Stuck in a car with two teenage girls and the tagalong boyfriend is awful.
I'd rather ride with Bonnie and Sheila, if I'm being honest, but I need to bond with everyone, and this is decidedly a family affair. And Caroline, my favorite female character on the show, is sitting next to me talking incessantly about the upcoming Lockwood Halloween party.
At least she isn't talking about Damon. If I remember right, she was already his sex slave by this point. Weird that the show kinda glosses over that point.
"So, to turn the subject to something actually important," I say with a grin. "What exactly do you think about all this, Caroline?"
She smirks at me like I'm challenging her for a moment. "Think about what?"
"Vampires, witches… the supernatural."
The blonde does seem uncomfortable. Probably not really believing it. "I don't really know. I'm just here for Bonnie and my friends." But she looks me in the eye. "What are you here for, again? Why should we let you along?"
Stefan doesn't turn around from the driver's seat, just stares ahead, even as Elena and Caroline watch intensely.
"I've been helping Bonnie. It's my visions that are leading me to her mother in the first place, and I care about your friend too. Didn't seem right to sit it out, when I can be there for her." I mean that sincerely, enough that I hope Stefan's superhearing doesn't think I'm lying.
"These visions of yours," Stefan asks, and I tense slightly in anticipation of his question, "how do they work?"
"Flashes, glimpses of the future in dreams. I'm not one hundred percent sure, but the clearer the vision, the more important the event will be. This one is the clearest I've had for a long time."
"And you're using it to help a friend." Elena doesn't question it, just accepts it. Good on her. "Makes you a pretty good guy, in my book."
Considering how fucking often the Bennet witches come up in the show, just because of their proximity to the Originals' hometown, it's a bit more than just being a good guy. But I won't correct her.
"What do you get out of it?" Caroline asks.
Always the materialistic one. "Get out of it?" They are in 'protect their friend' mode, so I can't really blame them. "Am I not allowed to do something out of the kindness of my heart?"
She sighs. "You come here out of nowhere and start weaseling your way into Bonnie's life. Just seems like you want something."
Damn it, she's perceptive. "Is this really any different than Stefan, the vampire, coming in out of nowhere and weaseling his way into Elena's life?"
The vampire has the decency to stay looking forward, but Elena is clearly not happy. Caroline interjects before her friend can answer. "That's different though. They're dating. And you're clearly not interested in dating her. Unless you're lying about that too." The look of disgust on her face is unsettling, until I remember her father's estrangement from her mother because of his sexuality. She's probably got some issues to work on.
Awkward car rides, galore.
"Trust me, I'm not lying about that." I can hardly keep my eyes off of Stefan's body, and I'm ninety percent sure he's noticed. "Or about anything else really. I have to be careful what I say and when, or the future will change to the point where my knowledge becomes useless."
"What kinds of things are you talking about?" Stefan asks.
"Good things?" Elena adds. "Bad things?"
"Both. Powerful people coming in and out of Mystic Falls over the next few years, with machinations to hurt innocent people and be all around awful." Klaus, Kai, Katherine. "New friends and lovers, laughter and fun. It's not all bad, but I don't particularly care to know who you're going to be dating in a few months, Caroline."
She guffaws and I just grin. "Not telling, sorry. My lips are sealed, but yours certainly won't be." Always liked Matt and Rebekah more than Matt and Caroline, so even if I prodded in that direction, it wouldn't last once the blonde Original shows up.
Elena giggles and Caroline just looks embarrassed. "Getting psychic visions of strangers hooking up is creepy."
"Can't say I disagree, but you should probably get that mole checked out, Elena."
It's the other girl's turn to blush, and I can't help but be amused at my own joke. Stefan just watches me carefully from the rear view mirror, and I don't pay him any mind.
.:O:.
Abby's little cottage is in the middle of nowhere, probably hard to track, but if I had to guess, it's only a few miles away from the tomb where Mikael lies, waiting for someone to unleash him. It's impressive, honestly, that someone was able to hold him down for longer than a few days, considering how often characters get taken down only to jump back up again around here.
"I'm going to go in with her," Elena says, prompting Caroline to agree. Stefan doesn't offer but probably wants to, to support Elena and Sheila too.
"Wish me luck," Bonnie says to me, looking almost like she wants to hug, but goes against her better instincts. "Thank you for this."
"It's my duty as a friend," I say truthfully. Can't promise that you'll like what you see in there.
Sheila smiles happily, a little nervous and jittery, hands shaking even as she beckons her granddaughter forward with her hand on the girl's shoulder. She hasn't, according to Bonnie, had a drink in over two weeks, though she can't promise for sure. Just accepts her grandmother's word. She doesn't have to thank me.
I lean against the car next to Stefan, enjoying the comfortable silence, as I worry what this all might bring. Stefan's always been the introspective brother, so I imagine that he's enjoying this as well.
"I can't figure you out."
Hmm. "I have that effect on a lot of people."
He doesn't smile. "These visions. I know you're telling the truth, but I also know that your heart beats faster whenever they're mentioned. Seems like you're not telling us something."
"Like I said earlier, I-"
"Can't. Yes, I got that." He points as he turns to look at me finally. "But I've been doing some research. You could easily be manipulating us into a future that you want to happen, and how can we know if that's a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Please tell me you didn't type that into Google?" He rolls his eyes. "I know a spell- a ritual, really, that could let you see one of my visions, if you want. If you open the trunk, I think I've got what I need to perform it." That backpack might as well be a component pouch with all the shit I've stuffed into it.
He ponders it for a moment. "Do we have time to do it?"
"Shouldn't take more than a minute or two to perform."
"Is it dangerous?"
I grin. "I don't think so. I trust you."
He opens the trunk and produces the backpack, and I close the hatch before gathering everything I need. Takes some time to sort through the Ziploc bags of herbs, but I'm lucky this is not a particularly expensive spell, because it draws on the magic of the vampire currently feeding to fuel it.
Placing them into a bowl carefully and speaking the words, I siphon the magic from the bag of barrier-spelled salt and then light the grounded herbs on fire with a flick of my influence, the smoke billowing upward, spiralling once, and then directly into my nose as I breathe in, unperturbed by the breeze.
"Is… that it?"
I shake my head, pull up the sleeve of my jacket, and hold out my wrist to him, the smooth skin exposed to the sunlight.
"What do I…?"
"Bite down and drink, silly. Shouldn't take more than a couple mouthfuls before I can transfer a vision to you."
Oh man, the look on his face as he tortures himself is absolutely gold. I wish I had thought in advance to film this, to show to Damon later. Hopefully after Damon has his Elena-induced change of heart, of course.
Three heartbeats later, and he steps back several feet, shaking his head. "No, I can't do that."
"Why not? I know you won't hurt me, and you can just give me a bit of your blood afterward to stop the bleeding. No harm done, and you can see a bit of what I see."
He just fervently shakes his head. "Sorry, Logan, that's just not a good idea."
I know he's not going to budge, so I pull down my sleeve and start putting away the materials. The buzz from the magic herbs is starting to shift my perceptions a little, but it only lasts for a few seconds, unfortunately. It doesn't compare to the actual intoxication of magic, and even that is nothing to expression.
"Look, speaking as someone who spent his teenage years pretending to be something that I'm not," I say, not really looking at him, "you really shouldn't do the same."
"Being gay and being a vampire are totally different."
"True, but the self-denial you're feeling? Worrying that you're going to end up in Hell for your very existence, whether you choose to act on it or not?" I look him in the eye. "You have to admit they are somewhat similar."
"But I could hurt people! I... have hurt people."
Am I about to get a Ripper confession? He barely knows me, and he might spill his guts. Jesus, is this some narrative convention of the show's universe or is he just that desparate to confess to someone who doesn't seem like he'll judge?
"I don't think you'll hurt me. After all, Elena is right inside that house, and you wouldn't want to disappoint her. And I can defend myself," I argue with a smirk. "All I'm saying is that you can drink human blood without doing permanent damage to anyone, and I think you can turn that same kind of self-control that it takes to drink squirrel blood or whatever into something positive."
I really wanted to show him something about Katherine too, or maybe Klaus.
…
Oh shit. I… the compulsion. That time that Klaus and Stefan and Rebekah knew each other, decades ago. I think I could remove that.
I should remove that. Having someone who knows what the fuck is going on because he has a personal and intimate knowledge of him would be far more important than anything else.
I should do this carefully. Even now, Stefan's still refusing the offer, largely out of some need to explain himself and his reasoning; I think he mentioned his brother, but I'm far too busy thinking about something more important for that.
How do I fix this? I could be impulsive. Snap his neck right here in broad daylight, shove him in the car, and then drive to some abandoned building and suck away the compulsion. Then explain why I did it, and if he's smart, he'll realize what a threat Klaus is and will understand why I did it.
But I can't. I've got time. Time is on my side.
I think.
"Logan, Stefan. Come on in!"
Bonnie's voice cuts me out of my reverie, and I nod once to Stefan before dragging my backpack inside.