Bloodlines - Part 1

It was dark when Victoria first heard a gentle knocking noise from her bedroom door. Victoria yawned and pushed herself up, blinking wearily in the darkness as she tried to remember what happened. How did she end up on her bed? All she could remember was speaking to Noble and then...

Oh yeah, she had changed into clean sweatpants and one of Damon's shirts that she had stolen from him over the numerous times she had been forced to change into them. They were very soft, in her defense, and made for excellent sleep shirts. Victoria had moved to her bed and had fallen asleep in her attempt to wait for Noble to return from talking with the other vampires downstairs.

The knocking sounded again and Victoria yawned a sleepy, "Come in." She rubbed her eyes tiredly. What time was it?

The door creaked open and Zach's face showed up in the faint moonlight that streamed in from Victoria's window. He held a phone to his ear and he looked apologetic at waking her up. "Damon's on the phone. He's worried about you."

"He couldn't come here?" Victoria said, swallowing another yawn. She waved her hand away as Zach opened his mouth to speak. "No, no, I remember now. He's needed elsewhere."

She made grabby hands towards the phone and Zach stepped in enough to hand her the phone. She grabbed the device and whispered a sleepy 'thank you' to Zach. Zach slipped back out and Victoria flopped back down on her bed, trapping Zach's phone between her ear and her pillow. "Hey, Damon."

"Hey, Mama Bear. You feeling good?"

"As good as one can feel after being in a bad car accident that they caused," sniffed Victoria. She readjusted her comforters so she was curled back underneath the blanket. "I had a bit of a breakdown."

"Did you get my present?"

"If by 'present' you mean Noble, then yes, I did," Victoria yawned. A sleepy, but happy smile came to her face. "Thank you, Damon. I really needed that tonight. Or this morning. Or whatever time it is."

"Of course, Mama Bear."

"Why'd you call?"

"I tried calling you on your phone, but there was an automated response that said the phone number was disconnected, so I panicked and called Zach," Damon explained.

Victoria made a tired 'mhmm' noise. "After Logan called Sheriff Forbes, he broke my phone and tossed it out of the window." She closed her eyes tiredly and cursed. "Shit. We need to call her to tell her I'm okay."

"Zach can take care of it. You don't worry. Just focus on getting better."

"Back to the main topic, why'd you call?"

"I'm guessing you know why I called."

"Is Elena okay?" Victoria said, shivering lightly. She curled up tighter. The December days were already starting to get extremely chilly. Where had the time gone? "She's not too badly hurt?"

"No broken bones, I checked."

Victoria frowned and narrowed her eyes in the darkness. "Not too thoroughly, I hope. Keep your hands to yourself, Damon."

"Not my type, Mama Bear, but I appreciate the concern. Kind of wishing it was you on this little field trip with me rather than Elena. You certainly make for better company."

Victoria couldn't help but snort and roll her eyes. "She's exactly your type, Damon. And you're just saying that because I am one of the few who can actually stand your presence."

"...no comment."

"Are you on your way to Georgia?" Victoria mumbled sleepily.

"Once again, creepy how well you know me. Yeah, there's a witch down there that I want to talk to about Katherine. Something Logan said after the accident just didn't sit right with me. I want to check all of my angles."

"Sounds like a solid plan," Victoria told him, honestly. "Promise you'll stay safe?"

"Aw, so you do care for me?"

"I'm so sleep-deprived right now and I'm sleeping off pretty decent bodily trauma so yeah, sure," Victoria snorted, rolling her eyes. "Let's go with the assumption that I care about your well-being."

"Any helpful hints you'd like to drop on me before I get out of Virginia state lines?"

"The only thing I can think of at this time is that Bree is not revealing everything she knows," Victoria admitted, flopping onto her back. She shuffled the phone in her head so she was looking up at the ceiling contemplatively. "You and Elena were supposed to meet Lee down in Georgia, but since he's here, that's obviously changed. I don't know what else might have changed. Just...be careful."

"Always am, Mama Bear. I'll call you once I hit the bar."

"Happy travels," Victoria whispered with just the faintest hint of a smile on her lips. She pulled Zach's phone away from her head and clicked the 'end call' button. She set the phone down beside her on the bed and let out a large sigh.

She had to come up with a plan to deal with the tomb situation. Once Damon realized that there was another way to find Katherine, he would get pissy. And when he figured out that Victoria knew exactly where the object he needed was, then it would get even more tricky. And that wasn't even taking into account how he would react once he realized that Katherine wasn't even in the tomb. Victoria didn't know where she was physically at the moment (she couldn't remember if it was ever revealed in the TV show where Katherine had been hiding out before she returned to Mystic Falls).

A deep voice cut through her thoughts, bringing her back to the present of the dark room. "You should try to rest more, Victoria."

"I realize that, Noble," Victoria sighed, pushing herself up onto her elbows. She squinted through the darkness and managed to catch his shape against her wall. He was sitting down, his legs slightly bent as he silently observed her from his little spot. "But there's some things that need to get done for the day."

"Could they perhaps not wait until later in the day?"

"When Kelly waltzes into the house and sees three vampires passed out in the living room, one vampire in her teenage daughter's room who speaks with a Scottish accent but whose face is hidden with shadows, and her teenager daughter in the same room as said Scottish-speaking vampire?" Victoria snorted, rolling her eyes. "No, I need to come up with a -"

She was cut off when Zach's phone started to ring again. Victoria frowned and scooped the phone back up, squinting against the light of the screen as she looked at who was calling. The caller I.D. read 'Stefan Salvatore'. "It's Stefan. Can you give me a second?" Noble nodded and was gone in a flash. Victoria blinked her eyes in shock and shook her head. She was too tired for all of this. She clicked the answer button and pulled the phone up to her ear. "Hey, Stefan. It's Victoria."

"Victoria? What are you doing with Zach's phone?"

"It's a long story," Victoria dismissed, waving her hand around in the darkness. "What do you need? Do I need to run and grab Zach or -?"

"- No, no, you're actually perfect," Stefan interrupted her, and Victoria couldn't help but feel a little warmth in her heart at hearing Stefan call her perfect. True, it was just for the situation, but it was nice to be appreciated. She had to smile at that. "Elena was over and she suddenly left when I left the room and I think she saw a picture of Katherine. I need to know where she is."

Victoria's smile fell quickly into a troubled stare. She licked her lips and kicked off her covers, standing up in the darkness. She fumbled blindly for the bathroom door. Once she grabbed the handle, she slipped inside, closed the door, and flipped on the light. True, any vampire who was awake could still probably hear her, but it gave her the smallest semblance of privacy. "Stefan, I can't tell you where she is."

"Can't or won't?" Stefan demanded. Victoria bristled at his tone of voice.

"Can't, Stefan," Victoria hissed through gritted teeth. She had to keep her cool. Stefan was just worried about Elena. It wasn't anything personal. It wasn't anything personal. That was the bullshit she told herself, anyways. "I can tell you that she's safe and she'll be back by..." she trailed off as she pulled Zach's phone from her ear to look at the time. It was well into the one a.m. territory. "...tonight-ish. There's no need to panic."

"No need? Victoria, I'm going to have to explain the whole Katherine conundrum to her. Our relationship might as well be over!"

"And that's not my fault, Stefan," Victoria retorted. "I'm not in this dating relationship."

"But you could have warned me that this was going to happen!"

"When, Stefan?" Victoria shouted, her temper spilling out over the edge. "When could I have told you? I barely saw you yesterday because you were so brooding that morning and I then spent the rest of the day trying to hunt down a vampire with Damon, being harassed by said vampire, being kidnapped and compelled by said vampire, and then causing a car crash so you idiots would catch up to us before he decided to force blood down my throat and turn me himself, when I already have a bad history with car accidents! I had no time to talk to you!"

"You cannot blame me for your own actions, Victoria. That's not fair."

"No, Stefan, what's not fair is being blamed for not being your personal Magic 8 Ball!" Victoria spat, throwing her hand up in exasperation. "If I wasn't here, you'd be experiencing all of this without foreknowledge, and you'd be doing fine. There are people who would be dead without my own intervention!"

"So what? You're the savior of Mystic Falls now because you saved a handful of people? You're keeping information away from us that could save even more lives! You're not helping anyone but yourself!"

Victoria flipped around towards the mirror and tensed up, gritting her teeth. Once more, her reflection was replaced by that of Vicki Donovan. Vicki's hands were on her hips and she shook her head. She echoed the words she had spoke to Victoria just hours ago, "You are a weakling, Victoria. A weakling, and a liar, and a selfish bitch. You're a failure."

"You know what, Stefan?" Victoria fumed, her voice in a deadly, quiet whisper. She took a shaky, deep breath and released it in a harsh exhale. Angry tears prickled at the corner of her eyes and she wiped them away aggressively. "Yeah, I am only helping myself. I am selfish. I am a selfish bitch, who's a weakling and a liar and a failure, because I am human. But you know what you are? You are a rude, self-absorbed, asshole vampire who can't see how terribly you are treating people because you have those stupid Elena blinders on your face. Want to know how I know?" Victoria was on a roll. She wouldn't stop. She couldn't stop. "You called me, at one in the morning, demanding to know if Elena's alright. You didn't even stop to ask me if I was okay after being in a car accident tonight. Damn it, you were different from this when we first met. As soon as Elena learned all about vampires, you changed. You became obsessed with her, with the thought of being in a relationship with her. You just -" Victoria trailed off in a frustrated growl as more angry tears spilled over her cheeks, "- Damn it, Stefan, I just miss you and miss having fun with you and joking around and telling each other stories and being close friends and you are just making it so damn hard to keep forgiving you."

"Maybe you should stop then!" Stefan yelled back at her. She could hear his own frustration and anger in the way he spoke his words. "Stop forgiving me!"

"I don't give up on people, Stefan!" Victoria cried back. Her shoulders started to shake and she sucked in a greedy breath. "I don't give up on people, Stefan. That's what you do apparently." She sniffled pathetically and shook her head. "Your stupid relationship with Elena isn't going to change because of Katherine. You can go back to your stupid fantasy you have with her when she comes home tonight."

Victoria ripped the phone away from her ear and ended the call, tossing the phone onto the countertop. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and grabbed the edge of her bathroom sink, forcing herself to take deep breaths so she didn't fall back in hysteria. She was so done. How many second chances could she give to someone? And for heaven's sake, this was Stefan with his humanity! Who knew how much of a dick he would be when Klaus forced his humanity away?

"You really care for him, don't you?"

"I don't have the mental ability to deal with you right now," Victoria whispered weakly, opening her eyes to gaze into the mirror. Vicki was leaning against the sink, her arms folded across her chest. She was wearing an outfit Victoria had seen on Vicki multiple times: black jeans, a dark burgundy tank top with a black leather jacket. She seemed oh-so-strong while Victoria felt oh-so-weak. "Are you a ghost or just some messed up part in my mind?"

"The latter, unfortunately," Vicki answered, shrugging her shoulders in a 'what can you do about it?' manner. "It was your mind that manifested me as Vicki Donovan. Although we both know that I, i.e. Vicki, will appear later as a ghost. Who knows? Maybe I'm watching you right now from the other side. Wouldn't that be really trippy?"

"Yeah, really trippy," Victoria murmured, shaking her head. "Can you just leave, please? I've been through enough these last two and a half months, and I don't need more trauma. Please? Just a break?"

"I can give you a little respite, I suppose, but you're stuck with me," Vicki explained. She tilted her head and silently observed Victoria. "You didn't answer my question."

"Which one?"

"You really care about Stefan, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Victoria said, sniffling. She wiped her tears from her face and walked over to the bathtub. She took a seat down on the edge and rubbed her face. Her eyes were already starting to throb from crying so much. "He's my friend. One of my closest friends in this world. In both worlds, honestly."

"I didn't mean it in that way, Tori, and you know it."

"Not you too," Victoria moaned, shaking her head. She just couldn't catch a break from this, could she? "First Kelly, then Damon, and then Lexi. I don't have romantic feelings for Stefan, okay? We're just friends, nothing more."

"Would you really be this upset and frustrated if you just had platonic feelings for him?" Vicki demanded, staring at Victoria intently. "It burns, doesn't it? Knowing what he and Elena had been doing for the past few hours?"

"I don't want to talk about this," Victoria spat, jabbing a finger towards her mirror. "You and your freaky mind tricks can just..." Victoria trailed off, gesturing roughly with her hands in a skedaddle manner.

Vicki rolled her eyes. "Just answer the question, Victoria. Is it really that hard? Well, I guess it is because I'm in your mind, so I would know how hard of a question it is." Vicki shook her head. "Off-topic. Do you really hate Elena and Stefan's relationship that much?"

"I just want Stefan to be happy and be healthy and not be this weird twisted version of himself who only focuses on Elena!" Victoria relented, throwing both of her hands up in exasperation.

Vicki smirked. "And you can meet those requirements better than Elena could."

Victoria held up a hand, glaring at Vicki in the mirror. "I never said that."

"You didn't have to. I did. And I'm just some messed up part in your mind, so what does that mean?"

Vicki disappeared from the mirror, and where she had been standing was replaced with Victoria's actual reflection. The woman in the mirror seemed confused and dazed, her forehead scrunched up in confusion. She looked like she had just finished crying and she was lost deep in thought.

Victoria didn't have romantic feelings for Stefan. She couldn't.

Could she?

After Victoria had gone back to bed, she woke up to a nearly empty house. Nearly being the key term, as all supernatural creatures (Noble included) were gone from the premises, but Kelly was idly making pancakes in the kitchen. Victoria wearily walked down the steps and took a seat at one of the stools by the countertop. Kelly tiredly addressed her with a nod before resuming her pancake making. Once there was a sizable amount of pancakes, she divided the stack in two and passed the plate with the smaller dose to Victoria. Victoria raised an eyebrow towards her mother and Kelly grunted, "I have had, like, three hours of sleep. I deserve the carbs."

And I almost died in yet another car crash from a maniacal vampire who sexually harassed me, Victoria thought tiredly to herself. Oh well.

She grabbed a fork and stabbed her pancakes, eating them plainly as she had no will to try and hunt down the butter and syrup. Kelly took a seat beside her and started to eat her pancakes in the same exact manner.

Like mother, like daughter, apparently.

"Was essay work that hard?" Victoria mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she tried to get the rest of her sleep exhaustion out of her system.

Kelly let out a pathetic moan and nearly flopped her face straight into her pancakes. Victoria raised an eyebrow. It seemed she really was tired. "I have never wanted to murder something more than I do right now."

"It's good to get your murderous ambitions out during breakfast," Victoria yawned, munching contently on her pancakes. "Leaves time to get the work done by lunch."

Kelly glanced at Victoria out of the corner of her eye and waited until Victoria was done chewing her next bite of pancake before she stated, "Don't think I've forgotten about last night. Where were you? You were gone almost the whole day!"

"School does tend to do that," Victoria chuckled, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. I was at the Salvatore boarding house helping Zach prep for his booth; permission was granted to me by my teachers, don't worry. I did that for most of the day and then I went with Zach to the school, but before I could see you, I started getting a bad headache. Logan Fell offered to take me home."

Kelly sat up straight, startled at Victoria's confession, and there was a hint of panic in her eyes. "Logan Fell took you home?"

"Yes...?" Victoria drawled, her statement coming out more as a question. "Is there a problem with that?"

"I don't want you near that man ever again," Kelly grunted, turning back to her pancakes. "He's a monster."

"You really hate him," Victoria couldn't help but comment.

Kelly snorted and rolled her eyes. "That's an understatement, baby girl. He ruined my best friend's life. If a guy ruined Caroline's life, wouldn't you do everything in your power to make him regret walking upon this Earth?"

Victoria opened her mouth but then snapped it shut. No, Kelly was absolutely right. And in a way, Victoria had already done that. She had taken Caroline's place with Damon at the start of the season and any time there was a moment when Caroline had been put into a place of danger, Victoria had forcefully inserted herself in Caroline's place.

"I guess you're right," Victoria mused, gobbling down the rest of her pancakes in silence. Kelly followed suit and grabbed both of their plates once they were clear of food. "I never thought of it like that."

There was a knock on the front door and Victoria yawned before she pushed herself away from the island. She jumped onto the floor and shuffled wearily towards the front door. She bent forward and peered through the peephole. She stiffened.

It was Stefan.

She pulled away from the peephole, her heart beating harder than it had just a moment ago. Victoria turned the lock on the front door and took a moment to take a deep breath before she opened the door. She pulled it open just enough that her body was visible. Stefan was wearing dark jeans and a button-up shirt. He look at her with a hesitant smile. His smile fell for a brief moment when he looked at her outfit (including Damon's shirt) but he quickly put it back on.

"Stefan," Victoria said, her fingers anxiously picking at the paint on the side of her front door. She licked her lips and shifted awkwardly on her feet. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to apologize," Stefan explained, moving to put his hands into his pockets. He glanced at the space behind Victoria's head and she stood up straighter. Stefan caught the hint that she wasn't going to invite him in and he nodded his head. "I said things earlier that I didn't mean, that I don't believe. I was just so hurt and frustrated and worried about Elena - hell, I still am - that I wanted someone else to feel that hurt too. And I just insulted you, left and right, and that was the worst thing I could have done."

"You could have tried to kill me," Victoria admitted, resting her head against the doorframe. "In that realm, you have a pretty good record."

Stefan cracked a smile at that, but he continued on, "I don't think you're a selfish bitch. In fact, you're one of the most selfless people I've ever met, and I've met a lot of selfless people. You're kind and genuine and you take your role in this town so seriously. I can't think of anyone else who would be better fit to have knowledge of the future than you. You don't put up with any of our bullshit; you stand up for yourself and you tell us how it is. That's really admirable." He shook his head and looked down at his feet. "I am an asshole. I should have asked you if you were okay and if you needed anything after the car accident, but then you had Lexi and Lee and Zach, and hell, even Noble came from New York to see you, so I knew you were in safe hands. In conclusion -" Victoria snorted at the formality that appeared out of nowhere and Stefan gave her a playful glare "- stop it, I'm trying to be serious here. In conclusion, I'm sorry for everything that I said to you this morning. You were right, and you were right on my birthday when you said that I needed to have faith in you. You haven't led me astray yet. So, I know there's nothing much I can do after that, but here's something you might enjoy."

Stefan dug deep into his pants' pocket and pulled something out in an enclosed fist. He flipped his hand around, so his fingers were facing the roof, and he uncurled his fingers.

In the center of his palm, looking nice and clean despite everything that it had been through, was Victoria's necklace. She gasped happily and surged forward. Both of her hands grabbed the necklace and Stefan's hand. Her fingers grazed the necklace and she looked up at Stefan in shock. "I totally thought I lost this!"

"It was still in Logan's body," Stefan admitted weakly, reaching up with his free hand to rub the back of his neck awkwardly. "I had to dig it out before the Sheriff and her men came."

A thought popped into Victoria's head and she gasped again. She ripped the necklace off of Stefan's hand and immediately looked down at his palm. Nothing. He was perfectly fine. She whipped her head up in shocked curiosity and he snickered. "Look again, Tori."

Her heart warmed at hearing him say her nickname and she looked back down at his palm. It was kind of glistening...almost like...

"Is that a plastic glove?" Victoria said in shock. She used her hand to rub aggressively at Stefan's, and it indeed was a plastic glove. One that Victoria had obviously missed. "Good golly, I am seriously out of it if I missed that." She rubbed her eyes with her fist, the one holding the necklace, and she turned to look back at Stefan. "Thank you, Stefan. Truly. I was convinced this was gone for good."

"It takes a village," Stefan said, shrugging lightheartedly. "So does this mean I'm forgiven or...?"

Victoria stepped forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Stefan returned the hug immediately, and Victoria nodded her head. "Of course, Stefan. Like I said, I don't give up on people."

"Well that's a relief, because I have a feeling I'll mess up again sooner or later," Stefan laughed. Victoria giggled and gave him another tight squeeze before taking a step backwards. "I made a promise to myself this morning that I wasn't going to try and worry about Elena as much. That I was going to have faith in your word. So, today is about you and me trying to fix up our relationship again."

Victoria smiled at the thought. It would be nice to hang out with Stefan again without the fear of the world falling apart or someone almost dying (i.e. her). "So what's the first step in this plan?"

"Have you had breakfast?"

"Just finished shoving my face full of Kelly's finest pancakes," Victoria snickered.

"Well then, get changed and come with me. We're going to go to the Grill to get some desserts," Stefan said, pulling out of his pocket a set of keys. He twirled it around his finger once before catching it in his hand. "Because if there's anything I've learned in my many years of being alive, it's that you can't go wrong with a piece of pie."

"Beautiful words to live by," Victoria laughed outright. She took a step back towards her door. "Okay, I'll go and change real quick and you can keep Kelly preoccupied and try to explain to her why I won't be at school this morning."

Stefan's eyes widened slightly in alarm and he stammered out, "I-Is that a good idea?"

"Think of it as punishment for being a dick this morning," Victoria chuckled. "Good luck." She sent him a cheeky wink before she rushed off to her bedroom to get changed.

Victoria wouldn't lie: getting pie at the Grill, just her and Stefan, was probably one of the best ideas that Stefan had had in quite a long time. It was so relaxing just to goof off with him, to eat a lot of pie and to learn more about his life and his history. He asked many questions about her life. What it was like growing up as an heiress versus Stefan's life in 1865. The differences were staggering, obviously, but it was good to compare and contrast. Afterward they were all pied out, Stefan and Victoria walked around the main square of downtown Mystic Falls. Stefan pointed out interesting fun facts about the various buildings as they walked, mentioning which ones were built on top of the buildings he grew up with and which ones were new.

They ducked in the antiques store that was across the square, and greeted Lexi (who had apparently gotten the job) with a wave before looking around at the multiple different items they had in stock. Victoria mentioned something about Christmas presents to Stefan, who simply laughed in response. Apparently, it had been a while since he truly celebrated Christmas. Victoria swore to herself to throw them all the best Christmas party ever.

Victoria was looking around the book section of the store when Stefan's phone rang. Stefan slipped his phone out of his pocket and immediately frowned. This caused Victoria to frown too. He looked at up at her and mouthed "Elena" before clicking the answer button and holding it up to his ear. He laid the phone flat so Victoria could stand close and overhear what was being said.

"I'm impressed, Stefan. I would have thought you would have called by now, panicking bad," Damon commented, with an air of confidence that hadn't been there when Victoria talked to him that morning.

"Why do you have Elena's phone?" Stefan demanded, his voice hard and stern. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

"Elena? She's right here. And, yes, she's fine," Damon replied.

Stefan glanced towards Victoria with a noticeable question in her eyes. She shrugged and mouthed back, "You didn't ask who. Just asked 'is she safe'?"

"Where are you? Let me speak to her," Stefan ordered after conceding that Victoria had a point.

Very quietly over the phone, Victoria could hear Damon murmur to Elena, "He wants to talk to you." Victoria didn't need to hear Elena to know that she had responded negatively. "Yeah, I don't...I don't really think she wants to talk to you right now."

"Damon, I swear to God, if you touch her..." Stefan growled, his brows furrowing in anger.

Victoria could hear the smirk on Damon's face as he cooed, "You have a good day. Mhmm. Bye now."

There was an audible click as Damon disconnected the line from his side and Stefan looked ready to burst a pipe. Victoria did the first thing that popped into her head to try and calm him down.

She reached out and grabbed his face gently, resting her hands on his cheeks. He looked up at her questioningly, but noticeably calmer than he had just been a moment before. Victoria brushed her thumbs against his cheekbones as she whispered, as to not be overheard by any random customer, "You promised to have faith. She's okay. Damon's just being Damon. He wants to rile you up."

"He can really piss me off, you know?" Stefan grumbled angrily, letting out a large, harsh breath. "I just don't understand what happened to him. How he went from the brother I loved in 1865 to this...mess."

"You've been alive for over one hundred and forty-five years, Stefan," Victoria tried to reason. "I believe that gives Damon a little bit of lee-way. People change, given enough time, and over a century is enough time."

Stefan sighed again, and shook his head gently. He reached up and grabbed Victoria's hands, covering them with his own. He peeled them off, but he didn't drop her hands as he brought them down. "I understand. It just...frustrates me that he thinks he can go off and do what he wants. And especially with Elena."

Victoria was silent for a moment, pondering what she could do next to calm down the vampire. The thought came to her in the silence and she said, "If you want, you could probably go talk to Bonnie. Since she's a witch, she might be able to do a location spell. You'd have to go pick up Elena's necklace first, but it's worth a shot."

Stefan nodded, a thoughtful frown coming to his face. "Yeah. Yeah, that does make sense. I'll go do that." He gestured towards Lexi, who was standing at the far end of the aisle, trying her hardest to look like she was interested in a piece of jewelry that looked like it came straight from the seventies. "Do you mind staying with Lexi? It shouldn't take more than an hour, tops."

"Of course," Victoria told him. She took her hands back and whispered, "Good luck." She stepped away and walked down the aisle towards Lexi.

She made it to Lexi's side just as she heard Stefan whooshing from his spot in the back of the store. Victoria shook her head and said with a snort, "And here I thought me and Damon weren't subtle."

"He's a little too headstrong for his own good," Lexi agreed, placing the ugly necklace back on its stand. "Though I am curious why he came in here with you and not Elena."

"Elena's currently being kidnapped by Damon as the two go to Georgia," Victoria explained. "He'll bring her back, safe and sound."

"Georgia," hummed Lexi, her brow furrowing in thought. "Lee's mentioned something about Georgia. He kept saying that you said he was supposed to be in Georgia...?"

"Long story for a different time," Victoria said, trying to dismiss Lexi with a wave. Lexi placed a hand on her hip and cocked her head towards Victoria. It was clear the elder vampiress was not going to take 'no' for an answer. Victoria sighed. "Alright, but remember that you asked for it. What I am about to say is true. I'm not lying to you. You can compel me if you really don't believe me, but I hope to avoid that."

Victoria gave an awkward shrug as she reached forward to fiddle with a bracelet that was maybe pretty. "I'm from an alternate universe where vampires, witches, and werewolves don't exist and where all of your lives' are documented in a TV show called The Vampire Diaries. I came to this world in September after I was hit by a car and drowned in my world. I don't know how that all worked; it just did. I woke up in this world where everyone assumes I have retrograde amnesia because I can't remember specific parts of my life. They all remember parts of me from my life. Things I don't remember, which you know from the day of the sleepover. I think something happened where maybe my consciousness switched over into this world's Victoria LeBlanc, but that's not a confirmed theory just yet. Damon, Stefan, and Zach like to joke that I'm a Seer because I know what's going to happen in the future. The reason I was so shocked by Lee was because Damon and Elena were supposed to meet Lee in Georgia, right now."

She glanced over at Lexi from the corner of her eye. Lexi seemed startled, but not in a bad way. Just more...surprised, rather than upset. Her mouth moved into an 'oh' shape and she just closed her mouth as a contemplative look passed over her. "That...explains a lot, actually."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, at the party at the Grill on Stefan's birthday, you were very clear in what I should do to stay alive," Lexi explained, nodding her head as she kept talking. "You were way too panicked about the situation. It seemed as though you did know what was about to happen. And you've made these little comments here and there in passing that just don't add up. Saying you have foreknowledge does make a lot of sense."

"And your reaction to me claiming I'm from an alternate universe where y'all are a TV show...?"

Lexi shrugged. "We could have all been dead instead, so you know, there are little bonuses." She gestured roughly down the shelf. "Can you pass me that book? I wanna set it aside so I can buy it for Lee."

"This one?" Victoria asked, gesturing towards a rather large book down the aisle. When Lexi nodded, Victoria slipped it out of the bookshelf and read the title. "'The Complete Nicholas Sparks Collection'? Why the hell does Lee need this hefty thing?"

"He doesn't. He called me a cougar again this morning so I want to throw it at him when he comes to pick me up later and it's rude to do that without paying for it."

A/N: I honestly did not think I could whip out a chapter in one day, and yet, here we are. Glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter! We have some mean!Stefan moments but then cute Stetoria moments. Stefan realizes his folly and swears to try and be better. Isn't that what we all wish for? Also, I really expected this to only take one chapter, but evidently, it's gonna be two.

Also, meant to write this on the last chapter, but the NORA code is an actual thing! They teach it to a lot of mall employees. Fun facts to know. Also, we get to see a character that hasn't appeared in quite a while next chapter! I'm very excited!

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. This will not decide the final pairing; I already know who Victoria will end up with, I just want you all to be able to guess):

ROMANTIC:

Team Stetoria {Victoria/Stefan} (15.5): insert name here XD, sammyleann's dad, TikiKiki, Maistryia, Don't-Say-It-Feel-It, another guest, Elyse1821, Lime, herewegoagain, K, Yukihino-Sama, emma, just another guest, BookwormStrawberry, heyyeah, Guest (3), guest4ithinklol, Guest (6), Guest (9), guest (1), theappleseed

Team Datoria {Victoria/Damon} (19.5): Sciave, Guest, ArganRose, CrystalAris, Marine76, Assenavira, CarlaPA, Guest (1), Maistryia, emma, just another guest, Freeshavacahdoh, Guest (3), Guest (4), Guest (6), sabrinaannpierson, Guest (7), Guest (8), Guest (9), guest (1), hfgfgfrdr, lillen20, Yolo, theappleseed, Guest (10)

Team Vilijah {Victoria/Elijah} (22.5): 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, Ieviheichu, Teghan-Potter1370, karenc0r, Hachiko33200

Team Klatoria {Victoria/Klaus} (5): Tayla141, TikiKiki, Guest (9), Mythology216 the Beard King, thisIsNotATest, Guest (10)

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} (.9): LoyalElijahFangirl, Orange keys 25, karenc0r

Jol {Jenna/Kol} (1.4): LoyalElijahFangirl, Lime, Orange keys 25, karenc0r

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

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

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

Autoria {Aurora/Victoria} (1.2): LoyalElijahFangirl, hfgfgfrdr

Vonnie {Victoria/Bonnie} (1): bpopa7110

Vibekah {Victoria/Rebekah} (1): BookwormStrawberry

New Followers!: shadowpanther13, AlbeeLane, dragonlov1, Originalfangirl

New Favoriters!: shadowpanther13, Originalfangirl

Onto reviews!:

Yukihino-Sama: I realized that Stefan was heading towards the 'mean' territory, which I didn't want, so I added a little fluff. This chapter will definitely add a little confusion to all minds, myself included. I cannot reveal who some of the main contenders in the Shipping Wars will end up with, as that will reveal if they are not the intended final match. Speaking of the dopplewench, her relationship is definitely going to take a nose-dive next chapter with the revelation of the adoption. That's gonna be a little hard. I have a feeling a lot of people will be hating Elena after next chapter. Oh yes, it will explode. When it does, it will be glorious.

DBZFAN45: Nope! Not Vampire Victoria this chapter. I was picturing Stuart Martin from Miss Scarlet and the Duke as the kind of Scottish accent Noble's sporting. Here's some more Mind!Vicki. I actually enjoy writing her in this way. I can't really choose who I like more, Stelena or Delena, because I love both Salvatore boys and I think they can honestly do better than Elena, soooo yeah XD. I'm basing the whole "the space time continuum could collapse if I reveal this secret!" off of Doctor Who more than the MCU. The MCU, while I am a huuuuuuge Marvel fan, really screwed up time travel in Endgame, but that's a whole other debate. They honestly could have saved Henrik through some ritual that no one knew about. They kept the secret of Freya for quite a while too, so it could have been possible. Ooooh! Thanks for the recommendation! I'll have to give it a read! 2nd Amendment!: I feel like Katherine will have mixed feelings about Victoria, like she did about Caroline, but I have a feeling that Katherine will really enjoy Victoria's presence. Shelia meets Victoria in the next chapter! Alaric was the one who canonically kills Logan because he was being a jerk to Jenna. I can see that too. I can guarantee that this story will end with Klaroline (I don't know why people are shipping Klaus/Victoria because I've mentioned it multiple times). Stefan will get his happy ending, just not with Caroline.

theappleseed: Thank you! No one ever addresses the trauma in the TV show, so that's what we're aiming for!

Aurora Mikaelson: Thank you so much! I love it when people say things like this. It really warms my heart, so thank you for binging it. That's good to hear!

Lime: I feel like Zach is a more laid back version of Alaric, where he preps for vampires but he doesn't necessarily act on it, you know? Logan was on the phone with Sheriff Forbes, not Kelly. She's still oblivious to everything (or is she? Dun dun dun!). Lexi reminds me of a big sister to Victoria. Caroline feels more like she's Victoria's twin, but Lexi's definitely the older, wiser sister. Noble is sweet with Victoria. I like it. Oh yeah, she needs to have another talk with Zach soon. My Christmas was excellent! I got to see my baby cousins and my family and it didn't snow until later that night, so we were safe going to and from my uncle's house!

I am hoping to have the next chapter up by New Year's Eve so we can all celebrate together! Until next time!

Stay healthy and stay safe!

BecomingFearless1F