The Jeep.
Her mother's beautiful jeep that Elena had crashed was still stuck in the shop being examined by the town mechanic. Just seeing it in that crumbled smash-up state had made Buffy want to scream.
She would settle for punching the vampire who caused the crash instead.
"So we still have no idea who that vamp was that ruined my perfectly beautiful jeep?" Buffy moaned sadly, a small pout forming on her lips as she laid across her bed, her head resting on Stefan's lap.
Stefan smiled as he continued to run his hands through her hair. He had already popped into the garage where her car was and it was far from unfixable.
"My mother's gonna haunt me for eternity if I don't fix it soon."
Stefan let out a small chuckle as he twirled one of her blonde curls between his fingers before sighing in worry. The fact that they still had no idea who this guy was worried him.
For all, they knew he could be watching them.
"I've not heard any whispers about anyone else in town." He admitted, "Do you or Elena remember anything else about him?"
Buffy sighed as she turned over so that she could focus on his handsome face "Nadda. Elena was big with the blocking my view and I was a bit preoccupied. You know bleeding out and all."
He threw her a pointed look at the joke, clearly not happy with her making fun of her near-death experience.
Clearly, Stefan had yet to adjust to having a Slayer girlfriend.
In all likelihood, he would end up having to get a first aid box in his room for last-minute patrol injuries.
"Sorry." She mumbled before moving to play with his daylight ring, twisting it between her fingers "Stef, stuff like that happens. I get hurt."
"I know." He whispered, concern laced in his voice.
Dating a Slayer was going to be a terrifying experience, Stefan knew that. He loved Buffy but he was never going to stop worrying every time she went on patrol.
It was always going to take everything out of him not to go all overprotective of her every time she was in danger.
"Elena said he was wearing a hoodie and black boots. But with all the bone snappy. Definitely a you-vamp."
Buffy groaned loudly before staring down at his ring again as he entangled their fingers together. At least Damon and Stefan were the only ones with the special daylight rings... at least she hoped they were.
Smiling down at her as she continued to twist and play with his daylight ring, he used his spare hand, grabbing the small box that he had brought with him.
Placing the box on her stomach he went back to running his hand through her hair as she shifted her focus to the wooden box "I brought some vervain. For, um—for you, Elena, and Jenna. And, um, I made this bracelet for Jeremy."
Luckily, the bracelet was brown and very minimal so Jeremy would actually wear it.
"There is a necklace here Elena can use."
Picking up the next item, Buffy eyed the beautiful locket with a red gemstone in the center.
"Where did you get this?" She whispered as she examined the necklace closely, twirling the locket between her fingers.
"Found it in the 20s."
Buffy hummed at his explanation before her hand shifted up to her own necklace that he had given her "And where did you get mine?"
Stefan just grinned mischievously before leaning down and planting a soft kiss on her lips "That is a secret."
Buffy giggled lightly before planting another quick peck on his lips and continuing to flip through some of the other items he had brought her.
There was one silver spiral necklace that would work perfectly for Bonnie, and a heart-shaped locket with a matching bracelet that worked perfectly for Caroline.
If she gave Caroline the necklace and kept the bracelet for herself, claiming they were some kind of godsister matching charms then there was no way Caroline would ever take it off.
Plus, there was a ring that was completely perfect for Jenna.
"Can witches be compelled?" She questioned curiously.
Logically, if a Slayer could not be compelled then witches and other supernatural creatures should be immune too.
"No." Stefan confirmed, "Slayers, witches, demons are immune to compulsion."
Buffy smiled gratefully before placing the items back in the box and focusing back on her boyfriend with a teasing smirk "You know I got a butt load from Giles, right?"
There was literally a box filled with liquified vervain in the corner of her room as well as vervain steamed tea bags.
"Which you are using for tea and perfume. Which is smarter, but think of this as an extra precaution."
Buffy exhaled loudly at his words, her brain starting the pound as all of the problems on her plate started to overflow.
With the demonic vamps, it was easy to know their weaknesses. There was so much lore about them that it was easy enough to find out how to kill them. The gest was always the same...but those rules were so different for this kind.
Yes, the basics including the sun and wood still applied but everything else...it was so different.
Honestly...it made her head kind of want to explode. There were just too many things to remember.
"You know I'm so glad the other kind cannot control minds, there is something about drinking holy water which just seems wrong to me."
Stefan let out a small amused chuckle before glancing back down at the vervain he had given her "That's all I have for now. It's rare. We don't have a Magic Box here like in Sunnydale. And my kind avoids Hellmouths....mainly to avoid Slayers and people finding out about us. Your friends won't need much."
Buffy couldn't help but snort as images of these uber vamps purposely running from her filled her brain "I strike the fear in all kinds of vamps, Mr. Salvatore. Let's just hope this guy gets the memo."
**
Walking into the library of the Boarding House, Stefan found himself watching his brother in confusion.
Damon was frantically ripping books off the shelves tossing them aside without a care. He was looking for a certain book that was obvious enough, but Stefan wasn't too sure which one.
Yet.
"What are you looking for, Damon?"
Damon doesn't even turn his head as he continued to flip through the books in search of one specific journal "Not your concern."
"No, but putting Buffy and Elena in harm's way. That is my concern."
Damon smirked at the reminder of his recent Georgia trip as he opened yet another book only to frown as he realized it was just as useless as the last ten.
Huffing he tossed it to the ground before shrugging at his brother, playing dumb "Heh heh. What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Atlanta."
Grumbling in annoyance Damon slammed the book in his hands shut before he finally turned to glance at his brother "Oh, yeah. The girls and I had a blast. Did you know your girlfriend knows how to hustle guys at pool?"
The sight of Damon wiggling his eyebrows suggestively had Stefan clenching his jaw.
He really wanted to rip out Damon's tongue right now.
Damon just rolled his eyes at the rageful glare being aimed at him. His brother was jealous and predictable "Oh come on, Elena was with Buffy who as you know is a Vampire Slayer. They were both perfectly safe."
Stefan couldn't help but scoff. They both knew Buffy was in no condition to protect anyone during that trip to Atlanta.
Her wounds had only just fully healed in the last few days!
"Buffy was walking around for hours after just having glass stuck in her lung, she couldn't have been as strong as you at that moment."
Just the idea of his injured girlfriend being stuck in a car with Damon, had rage practically steaming off Stefan's skin.
Trying to control his anger and protectiveness for a second, Stefan inhaled tightly before forcing a smile on his face "I get it. You're just bitter because one of us gets to be with the person that we love, and poor Mary is trapped in a necklace. Unless there's another way for you to get into that tomb. Is that what Bree said?"
Given that Buffy's fate and doom were tied to the vision Mary had, he had to make sure that woman was never brought back.
Spotting his brother fishing for information Damon chuckled flatly before turning back to the books, evading the subject the best he could "You're pathetic when you're fishing."
Stefan shrugged "And you're transparent when you're deflecting."
"Don't you have school?"
**
After providing Elena and Bonnie with their selected necklaces, Buffy only had one person left on the list to give wearable vervain.
Caroline.
She couldn't exactly keep sneaking into Caroline's house in the middle of the night to fill their kettle with vervain.
If Liz caught her, creeping around the Forbes home she would be beyond screwed...and possibly shot.
Caroline grinned down at the brand-new necklace resting comfortably around her neck, the pink blue gemstone heart-shaped locket was so pretty!
"It's so pretty." She squealed in excitement before throwing her arms around Buffy and pulling her into a tight hug.
"Thank you. God, it'll go with, like, everything. What's the occasion?"
Instead of answering straight away, Buffy pulled back from the hug and purposely lifted her wrist. Right next to her mother's charm bracelet, was the matching pink and blue gemstone bracelet.
"Godsister gift. Duh. I got the matching bracelet."
Despite the fact it seemed almost impossible, Caroline's smile grew even wider, filling her entire face with joy.
"Love it! Can't believe I didn't think about it. God, I'm so glad you're here." She cheered before smiling down at their matching pieces of jewelry "Plus, you are the only one with style. Now we have a way to show our bond over fashion."
As Buffy laughed, Caroline looped her arm through hers only to pause as she spotted the offended look on Elena's face.
The brunette was now staring down at her own outfit in confusion.
Elena glared over at Caroline "Hey!"
There was nothing wrong with her clothes...right?
Buffy merely smirked as she moved to take her seat at the table they were approaching, just outside of the school grounds "She speaks the truth."
While yes, Elena looked great in her clothes...her wardrobe consisted of pretty much the exact same outfit just in slightly different colors.
Caroline sighed at Elena's clueless face "Elena, you're wardrobe consists of jeans and sweaters. You're too far gone to help."
Realizing this might be her chance to bring up the awkward topic of Matt, Elena inhaled tightly before running a nervous hand through her hair "Is my fashion sense the reason you've been avoiding me?"
Buffy choked on her water at the sudden shift in the conversation. Talk about making the situation awkward.
There was a long minute of silence between the three as Caroline just sat there, her mouth hanging open like a fish in shock and her eyes wide with horror.
Trying to soothe her friend's obvious panic about the Matt situation, Elena smiled supportively.
"I know about you and Matt. Whatever is...it's ok."
Caroline froze, as she tried to think of how to explain something she herself didn't quite understand yet "I was gonna talk to you about that. I was, but there's just not much to say. We hung out a couple of times. That's it, but...I just feel like we've peaked as friends."
Elena nodded but remained silent, letting Caroline ramble on.
"This is weird. I shouldn't be talking to you about this. It's weird. It's weird, right?"
Elena smiled reassuringly, she just wanted Matt and Caroline to be happy. No matter how weird it may be.
She would get used to it soon enough.
"If it's what you and Matt want, then it's not about me."
While she believed that Elena was over Matt, Caroline couldn't say the same for him. Hence, why she was still so hesitant about getting too close to him "But it's all about you. Matt's not over you, and we all know it. And that fact that you're not dating anyone is not exactly helping him move on--"
Elena shifted in her seat, purposely looking down at her food avoiding all eye contact.
Buffy screamed and grabbed Caroline's arm dramatically as the realization settled in. She could see it all over Elena's face.
She was purposely avoiding all eye contact which was one of Elena's tells when she was lying.
Elena Gilbert was dating again!!!!
"Oh, My, God." She squealed, her jaw dropping open in shock "You--dating--someone---spill!"
Elena's eyes widened in panic "No it's not...I..." She stuttered before groaning as Caroline merely arched an all-knowing smirk.
Buffy smirked slightly as she spotted the red blush covering her cheeks "Is it that college guy you slept with?"
"Buffy!"
"Oh my god!" Caroline screamed in excitement and started to bounce up and down in her seat "A college guy! Tell us everything."
As both Buffy and Caroline leaned their elbows on the table and rested their faces in their hands in matching playful positions, Elena groaned.
"We're not dating..." She corrected "It's this guy who goes to Whitmore College. I met him once when my dad took me up there. During the Summer he got in contact with me and we've kinda stayed that way. We hooked up once after a party. Once."
Buffy and Caroline grinned before glancing at each other, sharing matching smirks.
Elena let out a huff as she spotted them both watching her. Dropping her head onto the table, she thumped her forehead against the wood repeatedly.
"I hate you both!"
**
Their mystery vampire had finally made his reappearance.
He had called Elena acting beyond creepy and threatening while she had been at The Grill last night.
He was pretty much stalking her, which had left Elena utterly petrified.
"Why me?" Elena stuttered as she paced back and forth in Buffy's room, replaying to Buffy and Stefan what had happened last night at The Grill.
"What does he want with me? And if he's trying to kill me, then why call first."
Hearing her voice crack, Buffy quickly moved over to Elena, shifting her over to the bed and wrapping a comforting arm around her. Elena hadn't slept all night due to the incident and was way beyond paranoid.
She had literally camped out with Buffy in her bed, both of them clutching stakes and liquified bottles of vervain.
Moving away from the window, Stefan sighed. He was even more worried than before. Clearly, whoever this vampire was...he wasn't going away anytime soon. "That's because we're predators, Elena. We hunt. We stalk. It's often as exciting as the kill."
Elena frowned in confusion before glancing over at Buffy in hopes of some form of an explanation.
Spotting her cousin's terrified and confused expression, Buffy inhaled tightly before leaning forward in her seat as she contemplated what to say.
She didn't want to terrify Elena...but she also didn't want to lie to her.
Truth was, Elena needed to know how bad this could get if they didn't deal with this vampire straight away.
"He's right." She finally admitted "Look when Spike first showed up in Sunnydale he watched me for months, tried to learn everything about me he could. And when Angel became Angelus he was a lot worse. He would follow me and my friends. He would sneak into my house in the middle of the night when I was sleeping and would send me creepy-ass gifts, and I'm talking like real creepy. For a vampire, stalking the victim, making them constantly look over their shoulder gives them a thrill. One which they don't get just by killing."
Stefan watched Buffy carefully as she spoke. Every time she spoke about Angel, he found his curiosity growing. He just hoped one day she would be comfortable enough to finally talk about what had happened before and after the curse had broken.
And while he didn't want to force her to talk about it... he couldn't help but find himself worried by the way she was talking about it.
Just how twisted had things gotten with Angelus?
How did he lose his soul in the first place?
Choosing the bury his intrigue for now and focus on the current threat, Stefan handed over the Gilbert Compass "I want you both to take this."
Buffy frowned as she took the golden compass and twirled it between her fingers.
What the hell was so special about some watch Elena had found in a box in the attic?
"It's Jeremy's pocket watch." Elena realized as she stared at the watch in confusion "How did you get it?"
"I took it from Damon, who took it from Logan, who must have taken it from you."
Buffy arched a curious brow at Stefan's explanation before turning back to the watch, there was something different about it "What happened to it?"
"Well, it's not just a watch. It's a—It's a sort of compass, but it points to vampires."
She snorted "Talk about convenient." While she had her normal mini internal compass about vamps it didn't work as well with this other kind so this was so much more useful.
Elena sighed and reached over, taking the compass from Buffy "Why did my father have it?" She asked Stefan as her fingers grazed over the cool metal.
"Gilbert's were one of the founding families, and back in 1864, they were among those who sought to eradicate the vampires. The compass was used to find us."
"Did you know them?"
Stefan nodded but kept his answer vague "Yes. I want you to keep this, the both of you. That way, you'll know if you're ever in danger."
Elena nodded only to sigh as her phone started ringing.
As she quickly rushed out of the room, she made sure to toss the compass back to Buffy before disappearing down the hall.
Catching the compass in her hands Buffy huffed before glancing over at her boyfriend "You know I can take care of myself." She reminded him, smiling slightly as he moved to sit beside her "Most of the time I'm considered the danger."
Stefan chuckled lightly before kissing the top of her head and smiling down at her "I know, but I just worry so please take it anyway." When she still seemed unsure, not seeing it as necessary he pouted "Humor me?"
Buffy rolled her eyes, trying to fight back a grin. She had to admit, his whole protective thing was really cute and it brought a smile to her lips "Fine. You can kiss me now."
He laughed before leaning down his lips connecting to hers in a sweet embrace.
**
The 50s Decade Dance.
After an exhausting and nauseating day at school, Buffy was in no mood to get dressed up for the dance.
In all honestly, all she wanted was a nap before she went vampire hunting.
Yet, she was being forced to go to this stupid dance tonight because apparently patrolling was not enough of an excuse for the Gilbert girl.
"But I don't wanna go." Buffy pouted as Elena continued to drag her toward the kitchen.
Elena sighed before crossing her arms over her chest as she turned to face Buffy. If there was one way to get Buffy to do anything, it was by offering her something in return "If you go I'll buy you pizza."
Buffy scoffed "Are you bribing me?"
"Completely."
Pizza was reason enough for her. Shrugging, Buffy finally nodded in agreement "Okay, I'll go."
Smiling in success, Elena dragged Buffy into the kitchen only for the two girls to pause as they were met by the sight of a very dressed-up Jenna.
The strawberry blonde was standing in a stunning 1950s-style dress, all done up for her night chaperoning the school dance.
Jenna grinned over at the pair before focusing on Buffy, knowing that her news about the Jeep was bound to bring a smile to her face "Spoke to the insurance company. Car's totaled."
Buffy couldn't help but sigh in relief, at least now her mother wouldn't haunt her dreams saying I told you so on repeat for eternity "Thank god." She breathed before turning to Elena with begging eyes "Elena, are you still ok giving me a ride in the morning?"
Elena smiled "Sure. It's the least I can do, considering I was the one that crashed your mom's car."
"And they call me a sucky driver." Buffy teased playfully, letting out a small squeal as Elena launched a box of tissues in her direction.
Luckily, she managed to dodge the box causing it to hit the wall instead. Thank god for Elena's lack of coordination.
As she pulled a soda out of the bridge, Buffy focused on Jenna "Why don't you look all 50's ish."
Unlike Buffy's comforting smile, Elena just glanced at Jenna silently.
An awkward tension filled the air between them.
"So you're coming to the dance?"
Jenna smiled at her youngest niece "Alaric asked me to help chaperone."
Elena hesitated for a moment before she finally blurted out the question that had been on her mind since she had found out Jenna knew about her being adopted "Why didn't you tell me, Jenna?"
At that Buffy's eyes widened in panic "Uh oh." She mumbled under her breath realizing they were about to get into a whole thing, that she so did not want to be a part of.
She was no good at playing Switzerland in family arguments.
Slowly backing away from the room she offered them both a small smile, silently wishing them luck.
"I'm just gonna-go-do a thing, that requires me to leave at this very second."
**
"You got the hair right."
Stefan sighed at the sound of his brother's taunting voice. Turning away from the mirror he quickly spotted Damon's smirking figure standing in his bedroom doorway.
Inhaling tightly, the youngest Salvatore grabbed the brown book resting on his bed and tossed it over to Damon.
Damon frowned in confusion as he glanced down at the familiar journal in his hands "Why are you bringing me dad's journal?"
"Because you were looking for it."
Damon who had been unable to tear his gaze from the book quickly offered his brother a clueless look "And why would I want it?" He asked with a shrug, trying to act as nonchalant as possible.
Stefan merely shrugged, hiding his small smile "Gee, I don't know, Damon. Maybe you wanna do a little bit of posthumous bonding. Go ahead. Enjoy it. Read it. I have. Nowhere in it does it say anything about the amulet Mary's trapped in...or the tomb."
Damon sighed in slight disappointment as he flipped through the pages barely glancing at them "Not surprised. The man could barely spell his own name."
"I'm really sorry. That it won't be any help with your diabolical plan, the sequel. You know, I could help you."
Damon let out an unamused chuckle as he moved to take a seat at Stefan's desk, leaning back comfortably in the chair.
He always found a way to make himself at home, no matter where he was.
"You, help me? Aw, I don't know. Seems a little unnatural."
"I'll do anything to get you out of this town." Stefan assured him truthfully, although it was still only a partial truth "Even if it means releasing Katherine, so she can revive Mary."
Given that Emily had warned Buffy that releasing Mary would lead to her downfall, there was no way he would ever let that woman wake up.
Damon arched a brow in disbelief. He didn't trust that Stefan would actually live up to his promise "What about the other 26 vampires?"
Stefan quickly shook his head, there was no way he was going to let this town become infected by vampires like in 1864 "No, no, no. They can't come. They have to stay put, but Katherine and Mary, I would consider that."
Damon just stared at his brother, still skeptical of his sudden desire to help.
Something didn't feel right.
"What are you doing? Hmm? What's your angle? Your girlfriend is a vampire Slayer, I can't imagine she will be pleased with this."
"She hates you as much as I do." He reminded Damon before sighing "Just think about it."
"Why would I trust you?" Damon asked as he looked back at the book in his hands, hoping to see anything that could help him bring Mary back.
"See that's your problem, Damon. You apply all of your shortcomings to everybody else. If history's any indication, there's only one liar among us."
**
Placing her black headband on her head, Buffy quickly made sure her hair was perfect before examining her whole look in the mirror.
Between the tight black trousers which came up to her mid stomach as well the big red belt and the strapless black top which matched her headband perfectly, she had to admit... the whole look had come together quite well.
As much as she hated the blonde extensions clipped into her head, it could have been a lot worse.
"At least it's not the 80s."
If Mystic Falls ever did a 1980s-decade dance she would run like hell.
Just as she moved to grab her red lipstick to complete the overall look, Buffy's entire body went tense as a scream echoed through the house.
"BUFFY!!!!"
Elena.
Without hesitating, Buffy rushed down the hall to Elena's room and slammed her foot into the door kicking it right open with a loud slam.
"Elena, sweetie what's wrong?" She asked in concern the second she reached the dressed-up brunette who was a stuttering panicking mess.
"The compass—" Elena stumbled over her words as her hands latched onto Buffy tightly, her eyes scanning the room in terror "It started—spinning—what if there's a vampire here?"
Spotting her cousin about to have a full-on panic attack Buffy grabbed Elena's shoulders tightly, forcing her to focus "Hey, it's okay. Look call Stefan, it might be him. If it's not, I will deal with it okay?"
Giving her a pointed look, letting her know not to argue Elena took in a deep breath and finally nodded.
While she grabbed her phone, Buffy grabbed the stake she had stashed in Elena's room for emergencies.
"Stefan's phone." Damon answered, his smirk evident through his voice"How may I help you?"
The phone was on speaker which meant Buffy could hear every smug word leaving his lips.
"Damon, cut the crap where is he?" Buffy snapped as she reached into Elena's closet grabbing one of her crossbows.
Spotting Elena staring at her in shock, given that she had no idea Buffy had been stashing weapons in her room, she just rolled her eyes "Not now." She whispered, she didn't have time to explain to Elena how she had managed to hide weapons in every room in the house.
Hell, she even had some in Bonnie's house.
"Harsh, uh, he's on his way to you, forgot his phone."
Elena sighed in relief "Thank God. This compass was spinning. Stefan must be here. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Damon said before hanging up.
Yet despite his assurance that Stefan was on his way, the shiver going up her spine still had Buffy tightening her grip around the crossbow.
She didn't buy it. That compass had moved for a reason and if it was Stefan she would know it.
She had a bad feeling about this.
"Stay here." She warned Elena before moving out of the room, cautiously making her way down the steps into the living room.
Her eyes scanned every corner and shadow for any sign of danger.
Moving further into the living room, Buffy remained on guard. While there may be nothing in sight, these vampires moved faster than the normal kind, so she couldn't be too careful.
"Buffy look out!" Elena yelled from the top of the stairs causing Buffy's eyes to widen.
Spinning around she quickly fired an arrow straight into her attacker's shoulder before he could make a jump at her.
The vampire let out a howl of pain before speeding out of the room just as Stefan rushed inside only to frown as he spotted Elena standing at the staircase while Buffy was clutching her weapon.
Stefan frowned in worry as he glanced between the two women "What the hell happened?"
**
"I saved your life and you are still not gonna invite me in?"
Clearly, Damon was bitter about the fact that he was stuck on the porch during their conversation rather than inside the Gilbert house with the rest of them.
Buffy snorted at his question, there was no way she would be inviting Damon inside her house ever again.
"Yeah no. I paid you back by saving yours. You have to earn the invite."
Damon glared at her before dramatically rubbing his leather-clad arms as he mock shivered "But it's cold." He complained pursing his lips in hopes of earning some sympathy.
Yet his pout did nothing for Buffy. She merely stared at him with an unamused raised brow "Damon, you're dead. You don't feel the cold."
Realizing he was not going to be getting an invitation inside anytime soon, Damon grumbled in annoyance and leaned against the door frame "Well, I liked you better when you were half dead."
"Hmm, ditto." She had very much enjoyed the sight of Damon being covered in lighter fluid and about to be set on fire as he whimpered on the floor like a baby.
As entertaining as it was to watch his brother and girlfriend trade sarcastic blows, Stefan couldn't help but sigh.
Given their recent problems, now was not the time.
"Can you two stop antagonizing each other?"
"She started it!" Damon responded purposely pointing in her direction.
Buffy just rolled her eyes at the childish response and turned back to her boyfriend "It's not my fault he hasn't matured past 10 years old in 160-odd years."
Stefan chuckled slightly and moved to stand in front of her cupping her face softly "I know sweetie, but maybe you can make fun of Damon later." He promised before placing a swift brief kiss on her lips.
As much as she wanted to keep insulting him, Buffy knew Stean was right. Reluctantly she nodded in agreement, her focus had to be dealing with the vampire that had somehow gotten into their house "Fine I'll keep my insults for a later date."
With a temporary insult truce called between the pair, Damon shifted his eyes over to Elena "How'd he get in?"
There was no way Buffy would ever directly invite someone in, so either Elena had forgotten the new rules or Jeremy had invited some random into the house.
Elena shrugged and glanced at Buffy who shook her head "Hey, I used to only say come in during the day. Now, I just open the door and nod. So not my fault this time."
"It was mine." Elena reluctantly admitted, wincing slightly as she spotted Buffy narrowing her gaze "He was just delivering pizza I had no idea."
Elena seriously needed to stop saying the words 'come in' to anyone.
Buffy sighed as she paced back and forth before leaning against the staircase as she tried to figure out their next move "I'll give him props for the whole undercover thing. Normally they just stand there yelling let me in or I will kill you, Slayer." She mumbled under her breath before glancing in between Damon and Stefan.
All three of them had the exact same thought.
They needed to kill this guy...tonight.
Damon rolled his eyes in annoyance before glancing at Buffy curiously "Well I don't know the guy... so I'm betting you pissed someone off, little Slayer."
"Damon..." Buffy hissed in a dark tone as she took a warning step toward him "The vampires I deal with, end in one way...dead."
Sighing at the tension building, Elena quickly tried to refocus them before Buffy and Damon started punching each other.
"Do you think there's more than one?" She asked hesitantly, praying that she was wrong.
Damon shrugged "We don't know."
Stefan sighed before glancing between Buffy and Damon "Guys...he was invited in."
The pointed tone caused another silent conversation to be exchanged between the three.
This needed to be dealt with quickly.
"Then we go get him tonight. What do you say blondie, want to get back to work?" Damon teased.
Buffy shrugged as she lifted up her crossbow and a sly smirk covered her lips "I'm in. He attacked my family, so I'm gonna kill him. Plus, it will be nice to get back to my normal routine, you know, school, date, shop, hang out, and save the world from unspeakable demons. You know I wanna do girly stuff."
Damon smirked slightly as his eyes scanned over her leather-clad figure "I'm liking you more and more." Pausing he turned his focus to the still-shaking Elena "You up for it?"
Elena nodded nervously as she clasped her hands together "What do I have to do?"
"Go to the dance. Stay close to your cousin and her boyfriend, we'll see who shows up."
The idea of using Elena as bait and then having Buffy track down the vampire had Stefan shaking his head "That's a bad idea."
Damon sighed at his brother's overprotectiveness "Till we get him, this house isn't safe. For anyone who lives in it. It's worth a shot."
As much as Buffy didn't want to use Elena as bait, it was literally their only option if they wanted to keep her safe.
You couldn't un-invite a vampire without knowing who they were.
Grabbing her purse, Buffy pulled out three old 90s beepers, tossing one to each of them.
"Any sign, we beep." She ordered as she revealed the beeper currently strapped to her own waist "It's less obvious than calling plus just enter 911 and I will know to find you." She directed the last part at Elena who nodded and quickly strapped her new beeper to her hip.
Why Buffy was still using beepers she had no idea, but it was quicker than trying to phone or text for help.
Damon snorted as he stared down at his beeper "Very 90s of you."
He was making fun of her, but Buffy didn't care "I like beepers sue me."
"Not worth the lawyer bills."
Letting out a snort Buffy shook her head before clapping her hands together loudly "This vampire has an all-access pass. I'd rather not be eaten in my sleep. So...let's go hunting."
**
Walking side by side, Buffy and Elena made their way through the 50's dance which was now in full swing.
As they moved through the crowd Buffy whistled at all of the extravagant decorations hanging up around the gym.
This was completely insane just how much effort went into the high school dances in this town. Back in Sunnydale, they had to fight just to keep their homecoming dance alive whereas this town had like a billion dances and events a month.
How big could the Mystic Falls school dance budget be?
A sudden sharp jab to her side caused Buffy to wince. Turning to glare at Elena she faltered as Elena just pointed to where Bonnie and Caroline were.
Their two friends were literally right in front of them and Buffy hadn't even realized.
She was too focused on finding this damn vampire.
As Elena and Caroline complained about the dance, Buffy sighed glancing around the lit gym "Could be worse." She tells them "My last dance at Hemery High ended up with the school gym burning down."
Caroline raised an eyebrow before crossing her arms across her chest "Yeah... that's because you burnt it down."
The very true and blunt comment had Buffy shrugging, trying to play it off "Well, it was a really boring dance."
All four girls laughed enjoying their quiet moment but Bonnie was the first to come back to reality as she realized just who else was in attendance at tonight's dance.
"What's Damon doing here?"
Buffy quickly flipped her head around to glance behind her and sure enough, there were Damon and Stefan standing about 5ft away from them.
Groaning in annoyance, Buffy turned back to Bonnie "He forced his way in. Pretty sure he wanted to hit on the art teacher. But...I promise. He'll behave, I've already threatened him several times."
Caroline raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her chest, her hateful glare never leaving Damon "So what is this, like, a threesome now, you and the Salvatore brothers?"
Buffy let out a loud laugh "I think I would jump off a building before that ever happened." That was an image that would haunt her dreams forever "But I'm with Stefan, so I also have to deal with the ball and chain that is Damon."
"It's not like she can kill him." Elena added.
"Actually I probably could."
Bonnie and Caroline laughed loudly as they glanced over at Damon "There's an idea." Bonnie mumbled raising her glass.
Caroline smiled brightly "Mm. I'll help."
**
No vampire spottings.
They were officially an hour into the dance, yet there hadn't been a single sign of the mysterious, Elena-obsessed vampire.
Wanting Elena to at least enjoy a piece of her night, Buffy circled around the crowd with Stefan, both of them scanning the crowd carefully while the brunette danced with some other cheerleaders.
Buffy's eyes quickly landed on the hilarious sight of both Bonnie and Caroline storming away from Damon without a word.
Go, girls!
Beat down his ego!
"Looks like someone's charm is fading with his age." Buffy snarked as she and Stefan made their way over to Damon.
Damon glared at the blonde "I am everyone's type Buffster, they are just being stubborn."
His smug comment had her wanting to punch him again.
"What'd you say to them?" Stefan asked his brother, not believing for a second that he hadn't offended the girls in some way.
"I was perfectly polite." Damon argued, faking his innocence before smirking as he turned his gaze to Buffy "Buffy...would you like to dance?"
Buffy smiled playfully "Absolutely." She told him before turning her gaze to Stefan "You up for a dance?"
Damon's face faltered, which made Buffy smirk, she truly loved kicking him down a notch.
Stefan smiled in amusement and held out his arm for Buffy who entangled her arm with his, allowing him to lead her onto the dance floor.
Leaving Damon all alone watching after them.
Wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's neck Buffy's eyes scanned over the crowd again, looking for any sign of someone watching Elena in a creepy manner.
"See him anywhere?" Stefan asked, causing Buffy to shake her head in disappointment.
She knew he was here, she could feel it in her gut...but she couldn't spot him.
It was driving her insane.
"Nope. Not unless he's walking around in a poodle skirt or in a really tacky leather jacket. I mean come on, what is with the clothing back then?"
Stefan chuckled as they continued to sway together "Heh. Wow. Was not one of the better fashion trends."
Buffy looked up at Stefan her mind wandering back to what he would have looked like in the 50s.
She so needed photos.
"So what were you like back then, did you go full out with hair and all that? Are there any pictures that I can use to mock?"
Buffy giggled as Stefan quickly shook his head "No. Burned. Buried."
"Come on spill." She begged, pressing herself against his chest trying to get him to fess up "What was it like, back then?"
Stefan smiled at her teasing "Well we had all the cliché things of course plus well, you know that, and, McCarthyism and segregation and the nuclear arms race."
"Okay, but come on tell me there were puffy poodle skirts."
That adorable pout forming on her face had him smiling again "There were poodle skirts."
**
"I'm not picking up anything vampire-wise." Buffy informed Stefan as he twirled her before pulling her back toward him, wrapping his arms around her waist tightly.
As much as she was enjoying being wrapped up in his arms, her mind was still too focused on protecting Elena.
Stefan sighed as he spotted the worried frown on her face.
He could see it, she was freaked out.
Pulling her closer he offered her a small smile hoping to lift her mood "You mean we did all this dancing for nothing?"
At his teasing tone, Buffy let out a small laugh before dropping her head to his chest dramatically "Oh, no. It's the end of the world." She mumbled sarcastically before peaking back up into his eyes "Which I happen to be very good at."
The end of the world was her jam.
"I'm really sorry for all this." Stefan whispered into her ear as he held her close. Not wanting to let her go while there was still unknown danger surrounding them.
"It's not your fault." She assured him honestly before stroking his cheek lovingly "Honestly, trouble follows me wherever I go. I think there is some sort of invisible sign which says 'I'm the Slayer all evil welcome'. If anything I'm more worried about Elena than anything."
As a new song started to play, Buffy smirked at the more upbeat tempo.
The song was typical upbeat 50's music.
Pulling back she tightened her hold on his hands, swaying at a faster speed trying to encourage him to dance with her, like he had at the Four Star Mary concert.
"Show me what you got."
"Uh, no."
"Scared?" She mocked playfully swaying her hips from side to side. She may be vampire hunting, but it didn't mean she didn't get to have a little bit of fun.
When Stefan shook his head still refusing to move, Buffy rolled her eyes and started to turn away only to let out a squeal as Stefan pulled her back toward him and lifted her off the ground swinging her side to side.
As he placed her back on her feet he doesn't give her a second to speak as he pulled her lips to his, kissing her passionately.
Once he finally pulled back he cupped her face in his hands "Now you remember that. Because it's never gonna happen again."
Buffy couldn't help but giggle at his words before leaning her lips back towards his "We'll see about that."
She was more determined than ever to get him dancing every chance she got.
**
Dancing had been a nice distraction from all their current vampire problems.
Buffy let out a loud laugh as Stefan dipped her just like he had done at the concert, however, their little moment of joy and romance was ruined as she felt her beeper vibrating against her hip.
Tapping Stefan's chest, signaling him to pull her back up, Buffy switched to Slayer mode and grabbed her beeper.
911 - E.M.G
"He came after Elena." Buffy announced her eyes automatically starting to scan the crowd for her cousin.
Yet, Elena was nowhere to be seen.
Instantly, panic started to pound through her blood. Forcing her eyes up to Stefan she gave him a swift nod "Let Damon know, we split up and find her."
Without another word, Buffy ran off, ignoring Stefan yelling her name from the dance floor.
Despite desperate cries from Stefan, Buffy's main priority was keeping Elena safe.
Rushing out of the gym, Buffy walked into the empty hall and closed her eyes. She had to trust her senses just like Giles had taught her to when she had been dealing with that Invisible Girl back in Sunnydale.
Listening intently, Buffy's eyes slammed open as she heard Elena's screams from the end of the hall, near the cafeteria.
Taking off in a run she moved over to the cafeteria and shoved her foot out causing the double doors to slam open, effectively drawing both Elena's and the now confused vampire's attention.
Not giving him a second to question what was happening Buffy rushed at him and tackled him to the ground away from Elena.
As the two struggled, Elena screamed and backed away just as Stefan and Damon rushed into the cafeteria, having followed the screams.
Buffy groaned as she felt the vampire trying to dig his teeth into her neck.
Not willing to be his midnight snack, she slammed her head into his forehead, before driving her knee right in between his legs.
Sure enough, that simple move had him frozen and groaning in agony as he clutched his private area.
Shoving his form off her body, Buffy flipped back up to her feet.
"Elena!" She yelled as she slammed her fist into the vampire's face shattering his jaw "Toss...me...the...broom!" She ordered in between punches.
With a vampire of his species, she seriously could not risk even taking her focus off him for even a second.
One second was all it would take for him to speed up behind her and snap her neck.
Elena gulped through her terror and forced herself to toss the broken broom that she had tried to stab the vampire with over to Buffy.
Catching the makeshift stake Buffy twirled it in her grasp before shoving it right into his gut and twisting it violently, causing him to drop to his knees at her feet.
"Damn." Damon whispered as he watched the fight.
He had to admit every time he saw Buffy fight he was more shocked than the previous time.
Buffy rolled her eyes at his commentary before she twisted the stake again "Am I killing him yet?!" She yelled drawing the brothers' attention.
Damon quickly shook himself out of his shock and moved to stand beside the blonde, glaring down at the vampire currently at her mercy.
"Hey, dickhead." Damon snapped "Nobody wants to kill you. We just wanna talk."
"Speak for yourself." Buffy contradicted as she twisted the stake again ignoring his howls of pain "I kinda wanna kill him. Because of him, I'm gonna have to wear a press on for the rest of the week."
With that, she shoved him onto his back before standing up straight and pointing to her broken nail. Her fresh manicure was now destroyed.
The vampire merely ignored the conversation as he yanked the wood out of his stomach and tried to run at Elena who was hiding behind Stefan, terrified out of her mind.
Without hesitation, Damon tossed Buffy the piece of wood, and the blonde spun around launching it at the attacker's back right between his shoulder blades.
As he dropped yet again Buffy, Stefan, and Damon walked over to him while Elena keeps her distance, not wanting to get any closer.
Yanking the wood out of his back Buffy pressed her foot over his healing wound forcing him face-first against the floor.
As her heel dug into his back causing him to howl in pain Stefan crouched down in front of him "Now you feel like talking?" He asked as his girlfriend continued her torture techniques.
"Screw you."
Glancing up at Buffy, Stefan nodded, and with that Buffy grabbed the back of the vampire's head yanking him back to his knees before tossing the wooden mop to Stefan.
As he caught the weapon Stefan instantly forced the wood upwards into the vampire's chest causing him to cry out in pain.
"As you can see that was not the best answer." Buffy teased as she leaned over whispering right into the vampire's ear "So either, you answer our questions or this is gonna get a lot more painful."
The vampire let out a small grunt before he turned to Buffy.
The second his eyes landed on her face he faltered.
Not a second after he looks into her eyes, his own eyes widened in confusion "Mary?"
Buffy's entire body went stone cold as she stared at him in shock "What?"
She whispered before quickly looking over at Stefan and Damon hoping for an explanation but both of them looked just as confused as her.
Neither of them knew how this guy could possibly know who Mary was.
Clenching her jaw tightly Buffy grabbed the back of the vamp's neck again before slamming his head violently against one of the tables causing blood to spill from his now broken nose "Why did you call me that?"
The vampire smirked through his pain as he spits the blood out of his mouth "Because you look just like her. Except for the hair and the height obviously. Although the blonde works better in my opinion. Who would have thought, one that looks like Mary and one that looks like Katherine."
As the vampire's eyes moved in Elena's direction Stefan leaned forward blocking his view of both Elena and Buffy.
Damon looked down at the man, rage flashing through his blue eyes "You knew Katherine and Mary?"
The vampire merely chuckled, not the least bit intimidated "Oh. You thought you were the only ones. You don't even remember me."
Damon leaned towards the vampire not caring about his story, all he cared about was the tomb "Tell me how to get in the tomb. Hmm?"
"No."
Stefan pushed the wood again and as he does, Elena turned away hiding her face in Buffy's shoulder.
Unable to watch the brutal display of violence any longer.
The vampire groaned in pain again then looked at Damon desperately "The Grimoire."
"Where is it?"
When he doesn't answer Stefan stabbed him again.
"Check the journal!" He screamed "The journal. Jonathan's journal. Jonathan Gilbert's"
Stefan looked over at Damon and then back at the vampire "Who else is working with you?"
"Who else is there?" Damon exclaimed.
There was a long moment of silence as both brothers waited for answers but the vampire merely shook his head, clenching his jaw tightly "No. You're gonna have to kill me."
Without needing to be asked twice Buffy picked a pencil off the floor and threw it at him.
The pencil went right through his heart.
Both brothers jumped back in shock before being forced to watch as the vampire doubled over in pain, his body desiccating.
Damon turned to Buffy glancing back and forth between her and the body in disbelief "Did you just kill him with a pencil?"
Buffy shrugged and took a step forward, kicking the dead body with the heel of her boot "Yep."
Elena merely let out a horrified gasp as she watched the vampire's body turn grey "What do we—how are you gonna find the others now?"
Damon glanced at traumatized Elena who was clearly still struggling to understand how this world worked.
If she was going to remain involved in this world, she needed to get used to the violence quickly or she wouldn't survive.
More accurately, Buffy would die trying to keep her innocence safe.
"He had to die."
"But..."
Stefan looked at Elena pointedly "Elena, he's been invited in."
Still unsure of how she felt about this, Elena turned to Buffy for help, but the Slayer just shook her head.
"They're right. He had to die."
**
After she had finally gotten a very clearly shaken up Elena to bed Buffy walked back into the kitchen where Stefan was waiting for her.
"You okay?" Her boyfriend asked as he handed her a cup of hot chocolate before the two of them move into the living room.
He was very much aware of how bad her sleeping habits were, so there was no way he was going to give her coffee at this time of night.
Buffy sighed at the question as she moved to sit on the couch "Same old, same old." She mumbled just as Stefan moved to sit beside her, his arm wrapping around her shoulders, pulling her into his side "You know your kind is not as hard to kill as I thought. I just killed him with a pencil. That was a first for me."
Stefan let out a small chuckle as he ran his fingers through her hair "That was definitely the highlight of the night." Pausing he took in a shaky breath as he watched her nervously "I need to tell you something, and I don't know how you're gonna feel about it."
Buffy frowned as she shifted to face him "What? You didn't kill a puppy did you?"
Stefan smiled at her unique way of conversation "No-no. I told Damon that I'd help him get into that tomb to get Katherine so she can resurrect Mary."
"Huh?"
"But it was a lie."
Buffy looks at him confused, now she was more confused than before "Again I say huh?"
"I let him believe that he could trust me."
"Well, then what's the problem?"
"Because he can be very persuasive, and you two have bonded lately."
Buffy couldn't help but scoff at the mere suggestion of her and Damon being friends "Please it's just becoming easier to tolerate him. And just because I threaten to rip out his organs less for you, does not mean I trust him. That would be like trusting Spike."
"I don't wanna be his enemy, Buffy, but I can't let him do it." He couldn't set Mary free if it meant putting Buffy's life in danger.
Buffy inhaled tightly before pressing herself into him. She was all for making sure whatever Prophecy Emily had been talking about never came true. And the only way that never happened was to make sure Mary was not released from the amulet.
"I can't let another Prophecy control my life." She whispered "Emily said if Mary got out, we were beyond screwed. So I am in for whatever plan you have. Having a Slayer on your side comes with its benefits."