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Nothing But Thieves - Broken Machine
"I'm just a broken machine
Not who I used to be
I'm spinning out of control
Now it's time to go."
LAUREN HAD NO IDEA HOW MANY PEOPLE SHE ALREADY KILLED. But Holden told her that it was no big deal. She couldn't control the hunger. Everything seemed like a dream to her. A few days ago she lived her life as a student, trying to pay her rents, but now all she did was feed and kill.
The girl never wanted to be a vampire. She didn't even know something like that existed. But Holden made her. She couldn't even go outside in the daylight like Holden could, because her skin burned. She didn't know why he was able to.
Lauren thought the guy she met at the ball would help her but he just left in search of Holden and the girl he took. Lauren knew Holden didn't care about her and that he was such a huge monster.
She just wished to learn control. Because another kill would make her lose her mind.
Another sunny day, another hotel room with curtains drawn and Holden, bringing her food sources. Lauren was sitting on a bed, breathing heavily as her eyes continued vamping out. A young female was crying in the corner from getting bit. "Stop crying," Lauren sneered loudly as she tried to control herself and not attack the innocent person. When the girl didn't listen Lauren stood up and marched over towards the female before making her stand up. "If you don't stop crying... I'm gonna attack."
Doors suddenly opened causing a few rays of sunshine hit Lauren's hand causing it to sizzle. "Ah!" Lauren vamp rushed to the other side of the room, hiding from the sun. Holden opened the door widely, causing a lot of sun to appear. "Close the door!"
Holden smirked at the human female, who began to run towards the door. She tried brushing past him but Holden only wrapped his arm around her waist and closed the door. "Please," the human begged falling to her knees as Holden looked at his bloody hand before glancing at Lauren.
"Why is she still alive?" he asked dully before helping the human stand up, even if she didn't want to. "Why aren't you feeding?"
Lauren swallowed a huge lump when Holden removed some hair from the human's neck, exposing dried blood. "I'm full," Lauren lied causing Holden to glance down at a shivering female.
"She's full. Hear that?" he questioned curiously before snapping her neck, killing her.
"No!" Lauren shouted with wide eyes as she saw Holden lay down the dead female human. "Why did you kill her?!"
Holden walked into the bathroom before washing his hands with a dull face. "You said you were full," he answered nonchalantly causing Lauren to clench her jaw.
"Then you should've released her!"
Holden left the bathroom before taking a step over the dead body before he lied in bed. "You can't just kill innocent people!" Lauren yelled before closing her eyes. She could still smell blood as Holden stared at her with a blank face.
"I don't care," he mused dully before Lauren sat down on her own bed.
"I have so many questions," Lauren began as she glanced at Holden, who was lying straight, staring off into the ceiling. Lauren was creeped out by his lack of emotions because she felt like she was gonna explode from them. "Why did you turn me?"
Holden didn't answer as Lauren became even more creeped out by his sudden silence. "Okay... Why are you like this then?" she pressed with questions again. "Answer me!"
The emotionless Salvatore looked at her before sitting up. "You want to be like me, don't you?" he asked as a dull smirk appeared on his face. Lauren shook her head. "Hm... That's a shame. It would be so much fun."
"You're... It's like you don't feel," Lauren explained angrily causing Holden to look at her. "What... How is that possible?" she realized that it was indeed a case.
Holden wasn't dumb. He knew Lauren wouldn't waste time turning it off too if he told her. He knew she felt so much guilt but that wasn't his plan for her. "I just can," he commented before standing up and walking towards Lauren, who stared at him fearfully. "I turned you for a reason, sweetheart. I want you to raise hell for Stefan. When the times comes I want you to go back to Mystic Falls and kill everyone that he loves."
"Stefan? That guy that I bumped into at the ball?" Lauren asked so Holden nodded with a sweet smile. "Who is he to you and why do you want to hurt him?"
"He's the one who tries to control me. And as much as I don't care... He ruins the fun," Holden explained casually as Lauren furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "I already hurt someone he cares about. But that was just a small one comparing to what you're gonna do to Caroline Forbes, Jeremy Gilbert and of course Elena Gilbert."
Lauren had no idea why she listened to Holden and why she wanted to do as he said. But from the looks on Holden's face he knew. "When will I be able to walk in the daylight?" she asked him dully as Holden smirked.
"Where do you think I went?" he asked before revealing a beautiful ring with a blue stone in it. Lauren stared at it before taking it. "It's yours."
Lauren put it on before Holden walked over to the curtains. He draw them causing Lauren to close her eyes from the impact. But when she didn't burn Lauren opened her eyes as Holden mused. "Apparently it worked," he said so Lauren smiled to herself. She was free to roam.
KATHERINE AND STEFAN WERE ON A ROAD ONCE AGAIN. Caroline gave them a lead to find Damon, who was somewhere with Enzo. When his car's fuel ended the two had to stop at a gas station to fill up joint.
Of course the Pierce girl became frustrated when she had to exit the car through the window. "You ever think about getting a new car?" she asked before finally getting out.
"What are you talking about?" Stefan looked at her in amusement. "This car is a classic."
Katherine scoffed. "Yeah and so is the Wright brother's plane, but you don't see people still flying around in that thing."
Stefan began to pump gas into the car as he thought of his brothers. He hadn't heard from Holden since he almost killed Izzie and let Jeremy die from Enzo's hands. Also he lost any trace of the girl that Holden had turned. "You know, uh, I appreciate you being here, but you didn't have to come," Stefan glanced at her.
"I told you, I'm doing this for you," Katherine nodded softly causing Stefan to look away. "Because you're still holding on to hope that maybe this is the time that Holden and Damon can be saved."
Stefan glanced back at her with furrowed eyebrows. "And you don't think they can?" he asked as Katherine shrugged her shoulders. Stefan still couldn't wrap his mind around Elena's recent behavior towards Holden. "Look. I know that Holden crossed the line when he turned his emotions off and almost let Jeremy die, but, you know, he doesn't have his emotions."
"What do you mean by that?" Katherine asked in confusion.
Stefan sighed deeply. "I'm just saying, you've never really closed him off like this before," he commented as Katherine hesitated to say anything.
"Of course I still care about Holden, I guess my love for him just passed... I just want the emotional roller-coaster off for now," Katherine sighed as Stefan nodded slowly. "By the way, why are we searching for Damon and not Holden?"
Katherine wanted them to search for Holden because she wanted him out of the way first since Damon didn't really make it difficult for her to be with Stefan. But Stefan thought otherwise. "Because in order to get Holden back I need Damon's help. Damon still has his emotions on. I saw the look on his face when he saw how lost Holden was. It wasn't Holden, Elena. And I know that me and him... We both want our brother back."
Katherine only nodded her head before smiling. "Are you hungry because I'm just starving," she mused.
Stefan nodded at her. "Uhh. Sure. What do you want?" he questioned curiously before moving to go inside the station.
"Whatever you're having, with a lot of more salt and maybe covered in chocolate," Katherine smiled at him so Stefan smiled back and left to buy some food.
Katherine watched him disappear inside before she opened up the hood of the car and pulled one of the parts out, before tussling her hair and leaning up against the car in a sexy manner.
After a couple of minutes Stefan was inspecting the inside of the hood of his car since he couldn't start his car. He saw the piece that Katherine broke before. Picking it up he handed it to the girl. "Hey, can you hold this for a second?"
"Yeah," Katherine nodded her head before taking it with a face.
"Careful. There's grease on it."
"Oh. Okay," an idea popped into her head as Stefan continued checking the car.
"I have no idea how this hose ripped out, but we're not going to be able to go anywhere until I get a new one," he sighed as Katherine intentionally rubbed the grease all over her. Stefan raised his eyes to see some grease on her. "Ahh. I guess I'll see if that mechanic has a spare. You weren't careful at all."
"What?" she asked as he looked down at her shirt. "What?" Katherine then feigned surprise about the grease. "Ohh! I love this shirt!"
Stefan suppressed a smile. "You loved that shirt."
Katherine made a face as she looked at Stefan. "Great. Awesome... That's just awesome."
Katherine then rubbed a hand over her face causing some grease to stay there as well. "Now there's grease all over your face," Stefan commented.
"UGH! Well, you've got all that engine stuff on you, and I clearly have to change. I saw a hotel, like, a couple streets down that way. Do you think we should get a room, so that we can shower while we're waiting for the car?" Katherine asked hopefully. So far her plan was going perfectly and nothing could've ruined it.
Stefan shook his head. "No. I should probably stay here in case they finish early, but you can go."
Katherine frowned a bit but then covered it with a grin. "Give them your phone number. I assume that your phone does receive incoming calls, right? Or is it from the Han Dynasty, just like your car?"
Stefan smiled at her. "That's funny."
But nevertheless he nodded so Katherine smiled in pleasure. "Will you grab my bag?"
"Sure, be right there."
Stefan moved to take her bags as the two didn't see Lauren watching them from across the street with a look on her face.
HOLDEN WAS IN THE MOTEL ROOM SITTING ON THE EDGE OF THE BED, STARING OFF INTO SPACE AGAIN. Ever since turning his emotions off he continued doing that. As if he was a computer ready to be recharged.
His head was dull as he thought about nothing. Holden never knew it was possible to just sit in one spot and feel nothing and to think about only dull stuff. No emotions, no pain and no thoughts. Of course he remembered how it felt to feel but it didn't bring him the need to feel again. He was fine the way he was now. He wanted to stay emotionless forever.
But most importantly he wanted to kill those who even tried to smile his way, or help in any way. Or tried to get him back. He thought he made it clear by killing all these people but somehow Stefan just couldn't get it.
Holden didn't even realize Lauren walked in. She saw Holden sitting in the same position she left him. "I'm back," she mused but Holden didn't move. He only stared to the ground as if he was hypnotized. Lauren knew he was a weird one. A dark one more so.
Then as if nothing happened Holden stood up and looked at Lauren with a smirk. "Hey there. How was a walk in the sun?" he asked curiously. Lauren opened her mouth to speak but Holden then just put a finger to his lips before shushing her. "Oh wait. I don't care."
Lauren rolled her eyes. "I actually resisted," she mused, proud of herself. "I didn't feed off of a man that pushed me. That was hard though."
Holden didn't answer as Lauren then debated whether she should even side with him. Maybe she didn't even need to tell him about Stefan and his ex girlfriend being in the same hotel as them. Maybe Lauren had to tell Stefan that Holden was there. "When are we coming back to Mystic Falls?" Lauren questioned then as Holden poured himself a drink before downing it.
"Soon."
"You know..." Lauren paused as Holden glanced at her to see that she tried to hide something. "You know what, nothing. I'll just go out again."
Lauren then opened the door but Holden vamp sped towards her before shutting the door on her nose causing Lauren to flinch and turn around. "What do you want to tell me?" he asked as his hand reached to touch her cheek. Lauren stared at him with wide eyes as her breathing became hitched. "What did you try to hide, Lauren?"
"N-nothing," she stuttered as Holden smiled before throwing her harshly on the bed. He locked the door as Lauren saw that her ring was gone. Holden raised it up as he walked over to the curtains and drew them causing Lauren's skin to burn. "Ahh!"
"Answer me or you'll burn," he commented. The look on his face made Lauren really scared.
"Okay okay, just close it!" she sneered as her hand caught on fire. "Ahh!"
Holden rolled his eyes before closing the curtain. Lauren breathed heavily as she rushed to the bathroom. Turning the shower on she put the hand in the water. It stopped burning as Lauren breathed out feeling a bit better.
Turning around she saw Holden leaning against the doorframe, looking at her. "Stefan and some brunette are here," she then admitted causing Holden to raise both of his eyebrows up. He wasn't expecting that.
"In this hotel?" he asked curiously so Lauren nodded with a face. "Good girl. Thank you for telling me."
Holden then turned to leave but Lauren grabbed his arm. "Wait. What about my ring?" she asked as Holden chuckled. He then yanked his arm back to himself before leaving the room and a troubled looking Lauren behind.
AFTER KISSING STEFAN KATHERINE LEFT THEIR HOTEL ROOM WITH A SMILE. She took a turn before stopping and taking her phone out. She dialed a number before pressing it on her ear. "Who do you think Stefan loves more: his brothers or Elena?" Katherine smiled as she spoke to her daughter.
"Why are you calling me?" Nadia asked dully as Katherine rolled her eyes expressively.
"Damon has been infected by the ripper virus and I know exactly where he is, so if I can get Damon to attack me, the only way to save me would be for Stefan to kill him," Katherine explained with a smirk.
"Why do you want to kill Damon? I thought Holden was your target," Nadia questioned before pausing. "And you want Stefan to kill his brother? Dark. Even for you."
"Thank you. So, how goes it with Matty-blue-eyes?" she asked while looking at her nails. "Dead yet?"
Nadia paused once again. "Still working on it. Good luck with your plan to win Stefan's love," she then hung up as Katherine sighed before turning around to go back to her room when suddenly someone covered her mouth and held her from behind.
Katherine tried to push that someone away but he was stronger. "You fooled us good, Katherine," Holden whispered into her ear as Katherine widened her eyes.
Holden then let go of her as she quickly spun around to look at him. "Holden! What... I-I. What are you...?" Katherine stuttered as Holden rolled his eyes with a smirk.
"How did you get into Elena's body?" he asked before smirking even wider. "Damn. You're a master mind."
Katherine continued to stare at Holden. "What are you doing here? I thought you were gone... Killing off people and stuff."
Holden smiled at her once again. "So... You're living in Elena's body, fooling everyone around you. Did you break up with me?" he asked as Katherine pursed her lips, hoping that Stefan wasn't anywhere near. Holden really ruined her plans.
"If I say yes will you turn your emotions on?" she asked coldly as Holden laughed before shaking his head. "Good. Great, I did. I left you and you just turned it off. Will you tell everyone?"
"I overheard..." Holden trailed off with a look as Katherine rolled her eyes dully. "You said Damon got infected with a virus that makes him feed on vampires..."
Katherine stood in one place as Holden circled her as if she was his prey. "And that you want Stefan to kill him. Ruthless but fun to watch."
"What do you want from me?" Katherine asked angrily as Holden stopped behind her. He moved a strand of her hair behind her ear before smirking as he leaned to whisper into her ear.
"I want you to make that come true. I want Damon gone so that Stefan would suffer. I want him out of my way," he whispered as Katherine looked ahead of her with a smug look on her face.
Katherine then turned around to face Holden. "And in exchange... You do not tell anyone it's really me," Katherine commented as Holden bit his lower lip before laughing. "What?"
"I could care less who's in Elena's body. Unless that someone tries to fix me," he said dully as Katherine smirked at him. "But be careful, Kitty-Kat. It won't be easy to persuade Stefan to kill Damon."
Katherine only mused. "We'll see about that," she smirked as Holden stared at her. "I'm actually glad we have an agreement. It's a good thing you turned it off."
"Hm, I think so too," he said before walking past her and leaving. Katherine chuckled but she didn't see the look on Holden's face as he walked away from her.
AFTER AN UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO MAKE STEFAN KILL DAMON THE THREE CAME BACK HOME. Stefan locked Damon in the cellar after the two talked about a lot of things. How weird Elena was and how Damon wasn't gonna help Stefan bring their old brother back.
Of course that left Stefan upset and angry. He left the cellar before walking into the parlor to find Holden sitting besides the fireplace with a drink in his hand.
Caroline was standing a bit away from him as Lauren looked around the book shelf. Stefan looked from Lauren back at Holden. "Caroline, when did you get here?" Stefan asked her worriedly as Caroline frowned as she stared at Holden.
"Not long ago."
"Hmm," Stefan mused before motioning for her to leave. Caroline quickly nodded before walking past him but Stefan stopped her. "Talk to you later?"
Caroline nodded before leaving as Stefan turned back to look at Holden and Lauren. "What are you two doing here? I thought you told us not to follow you."
Holden looked down with a smile before standing up. He approached Stefan, who clenched his jaw. "Stefan, I... I turned it on," Holden mused as tears appeared in his eyes. "I saw Elena and I just turned it on."
Lauren rolled her eyes as Stefan pushed Holden a bit causing for Holden to laugh loudly then wipe the tears. "I'm good, am I not?" he asked before turning to Lauren. "Am. I. Not?"
Lauren suddenly nodded as Stefan frowned. "You're torturing the poor girl," Stefan sneered as Lauren glanced at him.
"Don't listen to his morals, Lauren. He's an idiot," Holden mused before sitting back and making himself comfortable.
Stefan only raised his eyebrows up. "Well, you have to question who's the idiot here. Why are you here, Holden?"
"So... You and Elena. What's the verdict?" Holden asked curiously, ignoring Stefan's question.
Stefan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What? What do you mean?" he asked as Holden glanced at Lauren before back at Stefan in boredom.
"Well, isn't she acting strange... Or didn't she try to kiss you and all?" he asked, playing a game. Since Damon wasn't dead as Katherine promised, Holden decided to tell Stefan about Katherine being in Elena's body. As much as he didn't want Elena back, because deep down he knew she'd make him turn it on, he also wanted to make Katherine miserable. He just didn't care about her at all.
Stefan stared at Holden in confusion. "You saw us?" Stefan realized as Holden smiled with a quick nod. "When? Where? Why didn't she tell me?"
"Because she didn't want you to know," Lauren spoke as Holden glanced at her, telling her with his look to be quiet. "Obviously."
Stefan sat down on a couch with a confused face. "I don't get it. She kissed me and then you met her and she didn't even tell me. Elena cares about you, she would never lie to me about you."
Holden let out a sigh as he leaned forward in his seat with a smirk. "Think, Stefan. You are really close," he said as Stefan continued thinking.
Lauren then approached Holden before whispering. "Why are you doing this? Why are you telling him?" she asked quietly as Holden smirked at her.
"Because it's fun."
"It's weird... It's like she just gave up on you," Stefan commented raising his eyes back at Holden, who shrugged.
"I mean I am dick now."
"That's not what I mean... Also, she wanted me to kill Damon tonight just because he was feeding from her," Stefan continued talking as Holden made a face. "She may be mad at him, but she would never want him or you dead."
Holden stood up then as he walked to stand behind Stefan. "Very close. But you still don't get it, do you?" he asked so Stefan quickly stood up before turning to face his brother.
"Just tell me then!" he shouted but Holden remained silent. Stefan clenched his jaw before vamp speeding towards Holden and pushing him against the wall. "Holden!"
Holden only smirked and then it hit Stefan. He looked down as the grip of Holden's jacket loosened. "Caroline showed me a text she got from Matt. 'help K.' it said. But Nadia stopped him. K as in Katherine. And when Katherine was dying, Nadia figured out a way to put Katherine's spirit inside Nadia's body."
Holden smirked as Stefan continued. "But that didn't happen because Katherine suddenly had a change of heart. No... No. It's impossible," Stefan pulled away from Holden, who smirked. "Oh my god. It's not Elena."
"Ding ding ding," Holden said with a grin as Stefan stared at Holden.
Elena Gilbert wasn't Elena Gilbert apparently. And now they knew.
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