Twisted Love
Season Four
She's Come Undone
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the vampire diaries characters or story lines, I only own Grace.
In the boarding house cellar Grace was still locked away in the cellar, there were several dents in the door where when the vampire had first woke up she had tried to punch her way through the reinforced steel door, but as the days passed by and the blood ceased to come to her she became weaker and weaker.
Now more than a week later the brunette was sitting down there, her breathing laboured as she just stared blankly at the wall in front of her trying to ignore the constant screaming for a feed in the pit of her stomach, even though her senses had been dampened down due to her lack of blood she could still hear footsteps walking around upstairs but it wasn't like she had to be supernatural to hear that.
Upstairs Damon was pacing around the room, several times he had tried to leave to go give her some blood but each time Stefan would stop him. They would tell him that it was for her own good and that she needed us to be strong for her so they could get the real Grace back. He even surprised himself when he tried to call Klaus, they all needed to work together if they were going to get her back, the hybrid started it and he needed to help finish it, but there was no response from him.
"She's the calmest desiccating vampire I've ever seen. We haven't heard anything from her in days." The raven-black haired vampire concluded as he looked over at his brother who was sat there in a pensive silence, riding this out with Damon. "I remember when you starved me down there for three days, I would've wept at your feet for an orange peel." He remembered that awful time a couple of years ago when everything was so much different and yet so much simpler.
Stefan looked over at his older brother as he replied. "Look, she's not gonna beg for blood. Begging means desperation, emotion." He reminded him. "She's still in no-humanity zone." He explained to him knowing what it was like to be emotionless himself, he had made that trip so many times before.
"How hungry does she have to be before we can torture some feelings back into her?" All he wanted was his girlfriend back and not to have her running around doing stupid things that one day she was going to end up regretting, he wanted to be able to help her threw every emotional bump, like Stefan helped Elena, he had always regretted letting her run off like that the night she flipped her switch, he wondered if it could have gone any different, or if there was anything he could have done different.
Stefan shook his head, he wasn't sure exactly, when he went through this with Lexi he was always the one in the hot seat and then the days would all merge into one, but he knew that she would really have to be suffering before they could do anything. "A lot hungrier than she is now, apparently." He replied.
"So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Damon quizzed just as two sets of heels sauntered in the room they all looked over surprised to see Katherine and Fayth both standing there, they were both very surprised to see them back in Mystic Falls considering Niklaus was still hunting them.
"Is this supposed to be our welcome home party?" Fayth pouted as she wandered around them throwing a cheeky grin in the Salvatore's direction before pouring herself a drink from the small table in the middle of the room.
Stefan stepped forward towards them both as he replied. "Listen, I think you two should go, clearly no one wants you here." He told them firmly but neither of them moved. "You know that Klaus checks in on Grace regularly, right? He could be here any moment and that would really be bad for the both of you, wouldn't it?" He smirked looking at them both.
"I think it's safe to say that we can be in Mystic Falls as much as we wish because Klaus is gone." Katherine smirked crossing her arms over her chest before they all looked over at her surprised, Damon asked what she meant that he was gone and she replied. "Let's just say that werewolf girl, Hayley, turned out to be just the thing we needed to get Klaus out of our lives – for good."
Much later on that day the house was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop, Damon looked around as he wandered down the stairs into the cellar and then along the narrow corridor towards the door to her cell, he could hear her soft, laboured breaths but that was all. Looking through the bars he saw her sat there, blank look on her face but she didn't look anything like the Grace he had fallen in love with.
She looked awful; her long hair was dishevelled but she had changed out of the prom outfit and into a more appropriate one for suffering and starving in a dank cell in the basement of her home. She looked up as the steel lock on the door slid across to see a black silhouette standing in the door way, he walked forward into the light of the before saying. "You look terrible."
Her voice was rough and weak as she replied. "I'm hungry. Not that you care."
Damon smirked as he crouched down in front of her. "Oh, sweetheart. That's where you're wrong. I do care, you don't care. It's about time for that to change. I want my girlfriend back." He told her as he held out a blood bag for her, without hesitation she snapped forward and feed from it hungrily before she felt an uncomfortably burn in her throat, couching she spat up the floor hissing vervain. "How does that make you feel? Hurt because I betrayed you? Angry because I caused you pain? Or scared, because you know it's gonna get a lot worst?"
The brunette looked him straight in the eyes, leaning close brushing her lips against his, he felt her laboured breathing against his mouth when suddenly a flash zipped past him but her she was blocked in the room by Stefan who stood in the doorway, she nodded. "So this is how it's gonna be." She muttered turning around to look at them both. "You boys wanna play? Go ahead. Let's see who breaks first. Me... Or you." She growled at them both as the other brother wandered into the room shutting the door behind him with a heavy slam that echoed the entire house.
Grace's dream
The brunette's mind was a foggy memory but the next thing she knew she was standing out the front of her school as the pupils around her happily laughed and spoke with each other. Suddenly she was bombarded with her friends standing in front of her looking glad to see her. "Grace, you're here. I got valedictorian! So, Elena is gonna be helping me with my speech, but I was wondering if I could read it through with you."
"No, I don't think want to do that." Grace answered as she went to walk past them, but her sister was quick to catch up with her standing beside her with a easy look on her face.
Walking along beside her the other Gilbert told her. "Look, could you at least try and lighten up for everyone else's sake? We're graduating this year, and then we'll be going off to college. We need to celebrate every second as a family-"
The smaller brunette suddenly came to a halt as she looked around confused something clicking in her mind. "Wait." She whispered. "I don't want to be here. Something's wrong." She hissed looking around to see Damon with Niklaus by his side, both of them looking very out of place on the school ground, but still standing there with a cocky look on their faces.
"What is wrong with you? Don't you wanna be with your friends? With your sister? With you misfit, supernatural family? Graduation parties, caps, gowns, you know the drill." The raven-black haired vampire told her crossing his arms over his chest. "The old Grace would have killed to go to those parties and just be normal for at least one night, dance with me, go home and... Well, you know how that whole thing ends, right?" He smirked before receiving a growl from the hybrid standing beside him.
"What is this..." She demanded looking around as everyone in the school yard vanished leaving behind the three of them, she cursed and shook her head. "We're not really here, are we?" She questioned as they both look backed at her waiting for her to figure it out on her own. "We're in my head."
"You want to blame anyone for this idea, blame him." Damon pointed at the hybrid who stood beside him, arms behind his back. "He wanted to show you all of the things that you've been missing out on since you took the giant leap over the cookoo's nest." She scoffed as she dropped her bag to the floor looking around almost wanting to scream and hit something, but that would be emotion and then they would be winning.
"The last thing I remember..."
The hybrid stepped forward. "Let me see if I could answer that you for: Prom? The beautiful dress that I leant you which you ruined, by the way. Gorgeous hair. Do you recall trying to murder Bonnie? Now, if I didn't know any better I'd say that you were trying to be like me, love." He looked down at her as she just sneered narrowing her eyes at him.
"Maybe you're right." Grace answered in a sour voice crossing her arms over her chest as she shifted on her feet. "I mean, you are the worst person that I know." She replied as he smirked tilting his head to the side, she glanced over at Damon who was patiently waiting. "You starved me. You and Stefan and most probably Elena and now I know that your hybrid hands are all over this, too." She growled gritting her teeth.
"We had to keep you weak so that you couldn't escape, plus I didn't think that Klaus's nostalgia road trip was a too bad idea." Damon told her as she glared over at him leaning against a tree casually. "If we can make you nostalgic, then you're already halfway to getting your humanity back." She told him spitefully that it wasn't going to work.
Klaus smirked stepping towards. "Well, that's alright then, love. Because there are plenty of other ways to provoke an emotional response from a vampire like you." He smirked before everything went completely blank.
At the exact same time both Klaus's and Damon's eyes opened from where they had been deeply concentrating, they both walked forward to see the rather large safe was still in front of them, Stefan looked over at them seeing that they were back from where they had intruded the girls dream in an attempt to get her to turn her humanity back on.
"You were in there for, like, an hour." Stefan informed them both as they walked towards the safe. "Still nothing?" Neither of them responded, Klaus cranked the safe open to see the brunette inside curled up at the bottom barely conscious, slowly opening her eyes she glanced up at them trying to shield her eyes that were piercing the dark area she had been locked away in.
Taking her arm she was holding up in front of her eyes the hybrid dragged her out as she stayed on her knees scrapping them uncomfortable along the floor ripping another hole in her old jeans. "Out you come, love. Let's get you some air." He cooed as she looked up at him again. "I'm a very busy man, you really are lucky I'm here at the moment because I have a lot of stuff to deal with. So tell me, is the old you ready to come out and play yet?" He questioned pinching her cheeks looking into her eyes.
"Go to hell." She muttered in a deathly low voice as the Original growled at her, Damon was quick to step in grabbing the girl by her shoulders and shoving her back in the safe locking back up tight as he tapped his hands rhythmically against the door composing himself for a moment.
He knew that she could be able to hear him as he told her. "Now, sweetheart. We can do this the nice way, or we can do it the other way... But either way, we're not stopping until you turn your humanity switch back on. So I'm gonna let you think about that, and I'm gonna come back for you in a couple of hours, or a couple of years... Because all we have is time, Gracie. We have an eternity, darling." He cooed hearing a groan from the inside, he turned around and stalked from the room with the other two in tow.
The two Salvatore's and the hybrid were sitting around the table waiting to hear any sound from the cell below them but the front door swung open and in walked Elena looking almost pissed as she looked at Klaus who sat there patiently. Stefan muttered that he would handle it and walked over to the Gilbert who had her arms crossed tightly over her chest gritting her teeth.
"You have all had you chance. Now I want to see her." Elena told them all firmly as they replied that she couldn't go down there and it would be a bad idea. "The last I check she was pleading me to help her. Not any of you, alright? I'm her sister, let me see her." She demanded in a cold voice, she had a point she was the only person that Grace had shown any emotion towards since flipping her switch.
The hazel-green eyed Salvatore reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder as he replied softly. "We're not letting anyone see her, that's the whole point." He explained calmly before continuing. "Isolation leads to misery, leads to emotion." Elena sighed as she replied that it had been days asking if she hadn't improved in the slightest. "Look, she doesn't want to, Elena, not yet anyway."
"If I don't need to remind you, love. The root to all of this is you." Klaus looked over at her from where he was sitting sipping his bourbon casually. "Let me explain this to you: She's devastated; she lost her brother, she lost her sister too, she was dragged around an island by two psychopaths, she attacked of her of her closest friends, do I really need to go on?"
Elena looked up at her boyfriend through glassy eyes as she whimpered out. "You said that you knew how to help her."
"I did say that." He answered as he shuffled towards her gazing into her chocolate-brown orbs. "We are." Elena hissed back they were torturing her. "It's not torture, it's an intervention. The only chance we have with her is to provoke her, to trigger something. Fear, anger, self-pity, anything."
Taking a couple of breaths the doppelgänger looked down for a second before back up at Stefan and saying. "Let me talk to her. Klaus is right, I'm the one who caused this, but I'm also the one she turned to when she was most vulnerable." He was about to tell her no and give her a speech about how Grace was dangerous but she quickly reminded him. "If she's weak, she can't hurt me. Please, just let me try." How could he say no after that touching sentiment.
Stefan was reluctant to let her go down there, but he ignored the two from the other side of the room and lead her down to the cell where the brunette was being held, unlocking the door he opened it for his girlfriend before muttering. "Be safe, Elena." And then leaving to let the two have some privacy.
Cranking open the safe the taller Gilbert was horrified to see the state her twin was in, helping her out of the confined space she sat there for a couple of seconds waiting for her eyes to adjust to the light. Looking around cautiously for any authority figures Elena pulled a bottle of blood from her jacket pocket . "I brought you something. It doesn't have any vervain in it, I swear." She promised as the girl on the floor looked up. "It's sort of a peace offer, but I also figured a little blood might do you good." She explained before opening it and handing it to her sister.
Grace hesitated looking at the liquid before feeling too desperate and just needing it. Drinking it hungrily she closed her eyes in pleasure revealing in the fantastic coppery taste. "For the record, I don't agree with what they're doing." The other twin informed her as she knelt in front of her sister. "I mean, I agree that you need to turn you humanity back on, but I don't think that making you suffer is the way to do it. That's not who you are. You're not a martyr."
"And what makes you such an expert on who I am?" The brunette finally spoke, her voice was whiskey rough and barely there, but Elena heard her perfectly. "Because we found out we were sisters two years ago?" She tried to scoff but it came out as a tired cough.
Elena gave her a hard look as she replied. "No, it's because even before we found out we were sisters we were best friends. You knew everything about me and I knew everything about you, Grace. It's just the way we are. It's written in our veins. This is who we are even without a birth certificate to prove it." She explained, it was so tragically beautiful.
"Do I need to remind you that I tried to kill you? I'm not exactly family friendly at the moment." She told her still trying to push her away emotionally but the other twin sat there and firmly replied that she wasn't going to give up on her. "Maybe you should, I mean, you have before, right? Remember that time when you blamed me for your brothers death." It wasn't their brother anymore. "The one that I had nothing to do with, by the way. The one that sent me off the edge. Yeah, good times." She faked laughed before turning away. "Yeah, that was shortly after you accused me of being a ripper like your perfect knight in shining armour boyfriend, hmm. Not so perfect after all, huh. I'm really surprised you didn't give up on him either... That is your thing, right."
The girl sitting opposite her tried to ignore the sting of the painful words as she replied. "You're in pain, you're lashing out like I did, I get it." She told her nodding as Grace just glared back at her. "But you can't stay this way forever. We're about to graduate, and start new lives! And you deserve-"
"Ugh, my God." Grace hissed leaning her head back and letting out a short laugh. "Elena, do you have any idea of how pathetic you sound. I mean, you're starting to sound like Caroline, how much time have you been spending with her?" She coughed again. "Just think about it: Standing up there in your cap in gown pretending to be human. Who are you gonna reserve seats for? Let's think... Alaric? Oh, wait. No. He's dead." Elena gulped. "Jenna? Oh, shoot. She's dead too... Jeremy! Oh, no... Dead also. Who are you gonna have there to remind them that you're a bloodsucking freak?"
Elena was growing angry, standing up and facing away from her sister she was about to storm out but the older vampire continued. "It's really too bad that Damon stopped me before I put you out of your misery, but hey, here's to second chances." With all of her remaining strength she rose from the floor and zipped towards her sister about to attack her, but she was so weak the younger vampire was able to hold her off whilst Grace snarled and snapped her jaws like a rabid dog.
"Grace." She didn't let up and Elena was forced to take action, moving quick to snap her sisters neck making her fall to the floor with a thud. She heard noise behind her turning around to see the three supernatural's standing there. "Do whatever you have to do. Just get the real Grace back." She told them firmly walking past them before muttering. "I'll be upstairs."
Over at the Grill, Rebekah was drowning her sorrows in liquor, compelling the bartender to keep the drinks coming, she was slightly surprised when the human bus-boy wandered over and stood beside her, she honestly hadn't excepted to hear from him, even if she was in the place that he worked. Downing another shot of Partón she glanced up at him before saying. "I was wondering if you were gonna say hello or keep ignoring me."
"I was working." Was his simple answered as he watched her, he noticed she had resorted to her old ways of compelling her own way. "I see you compelled the bartenders again." He muttered shaking his head gently.
She scoffed a little as she replied. "I'm celebrating." There was only a bitter tone to her voice as he watched her taking another shot. "My brothers and I have parted company. Niklaus is only in town today because he is in love with that little sociopath, but when she's back to normal he's going to be joining Elijah back in New Orleans, chasing God knows what." She shrugged her shoulders, something about being left out of family matters made her feel awfully lonely, she thought that always and forever really meant that.
"Yeah, I heard about that."
"Did you hear that I lost the cure to Silas?" She questioned her tone even darker than before, her only chance of true happiness was stolen from her grasp just when it was within her reach. "I was..." She pinched pointer finger and her thumb together so they were barely touching. "This close to the life that I always wanted and then, poof – gone in a heartbeat."
Matt sighed as he answered. "I'm sorry." He couldn't help but feel partly responsible for her having lost the cure. "I know how much you wanted it."
The blonde rolled her eyes as she retorted spitefully. "Please, I know you were planning on stealing it for Elena so she could do with it what she wished... I never had a chance, did I?" She continued to wallow in self-pity as he sighed and told her that he meant what he said before turning around about to leave but she stopped him by saying. "Why don't you stay and have a drink?" She offered.
"I can't, I've gotta go meet up with Caroline and then we're going to see Elena." He informed her.
"Are they still keeping Grace trapped in the Salvatore mansion? I happen to like her just the way she is. It's tragic that they're trying so desperately to fix something that isn't broken." The Original concluded darkly pouring herself another shot as he looked back at her.
Matt shook his head as he answered. "Grace was my friend long before she was your mean-girl sidekick. So if you're upset that you lost the cure and your brothers are ditching you, why are you still in Mystic Falls?" He asked sourly as she looked up at him surprised. "Some of us don't have the option of leaving, some of us are broke, and failing all of our classes, and stuck here." Rebekah was sure that the conversation had turned now onto something that hit closer to home for the human. "So why don't you take your freedom and get the hell out of town? I would." The human answered before turning around and leaving the blonde to wallow.
Back at the Salvatore boarding house Elena was sitting in the parlour room watching her blonde friend speak on the phone with the witch who had recently been attacked by her sister, she really did feel bad for Bonnie she knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of Grace's wrath. Finally Caroline had managed to get through to her and greeted her happily with. "Bonnie! Where have you been? I've left, like, 90 messages." She exaggerated wildly.
"Studying French." Bonnie replied dully shrugging her shoulders. "We still have final exams, remember?" She reminded her trying to avoid the entire Grace situation altogether, she just need time to get her head around what had happened.
"Ugh, don't remind me." The girl that was usually on top of everything was actually beginning to fall behind but not by much, she wouldn't be at the boarding house if she was. "Look, from what Elena is telling me, this whole Grace thing... It's about to get brutal, and I know that she's not your favourite person right now, but we could really use you over here."
"For what, mortal support?" Bonnie scoffed gently before adding. "Or so you can check up on me?"
"Moral support!" The blonde answered all too quickly as she sighed heavily and revealed truthfully. "And maybe just a tiny check-in to make sure that Silas isn't playing anymore pesky little mind games with you." She looked over at Elena who nodded knowing it was the right thing to do, they were just looking out for their witch friend wanting to make sure she was okay.
"I'm fine, okay?" The witch replied surely keeping her voice firm. "Silas doesn't control me anymore. And I think I'll pass on the invite. Grace tried to kill me. I'm not quite ready to forgive and forget like you and Elena are." She told her as the blonde tried to explain quickly but the Bennett girl gave her no chance. "I'm gonna call you later, okay? I gotta go." With that the line went dead.
Bonnie threw her cell on the hardwood table next to her before looking forward at the two Petrova's who sat there in a sullen silence, they honestly hadn't except Niklaus to come back to town so quickly but he was in town so they were going to have to be extra careful where they stuck their pretty little heads to check in on people.
"Lying, scheming and a secret rendezvous with us? Not very Bonnie Bennett-y, especially when that special little kitten needs her favourite witch." Katherine teased making her sister smirk from where she sat beside her gazing down at a menu. The witch answered how it had nothing to do with them. "Alright, well, luckily for you we've got some spare time on our hands. You said you have an offer that we can't refuse? Well, by all means – what do you have in mind?"
Back at the boarding house Damon set a fire extinguisher down nosily waking up the Gilbert, she looked around weakly noticing that she had been strapped to a fancy chair in the library looking around to see the Salvatore standing there and the hybrid the other side looking very pleased with themselves.
"Good, you're awake." The raven-black haired vampire muttered looking over at his girlfriend who sat there looking almost pissed off, being frustrated at the two of them was an emotion and he was going to push it. "We thought you could use a little sunshine." He muttered as Klaus carefully pulled the certain back so a ray of sun crept through almost touching her hand, she could feel the fiery heat brushing against her finger tips.
Looking down she noticed that her jewellery was missing from around her neck, her daylight necklace and her promise ring that Damon had given her. "Looking for this?" The Salvatore smirked holding up her necklace for her to see, she reached for it but the shackles around her wrists ceased her from getting to it. "Oh, Gracie, you know the rules – bad girls don't get nice jewellery."
The curtain closed again as the hybrid stood there patiently, but the youngest vampire just remained very sullen and emotionless still in the face of torture. "You took my necklace. I'm devastated. Whatever will I do." She rolled her eyes. "But I'm bored. Can I go back to solitary now?"
"No. I think I like this new look on you." Damon replied to her as he smirked. "In the hot seat trying to pretend like you don't care." He added staring deeply into her eyes as he spoke to the man across the room. "Whenever you're ready, hybrid." He told him earning a low growl from the creature as he reached for the curtain again.
"Am I supposed to be scared?" The chocolate-brown haired vampire looked over at Niklaus who stared back at her blankly.
After staring at her for a couple of long seconds he smirked and replied. "You will be." There was almost a threatening tone to his voice. "And when you are, focus on that fear. Focus on it like when I almost ripped your heart out, remember how scared you were then? Or how scared you were when your childhood home was burning to the ground around you. Focus on that." He taunted her as she grit her teeth.
"You're not gonna burn me." She told them both looking between them with a hard look in her eyes as Damon teased her. "No. And even if you do manage to get my emotions back, I'll remember all this, and I'll hate both of you for it." She growled at them as both of the men looked across at each other sharing a look, they were willing to risk that to have 'Grace' back.
"Worth the risk." Klaus answered as he yanked the curtain back almost pulling it off the clips to let the sun burst through, the brunette was wriggling to get away from the burning that was sizzling at her hand when suddenly her entire forearm caught aflame, she called out leaning her head back and the Salvatore was quick to act with the fire extinguisher as the hybrid put the curtain back in place.
Damon bent down to be face to face with her as he cooed. "Bet that feels better, huh?" He smirked as he just glared back at him panting and wanting the trembling pains in her arm to leave. "How about a little gratitude, or a human emotion whatsoever, and we can stop this?" The brunette muttered something under her breath as she tried to catch her breath. "Sorry, Gracie. I didn't quite catch that."
"I said, I'm gonna kill you!" She spat out angrily.
"There we go, love!" Klaus laughed throwing his head back from where he was stood as she growled over to him. "We got some rage! Emotion. I should've figured that'd be the first emotion that came out of you. All that bottled up aggression just dying to come out, just let it flow, darling. We're more than willing to take whatever you can throw at us."
"I'll throw that white oak stake at you!" She warned as he laughed again clapping his hands waiting for her to continue before the Salvatore crouched down beside her looking deeply into her angered orbs but she was quick to look away from him, not meeting the hybrids eyes either just staring blankly at the wall.
"Gracie, look at me." His voice wasn't taunting anymore, it was softer as if they were the only two in the room, hell as if they were the only two in the world. "We don't wanna do this, okay? You can stop this right now. It's your choice." He told her as she looked up at him, his eyes locking on hers for a second, he saw a spark of something in her eyes before it quickly vanished.
"Isn't it funny how you're the one who's pulling back the curtain." She hissed over to Niklaus who stood there waiting for her to continued. "Is this because I never chose you, or because I walked in whilst you were having your moment with you little she-wolf?" She growled as the hybrid gritted his teeth.
"Wow." Damon muttered smirking as he nodded his head. "That was downright vindictive. See? I think now we're breaking through that tough candy shell and getting into the ooey-gooey rich centre of your humanity. This is good." He told her as she just glared back down at him, her mouth a thin line. "I think we should shine some light on the subject." He told the hybrid who moved to open the curtain.
"Let me guess... This is gonna hurt you more than it hurts me." She muttered as Klaus replied that he was rather enjoying torturing her, at least they were getting closer to having the real Grace back and with them and then he was going to have to leave anyway, but then she would be able to make a rational choice about the two of them.
Damon's voice flattered again as he replied. "Listen, I know what's going through your head right now, alright? After everything you've done, you're afraid to face that guilt and the anger and the sadness if you turn your emotions back on. But I'm going to be there for you when you do turn it back on, I promise." He told her looking deeply into her eyes. "Only thing that we can do now is make the alternative hurt even worse.
She remained quiet looking down as Damon nodded over to the hybrid who angrily yanked back the curtain again, he knew that whoever got her to eventually turn her emotions back on she was going to flock to for support and love and he wanted it to be him, but the Salvatore was winning.
They had all decided to would be a good idea to get some fresh air, Stefan was sat beside his girlfriend whisper sweet words of encouragement and faith into her ear whilst Caroline stood looking over the entire state and make sat opposite the couple staring straight at his ex with belief in his eyes.
There was an awkward silence in the air as another of Grace's painful shrieks erupted through the air. Elena's lower lip shook as she told them. "We have to keep talking. If we don't keep talking, then I won't be able to stop myself from listening in, and I can't stand to hear Grace in pain." She told them.
Clearing his throat the human asked. "Well, what do you wanna talk about?" He quizzed looking around at them, none of them had anything to say, it seemed to resolve back to Grace and her torture due to the hybrid and the older Salvatore. Stefan looked over at the blonde pleading her to come up with something trivial for them to think about.
"Oh, uh, Matt, I ordered you a cap and gown when I was ordering one with Elena." The vampire informed him as he looked over to her slightly surprised and grateful that he had thought about her. "I just... I just figured you'd forget, so I ordered yours too." She smiled at him.
"I ordered one for Grace, too." Elena whispered looking down. "I just really hope that she's back to normal by that time. I want her to experience one normal senior year moment that isn't filled with death or no emotion." She told her looking down thinking about the spiteful words she had said to her earlier.
Matt looked over at the youngest vampire and told her positively. "It's gonna work. We're gonna get her back, Elena."
Caroline smiled as he looked past them surprised to see the blonde Original in the boarding house looking around for someone. "What the hell is she doing here?" She growled as they all looked over to see Rebekah with a brown paper bag, they all stormed into the house alerting the Original to their presence.
"Hi." She told them innocently almost feeling as if she should have raised her hands in defence but resisting. "I don't meant to interfere. I just, I happen to know all they keep in this house is blood and booze so I brought a peace offering. Burgers?" She offered as the human approached her taking the box and thanking her.
The other blonde crossed her arms from where she stood next to Elena. "Yeah. We can't really entertain right now, but thanks for stopping by. We'll let Grace know you send your wishes." She was trying to usher her out the door but the Original firmly stood her ground watching the four of them.
"Well, considering I was the only friend that Grace had for a while I think I might stick around." Rebekah told them as Elena glared her down. "Matt mentioned that he was failing classes and needed a study buddy." Panic struck in Caroline's chest as she looked over to the human who didn't look back, he was failing, it was the end of their senior year, if he didn't pass he wasn't going to graduate.
"You're failing?" She hissed as the human sighed a little, he hated being reminded. "Why didn't you ask me to help you study?" She asked feeling slightly offended that he didn't come to for help. Matt replied that he didn't ask Rebekah. "Well, what classes are you failing?" She asked waiting for him to reply.
The human felt overly embarrassed with all the vampire eyes on him, but at least it was getting their minds off of the torture that was happening in the library. "I'm not failing, I'm just... really, really behind in history... and Italian, and math..." He tried to look on that bright side but when he saw the distraught look on his friends face he sighed. "This year's been a little distracting."
"We could all pitch in." Rebekah suggested looking around at them all. "I mean, Stefan and I lived the history you're taught and we've lived long enough to study languages." She reminded them. "And I bet you girls are good at maths." The blonde nodded at the two girls who just glared her down. "All hands on deck – that's the motto around here, right?"
"We don't have a motto." Elena muttered bitterly.
Caroline was creating a plan of her own in her head as she turned to Matt and said. "Look, if you need to study, we're gonna study. I'm gonna go home and I'm gonna get my flashcards, and my study guides, and some energy bars. This is gonna be good." She told them all before barrelling out of the house leaving the others in shock at her the breakneck speed she spoke.
"You dated that?" Rebekah looked over at Matt surprised.
The human shrugged gently as he replied. "She likes projects."
Just outside Caroline reached her car that was sitting in the driveway about to put her keys in the door when it fumbled against the lock and fell to the floor, sighing she crouched down to pick them up when she heard a rustling noise, standing back up slowly she creased her eye brows she turned and asked. "Who's there?"
There was no response, turning back to her car she was taken back when she saw her boyfriend standing there with that same wolfy grin. "Hey." Was his simple greeting as she stared at him starry eyed.
The Petrova's and Bonnie were sitting at a random diner talking over what the witches plan was as a waitress stopped by at their table to refresh their coffees. "Okay, let me get this straight: you want me to hand over Silas's tombstone? What makes you think we ever have it?" Katherine quizzed crossing her arms.
"I know one of you took it from the Island. You're both scavengers; you'd never leave it behind no matter how quickly you were trying to work." Fayth glared over at her as she asked what Bonnie was going working for Silas, running errands for him. "I didn't switch sides. In two days, there'll be a full moon. Silas wants me to harness its power to drop the veil between our side and the Other Side. He wants to take the cure, and then he wants to die. I said I'd help him and I've been hiding from him ever since, buying time."
Katherine creased her eye brows. "Time for what?"
"You don't need to worry about it." Bonnie answered vaguely. "You just need to bring me the tombstone." She told them both, the less they knew about her plan the better, Silas got to Klaus easily so getting to the twins would be a walk in the park for him.
"It's a hunk of rock." Fayth answered scrunching her nose clearly confused to why the witch wanted it. "What do you even want with it?" She quizzed tapping her long finger nails rhythmically on the table.
The witch looked between them before answering. "The less you know, the better. Silas is psychic; he can get into people's heads, read their minds, make them see things that aren't really there. I'm taking a big enough risk just talking with you." She was right of course, Silas couldn't get to her anymore, but he could very easily get to the Petrova's.
"Okay then." Katherine nodded her head before adding." How do we know that you're not him." It was a fair question.
"You don't, but I'm not."
"And what makes you so sure that one of us isn't him, or that he's not making you see double?" Fayth replied looking at her sister even feeling a little suspicious of her.
"Because he can't get into my head anymore, because I am the only one who can see his true face." Bonnie explained nodding her head actually feeling sure and strong for once. Katherine narrowed her eyes as she asked what was in it for them and the witch replied. "Bring me the tombstone, help me stop Silas from unleashing hell on earth. Believe me, I'll make it worth your while."
Back at the boarding house the hallowed halls were filled with agonising screams, in the library the youngest vampire was trying to squirm away from the burning light creeping through the curtains before the hybrid would let the fabric fall back in place blocking out the cruel light and the vampire would beginning her healing.
"You gonna thank me for this, love. After you turn it back on, you'll realise that life with no emotions just wasn't for you. Just how truly terrible it was and you were." Klaus told her a small smirk on his lips as she growled threateningly over to him.
"You know what else was just truly terrible? Being sired to you... That thinking for even a single second that I could be in love with you. I remember every horrible moment of it, and you, how desperate you are for it to be real, you'd throw yourself at me. Well, guess what – it wasn't. You were wrong. So go ahead, keep trying to get that old me back. We all know how this story ends."
The hybrid growled from deep in his throat reminding himself that she was trying to be as cruel as she could in order to push him away, looking down neither of them expected for a whoosh of chocolate-brown locks to go rushing past them, Niklaus was quick to to act yanking the curtains so hard that they were pulled off the wall to reveal the entire giant window.
The vampire screamed as she set alight, Damon growled over at the hybrid as he quickly acted in putting his girlfriend out and moving her into the shade, the hybrid ran over and patted out the rest of the flames, laying on her back she was taking in deep breaths looking up at the ceiling slightly dazed before her eyes locked on the two. "I am the girl that you love. You wouldn't do anything to actually hurt me – you just proved that. So what do I really have to be afraid of?"
Damon growled she was right again, after locking Grace back up against the older Salvatore went outside to get some air whilst Klaus kept guard of the safe downstairs. Drinking from a decanter of bourbon, he was so angry and frustrated he just wanted to scream at the top of his lungs but he resisted as he heard someone approach, he half expected it to be the hybrid but it was his brother.
"How'd it go?"
A growl sprung from the back of his throat as he replied. "Every other vampire turns it on, no problem. You kill, you feed, you do all the awful things that a vampire does, and then when you're done you turn it back on. Instead she's provoking the guy that could kill her in seconds and being so God damn stubborn?"
"Because it who she is a person." Stefan replied sighing gently. "She's trying to burn down every bridge that she has so she doesn't have to turn it back on. She wants to think she has nothing to come back to." He explained logically as his older brother shook his head pacing slightly as he clenched the glass in his hand almost crushing it under his powerful grip.
"No, she wants to come back. I saw it. There something in her eyes." He told his brother that looked over to him sympathetically. "And don't you tell me that I'm just seeing things because it was there." He informed him. "Scaring the hell out of her should've worked. She's smart. She knows we're not gonna hurt her."
Stefan paused for a second, his brother was right Grace had to feel real terror if she was going to turn it back on. "Alright, so we get somebody else. Somebody who really will hurt her."
"Who?" He creased his icy-blue eyes before figuring out who his brother was talking about. "Fayth?" He scoffed shaking his head.
"I was thinking more along the line of Katherine. Think about it: she's the reason Jeremy's dead, right? She's the reason Elena turned on Grace. If anybody's gonna provoke an emotion, it's her." The other brother explained logically.
Damon shook his head looking over to his brother with a dumbfound look on his face. "So we call her and then what, beg her to help us out of the kindness of her own heart? Are you kidding me? She is not gonna set foot anywhere near this house with the bad bad wolf downstairs."
"Then we need to find a way to sneak her into the house without Klaus even realising. What do the Petrova's do best? Pretending to be people they aren't." Stefan had a good point, plus Katherine had fooled Niklaus into thinking she was the doppelgänger once before. "Katherine was just abandoned by Elijah. All she has left in the world is Fayth, imagine that." Damon shuddered at the thought. "We invite her into our house to come torture Grace? There's no way she's gonna turn that down.
Deep in the thick woods Caroline was walking with her boyfriend, holding hands and just enjoying each others company. "I didn't think you were going to come back, Tyler. It's too dangerous for you to be here."
"I know, but I just missed you so much I just wanted to be with you." Tyler replied stopping to look at her, taking both of her hands and pulling her close. "I can't stop thinking about you, Caroline. Come with me. We can be together. Bonnie and Clyde." He explained as she stared back at him shell shocked.
"Tyler, I... I'm not sure that I can. I have to be here with everything-"
Breathing out gently the hybrid answered. "C'mon, Care. What good can you do here? I need you with me, and you know that you need me, too." He told her squeezing her hands gently looking deeply into her eyes. "There's nothing to be afraid of, come with me."
"Tyler-"
Suddenly he had her pinned against a tree, his forearm braced over her throat making her choke slightly as she watched him with true fear in her eyes. "Then again, there are things that you should be more afraid of. Like what I'll do to you if your friend Bonnie doesn't come out of hiding. Where is she?" He pressed his voice lowered to a feral growl.
"Silas."
"Where is she?!" He demanded his eyes glowing with fiery hate. "She's not at home, she's not anywhere. Bonnie is playing games with me, and I don't like it." He leaned closed hissing into the vampires ear. "Tell her I'm looking for her. Tell her to come out of the shadows. Tell her that this..." He stabbed the girl in her chest making her call out. "Is only the beginning."
Stefan was sitting outside with his girlfriend explaining the plan to her, she would have to stay out of sight from Niklaus whilst Katherine was in the house, there was no other way of getting the Petrova to get Grace to turn her emotions back on, but that didn't mean that Elena was alright with the plan. "I don't want her there, Stefan."
"I know you don't, neither do I, but this isn't about us, this is about getting Grace back." He explained and she knew he had her there, sighing the Gilbert nodding her head as her boyfriend leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "We'll wait out here until we get any word from inside, alright?" She nodded her head slowly.
Inside of the boarding house the human was looking down at his phone using a translator app to teach himself some basic Italian phrases that he would be able to use. Just behind him the blonde Original was pouring herself a drink watching as he spoke clearly into the speaker. "What time will Caroline return from the train station?" He tapped the finish button and the phone repeated his sentence to him but this time in Italian.
"Well, that's handy." Rebekah nodded her head, she was still astounded with today's technology even if she had been around a while to soak it all in. "Sort of a cheat, though, isn't it?" She scrunched her nose walking around the couch to be standing there in front of him.
Matt looked up at her as he replied. "Not everyone's had a thousand years to learn everything about everything."
Reaching down and taking his phone she analysed the screen before telling him. "Not sure how good I am at modern Italian. I was fluent in the 12th century, but languages have a way of evolving." She informed him as he quickly snatched his phone back asking if she could help him or not. A wide genuine smile pulled over her lips. "Of course I can. Don't be cranky, I was just teasing." She told him.
The human let a soft smile pull over his lips as he answered. "I'm sorry, I just don't wanna get left behind while all my friends go to college and I'm the only repeat-senior." He informed her feeling embarrassed and a little ashamed of himself.
"The only reason that you're failing is because you're preoccupied with training doomed hunters and dealing with Gilbert drama." Rebekah informed him frowning a little before adding. "You need better friends... Like me." She suggested her eyes lighting up as he looked over to her. "I could compel you good grades and a scholarship."
Matt couldn't tell if she was joking or not, but either way he didn't want that, he just wanted to achieve the grades he gets through hard work and knowing everything. "I don't wanna do that."
"Why not?" The Original creased her eye brows. "Everyone needs an advantage in life. I could be yours. When you convinced me to save April Young's life at the prom... I realised that I could be a better person, and I'm grateful for that. So, let me give you some advice: take advantage of what I'm offering you. Make something of yourself. And for the record, anyone that leaves you behind is a fool. I wouldn't." She told him sweetly before there was a soft scoffing noise behind them.
"Isn't this just disgustingly sweet." Klaus muttered looking between them both as Damon wandered into the room looking between them all. "I mean, I know you're desperate to be human, sister, but are you really that desperate to be with a human?" He quizzed shaking his head as the blonde growled back at him.
Turning to face him his younger sister retorted sourly. "Taking a break from torturing your favourite play thing, are we?" She quizzed as he glared back at her. "I was really hoping you'd be dragging yourself back to New Orleans." She added and he was about to respond but the door opened and in wandered Katherine, looking very much like Elena.
"Elena." Damon looked over at her as she warily looked over to Niklaus who didn't seem to flinch at her presence. "I thought you and Stefan were going to the Grill to get some coffee..." He creased his eye brows as the Petrova wandered further into the room crossing her arms over her chest.
"Uh, I ditched him." She replied easily shrugging her shoulders. "He said he would bring some stuff back for later on, I just need to be here with my sister right now." Damon went to argue as per their plan but the Petrova held up her hand signalling him to stop. "No, Damon. I want some alone time with Grace, so you two stay out, I've had enough of you two torturing her for one day, why don't you go get some air." With that the doppelgänger descended into the basement.
Sighing Niklaus told them. "I'll be in the Library." With that he took off from the room, the blonde hadn't brought it for a second, the way she spoke, the way she stood, the way she walked it wasn't very Elena at all, and Matt had known the Gilbert for too long to realise some minor differences.
"Are you out of your mind?" The human hissed over to Damon who stood in the way of the door.
Narrowing his icy-blue orbs the vampire hissed back. "You got a better idea, prom king? Unless you want me to lock you up in there with her, I suggest you shut up. Let the adults handle this." With that the Salvatore made his way down to cellar.
The blonde shook her head resisting going after the vampire and teaching him a lesson, she only muttered. "Well, looks like the lunatics have taken over the asylum." Matt suddenly got up following them. "Where are you going?"
"I'm calling Caroline. There's no way we're letting that psycho in there with Grace. I can't believe everyone is just letting this happen." He growled shaking his head getting his phone out.
Back in the woods the blonde was still unconscious on the phone, her phone was vibrating beside her from Matt's call but she didn't wake up until it stopped. Looking around dazed she tried to find her surroundings before remembering the stake, her hand went to her chest to feel that there was nothing there.
Gulping she rose to her feet and began to charge through the woods trying to find an exit or anything when suddenly the blond human was standing there waiting for her, she let out a startled gasp as she saw him. "Caroline! Where've you been?" He asked wide-eyed.
"Matt, we have to get out of here." She told him frantically about to take off again, but he assured her that everything was alright. "No, it's not okay. Silas is out there and he made me think it was Klaus-"
Creasing his eye brows the human asked. "What are you talking about? What's Silas want with you?" She explained how he was trying to get Bonnie and then went onto ask if he knew where their witch friend was. "If I knew where she was, I would bother with you." It all clicked in the blonde that she had been fooled again by Silas. Lunging out he caught her throat. "Now get me Bonnie or I'm gonna kill someone. Maybe I'll start with your mother."
Roughly Silas threw her aside and with that she sprinted back to the boarding house about to burst through the back door but Tyler was standing there again staring at her. "No one in the house can help you." He told her firmly. "Find Bonnie or I'll kill the person you love the most." With that he shoved her and she flew backwards down the stairs leading up to the house.
As she reached the floor, she brushed off any of her injuries and zipped around the house to her car, pulling out her cell phone ringing her mother quickly, hoping she might be able to warn her before it was too late. "I know, I promised I wouldn't work too late-" Caroline cut off her mothers working schedule to get to the real news.
"Mom, I need you to get home and lock all the doors right now." She told her firmly looking all around her as she sat in the car, confused Liz asked what was going on concerned as to why her daughter was freaking out so much. "Don't let anyone inside – not even me because I have a key so I can let myself in. Do you understand?" She demanded as her mother fearful asked what was happening. "Just do it, okay? I'm on my way."
With that the vampire hung up sticking her key in the ignition and twisting it to turn over the engine, putting her car into reversed she noticed a shadowy figure in her rear view camera, slamming her foot on the breaks she turned herself to look out the rear window to see no one. Taking a couple of breaths she didn't fail to notice the shadow pass her window, whipping around she braced her hands on the steering wheel looking at the rear view mirror to see that the area was still empty.
Just when she recovered herself there was a figure standing in her peripheral vision, turning to look she saw a mysterious looking man who was disfigured and just watching her, it was Silas in his true form, screaming she slammed her foot down on the accelerator and sped out of the driveway.
Grace was blinded for a moment by the light as the safe cranked open before seeing her sister standing there above her, grabbing her arm and pulling her out onto the cold, hard ground. "Oh, great. You again." She muttered as she pushed herself to sit upright.
"Oh no, Kitten. Try again." Katherine beamed giving her a pearly white grin, the brunette on the ground put all of the pieces together that certainly wasn't her sister at all, she growled out asking why she was there. "Your boyfriends invited me, well the Salvatore one invited me the hybrid one has no idea. They wanna know if you still have a heart."
Suddenly the older vampire shoved the weak girl against the wall and plunged her hand deep into Grace's chest making her call out as she clenched her hand around the younger girls heart. "There it is." She squeezed it gently in the girls chest as she glared at her gasping for air. "Your bodyguards won't let me kill you, but I can rip your throat out so I don't have to listen to you whine."
With that the Petrova pulled her hand out of her chest letting the emotionless vampire drop to her feet with a soft gasp as the hole in her chest began to heal slowly. "But first, satisfy my curiosity: what did you tell Elijah back in Willoughby?" Her voice dropped so that everyone upstairs wouldn't be able to hear her.
A cackle fell from the Gilbert's lips as she looked up at the Petrova who was drying the blood off of her hands with a towel that was hanging there. "That's why you're here?" She looked over at the older vampire reading her like a book. "He dumped you, didn't he? Now you're just looking for a scapegoat."
"Tell me what you said what you said to turn him against you, or I will feed you your own eyeballs." She threatened reaching forward to pluck the weaker girls eye lip.
Grace scoffed as she shrugged the other girl away. "I didn't have to say anything." She replied scornfully narrowing her eyes. "Look at you: self-obssessed, egomaniac who answers to her own sister that have been on the run for five centuries. What good would you be to anyone? You're just holding Fayth back. You're the definition of damaged extra luggage. No wonder Elijah left you."
"Yeah, I've done some pretty horrible things to survive, but unlike you..." She pinned the girl against the wall by her throat. "At least I always had my sister by my side and even more unlike you, kitten, at least I didn't turn it off. I deal with it. You wouldn't last a week as a vampire without everyone fawning over you." She growled at her before shoving her back into the dark safe locking it tight leaving her hand on the lock before smirking. "But I'd love to see you try." She twisted the lock again unlocking it and then left the cell
As she got back upstairs she saw Damon sitting on the couch and wandered over to him grabbing the bottle of bourbon next to him pouring herself a glass. "All that pain and torture, I've worked up quite a thirst."
"It didn't have anything to do with the fact that Grace called you out on your recent boy trouble, could it?" He smirked looking up at her from where he was looking down at a book with his feet resting casually on the coffee table. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear." Katherine spat out how she thought that Grace would have been better off if she'd never met him before walking towards the door. "Are you trying to get a rise out of me? 'Cause my emotions are fine. I love Grace. I despise you and your sister." With that she walked from the house slamming the door closed behind her.
It wasn't long until he were joined again this time by Stefan who was accompanied by the real Elena, she nodded at him before muttering that she was going to go check on her sister before leaving the room. Just then Klaus entered from the library carrying a bottle of Damon's best bourbon with him. "Stop stealing my booze." Damon ordered in a rough voice as he stood up the hybrid only smirked as he took another swig.
Damon was about to lunge for him, he hated that he was stealing everything from under his, his lady, his booze, his town he just wanted the Original to be out of his life but his train of thought was cut short when Elena ran upstairs flustered and told them. "She's gone." She told them as they all looked over at them. "Grace's not in her cell. Where would she go? What are we gonna do?"
"Check the grounds, we're gonna need to check the grounds." Damon told them all looking around at them all. "C'mon. We need to go now." They all began to head out as Rebekah and Matt walked back into the room. "You, barbie, stay here in case Grace comes back and if she does..." He pointed to the Original. "Snap her neck, don't hesitate." He told her before looking over at the human. "We're gonna need as many people out there as possible, let's go." He demanded.
The blonde ran up to her front door happy to see her mothers police cruiser in the driveway already, jiggling the handle she was also happy to see her mother had heeded her warning. Unlocking the door and letting herself in she listened to Bonnie's voicemail again, wondering why the witch wasn't getting back to her, she was worried for the safety of her family. "Bonnie, why aren't you answering? Silas isn't going to just give up. You're the only one that can stop him. Call me."
Her mother stepped out into the hall with a concerned look on her face as she slid her phone back into her pocket. "Caroline, what's going on?" She was taking slow steps towards her fearful looking daughter.
"Mom, don't come nay closer. Stop." She ordered holding her hands out in front of her as she asked what was wrong again. "I don't know how to tell if it's really you, What if this is another trick?" Her voice was high and panicked as she looked at her. "He can get in my head, and he would've known that I called you..."
Her mother nodded sympathetically "Okay, Caroline... It's me, it's your mother. I don't know what's happening, but everything's gonna be okay, alright? You just need to talk to me." Liz soothed her like any good mother would do, but the vampire pulled out her phone and dialled a number, a couple of seconds later the cellphone attached to Liz's belt began to ring. Answering it and holding it to her ear she greeted her daughter whilst looking at her. "Hi, how's it going?"
Breathing out a sigh of relief the vampire crossed the room and hugged her mother deeply as Liz stroked her hair softly cooing her that everything was alright.
Deep in the woods the brunette was lost between all the thick trees and heavy brush, she could feel her throat scratching roughly from the lack of blood, holding onto a tree she stumbled through to a clearing looking around when she saw a figure in the distance, narrowing her eyes she tried to focus, it was a tall body with burly form and broad shoulders.
"Please, help..." She rasped out as the body got closer to her, it was Matt her eyes lit up. "Matt. Thank God you found me." She whispered before the veins protruded around her eyes as she moved shakily towards him. He told her stop, that this wasn't her. "I'm a vampire, Matt. The thing about vampires is that we need to feed." She moved more aggressively towards him but he held his hands out backing up.
"No, but you're more than that! You're my friend! You were the one that convinced me to go after Elena. You were the one that convinced me to come out of my shell and join the football squad. Whatever wall you wanna put up, I know that all this still means something to you. You know that you care about everyone who is trying to help you." He watched as the veins vanished from around her eyes.
A soft smile pulled over her lips as she replied. "Deep down, it probably does mean something. And deep down I probably do care about everyone who is trying to help me. But I'm really hungry." She lunged forward and sunk her teeth into his necks savagely taking a chunk out and gulping down the blood.
In the Forbes' house the vampire and her mother were sitting in the living room waiting to hear back from the witch whilst they tried to ride out the wave of terror being thrown at them. "Bonnie hasn't called back yet. I just don't understand why she hasn't called." They were both startled when the handle on the front door jiggled.
Caroline went to check on who it could be and was relieved to see Bonnie standing on the other side of the window looking at her through concerned eyes. "There you are." She whispered. "I've been calling you for hours."
"I'm sorry." The witch replied shaking her head almost ashamed that she had let her friend suffer at the hand of Silas for that long. "I came as soon as I got the message." She rattled the door handle again creasing her eye brows. "Caroline, let me in. Let me help." She begged.
Sniffling the blonde answered. "How do I know it's you?" She demanded logically, if Silas could appear as anyone why couldn't he appear as Bonnie. "Silas keeps getting in my head, attacking me. He says he wants to know where you are, he threatened my mother." She informed her as Bonnie shook her head. Liz entered the hall way behind the vampire. "Mom, just stay there." She ordered.
Bonnie's eyes adjusted to the real figure behind Caroline and saw it was the real Silas. She began to try and open the door more urgently. "Caroline, that is not your mother!" She tried to tell her but the door flung open before she could explain further and when the blonde looked back at her mother she saw the real person underneath.
"Did you really think you could hide from me, Bonnie?" He shuffled along the floor towards her.
"I'm here now." The witch replied sucking in a breath before adding. "What did you do to her mother?" She commanded as Silas replied that she was where Caroline had left her, she was in the living room the vampire sprinted from the hallway to go and find her.
"Mom?" When she got there she saw that her mother was laying on the ground. "Mom!" She shrieked hurdling over to her.
Silas watched the witch carefully as he told her that they were on the same side and simply the witch answered. "The full moon isn't for two more days. I've been gathering my strength, preparing myself." She lied smoothly looking over at the dangerous man.
"You're the only one who can do the spell, so I can't hurt you, but I can hurt the people you love." Silas reminded her firmly in his deep gravel like voice. "You do understand that, right?"
"I understand." The Bennett girl replied nodding her head as she added. "I will do your spell, I will drop the veil, and I will help you die, I promise." Silas watched her. "Just don't hurt my friends anymore."
Just in the other room the vampire was frantically feeling for a pulse on her mother's neck which was bruised and bloody. Biting into her own wrist she tried to feed her healing blood to Liz but she didn't seem to be taking it. "Oh, God. Please, please, please... Mom." Her voice broke.
"Your promise is binding, Bonnie." Silas growled at her as she just stared at him, she wanted him to die as much as he wanted to die. "If you break it, you have to answer to me." She knew that would mean the death and destruction of the town and all of her friends, so she knew that she needed to do this. The witch told him that she wouldn't break the promise. "Then you should leave this house right now. And the next time I come looking for you, I expect you to be waiting." With that Silas lead her from the house.
Caroline watched as her mother still refused to take her blood, she wasn't expecting it. "Come on. Come on, open your eyes, Mom. You need my blood in you system, c'mon, Mom! Please Mom, wake up! Mommy! Mom!" She screamed fearfully.
The emotionless brunette glanced down at the burly human who was laying on his back on the dirty ground. She used the back of her hand to wipe away the thick smear of blood over her mouth. Kicking him on the arm gently she tried to wake him from his dazed state. "C'mon! Get up, I barely drained an artery." She informed him greedily. "It could have been a lot worst, trust me." He stirred a little, looking around dazed. "C'mon. Get up, I'm hungry. My head's fuzzy, I can't think straight. I need more." She whined.
"Grace, stop." His voice was gruff and weak as he stared up at her starry eyed.
"But you're so good! I can see why Elena picked you to feed from, very delicious." She gave him a toothy grin looking down at him, her hair framing her face in a chocolate-brown halo array. The smaller Gilbert was surprised when she heard a whoosh of air, looking up her eyes caught a fantastic wisp of rich-brown hair under the brilliant moonlight.
Taking a step back she was surprised when both of her arms were caught in an iron hold, looking up she saw the judgemental eyes of Damon and as she looked forward again she saw Stefan helping the human off of the ground attempting to move him from arms way deeper into the forest whilst Elena stood there with her arms crossed over her chest. "Katherine or Elena?" She asked as her sister replied that it was her. "Great. Even better."
"Be quiet." Damon shook her as they heard more footsteps approaching them, it was Klaus this time, he looked very tired and fed up under the shinning moon. "Well, she's had a feed, let's get her back to the safe-"
"Enough." Klaus told him firmly as the Salvatore creased his eye brows looking over to Elena who shrugged her shoulders gently, if anyone was going to scare her back into emotion it was going to be the hybrid. "Grace Gilbert, you are acting like a little spoilt brat, you know what? You think I can't punish you. Maybe not. But I can punish her." His eyes darted over to her sister who stood there surprised.
"Klaus-"
"Seriously?" Grace scoffed as she moved to a more casual stance in the strong hold of her Salvatore. "You think this-"
"Shut up!" The Original ordered her moving closer to her and with that her mouth closed as she blinked a couple of times. "I'm giving you to the count of three to turn your emotions on, Grace, or so help me I will rip you sisters heart out in front of you." His eyes were glowing with a fiery rage. "1..." She wasn't phased, but Elena was begging her with her eyes. "2..." Something sparked within her. "3!" With that he flew over to the doppelgänger and stuck his arm into her chest.
The taller Gilbert looked down at the hybrids hand that was linger in her chest searching around for the vital organ. She coughed as a little bloody crawled up her throat and trickled down her chin. Grace's chest was rising and falling quicker as she watched the hybrid work on her sister. "Tell me, love. How do you feel? You feel anything now? Are you going to miss your sister when she's gone? Then you really will have no family left." He reminded her as she bit her bottom lip. "Ah, there is it." His hand clenched around her heart.
"Grace... Please..." Elena whispered desperately as she looked over at her sister with glassy orbs, the smaller girl watched trying to push away the emotions crawling their way back into her system. "Please. Please!" She screamed leaning her head back in pain and calling out as it echoed around the clearing.
"No." A soft whisper fell from the girls lips, Damon looked down surprised, he was sure he was going to have to step in sooner or later, but it was working. "No. No! Let her go!" She screamed breaking free of the Salvatore's not loose hold and launching herself over to the hybrid shoving him away from her sister, dazed he moved away his hands dropping to his side as Grace bundled her sister up in her eyes. "Oh, my God. Elena." Tears were dropping down her face.
"You feel that weight lifting off your chest?" Damon's voice was behind her as she locked her fingers into her sister hair just holding her so close for that moment. "That joy, because you're friend isn't dead. That's emotion, Grace. That's humanity. That's your humanity, sweetheart." She dropped to the ground sobbing. "You're gonna be okay." He rubbed her back as she shook her head, Elena was shell shocked taking a couple of steps away. "Look at you, Gracie." She was whispering to herself how it wasn't okay. "Grace."
Suddenly in a single swift movement she was standing up off the floor shaking violently, as if she was cold but in truth she was burning hot with fiery emotions and non-stop thoughts of regret and guilt, if she didn't get them under control she was bound to relapse. ""What have I done?" Her voice was gruff and low as she paced knotting her fingers in her own thick hair. "No, no. What did I do? I... I almost got Elena killed... It was my fault! I'm such an idiot." She hissed as Elena stepped forward to try and fix things. "I almost... And Bonnie, and... Oh, God I just... The waitress, I actually... I killed... Oh!"
It was a burning pain rushing through her body as she turned and punched a tree as hair as she could sending splinters of wood everywhere, blood trickling down her hand, winding around her fingers and dripping off the end of her finger nails. "Hey, hey, look at me." Damon turned her to be facing him, she brought her hand up to her face to dry away her tears, but blood was accidentally smeared over her face. "I know what you're going through, okay? Your emotions are overwhelming you. You just have to focus on one thing, okay?"
"No, I can't, I can't-" Her voice was drifting off into nothingness as she gazed deeply into his smouldering blue orbs.
"You just find that one thing inside of you that makes you strong." He stroked his hand over her soft cheek as she let out loud puffs of air as she watched him speak, she was trying to focus on his soothing voice over the screaming ones in her head. "It's in there, just latch onto it. Channel everything you're feeling into that one emotion. Find the thing inside of you that makes you wanna live. Grace, let it in. Let it in." He whispered close to her face as she seemed to stop sobbing for that minute and silently focused.
"What's happening?" Elena whispered looking at her sister as Stefan joined them once again in the clearing, he stood next to his girlfriend holding her as he whispered that Damon was helping her through the emotions just like he had done for her.
"That's good." The older Salvatore's eyes were glowing with hope as she just watched him. "That's it. That's it, just breathe it in." She actually took a breath in, filling her lungs with the cold air from around her. "Blow everything else out." A puff of air was pushed from her lungs. "That's good, Gracie. That's good." He whispered when suddenly she started to yell in pain, he hugged her deeply kissing the top of her head. "You're okay. You're okay. I'm here." He told her calmly.
Pushing gently away from him she muttered. "No. I'm not okay." Her eyes were puffy and her voice was whiskey rough. "But I'll get better." With that she turned around and went for a walk on her own, they knew that they had to give her some time to adjust to everything. Klaus wasn't watching her though he was watching the older Salvatore with a look of hate in his eyes, he had to leave town, now.
Back at Caroline's house the vampire had restored to her last option, grabbing her mothers first aid kit she pulled out a empty syringe whispering words of encouragement to herself as she shakily held the needle. "Okay, this'll work." The blonde stabbed the needle into her own neck, pulling the plunger back so the barrel fill with her blood.
Pulling it back out she stabbed it straight into her mothers chest injecting her blood start into the older woman's system. "Mom? Mom? Open your eyes." She pleaded her voice breaking. "C'mon, wake up! You have to wake up! You have to see me graduate." She fearfully checked her pulse again. "I sweat we could just – I sweat I'll get you out of this town, and find you a nice man, and..." She sobbed loudly not even noticing for a moment her mother opening her eyes coughing loudly. "Mom! Are you okay?"
Pulling her mother up into a sitting position there were no words that needed to be said, they just need to be there in that moment and hold each other and be thankful for their lives.
Just upstairs in the boarding house Elena was sat on her bed whilst her boyfriend lovingly looked her over, checking that she was okay since she had a hybrids hand shoved into her chest cavity. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there..." He kissed her forehead. "I wanted to make sure Matt got back to that house okay."
"No, I get it. I would have done the same thing." She replied to him as she leaned forward and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips. "We should be celebrating. Klaus is gone and Grace is back, with us." Her eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas. "She's back, Stefan, and we can start recovering and rebuilding. It's not gonna be easy-"
"But then it wouldn't be any fun and it wouldn't mean anything, would it." Stefan gave her an easy smile as he sat next to her on the bed, placing his arm around her shoulder as she leaned into him lovingly, he pecked her temple. "You two will work it out, we've just got to give those two some time to work out what's going on between them then you and Grace can get to work." He assured her rubbing her arm tenderly.
When Matt finally woke up he saw that there was an angel like creature standing over him, when his eyes finally adjusted he saw that it was the blonde Original sitting there waiting for him to awaken. "You're back in the land of the living..." She paused scrunching her nose. "And the dead, I guess." She laughed gently.
"What happened?"
"From what Stefan told me Grace drained enough for you to become unconscious." Then everything came rushing back to the human as he sat up straight holding his head to feel a pulling on his neck, reaching down he felt the soft padding of a band-aid. "On the plus side I saw Grace come back into the house, she's back. The real Grace, anyhow." She explained. "Don't worry, she'll be back to her dull, sympathetic self in no time. Here." She passed him a glass of water.
"I had to do it for Elena. She had to get her sister back." The human explained as he sipped the water tiredly.
"There aren't enough apologies in the world for the past that I played in this. Running you off the bridge, Elena becoming a vampire to save you." She sighed heavily running her fingers through her blonde locks. "If you don't want me to cheat you into college, fine. We'll do it the hard way, but – Matt, I will spend everyday until graduation trying to find a way to pay you back." She promised him surely.
At the diner on the outskirt of the town Katherine walked in to see her sister was already sitting with the witch. "I am perfectly aware that the tombstone isn't just a hunk of rock." They had obviously already started without her, sliding in beside her sister she listened as Fayth continued. "And it got me thinking, all big spells require a source of power, a recurring element, like... A full moon, a comet. But that tombstone is filled with the blood of your ancient relative Ket-soo-yay... or whatever." She blanked on the pronunciation of the name.
"Qetsiyah." Bonnie corrected her narrowing her eyes as she watched the two.
"She was powerful enough to create the Other Side, so maybe if you have her blood, you don't need a full moon to drop the veil. Maybe you can do it whenever you want." The witch gulped as the doppelgänger continued. "The thing I can't figure out is, why do you wanna drop the veil at all?" Bonnie replied vaguely that she had her reason. "So, this time I ask: What's in it for us?"
"You'll get the one thing you want most in this world: freedom. Survival. Never having to run from anyone again. Once I drop the veil, I can speak to Qetsiyah. She created the spell that made Silas truly immortal, invulnerable to any weapon. You'd like that for yourselves, wouldn't you I can give it to you."
A smirk pulled over the Petrova's lips as she shared a look with her taller sister. "Bonnie Bennett, we have a deal."
In Damon's bathroom in the Salvatore boarding house, Grace was sat silent in the large tub, the water around her was bloody and dirty as her boyfriend worked on washing her thick hair, using a flannel to wash away the excess blood off of her face. "There, you're looking so much more like yourself now." He smiled at her. "You're quiet, sweetie. How are you feeling?"
"The pain's still there..." Grace replied nodding her head as he rested his chin on the side of the tub. "The grief and the shame. What I did to you. To Stefan. To Elena. To everyone. I messed with everyone and I didn't care." She told him as he nodded his head. "I get it now. Shutting it off – it's a cheat. I mean, you put up this wall and shut out everything that makes you who you are. Nothing affects you, nothing matters. But you still have to deal with it, sooner or later." A tear rolled down her cheek and dripped off her chin into the cooling. "But things do matter, things that happen that can't be undone. And I know there's something I need to do about that." She sniffled stiffening her lower lip.
Damon sighed as he brushed his hands through her damp hair looking deeply into her eyes as he told her. "Let's get you out of here before you become a prune." She stood up and he wrapped a fluffy warm towel around her. "There we go. I think you just need to get some rest for now. Everything will still be here in the morning for you to deal with and I'll be there with you every step of the way." He promised in a whisper leaning forward to press a soft kiss to her forehead.
"I've had enough resting and coddling." She hissed before closing her eyes and turning back to him. "Sorry. I'm sorry. That... That was rude. You're only trying to help. But there is still so much to do. I have to prepare." She told him as he creased his eye brows asking what she was talking about. "Think about it. It's so obvious. Go back far enough, there's one person who brought us to this, who ruined our lives. Look at you. Look at me, they did this. Fayth is the reason I'm a vampire. She brought Klaus to Mystic Falls, she burned down my house, she turned Caroline into a vampire – she killed Jeremy. It all comes down to them. Her. Shit. Fayth and Katherine. Okay? You told me to focus on one thing, so I did. I focused on hate. And I hate them both so much."
"Sweetheart, that's... That isn't what I meant, I was thinking maybe you would focus your emotions on more love or passion..." He clenched his hands turning around before turning back to her and telling her. "They aren't worth your time. We are. Just don't do whatever you're planning."
"I'm planning to kill them."
A/N
Here's another update, I hope you all enjoy I really like writing these kinds of chapters were everything comes to a head, there are still things that need to done, Grace and Elena need to make up, Grace needs to speak with Klaus after all he took off without some much as a word and that will be dealt with, don't worry I didn't forget.
Tell me what you thought of the chapter, the season is coming to an end so tell me what you wanna see before it does, I mean I know I've had some requests for Kol and Grace scene, they like their chemistry, so that will be done either next chapter or the one after. If there's anything else you wanna see let me know and I think we all know how this love triangle is gonna end, I think you should do what I do and look at who Grace is happier with.
Pleas review, I love hearing from you all to know how you feel about the chapter and everything. So thank you in advance for that. Plus all the messages you're leaving Grace on the tumblr page are great, she hope you like the answers you get, and she thanks you for them all.
If you want to ask Grace Gilbert any question you have on your mind, then ask her anything at ask-grace-gilbert . tumblr / ask (take out the spaces).
If you want to follow me for updates and sneak previews then proud-salvatore . tumblr . com (take out the spaces)
If you wanna see the outfits for Grace then check out my polyvore page graciiieee
Answers and responses below
i3elijah: Don't worry, even though Grace is gonna have her emotion turned back on she isn't gonna be the push over she was before, she's gonna stick up for herself more and be a lot more assertive.
Nicole: I hear what you're saying about the Koace thing and I'm working on it, don't worry. They had their little moment before he was killed by the Gilbert's, I think they deserve another moment after. I'm not absolutely sure what they are gonna discuss yet, I've got a couple of things in mind, but if you wanna suggest something, go ahead. The other ship-names you suggest are on their way on the polyvore.
Ghostwriter: I'm really glad that you're liking the story so far, hope you enjoy this one too.
Chloe: Glad to know that you agree on skipping the chapter, thank you.
ddluzelle: I hope that this chapter went the way you were expecting it to go. I figured it would be some kind of poetic justice, Elena was the reason she turned off her emotions, she can now be the reason for sliding the switch back up.
David Fishwick: I'm really glad that you liked all of those things about the last chapter, that is really sweet of you thanks. Grace went after Bonnie because by taking Silas's witch away there would be no one around to preform the spell to send him to the other side. Grace let her emotions slip through that last chapter, she turned them on this chapter, that was just to prove how much she needed her sister after everything.
SomebodyWhoCares: Hopefully that frown can be turned upside down in the chapter because she is back!
Guest: I'm sorry you feel that way about the chapter, but I don't and if you want to take yourself off anon and actually talk about it then go ahead, until then thanks for reading and reviewing.
grapejuice101: Glad you like it, hope you enjoy this one too.
PattyFleur87: Thank you so much, honey. I'm really glad that you liked the chapters. Hope you like this one, too. Glad to hear that you're rooting for Drace, you seem to be the only one who is at the moment.
xxxRena: We got our Gracie back! Yay! I was so happy to write her with some emotion again, it was a nice change. I guess we'll have to see how the season ends, but you're leaning in the right direction.
winxgirl1997: Here's an update.
Graciiee