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"You know where my heart is, the same place yours has been."
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TWENTY MINUTES EARLIER
STEFAN POV
You would think that the ridiculously strong wind blowing through Mystic Falls would be the only normal thing occurring right now between the chaos of lifting the vail and tracking down Silas, but it's not. This wind is in result to Bonnie's powerful magic which she's using to link all of the three sacrifice hot spots to draw power in order to complete the spell.
"Are you sure leaving Blair at home was a good idea? What's to stop her from chasing after us?" I ask James who walks along side me. We've been walking through the school for a good hour looking for Bonnie, while Damon and Joel have gone another way.
"She can't even if she tried, trust me," James answers dully, checking his watch to make sure we still have enough time until the moon rises to it's highest peak.
"Why?" I question.
"Because I called in a favour with Elijah, and he no doubt brought along Klaus. They're at the house right now," James explains, making me raise my brows.
"You called in a babysitter?" I tease, smiling to myself. I can't imagine how pissed off Blair is at the moment being cooped up in a house with a toddler, James's best friend, and her long entitled enemy. "Do you know how mad she's going to be? You haven't even seen her go full mad Branson. You might want to break things off and run for the hills before you suffer her wrath," I joke, knowing my sister all too well. She might be my twin, but she's more alike to Damon than I know she's willing to admit. They aren't the best at controlling their anger.
James forces an anxious laugh. "Yeah, I know. I would rather her safe at home with Theo than running around a pitch black school with Silas though, wouldn't you?" he points out.
"You're right," I agree, thinking about what he said. The more I think about it and the more I realize just how much James really does care for my sister, the more do I appreciate him as my friend.
"You're good for her, you know. I know it took a while for her to realize that, but you're good for her. Thank you for being there for her when we weren't," I say sincerely, walking with my head down.
I've known James for 145 years, and over the course of that time I have gotten to know him as a person. In some ways he's totally opposite to Blair through his personality and attitude, but in some ways they're alike. They're two very important people in my life, and all I want is for them to be happy.
James turns to me and smiles, placing a firm grasp on my shoulder as we walk. "She's good for me too," he says.
With that we both keep walking, letting the silence fill in as we both think to ourselves. There's so many things racing through our minds it's hard to keep an optimistic mood about everything. So many things can happen and so many things could go wrong. Silas could be anywhere, Bonnie could drop the vail completely, and most importantly, someone could get hurt. The chances of something bad happening is extremely high, too high for my liking.
We complete our circle around the school, concluding that Bonnie is not here, but to our luck someone else is. James and I share nervous glances at the sound of someone whizzing around behind us, the sound of footsteps surrounding us.
Lights begin to flicker, turning our attention behind us only to hear footsteps in front of us. We both spin on our heels so fast I feel like a ballerina, but I'm prepared to attack only to come face to face with a familiar blonde- a blonde I didn't think I would ever see again.
"Lexi?" I gape, processing the figure in front of me. She has her hands placed on her hips and a huge grin on her face as she laughs at our reactions.
"Hello, boys. I thought your witch hunting days were over?" she teases.
Neither James nor I say anything as we stand there in shock, not realizing that the only reason she can be here right now is if Bonnie has taken down the vail to the other side. It doesn't hit us yet that all our problems are only beginning, as the only thing that matters right now is the person standing in front of us.
"Well? Are you just going to stand there or are you going to give me a hug?" Lexi questions, opening up her arms.
I laugh as James takes one large stride to embrace his sister into a hug, lifting her up into the air to twirl her around. He lets go and puts her down, allowing me to hug her. Just the feeling of being able to hold her again means the world to me and is enough to calm my anxious self down. Too soon does reality hit me again as I realize what we're really here, and why Lexi is visible to our eyes.
"Bonnie lifted the vail then?" I ask.
"Only within Mystic Falls. You two bastards are lucky I chose tonight to tune in from the other side. Sometimes when I get bored, I head to Vegas and watch people destroy their life," she says with a laugh.
"That's not creepy," I comment, earning myself a nudge in the ribs from her.
"Hey, you gotta be creative to find ways of entertainment over here," she argues playfully. "Be thankful I'm here."
"Trust me Lex, we are," James beams, smiling widely at his sister.
"Looks like you've got yourselves into quite the hell hole here. You're lucky I'm here to save the day, as always," she says, flipping her long blonde hair to the side.
"Oh yeah, totally." I tease.
James's phone vibrates within his pocket, causing him to check and open it revealing a text from Joel. "Looks like they're still looking for Bonnie," he explains, shoving his phone back in his pocket.
"I can help lead the way," Lexi says. "I've been watching from the other side for a while. I know exactly where they are."
"Again with the creepiness, Lex," James groans teasingly, making me laugh.
"Shut up," Lexi snaps. "Maybe Joel will be happier to see me considering last time you failed to mention I was dead. Poor guy. I had to watch from the other side everything that unfolded," Lexi comments, making guilt flash across James's face.
"I know, and I'm sorry for that. Joel and I figured everything out," James assures her.
"I know big brother, I know," Lexi says, draping an arm around James.
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JAMES POV
The caves are always an eerie place, especially for Blair which is another reason why I'm thankful she's at home. I know that when we make it back she'll be pissed, but I'll just be thankful she's alive. I'd rather her be alive and mad than dead and happy with what happened.
Walking through the caves with my sister by my side reminds me of the value of love, and I know that even though my sister and I have our disagreements, we'll always find a way to forgive one another. That I think is a rare kind of love that I only have with my sister and Blair. I'd never give that kind of love up for anything in the world.
"Should be right down here," Lexi says, taking the lead.
She takes us down the dark and narrow caves until we reach an opening, lit with candles like Bonnie was here, however now she's nowhere to be found. "Bonnie?" I call.
"She's not here, we've looked," Joel says, suddenly appearing from around the corner.
"Well where is she?" Stefan questions impatiently.
"I dunno," Joel shrugs.
Lexi suddenly lets out a scoff and shakes her head. "Um, hello? Your sister Lexi here, aren't you even going to acknowledge me?" she asks, snapping at him.
I furrow my brows suspiciously at Joel, confused as to why he didn't recognize our sister sooner. My phone buzzes and I check the screen reading a message from the one and only Joel.
It reads: "Found Bonnie, Damon and I are with her now. Where are you guys?"
My breath catches in my throat as I watch Lexi engulf Joel in a hug, but I'm too slow to see that Joel has a stake behind his back, too slow to react before he plunges it deep into my sister's abdomen.
"What the?" Stefan gapes, running to Lexi who falls to the ground.
"Silas," I exhale, watching as he smirks and runs away down the caves. I run to my sister and pull the stake from her back, confused as to what will happen if she dies now that she's already technically dead. I however, don't want to find out.
"What the hell?" she breathes out.
"It was Silas. He's here," I say, helping my sister up. "I got a text from Joel- the real Joel. He and Damon are with Bonnie now, preparing a desiccation spell for Silas.
"Well what are we going to do? We can't let Silas get there before us and trick them. They'll probably need all the help they can get," Stefan says.
"Then lets go. Now," I say sternly, leading the way with my best friend and sister following behind me.
We navigate through the caves using nothing but our sight and sound, following whatever we can to lead us to the rest of the crew. We walk in long strides, almost speed walking at a reasonable pace when suddenly a sound from the right directs my attention. I stop abruptly and turn to the sound, seeing nothing there. Shaking my head, I follow Lexi and Stefan to an opening where Damon, Joel and Bonnie stand.
"Took you guys long enough," Damon says, rolling his eyes.
"Sorry, we had complications," Lexi sasses, standing beside me. At the sight of our sister Joel's eyes light up the way they should have, assuring me that he's not Silas this time.
"Oh my god," he whispers, sprinting vamp speed into Lexi's arms, engulfing her in a hug.
As they reunite I turn to Bonnie, wanting to hear the plan. "So, what's the plan to taking down Silas?" I question, crossing my arms across my chest.
"With the power I have, I can prevent Silas from getting into people's heads the same way Qetsiyah did. Then from there, I can put him down," Bonnie states confidently.
I nod as she explains her plan to everyone else, but my attention is directed elsewhere as I see movement out of the corner of my eye. I know someone is following us, and I know someone else is here. I sensed it earlier, and I'm sensing it now. To satisfy my curiosity, I walk away from the group as they bicker, investigating this mystery sound when suddenly I see Blair standing several feet away from me, the darkness of the caves hiding her face.
"James?" Blair calls out in my mind, just as I'm about to call out to her. I'm confused as to why she won't just talk instead of communicating telepathically, but maybe she doesn't want her brothers to know she's here.
"James, are you there?" she asks. It's an odd question to ask seeing as I'm standing right in front of her.
"Blair, you're supposed to be at home. It's not safe here," I say as I take a few steps towards her. She stands about twenty feet away from me, her arms crossed stubbornly across her chest. I know I should expect this behaviour since I did leave without telling her the plan, however now is not the time.
"Now is not the time to play detective, Blair. You need to leave," I say.
"James, whatever is happening, you need to realize that I am at home. I'm with Theo," she says, panic in her voice.
I stop walking, freezing in place at her words. "No you're not. You're standing right in front of me," I say, although a part of me knows that it's not really her.
The figure in front of me stays still, it's face hidden in the shadows. James, that's not me. You have to get out of there," Blair says.
Knowing she's right, I spin to run the other way when suddenly I come face to face with someone who looks like her. Everything about her is real, but I know it's not. It's just Silas. It's just a trick.
"Blair, wh-" I'm cut off from trying to communicate what's happening with the real Blair, as suddenly Silas reaches forwards and forces his hand into my chest.
Everything happens so fast, I don't have time to react. His hand grips my heart, my pulse practically bursting through every vein in my body as my life literally hangs in his hand.
"You know, I told Blair that if she didn't get me the cure, that I wouldn't miss the next time I retaliated. I had to get the bloody cure myself. Consider this payback from your girl, however, this time as promised I won't miss," Silas growls, still disguised as Blair.
"James?" Blair calls in my mind, her voice laced with fear.
I focus on Blair's voice, letting it calm me. Everything about her makes me complete, everything from her sarcastic remarks, her prank wars with my brother, to the way she holds herself up whenever she's down and her selflessness towards the people she loves. She may seem heartless at times, but that' because people don't know her like I do. It's because they can't get through her wall. I admire everything about her, but I can only begin to list the reasons why I love her.
However it appears I won't get a chance to, as Silas suddenly removes his hand from my chest, my heart still in his fists as he removes it from my body.
In those few seconds that seem to last a lifetime, my whole body freezes, the image of Blair in my mind as I let out a final gasp of breath before falling to the ground, my heart all the way across the room.
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[completed & edited: 09/12/2021]