[1x22; Founder's Day]
"Ouch, this dress hurts!"
Lucy rolled her eyes as Elena whined about her dress for what had to be the fifth time. She had agreed to help Jenna tied up Elena's corset for the vintage dress she had to wear for the Founder's Day Miss Mystic float but she was tired of hearing her sister complain.
Most of her annoyance came from the fact that Lucy didn't get to dress up like she was from the eighteen-hundreds.
"Suck it up, baby," Jenna said, grinning at Lucy as she tied a sage-green sash around Elena's waist.
Elena huffed and fluffed her hair that Lucy styled into bouncy curls and clasped the necklace that Stefan gave her around her neck. Once she deemed herself ready, she turned around and looked at Lucy and Jenna.
"Ready?"
"I was born ready," Lucy replied with a small smile. Her and Elena had been on the outs for the past couple of days since Jeremy revealed to Elena that he read her journal but they were slowly making up. That is, if Elena didn't manage to annoy her to death. "It's my first Founder's Day on the planning committee."
"I'm sure everything will be amazing," Jenna grinned, slinging an arm around Lucy's shoulders.
Lucy smiled. "Let's hope so."
Twenty minutes later, Lucy was shadowing Mrs. Lockwood. They walked around the school yard, trying to get the parade participants in their correct lineup. It was beginning to be a challenge with how peppy and excited everyone was.
"No, no, no, no!" Mrs. Lockwood scolded a couple of band members. "It's all wrong. The marching band should be in front of the Historic Society."
Lucy looked up from her clipboard and saw that Matt was talking to one of his teammates. "Matty," she called, waving at him. "You have to get on your float!"
Matt laughed and saluted her. "Yes, Ma'am!"
"Boys," Mrs. Lockwood moved on, speaking to some of the volunteers dressed in gold t-shirts. "I asked you to put some chairs on the Founder's float."
Lucy noticed Stefan standing just off of the sidewalk, dressed in his age-appropriate costume. He looked very handsome—as ever—and Lucy could feel her heartbeat speed up. She could only imagine what he was like before he was changed in 1864 but she didn't think it was much—Stefan had told her that everyone's traits were heightened when they become vampires.
Lucy waved at Stefan as she passed him, earning a large smile in return. Her cheeks flushed and she turned away, focusing on a group of her cheerleading teammates.
"Girls," she got their attention. "It's time to get on your float!"
Mrs. Lockwood gave her the go-ahead to find her friends after all the floats were in set order and ready to go. Lucy eagerly left her and set out to find Caroline and Bonnie, excited to see the former's outfit for her float.
It didn't take long to find Caroline; she was dressed in a big, yellow gown that actually flattered her. She squealed as she approached her best friend and laughed when Caroline shrieked back, pulling each other into a hug at the same time.
"Look at you!" Lucy awed, feeling the scratchy fabric on Caroline's waist. "You look absolutely beautiful!"
Caroline beamed, her dimples on full display. "Thanks, Luce! Come on, let's take a picture," she gestured to Bonnie, who gave Lucy an unsure smile.
"Sure," Lucy agreed before greeting Bonnie. "Hey, Bon!"
"Hi," Bonnie held the camera up to her eye and allowed Lucy and Caroline to situate themselves into an appropriate pose. "Say cheese!"
"Cheese!" Lucy and Caroline chorused, giving big smiles to the camera.
As Lucy pulled away from Caroline's embrace she spotted Matt walking up to them. Even though he wasn't on the float like she told him to be, she smiled and turned to Caroline. "Take one with Matt!"
"Oh, yes!" Caroline cheered, taking in the costume she set up for her boyfriend. Matt looked great in the vintage clothing. "It'll be so cute. Matt, come on."
Matt grinned and wrapped an arm around Caroline while Lucy went to Bonnie's side. Bonnie held up the camera and repeated, "Say cheese!"
"Wait!" Caroline objected. "Hide your cast, it's not era appropriate."
Matt rolled his eyes. "Seriously?"
"Yes!"
"Okay, fine."
Lucy giggled as Matt did as Caroline asked, situating himself so his cast was behind Caroline's back. She was glad Caroline had someone that cared so much about her. For so long, her best friend thought that there wasn't a guy that could keep up with her perfectionist self but it looks like Matt was there all along.
Bonnie quickly took the picture and Caroline declared, "I want one with Bonnie, now."
"Here, I can take it."
All four of them turned to Tyler as he offered to take the picture. Matt scowled at his best friend—who was dressed as a confederate soldier—and stomped away, telling Caroline that he'd be on the float. They clearly hadn't made up since Tyler made out with Matt's mom and then beat Matt up.
Tyler sighed. "I said I was sorry."
Caroline gave him a look of disbelief. "You made out with his mother and then you beat him to a pulp," she said matter-of-factly. "You're gonna have to do a little bit better than sorry."
To make her point, Caroline stomped away, too.
Lucy clicked her tongue, not feeling sympathetic for Tyler, and turned to Bonnie. "I'm gonna go find Joel. Do you wanna meet up for the parade?"
Bonnie nodded, smiling slightly. "Sure. See you later."
"Did ya hear about John Gilbert?" Damon asked, walking up to Lucy and Joel as they waited for the parade to start.
Joel gave him an annoyed look. "What about John?"
"Did he threaten to kill you again?" Lucy asked. "Shame."
"No," Damon scowled at her. "John is Elena's biological father."
Lucy was shocked; their asshole of an uncle was Elena's biological father and he didn't bother to tell Elena or anyone else? Well, now it made sense that her Grandma and Grandpa Gilbert never treated Elena any differently—obviously they knew that John was her father.
When Lucy found out she was adopted, she didn't really feel left out because she knew that Elena was like her. Now, though, she felt like she didn't belong—she wasn't a Gilbert at all. Not like her siblings, anyway.
"You're serious?" Joel raised his eyebrows.
"Very," Damon nodded. "I mean, think about it. Isobel and John dated when they were teenagers and then Isobel all of a sudden showed up at your dad's clinic with a baby on the way?"
"It could be a coincidence," Joel shrugged. Lucy hummed, though she didn't agree; what Damon said made sense to her.
"Doubtful."
The parade started then and Damon decided to stay next to the Gilbert siblings to watch it, much to Lucy and Joel's chagrin. The parade was great, in Lucy's opinion, everyone was going smoothly and the floats were creative and decorated nicely.
She was proud of what her friends and classmates had accomplished.
"Let's give a big hand to the Mystic Falls High School Marching Band!" Mrs. Lockwood announced through the microphone so everyone in the crowd could hear.
Lucy cheered loudly as the band slowly marched past them; their marching band was actually better than their football team and had one numerous state titles and awards. Lucy always enjoyed their performances and loved to collaborate with their direction on routines that the cheerleaders could perform.
"And, for a little local history, Mr. Saltzman's students have recreated Virginia's Battle of Willow Creek!"
Lucy cheered again and waved at her brother, dressed in the same costume as Tyler. She and Joel laughed as Jeremy pretended to be shot by Tyler, amused by his dramatics.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Mrs. Lockwood said into the microphone. "Please welcome our stunning Miss Mystic Falls court and their handsome escorts!"
Lucy enthusiastically waved at Elena, Stefan, Caroline, and Matt. The float looked amazing and Caroline's vision was brought to life beautifully. She couldn't be more excited that it turned out amazing.
"This is Caroline Forbes, Miss Mystic Falls!" Mrs. Lockwood announced. "Aren't they beautiful?"
"Woo!" Lucy cheered for her friends. She wrapped an arm around Bonnie as she walked over to her. "Bon, you found us!"
Bonnie laughed and wrapped an arm around Lucy's waist before waving at Elena, Caroline, and Matt.
Her smile faded, however, when she saw Damon standing near them. Damon grinned at her, causing her to stiffen.
"What do you want?" she snapped at him.
Damon shrugged casually. "Just watching the parade."
Bonnie rolled her eyes and whispered to Lucy, "I'll see you later."
"All right," Lucy nodded.
When Bonnie left, Damon followed her. The crowd around Lucy cheered again as Mrs. Lockwood announced the football team but Lucy was too worried about Bonnie to join in on the fun.
The afternoon was waning and the sun was beginning to set, but Lucy was excited for night to come. She loved fireworks and there were only two times a year that she got to see them; the Fourth of July and Founder's Day. All day she had been looking forward to the show and she was bursting with excitement—though that could have been the whole bag of cotton candy she chowed on.
Even if being a small-town girl was a bad thing in most peoples' eyes, Lucy didn't care to admit she was one. She loved Mystic Falls and she loved celebrating the town and its achievements. She loved that she was starting to become part of the traditions and she was making her own mark—she wasn't just the youngest daughter of the late Grayson and Miranda Gilbert. She wasn't the little sister of football star, Joel Gilbert, and teen beauty, Elena Gilbert. She was getting out of their shadows and becoming Lucy Gilbert, talented volunteer with a smart mouth and kind heart.
And that excited her because even though she and Jeremy were close in age, she and Elena had the same friends, and she and Joel had the same sense of humor—Lucy was her own person.
And as her own person, Lucy could have as many bags of cotton candy as she wanted.
She handed her money to the vendor and picked out a bag of blue cotton candy, ripping it open like a child. She had grabbed a handful and stuffed it in her mouth when Stefan walked up to her.
"How many bags have you eaten now, four?" he asked, an amused smile on his face.
Lucy swallowed the sugary delight and chuckled. "This is my second, thank you."
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
"You should be," Lucy retorted with a smile. "What have you been up to?"
"Nothing really, but I'm starting to regret not getting my face painted," Stefan gestured to Lucy's cheek, where a large daisy was painted by a girl scout that she thought was adorable. "You look cute."
Lucy could feel her cheeks warm up under his praise. "I can paint your face, if you want."
"All right."
Once Stefan agreed, Lucy all but dragged him over to the face-painting station. Everyone was allowed to volunteer and paint their face or their friend's face, so it was an open table. The table was half-filled, mostly with little girls and their parents, but Lucy and Stefan found seats at the end.
Lucy grabbed a pallet of paint and a paintbrush before turning to Stefan. "Okay, Broody, what do you want?"
"Hmm," Stefan hummed thoughtfully. "I want you to paint a…sun."
"A sun?" Lucy smiled. "With sunglasses?"
"It's inaccurate, but yes," he decided to indulge her and her weird habit of putting sunglasses on her sketches of the sun. She truly could be a child sometimes.
Lucy smiled and happily dipped her paintbrush into the bright yellow paint and scooted her chair closer to Stefan's. She pressed the brush against Stefan's smooth cheek and started to paint, careful not to make any mistakes.
"We haven't really talked lately," Stefan spoke up while she was concentrating.
Luckily, the movement of his mouth didn't have much of an effect on her work.
"Well, we've both been busy," Lucy said quietly. "…and I might have felt bad about shoving that vervain dart in your back."
It was true; though she didn't regret poisoning him because it helped him get back into control, it didn't mean she didn't feel guilty.
"You don't have to feel bad," Stefan assured her. "You helped me and I'm grateful."
"I know it helped but it doesn't make me feel better," Lucy admitted, feeling her eyes start to sting. She inhaled deeply and continued, "I never wanted to hurt you."
Stefan gently grabbed her wrist that was painting and held it still while he looked at her seriously. "It's okay to feel guilty but please understand that I'm not mad at you, nor do I blame you at all," he rubbed his thumb against her wrist. "I missed you, Lucy."
All at once, a realization hit her and she felt so stupid that she didn't realize it sooner. She liked Stefan! Not in a friendly way—though he was her best pal, that hasn't changed—but in a romantic way.
And that was not good.
Stefan was Elena's boyfriend. He was the love of her sister's life. As in, never gonna happen. Stefan didn't care for her more than a best friend would and he would never feel the way about her that he felt for Elena.
It didn't make Lucy feel good but at least she knew her and Stefan were never going to get together romantically. It would be easy to nip this crush right in the bud.
"I missed you, too," Lucy said before she made things awkward by not answering him. She moved her wrist—Stefan took the hint and let go of her—and finished up the yellow part of the sun. "Okay, now I have to do the glasses."
"I still can't believe that you—"
"Oh, don't start this again," Lucy interrupted him with a laugh, knowing that he was trying to start a debate that they already had—whether drawings of the sun should have sunglasses. "You know I'll win."
"You're so annoying."
"You're so annoying," Lucy mocked him and started on the sunglasses.
In no time at all, Stefan's face was sufficiently painted and Lucy was kind of jealous that he had that awesome sun on his face instead of hers. She handed Stefan one of the mirrors on the table and watched happily as he approved.
"I look great!" he declared, putting down the mirror. "Maybe I'll finally be as hot as Damon."
"Okay, one," Lucy held up a finger. "Damon should not be someone you're striving to look like. And, two, you always look better than Damon."
Lucy couldn't believe she said that but consoled herself; friends could tell each other they looked hot, right?
Right?
Stefan smirked and wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders as they walked away from the face-painting table. "I knew I was the hottest brother…wait, wait, wait. Who should I strive to be hot like, then?"
"Hmm," Lucy mockingly pressed a finger against her chin. "I'm thinking…Chris Evans?"
"Who?"
"Oh, come on!" Lucy gasped. "He's the Human Torch!"
"Ah," Stefan remembered Lucy talking about those movies one time while they were exchanging their pop culture references. He was a DC guy and she was strictly Marvel. "Those movies sucked."
Lucy glared at him. "Say another word. I dare you."
"All right, all right," Stefan chuckled and put his hands up defensively.
Lucy laughed along with him until she caught something from the corner of her eye. Up ahead, Damon was gripping Jeremy's arm and making him stay in place. Jeremy looked anything but uncomfortable and it made Lucy's blood boil.
"I'm gonna kill your brother," she muttered to Stefan before marching over to Damon and Jeremy.
"…you'll be unconscious before you even get a word out," Lucy heard Damon threaten Jeremy.
"Let him go or I will burn you alive," Lucy sneered at Damon, walking up to Jeremy's side.
Damon scoffed but Stefan appeared next to him.
"Let him go, Damon," Stefan said firmly; he knew that Lucy was fully serious and wouldn't hesitate to siphon from her locket and set Damon on fire in the middle of the court square.
Damon let Jeremy go and Lucy hastily pulled Jeremy further away from Damon.
"You all right?" Stefan asked Jeremy.
Jeremy nodded. "Yeah."
Having heard what Damon was speaking to Jeremy about before he and Lucy interrupted him, he tried to clear things up. "What my brother is trying to say is don't blame Elena for this," he gave Jeremy an earnest look. "Damon turned Vicki and I killed her. She was a threat to you and she was a threat to both of your sisters."
Jeremy looked at Stefan in shock and Lucy grabbed his hand, trying to comfort him.
"I'm sorry that it happened," Stefan went on. "I wish that it hadn't."
Jeremy clenched his jaw and took his hand out of Lucy's. "You shouldn't have made me forget."
Lucy gave her brother a sad look as he walked away but honestly, she couldn't blame him. His anger was more than justified and she would give him all the time in the world if he asked for it. No way was she going to rush him.
"Good cop, bad cop," Damon smirked. "I like it."
Stefan quickly turned to his brother as Lucy glowered at him. "What are you doing?"
"He was being a punk."
"Let's get one thing straight because you're really beginning to annoy me," Lucy sneered. "My brother is none of your business. I don't care that you have feelings for Elena and I don't care if you're trying to get in her good graces. Touch my brother again and I am serious when I say that you'll regret it."
Lucy turned around and walked away before Damon could get a word in because she knew he'd be snarky and she would lose her temper in response.
And she was right; as soon as Lucy was out of hearing range, Damon scoffed.
"Who does the little Twitch think she is?"
"Lucy is right," Stefan emphasized Lucy's name, annoyed with Damon calling her that. "Elena's relationship with her brother is none of your business so stay out of it."
"Oh, so there's only one do-gooder hero role available," Damon rolled his eyes. "My bad, I'm sorry."
"Get over yourself," Stefan pursed his lips. "I have a feeling that Lucy was completely serious about her threat and we both know that you're not doing this for the right reasons."
"Okay, I can't take you seriously with your face painted," Damon laughed dryly, poking at Stefan's painted cheek; Stefan swatted his hand away. "And your jealousy act is coming up again. What are the right reasons, Stefan? Enlighten me, please."
"Well, see, Damon, it's only real when it comes from your desire to do the right thing for nothing in return and I know that is an entirely foreign concept to you," Stefan explained, using some snark. "I completely understand that you wouldn't get it."
He patted his brother's chest and then walked away, intent on finding Elena.
Lucy, Joel, and Alaric all stood together, waiting for the fireworks to start. While they waited, Joel and Alaric chatted about how Joel's new classes for the semester were going and how Alaric got started in teaching history. Lucy was delighted that her older brother got along with Alaric without any awkwardness. Everyone else in her family knew Alaric—hell, Jenna was dating him—and they all approved.
It meant the world to her that her biological father was so open to making relationships with her family.
Her happiness went away when Damon came rushing up to them.
"Ric!" he hissed. "Joel."
"Yeah?" Alaric gave him a look, wondering why Damon was speaking to him in public.
"You keep those nifty little vampire weapons in your car?" Damon asked.
"Yeah, why do you ask?"
"Because this square is crawling with tomb vampires and I think we might need a stake or two," Damon explained. He turned to Joel and Lucy and said, "Keep a look out. Use your magic if you have to."
While Alaric jogged to his car, Lucy nodded, understanding that this was no time for sarcasm or wit. This was a deeply serious situation that could result in life or death.
"They're after the Founding Families," Damon added, causing Lucy to pale. "Keep that in mind."
"Got it," Joel said for the both of them.
"I'm going to get Stefan and Elena," Damon told them before running away.
"Come on," Joel grabbed Lucy's hand and started walking out of the square. "Let's get you inside."
"Joel, if I can help, I want to help," Lucy protested, though she walked along with him.
"I don't want you to get hurt," Joel said firmly. "Come on, let's go."
Lucy followed Joel onto the sidewalk that led to the Grill and could faintly hear Mayor Lockwood doing his speech and announcing the start of the fireworks. The applause from the crowd was loud and then the boom of the first firework exploding in the sky could be heard from around town.
Just as Lucy and Joel passed the Grill's back alleyway, Joel collapsed. Lucy reared back as he pressed his hands against his head and groaned in pain. Looking around, she saw several other people in her line of vision do the same, police deputies walking up toward them.
She grabbed Joel's collar and dragged him into the alley, hoping that no one had spotted him. She knelt down in front of him, watching as his face screwed up in blue and red light from the fireworks.
"Joel, what's happening?" she asked urgently.
"My head," Joel moaned, eyes tightly shut from the intense pounding in his head and loud squealing in his ears that hurt so badly. "My head."
"Oh, my God," Lucy breathed, realizing that something was affecting him that wasn't doing anything to her. Joel was a vampire, which meant that Bonnie hadn't reversed the spell on the Gilbert invention.
Joel groaned again and Lucy shushed him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she chanted, knowing that nothing was going to help until the device turned off. "Shh, Joel. If they hear you, they'll take you. I'm so sorry."
Two minutes later—in which they were almost caught if Lucy hadn't shoved her hand against Joel's mouth—Joel let out a sigh of relief as his eardrums healed and the pounding in his head stopped.
"Bonnie," he wheezed. "She didn't…"
"She didn't reverse the spell," Lucy finished. "Come on, we have to find the others."
Using Joel's enhanced senses, they went off in search of Elena. It didn't take long to find her and, luckily, Stefan and Alaric were with her.
"Elena!" Lucy called as they approached the group.
"There you are," Elena sighed in relief, seeing that Joel was okay. "You're okay."
"Joel and Stefan are the lucky ones," Alaric spoke up. "I saw at least five vampires go down. They're taking them to your family's building."
"It's the Gilbert device," Lucy stated, crossing her arms over her chest.
Elena immediately shook her head. "No."
"It has to be," Stefan agreed with Lucy.
"But how did he get it to work?" Elena asked. "Bonnie spelled it."
"Maybe she didn't," Joel shrugged, frowning.
"She did, we saw her do it," Elena protested.
"Then why did it work?" Lucy snapped at her. "Face it, Elena, Bonnie didn't reverse the spell and Joel and Stefan were almost killed."
"Lucy," Elena glowered at her sister. "Bonnie wouldn't—"
"She's right," Stefan defended Lucy. "Think about it. We asked Bonnie to deactivate a device that could protect people against vampires."
"So we could protect you and Joel," Elena nodded, not seeing how Bonnie could betray them.
"And Damon," Stefan pointed out. "Vampires."
Elena's face slowly changed as she started to see Lucy and Stefan's point of view.
"Where is Damon?" Stefan asked, looking for his brother.
Alaric shook his head. "I don't know. I haven't seen him since this started."
"Can you grab Jeremy and take him home?" Joel asked Alaric. None of them wanted Jeremy around all this trouble, especially if something was going down in their father's clinic.
"Of course," Alaric left them to find Jeremy.
Elena looked at Stefan, Lucy, and Joel. "Let's go."
The four of them started walking toward Grayson's clinic, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. The firework show was still going on but Lucy could tell it was nearing the grand finale. It seemed so silly that she was excited to watch the fireworks earlier that afternoon.
As they got closer to the clinic, Joel and Stefan could hear the screams of the vampires captured and the roar of flames.
"I can hear them," Stefan informed Elena and Lucy.
"The building's on fire," Joel added furiously. Not only had John tried to kill him but he was ruining his dad's clinic. The clinic that Joel had an attachment to from spending afternoons with his father and filling out crossword puzzles in his office.
"What?" Lucy gasped in shock.
Joel didn't answer her as he started running toward the clinic. Lucy, Elena, and Stefan followed him, slowly coming to a stop when they saw Joel confronting John.
"You're one of them," John said, as though it was an obvious answer to why he tried to kill his oldest nephew.
Lucy had a feeling that they missed the first part of their conversation.
"I don't care what you think of me," Joel sneered at him. "I honestly couldn't care less about you, John."
John scoffed and that's when Lucy and Elena decided to approach them.
"Where is Damon?" Elena asked forcefully.
"With the rest of them," John said calmly. "Where he should be. It's over for Damon."
Elena shook her head in disgust. "You're crazy."
"Why?" John asked. "Because I'm doing what should have been done a hundred and forty-five years ago? This is the right thing, Elena."
Stefan shifted; he wanted so desperately to get to his brother and save him.
"Go ahead," John looked at him. "You won't make it out. It'll save me the trouble of killing you myself."
Stefan turned to the Gilbert siblings. "You guys know the building well. Is there another entrance in?"
"The utility door," Joel told him. "There's one around the side."
Stefan started walking to the building and Lucy and Joel immediately started following him, not even noticing when John held Elena back. The three of them ran to the side of the building with the utility door. Just as Stefan easily tore off the chain locking the door, Bonnie ran up to them.
"Hey, you can't go in there!" she protested.
Stefan ignored her and opened the door but Bonnie caught his arm.
"The fire will take you out!" she warned him, to Lucy's surprise.
Maybe Bonnie was feeling guilty about Stefan and Joel's involvement…
Stefan didn't care, though. Damon was in there and he wasn't going to let his brother die. "He's my brother, Bonnie."
As Stefan ran into the building, Lucy helplessly turned to Bonnie.
"Do you know a spell to reduce the fire?" she asked her. She knew it was a stretch to ask Bonnie of all people to help her in this situation, but what little she read of the grimoire Grams had given her didn't have any spell that she could use.
"Lucy…"
"Bonnie!" Lucy exclaimed, becoming frustrated. "If you don't want to do the spell, fine, but tell me it so I can!"
Elena chose that time to come running up to them, trying to run straight into the building. Joel instantly grabbed her and forcefully pulled her away from the door. "You can't go in there!"
Elena turned her gaze to Bonnie, who held out her hand for Lucy to take. "Bonnie, what are you doing?"
Lucy instantly grabbed Bonnie's hand, knowing that Bonnie would help her. She grabbed her locket and—careful not to take any of Bonnie's magic—siphoned some magic out of it.
"I'm sorry I lied to you," Bonnie apologized before turning to Lucy. "Follow my lead."
Lucy nodded and once Bonnie started chanting, she recited her words. Lucy focused on the fire raging in her father's clinic and Stefan. With Bonnie's help, she could practically see what was happening—the fire died down surrounding the stairs and Stefan raced down them, grabbing Damon and speeding back out. Lucy and Bonnie chanted again once Stefan and Damon were out of harm's way, making the fire grow back so the rest of the tomb vampires would die.
Lucy and Bonnie let go of each other and Lucy looked at the door expectantly, waiting for Stefan and Damon to come out.
"Bonnie, Lucy…what is it?" Elena asked anxiously. "Are they gonna be okay?"
Stefan and Damon burst out of the clinic, smoke billowing out behind them. Elena rushed toward them to hold Stefan up and despite her anger toward him, Lucy went to Damon's side, supporting some of his weight. Even though she didn't like Damon very much and had threatened his life a couple times, she was glad he wasn't dead.
Lucy couldn't help but sigh in relief; everyone was okay.
Lucy paused in the middle of braiding her hair, hearing loud screaming from downstairs. A few seconds went by and there wasn't any more screaming. Thinking it was a fluke, she started up again, humming slightly as she twisted tendrils of her hair.
Another scream caught her attention and she was starting to get worried. She left her bedroom and ran downstairs, searching for anything out of the ordinary.
"Elena?" she called, looking into the living room to find it empty. "Are you home?"
Lucy turned around to go into the kitchen when she ran smack dab into Elena.
"Come on, Lucia!" a childish yet feminine voice called out from a little ways ahead of her. "You will never catch me if you run too slow!"
"I am running as quickly as I can, Kit!" Lucia yelled, giggling as she ran after her older sister. "Please, wait, sister!"
Lucia could hear her sister's laughter but could not see her curly brown locks that were slightly darker than her own.
"Kit!" she called again.
Lucia abruptly tripped on one of the roots of the trees she was running by, falling into the dirt underneath her feet. She screeched in pain as her head made contact with the root and rolled over, getting her dress all dirty.
Her mother would be furious with her; the dress took their nanny a month to make.
"Lucia!" her sister shouted, hearing her younger sister's screams. When her sister spotted her, she gasped. "Oh, my goodness, Lucia, are you hurt?"
Lucia simply winced and sat up, touching her throbbing forehead. Crimson blood drenched her fingertips, causing her to look at her sister in horror.
"It is fine," her sister said soothingly, trying not to make Lucia panic. "We will let Nanny patch you up."
"Father will kill me," Lucia whimpered.
Katerina shook her head, a gentle smile directed in her sister's direction. "I will not let any harm come to you."
Lucy gasped loudly as she came out of whatever vision she had. It was so strange; it felt real, like she had lived the dream herself. And the girl, the older sister, she looked like Elena.
Was she finally losing it?
"Did you hear shouting?" she asked her sister, shaking her head to clear it of the vision.
"No," Elena shook her head with a small smile. "But can you check to see if Jeremy is up?"
Lucy nodded. "Sure," she headed to the stairs and started to climb them. "I couldn't have sworn I heard shouting."
"Just your imagination," she heard Elena say behind her.
Lucy decided she was right; maybe she was overtired from doing magic with Bonnie. That could be the reason she had the weird dream-slash-vision…
"Jeremy?" she called, climbing the rest of the stairs. "Are you up?"