Disclaimer: Refer to the first chapter please :)
The Birthday
Tennessee
On one of the hottest nights of the Southern summer in Tennesse in the middle of nowhere underneath a starry sky chirping with crickets hiding in the ground, a girl stepped out of her house into the humid air.
"Rudy!" she yelled while stepping out onto the porch and putting her fingers to her lips, successfully blowing air in a sharp, hard whistle. The girl continued down the porch steps and onto the pathway to the house, partially annoyed. "Rudy! Come on. It's too hot to make me come looking for you."
The girl bent down and picked up a toy on the front lawn to attract her dog, but as she stood straight and braced to go on a search in the heat of the night, she gasped when she saw a young blonde with piercing blue eyes coming to a slow in front of her, jabbing at her cell phone angrily. Naturally, the girl was suspicious, being as it was the dead of night and hardly anyone came up to her door at any given time. The strange woman before her humanly jolted back with a gasp of her own and let out a small, relieved laugh.
"I-I'm so sorry. Totally didn't mean to scare you."
"Can I help you?"
The blonde gave an exasperated sigh. "Look, I don't normally do this, but I am having the shittiest day ever. I got into a fight with my boyfriend this morning, my shitty car ran out of gas a few miles back, and on top of all that, in the middle of trying to call Triple A, my phone up and died on me. My feet hurt like hell and your house is the only one I've seen in miles...so I was just wondering if I could use your phone to call a tow." The girl looked at the woman before her with suspicious eyes, clearly alerting the stranger. The woman with the blue eyes shook her head and laughed. "I know this is crazy and...and, well, you probably think I'm a serial killer by now but really. I just need to use your phone to call a tow."
The girl, realizing the situation, eventually nodded and sighed. "Sure."
"Great! So I can come in? I could really use a place to sit—"
"No." The girl whipped around and looked at the blonde with a very unapologetic smile. The blonde woman dropped her own gradually, realizing the girl's rudeness. "Sorry. I'll get the phone and I'll bring it out to you."
"But it'd just be for a minute."
"Look, you're lucky I'm even letting you use the phone at all—"
All of a sudden, behind the young girl refusing to let the blonde into the house, a man popped up behind her from seemingly out of nowhere. The blonde woman, clearly in kahoots with him, let out a frustrated sigh and turned away, annoyed, as the British male behind the young girl growled, "I thought you country folk were supposed to be more trusting."
The girl whipped around and gasped, only to be taken violently by the throat as the vampire behind her took her by the throat and stepped closer, staring into the young girl's frightened eyes. "You were being quite rude to my friend here. Now show us a little southern hospitality, sweet pea. Invite us inside."
The vampire released the young human and let her take a moment to adjust to the compulsion he had just implemented on her. While the human regained her strength and let herself breathe, the blonde woman in front of her just looked at the other vampire behind the human with annoyed eyes.
"Would it kill you to be a little more patient, Klaus?"
He stared back at her with a frown. "Patience is for the weak, Clarissa. Rule number five."
Claire rolled her eyes. Klaus's stupid rules, as she named them, were archaic and morally questionable as ever. She hated them, but she had no choice but to abide by them. It was unfair, though, because Stefan didn't get those rules. Stefan could do whatever he wanted. Maybe that was because Stefan wasn't Klaus's new protégé, he was just Klaus's lapdog. She had to admit, it kind of sucked for Stefan too, but at least Klaus didn't look at Stefan like he looked at Claire. There wasn't a word to describe how Klaus looked at Claire, it changed every day. Sometimes it was like he was trying to piece her together, the other days he just looked at her with anger, others it was pure sarcasm, and then there were times where he looked at her like she was his next conquer, which was the look that made her most annoyed. Stefan didn't get those looks. Damn Stefan.
But she didn't say anything else, knowing that it would get her nowhere, and just followed Klaus into the house after the girl let them inside. Holding the frightened girl by the back of her neck, Klaus left Claire at the door of the house and walked into the kitchen with the young girl at his side. Inside the kitchen area, a nonchalant African-American woman was standing over the stove frying her dinner.
"I bet you a hundred dollars that dog ran off to a house with air conditioning," she commented jokingly before turning around to look at her friend, who she soon realized was not alone. The second woman froze. "What's going on?"
"Please don't be alarmed," Klaus told her calmly. "I'm told Ray Sutton lives here."
The second woman shrugged. "He's almost never here. He's on the road mostly."
"But I expect he makes it home...once a month." Klaus stepped forward with the young girl still in his grasp, and when neither one of the women answered him, he let a small smile across his face. "That's what I thought. Where is he now? If I have to make you tell me, it's going to be infinitely more painful for you."
The second woman hesitated, but Klaus looked at her with cautious eyes telling her not to run. But of course, the woman did the opposite of what he wanted and she took off in a sprint, heading for the main door at the front of the house. She stopped short in the hallway and screamed as Claire kicked the screen door open to reveal Stefan, who waited on the other side of the threshold to be invited inside.
"I love it when they run!" Klaus announced from behind her, a smile contagious across his lips. The African-American woman turned to him and her friend and now had tears in her eyes realizing that they'd backed them into a corner.
"He's in Tully!" the woman confessed. "It's near the border. A-A bar called Southern Comfort. It's off Highway 41."
"Thank you, my love. Now..." He turned to the girl in his arms and swept a piece of hair out of her face, which was stained in tears. "May my friend come in your home?"
The girl had no option but to choke out, "Y-Yes."
Stefan walked through the threshold and closed the door behind him, his eyes focused on Klaus. Claire straightened and watched as Klaus pushed forward the girl in his arms and, in a flat tone, ordered, "Kill this one quickly." His eyes flickered to the noncompliant woman. "Make that one suffer. I'll be in the car."
Klaus walked past Stefan and gave a look at Clarissa. It's your job to watch, she thought, reiterating everything he'd told her for the last two months they'd been on the road. She turned her head slightly as he brushed past, pausing briefly at her side as if to taunt her for a moment by purposely making contact with her, and then he walked out into the summer heat waiting for the screams to come. The screen door shut, and the girl in front of Stefan, tears streaked down her cheeks, begged for her life. But it didn't matter. Stefan was a slave to Klaus; they both were. The difference was, Stefan was the fixer. Claire was the observer. She was supposed to learn about what a real vampire was, but the sight of her best friend tearing into someone's flesh sickened her. It wasn't supposed to be this way. He wasn't supposed to turn into a Ripper again.
But nevertheless, Stefan's fangs barred and, as Klaus walked further and further away from the house, the screams rang in his ears like the sound of sweet music.
"Caroline called this morning," Elena told Amelia in the recieved of her smartphone as the vampire threw her keys onto the table at the entrance of the Salvatore foyer and stepped inside the house. "She said her mom found another lead. An animal attack in Memphis. I talked to Sheriff Forbes and she said that she thinks the violence matches Klaus's victims. I'll text you the location."
Amelia nodded. "Okay. Okay, yeah, I'll look into it and fill you in later. Are you still going to the party tonight or are you bailing?"
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Elena sighed. "No, I'm not bailing. Well...I haven't made up my mind yet. Probably not. Just...let me know what happens with that lead, okay?"
"Yes, Elena, I will let you know. Relax. Take a load off. I'll see you tonight."
"See you tonight."
As Amelia hung up the phone, meanwhile—meaning upstairs in Damon's bedroom—Andie Starr was putting on her makeup at the bathroom sink while Damon sat in his bathtub soaking in warm water and an endless supply of bubbles. Seeing his empty champagne glass, he reached over and grabbed the champagne bottle, feeling it dangerously low on supply. Of course, when he poured the contents of the bottle into the glass, there was less than a quarter of champagne left for him to drink. Damon groaned.
"We are out of champagne," he commented.
"Huh. No, you are out of champagne 'cause I don't drink in the morning," Andie replied curtly.
"Well, would you be a dear and—"
"I think you can probably get it yourself. I'm not your slave," she cut him off. Damon laughed to himself. What an idiot, he thought. She was exactly that, and it was ironic that she actually thought that she was with him by free will. Regardless, Damon found it worthless to make her do something so trivial, so after rolling his eyes at his human slave, he lifted himself out of the water and, soap suds and all, walked straight out of the tub and into the hallway, not even bothering with a towel or anything to cover his indecency. Andie tried to bite back a smile. "I mean, you're dripping..."
"Mmhmm," Damon muttered carelessly and continued downstairs. Amelia stood in the parlor and hung up her phone, slipping it into her back pocket. Damon watched as she turned around sensing his presence and he smiled at her. "Mornin' Blondie."
Amelia's eyes widened, but she didn't turn away. Instead, she took a moment to collect herself before clearing her throat and giving him a slow nod while commenting, "So...now I know why my sister was so interested in you, I guess."
Damon grinned. "Secret's out."
She rolled her eyes and reached behind her to grab a blanket for him to cover himself with. She threw it at him and Damon took it with a teasing smile and wrapped it around his waist as she joked, "Do you enjoy ruining my childhood? You're practically my brother, Damon. I really didn't want to see that."
"Honestly, yes. It's the highlight of my day, Amelia, ruining your seemingly innocent appearance." Damon scoffed. "If we were really siblings, I wouldn't need pants on when you're around. And you should really learn to knock. What if I was...indecent?"
Amelia frowned. "We're vampires, idiot. You heard me."
Damon shrugged. "Whatever. So what do you want now?"
"Elena said Sheriff Forbes gave us another location to check. Memphis."
"Another dead end, you mean?"
"Always so optimistic, Damon."
He laughed. "Oh, sorry! What did you tell me that you wanted me to say? Um...'You're right, oh wise Amelia. This could be the one!' Yep. After almost two months, this could be the clue that tells us Stefan and Claire are alive and well and living in graceland."
The blonde scowled at him. "If you're going to be a downer, I'll just go by myself."
Amelia moved to walk away, giving him a pointed stare before moving for the door, but before she could get even two steps towards it, Damon flashed in front of her and grabbed her phone to forward him the newspaper article. With a sigh, he grumbled, "You're on Elena duty, remember? You need to stay here and make sure that girl doesn't go off running into the wild tracking Klaus and exposing the fact that, even though she's supposed to be dead, she's not...actually dead. I'll go."
"Good. We haven't had a new lead in a while and I think that—"
"That this could be the one?" Damon filled in with a mutter. She crossed her arms and immediately, he sighed. "Whatever, whatever. Okay. I'll go check it out and I'll text you if I find something. Now go back to your own house."
"But—" Before Amelia could even say a word, Damon had already headed upstairs, still dripping wet from his bath. He walked up into his bedroom, where Andie was still in the room getting ready for work. Almost immediately, he turned the corner and walked over to the closet, where he opened it to reveal the massive map on the back of the closet door with newspaper clippings and thumbtacks pinned to the board, tracking Klaus's movements.
"They moved on to Tennessee," Damon announced to Andie as he placed a pin in Memphis on the map. Andie walked over to him.
"Huh. That Florida victim you had me look into had family in Tennessee."
"Which one? The Pensacola guy?"
"Uh huh."
"You up for a road trip?"
"Ha. No can do. I have got to work, but I can see if I can get you an address." Damon nodded and hummed in agreement, turning to look back at Andie as she awaited her early morning goodbye kiss. Compliant, Damon leaned forward to give her a peck on the lips, and his human uttered a moan of agreement as she backed out of the bedroom, calling, "I'll see you at the party."
"Get me that address!" Damon demanded as she walked out and he turned back to his study of Claire and Stefan's movements.
Country music played softly over the speakers of the southern-style bar. Ray Sutton walked into the bar he visited often, greeting those he knew by name as he walked inside for his typical, afternoon drink.
"Hey, Red. Can I get a beer?" he asked the bartender. With a nod, the bartender began to retrieve his drink, and as he did so, Ray leaned over the counter to wait. While he waited, he suddenly noticed someone come up right beside him, turning to speak.
"Ray?" Klaus asked, though he already knew the answer. "Ray Sutton?"
Ray hesitated as Red handed him the beer from behind the bar. "Who wants to know?"
Klaus ignored the question. "I've been looking everywhere for you! We started in Florida, Pensacola. I met a young chap there who you worked with before you moved to Memphis. Now, he directed me to two lovely young women, and they led me here...to you."
This guy is trouble, thought Ray, and he knew he had to get out of the bar as fast as possible. It was as vampire, he assumed, just by the looks of the man questioning him. Leaving the beer untouched, Ray turned and moved towards the door.
"I think I'll be going."
"Not so fast, mate. You only just got here." Klaus lifted himself from a bar stool and pushed Ray back to look into his eyes. "Now, your type are very hard to come by."
Definitely a vampire. Ray turned to rush out of the other exit at the back of the bar, attempting to run, but before he could, there was another vampire that stopped him just from doing so. Stefan pushed Ray back against the bar counter, whispering the threat, "Yeah, I wouldn't do that."
"Vampires," Ray muttered.
"You're swifty, swift, Ray." Klaus smiled. "Yes, my friend here is a vampire. You see that gorgeous young woman over there standing by the billiard table?" Ray looked over in the direction the vampire pointed to, only to find a young blonde sink the game-winning ball into the top right corner pocket. She straightened and turned to Ray, giving him a small wave to let him know she was listening. Klaus leaned closer to the man next to him and continued, "She's also a vampire. And, she's compelled everyone in the bar, so don't look to them for any help. I, however, I'm something else. A different kind of monster. I've got some vampire...I've got some wolf—"
Ray's eyes widened. "You what—?"
"A hybrid, Ray. I'm both. You see, I want to create more of me. Now, you being the first werewolf I've come across in many a moon—pun intended, Ray—I need you to...direct me to your pack." The werewolf stiffened, immediately freezing. "So...where can I find them, Ray?"
The disheveled man shook his head. "You can't compel me. It won't work."
Stefan and Klaus shared a look. Obviously, the wolf wasn't going to comply with their demands, which meant that extraordinary measures would have to be taken. Stefan shook his head with a bit of shame, cleared his throat, and turned to the bartender behind the counter and ordered a drink.
"I need a scotch on the rocks, please." He looked over at Ray. "Tell you what, Ray. We're going to play a little drinking game. Something I like to call truth...or wolfsbane." Stefan poured a bit of wolfsbane into his hand, an herb extremely harmful to werewolves, and held it up for Ray to see and cower at. From the other side of him, Klaus laughed.
"Oh, this is going to be fun, Ray."
"It's like Damon doesn't even want to find her!" Amelia vented to Caroline and Tyler as she helped them set up at the Salvatore house for Elena's birthday party later on in the evening. The big 18 meant that Caroline would not stop until everyone in Mystic Falls wished Elena a happy birthday at some point during the party. Caroline handed the napkins that she set on the dining table. "I mean, how ridiculous is that?!"
"What if he doesn't?" Tyler retorted. Caroline spun around disapprovingly.
"Tyler!"
"What? I mean, Claire was kinda screwing with his head. First she loves him, then she hates him, then she starts sleeping with him, then she's married, then she's not married, then she starts sleeping with him again..."
Amelia rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, that's typical Damon and Claire stuff. They wouldn't be 'Damon and Claire' if they didn't love and hate each other every other week. Besides, she left Mystic Falls with Stefan to save him. Of course he wants to find her!"
The wolf turned with a pointed stare. "Yeah, but she basically lied to him for...like, as long as she's known him, about their unborn child."
Caroline widened her eyes and spun around again, shouting, "Tyler!" He shrugged at her and Amelia laughed, watching as Caroline spun back around slowly to Amelia and watched the blonde's 'explain' face take over her expression. The young vampire sighed. "I'm...sorry..."
Amelia scoffed. "If anyone should be sorry, it should really be me. It wasn't even my secret to tell but Damon was so shook up about it at the beginning." She looked up at Tyler and nodded. "Yeah, she lied to him about that and...yeah, I can see how he'd be angry. But I don't think that's enough for him to want to give up hope on her entirely. I don't think Claire didn't tell him about that out of spite, I just think...well, I just think she didn't want to talk about it. It was hard for me, too, admitting to her that I'd gotten pregnant after what happened with Michael Gilbert."
Tyler wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, but the difference is, she didn't have a child with her rapey half-sibling."
Caroline looked back at him, alarmed. "Will you shut up?!"
"Sorry..."
The other blonde laughed. "Yeah...okay...I'm gonna run out and get the cake now. You two finish up here. Besides, I've got to call Damon, anyways."
With a smile, she left the room, and once Amelia was out of the house, Caroline turned back at Tyler with a frown situated on her lips. "Just because I tell you things doesn't mean you're allowed to know them."
Klaus and Claire watched as Ray screamed aloud over the rock music playing in the background, as the bar's music choices decided to take a turn from southern to more angst, fitting for the situation. The werewolf Stefan was interrogating was chained up with his back against the dart board, blood dripping down the side of his face and pooling in other places. Stefan stood at the normal dart-throwing distance, twirling around another dart in the drink mixed with wolfsbane. Ray screamed aloud, even more agitated than before, trying to break free of the werewolf-proof chains. Without a word, Stefan stepped up and threw his dart right into Ray's shoulder, causing the werewolf to cry out in agony. No one cared around them, as Claire told them all to ignore what was happening and carry on with their usual business.
"Ray!" Stefan taunted. "You can end this right now! Just tell me where your pack gathers for the full moon."
The vampire stepped closer and ripped a dart out of Ray's throat as the man grunted out, "I can't."
Stefan sighed. "I know, I know. You live by a code and all that. But...see, he's not gonna let me stop until you tell me. And I do whatever he says. That's just the way it goes around here."
Claire, unwilling to watch the rest of the gruesome interaction between Ray and Stefan, turned to the bar over the counter and reached forward, grabbing an entire bottle of top-shelf tequila. Just as she did, she felt someone approach Klaus from beside him, causing the hybrid to kick down his legs and greet his guest.
"Hello, Mr. Klaus. I have some information for you." Stefan and Claire were both drawn away from what they were doing as they listened to the woman talking to Klaus. "You told me to tell you if I saw anything. I saw that guy's brother Damon at the farm house."
Klaus nodded graciously. "Well thank you, Claudine. You just tell your friends to keep up the good work with the neighborhood watch, huh?"
The dark hair girl nodded sheepishly and immediately took off, and just as she left, Stefan was right in front of Klaus with a scowl on his lips.
"My brother's still on our trail?"
"He's getting closer. I'm gonna have to deal with that."
Klaus turned to walk away, but before he could, Stefan caught his attention again and shook his head. "No, no, no. Let me handle it."
"Why should I let you leave?"
"Because you know I'll come back."
"Do I?"
"You saved my brother's life. I'm in your service." Stefan glanced over his shoulder at Claire, who popped open the new bottle of the best tequila in the bar. "And trust me, I wouldn't leave her with you."
"My hero," Claire muttered with a small, sarcastic smile, tilting the bottle towards him for a cheers before bringing her lips to the rim of the bottle. Klaus looked back at Stefan with a grimace.
"Oh, it all sounds so...tedious and indentured. Aren't you even having the least bit of fun?"
Klaus gestured back to the suffering werewolf with a smile, and Stefan looked at Ray trying to push back the guilt he felt in the depths of his stomach. Maintaining a rock-solid expression, he just sighed and ignored Klaus's question, continuing, "I'll make sure that my brother doesn't bother us anymore."
Without waiting for Klaus's response, Stefan walked past the hybrid and went to take care of Damon. Klaus didn't object, but as he realized Stefan's departure, he looked over at Claire, who was staring after Stefan with a blank expression upon her face. That's when she realized: it was her turn.
"Let me guess..." Her eyes moved back slowly to Klaus, who was studying her with a cocked eyebrow. "You want me to continue, then?"
His smile told her everything. "Rule number four: why do something that others can do for you?"
Sourly, she lifted herself from the stool at the bar, obviously dreading heading over to where Stefan had left the cup full of wolfsbane and a few darts. She took a very heavy swig out of the tequila bottle before slamming it down on the tall circular table. Her feet carried her a few steps, her boot stomps confident. The overhead speakers blared another rock song, also extremely fitting with her attitude. Without a care, Claire reached forward, dipped a dart into the drink laced with wolfsbane, and twirled the dart in her finger.
With no warning whatsoever, she threw her arm back and sent the dart flying, twice as fast and twice as hard as Stefan's had. Nearly two months with Klaus and she was already ten times stronger, no matter how she disagreed with his methods. The dart practically pinned Ray to the dartboard behind him, the force of her throw causing him to scream so loud, the entire bar nearly shook. Claire put her hands on her hips and shot the werewolf a pointed look.
"I'm running out of places to bleed, Ray," she threatened. He ground his teeth together and looked back at her, nervous. "However, there is one place that Stefan didn't try for. And trust me, one throw and you'll wish you'd told us sooner."
Before Ray could get a chance to answer, there was a tsk in the corner. Claire looked beside her to see Klaus approaching her from the side, shaking his head.
"That was weak, Clarissa," the hybrid scolded. She ran her tongue along her teeth, obviously irritated, but didn't turn to look at him. He took one of the darts from the table and dipped it in the glass next to her tequila bottle. "You can do much better."
"Oh, I can, can I?"
"If Stefan had thrown a dart like that one, I would have been impressed. But you?" He came up behind her and leaned down, his lips next to her ear. "You're a King. More powerful than any vampire on the planet with just the touch of your fingers. Sweetheart, you've got to try just a little harder."
"If I tried any harder..." Claire swallowed thickly, trying not to get agitated by the fact that Klaus was so close to her. "...I'd kill him."
He chuckled under his breath. "Well, the point's not to kill him. Not yet, anyways. No, there are other ways to be creative."
"Such as?"
"Here." Klaus fit the dart in her hand and closed his fingers around her fist. She stiffened as he stepped forward, uncomfortably close to her, and said softly into her ear, "It's all about concentration, love. Think about all the power inside of you concentrated to the tip of your fingers. Let your body do all the work and just sit back, relax, and..."
Klaus guided her hand back and she released the dart with momentum, and suddenly, it hit the lower part of Ray's abdomen and broke off into pieces, scattering the wound into a larger area. Claire's eyebrows knotted as she watched Ray scream out in tremendous pain, but she could feel the power in her fingers tingling. She'd never felt that sort of control before, but it was like her body recognized it. Klaus's grin stretched to his ears as he nodded.
"Rule number three," he said, his lips still at the side of her face, "use 100 percent of your power, Clarissa. Not a drop less."
Claire turned her head slightly and watched as he back away towards the bar again to sit down and wait for her to finish her task.
Elena stood around in Stefan's room, her fingertips gripping at the ends of her pure white dress as she stared at herself in the full-length mirror in her ex-boyfriend's room. Honestly, she shouldn't care so much that he was gone, but she couldn't help it. Everything they said to each other before the sacrifice had her reeling. Did he really love her? If he did, did he love her enough to choose her over Amelia? A million questions raced through her mind, questions that she wanted to ask Stefan but couldn't. She wanted him back.
Just as she was about to turn around, she looked up in the mirror to see Damon and Amelia sauntering into the room. Amelia gestured behind her.
"That party is..." She let out a sigh, indicating how extreme it was. Elena laughed. "Are you sure you're up for this?"
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna lose it." Elena turned back at them with a grin. "At least not before the cake."
"It's your party, you can cry if you want to." Damon shrugged at her and started looking around. "Ah, Stefan. Such a pack rat."
He moved over to one of the tables on the side of the wall, where he lifted up a picture of Stefan and Claire taken recently at what looked like Founder's Day, both of them suited in their old-fashioned clothes with their modern style. Damon stared down at Claire's face while Amelia turned to Elena and rubbed her hands together almost mischievously.
"Okay...so you might hate me for making a big deal out of your birthday, but I figured...you know, since I'm sort of like your great-great-great cousin or something like that, I got you something." Elena opened her mouth to protest, but Amelia hushed her. "Oh, relax. I didn't buy it. You made me and Damon promise, remember?"
Damon looked up from staring at the photo and plastered a smile on his face. "You don't need to worry about me breaking that promise, Elena, I didn't get you anything. Unless you count the bourbon downstairs, but technically I got that for me..."
Elena frowned at him and then turned back at Amelia. "Please tell me you didn't steal something just to salvage the no-buying rule."
"I would never. I found it." Elena watched as Amelia pulled out something from her pocket, and the human's eyes widened as she saw the vervain necklace that Stefan had given her hanging from Amelia's hands. Amelia smiled at the sight of the innocent human getting so happy, something that was rare nowadays, over something like a necklace. Granted, she knew what it represented, but it was the right thing to do. "I know this is weird because...well, because Stefan gave you this necklace and I'm pretty sure we both know how we feel about him. But putting that aside, Elena, you're my friend...at least, I think you are. And I wanted you to have this back."
"My necklace," Elena whispered in wonder. "I thought I'd never see it again. Where did you find it?"
"Alaric," she replied with a soft smile. "He figured you'd be happy to get it back."
"I am! I..." Elena looked up at Amelia and suddenly rushed forward, pulling Amelia into a hug. The blonde stiffened for a moment, but eventually wearily hugged Elena back. Elena swallowed thickly and sighed. "Thank you, Amelia. And for the record, we are friends. Stefan or no Stefan, we're still related."
Damon approached them and crossed his arms. "Can I be the first to say that I would really enjoy a pillow fight right about now?" Amelia and Elena turned back at him with devil eyes, but he just chuckled and stuck out his hand. "Here, I'll help."
"Thank you," Elena told him as she handed him the necklace she had taken from Amelia and lifted her hair so Damon could put it on for her. Damon clipped the necklace onto her neck and nodded to both girls.
"Shall we?"
"We shall," Amelia agreed as she took hold of one of his arms and Elena took hold of the other. The three then walked out of Stefan's room and downstairs to where the party was. The Salvatore home was blasting with modern music, people surrounding every corner in the large mansion. The second Elena was visible to the guests, everyone started to bombard her with birthday wishes. She did her best to try and thank them all, and when Damon, Amelia, and Elena all came to a slow at the Salvatore parlor, they observed at least a hundred people in the room alone, most of them crowded around someone at a beer keg in the corner. Damon watched as one girl moved out of the parlor carrying his expensive bourbon he kept in the liquor cabinet. He shook his head and stopped the human.
"Oh, hey, hey, hey! You don't want that." He grabbed the bottle and looked into the human's eyes. "You want the cheap, young stuff over by the cheap, young people." The girl nodded and walked away, letting Damon have the bottle in his hand. Afterwards, they all saw Caroline approach them from within the crowd, a happy grin on her face.
"You like?!" she shouted over the music. Elena opened her mouth, but Caroline stopped her when she realized something nasty was going to come out. "Don't answer that."
"This is 'keeping it small'?" Elena scoffed, but Caroline just smiled cutely at her until the dark-haired human finally rolled her eyes and agreed. "What are we drinking?"
"I know what I'm drinking," Amelia muttered as Caroline took Elena through the crowd and she stepped over to Damon and ripped the bourbon bottle out of his hand, taking a swig for herself. Damon's eyes went wide, almost as if he was about to kill her.
"Did you just steal my bourbon?"
"Yup."
Damon watched with disdain as Amelia smirked at him and walked in another direction out of his sight. Regardless, there was more bourbon in the house, so he grabbed another bottle and went out onto the front step, where sure enough, there were more high school kids crowding around him. He spotted Alaric trying to get out of the mess of drunk teenagers and soon enough, they were both sitting on the ledge outside drinking endless cups of bourbon.
"I am every parent's worst nightmare," Alaric complained. "I'm the chaperone teacher from hell."
Damon ignored him. "I love high school parties."
"Isn't Andie supposed to be coming?"
"Ten o'clock broadcast. She'll be here in a little bit." Damon pulled his glass up to drink the bourbon inside of it just as he witnessed a furious Elena walk out of the house with an irritated look. Instead of responding to her obvious bad mood, Damon grinned. "Hello, birthday girl!"
"Drink," she demanded, her hand outstretched to grab the cup from his hand. Damon frowned as she snatched the bourbon from his fingers and took a hearty swig from the crystal glass before turning back to Alaric. "Jeremy's smoking again."
Damon shrugged. "Is his stash any good?"
"You're an ass!" she exclaimed, unamused by his nonchalant attitude. Damon didn't respond as Elena turned back to Alaric with a sigh. "Talk to him. Please? He looks up to you."
Elena didn't even bother waiting for an answer, she just gave Damon back his drink and walked away as if the conversation was a done deal. Alaric watched as the 18-year-old left their side and let his eyes wander to Damon, who shrugged again.
"You're screwed." Ten minutes later, after Amelia had joined Alaric and Damon in their efforts to deplete the house's supply of bourbon-whiskey, Damon looked away from their conversation to find a text message from Andie. With a sigh, he announced to his friends, "Andie wants me to pick her up."
Alaric scoffed. "Your fake, compelled girlfriend wants you to be a chivalrous boyfriend?"
Amelia chuckled as she set down her bottle of bourbon. "Mm, no. His fake, compelled girlfriend whom he only sleeps with to fill a void that my sister created when she left town, wants him to be a chivalrous boyfriend."
Damon turned around with a scowl. "It's a complicated dynamic." He downed his drink. "Hold the fort down, will ya?"
"You mean the fort full of my drunk history students?" Alaric corrected. Damon smiled and put his hand on the bourbon bottle in front of them.
"Drink more. It'll feel less weird."
Elena pushed open the door to Damon's bedroom, looking around and searching for him, as she didn't find him with Alaric and Amelia downstairs, but they looked too busy drinking for her to go up and ask them where to find him. When she walked inside of the room, she heard a voice.
"This room's off limits!" Elena turned her head to find Caroline sitting in the bathroom. She cocked an eyebrow.
"Caroline?"
"Sorry..." Caroline shrugged, the blood bag evident in her hand. "I just...needed to take a beat." Elena laughed in agreement and Caroline, with a sigh, set down the blood bag in the bathroom and walked forward, crossing her arms suspiciously. "Are you hiding?"
Elena smiled. "I was just looking for Damon."
The blonde frowned. "Well, he'd better be here somewhere, because we haven't even done the cake yet!"
Elena threw up her hands. "I think I'm gonna...pass on the whole cake thing."
"No!" the vampire protested suddenly, her voice raising an octave. "No way, no! It's your...birthday! No, it's the dawn of a new day, and...you can't get on with your life until you've made a wish and blown out the candles!"
The dark-haired human paused briefly, Caroline's words replaying in her head. Get on with your life. It itched at her, the way Caroline said it...it was like how everyone had been treating her wrapped up into one nice little sentence. Elena, nevertheless, exploded.
"Get on with my life? I've been giving Amelia leads all summer and she acts like it's no big deal, but I know she wants to find Stefan, too! And Damon...Damon doesn't even care anymore! No one tells me anything and I don't understand! Is that what you all want me to do? Just...move on?"
"No!" Caroline defended herself, but as a moment of silence passed, she admitted. "Maybe...I just don't think anyone wants to see you like this."
"I'm not giving up on finding Stefan, Caroline."
"But...why?" she questioned, looking at Elena seriously. "I mean, Elena, you broke up with him when you realized he still loved Amelia. Let her find him! You have to admit, you're kinda just letting your life pass you by. And besides, isn't Stefan the one who wanted to make sure that you lived it?"
"You want me to make a wish?" Elena prompted her with a shrug. Caroline nodded as Elena continued sourly, "I just...want to know that he's alive. That's it. That's my wish."
She moved towards the door, finished with the conversation, but she came to a slow when she saw Damon's closet door open with papers sticking out from it. Caroline, who heard her stop short at the doorway, just let out an apologetic sigh.
"I'm sorry, okay? I'm just...drunk and dumb tonight. You know..." She turned to watch Elena make headway for Damon's closet slowly, intrigued. Caroline tilted her head, confused. "Wait, what are you doing?"
Elena walked up to the door and opened it carefully, peering inside to see a bunch of maps and newspaper clippings inside. On the door, there was a large map of the US with red thumbtacks on places on the East Coast with other newspaper clippings pinned to the door accompanied by sticky-notes that all had names on them, either Klaus, Claire, or Stefan. Caroline approached her friend's side, confused.
"What's all that?" Caroline whispered.
"It's Klaus..." Elena said quietly, her eyes moving across the map on the door. "Damon's been tracking him without me."
"Why wouldn't he just tell you?"
Elena fought the rising anger inside of her. "I don't know."
"There you guys are!" Amelia exclaimed, partially drunk, as she walked into Damon's room to find Elena and Caroline crowded around Damon's closet. She wrinkled her nose at them. "Why the hell are you in Damon's room? It's boring and cold...kinda like him."
Elena swung the closet door open for her to see and pointed into it. "Did you know about this, Amelia?"
"Know about what?" She shook her head and walked forward to see what Elena was talking about, noting all the newspaper clippings she and Elena had given to Damon pinned up to the door along with the trail of thumbtacks on the map. Her eyes widend. "Son of a bitch. That bastard's been lying to me?"
"Lying?" Caroline repeated. Amelia looked back at her with a nod.
"Yeah! He never shared any of this with me! He just kept saying that he found nothing and that it was a dead end. Mother of..." She stared at Elena and Caroline angrily before patting her jeans down, looking for something. With a grumble, she snapped, "I left my phone downstairs. That boy is getting a piece of my mind."
While Amelia fume over Damon's lies, he was at the Mystic Falls news studio looking for his girlfriend. He called out her name multiple times, getting increasingly impatient as the clock continued to click. From inside of the pocket of his jeans. Damon felt his phone vibrate with an incoming call, so he pulled it out and, realizing it was from Amelia, he answered it with glee.
"Party central."
"Get your ass back here!" Amelia demanded. Noticing her angry tone, he paused briefly before lying.
"What are you talking about? I'm by the...punch bowl."
"I'm not believing another word out of your mouth, Damon! Quit lying to me! Elena and I found your closet full of skeletons."
Damon's eyes widened as he stuttered, "Oh, oh gotta go...gotta go break up beer pong!"
"I swear to God, Damon Salvatore—"
He didn't listen to her finish the sentence, instead he hung up the second he finished speaking and slipped his phone into his pocket. He would deal with Amelia and Elena later, but he felt there was something deeply wrong. Andie was nowhere to be found in the dark office, but he heard a small rustling coming from one of the stages. He went inside, his eyes looking around carefully. There was no one inside as he turned his head and moved his eyes over a bunch of equipment by the door, but then he heard footsteps.
"Stefan."
When Damon looked up, he was surprised to see his brother standing a few feet in front of him, his hands behind his stiff back, his expression emotionless. Stefan barely blinked.
"Hello, brother."
The two Salvatores stood at odds from across the way. "You don't write. You don't call..."
"I need you to stop following me and Claire." Stefan looked at his brother seriously. "Causing some...problems."
"With who, Klaus? I'm supposed to care what he thinks?"
"What you're supposed to do...is let us go."
Damon sauntered forward, hardly stopping because of his brother's lack of conversational skills. Ignoring Stefan's repetitive requests, he noted, "Saw your latest artwork in Tennessee. Walking a fine line there, my friend. Keep that up and there will be no saving you."
Stefan chuckled to himself. "See, the thing is, uh...I don't need any saving. Neither does Claire. We just want you to let us go."
The dark-haired Salvatore frowned. "She wants me to let her go, she can come tell me herself."
"She doesn't want to see you, Damon. Why do you think she isn't here?" Damon stiffened with the blow as Stefan once more clarified, "Let us go."
Damon raised a sigh deep in his chest, but didn't let his brother's words get to him. Instead, he tsked. "See, I've got a birthday girl and a pretty young blonde at home who aren't going to let me do that."
Stefan was quiet, but at last, he nodded. "You know, maybe I haven't made my point. Hey, Andie, you still there?"
The bronze-haired Salvatore looked back as Damon raised his eyebrows. "Andie?"
"Damon!" Andie cried, and Damon looked up to the ceiling to find his girlfriend standing on a ledge up in the rafters. He could hear her cry, "I can't move, Damon. He told me that I can't move."
"No, no, no, it's okay, Andie! Stay calm!" Damon shouted up at her before looking back at his brother furiously. "Not cool, brother!"
"Oh, come on! It's a little bit cool, huh?" The elder Salvatore stepped forward as Stefan shouted, without moving a muscle, "Hey, Andie. You can move now."
"No!" Damon shouted the word over and over again. "No, no, no, no, no!"
Right as he was about to move and save her from falling down as she toppled over the ledge, Stefan gripped onto his brother's throat and slammed him against the farthest wall, leaving Damon to watch as Andie fell face-first on the concrete floor, her neck audibly cracking. Stefan, right in his brothers face, growled, "I said...let us go!"
With a tight grip on Damon's throat, Stefan made his point and finally released his brother, who fled over to Andie's side the second he was allowed to. He turned her over to find her face brused from the impact, and there was absolutely no sign of life, not that he expected there to be. Damon took a moment to look at her, but remembering his brother behind him, he quickly whipped around, only to find himself alone on the stage. Damon, defeated, leaned back on his bottom and sighed while he stared at his dead girlfriend in front of him.
When Damon arrived back at the boarding house, he was hardly in the mood to deal with Elena, Amelia, or any of the teenagers roaming around in his house. Upon entry, he watched as Tyler led Caroline out of the house and she stopped at Damon, shoving his bourbon bottle into his hand.
"Hey!" she snapped angrily, and possibly drunkenly. "You missed the cake!"
Damon turned and watched her leave, but he wasn't in the mood to care. He set the bottle down on the nearest flat surface and continued up to his bedroom to have some peace and quiet. But peace and quiet on a day like that day...well, it was nearly impossible. Sure enough, as soon as he reached his bedroom, the music playing softly in a distance, he tried to catch his breath but found Amelia and Elena both waiting on him, the two of them sifting furiously through all of his work that he had put into tracking Stefan and Claire. That, out of all things, was something that he didn't feel like dealing with at that moment.
"What?" Damon snapped, exhausted. "What are you two doing here?"
Amelia threw up her hand, where she had a bunch of newspapers gripped tightly. "What reason was there not to tell me? Why did you keep it a secret?"
"Can we not do this right now? I'm having a really bad night."
To be fair, he did ask nicely. But Elena, who stood beside Amelia, wasn't going to let him off that easy. She stepped forward, a judgemental look on her face. "All summer, every single time Amelia and I came to you with a lead, you made us feel like idiots for having hope!"
Damon's eyes suddenly snapped over to Elena, where he looked into her doe eyes with seriousness. "You were an idiot! Both of you! As a matter of fact, we all were."
He moved to escape her clutches, but before he could, Elena held out a hand to stop him. "Tell me what you know, Damon."
Damon tried not to explode at her. He really tried. "I know you need to get back to your party, Elena."
"We're supposed to be in this together! All three of us!" Elena shouted at him as he brushed past her and Amelia. "Why didn't you tell me that you've been tracking Klaus's victims?"
"Because they're not Klaus's victims, Elena, they're Stefan's!" Damon snapped, turning around at her. She stopped cold.
"What?"
"He's left a trail of body parts up and down the Eastern seaboard!"
"Damon—" Amelia began, trying to stop him before the conversation escalated to the point of no return. But Elena had already pushed him over the edge, and there was no going back.
"No," Elena breathed out, shaking her head in refusal. "You're wrong."
"I've seen it happen before." Damon stepped forward, his eyes wide at the human. "He's flipped the switch"—he reached forward and snatched the newspapers from her hands—"to full-blown Ripper!"
"Stop, Damon," Amelia demanded him, reaching forward to push him back. Instead, he jerked his arm to himself and snapped back at her.
"You stop! Both of you! Stop looking for him. Stop waiting for him to come home. Just stop!" At that point, he was practically in Elena's face, and the human, unable to take the dark side of Damon, flinched. Damon, however, didn't stop there. "Stefan is gone and he's not coming back. Not in your lifetime."
After witnessing Damon's harsh words, unable to contain herself, Elena's eyes started watering and she turned, rushing towards the door and slamming it on her way out. Damon sighed, remorseful the second she walked out the door. He really didn't mean to be so harsh with her, but she just kept poking him and poking him until he snapped. Amelia, who was left alone with Damon, turned to him with wide, outraged eyes.
"Just because you're upset about Claire doesn't give you the right to yell at her!" Amelia scolded him, this time not playing around. Damon swallowed thickly. "I know you miss her, Damon! I know! I miss her, too! But I also miss Stefan, and I don't go around yelling at Elena about how he can't be saved! The one thing she had to hold onto was hope and you ripped that away from her!"
"There is no more hope, Amelia," Damon mumbled. "Not anymore."
"Damon..." She stepped forward cautiously and closed her eyes. "I know that it...that it hurts. I know what she told you...had to have hurt. But you cannot take it out on her...on me, on anyone! I gave you the benefit of the doubt but...but I don't think I can handle it much longer."
Damon's jaw squared at the sister of the woman he loved, using Claire as an excuse to make him talk about his pain. The dark-haired Salvatore shook his head.
"Good thing you don't have to," he snapped and brushed past her, bumping her shoulder as he fled his own room, unwilling to bear the blonde any longer.
Claire's tequila bottle was beginning to run out as the night came to an end. Klaus stood at the side of the billiard table where he had tied Ray up to after she had finally gotten him to admit where his pack ran on the full moon. Twirling a knife in his hand, Klaus begna.
"Okay, it's a three-step process, right? This is step one. I want you to drink from my wrist."
Ray, choking on the blood in his throat from all the wolfsbane, grumbled, "I already told you where to find the pack. What more do you want from me?"
"Have you been listening to a word I've been saying, Ray? I have great plans for you." He pointed the knife at Ray's face for a moment before pulling back and using the knife in his hand to create an incision on his wrist. He then, against Ray's will, forced the wolf to feed off of the blood that poured incessantly from the cut. Klaus smiled and looked up at Claire, who was frowning. "He'll thank me for it later. There we go, attaboy!"
When Klaus felt like Ray had had enough, he removed his wrist from the wolf's mouth and let Ray relax. Though Klaus's back was to him, he felt Stefan's presence as his vampire friend entered the bar and walked right over to Claire, who noticed him with a small nod. Stefan nodded back and she offered her tequila to him, whereupon he took a huge gulp.
"What are you going to do now?" Ray asked, his nose wrinkled in distaste for the blood he could still feel lingering in his mouth. Klaus looked down at him with a smirk.
"It's time for step two, Ray." The hybrid reached forward and cracked Ray's neck, leaving the wolf dead on the table. Then, without wasting anymore time on the dead wolf, he looked up at Stefan with a nod. "You're back."
"Did you doubt me?"
"Not for a second. I knew you'd pass the test. You still care for your brother; for your old life."
Stefan laughed and shook his head. "I don't care about anything anymore."
"You put on a good show, Stefan. I almost believe you," Klaus praised as the Salvatore walked over to a small table in the corner and laid his head down. Klaus continued, "Let's just hope for your brother's sake he does." He leaned down and whispered, "You never stop caring about family, do you? But every time you feed, the blood makes it easier to let go."
Damon somehow found himself in Claire's room, despite the subconscious thought in his head telling him to get the hell out of there. It was cold, untouched since her departure. He never could bring himself to enter it, finding it to be both a violation of her privacy and a stimulant to his emotions. It was as if, by not visiting her room, he was convincing himself that she would be back soon enough to inhabit it once again.
But he was just fooling himself, wasn't he?
Damon walked over to the dresser in the corner, an archaic thing with a huge mirror and a bunch of drawers. On the surface, there were multiple things: a cluster of makeup, hairties, and other things of that nature. Girl stuff. Beside the dresser was the closet, where he knew everything would be. Damon had neglected doing this before; he didn't want to do this. It wasn't his place, he thought. He didn't want to be angry with her. He wanted to wait for her to tell him the truth. It was a violation, he thought, to do what he wanted to.
Now he didn't care. Now, it was time for him to know. Violation or not.
Inside the closet, he found what he was looking for in a box of things labeled 1862. After digging around for a few moments, he found a small book lying at the bottom, dust settled on top of it. It was a journal, one that he knew his brother had convinced her to write. She'd told him once about the fact that she hated all the journals Stefan had made her write back when they were human, and he figured it was worth a shot. He wanted to know what happened.
His fingers undid the tie on the front of the journal and he flipped through the pages until he found the entry he wanted, just a few weeks after he had left for the war.
September 1862
Dear Diary,
I didn't think this would happen. How could I have been so ill-minded? I was caught up in the moment, driven by my emotions. It may have felt right at the time, but it was the worst thing I had ever done, giving myself to Damon Salvatore. All right, perhaps I would not go that far. I wanted to do it, I did. I do not think that would have changed unless I knew what would happen at the time.
If Mother and Father find out, I'll be ruined. They've already started looking at suitors for me with other families. I've tried to delay them as long as I could, ever since my falling out with Damon, but it's useless now. Father hit me when I tried to tell him I did not want to meet Thomas and Honoria's son. It won't be long now before I'll have no more options left.
I have one option right now. The only option. I cannot have this child. I have to get rid of it. There's a part of me that wants this...but alas, I cannot. Damon will not be home from the war for at least another six months, and we aren't husband and wife. I will be shamed by everyone. And if he dies...if he dies, this child will have no father.
I know what I have to do, but I do not want to. But the question begs, should I do what I want or what I must do to avoid my family's reputation ruined? Amelia has already shamed our family once. I cannot do it as well.
Damon, furious, flipped to another page and read another entry a few weeks later.
November 1862
Dear Diary,
I was ready. I was ready to terminate my mistake. I accepted it. I realized my sin and I asked for forgiveness in advance. My parents had not realized my lie. I knew it was a horrible thing to do, but I had no other choice. I vowed to myself to tell Damon of my decision. I owed him that courtesy after everything we'd been through.
And then it happened.
Jessica had put me to bed one night when I felt something strange. A sharp feeling in my stomach. It was so painful I could barely move. She pleaded to me to let her go and get my parents, but I refused. Instead, I made her take me to the town doctor without telling a soul. There was so much blood, so much pain. I could barely stand to breathe without screaming. I ordered the doctor to sedate me so he could assess without alerting any of the neighbors, and he did. I don't remember much, but when I woke, he was sitting in front of me with sorrow in his eyes. I refused to accept what had happened, no matter what I planned to do. I don't know how long I've cried. Jessica has tried to cheer me up, but I have been stuck in my room for almost two days. I feel as if I am sick to my stomach. Is this my punishment for involving myself with Damon Salvatore before marriage? Is this how God has stricken me? Am I not forgiven?
I cannot face him. I cannot face Damon any longer. Only today have I managed to get out of bed and eat something. If I even look at him for more than a moment, I may fall apart. He can never know of our unborn child for as long as I shall ache.
Damon stared down at the journal, unsure whether to be angry or devastated. His eyes traced over Clarissa's elegant cursive over and over again until every word was branded inside of his head, but it was too much for him to handle. Suddenly, he exploded.
First went the closet, all of her boxes that were categorized completely shredded. Then, he walked out into her room and trashed everything, all of her tables, lamps, her dresser, her bookcase. Everything in sight was fair game. How could she do that to him? How could she keep a secret like that?
But then he stopped. A picture of Claire, completely shattered and destroyed, had ended up right next to his feet, and he couldn't stop himself. His knees buckled and he was on the floor, hopeless.
Stefan could feel his chest tighten, cutting off the air that he needed to sustain himself. He walked out of the bar quickly, trying to get all of the air he could. But he stopped in the parking lot and looked up at the sky, frozen. He could feel everything in his body, all of the hurt, the pain. He'd killed his brother's girlfriend. He saw the look on Damon's face when he'd told him that Claire never wanted to see him again. Damon was heartbroken and Elena...Amelia...he couldn't handle it. He cared too much.
Slowly, against his better judgement, Stefan reached into his back pocket and pulled out his new phone that he had gotten earlier in the summer when Klaus got fed up with Elena, who had called him nonstop. He knew Elena's number by heart, and, though he knew he shouldn't, he dialed it and hesitantly brought the phone to his ear. It rang once, twice, a third time, and all Stefan could prey was that it went to voicemail. He didn't know what would happen if she answered it, and he was too frozen cold to decline the call.
Voicemail, he begged. Voicemail...voicemail...voice—
"Hello?" Elena asked over the phone, her sweet, innocent human voice unmistakable. Stefan's heart ached hearing that voice; it was like music to his ears. Happy birthday, he thought over and over again, willing himself to say something. But nothing came out. Suddenly, Elena gasped. "Stefan?"
Say something! Stefan ordered himself, but again, nothing came out. Idiot! Speak! Speak!
"Stefan, if this is you..." Elena continued softly, her voice sounding like it was full of tears. "You'll be okay. You can survive this. I love you, Stefan. Hold on to that. Never let that go."
Stefan's eyes swelled up with tears. He knew he should speak, but he didn't. Instead, he just nodded and held on.
Klaus watched as Claire tossed back the tequila bottle and finished the very last drop. Disappointed, she returned to level and frowned at the lack of alcohol, pushing the bottle aside, useless. Klaus, who was nursing his own bottle of alcohol—bourbon, of course—smiled as he took a glass from behind the bar and poured Claire some from his own stash. Claire watched him with a cocked eyebrow, but he slid the bourbon to her with a smirk.
"Never be afraid to have a little fun, Clarissa." Klaus held up his glass. "That's rule number two, I believe."
Claire stared at him as he pulled his glass of bourbon to his lips and watched her, waiting for her to drink. Instead, he witnessed her bitterly reach forward, take the glass, and dumped its contents behind the bar and let the glass fall, crashing to the ground. Klaus's smile turned stale as her lips turned up in as our smile and she lifted herself up from the bar stool beside him, leaving to do something else that didn't involve being around Klaus. The hybrid watched her as she left, and then he turned back to himself at the bar.
"And then there's the first rule," he muttered to himself as he raised the bourbon to his lips. "Always accept new challenges."
Thanks for reading! Please review!
SomebodyWhoCares: :)
grapejuice101: Yep! It's gonna get real fun real soon. Haha well this chapter definitely confirmed that Klaus is ready to "accept new challenges" if you know what I mean. Thanks for the review!
NicoleR85: Thank you! Here's the update! Took me a little long, but I hope you enjoyed it!
Tvd2014: Haha yeah I think I updated that when I was sick or something but I knew I wanted to get that chapter out fast so I could get a move on with S3. Claire [is/was] slowly starting to care about Damon and that scene at the beginning was her own personal feelings about the matter. I felt really sad for Damon when I was writing those scenes because you know, he's so tormented about Claire because she basically puts him in this position where he has to question himself and you know, it's not really all that fair, but she has her own insecurities. Claire wasn't willing to let someone else die, not after Christopher, so her going to Klaus was making sure that Damon would live. Klaus didn't do anything to her and she doesn't really have 'blood lust' but that scene at the end was because Klaus practically forced her to feed, plus this chapter sort of gave some insight to the whole Claire being Klaus's prodigy thing that's going on. There will be a lot more obstacles in this season so yeah it'll be a little painful for now but it'll all be worth it. Thank you!
Gigi: Thanks!
maryanne: Aw that sucks! Sorry but I don't do Klaus/OC/Kol stories...I liked Kol as a character but sometimes he pissed me off so making a Klaus/OC/Kol story wouldn't really be effective. But I'm sorry that the story got deleted! Hopefully someone has an idea like it so that you can get your Kol fix. Thanks for the review!
Friday1221: Yep! It was very, very sad, and her journal entries in this chapter just made it even sadder (at least for me it did). That's not the end of it, either. Damon and Claire's problems this season will somewhat stem from this secret...Damon feels betrayed, Claire feels pressured, it'll all be very tug-o-warish. Yeah, Amelia doesn't really have a lot to do at the moment and I'm trying to give her a storyline but the problem is, I have a really, really good arc for her in Season 4 but in Season 3, most of it is going to be just about her, Stefan, and Elena which is just so annoying but I don't really have anything else so I just have to live with that. If you have any ideas, though, you can always share them with me! Stefan and Claire will definitely be developing a closer friendship in Season 3, especially in the next four episodes. In this episode, they didn't really interact much, but that was because they both had a lot on their minds. Sorry for the wait but I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
beth: Here's the update!
rory: Here's the update!
beth: Here's the update!