Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries in any shape or form. But I do own my OC.
A/N: I hope you guys enjoy my rendition of Kill or Be Killed. We have that awesome fight training scene between our three favourite girls to look forward to!
Reviews: As always, I've put the replies to the reviews at the end of the chapter.
Warnings: Sexual Content, Language, Dark Themes, Violence etc.
Stormdancer
Chapter 18
Kill or Be Killed: Part I
"I want you to hit me." Aliyah said, calmly.
Caroline blinked and stared at her, while Bonnie bit back laughter. "You're insane." She said, slowly.
Aliyah laughed, throwing her head back. "You need to learn how to fight. So, I want you to hit me." Her lips quirked up in a smile. "Pretty girl, I swear neither of us will be injured after this. Mind you, we may be a bit sore, but you'll definitely be proud of what we accomplish here today." She smirked. "You're the daughter of a sheriff, darling. I know you know how to throw a punch. So, go ahead and hit me."
Caroline sighed and her shoulders slumped. Her right hand curled into a fist, her thumb finding itself between her index and middle finger. Her fist swung with all the force she could muster and she almost jumped when it hit air instead of meeting the flesh of Aliyah's cheek or the hard bone of her jaw.
"Sorry, darling, too slow." Aliyah said, cheerfully, from her place behind Caroline, rocking on her heels.
Caroline spun on her feet, her hair fluttering about her porcelain skin. "How did you…? How the hell did you do that?" She exclaimed.
Aliyah chuckled. "Vampire speed, darling." She waggled her eyebrows. "You have to work with the gifts you've got." She purred.
"So, how am I supposed to fight vampires off if they're stronger than me and they can disappear in a flash?" Caroline threw her hands up in the air.
"You have senses to match your speed and strength, Caroline." Aliyah said, soothingly. "You have to use them." She shrugged.
Two hours later, Bonnie was leaning against one of the trees, chomping on a candy bar, and watched as Aliyah managed to throw Caroline into yet another tree for what seemed like the millionth time.
Caroline rolled her shoulder in an attempt to relieve the soreness that the force of Aliyah's shove had dealt out. "Okay, so I suck at this!" She grumbled.
"No, you don't." Aliyah sighed, shaking her head.
"Really?" Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Because you've been throwing me around like a ragdoll all morning. If that isn't proof at my suckiness, I don't what is."
"Look, Caroline, you can fight me off, you're just not concentrating." Aliyah huffed, watching as Caroline stalked around her, planning her next attack.
"Well, I'm sorry!" Caroline shrieked. "It's not my fault that you're some freaky… ninja… vampire, okay!" She snapped.
Her hand swung in a curve, curled into a spectacular right hook if she were attempting to knock out a human, but Aliyah caught her fist in one of her hands, her hand shoving into Caroline's stomach and pushing her back, knocking the wind out of her.
"Look," Aliyah sighed. "Caroline, fighting has nothing to do with strength. It has to do with tactics and opportunity." She explained. "You haven't found your opening yet and you aren't guarding your torso properly. That's why I've managed to hit you in the stomach so many times."
She ducked one of Caroline's jabs and pushed her backwards once more, proving her point.
Caroline shrieked in frustration and anger, as she was pressed up against the tree all over again.
"Don't let your anger get the better of you." Aliyah said, warningly. "Keep a level head and use their emotions against them. Get them angry, get them cocky, distract them, then find an opening and attack."
Caroline took in a deep breath and fixed her gaze just a few inches above Aliyah's forehead. She cocked her head and her eyes widened in shock, her jaw dropping to add dramatic effect. Unfortunately, she managed to achieve her desired goal. Aliyah spun on her feet, ready to fight off whatever was lurking behind her.
She was pleasantly surprised when Caroline's hands fell onto Aliyah's shoulder, spinning her around in a blur. She grabbed Aliyah by the throat and shoved her, her back hitting the trunk of the tree with such force that she was sure that the tree would snap. Aliyah smiled as Caroline's forearm pinned her throat to the tree, her elbow digging uncomfortably into the side of her neck.
Aliyah smiled, proudly, and reached out, entwining their fingers, and brought Caroline's other hand to place on her chest.
"Now, your hand is on my heart, that's where you make the kill. Push it into my chest." Caroline hesitated, but Aliyah looked at her, sternly.
Aliyah winced as her flesh broke under the force Caroline placed into the punch. She hitched in a sharp breath when Caroline's fingers finally sank into her chest cavity, blood pooling around her wrists and staining Aliyah's clothes.
"Aliyah, I can't-" Caroline grimaced and made to pull her arm away, but Aliyah trapped her hand against her ribcage.
"No. You have to." Aliyah said, warningly
"What if I can't do it?" Caroline asked, quietly.
"You will." Aliyah said, firmly. "Otherwise, you die." She said, sternly. "Now, curl your fingers around my heart." Caroline bit her lip and did as she was told, Aliyah whimpering and arching her back as she squeezed her heart. "Now," Aliyah managed a small smile. "Remember how this feels." She breathed.
"What do you mean?" Caroline asked, confused.
"You feel powerful, don't you?" Aliyah said, knowingly. "Your hand around my heart, you feel strong and formidable." Caroline nodded, reluctantly. "Don't feel bad, darling. It's only natural. Now, remember that you are strong and remember how this feels the next time that Damon Salvatore tries to hurt you."
Caroline swallowed hard and she straightened, a determined look falling onto her face. She remembered the glee that had rushed through her veins at the sight of Damon lying broken at Aliyah's feet, the ease with which Aliyah had taken him down, and she remembered the fear as she watched Damon's face transform for the first time in her life, his eyes red like a demon, fangs blazing and bloodthirsty as she tried to sneak out of her room. She remembered the way he had pinned her to the bed and tore her yellow scrap of lace she had been wearing right off her body, despite her cries and pleadings for him to stop.
And she realized, she could hurt him now too.
Caroline's hands slipped from Aliyah's chest cavity, and she pointedly ignored the bloody smear that had formed on Aliyah's clothes. She wiped the blood off her hand onto her jeans and Aliyah pulled herself away from the tree, her wound healing just as it came.
"Bonnie, get over here." Aliyah ordered.
Bonnie looked confused, but walked over to join Aliyah and Caroline. She ran her hands down the coarse denim of her jeans in attempt to quell her nervousness.
"What do you want me for?" Bonnie asked, curiously.
"I'm going to teach you how to fight." Aliyah said, slowly. "Remember, Bonnie girl?"
Bonnie blinked. "Um, Lee-Lee, you are aware that I'm a witch, right? A Bennett witch, like you used to be." She said, just as slowly, as if she were talking to a child.
Aliyah cracked a smile. "You are a witch." She agreed and placed her hands on Bonnie's shoulders. "I have every intention of you becoming an incredibly powerful witch and I swear to you that I will be there for you every step of the way, but I need to teach you this. Just for some peace of mind." She said, honestly.
Bonnie cocked her head. "Why?" She asked, curiously.
"Because when I was human, I was just like you." Aliyah had to chuckle. "In fact, the similarities are striking. The Bennett witch, more powerful than her wildest dreams, in love with the werewolf who knows absolutely nothing about his heritage. You and me, we are very much similar, my darling. That is why I want you to take my word on this." She said, earnestly. "I have been around a very long time. And from my experiences, magic, nor vampirism," She turned around to look at Caroline, briefly. "They are not enough to save you." She squeezed Bonnie's shoulders. "So, let me teach you how to fight, Bonnie. Let me teach you how to protect yourself without having to rely on your magic."
Bonnie's eyes dawned with realization and her tongue ran over her lower lip. "You don't want to take the chance that my magic will fail on me." She said, knowingly.
Aliyah's lips curled into a proud smile. "There's my Bonnie girl. Now," Aliyah walked away. "I'm kind of useless when training you physically, darling, because, as you both know, your magic doesn't work on me. So, Caroline will spar with you. Go easy on her, would you, Bonnie."
"Hey!" Caroline threw her hands up in air, shooting Aliyah an outraged glare.
Aliyah bit her lip and looked at the blonde vampire, apologetically. "Okay, Caroline, attack Bonnie." She ordered.
Caroline took a deep breath and rushed at Bonnie, but before she could make contact with Bonnie's body, she watched as Bonnie threw her hand out. Caroline was suddenly vaulted into the air and thrown several feet away, finally landing at Aliyah's feet. Caroline spat out the leaves that had worked their way into her mouth and rolled onto her side, groaning as her body ached.
Aliyah reached a hand out and pulled the young vampire to her feet. She turned to Bonnie.
"I'm proud of you, Bonnie girl, you have great reflexes. As long as you have your magic, you should be able to beat the living crap out of any vampire that's daft enough to pick a fight with you." Aliyah praised.
Bonnie preened under the comment and rubbed her cheeks in a vain attempt to hide her blush. Caroline groaned and rested her weary body against the tree.
"Is it just me or do I feel woefully pathetic?" She grumbled.
Aliyah sighed and turned to the young vampire, placing a comforting hand on Caroline's shoulder. "You'll get the hang of it, pretty girl." She said, reassuringly. "You just need more practice and something tells me that in Mystic Falls, you'll get plenty of practice. Just remember, get them talking, get them angry, distract them with something else. Get them so far away from the fight that they won't even see you coming. Then, you can knock their block off." She said, grimly.
Aliyah strode off into the middle of the clearing that she had brought Bonnie and Caroline to train. She turned around and faced them, the two best friends finding themselves at each other's sides.
"Okay, so I'm going to teach you both how to snap a neck." Aliyah explained. "Bonnie, you have a problem with vampires and werewolves because they are inherently stronger than you, but that's where your magic comes in. It more than enough makes up for the physical shortcomings, but in the case where you both find yourself in hand-to-hand combat, the best way to subdue a vampire – if you don't want to kill them – is to snap their neck." She gestured with her hands.
"Even a werewolf too?" Caroline asked, curiously, her hip bumping with Bonnie's.
"No." Aliyah said, quickly. "If you snap a werewolf's neck, it will result in permanent death for a werewolf." She said, grimly. "But like vampires, you can tear their hearts out and they will die." She shook her head. "For a vampire, snapping their neck is a temporary death. So, they will wake up, but it should buy you some time to get out of there." She murmured.
"So, how do you snap a neck?" Bonnie asked, her hands falling to her hips, staring at Aliyah with thinly veiled interest.
"Okay, Caroline, come here." Aliyah urged.
Caroline's eyes widened and she took a wary step back. She shook her hands in front of her body. "No freaking way!" She exclaimed. "I'm not going to let you snap my neck!"
Aliyah cracked a smile, ducking her head down and shaking her head. "I'm not going to snap your neck, darling. I just want to show you girls what's the best way to do it."
"So, use Bonnie." Caroline said, eagerly, gesturing to her offended best friend, who was standing right next to her.
"Caroline!" Bonnie shrieked in outrage and rounded on her with a fierce glare, her moss-green eyes flashing.
"Okay, Bonnie, come here." Aliyah motioned her over.
"What, no way!" Bonnie shook her head, furiously, backing away from the two vampires.
Aliyah sighed in irritation and flashed forwards, bodily grabbing Bonnie by the waist and bringing her back, despite the significant struggles of her body as she unsuccessfully tried to get out of Aliyah's grip. She set Bonnie down in the middle of the clearing and rolled her eyes in response to Bonnie's fierce glower.
"Hush, Bonnie girl." Aliyah said, soothingly. "This will only take a minute and I'm not actually going to snap your neck." She rolled her eyes.
Bonnie tipped her head back and groaned, almost stomping her feet on the ground. She pursed her lips and huffed. "Fine." She grumbled.
"Very well, if you're going from the front, you curl your left hand around and grasp the back of their head, the upper neck and lower head region, where the tip of your spine meets the base of your skull. You see that groove?" Aliyah's hand grasped the back of Bonnie's neck, firmly, her fingers rubbing against the dent in her spinal chord, pointedly. "Then, you cup your right palm on your opponent's chin with your fingers extended across the left side of their face. Now all you have to do is push. With your right hand, you push to the left, and with your left hand, you push to the right. And, snap!"
"You're joking." Caroline blinked. "Seriously, it's that easy?"
"Well, for you, it will be, because of your vampire strength. Bonnie will need to place a bit more force in her push to actually snap the vampire's neck."
"So, now, I know how to rip Damon's heart out and snap his neck. Today's been pretty good." Caroline crowed.
"Oh, we're not done yet." Aliyah smiled, sweetly. "You both have so much to learn."
The way her lips curled into a wicked smile thoroughly scared Bonnie and Caroline.
"Sometimes an opponent will not dodge your attack. Sometimes they will face you head on, mostly because they believe they're stronger than you or a better fighter than you. We can't do anything about the 'strong' bit. Some vampires are just inherently stronger. For example, you take on an Original vampire, you will lose. Original vampire trumps regular vampire every time." She smiled. "But we can make it so that you are a better fighter than them."
Caroline licked her lips.
Aliyah turned to Bonnie. "Vampires aren't like ones in the movies. You can hurt them. Even as a human. If you can hurt them, you can kill them. And if anyone's capable of making a vampire bleed, it's you, Bonnie girl. I have the utmost faith in you."
Aliyah turned back to Caroline.
"Hit me." She ordered.
Caroline bit her lip and her fist lashed out in an arch towards Aliyah's face. Aliyah grabbed Caroline's curled fist even before it came into contact with her face. Her left hand curled around Caroline's wrist and shoved her arm to the side, pulling Caroline slightly forward.
"Now, I can break your arm if I strike here," Aliyah tapped, pointedly, on Caroline's bicep. "Or I can you knock you down by doing this."
She slid her hand up the length of Caroline's arm, not stopping until her forearm was pressed against Caroline's rotated neck.
"If I push down with enough force, it will send you to the floor." Aliyah said, sombrely. "So, remember. See the punch coming. Block it, shift their arm to the side and make them lose their balance. Then, you can choose between breaking their arm or sending them to the ground."
She turned to Bonnie. "Over here, come on."
Bonnie sighed and walked over to join Caroline and Aliyah. She let her shoulders relax and her feet plant on the earthy ground, squaring her shoulders as she looked at Aliyah, determinedly. Aliyah let her lips quirk into a proud smile. Her pride shone in her black eyes and tucked a curl behind her ear.
"Vampires will try and choke you." Aliyah said, grimly. "They will try and pin you to a wall and then bite you. So, that is exactly what I'm going to do." She grabbed Bonnie by the shoulders, much to her surprise, and flashed her over to a tree, pinning her up against the wall, her palms firmly planted against her shoulders. "Now, if it were any other vampire, you could give them an aneurism, and everything would be fine. But in the event that your magic doesn't work for some reason, either because of fear or something else, I want you plant your hands at an angle away from your body." Bonnie did as she asked, her hands sliding away from her body in an arch. "Now, I want you to dip your chin and bring your right elbow over my hands, which will break the choke." Bonnie's right elbow swung over Aliyah's hands and her hands lost balance on Bonnie's body. "Now, from that vantage point, you can elbow me in the face." Bonnie brought her right elbow dangerously close to Aliyah's face. "And then, knee me in the stomach. Once, you've broken the hold I have on you, you can slip out of the embrace and elbow me in the back."
Bonnie did as Aliyah instructed her and Aliyah found herself slamming, face-first, into the tree trunk, making it shake and a few branches fall from the tree.
Aliyah sighed and heard Bonnie and Caroline laugh from behind her. "Well, I don't think we'll have any problems with you two." She grumbled.
"A stake is like a knife."
Aliyah broke off a branch from the tree and snapped it in half, throwing one half away into the forest, and brandishing the other half at Caroline and Bonnie, who stared at the makeshift stake with a great deal of wariness. She twirled the piece of wood between her fingers, as if one would a baton, and threw it up in the air, catching it with one hand without missing a single beat, her fingers curling around it pointedly.
"There are so many ways to play with them." Aliyah said, wickedly.
Caroline and Bonnie looked at each other and rolled their eyes in reply.
Typical Aliyah.
"Remember, a stake to the heart will kill any regular vampire and will incapacitate an Original vampire for a couple hours at the least." Aliyah said, grimly. "Strike quick and hard and put some muscle behind it."
"Muscle?" Bonnie snorted.
"Yeah, darling, you should get your wolf to help put some muscle on you." Aliyah observed Bonnie, carefully, her eyes raking across Bonnie's thin arms.
Bonnie scowled. "You are so annoying." She growled.
Aliyah snickered. "Oh, please, just because I told you the truth." She rolled her eyes.
"Now, I want both of you to grip the stake with one hand and mime where you'll shove it in me." Aliyah instructed.
Caroline sighed and took the stake out of Aliyah's hands. She squinted and observed Aliyah for a moment, before lashing out with the stake in Aliyah's direction and not stopping until the sharp point of the stake came into contact with Aliyah's chest.
She tossed the makeshift stake to Bonnie, who caught it one hand and gazed at it with confusion. She shook her head, quickly, and made her way over to Aliyah. She looked between the stake and Aliyah, her throat dry and her voice stuck in her throat. She took in a deep breath and her hand swung in an arch from the top, the stake clutched in her hand, not stopping until the tip of the hastily made stake pierced the curve of Aliyah's breast.
Aliyah didn't miss a bit when she saw the stake coming towards her and she barely flinched when she felt the telltale pinprick of the stake coming into contact with her flesh.
"Good girl, Bonnie." Aliyah said, proudly.
"Well, I think you both know how to use a stake. But that's only when your attacker is in front of you."
Aliyah flashed forwards grabbed Bonnie in a headlock from behind. Bonnie started and struggled in vain in the midst of Aliyah's grip on her.
"Bonnie, it's fine. Calm down." Aliyah said, soothingly, her black curls tickling Bonnie's cheek. "You're no good to anyone if your feathers are ruffled, Bonnie girl." She said, pointedly. "You need to calm down and think it through. You have a stake in your hand and you have a vampire trapping you from behind. What should you do?" She asked, quickly.
Bonnie let everything fall away and simply went over everything she knew in the back of her head. She had a stake in her hand and Aliyah had her in a headlock from behind. She took a deep breath and twirled the stake in her hand, shifting it so that it was pointing backwards and not forwards. She jerked her hand back and she felt the echo of the stake hitting Aliyah in the stomach, who let go of Bonnie from the force of the contact. Bonnie spun on her feet and turned to look at Aliyah, curiously.
"So, then I would stab you in the heart?" Bonnie asked, hesitantly.
"Yes." Aliyah nodded, slightly winded by the hit by the stake. "The vampire would be on the defensive and would still be in pain, so you'd have a great opportunity to stake them in the heart. The two of you are natural at this." She shook her head in surprise and pride."But there's one more thing I want to teach Caroline and then we can stop. Just how to block a stake coming from you. Only because, unfortunately, you have experience with bloody vampires trying to stake you, so it's better you learn how to dodge them."
Caroline took a step forward, her hands shaking at her side, which she quickly quelled. Her eyes flashed with determination, remembering the fear that had rushed through her body when Damon had tried to stake her. She remembered the current of relief that flowed through her veins when Aliyah had intervened and beat the living crap out of Damon. She never wanted to be placed in a position where Damon would ever get the better of her again.
"What do I need to do?" Caroline asked, flatly.
"The thing is, when someone tries to stake you, they always leave their bodies open to a counter attack." Aliyah explained. She motioned Caroline to stand in front of her. "Now, try and stake me." She ordered.
Caroline lunged forwards, the stake coming down on Aliyah in an arch, when Aliyah's arm lashed out and blocked Caroline's arm. Aliyah's forearm was conveniently pressed up against Caroline's forearm, and she pushed back, shoving the stake away from her.
"You see how all of your attention is focused on the stake?" Aliyah looked, pointedly, at Caroline's trapped arm. "Now, all I would have to do is punch you in the face or the stomach. That would weaken you and then you would be open for me to snap your neck. Simple."
Caroline shook her head, dropping the piece of the branch on the ground. "How is any of this easy?"
"It's easy because fighting is a rhythm. It's not about strength, it's about skill and tactics and opportunity, and I've taught you those three today. These are just basic moves, enough to protect you from whatever daft vampire is dumb enough to attack either of you." Aliyah looked, earnestly, between the two.
Bonnie bit her lip, her hands fidgeting. "So, what's the best way to kill a vampire?"
A part of her hadn't been interested when Aliyah had suggested teaching them how to fight. She had thought she would always be able to rely on her magic. But she never wanted to be in the position where her magic didn't work for her for some reason. And a dark part of herself liked the idea of not only being able to rip Damon Salvatore apart with her magic, but with her bare hands.
"Well, you can stake them, or you can use my preferred method and rip their heart right out of their chest." Aliyah shrugged. "Your choice. But the reason why I prefer ripping the heart out of my victims is because I don't have to rely on any extra tools to be around to complete my… work." She shrugged. "But to each, their own, I guess."
Caroline shook her head and looked at Bonnie. "Is it just me or is this the weirdest conversation we have ever had?"
"Lee-Lee!" Caroline called out and Aliyah turned on her feet, smiling benevolently at the young vampire she had sired.
"Hello, darling, what's the matter?" Aliyah asked.
"I was just wondering something." Caroline rubbed the back of her neck, awkwardly.
Aliyah frowned and bit her lower lip. "What's the matter, Caroline?" She asked, worriedly.
"Well, I was wondering – and only if you think it'll be okay – if I could… you know, go and see my mom." Caroline said, hesitantly.
Aliyah's lips parted and she nodded to herself. "I understand that you may want to. She is your mother, after all. But, remember, you can't go into your house without your mother inviting you inside. And, you know, just be careful and call me if something's wrong." She said, earnestly.
Caroline gave her a beaming grin, her bright white teeth shining as her entire face lit up. She squealed and threw her arms around Aliyah, much to the other vampire's surprise, and she quickly hugged her back, her hands wrapping around Caroline's waist.
"Thanks, Lee-Lee. I'll see you at the picnic, okay." Caroline said, quickly, rushing past her.
Liz was carrying some boxes out the door when Caroline made her way up the steps, wearing a khaki jumper, which she had rolled the sleeves up to her elbows, a black tank top, black jeans and a pair of black, leather ankle boots.
Caroline blinked at her mother. "Are you off today?" She asked, incredulously.
"The historical society volunteer picnic is today. You're the one who signed me up." Liz said, pointedly.
"I know." Caroline said, slowly. "I just assumed you'd bail." She muttered, feeling old and familiar resentment pool in her stomach.
"No. I'm gonna spend the whole day with my daughter." Liz said, cheerfully.
Caroline raised an eyebrow, the bitterness colouring her voice. "You're gonna pretend to be a mother?" She asked in disbelief.
"I'll bring my gun if it gets rough. Come on, give me one day. I've been buried in work mode, I've barely seen you." Liz said, softly and earnestly.
Caroline bit her lip. She wanted to believe her mother, she really did. But she also knew what her mother thought of her. Her mother, despite being her mother, had only seen what the rest of the town had seen. Pretty, blonde, vapid cheerleader for whom there was not much use except to plan events and bring back the retro years. She could deal with the misconceptions from the townspeople, she never really cared what they thought about her, but she had thought her own mother would at least try to look past that shallow image of a beauty queen and try and find her little girl on the inside. Apparently, that was too hard for her own mother. So, she couldn't help but feel spiteful enough to be particularly bitchy towards her mother today.
And now that she was a vampire, she was aware that she would probably never form a fulfilling relationship with her mother. It still felt like a hand squeezing her heart whenever she was reminded of the fact that her mother was a vampire hunter and hated anything that was remotely vampire-like. She knew that her mother would probably turn her back on her once she found out the dreaded truth, because that's what anyone ever did to her, when they found out one flaw in her perfect persona. Matt had did it, there was nothing to say her mother wouldn't.
"Well, be warned, I'm in a mood." Caroline said, loftily.
"Goody for me." Liz grumbled. "Hey, what was Elena doing here so late last night? Didn't you tell her that you were staying with Bonnie and her cousin?" She asked, curiously.
Caroline frowned. "Elena was…?" She blinked and her eyes widened. "Oh, she must have gotten confused or something." She said, quickly. "I'm pretty sure she knows that I was staying with Bonnie and Aliyah. I'm sure she just needed to talk. Her and Stefan are going through a rough patch." She explained, hurriedly.
Liz frowned and took a step out of the door, closer to Caroline, still clutching a box to her chest. "Is everything okay with you?" She asked, worriedly.
"I'm fine." Caroline said, quickly.
Liz pursed her lips and took another step closer to Caroline. "It's just… lately, you seem different." She said, weakly.
"I'm not different, I'm fine." Caroline said, sharply, finding it easier to fall back into old patterns with her mother, the resentment burning in her blue eyes.
"I know you think I don't notice these things, but I do. What's going on with you?" Liz asked, worriedly.
Caroline huffed out a disbelieving laugh. "You know, there's pretending to be a mother and then there's reality." She said, dryly. "Let's not push our luck, okay?" She said, coldly.
With that last sardonic comment, she spun on her feet and stormed away from her mother.
Aliyah stood in the crowd, taking deliberate pictures of the scenery and Carol Lockwood, as the mayor gave her speech.
"This is all part of the historical society's continuing efforts to give back to the community. Thank you to the generous donation of the Fell family. We are now standing on the sight of our newest public park. Thank you to everyone who has shown up today to lend a helping hand. Thanks."
Carol nodded at all of the guests, who had gathered in the park, a bright smile on her face, and stepped down from the stage, joining Aliyah, who was wearing a white lace number that fell to the middle of her thighs, with a pale pink sash tied around her waist, the dress falling off one of her shoulders and exposing her bare skin. She wore a faux diamond necklace and her hair was tied in a messy bun at the nape of her neck, a few wisps of hair curling in front of her face, a pair of cream platform pumps adorning her painted feet.
Aliyah and Carol exchanged a pleasant kiss on each other's cheek.
"It's so good to see you, Aliyah. It feels as though it's been forever." Carol gushed.
"I know." Aliyah smiled, sweetly.
"But I've heard there's been some good news." Carol smiled, knowingly.
"Good… news?" Aliyah looked at her, curiously.
"Well, Bonnie and Tyler, of course." Carol shook her head, a beaming smile on her face. "I always thought those two were meant to be. I always tried to steer Tyler in Bonnie's direction, especially when he started dating that drug-addled spawn of Kelly Donovan." She shook her head, mournfully. "I was sure all my hope was gone and then Tyler goes and tells me yesterday morning that he and Bonnie are finally dating. I honestly thought it would never happen." She said, cheerfully.
Aliyah ducked her head down, resisting the urge to laugh at the shallow woman. "You're right. They just kept skirting around each other, I was convinced that either of them would never pluck up the courage to tell each other exactly what they felt." She smiled. "But I like Tyler. He's good for Bonnie, he helps her let loose."
"And Bonnie's always been my favourite girl in this town. So kind and helpful." Carol smiled, fondly. "She really did get the best parts of Sheila."
"She did." Aliyah said, hoarsely, her smile falling.
"But I'm glad those two finally got their act together. After everything those two have been through in the last couple of months," Carol shook her head, clearly feeling for her son, which was something Aliyah could appreciate, feeling ashamed all of a sudden for judging the other woman too harshly and too quickly. "I'm glad they have each other. At least I can sleep peacefully knowing that Bonnie will take care of my son."
Aliyah pursed her lips and placed a comforting hand on Carol's shoulder. "You know, if you ever need anything, Carol… I know, we haven't known each other all that long, but you can always come to me. 'Cause something tells me those two don't plan on letting go of each other any time soon." She said, playfully.
Carol cracked a smile, which warmed her face up considerably. "Thank you, Aliyah." She said, sincerely.
"If you'll excuse me, I think I'll just go and take a few pictures of some of the volunteers." Aliyah smiled and turned on her feet.
Aliyah tensed, minutely, when she felt Stefan walk up to her, joining her side.
"Hello, Stefan, d'you mind leaving me alone for just one day or are you and your brother incapable of that?" Aliyah asked, dryly.
"We have a possible problem." Stefan said, flatly.
"With?" Aliyah raised an eyebrow.
"Mason Lockwood." Stefan confessed.
Aliyah stopped in her tracks and spun around to face him, a dark look in her eyes. "Is there any reason why Mason Lockwood is a problem today when he wasn't one yesterday?" She asked, coldly.
"Well, Damon may have stabbed Mason with a silver knife and he may have gotten offended." Stefan winced, expecting the explosion to come from the older vampire at any time.
Aliyah bared her teeth at him in a vicious scowl, a look that sent chills down his spine. "Well, what'd he do that for?" She snarled. "Your brother is absolutely barking mad." She spat. "Doesn't he know to play nice with the monster that can kill him on the next full moon?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Well, look, I could really use your help to smooth things over with Mason." Stefan sighed.
Aliyah raised an eyebrow. "Why do you need me?" She asked, incredulously.
"Because you're a pretty girl and Mason Lockwood seems to like you." Stefan said, flatly.
Aliyah tensed. "I won't hurt him." She said, warningly. "Not unless he turns out to be a real, proper threat to Bonnie, Caroline or Elena."
Stefan stared at her for a moment. "Why do you care if he wants to hurt Elena? You don't like her." He said, slowly, his deep-set, forest green eyes fixated on her in a way that told her that he was trying to figure her out, in vain.
"I don't like your girlfriend, that's true." Aliyah nodded, emphatically. "But there are many reasons why I don't want her hurt. Mainly because she's still a seventeen-year-old girl, no matter how much she winds me up." She muttered under her breath, as if she were trying to remind herself of the fact, lest she flash over and snap Elena's neck. "Any other reason is none of your business." She said, flatly. "But my warning still stands. I won't hurt Mason unless he hurts me or the girls first." She said, grimly.
Stefan shrugged. "I just need you to help me convince him not to blow our secret. It could mean a lot of trouble, for us and for you, if the town, especially the Founders' Council were to find out that we were vampires." He said, pointedly.
Aliyah sighed. "Fair enough," She said, mournfully. "Where is the wolf boy, anyway?"
Stefan pointed to where Mason was unloading a bunch of boxes from his trunk. Stefan walked off in that direction and Aliyah sighed, before joining him.
"Hello, Mason." Aliyah said, cheerfully.
"Aliyah." Mason nodded. He turned to the man who accompanied her. "Stefan, right? The other Salvatore." His eyes glinted.
"He's actually the nice one." Aliyah joked.
"The one offering an apology." Stefan said, determinedly.
Mason shook his head. "Not interested."
"Oh, come on, Mason," Aliyah smiled, endearingly. "You were the one who said yesterday that you didn't want to be a part of some feud that doesn't apply to us." She said, pointedly, her eyes flashing in warning.
Stefan sighed. "Look, my brother acted impulsively."
"Which he actually has a history of." Aliyah muttered. "Ask anyone."
"You think?" Mason asked, sarcastically.
"Look, frankly, I am very much beyond this whole vampire-werewolf epic rivalry that exists, and honestly, you have no idea how much." Aliyah said, grimly. "But I don't want anyone in this town to get hurt because you two pseudo alpha males couldn't keep it together." She snarled.
Stefan nodded. "If you and Damon keep at each other throats, somebody innocent is going to get hurt and we don't want that. You have family here, so I can't imagine you'd want that either. So, what do you say we just quit the whole 'alpha male fighting' thing and call a truce?" He offered.
Mason raised an eyebrow. "I made that same offer to your brother. He turned it down with a knife." He pointed out.
Stefan sighed. "He made a mistake. We just want to make sure that neither one of you make another one."
"Tell your brother to watch his back." Mason growled.
Stefan's shoulders slumped and he looked at Aliyah, pleadingly. Aliyah simply shrugged her shoulders and looked off into the distance. Stefan sighed and grabbed Mason's arm before he could walk away from them.
"Well, I'm guessing that he only has to worry about that during a full moon." Stefan smirked. "Otherwise, you're not as strong, am I right? Or you would have kill Damon by now." He looked at Aliyah and she nodded in agreement, stiffly. "There's one of you. There's three of us. I think you're the one that needs to watch his back." He pointed out.
"Mind you, there's only three of us if I decide you're a threat worth taking out." Aliyah interjected. She looked at Mason head on, her black eyes boring into his green ones. "My threat from yesterday still stands, darling. Stay out of all of this and you live. Take one step over the line and I'll tear your pretty little head off." She snarled.
Mason sighed, realizing that both of them were dead serious about killing him if he posed a threat to them. And then, he remembered the stories that Katherine had told him about Aliyah and what she was capable of. She wasn't one to be trifled with.
"If he comes at me…" Mason trailed off.
"He won't." Stefan said, reassuringly.
Mason and Stefan shook hands and Mason left, after giving Aliyah a respectful nod, which she returned. Just as Mason left, Damon joined the two.
"What are you doing?" Damon asked, annoyed.
"Negotiating peace on your behalf." Stefan answered, promptly
"I don't want peace." Damon pointed out.
"See this face." Aliyah turned to look at Damon and gestured at her blank face. "Does it look like I care?" She raised an eyebrow, deadpanning.
"Consider it opposite day." Stefan nudged Damon in the side.
Damon sighed. "Please tell me you two don't seriously think a hand shake just solved our problem." He said, slowly.
"No. I think that the first chance Mason Lockwood gets, he'll drive a stake through your hearts and then mine – because I kind of threatened him, myself, yesterday – but only because you took it upon yourself in your infinite wisdom to try and kill him. So, good job, because it's not like we don't have enough problems to deal with already." Aliyah said, sarcastically, walking away from the Salvatore brothers.
Bonnie was just about to leave the house when she saw Tyler walk up the driveway from the car. She was wearing a dark purple top and dark blue jeans, underneath a pale green cardigan, as well as a long necklace, hanging in between her breasts. She locked the door to the house behind her and threw herself into Tyler's arms, feeling warm inside when his arms came around her waist.
"Whoa." Tyler chuckled, tightening his arms on Bonnie's hips. "Any reason for this really affectionate 'hello'?" He asked, grinning into her hair, taking in the scent of honey and vanilla that always seemed to come from Bonnie.
"Nothing." Bonnie shook her head, with a smile. "Hey, why are you here, anyway? I thought you were heading down to the picnic?"
Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Why? You got another guy stashed up there?" He asked, playfully.
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Yes, Ty. You're just one in my massive harem that are locked up in my dungeon." She deadpanned.
Tyler grinned. "Who knew my sweet baby had such naughty ideas?" His hands trailed down her waist to curve around her arse, making her jerk against him, an expression of surprise and timidity forming on her face. "I just thought that we could go over to my place. My mom is gone all day. Empty house, full stocked bar…" He trailed off, waggling his eyebrows.
Bonnie laughed, throwing her head back and exposing the lean curve of her neck. "Margaritas?" She raised an eyebrow.
Tyler shrugged. "Of course."
"Let's go." Bonnie said, cheerfully, dragging Tyler over to his car and getting into the passenger seat.
"'Lo, Mason." Aliyah said, cheerfully. "Mind if we have a bit of a chat… away from those pesky Salvatore brothers." She crooned, her hand curling around Mason's muscled forearm and leading him away from the crowd of people that had gathered in the park.
Mason sighed. "What do you want, Aliyah?" He asked, annoyed. "I already promised that I wouldn't go after Damon."
Aliyah's smile only grew on her face. "Oh, well, we both know you were lying through your teeth, darling."
"What do you want?" Mason snarled.
"Look," Aliyah placed a steady hand on Mason's arm, her nails digging into his skin enough to make him realize that she wasn't giving him a choice whether to talk to her or not. "You came back to Mystic Falls to help Tyler, in case he triggered the curse. And that is very admirable. And I did something similar for Bonnie, so I truly do understand."
Mason raised an eyebrow. "You and Bonnie aren't related. You're a vampire." He said with the slightest disgust colouring his voice.
"Don't be such a racist." Aliyah rolled her eyes. "And Bonnie and I are related. She's my niece many times removed. But we are related. And she is my family. So, I will fight to defend her, just like you would for Tyler. So, you see," She smacked him on the arm. "We have the same goal here." She smiled, serenely up at him. "Now, why don't you tell me what Katherine wants?"
"Who the hell do you-"
"You shouldn't lie to me, Mason. I'm not the kind of girl you lie to." Aliyah's smile turned vicious, her teeth baring at him. "And don't play dumb with me, either. It's not a good look on your face. You're a bit too young to be searching for the moonstone for yourself. So, it made me think that there has to be someone who's pulling your strings. And the only player in all of this that has a penchant for making pretty boys do her bidding… is Katherine Pierce. And you definitely fit into the right type for her." She said, sweetly.
Mason swallowed hard, his eyes almost bugging out of their sockets. "How did you-"
"Tell me something, Mason, did Katherine tell you who I am?" Aliyah asked, suddenly, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, to sum it up, she told me you're a bitch that's been hunting her down for centuries." Mason said, slowly.
"That's very true." Aliyah nodded. "I do want her dead, and in my day, we weren't so crass as to call women bitches to their face, so mind your manners." She said, sharply, her eyes flooding crimson before they returned to normal, as quick as they came. "And the only reason that Katherine called me a bitch was because she's scared of me. And, rightly so, because I am not one to be trifled with." Her tone was deadly. "I can snap your neck whenever I'd like and that little nip that you can give vampires on a full moon doesn't do much to me except gives me one hell of a fever." She said, coldly. "So, why don't you be a dear and let me know what Katherine wants?"
Bonnie was lying on Tyler's bed, sipping on a margarita, giggling when Tyler crawled onto the bed himself and immediately wrapped her in his strong arms, her skin tingling the moment his fingers fell upon her body.
"So," Bonnie licked the rim of the glass and set it aside on the bedside table. "Did you just want me over so that you could get me into bed without any interruptions?" Her eyes glinted, wickedly.
Tyler held his hand to his heart, mock-offended. "I'm hurt, Bonnie Rabbit." He said, mournfully.
Bonnie rolled her eyes and rolled over so that she was straddling him. His hands immediately came to curve around her hips, steadying her small, lithe form on his laps.
"Well," Bonnie lowered her voice to a husky whisper. "What d'you say we make the most of it?" She purred, lowering her head and kissing along the curve of his jawline.
Tyler groaned and his hand came up to thread through her dark waves.
Mason placed a box on one of the picnic tables and Liz turned around.
"Oh, thanks, Mason." Liz said, gratefully.
Mason pursed his lips. "Hey, Sherriff, you got a second?"
Liz cracked a smile. "I'm out of uniform. Let's go with Liz."
Mason smiled. "Alright, Liz." He moved closer to her, out of distance of prying ears. "I was hoping to talk to you about the council." He murmured.
Liz tensed and looked away, purposefully. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said, loftily.
Mason resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I know you and the other Founding Families have a secret council."
Liz raised an eyebrow. "If that were true, then you'd know it's a secret and isn't discussed with non-council members." She said, pointedly.
Mason sighed. "I know I rejected all that, but it's only because I wanted a life outside of this town, not because I was a non-believer." His voice turned into a hushed tone. "Look, I know vampires exist and you have three of them living right under your nose."
Liz smirked. "Really?" She asked, incredulously.
"Yeah."
"Who would they be?" Liz crossed her arms over her chest, clearly not believing a word of what he was saying.
Mason pursed his lips. "Damon and Stefan Salvatore and Aliyah Bennett."
"That's impossible." Liz said, adamantly. "I know Damon Salvatore. Do you know what he's done for this town?"
"I know it's a lot to digest." Mason said, soothingly.
"No." Liz shook her head. "I watched him kill vampires. He's an ally; he's part of the council."
"Think about it." Mason hissed. "When did the vampire attacks begin? When Damon and Stefan Salvatore moved to town?" He said, pointedly.
"All three of them walk in the sun, Mason." Liz pointed out.
"They've evolved. It's not 1864. They figured it out, Liz." Mason nudged her.
"No. Damon Salvatore is my friend." Liz said, determinedly. "And Aliyah Bennett doesn't know about any of this. She's just some journalist in town to take care of her cousin." She pointed out.
Mason rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Liz. How long have you known Bonnie Bennett? She and your daughter have been best friends since the playground. Don't you think it's a bit odd that you've never heard that she has a cousin before?" He raised an eyebrow. "And you know the rumours of the Bennett family? They don't exactly have a squeaky-clean history."
Liz shook her head. "No, I don't believe it."
Mason hissed out of his clenched teeth. He looked out of the gazebo and saw Damon and Stefan walking by, in the midst of a conversation. "What if I can prove it to you?"
Liz turned around and she also began to look at Stefan and Damon with strange eyes.
Elena and Caroline stood in front of gazebo, patiently painting the wooden frames with brown paint.
"So, suddenly, she's in the running for Mother of the Year just when I'm trying to avoid her the most." Caroline noticed the way Elena seemed to be in a far-off place and frowned, quelling the resentment that burned in her stomach. "I'm babbling, you don't want to hear all this." She murmured, desperately trying to be the supportive best friend when she was furious at Elena.
"Oh, no, sorry." Elena blinked, finally realizing that Caroline was talking to her. "Then, what happened?"
Caroline rolled her eyes, the fury rushing at her as she realized that obviously, my feelings and my life aren't as important as your drama, huh, Elena?
"Well, I was a bitch, which is part of the course with us." Caroline said, dryly. She pursed her lips, knowing that she needed to get more information for Katherine. "So, how are things with you and Stefan? Anything?"
"No, not since the fight." Elena shook her head, knowing that Caroline was only asking because she was spying for Katherine, something that made her terribly angry. "He's been pushing me away because he thinks that Katherine might get jealous enough to hurt me. I just don't know how to change his mind." She said, mournfully, playing up the part of the girlfriend who's on the brink of her relationship ending.
"You said that Katherine's dangerous. Maybe he's got a point." Caroline said, loftily.
"Yeah, I know that she's dangerous and I know that he's just trying to protect me, but it feels like giving up and I just…" Elena trailed off.
Caroline frowned. "Just what?"
Elena pursed her lips. "I just thought that we were stronger than that." She said, sincerely.
Bonnie moaned as Tyler's hands slid up to cup her breasts through her shirt. Her head tipped back, her hair tickling the backs of his knuckles. She rocked against him, unintentionally, her head dipping down and crushing her lips against his. Her hands made their way into his hair, stroking through it and scraping her nails against his scalp, sending pleasurable tingles down Tyler's spine and landing in his cock.
Tyler wrapped his hands around Bonnie's waist, tightly, and spun them around, so that Bonnie was lying down on the bed and Tyler was hovering above her. She laughed, her neck arching, and Tyler's head dipped down, desperate to taste her salty-sweet skin, and licked a line up the length of her neck.
"Mm, Tyler." Bonnie moaned, clutching his head tightly against her neck, squirming when she felt his hand slid down her side and curve around her thigh, hooking her leg over his hip.
Bonnie's hands slid up his muscled chest, over his shirt, and started to unbutton it as slow as possible, her eyes flashing, wickedly. Tyler groaned and undid the last few buttons himself, and threw the shirt somewhere against the wall of his bedroom, leaving him shirtless and perched above her. Bonnie's hands curled around his neck and tugged him down to meet his lips with hers, Tyler groaning as the taste of honey and vanilla and Bonnie assaulted his taste buds.
"Bonnie Rabbit, I don't know if I can stop this time." Tyler panted against his lips.
"I don't want you to." Bonnie moaned, arching her back into Tyler's embrace, feeling hot in her clothes all of a sudden.
Tyler pulled away, his brow furrowing. "Bonnie, I-"
"Ty," Bonnie's hand cupped the curve of her jaw. "I love you and I want this. Badly." She said, earnestly.
"But, I just-"
"Sugar," Bonnie said, sweetly, and Tyler fell silent. "Stop talking and make love to me." She ordered.
Tyler chuckled, resting his forehead against her collarbone. "My bossy sweet baby." He crooned.
Elena was painting a wall, when she caught sight of Stefan staring at her. She licked her lips and looked right back at him, both feeling that ridiculous yearning to be with each other, despite knowing that they had to continue to pretend fight for Katherine.
"Oh, oh. Longing looks are being exchanged." Caroline muttered, observing the way Stefan and Elena were looking at each other.
"I'm gonna go talk to him." Elena declared.
Caroline pursed her lips, feeling herself start to panic. "No, Elena. I think it's a bad idea."
Elena ignored Caroline and made her way over to Stefan at the other gazebo, and Damon joined Caroline at their gazebo.
"What's her problem?" Damon muttered.
Caroline rolled her eyes, feeling her skin start to itch by just being in Damon's presence. She took a deliberate step away from him. "Don't worry about it." She growled.
Damon looked at her, curiously. "Why are you being such a bitch to your mom?" He asked, annoyed.
Caroline scowled and rounded on him. "Mind your own business." She snapped.
Tyler's hands slipped the pale green cardigan off Bonnie's shoulders, tossing it away without a care in the world. Her hands stroked up and down his bare, muscled back, her nails raking down his back. Bonnie moaned, tipping her head to the side, as Tyler's tongue laved her neck, pressing a line of kisses along her soft skin. Bonnie bit her lips and let her legs spread to the side, allowing her to wrap them around Tyler's waist, her fingers attacking his belt buckle and undoing the notch. She slipped the belt out of each of the loops and, with a clank, she threw it against the wall, not minding if the metal of his belt buckle made a dent in the wall, much to Tyler's amusement. Her fingers slid against the button of his jeans, stroking before she undid it with a hurry, her slim fingers pulling down his zipper and freeing him from the constricting denim.
Her feet slid up the length of his legs, and she shoved the jeans down his legs, the jeans landing at the foot of the bed and Bonnie never taking her moss-green eyes off Tyler's dark brown ones. She let her legs splay out and raised them in their, wrapping them around his waist. His hands slid down her sides, barely grazing the sides of her breasts, drawing a hitched breath from her, until they landed at the hem of her purple tank top. He pulled it up, inch by inch, exposing luscious dark chocolate skin to his ravenous gaze.
He pulled it up over her head and Bonnie grinned, snatching the cotton shirt from his hands and balling it up in a fist and throwing it against the wall, much to Tyler's amusement. He licked his lips and looked down at her, Bonnie left in only a dark purple lace balconette bra and her jeans, under his shirtless forms. She dragged her teeth over her lower lip and let out a whimper, feeling electric shocks wherever his hands slid across her bare skin, desperate for more but unwilling to reveal just how desperate she was.
"Tyler, I-" Bonnie whispered.
"I love you." Tyler said, sincerely, leaning down and kissing her hard on the mouth and taking her breath away.
She remembered that once she had thought that the hot clash of lips, tongue and teeth felt very unsexy but now she wondered exactly how she had gone by these last few years without Tyler's lips on hers and his hands on her skin.
Tyler bit his lips when he looked down at her. No one had ever been in this bed except for Bonnie. She was only one to ever christen this room and it felt right that she was back here again. Any of the cheerleaders he'd had, or even Vicki Donovan had been confined to the bedroom of whosever's party of choice they had decided to hook up in. But Bonnie was different. She was magical – both figuratively and literally, as he had now learnt.
She was the only one he found worthy enough to have in his bedroom. She was his Bonnie Rabbit, his sweet baby, the girl he had been in love with as long as he had known what love was, and she deserved everything. She deserved romance and candlelight dinners and music and everything that girls wanted for their first time. She deserved to be made love in his room, in his bed, so that he could be certain that no other girl would ever mean the way she meant to him.
And she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Ever since he was a little boy, he had looked at Bonnie Bennett and seen nothing but an absolute angel. He was enraptured the only way a little boy could by the sweetest little girl he would ever meet. And seeing her here, lying in his bed, surrounded by his smell, her hair mussed from his hands, her lips red and thoroughly kissed – if he may add - and her skin flushed with the intensity of his eyes on her.
She was everything he'd dreamed she would be.
Bonnie bit her lip as Tyler slid his hands across her bare stomach, teasing her, Bonnie arching her back into his touch as her stomach clenched from arousal.
"Ty, please." Bonnie breathed. "Don't tease."
Tyler smirked and leaned down, kissing her softly on the curve of her shoulder. "Sorry, sweet baby." He crooned.
His hands slid down her side, his thumb stroking over the top of her breastbone, over the lace of her bra. His hands were splayed across her back and his fingers, nimbly, undid the back of her bra. He pursed his lips, hesitating for the first time since he had entered his bedroom with Bonnie. Bonnie's hand reached up to cup his jaw, her thumb stroking over his lips, sensing his nervousness and desperate to assure him.
She loved him. This was okay.
"It's okay, sugar. Take it off." She said, softly.
Tyler swallowed hard. "You sure?" He licked his lips, his hands slightly shaking.
Bonnie cracked a smile and nodded. "I love you, Stray. I want this, trust me." She said, honestly.
Tyler leaned down and sighed, resting his forehead against hers. "I love you too, Bonnie Rabbit."
He slipped the bra straps down her arms and tenderly pulled it off her chest, pursing his lips as he looked down on her bare breasts.
Bonnie flushed and watched his eyes rake over whatever skin had been exposed. She didn't know what to feel, watching his eyes on her this way. She knew it must be stupid, feeling self-conscious when she had already slept with Tyler, even lost her virginity to him, but she had to take into account his growing experience while they had been apart, and her single encounter with one of the seniors this time last year. Tyler was experienced and she was not.
She raised her arms to cover her breasts, when he determinedly held her back, pinning them at her sides.
"Don't, Bonnie," Tyler said, sincerely, dipping is head down and kissing the centre of her collarbone, the stubble on his chin grazing the valley between her breasts. "You're beautiful."
The words were said with such hushed awe that she took a deep breath and kept her hands at her side, even when he took his hands away. She smiled, nervously, up at him and raised her hand to run through the jagged black strands of his hair, in an attempt to soothe her anxiety.
Tyler swallowed hard and looked down at her. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Her breasts were full, tipped with dark maroon buds that tightened as if they felt his eyes on her.
He had never wanted anything as much as he wanted Bonnie Bennett.
Stefan and Aliyah exchanged a wary look when they observed Mason and Damon in the midst of a conversation. Aliyah licked her lips and walked up the steps of the gazebo, her and Stefan joining Damon just as Mason walked away.
"If you were picking a fight with him, I will smash your head in." Aliyah said, flatly.
Stefan nodded, grimly, glaring over at Damon. "Please tell us you were just bonding."
Damon rolled his eyes and ignored their comments, instead turning to Stefan. "So, what's up this faux drama in your relationship?" He asked, smirking.
Stefan deliberately looked away from Damon and Aliyah. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on, Stefan. You and Elena don't fight, especially not over me." Damon said, mockingly.
"Drop it, Damon." Stefan growled
"With pleasure." Damon shrugged.
A little girl approached them with a smile. "Would you like some lemonade?"
Aliyah and Stefan shook their heads, shooting the little girl a sweet smile as they did so.
"Thank you, sweetie." Damon said, proudly, taking one of the glasses off the tray.
Damon took a sip of the lemonade, but spat it out, immediately, his face screwing up in a picture of pain and horror.
"What is it?" Aliyah narrowed her eyes, taking a step closer to Damon.
"Vervain." Damon gasped out, much to the horror of Aliyah and Stefan. "Vervain."
Elena was sitting by the banks of the river as Caroline joined her.
"You okay?" Caroline asked, hesitantly.
Elena shook her head. "No." She spat.
Caroline bit her lip. "You know, maybe it's for the best." She offered.
Elena growled low in her throat. "It's not for the best, Caroline. None of this is for the best." She snapped, harshly. Her face faltered when she saw the hurt look form on Caroline's face. She sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? I… I don't mean to take it out on you. You're just being a good friend." She murmured, knowing that the complete opposite was true.
Caroline wasn't being a good friend, not when she was trying her hardest to break her and Stefan up.
"No. I'm not. I'm not being a good friend at all." Caroline said, mournfully, feeling bad for what she was doing.
But then she remembered how much she wanted Katherine dead, how much Damon had hurt her and everything that Elena had kept from her, deliberately, when she was supposed to be her best friend. And the guilt that formed in her stomach slowly faded away, knowing that she was doing the only thing she possibly could to get rid of Katherine, permanently, and protect Bonnie and Aliyah.
Caroline frowned, spotting her mother busy on the phone as she made her way out of the park.
"Is she leaving? Where is my mom going?" Caroline muttered under her breath.
She jumped to her feet and stalked over, her fists clenched at her side as anger burned low in her stomach. Her mother couldn't even be bothered to keep her word for one freaking day before something so much more important than her – which always happened – took precedence over her own daughter and the promises she made.
"Look, I can't talk here. Just get Jesse and meet me down the hill at the entrance. And bring a… yes we need it." Caroline heard Liz mutter, hurriedly, onto the phone.
"What's wrong?" Caroline asked, coldly.
"Nothing. I just have something…" Liz trailed off, guiltily.
Caroline raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "You mean work? You've surprised me. You lasted longer than 5 minutes." She said, mockingly.
"It's important." Liz protested.
"It always is." Caroline snapped.
"I'm sorry." Liz said, apologetically, before rushing off.
Elena walked up to Caroline just as Liz left.
"What's going on?" Elena asked, curiously.
Caroline frowned. "I don't know. Something's up." She pursed her lips. "I'm going to go and find Aliyah."
Tyler's hands fell to the button on her jeans and he paused, looking up at her. He swallowed hard, watching Bonnie's face still. Something wordless passed between them and Tyler slowly unbuttoned Bonnie's jeans, pulling down the zipper in one, quick swoop. His hands spanned the curve of her thighs and he, carefully, slid the denim down her thighs and dropped it somewhere off the bed, which left in a pair of purple lacy boy-shorts.
"Do you want me to-?" Tyler began, awkwardly.
"No, it's okay, I can-" Bonnie said, reassuringly.
"No," Tyler said, finally. "This is stupid. It shouldn't be awkward between us. There's nothing to be awkward about." He said, softly and earnestly, his fingers stroking down her cheek.
"Yeah," Bonnie's smile was gentle and loving, her hand coming up to curve around his wrist. "You're right."
Her hands slid into his hair and she pulled him down with such force, their lips slanting onto each other's. Bonnie moaned at the feeling of his bare chest pressed against hers, her hands running up and down his back, as his tightened around her waist. She almost didn't realize that his fingers had hooked on either side of her underwear until he was pulling it down her slim legs, tossing it against the wall, leaving her completely naked.
Bonnie flushed and ran her hands through her hair, lifting it from behind her neck and letting it spread out against Tyler's voluminous pillows, much like a dark halo.
Bonnie gestured to Tyler's navy boxers. "Do you mind if I-?"
"Oh, um, yeah… go ahead." Tyler said, nervously.
Bonnie bit her lip, her timidity rushing at her once again, and she slid her hands under the waistband of his boxers, her palms splaying across the sides of his thighs and using her wrists to tug it down the length of Tyler's muscled legs. Bonnie's legs spread slightly to the side and the momentum allowed her to wrap her lean legs around his waist, the damp, wet flesh between her thighs grazing the length of his cock, which she observed was definitely ready for her.
Tyler groaned and dipped his head down, his lips falling onto one of her hardened nipples, laving the tight bud with his tongue, until Bonnie's hands were fisted in the sheets at his side and her head was thrown back. His hands were wrapped around her waist and he tugged her body half off the bed so that he could get more access to her perky breasts. Her hands were clutching at his hair, holding him tightly against her breasts, warmth and wetness settling in a pool between her legs.
She bit her lip and deliberately rocked her hips against him, sliding her wet cunt against the velvety skin of his hard cock. Tyler growled low in his throat and Bonnie swore she saw his eyes turn golden for a brief moment, the colour in his eyes only making her hotter for him. She bit her lip and rocked again, a slow, teasing smile curling on her lips.
"My naughty Bonnie Rabbit." Tyler rumbled deep in his chest. "Are you trying to tease me?"
Bonnie shrugged, playfully, watching the ridges of the muscles in his chest ripple as he stared down at her. Her arousal settled low in her stomach and she felt the wet flesh between her thighs only become wetter. She reached up and slid her hands across his shoulders, her nails raking up his shoulder blades and down his collarbone and chest. When her hands slid down his abs, she bit her lip as her fingers stroked against his muscles. Her moss-green eyes turned dark for a brief moment and she felt her magic rush at her in that moment.
She honestly thought that, if in that moment, she let Tyler make love to her, she wouldn't be able to control her magic for a moment. That experience, sharing that with Tyler and no one else, lights would flash, the heavens would open and the ground would crack beneath her nimble fingers. She could spend days wallowing in the scent of Tyler and her pressed together, their bodies in the throes of passion.
It was absolutely intoxicating.
She gasped something unintelligible out when Tyler's lips moved down from the other nipple he was laving with his tongue. His mouth trailed down the center of her torso until he reached her pelvic bone, sliding down the bed. He looked up at her with a devilish grin, his chin resting on her hips. He placed a deliberate kiss to the warm skin under her belly and Bonnie whimpered, her nails digging into his bed sheets.
"Tyler, please." She begged.
Tyler's hands hooked around her thighs and shoved them up, unceremoniously, over his shoulders, spreading her legs wide for his gaze. Bonnie licked her lips and watched him with baited breath, waiting for him to do something, to do anything to satiate the ache between her thighs. She knew that, from his vantage point, he could see everything she had to offer, but that previous self-consciousness that had made her nervous around him before had drained away, leaving her content in his arms and eager for what he would do next.
His tongue dipped into her and licked the entire length of her cunt, sucking in the sweet taste of Bonnie at her most natural. He was sure he could become addicted on this taste alone, it was better than any drug or alcohol he had tried and the taste of her on his tongue soothed any gut-curling worry he had before. He sucked the bundle of nerves between her sweet thighs into his mouth, laving the throbbing flesh with his tongue until Bonnie was nothing more than a quivering mess, shrieking like a banshee above him.
"Tylertylertylertylertylertyler." Bonnie chanted, her head thrashing from side to side, her fists curling in the covers, as she arched her back and rocked her hips, insistently, into his mouth.
When Tyler slid back up his body, his lips still damp from the taste of her cunt, he leaned down and crushed his lips against hers, letting her lick the taste of her off his tongue. She wrapped her arms around his neck and happily kissed every drop of her wetness from his mouth. Her arms tightened around his neck and she purposefully slid her cunt against his cock, practically begging him with her motions to make love to her now.
Tyler growled and spread her legs wide.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I hope you liked the fight scenes between Caronliyah in this chapter. I hope it wasn't too choppy because I have a tendency to write specific sections of scenes and I kind of suck at putting them all together. I liked the idea of bonding between the three, because I know that there's been a lot of Bonliyah and Caroliyah, but not much Baroline or Caronliyah.
I wrote a different kind dynamic to the relationship between Mason and Aliyah. It's not completely affectionate and it's not completely hostile. I like the whole flirting/threatening thing they have going on, mainly because I wanted to do justice to Jenna's matchmaking. And I like writing the contrast between the sweet Aliyah with Bonnie and Caroline and Original vampire she really is with everyone else.
And there are some potential breakdowns in the Carolena friendship. Frankly, for someone who knew that Katherine was blackmailing Caroline to spy on her and Stefan, Elena sure was quick to snap at her in this episode, so I thought it would be interesting to see that from Caroline's perspective, how she's slowly becoming disillusioned with Elena and the way she treats people.
We have the beginnings of Tonnie smut, people. I was thinking of the best place to put the sex scene between the two and I thought it would be interesting to right it as snapshots instead of just one scene. We'll have all the dirty stuff in the next chapter as well. Not to mention an extra smutty surprise ;)
Anyway, I hope you had an awesome time reading it as much as I did writing it. Please leave me a review or a little comment if you liked so I know if I'm taking the story the right way. You can reach me here on this site or drop me a line on Tumblr – I'm always there!
Take it easy, babes!
Reviews:
LadyDV011: Thank you so much! I am really sorry about the whole 8-month hiatus thing. I was pretty swamped with uni and work and other real life annoyances. But I'm on holidays now, so hopefully the updates should be more frequent!
NicoleR85: Thank you so much! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
XOXO Janie's Thoughts Revive: Thanks! As for your question, I'm going to have to say that you'll have to wait for The Last Dance to find out. I'm trying to keep the suspense going.
mrs Tall Blonde and Dead: Thank you so much!
Guest: I'm so glad to be back too! I'm also glad you like the Jenna-Aliyah friendship. Sometimes, I think Aliyah needs someone around her own age to talk to, not just Bonnie and Caroline, who can only understand so far. Plus, Jenna's one of my favourite underrated characters.
YellowTiger17: Thank you so much! I have mentioned it before, but I haven't gone into too much detail because I don't want to spoil anything. But, as of now, I am planning on covering The Originals. Not all of it, but some of the major plotlines. As for the pregnancy bit, I'm keeping a lid on that because I'd rather that no one knows what I'm going to do with it all. Bonnie will be going to New Orleans with Aliyah, of course. So, that'll be one major change to The Originals' plot.
I'm-a-Klaus-addict: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far.
slexieotpforever: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Aww, it's so cute that you ship Aliyah and Elijah. I think, secretly, I ship them too. But I can't, because then I won't be loyal to Nikliyah and Klaus may kill me, haha. There'll be more flashbacks, so hopefully that will satisfy your shipper heart. And I've already written the reunion, so I can promise you it'll be intense. And the reactions when they find out Aliyah is an Original, well, let's just say that I don't think they're going to take it very well!
mattdombast: I'm not a huge fan of Rose with Elijah, but I do have a soft spot for Carolijah. But I've already sorted out their ships for the moment, so you'll have to wait and see! Oh, and I love Katherine way too much to kill her off so soon.
wildman90: Nope, she doesn't. But she's like the other Originals in that a werewolf (and hybrid) bite would only sting and cause her some discomfort and maybe a fever, but it won't kill her. But, in the future, we might see her do something to avoid even that ;)
zara131: I know, I hate the waiting too! But there will be way more flashbacks as we approach The Last Dance, I promise. Uh, I don't think she'd start a relationship with anyone, to be honest. While she and Klaus are separated, she's pretty loyal and she already has the threat from him not to be unfaithful. I don't think she'd want to drag someone into the colossal drama that is her marriage. With Klaus and Elijah, their main jealousy is over each other, rather than some other guy. And don't worry, Rose is coming up and it's going to be intense. And long.
HPuni101: Thank you!
hpfan: He'll be showing up soon, I promise.
amisam47: I'm so glad you liked the chapter. Yeah, it was a hard chapter to write because I did have to explore Aliyah's flaws a bit more, and even how she looks at herself. I think the difference between Elena and Katherine's anger at Aliyah is that Elena's anger is based on Aliyah not regarding her the same way that other people do, whereas Katherine just feels hurt at how Aliyah just abandoned her after she was turned and really about how she was suddenly thrust into this love triangle with Aliyah and Elijah. However, while I do agree that Aliyah's history with Klaus and Elijah is pretty sketchy and very Petrova-reminiscent, the reason why I distinguish Elena/Katherine/Tatia from Aliyah's relationship with Klaus and Elijah is honestly because of the choices that all the women made. Elena, Katherine and Tatia all made the conscientious choice to screw with two brothers at the same time. Aliyah's situation was never like that. Hers was formed out of duty and she would never have married Elijah in the first place if she had the choice. She even broke it off with Klaus completely the moment that her and Elijah's marriage was announced. And I think there's also an element of misogyny to the love triangle too. I mean, everyone's really quick to blame Elena, Katherine or Tatia for the love triangle, yet I never hear people say that Stefan/Damon/Elijah/Klaus should have backed away once they realised their brother was interested in the same girl. Here is the difference. Aliyah didn't have to back away and say she didn't want to screw up Elijah and Klaus' relationship because she broke it off with Klaus when she married Elijah and when Elijah found out about Aliyah and Klaus, he told her to be with Klaus because he knew she was in love with him (Klaus) more than she was in love with him (Elijah). So, maybe that makes you see Aliyah's love triangle in a better light, but I do agree that it is a bit dodgy. The thing is that Aliyah and Elijah obviously knew each other since they were children, but the problem was that they never thought of each other in a romantic sense until they were told they would be married. Suddenly, they were forced to look at each other in a completely different way, not to mention deal with their continuing feelings for Klaus and Tatia. I'd like to say that it's a mix of both the emotional upheaval that occurred when they were turned, as well as them forming quite a genuine and intense bond when they were married and human. Not to mention, a lot of the trauma that Aliyah experienced, it was Elijah more than Klaus that helped her through it. As for Kol, I do intend on establishing that his witch side is the reason for his close bond with Aliyah in the present day. As the only proper, practicing witch with Aliyah, he was the only one who understood what being a vampire meant to Aliyah. They already were pretty close when they were human, considering their small age difference, but the whole losing their magic thing really brought them together. And Aliyah also assumed the maternal, nurturing role in the family in that Kol felt quite comfortable confiding in her after he became a vampire. And don't worry, we'll see how the Mikaelsons all reacted to the revelation of Klaus and Aliyah's relationship, especially in the wake of Aliyah and Elijah's marriage. Sorry, that was a pretty long response but I wanted to articulate my thoughts on everything you said well. But thank you so much, I do love a good discussion haha.
Adhara Snow: I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens in The Dinner Party. I can't see her allowing it to happen either, but you never know!
CrystalVixen93: Thank you so much! Hope you liked this chapter!
.Passion2016: Thank you so much! I can't wait for their reunion, either! And don't worry, I will be continuing the story into The Originals.
mfmxxx: I'm so glad you find her interesting. She did help Katherine escape Klaus and I think she probably did it more because she didn't think it right to let Klaus sacrifice an innocent young girl like Katherine and because she's really not a huge fan of the whole Kalijah thing. Don't worry, Rose will be pretty heavy and we'll definitely see how Rose and Elijah react to Aliyah's presence in Mystic Falls. It could be a game-changer. And you should totally write a male OC fic, you're right, there aren't that many (if any) of them. I had Bonnie question Aliyah because I don't think Bonnie's the kind of person to automatically trust someone with everything. At the end of the day, Bonnie's morals are much more defined than Aliyah's and she sees things more in black and white, and some of Aliyah's decisions will not sit right with her. I think it's in Bonnie's character to question her if she doesn't completely approve with Aliyah's decisions. I think that's why they're close, because they have this healthy relationship where they both respect each other enough to point out if they find something wrong with the other's choices.
Guest: Thanks for the feedback!
Wikked: Aww, that sucks! Well, I'm glad you finally caught up and I hope you're getting all your alerts on time again! I like exploring Aliyah and Klaus' relationship before she left him, so that when you guys see their reunion and their subsequent dynamic, you can see the difference and what the separation has done to their relationship. At least that's the way I look at it. Oh, don't worry. You didn't upset me at all and thank you again for letting me know. Hopefully, the next couple of chapters have Caroline and Bonnie getting their own screen (or page) time.