FIRE AND ICE ⎯ n.mikaelson¹

XLV. EYES CLOSED

What is truly yours would eventually be yours, and what is not, no matter how hard you try, will never be. Thea understood that now. She couldn't force Klaus or her friends to change; to live perfectly inside the little fantasy world she'd imagined in her head. Life wasn't that kind. Love wasn't that kind. It brought pain and heartache, and torment and suffering. But pain is the cost of living, like love, it's how we know we're alive. And life goes on.

"Carol Lockwood always said that togetherness in times of tragedy leads to healing, that one community is stronger than a thousand of its members. But how does a community stay strong after losing its leader? And Carol was so much more than a leader, she was an open minded friend a concerned mother..." Sheriff Forbes trailed with a frown causing Thea to roll her eyes. She knew the two women were close friends, but the Forbes woman was speaking as if her mother was dead when all she had done was move to Florida.

And it wasn't just Liz, either. The whole town was just as depressed and sad. The wolf would find it laughable, if she had any energy left in her to truly care. She loved her mom endlessly, but she didn't think the town would be this bothered by the fact that she was no longer their Mayor. "In wake of this tragedy," Liz began once again causing Thea to finally snap as she rolled her eyes once again, "can we stop talking about my mom as if she's dead? She left town, that's all. Seems she's the only Lockwood with any sense," the brunette spoke up, looking at her twin with a pointed stare as she muttered the last part.

Murmurs and shocked gasps erupted throughout the gym as the gathered students turned to face Thea, shocked by her outburst causing the brunette to roll her eyes before her expression became expressionless once again. "Screw this," Tyler muttered as he shook his head before standing from his seat and storming out of the gym, not sparing his younger sister another glance as he did so. Not that the young wolf cared much.

She hadn't spoken to Tyler since last night when she found him at the Lockwood mansion as he demanded to know where their mom was. Thea told him she had gotten Stefan to compel her to leave town, and urged him to do the same, which of course he refused to listen to. Instead, he had screamed at her, blaming her for being the reason their mom had left- which is ironic when you think about it, considering he was the one that decided to betray Klaus, forcing her to do what she had to in order to protect her mom.

But Thea didn't care, she couldn't care. She was so void of any emotion except the pain straining her heart. It was times like these that the wolf wished she was a vampire, so she could flip the switch and shut out all the heartache she felt as if it was easy as turning off a light. But she couldn't. Instead she was forced to feel the tiny pieces of her heart attempt to fix themselves, knowing full well that it just couldn't be done.

"Uh, sorry," Liz coughed, her cheeks flushing red with slight embarrassment as she turned to address the crowd once again. "The town has selected an interim Mayor, many of you already know him. Please welcome Mr. Rudy Hopkins," the Sheriff introduced as Bonnie's dad stepped towards the podium, smiling brightly at the students as they all erupted into an applause. "Thank you so much, Sheriff. Carol Lockwood put this town first. That's why I'm here to talk to you guys. You folks are the future of Mystic Falls," the new mayor started causing Thea to roll her eyes as she went back to tuning everyone, and everything out.

✧✦✧✦✧

After the assembly had finished, Thea began walking down the empty halls of the high school in search of her locker as she reflected on the last few years of her life and what she had gained in comparison to all that she had lost. It made her realise that in spite of being only 18 years old, she had never truly lived her life for herself.

When the Salvatore's first came to town, she did everything in her power to help Damon find Katherine even when it almost cost her, her life. When Klaus came to break his curse, she was willing to sacrifice her own life so that Elijah could kill the hybrid and her friends could be safe. When Tyler triggered his curse, Thea was by his side every single time he turned, telling him everything would be okay.