I stood alone again and watched people talk and dance from the dance floor as I put a flask to my lips, only to have it taken away quickly. "You are underage." Damon stated with a smirk as he drank from the flask instead and I rolled my eyes.
"You are overage. And honestly, it's a bit creepy." I countered in annoyance and Damon furrowed his eyebrows down at me.
"Oh, come on. What bad-ass senior is complete without a date that is slightly too old for prom?" Damon asked in amusement and I scoffed, folding my arms over my chest at him.
"Please don't refer to yourself as my date." I replied emotionlessly, taking the flask back before drinking from it as Damon rolled his eyes.
"You're right, I'm sorry. Your boyfriend." Damon corrected with a smirk and I scoffed, shaking my head back at him. "Come on. First you leave me on a rooftop and steal my car, now you're going to deny that I'm your boyfriend?" He asked in annoyance and I chuckled.
"You're lucky all I did was leave you on that rooftop. At least you had a daylight ring, which is something Lexi didn't." I countered emotionlessly and watched as he furrowed his eyebrows. "You don't say you're my boyfriend when you were slow dancing with the one that is sired to you, minutes ago." I pointed out and Damon slowly shook his head.
"Mariana, I was only dancing with her like that to make her feel something. She's sired to me, after all." Damon replied in defeat and I rolled my eyes.
"You were trying to stir some 'feelings' in her?" I asked in disbelief as Damon nodded in agreement. "That's a little ironic considering you, her sire—are the one who had her turn them off in the first place." I stated in annoyance and Damon narrowed his eyes down at me.
"Yeah, well, hindsight is almost a bigger bitch than you." Damon replied emotionlessly and I became silent and looked away from him before he sighed. "Ari—" He started but I shook my head and started walking away from him.
"Why don't you go see what your other girlfriend has to say about the 'hindsight'?" I asked with a light scoff before I walked away again, only to be stopped as Bonnie stepped in front of me, breathing heavily with concern.
"We have a problem." Bonnie warned with furrowed brows and I rose an eyebrow and looked over my shoulder towards Damon who watched us intently.
~~
"It's like Jeremy was there. I could talk to him, feel him." Bonnie pointed out with a shrug as she stood around Stefan, Damon, Matt and I.
"Bonnie, that's what Silas does. You can't let him get to you again." Stefan reassured her as he put his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah, because you all crazy and brainwashed—is just not a good look." Damon added sarcastically and I rolled my eyes at him and heard the tapping of a microphone echo around us before we all turned towards the stage where April stood.
"Hey. Okay, the ballots have been tallied, which means it's time to announce Prom king and queen." April stated into the mic with a huge smile as she held an envelope in her hand.
"Look, one of us should take her home." Stefan stated in some concern and I rose an eyebrow and exchanged a look with Bonnie.
"What? No, she's safer here in public around all these people." Damon protested quietly towards his brother and I slowly nodded.
"There's no way Silas can make everyone see the same thing all at once." I pointed out with a sigh and Damon gestured at me in agreement.
"Okay, in the meantime, how do we look out for a guy that can appear as anyone?" Matt asked with furrowed brows before I exchanged a look with Stefan and Damon who furrowed their eyebrows.
"All right, your prom King and Queen for the votes tonight are.." April stated through the mix again, leading off as she opened the envelope in her hand. "Matt Donovan and Bonnie Bennett!" She added happily, smiling wide and I furrowed my eyebrows as a spotlight appeared on both Matt and Bonnie, making everyone applaud and cheer. They both looked at each other confused before looking at Stefan, Damon and I who applauded and tilted our heads and gave them smiles. The two slowly smirked at each other and slowly walked towards the stage arm in arm. I looked across from me to see Elena and Rebekah standing beside each other and looking at Bonnie and Matt in annoyance.
"Bonnie bloody Bennett.. Of course." Rebekah stated in somewhat dissatisfaction and I rose an eyebrow. Bonnie and Matt made it up the stage and got their pictures taken as crows were placed on their heads.
"Everyone's so worried about Silas.. but there's an obvious solution to all of this." Elena stated quietly towards Rebekah and I furrowed my eyebrows at her. "Silas is only trailing after Bonnie because he needs her. He can't do the spell to drop the veil without her. I don't need Jeremy or Alaric coming in here and prodding me to turn my humanity back on. Mariana is bad enough... So if you can't kill Silas.. Kill his witch." Elena stated with a smirk before she drank from her lunch glass as Rebekah furrowed her eyebrows.
"I can't kill anyone, I'm supposed to be human." Rebekah protested in annoyance at her.
"'Maybe you can't.. But I can." Elena replied emotionlessly towards her before walking away. I quickly turned back to Bonnie and Matt who were smiling widely and taking pictures closely together and I sighed in defeat.
"Mariana." A voice stated as it came towards me and I turned to see Rebekah who breathed heavily in worry. "Elena—" She started before I quickly cut her off.
"I know." I answered with a short nod and looking into the crowd as I watched Elena slowly walk around the front of the stage.. Eyeing Bonnie closely. I looked to the side of me and furrowed my eyebrows as Damon and Stefan were gone. "What the hell?" I asked quietly in defeat before I looked at Rebekah who furrowed her eyebrows back at me.
~~~
I watched as Matt took off his crown and thanked some photographers before he walked off the stage and I quickly went towards him as Rebekah followed. "You need to get your queen off the stage." Rebekah stated cautiouslyand I watched as Matt furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Bonnie from over his shoulder as she continued to take pictures.
"I can't really do that right now." Matt countered in confusion and Rebekah looked at me for help and I sighed.
"You didn't hear it from us, but Elena's up to something. Go find Damon and Stefan." I warned, looking back at Bonnie who walked off of the stage and towards the Prom Queen's personal room that was surrounded with sparkly bead curtains. I saw Elena walk into the room after Bonnie and I narrowed my eyes quickly, following her and leaving Matt and Rebekah. When I walked in the room, I saw Elena's face shift as she grabbed onto Bonnie's shoulder, about to bite into her neck. "Elena!" I warned angrily towards her before Bonnie put one of her hands on top of Elena's and I furrowed my eyebrows and watched as Elena's face shifted back to normal and she started to groan in pain and clutch her head. A strong wind started picking up from around us and I heard screams come from the main floor outside of the curtains before Bonnie pushed Elena off of her, letting Elena fall to her knees and lean against a table beside them.
"Bonnie!" A voice said in confusion as the curtains opened and Matt came into the room with concern on his face.
"Something's happening to me, Mari.." Bonnie warned in a shaky voice as she looked at me and I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Okay, Just calm down—" I started calmly before she quickly shook her head and cut me off.
"No, I have to get out of here." Bonnie protested before quickly walking out of the area small space. I furrowed my eyebrows and exchanged a look with Matt before I turned towards Elena who clenched her jaw as she stopped groaning in pain and slowly stood up. The curtains opened again, showing April who looked between Matt, Elena and I in confusion.
"What's going on?" April asked, furrowing her eyebrows at us while Elena slowly turned towards her.
"Remember when I told you to make Rebekah prom queen?" Elena asked with a small smile towards April before she quickly shifted into her eyes and grabbed April by the back of the neck and slamming her head down into the table in front of her, knocking her out cold. Elena brought April back towards her and bit into her neck, making Matt and I widen our eyes.
"No!" Matt said in protest but Elena ignored him as she fed before she pulled away from April and pushed her over, letting her fall into Matt's arms.
"You should have listened." Elena pointed out with a scoff before she walked out after Bonnie. I clenched my jaw at her and bit my wrist quickly, kneeling down and feeding it to April as Rebekah came through the curtains and widened her eyes down at April.
"Bekah, stay with them." I demanded in a harsh voice before I quickly stood and walked out into the main ballroom without another word. I grabbed my jacket at the door and walked out of the building to see no Elena or Bonnie in sight. I clenched my jaw and wrapped my jacket around me tightly before I vamped towards the parking lot on the east side of the school. "Bonnie!" I yelled out in worry but heard no response in return, making concern rush over me. The sound of dozens car alarms going off came through my ears and I narrowed my eyes. I vamped to the west parking lot as I felt a strong wind pulling me there before the wind and the car alarms stopped. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked around the parking lot in confusion before I heard a scream come from in front of me. I vamped towards it and widened my eyes as Elena stood behind Bonnie with her teeth in her neck while Bonnie groaned loudly in pain. "Elena!" I yelled towards her angrily before gasped and let Bonnie go, making me furrow my eyebrows. Elena started spitting up Bonnie's blood as the bite mark on Bonnie's neck healed, making me stand still in shock. I watched as Bonnie slowly turned towards Elena who held her throat gasping as she was not able to breath at all. "Bonnie?" I asked calmly towards her before she clenched her jaw and gestures her hand towards Elena, breaking her legs and I widened my eyes. Elena screamed out and knelt on the ground in front of Bonnie who narrowed her eyes down at her. "Bonnie!" I yelled towards her, trying to avert her attention but she ignored me and bent her wrist and Elena screamed out as her arm bent out of shape, breaking from underneath her.
"Bonnie, stop. Bonnie." Stefan's voice said calmly from behind me and I turned to see him walk towards Bonnie quickly as Damon followed. I walked towards Elena and knelt beside her as she clutched her head and groaned, shutting her eyes tightly.
"Mariana, help me." Elena pleaded from where she sat on the ground and I looked up at Bonnie in defeat.
"Bonnie, you're killing her." I stated in warning towards her and watched as she stared down at Elena emotionlessly.
"I know what I'm doing." Bonnie snapped back at me, but it wasn't Bonnie... There's no way it was.
"That's the magic talking. This is your best friend." Stefan argued from behind her, trying to level with her as I held Elena who started bleeding from her mouth and nose as she gasped and groaned more loudly now.
"Dammit, Bonnie." Damon stated through gritted teeth towards her as he stood aside from Stefan.
"Bonnie. Please." Elena pleaded from below me, looking up at her in complete defeat. Bonnie narrowed her eyes down at Elena mercilessly.
"Bonnie..." I warned her, leading off emotionlessly and watched as she continued to ignore me. "Phesmatos Tribum. Exceli tribum.. Verzex." I chanted indistinctly to myself over and over again and watched as Bonnie furrowed her eyebrows down at me before she closed them and Elena became silent. Bonnie slowly opened her eyes again and looked down at Elena in confusion who gasped, breathing heavy breaths.
"You okay?" Stefan asked calmly towards Bonnie who came to realization at what just happened.
"No, I'm not okay." Bonnie countered in disbelief towards him. "I almost died—The shell of my best friend almost killed me—So no I'm not okay—none of this is okay!" Bonnie yelled angrily towards him. I sighed shaking my head in defeat down at Elena who breathed heavily still and put her head in my lap.
"I got you." I reassured quietly down at her as she leant on me. I gently rubbed her hair back and stood her up as she groaned before Damon injected her in the back with vervain. Elena gasped and closed her eyes slowly, dozing off before Stefan grabbed her from me and I sighed deeply, shaking my head at what just happened.
"What did you do to her?" Stefan asked in confusion as he looked last me and at Bonnie who walked away from us. I watched her silently before I looked back at Stefan who stared at me silently.
"I showed her visions of her Grams." I answered quietly before I looked at Elena who slept soundly in his arms. "Plan 'B'." I pointed out, changing the subject and looking between Damon and Stefan who nodded in agreement.
~~
"She might not feel much but she's gonna feel that in the morning." Damon stated in amusement as we both leant in the cellar doorway and watched as Stefan put Elena on the bed that sat against the brick wall.
"So what's the plan?" Stefan asked, not looking away from Elena and I folded my arms over my chest.
"When Bonnie was shaking on her tonight, I could see it in her eyes. Elena thought she was going to die. She was scared." I pointed out and exchanged a look with Damon who rose an eyebrow as Stefan furrowed his.
"Fear." Stefan stated to himself and Damon slowly nodded in agreement.
"Last time I checked, one of those pesky human emotions." Damon countered and I nodded and watched as Stefan slowly stood from beside Elena.
"So plan 'C'..." Stefan replied, turning towards Damon and I. "Make her life a living hell." He stayed and I scoffed lightly in agreement.
"You two care to talk about our other problem? You know, the one that can be anyone, anywhere, anytime?" I asked raising my eyebrow at the two of them as Stefan slowly nodded.
"Silas still needs Bonnie. And if tonight is any indication, she made it pretty clear that she won't let anyone push her around. She's not going to let him manipulate her. Not anymore." Stefan stated, tilting his head at us and Damon scoffed.
"I wouldn't underestimate his talents. He fooled the hell out of both of us." Damon pointed out as we walked out of the cellar as Stefan locked the door behind us.
"Point taken." Stefan replied as he looked at Elena through the bars in the door
"What did he say to you, anyway?" Damon asked, gesturing his head towards his brother. Stefan sighed and looked away from Elena and towards Damon as I rose an eyebrow.
"He led me out in the woods claiming he saw Silas.. Then he staked me." Stefan answered and I slowly nodded and looked at his tux to see the bloodstain on his shirt as Damon had one also "What about you?" He countered and Damon rose an eyebrow and looked down at me for a few seconds before looking away.
"Talked about his hair. Figured it had to be you." Damon answered sarcastically and Stefan gave a small chuckle.
"Funny." Stefan replied in some amusement before he looked back at Elena as Damon and I went upstairs and I groaned in slight annoyance at my dress that kept trying to trip me.
"So.. The real question is.." Damon stated with a sigh once we made it into the hall and I rose an eyebrow at him. He turned towards me and stepped closer, gently putting his thumb under my chin and tilting my face up towards his. "Are you still a conniving bitch?" He asked quietly and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Depends on the day." I answered sarcastically, flicking my eyes between his eyes and lips slowly. "Are you still a cocky ass?" I countered with a smirk and he tilted his head back at me.
"Always—" Damon started before our lips met and I gently grabbed him by the back of the neck, pulling him closer to me. I breathed heavily as he vamped us upstairs and into his room. Damon grabbed my legs and groaned as my dress got in the way before he pulled ripped the bottom of us and I chuckled, wrapping my legs around his waist. He put on his bed and I smirked unzipping the top part of my dress as he took off his bow tie and unbuttoned his shirt, easily taking them off and I smiled, running my hands over his bare back.
-Time Skip-
"She's the calmest desiccating vampire I've ever seen." Damon stated in disbelief as he put the bottle of bourbon back on the alcohol table in front of him from where we stood in the library before turning towards Stefan and I. "I remember when you starved me down there for three days. I would've wept at your feet for an orange peel." He added in annoyance, handing Stefan a glass of bourbon as he held one also.
"Look, she's not gonna beg for blood. Begging means desperation. Emotion. She's still in the no-humanity zone." Stefan stated with a sigh and I rolled my eyes.
"How hungry does she have to be before we can torture some feelings back into her?" I asked as I folded my arms over my chest in annoyance.
"A lot hungrier than she is now, apparently." Stefan answered sarcastically before he brought his glass of bourbon to his lips.
"So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Damon asked, looking around the empty library in boredom.
"Maybe I can provide a little excitement." A voice stated from behind us before we all turned towards it and I narrowed my eyes.
"Katherine." I stated emotionlessly towards her as she smirked back at me.
"The one and only.. Sort of." Katherine replied with a smirk before she walked down the steps and towards the three of us. "So when's the welcome home party?" She asked with amusement and I rose an eyebrow as she walked towards the alcohol table.
"Wow. Look who went and got bold." Damon stated in as he stood beside me while Stefan furrowed his eyebrows as Katherine poured herself a drink. "Last time I checked, Klaus was plotting your eternal demise." He added and drank from his glass as Katherine sighed.
"Well, it doesn't matter anymore, because Klaus is gone." Katherine stated with a smirk as she looked back at us before walking away and I rose an eyebrow, turning towards her.
"Wait.. What do you mean he's gone?" Stefan asked in confusion and she looked back at us, holding a glass in her hand.
"Let's just say that werewolf girl Hayley turned out to be just the thing we needed to get Klaus out of our lives for good." Katherine answered with a smirk and I sighed in some annoyance as I watched her.
"Great.. Now how do I do that with you?" I countered with a fake smile before looking between Stefan and Damon who smirked at me in amusement.
~~
I walked down into the cellar and opened the door to see Elena sitting against the wall. She weakly opened her eyes and looked up at me and I tilted my head, examining her paleness and nearly black bags that hid under her eyes from desiccation. "You look terrible." I pointed out with a sigh as I folded my arms over my chest.
"I'm hungry. Not that you care." Elena replied groggily, gulping weakly and I rose my eyebrow at her.
"But I do.. That's the whole point." I replied, kneeling down in front of her. "I do care. You don't care." I pointed out as I took a blood-bag out from behind my bag. "It's about time for that to change." I added and gestured it towards her. Elena looked down at it and breathed heavily as hunger overcame her and she grabbed it, drinking from it quickly. Elena sighed in relief at the taste of it and closed her eyes before she furrowed her eyebrows and started spitting up the blood quickly, groaning in pain as she did.
"Vervain." Elena coughed weakly, removing the blood from her mouth, hands and system while I tilted my head at her.
"How does that make you feel? Hurt because I betrayed you? Angry because I'd cause you pain?" I asked in annoyance towards her as she narrowed her eyes back at me, breathing heavily. "Or scared? Because you know it's going to get a lot worse." I warned eyeing her carefully before she vamped towards the door, only to be stopped by Stefan and Damon who blocked it. Elena breathed heavily at the two as I stood from the floor, turning towards her as she looked between the three of us now.
"You guys wanna play games?" Elena asked emotionlessly towards us as she sighed and slowly nodded. "Go ahead." She stated, scoffing and slowly looking back to me as I rose an eyebrow. "Let's see who breaks first." Elena whispered and I folded my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes. "Me.. Or you." She added quietly, looking back to the boys before I exchanged a look with them, only to look back at Elena who smirked slightly.
~~~
"You still have her locked in the safe? You've been in her head for an hour." I stated as I looked at Damon who leant against it as it stood in the cellar.
"What, still nothing?" Stefan added from beside me, shaking his head. Damon held up a finger towards us and unlocked the safe as I leant against the cellar doorway.
"How you doing in there?" Damon asked raising his eyebrow and opening the safe. Elena didn't respond to him as she sat up against the wall of the safe weakly. "Come on." He added with a sigh before pulling her out. Elena groaned in annoyance back at him and stumbled out and knelt on her knees. "Is the old you ready to come out and play?" Damon asked in amusement as he leant down towards her, raising an eyebrow.
"Go to hell." Elena answered emotionlessly and I smirked down at her before while Damon sighed and stood up, looking back at Stefan and I.
"Okay. Back you go." Damon countered before pushing her back into the safe quickly and locking it. I looked at Stefan who looked away before I cleared my throat and walked towards Damon and the safe.
"We can do this the nice way or we can do this the other way.." I pointed out as I folded my arms over my chest. "But either way—we're not stopping until you turn your humanity switch back on. So I'm gonna let you think about that, and I'm gonna come back for you in a couple of hours... or a couple years because all we have is time." I warned with a sigh and patted the sage gently before I looked at Damon who smirked in agreement. I looked over my shoulder, back at Stefan who looked at the safe now before he walked completely away from the cellar.
~~~
"Where is she? I want to see her." Caroline stated as she walked into the living room and I sighed loudly.
"We're not letting anyone see her—that's the whole point. Isolation leads to misery, leads to emotion." Stefan countered as Caroline opened a pair of French doors that led into the library.
"She's been here for days. She hasn't improved a at all?" Caroline asked looking around inside before closing them and turning to Stefan and I.
"Look, she doesn't want to, Caroline, not yet. She's devastated. She lost Jeremy, she attacked her friends—" I started only to cut myself off in defeat before I ran my hands through my hair and sighed deeply as Stefan put his hands in his jean pockets.
"You said you could help her." Caroline stated in defeat towards Stefan who looked up at her.
"I did say that—we are." Stefan answered as he looked at me and I nodded in agreement.
"How, by torturing her?" Caroline countered in annoyance and disbelief.
"It's not torture. It's an intervention. The only chance we have with her is to provoke her. To trigger something—fear, anger, self-pity, anything." I pointed out and Caroline sighed and looked away from us.
"Let me talk to her." Caroline suggested and I sighed and exchanged a look with Stefan. "Before any interventioning—If she's weak, she can't hurt me." She added quickly, shaking her head as she looked between Stefan and I in defeat. "Please, just—just.. let me try.." She said with a small sigh. Stefan looked at me and I took a deep breath and looked back at Caroline who stared at me with hope.
~~
I looked over my shoulder and down at Elena who sat up against the cell wall, staring back at Caroline, Stefan and I. "Good luck.." Stefan stated with a sigh before him and I moved out of Caroline's way, leaving her in the cellar as we stood outside in the hall. I folded my arms over my chest and leant against the brick wall behind me as silence came from inside the cell.
"I brought you something.." Caroline stated after a moment and I listened in from where I stood, raising an eyebrow.
-Caroline-
I pulled out a small vile of blood from behind me and watched as Elena took her head off of the wall and stared at it skeptically. "It doesn't have any vervain in it, I swear." I reassured as I slowly walked towards her. "I just figured a little blood might help you think straight." I added as I unscrewed the top and leant down, gesturing it towards her. Elena let in a sharp breath as she stared at the Cole before she took it quickly, drinking it without hesitation. "For the record, I don't agree with what they're doing." I pointed out as I watched her sigh deeply in relief as she drew away from the now empty vile before I knelt in front of her. "I mean, I agree that you need to turn your humanity back on, but I don't think that making you suffer is the way to do it. That's not who you are." I added in defeat and watched as Elena put the bottle down on its side, spinning it softly on the floor.
"What makes you such an expert on who I am?" Elena asked quietly, not looking up at me as she spun the vile.
"Because we've been friends forever." I answered with a small smile and she put a hand over the vile, stopping it.
"I tried to kill you, Caroline." Elena stated in annoyance up at me. "I'm not exactly BFF material anymore, you should move on." She added groggily before looking back down at the vile and spinning it faster. I clenched my jaw angrily and slammed my hand down on the vile, stopping it abruptly.
"I am not going to give up on you." I countered quietly towards her and watched as she slowly shook her head.
"This annoying, clingy thing that you're doing.. Did it ever occur to you that maybe that's why both your boyfriends skipped town?" Elena asked and I tilted my head at her in annoyance. "I mean, I know that Tyler said he was running from his life; maybe he was running from you." She added with a sigh as she brought her knees to her chest and I sat back away from her. "And Klaus? I mean, let's just say it.. No one likes a tease." She added emotionlessly with a shrug and I scoffed, looking away from her. "Hey, I'm not judging. Might be nice to have a bad boy ruffle those perfect feathers of yours." Elena stated with a smirk and I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
"You're in pain. You're lashing out. I get it, but you can't stay this way forever. We're about to graduate and start new lives, and you deserve—" I started before Elena furrowed her eyebrows and cut me off.
"Are you seriously talking about high school graduation?" Elena asked with a light scoff and I furrowed my eyebrows at her. "Caroline, do you realize how pathetic you're going to look in that cap and gown? Pretending to be human while your mom fake smiles and just counts down the minutes until you leave town so that you can stop being a reminder that her daughter is a repulsive, blood-sucking, control freak monster?" She added in disbelief and I became silent as I scoffed, shaking my head at her in defeat before standing and turning towards the cellar door. "It's really sad that Mariana stopped me before I put you out of your misery.. But hey—here's to second chances." Elena stated quietly from behind me and I furrowed my eyes and quickly turned around, holding Elena back as she vamped towards me, fully shifted.
"Elena?" I warned angrily towards her but she ignored me as she snarled angrily back. I clenched my jaw and grabbed both side of her head, twisting it and watching as she fell to the cellar floor. I breathed heavily and looked down a her emotionlessly as footsteps came in from behind me and I sighed, closing my eyes.
-Mariana-
"Do whatever you have to do." Caroline stated emotionlessly as she turned towards Stefan and I. "I'm going to be upstairs." She added and slowly shook her head before walking past us. I looked towards Elena who was laying motionless on the floor in front of Stefan and I before I sighed in defeat and walked after Caroline.
~~~
Damon slammed a Fire extinguisher on the floor and Elena gasped, opening her eyes from where she sat tied to a chair in the living room. "Good. You're awake." I observed as I looked down at her. "We thought you could use a little sunshine." I pointed out before I gestured towards Stefan who slowly drew back the curtain from the window across from her. I rose an eyebrow as Elena watched the sunlight guide its way across the floor towards her. Elena looked away from the sunlight and down at her hand to see her daylight ring gone.
"Looking for this?" Damon asked as he held it in front of her, smirking as Elena breathed heavily down at it. I watched as she weakly tried to grab the ring from him but the vervains roles around her wrists held her back and he pulled away. "Aw, you know the rules. Bad girls don't get nice jewelry." Damon stated, looking towards Stefan who let the curtain fall over the windows again.
"You took my ring. I'm devastated." Elena stated sarcastically up at Damon before sighing. "And bored. Can I go back to solitary now?" She added with a sigh and I rose my eyebrow at her.
"No. I kind of like you in the hot seat." I replied, tilting my head down at her before I looked towards Stefan again. "Whenever you're ready." I stated gesturing at him and he nodded back at me and grabbed the curtain again.
"Am I supposed to be scared?" Elena asked with a light scoff towards Stefan who narrowed his eyes at her.
"You will be. And when you are, focus on that fear. It's the key to getting your humanity back." Stefan answered, eyeing Elena carefully.
"You're not gonna burn me." Elena stated doubtfully and I rose an eyebrow.
"You don't think so?" Damon asked, putting his hands on his hips as he stood beside me.
"No." Elena answered emotionlessly and I furrowed my eyebrows. "And even if you do manage to get my emotions back, I'll remember all of this.. And I'll hate all of you for it." She stated and I looked at Damon and exchanged a look before I looked towards Stefan.
"Tsk. Work the risk." I stated in annoyance and gesturing at Stefan. He narrowed his eyes at Elena and pulled the curtain back slightly, enough for the sunlight to creep up from the floor and burn Elena's hand. Elena looked down at it as it burned and she started groaning and yelling out in pain before she looked away from it. I watched as Stefan stood there, not being able to look at Elena as he tried to block out her screams. Elena's arm caught on fire, making her scream louder and Damon grabbed the fire extinguisher, putting the fire out quickly. Stefan clenched his jaw and closed the curtain as Elena breathed heavily, sighing in relief and calming her breaths.
"Bet that feels better, huh?" Damon asked Elena as he put the fire extinguisher down. "How about a little gratitude—Or any human emotion whatsoever? And we can stop this." He reassured her in annoyance. Stefan walked over to us as we watched Elena move uncomfortably in the chair before she started muttering under her breath and I rose my eyebrow.
"Excuse me? I didn't quite catch that." I pointed out before I knelt in front of her and she narrowed her eyes down at me.
"I said.. I'm gonna kill you." Elena answered breathlessly towards me as she narrowed her eyes and I smirked.
"Bingo." I stared in amusement before standing and looking between Stefan and Damon. "See? There's a little rage. I should have figured that'd be the first emotion to come out of you." I stated rolling my eyes at her while Stefan knelt in front of her. "I tend to pull that out of people, you know?" I asked and Damon scoffed lightly in agreement from next to me.
"Elena, listen to me. We don't want to do this. You can stop this right now. It's your choice." Stefan stated reassuringly towards her and she looked at him and chuckled in dry amusement.
"Kind of funny, actually.. You being the one to pull back the curtain. I bet part of you enjoys it... Since you know, I dumped you and all." Elena stated with a small shrug and I rose my eyebrow at her as Stefan looked away.
"Wow.. That was down right vindictive." Damon countered, giving Stefan a look before he knelt in front of Elena also. "See, I'm thinking now we're breaking into the hard candy shell and getting into that ooey-gooey rich center of your humanity." He pointed out with a small smile and she narrowed her eyes at him. "This is good. I think we should shine some light on the subject." Damon stated exchanging a look with Stefan who got up and walked back over to the curtain.
"Let me guess.." Elena stated with a sigh as she looked at Stefan in boredom. "This is gonna hurt you a lot more than it hurts me." She added in annoyance and I narrowed my eyes at her before I exchanged a look with Stefan who looked down.
"Look, I know what you're going through. After all you've done, you're afraid to face the guilt you'll feel if you turn your emotions back on." Stefan stated quietly towards Elena who stared back at him blankly. "The only way we can help you is make the alternative hurt even worse." He added emotionlessly before Elena sighed in annoyance and close her eyes. Stefan stared at her for a few seconds before he quickly pulled back the curtain fully and Elena yelled and screamed in pain again as her whole body started burning. I looked away from her and closed my eyes, blocking out the screams that burned into my skull. When I looked back at her, her skin was burning so much that smoke came off of it before Stefan closed the curtain again quickly and Elena breathed heavy gasps in relief.
"You're gonna thank me for this. After you turn it back on, you'll realize life with no emotions blew—" Damon started in annoyance before Elena cut him off quickly, looking up at him.
"You know what else blew? Being aired to you." Elena snapped as she glared daggers at him and he rolled his eyes and looked away from her. "Going everyday believing that I was actually in love with you." She chuckled dryly and he nodded in annoyance, shrugging it off. "And you." She stated emotionlessly turning towards me and I furrowed my eyebrows. "So pathetic to hope that none of it was real." Elena added and I narrowed my eyes at her as she looked away. "Go ahead and try to turn my emotions back on. Make me the person I was before.. Who knows? Maybe Stefan and I will give it another go." She stated with a smirk as her eyes landed on Stefan who scoffed lightly and looked away from her. Elena gave a light chuckle before she groaned and broke the ropes around her wrists, seeing as they were worn down from the burning sunlight. Elena vamped towards the curtain across from her and pulled it down completely. I widened my eyes as her skin went from burning to flaming as it sat in fire and she screamed out loudly. I vamped towards her, grabbing her quickly and bringing her to the floor, hiding her from the sun as Damon put the fire out with the fire extinguisher. Stefan, Damon and I stood around her completely taken aback as we watched Elena chuckle and cough from below us while her skin healed. "I'm the girl that you love. You wouldn't do anything to actually hurt me.. You just proved that." Elena stated, weakly sitting up as she looked between the three of us. "So what do I really have to be afraid of?" She added breathlessly before closing her eyes and smirking slightly.
~~~
"So that went well." Stefan stated sarcastically as the three of us walked out into the front lawn and I scoffed drinking a bottle of bourbon.
"Every other vampire turns it on, no problem. You kill, you feed, you do all the awful things that a vampires does and then when you're done—you turn it back on.." Damon stated in annoyance and I scoffed turning towards them.
"Why is she being so stubborn?" I asked angrily through gritted teeth before throwing the bottle of bourbon at the house and watched it break on the roof and shatter to pieces.
"Because she has nothing to come back to in her eyes. Her home's gone, her family's gone. She alienated her friends, she destroyed her relationships—" Stefan started but I scoffed at him quickly.
"No, she wants to come back. I'm her family. I'm her sister. We are in this together. Always and forever—Scaring the hell out of her should have worked." I argued angrily before running a hand through my hair in frustration.
"She's smart. She knows we won't actually hurt her." Damon pointed out in annoyance and I rolled my eyes.
"Alright, so we get somebody else. Somebody who really will hurt her." Stefan suggested and I scoffed, furrowing my eyebrows at him.
"Who?" I countered in annoyance and looked at him to see him shrug in defeat and exchange a look with Damon before he looked back at me and I tilted my head. "Katherine?" I asked in disbelief.
"Think about it. She's the reason Jeremy's dead. I mean, if anyone can provoke an emotion, it's her." Stefan countered and I looked at Damon who remained silent.
"Okay—so we call her and then what? Beg her to help us out of the kindness of her own heart?" I asked before I scoffed in annoyance. "Are you kidding me?" I added, shaking my head between the two.
"Katherine was just abandoned by Elijah. She has nothing. She has no one. If we invite her into our house to come torture Elena and possibly spend time with her daughter?" Stefan countered as he eyed me and I rose an eyebrow, thinking about it in my head.
"There's no way she's going to turn that down." Damon added in agreement and I folded my arms over my chest and eyed the two of them carefully.