The Lockwood mansion serves as a reminder of one of my failures: the moonstone is still missing, and I have no idea where it could be. There's another opportunity to find it, however, if it still exists on the premises, and so I'm here, at this party, to make sure nothing untoward happens.
If I remember correctly, the gang had a party at the school in canon, so it's a mystery that there's even a Lockwood event at all. These are usually excuses for the Council to meet, so that spells bad news.
As the music at the party continues blasting 2009's greatest pop hits, gyrating teenagers dance in costumes both too complicated and too revealing. It's nice to see things so… normal, all things considered. Vicki, for example, isn't a vampire, so that whole situation isn't likely to happen. But other forces were at work, in the town, and I have no idea what to expect if anything hits the fan tonight.
"Sucks that the school's party got cancelled." Nearly all of the words are too low for me to hear properly, but I turn to see Matt approaching, drink in hand for me and for himself. "But there's alcohol, so I think it's fine." The fake blood across his work shirt matches mine, draped across his apron, and if I were much taller, actually muscular, and blond we'd probably look even more alike.
"That would make it worth it." I take a sip, wishing beer tasted better than horse piss, but I figured it'd be in bad taste to refuse.
Elena breaks away from the crowd, saying something to one of her other friends, before approaching, dressed in a stark-white nurse's uniform, complete with the fancy hat. "Matt, we talked about this, didn't we?" The smile on her face is infectious, and a happy Stefan slides up to join her, dressed with a rather authentic uniform from the Second World War.
"About what?" Matt shifts to stand next to me.
"I thought we were going to wear the same costume as last year? You were a doctor, right?"
He frowns. "Why would I do that? We're not dating." Stefan's brow rises in my direction, but I don't know how to decipher that.
"I'm going to go make the rounds. Be back in a moment." Matt's frown deepens but he nods slightly at me, taking a drink. Don't want to get involved in Matt and Elena's potential fight over their break-up.
My goal until this point was to take a survey of the area, make sure everyone is safe, and try for another opportunity to find the moonstone. That little white rock was far too important to not find and hide someone else, behind the strongest cloaking spell that I can make.
Wandering through the throngs of people, the occasional adult influence popping up in the background to pretend to chaperone, I make my way upstairs, noting that Caroline and Bonnie were laughing together near the Halloween punch bowl, both in witch costumes. Good to know that they were not fighting, despite everything that happened at Abby's and definitely not fighting over the Bennett talisman.
The last time that I was here, I had to cloak, but there's no need for that when a ton of teenagers gather together in ornate, colorful costumes. I don't stand out all that much, even in civilian clothes, when every third person is so orange that they nearly hurt your eyes. When I head upstairs, I aim to avoid the people on the stairs and the landing above, looking for the mayor's personal study.
It's not where the Council usually meets, the secret room underneath the stairs. No, this is just a chance to look around as much as I can, under the notion that I'm simply a lost guest or misguided teenager. It's not that difficult to pull off.
When I slip inside, pretending to be a little tipsy in case there were any observers, but the place seems deserted, despite the slightly-burning fireplace flickering light throughout the room, shimmering against the wide windows across from me. Without having to look, I can see half the party is on the lawn in the cool Virginian air outside, enjoying the time of their lives near the pool and the expansive backyard. They are all so blissfully unaware of what is happening.
Pulling a bit of magic from my bracelet, I feel the rush of power flood through me and then focus hard on the fireplace, feeling a connection to channel it form. The words flow from my lips for several moments, all in bastardized witch Latin, as I scan the room for any sign of the moonstone, magically. I figure that if it weren't in the mayor's hiding place, the one that Tyler found the stone in, then this is the next best place to look.
Nothing.
Feeling like the spell was wasted, I start physically searching, in case the spell simply failed or in case it is protected from locator spells – it certainly did not respond to the scrying pen, though that was more for finding individuals, not for objects.
It takes little more than a thought to pull open the locked desk drawer with my mind, snapping the locking mechanism in half. Sifting through it, I sit and start filing through, looking for anything closely resembling it. Finding nothing, I sift through some of the files that I see, hoping – ah, yes. There we are.
A missive – no, these are minutes from the last Council meeting, compiled by Pastor Young himself and addressed for Richard's eyes only. I'm halfway through reading them, to hope for anything interesting, when the door opens slightly.
Flinching, I glance up to see Matt stumble through, grinning as he looks in my direction, before closing the door.
"Sorry, Matt, was just, uh, looking for a copy of the mayor's letter of recommendation he wrote me."
He smiles as he sets another beer on the desk next to me, before leaning against the corner of it, arms crossed as he holds a beer up. "Wanted to see what good things he said about you?"
I close the file and then slide it back quickly, shrugging to try to play it off. "Something like that. Always get a little self-conscious. A guy like him probably has a standard form letter for that kind of thing, though?" I clear my throat and fluff up my chest. "'This candidate has excellent workmanship and an attitude to achieve his greatest potential. You'll not find a better applicant for any position that you offer.'"
Matt chuckles. "All true." He claps my shoulder, hand lingering for a few seconds. "I'd probably add 'compassionate, thoughtful, hilarious.' A truly beautiful person."
I blink.
His hand reaches out again, thumb brushing against the hairs on the side of my neck. My shiver nearly shakes me out of my seat.
What the hell is happening?
Standing, he moves closer even as I try to step away, nearly bowling over the desk chair behind me.
"Uh, Matt, what are you-?"
"You deserve a good time, Logan. If it goes well, then who knows? It'll probably be something more." His brilliant smile is almost as horrific as it is gorgeous, and holy fuck what the hell is going on?
I pull away from him and hold up a hand, and he hesitates for a moment, smirking. The firelight flickers across his perfect teeth.
"Matt, you… you're straight."
"I am." He nods fervently at my utter confusion, eyes flickering up and down at me. "But I can make an exception. For you."
"No. This isn't right, as much as it pains me to say that."
He shrugs. "Give me ten minutes, and I'll show you how right it is."
Oookay.
Think. What…!
"Fuck. Me."
"If you insist…" He moves to close the distance, head tilted and eyes closed, arms poised, lips-
"No, not what I meant!"
I push him forward lightly with a wave of my hand, and he stumbles over a potted plant, landing flat on his back. Focusing intently on him, he falls asleep with another word, before he can get back up.
Lucien Castle.
I lean down and hoist Matt's unconscious body onto the desk chair, annoyed as hell. Standing behind it, I center his head between my hands, each hovering inches above his temples, and begin to focus.
Removing the compulsion, the compulsion to fall for me, is a time-consuming process, but with someone like Matt, it's intensely more motivating for me to finish. No one deserves to be whammied like that, forced to be something that you're not, but especially not Matt. He's one of the good ones.
A few minutes go by as I continue to focus, siphoning Lucien's magic from his system.
When the door slides open again, I curse, wishing that I'd have remembered to lock it. Tyler and Vicki, of all the people, stare from the doorway at the sight of me giving his friend and her brother what may as well be a head massage behind his father's desk. Mouths agape, it would truly be a Kodak moment, if it weren't at Matt's expense.
"It's not what it looks like!"
Tyler, dressed like he walked out of the movie 300, clearly gets angrier the longer this moment continues, but Vicki starts cackling loudly, yanking Tyler's arm. "C'mon, Ty, let's leave these two their privacy."
"They're messing around! In my dad's office!"
"Your dad deserves it. C'mon!" She practically pushes him away from the door, before turning back to look at me. "I'll see you at work, tomorrow!" Her sing-song voice definitely says that this conversation is not over, and I couldn't be more mortified. Not necessarily for me, but for Matt and any grief this might cause.
The door shuts behind me, and I stare out the window for several moments, trying to avoid how awkward this whole thing is and hoping beyond hope that Vicki and Tyler don't tell anyone about it, for Matt's sake.
Fake-outing aside, what's probably worse about this situation is that Matt is going to have questions, questions about the obviously supernatural thing that just happened to him, and questions about Lucien. Is it right for Matt to be aware? Of the gang, only Jeremy, Matt, and Tyler are unaware of the supernatural, but how screwy would it be to bring Matt into the fold? Is it worth it?
Not for me to decide alone.
Sending a text message to Stefan, and speaking his name aloud just in case he was listening and could actually hear, the reply is swifter than I thought. Within a few seconds, the office door opens again, quickly closing behind them as Stefan and Elena enter the room, brows raised.
Elena gasps as she runs to Matt's side, immediately fawning over him. "What happened?"
"I had to put him to sleep," I say after a moment, looking fervently toward the two of them. "You remember that ancient vampire that I told you about?"
Stefan definitely knew what I meant from his concerned eyes, but Elena is all confusion. A lot of this is all very new to her.
"Lucien wants me to help him, to show him some of my visions." I nod to my arm, and Stefan's frown deepens. "He came into the Grill today and offered me a job, basically, and tried to sweeten the deal by throwing around the potential for his influence."
"What's this have to do with Matt?"
I grimace at Stefan's question and continue. "Lucien compelled Matt to fall in love with me. Or lust with me. Whatever. The minute Matt found me alone, he tried to…" I trail off, gesturing to his unconscious form. "He offered Matt up like a prize, a trophyto keep if I work with him."
"And to show just how dangerous he is." Stefan shakes his head.
"There's not a way to break the compulsion, is there? Matt's not gay!" Elena practically pleads the question to Stefan, and the vampire shakes his head. "Oh, God, what are we going to do?"
"Normally, breaking the compulsion requires a human to turn." Elena's eyebrow furrows. "To become a vampire. But fortunately, I'm the exception to the rule."
Stefan just stares, not fully understanding. "You have a spell that can break a compulsion?"
"With the right spell, I think magic can do anything, but it's not a spell for me." I glance down at him. "I can break the compulsion without your help, but there's something else that's a problem. When we do this, there's a damn good chance that Matt will know all about the things that go bump in the night, and he'll remember this whole thing. Should you compel him to forget the whole situation?"
Elena shares a look with Stefan and then with me. "Matt… he's a good guy. He doesn't need to worry about all of this."
Her boyfriend says nothing for a long moment. "The less people that know, the better."
"You'll probably have to find Tyler and Vicki, Matt's sister. They found us alone together in a … compromising position, and I don't like the idea of Matt having to deal with the nasty rumors and attitudes that I did in high school."
Elena exhales heavily at that, before turning to Stefan. "Do what you have to do."
My hand rises slightly. "Not yet. Do you have any vervain with you?"
Stefan catches onto something. "Good idea, there's some in my car."
"Bring me as much as you can, and do it quickly. I can cast a spell with it to protect Matt from Lucien, so that if he tries anything like that again, he'll be safe."
The vervain ward has likely faded from Vicki at this point, but this is the safest bet for Matt at the moment. The old bastard won't know what hit him, if he tries it again.
After explaining that it will make his skin dangerous for vampires to touch and protect against compulsion, Stefan vamps away to grab the gear from his trunk. Elena nervously stands, watching the parking lot from her perch in the window. I continue siphoning from Matt's mind, just trying to make sure that all the magic is gone before Stefan returns.
"What do you think about all this, anyway?"
She turns slightly, brushing her hair out of her face. "All of what?"
"Your life is insane, Elena. Don't you wish that you could just pretend that you were a normal teenager again?"
She looks away, her reflection pensive in the window pane. "I haven't been a normal teenager since March, so yeah. I do." She turns back to look at me, almost accusingly. "Not that I have a choice, anyway."
"There's always a choice, Elena, if you work hard enough to achieve it."
"It doesn't feel that way when you're around."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Stefan's acted all weird since we took that trip to Bonnie's mom's place, and I saw you talking to him seriously. He won't say anything directly, but I pay attention. I'm not just an innocent bystander in all this, am I?"
Insightful question of the damn century.
"No. No, you're not."