"So tell me, what'cha been up to?" I asked Jeremy. I was foraging in his fridge. I found the cans of regular coke that I was looking for and walked back over to the table. I handed one over to him. He was sketching in a notebook while he talked to me.
"Not much… I'm working on that report for Mr. Saltzman… Where were you?" He asked, looking up at me. I shrugged as I sat down again.
"Road-trip with my brother, actually… We went to Georgia together to a little town outside Atlanta; he had some business there." I told him.
"Ah… Oh, that reminds me… I met a girl the other day that kind of reminds me of you." He said. I raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? Well, I don't like people that remind people of me… It feels like a competition of awesome. And let's be honest: they aren't winning that." I told him. We both laughed at that."
"Nah, she's just kind of weird. And really smart." He told me.
"You think I'm smart?"
"Actually what reminded me of you was the weird part, but sure that too if you want." He told me. We both laughed again. The doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." He got up and hurried over to the front door. The pizza delivery guy was waiting on the front porch.
"Hey. It's gonna be twenty two dollars."
"Elena, I need the money! Uh, here, come in. You can put it on the table." The pizza delivery man walked into the house. Elena ran downstairs. Jeremy came and sat back down across from me. Once the delivery man was out of the house, I looked over at Jeremy. Elena brought the pizza box into the kitchen.
"Careful who you invite into the house." I told him.
"Why?"
"You never know when one is a murderer."
The next day Elena was telling Stefan in the library about how that vampire she'd hit with her car earlier in the week was stalking her now. Finally I was done listening and went into Damon's room. He was at the Grill, so it was all too easy to grab the vampire compass from his desk. I went into the library and slapped the vampire compass into Elena's hand.
"What's this? Is this Jeremy's pocket watch? How did you get it?" She asked, turning it over in her hand to examine it.
"Logan must've taken it from you guys. Damon took it from Logan. I just took it from Damon. And it's not just a pocket watch. Open it." She opened it.
"What's wrong with it? It got changed on the inside…" The arrow whirled around to point at Stefan and I and she gasped.
"It's a vampire compass. It'll point towards vampires. Keep that with you and you'll always know when one's around." I told her.
"Oh, thanks." She said, surprised I was giving it to her.
"And next time you catch Jeremy, give him this." I held up a leather bracelet with a small silver bead. I tossed it to her and she caught it.
"There's Vervain in it. As long as he wears it, he can't be compelled by a vampire." I explained.
"I already gave her three to give to Caroline, her aunt Jenna and Bonnie." Stefan told me. I nodded.
"Good."
"Thanks for these, Beth." Elena said as I headed out of the library. I waved over my shoulder.
"Welcome."
The school Fifties dance was that night. I still had an outfit from the fifties so I just dressed in that. It was a black and white poodle skirt and a black and white striped shirt. As it turned out, I had no shoes from the fifties area, so I went in my leather boots like usual. I braided my hair and called it good. I walked down into the library, looking for Stefan.
"If you're looking for Stefan, he just left…" Damon said as he flipped through a book. I walked over and sat down on the desk beside him.
"What's that?" I asked, motioning to the book.
"Dad's old journal…" He muttered distractedly. Stefan's phone rang. He grabbed the phone to answer it before I could.
"Stefan's phone. How may I help you?" Damon asked.
"Where is he?" I heard Elena ask on the other end.
"He's on his way to you; forgot his phone." Damon told her.
"Oh, thank God. The compass was spinning. Stefan must be here. Thank you."
"You're welcome." She hung up on him. He turned to me.
"Compass?"
"Oh, yeah, I took that from you and gave it to Elena." I told him. He shrugged and went back to the journal. About a minute later, my phone rang. I picked it up once I saw it was Elena.
"Elena?"
"Stefan, actually… You and Damon need to get over to her house. Now. There was a vampire that attacked her. Probably would've killed her if I didn't show up when I did..." I looked over at Damon. He nodded, hearing what Stefan had said.
"On our way." I hung up as Damon darted out of the house towards Elena's. I grabbed Stefan's phone for him and hurried after Damon.
"How'd he get in?" Damon demanded as he paced in Elena's dining room. She stood leaning against the kitchen counter, Stefan beside her. I stood in the archway between the dining room and living room.
"He was invited in…" Elena admitted.
"He posed as a pizza delivery boy last night and-." Stefan started.
"Jeremy invited him inside because he doesn't know about vampires." I finished, remembering what had happened. Stefan nodded to me.
"Well he gets points for that. The vampire, not the punk. Did he say what he wanted?" Damon asked.
"No. He was too busy trying to kill me." Elena snapped.
"And you have on idea who this is?" Stefan asked Damon.
"No." Stefan gave him a skeptical look.
"Don't give me that look! I told you we had company!" Damon told him.
"You think there's more than one?" Elena asked.
"We don't know." Stefan admitted. Damon walked past me and sat on the arm of the couch. Elena and Stefan followed him into the living room. Elena stood next to me, looking uneasy.
"Damon, he was invited in." Stefan said. Damon nodded, getting what Stefan was hinting at. Elena looked at me, confused as to what was going on.
"Then we get him tonight… Elena, you up for it?" Elena looked at Damon.
"What do I have to do?"
"Let your boyfriend take you to the dance. We'll see who shows up." Damon said. Stefan's head snapped over to look at Damon again.
"That's a bad idea!"
"Until we get this vampire, this house isn't safe. Stefan. For anyone in it. You may be able to protect Elena all the time, which even that is doubtful, but you can't protect Jenna and Jeremy. The easiest and smartest thing to do is get him before he can get in again." I reminded him.
"I'll do it." Elena said. Stefan was looking anxious, but I could tell Damon was already thinking up a plan to get this vampire.
"I'll be with the three of you. I'll be safe." Elena reminded Stefan. I sighed and stepped over to him.
"Look, you and Damon can watch Elena like vampire-hawks. I'll make sure no vamp gets near any of her friends, her aunt or her brother. And if we catch the vamp at the dance, I'll help you two take him down."
"Can't you guys sense each other or something?" Elena whispered to me. Stefan had gone to get Elena some punch like a perfect gentleman and Damon was looking around for any vampires.
"Doesn't work that way. It would be helpful, but it doesn't…" I muttered. I looked around for Jenna and Jeremy. Damon was for some reason with Caroline and Bonnie so I didn't have to worry about them. Once I saw Jenna with Alaric and Jeremy at the punch bowl, I made a mental note of their positions in the room.
"Hey, do you have any pictures of Stefan from the fifties?" Elena asked. I smiled.
"Sorry, Elena; burned and buried."
"Too bad."
"Yeah, you should have seen the hair he had…. And he's back. I'll be somewhere close if you need me." I hurried off, heading for a corner where I could stand without drawing attention to myself. Half my mind watched Jenna and Jeremy (who was talking to a dark haired girl at the punch bowl; I could only see her back) while the other half listened in on Alaric and Damon's conversation.
"Salvatore as in related to Elisabeth?" Alaric asked. I rolled my eyes. How hard is it to just call me Beth like I want to be called?
"Yeah, Beth's my little sister. I'm her and Stefan's legal guardian, hence the chaperoning." Damon answered.
"I hear Stefan's very bright. Not that I've had a chance to see it for myself."
"Well, I know that hiss attendance record's a little spotty… Family drama." Not really a lie…
"No parents?"
"Hmm, no… Just the three of us now." I tuned them out as I watched the black haired girl leave the room. I caught a flash of her face as she walked off. A memory flashed before my eyes.
Mystic Falls, 1864 I walked out of the house with my brothers and father to meet Katherine Pierce. Her good friend Pearl was right behind her as she stepped out of the carriage. Pearl's daughter, Annabelle, was behind her. Pearl walked over to me as Katherine went to my father and brothers.
"Hello, Ms. Salvatore. This is my daughter Annabelle. I'm sure that you'll be great friends…"
Recognition flashed through me. Was that really her? Shouldn't she be either in the tomb or dead? I grabbed my phone from my pocket, my fingers fumbling in my hurry to get it. I sent my text to both Damon and Stefan. I have to check something out. Watch Jeremy and Jenna. I ran out of the room after that dark-haired girl. I tuned in my vampire hearing, trying to pick up the sounds of footsteps. Once I heard them in the next hallway over, I ran towards the sound. By the time I was in that hallway, there was no one in it. I tuned in my vampire hearing again. This time, instead of footsteps, I heard Elena screaming. I spun around and darted vampire-speed towards the sound. Damon and Stefan were already in the room with the vampire guy and Elena. I walked over to stand by Elena. She gave me a grateful look. The vampire smiled at Damon and rushed towards Elena, too fast for Stefan or Damon to catch him. I grabbed the stake from Elena's hand and thrust it into his stomach, purposely missing his heart. He groaned and collapsed on the floor. Stefan and Damon moved to get in between him and Elena. Elena was looking at me, shocked I had done that.
"Now you feel like talking?" Stefan asked.
"Screw you." The vampire spat. Stefan grabbed the stake and pushed it deeper into his stomach. Elena grimaced and looked away.
"Wrong answer. What do you want with Elena?" Stefan demanded.
"She looks like Katherine." The vampire gasped.
"You knew Katherine?" I asked, stepping forward. He ignored me, staring at Stefan and Damon.
"Oh you thought you were the only ones? You don't even remember me."
"Can't say I remember all the idiot vampire's I've met!" I snapped. Damon leaned down towards the vampire.
"Tell me how to get into the tomb."
"No!" Stefan pushed the stake into his stomach even deeper.
"The grimoire!" The vampire hissed. Even the toughest vampires get talkative when pain is induced…
"Where is it?" Damon asked. When he didn't respond, the stake went in deeper. He gasped.
"Check the journal… The journal… Jonathan's journal… Jonathan Gilbert…" He gasped out.
"Who else is working with you? Who else is there?" Damon asked.
"No! You're gonna have to kill me!" Damon looked over to Stefan, rolled his eyes and then nodded. Stefan grabbed the stake from the vampire's stomach and shoved it through his heart instead. Elena gasped, backing against the wall in shock.
"What do we…. How do we find the others now?" She asked.
"He had to die!" Damon told her.
"But…"
"Elena, he was invited in!" I told her. We heard the door shut outside. We all turned towards the sound. Stefan nodded to Damon.
"Go. I got this."
Damon, Stefan and I stood in an abandoned hallway of the school. Elena was with Jeremy and Jenna, probably heading home by now.
"There's no way that idiot was working alone." Damon muttered.
"You are." I told him. He shot me a look.
"So the grimoire… That was Emily's right? That's what you need to reverse the spell…" Stefan muttered, obviously deep in thought.
"When the founding families burned her, they took her things. You were hoping to find it through dad's journal." I finished. Damon nodded.
"Look at you two putting the pieces together. Good for you. I was half-right. Well it's out there now. Let the games began!" Damon said.
"My offer still stands." Stefan told him.
"Yeah, with some hidden caveats, no doubt!" Damon snapped.
"No, nothing hidden about it. No lies. No deception. I'm there when you open the tomb, you and Katherine go and the other twenty-six vampires die." Stefan said. I shot him a look that only he noticed. Damon was nodding to himself.
"If I agree?"
"I'll help you." Stefan promised.
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because I'm your brother."
"No, that's not gonna cut it."
"Because I want you gone." Damon thought about this for a minute. It seemed a good enough reason for Stefan to help him.
"Okay." Stefan nodded, sealing the deal. Damon darted off. Stefan turned to go, but I grabbed his arm. He turned back to me.
"Why? Why would you help him get Katherine back?"
"Because I want him gone." He told me.
"You know Katherine! She deserves to rot in that tomb! If we get her out, I doubt she'll even care about Damon. She'll just run off and kill more people! She doesn't deserve to get free, Stefan!" I growled.
"But Damon deserves a chance at happiness." He argued.
"He has had so many chances, Stefan. I have given him so many chances to live with us, to be happy with us. He's the one that brushes them away. I want him to be happy, Stefan, I do. But not if it means freeing Katherine!"
"I know you disagree-."
"What was your first clue?" I asked sarcastically. He gave me one of those 'I'm annoyed and trying not to lose it' looks that I was well acquainted with. He'd given me lots of those looks over the years.
"But you love Damon, right?"
"Don't ever question it!"
"Then help me help him."
"No matter what Damon has done to us... Zach, Tanner, Vicki… Katherine has done worse. I won't let you free her, Stefan!"
"But this will make sure Damon is happy. Just give Katherine another chance." Stefan begged. I dropped my hand from his arm.
"Katherine will be every one of us Salvatore's downfall!" I hissed. I stormed off, already yanking my hair out of the braid. I shook my hair out, letting a few black strands fall over my eyes. I darted out of the school and back to the boarding house. I paused in the living room. Katherine was not going to tear this family apart again…