"Do you think Bonnie's going to be okay?" Lyn asked Elena as they brushed their teeth side by side. She was worried about how finding out about vampires would affect Bonnie's mental health. Lyn needed to focus on Bonnie right now, lest she be swept up in her own emotions. Dr. Clinton had told her on multiple occasions that all her time spent focusing on other people's emotions was her way of avoiding her own.
"Bonnie will be fine. She's strong." Elena said, though it sounded more like she was trying to reassure herself rather than Lyn. Elena's train of thought got disconnected as her eyes slid over to Jeremy's room. She tapped Lyn on the shoulder, and Lyn followed where Elena was looking to see Jeremy sketching for what was the first time in months. A wide grin broke out on both girls' faces as they continued to see Jeremy's improvement. "Jeremy's got his sketch pad out," Elena announced to Jenna as they descended the stairs.
"You're kidding," Jenna exclaimed in disbelief.
"Nope!" Lyn said, popping the 'p.'
"Neither of you say a word; the minute we encourage him, he'll put it away." Elena lectured.
"Pyscology major." Jenna reminded. "Check that." Elena looked at her phone, and Lyn could physically see Elena deflate as she realized there were no updates from Stefan. "You and Stefan? Update?" Jenna inquired.
"He knows how I feel and where I stand, and I know where he stands, but it doesn't matter," Elena said resignedly as she packed up her purse. "He's leaving, moving away."
"Where's he going?" Jenna wondered.
"Transylvania," Lyn said simply, laughing inwardly.
"What?" Jenna questioned.
"Ignore her." Elena sighed, glaring at her sister. "I don't know; I've stopped asking questions. The answers get scary." Jenna scoffed as the three women exited the house.
"Yours leaves. Mine returns." She mused
"Logan?" Elena wondered.
"He's back." Both teenagers groaned in disgust. "I didn't let him past the front door." Jenna defended.
"I hope you slammed it in his face," Lyn suggested.
"Ah, medium slam," Jenna recalled as they made their way towards the cars.
"Three-strike rule, Jenna." Elena reprimanded. "You're not even allowed to watch the news."
"Exactly. No more Logan 'Scum' Fell." The three girls laughed as they parted ways.
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Lyn walked through the halls of Mystic Falls High School with Bonnie and Elena. They strolled casually as they walked up on Matt and Caroline, talking and laughing together. Lyn smiled at the happiness Caroline was displaying. "Did I miss something? "Elena asked as she looked at the two.
"They've been hanging out." Bonnie provided.
"Kind of weird, don't you think?" Elena wondered.
"She needs someone nice like him as opposed to a homicidal vampire like Damon." Bonnie spat out.
"Preach!" Lyn agreed.
"Speaking of, how are you doing with all that?" Elena wondered.
"I'm freaked out," Bonnie admitted. "Damon attacked me. I could be dead right now, but I'm also grateful."
"Hmm?" Elena inquired.
"To Sefan." Bonnie elaborated. "He saved my life and... Have you seen him?" She asked. Lyn slapped her lightly and shook her head, but Elena had already heard, and her voice took on a somber tone.
"Not since he told me he was leaving," Elena said, shoving things into her locker whilst Bonnie and Lyn shared concerned glances. "For all I know, he's already gone."
"He wouldn't leave without saying goodbye." Lyn insisted.
"Yes, he would." Elena insisted. "He thinks he's protecting me. Clean break and all that."
"So what are you going to do?" Bonnie asked.
"What am I supposed to do?" Elena retorted, "I already begged him not to go. If I ask again, I'm being selfish. It is what it is."
"Well, maybe it's for the best," Bonnie exclaimed.
"What? Why?" Elena protested
"I mean, what kind of future could you have had with him, even if he stayed?" Bonnie rationalized. The banner the kids on ladders were hanging suddenly dropped to the ground, and Elena turned to Bonnie questioningly.
"Did you just...?"
"No, I swear." Bonnie denied. Elena swatted the banner away and marched off. "Is she gonna be okay?" Bonnie asked Lyn.
"Yeah." Lyn sighed. "It'll take some time, but she'll be okay."
"And what about you?"
"What about me?" Lyn sputtered in response to Bonnie's interrogation. Bonnie just gave her a knowing look, and Lyn sighed again. "I don't know..." The bell rang suddenly, and Lyn used that as her chance to slip away. "I'll see you later." She mumbled, trying to shake off the uncomfortableness she had been desperately trying to escape.
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Lyn wandered around the career fair aimlessly. She found herself at the booth she had expected to end up at. Law. As a little girl, one of the reasons that she had looked up to her father so much was how hard he worked to help people. After seeing the amazing work that he had done for everyone, she had set her mind that she was going to choose a career path where she could help people, too.
Despite always admiring her father's career choice, Lyn had no interest in being a doctor. It was when she wrote her first high school argumentative paper that she knew being a lawyer was her calling. As soon as she figured that out, she had settled on being a human rights lawyer. She would be able to help people without seeing their intestines. "Hey, Care. Hi, Sheriff Forbes." Lyn greeted as she spotted the two blondes among the crowd.
"Hello, Lyn." the sheriff greeted as Caroline quickly linked her arm with Lyn's. Over the past few weeks, Lyn had taken to spending more time at the Forbes household. She had hated how her own actions had made Caroline feel so left out, and she promised herself that she would remedy that. Lyn followed Caroline as they dragged the sheriff behind them. "What are you doing?" She asked her daughter as Caroline led them over to a booth.
"Following my future." They all arrived at the intended booth. "There it is."
"Broadcast journalism?" Sheriff Forbes questioned in disbelief.
"Yes. Broadcast journalisim." Lyn smiled at her friend as Caroline turned excitedly to her mother. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She wondered, seeing the baffled look on her mother's face.
"You don't even read the paper." The sheriff countered. Caroline only glared a bit before pivoting and walking in the opposite direction.
"Sheriff," Lyn began, and Sheriff Forbes turned to face her. "Caroline does read the paper. She has Mobile News on her phone, and she is always talking about current events, not to mention the fact that she's at the top of the class in public speaking." The Sheriff sighed in disappointment with herself. "Talk to her; she only wants you to be proud of her. She'll understand.
"Thanks," She mumbled dejectedly. Lyn smiled sympathetically and went to go find Elena and Jenna.
"Hey!" She greeted as she met the two plus Stefan in the hallway.
"Hey," Jenna welcomed as she pulled Lyn closer to her. She immediately noticed Stefan's tense posture. He grabbed onto Elena's hand just as Logan 'Scum' Fell approached the four.
"Jenna, are you dodging me?" He wondered. To Lyn, Logan had always seemed a bit strange, but as she looked into his eyes, it was not weirdness that she saw. It was manic. He looked unhinged like a predator looming in on its prey.
"It's a form of self-preservation." Jenna bit out. Noticing how uncomfortable Jenna looked, Lyn swooped in.
"What my aunt is trying to say is no one wants you here, Mr. Clark Kent wanna be." She spat. Logan smirked menacingly, and for a split second, the manic in his eyes became totally unhinged.
"Um, Elena, why don't you Lyn and Jenna go somewhere else," Stefan suggested. Elena caught on quickly and dragged her sister and aunt away from the vampires and back into the gym.
"When Logan came to the house, what did he say?" Elena questioned as soon as they were back in the gymnasium. Lyn was confused for a moment before she realized what Elena was hinting at. Logan Fell had disappeared for weeks before showing up suddenly and making Stefan nervous; he was a vampire.
"Fake flattery, stupid dimpled grin," Jenna complained. "Puppy dog eyes.
"I'm serious, Jenna. What did he say? How did he act?" Elena interrogated.
"He was the usual Logan, was charming, a little more manic than usual. He kept trying to convince me to let him in. What?" She questioned as Lyn and Elena both shared scared expressions.
"Okay, listen to me very carefully." Elena began. "Do not under any circumstances talk to him again. "I'm serious, Jenna, like ever." Jenna seemed confused for a moment before Mr. Saltzman approached them.
"Hey, Elena, Lyn." He greeted. "Jenna."
"Hi, Mr. Saltzman." Lyn greeted.
"I was hoping to, uh, see you tonight." He told Jenna flirtatiously.
"Career night is the new bowling." She grinned back. They both smiled at each other enticingly.
"Okay, excuse us," Elena said and dragged Lyn away, but not before she had the chance to wiggle her eyebrows suggestively at Jenna.
🛞🛞🛞
Lyn lay in her bed as she stared up at the ceiling. She was so tired of all this. She just wanted to have one night where she was not worrying about vampire bullshit. Caroline almost died tonight. And she couldn't thank the universe enough that her best friend was safe at home. But try as she might to convince herself, the universe was not on her side, and it never had been. She lay awake at night, unaware of the plans the universe truly had for her.
In another place across the world, a very old man had the exact same thoughts as he drifted off into an uneasy sleep. He knew what this dream would be about. He was prepared to see everyone he failed to protect just out of his grasp.
The night was young, and he was outside of an unfamiliar house. He didn't know what awaited him inside the house, but there was something pushing him to find out. Never in his many years had he truly felt safe, but as he neared the house, he could not explain the undeniable warmth that was building in his chest. He reached for the door, vaguely aware of his own movements. He was about to go in, to go home just before he could, the world before him was whisked away.