[3x11; Our Town]

October 10, 2008

Lucy stared at the small tattoo on Caroline's foot, a grin slowly taking over her face. Caroline beamed proudly down at her, proud with the design that would be on her foot for the rest of her life.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it," Lucy told her happily. "I can't believe your mom let you get a tattoo at sixteen."

"Well, Dad helped me convince her," Caroline shrugged. "So, what do you have planned today?"

"Since you were kind enough to wait the weekend for your party, I have taken the liberty of planning the best sixteenth birthday ever," Lucy said excitedly. "We get to skip school today and tomorrow so our moms can take us to New York City for the night."

Caroline gasped in excitement. "You're kidding?"

"Nope," Lucy smiled. "And, like any best friend duo, we will be seeing Wicked on Broadway."

"Lucy Eleanora Gilbert!" Caroline shrieked, pulling Lucy into a tight hug. "You are the bestest friend I could ever have. I love you so much!"

"I love you, too, Carebear," Lucy smiled into her shoulder.

That night, after their show, as they went back to their hotel, Lucy presented Caroline with a beautiful painting; it showed a beautiful meadow of flowers with a blonde and brunette facing away from the viewer, daisies in their hands. The phrase from one of the most popular Wicked songs printed underneath: Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.

Caroline had cried on Lucy's shoulder for a solid twenty minutes after she was presented with the painting. When they got home to Mystic Falls the next day, Caroline had it framed and put in her bedroom.

Lucy stared at the painting she gave Caroline two years ago for her sixteenth birthday as Caroline got dressed for her big day. Her blonde best friend was melancholy and Lucy wasn't sure if it was because she and Tyler had a falling out over his sire bond to Klaus, or the fact that she thought nothing was planned for her eighteenth birthday.

Lucy and the others did have a plan; cake by the falls like they used to do when they were kids. During the day, however, Lucy had plans to bring Caroline to the mall in Charlottesville. She was wondering if she should change her plans, though, because she had never seen Caroline less excited for her birthday.

"Are you okay, Care?" she asked, sitting up on Caroline's bed as the blonde pulled on a blue cardigan.

"I'm fine," Caroline tried to muster a smile for Lucy but was unable to. She knew there was no point; Lucy could see right through her. Proving her right, Lucy gave her a be-honest look. "Tyler stopped by before you got here."

"He gave you that bracelet?" Lucy nodded at the silver charm bracelet on her wrist; Caroline nodded. "It's pretty."

"Yeah…"

"And Tyler's not the only thing you're upset about," Lucy stated knowingly, grabbing Caroline's hand to pull her onto the bed with her. "What's wrong, Care? You can talk to me."

Caroline sighed. "I guess I'm not feeling my birthday this year," she confessed. "I mean, I'm dead. I'm not going to age. I'm going to be stuck in a seventeen-year-old body," she scoffed. "Seventeen was just a filler year, anyway, you know? I'm stuck in a filler year."

Lucy bit her lip, trying to figure out the best thing to say. She had to let Caroline know that it was okay to be sad about her birthday but it was something she couldn't fix. There was nothing Caroline could do about the fact that her body wouldn't age as her mind did.

"You think you're stuck but you're not," she finally said, squeezing Caroline's hand. "Sure, your body won't age, but your mind will. Your mind's another year older, Care. Another year mature. And, hey, all that matters is in here," she pointed to Caroline's forehead and then her chest. "and in here. That's Caroline Elizabeth Forbes."

Caroline smiled slightly, still not convinced but feeling a little better anyways.

"Besides, you'll be smoking hot when I'm an old bag of wrinkles," Lucy joked, kissing her forehead.

A giggle broke out of Caroline's lips, making Lucy smile.

"Come on," Lucy jumped off the bed and pulled Caroline with her. "We're going to get manicures and talk about how fucked up our lives are."

Caroline nodded. "Thanks, Luce."

"Anything for my best friend," Lucy smiled as she pulled out her phone to message Matt, Bonnie, and Elena.

Lucy: Change of plans. Meet at the Fell tomb at eight with cake & booze. Bring jackets.

"So, Jeremy's really leaving tomorrow?" Caroline asked Lucy as her best friend drove through Mystic Falls after ten uninterrupted hours of shopping and spa treatments.

"Yep," Lucy sighed. "Elena, Joel, and Ric decided he needed to go to Denver to be safe."

"And you don't agree with them?"

"I think Jeremy should go to Denver," she stated her opinion. "I just wish they wouldn't compel him to do so. I hate that he didn't make that choice on his own."

Lucy was conflicted about Jeremy leaving for Denver the next morning. She was glad he was going to be safe but she hated that Joel compelled him to leave instead of just talking him into it. It should have been Jeremy's choice to leave. It wasn't and that unsettled Lucy. Free will was a big thing for her and after Elena had Damon compelled Jeremy last time, everyone had promised not to do it again.

She supposed that in the long run, it was the right thing to do. She just wished Jeremy hadn't had his choice taken away from him.

"I think Jeremy will be fine," Caroline assured Lucy.

Lucy nodded as she pulled into the cemetery where they were meeting Elena, Matt, and Bonnie. "I think so, too," she admitted. "I'm just gonna miss him."

"He's your baby brother," Caroline sat up straighter as she realized where they were. "What are we doing here?"

"We," Lucy parked her car behind Matt's truck and Bonnie's car. "are meeting Bonnie, Elena, and Matt for your birthday."

"Luce, I don't feel like celebrating," Caroline reminded her slowly.

"I know, just…just trust me, all right?" Lucy turned off her car and opened her door. "Come on."

Caroline reluctantly got out of the car and followed her to the Fell tomb, where the door was open and candlelight lit up the inside. Matt, Bonnie, and Elena stood when they entered, giving Caroline a chorus of happy birthday.

"Thanks, guys," Caroline smiled at her friends. "So, what are we doing here?"

"Lucy filled us in on your birthday blues," Bonnie told Caroline. "Which is kind of sad, considering your birthday is our favorite day of the year."

"So, we brought cake," Elena pointed to the small pink cake with large candles.

"And tequila!" Matt added.

"I know it's creepy," Lucy smiled at Caroline. "but you were right. You're dead. You don't need a birthday; you need a funeral. You need to say goodbye to your old life so you can move on with your new one."

Caroline bit her lip in contemplation. "Okay, fine," she gave in. "Here lies Caroline Forbes…"

"Cheerleader, Miss Mystic Falls," Elena grinned. "third-grade hopscotch champion."

"Friend, daughter, overachiever," Bonnie continued fondly, making Caroline giggle.

"Mean girl," Matt went on. "sometimes. No offense."

"Ah," Caroline shrugged. "None taken."

"Sister, control freak, platonic soul mate," Lucy finished with a smile as Elena brought the cake over to Caroline. "Caroline Forbes was seventeen and she had a really good life."

"Rest in peace, so you can move forward," Elena said softly. "That's what you really need—what we all really need. Amen or cheers or whatever."

The five of them broke out into giggles at Elena's awkward finish.

"Bonnie?" Elena gestured to the candles on the cake.

Bonnie nodded and closed her eyes briefly; the candles glowed as flames appeared from thin air.

"Nice," Lucy grinned at her before looking at Caroline. "Okay, make a wish."

Caroline bit her lip and closed her eyes before softly blowing out the candles on the cake. Lucy, Matt, Bonnie, and Elena cheered as the flames went out.

The cake was quickly cut and handed out and the bottle of tequila was broke into. It didn't take long for the mood to lighten as they ate their cake and drank their booze. They were only there for an hour by the time most of them were tipsy or drunk.

Lucy was on her second piece of cake as Matt and Elena passed the bottle of tequila back and forth. Bonnie sat next to Lucy, staring off into space as Caroline texted in the corner—Lucy presumed she was talking to Tyler in her drunken state of mind.

"Ah, I need it more than you do, trust me," Elena clicked her tongue and took the bottle back from Matt as he sat next to her. "Caroline, what are you doing?"

"Huh? Hmm?" Caroline looked up innocently, hiding her phone behind her back. "What? Nothing."

Elena raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, you're a bad sober liar and an even worse drunk liar."

"I might have texted Tyler…"

Elena sighed. "Caroline!"

"What? I'm delicate."

Lucy rolled her eyes at Elena's attitude. It was Caroline's birthday and she loved Tyler. It wasn't her fault—or Tyler's fault, really—that her boyfriend was sired to the Original hybrid. Plus, Caroline was affectionate when she was drunk.

Lucy didn't see the harm in texting him.

It's wasn't Lucy that spoke up in Caroline's defense, however. It was Bonnie, who was giving Elena quite the annoyed look.

"Oh, give her a break," she rolled her eyes at Elena. "You can't control what everyone does all the time."

Lucy bit her lip to stop the laughter that was threatening to escape her mouth. She had never heard Bonnie speak so truthfully to Elena before and it was kind of funny. And Bonnie was right. Elena tried to control everyone around her and it always annoyed Lucy, who had a bit of trouble following someone else's lead. She would have never guessed that Bonnie felt the same way as her.

"Wow," Elena gave her a wide-eyed look.

"Ouch, Bon," Matt smirked in amusement.

"Sorry, I know it's Caroline's birthday—funeral, or whatever," Bonnie gave Caroline an apologetic look before turning back to Elena. "but I just feel it's really wrong to compel Jeremy to leave town."

"I'm doing it to protect him, Bonnie," Elena defended herself. "I want to give him a chance to have a quiet, normal life."

"He should be able to choose how he wants to live it," Bonnie objected. "You're taking his choice away."

"I agree with Bon," Lucy added her opinion, since this was her own brother they were talking about. "Jeremy should have made the choice to leave on his own."

"Guys," Elena gave her and Bonnie a warning look. "you can't tell him."

"Why?" Bonnie raised a daring eyebrow. "Are you gonna compel me not to?"

Lucy gave Bonnie an impressed look; that was something she would say to her sister but she never thought Bonnie would have the guts. She and Elena were so close and they hardly ever fought.

"You know, you guys are ruining a perfectly good funeral," Matt spoke up, looking between Elena, Bonnie, and Lucy.

Bonnie sighed and stood up. "I'm sorry," she apologized to Caroline. "I'm just gonna go sleep it off or something. Happy birthday, Care."

Caroline gave her a grateful smile as she left the tomb.

Lucy's phone had buzzed a total of nine times by the end of the second hour of Caroline's birthday-funeral. Stefan's name popped on her screen each time and each time she ignored him. It was Caroline's party-funeral and she didn't want to spend the remainder of her buzz thinking about Stefan's erratic behavior.

Despite the fact that Elena had begged Stefan to stop Klaus in order to save Jeremy, Stefan hadn't given in. He was hell bent on getting Klaus out of town even if Lucy had bowed out at the sight of her younger brother in danger.

So, Lucy was currently not talking to her best pal. Luckily, she was having fun with Caroline, Matt, and Elena. Her disagreement with Elena about compelling Jeremy was pushed to the side in order to properly celebrate Caroline and that was perfectly okay with Lucy.

Matt had just finished telling a goofy joke when Tyler walked into the tomb, responding to Caroline's numerous drunk texts.

Caroline's giggles faded as she turned to see him.

"Sorry," Tyler apologized, taking in the glares that Matt and Elena were sending him. "I didn't mean to crash the party."

Matt stood up defensively. "So don't."

"No, it's—" Caroline, who had her head in Lucy's lap, sat up. "it's okay. Hi."

Tyler gave her a quick smile. "Can I talk to you for a sec? It's kind of important."

Caroline sighed softly but agreed to talk with Tyler; the former couple left the tomb together, leaving Lucy, Elena, and Matt to stare awkwardly at each other.

Lucy saw the frown on Matt's face as he sat back down next to Elena. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I want her to be happy, you know?" Matt sighed and took a sip from the bottle of tequila. "It's what I want for all of you guys, in the middle of this crazy life you got stuck in."

Elena furrowed her eyebrows. "Is that how you see it?" she asked him. "That we're stuck?"

"I'd say it's attached itself to all of you pretty tight, yeah."

Lucy lowered her head, thinking about what Matt said. Ever since the Salvatore brothers came to Mystic Falls, their lives had been one big adventure full of ups and downs and highs and lows. She couldn't blame it on Stefan and Damon, though. Things still would have happened, just differently.

Either way, Lucy was still a siphoner and the reincarnation. Elena was still Katherine's doppelganger. Joel had still been turned into a vampire by Isobel. Bonnie was still a witch. Even without Stefan and Damon in Mystic Falls, their lives would still be connected to the supernatural.

A thousand years ago, when Lucy was born for the first time, she was destined to be part of this life. She may not like it but that was the truth. There was no other path for her.

"You and Bonnie were right, Luce," Elena admitted, catching Lucy's attention. "Joel and I had no business messing with Jeremy's head."

Lucy gave her a small smile. "I get why you did it," she told her sister. "He's in danger and we can't lose anyone else."

"We shouldn't have compelled him, though."

"No, you shouldn't have," Lucy agreed.

Lucy's phone rang, cutting the stillness of the tomb. She checked her phone and sighed when she saw that it was Stefan once again. She excused herself to her sister and Matt before answering the call.

"Did ignoring your texts not give you a hint?"

"Meet me outside," Stefan told her firmly. "We need to talk."

"I'm not at my house," Lucy sighed, ignoring the curious look Elena was giving her. "What do you need?"

"I'm outside the Fell tomb. I need to talk to you."

Lucy sighed. "Are you serious?"

Stefan didn't answer, which was an answer in itself.

"Fine," she muttered angrily. "be right out."

"Hurry."

Lucy rolled her eyes and hung up, shoving her phone in her jeans as she stood from the stone bench she was sitting on. "I gotta go meet Stefan," she told Elena and Matt apologetically. "Can you text me if we're moving the party back to Caroline's?"

"Yeah," Elena nodded, giving her a suspicious look. "What do you have to talk to Stefan about?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," Lucy waved at her and Matt before leaving the tomb.

It didn't surprise her to see Stefan waiting for her right outside the door. By the impatient look he was giving her, he wasn't happy to be standing in the middle of a cemetery at night.

"Come on," he said simply as he started walking away from the tomb.

Lucy sighed, exasperated, and followed Stefan through the cemetery to his car, which was parked behind hers. Once he unlocked the Porsche and they both settled in, Stefan drove out of the cemetery.

"What's with the fieldtrip?" Lucy asked, leaning her head back against her seat. "Why did we have to drive to a whole new location for us to talk? You know what they say about secondary locations, right?"

Stefan gave her an annoyed look. "I'm not kidnapping you," he reminded her as he drove out of town. "You came with me willingly."

"I came with you because you were being insistent and impatient," Lucy huffed. "What did you need to talk about?"

"Our plan," Stefan said as they passed the Mystic Falls sign. He slowed down not long after and pulled to the side of the road. "We need to go to the next step."

Lucy scoffed. "I told you I didn't want any part in this after Klaus nearly killed Jeremy and succeeded in killing Ric."

"I realize that," Stefan nodded. "That hybrid and all the other hybrids Klaus turned are a problem, especially since Klaus can order them to do whatever he wants, including trying to kill Jeremy."

"Stefan…"

"I visited Klaus today," he informed her, raising his eyebrows. He knew what he told her would get her on his side and see things from his point of view. "I killed one of his hybrids and I overheard a little conversation."

Lucy quirked a brow. "Which was?"

"Klaus told Tyler to bite Caroline."

Lucy stared at him, trying to see if he was being truthful. The thing about Stefan was that he was a horrible liar. He was worse than she was, which was saying something considering the fact that she used to be the worst liar in her family. His forest-green eyes held nothing but honesty and it made her blood boil.

She was absolutely sick of Klaus trying to ruin their lives. First it was Jenna and Elena, then Stefan and Tyler, and now it was Jeremy and Caroline. Klaus was supposed to be her brother, someone she could look up to and feel safe with but he was none of those things. Her brother Niklaus was no more and Klaus needed to get the hell out of Mystic Falls—after healing Caroline, of course.

"What do you want to do?" she asked Stefan. "I'll help."

Stefan looked relieved that she was agreeing to help. "What we need to do is outsmart Klaus," he told her. "We need to figure out his weaknesses."

"You already have Elijah, Kol, and Finn," Lucy pointed out. "What else could we do?"

Stefan tapped his fingers on his steering wheel as he thought of something.

"What if he couldn't make his hybrids?"

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. "Elena's blood makes his hybrids, though."

"I could change her into a vampire."

Lucy gaped at Stefan, shocked by his suggestion. "You're kidding me," she said flatly. "Stefan, Elena doesn't want to be a vampire and you're not turning her to get revenge on Klaus! Are you out of your mind?"

"Fine," Stefan rolled his eyes. "What if we just convince Klaus that I'm willing to change her?"

Lucy pursed her lips thoughtfully. Something like that could work but was it worth scaring Elena over? Elena couldn't act—she wouldn't be able to convince Klaus it was real if she knew exactly what was going on.

"Elena won't do that," Lucy eventually shook her head, letting Stefan in on her thought process. "and if she knows what's going, it's not going to be believable."

"What about you, then?"

"Me?"

"Yeah," Stefan nodded. "Obviously, Klaus has a soft spot for you. If he thinks you're in danger, he'll get his hybrids to leave."

"I don't know, Stefan."

"Look, I know you, Lucy," when Lucy looked out the passenger window, he grabbed her chin to face him again. "you will do anything to make sure the people you love are safe. If Klaus' hybrids leave, he'll be the next to go and we won't have to worry about him. Don't you want that?"

"I want everyone to be safe," Lucy told him.

"I know you do," Stefan nodded encouragingly. "but we won't be if Klaus is in town. You and me? We're the only ones who can do something about that."

Lucy knew that he was right. She had the power to make her friends and family safe and if she had to manipulate Klaus to do that, she would. Maybe that made her a bad person, but she didn't care. She loved her friends and family more than anything.

"Okay," she finally agreed.

Stefan broke into a smile that had her stomach flipping. "Okay," he repeated, softly stroking her chin with his thumb—she hadn't realized he hadn't dropped his hand. "This is what we're going to do…"

Lucy looked up from her grimoire and nodded at Stefan, ready to begin their plan. They were in the clearing by Steven's Quarry where Lucy confessed her feelings for Stefan before he left for the summer, where they wouldn't be bothered by anyone.

Stefan had driven back to town so Lucy could pick up her grimoire for the spell they wanted to use. While Lucy was in her bedroom, she got a call from Elena and Matt, telling her about what Tyler did to Caroline. She assured them she'd be there as soon as possible before grabbing her grimoire to meet Stefan.

Their plan to fool Klaus into agreeing to send his hybrids away was risky but Lucy was willing to endure a little pain in order to keep everyone safe. While Stefan called Klaus, she would use a spell to break her arm, ensuring that her pain was believable. If all went well, Klaus' hybrids would be gone from Mystic Falls and Lucy would be all healed up with Stefan's blood.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Stefan asked carefully. Just because he wanted to go through with the plan didn't mean he was eager to see Lucy in so much pain.

"I'm ready," Lucy confirmed. "Are you?"

"Let's get this over with," Stefan sighed and dialed Klaus' number on his phone.

Klaus quickly picked up. "Stefan, how nice to hear you voice."

"Tell you hybrids to get out of town, Klaus," Stefan demanded. His voice was loud and firm; Lucy could hear the anger and vengeance pouring from him.

"Well, that's not going to happen until I get my coffins back," Klaus stated matter-of-factly.

Stefan pressed his lips together and locked eyes with Lucy; she nodded. "Okay, well, than I'm going to have to kill your precious Luciana."

There was only a pause before Klaus called Stefan's bluff. "I don't believe you, Stefan," Klaus sounded so sure. "You won't kill her."

Stefan nodded at Lucy and she nodded back. Holding up her right hand over her left arm, she used the magic she had already siphoned to break her arm in half. She screamed as soon as the bone snapped, becoming almost delirious from the pain she had caused herself.

Stefan winced and looked away from Lucy as Klaus shouted, "What was that? What's going on?"

"I just broke your sister's arm," Stefan told him harshly over the sounds of Lucy's sobs. "Get your hybrids out of town or I'm breaking her fucking neck."

"…You won't do it," Stefan could hear the worry in Klaus' voice that he was sure the hybrid didn't want him to hear.

"Try me," Stefan scoffed and turned around, grimacing, as Lucy screamed again as she managed to break her leg. "After Lucy, your other siblings are the next to go. Say goodbye to your family, Klaus."

Lucy pleaded for Stefan to stop and to have mercy on her, sobbing uncontrollably from the pain her body was in. Stefan hated that they were putting her through this pain, but he had to admit that her acting was astounding. If he weren't in front of her, watching as she inflicted the pain on herself, he would have thought that it was actually him doing this to her.

"Fine!" Klaus agreed hastily, hearing Lucy's pain through the phone. "I'll send them away. You win."

Stefan waited, wanting to hear confirmation so Lucy wouldn't have to go through more pain. Of course, Klaus thought that he was continuing to torture Lucy as she let out another ear-piercing scream.

"Don't touch her, Stefan!" Klaus yelled.

"Nice doing business with you, Klaus. Bye, now."

Stefan quickly hung up the call and sped over to Lucy, sitting down next to her. He made soothing noises as he gently pulled her into his lap and, once she was settled against his chest, bit his wrist and held it out for her.

Lucy reluctantly grabbed his arm and put his wrist to her mouth, trying not to throw up the blood that she was slowly drinking from him.

"I'm so sorry, Luce," Stefan whispered into her hair, resting his cheek on the crown of her head. "I'm so sorry."

Lucy pulled away from his healed wrist and felt her pain slowly ebb as her bones healed back into place. She closed her eyes and slumped into his chest, exhausted.

Stefan sighed as he heard her heart beat slow down and looked around the clearing. "This is where you told me that you were pretty sure you were in love with me," he reminded her softly. "Before I left with Klaus, remember?"

"You don't have to remind me," Lucy scoffed weakly. "It was stupid."

"It wasn't stupid."

Lucy squirmed in his hold until he released her enough so she could face him. "It was," she disagreed with him. "You know why? Because I ruined our friendship. Why else were you teasing me about it when your humanity was off?"

"Lucy, when I had my humanity off, you were one of the few people who could actually get me to turn it back on," Stefan informed her seriously. When Lucy shook her head in denial, he continued, "I teased you about your feelings for me because I needed a reason to talk to you. Because even without my humanity, I wanted to be near you. I needed to be near you."

Lucy looked at Stefan in shock, trying to get her tired mind to understand what exactly he was saying.

"When I left you that night, I knew that I was stupid for not realizing my feelings for you," Stefan went on. "Because I do have feelings for you, Luce."

"What?" Lucy breathed, her eyes wide.

Lucy once thought that if Stefan ever did have the same feelings as her, she'd be over-the-moon happy about it. That wasn't the case, though, because she knew that he was still in love with Elena. If it was possible, she felt worse than when she realized she had romantic feelings for Stefan.

Stefan saw the pain and conflict in her eyes and because he knew her so well, he knew what was going on in that pretty head of hers. "I know this is confusing and I know that I have to figure out what I'm doing," he assured her. "but I can't right now. All I can focus on is Klaus and what I did when I was with him."

Lucy swallowed harshly. "I understand."

And for all their talk about Lucy being a better liar, Stefan could see right through her.