Chapter 15

"Wait, this looks wrong," Gwen mumbled, squinting at her laptop's screen. "Can you pass me Matt's notes?"

Tyler sighed as he leaned over to reach Matt's observations of their biology experiment. They had a report due in two days and were rushing to get it done in time. Matt had been out of class all week due to the discovery of his sister's body. He, and almost everyone Gwen knew, had been busy with Vicki's funeral and memorial service. She hadn't really felt comfortable participating as she hadn't ever met Vicki — maybe once, in passing, at The Grill — but had offered to finish up their lab report so Matt didn't have to worry about it. She had been surprised when Tyler had volunteered to help her, and even more surprised when he'd offered to have them work at his house. She suspected it had something to do with her uncle. Gwen had noticed Tyler tended to avoid him.

"Thanks," she said, taking the papers. "Ah, here it is. We switched up a couple of numbers. Easy fix."

She retyped the incorrect data points, watching as the graph corrected. Then, she scrolled back to the point in their report where they'd referenced those numbers to check if they'd mixed them up there, too. Thankfully, they were correct.

"Ok, I think that's all. Do you want to look it over?" she asked, looking up from the screen.

Tyler was lounging on the couch across from her, mindlessly tossing a ball in the air. He had been helpful in putting the report together earlier in their study session, but had clearly grown bored. Honestly, it was better for all of them if she did most of it anyway. She'd seen the grades he earned on his individual assignments. Still, she wanted him to feel that he was involved and contributed to the report.

"Nah," he said, catching the ball a final time. "I'm sure it's fine. Besides, I promised my mom we'd be done by six so she could get this room ready."

Gwen looked around the room, brows furrowed. They were working in what was a formal sitting room of sorts on the second floor of the Lockwood Manor as the downstairs was full of event staff setting up for that evening's Founder's Day kickoff event.

"What exactly does she need to do up here? This room is immaculate."

Tyler shrugged and rolled his eyes. "I couldn't tell you. I'm sure the furniture needs to be arranged or something."

As if on cue, Mrs. Lockwood entered the room with a group of the event staff.

"Oh, you're still working in here," she said, sounding surprise. She waved the staff away, staring at her son with a slightly strained look, clearly she was trying to maintain her poise despite the her annoyance at finding them in her way.

"We just finished actually," Gwen said politely, sliding her laptop in her bag. "Thank you for letting us work here, especially with everything you have going on today."

Mrs. Lockwood smiled, pleased by Gwen's demeanor. Both ignored Tyler's scoff from behind.

"Honestly, I'm surprised to find you actually working. Tyler usually gets so distracted when it comes to group assignments," she observed, sending Tyler a pointed look.

Uncomfortable by the implication that she and Tyler had come here to do something besides studying, she zipped her bag and got up from the chair. She decided to act as if the true meaning of the moment had gone over her head. Tyler looked mortified and was now avoiding making eye contact with Gwen.

"Well," she said, hoping she didn't sound as awkward as she felt, "I better be going. Um, thanks again."

"Hold on," Tyler said, jumping up from the couch. "Mom, Gwen is the one I was talking about who might be able to help with the pageant."

"Oh, you're the photographer," Mrs. Lockwood said, her smile looking almost genuine. "Tyler showed me some of the photos you took of the football games. Yes, I think you're exactly what we need."

"Um, sorry?"

With a dramatic sigh, Mrs. Lockwood launched into her story. "The photographer I hired for the pageant is refusing to take candid photos throughout the evening unless we pay him another two thousand dollars, and it's simply not in the budget. If you're not busy that night, I'd love to hire you to take photos of some of the more social aspects of the evening. Maybe even of the girls getting ready. Candid photos are very in these days."

Gwen didn't even have to ask when it was. Thanks to Caroline, the data was permanently imprinted into her memory. "I, uh, I'm absolutely free, and would love to."

"Great," Mrs. Lockwood said, smile growing. "I'll go get my checkbook and meet you at the door. How does five hundred sound for a downpayment? Oh, you know what, I'll make it seven hundred in case you need a dress for the event. Nothing too flashy please — this is a formal event — and I'll give you the rest of the payment after the pageant. Does that work?"

Shocked by the amount of money Mrs. Lockwood was offering her, Gwen could only nod and let a slightly strangled "sounds great."

"Fantastic, I'll meet you at the door in a few minutes."

As she exited the room, Gwen turned on Tyler. She was so excited she almost hugged him. "Oh my god, thank you!"

Tyler shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'd hold off on thanking me. She's insane when it comes to these things. You're going to get a few thousand notes on what she wants."

"I don't care. I don't even come close to making this much money in a month at The Grill. This is going to help me so much, thank you."

This time, she really did hug him. He awkwardly hugged her back with one arm before stepping away. "We better head downstairs. You do not want to keep my mom waiting."


Gwen parked in front of the Gilbert house twenty minutes later as the driveway was already full between Elena's and Jenna's cars and silver sedan. Jeremy had left school early that day, and Ric had asked her to drop of the class notes for him. It was his one requirement for giving her the car for the afternoon. Folder in hand, she exited the SUV and made her way to the front door, ringing the doorbell when she reached it.

"Ah, Gwen, you must be here with Jeremy's work," Jenna said when she opened the door. At Gwen's slightly confused look, she added, "Ric called earlier. Come on in. Jeremy's up in his room."

Gwen thanked her, and climbed the stairs. Having been in the Gilbert house a few times now, she didn't need a guide. As Jenna had said, Jeremy was in his room. What she hadn't mentioned was his very sad and depressed state. She found him lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. If music had been playing, he would have been the classic emo kid. Instead, he was sitting in total silence, which unnerved Gwen.

"Hey," she said, lightly knocking on the doorframe. He angled his head to look at her, but didn't say anything. Holding up the folder, she continued, "I have your missed schoolwork for the day."

"Just set it over there," he said, pointing to his desk.

She crossed the room, taking in her surroundings. While she'd been to Gilberts' a few times, she hadn't spent much time upstairs. Jeremy's room was not at all what she would have pictured for him. She had expected walls covered in posters and clothes scattered everywhere. But he only had a select few posters on his walls — a mix of bands and art prints — and his room was even cleaner than hers.

The silence had become awkward, but Gwen couldn't think of anything to say. She thought about asking him about one of the posters to just fill the silence, but figured pointless chitchat was the last thing Jeremy wanted at the moment. Gwen was at a loss. She and Jeremy normally got along fairly well; however, he was obviously still upset over learning what had happened to Vicki. Matt had mentioned a while ago that they all thought she ran away. No one thought she was dead. Gwen had no idea what she should do, but she felt like she had to try something.

"So, um, is there anything I can do?" she asked, leaning against his desk.

A single, hollow laugh escaped Jeremy as he propped himself up on his elbows. "Not unless you can bring someone back from the dead."

"Trust me, I wish I could," Gwen mumbled, her words bitter as her thoughts turned to her mom. "Best I can do is talk to Ric about some homework extensions."

Jeremy sighed, letting his head fall backward. Clearly homework wasn't even close to the top of his priority list. Out of ideas, Gwen pushed herself off of the desk and took a step toward the door.

"You know what I don't get?" He asked as he sat up. Gwen shook her head, surprised by his question. "If it really was a drug overdose, why was she buried? That takes times and planning. It's not something you think about while you're high."

"Maybe she wasn't buried," Gwen suggested. "Maybe she was covered over time by the elements. We have had a lot of storms over the last few months."

Jeremy let out a frustrated sight and muttered "maybe." Gwen hesitated. If he wanted to talk, she really shouldn't leave.

"It's just … I don't know," he started, sighing again. Though this one was more dejected tone than the first. She waited for him to gather his thoughts. "There's just a lot that doesn't add up."

"What do you mean?"

"A few weeks before she disappeared, she was attacked by … something. And she was acting really off the night she disappeared," he explained slowly, as if he was still puzzling out the information and what it meant. "I know she wasn't doing drugs that night. No one believes me, though."

Gwen's interest had piqued when Jeremy mentioned the initial attack. She couldn't remember hearing that Vicki had been one of the mysterious animal attack victims. It was possible someone had mentioned it before now, but it hadn't stuck if they had. However, this meant she'd likely been attacked by Damon as he and Stefan had been the only two vampires in town at that point. Her thoughts drifted back to Halloween, the night Vicki had disappeared. It was also the night that Elena had mysteriously bailed on them. She remembered how, in between teasing her and antagonizing Bonnie and Caroline, Damon had seemed to be looking for someone.

She bit the inside of her check to stop herself from groaning in frustration. Of course all of this went back to those three. Vicki had probably been turned and gone out of control, so Damon killed her to keep their secret. He's such an idiot, Gwen thought. A hundred-plus year old vampire and he can't even get rid of a body properly.

"Well, whatever happened," she said gently, not wanting to alienate him by dismissing his ideas, "I'm sure it was an accident. And I'm very sorry that you lost someone, especially so soon …. Anyway, I'm just really sorry about Vicki."

Jeremy cleared his throat and muttered a 'thanks' before collapsing back on his bed. Gwen took that as her cue, and quietly left the room. As she descended the stairs, she sent a quick text to Elena.

Jeremy's asking questions about Vicki's death. He doesn't think it was an overdose.

She received a response just as she climbed into Ric's SUV.

I know. I'm handling it.


"You sure you don't want to come?" Ric asked, pausing by the front door.

He was on his way to the Founder's Day kickoff party. Gwen wasn't really sure why he was going. He'd given some excuse about all the teachers being required to make an appearance, but she still thought it was odd. She had no desire to go, and couldn't if she had wanted to anyway. Focusing on the biology report had put her behind on other homework assignments. Besides, she was secretly hoping he'd run into Jenna at the event. They hadn't talked since his and Damon's confrontation at the bachelor auction. She was hoping they could work things out.

"Nope," she said, picking up a grape from her snack plate and popping it in her mouth. "I have a paper to turn this paper in Saturday. The deadline is during my shift at The Grill so I need to through as much as possible tonight."

Ric shook his head and smiled at her.

"What?" she asked, dropping her eyes to her laptop screen where her English essay was opened and waiting for her move beyond the introduction.

"I'm proud of you, you know that? Even with moving here and all of the supernatural insanity, you're still doing well in school, balancing a job, and even have a social life. Though, I wish you'd take more time to have some fun."

Her cheeks warm, Gwen kept her eyes averted from Ric. "Maybe you can talk to your colleagues about that. The amount of homework I have has to be illegal," she joked.

"I'll do what I can," he said, feigning seriousness. "All right, I better go. I don't expect to be out too late. I'll see you around — Oh. Hello, Bonnie."

Gwen's head shot up to see Bonnie standing on their front porch, looking a bit nervous. She smiled quickly at Ric.

"Hi, Mr. Saltzman. I was wondering if I could talk to Gwen?"

"Come on in, Bonnie," Gwen called from her spot on the couch.

There was no need for Ric to play go-between. She and Bonnie could clearly see each other. Ric stepped aside to let Bonnie in, surprised to see his long-absent student reappearing at his home. Gwen gestured for Bonnie to take a seat before reminding Ric of the party.

"You're going to be late," she said, which was her subtle way of telling him to go.

"Right, yes," he said, snapping out of his thoughts. "Keep the witchcraft to a minimum, please. I can't come home to another fire."

"It was one time!" Gwen shouted as he closed the door behind him. She swore she heard the faint echos of his laughter.

"Um, I don't mean to be rude, but what the hell happened to your neck?" Bonnie asked in slight horror as she took in the dark marks that encircled Gwen's neck.

Gwen's right hand shot to her neck as her fingers grazed over the yellowing marks on her neck. It had only been a few days since Stefan's rescue, which wasn't nearly enough time for her injuries to have healed. Still, she was getting tired of wearing scarves every time she left the house. Gwen had actually had to show her manager the marks so he'd let her keep it on during her shift. She had also barely managed to talk him out of calling Sheriff Forbes. The last thing they needed was an accusation of child abuse. However, this did make her worry about the pageant. Though it was still a few weeks away, she couldn't help but worry that the bruises would not be completely healed. She had a feeling Mrs. Lockwood wouldn't be as amenable about her wardrobe, especially since her advance had included money for a new dress.

"Long story short, vampire-related incident gone slightly wrong," Gwen said with a you-know-how-it-is tone. "When did you get back? I'm sure Caroline wouldn't have gone to her dad's if she knew you were coming back."

"And that's exactly why I didn't tell anyone. I needed … time before I saw everyone again," she explained, her eyes downcast.

"That makes sense. Doesn't explain why you're here though. Unless I don't count me as 'everyone'," she added lightly.

Bonnie bit her lip, hesitating.

"Well, I have some more notes on spells and stuff to share with you," she started, working up to her real purpose for dropping by unexpectedly. "There are some that are particularly helpful against vampires, which is kind of what I need to talk to you about."

Gwen closed her laptop and set it on the coffee table, giving Bonnie her full attention. "What do you mean? Like, fighting them?"

"More like stopping them," Bonnie said as if that should have been obvious. "I know I can't get Elena on board, but I thought you'd want to help given everything you've gone through recently."

Gwen's eyes widened. "This is about Damon and Stefan, not just the tomb vampires?"

"This is about all of them. They can't be allowed to continue to turn all of our lives upside down and takeaway people we love, especially when it's all over another vampire who wants nothing to do with them." Bonnie was sitting on the edge of the chair by the time she'd finished her impassioned speech, a mix of desperation and righteousness in her voice and a determined look.

It was Gwen's turn to hesitate. Bonnie wasn't wrong. Stefan and Damon alone had created a trail of casualties since their return. Her encounter with Jeremy had shown her that she didn't know the full extent of their body count. Things were only going to get worse with the tomb vampires. If they'd been angry and wanted revenge before, she couldn't imagine the state they were in now. Ric and Damon had killed quite a few of them the other day. But something held her back from fully agreeing with Bonnie.

"Do you really think two novice teen witches have a chance against centuries old vampires?" she asked, deflecting.

Bonnie's posture relaxed; shoulders sinking and head bowing. With a sad sigh, she said, "No, not really. But we have to do something. We can't just …. We have to protect people."

Her voice cracked slightly, and Gwen imagined she was thinking of her grandmother. Her own thoughts turned to Ric, who would be dead — despite her deal and somewhat friendship with Damon — if it hadn't been for a magical ring. She groaned, rubbing her face with her hand. Nothing, it seemed, was ever simple in Mystic Falls.

"We'll figure something out," Gwen promised. "Let's start by going over those spells."


"Caroline, do not do this to me," Gwen whispered angrily into the phone. "You promised to give me a ride out to the Lockwood Manor. I cannot be late. You've seen the texts; Carol Lockwood will kill me if she even thinks I might threaten the success of the pageant."

It had been a few weeks since rescuing Stefan and Bonnie's brief return to Mystic Falls. Gwen had been surprised when Bonnie hadn't shown up at school the day after their impromptu magic study session. When she failed to show up on the second day, Gwen had texted her, receiving a 'Sorry, I'm not ready' in response. She'd opted to keep Bonnie's visit to herself, especially when Caroline and Elena mentioned having not heard from her. Clearly, she wasn't ready to be in contact with anyone yet.

"I know, I know," Caroline said. "The alterations shop didn't have my dress done on time. I'm driving there now to pick it up. You can't even be an hour late?"

For her part, Caroline sounded genuinely apologetic — and Gwen knew she hadn't planned this. Still, she was stranded at The Grill without a car. Ric had left early that morning on an unknown errand, and she wasn't able to get a ride with Matt because he couldn't afford any more time off after everything with his sister. She supposed she could try texting Tyler to come get her, though she imagined Carol was keeping him busy.

Gwen sighed. "No. I'll figure something out. See you later."

"Bye."

She closed her phone and collapsed on the table she'd been leaning against. This is why she needed her own car. She couldn't keep relying on others to get places. Sadly, Gwen was still a few thousand dollars away from being able to afford even a crappy used car.

"A little dressed up for waiting tables, aren't you?"

Gritting her teeth, Gwen pushed herself off of the table and turned around to face the snarky vampire. His obvious good mood, windswept hair, smarmy smirk made her want to smack him even though he hadn't done anything — yet.

"I'm not waiting tables," she snapped. "I'm taking photos at the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant, or I'm supposed to be. I don't have a way to get there because my ride had to get her dress."

Gwen finished her rant with a huff, feeling just slightly embarrassed by how whiny she sounded. She couldn't help it though. The plans had been worked out for weeks; leave it to a dress to ruin everything. Damon just stood there, looking amused.

"Well," he said, feigning a thoughtful tone, "I could you drive you out there. I do have some time before I have to get all dressed up myself."

She blinked, taken aback by his offer to help. "Are you serious?"

He shrugged. "I guess I have time."

She threw her arms around him, saying 'thank you' repeatedly. Gwen released him quickly and grabbed her bags from the booth, throwing a strap over each shoulder. When she turned to follow him to the car, Damon was looking slightly stunned.

"You ok?"

Clearing his throat, he nodded once. "Yep. Car's this way."

Gwen checked her equipment as Damon drove to the Lockwood Manor. Batteries, memory cards, and lens were all in place and ready to go. She had, of course, inspected everything before she left the house, but it helped her to calm down to check them again.

"So not a pageant girl, then?" Damon asked, his gaze momentarily drifting from the road to observe her inventory check.

"Um, no. Not that matters for this one. I'm pretty sure you have be a founding family member or nominated by one to participate. It's a bit elitist, actually."

Gwen closed her camera bag and sat back in her seat, tucking a loose strand of hair back. Mrs. Lockwood had sent her an approved set of hairstyles in addition to dress selections. She'd opted for the a half-up braid and twist style. It was simple enough for her to do herself and took advantage of her natural wave. She was a little worried Mrs. Lockwood would think it was too messy. She played with the hem of her black lace dress, her mind on the notes she'd received that morning.

"Could you really expect anything different? They are founding families. This town wouldn't exist without them," Damon said with a dry laugh.

"What's all of this like for you?" Gwen asked, turning to look at him. "What's it like to see these things all this time later?"

He frowned, brow furrowed as he thought. Eventually, he shrugged and said, "I haven't really thought about it. It's just something that happens. The dresses have gotten better though."

Gwen rolled her eyes, but couldn't quite suppress the smile his joke elicited."You're such a child."

He chuckled. "It's just another background thing. I mean, we had Christmas back then. How it is celebrated has changed some, but it's still Christmas. Just like these Founder's Day events. It doesn't make a difference that they're from my human life."

Gwen supposed that made sense, especially since these traditions usually involved families or spending time with loved ones, which he lacked. "What does make a difference then?"

The car came to a stop, causing Gwen to pull her attention from Damon and look out of the window. They had arrived at the Lockwood Manor, where event staff carried equipment from trucks to the manor and around back. She began collecting her bags, but paused when Damon spoke again.

"What do you mean?" he asked, frowning slightly.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess, when you live forever, what events or experiences do matter? What memories matter?"

Damon was silent. His frown deepened as he thought. Gwen remained frozen in her seat, torn between needing to go and worrying her question had upset him. After what seemed like forever, he finally looked at her again with only a hint of his signature smirk.

"When you live forever, the only things that matter are what help you survive. Everything else is temporary, a blip."

Damon's words made her ache for him. In her short experience with vampires, it had seemed to be a life of adventure, albeit one that was horrifying at times. She hadn't considered how lonely it could be. She supposed it could explain his devotion to finding Katherine and how that had changed to revenge upon learning the truth about her. When your life was short, a broken heart is something you'd try to get past. But when you had forever, you had all the time to stew on it.

"Thanks for the ride," she said, giving a half smile.

Damon didn't respond. He was staring out the window, eyes unfocused. Gwen had a feeling he mentally elsewhere; probably remembering his time with Katherine. Ignoring the feeling of knots her stomach, she got out of the car. She needed to find Mrs. Lockwood.

"You really do look nice!" he called after her a moment later.

Gwen flashed him a smile over her shoulder as she continued walking to the front door. She heard the engine come to life and the car reverse over the gravel drive. She shook away her worries over Damon's words as she reached the top of the stairs. She had a job to do.


AN: A bit of a filler chapter, but it was necessary. Hope to have the next chapter up soon. It's pretty well plotted; I just have to write it.