[4x23; Graduation]

By the time that Lucy had been able to pull herself away from Jeremy, almost two hours had passed since she told Kol to get to Klaus' house. When she arrived—after stopping by her place to pick up Esther's grimoire and Kol's ashes—her three brothers were impatiently waiting for her, and so was Rebekah, who had been surprised about Lucy's plan. Lucy hadn't told her for a reason, though, and that was because the blonde had been spending too much time with Elena lately; she didn't want Rebekah spilling the beans about Kol's resurrection.

"So," Kol raised an eyebrow at her as the five siblings gathered in Klaus' private backyard. "How are you going to do this?"

"A spell."

Lucy held up Esther's grimoire and showed it to him before she busied herself with the preparations of the spell. Klaus and Elijah had been kind enough to set up a large container, large enough for Kol to fit, so she poured a line of salt around it and added the ingredients she needed. Once they were all stirred together, she grabbed Kol's urn and poured it into the black liquid.

She glanced up at Kol, who was surrounded by Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah. "Are you ready?"

Kol glanced at his siblings, seeing the anticipation on their faces. Maybe he wasn't as unwanted as he was led to believe all these years. "I am."

Lucy nodded and closed her eyes, gathering her strength. She raised her arms into the air and started reciting the spell in Esther's grimoire. "Feon etchai ingenu," flames erupted from the container, making her siblings take a step back. "Feon etchai ingenu. Feon etchai ingenu. Feon etchai ingenu. Feon etchai ingenu! Feon etchai ingenu!"

She heard Rebekah gasp in amazement. She didn't open her eyes but from the information that came along with the spell, she figured that Kol's spirit had disappeared and had gone back to his body. She was right; only a moment after Rebekah gasped, she felt power course through her body, the power that only finishing a spell successfully could bring.

She opened her eyes, a smile on her lips, and stared at the container as a hand broke out of the mold that the liquid had turned into. Soon, Kol's very naked body emerged and even though Lucy quickly looked away—seeing her brother's private bits wasn't on her agenda whatsoever—she couldn't stop the excited squeak that came from her lips.

"Kol," Klaus was the first to speak, stepping toward his brother with a robe in his hands. Kol quickly put the robe on and they hugged. "I'm glad to have you back, brother."

Kol and Elijah quickly exchanged hugs, each of them smiling happily, and then so did Kol and Rebekah. Kol was noticeably colder with her than his brothers, which Lucy assumed was because of the fact that she had befriended Elena only days after she murdered him.

Finally, Lucy and Kol embraced.

"I missed you so much," she sniffled, hoping to keep her happy tears at bay. "I'm so sorry, Kol."

"Don't be sorry, darling, it wasn't your fault," Kol assured her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "You brought me back and I'll forever be grateful."

Lucy pulled away from him and wiped her tears away. Words couldn't describe how happy she was. She had two of her brothers back and even though she wished she could get Henrik back, she couldn't. Fortunately, he hadn't shown up, which she hoped meant that he had found peace. That was all that she wanted for him.

"Now, you've got to tell me how it is being a witch-vampire hybrid," Kol grinned at her.

"I think it'll be better now that you're here."

Hours later, too many hours, considering that she still had to go to Caroline's house and be up early the next day for graduation, she entered her apartment. She locked the door and turned on lights as she went before she headed to the kitchen to get herself a blood bag so she could replenish her strength. Just as she closed the refrigerator and popped the top from the blood bag, she heard a voice.

"I like what you've done to the place."

Careful not to squeeze the blood bag out of excitement, Lucy turned toward the familiar voice with a very enthusiastic smile on her face, her eyes already stinging happily. Alaric was standing in the middle of the living room space, his hands in his jacket pockets and a loving grin spreading his lips.

"Dad!" she set the blood bag on the kitchen island and sped toward her father, wrapping him into a too-tight hug.

"I missed you too, Luce," Alaric grunted, patting her on the back. He leaned back so he could get a good look of her face, looking just as happy to see her as she was to see him. "Look at you, all the things you've been through."

"I tried to stay strong like you wanted me to," Lucy's lips trembled as a knot formed in her chest. "I didn't—I didn't mean to turn into what I am."

Alaric shook his head. "None of this is your fault, Lucy," he said firmly. "This was all out of your control, do you understand me? You've been hurt and betrayed but you have stayed strong. I've seen it."

Lucy inhaled a shuddering breath. "You have?"

"Of course I did," Alaric smiled sadly. "I haven't left your side except to check on Joel and, uh, when you have Stefan over."

Heat bloomed in her cheeks. "Yeah, about that—"

"I'm glad you and Stefan have what you have," he interrupted her, not really wanting to think of his daughter and her boyfriend spending time together. "You can't throw away that kind of love."

Lucy raised an eyebrow at him. "What kind of love are you talking about?"

Alaric winked at her. "An epic kind of love."

"Shot through the heart and you're to blame! Darlin, you give love a bad name!"

Stefan bobbed his head to the drum beat of his and Lexi's favorite Bon Jovi song. He took a long swig of the second bottle of bourbon that he and Lexi were polishing off and closed his eyes as the guitar riff started, leaning his head against the back of the couch. Behind him, Lexi was dancing drunkenly, shimming and fist bumping to the beat.

He opened his eyes and took another gulp just as his brother walked into the room.

"Damon! Help me celebrate my seventeenth high school graduation," he said sarcastically as Damon turned off Bon Jovi. "Hey, you remember my friend, Lexi, of course?"

"Lexi," Damon sighed as Stefan pointed to his first blonde best friend; he received a glare from her. "back from the dead. Goody."

Stefan grinned as Lexi sped toward Damon and knocked him into the wall, gripping his neck threateningly. "What's up, buzzkill?"

"Stefan, are you just gonna sit there and let her enact her ghostly revenge?" Damon croaked in his direction.

"You reap what you sow, buddy," Stefan gave him a closed-mouth smile.

"Let's be very clear; whatever time I have left here, I sure as hell don't plan on wasting on you," Lexi practically growled in Damon's face, getting his attention. "You got me?"

Damon grimaced as her grip on his neck tightened. "Yeah, got you," Lexi let got of him and wandered back over to Stefan. "So, if you and Ric and little Gilbert are all flesh-like and real-seeming, that means something went horribly wrong when Bonnie tried to put that veil up. And here you two are, having dance party USA."

"You're right!" Stefan said, shaking his head as he acted like he regretted having out with his best friend of over a hundred years. "How selfish of me to be indulging in these precious moments with my formerly dead best friend. I should be sacrificing my own happiness for the good of others, right?" he gasped mockingly and sat up. "I should be upstairs grooming my hero-hair."

Lexi chuckled at him and Stefan grinned; Lucy would have appreciated that joke too.

Damon gave him an incredulous look. "Are you drunk?"

"I don't know, Mom, am I?"

Lexi laughed loudly as she took the bottle of bourbon away from him, only to have it taken by Damon.

"Well, I guess that's one way to celebrate our supernatural apocalypse," Damon sighed and paused to take a drink from the bottle. "Now, care to hazard any guess on what the hell went wrong?"

The door to the Boarding House opened at that moment, Lucy and Alaric making their way in. "I'll call Bonnie," she declared as she walked into the living room, carefully laying two garment bags on the unused couch. "The veil should have been up last night but I'm not exactly in a rush."

"Babe!" Stefan crooned as he jumped to his feet and sped over to her, wrapping her into a tight embrace. "Happy first graduation."

He finished his congratulations off with a hot kiss to her neck, making her cheeks warm.

"Thank you," she gently pulled his face out of her neck and grinned at him. If Stefan's openness and slurred words wasn't a hint that he was drunk, the glazed look in his forest-green eyes and the sly smile on his face would be more than enough. It was very amusing. "You are very drunk."

"And you are very beautiful," he said, pressing a not-so chaste kiss on her lips. Lucy couldn't help but smile into the kiss; drunk Stefan was one of her favorite Stefans—though, she loved every Stefan, really.

Alaric cleared his throat, an awkward smile on his face. "Hi, Stefan."

Stefan blinked rapidly and pulled away from Lucy in order to give Alaric an enthusiastic clap on his shoulder. "Ric, buddy, how are you?"

"I'm fine," Alaric answered, amused.

Lucy shook her head and looked around Stefan, grinning when she saw Lexi looking over at them. "Lexi, I missed you so much!" she exclaimed as she made her way over to the blonde. "Stefan has been unbearable without you."

Lexi laughed as Stefan scowled grumpily at his girlfriend's words, and pulled Lucy into a hug. "I've missed you too, Lucy," she said before whispering in her ear, "Thank you for taking care of him."

Lucy smiled. "We take care of each other."

When they pulled away from the hug and Stefan joined them, Damon nodded at Alaric. "Hey, Ric. Here to punch me again?"

Lucy bit her lip, trying to hold back another smile. Alaric had told her what happened when he appeared next to Damon when they in the middle of trying to find Bonnie and Silas. Alaric had greeted him, gave him a hug, and then promptly decked him in the face three times. She had laughed so hard when he told her and then again when she told Caroline after she arrived at her house an hour later.

"If you behave, I won't have to," Alaric smirked at Damon, who rolled his eyes and grunted.

Lucy sighed and turned to Stefan, who had stolen the bottle of bourbon back from Damon and was taking a drink. "I brought your cap and gown and Joel's suit," she pointed to the garment bags on the other couch with her thumb. "Please promise me you'll be on time."

"I promise," Stefan pursed his lips and gave her nose a sweet little kiss. "I can't miss my girl's speech."

Lucy grinned, her heart warming. "I'll see you at the school, then."

Stefan nodded. "See you then, Goofy."

"I kind of hit a snag," Bonnie reported to Lucy sullenly when she asked why the veil to the Other Side was still down.

Lucy glanced at Alaric, who was carrying the bag of fast food as they trekked through the cemetery to meet up with Joel, Jeremy, and Elena for lunch. "This is a pretty big snag, Bon. I mean, I'm grateful for the time with Ric and Jeremy but..."

"I know," Bonnie sighed. "I'm trying to fix it but I'm running into some trouble."

Lucy frowned. "Do you need me to stop by?"

"No, you need to spend time with Ric," Bonnie said firmly. "I'm just going to wait until the full moon tonight to have enough power to put the veil back up."

"So, we'll be graduating in the middle of the supernatural apocalypse," Lucy laughed once. "Can't say we've haven't made it through worse."

"Yeah, about that, maybe we should just cancel."

"And risk the wrath of Caroline?" Lucy scoffed. "I can't just imagine what she'd say..." she impersonated their blonde best friend. "Hell will freeze over before I let anyone cancel graduation!"

Bonnie chuckled lightly. "That was a good one. Unfortunately, we're not far off from hell freezing over."

"Everything's gonna be fine," Lucy assured her as she and Ric came to a stop by his tombstone where Joel, Jeremy, and Elena were already waiting. "We'll manage, Bon."

There were a couple seconds of silence before Bonnie responded. "Okay. Luce, I know we've had our differences lately but I just wanted to let you know that I love you."

Lucy paused worriedly. She hoped that Bonnie was okay; then again, maybe she was just emotional about graduating. She knew she was. "I love you, too, Bon," she said finally. "You should give Caroline a call. I bet she's worried."

Bonnie laughed weakly. "I will. See you later."

"See you later."

Alaric gave Lucy a worried look, having heard the whole conversation she had with Bonnie, but she just shrugged at him. She didn't know what was going on with Bonnie but she hoped that she would be okay.

They greeted Lucy's siblings and then they all sat down; Lucy, Alaric, and Jeremy on the bench in front of his grave and Joel and Elena sitting in front of them on the ground. They divided up the food and then started to eat.

"Mmm," Alaric groaned around a mouthful of cheeseburger. "Oh, my God."

Jeremy made a noise of agreement on the other side of Lucy, causing them all to laugh.

"No grease on the Other Side, huh?" Joel grinned at them.

"You have no idea how much I miss this," Alaric confirmed as he grabbed a bottle of whiskey that he and Lucy stole from the Salvatore house and took a swig. "and this." Lucy shook her head in amusement and grabbed the bottle from him, taking a shot of it. "Hey!"

"Leave her alone," Jeremy chuckled. "She's gone through a hard time lately. She needs to live a little."

Lucy swallowed the whiskey and stuck her tongue out at Alaric. "Yes, I do!"

She passed the bottle to Joel, who took a long gulp and then passed it to Elena. Once she had herself a drink, Jeremy reached out to grab the bottle but Elena held it out of reach, grinning at him. "Hey, you wish!"

"I'm dead," Jeremy defended himself. "What are they gonna do, throw me in juvie?"

Lucy grinned; she was happy to know that Jeremy would stay alive. She wouldn't let him go to juvie even if he committed murder—in which case, he'd probably be tried as an adult, anyway.

"Well, at least you'd have a place to live," Joel said snarkily, Alaric and Jeremy bursting out in laughter at his comment.

Lucy didn't think it was that funny but Elena shook her head with a smile, throwing a couple of fries at the three cackling men. "You all suck!"

Alaric caught a fry in his mouth and sighed, looking at the three Gilbert siblings. "I was afraid you guys wouldn't smile again," he admitted, sharing a sad look with Jeremy. "I'm glad you are though."

Lucy smiled weakly at him but she knew he understood how she felt about everything that had happened since he died. They had a long conversation about everything, and to no shock, he gave her some good advice to help her move on.

He told her that she didn't have to give in; that she was justified in everything she felt for Elena and Damon. He told her that it was okay to have those feelings but she couldn't let it consume her. He told her to go to Duke, have fun with Stefan, and live for herself. He told her that even though she wouldn't age, life was short and she needed to live her life without anyone bringing her down. It was some of the best advice that anyone had ever given her.

As much as she appreciated his advice and wanted to follow it, it was still hard to move on. She had been so hurt, so torn down by Elena's actions that she felt like she was stuck in some kind of purgatory. She wanted to move on, but she also wanted an apology—it would be hard to consolidate those together. From how Elena had been for the past year, though, it was looking like she needed to move on from her sister. Maybe forever.

"I did some pretty terrible things," Elena admitted shakily; when Lucy looked up from her cheeseburger, she saw that she was looking at her with tearful eyes.

It was silent for a moment as everyone took in her words. Lucy had looked back down to her food but Joel, Jeremy, and Alaric all had their eyes bouncing back and forth between Lucy, Elena, and sometimes each other.

"No crying," Joel finally spoke up. "If Lucy's right, we only have until tonight to be together. We need a no-crying rule."

"The crying's good, though," Elena sniffed and wiped her eyes. "It means that I'm finally feeling something and right now, I..." she smiled at her three siblings and Alaric. "I feel happy."

Before anyone could say anything, her phone started to ring. She pulled out her phone and furrowed her eyebrows when she saw who was calling. "It's the Grill. It must be Matt," she answered the call. "Hey, you went AWOL this morning. What happened?"

The person who answered was not Matt. It was Connor—Lucy remembered that voice from some of her nightmares of that day in the Grill. "Hello, Elena. It's your dead friend, Connor. You remember me?"

Elena stiffened, pressing her lips together. "We want Silas and we want the cure."

"I don't know where they are so I guess I can't help you," as Elena snapped back at Connor, Lucy and Alaric shared a pointed look.

"Huh, well, you know who's gonna need some help?" Connor replied smoothly. "Grandma and Grandpa Jones, in town for the big high school graduation, along with Auntie Sue and Uncle Mark..."

Lucy, Joel, Jeremy, and Alaric stiffened at Connor's threat. Alaric caught everyone's attention and told Elena to keep Connor on the phone before he left the cemetery.

"...Matter of fact, everybody here at the Mystic Grill for graduation brunch. So, you either give me what I want or they die."

"Please don't hurt anyone," Elena pleaded. "I'll find Silas and I'll get the cure."

"Good. Get it done."

Connor ended the call and Elena huffed in frustration, putting her phone back in her jacket pocket. "Hopefully, Ric gets there on time," she sighed and addressed Joel and Lucy. "Do you guys know where the cure is?"

Joel shook his head while Lucy lied, "No."

The fact was, she knew where the cure was. While Alaric was at her apartment, he had told her that he found the cure while helping Damon wrap up Silas' desiccated body (courtesy of Bonnie). He gave it to her, telling her that she had a choice to make; she understood what that meant and she had decided very quickly on what she was going to do with it. Right now, it was hidden in her purse, waiting to be given to Stefan.

Lucy glanced over at Stefan as she carefully applied a light layer of lipstick to her already made up face. He was at the mirror, fully sober, his chin lifted as he tied his black tie; she didn't know how he made the commonest of actions look so sexy but he always managed. She was pretty sure it was a curse; not on Stefan, of course, but every woman in the universe.

Stefan's eyes met hers in the mirror. "What are you looking at?" he asked playfully. "I know I'm not as gorgeous as you, but..."

"You're beautiful," Lucy immediately disagreed as she capped her lipstick. She placed it on the counter and stepped toward Stefan, trailing her fingers lightly down his white button-up. "Too beautiful."

Stefan grabbed her hand before it could get to his belt and pressed his lips to the back of it, smiling lightly. "Well, then, we make a great couple, don't we? Not just anyone can be with the most gorgeous girl in the world."

Lucy giggled at him. "I think you're still drunk, you're so sappy."

"I am completely sober." Stefan wrinkled his nose playfully at her. "It's impossible to not be sappy in your presence, pretty girl."

"Okay, that was a little much."

Stefan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, when I said it, I knew it was a bit too far."

Lucy snickered and stood on her tiptoes in order to kiss him; Stefan responded in earnest, swiping his tongue against her bottom lip. Though Lucy wanted to get carried away and jump into bed with him, there wasn't much time.

"I love you."

Stefan smiled and gave her a little kiss at the corner of her mouth. "I love you."

There had been a bundle of nerves growing in Lucy's stomach from the moment Alaric had given her the cure. Right now, it felt like she was going to explode if she didn't bring up the subject with Stefan now, rather than later. This was all very bittersweet; if Stefan took the cure and became human, of course she'd be happy for him. He had struggled through his life as a vampire and being human was something that he had always wanted. However, if he did take the cure, she didn't know what would happen to them. That being said, she knew she would regret it forever if she didn't ask Stefan if he wanted to take it. He deserved to be comfortable with who he was and Lucy loved him enough to let him go so he could achieve his happiness.

"Stefan, can I talk to you about something?"

Stefan pulled back from her, a worried look on his face. He recognized the shakiness in her voice and he knew that it meant that she was nervous. "Of course. What's wrong, Luce?"

"I want to show you something."

She wandered out of the bathroom, grateful that she had already finished with her hair and make-up and had gotten dressed in the white dress she picked out for graduationi, and made her way to the large circular table in the middle of Stefan's room. While she rummaged through her purse for the cure, Stefan stood behind her, confused.

Finally, she found it; she whirled around and showed it to Stefan. A look of surprise crossed his face, his eyebrows raising in a way that was completely Stefan.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Ric gave it to me, he found it on Silas," Lucy told him. "Stefan, I want you to have this."

Stefan cocked his head. "You want me to take the cure?"

"If that's what you want to do," Lucy nodded, biting her lip. "Look, Stefan, I know how hard of a time you've had. You've told me about your highs and your lows and don't get me wrong, I love everything about you, but...if this is going to make you happy, if its going to make life easier on you, if its gonna make you love yourself, then I want you to take it."

Stefan's eyes flitted from the cure back up to her face, a certain sadness in his green eyes. "I'd be a human and you'd—you'd still be a vampire."

"I know, but if it's what you want," Lucy shrugged, tears coming to her eyes as her heart started breaking. "then...then I'll let you go. You'll live a human life like you've always wanted to. You'll be a doctor and you'll have babies and you'll live the way you want to, unburdened by bloodlust and guilt."

"Lucy...I don't..."

"I love you too much to not give you that option, Stefan," Lucy grabbed his right hand and flipped it over, placing the cure in his palm. "So, you can take it or do whatever you want with it. You don't even have to decide now. Just know that I'll support you either way."

Having said her peace, she quickly wiped her eyes. She didn't know what else to say and the way that Stefan was looking at her made her feel anxious. She squeezed his hand and let go before walking out of his bedroom.

She didn't get very far before she was intercepted by Elena and Damon. Damon was pale and sweaty and he was not looking good in the slightest while Elena was very obviously panicked.

Despite that, Elena paused when she saw the tears on her sister's face. "Luce, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Lucy hurriedly wiped more tears from her face. "What's wrong with you two?"

"You know that hunter from the island, Vaughn?"

"I'm familiar."

"He shot Damon with wooden bullets."

Lucy raised her eyebrows and glanced at Damon. "You look fine to me."

"I've got werewolf venom in me, Twitch."

Lucy glared at him, annoyed by his snappy tone, causing Elena to take over. "Look, Lucy, Damon and I have done terrible things to you and you don't owe us a thing, but right now, we need a favor," she said pleadingly. "We need some of Klaus' blood."

"And you think he would even be willing to give Damon his blood?" Lucy asked in disbelief. "Even if I wanted to help, Nik doesn't exactly like you two."

"But you've got him wrapped around his finger," Damon argued. "If you ask—"

"You should stop talking," Lucy's voice hardened as she spoke to the oldest Salvatore. "The only reason I'm even going to ask Nik is because you're Stefan's brother and it would kill him if you died. That's the only reason. If he says no, I don't know what to tell you."

Damon opened his mouth to reply but Elena quickly intercepted. "Of course. Thank you so much, Lucy."

Lucy nodded and left them, intending to find Joel, Jeremy, and Alaric so they could take pictures.

"So," Lexi spoke up from where she was kneeling down next to Vaughn's dead body. "the veil's down until tonight, so he dies and goes to the Other Side and what? Comes back all over again? How long does that take?"

Stefan shook his head minutely and finished pouring a blood bag into two glasses, handing one over to her. "What, they don't give you a rulebook over there?"

Lexi chuckled lightly and then stopped altogether when she saw the melancholy look on his face. "You thinking about what Lucy said?"

"Yeah."

"Are you gonna take the cure?"

"No," Stefan declared, his mind already made up. "I don't want to be human without Lucy by my side."

He had already accepted that he wasn't going to take the cure a long time ago. Now that Lucy was a vampire, he didn't want it. He didn't want to live without her, he didn't want to be human without her, he didn't want a family or the life he dreamed about without her. Stefan had always been a decisive man but this? This was the most important decision of his life and he had no doubts whatsoever.

"So, what's the problem?"

Stefan took a sip of blood before he answered, "I wish that Lucy actually believed me when I told her that," he admitted. "I love her so much and sometimes, it doesn't feel like she knows it."

Lexi gave him a sympathetic smile. "I think she does know, Stefan. I think that she loves you just as much. But she's blinded, you know? She thinks that you need to be human to be happy and she's willing to give that to you."

Stefan sighed and took a seat on the coffee table, holding his glass of blood tightly between his hands. "She's the love of my life. I can't be happy without her."

"So show her that," Lexi said determinately, crouching down to place her hand on his. "Telling is great, don't get me wrong, and I'm sure the sex is great, but you need to show her how you feel."

Stefan glanced up at her. "How do I do that?"

"Stefan," Lexi gave him a knowing look. "I think you know what to do. You don't have a secret hiding place in your top drawer for nothing."

Stefan smiled shyly but they were both quickly distracted when Vaughn came back to life. They both stood up cautiously, ready for whatever he was going to do.

He didn't get to do much; Damon entered the room only a few seconds after he woke. He tossed Vaughn a small tube of red liquid that Stefan realized looked just like the cure that he had stashed in the top drawer of his dresser. It was a decoy.

He didn't like to admit this often, but sometimes Damon was a genius.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he asked Damon, playing along with his brother.

"Digging up Silas," Damon said obviously, secretly winking at Stefan and Lexi. "Coming or not, Vaughn?"

Soon after Damon and Vaughn left the Boarding House, Lucy, Elena, Jeremy, Joel, and Alaric came downstairs. Of course, Elena immediately protested Damon's little trip with the hunter. Apparently she thought that Damon had the real cure.

"We have to do something," she sighed worriedly as she paced through the living room. "If those hunters give the cure to Silas—"

"He's not giving it to Silas," Stefan interrupted her, tired of her complaining; how he used to listen to her drone on and on was a mystery to him. "Wherever Damon is taking Vaughn right now, it's to stall because Damon hasn't had time to bury Silas' body yet," Elena stopped pacing. "And that's all you need to know right now."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lucy press her lips together and shrug lightly, seemingly impressed with Damon's plan. She was smart enough to catch on, as always; she knew that she had given the cure to him and she also knew him enough that he wouldn't give it to Damon without thinking everything over first.

"Okay, fine, we're stalling the hunters," Elena conceded. "but Damon's still dying."

"It was only one bullet and it was only laced," Stefan told her before addressing Lucy. "Lucy, you called Klaus, right?"

Lucy nodded.

"See," he turned back to Elena. "We still have a little bit of time."

"Well, that's settled," Joel clapped his hands from beside Jeremy and Alaric, who were holding Lucy and Elena's caps and gowns. "you three are going to your graduation."

"Graduation?" Elena shook her head. "No, I never even sent in my college applications."

"There's still late admissions," Lucy said as she walked over to her brothers and father, taking her cap, gown, medals, cords, and valedictorian stole.

"Mom and Dad would kill you if there wasn't a photo of you guys in your graduation get-up," Jeremy added.

"No, not if you can't be there," Elena shook her head.

"Lexi and Ric will keep me company," Jeremy said. "You're going."

"And what am I, chopped liver?" Joel asked, feigning hurt feelings. "Come on, get dressed. We're leaving in ten."

Elena sighed and took her cap and gown from Jeremy. "Let's go graduate."

Lucy gripped Stefan's hand tightly as they, plus Elena, hurriedly made their way through a crowd of proud relatives in order to find Caroline, Bonnie, and Matt. Before they could find their friends, they had to check in with the principal and guidance counselor and Lucy received a quick run-through of when she would give her speech (right before they were given their diplomas). It only took a few minutes—and a stop to quickly greet Klaus, Elijah, and Kol—before they found Caroline simply by their sensitive hearing.

"Where's Elena and Lucy?" they heard Bonnie ask from her place between Caroline and Matt as they finished walking toward them. "We can't do this without them."

"We're here," Elena spoke up as she hugged Bonnie. "Thank you for today."

Lucy gave Matt and Caroline tight hugs, all of them excited—and a little sad—to graduate. Then, they stood in a circle, just smiling at one another, proud at how far they've come.

"I can't believe it," Caroline smiled widely. "We're actually all here. We are all here together! Bonnie Bennett, are you crying?"

Bonnie giggled, her eyes wet, and excused herself. "It's our last hurrah before you guys go off to college."

"Before we go off to college," Caroline corrected her happily.

"I kinda sorta missed the deadline," Elena grimaced. "You know, being an emotionless bitch."

"Well, the perks of being a vampire; we can go wherever we wanna go. We can choose our own roommates. We could all room together if Lucy wasn't going off to Duke," Caroline gave her best friend a pointed look—Lucy smiled sadly at her, recognizing how sad Caroline actually was about their upcoming separation.

Just the thought of leaving Caroline and Matt and even Bonnie had her own tears forming. They've spent their whole lives together and this was it; they were going their separate ways. It was bittersweet in the fact that they were all growing and becoming adults but it hurt a little. She loved her friends and her family and if she could spend every day with them, she would.

Bonnie nodded at Caroline, tears falling down her cheeks. "I'm happy we're all here."

"Aww," Caroline perked up and threw her hands in the air. "Group hug!"

"Ah, I don't—I don't hug..." Stefan started to object.

"Liar," Lucy grinned at him as she wrapped one of her arms around Stefan and the other around Matt.

The six of them joined into a group hug and for a second, Lucy let her tears fall. Only for a second, though. The principal had called for the graduates to line up with their walking partners, in the spot that the school faculty had given them.

Being the valedictorian, Lucy was at the front of the line with Stefan, her walking partner. Caroline and Matt were behind them, since Caroline was the class president, and then Bonnie and Elena were further down the line.

The band started playing Pomp and Circumstance and they started walking. Lucy and Stefan led the line onto the football field and took their seats in the front row, their classmates following their lead and sitting down all around them.

"Welcome parents, family, and friends," Mayor Hopkins—Bonnie's dad—greeted the crowd through the microphone up on stage. "What a beautiful day for a graduation. Thank you for joining us today on this special day as we celebrate our graduates. To get us started, our senior class president, Caroline Forbes, has a speech for us."

Lucy leaned forward so she could see around Stefan and gave Caroline an enthusiastic smile, clapping wildly with her classmates and the crowd. Caroline winked at her before jumping out of her seat and walking up to the stage, thanking Mayor Hopkins before taking her place in front of the microphone.

"I'd like to welcome everyone who came here to take part in one of the biggest days of our lives," Caroline said perkily. "It's because of you, our parents, friends, and family, that we're here today, ready to receive our diplomas and start our new life as adults. Why don't you give yourselves a round of applause?"

The graduates and crowd clapped politely and Caroline went on, giving a wonderful speech that talked about the ups and downs of high school, thanked the teachers for getting them through school, and thanked their classmates for sticking together. It was beautiful and Lucy didn't know if she was just overly emotional about the whole thing, but the speech made her teary-eyed.

"Thank you so much for listening to me ramble," Caroline smiled, earning laughs from the crowd. "I'd like to welcome to the stage, my very best friend and class valedictorian, Lucy Gilbert."

Lucy took in a deep breath and glanced over at Stefan, who was giving her an encouraging smile. She stood up as the audience began to clap and took the stage, giving Caroline a quick hug as she went back to her seat.

"Hi," she spoke into the microphone, steeling her nerves as she recited the speech she spent so much time on. "I'm so grateful that you all could be here today to celebrate this milestone with us. I wanted to start my speech with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson. 'What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.'"

"It's a common, well-known quote and honestly, I hesitated to use it when writing my speech. I thought I needed something more unique to talk about our time here at Mystic High. But then, I realized that the quote fit the class of 2011 perfectly. We've been through hard times as a class and we've had good times. Maybe that's all behind us or maybe it's what we have to look forward to. You are who you are inside and that's what is most important. It doesn't matter what we go through because we're strong enough to handle everything."

Lucy took a deep breath and caught her friends' eyes, smiling as she moved on.

"Our lives are just beginning. This is just the first step in a stairwell full of them. After today, some of us will be separated from the life we've ever known. We'll be scared and we'll be sad and that's okay. But we won't be sad forever," she laid her eyes on Stefan now, remembering what he told her on the first day of their friendship. "We'll be strong and maybe we'll move on but there isn't really a way to forget the people that you've grown up with. Years from now, I'll remember that Dalton Kinley threw up in the middle of biology class because he was dared to lick one of the frog cadavers—" the crowd laughed as Dalton grinned and waved up at her from the third row. "I'll remember the time that Matt Donovan and Tyler Lockwood won the regional championship almost single-handedly, despite the fact that they were only sophomores."

She winked at Matt, who grinned at her with wet eyes. Her own eyes were stinging as she went on, "I'll remember my parents encouraging me to go after what I wanted. I'll remember my friends," she swallowed thickly. "and how they saved my life. I'll remember myself, and how I made it through some of the toughest years of my life."

"And I'll remember this quote, from one of my favorite authors, C.S. Lewis, 'There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.' I want to encourage my fellow graduates to remember that as they move along with their lives, graduating college, starting their career, getting married, having families...High school is pretty great but it's not the end, it's just the beginning."

"I want to finish my speech with giving thanks. To my teachers, thank you for believing in my education and giving me a chance to stand and graduate with the class of 2011. To my friends, thank you for being by my side and lifting me up when I felt broken," she grinned at Caroline, who wiped a tear from her eye. She then looked to Joel, Klaus, Elijah, Kol, and Rebekah—who was strangely not sitting with their classmates. "To my family, thank you for loving me unconditionally and for molding me into the person I am today. And, I know I told you that we couldn't be sappy but you'll have to forgive me," she looked to Stefan, who laughed lightly with tears in his eyes. "Stefan, thank you for saving me that day when you walked me home from the comet celebration. I love you so much. Finally, to my fellow graduates, thank you so much for our experiences together. We did it!"

Loud cheers exploded from the crowd as she finished her speech. Caroline was the first to jump to her feet and everyone else followed her lead. Her classmates stood up row by row and then the crowd of teachers, families, and friends stood. There were even a couple of whistles, which she knew had to be Joel.

She smiled at all of them and thanked them, so grateful that she was able to share this experience with them all.

Mayor Hopkins took to the stage and thanked her with a handshake before she was able to go back to her seat. Caroline and Matt met her with tight hugs, while Stefan greeted her with a loving kiss. After Mayor Hopkins himself made a speech, it was time to line up to receive their diplomas.

All too soon, Lucy was at the foot of the stage, ready for her name to be called so she could finish high school. Now that she had given her speech, she didn't feel nervous anymore. She didn't feel sad. She loved Mystic Falls with all of her heart but she had said goodbye and it felt good. She was ready to move on.

"Lucy Gilbert."

Lucy climbed the stairs and took her diploma from Mayor Hopkin's hands, pausing only for a picture to be taken and to move her tassel to the left before climbing off the stage and heading back to her seat.

"Stefan Salvatore."

She watched with a bright smile as Stefan received his own diploma. Number seventeen. She wondered if she would go through high school again. Would she go seventeen times?

"Caroline Forbes."

"Matthew Donovan."

A couple more of their classmates passed before it was Bonnie's turn to go onstage.

"Not to play favorites, but I'm especially proud of this next graduate," Mayor Hopkins said sweetly. "my lovely daughter, Bonnie Bennett!"

Bonnie climbed onstage and hugged her father tightly before she took her diploma and continued on.

"Elena Gilbert."

Lucy watched as Elena received her diploma and for a second, she wasn't mad at her. This was one of the most important events of their lives and she just wanted to celebrate without any anger. Later she could be mad, but right now, she wanted to share this moment with her sister.

She clapped as enthusiastically as she did for her other friends, meeting the smile that Elena gave her with one of her own.

Soon, after the declaration of graduation, the ceremony was over and they were no longer students at Mystic Falls High School. Unfortunately, they were unable to revel in their success. Alaric called Stefan about Damon; apparently, Vaughn had shot him with more werewolf-venom-laced bullets and it wasn't looking good.

"I would love nothing more than to get out of here before Vaughn comes back to life but we don't have Klaus' blood and we don't have the cure," Alaric reported to Stefan as he, Lucy, Elena, and Caroline huddled together behind the bleachers.

"Okay, just tell him to hang on a little bit longer. Klaus is here, so Lucy's gonna talk to him," Stefan glanced at Lucy, who nodded in agreement. "If not, the cure's in my dresser, top drawer, okay?"

"He probably won't take it," Alaric sighed as Stefan dodged the curious looks that Caroline and Elena gave him. "He'll probably want to give it to Elena."

"We have a little time before then," Stefan said.

"Stefan, we're past the point of Hail Mary decisions. What do you want me to do, stand here and watch him die?"

"No, just—"

Stefan was cut off as a loud ringing settled itself into his head. Lucy, Caroline, and Elena, felt it too, all of them flinching from the pain they were getting. They looked up when they heard multiple sets of footsteps, and saw the twelve witches that Caroline had killed to save Bonnie.

"Remember us, Caroline?" the leader asked mockingly

Lucy grunted and lifted her head, forcing her arm out in their direction. She tried to cast a spell to get them to stop but they were ready. They knew that she had magic despite the fact that she was a vampire and they were taking no risks.

And then a graduation cap was thrown out of nowhere, cutting the leader's head straight off. The rest of the witches relented and when Lucy turned around, she grinned when she saw Klaus, Elijah, Kol, Rebekah, and Joel behind them. It was Klaus who had thrown the cap and he had a couple more in his hands, tossing them up and down idly.

"Nik," she breathed in relief.

Klaus grinned at her then addressed the witches. "There are plenty more of these to go around. Who's next?" he raised an eyebrow at them. "I can do this all day."

The witches quickly fled, seeming to not have the courage to take on the big bad Original hybrid, plus the rest of the Original family and five other vampires. Once they were gone, it was time for business.

"Klaus, thank God you're here," Elena was the first to speak after Lucy exchanged hugs with her original siblings. "Damon needs some of your blood."

"Yes, I know," Klaus rolled his eyes. "and I haven't given him any for a reason. After what you've two done to my family, I would rather be buried alive than help him."

Kol spoke up then. "I don't understand why you would ask Nik for his blood when Lucy is right there."

Lucy gave her brother a confused look. "What do you mean, Kol?"

"You siphon magic, Ana," Kol gave her an obvious look. "Surely you know that werewolves are born from magic?"

"Yeah, but—"

"So you know you can siphon a werewolf bite?"

"Well," Lucy crinkled her eyes and sheepishly bit her lip. "see, the thing is...I didn't know that."

She looked at Stefan guiltily. If she had known before, she could have stopped Stefan from giving his life to Klaus in order to save Damon a year ago. She could have saved him from all the pain and bloodlust he went through.

Stefan caught the look in her eyes and shook his head, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "None of us knew," he told Kol. "So, she can save Damon?"

Kol nodded, rolling his eyes. "She's a siphoner, isn't she?" he clicked his tongue. "Honestly, Ana, did you not looking into the grimoires that I gave you?"

"I was going to!"

"Lucy?"

Lucy turned away from Stefan's bed where she was studying the painting she did for Stefan's birthday and faced him. He was still wearing his graduation suit, much like she was wearing her dress, and had his hands behind his back as he gave her a shy smile.

"Hey," she smiled, her heart in her stomach. Had he come up with a decision? "What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you about the cure," he took a step toward her, only a few inches away. "I gave it to Damon."

"What?" Lucy gave him an incredulous look. "Why? I healed him. He doesn't need it."

"He wanted to give it to Elena."

Lucy scoffed. "Stefan—"

"I don't know if she's gonna take it and I don't really care," Stefan interrupted her. "I just know that I didn't want it."

"Stefan, that was your chance to be human!" Lucy cried, upset. She wanted him to be happy; how was he supposed to do that if he was a vampire? "To be happy!"

"I am happy, Lucy! I'm happy with you," Stefan pushed back, trying to get her to see reason; Lucy stiffened and looked up at him with wet eyes. "I would rather die than be human without you and I don't know why you don't see that. That human life is something that I don't want anymore because I won't be able to spend eternity with you."

"You would have moved on," Lucy tried to argue. "You would have been fine, you would have been—"

"Don't you dare say that I'd be happy without you," Stefan grabbed her arms and pulled her against his front. "I am the happiest that I have ever been, Lucy, and that's all because of you. You bring out a side to me that I haven't seen in over a hundred years. You help me be me, you help fight my bloodlust; you help so much. You are everything, Lucy Gilbert."

"I just want you to live the life you've always wanted," Lucy whispered up at him. "I love you so much."

"I love you," Stefan said passionately. "and I don't care if I have to drink animal blood for the rest of my days. It doesn't matter if we don't age past seventeen and we live until the apocalypse. If I'm with you, nothing else matters. I want to spend an eternity together. Don't you want that?"

Tears slipped down Lucy's cheeks. "Of course I do, Stefan."

Maybe it was selfish of her, but she was glad that Stefan had decided not to take the cure. Yes, she wanted him to have that human life and yes, it would have been hard, but that was the sacrifice she was willing to make for him. But he wasn't taking it because he didn't want to live without her and that made her feel like she could explode with love for him. She couldn't see herself without Stefan by her side. She wanted to be with him for all of eternity and even longer than that. Stefan was the love of her life—and she'd live for a long, long time.

Standing on her tiptoes, she smashed her lips to Stefan's, pouring all the love she had for him into the kiss. She hoped he felt it because after everything she said about him taking the cure, she couldn't think of a better way to assure him that he was it for her and that she loved him so, so much. Just from the urgent way Stefan kissed her back and his hands reached up to cup her cheeks tightly, she knew that he knew how she felt. And she could feel how he felt, too.

And then Stefan ended the kiss, pulling his face only an inch away from her. "Marry me."

Lucy blinked in shock, her mind spinning. "What?"

"Marry me, Lucy," Stefan pulled further away so he could see her face properly.

"What—I mean—I—hold on," Lucy stammered, trying to take his words in. "You want me to marry you?"

"Yeah."

"Like, husband and wife?"

"That's usually how it goes."

"Right now?"

"Well, I was hoping we could plan a ceremony—"

He was cut off as Lucy jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist, and crushed her lips against his once again. It was a clashing of teeth and a tangle of tongue but it was probably the best kiss either of them had ever had.

Lucy gasped heavily as she broke away from his lips. "We're pretty young."

"I'm a hundred and sixty-three years old," Stefan replied, chasing down her lips.

They kissed for a couple more seconds before Lucy pulled away again. "We've only been dating for seven months."

"I don't care," Stefan stroked her dimpled cheeks with his thumbs. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Why not start now?"

Lucy smiled at him. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"You really want to get married?"

"Of course, I do."

Lucy squeaked in happiness and hugged him tightly, burying her head into his neck. "I love you," she kissed the sensitive flesh just under his strong jaw. "I love you so much."

"I love you," Stefan chuckled as she faced him again. "So, is that a yes?"

"Yes!" Lucy exclaimed. "Of course, I'll marry you, Stefan."

They exchanged happy grins and a few more kisses before Stefan let Lucy down and wandered over to his dresser. He opened the top drawer, pulled something out, and walked back over to Lucy, getting down on one knee.

The ring he presented her with was absolutely beautiful. It was a small, shiny, silver band with expensive diamonds; there was a large one in the middle and was surrounded by little ones, artfully put together so they gave off the appearance of a flower. She loved it so much.

"It's beautiful," Lucy breathed, pausing when she saw that it was connected to a Duke keychain. "What's that for?"

"Well, I was hoping we could put a key on it," Stefan shrugged with a smile. "When we get an apartment in Durham."

Lucy laughed; he thought of everything. "That sounds nice."

"Can I put this on you now?"

"Can you get it off the keychain?"

"...yes."

Five minutes later, after Stefan was able to get the ring off of the keychain, he slid it onto her left ring finger. Her left hand looked complete with his ring on it and it made it all the more official when he placed a gentle kiss to it.

God, she loved him so damn much.

They spent a few more minutes kissing and celebrating before Stefan pulled away from her. He had the unpleasant task of throwing Silas' body into the quarry. Together, they went downstairs and received congratulations from Joel, Jeremy, Lexi, and Alaric. Soon, though, Stefan was off to the quarry with Lexi by his side and Jeremy was going to meet up with Bonnie.

"So," Alaric grinned at her as he, Lucy, and Joel sat in the living room together. "You're gonna be a married woman."

"Yeah, I guess," Lucy smiled at her ring before looking back at him. "I'm sad you won't be there."

"I will," Alaric reminded her. "I'll always be watching over you, Luce."

And just like that, his words filled her with peace that pushed away the worry that settled in her stomach after Stefan proposed to her. Deep inside, she was sad that none of her parents would be able to see her walk down the aisle and marry Stefan. Just the reminder that Alaric was still watching over her gave her piece of mind; she was going to be okay.

"And when he's not, I am," Joel winked at her. "Should I feel pathetic, though? I mean, my baby sister's getting married before I am."

"Eh, you're only twenty-three," Alaric shrugged and clapped him on the shoulder. "You have time."

"You have an eternity," Lucy added. "Enough time for me to set you and Caroline up."

Joel scowled and picked up a throw pillow, whipping it at her. "Shut up!"

Only a few miles away from Steven's Quarry, Stefan chatted with Lexi from behind the wheel of the SUV that used to belong to Zach.

"So," Lexi grinned at him. "Marriage and an apartment? My best friend is growing up."

Stefan grinned sheepishly at her. "I guess so."

"What are you thinking for the honeymoon?" she asked excitedly. "New York? Hawaii? Maui?"

"No," Stefan shook his head. "Thailand. Lucy loves elephants."

"I'm proud of you, Stefan," Lexi became serious, making Stefan look over at her.

"You are?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"You found the epic love of your life, you're going to marry her and get away from your brother. You're going to be happy. You're going to start a new life," Lexi smiled affectionately at him. "It's all I ever wanted for you."

"I wish you had that too, Lex."

"It's fine," Lexi waved him off, perking up again. "I can just live vicariously through you."

Stefan laughed loudly and shook his head. "I'm fine with that," he looked over to the passenger seat, only to see that Lexi was gone. He sighed heavily, wishing that he had more time with her. "See you, Lexi."

He arrived at Steven's quarry soon after the veil was brought back up. Once parked only a few feet from the quarry, he opened the hatch and heaved the safe where he would put Silas' body out onto the ground. After that, he grabbed Silas' body and threw it on the rocks, only to pause when he heard the clattering of rocks.

He crouched down and unwrapped the fabric, swearing to himself when he saw that the calcified stone Silas had been trapped in was broken into pieces. Silas was gone.

"Don't bother, I'm not there," Lucy's voice came from behind him.

Stefan got to his feet and turned to Silas, who was wearing his fiancée's face. "Silas," he hated to admit it but he was terrified. "You were stone. They saw you, the spell worked."

"That's the funny thing about spells—most of them are bound by nature," Silas drawled, cocking Lucy's head. "Nature demands balance so every spell has a loophole. The spell that turned me into stone was bound by a witch; a living witch. So, when that witch died, the spell broke."

Stefan blinked rapidly. "Bonnie?" he shook his head in disbelief. "Bonnie's not dead."

"It doesn't matter, does it?" Silas stated . "And here's where the mystery of me comes full circle. I created the immortality spell two thousand years ago. I can never die, so nature needed to find a balance. A version of me that could die."

Stefan watched in amazement as Silas turned from Lucy into Elena. "A shadow-self," he continued. "A doppelganger."

Stefan raised his chin. "So, this is finally your real face?" he asked. "You're another one of them?"

God, he couldn't handle another Petrova doppelganger.

"Not exactly," Silas transformed himself into a mirror image of Stefan, his lips pulling into a smirk. "Hello, my shadow-self."

Stefan looked at him in shock, unable to move as Silas stepped toward him. He wasn't quick enough to defend himself as Silas took a wooden stake from his jacket and plunged it into his stomach.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to starve for two thousand years?" he hissed in Stefan's ear. He pulled the stake out and let Stefan drop to his knees before dragging him over to the safe and putting him in it. "Don't worry, I'll tell Lucilla that you said hello."

Stefan wanted to move, to get him out of harm's way and get back to Lucy but he couldn't. He couldn't move. He watched in horror as Silas slammed the safe door shut and spun the lock. Within seconds he was airborne and crashing into the water.

Miles away, safe and sound in the Salvatore Boarding House, Lucy waited for Stefan to come home, ready to start their new life together.