[1x19; Miss Mystic Falls]
It was official; she needed to read the instructions for her combination lock and not give up until she could dial in her combination correctly. It was getting to be a real chore to try to unlock her locker and at this point, it was pathetic that it took three or more tries to figure it out.
Maybe she could just get an extra-large backpack and lug around her things…
"Need some help with that?"
Lucy bit her lip to hide her smile and turned to Stefan, faking her shock. "So, the dropout returns?"
"Ha, very funny," Stefan reached over and swiftly dialed in her combination, easily opening the locker. "I'm starting to think you just like to have me around to do things for you."
"No, I'm just an idiot," Lucy rolled her eyes and grabbed her things. "Why are you back? Did you miss the boring curriculum forced onto juniors?" she gasped dramatically. "Oh, I know, it's definitely the fish sticks served in the cafeteria."
Stefan shook his head and laughed, pushing her with his shoulder. "You're so annoying," the bell rang, catching their attention. "Are you walking with me to class, or not, you goofy girl?"
"Why, Mr. Salvatore," Lucy fluttered her eyelashes with a giggle. "I would love for you to escort me to class."
"I hate you."
"Sure you do."
Lucy and Stefan walked into Alaric's classroom just before he did and took their seats amongst their classmates.
"Okay," Alaric said, shutting the door behind him. "This week we're gonna set aside our regular curriculum for a lesson in local history as we approach Founder's Day. Apparently the community leaders feel that's more important than World War II, but hey, what do I know?"
The classroom door opened and Lucy perked up when Bonnie walked in. After a month of her absence after Grams' death, Lucy was very happy to see her.
"Sorry I'm late," Bonnie apologized to Alaric, closing the door.
"Looks like we will be at full occupancy today," Alaric commented. "Welcome home, Bonnie."
Bonnie sat in the empty seat in front of Lucy, giving her a small smile; Lucy beamed back. Elena and Stefan gave Bonnie welcoming smiles, as well, but received an awkward look as she turned away from them. Lucy noticed; it looked like Bonnie wasn't over the situation of Grams' death…Lucy didn't blame her.
Lucy walked out of the school office and smiled as the intercom blared and the voice of the principal echoed through the school. She had just dropped off the nominees for Miss Mystic Falls which included her sister and best friend.
Unfortunately, the girls who applied for the court had to be seventeen, so Lucy couldn't sign up. She had next year to apply, though, so she wasn't losing her chance. She wanted to be Miss Mystic Falls ever since her mother told her that she was crowned once. One day, Lucy hoped to hold the title too.
"There you are!" she was practically attacked by Caroline. "I'm a Miss Mystic Falls nominee!"
"I know, Care," Lucy laughed; she missed Caroline when she went to visit her dad a couple hours away. "I gave the nominee list to the principal."
"Oh, my God, I forgot!" Caroline gasped excitedly, both of them walking down the hall. "You're the student ambassador. Does that mean you'll vote for me?"
"I don't get a vote," she reminded her best friend. "And even if I did, I wouldn't vote at all. Not when you and Elena are competing against each other."
"But you'd vote for me, right?"
Lucy winked at her. "Of course."
They found Bonnie and Elena outside in the courtyard, talking together. Caroline beamed at the sight of their best friend and ran toward her, calling her name frantically.
"Bonnie! Bonnie!" Caroline wrapped Bonnie up into a hug as Lucy came to stand next to her sister. "Thank God you're home!" she pulled away and smiled at the witch. "I know we talked everyday but I missed you."
Lucy knew Caroline and Bonnie talked every day and it kind of hurt that Bonnie only messaged her a couple of times, but she understood Bonnie's reasons.
"How are you doing, Bon?" Lucy asked, giving Bonnie a smile.
"Better," Bonnie nodded with a small smile. "Just better. You know, glad to be back and trying to keep myself busy."
"Well, I can help with that," Caroline grinned widely. "Major wardrobe confab needed A.S.A.P.. You and Lucy need to help me pick the perfect dress for the Founder's Court."
"Oh!" Bonnie giggled, impressed.
"The Founder's Court?" Elena spoke up, looking at Lucy, Caroline, and Bonnie. "Did I miss something?"
"The Founder's Court. You know, Miss Mystic Falls?" Lucy reminded her, slightly annoyed that her sister didn't listen to the things she told her. "I've been talking about it for more than a month."
Elena gained a look of recognition.
"They just announced it today," Caroline added. "You and I are both on it."
"Oh, my God. We signed up for this so long ago," Elena sighed, shaking her head. "I completely forgot."
Caroline laughed breathlessly and casually asked, "So, are you dropping out, then?"
Elena slowly shook her head and exchanged a sad look with Lucy. "I can't."
"No?"
"Our mom wanted her to enter," Lucy told Caroline softly.
Caroline hummed and nodded in understanding, wrapping an arm around Lucy's shoulders and squeezing tightly.
"Honor your partner," Mrs. Lockwood instructed the girls nominated for Miss Mystic Falls and their escorts. Lined up and facing each other, each nominee curtsied while their partners bowed. "Let's focus. Music, please, Lucy."
The nominees and their escorts had to perform a traditional dance after they were announced at the pageant, so they needed to practice. Mrs. Lockwood was the expert on the counsel, having won Miss Mystic when she was a teenager, so she decided to teach the dance herself. Lucy was invited along just to be her silent support and stereo operator.
Lucy pressed play on the stereo Mrs. Lockwood brought to the gym and sent Caroline, who was practicing with Bonnie, a thumb's up. Dainty music filled the air and Mrs. Lockwood started the dance.
"Right hand around," Mrs. Lockwood commanded. When the nominees followed her instructions, she went on, "Flirt with your eyes."
Everyone walked in a circle with their escorts, serious eye contact being made. Quiet giggling caught Lucy's attention and she wasn't surprised to see that it was Elena and Stefan. Lucy caught Caroline's annoyed eye roll and bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.
"Left hand around…both hands…"
This time the laughter coming from Elena was louder as Stefan grabbed her hand and quickly twirled her around before dipping her. All the nominees and their escorts gave them irritated looks; none of them particularly wanted to be there, but at least they were taking it seriously.
"Oh, no, no, no," Mrs. Lockwood fussed, walking toward Elena and Stefan. "There's no touching during this part. It's about the simple intimacy of the near-touch."
Elena gave Mrs. Lockwood an apologetic look.
"Very nice, Caroline," Mrs. Lockwood complemented in approval. "You too, Amber."
Amber Bradley, a kind senior with a peppy attitude, beamed. "Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood."
"Thank you," Caroline added, looking satisfied that her efforts were being seen.
Another fifteen minutes were spent going through the rest of the dance, this time without any interruptions by Elena and Stefan. When everyone was allowed a ten-minute break, Lucy walked over to Caroline and Bonnie, quietly complementing their hard work.
Caroline grinned and started speaking in a low voice so she wasn't overheard, "The Fell cousins don't have a shot," she told Bonnie and Lucy. "and Amber Bradley is only on the court so the pageant doesn't look like its Founding Families only which, of course, it is," Caroline eyed Elena where she was talking with Stefan in another corner and sighed, "Which leaves Elena and she totally has the sympathy vote. How can I compete with that?"
Lucy rolled her eyes, amused. What a Caroline thing to say, though she wasn't totally wrong. With her work behind-the-scenes, she knew that it was already down to Caroline and Elena for the win.
"Very nice," Bonnie commented. "Very sensitive."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Caroline sighed and gave Bonnie an apologetic smile. "This must sound really unimportant in light of everything."
Lucy reached for Bonnie's arm and rubbed it gently, hoping that it would comfort her. Although she didn't see Bonnie much over the summer, she knew that Bonnie was always available to help her out and she had Elena's back. She wanted to be there for Bonnie in the same way.
Bonnie smiled at Lucy before looking back at Caroline. "It's okay, I get it. You want to win."
"Well, my grandmother was Miss Mystic," Caroline explained her passion. "And both of my aunts. My mom's the only one who didn't get the gene and I want this. I actually deserve this."
Lucy could relate and while she knew Elena wanted to be Miss Mystic because of their mother, as well, she never really put any effort into showing why she was the best choice. Caroline volunteered all over town and was the president of several committees in school.
"Just focus and show the judges that you're their better option," Lucy whispered. She didn't want to get caught by her sister or Mrs. Lockwood by playing favorites. Even if she didn't get a vote, she was still part of the committee planning the pageant.
Caroline giggled and Bonnie cracked a smile.
"Bonnie!" Elena called out, walking over to them with Stefan trailing behind her. The girls broke up their circle so they could face them. "Hey."
"Hey," Stefan smiled politely at Bonnie, sympathy in his eyes. "How are you?"
Bonnie didn't reply to either of them; she avoided eye contact and looked straight at Caroline. It was very awkward.
"I begged Bonnie to fill in for Matt," Caroline explained, breaking the silence. "He had to work today."
Elena nodded, a slightly sour look on her face, and looked back at Bonnie. "Bonnie, do you have a minute?"
"The break's almost over, so…"
"It'll only take a minute," Elena insisted. "Please?"
Reluctantly, Bonnie nodded and allowed Elena to lead her out of the gym. Lucy, Caroline, and Stefan stood awkwardly together for a few seconds before Caroline drifted away, wanting to get herself some water.
"She blames me," Stefan told Lucy, frowning, as he listened to Elena and Bonnie's conversation.
Lucy sighed and patted his arm. "She's just grieving, Stefan, and right now, she's focusing the blame on someone she knows," she explained before confessing, "I did the same thing."
It was true; for a while after the accident, Lucy blamed Elena for everything. She thought that because Elena ditched family night and she and her parents had to fetch her from the party, she was to blame for their parents being dead. As time went by and she started to move on, she realized how silly that was. It wasn't Elena's fault at all.
Stefan looked at her knowingly. He had an idea of what Lucy was talking about and he knew that Damon felt that about him when Katherine was supposedly put in the tomb. "How'd you move on?"
"It just takes time."
Lucy hummed as she waited for Elena and Jenna to come downstairs so they could leave; Elena was drying her hair and Jenna was finishing up her make-up when Lucy left them. She had Elena's dress settled in her arms, careful to keep it from getting wrinkles.
The Miss Mystic Falls pageant was starting in two hours and she was surprisingly calm. There was no more planning for her to do and she wasn't competing, so there was no reason to be nervous. After the ladies in running were announced, her job for the night was done and she was seriously considering sneaking at least one glass of champagne and taking advantage of Alaric's driving.
Speaking of Alaric…
There was a knock on the door behind her; Lucy opened the door, revealing Alaric all dressed up in a nice suit.
"Hey," Lucy greeted him happily. "Come on in," as she shut the door behind him, she added, "I'm glad you're driving us."
"Me too," Alaric agreed with a smile. He reached for Elena's dress. "Here, let me grab that for you."
"Thanks," Lucy gladly handed him over the bag and turned to grab her clutch off the table.
"No problem," Alaric hesitated. "How's Stefan?"
Lucy frowned and turned around, wondering why he was asking. Stefan seemed fine at school the day before—a little more playful than usual but nothing too serious. "What do you mean?"
Alaric thought back to how wrecked Stefan looked when they crossed paths the day before. Stefan even tried to strangle him, which was way out of the ordinary for the youngest Salvatore.
"He seems on edge," he told Lucy, deciding not to give her the details.
"Um, I think he's fine," Lucy said hesitantly; was something going on with Stefan? "Maybe he's just taking some time to bounce back to normal."
Alaric nodded though from the expression on his face, Lucy knew he didn't believe her.
"Alaric!" John called as he walked into the room. "Hey, buddy, what are you doing here?"
"Oh," Alaric glanced at Lucy and then at the stairs, praying that Jenna would come down and rescue him from talking to John. "I'm, uh, the chauffeur."
John raised his eyebrows. "I thought I was driving."
Thankfully, Jenna and Elena took that moment to come downstairs.
"No need," Jenna declared, buttoning her coat over her gray one-shouldered dress and smiling at Alaric. "We're going with Ric."
"Are we ready?" Elena asked Lucy, looking for her dress.
Lucy pointed to where Alaric was holding it. "Yep."
Jenna turned to John as Lucy, Elena, and Alaric left the house. "Jeremy can ride with you."
When Lucy arrived at the pageant, Mrs. Lockwood swept her away, giving her directions. Lucy was to be upstairs with the girls while they got dressed and keep their spirits high, doing whatever was asked of her. Unfortunately, the Fell cousins took advantage of that when Lucy went up into the dressing room. They kept asking her to fetch things for them—including spare eyeliner, a cupcake, and gas pills—which kept her too busy to spend any time with Elena or Caroline.
Then, when it was Amber Bradley's turn to change into her dress, she started panicking. Lucy had to come to the rescue and calm her down just long enough so she could get dressed and meet her escort downstairs.
It was just a case of stage fright but it was severe enough that it had Amber pacing nervously.
"Just breathe, Amber," Lucy encouraged, knowing that when she was having issues controlling her breathing helped her the most. "Slowly and evenly."
Amber inhaled through her nose as she paced, her hands shaking slightly.
"I don't even know why I signed up for this," Amber shook her head.
"Because you deserve to be here," Lucy told her truthfully. Amber was the student council president and she volunteered at a lot of places around town. She was super nice, too, which you couldn't say about a lot of teenagers in Mystic Falls. "You can do this. Just keep breathing."
The door to the dressing room opened and Elena walked in, hair and make-up done beautifully. She faltered at the sight of Amber and Lucy because she was sure the dressing room would be empty; it was her allotted time to get dressed.
"Are you okay, Amber?" Elena asked, noticing how anxious Amber looked.
"I hate being the center of attention," Amber confessed, giggling nervously. "I get panic attacks."
"Do you need some privacy so you can change?"
Amber shook her head at Elena's question. "Actually, I'm gonna go get some air."
As Amber started walking out of the room, Lucy called, "Be back soon!"
Amber nodded and disappeared down the hallway.
Lucy sighed and turned to Elena with a smile. "You look beautiful, Elena."
"I don't even have my dress on yet," Elena chuckled, walking over to grab her dress where it was hanging up on the mirror.
"Well, the blue is going to look great on you."
"I'll say."
Lucy and Elena jumped in shock when they heard Damon's voice. He appeared out of nowhere and stood next to Lucy, a serious look on his face.
"Hey, you can't be back here," Lucy scolded him, rolling her eyes.
"We need to talk," he said firmly, looking between the sisters.
Elena sighed. "It has to be right now?"
Damon ignored her question. "Normally, I would have a completely different outlook on what I'm about to tell you two, but since it could really inconvenience me, I'll squeal…"
Elena was confused. "What are you talking about?"
"Stefan's still drinking human blood," Damon confessed.
After a few seconds of shocked silence, Elena gasped, "What?"
"Yeah," Damon pursed his lips. "A month ago, I would have rejoiced but with the council back on the alert, it is not a good time for Stefan to fly off the handle."
Lucy didn't know what to think but Stefan's playful mood for the past couple of days was starting to make sense. She hadn't seen any other symptoms, but she hadn't really been around him like Elena and Damon had this past week. Had Stefan really given in to the cravings he was resisting the previous weeks?
Elena shook her head. "I know he's been a little edgy," she defended her boyfriend. "but he said that was normal."
"He has a fridge full of stolen blood bank contraband in the house," Damon said bluntly.
Breathing shakily, Elena sat down on the couch. "Oh, my God."
"He has no idea what normal is," Damon continued. "His entire existence isn't normal. Normal to a vampire is drinking human blood but he spent all this time fighting it when he should have been learning to control it…and now it's controlling him instead."
"Can you teach him how to control it, though?" Lucy spoke up, looking at Damon. "I mean, maybe if he has some help…"
"It won't work," Damon shook his head. "At least with me. We've been down that road before."
Lucy frowned; if Stefan couldn't get this under control, what were they going to do?
"I can't believe this," Elena sighed, overwhelmed. "It's Stefan that we're talking about here."
"Stefan on human blood, Elena," Damon corrected her. His brother was almost like a whole different human when he wasn't feeding on animals. "He'll do anything, he'll say anything because he's not gonna want to stop. Trust me."
Elena bit her lip and stood up, pacing around the room as she grew angry at herself. Why did she give Stefan her blood? She knew that he feed only on animals…he even protested against it but she forced him anyway.
"This is all my fault," her voice was firm with anger. "I'm the one who fed him the blood in the first place."
"It's not your fault, Lena," Lucy consoled her. "We could have died if Stefan couldn't protect us."
The door opened, causing Lucy, Damon, and Elena to pause their conversation, and Stefan walked in. He looked around, wondering why his girlfriend, best friend, and brother were talking without him.
Then he grew suspicious; Damon was probably telling them about the blood.
"What's going on here?" he asked slowly.
Lucy looked at Damon, silently urging him to answer his brother.
Damon took the hint and turned to face Stefan. "I was just filling Elena and Lucy in on your extra-curricular activities."
Stefan was quiet for a second before he scoffed. "What are you talking about?"
"We know about the blood, Stefan," Elena spoke up, eyes narrowed.
Lucy winced at the harshness of her sister's tone while Damon looked at the couple awkwardly.
"I'm gonna—I'll be downstairs," he excused himself. "Drinking."
"I'll join you," Lucy said, walking out of the room behind him. As she passed Stefan, she avoided his gaze. She didn't know exactly how to react to this news.
It wasn't like he lied to her, so she wasn't angry at him. In fact, she felt sorry for him. According to Damon, this was something he's been struggling with for years and was trying to forget. To lapse up must have been hard for him.
Lucy wanted to help him, but she didn't know how.
Lucy and Damon walked downstairs together in silence before he spoke up, "Nice outfit."
Lucy smiled slightly, knowing that he recognized the dress he had gotten her for her birthday. It was a halter-top and the white fabric hugged her body tightly and fell just below her knees. The shoes were t-strapped heels. "Thank you."
"So, what do you think about blood-gate?"
"I think that I don't know what to think," Lucy sighed, sneakily grabbing a glass of champagne off of a tray as they passed a waiter. "I know how I feel; I'm not mad, just concerned."
"Hmm," Damon took the champagne from her before she could take a sip; she rolled her eyes at him. "Concerned," he repeated, gulping down the drink. "Why?"
"It's Stefan. If he goes too far with this and he accidently hurts someone, I think he's gonna be feeling really guilty," Lucy stated logically. "The Stefan I know doesn't like to hurt people."
"Like I told Elena, Stefan on human blood is different," Damon reminded her. "He's essentially a blood junkie waiting to get his next hit…doesn't care about anything unless it's getting in his way."
Lucy paused for a second, letting Damon's words sink in. Even if that was true, it didn't sway her. She wanted to help Stefan even if he didn't want it. She wasn't going to let Stefan lose himself to human blood while she was around.
"We're gonna have to help him then."
Damon wasn't surprised by Lucy's statement. She was stubborn and she cared for Stefan. Of course, she was going to help him.
Lucy and Damon split up, with Lucy going to stand with Jenna and Alaric while the nominees were announced for the starting dance with their escorts. They idly talked while everyone gathered to wait for Mayor Lockwood to start the ceremony.
The pageant started with a warm welcome from Mayor Lockwood. After he slyly slipped a line into his speech about reelection, he started to announce the girls who were running for Miss Mystic Falls.
He called Mary Fell's name first, followed by her cousin, Tina. The girls, both in pink dresses, walked down the curved staircase with large smiles and were joined by their escorts before walking outside.
Lucy knew from Caroline that Matt wasn't able to be her escort for the evening because the Grill wouldn't let him out of work—she had to settle for one of Tyler's cousins—but she was surprised that Stefan wasn't in line with the other escorts.
In fact—Lucy looked at the crowd around her—he was nowhere to be seen.
"Miss Caroline Forbes and her escort, Jeffrey Lockwood-Hamilton!" Mayor Lockwood announced Lucy's best friend before she could worry.
Caroline walked down the stairs, a large smile on her face. She looked incredible in the emerald-green strapless dress that she, Lucy, and Bonnie picked out, and she oozed an air of elegance. She took her escort's hand and smiled at the crowd as they walked outside.
Lucy clapped along with the crowd, feeling proud of both Caroline and Elena. Once the cheering died down, Mayor Lockwood called Elena's name.
"Miss Elena Gilbert, escorted by Mister Stefan Salvatore."
Lucy winced as she clapped, knowing that Stefan wasn't there to take Elena's hand. Elena was going to be so embarrassed and it irritated Lucy that Stefan just abandoned Elena right as the pageant started.
Luckily, Damon came to the rescue.
He stepped up and stood where Stefan was supposed to be, taking Elena's hand as she descended down the staircase. He escorted her outside where the rest of the contestants were waiting.
As Elena and Damon passed them, Jenna whispered to Lucy and Alaric, "What is she doing with Damon?"
Lucy shook her head while Alaric replied, "I have no idea."
The contestants lined up for the dance, just like Mrs. Lockwood taught them. The music came on and they started dancing, each one of them using the correct steps in time. Lucy wasn't surprised that Damon knew the dance and she was so relieved that he was helping Elena.
She wasn't going to lie, it warmed her heart a little.
When the dance finished and the sun set, everyone was treated to a quick dinner. This was mainly so the judges could see who had the best manners out of the contestants and when they ate dessert, they chose their winner.
The crowd gathered in front of the contestants to hear about a winner and it was only then that Lucy realized that Amber was missing from the line-up.
…this wasn't good. Stefan was missing and so was Amber? It was probably not a coincidence.
"Before I crown a winner, I'd like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community," Mayor Lockwood spoke to the crowd as he gestured to the Fell cousins, Caroline, and Elena. Lucy and the crowd clapped politely. "So, without further ado, it is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls…Miss Caroline Forbes!"
Despite her worry over Stefan, Lucy couldn't contain her pride and happiness for Caroline. She cheered loudly as Caroline and Elena hugged and Mayor Lockwood laid the winner's sash around Caroline's neck.
Caroline truly deserved this.
When the applause began to die and Caroline, Elena, and the Fell cousins were ushered to another room for pictures, Lucy snuck out of the hall.
She was determined to find Stefan; there was no way that both Stefan and Amber were just missing at the same time. And if Stefan was hurting Amber, Lucy had to stop him.
Lucy walked through the parking lot, her heels clicking against the pavement purposefully. She looked around the lot and when she saw no sign of Stefan, she headed to the sparse line of trees up ahead.
A scream and several following shrieks caught her attention; she ran toward the sound and blanched in shock when she saw a struggling Amber encased in Stefan's arms.
"Stefan!" she called, eyes widening in horror.
Lucy ran toward her best friend when he ignored her and grabbed his arm, attempting to pull him away from Amber.
"Stefan, stop!"
Annoyed with the interruption of his meal, Stefan turned to Lucy, growling loudly at her. Lucy flinched back by the appearance of Stefan's face, shocked by the dark veins under his red eyes but continued to try to pull him away from Amber. Blood lust was crawling through Stefan's veins, tormenting him, and when he looked at Lucy, he didn't see her as his best friend; he saw her as a threat.
Stefan snarled and forcefully pushed Lucy away from him, causing her to stumble away. Lucy landed on the ground and groaned from the flash of pain but got up; no way was she going to just give up.
As Stefan bit into Amber's neck again, Lucy siphoned from her locket and cast an aneurysm on Stefan.
Stefan grunted and dropped Amber, holding onto his head. At that moment, Elena, Damon, and—strangely, Bonnie came running into the trees, looking horrified at what Stefan had done.
Lucy realized Stefan from her spell, hoping that Damon or Elena could talk some sense into him.
"Stefan!"
"Stefan, come on, get control of it," Damon encouraged his brother while Elena looked on, disgusted. "It's okay, come on. Breathe through it, man."
Stefan was wound up, looking like a startled animal with blood dripping from his mouth. When Damon slowly approached him, he growled and grabbed his brother, throwing him and allowing him to crash into a tree a few feet away.
Elena gasped loudly while Lucy shouted, "Stefan, stop it!"
Stefan took slow, deliberate steps toward Damon, his face scrunched up into a sneer. When he got within five feet of Damon—who was back to his feet and ready to help again—Stefan groaned in pain and stopped in his tracks.
Lucy looked around, spotting Bonnie. She was glaring at Stefan, not breaking her concentration. She was doing the same thing Lucy had attempted, only stronger. Stefan gripped his head and bent at the waist under the strength of the spell.
When Bonnie stopped the spell, Stefan came to. He dropped his hands and looked at Lucy, Elena, and Damon, obviously horrified with what he had done. His eyes turned glassy with tears, his breath stuttering.
"It's okay, Stefan," Lucy whispered, trying to calm him down. "Everything's fine, right Damon?"
"It's okay," Damon agreed, slowly stepping toward his brother. "Stefan…"
Stefan reared back, panicking now, and sped away from them.
Lucy wiped her chilly face, not realizing that she had been crying until the commotion was over. She looked to Damon, worried, and asked, "Is she alive?"
"She's fine," Damon nodded, hearing the girl's heart beat steadily in her chest. "I'm gonna go get the sheriff."
Damon left and quickly came back with Liz and a couple of her deputies. Amber was awake by then and they quickly wrapped her up into a shock blanket before questioning her about everything.
Lucy stood with Elena, Damon, and Bonnie as Liz finished up her questions, trying not to think about what happened and where Stefan could be now.
Liz approached them and informed them about Amber's situation. "She doesn't remember what happened."
"It's a good thing the girls got here when they did," Damon stated. "She lost a lot of blood."
Liz nodded and turned to look at Lucy, Elena, and Bonnie. "You didn't see anything?"
Lucy and Elena turned to look at Bonnie, concerned that she was going to spill about Stefan. When Bonnie stayed silent, Elena looked back at Liz.
"No," she shook her head. "We just found her and then called Damon."
"Is she gonna be okay?" Bonnie asked quietly.
Liz nodded. "It looks like it, yeah," she confirmed with a sigh. "Why don't you girls get back to the party? Damon and I can take it from here."
"Yeah," Damon agreed.
"Okay."
Lucy, Bonnie, and Elena walked away from Liz and Damon and slowly headed back to the party. Lucy shivered, the cold finally catching up to her, and longed for her jacket, but focused on Bonnie. She looked like she was out of it.
Elena must have thought that, too. "Bonnie, can we talk about this?"
"There's nothing to talk about," Bonnie replied tensely, continuing to walk back to the party.
"Bonnie, please!" Elena begged.
Bonnie abruptly turned around to face them. "I told you I wasn't gonna make you choose but I need to make the choice for myself," she said, referring to the conversation she and Elena had the day before. "Please just leave me alone."
Without another word, Bonnie stomped off to her car, wanting to go home.
Lucy lingered in the doorway of Stefan's room, vervain dart hidden in the pocket of her sweatshirt. It was Elena and Damon who came up with the plan to dose Stefan with vervain and lock him in the cellar but it was Lucy who they nominated to actually do the deed.
She protested at first—she had already hurt Stefan once today and she didn't want to do it again—but eventually she was talked into it. Damon said that it should be her or Elena and Elena confessed that she was too scared to approach Stefan herself, so that left Lucy. She really didn't want to poison him, but she also didn't want him to hurt himself and others anymore. If this was what she had to do, she would step up to the plate.
Stefan hadn't noticed her at first when he was taking off his suit but as he threw his button-down shirt to the floor, he caught Lucy's peach-and-coconut scent.
"You shouldn't be here," he said lowly, slowly turning to face her.
"I know."
Stefan scoffed quietly and shook his head, stumbling toward the round table in the center of his room. "Now you know."
"Know what?" Lucy stepped into the room fully. "That you have trouble controlling yourself around human blood? That you struggle with something like everyone else?"
"No," he huffed, not wanting to hear her excuses for him. "You know that I'm a monster, that I'm a predator."
"You're not a monster," Lucy said fiercely, believing that to her core. He wouldn't be feeling so guilty if he was a monster. He might have been a supernatural being, but he was not a monster.
"If you believe that, you're an idiot," Stefan said harshly.
Lucy rolled her eyes and reminded herself that the blood was making him hostile. "Okay, so human blood makes another side to you come out. It's not who you truly are, Stefan."
"It is who I am," he spat, facing her with eyes full of self-hatred. "Lucy, I wanted to drain every ounce of blood from that girl's body."
"You didn't, though," Lucy pointed out.
"I wanted to."
"You're not going to scare me off, Stefan, don't try."
She cared about Stefan and there was no way she would ever give up on him.
"Why would you care?" Stefan raised his voice. "Why would you come here?"
Because she was practically outvoted…she didn't think that was a good thing to say…
"Because you drank Elena's blood to save us," she said instead. "None of this would have happened if we hadn't—"
"All you did was expose me for what I really am!"
"Stefan, this isn't you!"
"Stop saying that!" Lucy jumped as Stefan shouted and violently cleared the table in front of him. Seeing that he was losing his cool, she stepped closer to him. "Don't come near me."
Lucy shook her head and continued approaching him. She was going to help him whether he liked it or not.
"Stop."
"I'm not gonna give up on you," she told him, finally close enough to touch him. She gently grabbed his wrist. "I believe in you, Stefan."
"Stop!" he ripped himself away from her grasp and harshly pushed her against the nearest wall. Lucy flinched and forced herself to keep calm when he punched the wall beside her head, trying not to siphon from him. That could make a situation go from bad to worse. "Stop!"
Her breaths were shaky, stuttering in her chest as she looked at him with wide eyes. Even though it was the human blood effecting him so much, she couldn't help but be afraid. She realized that she was too stubborn when she refused to believe that Stefan was a whole different person when he fed from humans because he was. This was not the Stefan she knew and cared about.
That didn't mean she wasn't going to give up on him.
Stefan's eyes widened and stung as when he looked at the fear on Lucy's face. This was a girl who wasn't afraid of much and stood up for herself and others, and here she was, looking at him like that. Him.
His heart clenched painfully and tears dripped from his eyes. "I'm so sorry," he whimpered, placing his forehead on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Lucy. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," Lucy breathed, her own eyes filling with tears, as he sobbed into her neck.
"I don't know what's happening to me," he cried and Lucy swore her heart broke at his words and how lost he sounded.
"It's okay, Stefan, shh," she consoled him. Careful not to disturb him, she slowly reached into her pocket and pulling out the vervain dart. She wrapped her other arm around him for comfort while situating the dart correctly over his back with the other. "You're gonna be okay, Broody."
Lucy stabbed the dart into Stefan's back, flooding his veins with vervain to make him weak. Stefan slumped almost immediately and Lucy dropped the dart so she could steady him. It was like he weighed a million pounds as she slowly lowered him to the floor.
She sat next to him and dried her tears as Elena and Damon came into the room. Elena looked at Stefan's body in shock but turned to her sister, concerned.
"Are you okay?" she asked gently, noticing how wrecked Lucy looked. "Damon said—"
"I'm fine," Lucy interrupted her. She didn't want to go over the details, she just wanted to forget this happened.
Damon sighed and glanced at Elena. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Elena nodded. "I'm sure."
Lucy shakily stood up and wiped her damp hands on her jeans. "I'm gonna head out, then." She had no desire to see Stefan put into a cell. It already sucked that she had to stab him with vervain.
She just hoped that this would work.