Vampire Diaries Fanfic | Dawn of a New Day | 5.1 - Quiet Separation
Three days later at the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan made his way into the basement and towards the cell where Zach kept all his vervain hidden from plain sight. As he neared the cell, a creaking groan echoed to his ears, letting him know the person lying on the floor inside was finally starting to wake up.
Inside the cell, Damon was beginning to stir and a painfully searing feeling was constantly running through his veins. He tried to remember the last thing that happened while also trying to figure out where the hell he was. And after a couple of seconds, he realised what had happened to him – especially when the numbing pain around his neck finally registered.
"Ugh," Damon grumbled, barely able to open his eyes, "That bitch." The last face he saw before darkness was Olivia – she must have snapped his neck. He had to hand it to her, though, he never thought she'd do such a thing other than really deeply think about it. Honest to god, he had been completely caught off guard and he gave her props for that. Not that he'd actually say that out loud of course.
His mouth felt like it was filled with cotton balls and as he looked down at his hand, he realised that a piece of jewelry was missing from his finger. "Where's my ring?" He mumbled almost incoherently, now fully aware that someone had stopped just outside his cubical looking cell. He could also see just how many vervain plants were in the same room as him now that he was starting to wake up – both his blood and the air was pumping with the stuff. His nose twisted with tired annoyance, officially wanting payback.
There was a moment of silence.
"You won't be needing it anymore." Stefan finally told his brother, leaning against the metal cell door from the outside while his head poked through the barred hole.
Damon let out a low groan, "How long have I been here?"
"Three days."
He already knew what was happening, but he couldn't help but ask, "What're you doing?" He rolled over on the floor, feeling his clothing and hair soaked with sweat – he really needed a shower but knew his brother would never let him have one.
"During the Dark Ages when a vampire's actions threatened to expose or bring harm upon the entire race, they would face judgement." Stefan watched as his brother let out a hacking cough, rolling back over onto his side. "They sought to re-educate them rather than to punish them."
Damon tried licking his dry lips but even then they burned, "You know what will ... will happen to me if I don't ... feed on blood." He forced out his words, his throat was scratchy at best.
"You'll grow weaker and weaker." Stefan nodded, already knowing the process from beginning to end. He hated both doing and seeing this happen to his own brother, but it's for the good of everyone for this to happen – he knew now that Damon was never going to change his ways. "And eventually, you won't be able to move or speak. In a week your skin will desiccate, and you'll mummify and turn into a living corpse."
"You'll be unable to hurt anyone ... ever."
"So, what?-" Damon coughed, feeling his energy drain even more as he continued to talk, "-you're just gonna leave me in the ... the basement, forever?"
"I've injected you with enough vervain to keep you weak and once your circulation stops, I'll move you to the family crypt. And then in 50 years, we can re-evaluate."
Damon let out a strangled chuckle, unable to help but find his brothers' words amusing – he could think of a way or two to get out of this place, it's not like it's the first time he's had to break out of a vampire jail cell before. "I'm stronger than you think." He boasted but because of how little blood he had in him, and the fact that he felt like falling asleep, his words didn't really have much of the impact as they usually did.
"You always have been." Stefan couldn't help but agree, looking back on the past and all the times that those words have indeed been true. But this time, Damon would be wrong because he had the higher ground. "But you're not stronger that the vervain ... and we both know it."
Damon just turned his head away from the door, unable to disagree with that statement. Vervain was poison to all vampires, no matter how much blood they drank or what type. Even though deep down he knew this was a deserving punishment, he was still stubborn enough to hide that fact – he wanted to get out and chug down some much-needed blood.
He just needed a viable plan.
"I'm sorry." Stefan apologised, shaking his head while looking down, feeling just a touch guilty for having to do this to his own brother. If only Damon could have changed his ways or even left him alone and stayed away from Mystic Falls. "But you know it didn't have to be this way."
...
Olivia let out a deep sigh, snuggling deeper into her pillows as the light from the windows behind her streamed against her back. She hugged the pillow closer, her head turned to the side with an unhappy frown placed on her lips. She hadn't slept much last night, both because of the never ending nightmares and the fact that a lonely feeling had set up station within her again.
It's been THREE days since she last saw Stefan and she hated to admit it, but it was beginning to take a toll on her. She shouldn't be relying on one guy to make her feel happy but it's like she couldn't help it – she now felt miserable. She really had thought that the night after the party she'd see Stefan standing outside her window like he had after the Fall's party. But he hadn't and that's when it started getting bad for her.
Yesterday had been a school day and to be honest, it had been the worst day she's had in months. Realising it quickly, it had been the first day back at school when Stefan wasn't attending. He hadn't been at school and all she had been left with was a voicemail Friday night after she went to bed.
Hey, Liv. Damon's locked up and I've injected more vervain into his system and uh, I'm gonna keep an eye on him for a couple of days so I'll uh, see you soon.
A few times her finger had hovered over the call button but at the last second, she stopped herself. Stubbornly, she wanted him to be the one to call her and well, that hasn't exactly been going down very well, has it?
A knock sounded on the door.
"Liv?" The sound of Elena's voice appeared through the door, easily reaching the vampire's ears. When Olivia made no effort to get up to answer her bedroom door, nor even reply to her sister's voice, another knock turned up in volume. "Olivia, come on." The twin wasn't backing down, "It's time for school soon." It stayed silent.
Olivia picked up a low groan and following that, the sound of the door opening.
Elena opened the door to find her twin curled up in the bed sheets, not moving a single muscle so it looked as thought she was asleep. Her twin instinct was telling her something different, though. Closing the door behind her, she walked over to her sister's bed, plopping herself on top of the covers before laying behind her. Her body was turned on the side, now looking towards the sister that was trying to bury herself deeper into the covers.
"Come on," Elena pushed Olivia's body a little, knowing she was awake under there. "Tell me what's on your mind." Hoping to have a proper conversation without mumbles. She didn't exactly truly know what happened between Stefan and her sister, but she was sure that some kind of argument had gone down. Especially by the fact that Stefan hadn't called or come over in a while.
"It's nothing, Lena." Olivia mumbled into the sheets, not coming out of her cocoon. It also helped with stopping her sister's scent from reaching her nose because come to think of it, the last time she had a drop of blood touch her lips was yesterday afternoon – and it hadn't exactly been much.
"Liar."
Oliva's mind flashed back to the moment she snapped Damon's neck – that had been his last single word before she made him drop.
"Now, tell me what happened because I am not letting you off this bed until you do."
Oh, no. Olivia thought, knowing by the tone of her sister's voice that she was completely serious. The burn in her throat started to become more apparent. She's really doing this to me, isn't she?
With the feeling of defeat, she slowly emerged her head from the covers, her eyes just barely grazing over the materials. "I think I screwed it up, Lena." Olivia revealed, looking just a touch guilty. The words she said to Stefan kept flying around in her head and the scenes kept on playing past her eyes. Part of her knew what she said had been appropriate and relevant to how she was feeling, but maybe she had pushed too hard on the subject of demanding to know more about Stefan? But, was she just being stupid now because there's been no such communication with Stefan since that night? "I pretty much demanded to know more about Lyla and more personal things about him when it was clear he didn't want to speak about it."
Olivia stared at her sister like she wanted her question of 'Did I do the right thing?' answered. But much to her surprise, Elena was nodding with approval, a little smile on her lips.
"Good." Elena said bluntly, knowing her sister had done the exact right thing because it's something she would have done in that situation.
Olivia blinked, "Huh?" Lifting her head of the covers just a touch more.
Elena sent her a reassuring look, knowing what her sister was going through because believe it or not, she had been through the exact same thing with Matt. At one point in their relationship, she had felt like Matt was keeping something from her – and it had gotten to a point where she needed to know in order to know where they stood as a couple. "You did the right thing, Liv." She said, "And I'm pretty sure Caroline would actually agree with me on this one too."
"If Stefan doesn't come around and lay out his cards on the table, then maybe he isn't the one after all? And now..." Elena continued, raising a daring eyebrow, "If you don't get out of this bed within the next FIVE minutes, I will call Caroline and tell her that you're still lying in bed and wallowing over a guy who doesn't even have the guts to face you." If Stefan HAD come over since then, her sister wouldn't exactly be acting completely like this.
Olivia groaned, flopping her head back down again, knowing Elena would also do that. Even though she's a vampire now, Caroline still scared her sometimes. "Okay, okay, fine." She grumbled into the pillow, "I'll get up ... but only if you leave." She had to get her sister out of here because the bloodlust was growing even further – she needed to chug down a blood bag and quickly.
Elena let out a small huff, a smile on her face, "Fine then, be like that." Pretending to be hurt by the ultimatum but she did get up anyway, rolling her eyes before leaving the room. She knew Olivia would get up this time so there was no need for any more threats on her part.
As the door closed behind Elena, her sister gave a small sigh of relief before stripping the covers off her body – quickly getting off the bed. She bent down, looked underneath and sitting right there and plugged into the socket was her little refrigerator. She had to move it again over the weekend when she realised that hiding it in a closet may not be the smartest idea.
A full blood bag was downed in less than a few seconds and as it filled Oliva's stomach full, she let out a deep breath while relishing in the taste. She hated this – the taste was so delicious and looking down at the empty packet, she also wanted to hurl in disgust with what she had to do on pretty much a daily basis. Sometimes, she didn't really know how Lexi could do it – drink the blood and not think about what type of monster they were forced to become. But she knew that the vampire had been one for hundreds of years now and was probably more than capably adjusted.
Throwing away the empty blood sack into a plastic bag, she heaved out a sigh and nearly regretted her decision to get up as soon as she went for the clothes she was going to be wearing today.
'Lena's right,' Olivia told herself with a sudden burst of a determination, 'It's Stefan's move to make and if he doesn't make it – I might as well get used to being a single vampire again with a social-functioning issue.'
...
"He's awake." Stefan noted to Zach as he shouldered his backpack, all ready for school. "He's weak, but it's probably best to stay out of the basement." He advised, not wanting to see the only living Salvatore in Mystic Falls end up like the rest – dead and by the hands of Damon Salvatore. He knew his brother was probably thinking up a couple of schemes that could get him out and back to the land of the humans again. He was just glad that Zach actually drank vervain every day and has done for decades. It was a small comfort to him despite the fact that Damon could do much worse in spite of that. "He's Damon, but still dangerous even if he is shutting down."
Zach was in the kitchen with a mug of coffee in his hand, listening intently. He was nodding, understanding because he knew the basis of what his vampire ancestor could do, "You're going to school?" He suddenly caught sight of the school bag on Stefan's shoulder. He was a little confused because a part of him thought that once Damon was done and dusted with, he'd maybe move away from town and leave him be. But then Olivia came to mind, and he knew that scenario wasn't exactly realistic after all.
"Yeah," Stefan nodded, glancing towards the front door. He was itching to get back to that place, which is pretty silly considering any vampire would stay away from going back to school. But he wanted to go back. He needed to make things right with Olivia and he realised now – he's been such a dick and she was right, he hasn't really said anything about himself before, at least not much. And in her eyes, he really was still the mystery guy she met outside the bathroom that day. "I came here to live a life and I plan on continuing with that, and with Olivia..." He shook his head, "If she's still speaking to me of course."
Zach's brows furrowed with confusion, "Why haven't you called her?" It's not like the vampire part of the deal was a secret.
"Cause I'm an idiot." He answered plain and simple. "I want to protect her from my past but she doesn't want to stay in the dark about it."
"Then tell her." The human Salvatore simply stated, shrugging his shoulders like it wasn't such a big deal. "The connection between any relationship is truth and trust, and if you can't be truthful with her, then why are you even going back to school?"
...
"The sexy suds car wash is tomorrow." Caroline said, her arms full of flyers while she and Olivia travelled down the hallway just before first class was to start. This car wash was something she had arranged completely, well, mostly by herself with the help of a few others, and by a few, she meant Olivia. Even though Olivia was no longer a part of the cheerleading squad, Caroline was still forcing her to attend events that she could clearly help with. Besides, at least they'll be able to spend time together then instead of how they used to with practice.
"The football team and the band have committed," The blonde continued, pausing in the hallway to paste another flyer onto the wall for everyone to see. This car wash was actually a fundraiser in remembrance of the late Mr. Tanner. Everyone in the school had mostly dealt with the fact that their never going to see they're most hated teacher again ... some were actually glad, even though that sounds particularly bad to say towards a dead person. "Well, not all the band ... just the ones who can pull off a bikini like you and me."
Olivia tried not to think about the bikini part, that's something she wasn't completely comfortable with but for Caroline's sake, she stayed quiet played along.
"I want in-your-face sexy. I mean, it's a fundraiser for god sake."
Obviously, it had been the same amount of time for Caroline since Damon disappeared, and she seemed to be okay with it – on the outside. But knowing Caroline, she was probably hiding all the emotions deep inside. It hurt Olivia to know that she had been responsible for Damon to be, well, gone ... but it was the right thing to do. Getting rid of Damon would protect Mystic Falls and most of all the people she cared about in this small secluded town.
"Do you still have that cute purple bikini you used last summer?" Olivia was jolted out of her mind when Caroline asked her question. The blonde was looking at her expectantly, waiting for her answer.
"Uh," Olivia tried to think back as it's been a while since she's actually been swimming at all. "Yeah, I think so." Her body hasn't exactly changed much in a year so she should be good to wear it. The only thing, she's definitely going to be wearing a pair of shorts along with her bikini ... maybe even a thin shirt. Caroline just said they had to look sexy, right?
"Good." Caroline nodded with approval as they approached her locker, "Wear that." She ordered before turning towards her locker, beginning to go through the combination on the lock. As she finished, a figure unnoticeably moved over to them from the side. Olivia was leaning against the locker beside Caroline's but her body was turned towards her best friend.
"Hey," A male voice cut through the air, making both Olivia's and Caroline's head snap over to it in surprise. It was Stefan. You could tell that Olivia was at least a bit shocked by seeing him there, especially after having nearly zilch communication over the last couple of days.
"Stefan?!" Caroline exclaimed, blinking away for a second before a smile lifted on her face. She glanced over to her best friend and forgot about the fact that she needed school books from her locker because she promptly closed it and held the flyers still close to her chest. "I'll leave you two alone." Wanting them to make up after whatever happened on Friday; they looked so great on that dance floor at the Founder's Party but she did understand where Olivia was coming from. It was about time that Stefan started to break out of this 'mystery guy' shell he had going on for him.
As Caroline left the two alone, walking down the part of the hallway she came in from, Stefan turned his full attention to Olivia. She was looking around awkwardly, not really sure what to say, to be honest.
Stefan was the first to cut the silence.
"I am so sorry I haven't called." He apologized first-hand, looking guilty.
Olivia sent him a smile, but it showed no happiness behind it, more like annoyance, "No worries," She shrugged, trying to make it seem like it didn't matter to her, but really, it meant a whole lot. "I'll live." No pun intended. "You had to deal with Damon, I get it." Although, she didn't understand why that didn't warrant a call or two.
"Yeah, he's been dealt with," Stefan told, his eyes flickering around while his voice lowered just a touch. There were a lot of people walking about in the hallways so it wasn't too likely he'll be overheard anyway. "His body's finally shutting down."
Olivia slowly nodded, crossing her arms across her chest, "Okay..." She said slowly, "Is that it?" If he's not going to talk, she'll just walk the other way like Elena suggested. She did understand the Damon situation, but still, it felt like she was being left out in the cold.
"No," Stefan shook his head, instantly stating, "You were right ... at the party, I haven't exactly been the most open person and I'm sorry it took me this long to realize. How about I cook dinner tonight and you can get to know the real me?" He reached forwards and grasped one of her hands, he felt her grip gently onto his as well.
At his suggestion, something inside her started to lift. She could feel that familiar bubbly feeling crawling back into her again as a small smile started making its way onto her lips. Her eyes lit up just as his did, "Okay," She nodded after a moment, repeating his words in her head to make sure she had heard him right. "I'd like that."
Note: For those who were inquiring on when Elena will find out about Olivia being a vampire, it'll be in the last chapter of this episode. Not too long how ... ooo. How do you think Elena will react?
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