Forever

Elizabeth Forbes

"Care!" I shouted.

Open the door.

The Mikaelsons have a nasty habit of snatching me away the second something's wrong and I needed to get to Bonnie.

First I had to be somewhere my future in-laws wouldn't be able to get in. Also, hopefully this would be the last place any of them would look.

Kol was being suffocating and I only had a few hours before I knew for sure if I completed the transition or not.

Because why couldn't it be easy.

Sheriff Forbes opened her door, brow furrowed. "Drew? I thought you went on a trip."

"Hi! I just got back and I was looking for Caroline." I resisted the urge to glance around. It felt like there was an Original creeping around every corner.

"She's not here, you should check with your siblings." She was giving me the strangest look. "Are you okay sweetheart?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure?" Maybe it was because she's known me my whole life but she knew something was wrong. "If you need anything-"

And didn't that make me want to burst out into tears. "I'll call you. I just need to go find Care." Alrighty so that house was off limits.

Matt's?

Bonnie's? She was kind of far away.

But so was Matt.

"Why don't you come in for a minute and I'll make you some hot chocolate." She seemed like she'd been on her way out. I felt bad. "C'mon sweetheart."

I reluctantly followed her in, allowing her to sit me at her breakfast table like I was a little kid again. "You really didn't have to do this."

"I know." Mrs Forbes set about making hot chocolate and I had to admit, it was nice to have someone who wasn't lecturing me on my personal safety.

She felt safe and warm.

Like mom always did.

"So." She set a mug in front of me and sat down  with her own. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm just tired, there's nothing wrong."

Mrs Forbes hummed. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, just don't lie to me."

My throat tightened up and my eyes burned. I felt like a little kid again, scolded after stealing cookies from the cookie jar. "What would you do, hypothetically, if there was a guy that really liked you, but your siblings really hated him?"

"Well-" She shifted in her seat. "I'm not exactly an expert, but they should be supporting you instead of hating whomever this person is."

"Jeremy's on board, I think. Elena's not." It certainly didn't help that she had everyone else to back her up. I tapped against the mug mindlessly. "This might sound out of the blue but do you think the people in arranged marriages are happy?"

Outside forces pushing two people together against their will?

Sounds familiar.

Mrs Forbes blinked. "Why? You looking to be in one?" She joked but the smile on her face melted off when I didn't reciprocate. "Drew, where'd you go when you left? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

Tears fell unbidden as I stared into my drink. I couldn't drag Caroline's mom into this. "Sometimes we get dealt a shitty hand."

She reached out and grabbed one of my hands. "I can pull some strings, get you somewhere safe."

"Don't bother." I finally looked up. "I got turned and I can't complete the transition. I'll be dead by nightfall." The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.

At least if she warned the council, I'd be gone already.

"What?"

I wanted to spill my guts, tell her everything. But what would it do? What would going to Bonnie do either? I'd gone against nature simply by existing so the ancestors weren't going to help me.

They were cruel.

"I should probably get going. Have to say my goodbyes and everything. Thank you for this, it's was nice to have a little bit of normalcy."

Would it be poetic for my final resting place to be on wickery bridge?

Mrs Forbes seemed frozen in her place. That was good, better to run now and not have to explain later.

...

"You've made quite the mess, little Gilbert." Damon appeared.

I didn't move, my seat on the guard rails was already precarious enough. "How'd you find me?"

"Got the same habits as your big sister." He approached cautiously, before sitting carefully beside me. "So what? You're just giving up?"

"Maybe."

"Where's that fiery spirit?" Damon bumped his shoulder with mine.

"She died when I transitioned."

"What if I told you, we had a theory."

"What could possibly save me now?" The sun was about to go down, but of course there was a last ditch effort by the group. Even if I knew it was useless.

The last theory had worked by sheer luck. No one could've known that Klaus' blood would heal Damon. Yet we'd risked it anyway.

Was I worth that same risk?

"Well little Gilbert, when you ran from the original douchebags, Elijah and Kol made a little visit. Bonnie was able to tap into the ancestor spirits and with a few well placed threats and Elijah giving his word, they finally gave up the secret."

"Why do I feel like this'll bite me in the ass." It was honestly impressive. Damon put aside his hatred for the Mikaelsons.

They were actually working together.

He winced. "Because you can't drink any old human blood."

"What?" I asked wearily. "Damon."

"It has to be Jeremy."

"No."

"You just have to control it."

"Why him?" I don't trust myself not to kill him.

"The witches said you had to prove you aren't a killer, you're supposed to be the opposite or something. I don't know, it's a lot of witchy mumbo jumbo."

I'm supposed to be Kol's polar opposite. That's what Rebekah said and if what his siblings have been telling me is true, he's a killer.

And the witches want me to prove I'm not like him.

Friggin' witches.