Antrakt - Where On Earth Is Victoria LeBlanc? - Part 3

Dear Diary,

You can tell that I am not doing well simply by looking at me. The bags under my eyes, the way I walk, how I speak. I feel like a shell, an imposter, a shadow of my normal self. Everywhere I go, all I see is Vicki's face; all I hear is her voice. She haunts me, and that terrifies me. I constantly feel her fingers around my throat, pushing my head to the side so she can have better access to my throat. And yet, when I go to push her hand away, I realize that there is no hand. There is nothing more terrifying than not being able to trust your own mind.

I began healing in the hospital only about an hour or so after Kelly returned from her trip to grab the Salvatore brothers snacks. Both boys found excuses to duck out of the room, intent on going on a compulsion spree to ensure that none of the doctors or nurses got any crazy ideas about my rapid healing. However, as Stefan explained it once they returned to the room, all the doctors and nurses were nonchalant about my healing; in fact, they said that they had already been given clear instructions to not reveal anything about my medical condition, nor to remember anything about this trip once I left the hospital.

Thanks, Noble.

Stefan and Damon escorted me and Kelly back home, and then Damon ducked out, insisting that he was going to find Vicki. Of course, seeing the stern look in his eyes did not ease my conscious, so I sent Stefan with him, encouraging the Civil War vampire to bring Zach with him as well. Zach and Vicki were roughly the same vampire age (with Zach having a day or so on Vicki), so he would be able to hold his own against her. Stefan agreed to go with Damon, but only if I promised not to let anyone in that wasn't one of the Salvatore brothers, Elena, Bonnie, or Caroline. I agreed.

Caroline was over in a heartbeat; she had caught one look at me and burst into tears, apologizing for not being at the hospital for me and for not being able to find me. All things that she had held no power over. Liz Forbes had apparently wanted to have a "chat" with Caroline, which is why by the time she had arrived at the hospital, me, Kelly, and the Salvatores were already gone. In the end, it was more me reassuring Caroline that she had done nothing wrong rather than Caroline reassuring me that everything was fine.

As much as I am not fine...it was good to have Caroline over. The girl has absolutely no sense of personal boundaries, and it was kind of like being thrown into a river to learn how to swim (not that that was the way I learned how to swim; my biological parents would have had a heart attack. No, they hired a private tutor for me to learn from). I was able to, in one night, learn how to not flinch whenever someone touched me. Granted, it was with humans who ran slightly hotter than vampires. It wasn't that noticeable a change in temperature (it could easily be mistaken as bad circulation), but if you were aware of the fact, then it was easy to spot.

Everything seemed to be going well until I got tired. I had excused myself, going up to my room to sleep, and I found that I couldn't fall asleep on my bed. My whole body was on fire; all my nerves were on the verge of exploding. I was tense, just waiting for Vicki to appear out of nowhere and take a bite out of my neck. The mattress was too comfortable, much too comfortable after being forced to sleep on concrete floors and suspended in the air. It didn't feel right, which is so wrong because it was right! I ended up grabbing my pillow and blanket and I moved into my bathroom, taking up the tub as residence. Only ended up having two nightmares, which was much better than I anticipated.

So yeah. The first week of October was spent inside of a logging mill, trapped with a baby vampire who seemed to have a fetish for my blood despite the fact that it is supposed to taste like crap (maybe because I'm her friend? I haven't asked anybody about that just yet). The second week of October was spent in my bedroom, recovering from that crazy first week, sleeping in the tub most nights (unless Kelly caught me, which has only happened twice, then she would drag me into her room and hold me while I slept; usually would only have one nightmare on those nights. That was nice).

School has...school's been a right, honest mess. Missed so many weeks, it'll be a wonder if I can even graduate (which is not that big of a deal to me, seeing as I've already graduated, but that was back where I came from; in this world, Victoria LeBlanc was still a junior in high school). Caroline's been trying to help, and I know that if Stefan were around, he would try to help to, but he's been spending most of his time hunting for Vicki (which he and Damon did not find at the logging mills, which tells me that Noble must have done something with her). On top of that, he's also tried to rekindle his relationship with Elena, which had been called off the night me and Vicki went missing (as I knew it would). I think my knowledge of that hurt Stefan too. Like, he feels betrayed because I didn't tell him what was going to happen.

I don't know, it's all a crazy mess. Tomorrow is the first day that I will be forced to go back to school (not so much of forced as in me personally pushing myself to try and not flunk out of high school). Everything is so overwhelming...I just wish...

Why couldn't things be simpler?

There was a gentle knocking on Victoria's bedroom's door which lured her out of her writing. She didn't bother to hide her flinch; everyone knew that she was still trying to get used to what they all referred to as "distant noises". Thumps, thuds, knocks, and even footsteps would cause her to flinch back in fear, but she was getting a better handle on it. Her mind must have been so wrapped up in her diary that she just didn't hear it coming. Clearing her throat, Victoria said softly, "Come in."

The door opened slowly and Kelly appeared in the doorway. There was a tentative look of concern in her eyes, and she seemed to be getting ready for bed, all dressed in her pajamas. Victoria shut her diary, clicking the lock into place, and she set it off to the side on her bed. She shifted on her mattress, trying to get comfortable. Her back and neck ached from the awkward bent shape she had been in for the past hour. Kelly watched her silently, waiting until she was comfortable before speaking. "Hi, baby girl."

"Hi Mom," Victoria replied, her voice soft. She had discovered in the first few days since arriving home from the hospital that she hated raising her voice above a soft murmur. Days upon days of screaming for help from somebody, anybody, with no reply really shot her voice. Of course, it was all healed due to the vampire blood (thank you, Damon), but still, it was like a phantom pain. And oh boy, did Victoria know a thing or two about phantom pains.

"Just checking in," Kelly whispered to Victoria. She folded her arms gently across her chest. "How are you doing?"

Victoria gave her mother a baby nod, one that was really small. "Good; glad to be home." It was her typical reply to everything. It was the truth. She had missed her home terribly. "Was there anything else you needed? Was it my turn to do dishes or something?"

"No, no, I don't need help with the dishes, I got that covered, baby girl," Kelly insisted, shaking her head. "But yes, there is something else; or rather, someone else."

Kelly stepped into the room, moving away from the door, and Victoria watched her mother in interest. Who was it that was so special? Caroline had already been over (more than once), and the brothers were busy...

A moment after Kelly had moved away from the doorframe, Stefan poked his head into the room. A subconscious smile came to Victoria's lips when she looked at the vampire. She said sort-of breathlessly, "Stefan." When she realized how she sounded, she blushed a little and cleared her throat, adding more confidently, "What are you doing here?"

"Wanted to check in with you," Stefan admitted, stepping inside the room. He reached up and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I realize that it's been a while since I've seen you last and wanted to apologize also for 'ghosting' you." He sent her a look that silently asked if that was the right term. She nodded her head and he shot her a thankful smile. "So, yeah, I'm sorry about that."

Kelly walked over to Stefan and gently patted his shoulder, drawing his attention away from Victoria and up towards her. "The first stage to forgiveness is admitting you screwed up." She looked back towards Victoria. "Baby girl, I'm going to be downstairs cleaning up and then I'm going to head off to bed. Don't be loud, alright?"

Victoria raised an eyebrow at her mother; when had Victoria (barring her nightmares) been loud within the past week? Kelly seemed to realize this and snickered as she stepped out of the room. She sent Stefan a look that Victoria didn't even want to try and unpack before she shut the door, leaving Stefan alone in the room with Victoria.

He stood awkwardly in the center of the room before Victoria decided to take pity on him. She reached forward and patted the edge of her bed, an open invitation for him to come and sit. Stefan nodded thankfully and sat in the exact place she had patted. He twisted so he was facing her and Victoria all of a sudden felt slightly self-conscious in her baggy sweatpants and oversized sweatshirt. They were her comfort pajamas. Having baggy clothes helped her forget how restricting the chains had been on her arms.

"So," Stefan began, before cutting himself off. He licked his lips awkwardly and Victoria found herself mesmerized by the action. Once she realized what she was doing, she shook her head and blushed. She pulled her legs up to her chest and cradled them against her body with her arms. She ducked her head down, partially hiding her face with her legs.

"So," Victoria replied, just as awkwardly.

The two looked at each other, giggling at the overwhelming awkwardness that had manifested between the two of them. Stefan spoke first. "Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Doing good."

Victoria nibbled on her lower lip, pondering the question. It was a difficult statement, one that felt like a loaded gun. In some ways, yes. She was doing good. She was doing better than she had been, but then again...she still wasn't fine. She was dealing, yes, but not dealing well. To quote Kelly from a few nights ago, "Sleeping in a bathtub is not dealing."

So Victoria decided to settle with the safest option and she shrugged.

Stefan frowned, obviously not liking that as an answer, but he didn't try to press it. Victoria watched Stefan in the silence, and he looked back at her. Just looking. Observing. Taking in each other.

Then the two of them tried to speak at the same exact time:

"Why didn't you tell me about Noble?"

"So, how are you and Elena doing?"

The two of them blushed awkwardly at the overlapping sentences and tried to gesture for the other to finish their question. Stefan relented first, reaching up to run a hand through his poofed hair. It seemed so soft; Victoria silently wondered what it would be like to run her fingers through it.

Aaaaaand there were the crazy thoughts. They had been happening more and more recently. It was honestly getting hard to keep them at bay.

"Damon didn't seemed surprised to hear about this Noble guy, the one who rescued you from Vicki," Stefan continued on, tilting his head slightly as he gazed upon her. "I was wondering why you didn't tell me about him? Why did you only tell Damon?"

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't tell Damon," Victoria told him, honestly. "He only knows about the two of them, and yes, there is more than one, onto that later, because of the Founder's Ball. So, um, I guess I never really told you what happened then either, did I?" Stefan shook his head. "Well, Damon got...pissy and threw me against a tree. He was about to bite my neck when Noble knocked him aside. His assistant, or friend, or something or other, Raphael, helped me stand up. Noble kept Damon at bay while Raphael took care of me. I don't know much about them; Raphael appeared to me first, in the park when Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena were handing out fliers for the Night of the Comet celebration. He gave me this vial of clear liquid, from Noble, that he said would help me heal without the usage of vampire blood. I didn't drink it until after Tyler punched me, but it worked with no side effects. Raphael and Noble are also not their real names. Something to do with wanting to protect me, I believe. They're a little over the top. Must be a normal trait of vampires."

"You don't know much about them?" Stefan restated, and Victoria nodded. "But I thought you knew almost everything about anyone here, because of the whole 'TV show' thingy."

"That's supposed to be the case," Victoria admitted, shrugging. "But apparently, my being here in this world is causing some changes. Little things, but noticeable things. For instance, Damon...well, let's just say Damon's supposed to do some rude things...not to me, of course, but to someone else I really care about."

"Are Noble and Raphael the only two that you don't know about in this world?" Stefan asked curiously.

"No, they're two out of six, the other four being Kelly, Mrs. Landstrom, Ms. Cortez, and Mrs. Richards," Victoria listed off, using her fingers as a counter.

"Do you think..."

"Do I think what, Stefan?"

"That maybe they're like you?"

"From a different world?" Victoria asked, raising an eyebrow. Stefan nodded and Victoria couldn't help but scoff. "Yeah, not likely. I mean, I can't speak for Ms. Cortez, Mrs. Landstrom, and Mrs. Richards, but Kelly's lived in Mystic Falls for her entire life. She acts like she belongs in the present time, this world's present time. As for Noble and Raphael, I think they've been vampires for a long time. At least, Noble definitely has been. He just has this aura to him that makes him seem much, much older. When I arrived here, I was only four years younger than I actually am. Seventeen when I'm supposed to be twenty-one."

Stefan nodded his head, taking in all the information that Victoria had to offer. He was silent for a moment before clearing his throat, "I believe that you asked me how me and Elena are doing?"

Victoria nodded awkwardly. She didn't know what compelled her to ask that. Recently, since returning back from Vicki's kidnapping, there had been a burning sensation in her chest whenever she thought of Stefan and Elena together. It hurt her inside, and she wasn't entirely sure what that meant.

Stefan's downtrodden sigh brought her out of her memories. Victoria blinked, surprised at the broken, yet hopeful sound. "We're...we're working through things. She's not happy that I kept everything a secret. She doesn't want to lie to her brother and to Matt and to Kelly and everyone. A-And she's worried that I'm going to hurt her."

"Which is a load of bullshit," Victoria snorted, rolling her eyes. At Stefan's confused gaze, she reiterated, "Whenever you are putting yourself out there for a relationship, you have to understand that you are opening yourself to pain."

"Physical hurt, Tori, not emotional."

"Yeah, sometimes that too, but anyways, continue."

"But given your return, she's starting to see that not all vampires are totally dangerous," Stefan continued. A small smile came to his lips at some silent memory and Victoria's heart burned within her chest. She subtly reached up and rubbed the heel of her palm against the area. What a weird time to have some heartburn. "We're not where we were, but we're healing. And I guess, that's all I can ask for."

Victoria nodded and forced herself to smile reassuringly. "That's really good, Stefan. I'm glad to hear that." A yawn interrupted her sentence before she could say anything else. She covered her mouth and blushed in embarrassment. "Oh wow, sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," Stefan said, shaking his head. He glanced at the clock hanging on her wall and winced. "I knew I was coming late, but it was my first free moment in a while to come and see you."

"It's alright," Victoria reassured him, chuckling lightly. "Sleep's not something that comes as easily these days as most things."

Stefan frowned at that and looked at her with concern. "Trouble sleeping? Are you having nightmares?" Victoria nodded. "About Vicki?"

"At least once a night," Victoria explained, dropping her knees from her chest. She stretched her legs out in front of her and yawned again. "But more often it's two a night."

"Does Kelly know?"

"Sometimes, she'll make me sleep beside her in her bed, and then the nightmares are reduced down to one," Victoria said. She shrugged. "Maybe it has something to do with someone there. Anyways, it's just something that I've learned to deal with."

Stefan's frown deepened, if that was even possible. "Do you want to talk about them?"

She shook her head. The nightmares about Vicki...they were something that she had to get over. Herself. It was hard enough as it was to speak to Stefan and Damon about her time with Vicki. She didn't know if she could talk about her nightmares just yet. "I've got it. If I need help, I'll get it."

Stefan didn't seem to believe her again, but he nodded. "If you insist. I-I guess I'll just leave you to get some sleep." He gave her a reassuring smile. There was a loud crash coming from downstairs, and Stefan's eyes widened. "Was that Kelly?"

He moved to stand up, but Victoria's hand shot out, grabbing onto his wrist. Both Victoria and Stefan flinched at the sudden movement, but Victoria found that she couldn't let go of Stefan's wrist. Her whole body was shaking and her breathing was noticeably quicker. She panted and her visions started to dim. She was instantly transported back into the mills, the large room. The chains.

"I'll only take a sip. A sip is what I need, to regain my strength. You'd do that for me, Blankie? Wouldn't you?"

"Victoria?"

Victoria blinked back into reality and she took note of the position she and Stefan were in. Stefan was back sitting on her bed, but this time he had a hand resting on the back of her neck. Her hand was still wrapped tightly around his wrist and their connection was placed on her lap. His fingers...

"They're warm," she whispered, dazed.

Stefan's brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"Your fingers...they're warm. How are they warm?"

"Caffeine," Stefan answered readily. "I downed a whole pot of coffee before I came here; caffeine puts us at a closer temperature to a normal human so I figured it would help put you at ease."

He did that. For her. Victoria could feel herself beginning to blush again. "T-Thank you." She shook her head. "I-I guess that's my cue to go to bed."

"What was that?" Stefan asked as he untangled his hand from the back of her neck. A chill raced down Victoria's spine at the lost connection and she didn't bother to hide her shiver.

"Flashback," Victoria answered honestly, wincing. "Loud noises tend to set me off." Her eyes widened suddenly. "Oh my gosh, is Kelly okay?"

In a flash, Stefan was at her doorway, opening the door and shouting, "Hey, Ms. LeBlanc! Are you okay?"

"I'm good!" the two of them heard from downstairs. Victoria let out a sigh of relief. "Sorry about that. Is Tori okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine!"

"Cool! Oh, and Stefan?"

"Yeah?"

"You can call me Kelly. I'm not that old!"

Victoria giggled at Stefan's spluttering, obviously embarrassed for ever silently implying that Kelly was old. Stefan sent her a mock-glare and her giggles soon turned into laughter, which Stefan joined in on. He walked back to her bed and flopped back down onto it. He smiled widely at her. "It's good to hear your laugh again, Tori."

"It's good to laugh again, Stefan," Victoria answered. She smiled teasingly at him. "And this is another time that you've called me Tori."

"Well, the nickname is growing on me," Stefan admitted and Victoria giggled again. "Is there anything I can do to help you before you go to sleep?"

"Can you stay with me?"

The words were out of her mouth before she really had any time to process them, and once she did, she could feel her face flaming red with embarrassment. Oh geez, was she ever going to not be a bumbling mess around Stefan? Where was all of this coming from? She used to be much more slick! "Oh my gosh, I did not mean that the way that it sounded, I'm so sorry. J-Just ignore that and you can go anytime you'd like -"

Stefan interrupted her little rant with a chuckle. "Victoria. I can stay until you fall asleep. You've just experienced something extremely traumatic last week; what kind of friend would I be if I didn't do everything that I could to help you out?"

Stefan brought his feet up, one at a time, to untie his shoelaces. Once that was done, he slipped out of his shoes and maneuvered himself onto her small queen-sized bed. She grabbed her diary and tossed it onto the floor; she'd pick it up in the morning.

Stefan navigated himself around all the numerous pillows that acted as her headrest and apparently had to comment, "This is a lot of pillows."

"My mom was the one to decorate my room and I love it, so don't knock the pillow headrest until you've tried it," Victoria teased, sticking her tongue out at Stefan playfully. He raised an eyebrow at her but twisted and eventually found a comfortable place with his upper body slightly angled up. Victoria slipped underneath the covers of her bed, curling up into a little ball. She rested her head down on a pillow that was near to Stefan's torso. She could feel slight heat radiating from his skin and she sighed. It did feel rather good. It helped to dispel any chill that lurked in her mind. She snuggled deeper down into her bed and closed her eyes.

And, as she suspected, no sleep. At all.

She grumbled angrily underneath her breath and tried shifting positions again. Nothing. No matter which way she turned, she just seemed to stay awake. It was impossible.

Victoria could feel Stefan shifting on the bed and before she knew it, her nose was mashed up against something hard. Well, firm was a better word for it. She inhaled and was enraptured by Stefan's scent. His arms moved to encircle her, leaving her feeling secured instead of trapped. As if he could protect her from her nighttime demons.

She could feel his breath hot against her ear as he leaned down and whispered, "Go to sleep, Tori. Vicki won't get you tonight."

Victoria closed her eyes. If anyone asked, what happened next she blamed on the PTSD of being kidnapped. She snuggled deeper into Stefan's embrace, moving her hands so they were up against his chest, holding onto his shirt with gentle fingers. She could feel Stefan move against her, and she felt him rest his head against her hair.

Sleep did seem to come for her, and as she drifted off, she whispered, "Good night, Stefan."

"Good night, Tori."

For the first time in two weeks, Victoria was able to sleep peacefully throughout the entire night. When she first resurfaced into the land of consciousness, she couldn't help but smile. Not a single nightmare. She hadn't even dreamt at all. It was so refreshing and kind. Just peaceful. A much needed break after the few weeks that she had had.

And she was so warm and comfortable. It was the first time her bed had felt normal. She sighed and snuggled closer to the warmth, pushing her head against the soft material underneath her face. Her body pillow felt so life-like, it was crazy.

Wait...

She didn't have a body pillow...

Victoria's eyes shot open and she pulled back. Or at least, she tried to pull back a little, but she was trapped within a tight embrace. She gulped heavily and looked up at the thing holding her. Or rather, person.

Stefan's eyes were still closed and his breathing seemed to be normal. He held her tight against him, his arms wrapped around her waist and shoulders. His hands had drifted during the night, one moving to rest itself against the back of her neck, his fingers carded through her hair, and the other onto the small of her back. Her sweatshirt had ridden up, so his fingertips were barely brushing against her skin and it felt like she was on fire. Her legs were tangled up in his (he had slipped underneath the covers; probably when he had first held her) and she noticed that her arms were still trapped between their two bodies. Stefan had shimmied down during the night so his head was closer towards hers.

Had he spent the entire night with her? Victoria was sure that he would have left the moment that she had fallen asleep. And oh my gosh, she was the one to initiate the cuddling last night, wasn't she? That was such a fanfiction move! And shit, Elena. If she ever heard about it, it wouldn't matter that the move had been strictly platonic; she'd flip.

But was it strictly platonic?

Aaaaaaand there were those crazy thoughts. Again. Seriously, did Vicki do something to her brain while Victoria was kidnapped? Why did she keep thinking like this?

"Victoria, your brain is thinking too loudly."

Victoria flinched, not expecting to hear Stefan talk. The vampire still looked asleep; he hadn't opened his eyes. Victoria did notice that he loosened his grip on her so she could move around more than before. She took that opportunity to scoot back from his embrace, as much as she didn't want to. The farther she went, the colder she got. "S-Sorry."

"I admit defeat against the pillow headrest," Stefan murmured and oh. His voice was huskier than usual and had a deeper timbre that sent butterflies to Victoria's stomach. "It was actually pretty nice." He sniffed. "What time is it?"

"Time for you to get a watch."

The sound of Kelly's voice shocked both Stefan and Victoria so much that the two jumped out of each other's embrace, their faces bright red with embarrassment. Victoria threw the covers off of both of them and quickly pulled her legs up to her chest, wanting to curl up in a ball and hide. "Mom!"

"What? The boy wants to know the time, he needs to get himself a watch. It's all practical advice," Kelly snickered, folding her arms across her chest. She raised an eyebrow and gestured at the two of them. "There wasn't any funny business I should be aware of, right?"

"Mom!"

"I'm being a good mother, now hush up, baby girl. Mr. Salvatore? Are you going to be a daddy?"

Stefan honestly couldn't get anymore redder and Victoria moaned, hiding her head in her hands. She heard Stefan stammer, "M-Ms. L-LeBlanc -"

"- no, you're right, I'm making that worse. Are you going to be a father? And please, it's Kelly -"

"- Kelly, please, let me reassure you that nothing happened. I-I just promised Tori that I would stay with her until she fell asleep and then I-I...well, I guess I fell asleep too."

"I saw that," Kelly commented, and Victoria let out another moan. "At ease, you two. I know nothing funky happened. Just like to keep you on your toes. Stefan, there's some French toast waiting on the kitchen counter downstairs. You can go on ahead; I need to give Victoria something first."

Stefan blushed again, but nodded, moving around the bed quickly to grab his shoes and then duck out of the room. Kelly watched him go, and it was only when he left did she shut the door and turn to Victoria with a cheeky grin. "Cuddling up with the youngest Salvatore, huh?"

"Mom, please, don't," Victoria begged, shaking her head. "Nothing happened."

"Oh I know, I just like the funny shade of red that the two of you get when you're embarrassed," Kelly said offhandedly. Victoria's face scrunched up in annoyance and Kelly snorted before stepping over to sit down on her bed. "Now, about what I wanted to talk to you about." She pulled from behind her back three items. Three items that honestly did not make sense.

The first item that Victoria immediately realized was her anklet, the one that Logan Fell had torn off her ankle. She squealed when she saw that and snatched it up, cradling the small chain to her chest. "My anklet! You guys found it!"

"It was actually Caroline who spotted it; it had been hiding in the underbrush. It was dirty and the chain had broken so I sent it away to get it fixed," Kelly admitted. "It only just came back this morning which is why I didn't give it to you sooner." She gestured towards Victoria's ankle and Victoria nodded, handing her mother the chain. As her mother helped her put the anklet back to its proper place, she continued saying, "When I also got the anklet, I found these two items waiting for me in the mail. They were both addressed to you."

The two items in question was a plain white envelope, like the kind for delivering letters, and an ordinary cardboard box. Victoria reached over and tapped the box a few times. There was no obvious sounds that seemed out of the ordinary, so she assumed the box was safe.

Victoria grabbed the letter, figuring that was a safe place to start. Kelly got up and excused herself from the room, insisting on helping Stefan because "even though that boy is pretty, that doesn't mean I trust him in my kitchen". Victoria had snorted at her mother's antics, but allowed the woman to make her escape.

Victoria opened up the envelope and pulled out a simple letter. On it was her name written in a beautiful, familiar script. Victoria couldn't help the smile that came to her lips and she quickly unfolded the letter to see the text inside.

Dearest Victoria LeBlanc,

It has been several days since you have seen me last, but please be rest assured that it has not been as long since I have last seen you. Now writing that down do I realize how creepy that sounds. My apologies if this "freaks" you out (as I believe the correct terminology of today's youth would say it). I have kept my eye on you and kept you safe. You should have no fear.

I wish I could be at your side to comfort you during these hardships. What you have endured - it is an experience that I would never have wished upon you. You are a light in the darkness, and your time with Ms. Donovan threatened to extinguish that light. Never again.

I have been actively searching for Ms. Donovan since our last meeting; she seems to have ran off into the wind. I occasionally see your acquaintances, the Mr. Zachariah, Damon, and Stefan Salvatore, in my hunt for Ms. Donovan. Whether they know it or not, we have all been working together towards the same goal. Rest assured, I will find Ms. Donovan and I will bring her home. Unharmed, of course. While you have not directly stated as such to me, I can only imagine what your reaction might be should Ms. Donovan return injured.

Now, you might be wondering what is inside the package. Since I cannot be there to comfort you during this time of need, I have delivered some things that I believe you will enjoy.

The first item: the necklace. The necklace you will find in the box (have you not already opened the box) contains an herb known as vervain. I believe you are already acquainted with it. The jewel itself has been forged with vervain, so you need never worry about having to restock. In this town, it appears that the more protection against compulsion one has, the safer one shall be.

The second item: the electronic. Perhaps it is my age, but I have never seen such a device like this; however, if rumors are to be believed, you will know what to do with it. The warlocks I have working for me (the same ones that developed the elixir) magicked the item so it will never run out of battery. I do not know why this is of use, but I trust their judgement.

And speaking of judgement...

Victoria, there is something that I request of you and while you may not understand it right away, I can only pray that you will heed me at my word.

Do not trust Raphael.

You are confused, I can tell, but trust me: he is not what he seems to be. I learned that the hard way and I do not wish for you to journey down the same path as I.

If you see Raphael, find one of the Salvatore brothers. They are, physically, no match for Raphael, but they will be able to keep him occupied enough for me to learn of his whereabouts and to handle him personally.

I do not wish to explain more over letter; once I have secured Ms. Donovan, I shall find you and then I shall explain my reasoning. Until then, I implore you to remain patient.

Stay safe.

With regards,

Noble

Victoria frowned. This was not the first time that Noble had warned her against Raphael. It was rather curious; what had happened between the night that Raphael saved Vicki to Victoria's rescue that would deter Noble so much?

She set the letter aside and grabbed the cardboard box. Victoria grabbed the edges of the lids and peeled it up, peering inside. The entire contents of the box were wrapped together in stuffing paper. She grabbed the smaller of the two stuffing paper piles and ripped the paper off. Once it was done, she gasped.

The necklace was absolutely gorgeous, and Victoria could tell that rather easily. She had been raised in luxury, after all. It was a gorgeous gold shell style necklace with a stunning oval sapphire set into the middle of the necklace. There were glittering gems stuck on either side of the sapphire, and Victoria recognized them instantly as diamonds. And given the beauty of the necklace, she would wager large amounts of money that the diamonds were real. The gold looked real too. It seemed too good to be true. Her fingers fluttered over the sapphire. It was absolutely amazing.

She set the necklace down, intent on putting it on herself as soon as possible. It was too beautiful to leave on a shelf. Victoria reached into the box and pulled out the last gift; the electronic, as Noble had called it. That really left everything up to the imagination. And what did he mean by rumors said that she would know what it was?

She unfolded the paper and froze.

It wasn't possible.

It absolutely wasn't possible.

She clicked the power button just to confirm, and when the screen lit up, Victoria couldn't help but squeal happily. She called out loudly, "Stefan!"

There was a loud thumping and Stefan burst through the door, his head whipping back and forth. He tactically observed the entire room before he looked back at Victoria. His shoulders dropped their tension when he realized that her shout had been from excitement, not from fear. His whole body drooped as the tension left his body and he leaned against the doorframe. "Damn it, Victoria, don't do that to me. I'm too old for that." He shook his head and his face scrunched up in confusion. "What the hell is in your hand? I've never seen anything like it."

"It's my phone!" Victoria cheered, waving the electronic in Stefan's face.

He raised an eyebrow skeptically as he looked at the sleek electronic, and he looked back up to Victoria. "I hate to say this, Tori, but that looks like something out of a sci-fi film. There's no way that's your phone. Plus, I've seen your phone; it looks nothing like that."

"No, Stefan, my phone!" she said again, emphasizing 'my phone' again. "As in, the phone that I had in 2021."

Stefan's eyes widened slowly as the information sunk in and he let out a rather unmanly, "What?" that was kind of shrieky. He cleared his throat and his face flushed red with embarrassment. "I mean, what? How is that even possible?"

"I don't know!" Victoria giggled, shaking her head. "But it's true! And get this!"

She opened up her phone with a quick tap of her fingers and she flipped to the calendar app. She turned the phone back around towards him and pointed towards the date. "It says it's October sixteenth, 2021. It's today's date, but only twelve years in the future. And all of my apps work fine, which is weird because I'm kind of reeling that wifi's a thing nowadays..."

"How did it get here?"

"I don't know!" Victoria laughed, clapping her hands together. "But this is awesome." Her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! I know just what to do now!"

The rest of the day while Stefan was at school, he didn't hear a single peep out of Victoria. Literally. And while that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it was silently concerning to Stefan, and just for this one reason:

She was buzzing.

Like, almost literally, buzzing. The entire day.

Stefan had watched her from afar while she was with Caroline, and Victoria never hopped into the conversations. She just stood there, bobbing on her heels like she was waiting for one single moment in the day and she couldn't wait until that moment came. It was really odd. In Biology, Mrs. Landstrom ignored them, once more. Stefan felt like he should be more concerned about that, but Mrs. Landstrom ignoring him and Victoria did not take higher precedence to Victoria being so silent.

Once school had ended, Stefan went out to try and find Victoria. He stopped for a moment to try and talk to Elena, but she had to excuse herself from the conversation because she said she needed to get homework done. Stefan checked all around the school and didn't find anything. It wasn't until Stefan headed towards the gym that he heard the telltale sounds of music coming from the doors. He grinned. So that was where she had went.

Stefan opened the doors and poked his head through, catching Victoria's body across the hall. She was in front of the mirrors, this time dressed in black leggings, a black off-the-shoulder shirt, a plaid jacket that was tied around her waist (it reminded Stefan of a faux-skirt), and black heeled shoes. Some girl group was singing loudly through the speakers and Victoria was twirling around, a giant grin on her face as she danced with some imaginary partner. The words of the song stood out to Stefan. They were curious.

I'm in love (We're in love) with a monster

(I'm in love)

I'm in love with a monster

Are you in love with a monster? (I'm in love)

I'll never find another monster

I wanna know, I wanna know

I'm in love with a monster

Victoria ended the dramatic song with a spin that sent Stefan's mind reeling. How did someone spin that fast? Victoria paused to look at the mirrors with a kind of flirtatious smile before the last beat hit, and she dropped in a split, her upper body leaning back. Stefan couldn't help but let out a hiss. He ended up clapping and calling out, "People shouldn't be able to bend like that!"

"They should when they get to dance to music like that!" Victoria laughed, swinging one of her legs around. She popped up to a standing position and grabbed her sweaty hair, moving to quickly throw it up into a ponytail. "Stefan, I have been stressing for the past few weeks trying to come up with something to dance with for this Halloween party. Now, with this," she gestured towards the speaker, where her '2021' phone was sitting, "I actually have something. That song? It didn't, or I guess, doesn't, come out until 2015. That's six years from now. It was created by a girl band that no one here has ever heard of, but who's a big freaking deal from where I come from."

"And I guess you're happy...?" Stefan said, trailing off as he looked at Victoria. He wasn't sure if he had ever seen Victoria this ecstatic before. She was practically jumping and down.

"I'm freaking overjoyed!" Victoria laughed, bouncing on her heels. She grabbed Stefan's hand and spun with him, jumping as she went along. "Because now, I'm feeling all the choreographer vibes in me threatening to overwhelm me and all I want to do is dance. Ugh! I love it!"

She paused her bouncing and her happiness dropped in seriousness. She narrowed her eyes a little at Stefan. "Dance with me."

Stefan wasn't sure if it was a command or a request, but he would dare say that it was the former. Stefan allowed Victoria to drag him out from the doors and closer to the mirror. He wasn't wearing what he would call 'dancing clothes' like she was; he just had on jeans, a dark blue Henley, and his daylight ring.

"Okay, crash course for my choreography style," Victoria stated, and Stefan did his best to focus on her. "I do best when I create a storyline to follow. Okay, so this song is called 'I'm in Love With a Monster'; traditionally, it's about a girl falling in love with a monster, since it's sung by women. However, I like the idea of the woman being the monster, and the guy falling in love with her. So, in this scenario, you're a hopelessly innocent young man and I'm a vampire who's trying to seduce you."

"This feels a little too close to home," Stefan commented offhandedly as he allowed Victoria to place him.

She flinched, obviously not thinking about how similar her storyline was to his actual history. "Shit. Shit. I'm so sorry. I-I didn't even think about that. I-Is that alright? I can totally change it and it can be the girl who falls in love with the monster -"

"- Victoria, it's fine," Stefan chuckled, interrupting her. He placed his hands on Victoria's shoulders and rubbed his thumbs a little to try and soothe her. "It just was an observation. No harm, no foul. Now, do your best to try and teach me what you have cooking in your brain."

Victoria sent him a weary smile, as if trying to ask again silently if he was really sure it was fine. He nodded and she sighed with relief, before beginning the dance. Stefan was a little rusty when it came to this style of dance, a type of jazz meets swing meets jive style, but he did enjoy doing it. The lifts with Victoria came naturally, from picking her up, throwing her into the air with a spin, and catching her, to catching her body mid-flight to dip her down to the ground. Victoria, while very excited, was calm in her instructions and made sure that Stefan understand everything before moving on to the next step. She had only taught him about a minute or so of the dance (like the first verse and chorus section) before she decided that was enough for the day.

"That was actually a lot of fun," Stefan commented. He was glad that he had a more advanced respiratory system than most humans did; he was only slightly winded from the constant push of dancing. Victoria, on the other hand, was leaned up against the wall of mirrors, her face red and spotchy and she was breathing heavily. "You doing alright there?"

"I...am so...tired," Victoria huffed, her shoulders bobbing as she tried to breathe deeper. "Oh gosh...I'm going to... hyperventilate...at this point..."

"You're fine," Stefan snickered.

"Better than fine, from what I see."

Stefan flipped around, not used to the new voice. There was a woman standing at the doors to the gym, her arms folded across her chest. She seemed intimidating, with her dark hair pulled tightly into a ballerina bun. She wore a knitted sweater with jeans and her dark, angular face held a contemplative smile. Stefan didn't notice that Victoria had jumped to her feet and moved to his side until he heard her say, "Mrs. Richards! I thought you went home for the day."

"I just had to collect a few things that I forgot at class yesterday," the woman said, shrugging her shoulders lightly. "Was that your Halloween piece? It didn't look contemporary."

Victoria bit her lower lip and awkwardly shifted on her feet. "I-I know but this song really spoke to m-me and I just wanted..." She trailed off, obviously not comfortable with finishing the rest of her sentence.

"Who was that artist? I don't believe I've ever heard of them."

Victoria gulped loudly and squeaked out, "They're foreign? From...Bulgaria?"

Mrs. Richards seemed convinced by that (Stefan really needed to work with Victoria on her lying skills, however; that was rather pathetic) and glanced between Victoria and Stefan for a tense minute. She finally opened her mouth and said, "I want to see that."

"S-See what, ma'am?"

"That partner jive you were working on with him," Mrs. Richards stated clearly, pointing her finger towards Stefan. His eyes widened, and he was pretty sure Victoria's did too given the sharp, dramatic deep breath she just took. "I will allow you to change the dance to that."

"B-But Mrs. Richards! I-I can't just ask him -"

"- Sure."

Victoria's head whipped around to look at Stefan and he just shrugged lightly at her. He smiled. "Why not? It'll be fun."

Just at that moment, his phone rang. He excused himself, the spluttering Victoria and the smug-looking Mrs. Richards, and jogged over to his phone. He spotted the Caller I.D. It was Damon. He frowned, but answered the call anyways. "Damon. What do you need?"

"It's Vicki. We found her."

A/N: Aww heck yeah! This is the kind of chapter that I am proud of. I loved it from beginning to end and all the cutesy Stetoria vibes. Eek! It's so pleasing. Also, what are your guys' opinions on a platonic shipping war, in addition to the romantic war? Should we do it? (Our A/N are already super long)

Before we continue, I just want to make another little public announcement:

I am totally cool with getting constructive criticism. Many of you have pointed out things that I'm like "Oh yeah, I do need to remember to resolve that, because it doesn't make sense otherwise haha" etc. etc.

However, let it be known:

I will NOT, and I mean not, allow comments to be made under the guise of "constructive criticism" when they are just plain criticism. I do not care that my fictional character makes decisions that are sometimes stupid because duh, she's a human. She's going to mess up. She is not you. You do not have any right to call her retarded because she made a different choice than you would have in a certain situation. If you want to write a review like that, you can always phrase it better. Instead of "is she retarded or something? Why is blah blah blah blah blah..." you can say, "I don't believe Victoria is very wise to just blah blah blah blah blah..." This way, your point still gets made, it comes off as constructive criticism instead of you getting pissy about a fictional character. I will allow it once, but just once. Do not make the same mistake twice. If you don't have something nice or constructive to say, keep it to yourself. I will also not be replying to those reviews because I do not need to continue that source of negativity.

Anyways, that's my little rant over.

THE SHIPPING WARS! (feel free to keep on voting; 1 full point for one ship, two half points for two separate ships. Half pointers will be italicized):

Team Stetoria {Victoria/Stefan} (4): insert name here XD, sammyleann's dad, TikiKiki, Maistryia, Don't-Say-It-Feel-It

Team Datoria/Viamon {Victoria/Damon} (5): Sciave, Guest, ArganRose, CrystalAris, Marine76

Team Vilijah {Victoria/Elijah} (12.5): guest, Guest, SoraLover987142, insert name here XD, sammyleann, Orange keys 25, LoyalElijahFangirl, Hinata Megumi, A. G Herz, Aryabloodlust, ferallahey, AngelColdHeart, BlueDragibus

Team Klatoria {Victoria/Klaus} (1.5): Tayla141, TikiKiki

Team Koltoria {Victoria/Kol} (1): DreamerPop

If it so pleases any of you, I have found theme songs for each of the ships that I feel really connects with the characters involved in the ships, so please feel free to listen to them to get in the mood; if you have any song recommendations for the ships, please leave a review. Maybe we'll have our own playlist!:

TEAM STETORIA: "Unconditionally" by Katy Perry (the acoustic version)

TEAM DATORIA/VIAMON: "Animals (Epic Trailer Version)" by J2

TEAM VILIJAH: "Be Here For You" by Sam Tinnesz

TEAM KLATORIA: "Can You Hold Me?" by NF feat. Britt Nicole

TEAM KOLTORIA: "Dear Future Husband" by Meghan Trainor

New Followers!: Castiel forever, Don't-Say-It-Feel-It, Abbiek54

New Favoriters!: Castiel forever, Dcrawford84, Don't-Say-It-Feel-It, Abbiek54

Onto reviews!:

CrystalAris: The big ones I've seen (and/or are on my Favorite Stories tab) are "Tangled Web Of Love" by alexxgilbert, "Rewriting History" by I've Got Nerve, "Cold Black Days" by Chocolate Boy, and "Complicated past" by lostgirllove. I've personally read Tangled Web Of Love and Complicated past, and I really enjoyed those two. Start with that and let me know if you'd like more. Most of my TVD stories are either Klaus/Caroline or Elijah/OC (but primarily Klaus/Caroline) with I think one Damon/Elena story, because it was just too good to not read. Good heavens, it was awesome.

DBZFAN45: Yeah, I ended up just writing the next chapter. I think maybe one day I'll go back and rewrite Ch19, but I just wanted to keep on going. Also, love the Vicki Donovan's School of Vampnapping 101 (Human Blood Bags Allowed) XD. She's got all that trauma. Zach will definitely be playing a big role in her trauma recovery. That much I can reveal. Thank you!

Marine76: Your vote has been casted.

Don't-Say-It-Feel-It: So has your vote!

AngelColdHeart: Hello! Thank you so much. I am currently not accepting any fics because I've been terribly busy with real life and this story, but thank you for the offer. I also actually do have a Spiderman Soulmate fic (it's not finished) called "One Itsy-Bitsy Spiderling". I can't remember if you were the reader who has actually read that one or not.

It's a day early, so whoo! We doing good! Next chapter up will be "Haunted" Part 1 and I am sooooo excited for this chapter. It's make or break time with Vicki. Some things I can reveal about next episode/probably two chapters: we will find out why Vicki isn't affected as much as the Salvatore men by Victoria's blood, Trauma!Recovery with Zach and Victoria, The Halloween Party and Awesome Dance, feat. Victoria, and the fate of one Vicki Donovan.

(also y'all, 153 reviews, 180 Followers, 133 Favoriters, 1 Community, and over 18k+ views! Yaaaaaay!)

Until then, stay healthy and stay safe! Love you all!

BecomingFearless1F