ALMOST IS NEVER ENOUGH | TVD [3]

XXXII • WOKE UP WITH A MONSTER

Rosie laughs sarcastically, unamused, as she looks away from him.

"And then I was like, 'Don't judge me'. And then I gave him a heart-attack-tried to, but all I did was make him vomit uncontrollably, which was like, ugh, let's stop that." Kai earns a disgusted look as she stares at him, "So then I tried again and I think I broke his spine? I mean, I'm not, I'm not really sure, because the third time I tried the spell, he kind of exploded in blood. Whoops." He takes a drink from his hot mug of black coffee.

The tired hybrid scoffs in disbelief, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I told you, I have too much magic." The siphoner sees as the doppelgänger shakes her head a little to shrug off the insanity, "You know, it wasn't until after my test run with the manager that I realized, if I start to merge with Jo and my gushing fountains of magic turn her into that guy, then I'm not going to have a twin for the merge. So, Rosie, that is why you are here." He takes another bite, "Because I need to get my magic under control."

"Oh wow." She sarcastically uttered.

Kai hums, "By practicing with you. Or rather, by practicing on you. Oh, P.S.: Silver lining, after the manager finally stopped thrashing around, I finally managed a cloaking spell. Thank you." He takes a drink of orange juice; Rosie glares at him, irritated, "It's easy to do and...undo. Phasmatos oculix."

The mentioned coldly deceased manager suddenly appears on the table in front of the hybrid; she gasps and scoots back in her own chair, horrified.

"Table for three." The sociopath laughs at her expression, "You had no idea."

****

Salvatore Boarding House

The next early morning, Stefan is in his bedroom where he dials Rosie's number on his cell phone, leading him to voicemail once again until he hears glass bottles clanking and thuddings downstairs. He gets up, goes downstairs and into the kitchen where Jeremy is standing there by the counter, with only a brown towel around his waist which Stefan mentioned.

"Oh. Because that's the first thing I want to see in the morning." Not.

"Sorry, I forgot you lived here." The hunter then walks out of the kitchen.

"Yeah. Hey, any chance you could help me out with some speakers at Caroline's house?" I guess Isaac will help. Stefan checks the coffee pot on the main counter; it's almost empty, "Thanks for the coffee." Not.

Hearing a clatter, Stefan goes to check it out to find Jo and Liv practicing magic, the blonde one comes out into the front hallway, her shirt smoking.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's just clothes and skin." The twenty-one-year-old senses his presence and looks up at him, "Hey, where can I get a T-shirt?"

"Damon's room. Upstairs, end of the hall." The clueless vampire walks into the living room to find Jo and a mess, "What are you doing in my house?"

"Fire spell. Sort of. It turns out, getting back in touch with your magic isn't anything like riding a bike." The forty-year-old woman laughs at her own humor, "I am sorry about that vase, though. Was that expensive?"

"Well, I don't know. But the Smithsonian would. You should call them."

Both Alaric and Minerva come in without any indication whatsoever, the former holding a large brown paper bag; Jo stands and goes over to him, "Oh, thank God. Breakfast. Please tell me that you brought mimosas."

The Occult professor replied, "Do you actually think we'd watch this sober?"

"And, what exactly are we watching?" The former ripper questioned them.