"Carol Lockwood always said that togetherness in times of tragedy leads to healing, that one community is stronger than a thousand of its members." Sheriff Forbes' voice came through the speakers as students lit candles in glass cups as part of the memorial service. It had been a month since Carol's tragic death, and everyone was back at school, remembering and honoring the former Mayor. Nat had kept the fact that she knew it had been Klaus a secret. The last thing she needed was everyone berating her for that. "But how does a community stay strong after losing its leader? And Carol was so much more than a leader; she was an open-minded friend and a concerned mother, taken from us too soon by a terrible accident."
Nat furrowed her brows at the Sheriff's words, knowing that the Mayor's death was no accident. Klaus had been angry and vengeful, and sadly, Carol paid the price. Nat had to admit that she did feel bad for Tyler, what with him losing both parents and his hybrid friends. Suddenly, Nat, Elena and Bonnie noticed Tyler standing up and leaving the gym, clearly upset about the whole thing.
"Please, join me in observing a minute of silence in her memory." Everyone put their heads down for a minute, silence reigning in the gym for a moment. Nat glanced at Elena from the corner of her eye and saw her looking at the other side of the gym.
"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked her, clearly noticing the same thing Nat had. Elena looked at both of them and nodded quickly.
"Be right back." She whispered and left the gym. Nat and Bonnie exchanged glances and turned back to the Sheriff.
"Thank you so much." Sheriff Forbes said and everyone looked up at her. "In the wake of this tragedy, the town has selected an interim mayor. Many of you may already know him. Please welcome Mr. Rudy Hopkins." Nat turned to Bonnie and saw her awkward face when her eyes landed on her father. She turned to Nat and gave her a small smile.
"Thank you so much, Sheriff. Carol Lockwood put this town first. That's why I'm here to talk to you guys. You folks are the future of Mystic Falls..." He kept talking and Nat scooted closer to Bonnie.
"Hey, are you okay?" She whispered and Bonnie glanced at her. "I mean, your dad taking the post. I know you two haven't had the best relationship."
"It's weird and I don't know what his plans are for the..." She looked around and leaned forward. "The supernatural community of this town." She whispered and Nat nodded slowly, understanding her point exactly.
"Let's just hope he doesn't plan on exterminating us." Nat mumbled sarcastically and Bonnie stifled a laugh. They shared amused grins before turning back to the new Mayor.
"To the Seniors, I hope you have a great rest of the year. And to the rest of the school, good luck on these next months. Good day everyone!" Rudy said through the microphone and everyone stood up, walking slowly out of the gym.
"Huh, Elena didn't return." Nat noticed and Bonnie looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Want me to wait with you?" She asked and Nat shook her head with a smile.
"No, you go ahead. I know you're meeting your dad." Nat assured her and Bonnie sighed before smiling at her.
"Wish me luck." She smiled at her and waved, her friend striding past the crowd and out of the gym. Nat waited until the crowd had dispersed and when there were few people there, she started walking out of the gym. Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned around, she found Sheriff Forbes looking at her. "Sheriff, hi."
"Hi, Nat." She smiled softly and looked around before taking a step forward. "This is gonna be an awkward question and I wanna apologize beforehand. I only ask because I know how... close you and the Originals are." Nat licked her lips and looked down.
"You want to know if any of them killed Carol or had anything to do with that." She realized and looked up at the woman. She smiled sheepishly at her and Nat shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sheriff, I really don't know. I haven't talked to them these past few days." Lies, she thought. Klaus and her had talked almost everyday and Nat knew exactly what had happened to the former Mayor.
"I'm really sorry, Nat. I just had to be sure." Sheriff Forbes said and Nat looked at her sadly. "She was my friend and even though we had our differences, she was still someone I cared about a lot." Nat felt guilt seeping through her bones, the secret she was keeping suddenly eating her alive.
"I, uh... I know. And I feel really sad about Tyler. Losing his father first, then his uncle and now his mom." She said quietly. "Not to mention his friends." She told the Sheriff, referring to the twelve hybrids Klaus had killed. The Sheriff nodded and looked at Nat sadly.
"Caroline and I have been trying to visit him as much as we can and be there for him." Sheriff Forbes said and Nat smiled softly at her, glad that at least he had their support.
"I'm really sorry, Sheriff." Nat told her again and the woman shook her head with a smile.
"Oh, please, call me Liz. You've known me your whole life, let's leave the pleasantries aside." Nat chuckled quietly and nodded. "Thank you for this, Nat. You understand..."
"Of course." Nat assured her and the woman smiled at her.
"Well, I have to leave. I'm supposed to meet Rudy at the Grill." She told Nat and the girl nodded. They walked out of the gym and Liz walked away, leaving Nat outside the gym looking around for her sister. After a while of not finding her, she called her worriedly.
"Lena, hey. Where are you? Assembly is over and you're my ride." She said on the voicemail. "Call me." She hung up and walked through the hallways, seeing if she could spot her sister. Her phone suddenly rang and she picked up, thinking it was Elena. "Where are you?"
"Currently on my way to see your brother." At the sound of Klaus' voice she stopped on her tracks.
"You're... not who I was expecting."
"I gathered as much."
"Wait, why are you going to see Jeremy?" Nat asked confused.
"Because it's been a month and I've had no news about the tattoo." He answered as if it was obvious. Nat sighed and leaned on one of the lockers, checking that no one was around.
"Did you know Liz Forbes just questioned me about you? She wanted to know if you killed Carol Lockwood." Nat said quietly through the phone and Klaus' laugh came through.
"Did you tell her I drowned her?"
"Yes, Nik, that's exactly what I told her." She muttered sarcastically. "You made a mess of things around here."
"Yes, well, couldn't let Tyler get away with his little stunt."
"Still, killing his mom? That was kinda harsh." Nat sighed as she started walking through the halls.
"I'm the bad guy, remember?" Nat rolled her eyes and stood outside the library. "I've got to go, love. I arrived to torment your brother and Damon."
"Just don't kill them, okay?"
"Not until I get that cure." He joked and hung up. Nat rolled her eyes and was about to walk away when she spotted something moving inside the library. She furrowed her brows and opened the door cautiously, suddenly coming face to face with her sister, Caroline and April.
"I've been looking everywhere for you!" Nat exclaimed as she walked further into the room. "Why aren't you answering your phone?"
"Nat, just-" Elena started but suddenly the doors opened. She turned around and her eyes widened when she caught sight of Rebekah pushing Stefan inside. "Stefan..." Elena got up and looked at him surprised.
"Did I say you could move?" Rebekah snapped at her and she sat back down.
"Bekah." Nat said with a smile and the blonde looked at her.
"I'm hurt, Talia. You left the dagger in me."
"I didn't know where Stefan was hiding you." She said defensively. "Besides, Nik would have killed me if I pulled the dagger out of you." The blonde blinked but then a smile curved up on her lips, gesturing for her to sit down. Instead of sitting on one of the chairs, she chose to hop on the table on the right, intrigued by the little gathering.
"Class is in session. You've all been compelled; you know the rules. Answer my questions honestly, no disobedience, no one leaves. April, my sweet, take notes." Rebekah told the girl and she immediately opened a notebook. Nat leaned forward in her seat and looked at them, curious as to where this was going and surprised at the fact that April now seemed to know about vampires. "This is how you get answers in this town. Let's start with a little quiz. In the year 1114, my brother learnt, thanks to yours truly, about a brotherhood of vampire hunters with tattoos that grew with each kill. These tattoos revealed what, Elena?" Her sister rolled her eyes and looked forward.
"A map." She replied.
"Which led to...? Caroline." She pointed at the young vampire and Caroline looked at Rebekah.
"A cure for vampirism."
"Perfect, so we're all caught up." Rebekah smiled and looked at Stefan. "Stefan Salvatore, the last time we saw each other, you had a vampire hunter, but in order to decode the map, you needed the location of the hunter's sword, which you got out of me using some very dirty tricks. Assuming you found the sword, you also found the cure, and yet, you're all still vampires, which means something went wrong." She looked between the three of them and Nat licked her lips at her words. "What are you doing?" Rebekah asked April and the girl looked up at her nervously.
"Oh, you asked me to take notes." Nat stifled a laughter and looked down.
"I wasn't being literal, darling. But now that you mention it... a flow chart would be nice, which means index cards and push-pins. Go, fetch." She told April and the girl immediately left the room.
"You're wasting your time, we don't know anything." Stefan muttered and Rebekah looked at him.
"So, you just gave up? I thought you would do anything to save Elena? Even if it meant taking the cure yourself so you could grow old and die with her?" Rebekah asked confused and Caroline and Nat exchanged knowing glances while Elena looked at him with a shocked look on her face. "Why do you look so surprised?" She asked her sister and they all looked away.
"This just got awkward." Nat mumbled quietly and Rebekah stared at her puzzled.
"I'm missing something. What is it?" The Original asked loudly.
"They broke up, okay?" Caroline snapped and looked at her angrily as she smiled broadly. "Now let us go."
"Broke up?" Rebekah asked amusedly and Nat sighed. This was like heaven for her. "Wait, I'm confused. I thought Elena was your epic love, Stefan?" She asked as she sat down in April's chair, never taking her eyes off of him. When he didn't say anything, she glared at him. "I asked you what happened. You have to tell me."
"She slept with Damon." He said quietly and Nat and Elena looked at him surprised, neither aware that he knew about that. They turned to Caroline then, who looked remorseful. Rebekah chuckled quietly and shook her head, gloating over the news while Elena and Stefan looked down, both visibly upset.
"So." Rebekah got up and started walking around the table. "Vampire Elena is a trollop who likes bad boys, which explains why Stefan reeks of alcohol." Nat looked at him sadly. "But what it doesn't explain is why sweet, loving, innocent Elena could be so heartless towards Stefan."
"Bekah..." Nat said, trying to stop her from going down this road. The last thing she wanted to see, was Elena and Stefan being hurt even more by their break up.
"How could she hurt you like that?" Rebekah asked Stefan, ignoring Nat. "Answer, please."
"She didn't know it at the time, but she was sired to Damon." Stefan replied blankly and Rebekah raised her eyebrows, sitting on a chair between the two and turning to Elena.
"A sire bond. That's fascinating. And what do you think about that, Elena?"
"I think you're sad and bored and in desperate need of a hobby." Her sister retorted and Rebekah glared at her.
"You're hiding something. Fess up." She compelled her.
"I didn't sleep with Damon because of the sire bond. I slept with Damon because I'm in love with him." Elena confessed and Nat's eyes widened slightly. She turned to Stefan and saw his hurt expression, Elena looking shocked by her own words.
"What does any of this have to do with the stupid cure?" Caroline snapped, trying to change the subject.
"Yeah." Nat agreed and Rebekah looked at them before nodding.
"You're right. We got off the point." She turned to Stefan. "Stefan, how do I find the cure? Unless you'd rather talk about Damon and Elena all day."
"There's a professor. He knows where the cure is." He told the Original.
"Thank you. And, uh, where do I find this professor?"
"Whitmore College." Nat answered from her spot and Rebekah smiled at her before taking her phone out and sending a text to someone.
"Caroline." The Original turned to the younger vampire. "Your phone." She looked reluctant to give it but Rebekah glared at her. Caroline sighed and got it out of her pocket, giving it to her after. She called someone and placed the phone on her ear. "I heard, and you're keeping all that rage bottled up inside. Caroline's worried sick about you." The blonde said on the phone and Nat looked at her curiously. "Hello, Tyler. I heard my brother made a real mess of your life. Believe me, I can relate, you have my condolences. In fact, why don't you come down to the high school so you can accept them in person?" She asked the hybrid and Nat stared at her, wondering what she was planning. "Because I have your girlfriend. Maybe you have a better shot saving her than you did your mother. Bye now!" She hung up with a smile and Nat glared at her.
"Bekah." She scolded her and the Original shrugged. She hopped down and walked over to her. "Look, if you're gonna keep doing this, then maybe I should just leave. I'm not in the mood for games."
"Oh no, you're not leaving. I have a surprise for you." Her friend told her and Nat furrowed her brows. "I hear you're not the Professor's biggest fan."
"Yeah, not really a fan of shady creeps." Nat shrugged and Rebekah laughed. Suddenly, the door opened and Nat turned to it, her eyes widening at the sight of Kol.
"Sister.... Look at this! You're even worse than Klaus." He said as he walked in.
"Kol!" Nat exclaimed happily and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. He returned the hug and spun her around before placing her back on the floor.
"My favorite witch." He smiled at her and she grinned back at him.
"Kol, finally. Did you bring what I asked for?" Rebekah snapped them back to her and he nodded, shoving Shane into the library. "You must be Shane." He looked at her shocked and Nat crossed her arms, staring at him. "Well, let's go get some answers, shall we?"
"Natalia, love, are you coming?" Kol asked as he and Rebekah started walking out the door.
"Yeah." She smiled mischievously and followed them.
"Nat." Elena called and she turned to her sister, seeing her conflicted look.
"Relax, Lena. We won't hurt him." She said. "Much." She added and left the room. They walked to a custodial closet and shoved the professor inside.
"Kol and Rebekah Mikaelson... two members of the Original vampire family. This is such a trip." Shane said, his eyes as wide as saucers as he looked between both vampires. Nat and Rebekah exchanged glances before turning back to the man.
"Where's the cure?" Rebekah tried to compel him.
"Compulsion won't work. It's a little trick I picked up in Tibet." He said and Rebekah smiled.
"Right. Well, we'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way." She turned to Kol. "Beat him until he tells you where to find it." Kol smiled mischievously and looked at Shane as Rebekah left the room. Nat looked at the Original and smiled at him.
"Shall we?" She asked out loud.
"WHERE IS THE CURE?!" Kol yelled, shoving Shane's head into a sink filled with water. After holding him there for several seconds, Kol yanked the professor's head back up, Shane gasping for air.
"Where is the cure?" Nat asked him but he just breathed heavily, no reply coming through. Rebekah walked in and looked at them as they tried to get answers from Shane. Nat looked at Kol and nodded. He smirked and shoved him under the water again. After a few seconds, the Original yanked Shane back up again.
"You're human. Why do you want it anyway?" Rebekah asked confused as Kol held Shane up by his shirt.
"That's the beauty of this. You can have it, I just want Silas." Nat furrowed her brows at his words and suddenly, Kol yanked him closer.
"No. What do you know about Silas?" He asked angrily, startling Nat a little.
"He's the world's first immortal being, who just happens to be imprisoned with the cure... and I want to free him." Shane explained, breathing heavily.
"No!" Kol exclaimed and shoved him under the water again. Nat and Rebekah exchanged glances and turned back to Kol.
"Stop!" Rebekah yelled and Kol brought Shane back up again, letting go of him this time. "He's no use dead."
"Did you not just hear what he said? Silas will kills us all, sister." Nat's lips parted at his words, not understanding what seemed to be so dangerous about this Silas guy.
"Silas does not exist. He is a-a fairytale made up to scare children into eating their vegetables." Rebekah said dismissively.
"Silas is very real. I know where he's buried and soon I will have the spell wakes him." Shane interjected.
"Wait a second, you're lying." Kol told him. "You can't get to him-"
"Without his tombstone?" Shane interrupted him. "Dozens to die in a blood sacrifice? Believe me, I know. I've done it. Those massacres are a pain to engineer." Shane sighed and Nat's eyes widened.
"So you did get the council blown up." Damon had been right.
"It was a noble sacrifice... and temporary, because once I raise Silas, Silas will raise the dead. He will bring back every last soul who died on his behalf."
"No!" Kol yelled and drove a thin metal pipe through Shane's stomach, surprising Nat. Shane fell to the floor and struggled to stay awake, but soon, his eyes closed and his body stopped moving.
"What the hell?" Nat said out loud, turning to Kol and looking at him confused.
"You should be thanking me." He told both of them.
"You killed my only chance at finding the cure." Rebekah snapped at him.
"Silas on the loose would be hell on Earth. Frankly, sister, I don't think you could handle it..." Kol trailed off and pulled out the white oak stake.
"How did you get that?" She asked him angrily.
"Way too easily." Kol smirked at her and walked out of the closet, Nat and Rebekah following him. "I'm leaving. Are you coming, Nat?" She was about to say yes, but remembered her sister and the others.
"Wait, what about Caroline, Elena and Stefan?" Nat asked Rebekah and the blonde rolled his eyes.
"They've served their purpose, I'll let them go."
"Okay, then." She turned to Kol and smiled at him. "Let's get out of here." He walked away and she followed him outside the school. They got into his car and he sped away from the school. "So, where are we going?"
"We are going to get massively drunk." He smirked at her and she laughed.
"I like your idea, but it can't be at the Grill, too many prying eyes."
"Way ahead of you, darling." He told her and he looked back at the road. He turned up the music and rock blasted through the speakers. Nat smiled and looked out the window, noticing that they were leaving Mystic Falls.
After almost an hour of driving, Kol pulled up to a dingy bar on the side of the road. He opened his door and stepped outside, Nat following him. He stopped walking at looked at her, narrowing his eyes at her appearance. She looked at him questioningly and he shook his head.
"Lose the jacket."
"What?"
"Now." She grumbled and took it off, throwing it on her seat and following Kol inside. The bar was dimly lit and music was blaring through the speakers. People were drinking and laughing, some of them playing pool while others stayed on the sides. Kol led her to the stools and they sat down. "Darling." Kol called one of the bartenders and she walked over to them. "Two beers." She nodded and walked away, returning with their beers soon after.
"So, Silas." Nat said, taking a sip of her beer. Kol drank some of his and nodded.
"Trust me, everyone's better off with him slumbering."
"Let me guess, you learned about him in one of your many travels throughout the centuries." He smiled at her and nodded.
"Most of the witches I used to run with feared Silas, they all knew he should stay buried."
"And you believed them?" Nat asked him curiously. He looked at her pointedly and she raised her hand up defensively. "Just asking."
"These legends.... I've come to believe they're true. I'd rather we not risk our wellbeing for some pointless thing like a cure for vampirism." He scoffed and chugged the rest of his beer.
"Tell me about it." Nat muttered. He turned to her with a curious and amused glint in his eye.
"You don't want to find the cure." He realized and Nat licked her lips nervously. "Why? Don't you want to help Bex? Or your beloved sister?"
"I'd like nothing more than for both of them to be happy, but all this effort on finding the cure will actually kill them. Besides, I don't get why they would want to be human." She shrugged.
"Is that some resentment I detect in your voice?" He asked laughing and Nat shook her head.
"It's not resentment. I just think that Elena should adapt and everyone else needs to accept that she's now a vampire." She shrugged and chugged down the rest of her beer. Kol raised an eyebrow at her words and waved at the bartender, gesturing for her to bring them more drinks. The woman returned a moment later with two more beers and took the empty ones.
"Right." Kol mumbled. "Does that mean you plan on turning?" She bit her lower lip and stared at him for a moment before turning back to her beer.
"Someday." She replied. "I don't want that town life, I want more. And if you'll have me, I plan on spending the rest of my life with all of you." She told him, referring to his siblings. Kol's lips twitched at her admission and he looked at her cheerily.
"Of course, darling. How could we ever turn you down?" She laughed quietly and took a swig of her drink. "Speaking of, how are things with Niklaus?"
"Oh, well, they are better." She shrugged. "We made up."
"Does that mean you two are back together?" Kol asked her curiously and Nat shook her head at his words.
"Not really, we agreed to stay friends. I think it's what's best for both of us. Besides, he likes Caroline and is trying way too hard to impress her." She chuckled and crossed her legs, turning to Kol, who was now smiling amusedly.
"Would you look at that?" He replied. "Seems he now has a thing for blondes, eh?" Nat laughed at his words and looked around the bar. "So, what does that mean for you and Elijah?" She whipped her head back to him and took a deep breath, the question catching her off guard.
"I don't know. I mean, we both know how the other feels, but we're not doing anything for now, I guess." She shrugged lightly and Kol tilted his head. "Look, he's away at the moment, and you and I are going on our trip this summer, right?"
"Mhm."
"I think... I think for now, I'll just enjoy life as it comes, have some fun here and there. When the time is right for us, we'll find each other again." Nat told him and Kol's lips turned into a smirk.
"Good. Because those two haven't taken their eyes off of you since we stepped foot into this bar." He nodded with his head to a couple at the end of the bar. Nat turned her head and looked at them discreetly, finding a pretty brunette accompanied by a tall bearded man. She found them already staring at her coyly and her heart started racing.
"Kol..." She chuckled and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear nervously.
"Come on, live a little." He got up and signalled for her to do the same. "Take this as a brief introduction to what awaits this summer." He grabbed her hand and led her to the couple. "Besides, we'll both be able to get something out of this. You have your fun and I'll feed." He told her in her ear as they walked slowly to the couple. "Maybe I'll even join." Her eyes widened slightly and a shy smile curved on her lips at his insinuation. "Hi." Kol greeted the couple once they stood in front of them. They turned to Nat and the Orignal and the woman smiled at Nat flirtatiously.
"Well, hello there." She stepped closer to Nat and looked her up and down. "Can we offer you a drink?" Nat gulped nervously and thought about backing down, just turn around and tell Kol to leave this place. But then she thought, what the hell?
"How about we start off with some beer?" Nat replied coyly, making the woman's smirk widen.
"Oh, that was so much fun!" Nat exclaimed as Kol helped her up the stairs of her porch. "We should do that again." She slurred and he laughed loudly.
"We'll have all the time in the world in the summer. Trust me." He told her and rummaged through her purse for her keys. Once he found them, he opened the door and gestured for her to get inside. She was about to enter, but stopped to look at him.
"Thanks for this, Kol." She sobered up a bit. "I don't remember the last time I had that much fun." She said with a lazy smile.
"Oh, yes. You seemed pretty entertained in the arms of that brunette." He told her, an amused tone in his voice.
"She was so pretty." She slurred and started giggling, her mind still fuzzy from all the drinks. "And you had fun too, feeding from that handsome fella." She teased and he laughed.
"Yes. Yes, I did. You are the best wingman. Wingwoman, in this case." She giggled loudly and looked at him with a big smile.
"I love you, Kol." She told him and his eyes softened.
"I love you too, Nat." He replied. "Now get inside and get some sleep." He pushed her gently toward the house and she stumbled inside. She turned back to him and smiled again.
"Bye, Kol." She waved at him and closed the door. She drunkenly walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass, filling it with water. She chugged it down quickly and placed the empty glass on the counter. She then walked to the stairs and when she got there, she took a deep breath before walking upstairs.
Once she got to her room, she changed into her pajamas slowly, her head still buzzing from her night out. After she changed, she got in her bed and pulled the covers on her body. She placed her head on her pillow and shut her eyes, a wide smile on her face, the last thought running through her mind being the fact that this only reinforced the idea that she didn't belong in this town at all. It was a good thing she would be leaving as soon as she graduated, then.