162 Candles - Part 2
Kelly took one look at Victoria's face and realized that she was not okay. Victoria's mom didn't ask her about what happened, knowing through the silence that all Victoria needed at that moment was peace and quiet. Victoria got into the car and buckled up and Kelly drove them away from the station. They stopped by the Grill, Kelly darting out to order them some takeout, leaving Victoria in the car. Victoria flopped her head against the headrest and closed her eyes, letting out a large sigh.
All the anger that had been burning in her stomach seemed to evaporate. It left an awful feeling in its place. Why the hell was Victoria so pissed at Stefan? He was just trying to do something good. If she couldn't find it in her heart to blame Zach for killing Vicki to save her, could she really blame Stefan for missing their performance to protect Elena?
A part of her wanted to say yes, yes she could. Stefan always talked about faith and putting trust in him, and yet the moment that she needed him, he wasn't there. Sure, the dance wasn't anything do-or-die, but that shouldn't be the point. Victoria wanted a life outside of the supernatural. It wasn't that the supernatural itself wasn't thrilling or anything, but sometimes, something normal keeps the soul and mind calmer than anything else could.
The other side of her wanted to say no; no, she couldn't be mad at Stefan. This was the vampire who went out of his way to say hello to her, who helped her with numerous panic attacks, who comforted her after she was badly concussed and bruised by Tyler, who helped her with her homework! She knew she mentioned that last one a lot in her reasonings for why Stefan was a good person, but no one could understand just how much that meant to her.
The phone in her pocket buzzed and she blindly fished it out. There was a little text message, one from somebody who Victoria felt like she had been neglecting.
CAROLINE:
Beep beep bitch. I'm coming w/ ur mom.
Victoria raised an eyebrow at her phone in confusion. What in the living hell did that mean?
There was a tapping noise on her car window and she jumped, not expecting the noise. A large smile came to her face when she saw Caroline standing outside of the window, a hand on her hip and phone in her hand.
"Are you going to unlock this or what? I'm hungry and you know all that food is not going to eat itself," Caroline questioned. Victoria giggled happily and unlocked the car. Caroline slipped into the backseat, holding bags and bags of takeout, which she set off to the side so she could get buckled up.
"Where's Kelly?" Victoria asked, glancing around for her mother.
"She got a phone call inside the Grill and said she had to take it real quick; sent me on ahead with the goodies," Caroline said, shaking the plastic bags for emphasis. She folded her hands together and plopped them into her lap. "Okay, now tell me what happened at the police station. And before you ask, my mom mentioned it to me this morning."
Victoria sighed and unbuckled herself. She clambered over the console into the backseat, taking the seat opposite of Caroline so the two girls were sandwiching the food. It would be easier to talk with her that way. Once she got comfortable, Victoria sunk into the seat and rested her head on her hand. "It's a long story."
"I've got time. I will not be letting you out of my sights for a while, missy," Caroline stated, reaching into one of the takeout bags. She pulled out a plastic container and opened it. The smell of deliciously cooked hamburger wafted through the air and both girls sighed in appreciation. "This one's yours; it's the one with extra cheese and bacon."
"Perfect!" Victoria squealed, making 'gimme' hands at Caroline. Caroline passed the food over and Victoria took a big bite, chewing the amazing culinary treat, swallowing before she started her tale. "It was the typical, standard questions: where's Vicki? Did she contact you? Do you want to press charges, etc. etc."
"Which you should do," Caroline interjected. At Victoria's not-so-pleased expression, she added, "Come on, Tori! Vicki totally kidnapped you. I mean, you won't really tell anybody about what happened, but I know it's got to be somewhat true!"
"I have told people what's happened, I just haven't told a lot of people," Victoria clarified, holding up a finger to sass Caroline. "And you are unfortunately not one of the people I've told because I...it makes me uncomfortable knowing that you potentially knowing that information could change our friendship."
Caroline reached over and grabbed Victoria's hand, a serious look in her eyes. "Tori, nothing you could do or what could happen to you would ever change our friendship. You're stuck with me, girlie, come hell or high water."
"You take this whole 'best friends for life' thing rather seriously, don't you?" Victoria couldn't help but comment with a smile.
Caroline shrugged. "I'm not one for doing things half-assed. Now continue. I know there's gotta be more juice there. Kelly would not have sent me here with all your food unless she needed backup in the emotional support area."
Victoria sighed again and took another bite of her burger to stall for time. She swallowed heavily as Caroline plopped a French fry into her mouth. "I...I got into a fight with Stefan."
Caroline's eyes widened with shock and she coughed, seemingly choking on her French fry. Victoria reached forward and she swatted Caroline's back. A small chunk of French fry went flying onto Caroline's lap and Victoria wrinkled her nose in disgust. "That's gross."
"You fought with Stefan Salvatore?" Caroline all but shrieked at Victoria.
The adult-turned-teen held up her hands in defense, not at all knowing where Caroline's sudden emotion (was rage the right word?) was coming from. "Whoa there, Caroline. Easy it down a little. What's so wrong about that?"
"You two are practically platonic soulmates!" Caroline insisted, throwing her hands up into the air, hamburger, French fries, and all. "That's what's wrong about that! I didn't think it was even possible for the two of you to even argue!"
"We've gotten into arguments before," Victoria dismissed, waving her hand away.
Caroline raised an eyebrow questioningly and asked, "Yeah? Prove it."
"Alright," Victoria snapped, leaning back into her seat. "See, there was this time that...um..."
"You can't find one."
"Shut your perky blonde-haired head's mouth and just give me a second to think," Victoria shot back, biting her lower lip as her mind raced for an answer. "I mean, we did get into a fight a few weeks into school. He learned that I knew a secret of his and he got really pissed off!"
"That sounds more like a misunderstanding than an actual argument," Caroline huffed, folding her arms across her chest. But not without sneaking another bite of her hamburger first. "So tell me, what was this fight about? The one at the police station, not the secret one."
Victoria set her burger down and rubbed her eyes. Even the mere thought of what had happened started to hurt her brain. "Last night at the festival, do you remember the dance?"
"Pretty well, yeah. I remember because I was impressed that the alcohol I had consumed didn't leave me blanking on the whole night," Caroline giggled, nodding her head. "You did your dance, which you killed, by the way, and then the night just progressed."
"Who did I do the dance with?"
"Damon, which I had to learn he was back in town when you were missing. You could have just told me that he was still here!"
"Besides the point, Caroline. So I danced with Damon. Who was I supposed to dance with?"
"Stefan, but why is that -" Caroline began, before she abruptly cut herself off. Her eyes widened for a moment before they narrowed basically into slits. Victoria could feel the rage that was pumping from her skin. "The little bastard! He was supposed to dance with you and he totally flaked! Where the hell was he?"
"Where else?" Victoria snorted, rolling her eyes. "By Elena's side, 'protecting' her." She did quotation marks around 'protecting', even though it was true. She didn't need Caroline to know about the supernatural until it was her time. Well, maybe a little sooner than that. But those were both ideas for a different time. "Even though the two of them have technically broken up," cue dramatic gasp of disbelief from Caroline, "he's still clinging to her every word and move."
"That is utterly disgusting," grunted Caroline, rolling her eyes. "I mean, am I happy that Elena has found a guy? Yeah, of course! But still, he's your friend too. He has responsibilities. I mean, if you were dating some guy and you ditched me on something that I thought was important to hang with him, although you two were broken up, you can bet your ass I'd be pissed as hell! What you need is some junk food and a good binge session. What are you thinking?"
"I'm in the mood for some blood and gore," grunted Victoria, taking a big bite of her burger. "Let's watch Castle."
"Deal!"
It was nearing a late lunchtime, such as 2pm, when Victoria got a call from Zach Salvatore. Caroline was passed out on the couch, her hangover from last night's festivities finally taking its toll. Kelly was puttering around the kitchen and Victoria was curled up in one of the armchairs, a throw blanket tucked around her body.
She clicked the answer button and said quietly, as to not wake up Caroline, "Hey Zach. What's up?"
"How are you doing? I tried asking Uncle Stefan how you were when he came back from the police station but he just ignored me and went to his room. His good friend is visiting for the day," Zach explained.
"Yeah, Lexi Branson, I remember," Victoria stated, nodding her head. "It's Stefan's one hundred and sixty-second birthday. And yeah, I...I wouldn't be surprised if Stefan wasn't in the mood to talk to me. We kinda got into a heated argument in the police station."
Zach made a humming noise of acknowledgment. "That explains why he seems a little moodier than usual."
"Stefan is the King of Brooding," Victoria snickered, leaning back in her chair. She shifted so she was more comfortable and added, "I'm alright. Having Caroline over has really helped the emotional turmoil stay down to a minimum, but I've been overly moody all morning and last night, so that could be trauma speaking."
"Are you doing anything right now?"
"Anything such as what?"
"Anything that would prevent you from coming over right now? I've been researching something involving vervain and I think you might be interested in my findings."
Victoria sat up straighter in her chair. That did pique her interest. Questions about her anklet, her necklace, and her sometimes inability to be compelled had been on her mind yesterday afternoon, so any answers she could find she would take. She glanced at Caroline on the couch; she was still dead asleep (no pun intended). As for Kelly, she looked as if she was trying to find something to do but didn't know what. To Zach, Victoria said, "Yeah, I can be over there in a couple of minutes. I'll see you there, yeah?"
"See you there. Just come in; Uncle Stefan can direct you towards the library if you haven't already found where it is."
"Got it. Thanks, Zach!" Victoria said, clicking the 'End Call' button. Victoria stood from her chair and stretched silently, making a small grunt as some of her bones clicked together unpleasantly. She tiptoed her way out of the living room and over to Kelly.
Kelly paused in her meanderings and glanced at her. "I didn't know you were buddies with Zach Salvatore."
"He's been helping me with something for school," Victoria lied, letting the words just roll off her tongue. Only the school part was the lie, to be honest. "A project that just came out of nowhere. I'm doing it on the forest and fauna around Mystic Falls and since he's a hunter, I figured it would be good to get his help. He found out some new information about some plants that I was struggling with and wants me to go over there. It shouldn't be too long; maybe a few hours. I know Caroline's here and all -"
"- Don't stress about it!" Kelly reassured her, reaching over to grab her shoulder. She gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I can take Caroline shopping; make it a girls' day." She raised an eyebrow teasingly. "I got to get a present for Stefan's one hundred and sixty second birthday, after all."
Victoria's blood froze. Shit! She had forgotten that Kelly was in the kitchen within hearing distance. She opened her mouth to say something but Kelly held up a hand to stop her. "I know, Victoria."
WHAT?
"Y-You know?" Victoria stammered, blinking in disbelief. What the actual fu -
"- Listen, I get that baby Stefan is finally turning eighteen," Kelly snickered, turning around to grab something off the countertop. "But honestly, baby girl, he doesn't seem a day over one hundred and twelve." She winked at Victoria. "Don't let Stefan hear you call him one hundred and sixty-two. He might not get the joke like I do."
She didn't know. Kelly was just joking with her.
Victoria let out a sigh and just nodded sheepishly. "Y-Yeah, Mom, I'll make sure to do that."
Kelly held the car keys out to her with strict instructions that she needed to be home before midnight, and Victoria explained how there might be a party for Stefan that night, to celebrate his "eighteenth" birthday. She allowed an extension should the party happen. And with that, Victoria got into the car and made her first attempt to drive anywhere in the Vampire Diaries Universe.
"Well that was unpleasant," Victoria murmured as she threw herself out of the car, the moment the car was in park.
That was an understatement. Victoria had never been more lost in her entire life. It had taken four times the normal length of time it usually took to get to the boarding house, and that was with her desperately calling Zach on the side of the road saying, "Help! I'm stranded."
Victoria sighed and ran her hands through her hair. She had the briefest of possibilities of meeting Lexi Branson. The whole thought of it hadn't sunk in just yet. Watching the TV show as an actual viewer, Victoria had LOVED Lexi, almost more than Stefan. Lexi just had this spitfire character that was taken away too soon. She was funny, but smart, cool, and yet, knew her limits. It was a refreshing thing to see.
Also, she took no shit from Damon, which could be an inspiration to them all.
Victoria slipped her keys into her pocket and jogged her way up to the front door, taking care to watch the loose stones. She didn't need to roll an ankle on top of everything else. She made her way up the steps and knocked on the door.
Who answered it surprised her.
Standing in the doorway was Lexi Branson, her hips cocked to the side and a curious, but cautious expression on her face. She wore cute black leather pants (how did she make them look so good?) and a cute top with a matching jacket. She raised an eyebrow at Victoria, obviously not expecting her to come. "Can I help you?"
"You're Lexi Branson, right?" Victoria stated, tilting her head to one side. Lexi's eyes widened a little at Victoria's statement and Victoria spoke quickly to keep her from getting too freaked out. "Stefan's friend?" Lexi gave a short nod. "Oh cool, that's a relief. Sorry if I scared you. I'm actually here to see Zach; at the moment, Stefan and I are not entirely on speaking terms. I'm -"
"- exactly the girl I needed to see," Lexi finished.
Victoria blinked. The what and who now?
Lexi reached out and grabbed Victoria's wrist. Her eyes widened in disbelief as Lexi yanked her into the house. She shut the door behind Victoria and pulled her down the front hallway. Victoria tried to keep up with Lexi's fast pace, not understanding why Lexi needed her but knowing it was probably best to just go along with it than to resist.
They entered the living room, where Stefan was sitting on one of the couches. His eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of Victoria and he raised an eyebrow questioningly towards her. She shrugged her shoulders at him before Lexi shoved her straight towards him.
Lexi pushed Victoria with just enough force that she tripped over her own two feet. She let out a yelp of distress and Stefan's arms encircled her, catching her as she fell right on top of him. He had to twist so he was reclined across the couch to catch her, and now she was splayed out on top of him. His face was right there in front of hers, their noses gently brushing, and Victoria felt as if her face was on fire. She struggled to keep her breathing normal. Oh good heavens, what was Lexi thinking?
"L-Lexi, what the hell?" Stefan managed to say, his hands moving to grab Victoria's hips to keep her from falling off.
"You and your gorgeous girlfriend there need to reconcile whatever spat the two of you have going on, so I'm going to sit here and wait until you two kiss and make up," Lexi commented from behind Victoria.
Great, now Victoria was the color of her Founder's Ball dress. She ducked her head down and just satisfied herself with hiding her face in Stefan's neck. She would leave the explaining to him. If she tried, she would probably stammer and make herself look like a complete idiot.
"Lexi, this isn't Elena," Stefan sighed, shaking his head. One of his hands moved from her hip to the back of her head, gently stroking her hair. It was almost like he was trying to reassure her that there was no reason to be embarrassed, except his movements were only making her redder. "Lexi, meet Victoria LeBlanc. Tori, meet Alexia Branson, my best friend of a hundred years or so."
Victoria mumbled out a 'hi' and wiggled awkwardly on Stefan as she tried to scoot off. Stefan sat up and helped angle Victoria so she slid off of his lap and landed on the couch beside him. She brought her legs up and curled her arms around them, creating a defensive wall. Lexi at least had the capability to look sheepish and awkward at what she had initiated.
"Oh."
"Yeah, oh," Stefan grumbled, shaking his head.
"That's my bad," Lexi commented, shrugging her shoulders awkwardly. She raised a hand in a small wave towards Victoria. "Hi."
"Hi," Victoria murmured back, willing her cheeks to stop being so red.
"I swear I am usually not this...no, that's a lie, I am usually like this," Lexi admitted, raising a hand to scratch the back of her neck. "Whoops?"
"Victoria, what are you doing here?" Stefan interrupted, dragging her attention away from Lexi. "You made it pretty obvious earlier today that you did not want to see me again."
"Zach invited me over," Victoria insisted, gesturing wildly with her hand. "Said he had something involving vervain that he wanted to talk to me about. Said you could direct me to the library since that is one of the few places I haven't been to in this house."
"I gotchu," Lexi said, leaping to her feet. She reached over and grabbed Victoria's wilding hand, pulling her to her feet. Victoria let out a squeak of alarm, not expecting the sudden movement. Stefan jumped to his feet at her squeak, looking at Lexi with stern eyes. "Don't worry, Dad. I got her. She'll be perfectly safe with me."
"Don't make me regret this, Lexi," Stefan ordered, pointing roughly towards Lexi. He looked at Victoria and his gaze softened. He took a step closer to her and gently whispered, "Lexi can show you the library. Is that okay with you?"
"Is she going to keep touching me without my permission? Not that it's bad, per se, but I'm...it feels weird after Vicki," Victoria asked him, biting her lower lip. She glanced worriedly at Lexi, who dropped her hand the moment Victoria mentioned the touching thing. Victoria brought her hands together and her fingers started to fiddle with each other. Her nervous tick. "Maybe I shouldn't have come."
"If something starts to bug you, just tell Lexi and she'll stop," Stefan explained softly, stealing a glance towards Lexi. "She may be a big ball of spastic energy but she means well. She's a good person."
"I know she is," Victoria replied in a whisper. She gave a small shrug. "Just can't say I was going to be used to it."
"If you would like to follow me, Tori, can I call you Tori?" At Victoria's nod, Lexi smiled widely. "Perfect! If you would like to follow me, Tori, I can show you to the best looking Salvatore."
"That's not nice. Don't hurt Stefan's feelings on his birthday," Victoria couldn't help but snicker. She shot him a sly smile and a wink. "After all, he's an old man now."
Lexi laughed loud and proud at Stefan's disgruntled look and said to Victoria, "Oh yeah, the two of us are going to get along great!"
Victoria followed Lexi out of the living room, keeping a respectable distance from the elder vampire as they moved. Her hands never unclasped, fiddling with each other as her nerves stayed at the same level. Lexi made Victoria follow her down one long hallway before they reached a pair of double doors. They looked grand, like everything else in the house, and the historical nerd in Victoria's reserves did a little happy dance.
Victoria made her way to push the doors open, but Lexi held a hand out, halting any further movement. Victoria looked towards the older girl in slight confusion, and Lexi held up a finger. "Are you the one who saved Zach?"
"T-Theoretically it was Stefan who saved Zach since it was his blood," Victoria stammered, tugging at the sleeves of her jacket nervously. "I just told him it would probably be a smart idea."
"But Zach hated vampires and never wanted to become one," Lexi commented, folding her arms across her chest. "So it would take someone rather persuasive to convince him that it would be in everyone's best interests." At Victoria's panicked expression, she added, "I don't mean that you pressured him. I just mean that you must be someone special. I can see it in Stefan's eyes; the fact that you two are supposed to be 'fighting'," she threw air quotations in there, "but he's still really worried about you. Aaaaaand listening in on our conversations."
"Real mature, Lexi!" the two girls heard Stefan yell out from the living room. Both Victoria and Lexi giggled at the youngest Salvatore's antics.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you," Lexi finished, nodding her head. "Thank you for saving Zach, for being there for Stefan when I really couldn't, hell, for even taming Damon Salvatore a little bit! Just...thank you. I barely know you, Tori, and I can tell that you're a good person."
With that, Lexi pushed open the door for her and skipped back down the hall to go disturb Stefan. Victoria watched the female vampire bounce away and smiled. Lexi was a good person. Victoria gave it maybe an hour or two before she promptly passed out from fangirling. Her fangirling occasionally got delayed.
Victoria walked into the library, observing a certain Salvatore who was sitting in one of the chairs, looking like he was trying really hard not to laugh. Victoria rolled her eyes as she shut the library door behind her. "Real mature, Zach."
"I had a feeling you and Lexi would get along really well," Zach mused, a teasing grin coming to his lips. "She has a way of pulling a person out of their shell."
"Sounds like Caroline," Victoria snorted, moving to plop down into a separate chair. She tucked her legs up underneath her and angled herself towards Zach. "Okay, so you mentioned something about vervain. Lay it on me."
"Did you bring your necklace?"
Victoria reached for the chain around her neck and pulled the gem out. Zach let out a low whistle as he looked deeply at the necklace. "I have to admit, this friend of yours has pretty good taste."
"I'll be sure to tell him that the next time I see him," Victoria chuckled, setting the gem back down on her chest. "Okay, so vervain. I know a handful about it since it is a pretty big player in this universe, but I didn't think you could forge a necklace by baking the stone in vervain."
"It's pretty uncommon, but not unheard of," Zach admitted, sitting up a little straighter in his seat. "Vervain is malleable like that. It can be used and consumed in many different ways: as a drink, as food, in a necklace, a ring, a bracelet, an anklet. All of these ways help a person be resistant to compulsion."
"So how did I go from being unable to be compelled to easily being able to be compelled when Vicki took me to the mills?" Victoria asked, leaning her head back against the chair. "I had a couple of theories, but none of them make any sense."
"We initially thought that your anklet was vervained," Zach confessed and Victoria sat up straighter, her eyes widening in shock. "But here's the thing: though you were able to be compelled the moment the anklet left your body, there wasn't any vervain on it."
Victoria's jaw dropped. What? What? "B-But isn't vervain odorless?"
"For most people, yes, and sometimes it can even bypass a vampire's sense of smell," Zach stated, nodding his head in agreement, "but Uncle Stefan picked it up. Held it in his hand, and he didn't get a single burn."
"What if it was forged in vervain too, like my necklace?" Victoria offered.
Zach pursed his lips in thought and after a moment of silence, shrugged. "I have never personally come across a piece of jewelry that was forged in and with vervain, so I would not know." He reached a hand out, pausing momentarily before touching the jewel. "May I?"
"Of course," Victoria said, nodding her head.
Zach's fingertips barely brushed the jewel before he whipped his hand back, hissing in distaste. For the briefest moments, Victoria had seen his vampiric features. The dark veins under his eyes and his sharp fangs were nothing new when it came to vampires. But his eyes...they were a deep, dark shade of red. It was rather unique. It was also super pretty. Victoria made a mental note to tell Zach that.
"Alright, I'm going to assume that that does mean items forged in and with vervain hurt like a son of a bitch," Victoria commented, and Zach just nodded as he stuck his finger in his mouth to cool the burn. "Okay, so my anklet wasn't forged in any of that. Check that off the mental checklist."
Victoria bit her lower lip as a thought crossed her mind, and Zach seemed to catch it. "You're wondering if Kelly knows anything about this?"
"She was the one who bought it for me," Victoria replied, shrugging one shoulder up helplessly. "Has she ever shown any signs of knowing about the supernatural?"
Zach raised an eyebrow at Victoria questioningly. "Shouldn't I be asking that to you?"
"You've been around the supernatural longer than I have! Vampires just became real about two months ago for me, alright? Plus, you've known her longer."
"But you live with her!"
"So?" Victoria retorted, scrunching her face up. "I've spent just about the same time over at my house as I have here at the boarding house and that one stupid hospital room." She took a deep breath and let out it in a quick rush. "Alright, let's use both of us: as someone who doesn't know the signs of someone knowing about the supernatural but who lives with her, nothing Kelly has done has shown me that she knows about the supernatural. What about you?"
Zach rolled his eyes but sent her an amused smile to show that he wasn't frustrated. "As someone who also doesn't know what the signs of someone knowing about the supernatural but apparently knows more than you who doesn't live with her, nothing Kelly has done has said to me 'I know about vampires'!" He waved his hands dramatically and Victoria stifled a laugh. Zach grinned good-naturedly at her. "Does that help you?"
"Not at all," Victoria giggled, shaking her head at him. "But it does eliminate Kelly as a primary suspect."
"Thank heavens for small miracles," Zach snorted. Victoria had to laugh at him there, she just had to. "Alright, so now that we've established that, I can say that you are not naturally immune to compulsion. Vicki proved that. While your anklet doesn't have vervain, it definitely does have something going on with it that is preventing vampires from being able to compel you."
"And we don't know what that thing is."
"Yeah, pretty much."
"So Sherlock Salvatore and Victoria Watson on the case?" Victoria asked, sticking her tongue out playfully.
"You are what I imagine when I think of what Damon and Lexi's child could have been should they have met in the right time and the right place," Zach commented and Victoria choked on the air she was breathing. Zach shivered in disgust. "Thank goodness that never happened."
"Never say that again," Victoria pleaded, feeling a chill race down her spine. "That was the most disgusting thing I think I have ever heard in my life."
"I'm realizing more and more that as a vampire, I have less and less of a filter," Zach admitted sheepishly. He paused, then tilted his head towards the door as if listening to something in the other room. He sighed and sagged in his chair. "They could use you to diffuse the situation."
"Damon's being Damon?" Victoria guessed. Zach gave her a tired nod. "I got it."
She got up and moved quickly, leaving the library with barely a goodbye nod to Zach. That man needed a vacation. Victoria jogged down the hallway, rounding the corner as Damon finished saying, "No one's going to know it's your birthday. Caroline's throwing it."
"Damon, stay away from Caroline," Stefan growled. If he was a dog, his hackles would be raised fiercely.
"I second that," Victoria commented with a frown.
Damon turned around and gave her a sly smile and Victoria's frown deepened. "Mama Bear, what are you doing here?"
"Visiting my favorite Salvatore, what about you?" Victoria snorted, giving him a once-over. Seriously, did he have any other clothes? He always seemed to wear the same thing.
"Informing my sweet baby bro and his bestie for eternal life about his birthday party. I assume you already know about it."
"Got Kelly's permission to stay out late and everything," Victoria answered easily. She looked towards Stefan, who was still eyeing Damon angrily, and Lexi, who didn't seem to know who she should look at. "Is he bothering you?"
"Is that rhetorical?" Stefan shot back, before adding to his brother, "Damon, did you compel Caroline again?"
"I'm not that rude, Steffie-boy," Damon grunted, shaking his head. "Unlike you, apparently, I value the good presence of our dear Seer here," with that, he reached over and wrapped an arm around Victoria's middle, pulling her tight against his side. She didn't bother fighting it; it would take more energy than it would be worth, "and so I merely had a good chat with our favorite Barbie, without compulsion. I may have mentioned that it was your birthday and how our poor Victoria was so sad that you two were fighting. She said she would handle the rest. I think she's got a pretty roaring surprise for you too; told her not to make it seem like a birthday party, and she said that what she's got stored up her sleeve will prove to everyone that it isn't a b-day party."
Victoria had to facepalm there. Damon was an idiot. An idiot that was starting to grow on Victoria, but still an idiot.
"What? What did I say?"
"Stefan, stay away from Caroline all you can," Victoria warned, shaking her head. Stefan looked at her in confusion. "If you thought I was mad, Caroline will kill you. Then she will realize that you can't be killed the conventional way and she will go out of her way to kill you the non-conventional way."
"What did Stefan do that warranted such rage?" Lexi asked curiously, her gaze bouncing between Stefan and Victoria.
Victoria bristled at the mere thought of what happened. Damn it, she thought she was getting less angry about it already! But knowing how Caroline felt about the subject matter seemed to only fuel her fire. "He broke a promise."
With that, she flipped around and stalked off.
Albeit, she didn't make it very far before Stefan was stopping her. Like, literally stopping her by flashing so he was right in front of her. "Victoria, wait."
"I thought I was doing better, Stefan, but that's not the case," Victoria warned him, holding up a finger. "I suggest if you do not want your ass to be verbally kicked again, you step aside."
"I want to apologize."
"Is it sincere?" Victoria demanded. At Stefan's meek nod, she sighed and gestured with one hand for him to start his apology. She would decide afterward if she truly could forgive him or not. "Go ahead then."
"I'm sorry," Stefan began and Victoria gave him a flat look. "I'm continuing on past that, just give me a second. I'm sorry for abandoning you last night; I made a promise to you and I broke that and I'm very much ashamed of that fact. And then I dared to ask you to have faith in me when you already did. You trusted me almost immediately from the get-go and that's something that I value so much, but I just let it go in that one moment. Whenever I think about Elena, my brain just kind of short-circuits -"
"- No, really? -"
"- and so I become focused on her," Stefan finished, giving her a stern look for interrupting him. "But you needed me last night too and I let you down. I'm sorry. I want to be a person you can trust, Victoria, without having you fear that I'm going to let you down. You're important to me, just like Elena is. So, I hope that in time, I can rebuild that level of trust between us. No matter what I have to do to get it back."
"Try to hula-hoop?" Victoria suggested in a murmur, giving Stefan a cheeky grin.
Stefan blushed furiously and he quietly grumbled, "I knew I should have never told you that story."
The two of them chuckled at that, and Victoria let out a long sigh as she looked at Stefan. Really looked at him. Could she forgive him?
Yes. Yes, she could.
"I do forgive you, Stefan, and I understand," Victoria started, and the relief in Stefan's eyes made her heart flutter happily, "but," Stefan's face fell at that, "you have to realize that I am still mad, and frankly whenever I'm by Caroline, pissed as hell at what you did, so that's going to take a little while to simmer out. But no harm, no foul. Damon was there to back me up, so it's all good."
"Are you two done not-flirting?" Lexi interjected. Victoria felt her face go red and was surprised to see Stefan blushing too. "Because if there's a party tonight, I need to get ready and I want to steal Tori so the two of us can gossip about you Salvatore boys."
Lexi raced up next to Victoria and grabbed her hand, pulling her away from the spluttering Salvatore boys. Victoria couldn't find it in herself to resist and she laughed as she jogged beside Lexi up the stairs.
A/N: Y'ALL WE DID IT! Over 200 reviews! This is so amazing! This is the most reviews I have ever gotten for a story and I am so thankful for that (just in time for Thanksgiving too ;D). I'm so glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter and I can't wait to see what y'all think about this chapter. We got Lexi being Lexi, Damon being Damon, Stefan being a blushing boy and Sherlock Salvatore and his assistant, Ms. Victoria Watson. Next chapter will be the party and the aftermath! (p.s. Y'all should give "Girls Like Us" by Zoe Wees a listen because it perfectly describes Victoria's emotions in the last chapter).
ALSO!: I have just unintentionally connected three fanfictions together in a Supernatural (not the TV show) CW Universe: Grimm, Teen Wolf, and The Vampire Diaries (+ The Originals + Legacies). Like, oh my word. So yeah, be prepared for cameos and comments about that because if you could see what I created in my mind, you would be mind blown. (Y'all should watch Grimm; I'm almost done with the first season and I. am. hooked!)
THE SHIPPING WARS! (feel free to keep on voting (you can vote for more than one ship!); 1 full point for if you choose 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} (12): insert name here XD, sammyleann's dad, TikiKiki, Maistryia, Don't-Say-It-Feel-It, another guest, Elyse1821, Lime, herewegoagain, K, Yukihino-Sama, emma, hfgfgfrdr, just another guest, BookwormStrawberry
Team Datoria {Victoria/Damon} (10): Sciave, Guest, ArganRose, CrystalAris, Marine76, Assenavira, CarlaPA, Guest (1), Maistryia, emma, just another guest, Freeshavacahdoh
Team Vilijah {Victoria/Elijah} (18.5): 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), jocillyria, Guest (2), BookwormStrawberry
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) (1.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25, jocillyria
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
Vonnie {Victoria/Bonnie} (1): bpopa7110
Vibekah {Victoria/Rebekah} (1): BookwormStrawberry
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!: hfgfgfrdr
New Favoriters!: hfgfgfrdr, Grazi s2, Vengeful Vixen, jennifersallymorgan
Onto reviews!:
Maistryia: Hi you! Welcome back! The Salvatore boys do really tear hearts apart. Who can you honestly vote for? I got that worked out for you! Thank you so much!
Lime: I mean, there are other nicknames, but they really aren't that creative. Like, limewater. What the heck is even limewater?! Yeah, Stefan tries to get that wide reach and Damon's perspective is very limited, because there are so few people he cares about. Caroline is my favorite female character, my favorite male character is easily Elijah. The man can pull off a suit, which I have stated many a time. I can't reveal how or when, but I can say that Lexi will be a bit of a 'phone-a-friend' character for a little while, but she'll soon be around in Mystic Falls for when the Originals come to town. Ooooooh! That would be amazing! I can actually see Lexi coming from Kol's sireline; I really like that idea actually. I would have to figure out how that works into my grand scheme of things, but I might make that canon in this story. They will have the talk next chapter when Elena stops by to see Stefan and finds toweled Lexi instead. I hope there's a little bit of fluff in this chapter with Bestie!Lexi and Sherlock Salvatore XD.
jocillyria: Thank you so much! Your votes have been added. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
bpopa7110: For each Shipping Wars there is one vote each (so the Romantic has one and the Platonic has one). Depending on how many you vote for within that subcategory, your point may shrink to 0.5 or lower. Does that make sense? Aw Bamon! I love them. The Romantic Shipping Wars is primarily just for who everybody thinks Victoria is going to end up with, not other relationships if that makes sense. But thanks for letting me know you're a Bamon shipper! They honestly are so adorable. I'll try and add some more Vonnie interactions in the following chapter. Thank you!
DBZFAN45: CONGRATULATIONS! Your 2nd Amendments vote was the 200th review in this story! It's honestly fitting since you have been almost faithfully reviewing since the beginning of this story (if you haven't done it since the beginning). I love that ending line of last chapter; it feels so kick butt, it's awesome. I also love Nancy Drew so any time I can throw Victoria being a detective in there, I will gladly. Here's your TVD future wife! Invite me to the wedding. And well, Lexi did kind of help? XD. 2nd Amendments!: I'm not sure if Victoria's anti-compulsion thingie was ever fully discussed with Elena. Maybe, but I don't remember distinctly writing it out, so maybe it didn't happen? But yeah, Victoria will probably start hearing voices next chapter ;). (I loved your plot bunny spiel you wrote. So cute!)
emma: Thank you! That's so sweet that you chose to review this story. I'm really honored by that. You can have two votes (it just makes the points halved instead of full points). Oh my gosh, I'm thrilled that I am able to make you look at an OC story that way! Just wait until Caroline confronts Stefan next chapter. Hoooo, that's gonna be epic. Oh my word, you are so sweet. Thank you so much!
Guest: Your vote has been added! You are Guest (2) if you ever decide to change your vote.
hfgfgfrdr: Your vote has been added!
justanotherguest: No joke, I think most of my reviewers are guests. Y'all are dedicated to checking in with this story XD. Thank you so much! That's very sweet of you to say that. Your votes have been added!
BookwormStrawberry: Haven't seen you for a while! I was reading between the lines and assumed that you were voting half for Elijah and half for Stefan. If that's wrong, lemme know and I'll fix that right up! I think that Victoria could challenge Elijah; she just hasn't been in a position to do so just yet. As for Stefan, yeah, he's caught under that doppelganger voodoo. It would take a strong woman to pull him out of it. Is Victoria that strong woman? And yeah, Victoria and Rebekah could be, and will be, friends. Oh my gosh, right? XD
Freeshavacahdoh: Ah, your username brings back memories. I love this vine XD. Trauma is the name of this game. It's like that one vine where it ends with "Nooooo, but I was horny" "Well get horny for healing!" or something like that. We will not be brushing past trauma in this story, no sir, no way. Noble is definitely not a brother figure or a parent figure (that'd be too Phantom of the Opera for me). He is a potential love interest; many reviewers are assuming that Noble is Elijah, based on popular theories. His real identity has not been revealed. No memo about Noble's identity has been sent out without your knowledge, I can reassure you with that. Thank you! I hoped to do her justice, make some people care more about her than they would usually. That makes total sense! I believe that the werewolves are on Tyler's dad side, since the husbands tend to keep their names and the Lockwoods have been around for ages. Plus, werewolves tend to have tempers in this TV show and Richard Lockwood was not known for being calm. The LeBlanc family history is long and extensive. I think y'all will enjoy it the more we explore it.
You guys have been so kind with your reviews and your follows, favorites, and views. I hope you all have (or had) a lovely Thanksgiving (for our U.S. readers) and enjoy your day!
Stay healthy and stay safe!
BecomingFearless1F