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Chapter 4 The Lies We Weave

It was so easy and the words so sweet…
-Eet by Regina Spektor

The school day had been very long, and Bonnie was exhausted as she opened the door to Elena's house. Thinking this would be like any other day, she made her way to the kitchen where she had piled her many books. Instead of finding Elena like she normally did, she saw something completely different.

Almost everyone stood in the kitchen. They had obviously been in a heated discussion about something, and only stopped when they noticed Bonnie's entrance. Caroline, a glare on her face, turned away from Damon and toward Bonnie. Her mood didn't improve even when she spoke,

"Nice of you to finally join us."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, trying to decipher what was going on. "What were you all talking about?"

As Elena stepped forward, she realized the next few minutes probably weren't going to be good. Elena held the same frown everyone else did, but there was also a tiredness in her features.

"We know Klaus is alive," Elena finally sighed. "So please just tell us what's going on."

Although Bonnie had known they would find out the truth at some point, she had rather hoped that it would be at a more distant time in the future.

"It's a long story," Bonnie began.

"And we have more than enough time," Damon retorted.

Letting out her own sigh, Bonnie nodded her head and began.

"I had been looking for a way to keep those I care about alive, even if Klaus were to be killed. It quickly became evident that no spell, no matter how strong, could keep you all alive if Klaus died. So I changed tactics," she shrugged. "I started looking for ways to keep Klaus alive, even if he was stabbed. I found one spell, an insanely powerful one, but it required someone who was connected to Klaus to be used. Although multiple people in this room share his blood, your connections with him weren't strong enough."

"Tyler," Caroline spoke in revelation. "That's why he hasn't come back."

"Exactly," Bonnie replied. "I had to use him. He didn't die when Klaus was stabbed, but was severely weakened. Every night for the past two weeks I have been meeting up with him and helping to restore his strength. I didn't want to tell anyone until I was absolutely certain he was back to himself again."

"But that doesn't explain what happened to Klaus. I saw his body catch on fire," Damon said.

"A cheap parlor trick meant to fool Alaric," Bonnie replied quickly. "Klaus' body is still intact. And he is still very much alive. He could be anywhere by now."

Damon eyed her suspiciously, but didn't make any further comments. Bonnie was deeply thankful for this. Although what she had said had been mostly truth, she had been forced to throw in a few lies as well. She hated lying to her friends, but didn't want to incur the wrath of Klaus by telling her friends what he was truly up to.

"That still doesn't explain why he hasn't come back to try to kill us all," Elena spoke as she collapsed onto the kitchen stool nearby. "He has every right to come back and destroy us."

"Maybe…" Stefan began, but trailed off.

"What?"

"Maybe he's hiding from something," Stefan finally said softly.

"But what would he be hiding from?" Caroline asked.

Damon's eyes looked across the room and contacted with Bonnie's. "Maybe he's hiding from whatever is coming here next."

Jeremy stood inside the Mystic Grill and scrubbed a spot off of the table he was bending over. It was about four o'clock, and his shift had started only moments earlier, but he was already exhausted.

Straightening up, he wiped his brow from the sweat that lingered there. The day was a warm one, warmer than any of the other days this week had been, and it made Jeremy long for a time where they could all be at peace and enjoy this time in their lives. Unfortunately, he knew that their lives would never be "normal." Too many things had happened, they had seen far too many deaths, for anything like that to ever happen.

Jeremy had been so caught up in his thoughts that he had barely noticed the man who had entered the room. After a few moments, Jeremy's eyes glanced over to the man who sat in the corner booth. As his mouth creased into a frown, he threw his soapy dish cloth back onto the table. Then, he marched toward the man.

There were few things that ever seemed to bother Jeremy while at work, but currently, this man broke several of those rules. First, he wore a black fedora that cast his face into shadow. Second, plastic glistened from around his eyes and gave away the fact that he wore sunglasses. Jeremy guessed from the shape and reflections that he could see, that the sunglasses were Wayfarers. And last, he wore a tight-fitting white button-up shirt that covered broad muscles. The top buttons of his shirt were open to reveal a crisp white tank top underneath. Jerks like this man came in on a regular basis, normally demanded alcohol, and made rude remarks the entire time. If Jeremy could find a reason to kick this man out, he would definitely do it.

At least that was his intention until he moved closer to the man. Something about him seemed oddly familiar, even if only slightly so. He stopped a few steps from the table and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Have a seat," Tyler's voice came from the shadows. Blinking in surprise, Jeremy slid into the booth.

"I thought you were dead," Jeremy replied. He knew Esther had said Klaus was still alive, but believing Tyler could still be alive too was a longshot. It was something he could barely accept now, even though he saw him with his own eyes. "And since when do you wear a fedora?"

Tyler let out one laugh as he leaned back in his seat. "This town knows what I am. I couldn't really waltz in here wearing a "kill me, I'm a hybrid" shirt, now could I?"

There was a freeness in his voice Jeremy had never heard before. It sounded nice to hear it, especially in the gloom of all he knew Klaus could do.

"I assume you being here has something to do with Bonnie?" Jeremy asked casually.

"Yeah," Tyler nodded. "She saved my life. It took me a while to recover, but I'm completely myself again."

"And you had a death wish in showing up here in broad daylight?" Jeremy laughed. "Why not go see Caroline? You have to know she's missed you."

Tyler tensed up at those words. Although he hid his uneasiness quickly, Jeremy had still noticed his change in demeanor.

"I'll probably see her after this," Tyler shrugged. "But after pretending to be dead for two weeks, I think I need a drink first."

Jeremy smiled at that. "I'll be back in a second then," he grinned. "I think we have exactly what you need."

Elena laid in the middle of the football field and stared at the sky. It had been a few hours since she had talked with Bonnie about Klaus being alive, and she had just needed to get away from it all. After driving for half an hour, she had ended up here.

As she thought of how simple her life had been before meeting Damon and Stefan, she twirled the silver ring that rested on her right ring finger. Not long after transitioning Bonnie had made it for her so she could be out during the daytime hours. Even though she had been wearing the ring for almost two weeks, it still seemed foreign on her body, as if it would never really belong to her.

The sunshine, as it beat down on her body, felt the same way. She could still feel the pressure of its heat on her skin, but it wasn't as peaceful as it had once been. Her skin felt slightly uncomfortable as the sun glistened across it, as if somehow the rays could dispel all the darkness that now existed within her body.

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. When she did, she could smell him; the distinct smell that comprised of leather and sandalwood and time. It was a scent that now consumed her and flooded her senses. She found it strange, that when she had been human, that she had always thought he smelled of other things. Now, however, she could place every small smell that made up his distinctive scent. Breathing him in, she knew that whether or not she ended up with him, that she'd never be able to forget him.

"Please tell me nothing bad has happened," she mumbled without opening her eyes.

"Nothing bad has happened," Damon's voice came in reply. She felt him lay down beside her. Instantly, she was acutely aware of how close every inch of his body was to hers. She breathed in deeply and slowly exhaled to try to calm her growing nervousness. They were far too close now, and it took all of her focus to keep herself from freaking out.

"You shouldn't be out here like this," Elena finally spoke softly. She opened her eyes and turned to him, concern evident beneath her chocolate orbs. "We still don't know what Alaric told the council. If they see you, they might try to kill you."

"Is that worry I hear?" Damon asked, slightly amused. "They know where Stefan and I live. If they wanted us dead, they would have shown up by now."

As the silence enveloped them, Elena tried to think of something besides the last time they had been like this, but those memories flooded her mind. She remembered him reaching out, gently touching her hand and taking it into his own. She could remember her own hesitation, her own fear. And then she had left to try to find some form of escape from the flames that had devoured her. But he had followed her, she had kissed him, and he had consumed her.

She found herself speaking the words before she could stop herself,

"Did we meet first?"

"What?" Damon asked in surprise. He propped himself up on his arm so he could look down at her.

"Did we meet before I met Stefan?"

A frown crossed his lips, and Elena immediately had the thought that he was too beautiful to ever frown. Part of her wanted to take the scowl away, but just like always, she kept her distance.

"Yes," he finally spoke in resignation.

"Why did you never tell me?" She propped herself against her arm as well so they were looking at each other at almost the same eye level.

"It never mattered." He got up quickly and started walking away. Mortified, Elena jumped up and walked after him. She grabbed onto his wrist and turned him back to her. Both seemed surprised by the fact that she had touched him. Fire burned along her veins, starting at her fingertips and flaring out throughout her body.

"Of course it mattered," she found herself replying. "Things would be so different now…"

Without warning, he closed the distance between them and kissed her deeply. Elena emitted a gasp from her lips and reached out to him to steady herself, but he had already pulled away.

Determination lined his eyes now as he looked down at her.

"I was just going to give up on you, accept that you had chosen Stefan, and try to find some way to heal from it. But things aren't going to be that easy, Elena. I'm not giving up, and whatever decision you made before you transitioned is void. A lot of things have changed, and you're going to have to make that decision again."

He turned to walk away. Stunned silent, Elena watched him walk away with no idea as to what to say to him. He was close to ten yards away from her when she heard a swoosh echo through the stadium. When she searched for its source, she saw an arrow strike the ground between them. She looked around, searching for who had shot the arrow, but found no one.

Damon had stopped too. His gaze flickered now from the arrow, to Elena, and to the area surrounding them. Finally, with a shrug, he walked over to the arrow. A note was attached to it, Elena saw now, and Damon unraveled the paper and read.

Afterward, he swore. His gaze returned to Elena and faked a smile.

"Guess the council knows more than we thought they did," he muttered unhappily.

"Why?" Worry lined her voice as she took a step toward him. "What does it say?"

Damon cleared his voice before reciting, "We know the truth. Turn yourselves in to be killed for your crimes or we'll kill those you love. One human at a time."

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