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chapter forty-one ━ nothing but a guilty conscious
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❝ and who's fault is that? ❞
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thirty votes and thirty comments for the next chapter!
CAROLINE GAVE HER the most adorable puppy face on the planet. Her hands were clasped together as she puckered out her red lips, eyes wide with innocence as she tilted her head to the side. The brunette in front of her had her arms crossed over her chest, an annoyed expression on her face even though she was slowly but surely caving to her friend's pleading. Yet she stood her ground for a little while longer, shaking her head over and over again. Melody wasn't budging, rolling her eyes as she looked away from her.
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"N—"
"PLEASE?!"
Melody rolled her eyes, throwing her arms up in exasperation. She groaned in irritation. "Fine! But only because you haven't stopped asking me since five this morning and I am seriously regretting letting you stay here." She went back to go eat something but then Caroline grabbed her arm, pulling her in the direction of the front door.
"Then you know what this means." The brunette went wide-eyed and fell to the ground, shaking her head as she refused to go anywhere. "Come on, going to the mall isn't bad, it could be fun."
And that is exactly what put Melody in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Caroline had dragged her to the mall so they could buy dresses for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. They spent a good six hours before the fairytale woman finally found one that she loved. It was a Marchesa strapless tulle layered gown and was extremely expensive. The price made her curse under her breath but she had bought it anyway since the blonde vampire had compelled the woman at the counter to give it to her for free.
So after they got their outfits planned out, they had to go to the Lockwood Mansion to help prepare the pageant. Melody wasn't too keen on assisting since these things weren't really her thing but she did feel guilty for leaving Caroline alone. She pushed her dislikes aside and decided to help, walking around with a clipboard that had a checklist of things that had to be ready before the next day.
Her fingers tapped against the wood, eyes scanning around until she saw some girls holding flower arrangements, heading in the wrong direction. She cleared her throat and called out to them. "I suggest you girls take a better glance at those plans you were supposed to memorize. Hell, you didn't even have to memorize them. All you needed to know was where the flowers go. Those go in the back now scurry." She waved them off and the girls scattered to fix their mistake.
Klaus was approaching her with an amused grin, chuckling as he had his hands clasped behind his back. "So demanding." She turned her head towards him, raising an eyebrow in pure Pan fashion. "It's quite attractive."
"Oh shut up," she scoffed though she was fighting a smile, blushing though she moved her hair in front of her face so he couldn't see it.
He saw it anyway and it made him smile more, taking another step towards her as his voice lowered as if he were afraid to ask. "I assume that you need a date, so I hope that you and I are going together. Unless you have a secret admirer who's going with you instead?"
Melody gasped and looked over at him, putting a hand over her mouth. "Oh, Klaus, I completely forgot that I promised Elijah that I'd go with him." She frowned and placed a gentle hand on his cheek, patting it twice. "Better luck next time."
"Very funny, love." Then he took a step forward, kissing her cheek. "I'll let you finish up helping Caroline with the arrangements and I'll see you later tonight."
She smiled, nodding her head. "Alright, see you tonight."
With that, Klaus walked away back to his car. Melody turned around and was about to make her way to go see if those girls had listened to her but then suddenly, Caroline linked arms with her and pulled her in another direction. "Honestly Mel, how in the world haven't you two sealed the deal yet? Just jump his bones already!"
The brunette rolled her eyes, sighing. "Care, I already told you before, I'm not ready for that right now. Yes, we have been dating for a few months now but I just want to wait for the right moment. I'll know when I am ready. Now can we please talk about something other than my relationship with Klaus Mikaelson?"
It was Caroline's turn to sigh, turning a corner as they went around to where the stage was, people bustling around as they did what they were supposed to do. "Fine. Why don't we talk about your plan to kill Elena without pissing off Damon and Stefan? Because Bonnie is coming to our side from what I see but the Salvatore brothers aren't going to be easy to convince."
"You're definitely right about that. However, as much as I despise them both, Damon used to trust me more than you would probably think, and Stefan used to think of me as his little sister. In all honesty, I think they are both in denial about Elena. All they need is a push and they will realize just how much of an issue she is."
Caroline nodded along with her words, though she did grimace. "And how exactly are we going to give them a push?"
Melody stopped walking, turning to look at her, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "That isn't for you to worry about, I have it under control, don't fret." She felt hesitant to tell her much of anything else with all of the questions she was asking, even though the blonde was most likely just curious. "Now, will Elena be attending the pageant?" Her eyes wandered around, making sure everything was perfect because she wasn't heartless, she wanted the pageant girls to have an amazing day.
"From what I understand, yes. She should be and if I am not mistaken, I am supposed to be helping her choose a dress."
"Good, go help her, act normal like you aren't helping to plan her death," Melody encouraged, pushing her gently in the direction of the Lockwood residence. Caroline nodded and gave her a smile before walking away. She was alone and began to run her finger down the checklist once more.
Music was the next thing she had to make sure was perfect. So that's what she did, carrying herself over to where the orchestra was practicing. As she stood there, she could feel her temper rising. The musicians were terrible, almost like they were stringing a dying cat. She gripped the clipboard, clenching her jaw as she made a noise of irritation.
"Oh I didn't realize you guys decided to kill your pets and bring them here," she snapped, all of them looking at her. "What is this a funeral? Pick up the tempo before I cut your pay to five dollars in total." They went wide-eyed and tried again but to no avail. Melody went over to one of them and looked him dead in the eye. "I said pick up the tempo." Her voice was low, threatening.
The man gulped, nodding quickly as he tried once again. The outcome was better, not entirely there, but definitely better. She hadn't realized that dark veins had run up her arm as she threatened him, caused by her growing anger and the darkness in her heart that was itching for an outlet. With a step back, she turned on her heel and started her journey back up.
"Well that was kinda rude, don't you think?" someone questioned.
Melody kept walking, flicking a piece of hair out of her eyes. "Your tone implies that I give a shit." Her nose scrunched up as she caught the prominent scent of lavender, her head snapping in the direction of one of the volunteers. "I strictly said no lavender! Only vanilla!" The lady dashed away, going to the small diffusers and quickly changing them out.
Stefan arched a brow, curious as to what was setting her off so easily. He cleared his throat, looking back over at her, his pace matching her's. "I see. So you screaming all these poor, defenseless humans doesn't bother you in the slightest? That's cold and harsh."
"That's funny coming from the same person who used to kill innocent people. Well, still does but details, details." She smirked over at him when she saw him look away. He never liked to remember his ripper days and she knew that. It was one of his weak spots. "How's precious Elena? I do hope Damon is keeping her nice and warm."
Another pressure point. But he didn't react to that one as deeply as she hoped, merely shrugging his shoulders as he followed her through the endless sea of people. "She's adjusting. The hunter's curse went away, thanks to you I hear unless Damon was drunk when he spoke with you."
Melody laughed at that, enjoying the way he sounded hopeful to the idea that she hadn't helped them when indeed, she had. In her own way. "No, he was too busy sitting there gaping like a fish waiting for food. I think I scared him but Stefan, how is this beautiful face scary?" She pouted and batted her eyelashes at him, pulling off an innocent expression that he obviously didn't fall for.
"Oh, I don't know. But those dark veins running up your arm earlier may be considered scary."
She stopped instantly, looking at him as her eyes widened a little. "Excuse me?" Stefan stopped walking, turning to stand in front of her. Instead of smirking and continuing on with poking at the invisible wound he just made, he actually looked concerned.
He sighed. "Look, I know ever since Klaus got here that things between us haven't been the best. And I'm sorry for what I did to you that night. If I could go back and change it, I would, I promise you. But I can't and I found myself feeling guilty about it."
The confession caught her off guard but she had gotten good at covering her shock up over the years. Melody straightened up, masking her emotions with ease. "What brought this on?" she mused, truly curious because even though it was in her nature to question things, she did want to know, she couldn't help herself. Because Stefan had considered her his sister at one point. And she would never admit, but a part of her wished he still thought of her that way.
Stefan avoided her eyes. "Elena and I got into a fight. She told me about how you were different, darker than you were when you got here. And she said that I needed to let you go because if I didn't...when you would kill me, it'll hurt worse than if I didn't care about you at all." He finally looked at her, sighing again. "Elena has been spending a lot of time with Damon. And it gave me a lot of time to think about the past. I started feeling the guilt because I was supposed to be a brother to you and I wasn't."
Melody pushed away her tears, scoffing as she looked to the left side, away from him. "And who's fault is that?"
Her question hung in the air by a thread, something he had asked himself many times over the past few days, wondering himself. But deep down he knew the answer. Yet he couldn't say it aloud because that would ruin everything, break down the dream he built in his head. He had been lying to himself for months, telling himself that he was happy with Elena. When in truth, he fell out of love with her a long time ago.
No answer was given to Melody. And so she scoffed again, shaking her head in disbelief as she turned her back on him. "Have a nice day, Stefan." The brunette left him standing there, wallowing in the answer to her question, and the guilt that he couldn't fix what he had done.
———
The day passed by in a blur and before she knew it, it was the day of the pageant. Caroline had thought it was a brilliant idea to wake Melody up from her sleep. She clearly didn't know her well enough because the second the fairytale woman's eyes opened, the blonde knew she had messed up. Klaus had to grab Caroline before the fireball could hit her face. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and nothing got burned. But Klaus hadn't seen the dark veins that ran down Melody's arms.
It was only a few hours until the pageant would start so both females were going around, making sure everything was set in place. Melody was dressed in her outfit she had chosen with Caroline, her hair down and curled, her makeup made to match her dress. She treated the fabric delicately, holding it up so it didn't drag across the floor. And it became obvious that if she were participating in the pageant, she would have won from her looks alone, which didn't send the best message.
She quickly grabbed some glasses, shoving it into the bus boy's chest yet said nothing in response since she was in a rush. Caroline was yelling at the orchestra to pick up the tempo which did make her turn around. When she was about to go over to give them a piece of her mind again, a gentle hand grabbed her arm, turning her body.
"Let's not kill the locals, yes?" Klaus hummed, concealing his worry because he knew she wouldn't admit to not feeling like herself at the moment. She was stubborn.
Melody nodded and then looked at his suit, smiling as she nodded. "I approve." She took a hand and brushed off some nonexistent dust on his shoulder, fixing his tie as she assessed his outfit. Her fingers skimmed down his chest and then he chuckled, realizing what she was doing.
He leaned close to her ear, smirking. "Don't tempt me, love. Or neither of us will be here to see who wins Miss Mystic Falls. Though you do have my vote because you look ravishing and you happen to be an amazing dancer. You'd win."
She rolled her eyes playfully, shoving him lightly even though he didn't move an inch. "No, there will be no funny business alright? I worked very hard and dealing with Caroline for hours is much harder than you would imagine. She is sweet but is a major perfectionist." Her last words were mumbled but he still heard it clear.
Klaus still smirked, joining her arm with his. "Well don't you two fit in together quite nicely." She shoved him again, smiling widely, making his smirk change to a smile as he watched her eyes light up with joy at their playful banter.
They walked towards the stage, standing among the many people as Caroline went onto the stage, addressing everyone with a bright smile on her face, looking excited despite the things going on in their personal lives. "Hi, everyone, I'm Caroline Forbes. As the reigning Miss Mystic Falls, it is my honor to introduce this year's Miss Mystic Court." Everyone clapped, including the couple who stood arm in arm, ignoring the stares they were getting from Damon. "We begin the procession with Valerie Fell accompanied by Dylan Clark."
All of the names drowned out as Melody stopped listening, turning her head to look at the eldest Salvatore who had turned his attention to Elena. The doppelganger looked worried about something, talking with someone on her phone. She didn't bother to listen, not interested. But she still watched as Matt approached Elena, the two speaking quietly before he left quickly.
"Finally, we have a last minute entry, April Young accompanied by Jeremy Gilbert."
Jeremy was nowhere to be seen, so April was escorted by Matt. Melody raised her head, eyes narrowing as she looked over at Klaus. "Wonder where little Gilbert ran off to." She voice was quiet so only he could hear.
Klaus didn't seem surprised by the absence. "Taking note of our predicament, I'd say Stefan decided to take matters into his own hands."
Melody nodded, humming as she understood what he was saying. She too now realized that what he offered was most likely the case. But she did feel bad for the young girl who looked to be worried about being abandoned before her knight in a tux came to her rescue. "You're probably right. He came to apologize to me yesterday. I assume my reaction must have set him off somehow. Elena is still pulling his strings."
Speaking of which, when she turned her head, she saw Caroline speaking with Elena, looking bothered that Jeremy was not around. The couple watched the scene as the doppelganger's face turned from worried, to completely calm in a matter of seconds. Melody scoffed, shaking her head. But she was thinking something different from the truth. Because she didn't know about siring.
Damon walked away, leaving Caroline to snap at Elena. Their argument went on for a little bit before Melody tugged Klaus along with her towards them. Once they got close, she let go of her boyfriend and gently took the blonde's arm.
"Fine, friend-tervention. I think your so-called feelings for Damon are really starting to cloud your judgment and I don't like it. And the thought of you two together really makes me want to barf."
Melody sighed, looking at Elena distastefully. "Come on, Care, let the little bitch cry alone when she realizes she has no friends to turn to. She isn't worth the time you spend trying to help her." She started to pull her along, not giving the Gilbert girl another glance but her next words made her stop.
"Wow, Melody, thank you for making this very difficult time so much easier. Maybe that's why Rebekah realized you are nothing but a bitch yourself, looking for love in a place where it died years ago."
The air shifted and Caroline tensed, going wide-eyed. Klaus said nothing, knowing that it was better to let his girlfriend do her thing than intervene. Besides, Elena had brought it upon herself. Melody turned her body towards her, letting go of her new friend as she took a step towards the doppelganger. Her eyes went pitch black, veins running up her arms that time but didn't reach her face. Elena gasped in shocked, recoiling.
She took another step. "You know, I bet your parents are ashamed of what you turned into. Because all you do is string people along, make them fight for you when all you do in the end is cry about how you have no one when there are people risking their lives for you. You are a hypocrite who doesn't deserve the love she gets. And trust me when I say that I will kill you for all the lives lost, for all of the tears shed, for you. Because your friends deserve better than what you have given them. I can't wait to watch as you realize they have all left you."
Elena stood firm though she looked undeniably frightened. Melody smirked wickedly, tracing a hand over her cheek gently yet the touch was everything but. It was a warning. "Now scram before I make your blood boil and all of your bones break." Without another word, the girl ran in the opposite direction.
Klaus continued to cover up his concern when Melody turned around, her eyes normal and the veins, gone. It was as if nothing happened to her at all. Almost as if she hadn't even gotten angry. She smiled at him, joining their arms together before she looked to Caroline. "Go on, enjoy the rest of the pageant, I need a drink." Her tone was casual, soft even.
The hybrid wasn't convinced.
Yet he let her lead him away from the pageant to somewhere more secluded so they could be alone. Melody sat down on a stone bench next to the pond that was near the Lockwood Mansion, but far away enough to where it was peaceful and quiet as it could be. Klaus sat beside her with two glasses and champagne. He tried to play off like he hadn't noticed her change in behavior. "Are you sure that you are alright? You seemed different."
"Well, what did you expect? I wasn't just going to let Elena say that sort of stuff to me. Besides, I enjoyed scaring her off. Proves how weak she really is."
He opened the bottle, popping off the cork, and then poured them some before handing her the glass. She took it with a polite thanks, sipping it as she let herself get used to the feeling. She had only drunk bourbon and whiskey, never champagne so it was something new. Klaus watched her actions carefully, letting some of his worries seep through.
"Yes, I know. However, you are acting different and you told me to pull you back. I think you are going a little too far—"
"Are you kidding me?" she questioned, laughing without humor as she looked at him, shocked that he would say that to her. "Too far? This isn't about me and my grudge against her anymore, this is about everyone she has hurt, they deserve justice, they deserve better."
Klaus nodded his head, sensing how he was making her upset so he tread lightly. "And I understand that. Your plan is genius and it will work. But Melody, your light is what keeps me going. I don't want to lose you to the darkness that just keeps growing every single day." He touched her cheek, turning her towards. "I made you a promise. If this continues to get worse, I will pull you back. I won't lose you. So I want you to promise me that you will try to control your temper."
Melody took a deep breath, eyes softening as her anger faded. She knew his intentions were pure. He was only trying to help her for hurting herself. Because that is what she asked of him and for her to ignore that would make her a hypocrite and that was the last thing she wanted. So she nodded her head, leaning on his shoulder as she took even breaths. "I promise."
He smiled softly and then wrapped one arm around her. "I have something to tell you." Her eyes went to him, confused by the change of topic. "It's about Damon and Elena."
———
"They're sired?" Caroline exclaimed, standing up fast with her eyes wide. Melody nodded her head to confirm it, legs crossed as she sat in the couch across from her. "Oh my god." The brunette in front of her laughed, shaking her head as she remembered when Klaus told her and she hadn't been able to stop laughing. Because that was the push to get Stefan on her side. Now she was having second thoughts on killing him. Elena was her target after all.
Klaus smirked to himself, arm around his girlfriend's neck as the two watched Caroline freak out while Stefan just sat there, looking off into space even though he had heard the words. When his name was called, he didn't move an inch, except for his lips. "I'm still processing, give me a minute."
Melody looked extremely happy with the outcome of the conversation, tilting her chin up. "Well, I think it's time I answered the question you are both thinking right now. Did Elena suspect that something was off between her and Damon? And the answer my friends is yes. No doubt she knew something was different with Damon but of course, she couldn't say anything because she was with Stefan."
Stefan shook his head, still not believing that this was happening. "No, Elena didn't know anything because when you are sired, you feel like what you do is right."
"Alright, say for argument sake that she didn't know. Yet she still was with you and is most likely having sex with him right now. Either way, she is playing you both like a violin and every single time one of you starts to not care about her, she repairs the strings and plays a new song. But the song always ends the same."
Her analogy was accurate and he knew it. Stefan looked up at them, confused as to why this mattered to them. "So?"
Melody leaned closer to him, sighing gently as she collected her thoughts before she got angry again. "So, you need to realize that Elena doesn't care about you. She never has. You think Katherine was bad because she strung you two along on purpose. You're wrong. Elena is worse because she is stringing you two along and this time, you know it, but you don't have the heart to leave." She took another deep breath. "You need to let her go, be free of her."
"Why?"
The brunette didn't care if he knew. Because she already knew that Elena probably told Damon about her threat. Her secret was out that she had plans to kill the doppelganger. Just no one but she and Klaus knew the idea she had in mind of how she was going to get the job done. It didn't matter who knew anymore. Melody was going through with her plan. That was set in stone.
"Because I'm going to kill Elena Gilbert."
———
Guys, I am seriously having issues on finding a way that Melody and Klaus could get into an argument and actually have a fight like normal couples do. But like??? I can't seem to bring myself to make them fight??? Or find a reason they would fight??? Send help, please.
On another note, this chapter was a little all over the place only because I was sick for an entire week and I wrote a thousand words before I called it a day so it's kinda messy at the beginning. Nonetheless, I am still happy with the outcome and I hope you guys enjoyed the new aspect I included with Melody's darkness. And if any of you have read my fanfic Shattered Chances, you can see how Melody's reaction to her dark magic is similar to Arabella's. So let me know your thoughts! :)
I hope you guys have a great day/night and don't forget to vote on this chapter, comment your thoughts, and follow me for updates!
( credit : @pepperronys )