Violet huffs as she climbs further through the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. The slowly setting sun glares down at them as it pokes through the trees. Stefan is carrying the werewolf from yesterday, who is lying unconscious over his shoulders. Klaus has Elsie on his back, and Violet's thankful that she only has a backpack.
"You okay? Is Ray getting heavy?" Klaus asks
"I'm fine."
"You sure about that? You know, we've been walking for quite some time now. Even I'm getting a little tired holding Elsie here. If you need some water or a little sit-down..."
Stefan cuts him off, "You know, I get that we're, uh...we're stuck together, but if we could maybe just skip the chitchat, it'd be great."
"So much brooding. Your self-loathing is suffocating you, my friend."
"Maybe it's 'cause I'm a little tired of hunting werewolves. We've been at it all summer."
"That's true. I'm tired of it too." Violet says, and Elsie nods her head.
"Same."
"Thanks to our pal Ray, we found ourselves a pack. There."
They stop, and Elsie gets off Klaus's back and stands next to Violet, both of them walking away. As much as Violet wants to stay and help the boys, she didn't want Elsie to get hurt or see what is happening. So, Violet took her a little further down.
They walk for a little while longer, eventually deciding to stop and sit down against some rocks near the river.
Violet reaches into her bag, handing a sandwich and granola bar to Elsie, and bringing out a bottle of blood for herself, "Oh fuck. I forgot the fruit."
Elsie just giggles, taking a bite out of her sandwich, "Good job."
"We won't stay out here for too long. It's going to get really dark, and cold soon. You know, I don't understand how it can be so hot during the day but so cold during the night. It makes no sense." Violet rambles, ''What do you think?"
"Violet?"
Violet turns her head, her eyes widening in shock seeing Elena and Alaric walking closer to them, "Oh my god." Violet groans quietly, "This cannot be happening. What are you guys doing here? Are you stupid?"
"Elena insisted. She wants to bring you and Stefan home." Alaric explains
"Elena you're a fucking idiot. Go home."
Elena cautiously walks closer to her, "Caroline is not doing well. She needs you."
Violet turns her head away, trying to hide the few stray tears falling down her face, "I'd love to come home. I really would. Unfortunately, Klaus exists and will kill me if I do."
"I'm not leaving without you-"
Elena is cut off by Damon arriving and pushing her in the water.
"Damon! How are you even here?" Elena yells
"Thanks for the tip, brother." Damon looks back at Alaric
"You sold me out!" Elena realises
"You think I'd take you to a mountain range of werewolves on a full moon without backup?"
"Guys as lovely as this has been, Elsie and I need to leave." Violet stands up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and taking Elsie's hand.
"No, you're coming home with us." Elena insists
"I'm sorry," Violet says softly, "Elena I am, truly. But I can't come back. It'll be easier for you if you just stop trying."
"Caroline needs you!" Elena yells, trying to waddle her way out of the water.
"Don't you think I could come back if I could? Don't you see Elena? I can't come back, so stop trying." Violet snaps, walking back in the direction they came from.
Violet and Elsie walk in silence, until she hears a quiet 'whoosh' signifying someone vamp-speeding to her.
"I know you and I aren't the closest friends, and you're closer with Stefan-"
"Damon, stop."
"No Violet, listen to me. I'm not going to convince you to come back, but you need to know this. Caroline- she's been a total wreck since you left. She broke up with Tyler and I'm honestly scared she's going to turn her humanity off."
"Don't let her turn it off. Tell her I said I'm sorry."
Violet suddenly stops walking, "Give me some time. I'll come back soon. I just don't know when." She turns to Damon, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him into a hug, "Be careful. Stay safe." Violet then reaches up and snaps Damon's neck, letting him fall to the floor as she walks back to the car with Elsie. "Come on," She says, "Let's go get some ice-cream or something. Klaus and Stefan won't be done for a while."
*
A few hours later, Violet sits in the backseat of the car, playing a game on her phone. Elsie is asleep, her head leaning against the window and her legs on Violet's lap.
KATERINA💜
violet where are you?
can i ring you?
we haven't spoken since you took off with klaus
violet i know you see these messages
VIOLET 🤍
i'm sorry.
KATERINA💜
omg you answered
thank you
i'm going to call you now
Violet sighs as she sees Katherine's incoming call. She's not even sure why she responded to Katherine's message, seeing as she'd been leaving her on read all summer.
"Hello?" Violet says shakily, bringing the phone to her ear as she steps out of the car.
"Violet? Oh my god, are you okay?"
"Rina?" Her voice wobbles, and finally it breaks. Finally, she breaks. "Rina, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't reply to you. I thought if I ignored you it wouldn't hurt so much but it does. It hurts so much. I can't do this anymore. I just want to go home." Violet cries, actually allowing herself to talk to someone about how she feels, "I just want to go home." She repeats, falling down the side of the car and drawing her knees to her chest.
"Hey, hey you're going to be okay. You'll be able to go home soon." Katherine tries her best to comfort Violet over the phone, but it doesn't do much. Violet isn't looking for comfort. She just wants to be able to talk with someone who listens to her.
"How have you- how have you been?"
"Violet as much as I love talking about myself this isn't about me right now. We're talking about you."
"The whole summer we've been chasing werewolf's and slaughtering innocent humans. It was fun at first but i'm so tired right now. And Elsie- oh my god Elsie- she's mostly fine, but she's spent most of her summer in this goddamn car. I hate this car!" Violet yells.
"Violet I need you to calm down before you hurt yourself or someone else."
Violet falls back down again against the car, trying to focus herself on her sisters voice, "I have to go, Klaus and Stefan are coming back. I'll be okay now. I'll call you another time."
"Are you sure that you're going to be okay?"
"Yeah." Violet sniffles, "Bye Rina. I love you."
"I love you too."
*
By the time Klaus and Stefan actually got back to the car, all traces of Violet's previous breakdown was gone. She had been texting back and forth with Katherine for a little bit, happy to hear about what she had been doing with her newfound freedom. It felt so much better to actually have contact with someone that isn't Klaus, Stefan or Elsie.
"How did it go?" Violet asks, a blank look plastered on her face as she looks up from her phone to Stefan and Klaus. She doesn't have the energy to muster up a concerned look, and a blank face is better than a crying one so that's what she sticks with.
Klaus just shakes his head, "I don't know what I did wrong. I sacrificed a vampire and wolf, I killed a doppelgänger, I don't know why all my hybrids keep failing."
"I'm sorry. I'm sure that they'll work soon."
{okay so i'm going into a (hopefully only) five day lockdown so i'll probably get another chapter out before wednesday
edit: would you guys like to see caroline turning her humanity off?}