Okay, skip a few years. Willow is now eight. In these last few years, Elena has Turned, Stefan has been the Ripper and Katherine is now one of Willow's best friends. The relationship between Willow and the Mikealsen's had blossomed: Kol was her brother, Rebekah her sister, Elijah and uncle and Klaus a crush. Tyler had become a hybrid and is together with Caroline. Anna died and so did Grams. Bonnie has become Willow's 'go-to' witch. Care and Tyler are living together because Sheriff Forbes (Liz) had moved to another county, thanks to the mayor. Klaus is really close with Willow and they spend every weekend that they possibly can together, and Elena has no problem with it. She sees the love in his eyes. Papa bear Damon is a totally different story….
"Willow Kara Gilbert! Come down here now!" Damon yells. I sigh and put my book down, expecting the worst. Damon never calls me by my middle or last name. As I slowly walk down the stairs of the boarding house, I see Damon sitting at the table with Klaus and Elena. Damon pats the seat beside him and looks at me expectantly. I smirk to him. As I walk behind Klaus, I get a sense of… Relief? I don't know, but it made me feel good. Once I sat, I looked at Elena, whom looks like she's been crying, well for a vampire. But when I look at Klaus, I feel color come to my cheeks and butterflies in my stomach. I smile shyly at him and look at Damon through my hair, which fell in front of my face. Damon smiles to me and turns to Klaus, looking serious.
"Okay, Klaus, you have to make sure nothing happens to her while Elena and I go to Georgia, you hear me? If anything and I mean anything, which includes a scratch, happens to her, I will personally dagger you." Damon threatens Klaus, which make me giggle slightly. As Klaus agrees, I see Elena look between Klaus and I skeptically. As we all stand in goodbye, I walk over to Elena and hug her tightly.
"Klaus won't let anything happen to me Lana, it's okay. Even if he does, Kol and Rebekah will hurt him." I whisper in her ear, knowing that everybody is listening. As Klaus leaves without a goodbye, I see Stefan walking up the path to the house. Once Damon sees him, he runs in front of me and stands protectively with me engulfed behind his body frame. Elena slowly walks in front of Damon and puts most of her weight on her back foot, waiting for Stefan to pounce at any second. Stefan stands about twenty feet away from the door, where I'm standing.
"Elena, Damon, why do you think that I would hurt a darling child? Especially one so innocent." He asks. I try to walk around Damon to go give my Stefan a hug but he stops me.
"Damon, please, let me go! I need to go see Stefan! He won't hurt me, he never has before!" I yell, wanting my Stefan.
"Willow, honey, we've talked about this. It isn't the old Stefan. Baby girl, please stop. You know he isn't how he used to be." Damon says soothingly in my ear. I shake my head, bringing tears to my eyes.
"Damon, no! You lied, please I need my brother." I yell, tears finally streaming down my face. As I peek around Damon, I see Stefan laughing.
"What the hell is wrong with you Stefan?!" Elena asks, about to pounce. Stefan calms his laughter and shakes his head.
"Nothing my love, well actually, I think that it's hilarious how a young human could get so attached to one person." Stefan explains, looking at Elena straight in the eyes. Elena shakes her head in disgust and I finally stop struggling against Damon, realizing Damon was right. This isn't my Stefan. He was different. My Stefan would never laugh at me. My Stefan would never call Elena 'love', that's what he calls me. And most of all, my Stefan would never, ever, leave me and come back and make me feel guilty. As I realize what has happened, I turn and stumble back into the house, only to find Klaus and Rebekah sitting by the fire. As I walk in, their heads turn. Soon, Rebekah realizes that I've been crying. She walks over and engulfs me into a bone crushing hug. I sob quietly into her chest, hoping that I would be okay. I miss my Stefan and he obviously isn't coming back anytime soon. As I stop crying, I feel multiple presences in the room. I peak my head out from under Bekah's arm and see Elena and Caroline leaning against the rail, Klaus sitting opposite of us, Kol and Elijah in the doorway and Damon pouring himself a drink on the opposite end of the room, staring into space. Elijah runs over and stops Damon from spilling his alcohol all over. Damon nods in thanks.
As I gently break from Rebekah's hug and bring my knees to my chest, as I usually did. Klaus smiled at me reassuringly and Elena walks over and starts to play with my hair. Damon stands still and sips his drink, again, staring into space. I slowly get up and walk over to him. As I reach him, I wrap my small arms around his middle. Slowly, I feel him respond. He sets his drink down and wraps his arms around me. He rests his chin on the top of my head. I look up at him and smile innocently.
"Damon, are you still going to Georgia?" I ask, voice cracking slightly. Damon looks at me in confusion before realization hit. His mouth forms an 'o' shape and he thinks for a second.
"That, I don't know yet. But until then, would you like to have a movie night with everyone, including Katherine?" He asks, interest in his eyes. A week or so ago, Damon started asking questions. Questions like, 'How do you feel about vampires?' and 'Would it be okay if someone really close to you was a vampire, or werewolf, or a hybrid?' Of course, I answered truthfully. I thought that vampires were fascinating and no, I would not care if someone close to me was part of a supernatural world. I don't know why he would think that I would. He always told me that there are vampires, that they were real. Some were good, some were bad.
Coming back to reality, I nod my head eagerly. I know that everyone doesn't trust her, but they put up with her for me, because I love her like a sister. I know that if I didn't feel comfortable with talking to Elena or Damon about something, Kat was the one to go to. Damon smiles brightly down at me. He nods and I place my head back onto him. Damon sighs heavily and pats my back. I look around, and see that everyone has left. I let him go and walk into the living room, seeing that they already have it set up: blankets on the floor making multiple beds and pillows were thrown randomly across the beds and the couches. Damon smiles and nods to the bed before he pulls his phone out and call Katherine. I walk up to the huge bed and sit next to Klaus. I lean on his shoulder and feel him chuckle slightly. I look up at him questioningly only to get a shake of his head. I shrug it off and cuddle up to his side as the movie, The Skulls, starts.
I sit there, whispering with Klaus the whole movie.
"You know Willow, you do have school tomorrow." Klaus reminds me. I smile sadly and look down.
"Yeah, I know." I respond. Klaus just smiles and looks up to Elena, whose just smiling ear to ear while Damon looks like he's about to explode. I roll my eyes at Damon, getting a 'tsk, tsk' noise from Katherine.
"Now, now Willow. There is no need for that." She scolds. I roll my eyes at her to, yawning. Everyone just smirks and bids a goodnight as they slowly funnel through the door, knowing that I'm going to bed. After ten minutes, the only people left in the room are Elena, Klaus and Katherine. I yawn once more and cuddle more into Klaus' side, earning a giggle from Kat… I think… Too tired to care, I lay my head on Klaus' chest and fall into a deep, peaceful sleep.
As I wake in the morning, I find myself curled up in a little ball on Klaus' chest. I blush and get up quietly, walking to my room. I open the door and look at the clock. 6:30 it reads. Good, I'm right on time, I think to myself as I walk over to my dresser and pull out a black shirt and dark blue skinny jeans. I change quickly and walk down the stairs. I enter the kitchen to find Klaus, Damon and Kol talking intently.
"Damon, I don't know if it's safe to leave Willow alone. Stefan came back yesterday and she almost ran right into his arms! Do you really want her to die?!" Kol asks, furious. Damon shakes his head and looks at Kol in disgust.
"Yes Kol, I want Willow to die." Damon says sarcastically as he opens the fridge.
"Both of you shut up. She won't be alone: My hybrids and I will be here." Klaus says proudly.
"Oh, and Rebekah, Lexi, Katherine Caroline and Elijah!" I say excitedly. All three guys jump and look at me with wide eyes. I smile innocently at them and walk over to the cobber to grab some cereal.
"She is right…" Kol admits, turning to the guys.
"We'll talk later." Damon says, guiding me out of the door and into the car to take me to school.
After school, I run into the house only to find Stefan and Damon having alcoholic beverages in the kitchen. Stefan smirks at me and winks over the rim of the glass as he takes a swig. I stumble backwards slightly, hoping he didn't notice. Stefan in return just chuckles and sets his glass down.
"So, Willow, how was school?" He asks, walking over to me. The door slowly creaks shut behind me. Damon grabs Stefan's arm and jolts him slightly.
"Touch her," He threatens, "or scare her, or do anything to harm her, and you will die."
"Okay brother, I get it. The delicious smelling human little girl is off limits." He yanks his arm from Damon's grip and bends down to my height. By this time, my courage and compassion has returned. As soon as Stefan is crouching in front of me, I throw myself into his arms and hug him tightly.
"Stefan, I know that you're in there! I know that you're yourself, please! You just have to believe and want to be yourself." I whisper in his ear. Stefan pats my back softly and whispers back, 'you're right. But, at this moment, I don't want to feel anything.' And with that, he releases me and walks out, never looking back.