162 Candles - Part 1
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
"Victoria?"
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
"Tori...?"
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
"She's going into shock. We need a stimulant to snap her out of it or she's going to lose consciousness with all that hyperventilating."
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe ou -
A sharp pain raced across Victoria's cheek and she couldn't help but verbally cry out, "What the hell?" as her hand bolted up to cradle her face. She blinked her eyes, her vision blurry and yet clear all at the same time. She was on the ground; well, partially on the ground, partially in someone's lap. Damon's lap. He still held her, though his arms had dropped and were now wrapped around her waist like a seatbelt. Jeremy was off to the side, standing beside his sister and Stefan. Across from her...was just Zach. Vicki's body was gone. Gone, gone. Disappeared into the wind, like a breeze drifting away...
There was another sharp pinch on her shoulder and Victoria flinched, moving to swat the perpetrator away. "Damon!"
"You were slipping again, Mama Bear. Had to keep you in the present," Damon replied. His voice sounded tight, like he was restraining himself. But from what? Violence? Tears? He wasn't that close with Vicki...was he? "We're going to stand up now, okay?"
Victoria nodded her head, licking her lips as her eyes moved to the spot where Vicki had been. How long had she been losing it? Where had they taken Vicki's body?
D-Did you know I was named after you?
That sentence alone was enough for tears to spring back into Victoria's eyes.
Damon pushed Victoria off of his lap just enough to get his feet underneath him. Keeping one arm wrapped tightly around her midsection, he offered his other hand out to her. She didn't move her gaze once, but she grabbed his hand with hers and allowed him to pull her up as he stood. Damon dipped his head down, his lips brushing the back of Victoria's ear. It didn't feel romantic. Nothing felt like anything. Everything just felt numb. "You need to go home. Do you want us to find Kelly?"
Victoria frantically shook her head. She couldn't imagine Kelly's shock to find out what had truly happened. Oh goodness, if she saw the mark on Victoria's neck...
Victoria's hand slapped her neck as she tried to desperately feel for the bite mark. But that was the thing. There was no blood. No bite mark, no blood, just the cool metal chain of her necklace and back jewelry.
"Vicki never bit into you," Damon whispered to her again, his arm around her waist squeezing her reassuringly. "She tried to, but your necklace was too thick."
"B-But I felt it," Victoria replied in a soft, dazed murmur. Damon's thumb rubbed the back of Victoria's hand; the motion grounded her and she took a shaky deep breath. "I-I felt the pain and the sensation."
"You probably panicked," Damon answered easily. "Okay...no Kelly. Can I send you with Zach?"
Zach. The man - vampire - who she had just watched stab her friend in the stomach like she was some kind of monster. Zach, the vampire who had sat her down just that morning to help her sort out her feelings. Zach, the vampire who seemed to always know the right thing to say even when she felt like the world was crumbling down all around her. Zach, the closest person she's ever considered to be a dad-like figure.
She licked her lips and looked up at Zach. He was standing where he had stabbed Vicki and the look in his eyes was pure anxiousness. He seemed terrified of how she was going to react to him. Victoria let out a shaky breath and while staring at Zach, she gave a slow nod. Zach let out a large breath, and Victoria could see the relief radiating off of him in waves. Damon gestured roughly for his uncle to come over to Victoria and he did so slowly, taking his time to ensure that Victoria was comfortable.
Victoria was rather impressed that Damon didn't make any quippy remarks about Victoria being in Zach's company, and she was grateful that for once he had kept his mouth shut. Damon transferred his hold of Victoria to Zach, who switched his hands around so his hand on her hip and on her hand instead of an arm around her waist. Since Victoria was out of his hold, Damon straightened up and looked around at the ragtag collection of people in a terrible circle. "You should go. I got this."
"You did this," Elena snarled, stomping away from Stefan. She held a hand tight against her side and Victoria winced. She had gotten hurt when Vicki threw her into the garbage; Victoria had forgotten all about that. Was she alright? Elena got closer to Damon and glared at him with all her might. "This is your fault."
"You confuse me for someone who is guilty," Damon snapped back. Elena's hand darted up, in a lousy attempt to slap Damon, but he was quicker and grabbed her wrist before her hand could even make contact. "None of your judgment matters to me. None of it."
"People die around you," Elena argued. "How could it not matter? Victoria, Jeremy, and me could have died because of you because you turned Vicki! It matters, and you know it!" This time she did slap him and Victoria watched as his dark eyes seemingly became darker with rage.
"You need to leave," Damon snapped. "Your wounds are bleeding and you need to leave right now."
"You don't intimidate me, Damon -!"
"- Enough, Elena!" Victoria shouted, surprising everyone. The teenager, dressed in a bloodied nurse outfit (even more bloodied than before), turned towards Victoria in shock. "Please. Just enough."
"But Tori -!"
"- But nothing, Elena!" Victoria interrupted, a tired growl rising in her throat. "Please. I-I just had to watch someone I was b-beginning to consider a sister die in front of my eyes by a friend who was just trying to protect me. J-Jeremy just lost someone he loved. Whatever Damon's transgressions, we can d-deal with them in the morning." She shook her head wearily and couldn't help but add in a semi-snarky, semi-exhausted tone, "Plus, he's not the only Salvatore who has some explaining to do." She directed that part towards Stefan, who was looking at her with some confusion. There was a shift in his eyes and it was like a gear had clicked into place.
That broke Victoria's heart even more. He had forgotten about the dance. Something extremely important to her, and he had forgotten it. Probably in favor of...no, definitely in favor of hanging off of Elena's every word.
She breathed, "Damn, Stefan...I'd expect this from Damon, but not from you." Victoria looked up at Zach and murmured, "Take me home, please."
They disappeared into the wind before Stefan or Damon or Elena or Jeremy could say anything.
Zach set her down out of the bridal carry gently, making sure her feet were underneath her before fully letting her go. She stumbled for a moment but quickly corrected herself. She felt odd; numb, shallow, heartbroken, deprived. Everything that shouldn't mix was mixing and Victoria didn't know how to sort out her emotions. But what she did know was that she needed to be alone.
Zach wasn't privy to her thoughts as he asked her, "Are you sure you can be alone right now?"
Victoria licked her lips, not looking at him as she found the hidden key to the front door above the little power box beside the door. She inserted the key and twisted it, unlocking the door and stepping inside. The house was dark, not a single light turned on. The idea of being in a dark home chilled her bones. But she needed it. She needed privacy.
"I'm sure, Zach," Victoria replied, proud that her voice didn't shake as much as she thought it would. She turned around and saw him looking at her skeptically, but saying nothing else. "Can you go back to the party and find my mom and just tell her that I wasn't feeling well so you took me home? She doesn't need to rush home; just make up something about my PTSD getting the better of me."
"I'll tell her, but don't expect me to hold her back when she tries to come running home," Zach answered truthfully and Victoria let out a weak chuckle. Wasn't that the truth? "Victoria..."
"I-I don't blame you."
Zach didn't seem to believe her words. "I stabbed Vicki right in front of your eyes."
Yeah, I was there, Zach. "I know."
"How can you not blame me?"
"Because you were doing it to protect me," Victoria answered. It was the truth. Did she fully like what had happened? Of course not. But she could begin to accept it. It seemed that fate had some things set in stone. Trying to argue against that wasn't going to do anything to her except make her tired and whiny. "Vicki probably would have killed me, one way or another. You did what you could to ensure that I would survive. I-I can't blame you for that."
"But you're upset."
"My friend just died, Zach," Victoria said in a broken whisper. Zach flinched as if feeling some invisible stake being shoved through his chest. "I-I'm not going to be okay for a while." She breathed out deeply. "I-I just...I need a night to myself. I-I'll see you tomorrow, probably, for Stefan's birthday."
She stepped in and shut the door before Zach could try and stall her. Victoria locked it with an audible click and held her breath for a few moments. It was only when she heard the creaking footsteps of the front porch steps that she let the breath go. Alone at last.
Well, almost.
"I know you're here," Victoria announced, turning around so her back was to the door. The house was shrouded in darkness, but she had spotted a dark figure sitting on the staircase. She hadn't been intimidated, though, because she spotted a familiar bouquet of roses sitting at the foot of the steps. "And I would really like to question how on Earth you manage to get an invitation into the house, but you are honestly so stalker-like that I really shouldn't question it."
Victoria sunk down against the door, staring at the vampire hidden in darkness. She could faintly make out his outline, thanks to the moon shining through some of their front windows, but any detail about color or Noble's face was lost in the darkness. He was really good at finding all the dark and shady spots, Victoria had to hand it to him.
"Have you figured out what happened tonight at the fair after the dance?" Victoria asked him. His hands, which were folded on his lap, tensed in the moonlight and she sighed. "Of course you do." She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees. Everything seemed so wrong and tears burned at the corner of her eyes. She tried not to tremble even more. "I-I just couldn't save her. Destiny had a different fate in mind for her and everything..."
Victoria let out a little moan of despair and ducked her head down into her knees. She took multiple breaths, trying to ignore the rattling sound in her chest as she tried to keep the tears and the panic at bay. A gentle, warm, large hand rested itself upon her head and she didn't bother to hide the little sigh she released. Steadily, with the hands of a gentleman and a saint, Victoria could feel Noble starting to take out every bobby pin that had been thrust into her scalp to hold up her hair. With each pin he pulled out, another layer of stress fell away from Victoria. It was almost like a head and neck massage; it was so soothing and she let out an appreciative hum once he finished. But he wasn't done, it seemed.
Noble's hands gathered up her hair and moved it so it hung off of her shoulder. Victoria shivered as she felt his hands, warm and comforting, unclasping her necklace and body jewelry. Once that was done, Noble pulled the cold items away from Victoria's body. They made delicate tapping noises as he set them on the ground beside the two of them.
Victoria didn't look up. Not even when Noble's hands returned to her head and began to gently scratch her scalp. She wanted to respect Noble's privacy, but also his warm ministrations had caused tears to start trickling from her eyes. She had wanted to be alone, yes, but she was more than alright being alone in Noble's presence. Plus, despite the despair that Victoria was threatened to drown in, she had questions. Questions that needed answers.
"I know about Raphael."
Noble's hands paused; Victoria could sense the surprise from him through the tension in his fingers.
She scoffed, but it came off more as a watery, depressed chuckle. "I may be stupid sometimes, Noble, but I'm not an idiot. I can connect the dots occasionally. Vicki's dying words were the answer to who her killer was. 'An angel', she said. When Raphael first told me of his pseudonym, he said that it was the name of one of the Archangels from Hebrew lore. An angel. Damon...he tried to tell me and I-I just ignored him. He was supposed to kill Vicki; I-I guess he was telling the truth."
Noble's fingers began to move again and one of his hands drifted down to her neck, squeezing lightly as if to say 'you couldn't have known'.
"But that's the thing, Noble, is that I could have known. I should have known!" Victoria insisted, squeezing her legs tighter. She verbally growled in her throat. "I should have known that Damon was innocent because he was being so nice and kind and I just let my stupid prejudice get in the way of that, and ugh!"
Noble didn't say anything, but he did make a humming noise, one that was deep and baritone. Was it an actual clue to his real voice? Perhaps, but it was hard to tell. It wasn't compulsion though; Victoria had her anklet resting firmly on her ankle.
Speaking of which...
"I-I need to get changed out of my costume," Victoria whimpered, suddenly exhausted. What she needed was to sleep for a million years, and then cry for another million. And then sleep again. "I-I'm just so angry..."
There was a knock on the door behind her, and she was so tired that she didn't even flinch. She kept her head down for a couple more seconds before tentatively lifting it up. Noble wasn't sitting on the staircase, nor were the roses sitting on the floor. Both were gone. Well, isn't he just the master of disappearing acts, huh?
Victoria, using the doorknob, pulled herself to her feet, wobbling in her heels, and she peeked through the peephole. She let out a sigh of relief. It was just Damon.
She opened the door, just enough for her body to show through. Victoria didn't want Damon to get the idea that he had an open invitation into her house. Not with Noble there; the last time the two of them interacted...wasn't exactly pleasant. "Damon."
"Victoria."
There was silence for a moment, just the two of them staring at each other. Damon had recovered his jacket, or maybe he had had it earlier. Victoria could barely distinguish events of the night from each other, so she finally asked, "Is Kelly okay?"
"I'm assuming so; when I left the party, she was talking to Jenna and Zach showed up the second before I booked it," Damon answered honestly. Victoria licked her lips, biting her lower one nervously as she nodded. "I'm assuming, also, that you know where I just came from."
"Elena's house," Victoria sniffed, leaning her head against the doorframe. She was so tired. She just wanted to scrub off all of her makeup, change into sweatpants and a sweatshirt, and sleep for fifty billion years. "You compelled Jeremy for her, instead of Stefan because of his bunny diet."
"Spot on."
"Then why are you here?" Victoria asked wearily, looking at him. She squinted her eyes momentarily, as if trying to read his thoughts, before quickly giving up. There was no reading the mind of Damon Salvatore. Things weren't that simple. "Shouldn't you be going home and planning some big birthday bash for Stefan or whatever?"
"Figured you could use the company more than my bed could," Damon said, shrugging one shoulder.
"Now that's a lie, Damon," Victoria retorted, shaking her head. She let her body sag a little for emphasis and watched as his expression turned to that of concern. "And I'm so tired and just done with the day, so please, answer me honestly: why are you here?"
"Elena wants me to erase your memories of tonight."
With that one sentence, it was like someone had given Victoria expresso and the caffeine had just kicked in. She straightened up immediately and took a step back, saying, "No."
"Victoria -"
"- I said no, Damon!" Victoria shrieked, shaking her head. "I am not going through with that!"
"Now, if you would just give me a minute to explain to you -"
"- I know every shitty thing that has happened to each of you and will ever happen to you and ways to stop them and you just want me to let you rip my only power here away from me? To sit back like some doll that you can manipulate -!"
"- I said no, Victoria."
Victoria's ramblings trickled to a stop. She looked at him in disbelief. "You said what?"
"I said no," Damon restated, taking his hands and putting them in the pockets of his leather jacket. "Obviously. Elena may have a pretty face but you're about the closest thing I have to a friend here and I've...screwed that up enough times." He seemed sheepish as he finished out that sentence and Victoria stood there, mouth opening and closing like she was a fish out of water.
"O-Oh..."
"Yeah, oh."
"T-That's sweet of you, Damon," Victoria said, sniffing lightly. She shivered; it was getting colder outside. "I-I need to go. I'll see you tomorrow?"
Damon opened his mouth like he wanted to say something else, but he clamped his jaw shut before he could say anything else. He gave her a small nod before he turned around. He had taken one step forward when a thought struck Victoria.
"Wait!" she called out, and he paused, looking back at her. She shifted awkwardly in her heels, wincing as a sharp pain raced up her foot. "Damon, I-I'm..." Victoria took a deep breath. She needed a clear mind. She had to state it very clearly. "Damon, I'm using my favor."
His eyes widened slightly in remembrance of the promise he made her over a month ago. So much had happened between then and now. It was crazy to even think of it. Victoria pushed on and she opened the door more, standing up straighter so Damon would know that she wasn't joking. She was being dead serious (no pun intended). "Don't use Lexi for your plan tomorrow."
Damon's eyes widened even more in disbelief and he blinked rapidly at Victoria. He was not anticipating Victoria knowing his plan, it seemed. She had to chuckle darkly at his expression and she gave him a skeptical frown. "This is what surprised you? Really?" She shook her head. "See you tomorrow."
And she stepped inside, shutting the door. A quick perusal of the downstairs revealed that Noble was gone. But the roses had been cut and placed inside of a flower vase, placed on top of the kitchen island with a beautiful blue ribbon tied around the vase that hadn't been there before. Victoria smiled softly at the image before she moved upstairs to her room to change.
There was no rest for the innocent it seemed, let alone the wicked. Victoria was woken up the next morning to the stern tone of Kelly saying, "Sheriff Forbes wants to speak with you, Matt, Elena, Stefan, and Jeremy about Vicki's disappearance right now. Get up, get changed, get some breakfast, and get to the car as fast as you can."
Victoria was too tired, both physically and mentally, to care about her appearance, so she simply grabbed the nearest brown jumpsuit, added a jean jacket and some heeled booties to it, and headed downstairs. A simple slice of toast with some jam and butter spread on it consisted of her breakfast, and then she was in the car beside Kelly, heading towards the police station.
"Are you feeling any better from last night?" Kelly asked her. True to Zach's assumption, Victoria had been in the middle of wiping her makeup off the previous night when Kelly came storming in, firing off questions like 'Are you alright?' and 'Is there anything I can do for you?', etc. It was sweet; it wasn't like MacKenzie Vanacore had been as loving and caring to her as Kelly was, so despite how rotten Victoria was feeling, she made sure to have an extra slice of patience pie for Kelly.
"My head hurts a little," Victoria answered honestly. The numerous times she had woken up in the middle of the night crying had been the reason for that. Her nightmares had now shifted from memories of her kidnapping and stay to Vicki threatening to have Zach kill her if Victoria didn't allow Vicki to drink her blood and if Victoria didn't drink Vicki's blood. It was a confusing mess of a nightmare, but one that still terrified Victoria to the bone. Her headache had been there since she had woken up. "A-And I'm tired, but nothing new there."
Kelly hummed in acknowledgment and managed to stay quiet for a couple more streets before she blurted out, "Who gave you the roses?" Victoria tried to ignore the statement, not wanting to get into it, but Kelly was persistent. It was like having an adult Caroline in the car. "Come on, baby girl, I'm not blind. Those are your favorite flowers. Was it Damon? Because I thought that you had said he had left town but then he was there dancing with you last night, which was amazing, by the way, so I was curious. Or ooooh! Maybe it was Stefan!"
"It was a kind, older gentleman," Victoria stated, clearing any idea that Kelly might have had. She flopped her head against the car seat and couldn't help the baby smile that came to her lips when she thought of Noble. "He gave them to me and wished me luck."
"How much older?"
Victoria snorted and rolled her eyes. "Probably way too old for me." It was the truth; Noble hadn't revealed his age, but Victoria was willing to bet it had to be older than the Salvatore boys.
"I don't get why you're still so single," Kelly grumbled as she pulled into the police station parking lot. "You're attractive, you're talented, you're kind and caring."
"Also the amnesiac who ends up in the hospital way too much," Victoria tacked on with a laugh. Kelly smiled widely at her, enjoying her laughter before joining in with her own. As the girls' laughter died down, Victoria added in a gentle murmur, "Hey, Mom?"
"Yeah, baby girl?"
"I-I needed this," she said, gesturing between the two of them. "It's...been a night and I-I don't think you understand how much this means to me."
"Oh baby girl, you're going to make me cry," Kelly said, pretending to sniffle for Victoria's amusement. "Do you want me to go in or...?" She paused and glanced over Victoria's shoulder. "Oh look! There's Stefan there! Why don't you walk in with him?"
At Stefan's name, Victoria stiffened. She hadn't wanted to talk to him until his birthday party because dang it all, he had hurt her badly last night and both he and she knew it. But Kelly didn't, and Victoria saw how much Kelly enjoyed Stefan's presence. So Victoria put on a brave face, nodded, and slipped out of the car. She strode towards the entrance of the police station, knowing that Stefan would catch up soon enough.
As she had predicted, Stefan's hand shot out to grab the handle to the door, pulling it open for her. Victoria murmured a small 'thank you', which he nodded to, before stepping inside the station. Stefan pulled up close beside Victoria as the two made their way to the front desk.
"Tori, I need to talk to you."
"Not now."
"It's kind of important -"
"- And I said not now," Victoria snapped, whirling on him. He looked hurt and confused but damn it all, Victoria did not want to hash out last night's transgressions just before they were about to be interviewed about a girl who was dead. "We can deal with this later." Victoria turned around and took a deep breath before speaking to the receptionist, "Victoria LeBlanc and Stefan Salvatore to see Sheriff Forbes. She requested our presence?"
"Of course," the receptionist, a woman whose nametag read 'Joan', said. She stood up and gestured for Victoria and Stefan to follow her. The two walked side-by-side, neither of them saying anything as they were led into the station. As they came across a hallway, Victoria saw Elena, Jeremy, and Matt all sitting outside of an office, Sheriff Forbes standing in front of them, detailing off what Victoria assumed was what was going to happen. She trailed off when she saw who was coming with the nice lady receptionist Joan.
"Victoria, Mr. Salvatore," Sheriff Forbes commented, nodding her head hello to each one. Her gaze seemed to soften, if that was at all possible, when she looked at Victoria. "Victoria, since you're already used to this, do you mind if I start with you first?"
"Of course not, Sheriff, whatever I can do to help," Victoria explained, nodding her head. She didn't bother looking back at Stefan or anyone else as Caroline's mom held the door open for her to enter. The warm-toned room with large windows hadn't changed since the last time she had been there, only two weeks ago. A discussion about the same girl only under different circumstances.
Victoria took her seat on one side of the desk and let Sheriff Forbes occupy the other one seat facing her. Sheriff Forbes glanced down at her notepad, flipping it open to a clear page before pulling out her pencil. She sat back in her seat and then looked at Victoria, who had her hands folded in her laps nervously. "Victoria, I first wanted to ask you how you are doing? Kelly told me that you left the Halloween festival early."
"I-I was getting overwhelmed," Victoria answered truthfully. Not the full truth, but not a lie. Vicki's death had started to overwhelm her; hell, she had almost fallen into shock if Damon hadn't slapped her. "Everything was just...starting to get to me and so I had Zach Salvatore take me back home. I had been talking with him, the Gilberts, and Stefan and Damon before the overwhelming began."
"Alright. And before we get into the detailed questions, I just wanted to say that your dance last night was beautiful. I couldn't see the full thing, you know, had patrolling to do, but the little I saw left me impressed," Sheriff Forbes confided in her, and Victoria smiled softly at that. That was sweet. Victoria made sure to voice that out loud, and the sheriff added, "Of course. Caroline was equally impressed, or she sounded like it when I talked with her about it a little this morning."
She cleared her throat and readied her pencil above the sheet of paper. Victoria sat up straighter. It was time. "Vicki contacted Matt yesterday afternoon. Did you know?"
"Yes."
Scribble, scribble. "Did Vicki try to contact you?"
"No."
More scribbling. "Did you hear where Vicki was supposed to be going?"
"No."
"Do you know if she told Matt where she was going?"
"No; as far as I'm aware, she told Jeremy I believe to tell Matt that she was leaving, but that was the little tidbit of information I received through the teen network so I'm not sure if that's reliable," Victoria answered, throwing in some information that she knew the other teens would say.
"I see. Is there anyone I can talk to that may know what happened to her prior to her leaving town?"
"Maybe Stefan?" Victoria suggested, shrugging awkwardly. "I think he said something about visiting her house yesterday."
"What was Stefan doing there?" the Sheriff asked curiously.
Victoria licked her lips. "I-I think he was getting involved, trying to help her get a hold of her drug issues. I-I think I've talked to him about it before, wanting advice for how to encourage her out of the drug situation. Maybe he thought he'd be helping me and Elena?"
"I see the 'you' connection, but where's the Elena connection? He just decided to help Vicki because she asked him or something?"
"She could have asked him," Victoria answered truthfully. "And I think that if Elena did ask, it was because Vicki was dating Jeremy and was friends with me. Not everyone's...understood our friendship at times. Myself included."
"From what others have told you, what was her behavior like those last few days before she left?"
"I-I know that others have mentioned that she was more volatile than usual," Victoria began, trying to remember the words she had used to describe Vicki's attitude to Stefan. "Her empathy had become distorted and she was angrier than usual, paranoid, frantic, rude. Not at all the Vicki Donovan that I knew before...before the event."
What the 'event' was didn't need to be said. Both the Sheriff and Victoria knew.
"Was there any signs of aggression or violence?"
"If there was, nobody said anything about it to me," Victoria answered. "And probably with good reason if there was any. I-I'm...I'm doing better, but I'm not totally fine. Not just yet."
"If you ever want to come forward with information about what happened while you were away, if it involves Vicki and you want to press charges, you have the right to do so," Sheriff Forbes explained to her. She set her pencil down and leaned forward across the table, a look of motherly concern on her face. It was an odd look, considering she wasn't all that motherly normally. "I am sure Matt won't think badly on you if you do so. He understands that what his sister did was wrong."
But he doesn't. Not really. He doesn't know the true and full story of what took place in those woods for that week, Victoria thought ashamedly to herself. Verbally, she said, "I am not pressing charges against Vicki. If I'm not pressing charges, there is no reason for me to talk to the police about what happened."
"And, I will state, theoretically there is, considering kidnapping of a minor is a federal offense," Sheriff Forbes countered, raising an eyebrow at Victoria. "I am trying to do you a solid because I know how much you are dealing with your amnesia already. To stack on police charges on top of that would be too much for you to bear. That being said, it will be marked down on your record."
Victoria nodded. She had suspected as much.
Caroline's mom sighed lightly and finished writing down all the information that Victoria had provided. "One final question before I let you go, Victoria: do you believe Vicki has really left town?"
Victoria's breathing hitched a little and she nodded, folding her arms around her chest. She had a deep pain in her heart and the room was beginning to stifle her. "Y-Yes."
The Sheriff picked up on her discomfort quickly and stood up. "I think that will be all the questions I put you through today. I suggest you go home and rest as much as you can." She walked around the desk and opened the door, gesturing for Victoria to leave.
Victoria nodded her consent and leapt to her feet, racing out of the doorway. She marched down the hall, ignoring the calls from both Stefan and Elena for her to stop. She didn't want to stop. She just wanted the ache inside of her heart to stop, to go away. To leave her be. To let her have peace.
Someone grabbed her shoulder and whipped her around. Victoria gasped and flinched backward, only noticing afterward that it was just Stefan. He seemed hurt by her actions, and somewhere deep inside of herself, there was a part of Victoria that cared. But the surface level didn't; no, she didn't care how Stefan felt.
She was enraged.
"Are you okay? Did the Sheriff say something to you?" Stefan was asking her, his eyes roaming her body as if looking for battle wounds.
"Leave me alone."
The words were sharp, clear, and precise. To the point. And not what Stefan had expected, given the way he stumbled back a few steps. He looked up at her in confusion and stammered, "W-What? Victoria, what are you saying?"
"I want you to leave me alone," Victoria snapped, her arms clutching at her stomach tighter. Her whole body was beginning to shake and her breathing was uneven. Her eyes began to burn with the promise of unshed tears and she gritted her teeth to try and stop it. "Enjoying your birthday, enjoy your stupid party and Lexi, and leave me the hell alone."
Victoria made a move to turn around, but Stefan didn't let her, his hand snapping out to grab her arm. "Victoria! What is going on? Why are you acting like this?"
"Maybe it's because my friend died," she hissed, so quietly that she knew only vampires would be able to hear. Stefan flinched at that, seeming apologetic, but Victoria was in no mood for apologies. "Maybe it's because that same friend tortured me for a week and I am trying to decide whether or not I should press charges against a dead girl. Maybe it's because last night was something that was so important to me and I thought you understood that, and you stood me up. That was a dick move, Stefan. A Damon move."
"I was trying to find Vicki, to protect Elena," Stefan protested, but Victoria cut him off before he could say anything else.
"And you didn't stop to think that I would have told you if Elena was in immediate harm or if Vicki was going to cause permeant damage to someone?" Victoria demanded, stepping forward dangerously. It was getting harder and harder to keep her voice down, especially with how pissed off she was getting. "You need to have some faith in me, Stefan!"
"And you need to have faith in me too, Victoria!"
"I did!" Victoria yelled. The rooms around them went silent and all Victoria could hear was the pounding of her own heart, coupled with her heavy breathing. Quieter, and with more ferocity, she repeated, "I did, Stefan. I had faith that you would trust me, that you would show up and help me do something that I find extremely important to me. But you didn't. You were wrapped up in your haze about Elena that you didn't see that I needed you too. And you know who did step in? Your brother. The man who I had no faith in was the one I should have been putting my trust into when it came to the dance."
"You can't trust Damon, Victoria!" Stefan insisted, his eyes blazing with fury.
Victoria rolled her eyes and shot back, "Same old news, Stefan. To be honest, it's becoming clear to me that I really can't trust anybody. Not you, not Damon, not even the people who swore to protect me no matter the costs. But I don't want to live my life paranoid. So I am willing to put my trust into people who might let me down." She threw her hands up to her sides and walked backwards, giving Stefan a sarcastic, angry look as she went. "What can I say? I guess I'm human."
A/N: A little mixture between the end of Haunted and the beginning of 162 Candles! We get to meet Lexi next chapter. I'M SO EXCITED! I loooooove Lexi. She's awesome and fierce and ugh. She is going to have a blast with Victoria. I hope you all enjoy the next chapter. It'll be fun! For the Shipping Wars!: if I accidentally put you down for the wrong Team (or at all when you didn't vote), please let me know so I can fix it. Some of you seem to be voting but it's not 100% clear so I'm doing my best here XD.
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} (10): insert name here XD, sammyleann's dad, TikiKiki, Maistryia, Don't-Say-It-Feel-It, another guest, Elyse1821, Lime, herewegoagain, K, Yukihino-Sama
Team Datoria/Viamon {Victoria/Damon} (7.5): Sciave, Guest, ArganRose, CrystalAris, Marine76, Assenavira, CarlaPA, Guest (1)
Team Vilijah {Victoria/Elijah} (16): guest, Guest, SoraLover987142, insert name here XD, sammyleann, Orange keys 25, LoyalElijahFangirl, Hinata Megumi, A. G Herz, Aryabloodlust, ferallahey, AngelColdHeart, BlueDragibus, dreamwalkerlisa, Guest, Stachelbeere, Guest (1)
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
Autoria {Aurora/Victoria} (.2): LoyalElijahFangirl
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!: MistressAlly123, Demonwolf07, ktlynrose
New Favoriters!: Demonwolf07
Onto reviews!:
ferallahey: I'M SORRY, I HAD TO! But as the demented person I am, this was exactly the kind of reaction I was looking for, so whoo! I will reveal that Victoria's "dad" will become a part of the story. Not for a little bit though, but we'll still have clues and other teases and such. Kelly is the best mama. I love her. Sometimes when I write Noble, I do swoon. He is very suave and I love it! Yes! Indecision is the name of my game! Make you all doubt your votes!
DBZFAN45: Honestly, sometimes I write some of Damon's flirting lines and I swoon. Awww thank you! I accept the Best TVD Dance Performance Award beside my awesome characters, Victoria LeBlanc and Damon Salvatore. I suspect Damon will hide the trophy away for himself. Maybe, maybe not ;) 2nd AMENDMENT: Noble is a smooth criminal. I love it. Damon does reveal that Victoria is the only person who he would even consider to be a friend in this chapter. Ooooooh, love that Vicki idea! Might steal that.
kafo521: Thank you so much! That was really sweet of you! I am feeling better, so that's good! (Maybe that's why I was able to bust this chapter out). I agree with you on Vicki's versus Caroline's vampirism. Caroline really did thrive being a vampire and Vicki floundered more. The traumatic way she died also didn't help, it would seem. Damon, to me, is good at heart, but it's hidden away deep inside so sometimes it's hard to see.
MarinaBee7462: I would say I feel bad, but I don't because this is the exact reaction that I was hoping for! Thank you!
kyltnrose: There's a lot. Here we go: (Ch1) Oooh really? What story is that? Aww thank you! Victoria will have her own story (as I'm sure you've already found out). Caroline will have her own romance, don't you worry! (Ch2) Awww thanks! Do you want to make that an official vote or keep it to yourself for now? (Ch3) That's so sweet, thank you! (Ch4) The anklet is a bit of a mystery. Thank you! (Ch5) I looooove Teen Wolf. I love Stiles, he's so quirky. And Derek's all tall, dark, and mysterious. I get that; I think you've already found out XD (Ch6) They will not be a couple, but I can see where you might get that idea. No, Toriline is simply friendship goals and that is it. (Ch12) Ooooh, big jump! I did really enjoy Caroline and Enzo, but it'll probably be Klaroline, because I ship them so hard.
Assenavira: ¡Me honra que esté utilizando esta historia para ayudar a su inglés! ¡Eso es tan dulce! Estoy tratando de acercarme a cada personaje como alguien que está roto. Puedes arreglar algo que está roto, y todos estos personajes merecen un poco de amor. Stefan y Elena tienen una relación realmente agradable, así que puedo ver eso. También haces un buen comentario sobre Elijah; En cuanto a Klaus, puedo decir que Hope vendrá. Tal vez no de la manera que esperabas, pero ella vendrá.
Yukihino-Sama: No worries! I love how this fandom is either you tolerate Elena or just hate her so much and there's very little gray area XD. I cannot reveal anything that might happen with Damon (seeing as he is one of the contestants in the Shipping Wars) but I can guarantee that cute Bamon moments will happen. Whether they are romantic or platonic, you'll just have to wait and see.
LoyalElijahFangirl: Essay reviews! It's like school, only way more enjoyable! :D. Well, Victoria and Vicki have the same name because your author friend is an idiot and totally didn't realize that they had the same name, nor did your author friend realize that their moms had the same name too XD. It'll come into play later. She will have a life outside of the shennigans. In between Lost Girls and Haunted, there was a whole month gap. That's where they had time to rehearse. And yep, you're totally correct. She's realizing that no matter who she trusts, she's going to be let down and that hurts. That makes a lot of sense. It's the reason why I ship Klaroline, because Klaus actually would put Caroline first whereas Tyler put revenge first, and Stefan, Damon, and Matt all put Elena first. Tyler's not that bad of a character, I think he just has anger issues which can be a bit of a downer for me. A permanent resurrection, if it happens at all, will not happen for some time. I haven't decided if I want to let Vicki be at peace or if she'll make another reappearance in the land of the living as one of the living. Clarification: Raphael is the name of an angel. I have no intentions of bringing in the angel storyline from the books, cuz I don't know enough about it. Your review makes perfect sense, don't worry!
Stachelbeere: Thank you! I feel like Stefan may be blind when it comes to his "signals" to Victoria. There's a lot of miscommunication there. And now the conversation at the police station didn't help anything. I understand your reasoning behind Damon too; I can say positively that Damon will change for the better as the story progresses. He's still volatile Damon, but a more softer Damon, if that makes sense. Klaus needs fire to fight back against him, that's why he had such good chemistry between him and his three girlies (Caroline, Hayley, and Camille). And yes, Klaroline. Ugh, I ship them so hard. Kol will be getting some lovin, don't worry! You will definitely not see it coming, and that makes me sooo excited! Really? I see him quite often in fanfictions as the pairing. Noble will be explaining himself soon on the whole 'stalking her since probably early childhood' thing, so don't worry. Thank you!
CarlaPA: Your vote has been added!
K: Your vote has been added!
Lime: I'm starting to run out of nicknames XD. You made the right call ;). A lot of people have made that connection, Damon "rescuing" her like he "rescued" Elena. Maybe that's just his 'thing'. Caroline's been a little neglected lately, so she'll be making an appearance next chapter. I will miss writing Vicki; she always was such a little sister to Victoria. Matt and Victoria will be supporting each other, that's for sure (no romance there, so don't fret). Tori and Damon will talk about that next chapter at the party.
Guest: Hi! Thank you so much! That means a lot to me. I'm glad you're so invested. I put your votes down (if you ever finalize or decide to change, just say that you're the Guest (1) vote, because I had to find a way to mark you all down XD).
Almost 23k+ views, almost 200+ reviews, 201 Followers, and 150 Favoriters. With this chapter, we've also hit 190k+ words. We're so close to 200k words! This is by far the longest story I've ever written, and I am so glad that you all are so invested in it. Thank you all and enjoy the chapter! I'll have to see when I can get the next chapter out. Earliest: Friday. Latest: Monday or Sunday :D.
Stay stay and stay healthy!
BecomingFearless1F