Come As You Are¹ || The Vampire Diaries

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟺: 𝙻𝚒𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎

"Hey Bon, it's me again for the hundredth time."

I sucked in a breath while I locked my car and started walking towards the grill. The cold winter air cut into my exposed hands like knives as I shivered violently.

I continued. "Is everything okay? You've been radio silent since your date." Throwing my curled hair back, I pushed the door to grill. "Call me. I'm worried." I ended the call and started scanning the half empty grill for a sign of my perky blonde best friend.

Caroline sat alone in a booth, playing around with a strand of her hair while staring at her boyfriend with a lovestruck smile that almost made me puke. 

Don't get me wrong, I loved those two together.

Matt caught my eye as he waved, one-handed before resuming his work. Guess, he was still on the clock. I simply nodded in response, still too tired from last night's mess to muster any energy for any social interactions. Caroline was lucky I even decided to get out of bed for her. I huffed and plastered on a smile for the cheerleader who was waving me over to her with a huge smile on her face.

"Ava!" She squealed in greeting as she engulfed me in a hug. For once, I welcomed her hugs. Reluctantly, I hugged her back. "Where have you been?" She let go and sat back down.

"Schoolwork...and other stuff." I replied as I loosened the belt on my short burgundy leather trench coat before taking it off. Carefully, I put it off to the side and pulled the sleeves of my black turtleneck sweater.

Caroline narrowed her eyes at my response. "What kind of stuff?" I blew out a breath, opening and closing my mouth, trying to think of an excuse. She leaned in and stared at me hard, her teal eyes bore into my light brown eyes. "...Is it the witchy kind-of stuff?" She whispered with a hand over her mouth.

I pulled back and rolled my eyes. "That's Bonnie's thing. Not mine, Care."

"Hey, I get points for guessing."

"Guessing wrong."

"There was an effort."

"Poor effort."

"I tried. I'm not psychic like Bonnie."

"You're right." I retorted with a sarcastic smile. Caroline scoffed, luckily forgetting what we were talking about. She looked at Matt who was working around us for support. Matt shrugged, gesturing to his wrist and the large clock behind the bar. She huffed again.

I snorted. "Guess Matt agrees with me." Smirking, I twirled my hair.

"Silence is not an agreement." She retorted.

"Anyways, speaking of Bonnie, have you heard from her?" I questioned as Matt placed a mug of hot mocha and a plate of brownies in front of me. I mouthed a quick thanks to him before refocusing on my best friend.

Caroline picked up a brownie and took a bite. "Ugh, no. Bonnie and Elena have done it again." She replied with her mouth full. "I've been trying to call them since the morning to tell them about Duke's party—by the way you're coming, no ifs or buts."

"Caroline..." I began.

"Come onnnn. It'll be fun. God knows we need some fun." She took another bite of her brownie. "Besides Bonnie and Elena abandoned me, they're probably not gonna show up..." She trailed off, looking down at the table.

Pursing my lips, I stared at her. "You're guilt tripping me." I stated, staring at her blankly.

"Is it guilt tripping to want one of your best friends to come to this awesome party with you? Then yes. I am guilt tripping you. Besides Matt's going too."

"I'll be the third wheel."

"Tyler's gonna be there too."

"Tyler?" Tilting my head, I stared at the mayor's son who stood over the pool table. When he noticed me staring he winked while I tightly smiled and nodded in greeting. Turning back to my friend, I gave her a look. "Annd, what am I supposed to do about that? Just because Tyler is going to a stupid part—"

"It's not a stupid party." She retorted. She bit her lips and stared at me with wide eyes and a pout. "Come on, Ava. Please."

I tried to think of another excuse. Trying so hard to rack my brain for anything but nothing came up. Holidays were right around the corner and unfortunately, I was too organized for my own good.

I had no excuses.

I was caught up with almost everything despite the supernatural drama here and there, I actually had nothing to do in the upcoming weeks. Unless, you counted the whole tomb situation but that's not something I could exactly use as an excuse.

"Fine. I'll go."

Caroline squealed loudly and clapped her hand in excitement at my response. Unconsciously, I opened my eyes and smiled at her.

"So you haven't heard anything from Elena either." I asked, slightly concerned. I mean, unlike Bonnie, Elena had people looking over her. People being the Salvatore brothers and occasionally me. Bonnie, on the other hand, only had me and her grams.

Glancing up, I noticed that Caroline had pursed her lips, looking annoyed. She shook her head. "Well I asked Jeremy earlier and he said she's somewhere with...Stefan." She scoffed. "...You know, I'm so not going to be one of those girls who disappears just because she has a new boyfriend."

I threw her a look and started to defend Elena. "You say that now—"

"I mean it." She cut me off with a stubborn look.

I rolled my eyes and gave her a small smile in response. I guess I couldn't argue against her. If I had to be honest, I really didn't know the Caroline and Elena of the now or any of my childhood friends.

Caroline, that I remembered, was stubborn and loyal in her own way, almost similar to the Caroline that sat in front of me. But Elena of then was also loyal and stubborn along with being a terrible liar, so much so that she wouldn't try to lie at all.

But she did lie.

A small voice in my head whispered. My thoughts echoed back to last night and the days where she lied about Vicki's whereabouts. If I had to be honest, I don't think I knew Elena of the now, at all. I thought back to what I had told Damon last night. I didn't lie, I remembered Elena as someone who was loyal but now I was questioning myself if I really knew her at all.

─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────

Darkness was the only thing I could see with my eyes open or closed.

I groaned and complained, picking myself off the ground. I was getting tired of this. With no signs of this dream or vision ending, I tried to move around but the darkness was too heavy.

Not wanting to give up, I tried again to feel the rough jagged stone walls to move around. Unfortunately, I didn't get far enough. Small, loose stones littered across the stony floor caused me to trip again.

In frustration, I tried to will my hand to glow up but it failed. All of a sudden, flaming torches sparked to life, lighting up the tunnel ahead and bathing the entire cavern in a flickering orange glow.

The cave-like building was old and abandoned so long ago that ivy had started growing on the crumbling walls while spiders made homes in each corner. The walls were crumbling, stone bricks looked on the verge of falling down while the iron gates looked rusted.

I paused in my steps and my eyes widened. I've been here before. No, I haven't. I'd seen it, I think. I didn't remember. But this looked familiar. Like somewhere, I shouldn't be. Somewhere, I should get out.

Slowly, I turned to find an exit. But instead I found bodies around me. Some slumped over each other, some standing but not moving and some laying on the cold floor. I don't know if they were dead or not. They seemed alive but at the same time, they were not. Swallowing my fears, I moved closer to examine the bodies. Their skin was gray and cracking. Eyes, hollow and vacant.

Just as I was about to touch one. Everything around me rippled and disappeared.

"—Hey." Jeremy waved his hands in my face in greeting, snapping me back to reality.

I shook my thoughts off and plastered a smile on my face as I noticed that Caroline had gone off to flirt with her boyfriend, leaving me the plate of brownies empty. I sighed and took another sip of the mocha before I turned back to Jeremy.

"Hey, Jer." I replied, gesturing to him to take a seat. "So what do you need this time?"

Jeremy slid into the now-empty seat in front of me and rolled his eyes. "Why do you think I need something from you?"

"Well, that's because people only come to me if they want something." I retorted, finishing the contents of my cup and wiping my mouth with a napkin, like nothing had happened.

"Whatever. Um. Can you tell Elena that if she's gonna stay out with Stefan, she should at least let Jenna know."

"Jenna's worried?" I asked.

"Obviously." He leaned forward and stared at me. "Doesn't your uncle get worried about you when you don't go back home?"

"That happens rarely. I always go back home."

"God. You're such a goody-two-shoes."

"Whatever. I'll let Elena know about...y'know." Turning away from him, I fumbled around my coat for my phone. I paused and turned back to Jeremy. "Wait. Elena has a phone, why can't you guys just call her."

Jeremy sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "We tried. No answer."

My stomach dropped at Jeremy's words. First Bonnie, now Elena. My mind started to wander, trying to piece those two pieces of puzzle together. It couldn't be. Elena was probably with Stefan, like always.

Just as I was about to say something, the loud ringing of my phone interrupted us. Jeremy gave me a look as he clutched his chest in surprise, only for me to shrug in response. Hey, not everyone kept their phone on silent twenty-four-seven.

I pulled out my phone from my coat's pocket and turned it over in my hands. "It's Stefan." I said to Jeremy who nodded and mouthed something in response.

Flipping my phone open, I held it to my ear. "Hey, Stefan."

"Elena's missing. Anna took her."

I smiled awkwardly as Jeremy stared hard at me. "...Sure, I can pick up Elena from your place." I responded after a while.

"No. That's no—"

"In fact, I was just about to head to your place." I quickly put on my coat and left a few notes on the table for the food. I paused to look at Jeremy. "I'll see you around then, Jer." I waved him goodbye and pushed the door to the grill open.

Dropping my smile, my eyes hardened and I all but ran to my car. "You were with Jeremy." Stefan stated on the other side of the phone while I struggled to find my keys.

I only grunted in response and got inside, starting the car. "Yep, sorry to say but I'm not always alone, on standby for you and your brother."

"—I didn't mean it like that."

"I know. I'm kidding." I blew out a breath and carefully, propped my phone on the passenger seat. Taking a turn out of the Mystic Grill parking lot, I continued. "So how did Anna take Elena, you were there."

"Jeremy invited her over last night."

"Smart." I nodded my head. "She played the cute new girlfriend card." 

Anna used Jeremy to get the Gilbert journal and then used him again to get Elena. She was smart, I had to give her credit for that.

"Elena's the leverage." I stated out-loud, realizing that Anna wanted the tomb open as well for whatever reason and she wanted it open, bad.

"Leverage for what exactly?"

"For you and your brother to open the tomb, obviously." I took another turn, getting closer to the boarding house which really hadn't been a boarding house since Zach's 'death'. "Look, you both clearly care about Elena. Plus she's a dead ringer for Katherine which creates a target on her back—makes her the perfect leverage." 

Stefan stayed quiet, letting my words mull in his head.

I parked my car near the boarding house and got out. "I'm here, by the way. Oh and Bonnie's also missing so we have our hands full."

"Bonnie's missing?" He questioned. 

The level of concern is his voice increasing. I felt bad for Stefan. If he wasn't a vampire, he would be dead from all the stress he had to deal with. It was a miracle that I wasn't as stressed. Maybe because I had some faith in Stefan's abilities after all. Maybe. But I would only reluctantly admit that out loud.

I made a sound. "Unfortunately—can you, um, get the door?" With that, I hung up and rang the doorbell. Instantly the door opened. "Ste—"

My face fell when the wrong Salvatore greeted me on the other side of the threshold. Damon leaned over the half-opened door and smiled at me with a lazy grin. 

"Good morning, sunshine." He waved at me with his free-hand. "Here to brighten up my day or—" He placed his hand under his chin and pretended to think before he leaned over to me. "—Are you here to help Stefan?"

Annoyed, I poked the inside of my cheek with my tongue. "Can you get out of my way?"

"Wow. I was being nice."

I sighed. "Fine. Damon, can you please get out of my way?" I tried again with an even wider smile.

Damon shrugged and let out a breath before moving out of my way. "Stefan's in the study, drilling a hole into the ground." I nodded. Turning around to make a sarcastic comment, I found myself alone in the dimly lit entrance of the boarding house. Damon had disappeared into the darkness.

─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────

The fireplace was lit and I watched the flames in silence while Stefan paced behind me. Like Damon had said his brother really was trying to drill holes into the floor. The noise of his footsteps was starting to drive me insane.

Stefan stopped pacing in an instant and flashed over to his phone. Elena. He mouthed to me before holding the phone close to his ear. I swallowed and sat up straight, leaning close to Stefan who stood over me.

"Elena? Are you okay?" Stefan desperately asked on the other side.

I watched as his face fell and his jaws clenched. His phone on the phone tightened and I knew why. "—Tell me you have the grimoire and she'll stay fine." I could faintly hear someone on the other side of the phone. Anna, I thought with a grim expression.

The grimoire again.

I was getting tired of all this tomb business. If things actually played out accordingly then we wouldn't be going through this but no, Emily just had to save Katherine and by saving one, she had to save them all.

Lost in thought, I didn't even notice Damon re-entering the study while Stefan tried to negotiate a deal with Anna. He said nothing but simply watched over us like he was watching a play unfold with an amused smile of his.

I glared at Damon for finding this whole situation entertaining. We were in this mess because of him and his brother. At least Stefan was trying. Damon just rolled his eyes at me and shrugged. Don't shrug at me, Salvatore. This is your fault, I almost hissed out. God, I wish I had a stake right now.

"I can get it." My head snapped towards Stefan before my eyes trailed back to Damon.

Oh boy.

I poked my cheek with my tongue and stared back at the wooden floors. Damon wasn't gonna help at all.

"—your brother has it—I have the witch—meet me in— town square—thirty minutes—we can—discuss—to work together."

The call cut off and Stefan stared at the now silent phone with a forlorn expression on his face. We stared at each other for a while trying to decide if we were going to actually ask Damon for help. Well, I definitely was not. Stefan sighed, defeated, turned to his brother.

"Go ahead. Grovel again. Oh, wait no...I don't care." Damon still didn't care. No surprise there.

I rolled my eyes at his words and pushed myself off the couch. Stefan stopped and stared at me questioningly. Obviously asking if I had another plan. I simply shrugged and led him outside, hoping he would follow me.

A gust of wind passed by me and I blinked. Stefan had flashed in front of me. I blinked furiously trying to get rid of the chilling feeling of death before I grabbed his arm and brought him over to my car. He followed obediently.

"We need to go see Sheila Bennett." I simply stated.

"And you had to tell me out here because?" Stefan asked, confused why I went through all that trouble.

I puffed my cheeks and rolled my eyes. "Because I don't want Damon to tag along."

"You don't have to worry about that. You saw back there, Damon doesn't care about Elena."

I almost made a face. Well, no. Damon did care about Elena or at least I'd like to believe he did. He just didn't care about helping his brother.

"No, but he needs a witch. Bonnie's missing. And the next available witch in town is—"

"—Sheila Bennett." He finished my sentence with a cold look on his face.

"Bingo." I looked over to the boarding house once more before going over to my car. "If Damon tags along, Miss Sheila is not helping us at all."

Stefan nodded understanding where I was coming from. Witches and vampires did not get along already. Damon would not be an exception, especially considering his little quest to get his psychotic ex back that might unleash a horde of vampires onto Mystic Falls.

With that, I got inside and started the engine, waiting for it to warm up a little. "Get in." I gestured to my—well aunt Diana's old car. "I'll take us there."

Without another word, Stefan got in. His face was still stuck in frown. Sometimes, I thought that Stefan worried more than the whole town combined. Constantly brooding for no reason. Then again, I would too if my older brother was a walking wreck. Luckily, I was blessed with an overachieving know-it-all older brother instead.

Stefan tapped his feet nervously as he sat next to me on the passenger seat while I drove through the town to get to where Sheila had pointed us to. I breathed out loudly and narrowed my eyes at him.

At this point he was going to drill a hole into this car. I might be well-off but I wasn't that rich to replace or repair a second time around from vampire damage. Stefan mumbled some apologies before he stopped and instead turned away from me to stare outside. Maybe I should have let him drive instead, I wondered.

I glanced over at him again. He stared outside with a complicated look in his eyes, his fist clenched and his jaws tight. He was stressed to say the least. I mean I would be too if my older brother was a raging maniac and a psychotic ex with more enemies than friends who may or may not be dead.

"Y'know you should be staring at the road." Stefan mumbled out without looking at me.

I smiled slightly before straightening my back and refocusing on the road. "Worried?" He turned to stare at me as he nodded. "You're a vampire."

"But you're not." He retorted in a quiet exasperated manner. "...If we crash you won't magically heal and you're not a fan of vampire blood."

"True." I nodded, pursing my lips and recalling the last time I had some of that stuff.

I almost recoiled in my seat recalling the bitter metallic liquid that Damon forced me to drink that night of his birthday. I didn't hate it, the blood. But the fear of becoming one of them was something that had been indoctrinated into me since I could remember.

Now that I thought about it. "...Forever is a long time." I said out-loud, accidentally voicing my thoughts out. My eyes widened as I whipped my head to give Stefan an apology.

I stopped when I noticed the expression on his face. There was a complicated look on his face. At first he looked pained like he was thinking of all the sufferings of his immortal and mortal life but then a small sad smile spread across his face. He pursed his lips and looked down at his hand.

"Forever is a long time." He echoed back, pursing his lips.

I turned back to stare at the road and craned to check the location Sheila had written down on a paper. Nodding at the address, I gripped the steering wheel tight. I could still feel Stefan's eyes on me.

"Do you regret it?"

"Regret?"

"Becoming a vampire?"

"...All the time."

My grip on the steering wheel slackened, causing the car to almost swerve off the road. Quickly Stefan clutched the wheel and steadied the car. I was not expecting that answer. I shook my head and caught the wheel again. Stefan gave me a look before he slowly let go.

I mumbled out an apology, quickly. This time making sure to keep my eyes on the road. "Not the answer you were expecting?"

I shook my head. "Honestly, I thought that you...and Damon—" I swallowed thickly. "—turned 'cause of Katherine...cause you both loved her." I finished turning my head to Stefan before turning back to the road once more.

"It's complicated." He simply answered, placing a hand under his chin. "...I know Damon also regrets turning." He added as a quiet afterthought.

I coughed loudly and stared at him incredulously. "Damon? As in the guy who promotes vampires more than Bram Stoker and Stephenie Meyer."

Stefan snickered quietly for a second, that almost took me off my guard again. He composed himself, looking a little bit lighter now than he did before. "Yeah. He was different before and so was I."

"Damon doesn't hate you just because of Katherine, does he?" I questioned.

Silence replied to me as I could see Stefan lean on the window from the corner of my eyes, his eyes avoiding mine. But I could see his forest green eyes reflected in the side-view mirror. There was pain and a lot of anguish. Damn. Maybe I shouldn't have asked him that.

"You don't have to answer tha—"

"Sorry. It's just you remind me of someone I used to know." Stefan cut in, sitting straight. My eyes turned to glance at him and then glance back. "Someone that could've been family."

I gripped the steering wheel tighter, my knuckles almost turning white thinking back to what my ancestor had done. Needless to say, I felt the guilt of his actions now that the consequences sat next to me. I wonder if Edmund and Lydia ever thought about their childhood friends.

We didn't say anything after that.

I just quietly drove us to the location Sheila had given us. The guilt was eating me up. I think Stefan could tell as he would glance over at me now and then, trying to almost read my mind. I didn't bother to give him a hint.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Stefan asked quietly as he got out of my car after I parked it in front of an old motel on the outskirts of town.

The outside of the motel looked old and crumbling. It didn't take much imagination to come up with what it looked like on the inside. The place was almost deserted.

The parking lot was almost empty. Apart from aunt Diana's old car, any cars there seemed to never have been moved since they were parked. Dust had formed on the windows and the doors looked rusted. If you looked close enough, you could see the paint from the cars chipping at the edges.

This was definitely the place. I followed Stefan to a door. "Are you doubting Miss Sheila?"

"No, I'm just—"

"On the edge. I get it." I nodded and brought forward my crossbow. One of these days, I would have to learn how to use an actual bow.

"Ava. I—" Stefan started, clearly about to bring up what had happened in the car. I brought my index finger to my lips and made a motion to quiet down. He immediately shut his mouth.

I pulled the notch back and loaded the arrow while keeping a few extras on me. Stefan gave me a look and quickly got in front of me. 'They're here' He mouthed just as a sharp chill passed through me. They were definitely here.

I nodded as I quietly followed behind Stefan. He signaled me to wait. Taking a deep breath, he nervously counted down in his head before he shoved the door in front of us wide open.

The moment the door opened, I followed my instinct and shot the vampire down just as the sunlight flooded the darkened motel room. The man screamed in pain and tried to run for cover from the sun while desperately trying to pull out the vervain soaked arrow. Elena and Bonnie loudly screamed in surprise.

"Stefan!" "Ava!" Elena and Bonnie exclaimed loudly with a relieved smile.

I gave a look to my friends, taking a step forward and grabbing Bonnie with my free hand. "Less talking, more running." I hissed trying to get my friends out before the other vampire healed.

Stefan nodded, following my actions, grabbed Elena. "Let's get outside!" He pushed Elena out the door but he stayed inside.

Without a word to me or the girls, he walked over to the vampire on the ground. Unfortunately, I couldn't make out the other vampire's face in the cover of darkness.

Anna had a helper.

That was all I knew. The pizza delivery vampire who I ran over wasn't the only one.

I didn't bother to go check on Stefan or the other vampire. Instead, I hurriedly escorted my friends to my car while making sure to keep an eye out for Anna or her friends. Quickly, I opened the backseat doors as Bonnie quickly got inside.

Elena, on the other hand, lingered by the door, waiting for Stefan. "Elena!" I called out. "Get in." I gestured to the car.

She tried to argue before I narrowed my eyes and gave her a look of urgency. She backed down and reluctantly got in just as Stefan came out of the motel room.

Stefan flashed over to the car and got in wordlessly. I simply raised an eyebrow questioningly while he shook his head. I sighed and just pulled out of the parking lot, wanting to get the hell out before the sun set.

"—How did you know where we were?" Bonnie asked as she leaned back in her chair. In front of her, her grams sat upright with a hand under her chin.

Sheila glanced at me for a moment before a knowing smile spread across her face. "Many things can fuel a witch's power." She stated. "Worry. Anger. After Stefan told me they had taken you, I had a lot of both—a simple locator spell was easy after that."

"I'm sorry. About all of this."

"Not as sorry as they're gonna be." Sheila smirked.

Behind my teacup, I could see a flash of anger in Sheila's eyes. I almost flinched back recalling how terrifying a witch's anger could be courtesy of my Grandma Janine.

Just as I was about to say something, Elena and Stefan walked back in. Elena let out a deep breath and walked over to Bonnie and me while Stefan stood next to Sheila.

"So what do we do now?"

I scoffed. "We are not doing anything, especially you Elena."

Elena shook her head ready to retort. "Ava's right." Stefan beat her to the punch and warned his girlfriend before turning his attention to the elder witch. "For now, you need to stay here."

I made a face and glanced at Miss Sheila, who looked amused by Stefan's words. "A prisoner, in my own home?" She questioned with a sarcastic grin. "I don't think so." She added.

Stefan shook his head. "I can't protect you if you leave the house."

"We'll protect ourselves." The old witch bit back.

That was the end of it or it should've been. Elena sighed audibly and I braced myself. "We need to let him have Katherine back." She stated outloud to all of us.

I brought my left hand to my temple and gently rubbed it. There was another headache coming. "Elena..." I started, not even sparing a glance at her. "...I love you and all but that is the stupidest idea you've ever had."

She shook her head at me and tried to convince us again. "He's not going to stop until he gets her. If we help him, maybe that ends it."

"What if it's not it?" I retorted. "Seriously, 'Lena, if Katherine is really in there then we'd be dealing with her too. And what if she doesn't want to leave Mystic Falls? Remember she's older than both Damon and Stefan."

Stefan nodded agreeing, while Sheila simply watched on with a small smile. For a moment, everyone was quiet. My words had hit hard.

"He doesn't deserve to get what he wants." After a while, Bonnie added. There was a slight anger in her voice as she spoke.

"What other choice do we have?" Elena questioned.

I raised my hand. Stefan nodded at me to go on. "Well, we could stake him." I answered

"That's a good plan." Bonnie nodded.

"Guys..." Elena tried again before staring at Stefan who looked deep in thought.

Sheila shook her head and sighed loudly. "Witches being pulled down by vampire problems. As much as we tried to do to stay out of it." She paused for a second to glance at Stefan. "I'll open the tomb." She stated, defeatedly. At her words, I got up in protest. My eyes wide and palms sweaty.

Ignoring me, she continued. "You get your brother's girl and destroy the rest with fire. Then this will be all over."

Stefan crossed his arms. "We still have to get Damon to agree." He said.

"He already agreed once." Elena pointed out.

"Yeah, and then we double crossed him."

"—I mean I told you both not to double cross him." I muttered, under my breath.

Stefan glanced at me and threw me a look while I simply shrugged. Fine, continue to ignore me.

"So now he's angry." He continued speaking as he hadn't heard my mutterings.

"He's hurt. There's a difference." She tried to defend Damon. "I think I know what I have to do."

Oh my god. I was starting to think that maybe Elena enjoyed being the damsel who would gladly be in distress. Annoyed, I sat back down and clasped my hands together.

Stefan and Elena stared at each other before she walked out. Stefan disappeared after his girlfriend while I turned to Sheila.

"Tell me you're not actually thinking of opening the tomb?" I asked with a grim expression on my face.

Bonnie stared at her grandma expectedly while Sheila smiled sadly. "I'm afraid I am."

"Grams..." Bonnie began.

"It's our family's unfinished business, Bonnie."

"No, it's not." I shook my head. "It's not your fault that Emily saved those vampires, it was her choice."

"And we are still haunted by the choices of our ancestors." She replied before grabbing my hand and leaning close. "You of all people should know that choices of the past will haunt the future."

I swallowed, remembering Arthur's choice to expose Katherine. Blinking those unfamiliar memories away, I tried again. "Okay...um...what about the fact that you can't withstand doing such a big spell."

Bonnie nodded at my words vigorously. "I'll manage. Bonnie will help me."

"Y'know even with Bonnie's help, it'll be too much."

"It must be done."

"Alright. I'll call my aunt Diana and uncle Nate to hurry back... they'll help."

Sheila stopped me from getting up. "They won't make it in time. Ava, stop. I understand, you're concerned but this must be done."

"Grams, please. Damon doesn't deserve to be happy." Bonnie cut in, trying hard to appeal to her grandma.

"I already promised Stefan."

I shut my eyes and sighed. "Then let me help." Sheila tried to protest. "I know I'm not a witch but—I'm something. You said I had a lot of magic and I know witches need that to do spells so I don't know—maybe you can take some magic from me."

She shook her head. "No! No, it'll be too risky. We don't know what you are. It could hurt you."

"I'm offering."

Bonnie glanced between me and her grandma with a nervous look. Her hands were shaking slightly as silence took hold of us again. I didn't know if I could be channelled by a witch but it was worth a shot.

Finally, Sheila relented. She looked away and pushed her chair back, getting up. "Fine, but if I sense you getting hurt. We stop."

"Okay, sounds good to me." I said, getting up.

Engulfing her and Bonnie into a hug, I held on tight. There was a growing sense of dread in my stomach that I couldn't shake off. Sheila was like a grandmother to me. I didn't know what I would do if I lost someone like her after losing Grandma Janine.

Reluctantly, I let go and backed off. She gave me a small smile before turning away from me to gather her things for the spell.

─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────

"Hey, you!" Caroline hooked her arm around mine as she tackled me from behind.

I almost tripped and fell onto the forest floor. Luckily, I wore my riding boots with grips. I caught myself before I fell and stood straight.

Turning my head, I glared at my blonde best friend who gave me an apologetic look. "Seriously, Care. You almost gave me a heart attack." I scolded her.

She puffed up her cheeks and blew out some air. "I was just super excited to see my best friend here." She defended herself. "Speaking of which, I can't believe you're here."

"And I wanna go home already."

"Come on, Ava. Don't be such a downer. Let loose. Have some fun." She let go and walked a few paces in front of me before turning back to stare at me. "Wait. Isn't your uncle out of town or something?"

"He went to campus to submit some assignments before the holidays. Actually, he's supposed to come back tonight." I caught up with her and walked side-by-side with her. "He called a few hours back, apparently aunt Diana's coming back with him."

"Sounds fun."

"I guess. My parents are probably gonna be back too for the holidays if aunt Di's back."

"She's the one who used to make those amazing dark chocolate cookies with those little white chocolate chunks, right?" I nodded at her words.

I smiled fondly, remembering the past family Christmases. My smile slowly faded when I remembered that this year, it would be different. Grandma Janine was gone and vampires were back in the center of our lives. Before Caroline could notice my silence, I pointed to a distance and nudged my best friend.

"Look who's over there." I said with a low voice, gesturing to a blonde boy in the distance.

A soft blush spread across her cheeks and she smiled shyly before looking at the ground. I burst out into a huge smile seeing Caroline happy, she deserved this so much. I was happy for her and Matt. They both deserved the world.

She looked back up. Her smile had faded and she looked a little concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just..." She glanced at Matt again. "Do you think I'm being too clingy?"

"Is this about your speech?"

"Yeah and the fact that Tyler thinks I'm too clingy."

I stopped walking and turned to stare at her. "Caroline, you're not clingy. I think your speeches are cute. We all do different things when we are in a relationship and who cares about what Tyler thinks?"

"Tyler is Matt's best friend."

Last I checked you're dating Matt, not his best friend."

"You're right."

"Always am."

"Ugh. Don't get too cocky—" She stopped just as Matt walked over to us. "Hi again."

Matt nodded before he turned to me. "You made it. Here I was thinking you were gonna blow us off again."

I scoffed and laughed a little. "Okay. What the hell? You two keep acting like I'm always blowing you guys off."

"You are." "Kinda." Matt and Caroline answered at the same time, noticing that they stared at each other before blushing and turning away. I rolled my eyes at them and sighed. Thanks for the reminder you two.

"Hey, we're just saying. We get you're busy with stuff but you need to relax sometimes." Matt said with a grin.

"Gee thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

Caroline beamed brightly at my words and opened her mouth to add more. But she stopped. Her gaze wandered away from me and Matt as her face fell. I watched her carefully and followed her gaze. Oh my god. I clenched my jaws for a second before plastering a smile on my face. Caroline, unconsciously mimicked me and glanced over at me. We both had the same thing on our mind.

What the hell was Damon doing here?

Well, I knew what he was doing here but I expected him to go straight to the tomb and not make a detour. Caroline clapped her hands together, trying to cheer herself up before glancing at her boyfriend and me.

Matt and I shared a look before we reluctantly followed after the cheerleader. "Elena, hey!" Matt greeted her first while I simply waved at her with my freehand.

"Elena!" Caroline engulfed Elena into a hug before pulling back and standing next to her boyfriend. "Oh my God, where have you been?" She continued as she grabbed Matt's hands and intertwined her fingers with Matt's.

This was gonna be interesting. Looking back up, I noticed Elena's lingering gaze at the couple's little action before she looked away.

"Long story, no time to tell it." Damon quickly jumped in uninvited.

Caroline turned to him and narrowed her eyes. "I wasn't talking to you." She bit back at her ex-boyfriend.

"Sure you were."

"Damon." I quietly warned him, under my breath just low enough for him to hear me. He rolled his eyes and gave a little shrug.

"You probably don't remember, we've met before. I'm Matt." Not sensing the air around us, Matt held out his hand for Damon.

"Matt, there's a reason why I don't remember you. You and I are going that way." Damon grabbed Elena's arms instead and started dragging her away. "You coming, sunshine." He called out as he walked away. Matt and Caroline both looked at me questioningly, I shook my head.

"Well, I'll be seeing you." I waved at them before emptying my cup and throwing it in a black plastic bag.

Matt stopped me in my tracks. "Be careful." He said as he let go and went back to his girlfriend.

─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────

From a distance, the entrance of the tomb looked ruined and abandoned. The stone bricks were crumbling. On the far sides, there were traces of ivy crawling on the ruins that looked like dark veins on the face of the tomb.

With a deep shaky breath, I carried on. I paused when I noticed Damon standing near the edge of the woods watching Elena go into the clearing where the Bennett witches and Stefan were waiting. I waited for him to go but he didn't budge.

"Aren't you gonna go make your grand entrance?" I called out, walking up to him. "I mean it is your night."

Damon said nothing for a while and just stared at the tomb. "Can I trust them?" He asked, not facing me.

"Elena and Stefan?"

"Yes."

"Unfortunately, yes." I answered and tried to dodge past him.

I stopped as Damon grabbed my arm and spun around to face him. "Elena told me you're letting the two witches siphon your magic."

"Elena talks too much."

He ignored me and carried on. "You volunteered even if it could hurt you. Thank you."

Narrowing my eyes, I pulled my arm free. "I didn't do it for you. I did it for Bonnie and Miss Sheila." I spat out and tried to stomp away. "What?"

"Here." He bit into his wrist and offered it to me. Blood spilled out of his bitten wrist as his vampiric healing kicked in and started slowly closing the wound. I almost recoiled in disgust. "Don't look at me like that. A truce?"

"This is a truce?"

"You're gonna need it."

I pushed his wrist away and started walking away. "Thanks but I'd rather die than become like you." I saw him flinch back and I almost felt bad as Stefan's words echoed in my head. Nice going.

Wait.

I stopped myself from pitying him too much, after all he wasn't that person anymore. Damon in front of me was not the Damon, Lydia knew. Time had broken him. I tightened my fist and lightly climbed down the stairs. Forever is a long time.

─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────

Elena waited near one of the trees near the tomb as she kept a watch out for Damon and me. Her hands wrapped around herself protectively as she paced around. She stopped when she noticed me and Damon trailing behind me. Damon took the lead, his mood shifting instantly as he whistled and grinned while overtaking me.

I begrudgingly followed after him, Elena choosing to trail after me. Damon held out the grimoire with confidence while a feeling of dread started to grow in the pit of my stomach. Relax.

Breathing in and out slowly, I tried to calm myself. We were just gonna open the tomb. That was it. After all, nothing really was coming out. Not unless Sheila and Bonnie completely undid the spell.

"—re you sure that Damon will come back with her?" I heard Sheila question just as Damon broke through the clearing.

She sensed our presence and whipped her head to glance at us. Her eyes turned cold as she noticed Damon's jovial mood.

"Brother. Witches." Damon greeted, striding past them with the grimoire and straight into the tomb.

Elena walked over to Stefan and let out a deep sigh. "Everything okay?" He asked his girlfriend.

"I just want to get this over with." Elena answered before turning to Bonnie. "Are we ready?"

"I guess so." Bonnie nodded as she glanced at me. She really didn't want to do this but Sheila had promised and she wasn't someone who went back on her promise.

Saying nothing, I grabbed a flashlight and walked over to the tomb's entrance. "Then we should get going." I said to everyone as I gripped the stone walls of the tomb and descended down the stairs.

My heart was beating loudly in my chest as I slowly went down into the tomb. The stone walls around me looked like it could crumble and fall on me at any time. It scared me a bit to walk through this old ruin but it had to be done. I kept my eye on the flashlight and jumped off the final step of the staircase.

I could've used my magic to light the whole tomb but Sheila told me it would be best to save my energy. Guess she didn't want me to push myself again. I looked up, my eyes widened and my stomach dropped.

"What's wrong?" Damon standing next to me.

I shook my head and swallowed heavily. I knew this place. Although I've never physically never been here before. I knew this place very well. How couldn't I? This place has been haunting my dreams for nights.

"Ava?" Stefan asked as he came down with Elena and the Bennetts. "Is everything okay?

I turned to Stefan with a frozen look before I forced a smile onto my face. "Fine. Everything's fine."

"You don't look fine." Elena said and grabbed my arms.

"Let's just get this thing done and over with." I freed myself and went over to stand next to Sheila who looked at me, concerned.

Without a word, Stefan started setting up torches that looked too familiar to me. My eyes trailed to the tomb. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking of those desiccated bodies. All vampires. One particular vampire haunted me every night. The one who called for her daughter.

Who was her daughter?

─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────

Sheila took a small branch and mumbled something under her breath. The branch's end burst into a roaring fire. Looking satisfied, she moved to the center of the circle to light the torches.

On the side, Bonnie stood next to her grandmother and Stefan. While I stood at the back with my arms around me, Damon next to me. He leaned against the stone wall and watched the witches carefully.

Now and then Elena would steal a glance at me and every time, I would act like I was fine but I was not. I was not fine at all. I was freaking out. I know I should be used to my visions coming true by now but this was too much even for me.

"Air." Sheila lit the first torch. "Earth." Another one was lit. "Fire." And another.

"Water." Bonnie added as she held up an ordinary plastic water bottle. Sheila took it from her and opened the cap. We watched in silence as she sprinkled the water onto the dirt floor.

Elena made a noise and I turned to look at her. She looked displeased for a second. "That's it? Just water from the tap?" She said, sounding a little skeptical and entitled.

Sheila scoffed. "As opposed to what?" She retorted.

"I just figured maybe it would have to be blessed or mystical or something."

"Elena, be nice." I chastised. Elena mumbled a quick apology and turned her attention back onto the witches. With that, Sheila didn't bother to entertain my friend anymore. She simply smirked a little before continuing her preparations.

The light from Stefan's flashlight moved away from the center. Unconsciously, I followed the light and found its target. Damon. Stefan pointed his flashlight at his brother as his face hardened. "What's that?" He asked in a low voice.

"It's for Katherine. Gotta have something to get her going." He unwrapped some tubes around a bag to reveal a blood bag. I scrunched up my face in disgust and shook my head. "...Unless Ava—" He turned to glance at me before turning his head to stare at Elena. "—or Elena's offering a vein to tap."

No one was amused in the slightest.

Stefan sighed loudly, too tired to deal with his older brother anymore. I almost zoned them out, catching one response from Stefan. "—can't wait to get rid of you." He chuckled.

The feeling was mutual, Stefan.

"Ava." Sheila called out to me.

Pushing myself off the stone wall I was leaning on, I walked over to the center. I knew what I had to do. Sheila had, thankfully, ran by me the whole thing in case things go wrong.

I offered her my right hand. She held my hand in hers and unfurled it palm up. I watched in silence as she picked up a sharp dagger.

Without a warning, she sliced my palm open.

I heard some shuffling noise and looked up. Damon and Stefan had almost broken through the circle. Their eyes turned black in blood lust as black veins protrude underneath their eyes. Stefan turned away from Elena and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. On the other hand, Damon was back to normal within seconds.

Turning back to Sheila and Bonnie, the older witch looked intrigued while the younger, scared.

Sheila then pressed my cut palm and mumbled something again, under her breath. I felt something buzzing underneath my skin and a warm feeling took over me before it was gone. She let go as I watched the wound in my hand glow brightly like the sun before the wound closed up in front of my eyes.

The glow disappeared just as the wound closed up Damon whistled, impressed. I ignored him but spared a look to his younger brother. Stefan looked better than before.

I took a step back from the circle and stood behind the witches. Bonnie got up and dusted herself as she nodded to her grandmother and me.

"We're ready." She announced to the dimly lit room as she clasped her hands together.

Nodding her head, Sheila looked at her granddaughter and took her hands in hers. The witches stood facing each other, their hands interlocked. The flames around us started dancing around wildly as Bonnie and Sheila started chanting at the same time in a language I could barely understand. It was familiar and strangely nostalgic.

"What are they saying?" Damon asked, turning to Stefan and me.

"Sounds Latin." Stefan craned his head towards his brother as he answered.

Elena shook her head. "I don't think it's Latin."

"It's not." I added in calmly.

"I didn't know you were an expert in Latin." Damon said out loud with a grin.

I rolled my eyes and stared at the flames. "When your grandma is—well was, a historian you pick up a few language indicators."

"Like?"

"I'm not telling."

"Hmm." He turned away from me and followed my gaze to the witches. "And here I thought we were getting along."

"Damon." Stefan warned his brother, shutting him up.

All of a sudden, the flames flared up. The chanting grew louder. I stood up straight. My calm and collected mask, almost cracking. The torches flared once again just like my vision. Unconsciously, I turned my bloodstone necklace in my hand to reassure myself.

I wasn't the only nervous one when Elena gasped loudly, grabbing my attention. In fear, she grabbed Stefan's arm and looked around. "What's happening?" She asked and stared at the fiery circle.

Boom.

Stefan hurriedly pointed his torch at the door. More loud creaking rumbled around the stone room. The loud rumbling stopped just as the witches stopped chanting.

"It worked!" Bonnie exclaimed quietly with a fearful look

"Of course it worked." Her Grams added with a serious look.

The dread was still there. I knew this wasn't going to end well.

Damon turned away from the tomb and looked at Stefan. "We have some fires to build." He reminded his brother of his promise.

I sighed as Stefan and I shared a look. Gently he touched Elena's shoulder. Almost like he was trying to reassure her. "I'm gonna go get the gasoline, I'll be right back." He said before giving me another look. One that screamed 'take of Elena'.

I knew that already.

Elena nervously nodded as she took a step back and held onto my arm. I patted her hands, comfortingly as Stefan disappeared up the stairs.

The moment Stefan left, Damon glanced at the witch before turning his attention to Elena.

"You ready?" He asked.

"What?" Elena gasped out.

"Damon—"

He turned to me and the witches as he pulled Elena away from me. "You think I'm gonna go in there by myself so you all can seal me in?"

Sheila took a step forward, standing protectively in front of Bonnie. "Don't take her in. I'll bring the walls down."

"You'll bring the walls down if I don't. You think I trust you?"

"As much as I trust you."

"Enough." Elena jumped in. I made a face, knowing whatever she was gonna say next was going to really annoy me. "Both of you." She added looking at Damon then Sheila.

"Look, he needs leverage. He needs to know that you're not going to shut the door when he gets inside. I get it. I'll go." She finished her little martyrdom speech turning to Damon.

"You can't even protect yourself. There's about a hundred or so vampires in there, 'Lena." I tried. Elena shook her head, having made her mind up. I turned to Damon and opened my mouth to volunteer instead.

"I know what you're gonna say but I'd rather have someone who won't try to stake me with my back turned." He cut me off with a sarcastic smile. I clenched my jaws and let out a frustrated breath. "Oh. And for all I know, you could be in kahoots with them." He added as an afterthought. He wasn't wrong.

With that, he moved past me and picked up one of the torches. "May I?" He questioned without even wanting a reply and turned away to enter the tomb.

Elena stared at us all before nodding reassuringly, and following Damon into the dark tomb. Bonnie and I shared a fearful look as I wrapped my arms around me. Things had gotten out of my control and I didn't like it at all.

─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────

I paced around the entrance of the tomb, biting my lips and looking at the tomb for any sign of Elena or Damon. My ears were focused on the tomb. I stopped when someone else came down the stairs. My instincts at this point to sense vampires were useless considering the tomb was full of them.

A girl ran down the stairs, her face half lit by the flickering torches. The girl ignored us and headed straight to the tomb.

Bonnie noticed this and tried to block her way. "Hey, you're not going in there!" She tried.

"You think you can stop me?" The girl spat out, turning around.

Anna. That girl was Anna. "...Your mother is in there." I quietly stated without meaning to.

The woman from my dreams flashed in front of my eyes. Her haggard face overlapped with youthful Anna's as she begged for her daughter. Her daughter, Anna.

Anna examined me, checking if I meant any harm before she nodded. Her face was devoid of any visible emotion but her eyes were sad and lonely. I almost felt bad for her.

Sheila noticed this and quietly called out to Bonnie. She glared at the vampire as she slowly stepped aside.

Anna stared at the three of us for any sudden movement before she crouched down in front of me and grabbed Stefan's discarded flashlight off the ground. She sprinted straight inside the tomb, no hesitation.

As she disappeared, Bonnie grunted and turned to her grams. "Why did you let her go in?" She asked, clearly angry at the girl for kidnapping her earlier.

Sheila and I shared a knowing look. "Because she isn't coming out, baby." She said. "None of them are." She added in just for the weight of her words to sink in.

Bonnie's eyes widened as she eyed her grams and me. She opened her mouth to say something before I cut her off. "I'm gonna go get Elena out before Damon realizes the truth."

The elder witch nodded sombrely. "Be careful. Remember, Bonnie and I are still siphoning off of you. Use your magic as little as you can."

I made a sound and threw her a quick nod before walking up to the door of the tomb. I took a deep breath in before walking straight into the darkness.

Unfortunately, this time I didn't remember to bring my crossbow. I only had the bloodstone and myself.

─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────

The only sound that met my straining ears was my own echoing footsteps. I shivered violently trying to make sense of where I was. I knew where I was. I had been here before in my visions. Like in my dreams, I reached out my hand to feel my way.

Blindly, I stumbled into the cave-like place, catching myself before I fell hard on the cold unforgiving stone floor. With as much strength I could summon, I pushed myself off the wall and stood in the center of the path.

I breathed in and out, trying to catch my breath. I checked myself for any injuries. My hands were a little scratched up, nothing I couldn't handle.

Small, loose stones littered across the stony floor caused me to trip. Should've seen that coming. In frustration, I tried to will my hand to glow up.

Unlike my dreams, it glowed. I watched apprehensively as tiny specks of light all pulled each other together to form a smoking orb of light. I let go of the orb and closed my eyes. I tried to picture it floating above my head.

The tunnel ahead was bathed in soft sunlight, above me, the orb of light gracefully floated.

Like in my visions, the cave-like building was old and abandoned so long ago that ivy had started growing on the crumbling walls while spiders made homes in each corner.

The walls were crumbling, stone bricks looked on the verge of falling down while the iron gates looked rusted.

I gasped.

I know I should've expected this.

But seeing them in front of me was different from seeing them in my head. All around me there were bodies. Slumped over each other, some standing like living statues and some laying on the cold floor. So this is what a vampire looked like without any blood for over a century.

Swallowing my fears, I moved past them. Not bothering to get close to examine the bodies. I knew what they looked like. Their skin would be gray and cracking. Eyes, hollow and vacant.

I gasped again and pushed myself back from the edges of the tunnel when I noticed their eyes moving. Oh great. They were awake. Haunting whispers filled the air as the eyes followed my every step.

I made a gesture and the orb floating above was pulled into my hands. I held it up defensively and moved past them.

"Elena?" I called out.

No answer.

I breathed out tiredly and tried again. "Elena!" I said louder than before. "Elena, can you hear me?" I kept calling out my friend as I ran through the labyrinth-like tomb.

From a distance, I heard a scream and ran towards it.

I almost screamed bloody murder myself as I bumped straight into someone.

"Shh. It's me." Stefan tried to calm me down as he stared at me, his hands on my shoulder. I shuddered as a chill passed through me.

"You scared the hell out of me." I gasped and clutched my chest in shock. "I almost killed you."

"Thought you would sense me."

"Stefan, we're in a tomb full of vampires."

"Point taken." He said with a tone of urgency.

I shook my head in disbelief and took the lead. Gesturing the orb to go back to floating. Stefan was with me, there was no point to be on defense.

"That's new." He pointed at the orb floating above me.

"Yep. I don't know how that works but I'm figuring it out as I go."

"As long as you don't push yourself too hard."

I turned my head and threw him a smile before turning back to finding Elena. I was met with more and more bodies at each turn. Each staring at me in rabid hunger like I was their prey. I needed to find Elena fast.

My blood ran cold when I heard another scream echoing through the tomb. Stefan and I stared at each other and I tried to picture another orb following Stefan.

Within minutes, another orb formed above him.

"Go."

He flashed towards the sounds of Elena's screams as I ran after the light. I could feel the second orb pulling me towards it.

"—Let her go!" I heard Stefan spit out and he pushed Anna aside, freeing Elena. "Go. Go. I'm right behind you. Ava should be around."

I caught a brief glimpse of the woman on the ground. The woman that was haunting my dreams. Anna's mother. Through the dimly lit tomb, I could tell her daughter resembled her a little.

Despite being covered in dust and caked in blood, there was an air of mystery and mischief around her. One that her daughter shared. The older vampire weakly beckoned her daughter as Elena freed stumbled towards me.

I pulled the second orb away from Stefan and turned to grab Elena. She almost jumped at my touch.

"Hey. Hey. It's me." I held her arms and tried to calm her down.

Scanning Elena for any injuries, I paused as I noticed her bloodied wrist. There was a huge bite mark on her wrist from where Anna's mother had bit her. I watched in horror as her blood haphazardly dripped down her wrist.

Elena breathed heavily trying to calm herself down before her eyes adjusted to the bright light around me. Well, it was bright compared to the rest of the tomb.

"Ava. Thank god you're here." She engulfed me into a hug, almost sobbing in fear.

I gently patted her back before pulling back. I shoved my hands into my coat pocket and took out a silk coral scarf. Holding it up, I tried to visualize it as a make-shift bandage.

Would it be enough?

I wondered.

I bit my lips and threw all my calculations away and grabbed Elena's injured hand. There's no way I could let her have that wound out in the open in a tomb full of starved vampires.

Wordlessly, I wrapped the scarf around her wrist and tied it as tight as I could. I gave a quick scan to my work just as the coral was starting to get dyed with deep crimson. Well, there goes my mulberry silk scarf. I had to apologize to my mom later for this.

Sighing, I grabbed her uninjured hand and tugged at it. "Come on. We have to get out here before 'they'—" I gestured to the decaying vampires around us. "—wake up. Come on." I pulled her along after me as I ran straight out.

Kicking my legs, I pushed through the maze-like tomb as I tugged Elena along like a rag doll. Now and then, she would try to stop and look for her boyfriend, only for me to tug at her harder. But every time, I made sure, I didn't accidently snag at her injured wrist and accidentally undo my work.

I panted loudly as I dodged the starved vampires and pushed myself off the rocky walls, trying to find the exit.

The orb of light, relying on my memories, calmly guided us to exit. Seeing the dimly lit opening of the tomb, I almost threw Elena out the door and hunched over at the threshold in point.

We both panted tiredly, trying to gather our breaths. I glanced up at the orb and blinked. The light scattered and faded away.

Standing up, I walked over to the witches who looked up from the grimoire. I crouched over a wall near the witches as Sheila turned to me and handed me an unopened water bottle.

Gently she patted my back in comfort before getting up and joining her granddaughter.

On the other hand, Bonnie had a grim look on her face as she stared at Elena. "Elena, Stefan..." She started, trying to tell her the truth.

"He's right behind us." Elena said between her breaths. As if to check if Stefan was there, she turned around. "Stefan, what are you doing?" She asked, walking up to him.

Like her, we all turned to stare at the door of the tomb. There Stefan stood in the doorway. I mouthed apologetic words to Stefan, feeling guilty that he was caught up in this. We didn't plan for him to go in nor did we plan for Damon to take Elena in as leverage.

"It's gonna be okay." Bonnie said calmly. "We'll fix it." She added as I turned to stare at her, confused.

Elena looked at all of us. "What is it?" She questioned.

"I can't." Stefan tried to say he couldn't get out.

"Can't? Can't what?"

I sucked in a breath and let it out. "He can't get out." I stated quietly.

"The spell's still up." Bonnie added. "We can't get them out yet."

Elena made a pained sound before turning to look at her boyfriend. "You went in there not knowing if you could come back out?" I stopped, hearing Elena.

Wait, she actually said something sensible.

Stefan, knowing she was right, looked down. Choosing not to answer out of whatever he was feeling. He stayed silent.

"Oh, my God." Elena carried on.

"I heard you scream." Stefan finally answered.

"We can't leave him in there. We promised him. Both of us." She took a step back and started again.

"I know."

I almost groaned hearing them talk about Damon. He was the whole reason Sheila decided not to fully break the seal.

"Even if we're able to break through the seal, we won't be able to hold it for long." Sheila broke their little moment and tried to warn the couple of the consequences.

Stefan nodded at Sheila and disappeared back into the tomb to find his brother.

I looked down as I leaned against a stone wall. Up until now, I didn't bother to do or say much. But looking at Sheila and Bonnie, I knew it would be too risky for them to go on tonight. Just unlocking the tomb must've taken on Sheila, though she didn't show it.

Wordlessly, I picked up the discarded dagger Sheila had used before and held it in my palm. "I'll help." I sound out loud.

Sheila sighed and tried to argue but she didn't get far as I sliced my palm and grabbed her hand. I also grabbed Bonnie's. Without any more arguments, she started chanting again. Bonnie did the same.

The warmth this time felt hotter than before like I was in a volcano. I breathed out tiredly and watched as the witches pulled back. My hand healed slower than before.

─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────

Elena paced around the witches as I sat on the stairs and watched over them. My eyes would go blurry for a second before they went back to normal. My head felt like it was being split open but I didn't let it show.

In the center of the circle of flaming torches, Sheila and Bonnie were reciting the spell to lift the seal. The torches flared up as Elena and I stared towards the tomb.

The flames crackled and the stones creaked louder and louder. "I think it's working." Elena said with a nervous laugh. She turned to get closer to the tomb.

I watched as she flinched and took a step back when Anna came out. She carried a woman, her mother with her who was hunched over her shoulders.

"I just wanted my mother back." She said to Elena. There was a hint of sadness in her voice. "Jeremy's fine. He's outside. I won't touch him." She added before making her way to the stairs.

I got up, feeling a little better as the chanting grew fainter. I walked over to Elena and peered inside the tomb.

Flames of the torches cackled loudly. Sheila shrinked back and started chanting again.

"Bonnie, keep going!" She paused and turned to Elena. "They better hurry." She said before carrying on chanting.

Elena swallowed heavily and turned back to the doorway. "Stefan, they can't hold it much longer!"

All of sudden, the torches start to sway and flicker. I bit my lips and brought my hand to my forehead. They weren't gonna last any longer.

Come on Stefan.

I waited for a few seconds as I threw a glance at the witches and Elena before sprinting back inside. Elena followed after me. This time, I didn't bother to summon light and instead used my muscle memory to lead my way.

"Damon, we need to get out of here." I heard Stefan beg as he tried to get Damon to leave.

"It doesn't make sense." Damon ignored his brother and kept going on. "They locked her inside."

I made myself known and stepped out of the shadows. "Guys, we need to hurry. Sheila and Bonnie can't hold on much longer."

Stefan nodded, agreeing. "You heard her—if we don't leave now, we're not getting out."

"How could she not be in here?" Damon continued almost in a daze.

"It's not worth spending all of eternity down here. She's not worth it!" Stefan grabbed his brother's collar and tried to reason with him once more.

"No!" Damon shouted angrily and pushed Stefan away.

"Hey, guys. We need to—" I groaned loudly. The headache was back. A loud white noise blocked my senses for a second as I almost stumbled and fell onto the floor. I didn't even notice when Elena ran in.

"—va." Elena and Stefan called out to me in concern. I blinked quickly trying to make out their faces.

Damon stopped pacing and ranting, staring at me as well. "—hat's wrong—her?" He asked, turning to look at his brother and Elena.

I didn't hear Stefan answer or I don't remember his answer. But I snapped out of it long enough to barely hear Elena. "—gave Shei—mor—blood. She—s fine, a few min—ago."

The ringing disappeared and my senses started returning to me slowly. "I'm fine." I muttered out, trying to stand back up.

Drops of blood dripped down my nose as I desperately tried to wipe it away. Not wanting Bonnie or Sheila to see me like this.

"I'm fine." I repeated louder with a forced smile on my face.

Stefan shook his head in disbelief and turned to glare at his brother. "You stubborn idiot." Damon called out, stomping over to me.

"...You're the idiot." I breathed out.

"I know." He said quietly as he grabbed my arm.

I don't remember much of what happened next. All I remember was trying to get them out by repeating what I had said before about Sheila and Bonnie. When I opened my eyes, I found myself outside the tomb.

Damon let go just as Stefan and Elena exited the tomb. Finding back my control, I blinked quickly and got up like nothing had happened. The piercing hot feeling faded away. I gasped when I realized that Sheila must have cut the connection.

The witches continued chanting louder and louder but now I could no longer feel the connection. I watched from the sidelines helplessly. The tomb closed with a loud crack.

Elena and Stefan engulfed each other into a hug as I ran towards the Bennetts. I turned my head, trying to find a sign of Damon. He stood near the stairs, his face covered by the darkness. But I could tell he was watching Elena.

"She's not Katherine." I muttered under my breath just so he or Stefan could hear me.

"And you're not Lydia." He glanced at me and smiled sadly.

I didn't know what to say. I was more confused than ever at the mention of Lydia so I just walked away.

I helped Bonnie pick Sheila up and checked on the couple behind us before I trudged up the stairs with the witches. I led the two Bennett's to my car, choosing to drive instead of letting Bonnie or Sheila drive.

Honestly, I was feeling much better than before. My head was clearer and that made me worry. I watched in the rear-view mirror as Bonnie carefully propped her grams up as comfortably as she could. Bonnie looked a little bit better but Sheila, not so much.

I was suspecting that Sheila might've transferred her magic to me and Bonnie. But I didn't dare say it out loud. Quietly I drove over to Sheila's house. I made a mental note to call uncle Nate and aunt Diana when I got there to check how far they were.

"Hey." I quietly greeted my uncle over the phone as I paced around the cluttered Bennett living room. Keeping an eye on Sheila who was helped to her bedroom by Bonnie, I paused to lean over a wall facing the sofas.

"Hey, how are things going over there?" Uncle Nate answered with an air of nonchalance.

I bit my lips and stared hard at the Bennetts. Sheila's face had lost a lot of color. She looked pale. Her eyes had lost some light that used to hold a fierce spark. And her glossy hair was now drenched in sweat.

"Honestly...not so good." I answered, not taking my eyes off Sheila.

"What happened?" I heard aunt Diana ask on the side. Her soft but dreamy voice was seeped in concern.

I ran my fingers through my hair anxiously and blew out a breath. "Uh. Where do I begin?"

"From the start would be nice." Uncle Nate chimed.

"Yeah, I don't have the time for that. How far are you two?"

"Not that far, actually. We just passed the grill." There was some shuffling on the other end.

"We're close to the manor." Aunt Diana added.

"Don't go home." I swallowed. "Come to Sheila's. It's important." I added with a tone of urgency.

I hung up and flipped my phone close. The small charm hit the phone violently as I did so. Without another look, I tossed it on the white couch before making my way through the hallways to Sheila's room. Slowly, I walked over to Bonnie. She stood over her grams who laid in bed. Her face painted with concern and fear.

"How is she?" I asked as I engulfed her in a hug and gently rubbed her back trying to soothe and comfort her.

I let go and took a step back. "She says she's fine but..." Bonnie trailed, folding her arms around herself trying to hold herself together and stop herself from breaking down.

"She's not fine." I finished. I turned to glance at Sheila with a grim look. I didn't know if she was going to make it through the night. But I couldn't tell Bonnie that. Maybe if aunt Diana and uncle Nate were here. Then, we'd have a small chance. At least, that's what I thought.

"I could tell it was a big spell on her. Maybe I pushed her too hard." She walked me to the kitchen and sat down on the same table we sat around earlier today. "I thought that maybe because you were helping she'd be fine but I didn't think it wouldn't be enough."

I shook my head. "It was enough. I think your Grams cut off the connection between us both." I said as I sat opposite her.

"What? Why would she..."

"She must've sensed—" I cut myself off and got up as the house bell started ringing.

Saved by the bell, I thought as I walked over to the front door. If I had finished talking, Bonnie would feel even more guilt over what could've been. I didn't want her to drown in any more guilt than she already did. What happened tonight was not her fault.

I heard a knock on the window and turned my head to check. A tall man with deep mahogany hair that almost glowed a deep shade of dried blood in the street lights peered in through by sticking his face close to the window. I narrowed my eyes, recognizing those features and sighed.

Really uncle?

I rolled my eyes and opened the door.

A shorter woman stood outside the door next to the man. Her jade green eyes searched her surroundings while she played with her mahogany hair that she shared with her brother and pretty much the rest of Fitzroy family. Hearing the door open, she stared at me with a bright smile, noticing me she tapped her brother who quickly stood straight.

"Hey, Nate and...Diana." Bonnie greeted them from behind me. She glanced at me and tilted her head to the side.

I poked my cheek and gave a look to Bonnie. "Hope you don't mind, I called them over to help Sheila." I said.

"What happened to Sheila?" Aunt Diana asked as her smile fell.

Bonnie and I shared a look, debating on whether or not I should tell them. "Ava..." She started, not knowing that aunt and uncle were also witches.

"We're like you, Bonnie." Aunt Diana stepped inside as her little brother followed her. "We're witches too."

"Technically, I'm a warlock." Uncle Nate corrected his older sister as he stood over us.

"Oh." Bonnie's eyes widened and she looked taken aback by the news. She nodded understandingly, too in shock to say anything else.

"Here." Aunt Diana grabbed Bonnie's hands for a minute before letting go. "See." Bonnie nodded. "So what happened to your Grams?"

I sucked in a breath and started filling them in. Now and then, Bonnie would jump in to add bits and pieces, fill in the gaps and all that. I watched as my aunt and uncle visibly paled when I mentioned the tomb being completely opened. The two siblings in front of me shared a look of horror between them.

Aunt Diana shook her head and got up from the table. She went out to uncle Nate's car outside and returned after a few moments with some plastic bags in her hand.

Bonnie got up and stared at aunt Diana's hands. "What's that?"

"Some herbs." Aunt Diana answered. She held up the bags and took out a could of ziplock bags with some dried herbs inside. "It won't be much, just my emergency stuff. Your grams probably should have some more of this stuff too."

Bonnie nodded as she led aunt Diana to her grams while aunt Diana handed some of her herbs to her brother. "We'll get started." Uncle Nate stated we started to make our way to the kitchen.

Bonnie and I watched as uncle Nate mixed some herbs in and burned some too. We had no idea what he was trying to do but all we knew was that it would help. I heard him chant something under his breath as the flames below the pot or the cauldron danced wildly.

There was sweat forming on his brow. I could tell that he was not used to this. He and aunt Diana technically weren't practicing witches. They hadn't really touched magic much compared to my grandma or Sheila.

Aunt Diana was staying by Sheila's side, doing her best to heal her or reduce her pain. She had more experience with more magic, at least that's what I remembered but like her brother, she abandoned practicing magic once grandpa Charles died. I still don't know why.

The doorbell rang again as I craned my head to stare at the door.

"Must be Elena." Bonnie said, getting up. I was left alone watching uncle Nate who struggled to stir the concoction on the stove.

"Is Miss Sheila going to be okay?" I asked in a small voice.

Uncle Nate stopped stirring and turned to me. "I don't know." He answered, defeated and tired. "Overuse of magic is not uncommon but at her age it's...worrying."

"...Is that what happened to grandma Janine?"

He nodded, his hands shaking as he stirred the mixture. We all knew what happened to grandma Janine. She had sacrificed herself for this stupid town, trying to keep up a magic that she shouldn't have. Another reason why none of them ever went back to practicing magic. I looked down at the table, my hands clasped together.

The death of grandma Janine was still fresh in our minds and now her closest friend was on the brink too.

I almost burst into tears. Holding myself back from breaking down, I choked on my own breath. Uncle Nate threw me a look of concern and I covered my face, hiding away from my surroundings. I didn't want anyone to see me cry if I did.

"Ava. You in here?" Elena called out from the door.

I picked my head up and sat up straight, trying to keep my emotions in check. "In the kitchen." I called out in a hoarse voice.

Bonnie led Elena to the kitchen as she sat down. "Hey, Nate." She waved at my uncle apprehensively as she glanced at me with a questioning look. I simply shrugged. Too tired to answer or come up with something to comfort my friend.

"Elena." Uncle Nate simply nodded as he went back to his task.

Elena nodded back and turned to the two of us. "Does he know?" She asked quietly.

Bonnie nodded as she filled her in on the whole thing. Elena bobbed her head understandingly as her eyes wandered to my uncle. She curiously tried to get a look at the pot but before she could get closer, her phone started ringing.

"I should get this." She said in a hurried tone before getting up and going off to answer her call.

Just as she said this, uncle Nate stopped. "It's done. This should work. I think." He said. "Um...I need a cup."

Bonnie got up and scrambled through the kitchen. She pulled open an overhead kitchen cabinet and scanned its contents. She paused before taking out a tea cup and saucer to go with it.

"Will this do?" She asked, holding the pieces of painted china up.

"Perfect." He grabbed the china off my friend's hands and poured in the herbal tea mixture. "It should work." He muttered under his breath.

It sounded like he was trying to convince himself. His hands shook a little as he passed it back to Bonnie. My eyes watered as I tried to furiously blink away the tears. Sheila would be fine. She would be fine. I echoed in my head as I bobbed my head.

Aunt Diana knocked on the kitchen door and poked her head out the side of the open doorway. Her dark curls spilling over the white door and walls while her bright eyes stared at us. "Is it done?" She asked, biting her peach painted lips.

Bonnie held up the teacup for her. Aunt Diana sighed in relief and led the younger witch to her grams' room. Uncle Nate and I followed after her. Bonnie hummed under her breath and plastered a smile on her face, trying to be somewhat optimistic.

She paused outside the bedroom and knocked. No answer. That made me worry. But she pressed on. She turned the door knob and entered the room.

"Here you go, Grams." She placed the teacup on the nightstand when she noticed Sheila sleeping.

Aunt Diana and I shared a look before we slowly retreated into the hallway. We decided to wait in the kitchen, giving the Bennetts some space.

I heard the sound of something shattering as Bonnie screamed out. "Grams! Grams, wake up!" I ran back to the bedroom and watched as Bonnie shook her grandma, trying to wake her up from an endless sleep. "Grams! Grams!"

"Bonnie..." I began, taking in the image in front of me.

"Ava, she's not waking up. I—"

I gently pushed her aside and tried to feel for a sign of a faint pulse.

The color had completely gone from Sheila Bennett's face. Her body lay limp on the soft bed. Her eyes wouldn't open no matter how hard Bonnie shook her. Her hair fell limply to the sides as the tightly coiled curls looked looser and had now completely lost their shine. And a deathly bluish tinge had started to paint her lips.

"Elena!" Bonnie called out, seeing me slowly lose it.

Elena ran into the room. The footsteps echoing loudly through the small house. I kept trying to find a pulse just as my uncle and aunt ran in too. They both ran to Sheila's side and started muttering spells under their breaths.

"Help! Wake up!" Bonnie cried hysterically, trying hard to wake her grandma up. "She's not breathing! She's just not breathing! Please, wake up!" She cried harder as more time passed.

"She's cold." I breathed out as Bonnie listened to me intently and started rubbing her grams' hands for warmth.

I mimicked her but stopped as the harsh realization started to sink in. Maybe she's gone. I shut my eyes and backed away, trying to shake those thoughts away. Sheila couldn't be dead. She couldn't be. She promised. She promised to be fine.

I breathed in and out, trying to calm myself. How was I gonna face my mom? Sheila took her in when she had nothing and I...

I bit down my lips almost drawing blood as I painfully drew a breath, trying hard to shut down my inner voice.

Uncle Nate cursed out loud as aunt Diana ran around trying her best to do anything. I stared at them, blankly.

Gone was the small confidence they had held, now they looked on the verge of panic. Then it hit me like a tidal wave.

The spells were not working.

"She's cold." I echoed again.

Taking a deep breath, I put my hands over Sheila's face. "...I should warm her up. She'll be fine." I muttered.

A soft glow slowly started to emit from my hands as small drops of blood started to fall on the pillowcase next to Sheila's head.

"She's gonna be fine." I tried again, in a daze.

Just like Vicki. She'll be fine. Just like Vicki...

"Ava. No!" Uncle Nate grabbed my hands away and the glow disappeared.

The small dusts of light dissipated around me as I snapped out of the daze just as a loud static overwhelmed my senses and I collapsed onto the floor. Uncle Nate sat next to me and clutched onto me and held up a handkerchief to my nose.

More sounds of footsteps echoed through the house. I didn't pay attention anymore. My eyes wouldn't move from Bonnie or Sheila. It was like I could only focus on those two.

"...Call an ambulance. Now." I barely heard Aunt Diana give out orders to Elena.

I barely noticed Elena run out the room to get her phone as Bonnie also got up. My eyes snapped to stare at the younger witch. Her face stained with tears as a crazed desperation took over her. I recognized that look all too well but I felt too drained to do anything. I guess I gave my all. I watched helplessly as she went over to Sheila's grimoire and nodded.

"I'm gonna fix it!" She shouted with renewed vigor. She flipped over the pages, trying to find a spell to bring back her grams. "It's okay, I can fix this!"

"No! We can't let you. I'm sorry." Aunt Diana wrapped her arms around Bonnie and pried her off the grimoire just as Elena ran back in to tell us the ambulance was on the way. Uncle Nate patted me on the back once as he ran after his sister and snatched the grimoire off Bonnie as his sister held onto the younger witch.

I was too numb to do anything else.

Tears started falling down my face as I choked out and let out a cry. I choked and started wailing quietly with a hand over my mouth, bowing over the floor next to Sheila's cold dead body. She was gone. I could feel the lifelessness from the old witch.

Before all I could feel from her was warmth and power, now all I felt was cold and a sense of nothingness. I gasped as my lungs desperately tried to take in air. I let out another quiet wail as the tears cascaded down my face.

"Bonnie...Bonnie." Elena grabbed a hold of Bonnie from my aunt and shook her.

"No! No! I can fix it! Grams, I can fix this!" Bonnie fought against my aunt and Elena, trying to get to the grimoire once again. I turned to see her fight desperately against the restraints. Her eyes were wild and in clear denial.

"Bonnie! Bonnie! Bonnie." They all called out but she didn't listen. Her grief consumed her as she started to break down.

Shakily, I stood up and faced my best friends. "She's gone!" I shouted out, my voice rough. "I'm sorry Bon." I brought my hand to my mouth, trying to stop myself from breaking down any more.

Hearing my words, she sobbed even harder while shaking her head in denial. I dragged myself over to Bonnie and engulfed her in a hug.

"I'm so sorry. She's gone. I'm sorry."

Elena wrapped her arms around us, trying to hold us all together. Bonnie sobbed even harder and screamed out in grief. I poked my head up to look at the cold dead body through watery eyes and let out an audible breath.

Sheila Bennett was gone.