The set up committee for the masquerade ball was just as hellish as Billie imagined. She'd met Mrs. Lockwood for the first time though Billie soon discovered she was a penny away from being a raging bitch.
She was inside the mansion, heading towards the table with a fresh batch of masquerade masks. There was only one other person there and when Billie came near, she spoke up.
"I've brought more torture." He looked up, baby blue eyes crinkling at the sides from a cute smile.
"Oh goody." Billie smiled politely, but she couldn't help her confusion at the subtle ray of light surrounding him.
She pushed it aside, like she always did and started to notice the downhearted expression he wore. "Oh come on, sorting masks can't be that bad." She held up one of the biggiest and featheriest of the lot to her face, looking like she'd just stepped out of the cirque du soleil. It cheered him up for a brief moment, but the stressed look took over soon enough.
"It's just... girlfriend problems." He looked down, like he felt ashamed admitting it out loud.
Billie frowned. "I'm sorry, I'm sure it'll work out, man." She spoke genuinely. Billie never tried out the whole relationship thing before, well, not after her first one crashed and burned before her eyes. Maybe because she'd seen so many failed ones. It scared her, the idea of being so vulnerable again. Besides, it was a rare occurrence that anyone actually liked her, that wasn't a massive creep. So she didn't actually have much choice in the matter.
He smiled, a scar on his lip appearing prominently. "Yeah, I hope so. I'm Matt."
Billie smiled. Glad to see his optimism turn up. "Billie." She reached over and shook his hand playfully.
He looked like he was about to say something else, but Billie heard the ravenous screech of Mrs. Lockwood nearby, jumping up about a foot in surprise and slight fear.
Matt laughed at her surprise, while Billie tried to control her breathing. "You don't get used to it." He informed her, remnants of laughter behind his aqua eyes.
Billie grinned sarcastically. "Good to know."
She turned, ready to answer the matriarch and called over her shoulder. "See you later, dude."
»»»
Billie spent the next hour running around doing tasks for Mrs. Lockwood like an errand boy. But she didn't mind too much, it kept her mind off things. She spotted Elena and Stefan, but weirdly, they kept their distance from each other. Stefan gave her a look like he'd explain later.
But Billie did happen to notice that the devil who'd coerced her into coming was nowhere to be found. And when she appeared for the first time at the event, she looked stressed and guilty.
"Bonnie what's wrong?" The witch jumped in surprise and turned to her friend.
She sighed and thought about how to put her question into words.
"You know your... thing." Bonnie was nervous and Billie just nodded, encouraging her to keep going.
"Can you, turn it on or, maybe see the right choices for other people?"
Billie frowned in thought, the idea had never crossed her mind. "Uhh... I-I've never tried, why?"
Bonnie filled Harper in on what the Salvatore brothers had asked her to do. And by the end Billie was ready to knock their immortal skulls in.
She left Bonnie abruptly and stomped over to the gazebo outside where they were plotting to themselves like old ladies.
"What. The hell, Damon." Billie crossed her arms, standing close to the man, an infuriating smirk on his lips.
"I take it witchy blabbed." He asked, knowing he was in trouble. He cringed slightly, preparing himself. Stefan stood nearby, watching the scene unfold.
Billie laughed angrily, "Oh yeah, she blabbed. Because she knows this is a horrible idea. She doesn't need a supernatural moral compass to figure that out, unlike you, apparently."
"So what does it say?" He asked Billie calmly, she paused momentarily.
"What?"
Damon rolled his eyes. "Your 'supernatural moral compass'. What does it say?" He stepped closer, making it a little hard for Billie to get the words out with his piercing eyes staring right at her.
"I don't know." She forced out. "It doesn't say anything." Billie grit her teeth, trying to restrain herself from punching him in his perfect face and looking away when Damon seemed victorious.
He clapped his hands decidedly. "Perfect! The moral compass is indifferent. I take that's a good sign."
"Mason doesn't deserve to die, Damon." Billie spoke quietly but he heard it perfectly.
Damon's brows pulled together and he looked at her like she was insane. "He tried to kill us!" His voice went up an octave incredulously.
Billie uncrossed her arms and threw them out to her sides. "Because you tried to kill him first!"
He shook his head and walked away to leave the gazebo. Billie stared right at Stefan, hoping he would be able to change his brother's mind. Stefan looked conflicted, but eventually he straightened up and started walking with his brother, stopping in front of Billie.
"He's right Billie. Mason's with Katherine and it's always best to assume that what Katherine wants is gonna hurt everyone else around her. This is our chance to get a step ahead of her."
The boys walked in the direction of the mansion, ready to execute the plan. Billie breathed heavily to keep her composure. She sat on a bench lining the gazebo, watching the volunteers go about their jobs for a few minutes when someone sat beside her. Billie snapped her head to the side seeing Elena to her right.
Billie was surprised at her presence. "Oh...hey. Is everything okay?"
Elena nodded, tucking a few strands of her long, brown hair behind an ear. "Yeah, everything's fine, I just... uh, Bonnie told me about your... gift."
Billie made a silent 'oh' with her mouth, turning her head back to look out the gazebo. "And... I wanted to apologise about the other day. I was rude. Bonnie and I were on the outs and-"
Billie chuckled quietly, interrupting a spiralling ramble. "It's alright, don't worry about it. We all get cranky sometimes." Elena smiled awkwardly in response. The air was very quickly becoming uncomfortable until she spoke again.
"It's good that you came. We could use a level head around here. We always seem to make the wrong choices..."
Harper snorted softly. "Ironically, I do too." She smiled at herself, thinking of all the times she'd actively ignored the darkness, and how it comically blew up in her face every time.
Elena laughed, Billie's attempt to bring up the mood working steadily. First impressions weren't everything and Billie knew that, which is why she so quickly forgave Elena. She seemed nice and Billie could tell she was undyingly loyal.
"Elena! I've seen you talking more than I've seen you working. Get too it! You too Billie!"
Billie laughed subtly, standing as Mrs. Lockwood had so kindly asked, getting back to the tiresome work of setting up the masquerade ball.
»»»
Billie rang the bell to the Salvatore home, the dark, oak door swung open to reveal a perky blonde with a ready smile. She enthusiastically tackled Billie with a hug that crushed her bones.
"Hi! I'm Caroline. We haven't met, but I've heard about you. And I gotta say, your whole thing is so cool." She let go and Billie gasped in a breath of air, her chest no longer constricted.
"I don't know, I think I'd like the super speed and strength. You should watch me trying to open a jar."
Billie followed Caroline in, taking off her shoes at the door, something her friend Noor in Brooklyn had taught her to do to appease her Arab parents. But her attention was diverted away from the perky blonde's bounce with every step and into the parlour where her history teacher was fashioning a gauntlet of trajectory wooden stakes.
Billie paused before the steps looking confused as ever. "Uh... someone wanna tell me what's goin' on here?"
A scrawny brunette sauntered past Billie, carrying an armful of weapons and looking no older than fifteen. "We're gonna kill Katherine."
Stefan had come to greet her and before he could explain, Billie shrugged her shoulders.
"Sounds reasonable." She continued down the steps, passing Stefan who looked happy at her easy compliance.
What Billie was confused about however, was why her history teacher was showing Damon, Caroline and the minor how to stake a vampire using his fancy gadgets. When he caught sight of his student, he paused, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.
"... Mr. Saltzman." Billie greeted cautiously.
"Billie... Harold?" Billie held back a smile, correcting him softly. "Harper."
She paused for a moment, before asking her question. "You're a... vampire?"
Alaric shook his head, amused. "Nah, vampire hunter. Semi-retired."
Billie glanced at the three vampires in the room and back at Ric. "Long story?"
"Oh yeah."
Billie nodded understandingly. "Nice."
They spent about an hour sorting out the weapons, in which time Stefan had taken Bonnie out to talk and Billie had learned the scrawny teen was Elena's little brother, Jeremy. Billie had a sneaky feeling the housebound Gilbert wouldn't approve of her baby brother whittling stakes with the Salvatores, but then again she was no stranger to being a bit of a rebel.
Eventually, all the stakes were assigned and they were taught how to use them properly. Billie had to admit she found it a bit odd that Alaric was teaching her something so impossibly far from AP History.
Stefan called the group in to finalise the plan.
She took a seat, lying down on the couch, getting nostalgic of her last visit to the boarding house. While the group worked strategies, she fiddled and picked at her blue nails, the colour never failing to lift her moods, if only just a bit.
She caught Damon glaring at her, well, more her socked feet on the couch and she wiggled her toes in response, smiling cheekily.
Stefan stood in the middle of the room, everyone around him, ready to hear the official plan. It was ballsy, Billie had to give him that. But Billie failed to see her role in the whole thing. By the end, Alaric stood, ready to leave. He turned back to look at Stefan one last time, seeing as he and Damon seemed the most driven to kill Katherine.
"Sure you guys don't want me there tonight?" He asked politely, but Billie could tell he just wanted to stay out of the action.
Stefan shook his head decisively. "No, I need you to stay with Elena. I don't want her to know about this." At the mention of Elena, Billie's vision momentarily darkened as a whole, a pain piercing her brain, making her wince silently. But it was gone just as soon as it had come. Damon glanced over at her, brows pulled together in concern. She just shook her head with a strained smile.
Billie didn't want to plant doubt in the group if she didn't know what it meant, so she stayed silent, well aware that Damon would ask her about it later.
Alaric nodded. "Okay, I'll make sure she doesn't leave my sight."
Stefan nodded, satisfied with the answer and turned around, this time addressing the whole room. "All right. If anybody wants to back out, I'll understand."
"Yeah, cold feet speak now. I don't want this going wrong because someone chickens out. Caroline." Damon spoke up for the first time in a while, staring pointedly at the young vampire.
Caroline shrugged indifferently. "I wont. She killed me. Fair's fair." Billie briefly wondered, but like much of the group's past, she decided not to ask. "As long as there are no werewolves running around." She added on pointedly.
Damon smiled evilly. "Oh I took care of Mason." At this Billie grit her teeth, keeping from starting an argument.
Jeremy cut in with reassuring information. "And as long as Tyler doesn't kill anyone, he won't turn."
Damon nodded, pleased with the information. Stefan looked at Bonnie, his eyes pleading. "Bonnie, you with us?" There was a tense silence between them and Billie guessed it had something to do with their talk from earlier. She nodded, glancing to her friends "But no one gets hurt."
Stefan nodded in affirmation. Damon spoke with determination.
"Except Katherine. Tonight, she gets a stake through her heart." Everyone was silent, processing the idea of finally killing the doppelganger that had caused them so much pain.
Billie stuck her hand up in the air like she was still in school. "Question." The group diverted their attention to her.
She looked contemplatively at the high ceiling as if weighing her options. "Firstly, I still don't understand my role tonight. I mean, I don't particularly mind just sitting there and looking pretty, because I actually enjoy doing that." She took her eyes off the ceiling and focused them on Stefan and Damon, darting between the two of them.
"You, Ms. Lucky Lou are a contingency." Billie looked at him, eyes asking for elaboration and Damon happily complied.
"No doubt, Katherine's not gonna come to this thing vulnerable. She'll expect us to pull something and we need you around to be sure." Billie nodded, thinking through what her role entailed.
Stefan chimed in. "And secondly?" Billie's eyes widened, happy with his reminder.
"Ah yes, secondly. Will there be drinks. Very alcoholic ones would be preferred."