Rebekah
Elena and Damon entered the gym together, his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close. Damon breathed in her hair as she scanned the room and Elena smiled more than was appropriate given their setting. The gym was packed. Elena figured some kids who hadn't had the confidence to attend the church service had shown up at the gym instead; there was free food and less pressure to be formally dressed or openly mournful. Damon and Elena moved to the snack table and helped themselves to pre-cut sandwich quarters, they held hands while eating and scanned the crowd. Rebekah, Klaus and Stefan were near the temporary stage that had been set up for speeches. Mrs Lockwood was standing with them and the Principal was waiting near the stage waiting for everyone to arrive so that he could get the formal proceedings over and done with.
The Mystic Falls student body was a little too used to these sorts of occasions but Elena was sure that many of the students really were shocked that Mr Saltzman was gone, he'd been about a hundred times nicer than Mr Tanner, not that that had been hard. Alaric didn't have the most respected profile, rumours had gone around about his drinking and he'd been seen at more than one party at the Salvatore boarding house or the Lockwood mansion where it wasn't entirely appropriate to see faculty members, but he was well liked. He was the teacher that always gave people second chances and they respected the fact he'd never taken his personal problems out on them, though they had to admit his lessons weren't always as well planned as they had been in his early days at Mystic Falls High.
Their target acquired, Damon steered Elena closer to the stage and Damon hugged her against him and whispered, "Don't worry about Stefan, we're here for Alaric." It only took Elena a second to register his intent.
"I don't care what he thinks anyway, I've made my choice," Elena promised, looking deeply into his eyes. It wasn't even a total lie, she wasn't going to go running at the first sign of a hissy fit from Stefan but in truth she did still care, just not enough to be willing to sacrifice her own happiness, she'd sacrificed enough already.
"Let him get mad, he had his fun, it's my turn now," Damon teased.
Elena punched him on the shoulder, "You're awful."
"And you love it."
"I do," she answered, this time giving him a deep look of total sincerity. Damon didn't want to overplay their performance but he gave her a quick peck on the lips in response. It was all he could do to stay focused on the game.
Their ploy had worked; Klaus and Rebecca had noted their arrival and that they appeared to be together, Elena and Damon both hoped they'd convinced them. All eyes turned to the stage when the Principal took to the microphone. The first part of his speech was a rehash of the sentiments expressed at the church but he moved quickly onto a much more exciting announcement, "The school would like to do anything we can to remember Mr Saltzman and as a gesture on his behalf we would like to present the original Wickory Bridge sign to Mayor Lockwood. The sign will be installed in preparation for the unveiling of the bridge after its complete restoration and we have asked that plaque be added noting Mr Saltzman's role in its preservation. Mr Saltzman was instrumental in researching the history of the bridge in preparations for the restoration. Mrs Spice, one of Mr Saltzman's co-workers, will now bring the sign on stage to present it to Mrs Lockwood, Mayor of Mystic Falls."
Elena had been listening so intently she hadn't even noticed Damon disappearing from her side, but as soon as she did she glanced over at Rebekah and saw that Stefan and Klaus were gone. Elena looked away quickly not wanting to draw Rebekah's attention.
"Mrs Spice," the principal prompted, but Mrs Spice did not appear. Elena wondered if she would. Would Mrs Pearce be another innocent victim caught in the middle of their battle with the Originals but everyone would be better off without them, it was too late to get squeamish about the casualties. Still, she really hoped Mrs Spice was just sleeping off a concussion behind stage.
"Here, I am," Mrs Spice's feminine middle aged voice wafted across the stage with a hint of embarrassment. "Sorry, Mr Saltzman had this in a very safe place," she smiled broadly. The slightly dumpy woman with short brunette curls emerged onto the stage, sign in hand.
Elena stifled the impulse to run forward and claim the sign for herself. She was confused, where was Damon? Where were Stefan and Klaus? Her body filled with fear and adrenaline. Rebekah shot her a death stare and a second later Rebekah was behind her. It was a sloppy move in a room full of kids but if you weren't looking for it vampire talents were surprisingly easy to miss. Rebecca gripped one of Elena's arms so hard that it bruised and whispered, "Come on Elena, let's go find your lover, shall we?" Rebekah smiled falsely but Elena had no doubt that she was in big trouble.
Rebekah pushed Elena through the crowd. She glanced around for a familiar face, anyone who might realise what was going on, but what could they have done? Their power was nothing compared to Klaus and Rebekah's. The only chance they had as the sign and the sign was on stage in front of half of Mystic Falls High.
Elena and Rebekah went out a side door and into a nearby classroom. Stefan had backed Klaus into a corner, Caroline and Damon lay battered and bleeding on the floor behind beside him, both held roughly crafted stakes. They looked dead and Elena's heart skipped a beat but there was no sign that they had been staked making it likely they were only temporarily dead. Elena wouldn't have been able to understand how Stefan had gotten Klaus into this position had Bonnie not been seated beside her fallen friend and Damon, hands to her temple chanting. Clearly Bonnie was responsible doing something to control Klaus.
"You might want to think again Stefan," Rebekah threatened, and she sunk her teeth into Elena's neck. If Rebekah ripped out Elena's carotid artery, or worse, ripped her head off, vampire blood wasn't going to save her, but Rebekah's plan was to distract Stefan to save Klaus and if she killed Elena nothing would stop Stefan from plunging the stake into Klaus' heart. Rebekah drank deeply from Elena, and that of course was her undoing. The vervain hit Rebekah's system and she reeled back, unsteady, choking and spitting.
Stefan spun and in a moment he was on top of Rebekah, plunging the stake into her heart. Shock registered on Rebekah's face, "No," she moaned, as her body went rigid and the life slipped from her eyes.
It was awful, as much of a bitch as Rebekah had been she had also been, in so many ways, just another teenage girl struggling to fit in and cope with some pretty serious abandonment issues.
"You'll pay for that," Klaus growled. Bonnie looked weak and Elena didn't know how long she could hold it up. Her neck wound was leaking blood but Elena raced over to Damon and took the stake from his dead hands and ran towards Klaus. Stefan had moved at the same instant, taking Caroline's stake. As Bonnie's hold on Klaus dissolved Klaus moved toward grabbing the white oak stake of Stefan, whom he assumed was the bigger threat but Elena used the moment to plunge hers into his back, hoping, praying that it would reach its mark in time to save Stefan.
A/N: So, I've now killed another character I like, darn! But I have my reasons and it will fuel the story ahead. Stay tuned to find out what happens to Klaus and the other Originals, and what that means for our protagonists.