The Night Of The Comet - Part 1

So, apparently, my dearest diary, nothing can go right for me. Especially not the way things went down last night.

Despite my hardest attempts, Vicki Donovan still got hurt by Damon. After the phone call, I rushed back to the Grill and had to explain the deep purple handprints on my neck. I couldn't up and say Damon's name and just said that some guy was trying to cause trouble but I defended myself. That sobered Caroline up really quick, especially when she connected the dots and realized that the guy who had been trying to "cause some trouble" was the guy I warned her off of.

The three of us (Caroline, Kelly, and I) went straight to the hospital to try and get more information. There was a distraught Matt, who had a hard time saying anything. What we did learn was that the girl who had gotten attacked at the party, the one who had been deathly pale, was named Leah Hastings, and she had gotten miraculously better in the span of an hour or so. Vicki hadn't gotten better; in fact, she hadn't even woken up yet, according to Matt. It was evident that Vicki had still been Damon's main target.

Caroline spent the night again. She cried herself to sleep, releasing the nerves she held for my safety, for the potential threat that she had almost willingly and drunkenly thrown herself into. It was all a little too much for her. Kelly hadn't liked the idea of us being by ourselves, especially with the animal attacks happening, so we all had a giant sleepover in her queen-sized bed. I think it had more to do with the fact that she was still reeling from my attack.

Kelly woke up a few hours ago, leaving to go make some pancakes and coffee for the three of us. She tried to reassure me that everything would be fine. But to quote Bonnie last night, "This is just the start."

Things to anticipate for this day:

1. Matt, Vicki, & Stefan - Stefan would be going to the hospital to compel Vicki into forgetting that it was a "vampire" who attacked her. Matt would get suspicious of Stefan hanging around. Maybe I could go with Matt to throw him off Stefan's trail?

2. Damon & Caroline - Caroline now, thankfully, wants nothing to do with Damon, but it would be better to get her some sort of vervain item to protect her. I don't know if Damon will try and get with her, but if he does, I can always bribe him with some sort of info on Katherine to change his mind.

3. Damon - It was never my intention to reveal to Damon that I knew something about his lost lady love. But now I have. Does that mean I'm going to have to tell him all about my 'other life'? I mean, if he finds out that I was lying to him (because if you take into account that I 'woke up from a coma a week ago', there's no way I could know that info about the Salvatores and Katherine)...and crap, what happens if he tells Stefan that I know what I know?

Damn it all!

Victoria let out a groan of frustration and flopped her head angrily against the headrest of Kelly's giant bed. Last night had been the biggest kink in her plan to lowkey help the Mystic Falls gang until they were all more knowledgeable about the supernatural where she could reveal the truth about herself. Now, she was going to have to lie straight to Damon's face in an attempt to protect her life, and the life of her mother, and...

There was a gentle knocking on the door and Kelly's head popped through the open space. In her hands, she carried a tray filled to the brim with pancakes, strawberries, and about three glasses full of orange juice.

"Where's Caroline?" she asked, her brow furrowing with confusion as she tried to spot the blonde in the dimly lit room. She also frowned when she noticed the book in Victoria's hands. "And turn on a light if you're going to write! I don't want you to get a headache."

"Caroline's in the bathroom, taking a shower, and I can see just fine," Victoria mused, rolling her eyes at Kelly's antics. "Need a little help there?"

Kelly shook her head, stepping into the room. She balanced the tray carefully in her hands as she said, "I got it. By the way, a very charming young man is here to see you. He's in the kitchen." She leaned forward and whispered in a conspiring voice, "He's rather pretty."

Victoria closed her diary, locking it up. She swung her legs off the side of the bed and stood up, confused. She didn't know who would exactly be visiting her. She thought about it as she walked out of the room and down the hallway. It could be Stefan, but Kelly knew his name and had already teased her on how "pretty" he was. Maybe Matt? But she knew Matt and she knew Kelly knew Matt, so she would've just said his name. And she knew for sure it wouldn't be Jeremy or Tyler; she didn't know Jeremy well enough (Kelly also would know his name) and while Tyler seemed to be ok with Victoria's presence, the opposite could not be said. That only left...

Victoria's suspicions were confirmed when she reached the top of the stairs and spotted Damon Salvatore himself sitting on one of the barstools by the island, drinking some mysterious liquid from a mug. Victoria's eyes narrowed dangerously. Her favorite mug, as it so happened. He was wearing a similar outfit to what he always wore: a black t-shirt that hugged his torso too well, his iconic leather jacket, dark jeans, and a nice pair of shoes.

"Kelly!" Victoria called out, her eyes never leaving Damon's face. Damon gave her a little lighthearted wave and Victoria's blood froze in fear. He had had contact with Kelly; the two of them had talked. Louder, she said in a slight panic, "Kelly, this is..." She trailed off when she noticed Damon repeatedly making the neck-slice motion. Victoria gulped heavily. He would kill Kelly. Victoria had no doubt about that; maybe not Damon from Season Three or Four or on, but definitely Season One Damon. In a shaky voice, Victoria managed to spit out, "Kelly, that's just Damon. He's new to town. I met him yesterday at the bonfire. I promised I would show him around today." Quieter, so she knew only Damon would hear her, she snarled, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Your mom's pretty nice for a human," Damon commented as Victoria stomped down the steps, ignoring the way her eyes burned with fury. "And she can make a mean hot chocolate. All the qualities of a perfect housewife. Where's the lucky fella?"

"Get out," Victoria hissed, the hairs on her arms rising up as she tried to keep her voice down. The last thing she needed was for Caroline to come downstairs and see Damon sitting in her kitchen like he was a friend. She stopped only when she was standing directly across from him with the island in between the two of them. "Get out of my house."

"Already invited in, Mama Bear," Damon sniffed, taking a dainty sip of his drink. Victoria tensed up at the blatant disrespect towards her and her mug. If she could get away with slapping him without worrying about him murdering her and her family in the middle of the night, she would. "Can't do much about that; even if you tried to kick me out, I can always come back. I've been told I have terrible timing."

Victoria rolled her eyes. Wasn't that the truth... "How did you find me? You shouldn't know my name."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Trickier than I anticipated, I'll give you that. It wasn't that hard. Went to the hospital and found a woman who allowed me to be very persuasive; she was rather loose about your information. I got your address from your medical file; by the way, you should be icing your ribs more if they're as cracked and fractured as your file says they are. I figured if you already know my name and history, I should figure out yours."

Victoria cursed under her breath. She knew she shouldn't have taken up Kelly's offer to have her neck examined while they were at the hospital. But there was good news: by the way Damon was talking, he must have seen her newer file, the one that held all her medical information post-coma. Which meant that she was still in the clear when it came to that. "Of course you would compel some innocent lady into revealing very personal information. That seems rather typical. Well then, why are you here? To annoy me enough that I want you to kill me?"

"Because I met this mother bear in the disguise of a human girl in a little red dress last night who knew way too much about my brother and me and this girl I liked back in eighteen-sixty-four," Damon drawled, swirling the hot chocolate in his mug. Victoria's hands clenched into fists. Katherine and the reason why Victoria knew about her was not a topic that she particularly wanted to bring up. "Relax, would you? I'm not going to kill you...yet."

"And why should I feel so honored?" Victoria spat.

"Because you were right."

Victoria blinked. Then blinked some more. Then once again. She stammered out a "W-What?" to his statement. What had she been right about?

"You do intrigue me," Damon commented, shrugging his shoulders lightly. "Not the whole 'I can't compel you' thing; I know the answer to that one already." At Victoria's confused expression, he snorted. "Really?"

"I'm not wearing vervain and I haven't had any to drink recently," Victoria said, her hands relaxing marginally. He wasn't there to kill her. That brought her a little bit of relief; she wanted to at least live long enough to meet one of the Mikaelsons. But that didn't mean he was giving her friends and family a free pass. "I-I honestly don't know how I resisted the compulsion."

Damon hummed as an answer, taking another sip. After a moment of Victoria simply staring at him, he shrugged again. "I guess that's for me to know and for you to dot dot dot." Victoria bit her tongue to keep from snapping at him. How dare he use one of her favorite lines in the wrong context. "It's because you seem to care. I almost choked the life out of you and you were still insistent on trying to help me out."

"Ever consider I was just saying that to prevent you from ripping my throat out?" Victoria shot back.

Damon nodded seriously. "Yup." He popped the 'p' and Victoria huffed in exasperation, folding her arms across her chest. "But if I killed you, I wouldn't know then, would I?" He rolled his eyes and took another sip. "So until the point that I learn what is true and what is false, I'm going to be watching you like a hawk. And you're going to help me find Katherine."

"If we do this," Victoria whispered, glancing worriedly at the stairs. She needed to get Damon to leave before Caroline saw him. "We have a few rules-"

"- I don't follow rules -"

"- You do if you want any help finding Katherine," snapped Victoria, interrupting the elder vampire. Damon raised an eyebrow at her interruption but gestured for her to continue. Victoria breathed out a sigh. "Thank you. You harm my friends, I will run you through with a stake. That includes Elena, who I know you know about, Bonnie Bennett, Jeremy Gilbert, Matt Donovan, Vicki Donovan, which I'm pretty sure you hurt already, and Caroline Forbes, and anyone else who I deem a friend later on in life. You do not touch Kelly. One single touch and I will personally rip your heart out. With my bare hands."

"And there's the Mama Bear we all know and love," snorted Damon, rolling his eyes.

"You don't follow those guidelines, you can kiss me helping you find Katherine goodbye. And oh! Be nicer to Stefan," Victoria added, scoffing when Damon's gaze darkened slightly. "Don't give me that look. He's your brother. You can at least try."

"I can give you the first part," Damon grunted, pushing himself off of the stool and leaving the mug on the island. He was a blur and Victoria gasped when he was suddenly right up in her space. Her hands instinctively reached out and placed themselves on his chest, keeping him from approaching any closer. But he was already way, way, way too close. Victoria looked up and shivered under Damon's dark glare. "But you will not dictate how I deal with my baby brother."

Victoria licked her lips, unable to think of anything to say to him. There was a darkness inside of Damon, one that she was well-aware of from the beginning of the first episode, but...to see it in person was something different altogether. She would have thought that being choked almost to passing out the night before would be the moment that she truly felt fearful of Damon, but it wasn't. It was there, in the kitchen, with less than a few inches of air standing between them, with her best friend and her mother just upstairs, that Victoria felt terrified. Damon could get into her house. Every step forward had to be carefully planned. Damon was able to find Katherine well enough by himself; if he learned that, he would have no use for her and her friends. And a human wouldn't be able to fight against a vampire.

A tear trickled from her eye and fell down her cheek, surprising her. She licked her lips again and moved to swipe the tear away, but Damon beat her to it. He lifted up a hand and used one finger to swipe her tear right off of her cheek. His eyes were trained on the trail her tear had left. His voice was low and husky as he mused, "Did that scare you, Mama Bear?"

"P-Please just leave," Victoria whispered, shaking her head. "I-I...I can't do this right now."

She purposefully pulled away from Damon, trying to calm her hands that were beginning to shake. Her chest was pounding and her ribs ached ferociously. All she wanted to do was to go back upstairs to Kelly's room and hide under the covers, never to return to the outside world. She stumbled against the island and gripped onto the countertop to steady herself. Victoria squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to take deep breaths. Her balance was going out of whack. She was panicking again; and she had done really well yesterday! Two panic attacks it seemed in less than three days.

"Victoria?" she thought she heard Damon say, but his voice sounded distorted. She gritted her teeth and took overexaggerated deep breaths. Her hands were shaking badly now; she had tensed them up so hard that they couldn't stay still and her muscles were cramping. There was a hand on her shoulder and Victoria's eyes shot open. He needed to leave. Right now. Suddenly, all of the bravery that she had randomly gotten whenever she talked to Damon came back, and it said one thing:

Make him go away.

"Get out of my house," Victoria huffed, shoving him one last time. She gave her best glare, aware that it was not as intimidating as she would have liked. Damon looked into her eyes and she thought she saw something flicker in his own baby blues before the vampire was suddenly gone. She blinked her eyes, startled, and looked towards the front door. It was open and swinging in the morning breeze. She raced to the door and slammed the door shut before he changed his mind. She let out a sigh before she turned around, flopping against the door and sliding all the way down. She brought her knees up to her chest, resting her head wearily against her knees. Well that sucked.

And, of course, it was asking too much of the universe to throw her a bone when she was at school.

Victoria had expertly hid the fact that she had faced another panic attack, which was easier said than done. This one had been shorter than her first one with Stefan, but Kelly and Caroline had decided that coming down a few minutes after she had closed the front door was a fantastic option. Victoria had excused herself to take a shower, breaking down emotionally as soon as the water was running. After the shower, she had applied her makeup skillfully on her neck, hiding most of the evidence that she had been attacked at all. To be safe, she added a cute red neckerchief as an accent piece to her jeans and button-up blouse.

Kelly had driven both Caroline and Victoria to school, at the same time grilling the younger LeBlanc on the handsome stranger that had been sitting in the kitchen. She seemed to want to know everything about him, to which Victoria gave the bare minimum; enough to satisfy her interest without revealing too much. Caroline seemed equally as interested, but kept the questions to a minimum. From Victoria's perspective, it looked as though Caroline was going to take a well-needed rest from guys. The potential threat from Damon last night seemed to be enough to deter her off her boy-craze. All in all, things were as normal as they appeared to be on the surface.

Until Victoria was walking down with Caroline from Algebra 2 to Biology and saw Stefan marching towards her, a dark look in his eyes that reminded Victoria of his days as a Ripper. It made Victoria freeze in the middle of the hallway and it made her blood run cold. Her throat dried. Two words stood out in her mind.

He knows.

Stefan barely said two words to her as she bid Caroline goodbye. Once the blonde was out of sight from the two of them, he grabbed Victoria's arm and basically dragged her to the first open classroom that he could find (it so happened to be one of the English classrooms). Stefan pushed her in hard enough to make her stumble into the teacher's desk. Victoria managed to catch herself at the last moment, but that didn't stop her from accidentally tweaking her ribs. Victoria let out a hiss as she wrapped an arm around her torso, hoping the pressure would help relieve the pain. She flipped around and held her other hand up defensively as Stefan glanced around outside the classroom before stepping in, shutting the door. When he turned to look at Victoria, she could see his shoulders were tense and he looked ready to bust a fuse. And Stefan was a pretty chill guy, which meant that he was really pissed. Damnit.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Stefan growled, his voice low and quiet. Victoria licked her lips, trying to come up with a decent reason without fully revealing everything about herself. Stefan didn't seem to appreciate the silence. He blurred, standing in front of her in a moment's notice. It was so like Damon only hours ago that Victoria flinched. Either Stefan didn't notice or he didn't care because he made no sign that he was apologetic. "Answer me, Victoria."

"Would you have believed me?" Victoria blurted out, looking up at Stefan. His brow furrowed. She tightened her own hold on her ribs and shook her head incredulously. "Or would you have just compelled me to ensure that I didn't tell anyone else?"

"So you haven't told anybody else?" Stefan asked. He had heard the unspoken statement in Victoria's words, and she breathed a little easier.

Victoria shook her head ardently. "Of course not! That's not my secret to share, Stefan. It was obvious that it was a secret for a reason, so why on Earth would I say anything to anybody?" She rolled her eyes, trying to pull off the nonchalant attitude. Inside, her insides were still quaking with nerves. Her hands hadn't seem to stop shaking marginally since Damon's unexpected visit in her kitchen. "Plus, it's not like I've had a lot of time to tell anybody, between school starting, the disaster of a bonfire last night, what happened afterwards, and this morning."

"I heard about Vicki," Stefan said, nodding his head. His shoulders loosened and he shuffled on his feet. He was out of a defensive/offensive position and now seemed relaxed. Or, well, more relaxed than he had been. His eyes shone with sincerity as he added, "I'm sorry for what happened to her."

"I'm sorry too," Victoria murmured. Her hands slipped into fists again and she gritted her teeth as she spat out, "I should have done something to protect her, but..." She let out a dark chuckle and shook her head. "I-I had other people to take care of and protect...I couldn't be at two places at once. What kind of friend am I if I sacrifice one friend to Damon to protect the other from him?"

"How did you know it was Damon?" Stefan questioned. "And how do you know Damon? He talked about you last night; he was the one who told me you knew about the two of us." Victoria looked at him with a deadpanned expression. Did he seriously ask that question?

"Well, as far I as know, there are only two of you in this town," Victoria snorted, "and I'm pretty sure you're the more docile one of the two. There's no way what happened to her was a simple animal attack. From the way I see it, Vicki was the real target; he wanted to attack her at the bonfire, but I was with her the whole night. The attack on the other student, Leah Hastings, was only meant to be a distraction so Vicki would be left alone. And, unfortunately, Damon and I became acquaintances last night right after the bonfire. We had a bit of a memorable meeting, you could say." She clenched her teeth to try and stop herself from reaching up to massage her throat.

Stefan seemed wary of her explanation, but he nodded. Stefan glanced behind him towards the door, checking to see if anyone was watching them. There was no one, so he looked back towards Victoria.

"I have so many questions," Stefan murmured, looking back towards her. Victoria could feel her cheeks heat up under the intense gaze he sent her, but he continued, "But this is not the place for this, and this is definitely not the time. Can you come to the old Salvatore Boarding House in town later today? We can talk then."

"Of course," Victoria agreed, nodding her head in confirmation. "I will try my best to answer everything, but..." She licked her lips again and sucked in a breath. "I-It's...it's going to be hard and I'm not sure you're going to understand it. But I will try."

"That's all I can ask for," Stefan replied. He paused, then said slowly, "I should apologize. I jumped to conclusions."

"Which is totally reasonable given your life situation," Victoria justified. She let out a little giggle as she realized what she had just said. "Well, not life situation, I guess."

Stefan chuckled at her and Victoria smiled softly at him. He wasn't pissed. More confused, but Victoria could work with confused. Confused meant questions, and questions she could answer. However, being pissed meant fists, and Victoria couldn't handle fists. Physically, at least. She was a dancer, not a boxer.

Stefan and Victoria stayed away from the classroom for the rest of Biology, walking around the school property a few times just to pass the time. Neither of them spoke; they just walked in silence. It was rather pleasant, to just be in the presence of someone without the need for words. It brought a feeling of reassurance to Victoria.

History rolled around and the two of them ducked into the classroom, Victoria stopping to say good morning to Bonnie and Stefan moving to sit in his seat and stare at Elena. Mr. Tanner walked into the room and Victoria's hair bristled, but she bit her tongue and sat down, intent on taking the world's best notes. And, as it turned out, it was good that she was so focused because the lesson was all about the comet that was supposed to pass over Mystic Falls tomorrow night.

"Originally discovered nearly five centuries ago, it hasn't been over Mystic Falls in over one hundred and forty years," Tanner said, referring to the comet. Victoria glanced over her shoulder and subtly spotted Stefan staring at Elena with the puppy eyes that were a staple of his character. A quick check on Elena showed that she was looking at Stefan with the same eyes. "Now, the comet will be its brightest right after dusk during tomorrow's celebration." Mr. Tanner paused and he narrowed his eyes in exasperation. "Are we bothering you, Mr. Salvatore? Ms. Gilbert?"

The two, suddenly called out, dropped each other's gazes and Victoria had to resist the strong urge to snicker as Mr. Tanner rolled his eyes and continued his lesson. Lunch rolled around quickly and Victoria found herself walking down the hallway with Bonnie and Caroline, heading in the general direction of the cafeteria and the outside eating areas. Their topic, as of late, was focused on Bonnie's so-called "witch powers".

"I'm confused," Caroline said, waving her hand. "Are you psychic or clairvoyant?"

"Technically, Grams says I'm a witch," Bonnie explained. She rolled her eyes. You won't be rolling your eyes when it turns out to be true, Victoria thought to herself. "My ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something. Grams tried to explain it all, but she was looped on the liquor so I kinda tuned it out. Crazy family, yes. Witches? I don't think so."

"I don't know," Victoria butted in, shrugging nonchalantly as to not offend Bonnie. "Shelia Bennett is many things, but is she a liar?"

"She's a storyteller, though," Bonnie refuted. "What if she's telling a story? Stories are technically lies."

"Back to the subject at hand, ladies," Caroline sarcastically reprimanded and Victoria laughed at her friend's sour expression. "Bonnie, you can feel free to conjure up the name and number of a cute guy for me."

"Didn't you tell me there was a hot guy at the Grill last night?" Bonnie answered in return and Victoria narrowed her eyes menacingly at Caroline.

The blonde rolled her eyes, at both Bonnie's selective hearing and at Victoria's overprotectiveness. "I said there was an off-limits hot guy at the Grill last night. But he proved to be an asshole who tried to choke my best friend out for kicks and giggles, so apologies if I'd like to put him on the 'no-fly-Caroline-airlines' list. Plus, I'm hungover this morning. I am not reasonable for my actions."

Victoria snickered at her friend, but said goodbye to both girls as they turned to head into the cafeteria. Caroline raised an eyebrow and told Bonnie to head in, that she would be there in a second. Victoria knew from the look on her face that she had a question that needed answering. Part of her obsessive need for control.

"Yes, sweet Care-Bear?" Victoria asked, cocking her head to one side. "What can I help you with?"

"I want you to pinky promise me you aren't going to ditch school to find that guy," Caroline said, folding her arms across her chest. Victoria raised an eyebrow in confusion, and Caroline rolled her eyes before clarifying, "This 'Damon' guy from this morning! You have this determined look in your eyes, plus you always sit with us at lunch."

"Caroline, I've been here for lunch once," Victoria said slowly, partially exasperated. "I didn't even make it to lunch my first day back and then I went to lunch yesterday. Today, I just need some fresh air." Victoria licked her lips. "M-My morning wasn't as smooth after Damon left. The cafeteria's crowded and apparently I'm developing claustrophobia because it feels like my heart's going to burst if I go in there. Plus, I wanna check up on Matt." Victoria's hands moved together subconsciously and her fingers began to fiddle with each other. Caroline's eyes caught it. "I-I...I wanna check up on Vicki. I feel really guilty about what happened to her."

"Tori," Caroline hummed, her voice dropping down to a whisper. "It wasn't your fault, you know that, right? You couldn't have known that something like that was going to happen."

Victoria flinched at her words and she folded her arms across her chest, looking away from the blonde. But she did know. She knew that Vicki was going to be attacked and she had tried to prevent it, but she had failed. Instead, another girl had gotten hurt and then Vicki as soon as she had gone home. What did that mean for Caroline? Victoria had made sure that she and Damon hadn't met, but what if he went back against his word and hurt her? Abused her? Victoria couldn't stand for that to happen.

When Victoria looked back towards Caroline, she looked as if she was about to say something, but wisely kept it to herself. Instead, her friend stepped forward and wrapped Victoria up in a tight hug. She could feel the comfort and silent reassurance that seeped through her connection with Caroline and Victoria fed off of it, relishing the hug. Even her ribs seemed to understand her need for the hug, because they didn't ache at all.

"It's not your fault," Caroline restated before letting her go with a goodbye and a wave. Victoria wandered outside of the building, heading in the general direction where she knew Matt, Elena, and evidently, Stefan would be.

She spotted Matt and Elena walking along a small path right beside the building and she jogged to catch up. She heard Elena mention something about Vicki when Matt noticed Victoria heading towards them. So far, Victoria's interactions with Matt had been a minimum. He had visited her in the hospital when she was recovering from her coma, she had seen him from afar the first day of school, then she had passed Vicki off to him at the bonfire, and then later that night-slash-that-morning when she visited him and Vicki in the hospital.

Matt showed a genuine smile as Victoria came to a stop beside the two. "Hey Tori. Good to see you."

"You too," Victoria answered, nodding her head. "I'm sorry to eavesdrop, but I heard Elena mention something about Vicki and I just really wanted to know how she's doing."

At the mention of Vicki's name, the tension that seemed way too common for the men and women of Mystic Falls return to his shoulders and he let out a pitiful sigh. The three of them began walking, Elena in the middle between Victoria and Matt. "They're keeping her overnight to make sure there's no infection, but she should be able to come home tomorrow."

"That's good news," Victoria said, smiling to try and comfort the teen.

"Yeah."

"Did you get in touch with your mom?" Elena asked and Victoria snorted under her breath. Kelly Donovan was not the Mystic Falls mother to win 'Mother-Of-The-Year'. If anything, she should be awarded 'Biggest-Tramp-Of-A-Small-Town-That-The-World-Has-Ever-Seen'. Victoria was not exactly a fan of hers. Matt was more of a parent to Vicki than Kelly ever was or would be.

"Called and left a message," Matt replied downheartedly. "She's in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend, so...we'll see how long it takes her to come rushing home."

"Her daughter is in the hospital and she's taking her sweet time coming home," Victoria snarled, her hands clenched up in fists. Elena reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. Her thumb rubbed back and forth soothingly and Victoria let out a breath, releasing all of her anger in a frustrated sigh. "Sorry. That was rude of me."

"Vicki's lucky that she's ok," Elena mentioned and Victoria found herself nodding in agreement. And Damon's lucky that he's faster than me, otherwise there would be an unpleasant stake in his stomach.

Victoria tore her gaze away from the two humans and her eyes instantly spotted the back of one Stefan Salvatore, who was sitting on one of the picnic benches across the quad. He wasn't directly looking at them, but Victoria knew that the vampire could hear the three of them.

"I know, and now there's talk of some missing campers," Matt groaned, shaking his head. "What has this town come to?"

"Wouldn't we all like to know," Victoria huffed.

"Did she say what kind of animal is was that attacked her?" Elena asked. Victoria's ears pricked at that and she turned to look back towards Matt, who was rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly at Victoria's direct gaze.

"Vicki spoke?" Victoria asked incredulously. Matt nodded weakly and Victoria gasped, planting her hands on her hips accusingly. "Matthew Donovan, you told me that she hadn't said anything last night!"

"This morning," Matt amended, and Victoria rolled her eyes, but gestured for Matt to continue. "Tori, I saw the bruises on your neck. I figured after your attack last night, you didn't need the babbling of a drunk Vicki on top of everything."

"Wait, attack?" Elena shouted, turning to look at Victoria with disbelief. Her eyes quickly caught on to the fact that Victoria was wearing the deep red neckerchief, tied stylishly around her neck.

Victoria sent a glare at Matt, but gently untied the accessory to show Elena what little bruise did show through the many, many rounds of makeup. "I'm alright. Some jerk at the Grill last night wanted to cause some trouble and cornered me in an alleyway. I fought him off. I'm ok." She redirected her attention towards Matt, who straightened up once he realized Victoria's eyes were on him. "As for you, I may not remember everything, but I got to know Vicki again at the bonfire last night. You should have told me."

"I know, I know," Matt grumbled. "But she said that it was a vampire!"

"What?"

"Yeah, she wakes up last night and mutters 'vampire' and then passes out."

"Ok, that is weird," Elena said, drawing out the 'ok'. Victoria nodded.

"Again, I think she was just drunk," Matt stated. He paused and Victoria noticed the not-so-subtle glance between Elena and Stefan. He coughed and said, weaker than before, "So what's up with you and the new guy?"

Elena's eyes instantly closed as she took a deep breath and she turned to look at Matt. Victoria, in moments like those, wished she had popcorn. She didn't have anything important to interject and so it was just like she was watching her favorite TV show, only she was in it. "Matt, the last thing that I want to do is hurt you."

"Too late," Victoria murmured, but Elena and Matt ignored her.

"You know, I'm...I'm actually going to go back to the hospital. I want to be there when Vicki wakes up, get the real story about last night."

"And I am coming with you," Victoria announced. Matt and Elena looked at her incredulously and she rolled her eyes. "Seriously, guys, it's only the third day back to school. It's not like I'm going to be missing much. Plus, you owe me, Donovan, for lying to me about Vicki. I accept payments in cash, hugs, and snacks."

"I'm sure I can buy you something at the cafeteria for while we wait," Matt reasoned.

When Matt and Victoria got to the hospital, Victoria sent a text to Kelly that she was at the hospital visiting Vicki. Surprisingly, the older woman was alright with her skipping school to visit the injured girl, on the condition that she got her throat checked up again. Victoria agreed to the terms and conditions readily. Her throat had started burning badly halfway through the car ride, though she kept her complaining silent. She didn't want to make Matt more anxious than he already was.

Matt took her to the hospital's cafeteria and bought her a ham-and-cheese sandwich to munch on while they waited for Vicki to wake up. Matt tried to convince Victoria to take the only chair, but Victoria dismissed it by plopping down on the ground in front of Vicki's bed. She watched the girl sleeping wearily, the only noise in the room between the three of them being Victoria's sandwich and her munching.

They stayed there for about a half an hour, not saying anything to each other, when Vicki began to stir. Matt stood up and Victoria followed suit, moving to Vicki's other side. Matt reached out to touch Vicki's shoulder, but the girl let out a panicked scream and jerked her shoulder away from her brother. The scream caught Victoria off-guard and she stumbled backwards.

"Whoa!" Matt yelled. "Vick. Vicki, hey! Vick, it's Matt. Hey, what's wrong?" He tried to grab Vicki again, but she pushed him off of her and she jumped to her feet.

She was crying and putting distance between him and herself. Victoria could only watch with a heavy heart as the teenager cried, "No! No! Get off of me! No, no, no!"

"Nurse!" Matt yelled, sending a look to Victoria that clearly read 'Try to calm her down'. Victoria nodded and watched Matt race out of the room.

The moment the human was gone, Victoria whispered, "Stefan, you're in the clear."

The vampire in question appeared in the small room immediately, not even bothering to hide his confusion at how she knew he was there. She just shrugged in response and gently grabbed Vicki's shoulders to try and steady her while Stefan compelled her. The Salvatore flashed in front of Vicki and she let out a yelp, already trying to jerk her way out of Victoria's grip. She kept her hands tight on Vicki without injuring her anymore.

Stefan said quickly, his voice low and his eyes sparkling with a light that Victoria recognized in Damon's eyes from the night before. It was the telltale sign of vampires beginning compulsion. "It was an animal that attacked you. It came out of the night and jumped you. You blacked out. It's all you remember."

Vicki's voice was no longer panicked, and rather seemed like she was stuck in a dream haze as she replied obediently, "It's all I remember."

"An animal attacked you. You blacked out. It's all you remember."

"It's all I remember."

"You need to go now, Stefan," Victoria urged him. "And be careful, there's a blood drive going on down the hall."

"Meet me later," Stefan stated. He yanked a slip of paper out of his pocket and held it out for Victoria to take. She grabbed it quickly, shoving it into her pocket, and shooed Stefan out with one hand as she directed Vicki back to her bed with her other hand. Stefan disappeared in a flash and Victoria helped Vicki back onto her bed, gently wrapping her legs with the small hospital blanket she was all-too-familiar with.

A few seconds later, Matt came racing back in with a nondescript nurse right behind him. The nurse seemed a little peeved off at being taken away from her duties by a frantic brother and passive-aggressively told Matt that by saying, "She seems fine." The nurse then, unprofessionally, rolled her eyes and turned, walking away.

Matt looked between Vicki and Victoria, unable to believe that she was back in bed, sleeping. He opened and closed his mouth, gesturing towards Victoria and then towards Vicki and then back to Victoria. "H-How? I-I mean, uh, how...why...?"

"You told me to calm her down, so I did," Victoria lied easily. She had been preparing on what to say to Matt for their entire car ride. "I started humming some random showtune that popped into my head and she calmed down just like that." She snapped her fingers to reinforce her point.

"Did she say anything?"

"She mentioned something about an animal," Victoria lied again. She reached out and gently patted Vicki's hand, rubbing her thumb soothingly across the passed out girl's hand. "I-I think that this was her first, kind of fully conscious moment since the attack. It was probably a large animal that attacked her, so when a large 'thing' approached her, she panicked. Fight or flight."

Matt nodded slowly, the gears behind his eyes ticking. Victoria held her breath as she waited for his response. As she waited to see if he believed her lie or not.

No surprise, he did. "That makes sense. Thanks, Tori. I honestly don't know what I would have done if you weren't here. You always did have a way with her."

"Last night at the bonfire," Victoria hummed quietly, as to not wake Vicki up, "Vicki told me some stories about us as we were growing up. It seemed like we were close."

"You are one of the best things that has ever happened to her," Matt said, and the honesty in his voice was enough for Victoria to let out a gentle gasp as the wind was knocked from her lungs. "I know that may seem a lot overwhelming given the crazy week you've had, but it's the truth. You were the greatest role model she could ever have; all she wanted to be when she was younger was Victoria LeBlanc, or as she called you when she was a toddler, Tori Blankie. You always saw the light inside of her, even when everyone gave up on her. After our mom left the first time for a non-disclosed amount of time, you forced us to spend a week at your house with your mom. You always made sure we had enough to eat and would hold Vicki when she cried. And you were always trying to convince Vicki to quit drinking and using. Everyone else just threw her to the side, but you held her hand when she threw up everything and when she was so stoned that she couldn't tell you what one plus one was. There...there were people who told you to give up, because Vicki wasn't worth saving; that Vicki couldn't be saved. That she was too far gone in the darkness of her life. You said this one phrase that's stuck with me ever since you spoke it into existence."

Victoria licked her lips and wasn't surprised when her voice came out in a croaky whisper, "What did I say?"

"Everyone's lost in the darkness," Matt stated, his eyes shining with unshed tears. Victoria whimpered lightly as a tear dropped from her own eye. "It's not my fault that I decide to bring a flashlight while you bring a blindfold."

A/N: The last quote is one of the most philosophical things I have ever written in my entire life. Wanted to post this chapter last night, but fell asleep before that could happen after watching Teen Wolf with my sibling.

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Onto reviews and PMs!:

DBZFAN45: You're the only reviewer for the last chapter, so consider this chapter dedicated to you! Hmm, interesting theory about the Mrs. Landstrom and vampire compulsion. Who could be compelling her? As for Tori, is it a anti-compulsion ability or is it the anklet? Aww, thanks for thinking Victoria is hot! The actress I picked for her looks like a weird mix between Caroline Forbes and Emily Blunt and I simply can't see anything else anymore XD. I literally look up "2009 short dresses" for cute ideas for outfits. Haha! I have created ship names for all possible ships for Victoria so when people start randomly shipping her with others, I am prepared! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Until next time, my lovely fans. Stay healthy, stay safe, and stay fabulous!

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