⌠ 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙎𝙄𝙓 ⌡
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Rory's day was pretty much uneventful, finishing up her assignments and texting her boyfriend when she had the time. It wasn't until dinner that she exited her room, rubbing at her tired eyes. Her neck is still in the middle of healing despite the long week she had, but the time had been good for her—now, she could hide it with a high coverage foundation and loose powder.
Jeremy, of course, had freaked out immediately. He demanded answers as soon as she walked into the house, but Rory had convinced him to calm down. If she's being honest, she wished that she could give him some answers. Instead, all she had in her mind was Caroline telling her that a random guy just did this to her out of the blue. Having no choice and no evidence that it didn't happen, Rory has no choice but to believe her.
Nik told her that he would come right to Mystic Falls to pick her up and search for the man that did this to her, but Rory told him that his efforts would be futile. Whoever it was, he's long gone, and it wouldn't matter. Plus, Sheriff Forbes was keeping an eye out for any suspicious behaviour as well.
"Hey, aunt Jenna," Rory greets as she enters the kitchen, seeing the older woman prepare dinner for the night. To her surprise, Alaric is there as well.
Rory is truthfully a little curious about Alaric's relationship with both Jeremy and Elena. Honestly, she wasn't exactly the happiest person to see that their high school teacher was over at their house so often; maybe it was just her, but it seemed a little unprofessional to have their history teacher have dinner at their house, but who is she to judge? Jenna looks happy, so, Rory can't say much.
"Hi, Rory," Jenna greets her warmly.
"Alaric staying for dinner?" questions Rory as she picks out a piece of celery from the salad bowl, biting into it.
Alaric notices the way Rory's eyes trail over his frame. It isn't in a friendly way, neither was it in a mean way. It's a simple gesture that's easy for him to decode: I'm watching you. He can respect that, "I am, thank you. I hope you don't mind," Alaric smiles as friendly as possible.
Rory doesn't give him a response, simply sniffing as she chews on her celery stick, "Where's Jeremy and Elena?"
"I'm here," Elena says as she walks down the staircase. Rory gives her sister a tight, fake smile. The two of them, not for the first time, aren't exactly on the best terms. After Rory's blow-up about Elena hiding things from her last week, Elena hadn't really bothered to talk to her twin, "I don't know where Jeremy is, though."
"He went straight up to his room, he said he wasn't hungry," Jenna says as she holds the phone to her ear.
Rory frowns, "That's ridiculous—I'll bring something up for him to eat," Rory grabs a plate for her brother, starting to pile food onto it. She raises an eyebrow at Jenna bustling around, "Who's she on the phone with?"
"Dunno," Alaric shrugs. He turns to Elena, "Everything go okay today?"
"There were a few hiccups, but yeah," Elena says.
Rory narrows her eyes again. There it was—more secrets. This time, between Alaric and Elena. She lets out a slightly frustrated breath; she was tired of people keeping things from her. It's bad enough that Mystic Falls felt different, now it was proven that it was, too.
"Of course, I understand," Jenna speaks into the receiver. She turns to face Rory, "Rory, it's for you."
"Me?" Rory points to herself. Jenna nods, holding the mobile phone out insistently. Rory takes it from her grasp but holds her palm over the receiver so that the person on the other end can't hear her question, "Who is it?" she asks. Jenna simply shrugs. Rory holds the phone to her ear, "Hello?"
"Hello, Rory," to Rory's complete and utter confusion, the voice on the other end of the phone mirrors both hers and Elena's perfectly. A carbon copy, in fact.
Rory's eyebrows pull together, eyes flickering to Elena that's still setting the table with Alaric, "Who is this?"
"I know you must be a little confused by now, considering your shady little friends have been compelling you since the day you got into town. I feel sorry for you, little me," the voice on the other end says, "My name is Katherine, Rory, and I need to tell you something. Your friends have been lying to you."
Rory exits the kitchen, lowering her voice to speak, "Is this some kind of joke?"
"Notice how our voices are exactly the same, but your darling little twin sister is in the kitchen with you? That's because we're exactly alike, you, Elena, and I. We're three sides of the same coin, putting it simply. Your friends don't want you to know about me because I'm a vampire, and so is your best friend, Caroline. Your friend Bonnie? She's a witch. Stefan, Damon, they're all vampires. And you know what vampires can do, Rory? They can compel you to forget things—they can compel you to do things you don't want to do,"
"You're crazy," Rory whispers viciously, "If this is some kind of prank, it's not funny—"
"You don't believe me, baby Rory?" Katherine mocks, "How's your aunt Jenna doing?"
Just as she says so, a loud scream tears from Elena's throat. Rory rushes to the kitchen, and her jaw drops at the sight of her aunt Jenna on the floor, bleeding profusely from her stomach. A knife sticks out of her gut, her twin sister and Alaric urgently falling to the ground next to her to stop the bleeding.
Rory's shaking hands lift the phone back to her ears, "Do you believe me now, Rory?" a dark chuckle comes through the phone, "I made Jenna do exactly what I wanted her to, even when she didn't want it. This is because it's real. You get the idea, don't you?"
Rory doesn't even get to reply before the call ends, and all that she hears is the dial tone.
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Rory's hands tremble as she hastily pulls a cigarette out of the pack she picks from her hoodie. She places the stick between her lips. Blood stains her fingers—Jenna's blood, from when she tried to stop the bleeding. She struggles to light her cigarette with how bad she's shaking, but she manages. She inhales deeply, letting the smoke calm her as she leans the back of her head against the wall.
"Rory?" Jeremy voices from beside her. Rory doesn't even bother trying to throw the cigarette away—her brother can see it, anyway. The cancer stick hanging between her fingers, lit up. "You said you stopped."
"How is she, Jeremy?" Rory asks tiredly.
Jeremy's eyes flicker towards the vast road in front of him, before he sighs and says, "The doctors told Alaric that she got lucky. She's going to make it; she's going to be okay," Rory hums as she takes another pull of her cigarette. Jeremy's eyebrows pull together, "Why are you smoking again, Rory?"
"I never stopped," Rory shrugs as she kicks the rock in front of her. Jeremy's frown deepens. Rory chuckles, "I'm sorry, I'm not the perfect big sister you thought I was. I only smoke when I'm stressed or anxious, though."
"Yeah, like that's any better," Jeremy gives her a sarcasm-filled scoff.
Rory takes another drag and drops the cigarette on the ground. She grinds the heel of her shoe against it, putting it out, "I'm tired, Jer," she says quietly, "Do you ever feel like everyone you love is keeping something from you?"
Jeremy's eyes flash. That's all Rory needs to realise that "Katherine" is right. Something is going on, and not only were her friends hiding things from her, but her family, too. She doesn't know which one is worst, considering she regards her friends as family.
It makes sense, she thinks. The weird "animal" bite on her wrist appearing the night she has dreams about Caroline with sharp fangs and red eyes. The bruise around her neck, yet she has no idea where it came from—they can compel you to forget things, Katherine's words ring in the back of her mind, They can compel you to do things you don't want to do.
Like Jenna stabbing herself. Jenna wouldn't stab herself. Rory doesn't think Jenna wanted to stab herself; she doesn't think anyone wants to stab themselves.
Jeremy doesn't deign her with a reply. He simply looks at the ground by his feet. Rory doesn't need one. She walks past him, squeezing his shoulder, "I'm not the only one keeping secrets, Jeremy. I guess we're both liars."
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Jenna gets released from the hospital next morning, thankfully, with only minor stitches. It doesn't do much for her, though—she's still in a lot of pain, and Rory can see it every time she flinches when she moves. Jenna has an arm slung over Rory's shoulders, her other one around Matt's. Rory is glad that Matt is here—he gives her a sense of normalcy, groundedness. Something tells Rory she can trust Matt.
"Easy," Matt advises Jenna, "Grab the door, Jer."
Jeremy does as told, but Jenna looks embarrassed, "Hey, stop fussing. I'm fine,"
"The doctors said you have to take it easy, aunt J," Rory gives her a pointed look.
"Yeah. You don't want to rip your stitches, hemorrhage and die, alright?" Jeremy adds unhelpfully.
"Jeremy!" Rory scolds. The younger boy only sticks his tongue out in response.
"Yeah, the only thing I'm going to die from is embarrassment," Jenna sighs as she sits on the couch, "I walked into a knife. How does somebody do that?"
They don't, Rory thinks. Nobody walks into a knife.
And you know what vampires can do, Rory? They can compel you to forget things—they can compel you to do things you don't want to do.
Rory's fists clench at her sides as Elena supplies, "It was a freak accident,"
"It happens," Jeremy states.
"Yeah, I mean I've done it like twenty times at the Grill," Matt jokes.
Just as Rory is about to add in on his joke, her phone buzzes in her pocket. She picks her mobile phone out, unlocking the screen to glance at the message from an unknown number that stares back at her. Grill, 5 minutes. Let's talk about it — K.
Rory's eyes flicker to Elena and Jeremy that converse secretly in the kitchen. Her hand tightens over the phone in her hand, before she says, "I'm going to head out for a bit, guys," Rory lies, a small smile on her lips, "I have a friend to meet at the Grill. I'll be back with burgers and milkshakes for aunt Jenna."
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Rory almost couldn't believe it. When she sees Katherine, she actually stops dead in her tracks. She's a dead ringer for both Rory and Elena, except for the few differences. For one, Katherine's hair was curly, instead of Elena and Rory's pin-straight tendrils. There's a mischievous glint in Katherine's eyes, one that was absent from Elena's. The smirk on her lips was cocky, as if she held the entire world in her hands. Rory honestly believes Katherine does.
She sits across the woman that looks identical to her. Anyone at the Grill would presume that it's Elena she's sitting across, considering the Gilbert twins were regulars. Little do they know...
"It's nice to finally meet you, Rory," Katherine's lips upturn into a small, snide smirk. Her eyes flicker to the bruise over Rory's throat, her hand reaching out to massage the tender skin. Rory flinches back in pain. Katherine's smirk only widens, "So sorry about that, I can get a little... rough when I'm angry."
"This was you?" Rory frowns as her fingers ghost over her throat. She almost feels the tell-tale press of her fingers again, as if Katherine's words awaken some untriggered memory inside her brain, "Caroline told me—"
"And what did I tell you about Caroline?" Katherine raises an eyebrow.
"You said she was a vampire. Which is ridiculous, because vampires don't exist,"
"Look at me, Rory. How old do you think I am?"
"I don't know... 18? My age?" Rory guesses.
"Wrong," Katherine clicks her tongue, "I'm 500 years old."
"Um," Rory says.
"You may think I'm joking, but I'm not. We're related, you and I. In fact, I'm your ancestor. We come from the Petrova bloodline. You and Elena are my doppelgangers," Katherine tilts her head, "I always thought that Elena was the only one—thank god she isn't. She's dull as a dishwasher, really."
"How do I know you're telling me the truth?" Rory swallows, though she knows she's being stupid. What's the likelihood of a secret triplet of Elena and hers, running around Mystic Falls?
Katherine leans forward, pupils dilatating as she gazes into Rory's eyes, "Take that butter knife, and stab it through your hand," she compels.
Rory's eyes widen at her words, but she can't stop her hand from moving towards the knife. The silver is cold against her skin, goosebumps prickling up her arms. She attempts to pull her left hand away, but it stays still against her will. Her right hand picks up the butter knife, and she hovers it over her palm. She swallows thickly as a bead of sweat runs down her temple.
"I'm kidding," Katherine suddenly says. She compels her again, "Put the knife down. Don't be frightened," Katherine smirks as Rory places the knife back on the table, snatching her hand against her chest like it caught fire. Her heart pounds against her chest, "I told you, Rory. Why would I lie to you?"
"So, you're a vampire," Rory reiterates softly, "Why are you telling me this?"
"I don't know. For fun, maybe. I like seeing little Elena run around like a headless chicken," Katherine gives her a small chuckle as she sips at her drink, "Or maybe I just feel sorry for you," her eyes flicker to the brunette in front of her, "Poor baby Rory, put in harm's way with no recollection of how she got there and when. Your friends say they want to protect you, but they're doing a pitiful job, really. It makes me sad," Katherine giggles, "It's also kind of funny."
"Considering you... told my aunt to stab herself in the stomach, I don't think you're the type of person that tends to feel bad. So, what is it you want with me? What games are you playing? Because if you're going to just choke me out in the bathroom again—"
Katherine interjects, "No games for now, Rory," she traces a finger over the rim of her cup, "Elena doesn't breathe a word of your name around here. None of us knew you existed till you came around and showed your face. That either means that you've done something terribly bad to dear sweet Elena, or... the complete opposite," Katherine leans forward to compel her, "So, which is it, little me?"
The words fly out of Rory's mouth without her consent, "I've never done anything to her," she says robotically, "Elena and I are sisters. We fight all the time. I don't know why she doesn't talk about me. I had no idea that she doesn't; it hurts my feelings." Rory winces at the truth behind her words.
Katherine continues to hum as she lifts her drink to her lips. She tosses her brown curls over her shoulders, "Oh, Rory," she sighs, "You and I are going to have so much fun together."
A/N: DUN DUN DUN... the cat's outta the bag. sorta. next up is the masquerade, and yall know what comes next, dont you?
daddy elijah
PS: dont worry yall will get ur rory freak out moment soon its just not settling in her brain yet. poor baby is in shock