"So, let's see if I have understood this correctly," Jenna said, staring at us blankly. "Vampires are real. Witches are real. Vicki Donovan was a vampire and attacked Jeremy, that's why my niece Thalia, who is also a witch, had to kill her. Did I miss anything?"
I think her last question was a rhetorical/sarcastic one, but I still answered anyway.
"You can't let anyone know that you know everything," I said looking at them all, one after another. "There's a Council, which consists of some of the founding families' members and some of the most influential people of Mystic Falls. They are very adamant about keeping that secret, to avoid the panic and such. Sheriff Forbes knows now that I know, but it's okay, because I'm a Gilbert and technically it's my legacy too. I convinced her that Jeremy didn't see anything suspicious and it has to stay that way, there's no need do draw an unwanted attention. I'm sure they will come up with the story, covering Vicki's disappearance and I won't be surprised if all three of us are gonna be questioned. So far, all you know is that she was obsessed with Jeremy and attacked him while being on some serious drugs and possibly ran away after having an encounter with me."
Elena and Jeremy exchanged glances and nodded, showing that they would stick to the story. They were unsure though and I could understand their feelings, we would have to lie to the police. That thought was unnerving. But, well, they weren't being very honest too.
"You are telling me that Sheriff knows about vampires?" Jenna was still having a hard time processing the whole situation.
"Yeah. So far she, along with Mayor and Mrs Lockwood, Zach Salvatore and Logan Fell are the only members of the Council that I know of. But there are much more of them, I'm sure of it. Mom and dad were in it too, but, now I won't be surprised if Uncle John takes the vacant Gilbert place."
"Wait, wait, wait. So Logan knows too? And so does John? Why didn't Miranda tell me?" Jenna asked, looking a little hurt.
I exchanged glances with Elena and sighed. That was exactly what we feared would happen, her feeling betrayed by her own sister. So I started to speak, carefully picking my words.
"Well I think that there were several reasons for keeping you in the dark. First of all, there was no need for you to know, because there weren't any vampires in Mystic Falls since 1864. And second of all, they probably just didn't want to scare you without a good enough reason. Do you understand how hard it is to live in this world, knowing that there are much more powerful creatures out there that hunt humans for food? They had to tell their kids, because it is how it works around here, but at least you could afford a blissful unawareness. This is a heavy knowledge, trust me."
I sighed and asked Elena to pour me some orange juice. She immediately stood up, eager to do something helpful. She was on edge all day, and the lack of action was killing her.
"But why did she do that? Why she attacked me? I still don't understand," Jeremy mumbled quietly.
"Hey," I said, gently squeezing his hand, "I told you before, when you turn, all your emotions heighten. She attacked Ellie in the morning, because she didn't like her, she attacked you because she liked you too much and... you rejected her. I mean she should've been doing better than that after a month of being a vampire, but as I said she was the last human who should've ever been turned, she had no self control whatsoever."
Elena then came into the room with glasses of orange juice for everyone. I thanked her quietly when she passed me mine and immediately took a sip. It felt like I was dying of thirst to be honest. It was quiet for some time, everyone was busy enjoying their drinks.
"So why now? Why are you telling me now?" Jenna suddenly asked making as all turn to look at her. "The only dangerous vampire is gone and you said that Damon and Stefan are good guys, so why?"
"You are right, they won't harm anyone, but that's not it. Sometimes not knowing is better, but not this time. I have a feeling that everything will escalate very quickly soon."
"So how do we protect ourselves?" she asked desperately, not even questioning my vague explanation about having a bad feeling. They all knew me well enough to understand that it was serious.
"Well, you can't be compelled, I made sure of that," she gave me an interrogatory look. "Vampires can compel people to do whatever they want, so I made sure that all my loved ones have some vervain jewelry. Vervain is an herb that if worn or consumed, protects people from being compelled."
"That's what this is about?" She exclaimed showing her bracelet, that I got her a while ago.
"Yeah. Of course the protection is not an absolute one, they can easily rip it off, but being a witch has its own perks. I spelled all of your jewelry, so it can't be noticed by the vampires. So you are good. Also I add vervain in our tea and even food. One can't be too careful."
Elena and Jeremy already knew all of it, so they were just quietly sipping their drinks, letting me handle our aunt. Said aunt apparently became too nervous to handle the conversation in a sitting position, so she put her drink on the coffee table, stood up and started pacing around.
"I've read the journals, but it was a while ago when I thought that Jonathan Gilbert was a crazy writer and I obviously wasn't taking them seriously enough, so I don't remember much. I do remember however, something about not inviting them inside the house."
"You are right. I've told Elena and Jeremy already and now I am telling you too, never invite anyone directly into the house." I finished my drink and put my head on Jeremy's shoulder, feeling my eyelids getting heavy. "Well, it doesn't matter in our case, but still."
"What? Why?" Jenna asked nervously, pausing in her tracks.
"I mean, you still can do it just to see if a person in front of you is a vampire, but our house is safe. I secured it from anyone with ill intent."
"You did? How?" I opened my eyes, when I noticed that it was Elena who asked that question and turned to look at her. She wasn't the only one looking at me curiously, Jeremy was too, which made me think that I might've forgotten to share this particular piece of information.
"I used some spells and runes around the house, no one with ill intent will come in. There are still some loopholes, but I tried to cover most of them." The relief was obvious on their faces and even posture. Feeling safe in your own house does that to you, I'm sure.
"So you really are a witch," Jenna stated, making me stiffen. My fear of being rejected raising its head once again. It was actually my nightmare, back when I found out that Gilberts were vampire haters, them learning about me being a witch and hating me for it. I shivered and tried to get rid of the thought.
"My birth family from my mother's side were witches," I quietly said, avoiding her gaze. I would die if I saw fear or disgust in her eyes. "I will understand if you're afraid of me now. You won't be the first one." I almost whispered the last part, fiddling with the bandage on my neck. I didn't lie, I would understand, but that didn't mean that I could live with that. I knew very well what fear could make people do.
Distracted by my thoughts, I missed the moment when someone took my hand from my neck and gave it a gentle squeeze. I raised my head and saw Aunt Jenna kneeled in front of me and looking at me with so much love that I felt my eyes filling with tears.
"Did someone hurt you because you... because you are a witch?" she quietly asked and I flinched. That was a hard question. The question that I still wasn't ready to answer. But I could open the curtain a little bit.
"They knew that my mother was a witch and... tried to make me... do magic," I whispered, feeling my heart freezing from an old fear and anger. "But I was too young... I couldn't... I didn't know how." I heard Elena gasp in shock, but didn't turn to look at her, my eyes only on Jenna, who was silently crying, covering her mouth with her hand as if trying to hold in the sobs. "I wasn't able to trigger my magic to save my own life, but..." I turned to look at Jeremy, who was looking at me with teary eyes. "... the very thought of my baby brother getting hurt, became the push that my magic needed." The look that Jeremy gave me melted my heart. There was so much in his eyes, gratefulness, love, anger... desire to protect.
"Why, why didn't you tell them about it?" Jenna whispered, bringing my attention back to herself. "Why didn't you tell your parents? They would've done something."
"How could have I?" I finally felt tears streaming down my face and knew that I was close to a breakdown. "They hated vampires. They hated and feared the supernatural. I was supernatural! I would never... I would've died... I would've died if I saw hate or disgust on their faces. I would've..."
I don't remember how I ended up on the floor, crying my heart out on my aunt's shoulder. Feeling the loving presence of my family around me, made everything even worse. It's funny how you start to cry even harder when someone starts comforting you, especially when it's someone that is close to you. It just crashes down all mental defenses that you build around yourself. I felt bitter and sad that my parents died without knowing who I really was. It made me feel like I tricked or betrayed them. It was irrational, but I couldn't shrug that feeling off no matter how hard I tried.
But at the same time I felt relieved. Like a huge weight was removed from my chest. My aunt accepted me. My family accepted me. There were no secrets anymore. I mean, of course there were still some bits and pieces, but they were so insignificant, I was sure they would get revealed with time.
I don't remember how we broke apart, how I took shower or fell asleep. It felt like I was moving on autopilot. Elena and Aunt Jenna helped me with everything because I was so exhausted physically and emotionally that I would've never managed to do all that by myself. Also I wouldn't have even bother with taking a shower if I wasn't covered in dried blood. It was a hell to wash it off. Aunt Jenna helped me to bed and I fell asleep the moment my head touched the pillow.
I woke up next morning, cuddled between Ellie and Jenna, feeling as light as a feather. I slept pretty well, no nightmares or anything. It felt great.
I let myself to revel in warmth for a little while, then carefully got out of bed and went down to cook some breakfast, feeling the bubbles of joy popping in my stomach. I haven't felt that good at home in a long time. I didn't even realize that until now. Life is not full when you keep secrets from your family. I could let myself relax only when I was with Nik, but this heaviness in my chest still followed me everywhere.
Thinking about Nik, I pulled out my phone checking for any missed calls or messages from him, but sighed sadly when I didn't find any. I really missed him, but he was still out of reach. He didn't even see the photo I sent him yesterday. The one of me in my Hogwarts costume. I doubt he will even understand what costume that is, I thought amused, getting an idea for our next movie marathon. Oh, I loved showing someone my favorite shows and movies, often even against their will, but well... They always thank me later though.
I was about to put my phone away and start making some pancakes, when my phone suddenly started to ring. I looked at it excitedly, expecting it to be Nik, but frowned seeing Sheriff's name on the display.
"Hello? Aunt Liz? Something happened?"
"Hello, dear. We've sent a message to Matt from Vicki's phone, saying that she was leaving town, but we still need to ask some questions to everyone that she got in contact with last night. Which includes you and your siblings. I'm expecting you with your Aunt at 8 a.m. It's just a formality, but still."
Her voice sounded so calm, as if she was talking about our next shopping trip with Caroline or something. She knew the girl her whole life, she even went to school with her mother. It could've been anyone in her place, even her own daughter and, I thought with a slight sting of wariness, would've she reacted the same if it was (God forbid) Caroline?
"Yes, yes of course, we'll be there."
"Good. How are you feeling? How's Jeremy?" This time worry could be heard in her voice and I relaxed a little. It was still my Aunt Liz, my best friend's mom.
"I'm okay. A little weak from the blood loss, but okay. Jeremy's fine too, he still doesn't suspect anything."
"That's good to hear. I was worried when you refused to go to the hospital. I'll see you at the police office then."
"Yeah, see yuh."
I hung up and put the phone away, returning to cooking.
I was flipping the last pancake, when Jenna appeared in the kitchen.
"Mmhm, it smells so good," she mumbled kissing me on the forehead and sitting down, giving a silent thanx when I put the plate full of pancakes and a cup of a steaming coffee in front of her.
"Where's Elena?" I asked turning off the burner and pouring myself a cup too.
"She's in a shower."
I took a sip of my coffee feeling the warmth filling up my body. I missed my morning exercises and was feeling a little sluggish, so I had to compensate it with a cup of a strong coffee.
"Sheriff called. They want the three of us at the police office at 8 a.m, to ask a few questions about Vicki's disappearance. Apparently she sent a very vague message to Matt and disappeared." I said giving her a knowing look and she nodded. "Will you give us a ride? I think you should be there as our legal guardian."
"Of course." She turned to her plate, picking thoughtfully at her food and I decided to let her be and go wake up Jeremy.
We've spent the whole morning at the station. Such a drag. I had to wear a turtleneck sweater to avoid suspicious looks as me and Jeremy had matching bandages on our necks. It all would've been fine if said sweater wasn't that itchy. So you can imagine my desire to get home as soon as possible and change into something more comfortable.
We weren't the only ones who were questioned, Matt and Stefan were there too. And if Matt's presence was obvious, Stefan's - not so much. At least to me. Then Elena explained that before coming to the party, Vicki went home, quickly followed by Stefan who wanted to make sure that she wouldn't hurt her own brother. But Vicki being a bitch, told Matt that he was annoying her and he didn't let him into the house. And then at the party Matt saw him and Elena looking for Vicki, so...
I sighed with relief when we finished. I kinda avoided looking at Matt, feeling a little guilty that he was now all alone, thinking that his sister was just like his mother and ran away, leaving him behind. I couldn't even imagine how he felt.
Outside we witnessed Stefan's awkward attempt to talk to Matt, who didn't want to listen, still thinking that he had something to do with his sister's disappearance. I didn't need to look at Elena to know that she was looking at Stefan longingly, and none of us was surprised when she stayed behind to talk to him, telling us to wait in the car. It didn't take her long though and she looked like she was about to cry when she joined us.
I went straight to my room when we got home and finally got rid of the sweater, wondering why I even bought it in the first place. I usually buy things only after trying them on, but I didn't remember buying this torture device. Maybe someone gave it to me...
I was chilling on my bed with a book, when I received a text from Bonnie saying that she and Caroline would be coming over. That changed my mood instantly, and I went to find Elena to tell her the news. I wanted to talk to Bonnie for a while now, and this felt like a good opportunity.
I found Elena in the living room, lying on a couch beside Aunt Jenna, they both looking kind of dull, also Jeremy could be seen doing his homework in the kitchen.
"You two are wallowing," I said, stating the fact, and sat down right in the middle of the two.
"I was dumped," Jenna sighed, raising her hand up like she was answering a question during a lesson.
"Yeah, Logan's the jerk." Elena nodded absentmindedly, covering my legs with the blanket.
"You didn't get brush-off e-mail saying: "I'm leaving town. See ya."."
"What?" I asked frowning. "The guy was almost on his knees, begging for a second chance, and then just took off like that? Weird..."
"Yeah, well, it's just my luck. Guess now I just have to wait for "tall, smart and handsome" to come riding into my life on a white horse. When is that happening, again?" she asked me sarcastically, making me roll my eyes at her.
"Wait, did I miss something?" Ellie asked, looking at us confused. "Tall, smart and handsome?"
"Yeah. Thalia kinda saw that in my tea cup. And apparently we'll be having a marvelous time together," she answered wiggling her eyebrows.
"Hey, stop mocking my predicting abilities," I sighed exasperatedly, slapping her on her shoulder. "In almost 8 years of practice, my predictions were never wrong, not even once. You'll see."
"You were reading her tea leaves? And didn't invite me?" Elena exclaimed, overreacting shamelessly.
"Wanna keep it down over there?" We heard Jeremy's voice from the kitchen and let me tell you, he sounded really pissed.
"Sorry!" we all said at the same time and went silent, but second later I kinda remembered why I even came downstairs in the first place.
"Hey, Bonnie and Caroline are coming over, by the way," I said, turning to Elena, seeing her expression change instantly.
"Oh, thank God. I could really use a little distraction."
Elena has long gone upstairs, soon joined by Bonnie and Caroline, while I remained in the kitchen to get us some snacks. I prepared some non-alcoholic mojito cocktails and chicken sandwiches, put all of it on a tray and went to join them as well.
"...and he just tried to rip it off my neck." I heard Bonnie saying when I opened the door to Elena's room. They all were seated on Ellie's bed and got super excited seeing me with food.
"What did I miss?" I asked carefully putting the tray in the middle of the bed, watching amusedly as they attacked the food.
"You remember that ugly ass crystal that we found on the ground near the unconscious Katie Fell?" Bonnie asked, and I nodded. I did remember it, but quite vaguely, as first of all it was dark, and second of all, I was too tired to pay attention to it. "Well, just as you told me, I tried to give it back to her the next day at school, but she just laughed at my face saying that she would've never worn something that ugly. So I just kept it. And yesterday at the party, Damon came to me and asked to give it back, but when I refused he tried to rip it from my neck and it just zapped him." Bonnie looked really confused during her narration, so I assumed that all that situation has been bugging her for a while now.
"Damon's a jerk. Just ignore him. I do." Caroline rolled her eyes.
"But that's not all. Grams saw the necklace and said that it belonged to my ancestor, Emily or something, she even showed me her picture and it looks identical to the one she was wearing. And Grams told me to wear it, but it's just creeping me out. And why the hell Damon even had it?"
I was becoming more serious with every second, not liking what my friend was saying. Elena saw my expression and frowned, silently asking me what was wrong, but I was too concentrated on Bonnie, so I ignored her.
"Hey, can I see it," I asked nonchalantly and she just shrugged her shoulders, taking it off and handing it to me.
As soon as our hands touched with the crystal in the middle, I gasped, suddenly being hit by a vision. The last thing I felt was hands holding onto me and my name being called, but soon it all disappeared.
I was standing near the lake, my surroundings strangely familiar, but I couldn't remember if I was there before or if it was just a weird sense of deja vu. I turned away from the little waterfall and noticed two people standing near some old barn. One of them was Damon, who looked so not like himself that I almost mistook him for someone else. His clothes were old fashioned, he had long curly hair and strange innocent look on his face. He looked like he was begging the other person for something, but I couldn't hear what he was saying, so I moved my gaze to his companion. It was a young African-American woman, wearing maid's clothes, but there was something in her posture, in the way that she was holding her head, that told me that she wasn't just any woman. There was power in her eyes that was a rare sight on a woman of that time. She was certainly a witch.
"I'll do it," she spoke suddenly, interrupting Damon's pleas. "I'll do it, but you need to give me something in return."
"Anything!" Damon almost whispered, losing his voice from relief.
"In exchange for the deal you will protect my lineage. Swear it!"
"I swear! I swear I will, but please save..."
Damon's desperate pleas were still ringing in my ears when I came to my senses. The vision was short, so there wasn't any pain. Just a feeling of growing headache, from knowing that there was much more explanation awaiting me in the near future.
The first thing I saw, was the girls' shocked faces. They were all frozen in place and I noticed that all of them were touching me one way or another. I so need to learn how to keep my visions to myself, came a desperate thought, but I shrugged it off, concentrating on Caroline's panicked voice.
"What... the hell... was that?!" She half shrieked half whispered, looking at us with huge eyes.
"I didn't... I didn't know that I could do that..." Bonnie said looking terrified.
I sighed and raised my hand to pinch the bridge of my noise, when I noticed that I was still holding Emily's necklace. I took a closer look at it, confirming my own conclusion.
"Actually, this time it was me," I casually said, and felt their attention focusing on me. Well, except for Caroline, I'm not sure she heard a word I said.
"It was... it was Damon, who looked ridiculous in those clothes... and that girl... and how is that even possible?"
Caroline was slowly sinking down in hysterics, so I had to put away the necklace and turn to help her, ignoring Bonnie's shocked face.
"Hey hey, look at me and take a deep breath, okay?" I waited till she concentrated on me and started doing as I said. "In and out... in and out. Everything's okay."
I grabbed her glass from the tray, that for some miraculous reason was left unbothered by our frantic movements, and made her take a sip, all the while feeling Bonnie's burning gaze on the side of my face. I looked at my sister and noticed that she looked slightly out of it. I snapped my fingers in front of her face and she instantly jumped, blinking furiously.
"You... you are just like me. I felt it when I touched you... you are a witch!" Bonnie finally managed to say, suppressing her shock, making Caroline put down her glass and turn to me as well.
"Yeah, I told you. I'm a witch. No big deal." I saw Elena rolling her eyes at me, but decided to ignore it.
"I mean, I came here ready to tell you all that I really was a witch and it turns out that you are a witch as well, and..." Bonnie looked like she was hyperventilating, and I thought worriedly that maybe I should help her calm down too, when she suddenly screamed, throwing her arms in the air, making Elena and Caroline jump a little. "Yesss! I'm not the only one! I was freaking out about this whole situation, thinking that you will not believe me, or get scared or something worse... but now I know that I'm not the only one! That's so cool!"
It was funny how much I could relate to her. I could almost feel the relief that was washing through her at the moment. But there was still someone else that concerned me, so I slowly turned to look at Caroline, who looked totally fine actually, sitting there with a thoughtful look on her face. I wasn't the only one who was waiting for her to freak out, as I felt Elena and Bonnie doing the same. Probably feeling our attention on her person, Caroline snapped out of her thoughts and looked at us.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Waiting for you to freak out," Bonnie said, voicing our collective concern.
"No no no, everything is starting to make a perfect sense now," she said slowly, making us exchange worried glances. "I already knew that Thalia was a witch, or at least knew that there was something different about her, after she predicted Amber's sudden stomach flu, before the charity football game and I was able to replace her in time and the program wasn't ruined. Bonnie was going on and on about being a witch for months now, so it's not that big of a shock, to be honest. Damon Salvatore being a vampire, that's what's important."
"What?" Bonnie asked confused, totally missing me and Elena exchanging gobsmacked looks from the sudden revelation. How the hell did she figure it out?
"I saw his face change a few times, during sex. All this time I thought that it was just a trick of light or something, but now it makes perfect sense. Mom told me stories about vampires, I thought she was nuts, but I believe her now, after we all saw that vision or whatever that was. Didn't you notice what he was wearing? It was totally last century. Maybe even 1800s!"
I'm not gonna lie, I started laughing at that point. This whole conversation was so surreal that I couldn't stop laughing.
"Oh Caroline, I love you," I said wiping away the tears of joy. "I swear to God, you are like Sherlock Holmes in a skirt. To be able to connect Amber's stomach flu with me being a witch... that's... that's powerful."
I cracked up again and saw all of them fighting their smiles, until they finally gave up and joined me too. We all lay down on the bed from laughter, no one even noticed me silently levitating the tray with glasses and food to the floor. No need to say that it took us a while to calm down.
"So it's true, isn't it?" Caroline carried on with the topic. "Vampires are real and Damon is one. Wait, doesn't that mean that Stefan is a vampire too? I knew that there was something different about him."
"Yeah," Elena finally joined the conversation. "Yeah, he is. That's why we broke up. I just... I don't know what to do. Everything became so complicated."
"What do you mean it became complicated?" Caroline huffed, sitting up on the bed from annoyance. "Who cares who he is, if you love him and he loves you back? I mean, Elena, I would've killed for someone to love me like that. Doesn't matter if he's a human or a vampire or even a leprechaun. The love like yours is so rare and I can't believe that you are letting it slip through your fingers like that."
Elena just looked at Caroline, speechless. I silently grabbed Care's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, showing her that I understood how she felt.
"She's right Elena. You keep finding excuses, but love like this happens just once in a lifetime, and some people just never get a chance to experience it. You are lucky." I saw her expression change and knew that it was the push that she needed. I then turned to Caroline. "And you too, princess. Listen to a Seer, you will find your happily ever after and you too Bonnie. Maybe there will be some bumps on the road, but at the end you will all meet the right person. Then you will remember my words, trust me."
They gave me blinding smiles, tears shining in their eyes, and I thought suddenly that they were so young and full of dreams and hopes, and that light that only innocent people have. And I swore to myself to do anything to protect that innocence.
"Oh, I love you guys so much!" Caroline exclaimed, wiping away her tears. "Group hug!"
None of us were able to escape.
After letting us free, Caroline then turned to Bonnie, looking at her expectantly.
"What?" Bonnie asked nervously.
"Show us what you can do! I want to see some real magic," Caroline exclaimed, jumping excitedly in her seat. Me and Elena turned curious looks at her too, so Bonnie sighed exasperatedly and stood up. She went and closed the window, before grabbing one of Elena's pillows and ripping it open pouring the feathers onto the bed under our curious gazes.
"Hey!" Elena wasn't able to contain her confusion, but was hushed by Caroline who was waiting for a miracle.
"Be patient," Bonnie smiled, before sitting down again.
She raised her hand above the feathers, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I felt a small surge of magic as she raised her hand up and levitated a feather. Elena and Caroline gasped in awe, making Bonnie smile proudly and concentrate a little more, and a second later there were dozens of feathers floating around, making everything look majestic.
"This is like, so cool," Caroline squealed like a little girl, tears of joy could be seen in her eyes.
"It will be our secret," Bonnie said solemnly, holding out her pinky. "Swear it!"
"I swear!" We all crossed our pinkies and swore to keep a secret, like we always did when we were kids.
Our special moment was ruined when Care received a text from one of her friends and suddenly groaned in annoyance.
"I can't believe it! That bitch Katie is throwing a party at the Grill! I wanted to go there this evening. What am I supposed to do now?"
"Who cares? Just go and have fun," Bonnie said but I tuned them out.
Stefan's friend Lexi was killed at the party that Katie threw at the Grill. I was wondering if Damon would listen to my advice and leave her alone or do something stupid that he would definitely regret in the future? But for some strange reason I wasn't worried at all, something told me that everything would end well.
Caroline and Bonnie were long gone and I was in the living room playing Xbox with Jeremy, when Elena came running down the stairs with a dedication written all over her face.
"I'm gonna go see Stefan. Can you come with me?" She asked me, playing nervously with her keys. But before I could answer Jeremy suddenly cut in.
"No, she can't. We are having a race here."
We were having a race indeed, so intense that I wasn't even able to avert my gaze from the tv even for a second. So I just muttered "sorry", and continued trying to kick my brother's ass. She didn't say anything, but I could almost hear her rolling her eyes, before storming off. It looked like Caroline's words had a little impact on her.
"Do you really have nothing else to do on a Saturday evening?" I asked Jeremy, eyes still remaining on a tv. "Where's Emily?"
"Nah, I'm good. I have no idea where she is. Probably at home."
"Why? What happened? Is something wrong?" He was too indifferent. It wasn't like him at all. Yesterday they were both having so much fun together.
"We kinda had a fight. Someone told her that I was seen sneaking out with Vicki at the party. I told her that Vicki just wasn't feeling well and I was helping her, but she didn't believe me. She thought that I was cheating on her. I got mad and left."
I almost crashed my car listening to him, so I had to return my concentration to the game.
"Wow. That's... not good." I didn't know what else to say, I wasn't that versed in a relationship area, so... I guess I should let Elena talk to him.
"Yeah. What about you? How is that Nik guy doing?"
That question took me off guard, to be honest. Jeremy never asked me about him before.
"Nik guy is... busy. Haven't heard from him since yesterday. He's in the wild, so there's no signal out there." And I missed him so so much. But that was left unsaid.
We continued playing in silence mostly, exchanging a few words here and there only when necessary. Time went by, but I've only noticed that when Ellie fell on a couch right beside me, looking really pathetic.
"What's up? You were out for like only half an hour. Why are you back so early?" I quickly gave her a glance out of the corner of my eye and returned to the game.
"I met a naked girl in a towel who said that Stefan was in the shower," she paused letting her words sink in. "I kinda ran away."
"Tall, tan and blond?" I asked matter-of-factly, and felt the couch moving from her sudden jolt.
"You know her?" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's Lexi, I think. Stefan's 300 and something year old best friend. And when I say friend, I mean it."
"How do you know? You met her or..." she didn't finish but we all knew what she was implying.
"Or. She's actually kinda nice. You will like her."
I heard her mumbling something under her breath, but didn't pay attention. I was losing, damn it!
It's been a few hours since I returned to my book. The game ended long ago and I'm ashamed to admit that I lost... pathetically. But well, racing games were never my favorite, I much preferred shooters.
Returning to the book I was reading, or was so desperately trying to read, it was a novel. I don't do novels. But this time I had no choice, since it was my homework. Bugger.
I kept trying to concentrate on it, but my thoughts kept wandering to a mystery called Damon Salvatore. I mean, trying to figure out why he was in town was far more entertaining than the book I was reading, so...
Who did he want to save? What connection did he have with Emily Bennett, one of the strongest witches of the Bennett bloodline? She made a deal with him. He swore to keep her lineage safe in return for... what? Her saving someone who was close to him? I had the feeling that the answer was right in front of me, but I couldn't concentrate enough to grasp it. Not with all recent events and revelations. First Elena and Jeremy, then Jenna and now Bonnie and Caroline... I'm gonna lose my mind if I would have to explain the supernatural shit to someone else once again, I swear.
My thoughts were interrupted by a quiet knock on my door.
"Hey, are you busy?" Elena asked poking her head inside.
"Nah. Just trying to finish this stupid thing and failing. What's up?"
She came in and sat beside me on my bed, fiddling nervously with her hair.
"You were right about that Lexi girl. Stefan came, wanted to talk and invited me to the party at the Grill but I kinda chickened out and now..." she sighed and looked at me with puppy eyes.
"And now you wanna go, but don't want to look desperate, so you want me to go with you so you can safely say that it was me who dragged you along?" My voice filled with sarcasm and an arched eyebrow made her cheeks go slightly red. Annoyed, she took my pillow in attempt to hit me with it, so I had to throw my hands in the air in the universal "I surrender" gesture. "Okay, fine, I'll go. Now go get ready if you want to look pretty for your boy toy."
The party was in full swing when we arrived. The Grill was packed with people, mostly teenagers. I caught a glimpse of Bonnie and Caroline through the crowd, but apparently my sister's eyes were on someone else. I followed Elena's gaze and saw Stefan and his friend laughing and having a great time by the billiard table. Caroline and Bonnie were sitting at the table not so far from them. I waved at my friends and was about to lead my sister in their direction when I heard the all too familiar voice right behind us.
"Stefan smiles. Alert the media," Damon whispered dramatically, making me giggle. His statement was quite accurate, Stefan always looks like he's heavily thinking about something. It was nice to see him that relaxed for a change.
"You haven't given him a lot of reasons to be happy lately," Elena gave a snarky statement, defending her precious Stefan.
"Oh, you're right," Damon nodded. "Poor Stefan, persecuted throughout eternity by his depraved brother. Does it get tiring being so righteous?"
"Yes it does," I interrupted their conversation. "Very much so. Now, be a dear and buy me a drink." I took his arm and dragged him to the bar, winking at Elena. She mouthed "thank you" and went to our friends, probably so she could secretly swoon over her boy from afar.
"You know I'm pretty sure you can do it yourself," Damon huffed, not happy by my actions.
"Now, it's not a way to treat a lady, is it?" He grumbled something inaudible, but stopped pretending to be a victim. He knew he had no other choice. Of course I could've charmed a bartender to pour me some alcohol, but I wanted to save my sister some nerve cells, so...
After compelling the bartender to serve me anything I want, he quickly disappeared into the crowd, probably busy with his evil schemes. I watched him leave with amusement clear on my face, sipping happily on my scotch.
I was kinda happy that I came here to be honest. I could use a little rest. So I just turned into a silent observer once again, just sitting on a bar stool facing the crowd. I would've never said this in Caroline's hearing range, but Katie did a pretty good job, it seemed like the whole town was here. Of course it was an illusion, the Grill wasn't supposed to contain that many people. My friends were sitting at the table along with Matt and Tyler and looked like they were having a good time. At least almost all of them, Caroline looked pissed, trying to kill Katie who stood nearby with her burning gaze. I chuckled softly at the sight of a pouting blonde, and watched Katie approach their table. I thought that she wanted to say something nasty to Caroline as always, but to my surprise she approached Bonnie, ignoring the blonde completely. I frowned seeing her saying something to Bonnie wearing her bitchy face, and was about to go and tell her to fuck off, when Caroline did that for me.
I watched Katie storming off and couldn't contain my confusion. What the hell was that?
I forgot about Katie drama, when I saw Jeremy and Emily, arguing in a corner. It didn't look like things were going well between them. I reminded myself to tell Elena to talk to him or something. It pained me seeing him like this.
I was amusedly observing some kid from my art class getting wasted, when all too familiar blonde approached the bar. I silently watched her compelling the bartender to pour her some tequila before going straight to my sister. I thought about joining them for a second, but decided not to. They had a lot to talk about.
Looking at the people around me living their lives, I suddenly felt a sting of loneliness. They all had some kind of purpose, something that made their lives bearable... and then there was me, trying to drown my sadness in alcohol and failing miserably, because I couldn't get drunk.
I shook my head and turned to the bartender to order another glass of scotch when I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I took it out with shaking hands, praying for it to be him. It was.
"Hello, love." I heard his husky voice, feeling the world around becoming silent. It was just me and his voice.
"Hey," I managed to whisper, knowing that he would still hear me.
"I received your message. I didn't quite understand the meaning of your costume, but let me tell you, you looked stunningly beautiful."
"Flattery will take you nowhere, Mr." I tried to sound angry or at least strict, but failed miserably. "You were gone for so long. I missed you." I knew I sounded pathetic, but could do nothing about it. He got under my skin so deep, that I would never be able to rip him off, not without killing myself. That thought was scary.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. It wasn't my intention to upset you. I missed you as well."
"How's your little trip going?"
I listened to him telling me about his last few days and felt at peace. I could've listened to his voice forever.
"You are not listening to me, are you?" He chuckled.
"I'm sorry. I was listening, I swear. It's just... You know what your voice does to me. I really miss you." I felt really awkward all of a sudden, and decided to change the topic. "How are Bonnie and Clyde doing?"
"Clyde is fine, quiet and broody as always. Bonnie... I have no idea." There was some strange emotion in his voice that I couldn't quite describe.
"Why? What happened?" I suddenly became really nervous.
"I let her go. Sent her to her family," he said matter-of-factly, and I felt so touched all of a sudden. But I needed to know why.
"Why did you do that? I thought you needed her."
"She was useful, yes. But your trust is more important to me than her usefulness."
He was so calm, as if saying the obvious things, not even noticing what he was doing to me. I mean it wasn't that big of a deal, but I never thought that he was the type. It was just so heartwarming and thoughtful and sweet, that I felt the lump appearing in my throat and eyes burning from unshed tears.
"Nik, I..." I don't know what I was gonna say, probably "I love you", but got interrupted by Damon, who came out of nowhere and lay his ass on a stool right next to me.
"You are not crying over there witchy, are you?" he asked, arching his eyebrow at me, and I wasn't sure whether I was mad at him for ruining our moment or glad that he saved me from saying something that I probably was going to regret later.
"Damon. Perfect timing as always," I rolled my eyes giving him a fake smile.
"Is he bothering you, love?" I heard Nik ask and returned my attention back to him.
"Nah. Just being nosy as usual," I chuckled hearing Nik laughing softly. "Um, I'm gonna call you back, when I get home okay? You are not gonna disappear, are you?"
"No, I'm not. I'll be waiting for your call. Have fun."
"I will. Bye."
I was a little upset that this phone call was so short, but at the same time... What was I thinking? I almost confessed. I mean, I admitted to myself a long time ago that I loved him, but doing that and actually saying that to him, were two different things. First of all, I sure as hell wasn't gonna do that over the phone, and second of all... I was kinda scared. I wanted him to do it first. Silly, I know, but my insecurities were killing me.
I sighed tiredly and returned my attention to the vampire beside me.
"So, how's that evil plan of yours going?" I asked nonchalantly, gesturing a bartender to give me a refill.
"Oh, everything's going just fine. Exactly like I want it to go," he said smugly making me give him unimpressed look. I saw some wild looking guy taking a seat on the other side of him, but shrugged it off, when I heard another familiar voice.
"Okay, here, I'm bribing you," Lexi said, taking an empty seat on my right and putting a few shots in front of Damon. "I need you to answer a question. What are you really doing in Mystic Falls?"
"You are wasting your time, girl," I sighed taking a sip of my own drink. "He's never gonna give a straight answer. I'm Thalia, by the way."
"Well it was worth a try," she shrugged then gave me a charming smile. "You are Elena's sister right? I'm Lexi, Stefan's friend."
"Hey, that's it?" Damon exclaimed in mock annoyance, not liking being ignored. "You just gave up like that? Not gonna try to torture my diabolical plans out of me?"
"Suck it up, Lestat. For someone who claims to have a diabolical master plan you sure as hell are doing a shitty job to keep it secret," I mused, taking one of the shots in front of him and downing it in go.
"Well, what can I say," he said giving us his signature smirk. "I'm a sucker for attention."
"And don't we all know that," Lexi murmured beside me, making me giggle.
My smile disappeared instantly though, as Sheriff Forbes appeared out of nowhere with a few of her deputies and injected the wild looking guy that I spotted earlier with something from a regular looking syringe.
"What are you doing?" Damon exclaimed in dramatic whisper, looking around to make sure that no one noticed. I had a familiar feeling of deja vu, as it always happened when my visions began to come true, but this time it was different. The future has changed.
I felt Lexi shifting beside me as if about to interfere, so I put my hand on hers, and gave a firm squeeze, adding a little magic to my touch so to prevent her from doing something stupid.
"Thank you for the vervain," I heard Liz muttering to him, before nodding at her deputies to take the wild guy out. "Now, if you'll excuse me."
She looked at me briefly and nodded, before leaving, quickly followed by Damon. I didn't nod back as I saw Stefan making an attempt to go after them. I cast a little spell to freeze him in place, just for a second and spoke, knowing that he would definitely hear me: "Stefan, don't."
I removed the spell and he turned to look at me ignoring worried Elena that was trying to know what was going on. I just slowly shook my head and turned to another confused vampire.
Lexi was still looking at the spot where the unknown vampire was sitting a few seconds ago and the realization could be seen appearing on her face.
"He did this, didn't he? Damon did this."
"Yeah," I answered, but wasn't sure that she heard me.
"Something is not right," she muttered. "I feel strange. Like... like someone just walked on my grave."
That was interesting. And quite accurate. I didn't know that she could feel Death itself passing by.
"You were destined to die tonight Alexia Branson," I suddenly said, my voice unnaturally empty of any emotions. I didn't know what took over me. "But you were deemed worthy of a second chance."
"What?" She breathed, looking at me with huge eyes. "Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter. You must have done something to hurt him really badly to make him want to kill you even knowing that it would deeply hurt his brother." From the look on her face she knew exactly what I was talking about. "But you are a good person. So keep being that person and don't waste the chance that you were given."
"Why... why didn't he kill me? I know him... he's not the one to change his mind."
"Because I told him, that his brother will need you in the near future." I calmly said standing up and she stiffened. "He did it for Stefan."
I was about to go and calm down my sister when she stopped me.
"Thank you!" she said grabbing my hand. "You saved my life. I-I owe you."
"Just try not to rile him up, okay? And keep being a good friend to Stefan." I squeezed her hand before letting it go and heading to my sister.
It took me awhile to explain what happened to Elena, and she was unsurprisingly relieved hearing that Damon was cleaning up his mess. Stefan was not with her, I assumed that he might've overheard my conversation with Lexi and went to have a few words with Damon for wanting to kill his best friend.
I offered Elena to drive her home, but she refused, saying that she wanted to wait for Stefan. Jeremy was nowhere to be seen, as was Caroline, but Bonnie said that she had had too much to drink and Matt drove her home. So I just waved her goodbye and headed out.
There was something that I wanted to finish before dawn.