The Night Of The Comet - Part 2
"Well, I was talking to Grams, and she said the comet is a sign of impending doom. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity," Bonnie said, taking a sip of her drink to accentuate her point. Victoria hummed in acknowledgement and took another bite of her burger.
Victoria had finished up her visit to Vicki with Matt early to swing by the doctor's office for a check-up, as she had promised to her mother. Surprise, surprise, it had been the same doctor who had been there for her awakening from the coma. The doctor checked up on her neck, but rubbed off all of the makeup in order to get a close, good look. She wasn't exactly jazzed by the damage, but she reassured Victoria that there probably wasn't any lasting damage to her vocal cords and that it was all external damage. This relieved Victoria. She wasn't sure what she would do to Damon if he had ruined her chances to ever sing again. Probably something bloody that even Klaus would admire. The doctor had taken forever, though, in checking her out that by the time she was done, the girls had gotten out of school and were chilling in the hospital parking lot, waiting for her to come out so they could all go to the Grill and hang out.
Victoria honestly had not mentally prepared for how often the four of them would hang out.
Oh, and the small paper that Stefan had slipped her after Vicki's compulsion? A phone number. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that it was his number. Why he had done it in such an odd manner, Victoria didn't know, but she had sent him a text after her check-up telling him that Vicki's compulsion worked and that Matt was none the wiser. His only response was that she needed to come over soon and they needed to talk. Cryptic enough to make her worried but not enough that she was panicking. Which was good. Because she was getting sick and tired of panicking all the time.
"Yeah, and then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about the aliens," Caroline's snarky voice cut through Victoria's trailing thoughts. Bonnie sent a dark look towards Caroline and Victoria reached over to gently nudge her friend. Shelia Bennett was many things, but a drunkard and a crazy old woman were not two of those things. Caroline rolled her eyes at Victoria, then redirected her attention towards Elena. "So then what?"
"So then nothing," Elena finished, munching on a French fry.
"You and Stefan talked all night?" Caroline said in disbelief. "There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy feely of any kind?"
"Nope. We didn't go there."
"This happened last night, yeah? Right after the bonfire?" Victoria clarified, even though she knew the answer already. Elena nodded.
"Not even a handshake?" Caroline interrupted. It seemed she could not let the subject go. "I mean, Elena, we are your friends. Ok? You are supposed to share the smut."
Even though Victoria knew the line was coming, she still choked on her burger at Caroline's brash nature. "Caroline!" Caroline sent her a 'What?!' look and Victoria coughed, making sure there was no left over burger lodged in her throat. To Elena, she added, "Please, do not inform me of all the smut."
"We just talked for hours," Elena tried again, but Caroline was not taking no for an answer today, apparently.
"Ok, what is with the blockage?" she demanded. "Just jump his bones already! Ok, it's easy. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy, sex!"
"That should not be the way the world runs, Care-Bear," Victoria snorted, shaking her head. "There's a few more good steps that should take place before somebody should jump into bed with somebody else. Don't you want to fall in love?"
"You can fall in love after sex."
"But then are you with them because of the sex or because of their personality and character?" Victoria countered. She shrugged her shoulders and leaned over to steal one of Elena's fries. "Call me old-fashioned, but I think that you should get to know someone more before you sleep with them. And Elena's only known Stefan for three days."
"You're old-fashioned," Caroline stated and Victoria let out a coughing-wheeze at her friend's bluntness. "And you're going to be a hypocrite soon, anyways!"
"Excuse me?" Victoria huffed.
"Oh please, that Damon guy from this morning," Caroline mentioned, waving her straw at Victoria's nose. Victoria swatted the piece of plastic away from her face with a frown. "You meet a guy at a party last night and then he shows up to your house the next morning wanting to talk to you? And from Kelly's description, he's quite the looker. I give it three days before you'll be eating your words." She wiggled her eyebrows and Victoria did her best not to gag.
"I'd rather eat cardboard," Victoria grouched, shaking her head violently. "No way, no thank you. Damon's...well, he's Damon, but there is no way in hell that I am going to be shacking it up with him."
"You had a guy over this morning?" Bonnie said interestedly.
Victoria groaned and closed her eyes in exasperation for a brief moment. This was not the way the conversation was supposed to pan out, but now she had three eager teenagers looking at her with varying degrees of silent innuendos on their faces. "First off, I just met him last night; he's new around town and I offered to show him around sometime. Secondly, I met him last night and while he's new, he's also a bit of a jerk, so no thank you! Thirdly, nothing, and I mean nothing, will happen between the two of us."
"I can't even judge the accuracy of your statement because you refused to let me see him!" Caroline moaned.
"He left by the time you were out of the shower. Not my fault!"
Elena suddenly stood up abruptly and began to grab her things. Bonnie's forehead scrunched up in confusion. "Where are you going?"
"Caroline's right." Caroline let out a gasp, a squeal, and then clapped her hands together, all in that order. "It is easy. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying what I was going to do."
"I think I understood that," Victoria mumbled.
"And you're coming with me."
That statement was directed right at Victoria.
This time, Victoria choked on her bite of burger so much that Caroline had to pat her back. She spat out a gross chunk of burger on her plate and looked up at Elena in disgust. "I literally just said that I want to fall in love with a guy before sex and you're suddenly asking me for a threesome or to be a spectator?"
Elena's face paled and she shook her head quickly, saying, "No, no, no, no! No! That is not what I'm saying. Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Tori, I-I didn't even think about how weird that sounded." She took a deep breath and Victoria watched as a hot blush raced across her cheeks. "No offense, but ew. No, I just figured that you are friends with Stefan as well. If our conversation goes sideways, you could help mediate."
"And what if your conversation goes in the upward, positive direction?" Victoria asked, slightly afraid of what the answer might be.
"I'll drive you home and then go back. If the mood's ruined by then, it can easily be picked back up."
Elena grabbed Victoria's wrist and yanked her up, dragging her away from the other girls with a sing-song goodbye and a wave. Victoria stumbled, but that didn't deter her at all from shoving Victoria into her car and then peeling out of the parking lot.
"Shovey much?" Victoria managed to spit out as she rushed to buckle herself up. Her hands moved to grip the armrests as Elena sped probably higher than the speed limit. "Seriously? What's rushing you?"
"Has Stefan said anything to you?" Elena suddenly asked, glancing at Victoria only momentarily before looking back towards the road.
Victoria's brow wrinkled. "Can you be anymore specific by chance? Stefan and I talk about many different things."
"Has Stefan said anything to you about me? About how he feels about me?"
Victoria quietly sighed, hearing the teenager's insecurities through her voice. Of course; Victoria could see it clearly now. Elena, like Caroline had been, was worried about her relationship with Stefan. Was it platonic or romantic? Asking her if Stefan had said anything about her was her way of testing the waters to see how Victoria would react. Jenna Sommers had taught her that psychology trick well. A gentle smile came to her face as she said, "Not directly, no, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how much he cares about you. I mean, he's been in town for what, three days? And you've talked to him a lot in those three days. If Stefan wasn't somewhat interested in you, he wouldn't have made the effort."
Elena's grip tightened on the steering wheel. Victoria frowned at the motion. She had been attempting to relax the younger girl, but apparently that did not have the desired effect. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Well, by your reasoning, Stefan is somewhat interested in you," Elena replied, her voice tight.
Victoria shook her head fervently. "Elena, trust me when I say this: Stefan is not interested in me in that way." Elena's grip relaxed slightly, but not as much as Victoria would have liked. Coming up with a decent lie on the spot wasn't her forte, but it seemed like it was becoming it as she easily supplied, "Since waking up, I've actually learned some cool information about his ancestors and so we've just been talking about that. You know how I am with History."
"You are the biggest nerd that I happen to know," Elena admitted. Victoria giggled, and it had the desired effect as Elena chuckled. The two of them soon erupted into fits of laughter as they drove along, pulling up the driveway to the Salvatore Boarding House.
Victoria felt nervous. She knew that Stefan had questions, probably about how she knew he and Damon were vampires at the very least. At the most, how the hell she knew about Katherine. Oh, and not to forget about how she knew he was waiting in the hospital, ready to compel Vicki as soon as Matt had left the room. She felt a headache beginning to form right behind her eyes and she reached up to gently massage her temple. On top of the conversation she was supposed to be having with Stefan, she would also have to deal with Damon, who she had rudely kicked out of her house just that morning.
She hoped that random bit of bravery from her dealings with Damon would make another appearance. She was going to need all the bravery she could muster.
The two girls exited the car and made their way up the steps to the beautiful front door. The wood felt ancient underneath Victoria's fingertips, and yet looked brand new at the same time. A parallel to the men living inside of it.
Elena knocked on the door, and seemed surprised when it swung open easily. Victoria faked a look of shock and the two of them cautiously entered, glancing around the gorgeous entryway.
Victoria gazed around the entryway in wonder and awe. She had seen it many times before through the lens of a TV screen, but to see it in person was something entirely different. The unspoken history in each and every item cried out to her. She couldn't help but run her fingers over the walls, taking in the feel of the wallpaper and wood.
"Stefan?" Elena called out hesitantly. Victoria stepped away from the wall and came up beside her. She reached over and grabbed the teen's hand, giving it a squeeze to reassure her that Victoria was right there too. Also, it would help Victoria yank the girl along if their meeting with Damon went sour. "Stefan?"
A loud squawking distracted the girls. Victoria looked over her shoulder and let out a squeak of fright, ducking with Elena as an all-too-familiar black crow shot through the door. It flew right where their heads had been and disappeared into the many corridors of the house. Victoria couldn't help but curse, "What the hell?"
Elena stood first and pulled Victoria up. The two looked at the doorway, where the crow had entered from and both shivered slightly. "Four crows in three days...I'm not exactly liking what that implies...-"
Elena turned around and jumped. Victoria glanced over her shoulder and flinched, her blood running cold. And there, dressed as if he owned the world, was Damon Salvatore. Fantastic. Here we go.
"I-I'm sorry for barging in," Elena stammered, not recognizing the man in front of her. Probably a good thing. Damon didn't bother looking at Victoria; his eyes were latched onto Elena's. She could only imagine how startling the resemblance between her and Katherine were. "The door was...open." She gestured weakly behind herself towards the door. Victoria squeezed her hand again before gently letting go. She didn't want Elena to see that her hands had begun to shake.
Something about Damon's presence set off alarms in her head. Like everything in her being was screaming at her to run. She knew that her feelings were probably right. Damon wasn't a good guy. At least, he wasn't just yet. But she was with Elena, so hopefully he wouldn't do anything too startling, like throw her against a wall and choke the life out of her. Again.
"You must be Elena," Damon murmured, his eyes taking her in. "I'm Damon, Stefan's brother."
"Damon?" Elena breathed, glancing at Victoria with wide eyes. "This is Damon?" Elena added in a tense, quiet whisper, "As in, kitchen Damon?"
Victoria found it in herself to roll her eyes at Elena, doing her best to ignore the presence of the hundred plus year old vampire right in front of them. "You never asked his last name."
"And you both should realize kitchen Damon can hear you," Damon interrupted, causing both of the girls to jump. Victoria clamped her hands together and subtly bit her tongue. It was starting to get a little harder to breathe. She swallowed heavily, reaching up to gently massage her throat again. It was beginning to burn again.
Elena was the first to regain her composure and said flatly to Damon, "He didn't tell me he had a brother."
"Well, Stefan's not one to brag," Damon brushed it off. "Please, come. I'm sure Stefan will be along any second." Damon gestured for the girls to enter the cozy living room, and Elena walked forward hesitantly.
Victoria moved to join her, but right when she was about to pass Damon, his hand reached out and caught her upper arm. She flinched badly and gritted her teeth to resist snapping at him. She didn't do him the favor by looking at him; instead, she kept her gaze trained on Elena now walking into the Salvatore's living room. Damon leaned close to her, his breath ghosting her ear as he muttered, "You didn't tell me that you were going to be showing up at my house today."
"Funny, I was just about to say the same thing to you," Victoria replied, glancing out of the corner of her eye towards Damon. The man smirked at her before letting go of her arm, allowing her to follow Elena into the living room. She sucked in a sharp breath and willed her legs to move. There was that little bit of bravery. It had come back to her. Here's hoping that it stays.
"Wow," Elena gasped, glancing around the room. Victoria internally agreed. The place was beautiful, and it felt even more homey and cozy and just...good in real life rather than through a TV screen. So many things were going to take place in that living room, both good and bad, and Victoria just allowed herself a moment to let it truly sink in. She was in the living room of the Salvatore Boarding House with Elena Gilbert and Damon Salvatore. If she wasn't trying not to fall into yet another panic attack, then she would probably be hardcore fangirling. "This is your living room?"
"Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction," Damon rattled off, shrugging. "It's a little kitschy for my taste." His eyes landed on Elena's figure again and Victoria tensed up, licking her lips in distaste. She didn't have anything against Damon's relationship with Elena per say, but she didn't like how he was looking at her like she was a piece of meat. "I see why my brother's so smitten. It's about time. For a while there, I never thought he'd get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him."
Elena tensed up and Victoria could see the wave of insecurities that washed over the teen. The little bravery she had roared up and she sent a long and hard glare towards Damon. He promptly ignored her. Elena managed to spit out, "The last one?"
"Yeah," Damon acknowledged, nodding his head. "Katherine, his girlfriend?" Elena looked sick, like she was ready to pass out. "Oh, you two haven't had the awkward exes conversation yet."
"No, Damon, they haven't," Victoria snapped, moving towards Elena. She quickly wrapped the younger woman in her arms, in a hug that clearly said, 'I'm here for you' and 'Try to touch this girl and you will die'. She was multitalented like that. "So if you could have a little more tact, that would be great."
"Oops." Damon didn't sound that apologetic. "Well, I'm sure it'll come up now. Or maybe he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound. We all know how those relationships end."
"You say it like every relationship is doomed to end."
"I'm a fatalist," Damon smirked. He paused and the smirk only grew wider. "Hello, Stefan."
Damon stepped to the side, revealing Stefan standing right behind his brother. He seemed slightly winded and his body was tense. His face seemed more shadowed then normal, and Victoria recognized it; he was trying to calm down his vampiric abilities. She tried to quickly deduce the reasoning: she knew he was pissed at Damon for allowing Elena over, but it wasn't like he was that pissed off at him in the TV show.
The hospital. He must have still gone through the blood drive to escape; he was resisting the urge to feed. Victoria tilted her head quizzically at him and he shook his head sharply. She nodded. He didn't want to try and explain it; at least, not with Elena hanging around.
"Elena," Stefan said, his eyes never leaving Damon's smart-ass face. "I didn't know you were coming over."
"I know. We should have called, but I just..." Elena began, but Damon interrupted her, cutting her off.
"Oh, don't be silly! You're welcome any time. Isn't she, Stefan?" Damon rambled, glancing over his shoulder at Stefan quickly before looking back towards the girls. "You know, I should break out the family photo albums or some home movies. But...I have to warn you. He wasn't always such a looker." He smirked at Elena, as if the two of them were sharing an inside joke.
Victoria hissed quietly under her breath, "Knock it off, Damon."
Damon rolled his eyes, which confused Elena, but didn't say anything else. Stefan jumped in, taking advantage of the silence. "Thank you for stopping by, Elena. Nice to see you." He stepped to the side and gestured towards the door.
"Yeah, we should probably go," Elena winced. She looked towards Damon and politely said, "It was nice to meet you, Damon."
"Great meeting you too, Elena," Damon hummed, licking his lips. Victoria verbally growled and yanked Elena away from the older man, sending him a distinct glare. He really did need to knock it off; she was a minor, for crying out loud!
Victoria gestured for Elena to start walking and tried to follow her, only to find herself pinned to somebody's body the next moment. A large arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her close to a warm body right behind her. Victoria stiffened instantly and her heart was beating to fast that she could feel it in her fingertips. In front of her was Elena, looking confused and awkward at what was happening, and Stefan, who looked like he was ready to murder someone. Which meant that the person behind her was Damon. Was he an idiot? Using vampiric speed when Elena was standing right there? And why the hell was he touching her?
"Actually, the lovely Victoria promised to chat with me today," Damon commented, his grip tightening on Victoria's stomach. She quietly gasped as his arm unintentionally (or intentionally; who could tell with Damon?) knocked all the air that had been stored up in her lungs. She tried to subtly push Damon's arm off of her stomach, but he held tight to her. The pain in her ribs were at full potential now, and Victoria had to bite her tongue tightly in order to stop herself from crying out. Or just crying in general. "Don't worry; I'll be a gentleman and drive her straight home once we're done with our little chat."
Elena sent a questioning look towards Victoria, as if asking for her opinion. Probably feeling out whether or not she needed to call the police. Victoria gave Elena her best smile, one that she knew was strained and tight. It wasn't like Damon was making things easy for her. Black spots began to sprinkle themselves around Victoria's vision. The pain was starting to morph into more of a numbness. That can't be good. "I'll be fine. Say hi to Jenna and Jeremy for me."
Elena nodded and was ushered out quickly by Stefan. Once the two were out in the entryway, Damon flipped Victoria around in his grasp. She was now pushed chest-to-chest with the older vampire and his eyes were sparkling with mirth and playfulness. But a dangerous playfulness; the kind that made Victoria squirm as she tried to escape his grasp. The black spots were beginning to get bigger. Damon had to know what he was doing. After all, he had read her medical file.
"Now, sweet Mama Bear, what are you doing here at Casa de la Salvatore?" Damon breathed, his eyes searching her face. Victoria pressed her hands against Damon's chest and tried to shove him off of her, but his grip was tight. Too tight. She weakly spluttered for air, unable to say anything in response to him. She pounded a fist weakly against Damon's chest just as the dark spots fully encompassed all of her range of sight.
Damon was suddenly ripped away from her and she was on the ground, coughing and wheezing. The black spots disappeared as quickly as they came and she whimpered, her arms wrapping around her torso. Her ribs were coming out of numbness, reverting back to straight pain. Victoria looked up to see what exactly had taken Damon off of her.
Stefan had Damon pinned to the wall, his hands wrapped around his older brother's throat. His shoulders were tight with tension and Victoria could hear the younger Salvatore hiss menacingly at Damon. Damon seemed bored as he quickly got himself out of the chokehold and instead turned the tables on Stefan, pinning him to the wall. With Stefan now facing her, Victoria could see the black veins popping out against his skin and the red eyes that screamed anger and murder.
"Damon, stop it!" Victoria yelled. Well, tried to yell. It was more like a mixture between a wheeze and a whisper. It was hard to get a good deep breath when it felt like her ribs were dragging their sharp points against her lungs. Maybe they were. Victoria grabbed onto one of the nearby couches and used it to shakily pull herself to her feet. She shook her head, hoping to dispel the leftover spots that were still dancing around in her vision. Her legs shook dangerously underneath herself. "Leave Stefan alone!"
"You know I'm not going to kill you, Mama Bear," snapped Damon. "However, you conveniently left yourself and Stefan off of your list of protected ones." His hands tightened around Stefan's throat and the younger vampire choked on the tightness. She knew that the vampires didn't need air to survive, but with just a flick of his wrists, Damon could momentarily kill Stefan and Victoria wasn't sure she wanted to be left alone with Damon again so soon.
"You could've fooled me," Victoria breathed, panting and closing her eyes as she let out a growl of pain. Her ribs were rubbing against each other dangerously and she could feel every stupid movement. Damn it, Damon, just when I was feeling better! "Remember our deal. You help me, I help you."
Damon looked at her, a flat expression on his face. He moved to only have one hand holding Stefan up against the wall. "Old news, Mama Bear. Gonna need some good gossip if I'm to not immediately snap my baby brother's neck right now."
"Katherine was the one to turn the two of you," Victoria blurted out. The shock and disbelief on Stefan's face could be considered comical, was it any other situation. Damon tilted his head, appraising Victoria in silence. Victoria collapsed onto the couch, hissing as she jostled her ribs. She just couldn't stand up anymore.
Damon's hands flexed, letting go of Stefan. The moment he was free, Stefan blurred to the side. He was far enough away from Damon where he could massage his throat. Victoria couldn't help but notice that he was close enough to intercept Damon if he tried to go for her again.
"See? We can have a productive conversation," Damon mused, gesturing with his hands. He pretended to dust them off against each other and asked, "Now, who wants a drink?"
"I'm a minor," was Victoria's immediate reply. "And I don't like alcohol."
"Well, that sounds boring."
"How do you know about Katherine, Victoria?" Stefan's voice cut through the silence, as loud as the sounds of Damon pouring himself a drink.
Victoria tensed up, not able to look at Stefan. This was not how she wanted to tell him. She would have preferred to gently ease him into it. And she didn't want to tell Damon. She didn't trust the older vampire as far as she could throw him (and that was to say that Victoria didn't think she could throw him).
She licked her lips, trying to stall for more time. "I-I...well..."
"It seems that Mama Bear over here is quite the historian," Damon mused, raising his cup in a mocking 'cheers' to her and Stefan. He took a quick swig of it before making a noise of appreciation. "She's read up on the two of us and sweet little Katherine."
Victoria risked a glance towards Stefan. If he was confused beforehand, he appeared to be absolutely dumbfounded now. There was nothing on his face that indicated that he understood anything that was happening. And that was when the crap hit the fan.
"You can't have read up about us," Stefan stated, glancing between Damon and Victoria in confusion. "Victoria, you've known me for three days. And, in that time, Kelly, Caroline, and I have barely let you out of our sights. A-And before that, you were awake for a week. You were recovering; you didn't have time to read up on us."
Victoria knew what was about to happen before it did, and she mentally prepared herself to die.
Damon was on her like a hound dog, his eyes a bloodshot red and the frightening dark veins bulging from his skin. He knocked her from her sitting position and pinned her to the couch easily. He straddled her and moved his face dangerously close to her own. His hands, like they were last night, were wrapped around her throat and he was squeezing tightly. Victoria cried out in shock. Her body started to move on its own accord, her hands clawing at Damon's to try and get him to let her go. Her lower body thrashed around as much as she could, trying to aim a kick somewhere that would make him let her go.
Thankfully, it appeared that she didn't need to. In one quick swoop, Damon was off of her again and Stefan had him thrown on the other side of the living room. He stood in front of her protectively and Victoria didn't even bother to hide the tears that were streaming down her face. Her throat was burning with renewed passion and every breath, every swallow, and she knew every word felt like torture.
"You lied to me," Damon growled in fury from across the room. He was glaring at her and his breaths were coming out more like pants. He was beginning to lose himself to the bloodlust. Either she and Stefan had to calm him down, or she was going to end up dead because there was no place in Mystic Falls that she could go that Damon wouldn't find her. "You lied to me to save your own life."
"I didn't lie about helping you," Victoria coughed. Her voice was now definitely no higher than a whisper, even though she felt like she was speaking at full volume. Damn Damon. Damn him straight to hell. What was she supposed to tell her mother once she got home? "I just lied about how I got the information."
"If you want to end up walking back to your mother in one piece, you will start speaking now and you will not stop," Damon hissed. There was the sparkle in his eyes, the one that told Victoria he was trying to compel her. She was grateful that it wasn't working; she was still oblivious to why it wasn't working, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"What I am about to tell you, you cannot tell anyone else. I need to share it on my own time, and with whom I see fit. You both also have to promise to listen to me seriously and to not...well, to not kill me by the time I'm done."
"If you don't start talking, you'll be dead before you can even finish," Damon spat, taking a step closer to Victoria. She flinched and Stefan caught the movement, because he stepped closer to Damon. "Don't even try to protect her, Stefan. Your diet of cute forest animals won't help her against me."
"The reason why I know so much, even though I've been in a coma, is that I'm not from here."
There. The words were out of her mouth and into the world. She had just shared her biggest secret. The one that she had been desperately trying to hide for the past week and a half. How would they react? Would Damon kill her now? Would she really never get to meet a Mikaelson? Oh, please, just one of them. Any one of them if I am to die at Damon's hands.
"That's the big secret we have to promise not to share?" The incredulousness of Damon's tone shocked her. Her statement seemed to shock him out of his bloodlust as his fangs retracted and his eyes lost their hazy red. "Are you serious?"
"Shut up, Damon, and let her finish," Stefan hissed, still standing protectively in front of her.
"Thank you, Stefan. And no, I didn't mean here as in not from Mystic Falls," Victoria clarified. She licked her lips and swallowed heavily, wincing as she did so. If her singing voice was so much as a note shakier because of Damon, forget Katherine. She was going to be the baddest bitch that Mystic Falls had ever seen. "I mean as in I'm not from this...place. Where I come from, vampires, werewolves, and all that jazz are myths. The town of Mystic Falls exists, but it's in Georgia, and it's not even really called Mystic Falls. And...and you guys don't exist. You're fictional characters on a TV show."
Dead silence.
Dead silence permeated the room. Had it been because of any other subject, Victoria would have burst out laughing at her unintentional pun (because vampires are dead, you know?). But this wasn't any other subject. This was one of the most important things that she could ever share about her life. And it was the information that could literally make or break her life in Mystic Falls.
And then Damon broke the silence by laughing. A full on belly laugh, one that made tears spring up into his eyes, and made him clutch his stomach from how hard he was laughing, kind of laughing. Victoria felt her face flush angrily and she bit her tongue, looking down at her feet. One moment, he was ready to snap her neck or drain her until she was dead, and the next moment he was laughing at something extremely scary and personal that she had just shared as if it was some sort of joke. She didn't bother trying to see Stefan's reaction. This was stupid, Victoria thought to herself, gritting her teeth as angry tears threatened to spring up. You know what? Screw them. Screw Damon and his stupid plan to save Katherine. Just go home.
Victoria rose sharply to her feet, ignoring the way that the world spun around her, and spat out, "I knew this was a bad idea." She flipped around and made to march off, but Stefan was in front of her, blocking her way of exiting. "Can it, Stefan. I don't want to talk about it."
"If what you're saying is true, then we both know that Damon can be a bit of an asshole," Stefan began gently, his voice soft and his eyes filled with his familiar warmth. Victoria sniffled pathetically and wiped away the few stray tears that fell off her cheeks. "Even if what you're saying is a lie, you know from experience that Damon is a bad guy."
"Does it even matter if neither of you are willing to listen?" snapped Victoria, squaring her shoulders so she appeared bigger. Not that she would have any chance in a fist fight with Stefan, but the human nature in her yelled for her to appear more fearsome. Her little bout of bravery. "Does it matter if Damon tries to drain me of my blood? How else would you explain the knowledge that I know? And how do you explain me knowing about vervain and vampires? Or werewolves?" She took a step back from Stefan, so both brothers were in her eyesight. It pained her to look at Damon, knowing that he could be over in a moment's notice and she could be dead before she even realized it. She clenched her fists and tried not to sway as her dizziness amplified. "What I just told you, about being from some different reality or universe, that is true."
Stefan seemed skeptical, but he was doing his best to hide it, she could tell. Damon didn't care to try and hide the complete look of denial on his face, his fits of laughter finally coming to a close. The dark and dangerous look that had been in his eyes only seconds before was gone, but it didn't comfort Victoria all that much.
If they were going to believe her, she needed more solid proof. Something that wasn't in history books.
A thought crossed her mind. Well, not so much of a thought; more like the image of a person. A delirious, triumphant grin popped onto her face and she clapped her hands together, suddenly feeling giddy. That was it! That was how she could convince the two men that what she was saying was real.
Victoria missed the wary look that the two brothers sent each other. Stefan was the one to speak, saying cautiously with hands held out towards her cautiously, "Hey Victoria...what's got you excited?"
"I can prove it," Victoria laughed, nodding her head to accentuate her point. She staggered slightly against the couch and fell onto it, blinking her eyes as the world started to settle again. "Whoa."
"Victoria!" Stefan said, rushing to her side. She waved him off, and watched as he paused awkwardly right beside her. He moved and sat down right beside her. He was watching her with concern. To be fair, it did seem as though she was insane. Crying one moment to laughing and cheering the next.
"I'm fine, Stefan. I am going to tell you something that can't be found out in history books. Something that a supposed 'teenager who has just woken up from a coma where she supposedly has amnesia' shouldn't know. Ready?"
Stefan seemed a little hesitant, but he nodded. Victoria didn't miss the look he sent Damon, at least this time.
Victoria pointed a finger at Stefan and he shifted uncomfortably where he was sitting. "Your best friend is a woman named Alexia Branson, but she likes to go by Lexi. She's about 'yay' high on me," Victoria gestured roughly with her hand where she thought Lexi stood at compared to her, "and she's been your best friend for about, and this is an estimate, a hundred years. She's a vampire. She has a human boyfriend named Lee. He's really in love with her."
Stefan's jaw dropped and he blinked rapidly. He licked his lips and moved to try and say something, but nothing could come out. When Victoria looked at Damon's face, she would say that he wasn't as shocked as Stefan (given it wasn't his best friend) but he had a slight look of shock in his gaze. It was similar to the look he had had on his face when she first mentioned Katherine.
"Are you a witch?" Damon asked suddenly.
Victoria blinked, shocked at the question. "N-No...not that I'm aware of."
"She could be a potential Seer," Damon commented, glancing towards Stefan. For the briefest of moments, she could see the brotherly bond the two of them shared. "Can a Seer's powers manifest during a coma?"
"If she was a Seer, she wouldn't be this insistent," Stefan shot down, looking towards his brother over his shoulder. "She would be more worried that she was losing her mind." He looked back to her, his eyes narrowing slightly. Victoria tensed up, ready for whatever he would throw at her. "You really believe that what you're telling us is true?"
"Oh honey, you aren't even prepared for what I'm about to tell you next."
All in all, the Salvatore brothers didn't freak out as badly as Victoria had been anticipating after the full truth was revealed. There were no death threats surprisingly (maybe one had the inkling to start again, but Stefan quickly shut it down), no calls to an insane asylum, and no tantrums from a certain blue-eyed vampire that could have sent Victoria to the hospital. But then, he had already thrown a tantrum bad enough that Victoria had to come up with a plausible reason to why her throat was even more damaged.
Pretty much, they just kept silent (well, Stefan kept silent and Damon just stood in the corner, brooding and drinking) and let her ramble about her life and the world she came from.
The fact that she was actually Victoria Khalida Vanacore, not Victoria Khalida LeBlanc. That she was twenty-one and not the spritely seventeen. That she was from the year 2021 and no 2009. That she felt as though she had died during her car accident, the same one that she apparently experienced in the world of Mystic Falls. Except, in Mystic Falls, she had simply fallen into a coma. In the world where she was from...she didn't know.
Of course, they questioned her on how she supposedly 'got' to this world. Victoria answered them honestly: she had no idea. She admitted how fanfiction-like it all sounded, to which Damon asked what fanfiction was. That was the moment she decided to call it a night and asked Stefan to take her home. Damon had shaken his finger at her and said he had promised a very nice young woman that he would take her home, and take her home he shall. Victoria fought against it, refusing to even be left alone with him after his two attempts to kill her in the last three days. She was too emotionally and physically exhausted and she just wanted to go home and feel safe. Stefan agreed to take her home and warned Damon not to follow the two of them.
Stefan led Victoria out carefully of the boarding house, down the front steps and towards the garage. The light of the day had passed by quickly and it was already well into the night, making it harder for her to see where she was going. After she stumbled on the cobblestones for the third time, she muttered angrily, "Stupid perfect vampire sight." Stefan chuckled at her discomfort good-naturedly and she smiled. At least she felt safe with one Salvatore brother.
Stefan opened the garage and Victoria couldn't help but 'aww' at the beautiful cherry red 1963 Porsche 356B Karmann Coupe sitting right next to the baby blue Chevy Camaro Convertible. Stefan raised an eyebrow at her, confused at her reaction. She blushed and whispered, "Sorry; it's just cool that I get to see your guys' cars in person, you know? They are kind of iconic."
Stefan chuckled and unlocked the car for her. Victoria slipped into the passenger seat and tossed her bags into the backseat. She hadn't suspected that telling the brothers would be so...exhausting. She felt like an absolute train wreck. All she wanted to do was go home and shower and then fall into bed. Or shower, make a snack, and then fall into bed. Could she sleep in the shower, and then eat a snack? Or eat a snack in the shower, and then fall asleep?
Something snapped in front of her face and Victoria flinched violently at the noise, her head whipping to the side. Her previous blush came on full force when she saw Stefan's apologetic face. She looked back out the front window, trying to resist looking at him. "Sorry if I startled you. You seemed to be really lost in thought."
"You would too if you had gone through the day I have," Victoria answered him honestly.
Stefan eased them out of the driveway and onto the road, taking the fastest route to her house. With each minute they drove away from the boarding house, Victoria found herself relaxing into the coupe's seat. Stefan whispered gently, as to not startle her again, "No need for the home address."
"I figured as much," Victoria murmured. They hit a bump and she squeaked, her hands flashing to grip the armrests. She gritted her teeth and huffed, "I am so sick of car rides. If cars could just go extinct, I don't think I would mourn them. I can handle walking everywhere."
"You say that now, but if what you said about your...universe...is true, you know that I come from a time when we did have to walk everywhere. Well, we had carriages, but they weren't always reliable. And let me tell you, it wasn't a piece of cake."
Victoria giggled at Stefan's example and she spotted the corner of his lips perking up. She could see him mentally high-fiving himself for taking her mind off of the road.
As Stefan turned another corner, he asked, "So, I do have a question about your supposed Seer powers -"
"- Not Seer powers -"
"- I take it that you're not going to just tell us everything that we want to know. That would end up bad, right?"
Victoria nodded her head softly, not wanting to create anymore tension for her already pounding head. "If there's anything I've learned from fanfiction and from TV shows, when entering into the world where you know everything that is supposed to take place, you are never to reveal big events before they are revealed naturally. It could cause time to implode, or something. Instead, try and give little 'hints' if need be to help the characters along and if they try and ask a question that would result in a spoiler, just say 'Spoiler'."
"So, I know you'll probably hang this over Damon's head for the rest of your time here, but do I get to know what a fanfiction is?"
Victoria groaned and flopped her head back against the headrest. "I'm hoping that I never have to explain that to you or anyone else."
Stefan turned the corner onto her street and Victoria leaned forward in her seat. She squinted through the dark when she noticed her house on the street with the porch lights on. She sat back and licked her lips in thought. Kelly didn't like the porch lights on past a certain hour because she said that it was a waste of electricity when they didn't need to see outside...
Stefan's car slid to a stop right outside of her driveway and her heart pounded terribly against her ribcage when she noticed that Kelly's car was in the driveway and the door to the house was left wide open. Victoria didn't even think before she leapt out of the car and raced towards the door. She ignored Stefan's calls for her to hold on just a moment, because she didn't know if she had a moment. The only thing going through her mind was, No please, not her, Damon, please, anyone but Kelly. Anyone but the woman who has been more of a mother to me in the last week then my own mother has been to me my whole life.
She leapt up the porch steps and into the hallway, taking note that nothing seemed to be out of place. She heard Stefan cough awkwardly behind her and she quickly whispered a "Come in", not bothering to look behind at him. Stefan was behind her right shoulder in a moment; Victoria could barely hear his breathing. Victoria took a step forward, coming out from around the wall, and the sight in the kitchen made her sigh.
It was Kelly. Except Kelly, along with her cute apron, was covered from head to toe in flour. She had a sheepish smile on her face as she held what looked like a ball of dough in her hands. Stefan came out from around the corner and took a moment to take in the picture in front of him. He sighed the next moment. Victoria noticed Kelly's eyes narrow momentarily at the two of them before they returned to normal. Victoria blinked. What the hell was that for?
"Kelly, what the hell are you doing?" Victoria sighed, shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose as her headache reached exponential heights.
"Language, young lady," Kelly gently snapped, dropping the ball of dough onto the floured countertop. Victoria looked at the countertop with disgust. That was going to be hell to clean up. "I figured to celebrate your halfway mark through your first week of school, we should celebrate with pizza! But when I got home, you weren't here so I started and figured that I would surprise you." She looked past Victoria and her eyes landed on Stefan. "Oh! You're the teenager from the school. Stephen, was it?"
"Stefan," Stefan corrected smoothly. He gave a little wave. "I'd shake your hand but you seem preoccupied."
"Kelly, the front door was wide open and the lights were on, and it's past your lights curfew," Victoria mentioned, dragging her hand from her face. Kelly's mouth widened into an 'Oh' and the sheepish smile came back. "Yeah, oh."
"I'm sorry for scaring you, baby girl," Kelly apologized, brushing her hands on her apron (which didn't do much good for wiping the flour away). "I was just so excited to start on this pizza and well, I wasn't thinking straight." She curiously moved her gaze between Victoria and Stefan. "What were the two of you doing here? And at this late hour?"
"After the hospital, I went to hang out with the girls and Elena wanted to see Stefan, so I rode with her to the Boarding House," Victoria explained, pulling out two of the barstools. She sat down on one of them and gestured for Stefan to take the other. Being the polite Southern gentleman that he was, he did. "I ended up seeing Damon at the boarding house and he was insistent that I stay and tell him all about Mystic Falls. Oh! I may have forgot to mention that Damon is Stefan's older brother."
"Oh! Damon from the kitchen?"
"Yep, that's him," Stefan confirmed, nodding his head. To anyone else, he seemed carefree as he talked about his brother. But Victoria noticed the slight tick in his jaw whenever he mentioned Damon to anyone. It also seemed like he wasn't jazzed that Kelly knew about Damon. And that Damon had been allowed into the house. "I mentioned Victoria to him after my first day of school so I guess he decided to meet her at the bonfire last night. According to him, they hit it right off."
Kelly hummed, nodding her head as she listened to the story. She was silent as she moved to wash her hands, taking her sweet time in making sure all of the flour got out from in between her fingers. Stefan and Victoria just sat in silence, both of them shifting awkwardly as they waited for someone to say something.
"If the two of you are as close as it seems like you two are, then where were you when she was attacked?"
Victoria flinched, looking at Kelly with disbelief. Had she really just said that? Stefan didn't know about the attack. Victoria had been doing her absolute best to keep that little tidbit of information away from him. She looked cautiously over at Stefan and could see a look of pure disbelief and utter rage in his eyes.
"Her what?" Stefan said, his voice just a level before becoming a growl. Kelly's eyebrow perked up and she turned her gaze to Victoria, who found her attention drawn to floured countertop in front of her. "Ms. LeBlanc, did you say that Victoria was attacked? When?"
"Last night, after the bonfire," Kelly explained slowly, her gaze not leaving Victoria when the teenager checked to see who she was looking at. "We were at the Mystic Grill. I left to go get my laptop from the car, Bonnie left to go home, Caroline was nursing coffee, and Victoria left to find me. Some guy roughed her up, threw her up against a wall and tried to choke her. I don't know how she got away, but she did."
Victoria knew she had to look at Stefan eventually, but she just couldn't. Her eyes were burning with unshed tears of embarrassment and nervousness. Her hands clenched tightly into fists in her lap. It was simple. All she had to do was look at him on three.
One.
Two.
Three.
She barely glanced at Stefan, but she felt her breath get knocked out of her lungs all the same. He looked so devastated, his mouth opening and closing as if he couldn't believe what Kelly had just told him. His eyes flashed to hers and she bit her lower lip, sniffling weakly and turning away. Victoria couldn't look him in the eye. She didn't know what she was supposed to say. If she was supposed to say anything.
"I had to leave from the bonfire early and when I got back home, Damon and I had were in a big fight. I-I...I went to see Elena to see if she was alright. I knew she went home with less people than Victoria did and I-I..." His voice trailed off and she could hear his words become tight with emotions. "I-I didn't know."
"It's not your fault," Victoria mumbled under her breath, unable to look at him. She could guess what look he was giving her: incredulous, not at all believing what she was saying. "Y-You couldn't have known what was about to happen."
"I still should have checked up on you after last night," Stefan argued back, shaking his head.
"So what is the relationship between the two of you?" Kelly asked, rather point blank. Victoria coughed, choking the random spit she was attempting to swallow when Kelly asked the question. She sent her mother a crazy look. Did she have any tact? "Are you dating my daughter?"
"Mom!" Victoria moaned, shaking her head. "What is with all of these questions?" She looked to Stefan, apologizing, "I am so sorry, you don't need to answer any of her questions."
When she looked back towards Kelly, she was shocked to see tears streaming down the woman's face. They carved little lines throughout her flour face mask and Kelly clamped a hand over her mouth. A tiny sob erupted from her fingers and she squeezed her eyes tight, turning away. Victoria felt her blood go cold.
"Oh my gosh, did I say something wrong?" Victoria questioned, leaping to her feet. Her pounding head caused her to stumble slightly, and Stefan was up in a moment to help her. She waved him off and rounded the countertop until she stood in front of Kelly. "Is everything ok?"
"Sorry," Kelly breathed, wiping away the tears with the heel of her palm. "It's just..." She let out a laugh, one that was filled with happiness and pure joy. It hit Victoria at that moment that Kelly wasn't sad or heartbroken at something and that was why she was crying. She was crying from joy. They were tears of joy. "You called me 'Mom'."
Victoria's eyes widened in disbelief.
Oh crap. She did. She had. Called Kelly 'mom'. The more that Victoria thought about it, she had been referring to the older woman as her mother for the entire day. It had come in random bursts and odd moments, but it just felt so natural. "I-I guess I did." She licked her lips and asked slowly, "I-Is that alright? I-I don't want to d-do anything if it makes you feel awkward."
"Oh baby girl, that is perfectly, amazingly ok," Kelly cheered, grabbing Victoria and dragging her into a tight hug. Victoria ignored the flour that poofed when the two of them impacted and the renewed pain in her ribs and squeezed Kelly tight. She squeezed her mother tight.
MacKenzie Vanacore may have been her mother by blood, the woman that gave birth to her and raised her, taking care of her as much as a businesswoman mother could. But it was Kelly LeBlanc that Victoria chose to be her mom, the woman who loved larger than life.
An awkward cough from Stefan, and a little question of "Should I go or can I have some pizza too?" broke the perfect moment. But the three of them erupted into fists of laughter. And it felt good.
It felt really good.
A/N: Tada! Here's your next chapter!
Before we get into anything else, a couple of announcements:
1. I started these first few chapters under the presumption that Vicki was Matt's younger sister. However, after looking on the world wide web I've discovered that she's supposed to be like 18 or 21? Like, what the heck, Vicki? (And when you take into account she "deflowered" Jeremy, who's like 15...ew). So, for all intents and purposes be, she will be just a rebellious, uncouth 16 year old that does a lot of drugs and what not. That's how I pictured her so that's how she'll be in my story.
2. It's my dad's birthday today! Feel free to wish Papa Fearless a happy birthday in the reviews if you'd like!
Also, the wonderful, wonderful, wonderful sammyleann has pointed out to me that Victoria and Vicki's names are the same (since Vicki is a nickname for Victoria) and their moms both have the same name (Kelly LeBlanc and Kelly Donovan). At first, I was going to change Kelly's name to something else, but I came up with a better way to use her name, so yeah, their names are all the same. You'll understand a little bit more later ;).
New Followers!: Selene088, Theresa5155, katyclark597
New Favoriters!: Selene088, Theresa5155, katyclark597, jenniferprignano, GeovanaMelo
(Is there a significant difference in the functions of Following and Favoriting a story, cuz I can never tell?)
Onto PMs and reviews!:
Jalissa12213: Hmm, you'll have to wait and see ;) Is it a Stetoria endgame or Vilijiah? It could be even more left field and be Datoria (or Viamon, which ship name for Victoria and Damon works better?). For all you know, I could be throwing everybody off the scent and this story could end up being Vinn (Victoria/Finn). I know who she's ending up with, I just enjoy watching you all suffer trying to figure it out too.
DBZFAN45: No problem! Yeah, sorry, she told them, hehe. But I swear, that isn't just going to be the end of that. Her gift of "pre-knowledge" is going to bite her in the butt...multiple times. Hmm, yeah, Datoria would be a cool ship. As of right now, they seem to be more partners-in-crime, but who knows what could bloom from that, right? Oh, don't worry about doing that! The only one I would really suggest is "One Itsy-Bitsy Spiderling", a Soulmate AU for the Avengers fandom. It's the best one on here besides this story. That quote really does describe Victoria's mindset. Thanks for pointing that out!
AnosDT95: Damon is a problem, honestly. He has these moments where you're like "Are you gonna change?" and he just laughs and says, "Nope!". I feel like he chose Vicki because she was the "odd one out". It's very predator-prey mindset. He chose the one separated from the herd, who was weaker than others, and took it down. The Mikaelsons only attack because they were attacked first. Self-defense, quite honestly. That seems to be a common consensus among the readers, that Victoria might be a witch. All I can say is keep in mind that Victoria's facing hardcore PTSD, anxiety, and a little bit of survivor's guilt so her awareness of certain things around her could be impaired. And dang, I wish I would have thought of that suggestion beforehand! As to your last point, hmm...I can say that you're rather close to the truth...
sam: You're welcome ;)
sammyleann: Thank you! And thank you for pointing out the whole "Victoria and Vicki and Kelly and Kelly" thing. I caught on to the Victoria and Vicki thing earlier when I googled what Vicki was a nickname for (it gave me a cool idea for later on). And I also have to say you are my first reviewer to request assassination of a character. Don't worry. Mrs. Landstrom will get what's coming to her later on ;).
Until Monday, when we wrap up The Night Of The Comet! Enjoy your weekend everybody and stay safe!
BecomingFearless1F