[3x19; Heart of Darkness]

With a clipboard clutched to her chest, Lucy made her way through the cafeteria, observing the work that the dance committee was doing. She checked things off her list as she went; the plastic champagne glasses were being stacked, the feather boas were being sorted by Matt, and banners were starting to be hung. Everything was coming together in the cafeteria but they still had the whole gym to decorate for the decade dance being held at the end of the week. Lucy was positive everything would be done in time, especially with Rebekah acting as her 1920s consultant for the day.

Lucy smiled at the group of sophomores that she had sorting through table decorations and walked over to Matt. He was just pulling a neon purple feather boa out of a box when she stopped next to him.

"You know, I think purple's your color," she commented with a grin, taking the boa from him and wrapping it around his neck.

Matt chuckled and pulled it off of him. "I don't think so, Luce."

Lucy shook her head in amusement and picked up a black boa. "What about black?"

"Much better," Matt agreed. "Has Caroline texted you yet?"

Lucy nodded. "She called a few minutes ago, so she should be here soon," she told him. "You remember what you have to do, right?"

"Honestly, I'm surprised that Caroline didn't send me a script."

"Well, maybe she was too busy," Lucy shrugged with a smile.

As if Caroline heard them talking about her—which, knowing her, she probably did—she walked into the cafeteria. Her expression was bewildered and a little cranky as she took in the decorations.

"What is this?" she demanded as she stomped over to Lucy and Matt.

Matt gave her a confused look. "It's the decade dance, remember?" he reminded her. "Lucy made me sign up to help."

"No," Caroline huffed and picked up the purple boa. "This, the twenties! We're supposed to be doing the seventies!"

"I changed my mind," Lucy spoke up innocently.

"You changed your mind?!"

"It's too flashy, people!" Rebekah called bossily as she walked into the cafeteria, holding onto Lucy's spare clipboard. "It's supposed to be a speakeasy not the World's Fair."

"Actually, Bekah, we are going for the World's Fair," Lucy reminded her as her sister walked over and stood next to Caroline.

"Right, sorry Luci," Rebekah smiled apologetically and then turned to Caroline. "Oh, good, you're here. We need help setting up the tables, so get to it."

Caroline narrowed her eyes. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm helping Luci put this dance together," Rebekah told her. "Someone has to."

"Yeah, me," Caroline pointed at her chest. "I'm the co-chair of the dance committee. The theme of the decade dance is the 1970s."

"So, you'd rather dress in tacky colors with bad hair than be a classic flapper from the jazz age?" Rebekah raised a perfect eyebrow. "Honestly, I don't know what my brother sees in you."

Lucy cringed at the reminder that Klaus was interested in Caroline. It just didn't sit right with her.

"Maybe he sees a challenge," Caroline retorted. "See, unlike some other people, I don't sleep with everyone I make eye contact with."

"Caroline!" Lucy chided her; ever since Rebekah had arrived in Mystic Falls, Caroline had been having trouble with the slut shaming. It used to be a big no-no to her but her disgust toward it seemed to go away in Rebekah's presence.

"Maybe we can do both decades," Matt tried to be the peacekeeper.

"No," Lucy said just as Caroline and Rebekah spoke—much angrier than she did.

"Go on, Matt don't be a coward," Rebekah coaxed him. "You know you loved my twenties idea when Luci and I presented it to the group."

Caroline gasped dramatically and glared at Lucy and Matt. "Traitors!"

Matt grimaced apologetically. "Bell bottoms and disco? I don't know, this just seemed cooler."

"And prettier," Lucy added.

"See?" Rebekah gave Caroline a triumphant look. "It's cooler and prettier."

"Whatever," Caroline scoffed. "Have fun at your stupid dance."

Caroline started storming out of the cafeteria just as they planned, Lucy calling after her. She gave Matt a pointed look and he sighed, giving Rebekah a short smile as he went after her to make sure Caroline knew where Tyler was going to be.

"Well," Rebekah sighed. "someone has control issues."

"Yeah," Lucy shrugged and quickly changed the subject. "How were the streamers going in the gym?"

"The idiots ruined them," Rebekah rolled her eyes. "but I was thinking, why not get some thicker ribbons to use instead? It won't look as cheap."

Lucy raised an impressed eyebrow. "Good idea. I'll send Matt to go get some."

"Don't bother," Rebekah stopped her as she reached for her phone. "He'll probably screw it up. I'll go and get some."

Rebekah handed Lucy her clipboard and walked out of the cafeteria, intending to head to the fabric store just a few minutes away from the school. Lucy sighed and consulted her list of things to do, narrowing her eyes at the top item listed.

It was time to do tables.

Lucy parked in front of the Boarding House, quickly shutting off her car and getting out. She made her way to the hatch and opened it, spying the things that she needed to bring in.

Since he lost the last white oak stake, Alaric had been staying with Damon and Stefan. His bedroom was in the basement where he was snugly kept locked in one of the cells until his alter-ego appeared and revealed the location of the stake. His life and pretty much all vampires' lives were counting on his vampire-hating alter-ego to appear, so it was pretty dire that something happened. Lucy was pretty sure that Damon gave Stefan the go-ahead to do whatever it took to get the stake back.

While Elena, Damon, and Joel were traveling to Denver to bring Jeremy back to Mystic Falls, Lucy was going to keep Alaric some company and celebrate with the birthday boy. Stefan was now one hundred and sixty-three, so that required them to do something.

Something to Lucy was renting the new Star Trek movie, making Stefan's favorite cherry cheesecake, and giving him the present that she made for him. If they happened to order Chinese food, that'd be great, too.

She felt a hint of breeze by her face and smiled. She turned to face Stefan and almost lost her breath by how gorgeous he was. She loved when he wore hooded sweatshirts and the fact that it was black was a bonus. He always looked good but something about black really made his green eyes pop.

"Hi, there," Stefan greeted her with a handsome smile. "How was school?"

"We got the banners up in the cafeteria and we're hoping that the uh," she narrowed her eyes as she tried to think of what the structure made out of plastic glasses was called. "What's it called when you stack the champagne glasses on each other?"

"A champagne tower?" Stefan offered patiently, an amused smile on his lips.

Lucy snapped her fingers in realization. "Right. We're hoping that the champagne tower stays up for four days. I'm pretty sure I'll be there an hour before the dance making it again."

"The horror."

"Hey!" Lucy playfully slapped his arm; Stefan laughed. "Happy birthday, Broody."

"Thanks, Goofy," Stefan said gratefully. "Another year older."

"Yeah, what's it called when you're older than a centenarian?"

"Shut up."

"I'm just saying!"

"Well, don't say it."

Lucy giggled. "Ah, don't be sad. You'll get wrinkles."

"Lucy Gilbert!"

"Fine, obviously you're sensitive in your old age," Lucy sighed dramatically. "I'll—hey!"

Fed up with her teasing, Stefan had grabbed her around the waist and twirled her around, her feet high off the ground. She squealed with laughter as he continued, claiming that he wouldn't stop until she apologized.

"Say it!" Stefan told her through his smirk.

"Fine! Fine!" Lucy wheezed. "I'm sorry! You're definitely not old!"

Stefan made a satisfied noise as he set her on the ground, grabbing her by the shoulders to steady her so she wouldn't lose her balance. Lucy sucked in air, trying to catch her breath.

When she pulled herself together, she grinned up at him. "At least you're the hottest 163-year-old alive."

Stefan opened his mouth and then paused before conceding, "Okay, I'll take that compliment."

"I knew you would," Lucy winked at him before shuffling back over to her car. "Help me bring this stuff in, would you?"

Stefan's eyes widened when he saw all the stuff that was shoved in the back of her car. There was a cake platter, two large bags of chips, a plastic bag from the movie store, a large tote that he knew she moved her paintings around with, her over-night bag, a blow-up mattress, sheets, a pillow, and a comforter.

"You moving in or something?" he asked, grabbing the paint tote and blow-up mattress.

"No," Lucy laughed and picked up the cake platter, using two hands so she wouldn't drop it. "I didn't think that Ric would appreciate the cot in your basement. He's got a bad back."

"Ah," Stefan nodded. "Hold on, I'll put this in the house and be right back."

Lucy nodded; Stefan left and within seconds he was back. He pulled the rest of the things Lucy brought out of the car and shut the hatch. When they entered the house, Stefan set down the things and turned to her curiously.

"What painting did you bring over?"

"That would be your birthday present."

"A birthday present?" Stefan wasn't expecting anything for his birthday but he was excited what she had painted for him. Lucy was notorious for giving good presents; the watch around his wrist was proof of that. "You painted for me?"

"Of course I did," Lucy started walking into the kitchen to put the cheesecake away.

"What is it?"

Lucy rolled her eyes and shut the fridge, calling back, "You can see it after cake!" when she walked back into the living room, he was reaching for the painting tote. "No peeking, Stefan."

Stefan snatched his hand back with a pout like he was a toddler at Christmas.

"How's Ric?" she asked, shrugging off her jacket. "Any sign of his alter-ego?"

"Nope," Stefan shook his head. "He's supposed to be napping right now but I'm pretty sure he's awake."

"I'm gonna go check on him."

"I'll go with you," Stefan volunteered, grabbing the things she brought for Alaric. "Can you grab the bourbon? Damon said that alcohol makes him sleepy."

Lucy grabbed the bottle and they went downstairs, heading right to the cell Alaric was locked in. She stood on her tiptoes to look into the barred window, seeing that Alaric was laying on the cot, a novel laid on his chest.

"Do you know how hard it is to fall asleep when that's what you're supposed to do?" Alaric asked, keeping his eyes shut.

"Yes, actually," Lucy could relate very well, actually. She never wanted to go asleep at her bedtime when she was a child; it was the source of many tantrums and many time-outs. "Super-Stef and I have come to the rescue."

Alaric sat up as Lucy opened his cell and walked in, Stefan right behind her. He set down the things Lucy had brought for Alaric while she made herself comfortable on the cot next to her father.

"Hey, how was school?" Alaric asked, giving her a smile.

"School was school," Lucy waved him off and then gestured to the blow-up mattress Stefan was starting to set up. "I brought you something comfortable to sleep on."

Alaric chuckled. "Thanks, Luce."

"And apparently, Damon suggested that Stefan should bring you something to help make you sleepy," she held up the bottle of bourbon. "Congrats, you won a bottle of alcohol."

"What the hell?" Alaric sighed, putting down his book to grab the bottle. "You know, I'd feel decidedly less pathetic if I don't drink alone…"

Lucy gaped at him sarcastically. "Are you suggesting that I drink with you?"

"I'm not an idiot, Lucy," Alaric rolled his eyes. "I know you drink."

"Did you know she's a lightweight?" Stefan asked as he turned on the air-mattress pump. "I'll go get some glasses."

As he sped out of the room, Lucy called after him, "I'm not a lightweight!"

"You know how many stories Joel has told me about you when you were drunk?" Alaric raised his eyebrows at her.

"Joel needs to stop gossiping," Lucy grabbed the book he had set aside. "Moby Dick, huh?"

"A story of revenge," he nodded. "You ever read it?"

Lucy nodded. "Are you reading that for some kind of insight on the vampire-hating you?"

"Well, I wasn't," he cocked his head as he twisted open the bottle of bourbon. "but I guess it's kinda fitting."

Stefan walked back into the cell, carrying two glasses and a chair for him to sit on. He handed the glasses to Lucy and set down the chair before turning off the noisy mattress pump.

"So," Alaric started pouring bourbon into Lucy and Stefan's glasses. "How come you didn't go to get Jeremy, Luce?"

"I was too busy today," Lucy sighed, handing Stefan his glass. "I had to oversee the decorating and I wasn't going to let Stefan celebrate his birthday by himself."

Alaric hummed, his eyes quickly darting between her and Stefan before she noticed; Stefan definitely did. "Do you think they got him by now?"

"They should," Stefan told him. "I haven't heard from them lately, though."

"Joel and Elena were pretty worried about Jeremy," Lucy took a sip of the bourbon and grimaced; she much preferred something fruity. "He can't count on his ring anymore."

"Who knows, maybe his alter-ego's a pot-smoking hippy pacifist," Alaric suggested hopefully.

Lucy grinned at him while Stefan scoffed in amusement. "Yeah, maybe."

"I can't say that I thought mine would be so hostile and militant," Alaric frowned down at the bottle in his hands.

Lucy frowned and shifted slightly, leaning her head against his shoulder. It wasn't just to offer him some comfort; she needed some too.

"Actually, it makes perfect sense," Stefan pointed out. "Your wife left you to become a vampire and your girlfriend was killed by one."

"He must really hate me. Here I am, the failed hunter-slash-drinking buddy of vampires."

"He's too judgmental," Lucy said quietly, her eyes flickering over to Stefan.

Stefan was a vampire and he did bad things sometimes but he was a good man when it came down to it. Joel was a good man—hell, even Damon and Klaus had their good moments and Caroline was the greatest person she had ever met. There were humans who were doing evil things all around the world, too, so if you thought about it, vampires weren't much worse.

That was how Lucy saw things, anyway.

"The thing is, he's me," Alaric whispered, his tone ashamed. "I'm not compelled. I'm not possessed. There's no humanity switch. What drives him is me."

"No," Stefan disagreed. "No, he's not you. He's the darkest parts of you. Parts we all have."

Lucy smiled sadly as Stefan as he looked at his hands, ashamed. He was right, though. Everyone had dark parts. Lucy did; there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for the people she loved, even if she had to get violent. When she siphoned too much magic there was a part of her that enjoyed having more power than she was used to. She just had to make sure the good parts overwhelmed the bad.

"Well, this is depressing, isn't it?"

Lucy, Stefan, and Alaric looked over to the cell door as Klaus walked in, smiling casually. Stefan and Lucy stood up cautiously, worried that he would do something rash to Alaric if he had the chance.

"Oh, and I found this upstairs," he held up one of the white oak stakes. "Now, by my count, there should be one more."

"Yeah, well, it's going to take a little more time," Stefan retorted sharply, not taking any of Klaus' shit.

"Why, because we're waiting for that one to pass out?" he pointed at Alaric, causing Lucy's eyes to narrow. "No, thanks. I think I'll just kill him."

"No, you're not," Lucy said forcefully and appealed to his fear of death. "You won't know the location of the other stake."

Klaus started forward. "I can live with that."

Stefan stopped him. "Well, I can't," he snapped. "When they staked Finn, they discovered that killing an original vampire killed its entire bloodline."

Klaus blinked at him, hiding his shock.

"Now, I don't know which one of you I'm descended from, but I'd really rather not find out by dying," Stefan continued. "So, why don't we just find the stake and destroy it so we can all be safe?"

"So the fate of the entire vampire race depends on you finding the stake and to get it, we need you to pass out?" Klaus looked to Alaric and then back at Stefan. "Which means that I feel totally justified doing this."

Before Stefan or Lucy had time to react, Klaus was snapping Alaric's neck. Lucy gasped loudly, tears coming to her eyes as Alaric fell to the dusty floor, dead for who knows how long.

"There," Klaus smiled in satisfaction, turning back to Stefan and Lucy. "Sleeping like a baby."

Lucy had no idea that the Boarding House had a home theater but she wasn't surprised. Stefan and Damon had always preferred expensive things, so it wasn't shocking to know that other Salvatore ancestors were like that, too. The room wasn't massive of anything, but it was about the size of her bedroom with a couple of couches and a large flat-screen television with many game systems—some that Lucy hadn't seen while she was alive—and movies.

While Stefan called Damon with an update about Alaric and waited for the delivery person to arrive with their dinner, Lucy set up the movie. She hadn't seen the newest Star Trek movie with dreamboat Chris Pine as Captain Kirk but she knew that Stefan was a massive sci-fi geek and he appreciated everything that Star Trek had to offer. The disk menu had just appeared on the screen when Stefan came in, balancing four cartons of Chinese food in his arms.

"Sweet and sour chicken and egg rolls," he handed her two cartons while she sat on one of the couches. He sat next to her and gestured to the other two in his hands. "and lo mein and orange chicken."

"Thank you," Lucy smiled at him and unsheathed her chopsticks.

"You're welcome," Stefan shifted on the couch until he was comfortable. "What are we watching?"

"The new Star Trek," she looked at him, anticipating his excited reaction.

Stefan grinned widely. "Oh, that one is pretty good."

"You've seen it?"

"It came out last year, Goofy," he laughed and took the remote from her lap, pressing play. "You'll like it. The guy who was casted as Thor plays Kirk's dad."

"Ooh, really?"

They ate their food as they watched the movie, sharing the four cartons between themselves. Lucy could eat her weight in Chinese food and because she was a little buzzed, she was more hungry than usual, so it didn't take long to empty the cartons.

Every so often, Lucy would ask questions. Well, to her it was every so often. To Stefan…well, he found out that Lucy loved to talk during movies. It was kind of cute, though, so he didn't complain much.

"Ah, Kirk's dad dies? That's so sad!"

"Oh, my God, look at him!" That particular statement was when Chris Pine was first shown; Stefan was only a little huffy about that.

"Did you know that Bones is from New Zealand in real life?"

"Okay, I thought she and Kirk had something going on in the series…"

"Can Spock even have romantic feelings?"

"Okay, I'm sensing some tension between Kirk and Spock. Like, sexual tension."

That had caught Stefan off guard. "Really?" he asked. "I don't see it."

"Look at them," Lucy waved at the screen where Spock and Kirk were glaring at each other. "They're all angsty. There's definitely some tension there. They could have loads of hate-sex."

Stefan cocked his head thoughtfully. "That has been a popular pairing through the years."

"I knew it!"

Lucy had definitely cried happy tears at the end of the movie when Kirk saved the day and it turned out that Captain Pike was alive and okay. She really enjoyed the movie and Stefan enjoyed being with her—and the movie, of course.

After the movie, it was time for cake. Stefan immensely enjoyed the cheesecake Lucy made for him and had complimented her after almost every bite. Lucy snuck a few bites off his plate, too full for her own piece but she had to agree with his enthusiasm. Her baking skills were definitely improving.

And then, it was gift time.

Stefan was very excited to see what Lucy had painted for him. He had seen many of her paintings before and he enjoyed every single one of them. She was very talented for her age and he was constantly impressed by the pieces she created.

The painting that she made for him was no exception. It was large and abstract with different shades of blue covering almost the whole thing. There were hints of red, yellow, and black that made everything pop and her signature was down in the bottom right corner.

He loved it.

"This is amazing, Luce," Stefan gaped at the painting in his hands. "Oh, my God. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Lucy smiled sheepishly, glad that he liked it. "I painted it just for you. I picked out the colors so they represented you specifically."

"The colors represent me?" Stefan looked at her curiously.

"Yeah," Lucy smiled and started pointing out colors. She told him about the blues first. "The turquoise is for how calm you can be, the lighter blue is for your loyalty, and the darker blue is for your knowledge."

Stefan nodded, a hint of a smile on his lips. "What about the black?"

"Black means power," Lucy grinned and then pointed to the red. "And the red is for your passion and how much love you have in your heart. And the yellow is one of my favorites about you."

Stefan looked at her curiously; Lucy smiled gently and brushed her fingers over one of the yellow splatters. "Yellow stands for happiness, because I adore your smile, and hope."

"Hope?"

Lucy hated that there was doubt in his voice. "Yeah. You give me hope and I know that you give other people hope too," she said sincerely. "The fact that you've struggled so much during your life and still overcame all of that is inspiring."

Stefan was speechless as he set the canvas down. He loved the painting before but now that he knew the thought and love Lucy put into it, he loved it a million times more. Lucy had always been able to see him as better than he actually was.

Lucy stared at him pensively, hoping that she hadn't somehow offended him. There was a cute smile on his face but he was just staring at the canvas like someone has pressed paused.

"Um, are you okay—"

Lucy was abruptly cut off as Stefan grabbed her chin, tilted her head, and pressed his lips to her. She gasped slightly in surprise but didn't object, returning the kiss with gusto. Stefan's hands slid from her chin to the back of her head as he brushed his tongue about her bottom lip, sending tingles through her body.

She couldn't believe this was happening. She was actually kissing Stefan and she was loving it. She really loved kissing Stefan. She was pretty sure it jumped up to the top of list of her favorite things to do.

Lucy inhaled deeply as she pulled away from Stefan, looking up at him in shock. "You kissed me."

"I kissed you," Stefan confirmed breathlessly.

"You should kiss me again."

Stefan didn't wait another second to do as she commanded. Damon would definitely make fun of him if he ever found out, but he was pretty sure he saw stars while kissing Lucy. Everything about her drew him in and it was kind of hard to remember that her father was currently dead in the basement.

It was also their first—second—kiss so he didn't want to take it too far. He slowly pulled away, allowing Lucy to take some much-needed breaths.

"I'm in love with you."

That wasn't exactly the way he planned to tell Lucy. He wanted to do something romantic like bringing her on a picnic as the sun set or maybe choreograph a dance number because he knew how much she liked musicals and dancing. But this was better, he decided. This was just them—without any flashy gestures or tacky music.

"Huh?"

Lucy didn't expect that to come out of Stefan's mouth and she didn't mean to look at him like an alien. She knew that he had feelings for her but he told her he needed to figure everything out. Did he? Was this the result?

"I love you," Stefan repeated patiently, smiling at the dumbfounded look on her face.

"You love me?"

"I love you," he confirmed. "You ramble like it's your job and sometimes you're controlling but you are so fucking amazing. I'm pretty sure that your smile is the most beautiful one I have ever seen and I'm positive that your soul was specially made by God himself."

Lucy gaped at him, her chest warm and tight, her stomach flipping pleasantly.

"You're crazy but I'm crazy too, so if loving you means I'm insane, I don't care," Stefan finished. "I don't want sanity."

It was silent for a few seconds as Lucy blinked rapidly and tried to figure out how to respond. Finally, she said, "That was so epic."

Stefan raised his eyebrows at her. "Epic?"

"Yes!" she giggled. "I mean, when I said that I was in love with you, my speech was all angsty. Yours was beautiful, oh my God."

Stefan's look of disbelief melted as he grinned at her in adoration. "You're so weird, Lucy Gilbert."

"But you love me."

"Yeah, I do," he nodded.

"I love you too."

"I know."

Lucy gasped and pulled away from his chest, tapping it playfully. "You did not just quote Star Wars at me."

"Well, it wasn't the exact quote—"

"Shut up," Lucy laughed and stood on her tiptoes, pressing a quick peck to his lips. Stefan hummed and chased her lips as she pulled away, giving her a pout as she shook her head at him.

"Come on," he sighed happily and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before picking up his painting. "Let's hang this up in my room."

Lucy nodded in agreement. "I want to change, anyway."

Lucy grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers as they walked out of the living room.

Lucy watched Stefan hang up her painting over his bed. She twisted her hair together, finishing up the braid she had started after changing into her pajamas.

She couldn't stop thinking about Elena. It was strange that she was thinking of her sister after she and Stefan had just declared their love for each other, but at the same time, she expected it. Stefan had been in love with Elena since he arrived in Mystic Falls, it was natural of her to be a little skeptical of what was going on in Stefan's head at the moment.

"What about Elena?" the words were out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop them.

Stefan frowned as he jumped off of his bed, the painting secure over his headboard. "We talked," he told her honestly. "I told her that I was in love with you and she told me she was in love with Damon."

Lucy raised her eyebrows in shock. "Did she really?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Uh, apparently we were on the same page. We still care for each other but we're not in love and we're okay with that."

"Huh."

Stefan slid his hand around her waist. "What does that mean?"

"I just thought it would be messier, if that makes sense," Lucy confessed. "but I'm glad it isn't. I didn't want to lose my relationship with Elena."

"She's your sister," Stefan stated. "I don't think anything could break that bond."

"I hope not."

Stefan smiled and kissed her forehead before pausing. "I think Ric's waking up."

"Really?"

"Yeah, come on."

They entered the cell just as Alaric woke up, groaning loudly from the pain in his neck.

"Welcome back," Stefan greeted him.

"What happened?" he asked wearily, looking up at him and Lucy. "Did I, uh…?"

"No, you pretty much, uh, laid there dead for half the night," Stefan smiled apologetically. "but, on the plus side, we ate and watched the latest Star Trek movie."

"There's cake upstairs, if you want some," Lucy offered, leaning forward to help Alaric to his feet.

Alaric thanked Lucy with a sigh as he straightened up. "This is stupid," he declared. "Evil me, or whatever you want to call him, he's not going to make an appearance. Why would he? I mean, the best hiding place is the one where you can't find the person who hid it."

Lucy frowned as Stefan agreed, "I know."

"So, how do you want to do this?"

"Can we not do any of it?" Lucy spoke up hopefully despite knowing that it wasn't an option. "I don't want anything of this to happen."

"That makes two of us," Alaric nodded and Stefan made a noise of agreement. "but I don't think we have much choice in the matter."

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows as he reached for his right hand, sliding the Gilbert ring off of his finger.

"Wait a minute, what are you doing?" Stefan asked him. "You need that ring."

"No, what I need is hope that my alter-ego doesn't have a death wish," Alaric disagreed, tossing the ring onto the cot. "So, I'm taking bets that my dark side has a sense of self-preservation. Let's see if he defends himself against death."

"Woah, woah, woah!" Lucy exclaimed, looking at him in shock. "You're not serious, are you?"

Stefan scoffed. "I'm not gonna kill you, Ric."

Alaric looked back and forth between Stefan and Lucy. "If we have any chance of at this, you're going to have to try, Stefan."

"Ric, no!" Lucy protested. "What if he doesn't care, huh? You'll be dead. Like, dead-dead."

"Go upstairs, Lucy," Alaric ordered, not answering her question; he didn't want her to see any of this. Especially if his theory was correct and she had feelings for Stefan; it wasn't the greatest thing in the world to see the guy you love beat up your father.

"What? No!"

"Lucy," Stefan joined Alaric. "You should go upstairs."

Lucy looked at them both with wide eyes, her heart racing. She couldn't just go upstairs while Stefan beat the shit out of Alaric.

"Lucy."

Lucy scoffed and stormed past Stefan out of the cell, her eyes filling with tears. She went straight upstairs and sat in the living room, pulling her knees up to her chest while she waited for whatever results Alaric expected. She couldn't believe this was happening.

It was only five minutes after she went upstairs that Klaus and Rebekah arrived. They waltzed right into the house like they owned the place.

"Little sister," Klaus greeted her, cocking his head as he listened to the commotion going on in the basement. "They're having a party, aren't they?"

"Shut up, Nik," Lucy grumbled.

"Just ignore him," Rebekah advised Lucy, walking over to sit next to her on the couch. "He doesn't understand."

"What's there to understand about the fact that Alaric's alter-ego lost the last thing on Earth that can kill us?" Klaus shrugged and perked up as he heard Alaric's confession. "Well, Stefan got it out of him. It's in the cave."

Lucy raised her head to look at him. "The anti-vampire cave?"

"That's the one," he confirmed.

Stefan popped into the living room not long after Klaus informed them of the stake's location. He paused when he saw Klaus and Rebekah but didn't seem too bothered by their presence.

"That wasn't too hard, was it?" Klaus asked him. "Go fetch, Rebekah."

Rebekah sighed and gave Klaus an annoyed look as she left the living room and went downstairs to gather Alaric. When they came back, Lucy gasped in shock. Alaric looked horrible from the beating he took from Stefan.

"Oh, my God," she breathed, standing up from the couch.

"It's a little gratuitous, don't you think, Stefan?" Klaus commented, amused. "I would have been more gentle."

"Shut up," Lucy snapped at him; Klaus raised his hands defensively.

"I'm going to take him to the caves," Rebekah declared, looking over Alaric's bloody face. "You're going to go inside and fetch me the stake and if you think you can hide, you're wrong."

Lucy sighed as Rebekah tugged Alaric out of the house. She looked at the clock, shocked to see that it was nearing three in the morning. She had to be at school bright and early in the morning to decorate again, so she probably needed to go to bed.

"I'm going to bed," she told Stefan, a yawn breaking through her lips. "Is my room…?"

"All set up," Stefan confirmed. "Goodnight, Luce. I…"

She knew what he was going to say and despite what had happened within the past twenty minutes, her belly still erupted into butterflies.

She grinned at him. "I know."