(1) Bloodlines: The Curse (A Vampire Dairies Fanfiction)

5. The Tomb

Sleep hadn't come easy for Alex.

The last time she had been in her childhood room was the day of the funeral. She'd pack up her bag and left. Jenna had insisted that she stay; her room hadn't really changed all that much. All of what she had left behind was still there, and the room had been cleaned; there wasn't a spec of dust in sight.

It didn't help that Elena hadn't come home that night. Alex assumed that her friend drama had kept her out, and when Jenna didn't show any concern, Alex decided to let it be. She heard Jeremy come home; he exchanged a few words with Jenna before going up to his room, passing Alex as he did but ignoring her like she didn't even exist. It hurt for Jeremy to act in such a way, but she understood why.

When Alex decided that sleep would elude her, she climbed out of bed and took a seat on the chair in the corner of her room. It had once been the place she had sat and read or sketched in her notepad. Alex pulled a blanket over her legs and pulled out her phone.

"Mystic Falls driven you crazy yet?" asked James as he answered.

Alex smiled. "Not yet."

"How are you?" he asked.

Alex sighed and sunk lower in the chair. "I'm okay. Things went better than expected."

"Did you tell them?"

"That I'm a witch, yes—well, I told Elena and Jenna. Jeremy didn't stick around to listen."

"How did Elena take the news she was going to need a new boyfriend?"

"I thought it would be wise to leave that part out."

"Probably wise."

"What assignment has Renee got you on?"

"Hunting down a nest. Four of them; got three of already, there's just one that slipped through the cracks."

"That seems to happen to you a lot."

"Only because you're not here."

"I wish you were with me."

"I do too."

There was a quiet moment between them. Both just wishing they could side by side.

James broke it and said, "On a positive note, being here did give me some time to do some research for you. I don't know if it was in the files that Renee gave you, but back in 1864, a group of vampires were rounded up and locked in a church that the founders burnt to the ground."

"Yeah, I read that," said Alex.

The files that Renee had provided were detailed about every supernatural that had ever been to Mystic Falls.

"Did it also say that those vampires were freed a few weeks ago?" asked James.

Alex sat up. "No, it didn't."

"All of those vampires are dead now, but a big empty tomb like that would be a great place to hide a moonstone."

Alex smiled. It would be a very good hiding place. But it also seemed too easy, and if the Salvatore's knew about the moonstone, would they put it in such a place.

"I may need to check it out," said Alex.

"I'll keep digging if you like, see what else I can learn."

"That would be great. Anything would be helpful at the moment."

They changed the subject after that, leaving business be and talking about anything but what was looming. James caught Alex up on what James' little sister Sarah had managed to do within twenty-four hours; the girl, while Alex adored her, had a habit of getting into trouble. James blamed it on teenage rebellion.