𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗱𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗔. 𝗙𝗶𝘁𝘇𝗿𝗼𝘆
𝑺𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟒,
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝑭𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔, 𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚.
𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔. 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒇 '𝒗𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔' 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒂 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒍 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑭𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅. 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏.
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏, 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒅𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝑴𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝑷𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝑨𝒏𝒏𝒂. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏-𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.
𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔, 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑴𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝑲𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑷𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒅. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒆𝒅. 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒓𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒕𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒆.
𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒐 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒊𝒇𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒓𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 '𝒗𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆' 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒚𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒚. 𝑨𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒚𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝑫𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆.
𝑴𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑳𝒚𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒖𝒎𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔. 𝑮𝒊𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒑𝒑𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍. 𝑯𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒐𝒓'𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒏, 𝑮𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒆, 𝑭𝒊𝒕𝒛𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒔, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝑲𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒆'𝒔 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚.
𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒕𝒛𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑴𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝑲𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔. 𝑨𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒊𝒍𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚. 𝑱𝒐𝒉𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝑮𝒊𝒍𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏—
Elena tapped on the window of my car as she tried to catch my attention. Quickly closing the journal, I unlocked the door. Unsurprisingly, I had lost track of time waiting for Elena in front of her house.
"Thanks for driving me to Stefan's." She stated, tiredly. I don't know why but for some reason, she's been really tired lately. I try to resist the urge to read her mind but sometimes it just happens.
"No, worries." I gave her a bright smile, starting the engine and driving to the Salvatore Boarding House. "Y'know it's kind of weird how you two spend more time together than you did when you were dating." I commented quietly, checking for any kind of reaction from her from the corner of my eyes.
She bit her lips, nervously and shrugged. "It's...it's complicated." She simply stated.
"Seriously?" I turned off the radio and turned some of my attention to her while also keeping an eye on the road. "Come on, El. You and I both know you can't be friends with someone you love—And you clearly still love Stefan." She opened her mouth and closed it, trying to think of a way to respond to my accusations. Having nothing to say, she threw her hands in the air and turned to look outside "Or maybe you and Stefan are hiding something." I muttered under my breath.
"What!" Her head snapped to look at me, betrayed that I would even suggest something like that. "Why would I...hide something from you?" She asked with her big doe eyes.
I was being harsh but it was true. Ever since that night Vicki disappeared and she broke up with Stefan, she's been too secretive. It was kind of funny how she's ready to fight with someone for keeping secrets but the moment it's her doing it, it's suddenly okay.
"I'm not hiding anything from you."
I rolled my eyes and focused on the road. "Did Stefan tell you what happened to Vicki or did he find her body?" I asked casually.
She glanced at me and then looked outside. "I don't know." She replied, nervously. "...We don't really talk about 'that night'." She added quietly, trying to distract herself by fidgeting with the seat belt.
"It's better this way."
We said nothing for a while. The silence was awkward to say the least.
"I need to change the subject"
"So how long have you been able to..." Elena gestured to my hand, breaking the silence. I raised my eyebrows and gave her a confused look before turning my eyes to the Salvatore driveway. "...do the whole...summon light with your hands." She asked, swallowing nervously as she did so. She had not bothered to ask me about that at all. I had guessed that she was avoiding but clearly she was waiting for the right moment.
I killed the engine after parking the car, taking time to gather my thoughts. "A while." I simply stated. "I get why you're reacting like this. I was the same when I found out last month."
She licked her dry lips and looked at me skeptically. "Didn't look like you found out recently." She accused me. "It...um- looked like you had practice."
I scoffed and gave her a look of disbelief. "Yeah, if you call flaring up like a glow stick every time I get angry being in control then, yes I have it under control." I retorted, getting out of the car.
Elena followed me and got out of the car. I watched as she walked to the door. Before she knocked, she quickly turned around. "I'm sorry." She apologized, walking back to me. "I'm so sorry for being a terrible friend who always says the wrong thing. I swear I'll make it up to you. I promise." She continued on. She quickly gave me a hug and walked back to the entrance of the house.
I laughed. "You just want me to cover for you at school." I called out, leaning against the car.
She gave me a thumbs up from the entrance. "I'll be very grateful."
I rolled my eyes and chose to say nothing. I watched her take a deep breath and ring the doorbell. While she did that, I decided to get inside my car and lock it with me inside. I took out my phone and sent a message to Uncle Nate about my whereabouts. Uncle Nate had decided to stay at Duke for the time being, coming back when he had no classes. I knew it was more to do with him failing those classes than trying to miss Council meetings.
I glanced back at the door to see Damon leaning on the side of the door frame while talking to Elena. To no surprise, he was annoying Elena. I didn't have to see her face to know she was done with him. I sighed and got out of my car for the second time.
"Is there a problem here?" I asked, my head tilted to the side while I walked to the entrance of the Salvatore Boarding House.
Damon and Elena both glanced at me. He waved at me with his usual grin that I hated so much while Elena tried to reassure me with her smile, she failed.
"Well if it isn't miss sunshine, gracing us with her presence on such a fine day. Good morning Ms Firefly" He loudly greeted me.
"Really? 'Firefly', you have anything else to call me?" I retorted, folding my arms. He shrugged, amused. "Leave Elena alone. She came here for Stefan not to get harassed by a leech."
Damon burst out laughing while Elena looked on from the side, nervously. "Well you have a point- Stefan's a leech as well." He defended.
"Not as much of a leech as you." I stated with a mock smile. "You're like the leech-ist leech in the history of leech." I added.
"Really? I was just getting to know what's up with-" He gestured to Elena. "-little miss 'I'm on a mission' over here." He turned back to me. "And now I'm getting insulted. I did not wake up this early to get insulted by you both. Is this 'insult Damon day'?" He continued to rant, walking out the door, coming to stand next to me.
I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. "Everyday can be an 'insult Damon day', if I want it to be." I retorted, sticking out my tongue.
"Anyways you also came here to ask 'bout that girl..." He pretended to think. "What was her name...Nicki? Nah. It was-"
"Vicki." Elena and I said at the same time. We both glanced at each other. She looked worried while I looked confused. I thought Elena and Stefan didn't talk about Vicki at all.
"She didn't." Elena answered before I could even get a word in. "She only came to drop me off." She added. She turned to me and gently grabbed my arm. "Don't you have art class in a few hours, you were complaining about Mrs Saunders being pretty hard on late-comers." She smiled tightly, trying to get me to leave.
I didn't put up a fight. I just nodded and went back to my car. All the while, I kept thinking, Elena was hiding something from me about Vicki. I didn't want to read her mind. Sheila had warned me of the consequences of overusing that.
The door of the house was now closed. Seeing that, I picked up Edmund's journal again, actually wanting to finish it this time uninterrupted. I still had an hour to go to my first technically second class of the day, since history was still canceled until a new teacher could be hired.
Flicking through the pages of the journal, I tried to find the page I was on. I wanted to continue where I had left off then I could maybe drive somewhere quiet and carry on. But before I could find where I was, I was interrupted again.
Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked on my window. I blew out a breath, annoyed at being interrupted. I turned to face the person who had rudely interrupted me. Storm blue eyes stared into my amber eyes as
Damon smirked, waving at me. "Open up." He mouthed. I rolled my eyes for god knows what time, unlocked my car and rolled down the windows. "Nice car." He commented before he got in without another word.
I stared at him in shock and a little disgust. "What are you doing?" I asked, quickly hiding Edmund's journal before he could notice. "Get out!"
"Rude." He answered, looking around the interior of the car. He turned back to me and stared at me. "Y'know. I feel like we got on the wrong foot." He began.
"Yeah, I'd love to shoot you in your foot." I looked at him like he had grown two heads overnight. I turned away from him to start the car. Since he wasn't leaving, I could just drop him off in the middle of nowhere.
"Whatever game you're playing at, is not gonna work." I added, seriously this time without caring to look at him.
He grabbed my head and turned it to look at him again. "Before you ask. I'm not trying to compel you, not that I can, anyway." He tried again. "What I was trying to say is, we had an awkward start to our relationship."
Laughter bubbled out of me as I stared at him. "I'm sorry. Did you just say 'relationship'?" I laughed. "The only relationship you and I have is one where I put a stake through you."
"Huh. We really didn't have the best start." He said, scratching his head. "I'm trying to be serious, y'know."
"Well I'm being serious as well. Being an abusive dick to my best friend while also murdering your uncle slash descendant and a couple of town's folks plus hikers, is never a good start to any friendship." I answered. "Where to?" I asked, driving out of the driveway.
"I could use a friend." He commented before answering my question. "The Grill, I want a bite to eat."
I stared at him, craning my head. "See this is why—" I gestured to him. "—We would never be friends."
He made a frustrated sound. "No. No! Not that kinda bite." He protested. "See! I'm starting to think you just don't like me." He commented, crossing his arms and pouting.
"Oh no. Whatever gave you that idea." I said with no expression but a clear sarcastic tone. "Was it the constant threats and insults or the look of disgust every time you're around? Oh no." I tilted my head but kept my eyes on the road.
The ride to the grill was silent. Damon would now and then try to break that but I would shut him up every time. I drove into the grill's parking lot. I stopped the car and killed the engine.
"I meant what I said. I want a friend." He brought it up again. "Since I've decided to stay in this 'lovely' town for a while to keep 'my baby brother' accompanied, I could use one...and you're loyal and trustworthy...not to mention you're a glowstick."
I laughed sarcastically and quietly, turning to look at him. I chose to ignore the 'glowstick' comment. "Loyalty and trust are earned, Damon." I retorted. "I can't just hand it to you on a platter just because you asked for it- not after everything." I breathed out.
He unclipped his seat-belt and leaned closer to me. "What if...I'm really lonely and I need someone?" He asked, closing the distance.
I leaned away to lean against the side door. "I'm sure you can compel one." I answered back quietly, shrugging innocently.
He looked at me with an unreadable expression. Not saying anything. I stared at him, watching him just sit there. The storm in his eyes seemed alive at that moment. Then all of sudden it was gone. He glanced at a compass I had hung in my car and at me.
I took a deep breath. "You should go. I have class in half an hour." I said, unlocking the doors.
"When was the last time you went camping?" He suddenly asked out of the blue.
I was taken aback by the sudden question. It was a weird one. He went from wanting to be friends to asking me about camping. I tilted my head. "Why? Are you gonna kill some campers or something." I asked with a slight hint of a smile, rolling my eyes.
He didn't flinch or have his usual smirk. Instead he grabbed the compass and turned it over in his hands. "Answer my question." He stated, his expression was still hard for me to decipher.
"April."
"April?" He repeated, looking up at me. "Did you take this compass with you?" He asked, bringing the broken compass to my face.
I snatched the compass. "Yeah...why is it so freaking important?" I turned it over in my hands, examining the cracks in it. There were my initials at the back, still intact.
It broke during an accident, if anything it was useless. I don't know why I kept it. It wasn't special like the Gilbert watch.
"It's a useless piece of junk, anyway." I commented. I wasn't lying. It was just a cheap compass my friends and I had bought before our last camping trip which ended in disaster. I almost hated Damon even more for bringing it up.
I glanced up at Damon. He looked deep in thought. Feeling my gaze on him, he lifted his head. "...Were you in an accident while camping? Memory gaps or anything?" He continued to interrogate me.
"Okay. We're done here." I cut him off, leaning over him and opening the door for him. I gestured to the door. "Get out! Now!" I barked out. Damon said nothing. Giving one last look at the compass in my hands he got out of my car. I quickly closed his side of the door and leaned back against my seat.
Taking a deep breath, I pulled out of the parking lot. I could still feel Damon's eyes on me as I drove away. It scared me how he knew of the camping trip.
I swallowed heavily trying to blink away the tears that threatened to spill out of my eyes. I cursed Damon for bringing it up. He was right. I did have a lot of gaps in my memory from that night.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
English ended in a blur and before I knew it class was over. I walked aimlessly through the hallways, still trying to get my mind off that conversation with Damon. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the empty girls' bathroom. I glanced at the mirror, checking my hair, moving some strands away from my face. I took out my lipgloss and reapplied it. My hands started shaking as I did. Closing the tube, I put it away and peered closed to the mirror.
I took a step back and straightened my bubblegum pink skirt and tucked in my white shirt. The day seemed to drag on even more than usual. I took out my small notepad and looked at my schedule today. I sighed. I had a student council meeting today. Determined to get through it all and maybe check up on Vicki's search party later on, I took out my denim jacket and put it on.
Confidently I strode towards the student council room and flung the door open. Everyone in the room stood up. Caroline, sat in her usual seat at the back. She beamed brightly when I walked in and took a seat in my usual seat at the head of the table.
"You're late." Dana said in a sing-song voice. "Mr Peters, keep you behind again?" She asked, chewing her gum. I chose to not say anything instead I just shook my head and took out my notebook to take notes.
I looked around the room, taking a quick glance at the occupants of the room. Heather from the drama club and Josh from the music club along with some cheerleaders and a few football players were there. I also noticed Rei from the art club being there. It was almost a full house.
Heather brushed her long dirty blonde away from her face and turned to look at me with a bored look. "Can we get this thing started already?" She asked, rolling her eyes.
"—Uh, yes. We can." Will answered, flipping through some papers. He turned to me. "Ava. The floor is yours." He gestured to the room and handed me a sheet with today's agenda. Dana and I both stared at the sheet, checking the contents before giving each other a look and turning to look at the people in the room
"Well, this meeting is officially starting...now." I started picking up a pen. "Today's agenda is kinda different and I want everyone's co-operation for this to be thee best Halloween ever."
The football players howled while the cheerleaders cheered in agreement. "Damn right it will be." Tyler cheered from the back.
"Tyler." I warned him. The room became quiet again, allowing me to continue. "—Now where was I..." I tried again to remember where I was going with this. "Oh right— I think everyone knows, that this is my first Halloween here in a long time and I would really appreciate it if you all would give your all for tonight—"
"We get it. You came back recently. God why'd she have to be in charge."
"It's her or Caroline. The lesser of two evils has the floor—"
"Can she get to the point already?"
"I wonder if they'll let us put fake blood in the lockers?"
I visibly flinched at the voices.
Caroline gave me a look of concern, seeing I had gone quiet all of a sudden. I quickly gave her a reassuring smile and carried on. "As I was saying, the drama club are gonna be situated all around the school as um— " I paused to look at the sheet again. "Fright actors." I read out, gesturing to Heather.
"We want the school to be a part of the haunted house." Caroline spoke up looking at Heather. "So you guys better bring your A-game."
"Don't worry. We will." Heather reassured Caroline with a painted smile.
Dana twirled her hair and glared at the two blondes before nudging me. "Moving on." She gestured.
"Next, the music club." I pointed to Josh without looking. "You guys are manning the sound effects around the haunted house and the school. Make sure to double check."
"—Or triple check. If you have to." Caroline added.
"Right. Got it, we'll check the sound systems." Josh stated, taking out a pen and writing down notes.
Caroline beamed. "Excellent." She turned to look at me to carry on.
"Art club, I really hope you guys are done with props and the art that will be hanging around. The fake cobwebs, limbs etc." I stated, looking at Rei. I already knew that they were probably the only ones that had done the most.
Without missing a beat, Rei held up what seemed to look like a collage of pictures. "They're all done and here are the pictures we took of them. We've already started putting them up in some parts of the school." She said, handing Aimee the collage.
Aimee passed it around to Will who put it in the center right in front of me. Dana then grabbed the collage and passed it to Chad and Jeff who finally handed it to Caroline. The collage went all around the room, everyone admiring the time and effort put into the props.
"Great work to everyone in the art club." Will congratulated them, looking pleased.
I put all the pictures and notes into a file and quickly passed it to Chad to organize them and looked at everyone in the room. "Alright. Before we end this. I'm gonna quickly check in with the football team and cheerleaders." I stated, flicking through the papers. "Cheerleaders, you guys know where you're going."
"We know." Tiki called out, bored.
"Football—"
A loud eruption of cheers filled the classroom, not letting me finish. I saw Chad and Jake join in as well. "Yeah we know what we're doing. This night is saved. Thanks to yours truly." Tyler bragged.
Caroline and I glanced at each other, giving each other a look that screamed 'Tyler Lockwood is annoying'. "Well then, that concludes this meeting. Great job everyone. See you all tonight." I ended the meeting, picked up my bag and left the room.
To my surprise Matt was waiting outside the room, he looked deep in thought. I watched him debate with himself whether or not he should go in. I cleared my throat loudly, grabbing his attention. In an instant his head snapped to look at me.
He blew out some air and smiled at me. "Hey." He greeted me. "Sorry, I wasn't in the meeting. Something came up." He apologized.
I stared at him for a moment, taking in his appearance. There were some growing dark circles around his eyes. His eyes looked dull since the night Vicki disappeared but today it looked a little brighter.
"It's fine." I assured him. "I understand—this meeting is not a big deal. The search party for Vicki is."
I adjusted the strap of my bag and looked at him, sadly. I knew the only news he would get would be of Vicki's body being found. If she hadn't transitioned that is.
I expected Matt to break down crying but instead he smiled a little and clutched my arms in happiness. "She called me this morning." He breathed out.
My eyes widened in shock. "Wha— Matt, that's great. She's alive. Oh my god. Thank God." I rambled. However, my relief turned into fear and disappointment when I realized this meant she was a vampire and that Elena had lied to me.
"Ava, you're rambling." He pointed out but still smiling. "Anyways. She said she's fine...uh...said not to worry about her." He paused trying to recall his conversation with Vicki. His smile died and was replaced with a frown. "But she didn't say where she is...or was" He sighed.
I lightly punched Matt's arm. "You're getting wrinkles, Matty." I said, flicking his forehead. "Not cute."
Matt sighed and gave me a hug. "I don't know what I'd do without you." I felt guilty. I didn't deserve his friendship. If I had just told the town council about Damon then he would not be worrying about Vicki.
"Matt—" I began before being cut off by Caroline.
She jumped on me and engulfed me in a hug almost making it hard for me to breathe. "Tonight is gonna be awesome." She gushed. She pulled back. "I've got yours and Bonnie's costumes. It's in my car. I'm gonna go and grab it in a bit—I got you two." She waved two fingers in my face. "I thought I'd give you a choice since Bonnie and I have been planning ours since forever—Oh hi Matt." She kept on going, pausing to greet Matt.
Matt gave her a tight smile and nodded in greeting before walking away. "Caroline, breathe." I said, looking away and starting to walk through the hallways.
"So what did you get for me?" I breathed out.
She beamed brightly following me and we both weaved through the students in the crowded hallways.
"It's a surprise. I want you and Bonnie to find out at the same time." She carried on before stopping. "Wait. Please tell me you're not gonna be carrying that stupid camera around. Like I get it, it's for the yearbook and all but you're also the student body president." She twirled a piece of her honey blonde hair around her fingers. "The camera is totally gonna clash with your outfit."
I glanced up and poke my cheek with my tongue, thinking about who was supposed to take the pictures for the yearbook now. I made a sound and turned to face Caroline. "Well you don't have to worry. It's not me, I think it's a freshman kid. Don't know his name." I replied shrugging.
Caroline squealed in joy, giving me a quick hug. "I'll be right back. Don't go home yet." She pointed at me as she slowly backed away from me.
I sighed, making my way to my locker. I opened it, putting my books away. It was like I was there but not really. I blamed Damon for ruining my day. I hoped that my spirits would be lifted up by the time it was time for the Halloween carnival.
I felt someone tap me on my shoulders. Annoyed, I turned around, only to be greeted by a hug. "I see you're already doing your best impression of a zombie." Bonnie remarked, gleefully, leaning against her locker which was next to me.
"Very funny, Bon." I retorted with a pout, slamming my locker. "I had a meeting today and I've been running around to make this carnival a success."
She threw her hands in the air. "You love doing stuff like that. Don't you like, thrive on that kinda stuff. Being organized and in charge." I gave her a look that said it was something else. "What's up with you today? You were so looking forward to Halloween. You and Caroline even spent days brainstorming your costumes weeks before—which is funny cause you guys did more planning than me and her did in months."
"Yeah and then Damon Salvatore happened." I gave her a look of annoyance and fixed my jacket and slammed my locker shut. "He just has a tendency to ruin everything. Just his presence—"
"Wait. Damon?" She asked, grabbing my arm and turning me to look at her. "What did he do this time? And when did you see him?" She questioned, looking concerned.
I huffed. "Long story. I'll tell you later." Bonnie looked skeptical. "I promise." I put one hand over my chest. "Anyways, how's..." I dropped my voice and leaned a little closer to Bonnie and looked around. "...the whole 'witch training' going on." I asked.
She rolled her eyes and opened her locker. "Grams said I'm not ready yet which is so unfair." She gestured to me. "Like you're full of throwing light around like it's a toy and I'm stuck reading the history and rules of magic and witchcraft." She complained.
"That...doesn't sound that bad..." I said with an awkward smile.
She paused, putting away her things to give me a look. "Yeah, says the one doing the cool stuff." She huffed. "Like come on. I'm dying to actually learn some spell-casting and brewing."
I snorted. "Okay, Harry Potter." I leaned against my shut locker while making fun of her.
Sheila was taking her time with Bonnie which was more than understandable. But I would love to know what I was but I didn't dare voice my complaints. I just nodded along, occasionally saying something while Bonnie rambled on.
Just as she shut her locker and turned to say something, Caroline strolled in. "I got both of your costumes." She said in a sing-song voice, carrying four bags. She passed one of them to Bonnie and handed me two of them. I looked at her confused. "Right! I bought two for you. So you have a choice between the two."
"Seriously?" Bonnie complained, opening her bag. Inside was her costume. It was to not my surprise a witch costume. Laughter bubbled out of me while Bonnie glared at me. "It's not funny, Ava." She pouted.
I handed one of the bags to Bonnie and she took it with her free hand. "It's a little funny. A little on the nose though." She made a face and looked expectantly at the bag I was holding. I rolled my eyes and opened the one in my hand. "A fairy? Really Care?" I was the one complaining now taking out the light blue and gold off the shoulder dress with plastic wings attached. "Is this because of my height?"
"Yes and no." She looked proud of herself. "That's option one which I think you should totally go for. Better than option two, in my opinion." She grabbed the bag I had given to Bonnie and opened it, taking out another costume. "Huh. What do ya think?"
"Oh look! Another witch costume." Bonnie said sarcastically with her eyes narrowed.
"It's in case Ava wants to change her mind—we can go as the three witches, all three of us."
She looked at us with hope in her eyes. Her smile died when she saw us giving her a blank look. She shoved the dress back into the bag.
"Come on. Can someone please be excited that it's Halloween? I just wanna have fun, you know, just some silly, fluffy, Damon free fun." She complained, leaning against a locker.
Bonnie rolled her eyes and started putting away the dress when a necklace caught her eyes. She picked it up and held it in front of Caroline. "Hey, isn't this the one you got from Damon?"
"You got a necklace from Damon?" I asked, surprised.
Caroline looked at the necklace disgusted. "Yep. Wear it. Toss it. I don't care. I just want it gone. Hey, have you seen Elena? Do we know what she's wearing?"
"I was with Grams all weekend. Speaking of which, Ava. She was saying you should come over some time." Bonnie answered, looking at me. "As for Elena, I haven't talked to her. Maybe she's with Stefan."
I nodded and turned to look at Caroline. "She is with Stefan." I confirmed, putting my dress back.
"Riding to his castle on his white horse." She said mockingly.
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Don't be bitter. It provokes wrinkles." She joked, walking away from the lockers. Caroline gave her a face, getting off the locker and following Bonnie. I looked at them both with a smile and followed.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
I picked up the hair curler from Caroline's dressing table and straightened my hair carefully. Caroline and Bonnie paced back and forth bickering about something I did not care about. Our costumes hung in the background. In the end, I had chosen to go with the fairy costume. The witch one did not suit my skin tone. It was a neon green and black that I really didn't like.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
My phone rang out loudly, getting all of our attention. "Are you gonna pick that up or are you gonna let it continue?" Caroline asked, walking in front of the mirror. I gave her a look and turned off the curler, putting it down, replacing it with the phone in my hand.
I flipped my phone to see who it was. To my surprise it was Matt. I put the phone to my ear. "Hey, Matt. What's up?"
"Ava. Hey. Is this a bad time?"
I turned around to see both Caroline and Bonnie busy in front of the mirror. Seeing them busy, I moved to the bathroom, grabbed my dress, and locked the door. "No. I'm just getting ready for the carnival with Bonnie and Care." I paused, hanging up my costume in the back of the bathroom door. "Is everything okay?"
He didn't say anything for a second. "—Vicki came home." He said, slowly and carefully.
"What?!" My eyes widened in horror. "I mean. Oh my god. How is she? Is she at your house, right now?" I asked, trying to quickly compose myself.
"Yeah...she's here but she's being so...I don't know how to say this—she's weirder than usual. Like I don't know what she's on but it messed her up."
I swallowed. Forgetting my costume, I unlocked the bathroom door and went out of Caroline's house. "Stay there. Make sure she doesn't go anywhere. And try to be a little careful around her. I'm on my way." I quickly hung up before Matt could get a word in. I took out my keys and drove straight to Matt's house, almost going over the speed limit.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
Getting out of my car, I ran to his door. Slowing down when I saw Stefan arguing with Matt in the entrance. "—let me come in so I can explain myself." Stefan begged Matt while I heard Vicki protest from inside.
Matt looked at Stefan and glanced back at Vicki. He looked torn and confused, not knowing what to do. "Look, I don't know what's going on but I think you should leave now." He quietly asked Stefan.
"Matt..." Stefan tried again.
I decided then to make my presence known. "Hey..." I began quietly, looking at Matt, giving him a hug in greeting. Turning to look at Stefan, I glanced between the two boys. "Is there a problem here, boys?"
Stefan looked guilty before he tried to assure me it was all fine. "No." Matt replied first. "Stefan was just leaving." Stefan tried to protest but Matt gave him a tired look. "Please, now, Stefan." Matt then turned to look at me. "You should come in, Ava." He said going back inside.
"In a minute." I called out, turning to Stefan and folding my arms. I glared at him hard. "You lied to me." I began. Stefan opened his mouth and closed it again. "And if that wasn't the worst thing, Elena also lied to me." I accused them.
Guilt overshadowed his face, I watched as Stefan ran his hand through his hair. "I can explain." He tried.
I put my hand up, telling him to stop. He backed away a little in fear. I scoffed, realizing that he knew what I could do and that meant Elena told him.
"I was planning to tell you when she—" He gestured to the inside of Matt's house, clearly talking about Vicki. "—was a little better. More in control of herself."
I unclasped my arms and threw them in the air. "I could have helped."
"I have no doubt you could've but Elena said it would be safer for you and I agreed." I clenched my jaws at his explanation. "And I get that you probably can defend yourself." He gestured to my hands. "But it's best that the less people know, it would have been easier to help Vicki." He continued.
Unbelievable. I almost wanted to laugh at how deluded Stefan sounded. I didn't say anything but instead I clapped loudly. Ignoring him, I walked over to the entrance to Matt's house.
Before I entered, I turned around and looked at Stefan. "Y'know, you and Elena definitely deserve each other." I said with a wide and mocking smile. Turning around and walking inside, slamming the door shut.
Matt hurried to the door and stared at me in concern. "Is everything—"
"It's fine. Just blowing off a little steam." I stated.
He nodded and led me into his small kitchen where Vicki sat around the table clutching her head in pain. I stopped and stared at Vicki. Breathing in and out to control myself and willing the chills to go away. I shivered involuntarily as I walked closer to her.
"Hey, Vicks. It's me Ava." I greeted her quietly.
Immediately, she sprang up and wrapped her arms around me. "I'm so scared. Ava." She confessed quietly, away from Matt's ears. "Help me. I'm so—hungry." She sounded pitiful. I patted her back comfortingly. "What perfume are you wearing? You smell so—" She breathed out, close to my ear.
All of a sudden, the chill grew into a deathlike sensation, gripping me in its vice-like hold. I felt Vicki's mouth close to my neck. Carefully, I unwrapped myself from her hug and stood at a safe distance. I cursed myself for leaving the necklace in my car.
"It's gonna be okay." No it's not. I smiled, trying to assure her. "You're going to be fine. Maybe stay at home tonight." I tried again.
Turning away from her to rummage through my bag. I pulled out a bottle of pills. I didn't know if medicine worked on vampires but it was worth a try.
"Here." I handed some pills from the bottle to Vicki. "It's just sleeping pills. Not much but it should help you sleep through the night and calm yourself down." I turned to look at Matt and walked over to him. My phone went off right then, reminding me of the carnival. "Hey, if you don't mind. I'm gonna go back to Care's to get ready for this thing—call me if you need anything." I said, walking out the door.
"Thanks for coming here." I heard Vicki call out from the inside as I walked to my car. Matt walked next to me. He wanted to see me off.
We reached my car and stared at each other for a while. "Still don't wanna change your mind about tonight?" I asked, sitting inside.
Matt leaned in on me from outside. "No. I don't know. Ava." He breathed out. "Vicki's back so I might stay in and look after her tonight." He said, looking up at the dark sky. I nodded understandingly. "Besides—" He turned to look back at me. "I don't even have a costume." He said with a boyish grin, leaning away from the car and making his way back home.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
The school-grounds were buzzing with activity tonight. People were drinking and dressed in simple and elaborate costumes. The tragedy of Tanner's death forgotten, the students and towns folks embraced the spirit of Halloween.
I blocked my ears with my hands, hearing a couple of screaming girls as they ran past me away from the haunted house attraction. I walked around with a clipboard.
My blue-gold dress fluttered as I walked. A wreath of plastic flowers lay on my head with my perfectly curled hair framing my face. The plastic and fabric glow-in-the-dark wings, following my path gracefully. I walked around, checking each and every part of the carnival was running fine. There were members of the student council scattered around the school ground's who would occasionally wave at me now and then whenever they saw me.
"This is a success." I stood next to Caroline who was wearing a purple and black strapless witch costume. Bonnie stood next to her wearing a gold and black witch's costume. She was also wearing a blonde wig along with Damon's necklace, hanging off her neck. Both of them looked amazing.
Caroline turned to look at me and beamed proudly. "See I told you, this night was gonna be awesome and here we are. Everything is going great." She said, putting a hand on her hip.
Bonnie rolled her eyes, continuing to stir the cauldron in front of her. "Careful there you might jinx yourself there." She warned us with a look.
I laughed. "Is that official witch talk?" Caroline asked.
"Caroline!" I said with a laugh.
She shrugged about to reply when Tyler walked over to us. He was shirtless, I guessed he was dressed as a roman soldier or something. "Cider for the ladies. It's a Lockwood special." He offered us two red glasses of drinks
Bonnie looked at them in disgust. "No way. Last year I was hung over until Thanksgiving." She refused, turning to give me a look. She wanted to refuse as well.
"Ava?" Tyler asked me. He looked at me up and down, clearly checking me out.
I scoffed and gave him a disgusted look but quickly composed myself. "I need to be actually sober for tonight."
He looked at me in realization and nodded. "Right! Student prez. obligations."
"Lightweights, both of you. I am going to drink until someone is hot enough to make out with." Caroline said, grabbing a glass and accepting Tyler's offer.
He grinned and clinked glasses with Caroline. "Sounds like a plan." He said, staring at Caroline.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
I blew out a breath as I walked closer to the haunted house attraction. I strained my eyes against the bright neon blue light and the smoke surrounding the entrance. Teenagers with red solo cups stood scattered around the attraction. Most were clearly drunk.
My clipboard was gone, I had passed it on to Will to do the checks who was meant to pass it to Aimee. Instead, I came here to meet someone.
A lone person stood covered in fake blood and hospital scrubs with a fake stethoscope hanging off his neck and a fake limb in his hands. He looked bored, trying to get into the mood of the carnival but failing, miserably.
"Hey." I greeted him with a smile. "You showed up, surprisingly." I said, hugging him.
He laughed and wrapped his arms around me. "It was really last minute. You look really good by the way. Caroline?" He said, wrapping himself.
"Caroline." I agreed. "She has good taste though." I added with a little twirl.
He opened his mouth, about to reply but stopped. I caught him, looking over my shoulders. "You went with last year's costume too, huh?" I heard him say to someone behind me.
"Yeah. I didn't know that I was coming till an hour ago." I heard Elena reply.
I turned around coming face to face with Elena who I had not seen since the morning. She was dressed as a bloody nurse carrying a limb. Her eyes met mine and she gave me a smile.
"Ava. Hey, sorry for not calling or anything but you look good."
I stared blankly at her. Clearly I was still annoyed that she had lied to me about Vicki but I held that in for myself in front of Matt.
Matt looked between us awkwardly and tried to pick up the conversation from where she had left off. "...Me neither." He answered honestly about him coming here last minute. He then turned to the guy next to Elena who was wearing a black hoodie. I could vaguely make out Jeremy's face under the hood.
"And you're going as...you?" Matt asked, trying to lighten the mood again. Jeremy rolled his eyes and pushed through the crowds to get away.
Elena gave Jeremy a face before turning to us to apologize for his behavior. "He's not talking to me right now. We got into a fight."
"Yeah, I got into it with Vic too, when she got home. I'm trying not to smother her tonight, but part of me didn't wanna let her out of my sight."
"She's here?" Elena asked, looking at me with wide eyes.
Matt nodded. "Yeah, you can't miss her. She's a vampire."
Of all the things, Vicki had to dress up as she chose a vampire. Normally, I would have found this hilarious but right now I was worried more about the fact there was a vampire on the loose here.
Shocked, I turned to Matt. "I thought, I asked her to stay home." I said, horrified at the idea of a fledgling vampire among the crowds of towns folks. "She told me she was tired and scared. What's she doing here."
He put his hands up in defense. "I tried. I really did but I'm not trying to smother her. If you get what I mean."
Elena and I nodded while she started panicking. The night was officially ruined. So much for all the preparation, I spent my time on. I heard Elena gasp. "Where did Jeremy go?" She asked me, looking around at the crowd. I turned to look around the crowd
"Elena what's the matter?" Matt asked, concerned. He grabbed her arm, trying to calm her down.
She ignored Matt, removing his hands from her arms and continued to panic. "I..I've gotta find him." She said, walking away but not before giving me a look.
Matt turned to look at me in confusion. "What the hell was that?" He asked me.
I swallowed. My eyes were unfocused. "I don't know...I have to go. I'm sorry, Matt." I said, walking away.
I went to the student council room, most student council members were standing there just drinking and talking. They all stood up when they saw me and started to pretend they were working. Paying them no attention, I took off my wings and put it off to the side and ran to find Vicki or Jeremy.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
I weaved my way through the students, dodging a couple. Occasionally one or two would come up to greet me or thank me for my efforts for the carnival, slowing me down.
"Oh my gosh. Look at you." I heard someone say as they grabbed me and turned me around.
I came face to face with Rei who was dressed as a Japanese ghost. She had a dirty white kimono on, caked in fake blood with a long disheveled black wig. "Rei." I simply stated. "Thanks for the compliment—but I really have to go."
Rei grabbed my arm. "But I didn't get to tell you about..." Her words were slurred and her eyes were unfocused. She was a nice girl but I really didn't have time for this.
I breathed out. "I don't have the time for this. You're gonna let go of me and forget you ever saw me." I said. Rei slowly retreated and nodded. Relieved, I walked away from her. When I turned around I saw everyone around me staring at me blankly, their eyes flickered to amber, one by one and they all nodded mindlessly before acting like nothing happened.
Horrified, I backed away from the hallways and ran down another hallway to find Vicki and Jeremy. I paused in the middle of the hallways.
"Where's Jeremy? Jeremy? Come on!" I heard Elena's voice in my head.
"Cool effects, Prez." I heard someone say as they walked past me. I turned down to look at my hands in fear. They were glowing.
Breathe in, breathe out. I tried to calm myself down. Slowly, the glow disappeared.
"Stefan! Seriously—needs to leave me alone. I just wanna have some fun with Jeremy."
"I get it, I'm an uncontrollable monster who now feasts on blood."
Vicki's thoughts echoed in my head. Focused, I followed them to a classroom.
Through the loud music and chatter of the carnival-goers, I could hear Stefan and Vicki argue back and forth. Looking around for anyone else, I pushed the door open and got inside, closing it behind me.
"—harder for you to keep yourself under control." Stefan and Vicki's eyes snapped towards me as I entered.
"I'm fine." She retorted, keeping her eyes on me.
Stefan nodded at me in greeting, ignoring her remarks. "Really?" He asked her about her control. I quietly handed him a vial of vervain from my purse without taking my eyes off Vicki. In the darkness, you could hardly tell what was going on.
Vicki looked at him confidently. "Mmm hmm." She nodded. I scoffed loudly. She was bluffing. I could sense her about to lash out at the people here. She scowled at me and gave me a look to support her.
"Ava, Stefan is hurting me." She tried to plead. I shrugged in response, saying nothing and instead walked over to lean against the teachers desk.
"I'm sorry, Vick but he's right." I finally spoke out. "You look bad. It's best if you go back home or with Stefan. Whichever is safer." I said with a blank look.
She turned around, looking betrayed. "You knew. All along!"
I looked at her with guilt and pity. She really didn't deserve this but my hands were now tied. All I could do is keep her away from people to keep them safe from her and her safe from the town council.
Stefan rolled his eyes and got Vicki back on topic. "She knows that you're a new vampire and she's trying to help your brother." He defended me. "Now let me ask you. Are you really in control?"
Vicki nodded again.
"No headache? Your stomach's not screaming at you? You're not feeling lightheaded or anxious or cranky like if someone looks at you the wrong way you could just rip their head off? Do you wanna know what that's called? It's called hunger and it's only gonna get worse and worse every minute that you pretend like it's not controlling you—" Stefan called out Vicki on her lies and got up close, he looked pissed to say the least.
"That's enough." I shouted. "You're about to make her cry. Emotional vampires are never good news or—so I've heard." I then glanced at the door and gestured to it. "Let's go." Stefan got the message and grabbed Vicki's arm, dragging her outside the classroom.
I went out the door first, looking around before turning around to glance at Stefan. I gave him a look, telling him the coast was clear. We walked the halls quietly with Stefan almost dragging Vicki by her arm to a less crowded place. I walked a little apprehensively, trying to block out the thoughts of other people and making sure my powers didn't flare up again.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
"Thank God." Elena exclaimed, seeing us and giving me a hug. "Thanks for helping. I'm sorry about—" She whispered in my ears before being cut off by Stefan.
Stefan dragged Vicki in. She looked bored and annoyed. "What's the matter?" He asked while Vicki glared daggers in the back of his head.
She caught my eyes and gave me a glare as well. It was for the best. This was for her own good. I kept trying to tell myself.
Elena glanced at Vicki and looked at Stefan, relieved. "I lost track of Jeremy." She confessed, clasping her hands. "I was worried." She finished, glaring at Vicki.
Just then, Matt approached us. "What's goin' on?" He asked, looking at all of us standing in a semicircle.
Stefan was the first to jump into action. "Hey. uh, everything's fine." He tried to calm Matt down and get rid of him.
Seeing an opportunity to get away, Vicki leaned forward and started struggling against Stefan's grip. "I told you to quit bothering me." She complained, pretending to be angry.
"No. Vicki, don't do this." Elena tried to jump to Stefan's defense.
Vicki broke free of Stefan's hold and walked closer to her brother. "Matt, he won't leave me alone." She pleaded, grabbing his arm in an attempt to create more sympathy.
Matt turned to glare at Stefan. She knew how to play her brother so well that right now, he didn't even know he was playing his anger against Stefan."
You need to back off, man." Matt barked, pushing Stefan.
"Matt, it's...it's okay." Elena tried again.
"No, it's not okay. What the hell is your problem?" Matt ignored Elena and shoved Stefan again.
He clenched his fists, ready to punch Stefan.
Knowing this was going nowhere. I grabbed Matt's hand. "Matt, Vicki's on some kind of drugs. Stefan and Elena are only trying to help." I lied to him. Matt nodded slowly, backing away from Stefan as I let go of hand.
I heard Elena gasp as she grabbed onto my arm and looked at Stefan. "Stefan. She's gone." She said with a horrified look on her face before letting go of my arm and running off to find Vicki.
I almost ran to follow Elena, turning around to ask Stefan for help when I saw Matt try to stop him by turning him around. In anger, Stefan slammed Matt onto the wall. "I'm trying to help her." He said furious, clutching Matt's shirt. Matt, terrified, tried to grab on to the wall.
"Stefan!" I called out, breaking him out of his trance.
Any longer and I knew his true self would come out, exposing him to Matt. Stefan glanced at me, letting go of Matt who fell down the wall. I watched as Matt pushed himself off the wall, trying to calm himself down. Stefan gave Matt one last look before following me to Elena.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
Chasing after Vicki was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. There were so many girls dressed as vampires just like her. Stefan and I searched the halls together while Elena had gone off on her own. We stumbled through the crowds, both of us being careful not to expose ourselves.
Stefan suddenly stopped. I watched him curiously as his eyes gazed downwards like he was trying to listen to something. "Stefan." I tried to get his attention, all the while keeping an eye out for Vicki or Jeremy.
Failing to get his attention, I decided to walk off and find her on my own. All of a sudden, I started feeling dizzy. Colors started to shift in front of my eyes. I tried to make sense of my surroundings and held on to a locker to stop myself from fainting.
I found myself outside in the school parking lot. Buses were haphazardly parked. Taking a deep breath, I walked through the maze of buses which felt abandoned. It was almost quiet except the fading sound of the carnival inside, making this place feel either romantic or eerie. I decided to go with the latter.
I felt a chill go down my back. There was a vampire here. I swallowed and foolishly followed my instincts. I found a couple leaning against each other. The boy was against a bus, kissing the girl who kissed him back with desperation.
To my horror, she bit him and drew blood. The boy pulled back and pushed him off of himself, giving me a clear look at his face. It was a familiar face. Dark swept bangs and a black hoodie. It was Jeremy.
I gasped in surprise as I watched Vicki's face morph into a monstrous face as she lunged at Jeremy.
"Jeremy! Run!" I screamed.
I gasped out loudly as I came back to reality. Looking around, I was back inside the school. Halloween decorations surrounded me along with drunk carnival-goers. Breathing in and out, I tried to calm my nerves as I stumbled to find the door to the school parking lot with the buses.
Finding the door, I flung it open and stumbled out. The cold air hit me like a ton of bricks causing my teeth to chatter. I tried to ignore and find the doomed couple.
"—Vicki! Vicki, what the hell?! Oh, my god. No! stop! Vicki! No! Ah!" I heard Jeremy's screams before I saw them. I broke off into a sprint and ran to where I had seen Vicki attack Jeremy.
Just like in my vision, I watched, petrified as Jeremy pushed Vicki away. She started twitching as hunger overtook her, clouding her judgment. Stood in the middle of the buses, her hair falling to her face, hiding her true face.
Coming behind Jeremy, I stood right in front of Vicki just as she was about to lunge at him. "Vicki, no!" I heard Elena rush to protect her brother, grabbing a wooden plank and throwing me a look.
But before she could act. I ran towards Vicki and threw an orb of light straight out at her. She flew through the air and landed on her back, her skin sizzling as she screamed in pain.
Jeremy looked on in horror as he covered his mouth, tears threatened to spill from his eyes. Vicki's groans and screams echoed through the air. I stared at my hands in fear at what I had just done. While Elena looked at me in gratitude at what I had done.
But that didn't last that long as Vicki started healing. The burns slowly faded away as she pushed herself off the ground. She cracked her neck with a loud click. She flashed in front of me and grabbed my hands.
"I really did like you, Ava." She said with a demented smile. "But I'm so damn hungry." She flashed her teeth.
I looked at her apologetically before my hands lit up while Elena came from behind and smashed a wooden plank on her head. It had no effect. Elena's efforts were not paid and the only effect Vicki had was that her hands were burnt again by my light.
She threw me onto the hard pavement. My head hitting the ground, the plastic flower crown on my head scattering on impact. Then, turning her attention to Elena who slowly tried to back away from Vicki. She smirked before she tossed Elena into a pile of wooden boards like a ragdoll.
Painfully, I tried to get up.
Drip.
Drip.
Blood dripped down from my head. I carefully touched it and then touched my neck. My necklace. It was still in my car which was parked at home. My hands started glowing as the blood dried up and I felt the wound in my head close up. I felt fine.
But I didn't have time to ponder on this. Quickly I got up from the pavement and rushed to where Jeremy was. I gave him a look and stood in front of me, protectively. He leaned against the bus, mouth agape in horror of what was going on. Elena painfully tried to pick herself off the broken wooden mess when Vicki barred her fangs at her, preparing to lunge at her.
Stefan flashed in front of Vicki and slammed her into a bus. She hissed animalistically at Stefan, trying to break free of his hold. I breathed out in relief at Stefan's arrival.
Jeremy ran out from behind me and called out Vicki, grabbing her attention. Annoyed, I shoved him behind me. In rage, she pushed away Stefan and disappeared into the night.
We all looked at each other in fear and horror. Elena clutched herself in pain, her hair was a mess while Jeremy stood by the side, confused. I glanced down at myself. My dress was covered in dirt and some blood, a sleeve had ripped. We all looked like a mess.
Stefan breathed out glancing around, looking for Vicki, he turned to the Gilbert siblings. "Go! Get inside" He commanded them, pushing Elena, turning to give me a look.
I didn't follow the brother and sister pair, choosing to stay behind and help Stefan. I watched Elena as she ran to Jeremy still clutching her hip in pain.
Stefan and I split up to look for Vicki again. In the darkness, it was harder to see. I willed my hand to glow again. Slowly, a soft glow emitted from my hand as I ran through the empty parking lot. I bumped into Stefan who gave me an impressed look. We both rushed through each of the buses looking for any sign of the fledgling vampire.
A loud scream of pain interrupted our search. "Ah!"
Elena's screams rang out through the parking lot. I ran towards Elena and threw an orb straight at Vicki. She hissed loudly in pain as the light sizzled and burned her. But she ignored the pain and dove straight back to feasting on Elena.
I tried to get in between them and tried to prepare another orb of light as I watched Vicki pull away from Elena and dive back in when all of sudden she stopped.
A large wooden stake stuck through her chest, Stefan had staked her. She gasped in pain, trying to make sense of what just happened. I watched as tears slid my face as Vicki turned to give us all one last look, her eyes settling on Jeremy as he called out her name.
Jeremy got off from the floor, trying to get to Vicki, only to be stopped by Stefan who held him back. I put my hands to my mouth stopping myself from wailing. Vicki's face turned gray as dark veins appeared on the surface, tears escaped her eyes.
He killed her.
Stefan killed Vicki.
I watched in silent horror as Vicki dropped to the ground, giving one last glance to Jeremy before she dropped dead for the last time. And for good. I let go of an ugly sob as I fell to the floor. The light died in my hand as I used both of my hands to cover my face, sobbing hysterically at what just happened.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
Elena stood over Vicki's body clutching her bleeding shoulders while Stefan held Jeremy back. I stared numbly at Vicki's corpse, trying to make sense of what just happened. I sat next to it with my hands clasped.
Tears dried up on my face. Makeup smudged.
I barely heard Elena ask Stefan to get Jeremy away. My attention was on Vicki's corpse. I felt Elena sit down next to me, silently breaking down. I didn't react, Vicki's skin had all turned a dead grayish-green and her eyes were left open, staring lifelessly at the ground in front of her.
With a deep breath, I reached over and shut her eyes.
Elena sobbed louder after she saw what I did.
"She didn't...she...didn't...deserve this." I tried to say. "She didn't deserve this." I shouted. "She was finally becoming happy." I felt tears sliding down my face. "She was finally becoming happy, y'know?" I said with a teary smile to Elena.
"Matt was telling me, she planned to do her own thing one day when she got enough money and help them both through their hard life—become a sister to be proud of." I sobbed harder. "She was—pulling her life together and now...she's gone." I sobbed harder.
"Ava—" Elena tried to comfort me.
I pushed her hand aside. "No! She was meant to live." I scream out, tears blurring my vision. I leaned over her body, covering my face with my hands. "God. What...what am I gonna say to Matt?" I cried harder. "He trusted me. I...I...let him down." Elena wrapped her arms around me and tried to calm me down as I cried harder. "—Matt's gonna be so devastated." I spoke out between sobs.
She unwrapped herself from me when I calmed down, she pulled back and sat with her legs underneath her. We both watched Vicki's corpse in sadness. "You guys should go." Damon's confident voice echoed a little through the quiet parking lot as he walked in front of us. "I got this." He gestured to Vicki's body.
I watched numbly as Elena picked herself off the ground and made her way to Damon. "You did this. This is your fault." She accused him.
"You confuse me for someone with remorse." Damon retorted with his usual smirk. In anger, I watched as she tried to hit Damon but he grabbed her hand, stopping her. Elena struggled to get away from his grasp.
I tiredly sighed and glanced at Damon and then at my hand. A warm glow filled me as my left hand lit up. "Damon." I said quietly, warning him. I was too tired to deal with this.
He breathed out, letting go of Elena's hands. "None of this matters to me. None of it." He retorted.
"People die around you. How could it not matter? It matters, and you know it." She tried again, picking up her hand, she struck him across the face.
I look away from Vicki's corpse, looking at the two above me. The sound of flesh striking flesh made me turn to look at my friend in concern. Damon's eyes looked murderous as he stared at Elena's open wounds.
"Get out of here, Elena. You're hurt." I breathed out, staring at my still lit up hand.
Damon glanced at me and nodded in gratitude. "You heard her. You need to leave. Your wounds are bleeding and you need to leave." He stated, trying to calm himself down.
Elena looked at me and him, trying to make me leave with her. I refused and I stayed with Vicki. She gave me one last look before she walked away.
Ignoring Damon, I turned my attention back to Vicki. My hands were still lit up and I knew I was capable of healing. I'd done it before to Zach, to Uncle Nate, to Sheila and myself. I glanced at my hands, determined, I placed it over Vicki's wounds. I had brought Zach back from the dead, maybe I could...
A putrid smell of burning flesh filled the air as the light from my hands burned away Vicki's skin and flesh. Unlike last time, she didn't heal. No, her flesh kept on burning and I kept on focusing on bringing her back to life.
"Burning the body is a good idea. Not sure we should be doing this out in the open." Damon remarked, a little concerned.
I swallowed and turned to give Damon a hard glare through my watery eyes. "I'm not burning her, you dick. I'm trying to heal her." I gestured to Vicki's slightly charred body. "I can heal people with this." I waved one of my hands before his face. "I did it before to my uncle and myself when she threw me to the ground. I can...I can bring her back." I said, trying to convince myself.
Drip.
Warm blood dripped down my nose as I started feeling lightheaded. I was roughly stopped when Damon grabbed me, distracting me.
"Stop!" He grabbed my arms, preventing himself from burning. "—You're not saving her, Ava. Look!" He gestured to Vicki's preserved but slightly charred body. "Look. At. Her." He tried again. "And look at you, you're overusing your magic and your nose is bleeding."
The glow in my hands dimmed and disappeared. I wiped my nose and blood covered my hands. "I'm fine. I'm—" I gasped out and coughed. I covered my mouth as I coughed up blood.
"No. No, you're not fine."
I pushed him off him and weakly got up. I turned to look at Vicki's corpse like Damon had asked me to. Like a spell had been broken, I saw what was really happening.
Her wound was not healed, instead the edge of her wound was charred while the exposed flesh and organs were starting to melt under the heat.
I choked up seeing this and nearly fell on the pavement when Damon caught me. "What did I—" I stopped, trying to stop myself from throwing up.
He let go of me and watched me carefully as I tried to stand up straighter. "You're really not fine, sunshine." He said, fixing my hair. I watched numbly as he picked up my discarded and half destroyed flower crown and placed it on top of my head. "You should go." He said with an unreadable expression.
I shook my head. "No, I'll come with you."
Damon tried to protest but I glared at him. I watched as he picked up Vicki's body and loaded it in his car.
"This is your fault." I said quietly, getting inside his car. He turned to me and breathed out, shaking his head. "If you weren't so hell bent on getting under Stefan's skin, Vicki would be alive." I continued on quietly.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
"Are you gonna do the whole Elena thing? Right now?" He asked, driving to the Salvatore boarding house.
I threw him a crazed look.
Did I look stupid enough to provoke a blood thirsty monster?
I may be shell shocked but I was not stupid. "Right. You're the smart one in your little group of friends." He remarked.
Neither of us said anything as we drove back from the Salvatore house to Elena's. We both had left Vicki's body in the cellar until Stefan and he could decide on what to do with it. We drove to Elena's house in silence.
"Elena's probably gonna ask Stefan to compel Jeremy." I broke the silence, still glancing outside.
Damon made a noise. "Except it wouldn't be effective." He retorted, still weary of my condition. He was acting like I was a fragile piece of glass. "He's on the bambi diet which isn't as effective as the human diet."
I scrunched up my face in disgust. "Interesting." I remarked quietly. I filed away that information in my head, remembering to add that to the files in the family archive. "So why don't you do it? Why don't you compel Jeremy, instead?" I asked.
"—And why would I do that?!" He complained. "Elena and Stefan don't exactly trust me." He glanced at me for a second. "Why are you asking me this? Aren't you against the whole no secrets thing. I mean I remember that being a big thing in your family or did that change over the years?"
"I'm asking because none of us are ready for what's to come, not yet. I've barely got a hold of my abilities and I have a feeling things are just downhill from here." I confessed. "That and Jeremy is Elena's brother so she calls the shots. I'm just making it easier for her to protect her loved ones."
He laughed. "Even if she lied to you."
Not gonna lie, that stung a little.
"I believe in second chances."
He pulled into Elena's driveway. "If I do what you ask of me—will you give me a second chance?" He said, walking over to my side of the car and opening it, letting me out.
I took his hand and got out. "I'll think about it but I know you'll do it anyway." I said walking away. Damon looked at me confused. "For Elena. For Stefan." I turned to face him. "Because deep down you actually care underneath all of that." I gestured to him and walked to go greet Elena and Stefan.
Stefan and Elena looked to be in a deep discussion. "—I just want him to forget everything that happened." I heard Elena say to Stefan. Damon glanced at me, impressed that I had accurately predicted Elena's next move.
"If I did it, there's no guarantee that it would work...Because of who I am. Because of how I live. I don't have the ability to do it right." Stefan looked helpless and at a loss of what to do.
Damon, like I knew he would, offered to help. "I can do it. If this is what you want...I'll do it." He said, shrugging his shoulders.
"It's what I want." She said, looking lost but getting enough energy to give me a hug. "Please make sure he doesn't hurt Jer." She whispered in my ear.
I knew Damon heard that. I didn't even pretend. "I'll make sure he doesn't feed or attack Jer." I promised Elena.
Damon rolled his eyes while Stefan looked relieved. "What do you want him to know?" He asked instead, ignoring the little jibe.
"I want you to tell him that Vicki left town and she's not coming back. That he shouldn't look for her or worry about her. He's gonna miss her, but he knows it's for the best." She said, tears falling down her face.
Damon turned to look at me as he made his way inside the Gilbert house. I gave Elena an assuring look before I followed him inside. I waited outside Jeremy's room in case Damon did something to him and nervously bit my lip.
My phone started ringing loudly, breaking my train of thoughts. My hands started shaking, close to breaking down again. I ran downstairs to Elena's kitchen and put my phone on silent.
Within minutes, Matt's attempts to call me multiplied, soon the calls were replaced by messages asking if I was okay or if I had seen Vicki or where I was. I couldn't answer any of those questions.
"Hey, Will." I started slowly, calling him instead of picking up Matt's calls or his messages.
"Ava. Where the hell are you?!" He replied, sounding stressed. "Everyone's looking for you, Dana is wasted so I'm doing everything now." He complained on the other end. "That's not all, the quarterback kept asking 'about you. What was his name? Um. He was blond, his sister is that Vicki girl-"
I bit my lips, stopping myself from crying. "Matt." I breathed out. "His name's Matt. Can you tell him I went home?" I said, trying to fix my mess of a hair.
"You went home? Y'know there's still so much left to do. Even the mayor and his wife were looking for you." I didn't say anything and just let Will carry on. "...Is everything okay?"
No. Everything was a mess.
"Everything's fine. I just overreacted 'cause some guy threw fake blood and dirt on me. And then I got a killer migraine that just won't go away." I tried with a forceful cheerful tone.
"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. It's fine. I'll tell Matt that."
"Thanks Will. Can you also tell him not to call me? Y'know the huge migraine right now. I can't do much because of it." I lied. I heard Will agree to my requests before hanging up.
I didn't even notice that Damon was done and was in the kitchen until he spoke. "You're avoiding Matt, thought you were a good friend."
I gave him a hateful glare and barged past him, hitting his shoulders on purpose as I tried to walk outside and go home. I didn't get far when Damon flashed in front of me and grabbed my arms, being careful to avoid my hands.
"Woah-woah. I just wanted to say, I compelled Jeremy like Elena...and you asked me to."
I nodded. "I knew you would." I replied quietly, about to open the door and go outside. I crossed my hands and glared at him hatefully.
"Y'know none of this would be happening if you never came here. I really do hope that—one day you'll realize the consequences of your actions."
Damon let go of me, I pushed him away, walking out the door. I turned to look at him.
"But I know you won't."