Chapter 4: The Family Jewels
Light flooded the dark room, shadows disappeared as light drove them out. It took some time to get readjusted to the light. Dust covered the whole room. I looked around the old master room turned storage with its wood paneled walls and gray marble floors.
The room hadn't been used since the flooring was changed in the 20s. It was part of the old Fitzroy house before the renovation made the house into the manor it is now.
White cloths covered in dust engulfed the furniture. The queen bed, unused for almost more than half a century, lay in the center. Chairs and tables all lay haphazardly along with other old paraphernalia, my family hadn't used in a long time.
Glancing around the wreck of the room, I quickly got to finding the artifact, Mom had sent me here for. It was an old necklace from the civil war era. A simple necklace in gold with a bloodstone in the center of the pendent with some elaborate vine metal work surrounding the stone.
The Lockwoods had asked for that particular necklace for a short term loan to the Lockwoods and the Council along with an antique 16th century music box and a gold hand mirror decorated with gold flowers.
Both the music box and hand mirror were already in the living room, cleaned and packed in a wooden box to be handed to the Lockwoods as they were actually part of the list of items to be loaned. They were easy to find, they were more in use and more displayed by my family in the library. The necklace, however, had not been seen by anyone in over a hundred years.
My Uncle along with my parents and I had all but turned our house upside down looking for this stupid necklace. I was this close to giving up and having Mom apologize to Carol.
I almost felt sorry for my parents, they only came back to comfort me about discovering Tanner's dead body but somehow they both got roped into helping the council for the short time they would be here.
I draped the cloth back on the night tables and the bed and finally decided to look for the dressing table. I was really trying to avoid going to the dressing table. It was in a far corner of the huge room covered in cobwebs and dust. Sighing, I made my way to it. Ducking and crawling to get through the various furniture in the way, I stood in front of the dressing table.
With a flourish, I pulled the dirty white fabric off the dressing table. Dust flew everywhere, making me sneeze and my eyes water. This necklace better be worth it. I took a step back and observed the dressing table. There was a drawer in the center, with six smaller ones on each side. There was an oval shaped mirror, covered in a light layer of dust.
The oval mirror had an intricate design of vines and flowers. This family really is obsessed with nature.
I decided to try and open the center one. Locked. It was locked. I wanted to kick this stupid table in frustration. Calming myself, I breathed and breathed in, taking a step back as I did so.
With a deep sigh, I decided to try and open the three on the left first instead after the setback. The top left drawer had a metal hairbrush along with an old makeup box that looked to be from the 50s, it was probably left here after this room was abandoned.
Putting my gloves back on, I decided to take both of them out. They could be useful for all I know. I closed the top left drawer and moved on to the next one. It was empty and so was the bottom one. Thinking nothing of it, I moved on to the right side.
Right top drawer, empty. The middle right drawer, empty.
Almost giving up all hope of finding the necklace, I swung open the last drawer. To my surprise, there was something. A set of metal keys were thrown in there.
I picked up the keys and held it up to the light. There were seven in total. I glanced at the center drawer and decided to try all of the keys that would fit. The three didn't fit, the fourth one almost got stuck. The fifth one went in, I watched in quiet anticipation as I turned it in the keyhole.
With a click, the drawer unlocked. I breathed out in relief. Breathing in a load of dust on accident. Not my best moments. Coughing up the dust, I swung open the drawer.
There was nothing in there. There was one jewelry box, but it was filled with useless but valuable earrings, necklaces, chokers etc. But none of them was the damned bloodstone necklace.
In disbelief, I slammed the bottom of the wooden drawer in tired frustration while it was opened. The top layer of the drawer moved. I pushed the bottom of the drawer again, and carefully used my other hand to remove the top layer of the drawer. It was either going to be a secret compartment or I broke an antique family dressing table.
To my relief, it was a secret compartment. Trust my family to have secret compartments that almost cause you to panic. Rolling my eyes, I moved the top layer of the smooth wooden drawer off completely. There in the center of the compartment was a wooden rectangle box. Placing the wooden panel on the floor. Gently I picked up the box and opened it.
In the center of a gray velvet lay the damned necklace. In the pendent was the bloodstone. A black gemstone, speckled with light crimson mis-shaped dots.
I glanced back to the dressing table with the necklace dangling on my hand. All of a sudden I felt lightheaded. Colors shifted in my eyes and images floated before my eyes. Before I knew it, everything turned dark.
When I opened my eyes, I wasn't in the old master room anymore. I was in another bedroom, sitting in front of the dressing table from the old master room. It looked almost new and dust free. I looked up at the mirror.
Jade green eyes stared back at me. The person in the reflection was a stranger but a familiar one. It was someone that I had only seen in old family photographs. The girl in the reflection had a heart shaped pale face.
This wasn't me, I didn't have a pale complexion. Her startling green eyes blinked, causing me to blink. I found myself touching my neck. The necklace was on her neck.
"Miss Fitzroy, it's time." A maid came in and fixed my dress. A light rose ball gown with a large hoop skirt underneath. The neckline was off the shoulders with frills on each side. There were some embroidered roses along the neckline.
"I don't think this-" I gestured at the necklace. "—Suits the dress. It's too dark and eye-catching." I sighed.
"Ah, well. Your father insisted that you wear it, Miss." I nodded, pouting. "Perhaps these dark gloves could help." She asked, picking up some silk black gloves.
I grabbed the gloves from her and put them on. "Perhaps." I turned to look at her. "How do I look, Winnie?" I twirled a little.
"Wonderful, I am most certain that you'll most likely be the belle of the ball and have everyone's attention at the Founder's Ball."
I scoffed. "Well, I'm no Katherine Pierce."
Katherine? There was that name again.
"Please, Miss. That orphan from Atlanta has nothing on you. She's probably an urchin pretending to be something she's not." Winnie ranted, fixing my skirt and leading me down the stairs of the old Fitzroy manor.
"She's definitely pretending, alright." A voice interrupted Winnie. Winnie instantly bowed and left, handing me to him. "Shall we?" I nodded and took his hand.
"We're late, brother." I simply said, following him to a carriage.
The colors shifted again and I found myself dancing with someone. I blinked to get a clear view of my partner. Sharp blue eyes stared at my green ones. I took in his face. He looked familiar, he looked like Damon. "I'm surprised. Mr Salvatore."
"Surprised?" He asked, twirling around without touching me. I followed his steps. From the outside, we looked like an ideal southern couple. "What's there to be surprised by, Miss Fitzroy?"
"Oh it's Miss Fitzroy now. You always call me Lydia." I said flirtatiously. I wanted to throw up. My ancestor was flirting with Damon Salvatore. This can't get any worse. "I'm surprised you asked me to accompany you for this dance."
He grinned boyishly. "You're a lovely dancer and one can never pass up an opportunity to dance with a beautiful and graceful lady such as yourself." He bowed. I glanced at him unimpressed, something that mirrored Lydia's expression as well.
I stayed quiet following his steps and watched as a couple came through the door. Stefan and Elena? Confused thoughts filled me. Elena was not a vampire, she and I grew up together. Then who was that.
"Ah. I see your preferred partner finally made a choice." Damon's face hardened. "And it's not you." Damon lost all composure and grabbed my waist. "Did I touch a nerve, Mr Salvatore?"
"And you always call me Damon, Lydia. Mr Salvatore is my father, remember." He twirled me around with a crazed look on his face.
"Ah yes. You and your father."
I stepped back and dipped low before getting up straight. I ended the dance. "Thank you for this dance, Mr Salvatore." I came close to his ears and whispered softly. "But I have no intentions of getting involved in your and your brother's games with Miss Katherine." I nodded politely, walking away from him.
My surroundings disappeared again in a swirl and I found myself outside. The cold bitter wind blew gently across my face in the balcony where I stood, staring out at the starry night sky. I pulled the shawl around me tighter.
"Miss Fitzroy." A confident and seductive voice called out to me. "Miss Lydia Fitzroy." She tried again.
I breathed out in frustration before schooling my face to a polite smile. "Miss Pierce. What can I do for you?" I asked, turning to face...Elena. Or someone who looked exactly like Elena but in period clothing.
"Please, call me Katherine." She said, striding to stand next to me. "I noticed, you danced with Damon Salvatore. You are a very good dancer." I nodded at her compliment offering to say nothing. I could feel Lydia's fear and apprehension. She didn't like this Katherine, this Elena look-alike and she wanted to leave.
I glanced at Katherine, taking in her appearance. Her hair was up in ringlets. She wore a lilac ball gown with white gloves. It was really unnerving to see someone so closely resemble one of my best friends but at the same time look so different. Maybe it was the way Katherine held herself, confidently and seductively, that set her apart from Elena.
A cold chill overtook Lydia and me. Slowly, I felt Lydia move her head to glance at Katherine in silent horror. Vampire. "Miss Pie-" I started, stopping myself. "Katherine, do you need something from me?" I asked, slowly stepping towards the ball.
"Why I thought you would never ask, Lydia?" She grinned dangerously. "I can call you Lydia, right?" I said nothing in response. Seeing as I would not say anything, she continued. "As a matter of fact, I do want something from you." She stalked towards me. "I want you to give a message to your family."
"A message?"
"Yes, a message to your family." She smiled innocently, opening a fan, she fanned herself lightly. "Leave me and my 'friends' alone." She recited the message, looking as innocent as ever. It was unnerving to see Elena like this.
I scoffed. "I have no idea what you mean, Miss Pierce. I do not have time for your silliness." I took out my own fan. "If you would excuse-"
Katherine flashed in front of me, grabbing my neck. "I wasn't asking." She hissed, her face darkening.
Black veins formed under the eyes. Two sharp fangs appeared in her mouth. I felt my host scream in terror but Katherine's blocked all noise from escaping.
"There are other ways to send a message, you know." She grinned, biting into my neck.
I closed my eyes in fear of the pain. There was nothing. No pain. I quickly brought my hands to my neck and found no blood there. I glanced in front of me to see Katherine on her back, knocked out. I looked around and saw I was still alone.
Suddenly, the pendant of my necklace felt warm. I glanced down to see the bloodstone glow red for a slight second before it returned to its normal form. Thinking nothing of it, I felt Lydia gracefully weave across the Lockwood mansion to get to her family carriage and get to the safety of her house.
I came to my senses and I was still standing in the dimly lit old master room in front of Lydia Fitzroy's dressing table.
The bloodstone necklace, clutched tightly in my hand. Placing the necklace back in the back. I put everything back in its place and left the room, making sure to close the lights and lock the room. I could've sworn I had seen a flash of green in the mirror before the darkness engulfed the room.
"I have both the hand mirror and the music box ready for Tyler to pick it up on the day of the ball." A soft voice echoed through the library as I walked into the family library.
My mom leaned against a table as she held her phone, staring at a wooden box. "Oh the necklace. See we're still looking for it." She twirled her fingers through her dark curly hair as she spoke. "Yes, Carol. I can assure you we are actually looking for it. Nathanial, Gabriel and I almost turned the house upside down looking for it. We even asked Ava to help." She paused for a moment before staring at my dad who leaned against one of the bookshelves staring at mom.
My dad moved forward and took the phone off mom's hands and gave uncle Nate and mom an annoyed look. Carol Lockwood had that effect on people.
"Carol, hi. It's me Gabriel." He looked bored as he listened to Carol's endless greetings. "We appreciate your and the Council's interest in the necklace but even if we do find it, it'll be impossible to loan it to the Lockwood family even for a brief moment." He paused, glancing at the ceiling and carefully choosing his next words. "Yes, I'm aware of what Nathaniel said before." He stressed my uncle's name as he glared at him.
"I didn't mean to-" Uncle Nate tried to defend himself, sharply whispering just so only we could hear him. He got up from the table near a window and came close to my parents.
My dad cut him off, ignoring him and responding to Carol on the phone. "You have to remember that my mother only put the music box and the hand mirror on the list of items." He rolled his eyes and poured himself a drink before continuing.
"Yeah, that list was made before the attacks and what about it? We're not gonna add items just because the council feels like it." He took a sip. "Besides, even if we do find it, I'll let Ava have it. She needs it more than the Council."
Mom, hearing my dad's words, took back the phone and forced a plastic smile on her face. Her eyes were twitching at whatever Carol was saying.
"Carol, it's Laila again." She said in a sickly sweet tone. "Yeah, I just want to let you know we would most definitely not loan the necklace especially if it's found. Our family needs it more than anyone in the Council." Her face hardened for a second. "That's great but need I remind you, my daughter along with a classmate of hers found a dead body a few days ago. Or is that too hard for you to remember?" She slammed her hands on the table in annoyance.
I quietly followed Uncle Nate back to his table near the window. "Your mom is going all out war on Carol over there." Uncle Nate whispered to me, gesturing to where my parents were.
"She totally deserves it." I retorted. He shrugged looking at me. Glancing at him, I waved the box in front of him.
"You found it." He hissed in excitement and surprise. "How? And where?"
"Old master bedroom on the second floor east wing." I simply replied, opening the box, still wearing my gloves. I took out the necklace and held it up in the sunlight that poked through the library windows.
Uncle Nate, took out his own set of latex gloves and put them on before he gently took the necklace from my hand. "That explains it. No one goes to that side of the house anymore." He inspected the necklace. "This is the real thing alright." He placed the necklace back into its box. "At least it matches the description and photos of it. Kinda ugly if you ask me."
"It is and it better be worth it." I hissed. "I almost lost my head, trying to find this and gave myself a heart attack." I ranted quietly, putting the small box on the table where my Uncle Nate glanced at the small box. "That room really needs a clear up."
"Yeah—but no one's gonna do it." He replied quietly. We both looked at my dad who had again taken over the phone and was now having a talk with Mayor Lockwood instead of his wife.
Carol was an annoyance while her husband was just a dick. How he was the mayor, I would never know. Well, actually I did. He came from a long line of mayors. My family and the Fell family did take turns being the mayors once or twice in the long history of our town.
"Thank you for your understanding, Richard. Family is very important and our kids are our future and we would hate for anything to happen to them." My dad took on an overly polite tone. "Yes, I don't think I need to tell Ava to be careful with it, seeing is it is our family's heirloom and we'll see you at the Founder's ball. I'll be there at the meeting this time with Laila." He glared at Uncle Nate again.
"From what I know Nathanial will definitely be there as well." He breathed. "I can't imagine what gave you that idea Richard." Uncle Nate was so dead. Mayor Lockwood really had probably told my dad Uncle Nate had been skipping meetings. "Nate was most likely busy with his thesis and taking care of Ava which I admit is mine and Laila's fault."
Mom rolled her eyes and made her way to where I and uncle Nate had sat near the window. She said nothing when she noticed the small box. I watched as she picked it up, already wearing latex gloves and turned it around in her hands before opening and observing the necklace. She stayed silent but only glanced at me in approval.
"Did they hang up?" Mom asked without looking at my dad.
My dad said nothing but instead just walked towards us and hugged Mom from behind. Uncle Nate and I looked at each other in disgust at the public display of affection.
"They really are tiring. Anyways, look what Ava found." Mom brought the necklace to my dad's face. "The bloodstone necklace, it'll need some cleaning up but here it is."
"Hmm. I'll have one of the maids clean it." My dad simply said over mom's shoulder. He let go of her waist and glared at Uncle Nate. "Mind telling us why you're skipping the Council meetings and don't use Ava as an excuse."
"I'm sorry for missing the cult meetings but I really did have to work on my thesis." Uncle Nate insisted.
Mom leaned on the table, putting her hands on the table. "Right. We believe that. Right now, it's more important than ever for a member of our family to attend those meetings." She said, leaving the room after picking up the wooden box with the music box and the hand mirror. I followed her immediately, dad and Uncle Nate followed soon afterwards.
"Look I swear I wasn't skipping-"
"Give it a rest, uncle Nate. We all know you totally skipped." I cut in, falling into a leather couch in the living room. I grabbed the remote from the glass coffee table and flipped the TV on. "I don't blame you, I would've done the same." I grinned at him.
"Ava." Mom chastised me, moving her head in disappointment.
"Now is not the time to skip the important meetings given the fact that the Salvatore family are actually hiding not one but two vampires. One of which is very dangerous." My dad stated, looking at all of us. "We need a family meeting."
"We really don't." Mom, uncle Nate and I said at the same time.
I turned to the local news channel. "Let's be real here, you only want to have this 'meeting' to talk about how you want to bury the Salvatores."
I paused when Gina, our maid came into the living room, she placed a couple of glasses and a jug of water and left as she came. Mom smiled gratefully at her.
"We get it. We hate them. We've had a feud with them since forever." I poured myself a glass. "But don't you think you're overdoing this."
My dad looked at me annoyed and sat down on the love-seat next to Mom. "No, I don't think I am. People are dying, Ava."
"She's not saying they aren't, Gabe." Uncle Nate took a seat on the armchair directly in front of the love-seat. "But if we jump into things, we're the ones who are gonna die. Evie and Di even agreed it's best if we lay low."
"I'm just saying we should tell the council and then they'll handle it."
"They know." I cut in. "Both of the—the vampires, they know what we can do. One tried to compel me and even asked if I was adopted. I lied, obviously." I finished looking at them.
"More reasons we should just let them use the Gilbert watch than get involved." Mom spoke up.
"We could at least offer to be the town's main vervain supplier." My dad offered.
I took a sip of my drink and looked at uncle Nate who looked really annoyed. "And draw attention to ourselves." He poured himself a glass of water and took a sip. "Ava actually did a huge favor for us. For one, she made them believe that the current Fitzroys-" He pointed to me, my father and I. "-meaning us, even the ones who are not here, have no clue or idea of vampires. She even made them believe we don't have that freakish sixth sense in detecting them." He got up. "So let's keep it that way."
"I can confirm that a 12-foot puma mountain lion attacked a hunter and was subsequently shot and killed. The hunter is in stable condition." Sheriff Forbes looked confidently into the camera as she assured the reporter.
We all looked at each other, saying nothing. Mom reacted first, looking at all of us and she raised her left hand. "We'll vote, all in favor of helping the council-" My dad was the only one who put his hand up, he glared at Mom. "All in favor of staying out of everyone's business." Her hands stayed up while Uncle Nate and I put our hands up. "Oh wait, Dan's not here, so I'll vote on his behalf." She put her right hand up.
"Does that mean I can vote on Diana's behalf?" Uncle Nate asked. Mom just shrugged and immediately his other hand shot up.
"Evelyn would agree with me." Dad pouted.
"But you're still outnumbered." I pointed out, leaning on the couch.
"Majority wins, we stay out and protect ourselves." Mom declared getting up and collecting the used glasses and heading to the kitchen. "Ava, sweetie. Why don't you head upstairs and pick your dress, since you're getting ready at Elena's on the night of the ball." She said, turning back and leaning on the doorway to the hallway. "I'll have the maids polish the necklace in time for the ball, hopefully it'll be done by today."
Three dresses lay on my bed neatly. All different shades of red. All of them were short except one which was short from the front and long from back but not too long, it went down to my knees. In the end, I decided to match the color of my dress with the necklace. I still didn't know what was so special about this stupid necklace.
The crimson speckles actually gleamed among the black now. The mostly black gemstone revealed itself to have opalescent sheen to it between red and green. It was almost pretty.
Knock. Knock.
Two knocks. Mom was at my door. She always knocks twice, no more, no less. A small habit from her childhood. I never really asked about it.
"Come in." I called out, touching the lace sangria dress on the right. "Any ideas?" I asked, gesturing to the dresses.
Mom walked in gracefully and glanced at the three dresses. "Can't pick." She peered at the wine red with light beading. "Well, definitely not this one. Too much cleavage." She shook her head in disgust.
"What's wrong with that?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.
She gently picked up the dress and put it back in my closet. "Really? Your grandparents would be rolling in their graves if I let you wear that. And by your grandparents, I meant my parents. You know how asian parents are." She complained. "Here, what about this one?" She pulled out a short ruby chiffon dress. "This even has your favorite neckline. Off-the-shoulder."
I glanced at the dress and took it from her and went to change behind the illustrated room divider. I didn't even remember buying this dress because it was a gift from my brother for my last birthday. It was the only present from him I had actually liked. I smiled knowingly, Mom picked the dress, knowing Dan wasn't here. It was sweet of her.
"Need any help?" Mom bellowed from my bedroom.
"I got this. Don't worry." I replied, fixing the bottom light ruffles of the dress. Stepping back, I glanced at the long mirror behind the screen.
The dress was really pretty. It had a bardot neckline and the skirt had light tiered ruffles. Formal but casual. I went out the room divider and gave a twirl.
"I think this one's 'the one'." Mom's hands went to her mouth in happiness. She nodded fiercely at my look.
"I have just the shoes for it. And a purse too." She gushed. I decided to go change. "Wait, Gina brought the bag and shoes, try them on and try the necklace on too." Mom quickly grabbed the purse from Gina and gave me some black strappy heels to wear. "Now this is perfect." She remarked.
"Remember to leave the necklace on." Mom reminded me as I slowly shed the dress and light kicked the heels off. I heard mom thank Gina as she left the room to get back to her other chores.
Buttoning up my plaid shirt, I accidentally grabbed the necklace. It felt warm and comforting, like my vision.
She took a step back and looked at me with a bittersweet expression. "You have your grandmother's gift." She remarked, picking up the chiffon dress from the floor and carefully folded it. "Which makes sense since you have her eyes."
"Grandma Janine? Didn't she have gray eyes?" I asked, confused. Mom smiled sadly and shook her head. She placed the chiffon dress in a bag, along with the heels.
She breathed out. "I meant my mother. Your grandma, Mila." My eyes widened. "I know I never talk about my parents but you do look a lot like her—and me but you have her eyes. These beautiful amber-brown eyes. I remember wishing I had those eyes." She went on, looking at me sadly. "Her eyes weren't the only thing you got from her."
I took the bag from her hands. "What do you mean?" I asked, taking a seat on my bed.
Mom said nothing. She just walked to my dressing table and started taking out some makeup. An eye-shadow palette and some lip glosses along with some foundation and concealer. "I mean, you have the same dreams like she used to have." She turned around and brought a makeup bag with her.
I looked at her in shock. She didn't flinch or react in any way. "Grandma Mila had psychic visions." I said to myself. She nodded anyway, quietly putting the makeup in the makeup bag and handing it to me.
"She would always tell me her dreams. She even knew when she and dad, your grandfather were going to pass away." She remarked with a far away look. "She could also do this thing where she'd just say something and you'd just want to do what she asked you to do. She was-"
Knock.
A knock interrupted our conversation. Uncle Nate's head popped up from the door. "Sorry to interrupt your girl talk but we have a Council meeting in 5."
"Have fun." I called out, finishing packing my things.
"Says the one who gets to stay at home." Uncle Nate stopped and turned to mom. "Unless, you want to come with us."
Mom glared at him in response. Uncle Nate took that as an answer and led her down back to the library. I followed them both downstairs, but stayed in the living room.
24th September 2009,
It's been a few weeks since I wrote an entry but here I am again.
Tanner is dead.
I followed my stupid instinct and found Tanner dead.
Damon killed him, just like he did in my nightmarish vision. I wasn't alone, at least unlike in my vision. Unfortunately, it was Matt who found him first. He's not taking it well. The sheriff sent him to the town's only therapist and despite various sessions, he still doesn't look good. Sheriff tried to send me as well but my parents were there to vouch for my mental health.
Sheriff Forbes confirmed that the 'animal' responsible for the attacks was caught. That only means either two things. One, Damon Salvatore or another vampire was caught. Two, an actual animal was caught. The latter only meant one thing. Damon was here to stay and he was covering his tracks. I don't know why he would do something like this, maybe it's because of Stefan or maybe it's because of Elena Gilbert who looks so much like Katherine Pierce.
Elena's resemblance to Katherine was a morbid surprise. I still don't know if what I saw was real or not. Till now, I could only see what is to come, not what has been, so it's possible I could have hallucinated being Lydia Fitzroy and dancing with Damon at the first founder's ball and being attacked by Elena's look alike.
I don't know.
I do know a few things now.
One, I'm not the only in my family to have these.
Two, my mother's family has more secrets than I may have given them credit for.
My grandmother, Mila, my mother's mother was like me. There's so much I don't know about my mother's side of the family. Grandma Mila will always remain a mystery to me, especially where she came from. According to my mother, she never talked about her past.
The more I stay in Mystic Falls, the more questions I have. At least now I have some answers and a way to protect myself. The Bloodstone, it's better than vervain and seems to be undetectable.
The Founder's ball is tonight. Whether or not I really experienced being Lydia, doesn't matter. What matters is that history is not repeated.
There should not be another 1864. I hope there won't be.
- Ava R. Fitzroy
I shut my journal and put it in my bag. Striding to the foyer with Gina on my tail with the box of things to loan. I watched as Maria, another one of the maids, opened the door. I nodded.
"Tyler." I greeted, handing the box with the music box and hand mirror to him. "Be careful. They're fragile."
"I'll try." He easily took the box and nodded his thanks. "Ava. I wanted to apologize." He said, looking anywhere but at me.
"Apologize? For what." I asked, tilting my head in confusion.
"For being a dick to you and Matt." He took a sharp breath. "I also wanted to ask, how are you two after the whole-"
"We're fine. If you want, you can ask him tonight." I cut in, pushing through him to get out of the house. I turned around to tell Maria and Gina to lock the house, paying him no attention. "I don't know what your deal is but can you not be such a dick to Vicki and Matt."
"I'm trying. I really am." He retorted, coming to stand between me and mom's car. "I'm even gonna take Vicki to the Founder's Ball as my date." He looked at me in desperation.
"Have you actually asked her?"
"No, but-"
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." I cut him off again, pushing through him. "Look I have to go meet up with Bonnie and Caroline, we can finish this later." I stopped and turned around. "I'm not even the one you should be convincing. Matt is."
"Matt doesn't wanna see me or anyone for that matter. He's not even coming to the Founder's Ball."
I got into my mom's car. "Weird, cause he agreed to go with me to the Founder's ball." I called out before driving off.
Bonnie looked at Caroline in surprise. "You're taking Damon to the founder's party? What about me?" She questioned, walking with me and Caroline into the Grill.
"Go with Elena." Caroline said in her perky voice, sitting down at a table.
Bonnie looked at her betrayed. "She's asking Stefan." She retorted, sitting down opposite Caroline.
I took a seat next to Bonnie and looked at both of them, playing with my hair to pass the time. "Go with Ava, then." Caroline looked at me for help.
"I'm going with Matt."
Bonnie turned away from me and then turned back to give me a betrayed look. Saying nothing, I just shrugged. Caroline looked mildly impressed.
"As friends." I added before she got the wrong idea.
She rolled her eyes."Okay, go by yourself." She said, turning back to Bonnie.
Bonnie fell back on to her chair in defeat. "Gee, thanks, guys. What about your mom? Is she okay with you bringing Damon?" She asked, leaning towards Caroline.
"And I'm supposed to care why?"
"He's older sexy danger guy."
"Not to mention, he's new and no one knows who he even is. Stranger danger." I added, mimicking Bonnie.
Caroline scoffed. "Older sexy danger guy? Is that an official witch twitter tweet?" She turned to me with her eyebrow raised. "Stranger danger, really? Are we eight or something?" I shrugged.
"No more witch jokes, okay? That whole Mr. Tanner prediction thing has me freaked out." I nodded supportively at Bonnie's words.
Caroline glanced at me sympathetically. Everyone knew, Matt and I had not coped well after finding Tanner. Matt even more than me. "Okay. And Damon's not dangerous. You know, he just has a lot of issues with his brother. You know, like major, deep-rooted drama."
"Then he should go to therapy like normal people." I retorted.
"Well. He's not normal." Caroline defended herself.
I threw my hands in the air and then clasped them in front of me. "You're proving our point, Care."
"He has issues. Okay. Leave him alone" She tried again, adjusting her neck scarf. Dietary issues weren't the only issues he had.
"Like...?" Bonnie asked, suddenly curious.
"I'm not really supposed to say anything."
"Caroline Forbes, when have you ever kept a secret in your life?"
"Never." I added, nodding at Bonnie in support.
Caroline glared at both of us and glanced up. "Okay." She paused, leaning towards us. "But you guys can't tell Elena."
Bonnie and I glanced at each other before leaning in towards Caroline. "No." Bonnie whispered with a grin.
"Delicate flower vs. naughty vixen." Bonnie asked, holding up two bottles of nail polish while I just filed my nails.
I shrugged and pointed at the black nail polish while Elena looked at both. "Tough call. Can we mix them?" She said with a genuine smile on her face.
"Look at you, getting all pretty for your date. You seem happy-ish."
"I am...ish. Tonight's going to be a good night. But don't let that stop you from telling me whatever it is you wanted to tell me as soon as you walked in the door while Ava looked like she wanted to punch someone."
I gasped. "I do not have that face." I picked up the black nail polish and opened it. "And you don't need to worry about what Bonnie wanted to tell you."
"Okay so Bonnie's hiding something from me while you're covering for her. Gotcha." She stated with her eyebrow raised. "Bonnie spill."
"Bonnie." I warned.
Bonnie looked between both of us. "What if I tell you in the morning? I don't want to ruin the night." She stuttered out. Taking my hands and the nail polish, she started painting my nails.
I took my hands and looked at them. "Why don't we talk about something else?" I asked, throwing my head back.
Elena ignored me and shook her head. "Bonnie, out with it."
"Okay, but it has to go in the vault, because Caroline will kill me if it gets back to Damon that she squealed. Apparently Stefan has a very interesting back story."
"Oh god. Here we go." I mumbled, putting my head down.
Elena just nodded in response and made a sound of understanding. She was clearly being sarcastic. "Do you know what happened with his ex-girlfriend Katherine?"
Here we go again. I hadn't even met Katherine and I already despised her. Seeing her, through my ancestor didn't really count. I think.
I rolled my eyes at Bonnie. "I know that they both dated her and that's why they have issues." Elena admitted, leaning forward on a chair.
"Yeah, they both dated her, only she chose Damon. And that drove Stefan mad, so he did horrible things to try and break them up. He manipulated Katherine. He filled her head with all these lies until finally it worked, and she turned against Damon." Bonnie went on, grabbing my hands and continuing to paint my nails.
"That sounds like one person's side of the story, meaning Damon's."
I raised my unpainted hands in annoyance. "That's literally what I said." I looked at both of them. "I don't know about you guys but Damon gives me the creeps."
"Really, Ava?" Bonnie asked skeptically. I simply shrugged.
Elena nodded. "I see where you're coming from." She leaned towards my nails, looking at their progress before walking off. She turned around to glance at Bonnie. "Anyway, Stefan's past relationships are none of my business."
"Unless he's a calculating, manipulative liar. That is your or anyone's business." Bonnie pointed out.
"Stefan is none of those things."
"Yeah? How do you know?"
"Bonnie." I hissed lowly. Bonnie gave me a look which told me she was doing what she thought was best for Elena. We all glanced at each other, deciding to drop the subject.
I sat in front of Elena's dressing table, combing my wavy hair. I took a pin from my makeup bag and pinned it to my left. Carefully, I pulled a few strands of my dark hair and started working on a waterfall braid. Off to the side on the table, there was a rose-gold hairpin to secure my braid with.
Bonnie and Elena stood in front of Elena's bathroom mirror. "You sure, you don't wanna curl your hair." She asked, curling hers while Elena put some mascara on.
"Yeah, I'm sure." I replied, biting my lower lip in deep concentration. "Hey, could you or Elena come in and help me with this."
"A minute." Elena was the only one who replied. She crashed on to her bed and then walked over to me, helping me braid my hair. "Woah, you look good,"
I looked in the mirror. I looked decent. "Can you put this in the back?" I asked, handing her the rose-gold pin. She nodded and carefully pinned it to my hair.
"Elena, the phone." I called out, hearing a ringing.
She turned back to the bed and went over and picked up the phone. "Hello? Hi, Mrs. Lockwood. What do you mean? It is? Are you sure? 'Cause I saw it. Let me check. Mm-hmm. I will find it and bring it. Ok. Bye."
"What's wrong?" Bonnie and I asked at the same time.
Elena ignored us and barged into Jeremy's room. I got up from the dressing table and joined Bonnie in front of the bathroom mirror. I leaned a little to peek into Jeremy's room. I watched in shock as Elena slapped Jeremy who had his earphones on.
I continued watching for a second more before turning back to fussing over my hair like Bonnie was. But I was clearly listening in. Elena was arguing with Jeremy over the Gilbert watch.
The Gilbert watch.
My parents had talked about it before. I knew what it was and what it could really do. It was missing or so I thought for a second before I heard Jeremy take it out from somewhere and hand it back to Elena in anger. I breathed out in relief. If the Council had the watch, they wouldn't need to involve my family.
Cars were lined up in front of the Lockwood mansion while people stood in a long cue just to get inside the mansion. I fixed my red dress and stepped forward a little. I had decided to go with the off-shoulder chiffon dress. Elena and Stefan stood near the entrance of the mansion while Bonnie stood behind them with Jenna. I stood behind them. Matt stood next to me dressed in a black suit with a red shirt to match my dress.
He glanced at me. "I feel so out of place." He remarked, looking around. "I'm not even a Founding family member." He breathed out, running a hand through his blond hair.
"Relax." I grinned. "You're overreacting. It doesn't matter if you're not one of them. What matters is that we have a great time." I whispered to him. "God knows, we deserve it."
Matt laughed lightly at my optimism and leaned towards me. "I'll take your word for it. Remember to be my shield when Mrs Lockwood even looks at me." He commented. "Are you proud of me?" He suddenly asked as we took a step forward.
Confused, I slightly turned to look at him. "Proud of what?" I asked, tilting my head.
"I'm getting over Elena like you and everyone else wanted me to." He replied.
I smiled brightly and gave his arm a squeeze in happiness. "That's great. I'm so happy for you. You're one step closer to being happy."
We both turned to look at each other and say something when we were interrupted. I looked up to see Mrs Carol Lockwood smiling politely at us. We had reached the entrance without even paying.
"Ava, I'm so glad you made it." She reached to hug me and personally invite me in. She turned to Matt, inspecting him carefully before nodding in approval and taking a step back. "Matt, I see you are accompanying Ava tonight." She took a sip of her drink. Matt smiled in relief that Mrs Lockwood hadn't insulted him or his family. "A fine choice. Shame Tyler can't make the same sensible choices as you."
Oh no, my eyes moved to look at Matt from the side. His face had hardened for a second. "I appreciate the sentiment but Tyler and I are two different people. It's impossible for us to make the same choices." He retorted, taking a glass of a non-alcoholic drink that was offered to us.
Mrs Lockwood considered Matt's words before smiling tightly. "Then I suppose, it's not too much to ask that he doesn't make the choice of dating your sister." She mumbled under her breath before moving on to greet the other guests.
The glass in Matt's hands almost shattered as his grip tightened on it. "Matt." I called out, taking his cracked glass and replacing it with a new one. I glanced around quickly to make sure no one had seen that. "Don't let her get to you." I looked at him. "She's only saying that to get under your skin."
Matt nodded and took a swing of the drink, finishing it one go. "I know. Rosy, but I can't help it." He paused, walking deeper into the mansion. I followed, next to him.
"It's not just her though. It's everyone! I mean, your family doesn't count in that everyone and Sheriff Forbes I guess but y'know what I mean." He turned to me, to give me a look. I just nodded in understanding, choosing to listen instead of saying anything.
"Everyone looks at me as this tragic hero or victim. I don't know, something along those lines." He stopped, looking out into the huge back garden. His eyes looked to be focused on a couple. I moved closer to him to get a better look.
"Vicki. And Tyler." I stated, looking at the girl in bright sunshine yellow talking happily with a boy in a gray suit. From a distance, they looked happy but Matt and I knew this wasn't true.
"Vicki." Matt repeated, breathing out. "Then they see Vicki, they start pitying me for having a wreck of a sister. A poor excuse of a mother and a deadbeat dad who abandoned his kids." He remarked sadly, grabbing another drink from one of the trays. This time, it was alcoholic.
I took the drink and put it back on another tray. "Don't. You're not that person." I grabbed his hands with mine. "You're not just your family, you're what you make of yourself so stop moping. You promised me, we'd have fun." I dragged him back inside. "Stop worrying about Vicki and what people think of you and let's have some fun. God I sound like Caroline."
Everyone who was anyone in this town had all flocked to this Mansion to display their wealth, achievements or their ancestors wealth and achievements.
The ball was the first I had attended and it was different from the first one. The one I had attended through Lydia. I was a little disappointed about that. Ignoring that feeling, I had dragged Matt to look at the heritage display.
Matt pointed at my family's display and asked me questions on it. "I just noticed. This is actually older than our town." He pointed to the music box. "Well, it's older than America itself."
"Yeahh, it's because my family were British." I replied, sensing Stefan nearby. "Well, my dad's side is anyway. They were related to royalty or something."
"Royalty?" Stefan's voice suddenly cut in. Matt and I turned around to see Elena come in after and stand in front of the 'first registry'.
I nodded. "Mom's south asian. Unrelated to the town. I look like her, well her mom apparently. Thankfully. No offense to my dad or anything." I added. Elena grinned at me, no doubt ready to tease me.
Elena opened and closed her mouth, choosing to lean closer to the registry. "The founding families in Mystic Falls welcomes you to the inaugural founder's council celebration." She started.
"Wow, look, it's the original guest registry. Look at all these familiar names—Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood, Judge Thomas Fitzroy, Edmund Fitzroy—Is that Damon Salvatore? And, Stefan Salvatore?" Elena questioned, a little shocked.
"Huh. Damon and Stefan Salvatore? Like you and your brother." Matt asked, stepping towards Stefan.
Stefan looked at loss for words. A thick fog of tension settled into the room. He looked at me in desperation, in an attempt for help. I wanted to glare at him. I wanted nothing to do with this.
"The original Salvatore brothers. Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually." Damon's snarky and annoying voice interrupted us.
I turned to see Damon and Caroline walk in and stand in front of us. "We don't need to bore them with stories of the past." Stefan cut in, stopping any attempts of Damon.
Elena looked at Stefan expectedly. "It's not boring, Stefan. I'd love to hear more about your family." I loved Elena but sometimes she was stupid. Matt seemed to sense this.
"Y'know, Elena. He might not be comfortable with sharing." Matt defended Stefan. I looked at Matt in surprise. He had just defended Stefan.
"Just cause it's a celebration of the past doesn't mean we have to bring it up." I paused to take a sip of my drink. "Sometimes it's best to leave things behind." I finished, smiling sweetly at Damon.
Damon grinned. And I watched as he lightly nudged Caroline. Her eyes became unfocused for a second.
"Well, I'm bored. I want to dance. And Damon won't dance with me." She said pouting, being back to normal. "Could I just borrow your date?" She asked.
Elena hesitated answering Caroline. "I don't really dance." Stefan tried to excuse himself, looking at me and Matt for help again.
Damon noticed this and stopped us before we could act. "Oh, sure he does. You should see him. Waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all."
"Maybe he just doesn't wanna dance with Caroline, you ever thought of that." I lightly commented, taking another sip of my drink. Damon glared at me in turn, unimpressed.
"Maybe you need to stop being mean." He retorted, grabbing my drink and drinking it. We all looked at him in shock. "Caroline just wants to dance." He grinned, almost threateningly.
Caroline took that as a cue. "You wouldn't mind, would you, Elena?" She demanded this time.
"It's up to Stefan."
Caroline tilted her head and grabbed Stefan. "Well sorry, but I'm not going to take no for an answer." She retorted, dragging him to the dance floor.
I watched annoyed as Stefan threw one last fleeting look at Elena. Turning to Damon, I glared at him, he simply smiled innocently in response. He was doing it again, he was trying to separate Elena and Stefan again.
"Well, why don't you and your partner go dance as well." Damon offered, pretending to be kind.
"Matt." Matt looked uninterested as he said his name. "My name is Matt. Matt Donovan."
"Damon Salvatore but you probably knew." Damon greeted back, smirking. "You're Elena's ex..." He glanced at me. "And you're here with one of her best friends."
"As friends." Elena and I said at the same time. "Matt and I are here as friends. I know it's hard for you to believe cause y'know. Your issues." I repeated, adding his relationship issues in for extra effect. Matt and Elena looked at me with wide eyes, shocked at my lack of filter. I mean they knew I was like this. I'm not sure why they are surprised.
Damon said nothing and simply nodded. He was clearly getting agitated and wanted to be alone with Elena. "Hey, can you get me another drink?" I asked Matt in a soft voice. Damon watched me closely.
Matt made no move instead he looked at Damon with a hardened expression. He didn't trust him with me and Elena. I didn't blame him. "I think I'm cutting you off." He said with a grin.
I giggled to ease the tension. "I didn't even drink any of the alcoholic drinks." I turned to look at him with puppy dog eyes. "Please?" He didn't move. I looked at him, a little annoyed. "Matt, please get me a drink." I tried again.
His blue eyes flickered to amber for a second before he blinked and they were back to blue again. Damon watched with narrowed eyes as Matt turned to me with a blank look.
"I'm going to go get you a drink." He stated, and walked away.
There it was again, that same blank look. I turned back to look at Elena and Damon. Elena was too busy looking at the registry, trying her best to ignore Damon, who to my surprise was still staring at me curiously.
Damon turned his gaze away from me and looked at Elena again. "I want to apologize to you for being such a world-class jerk the other night when I tried to kiss you. There's no excuse. My therapist says I'm...acting out, trying to punish Stefan." I looked at him shocked. He really tried to kiss Elena. Well, at least I knew he had a therapist now.
Elena gave me a look saying that she would talk about it later and turned away from the registry. "For what?" She asked.
"It's all in the past. I don't even want to bring it up. Let's just say that the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry. And it all started with the original Salvatore brothers."
"If it's in the past, then why constantly bring it up?" I questioned out loud. Damon glanced at me, annoyed.
Damon ignored and started doing what I called him out on. "The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town. Until the war. There was a battle here—" He started practically bragging.
Elena glanced at me, already done with Damon. "The Battle of Willow Creek." She cut in, wanting to get away from him.
"Right."
"We know, we talked about it in class. Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside."
"What the history books left out was the people that were killed. They weren't there by accident. They were believed to be union sympathizers. So some of the founders on the confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive. Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church. And when they went to rescue them, they were shot. Murdered in cold blood."
"They went to save one when they could've saved them all. Sounds foolish and stupid to me." I mumbled. I knew this story by heart.
They weren't really union sympathizers in that church. My family were strong Union loyalists, if anything they too would be rounded off that night. And I would not be standing here. Those people were not people, they were vampires.
Just like Damon.
But I couldn't say all of this out loud, not without putting myself in danger.
"Who was in the church that they wanted to save?" Elena questioned, ignoring me.
"A woman, I guess. Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?
"And sibling rivalry over a girl is never the way to go, Mr Salvatore." I commented quietly, moving near him with a teasing grin. Damon's eyes widened for a second. I cursed myself for addressing him that way. I guess I had probably picked up Lydia 's habits by accident.
"What if that girl is worth it." He whispered back.
"No one is worth getting in between your family." I paused. "Especially if you have a brother like Stefan, someone who seems to sacrifice his own happiness for the sake of others."
Elena glanced at both of us. She took a step back and grabbed my arm, bringing me with her. "Look, I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you, but I can't get in the middle of it, Damon. I just...I hope you two can work it out."
"I hope so, too." Damon replied with a nostalgic look on his face. I almost pitied him for a second. Neither Katherine or Elena picked him. But Elena wasn't Katherine, she made her choice clear from the start.
"Elena, I'm gonna go check on Bonnie, I think Stefan's probably done too." I reminded her, hoping that she would get the message.
To my relief, she got the message and quietly followed. Unfortunately, Damon offered to escort her back to Stefan. I said nothing and just nodded along.
The cool night breeze gently blew across my face as I walked through the decorated Lockwood garden. Matt walked next to me, ranting about how Vicki had decided to leave last minute. He was back to normal.
Now and then, I would check his eyes for that glow. But it wasn't there each time. I felt bad now for using Matt as a guinea pig. At the same time, I knew this wasn't my fault. Whatever was happening was out of my control.
"-And she's probably gone to Elena's to go see Jeremy. Honestly, you were right. She needs to stop going back and forth." I focused back onto Matt for a second, again to see if there were any changes to him since that weird moment back then. No changes. "Ava, you listening?" He stopped a little ahead of me, turning around to look at me.
"Yeahh. Um. You were saying-" I started.
Matt gave me a look of concern. "It doesn't matter." He cut me off, unbuttoning his shirt sleeve and folded it. "Is everything okay?" He asked, walking closer. "You've been out of it. You can tell me if I'm bothering you. I feel like I just complain and just do nothing while you do everything for everyone, I guess."
"That's not true. You guys have done a lot for me. It's just been a long night." I replied, softly. I loosened my braid and ran my fingers through it to straighten it.
"I'm sorry if I seem out of it. I haven't been getting enough sleep. I'll see you later, then." I added, pushing past him to go find Bonnie. She would know what I'm going through. Besides, I didn't want to accidentally use 'that' against Matt again.
Matt didn't try to stop me. But I knew he was worried for me. And I didn't want to add to his worries. Vicki was already on top of all his concerns, if I started talking about my problems which were mostly supernatural, he wouldn't have a peace of mind for a moment.
I decided then and there that unless it absolutely concerned him, I wouldn't bring any of my friends into this mess, especially Matt, Caroline and Elena. Right now, Caroline was my biggest concern.
Bonnie and I sat on a couch inside, leaning against each other. She turned to me and grabbed my hands. "I need to tell you something but you can't freak out." She started. "When I was outside, I accidentally lit a candle."
"With a match?" I questioned. I already knew where this was heading.
She shook her head and breathed out. "No. It was with my mind." She whispered. "It was probably a fluke or something but I just wanted to let someone know. So I don't go nuts." There was a look of desperation in her eyes. "I'm not crazy. Right? Grams keeps saying I'm a witch but after the whole Tanner thing. I don't know anymore."
I bit my lips. I was torn on whether I should keep whatever was going to myself or tell Bonnie something to relate to. I shut my eyes and opened them again, making a decision. "You're not crazy." I declared. "I actually have something to say as well." Bonnie perked up and leaned towards me. "Tanner's death. I saw it. And before you say, 'Ava, you and Matt found his body'. I'm gonna stop you there." I took a deep breath. "I saw his death a few days before it happened, in a..." I swallowed. "...a dream and it wasn't the first time I saw something like that."
Bonnie said nothing for a while. The silence between us became deafening. I wanted to ask her to say something when she glanced at me.
"Like when we were kids..." She started quietly. "You used to have these dreams about accidents and events. I remember now. You still have them. Oh my God!" She hugged me, rubbing my back. "I can't even imagine what you've seen." Pulling back, she grabbed my hands. "I know this is selfish of me to say this but I'm glad that I have someone like me. Do you mind if I tell Grams, she's probably gonna say you're a witch but-"
"I'm not a witch." I cut her off. "Your Grams actually saw me before I left the first time around and she said I wasn't one."
Bonnie's sudden happiness deflated in an instant with my words. "What are you then?" She asked, almost scared.
Before I could answer, Elena crashed into me with a hug. Bonnie looked at me, indicating that our conversation was over. I understood and nodded in reply before propping up a welcoming grin. We both turned to look at Elena who had now let go of me and moved to sit beside me. I scooted over closer to Bonnie to make room for her.
"Well, my night just went good to bad in an instant." Elena started, taking off her heels.
"Oh no. What happened?" I asked, putting my loose hair behind my shoulders.
"Stefan. Damon. And their ex. But mostly Stefan." She replied, looking at Bonnie and me.
Bonnie and I glanced at each other. "Wait. Before we get into this. We need something."
I got up and went over to one of the waiters and asked for some ice cream for three. I waited for a few minutes before the waiter came back with a huge bowl of ice cream and some spoons. I thanked him with a sincere smile and went back to sit in between Bonnie and Elena.
"Okay, now we can talk."
Bonnie took a spoon and shoved some ice cream into her mouth. She flinched back at the coldness a little before taking another spoonful, Elena and I followed soon after. "This is my fault. I planted doubt. I'm a doubt planter."
"It's not your fault. I just—I feel terrible because I said that I wouldn't get in the middle of it, and then that's exactly what I did. I got all snotty." Elena sighed.
"Well, you had a point though. You wouldn't get all 'snotty' if Stefan wasn't so freaking secretive. Like that's hot and all for a few seconds but in a long term relationship, you need trust." I took another spoonful of ice cream. "—But playing the devil's advocate here."
Bonnie groaned.
"Don't make that sound. I'm just saying that maybe Stefan has a good reason to be secretive. For all you know this 'ex' could be a psychopath—talking about her is traumatic for Stefan."
Elena contemplated my words carefully. Stefan did have a good reason and I wasn't exactly lying. From what I saw as Lydia, Katherine seemed like a narcissistic bitch who wanted everything.
Before she could reply, Mrs Lockwood interrupted us. "Elena, honey, there you are. I notice the watch still isn't in the collection." She said, taking a seat next to Elena on an armchair.
"Oh, um, I'm sorry, Mrs. Lockwood. I, um, I couldn't find it. I guess it's still packed up in my parents' stuff somewhere." Elena apologized, putting down the spoon.
"I see. Well, please let me know if you do find it."
Elena fidgeted a little before replying. "Okay." Mrs Lockwood nodded, unconvinced and got up and left. Neither of us said anything after that.
Staring at my reflection in front of the mirrors of the bathroom in the Lockwood mansion, I grabbed my hair and it up in a ponytail. Securely, tying it up, I stepped back. I tilted my head and took out my lip-gloss, reapplying it. I stepped back again to admire myself in the mirror.
Suddenly, someone tackled me from behind. I looked in the mirror to see it was a blonde.
"Hey. I forgot to say but you looked so good today." Caroline gushed, stepping back to stand next to me in front of the mirror.
I stepped away from the mirror to stand on the other side of Caroline. "Well, you don't look too bad yourself, Care."
Caroline made a face, before starting to fix her hair. "Don't lie. I look like a mess. I don't know why Damon picked blue. It's not even my color."
"You look better in yellow or any other warm colors." I commented lightly.
"Thank you! I said this to Damon and he said it was 'jaundice'. Can you believe him?"
"Caroline..." I started, wanting to know what else Damon had been saying to her when Elena cut in.
"Ava, you in here?" Elena's voice rang from outside.
"Yeah." I called out.
Hearing my instant reply she walked in, slowing down when she saw Caroline. Awkward. I forgot that these two were on thin ice right now. I silently cursed my luck for always being stuck in awkward situations which could easily be avoided.
"Hey." Elena greeted Caroline awkwardly, coming to stand next to her in front of the mirror.
Caroline looked unaffected. "Hey. So how are things with Stefan?" She instantly asked without hesitation.
"Great. Just great." Elena replied, opening her purse and taking out a lip gloss. She awkwardly applied it while glancing at me to do something. I just shrugged. It wasn't that bad, honestly. Elena sometimes had a tendency to overreact.
"Really? Well, my radar must be off, 'cause I was getting all sorts of other vibes…"
"Caroline." I cut her off. "Not your place." I hissed. Sometimes, she really had no filter. She was worse than me at times.
Elena leaned away from the mirror to look at Caroline, ready to shut her up when she paused. Her eyes focused on something on Caroline's neck. "What is that?" She asked in concern.
"What's what?" I asked, coming around to Elena's side to get a look at Caroline's neck.
"There's something on Caroline's neck." Elena replied.
Caroline looked at us both annoyed before going back to fussing over her appearance. Elena tried to lift her scarf up. "Don't!" She said, pushing Elena's hand away with her shoulders. Ignoring Caroline, Elena lifted her scarf up and there it was. A big bad bite mark.
"Oh my god. Caroline." "Oh god, Caroline, what happened?" Elena and I said at the same time.
Caroline glared at us and tried to pass it off as nothing had happened. "Nothing, okay?!"
"That is not nothing! Did somebody hurt you?" Elena asked in concern, silently asking me to get my emergency first aid kit out.
"No, okay, nothing. It's just...My mom would kill me."
"It was Damon, wasn't it?" I asked quietly from the side.
Elena glanced at me in shock before turning back to look at Caroline. "Did Damon hurt you?" She questioned, pulling Caroline's crochet cardigan off. She grabbed Caroline.
"No! Of course not! Just leave me alone. Okay?! You guys need to back off." She burst out, trying to leave the bathroom. I stopped her and turned her around to face Elena.
I rummaged through my bag for my emergency first aid kit. I took it out and passed it to Elena who quickly started to find the supplies needed to treat Caroline. "Stay here and help Care." I called out to Elena.
I had enough, Damon went too far. He could have easily healed her and made sure that no one saw but he deliberately left them there to hurt her. "Where are you going?" She called out to me, trying to stop me.
"To give that bastard a piece of my mind." Caroline started protesting in Elena's grips, trying to stop me, she grabbed on to my wrist. "Caroline, this is for your good. Stay here and let Elena help you."
Caroline's blue-green eyes flickered to amber for a second like Matt's did and she nodded before she let go and turned back to Elena who didn't even notice what had happened. I breathed out in disbelief and walked out. This wasn't normal, not even by my standards.
I all but ran outside in my high heels, trying to find Damon. He was outside, under the makeshift gazebo, the Lockwoods had erected for this occasion. I scoffed, he was trying to blend in. I saw him as what he really was, a monster. I stalked towards him and he grinned like he was proud of his actions.
"Ava, I don't know if I have complimented you but you look really—"
I slapped him, cutting him. Breathing in and out to calm myself. I stepped back and calmed myself before using my other hand to slap his other cheek.
"What was that for?" He asked, mildly annoyed. I knew that the slaps wouldn't have hurt him, not with his fast healing but it was something for me to get my anger out.
"You know exactly what that was for." I retorted, folding my arms around my chest. "You're sick, y'know that? You probably do or you wouldn't have done that to Caroline." His face hardened at the mention of Caroline's name. "I'm telling the Sheriff. Her mother." I added, walking away from him.
I didn't get far before Damon, walked up to me and turned me around. "You're not gonna do any of that." He paused. "In fact, you're not even gonna remember this conversation." He tried to compel me, his eyes dilated and he pushed my stray hairs back.
I slapped him again. I was getting tired of pretending. The bloodstone necklace felt warm against my chest, ignoring that feeling, I glared at him hard.
"There is something wrong with you. And you have the nerve to ask me to forget." I spat out.
"So you know." He said slowly, killing the distance between us. "You know what I am." He smirked.
My blood froze. I was so busy trying to defend Caroline that I accidentally almost exposed myself.
"All I know is that you're an abusive bastard who just so happens to be dating one of my best friends." I lied, staring into his storm blue eyes.
"Go see a therapist or something for your issues but don't take it out on Caroline" I added.
"You're not normal." I repeated, trying to get away from him. "Stay away from Caroline." I tried.
Damon's eyes flicked to an amber color for a second. He blinked and it was gone. "Ha." He breathed out.
"You're not normal, either." He stated with a smirk that for the first time scared me. It didn't work. That thing I did, didn't work on him and he knew I was trying to do something. He pushed a strand of my hair behind my ears and grabbed my face into his hands. "So what are you?"
From the corner of my eye, I could see Elena run out of the same door I had come in through but instead of going to Damon, she walked straight to Stefan.
I swallowed my fear and pushed him away from me. "What I am..." I breathed out. "...Is not important. What's important is you staying away from Caroline." I demanded, walking away, leaving him in the distance.
I walked back into the Mansion to find Caroline and Elena. They were gone. I didn't know where. And this place was big enough as it was. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath.
I wanted to see if I could repeat what happened on the night of Tanner's death and the night of the comet. That time, my instinct led me to Matt and Vicki when they were in danger. A cold chill took over my body. I felt like I had to go outside.
Knowing where to go now, I undid the straps of my heels and unrolled some ballet flats from my bag. I carried the heels in my hand as I walked on the lawn, following my instinct.
"-Caroline, what happened?" I heard Elena's voice echo through the garden.
"Caroline? Elena?" I called out.
"Over here." Elena called out to me. I carefully walked over to her. She handed me my first aid kit with her free hand.
I took it without a word. "Hey, you don't look so good." I touched her arm, gently turning her around to face us.
"I'm fine." She forced out with a broken smile while shaking. "I'm fine." She repeated with more conviction, trying to convince us.
Elena shook her head in disbelief. "No. You're shaking. Caroline—What—"
"I'm fine!" She repeated again, starting to hyperventilate.
"No, you're not. Oh my god. What did he—" I shook my head.
Elena glanced at me, worry for Caroline etched on her face. "Caroline, come here, come here." She called out to her, grabbing my arm.
Elena and I engulfed Caroline into a hug as she started to break down. What had Damon done to her? This wasn't the Caroline I grew up with. She was a shell of a girl now.
