What's this? Three weeks in a row? I'm not sure what's gotten into me but I like it ;)
This chapter was supposed to just be another set up one for the New York trip (HELLO KLAUS) but, like normal, it snowballed and now she created some changes. Oops, wonder if that'll come back and bite her in the ass?
Let me know what you think! I'm excited about this one since it shows a side of Lissa we haven't seen, at least not in depth.
Anyway! Thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, or reviewed! I adore getting those notifications and they definitely keep me on task.
Previously on 'Ghost of Lifetimes Past'
Enzo chuckled as he helped Lissa stand up. "It was nice meeting you, as well, Elena. Despite Lissa's stories, of course."
"Lissa! What did you tell him about me?!"
"Anyway! Gotta go! Bye 'Lena. Eat shit, Stefan!"
Lissa just laughed at Stefan's grumbles as she pulled Enzo behind her out to the cars.
Getting to the house, Enzo in his Chrysler and her in the SUV, they said their normal goodnights and made plans for the morning for Enzo to check on Kennedy. She'd done so well during the past two days, not one slip up even while living with humans, that they were pretty sure they would be getting her a daylight ring.
An ugly one,Lissa decided.Can't let Kennedy think she likes her.
The next morning, after giving Elena a pre-approved rundown of vampires and witches- not werewolves, not yet- Lissa was left with Jeremy. Elena and Stefan had chosen to go to the Sheriff's office early to do their interview about Vicki instead of later like Lissa and Jeremy. Something about needing to talk afterwards. Lissa didn't really care if she was being honest. She knew they broke up around this time but considering how many times that happens, she wasn't really going to try and remember when and where.
The minute they heard Stefan's car leave the driveway Jeremy turned to her on the couch, eyes alight with curiosity. "Alright, so what did you leave out of Elena's explanation? Cause in the car you mentioned werewolves but this time you didn't."
"What if I just lied to you, huh? You ever think of that?"
Jeremy rolled his eyes at her. "Please, considering how last night went I'm pretty sure you would have given me the moon if I asked. No way you would have lied to me."
Well, at least he could joke about it, she mused.
"Alright, fine. Yes, werewolves exist. But the gene is genetic, unlike vampires, and can only be activated by killing someone." She said, no reason to hide it from Jeremy. He knew how to keep a secret. "The Lockwood's have the gene, so try not to get Tyler too mad."
"Tyler? Tyler Lockwood? And what about you making him mad? You guys' feud is legendary. Where's your warning?"
Cocky grin sliding onto her face, Lissa responded, "Because, unlike you Mr. Scrawny-Arms, I can actually follow through with my threats."
"Scrawny?" Jeremy scoffed, offended. "I'm not scrawny! I'm a growing boy."
"Suuure, She snickered, "growing."
Jeremy, fed up with his sister's teasing, decided to just shove her off the couch in retaliation. "Oh, shut up!" His word would probably have had more umph if he hadn't been failing to hide his smile.
Lissa, instead of pulling him off with her like she normally would have, just laid there smiling at him. Perhaps Enzo's actions were the best thing that could have happened to Jeremy. He wasn't going to put himself into danger being uninformed yet still had the happiness that had been missing for a while now.
The two teenagers sat there once they had stopped laughing, Jeremy having turned back towards the TV to watch some show on MTV and Lissa staying on the floor basking in the warm atmosphere. She knew the compulsion wouldn't last forever, dulling pain that way never did no matter how strong the vampire was. The memories were still there, just behind some "glass". The hurt would fester and build on itself the more things that happened to Jeremy. She just hoped that he could handle it better when the glass finally broke.
Lissa wasn't sure how long had passed, definitely a while though, before they both turned towards the front door as Jenna trudged in. She didn't seem to notice them as she tossed her keys on the side table and went straight to the freezer. As she shut the door and her eyes landed on the two of them she let out a scream, barely keeping hold of the ice cream she'd pulled out.
"Fuck! How long have you two been there?" She yelped.
Both teenagers looked at each other then shrugged. "Since you came in."
"Next time make noise, say hi, do something other than just stare at me in silence! It's creepy."
Lissa rolled over onto her stomach to actually be able to look at Jenna. "We weren't the ones that didn't notice our surroundings."
"Oh so you don't wanna bash my face in anymore?" Jenna shot her a tiny glare. "What happened to all that anger?"
It got used up killing a teenage girl. Lissa thought, a sardonic smile on her lips. Out loud she said, "I got over it."
She "got over it." Jenna wished she was able to get over anger like that so easily. Jenna shook her head fondly before taking a seat next to Jeremy, three spoons in hand. "Next time I put my foot in my mouth, can you just talk to me like a normal person? You're a bit scary when you're mad."
Jeremy snorted. "A bit? Try a lot."
"Haha," Lissa mocked the two of them as she sat up, grabbed her own spoon, and stabbed at Jenna's rocky road ice cream. "You two are just lucky you're some of my favorites."
Jenna glanced over at Jeremy's smile and around her own scoop of ice cream smirked, "Alright, I gotta ask. What did you do with Jeremy? Did you replace him with an alien or something? Because he's never this smiley."
Jeremy scowled as the two started laughing. He hadn't been that bad. "I can still go back to brooding and doing drugs if you want."
"No, Jer, don't do that! I like Smiley Jeremy much better than Scowly."
"Smiley does seem a lot nicer… and more likely to leave his room." Jenna teased.
Jeremy stood up. "Fine, you know what? I've had enough of the teasing. I have to go talk to the Sheriff and do some homework after, so you two can do whatever you two do together now." He shot a mock glare at the two of them as he walked upstairs to change. It wouldn't be the best to go see the Sheriff in his pajamas.
Jenna made eye contact with Lissa and had to stifle her laughter. It was nice to see the two of them back to how it had been before their parent's deaths. She didn't know what exactly happened this week, but whatever it was, it had been good for the pair of them. They finally seemed alive, instead of just going through the motions.
"Alright I hate to do this, especially right after you got dumped-"
"How do you know about that? I haven't even talked to you this week!"
"Just because I wasn't talking to you doesn't mean Elena and Jeremy didn't keep me in the loop."
"Those snitches." Jenna hissed.
Lissa shrugged. To be fair, everyone in their family was way too nosey to just leave things alone. It was why they got into so many petty arguments. Elena had caught one of them reading her diary so many times she hardly reacted anymore. Unless she'd written something juicy then she tended to freak out. Why the girl didn't hide it better Lissa didn't understand. Under the pillow/bed wasn't that hard to guess.
"Anyway, like I said. I also have to see the Sheriff and then it's onto more errands. Who knew sixteen was such a busy age?" She said standing and stretching, her belly piercing showing a bit as her crop top rode up above her black cargo pants.
"Ugh, so I just get to be sad and eat ice cream on the couch by myself like a loser?" Jenna moaned. That was pathetic, especially at her age. She had three teenagers relying on her and here she was left moping like one of them herself.
Lissa shot her a sympathetic smile from the door. "Well, Elena will be home soon. I'm pretty sure her and Stefan are breaking up so you won't be alone for long." Poor Jenna and her bad choices in men. She really wondered if Logan hadn't been changed into a vampire if it would have worked out for the two. Unfortunately for her, Lissa may need of vampire Logan so guess they'll never know.
Lissa after making her way to the SUV, pulled the ring box Enzo had handed her as she was leaving that morning. Inside was a gaudy, slightly tarnished ring which housed, right in the middle, a chunk of lapis lazuli, AKA, Kennedy's soon to be daylight ring.
She had been shocked when the man had pulled it out, not knowing when he'd had the time to get it. Seeing her confusion, he'd explained that the jeweler's place was technically public property so he was able to speed in, grab the first piece he saw in the back with lapis lazuli, and speed out. It was just Kennedy's bad luck that the ring was so ugly. Or, depending on your perspective, Lissa's good luck.
She made a disgusted face as she thought about her next plan. It was needed. Like, the daylight ring wouldn't work without it, but, damn. Lissa did not want to do this.
Time to go convince Sheila Bennett to spell a ring.
The last time Lissa had seen Sheila was when she was 11 years old and had gone to the woman to show her the spell she did. Instead of being proud and excited for her, the older woman had looked horrified. As if Lissa had just killed a puppy in front of her or something. Then, with an unyielding voice, had sent her from the house and told her to never come back.
To this day, Lissa had no idea why Sheila refused to teach her anything to do with magic. Not like Lissa could actually do most spells, she just liked the knowledge. It was like the supernatural version of science. Lissa had asked other witches over the years, ones that she'd found online and made connections with, and none of them can figure out why the older woman freaked out either. They'd said that her magic felt a bit off and the way she channeled it was weird but nothing that repulsed them. Though, if Lissa was being fair, most of the witches she talked to were the outcast of their coven.
Pulling up to the Bennett witch's house, Lissa was unsurprised to find her already standing on the front porch, arms crossed. The pinched expression on the woman's already severe face giving her an insight to how this conversation was going to go. Didn't mean Lissa wouldn't try. If Sheila did the spell, it would probably be done out of worry for a teenage girl. If Lissa found someone else to do it, she'd have to either pay out the ass or owe someone a favor. Something she definitely did not want to do.
"I told you 5 years ago you weren't welcome at this house anymore." Sheila called the minute Lissa had stepped out of the vehicle. "So leave."
Lissa held back her eye roll. Barely. "Yeah, well I'm not here for me. I'm here for a different teenage girl. One you haven't blacklisted."
"Who? What does she need?"
Of course, she'd go to help someone that wasn't her. Lissa inwardly seethed before saying, "Kennedy Curtis. She got changed into a vampire and is handling it really well. Three days in while living with her human parents and she hasn't had one slip."
"I don't help vampires, Melissa Gilbert. It's a shame what happened to the poor girl but I call them abominations for a reason." Sheila replied. She wished that poor girl didn't get on the wrong end of whatever vampire was running rampant through Mystic Falls currently, but she had decided long ago not to help those creatures. "Just because the girl was young and hasn't slipped yet, does not mean she won't become a killer. And I won't help her become a better one."
Lissa had known asking Sheila for help was a long shot but damn that's cold. Lissa would expect something like that from herself, but Sheila normally tried to give off the 'caring old woman' act. "Fine but you get to explain it to Kennedy yourself." She said, pulling her phone out.
Sheila opened her mouth to tell her no but quickly shut it as a young woman's voice came over the speaker.
"What do you want nooow?"
"Tone down the attitude. I'm trying to get you a daylight ring but Sheila is refusing on the grounds that you could become a killer. Think you can give her a reason not to?" Lissa asked, shooting a smirk at the frazzled look Sheila was sporting. Looks like it was harder to refuse to help a person when you could hear how young they were.
There was a beat of silence before Kennedy started to talk, voice low but full of emotion. "Mrs. Bennett, do you think I wanted to be what I am now? Do you think I asked some freak to feed me his blood and snap my neck? To compel me to date him? I'll admit, I did choose to sleep with him. But I didn't choose what happened to me." The girl took a deep breath before sighing, long and hard. "Now you want to refuse me the ability to continue life as the teenager I will now forever be? Because I could possibly kill someone?"
Lissa flicked her pigtail behind her as she leaned against the front of the SUV waiting to see what Sheila said to the girl. She may not like Kennedy, but she could respect her manipulations. With only a couple sentences, Sheila looked absolutely gutted at the idea of refusing. "I'm a witch, Kennedy. It's my job to keep people like you from killing innocents." The older woman muttered, just loud enough that she knew the phone would pick her up.
Lissa snorted. She said that like witches actually kept to that. She could name a ton of witches off the top of her head that gave zero shits about killing innocent people if it furthered their goal. Witches, just like vampires, were selfish creatures. Sheila had just convinced herself differently over the years. There was a reason no real witches would help the older woman.
"So that's it, huh? Just a 'Sorry, won't do it'?" Kennedy paused before seemingly exploding with emotions. "I had a life! I had plans for college. I had a future. And because of you're stupid fucking prejudices you've decided that I don't deserve that? Because I can kill people? Well news flash! So can a fucking horse! I just want to spend time with my mom." She let out a sob that Lissa doubted she wanted them to hear. But hear, they did, and that was when she knew Sheila was going to break.
"…I will do this only once. And you, Melissa, will not ask me for anything again."
Ten minutes later, Lissa was the temporary owner of a really ugly daylight ring. Kennedy was going to hate it. After agreeing, Sheila had taken the ring inside-of course leaving Lissa outside-to do her spelling. She didn't know why the older woman just didn't do it out there, Bonnie in the show had done the spell easily. Made her wonder what else the woman was doing to the ring.
As Lissa was getting back into the vehicle she paused before calling out. "Hey Sheila."
"What?"
"Why do you not like me? I know the magic I use scares you, but why?"
There was a beat of silence as the older woman stared at her with an unreadable look. "It's wrong. You're wrong. I'm going to assume you know what siphoners are, yes?" At Lissa's nod, she continued. "Then to explain it you siphon from nature itself. Normal siphoners will pull from witches, spelled items, or even vampires. You? You pull from nature, from magic, itself. And it is wrong."
"Alrighty then."
With those lovely words, Lissa closed the SUV's doors and drove off towards town. She still had to meet the Sheriff.
Lissa was incredibly glad she had been the last interview about Vicki. By the time she was questioned Liz already believed the girl had taken off and was just needing her to corroborate for the final time that's what happened.
She also may have let slip that she thought Vicki had been sleeping with her underage brother but didn't have proof. Liz couldn't do anything, of course, but she'd said it would go in the file to talk to her about if they ever found her. Killing Vicki hadn't been payback for sleeping with her brother, that was just to get rid of a problem.
Sure, Vicki was a known mess just like her mother, but the predator rumors that would crop up from Lissa's words? Those were going to basically bring a pick-axe to the girl's already rock bottom reputation. The sheriff's department doubled as a gossip club, everyone knew that. This was her payback for taking advantage of her brother.
As she walked the downtown area back to the SUV, she came to a dead stop on the sidewalk causing the person behind her to run into her. Ignoring the woman's annoyed words Lissa stared at the date written on the Brewery's front sign.
Sweet fucking Jesus, her trip to New York was this weekend and she had nothing done besides purchasing her ticket for the plane and the art expo.
How had a month already passed? She hadn't even let people know she was going out of town. Hell, Jenna only knew because she was technically her guardian. At least Caroline and Jeremy wouldn't give her shit for going away for the weekend, but Lissa knew Enzo would be on her ass. He knew her too well not to clock her. She'd have to tell him at least something.
Hopefully she could convince him to stay in Mystic Falls. She knew Klaus would at least hesitate to kill her because of her face. Even if he thought she was Katherine, he'd want to torture her first before death. That would give her time to convince him she wasn't Katherine and that she had a plan to break the curse. If Enzo was there, he could be used as leverage against her. She couldn't have such an obvious weakness right off the bat.
"Lissa! Hey, Lissa!"
Blinking away her thoughts, Lissa turned around towards the girl calling her name. Caroline jogged up, sympathetic smile on her face, and hugged her. She'd obviously heard about Vicki's disappearance. While Caroline was touchy with her, she didn't often start with a hug. Normally she'd grab her hand or wrap an arm around her waist or something. Hugs were special between them.
"How's Jeremy? How are you?" Caroline asked as she broke their hug. "I know you didn't really see her as a friend, not anymore, but she was once upon a time. And Jeremy. God, he must be so broken up!"
"I'm fine, Care, really. I'd given up on her a while ago so this was nothing." Lissa shrugged. Vicki really was less than nothing to her. Sure, once upon a time she called her a friend but that was a couple years ago. "Jeremy is honestly taking it pretty good as well. Vicki leaving seems to have snapped him out of his grief. Gave him focus again. He did homework today!"
"Wow! Who knew Vicki leaving would do so much good?"
"Don't say that too loud, what if Monotone Matt heard you?" Lissa smirked.
Caroline scoffed, smacking the pale girl's arm. "Lissa! He's not monotone. He's been really sweet to me. Please, try to be nice to him? For me?"
Lissa let out a groan. "I'll be nice to his face but that's it. Now were you only coming to talk about Vicki or did you need something?"
"Oh!" Caroline gasped. "I'm throwing a party for Stefan. It's apparently his birthday! Damon asked me to, said he'd heard around that I'm an amazing party planner, especially on short notice. Though I can't call it a birthday party since Stefan hates them according to Damon. So now I'm going around getting everything ready. You're coming! I'll use a coupon if I have to."
Lissa's head jerked around towards the blonde. She was grinning, so obviously proud that she was trusted by someone to do something like this for them. Lissa was going to kill Damon. She was entertained by the man. Would even still called him a friend despite Enzo's whole thing and Damon's own stupid shit that he'd been pulling. Hell, last night they'd even agreed they were friends after the whole burning incident. But this? Dragging Caroline into one of his obvious plots. He knew Caroline was off limits, she'd told the man himself. If Lissa didn't know Caroline had vervain on her Lissa would have absolutely lost it. Even now she was glaring down at the ground, teeth grinding.
"Lissa! I said are you coming? Don't make me beg!"
Lissa looked up and gave Caroline a smile. No reason to make her aware that she was being used. It would just hurt her. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. Your first job as a paid party planner. I'm sure it'll be great even with the short notice."
"Good! Now I have to go get streamers. I'll text you the time and everything later!" Caroline said, running off towards the stores.
Once she was out of sight, Lissa stalked off towards the Boarding House. She had a vampire to kill.
Ignoring every speed limit and traffic sign, Lissa made it to the Boarding House in record time. Without pause she slammed open the front door, not caring as the resulting thud caused a vase to fall to the floor shattering.
"DAMON SALVATOR! Get your stupid fucking ass down here!" She yelled, voice booming even to her human ears.
Stefan, shock written on his face, sped into the entry room. A pretty blonde woman not far behind him. "Whoa, let's calm down. What did Damon do?" He asked, hands up trying to pacify the angry girl.
"Shut up, Stefan. I hate your stupid face." She growled at him, ignoring the snort of amusement from the blonde. "If he doesn't get down here in 5 seconds I'm going to start burning shit." Her voice gained volume the more she spoke until she knew she was yelling again.
"Okay, okay. I'm here, what's up your ass, Snow Princess?" Damon asked, sauntering into the room, buttoning his shirt as if he didn't have a care in the world. Looking up from his buttons, he paused at the genuine fury on the tiny girl's face. His wrist tingled with phantom pain as he remembered the damage she'd done just the night before.
Stalking over to the man, she poked his chest. Hard, making sure to put just enough power into her hand to singe a hole through his shirt. "Caroline. I told you she was off limits. You have the literal whole town. I said two people were off limits to your plots and plans. Jeremy and Caroline. Now you want to drag Caroline into whatever you're doing?"
Damon rolled his eyes, ignoring the tiny bit of guilt that had started bubbling in his stomach. "I hired her! She's being paid, Snow. Are you trying to keep her from getting money? How selfish of you." He sent her a look of mock disappointment.
"You know what? You're right. I shouldn't ruin Caroline's big night." Lissa said, a syrupy sweet smile on her face with the tone to match. "So as a thank you, I won't tell you to call off the party. I'll just ruin your plan." She turned to Stefan, her smile falling off her face as she met his surprised eyes. "Damon is needing a patsy for the 'animal attacks' so he's planning on killing your friend tonight in front of the sheriff. It also doubles as his way into the city council."
"You bitch!" Damon's voice came behind her. Good thing she already expected the vampire to retaliate for her words and, with a snap of her right fingers, an imperceptibleshield wrapped around her. She didn't want Stefan to know about her tattoos or powers, but if she had to she'd expose herself.
Lucky for her, Lexi, who was clearly pissed that Damon had planned to kill her, slammed said vampire into the wall, hands wrapped tightly around his throat. Stefan, not far behind her. "You planned on killing Lexi/me?" Both of them growled in union before Lexi continued. "Why shouldn't I rip your heart out right now?"
Lissa cleared her throat before the struggling man could answer, gaining all their attention. Though, Lexi still didn't let Damon go, his face now turning a really ugly puce color as he weakly tried to get some air. "Listen, torture him all you want. Dick obviously deserves it for planning to kill you. But maybe leave him alive? I have a friend who cares about him…I think." She shrugged. "There's a fine line between hate and love. Most of the time I don't know what side Damon falls on for Enzo."
Stefan stared at her in confusion. He did not understand the girl. She gave both him and Lexi a good reason to kill Damon yet here she was asking for him to be spared. Did she hate Damon or were they friends? How was he supposed to ever get a read on her if her opinions flip flopped so easily? "Lissa, you just told us that he planned on killing Lexi, my best friend. Wouldn't you kill for Caroline? Or your other friend, Enzo?"
"Without hesitation." She agreed. "But you on the other hand, probably both of you if she's your best friend, have those things called morals. Can you live with killing your brother?"
"She's right, Stefan. You wouldn't be able to handle it. We shouldn't kill him." Lexi sighed. What a disappointment. She really wanted to stake Damon. He was a dick.
With that said, Lissa turned back to the door to leave. She knew her words would keep Damon alive, in pain probably, but alive. Just as she got to the door she paused. "Oh, and Damon? Involve anyone I care about again and I'll rip your fucking spleen out and make you eat it."
"Okay, after we deal with Damon you have to explain how she had Katherine's face. It's freaky!" Lissa heard as the door shut behind her.
That evening Lissa sat at the Grill's bar nursing a screwdriver. She had been lucky she found the seat at the bar since everywhere else was taken. All around her were people drinking, talking, or eating at the tables. Caroline really had thrown an all out party. Too bad it probably wouldn't be celebrated like she wanted. Lissa had already explained to Caroline that Damon had screwed up and blew the surprise so Stefan probably wouldn't show up. But that didn't mean she couldn't still have a good party. Instead of being down, Caroline took her words to heart and decided that, fine, if Stefan didn't want a "bangin'" birthday then fuck him.
Lissa agreed.
Enzo was around somewhere, Caroline, once she'd done her rounds of greeting people, had come by and snatched him away to dance, knowing Lissa wouldn't. Poor man didn't know how to say no to the rather forceful girl just yet. She thought it was hilarious. The Englishman could kill people without blinking but stick one sunshine-y teenage girl in front of him and he'd fold like a wet paper towel.
Even Kennedy had come out for the party. Well, more to get her daylight ring because Lissa didn't want to go by the other girl's house. But partly for the party. Lissa smirked as she remembered the girl's look of disgust when she saw the ring. She'd even contemplated not taking it before finally grunting and putting it on. Lissa had made sure before Kennedy had disappeared into the crowds to congratulate her on the successful manipulations.
She knew the other girl didn't give two shits about spending time with her mom. Nor how her plans for college had gotten derailed. But they were great motivations for a sentimental grandma to help a struggling teenager.
"You know, ruining my plans like that was a bitch move." Damon's voice said, pulling her from her thoughts. He'd thought about what he was going to do to get her back, but so far had come up blank. He'd contemplated going after her brother or Caroline, again, but ultimately decided not to. That was the reason this started. And, while stubborn, he knew banging his head against a wall and expect it not to hurt was idiotic.
"And pulling Caroline into one of them was a dick move." She replied, swiveling her chair around to meet his eyes. "I'm not saying sorry."
"Well, neither am I."
"Buuut…"
"Buuut, what?"
She sighed. He was right about the city council; they shouldn't know vampires can be in the daylight just yet. If they did, they'd probably immediately look to Enzo, the new man in town. And that would bring them down on her head, which was the last thing she wanted. With her meeting Klaus this weekend, she didn't want to also deal with Liz and her band of miscreant hunters. With a quick mental apology to Enzo, she nodded her head towards a red headed guy not too far from the front doors. "See Mr. Leprechaun there?"
Damon glanced over before raising an eyebrow at the pierced girl. "Yeah, what about him?"
"His name's Niall. Enzo met him during his travels after getting out. Vampire, no daylight ring, sexist, and stupid."
Damon laid a hand against his heart, face gaining an exaggerated sappy look. "Aww, did the snow princess get me a new patsy? I thought you said you weren't apologizing."
"It's not an apology." She rolled her eyes. "I just happen to agree that you need to cover the tracks of whoever's killing people. I don't want them coming after Enzo."
"Of course, precious Enzo." Damon scoffed. "Can't have anything happen to him. What about me?"
Lissa shot him a deadpanned look. "First off, you can act like you dislike him yet we both know you still care. Second, Enzo can't even google things confidently yet, excuse me if I'm a bit more worried about him than you."
"Think whatever you want, sweetheart." Damon shrugged, trying to play off her words. He didn't want to think about Enzo. As far as he was concerned, the current Enzo was just some person with a grudge and the same face. Like Elena or Lissa with Katherine. His Enzo died when Damon escaped. "So what're you thinking? You invite him to the alleyway when Liz gets here and then I stake him?"
"Why am I being included in this now?" Lissa questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I'm literally the one that fucked up the initial plan on purpose."
Damon sipped on his drink as he thought. He really didn't know why he was so fixated on the girl. Sure she looked like Katherine, but not as much as her sister. Yes, she was a mystery, her ability to burn things and people more so, but not enough to put up with everything she'd done to him. Plus, she would clearly choose Enzo over him any day, she'd made that clear when she killed his nephew. Hell, she'd choose Barbie over him if today was any indication. This attachment didn't make sense to him.
"You didn't put a spell on me did you?" He asked, only half joking, before backtracking at her unamused look. "Only joking, don't get your pretty pink panties in a twist. But really, you're going to try and tell me you don't want on the council? You? The girl that wants her pale little fingers in all the pies?"
She leaned back onto the bar with a groan. He was right. She did want to know what was up with the council, but only tentatively. They weren't a big threat until they got the Gilbert device or John joined and since she had the device in her hidden storage place now after being the one to nab it, there was little threat of them getting a hold of it. So until John came there wasn't much reason for her to join. But, she thought, what if things change with them like they have with everything else?
'Exactly, Darling. You don't need any pesky humans getting in the way.'
Lissa froze like a deer in headlights at the voice again. This was the second time. She doubted she was schizophrenic; even if she had the gene, schizophrenia didn't normally develop until people were older. 16 was too young. And…the voice was familiar. But, as she tried to remember, it was like trying to pick a single pebble out of a landslide.
She gritted her teeth. This was not the time to go crazy. She had too much shit to do, especially this coming weekend. As she looked down to her drink to take a sip, she jerked away, spilling half of it over her leg and the floor.
Had there been another person in the reflection?
Looking down at the now calm liquid again, she saw only herself, wide eyed, staring back at her.
"Lissa!" A hand shook her shoulder, pulling her out of her own thoughts. She focused back on Damon, who despite their current annoyance at each other, had concern written on his face. "What's going on with you?"
"Nothing. It's…" She shook her head as she waved away his concern. "It's nothing. Just thought I saw something."
"Oh, yeah, because a small spook would make your heart beat like a jack rabbit." Damon scoffed, rolling his eyes at her. "Your heart doesn't change pace. Ever. Not even when I threatened you."
"Damon, drop it." She said, stiffly. She didn't want to talk about it. Not with him or anyone else just yet. She could handle it alone. And after this weekend. "Now you wanted to kill Niall right?" She asked as she downed the rest of her drink. As she hopped off the barstool she gestured toward the windows. They were lighting up red and blue. Clearly, someone had complained about the sound or the party in general. "I'll get him outside. Looks like Liz is already here."
Damon grabbed her arm as she started to walk away. "Really? You're just going to ignore what scared you bad enough that you were visibly affected? Not even a word?"
"Yep. I've handled my shit my way for a long time. I can keep doing it." She said, jerking her arm out of his hold just as Enzo walked up to the pair of them, face hard as he took in their stances.
"Is there a problem, Damon?"
"Yeah, but it isn't me. Lil' Lissa here-"
"Damon! Please?" She pleaded. "Don't. I have it handled."
Enzo furrowed his brows as he focused on her. "Have what handled? Is something the matter?"
Lissa paused, letting the sounds of the party drift over them before shaking her head good naturedly. "It's fine. Seriously. Damon is just being an idiot." She insisted, glaring at Damon on the last word.
Damon sighed angrily. "Yeah. We were just making a plan to get the council off our backs and we didn't agree on the plan."
Enzo looked at both of them, scrutinizing for a lie. He didn't think Lissa would lie to him, but Damon, for all his many, many faults, clearly cared a bit about Lissa. If his willingness to forgive her threats was anything to go by. If she was doing something to hurt herself, he doubted the man would allow it. "As long as she wouldn't get hurt I agree with her plan."
"Ha!" Lissa cheered, ignoring the cold sinking feeling of guilt settling in her stomach once again. How is it that she always ends up lying to Enzo? "I told you mine was better."
"Alright, fine. We'll kill Nail in front of the Sheriff."
"Niall" She corrected.
"Who cares? He's going to die anyway."
"You're killing Niall?" Enzo asked, interrupting their continued bickering.
Damon and her looked at each other awkwardly. Shit, she had forgotten to fill Enzo in before Caroline had whisked him away earlier. Damon nudged her with his elbow in a 'you tell him' way. She shot him a withering glare but quickly turned back to Enzo. "If I said yes, would you be mad?"
Enzo glanced at the red head before making an 'eh' face. "No. But how will killing him get the council's trust?"
Damon spoke up now that he knew the other vampire wasn't going to start throwing punches over the plan. "No one on the council has ever killed a vampire. If I kill one in front of the Sheriff? That'll get me in immediately. And Snow will have lured him out there, so hopefully that'll get her a step in as well."
Enzo narrowed his eyes at the nickname. It was too close to his own for the pale girl and he didn't like it. "So she's playing bait?" He sneered. "She's not some unimportant person that you can just sacrifice as you see fit, Dickhead."
"What are you getting all up in arms about, English? Snow didn't seem to have a problem with it." Damon smirked, taking a step closer to the annoyed man. If Lissa hadn't been between the two of them, they would probably be chest to chest.
"Because she's as reckless as they come. Of course she wouldn't have a problem with it." He replied, his normally calm temper rising. Damon just brought it out of him.
"O-kay!" She yelled, getting the two's attention as she laid a hand flat on both their chests, pushing them apart as she did so. "How about we let me choose what to do? Hmm?" She looked between both of them, her own unhappy frown causing the two to not make eye contact. "I'm not some toy to argue over. And Enzo, I'm doing it."
Enzo narrowed his eyes at her. There was no reason for her to lure Niall, all Enzo had to do was ask the man to meet him in the alleyway. "I can do it."
"Oh my god, Enzo! I don't want you on the council's radar. They may not seem dangerous but even a mosquito can kill you when you least expect it."
Enzo threw his hands up in frustration. "Fine! Endanger yourself, then."
"Thank you. I will."
Damon, once again forgotten in the pair's conversation, spoke up. "Well now that you love birds have decided on the course of action. Lis' you should probably go to him. Looks like he may have his eye on someone else." Damon tilted his head at the red head, who indeed, had started talking to a random girl Lissa didn't know. But based on both their smiles, if she didn't get over there, it may be some other girl in the alleyway when Damon kills him.
"Wish me luck." She smirked, winking at them. Enzo called out a 'be careful!' as she started weaving through the throngs of drunk and dancing people. Lissa may not be the biggest fan of parties- more of a ball or banquet person- but even she could respect Caroline's talent for throwing them. Especially on such short notice.
As Lissa walked she took her already short shirt and tucked it under her bra to crop more, showing off her belly piercing and the top of her fishnet tights she had on under her ripped jeans. Throwing on a flirty smile she walked up to the pair, barely sparing the random girl a look, she zeroed in on Niall. "Hey! Enzo invited you right? Niall? How're you liking the party?"
Niall turned and glanced her up and down, pausing at her piercings before gaining a bit of a leer. "Yeah, you're Enzo's roommate, Melissa? He told me about you but never mentioned how beautiful you were."
"Oh thank you! And Enzo's basically a brother. I doubt he even thinks of me like that." She giggled before snidely asking, "I'm sorry, who's your friend? I don't recognize her. I normally know important people."
"I'm Jessica. We have chemistry together. You sit right behind me." She muttered, face turning red.
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, Jennifer. I'm sure I will next time."
"It's Jessica…"
"Of course." Lissa smiled, focusing back on Niall who had a smirk on his face. "I'm sorry, I'm having a bit of trouble hearing in here. Do you want to come outside with me? Some air would probably help sober me up a bit too."
"With you? Definitely."
Lissa grinned and grabbed his hand playfully pulling him behind her to the door, leaving Jessica standing there forgotten. Niall quickly matched her strides, and instead of holding her hand, wrapped an arm around her waist, leaving his hand to lay low on her hip.
They passed by Damon and Enzo and as they did, Lissa shot them a smug look. Didn't even take her 5 minutes to get the guy outside with her. She may not be Caroline or Elena but every guy had at least a slight fascination with girls with piercings. It's the stereotype that they made a girl easy, like just because she poked metal through her skin didn't mean she didn't care who fucked her. Her standards were way too high for that.
Niall, wanting to impress her, opened the door and gestured for her to go first. Stepping through, she twirled, grabbing Niall's arm and pulled him to the alleyway, making sure to nick herself on a corner brick, just enough to bring blood to her skin. Even in the low light, she could see the man's face ripple as he tried to control himself.
"Oh no! I'm so sorry." She cried. "It must be hard to deal with everyone inside then immediately I go an cut myself."
He waved her off, back stiff, as he breathed through his mouth. "No, no. You're okay…just, you wouldn't mind if I?" He gestured to her bleeding forearm. "You're not drinking vervain, right?"
Lissa stifled a grin. "No…" She whispered, making her voice sound apprehensive.
"Good. Good" Niall whispered, eyes trained on the blood as his face darkened. He brought her arm up to his face and just as he went to bite down; he let out a grunt. There, right where his heart was, was the tip of a stake poking out.
Darting her eyes up, she made eye contact with Damon, before letting out a frightened gasp and letting her mouth fall open in horror. "Oh my god!" She scrambled away from Niall, who at this point had fallen to the ground, skin grey. "Was he going to?"
"Melissa! Oh goodness, are you okay?" Liz came running up behind her, wrapping the supposedly frightened girl in a hug. "Sweetie, did he bite you?"
She shook her head, lip trembling. "N-no. Damon…killed him before he could." She gazed up at Damon, false confusion. "Was he…" She lowered her voice so only Damon and Liz could hear her. "A vampire?"
"You know about them?!" Liz exclaimed, pulling her in front of her to sternly stare her in the eyes. "How do you know about vampires, Melissa?"
"Dad used to tell me about them. I thought they were just weird stories until tonight." She shuddered, eyes trained on the dead man. "I guess they weren't."
Liz pulled the girl into a tight hug once again, shooting a silent 'thank you' to Damon. If something had happened to Melissa she didn't know what she would have done. The young albino girl was as good as a second daughter to her despite their differences. And Caroline. If she had had to tell her actual daughter her best friend since kindergarten had been killed…She shook her head.
Melissa was fine. Damon had gotten there in time.
Damon was, officially, impressed by the tiny Gilbert. What a wonderful performance she was putting on. If he didn't know any better, he would have been fooled himself. Hell, he was in on everything and even then he felt a twinge of pity at the terrorized girl. "If you want, Lissa, I can drive you home. You don't need to be driving tonight, I don't think." Damon chimed in, interrupting the hug.
Lissa sniffled, wiping lightly under her eyes. "Yeah, that would be best."
"Damon, beforehand, could you help me get him in the car?" She asked, nodding at the open trunk at the front of the alleyway. The two of them left Lissa standing alone awkwardly fidgeting where she stood, as they picked the body up and shuffled down towards the car. It took everything in Lissa not to giggle at the image of Damon struggling with the weight of a body. She'd seen the man pick his couch up one handed to look for his keys before, so a body, even dead weight, should have been nothing. Oh the things they do to keep up a ruse.
It didn't take the two long to get Niall's body in the trunk and slam it closed. Lissa couldn't hear what exactly was said between the two but she had a pretty good guess. Either way, Damon would probably tell her if it had to do with the council. After a moment, they both walked back over to her.
Liz put her hand on her shoulder gazing comfortingly down at her. "If you need to talk, I'm here. And…" As she trailed off she turned to Damon who had taken to leaning against the opposite alley wall. "I'm sure Damon would be open to talking as well."
"Oh, yeah. I'm great for sympathy. You can use me as a real life diary if you need to."
Liz squeezed the shoulder in her hand and nodded her thanks, again, before getting in her car and driving off.
Damon pushed off the wall as soon as the car was out of sight and clapped his hands. "If whatever you plan for your future doesn't work out, Snow Princess, I say go into acting. That was a hell of a performance."
Lissa let out a laugh. "I've always been a good liar, and what is acting if not the ultimate form of a lie?"
Damon shrugged as if to say 'true' before making a gimme motion with his hand. "Keys?"
"What for?"
"To drive you home, duh."
"Uh, no? That was just for the act. I'm fine to drive myself home."
"Too bad, Snow Princess, you're getting the Damon express treatment, so just gimme the keys."
She narrowed her eyes at him, lips pursed before sighing. "Fine. But if the seat isn't back in the exact place when you leave I'll stab you." She reached into one of the side pockets in her cargo pants and handed him her keys. "Oh, and don't touch the sharp knuckle buster keychain on there, it's vervain metal" She warned.
He looked down at the red cat shaped keychain in disbelief. This girl was an absolute psychopath. An impressive one. But, honestly, who just had something like this on their keys? Especially a specially made one that worked on vampires. Next she was going to tell him she had vervain darts or a stake crossbow. "You may actually scare me a little bit."
She chuckled as she made her way to the car. "Good."
After supervising Damon moving her driver's seat back into the exact placement- "Yes Damon, I do need it that close. I'm 5'3, in case you didn't notice, Elena got all the height between us."- she made her way into the silent Gilbert house. Throwing her keys into the key bowl, she silently walked into the kitchen, smiling at the note written on the fridge whiteboard letting her know an extra plate of food was left for her by Jenna.
Scribbling her own thank you, she waited for the microwave to be done. Despite wanting to just dive into bed, she knew she needed to pack tonight, or else she'd never get it done. Her flight was in a day. And tomorrow was going to be spent letting everyone know she'd be gone for a couple of days.
She was just lucky she was already so ahead on her school work missing a couple of days of school wouldn't get her behind at all. She really couldn't wait to be done. High school made her want to rip her hair out.
Her phone buzzed just as she grabbed her plate of food. Quickly rearranging herself to hold her phone between her shoulder and her ear, she answered.
"Yo, you've reached a very tired and busy Lissa, please be quick."
"I can see you're alive then." Enzo's exasperated tone came through the speakers.
Quietly making her way upstairs to her bedroom, she peaked in the cracks in her siblings' doors, making sure they were fine and asleep. It was a habit she'd picked up after their parents died. She hadn't done it in a while, but she'd also not been staying there as much recently. A lot of time had been spent at Enzo's and her house. "Yeah. Sorry I would have come back inside but Damon was being an ass."
"What's new about that?" Lissa could almost hear the eye roll. "You staying at your house then?"
Finally getting in her room, she turned her fairy lights on after she set the plate of fried rice down and locked her door behind her. "Yeah, gotta pack."
"For what?" Enzo asked, confused.
"Oh, yeah, so I'm going to New York this weekend for a couple of days. Got some stuff I need to do. You know future stuff." She admitted. "I need you to stay here. Watch over the siblings for the time, please? I'm sure a shit ton of stuff will happen while I'm gone if the past couple of weeks are any indication. And I can't trust those dumbasses to take care of themselves."
Enzo sighed. It was just like her to not tell anyone until the last minute so they couldn't talk her out of it. "Is what you're doing dangerous?"
"…Yes…But I have a plan to make it not as dangerous." She assured him after hearing him groan.
"Lissa, really? And I'll bet there's no more tickets for your flight so even if I wanted to come I couldn't."
"Maaaybe"
"If you don't text me every ten hours on the dot I don't care about any plans you've made I'm coming up there." Enzo demanded. If she'd actually admitted to this being dangerous, he knew it was actually something that could get her killed. He stood up from his bed and started pacing at the end of his bed. "I'm serious Lissa, if you get killed doing something reckless I'll bring you back and kill you myself."
"Aww, End Zone! I love you too!" She giggled before getting serious. "But really, the chance this kills me is like, I don't know, 10%. I have an ace up my sleeve, so trust me to take care of myself. And I'll trust you to take care of my siblings and Caroline."
Enzo, ignoring the rock that had settled in his stomach, agreed to stay and watch over everyone. He stayed on the line, just chatting and listening to her pack, trying to calm his fear at her being in danger, genuine danger, and him being hundreds of miles away. He'd told her once, she'd given him hope back. She was the reason he didn't just give up and stay in Augustine's hands after her father died. If something happened to her he didn't know how he'd continue.
It wasn't anything romantic or sexual either, despite what Damon had insinuated when the girl had gone off with Niall. Lissa had once described them as platonic soulmates and he knew that was as close as they were going to get to explain it. So her dying? That was a non-option for him.
It was an hour or two later that she finally finished and they said goodnight yet still that all encompassing fear remained. He expected it to be there the whole time she was gone.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read! I hope you enjoyed!~