[1x09; History Repeating]
Lucy's junior year was going quicker than she thought possible. Thanksgiving passed by with a blur of watery mashed potatoes—Jenna and Joel were in charge of that particular side dish—delicious pumpkin pie provided by the Grill and Grayson Gilbert's famous apple strudel that Lucy attempted to replicate. The holiday was melancholy with the absence of their parents, but Jenna made sure that Lucy, Joel, Elena, and Jeremy had a nice time. It helped that their uncle, John, was on a business trip and unable to attend.
Other than the short Thanksgiving break, school was becoming busy. Not only were finals coming up with the end of the semester, but Lucy was starting her ACT prep. A good ACT score would do wonders for her college applications and with the help she was getting from the humongous book she bought online, she knew she would rock the standardized testing.
Added to test prep and finals? Driver's Ed.
Lucy was still worried about learning to drive but she knew she couldn't put it off any longer. She didn't want to be the only sixteen-year-old girl in Mystic Falls who didn't know how to drive and she didn't want to have to rely on her family and friends to get her places. Besides, if she trusted anyone behind the wheel of a vehicle, it would probably be herself. So, when the new classes started, Lucy allowed Jenna to sign her up-even though it took Jeremy promising to take them with her to actually give in.
With the stress from her education and driver's ed, there was also friend drama. Not between her and anyone, but between Bonnie and Caroline. Ever since the night of Stefan's party, the girls hadn't been talking. The only time Lucy had been allowed to speak to Bonnie was during their sessions at Grams' house. Otherwise, Caroline had a tight handle on her. With Lucy sticking with Caroline—even though she thought both Caroline and Bonnie were wrong—Elena stuck with Bonnie. Needless to say, there were a lot of silent lunches between the four of them.
"Have you even talked to Bonnie?" Elena asked Caroline as they walked with Lucy up the sidewalk to school.
"No, I'm mad at her," Caroline declared, straightening her back in defiance. "She needs to make the first move."
"Be the bigger person," Elena advised.
Caroline scoffed. "Impossible in her presence."
"Why are you so pissed at her, anyway?" Elena wondered, having never getting the reason for their feud out of Bonnie.
"She's a thief!" Lucy rolled her eyes, having heard Caroline's argument over and over again. Caroline caught Lucy's actions but decided to ignore her. "I gave her my necklace and she refuses to give it back. It's a matter of principle."
"All right," Elena sighed, putting her hands up in defeat. "I tried. I'm officially out of it."
Caroline nodded in understanding. "Good. Where's Stefan? Have you talked to him?"
Stefan was a sore subject with both of the Gilbert girls. The vampire hadn't contacted Elena once since his birthday, even when she called and left him many messages. It upset Elena and Lucy didn't blame her one bit. Even if she understood where Stefan was coming from-his brother killed his best friend, after all-it didn't excuse the fact that he was avoiding Elena.
And her.
Stefan called her only once after his birthday and it was to inform her that he didn't kill Damon. After that, there was no contact—not even when she and Elena decided to invite him to Thanksgiving. It was disheartening, she wasn't going to lie, and she really missed him. Stefan was becoming one of her best friends and she really felt his absence.
"He's avoiding me," Elena confessed while Lucy huffed.
"Why?" Caroline asked Elena but sneakily looked to Lucy, knowing that Stefan was ignoring her too.
"It's complicated," Elena fibbed, pausing when the bell rang. She waved at Lucy and Caroline as she started to walk to her first class. "See you later."
"Bye," Lucy and Caroline chorused.
"So," Caroline started as she and Lucy continued to walk to their class. "What were you thinking for your birthday?"
Lucy frowned; she usually loved birthdays but the closer she got to hers, the more she was dreading it. It was her first birthday without her parents and she didn't feel like celebrating without them.
"I wasn't thinking about anything," Lucy grumbled.
"It's your sixteenth birthday, Luce," Caroline gave her a sympathetic look. "I know you miss your mom and dad, but you know they'd want you to celebrate," Lucy shrugged and Caroline decided to compromise. "Okay, we don't have to have a party. It'll just be you, me, my mom, Bonnie, and your family. We'll have lasagna and coconut cake. Sound good?"
Lucy smiled slightly, appreciating the fact that Caroline put aside her controlling tendencies to make her feel better. "That sounds great, Care."
"Good! Now, what should we—" Caroline paused as they came across Matt who was walking out of the school.
"Hey!" he greeted, smiling at Caroline.
Caroline flustered and waved awkwardly, much to the amusement of Lucy. "Hey!"
The blonde watched Matt walk away before reluctantly turning to her best friend.
"What was that?" Lucy asked, beaming. Matt hadn't even looked at her when he greeted them, his eyes were for Caroline only. Caroline's cheeks were light pink as she avoided Lucy's gaze. "Seriously, Carebear, what was that? Are you and Matt…?"
"No, no!" Caroline interrupted her. "It's not like that. We're friends now."
"You were friends before," Lucy pointed out as they walked into the school.
"Well, we're better friends now," Caroline shrugged nonchalantly. She honestly didn't want to tell Lucy about her developing crush on Matt. Talk about embarrassing. "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Yeah, bye…" Lucy waved at Caroline as they parted ways, heading to their respective classes.
Mr. Tanner's old classroom was already full by the time she got there but she luckily managed to get her regular seat. History class had been full of horrible substitute teachers since Tanner's death; ones that showed unrelated movies and ones who had no idea what they were talking about. Lucy was getting tired of having below-par teachers and was hoping that the administration would get its act together and hire a permanent teacher—preferably one that actually knew how to teach.
As Lucy was taking a pen out of her purse, someone caught her eye. Bonnie was scurrying into the classroom as the final bell rang, followed by a man who looked to be in his early thirties.
"Good morning, everyone," the man greeted the class, setting his briefcase onto the teacher's desk.
Was this another substitute or was he the real deal?
"Alrighty," the man sighed, picking up a piece of chalk. He started writing his name on the chalkboard, muttering quietly when he got to his last name. He put down the chalk and pointed to his name. "Alaric Saltzman. It's a mouthful, I know. Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue."
Mr. Saltzman smiled bashfully as he looked around the classroom, his eyes darting from student to student. Lucy observed his face—there was just something familiar about him…
"Saltzman is of German origins," Mr. Saltzman continued. "My family emigrated here in 1755 to Texas. I, however, was born and raised in Boston. Now," he pointed to his first name on the board. "the name 'Alaric' belongs to a very dead great-grandfather I will never be able to thank enough. You'll probably want to pronounce it 'Ala-ric,' but it's 'A-lar-ic.' Okay? So you can call me Ric."
Alaric smiled nervously once again and announced, "I'm your new history teacher."
Since Lucy didn't have time to indulge on breakfast, she was starving by the time lunch came around. She told Elena and Bonnie to go on ahead of her and get them a table while she went through the lunch line, grabbing herself a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich and a bottle of water. She was just about to head outside to find her sister and friend when a hand wrapped itself around her wrist and pulled her into an empty classroom.
"What the…" she paused when she saw Stefan in front of her and not some random guy trying to make moves on her. "…hell, Stefan? What are you doing here? The high school dropout life not what you expected?"
Stefan had noticeably been absent today, just like the previous weeks. Lucy wasn't worried about it because she was pretty sure he'd been through high school before, but it hurt that he hadn't been responding to the messages she sent him, so she was going to be snarky.
Stefan didn't respond sarcastically like he normally would have—he just smiled sadly at her. He knew her and the way she used snarky comments to cover up what she was feeling.
Lucy huffed. "Seriously, Stefan…why are you here? It's not like you've bothered to reply for the past month."
"I'm sorry I didn't get back to you," Stefan sincerely apologized, feeling guilty for ignoring her and Elena. He just needed some time to himself after Damon killed Lexi. Getting drunk at the Statue of Liberty seemed like a good idea to mourn his best friend but it just made him miss her more. "I was…trying to get myself together."
Lucy visibly deflated, seeing the sadness in Stefan's eyes. How could she fault Stefan for trying to grieve? "It's okay," she assured him. "You needed time. I understand. I'm sorry that I got so upset."
"You don't have to apologize," Stefan shook his head, a frown adorning his lips. "Um, I came here to tell you that I probably won't be coming back to school."
"Oh…"
"I just—I need to keep my distance."
Lucy understood what he wasn't saying. She shifted uncomfortably, trying not to let the hurt she was feeling show on her face. The fact that she was upset about Stefan keeping his distance confused her—she had only known him for a couple of months so why was she so upset?
"Okay, well…" Lucy gave Stefan a weak smile, shifting toward the door. "I guess I'll see you whenever."
"I'm sorry, Lucy."
And he really was. Stefan loved Elena but he had a fond spot for Lucy. She was basically the only friend he had left and it destroyed him to see her upset. It destroyed him that he had to leave…but it was to keep her and Elena safe. He just had to remind himself of that. It was dangerous for him to be around them.
"It's okay, Stefan," Lucy opened the door and gave him another sad smile before walking out of the classroom.
Lucy didn't want to think about what had just happened in the classroom. She didn't want to think about Stefan potentially leaving Mystic Falls and she didn't want to think that their friendship might be over.
It was impossible not to think about, though, so she just needed to distract herself. She headed out to the courtyard and looked around, finding Elena and Bonnie at a picnic table. She headed their way and sat down next to her sister, unwrapping her sandwich like nothing had happened.
"What's up?" she asked, looking over Bonnie's dark under-eyes. "Are you not getting enough sleep?"
The simple question launched Bonnie's explanation of why she wasn't getting enough sleep. According to her, her ancestor, Emily Bennett, had been prominent in her dreams lately. Bonnie was freaked out by the way Emily constantly appeared and refused to sleep more than an hour at a time because of it.
"…and then I ended up at the remain of the old Fell's Church before I woke up back in the woods." Bonnie finished, slightly out of breath.
Lucy furrowed her eyebrows, intrigued, while Elena asked, "And you always see your ancestor, Emily?"
Bonnie nodded silently.
"Huh," Lucy hummed, taking a bite of her sandwich.
"Do you believe in ghosts?" Bonnie asked abruptly.
"Two weeks ago, I'd say no, but now—"
"I think I'm being haunted," Bonnie interrupted Elena.
"I don't get it," Lucy sighed. She remembered reading about spirits in one of the books she borrowed from Grams and how some witches need to use the spirits of their ancestors to practice magic but she hadn't read about one outright haunting someone. "Why Emily?"
"Grams said she was a powerful witch back in the Civil War days and that this medallion," Bonnie grabbed the necklace around her neck—the same one she and Caroline were fighting over. "was hers, a witch's talisman."
"And it all started when you got the necklace?" Elena asked.
"I think she's using it to communicate with me," Bonnie replied.
Lucy pursed her lips thoughtfully. "What does Grams say about it?"
Grams would definitely know what was going on. Lucy didn't think there was anything that the woman didn't know.
"I can't call her," Bonnie frowned. "She's gonna tell me to embrace it. I don't want to embrace it, I want it to stop."
Lucy sipped at the icy cola in her glass, starring down at the worksheet of answered math problems that Jeremy had given her to check over. When she found a mistake, she quietly told him what he did wrong and how to fix it.
"Joel's gonna be here for the career fair," Jenna informed the youngest Gilbert siblings, not realizing that they weren't paying attention. "I guess his work wants an alumnus to represent their booth…are you guys even listening to me?"
"Of course, Aunt Jenna," Lucy soothed her, looking up from the worksheet with a bright smile. "Joel's staying at Whitmore for another week."
"No, that's not what I said," Jenna rolled her eyes before looking around the restaurant, sighing deeply. Her eyes landed on an unfamiliar man around her age, looking through a stack of papers. "I like a man who can dine alone. A quiet strength."
Lucy and Jeremy followed Jenna's sightline and saw that she was talking about their new history teacher, Mr. Saltzman. They exchanged eye rolls.
"I thought you were still in that whole Logan depression thing," Jeremy commented while Lucy snickered.
"Oh, I've sworn off men forever," Jenna declared, smiling sneakily. "But it doesn't mean I can't observe them from a safe distance."
"Well, I can introduce you," Jeremy offered.
"You know him?" Lucy asked, confused.
"Yeah, Mr. Saltzman is letting me write an extra-credit essay to make up for what I've missed," he informed her.
"That's great, Jere," Lucy smiled, happy that her brother was getting back on track. "Have you picked a topic yet?"
"No, not yet," Jeremy shook his head. "It's gotta be local and non-internet research, so…"
"Well, that's easy," Jenna interjected. "You got all your dad's stuff."
"What stuff?"
"How the Gilberts over on the Mayflower stuff, all that family lineage from way back," Jenna informed him. "Your dad really loved all that family history stuff."
"It's all boxed up in the hallway closet," Lucy informed Jeremy, having used the Gilbert possessions before for various town projects.
Jenna nodded in agreement but her eyes darted elsewhere as a mild squeal came from the chair that Mr. Saltzman was sitting on. Lucy looked over at him, surprised to see that he was making his way to their table.
"Mr. Saltzman!" Jeremy called eagerly.
"Jeremy," Mr. Saltzman greeted him back, holding his hand out for Jeremy to shake. "What's up, man?"
"This is my aunt, Jenna," Jeremy gestured to Jenna and then Lucy. "And my older sister, Lucy."
"Hi," Lucy waved politely. "I'm in your first period class."
Mr. Saltzman's eyes softened when he turned his gaze to Lucy. His expression could only be read as nostalgic which confused Lucy greatly—why was he looking at her like that?
Mr. Saltzman shook his head and smiled at Jenna and Lucy. "Alaric Saltzman," he shook Jenna's hand. "It's nice to meet you."
"Jeremy was just telling us about his paper," Jenna said with a smile. "Thanks for giving him another chance."
"Oh, you know, it was my first day," Mr. Saltzman shrugged. "I wanted to make a good impression."
Lucy's phone buzzed on the table and she grabbed it, noticing that she had a message from Elena. Her sister told her that she was outside and asked her to pick up the food that she had ordered from the Grill, informing her that Bonnie and Caroline were sleeping over at their house.
Lucy smiled, glad that she and her friends were going to spend time together, and stood up, grabbing her purse.
"I have to go, Elena's outside," she told Jenna and Jeremy. She smiled at Mr. Saltzman and added, "It was nice to officially meet you, Mr. Saltzman."
"You too, Lucy."
She left the table after Jenna warned her not to stay up late and went to the bar, quickly picking up the two large bags of food Elena had ordered. She received the food quickly and headed outside, getting into Elena's car when it pulled up in front of her.
"So why are we having a sleepover?" Lucy asked her sister as they drove through the court square.
"Because Damon is terrorizing Bonnie," Elena told her. At Lucy's horrified look, she continued, "Apparently he really wants Bonnie's necklace."
"So that's why Caroline is making such a huge fuss over it," Lucy concluded. "He compelled her to get it for him. You know, we really need to get her some vervain."
Elena sighed as she stopped at a traffic light. "If Stefan wasn't ignoring me, I would ask him."
"Well, call him anyway," Lucy shrugged; she figured Elena had gotten a version of the speech Stefan had given her. "We need to let him know about Damon threatening Bonnie, too."
"He's not gonna—"
"Elena, seriously, just call him," Lucy advised. "Maybe he'll pick up."
It turned out that Lucy was right—Stefan answered Elena's call and agreed to meet them at the house to talk about Damon and Bonnie. As Elena pulled into their driveway a few minutes later, Lucy could see Stefan standing on the front porch.
"Thanks for coming," Elena said as she and Lucy carried the food up to the house. "I wouldn't have called if it wasn't important."
"I know that," Stefan nodded. "What happened?"
"Damon is terrorizing Bonnie," Lucy informed him, setting her bag of food on the bench by the door.
"Terrorizing?"
"He threatened her, Stefan," Elena clarified.
Stefan's eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully as he leaned against a pillar. "What would Damon want with Bonnie?"
"She has a necklace," Elena sighed. "Caroline got it from Damon and she gave it to Bonnie and now Damon wants it back. He's tormenting her."
"Over a necklace?"
"It's not just any necklace. It's part of Bonnie's heritage; it belonged to one of her ancestors who lived here during the Civil War," Lucy told him.
Elena looked at Stefan thoughtfully. "When you and Damon lived here."
Stefan straightened his posture, crossing his arms over his chest. "Her name was Emily," he revealed. "She was Katherine's handmaid and a witch."
"You know?" Elena asked him, shocked. Stefan nodded. "About Bonnie?"
"The first night that you invited me over for dinner, I made the connection," Stefan said.
"And now Damon knows," Lucy guessed, catching a nod from Stefan. "And for some reason he wants that necklace…"
"What does it look like?"
Elena gave Stefan a confused look but answered him anyway, "It's an antique iron setting with—"
"With an amber crystal," Stefan interrupted her once he remembered the particular piece of jewelry. "I know it. It belonged to Katherine. Emily gave it to her, which means that…"
Stefan trailed off, trying to organize his thoughts. Obviously Damon wanted the necklace because of its connection to Katherine but why this particular piece? And why now, almost a hundred and fifty years later?
Lucy and Elena shared a bewildered look.
"What?" Elena spoke up after Stefan's silence continued.
Stefan hesitated a second before answering, "I don't know," he sighed. "But I'm gonna find out. Let me talk to Damon."
"Will he even tell you?" Lucy wondered.
"I'll—I'll get it out of him," Stefan gave the sisters a grim look before walking away from the house.
Lucy sighed and checked her phone, noticing a message from Caroline.
"Come on," she nudged Elena. "Care will be here any minute."
The awkwardness surrounding Caroline and Bonnie was thick, even when Bonnie wasn't even in the room. She had gone to the bathroom as soon as Caroline arrived at the house and still hadn't returned.
Lucy, Caroline, and Elena had resorted to take out their food while waiting for Bonnie. Lucy silently took out plates, napkins, and silverware while Elena and Caroline sorted out the containers of food. It was then that Bonnie came into the kitchen, giving Caroline an awkward smile.
When Caroline continued to take out the food, Elena gave her a pointed look.
Caroline pursed her lips and turned to Bonnie. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "There, I said it. If you want the ugly-ass necklace, keep it. It's yours."
Bonnie hesitated for a second before saying, "Will you hate me if I tell you I threw it away?"
"You threw it away?!" Caroline gritted her teeth.
"I know it sounds crazy but the necklace was giving me nightmares," Bonnie explained herself. "I had to get rid of it."
"You could have just given it back to me," Caroline reminded her.
"Why?" Elena spoke up, narrowing her eyes at the blonde. "So you could give it back to Damon?"
Lucy sent Elena a glare; she knew that Damon was messing with Caroline's head. It wasn't exactly Caroline's fault.
"Screw Damon," Caroline said softly before straightening herself out. "Are we doing manicures or what? Who has their kit?"
"Mine's in my bag," Bonnie gestured to her purse on the table.
Caroline nodded with a smile and headed over to Bonnie's bag, rummaging through it. "So, Elena," she called while continuing her search. "How long do you think this fight with Stefan's gonna last? Is it, like, a permanent thing?"
Elena gave Caroline's back an annoyed look. "I don't know, Caroline."
Caroline scoffed, catching Lucy's attention. "Why are you such a little liar, Bonnie?" Caroline asked harshly, turning around with Bonnie's necklace in hand.
"What?" Bonnie gasped.
"Care…" Lucy warned her best friend, not wanting a fight to break out.
Caroline marched back over to the island and slammed the necklace down in front of Bonnie, an expectant look on her face. She obviously wanted an explanation.
"I'm not lying to you, Caroline, I swear," Bonnie promised Caroline, looking at the necklace with a horrified expression on her face.
"It's true," Elena added. "I watched her throw it into a field."
Lucy gave Bonnie a bewildered look, wondering how she could throw her ancestor's necklace away like that. Then again, Emily was haunting Bonnie—Lucy would probably do the same thing if she thought about it.
"Well, then explain it," Caroline demanded.
Bonnie pointedly looked at Lucy and Elena. "Emily."
"Who's Emily?" Caroline asked, confused.
"The ghost," Bonnie narrowed her eyes at Elena, hoping that her friend would understand that Emily had somehow managed to put the necklace back into her purse.
"Oh, the ghost has a name now?" Caroline muttered sarcastically.
Elena hushed Caroline, holding a hand up in her direction. "Caroline, please."
Lucy rolled her eyes and nudged Caroline's arm, giving her a reassuring smile when her best friend looked at her. Lucy knew that Caroline felt left out from Elena and Bonnie sometimes, so she wanted to be there for her.
"I wonder why she won't leave me alone," Bonnie said to Elena, looking worried.
"What is going on?" Caroline interjected, frustrated. "Why am I not a part of this conversation? You guys do this to me all the time."
"That's not true," Elena disagreed.
"Yes, it is," Lucy defended Caroline.
Bonnie nodded in agreement before turning to Caroline. "I can't talk to you. You don't listen."
Caroline looked offended. "That's not true!"
Bonnie huffed and confessed, "I'm a witch."
"And don't we all know it," Caroline shot back immediately.
Lucy put her head in her hands, frustrated. She knew Caroline didn't mean to respond that way, but she just didn't believe in the stuff she, Bonnie, or Elena did. Still, this was why Lucy hadn't told Caroline about her siphoning abilities…she just wouldn't believe her.
"See?" Bonnie said loudly, pointing at Caroline. "That's what I'm talking about. I'm trying to tell you something. You don't even hear it."
As Bonnie stormed out of the kitchen, Caroline reared back, looking at Elena and Lucy.
"I listen," she insisted. "When do I not listen?"
"Caroline," Lucy sighed, pulling her head out of her hands. "Just talk to her, all right? Even if you don't believe that Bonnie's a witch…that doesn't matter. Bonnie just wants you to listen to her and be there for her, okay?"
Caroline pursed her lips thoughtfully and left the kitchen to go talk to Bonnie. Lucy just hoped that they could make up—their feud was becoming uncomfortable to be in.
When Lucy urged Caroline to make up with Bonnie, she didn't expect it to end like this. Caroline had suggested that they all do a séance to talk to Emily and Lucy, Bonnie, and Elena reluctantly agreed.
That's how they ended up in Elena's room in the dark with only three candles lit. Lucy, Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena sat around them, holding each other's hands to form a circle.
Bonnie sighed heavily. "What are we doing?"
"I don't know," Elena muttered, shaking her head.
Caroline hushed them. "Be quiet and concentrate," she told them. "Close your eyes and take a deep breath."
Lucy closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, wondering how Caroline knew how to do this.
"Bonnie, call to her," Caroline advised.
"Emily, you there?" Bonnie asked in a monotone voice.
Lucy snickered, finding it funny, while Caroline sighed and looked at Bonnie.
"Really?" she asked, annoyed. "'Emily, you there?' That's all you got? Come on!"
"Fine," Bonnie pouted and closed her eyes again; Lucy followed suit. "Emily, I call on you. I know you have a message. I'm here to listen."
At once, the flames of the candles flared. Lucy and the others flinched away, dropping the hands they were holding onto. Lucy stared at the candles in shock, she didn't actually think anything was going to happen.
"Did that just—"
"Yeah, that just happened," Caroline answered Elena's question.
"Woah…" Lucy breathed before shivering violently. It felt like something freezing cold just brushed past her.
She looked at her friends with wide eyes.
"It's just the air conditioning," Bonnie assured her quickly.
The candles flared again, as if disagreeing with Bonnie.
"Ask her to show you a sign," Caroline breathlessly urged Bonnie. "Ask her."
When Bonnie didn't say anything, Caroline took it upon herself to call out, "Emily, if you're among us, show us another sign."
Despite Lucy and the girls keeping their eyes on the candles, nothing happened.
"See?" Bonnie spoke up. "It's not working."
If she was honest, Lucy was kind of disappointed. She wanted to see if Emily would reach out to Bonnie.
Bang!
Lucy jumped as the windows behind her slammed open, curtains flowing in the harsh breeze. The action scared her at first, but now she was fascinated. If Emily could manipulate the wind to open the windows and cause the candles to flare, what else could she do?
Bonnie shrieked and stood up, a panicked look on her face. "I can't!" she yelled, ripping the necklace off of her and throwing it on the floor by the candles. "I'm done."
The flames on the candles went out, surrounding them in darkness. Lucy stood up cautiously, reaching out to grab Caroline's arm. Her fascination dimmed; this was beginning to scare her and she could tell Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie were frightened too.
"Get the light!" Bonnie squealed. "Please get the light on!"
"Hold on, hold on, I got it," Elena's voice came from Lucy and Caroline's left.
The room was flooded with light, making Lucy sigh in relief. She squeezed Caroline's arm as she looked around the room for any evidence left from Emily.
"You guys," Bonnie caught Lucy's attention. "The necklace, it's gone."
Lucy looked down at the floor where Bonnie threw her necklace, her eyes widening when she didn't see it there. The girls started to look for it, ducking down to check under Elena's bed and chair.
Finally, after not finding it, Elena turned to Caroline. "Fun's over, Caroline," she said harshly. "You made a point and I get it. Now give it back."
"What?" Caroline was shocked. "Well, I didn't take it."
Elena scoffed in disbelief.
"She didn't take it," Lucy defended Caroline. Elena's eyes weren't on her, but on the doorway where she swore she saw someone walk past. "What? What happened?"
"I don't know, nothing," Elena crossed the room and looked out her door. "Jeremy, are you home?"
"Um," Lucy and Caroline looked over at Bonnie as she walked into the bathroom. "Guys…"
The door abruptly closed by itself as Bonnie walked into the bathroom.
"Oh, my God!" Bonnie shouted, frightened.
Lucy, Caroline, and Elena leapt at the bathroom door, frantically tugging on the doorknob to try to get it open. The door wouldn't budge and from the screams coming from Bonnie, it didn't sound like anything pleasant was happening inside.
"Bonnie, what's going on?" Elena shouted as Lucy pounded at the door.
"Bonnie!" Caroline and Lucy yelled simultaneously.
Bonnie's only answer was terrified screeching.
"Try the other door!" Elena yelled to Bonnie before looking at Caroline and Lucy. "I'll check the hallway."
As Elena ran out of the room to try to open the other door to the bathroom, Lucy continued to try to open the one before her. It still wouldn't open.
"Get me out!" Bonnie screamed as the lights around the house flickered in and out.
Lucy frantically looked around and paused, trying to think. Unless Bonnie locked the door—and Lucy doubted that because Bonnie sounded genuinely scared—there was no other way to keep the door shut other than magic. And Lucy could siphon magic.
Lucy pressed her palm against the doorknob and concentrated, willing the magic away from the door. Her palm lit up as the magic from the door flowed into her, unlocking the door at last.
Bonnie's screaming stopped at once as Elena and Caroline shoved themselves into the bathroom. While they were occupied with making sure Bonnie was okay, Lucy transferred the magic she had just siphoned into her moonstone locket to save for an emergency.
"What happened?" Elena asked Bonnie worriedly. "Are you okay?"
Bonnie took her head out of her hands and looked at Lucy, Elena, and Caroline with a calm expression. "I'm fine," she said, her voice monotone.
"Unbelievable," Caroline scoffed. "You were totally faking it."
"Caroline, come on…" Elena sighed.
"No, you scared the fuck out of me!" Caroline shouted at Bonnie before stomping away.
Lucy looked carefully at Bonnie, wondering what was wrong with her. She didn't react at all to Caroline shouting at her—she was very calm.
"Bonnie?" she asked tentatively.
"I'm fine," Bonnie answered in the same tone. "Everything's fine."
Bonnie walked out of the bathroom and straight out of Elena's room, Lucy and the others following her.
"I can't believe I fell for it," Caroline said, still angry with Bonnie.
Elena gave Bonnie a confused look, noticing the same thing Lucy did. "Are you okay?" she asked Bonnie.
"I must go," Bonnie insisted.
"If she's leaving, I'm leaving," Caroline spoke up.
"You guys can't leave," Elena argued.
"Oh, I can," Caroline said harshly as Bonnie started down the stairs. "I've had enough freaky fake witch stuff for one night."
"Thank you for having me," Bonnie interjected calmly, looking at Lucy and Elena. "I'll take it from here."
Lucy narrowed her eyes; something was up with Bonnie.
"Where are you going?" she asked, suspicious.
"Back to where it all began," Bonnie answered, continuing down the stairs.
"Bonnie!" Lucy objected; Bonnie had been acting strange since she walked into that bathroom and the fact that they had just summoned Emily didn't bode well. "Oh, my God," she breathed in realization. "Emily!"
Bonnie, who was being possessed by Emily, turned around abruptly. "I won't let him have it," she said, determined. "It must be destroyed."
Emily ran down the rest of the stairs and out of the house, slamming the front door behind her.
"Wait," Elena called as she, Lucy, and Caroline ran after her.
"What's happening?" Caroline asked, confused, as Elena tried to open the door.
The door wouldn't open, just like earlier.
"I don't know," Elena lied. "The door, it's not—"
The door flew open, making Lucy, Elena, and Caroline tumble away from it. Jeremy walked into the house, looking at the girls with a confused face, wondering why they looked pale-faced and terrified.
"What the hell?"
Lucy, Elena, and Caroline didn't answer as Jeremy walked past them and into the kitchen. Caroline, still panting with terror, looked at Lucy and Elena.
"I'm out of here," she told them before running out the door.
Lucy sighed and looked at Elena, wondering what they were supposed to do. They had to do something to get Emily out of Bonnie's body. Elena already had her phone in hand, dialing a number.
"What are you doing?" Lucy asked.
"Calling Stefan," Elena answered, putting her phone to her ear. Stefan must have answered, because Elena spoke into the receiver, "It's Bonnie."
Lucy listened carefully to Elena's side of the conversation, hoping that she would be able to figure out what was going on. As Elena and Stefan's conversation went on, Elena realized that Emily must have been going to the old Fell's Church. When Elena hung up the phone, she looked frustrated.
"Well?" Lucy asked, wanting to know what Stefan told Elena.
"Stefan wants us to stay here while he finds Bonnie," Elena told her.
Lucy huffed. "Screw that!" she shook her head. "This is Bonnie. Let's go."
There was fire up ahead.
Lucy and Elena ran through the woods, trying to get to the old Fell's Church as quickly as possible. Ahead of them, Lucy could see fire and when they got closer, she could see that Bonnie was in the middle of a flaming pentagram, Stefan and Damon standing outside of it.
"Bonnie!" Elena shouted, stopping in her tracks as Stefan sped over to her and Lucy.
Emily threw what Lucy presumed to be the necklace up into the air, causing Damon to scream. The necklace exploded in the air, causing sparks to rain down all around them. As the fiery pentagram died down, Emily lowered her head.
Lucy assumed Emily had left when Bonnie looked up, seeming to be confused about her location. Unfortunately, Bonnie wasn't able to get her bearings when Damon angrily snarled and ran at her. He ripped into her neck as Bonnie screamed.
Before Lucy could siphon magic out of her locket and give Damon an aneurysm, Stefan sped toward him and ripped him off of Bonnie. As Bonnie fell to the ground, Lucy and Elena quickly made their way to her.
"Oh, my God," Lucy breathed as she knelt next to Bonnie's unconscious body. "Oh, my God."
"Is she…?"
Stefan dropped to his knees and pressed his ear to Bonnie's chest before answering Elena's question, "She's alive," he told them. "But barely. I can save her."
Stefan brought his wrist up to his mouth and bit into it, cutting the skin. He pressed his bleeding wrist against Bonnie's mouth, letting it slide down her throat. It took a second, but eventually Bonnie's neck started healing from the vampire blood in her system.
"Her neck's healing," Lucy sighed in relief. She looked at Stefan, smiling weakly. "Thank you."
Stefan nodded. "Come on," he carefully grabbed Bonnie and helped her to her feet. "You'll be okay," he assured her.
Lucy took Bonnie's other arm and started to help her through the woods, Elena quickly joining them. She wanted to get Bonnie as far away from Damon as possible.
It only took them a few minutes to reach Elena's car but Bonnie was still confused about what happened to her.
"I don't understand, Elena," Bonnie cried when Elena tried to calm her down. "What happened to me? He attacked me and his face was like…"
"How do you feel?" Lucy asked Bonnie when Elena didn't answer right away—it was clear that neither of them knew what to say without telling Bonnie the truth. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It's just…this blood," Bonnie gestured to her bloody neck. "I don't…"
Bonnie trailed off when she saw Stefan approach them. Lucy and Elena turned to see Stefan who was making sure Bonnie knew that he meant no harm.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly.
"What's going on?" Bonnie demanded, looking between Lucy and Elena.
Elena looked at Stefan, having no idea what to say. Lucy took over and pulled Bonnie into a one-armed hug.
"We'll explain everything," she told her. "Let's get out of here," when Bonnie looked back at Stefan, Lucy nudged her to get her attention. "Bonnie, look at me. Stefan won't hurt you, okay? Trust me. Let's get in the car."
When Bonnie silently agreed, Lucy nodded gratefully at Stefan and led Bonnie into the car. Once Bonnie was situated, Lucy climbed into her own seat and looked out the window; Elena and Stefan were talking.
Whatever they were speaking about, it didn't look good. Elena's arm movement was jerky and expressive while Stefan was almost curled into himself, as if he was closed off. When Stefan started to walk away from Elena, Lucy knew that whatever just happened didn't end well.
Elena was teary-eyed as she got into the driver's seat and the ride back to their house was completely silent except for Bonnie's sniffles. When they got home, Lucy let Elena to tell Bonnie about vampires by herself and went to her room.
She picked up her phone and called Stefan to thank him once more for saving Bonnie but he never answered.