Miss Mystic Falls - Part 2

"Miss Victoria LeBlanc? We're ready for you now."

Caroline gave Victoria a warm smile as she passed, grabbing her friend's hands and squeezing them tightly. Victoria returned the gesture and took a deep breath, trying to center herself. She gave the woman who called out her name a timid smile before she clasped her hands together nervously behind her back. The woman gestured for Victoria to follow her into the conference room that the women were using to interview the Miss Mystic Falls pageant girls. Victoria followed closely and shut the door behind her once the two got into the room. She felt more at ease when she saw Carol Lockwood giving her a subtle thumbs-up from her spot in the middle of three seats. Carol rose, along with the other woman, and she gestured for Victoria to take a seat in the empty seat across the table from them.

Victoria nodded her head and walked over demurely. She was glad that Caroline had forewarned her to change into more respectable clothes. She had decided to go with a cute red pencil cute and a white blouse, following in the footsteps of Pearl's fashion sense from earlier that morning. She had added her pair of peekaboo red kitten heels she wore at the first Founders' Party with Damon.

"Good afternoon, Victoria," Carol greeted warmly, smiling largely. "How are you doing this afternoon?"

"I'm alright," Victoria spoke honestly.

Carol and the other two women took seats down at the table and Carol flipped open a little manila folder. Victoria's hands grabbed her hands over her lap and did her best to keep her breathing even and calm.

"This year's queen will have the special honor of taking stage at the hundred and fiftieth Founders' Day Gala," the woman to Carol's left said, glancing down at the manila folder for a quick second. "Before we crown our winner, we'd like to get to know a bit more about each contestant. What are your extracurricular activities as of this moment?"

Victoria licked her lips and quickly tucked a long lock of her red hair back behind her ear. "I am a part of the Mystic Falls Dance Team hosted at the high school and I am also a part of the afterschool choir program with the school. I also take some time to be mentored by Zach Salvatore for his work in preserving the wildlife around Mystic Falls."

"Wonderful," the other woman that Victoria didn't recognize said, quickly scribbling that information down onto her notepad. "May I ask what was your motivation to sign up for this pageant?"

"Well, I was told by Caroline Forbes that the two of us have been dreaming about participating in this competition since we were kids, and so I decided to give it a shot -"

"- Oh, my apologies, Ms. LeBlanc, I meant what was your original motivation to sign up for this pageant? I didn't mean any reasonings you may have now for continuing with this process."

Victoria stiffened up and felt the back of her neck tingle with embarrassment. She cleared her throat. Just stay respectful. Maybe she doesn't know...yeah right, who in this town doesn't know about the accident? "I-I'm afraid I can't tell you what my original motivation was for signing up. I-I don't remember."

"Hmm," came the woman's reply, scratching something out onto her notepad.

Carol shot Victoria an apologetic look and then pushed forward with the questioning. "We're going to move on to other questions now. Think of them as a lightning round. Just say the first thing that comes to your mind. You're only competing for the title. You are still a member of the court regardless of what happens." She grabbed a separate piece of paper from the folder and glanced down. "What makes you different from the other candidates?"

I come from a different, alternate world after drowning under Wickery Bridge and I can split a man open with just my mind. Oh, and I know what is going to happen in the future of this world. "Since my accident, I look at the world with a different perspective; a perspective that I don't believe any of the other candidates personally have. Not saying that as a bad or good thing, but just stating that we perceive the world differently."

"What makes you unique?"

I can die, and have died, in a manner of different ways and never stay dead. "I come from a Founding Family that is solely compromised of people who have been adopted. There is not a single biological child in the entirety of the LeBlanc household and I think that makes us a strong representative that family is more than blood, a concept that I hold close and strong to my heart."

"What has been a challenge you've experienced in life, and how did you overcome it?"

"Blankie, if you won't stay still, I will keep you still."

Victoria covered her flinch very artfully, if she had to say. She pretended to clear her throat, straightening up in her seat as she began to carefully explain what went down with Vicki. The PG, non-vampire version of it. "Sometime right after October 1st, I was...Vicki Donovan and I went missing together and that lasted for about a week. For the sake of my privacy, I won't go into it, but I can say that it was one of the hardest things I've had to experience and the only way I got through it was because I had friends and families actively searching for me at all hours of the night. No one was willing to stop the search until I was safely home. I am forever grateful to them."

"Did you run away with Ms. Donovan?" the other on Carol's right demanded, the one who had the notepad and seemed very judgey.

"No, Vicki and I did not run away."

"Did Ms. Donovan kidnap you?"

"What does this have to do with the pageant?" Victoria asked, turning to look at Carol. Carol wasn't looking at her, though, and was openly glaring at the woman at her side.

The woman at her side was not at all deterred, seemingly not observant enough to see her superior giving the stink eye. "Please answer the question, Ms. LeBlanc. Ms. Donovan is not around anymore to strongarm you into silence."

"I am well aware that Vicki is dead, Ma'am," Victoria growled, her hands tightening dangerously in her lap. "However, I am legally allowed my silence and privacy on the subject. If you have any issues with that, then you can find Sheriff Forbes and explain why you are pressuring a minor to tell you about a months-old case that does not involve you or your family members."

"Why so defensive, Ms. LeBlanc? Perhaps something more happened that night that you are not willing to admit. Was Ms. Donovan getting her revenge on you after you killed her lover's parents -"

"- That is enough!" Carol snapped, jumping to her feet. Victoria recoiled away from the women as if she had been physically slapped. Carol turned towards the woman who seemed pissed off that Carol was interrupting her. Carol pointed towards the door. "Leave now, Mrs. Fell."

"I am simply asking a question, Mrs. Lockwood. I don't see what's so wrong with that -"

"- You are intentionally aggravating and harming the mental psyche of not only a minor, but the potential future Miss Mystic Falls, and someone I consider a niece. I only agreed to allow you to be on this council if you swore to remain unbiased. Now leave, and we shall be discussing your future involvement with this committee at a later time."

Mrs. Fell scoffed but she jumped to her feet, slamming her notepad hard onto the tabletop. Victoria flinched back at the sharp noise and Mrs. Fell seemed pleased at that reaction. She stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut as she left, making Victoria jump in her seat again.

Carol watched Mrs. Fell leave, and once the door was shut and she was out of the room, Carol fell back into her seat with a sigh. She rested her head onto her hand and shook her head slowly. "That was a mistake. I shouldn't have trusted her to keep her head." Carol took her hand away from her face and looked towards Victoria with concern in her eyes. "Victoria, are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine."

"No, you're not, and that's okay," the woman beside Carol, the one who had been resting on her other side, said calmly. She had a very motherly look on her face and it helped Victoria feel a little bit better. "Do you want to continue on or would you like to have a break?"

"J-Just continue, please."

"Okay," the woman breathed, nodding her head in confirmation. "May we be honest with you, Ms. LeBlanc?"

"I just had a woman try to rub my dead friend's escapade with me in my face because I wouldn't tell her what really happened. I'm sure nothing you can say will be worse than that."

"That depends on how determined you are to participate in this contest," the woman shot back playfully. "Ms. LeBlanc, I spent many long nights with Mrs. Lockwood discussing this possibility, and we have decided that we, in good faith, cannot allow you to win the crown of Miss Mystic Falls."

Victoria blinked back in surprise and managed to gasp out a weirded out, "W-What?"

"In short, Ms. LeBlanc, we do not believe that you are mentally or physically able to withstand the responsibilities that come with being Miss Mystic Falls, given what you have endured this last school term," the woman explained gently. Victoria couldn't even think of anything to say back, so the woman just kept on speaking. "Please do not take this as an insult. If you truly feel that we are wrong about this, now would be the time to plead your case. We are just trying to figure out what is your best interest in this competition."

Victoria licked her lips and leaned backwards in her seat, her mind racing. "I-I see."

"Please know that this is not an attack on your character," Carol pleaded. "We are just worried about your health. However, we know how much time you dedicate to this town," oh, really? "giving your gifts of dance and song to the people of Mystic Falls, and we wanted to honor that. Therefore, for the first and probably only time I suspect, we would like to appoint you as the Songstress of Mystic Falls."

"Okay, now you're just making things up to placate me," Victoria chuckled, narrowing her eyes at Carol playfully. "That's not a real thing."

"We may or may not have created it just for this occasion," Carol replied, giving Victoria a cheeky wink. "As you may know or remember, if Caroline Forbes have brought you up to date, all Miss Mystic candidates have the traditional first dance with their partners. Well, we would like to add another dance, a simple slow dance, after that, but we would like you, as the Songstress of Mystic Falls, to sing for that dance. You would be escorted by your partner up to the stage where you would sing for the candidates."

"So, just to clarify..." Carol nodded her head, gesturing for Victoria to continue. "You think that I can't be Miss Mystic Falls because I am mentally and physically incapable of handling the responsibilities due to the trauma that I underwent last term and instead, you want to give me a phony position because y'all want me to sing at the competition?"

"Well, when you say it like that, it sounds really bad," hummed the other woman, glancing towards Carol. "We put it more delicately to her than that, didn't we?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"You did," Victoria reassured them with a chuckle of disbelief. "And no...I don't think you guys are wrong, I was just...s-surprised is all. I am more than willing with just being a candidate or even this Songstress of Mystic Falls if that's what you guys have in mind. I don't personally think that I would make a good Miss Mystic, not compared to Caroline."

"Caroline would be your pick if you were in our position?" Carol asked curiously.

Victoria nodded her head immediately. "Oh, for sure, and I'm probably bias in saying it, but I don't care. No one is more hardworking than Caroline. She really cares about this town, she cares about the people who inhabit the place, and I think that she's a good influence on other students within the high school. I can confidently say that if she wasn't my best friend, I would have turned out way different after my accident."

"I see," came the other woman's reply. "Well then, since we're all in agreement, I think that concludes our meeting here today."

"You were our last candidate, so let me walk you out," Carol offered, standing up. Victoria took that as her cue to rise and she nodded her head to the other woman.

Carol and Victoria walked around the table to stand beside each other. Carol offered her arm out to Victoria and Victoria took it. The two exited the room together and walked down the inside of the Founders' Hall together; the decorations from the party a week before had been taken down long ago, but Victoria could still see a ghostly reflection of them in her mind's eye.

"I must apologize again for Mrs. Fell's ridiculous behavior," grunted Carol, shaking her head. "The utter audacity of that...that..."

"Bitch?" Victoria offered up, and Carol snickered, but nodded.

"Bitch," Carol agreed, laughing brightly. "She has been...restless...this last year. She was close with Grayson, Elena and Jeremy's father. They were best friends growing up. She took his death very badly, and then, you were the last person to see Logan Fell before he left town; Logan was her nephew and someone she cherished very dearly."

"So she has a personal vendetta against me," Victoria finalized, and Carol winced, but nodded again. "Perfect. Just add that to the list of people who hate me for something I could not control. Who's the other one who was ten times nicer?"

"That's Mrs. Ripley, a close friend of mine. She's not a member of the Founding Families, but I figured that that would be a good idea," Carol explained as they exited the building. They started walking down the front steps of the hall. "Do you have a ride home or would you like me to take you home?"

A loud whistle echoed throughout the little drive and Victoria turned. A smile spread on her face when she spotted Damon leaning up against his convertible, his arms folded across his chest as he calmly watched Carol talking with her. He was dressed all in black (typical). She leaned over to Carol and gently bumped her shoulder with hers. "I think I'm all good. Thanks."

She let go of Carol's arm and kindly thanked her before lightly skipping down towards Damon. Damon pushed himself off of the car as she got closer and pulled her into a light hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she pulled back and he rested his hands firmly on her hips. She awkwardly whispered, "Hi."

"Hey," Damon smirked, looking down at her through his thick, dark eyelashes. "Have a good meeting?"

"Pretty good," Victoria said, nodding her head. "There was one rude woman, but I've gotten used to that by now."

Damon's smirk fell into a frown and his eyebrows lowered dangerously. "You shouldn't be used to rude people."

"Hey, hey," Victoria chided, pulling a hand around to gently pat Damon's cheek. "It's okay. Really. I need to learn to have a harder skin and to not wear my heart on my sleeve all the time, so this is good practice. How was your day? Everything good?"

Damon let go of Victoria and walked her to his passenger side with a cold hand on the small of her back. He opened the door for her and gently ushered her in. Once she was settled and getting buckled, he hurried to the driver's side and slipped in. He turned the car on and drove out of the roundabout driveway, heading back to the main road. The way they were heading, it looked as if they were going to go to Lee and Lexi's new house in the center of town. Interesting.

She made sure to speak that aloud to Damon, "We're heading to Lexi and Lee's house. We haven't been there since right after the tomb. Is everything okay?"

"Stefan's been drinking human blood again."

Victoria licked her lips and nodded, seeming nonchalant about the whole topic. "Yeah, I'm aware."

"Being aware of what he is is not the same as knowing what he will do. Until this resolves, you are going to be staying at a place where he can't get inside. I'd force Caroline to bunk up too, but not even Stefan is stupid enough to try and get himself invited into the Sheriff's house to drink her daughter," Damon grunted, whipping the wheel to one side as they took a corner a little faster than what was probably recommended.

Victoria gripped onto the armrests of her seat tightly and swallowed heavily. "Damon, you're forgetting that I have seen what Stefan has done in the heat of his bloodlust. I understand the risks. And what, am I just supposed to let Kelly stay by herself?"

"No, Kelly's joining you."

"Oh, this is just ridiculous," Victoria groaned, shaking her head. "Damon, I held you guys off by myself and Kelly can literally smite someone with lightning from the sky. I think, out of all of us, we're the most equipped to handle a rogue, hungry vampire."

"Damn it, Victoria!" Damon growled, harshly pulling over to the side of the road. Victoria let out a yelp of shock at the sudden change and her grip on the seats turned white-knuckled. Damon quickly flipped the car off and turned sharply in his seat, giving Victoria a hard stare that was so packed with emotions, she didn't know what to feel first. "Just because you saw something in that stupid TV show, it does not mean that that is what it was like in real life!"

Victoria sat frozen in her seat, like a deer in headlights. She hadn't seen Damon that ramped up about a subject in quite a while. She swallowed heavily and nodded timidly, not knowing what else to do. It was like a light switch flipped in Damon's mind and he sagged in on himself, letting out a tired sigh. "I didn't mean to snap at you, Mama Bear. I'm sorry."

"I-It's okay."

"It's not okay; I scared you."

"N-No, you didn't."

"Then why are you stammering?"

"I just wasn't expecting it," Victoria whispered awkwardly, shrugging one shoulder up. She took a moment to swallow, using it as a tactic to stall before she spoke again. "You've seen Stefan as a...Ripper?"

"Once. It's not something I really like to talk about."

Damon turned back to face forward and pulled the car back onto the road. The duo was quiet the rest of the way to Lexi and Lee's house, choosing to remain in the awkward silence rather than try to speak past it.

As Damon was dropping her off, before she got out of the car and into the house, she turned to him and tentatively asked, "Hey, could you maybe go pick up Jeremy Gilbert? I kind of need him for something that's coming up tomorrow, I think."

"Can't you just call him?"

"Rule number one of my adventures here in this world, Damon: I don't find people's phone number, they somehow find mine. And Jeremy has not called me yet, so I don't know his number."

"Honor your partner."

Victoria, dressed in a long black skirt with a white buttoned down, curtsied towards Jeremy Gilbert, and Jeremy bowed down to her at the waist. The men on his side of the line echoed his movement, and the same went for the girls on Victoria's side of the line.

There was an eruption of giggles somewhere down the line and Carol's eyes snapped to one side, glaring and snapping her fingers in a way that would make Madame Giry of Phantom of the Opera proud. "Stay focused. Right hand around."

Victoria and Jeremy lifted their right hands together, bringing them forward so their palms were just inches away from each other. The two kept their spare hand behind their backs as they circled each other. They heard Carol call out, "Flirt with your eyes!" At the end of the line, Victoria could hear Stefan and Elena giggling their brains out, and even Jeremy and Victoria cracked smiles at that.

"No offense to you, Tori, but I don't think I could ever flirt with you," Jeremy admitted honestly as they finished their circle and Carol called out for them to circle with their left hand around. He let out a disgusted shiver and Victoria laughed at that. "You're too much of a sister."

"Right back at you, Jere-Bear," Victoria snickered as they finished up their left hand turn. "Except, not a sister but a brother, but you understand."

"This is ridiculous," Elena murmured under her breath. It was only because of Victoria's enhanced hearing that she caught that little snippet.

"Both hands!" Carol called out, and Victoria brought both of her hands up as she and Jeremy started to circle each other.

"You're only saying that because you don't know how to do it," Stefan replied to Elena's comment.

"Sorry. Only one of us was around when the dance was invented."

"Ouch," Stefan grumbled and Victoria allowed herself to crack a smile at that.

The next part involved the partners spinning past each other, but Stefan instead grabbed Elena and pulled her into a sweet dip in his arms. The bright smile on both of their faces made the romantic in Victoria's heart stutter. It must be sweet to date someone who is perfect to you, Victoria sniffed to herself as Carol spotted Elena and Stefan deviating from the dance plan.

"No! No!" Carol scolded, walking over to the duo to gently slap each teenager on the shoulder. "There's no touching during this part. It's about the simple intimacy of the near touch. If you are having trouble figuring what is the correct amount to use, might I redirect your attention to Jeremy and Victoria, who seemed to figure it out perfectly on the first try. Also, very nice, Amber!"

"Never mind the fact that we've been practicing this for a solid year and a half now," Jeremy muttered under his breath as Amber perked up under the attention of Carol.

"She doesn't need to know that," Victoria teased as Carol clapped her hands and called for a quick dismissal. "Hey, do you want a drink from one of the soda machines?"

"Sure! I'll take a Dr. Pepper," Jeremy said.

Victoria gave him a motherly look and shoved his shoulder goodnaturedly. "I believe the correct way to say that is, 'Hey, Tori, can you get me some water so I can stay properly hydrated after some intense dancing?'"

"Tori, I didn't ask for beer. You don't have to be so dramatic."

"Watch your tone, Jere-Bear," Victoria warned him, sticking her tongue out at him. "I'll be back with your soda and water in a second. Don't wait up."

She quickly exited the gymnasium that they had been using as a dance studio and jogged down the hallway, making it towards the nearest soda machine. As she jogged, she could faintly hear the beginnings of Caroline's conversation to Bonnie as the two approached. "The Fell cousins don't have a shot and Amber Bradley is only on the court so the pageant doesn't look like its founding families only, which of course it is. So that leaves Elena and Victoria, who both have the sympathy vote since Elena's parents died and Victoria can't remember her past. Imagine if the committee knew that Victoria came from another world. Talk about the sympathy votes that would be flooding in."

"Very nice," Bonnie snorted in disbelief. "Very sensitive."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Caroline apologized, sounding more sincere than she had in the moment in the actual TV show. "This must sound really unimportant...you know, in light of everything."

"It's okay," Bonnie said earnestly. Victoria sidled up beside the soda machine and quickly added enough money for two waters and one Dr. Pepper. She clicked the necessary buttons and waited patiently as the machine hummed and purred, taking her selected beverages and dropping them to the bottom of the machine. "I get it. You want to win."

"Well, my grandmother was Miss Mystic and both of my aunts. My mom is the only one who didn't get the gene and I want this. I actually deserve this."

"Hell yeah you do!" Victoria piped in cheerfully, squatting down beside the machine. She stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth in concentration as she thrusted her two hands into the little flap, trying to nab her drinks. "You, Caroline Forbes, are my pick for Miss Mystic Falls and no one will change that."

"Thanks for the backup, Tori," Caroline giggled as she and Bonnie rounded the corner. Or so Victoria thought, but there was another pair of footsteps that she hadn't anticipated.

Victoria flipped her head towards Caroline and Bonnie, her hands still stuck in the machine as she tried to fish out the waters and Dr. Pepper. "Hey, who's that with you...Lee?!"

The Southerner gave Victoria a cheery wave, slipping his hands into his front pockets. "Afternoon, sugar. How's dancing going?"

"What on Earth are you doing here at the school?" Victoria questioned, giving him a flabbergasted look. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Wait. Damon didn't send you, did he?"

"Nope! I'm here as by request of Ms. Honey Badger," Lee explained, jabbing an elbow in Caroline's direction.

Victoria's head swung towards Caroline in disbelief and she raised an eyebrow. "You? You invited Lee? Why? Isn't Bonnie going to be your dance partner in lieu of Matt?"

"You know, I don't know if I've ever personally told you how freaky that can be when you're on the receiving side of things," Caroline commented, giving a fake shiver for dramatic effect.

"I promised Elena that I would try and 'patch things up' with her and Stefan -" Bonnie began.

"- Which we all know is going to end up badly," Caroline finished, rolling her eyes, "so I managed to convince Mr. Ledger here to be my partner-in-crime today so Bonnie doesn't have to worry about two things at a time."

"I'm going to be honest," Victoria said, finally managing to get the waters and the Dr. Pepper out of the machine with a triumphant cry. She pushed herself up to her feet, groaning as she did so. Oh, she was so old. "I'm surprised you chose Lee over someone like Zach or Damon, who more than likely participated in a Miss Mystic Falls pageant before."

"I like to spice things up," Caroline snickered as she took the two waters from Victoria.

The quartet started walk back to the gym, Lee interjecting wisely, "Zach's in another research binge and Damon's...uh...preoccupied with a little gator and a little cougar. No worries about it."

Gator. A little gator. Probably slang for Jackass Gilbert. And cougar's obviously Lexi.

The quartet entered the room and Stefan and Elena's eyes both widened at the sight of Lee there. Victoria just giggled and whispered to Bonnie, "Good luck." She grabbed the waters from Caroline's hands and wandered back over to Jeremy, who was taking a seat against one of the walls.

She dropped down beside Jeremy and passed him a water and his soda before cracking open her own water. She drained half of the bottle, popping it away from her lips with a satisfied hiss. "Oh yeah, that was needed."

"Who's that?" Jeremy asked curiously, pointing towards Lee. Lee was currently being brought up to speed by Caroline and a very interested Carol Lockwood. Victoria had to give the Southerner some credit; he had some good flow about him and seemed to be taking to the dance like a duck to water. "I don't think I've seen him before."

"Really?" Victoria sniffed, surprised at that tidbit of information. "Did you not show up for the bachelor giveaway at the Grill that was held, like, a month ago?"

"I was preoccupied."

"Well, that's Alexander Ledger," Victoria introduced, gesturing towards Lee, who looked like he was having a blast. "He likes to be called Lee. He's dating Lexi, Stefan's best friend. Have you met her?"

"I think so. I vaguely remember seeing her at Stefan's birthday party. Oh! And she came to that weird sleepover with you, Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena, yeah? The one that I was almost immediately kicked out of."

"Yep, that's the one," Victoria confirmed with a giggle, taking another big gulp of her water. "Matt's going to be Caroline's date -" not "- and she needed a back-up partner for rehearsal today. Lee's relatively new to town, so he offered to be her substitute. Gives him an excuse to do something and it also gets him out of his girlfriend's hair."

"Seems like an interesting guy," Jeremy commented as Caroline burst into fits of giggles at something Lee said. "Life of the party kind of guy without being too much, you know? Like a tamer version of Damon."

"Yeah, I can see that," Victoria admitted. She reached over and slapped Jeremy's knee. "Come on, now. Up and at 'em! We gotta get these dance moves cemented into our brains."

"Mom? Lexi? Harper? Lee and I are home!" Victoria called out as she and Lee entered his humble dwelling place. Victoria shucked the coat that she had borrowed from Zach and hung it up on the coatrack by the front door while Lee entered right behind and shut the door. "Hello? Anybody here?"

"Right here, baby girl," Kelly called out, sauntering out from the kitchen. She had a dishtowel in her hands and she was patting her hands dry. "You two have a good time at rehearsals?"

"Turns out the apparent dancing I taught Jeremy Gilbert at my sixteenth birthday came in handy today," Victoria chuckled, skipping towards her mother. She wrapped her mom up in a big hug and smiled widely. "How was your day?"

"It was okay. Thanks for asking," Kelly replied, smiling back at Victoria, but her smile was more soft. She glanced over her shoulder and said to Lee, "Lexi's in the kitchen finishing up dinner for tonight."

"I thought I smelled tomato sauce. I hope it's lasagna," Lee cheered, leaning to plop a kiss on Kelly's cheek in appreciation before he bounded away. "Lexington! Is it lasagna?"

"It's spaghetti," came Lexi's deadpanned reply.

Kelly tugged Victoria's hand, turning her attention back to her mother and away from the two vampires. "Hey, baby girl?"

"Yeah, Mom? What's up?"

"Damon's up in the room you're using. I think you should go talk to him. He looks like he needs you."

Victoria frowned worriedly, but nodded. She took the stairs upstairs two at a time and walked down the little hallway until she got to the room that had been officially declared "hers" after the whole tomb incident. Victoria didn't know what was the proper etiquette for that kind of situation, so she settled for gently knocking on the door before poking her head into the room.

The lights were off, but it was evident that there was someone curled up underneath the heavy comforters. The voice was slightly muffled, but Victoria was able to recognize it as Damon's voice as he moodily grunted, "I'm not interested in spaghetti right now, Kelly."

"Well then, it's a good thing I don't have spaghetti," Victoria teased, her voice soft and low. She stepped into the room and shut the door. Leaning up against the door, she made quick work of the practice heels she had worn to the rehearsal. She slipped out of her skirt, glad she had made the executive decision to wear leggings underneath. she tiptoed over towards the blanket mass and gently poked the side of it. "Permission to enter the blanket huddle, Commander?"

Damon gave no response, but there was a little crack in the blanket defense that hadn't been there before, so Victoria took that as a yes. She crawled onto the big bed, wiggling and squirming her way through the small hole so she was underneath the blankets right next to Damon. It was pitch black under the blankets, but thanks to her advanced sight, she was able to barely see Damon's face and shape. He was shirtless (to be honest, when was he not?) and his eyes were closed. His face looked pinched. He seemed troubled.

Victoria enjoyed the excessive heat of the blanket fort, but it seemed colder when Damon wasn't smiling. She frowned thoughtfully and used her hand to reach over to Damon. She placed her palm on his cheek and he let out such a sigh that his entire body shook. She whispered, "Damon, are you okay?"

"I don't know, Mama Bear," Damon replied honestly, his voice even lower than Victoria's had been. He sidled closer and Victoria shifted to accommodate him. "I-I don't know."

"What can I do to help?" she asked.

"Just let me hold you. Please."

"Because you asked so nicely," Victoria teased. She planted a kiss on his forehead and shifted up higher on the bed.

Damon curled up close to her side, his arms wrapping around her torso like she was his personal teddy bear. His head rested on her collarbone and every time he exhaled, his warm breath caressed her sternum. His legs drifted towards hers, eventually moving so one of hers slipped in between his. Victoria shifted her head until it was resting comfortably on one of the many, many pillows. With the pillow angled as it was, she was able to look down at the top of Damon's head. She brought her hand that was on Damon's side up to his head and she carded her fingers gently through his hair. The soft hum of appreciation he released and the way his body slumped into hers at that action concerned her.

"Is this helping?" she asked.

Damon took a shaky breath and nodded his head. "Yeah. Yeah, it is, Mama Bear."

"Want to talk about what happened?"

"What's the point? You already know everything that happened."

"Yeah, but things change from the show," Victoria murmured. "For instance, they never showed you moodily hiding underneath a blanket at Lexi and Lee's house. Granted, both Lexi and Lee weren't...around...at this point, but still. I honestly don't know what's set you off or why, and I am genuinely curious. If you don't want to talk about it, then that's fine. But if you do, then I'm here to talk."

"Just John Gilbert...being John Gilbert."

"Explanation enough," Victoria snickered. "He is rather insistent, isn't he?"

"He is. He wanted to know more about Pearl."

"Yikes. Yeah, I need to warn her more about that. He's a douche."

"It's just..." Victoria kept her silence, waiting for Damon to finish what he was saying. There was no need for her to pressure him more than what he was already feeling. "Part of me is so frustrated, because I was only entertaining the idea of putting up with him because he could take me to Isobel and Isobel could take me to Katherine, but then...I don't think I want to find Katherine anymore."

Victoria's eyes widened in awe and alarm. What did he mean by that? Damon was supposed to be obsessed with Katherine still. "W-Why do you say that?"

"If she really loved me, then she would have sought me out," Damon finalized, holding tighter to Victoria. He twisted his head and kissed her collarbone so lightly, it felt like a butterfly had kissed her. "She hasn't. I shouldn't hurt myself wondering why. I think...I-I think I need to let her go."

All the air that was in Victoria's lungs rushed out in one fell swoop and she just held tighter to Damon. "That's...That's a big decision, Damon. Are you sure?"

"Hell no, but I-I don't know what else I'm supposed to do."

"Okay...if that's your decision, then I'll stand by it with you," Victoria agreed.

Damon squeezed her tighter, taking another shaky breath. "Thanks, Mama Bear...hey, can you do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"Come find me after the pageant tomorrow. There's something I need to tell you."

A/N: Happy Easter everybody! How was everyone's week? We all doing good?

We get to see some more Mama Bear and Jere-Bear here, along with Lee actually interacting with other Mystic Falls members (I realized that Lee has been around for almost two months and he hasn't met anybody who doesn't know about the supernatural except maybe his job's boss). A sandwich Datoria fluff moment as well. Eek! I love all of this! Makes me super happy.

For those of you who are readers of Oferswíðestre, thanks for your patience! I sort of stalled in writing the next chapter, but I'm going to work on it more this week and hopefully we'll get it soon!

VILIJAH HAS OFFICIALLY HIT 50 POINTS! They beat out Team Datoria by half a point. It was a real close race. I thought for sure that Damon stans were going to pull through, but Team Elijah members just crawled out from the woodwork in order to help support their favorite Original.

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} (18.5): insert name here XD, sammyleann's dad, TikiKiki, Maistryia, Don't-Say-It-Feel-It, another guest, Lime, herewegoagain, K, emma, just another guest, heyyeah, Guest (3), guest4ithinklol, Guest (6), Guest (9), guest (1), theappleseed, Anaidiana, Hayden, Takinginspiration1, Serena Salvatore, Prometo, Lolita, MoonlightMiracle-SakurianaHime, Vogiatzis

Team Datoria {Victoria/Damon} (49.5): 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, V, Ghest, charlievini, Guest (13), Guest (14), Guest (15), TrembleB4DietCoke, dhariti, Hayden, Guest (17), Elyse1821, Dannn, Yukihino-Sama, Dede, 4day, jazica, Guest (20), Unnisa, MoonlightMiracle-SakurianaHime, Tik, 00esoteric00, Hariana Halone, jenniferchase2402, Guest (23), garbolaughs39, Angel, Guest (24), bubbieluv21

Team Vilijah {Victoria/Elijah} (50): 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), Anaidiana, Dalia2009, wolfcorgi, Nia, Rory, Teghan-Potter1370, Guest (12), Shiro7, alessandra92, Guest (16), Guest (18), Karina, Serena Salvatore, xrysatsan, Lolita, jazica, Guest (19), MoonlightMiracle-SakurianaHime, TheLadyO, jjaejjae, Guest (21), Guest (22), NovemberSagittarius, RandomRivers, Frida Claire, Muskan Jain, sabrinachalamet, alexaguamenti, bubbieluv21

Team Klatoria {Victoria/Klaus} (6): Tayla141, TikiKiki, Guest (9), Mythology216 the Beard King, thisIsNotATest, Guest (10), Tris Hart

Team Koltoria {Victoria/Kol} (2.5): DreamerPop, MelissaMorningstar, Guest (11)

Team Vinn {Victoria/Finn} (1): silentmayhem

Team Vioble {Victoria/Noble} (2.5): Shiro7, Child of Dreams, Goodboiii

New Followers!: leftmysanityathome, alexaguamenti, Muskan Jain, bubbieluv21

New Favoriters!: alexaguamenti, Muskan Jain, Beatriz Manso, kaydub, bubbieluv21, Vogiatzis, Loveless150050, magicaedraconis, exsailor1999, Simone140089

Onto reviews!:

Child of Dreams: 1) Oops, I Did It Again was a close second, but I enjoy the variety of ways people can sing ...Baby One More Time, so that's what made it win out. Good choice though. 2) Piero is not an Irish name, you are also correct. There's going to be a really logical explanation for that in the episode where all the ghosts start coming back to Mystic Falls. 3) The differences between a Positive and a Negative Immortalis haven't been revealed just yet (I like things to be unknown quite often). I can say that a Positive Immortalis has great healing magic.

Goodboiii: Thank you! Yeah, it's still going, even a week later. Mostly reduced to coughs and the occasionally impressive sneeze, but I'm all good. Ooooh, good point. I've had readers declare their ship at the beginning of their binge of the story and then go "You know what? Nope" and switch over to a new ship XD. Vioble is a silly word; someone also called the Victoria/Noble ship Notoria and I feel like that was a missed opportunity XD. It wasn't even that wet of a wet dream too! That's what makes that statement hilarious. Thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear that! And yes! Positive writer/reader relationship vibe complete!

DBZFAN45: Turns out it more than likely wasn't a COVID variant, just a nasty cold. I'm glad you caught that with Vicki speaking to Damon! I was wondering if anyone would mention that. John doesn't know what Victoria is (for now). We have a whole slew of people that we're supposed to see later as ghosts. Piero LeBlanc, Octavia Larsen, and there will be others. Caroline for sure is a hardcore Victoria and whoever Tori falls in love with shipper. I am convinced that no matter the relationship, Caroline would come around and be the number one supporter. Yeah, I feel like Victoria is so focused on everything else, she's not really worried about who Noble is. I know! We're soooo close to the end! It's so exciting! I'm so excited for Katherine's appearance. I can already tell I'm going to love writing her and Tori's interactions.

KEZZ 1: Thank you so much! Here's a chapter a day early ;)

MarinaBee7462: Hey you! Yeah, Noble was the "first kiss" (as you have found out, he's not actually cuz it's all a dream). I'm so glad you're so invested! Here's a chapter just for you!

Muskan Jain: Your vote has been added! Thank you for voting!

sabrinachalamet: Hello! Awwww, thank you so much! I know, Victoria and Damon are so cute. Fun fact: that was never intended. I was going to make Victoria hate Damon and then Damon just grew on me. How things change.

alexaguamenti: Awww, thank you so much! That's so sweet! Datoria is such a great friendship. I love it too. She will have a unique relationship with each of them and she will be unofficially adopted as a sister. By "she" do you mean Rebekah? Cuz then yes, there will be a chaotic grouping of her, Katherine, Victoria, Caroline, and Lexi (and then we'll throw Bonnie in for some flavor). It'll be an awesome group. I already have a great girl group idea for the six of them. This apparently gets missed a lot, but Klaroline is definitely happening. No doubt about that. They are my favorite ship of all time and I love them, so yes. Aww thank you!

bubbieluv21: I put you down for voting for both Datoria and Vilijah (you can change your vote at any time, so don't worry ;) ). You helped get Team Vilijah to 50 points on the Shipping Wars! Congrats! The wait wasn't so long this time!

Vogiatzis: You are the first Stetoria voter in a long time. I'm impressed. I dislike Elena on principle too; she has waaaay too much main character syndrome and it gets really annoying watching her try to deny it (Katherine has main character syndrome a little too, but she's aware of it and she loves it about herself, so it turns more into self-confidence). Awwww, thank you!

Lime: Sorry XD. I tried waiting for you, I really did, but this chapter was written and done and edited for like, three days, and I really wanted to post it finally XD. You were almost the 550th reviewer XD.

If you've made it this far in the Author's Note, lemme give you a little teaser about what happens next chapter. Some makes sense, others doesn't, but you'll understand eventually:

John teaches Victoria how to tie a tie.

Kelly stalks Stefan.

The Salvatore boys (+ Lee) are true gentlemen.

Victoria gets hurt.

Victoria gets pissed.

Cue epic fight sequence.

Victoria dances.

Victoria has her first kiss ever (not a dream this time!).

Zach is proud of Damon.

Until next time,

Stay healthy and stay safe!

BecomingFearless1F