———
I walked with Caroline through the halls of our school. She was currently talking on the phone with Tyler.
I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but Tyler was talking so loud I could hear their entire conversation.
"What do you mean you're ditching my clean up committee?" Caroline questions him sharply.
"Klaus called. He's leaving town and wants me to pack up his house." Tyler's voice echos out of the phone, audible but quiet.
"Well, since when does sire bond equal mover slave?" Caroline asks.
"Since he realized I used to be a dick to his girlfriend." He answers.
I discreetly look away from Caroline who stole a short glance my way.
I didn't exactly mean to tell Nik that, but I let it slip when I was telling a story.
I tune out the rest of their conversation, focusing on my steps as we walk.
We walked in a peaceful silence after Caroline hung up the phone.
I Both of our heads swivel quickly as we hear a noise.
Behind our backs, a whooshing noise rushes past. Caroline and I turn back around, only to find nothing there.
"Hello?" Caroline calls out.
We get no answer, so we walk into the cafeteria.
I smile as I see Rebekah cleaning up some of the mess.
"Hey Bekah!" I greet, running over and pulling her into a hug.
"Hello Ivy." She smiles.
"Where's Matt?" Caroline asks.
"He bailed. Got called into work at the last minute." Rebekah sighs.
"Are you kidding me? So, it's just us?" Caroline complains.
"Yes, and you're late. Clean up committee started at eight o'clock." Rebekah scolds.
"It's like 8:02." Caroline argues.
"Exactly. I managed to turn up on time and I didn't even get to attend the dance that I organized." Rebekah says, her tone slightly saddened.
"Well if you had come, I know you would've been the prettiest girl there." I attempt to cheer her up.
"Thanks Ivy." She smiles.
I walk with her past Caroline, helping her empty a trash can.
"I'm sorry about your mom. I mean I know you like, hated her and everything, but still...I'm sorry." Caroline speaks, referring to Esther's death last night.
"I'm sorry about your teacher. He seemed like a nice guy." Rebekah says in return.
I frown thinking of Alaric.
"Yeah. He was." Caroline answers.
"I'm gonna get started on the gym." Rebekah announces. I nod, continuing my work in here.
Rebekah was barely gone two seconds before we heard a struggle outside of the room.
Caroline rushed us into the hallway with her vampire speed.
I gasp at the sight of a very much living Alaric.
He was about to stab Rebekah with the white oak stake when Caroline rushes to them and pins Alaric to a locker.
Rebekah takes the stake and stabs Alaric with it.
We all look at each other in horror as Alaric takes the stake out.
During his struggle to remove the wood from his chest, we made a speedy escape.
Rebekah had rushed off somewhere while Caroline and I ran to her car.
She hurriedly pulls out her keys and fumbles with them. She sees Alaric's reflection in her car window and drops her keys. Alaric snaps Caroline's neck and she falls to the ground.
I stand frozen in horror as he looks at me.
I made a quick decision to run. My feet smack hard against the ground as I run faster than I ever have.
My efforts prove to be futile as Alaric's arms wrap around my waist, lifting my feet off the ground.
I scream before he smacks the side of my head against a nearby car, knocking me unconscious.
———
My eyes slowly flutter open as I let out a whimper.
My head is pounding and I feel blood ooze down my temple. The worst pain however, comes from my hands.
My breath starts to quicken as I look down to see my hands staked down to the desk with pencils. I can barely breath as it is, the cloth gagging me only made it worse.
My chest heaves up and down in shallow breaths as I notice Caroline is in the same position, the only difference being the red, burnt skin around the cloth in her mouth.
I try to calm myself, but I only feel my state worsen as I see Alaric smirking at me from the teachers desk.
"Right on time." He says to himself, confusing me.
Caroline must've heard the same thing Alaric did because she starts crying out, her words muffled by the fabric around her mouth.
"Caroline. Ivy." Elena gasps as she enters the classroom. She turns to Alaric. "Let them go, Alaric!"
"Free 'em yourself." He shrugs pointing to us.
Elena and Alaric stare at each other. Then, Elena cautiously walks over to Caroline. She gets down and strokes Caroline's arm soothingly. She starts to gently pull the pencil out of one of Caroline's hands, but Alaric comes up and slams the pencil back down into her hand. Caroline screams and Elena gets up.
I cry in fear, trying to shrink into nothing.
"You said that you would let her go!" Elena yells.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Elena? Stop trusting vampires!" Alaric scolds.
———
Alaric dips the cloth that was in Caroline's mouth into a beaker of vervain. The skin around Caroline's mouth is very red and appears to have peeled away. Alaric walks back to her.
"No, no more, please, no more!" Caroline pleads fearfully.
"Alaric stop!" Elena shouts, standing from her seat.
Alaric immediately pushes Elena back into her chair. "Sit down! This keeps the vervain in her system. It's like inhaling razorblades with every breath."
Alaric puts the cloth back in Caroline's mouth. Her skin begins to smoke and burn. She cries and screams in pain. Elena touches her arm.
"Her's is just to keep her quiet. She is quite the screamer." Alaric chuckles pointing at me.
"Why are you doing this?" Elena asks in disgust.
"To make it easier on you when you put them out of their misery." Alaric answers and my eyes widen.
"You know the plan was originally just to get Caroline, but Ivy happened to be there. That is how a lot of things work for her huh? She's kinda just there all the time, adding nothing to anyone's life but annoyance. Anyway, once I thought about it, she'd is the perfect candidate for you to kill. You hated her, she's dating that demon hybrid, no family around to miss her. So go on...kill her."
Alaric picks up the white oak stake and walks towards Elena. "What?! No!" Elena protests.
My eyes continuously flow with thick tears.
"Fine you can start with Caroline." Alaric suggests.
"I'm not killing anyone!" Elena shouts.
"Isn't this what you wanted, Elena? For me to teach you how to kill a vampire?" Alaric holds out the white oak stake towards her. "Well, here's a vampire, Elena. Kill her."
"This isn't what I want." Elena says.
"Of course it is. All those hours you spent training, getting stronger, you could be a hunter, Elena. But you've never actually staked a vampire through the heart." Alaric tries to persuade.
He persistently holds out the stake. Elena stares at it.
"Why are you doing this?" Elena asks.
"Because you need me. Because you're an eighteen-year-old girl without parents or guidance or any sense of right and wrong anymore."
"Look at you. How is this right?!" Elena yells.
"She's a murderer. She told me she killed someone and liked it. Now how is that right?" Alaric points the stake accusingly at Caroline.
"Listen, Elena, your parents led the council. It was their life's mission to keep this town safe. They weren't dead six months before you undid it all." Alaric says.
"You don't know anything about them." Elena mutters.
"Why, am I wrong? Do you actually think that they'd be proud of you?" Alaric kneels down in front of Elena's chair. "If you don't side with the humans, you're just as bad as them. Now kill her." Alaric hands her the stake. "Or I'll do it for you and I'll make it hurt. Get up!"
Alaric grabs Elena's arm and pulls her out of her seat. He places her in front of Caroline and forces the stake into her hand. He pulls away.
Elena stands there with the stake in her hand for a moment, then turns around and tries to stab Alaric. He grabs her wrist before she can.
"I thought I taught you better than that." Alaric growls.
"You did."
Elena breaks the beaker filled with vervain over Alaric's head. He screams in pain and his flesh starts to burn.
Elena quickly yanks both pencils from my hands. My pained scream in muffled by the cloth I bite down on.
She speedily does the same to Caroline. "Get help!" Elena instructs us.
I feel Caroline pull me out of my seat and. vamp-speed me into the hallway. Caroline turns around, and realizes Elena is not with us.
She continues to walk us backwards when suddenly two arms grip my waist from behind.
One of the hands comes up to rest over my mouth, further silencing my scream.
"Shhh. It's okay, it's okay. It's me." I hear the calming voice of Nik whisper.
He spins me around gently to face him.
"It's okay, you're safe." He reassures me, gently pulling the gag out of my mouth.
He looks at my shaking hands that flowed endlessly with blood now that the pencils were removed.
"I'll kill him." He growls before biting his wrist and holding it up to my mouth. I drink the liquid, feeling my hands heal.
"We'll save Elena. You take Ivy home. Then go to your house and stay inside, do you understand?" Nik instructs Caroline.
Caroline looks a little dazed, not answering the question.
"Do you understand me?" Nik asks again, gently holding onto her shoulders.
Caroline nods before taking my hands, walking down the hall.
I turn back around and quickly run to Nik. I pull him into a very tight hug, my head laying on his chest.
"I love you." I say, looking into his eyes.
"I love you too, Angel. Now go home and be safe." He tells me in a soft voice.
———
I had gotten home safe.
But not only was I terrified of what happened, I was also exhausted.
I practically collapsed into my bed and slept until I was woken by chatter from downstairs.
I couldn't make out the voices, but I could tell it was more than just Nik.
I groggily rolled out of bed and gently ventured downstairs.
I rubbed my eyes in confusion, thinking I might've been dreaming as I saw Elena sitting in our living room, tied to a chair with a needle attached to her arm.
A nurse comes out and switches the full blood bag with an empty one, collecting more of Elena's blood.
"Nik?" I call out, not seeing my boyfriend anywhere.
"Over here, my love." He answers, walking over to me.
"What is this?" I ask, pointing at Elena.
He opens his mouth to respond, only to be cut off by Elena asking a question. "What about your hybrids? You'll need more than this to create your army."
"These last few liters will have to suffice. You see, by attempting to kill us, my mother strengthened the bond between my siblings and I. And Ivy is the love of my life. I don't need hybrids. I have my family." He responds.
"If you believe that, then why take my blood at all? You want a backup family. You know that your siblings will never trust you again." Elena argues.
"You know Stefan blames me for trying to tear him from his brother, but I think we both know who really came between them. You. That's why you won't choose. You know once you pick a Salvatore, you'll destroy their bond." Nik says.
Nik moves closer towards Elena, threateningly.
"Consider this me doing you a favor. Once you're dead, you won't have to choose. No broken hearts. Their family stays intact. But just between us girls, who would you have picked?" He taunts.
"Rot in hell." Elena spits.
"Alright Nik, that's it. Come on." I let out a grunt of effort as I pull Nik out of the room.
Once we are in another room by ourselves, I speak again. "What the hell are you doing?!" I whisper shout.
"Bleeding her dry so I can make hybrids when we leave town." He states simply.
I rub my temples to soothe my growing headache.
"Can you please just let her go. You have enough of her blood already." I plead tiredly.
He seems to think for a second, but then I see his facial expression change, as if he were listening to something.
Suddenly he speeds out of the room. I throw my arms up in annoyance before running back to the room Elena resided in.
I pause seeing Tyler and Nik having a stare off.
"So much for that sire bond." Nik comments.
"I'm not your little bitch anymore." Tyler retorts.
Nik smiles and walks towards him.
I try to hold him back by the arm, but he gently lifts my fingers from his forearm. "Not now, my love."
"How did you break the sire bond?" Nik asks, turning back around to face Tyler.
"By breaking every bone in my body a hundred times for the girl I love." Tyler answers.
"That's impossible." Nik denies.
"Is it?" Tyler pauses, taking a step toward Nik.
"Or maybe real love is stronger than fake loyalty. But what would you know about love anyway? The only person who's ever loved you is teenage girl you tricked into a relationship by claiming she was fated to be with your sorry ass."
"You know, you should be thanking me. I gave you a gift. I took away your misery." Nik glares, ignoring the comments about us.
"You didn't give a crap about me! You just didn't want to be alone!" Tyler shouts.
He walks back towards Elena and helps her up.
"Come on." Tyler says, encouraging Elena to leave with him.
Nik rushes towards Elena and pushes her down. Her head hits the edge of a coffee table and knocks her unconscious.
I rush toward Elena and cradle her head in my lap. "Nik!" I scold.
Nik then grabs Tyler by the throat and pushes him against a wall.
"Goodbye, Tyler." Nik grunts, attempting to grab Tyler's heart out of his chest, but Tyler twists his arm around.
I watch as Stefan and Damon come into the room. Damon grabs Nik's other arm and Stefan puts his hand into Klaus' chest, holding his heart.
"No! Stop it!" I shout in protest.
I watch in horror as Nik begins to desiccate. Gray veins popping out of his skin.
Damon moves away from Nik and goes towards Elena, who is waking up. He grabs her gently from my arms.
As soon as Elena is removed from my grip, I spring up and rush to Nik and Stefan.
I cry as I attempt to pry Stefan away from my soulmate.
"Stop! What are you doing to him!?" I cry, beating against Stefan's side. My nails claw at his wrist, trying to get it away from Nik's heart.
Stefan finally takes his hand out of Nik's chest, letting him fall to the ground. Lifeless.
I choke out a scream as I drop to the ground beside my soulmate.
I gently lift his head into my lap, my tears falling onto his gray face.
"Please wake up Nik. Please, please come back." I beg, rocking him back and forth.
"We should get her home before the sun sets." I hear Stefan say.
Without another word, both Salvatore brothers escorted Elena out of my home, leaving me to mourn my dead lover.
———
It had been hours since they left, yet I hadn't moved an inch.
My tears never stopped flowing, but my throat couldn't handle anymore screams as I ripped apart my vocal cords from crying.
I shook like a leaf as my fingers combed through Nik's hair, my eyes never leaving his perfect face.
I didn't even look up when I heard my front door open and close. "Baby..." Damon's voice echos through the room.
"Go away please." My cracking voice comes out painfully. I go back to moving Nik's beautiful hair into place.
"No! Let me go!" I struggle, kicking and thrashing in the arms that pull me away from Nik.
"Ivy stop it." Damon tries to wrap me into a tight hug. I beat my fists against his back in agony.
"Let me go! Let me go back to him! Please!" I sob.
"Damon. Let her go." Stefan says gently.
Damon hesitantly unwraps his arms from around me and I was instantly back at Nik's side.
I look up as Stefan crouches down to my eye level, kneeling on the other side of Nik's body.
"Ivy, we're gonna take his body out of town-"
"No! You're him taking him from me." I protest.
"You're right we're not taking him from you. We're gonna drive his body to a warehouse, and I'll give you a key so you can visit him whenever you want okay?" Stefan reassures.
"I can see him whenever I want?" I ask, my voice cracking.
"Yes. I promise. You can even come with us right now if you want." He offers.
I nod my head, wiping the tears that continuously fell down my cheeks.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea." Damon interjects.
"Damon, we killed her boyfriend. The least we can do is let her come when we put him to rest." Stefan snaps at his brother.
He then gently turns back to me.
"Can I pick him up?" Stefan asks me, waiting for permission. I nod again.
I follow Stefan as he brings Nik outside to the car, laying him in a casket.
Silent tears pour from my eyes as I sit in the car seat next to his casket.
I held Nik's hand tightly, promising myself my grip would never falter until we reached our destination.
————
Since I never gave Ivy a face claim I am so curious about who you guys picture her as, so please tell me. :)