Chapter 32: Dance Around The Roses


"Alright, thanks Liz." Uncle Nate came back into the dining room and ended the call with the Sheriff. By the looks of it, something was up again.

Shutting my journal, I focused on my uncle who looked tired. "What happened?"

"A couple of campers and a Park Ranger were found dead near a campsite."

"Elijah?" He was the only one that came to my mind while I was thinking of all the possibilities.

It didn't help that he made Mystic Falls his new home temporarily to keep an eye on Elena. The two had struck up a deal and in the midst of it, he requested a meeting with me. I obviously turned it down. I was still weary of him but I knew it wouldn't stop him for long especially since he had a deal with Elena.

"Doubt it." Uncle Nate paced around and grabbed a piece of toast off his plate. "The bodies were ripped apart—vampires, don't do that."

"Werewolf?" Mason wasn't in town anymore and that left only werewolf in town. At least one I knew of. "Tyler's the only one in town."

"About that…"

Of course, something had to happen, Mystic Falls never had a normal day even when I was away. "What happened?"

"Jules, a friend of Mason's, came to town the other day. I tried to contact Mason but he's been off-grid for a while."

"Why do I feel like you're not telling me the whole story?"

"Listen…I tried to talk them out of it but they didn't listen." Uncle Nate balled up his fists and let out a sigh of frustration. "Damon and Ric…they had the bright idea of provoking her."

I pulled my chair closer to the table and looked up at my uncle with wide eyes. Surely, Damon wasn't that reckless. "On a full moon?"

"On a full moon." He confirmed.

I was proven wrong again. Damon seemed to love doing that. "Those two are something."

"Tell me about it. Ric got lucky that I was there but Damon not so much."

"Is he…"

"Not exactly. Rose took the worst of it."

Oh.

My stomach dropped and I felt guilt gnawing in my chest. Rose, she was going to die. Uncle Nate and I shared a look. Both of us knew and I felt terrible.

She kidnapped Elena.

She's the reason why Elijah is in town.

My mind tried to justify Rose's condition. It tried so hard, somehow I didn't believe those whispers. Rose was trying her best to escape the fate she got because of Katherine and Kamilah.

It wasn't all her fault.

"We should head to the Boarding House and let everyone know what you found out." Uncle Nate grabbed his coat and motioned me to follow him as the maids came into the dining room to clean.


Pausing outside the Boarding House, I tried to go over everything I'd say. Stefan and Elena definitely needed leave and so did Caroline, I don't know how I'd break it to her or her mom. Tyler would be easier, I could convince him to go with Jules or Mason. That left Damon.

I didn't know how I was going to convince him of anything without…ugh. I hated how complicated he was as a person.

Convincing Elena would be just as hard as convincing Damon especially with her sudden savior complex which sprouted from nothing. Stefan would be a little easier to convince.

The door to the Boarding House opened and Stefan came out, looking like he was in a hurry. Speak of the devil and he'd appear.

"Going somewhere?" Asked my uncle, leaning against his car.

Stefan was in front of us before I could blink. "Nate. Ava. Perfect timing. I need your help."

"What exactly do you need?"

"I need a way to contact Isobel."

Isobel?

Confused, uncle Nate and I shared a look between ourselves. What was Stefan planning this time?

"Why do you need to talk to Isobel? Her information on the Sacrifice wasn't exactly accurate." I pointed out, shoving my hands inside my pocket.

"It's not just about the Sacrifice but…I think she might know something about the Originals." Stefan glanced back at the Boarding House for a moment, unfocused on us. He was listening to something or someone else. "Elijah compelled Katherine somehow and we don't know how."

I considered his words for a moment but before I could speak, uncle Nate took over. "You're in luck. Ava's dad recently contacted one of the European branches of our family and they actually had some stuff about the Originals."

"You guys have a European branch." Seriously that was what Stefan picked up on.

"Italian branch to be specific." I corrected him. "We only have two surviving branches of our family left excluding us—the main branch died off centuries ago."

"So your family has history with the Originals?"

"Somehow." Uncle Nate motioned to him to come closer and lowered his voice. "One of our ancestors was part of a group of hunters and they crossed paths with the Originals."

"And? Anything useful."

"They're hard to kill, stronger and faster than regular vampires—you already knew that. There's a way to kill them—unfortunately, the part of the document which recorded the method is a little hard to decipher."

"Maybe Isobel could help decipher it."

"We have our own experts in our own family." I was anxious about contacting Isobel. She wasn't the best mother to Elena or the best wife to Alaric or the best person to be around. "And I doubt Isobel wants to be found."

"Then we just have to find her." Stefan seemed more optimistic than me or uncle Nate. "Alaric might know something."

Uncle Nate chuckled before he muffled his laughter with his hand over his mouth. "Sorry it's just Ric spent months looking for her and he couldn't find her, you want him to find her?"

"If you have any brighter ideas, I'm all ears."

I glanced between the two and let out a sigh. I had a bunch where Isobel might be but I wasn't sure but it was the only lead I had. "Here's a plan, ask Ric for help and…I have a guess where Isobel might be."

"How?"

"It's a guess but…remember how I mentioned my grandparents and aunt's death anniversary was yesterday?" Stefan nodded. "There's a small chance Isobel might go back to Grove Hill to visit their graves, she had a soft spot for them."

"Thanks."

Uncle Nate said nothing for a second and glanced between the two of us. "I'm gonna check on Ric, he's at the Grill. I'll leave you two."

I watched uncle Nate leave before Stefan spoke while walking towards me. "That was…something."

It was something but I understood what my uncle was trying to do. "He's just giving us space to talk, which I don't mind but still…" I trailed off, kicking the dirt underneath my feet.

"We have bigger problems." Stefan finished for me and I nodded.

I just didn't know where to start. Looking up, I never checked in on him after he came out of the tomb. "How are you? Elena and you are back together, Katherine's still in the tomb." I started listing out, realizing a lot had happened in the day or two I was gone.

"Elena made a deal with Elijah and Damon managed to piss off another werewolf. I mean things could be worse. At least you're not doing anything—"

"Please don't say that. I feel like you're jinxing us." I said, looking back at the Boarding House.

"Wouldn't want that now would we?" Stefan commented with a dry laugh. Despite being a little happier, he looked tired. I mean so was I.

Between Elena's recklessness and Damon's impulsiveness, Stefan was starting to age a little even though he was immortal. I wouldn't lie and say I was doing fine. I wasn't.

"No, we wouldn't." I agreed. "So you're fine?"

"As fine as anyone could be trapped with their crazy ex." He answered.

I chuckled. "Point taken." Katherine was a handful, still I did pity her a little. I'd never say that outloud, maybe when Katherine was on her deathbed, I'd tell her but for now she could live like that. "I heard about Rose."

"Damon was being reckless." Stefan didn't really care about Rose. He appeared distracted, probably still thinking about finding Isobel.

I knew that but Rose didn't deserve to be hurt. "When is he not? I just…wish he'd take me seriously for once." Countless warnings from me always went out the other ear but he'd never hesitate to give me an earful if I was reckless which surprisingly wasn't that frequent, not as frequent as Damon and Elena. Both of which were different as day and night but were similar when it came to being reckless idiots.

"Yeah well, it's Damon. He won't tell you but he's really upset about Rose."

"But you're not." Stefan wasn't even upset, he was more focused on Isobel than anything. "And don't try to say you are."

"I find it hard to sympathize with someone who kidnapped my girlfriend and put us all in danger." I sighed.

He was right and I couldn't argue back without saying. "She had her reasons."

"Huh. It's not like you to sympathize with people like her."

"She's one of the people my grandmother screwed over."

Stefan smiled and chuckled quietly under his breath. "You…pity her."

"Am I not allowed to?"

"No, it's just a little funny. You don't really care but you pity her." He was right again. It was funny how Stefan always knew what was going on inside my mind without a word, he just knew with one look. It was nice in a way.

I sighed again and looked around before confessing to him. "I…told her to watch Damon when I left." So I felt bad and I hoped Stefan would pick up on what I said and he did. "Anyways, is Elena still in there?"

"Yeah, so is Damon. He's watching over Rose. Knowing Elena, she's probably going to try and convince me to back off and not find Isobel."

I could see where both Stefan and Elena were coming from. They both had reasons. Elena's was mostly emotional. She was scared of her own mother, understandable but me being the practical person agreed with Stefan. We needed Isobel.

Loosening my braided hair, I threw my hair back. "Frustrated?" Stefan asked, again knowing what I was feeling without a word.

"You can tell." I noted.

"Not that hard. You always play with your hair whenever you get annoyed." I rolled my eyes, unable to disagree. "Well anyways, I hope you won't try to stop me."

I scoffed. "I literally told you where you might find Isobel. Why would I try to stop you?"

He shrugged in response. "I figured, you'd take Elena's side—given you two are close."

"Stefan, you're probably the most sanest person in this little group and the second smartest—I say second because we clearly know I'm the smartest—"

"Won't disagree with that."

"Exactly and we both know, I'm practical like you, not emotional like Elena or…Damon."

Stefan's eyes widened for a second and he tilted his head to the side. "You noticed that? Damon…"

"It's hard not to notice. He's usually the one doing things on a whim based on whatever his mood is like, funnily enough, Elena's like that."

"Yeah…" Stefan's face fell and he nodded.

"I mean they're alike but there's going on between them and nothing will happen."

"Of course." He agreed, a little too fast. "Is that your faery intuition?"

"Maybe." I said with a bright grin and Stefan couldn't help but laugh.

"I'll take your word for it besides Damon's in love with—"

Here we go again. I sighed and quickly cut him off. "I know. I know." He was surprised I did know and was about to speak. "I'd rather not think about it."

"It's not fair for him."

"And I'm not fully over what happened with…nevermind. I heard you're taking vervain now?"

Stefan stared at me without answering. He wanted to press me for more answers regarding Damon but I didn't want to talk even if I did, I didn't think it was the right time. "Elijah compelled Katherine."

"I heard, well, my ancestors' journals did say the Originals were stronger than normal vampires."

"Not reassuring. I've even upped my dosage of human blood."

"How's that going for you?"

"I haven't gone off the rails yet so I guess I'm fine. I've been letting Lexi know too, just in case." He did look fine so I didn't press him for more. "I didn't ask, how are you?"

I smiled and Stefan mimicked me. "Same as ever. It was kinda boring in Grove Hill but I did find one of my grandmother's journals except…"

"Except?" He echoed back.

"It was in a combination of Latin and Old English. Took me a while to translate it, I even had to rely on a passing art student who totally was not a vampire I met at a graveyard." I trusted Stefan to be calm when I told him about Nik. I had to tell someone and my brother might've been okay with keeping things to himself but I struggled a little.

"You met a vampire at a graveyard? Ava, what—"

"Look I don't know how it happened but it happened. What matters is I got something out of it." I rather not think about Nik. He reminded me so much of someone I once knew but at the same time, I didn't. It was confusing for me and I rather not think about it. "I did learn a few things. The doppelgänger isn't the only ingredient to break this curse."

"There's more?"

I nodded and looked away, trying to recall the other 'ingredients'. "A vampire, werewolf and a witch are also needed."

"Caroline, Tyler and Bonnie." Stefan guessed like I did. "Katherine didn't turn Caroline without a reason or trigger Tyler's—"

"And Mason's curse." I reminded him.

"She knew." Stefan finished. "Katherine knew and there's a chance Isobel does too." He turned away and started going towards his car and I followed. "Stay here and watch Elena and Rose."

"Stefan, I can help find Isobel faster." I had a better idea where she was, more so than our history teacher.

"I know you can but I need you to watch Rose."

Watch Rose? I didn't understand why he was making that my task. "Is it because of Elena?"

"No, Rose is the first person we know who was bit by a werewolf—we don't know that'll affect the rest of us."

"Look from the way my uncle described it—it seemed like an infected bite."

"Exactly. It might be infectious. She might spread whatever is happening to her to us or Damon." His reasoning was sound but there was fifty percent chance of that happening.

"Uh, I find that hard to believe."

"It's better to be prepared for the worst and knowing Elena and Damon, they'll try to take care of Rose and if she becomes dangerous…"

My eyes widened as I realized where he was going with this. He didn't care about Rose at all and neither did I. Pity was not the same as caring.

"You want me to put her down." I finished for him and he nodded. "I have nothing to say about that. I'll…" I swallowed the rising guilt and nodded again. "I'll keep you updated and Stefan," He stopped when I called out to him. "Be careful."

He acknowledged what I said and waved me off with a tired smile before getting in his car and driving off, leaving me alone outside the Boarding House. I hesitated for a second, wondering how I was going to face Rose, knowing I would eventually kill her.

Inside, I walked into Elena asking Damon if Rose is going to die and he said. "Sooner she died, the better." He didn't mean that.

I rolled my eyes and without thinking, I blurted out. "You don't mean that."

Damon turned to me and gave me a sad and tired smile before it was gone, replaced by his usual overconfident grin. He noticeably brightened up seeing me. "Here comes the mind-reader." He said to Elena before carrying on. "You're back, how was the memorial? Find anything good?"

"I did but it can wait." And I even told Stefan. I wanted to tell Elena and Damon but one look at the two told me, it wasn't the best time. "I just bailed on Caroline so you guys better make this worth my time."

Awkwardly, Elena glanced between me and Damon before patting my shoulders and walking out, saying. "I'm going to give you two some space."

That was weird.

Ignoring her, Damon was right in front of me within seconds. "I need to ask you for a favor? Can you watch over Rose with Elena?"

"You can't be serious? Babysitting duty." I mean I already had the same job from Stefan, I didn't expect Damon to ask me the same thing.

"Something light and something to keep you out of trouble." He said with a grin.

Look who was talking. I was the last person who invited trouble. In fact, I'd avoid most problems if it didn't affect the people I loved. "That's some projection there." I muttered, throwing my head back. "Ugh fine. I'll see what I can do. I'll need to drop by my place and pick some things from the archive."

"Do you want a ride?"

"Maybe." Uncle Nate did leave me here to go to the Grill and Stefan was long gone already. "How's…the bite?" I cautiously asked, walking with him to the entrance.

Damon hesitated near the door before pulling me outside and a little closer than usual. His lips near my ears. "Not good."

I pulled back and frowned. "It's not healing?" He shook his head. "Have you tried giving her extra…blood?"

"It's a remedy at best." He still was awfully close to me and I didn't pull away. "I can't keep lying to her."

"Or yourself." I pointed out. Damon tried to argue but I quickly started talking, pulling away from his touch and walking to his car. "Look you can lie to everyone but it's pretty obvious to me that you somehow care about Rose."

Damon let out a quiet laugh. "I…don't care about Rose. I just—"

"What?" I tilted my head to the side and pursed my lips. "You feel guilty because she took the bite for you."

"Yeah, that's it."

"Bullshit." He was lying. I could tell. The way his eyes and lips trembled like he was going to shed a tear or two or the way he kept looking away and not meeting my gaze or the way he kept pulling at his dark hair. "I can tell you're lying."

Damon didn't say anything in response and drove me back to my place in silence. He stood around the outside and out of sight while I went to get the rest of the stuff I might need. I even took my grandma Janine's grimoire and a bunch of herbs just in case.

Now, I wasn't a witch by any means but I wanted to help. Uncle Nate had already made some herbal concoctions for her, I didn't know if they'd work and neither did he, considering he hadn't practiced magic in so long. Maybe Rose was an experiment or maybe I cared. I didn't know. Damon wasn't the only one lying to themselves.


I held the door to Damon's room open as Elena helped Rose into his bed. "I hate this." Rose began. "I'm a vampire. I haven't had a cold in five centuries."

"Just get in bed." Elena softly commanded.

I stood back with a mug in my hand, listening to Rose babble on. She was slowly losing her sanity. Elena couldn't tell and I guess neither could Damon. "When we die, it's fast and sudden." I nodded, watching her take her jacket off and revealing the bite mark. "And it's not certainly not drawn out with an illness."

It wasn't an illness. Slowly, I walked up to the bed and leaned closer to inspect the wound for a few seconds before Rose got under the sheets.

The bite mark was infected, bruised and though the blood had faded away, the wound hadn't healed at all. It was yellowing and white pus was coming out of it. I guess I was glad, Rose got under the covers quick enough for me to not see the wound any longer.

I handed her the mixture of herbal tea that uncle Nate attempted to make from grandma Janine's grimoire. "Drink this." It was meant to alleviate pain and sickness, I didn't know if it would work on vampires. "It's a combination of herbs. It's supposed to slow down the effects of venoms and poisons; My uncle tried to modify it as best as he could. I'm not a witch so I don't know if it's going to work even if I do have magic."

"Faery magic was said to be more potent than a witch's." Hesitantly, Rose took the drink. Elena tried to take a look inside the mug before backing off.

"It is?" Elena questioned while eying me and I rolled my eyes. I didn't know what she was thinking at that moment but I knew it wasn't anything helpful.

"At least that's what I heard. For someone like me faeries were mostly mythical creatures like werewolves." Rose carried on. "Carmela, Ava's grandmother, was the only one I met in my entire life."

There it was again. The cold sickly feeling of guilt for something I didn't do. "... I'm sorry, because of her—"

Rose sighed. "How many times—cough—will you apologize?" Her coughing got louder and louder. I quickly handed her a handkerchief and she thanked me silently. "It won't change a thing. Sins of the father—"

"—the burden of the son." I finished.

Rose took another careful sip from her drink, breathing out in relief. I guess it worked. "I suppose if I should die, this isn't a bad deal. I always thought one of the Originals would take me out."

"You're not going to die." Elena tried, looking at me to confirm her words and even Rose turned to me.

But I couldn't mutter a few words of comfort out like that, not without lying. "...You'll be fine." Was all I could say.

Rose let out a tired laugh. "You don't really believe that."

"Of course she does." Elena grabbed my hand and pulled at it. She was desperate to give comfort to a dying vampire and I wasn't. I didn't know how to lie when someone was on the brink of death. "Right, Ava." Again, I couldn't say anything. "You're not going to die."

"Such a human thing to say." Rose looked away and let out a tired breath. "I suppose that's why Ava's so quiet. You know…"

"You'll be fine. Just finish drinking that." I picked up the half-finished mug and held it close to her face.

I couldn't tell her cheap lies that she didn't believe in herself. I wasn't like Elena who could easily lie to dying people to comfort them. I wasn't like that. All I could offer Rose was comfortable silence.

Elena grew quiet, detaching herself from me and looking around while I was focused on Rose and the mug of the herbal concoction.

"You two have never been in Damon's room." Rose finished the drink and handed me the mug before laying down.

"It's just a room with a bed." Elena answered, motioning towards me. "...And Ava's been here before."

Rose chuckled into Damon's pillow, picking her head up to look at me with a tired but teasing smile. "Not surprised." She said between her soft laughs. "You…and Damon—"

I sucked in a breath and let go. Before she could finish, I was already explaining things to her. "I fainted from overusing my magic once during Stefan's birthday, Damon fed me his blood and brought me here—not my proudest moment."

"I can imagine." She still had that teasing smile on her face. "But I'm sure he liked it."

Tilting my head to the side, I scrunched up my face in confusion. "Not really. He wasn't the happiest…in fact, he was pretty mad…" I trailed off, noticing the tired looks from both Elena and Rose.

"She's not that bright is she?" Rose said to Elena who just shrugged.

"Ava's smart, she's just not…" Elena pursed her lips and smiled sadly.

"You two know I'm in the room, right?"

"Oh, we're aware." Rose answered while Elena awkwardly looked around. She didn't know how to act around Rose. "You two are lucky…I've never been loved the way people love you two."

"I doubt that." Elena took a seat next to Rose on the bed and held her hand in comfort. "I'm sure people loved you."

"Not the way they love you two. I didn't have much of a family." Rose was staring at me as she uttered those words. "Or friends or even lovers. Trevor…" She swallowed back her tears and carried on. "...was my best friend."

"You still have Slater." I pointed out, grabbing a blood bag and cutting it before pouring Rose a glance.

Smelling the blood, Rose paused as dark veins of hunger appeared under her eyes. I gave her the glass and she hungrily finished the glass as soon as I handed it to her.

She licked her lips clean and passed me the glass. "It's not the same." She croaked out.

"Aren't you and Slater close?" Elena pressed.

"We are but Trevor and I went way back and please don't apologize to me again." Rose gave me a pointed look as I gave her another glass of blood. "I spent all those years running from Elijah, I never thought it was a good idea to set up some roots. The whole idea of family is not exactly compatible with being a vampire."

Her words seemed to have affected Elena as my childhood best friend glanced back at me with shaky eyes. She was thinking of her and Stefan but I was thinking of something else. My aunt Evelyn's husband, I remembered when he was turned, his thirst for blood override his love for my aunt and his family.

I agreed with Rose. Vampires and families weren't compatible. "Well, I understand." I muttered. This time handing Elena the glass of blood and backing away from Rose.

"I expected you to." Rose murmured. Her eyes were becoming a little foggy and glassed up. She wasn't in the best of conditions. "Why are you so eager to give up?" I paused and turned but Rose wasn't looking at me but at Elena.

Quietly, I backed off from the two. Maybe Rose could speak some sense into her. I know I couldn't.

Elena, expecting me to answer for her, looked for me again while I busied myself, checking over my messages from Stefan. "I'm not giving up on anything." Elena managed to answer. "Here." She offered Rose the blood I poured before.

"What do you call this deal Elijah?"

A suicide mission.

"I call it my best option." Was what Elena went with.

Rose scoffed. "It's your easiest option." She corrected.

I checked the wound from Rose's exposed shoulder and turned to Elena. I pulled Elena aside and quietly said to her. "Watch over her but don't get too close to her, I'm gonna get something from my bag."

Keeping my eyes on the two, I left the room and went to the foyer where I left my stuff. Rose wasn't going to make it, no matter how much Elena and Damon were deluding themselves into thinking she'd be fine, I didn't think that. Rose wasn't fine. She'd never be fine after that bite, the chances of her survival were slim.

The front door opened and Slater hurried inside. "Rose?" He asked, looking around. His coat was half-worn and his hair unkempt. He appeared almost…human. If only I wasn't able to sense vampires, he might have fooled me.

"Damon's room. Did you find anything?" I zipped up my bag and took out grandma Janine's grimoire and flicked it open to a page dedicated to healing.

Slater gave me a grim look and shook his head. "I scoured the entire web and even went through the texts you lent me but…I got nothing. Everything is mostly the same." His words were dragged out and pained as he took off his coat and hung it up. "Werewolf bite is fatal to vampires. That was it."

"So I guess…this is it." I muttered and Slater looked away, rubbing his eyes. "We'll just have to make her comfortable—it's the least we can do."

I closed my bag after taking out a flask of herbal tea my uncle made earlier and went over to the bar to grab a glass. "That's not gonna work. Most witches' cures or remedies are for the living, not the dead and you're not a witch."

"No, I'm not." I agreed. "But it's worth a shot."

In silence, Slater watched as I poured the herbal tea into a glass. Slater got up abruptly. "You can heal people!" He said suddenly and I nodded. "Maybe you can—"

"No." I shot him down quickly, stirring the drink. I knew I couldn't heal vampires. Vicki's graying and burning corpse flashed into my mind and I recoiled, momentarily stopping and taking a few steps back. "No." I repeated, sucking in a breath and letting it go. "I can't. I can't…it'll only hurt her."

"You won't know if you don't try."

"Slater." I quietly warned as Vicki again appeared in my mind. "I will kill her if I try that."

"Again—"

I slammed the shaker onto the bar and leaned over it to look at him. "I've tried! Not on Rose but I've tried and it doesn't work so I'm sorry but I can't…unless you want me to put her out of her misery then I can do it."

Slater went silent and nodded somberly, choosing not to press me for anything else. He sat back down and started fidgeting around. "What about…giving her your blood?"

"And why would I do that?"

"You're a faery."

"I'm more human…well somewhat human than faery. My mom's a half faery, dad is a supernatural hunter. I'm not exactly a full faery and even if I was—I don't see how my blood would make a difference."

He got up and took the finished concoction, offering to carry it to Rose. Still, he was skeptical of it working and was more focused on the new idea for a remedy he had. My blood. I didn't think that would work even if Damon, Stefan and even Caroline had admitted to me that I smelt different from other humans, including my family.

"You won't know if you don't try."

"And I don't want to." Because it wouldn't work. I knew that already, I just didn't know how to say it out loud. "Not because I don't want to help Rose. I don't know the side effects—I'm sure that you don't want to take that chance."

He shook his head but he wasn't focused on what I was saying. I patted his shoulder and went past him to Damon's room.

"I heard Elena made a deal with Elijah." I paused and nodded. "Then maybe—"

"No, I'm not taking that risk. I'm sorry. I can't. Speaking of Elijah, have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Stefan came out of the tomb."

"Yeah, I saw him. The tomb spell was lowered—it still blows my mind that witches are real."

"That's not the point, the point is Elijah can compel people."

Mid-step, he paused, his eyes wide. "Shit. These Originals are—wait, maybe Elijah could—"

"No. I'd rather ask Katherine and you should start drinking vervain and maybe get out of town."

"I'll keep that in mind—can you even trust Katherine Pierce?"

Obviously no. I couldn't. Despite her friendship with my grandma Mila, I didn't know her well enough to trust her and what I did know about her was from Lydia's memories and a little bit of Penelope. I didn't say anything and just carried on to Damon's room.

Elena stood in the middle of Damon's room wide eyed as I opened the door and stepped in. "Where's Rose?" Slater asked, going past me. Elena shook her head, eyes wide in fear as she tried to make her way towards me.

Before any of us could react, Rose appeared behind Elena. Her eyes were dark and unfocused. I only caught a glimpse of her before she grabbed Elena

"Rose don't!" I shouted, throwing my hand in the air.

Bright light swallowed the room, the pungent stench of burning flesh wafted in the air. Rose let out a cry of pain followed by shrieks of anguish.

Slater grabbed my hand, forcibly lowering it. "Stop it! You're hurting her!"

I sucked in a breath and clicked my fingers and the light dissipated into the shadows again. Elena grabbed onto me tight, hugging my arm as she peered down to find Rose who was now sobbing on the floor.

"I-I'm so sorry." She cried. "I didn't mean to."

Rose's tears made Elena's hurt melt with foolish compassion. She let go and carefully approached Rose. "Elena don't." I warned her but like always, Elena ignored me.

"It's okay." She said, trying to placate me. "She's…just ill."

"Elena, listen to Ava." Slater tried. Again Elena ignored us both.

The moment Elena touched Rose, she was on the floor with Rose on top of her, growling and hissing. "It's all your fault, Katerina."

Slater sped towards the two and separated them, holding Rose down and trying his hardest to calm her. I dragged my hand up and the electrical lights began to flicker. Slater quickly gave me a pointed look and I dropped my hand.

"Come on, Rose. It's okay. Katherine isn't here." Slater soothed Rose, holding her to the floor.

I grabbed Elena and pulled her up, dragging her with me to the door. Rose glared at her and growled at her, baring her teeth. "You, Katerina, you did this."

"No! Rose. Rose, look at her. That's not Katherine, it's Elena. Elena Gilbert, the other doppelgänger—the…nice one."

"No! Katerina did this." I heard a loud crack and I knew Slater wouldn't hold her down for long. "She betrayed us!"

"No! That was Katherine! This is Elena. Remember? Remember!"

This wasn't going to end well. "Okay, I need you to get ready to run, 'Lena." I whispered, pulling Elena close and keeping an eye on the door.

"I'm not leaving. Rose needs help." Of course, she had to argue with me on this.

"She's going to kill you." I had to spell it out for her.

Elena took deep breaths; she was trembling but refused to make a move.

Dammit Elena.

I raised my hand and concentrated on the air. Five small orbs of light formed above my head as the dusts of light danced around my fingertips. When they were formed, I slowly backed away but not before taking Elena's hands into mine.

Rose quietened down for a second. Slater was about to let her go until I hurriedly made gestures telling him not to fall for it a second time.

Nobody said anything for a moment, Rose quietly stared at the floor. Black veins still throbbing underneath her eyes. "... Kami—Kamilah…" I heard her mutter under her breath. "Kamilah, did you enjoy ruining our lives?" She said with a sadistic smile which felt so foreign on her.

Rose's face flickered for a second and Isaac's face morphed with her's. I could hear his face and his laughter. It was dark, so dark and muddy and rainy and the stench of blood was overwhelming.

"...I want you to forget." I heard a voice of someone familiar in the distance.

I blinked away the tears forming and focused on Rose. "Snap out of it!" I struggled to breathe let alone talk as Rose dryly laughed.

"Ava?" Rose echoed and I nodded. "Elena?"

"That's right." Elena said, behind me.

Rose blinked and looked around the room, stopping at me and Elena. Her eyes widened like she had seen us for the first time. "Oh god, I don't know what's happening to me."

"It's alright. You're gonna be alright." Elena tried to soothe Rose, carefully approaching her. "It was just for a second." I should've pulled Elena back but I was momentarily distracted by my own thoughts.

"I'm sorry. Don't be scared of me."

"I'm not." Elena answered without hesitation, looking back at me to agree. "Ava's not scared either, are you?"

I wasn't scared, I was concerned. There was a clear difference. "Rest." I muttered out and held out the mug of the herbal concoction as Slater led her back to the bed. "Drink this and sleep for a while."

"I'm scared." Rose carried on like she wasn't listening.

"I know." I answered, watching her drink the concoction. Maybe I should've added vervain to it. I awoke at the thought and blinked trying to erase it.

What was I thinking?

"I don't want to die."

Elena foolishly decided to get closer to Rose. I know I should've stopped it but I was distracted by my own thoughts. "You're not alone. We're right here."

Rose sprung from the bed and looked around. "Here? Where's here?"

"Damon's room—the Salvatore Boarding House." Slater answered, tucking Rose in while she looked around strangely as if she'd forgotten where and when it was.

"Slater?"

"I'm right here."

"I wanna go home." Rose cried.

Slater rubbed her hands soothingly as if he understood her. Of course he did. "Tell us about it." Elena asked.

"St. Austell, thirty kilometers south of London."

I frowned. St. Austell was not thirty kilometers south of London, it was further. I chalked it up to Rose's delirium which really wasn't reassuring for me, if anything it only made me even more nervous.

I zoned out for a moment while taking out my phone to text Damon. I did hesitate at first and was tempted to text Stefan instead but stopped. Stefan was already busy trying to find Isobel.

When I looked up, Rose was staring at me as if she knew what I was thinking. She gave me a sound smile and continued speaking to Slater and Elena. "...When you live long enough everything disappears." I sympathized with her, time was an all consuming hurricane. "So much time wasted. I just wish I hadn't been so afraid."

"You didn't know how things would turn out." I spoke without thinking. "It's okay to be afraid."

Rose let out a weak laugh, her eyes fluttered open and closed. "Are…you trying to comfort me…or yourself?"

I didn't know how to respond. Elena stared at me curiously but I didn't look at her. Elena poured a glass of blood and handed it to Rose while Slater busied himself on the side to research a cure for Rose.

I didn't think there was one.


"So Damon's provoking Jules—the other werewolf in town?" I questioned, rubbing my throbbing forehead to ease the light headache that had formed over the past few months.

Stefan made a noise and I rolled my eyes. Damon's never learned, you'd think he'd take this opportunity to learn but nope he decided to go threaten the werewolf.

"Hey, at least it's not a full moon." I tried.

"He's still being reckless."

"Your brother."

"And he doesn't listen to me."

"He doesn't really listen to anyone else either."

Silence answered me before Stefan spoke again. "That's not true."

"Whatever. Damon only listens to me because of my constant threats."

Quiet laughter echoed from the other side and I rolled my eyes. Laugh it off, Stefan. "And when was the last time you actually threatened him to do something?"

I tried to recall when and it didn't take me long to realize that somewhere along the line, I actually stopped. "Whatever, just be careful with Isobel. I'll talk to you later."


Rose let out weak coughs, rolling around in Damon's sheets. Her dry wheezes were accompanied by the quiet noise of pages being flipped. She stopped moving and abruptly sat up.

Without meaning to, a shield made out of light sprung up between me and Rose. "Sorry I didn't mean to." I tried to lower it but much to my annoyance, it didn't go away. I kept concentrating, still it didn't go away. "I'm trying…"

"Take your time." Rose lay back down and let out a sigh. "You really don't trust me." Her voice was quiet, low enough for me to hear and there was a tinge of sadness to her tone.

"...I pity you which is hard as it is, considering I was thought to fear and kill people like you."

"Ouch." Rose laughed before her laughter turned to coughs again. She stretched out her arms and grabbed one of the blood bags I left for her by the nightstand and poked it with a straw. "I forgot how honest you are. You probably know."

I nodded. She knew as well that she wasn't going to make it. "Damon, Elena and Slater think otherwise so it doesn't matter."

"Stefan doesn't care at all." She went on, sitting up straight. "You—are too honest for your own good but so hard to read. Ugh. Even she wasn't this hard. You know…cough…cough…" Hurriedly, she took a sip of the blood. "Where was I?" I didn't know, she didn't finish.

"Here," I handed more of the herbal tea to her and put away the grimoire. I wish I could do more. I had magic, I knew that but I didn't know if I could cast spells or anything else apart from summoning light. "It should help."

"It's stalling my condition at best." Rose admitted taking the mug. "I wonder," The shield of light I unconsciously put up disappeared for a few minutes before it sprung up again. Rose laughed seeing it before she quietened and became sad. "Did you ever mean to keep your end of the deal? You know for me to protect Elena and watch Damon in your absence."

"I did. I'm someone who keeps their promises."

Rose sighed. "The Countess wasn't like that."

"The Countess?"

She nodded. "Countess Carmela—Kamilah, your grandmother."

"Oh." I forgot that she was a countess though that didn't change much. "That's a little weird considering—"

"Faeries love making and keeping deals." I knew that from Vanessa's research. "But they're mischievous things you know, they always find loopholes in every deal—when I was a child, my mother used to warn me about those creatures—how I should never cross them but I didn't listen."

"It's not your fault."

But Rose wasn't listening. She wetted her drying lips and took a sip of her drink. "Once Trevor snuck me into the castle—I hid from Klaus and Elijah—was like a whole new world for me."

"You weren't a noble?"

"I was a peasant." She giggled as if it was the funniest thing in the world. "So was Trevor—one night, Trevor snuck me in when the Originals were not home and I wandered around the gardens of the castle. It was…the most beautiful place I'd ever been and that's when I saw her for the first time—the widowed Countess. They said she was old but she looked younger than the vampires there."

"She was a faery." I assumed faeries were immortal or else Kamilah wouldn't be my grandmother but my ancestor instead.

Again Rose didn't listen to what I was saying, lost in that maze of her own memories. "I wish I never went inside the castle. I should've turned Katerina in…I wish…"

"Rose." I gently called her, trying to shake her awake from daydream. "Rose. Rose!"

Rose jumped awake and looked around before her gaze settled on me. "What were we talking about?"

"You need to rest. I need to make a call."

"Damon?" Rose guessed, tucking herself back to bed. "Or maybe Stefan?"

I didn't say anything in response and left the room just as Slater went in to check on Rose. In the parlor where I thought I'd call Damon, I found Elena pacing around. "Can we talk?" She asked and I realized then that she was waiting for me.

Honestly, I didn't want to talk. I was still a little mad about her deal with Elijah. "A little busy right now, maybe later."

"Please. I'm sorry."

I scoffed. She was sorry? That was funny. Funny how Elena was always sorry. "Well, I'm sure you weren't sorry when you made that deal with Elijah."

Elena let go as if she had been burned by my words and folded her arms around her body. "It was the only choice I had."

"Like Rose said, it was the easy choice."

"And what would you have done?"

"Do you even care?"

"Of course I do!" Elena said but I was starting not to believe her. "You're one of my best friends and I will always care about what you think."

Again, I couldn't bring myself to believe and get swayed by her words. "Then why didn't you tell me about the deal? I had to find out from Stefan."

And like I knew she would, she looked away. Too afraid or cowardly to look me in the eye and talk. Elena was throwing away her life and painting it as an act of martyr and that pissed me off because the Sacrifice wasn't just about her. Other people would die as well.

"I…I wanted to. I tried. Elijah said he'd tell you."

What?

Shaking my head, I took a step back. I didn't understand Elijah's sudden fascination with me. Actually, I did have an idea. I was Kamilah's granddaughter. He was acquainted with my grandmother, meaning I didn't trust him even more.

I sighed. Elena was either innocent or stupid enough to believe Elijah. "And you believed him."

"He gave me his word and Elijah is a man of his word."

"Right. Of course."

"Ava, please. I need you."

"—To clean up your messes? I know."

"No. That's not—"

"You don't get it. Do you?" I was getting more and more annoyed. "You're not the only one in danger anymore—" I said, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. "We all are."

Elena threw my hands off her shoulders. "I know that. I know you and I aren't safe." She wasn't getting it. "Elijah promised that he'd protect my loved ones."

"And you believed him."

"Yes. He said he came here to protect you anyway and actually asked for a meeting."

This was getting ridiculous. "So you're like his messenger now?"

"What? No. Ava, look, I'm doing this for us."

No she wasn't. "Did I give you permission to act on my behalf—no, I didn't and ugh! You don't get it. It's not just about me and you, it's—"

"Hey," Slater barged in the middle of our argument and stopped in the center of the parlor. It took him a minute to realize that we were arguing and he started to back off. "Bad timing?"

Forcing herself to smile, Elena took that as a cue to end the argument. "N-no, not all. We were just talking." I snorted and looked away, taking out my phone as Elena let out a deep sigh. "Is everything okay?"

"Rose…threw up. We need to change the sheets."

"I'll help." Elena offered without being asked.

She's so…ugh.

I didn't say anything and just left her and Slater there to go upstairs. I needed space to talk to Damon, somewhere a little far so neither Slater or Rose would hear me and the furthest room from Damon's was Stefan's.

Well he did say I was welcome.


Damon sounded tired when he picked up his phone and greeted me. "How's things going?"

I bit my lips and looked at the closed door. "You want the good or the bad?"

"Both."

"Well good news, the herbal remedies my uncle made are stalling her condition."

"What's the bad news?"

"She's losing her mind." I answered without hesitating. There was no nicer way to say it without being blunt. "Looks like she's suffering from delirium, excessive hunger and insomnia caused by the werewolf venom. Slater took a sample from the bite to analyze it and…it's like rabies and you know rabies is normally—"

For a moment, Damon didn't say anything. I did hear him slam his head back onto his car seat. He was frustrated. "Try to make her comfortable and—"

"You went to ask that werewolf for a cure, didn't you?"

Damon clicked his tongue and I could hear him quietly mutter curses under his breath. "Stefan needs to learn to keep his mouth shut."

I sighed and ruffled my hair, throwing my head back. "Maybe you need to stop being so impulsive and reckless all the time."

I heard him cough a few times before he started to speak again. "Worse comes to worse we stake her—" His tone of voice had changed from before. It was like he was forcing himself to sound cocky and uncaring.

"Stop acting like you don't care, Damon. We both know you care about her!" I cut him off, annoyed that he was really pretending he didn't care.

"Ah, are you jealous?"

"Ugh. This isn't about me. Look, you care about Rose even if you won't admit it or else you wouldn't have asked about the cure."

Again, Damon responded with silence before he spoke after a few minutes of quiet. "You know sometimes I hate you."

"Good." Keep it that way. It'll be easier for both of us to untangle ourselves from each other's lives that way. "You know I'm right."

"I know all too well how right you always are." I smiled sadly at what he said. "There's no cure. Jules—the werewolf—Mason's friend said there's no cure."

Oh.

I already knew Rose wasn't going to make it but hearing it from Damon made me feel even worse. Bleak and grim. Rose was going to die a slow agonizing death and the only cure was a quicker death. I didn't know what to say.

"I'll handle it. I don't need you to worry about this anymore…just watch her."

"Handle it? How exactly are you—oh." Of course, a stake through the heart was the cure to end Rose's suffering. It would be hard for him. Even if he didn't want to say it out loud, I knew how much he cared about Rose; he wouldn't be able to kill her. "You know I'm a trained vampire hunter."

"Are you going to threaten me again?"

"No, I was offering my help. I'll do it if you want me to."

"I'll think about it." He wouldn't. "Just…be careful."

"Try not to provoke the werewolf too much." I said, hanging up.

Damon wasn't going to let me help. He'd be the one to kill Rose. Well, I did offer my help. Still I couldn't help but feel strangely upset about it.

Brushing those thoughts away, I headed downstairs again. Slater had gone out again to his new place while Elena was supposed to be changing the sheets but it was strangely quiet in the house. I could only hear my footsteps.

"Elena?" I called out. She didn't answer. "Rose?" Nobody answered. I could only hear the creaking of the floorboards I stepped on.

Maybe the two went out?

I wandered around the house, looking for the two. As I stepped into the foyer, Slater opened the door with a grim look on his face and a closed black umbrella but before he could say any we heard shrieks across the house.

"Ava! Slater!" I heard Elena's shriek came from the study. Slater was gone within seconds and I was on his tail.

In the study, Rose cried out in pain as sunlight from the windows burned her flesh. Now it was her shrieking. Slater quickly grabbed her and held her close to him, trying to soothe her while Elena lay on the ground.

I ran to Elena and dragged her off the ground but before checking her for any injuries. "I'm fine." She breathed out. "Rose, she—" Elena swallowed back her tears and tried to continue but I wasn't listening.

"She's getting worse, Slater." I said, looking at the screaming Rose.

"I know that! I can see it." He spat out. "It's okay, Rose."

"Katerina…" Rose moaned as Slater shook her.

Slater shook her violently. "Snap out of it!"

Rose wasn't listening anymore. Her gaze was clouded as she lost in the maze of her memories and her grudges. She grew silent again. I could feel Elena trembling even more by my side, her grip on my hand tightened, nearly cutting off my blood circulation.

Shit.

The silence was cut short when I heard another crack. Shit. Elena and I shared a look. She didn't argue and looked at the door. Rose followed our eyes.

Crack.

Slater let out a cry followed by another crack but I nor Elena looked back to check. With a snap of my fingers, the orbs flew through the air, crashing into Rose as Elena and I ran through the Boarding House, hand-in-hand.

We ran to the front door, Rose was faster. She recovered quickly from the sunburns. She threw me to the ground, separating me from Elena before pushing her against the door.

I groaned in pain and tried to get up but when I tried to, sharp pain shot through my left hand making me cry out in pain. I must've sprained my hand.

"Katerina!" She screeched.

I flicked my injured hand and there was a loud crack as dusts of light burst from the injured hand. The pain was instantly gone. I jumped up and a few orbs of light formed above me.

"No!" Elena tried to push her off as Rose dove into her neck. Elena dug her hand into Rose's wound and scratched at it. Rose screamed and backed off. "Ava! Come on!" Elena held out her hand for me as Rose rolled on the ground screaming.

Elena and I started to run again but this time she ran upstairs, straight to Stefan's room. I mean we could've used the back entrance to escape but whatever.

"Grab that." I said, pointing to the wooden dresser nearby. Elena and I used it to block the door before falling to the floor. "Oh god. We need to kill her." I breathed out.

My childhood best friend nodded and went over to the nightstand and broke it, using one of its legs as a makeshift stake. I was a little surprised she did that. "What? You're the one who said it."

"Yeah but when I said 'we', I didn't mean you." She'd get herself killed before she managed to land a punch on Rose.

"She tried to kill me. I need to at least defend myself."

I tried to say something but the door started to violently shake. Rose was trying to get inside. The orbs of light that were following me flew through the door and I could hear Rose's shrieks behind the door.

"You're getting good at that." Elena commented between breaths and I shrugged. I had been practicing.

Then it went silent. Rose's shrieks subsided as did the rattling of the door. "Ava…" I heard Rose call out to me. "Elena…please I need your help."

'It's a trap.' I mouthed to Elena, grabbing her free hand and pulling her back.

The two of us waited and waited for things to quieten down. I didn't know what I was waiting for. Maybe Slater will come back and tell us it was safe? I didn't know.

Tiredly, I stared at the window while ignoring all attempts of Elena to talk about Elijah. I didn't want to think about the Originals. I watched the sun go down, the skies changing shades as my eyes fluttered close.

Only when the darkness started to set did the thought occur to me that Rose was now free to roam Mystic Falls. Shit. I jolted awake and hurried over to the door, pushing the dresser to the side.

Elena got up from her place. "Wha-what are you doing?"

"We didn't lock the front door." I said to her, rushing out of Stefan's room. "She's gonna get out and…" Oh god. I didn't want to think about the people she could've gone ahead and killed.

Again, Elena stopped me, motioning me to be careful and walk quietly. I didn't care and hurried down the stairs. "Slater?" I called out to the other vampire.

Slater was still lying unconscious in the study. "Is he…" Elena asked, wondering if Rose killed him.

"We'll find out."

I went over to the corners of the study and started searching. If I knew Damon, then he'd have some emergency supplies and he did. In one of the chests, there was a small cooler with blood bags. I took one out and opened it, carefully taking it to Slater.

The vampire sprung back to life and started to drink the blood. I let go and he finished the bag of blood before handing me back the empty.

"...Rose?" He hoarsely asked.

"We're looking for her." I answered, getting up and leaving.

The entire house was a mess. Rose had turned the place upside down. Broken furniture and glass were scattered around the entire house. I motioned to Elena to be careful before I made my way to the foyer.

To our shared horror, the front door was wide open. A bitter chill ran down my spine and immediately I was on high alert. Dusts of light swirled around my hand as I pulled Elena behind me and turned around.

"You okay?" Damon asked. I sighed in relief and the light dissipated.

"Do we look okay to you?" I retorted, still on the edge.

He was in front of me, checking us all before he moved my messy hair out of my way. His fingers were cold and I shivered under his touch. "What happened?"

I walked away from him, leaving him standing there. "Rose lost control and then tried to kill Elena, thinking she was Katherine and obviously we ran. I know I should've made sure to lock up the doors."

"You should've but at least you're fine."

"But Rose isn't." Slater groaned, going out the door to look for her.

"Slater's right. We need to find her." I followed Slater out the door but Damon caught me before I could. "What!" I hissed as his grip around me tightened.

"Rose is unstable right now."

"I know." I didn't know why he said it again but I didn't let him finish as I was out the door already, running to Slater's car, leaving Damon and Elena behind.

Rose was going to die tonight. The werewolf venom was making her act like someone who had caught rabies and if I knew one thing about rabies was that it was practically incurable once the small window of early infection had passed. Rose was going to die and I felt bad for her.

From the corner of my eyes, I watched Slater driving frantically. His body was trembling with fear. It was at that moment, I realized Slater like Rose didn't have many friends or loved ones. Rose might've been all he had.

The life of a vampire seemed lonely. Forever didn't seem worth anything if it meant being alone. It wasn't the only thing that was on my mind. I was conflicted on Rose. All my life I'd been taught that vampires were monsters that needed to be avoided or killed and now I felt a little lost…

My mind went blank and my vision blurred. I was going into a trance again. Once it cleared. I turned to Slater. "Parking lot." I said.

Slater didn't question me and went right to the parking lot of the school. There, a couple was walking to their car. Slater got out and I followed. I felt cold. Rose or another vampire was around. Slater and I shared a look and we carefully stayed behind, waiting.

Rose appeared behind the couple. She grabbed the man and was about to bite into him when Slater ran forward.

"No!" Slater tackled Rose before she could do any harm to the couple.

The couple separated and fell to the floor. I glanced at their terrified faces. "Forget this happened and go home."

Their eyes flickered to a pale gold and they started to run to their car just as Damon arrived with Elena. "Did anyone—"

"No." I breathed out, going over to Elena and Damon and giving Damon a pointed look. The two of us shared a look and we both knew it was over for Rose.


I said my last goodbyes to Rose and decided to go home with Slater offering to drop me home. Elena stayed behind with Damon. I didn't blame her. She cared too much, even for people that hurt her. I couldn't bear to be around her anymore, I was too exhausted—using magic and running after Rose had taken a toll on me.

I snuck a peek at Slater and my gaze softened. "How'd you meet her?" I asked, wondering how someone like him met someone like Rose, someone who was on the run.

Slater breathed out tiredly and momentarily became quiet as he recalled back to his past. "In a library actually." He answered with a soft laugh. "I was working on my second PhD at the time and it was one on medieval medicine, I went all the way to England to research and Rose was there, she was wandering around and I remember writing something down and she went 'that's not how things worked back then' with this strong English accent. At first, I didn't know she was a vampire."

"Oh yeah, what'd you think she was?"

"A normal post-grad student. I later met Trevor and the three of us hit it off. Trevor was the one who gave me the idea to start the café. The two helped me set it up and now…" He sucked in pained breath and let it out. "Trevor and the café are both gone. Rose is leaving too. It's just me. You know, I met a lot of people in my short—well, shorter than theirs—but those two were the only ones I actually really connected with."

"I'm sorry this happened."

He laughed but tears were in his eyes and he turned away to wipe them before he let out a strained sob. "I'm fine." He kept saying and laughed again. "It's funny…how the person comforting me is a vampire hunter."

"I'm also a faery." I pointed out and he nodded. "You should go and say your goodbyes before it's too late."

Slater sighed, bobbing his head and then getting back into his car and driving off. I stayed there for a while, outside the house on a nearby bench. Rose wasn't a terrible person. She just made some bad decisions and I truly pitied her.

Just as I was about to go in, another familiar car pulled into the driveaway. Stefan got out and uncle Nate followed after. The two approached me nervously. This didn't look so good. "Hey, we're back." Uncle Nate greeted.

"I can see that." I answered, eying the two. Neither met my gaze and I could feel the disappointment before they even told me anything. "You guys didn't find Isobel, did you?"

"I called her and then followed your lead—I think I saw her but I might've been mistaken." Stefan looked back at the car.

One of the backdoors of the car opened and to my annoyance, John Gilbert walked out. "Oh Elena is not going to be happy." I muttered.

"And neither am I." Uncle Nate added. "I don't get why we had to get him."

John ignored them and flashed a grin at me. I stared blankly at him and rolled my eyes. "You have a minute to explain why you're here before I make you walk right into traffic."

He laughed, amused by my threat. "And how exactly are you going to do that?"

"Want a demo?"

"No! No! Nooo!" Uncle Nate and Stefan said at the same time, pushing my back and standing between us. "You do not want to piss her off." Uncle Nate added.

"I'll keep that in mind and I'm here because of my daughter." John peeked out from behind uncle Nate.

"Last time you said that you tried to kill her boyfriend and it was after she found out that both you and Isobel made a conscious decision to lie about her birth and one of you actually abandoned completely her and tried to hurt her brother." If I knew Elena, she didn't have good thoughts about either of her birth parents.

"I'm not sorry for what I did." I could tell, his thoughts held no signs of remorse and in fact, he appeared disgusted by Stefan. "But my daughter made the decision to be with one of them and in turn she's paying the price." Stefan flinched at his words and I glared at John.

I scoffed. "This is hardly Stefan's fault—if anyone's to blame then it's Katherine."

"And Katherine only came to Mystic Falls because of him."

"You think Katherine wouldn't have found Elena on her own—she sought out Isobel."

"How—how did you know that?"

"Katherine told me."

"And why would she tell you that?"

Stefan once again stood between the two of us. "She doesn't have to tell you that." He said. He knew I didn't like talking about my grandmother Mila, not after finding out what she did.

John stared between the two of us with suspicious glare before he sighed. "You all are hiding something. Luckily, I'm not here for you. I'm here for Elena."

Did Elena even want him here? Probably not but if I started to make her choices for her, I'd be a hypocrite. So I had no choice but to back off. This was between her and John.

I sighed and opened the door to the manor. "We'll let Elena decide but," I paused on the threshold. "If you try to stab us in the back," The front light of the manor started to flicker wildly and there was a quiet buzz in the air. "I'll know." I finished and the lights stopped flickering.

"He's staying here for a while." Uncle Nate kept going.

Of course he would. It was either here or the Gilbert house. Jenna was still in the dark and I knew sooner or later if she wasn't told things would not end well for her. "Whatever, just tell him to stay clear of my room and the armory—I'm gonna go have dinner and go to bed." I turned away, marching up the stairs to my room. I left no room for either of the three to speak, I really wasn't in the mood to speak.


Alone in the middle of a desolate road at night surrounded by the woods, a lone car drove down the road. There were no passengers but a single driver, a lost girl trying to get home.

In the middle of the dark road was a body laid down, blocking the path of any and all cars. Shocked, the girl rushed out of her car in fear that someone had been in an accident and might need help. Her first mistake.

Carefully, I shadowed behind her, already knowing her fate. She was going to die. But what I didn't expect was the person laying down. My heart dropped when I recognized the overly familiar face in the pale moonlight.

Damon.

"Sir, are you okay?" The girl started checking over Damon for any potential injuries. "What happened?

RUN!

I wanted to scream out but I couldn't. My mouth refused to move. I couldn't even get any words out of my throat as if something was physically blocking it.

"I'm...lost." Damon breathed out, his eyes unfocused. I knew that gaze too well. Rose must've died already and clearly Damon didn't take it well.

The girl frowned. "And you're laying in the middle of the road?"

"Not that kind of lost." He sat up. "Metaphorically, existentially."

"Do you need help?"

"Well, yes I do. Can you help me?" He took out a flask from his pocket and took a drink. I wasn't sure if it was blood or alcohol, I didn't care. I was too horrified by what I was seeing to care.

"You're drunk."

"No. Well, yes a little maybe."

The girl stared at him for a moment and started to back away. Thank god. She was a little smart. Now she just needed to run before Damon changed his mind.

"No please don't leave. I really do need help." I blinked and Damon was right in front of her. Oh no. I knew what was happening before he carried on. "Don't move." Her pupils dilated and she started to fidget, teary-eyed but unmoving from her spot.

"I don't want any trouble."

"Neither do I but all I got is trouble."

"Why can't I move?" A tear rolled down her face and she started to tremble. Still she didn't move.

Damon took another drink from the flask and placed his hands on her shoulders. "What's your name?"

"Jessica."

He grinned. "Hi Jessica. I have a secret, I have a big one and I never said it out loud. I mean, what's the point? It's not gonna change anything, it's not gonna make me good, make me an adopt a puppy. I can't be what other people want me to be, what she wants me to be. This is who I am, Jessica."

"Are you gonna hurt me?"

"I'm not sure because you are my existential crisis. Do I kill you or do I not kill you? If I kill you she'll be disappointed in me. I just don't know, should I kill you?"

"Please don't."

"But I have to, Jessica because I'm not human and I miss it. I miss it more than anything in the world! That is my secret but there is only so much hurt a man can take and the worst part is I think she can tell that I miss it—I can't have her knowing too much."

"Please, don't." She sobbed and Damon also started to cry, to my surprise.

He sucked in a breath and looked away towards me as if he could see me. His eyes became unfocused with tears and he looked back at her. "Okay." He started right into her eyes. "You're free to go."

Something wasn't right.

And I was proven right soon after.

The moment he said those words, she broke free of the compulsion. She ran to her car without looking back, not thinking that this might be another trap and it was. Damon was behind her in seconds. I could do nothing but watch him run over to her and bite into her, draining her completely before she crumpled to the floor.

I sprang awake, clutching my bloodstone necklace, drenched in sweat. Oh god. Not again. I cupped my face between my hands and let out a sob. I could still feel the coldness of being around death, the feelings of Jessica right before she was killed. I just hoped she was still alive.


Damon flew through the air and landed on his back straight onto the road. The girl, Jessica, if I remembered her name correctly from my vision, looked terrified, glancing back and forth between me and Damon but she couldn't move—Damon had compelled her not to.

"NO!"

I heard the crunching of gravel, the orbs of light hovering around Damon illuminated the scene on the road. He let out a tired sigh and looked up at me while sitting up. "Why is it always you?"

"I think I should be the one asking you that." I fired back, throwing a look to the terrified girl on the side. "What is wrong with you? I get you're grieving but this is not the way to go!"

Damon rolled his eyes and laid back down. He was tired, so tired of everything. I was too but I wasn't going around taking people's lives. "Well, I'm sorry I'm not the person you thought I was."

"I don't know what you thought but we both know it's not true."

"Right." He let out a sound laugh, cradling his head between his hands before gazing up at me. "You don't expect anything from me or maybe that's Lydia's talking to me."

I flinched when he mentioned Lydia. He knew she was a sore spot for me and he just…I sucked in a breath and let it go. "You're insane. You know my family's still in town."

"Forgot about them. Lemme guess this is your attempt to save me…for Stefan because you're never going to admit—"

"This isn't the way to grieve, Damon, and you and I know that." I repeated before turning to the terrified would-be victim of Damon. "What was your name again?"

"J-Jessica."

"Well Jessica, I want you to get into your car and drive to your destination. Don't look back and don't stop." I walked to her and moved her bloodstained hair out of her neck. Placing my hand over her neck, I felt warmth from my finger tips before light covered her neck, her wound started to heal and blood disappeared. "Safe travels." Jessica's eyes flickered to a pale gold; she nodded and got inside her car, driving away.

"You…are getting good at that but careful you might faint again. Can't have you doing that, can we?" Damon was mocking me; there was a hint of concern but he was mocking me.

I didn't say anything but just stared at him with a tired and disappointed look. Damon got up and walked towards me. He met my gaze, momentarily looking away to watch Jessica scramble to get home without crashing.

"You know I can find another person to feed on." Reeling me closer, he didn't stop until I was directly in front of him.

I shook my head. "You won't." I breathed out. My voice came out barely a whisper and I cursed myself for sounding so weak. "I won't let you."

Before I could blink, I wasn't in the middle of the road anymore. I was pressed against my car with Damon hovering over me. My face was level with his. He fixed me with a dark hungry look.

Oh this wasn't good.

I lightly tried to push against him but he held me down. "Why is it always you?"

I was wondering that as well. Why was it always me? I didn't know. I saw something and I couldn't ignore it. Knowing Damon, I knew he would regret killing Jessica whether it was because of me or himself, I didn't know that much.

"...I got a vision and I couldn't let you go through with this because I know you'd regret it."

He chuckled, leaning his head against my ear before he threw his head back in sudden anger. "Oh because you have me all figured out!" His eyes were reddened and dark so dark that I was a little afraid. Noticing my fear, he tried to calm down.

I knew what he was feeling. Rose was the only one who tried to understand him from the beginning, no judgments, nothing. She was in a way his closest friend in the shortest time he'd known her. The two were closer than he'd ever admit even I had to admit, it made me a little jealous at times but I would never wish her death.

Rose deserved to live and I know Damon was beating himself up over her death. If only he didn't provoke Mason's friend. There's a limit to recklessness after all. I could've told him what I was thinking; I knew it wouldn't help at all

"Damon. I'm sorry about Rose but think this through, this is not—"

He cut me off and his grip on my wrist tightened. "You know I wonder if you even care about me."

Did I care about him?

What was I supposed to say now? I didn't want to admit to Damon that I cared, more than I thought I knew. It would be giving him permission to like me. I wasn't as naive to his feelings as I appeared to be anymore; he knew that too.

I spoke without thinking. "Damon I'm tired—" I cursed myself for even beginning the sentence.

His gaze darkened even more and I could see some dark veins appear under his eyes. If I wasn't careful, he'd lose himself. "When are you not but I'm tired too, firefly. I'm so tired." He cried out before dropping his head onto my shoulders again. "God, I miss being human."

"I'm sorry." I didn't know what else to say but apologize for what my ancestors did to him. One drove him to his death while the other made sure he'd become a vampire. "You deserved to have a choice and be normal and just be happy. I'm so sorry."

"Why? You're not the one who turned me, Katherine did or are you apologizing for your grandmother." But I did feel bad. It wasn't completely because of my grandmother. I knew why but I just didn't want to face it. "Please don't look at me like that. I don't want your pity. I—"

I couldn't let him finish. I knew what he wanted to say but I couldn't hear it. Not without hearing the distorted voice of Isaac in my ear or the desperate sobs of my aunt Evelyn as she ran through the Fitzroy estate looking for her husband, only to get my grandfather—her father killed in the process.

I couldn't let him finish. "Damon, please…I'm not…"

"Right. I get it. You have your own problems." Damon wrapped a few strands of my loose hair around his finger before tucking it behind my ear. His cold hands brushed against my ear, sending a shiver through me. "Let me ask you again…do you at least care about me…maybe even a little."

It's not that I didn't care. I did care, more than I'd ever admit but at the same time, I've learnt from my family to never prioritize our feelings. Aunt Evelyn learned the hard way and I still remembered her mistake—it haunted our entire family like a dark cloud.

I shouldn't do this. I shouldn't.

Without thinking, I grabbed his collar and pulled him in. His lips crashed against mine and he dropped his hands from my wrist, snaking his arms around me, pulling me closer. Shivers panic shot through me as warning bells rang in my head but I couldn't stop. He tried to pull me in closer as the temperature rose rapidly. I bit him and pulled back.

Damon chuckled, throwing his head back in complete euphoria. "...Yes. I care about you." My voice came out a little strangled. "Maybe more than I'd like to admit." I added as he licked his lips clean and the bite started to heal.

He smiled and he took a step back, still he didn't move out of the way completely. His arms were still trapping me. "I can settle for that…for now." His mood improved with a few words much to my confusion. It couldn't have been that easy.

"Let's get you home." I held out my hand and motioned towards my car. He took it without thinking much, letting me lead him inside.


Author's note: I've been pretty ill lately, almost bedridden for a month or so. Thankfully it wasn't covid but it was bad, reminding me that I'm actually really weak when it comes to minor flus and fevers. Anyways, most of my updates were pushed back and I was left with half-written and half-planned chapters.

Come As You Are will continue to have sporadic updates since this takes me a while to write and it's easier to write my other fics compared to this. I did say I lost motivation towards this for some reason. But after 32 chapters, some real actual progress. It was a little unfair to give y'all nothing so far so I thought I'd give y'all something. I had to rewrite that bit so many times because honestly I wasn't sure if I wanted Ava or Damon to make the first move.

Also anyone reading 'Exile', I mentioned in another note somewhere, is on hiatus for the time being. I was inspired to write more for Gamble of Wits and Memento Mori but again, I was too ill to finish chapters or upload them. Those two were meant to have regular upload schedule, though that might not be possible since I'm going to be busy again with school, unless I can quickly write more reserve chapters and remember to upload them. Once again, I'm not abandoning this.