A/N: Real quick!: I want to repeat this statement for anyone who might not have seen this on the last chapter: the "extremely traumatic event" in this chapter is NOT rape. I'm dead serious. Don't worry at all. It is not rape...
Unpleastantville - Part 2
Stefan was already worried about how the night would go when he arrived early to Elena's house. Victoria wouldn't have told him to go early to Elena's if it wasn't something serious. As usual, Victoria's intuition was right. A handful of minutes after his arrival, an intruder descended from the ceiling in the living room. All it took was a swift from punch from Stefan to send the man away, and it was obvious from the way that the man's face didn't shatter upon impact that he was a vampire. It would have been nice if Victoria could have mentioned that in her phone call to him earlier, but he would take what foreknowledge he could get.
That all being said, Stefan's already worried non-beating heart would have been pumping even harder when he heard the incessant knocking on Elena's door, opening it to reveal Damon and Victoria. Holding hands.
Why did that leave a bad taste in his mouth?
"Victoria?" Stefan breathed, ignoring his brother. She gave him an awkward wave with her free hand, looking sheepish and embarrassed. She looked...amazing was one word for it. "What are you doing here?"
"Our asshole intruder had two stops on his evening events list tonight," Damon explained in her stead, pushing past Stefan to drag him and Victoria into the house. Stefan just them go, still reeling at seeing the two of them holding hands. What the hell happened?
Stefan shut the door, locking it, before walking back to the living room. Elena was sitting on the couch, her hands pressed so tightly together that her fingers were starting to grow white. She looked as if she was making a valiant effort not to look at Victoria, while Victoria looked like she wasn't having the same problem as Elena. Stefan could physically taste the guilt that was radiating off of Elena.
Damon plopped down onto the floor in front of one of the recliners. Victoria seemed to take that as a cue to sit down on the recliner. They let go of each other's hands, thankfully, but Damon was sidled up close to her legs, folding his arms across his chest. His eyebrows were furrowed together in frustration and confusion as he peered around the room.
Stefan made his way around the couch and took a seat beside Elena. Elena immediately leaned into him, resting her head carefully on his shoulder as to not mess up her hair. The whole experience of the night had been rough on her, even if she had been in the kitchen when the vampire had dropped from the ceiling.
"How did he get in?" Damon demanded, looking up towards Stefan.
"He was invited in," Elena murmured weakly, squeezing her eyes shut tightly.
Stefan reached over and grabbed one of her hands, interlacing their fingers to try and reassure her with his physical presence. To Damon, he added, "He posed as a pizza delivery guy last night."
Damon snorted and rolled his eyes angrily. "Well, he gets points for that. And bonus points to the two of you for knowing how he got in."
"He came to my house tonight," Victoria explained, reaching forward to nudge Damon's shoulder with her hand. Damon shot her a look over his shoulder that Stefan couldn't see, but he seemed to relax a little under her touch. "Don't know how he did it. Kelly's not one to invite people into our house, and I wasn't there when it happened. He wasn't able to hurt me, but..." Victoria shivered and her hands, which were gloved in black, clenched together. "Suffice to say, he was creepy."
"Did he say what he wanted?" Damon asked, directing to the question at both Elena and Victoria.
For the first time since the big adoption blowout at the boarding house, the two girls made eye contact. Elena visibly flinched at the eye contact, and Victoria just had a sad, thoughtful frown on her face. Elena shook her head and broke the eye contact first, looking back towards Damon. "No. He was too busy descending from the ceiling and getting punched by Stefan to really explain any of that."
"I don't know what he originally intended when he broke into my house," Victoria started, shrugging her shoulders lightly, "but I do know that it ended with him wanting to drink my blood."
"And you have no idea who this is?" Stefan asked, giving Damon a stern look.
Damon frowned at his brother. "No." Stefan gave him another look and Damon scoffed. "Don't look at me like that. I told you we had company."
"You think there's more than one?" Elena asked worriedly, looking up towards Stefan.
"We don't know," Damon admitted, frowning once more. There was an awkward silence in the room, until Damon elbowed Victoria's legs. She shuddered, not expecting the sudden physical contact. "That's your cue, Mama Bear."
"Oh!" Victoria gasped, sitting up straighter. She brushed her hands on her dress, sweeping off imaginary dust. "His name is Noah. He did come with two others. All vampires. I know that Noah came after Elena because she looks like Katherine and he thought it would be fun." Elena frowned at that and wrapped her hands around their interlocked one. Stefan rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand. "What he really wants with me is foreign to me. Comes with the territory when you're not originally from the universe. He's obsessive. He's going to try again and again unless we stop him."
"You know the names of the other vampires?" Stefan asked curiously.
Victoria frowned and blushed awkwardly. "I can't remember one of their names -" Her heart skipped a beat and both Damon and Stefan heard it. She was lying. Why was she lying to them? "- but the other one's name is Ben...um...McKittrick, I believe?"
"Ben McKittrick?" Elena gasped, sitting up straighter, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Stefan's head whipped around to look at his girlfriend incredulously. "You know who that is?"
Elena nodded her head rapidly. "He was a senior when we were freshman. Almost every girl in our grade had a huge crush on him." She gestured towards Victoria, who looked startled to be referred to. "Well, all except Tori. You don't get crushes very easily."
"So I've been learning," Victoria stated, nodding her head in confirmation.
"Do you know how he got turned?" Elena asked.
Victoria shook her head wearily. "I have a lot of information swirling around in my head, and how Ben got turned is not one of the most important pieces in that information cesspit. I'd have to refer back to some notes I've made to see." She frowned. "Noah's been invited into both of our houses. He's going to come back."
"Then we go get him tonight," Damon growled, his hands clenching into fists. He looked towards Elena, then glanced back at Victoria. "You two up for it?"
"What do we have to do?" Elena questioned hesitantly.
"You let your boyfriend take you to the dance. I'll take Victoria. A Salvatore brother on both of your arms should be more than enough protection," Damon explained. "Zach will be there for backup and if we're really worried, I'm sure we can get BFF and bodyguard to help us. Then, we'll see who shows up."
Stefan's brow furrowed. Who the hell was BFF and bodyguard...?
Victoria caught his eye and she giggled, mouthing to him, "Lexi and Lee." Stefan let out a quiet 'oh'.
"I'm not sure this is the best plan," Stefan started, glancing between the group with worry in his eyes. "Victoria's not exactly the safest person we know and Elena's just a handful of steps below that."
"Thanks, Stefan," both girls deadpanned at the same time. They caught each other's eyes and giggled lightly.
Victoria continued, explaining gently to Stefan, "Until Noah is dead, Elena's house isn't safe. Mine isn't safe. For everyone who lives at these houses. Jenna, Jeremy, Kelly. It's not just my life and Elena's that are at risk. It's got to be worth a shot."
"I'll do it," Elena confirmed. "I can do it." She looked at the three of them. "I'll be with you three. I'll be safe."
Suddenly, the ringing of a phone pierced the air. The quartet all flinched, none of them expecting the loud noise. To everyone's surprise, Damon was the one to pull out his phone. Or was it his phone? It certainly didn't look like the phone that he usually used. He looked at the screen, a mischievous grin forming on his face. Victoria took one look at the screen and apparently thought it vital to try and fight Damon for control. She lunged for the phone, but Damon snuck his arm around her waist, pulling her down off the chair. Victoria fumbled, landing in a heap on his lap with his arm holding her tightly to his chest. Her arms were pinned underneath his, and she couldn't squeeze them out.
Damon clicked a button on the phone and held it up to his ear, a shit-eating grin on his face. "Hello, Kelly-Beans, long time no chat. This is Damon Salvatore speaking."
"You have five seconds to explain to me why my daughter is not answering the phone or I will call the police."
Stefan snorted. Yep, that sounded like Kelly alright. There was probably nobody alive who could talk smack like that to Damon without the fear of being killed horrendously except the LeBlanc women.
"Victoria's still getting ready for the dance with Elena," Damon lied smoothly, shooting Elena a wink. Elena frowned and inched closer to Stefan. He was more than happy to wrap his arm around the shoulders of his girlfriend. "Me and Stefan came to Elena's house to take the two of them to the dance tonight."
There was a moment of silence, and then Kelly asked dubiously, "You? You're taking my daughter to the dance tonight?"
"Is that not what I just said?"
"Don't sass me, Salvatore. When I left this afternoon, my baby girl was dateless. So how in the span of a few hours did you manage to secure a date with her?"
"My good looks and natural charm?" Damon suggested. Victoria snorted and rolled her eyes and he pulled the phone away, covering the microphone so he could shush her.
"Stefan's prettier."
Stefan burst out laughing, not at all expecting that from the LeBlanc matriarch. He had to slap a hand over his mouth to keep his laughter more contained after it set off Victoria laughing. Damon frowned and glared at the two of them, not at all liking being the butt of the joke.
"You hurt my feelings, Kelly-Beans. I really thought we had something going."
"You're not my type, Damon, but nice try," Kelly deadpanned. "How are they even letting you into the dance? You're like a billion years old."
"That hurts my soul, Kelly," Damon said with a pout. "That really does."
"Get over it."
"I got special permission," Damon sniffed, rolling his eyes. "Call it the Salvatore charm."
"Stefan's already told me all about that," Kelly scoffed. Stefan could imagine Victoria's mother rolling her eyes at the dramatic entity that was his older brother. "Listen, I'm running short on my break time with my advisor, so I can't do a proper shovel talk. Do you promise to keep my baby girl safe tonight, Damon?"
"Cross my heart," Damon swore, and there was something about his tone of voice that made it sound to Stefan like Damon was serious. He was very serious about his promise to Kelly. "Victoria will be unharmed. I give you my word."
There was a sigh from the other line and Kelly murmured through the phone, "Thank you. Now can I talk to my baby girl so I can tell her to have fun?"
"Oh, what do you know?" Damon chuckled, turning to look at Victoria. She stuck her tongue out at him childishly. "She just came down the stairs. Here you go." He pulled the phone away from his ear and offered it to Victoria.
She wiggled one of her arms out of his grasp and snatched the phone out of his hand before he could try to pull it back. "Hi, Mom."
"Hi, baby girl. Lemme guess: Damon got to the phone before you did?"
"Yeah," Victoria laughed, nodding her head. "He kept it better protected than most defenders on football teams."
Everyone in the room cracked a smirk at the Damon-bashing, while Damon just pouted. He pulled Victoria closer to his chest, and she just rolled her eyes at him.
Kelly, on the phone and completely oblivious to all the actions taking place, just said, "Have fun tonight, okay? I want you to tell me all about it tonight. And if Damon gets too grabby, you have my full permission to slap him."
"Aye aye, Ma'am," Victoria snickered, sticking her tongue out at Damon again.
"Real mature," he grumbled to himself.
"I heard that, Damon," Kelly huffed from the other side of the line. "I got to go now. Demon Advisor's heading straight towards me. Stay safe, okay, baby girl? I love you."
Victoria's face softened and a warm smile came to her lips. When she spoke, her voice was thick with emotions and she managed to stammer, "I-I love you too, Mom."
The moment that Victoria stepped into the gymnasium of Mystic Falls High School, she was amazed. The room was packed, teens were dancing together out on the floor, and the lights were twinkling like little stars. Damon was leading Victoria into the gym, her arm looped through his. On Damon's other side stood Stefan, who had Elena's arm looped through his. Victoria could only marvel at the sight in front of her. Whoever set up the gym put a lot of effort into it.
Victoria spotted Alaric across the room. It was hard, given the swirling masses, but she could tell that his face was starting to grow pale as he recognized Damon. Victoria tried to make it look like she hadn't spotted him. That was not a conversation they were going to have that night; not if she could help it. She knew that Jenna was approaching him right that moment, so Victoria turned her attention away and towards the other occupants of the room. She spotted Jeremy by the concessions table, helping set it up. Caroline and Bonnie were in the middle of the dance floor, swinging and swaying with each other as the two girls were both dateless.
Victoria pulled her arm out of Damon's and swirled in front of the foursome. She grabbed Elena's hand and told Stefan quickly, "I'm going to borrow your girlfriend real quick." His brow furrowed in confusion and he dazedly let Victoria drag Elena out and away from him. Elena also seemed confused as to why she was being suddenly pulled away from her boyfriend, but she went along with it nonetheless.
Victoria brought Elena over to a refreshment table, by one of the punch bowls, and silently caught Caroline's eye. She gestured subtly for the blonde to grab Bonnie and come over to the punch bowl for a pow-wow. Caroline understood and grabbed Bonnie's wrist, dragging the girl over towards the punch bowl too.
"Why are you being so nice to me, Tori?" Elena suddenly blurted out. Victoria blinked, taken aback. "I was an asshole to you at the boarding house. I yelled at you and...I tackled you to the ground. Like, who the hell does that?"
"Your emotions were running amok, Elena," Victoria tried to reason, but Elena shook her head, holding up a hand to stop Victoria.
"That's no excuse for the things that I said to you!" Elena argued. "I called you selfish. I implied that you were purposefully withholding information away from us. T-That...that wasn't the right thing to do." She took a large breath and let it out in a sharp rush. She licked her lips afterwards, as if contemplating something. "Tori, you don't know this because of your...situation, but the day of the car accident, I got into a huge fight with the other Victoria."
Victoria's eyes widened in slight disbelief. No one talked about the day of the car accident. Victoria hadn't heard any tidbit of information. Nothing of what happened during the day leading up to the drowning. Elena's information was the first.
"W-What?" Victoria stammered in shock. She shook her head and blinked a bunch of times, just trying to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "You got into a fight with...her?"
Elena nodded, looking extremely guilty at the fact. "E-Ever since you woke up, or at least this you came into this world, I've just had this extreme guilt in my chest. L-Like it was all my fault that you, well Victoria-you, ended up on that bridge. Because of that, every time I see you, I just feel like everything is my fault. I wanted to go to this party that I wasn't supposed to go to that night and I-I called Victoria, asking if she wanted to come with. She told me that I shouldn't be sneaking out. I-I just got so fed up with her being such a goody-to-shoes that I just yelled at her. I said...gosh, I said some really mean things. Then I hung up, turned my phone off, and went to the party. I-I think I was the last person to speak to her before she showed up on the bridge with us."
"Oh my gosh," Victoria murmured, feeling tears prickling at her eyes. Her heart was hammering a million miles in her chest. "I-I..."
The moment was shattered when Caroline and Bonnie appeared out of nowhere. Victoria quickly turned away from the three girls, taking a moment to confirm that she wasn't about to start crying. She heard Elena quietly ask Caroline and Bonnie, "Having fun?"
Once Victoria was sure that she wasn't about to cry off all the makeup she had worked so hard to put onto her face, she turned around. Caroline was staring at her, giving her silent worried eyes that asked if she wanted to go. Victoria subtly shook her head and Caroline turned to look back towards Elena. Her mouth dropped into a frown and she sniffed, "No, but this hairstyle took about two hours, so I'm at least staying half of that."
Bonnie laughed at that, but Elena seemed to sense the animosity that was coming from Caroline and kept her mouth shut. Bonnie glanced around Elena and her smile dropped into an upset frown too. "What's Damon doing here?"
Victoria intercepted the conversation, clearing her throat to draw attention to her. She said sheepishly, "He wanted to come. I promise, he'll behave."
"So what is this?" Caroline asked, glancing between Elena and Victoria and then the Salvatore brothers on the other side of the room. "Gilbert, LeBlanc, and the Salvatores? Is Kelly hooking up with Zach now too?"
Victoria gagged at the thought and quickly shook her head. "Please don't ever say anything like that again. Please. I beg you."
"Of course not," Elena agreed. "But if I'm going to be with Stefan, then I have to learn to tolerate Damon like Victoria does. It's not like I can kill him."
"There's a thought," Bonnie grumbled, narrowing her eyes towards Damon.
"Mhmm," Caroline murmured. "I'll help."
The two girls clinked their glasses together and Victoria rolled her eyes. "Oh my gosh, you two. No killing my date, please."
"Your date?" shrieked Caroline, whirling around to look at her in disbelief. "When I called you this evening, you were dateless! No, you were my date!"
"It's a friend date," Victoria clarified, reaching up to pat Caroline's arm reassuringly. "Like he asks me to be his date because he doesn't have very many people in town who actually tolerates him. I do."
"I don't know how," Caroline huffed, taking a long swig of her drink.
As if summoned, Damon appeared just behind Elena. He had a rather charming smirk, if not condescending, and he offered a hand out to Bonnie. "Hello, Bonnie. Wanna dance?"
"I'm out of here," Bonnie grunted, rolling her eyes and taking a step away from the table.
Damon quickly sidestepped her, blocking her from completely leaving him in the dust. "Please give me another chance."
Bonnie just gave him a glare that could melt ice, it was so heated, and she stepped around him, marching off. Caroline took a step forward, jabbing her finger hard into his chest. He looked down at his chest, where her finger was poking him, and then slowly back up to her face.
"Back off, Damon," Caroline hissed, her voice low and barely able to be heard over the music. "Victoria's your date, not Bonnie. Stop harassing my friends."
Caroline stomped off after that, but not before murmuring a quick apology to Victoria for dipping out. She waved the teen girl away, understanding that Damon's presence was a bit of an...acquired taste.
Stefan arrived just in time to watch Caroline stomp away and he wrinkled his brow, confused. "Damon, what did you say to them?"
"I was perfectly polite!" Damon argued.
Stefan glanced towards Victoria, not-so-subtly asking if Damon was telling the truth. She laughed at Stefan's expression and nodded her head. "I can confirm; he was on his best behavior. However, Caroline and Bonnie are not easily swayed."
"I can see that," Stefan chuckled.
Damon rolled his eyes, but he took a step towards Elena, offering his arm like a true gentleman. "Elena, would you like to dance?"
A mischievous twinkle came to Elena's eyes and she said firmly, "I would love to." She turned to look up towards Stefan, smiling wildly, "May I have this dance?"
Victoria didn't bother to hide her laughter as Stefan dragged his girlfriend off to the dance floor. It was so comical to see the look on Damon's face that Victoria didn't bother acknowledging the tight feeling she got in her chest watching Stefan and Elena walk away.
"You know, it's rude to laugh at people."
"I'm not laughing at you," Victoria amended, snickering when Damon sent her a glare. "I'm laughing with Stefan. You should have known how well that would have turned out."
Damon shrugged his shoulders. "It couldn't have hurt."
Victoria walked around the other side of the punch bowl table. She nudged Damon with her shoulder. "Are you going to ask me to dance?"
Damon pretended to think about it, then shook his head. "Nope." He popped the 'p' sound and Victoria's smile dropped into an indignant frown.
"And why not?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips. "You were willing to dance with Elena, your brother's date to the dance, but not me, your date to the dance?"
"I'm sure you'll survive," Damon sniffed, shrugging his shoulders. "Try to be strong."
"You are an asshole," Victoria grumbled, but she couldn't help smiling at his antics nonetheless. "Well, lucky for me -" She trailed off, gazing around the room looking for a certain person. Her eyes caught him on the far side of the room and she grinned triumphantly. "- there is more than one Salvatore here."
Victoria skipped away from Damon, dodging random couples, as she made her way to the outskirts of the gymnasium. The man in question she had been staring at saw her coming, and he had a grin on his face at her joyous appearance.
Once she reached him, he commented lightly, "I haven't seen you this excited in a while. It's a nice change."
"But of course," Victoria laughed. "I am at a high school dance, and I haven't been to one in over four years! I didn't go to my senior prom because I was too busy trying to fix my grades. Even if we're expecting trouble, it's a good reason to be excited." She grinned and held her hand out, "Now, Mr. Sherlock Salvatore, I believe you owe me a dance."
Zach's eyes widened in shock and he seemed flustered, immediately shaking his head. "No, no, no, no, no, no."
"Come on, Zach," Victoria pleading, adding an additional pout for good measure. "I've danced with both of your uncles. You're the last Salvatore on the list! Come on! You know you want to."
"Unlike my uncles," Zach hissed, glancing around worriedly, "There is not a single bone in my body that has rhythm. Absolutely none. I don't have two left feet. I have no feet!"
"You're a vampire," Victoria stated calmly. "You have advance senses. You can pick up on everything quickly. I believe you can do it. Now come on. Will you, Mr. Sherlock Salvatore, accompany me onto the dance floor?"
An upbeat song started to play and jam through the speakers, and Zach sighed, obviously in defeat, before he smiled at Victoria's insistence nonetheless. "I guess I would be delighted, Ms. Victoria Watson."
Victoria smiled widely and grabbed Zach's hand, dragging him out into the sea of teenagers. She navigated them until they found a decent-sized space. Then, Victoria went through a few basic swing steps with Zach. As she thought, Zach picked up the moves quickly and Victoria was able to throw harder and harder steps at him. He was much more talented and capable of dancing then he believed himself to be. And if there was anyone who knew about talent in dancing, it was Victoria. She had been paired up with many unfortunate dancers in the past.
As the music picked up and Victoria could just feel the chorus about to drop, she told Zach confidently, "Alright, let's do some jive kicks here. They're really simple. Just follow my lead."
The chorus of the song hit and Victoria initiated some jivey kicks that she had learned a while back. Much to her surprise, Zach was able to keep up. Like, really keep up. He caught onto Victoria's train of thought and was able to mirror her movements. Victoria couldn't stop the bubble of laughter than came out of her. Even when she turned to face Zach, he did the same. Every move she did, he did, though Victoria could notice that there was a half-second of delay in his movements. Nonetheless, the two were able to really jam out together, and when they came together for the partner swing portion, Zach led her with ease and confidence. The two of them were even able to try some partnered tricks, such as Zach sliding Victoria through his legs, Victoria turning around to jump onto Zach's shoulders, and then Zach flipped Victoria over his shoulders.
When she landed smoothly on her feet, not at all faltering, Zach looked at her incredulously. He pulled her back close and they continued to jive, but he asked, yelling over the music, "How the hell did you just do that? Those things are like daggers!"
"I've been dancing in heels since I was nine!" Victoria answered with a grin. "I could sprint across the football field in the mud with these and not fall over!
Zach chuckled at her response and they continued the dance. When they reached the end of the song, Zach twirled Victoria close to him and dipped her sharply. Victoria did the obligatory bent knee and was secretly relieved she had decided to add black bike shorts underneath her dress for extra modesty.
Zach pulled her back up, making sure that she was alright. He was such the image of fatherly concern that Victoria couldn't help but laugh. She surged forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his chest, giving him the biggest, tightest hug she could manage. Zach let out an 'oomph' sound, even though Victoria knew she wasn't doing any damage to him. He hugged her back, placing his head on top of hers. She smiled widely against his chest. He was a good hugger. Maybe it was a Salvatore gene. She'd have to ask.
She stepped away and patted his shoulder. "Thanks for dancing with me, Zach. I told you that you could do it."
"Maybe I should have a bit more faith in you," Zach mused, and for some reason, Victoria felt as if he meant it more than just about dancing. "By the way, I just wanted to thank you."
"For what?" Victoria asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Saving my life," Zach explained, and Victoria's mouth dropped into a knowledgeable 'oh'. "I may have...passed..." It was funny hearing Zach censor the word 'die' since they were still surrounded by teenagers. "but I would have been gone if you hadn't interfered. Lexi would be gone and I wouldn't have gotten to meet Lee. And while he reminds me of a rambunctious child, he reminds me a lot of my brother."
"Brother?" Victoria asked, startled. "You have a brother?"
"Had a brother," Zach amended. Victoria's face dropped as the wording set in. "He passed away from surgical complications when I was fifteen. He was ridiculous, just like Lee. The two of them would have got along wonderfully. So again, just thank you."
"Zach," Victoria breathed, feeling tears prickle at her eyes again. "I-I...Gosh, I-I don't even know what t-to say."
"You don't have to say anything," Zach comforted her, his light eyes warm. "You didn't know. Just know that no matter what happens, tonight or next week or even years down the road if you're still with us, I'm just really glad that you came to Mystic Falls."
"Zachariah Salvatore, you can't just drop that onto a girl," Victoria sniffed, tears dripping down from her eyes. "Dear heavens, that was so sweet. Probably one of the sweetest things someone has said to me in a long time. Maybe at all."
"I'm sure your mom and Caroline tell you sweet things about yourself all the time," Zach teased, and that made Victoria crack a smile. "Now, I am probably slacking on chaperoning duties. Plus, I see Damon socializing with people. That's a dangerous combo. I should get back to that." He dropped his gaze back to look at Victoria and he lowered his voice, saying, "Be careful tonight, Victoria."
"I will be," Victoria promised him.
Zach nodded, happy with her promise, before quickly leaving her in the middle of the dance floor. Victoria chuckled, shaking her head slightly. She gazed around the room, trying to figure out where in the episode they were.
Her blood froze when she spotted Elena alone on the dance floor, her phone pressed tightly to her ear. Victoria followed her terrified line of sight and she verbally growled when she spotted Noah standing by the concessions table. Jeremy only stood a few feet away from him. Victoria looked back towards Elena and she was gone, heading straight for the door. Victoria's head whipped back around to Noah. He was gone in the blink of an eye too. Victoria cursed and turned, sprinting through the room until she reached the double doors.
She caught Elena turning a corner down the hall and Victoria cursed again, running as fast as she could in her tall heels. Skidding around the corner, Victoria caught Elena's shoes as she ran her way through the hallways. They never dive into how complicated high school hallways were in the TV show, Victoria was figuring out. There were multiple times when she had to backtrack, having just missed Elena's exit.
By the time she finally caught up with Elena, she was at the entranceway to the cafeteria. Elena was backing up towards mop bucket. Noah was on the floor, his hands poked through with pencils. Victoria looked around frantically. There wasn't a trace of any Salvatore down either side of the hallway.
Victoria looked back towards the scene in front of her. Noah was up now, and Elena held a stake in her hands, made from the broken mop behind her. Any moment now, Elena was going to try and stake Noah, he would deflect it, and he would bite her. Stefan wasn't there to save her. It was just Victoria.
A plan quickly formed in her mind's eye. A stupid plan, granted, but a plan nonetheless. She only had one weapon on her, so she would have to make do.
Victoria ducked out of the doorway and wrapped her hands firmly around her necklace. Murmuring a quick apology to Noble, Victoria yanked and heard the clasp snap behind her neck. Victoria winced at the action, but got to work. She grabbed one end of the chain and shook it until the beautiful sapphire jewel fell off of the chain. Victoria tucked that piece of the necklace into the bodice of her dress, where it would be safe.
Victoria was about to move when she spotted her reflection in the vending machine of the hallway. Well, it wasn't her reflection she saw.
"This is, by far, the stupidest plan I think you've had for a while," Vicki commented, looking slightly concerned.
"You got any better ideas?" Victoria mouthed.
Vicki shook her head. A determined look came to her face. "Give him hell, Tori."
Victoria grinned sadistically and nodded. Then she turned the corner and sprinted as quickly as she could and as silently as she could manage. Noah was holding tightly onto the stake that Elena had tried to shove into his chest. He tossed it away as if it was only a piece of dust and he moved to bite her.
Not on Victoria's watch.
Victoria aimed for the table that was closest to the duo and prayed that her athleticism and dancing ability for coordination would help her. She jumped onto the bench, then onto the table, and took two steps before launching herself towards Noah. Victoria angled her body and she landed just where she wanted to: on Noah's left shoulder. Her left leg wrapped around the front of Noah's torso, while her right leg mirrored that, only on Noah's back. She grabbed the chain of her necklace and wrapped it around Noah's neck, pulling as tightly as she could manage.
It had only been a theory, an untested theory. If the actual gemstone-pendent portion of her necklace had been forged in vervain, couldn't that mean that the chain was forged in vervain too? Given the hissing noise as Noah's skin burned and the way he screamed in pain, staggering backwards, Victoria would say that her hypothesis had been correct.
Noah's hands automatically went up to try and rip the necklace away, but his fingers were burned every time they touched the cool metal. Victoria pulled tighter, grunting at the effort. Noah flailed around, trying to shake Victoria off. But she was a dancer; she was used to being in awkward positions and holding on for dear life.
Noah seemed to know that trying to snap the chain wasn't going to do much. So he changed his tactics. His hands reached around and he grabbed onto Victoria's leg, his fingers digging in painfully to her calf. Victoria let out a yelp of pain, and it didn't help that his fingers broke her skin. Little blood droplets trickled down her leg and Victoria could feel the shift in demeanor in Noah. His focus was on her blood now.
Gripping tightly to the chain and praying that it was made of some pretty strong stuff, Victoria swung her left leg around Noah's back, then swung her full body around to Noah's right. Using the momentum, she pulled as hard as she could, sending Noah flailing to the ground. She let go of the chain as soon as it threatened to tug her down with him. Victoria landed hard on the cafeteria's tiled floor and she moved herself into a roll, getting some distance between her and Noah.
She was on her feet in the next moment, ignoring the burning sensation in her calf. "Elena, run, now!"
Elena didn't need any more prompting. The two girls took off for the entrance, running as quickly as they could. They skidded to a halt when Noah flashed in front of them, his vampire features on full display. Elena let out a shocked gasp and Victoria clenched her hands into fists, taking a daring step in front of Elena. Was she being a brat to Victoria lately? Yes, but Elena was her brat. Not Noah's.
Before Noah could even approach them, however, he was flung across the room, back to where the little impromptu fight between him and Victoria took place. All the adrenaline rushed out of Victoria when she saw Stefan, Damon, and Zach all standing where Noah had just stood.
"Hey dickhead," Damon growled. In his hand he carried a stake (Victoria wouldn't be surprised if it had been up one of Zach's coat pockets). He stalked towards Noah, who looked at him skeptically. "Nobody wants to kill you. We just wanna talk."
Noah tried to move, but was immediately pinned down with a stake through the stomach by Zach and the stake that had been in Damon's hands a moment before. Stefan stalked over to the duo, his eyes burning with fury.
"Now you feel like talking?" Stefan inquired darkly.
"Screw you," Noah spat. It was the first time that Victoria had heard him since he had stalked her halls earlier that evening.
Zach dug the stake deeper into Noah's stomach in response to his words. The older Salvatore growled, "Wrong answer. Why are you doing this?"
"Because it's fun," Noah hissed.
Zach dug the stake deeper into his body. "What do you want with Victoria and Elena?"
"Elena looks like Katherine," Noah spluttered, a chunk of blood dripping down the side of his mouth. "Victoria smells yummy."
"Guess you were right about that, Mama Bear," Damon muttered darkly, walking up to stand beside Victoria.
"Unfortunately," Victoria grumbled, shaking her head. She winced as she accidently put too much pressure onto her leg.
Damon glanced down and let out a low whistle. "That looks bad, Mama Bear. You want some blood?"
"Let's wait until later," Victoria told him. "I would rather do it after the vampire who threatened to kill me and Elena is dead." She paused. Something inside of her was urging her to speak. To give Damon information. She opened her mouth and instinctively said, "Damon?"
"Yeah, Mama Bear?"
"Johnathan's journal," she told him. Damon looked up at her in confusion. She licked her lips awkwardly and repeated, "Johnathan Gilbert's journal. That's where you'll find information about Emily's grimoire."
Damon's eyes widened in shock and he blinked twice before whispering, "I thought you weren't going to help me anymore with that."
"I'm learning that in this universe, things change because I am a part of the circumstances," Victoria began. She shrugged her shoulders, trying to seem nonchalant about the entire process. "Maybe I'm wrong about Katherine. Maybe she is in the tomb. And I know that you love her so strongly. What kind of a person would I be if I didn't try to help you achieve that?"
Damon stood there in silence for a moment before he managed to reply, his voice thick with emotion, "Thank you, Mama Bear."
"Of course, Damon," Victoria replied, grinning wildly.
And then things went wrong. Horribly wrong.
Because out of the corner of her eye, she saw something she wasn't supposed to. Something that went against the basis of the script.
Noah's hands were clutched around one of stakes that had fallen to the ground. The one that Elena had tried to use on him. Stefan and Zach couldn't see it; they were too focused on his face. But Noah's body language didn't read that he was going to try and stake one of them. No, his gaze was angled lower, away from the other two Salvatore boys'.
He was staring directly towards Damon.
He was going to kill Damon. And Damon wouldn't see it coming because he was so focused on the fact that he now had a strong, positive lead on where to find the grimoire.
Emily Bennett once asked Victoria a question that had shaken her down to the core. "Would you be so willing to lay down your life so that Damon may be happy?" She didn't know how to answer that question when Emily had first asked it. But now, as the question pounded in Victoria's head mere seconds from catastrophe, she knew her answer.
Yes.
Sorry, Zach. I'm not going to be able to keep my promise.
"No!" Victoria screamed and she shoved Damon, hard. The elder vampire staggered backwards, taken aback by Victoria's sudden scream. Out of the corner of her eye, Noah moved.
And then pain. Extreme pain that made her feel like every nerve in her entire body was on fire. And it was all coming straight from her heart.
Victoria heard a loud squelching noise from across the room, as if someone had stabbed another person. Her mind wouldn't process that noise because her eyes were focused on something else.
There, sticking directly out of her chest, was the wooden pole-turned-stake that Elena had tried to use on Noah. Except now, it was stabbed into her chest. Her blue velvet dress was already beginning to stain as blood leaked and poured from her chest. Every breath felt like a thousand.
Victoria couldn't hold herself up anymore. Her legs shook and collapsed underneath her. She would have slammed into the tiled floor if Damon hadn't swooped around the side, catching her nimbly in his arms. She heard him cursing. In English, in Italian, and a couple other languages that Victoria didn't recognize right off the bat. Damon was yelling something towards Elena. Something about an ambulance.
Something tapped her cheek and Victoria breathed in a shuddering gasp, her attention snapping back. She let out a pained sob as her brain began to rapid-fire process the pain she was experiencing. It was the worse feeling in the entire world.
"Victoria, I need to take out the stake so when I give you vampire blood, you'll heal," Damon was saying. His voice sounded more panicked than usual. "It's going to hurt."
Without a countdown, Damon wrapped his hands around the stake driven through Victoria's chest and yanked it out. A scream tore its way out of her mouth and it was only made louder when Zach appeared on her other side, shrugging out of his dress shirt. He was left wearing a white undershirt and he pressed the dress shirt against the gaping wound in Victoria's chest. She cried out from the pain as Damon bit into his wrist.
"I know, Victoria, you're doing good," Damon whispered, his voice shaking as he dipped his hand towards Victoria's mouth. She latched her lips onto the gaping wound and tried to frantically suck his blood down.
Except the moment she felt the liquid hit her tongue, her body gagged and she had to tilt her head to the side, vomiting up a mixture of his blood and her own. Damon swore violently. "Damn it. Elena! we need that ambulance!"
Damon pressed his wrist back against Victoria's lips and she tried to swallow the blood again. Once more, she gagged and threw up more blood. Damon loudly cursed, "Shit!" after every failed attempt. Time and time again he tried to give her his blood; each time she threw it up. They even tried Zach's blood. It had the same reaction.
"Her body's rejecting the blood," Zach said in disbelief, shaking his head. "I-I don't know what the hell is happening. If the ambulance doesn't get here soon, she's going to bleed out."
"I really need you to work with me here, Victoria," Damon breathed, biting into his wrist once more. "You need to drink and heal."
Damon tilted her head up and pressed his wrist hard against her mouth. Victoria tried once more. Once again, the same result. By now, there was a large puddle of blood next to her head and she could feel it dampening her hair.
Damon reached up and bit into his wrist again. "One more time."
"D-Damon," Victoria stuttered, shaking her head.
"Shut up and drink the blood."
"I-It's not w-worki -"
"- It will work, Victoria, now just drink!"
"Damon!"
Damon paused, breathing heavily. Victoria could see his eyes now. The icy-blue orbs were filled with crystal-like tears. They fell from their perches like diamonds against his skin and Victoria thought they were very pretty. They showcased an innocence to Damon. An innocence once thought lost.
"I-It's not working," Victoria whispered, trying hard to not choke on the blood that was already piling in the back of her throat again. "I-It's not going to work."
"Don't say that," Damon growled, shaking his head roughly. "Don't you dare say that!"
"T-The hospital is s-seven minutes away without traffic," Victoria gurgled, the pain in her body reaching exponential heights. She let out a pained whimper as she continued weakly, "A s-stab to the heart can k-kill a person in five."
"When you get better, you'll have to tell me how you know that," Damon compromised, biting into his wrist again.
Victoria, with what little strength she had, lifted her hand and grabbed his wrist. He paused, even though her grip was much weaker compared to his, at the slightest graze. She looked at him again and this time, tears came to her eyes. She ducked her head to the side again and spat out the blood wallowing in the back of her throat. Victoria looked back towards Damon. "W-We both know that I-I'm not going to g-get better."
"Y-You can't just die, Victoria!" Damon shouted, shaking his head. "T-That's not how this is supposed to go!"
"O-Our stories a-aren't always in the o-outline," Victoria croaked. Another pain-filled cry tore from her mouth as Zach shifted his hold on her stab wound's dressing. "I-I need you to do a few things for me."
"Save it, Victoria. You can do them yourself."
"P-Please?"
Damon didn't say anything in response but he looked down at her, his shoulders shaking as he tried to contain his sobs. It was sweet, that he was feeling such an emotion for her.
"T-Tell Kelly that I-I'm so grateful she chose me t-to be her daughter," Victoria breathed, tears rolling down her face. "I-I love her and I-I always will. Tell C-Caroline that s-she's my best friend. M-My sister. Put herself f-first and love the man w-who does the same. Tell B-Bonnie she's a badass and a-always will be. W-When you meet the Mikaelsons..." Victoria let out a pained cough. "S-Shit. When you meet the M-Mikaelsons, tell them I-I wish I could have met them. T-Tell Enzo -" Damon's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, but Victoria didn't have enough time to address that "- that h-he's wonderful and l-loved and that h-he should marry the witch. Y-You all know what I'm talking about e-eventually. S-Stefan...?"
"He had to leave the room," Zach admitted apologetically. His voice, too, was thick with emotion and he was struggling to keep his tears at bay. "The blood smell."
"O-Of course," Victoria hiccupped. That hurt her heart, and she wasn't just saying that because of the stab wound. "S-Stefan, I-I know you c-can hear me. Y-You are amazing. You are not y-your past. I-I'm so glad I got to b-be your friend. Tell Lexi and Lee that I love them. T-They should get m-married too."
Victoria's head flopped down against Damon's chest as pure exhaustion hit her. She wanted to close her eyes, but she knew that the moment she did so, she would be surrounded by darkness. Perhaps forever and ever, and that thought scared Victoria enough that a shiver raced down her spine. "E-Elena...life is going t-to suck, but persevere. T-Take care of them when I-I'm gone."
She heard Elena let out a pitiful wail, filled with sorrow and grief, but Victoria also heard the girl made an affirmative noise. "G-Good. T-Take care of J-Jeremy, Jenna, a-and Alaric while you're a-at it. Oh! And Matt and T-Tyler."
Victoria lolled her head back so she could look towards Zach. His face was beginning to blur. "Z-Zach...I-I'm glad I met you. T-Thank you for dancing with me. S-Stay amazing. I-If you see Noble, tell him I-I'm sorry too. And C-Carol. Hell, all the a-adults of Mystic Falls that I-I know. F-Find Sarah."
"Of course, Victoria," Zach cried, nodding his head. "Of course." He probably had no idea what that meant. He would figure out eventually.
"D-Damon."
"Please," Damon whispered. There was something so broken in his tone that Victoria's eyes watered even more. "Please...just one more time."
"E-Even if I could d-drink it, I'm t-too weak. My body would r-reject it."
"Please."
"I-I need you to be strong. B-Be the Damon that I know. My f-friend. T-The fungus Damon who grows on people, who l-loves despite flaws, who c-cares deeper than anybody could. D-Don't let your anger and sorrow guide your l-life. Y-You are a good man."
There was a sharp pain in Victoria's chest and she let out another pained cry. Damon gritted his teeth (at least she thought he did; everything was starting to grow fuzzy and dark. It scared her beyond words).
She felt something snap around her ankle. Was that her anklet? Victoria watched as Damon pulled the piece of jewelry away from her ankle and he looked down at her, angling her face so she was staring at him.
With shaky voice, but strong words, accompanied by tears rolling down his cheeks, Damon said, "You don't feel any pain." His pupils dilated and a sense of relief washed over Victoria's body. She let out a gasp, and a weak, but joyous smile came to her lips. It was like floating on a cloud. "You aren't seeing black. You're seeing white. On the other side, you will see a beautiful meadow, sitting beside a lake. The meadow is large, flat, and filled with wildflowers and deer. It is warm and it fills with you all kinds of joy."
As Damon spoke, the world began to shift. Victoria could see it. The meadow. The deer. It was as if it was just she and Damon inside this mysterious world together. The sky was blue and bright, with fluffy white clouds peppering it all over. A family of deer crazed nearby, and three birds did loop-de-loops off to the side of where she and Damon were at. The others inside of the cafeteria slowly disappeared, leaving only herself and Damon.
Victoria looked up towards Damon, her eyes wide in disbelief and she murmured, "Thank you."
"Of course, Victoria."
"S-Say my name. One last time."
"Godspeed, Mama Bear," Damon croaked, his eyes filling with tears.
He began to fade away from Victoria's point of view until he was gone completely.
She was resting against the grass now, surrounded by the flowers and looking up into the sky, as if she was simply cloud-gazing. She didn't feel like she was in pain; she was still wearing her dress from the 50s dance, except it was fixed and beautiful once more.
There was a sense of peace, of happiness and contentment, that filled Victoria's soul, even though she knew she was never going to see anybody she loved ever again. Not Damon, Stefan, Zach, Lexi, Lee, or Noble. Not Elena, Bonnie, or Caroline. Not Tyler or Matt or Jeremy. Not Kelly, Carol, Liz, Alaric, or Jenna. More tears came to her eyes and trickled down. She was saying goodbye. She was saying farewell. There was no "see you later, alligator" or "in a while, crocodile". She was gone.
Then a voice whispered throughout the meadow. It was unlike anything that Victoria had ever heard. It spoke only once, a voice so beautiful is was practically harmonious.
"Immortalis."
Then everything went black.
A/N: ...it is however major character death. Yep. Victoria's dead. And I'm both excited and very nervous about how you guys are going to react to this. Did you all enjoy the little cute fluffy moments between Zach and Victoria? I did! Now Victoria's danced with all them Salvatore men. So great!
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} (22.5): 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), Juko, Bulma, Ellay
Team Vilijah {Victoria/Elijah} (23): 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, Guest (11)
Team Klatoria {Victoria/Klaus} (5): Tayla141, TikiKiki, Guest (9), Mythology216 the Beard King, thisIsNotATest, Guest (10)
Team Koltoria {Victoria/Kol} (2.5): DreamerPop, MelissaMorningstar, Guest (11)
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!: amixanime, Scotland-Lassie
New Favoriters!: amixanime
Onto reviews (there's a lot)!:
Shiro7: It was worse than almost being killed but it wasn't rape. It was just death instead XD.
Nellyblue11: Aww thank you! I hope this chapter does the same thing. You're right, her protective feelings will probably be through the roof.
DBZFAN45: I'm so glad that you even suggested Mind!Vicki in the first place. I am having such a blast writing her and her conversations with Victoria, so thank you for that! Here's a Saturday update for you instead ;). I feel like with the VPS (Victoria Protection Squad), no one would ever be able to touch Victoria. And with Victoria's foreknowledge, she'd probably save anyone she could from sexual assault. We get to see Alaric's reaction to the ending of this chapter in the next chapter, so stay tuned!
silentmayhem: I always answer reviews because I just like chatting with y'all. And once again, it's like you're reading my mind! You are nailing some big topics pretty consistently in your guessing; Elena's thoughts towards Victoria are exactly like you have stated. Very similar to how Vicki originally felt about Victoria before getting over it. Most fanfiction trends I see are OC (when they have foreknowledge) losing that knowledge in some sort of accident and I really want to explore what it would be like if they kept that foreknowledge for the whole story, so no memory loss for Victoria (unless it's like for a few chapters or something). Some people will stay dead permanently, but yeah, we're going to have appearances from the dead (whether it's resurrections or ghosts). Exactly! We'll see what happens when we get to the tomb.
Stachelbeere: This pacing might be fast, but oh well :). The spider thing will be talked about eventually. Oh, just wait until Lee's reaction next chapter. He's going to be going off on Noble pretty hard. Ahhhh, okay. My sister's an artist too, so I understand that. Thank you!
LoyalElijahFangirl: Hello! How's university? Getting them grades? And don't worry about it at all. That's a very good idea. I'll say that you're pretty close to nailing it right on the head. I will say keep in mind what happened in The Turning Point Part 1. That has a major impact/reason as to why Mind!Vicki showed up in the first place. Aww, thank you! He's such a hard character to write at times, and I only want to do him justice (he's got some pretty hardcore fans). Damon's a fungus, as Victoria states in this chapter. Yeaaaaaaaah...not so much break to be had in this chapter. Oh yeah, Season 2 is gonna be aaaaaaawkward. Thanks for popping by!
Bulma: Yeah, they are pretty cute together. Your vote has been added!
Ellay: Yeah, it's just convenient to put them together for scenes.
Lime: Heyo Limabean! I just don't understand how people have the physical energy to be rude online. I certainly don't. Aww thank you! There'll be more 2021 Easter eggs thrown in because she is originally from that time. Just remember that scene and remember that Victoria is also a singer...maybe we'll get a Toriline duet! It is really fun to write angst. No worries! Mason is hard because that's Mason Lockwood's name and that could get weird. I was actually thinking Melchizedek. It's long and overtop and all together his name would be "Alexander Melchizedek Ledger"! It sounds good. What are your thoughts?
Guest: Thank you so much! Your votes have been added. You are Guest (11) if you ever want to change your vote.
I'm really nervous about how this chapter is going to be received, but here it is two days early! Wish me luck, I guess? XD. Lemme know what you think. The fallout starts next chapter!
BecomingFearless1F