????????
Somewhere in the dark aura of the night, a couple has laid down a tent in the middle of the woods, planning to catch one of the rarest moments in human history, a comet that will supposedly come into the sky very soon. Weather that will take another day or so is unsure, but it's coming somewhere under forty-eight hours, that much is certain.
While the two are silently making out in the tent, a rough thunderous noise emits, causing the female to stop them both. "Hey, did you hear that?" She asks her boyfriend with a somewhat nervous voice.
"Hear what?"
"I heard thunder." The female tells him, glancing outside. The male quickly shakes his head, denying it.
"There's no thunder."
"Are you sure?" The female still asks him, softly pushing back when he gives her another kiss. Something rough just came from the air somewhere, she's sure of it. "Because if it rains then we won't be able to see the comet." She points out, advising him not to dismiss it too quickly.
"It's not gonna rain." The male denies again with another shake of his head. It's clear that his girlfriend is now feeling anxious however, so he decides to do a little something he planned to do after the comet came. "Listen, I.... got you a little something. It's back in the car." He tells her with a proud soft voice, and it seems to already help as his girlfriend smiles and nods excited. "Don't you move." He says, giving a bunch more kisses before stepping outside.
"Stay dry." The female teasingly advises.
"It's not gonna rain..." The male insists with a mental eye roll. He then manages to get back on his feet and re-zip the tent before presumably walking out to grab his little gift for her, leaving the female to lay in the middle of tent expectingly.
A few seconds later, however, she hears liquid dripping on top of the tent. As if she predicted the future, the female chuckles, as she knows exactly what's causing those new sounds as she then sees its shadow from inside the tent. "I knew it!" She proudly says to herself before grabbing the flashlight and unzipping the tent so she can step outside herself. "I told you it was gonna rain!"
That is..... until she steps out and feels no rain drops touching her skin, or see any rain for that matter. Now confused and a little spooked, she looks around, trying to find where the water dripping is coming from.
As she then turns around however, she then sees that it's not water at all.... it's red, crimson, blood. She watches it drip onto the tent with a small feeling of shock, before looking up.... and seeing her boyfriend bleeding to death from above the tree from the gaping hole in his neck.
She screams in terror, before taking off into the woods, towards their car. Despite trying to flee from the shadows of the woods, she can still feeling somebody watching her run for her life, and it makes her mind spike into more and more yellow colored fear. When she then finally gets to the car in the road, she tries opening the door, only to realize that it's locked. "Open! No!" She shouts as she frantically pulls on the handle in vain. "PLEASE!"
Suddenly, the car's lights flash and the alarm clicks, indicating that it's unlocked. Only.... she didn't have the keys. She slowly turns around towards where the figure who supposedly has the keys are....
Only to get attacked and eaten from above.
________________________________
L/N Residence: The Next Morning
Although he tried his best to get sober again, Y/N still wakes up half-tired and with a slight headache. But hey, he can just takes some pills for that problem.... hopefully. He takes an unusually long time changing his clothes before heading downstairs back to the living room, where he hears the TV playing. Though..... he didn't leave it on.
When he takes a look, he finds his father on the couch, watching the news. Y/N sighs of a tiny bit of relief as part of him stupidly suspected that the animal that attacked Vicki somehow walked into his house and decided to chill before he ate him. That would've been.... a very weird way to die.
"I thought I told you no partying or drinking on school nights." Is the first words his father greets him with once sensing Y/N behind him in the room. Y/N just rolls his eyes as he walks into the kitchen, deciding to be lazy with his breakfast choice today.
"Good morning to you too." Y/N sarcastically replies as he grabs some random bread slices and snacks on them. "What makes you think I was out doing any of that stuff anyway?" He asks as he looks at him through kitchen doorway.
"Animal attacks are a big giveaway." His father quips as he points to the TV, where Y/N sees it discussing Vicki's attack last night. And, of course, they had to include his picture among the witnesses who found her like that. "And before you argue about 'fun', there's sixteen water bottles in the trash, so I know you were also drunk and might be hungover today."
"I'm not hungover..."
"I hope so, because your coach will still be judging you based on your first week." His father states as Y/N goes to the front door closet and grabs his shoes and jersey jacket while barely even looking at him. "You gotta make sure-"
"What are you doing here, dad?" He questions him, cutting him off mid-sentence. His father gives him a look after being interrupted, but he doesn't practically care. Yeah.... guess it goes both ways. "You usually call before you come back to the house, so what's the occasion?"
"It's not what you're thinking..." His father assures him with a small sigh, though Y/N then turns away to stop looking at him again while he continues his morning schedule. "I heard about the rapid animal, and.... I managed to earn myself some leave for longer time than usual."
"Oh yeah? How long will you be around?"
"Four months, six if I'm lucky." His father tells him, causing Y/N to glance at him with a look of honest surprise. He managed to get himself time off for half a year? That's..... that's actually kind of impressive. "I was gonna just share moments with your mom, but....her business is currently going under crisis, so..."
"Ah, that does sound like her." Y/N comments as he then grabs his backpack, now finished and ready for the next day that comes after. "I gotta get to school." He then tells him as he then heads out.
"Y/N-"
"And for the record..... I can handle myself, that's what your plan was, right?" He also says before shutting the door behind him, ending the conversation right then and there.
How convenient it's when his life is in danger that they decide to stay longer...
__________________________________
Mystic Falls High: Football Field
As usual, Y/N did his daily running, though with today, that involved a bit more struggle, and Tyler wasn't involved this time for.... obvious reasons. But still, that's mostly because he has other plans right now, like walking over to the football field before school starts, where a certain jock is busy chatting it up with a couple girls.
"Tyler!" Y/N calls out towards as he marches towards him, causing the guy to turn away from his girls and notice him approaching. "We need to talk." He tells him with a serious voice, the entire events of last night have now come back to him in his head.
"Y/N...." Tyler acknowledges, looking him up and down as he notices how tense his body language is. "What's wrong with you? You look like-"
"Shut it, Ty, what the heck was that last night?" Y/N interrogates him, cutting off any of the good guy talk he would usually be prone to use on other circumstances. "Is there something about you that you just conveniently decided to hide from the rest of us?" He gives him a look, to which Tyler squints innocently.
"What the heck are you talking about?" Tyler questions him, to which Y/N takes another serious step closer.
"Don't play dumb with me, Tyler, it's not gonna work anymore." Y/N tells him with a now more low-tempered expression. "One major rule of a little thing called 'respect', is that we force ourselves on women." He reminds him with a major point.
"Oh, come on, man.... we were drunk, alright? I got a little bit out of hand." Tyler excuses with a shrug, causing Y/N to give him a look as if asking if he's being serious. "It was just a moment, it's not what you think it was."
"Really? Then what was it?" Y/N questions as he closer to Tyler's face, not willing to deal with his bullshit any longer. "Because unlike what you think, being drunk isn't a good excuse." He acidly remarks, as Tyler starts losing his cool and begins glaring at him. "You don't see Matt pulling that crap off."
"Dude, will you-"
"Hey, Tyler!" A male voice suddenly chimes in, and the group turns to see Jeremy Gilbert marching towards them. "Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt, I was just wondering how, uh, Vicki was doing since you guys are so close." He acidly questions, obviously not meaning a single word of that. "Is-Is she okay?"
"She's fine." Tyler responds to him with a blank look of passive aggressiveness. "Now get out of here."
"How bad is she? Is she.... do they know what attacked her? Is she gonna make a full recovery?" Jeremy keeps questioning Tyler, obviously trying to put him on the spot in front of everyone. Y/N smirks at him since, in his humble opinion, it seems to be working. "I mean, was she happy to see you? What room number was she in?"
"I'm gonna kick your ass..."
"Yeah, you keep saying that, but when are you gonna actually do it, huh?" Jeremy challenges him, getting all up in Tyler's face. "Because I vote for right here, right now!" He taunts with a big shove, pressing Tyler's buttons even more when the kid puts his hands on him.
"Walk away, Gilbert, it's your final warning." He warns with a hard glare.
"No, this is your final warning, dick." Jeremy retorts as he looks the jock straight in the eyes. "I'm sick of watching you play Vicki. If you hurt her one more time I swear to God.... I will kill you." He threatens him before turning around and walking away, while Tyler watches with a look of mild surprise.
"Damn, that was like a death threat." Tyler comments with a amused scoff, before turning to Y/N. "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah, your damn right I did, and he's not the only one who will." Y/N promises with a mean look, causing Tyler to sigh as he looks at him pleadingly.
"Y/N, brother-"
"Fuck off, Lockwood." Y/N cuts him off with another hard shove of his own, creating an even bigger scene. "It's gonna take you a long while before you can call me that again." He tells him before he also leaves, severing whatever ties he had with the guy.
Fucking asshole.....
______________________________________
Mystic Falls High: After School
"Nine, two, nine...." Y/N tries repeating the code to himself, trying to figure out which one he's forgetting. "Nine, two, nine..... four! Nine, two, nine, four." He finally remembers, opening up his locker and stuffing his books back inside. Eventually, Matt walks up, doing the same with a really tired look on his face. "Hey..." He cautiously greets, having a guess on what he's probably going through right now.
"Hey."
"How's Vick?" Y/N asks him with a semi-concerned look on his face, to which Matt can only shrug. He knows that, as family, he was with her for probably the entire last night after the attack. Part of him wonders how that kind of experience is for a person.
"She's fine, lost a lot of blood, but..... the doctors say she'll survive." Matt tells him with a face that's trying its best to believe in that, and Y/N gives a quick nod. "They're keeping her overnight to make sure there's no infection but she should be able to come home tomorrow." He mentions with, to which Y/N hums. "So, looks like this story will end with good news."
"Amen." Y/N agreeingly comments as they walk down the hall, seeing Vicki like that... made the drinks his sleep's savior. "Did you tell your mom?" He then asks him curiously. "My dad ended up staying after hearing about the party, and the.... you know, animal."
"Called, didn't answer, left a message, turns out she's in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend. So.... we'll see how long it takes for her to come rushing home." Matt answers with a bit of bitter snark, as Y/N chuckles due to how much he can relate.
"I'd give it a week." Y/N humorously comments, and Matt just gives him a small smirk. "I'm glad she's alive, I was a little worried me and the Gilberts came by too late because of how drunk I was...."
"Yeah, and now there's talk of some missing campers....." Matt agreeingly adds with a sigh, causing Y/N to stop and look at him as if he suddenly got shocked by a thousand bolts. "What?" He questions upon seeing his face, stopping in the middle of the hallway as well.
"Oh, um...." Y/N stutters, the flashbacks of seeing that man on top of Vicki, it never left his mind. But yet again, he was half-drunk, and wasn't in a condition to see straight so.... "It's nothing..." He shakes his head, though Matt squints, obviously unconvinced. "Does Vicki know what it was?"
"Oh yeah, that's the craziest part." Matt mentions with a small chuckle. "She said it was a vampire." He tells him, causing Y/N blink and do a double-take.
"You serious?" Y/N utters, not sure how he's supposed to react to that. Does he laugh? Or is he supposed to find a connection to what he saw last night? "Like.... as in, Dracula's cousin, kind of thing?"
"Yeah, she just suddenly wakes up last night, and when I'm there, whispering comforting words to her, she mutters 'vampire' and then passes out." Matt shares with him, chuckling again with a shrug, Y/N, on the other end, glances down, now more confused then however. "Hey, are you sure you're okay man?"
"Yeah, really, it's just...." Y/N replies, blowing out some air in his confusion. "I keep thinking about it, and feel more certain that it was a straight up dude I saw on top of Vicki in the woods." He tells him, before shaking his head. "And then I recall that... a guy wouldn't be able to do those things a rapid animal would do, so then I keep going back and forth and call myself crazy all freaking morning..."
"Yeah man, it was dark, and you said it yourself, you were drinking a lot after Caroline showed you up." Matt reminds him with a calm look. "Could've been anything in those woods.... maybe a.... chimpanzee?" He suggests, causing Y/N to scoff amused.
"Nah, man, those are the animals who rip your junk out and beat you half to death with them just because they didn't get any cake." Y/N remarks with a knowing look, a very haunted knowing look. "They don't bite necks..... maybe."
"Wow man, thanks for the image..." Matt groans as he winces, already feeling it in his pants. "You know what? I'm gonna go back to the hospital. I wanna be there when Vicki wakes up." He then says as he goes off towards the opposite direction of where they were originally walking. Y/N gets an idea and raises a hand.
"Hey, hold up!" Y/N calls out to him, following after. "I'm gonna come with, I really need to hear it from the horse's mouth, so I don't drive myself crazy." He tells him, as Matt understandably nods. "Also... hungover, so.... Tanner's gonna be lecturing me, if I go to practice or not."
"I feel you." Matt comments with a smile and nod. The two then walk out the school, planning to skip practice today.
However, they don't know that Stefan was down the hallway, eavesdropping on them the entire time. "Hey, are you okay?" Elena asks him, noticing that he froze the entire time she was talking to him.
"Yeah, yeah...." Stefan quickly answers, snapping out of it to give her a smile. "Sorry, I just remembered something I had to do today, so... I'll see you later." He tells her before walking down the wall without any elaboration, confusing the daylights out of Elena.
He's gotta pay a visit to Vicki as well....
_________________________________________
Mystic Falls Hospital:
Eventually, the two make it to the hospital, hoping that Vicki's condition has improved since that moment in the woods that Y/N's still got carved into his room of memories. It won't be on the good shelf, he can say that much.
While walking up towards the doors, Y/N's cell gets a ring and he pulls it out to see that it's his dad calling him. Y/N frustratedly sighs and Matt can see the sour look on his face as he checks the contact number. "Do you need a minute?" He asks him, but Y/N quickly shakes his head.
"Nah, this will be quick." Y/N assures as he answers the phone while he pushes open the doors. "Yes, dad, I'm not at practice, and yes, I have a good reason." He sarcastically says the second he presses the green button.
"You tried starting a fight with another student, Y/N, that's what I actually called about." His dad corrects him, causing Y/N to sigh anyway. "Did something happen at the party that I need to know about?"
"What? That I'm not perfect?" Y/N questions before forming a look that pretends to care. "Sorry, dad, guess I'm not like you or mom in that regard." He remarks with a obviously fake voice before taking the phone out of his year.
"Y/N, wait-"
Y/N hangs up before he can stop him, and the two continue down the hallway as usual. "Family problems?" Matt queries as the two find the elevator and presses the button on it. Y/N scoffs to himself as they wait.
"Yeah, but what else is new?" Y/N remarks with a shrug, before the elevator dings as it opens its doors. "He's just..... he keeps walking in and expecting me to have respect for him when it was me that did all the raising for both of my parents." He vents as they step inside, pressing on the floor where Vicki's hospital room is. "It makes me boil inside..."
"Yeah, I know how you feel...." Matt tells him with a empathetic look. The two then stand there in silence as the elevator eventually stops and the doors open again, allowing them to step out and march down the halls where they believe Vicki's room number was. However, when they turn the corner, Matt abruptly stops, causing Y/N to bump into him. "What the...?"
"What?" Y/N questions, confused on why he stopped. He walks around him and sees that Vicki's bed is completely empty, now seeing the problem. "That is..... not right." He quips as he glances around the room. He checks the bathroom, the toilet, but she's in none of those places either. "She's not in the bathroom either... whoa!" He abruptly stops when turns back to him.
Matt squints before turning around and seeing Vicki in a trance standing behind him. "Vick!" He exclaims after jumping as well. "Vicki, hey..." He says her name, but the girl remains completely still and emotionless. "Vicki, it's Matt. Hey, what's wrong?" He asks her, now getting worried as he reaches his hand to hold her.....
"NO! NO!" Vicki suddenly screams, slapping at Matt as if she doesn't know who he is.
"What the-!" Y/N utters, before snapping out his shock and pulling Vicki away, who continues to scream and yell, 'No' as she struggles against both of them. "Hey, Vicki! Vicki! Calm down!"
"Vicki! It's Matt! Your brother!" Matt tries telling Vicki in a pleadingly way to calm her down, but the girl doesn't stop slapping, kicking, and screaming at both of them, no matter how hard they wrap their arms around her. "We gotta get a nurse!" He shouts as he realizes that she's too far out of it.
"Yeah." Y/N agrees as they both let go, before running down the halls to hopefully find a nearby staff. "Nurse!" He calls out, which they thankfully find one talking to a doctor the second they turn a corner. "Hey, nurse!" He calls out again in a louder voice, getting the women's attention.
"We need help over here, it's my sister!" Matt tells them urgently, and the women drops what she's doing to follow them back to Vicki's room. However, when they run back to her room, they find her back in her bed, fully passed out. "What?" He utters, confused.
"She seems fine." The nurse comments the obvious, though that doesn't help make the two teens any less confused. Y/N glances behind himself, seeing a person walking down the hallway, which isn't anything odd, but... that hairstyle...... isn't that Caroline's crush, Stefan's?
Feeling a strong sense of suspicion, Y/N goes to follows Stefan, trying to walk down the same, but faster pace as he is. Matt tries talking to Y/N, only to see that he's taking off down the hall. "Y/N?" He calls out, but the guy ignores him as he continues walking towards the mysterious visitor.
Y/N follows Stefan through the hallway, turning a corner he saw him take. There, he sees him going into a blood donation room. Yeah..... that's not weird at all. He marches down and goes to catch him in whatever he was doing. When he enters the room, he sees all of the patients and staff there, who only spare him a glance before going back to whatever they were doing.
Blinking, Y/N then sees a shadow of some silhouette through one of the curtains and speed-walks over, swiping open the entire thing with his hand..... finding no one in sight. "What the....." He utters, before seeing the open window near the hospital bed.
Matt comes inside behind him, and sees the guy standing there with an extremely confused expression. "What is it?" He finally asks him, wondering what prompted him to take off like that.
"That Stefan guy....." Y/N slowly explains, trying to find a way to lay it out a way that make sense. "I saw him leaving, and... he went in this room. I swear he was just here...." He explains, pointing at where the guy just disappeared. Matt squints and steps over, looking outside the open window to see the new guy.
"I don't see him." Matt tells Y/N as he turns back to him, closing the window back himself. "Are you sure he was here?" He asks again, just to make sure as he can tell that Y/N's currently looking like he just got suddenly dosed with acid.
"I don't know anymore..."
__________________________
Mystic Falls Hospital: A Couple Hours Later
Whatever one's opinion on it might be, Y/N decided to pretty much stay at the hospital so he could avoid his dad and.... Caroline. He brought his laptop, so he can idly scour through the web and scroll through social media on his phone while Matt has passed on the chair next to Vicki's bed due to not getting any actual sleep last night. When one's rejected, the usual chess move is to then give said person some space, even if a certain blond probably has no idea that she rejected somebody in the first place. And also..... he still needs answers from Vicki, he needs to know what he saw on top of her last night, especially when he sounds like a broken record every time he thinks about it.
He also called Jeremy, saying that Vicki seemed to begin waking up and that he should visit when he has the chance. Yeah, how hilarious that he assumes that he isn't already checking her on an hourly basis. While, scrolling through, doing nothing on his phone, he suddenly hears a thud, and Matt shoots up awake upon getting hit with an apple. "What the..."
"Hey, you two." Vicki quips with a chuckle and smile, seemingly in much better condition than she was the last time she woke up. "Were you guys that worried about me?" She teasingly queries, earning a look from Y/N.
"You kidding? You had us freaked out earlier." Y/N comments with a satisfied look while he takes out his ear buds. "That's understatement of the century."
"Yeah, but you look better." Matt notes, looking very happy for her now that she's acting the usual way she does. "I mean, we were worried, you had me freaked out with all that screaming." He tells her, causing Vicki to blink and squint at him, confused.
"Wait, what are you talking about?"
"You don't remember?" Y/N queries with an inquisitive look. "You literally went full Deadite on us one second, and the next, you looked like Ash Williams shot you with a sedative." He references, surprised that she doesn't remember anything like that. Vicki, seemingly still having no idea what he's saying, just shakes her head.
"No... I feel fine..."
"Oh, that's... good." Y/N nervously comments, sharing a perplexed look with Matt. "I mean, yeah, yeah, that's totally great, um....." He then tucks his phone back in his pocket as he stands up to step closer to Vicki's bed. "Hey, Vick, I really gotta know, since I couldn't see it, what attacked you in the woods?" He finally gets to ask her, Vicki glances down as if trying to remember, before she tells him.
"An animal." She answers him, to which Y/N blinks. "I mean.... what else could it have been?"
"What kind of animal?" Y/N presses, still not satisfied with that kind of answer. "Like a..... a bear? Wolf? Feral Dog?...... heck, a Chimpanzee?" He reluctantly adds the last one, causing Matt to chuckle.
"It was a....." Vicki pauses, her mind seemingly unable to corporate with her. "It was a.... animal." She ends up repeating herself, causing Y/N and Matt to share another look. "I don't know..... for some reason, all I remember is that it was an animal..."
"Right...." Y/N slowly nods, putting his hands on his hips as he ends up feeling left with more questions instead of one single answer.
"Well.... the doctor said you could come home tomorrow." Matt tells her as a way to move the conversation along, and Vicki seems to smile at the news. "So.... you know, seems like the animal didn't do too much damage."
"That's great." Vicki says with a nod, before noticing someone entering the hospital room. Y/N and Matt notice her eyes and turn around and see Jeremy Gilbert leaning against the doorway, staring at Vicki with a very worried look.
"I.... we're gonna...." Matt stands up, getting a sudden cue to leave. "We're gonna go grab a coffee." He tells them before looking at Y/N. "Come on, Y/N."
"I don't drink coffee."
"Sure you do." Matt says with a very subtle look, nodding over towards the door. Y/N sighs before chuckling as he too goes to leave the others to their privacy. "Hey, Jer." He greets the kid on their way out.
The two then head over to the break room, allowing the two teens to talk. "Guess Jeremy was worried after you guys found her." Matt comments as they walk, causing Y/N to slowly nod.
"Hey, they're...." Y/N pauses, immediately remembering that he isn't supposed to give that information away. "They're kind of friends, too, you know? And.... Jeremy has this big crush on Vick, and.....it's kind of two and two operating together." He explains as they enter the break room.
"Really?" Matt reacts with a small hum, before finding the coffee machine and grabbing one of the small cups off the stack. "Guess that makes sense."
"Yeah...." Y/N slowly nods, glancing back towards the hall with a mental sigh. "Well, that was really helpful..." He sarcastically mutters, causing Matt to glance at with a look that knows what he's talking about.
"Not convinced?"
"Well, that, and....." Y/N sighs, reminding back towards when they got to the hospital and when she woke up. "So.... she's woken up, whispers, 'vampire', then wakes up again, screaming and attacking us, then passes out all calm in three seconds, and then..... says it was an animal?" He summarizes, bonking his own head. "Have you ever heard of something like that happening?"
"No...." Matt answers honestly, silently admitted that it is kind of weird. "But.... she was also in shock, so.... maybe she got confused with dreams and reality." He suggests with a shrug, causing Y/N to scoff.
"That doesn't make any sense either..."
"Well, what do you think it is?" Matt asks him curiously, noticing just how much this whole 'stranger in the woods' thing has been on his mind lately. "I mean....... you don't sound so sure that it was an actual animal."
"I don't know, and I'm not." Y/N confesses, shaking his head. However, he's got a few ideas on where he can go Sherlock Holmes next. "But I think I know who to ask for that information." He mentions, causing Matt to give him a look.
"Who?" He questions, to which Y/N raises his eyebrows at him.
"Who do you think?" Y/N replies as he then turns around, now ready to finally leave this weird-ass-hospital. Vicki may not be willing or just confused to talk, but there is someone who still might know what happened that night. The person who paid her room a visit....
Stefan Salvatore.
_________________________
Now, since Y/N's dad is back in town, it'll be obvious to him that his car has gone missing, so he has to once again go to the Salvatore Boarding house he remembered Caroline mentioned on foot. Definitely not a pleasant experience, but.... he really needs to clear all of this so he doesn't join the fanatic group of conspiracy theorists.
While walking down one of the busy streets of down, he accidentally bumps into a familiar redhead on the sidewalk. "Oh, sorry Elena." He quickly apologizes, realizing that he's been going off into space the entire time.
"It's...." The female anxiously pauses, before shaking her head with a assuring smile. "It's fine, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going either."
"Oh yeah? Is that, uh.... Stefan guy confusing the heck out of you?" Y/N humorously questions with a smirk, noticing how much she's been around him lately. Elena stares back at him with this... odd, blank expression before nodding.
"Yeah, he's...." Elena shrugs. "He's suddenly been distant lately, like he comes and goes whenever he wishes." She explains, to which Y/N understandably nods, also getting weird vibes from that new student.
"Yeah, I can see that..." Y/N comments with a slow nod. "You know, I can't help but think he's been acting odd ever since Vicki's attack..... and then, earlier today he was at the hospital, to what I thought was him checking on her." He tells her, before bringing up all the weird things that happened after. "But then.... Vicki started having these random mood swings, and it's like..... I'm sorry if this bothers you, but I feel like he did something to her."
"Really?" Elena questions as Y/N nods, before glancing down as she seems to be considering this. "That's.... weird."
"Yeah, well this whole town is weird...." Y/N remarks with a knowing look, before deciding that he should probably get back to it before the comet event begins. "Anyway, I should keep going, but... take my advice, ask that guy more questions." He advises her before continuing down the sidewalk. "By the way, love what you did with your hair." He adds.
The female, meanwhile, watches him leave with a very confused look on her face.
Did he just call her..... Elena?
________________________________________________
Salvatore Boarding House:
After what feels like long enough that it makes Y/N question his day choices, he finally makes it to the freaking mansion of the Salvatore family. I mean, in his mind, that's pretty much what this is. Look at this place! I mean, there's building's similar its size, like the Lockwood mansion, but still, it makes him wonder why he hasn't heard of any Salvatores until now. Well.... okay, there's supposed to be at least one guy here, but he's..... Y/N's never heard of him.
Glancing around one more time, he then knocks on the door, only to wait for half a minute with no response. He knocks on it again, and once again, he gets nothing. All he hears is cawing, cawing, and cawing from a.... crow? Whatever, he can't see it anyways. "I knew this was stupid...." He mutters, planning to turn around, only to stop when he hears the wooden door's creaks.
"Well, hello." A man greets him, and Y/N turns back to see a man with black hair and a somewhat wicked smile that rubs Y/N the wrong way. "Can I help you?" He asks with a bit of jester-like flair as he seems to also be observing Y/N for the next words that he speaks.
"Uh..." Y/N scratches his nose, glancing downwards before meeting back with the guy's eye contact. "Is Stefan here?" He then asks the guy, who then seems to glance down before shaking his head.
"Nope, I'm afraid he hasn't come back home yet, which is odd because last I checked, school ended a long time ago." The man answers with a shrug, playfully clicking his tongue. "Sorry..." He says in a rather humorous tone of voice.
"It's cool." Y/N answers with a shrug, taking this as a clue that he was at least right about him being at the hospital after school ended. Though, even then, that doesn't feel like it explains why he made it to his own house before him..... odd. "I'll just find him at the... comet event, thingy tomorrow."
"Ah yes, the warning of impending doom." The man sarcastically replies to which Y/N mentally chuckles. That's still a thing people are saying? "Well, have fun and try not to get killed, bye." He says before closing the door with a smirk, not waiting for Y/N to respond or turn around.
"Bye...." Y/N awkwardly mumbles to himself, going back down the steps as he-
"Wait." The stranger abruptly opens the door again, causing Y/N to immediately turn around. "How do you know my brother?" He queries with a inquisitive look, causing Y/N to nervously glance side-ways, suddenly getting that bad feeling again.
"Your brother?" Y/N repeats, slightly interested to hear about that at first, before shrugging. "We.... share multiple classes." He answers, though he can tell by the guy's face that, that isn't good enough for him. "And.... we had a history project together." He adds.
"I see..." the stranger comments with hum, before swiftly turning back on his smile. "Okay, bye." He then quickly says, shutting the door again. Y/N blinks for a second, before scoffing with an amused smile on his face.
"Weird..."
Then... he stops when his chest suddenly feels odd. Y/N subconsciously burps as he hands his hand on it and smacks against it, feeling like he suddenly ate too much and started working out. He looks for a bush, but then the feeling goes away. He takes a couple deeper breaths to double check and see that he's now in the clear.
"Really weird...."
_________________________
Mystic Grill: The Next Day
Here's the thing, Y/N is never able to find that magician the next day, no matter where he looks. Stefan is just.... gone. I don't know if it's just luck, but ever since that moment in the hospital, Stefan seems to only be in one place for a minute, and the second Y/N thinks he spots him, he's gone. That's just.... frustratedly weird. It's like he's avoiding other people now all of a sudden, or, you know, everyone except Elena.
Despite having finished his food like ten minutes ago, Y/N now idly sits at the bar, still not in a mood to leave. No, he's not drinking, nor is he packing a fake ID, he just really needs a place to think and, well.... as you know, his father's still in town and if he hears any more 'parental advice' from that geezer, he's gonna throw himself out a window or rip out someone's heart.
"Hey." A guy taps on his shoulder, and Y/N turns to see Jeremy looking at him with a odd look on his face. "What's up with you? You look like you did twenty sets on a hundred weights." He exaggeratingly comments with a brow.
"Tried that the rest of yesterday, still wasn't enough to cure my mind-yelling." Y/N replies as he uses two fingers on each side to rubshis temples, trying to get himself back away for the conversation that he's now been attacked with.
"Mind-yelling?"
"I have like, so many things I want to think about, but can't at once." Y/N explains with a shrug. "Football, Caroline..... Vicki at the hospital...... two of which, I don' know why I keep thinking about." He lists down as he leans against his seat, feeling tired as he both thinks and talks about it at the same time.
"Still thinking about Vicki, huh?" Jeremy queries with an amused face, seemingly wanting to laugh a bit. "I thought I was the little brother you always wanted?" He teasingly references with a knowing look, to which Y/N half-shrugs.
"Hey, if Tyler ever starts bothering you, you bet I'll be the one kicking his ass before he can even touch you." Y/N promises him with a cocky smirk, to which Jeremy chuckles along with him. "Nah, I just.... had some weird things happen last night that I thought Vicki would help clear up. And, I wanted to be there for Matt, he's also kind of my brother."
"Cool, cool." Jeremy casually comments with a slow nod, before blinking as a name that was just dropped crosses his mind. "Hey, how are things between you and Caroline anyway?" He then asks him, causing Y/N to raise his brow at him. "Matt's told me that you were hoping to.... you know, give it a try."
"He did, did he?" Y/N questions with a blank look, before letting out a big sigh and shaking his head. "I don't think the blonde's swinging my way, man...... her eye and mind are all on the Salvatore brothers." He remarks with some 'whomp, whomp' sound effects. "So..... I'm kind of stuck."
"Salvatore Brothers?"
"Yup, here's two of them." Y/N confirms with a look. "As if one mysterious, and I quote from the ladies, 'hottie', wasn't enough for them."
"Okay, well.....I mean.... you're not stuck, not really." Jeremy tells him, causing Y/N to give him a brow. "I mean, Vicki was trying to avoid me at first, but.... she came around to me." He mentions with a prideful smile. "I mean, sure, that was just because Tyler's a dick, but.... I'm pretty sure that Stefan guy likes my sister more."
"How'd you figure that?" Y/N questions with a curious look.
"Sometimes.... I notice things." Jeremy replies with a knowing expression. "And Elena likes to talk about him a lot." He emphasizes with eyebrows, while Y/N tires to take this information into account.
"I'm not giving up, it's just...." Y/N sighs, trying to find a way to put it into words. "I think..... I've confused myself with thinking I fell in love with her like a stereotypical star player." He tells Jeremy, who leans against the bar as he listens intently. "When I thought about it, I realized that not once, after the party, did I try talking to her again. And, that makes me wonder whether I actually just thought of her as a.... another body to bed, or..... that I really am that afraid of rejection, I shy away at the first sign of non-shared romantic feelings." He finishes with a half-hearted chuckle. "Pretty weird, isn't it?"
"Very.... but I know that kind of weird." Jeremy comments with a humorous smirk. "Just give it time, I guess.... that's kind of how I rolled with it." He advises before spotting Vicki at the bar, with the wound in her neck still bandaged. "I gotta go, but.... I'll see you later." He dismisses before going off to talk to his still love of his life, Y/N chuckles as he says the title in his head.
The two seem to kick it off pretty well, no longer are they having any tense conversations that involve arguing about Tyler. In fact, both of them seem to be smiling, it kind of makes Y/N smile as well, knowing that human chemistry still exists in this world, even if he hasn't found it yet. He then glances at Tyler at the pool table, and can easily detect the jealously in his eyes, seeing Jeremy strike it up with, as he put it, his girl. He watches as Tyler walks up to join in on the conversation, only to get shot down, by Vicki who easily dismisses him. It's enough to make Jeremy snigger.
It also makes Y/N snigger as well. He can't hear what Tyler's saying to Jeremy as he glares at him, but the guy just walks away, still laughing. He and Y/N share a amused look, to which Y/N gives his 'little brother' a thumbs up, and Jeremy to grin.
Oh, drama....... sometimes it is kinda fun.
____________________________
The Square:
As night eventually falls later that day, it's time for the rare in a lifetime moment to see the comet. And so, Y/N made sure he was around to see it, amongst the crowd of what is most likely the entire town. Everyone holds a candle, and helps each other's candles until all are perfectly lit for the comet's arrival.
"Hey." Elena softly calls out to him, breaking Y/N out of his daze as he stares at the comet from the sky that seems smaller than it actually is.
"Hey." Y/N greets back, noticing her, Bonnie, Matt, and.... Caroline. When his eyes fall on her, they pause and his smile slightly drops to something more conflicted, before he takes Elena's light to ignite his wax where he fixes it back up again. "Thank you." He politely says before looking back up. "Things good with Stefan?"
Elena turns back at him, wondering what he's asking her that all of a sudden. "Um..... not really?" She answers, not having talked about that with him at all since he came to school. Why's that the way he brings him up for time. She then goes off to help ignite more candles while stands next to Y/N, watching her.
At one point, Y/N seems him frown, and that's where he turns to finally see her talking with Stefan, the man himself. Y/N mentally groans as part of him knows that he can't actually talk to him right now, not during a moment like this. But, he can at least make small talk with Matt. "Still like her?"
"How can I not be?" Matt answers with a face filled with love. "I mean, I still believe in us..... even if she's still interested in Stefan, even if it's not actually possible." He states with a look that seems accepting with how it is, even if that side of life makes him sad no matter how he good he sees the truth.
"And what if it isn't?" Y/N asks him, suddenly feeling like this story's hitting a little close to him. "What do you do then?" He queries, as Matt notices him staring as if he really needs an answer to his question. There's no easy way to put this, so he just shrugs and says it.
"Then... I guess we're just gonna be friends, and I'll be loving her a different way." Matt tells him with a face of serenity. Y/N slowly nods, knowing that he'll be trying to find a way to take those words to heart, in hopes that they help him with his current selfish problems. His thinking changes however, when he's looking back up at the massive ball of ice and snow.
"I wasn't supposed to be born." Y/N suddenly drops, causing Matt to blink as he tries to make sure he actually means that. "They try to hide it, but...... they didn't want to have any kids when they got married. The only reason I wasn't aborted was because dear old Uncle Rob got drunk and ran his car into a brick wall." He shares with him in a blank expression. "That's why I hate my parents, because deep down, they don't want me."
"Is that what you think?" Matt queries, the only thing he can say in response after hearing that sudden explanation for his personal parent issues. Y/N can only stare back with a look that appears awfully certain.
"It's what I know." Y/N tells him. "Plus, it's not like they've tried denying it or anything."
Matt hums upon hearing this, guessing that the only thing he can do is react empathetically to his friend, letting him know that they all have troubles back home, and he's not alone. "You know.... Bonnie said that her grandma called the comet the 'Harbinger of Evil', or.... maybe it was 'Bringer of doom'......" He comments, to which Y/N laughs.
"That'll be some-" Y/N tries joking, only to get interrupted by himself when he starts un-controllingly burping again. Matt blinks as he notices him holding his chest with his free hand while facing down at the grass as his chest pain suddenly rises in a bile much stronger than the day before. "Geez..."
"You okay?" Matt asks him with a semi-concerned look.
"Yeah, yeah...." Y/N quickly replies, feeling it starting to pass, though that seems to be going a lot slower as well. "Must be that Harbinger." He quips with a chuckle as he burps again, bumping his chest a couple of times as he anxiously stares back at the comet. "I'll be fine, I've gotten it checked out like twice, doctors say that it's nothing."
"You sure?" Matt questions with both of his eyebrows raised. "You looked like you were about to throw up, or got more hungry that my sister on everyday of the week." He comments, to which Y/N awkwardly chuckles. Oh boy, he wonders why.......
"And I feel like it too, but.... nothing ever really threatens to come out." Y/N mentions with a off-hand expression, seemingly not finding it that big of a deal than it did when it first happened. "Maybe I just.... ate something wrong, I don't freaking know." He randomly guesses with a shrug, causing Matt to chuckle a bit.
"If there was someone on this planet who found out how to eat food an incorrect way..." Matt remarks, causing Y/N to give him a look.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"That you, my friend, are a different kind of special." Matt replies with a teasingly friendly face, causing Y/N to admittedly nod.
"That, I will agree on you with." Y/N comments, and the two of them share another laugh together before spending the rest of the comet watching in blissful silence. The issues and drama of yesterday and before are forgotten in this one moment, though maybe that's because, in a funny way, that it's true that 'evil' or whatever is coming. If that's true, what would that evil be?
Whatever it is, it might be nearby.
Because Stefan's 'brother' is currently staring at Y/N from amongst the crowd....
Menacingly.
__________________________________________
Mystic Grill:
After a little bit of time passes, Y/N heads back to the Grill. Two steps inside after opening the door, Y/N finds himself burping again and his chest billing up to toxic levels. "Y/N?" Caroline calls out behind him, apparently noticing his mental anguish. "You okay?" She asks as Matt also walks in and notices him.
"Hey bro, are you sure that-?"
"I should probably go throw up." Y/N tells them in a very sick voice as he speed-walks towards the men's room. There, he rushes inside a random stall, not caring about whoever he bumps into while doing so, and proceeds to puke his guts out. Not literally, but it definitely feels that way. Hearing his mouth and streams that come out make him only vomit even more.
Once it's over, Y/N is horrified to see the contents that came out. He can't even make out all the brown and red shaped biological objects that just came out of his mouth. If he dares squint, Y/N thinks he can see a few bones or something too. He doesn't even know what it happened, as he's made sure to ate smartly every day. Not eat too much before a work out, or before a game, or to do this and that, ect. What the heck is all this?!
Y/N quickly tries flushing it all does in disgust, and it annoyingly takes a while as each objects bumps into one another, which causes only a few to be able to go down the drain. He spits the last pieces of vomits out of his mouth multiple times into the toilet as he keeps pressing on the button to make it go down the drain.
Once it's finally gone, Y/N then slowly stands himself up, feeling a little shake in his step, before stepping out and towards the sink, where he then washes his face with his hands, before drinking a bit of the water and washing out any vomit left with a big spin down the drain in the middle.
As he feels slightly cleaner again, Y/N realizes the sudden cravings he's gotten.
Man, he's hungry....
Very hungry.
He then steps back into the Grill, spotting the rest of his friend group surrounding a round table in the middle of the restaurant. Double checking his features to make sure he stands there, looking good for go, because he's the freaking best of course, the others eventually noticing him walking towards them. "Did you finally get it out?" Matt questions him, to which Y/N nods.
"Yeah, guess it was actually something I ate. Though.... that makes it odd that it hasn't ruined my appetite." He answers, before glancing down thinking. He then notices a random waiter and flags them down. "Excuse me, uh.... twelve boneless wings, thanks." He quickly orders, and the employee nods before continuing with his other order.
"You just vomited and the first thing on your mind is food?" Tyler chimes in from across the table, chuckling amused at him. "Gee, and my dad calls me a heavy eater..." He remarks with a smirk, causing Y/N to give him a very un-amused look.
"I didn't ask for your opinion, Bill Cosby." Y/N harshly seethes with a very intent glare, causing Tyler to glance down, pretending to act cool. Meanwhile, everyone else glances between them confused.
"Did we miss something here?" Elena queries with a brow as Y/N snaps his fingers.
"That's right, I forgot to tell you." Y/N realizes with a angry look as Tyler gives him a glare, warning him not to do what he's no doubt thinking. However, Y/N points at him anyway. "This asshole-"
"Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?" Jeremy worriedly asks as he marches into the conversation, unknowingly saving the Lockwood kid by a three second bell.
"You're her stalker, you tell us." Tyler acidly replies with a look, immediately taking the opportunity to change topics..... sort of.
"I can't find her!"
"Again?" Y/N queries with a look before glancing around. "You think after meeting Roger Rapids in the woods, she'd not learn to disappear...." He sarcastically remarks with a mental sign, somehow already getting a bad feeling. Wasn't she forced to be working tonight in spite of her injury?
"Glad I'm not the only one worried, worried I was freaking out over nothing." Jeremy replies as he nervously crosses his arms, part of him feeling like he shouldn't worry in a public place like this, especially the event taking in town. But still..... he can't help but not like it.
"She probably found somebody else to party with." Tyler suggests, on the other hand, giving the Gilbert boy a rather nasty look. "Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced."
"What's with the 'pill pusher' thing?" Elena asks him with a not so-happy look that he's insulting her brother. Jeremy sheepishly glances down as he realizes that the jock's about to throw him under the bus, like one would expect when he's got his own crimes to hide.
"Ask him." Tyler nods towards Jeremy, while Y/N gives him a glare.
"You really wanna do this right now?" Jeremy questions with a glare, as Elena starts putting two and two together.
"Are you dealing?" She questions him, and Jeremy gives her a guilty look that pretty much answers it without using his words. Tyler just gives him a bitterly amused look.
"She's never gonna go for you..."
"She already did." Jeremy retorts, the scene slowly getting heated as his face gets more red. "Over, over, and over again." He passionately states, causing Tyler to straight up scoff at him.
"Yeah, right..."
"Okay, you slept with Vicki Donovan?" Caroline questions with a semi-surprised look, the cat climbing out of the back for everyone to see. Y/N glances at him as he already knew due to just.... being at the right place at the wrong time. "I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?"
"There's no way." Tyler agreeingly states with a blank look.
"And I didn't even have to force her into it." Jeremy coldly remarks, giving him a knowing look. This, of course, gets everyone's attention as all eyes then fall on Tyler yet again, giving him a taste of his own snitch medicine.
"What the hell is he talking about, Ty?" Matt questions him upon seeing his teammate go silent, not liking the face of the guy who looks like he was caught in something.
"See? That's what I was trying to tell you!" Y/N exclaims, getting everyone's attention as he points at Tyler again. "Back at the party, they were out in the woods, and when Vicki said no, this douchebag pinned against a tree and tired 'getting some' anyway."
Matt blinks before snapping his head towards Tyler. "Is he telling the truth, Tyler?!" He questions him with a shocked expression that's slowly turning into rage.
"No man, don't listen to them! They don't know what the heck they're talking about!" Tyler quickly denies, however, Y/N continues on as he makes it worse for his spotlight.
"And he knows that he's the reason Vicki's in the hospital! Because it was because of that, that she drunkenly walked alone in the woods and got freaking bit by the animal!" Y/N accuses as Tyler stands up, making the scenario worse. "Because he knows that he's one stupid, son of a bitch, and for the first time, I'm not letting his actions slide!"
"FUCK YOU!"
"Whoa, hey! Hey! Hey!" Matt shouts as everyone quickly steps in, bulling both Tyler and Y/N back before they can throw ends and get everyone kicked out of the bar. "You know what, how about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?" He advises instead, while giving Tyler himself a mean glare in the process.
"We'll check the back." Bonnie says, pointing backwards as she, Tyler, and Caroline check that direction.
"We'll check the square." Matt says as he and Y/N nod to each other, planning to head that direction. Jeremy nods.
"I'll come with you."
"Oh no, no, no." Elena grabs onto Jeremy's arm before he can leave with them. "You're coming with me." She tells him with a look as she drags him into a separate part of the room. Y/N glances back, letting them go through their own problems as he and that head out and march towards the square.
"Where the heck is she?" Matt mutters as they enter the square, seeing the comet event still somewhat going with people still in the area, chatting with the people they're familiar with. It wouldn't hurt to ask a couple people for help.
"Who knows? I really hope she didn't go off to meat her recent ex-boyfriend." Y/N remarks as he looks around, causing Matt to give him a look.
"Not helping."
"Sorry, I know, not the time and place." Y/N sheepishly takes his 'humorous' comment back. "But hey, assuming that it did come into town, it's not like the both of us can't take that thing down, together, right?" He points out with a grin, only to earn him another look. "Got it, still not helping..."
"Just help me find her." Matt pleadingly says as the two then agree to split up, wanting to cover as much ground as possible. Not more than four minutes after splitting up, Y/N spots a certain brown-haired man standing in the square while wearing his leather jacket. Stefan Salvatore....
Finally, he's spotted him out of school hours, which gives him the perfect excuse to talk to him. "Hey." He calls out to him, and Stefan quickly snaps out of his daze towards the comet and looks down to acknowledge him.
"Hey..."
"Have you seen Matt's sister around? She's the girl who was in the hospital for an animal bite, like.... two days ago." Y/N queries him, hiding the inner suspicion in his bones. This guy.... just looking at him know gives him a bad feeling, something similar than when he met his brother. He doesn't like any of it, one bit.
"No, sorry." Stefan tells him with a shake of his head, though looking at him curiously as if wondering why he's looking for her. "Is something wrong?" He then asks him, looking as if some kind of button was pressed in his robotic system.
"Yeah, none of us can find her at the Grill, she's gone ghost mode.... again." Y/N tells him with a serious look, glancing around as Stefan blinks again. "You saw what happened the last time she went missing, so.... most of us are worried, me included." He references, to which Stefan nods, acting as if he understands the danger.
"I'll help you look for her-"
"Hey, wait." Y/N stops him before he completely turns around. "I saw you at the hospital yesterday." He tells him with a very serious look, causing Stefan to turn back and walk back towards him.
"Did you?" Stefen queries, trying to hide the fact that he briefly looked like a deer caught in headlines. Y/N saw it however, and can easily see right through his innocent facade.
"Yeah..." Y/N confirms with a low voice and slow nod, giving the guy a pointed expression that no longer hides how he really feels about him. "What were you doing there?" He then interrogates, causing Stefan to take a moment to come up with something to say.
"Visiting."
"Visiting?" Y/N questions with a clearly unconvinced voice, as Stefan nods anyway, seemingly attempting to sell it anyway. Y/N half-heartedly chuckles at him before giving him a not-so-friendly look. "You know, you may have Elena and Caroline fooled, but I saw what I saw in the woods that night..... and the way you reacted upon seeing Vicki at the party.... clear shame and guilt."
Stefan takes a moment to process the way he's talking to him, before taking a step closer. "You didn't see anything." He flat out says, confusing Y/N, who just blinks.
"What?"
"You didn't see anything." Stefan says as he gets in Y/N's face, looking him deep in the eyes. "You saw an animal attack Vicki, that's all you remember." He states to him, the pupils in his eyes pulsating between small and big.
Y/N stands there..... looking hypnotized........
"What the fuck!?" Y/N exclaims as he abruptly shoves Stefan back with a peeved look, causing him to slightly fall back with a surprised expression on his face. "Did you just threaten me?" He questions, looking him up and down. "The others may think you're this sweet, mysterious guy.... but I got my eye on you." He promises as he points directly at him, before turning around, focusing on more important matters.
Stefan still stands there, watching him leave with a confused look.
Why didn't it work?
Minutes later, and the situation gets more dire as they've been searching for half an hour, and so far, still no luck. Y/N is now going down a random sidewalk, anxiously glancing around as he keep struggling with the fact that he might be looking in a wrong place, or that he should've stayed at another.
This cycle constantly repeats itself until the store's door that Y/N's standing in front of suddenly opens and the girl herself casually walks out. "Vicki!" He calls out, and as the girl turns to him, he sees that her wound has been exposed again. "Aw, geez you lost your bandages..." He notices with a wince as he walks up to her.
"It's fine, I'm fine, Y/N.... thanks." She tries waving it off, but Y/N knows that Matt is worried and will do him the favor of not taking her at her word.
"I know..." Y/N tells her with a fixed smile. As he starts guiding her back, the door opens again, and Y/N glances.... and does a double-take when it's Stefan that walks out next. "You too?" He questions with a pointed look. "What did-"
"No, no, no, Y/N, chill, it's alright." Vicki quickly puts a hand on his chest so she can defend Stefan. "He and some other dude found me on a rooftop and helped me get back down, we're all good." She assures him with a attempted smile. Y/N glances between both her and Stefan, who just looks at him with a blank expression on his face the entire time.
"Come on..." Y/N says as he brings her back to the Grill, pulling out his phone as he goes to text Matt with Stefan walking along behind him.
You: Found Vick, will meet you at the Grill.
Matt: Thank you so much! I'll tell the others!
Y/N then pockets his phone, giving Stefan one final suspicious glance before focusing on meeting back with the others.
Something's up with that guy, and nothing can convince Y/N otherwise....
__________________________
Mystic Grill:
Once back at the bar, Matt quickly helps Vicki get her wound patched up again, while the others stand by with relieved expressions on their faces, well... all except the obvious exception. "She looks fine, despite it tearing off, her injuries didn't get any worse." Matt notes as he finishes fixing up while Vick winces in mild pain.
"That's good..." Y/N comments with a slow nod, before the two notice Stefan walking into the bar. "And here's the savior..." He quips with a blank expression, as Matt stands up, approaching the guy.
"She said you found her wandering around." Matt points out, to which Stefan confirms with a nod. "So, um.... thanks." He expresses to him, noting the Salvatore guy as okay in his book. Stefan nods again as he walks towards Caroline and Bonnie, allowing Y/N to silently scoff.
"So it goes...." Y/N mutters, glancing down, causing Matt to curiously look at him.
"You still don't trust him?"
"Yes." Y/N simply answers, glaring holes into his back as he then leaves the table, leaving the girls to their devices, as well as a interestingly shocked looking Bonnie. "I don't like him." He bluntly says, to which Matt shrugs.
"To each their own, I guess..." He comments, not wanting to argue with him, and Y/N slowly nods.
To each their own....
__________________________________
L/N Residence:
With the day practically over, Y/N carries his to-go box of twelve wings, undeniably starved, all the way back home. Tired and having gone through an entire night of Vicki PTSD, he's ready to avoid his dad again as he steps through the front door. "I'm home!" He announces as he then goes down the hallway, while his father immediately turns towards him from the living room.
"Y/N." He calls out, quickly standing up as Y/N continues walking down the hallway, not responding. "Son, wait!" He demands and he rapidly speed-walks, touching his arm.
"What?!" Y/N questions with an annoyed expression. "You know what? Fine, just get the lecture over with so I can eat." He pleadingly says as he gives him a sarcastically expecting look, causing his father to sigh.
"It's not a lecture...."
"Really? That'd be a damn first, because the only times you show up is when I'm not at my 'absolute best', when I'm not being a 'pure L/N', as if I need to always be perfect all the fucking time for you to treat me like your son!" Y/N rants, getting close to shouting in his father's face. "So if it's not that, then what the heck is it?!" He questions him, as his dad glances down, trying to find the right words to express himself.
"Look..... you're right, the only reason I got such a massive leave, the only reason I came back, was because you got hurt, and you got drunk, and you probably took my car out." Dad confesses right in front of him, taking a soft step closer to him. "But that's because when I saw your face on the news, I thought, for a split second, that it was you that was attacked by the animal, and I realized that I was deeply worried for my boy." He tells him, as Y/N looks back with a unreadable expression. "Because that's what you are, even if I was such a dumbass that it took me this long to realize it."
"I want to believe you " Y/N tells him before shaking his head. "But I don't." He concludes with a blank expression. His father sighs before nodding at that emotionally tough statement.
"I know, and that's why I'm here..... to earn your trust." His father tells him, taking a deep breath. "So, please.... don't ignore me." He pleadingly requests from him. Not wanting to potentially get emotional in front of someone he still hates, Y/N only nods as he then turns around going back into his room, leaving his dad satisfied that he finally got to say that after forty-eight hours.
After consuming all of the wings in half an hour, Y/N then drops the box and cups that held the sauces into the trash before hitting the sack. For the rest of the night, his burping and chest pains never continued, allowing him to mentally confirm to himself that he just needed to puke it out. With everything concluded for the day, he finally takes his much wanted rest....
As his eyes shut, his shadow against the wall changes into a different figure, the spine bends and becomes visible as it pops up from its back, the fingernails change into deadly claws, the head cracks and morphs into something entirely different, something like... a deer skull, and it then grows it's deadly antlers.
It roars into the sky, even if nobody can hear it....
______________________________________________
(A/N) And that's it for Episode 2, hope you enjoyed the chapter, as I had an interesting time writing all of the stuff from the human's point of view instead of showcasing the vampire stuff right away.
Now, in truth, I plan to update this fanfic every Monday, but since I'm gonna be away for the rest of the weekend without electronics and such, I decided to update this to you guys today since it's already an hour long. This also explains the typos that I didn't have time to fix.
Also, in case you're still wondering, yes, we just met Katherine way early on.
Plz vote and comment, any counts as feedback, and I'll see you all in the next one.