Disclaimer: I only own my OCs
A/N: This was a chapter that was a bit of a pain to write, so I just added extra Dalexa moments ;) The start of Klaus/Alexa (Klexa?) beef happens here as well, which was incredibly fun to write. In regards to Alexa's hair evolution, just think of Penny from The Big Bang Theory, that's how I've been imagining it.
XXX
Apparently, signing your house over to someone wasn't a quick process. There was a lot of legal stuff to it. Fortunately, the Salvatore's had a lawyer on hand to sort it all out. I was just glad that I wasn't stuck with a mortgage for a place that huge. That was the beauty of being one of the Founders, you already owned the property. So you could just build the property. Of course, I was sure that there were other things that I didn't know about, like property taxes that needed to be paid or something. But I didn't care about those details. We were just getting the building, the Salvatore's would continue paying for the details.
Bonnie had decided to join us on the morning that the papers were being signed and the house was officially becoming ours. She chilled on the sofa in the parlour while Ellie and I sat by the desk at the side of the room. I was still surprised that they were also signing it over to me. But I guess it was for my piece of mind too? Despite Elena agreeing to fight, Damon still did everything he could to make sure that I was comfortable with the situation. Well, as comfortable as I could be. I was also willing to bet that he included me on the deed to make sure that Elena didn't try and lock him out of the house. Because we both knew that she would try it. My sister could be sly when she needed to and she would withhold the invitation to get Damon to agree to something.
Mr Henry, the lawyer, was kind enough to have put little 'SIGN HERE' stickers next to the places we had to sign. He also talked us through the various papers, telling us what each one meant and what we were agreeing to. Which was really sweet of him. Because I had absolutely no clue what any of this meant. And I was fairly sure that my sister didn't either.
"Please sign here and here," he pointed to the last few spots that we had to sign. Ellie and I took it in turns to sign on the dotted lines. I was fairly sure that I was keeping my signature the same throughout all of the papers. But it was so hard to tell.
"Okay," Elena agreed, giving Bonnie a quick smile as she did so. The witch looked relaxed, even with all of the power running through her veins. Bonnie had told me that the sudden increase of power had made her feel giddy at first, like a sudden rush of blood to the head. It had taken her quite some time to get used to the feel of it. Of course, me being me, I asked her to do some cool tricks with her new abilities. So she showed me the one she showed Jeremy, where she literally changed the weather. It was so so cool. The power my friend had was just mesmerising.
"So this place is all yours?" our witchy friend asked, glancing around the huge room. "They just gave it to you both?"
"For now," Elena shrugged as I finished off my parts to sign. "As the owners, we're the only one who can invite a certain type of person in here, if you know what I mean."
Oh Ellie, subtlety really wasn't a strength of yours. But it was amusing to watch her try to explain the reasoning behind the decision without using the V word. The Salvatore's had neglected to mention if the family lawyer had been compelled not to betray the family secret. So we had to make sure that we were careful with our words. Which felt weird as it wasn't something that we normally had to do. With the exception of Matt, so many of our close friends and family knew the secret. So being sly about it wasn't what we were used to.
"Your own personal safe house," Bonnie nodded, understanding what my sister was saying. Bonnie always was a clever one.
"That's the idea," Ellie nodded in agreement, glancing around the house that would shortly be ours.
"And now that we own the place, we can throw as many wild parties as we want and they can't say anything," I added, enjoying the smiles that I got and the laugh from Bonnie.
"With that attitude, I'm surprised they signed it over to you too," our friend laughed, shaking her head at me.
"Eh, they gave it to me to keep Elena responsible," I shrugged, attempting to twirl the pen around my fingers and failing miserably. "Cos you know how silly my twin can be at times."
"Says that one who suggested we throw a wild party," my sister rolled her eyes, gently nudging me with her shoulder.
"I didn't say right now," I protested, giving her a pout. "But since this will now be ours forever, because I will hide the deed to the house so they can't take it back, we might as well enjoy it. Just think of the craziness we can host here."
My sister and friend took a moment to think on that. Because it was true. With the amount of space in this place and the lack of parental supervision, you could throw one hell of a party.
"Wouldn't want to clean it," Bon joked, wrinkling her nose as she gestured around the parlour. Which was giant enough already.
My twin's laugh warmed my heart and she agreed with our friend's words. Cleaning this place would be a nightmare. I knew that Damon had compelled a cleaner to come by once a week to clean the whole place. Not that she needed compelling to do the job, as she was well paid. It was more to not freak out or say anything about the random bloodstains or bodies that she found. Or the freezer full of blood in the basement. Basically, to just keep quiet about anything unusual.
While we had been joking around, Mr Henry had been gathering up the papers for us to file away, while taking back some to the office. I had no idea which ones he had kept and what he was giving back. But I quickly took the ones he handed us and scurried away. I was serious about keeping the house our name. Well, for now, anyway.
So I made my way to the library and pulled out some books on the closest bookcase. I shoved the papers along the back and covered them back up with the books. There, a nice and simple hiding place. But one they wouldn't think to look in. That would give me some time to think of a better hiding place.
I also used the opportunity to sneak some bourbon from the well-stocked booze table. My drinking hadn't stopped, if you were wondering. In fact, it had probably increased. Seeing Isobel dying had only added to my nightmares. And since I didn't want to wake everyone up with my noises, I drank to keep the nightmares away. Then I drank during the day to keep away any random memory flashes that plagued me. No one had called me out on it yet, although I knew that Elena had wanted to.
I returned back to the parlour to see Elena walking Mr Henry to the door. I followed them, eager to see the vampires who were stuck outside while the ownership of the house was being transferred. Before the lawyer had arrived, I had asked them what would happen if they were inside when it happened. Neither of them were able to give me an answer but from the way they quickly left the building, they had assumed that it wouldn't be good. Which made sense, if I was being honest.
"Thank you, Mr Henry," my twin smiled at the lawyer as she opened the door to let him out.
"We appreciate your help," I added with a smile of my own as we all watched Mr Henry head to his car. Elena stepped back to head back to the parlour but I continued to lurk by the door, anticipating what would happen next. And I wasn't disappointed.
The brother's stepped forward to enter but were stopped at the threshold, bumping into that magical little barrier. I let out a "lol" while my sister turned around, looking guilty.
"I'm sorry, I completely forgot," she apologised to the pair, returning to my side.
"I didn't," I smirked, enjoying the look that Damon shot me. It was only of those that made me feel all warm and tingly.
"Stefan," my sister smiled sweetly at her boyfriend. "Would you like to come inside my house?"
I coughed out a "our house" while Stefan returned the smile.
"I would love to," he said, stepping over the threshold. "Thank you."
He shot his brother a victorious look as he settled beside my sister. Lol I loved it when Stefan settled into the role of the little shithead brother. You didn't get to see it often but when you did, it was fun to watch. Especially since Stefan had had well over 150 years to find all of his brother's trigger points.
Damon's eyes flickered over to me and I giggled, returning the stare. We all knew that I had been put in charge of inviting Damon inside. I had ignored my sister's muttered words when it was agreed, but I knew that she was making a sly comment regarding my feelings for him.
"What are we, twelve?" he smirked delightfully, making me want to swoon. Honestly, it was uber unfair as to how good looking he was. Especially since he knew how good looking he was. Ugh.
"Damn straight," I shot back cheekily, crossing my arms and leaning against the door, just out of range from the barrier. "But as fun as this is, I do have a coffee getting cold back in the parlour."
But before the words "please come inside" could leave my mouth, my sister interrupted me, "Alexa, before you invite him in, I want Damon to promise something."
"Like what?" I rolled my eyes before sharing a look with Damon.
"He needs to remember what he promised," Elena gave the older vampire a stern look. "No lies, no secret agendas. This needs to be done my way."
"Damon, do you agree to that?" I rolled my head around so that I was looking at the vampire. Damon clearly didn't appreciate my sister's words, judging from the unhappy look on his face. But he wouldn't argue against them. While I could just invite him in anyway, I couldn't risk my sister's cooperation. Her agreement to fight the sacrifice was important. And I could risk her going back on that.
Luckily, Damon understood that as he gritted out, "Yes, Elena, I remember what I promised and I won't go back on that."
"You happy now?" I asked my sister, waiting for her nod before I smiled at my vampire. "Damon, you are welcome to enter my new home."
My Damon rolled his eyes as he walked past but that didn't stop him from grabbing my hand. I felt all warm and gooey at his touch as I closed the door behind him. He tucked me into his side as we approached the entrance to the parlour.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Stefan smirking at Damon over the fact that he had to be invited in after agreeing to conditions. In return, Damon muttered a "shut up" and rolled his eyes. I just ignored it all in favour of snuggling deeper into the vampire's side.
As we approached the entranceway, Bonnie appeared, Ellie's jacket and my coffee in hand. On her way, Bonnie had kindly stopped off at the coffee shop to grab a treat for us. I had inhaled the rich aroma and immediately declared my love for her. When Bonnie passed over my coffee, I pulled it close with one hand while I kept the other wrapped around my vampire. She then passed Elena her jacket, which she immediately started putting on.
"Thanks," Ellie smiled at her friend while I muttered the same under my breath, breathing in the lovely smell of coffee while I did so.
"Wait, where are you going?" Stefan frowned at my sister when it clicked that she was putting on her jacket and not relaxing on the sofa.
"To school," Elena replied in a neutral tone.
Stefan stared at her in astonished confusion while Damon spoke up, shaking his head, "No, no, no. We didn't create a safe house, giving your twin a crazy amount of power while doing so, only for you to leave it."
"Yeah, guys," Stefan added, turning an imploring gaze to Bonnie, hoping that she would see reason too. "Klaus is out there. We know that."
"Right, but where?" my sister sassed back, crossing her arms. "No one knows. Look, I really appreciate what you guys are doing. And I'll be able to sleep at night knowing that I'll be safe here, and that Alexa will be too, but I'm not going to be a prisoner."
"But Elena!" I whined pitifully, stomping my foot. "We finally have a legitimate excuse to not go to school and you're seriously still going to go? What's wrong with you? I'm not going."
"Yes, you are," my mean twin immediately disagreed. "We need to go to school and live a bit of normality. And I won't take no for an answer."
"Damon," I pouted up at my vampire. "Don't let her make me go school. I don't want to. It's stupid and pointless and I don't want to go."
But before Damon could argue on my behalf, my sister grabbed my arm and tugged me away from my vampire. I had very quickly decide between grabbing on to him tighter or saving my coffee. Unfortunately, my coffee won. So I pouted by my sister's side, muttering unflattering things about her into my coffee.
"Don't worry, I'm ready," our witchy friend tried to reassure the vampires. "If he shows his face, I can take him. Know how."
"The way I see it," Elena added as she wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Next to Bonnie is the safest place that I can be. Come on."
With that said, she used her grip on me to tug me out of the door, ignoring my protests.
XXX
It was safe to say that I was in a mood. Even with the whiskey that I snuck from my flask in-between classes; I was in a mood. Because I really didn't want to be here. It sucked. And I made sure that my sister knew how I felt about that. I made sure my friends knew too. I had spent all of art grumbling to Caroline about it.
Luckily, even after I had finished what was in my flask, one of my new stoner buddies managed to get me a top up. Apparently, he didn't just deal in weed, he had some booze too. And since he owed me a favour, he gave it to me for free. Not that I wasn't willing to pay, as I definitely would have. But he was being a sweetheart. So in-between each class, I snuck away to the toilets to dose up on whiskey. I then chewed gum like my life depended on it, just to hide the smell of it on my breath. Of course, that didn't stop the local vampires from just smelling it on me in general. But since they didn't say anything, I didn't mention it.
The only class that I was looking forward to was Ric's history lesson. Since Isobel's body had officially been found now, her parents had requested a formal funeral and wake. Luckily, they didn't know about Ellie and I, so we didn't have to attend. But as Isobel's husband, Ric did. He had spent the past couple of weeks up in Grove Hill to help with the funeral before going to Duke's university. Since Isobel was now officially dead, her office was being cleaned out. Apparently Vanessa had requested some help since a lot of the stuff there was useful to us lot in Mystic Falls. It was his first day back and I was looking forward to seeing him again.
Despite my little whiskey break, I still made it to class before Ric did. I took my seat next to Elena and immediately sighed. If it wasn't for Ric, then I definitely would have been ditching. Luckily, my sister provided me with a distraction before I decided that running from the room would be a good idea.
She plucked the poster for tonight's 60s dance from her bag and waved it in front of me. I rolled my eyes but smiled. Ellie knew that I would be going. Caroline had dragged me out shopping a few weeks back to buy our dresses for it. Since I was going through a bad time, my dear, sweet Care had insisted that it would take my mind off of everything. Which, to be fair, it did. But it also meant that I couldn't ditch the dance as I had spent money on a dress and I didn't want it to go to waste. Honestly, that girl was a cheeky one.
At my agreement, Ellie turned to her boyfriend. Predictably, Stefan shook his head, looking like the poster boy of disapproval. I wasn't really surprised. Stefan had become obsessed with the idea of the safe house and rarely let my sister out of his sight. I would have been the same, but I had activated one of those tracker apps on her phone, so I knew where she was at all times. Well, at all times when she had her phone on her.
At Stefan's react, my twin pouted and turned to Bonnie, showing her the poster. It took all of a second for Bonnie to smile and nod. I knew how much Bonnie loved the decade dances and there was no way in hell that she would say no to going. With Bonnie's agreement, Ellie shot Stefan a victorious look. As both myself and Bonnie had agreed, aka one of Elena's fiercest protectors (the fiercest, if we're being honest) and the best bodyguard in existence, Stefan had no reason not to take her. And my twin knew it.
Before Stefan could say anything, our history teacher arrived.
Ric walked in, looking particularly rugged. He looked like he hadn't slept in a while, but with everything that he had been going through, I couldn't blame him.
"Hello, class," Alaric greeted us all, sounding decidedly different. "What are we learning today?"
"With the decade dance tonight, we've been covering the sixties all week," Dana piped up, smiling as she answered.
"Right, the sixties," Ric repeated slowly, looking intensely at Elena. He kept his gaze on her a little while past acceptable, to the point where it became noticeable to others, before turning to the board. "The, uh, ahem…"
He wrote '1960s' on the board before turning back to face us all, a distasteful look on his face, "The sixties. I wish there was something good I could say for the sixties, but… actually, they kind of sucked. Except for the Beatles, of course. They made it bearable. Uh, what else was there? The Cuban missile thing, the… we walked on the moon. There was Watergate."
Lol it totally sounded like Ric was drunk. He had never sounded like that while teaching. He was normally so confident while speaking. And he wasn't even around in the sixties, like, why was he saying that the Beatles made it bearable? What a weird thing to say. It was the sort of thing that I expected Damon to come out with.
"Watergate was the seventies, Ric," Ellie piped up with a smile, laughter in her voice. It took a moment to realise what she said as she quickly corrected herself, "I-I mean, Mr Saltzman."
"Yeah, Ric," I snorted, not really caring what others thought. They knew my history with history teachers. Lol, get it? "And you call yourself a history teacher."
"Right," Ric had that weird look on his face again when he looked at my twin. "It all kind of mushes together up here, the sixties, seventies. Thank you, Elena."
The way he said my sister's name was just weird. And I helped too. Honestly, someone should stop Ric from drinking before class. Because he was just weird when he did. Maybe someone spiked his drink. I should investigate. As soon as I finished my latest doodle in my notebook.
XXX
While other students volunteered to help decorate for the decade dance that evening, I had planned on just sneaking away to do more drinking. Maybe even smoke a joint. But alas, my plans were ruined when my sister cornered me on the way out of history.
"You're coming with me," she ordered, grabbing my wrist and pulling me with her.
"Ugh, Elena," I whined pitifully, but I didn't try to resist her pulling.
"Nope, you're coming with me to get something to eat," my annoying twin shot back as she tugged me in the direction of the cafeteria.
"You're saying that like I don't eat," I rolled my eyes as I tugged my wrist from her grip and instead wrapped my arm around her waist. "Because I do eat. You know I eat."
"Yes, but when you're trying to keep your buzz, you don't eat," Ellie gave me a knowingly look, making me look anywhere but her face.
"Don't know what you're talking about," I tried to brush it off, but my sister knew me far too well for that nonsense.
"Alexa, I know you're still drinking," Elena sighed, pulling me to the side of the corridor so she could look me in the eye. "The only reason why I'm not trying to stop it is because you don't seem to be out of control. And I know why you're doing it; it's helping with your nightmares. Maybe if this sacrifice wasn't looming over us, I would be able to help you with them. But I know that you're not in a good place mentally."
"I'm sorry, Ellie," I muttered, shuffling my feet and looking down. "It's not that I want to keep drinking like I am, I just know what will happen if I stop. And I need my focus to be on keeping you alive, and not the stupid nightmares that just won't go away."
"They'll go away, Lexa," my twin was quick to reassure me, pulling me into a hug. "I'll make them."
"I know you will," I gave her a squeeze. "But until that can happen, you're buying me something sweet."
"As her highness commands," Elena rolled her eyes but she smiled as she continued directing me to the cafeteria.
When we entered, we saw Jeremy and Bonnie talking at the other end of the room. But as my lovely twin had agreed to buy me something sweet, we diverted to the food before heading over. I picked out the sweetest thing I could find and presented it proudly to my sister. She rolled her eyes fondly but agreed to get it for me.
Once I had my sweetness, we made our way to our brother and friend, me happily scoffing my mousse pot as I went. It was chocolate mousse, of course. If I was going to kill my boozy buzz, I wanted it to be worth it.
"Hey, Jer," Ellie greeted our brother with a soft smile. "How you doing? Are you okay at the house alone with John? Jenna wanted me to tell you that she was sorry that she had spent so much time on campus recently. Her thesis has been a nightmare but she was hoping to be back today."
"It hasn't been ideal," the kid shrugged, standing up. "But Lexa's been helping me avoid him."
"Damn straight," I nodded, giving my baby bro a fist bump. It was true. I had been helping him keep occupied during the evenings so he only went back home when John was in bed. Sometimes, he just slept over at the Boarding House with me. It wasn't ideal but Damon had let me kit out one of the spare rooms with an Xbox for Jeremy to play with when he was over. I think Damon had sympathised with Jer being stuck with John. Like Ellie said, Jenna's thesis deadline had been quickly approaching so she had spent a lot of time at campus, mainly in the library. So I had done my sisterly duty and helped Jeremy avoid John.
"Has John said anything to you?" Elena asked, looking like she would break the tentative truce between her and our birth father if he had said anything to upset our brother.
"Nah, he hasn't had the chance," Jeremy shrugged it off before starting to back away. "Look, I'm… I'm late for class."
With that said, the kid near enough bolted away. Which was weird. Jeremy had always taken after me and used class as an excuse to avoid a difficult situation. The question was, what was the kid avoiding?
"What's going on?" Elena asked Bonnie as we sat down next to her at the table.
"I told him that he had to dress up tonight and he got all upset," Bon explained with a casual shrug.
"That'll explain it," I smirked while my sister laughed. "He's always hated dressing up for these dances but since you're in luuuuuuurve now he can't say no to you."
"Alexa," Bonnie protested, a cute blush forming on her cheeks. "Did you have to put it like that?"
"Why? Are you not in love?" I acted all shocked, enjoying the sound of my sister giggling beside me. "That'll just break the kid's heart to hear."
"Oh stop it," our friend gave me a playful shove as Dana approached our table.
"Hey D-Bird," I greeted her with a smile, getting one in return. Dana had always been nice to me, even if we didn't talk as much as we used to. We still texted and I showed my face at any parties that she threw. But with all the vampire drama, it was hard maintaining friendships. Especially when you were worried that they would be used against you.
"Hey Alexa," Dana smile before looking at my twin. "Elena, there you are. Okay, this is going to sound freaky, but this totally hot guy just asked me to ask you if you're going to the dance tonight."
"Tell him she has a boyfriend," Bonnie snorted while I nudged my sister playfully.
"Check that out sis, you've got an admirer," I teased her, enjoying the way she blushed and rolled her eyes.
"You could at least meet him," Dana laughed eagerly. "He'll be at the dance tonight. Look for him. His name is Klaus."
With that, all humour disappeared from the table. I froze in my seat, struggling to take in what was just said. Klaus? As in The Klaus? It had to be; how many people were named Klaus?
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Ellie stuttered out in shock, quickly glancing around the room. But we recognised everyone there.
"His name's Klaus," Dana repeated dutifully. "I know the name's stupid, but I sear he's hot."
Bonnie also glanced around the room as she asked, "Where is he? Is he here?"
Dana frowned in confusion, her eyes glancing around, "I don't know."
It was then that it clicked for the witch, "She's been compelled."
"Is it uber disturbing that Klaus compelled her to pass on that he's hot?" I murmured, trying to focus on that instead of the fact that Klaus had just invaded our school. He was here and we didn't realise. It made me think that we really weren't safe here. And that just proved me and Stefan right in our protests over going to school.
"But he wants to know if you'll save him the last dance," Dana's smile immediately returned. "How cute is that?"
XXX
After Dana passed on her message, I immediately went in search of Stefan after ordering Bonnie to keep Elena exactly where she was. As soon as I told the vampire, he immediately ushered us back to the Boarding House. He didn't care if we still had school left, he wanted us somewhere safe. Not that I was going to argue. Klaus' stunt had majorly freaked me out. He could have been right next to my sister and we would never have known. He fucking compelled Dana to pass on his little warning and we had no idea.
The moment we got back to the Boarding House, I immediately retreated into Damon's arms. He opened them up willingly, letting me draw all the comfort I could from him.
Stefan and Bonnie took turns in explaining what happened, although Stefan was just repeating what I had babbled to him. Ellie paced back and forth in front of the doorway, looking frustrated. My skin itched as my mind buzzed for more booze but I just couldn't. Klaus had scared me into needing to keep a clear head. Even if I did want to sink into a pool of whiskey and remain oblivious. But luckily, Damon's touch helped me to fight those urges.
"So we got to the dance, we find him," Damon immediately started plotting once the situation had been explained. I just rested my cheek against his chest as he stroked my side. After what happened, I just wanted to keep my sister locked up in the Boarding House. Even if I knew that she would never agree to it.
"Really? How are you going to do that?" Stefan scoffed, shaking his head and his mind whirred for solutions. "We don't even know what he looks like."
"Something tells me he's not going to be sixteen and pimply," my vampire rolled his eyes but his words drew a snort from me. The thought of Klaus being a skinny little teenager with pimples was an amusing one. And it helped to keep me focussed while we planned out next steps.
"He could be anywhere, at any time. He compelled somebody at school," Stefan pointed out before looking at Elena and Bonnie. "I guess it's not as safe as you guys thought, huh?"
Bonnie winced guiltily while Ellie had a stubborn look on her face. I knew that she would never admit that going to school today was a mistake. My twin yearned for a normal life, especially with all this sacrifice drama going on, and going to school was a big part of that.
Fortunately, before she could say anything back, a knock on the door drew our attention. The knocked quickly opened the door, revealing Ric and Jenna.
"There you are," my oh so polite vampire greeted them. Honestly, it was like he enjoyed being rude. I mean, he probably did. But still, manners didn't hurt.
"Sorry we're late," Ric apologised as he and Jenna walked over to us.
"It was my fault," my aunt winced. "There was a lot of traffic on the way back from campus."
"It's okay," Ellie smiled at her, bringing her into a hug. "Did Ric explain what happened?"
Jenna nodded an affirmative while Damon spoke to Ric, "Hey, I need you to put me down as a chaperone at the dance tonight. Maybe even Jenna too, if she's okay with that. Klaus made his first move."
Ric nodded his agreement while Jenna insisted that she was more than fine to go to the dance. Even when Elena tried to persuade her to stay away, Jenna refused. Our aunt was just as stubborn as my sister, especially when her kids were at risk.
Ellie quickly gave up on persuading Jenna and instead asked, "Okay, so we find him and then what, hmm? What's our plan of attack?"
"Me," Bonnie immediately answered, looking so incredibly confident. "I'm the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel. If you can find him, I can kill him."
While I was amazed by the power I could sense in my friend, not everyone was convinced.
"That's not going to be that easy," Ric spoke up, ever the voice of reason. "I mean, he is the biggest, baddest vampire around."
Ugh, I hated reason. Why couldn't people just let me have my dreams of Bonnie ripping apart Klaus with her super new power? She was an incredibly badass, she could do it.
"Alaric has a point," Damon spoke slowly, gently easing himself away from me. My body immediately felt cold as I lose his touch. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to mimic the feeling of protection that Damon gave me. "I mean, what if he-"
Damon suddenly cut off his words as he rushed at the witch. In a blink of the eye, Bonnie had flung him halfway across the room. She hadn't recited a spell or even moved her hand out. She just stared at him and he went flying. If I wasn't impressed before, I certainly was now. Our Bon-Bon was a certified bad-ass witch.
"Lol, you got wrecked," I muttered as Damon climbed to his feet, a reluctantly impressed look on his face. At my words, he rolled his eyes but quickly returned to his previous position, pulling me close to him.
"Well, I was impressed," Stefan smirked at his older brother, drawing a small giggle from me. The younger vampire definitely looked like he enjoyed that. Not that I could blame him. It was an impressive sight. Even if it was my vampire who was being wrecked like that.
"It doesn't matter if he's an Original," Bonnie stated confidently, looking at my sister. "I can take down anyone who comes at me. I can kill him, Elena. I know I can."
I was inclined to believe her. I wasn't supernatural by any means, but I could just sense the power rolling off of Bonnie. Especially now that she had used it. If anyone could take out Klaus and protect my twin, Bonnie could.
XXX
Since Elena had neglected to buy a dress for the dance, she had to borrow one from the extensive collection of the Salvatore's. It helped that they were packrats and had a tonne of clothes from all the various decades. One day, I would love to go through all of the stuff that they had collected. There would definitely be some fascinating stuff there.
Thanks to Caroline, I was a lot more organised. And even luckier for me, I all of my stuff was currently at the Boarding House. Don't ask me why because I don't remember the exact reason for it. I know that I had brought my dress and accessories while I was spending most of my nights here. So I guess I just forgot to take them home. Either way, it worked out for me.
I took over Damon's room to get ready, as was the norm for me. Especially since I was itching to get my hands on that shower again. I would forever be grateful to whichever Salvatore it was that kept the boiler serviced as I definitely used far too much hot water. It was just so soothing, standing under that water and closing your mind off to everything.
Eventually, I ran out of excuses to stay under the water and reluctantly finished the shower. So I substituted the comfort of the hot water for the comfort of one of Damon's towels. They were giant, Egyptian cotton towels and I felt like a furry burrito when wrapped in one. Not that I was complaining, because they were uber soft and I loved it.
So I kept myself wrapped up while I combed and dried my hair, putting in as much volume as I could. Caroline had ordered me to put as much volume as possible into it, since it was too short to do anything else with it. I had no idea as to how much volume was required, nor did I have the skills to do something fancy to ensure that volume. So I just did my best and hoped that it was good enough.
Once I was happy with my attempt, I slipped on my dress. It was uber colourful. The base colour was a bright pink with swirls of blue, yellow and white decorating it all. The sleeves flared out, covering my hands if I wanted them to, with the dress going down to mid-thigh. When we found it, Caroline had insisted that it was absolutely my style. I couldn't disagree with her, because it really was, but ever since my mood had hit an all time low, bright colours hadn't really been my thing. But in an attempt to pretend that I was doing okay, I agreed to buy and where the dress. I paired it off with white go-go boots and chunky blue jewellery. The size of the beads on my necklace hid my vervain locket well, which meant that I didn't have to find another way to get some vervain onto me. I know I could have just drank some, like Elena had taken to doing. But I didn't like doing that, just in case something happened and Damon, or one of our other vampires, needed some quick and easy blood.
Once I had added some bright blue makeup to complete the look, I just stared at myself in the mirror. I could see all of the signs that showed I wasn't coping well at all. The whiskey that I had sampling while getting ready had given my cheeks a bright flush, even if I had tried to hide it with makeup. I could see the dark circles under my eyes from my lack of sleep. It was the way my shoulders hunched in instead of looking relaxed.
I was so focussed on picking apart my reflection, that I failed to hear the door open or someone enter.
"You look good," Damon's soft voice spoke from behind me, immediately drawing my gaze as I jumped in the air. "Very era appropriate."
"You can thank Caroline for that," I shrugged one shoulder as my gaze returned to studying myself. I had definitely lost weight since I brought the dress, from the way it hung just a tiny bit too lose. "She would have killed me if I didn't try and be as authentic as possible."
Damon hummed as he stepped up behind me. I could feel his warmth against my back as he settled his hands on my hips. I met his gaze in the mirror. His eyes were soft as they studied me, probably finding the same flaws that I did. My nails were short from where I had been biting them, not even the nail vanish could hide that. The skin around them was red and raw too, from where I had resorted to picking at it when the nails were too short to bite.
"You don't have to go tonight if you don't want to," my vampire said, his voice low in my ear.
"I have to," I sighed, not even bothering to protest as I sure as hell didn't want to go. "I need to make sure that Elena is okay. Not that I want her to go, but I know that nothing I can say would change her mind."
"Is that why your drinking has increased?" Damon asked, giving me a knowing look before glancing at the empty bottle by the bed.
"That obvious, huh?" I wrinkled my nose in annoyance, even as my body trembled. I knew that the vampire could feel it from where he stood so close to me. And he could probably smell it too. Not even my perfume could hide the scent of alcohol from a vampire.
"'fraid so," he chuckled lowly, resting his chin on my shoulder. I let my head fall to the side, so that it was resting against his. I took my time examining him. His mesmerising blue eyes, looking almost silver in the light, were filled with a warmth that he rarely showed when people were around. My heart clenched at the level of trust that he showed me by lowering his defences. His dark hair was messily styled in the way that I just loved.
I loved Damon so much, more than I could put into words. But I knew that I couldn't tell him, not yet, anyway. Maybe not ever. I was a mess, more so than normal. And he deserved more than that. Damon had shown that beneath all the bravado and snark, he had a good heart. And he deserved to be with someone who could be strong for him and support him. I was barely supporting myself. Without the crutch of booze, I was a heap on the ground.
"What are you thinking?" Damon murmured, turning me around so that I could face him properly.
"That if someone doesn't spike the punch tonight, then I'll be seriously screwed," I tried to smile, but probably failing, as my vampire brushed my hair from my face.
"You'll be fine," he was quick to reassure me, giving me a soft smile. I was suddenly thankful that my cheeks were already flushed from the booze, as I definitely would have been blushing from the look on his face.
It was then that I noticed what he was wearing, and I was blushing for a whole new reason. Damon had gone for his signature black look. But this time, his shirt was missing a few buttons at the top, exposing the top of his chest and teasing the rest. The button at the bottom was also undone, flashing the odd piece of skin whenever he moved, making you want to see more. My mouth went dry as I suddenly hated how much of a coward I was. If I was braver, I would risk telling him how I felt. Even if I didn't feel worthy of him, I would take that risk. But I was too much of a coward to do so.
And I fucking hated myself for that.
XXX
Despite the fact that we were leaving the same place for the same destination, we took separate cars. Stefan drove Elena to the dance, probably hoping for some alone-time before the insanity of the dance took over. Especially since Klaus was likely to make an appearance.
I went with Damon, craving the sense of calm that he instilled in me. Even with the booze I had downed before we left, I was feeling jittery. All I could think about was how the night could go wrong. How Klaus could swoop in and steal away my sister. How he could hurt one of the people that I cared about. How he could go after Bonnie and she got hurt killing him. The fact that we didn't even know what he looked like made me feel sick. We had no idea what we were looking for and he had already snuck inside our school once.
Due to the lack of pockets on my dress, I wasn't able to bring my trusty flask with me. I had tucked my phone into my left boot, but I couldn't do the same for my flask. If anyone spotted it, I would be screwed. But I needed it. My hands were shaking and I just felt off. I couldn't control my racing thoughts and I just wanted the comfort that my whiskey brought me.
I tapped my fingers against my thighs, glancing out the window at the bright lights of the streetlamps as Damon drove us to the school. I had come to the conclusion that, like the Historical Society events, school dances were cursed. Last time we were attacked by a vampire because my sister was a doppelganger and I ended up with a nasty concussion. This time, our attack would be even more dangerous.
The sight of the school had me freezing in my seat. I was unable to move, with every instinct screaming at me to just run away. I knew that there would be danger in that building and that once again, I would be fearing for my sister's life. And I just couldn't do it. It was all too much.
My heart hammered in my chest as I struggled to breathe. I cursed how much of a coward I was. I wasn't brave enough to go in there and protect my sister. I just wanted to not be there.
A warm hand settled on my knee while the other cupped my cheek. I blinked several times, forcing away the tears, before looking at Damon with desperate eyes.
"Alexa, you need to breathe," he murmured, leaning forward to rest his forehead against mine.
"I can't do this, Damon," I gasped out, feeling my chest hurt as I just couldn't breathe. "I can't watch her be in danger again."
"I know," my Damon soothed, his thumb lightly stroking my cheekbone. "But right now, you need to focus on breathing."
He removed his hand from my knee before grabbing my hand and resting it against his chest, gripping my wrist. He breathed in deeply, encouraging me to mimic his actions, before slowly letting it out. I closed my eyes and focussed on him. On his breathing, trying to match mine to his. I allowed his scent to envelope me, the scent of his aftershave mixing beautifully with his own natural aroma. Despite the tightness in my chest, I slowly managed to even out my breathing until it stopped hurting.
When I was sufficiently calmed down, I slowly opened my eyes, meeting Damon's worried gaze. His grip on my wrist moved so that he was holding my hand, his fingers interlocking with mine. His thumb brushed beneath my eye, wiping away an errant tear.
"I can't keep watching her put herself in danger," I whispered softly, knowing that his keen hearing would pick up my words. "It's too much and I don't know how to stop it from happening… Every single time I think she's safe, something else happens… It's like… every time she walks out the door, I feel like she might not come back."
Damon listened to me, letting out a reassuring hum whenever I paused, struggling to get the words out. He didn't try to say anything, knowing that there was nothing that he could say. Because it was true. All of my fears and worries weren't just in my head. The past few months had proven that Elena was always going to be in danger because of what she was. I couldn't do anything to change that. And I hated that so much.
"Damon," I sighed, savouring his name on my lips. "I just want to go home."
"Soon," he promised me softly, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "We'll let Elena show her face and then I'll take you home."
"Thank you," I smiled weakly as I saw Stefan's car pull into the parking lot. I knew that I had to put my mask back on. I couldn't be weak in front of my sister, otherwise she would spend too much time worrying over me instead of herself. And that couldn't happen. Every one's focus needed to be on my twin and not my own issues. Ellie was more important than me.
I took a deep breath and reluctantly moved away from Damon, instantly missing his warmth. For a moment, I could have almost fooled myself that he missed my touch just as much as I missed his. But I was just imagining things. I wasn't that lucky.
"Here we go," I murmured as I opened the car door and stepped out into the cool night air. I was grateful that I was wearing sleeves for once as I shivered in the night air. I watched as Ellie climbed out of Stefan's car and immediately looked around. Her body relaxed when she caught sight of me and I gave her a quick wave. My twin and her boyfriend approached me while Damon went on ahead.
As tempted as I was to stick to his side like a barnacle, I knew that I had to stay by my sister. It was the easiest way for me to protect her. If I was elsewhere, then I couldn't look after her.
We followed the older vampire; Ellie wrapped her arm around mine as we walked. She was leading us in a specific direction and it wasn't until I looked up that I realised why. While spending all of my time in my head, I had failed to notice Jeremy and Bonnie.
The pair were stood close to the entrance, watching Damon saunter into the building. He paused by the entrance to look over his shoulder at us before stepping over the threshold. I watched him until he was out of my line of sight. The moment that happened, I sighed and smiled at the pair in front of us.
"Hey you two," Elena smiled at them both as she let go of my arm to give Bonnie a hug. "Oh, you look nice."
"You too," Bonnie smiled weakly at my sister while I gave my brother a fist bump. He had an unhappy look on his face but I didn't say anything. I didn't think that any of us were happy with the situation that we had found ourselves in.
"You guys ready to do this?" Stefan asked as we all turned to look at the school. I breathed in deeply and slowly let it out, clenching my fists. I could feel my nails dig into my palms and realised just how much I wasn't ready for this.
XXX
The music from the gym was blasting loudly. If I was in a better frame of mind, then I probably would have started bopping my head along to the tune. But as it was, it was all I could do to just not throw up. Every step closer that I took had my heart pounding in my chest. Not even Damon's grip on my hand could calm me down. We had found him just beyond the door, speaking to Jenna. She had arrived earlier with Ric but wanted to track us down before getting settled into the gym.
The second we stepped through the doors, I started scanning the crowd. One of the benefits of growing up in a small town was that everyone knew each other. And so, I recognised every face in the hall, even if it was only vaguely. That was worrying but also a relief. That meant that Klaus hadn't arrived yet. Hopefully he wouldn't arrive at all.
"Thanks for being here, everybody," Dana said from the stage, speaking into the microphone as she looked around the crowd. "We have a special shout-out tonight."
The feeling of despair in the pit of my stomach grew. The last time Dana had a messaged, she had been compelled by Klaus. And I just knew that it had happened again. Of course, I could have just been being paranoid. But I knew what my luck was like. And I had begun to realise that Klaus was a sicko who liked playing games.
"This is for Elena," Dana spoke those magic words that had me trembling in my go-go boots. "From Klaus."
A new song began to play but I ignored it. My gaze immediately swung to my sister, who was clutching onto Stefan like her life depended on it. Which, to be fair, it kinda did. The scared look on her face was identical to my own.
Damon's grip on my hand grew tighter as he stepped up behind me. I could feel his warmth against my back as he scanned the crowd. But it was exactly the same as last time. We recognised every face there. So where the hell was Klaus hiding?
"That was a lame, cheap shot," Damon eventually snorted, shaking his head. "He's just trying to bait us."
"Well, it's working," I muttered as his free hand landed on my hip. "Even if it was a pathetic move."
"I know everyone here," my twin frowned beside us as she turned to face the group.
"Maybe he's not here," Stefan suggested thoughtfully as he tugged my sister closer to him. "Just wants us to believe that he is."
"Since when we are that lucky, Stef?" I sighed wearily while the younger vampire gave me a sympathetic look.
"It's a party, people," Damon reminded us, breaking through the gloom that had settled, even with the people dancing around us. "Blend. Let him come to us."
"Good idea," Bonnie agreed, shocking us all as Bonnie hated agreeing with Damon, even if they had become reluctant friends. The witch grabbed my brother's arm and started tugging him towards the dance floor.
"No, no, I really don't feel like dancing," the kid protested grumpily, pouting at his girlfriend.
"Too bad," Bon shot back as she managed to get him onto the dancefloor.
I couldn't help but smile at my brother's predicament. No matter what mood I was in, I would always enjoy my brother being grumpy. It was the wicked older sister in me. It was even better because it was his girlfriend making him grumpy. Which meant that I could enjoy it with zero guilt.
"There's Ric," Damon pointed through the crowd. I followed his gesture to see our history teacher standing across the room, bopping his head to the music. "I'll be back."
When he said that, I assumed that he would leave me with Elena and Stefan. But I was wrong. Damon used his grip on my hand to tug me forward with him. Of course, I wasn't going to complain. I knew that my sister was in safe hands as Stefan wouldn't leave her side. And if I was being honest, the only thing stopping me from falling apart was Damon.
Klaus' little taunt earlier had sent my panic into overdrive. And I knew that I wouldn't last long without needing a hit of booze. The unfortunate thing was, I didn't have my flask and I had no way of getting that hit. So if I practically clung to Damon to stop myself from breaking, then I would allow myself that indulgence.
Damon pushed his way through the crowd, tugging me behind him. I let him do all the hard work as I knew from experience that teens would not move when they were dancing. So I let him get all the dirty looks and just focussed on keeping calm. I still hadn't seen anyone new in the crowd but with Klaus' message still ringing in my ears, I knew that he was nearby. The question was: where?
"Special dedication, huh?" Alaric said when we got close enough. "This guy's a little twisted."
When we properly reached Ric, Damon stood next to him while I tucked myself under the vampire's arm. With Jenna preoccupied across the room talking to one of the other chaperones, I knew that I could enjoy it without being bothered. Ric had taken to not saying anything when I got extra clingy with Damon, especially after the night I drunk-dialled him to pick me up.
"I'm not impressed," my vampire shook his head as he wrapped an arm around me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ric glance over at Damon. I must have been going crazy as I could have sworn that he looked disappointed. But that was ridiculous, because why would Ric be disappointed?
"No?" the history teacher questioned, briefly drawing Damon's gaze.
"Let me know if you see anything out of whack," Damon ordered before he was on the move again. This time, he was leading me to the dance floor. Which surprised me, as I would have expected him to lurk around the edges of the room.
When we reached the edge of the dancefloor, Damon spun around, pulling me into his arms. His hands gripped my hips while I automatically wrapped my arms around his neck. We swayed to the music and I suddenly became very aware of the vampire's gaze on me.
I glanced up at him from where I had been scanning the room again. His eyes were fixed on my face, worry clear in those beautiful depths.
"I'm not going to break, you know," I murmured, aware of the other vampire ears in the room.
"I know," Damon returned, his grip on my hips tightening ever so slightly. "But I wouldn't blame you if you did."
"I don't have that luxury," I sighed, hyperaware of the fact that our chests kept brushing against each other with every movement. "Not since Klaus' dramatic little stunt."
"Maybe he is sixteen and pimply," my vampire mused, drawing a small smile from me. "Because that's the sort of move that an idiot kid would pull."
"He's too embarrassed to come out and face us cos he's ugly," I added with a genuine laugh, shaking my head.
Damon's face lit up with one of his gorgeous smirks and I had to fight the urge the blush. Up until then, it had been easy to ignore the grip he had on my hips, so firm and commanding. I could just about ignore our chests brushing against each other's, probably giving him a great view of my cleavage at the same time. But the look on his face reminded me exactly why I had fallen in love with him. He had gone out of his way to make me smile and he revelled in that victory. I never felt ashamed with sharing my feelings with Damon, even if they made me look weak. The vampire had never shamed me for them, instead, he had always gone out of his way to help me reconcile them and make me feel better.
"It would explain a lot," Damon agreed, doing that eye thing that made me tingle.
"If only we could defeat him like the kids in IT did," I sighed, once again scanning the crowd. Or I did, until I noticed the look on Damon's face. "What? I read."
"But Stephen King?" the look of disgust on the vampire's face made me laugh.
"It's a guilty pleasure," I shrugged. "They're easy reads. Not all of us can read stuff like 'Gone with the Wind' all the time."
"But still, Stephen King?"
"I couldn't justify reading the Lord of the Rings again since I had just finished it."
The look on my vampire's chest had me giggling into his chest.
XXX
While we were dancing, we stayed close to my sister. She had been dancing with Stefan until Caroline and Matt's late arrival at the dance. So when he met my eyes over her shoulder, I was ready for him to spin her into my arms.
"Ellie," I greeted her as I wrapped my arms around her waist and tugged her close. Damon stood in front of us, keeping an eye out.
"Hey Lexa," my twin relaxed in my hold and wrapped her arms around me. I breathed in deep, smelling her perfume and relaxing. Knowing that she was safe was one thing. But having her in my arms made it true.
"How you doing?" Damon asked as I brushed some hair from my sister's face.
"Um, freaking out a bit," Ellie answered truthfully, shocking us both at her admission of weakness. "You?"
"Cool as a cucumber," the vampire brushed off, acting like the tough guy he thought he was. At my sister's disbelieving look, Damon rolled his eyes, "Remember the last decade dance? The vampires were all 'arghh!' and you two were all 'ahhh!'."
I couldn't help but giggle into my sister's shoulder at the faces he pulled. And the hand movements. Oh lord, the hand movements. It was actually hilarious. One of the funniest things that I had seen.
"Right," Elena rolled her eyes but I could see a smile tugging at her lips. "And you won."
"Yes!" Damon agreed, pointing his finger for emphasis. "We did."
"And let's not forget, our odds a lot better this time," I added with a shrug. "Bonnie is embracing her witchy powers and is uber powerful. Ric the Vampire Hunter is on our side. And we have another vampire in Caroline."
"You're sounding very optimistic," my twin mused and I tried to avoid her knowing gaze.
"I'm just enjoying the thought of beating the shit out of Klaus once our gang has wrecked him," I brushed it off. Because I was feeling the exact opposite of optimistic. But I couldn't let my sister know that. I needed her to believe that everything would be okay. Because if she believed that, then it might help. Hope was a powerful tool. Even if it could be incredibly cruel too.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Ellie rolled her eyes with an indulgent smile. I had the feeling that I hadn't fooled her for a second. But if that was the case, then my twin was being incredibly kind by playing along. Maybe she needed to believe that we would win too. Especially since it was her life on the line.
Damon left us to our conversation while he scanned the room. He stayed close enough that I didn't even need to extend my arm the whole way to be able to touch him. It was reassuring to know he was there while I teased my sister about her lack of sixties knowledge.
Before my twin could reach the stage where she wanted to throttle me, our dearest aunt appeared by our side.
"Hey Jenna," Elena smiled at her while giving me a quick jab in the side. "How's it going?"
"Well, no one has spiked the punch," Jenna sighed in mock-disappointment. "So not great. What about you two?"
"I'm guessing that you heard Klaus' little message?" Elena asked and Jenna nodded. "That has kinda put a dampener on the evening. But luckily, I have Alexa to drive me up the wall."
"Just doing my sisterly duty," I shrugged casually before deflecting the attention. "You look like crap, Jenna."
"Thanks Alexa," our aunt rolled her eyes before giving me a look. "I've been pulling some late nights trying to get this thesis finished."
"And that's why college sucks," I gave my sister a smug look and she rolled her eyes.
"You're still going to look into applying," my twin nudged me. "You're going to consider all of the factors before you disregard it."
"Killjoy," I muttered before looking at Jenna. "I haven't seen Ric in a while, where did he go?"
"I don't know," she frowned before looking around for her boyfriend. "Does he seem… odd… to you?"
Elena and I exchanged glances before my twin asked, "What do you mean?"
"I don't know," Jenna sighed in frustration, sounding like she couldn't quite describe it. "It might be nothing, especially since Isobel just properly died. But he just feels a bit off. I know that we haven't really spoken the past couple of weeks, what with him helping with the funeral and me being on campus finishing my thesis. But he just doesn't feel right."
"We'll help you figure it out," I offered just as Stefan reappeared.
"Figure what out?" he asked, looking between us all.
"Ric's on drugs," I blurted out, saying the first thing on my mind. I had no idea why I did so, but it achieved something that I always loved. Elena laughed and rolled her eyes, but the sound of her laughing warmed my heart.
"Alexa," Jenna sighed wearily but I could see that she was hiding a smile. "Stefan, want to take her off our hands while we have a serious discussion?"
"You say that like I'm incapable of being serious," I protested weakly, pouting at their meanness. But I knew what they were doing. They were trying to keep me distracted so that I wouldn't worry about yet another thing.
So I didn't fight when Stefan grabbed my hand and tugged me onto the dancefloor. We stayed relatively close to the others but not close enough that I could hear what they were saying over the music.
I rested my hands on Stefan's shoulders while he placed his on my waist. We swayed to the music while Stefan made sure to keep an eye on my sister.
"This sucks, Stefan," I eventually sighed, letting my head fall back so that I was staring up at the ceiling. "Are we ever going to be able to enjoy a school dance?"
Stefan returned my sigh, "One day we will, Alexa."
"I hope so, Stef. Cos Ellie has always loved the decade dances and it sucks that they keep getting ruined."
Stefan gave me a knowing look, "Don't you enjoy them too?"
"Well, yeah," I shrugged awkwardly, trying to ignore what he was hinting at. "But Elena enjoys them more and that's what counts here. Cos she is the one in danger all the time. I'm just danger adjacent."
"I think you underestimate just how much danger you have been in too."
"I haven't," I lied through my teeth. "But I think we can both agree that they would have ignored me in favour of Elena if made to choose. Which is totally awful. Not that I want to be in danger, cos I really don't. But my twin has been in more danger and I would do anything I could to keep her safe and reduce the danger she's in."
Stefan's face was gentle as he gripped my chin and made me look at him, "Alexa, you do know that your life is important too."
I didn't have anything to say to that.
XXX
It didn't take long for Damon to cut in and whisk me away. He let me relax in his arms while he kept an eye out for any strangers in the room. Unfortunately, he didn't notice any. Our search for Klaus was not going well at all.
After a while, he dropped me off with my sister before heading over to Bonnie. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my head against her shoulder.
"Ellie, I'm tired, can we go home yet?" I grumbled into her shoulder as she rested her head against the top of mine.
"Soon, Lexa," my twin said, giving my hand a pat. "We can go soon."
"Sweet."
We watched as Damon interrupted Jeremy and Bonnie's little dance together. He gestured to the witch, who nodded, before Jeremy walked away. The kid looked around the room before his gaze settled on us. Jeremy quickly pushed his way through the crowd towards us.
"Hey kiddo," I held my fist out for a fist bump, which he returned before standing on the other side of Elena. We all watched as the witch and the vampire danced together.
"This is so weird," I remarked as a small smile formed on Bonnie's face.
"How did I miss those two becoming friends?" Ellie frowned, glancing over at me.
"Well, reluctant friends would be a better way of phrasing it," I mused thoughtfully. "But they've had a shared goal of saving you, which has helped them bond. Plus, I make them be nice to each other whenever I'm with them, so I guess that's helped too."
"A shared goal, huh?" Ellie looked slightly displeased by that.
"Yeah, as inconvenient as this whole sacrifice bullshit is, it's had its uses," I teased her gently, nudging her with my elbow.
"Well, as useful as it is that they are now reluctant friends," Elena fixed her gaze back upon the witch and vampire dancing in front of us. "It means that they can now plot together. Which I don't like."
"Only because their plotting means that you can't do something stupid," I pointed out, receiving a glare in return. "Don't look at me like that, you know it's true."
"I'm not the one who does stupid things, Alexa," my twin grumbled petulantly, crossing her arms.
"The past few months say otherwise, twinnie," I shrugged, knowing that she couldn't argue against that, even if she wanted to.
So my twin ignored my perfectly logical point to grouse, "What are they up to?"
"Who knows?" Jeremy spoke up for the first time, a grumpy look on his face as he looked at his girlfriend.
Ellie and I exchanged a glance. This was beyond the normal level of grumpiness from him. It was actually getting quite worrying. What was going on with him? Was there trouble brewing between him and Bonnie already?
"Is there something going on, Jer?" Elena asked softly, resting a hand on his arm. "You okay?"
"Fine," the kid replied shortly, not taking his eyes off of Bonnie. "I'm fine."
"You're clearly not fine," I snorted, shaking my head.
Jeremy glanced over at us, an unreadable look in his eye as he looked at our sister. He opened his mouth to say something before shaking his head and walking off.
"Well, shit," I wrinkled my nose in annoyance. "Think I should go after him?"
"Give him some time," Elena said wisely as Stefan took Jeremy's place.
"Everything alright?" the vampire asked, glancing between us and Jeremy.
My twin sighed, "I'm not sure."
"He's been acting weird all evening," I added as I watched Jeremy walk through one of the exit doors. "And it's beyond his usual level of weirdness. It's rather worrying. Especially since Bonnie seems fine."
"Do you want me to go talk to him?" Stefan asked seriously, looking straight at my sister and only at her.
"If you could," Ellie sighed, looking up at him with her beautiful brown eyes. "We would appreciate it."
Stefan smiled down at sweetly before giving her a quick kiss and leaving. I watched him make his way through the crowd with annoyed eyes. I see how it was. So rude. Like seriously, so so rude.
"How come he is allowed to go speak to Jeremy but you wouldn't let me?" I pouted in annoyance while giving my sister a look.
"Because he is a lot calmer than you are right now," Elena replied, giving me a knowing look. "I know that you haven't had a drink for a while and I know that is making you all jittery. If Jeremy gave you some attitude, then you would only make things worse."
"I don't know what you are talking about," I sniffed, looking away from my sister's worried eyes. "I'm not feeling jittery at all."
"Then try standing still," Ellie countered, crossing her arms. "You haven't stopped moving all evening. Well, the only time you've been still is when you're with Damon."
"That's not true," I protested, even though I knew that it really was. "I can be still. See? I'm being still now."
Of course, I had to hide my hands behind my back. Because she was right. I was either moving from side to side or I was playing with my magic ring. I regretted not smuggling my flask in with me. Especially after my moment of weakness earlier, in Damon's car. I knew that I needed a drink to calm my nerves. But the punch still hadn't been spiked and I couldn't see any of my stoner pit suppliers. So I had nowhere to get a drink and it was driving me up the wall.
Especially since Klaus was yet to make his move. Maybe he wasn't here and he just compelled Dana earlier. If he did like the mind games as much as I thought he did, then that would be the sort of move that he would play. The thought of freaking us out and not even being there probably made him feel all tingly inside.
I ignored my sister's gaze as I realised just how fucked we all were.
XXX
It didn't take long for Stefan to whisk Elena away. And for the first time that evening, I was left on my own. Which was not a good thing. My mind had not stopped whirring. I could feel the familiar itch under my skin, which sucked because it hadn't really been that long since I last had a drink. But either way, my body wanted another one. And there wasn't one to be found.
I drummed my nails against the table that I was leaning against. My drink sat in front of me, untouched. I couldn't bring myself to take a sip. Which was annoying because I was genuinely thirsty. But the thought of having a drink made me feel ill.
I glanced around the room, once again failing to notice any strangers. That was incredibly frustrating. I mean, it's not like I wanted Klaus to appear. Because him appearing would be some bad shit and then my sister would be in even more danger. But I didn't like the not knowing. After his little message earlier, it would have been safe to assume that he was around. And if he was, then I could have properly prepared for it. But the uncertainty was killing me.
"You look like you're enjoying yourself."
I glanced to the side to see Bonnie standing next to me. She had a small smile on her face when she looked over at me.
I rolled my eyes, "It's the most fun that I have ever had."
"I can tell," my friend laughed as she leant against the table. "Seriously though, you can leave if you want to. I can look after Elena until she decides to leave."
"Nah, I can't," I sighed, shaking my head. "If anything happened and I wasn't here, I would never forgive myself."
"You can't be around to protect her all the time," Bonnie said gently, resting her hand on mine. Her skin felt warmer than normal, probably a side effect of all her extra power. Just being able to feel it was reassuring. It was one thing knowing that she had that power, it was another thing being able to feel it.
"Logically I know that," I decided to be truthful for once. I knew that I could trust Bonnie with these feelings as she probably felt them too. "But I just get so scared when I can't see her. And while I know that I can't actually protect her against vampires, I just have to try."
Bonnie gave my hand a squeeze with a sympathetic smile, "As long as you don't get yourself hurt too. I can't look after both of you."
"Oh please, I'm not the one who needs looking after," I brushed that off, knowing that I wouldn't be able to deal with the emotions that came with Bonnie's words. "I'm the sensible twin, remember?"
"Alexa, you wouldn't know what sensible was if it came along and bit you," my witchy friend laughed, warming my heart. There was just something about Bonnie's laugh that made me want to laugh too. She could be so serious at times, especially since her witchy powers properly started to appear. So making her laugh was an achievement and one that I loved to revel in.
"I'm almost tempted to be offended by that," I sniffed dramatically, throwing my head back.
"Well, while you decide if you want to be offended," Bonnie smiled cheekily, pointing to something behind me. "You can enjoy the view."
I blinked in confusion before glancing over my shoulder.
Well, Bonnie was right. There definitely was a view. Our resident bad boy vampire had decided that he would enjoy the evening. Damon had found a couple of girls to party with. I felt a twinge of jealousy as he danced between them, hands on hips and shoulders and chests. But I ruthlessly pushed it down. Damon deserved to have fun, especially since he spent so much time looking after me and my idiot twin.
"Lol, I love it," I couldn't stop myself from giggling at the sight of him bopping along to the sixty's music.
"I'm sure you do," my friend had that annoying knowing look in her eye. Honestly, at this point, I was sure that there was some kind of conspiracy against me. All of my friends and family were ganging up on me when it came to my feelings for Damon.
"I have absolutely no idea as to what you are talking about, Ms Bennet," I refused to look over at my friend and instead watched Damon dance. I enjoyed the contented look on his face as he emersed himself in the music.
"You should just tell him," Bon pushed gently, giving my hand a squeeze. "You know he feels the same way."
As much as I wanted to, I just couldn't let myself believe her words. Because if I did, then there would be no excuse to not tell him. And I just wasn't ready for that. Damon deserved to be with someone strong. And I was anything but strong. I was weak and scared and incapable of dealing with the situation without drinking. Damon deserved better than that. And I wasn't going to put him in the situation where he had to be disappointed with what he got.
"I can't do that, Bonnie," I sighed, shaking my head, feeling my earrings sway with the movement. "You know I can't. Not with everything going on."
Bonnie stared at me before speaking slowly, choosing her words carefully, "You know, Alexa, you do deserve to be happy."
"Bonnie, how can I be happy when my twin is in danger of being sacrificed by the most powerful vampire in existence?" I tried to smile as I spoke, to soften the words but I knew that I had failed when Bonnie winced.
Fortunately for me, before the witch could begin to counter that statement, my sister made an appearance. And she did not look happy.
Elena glanced between us before focussing on Bonnie, "I need to talk to you."
I exchanged a look with Bonnie before the witched opened her mouth to say something. But apparently, my sister was not in the mood for talking as she grabbed Bonnie's arm and started pulling her from the room.
I watched them go for a second before moving to catchup. I had absolutely no idea as to what was going on. But I knew that it wouldn't be good.
XXX
Elena led us outside, away from the party and the music and the dancing. I followed behind them, worried about the resigned look on Bonnie's face. Whatever it was, it was some bad shit. And that was the last thing that we needed.
"How could you not tell me?" my sister asked once we were far enough away from the building. Despite the frustrated look on her face, you could hear the sadness in her voice. My sister was upset and I needed to find out why.
"Cos I knew how'd you react," Bonnie shrugged uncomfortably, looking like she did not want to have this conversation.
"Um, do I get to find out what's happening here?" I cut in, raising my hand to get their attention.
Bonnie looked like she really didn't want me to find out what was happening. But my sister had other ideas. The frustrated look on her face softened slightly as she sighed.
"Elena, don't," Bonnie started to say but my sister cut her off.
"No, Bonnie, she deserves to know," my sister gave our friend a stern look before she glanced over at me. "The witches warned Bonnie that if she used her new power to kill Klaus, that it would kill her too."
I froze.
My mind whirred as I glanced between my friend and my sister. If Bonnie killed Klaus, then she would die? So I would either lose my twin sister or one of my best friends?
"Bonnie, is that true?" I whispered into the night air, staring at my friend with wide eyes. I wanted her to say that it wasn't, that I wouldn't have to lose someone that I care about. But from the look on her face, I knew that it was pointless to hope.
Bonnie shifted uncomfortably under my gaze, unable to look me in the eye, "There's a chance that I might not survive. But that's the same with all magic. There isn't any guarantee that they are right."
"I don't care," Ellie stepped in, shaking her head as she fought back tears. "It's not an option, Bonnie, not at all."
"It's our only option," our friend countered, shaking her head wearily.
"Then we'll find another way, okay?" my twin said fiercely as her eyes glistened. She grabbed Bon's hand as the witch looked away. "Bonnie, you're not dying to save my life."
"I have the power to save you!" Bonnie looked just as fierce as my sister did. "If I don't use it and something happens, that would kill me more."
My sister knew the truth in those words. Because she would feel the same way. As would I. If I had the power to save someone that I cared about and didn't use it, it would kill me. The guilt would be overwhelming. And I knew that Bonnie was feeling the same way. Our friend was one of the most caring people that we knew and she always felt that she had to save everyone.
"I can't let you," Elena looked sad as she said those words. It must have been so upsetting for her to know that her life be saving could cost Bonnie hers. My twin had always been so stubborn about people dying for her. It's why she initially wanted to give herself up to the sacrifice without fighting, because the people she loved would be on danger if she fought. And now she had found out that her survival would cost her her best friend.
"Just answer one question," Bonnie's voice was so soft and gentle, that it was painful to hear. "If the situation was reversed, would you do it for me?"
Elena couldn't answer that as we all knew what the truth was. Elena would give her life for Bonnie. She would give her life for all of her friends and family. To say otherwise would be hypocritical. To tell Bonnie that she couldn't would be hypocritical.
"So you know why I have to," Bonnie finished gently with a small smile.
"No," Ellie shook her head, wiping away an errant tear. "Bonnie, I don't want you to die for me."
"How is Bonnie's suicide mission any different from yours?" I spoke up for the first time in a while, staring down at the ground as I did so. I felt their gazes on me and glanced up. Ellie's eyes were filled with tears, a betrayed look on her face. Bonnie looked sympathetic, understanding where I was coming from. "You were so determined to die for us not that long ago. And I'm willing to be that you are still making backup plans to give your life for us if things get fucked up. So how is Bonnie's plan any different to yours?"
I stayed silent for a couple of minutes. I knew that Elena wouldn't say anything. Because what could she say? But I gave her a moment for the words to sink in before I turned to look at the witch.
"Not that I want you to die, Bonnie. And if you do then I will be incredibly pissed off and will find a way to bring you back to life so that I can kill you myself for dying. Losing you is just not an option so we will find another way to kill Klaus that doesn't involve you dying. Basically, neither of you are allowed to die and I will be super pissed off if you do."
Silence followed my words and I could see that Bonnie wanted to say something. But she never got the chance to.
Ric came running up to us, a panicked look on his face, "Elena!"
My twin shared an urgent look with me before she turned to the history teacher, "What is it?"
"He has Jeremy," Ric's words had my blood running cold. I had been so focussed on my twin that I hadn't even considered that my brother could be used as a hostage. And now he had been taken. And I was dying inside. My baby brother was in danger and I wasn't even aware.
"What?" Elena exclaimed loudly in panic. Her cry quickly echoed by Bonnie. I stayed silent, still in shock at Ric's words.
"Yeah, Klaus has Jeremy," Alaric said urgently, gesturing back towards the school. "Come on."
The history teacher led the way back towards to the school, taking us to one of the side entrances. My heart pounded in my chest as I followed my sister. I struggled to breathe as we slipped through the door, Ric waving us through. My brother was in danger. Klaus had my brother. Klaus wanted my sister too. My whole family was in danger and it was all because of Klaus. I had no way of killing him, not by myself. And the only one who could help me was Bonnie, and she would die if she helped.
I was barely aware of where we were going, so caught up in my thoughts. I was vaguely aware of Ric leading us through the hallways, further away from the gym. We couldn't hear the music anymore and it had been ages since we saw anyone else.
"Okay, so where are you taking us?" my twin asked as we got to the other side of the school.
"Just a little further," Ric muttered lowly, glancing from side to side. I was suddenly reminded of how strange he had been acting recently. Something wasn't feeling right and it wasn't just the thought of my brother being in danger.
I slowed my pace before reaching forward to grab my sister's arm. She glanced back at me, her gaze meeting mine, and it became clear that she was feeling the same way. At her tiny nod, I reached to the side and grabbed Bonnie's arm too.
"Wait," Elena called forward to the history teacher in front of us. "Something's not right."
"Where's Jeremy?" Bonnie added as I used my grip on my sister to pull her behind me. Every instinct in my body was screaming at me to run away. There was danger nearby and Ric was acting weird. Bonnie must have been feeling the same way as she stepped forward, blocking his view of my sister with her body.
Ahead of us, Alaric stopped walking and turned around. There was a weird look on his face as he laughed and that instinct started screaming louder. Something was very very wrong with Ric and I just didn't know what.
"I just had to get away from that dance," he said with a broad grin, looking predatory. "The sixties, ugh. Not my decade." He shook his head and laughed again, sending ice down my spine. "I mean, whose call was that, anyway? I much prefer the twenties. The style, the parties, the jazz."
Elena tried to step forward so that she was next to me, but I used my grip on her arm to keep her behind me. But that didn't stop her from speaking.
"Alaric," she called cautiously as I shifted so that I was blocking her from his view. "Are you on vervain?"
"Now, why would you ask me that question, Elena?" Ric asked charmingly, taking a step forward. I pushed my sister back a step, pulling Bonnie with me. My movement drew his attention for a moment and the cold look in his eyes took my breath away.
"He's being compelled," Ellie lowered her voice to speak to me and Bonnie. There was a breathless panic in her voice, one that I shared. We were all alone with a weird acting Ric. We had no idea who else was around and Bonnie couldn't use her magic without losing her strength.
"Nope," Ric smirked wickedly, looking like he was enjoying this far too much. "Try again."
I exchanged a look with Bonnie as my sister's panic momentarily took control, "What's going on?"
"Okay, I'll give you a hint," Ric said generously before leaning forward to mock-whisper, "I am not Alaric."
It took barely a second for his meaning to sink in. And I wanted to cry. We were doomed. We were so fucking doomed.
"Klaus!" Ellie breathed out shakily, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. Hard. Klaus was possessing one of the people we cared about. How could we defeat someone who did that? He could be anyone at any time and we would have no idea. We were so fucked.
Ric, Klaus, Klaric? Whatever, the ass smiled widely, holding his arms out to the side, "Surprise!"
"Oh no," Ellie whispered as I shuffled her backward. "No, it's not possible."
"Just relax, Elena," Klaric rolled his eyes at my twin. "I'm not here to hurt you. You're not on my hit list tonight." His gaze flickered towards me and it was only the stubborn determination to protect that my twin that stopped me from running away. "I'm not even after you, Alexa. Although it is nice to see you again."
Again?
See me again?
When had I seen him before? How long had he been in Ric? Did he mean before he was in Ric? Oh god, had I met Klaus before? No, don't think about it, Alexa. It's an issue for another time. A time when Klaus wasn't just feet away from my twin.
Klaus looked at Bonnie, a predatory look in his eye, "But you are."
My blood ran cold and I froze where I stood as the monster started to walk forward, his gaze fixed upon the witch in front of me. I had no idea how to protect her from this. But luckily, she did.
Bonnie used her new powers to fling Klaric backwards, forcing him into the wall. He crashed into it with a loud bang before he collapsed to the floor. For just a second, everything was still. A part of me hoped that this had taken Klaus out. But even as I hoped, I knew that it was a foolish hope. We weren't that lucky. And I was quickly proven right.
Klaric groaned and pushed himself to his feet. That wicked smirk was still fixed to his face, "Now, did I mention that I knew a witch? You're gonna have to hit me a lot harder than that."
The possessed human rushed forward and Bonnie took the challenge. She flung him backwards into the display case. Glass and wood crashed to the ground, followed by Ric's body. But that didn't seem to have slowed him down.
The laughing started again as Klaus looked up with blazing eyes, "By all means… Fire away!" He pushed himself to his feet. "If you kill this body, I'll just get a new one. Maybe Jeremy."
It was the mention of our beloved Jeremy that got us moving. It was a reminder that we weren't alone. That we had vampire backup not that far away.
I started pushing my sister back the way we came before glancing back to make sure that Bonnie was following. She was right behind me, urging us forward.
As we ran away, I made sure that my sister was always ahead of me. While I knew that she wasn't the one in danger tonight, I still had to make sure that she was okay. I could see Bonnie out of the corner of my eye. With each door that we passed through; Bonnie used her magic to slam it shut behind us. I had no idea if it was enough to stop Klaric, but it was something.
I had no idea how long we had been running when we crashed into Damon. Quite literally. We ran around a corner and he was there. I had never been so grateful to see him. The panic that had gripped my body eased slightly. We had Damon to protect us now. We weren't alone.
"What happened?" he asked urgently, glancing between us. I kept glancing behind us, feeling jittery now that we had stopped moving. Klaus was still on his way and we had to get out of here. Even with Damon now with us, I didn't like the fact that we had stopped.
"Klaus is in Alaric's body," Ellie gasped out in answer as I shoved her forward, closer to the vampire.
"What?" Damon frowned in confusion before glancing at me and Bonnie for elaboration.
I let Bonnie answer the question as I tugged her forward too, "He's possessing it or something."
A look of understanding flashed across Damon's face before it hardened. He glanced behind us, in the direction that he had ran from before looking at my sister.
"Go find Stefan," he ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Now."
"Okay," Ellie nodded, already moving backwards, pulling me with her.
"Now," Damon repeated sharply, urging us to move faster.
Ellie did as ordered and started running down the corridor, pulling me with her. As much as I wanted to argue and stay with Damon, all of my instincts were urging me to stay with my sister and protect her. I couldn't let her run around the school on her own. Just because Klaus was after Bonnie didn't mean that he didn't have someone in the school ready to take my sister when ordered to. The only way I could protect her was to stay with her.
XXX
We returned to the dance and pushed our way through the crowd, looking for Stefan. The dance was still in full swing, music blaring and people dancing. I let my sister push her way through everyone, I just concentrated on watching her back. If I focussed on anything other than my twin, then I was afraid that I would have a meltdown.
I caught a glimpse of Caroline just before she saw us. I saw her eyes widen in worry before she glanced over at Matt. Poor, sweet, oblivious Matt. I knew that we would have to hide our panic, especially when Caroline approached us.
"Hey!" the blonde called, quickly getting my sister's attention. "Are you okay?"
"Um… yeah," Ellie replied vaguely, glancing over at Matt before continuing to scan the room in search of her boyfriend. "I'm just… I'm just looking for Stefan."
Caroline didn't look convinced and pushed for an answer, "Seriously, what's wrong?"
As much as I wanted to tell her, with Matt by her side, the truth couldn't come out. After his little freak out, we couldn't let Matt find out anything. And unfortunately, that made things difficult when it came to dangerous situations.
"Um, just, um," Elena stuttered as something caught her attention. "Just stay with Matt, okay?"
With that said, my twin pushed her way through the crowd, leaving us in silence. I watched as she approached Stefan, an urgent look on her face. I went to follow her but was stopped by a hand gripping my wrist.
I glanced behind me to see Caroline staring at me with serious eyes, "Alexa, what's happening?"
I panicked and blurted out the first thing that came into my mind, "John fell down the stairs again so we're looking for Stefan so that he can take us home to go laugh at him."
Caroline knew that was bullshit as I had earlier complained that John was spending all his time at the Grill which meant that I couldn't go there after the dance. But it did the job. She let go of my wrist as Matt spoke up, "I think Elena's found Stefan, so you can go and look after him. We'll let Jenna know if we see her."
"You're a diamond," I smiled far too brightly and manically, patting Matt's cheek. "I've got to go now. Toodles. Have fun. Don't do anything that I wouldn't do."
With that said, I pushed my way through the crowd, towards Stefan and my sister. I didn't care that I was elbowing people out the way. It really wasn't the time to be worrying about manners.
When I reached them, Elena was urgently explaining the situation to Stefan. Stefan was frowning deeply before looking at the exit that Elena was gesturing towards. He nodded at her words before glancing over at me.
"We need to go," I told them, ignoring the pounding in my chest, before turning to the exit. I knew that they would be following me. So I just shoved my way through the crowd again, ignoring the dirty looks that were sent my way.
When I reached the exit, I shoved the door open and started running again. It had taken far too long to find Stefan and, in that time, Bonnie and Damon could be anywhere. And there was no way of working out where they could have gone. So, I decided to start with where we last saw them.
Behind me, I could hear my sister and Stefan keeping pace with me. While Stefan could have rushed ahead to find them, he decided to stay with us. A part of me appreciated that, as it meant that I had someone else to help keep an eye on my twin. But it was also inconvenient as it meant that we had to search for them at a human pace.
As we followed the twists and turns of the school corridors, a door opened ahead of us.
Panic immediately gripped my heart as my first thought was that Klaus had found us. But my body relaxed when I saw that it was Damon.
"Oh thank god," I gasped as I dived forward. I checked him over for injuries before I noticed that he was alone. I glanced frantically behind him as I gripped onto the vampire's leather jacket.
"There you are," my vampire said, his hands coming up to grip my elbows.
"What are you doing?" my sister immediately snapped as she, too, looked around for our witch. "Where's Bonnie?"
"She's doing what she has to do," Damon's voice was soft. Normally, that would comfort me, but this time, it just heightened my worry. Bonnie not being with us was a bad sign. And the fact that she had apparently planned something with Damon was even worse.
"What?" Elena gasped as she realised what was happening. Bonnie was fighting Klaus. And that meant one thing: Bonnie was in danger of dying. We weren't ready for that. I hadn't had enough time to work out a way to save her. And now she was fighting Klaus.
"Where is she?" Stefan demanded from his brother.
"Stefan, let her do this," Damon gave the younger vampire a significant look. I didn't have the mental energy to try and work out what the hidden message was. All I could think about was the fact that Bonnie was going to die. And there was nothing that I could do to stop it.
"Damn it, Damon, where is she?!"
Stefan's shouting had no effect on his brother, so he turned away in disgust.
"Stefan, what do we do?" Ellie looked at the younger vampire with wide eyes, practically begging him to come up with a solution. I stood to the side, feeling numb. I knew that I needed to do something, to help, but I just couldn't. I just felt so numb.
Stefan stood still for a moment and closed his eyes. You could see that he was concentrating, from the way his forehead crinkled and his eyes squeezed shut. It took me a moment to realise that he was listening for her. If she was still in the school, then he would be able to hear her. Luckily, it appeared that she was nearby.
The vampire's eyes flew open and he grabbed my sister's arm, "I know where she is."
"Then let's go," my twin said just as urgently, giving Damon a dirty look as she did so. Oddly enough, the older vampire remained silent, not even trying to stop them from chasing after our witch.
I didn't have much time to ponder that, as Elena and Stefan started running down the corridor. Before I followed them, I glanced over at Damon. He had a regretful look on his face but he gestured after them. I took the hint and started running, trusting my vampire to follow me.
We ran through the school, Stefan leading the way, until we made it to the canteen. It looked like a hurricane had struck it. Or an incredibly strong witch. Flyers and posters covered the tables and floor. The lights flickered erratically, casting an eerie atmosphere. And in the centre of it all stood Bonnie. Our sweet Bonnie.
Blood trickled from her nose, dripping down her face and onto her chest. She was hunched over, looking like she barely had the energy to stand. But it was the resigned look on her face that scared me the most. She knew what was going to happen and she wasn't fighting it.
Just as Stefan and Elena reached the doors, they slammed shut in their faces. Not even Stefan's vampire strength could push them open. Bonnie had magically sealed them and nothing was going to open them until she allowed it.
I staggered back, collapsing against the lockers, while my sister banged frantically on the door. Her tearful cries broke my heart as we watched the showdown within the locked room.
I could just about see Klaus crawling across the floor, his foot sticking out at an awkward angle. A small part of me hoped that Alaric wasn't feeling this. That he wasn't aware of what was happening to his body. But then the lights exploded and my mind went blank.
Sparks rained down, lighting up Bonnie's face. My sister started screaming as she gave up banging on the door. Even my stubborn sister had realised that the doors weren't opening until Bonnie wanted them to.
Our sweet Bonnie glanced back at us and smiled. She looked angelic, with the lights sparking around her. But blood still dripped from her nose, staining her beautiful smile. It was a goodbye smile. And it broke my heart.
Klaus pulled himself to his feet and our friend turned back to face him. And I knew that it was the last time that we would see her smile. I didn't see what happened but all of a sudden, Bonnie's body jerked violently before collapsing to the floor.
The room went dark and the doors fell open under Stefan's fists. The pair wasted no time in rushing forward, eager to get to our witchy friend. I staggered forward slowly, not wanting to see my fears come true. But they had. I fell to my knees as I reached the doorway, my legs unable to support me as I saw Bonnie's body just lying there.
"No!" my twin sobbed as she collapsed at Bonnie's side and pulled her into her arms. "Oh, Bonnie! Bonnie, Bonnie! Bonnie!"
She sobbed our friend's name like a prayer, desperately begging her to wake up. But it was hopeless. Bonnie was gone.
"Stefan, she's not breathing!" Elena looked at the vampire with tearful eyes. "Stefan! Stefan, I can't find her pulse. Stefan! Do something, please! Stefan, please! Just giver her blood, do something, please!"
I couldn't see the look on Stefan's face, but I could feel his regret from where I sat, "It's too late. I'm sorry."
My sister's face crumpled and she started sobbing in earnest. I wanted so desperately to go to her and comfort her. But I just couldn't move. I was frozen in place, unable to comprehend what just happened.
I was barely aware of my surroundings. So when a gentle hand landed on my shoulder, I jolted in place before glancing up. Damon crouched down next to me, a soft look on his face. He reached out and wiped away a tear. I hadn't even realised that I was crying. But now I could feel the tears falling, slow and steady.
"Come on, baby," he murmured as he helped me to my feet. My legs shook and threatened to collapse again. But Damon kept me on my feet, a strong arm wrapped around my waist.
"Stefan," he called softly, as he helped me forward. "Get the twins out of here. I'll deal with the body."
"What do you mean, deal with it?" Ellie looked at him with venomous eyes as she clutched Bonnie's closer to her.
Damon's tone was soft in a way that I hadn't heard before, "The sheriff can't know about this. Last thing we need is another mysterious death."
"This is Bonnie!" Elena exclaimed loudly, still refusing to accept what happened.
Damon clearly recognised that my sister would not be reasoned with, as he looked at his brother, "Get them home. Now. So I can clean this up."
Stefan nodded and climbed to his feet, before walking over to my sister. While he coaxed her to his feet, Damon gently turned me around and cupped my face. It took me a moment to focus on his face.
"I need you to go with Stefan, okay?" he asked quietly, brushing my hair from my face. "I'll come get you later."
I nodded slowly, vaguely aware of what I was agreeing to. But my brain short-circuited again when Damon pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. My eyes flickered closed and my breath stuttered. Before I could even begin to think again, Damon was gently pushing me over to Stefan.
"No, Jeremy," my sister was rambling through her sobs. "Oh my god, Jeremy. What about Jeremy?"
"I'll find him," the older vampire reassured her as he crouched down next to Bonnie's body.
Stefan wrapped an arm around my sister, pulling her close to his chest before reaching out and grabbing my hand. He gently led us from the room where our friend's body rested.
XXX
Stefan had taken us back to the Boarding House.
He had gotten Elena settled into one of the chairs in the parlour with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. I had kicked off my boots and sat down on the sofa, curled up in the corner. I wrapped my arms around my knees and buried my face in them.
I could just about hear Stefan murmuring kind words to Elena as he tired to persuade her to take a drink. I had heard him pour a glass from the booze table behind me. He had said something about it helping with the shock.
"Hey," he said softly as he crouched down in front of her. "Here, drink this."
"I can't," my twin whispered, shaking her head as tears continued to drip down her face.
"Yeah, you can," Stefan reached out to wrap her hands around the glass. "Please drink this."
I watched through tired eyes as Elena lifted the glass to her lips. But before she could take a sip, she started crying again. I ached to reach out and comfort her. But I wasn't able to. I still couldn't believe that Bonnie had just died. And I knew that I was a second away from breaking down myself.
"This is my fault," my twin sobbed as the drink shook in her hand and my heart broke.
"No, no, no, no, no, no," Stefan was quick to reassure her as he took the drink from her shaking hands. "Hey. This was Klaus. Listen to me." He cupped her face and forced her to meet his gaze. "Klaus did this."
Klaus killed Bonnie because I hadn't found a way to kill him. If I had just completed my part of the deal, then he wouldn't have been around to do this. This was my fault. I had failed and now Bonnie was paying for my failure.
Movement out of the corner of my eye drew my gaze.
Damon walked into the room, a blank look on his face. I saw a dark look cross Elena's face but I didn't care. I pushed myself to my feet and staggered forward into his open arms. Damon immediately pulled me close and I wrapped my arms around him, fisting my hands in his shirt. I could feel my body shaking and the sobs building in my chest. Now that Damon was here, I could feel myself breaking.
"What did you do with her?!" Elena spat behind me as she climbed to her feet.
Damon's hand gently cupped the back of my head as he held my face to his chest. I screwed my eyes shut and focussed on my breathing. It was getting harder and harder to get air in. And I knew exactly what was happening and it was the exact thing that shouldn't be happening because I needed to remain strong. But all I could think was that it was my fault.
"Will you please calm her down?" the older vampire directed at his brother while my sister trembled with anger.
"Don't talk like I'm not standing right in front of you," Ellie exclaimed loudly, refusing to calm down. I recognised her tone. It was one that I rarely heard but the fury within made me worry.
"Please calm down," Damon said, this time speaking directly to Elena.
"You knew!" my sister was not going to calm down. "Didn't you? You knew that if she harnessed all that power, then she would die, didn't you?"
"Yes," I could feel Damon nod. "Yes, I knew."
I could just sense my sister twitching where she stood, unable to properly let out the anger building inside her. And she was embracing that anger. Because it was better than the grief. The grief was all encompassing. It hurt and you drowned in it. But the anger you could control. And it was always easier to deal with than the sadness.
"Then why did you let her?" I whispered into my vampire's chest. I knew that he cared for Bonnie, in his own Damon way. And he knew that I cared for her. So he had to have something planned. He wouldn't have just let our friend die without doing something about it.
"You both need to listen to me, and prepare for what I'm about to say," Damon said calmly as he directed me to the sofa. He carefully eased me down before sitting down next to me. Elena continued to stand but she was no longer trembling with rage. "Bonnie had to die. Klaus using Alaric's body was a total surprise. She wasn't prepared for that. And he wasn't going to stop, and weren't going to be able to stop him until he knew she was dead. He had to believe it."
I held my breath as Elena whispered those forbidden words, "Does that mean that she is alive?"
"She cast a spell," Damon confirmed. "Bonnie's okay."
I let out a sob and fell forward into Damon's chest. I was vaguely aware of Stefan going to Elena while I pulled myself closer to Damon. The relief that I felt at his words as painful. My heart clenched in my chest as I dared to hope.
"Jeremy's with her," my vampire whispered into my hair. "If you give him a call then you should be able to speak to her."
"I'll do it," Elena quickly volunteered before diving at her phone. I let her. I knew that my sister needed to feel useful. Especially after being so powerless earlier. So I let her call Jeremy and ask to speak to Bonnie.
"I'll let you speak to Bonnie," Damon carefully eased away from me before resting his hand on my cheek. "Come find me when you're done."
"Thank you," I smiled weakly at him, already missing his warmth.
My vampire gave me a soft smile before standing up and leaving the room. Stefan quickly followed him, a frustrated look on his face. But I ignored that in favour of a much-needed pick-me-up. I leant forward and grabbed my twin's neglected drink. I slowly sipped at it while Ellie grabbed her laptop and turned it on.
She placed it on the coffee table before sitting in front of me, resting against my legs. I gently tugged her hair free of its ponytail, letting it fall free around her shoulders. I ran my fingers through her hair as the laptop loaded the video call.
I focussed on the screen when it came to life, my fingers pausing in their movements.
"Bonnie!" Elena exclaimed through a sob as our dear friend appeared on the screen. The blood had been wiped from her face and her beautiful smile was unmarred.
"Elena, Alexa!" Bonnie smiled through her tears. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, it's okay," Elena was crying again as she smiled and nodded. "We just needed to see you."
"We had to make sure that you were okay," I was crying too, the relief that I felt making my heart swell in my chest.
"There wasn't enough time for me to tell you," Bonnie looked so regretful that I just wanted to cuddle her. And it killed me that I couldn't.
"It's okay, seriously," my twin was quick to reassure her. "Damon explained it all."
"We're so happy that you're okay," I added quietly, drawing Bonnie's gaze through the camera. "We love you Bon."
XXX
As much as we wanted to, we couldn't talk to Bonnie all night. After we hung up the call, we sat in silence. I stared at my sister's reflection in the laptop screen. There were tear-tracks on her face and her makeup was smudged. Her hair was a mess from where I had been playing with it. And most importantly, she was alive.
"I understand why they did it," I said quietly, breaking the silence. "If we knew that we wouldn't have reacted properly. They needed us to believe it so that Klaus would believe it. And Klaus believing it was vital."
"Bonnie's alive, that's the most important thing here," Elena agreed, her eyes meeting mine through the laptop screen. "But it made me realise something too. Bonnie will not die for me, Alexa, I will not let that happen."
"I don't want Bonnie to die either," I sighed, shaking my head. "But Elena, we need to kill Klaus. Now that he thinks that Bonnie is dead, he's going to be coming for you. We don't have any other way of killing him. Bonnie is the only one who can get rid of him."
"Then we'll find another way," Ellie argued with a stern look on her face.
"I want to find another way. Believe me, I do. But how, Elena, how do we find another way?"
"What are you saying, Alexa?"
I sighed, "I'm saying that Bonnie's death would hurt. It would break my heart. But I would survive it. I wouldn't survive your death. I know that for a fact. Your death would kill me. So I guess, if it came down to it, I would chose you over Bonnie. And I hate myself for that. I hate myself so much, but it's how I feel."
Elena was silent.
I didn't regret what I said. It needed saying. But what I said was true. I hated myself for making that choice. But unless I found a miracle, it would have to be made. Unless I found another way to kill Klaus, Bonnie would have to be the done to do it.
"I understand," Elena eventually said, meeting my gaze in the reflection. With that said, she climbed to her feet and walked out of the room. I sighed and watched her leave. I knew that she wasn't happy with what I said, but she deserved to know the truth.
I would always choose my twin.
XXX
A/N: After an incredibly tough and emotional week, the reviews I got have really made me feel better, so thank you so much. I've been thinking, how much domestic Dalexa do you want to see, when we get there? Like do you want to read about just normal dates ect, or just how it fits in with an episode? Your thoughts are much appreciated! Please keep the reviews coming and I hope you enjoyed xoxo
