[1x12; Unpleasantville]
Lucy looked at the clock, noticing that it had been almost fifteen minutes since she ordered pizza for herself, Jeremy, and Elena. The only pizza place in town—other than Papa John's, which Lucy despised—usually took fifteen minutes at the most, depending on your order.
She grabbed her wallet and left her room to go downstairs and wait for the delivery person.
"Lucy."
Lucy gave Stefan a hesitant smile as she stopped and turned around to face him. He had just left Elena's room when he heard her leave hers and he wanted to give her the vervain that she had been persistently asking about lately.
"I brought you some vervain," he told her, holding out the wooden box.
"Thanks, Stefan," Lucy stuck her wallet under her arm to hold in place while taking the box from him.
"I made a bracelet for Jeremy," Stefan pointed out as she opened the flap. "There's extra for Jenna and Caroline. You can put it in jewelry or you can even put it in food or drink. As long as it's in them or on them, a vampire can't control them."
"That's a lot to remember," Lucy sighed, picking up the black bracelet Stefan mentioned. There was already so much on her mind and now she had to worry about a new vampire trying to compel her friends and family.
"I know," Stefan gave her a sympathetic smile. "But with a new vampire in town…we have to be careful."
Lucy nodded and opened her bedroom door, placing the box full of vervain on her desk. She shut the door once more and turned to Stefan.
"Thank you, Stefan. Really."
"It's no problem. You've been asking for it," Stefan shrugged, shoving his hands in his jean pockets. "How are you doing? Have you talked to Jenna—"
"Lucy!" Jeremy called from downstairs. "The pizza's here!"
"Coming!" Lucy yelled back. She smiled apologetically at Stefan but she was secretly happy that Jeremy interrupted Stefan's question. She hadn't yet talked to Jenna about the adoption. "I'll see you later…"
Stefan smiled and nodded as Lucy turned to go down the stairs.
Lucy shuffled through her wallet and pulled out a twenty-dollar-bill and a ten, handing them to the man standing in her foyer. She had never seen him before, so the pizza place must have just hired him.
"Thanks," she exchanged the money for the pizza. "Keep the change."
The man smiled, "Thank you. Have yourself a good night."
Lucy smiled and shut the door as the man walked out, turning to face Jeremy with the pizza in hand. "Dinner!" she declared loudly, hoping that Elena could hear.
Rapid footsteps from upstairs told her she did.
When it came to dances, Lucy and Caroline were always the ones in charge. For the decade dances that Mystic Falls High put on, the co-presidents of the dance committee alternated the decades they were in charge of. Lucy happened to be in charge of the decade dance happening the next night, the 1950s. It wasn't her favorite era when it came to fashion, but at least it was better than the sixties.
The flyers, decorations, and music were all ready to go. Lucy was even able to convince Jeremy's English teacher to allow him to volunteer to watch over the punch bowl for extra credit. All that was left for her to do was figure out the rest of her outfit. She had a gray, patterned skirt that fell to her knees and a black blouse with a white peter-pan collar, but nothing in the way of accessories or shoes. She didn't even know how to style her hair, for crying out loud.
Lucy sighed and threw a pair of black heels on her bed before heading back over to her closet to grab her painting clothes. She and Caroline still had to paint a couple of signs so she needed something she could get messy in.
Lucy didn't want to think about how it was going to be the first time she had picked up a paintbrush since her parents died.
There was a knock on the door as soon as Lucy slipped a heather-gray v-neck splattered with paint stains over her head. She pulled her hair out from under the shirt and called out for whoever was at the door.
It happened to be Elena; she peeked her head into the room and smiled when she saw the old pair of skinny jeans Lucy was hopping her way into.
"I think you've grown out of those," she commented, walking over to sit on Lucy's bed.
Lucy shook her head adamantly. "Nope. There's no way. These will fit forever."
"Tell that to your hips, then," Elena laughed. When Lucy frowned and finished buttoning her jeans, she added, "You got those jeans ages ago."
Lucy rolled her eyes but smiled anyway, knowing that Elena was right. The jeans only went to the area right above her ankles, a little shorter than before. She cuffed the hem, making them look acceptable to wear in public.
"Did you find anything to go with your outfit for the dance yet?" Elena wondered.
"No. You?"
"Nope," Elena sighed. "Do you wanna go with me to pick something out?"
"Um," Lucy hummed, trying to remember when she and Caroline were going to done with the decorations. "As long as it's after four, I should be good."
Elena smiled. "Great…" she paused thoughtfully, trying to approach the subject of their adoptions carefully. From what Stefan told her, Lucy didn't react that well and they hadn't had a chance to speak about it yet. "Luce, how are you doing?"
Lucy gave Elena a confused look. "…good?"
"No," Elena sent her a pointed look. "About being adopted…are you okay?"
"Oh…"
Truth was, Lucy was actually better than she thought she would be. Taking Stefan's words into mind, she realized that family wasn't just made up of blood relatives. She loved her parents, aunt, and siblings, so what did it matter if she wasn't a Gilbert biologically?
Talking with Joel and Caroline helped her, too. Joel was only five when Grayson and Miranda took in Lucy, but he remembered some of the talk their parents gave him. He told her the basics; they loved her and Elena just as much as they loved Joel. Caroline said much of the same as Stefan but knowing that her big brother and best friend didn't view her any differently helped her reaction so much.
Lucy still hadn't talked to Jenna about the adoption, but she was going to as soon as she had the chance.
"I'm fine, Lenabug," Lucy gave her a reassuring smile. "Just because we're not technically related, doesn't mean we're not family. You're still my sister, just like Jeremy and Joel are my brothers. Are you okay?"
"It's just weird," Elena shrugged. "I just hate the fact that they lied to us."
Lucy could relate to that but mostly, she understood where their parents were coming from. Maybe they didn't want Lucy and Elena to feel different than Joel or Jeremy. Maybe they didn't tell them the truth to protect them. Maybe they were waiting until they turned eighteen. There could be multiple possibilities of why Grayson ad Miranda hadn't told them but, in the end, her and Elena would never know.
"Mom and Dad probably had their reasons," Lucy shrugged. She continued when she saw Elena about to argue, "It sucked that they lied, though. I agree with you."
"Have you talked to Jenna?"
"Not yet," Lucy grabbed her canvas bag full of painting supplies and heaved it over her shoulder. She glanced at her alarm clock and noticed that they had a half-hour until school started. "Come on, we'll be late."
"Another day at school," Elena sighed, jumping off Lucy's bed. "Yippee."
Lucy wrapped a paper towel around the tips of her paint brushes, carefully soaking up the water in the bristles. Her and Caroline had just finished one of their banners and it was getting late, an hour after school officially ended.
"Matt and I will finish the other banner tomorrow," Caroline told Lucy as set closed the bottles of smelly acrylic paint that the school provided.
Lucy smirked and placed her brushes into her bag. "Are you and Matt officially a thing yet? Because I bet Joel that you'd be going to the dance together."
"You bet on me and Matt?" Caroline gaped at Lucy, throwing a damp paper towel at her. "Lucy Gilbert!"
Lucy laughed and threw the towel into the large garbage can a few feet away. "It's a harmless bet…just twenty-five on the line."
"Well, you'll be happy to know that I'm going to ask him if we need to coordinate outfits."
"Really?" Lucy grinned. "So, you really like him, huh?"
Caroline nodded. "Yeah. I just feel like we've peaked as friends, you know?" she frowned a little. "I'm just wondering if Matt will ever be over Elena. I mean, I talked to her today and she said she was fine with it…"
"I would hope she is," Lucy rolled her eyes. "She's with Stefan. You don't need her permission."
Caroline shrugged. "I don't know, Luce. It's girl code not to date your friend's ex."
"Normally I would agree but it's different with us and it always has been," Lucy reminded her. "Remember, you and Bonnie both dated Peter before we went out."
"That was middle school, Lucy."
"It still counts," Lucy was adamant. "Besides, it's not like there are bountiful amounts of attractive guys our age to date."
Caroline snickered and agreed.
They quickly finished cleaning up their mess and walked out of the gymnasium, locking up with the key they were entrusted with specifically for dances. They were halfway across the parking lot where Elena was parked next to Caroline's car, when Lucy remembered the vervain locket she made up for Caroline.
"Before I forget," she mumbled, unzipping a pocket on her purse and pulling out the locket. "I got this for you."
Caroline furrowed her eyebrows. "Luce, it's your birthday coming up. Not mine."
Rolling her eyes, Lucy grabbed Caroline's hand and forced the necklace into it. "I know that, but I saw it online and wanted you to have it."
"Well, it's beautiful," Caroline studied the silver locket with a smile. "Thank you, Luce. I love it."
"You're welcome. Make sure you wear it, though, because otherwise I'll have to rescind our friendship," Lucy joked. In all seriousness, though, Caroline needed to make sure she had the locket on at all times. The more protection she had from the vervain, the better.
"I will," Caroline promised. "It'll go with everything."
Lucy grinned; that was the exact reason she got that specific necklace.
When they got to their vehicles, they said their goodbyes. Caroline wished Lucy and Elena good luck with their accessory shopping and hopped into her car, zooming out of the parking lot like a madman.
"Did you have fun?" Elena asked as Lucy clicked her seatbelt into place.
"Yes, Mom, I did," Lucy said teasingly; Elena rolled her eyes. "We should probably hurry up. The store closes at six."
"Yes, ma'am."
Lucy and Elena traveled to the vintage store a street off the town square where everyone usually got their clothes for the decade dances. The store sold everything vintage, including clothes, games, and even candy. The owners were an elderly couple named Frank and Peggy who were probably the sweetest old people Lucy had ever come in contact with.
Peggy happened to be working at the shop that night and was eager to help Lucy and Elena. After they both described their outfits, Peggy led them around the store, picking out things that would pull their outfits together. For Lucy, Peggy insisted that a simple pair of pearl earrings would look great and for Elena, she suggested a matching belt and scarf, along with a white headband.
The sisters left the store with two bags and advice about their hair, large smiles painting both of their faces. It was dark out, now, but they stuck together as they crossed the street on their way to Jenna's car that Elena was currently borrowing.
Elena's phone rang as they got to the car.
"Hello?" Elena answered the phone, trying to get the keys out of her purse at the same time. "Hey, who is this?"
Lucy watched, confused, as Elena's eyebrows furrowed at whoever answered. She paused, her eyes widening, and then turned, looking at the end of the street. Lucy followed her gaze, breath stuttering when she saw a masculine figure standing in the shadows of a street lamp.
"Get in the car," Elena ordered Lucy frantically, unlocking the car.
Lucy didn't need to be told twice. She hurriedly opened her door and practically leaped into the car, shutting and locking the door behind her. Elena quickly started the car and backed out of their parking space, the tires squealing as she drove away.
"Elena, who was that?" Lucy asked worriedly, looking through the back window to see that the man was no longer there.
"It was the guy I hit with my car," Elena told her breathlessly.
Lucy inhaled deeply, frightened. "Shit."
"Why me?" Elena asked Stefan as she handed Lucy a warm mug of french vanilla cappuccino and sat down on the couch next to her. "What does he want with me?"
"If he's trying to kill Elena, why call first?" Lucy wondered after taking a sip of her drink.
"It's because we're predators," Stefan paced in front of them, his worried-vampire look on full display. "We hunt. We stalk. It's often as exciting as the kill."
Stefan had the full run down of what happened the night before and had speed over as soon as he and Elena hung up their phone call. This wasn't good; if the vampire was playing with Elena, they needed to figure out who it was.
He pulled the Gilbert compass out of his jean pocket and handed it to Elena. "I want you to take this."
Lucy recognized the compass as Elena turned it over in her hands.
"This is the pocket watch Joel gave Jeremy," Elena stated, looking at Stefan. "How did you get it?"
"I took it from Damon who took it from Logan, who must have taken it from Jeremy," Stefan explained.
Elena narrowed her eyes and looked back down at the watch, seeing that the clock face wasn't there. "What happened to it?"
"It's not just a watch," Lucy told her sister, remembering what Joel and Damon told her when they were tracking down Logan. "It's like a compass but it points at vampires."
Stefan emphasized Lucy's point by twisting the knob. The compass whirled before pointing right at him, clicking into place.
Elena closed the compass, eyebrows furrowed. "Why did our father have it?"
"The Gilberts were one of the founding families and back in 1864, they were among those who sought to eradicate the vampires," Stefan informed Elena and Lucy. "The compass was used to find us."
"Did you know them?" Lucy wondered; she thought it was cool that Stefan might have known their…adopted ancestors.
Stefan nodded, smiling slightly at Lucy. "Yes," he looked between her and Elena. "I want you to keep this on you guys. That way you'll know if you're ever in danger."
Lucy and agreed to use the compass, leaving the room shortly after so Stefan and Elena could have some privacy. She needed to get ready for the dance, anyway.
It was awkwardly silent in Lucy's room as she sat at her vanity, Jenna behind her as curled her hair. Lucy wanted to take the time to ask Jenna about her adoption but she didn't quite know how to start. How do you bring up something like that? She didn't even know if Jenna knew if she knew she was adopted.
Luckily, Jenna decided to clear it up.
"I know you know about the adoption," she sighed, running a comb through the hair she released from the wand, loosening the curl.
Lucy looked into the mirror in front of her, eyes locking with Jenna's. "Why did no one tell us?"
"Your mom and dad were gonna do it, eventually," Jenna answered, a small frown quirking her lips. "I never thought I would have to."
"So, what happened?" Lucy wanted to know how she came to her parents.
"First, you have to know Elena's story, because your story is connected," Jenna wrapped another strand of hair around the curling wand. "Your dad was about to leave the office one night when a girl showed up. She was sixteen, a runaway, and about to give birth. He delivered her baby and he gave her a place to stay but a few days later, she disappeared."
Jenna took a deep breath and continued, "The baby was Elena. After Joel was born, your mom was having trouble conceiving again; it just wasn't happening. Miranda wanted a daughter, so your parents made Elena's birth certificate."
Lucy bit her lip. "So, what do I have to do with this?"
Jenna rolled her eyes at her niece's impatience. "I'm getting there. Elena's birth mother's real name was Isobel. Almost two years after Elena was born, a guy showed up with you, telling your parents that a girl named Isobel sent him."
"Wow," Lucy was shocked. She thought she had been adopted the old-fashioned way. "Was he my biological father?"
"That's what your mom and dad thought," Jenna confirmed. "He was young, around the age Joel is now. Miranda and Grayson took one look at you and fell in love. It was easy to take you in after that."
Lucy's eyes stung but she held back her tears. "Do you know the guy's name?"
Jenna thought for a moment. "I think his name was Rich or something. I'll look into it, okay?"
"Thanks, Jenna," Lucy smiled genuinely. She was glad that Jenna knew more than Joel did. It was nice to get some information about her origins. "And thanks for telling me that."
"You deserved to know," Jenna shrugged and picked up a bottle of hairspray, spraying over Lucy's wavy locks. "And you're done."
Lucy beamed and looked at her hair, happy with the way it turned out. She hopped up from her seat and unplugged the wand before turning to Jenna and taking in her outfit, consisting of a decade-appropriate plaid blouse tucked into a red pencil skirt.
"You look great," she told her aunt, smiling widely. "I can't believe Mr. Saltzman asked you to chaperone with him."
Jenna smacked Lucy on the arm as she wiggled her eyebrows at her. "Shut it, you."
"Hey!" Lucy raised her arms defensively. "He's about a thousand steps up from Logan Fell."
Especially since Logan was dead and gone.
"True," Jenna grinned coyly.
Lucy shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Get outta here," she demanded. "Chaperones are supposed to be at the dance earlier."
"Aye, aye, captain," Jenna mock-saluted Lucy, laughing as Lucy practically pushed her out of the room.
After Jenna left for the dance, Lucy quickly did her make-up, slipped on her black heels, and wandered downstairs for something to eat. The dance only offered potato chips and pretzels and Lucy didn't want to eat those for her dinner.
Leftover pizza was perfectly all right, though, so she quickly heated up a couple of slices in the microwave. As she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, she heard her name being called by Elena.
"Lucy!"
"Yeah?" Lucy left the kitchen and saw that Elena was panicking, the Gilbert compass in hand.
"Call Stefan," Elena urged, looking down at the compass as it spun seemingly in different directions.
Lucy did as she was told, grabbing her phone from her purse and pressing on Stefan's contact. It rang four times before someone picked up.
"Stefan's phone. How may I help you?" Damon answered.
"Where's Stefan?" Lucy asked, keeping her eye on the compass that had yet to settle down. From the kitchen, the microwave beeped but Lucy paid it no mind.
"He's on his way there," Damon replied, sounding bored. "He forgot his phone."
Lucy sighed in relief. "Thank God. The compass was spinning. He must be here," she gave Elena a thumb's up and continued with Damon, "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Lucy hung up her phone when she heard the dial tone and slipped it back into her purse. She turned to Elena and said, "Stefan's on his way here. He forgot his phone."
Elena sighed, only to jump when Lucy screamed. A vampire jumped down behind Elena and grabbed her, quickly twisting her around. The veins beneath his red eyes popped out, his fangs growing as he lunged at her, trying to rip into her neck.
Lucy grabbed her locket, hand glowing red, glared at the vampire. The vampire groaned in pain from the aneurysm Lucy was giving him, but it didn't seem to affect him for long. He leapt at Lucy, intending to teach her a lesson.
Lucy couldn't move.
"Lucy!"
Stefan rushed into the room and threw the vampire off of Lucy just before he bit into her. The vampire was to his feet within a second, rushing out of the house as a blur with the door slamming behind him.
"Oh, my God," Lucy whispered shakily, rushing to Elena who was on the floor, breathing heavily. "Are you all right?"
Lucy helped Elena up and her sister went straight to Stefan, wrapping her arms around him. Stefan embraced her back, offering comfort, but kept his eyes on Lucy. She didn't look too good; her face was pale, making the blush on her cheeks stand out, and her hands were shaking.
"Come sit down," Stefan told Elena quietly, gently ushering her over to the couch. Once Elena was seated, he turned to Lucy. "Come on, Luce."
Stefan wrapped his arm around Lucy's and guided her to the couch. Once she sat down, Elena quickly grabbed her shaking hands, giving her a concerned look.
"Are you okay, Lucy?" she asked, briefly glancing at Stefan as he used Lucy's phone to call Damon over.
"Yeah," Lucy whispered.
She was okay but she just needed a minute. She couldn't believe she let the vampire get that close to her in the first place. The vampire had to be old because her aneurysm didn't work on him that well. Maybe she needed to practice…
Once Stefan hung up the call with Damon, the oldest Salvatore was at the house in minutes. He came right into the living room and looked around, as if he was looking for clues.
"How did he get in?" he asked, looking down at Lucy and Elena.
Lucy inhaled unsteadily, remembering that the vampire was actually the delivery guy from the night they ordered pizza. "He was invited in."
"He posed as a pizza delivery guy," Stefan added, telling Damon the detail Lucy left out.
Damon looked begrudgingly impressed. "Well, he gets points for that. Did he say what he wanted?"
"No," Elena glared at him. "He was too busy trying to kill me and Lucy."
"And you have no idea who this is?" Stefan asked Damon, giving his brother a suspicious look.
"No," when Stefan narrowed his eyes, Damon added, "Don't look at me like that. I told you we had company."
"You think there's more than one?" Elena asked, eyes widening.
Damon raised his eyebrows. "We don't know."
"Damon," Stefan pinched the bridge of his nose and then looked at Damon pointedly. "He was invited in."
Damon nodded silently; he knew full well what that meant. The vampire had free range to do whatever he wanted in the Gilbert house. "Then we go get him tonight," he looked at Lucy and Elena. "You up for it?"
Lucy stayed quiet; she had a feeling he was asking Elena more than he was asking her. Plus, the vampire seemed to be after Elena. The only reason why he tried to attack Lucy was because of her magic.
"What do I have to do?" Elena asked seriously.
"Let your boyfriend take you to the dance," Damon stated. "We'll see who shows up."
Stefan shook his head. "That's a bad idea."
"Till we get him, this house isn't safe," Damon tried to convince his brother. "For anyone who lives in it," he looked back at Elena, knowing she held more persuasion over Stefan. "It's worth a shot."
Elena looked at Lucy, who nodded, and then back at Stefan. "I'll do it," she declared, taking Stefan's hand. "I'll be with the two of you. I'll be safe."
Damon was satisfied. "All right, then," he grinned at Lucy. "Twitch, looks like I'm your date."
Lucy didn't like the sound of that. "I don't think so, Dracula."
Lucy pouted from Damon's side as they looked around the crowded gym, a song from the fifties playing loudly as everyone danced. She was quickly overruled by the Salvatore brothers and her own sister, so now she had Damon as her date.
It kind of put a damper on the dance; not only was Damon Caroline's kind-of ex-boyfriend that compelled and fed on her but she didn't like him all that much. He was annoying, too, especially when he made fun of the banner she and Caroline painted.
"I'm going to get some punch," Lucy huffed, spotting Jeremy behind the refreshment table.
"I'll come with you," Elena offered, allowing Stefan and Damon to take a better look around for the mysterious vampire that was out to kill Elena.
Lucy nodded and the sisters walked through the crowd of dancing teenagers to the punch. They greeted Jeremy and each grabbed a cup of punch before going to stand by a table. Lucy downed her drink and plopped the paper cup on the table, playing with the rim.
Luckily, Caroline and Bonnie approached them, all dressed up and looking great in vintage clothes.
"Having fun?" Lucy asked them, pulling away from the partially destroyed cup.
"No," Caroline said honestly before gesturing to her outfit and hair. "But this took about two hours, so I'm at least staying half of that."
"What's Damon doing here?" Bonnie spoke up, glaring behind Lucy and Elena.
Lucy turned, seeing that Stefan and Damon were chatting a few feet away from them.
"He wanted to come," Elena shrugged. "I promise he'll behave."
Caroline gave her an unimpressed look. "So, what is this, like, a threesome now?" she asked, glaring at Damon. "You and the Salvatore brothers?"
"No, but if I'm gonna be with Stefan, then I have to learn to tolerate Damon," Elena stated with a sigh. "It's not like I can kill him."
"There's a thought," Bonnie hummed, taking a sip of punch.
"Mmm," Caroline agreed, clinking her cup with Bonnie's. "I'll help."
Lucy snickered at her friends before she promised them she was going to be back. She got another cup of punch and when she returned to their table, Elena was gone.
"Where's Elena?" she wondered, leaning on the table next to Bonnie.
"Somewhere with Stefan," Bonnie looked over the crowd. "We're thinking of going to the Grill soon. Wanna come?"
"Um—"
"Ugh," Caroline interrupted before Lucy could answer. "Damon's coming."
Lucy and Bonnie turned around just in time to see Damon walking toward them, a sneaky grin on his face.
"Hi, Bonnie," he greeted slyly. "Wanna dance?"
Bonnie glared at him. "I'm out of here."
Damon hurriedly stopped her from leaving. "Please give me another chance."
Lucy looked on in amusement as Bonnie scoffed, ripped her arm out of Damon's grasp, and walked away. Caroline smirked at Damon and added, "Back off, Damon."
"Ooh," Lucy sang as Caroline walked away from the table. "Is that what rejection feels like?"
Damon rolled his eyes. "Says the girl with no date."
Lucy gasped dramatically. "I thought you were my date?"
"Shut up."
Lucy laughed loudly and turned away from the table to watch the old music video playing on the gym wall. To her surprise, Elena and Stefan were making their way right to her and Damon, having seen Bonnie and Caroline leave.
"Where did they go?" Elena asked.
Damon turned around at Elena's voice and shrugged. "I don't know."
Stefan knew his brother; he had to do something to run Bonnie and Caroline off. "What'd you say to them?"
"Oh, he just—"
"I was perfectly polite," Damon cut off Lucy, softly nudging her side with his super-sharp elbow. Lucy winced and nudged him back.
"Elena…" Damon grunted from the force of Lucy's blow. "Would you like to dance?"
"I would love to," Elena smiled pleasantly and turned to Stefan. "May I have this dance?"
Stefan said nothing but held his arm out, allowing Elena to take it. Elena smirked at Damon as they headed to the dance floor.
Damon looked unaffected by Elena's dig as he turned to Lucy. "I'll be right back," he told her. "I'm gonna do a round, see if I can find this guy. When I get back, you and I are going to dance."
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Sure thing, Dracula."
"All right, Twitch," Damon popped out in front of Lucy, making her flinch. "Let's go. We're dancing."
Lucy sighed and set down her cup. "Normally, I'd say no because you're you…but, I like dancing, so…"
Lucy grabbed Damon's outstretched hand and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. A new song came on, a girly bop that was very popular in the fifties.
"Ah, yeah," Damon smirked, twirling Lucy around before pulling her back to him. He began to sing to the music as they swayed together. "My boyfriend's back and you're gonna be in trouble!"
"Hey, la! Hey, la!" Lucy sang along, Damon twirling her around again and then leading her in a march.
Across the gym, Elena and Stefan watched Lucy and Damon dance. Elena was surprised; Lucy looked like she was actually having fun with Damon.
"You really can't take him anywhere, can you?" she giggled, looking over at Stefan.
Stefan looked back at Damon and Lucy, both of them laughing together, and scoffed. "Uh, no. I can't."
Elena laughed once and looked back around the gym. A dark hoodie caught her eye; it looked just like the one the vampire was wearing when he attacked her and Lucy.
"Stefan," she nudged Stefan, getting his attention. "Back corner."
Stefan looked where Elena directed him and stiffened, seeing the black hoodie. He narrowed his eyes and told Elena, "Get Damon and Lucy."
As the guy in the black hoodie turned around and walked out of the gym, Stefan followed him. Elena obeyed Stefan and tried to look for Lucy, finding her without Damon.
"Hey, where's Damon?" Lucy looked away from her phone where Caroline was texting her about drama with Matt and saw Elena.
"I don't know," Lucy shrugged. "He said he had to do something."
"I saw the guy," Elena informed her, causing Lucy to look worried. "We should try to find Damon."
Lucy agreed but before they could even move, Elena's phone went off. She answered it quickly and looked around with wide, panicked eyes. Lucy figured that it was the vampire who called her sister.
"No," Elena said sternly into her phone. She whipped around and Lucy followed her gaze to Jeremy where he was still serving punch. Behind him, on the phone, was the vampire they were looking for. "Don't you dare touch him."
Elena abruptly hung up the phone and grabbed Lucy's arm, practically dragging her out of the gym as they ran.
"Elena, what's happening?" Lucy breathed, trying to keep up as they turned down another hallway. "Is Jeremy all right?"
"Just keep running!"
Lucy did as she was told and kept running, looking back once in a while. On her third look, the vampire was there behind them, calming walking like he wasn't about to kill them. She sped up and went to push through the set of doors in front of her, only to be pushed back; the doors were locked.
"Come on," she spat through gritted teeth, pushing at the door again.
"Through here," Elena caught her attention as she took off running, crossing into the cafeteria.
Lucy followed her, speeding up as the vampire came closer.
Lucy and Elena ran through the cafeteria and tried the other set of doors; unfortunately, they were locked too. The vampire pushed into the room and blurred over to them, grabbing Lucy's shoulders.
Lucy shrieked in fright and pushed Elena away from them before reaching up to grab the vampire's arm. Her palms glowed as the vampire screamed from the pain of the siphon, pushing Lucy away from him and onto the floor.
Lucy scrambled to her feet and ran to Elena, who was breaking a broom in half in hopes of getting a sharp enough piece of wood to stab the vampire with.
The vampire caught up with her and, careful not to touch her skin, grabbed the ends her hair and pulled, tossing her onto a table that promptly broke and fell to the floor. Lucy screamed in pain.
"Elena!"
"I'm trying!" Elena shouted back, panicked as she tried her hardest to break the broom.
Her sister was getting hurt trying to protect her and she couldn't even break a broom handle.
Lucy spotted a few pencils on the floor in front of her. Using the magic she just siphoned from the vampire, she waved her hand. A pencil flew from the floor and embedded itself into the vampire's gut, causing him to grunt in shock.
Not letting up, Lucy waved her hand again, making another pencil fly through the air and pierce his hand through-and-through.
Despite the dire situation, Lucy couldn't help but gag at the sight of blood. She hurriedly crawled away from the vampire as he pulled the pencils out of himself.
A loud creak filled the room as Elena finally snapped the broom handle in half. She marched toward the vampire, sharp end of the handle out, and went to stab him. The vampire caught the handle and smirked at Elena, throwing it across the room. He hissed, showing off his fangs, and lunged at her. Just as he was about to make contact, Stefan appeared and pulled him off of her.
"Hey, dickhead!" Damon greeted the vampire loudly as he picked up the broom handle. "Nobody wants to kill you. We just wanna talk."
The vampire didn't seem to believe Damon because he quickly sped over to Stefan, trying to attack. Damon threw the broom handle to Stefan, who smoothly caught it and stabbed the vampire right in the abdomen.
The vampire gasped wetly, falling to his knees.
Damon walked over to where Elena and Stefan were standing, pausing only to help Lucy to her feet. She could practically feel a large bruise growing on the side she fell on but she ignored it in favor of listening to Stefan and Damon interrogate the vampire.
"Now you feel like talking?" Stefan asked him harshly.
"Fuck you," the vampire spat, glaring at Stefan.
Stefan bared his teeth at the vampire and grabbed the broom handle, plunging it further into the vampire's body. The vampire grunted, dark blood spilling out of his mouth.
"Wrong answer," Stefan growled, twisting the handle brutally. "Why are you doing this?"
The vampire glared at Stefan. "Because it's fun."
Stefan didn't like that answer, either. He gripped the handle again, tilting it to a different angle to pierce more of the man's internal organs.
The vampire groaned but Stefan spoke over him, "What do you want with Elena?"
"She looks like Katherine," the vampire said, his eyes boring onto Elena's figure.
Damon perked up and Lucy, Elena, and Stefan all shared a look.
"You knew Katherine?" Damon asked the man, intrigued.
"Oh," the vampire scoffed. "You thought you were the only ones," he laughed, causing more blood to spill from his lips; Lucy felt her stomach twist. "You don't even remember me."
Damon rolled his eyes and leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees to be level with the vampire. "Tell me how to get in the tomb, hmm?"
"No."
At the vampire's negative answer, Stefan twisted the broom handle again. Lucy winced and looked away.
"The grimoire!" the vampire groaned.
"Where is it?" Damon snapped.
Stefan pierced the vampire's chest again with the stake, causing him to scream in pain. "Check the journal," he choked out. "The journal. Jonathan Gilbert's."
Damon and Stefan shared a look before Stefan asked the vampire, "Who else is working with you?"
"Who else is there?" Damon demanded when the vampire didn't answer.
"No," the vampire shook his head, glaring up at Stefan and Damon. "You're gonna have to kill me."
Damon pursed his lips, annoyed, as Stefan glanced at him. He shook his head, silently giving Stefan the go-ahead to kill the vampire. He wasn't going to give them any more information, anyway. He was better off dead.
Stefan pulled the broom handle from the vampire's chest before stabbing him again, this time right in the heart. The vampire grunted at the blow and fell over, falling onto the floor as he gasped for breath.
Lucy couldn't help but stare with wet eyes as the vampire's body turned a sickly shade of gray and his veins darkened.
Elena gasped, completely in shock. "What do we—how are you gonna find the others now?" she asked desperately, looking at Stefan.
"He had to die," Damon informed Elena, unsympathetic.
Elena shook her head. "But—"
"Elena," Stefan interrupted her, giving her a firm look. "He was invited in."
A creak outside of the cafeteria caught everyone's attention. Lucy and the others looked toward the door and saw a figure walk past the windows.
Stefan nodded at Damon. "Go. I got this."
Damon nodded and walked out of the cafeteria, following the person who walked by to see if he saw anything he shouldn't have.
Lucy opened her bedroom door and was surprised to see Stefan on the other side. He was holding a water bottle and a bottle of pills and he smiled softly when he saw her.
"Hey," Lucy greeted him, letting him into her room. "What's up?"
Stefan looked around the room, having only been there once before during the night and he hadn't paid attention to what it looked like. Her walls were painted light blue except for one wall that had beautiful hand-painted flowers all over it. Multiple picture frames full of Lucy and her loved ones were hung up around her desk and her vanity was clean, rows of nail polish and lipsticks organized by color. The whole room was tidy like that, only her bed was messy which he assumed was because she was in it before he knocked.
"I brought you some pain pills," Stefan said, holding up the over-the-counter bottle. "Elena said you had a nasty fall…are you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks," she grabbed the water and pills from him with a thankful smile. "I think I'll have a bruise but Elena's okay, so that's what matters."
Stefan frowned, not liking that Lucy saw the situation that way. Yes, Elena's life was important, but so was Lucy's. He didn't want her to get hurt at all.
Lucy didn't catch his mood as she swallowed down some pills and placed the cap back on the bottle. "I think I'll have to get some nausea medicine if I'm going to be around so much blood," she joked. "Hopefully I'll get used to it."
Stefan laughed half-heartedly; she shouldn't have to get used to any of this.
Lucy's smiled vanished at his reaction. "What's wrong, Broody?"
"Nothing," he smiled weakly at the nickname she gave him months ago. "I just didn't want you to get hurt. I should—"
"Don't even try to do that 'stay away from me' crap," Lucy rolled her eyes. "It didn't work on Elena so why on earth would it work on me? You're my best pal, you can't get rid of me."
Stefan wanted to argue but he knew she was right. Besides, other than Elena, Lucy was one of the brightest lights of his life. He couldn't imagine not having her as a friend.
So, to show her that he gave in, he snarked back, "What happened to me being your best friend? Have I been demoted?"
Lucy chuckled. "No! It's just exhausting to say that you're one of my best friends, so I'm calling you something else. From now on, Caroline's my best friend and you are my best pal."
"What, are you from the forties or something?" Stefan scoffed. Lucy swatted his arm, causing him to jump away. "Hey!"
"Says the guy born in the 1840s!" Lucy retorted.
"Hey, I look good for my age!"
"Get out! Seriously, I can't stand you right now!"
"Aw, come on, Goofy!"