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"Please stay where you are, don't come any closer. Don't try to change my mind, I'm being cruel to be kind."
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BLAIR POV
"Are you still mad at me?" Stefan asks as we hike up the trail in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee.
I don't answer because to be honest, I am mad. I still can't get over the fact that twelve hours ago I was so close to killing someone, and worst of all Stefan was the one who told me to do it.
"We had to warn them. It was the only way to make a point," Stefan explains as he carries a dead Ray on his back.
After wolfsbane poisoning, stabbing, and a beating from Klaus, Klaus finally decided to turn him, snapping his neck after feeding him his blood.
"There are better ways to warn people than killing. I though you of all people knew that," I say.
"Yeah, well that was before Damon got us into this mess," Stefan says nonchalantly.
"Do you really blame Damon for this? He's our brother! We've sacrificed everything for him, because he's family," I hiss, trying to stay quiet with Klaus walking a dozen feet ahead of us. "I even sacrificed my own car," I mutter, remembering my suit ride that James helped me pick out.
"I'm not doing this now," Stefan sighs.
"Is this whole thing you're doing an act? The whole 'I don't care that I'm a ripper and kill people because I'm Klaus's minion'?" I ask.
"You're lucky I haven't turned my humanity off," he says grimly.
"Why haven't you?" I ask out of curiosity.
He doesn't respond, so I scoff and shake my head.
"Whatever," I mutter. I know there must be a reason he hasn't shut his humanity off, and I'm determined to figure it out.
"If you two are done with your little brother-sister chit chat, then would you mind picking up the pace? I can hear Ray's pack up ahead," Klaus says from the top of the hill.
I vamp speed up the hill leaving Stefan as he trudges up the hill with Ray on his back.
He makes it up the hill leaving the three of us standing there, observing the scene of tents and a dozen people camping around.
"My, my, I think we've found our pack," Klaus says before walking towards them.
Stefan and I follow, stopping when our presence has been noticed. Stefan drops Ray's body on the ground as a girl immediately comes running over shouting his name.
"Who are you?" the girl says, whimpering over Ray's body.
"Me? Well, my name is Klaus," Klaus says.
The girl gasps and stands back with the rest of the pack who have gathered around.
"Y- you-you're the hybrid," she stutters.
I smirk, finding some sort of satisfaction from her fear. I don't know why, but her fear makes me feel powerful. I immediately shake it off and look to the ground.
"Great, you've heard of me," Klaus says, as an array of gasps and shocked expressions fill the faces of the pack.
JAMES POV
"Did you put vervain in the coffee again mate?" I ask Matt behind the bar.
"Yeah, sorry. Do you want me to make you a separate cup?" he asks.
"If you don't mind," I say kindly. He nods and walks off leaving Alaric and I sitting here as we each do our own thing.
For the past hour I've been researching different storage places around Mystic Falls where Elijah might be placed while Alaric researches different known wolf packs along the east coast.
After last night's encounter with Blair I needed something to work on. I saw the look in her eyes, and I know she's still herself. I saw how she looked at Stefan when he killed Andie. Any doubt that they were a lost cause is now replaced with hope we can win them back- or Blair at least. Stefan might be the challenge, but I refuse to give up on him.
"How do you guys feel about taking a hike up the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee?" Elena asks, her hands placed on our shoulders.
"Is this another lead Sheriff Forbes told you?" Alaric asks.
"No, I did research. There's a pack in that forest, and I think they're Klaus's next victims," she says.
Alaric scoffs and closes the laptop he's been staring at the past hour, researching the same thing Elena is telling us about.
"That's an hour I'll never get back," he mutters.
I clap him on the back and turn to Elena. "Do you think it's worth a shot?" I ask her. She nods enthusiastically, my stomach turning just thinking about seeing Blair again.
I turn to Alaric who looks at the two of us disapprovingly, like we're two eager children looking for approval.
"You do realize the full moon is tonight, right?" he asks.
"We'll be back before the full moon," Elena says, like she's got this all planned out. I nod, agreeing with her plan.
Alaric glances between the two of us and purses his lips.
"You two aren't going to give this up are you? You're gonna go anyways right?" Alaric asks.
"Probably," I say, while Elena says, "Yup."
Alaric sighs and runs his hands down his face. "I'm not even going to try to stop you two love birds, but you can't stop me from going with you," he says.
I laugh and turn to Matt across the bar. "I'm going to have to take a rain check on that coffee mate."
• • •
"Still wish you didn't come?" I ask, stopping to look at Alaric who struggles to climb up the steep forest hill.
His face drips with sweat and Elena keeps up a fast pace while I walk with no problem. I guess that's part of the reason I ended up carrying all the backpacks.
"Not all of us are a thousand year old vampires. Plus, you haven't drank over five bottles of bourbon the past week," Alaric says, stopping to put his head in between his knees.
"Maybe we should stop here," Elena says, stopping by the edge of a lake.
"Good idea," I say, dropping the overly heavy backpack on the ground. I didn't pack it but from what I saw Alaric packed a couple bottles of wolfsbane, a small collection of travel size weapons and even chains.
"See Alaric, isn't it nice to get some fresh air?" Elena jokes. "I don't k-"
Elena is cut off as she screams. I stand up and glance around but Elena is in the water, fully drenched.
Alaric holds up his mini crossbow and I look around in a defensive stance, my eyes landing on Damon.
"You're right. It is nice to get out. Especially on a night of a full moon," Damon says.
I furrow my brows at him while Elena asks, "How are you here Damon?"
"Thanks for the tip buddy," he says, clapping Alaric on the back.
"Did you really bloody invite him?" I growl, turning to Alaric.
"Did you really think I wouldn't invite backup?" he fires back.
"Glad to see you have faith in James, Alaric. It's not like he's the same age as an original," Elena says sarcastically, stepping out from the water.
"He may be as old as an original, but unlike them he can still die. He's not immune to the bite," Alaric says, defending himself.
"Or maybe it's because he wants bait. I mean, Damon has experience with werewolves," I say, picking up the backpack and throwing it at him. "Maybe, he plans on throwing you to the wolves while we all make a run for it."
"Very funny," Damon says as he catches the backpack, swinging it on his shoulders. "So what is your plan anyways James?"
"Actually, it's our plan," Elena says.
"Oh yeah? Well you know what I think? I think it's stupid," Damon says. "Klaus is suppose to think you're dead Elena, and this is not safe. You need to go home."
Damon walks towards Elena, but I step in front of him.
"She's made it this far, she's not going home. This is one of few chances we'll have at getting them back, or at least to try and get through to them," I say.
"What-are you going to protect her?" Damon asks. "Stefan and Blair warned us for a reason, and Andie paid the price."
"I'm here to protect everyone. No one needs to get hurt tonight," I say calmly.
"Good luck with that. It appears I'm the only one thinking straight," Damon says, shaking his head and walking off, the rest of us following behind.
BLAIR POV
"There. They should be waking up soon," Klaus says, clapping his hands together while stepping back to admire all the dead bodies of the pack who have Klaus's blood flowing through their veins.
I winced every time Klaus snapped their necks while Stefan sat there admiring his finger nails. I have no idea why he is acting so ruthless, but I wonder if it's an act or if it truly makes things easier. Maybe giving into the darkness is the only way to survive this.
"They're all dead," Ray says. He was the only one who had woken up and completed his transformation. He was apparently the newest hybrid. That is until I see a drop of blood seep through his eye and down his face.
"What the hell?" I say, pointing at him.
"I'm guessing that's not suppose to happen," Stefan says, as Rays' eyes drip with blood like he's crying.
"Quite the master race. Scary too," I say, crossing my arms across my chest.
"Yeah, straight out of a horror movie," Stefan chimes in.
"Lose the attitude," Klaus snaps.
I hold my hands up in surrender and step back, just as another one of the pack members jumps awake.
"Great, looks like another failure has awakened," Stefan says.
Ray suddenly growls and leaps over the dead bodies, sprinting deeper into the forest running away.
"You two can go catch him seeing you could use some exercise to get rid of your snarky attitudes," Klaus says, motioning for us to follow Ray.
Stefan doesn't hesitate to run after him while I stand there glaring at Klaus who only glares back. I sigh, but follow Stefan.
"Where is h- STEFAN!" I yell as Ray is on top of Stefan, plunging his hybrid fangs into his forearm. Stefan yells out in pain while Rays runs off.
"Oh my god. Klaus!" I yell, bending down to Stefan's side, examining the werewolf bite.
"Oo, nasty bite," Klaus says walking towards us.
"Yeah, so fix it," I say, reaching for his arm. He grabs my wrist and squeezes it tightly.
"Your brother gets the cure once he and you catch Ray. So you better hurry and work on your sibling team work," Klaus says deviously.
I pull my hand from Klaus's strong grasp and turn to Stefan who gives me a nod.
We both turn and run in the direction of Ray's growls, leaving Klaus behind to deal with the rest of the pack.
• • •
"Damn it Stefan, we've been running around for hours. It's already dark," I say.
"I know," he says calmly.
"How's your arm?" I ask him. He doesn't answer, so I grab his arm, looking at the all too familiar wound as it infects his body.
"Stefan," I say calmly, but a growl near us distracts me. Stefan hears it too, and runs off towards it before I can stop him.
He sprints into the dark forest leaving me standing there. I don't know what to do. A part of me just wants to run away and escape Klaus, but I know that will only result in punishment. He'll kill Stefan, Damon and even James before I have a chance to get to them.
So, I follow in the direction Stefan went, dodging branches and trees until I reach an opening. Ray stands there with Stefan in front of him along with two other men.
One of them stands behind Ray, tearing out his heart, dropping it to the ground along with Ray's lifeless body. Ray's body hits the ground revealing his killer: James, along with Damon who stands beside him.
"You guys aren't suppose to be here," I say, their attention turning to me.
"Neither are you two," James says, stepping forwards.
"Were we not clear before, or do we need to make another example out of somebody?" Stefan asks.
"You really expect us to give up? Elena and Alaric are here too because we care. Can you not see that?" James asks, his voice draining.
I feel tears in my eyes but I force them back. Stefan has been right to be acting the way he has. His attitude and ruthlessness is pushing people away. It's easier to shut people out.
"That's the problem. Stop caring, because-" I pause. "Because we aren't coming back. At least not for a long time."
James looks at me with a hurt expression that it pains me to look at him- so much that I turn away. He walks towards me and lifts my chin up, forcing me to look at him. We stand inches apart, and suddenly it's as if it's only me and him alone in the forest.
"You expect me to just stop caring?" he asks.
"No," I whisper. "I expect you to know when to let me go."
"Blair, Klaus is going to be waiting. If we don't go he'll come looking," Stefan says.
Neither James nor I move as we stand here, his hands cupping my face, searching my eyes.
"James, we need to go. Klaus can't know we were here. He'll punish them," Damon says.
"James," I begin, but I'm cut off as he places his lips on mine, the gentle pressure making my stomach erupt with butterflies the same way it did the first time we kissed. Memories of our first kiss fill my mind, and I find myself wanting more. I want to go home again.
I don't move and he breaks away, not moving his hands as he looks me in the eyes. "Let that give you strength to keep going. Stay alive, and don't lose hope," he says, releasing me.
Stefan grabs my arm and pulls me back.
"Goodbye James. Goodbye Damon," I say.
Stefan and I turn and run into the dark forest, disappearing back to Klaus carrying Ray's dead body.
JAMES POV
The image of Blair from tonight is engraved in my mind as I can't help but wonder if she is still herself. Her eyes were so scared but masked by her bravery as she tried to act like she didn't care.
"What was the plan today James? Just take Stefan and Blair and hope Klaus doesn't come chasing after them?" Damon asks, sitting in the chair adjacent to me in the living room of the boarding house.
"I don't know. I guess I wanted to give her something to hold onto so she doesn't lose herself." I say, remembering the brief kiss.
We sit in the living room, letting the sound of burning wood from the fireplace fill the silence.
"You were right, by the way," Damon says a few minutes later.
"About what?" I ask.
"They aren't a lost cause. We shouldn't give up on them," he replies.
"What made you realize that?" I ask.
"While you and Blair were having your little 'moment', I couldn't help but notice how Stefan had saved my life by pushing me out of Ray's way. Even in his darkest time, he was still looking out for me. His whole attitude is an act, but I think we can still get through to him. To both of them," Damon explains.
"I don't know if I got through to her," I say, staring at the fireplace.
"Either I or Elena can get through to Stefan, but there's only one person who can get through to her. And that's you," Damon says sincerely.
I shake my head. "I don't know. You didn't see the look in her eyes." I say.
"Well what do you suggest we do?" Damon asks.
I sigh, "I think it's about time we go find Elijah."
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[completed & edited: 08/13/2021]