to reach him." I could feel the tears sting the back of my eyes as I swallowed, shaking my head on the blonde as she gave me one last hint."Milana is not an enemy. But don't let her forget who you really are. Don't forget those who are truly dear to you."

And just like that, the blonde disappeared from sight, letting me drop my head in a deep sense of desolation. She did not deserve to be dead. She should not have died.

"Elena?" I breathed through my trembling lips immediately receiving the attention of the brunette as she moved towards me.

She stopped immediately at my height with a worried look before removing all the chains keeping me in place in a hurry. "I am really sorry. I didn't think Lexi would do that. I still don't understand and-"

"No, she was right. I needed this intervention as much as Stefan." I interrupted quickly as I kept my eyes on my wrists as I rubbed them to clear the tense feeling in my muscles. "I had forgotten what was essential."

Elena gauged me attentively during my explanation, letting me climb onto my legs before turning to Stefan with a feeling of guilt.

I took a deep breath at the sight of his t-shirt with holes and stained with blood. "You should go make sure that Bonnie and the others are fine. I will stay with him. I know you can't bear to see him like that."

"Are you sure you're able to stay with him?"

This time, I rolled my eyes openly as I glanced over the brunette over my shoulder. "Don't make me throw you out of this room."

"It's Milana speaking."

"Believe me, it's not her." I snapped. "Otherwise you'll be at the door already. "

It seemed enough to convince her that I heard the closing of the metal door. I immediately rested my eyes on Stefan and gave him a look of sympathy. I took the arm of the chair at his side and dragged it to the floor to face the unconscious vampire. I let a weary breath pass between my lips as I dropped back against the chair before waiting for the vampire's awakening.

I kept my eyes closed trying to put a point on the events of the day. I could feel the presence of Milana vibrating under the surface but she was less present in my perception of things. For the first time in months, I found myself truly alone in this mess of the supernatural. I felt as if a part of me had been removed and I did not know yet if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Everything in everything, I felt just confused.

"You stayed. "

Stefan's weak voice brought me back into the real world, letting my eyelids open to face his miserable expression.

"I was not going to leave you alone." I stated as I readjusted on the chair before giving him a careful look. " How are you feeling?"

Stefan let out a breath as he threw his head back against the seat before looking at the ceiling of the cellar biting his lower lip. "I'll give up if I were you, Mila. I would go back to my life and let me go."

"Mhm, can't do that, pal." I asked almost instantly as I put my feet in place before pressing my elbows on my thighs as I leaned toward the vampire to support his forest-green eyes."You want to know why ? Because you called me that famous night. You answered me and you asked me to help you. Now, Milana has sympathy for you but she wouldn't have voluntarily involved. On the other hand, ... well, I think you know me enough to know that I don't give up so easily. "

With that, I helped myself with the arms of the seat to hoist myself on my feet before miming a salute with my hand against my temple as I gave one last look at Stefan.

I turned on my heels to reach the door, instantly receiving a reaction from the vampire."You're going to leave me here? "

"Only for a few days, crybaby. You will survive."

I closed the latch on my way before going up the stairs leading to the main square of Mystic Falls. It seems that the night of the illuminations was over as I could see officials taking care of removing all the lanterns. I immediately grabbed my car keys and my phone as I walked up the street leading to the Grill car park before seeing the many messages from those who tried to contact me during the day.
I climbed behind the wheel leaving my door open to enjoy the freshness of the September night as I passed through all the messages and missed calls. I stopped for a moment at the sight of Felix's messages telling me that he had agreed to take Rebekah's help with his diet before turning off my phone in frustration.

I let a breath escape before closing my door as I put the ignition. I assumed I would have to stop before going home. I skillfully slid through the boarding house, watching the empty rooms with a sense of trepidation. If Damon was not here it meant that he was plotting something and I definitely did not like feeling excluded. Especially when he seemed to act so impulsively. With the last few days, we had not really been able to speak neatly and even though I did not want to bring that good-bye kiss back to the carpet, I knew it was necessary to chat with the vampire. Especially since Milana no longer seemed influential enough to amplify my mistrust of him.

"You know, I could just kill you here and now."

I froze at the agreement of the voice become familiar through my dreams before turning on my heels to face the eyes of the original blonde. "I thought we were already going through this stage. You can't kill me, Beks. "

"Why don't you stop calling me like her?" She hissed visibly frustrated and somewhat saddened.

I gave her a nice look this time as I realized for the first time what my presence really meant for her. I watched as the blonde moved through the library as it's belonged to her before she stopped on one of the sofas with her gaze in the air.

"You look so much like her." She sighed in defeat.

"This is usually the case with doppelgangers." I recolled, walking with the intention of joining her just to show a placid look as she gave me an annoyed look. "Just saying. Anyway, if I call you Beks it's because I know that Milana called you that way. See you every night in my dreams, and yes it sounds strange, had some kind of impact on me."

It seemed to pique her interest as she turned to me once I sat down beside her. " What are you doing ?"

"I'm trying to make you understand that I may not be Milana, but I can be there for you."

Rebekah gave me a dark, obviously not very confident, look before crossing her arms over her chest. "Do you expect me to trust you? Like this? Who do you take me for?"

I rolled my eyes, getting up again before giving her an impatient look. "My offer still stands. Anyway, I just want you to consider this offer in mind when you approach Felix."

"So that's the real purpose of your visit?" Ultimately exploded the blonde as she began to step on me with a threatening step. "You want to manipulate me to protect your hybrid friend."

I held my position as I raised my eyes to support her bluish gaze since she hovered over me with her heels before squeezing my jaw. "I'm here because I want to protect the people who are dear to me. And maybe add you to this list. Milana would be devastated if something happened to you."

"I am immortal." Scoffed the blonde by straightening pretentiously before pausing as she looked at me. "Wait ... she's here?"

I tilted my head to the technical side of my situation before nodding."She is there, under the surface. I feel her emotions and she made me relive her life through very strong dreams."

"Prove it !"

"The first time you met, you insulted her as a thief and a poor girl because she stole your precious playing time with Nik and Kol."
Rebekah's eyes widened in memory before narrowing her eyes at me, pointing at me. "What else do you know? "

"Are you going to stay correct with Felix?" I trailed without losing a second, receiving a haughty look from the blonde.

She crossed her arms over her chest before observing me for a moment in silence. "He's currently fun. I will not hurt him. A lot."

I nodded before surprising the original as I suddenly turned on my heels with the intention of leaving.

"What are you doing ? "

"See you later, beks. "