I walk up to the Boarding House, finding the door wide open, Elena standing outside. Walking up behind her I find Rebekah with a ripped gown and Damon beside her shirtless in the foyer. Damon shoots me a smirk while Rebekah smiles at Elena before slipping past me, avoiding my eye contact. Elena shoots me a look as if asking if I had any knowledge of this, I simply shake my head no.
Moving into the living room, Elena waits impatiently for Damon to button his shirt, talking his ear off. I bypass their lovers quarrel, heading to my room to change. Once I am dressed in some fresh clothes, I walk back downstairs. Grateful that Elena is here to distract Damon so he can't ask me why I was still in last night's clothes.
"Well, maybe, for once, something I did had nothing to do with you," Damon tells Elena as I enter the living room. He takes a sip of his drink. I'm tempted to laugh at the blow to Elena, but decide to remain quiet for now, not ready to draw attention to myself yet.
"You should know," Elena starts, taking a step closer to Damon, "that Esther is planning on killing her entire family. She's linked them all together with a spell. Whatever happens to one, happens to all of them."
"Well, that's great! Klaus will finally be dead. We win," Damon drinks again. "Why do you look like someone just shot a panda bear?" He asks her. I can't see her expression from my place by the stairs, but I'm sure it's a somber one. But I don't understand why this isn't good news, doesn't she want the Originals dead?
"Uh, because to kill Klaus she has to kill all of them, including Elijah. And he doesn't deserve this!" Elena states, like it's a known fact.
"I don't think you know Elijah as well as you think you do," I speak up, catching the two's attention as I walk into the room. "Trust me when I say that Elijah may come off as high and mighty, but he's still a monster inside. They all are." Elena seems conflicted at my words, while Damon just watches me. I meet his eyes briefly before turning to watch Elena as she talks.
"Shouldn't you at least care about Rebekah," she directs her words to Damon, a sharp bitterness in her tone. Sounds to me as though she's jealous. I roll my eyes at the thought, walking over to take a seat on the armchair of the couch.
"Two seconds ago, you were pissed that she attacked you," Damon walks closer to her, getting in her face. "It's a win-win." Elena shakes her head at him, turning to leave but Damon vamp speeds in front of her, blocking her path. "Don't do anything to screw this up, Elena," he says, pointing at her with a harsh stare.
"Why are you doing this?" Elena questions, her back to me now. I watch as Stefan appears behind Damon. He must of heard the drama and come down to see it for himself.
"They're right, you know," he tells Elena. "Klaus has to die. They all do."
"See? It's democracy in action," Damon quips at her. Elena angered by these words leaves, knocking into Damon on the way past, causing him to spill his drink. My brothers watch her go.
It's a little later and I'm sitting in the library reading a book in front of the fireplace. Stefan stands in front of me, lost in thought. He's been acting weird lately.
"Join me for a little victory drink?" Damon enters the room. I look back at him to see three glasses full of blood in his hands.
Stefan turns away from him, his face grim as the flames cast shadows on his figure, "Should wait until Klaus is dead."
Damon puts a hand on the back of the couch I'm sitting on, giving Stefan a look. "Why are you so extra broody? Did you see the way we stood up to Elena? I like both of you on my team. Must have driven her nuts." He grins, taking a sip of his drink.
"You still think she's gonna screw this up, don't you?" Stefan asks, turning to face Damon. I stand up from the couch, laying my book down on my spot. Here we go, I think, feeling the tension between the two.
"I think somebody needs to talk to her. She's not gonna listen to anything I say."
"Is it because of your little sleepover?"
"It's not my fault she decided to get jealous," Damon defends himself against Stefan's accusations.
"Well, given who you chose to sleep with, I would say it's one hundred percent your fault," Stefan retorts.
"Whatever," Damon says, shrugging Stefan off. "Did you a favor. Now you can come in and sweep her off her feet." Knowing I'm going to have to step in soon, I take a step closer to Damon.
"Nah. She's better off without me. Sure as hell better off without you," Stefan shoots at Damon, playing to get a reaction out of him.
Damon is about to say something but I cut him off, "Would you two knock it off! Whatever happened to bros against hoes? I mean, seriously," I sigh. "I've been here, what two days? And already you two have gotten into too many fights, and over a girl? It's ridiculous." I glance at both of them before looking at Damon, "And Rebekah? Are you kidding me? What happened to not sleeping with the enemy?"
Damon glares at me, "Shouldn't I be asking you the same?"
I cross my arms, staring at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means, that after my sister spent the whole night flirting with Originals and then comes home in the morning with the same dress on from last night, I have questions. Like who did you sleep with? Was it Kol? You spent a few hot minutes with him. Or what about Klaus? Don't think that I didn't see you two disappear together. Oh, but better yet, was it Elijah? You seemed pretty angry with him this morning. Was it because he told you to get out-" I slap Damon, hard. He turns away, putting a hand to his cheek before looking at me with slight surprise.
I glare at him, furious. "I'll have you know that I didn't sleep with any of them. I'm not you! I hate them! And what you saw last night was me keeping up appearances while you two fought like little kids over Elena!"
I can feel Damon's anger radiate off of him as he steps closer to me. "Really? Then why the sneaking off? I mean you come to town seeming to know so much about them and then sneak off with Klaus. Klaus? Why? What are you hiding? What aren't you telling us?"
"That is none of your business. I'm on your side, so stop trying to indite me! I'm here to kill them, just like you."
"Just like that, huh?" Damon asks me in a calm voice, getting in my face. "After last night and how close you seemed with all of them, you are just going to let them die. You're ready to stand back and watch Esther kill each of them?" Damon challenges me.
Gritting my teeth, I get in his face. "Yes."
Damon watches me for a second before stepping away. "Fine," he says to me before looking at Stefan. "Neither of us get Elena. Just make sure she doesn't screw up Esther's plan." And with that, Damon leaves the library, but not before slamming two of the glasses filled with blood onto a table on his way out. I watch Stefan look at the glass for a second before turning away from it.
"Ugh!" I groan, picking up my book and throwing it in the direction Damon left. "He irritates me!"
"Yeah, that's his specialty," Stefan mutters from behind me. "He knows just how to get under your skin."
I turn around to look at my twin, stepping closer to him. "What's going on between you two? Besides Elena. What happened?"
Stefan doesn't reply at first. He just continues staring at the fireplace before he glances at me. "The short version: I went with Klaus on a road trip, you could say, over the summer in return for saving my life. But Klaus's catch was he wanted the Ripper, not me. Then, when we came back to Mystic Falls, I was compelled to kill Elena if Bonnie couldn't find-"
"-the cure to making Klaus's hybrids," I whisper, finishing Stefan's sentence, already knowing this part of the story from gossip chains. "Elena's blood. That's what makes the hybrids." I glance at the ground, remembering the stories I had heard of Klaus's countless murders in his search for a wolf pack, but I guess the murders were Stefan, not Klaus.
I can feel Stefan's eyes on me, watching and searching for something. But I leave my face blank. "I'm gonna go to my room," I mumble, desperate to escape my twin's heated gaze. As I'm about to exit the room, Stefan's voice stops me.
"Do you have feelings for him?"
The question sends a shiver up my spine. I don't look back at Stefan to reply, "Who?"
"Klaus." I bite my lip at the name, memories filling my head. "Because I saw you two together last night. I saw the way he looked at you." Stefan's words make my heart beat faster, but I force myself to remain still.
"No," I answer. "The only feeling I hold for him is hatred."
"Well I'm not sure he feels the same," Stefan says. After hearing his words, I speed walk out of the room, not wanting to here anymore of it. Not wanting to think of Klaus anymore. He may still feel something for me, but whatever we had, whatever I felt so long ago, is gone. And Klaus can go to hell.
...
Apparently Elena had gone missing, causing Stefan and I to go search for her like a lost little puppy. But after awhile we come back to the house, empty-handed. "We can't find her anywhere," Stefan announces as we walk through the foyer after searching for her everywhere. When we walk into the living room, we freeze. Elijah sits in a chair by a fireplace. Damon in front of him.
"Hello, Stefan. Lily," Elijah greets us with a tip of his head.
"He has Elena," Damon states, informing us of the situation.
"Actually, she's with Rebekah " Elijah corrects him. "As you can imagine, my sister is just dying to tear her throat out. So...if you want to save Elena's life, I need you to help me stop my mother."
Damon glares at him, his sarcasm peeking through his words, "I'm a little embarrassed to admit, but when it comes to killing thousand year old resurrected witches, I'm a little rusty."
Yes, unfortunately, even when killed my mother doesn't seem to want to stay dead. Not with the spirits of nature at her side," Elijah says.
"So what do we need to do?" Stefan asks, taking a step forward toward Elijah.
"The witches that released my mother, she's drawing her power from their bloodline, that line needs to be broken," Elijah tells us.
"Broken?" Stefan echos.
"Broken by death," I speak up, catching Elijah's drift. Elijah glances my way and we meet eyes. I stare at him impassively. "That means one of them needs to die."
"You want us to kill them," Stefan clarifies, gaining Elijah's attention back.
"You know I'd do it myself, but I have absolutely no idea where they are. Besides, seeing me, they'd immediately know my intent. They won't expect to be harm by the likes of you," Elijah waves a hand at us, standing up and adjusting his suit coat. "In any case, you have until six minutes after nine to find them."
"How super specific of you," Damon comments.
"By 9:07, the moon will be full, my mother will have the power she needs to kill me and my family. If you do not stop her before then, Rebekah will kill Elena. So we all have our time line?" Elijah walks towards us, glancing at all of us. I meet his gaze with a stone cold stare. "I suggest you get started." Elijah bumps my brother's shoulders as he leaves.
When I hear the door shut, I turn and look at them. "What now?" I ask.
Damon's POV
Stefan is in the basement when I approach him. He's so invested with the blood bags in the freezer that he doesn't notice me till he had one open. "Clock's ticking. You gonna help me brainstorm a plan or are you too busy fixing yourself a snack?" I raise a brow at him, lowering my gaze. We need to focus on getting Elena back but this whole blood thing has been distracting him.
Stefan closes the freezer, turning his gaze onto me. "We need to call Bonnie. There's got to be a way for her to stop Esther from channeling all that power."
I step closer to him, shaking my head. "A.) What if she's with Esther? B.) What if she can't cut her off? C.) I don't know how any of this stuff works and D.) neither do you!" I point out to him.
"You got a better plan?"
"Worst case scenario, simple mechanics. Can't draw power from a dead battery," I state.
"Kill them," Stefan mumbles with his usual judgmental tone.
"If it comes to that." I nod, reaching out to steal the blood bag in his hand. His eyes follow it as I take a sip from the bag, pushing it back into his hands. He takes it, passing me. He's loosing his grip, I can tell. He knows that I'm waiting for him to snap. It's why he can't look me in the eyes for too long.
"There's got to be another way," he mutters.
When his pacing brings him back toward me, I hold up a silver dagger."Well, what if I told you I had a less diabolical plan," I offer.
"You want to dagger Elijah." Stefan brows furrow as he picks up on my plan.
"They're all linked." I shrug. "One goes down, they all go down. The witches live, Elena's safe, problem solved."
"We don't know if that'll effect Klaus," Stefan points out.
"Ironically, Klaus isn't our current problem," I retort.
Stefan nods, his gaze flicking to the dagger. "The dagger is lethal to any vampire who uses it."
"Well, I just so happen to know someone crazy enough to give it a shot." I pull my phone out of my pocket. Stefan glances over to see who I'm calling. At the name on the screen, a look of understanding crosses his face.
"Hello." Alaric picks up.
"Hey, are you still at the Grill?" I ask.
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, I have a plan. But first, have Kol and Klaus left the Grill yet?"
"Yeah, no, they're still here. Yeah, they've drank their way through half the Grill's liquor supply." Alaric's voice holds annoyance in its tone. I share a knowing look with Stefan.
"Good. It'll be easier if they're wasted," I comment.
"So, what's the plan?"
I smirk, finding Stefan questioning the same thing as he watches me with wide eyes. "Divide and conquer. First, we'll need a little blonde distraction." Stefan shoots me a crazed look. I roll my eyes. "I'm sending my sister your way," I tell Alaric, hanging up.
"You've officially lost it. How do you think you're going to manage to convince Lily to do this? In case you haven't noticed, you're not her favorite person today. Not after everything you said earlier."
I answer him with a smirk, "Let's just say that our little sister owes me a favor, one I'm about to remind her of."
Liliana's POV
"Damon, when I said I owed you one, this is not what I meant," I glower at him over the phone as I stand outside the Grill.
"Hey, I helped you out and in return I asked for a favor someday. And well little sis, I'm cashing in. Besides, it's for the greater cause of taking the Originals down, something I know you wanted to participate in."
He's right, but I would never admit that to him. "Yeah well I never expected you to remember something I said over a century ago. I hope you know that I hate you," I sneer at him.
"Whatever you say, Lilybug. Just make sure Klaus stays distracted until we've daggered Kol."
"Yeah, yeah I know! You better get this over with fast," I snap at him, hanging up the phone. Taking a deep breath, I straighten out my skirt, before walking in. Out of the corner of my eye I spot Klaus and Kol drinking away. I then look to my right at the guy who must be Alaric and flash him a quick smile. God I can't believe I let Damon convince me to do this. I'm so putting vervain in his drink later.
"Oh look, it's Lily," Kol nudges Klaus in the side. "She looked good last night and even better right now," I hear Kol tell Klaus as I get closer to the bar. I can feel both of their stares on me, but I pretend not to notice. I know that Kol is only telling Klaus these things to rile him up, which seems to work.
"Say another word and I'll tear out your liver," Klaus growls back right before I get to the bar. "Lily," Klaus calls as I'm about to 'walk by him'. I stop, looking at him.
"Oh, it's you," I mutter bitterly, crossing my arms.
Klaus smiles at me despite my bitter tone, "Join us for a drink," Klaus offers and Kol holds up his drink in invitation.
I pretend to think about it for a second before replying with a "I'd rather die of thirst, but thanks." I then spin on my heel and start to exit the Grill, knowing that he'll follow.
"Isn't she stunning," Klaus whispers to Kol as I walk towards the entrance of the Grill.
"She certainly looks good walking away from you," Kol replies, a smugness in his voice.
"I'll take that as a challenge," Klaus retorts back before I hear his footsteps following me out. "Lily!" He calls after me, crossing the road. A car honking at him before he's finally across. I turn to face him, glaring. He grins at me.
"Are you serious, take a hint," I snap at him, continuing walking. He follows.
"Don't be angry love, we had a little spat, I'm over it already."
"Ah, well I'm not," I tell him over my shoulder.
"How can I quit myself?" He asks. I sigh, turning to face him.
"You and your obnoxious attitude and arrogant ways can leave me alone," I spit at him.
He seems taken aback by my words at first but speaks anyway, "Oh, c'mon take a chance Lily." I scoff at his words. "Talk to me," he says, sitting down on a bench behind me. I raise an eyebrow at him, shooting him a look. "C'mon Liliana, I dare you," He smiles at me. I bite my lip, glancing away from him. I know I have to keep him occupied.
"Fine," I sigh, taking a seat next to him.
He instantly turns toward me, watching me with his bright blue eyes. I fidget awkwardly. "So, what do you want to talk about?"
"I wanna talk about you," he answers instantly with no hesitation, which causes me to roll my eyes and scoff at his eagerness. "Your hopes, your dreams, everything you want in life," he says, causing me to laugh.
"I'm pretty sure you already know the answer to those questions," I tell him, leaning back against the bench. Not daring to look at him.
"Maybe I did at one point, but things change. You've changed," he says, his voice gentle and soft as he lays a hand on my knee. I shiver at his touch, my stomach tightening. But after a second I push him away, reminding myself of wrong he did me.
"We both know that what you really want to know is how I'm sitting here in front of you," I state, my voice harder than before.
Klaus notices my mood shift, leaning back against the bench as well. This time keeping his hands to himself. "Well I must admit, that question has come to my mind a few times since last night."
"So you want to know how I got out?" I probe and Klaus nods his head. "Simple, I'm a survivor."