Mrs Saunders with her eccentric dyed-black hair with blue streaks approached me, bouncing on her feet as she did so. She was a thin middle-aged woman who lived and breathed art, taking over the position of art teacher when her father retired.
"Ms. Fitzroy, lovely work as usual..." She started, peering over at my canvas. "...Though it's a little morbid."
Staring at my canvas, I could see why she would say that. The canvas was a combination of red, browns and different shades of yellow used to depict a man's flesh being peeled off, all done in acrylic. I don't know what drove me to paint this. The theme was dreams. Not nightmares. "I'm sorry. I messed up the theme and made it morbid, more of a nightmare than a dream." I apologized.
"Yes, you did."
She peered closer at the sketchpad in my hand, which depicted a plan with whimsical fairies and pixies and compared it to the canvas in front of me.
"Where did she go wrong? Talent is there. Though her focus needs work."
Mrs Saunders stepped back and smiled at me. "No worries."
"I don't know where I went wrong. I really don't." I replied. "And you're right, I need to focus more. It's just that I've been on the edge lately" I added. Looking up, I glanced at her. She looked confused for a second before shifting back to a placid smile.
"I didn't say all of that out loud. How did she-"
I raised my eyebrows at her. The words were there but her lips were not moving at all. My eyes widened at this. I dropped the detail paint brush to the floor. I was in the middle of drying it. "Ms. Fitzroy, are you okay?" She asked, leaning over me in concern. I nodded but kept quiet.
"Poor girl, she still hasn't recovered from finding William's corpse."
Again the words were there but it was like they were in my head because her lips were not moving.
Slowly, I turned my head to the rest of the class. Almost ignoring her, I focused my gaze on them. My classmates still hadn't left. Everyone was still preparing to leave, putting their palettes and paint brushes away, some by the sink washing their hands, some taking off their paint-stained aprons and putting them away.
They were all quiet, no chatter among them, nothing. Everyone wanted to get out, fast. The only sounds were that of the taps, the shuffling easels, chairs and people moving.
My eyes narrowed slightly as I looked at them. All of sudden, a bunch of voices attacked me.
"Great I need to come back and finish this off, maybe she'll assign this as homework..."
"Justin totally ruined my favorite shirt."
"Blue. I should've used blue."
"I knew Maya was right, it was too dark."
"Student Council meeting, I'm gonna be late."
"Can't believe Elena and Stefan are dating..."
"I see Ava's getting the star treatment again-must be nice to be a founder's kid."
"Have to call mom after-" I turned away and looked at my canvas in silent horror.
"Is she having a panic attack? I hope not. I guess I can't reassign this as homework now. Maybe I should put her up for counselling..."
I don't know what was going on. I focused hard on the canvas to block out everyone, even. All of sudden, it stopped. Like nothing happened in the first place, all the voices were replaced by the now almost empty art classroom.
I took off my apron, hanging it on the hook behind me. I thanked myself for already washing up.
"Sorry, about today. I don't know what's going with me today. I'll redo this according..." Grabbing my sketchbook, still open to the plan, I gestured to it. "...to this, for homework. Since I screwed up the classwork."
Mrs. Saunders nodded, taking away my canvas and putting it away for drying in another room. She went in and quickly came back with another set of canvas of the same length. I watched her in silence as she carried all those canvases and laid them out on her table. She took out a pencil and scribbled something on the back.
"I've marked yours and everyone else's canvas with their names. So you can come collect after school." She smiled, pleased. "Though, if you don't feel like it, you don't have to do it."
I slung my black bag over my shoulders, walking close to the door. "It's fine, really. I'll manage." I said, convincingly. She gave me a look of pity.
"Such a strong girl."
I visibly flinched at her thoughts. She sounded patronizing. Choosing to not retort, I just threw her one last painted smile and walked out the door.
I was stopped by Dana. Dana was a pretty girl who was on both the cheerleading team and the student council. The student council. I mentally chastised myself for forgetting all about it.
"Did you forget?" Dana asked me in a harsh tone. She flinched a little and quickly changed her tone. "I'm sorry, I meant. 'Hey, Ava. Did the 'student body president' forget about the meeting.' That's what I meant." She added, sarcastically.
I shook my head. "Mrs Saunders kept me behind." I simply replied with a shrug.
I straightened my red plaid skirt and followed her as she led me to the meeting spot in the library. Well actually, it was a separate room behind the library.
"So what's on the agenda for the first meeting of the year?' I asked, fixing my ponytail. It matched the simplicity of my outfit. It was cute. Caroline all but gushed about my outfit today, making me feel a little proud of myself.
"I'm in the same art class, y'know?" I nodded. I knew she was. I read her mind a few minutes ago. "Well anyways, Caroline suggested a car wash with proceeds going to Mr Tanner's memory or something like that, the art club wanted to hold an exhibition, the music and drama club wanted to work together for an annual play or something..." Dana started, counting the thing on her fingers.
She was the student Vice President. We were both elected after Tanner's death meant there were no big campaign runs, instead the teachers asked us to pick who the students thought were the best from the candidates. Surprise, I came first with Dana being second. None of the seniors actually cared enough to run this year which was weird to say the least.
"Is that all?" I questioned. We had reached the meeting room. At a glance, I could see from the little viewing window that almost everyone was there already.
Dana nodded, about to open the door but stopping herself. "Actually, I should warn you. Caroline is gonna be there. Along with Tiki." I rolled my eyes and groaned.
Caroline was manageable but Tiki was another story. She wasn't bad but sometimes she could be a little bit of a bitch.
"Funny, that was my exact reaction. Caroline, could've picked Bonnie Bennett or Elen-" She stopped herself. "Right, forgot. Elena's not on the team anymore."
We both opened the door and went in. All eyes were on us. I admit, it wasn't a good look for the student body president and the vice president being late. I did a scan of the room to see who else was there apart from Caroline and Tiki. As mentioned by Dana, there were a few members of the drama club and music club sitting next to each other with labels of their clubs in front of them.
"Finally, they're here." Tiki blew out, clearly annoyed at having to wait. Caroline gave a tight smile to Tiki to tell her to shut up. It seemed to work as Tiki slumped back on to her seat.
"Sorry, we're late-" I started.
Dana stood next to me. "-We got held up by Mrs. Saunders." She added leading me to the head of the seating arrangement. A center table.
I nodded with a painted smile. I clasped my hands, walking to my seat. Dana sat on my right while the treasurer, a boy named 'Will' sat on my left. He was blond with thin-wire glasses. Tall and skinny-that was the best way to describe him.
"Right. Let's start this meeting." Will stated.
Immediately papers began to shuffle. Dana, Will and I flinched back at the sounds of aggressive shuffling. "Who wants to go first?" Dana started.
Caroline's hand shot up, fast. "As the stand-in head of the event's committee, it's only appropriate that I go first." She said with a grin. I noticed the music and drama club leaders rolled their eyes at her.
"Here she goes..." I thought I heard someone say.
I wanted to laugh but stopped myself when I realized no one had said anything. Caroline glanced around.
"No objections." She giggled. "Right. I. No, we the cheer team and the football team were thinking of a charity car wash in honor of our recently departed who we all knew as..." Caroline paused.
" ...the most annoying person ever."
She thought but instead of saying that, she didn't.
Not wanting to take that away from her point. "..our history teacher and the coach of the Timberwolves." She finished with a somber look.
I blinked. "Thank you for that... suggestion, Caroline." I turned to look at the room. "Anyone else?" The drama club leader leaned into the center and put her hand up.
"Yes..." I called out.
"Heather." She smiled politely and fixed her hair.
"It's Heather." She answered.
"Heather." I repeated, nodding. "Right, what do you have?"
"Actually it's 'we', Josh..." She gestured to the table next to us. A boy with strawberry blond hair and face full of freckles nodded at her. "...and I was thinking with our clubs that we should put on a play for the school."
"It's actually a school tradition." Josh added.
"Really?" I asked. Dana and Will just nodded their heads. Will taking notes of all the things that were being said.
"It's not limited to the drama club and music club. We've asked the dance club to also join us." She continued.
"I hope she doesn't make us include them. I only asked them to be nice. Emma is so annoying. I'd die if I had to work with her. But Greg is gonna be there as well..."
I shook my head, trying to get rid of the invading voices. "Do you have a plan for when you want this to happen?" Dana asked, taking out her own notebook to write notes in.
"They don't have a plan. I just know they don't." Following her, I did the same, taking out a notebook and a pen.
"Well, we were thinking winter?" Josh answered.
"Shit. We should've thought this through."
Will leaned forward, he glanced at me and I nodded. "Any particular month or day." Josh hesitated. "How about November? We can't give you December because of the holidays. October, because of Halloween." Will replied before either Heather or Josh could reply.
Josh and Heather looked at each other for a moment. "We'll do mid-November." They answered at the same time. I nodded, taking down notes.
"Damn, I wanted Christmas."
"We'll consider this." I said, not looking at them but at the calendar in front of the three of us. "Next." I clicked my pen.
"It's us." Rei from the art club answered.
She was a familiar face. I only knew her because I was part of that club as well. She was a Japanese American girl who had only moved to the town a few years back and was actually from Ohio. I watched in silence as she pushed her dyed blonde hair back and looked at me expectedly. She wanted me to accept whatever she was planning.
"Well..." She started in a perky voice that almost mimicked Caroline's. She shuffled a few papers. Kevin, also another member, jumped in to help her. "Oh here it is." She held up what looked like a blueprint. "Ava, you've probably seen this." She said, looking at me. "But for the other members. Chad, Dana, Jeff, Aimee, Will and Caroline." She recited all the names of all the members. "I present to you. An art exhibition." She gestured to the plan in her hand.
"Parents and everyone else in town are going to be invited to this exhibition. Artwork will be done by students. Anyone can submit. Photography is also accepted. The photography club already agreed to helping us, as well." She finished, sitting back down. "So? What do you guys think?"
Everyone in the student council gave her an awkward smile before glancing down at their notebooks. I felt Will lean towards me, his mop of blond hair falling in front of his glasses as he pushed it back.
"The Lockwoods are funding this" He whispered to me and Dana. Dana raised her eyebrows questioning him. "Here." He passed us a printed sheet of paper which was neatly labeled 'Funds'.
"Tyler is taking part." Aimee whispered from Dana's side. We all nodded in realization. "Something about needing variety for his college application." She added, scribbling something down.
Will nodded, while Dana turned to us. "I guess football was not enough variety." She joked quietly. Will and Jeff snorted quietly while Chad rolled his eyes.
Shaking my head, I turned to look at Rei. "Well, we've decided to accept your plans for the exhibition." I stated. Rei burst out laughing.
"Oh! Thank you! Thank you so much. This means a lot." Rei gushed out.
"Now that concludes-" Dana started, ready to end the meeting.
Caroline stood up, slamming her hands on the table. "You guys haven't said anything about the car wash."
Will and I looked at each other while Dana looked annoyed at being cut off. I gave a look to Will, who quickly started looking at the budget plans. He looked up and nodded.
"Sorry, Care. We forgot." I said, slowly, apologizing. I really did forget. My mind was too clouded with the thoughts of others, it took me a while to find my own. I thought things would get better with Damon gone but I was spiraling out of control. "Butt we decided to accept this."
Caroline sat down, pleased. "Good because I already printed out the flyers and you also promised me you would go through with this." She smiled confidently waving the flyers around.
"I knew Ava wouldn't let me down."
"I wonder what Damon-No, I need to stop."
She turned to everyone in the room. "It's tomorrow, anyone who can pull off a 'bikini' is welcome to help out." She gestured to Tiki.
"Tiki?"
Tiki and the other cheerleaders that she brought with her sprang up and started giving out flyers. We all accepted it with no questions asked.
All the other members of different clubs looked at Caroline enviously.
"I bet no one's surprised about this."
"All the founders' kids are such privileged brats."
"God, we get it, you guys are popular."
"So unfair."
"Caroline got hers accepted before all of us."
"The flyers are so well designed, I wonder if Ava helped her."
"Tiki's kinda ho-"
I rubbed my forehead, trying to get rid of their thoughts. "All right then. This concludes our meeting." I stood up, picking my notebook up. "Feel free to approach any of us for any questions and requests." I added with a smile before getting out the door.
I noticed Caroline followed me out while everyone else was busy gathering their things. "Hey." She tapped me on the shoulder. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." I breathed out, turning around to face her. "Just out of it."
She looked at me unconvinced. "Right..." Her eyes became unfocused for a second, like she was lost in thought. "I wanted to thank you."
"Thank me?" I asked, tilting my head.
"For what you did at Founder's ball." Her lips were in a thin line and her eyes unfocused again. "Elena told me, you gave her your first aid kit to help with my..." She trailed off, looking lost. "You also slapped Damon. I heard." She whispered, glancing back at me and leaning close.
Grabbing her arm, I rubbed it soothingly. "Caroline." She looked at me, on the verge of tears. "Let's put that night behind us. Okay?" I asked. She nodded fiercely. "As for what I did. Don't thank me, you're my best friend-"
"-one of them."
"Don't interrupt me." I chastised her. She pretended to zip up her lips. "Right, where was I? You're 'one of my best friends', of course I'm gonna do all that and more for you." I smiled brightly, letting go of her. "Damon's a dick anyway." I added, fixing my bag. She giggled. "I'm gonna go find Elena and Bonnie and let you get back to giving these out." I gestured to the flyers in her hand.
"Before you go." She stopped once again. "Promise you're gonna be there." She begged me. "Please."
"I can't pull off a 'bikini'." I shrugged, turning away before Caroline turned me around again. She gave me a look that she didn't believe me at all. "I'm sorry, I really am. But even if I did want to. Have you met my mom? She's asian who grew up in a traditional south asian household for most of her life." She started pouting. I breathed out. "The most you'll get me in is in some shorts and a crop top." I added.
Her face brightened for a second as she grabbed her hands. "Then just wear some shorts and a really short crop top. Or OR wear those 50s style swimsuits...Y'know the ones with high waisted shorts and bikini top." She let go of my hands.
"Fine." I finally gave in. If I didn't she probably would've hounded me to death. "I'll show up."
She laughed. "Well, you don't have a choice anyway." Lightly shoving me, she grinned. "Being the student body president and all." Caroline looked behind her. Tiki and the other cheerleaders were out. She smiled as she went to join them, waving at me before she shifted into her false perky cheer captain self.
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Elena and I leaned against the lockers in the hallway while Bonnie stood opposite us. She glanced at me, turning a little against her locker. "So how was the first student council meeting?" Elena asked slowly.
Bonnie perked up and looked at me, curious. "That reminds me-Congrats on becoming 'Student Body President'. I'm so happy for you."
"Thanks guys." I brought my hair to the side. "The first meeting was memorable to say the least." I paused, thinking about how the thoughts of those at that meeting all but attacked me. It was almost a miracle that nothing, so far, had happened. I guess I was going insane. "Overall, it was nothing interesting."
"Nothing?" Bonnie asked.
"Nothing." I breathed out. Bonnie's shoulders slumped in disappointment.
I turned away to glance at the end of the hallway and became quiet at the entrance of three cheerleaders. Elena, following my gaze, landed her eyes on the object of my attention. All of our conversations faded out as the two of us focused our attention on Caroline and two other cheerleaders.
Elena stared at her, her face dropping in an instant. Bonnie, curious at mine and Elena's lack of attention, turned around to look at Elena.
"The sexy suds car wash is tomorrow. The football team and the band have committed. Well, not all the band. Just the ones who could pull off the bikini. I want, in your face, sexy. I mean, it's a fundraiser, for god's sake." She said loudly to her co-cheerleaders, handing out flyers as she walked. All her companions mimicked her, handing out flyers to anyone whose hand was free.
Elena scoffed. "Unbelievable. It's like nothing happened." I looked at her, slightly annoyed.
Caroline was traumatized. What did Elena want her to do? Stay at home and cry. Not everyone copes the same, Elena.
"She's in denial." Bonnie replied, shrugging.
"She's not. She's trying to cope with things." I stared blankly. I felt sorry for her, maybe if I was a little braver I could have helped her.
Bonnie nodded understanding where I was coming from while Elena looked ready to argue against. She stopped when we all noticed Stefan had come and stood by us. "Hey." He greeted us well, more like Elena only but still.
Bonnie and I watched in silence as the couple looked at each other in longing. We glanced at each other mildly annoyed at being turned into third-wheelers. She decided to break away first.
"Hey. You know, I gotta go. Be somewhere right now." She turned to Elena and quickly made an excuse. "I'll see you, Ava." She quickly bid me goodbye and left me behind.
"Hey, Stefan." I greeted awkwardly. I turned to Elena. "Y'know, I'm gonna check on Caroline. About the car wash. Student Council stuff. If she needs help or not." I rambled, quickly scurrying off to get away from being the third-wheeler.
"Really? Why do they always do that."
I flinched a little, hearing Elena's voice. I turned back to see, she was still lost in Stefan's eyes. Strange. Trying to shake off the strangeness of it all. I walked up to Caroline.
"Hey. Before you ask. Everything is going great." She greeted me, bidding all her minions goodbye.
"That's great." I commented, fiddling with my skirt.
Caroline looked at me curiously and leaned down to my height. "Spill." She nudged me. "You didn't just come to ask me about the car wash."
I breathed out and awkwardly laughed. "I'm just trying to be a good friend." I stated. Caroline gave me a look. She didn't buy it. I huffed. "Fine, I'm tryna avoid being a third wheel to Ellie and Stef. Bonnie bailed on me. Please don't bail on me too." I pouted.
I stopped when I noticed a glazed look on Caroline's face. I tapped her shoulder to awaken her from her daze. "Stefan's here." She asked quietly.
I froze. I had almost forgotten that seeing Stefan would instantly remind her of Damon. She breathed out to calm herself.
"Where-" She began, stopping herself when she noticed him leaning against a locker behind my shoulders. "I'm gonna go ask him about..." She didn't utter Damon's name. "Can you come with me? You don't have to if-"
"Sure. I'll come." I cut her off, grabbing her hands. "But are you sure you want to?" I asked her.
Caroline nodded, determined to get to the bottom of things. I felt so guilty about lying about the whole vampire thing but who would believe me even if I didn't.
"Let's go then."
Caroline stalked towards Stefan. "Stefan." She called out, stopping right next to Elena. "Where is Damon? He has some serious apologizing to do." She interrogated him with a wide painted smile and her usual perky self, determination etched on to her face.
"He's gone, Caroline." Stefan replied hesitantly, like he was afraid that he might accidentally say something he shouldn't. Elena looked at them and stared at me with a straight face. She was really tired of Stefan's lies.
"When is he coming back?" She asked, less confident than before. Her smile faltered.
Stefan glanced at me and Elena before replying. "He's not coming back. I'm sorry."
He wasn't sorry.
"I hope he doesn't come back." I added, staring intently at Stefan.
"I'm sure he won't." Stefan retorted quietly.
Caroline looked taken aback. Her confidence, now all gone, I rubbed her arm in comfort and watched Stefan give her a look of pity.
Elena glanced at Caroline while still keeping an eye contact with Stefan. "This is a good thing, Caroline." She tried to comfort her.
"I know that." A blank look overtook her face. She was upset that she wouldn't get her answers.
Caroline shook off Elena's attempts and walked away. I followed behind.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
Matt and I played pool at the Grill when Elena approached us, looking lost.
"Looking for someone." I asked, tapping her shoulders. She turned around and glanced at us.
"Have you guys seen Stefan?" She asked, looking around.
"Nope. If you want to kill some time, um, you can rack. Come on. We haven't played in forever. I'll let you break." Matt offered.
Elena hesitated for a while, looking at me. She searched my face for any sign of discomfort.
"Come on, I need someone else to play with since Ava won't play with me."
I put my hands in defense. "Not my fault, I suck at pool." I slid my hands into my denim jacket's pocket, taking out my phone. "And I just remembered I have to go back to school and pick up something."
"You're leaving." Elena and Matt asked at the same time. They glanced at each other in slight embarrassment at doing so.
I laughed at them, nodding my head. "Yeahh. Mrs Saunders gave me homework cause I screwed up the classwork. So now I have to go back and pick up a canvas to redo it all." I paused. "Well, I was meant to do it after school but I forgot."
"You screwed up a painting. I heard from Chad that it was pretty good though." Matt said, leaning against the pool table.
"Being good is not equal to staying on task, Matty."
"Ouch, That's gotta suck." He grinned. I simply shrugged and turned back to gathering my things. I could feel Elena's eyes on us, the whole time.
"Well then, I'll see y'all later." I said waving at them and walking out the Grill.
A feeling of dread filled my stomach as I walked out. I glanced behind me.
For a second, the Grill flickered. I saw a glimpse of it abandoned with types of cars I had never ever seen littered in the front. I blew out a breath and jogged to the parking lot to get to my almost new car.
There a raven sat on the window, staring at me curiously. I tilted my head and it followed. I blinked and waved my arm trying to get it to leave. I failed and it refused to budge.
Ignoring it, I got into my car and started the engine. The bird flew away in an instant, shedding a feather in its wake. I watched it go before pulling out of the parking lot and heading back to school.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
𝟐𝟖𝒕𝒉 𝑺𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟗,
𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔.
𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝑩𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒌𝒂𝒚. 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆.
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚'𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒑 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚. 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒕. 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍.
𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍, 𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒕, 𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 '𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒍' 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅. 𝒀𝒆𝒔, '𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒍'. 𝑰 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒍 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐. 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒕, 𝒂 𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝑫𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌.
𝑨𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒗𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒍 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆. 𝑰'𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝒗𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝑰'𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕. 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆.
𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒔. 𝑰'𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍. 𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒖𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇. 𝑰'𝒎 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍. 𝑫𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑰'𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍.
𝑨𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅. 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒓 𝑰 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔. 𝑺𝒉𝒆'𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅. 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅, 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔. 𝑺𝒉𝒆'𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝑻𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 '𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒆' 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕. 𝑰 𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 '𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒍'.
𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝑰 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒃. 𝑨𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.
𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝑫𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑴𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒁𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒇𝒂𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒖𝒑. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍.
- 𝑨𝒗𝒂 𝑹. 𝑭𝒊𝒕𝒛𝒓𝒐𝒚
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Cars littered the school parking lot as I weaved my way through. Students dressed in bikinis and swim trucks all focused on washing the cars that were lined up. Some were covered in filth while most looked almost new. I looked at the almost new ones in slight disgust.
Making my way to Caroline, I adjusted my denim jacket, unbuttoning the buttons the closer I got to Caroline. She looked busy, manning the cash and keeping an eye on the others. I tackled Caroline into a hug after watching her put some cash away safely.
"Oh my god. You actually made it." She gushed. Hugging me back.
She broke apart the hug first and gave me a once over. I decided to wear denim washed high-waisted shorts with a floral high-neck bralette. My hair was down in my natural waves while my embroidered denim jacket covered me up.
"Did I pass?" I asked with a smirk.
"You pass." She stated before breaking out into a proud and happy smile.
Elena walked over to us, giving me a hug and looking at Caroline for orders. She sat in front of Caroline.
"You showed up." Caroline started. I gave her a look. She shut up and instead chose to give helpful orders. "No friend discounts. No freebies. No pay ya laters. We are not running a charity here. No, we are not." She recited the car wash rules to Elena who looked really tired.
"No we are not." Elena repeated tiredly.
"Technically, we're a fundraiser. So in a way-"
"Really? Ava." Caroline asked, annoyed.
Stefan arrived, soon after, Caroline and I watched as Elena and Stefan greeted each other like they were the only two on this planet.
"The event is called sexy suds, you know." Caroline interrupted the couple, walking away before they could react.
I looked at the couple and waved at them. I threw my jacket down next to Caroline, who picked it up and placed it neatly next to her seat.
"That's my cue to leave." I said to no one in particular and made my way to Bonnie and Matt.
Picking up a sponge, I started to help Bonnie wash a car while Matt handled the hose.
"Hey, you actually made it." Matt greeted, putting down the hose and giving me a hug. He pulled back, only to get replaced by Bonnie. "And you're actually taking part." He glanced at my outfit and noticed the camera missing.
Gently pushing Bonnie back, I faced Matt. "Caroline's in charge. You really think I had a choice." I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Exactly, if one of us bailed. She would've gone all G.I Jane and hunted you down until you came and helped out." Bonnie added.
Matt laughed and turned around. He froze in his spot. Looking longingly at the couple behind us in the distance as they kissed. Bonnie and I gave each other a knowing look. He was still trying to get over her. It was hard but it was obvious he'd always have some lingering feelings behind.
Bonnie, taking a hint, stopped him and turned his attention back to us "Uh-uh, no. None of that tortured pining stuff."
"I'm just observing." Matt retorted, a little embarrassed at having been called out.
"What happened to you moving on?" I questioned, reminding him of what he had told me at the Founder's ball. I dropped the sponge and moved on to pick up a towel instead. Bonnie and Matt followed.
"I am." He replied. We looked at him, unconvinced. "It's a process, okay." He added after being caught red-handed trying to lie his way out.
Neither Bonnie and I chose to say anything in reply to Matt's attempt at convincing us.
A car drove next to our lane. Bonnie glanced at Tiki who was just standing around. "Mm-hmm. Oh. Tiki. this one's yours."
"Why do I always get the homely ones?" Tiki complained, picking up a bucket. "Just to be clear, your car's a P.O.S. I mean, we can wash it, but it's still a P.O.S." She continued. God, she was being such a bitch.
"I just know that Bonnie did that on purpose. What a-"
I shook my head trying to ignore Tiki's invading thoughts and glared at her. I suddenly felt suffocated. Like my lungs were being constricted, I took some shallow breaths to come myself.
"You don't look so good, Ro." Matt whispered, glancing at me.
I mumbled that I was fine when I really wasn't. I couldn't exactly tell him the truth, could I. Instead I focused on drying the car while Bonnie and Tiki's confrontation went on in the background.
Bonnie breathed out in disbelief. "-You don't have to be rude." She chastised her.
"Why does she always have to do this? Bitch."
"Rude is uglying up the road with that junk." Tiki made a disgusted face before she went to wash the car.
The guy who owned the car looked upset and mad but he said nothing instead, he walked away.
Within a second, water was everywhere when the hose Tiki was using went out of control.
"Whoa! What the hell?" She complained, trying to stop the hose.
Matt rushed to help her and grab the hose. "Wet and wild, Tik." Matt laughed holding the hose down.
I glanced at Bonnie who looked deep in concentration. I breathed out tiredly. This day couldn't get any worse.
"I'm gonna go..." I tried to say, trying to hold my laughter in. "...go get some towels for you." I managed to speak in between laughs.
Tiki looked at me gratefully. I threw my used towels onto a dry bucket nearby and went to find Caroline.
Instead of finding Caroline, I found Elena in her place, doing Caroline's job. I slowly approached her but didn't say anything. She looked busy talking to someone and I didn't want to interrupt them.
"-talking to a friend of mine. At the grill?" She questioned an old man as she took in the cash he gave her.
The old man looked deep in thought. "Well, I...I thought it was somebody I knew." He replied, a little lost.
"Stefan Salvatore." She asked, a little nervous. My curiosity peaked and I decided to go and silently greet Elena. She just nodded in greeting, choosing to focus on interrogating the old man.
The old man shook his head in disbelief. "Nah, it can't be. It's just my mind playing tricks on me."
With a determined look, Elena pressed on and continued to question him. "Where do you think you'd seen him before?"
"When I first moved here, I stayed at the Salvatore boarding house."
"Oh." She replied, surprised.
"Stefan was just passing through to visit his uncle. I mean, none of us knew he was even here until the attack."
"The attack?"
"His uncle got killed. Mauled by an animal in the woods."
"His uncle? Zach?"
A strange feeling took over me while Elena and the old man spoke to each other. It was cold and it felt suffocating, it was similar to the feeling that passed over me the night Tanner died. I zoned out for a while, missing most of the conversation.
The old man was about to say more when Tiki came over to us. "Grandpa, you gotta go. Mom wants you home. Ok?" She glanced at us apologetically before slowly and gently dragging the old man away. "He wasn't bugging you, was he? He's a little alzy-heimer."
Wanting to actually focus on this, I decided to take Caroline's seat. I accidentally grabbed her bracelet from the table. She must have left it here by accident. I glanced back at Elena who looked deep in thought before she shook her head at Tiki's question and turned back to the old man to ask him more.
But words never came out. Slowly, everything turned to static. Colors blurred in front of my eyes.
All of sudden, I found myself somewhere else.
Gone was the bright sunny parking lot, filled with students and towns folks all gathered around different cars, all littered in the parking lot. It was replaced by the eerily quiet wooden paneled walls of a familiar boarding house. I was standing in the dark and dimly lit corridors of the Salvatore boarding house.
I don't know how I got here but I had a feeling this wasn't real or it hadn't happened yet.
I felt myself disappear and reappear in a cloud of dust as someone walked straight through. My eyes widened in shock at that feeling. Quickly composing myself, I glanced back at the person who had walked through me.
It was a blonde girl that looked oddly familiar, her hair were in two familiar side braids. She had a blue hoodie on and shorts.
Curious, I followed her. I couldn't see her face in the dimly lit hallways but somehow I knew it was someone familiar.
"Caroline." I heard someone whisper weakly. It sounded like Damon. I breathed out and nervously bit my lips as I remembered that Damon was supposed to be locked up in this house.
I turned back to look at the lost girl. Caroline. It wasn't some random girl, it was Caroline. I quickly followed her through the hallways and down a staircase leading to the cellar.
"-What is this? How did I know that you were here?" I heard Caroline's voice echo through the cellar.
I saw her standing outside a cell door which was locked shut. This was where Damon was kept.
"Because I wanted you to." He answered weakly. "Very, very badly. Let me out of here. Please." He all but begged Caroline.
Caroline stepped back and tilted her head in horror. "You bit me." She accused him quietly.
"You liked it." He retorted, pausing to catch his breath. "Remember?"
"Why do I keep remembering the same things, but in different ways?" She asked, confused.
"You remember what I want you to remember. And now that the vervain has passed out of your system, you won't remember what you're about to do."
"What am I about to do?" She questioned, scared yet ready for his orders.
"You're gonna open the door. You're gonna open the door." He weakly tried to command her. He was trying to compel Caroline with whatever strength he had left.
In a daze, Caroline started to open the lock after a brief moment of hesitation.
"Caroline, don't! Snap out of it." I screamed at her but it all fell on deaf ears.
When that failed, I tried to stop her physically and push her away, only for my hands to go right through her. I looked on in horror as slowly the lock loosened.
"No! No!" Zach Salvatore ran down the stairs and pushed Caroline out of the way and put all of his body weight against the door, trying to keep Damon "Get out of here. Run!" He shouted at her while holding the door shut with all of his strength.
I knew he wouldn't make it. Damon may have been weakened but he was still stronger than Zach.
"Run!" He shouted again, struggling to keep Damon in.
Caroline watched on for a moment before lightly pushing Zach and running up the stairs. With a blank look, I watched numbly as Damon ripped open the door and grabbed Zach's head, snapping his neck, killing him.
"Oh my god!" I breathed out in shock as tears fell down my face. Damon looked pissed, he quickly followed Caroline with me behind him. Caroline kicked him in the stairs as he tried to grab her leg.
He crawled up the stairs like an animal. He stumbled on a carpet but still kept his eyes on his prey. I watched in relief as Caroline finally made it through the door. He tried to grab on to Caroline, but the sun burned him. I watched him sizzle and struggle to get away from the bright rays of sun-
"-Ava." Elena called out to me, snapping me out of my haze. "Hey, I've been calling you for a while now. You okay?" She asked with a nervous laugh.
I blinked twice and grabbed my arms. This was real. I glanced at Elena and nodded.
"You sure? You didn't even notice Stefan, come and go. He thought you were ignoring him or something." She tried again.
"I'm fine." I breathed out. "I'm fine." I repeated with a tight smile.
She looked unconvinced but chose to not call me out on it. Glancing at her, I decided to change the subject.
"Stefan was here?" I asked, curiously.
She bit her lips, almost debating whether or not she should say what was on her mind or not.
"Yeah..." She trailed off, looking behind her at Stefan who looked to be chatting with some students.
I mentally cursed myself for choosing to pick that topic. Choosing to again switch topics, I tapped her arm.
"Um. I just remembered, I was looking for Caroline. Have you seen her?" The daydream flashed in my head. Zach's shouts were still fresh on my mind.
"Why didn't you say that before? I think she went to get some towels and those shimmy things." Elena paused, looking around for the sign of our blonde best friend. "Thinking about it, she's been gone for a while now." She confessed, slightly concerned. "I guess that's kinda perfect for me."
I raised my eyebrow, questioningly at her. She bit her lips and leaned in, signaling me to come closer.
"Y'know how Bonnie got that weird feeling from Stefan-"
"-I thought you were over that." I harshly whispered.
"Well, I'm not." She breathed out. "Stefan and I had dinner at my house last night. I accidentally cut my finger and went to the sink to wash out the blood. I turned to look at the window and I see his reflection. It was scary for a moment. There was um..." She paused to collect her thoughts and to check that we were alone. "...his face. There were-"
"-dark veins under his eyes. His eyes turned almost black?" I cut in, numbly. I huffed.
Stefan had almost lost control around Elena, I couldn't protect his secret anymore. Not that it was mine to protect in the first place but I kind of expected him to tell her. He had way too many close calls by now.
"How did you-" She cut herself off. "Do you know something?" She said accusingly.
I glanced at the clear blue sky, considering my options. No matter what I did now, it wouldn't matter. I tell her the truth, she doesn't believe me. I lie and well, lying never ends well.
"I...I do, I guess." I hesitantly answered. "But...but, even if I do know something. And I tell you that 'something', you wouldn't believe me." I finished.
"At this point, I'll believe anything. I just want to know who Stefan really is. Please Ava." She begged me. "All I know is that Tiki's grandpa knew Stefan or...he remembers Stefan from the 50s..." She confessed to me. "He said something about Stefan being there when his uncle died."
"Zach?" I asked in horror. Zach couldn't be dead, yet.
"No, Joseph." She replied. I tilted my head confused. "Yeah. I was as shocked as you were. But I need to know if he's telling the truth. Stefan couldn't have been there, he looks-" She breathed out.
"You need proof." I stated. "Even if I tell you what I think or know he is. You wouldn't believe me." I tried again.
Elena tried to argue against me.
"Trust me, you won't. I know because I didn't believe myself that 'they' were real." She watched me in deep thought, carefully listening to every word I was saying. "The best thing you can do is find some proof that Stefan was there in the 50s, then you confront him."
"Just like that." She asked. "What if...what if he lies again and doesn't tell me anything."
"He won't. I have a feeling he won't. He loves you too much to lie."
Elena scoffed at my words. She didn't believe me but I knew it was true. "What about you? How do you know all of this?" She turned to look at me, questioningly, trying to search for answers in my amber eyes.
"We'll cross that bridge later. Maybe I'll tell you more later on." I promised her with a comforting smile. She nodded. "Right now, I really need to find Caroline. It's a matter of life and death." I added before grabbing my denim jacket from Caroline's seat and sprinting towards my car in the parking lot. I got in and drove straight to the Salvatore boarding house, determined to save Caroline and Zach.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
I got out of my car, parking it as close to the door as I could. The door was open. Stefan and Zach really needed to start locking the door.
I walked through the foyer to the eerily quiet wooden paneled walls of the familiar boarding house.
Making my way to the cellar, I walked through dark and dimly lit corridors of the Salvatore boarding house. I knew where I had to go but I was afraid that I was too late.
Quickly, I found myself at the door of the cellar. The same door as my vision. With a deep breath I flung open the cellar door and as fast as my legs could take me, I made my way down the stairs.
I kept reciting the plan in my head.
Get Caroline out of there, make sure Zach was alive and hopefully keep Damon locked up. I kept repeating that as I all but ran down the corridors of the cellar.
"-You're gonna open the door." Damon's weakened voice greeted me. I heard him try to compel Caroline.
I sprinted all the way to Caroline, shouting. "Caroline! Don't! Get away from him!"
"Ava?" "Ava!" Caroline and Damon said at the same time. She looked frightened, like a small animal while he sounded annoyed.
"Ignore her." Damon barked out.
"Caroline, get away from the door. Now!" I slowly inched closer to her, afraid to confuse and frighten her even more.
Damon made an exasperated noise and tried again. "You're gonna open the door." Caroline nodded her head, slowly loosened the lock. Seeing this I pushed her off to the side, panicking.
"Caroline, run!" I shouted out. Caroline glanced at me in concern.
"I can't-" She started when Zach came sprinting downstairs, panicking and scared for both me and Caroline.
"No! No!" Zach Salvatore ran down the stairs and pushed Caroline out of the way and put all of his body weight against the door just like he did in my vision. "Get out of here. Run!" He shouted at her and me while holding the door shut with all of his strength. I ignored him and instead helped him hold the door.
"What are you doing?! Run!" He shouted again, struggling to keep Damon in. He looked at me and tried to make me leave.
Caroline watched on for a moment before lightly pushing Zach and grabbing me to run up the stairs.
"Caroline, I need to go back."
She tried to protest but I pushed her up in the direction of the stairs. I left her at the foot of the stairs and ran back down the corridor to help Zach. I didn't want to run away anymore. I watched in horror as Damon kicked Zach and grabbed his head, snapping his neck.
"No!" I screamed, getting Damon's attention. He glanced at me with hunger in his eyes.
"You again?" Damon hissed.
His face morphed into something unrecognizable as dark veins appeared under his eyes. That's when Caroline decided to come back. I wanted to curse and shout at her. She tried to grab me again.
Damon lunged at us. In fear, I pushed Caroline out of the way.
"Caroline, run! Get out! Leave me behind!" I commanded.
Her eyes flickered to amber and she nodded before she made a break for it, running as fast as her legs could take her. My bloodstone necklace felt warm as it repelled Damon and threw him off me.
"Bloodstone. How rare. Haven't seen that in a while." He spat out.
I ran over to Zach when Damon got up in an instant and grabbed my arm, tightly, almost bruising my skin. He closed his mouth around my wrist. Thinking quickly, I put my hand in front of his face.
Suddenly, a warm and bright golden glow appeared in my hands, burning Damon's face. His face sizzled and burned in the bright light emitting from my palms. He flinched back.
"What the hell are you?" He questioned, weak from the vervain and the burns. I watched in silent horror as his face healed. "Doesn't matter..." He breathed out. "I'm gonna kill you." He said, his fangs sticking out threateningly.
He lunged at me again. I held my hands out in front of me. The bloodstone and a different force worked together to throw him off me and knock him out cold. A bright light blinded me for a moment.
I breathed out harshly. Breathing hurt. My lungs felt like they were on fire. I fell back on to the cellar floor, tired. A warm liquid ran down my nose. Bringing my hands to my nose, I wiped it off.
Blood.
I was bleeding.
I moved my gaze to see Damon, a few feet away, knocked out cold from whatever that was. I turned around and looked past him, to look at another body. Zach. I dragged myself off the cold ground and made my way towards him.
"Please don't be dead." I begged, holding my hands to Zach's neck in an attempt to check his pulse.
I pressed hard, with a rag I had accidentally brought along with me. My stomach curled in disgust but I pressed on, literally. A faint beat was there. It was there but he was fading fast. It would be a matter of seconds before he completely flat-lined. A part of me knew he wouldn't survive, it was almost impossible to survive a vampire snapping your neck.
I didn't want to leave him behind after getting Caroline out. It wouldn't be fair. I looked back at Damon. He was still knocked out, sprawled out on the cold wooden floor. I didn't know how long the bloodstone and that thing would affect him and I didn't want to find out.
"Come on. Zach, wake up." Tears slid down my eyes in desperation as I begged and pleaded for him to stay alive.
All of a sudden, the warm glow came out from my hands again. I wanted to flinch back in fear of it burning Zach like it did with Damon. But instead, I didn't.
Crack.
I watched in silent shock as Zach's neck made a loud crunching sound, like his bones were all snapping into place. As if nothing happened, the glow disappeared. I breathed out, not even realizing I had been holding my breath.
With a gasp, Zach awoke, his eyes fluttered open.
"Am I...dead?" He asked, clutching his neck while taking deep breaths of air.
I stared at him for a second, ready to answer him. I stopped when I heard Damon groaning. He was waking up. I didn't have time for this. Instead, I turned to him and grabbed his hands, bringing him up to his feet.
"Why don't we find that outside." I tugged him with me, dragging him outside into the sun.
I didn't know if Damon would be able to follow us or not but it was better than anything. Maybe he would burn like he did in my vision.
"Good idea." Zach breathed out harshly. "He won't be able to follow us into the sun." He was regaining his strength, little by little. "-He doesn't have his daylight ring." He added.
Daylight ring?
Is that how he walked in the sun?
I filed that information in my mind and put all my energy into dragging Zach to my car.
"That's great. But less talking, more walking." I huffed out, pulling him out of the dark and dangerous boarding house and into the sun. "Let's get you somewhere safe."
I shoved him into the passenger seat and got into the driver's seat. I decided to not return to school but instead take Zach home. My house was probably the safest in the whole town. No one in my family could be compelled. It was theoretically the safest place.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
I stood in my room, wet hair sticking to my neck and my bath robe as I stared blankly at my reflection. Now and then I would catch my eyes glow a bright amber.
I blinked, trying to forget what had happened and what I had done. Bringing my hands in front of me, I put my palms up.
The bruises on my wrist had healed thanks to the bloodstone. But that wasn't what I was checking. I wanted to check if I could make my palms glow again.
A bright and warm golden glow filled my room as my hands lit up. It looked like I held rays of sun in my palms.
Looking at the mirror, I noticed my eyes turn amber again. I closed my palms and my eyes to see the glow fade until it disappeared like it was never there. I breathed out, tiredly. What was happening to me?
Knock. Knock.
Two knocks interrupted my breakdown. Quickly wiping down my tears, I quickly changed into my pajamas and threw off my bathrobe, trading it for my dress robe. "Come in." I called out, turning to face the door.
Maria's bright ginger head poked out from the door as she smiled at me comfortingly. "Your uncle was calling you downstairs, Miss." She stated. I nodded quietly and told her to lead the way. I followed her down the stairs to the family library. Maria bowed her head and left. I watched as she went out. She was probably going home now.
"You called?" I asked, making my presence known to the two men who were huddled over a laptop.
Nate Fitzroy, my uncle and Zach Salvatore, Stefan's 'uncle'. They were deep in discussion but they stopped when they heard me come in.
Q"Ava." Zach greeted me. "I wanted to thank you for saving my life." He began. "I don't know where I would be-"
"-Dead. You'd be dead." Uncle Nate interrupted him with a deadpan look. I looked at him with a grin and wide eyes. "What? I'm just saying it as it is."
Zach looked at him, mildly annoyed. "Ignore him, Zach." I said, rolling my eyes. "Most of our family already does." I muttered, leaning my head towards Zach.
"Rude." I shrugged at Uncle Nate's comment.
"Well, anyways. I have to go back home-" Zach started, glancing at both of us.
Uncle Nate leaned against a bookshelf. "With Damien on the loose?" He asked sarcastically.
"Damon." Zach and I corrected at the same time. Zach breathed out. "Do I have a choice? That's my home. Not to mention, the only vervain supply in the town is in that house."
"You can find another home, away from here." I pointed out. Uncle Nate nodded at me and gave Zach a look.
Zach looked at loss for words. "What about the vervain?" He asked. "The boarding house has the only vervain plants in the basement." He emphasized on the 'vervain' part again.
Uncle Nate and I shared a look. Sometimes, it helped being the reclusive but well-off founding family. You could do more without eyes on you.
"About that..." Uncle Nate started, getting off the shelf and walking out of the library. No doubt to go to the greenhouse with the vervain, aconite and witch hazel.
I still had no idea what the latter of the two were for. Uncle Nate came back in no time, holding a freshly picked stem of vervain.
"You were saying?" He held up the stem to Zach's face.
"How-" Zach started, stopping himself. "You guys have vervain." He picked up the stem from Uncle Nate's hand and examined it. "You guys have had this all this time and in broad daylight as well, right under the council's eyes."
"Yep. And we didn't have to share it." Uncle Nate added.
I smirked. "Perks of being the outcast founding family." I bragged.
"You have Giuseppe Salvatore and George Lockwood to thank for that, ruined our family's reputation even though we were the ones who helped them the most when they-" Uncle Nate started ranting.
"Not the time." I hissed.
Uncle Nate nodded and moved to the center of the room. He turned back to look at us with a serious expression. "Zach. If you want to live, we as the Fitzroy family suggest you not go home. Home being the Salvatore Boarding House." He began, clasping his hands. "The second option is for you to leave this town and honestly, if I were you I'd go with this one."
Zach nodded his head, contemplating his choices.
"I mean you already knew this since you were there for our family conference call. Be grateful we put away our family rivalries aside for this."
Uncle Nate gestured to the laptop. He then glanced back at a door at the back of the library. Hesitation filled his face and he faltered for a second.
"There is actually...another option." Uncle Nate slowly revealed. "We send you to live with your daughter-"
"-Daughter?!" Zach and I both said at the same time in disbelief. .
"Since when do you have a child?" I questioned, looking at him with arms folded.
Zach stared at me dumbfounded. "I don't." He breathed out, looking at Uncle Nate for an explanation. "I don't have a daughter, let alone a girlfriend or a wife."
"Well, you had a fianceé actually. You just were compelled to forget." Uncle Nate glanced at him, his brown eyes, unreadable. "Ava." He glanced at me. "Can you go to your Dad's study and bring out the manila file in the top drawer. Can't miss it, it has a bright green post-it note on it." I nodded, still shocked about this whole secret daughter thing.
I walked straight past Zach to open the door to the study. I quickly strode towards his desk and opened the top middle drawer of his desk. I grabbed the file, walked out of the study, making sure to turn the lights off. I walked straight to Zach and handed him the file. I figured that was what Uncle Nate wanted me to do anyway.
Without a word, Zach opened the file. "This is-" He broke off, tears sliding down his face as he started breaking down. He quickly composed himself after flicking through the contents of the file. "I...I know what I'm gonna do." He said quietly.
Uncle Nate nodded in understanding, giving me a look. "Well, Gabe said you can stay here for now." He paused, letting Zach absorb his words before continuing. "I'm heading to Duke in the next few days. I'll take you with me when I do. There's gonna be less eyes on me as well."
Zach nodded numbly, agreeing to Uncle Nate's plans. I glanced back and forth between the two. "Well, if we're done here. I'm gonna...head to bed." I said breaking the awkward tension in the room. "I've had a long day." Both men looked at me in understanding. I bid them good night and made my way back to my room.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
Spring Break 2009,
Soft breeze blew past me from the half-open window as I shivered a little, pulling at the sleeves of my sweater. Finally, I was done doing the dishes. I turned off the tap and spared a glance towards the living room of Jason's lakehouse.
My friends were all in a heated discussion with Jason. I didn't want to get involved at all even though I was one of the topics of interest there. I sighed and looked at the floor. So much for the perfect spring break.
"Psst. Ava..." Someone called out to me from outside. I looked up and looked around. There was no one nearby. I turned around and saw a shadow ran past the window. "Ava..." The familiar voice called out to me.
"This isn't funny Isaac." I snapped, closing the windows.
Isaac exhaled loudly and appeared in front of me. I jumped back in surprise and clutched my chest as my heart hammered against my chest.
"You dick! You scared the hell out of me!"
I noticed he looked paler than the last time I saw him. His clothes were drenched as well. Did he go for a late night swim? I was so confused. He wasn't shaking or anything but his once bright green eyes looked darker. I could've sworn there were dark veins protruding from under his eyes.
"Isaac, what are yo-"
"Can you let me in?" He asked with a charming smile that usually made my heart skip but now it unnerved me.
I inched away from the window, my hands trembling. "The door's unlocked." I quietly said, backing further away.
Laughter escaped his lips as he ran his fingers through his hair before pulling at them. He tightened his jaws and his head snapped towards me, narrowing his eyes at me. He ran towards the window and knocked violently against it, letting out a growl.
"Let me in!" He begged. "You gotta let me in, Ava. I can't get in."
"Use the damn door like everyone else." I hissed back, backing away from the window.
"I can't." He walked backwards and threw a stone through the window. "I can't. I can't..."
The sound of the window shattering drew the attention of our friends. June and Hanna ran into the kitchen followed by June's brother August who looked annoyed. Jason, Max and Devin followed soon.
"Hey man, what gives? I get it you and Ava are not on good terms but can you not break the windows-dad's gonna kill me when he sees this." Jason complained about the broken window.
"Let. Me. In." Isaac asked again. His desperation grew wilder.
"The door's open, drama queen." June snapped, crossing her arms.
"I can't get in." Isaac ran to the broken window and tried to get in through it, only to act as if there was an invisible wall blocking him. "Let me in!"
I felt a cold death-like chill wrap around my throat at that time as I hunched over and gasped in pain. It was so cold.
"Ava!" I heard him call out to me. "What's wrong with her? God. Just let me in."
The moon parted, giving some light. I could see him a little more clearly. Isaac's clothes weren't just drenched but he was covered in blood. I heard Hanna gasp.
"Is that blood?!" She shrieked.
"LET ME IN! AVA! LET ME IN!"