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Billie Marten - La Lune
"Ignore signs of change, no more
I come back again, I am flawed."
HOLDEN WAS DRINKING BOURBON AS HE WATCHED MEN CONVERSE IN ALARIC'S BACHELOR PARTY THAT HE AND HIS BROTHERS THREW. Ever since he told Elena he'd take the cure with her she became overwhelmed and left him hanging but Holden was okay with his decision.
Damon, on the other hand, not so much. He was excited when Izzie told him that Holden let her become a vampire but he hesitated to turn her the same night so they set the date after Ric's wedding.
Damon felt as if Holden was making a mistake being a human again. Even if he did that for a woman he loved. That's why he told everything to Alaric as the two stood by the bar. "What do you mean, Holden is gonna take the cure and let Izzie be a vampire?!" he exclaimed incredulously, more mad at Izzie being a vampire.
He was like a father figure to her and didn't want her to be dead. "Holden let her and she's ready."
"What about you? How he hell does that even work?" he asked question after question.
Damon gave him a tired look. "What works? Me turning Izzie or Holden becoming human with Elena? Because everything is quite easy. Elena guzzles the cure, goes back to her human self, Holden feeds on her, and as long as no one sucks it out of him, then they grow old and die of the common cold."
"As a person who gave him the cure to be with Elena, you sound annoyed," Alaric projected as Damon pursed his lips. "Okay, so you screwed up, and now you're freaking out."
"I didn't screw up!"
"Damon, this is more about Izzie, isn't it?" Alaric asked him curiously so Damon looked away, giving his answer. "Do you seriously want Izzie to be a vampire?"
"Yes, because I want to be with her forever," he admitted before Holden walked over to them, having heard all their conversation.
"And that's why I agreed to let her turn, but for some reason you got salty I'll become human," he said dully so Damon rolled his eyes.
"Okay, and what did Stefan say to all of this?" Ric asked causing Holden and Damon to exchange glances. "Okay, seriously, tell me that even one of you told your brother of 166 years of what are you planning."
Holden smiled at Alaric sarcastically. "Do you honestly want to spend your last night as a single man debating our existential crisis?"
"Is that how you call it?" Damon asked curiously so Holden sighed in frustration. He then turned to Alaric. "We will tell him... Eventually."
Alaric sighed so Damon handed them both glasses of bourbon. "Hmm. To you, Ric," Damon said and they all clinked their glasses before drinking.
After a while Alaric left the brothers alone as the two watched the party like some bosses. "When will you, uh, turn Izzie?" Holden questioned curiously.
"Well... The date is not exactly set yet but maybe after Alaric's wedding," Damon nodded his head causing Holden to nod too. "I actually had an idea that maybe... You turn her."
Holden almost choked on his drink as he snapped his head at Damon. "Why?" he asked because he never imagined turning Izzie. More so when she was with Damon.
"Because rememberer Elena? My blood turned her."
"Yeah... She was sired to you. Why would you want Izzie to be sired to me?" Holden asked him because he couldn't understand Damon's logic.
Damon then only shook his head and took a sip. "Forget it. It doesn't matter."
"It does," Holden argued so Damon rolled his eyes and began to walk away but Holden grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Damon, don't walk away from me."
Damon was about to speak but then his phone rang so he took it out. "Baby brother," he smiled bitterly at Holden before answering. "Where are you? And please tell me you're with a stripper."
"Picture that, and then picture the exact opposite," Stefan grumbled as Damon turned to Holden who listened. "I'm with our mother."
"Ugh," Holden said in disgust and took a sip of bourbon. "I don't want to picture anything."
"Great, you're both listening. Did any of you know that she was the one who turned Enzo?" Stefan asked them curiously.
Damon scoffed in disbelief. "That's mathematically impossible. Enzo turned in 19-"
"03. Apparently, they were on a boat together back to New York," Stefan cut him off as Damon looked shocked as he glanced at Holden. "He was sick, and she took pity on him."
Holden laughed slightly. "And here we thought she didn't have a maternal bone in her body."
"She also has a bit of a Ripper-thing going on," Stefan continued so Holden rolled his eyes. "That little stunt you pulled with the Ascendant put her in a bloody tizzy."
Damon looked confused as Holden shrugged his shoulders. "Well, then why is she out and about? Lock her ass up and rejoin the party, brother."
Stefan then sighed. "Yeah, I will, if it comes to that. Anything else?"
Damon panicked for a moment, thinking that Stefan may knew about Izzie and Holden situation but he simply replied. "Nope! Just love to Mom. Heh, kidding."
Damon then hung up as Holden frowned. "He has all the right to know, Damon."
"Exactly," Enzo spoke from behind Damon so Damon turned around to look at him. "Perfect time to tell your brother you're hanging up your fangs and giving them to Izzie."
"No idea what you're talking about," Holden played it off because he was much calmer than Damon. The three vampires then walked out into the foyer.
Enzo smirked dully. "Yes, you do. I might have plied Alaric with enough alcohol to slur the news into my ear."
Damon looked at him with a side of his eye before rolling his eyes. "Well, you are the last person who gets to criticize me for withholding information, my brother from the same mother. You ever gonna tell me Lily turned you?"
Enzo nodded his head. "Yeah, once you mastered the art of returning phone calls."
With those words Holden's phone rang and he saw that Elena was calling. "Hm, gotta go. Don't get in trouble, Damon. Enzo, always nice to see you," Holden mused sarcastically and walked away as Enzo chuckled.
"Busy," Damon only mused with a shrug.
Enzo looked off before he shook his head. "With what? Postponing Izzie's turn? Or being angry that Holden wants to be human even if you kind of pushed it?"
Damon scoffed. "What are you-?"
"You're selfish, Damon," Enzo admitted so Damon glared at him. "You never wanted to be human and you don't want Holden to be one. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like that about you. A man should be consistent. But you can't change that much. You will never want Holden to be human nor will you want to turn Izzie. Eventually, you'll just stall it until she gets gray hair and dies in her 70's. Anyway, cheers, mate."
Enzo then walked away leaving Damon shocked and overwhelmed.
ELENA WAS HOLDING A BAG OF FRENCH FRIES IN HER HANDS AS SHE WALKED OUT OF THE DINER AND INTO THE NIGHT STREET. She ate the fries when she heard someone appear behind her.
Smiling, she turned around and saw Holden standing there with a soft smile on his face. "I was just thinking about you," she announced as he took one fry from her and ate it before winking at her.
"Well, when my girlfriend calls me saying she's high on junk food, I get kind of worried," he commented before wrapping his arm around her waist and giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "I was just clearing my head. Asked a girl a really big question last night and she left me hanging."
Elena played along as she smiled. "Ick! What a flake."
Holden shrugged his shoulders. "That's all right. She's lucky I love her," he said with a chuckle so Elena kissed him again. "Share your french fries with me?"
Not far from the couple, Izzie was sitting on a bench in the Mystic Falls park as she looked up at the clock tower to see Damon there with a smirk. "Stop showing off and come here. I'm cold," she told him dully so Damon laughed and jumped off before using vampire speed to sit down next to her.
Izzie cuddled up to him and smiled. "I have bourbon," she announced so he looked at her in surprise.
"Drink it as much as you want," he said with a smile as she looked at him. "Soon, you'll be a vampire and getting drunk will be hard."
"Soon... How soon?" she asked as he gave her a pleading look. "You promised you'd turn me after Jo and Ric get married but why don't I believe in you?"
Damon then paused and looked down.
Holden and Elena were walking along the street, not minding if a car would drive. Elena tried to walk along the white lane line as Holden walked a few feet away from her. "Look, Holden, I'm seriously drunk on junk food," she chuckled when she couldn't keep her balance and fell to one side.
"Soak it up while you can. Fat is no friend to humans," he smiled as Elena turned to him with a playful look.
Elena then stopped so Holden caught up with her. She grabbed his arm and wrapped it around her shoulder as he kissed her head lovingly. The two continued to walk like that. "Did you mean it when you told me you'd take the cure? Or were you just afraid that you were gonna lose me?"
"That's a problem, Elena... I'm ready, Izzie's ready but you and Damon are the ones who are scared," he admitted seriously so Elena sighed and looked up at him.
"Well... I'm scared that if you do take it, you'll start to miss it because I know you always secretly liked being strong and fast. And we're not gonna be happy if you resent me for the rest of our lives."
Holden then stopped and pulled away from her. "I know you're not Damon, Holden. Being human is what you always wanted but... are you 100% sure you want that?"
"I want to show you something," he then extended his hand for her to take.
Elena stared at him in confusion. "What?"
"We can go there with vampire speed or we can go on foot. Your choice," he smirked so she took his hand.
"You only live once, right?" she gripped his hand tightly and smiled genuinely.
"Once or twice," he answered with a smirk and the two vamp sped somewhere.
Damon then smiled at Izzie. "Something dumb slipped out of my tongue tonight when I was talking with Holden and I feel like he got excited secretly."
"Did you tell him you don't want to turn me?" Izzie asked him calmly because that didn't anger her.
Damon gave her a look. "Yes, and no. I told him that I'd want him to turn you."
Izzie was quiet for a while before she stood up and started to walk away. "Izzie!" Damon shouted and vamp sped to stand in front of her.
She had tears in her eyes as he stared at her in worry. "Why, Damon? Am I too bad for you to turn me? The man that I love and want to be forever with?"
"No, no, no," he continued to say as his hands grabbed the sides of her arms. "That's the opposite of what I thought, baby. My blood turned Elena and she got sired to me. But she also was a big mess and I feel like my blood was a part of it."
Izzie looked confused as he wiped her tear with a soft and sad smile. "What I'm saying is that... I don't feel worthy of being the one to turn you. I just... I don't. I don't want to ruin the best thing that would happen to me."
"We've been together for quite a while now and you're still hesitant to make a decision, Damon," Izzie sighed deeply as he looked away. Izzie then smiled and grabbed his chin before making him look at her. "And that's how every person who feels real should be like. We're real, Damon, because we make mistakes and we slip up. And that is exactly why I love you and us."
Damon smiled slightly then. "I love you so much that I want you to be the one to turn me. Not Holden, but you. So we can both be reckless," she chuckled as he nodded his head, relief evident on his face.
"I love you," he nodded and then kissed her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer before pulling away a little. "How about we be reckless tonight and you finally turn me?" she whispered their faces close.
Damon pulled away with a shocked facial expression. "But... It's Ric's and Jo's wedding tomorrow... We can't."
"Bonnie... She already made me a daylight ring," Izzie then raised her hand up and Damon saw a beautiful ring with a blue stone on it.
"You're fast," he chuckled as Izzie smiled softly. "Holden is gonna kill us. And so will Alaric. But if that's what you want."
Damon then looked around and bit his wrist as Izzie nodded her head with a single tear.
ELENA AND HOLDEN WERE WALKING TOGETHER AS HOLDEN QUESTIONED HER. "What do you love about being a vampire?"
Elena pursed her lips as she held his hand tightly before she shrugged. "Well, I guess if I had to choose one thing, it would be that I can heal people."
Holden chuckled sarcastically so she scoffed and cuddled to his side. "Enlighten me then, Mr. Salvatore."
"I like... A little bit of everything. I like getting to Mystic Grill in two seconds from my house... Um, oh and I'm always young," he joked sarcastically, loathing the second thing in reality. "What else..."
Holden then smirked at Elena mysteriously and stopped. Suddenly, they appeared outside of the Gilbert house, which looked exactly as it did before Elena burned it down. "Getting into people's heads."
Elena looked shocked and let out a laugh. "My old house!" she exclaimed as the two walked up the steps onto the porch.
"Well... You don't remember this but the very first time I finally kissed you," he began as she frowned slightly. "Up there in your bedroom. Another memory Ric scrubbed from your brain."
Elena sighed. "But, this isn't real. It's fantasy," she commented. "You put this in my brain."
"Isn't that the point?" he questioned her calmly and gently. "I mean, as epic as this life is, I've had so much fantasy in my life, Elena Gilbert. Enough for 1000 lifetimes. I want to be human and I want to have one life with you."
Holden then pulled out the cure before holding it out toward her. "You brought it with you."
"After my mom's shenanigans I wasn't gonna leave it unprotected," he chuckled as he watched her take the cure from him. "I know you want this. No matter how scared you are, don't pretend that you don't."
Elena nodded her head and looked back up at him. "There's no going back for you," she tried one last time to see if he was really ready and he seemed more than that. "You're... You'll be human."
"At least madly in love with you," he smiled gently as Elena's hands started to shake slightly. "No matter how long we'll have. Taking this cure won't change that. I'm ready only if you are."
Elena broke the top off the cure and looked at it with excitement and fear. Holden watched her intently as her eyes filled with tears. "I love you," she mouthed so he nodded encouragingly.
Elena hesitated for a moment before she finally drank the cure in one gulp. She gasped and realized that she was done. Raising her eyes up at Holden she smiled as he took the bottle from her.
After a moment, she looked almost dizzy, and her eyes fluttered. "How do you feel?"
"I don't..."
Suddenly, Elena started getting a rush of memories in her mind. She flashed back to her first summer together with Holden when they went on a hike. "Come on, hurry up, Miss Gilbert," Holden smirked at Elena as he climbed up a small hill. "Nobody likes losers."
"I'm tired," Elena groaned before climbing up. Holden extended his hand for her to take so she did and he helped her before pulling her into his embrace. Elena chuckled as he touched her cheek.
"It's your first summer as a vampire. I want you to remember it as a good one," he commented while stroking he rosy cheek. "Let's go. If we're quick enough, which we are, we will be able to see the sunset."
Holden carried an unconscious Elena in his arms worriedly as he wanted to get back to the boarding house. "Hang on! I'm gonna get you home. You're gonna be alright."
"The sunset's nice," Elena smiled at Holden as the two watched it from the biggest hill in Mystic Falls.
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. "Now you better remember it forever, okay?"
Elena scoffed. "You're the one whining now. But I won't. I promise."
Elena started to stir awake, so Holden breathed a sigh of relief and started to stand her up on her feet. "Elena, hey," he mused so she opened her eyes finally and looked at him. Her look seemed different. "You scared the crap out of me."
"I think I'm... I'm okay."
"What happened?" he asked in worry as she breathed out with a shocked face.
"We were hiking and it was hot."
Holden seemed confused. "What?"
Elena then giggled happily before she got overwhelmed by another flash of memories that Alaric compelled away. She remembered their first kiss in her bedroom, their dance at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, how they met before her parents died. "Holden..." she gasped as he stared at her. "Holden! I'm getting my... my memories back!"
Holden realized that and smiled happily as she started to become even more excited. "Holden, the cure! It undid the compulsion. I..."
"It worked," Holden mused in shock so Elena suddenly took her bachelorette party pin out of her pocket and used it to prick her finger. She looked at the wound but it didn't heal. "It's not healing."
"It worked!" she exclaimed as Holden smiled at her widely. Elena then grabbed him by his face and kissed him passionately.
He smiled through the kiss but then his phone rang. He pulled away from Elena and looked at the caller ID. "It's Stefan," he mused happily and answered the call. "Elena and I are having a moment. What is it?"
"Holden, do not take that cure!" Stefan exclaimed desperately as Holden heard Damon sigh from besides Stefan.
"Did Damon tell you?"
"Yes. I got to him just in time to see him about to give Izzie blood," Stefan sneered so Holden furrowed his eyebrows. "Did you know he was about to turn her?"
"It doesn't matter now. Holden, Lily got away from Stefan, so it's really bad time to be a human," Damon said loudly as Holden looked at Elena worriedly. "We have to lock her up."
Elena looked worried because she was no longer to hear. "What is he saying? I... I can't hear anymore."
Before Holden could open his mouth, Lily came up behind him and snapped his neck. "I'm sorry but you won't imprison me again," Lily told his unconscious body as she looked at a horrified Elena. "I didn't have to turn into this person. I kept her at bay for so long, but my sons? They ruined everything."
"They were just trying to help," Elena said anxiously as Lily sneered.
"Look at me! They're not helping!" she shouted before she noticed that Elena's finger was covered in blood. "You're bleeding. You took the cure. You're human."
Lily looked at Elena hungrily and started to walk towards her so Elena started to panic. "You don't want to feed on me."
"Yes..."
"Please-"
"Elena, I do," Lily then was about to bite her but Elena stabbed her in the eye with her bachelorette pin long enough for her to run away.
HOLDEN WOKE UP WITH A GROAN AND ROLLED ON HIS BACK TO SEE STEFAN AND DAMON LOOKING AT HIM. "Elena's safe," Stefan announced so Holden stood up. "We need to find Lily."
"And you two can't do it without me?" he sassed as he touched his neck with a sneer. "I'm fine by the way."
"So, were you gonna tell me you were about to become human? Oh, and how you let Damon turn Izzie?" Stefan seemed unimpressed as Holden glanced at Damon.
"Why tonight? I thought you'd turn her after Ric and Jo's wedding?"
Damon ignored Holden as he turned to Stefan. "What do you think?"
"I think you're both idiots," Stefan shrugged calmly so Holden rolled his eyes.
"I want to be with Elena, Stefan."
"At least it was Damon who told me," Stefan mused in hurt as he turned to Damon. "Do you have any idea what it feels like for me to have to hear it from Enzo? To have no say whether I want you to turn a girl I once..."
"You once had feelings for?" Damon snapped so Holden rolled his eyes. "I know what it feels like. Why do you think I didn't tell you? Can we go find our mother?"
Stefan then sighed and the two brothers entered the Grill, where they found Lily sobbing desperately. Stefan looked sad while Holden dull as Lily looked embarrassed and exhausted. "Look what you've done to your mother. I'm a mess."
"Okay, sure, blame us," Holden mused sarcastically so Stefan glanced at him pleadingly so he shut his mouth.
"In a few days, or months, or years, you'll feel different," Stefan told her as Lily shook her head.
"What does it matter if I'm alone, terrified of falling off of the edge?" she asked as the two younger sons stared at her silently. "I suppose I'd be like you, wouldn't I? Sad and alone."
Lily, overwhelmed by all of her various feelings, broke a piece of wood off of the wall and pointed it at herself, preparing to stake herself to death. Stefan began to panic and slowly took a step towards her as Holden watched quietly, for some reason not scared if she'd die.
"No! No, no, no. You don't want to do that. Please don't do that," he said as Lily didn't move and continued to point the stake at herself. "Stay alive for us, your sons. The one who I know that, deep down inside you, you still care about. And who still care about you."
Stefan turned back to Holden but he only looked away. He knew Lily wouldn't change and that hurt him enough in the past. "You're looking into my eyes," Lily was shocked. "You always had such pretty eyes."
For a moment, it looked as though she's about to consider Stefan's ofer, but instead, she vamp-sped towards him and tried to stake him.
Holden was ready for such action so he vamp sped to her so she staked him in the upper chest. He groaned loudly as she gasped in surprise at how he stood in front of his brother, ready to save him without any thought. "You'll never have love for us the way we brothers learned to love each other," he let out another groan as the wood pressed itself near his heart.
Damon then came up from behind her just in time and injected her in the neck with vervain. Lily passed out in his arms, as Stefan rushed to help Holden take the wood out. "You shouldn't have risked your life like that," Stefan whispered in exhaustion as Holden sneered after he took the wood out.
"You okay?" Damon asked Holden who remained silent and nodded.
The three brothers knew they could only have each other. And a woman they used to call Mom was nothing compared to what they had.
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