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"Nothing goes as planed, everything will break"
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TWELVE HOURS EARLIER
JAMES POV
"James, bring me back."
Blair's voice rings around my head, sending tingles of anxiety flowing down my spine every time I think about it.
I knew something was up the minute Blair walked out that restaurant with Caroline and Elena. I knew Caroline had been acting weird all day, but I had assumed it was because of the devastating loss of her mother. I was so caught up on giving her space that I was too blind to realize what she had been planning to do all along, and so was Blair, and I fear it's too late.
I have no idea of what Blair's words mean but I don't want to jump to conclusions until I figure out what's going on. She isn't answering my calls within my mind, so I decide to take matters into my own hands.
I drop Theo off at Matt's house as he's the only sober person right now. Stefan called me, insisting I meet up with him at Caroline's house, and judging by the sound of his voice I know nothing good has come up.
With a tux still on, I enter Caroline's house expecting to see Blair, when suddenly I see Stefan kneeling on the ground with a brunette laying unconscious by his side. "Bloody hell," I whisper, speeding over to the body and kneeling down, thinking it's Blair.
As I remove the hair from her face do I realize it's not Blair, but rather Elena. Despite the unconscious body in front of me, a small part of me is thankful it's not Blair. However, if Blair isn't here in Caroline's home where she said she'd be, then the question is- where the hell is she?
"What happened?" I ask, staying kneeled down as I look over to Stefan for answers.
"Caroline must've done it," Stefan says bluntly, no hint of reality in his voice as if he's in shock.
"Why would she do that? Elena is her friend..," I trial off when suddenly everything clicks in. "She turned it off, didn't she?" I say quietly, and Stefan nods.
"Yeah, and it's all my fault," Stefan whispers before standing up. I furrow my brows in confusion, perplexed as to how he could possibly believe Caroline turning off her humanity is his fault. "How the hell is this your fault?"
"Today before the funeral, Caroline asked me if I had feelings for her," he begins, pausing for a second.
"And?" I question anxiously, standing up along with him.
"I said I'd rather not talk about it now, not really giving her an answer. Maybe if I'd actually said something, told her the truth things would've turned out different," he murmurs, hating on himself. Although I know there is a chance things could've turned out different for Caroline, I know now that none of that matters. The decision has been made, Caroline is without humanity and Blair is still missing.
"None of that matters now, she made her choice. All we can do now is find her and make things right," I say gently, placing a hand on my long time friend. I know him well enough to know when he's in pain, and I can tell that he's hurting from this, that he truly cares about Caroline.
Stefan only nods, his jaw clenched as he keeps his head down. "Have you seen Blair? She uh.. won't answer my calls," I say, not really knowing how to explain the telepathic communication link we share. I know now is not the time to go into great detail of that particular element.
"No, but I know she was here," Stefan says, standing up.
"How?" I question a little too quickly, eager to hear his response.
"I just know." Stefan shrugs, causing me to become confused. "Maybe it's the atmosphere of this place, or the scent of her but I just have a feeling you know? She's my twin, and I love her. I feel like I should just know where she is," Stefan explains quietly, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
I nod, understanding what he's saying. I know Blair well but our connection will never run as deep as the one she has with her brothers.
"You think Caroline turned off her switch?" I ask, seeking Stefan's opinion.
"I don't see any other explanation for Elena unconscious on the floor. Someone clearly snapped her neck, and I doubt it would be Blair." Stefan narrows his eyes, thinking deeply of any explanation as to where Blair is.
"No, " I agree. "She wouldn't do it unless there was a reason. Maybe Caroline was posing as a threat? Do you think it's possible Caroline did something to her?" I ask, suddenly worried. There's not telling what one will do with their humanity off. It's completely unpredictable, like an earthquake: abrupt and dangerous.
"Caroline doesn't have anything against her, they're best friends," Stefan sighs, both of us stressed. "It just doesn't make sense! All I can make sense of is that Caroline turned her switch, Elena tried to stop her so she snapped her neck. I just don't see where Blair fits into all of this." He shakes his head.
I stare at Elena's body for a few seconds, putting myself into Blair's shoes. Her friend was in great distress, in a tremendous amount of emotional pain. If Blair was opposed to Caroline's plan to turn off the switch, then she would be on the floor with Elena. That only leaves two options: either Blair left to allow Caroline the space to turn it all off, or she participated in the act alongside Caroline.
"James, bring me back."
Then it hits me. Blair's voice in my head not an hour earlier is the only piece of evidence I need to connect everything. My heart throbs and my stomach sinks at the thought of what this all means.
"She turned it off," I whisper bluntly, no doubt Stefan has caught my words.
"What? Why would she do that? How do you know?" he asks all at once.
"I just know," I reply, staring blankly at Stefan as we let it sink in. "Caroline is her friend, and if she were hurting, Blair would want to help her in any way possible. Maybe she thought that way was to endure no humanity alongside Caroline, to show her support."
Stefan ask the single question floating around both of our minds. "So where do you think they are now?"
"They could be anywhere."
∆ ∆ ∆
Stefan and I search around town all morning but there are no signs of humanity-less Caroline and Blair. We aren't even all that sure Blair has flipped her switch, but I'm more than confident enough with my own theory seeing as she specifically called out to me in our minds, speaking those four words. I don't see why else she would say what she said.
There are no reported animal attacks, no reported murders or missing bodies which is a good sign. It means they're covering their tracks, keeping the killing to a minimum. We even search all the bars nearby, but all of them have been cleared out by the time we get there.
Stefan and I arrive back at the boarding house around noon the next day only to find it's empty.
"Where the bloody hell is everybody?" I growl, ripping off my incredibly itchy tie. Stefan and I are both still in our suits from the funeral a day before, both of us desperate to change into more comfortable clothing.
"Damon's gone, probably out with Elena looking for Caroline. I doubt they know about Blair," Stefan signs, taking off his own suit jacket.
The two of us make our way upstairs to change, dressing in more comfortable attire. As I walk past the bedrooms on the upper level, my eyes land to a small suitcase on the bed, one stuffed with little plush toys and little boy clothes. I widen my eyes as I remember little Theo, in whom I totally forgot to pick up.
"Shit!" I snap, kicking the bed and running a hand through my hair. Nothing is going right, nothing is going our way. No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to get a step ahead of all the problems thrown at us.
"Did James Branson just swear? That's not something a polite old British man would do," Stefan teases, leaning against the door frame in freshly changed clothes.
"Seemed like an appropriate time for swearing," I mutter, holding a phone to my ear as I attempt to reach Matt. I can only hope he isn't mad I left Theo there for the night.
I tap my foot against the hardwood floor rapidly as the line rings, only to sigh in frustration as it goes to voicemail. "Damn it!" I shout, moving past Stefan and down the stairs.
"Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?" Stefan calls after me.
"I left Theo with Matt last night, but I only told Matt I'd be a few hours. It's been a full night," I explain, trying desperately to find my car keys.
"I'm sure he's fine," Stefan assures me. "Matt is responsible."
"That's comforting," I remark. "Where are my bloody keys!" I snap, just as the front door of the boarding house opens.
"That's a lot of swearing for a Branson, isn't it? I mean Joel I understand, but you? I'm disappointed," Damon snickers, shaking his head.
I would be throwing a sarcastic remark right back at Damon if it weren't for one particular person standing behind him at this exact moment. Beside Damon stands Elena and the one and only Bonnie Bennett.
"Oh my god." I smile, forgetting about everything at the moment. "You're back!"
"Indeed I am." Bonnie grins widely.
I walk towards her and embrace her in a friendly, tight hug, letting it sink in that she's actually back. I was never that close with Bonnie, but she's done so much for all of us, especially Blair and I. She helped save Blair's life numerous times, and even brought me back from the dead. I owe her big time, and it broke my heart when she didn't make it back.
"It's good to see you, truly," I say, releasing her.
"You too, James." She smiles widely, her smile genuine and sincere. "Where's Blair?" she asks, peering around my shoulder.
"She's not here," Stefan says from behind me. "Neither is Caroline. We think Blair flipped her switch along with Caroline."
"What?" Damon snaps. "Why the hell would you think that? Blair's not that stupid," Damon defends his sister. For some reason this causes me to become riled up.
"No she's not stupid. In fact, she actually possesses human emotions unlike you," I retort, pursing my lips.
Damon raise his brows in shock, glaring daggers at me. "Why the hell are we letting this prick date our sister?" he asks, staring at Stefan.
"You guys are only having this conversation now?" Bonnie questions with an amused smile.
"Who would you rather her date? Klaus? I think he'd be more than happy to hit her up," Elena blurts out, causing all of us to go silent.
"Alright, I'm leaving," I dismiss, sighing.
I leave for my truck in which I realize I left the car keys in, while Damon and Stefan search the town and Bonnie and Elena search Whittmore.
∆ ∆ ∆
I knock excessively on Matt's door, peering through the windows when suddenly it opens. "James! Sorry my phone died, I was just about to call," Matt greets.
"I'm sorry for leaving him here all night. Is Theo ok-"
"Daddy!" I hear Theo's voice yell, just as he comes running down the hallway.
I'm too in shock by how he just called me 'daddy' to realize he's hugging my leg. It's something I never ever thought I would be called, and honestly words can't describe the enormous pride I feel at the moment.
"It's no problem. He's really easy to take care of really. We went to the park this morning and made a bunch of paper airplanes and flew them around with his magic." Matt chuckles, admiring Theo who still stands in front of me.
Still in shock, I pick up Theo when suddenly my phone rings. "Hello?" I greet, knowing it's Stefan from the caller ID.
"You need to get to Whittmore Bar now. Caroline and Blair are there, and they want to talk. I think I made Caroline angry, and she's retaliating," he says in a shaky voice. I don't say anything before hanging up, looking at Matt with desperate eyes.
"I know it's a lot to ask-," I begin, but Matt cuts me off.
"Go, take care of Blair. I've got Theo." He smiles genuinely.
"Thank you so much Matt, honestly. I appreciate it," I sigh in relief, as I bend down to Theo. "Listen buddy, I've got to go take care of mommy, but I'll be back, okay?" I tell him.
"Okay." He smiles, giving me a quick hug.
I send Matt a quick nod before hopping back into my truck and speeding towards Whittmore bar where I know chaos awaits me.
∆ ∆ ∆
I walk into Whittmore bar, pausing in step along side Stefan, Damon, Elena and Bonnie as we stand before Caroline and Blair who are leaning against the bar. I lock eyes with Blair immediately, and I can tell just by the look in her eyes, her switch is flipped.
"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show," Caroline says, unamused. "Now we can finally get started."
"Get started for what?" I question her, taking a step forwards.
"Well you see James, I only want to keep my humanity off for one year, and I warned everyone that if they tried to turn it back on sooner, I would be their worst nightmare," she begins, pacing back and forth. "But what do Stefan and Damon do? They drug Blair in attempt to turn her humanity back on to get to me. I just can't have that, so I've gathered you all here for a final warning." She pauses, glancing at all of us.
"To make things interesting, one of you here get to join Blair and I on our little no-humanity adventure. Either one of you turn you switch, or Liam here will kill five innocent people I gathered up," Caroline sneers, showing us her phone in which she has Liam on FaceTime, the camera showing Liam in a room with five people tied to chairs.
"Please, don't make me do this. I don't want to do this," Liam pleads, holding a large knife in his hands.
"Caroline that's enough!" Elena yells, tears in her eyes. "This isn't you!"
"Caroline, stop this. I promise I will leave you alone," Stefan says calmly, despite the guilt I see in his eyes.
While everyone tries to get Caroline to stop, I place my eyes on Blair, to see she's staring at the footage of Liam with a huge smirk on her face. I know deep down this isn't her, and I know she only got herself into this mess to support Caroline. I love Blair, and I too will support her no matter what.
"Contact Joel, tell him to get down here. We're going to need him to spark some emotion back," I order Stefan. "Oh, and don't forget Theo is at Matt's," I add.
"What are you talking about?" Damon snaps, fear hidden in his eyes.
"James, don't. You'll only make things worse," Stefan pleads.
"There is no other way," I say, knowing there will be no time to find Liam and save the innocent people. "Just trust me, and find a way to bring me back, to bring us all back," I say, before closing my eyes and sinking into a part of myself that I haven't explored in five hundred years.
I close my eyes until I feel nothing.
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[completed & edited: 10/19/2021]