That night, I looked for Keenai, I could really use a friend to talk to. It wasn't hard to find him, Keenai was home playing games on his computer. I know I shouldn't have been surprised by the fact they even had computers here, but I kind of was. This place seemed so far away from the real world, from technology that it seemed misplaced.
''Hi, geek.'' I announced myself coming in. He gave me a quick glance over his shoulder and smiled before looking back to the screen. There was a gun in the middle, dead people lay on the floor and the screen moved constantly. I didn't know how he could follow everything moving that fast.
''Wait ten more minutes, I'm almost done.'' He said, his tongue between his teeth like he actually needed to make a physical effort. I sighed and laid down on his bed, looking to the ceiling with glow-in-the-dark stickers on it. These must've been put there when he was a kid, almost everyone once had them. Except for me, when I was little, there didn't exist such a thing. When I was afraid in the dark, Elijah or Rebekah used to take me outside, in the cold dark night, to point at the moon.
They used to say ''Look, see that big round thing? It's called the moon. It will always shine and give light so you're never truly in the dark''. We then sat down, me on one of their laps until I fell asleep and they brought me back to bed. I never dared waking up my mother when I was scared because my father slept in the same room and he'd get mad if he couldn't sleep the night through.
I remember one time when I was little, I'd heard a wolf howl at the moon. I had no idea what the sound was back then, so I started to cry and crawled to my parents part of the wooden house. Right before I reached the blanket that was used as a door, Damon pulled me backward, told me to never go in there and be quiet.
But I was only three years old, I wanted my mother so I cried harder and woke everyone in the house, probably the whole village. The rage on my father's face when he accused Damon, only ten years old, of making me cry which had woken him up, is something I've never forgotten. My dad loved me and for some reasons, he didn't like my other siblings.
He hit Damon, kissed me goodnight and went back to sleep, my mother just waiting in the bed with tears forming in her eyes. She kept herself strong but I know now, she had trouble seeing her son being treated like that. A pillow was thrown on my face, and I jumped up, pulled out of my memories and gasped.
''Don't you ever do that again!'' I yelled. My heart was racing and Keenai was just laughing his head off. I threw one back at him but missed. He tried to say ''I'm sorry'' but he couldn't stop laughing long enough to say the three words in a row.
''Ass.'' But seeing him laugh so hard, I started as well. After some small talk and catching up, I told him about Rogan and his 'rules'. I of course also had to tell him about Willow but I trusted Keenai. He looked a little worried though when I told him I had had contact with her but didn't really react to it. ''Rogan likes you.'' Keenai said, ''He is in love with you,'' he stretched the word 'love'. I just rolled my eyes and shook my head.
''C'mon, be serious with me! I have no clue what to do.'' All of a sudden, I confessed everything to him, all my feelings, all my longings, everything I had been holding up because I didn't have the feeling someone would listen to them, until now.
''I want to speak to Willow again, I want to see my siblings, I want to be here, with you and Jake but I don't want to be with Conchobar or Rogan for that matter, since he is acting extremely weird, I like Abby and I don't want to betray everyone but I just want..'' And I stopped because I had to confess, I didn't know what I wanted. To get out of here and get to my normal life, being a prisoner of five vampires? Stay here, never see my siblings again and be a prisoner of wolves? And then I knew what I wanted.
''I just want to be free, Keenai. I want to be my own boss. '' He raised an eyebrow, sat down next to me and sighed. ''That's a lot to want, seeing your situation.'' I gave him a look that said: are you kidding me? He shrugged and gave me a sly smile.
''There is one thing I could help you with though, I think I can bring you in contact with Willow.'' His face didn't show a hint of sarcasm and he seemed serious.
''For real? You want to help me, even though it means you have to betray your pack?'' I asked him, looking for any signs he was lying. ''You better stop talking before I change my mind.'' I ran over and hugged him while saying thank you over and over again. He broke out of my grip. ''Too much affection, girl.'' He shivered like it was a bad thing.
''Guys gotta be guys.'' I sighed. ''So, tell me.'' Keenai looked confused. ''About Willow, '' I added.
''Straight to business, huh? Alright. Voila.'' The wolf held his hands open in front of the computer, which had the game still standing open. I raised my eyebrow in confusion.
''You've got internet?'' I sarcastically asked. ''No, '' he said while shaking his head, '' but Willow's a witch, right?'' I nodded and let him continue. ''So, let's say there's a spell which lets you go to another, alternative world, like a prison world but only one that doesn't exist, like a videogame,..'' I finished, ''then we could meet there whenever we wanted to without anyone noticing!'' I jumped up, ''you're a genius!''.
I smiled and felt hope rising again. If this will work, I would be able to talk to Willow and see my siblings again and we could figure something out together. I wouldn't be alone anymore , I'd have people helping me, caring about me. ''You must never say a thing to Jake about this. '' I warned Keenai, who held his hands up as if I were a cop pointing a gun at him. ''I'm sorry, '' I smiled, ''It's just, he thinks they're the bad guys and that he's doing the right thing and all that. He also probably thinks I'm happy here.''
''You're not?'' Keenai asked. ''Because you seem to be doing pretty well. '' He almost sounded offended and accusative. I shook my head. ''It's not like I'm miserable but my whole life has been taken away from me, I'm moving around in circles here. My family is only a couple of miles away, so are my friends and school but I just can't get to them. D'you know how frustrating that is? I like you, you're my friend, I like Jake, I like almost everyone here but this is not the life I chose, it's been chosen for me. ''
As good as I tried to explain it, he didn't seem to get why I wanted to go when I was having 'fun' in here, which made me wonder why he would help me get out if he didn't see why I wanted it. This guy must be a really good friend.
Stefan
"Klaus, you bastard!'' Stefan screamed in the dark. No one heard though, Klaus was already gone, leaving him and the bleeding girl behind. No one was around and it was late in the evening, he and this beauty were planning on leaving to her house, until his brother killed her.
Stefan put the dead girl on the ground in the alley and gave her one last glance before running after Klaus, who he tried to stop but Klaus was always a little faster. Finally, almost back home, he got his older brother and pushed him to the ground.
''Why did you kill her? I liked her!'' Klaus smiled an evil grin and turned over, Stefan now lying on the cold stones. A car came their way, the headlights blinding Stefan's eyes and all of a sudden, his back was pushed against a tree, Klaus holding him up.
''That's why I had to kill her, little brother. She's the only thing on your mind right now, while Elena is missing.'' Stefan ducked underneath Klaus's arms and spit on the ground. ''That's no reason to kill that girl! Damn it, where am I going to find someone that good looking again, Klaus? ''
He knew he was being superficial and supposed to help his siblings find their sister but he needed distraction sometimes. He had been tortured, he even had a little moment in which he thought he was going to die, without having loved someone in his vampire live, without being able to think and say: I have people who care about me. That girl had been his distraction, his salvation. Even though he couldn't really recall her name right now..
''Stefan! Elijah is on the verge of killing everyone on his path, he's doing more than he can to find her. We can use everyone to help and we don't want him to worry about you as well, not now.'' Klaus angrily said. He had had enough of Stefan's pity excuses, he didn't need to love Elena but she was their family, he could at least care. Unbelievable how selfish some people could be.
Klaus went home and immediately shook his head when he saw Elijah's eyes turning to him. Every time someone walked in, he gave them that look, to see if they had Elena with them. It was horrible seeing him like this. Stefan soon walked in after, and Rebekah, who had been trying to lighten the mood and keep everything as positive as possible, sighed.
''What is going on with you, Stefan?'' She gave Michael a quick kiss on his lips as the vampire rolled his eyes, he didn't even bother answering that question. Damon walked in, who automatically shook his head as an answer to Elijah's unsaid question. Elijah slammed his fist on the table, it broke in two big pieces.
''How come no one knows where she is?!'' he screamed. ''How come we cannot find any trace of her? She cannot be that far away, nor is she dissolved into thin air.'' He relaxed a little and talked to himself again, like he did a lot these days, ''She can't, she must be here somewhere, somewhere I haven't looked before..'' he mumbled a couple of other things until they heard a car pull up. All the vampires tensed and looked curiously outside, it wasn't often cars came here since all their friends were vampires.
''I know you, '' Stefan said as he recognised the hot cheerleader who got out and locked her car. He had once brought her home, it was hard to forget pretty faces with nice longue legs, ''you're the one I rescued.'' The girl rolled her eyes and let herself in.
''I'd hardly call it a rescue. Thanks for inviting me in.'' For a second, he didn't know what to say, she spoke back to him, most people just ignored Stefan.
''You're welcome. You should know Elena's not here right now, but I would be more than happy to keep you company.'' Damon smacked his head on the back and got a groan back from Stefan. He said something like 'very mature' but Stefan wasn't sure. He just grinned and kept looking at this beautiful girl. ''Cut the stare, will you?'' Rebekah interfered.
''Why are you here, Willow?'' She asked, holding a necklace Elena once had given her for her wedding back in the middle ages. Unbelievable that she still had it. Willow turned to Elijah, apparently not caring that four vampires were staring at her, tired and tensed. She talked to Elijah like they were the only ones in the room, it was amazing how confident this girl was. In different circumstances, he might've tried to hit on her.
''I know where Elena is. '' Her words were like a bomb that had the power to set off five vampires in an alert modus, from tired and worn out to active and hopeful. Elijah's eyes filled with something that Stefan had never seen, they were desperate and dark. His oldest brother placed his hands on Willow's arms, as if he wanted to make sure she wouldn't run away, and bent a little to get to eyes height.
''Elijah! Let her go, you're hurting her.'' Rebekah said and she gave Damon and Klaus a sign. Willow looked determined, not admitting it hurt and Stefan had to give it to her, she didn't look frightened or scared at all, a little nervous at least.
''Where? Tell me!'' Elijah kept on screaming, not giving the cheerleader a chance to answer. The other two brothers pulled Elijah away from Willow, he seemed to get back to earth, away from that dark place. He breathed in and out, told his siblings he was all right and to let him loose.
''I'm sorry. Willow, wasn't it?'' The girl nodded and went straight to business.
''I'll tell you where she is, just promise to remain calm and hear me out, all right?'' She looked around the room, giving every and each of us a personal look in the eyes, she lingered a little longer on Stefan's and told us to sit down on the couch and let her explain everything. Rebekah sat down on Michaels lap who had been observing everything quietly, Damon and Klaus sat down on the large couch and Elijah took the other armchair. Stefan just stayed in place, leaning against the counter, wondering what Willow had to do with all of this.
After she finished, everyone was quiet. No one knew what to say.
''How did the wolves get her?'' Rebekah asked and Stefan gave a subtle glance at Damon. It was under his and Alaric's supervision she had disappeared and he hadn't stopped beating himself up for it ever since. Alaric hadn't gotten over it as well, he was now together with Kyle looking in other countries, just in case a vampire had taken her.
Stefan thought they should send them a text, let them know she wasn't abroad but here, a couple of miles away. He went outside to call them, leaving Willow and the others to do nothing and just sit down. So Elena was fine, they could finally move on with their lives. Maybe, he could even get her, speed things up a little. Something in the back of his mind told him Willow had said something about not going there right away, that they should wait. He was talking to a relieved Alaric on the phone when Damon came out and punched Stefan square in the jaw. He tasted blood on the inside of his jaw and grunted.
''What did I do this time?'' He asked, used to being punched by his siblings. They all acted like humans in front of Elena, but she never saw how rough they were on him behind her back. Damon had seen Stefan leave the house like he didn't care at all about everything Willow had said, he had seen him calling with probably one of his friends, planning the next trips, like nothing was going on.
He was sick of it, of Stefan not helping the past few days, of him not caring at all. What would it take to get to this boy's head? Was he really that selfish? Damon sometimes thought Stefan was a bastard, that he didn't belong with their family. Elijah always told him not to be so ridiculous, and the only thing that kept Damon believing he was his brother, was the fact that Elijah remembered Stefan being born since it was their mom's hardest labor and she almost died giving birth. Damon had been five, Elijah seven.
''Nothing, you didn't do shit.'' Damon answered his question where after he went away to give those borders a closer look. Stefan stayed behind, rubbing his cheek and spitting the blood out. He always loved being a vampire, but for these kinds of things like quick healing, he extremely loved vampirism. Willow was the second one to come out.
''Give me your hand.'' She said, holding out hers. Stefan frowned but immediately obeyed. ''I don't mind holding hands with you.'' He said and squeezed it a little. Willow closed her eyes and Stefan got a weird feeling that they weren't alone. Scanning their surroundings, there was no one even close, besides his siblings in the house.
He then realized it was in his head, a feeling he couldn't describe but his thoughts felt exposed. Willow didn't say a thing for a couple of seconds but then she smiled and opened her eyes. Stefan couldn't help but think her eyes were very beautiful, they were bright and blue.
''Enjoyed that, didn't you?'' A cocky smile crept across his face.
''Yeah, I did. '' The girl actually sounded sincere and let go of his hand. The creepy feeling was gone, he was all alone again.
'' Wait, what? No, come back? '' Willow shook her head in what looked like pity and walked to the nearest tree in their garden.
''My grandma learned me this new trick, '' She started, ''I didn't enjoy holding your hand, I enjoyed looking in your head. ''