Damon walked behind Elena and Alaric as he looked at his phone. Stefan had texted him about a cellar under the Lockwood's estate having chains and metal straps set up, as well as possible claw marks on the wall. They were dark pictures, and when Damon told him to put his flash on, Stefan said he wasn't the one to take them. It left a bad taste in his mouth. Eve never learned from her past mistakes. Damon nearly laughed, but he knew the bitter taste wouldn't leave his mouth, nor the jealousy he felt in his heart. He never learned from past mistakes either. Maybe Damon could be a mistake for Eve…that way, at least, he would be able to get his best friend back.
"So Isobel was officially employed by the anthropology department, given that most paranormal phenomenon is rooted in folklore." Alaric explained to Elena. Damon had missed some of the conversation, but it didn't seem important. Isobel studied folklore, Damon turned her into a vampire, Alaric was getting over her. Well, that's why Damon assumed Alaric had agreed to go to Duke; to make sure Isobel was out of his system. Even with his own personal shit going on, Damon could see Alaric's hesitation with Jenna that morning. "Excuse me, hi." Alaric said, walking up to a woman looking through a filing cabinet. "I'm Alaric Saltzman, I called earlier." Alaric said, laying on the charm. Damon now stood next to Elena, shoving his phone into his pocket. Elena raised an eyebrow back at him, but Damon shook his head.
"Yes, of course." The woman said with a smile, shutting the cabinet and walking over and shaking Alaric's hand. "I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant." This woman, Vanessa said, looking over at both Elena and Damon before looking Elena up and down. "Comparative folklore." Vanessa continued, looking back at Alaric. Damon raised an eyebrow back down to Elena, but she ignored his antics. "Let me just grab Isobel's keys." Vanessa said, turning to leave before Alaric chimed in.
"I'm sorry; these are my friends Elena and Damon." Alaric said, introducing Damon and Elena. "I hope this isn't too much of an imposition." Alaric said, turning back towards Vanessa.
"Oh please, Isobel's office is right through there." Vanessa said, nodding at a door before walking around to the table and grabbing keys. "Isobel was one of my first professors." Vanessa began. "I'm a grad student. She was brilliant, and one of the reasons I went into folklore." Vanessa explained, leaning on the desk. "I have to ask…has there been any news?" Vanessa asked cautiously.
"No. No, I'm afraid not." Alaric said, a little too quickly. Damon wasn't going to say anything; at least not now. Vanessa only nodded.
"It's right this way…" Vanessa said, walking over and unlocking the door she had previously pointed at. Elena followed behind instantly. Damon rolled his eyes, following behind her.
"I'll grab the light, feel free to look around." Vanessa said to the group. "It's fascinating isn't it." Vanessa said with a smile before disappearing. Damon didn't trust that girl. She was too…Too calm, suspicious? Damon couldn't put his finger on it. Damon began snooping around the desk while Alaric and Elena wandered the room. After a moment, Damon looked back at Alaric and Elena.
"Where'd she go?" Damon asked, glancing up at the lights and seeing that they hadn't turned on. Before Damon could get an answer from either of them, Vanessa came back into the room with a crossbow.
Elena let out a gasp as Vanessa pulled the trigger. Damon flittered over to her, letting the arrow hit him in the back. Damon let out a hiss of pain before he fell to the ground. Damon could hear Alaric rush over and shove Vanessa, but fuck did that arrow in his back hurt. Damon stood up slowly, hearing a scuffle between Alaric and Vanessa before he pulled her back outside the office. Damon tried to reach around to grab the arrow, but it was in a spot that he couldn't reach.
"Little help." Damon grumbled, leaning over a desk. Elena hesitated, looking between Damon and where Alaric had taken Vanessa. "Elena, pull it out. I can't reach it." Damon snapped, seeing the indecisiveness in Elena's focus. "Please?" Damon asked nicely, watching Elena sigh and walk over to Damon, hesitantly touching the arrow. Damon hissed and Elena pulled away. "Just pull the damn thing out, it hurts." Damon growled, putting his head down a moment. At that moment, Elena grabbed hold of the arrow and ripped it out. Damon hissed, but luckily, the stupid arrow was out. Damon stood up after a moment, shaking himself off before turning around. "That bitch is dead." Damon growled and tried walking towards where he knew Alaric and Vanessa were, agitated that he hadn't just grabbed the arrow. Elena got in front of him to stop him.
"You're not gonna kill her." Elena stated sternly. Damon walked up to Elena.
"Watch me." Damon muttered down at her, walking around her.
"You touch her and I swear I will never speak to you again." Elena stated seriously. Damon couldn't help but snicker.
"What makes you think that you have any power over me?" Damon asked. "Because I took an arrow in the back for you?" Damon huffed. "That might have worked on me before, but you remember a little conversation we had just the other night about how you only loved Stefan?" Damon asked, tapping Elena on the nose. Elena rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
"Listen, I'm just saying, Eve wouldn't like that you killed someone just because they shot you in the back for me." Elena said with a shrug. Damon couldn't even help the laugh that left his mouth.
"You're right, because she would have snapped that girl's neck while I was attempting to get the arrow out of my back before coming back in here and ripping the damn thing out." Damon snarked back down at Elena. Elena let out her own huff as Damon turned around to walk back into the room.
"Damon, just…wait." Elena pleaded, grabbing hold of his arm, and making him stop. "She may know something. Just…don't kill her." Elena explained her reasoning. Damon let out an annoyed sigh. "Isn't Eve with Mason Lockwood right now?" Elena asked, truly stopping Damon's idea of wanting to kill the girl. "And what if you killed that girl and she knew something about whatever the Lockwood's might be? And you put Eve in danger because of that." Elena said, folding her arms seriously. Damon's heart fluttered anxiously for a moment before jealousy took over.
"You're trying to manipulate me." Damon stated, wagging his finger back at Elena. Elena shrugged.
"If by 'manipulate', you mean 'tell the truth', then fine. Guilty." Elena said with a shrug before walking around Damon into the other room. Damon let out a sigh through his nose. Eve better be okay. Damon followed.
"Please! Okay! I freaked out, okay?" Damon heard as he walked into the room behind Elena and saw Vanessa sitting on a chair and Alaric looking as broody as ever. "You would have done the same thing; it's not possible!" Vanessa exclaimed. "Katherine Pierce can't be alive! And Damon Salvatore died in 1864!" Vanessa explained, almost sounding hysterical.
"Well then you should know just how possible this is." Alaric said, looking over at Elena and Damon. Elena walked over to Vanessa quickly, only keeping a simple step away from her. Damon rolled his eyes, staying close by.
"I'm Elena Gilbert, Isobel's daughter and descendant of Katherine Pierce." Elena introduced herself before looking over at Damon. "And this is Damon Salvatore, who you just shot." Elena continued, introducing Damon.
"I'd be extra nice to me right now." Damon snapped with a smile. Vanessa avoided his gaze.
"Look, we need your help, okay? We need to see all of Isobel's research." Elena explained "Anything related to Mystic Falls." Elena broadened her range. Vanessa looked over at Alaric, almost like she needed permission. As if she needed permission, she said she had already read all of Isobel's research. Vanessa let out a sigh.
"Fine." Vanessa sighed. "It's all in her office." Vanessa continued, hesitantly standing up as she looked at Damon cautiously. Damon only smirked at her before Elena pushed him out of Vanessa's way.
"Rude." Damon muttered back down at Elena as Vanessa passed him quickly and walked back over to Isobel's office. Alaric followed. "Maybe her help stipulates that she not try and kill either of us." Damon muttered, following behind Alaric.
"Just remember who you're doing this for." Elena warned back before entering the office behind Alaric. Damon let himself roll his eyes. He was so weak when it came to Eve. Any mention of her, and his stupid heart rate would spike. Was it always that way?
Damon followed behind Elena, keeping an eye on Vanessa as she walked purposely towards some old boxes. Damon walked up behind her, seeing both Alaric and Elena tense up. Vanessa turned around with a box and gasped, jumping back.
"Did Isobel's research ever mention any name of an Alistair?" Damon asked, ignoring the tension that filled the office now due to his quick actions. Vanessa stood frozen for a moment before she shook her head. "What about a Nicbranagain?" Damon asked, looking at the boxes of old files behind her. Vanessa shook her head, walking around Damon quickly, handing the box to Elena.
"This box checks Katherine's arrival to Mystic Falls in April 1864." Vanessa explained as Damon began snooping in the boxes. Isobel must have known about Eve somehow. But then again, Isobel seemed to know less than Damon had assumed when he went to threaten her…which was just to threaten Katherine…Isobel said she was just a messenger, and John Gilbert wouldn't be any different. He would know even less than Isobel with how insignificant he seemed to the whole spiel Katherine had pulled to get Stefan and Damon's attention.
"Is that all there is about her?" Elena asked, sounding a little disappointed at the amount of information in the one box.
"All that I'm aware of." Vanessa replied. Damon began flipping through the files in a random box.
"Here, take this." Elena whispered, making Damon listen in.
"Does vervain really work?" Vanessa whispered back.
"Nope, not at all." Damon muttered loud enough for Vanessa to hear him as he continued looking at the little information in the boxes.
"Can he hear us?" Vanessa whispered again.
"No, that would be creepy." Damon whispered back obnoxiously loud so she could hear him.
"Can he read minds too?" Vanessa asked, Damon turned around now.
"You know, if you want to see me naked, all you have to do is ask." Damon said with a smirk, but Vanessa didn't turn around.
"No." Elena stated sternly, rolling her eyes at Damon. "That, he can't do." Elena reassured. Damon made a face back at Elena, turning back around to focus on his search for his own information. Damon was very capable of reading minds, but he could tell Elena was just trying to lessen the blow…Or she actually had no idea. It was a pain in the ass to do, but if he focused on someone for long enough, he could easily infiltrate their minds. "He is very capable of being a first-rate jackass." Elena snarked back, but Damon needed to focus on the task at hand. Elena wanted to know more about Katherine, and Alaric and Damon needed to find out about werewolves…And maybe snoop a little to see if Isobel knew anything about Eve before getting caught up with Katherine. Damon kept himself from sighing. He missed the little time he spent with human Eve…Maybe all this dumb drama he caused could have been avoided if he could just read her mind.
Eve was bored…Bored and curious. Eve never hunted animals for blood. She knew Stefan did, and for obvious reasons. Stefan must have been a master at it, and it made sense for Caroline to at least try to see if she could hunt. Plus, with Eve there, it gave Caroline a little more moral support.
"So, what do I do when I see the rabbit?" Caroline asked in a less than grateful voice as the three walked along in the woods.
"Chase it, catch it, feed on it." Stefan explained simply.
"Isn't killing cute and defenseless animals the first step in becoming a serial killer?" Caroline asked, looking between Stefan and Eve. Eve snickered softly.
"Ah, don't you even say anything." Stefan stated back, pointing a finger at Eve accusingly. Eve couldn't help but laugh.
"I didn't say anythin'." Eve snarked back. "But if I had-" Eve got out before Stefan let out a disapproving noise, which only made Eve and Caroline laugh.
"It doesn't matter what Eve was going to say, but you skipped over serial killer and landed on vampire." Stefan stated back, trying to sound serious, despite the snickering between the two. Stefan let out a sigh. "Caroline, if you're not serious about all of this, I think you should tell me." Stefan stated seriously, stopping their leisurely walk. Caroline looked over at Eve for help, but Eve shook her head.
"Don't look at me, I'm not the teacher." Eve sassed back, nodding over to Stefan. Caroline rolled her eyes.
"No, I am." Caroline whined, letting her body sag for a moment. "Look, I swear that I am okay, but it's just…" Caroline muttered, looking over at Eve. "I haven't been in the sun for days and everyone is at the swimming hole having fun and Matt is there!" Caroline explained quickly as Stefan folded his arms. "And he finally told me that he loved me, but I have been blowing him off and now you want me to eat bunnies and I'm kind of freaking out okay!?" Caroline explained rapidly, pacing slightly as she explained her situation. Stefan and Eve looked at each other. Eve saw the serious Stefan crack as he finally let out a soft laugh. Eve couldn't help but snicker with him. Caroline was acting very much like Caroline. "And now you're both laughing at me." Caroline snapped, folding her arms. Stefan quickly shook his head.
"No, no, I'm not laughing!" Stefan stated seriously, desperately trying to regain the serious Stefan composure he tried to have at all times. "None of this is funny, trust me…it's just that…" Stefan tried, but his composure began to crack again and Eve couldn't help but genuinely laugh at his bad attempt at remaining serious.
"What!?" Caroline exclaimed, irritated at the two for giggling.
"When someone becomes a vampire, all of their natural behaviors get sort of…" Stefan began, looking for Eve for a little assistance.
"Amplified." Eve shrugged with a soft smile, despite Caroline's growing irritation.
"What do you mean?" Caroline asked quickly.
"As a human, I cared deeply for people and how they felt." Stefan began explaining to Caroline. "If they were hurting, I felt their pain and I felt guilty if I was the one who caused it." Stefan continued. "And as a vampire, all of that got…magnified?" Stefan questioned, looking over at Eve for assistance again. Eve nodded.
"And when I was human, I was a sarcastic brat with little to no impulse control." Eve shared her own experiences as a once human. Caroline raised an eyebrow. "So, once I turned, I became an even bigger sarcastic brat with even worse impulse control." Eve explained her side of things. Caroline's face dropped a little.
"So you're saying that now I'm basically an insecure, neurotic control freak…on crack?" Caroline asked, gesturing towards herself. Stefan looked over at Eve who was barely holding herself together as it were.
"Well, I wasn't going to say it like that but…" Stefan shrugged as Caroline anxiously tapped her necklace. "Let's hunt and then we can go to the swimming hole." Stefan suggested, which instantly helped Caroline perk up.
"Really!?" Caroline asked quickly back.
"Matt is the closest connection that you have ta yer humanity." Eve shrugged, only a little concerned for the newly turned vampire-Caroline to keep her cool. Eve looked over at Stefan who nodded.
"Exactly. It'll be good to have him around." Stefan continued the explanation. Caroline cheered up from her once concerned and irritated self almost instantly.
"Okay!" Caroline chirped happily as Stefan began to walk again. "Do they have to be bunnies?" Caroline asked, more towards Eve than to Stefan. Eve shrugged.
"I would think a bigger animal would do, but I suppose bunnies are easier ta explain being dead a lot easier than a whole deer." Eve guessed. How would she know? She wasn't about to tell Caroline that, because Caroline would want to go the easier way of just feeding off people rather than animals, but Eve knew that wasn't the best idea for Caroline. Not at this point, seeing as she had fed on a nurse and ended up killing that carnival worker that Bonnie must have had a crush on, seeing how upset Bonnie was about it…Or maybe she was just upset about Caroline becoming a vampire and killing a person. Humans were weird and witches were weirder.
Stefan had agreed to drive the trio to the swimming hole. Caroline wasn't great at hunting. Stefan had to do most of the work, but Caroline was able to feed. Even when Caroline did catch something, she had a hard time killing something with 'such a cute face'. Caroline and Eve were now texting in the backseat while Stefan drove.
Caroline: Y ddnt u hunt anything?
Eve: Never been too fond of animal blood
Caroline: Cnt u teach me 2 feed on ppl instead?
Eve found herself shaking her head.
Eve: Not yet. Give your newly found vampire a little while. So you don't kill anyone and make Bonnie hate you anymore
Caroline slumped at the last text before looking over at Eve with a sad look. Eve rolled her eyes playful back at Caroline before shaking her head sternly.
"You two have spent way too much time together to be able to talk not only through texts but also through simple head movements." Stefan sassed from the front seat. Eve and Caroline looked at each other guiltily before they both laughed.
"You're saying you can't talk with your bestie through simple movements?" Caroline asked, cocking her head playfully, but Eve could instantly feel Stefan's mood drop. Eve's dropped as well, before Caroline raised an eyebrow back at Eve. Eve shook her head softly. Lexi wasn't a topic of discussion that Eve wanted to have with Caroline…especially with Stefan in the car.
"The heightened senses also help." Eve snarked back, trying to lighten the mood a little. "Plus having blood in yer system. you know, all the fun perks of bein' a vampire." Eve teased back at Caroline. Caroline let out a sigh as Stefan parked.
"I'm not very good at hunting…" Caroline muttered, looking out at the group of teens in both swimsuits as well as shorts and tank tops.
"And ya better not get good while yer around people, either." Eve said back, wagging a finger at her. Caroline rolled her eyes and got out of the car, shutting the door and going to the trunk. Stefan finally let out a sigh. "She doesn't like animal blood." Eve stated aloud to Stefan who rubbed a hand over his face.
"Neither do you." Stefan chastised from the front seat, turning slightly to better see Eve.
"I didn't teach her ta have a preference, Stef." Eve snarked back, getting out of the car and walking next to Caroline.
"I'm a little nervous." Caroline admitted quietly as Stefan got out of the car. "I mean…there's a lot of people." Caroline shrugged, looking back at the crowd. Eve hooked Caroline's arm with hers, giving the girl a light squeeze.
"Yer goin' ta do fine." Eve reassured Caroline as Stefan came around to the back. "Right, Stef?" Eve asked, nodding at Caroline. "Caroline's goin' ta be fine out there." Eve stated with a smile. Stefan gave a reassuring smile back.
"You should. And we'll be here if you feel like you need to leave." Stefan also reassured Caroline.
"I'm great at makin' up excuses to leave a party." Eve said with a proud smile, nudging Caroline. Caroline let out a laugh. "I am!" Eve stated, stamping her foot a little with how it sounded like Caroline didn't believe her with a simple laugh.
"Saying 'I'm bored, let's leave' isn't the best excuse I've heard." Caroline sassed back, pulling her arm back and putting her hands on her hips. Eve clicked her tongue in response.
"Hey baby girl!" Eve heard a familiar voice behind them. Caroline whipped around faster than Eve, fully prepared to kick whoever's ass had catcalled Eve, but Eve quickly patted Caroline's arm when she also turned and saw that it was Mason. "Kind of hard to miss with that hair." Mason called from his jeep with a smile, gesturing towards his own hair to indicate hers. Eve looked back at Stefan who was staring Mason down before squeezing Caroline's hand before walking over to Mason. Stefan wouldn't be happy, but she couldn't just ignore him.
"Tryin' ta break up another one of yer nephews little drinkin' parties?" Eve asked playfully, walking up to the jeep and leaning on it as Mason's arm was out the open window. Mason smirked down at her.
"This one's at a better location than his old man's office during his wake." Mason shrugged with a smirk. "Then again, we did some sinful things in there ourselves." Mason said with a wink. Eve's ears burned.
"And yer not goin' ta stay fer the fun?" Eve asked, looking back over at the crowd of people. Mason shook his head.
"I think we had enough fun this morning, baby girl." Mason purred, taking hold of Eve's chin and leaning down to kiss her. Eve heard some hooping and hollering that she could distinguish as Tyler and most likely his friends. Eve's cheeks burned…Stefan would see her. Why did that matter, Stefan's seen you kiss people before… "I have some things I'm doin' for Carol today. One is making sure these kids don't die in the lake after dark." Mason explained, nodding back at the crowd. "Sorry we can't do dinner like normal people." Mason said with a sad look. "Prior obligations." Mason shrugged. Eve shook her head.
"It's alright. We both have life's outside of the other." Eve shrugged. She didn't mind the time away. She needed a good excuse for why the dark hickies that he had left on her neck were gone within a day. He had mentioned giving her more and Eve didn't know anyone who could possibly replicate hickies as deep and dark as he had made.
"I better get goin'...your friends don't seem to like that I'm taking up your attention." Mason muttered, nodding towards where Stefan and Caroline were. "Well, one of them is. Not that notorious 'friend' of yours, is he?" Mason asked, looking over towards the two, more intensely now. Eve chuckled and shook her head.
"No. Not the notorious friend." Eve said. "Just a regular friend." Eve hadn't told Mason about Damon. Not that they did much real talking when they were together... All Mason knew about Damon was that he was a friend who she had been desperately in love with only to have him not feel the same way. "Stop glaring, you'll get wrinkles." Eve muttered, poking the creases above Mason's brows playfully. Mason scoffed, grabbing Eve's hand and biting her finger. Eve pulled her hand back enough to flick him on the nose. "Bad." Eve scolded him, which only made him smirk back at her.
"Oh, we gonna switch up the roles now, baby girl?" Mason said playfully. Eve rolled her eyes.
"Go help Carol." Eve said with a smile, shaking her head. Mason rolled his eyes back at her.
"You know this conversation isn't over." Mason teased, pulling Eve into a kiss. Eve pulled away, irritated at herself. "I promise you, we'll talk more about that little nose flick, baby girl." Mason said with a wink. Eve rolled her eyes back at him playfully before taking a step back and waving at him as he drove away from the swimming hole. Eve turned back around to see only Stefan standing alone next to the car with his arms folded. Eve walked over to him, getting ready for the lecture.
"Alright," Eve muttered, walking up to him and extending her arms. Stefan cocked his head back at her, still looking as serious as ever. Eve rolled her eyes back at him. "I'm ready for the lecture." Eve sighed, shutting her eyes tightly, to really emphasize that she was ready for whatever dumb lecture he had…but a moment passed and Eve opened her eyes to see him standing still before he shook his head.
"I'm not going to lecture you." Stefan said. Eve let out a huff, putting her arms down. "Do you have any more information on him?" Stefan asked, looking over to where Eve presumed Caroline was.
"Minus the whole having chains and metal straps in the cellar of the old Lockwood estate?" Eve asked, folding her arms back at him, trying to match his serious energy. "He's busy helpin' Carol Lockwood with somethin' tonight." Eve explained with a shrug. "It's a full moon; I would have thought he would be busy having a werewolf alone time." Eve explained, unsure of what Mason was actually doing with Carol. She had been a little…chained up earlier to truly ask. And now it was too late. Her curiosity might come off as desperate, and that was the last thing she wanted to come across like.
"Do you really think he's just helping Carol Lockwood with something?" Stefan asked with a raise of his eyebrow. Eve rolled her own eyes.
"Of course I don't. I think it's a ruse up until whenever the moon comes out, and then he'll be out and about doin' werewolf things." Eve muttered, irritated with Stefan. "I'm not that dumb, Stef." Eve huffed back. Stefan let out a sharp laugh.
"I mean, you're sleeping with him, so forgive me for needing some proof that you're taking the fact that Mason is a potential werewolf seriously." Stefan stated seriously. Eve bit her tongue to keep herself from snapping back at him.
"Where's Caroline?" Eve asked, turning away from him and looking into the crowd.
"Sounds like she found Matt." Stefan said, looking in the direction of a truck further down the hill. Eve listened near that area and heard a girl say hi to Caroline before Caroline responded.
"Go find somebody single to stalk, Aimee." Caroline muttered. Even with just hearing the tone, Eve could tell Caroline had just compelled the girl to leave. Eve looked over at Stefan. Stefan looked a lot more worried than Eve did…but then again, Stefan was a goody-two-shoes and Eve had compelled people for less…But then again, Eve didn't have the best teacher when she had become a vampire…Stefan began walking over to where Caroline was and Eve followed, vaguely hearing a spat between Matt and Caroline. When Stefan and Eve got to Caroline, she was looking defeated next to a truck with no Matt.
"Hey, we saw that." Stefan began to scold Caroline as the two got closer. "You compelled her." Stefan stated seriously. Caroline shrugged.
"Yeah, she deserved it." Caroline snarked back, folding her arms, obviously irritated at whatever Matt had said to her.
"Caroline, nobody deserves to have their mind messed with for shallow reasons." Stefan lectured. Caroline rolled her eyes back at him.
"You know, why is everyone sticking up for Aimee freaking Bradley?" Caroline asked irritably, glaring back at Stefan before scoffing and looking at Eve for some backup. Eve shook her head.
"Jealousy is a slippery slope, Care." Eve shrugged back. Eve wished she could help Caroline, but Stefan was right… Even if it was very 'pot-calling-the-kettle-black'.
"Oh, so now I have magnified jealousy issues too? That's great." Caroline grumbled back at the two of them.
"I told you this wasn't going to be easy." Stefan said gently, but Caroline only huffed back.
"Yeah, well, I might as well have stayed dead." Caroline muttered, ignoring Eve's cringe at her harsh words to herself. "My entire personality is killing me." Caroline continued to whine. Stefan began to smile. Caroline rolled her eyes at him. "Shut up." Caroline muttered, leaning up against the truck. "How long does it take…to get normal?" Caroline asked, towards either Eve or Stefan. Eve and Stefan looked at each other for a moment, different ideas going through each other's minds. They were similar, yet different. Two sides of the same coin. Stefan had to work to keep himself normal, and Eve found power in being a vampire, meaning that she fully embraced the lifestyle…
"It…depends." Stefan said honestly with a shrug. Caroline looked over at Eve with a worried expression.
"Hate ta say he's right, but…" Eve shrugged, receiving a playful nudge from Stefan. Caroline looked even more defeated. "Care, it does depend. Everyone is different. Every vampire is different. Some have ta fight ta keep things normal, while others have an easier time." Eve shrugged, leaning next to Caroline, touching shoulders, or at least the best she could with her tall friend. Eve wasn't wearing high heels, and her boots didn't give her much height. "Look at Stefan. He's been alive for a billion years and he's normal." Eve said, looking up at Stefan who rolled his eyes back at her. "Look at me, I'm normal! Do I look like I try that hard at anythin'?" Eve asked, gesturing towards herself. Caroline let out a small huff. "It takes time, but you have ta find yer new normal, Care." Eve said softly, trying her best to actually help Caroline.
"Am I going to turn out as serious as Stefan one day?" Caroline asked with a whine, looking over at Stefan. Stefan let out a scoff, but Eve laughed.
"Well, the alternative is me…or Damon." Eve shrugged, feeling a heaviness in her chest at the simple mention of his name.
"Oh God, I'm doomed." Caroline let out a cry, covering her face with her hands. Eve couldn't help but snort at the seriousness of Caroline's tone. "You laugh, but I'm so worried, ugh." Caroline complained, tossing her head back dramatically.
"Well, you have better teachers than we had." Stefan shrugged, looking at Eve and snickering.
"Better yet, you didn't turn because you drank yer dad's blood." Eve shrugged back casually watching Caroline's eyes widen, looking between the two. Stefan rolled his eyes back at Eve. "We did!" Eve exclaimed, looking at Stefan.
"Wait…you…killed your dad…like, singular dad?" Caroline asked, quickly looking between the two. "Oh my GOD, EW! I was FULLY rooting for you and Damon to get together at some point, but no if you're like…siblings!" Caroline said, stepping away from the truck and looking at Eve and Stefan with disgust. Eve's brows raised quickly at the accusation before she and Stefan looked at each other. Stefan was the first one to laugh this time before taking a step closer to Eve.
"Yeah, we really resemble each other, huh Eve?" Stefan said, looking down at Eve couldn't hold her laugh in. Caroline folded her arms.
"Hold on." Eve muttered, stepping up onto the wheel of the truck to help her look taller. "How about now?" Eve asked with a laugh, holding onto the truck and putting her arm around Stefan. Caroline was looking more and more irritated the more Stefan and Eve messed with her.
"Maybe it's the hair." Stefan said, his arm going around Eve's waist to keep her steady against him, taking some of her hair with his other hand, getting cheek to cheek with Eve and draping Eve's long curly hair over his own head, making it look like he had red hair. "The hair really helps show us siblings off, huh, Eve?" Stefan asked, tossing his head to try and get Eve's hair out of his eyes.
"Careful Stef, Caroline might not be able to tell us apart." Eve said through a laugh. Caroline's irritated demeanor slowly faded, seeing the two acting like children. "We're like identical twins, right?" Eve asked Caroline, letting go of the truck, trusting Stefan not to drop her, which luckily he didn't, as Eve gestured towards herself and Stefan. Stefan and Eve continued to giggle and snicker together while Caroline finally cracked and smiled reluctantly.
"This isn't funny." Caroline tried to say seriously, stamping her foot gently, not giving off any indication that she was actually upset. "Are you guys not siblings then? How did you both do that to your dad if you weren't?" Caroline asked, still trying to understand the situation. Stefan put Eve down, shaking his head of any of Eve's hair that might have gotten stuck in his own hero hair. Eve continued to laugh, doubling over Caroline's logic.
"Caroline, I'm nearly 45 years older than Eve." Stefan said, with a smile. Caroline looked between the two. "Damon and I became vampires…24 years before you were born?" Stefan asked Eve, looking as if he was thinking. Time was a strange concept to Eve. Eve stopped laughing for a moment, thinking about when she had been born and doing some math, feeling thankful for the break-in laughter; her stomach hurt.
"1890 minus 1864…26 years." Eve shrugged, doing the math in her head. "What month did you turn?" Eve asked, looking over at Stefan curiously.
"September." Stefan said after only a moment. Caroline looked at him like he was crazy for remembering. Stefan shrugged. "It was at the Battle of Willow Creek. Kinda hard to forget when they talked about it in history." Stefan said with a smile. "Zacharia died in September too. It had been just about 50 years since Damon and I had seen each other when we both saw each other at his funeral." Stefan recalled. "That's when we met." Stefan said with a soft smile, looking over at Eve. Eve couldn't help but smile back at him.
"Wait, wait, wait…" Caroline muttered, shaking her head, her hands going to her hips. "So…" Caroline said, her hands dropping as she remembered something before she walked up to Eve and glared at her. "You told me you were 119 when we first met!" Caroline snapped, obviously wanting to yell at Eve, but realizing that people were around. Eve looked up at Caroline, seeing Stefan roll his eyes in the background at her. Eve couldn't help but laugh.
"I also said I had a compellin' personality…many times." Eve snickered, making Caroline scoff and shove Eve's shoulder lightly. "I was givin' you so many hints, Carebear, it's not my fault you didn't pick up on any of them!" Eve joked, folding her arms as Caroline took a step back and shook her head.
"And when you said you and Damon had known each other for decades…you actually meant that." Caroline said, still shaking her head. Eve felt her heart sink, looking at Stefan. "Did Damon turn you too? Are we like, blood sisters now? Like Damon's little minions?" Caroline asked, sounding a lot more worried than she looked like she had wanted to. Eve let herself laugh.
"Damon's not the one ta turn me." Eve shrugged casually. Caroline's brows raised. "I know, you and everyone else find that part shockin'." Eve rolled her eyes playfully. "But alas, Stefan's the one ta turn me." Eve said, gesturing over towards Stefan who gave a little bow. "And then proceeded to run away and let me turn by some freak accident." Eve said, dramatically draping her wrist over her eyes. Stefan scoffed.
"You would have died because of Sage if it weren't for me." Stefan snarked back. "And I wasn't about to stick around to rip your head off." Stefan stated back. Eve huffed playfully back at him. "How was I supposed to know that you had turned and only had Damon to teach you things?" Stefan asked, folding his arms.
"Because, Stefan, we're basically the same person, remember?" Eve sassed back, putting her hands on her hips, continuing the joke that they were siblings, despite Caroline's audible groan.
"I am way too high-strung right now to have you both being mean to me." Caroline whined, folding her arms and pouting. "There are drinks right behind you…can we just…relax?" Caroline asked, walking over to the back of the truck again.
"Are you capable of relaxing?" Stefan asked playfully as Caroline sent a glare his way, grabbing a cup of some kind of liquor, and handing it to Stefan.
"Was she ever?" Eve piped in as Caroline handed Eve a different cup. Caroline let out a higher-pitched groan that almost turned into a scream. Eve and Stefan smiled at one another. It was nice being able to smile and laugh with Stefan. They had spent so many years ignoring and avoiding one another that they missed the friendship part of their relationship and simply were 'old friends'. Eve didn't mind this casual Stefan. Maybe there should be more accidental vampires made to mellow him out.
Damon was having an annoyingly difficult time finding any useful information. From his search of anything Eve, to his poking around for Alistair, and to his rifling through folders for werewolf information, everything was coming up zilch. Damon wandered over to Elena as she was reading over Katherine's files. Damon looked over her shoulder as she read.
"Any luck?" Damon asked, curious as to what Elena may have found.
"There's nothing in here about Katherine that we don't already know." Elena sighed, putting the folder down, agitated by her lack of information. Damon picked up the file and looked it over.
"Hold on, I think I have something that you might find useful." Damon muttered, seeing Katherine's name only being written as Katherine Pierce. Damon had seen her older last name on the spine of an older book. Damon walked over to the bookshelf and grabbed the book with 'Petrova' on the spine before heading back to Elena and handing her the book. Elena looked at it curiously before looking at the spine.
"Petrova?" Elena read aloud. "I saw this on the shelf." Elena said, looking over to the shelf Damon had picked the book up from.
"Katherine originally came from Europe." Damon shrugged. "'Petrova' was her real name." Damon explained, feeling a strange feeling in his gut. "'Katerina Petrova' to be exact." Damon muttered, beginning to walk away from her, back to where he had originally been looking for information.
"How did you know that?" Elena asked, stopping Damon before he walked too far away. Damon's brows furrowed as he remembered how he knew that kind of information about Katherine…
"Way back when, I saw it engraved on an old heirloom." Damon said, now understanding the feeling in his gut. "Men snoop too, you know." Damon muttered. Guilt. Katherine was making him feel guilty. Damon let himself sigh. "Let me know what you find." Damon muttered, walking away from Elena, rubbing his face roughly. Katherine was becoming a guilty pleasure. Maybe Damon truly was a masochist…
"Hey guys, come check this out." Alaric announced from his own study spot. Damon and Elena walked over to him with Vanessa holding up some books.
"There's no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls, but here are some records of some of the lesser-known legends." Vanessa began to explain, handing an old book, opened to a page with a picture on one side and writing on the other. Damon looked over the words quickly, lowering the book a little for Elena to see. "Everything from Scandinavian skinwalkers to the Maréchal the Retz." Vanessa continued as Damon looked at the old drawing of a strange creature with what looked like fangs, and a sun drawn. "Tonartsliitsii Metslii, which roughly translates into the curse of the sun and the moon." Vanessa said, translating the foreign language.
"It's Native American." Alaric said matter-of-factly.
"Aztec." Vanessa nodded as Damon flipped the pages to see more pictures similar to the first. "It explains the origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia." Vanessa explained, looking between the three as she spoke. "The short story is that 600 years ago, the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires." Vanessa began telling the story as Damon raised an eyebrow at some of the pictures. "They terrorized the countryside, made farming and hunting impossible…until an Aztec shaman cursed them." Vanessa continued, pointing at a picture in the book. "They made vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves servants of the moon." Vanessa continued. "As a result, vampires could only prowl at night and werewolves could only turn on a full moon. When the full moon crests in the sky, whoever's unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse turns into a wolf." Vanessa stated. Damon handed the book to Elena.
"Can they control the transformation?" Damon asked, stepping away from the table…He was getting…nervous? Anxious was more likely…Stefan was with Caroline…but where was Eve…
"If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse." Vanessa muttered back. Damon only nodded to himself. "Werewolves will attack humans, but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them to hunt their prey of choice…vampires." Vanessa stated almost dramatically. Damon felt his heart begin to beat rapidly as Alaric and Elena both shared looks before looking back at him.
"Well, if werewolves were hunting vampires, I would know about it." Damon snarked back, walking back over towards the group. Damon didn't make friends with people, let alone werewolves…
"Not if there aren't that many werewolves left alive." Vanessa shrugged back. "Hundreds of years ago, vampires hunted them almost to extinction." Vanessa explained.
"Why would they do that?" Elena asked.
"To protect themselves." Vanessa stated. "Legend has it that a werewolf bite is fatal to vampires." Vanessa explained. Alaric and Elena looked over at Damon with the same worried and concerned looks. Damon felt his whole body freeze as he looked out the window and noticed the sun had already set and the moon was beginning to shine. Shit.
"Damon, I-" Elena got out, but Damon shook his head, already pulling his phone from his pocket.
"Give me a minute." Damon snapped back at her, not letting Damon finish as he quickly walked out of the office. No one was going to follow him, not with how purposeful he looked. Damon looked through his contacts before instinctively finding her name and calling her.
…
Pick up…
Please…
"Damon?"
Evie.
"Tell me you're not out with that stupid surfer boy." Damon stated, not being able to help the hatred slip out as he spoke. Eve let out a scoff.
"Damon, we talked about this." Eve muttered back. Damon let out his own annoyed sigh.
"No, Evie, I know, it's not-I'm not-just…" Damon let out a frustrated growl. "Where are you?" Damon asked, not being able to contain his irritation.
"Why does it-"
"Evie, please, I just-please tell me you're safe inside somewhere faaar away from that stupid-" Damon interrupted, annoyed grumble, knowing he needed to pretend to be nicer to get his stupid Evie. "Mason. Are you safe and away from Mason?" Damon asked seriously. Eve was silent for a moment.
"I'm with Stefan and Caroline right now at the swimming hole…" Eve stated back, worry lacing her words. "Day-Damon, what's goin' on?" Eve asked, tripping over her words. Damon's heart ached at how she corrected herself from saying his usual nickname.
"Werewolves, that's what." Damon stated seriously, pacing the hallway outside of the office. Inside the office, he could vaguely hear Elena's voice. If he listened any harder, he would have heard Stefan most likely being the one on the other end. "Eve, you need to go someplace that's not outside. Make sure you take Caroline and Stefan." Damon said, knowing he should get to the point, but fuck he missed talking to Eve…and even if this wasn't the best time to talk, he wanted to make this conversation last.
"So werewolves exist then?" Eve joked, barely cutting through her heavily worried tone. Damon sighed, rubbing his temples. She was so stupid.
"Probably. And they're fatal to vampires." Damon stated, ignoring her joking tone. Eve scoffed back, which only made Damon roll his eyes. "A werewolf bite can kill a vampire, Eve." Damon snapped at her. "Now, take your pretty little ass indoors and-"
"Wh-What do you mean you lost Caroline, Stefan?!" Eve snapped, sounding as if she pulled her phone from her ear.
"Eve, did you hear me?" Damon stated, worried that Eve missed the most important part of his warning.
"Damon, I have ta go. Caroline ran off." Eve said, ignoring Damon's comments.
"No, Evie, listen, please, a werewolf-" Damon attempted to tell her the information again, but the phone clicked off before Damon could finish. "Evie? Eve? Eve!" Damon snapped, looking at his phone irritably. She hung upon him. Damon let out a frustrated groan as he looked in his contacts and called Stefan.
After a few rings, Stefan's voicemail began to play. Damon nearly threw his phone across the room. Damon stormed back into the office and saw Elena looking worriedly at her own phone. Elena looked up at Damon.
"I told Stefan." Elena said quickly, seeing Damon's irritated expression. "He sounded like-"
"He lost Caroline, yeah I heard." Damon finished Elena's sentence, still fuming. Elena blinked back at him. Stefan didn't tell her he lost Caroline then. Whoops. Didn't matter. "Can we head back now or are we going to sit around here like bumps on logs?" Damon asked, clapping his hands towards Alaric. Alaric rolled his eyes back at the action.
"And what exactly are we supposed to do in the three hours it takes to get back?" Alaric asked, folding his arms where he sat. Damon clenched his jaw. "And what exactly are we supposed to do when we get there?" Alaric asked as Damon began to pace inside the office. "Damon, I know you're worried, but we're far more useful here." Alaric stated, gesturing towards the books on the table. "What is a werewolf's weak spot? Is the whole silver thing a myth or is that real? What repels them, what attracts them?" Alaric continued. Damon scoffed.
"Obviously vampires. And especially vampires named Eve." Damon muttered with a roll of his eyes, walking over to the table and looking at the papers and books on it. Damon could see Elena and Alaric share a look. "Fine." Damon muttered, sitting down on a chair across from Alaric, ignoring the look. It was getting a little annoying. Did everyone realize that Damon was actually in love with Eve before he did? Vanessa stood, watching the whole thing unfold before she turned and walked over to a different part of the office.
"There's a few more books that I can think of that may have more information on werewolves…" Vanessa said, rummaging around in a filing cabinet as Damon pushed the papers on the table around, picking up some and trying to focus on them, but feeling his eyes glaze over information as his brain continued to only think about Eve and how he hoped she was safe.
Eve didn't mind hanging out with Caroline and Stefan. It was nice to talk to Caroline and actually tell her stories of her past. Both Eve and Stefan had a pretty seedy past, but that seemed to enthrall Caroline, keeping her from thinking about Matt. At least for a certain amount of time…Especially when the stories got less juicy and more domestic. Stefan and Eve had stories that they weren't about to casually tell, and it wasn't like Caroline would know about their hidden secrets. Vampires couldn't read each other's minds. Eve had a hard time reading anyone's mind, only being able to do it with her brother…and even then, she didn't like to think about those moments of weakness.
Caroline looked over at Matt longingly as the three were about to leave the swimming hole with everyone else. Eve looked over at Stefan and nodded at Matt. Stefan looked over to Matt before looking and seeing the sad look on Caroline's face.
"He's mad at me." Caroline muttered softly. Stefan looked over at Eve, who nodded towards Matt to help Stefan drop his guard for a moment.
"Go talk to him. We'll wait." Stefan said, nodding at Matt. Caroline brightened up at that, smiling at Stefan before grabbing and shaking Eve's hand thankfully before bounding off towards Matt.
"He is mad at her." Eve muttered, taking a step towards Stefan. Stefan sighed and nodded.
"Yup." Stefan muttered. The two had seen the original interaction, and despite Eve not really listening or hearing what had been said early, she could tell Matt was pissed about Caroline acting jealous towards that Aimee girl. Eve shook her head.
"Teenagers." Eve muttered, slowly smiling as she saw Stefan fold his arms and raise his eyebrow at her. Eve stuck her tongue out playfully at Stefan. Her heart needed this lightness. Sure Mason was a good physical distraction, but Eve needed more to build herself up again. She hadn't realized how big of a hole in her heart Damon would leave…Eve's phone rang. Speak of the devil. "I take that back…men." Eve grumbled, showing Stefan her phone. "I don't want ta answer…" Eve groaned. Stefan sighed.
"Maybe it's important. How often does he call you?" Stefan shrugged. Eve rolled her eyes. Stefan was on team Devie, the name Caroline had come up with for her and Damon if the two were in a relationship…Eve sighed again as Stefan nodded at the phone. "Just answer him." Stefan enthused. Eve rolled her eyes, walking away from Stefan and answering.
"Tell me you're not with that stupid surfer boy." Damon said sharply before Eve couldn't even say anything. Eve let out a scoff.
"Damon, we talked about this." Eve muttered with a roll of her eyes, casually pacing.
"No, Evie, I know, it's not-I'm not-just…" Damon let out a frustrated growl which only caused Eve to roll her eyes even harder. "Where are you?" Damon asked, irritated with Eve. Eve hadn't talked to him all day and this was how he was going to act.
"Why does it-" Eve got out before Damon interrupted her.
"Evie, please, I just-please tell me you're safe inside somewhere faaar away from that stupid-" Damon grumbled before stopping himself. "Mason. Are you safe and away from Mason?" Damon asked seriously. Eve's heart fluttered in her chest. No. She wouldn't feel guilty about Mason. Damon would have run off with Katherine if he had the chance…and yet. Damon sounded so…serious about it all. And he was at Duke looking into information on supernatural beings…
"I'm with Stefan and Caroline right now at the swimming hole…" Eve stated back, now worried at what he may have found. "Day-Damon, what's goin' on?" Eve asked, tripping over his nickname that so easily rolled off her tongue.
"Werewolves, that's what." Damon stated seriously back, not even seeming to care about her slip up. Eve sighed, looking back over to Stefan who was also on the phone. Elena was probably telling him all about the same information they had found. Caroline was making out with Matt. Eve turned away from them both. "Eve, you need to go someplace that's not outside. Make sure you take Caroline and Stefan." Damon said sternly. Eve felt herself sigh and look up at the full moon.
"So werewolves exist then?" Eve joked, despite the worry that she felt slip into her words. Eve heard Damon sigh. Eve stopped the snicker in her throat from escaping.
"Probably. And they're fatal to vampires." Damon stated, ignoring her joking tone. Eve scoffed back. If werewolves were so fatal to vampires, she should have been dead. If Mason Lockwood was a vampire, she had been intimate with him…And she was still alive. "A werewolf bite can kill a vampire, Eve." Damon snapped at her. Eve's heart sank and any color that she may have had in her already pale face had drained. A bite? Did hickies count? Did Mason biting her finger just hours prior count? Fuck. Stefan ran over to her.
"I lost Caroline." Stefan stated quickly. Eve stared back at him, looking over to Matt's truck and not seeing Caroline there. Eve's heart had already just been jump-started, now it felt like it was pounding a thousand beats a second.
"Wh-What do you mean you lost Caroline, Stefan?!" Eve snapped, pulling her phone away from her ear.
"I was on the phone with Elena and she and Matt disappeared." Stefan explained quickly, looking behind him before looking around.
"Eve, did you hear me?" Damon stated, pulling Eve's attention back to her phone. She had more pressing matters to deal with. Well, there were a few pressing matters to deal with, and Eve wasn't about to ask about the details of how or when a werewolf bite would kill a vampire. If she was going to die, she had better find Caroline first.
"Damon, I have ta go. Caroline ran off." Eve said, ignoring Damon's question. Eve didn't want to deal with telling Damon any of the pressing matters either.
"No, Evie, listen, please, a werewolf-" Eve heard before she hung up on Damon.
"Come on, Damon told me a werewolf's bite-"
"Is fatal to vampires, yeah, I know. Elena told me the same thing." Stefan explained as Eve shoved her phone into her back pocket before Stefan nodded for her to follow him more in the woods. People were still leaving the swimming hole and the two knew they couldn't flitter around.
"We should have told Caroline." Eve muttered aloud as the two ran at normal human speeds through the woods. Stefan shook his head, stopping every so often to listen.
"Yeah, well, she already had a lot on her plate, and werewolves possibly existing isn't something I want to have her think about right now." Stefan explained, running in a different direction. Eve followed close behind.
"Did you try and call her?" Eve asked as Stefan stopped once more. Eve tried to listen, but her heart was pounding in her ears.
"She left her phone in Matt's truck." Stefan muttered before he put his finger to his lips. Eve froze, listening in to try and see what Stefan was listening to. Eve's heart dropped as she heard a deep growling. Stefan looked back at Eve cautiously before he nodded for her to follow him.
"Do you think that's such a good idea?" Eve asked, hesitating to follow for a moment.
"Maybe…but what if Caroline's-" Stefan got out, but Eve roughly shook her head, making Stefan stop his train of thought. Eve couldn't think Caroline was dead. Caroline couldn't die. Eve refused to believe she could. After turning into a vampire. After Eve found a friend…
Stefan and Eve flittered closer to the growling, as no one else was as deep in the woods as they were, and if people were, the two could flitter around them. Stefan stopped Eve from flittering too close to a jeep. Eve's heart sank before skyrocketing up to her throat. That was Mason's jeep…and the growling was coming from near it…Stefan and Eve approached the jeep slowly. Stefan nodded at claw marks on the ground. Eve looked and felt her heart nearly stop as she saw chains on a tree. Eve nodded towards them. Shitshitshit. Those were Mason's chains. She only knew that because he had used them earlier that day to chain her up…Eve was beginning to feel a sick feeling in her stomach. Stefan walked up to the jeep, looking into the back as Eve kneeled and touched the chains. Fuck. Eve suddenly fell backward as glass shattered and Stefan fell on his back. Eve gasped as she saw a large grey wolf land on Stefan before running off. Stefan flittered to his feet while Eve flittered over to make sure he was okay.
"Was that-" Eve got out breathlessly.
"Yeah." Stefan muttered back, grabbing hold of her wrist before their hands locked. "We have to find Caroline, and fast." Stefan muttered, flittering away from the scene with Eve at his side. "Shit, that's blood." Stefan muttered, stopping for a moment as the smell of blood hit both of their noses. Stefan and Eve flittered to where the smell was. Stefan let go of Eve's hand and grabbed Caroline off of Matt. "Stop it! Hey! Stop, stop, stop!" Stefan yelled at Caroline as he held her back. Eve flittered over to Matt, catching him before he could hit the ground hard.
"Oh my God." Caroline cried out softly.
"No, no, no, stop." Stefan said sternly. Eve helped Matt lay down on his back. "We need to get out of these woods now." Stefan stated seriously. Eve watched Matt look up and around, as if in a daze. Well, he probably was in shock since Caroline had obviously bit and fed off him. "We need to leave." Stefan continued talking with Caroline. Eve froze as she heard growling, seemingly surrounding the area.
"What was that?" Caroline asked, fear in her voice. Eve's heart fluttered anxiously.
"Matt, stay down and don't move." Eve said sternly, half compelling Matt. Matt tried to nod, but hissed from pain before he slowly closed his eyes. Eve flitted over to Stefan and Caroline.
"We're going to run. All of us." Stefan instructed, holding onto Caroline's shoulders sternly, only glancing over at Eve. "It's going to follow us. We need to lead it away from Matt." Stefan explained quickly. "You need to run as fast as you can, do you understand me?" Stefan asked, making sure Caroline nodded. "Alright, go, go!" Stefan snapped. Caroline flittered off and Stefan and Eve followed behind her quickly. Caroline stopped near the cellar of the old Lockwood estate.
"Wait!" Caroline snapped back at Stefan. "What is it?!" Caroline asked frantically, looking over to Eve. Eve's heart was beating too quickly.
"It's a werewolf and he will try and kill us, and he can!" Stefan snapped back at Caroline. Eve only found herself frozen as she heard someone approach.
"Hey! What are you three doing?" Tyler Lockwood. Eve let out a shaky breath.
"What are you doing?" Stefan snapped back breathlessly. Eve didn't have a chance to even breathe when the wind was knocked out of her.
Eve's eyes shot open as she instinctively held off whatever was trying to attack her. Eve stared in fear at the large wolf as it gnashed its teeth at her with familiar glowing yellow eyes. Eve held it off, not being able to say anything but scream and try her best to keep the thing from biting her. The wolf was quickly shoved off of her. Caroline flittered next to her, pulling her back further away from the wolf as it growled at Stefan, who must have been the one to shove it away, baring its teeth at him. Before anything else could happen, Tyler's voice rang out.
"No!" Tyler screamed, turning the wolf's attention to Tyler. The wolf growled at Tyler before it ran off at a supernatural speed. Eve let out a shaky breath, letting herself lie back on the dirt ground, taking in deep breaths. "Wh-What…What was that?" Tyler asked, his voice just as shaky as Eve's own breaths.
"A wolf." Stefan stated, his voice sounding strong, but shaken up, just as Tyler's was.
"That was not just a wolf." Tyler muttered, taking a step back before stumbling over to Eve. "Are you okay?" Tyler asked, kneeling down next to Caroline, looking down at Eve.
"Peachy." Eve muttered aloud, sitting up and wiping the slobber from her face.
"I think we all need to get out of these woods." Stefan said, walking over to the trio now, reaching out his hand for Eve to take. Eve grabbed hold of his hand and pulled herself up.
"Probably go ta the hospital. Make sure I don't get anythin' from it if it scratched me…" Eve said, brushing herself off. Stefan and Caroline's heads snapped towards her. Tyler only nodded back.
"Matt's waiting for me." Caroline stated, putting her arm around Eve. "I'll have him take us to the hospital…" Caroline said, looking back at Stefan. Stefan nodded.
"You park near here?" Stefan asked, looking back at Tyler. Tyler nodded. "We can walk there together." Stefan suggested. "Better to stay in a group of two…" Stefan continued, looking at Eve and giving her a worried look. Eve nodded back. Tyler was in no state to disagree, only nodding and nodding for Stefan to follow him. "Let me know when you two get back to Matt." Stefan said, looking at Eve and Caroline. Both girls nodded before they began walking toward Matt and Stefan and Tyler walked the opposite way. After Tyler was out of sight, Caroline stopped walking, quickly getting in front of Eve and looking her up and down.
"Are you okay?! Oh my GOD! Holy SHIT! You almost DIED! Eve! Oh my GOD!" Caroline began to hyperventilate as she spoke. Eve shook her head, grabbing onto Caroline's shoulders.
"Caroline, I'm fine, I didn't get scratched or anythin'. I might have a bruise on me back, but it didn't bite me and it didn't scratch me, okay?" Eve said back, trying to calm Caroline down. "I only mentioned the hospital to make an excuse so Tyler and Stefan could go off together and we could go back to Matt." Eve explained her plan to Caroline who calmed down, took a deep breath in and nodded. "Now, let's go get Matt and get out of here." Eve said, nodding towards where Matt was still laying down. Caroline nodded and the two flittered back to him. Caroline sucked in a sharp breath as she saw Matt laying on the ground.
"Perfect time fer learnin', Care." Eve said, leaning down and sitting Matt up. Caroline watched, her fist next to her mouth as she tried to keep herself calm. "Matt." Eve said, gently shaking Matt, but no luck. Eve bit her wrist before shoving it against Matt's mouth. "He'll need some blood just ta get him up and about, but not so much that he's instantly healed." Eve explained, feeling Matt begin to drink some of her blood. Eve pulled her wrist away from his mouth, patting his cheek and standing up. "Up we go, Matty." Eve said, reaching down and helping Matt up. Eve looked over at Caroline and nodded back to where she knew Matt's truck was. Caroline nodded and the two flittered to his truck, with Matt in tow. "Now it's yer turn Care." Eve said, taking a step back from Matt. Matt still looked dazed, which was good. Caroline stared back at Eve, looking guilty. "Compel him ta forget Care…it's better for him." Eve said, nodding at him. "And the faster the better. I'd rather not be tackled down by that werewolf again." Eve muttered, rubbing her back. Caroline sighed, stepping up to Matt now.
"We were just making out in the woods…" Caroline began, looking over at Eve who nodded for her to continue. "You're not going to remember what I did to you…or what you saw me become." Caroline said, compelling Matt.
:We were just making out in the woods." Matt replied obediently.
"And then an animal attacked you and bit your neck." Caroline continued, looking guilty.
"It's weird; it just came out of nowhere." Matt replied, still having been compelled. Caroline took a step back from him and sighed. Stefan had flittered back to the area.
"Eve, are you okay?" Stefan asked, walking up to her with his hand already extended to try and feel if she had really been scratched. Eve shook her head gently.
"I'm okay, Stef, it didn't actually scratch me." Eve reassured, walking up to him and patting his extended hand. Stefan nodded, looking over at Caroline who still looked guilty.
"What are we gonna do about Tyler?" Caroline asked, glancing back at Matt.
"I took care of it." Stefan said, looking back at Matt as Caroline circled so that Eve and Stefan were now between her and Matt. "I'll get Matt on vervain; it'll keep you from being able to compel him but also to keep you from drinking his blood." Stefan explained gently. Caroline sighed, looking back at Matt.
"I can't believe I hurt him." Caroline sniffled, trying to keep herself from crying. Stefan sighed and looked back at Eve for help. "He is the only person on this entire planet that I never wanted to hurt." Caroline said shakily.
"It's not going to get any easier." Stefan said with a shrug. Eve elbowed him hard in his side.
"I think what Stefan meant ta say…is that you just need ta work harder…" Eve explained more lightly. Caroline sighed, turning around before looking back at Matt before Stefan.
"I shouldn't be with him, should I?" Caroline asked sadly. "I mean, if there's any danger…" Caroline trailed off, leading to Stefan sighing.
"I'm the last person to make that kind of decision for you." Stefan muttered. Eve looked up at him. "I mean, if I had followed my own advice, I would have walked away from Elena a long time ago." Stefan explained. Eve kept herself from letting out a laugh. No shit. Dating a doppelganger of an ex-lover who was a vampire, but this new version was human was a bad idea?
"You ever think you should have?" Caroline asked back, making Stefan scoff.
"I know I should have…" Stefan muttered, folding his arms. "I just can't." Stefan said seriously, shaking his head. Caroline nodded, looking back at Matt. "Let's get him to the hospital." Stefan said, turning and looking back at Matt.
"And get the hell out of these woods." Eve muttered, already walking over towards Matt's truck. She wasn't about to let Caroline be alone with her sad and guilty face.
AN:
Howdy friends! So! I've started going back and revamping and editing my older chapters! I've updated at least the first 3 chapters and am working on the 4th as you read! I've actually went back and changed out the first three chapters as well...I'm not sure if that's the best way to do it, or if I should have just waited to update it and just reupload all the chapters at once so it doesn't go from a newer, more refined writing style, to an obviously older one, but that's what comments are for! Or not for! I've made sure to put notes in the beginning to indicate that an older chapter was updated, but who knows if that's the right call. Anyway!
Thank you to team steroline mom for your constant support and comments! I'm doing better and hope to stay better! I'll finish this damn thing if it kills me. Which it won't be cause I haven't been so not stressed about writing in ages.
And thank you AnimeNerdX for bringing up Twilight. I rat on it so much, but there's a special place in my heart for the cringefest that is its entire existence (especially to me, that's not to say people aren't allowed to like or dislike Twilight, this is simply my own opinion)
But I digress. Enjoy this new chapter, and if you're bold, go back and enjoy the first few early chapters. Way more words, less cringe! Love you all. Stay safe