Haunted - Part 2

Victoria double-checked her appearance in the mirror of Kelly's car, twisting this way and that to see the whole affect of her outfit (as much as she could in the tiny mirror). It actually turned out wonderful, and full credit was due to Kelly. The moment her mother had come into the room to see Victoria stressing over a dress, she went into action mode and took care of it all.

Fun fact: Kelly was a seamstress.

Kelly had taken one look at Victoria's three options before an idea had sparked in her mind (or so she said).

The end result was fantastic.

The base dress was black and red velvet, with a gorgeous asymmetrical skirt so the right side was about mid-thigh length while the tip of the left side went down to mid-calf. It had a boat neckline that swooped by her shoulders and the sleeves went down to her wrists, moving to form little V's on the tops of her hands. The back of the dress was almost completely bare, as the back of the dress rose to the small of her back. Kelly took care of that with some costume jewelry she had in a box in her room. A gorgeous silver choker, about three fingers wide, with delicate silver body chains and heavy jewels that cascaded down her back, were added to the dress. It helped Victoria feel more modest while adding to the 'sexy vampire' look that she was aiming for. Kelly stole the silver embroidering off of one of the other dresses and added it to the velvet dress. It was flawless. Kelly also brought out black stilettoes that has a crisscross pattern in front, decked out in silver beads, that matched the dress perfectly. Kelly threw Victoria's hair up into a messy braided bun so none of her hair would get trapped within the jewelry down her back, and she added some white pearl hair clips that Kelly said someone special gave her. There was a dose of pain in Kelly's words there, so Victoria refrained from asking who it was from specifically.

Victoria had finished the look off with dark smoky eyes and a bright red matte lipstick, plus some sort of setting spray that Kelly swore by. As her mother had put it, "This stuff kept all of your dance performances makeup on for years. I would practically swear by it."

Victoria shook herself out, taking a deep breath. It would be fine. The evening would go as planned and everything would be fine.

She felt like she was lying to herself.

Because tonight was the make or break moment, a moment that Victoria had been pushing off thinking about for weeks. Whether Vicki lived or died.

Victoria had already failed Vicki once when she had let the girl originally die at the Salvatore boarding house. To try and stop her death at the school would take extreme precision. After mentally reviewing how the original episode played out in her head the entire car ride to the school, Victoria had figured out the deciding factor of Vicki's death: Stefan. Stefan only staked Vicki because she had tried to take a bite out of Elena. So the easy solution would be to protect Elena. Keep Elena away from Vicki, Vicki wouldn't hurt her, Stefan wouldn't hurt Vicki, and everyone could walk away scott free!

"Baby girl, are you going to sit here the entire night or are you going to get out there and look hot?" she heard Kelly ask her from the driver's seat. Victoria blushed as she turned to look at her mom, unaware that her mother had been glancing at her for the entire car ride. Kelly was dressed up rather uniquely; she was wearing thigh high boots with chunky heels, and a two-piece dark purple halter top and mini skirt. She accessorized the outfit with a steely-gray corset and a pair of wings. She had flat-ironed her hair and threw it up into a high ponytail. The look was familiar to Victoria, and when she questioned Kelly about it, Kelly said that it was an attempt to replicate an Italian singer's outfit. She wore it beautifully and it looked like Kelly was ready to march into war. "Because we did not work tirelessly for hours just to have you sitting in the car, squirming."

"Mom," Victoria groaned, and Kelly rolled her eyes. "I know...I'm just...nervous, I guess. It's my first time performing since the accident."

"It's just the pre-show jitters, which you get every time you have to perform at some sort of Mystic Falls social," sniffed Kelly. She leaned back in her seat and gave Victoria an award-winning smile. "You got this, Victoria. You just have to make them wait for it, and then boom! You hit them with that lightning star power."

"Glad you have such confidence in me, Mom," Victoria laughed, the tension she didn't know she had in her body slowly trickling out. "It...it really means a lot to me."

"Of course!" Kelly stated, nodding her head. "Now, you go have fun and I am going to make sure that Mrs. Lockwood and Jenna don't drink too much, because golly gee, those ladies cannot hold their alcohol as well as they'd like to think they can." She leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Victoria's temple, using her thumb to rub off any lipstick that may have transferred. "Now, go get them, tiger."

"Damon insists that I'm a Mama Bear actually," Victoria snickered. She waved goodbye to her mother and slipped out of the car, shivering at the slight chill in the air. It was a good thing she had some sort of sleeves to block against the chill. Victoria walked through the parking lot, nodding her head in hellos to the random strangers who greeted her with a wave. She headed straight into the carnival, trying to navigate the many sea of people. Victoria knew she had to make it to the edge of the school building, because that would be where Caroline and Bonnie would be, meeting Tyler as he brought them punch.

Someone bumped into Victoria with enough force that Victoria was sent tumbling. She let out a gasp of shock as the heel of her shoe hit a snag in the grass and she went careening towards the ground.

Two strong hands grabbed her shoulders before she could faceplant and ruin her makeup and dress. They helped her stand up, making sure she was secure on the ground before letting her go. She let out a sigh and brushed down her clothing, turning to thank her savior. "Thank you so much. That could have ended -"

The bare-chested Tyler Lockwood stood behind her, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly as Victoria found herself at a loss for words. The two of them hadn't gotten much contact with each other since he had punched her hard enough to send her to the hospital. Victoria's hands clasped together awkwardly and she cleared her throat. "Um...h-hi, Tyler."

"Hi Tori."

That was the first time he had ever said her name (given, it was a nickname). Most of the time he called her 'Cuz'. She licked her lips tentatively, not wanting to ruin the lipstick. "T-Thank you, for catching me."

"Of course," Tyler replied, sounding as equally as awkward as she felt. He shifted a couple of steps on his feet before he said, "I wanted to apologize. For...damn, basically everything. I know you were in the hospital for a long while in that coma, but...no one told me any side effects of what you might have had. You know, the amnesia thing. So, I just wanted to apologize if I ever made you feel uncomfortable or awkward."

Victoria couldn't help but feel touched by the sentiment. While it may have been Mrs. Lockwood forcing Tyler to apologize to her or an actual genuine response, she didn't care. It was nice for someone to admit they were wrong. That hadn't happened for a while with her other problems. "Thank you, Tyler, and I'm sorry that you were kept out of the loop for that." An idea popped into her head. She held out an arm. "Mind helping me find Bonnie and Caroline? Maybe we can grab some cider for them."

"Why is it that you, the queen of sobriety, are okay with the rest of your friends getting drunk?" Tyler snickered as he accepted Victoria's arm, looping it through his own. He set off at a steady pace, making sure that Victoria could keep up in her heels.

"Trust me, alcohol is not what will kill some of these people," Victoria couldn't help but joke. Was it morbid? Sure. But it was true. The last thing any of her friends needed to worry about was alcohol. "Plus, it makes for easier blackmail."

Tyler let out a loud belly laugh and Victoria felt inclined to join in. Granted, Tyler Lockwood was never her favorite character, but he sure knew how to have fun and he quickly made Victoria feel at ease. He grabbed cider, enough for two people (Victoria reminded him how hungover Bonnie was last time, and he questioned how she remembered that random event; she shrugged, saying amnesia was a fickle thing). They quickly found Bonnie and Caroline at the far side of the carnival, halfway towards the pavilion where the dance floor was set up.

"Cider for the ladies! It's a Lockwood special," Tyler announced, offering out a drink towards Caroline. Bonnie looked sick at the mere thoughts and he held up a hand. "Relax, Bennett. Tori reminded me about your distaste for the drink."

"Yeah," Bonnie shivered, folding her arms in on herself. "Last year, I was hung over until Thanksgiving. I only survived because Kelly babied me with hot chocolate. That stuff is freaking magic, I swear." She paused, as if thinking about something, before shaking her head and giggling.

"Lightweight," snorted Caroline, rolling her eyes. She took the drink from Tyler and took a dainty sip from it, her face scrunching in when the liquid hit her. "I am going to drink until someone is hot enough to make out with."

Victoria scrunched up her face in disgust. "That's not a plan, Caroline."

"Maybe not to you," Tyler chuckled, shrugging his shoulders when Victoria sent him a look. He 'cheers'ed his drink with Caroline and the two of them took a long sip.

"And by the way, Care-Bear, please don't get drunk before I perform," Victoria pleaded. Caroline nodded her head enthusiastically. Maybe a bit too enthusiastically. Crap, how fast does this girl get drunk? "I would really like you to be semi-lucid for that."

"I pinkie-promise," Caroline said, sticking her pinkie out. Victoria giggled and hooked pinkies with her, and the two girls shook on it. "Which, by the way, I have to say that you are looking smoking hot. I've never seen you with a dress like that before!"

"Thank you!" Victoria cheered. She stepped away from Tyler and did a little twirl, blushing when Bonnie cat-called her and Caroline gave a low whistle. "You guys! Kelly helped me combine a couple of old dance costumes. It's going to be my first dance performance since the accident so she wanted to help make it special for me."

Speaking of dance performances, Victoria had to ask, "Have any of you seen Stefan tonight? He was supposed to come find me as soon as I got here so we could work on our entrances for the dance tonight."

Bonnie shook her head, as did Caroline and Tyler. Bonnie was the one to speak, "I haven't seen Stefan or Elena all day. I figured they were each having a day to themselves, you know?"

Victoria couldn't help but bite her lower lip nervously. She didn't like the idea that Stefan might not show up for their performance until it was exactly time. She was a bit of a nervous wreck when it came to her pre-show rituals and timeliness was something that she valued a lot. "O-Okay. I'm sure that's fine." She gulped heavily and added, "I'm going to head over to the pavilion and make sure that everything's set up properly. If any of you guys see him, text me, okay?"

The girls and guy nodded their consent and Victoria thanked them each with a head nod before she turned and walked quickly towards the pavilion. She racked her brain for clues as to where Stefan might be. The entire timing of the night was unknown to her; whether it took place in minutes since Elena's arrival or whether it took place hours. There was also having to configure in Victoria's own personal change to the night: the dance recital. That definitely wasn't in the original script, and that could change the timing of everything too. She froze suddenly and felt her face pale. What if the dance went right through when Vicki attacked Jeremy and Elena? Would she end up killing them because Victoria couldn't convince Stefan to not dance with her?

"Victoria LeBlanc?"

Victoria was jolted out of her thoughts by the sound of an unknown voice and she turned. It appeared to be some sort of freshman who was dressed as a zombie. Rather tacky in her opinion, but it got the job done.

"That's me," she said, tilting her head to the side. "Can I help you?"

"I was told to give you these and to forget that this conversation ever happened," the boy replied, almost robotically, before whipping out a bouquet of a dozen red roses. Victoria gasped in shock, but held her hands out and grabbed the bouquet of roses from the boy.

He blinked for a couple of seconds after the roses left his hands, before giving her a strange look and disappearing off into the crowd. Victoria watched him as he went, startled by his presence at all, before looking down at the roses. Tied to the roses was an immaculate card with beautiful gold script. She balanced the bouquet with one hand so she could examine the card closer with her other.

Dearest Victoria LeBlanc,

May you dance tonight like you are walking on starlight.

May the moon guide your movements.

May you show the multitudes the extent of your talents.

I will be watching with rapt attention.

With regards,

Noble

"Oh you charmer you," Victoria couldn't help but giggle as soon as she finished reading the card. Noble definitely knew how to charm a girl. She brought the roses up to her nose and gave them a sniff. They smelled absolutely divine. She couldn't help but melt a little and she glanced around. Maybe he was watching her right now. She tentatively whispered, "Hi." When all she got was silence and a weird glance from a sophomore dressed as John Travolta, she continued as she walked towards the pavilion. "I'm probably seeming crazy as I say this, but thank you for coming tonight. That's very sweet of you. And I would ask you how in the world you know that roses are my favorite flower, but I suspect that you and your stalker tendencies have their ways of knowing."

She could perfectly imagine the silent yet indignant scoff Noble would do. She giggled at the thought.

"Ms. LeBlanc, there you are!"

Ms. Richards. Oh gosh. It was time to prep for showtime.

He wasn't there.

Oh heaven above, Stefan was nowhere to be seen.

Victoria was backstage at the pavilion, pacing up and down frantically as she tried to call his number, then Elena's number, then basically everybody's freaking number because Stefan Antonio Salvatore was nowhere to be seen. No one had seen him come to the party, and in the case of Stefan's actual number and Elena's, neither of them had answered when she called. All four times.

She had changed the stupid dance from a solo to a partner dance because the dance had called for it, but Victoria very well couldn't perform a partner dance if her partner was nowhere to be seen.

She was starting to hyperventilate.

Victoria sat down on one of the benches provided for her, her hand moving to clutch at her heart. Her shoulders heaved and her vision was starting to blur. She could hear her breaths coming in raspy gasps. A panic attack. She was panicking because Stefan wasn't there and Stefan was always there. Had Vicki already attacked Elena? Was she too late, was Vicki dead?

Pleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleasenopleaseno

A warm hand rested on the back of her neck and Victoria let out a watery, strangled gasping noise. The warmth from the hand soaked into her neck and radiated throughout her skin. In a single moment, all the panic she had been experiencing was gone in a flash. She recognized that hand, the feeling of that person touching her neck. It wasn't like Vicki. With this one, she always felt good. Confident, safe, warm.

"N-Noble," Victoria choked out. A gentle squeeze on her neck confirmed it. Victoria took another breath, this one slower than before, stronger than before. It still sounded like a strangled goat. "S-Stefan's not here and now I have to perform alone but I-I don't know how to do that and maybe he'll show up last minute b-but what if he doesn't and then what do I -"

Noble squeezed the back of her neck gently and Victoria gulped in another breath. She was rambling. Of all the traits she had to pick up from Caroline. "Y-Yeah, yeah, rambling. I know."

She could feel Noble step closer and his other hand came into her peripheral vision. He was wearing a nice long-sleeved shirt tonight; perhaps a dress shirt? It was black and it made the color of his skin look nice. He reached down and grabbed her hand, interlacing their fingers together. The movement made Victoria's heart skip a beat, and she blushed wildly. Noble was supposed to be trying to make her heart race less, not more. "I guess you weren't lying when you said that you would be watching. Maybe you can mass-compel people to forget the performance ever happened if I screw up terribly?" Not giving Noble the chance to answer, she shook her head. "No, of course not, that's not good. Everyone should have the right to their own mind, even if it means that have to watch something as terrible as that."

The clicking and clacking of Mrs. Richards' heels caught her attention and she let out a worn-out sigh. "Of course. I-I guess it's showtime. Wish me luck?"

Victoria had meant that last part as a joke, but she stopped breathing when she felt two warm lips press a delicate kiss to the back of her neck, right where Noble's hand had been. Good golly, was he trying to make her have a heart attack? He squeezed her hand and disappeared before Victoria could even begin to comprehend what had just happened.

As Mrs. Richards turned the corner and started towards her, Victoria added quickly under her breath, "Stop by my house later tonight. I would like to have an actual conversation with you, however one-sided, about some things."

A snapping tree branch across from her was all the proof that she needed that Noble had heard her.

"Ms. LeBlanc, you're on."

Four words. Four words.

Show time.

Victoria rolled her shoulders and rose to her feet, putting on an air of confidence. Stefan never disappointed her. Whatever the cause, he would show up. She had faith in him.

She nodded to Mrs. Richards and exited from the backstage. There was a crowd gathered around the dance floor, some people kneeling in the front by the stage so others in the back could see. It was a sizable amount of people that Victoria stuttered in her steps. But she pressed on. She couldn't see Stefan through the crowd, but she knew he had to be there. Where else could he be?

Victoria weaved her way through the crowds, and they allowed her through, obviously recognizing her from some place or other. Near one side, Victoria spotted her mother, Mrs. Lockwood, Jenna, Zach (even he came!) and Mr. Lockwood. That was...oddly surprising. She had thought that both Kelly, Jenna, and Mrs. Lockwood would have been at the Grill with Damon. Something about their night must have changed; perhaps with Kelly's presence here? Victoria really couldn't explain that. On the other side of the circle, she spotted Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, and Matt all seated by the stage, each looking and talking with each other enthusiastically. It was sweet that they had all come there together.

The standing spotlights that had been set up for the dance platform especially went dark and she took that as her cue. She moved into position on the floor and struck her first pose. Victoria tried to radiate power and seduction; not two things that were usually associated with her, but she was always up for a challenge.

She could hear Mrs. Richards' voice echoing from the speakers, all lined up so everyone (including Victoria and Stefan, once he arrived) could hear the music. "Welcome everyone! Now, dancing an original piece to the Bulgarian song, 'I'm In Love With A Monster', please welcome Victoria LeBlanc and her dance partner!"

The cheers from the crowd were almost deafening and it filled Victoria with a rush of power. This was why she performed. Why she lived for the thrill of dance and song!

The bass notes of the song began as the lights started to fade up, showing off Victoria in her pose. She fell into the rhythm of her choreography, striking each beat with a move that she had perfected with Stefan through hours of practicing. She felt amazing, she felt good. It had been a while since she had felt so good.

All those feelings started to fade once the music reached the first titular line of the song. This was supposed to be the moment that Victoria spun around and Stefan would leap out of the crowd, grab her, and the two would begin the partner dancing section that was a mix of jive and swing and, frankly, seduction. If he wasn't there...that meant that Victoria had to bluff her way through the rest of the song. And there was still three minutes of the song left to go.

Victoria threw herself into the spin, multiple three-point turns with her arms at her side to give the spin a more unique shape, which helped her travel downstage. If Stefan didn't swoop her up into his arms within the next few seconds, she would need to think on her feet and fast.

Suddenly, at the precise moment, arms wrapped themselves around her and Victoria verbally sighed with relief. Stefan. This part of the choreography she wasn't looking at him, but Victoria knew it had to be him. Who else could it be? She started the kicks and flicks, pleased to see that he was doing so too out of the corner of her eye. Wait...something was wrong. She kept her face blank, but she knew her mouth scrunched up a little bit. Those...weren't the correct shoes. Not the kind that the two of them had agreed upon during one rehearsal. Victoria was thrown to the side for a dramatic turn in, and she was whipping back in with such speed that it made her head dizzy. She was pulled tightly against the Salvatore's chest, her leg hitched up on the man's waist, automatically ready for the next move.

Except it wasn't the right Salvatore.

"Damon?" she breathed in disbelief. Her body still moved with the music, muscle memory taking over as she stared in shock towards the man. Damon simply returned her shocked expression with a smile and a wink before pulling her hitched leg up and high, the exact move that it was needed to do. He pushed her into an even further state of shock as he directed her gently, but firmly, into the next set of moves that she was supposed to do. He executed everything perfectly; it was almost as if he had been the one she had been practicing with for the past two weeks and not Stefan. The next time the two were pulled close, Victoria trailed her hand down his chest seductively (or at least her poor, shock-filled face, attempt at seductive) as to the choreo. He had ditched the black leather jacket he was supposed to wear for the night, wearing only the white t-shirt that fit him all too well. She leaned up towards his ear and said what she hoped to others looked seductively, "Where the hell is your brother?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Mama Bear," Damon replied in a sultry tone. He whipped Victoria out and they resumed the jive portion.

It wouldn't be until later in the dance when the two were close again that Victoria could whisper, "How the hell do you know all these steps?"

"I did watch you two practicing, Mama Bear?"

A quick spin out before a dramatic dip and she hissed with clenched teeth as she ran her hands down her neck and chest. "Yes, but you were trying to learn the significance of a toaster oven while you were in the same room; I didn't think you were paying attention."

She sprung back up and found herself an inch away from Damon's face. Their noses brushed against each other and the air that they breathed for that short moment was shared. When Damon spoke, Victoria knew that if they were even a hair closer, their lips would be brushing. "I pay attention to you, Victoria."

Victoria tried not to shiver.

As the song progressed, the more and more comfortable Victoria got with Damon. It was interesting, dancing with him instead of Stefan. With Stefan, he followed the choreography to a 'T'. Every emotion that Victoria had assigned to each move, he hit with precision and ease. With Damon, it seemed to be more of a tug-of-war. Every time she hit him with a move that was supposed to be her, the vampiress seducing the human, he came back with a move that made her heart quake and her legs shake.

They neared the end of the song and Victoria threw herself even harder into the dance. Damon matched her passion with each step and she found herself smiling in a gleeful, evil sort of way to match her character. Damon returned the smirk. They moved together, their hips swaying as if they were one and their eyes darkening with each look they sent each other.

At the end of the song, Victoria found herself in Damon's arms, hitting each bass drum hit with a snap of her hips. Damon's hands held to her waist tightly, his eyes bearing down at her with a passionate look that she couldn't describe. As the guitars and drums started to wind down for the final hit, Victoria threw herself into a new move, one she hadn't choreographed. She had faith that Damon could match it. She spun, crouched on the floor with her feet together, and held a hand up. Damon grabbed it, using her outstretched hand to spin her harder and faster. It was exhilarating. From her spinning position, she thought she saw him walk around her, almost like a showman presenting the caged lion. As Victoria spun, she rose higher and higher until she was doing the spin standing up.

When the song hit the 'thank you', she stopped her spin, planting her feet hip-width apart. She knew Damon was behind her, smirking at the audience like this had been their intended plan all along. On the final bass drop, Victoria threw herself into the splits, sinking between Damon's legs so she was tangled up beside him.

There was a moment of silence as the song cut off and for a second, neither Damon nor Victoria breathed. They looked at each other and waited in hushed anticipation.

Then the world around them erupted into an explosion of cheers and shouts.

Damon, with his hands wrapped around her back and waist, helped her rise slowly and Victoria couldn't help but the triumphant grin she had on her face as she looked out upon the numerous students and faculty who had come to watch her, and evidently Damon, perform. She curtseyed and Damon gave a little bow. He held out a hand to her and she took it.

Damon turned her around and led her out of the crowds towards the backstage. The moment that the two of them were out of sight, Victoria whirled on Damon and threw herself into his arms. He stiffened, obviously not expecting the hug, but Victoria didn't care. She squeezed him tightly and squealed, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh gosh, that could have gone so wrong but then you were just there..." She let go of Damon and took a deep breath. "Sorry, I've been rambling a lot tonight. But thank you. I honestly could not have done any of this without you."

"Glad to be of service, Mama Bear," Damon smirked, getting out of his shock quickly. He reached past her towards the little bench and grabbed his black leather jacket.

As he slipped it on, she couldn't help but ask, "Why aren't you at the Grill? I thought you were going to be there to convince Mrs. Lockwood to let you be on the Council."

"Turns out I didn't need to," Damon mused, tilting his head slightly as he looked at her. "A certain someone," he gave Victoria a pointed look and she grinned cheekily at him, "called Zach and told him it would be in everyone's best interests if he got Mrs. Lockwood to let me be on the Council with him. I'm sort of a trainee right now, one could say. Since that was supposed to take up most of my night, I took them up on the offer to join them in coming here to watch you. Good thing I did. I did not suspect that my brother would flake out of this. Dancing may not be his forte, but he's never had this strong of stage fright."

"I think something must have happened," Victoria commented worriedly, biting her lower lip. "I didn't see Stefan, Elena, Vicki, or Jeremy."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Shit! Damon, I need you to run me around the school towards the school buses right now!"

Damon raised an eyebrow at her, but he didn't question her. Maybe he could sense the terror in her voice. He took a step towards her, wrapped an arm around her waist and neck, and they were off. It took only a few seconds for them, but Victoria's mind was boggling at seeing the environment rushing past her in bright colors.

The moment Damon stopped, Victoria leapt out of his arms. She wobbled a bit on her heels and Damon stuck a hand out to help her. She slapped it away, saying, "I got it." At the same exact moment, she heard Jeremy yell.

Victoria's blood ran cold and she screamed, "Vicki, no!" She took off in a dead sprint, grateful that years of dancing in heels had taught her how to run properly in them. She could hear Damon keeping up pace behind her, but she ignored him in favor of concentrating on the situation in front of her. She saw the buses, and Elena. Elena flew through the arm, landing in a pile of wood and garbage. "Damon!"

"On it!" Damon shouted, moving to vamp-speed to Elena. Victoria turned her attention back towards the two buses. Stefan was grappling with Vicki, which meant that she was properly distracted. Elena wasn't getting up as quickly as she did in the show, which meant that it was up to Victoria, the only person who wasn't preoccupied, to get Jeremy out of there.

She ran to the fallen teenager and grabbed him, yanking him up to his feet. "Jeremy, come on! We need to get you out of here!"

"Vicki!" Jeremy shouted, and Victoria watched as Stefan got distracted. Vicki was able to slap him away and she disappeared. Shit, that's not good. "W-What is happening, Tori? W-What is she?"

"Get him inside, Victoria, now!" Stefan shouted, not even bothering to look at her.

There was a rush of pain in her heart, but she bit her tongue. Now was not the time to ask where he had been. Victoria resumed her attention on Jeremy and helped him stagger towards the school's back door. She grabbed onto the handle, yanking it open and about to shove Jeremy in when the door slammed shut again.

Victoria gasped and whirled around, seeing Vicki standing just a few feet from her and Jeremy. Victoria shoved Jeremy behind her and held one hand out placatingly towards Vicki while she used the other to make Jeremy didn't move. "Vicki. You need to think about this. Use your thoughts and that humanity that I know is inside of you. You attack Jeremy or Elena and the Salvatores will be forced to put you down. Don't do that to me, Vick. I know you're stronger than this."

There was something that swirled in the depths of Vicki's eyes and the tension that had been in her body dropped. She blinked, as if seeing for the first time, and she whispered brokenly, "Blankie?"

Despite the tortuous memories that came rushing to her mind at the nickname, Victoria nodded. Tears started to brim in her eyes as she croaked, "Y-Yes. Yes, Vicki, it's me." She subtly shoved Jeremy back farther and let go of him, bringing her other hand around. "Listen, I understand. You're overwhelmed, you're hungry, you don't know how to react. It comes with the territory, I'm afraid. And I know you really don't like them, but the Salvatores want to help. At least, Stefan, and Damon will if I force him."

"I thought you didn't like him because he killed me?" Vicki snorted, rolling her eyes. She sniffled. "Are you on his side now?"

"There are no sides here, Vicki," Victoria retorted gently, taking another tentative step towards the real vampiress. Vicki made no movement so she took that as a good sign. "We are all trying to work towards the same end goal: you making it through this night alive."

"You're deflecting," Vicki hissed suddenly. Victoria took a step back, startled by the sudden change of mood. "That's all you do. You don't actually care about me. You just want to be the Golden Girl of Mystic Falls, so you take the broken girl under your wing."

"That's not true, Vicki!"

"Oh grow up, Victoria, I think we know all the truth," Vicki snarled. "You want so desperately to be accepted because your father left you and your mother when you were just a baby! You have daddy issues more than anybody else I know, and I used to be the person with the biggest issues here!"

Victoria faltered. Daddy issues? What father? Kelly wasn't married and she sure as hell hadn't really mentioned any father of hers.

"I tried to protect you, Victoria," Vicki snapped, shaking her head in disappointment. A thoughtful look came to her eyes and it scared Victoria. It scared Victoria just like the moment before Vicki wrapped her up in chains did. "I honestly did. I thought you would understand that. But maybe...if you die, that will protect you and hurt the man who caused me so much pain." She shrugged, as if it was a totally nonchalant topic to talk about. "No hard feelings, Victoria, but I have survival instincts and well, you know, any excuse to taste that blood again."

Vicki was on her like a big cat and Victoria didn't even bother to hide the scream that ripped through her throat when she felt Vicki's fangs rip into her neck. Victoria's hands scrambled for purchase on Vicki's shoulders, her arms, her neck, anything. Anything she could grab to get her off of herself. The burning pain, the sensation, the nightmares she had struggled with for the past month ran through her all at once. The tears that fell from her eyes and the screams that came from her throat were real. Victoria relived every moment that Vicki had forced fed from her in that one instant.

And just like that, Vicki was backing off, gasping as if someone had cut off all of her air supply. She staggered back a few feet from Victoria, looking at Victoria in shock and disbelief. Victoria staggered back, but hers was due to blood loss. She was about to crumble when she felt familiar strong arms grab onto her. Damon. And standing behind Vicki, looking like a mixture between remorse and sadness, stood the last person she thought she would see.

Zach grabbed onto Vicki as she started to sink to the ground and lowered her down more gently. There was a large piece of wood sticking out of her stomach. It seemed too low for a blow that would kill her, but as Victoria looked on, she could see random pieces of wood sticking out of her chest where her heart would be. Victoria took in a shaky breath, tears of shame and sadness and grief intermingling with tears of fear and pain.

"V-Victoria?"

The word bubbled on Vicki's lips, just as the blood did, and Victoria grabbed onto Damon desperately as her legs gave out from under her. Damon took her to the ground gently, resting half in his lap and half on the ground. Victoria bit her lower lip; she had been too late. She didn't do enough. Vicki was dying. It was her fault, her fault.

It was all her fault.

"It wasn't your fault."

She should have done more to save her.

"Y-You couldn't have done more. I-I let my emotions get away."

Vicki was to be the first. The first to go.

"D-Did you know I was named after you?"

"W-What?" Victoria stammered. Vicki's comment had completely thrown her for a loop. She hadn't expected that at all. "W-What do you mean?"

Vicki pushed herself up from the ground a little, resting back into Zach's hold. She mirrored Victoria's posture with Damon, however her fingers and what little of her legs were showing were already starting to take on the gray of desiccation. "M-My mom was always so jealous of yours; there was the good Kelly and the bad Kelly, and she knew she w-would never be the good one. She named me to try and beat you. B-Be the better Victoria. I-I hated you for years, b-but after my first a-attempt at rehab, y-you sat there and held my hand and swore to fight for me always. F-From that day on, you were more than a f-friend to me. You were my sister." Vicki took in a shaky breath and Victoria couldn't help the sob that came to her throat. "I-I'm sorry I-I'm causing you so much pain. I-I didn't mean w-what I said about y-your dad. I know that h-he loved you a lot. I-I was just so hurt." Another shaky breath. "B-Blankie?"

For the first time in a month, that nickname didn't send Victoria into a frenzy. It caused such a painful heartache that more tears came to her eyes just hearing it. "Y-Yeah, Vick?"

"I-I love you. A-And i-it..." She gulped heavily as the desiccation came up to her neck. "I-It wasn't Damon's fault. H-He didn't kill me. H-He...he was a-actually really n-nice to m-me."

"Who did then, Vicki?" Victoria sobbed. "Who is the evil bad man?"

"A-An a-angel."

The desiccation reached the top of her head and her whole body was gray and limp within Zach's arms. And yet Victoria couldn't help but squeak out painfully, "V-Vicki?"

There was no response.

A/N: Here you go y'all! I got this done within a couple of days, and I am soooo excited because of it! Go me! Here's your two chapters in one week! I've been waiting for this chapter for so long. Yes, Vicki unfortunately died; I never really had any urge to keep her living past this point, but to make her death more of a statement. Don't worry! She'll be making more appearances throughout the show and her death will affect Victoria.

Also, fun fact: I got worse this week in my sickness, and I'm like 65% sure that I got food poisoning from drinking fermented apple juice, apple juice that I didn't realize needed to be refrigerated. I'm a bit of an idiot XD. Also, might be quitting that froyo shop job that I've been wanting for years because of physically trying to get there issues and I think their sick policy sucks!

THE SHIPPING WARS! (feel free to keep on voting; 1 full point for one ship, two half points for two separate ships, more than 2, smaller decimals. Anything that is not a full point will be italicized):

ROMANTIC:

Team Stetoria {Victoria/Stefan} (8): insert name here XD, sammyleann's dad, TikiKiki, Maistryia, Don't-Say-It-Feel-It, another guest, Elyse1821, Lime, herewegoagain

Team Datoria/Viamon {Victoria/Damon} (6): Sciave, Guest, ArganRose, CrystalAris, Marine76, Assenavira

Team Vilijah {Victoria/Elijah} (14.5): guest, Guest, SoraLover987142, insert name here XD, sammyleann, Orange keys 25, LoyalElijahFangirl, Hinata Megumi, A. G Herz, Aryabloodlust, ferallahey, AngelColdHeart, BlueDragibus, dreamwalkerlisa, Guest

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

Team Koltoria {Victoria/Kol} (2): DreamerPop, MelissaMorningstar

PLATONIC:

Vinn {Victoria/Finn) (.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25

Varcel {Victoria/Marcel) (.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25

Zinn {Zach/Finn} (.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25

Jol {Jenna/Kol} (.9): LoyalElijahFangirl, Lime, Orange keys 25

Kelas {Silas/Kelly L.} (.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25

Koltoria {Victoria/Kol} (.2): Orange keys 25

Kennett {Kol/Bonnie} (.5): Lime

If it so pleases any of you, I have found theme songs for each of the romantic 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!: MarinaBee7462, heavenlyambrose80

New Favoriters!: heavenlyambrose80, G Wash, LazyNate, Yukihino-Sama, Lazy potato queen, DBZSUPERGT

Onto reviews!:

Guest: I added you to the Romantic Shipping Wars vote because it sounded like you were rooting for Vilijah in your review. Lemme know if this wasn't the case. And yes, I can say that Victoria will become friends with all the Originals. That's a good point; the Salvatore brothers don't know the "original" Victoria from Mystic Falls either, so you know they'll be good friends to her too. Aww thanks! I'm really liking their friendship too. Well...Vicki kind of did go somewhere else XD. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

DBZFAN45: Some of these titles you come up with make me laugh so much. The Stefan Salvatore Vegan Vamp School of 101 and A Woman In Red (Victoria) By Damon were some of my favorites. Well, you kind of did get your Friday update! Zach is not going away for a long time. And surprise! It's actually a Datoria dance break and not a Stetoria dance break! How's that for a Step Up moment? XD (I prefer the Step Up 3 movie, that one's my favorite).

Assenavira: ¡Gracias! ¡Tu voto ha sido agregado! De hecho, eres mi primer revisor que no habla inglés. Lo siento si esto suena raro, estoy usando el Traductor de Google porque desafortunadamente no hablo español con fluidez. ¿Estás leyendo esta historia en inglés o en español? Tengo bastante curiosidad por saberlo. ¡Espero que disfrutes este capítulo!

Orange keys 25: Your votes have been added!

grapejuice101: I love your username. Thank you so much for the offer! I will have to keep that in mind. Here's your fast update!

MelissaMorningstar: Your vote has been added!

Yukihino-Sama: Hi! So, unfortunately, I will not be making this a polyamorous relationship. I agree with you that each of those guys really do provide Victoria with something different, but I am not comfortable enough writing a polyamorous relationship to do it that way. Plus, I got the story vaguely mapped out and that doesn't fit anywhere that I put it. Thank you for the suggestion though!

herewegoagain: There are so many little Stefan/OC, it's such a shame. If you ever find any good ones, lemme know in the reviews. Your vote has been added! Stefan's catching up to Elijah.

Lime: You never know when I'm going to strike next. Such as right now! Mhmm. Everyone's reactions to trauma will be accurate in this fanfiction. Yessireebob. If we're not counting anyone as a romantic interest, then that would put Kelly as the mom, Zach as the dad (or uncle), Mrs. Lockwood as a loving aunt, Vicki as a sister, the Salvatore bros as brothers, Caroline as a sister, Elena and Bonnie and Tyler definitely as cousins, etc. Ahhhh, that makes sense XD. Yeaaaaaaah, I'm pretty sure I got food poisoning off of that apple juice so whoops XD. Oh my gosh, they totally are. I never thought of it like that. Cool! Your vote has been added. They are just way too cute. I might get a cavity just writing them together. But how will they be after this rough night? Who knows? Limelight, there are some people who review like it's their term paper (I'm not complaining). Never worry about whether or not your review gets too long. I like reviews of all shapes and sizes!

Lemme read off the statistics for y'all: 173 reviews, 149 Favoriters, 198 Followers, 1 Communities, close to 22k+ viewers, and over 180k+ words! And it's only like the seventh episode! This is going to be a long boy.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Lemme know how you guys are feeling in the reviews!

Stay healthy and stay safe!

BecomingFearless1F