Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries and never will, but I do own Charlene Davis and Megan Swann and any other characters I come up with.
Author's Note: Hope you love the updated version! :D
Megan entered the changing room, talking excitedly with Elena, but the talking stopped at the sight Amber, who was pacing back and forth. She looked like she was about to throw up, or faint right on the spot.
"Hey, are you okay? You don't look so good." Megan asked her, giving her a concerned look.
Amber gave them both a nervous smile as she stopped her pacing. "I hate being the center of attention. I get panic attacks."
Megan wanted to ask why she signed up if that's how she felt, but maybe Amber thought she wouldn't get picked so there was no need to worry about it. So, she just nodded, while Elena spoke up.
"Do you need some privacy so you can change?" she inquired.
Amber shook her head in a quick motion. "Actually, I'm just – going to get some air." She took off out of there and Elena shook her head.
"Why did she sign up if she doesn't like the attention?" she voiced out loud what Megan had been thinking.
The black-haired teen shrugged. "Beats me, my thought was she didn't think she would get picked, so that's why she didn't think about what would happen if she did." She responded as she headed over to look at herself in the mirror and in the reflection, she saw Damon and Charlene and she had a bad feeling come over her making her frown.
"Hey, you can't be back here." Elena said, but this was directed to Damon.
He ignored her as he looked at Megan. "We need to talk."
Megan's stomach twisted at that. She hated those words. Nothing good came out of those words.
"Okay, what is it? Do I need to sit down?" Megan questioned.
"It wouldn't hurt." Charlene told her.
"Okay." Megan quickly sat down. "What is it?"
"So, normally, I would have a completely different outlook of what I'm about to tell you but since it could really inconvenience me, I'll squeal."
Megan rolled her eyes. "Just tell me, Damon." Whatever she thought he would say, it wasn't what came out of his mouth.
"Stefan's still drinking human blood."
Her stomach dropped and her mouth went dry. "I…what?"
"You're kidding." Elena stared; her eyes wide.
"Yeah, a month ago I would have rejoiced but with the council back on the alert, it is not a good time for Stefan to fly off the handle."
"I…I just can't believe this…" Megan shook her head, looking down at her feet. "I thought he was doing okay…he told me he was…I'm such an idiot. I should have known he wasn't…"
Charlene stepped over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're not an idiot, Megan. You had no reason to think that he wasn't."
That didn't make her feel any better.
"He has a fridge full of stolen blood bank contraband in the house."
This made Megan look up, startled.
"Oh my god." Elena breathed.
"He has no idea what normal is, his entire life isn't normal. Normal for a vampire is drinking human blood but he spent his entire life fighting it when he should have been learning how to control it and now it's controlling him."
Elena shook her head in disbelief. "I just can't believe this. I mean, it's Stefan we're talking about."
"Stefan, on human blood, Elena; he'll do anything, he'll say anything because he's not going to want to stop." Damon met Megan's gaze and it was surprisingly soft. "Trust me."
Megan sighed sadly.
In that moment, Stefan decided to make an appearance and all eyes turned to him. "What's going on in here?"
"I was just informing the girls on your extra-curricular activities." Damon said sarcastically.
"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked, laughing.
"I know about the blood, Stefan." Megan was the one to answer in a quiet voice. "I know you've still been drinking human blood."
Stefan's laughter died, and she saw him tense up.
"I'm um – I'll be downstairs, drinking." Damon said.
"Er, yeah, me too." Charlene quickly agreed and followed Damon out of the door.
"And I'm gonna…I'm gonna get dressed." Elena added awkwardly before going into the bathroom to change in there, leaving Megan and Stefan alone together.
Stefan smiled at her, but it was a tense one. "I was going to tell you."
"Yeah, and when was that going to be, Stefan?" Megan snapped, standing up and crossing her arms. She was angry at him, not only for what he did, but that he lied to her about it.
Stefan ignored the attitude in her voice. "I'm fine." He said, and Megan's nails dug into the skin of her arms, to keep herself from yelling at him. "I'm fine, the blood, it doesn't change anything."
"Yes, it does, Stefan." Megan told him tightly. "It's changing you into this person that I don't recognize."
"Why? Because I kept it a second from you? Come on, Megan, look, giving the way you're acting right now, can you really blame me for doing that?"
"I can't believe you're saying this to me right now!" Megan exclaimed, glaring at him. "I've told you time and time again that you can tell me anything and I wouldn't judge you for it! I'm upset about the fact that you've been lying to me and that you're stealing from blood banks and telling me that everything's okay when it's clearly not!"
Stefan glared right back at her. "So, what – you and Damon all of a sudden have everything figured out then?"
"Damon has nothing to do with this. I would have found out about you whether he told me or not. So, don't bring him into this. This is about you, Stefan. You and what's happening to you."
"I know, and I'm telling you that I'm fine." Stefan assured, still lying, though Megan was sure, he honestly believed that he was just fine. He stepped closer to her and she let him grab her hands. "I'm fine."
Megan shook her head. "I'm…I'm sorry but I don't believe you." She tugged her hands out of his grip and Stefan gave her a hurt look.
"Please, come on. Megan, I thought…I thought you believed in me."
"Stefan…I…" She trailed off when there was a knock at the door as Elena came out of the bathroom, dressed in her beautiful blue dress.
It was Carole Lockwood knocking on the door as she said, "Megan, let's go. The line-up's starting."
"I'll be out in a minute."
Instead of leaving at that, she came into the room and looked Megan over. "You're not even dressed yet." She accused before turning to look at Stefan. "Escorts wait downstairs, Stefan."
He said nothing as he looked over at Megan once before leaving the room.
The Miss Mystic Falls pageant was well underway as Megan stood on the giant staircase with Elena and Caroline. She looked down to see if she could see Stefan amongst the escorts, but he was still nowhere in sight. Megan bit her bottom lip worriedly. This wasn't good at all.
"Miss Tina Fell, escorted by Bartholomew Whitmore." Major Lockwood announced as the blonde went down the stairs.
"How anyone seen Amber?" Carole asked, sounding annoyed.
"Last I saw her she went to get some air." Elena answered.
"Well, she better be here soon." Carole huffed irritably as she stomped away.
Megan sighed, looking over at her friends. "Do you see Stefan down there anywhere? I can't see him."
Caroline peered up the balcony. "Nope, just my boring fill in escort."
"What happened to Matt?" Elena asked, confused.
The blonde rolled her eyes. "They wouldn't let him out of work. Wait…" She paused for a moment. "What happened to Stefan?"
"I don't know." Megan sighed heavily. "We got into this huge fight earlier and now I don't know where he is. I really shouldn't be here, not without Stefan. I'm going to go find him."
Before Elena or Caroline could stop her, Megan hurried out of there, ignoring Carole Lockwood calling out her name.
In that same moment, Charlene was heading towards the bathroom to freshen up before the big reveal, but she stopped in her tracks when she spotted something.
It was Stefan, and he was dragging Amber Bradley outside by the arm.
Charlene stiffened at the sight as a bad feeling came over her. She had to follow them before something bad happened. Neither of them noticed her behind them at least until she made herself known as they made it to the parking lot.
"Stefan. Let her go."
He whirled around immediately, still gripping Amber's arm. His eyes looked wild and out of control.
"Get out of here, Charlene." He said through gritted teeth.
"Not until you let her go. I don't want you to do something you'll regret." Charlene told him calmly, holding her hands out to try and show she wasn't his enemy.
"She's right, I need to get back. I'm in the ceremony." Amber said, breaking Stefan's attention from Charlene, back to her. Which was something she didn't want.
"Not now you're not." Stefan growled, shoving her against his car.
Charlene stepped forward. "Wait, don't."
He ignored her as he stared into Amber's eyes to compel her. "You're standing in the parking lot with me."
"I'm in the parking lot with lot with you."
Suddenly, he pulled back from her, shaking his head. "I'm sorry." He breathed. "I'm sorry. I'm not very good to be around right now, I'm a little bit on edge." He started pacing as Charlene watched him worriedly with sadness in her eyes. "I've been drinking the human stuff and it's really screwing with my head. She knows now. God!" Stefan brought his hands to his hair and gripped the strands tightly. "She wasn't supposed to find out, I didn't want her to find out, now everything's ruined."
"You're wrong, Stefan." Charlene spoke. "Everything isn't ruined. She needed to know; you know she did."
"Just like she needs to know about the kiss!" He bit out, making her flinch. "Exactly!" Charlene said nothing as he turned back towards Amber.
"You seem sad…" She commented softly.
Stefan laughed darkly. "I'm not sad. I'm freaking hungry!"
A little bit later, he still hadn't done anything to hurt Amber, but Charlene was still on edge because he still could. At the moment, he was pacing back and forth, fingers tangled tightly in his hair.
"I don't hurt people." Stefan mumbled. "I don't do that. I'm the good brother."
"You don't have to hurt her, Stefan." Charlene pleaded with him, stepping forward slightly. "Just walk away."
He laughed darkly at that. "You make it sound easy. It's not easy."
"But it can be. You can't let the blood control you. That's exactly what you're doing Stefan. You're letting it control you and making it turn yourself into this person that you're not."
Stefan turned around to face her. "But I am this person! I'm a vampire! I want to hurt her."
"You want to hurt me?" Amber asked, making Stefan's eyes go dark as Charlene shivered at the sight and he turned his attention back to her.
'Thanks Amber.' Charlene thought sarcastically.
"I want to kill you." Stefan corrected as he moved closer to the blonde. "I want to rip into your skin, and I want to feed on your blood." He was in front of her now and he touched her hair, brushing it away from her neck to look at her skin where the blood was pumping. "Under your skin, pulsating, floating…"
His description made Charlene's mouth water, which it shouldn't have. No. No. No. No. Not again.
She stepped back and wanted to run before she let herself give in, but she couldn't. She needed to stay.
Stefan touched her pulse point. "Your carotid artery right here…" he whispered. "If you puncture this just right you can control the blood flow. It takes practice but it doesn't have to make a mess, you don't have to waste any."
Charlene's hands clenched at her sides as she licked her teeth, feeling the fangs forming.
"What's stopping you?" Amber questioned, tilting her head to the side.
"If I do this…" Stefan said slowly as his hands cupped her face. "If I give in, there's no going back."
"Then don't."
"I just want one taste; that's all I need; I just want a taste." Stefan muttered as his face changed.
"One taste." Amber agreed.
Before Charlene could even stop him, he bit into Amber's neck.
"No!" she exclaimed as she moved quickly to try and get Stefan off her. She went to grab him, but he was quicker than her, slamming her against his car. "Stop! This isn't you!"
"Yes it is! Just like it's you!" Stefan snarled, gripping her shoulders. "You can't tell me you don't want to taste her blood!"
Her eyes glanced over at Amber. One of her hands were covering the bite mark and her hand was getting soaked with all the blood. She looked back over at Stefan, who was actually smirking at her.
Charlene shook her head. "No, I don't."
"You're lying! All you have to do is taste, just one, just one taste, and you'll feel so much better…" He whispered in her ear as he grabbed her by the arm and guided her over to where Amber was. "Just one taste."
Charlene's eyes darkened as Amber pulled her hand away from her neck and her blood dripped down from it. Her mind went blank, and her face changed.
Without a second to waste, she bit the other side of Amber's neck, moaning at the taste.
Megan looked around forever for Stefan and still couldn't find him anywhere. In the end, she was back on stage with the rest of the Miss Mystic Falls girls, waiting for the winner to be announced. She hated being up here while Stefan was out there, doing god knows what.
"Were you able to find him?" Elena whispered to her, and she shook her head.
"No, I couldn't find him anywhere." Megan whispered back.
Elena frowned.
"Where's Amber?" Caroline suddenly asked, making the two of them look at her as Major Lockwood arrived on the stage.
"I don't know." Elena answered.
Major Lockwood smiled at the crowd, "Before I crown the winner, I'd like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community." Everyone applauded. "So, without further a due it is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls, Miss Caroline Forbes!"
Caroline gasped and Megan grinned at her as Elena laughed.
"Congratulations!" she cheered, grabbing one of her hands.
"Caroline, you won!" Megan gushed as she took her other hand in her grip.
"I actually won!" Caroline exclaimed excitedly when it finally hit her.
"I knew you would!" If there was anyone who decided to win, it was Caroline.
Megan embraced her friend along with Elena, making it a group hug.
Major Lockwood put the banner around Caroline's shoulders once the hug between them broke. Megan watched on proudly, grinning, forgetting all about the stuff with Stefan, which she probably shouldn't have.
Even after the pageant was over, there was a celebration afterwards and Megan was having a good time with Elena, but that good time faded when Damon came up to them.
"What's wrong?" Megan asked, concerned. "Have you found him?"
"There were signs of a struggle in the upstairs bathroom." Damon answered, which was something she didn't want to hear. "There was blood and that Amber girl is missing."
"Oh my god." Elena breathed.
Megan knew what he was hinting at and she shook her head. "No, no there's no way. He wouldn't hurt her, Damon. I know he wouldn't."
Damon touched her shoulders. "Let's just find him, okay?" She took a deep breath and nodded. "Come on, let's get your coat."
Before they left, Elena spoke up. "Wait, what about Charlene?"
Damon looked at her, confused. "What do you mean? What about Charlene?"
"We haven't seen her since the pageant started."
His face darkened at that. "Let's go." He took off before they could say anything.
Megan and Elena glanced at each other, then chased after him. They made it outside just as an ear-piercing scream filled the night air.
Despite it being dark outside, Megan could see Stefan and her eyes widened. "Stefan, stop!" she screamed, and he released Amber.
Charlene was there too, her face caked with blood.
"Charlie…" Elena breathed in horror.
"I'm sorry, so, so sorry." Charlene sobbed.
"It's okay." Damon actually tried to soothe her, and the blonde seemed to relax at the sound of his voice. Then he moved towards Stefan, holding his hands up. "Stefan, come on, get control. It's okay, come on. Breathe through it, man."
This wasn't the right thing to say as Stefan grabbed Damon and threw him up against a nearby tree.
"Damon!" Charlene cried out, running over to him. He got up to his feet, making her go into his arms where he pulled her towards him.
"Stefan, just stop!" Megan was so tempted to use her powers to stop, but she still didn't want to hurt him.
Luckily, she didn't have to.
Stefan started screaming, and Megan turned her head around. It was Bonnie. Her boyfriend gripped his head as he continued to scream.
It wasn't long until Bonnie stopped, and Stefan realized what he had done if his eyes widening in horror was any hint.
He looked around at everyone frightened.
"Stefan, it's okay." Damon tried to tell him while still holding onto Charlene.
It was no use as Stefan took off running. Megan almost ran after him, but Elena grabbed onto her arm, stopping her.
Her eyes welled with tears. Stefan…
The police came as Megan stood next to Elena while Bonnie was standing behind them. Damon had taken Charlene away before the police arrived, but now he was back, talking with Sheriff Forbes.
"She doesn't remember what happened." Liz said to Damon.
He nodded. "It's a good thing the girls got here when they did." He told her. "She lost a lot of blood."
"You didn't see anything?" Liz asked, looking over at them.
Megan shook her head. "No."
"No." Elena said, and Megan glanced back at Bonnie, a bit worried that her sister would say something.
But Bonnie didn't as she shook her head. Megan breathed a sigh of relief before looking back at Liz.
"We really didn't see anything, Sheriff Forbes." She assured Caroline's mother. "We found her and immediately called Damon."
"Is she going to be okay?" Bonnie asked quietly.
Liz looked back at Amber, who was wrapped up in a blanket. "It looks like it, yeah." She managed a small smile. "Why don't you girls get back to the party? Damon and I can take it from here."
Megan nodded, grabbing Elena's hand as they walked out of there along with Bonnie.
While Elena headed back to the party, Megan followed Bonnie as her sister headed to her car.
"Bonnie, wait up." She called. "We need to talk about this." She managed to fall into step with her sister.
"There's nothing to talk about." Bonnie said blankly.
"Come on, Bonnie, please! I know what I said about Grams was out of line…I was pissed…but…please you have to talk to me." Megan stopped walking, grabbing Bonnie's arm to stop her too.
Immediately, her sister pulled her arm away. "I told you I wasn't gonna make you choose, but I need to make the choice for myself." Bonnie told her stiffly. "Please just leave me alone."
"Bonnie…come on…" Megan whispered. "I may be in love with Stefan, but there wouldn't be a choice. I'd choose you every single time." She knew her sister heard her as Bonnie got into her car, ignoring her.
Why was everything going so wrong?
Megan waited for Alaric outside of the Lockwood mansion. She had called him to take her back home. It wasn't too long until Alaric came up to her. He could tell something was wrong by the look on her face.
"What happened?"
She said nothing, but her face said it all as tears welled up in her eyes and she sobbed. The next thing that was unexpected… Alaric pulled her into a hug.
Megan took the comfort as she buried her face in his chest, sobbing still.
-0-
Damon headed up the driveway of the boarding house only to find Anna, waiting for him. "Right now," he said in disbelief. "This is getting weird."
"We wanted to talk," Anna told him as Pearl appeared, coming from inside of the house.
"Not in the mood, today's been a no good, very bad day," Damon said dryly.
Pearl walked over to Damon and stopped in front of him. "Annabelle tells me you're looking for something I took from Jonathan Gilbert."
At least she finally said something he was interested in. "I'm listening…"
Pearl handed Damon something. He looked down at his hand only to see a small bag. Damon opened it and pulled out a small round device.
"What is it?" he asked curiously, looking at Pearl.
She started to explain, "Jonathan was very passionate about his work. He confided in me that he had created a detection device meant to track down the town vampire's element."
"It was a pocket watch?"
Pearl nodded. "That's what it turned out to be yes. But that's not what I stole." At Damon's confused look, she continued, "I discovered my mistake when I saw the watch in Jonathan's hand, the night they took us, it's stile pointed at me."
Anna glanced at her mom sadly, remembering that day very clearly.
"So, what is this?" Damon questioned, holding the device up.
"I have no idea." Pearl told him. "But it's yours now."
Damon's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What's the catch?"
"No catch." Pearl reassured. "My daughter wants to stay here. I want to stay here. You refused to trust us and for good reason." She smiled at him gently. "Consider this an apology."
Damon looked at them for a couple minutes before nodding his head once. He headed into the boarding house, leaving the two outside alone as they shared glances.
He went into the kitchen first to get a drink out of the fridge. After tonight, one, or a couple, was needed. Then he headed to the living room where he saw Charlene sitting down on the couch, hands covering her face.
"Char, what are you doing here?" Damon asked her.
She didn't take her hands off her face as she answered. If he hadn't had vampire hearing, he would have not been able to hear her.
"Megan went to talk to Stefan, and I wanted to be there for her."
He said nothing as he sat down next to her, handing his bourbon over to her. "Here."
Charlene took her hands off her face, revealing that she had been crying. He could see the tear stains on her cheeks.
"Thanks." She sniffed as she took the drink from him before gulping it down in one drink.
"Better?"
Charlene shook her head slowly. "No…not really…" she whispered. "I feel so horrible…I shouldn't have given in again. I thought I was getting better but then…Stefan…" Her eyes welled up with tears.
"I know." Damon said softly. Even though he didn't deal with emotions well, with Charlene, it was surprisingly easier.
He put an arm around her shoulders, and Charlene rested her head on his. There was silence between them until the blonde broke it.
"Thank you."
Damon looked at her, confused. "What for?"
"For being there…" she answered softly, lifting her head to meet his gaze. "And for being so understanding…"
He said nothing for a moment before a smirk appeared on his lips. "Anything for my favorite vampire." He teased, the emotions getting too much now.
Charlene rolled her eyes, but she was smiling as she rested her head back against his while they sat together in silence.
Megan waited for a little bit before entering Stefan's bedroom. Her boyfriend was there, pacing back and forth. It was probably a bad idea to see him after what happened, but she needed to see him. She couldn't let him be alone.
It took a moment for Stefan to notice her standing there as he turned to face her. "You shouldn't be here." He said through gritted teeth.
"I know." Megan shrugged. "But I don't care. You shouldn't be alone right now."
Stefan's jaw clenched. "Well, now you know." He said, changing the subject. He turned away from her.
"That wasn't you, Stefan." Megan tried telling him. "You'd never hurt someone on purpose."
He laughed bitterly. "Oh, it was absolutely me. A monster, a predator, that's who I am, Megan."
"No…" Megan shook her head. "That's not who you are. The blood is making you this way. It's not you…"
"The blood brings out what's inside of me and if you think any differently, then you're an idiot." Stefan started pacing again.
Megan flinched, but let it roll off her, knowing he didn't mean his mean words. It was the blood. It was just the blood. She just couldn't let herself believe that this was Stefan. It couldn't be. He couldn't be someone that hurt someone on purpose. It probably did make her an idiot, thinking that way. He was a vampire; his purpose was to kill people. But Stefan, her loyal and compassionate Stefan couldn't be this person.
"No." Megan finally said strongly. "You're not this person."
Stefan faced her once more. "I wanted to drain every ounce of blood from that girl's body and because Charlene was there, I wanted her to do it too."
Again, she shook her head, eyes welling up with tears. "No."
"It's who I am, Megan." Stefan was trying to make her see the error of her ways, but she wasn't going to let him.
"No, it's not." She stated strongly again. "I'm not going to let you scare me off, Stefan! No matter what you say, I'm not going to let you convince me that you're this person! Someone who wants to hurt people! Hurt me, hurt my friends, it's not going to work." Megan stood her ground, and Stefan shook his head in disbelief.
"Why would you risk it? Why would you come here?"
"Because I feel guilty." Megan admitted and he stared at her. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't give you my blood, none of this would be happening. Amber wouldn't have gotten hurt, and you wouldn't be this way."
"All you did was expose me to who I really am."
"It's not you."
"Stop saying that!" he screamed at her.
Megan started towards him. "And you stop saying that this is you because it's not!" she yelled right back. "This isn't you! It can't be you!" She was getting closer to him now and he frantically stepped back from her.
"Don't get any closer to me."
But of course, being as stubborn as she was, she didn't listen to him. "Again, I'm not going to let you scare me and I'm not going to give up on you. I love you, Stefan. You can fight this!"
"Stop!" Stefan was quicker than her and he shoved her against the wall roughly. She gasped at the pressure against her back.
His face was starting to change and for the first time, Megan felt frightened of him as she let out a whimper while tears filled her eyes.
He noticed and his face relaxed as his eyes widened in horror at what he did. "I'm sorry."
Megan could tell he was, and she let her body relax. "I know, it's okay." She whispered.
Stefan put his head on shoulder, burying his face into it. Suddenly, Megan felt his body shake against her and she knew he was crying.
"I don't know what's happening to me." Stefan sobbed.
"It's okay, Stefan." She soothed, running her fingers through his hair. "Everything's going to be okay." Without him noticing, she pulled a vervain dart out of her back pocket.
She didn't want to do this, but it was the only way. Closing her eyes tightly, she stabbed him in the back with it.
His body immediately slumped against her before falling to the ground.
Megan glanced down at him, tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry…" She looked over at the door as Damon and Charlene came into the room.
Her best friend went to her, pulling her into a hug. Megan hugged her back tightly as she met Damon's blue eyes.
"Sure, you want to do this?" he asked.
She sniffed, rubbing the tears away from her eyes. "I'm sure. This is the only way."
Charlene tightened her grip on Megan, and she excepted the comfort. With everyone's help, they were able to put Stefan into the cellar.
They locked the door.
"There's no guarantee it's going to work." Damon told her.
"I know, but it has to, Damon." Megan said softly, looking at Stefan through the small area in the door.
He gave a nod and started out the cellar, but stopped noticing her and Charlene weren't leaving too. "Coming?"
Megan said nothing as she sat opposite of the cell door, resting against it and pulling her knees up to her chest.
Charlene looked at Damon. "We're staying." She confirmed as she sat across from Megan, who smiled gratefully at her.
Damon stared at the two for a moment before joining them, sitting down next to Charlene, who put her head on his shoulder.
Now, all they had to do was wait.
TBC...
In...
Blood Brothers, Part 1...