Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or any quotes used/borrowed.
you're gonna go far, kid
"But it was not your fault but mine
and it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?"
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"What do you mean you're not coming?"
"I mean that I refuse to come," Stephanie replied easily and she flawlessly continued her exercise regime in her bedroom. The wooden bar across the ceiling made for a good place to perform pull-ups.
"You have to!" Caroline's voice wailed on the other end of the phone. Steph's cell was resting on speaker on her desk, next to her fountain pen and open journal. "Your attendance record for Miss Mystic Pageants is absolutely terrible," Caroline scolded. "I'm sure if you come now I'll be able to compel some people into believing you were involved the entire time."
"Caroline," Stephanie said patiently, "I just got over the Hunter's Curse and I don't want to do the pageant. I want to stay home and read and write in my journal. I will probably get drunk."
"But Stephanie!" Caroline wailed. "Please!"
"I don't even have anything to wear," Stephanie huffed and she dropped from the ceiling to land lightly on her feet.
"I can fix that," Caroline said desperately. "You have to come. You need a date!"
"No," Steph said flatly and she picked her phone. "If I come, there will be no dates involved, Caroline."
"So, you'll come?" Caroline asked cheerily.
"I have to get a shower," Stephanie sighed and winced when she heard Caroline's shrill cheering. "I'm hanging up now."
"I'll find a dress for you," Caroline gushed. "We'll meet at Tyler's house tonight, okay? Be here at four!"
"Sure. Bye, Caroline." Stephanie shut her phone rubbed the bridge of her nose. She did not want to deal with any people for the next several days. The Hunter's Curse all seemed like a terrible, extremely vivid nightmare that was impossible to forget. It was difficult to fight the images of her parents telling her it was her fault they were dead, when she'd had the very same thoughts more than a few times during her exponentially long lifetime.
"Hey, Grumpy!" Damon hollered as he strolled into Steph's bedroom. "Want to tag team with me? I'm going to go find Shady Shane and interrogate him." So he was going to avoid the whole issue of her going crazy the day before and pretend it hadn't happened. That was fine with her.
"By 'interrogate,' you mean you're going to threaten, torture, and possibly kill," Stephanie corrected as she grabbed a towel out of her bathroom. She wiped the back of her neck with it and leveled Damon with a suspicious look. She tapped a foot on the wooden floor.
"Same difference." Damon waved her off. "The point is, I need a partner in crime and you're the woman for the job. What do you say?" He bent down a little and shadow boxed for a moment. When Stephanie only arched a brow, he rolled his eyes and straightened up. "Come on, I need a good cop to my bad cop. Or we could shake it up; you make a convincing bad cop too."
"As much fun as that sounds," She said drolly, "I can't. Caroline is making me go to this pageant thing."
Damon's brows furrowed. "You? In a pageant?" He asked incredulously.
"You're hilarious," Stephanie snorted and tossed her hand towel at his face. "So, looks like you need a new partner in crime – how about you go find Kol?"
"He's attached to the hip with Bonnie," Damon complained. "And besides, Shane is going to be at the pageant, I'm ninety percent sure. You really can't get away from Caroline and her crazy fascist ways for five minutes?"
"Nope, sorry," Stephanie said and then frowned. "Why do you even need to question Shane?"
"Oh, right, you missed that part," Damon said. "Jockstrap found some connections between him and the now deceased Pastor Young. They were being shady together and had some midnight calls. Now, I don't think it was lover's tryst, so we need to explore our other options."
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Just don't kill anyone and make sure you get there early enough to escort Elena before you go and question Shane. Have fun breaking in a new good cop. Now get out of my room." Damon sent her a betrayed look and flounced off, presumably to find Kol.
Steph sighed and turned toward her bathroom; better to get ready sooner rather than later. Someone clearing their throat made her pause. "Damon, I thought you left to terrorize the general public."
"Not Damon," An accented voice said amusedly. Stephanie heaved a heavy sigh and turned back around to find Klaus standing inside her window.
"Klaus," She said flatly. "What do you want?"
"To say that I'm glad you're feeling better," He said. "And also that I'm glad you didn't have to suffer nearly as long as I did with the Hunter's Curse. I'm happy that Damon saved you."
Stephanie felt herself softening despite her resolve to hate Klaus or at least ignore him. "Damon told me you were the one to provide a vampire for Jeremy to . . . kill."
"To save you," Klaus corrected.
"He stilled him," Stephanie said firmly. "But . . . thank you, I guess, for helping save my life."
"My pleasure, love." Klaus smiled at her. "There's a pageant today at the Lockwood boy's house, you know."
Stephanie arched her brow at the sudden turn of conversation, but went with it. "Yes. Caroline is making me go."
"I suppose Jeremy will go with you?" Klaus asked idly, but Stephanie could see the tension in his shoulders.
"No," Stephanie said quietly. "He's going with his new friend. Not that it's any business of yours."
"Well, if you need an escort . . ." Klaus trailed off meaningfully.
"Thanks but no thanks," Stephanie snorted. "I'm still furious with you."
"Well, if you can't find anyone, you have my number." Klaus winked and vanished.
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"Anna's a contestant in the Miss Mystic Falls thing," Matt said conversationally. He and Jeremy were helping out for the pageant, along with Elena, Bonnie and Caroline. "I'm her escort." He rolled his eyes toward the sky as he lifted large box from the bed of a white pickup and put it on the ground. "I just hope we don't have to do that dance thing."
"If she's a contestant, you totally do," Jeremy laughed.
"I heard that you're escorting April," Matt countered and grinned. "She's a contestant too."
"But luckily for me, Elena was obsessed with the pageant when we were kids and we practiced the dance for like over half of our childhood," Jeremy pointed out and smirked when Matt looked to be contemplating slamming his head against the truck window.
"But April," Matt persisted.
Jeremy couldn't help the warm smile on his face. "She needed a date and I . . . wanted to go with her."
Matt's good humor suddenly drained and he took on a serious tone. "Hey, Jere, I just want to say, I hope you're not using April as your rebound girl," He warned his friend. "She's a nice kid and her dad did just die."
Jeremy scowled. "I'm not heartless, Matt. I just – I feel like I'm slowly beginning to get over Steph."
"Right after you killed a vampire for her?" Matt asked, looking unconvinced.
"That's the kind of thing you do for a friend too," Jeremy insisted. He tried to change the subject by hopping into the bed of the truck. "Wanna see something cool?"
"We're not done talking about this," Matt said.
"You're not my sister, Matt," Jeremy said dryly. "Well? Do you want to see it?" Matt huffed, but didn't say no, so Jeremy picked up one of the heavier boxes that they were planning on waiting to unload. He carried the thing with ease, smirking victoriously when he set it gently down onto the grass. "I guess being a Hunter has its perks, after all, huh?" Besides the creepy dreams he'd had the night before. He'd been killing vampires, but not strangers; they were his friends and family, loved ones. Jeremy thought he must have killed Elena and Stephanie two or three times a piece that night alone.
"How?" Matt choked.
"Like I said, Hunter powers," Jeremy told him and shrugged. "I've had all this energy . . . it's great."
"I think you ought to talk to someone about this," Matt said, not as sure as Jeremy would have liked him to be. "I mean, look at Connor; the guy was crazy. His only life goal was to kill vampires, and I don't to be the one to tell you this, but you live with a vampire. And her boyfriend and his sister are over at your house, like, a lot."
"I would never hurt them," Jeremy was quick to reassure, though his mind lingered on his dreams. "Now, stop worrying or I'm telling Elena you're trying to usurp her place as my big sister."
"Ha, ha," Matt growled well naturedly.
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Hayley stood stoically as the girl from her pack – now a part of her and Tyler's new pack – screamed as she forced her body to undergo the change. She was tied to the walls of the farmhouse by chains, and she was wild eyed and ferocious looking. Hayley was unmoved. "Scream," She told the hybrid. "Shout out your frustration, sure; and let everyone within twenty miles know that we're here."
Kimberly's eyes were golden as she glared. "Easy for you to say, wolf girl. You've never been forced to turn twenty times in a row."
"No," Hayley allowed, "but I watched a bunch of our hybrid friends do it."
"Why?" Kimberly cried and another bone snapped, and several others followed in succession. "Why does it have to be like this? Why break every bone in our bodies?"
"You're sired because you're grateful that you don't have to feel the pain of turning every full moon," Hayley explained to the chained girl. "So you're going to turn until it doesn't hurt anymore and then you'll have nothing to be grateful for."
"How's it going?" Tyler asked as he strode into the farmhouse. "I have to go in a minute."
"Why?" Hayley asked dispassionately as she turned away from Kim. Kim snarled.
"I have to go with Caroline to the Miss Mystic Pageant," Tyler said and waved a hand. "She spent the entire day there organizing everything. She's going to the event tonight, of course, and I'm her escort, considering I'm her boyfriend."
"Shouldn't you be staying here?" Hayley asked with narrowed eyes. "Isn't this more important?" She motioned toward Kim.
"It is important," Tyler said firmly. "But Caroline's important to me too and I haven't really been there for her recently, since all of this started."
"Whatever," Hayley huffed. "I'll stay here and watch Kim."
"I don't need a babysitter," Kimberly growled.
"Sure you do."
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Jeremy had gone home after he'd helped set up, and taken a nice long nap. He'd woken up with a knife in one hand, and a newly whittled stake in the other.
"How the hell do you wake up with a knife and not remember getting it?" Matt demanded as he straightened his tie. Jeremy stood in front of his mirror and fixed his collar. Matt had come over to get ready and Jere had taken that time to explain about the dreams he'd been having. "There's something wrong."
"What if I'm turning into Alaric?" Jeremy demanded shortly. "I've probably died too many times with the ring and I'm developing an alter ego or something!"
Matt gave him a deadpan look and pointed at the book in his lap. He read straight from the text. "'Newly awakened hunters may not be fully conscious of their actions. Their subconscious pushes through until their urges become a basic instinct.'" He leveled Jeremy with an unimpressed look. "You're having a psychotic break, Jere. Either you tell Elena, or I will."
Jeremy looked down at the floor, furious. "I'll tell her . . . when I see her, okay?"
"Good." Matt clapped a hand onto his shoulder. "Now, let's get going before Caroline rides us about being late."
"Yeah," Jeremy mumbled and tried for a smile. One look at Matt said he'd failed.
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"So, what color? Blue? Or Red?" April wanted to know as she lifted two dresses of choice up to Caroline and Elena.
"Blue!"
"Red."
Elena and Caroline glanced at each other, side eyeing her friend. "Really?" April frowned. "The blue seems a little . . . safe." Elena, who had said red, looked at Caroline again, who was frowning at her.
"Safe is good with the judges," Elena hurried to say quickly.
"She's right," Caroline agreed smugly. "Gracie Lockwood got laughed off the stage one year after she tried some outlandish new style. It was not pretty."
"Oh." Elena grinned. "I remember that."
"Red's got my vote," Damon drawled as he entered, smirking. Caroline flushed and tossed a hair clip at his head, which he dodged.
"Get out, lurker! This is private! And your sister is in the bathroom, changing," Caroline snapped. Damon held up his hands to prevent another attack and tsked.
"Calm down, crazy. I just want to know where Shane is." He rolled his eyes. Footsteps came up from behind him and then an accented voice was floating into the room.
"I told you we could have just sniffed him out," Kol said, clearly annoyed. Though when he saw the girls in their dresses, he perked up. "Hello, darlings." He kissed April's hand and she flushed.
"What are you doing here?" Elena asked Kol with a furrow in her brow. She turned to Damon. "Damon?"
"He's my new partner in crime," Damon admitted, and then said louder, "Because my other one abandoned me!"
"Caroline made me!" Stephanie hollered back.
"I did not!" Caroline snapped and stomped her foot. "Get out, Kol, Damon! Shane's at the judges table, or at least he should be because he's a weird creeper. So shoo!" She waved her hands as if to swish the two of the male vampires out of the room by pure willpower alone.
"By the way," Kol threw back as he and Damon headed off, "my vote is for the red too." He winked and Caroline threw a hairbrush at the back of his skull. "Bloody hell," He cursed as they escaped. His voice faded away. "What an arm."
"The red is really pretty," Elena admitted shyly and Caroline threw up her arms in defeat. Elena turned to April. "But you should definitely wear whatever you want, okay?"
"Which do you think Jeremy will like?" April asked hesitantly and Elena and Caroline froze. "What?" Her eyes danced back toward the bathroom, which had gone eerily silent as well. "Oh," She murmured.
"Red," Caroline whispered. "He'll like the red."
"Thanks," April replied quietly and she moved to place the blue dress back on the hanger. Caroline and Elena exchanged glances again when the sounds in the bathroom resumed.
"So," Caroline started in an overly exuberant voice, "where's Bonnie?"
"With Shane," Elena said. "She's talking to him about you know what."
"Even after what Matt found out?" Caroline hissed and Elena shrugged.
"I guess she still trusts him?" Elena guessed. "Maybe she just wants to referee the questioning session between him and Damon." Caroline rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
"Are you guys ready yet?" A new voice demanded and the girls turned their heads to look at Anna striding confidently into the room. She was a good three inches taller in her tall black heels. Her dress wasn't what the judges usually liked, but it was all Anna: sleeveless and black, with golden pieces on the bodice part and revealed strips of her back. The skirt part was lacy and lighter and only went down to her knees. Her hair had undergone a transformation as well, having been cut and stylized into pretty wavy layers. "It's almost time," Anna told them. She wore her usual heavy black eyeliner and makeup.
"I'm almost ready," April murmured and she disappeared to slip on her dress. The bathroom door opened then and Stephanie stepped out, adjusting the heel of her shoe. Her dress was very pretty as well; it was a soft white and flow-y, also sleeveless, and was a v-cut in the back. A black band was around her waist. Her hair was down and curled for the event.
Caroline squealed. "Okay, as soon as April is ready, we're done and set for the pageant. I'm so excited!" Having won the past year, she was eager for their three new contestants. Steph shifted in her dress awkwardly. "Wait! We need to get you an escort!" Caroline shouted and her eyes rounded. "I can't believe you let me forget! Everyone has to have an escort!"
Steph fought the urge to roll her eyes. "How silly of me to let you forget." She watched as April returned to them in the beautiful prom-like dress and felt a surge of jealousy combined with remorse. How she wished things had been different.
"This is a disaster!" Caroline was wailing and Elena was hugging her with one arm. The latter girl shot a glance at Stephanie that clearly said, 'Fix this now, please.' Stephanie sighed, for she had not thought about a single person to go with. Then she remembered Klaus' offer and felt the urge to stake herself for what she was about to do.
"I know somebody," She said vaguely and Caroline perked right up.
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"So, we'll tag team him," Damon explained as he and Kol prowled toward the judges table and their target, Atticus Shane. "I'm the bad cop. You're –"
"Why aren't I the bad cop?" Kol asked plaintively. "I'm an Original."
"You can't hurt a fly right now," Damon pointed out.
"Are you guys really arguing over this?" Bonnie asked as she strode toward them from the judges table. Only Shane was sitting there at the moment, and he watched on interestedly though he was too far away to hear the conversation. "Really?" She grabbed a hold of Kol and tugged him away. "Come help me with something." She gave Damon a dirty look. "And don't let Damon try to talk you into anything this stupid again."
Damon's jaw dropped. "What? Come on, Judgy! I need a partner for my interrogation."
"You're not getting him involved in your idiotic plans," Bonnie said huffily and physically dragged Kol away, who looked entirely too amused by the entire situation. She called back, "And I don't care how guilty he is, don't kill him! Or hurt him!"
Damon cursed and then turned back toward Shane, his original plan thwarted. "Guess I'll have to improvise. Good thing that's what I'm good at." He went to Shane's chair and the professor stood and gave the vampire a hand to shake. Damon frowned at it and ignored the offer. "Just the man I was looking for. Let's have a talk." He gestured for the teacher to follow him, which Shane did eagerly enough, and they lost themselves in the crowd so their words couldn't be made out by other parties.
Damon grabbed a flute of wine.
"Damon Salvatore," Shane mused. "Why do I have a feeling this about Hunters?"
"Actually, that's not why I want to talk to you," Damon told him and Shane became curious. "I want to know why you're here. What's your little lesson plan for Mystic Falls? For my friends Bonnie and Kol?"
"You think too highly of me, Damon," Shane said and he stopped in the grass, making Damon pause with him if he desired to continue the conversation. "Now I've got to go find the other judges."
Damon stuck out an arm. "Hey, not pity votes for April Young, okay? Just because her dad blew up his farmhouse with him and about a dozen other people in it mean she should get a tiara, you know what I mean?" He grinned. "But you knew him, didn't you?" Damon got serious. "I heard you two had some pretty impressive phone bills because of all the calls you were giving each other."
Shane took a step into Damon's personal space. "If you want to know something about me, Damon, just ask."
"Okay. How did you convince the pastor to kill all those people?" Damon asked wryly.
Shane looked at him incredulously. "Did you just accuse me of mass murder in the middle of a high school pageant?"
Damon gave him his flirty eyes. "Um, maybe?" They heard the piercing call of the microphone, which was followed by Caroline's loud voice carrying over it.
"Welcome to this year's Miss Mystic Falls Pageant! Let me introduce our court!"
"Looks like we're needed," Shane motioned toward the house. "After you?" Damon shoved passed the professor and hurried toward the crowd in order to be there for Elena when she required his escorting services. They were in a large crowd.
"We begin this procession with Valerie Fell, accompanied by Dylan Clark," Caroline said clearly, grinning as the girl met her escort. Damon caught Elena's gaze next to Stephanie and the other ladies of the court, and winked at her. She gave him a significant look.
"Next, we have April Young accompanied by Jeremy Gilbert," Caroline said and the human girl stepped forward in her pretty red dress and hooked her arm with Jeremy at the bottom of the stone staircase. Jeremy looked happy to see her, and April was beaming as Jeremy led her off to the dance floor just a few feet away.
"Now, we have Anna Jow, accompanied by Mathew Donovan!" Anna, Damon thought, looked hot for a forever fifteen-sixteen year old girl. She smirked as she took Jockstrap's arm, who just looked uncomfortable. But Anna was clearly having a wonderful time and enjoying Matt's embarrassment as she began to lead him in the dance.
"Stephanie Salvatore accompanied by . . ." Damon could almost hear the frustration in the blonde's voice and wondered who the hell had rankled her so, "Klaus Mikaelson?" Damon glared fiercely as the hybrid stepped up and extended a polite arm. Stephanie was clearly still affected by her delusions from the day before, Damon thought. She didn't look happy, but she wasn't pulling away from Klaus either; she looked more long suffering than anything as she excepted Klaus' arm.
"Next, Elena Gilbert, accompanied by Damon Salvatore," Caroline called with a strained voice, and Damon stepped forward to Elena, who was beautiful as always. "Amber Wolverheart accompanied by Jarod Johnson," Caroline continued and her list continued.
"What's Klaus doing with Stephanie?" Damon hissed as they began their no-touching dance.
Elena shrugged helplessly. "She didn't have an escort and apparently Klaus dropped by earlier to make sure she was okay after the Curse. He made an offer."
"And she just took him up on it?" Damon asked lowly.
"We were desperate," Elena defended. "And he did kind of save her life, and as much as I hate the guy, he's not going to hurt her in the open here, or swoop her away. So stop worrying."
"Damn it," Damon groaned. His eyes flicked over and rested onto Shane again. "I'm going to talk to him again as soon as this dance is over."
"Did you find anything out yet?" Elena asked, clearly relieved at the topic change.
"Not really," Damon said. "And Kol was no help because Bonnie took him." He rolled his eyes dramatically. "She said she 'didn't want him involved in my stupid plans.' Can you believe that?"
Elena giggled and their dance came to a close. "Better go get Shane, then," She said and pushed him forward. "Find out what stuff he's getting into. I'm going to talk to Jeremy." She turned away and went to speak to her brother, and Damon darted over to Shane, who was walking into the Lockwood house. He followed the professor at a distance until they reached one of the parlors.
"Oh, it's you again," Shane said as their eyes met. He laughed. "I must be the least intimidating mass murderer ever if you keep seeking me out."
"Well, you never answered my question," Damon pressed. Shane moved around him and went toward the door. Damon flashed in front of him using vampire speed.
"Real subtle," Shane observed.
"Like you didn't already know," Damon said casually. "Tell me why you killed the Council and I won't kill you."
"I'm a little surprised you're not curious about the Hunters, actually," Shane said, "considering your girlfriend was asking all about them the other day."
Damon cocked his head. "Okay, we'll talk about them first. Then you'll tell me your reasons for mass murder."
"Just so you know," Shane said quietly, "even if you and your girl finish the tattoo with your Potential, and complete the map, the thing you're searching for will be sealed in a tomb that only a certain kind of witch will be able to open." Bonnie, Damon thought suddenly. Maybe this was the interest Shane had in Bonnie. But why would Shane of all people want the Cure? If, Damon remediated, it even existed. "Come on, Damon."
Damon snatched Shane's arm and pressed down. "I love pressure points. What kind of witch?"
"Come on, you're a smart boy, figure it out," Shane gasped.
"Bennett's," Damon hazarded with a guess, "or one who wields Expression?" Shane's eyes widened and Damon peered at him. "Or both?" The mass murder, Damon realized. How many people had been killed?
"I have a scholarship to award, got to get to that," Shane said anxiously.
"Does Expression have anything to do with this?" Damon demanded.
"Absolutely none," Shane shook his head. "It's just the Bennett line. You know that they're special, Damon. Now, I really need to go." Damon thoughtfully released the professor and watched him scurry away and contemplated. His brain tried to make all the connections as he walked back to look for Elena.
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"There's a Cure, you know," Klaus whispered into Stephanie's ear.
"Sh, Caroline's talking," Stephanie replied swiftly.
"She's always talking," Klaus said wryly. "Didn't you hear me? There's a Cure for vampirism. It's connected to the Hunters-"
"I know," Stephanie said flatly, her attention riveted on Caroline announcing the next Miss Mystic winner. She didn't particularly care, but she didn't want to have this conversation with Klaus.
"What do you mean?" Klaus' voice was dangerous.
"Kol," Steph said simply, "told Bonnie, who told Damon and Elena, who told the rest of us." She side-eyed Klaus. She'd been caught up the previous evening by courtesy of Elena about the so called magically Cure and Silas and all of that; she wasn't sure what to believe, but Klaus sure thought it was real. Steph also knew from them that he wanted it to turn Elena human again to rebuild his hybrid army. Which they weren't going to allow.
"Bloody hell," Klaus cursed. "That buffoon can't keep secrets. He's lucky I don't dagger him right now."
"Then you'd be alone as well as miserable," Stephanie deadpanned. "He's your family." Klaus muttered more obscenities under his breath as Caroline announced that Anna was the winner. Steph saw Elena slip away after a surprisingly intense looking Jeremy and wondered what was going on.
"Since you know about the Cure," Klaus said, annoyed with Kol, "you must know what I want with it."
"You can't turn Elena human," Stephanie met his eyes. "We won't let you turn her into a human blood bag again for your every whim."
Klaus glowered. "Listen, love-"
"Did you ever think about taking it for yourself?" Stephanie suddenly wanted to know. "Did you ever want to be human again in all of your vast years of life?"
Klaus frowned at her, clearly very unsure about the direction of their conversation that he was intent on controlling. "Why?"
"Curiosity, boredom . . ." Stephanie trailed off. "I want to know."
Klaus gazed at her penetratingly. Finally, he said, "Once, and only once."
"When?" Stephanie asked and wondered why she was doing this to herself. Maybe because Jeremy had come with another girl and was clearly moving on. Maybe because of her near death experience that both Jeremy and Klaus had had a hand in saving her from.
"I was in the Andes at the time," Klaus began to explain quietly, "and – you must promise not to laugh – I saw a hummingbird."
"A hummingbird?" Stephanie asked curiously.
"Don't laugh," Klaus warned her again, "or I might get testy. Yes, it was a hummingbird. And it flew up to my face and just . . . stared. It had this tiny heart that was pattering a million miles an hour in his puffed out chest . . . and I thought, what a thing. You know, to be working that hard to just stay alive . . . constantly on the verge of death . . . and how satisfying every day must be that it survived. And that was the only time I ever thought about human."
Stephanie tilted her head and felt a little of the frost on her heart melt. Then she heard a scream and her head jerked up. "Elena," She murmured. She looked back at Klaus. "I have to go," She said quickly and then restrained herself from using vampire speed to get to Elena in the Lockwood house.
She found her and Jeremy in one of the office rooms in a compromising position; Jeremy had a stake to Elena's heart, and her head in a headlock.
"Jeremy!" Stephanie shouted and the Gilberts looked up. "What are you doing?" She asked sharply.
"Connor was right," Jeremy said almost robotically and it chilled Stephanie to the bone to see that predatory look aimed at her. "All I can think about is killing vampires."
"You're nothing like Connor," Elena choked out.
"I want to believe that," Jeremy said softly, "and I don't really want to hurt either of you, but there's something in me that wants to drive this stake into both of your hearts."
"Why would you say that?" Stephanie asked quietly. "Please, let's at least talk first, okay? Let's think about this."
"You're vampires."
"We're also your family. We would never do anything to hurt you," Elena coughed.
"That's a lie," Jeremy suddenly snapped. He pointed at Steph. "She tried to kill me! And you will too, Elena. It's in your nature!" Elena shoved Jeremy away from her and he fell to the ground in a heap, unmoving.
"Oh God," Elena moaned and she and Stephanie hurried to Jeremy's side. "Jere, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He sprang forward and jammed the stake into Elena's shoulder, making her shout out and fall back. Steph heard running footsteps and suddenly Matt was there, talking Jeremy down while Steph attended to Elena.
"Jeremy! This is your sister and your friend! It's just that stupid mark on your arm!" Matt shouted.
"Shut up, Matt!" Jeremy snapped back.
"Listen to me!" Matt took another step into the door. "I'm human. And I demand that you leave her alone. Do not hurt her." Stephanie took advantage of Jeremy's distraction and pushed Elena behind her and Jeremy towards Matt.
"Get him out of here," She commanded, and Matt nodded and complied. Steph turned back to Elena and held the girl pull out the shards of wood in her body.
"What are we going to do?" Elena asked softly, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Stephanie hugged her friend to her chest and felt tears of frustration rush to her own eyes.
"I don't know. But we'll figure it out. We always do." Together, they rounded up the remaining friends – which included Damon, Bonnie, Kol, Tyler and Caroline, as Anna had disappeared with Jeremy and Matt – that were still there and informed them of the evening's events. With a quick call to Matt, it was settled that Matt and Anna – who was living with Matt – move into the Gilbert home, so that Jeremy wouldn't have to go anywhere. Elena would be permanently moving to the Salvatore Boarding House to keep temptation away from Jeremy. This meant that Jeremy had an entirely human support system at the house for him.
"If I hadn't killed Connor, none of this would be happening," Stephanie muttered. She took a swig of some bourbon and passed the bottle.
"Nah. Someone would have killed him eventually," Damon said nonchalantly, "and I admit it probably would have been me. So either way, Jeremy would have had to activate his Hunter powers to save somebody." They, along with Elena, had settled onto the couch in front of the fire in their living room after Elena had brought all of her things over.
"We could have looked for another Hunter," Stephanie persisted.
"Somehow," Elena said from her place snuggled into Damon's side, "I have a feeling that that would have been more difficult than you think." They all stared into the crackling fire. "Did you find out anything from Shane?" Elena asked.
Steph turned to look at her brother, who shrugged. "Shady Shane's definitely up to something. He said that a certain kind of witch as to unseal the tomb where Silas and the Cure are." He rolled his eyes. "Neither of which I'm entirely convinced is real yet. But guess what kind of witch he needs?"
"A Bennett," Stephanie said.
"Yup. But since he knows about the Expression, I'm wondering if maybe he needs that, or both; a Bennett witch who wields Expression," Damon explained thoughtfully. "I thought we could ask Kol, resident expert in Expression and everything Silas."
"You two were all buddy-buddy today," Elena teased.
"I needed a partner in crime," Damon said loftily, "since Steph abandoned me."
"For the love of – I'm going to bed," Stephanie announced and just to spite Damon, took the bourbon with her. "Goodnight."
"Hey!" Damon called, upset about her alcohol theft. "Bring that back!"
"You have at least two more decanters of the stuff," Stephanie replied and disappeared up to her bedroom. She made her way over to her desk and settled into write in her journal, but found something taped to the cover of it.
"What's this?" She murmured and ran her fingers over the sketch. It was a hummingbird. "Oh, Klaus," She muttered. She folded up the drawing and put it in the drawer of her desk. "What am I supposed to do about you?"
.
.
.
Hayley stepped into the darkened office that was lit by nothing besides a desk lamp. The figure in the chair behind it looked up when she entered. "We got another one," She said with a slow grin.
"Good," Professor Shane said and nodded to her. "Then we're almost ready." He pulled something out of his coat pocket and Hayley nervously wrung her fingers.
"Hey," She said, "I want to leave Tyler out of this, okay? When it all goes down, I want him away from it."
Shane looked up. "We'll talk when you've broken the last one."
Hayley pursed her lips, but did not argue.
.
.
.
Tbc.
Link to Anna's dress: 24 .media .tumblr b132bbe9 17a92867bdf3 172cce95eb66 /tumblr_ mnkmg 76zw91r4znq2o1_500. jpg
Link to Stephanie's dress, worn by the actress (Jenna Coleman) who I have pictured in my head as her and is the girl in the cover art:
images6 .fanpop image /polls /1264000 /126472 1_1378621501657_f ull. png