#then she told him we are all sad about Jeremy and said me in particular

[sudokuplayer]

i'm so angry and heartbroken and i think this is all i will ever be

[psychospeak-blog]

Won’t Go Slowly // 68

One // Two  // Three // Four // Five // Six // Seven // Eight // Nine // Ten // Eleven // Twelve // Thirteen // Fourteen // Fifteen // Sixteen // Seventeen // Eighteen // Nineteen// Twenty // Twenty One // Twenty Two // Twenty Three // Twenty Four// Twenty Five // Twenty Six // Twenty Seven // Twenty Eight // Twenty Nine // Thirty // Thirty One // Thirty Two // Thirty Three // Thirty Four// Thirty Five // Thirty Six // Thirty Seven // Thirty Eight // Thirty Nine // Forty // Forty One // Forty Two // Forty Three // Forty Four // Forty Five // Forty Six // Forty Seven // Forty Eight // Forty Nine // Fifty // Fifty One // Fifty Two // Fifty Three // Fifty Four // Fifty Five // Fifty Six // Fifty Seven // Fifty Eight // Fifty Nine // Sixty// Sixty One // Sixty // Sixty One // Sixty Two // Sixty Three// Sixty Four// Sixty Five // Sixty Six // Sixty Seven "Are you gonna be okay?" Tyler laughed, clearly noticing the way that you kept checking your phone.

"I don't know," you laughed, "I just thought she'd text me back by now.'

"She's probably just holding the baby and that's why she hasn't," Tyler rationalized.  Which he was right, you knew, but Bentley hadn't been happy at all when you dropped him off at your Mom's house so you and Tyler could go on your double date.   "She'd call you if she needed something."

"I know," you said, Tyler's lips turning up in a smile like he was trying not to laugh.  "I've never been away from him for so long before."

"We're not going to be any more than half an hour away if we really need to go back we can," Tyler said, "But he'll be okay.  your mom managed to handle you."

You shot him a look, and he laughed.  "Bentley is an angel compared to you."  

"Well, he wasn't an angel when we left," you said.

"He was like that when we got to my mom's house, too," Tyler said, "And then he warmed up.  He's kinda...what did my mom say?  Attached to you.  He needs time to get familiar with new people because he's too young to remember them."

You made a small noise, and Tyler looked over at you, his hand coming to rest on your knee reassuringly.  "Babe, if it's gonna be that hard for you to leave him, we don't have to go on a date."

"No, I want to go," you said, although leaving him still wasn't your most favourite thing, "I just -- don't want him to forget her."

"He won't," Tyler said softly, and you opened your mouth as if to speak, but took a breath in again.  "You're gonna be facetiming her all the time, she can fly down, you can talk to him about her.."

"No, I know," you said, taking another deep breath.  "I just, when I got pregnant, I just pictured taking him to Grandma's house on the weekends, or meeting for lunch, or have having his own space with his toys in her house -"

"He has that, baby," Tyler said.  And he did because your mom was already talking about getting him his own little table and chairs despite the fact that he wasn't even close to sitting up on his own yet.  

"Yeah," you exhaled, looking out at the road, "She was just gonna be doing this thing with me, you know?  When I was doing it by myself."

"She still will," Tyler said, "I know it's not gonna be the same, but - " Tyler cleared his throat and you swiped quickly at your eyes because you were not about to ruin your make-up when you'd actually taken the time to do it, especially when you wouldn't have to deal with a baby potentially messing up your outfit or grabbing onto your necklace.  

"Don't even," you warned him, "If you start apologizing, I'm not --- I would be way more sad if you were leaving without us."

"Yeah?" Tyler asked, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Yeah, I can handle moving if it means I get ti live with you," you said seriously, taking a breath and then laughing through your emotion.  "We still better come back every summer though. I don’t care how gorgeous the weather in Texas is."

Tyler laughed at your feeble attempt at sounding threatening, like you’d be unwillingly dragging him back to Canada.  "Yeah, well it's still home," he said, thinking for a beat, "Although I hope that Dallas'll feel like home, for you too."

"It will," you said, "you're there, so it will."

"Awe," Tyler said, face scrunched up, half making fun at how sickenly sweet and cliche you were being.  But you meant it.  "I'd kiss you all over the face if I wasn't driving right now."

So you wanted until you told him that you needed to make a left turn at the next light, rising up to press a kiss to his cheek once you were stopped, your attention turning back to the chime of your phone once you started moving again, attracting Tyler's attention when you let out a pleased laugh at what you read.

"My mom said she took Bentley outside for some fresh air and her sprinklers came on and he's transfixed.  So they've just been sitting there watching them."

Tyler snorted out a laugh.  "He's a simple man," he said, "See, I told you'd he'd be okay."

"Yeah," you said, putting your phone back on your purse, feeling better now that you knew he was happier than when you left, looking over at Tyler and thinking.  "Do you worry about leaving him?"

"Umm..." Tyler thought, "I mean, I don't worry, but I feel bad if he's sad when we leave because I want them to enjoy him when he's all happy and cute.  I worry about the stuff, though.  Like I'm looking for a crib and a car seat for him and I'm going through all of the safety ratings and then people are saying you have to make sure the crib slats aren't too far apart so their heads don't get stuck, but then I'm worried if they're too close together his arm's gonna get stuck."

"Yeah," you laughed at his exasperation,  the smile on his face letting you know he wasn't too stressed out about the whole thing.  

"Still not giving you any hints about his room, though," Tyler said.

"Yeah, yeah,' you laughed, "turn in here."

You kept your eyes on Tyler's hands as he made the turn, with watching him driving being one of the most favorite things lately, especially when you had a baby in the backseat.  But that also meant you missed out on the reaction on his face when he saw where you were going.

"Babe, no," Tyler whined, although you could already hear the blinker going as he looked for a parking spot.

"You said we could choose wherever we wanted," you laughed.

"Yeah, because I was trying to be a gentleman," Tyler said, "I didn't think you were gonna make me go painting."

"Well, you said you wanted to do something other than just going out to each," you said, a grin on your face at Tyler's reaction.  

"Yeah, but I meant like," Tyler said, and you laughed at him stumbling over his words, "I  don't know, something athletic or something."

"Oh, so only if it's something you're good at?"

"Are you saying I'm bad at painting?" Tyler accused, breaking into giggles before he even finished asking the question, and you shrugged, lips turning up in a smirk.  "Wait, is this the place you went with Tinder guy?  The second one?"

"You....remember that?"

"Babe," Tyler said seriously.

"I mean, not this particular location..." you said.  "And we had wine because it was evening.  We're gonna have tea because it's an afternoon date."

"Babe," Tyler repeated, laughing now.

"It's not a good date," he said, smiling as he shook his head.

"I had fun," you said, "And I wanted to do it with you.  Someone I actually love."  You smiled at him as you leaned across the console to kiss him.

"Mmm...you are so lucky I'm whipped," he said softly, his hand moving under your chin, tilting your head to give you a proper kiss. "Any other girl, I'd be out of here."

You laughed against his lips but he just smiled, kissing you deeper until there was a quick knock against the window, Tyler keeping his lips attached to yours as he playfully flipped off the person behind you. 

"I think you're supposed to save the kissing for after the date," Danielle said, to which Tyler just smiled, defying her and pressing one more kiss to your lips, and you could feel his hand behind your head waving them off.  

"Hey," you said, once you got out of the car, hugging Danielle, but she stopped you before you could move to say 'hello' to Jeremy, her fingers brushing your forearms as she searched your eyes in the way best friends do, and you realized you'd never checked to make sure there was no evidence you'd been crying because you'd gotten distracted by Tyler as per usual. 

"Everything okay?" She asked softly, and you could see the concern in her eyes, betting that she was thinking you and Tyler had had some kind of fight and were  in the process of making up when she'd interrupted.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," you reassured her, smiling at Tyler as he crossed around the car.  "We're fine." 

"Someone's just having a bit of separation anxiety," Tyler said, coming to stand by you and then frowning, his thumb coming out to sweep under your eye in a way that was incredibly indearing.

"Awe," Danielle said.

"I'm fine," you promised, tucking your hand into Tyler's.  "He was just really upset when we left, so that was hard."

"If he'd known we were going painting I think he'd be more stoked to stay at Grandma's," Tyler said. 

"You know, the last guy I took here was much more enthusiast," you said slyly, watching Tyler's mouth full open as he gawked.

"You did not," he laughed.

"I did," you grinned.

"C'mon, guys," Tyler said, "Let's go in so I can show her how much of a better painter I am than Trevor or whatever the fuck his name was."

"So mean," you laughed.

"You're the one taking your boyfriend to somewhere you took your ex!"

"He wasn't my ex because we were never exclusive," you said, "And yeah I'm taking my boyfriend here while our baby is being taken care of so we can actually paint."

"Our baby?" Danielle mouthed, and you smiled and shrugged, your eyes letting her know you'd talk about that later.

"I'm just waiting for him to get old enough we can finger paint together, I think I'd be better at that," Tyler said, and then took a closer look at you. "Are you gonna cry again?"

"No,' you said, and Tyler raised his eyebrows like he wasn't buying it.  "I'm just emotional today for some reason, leave me alone."

"Nah, I'm not gonna leave you alone," Tyler said gently, his lips pressing a kiss to your temple, his hand sliding to your back. "Are you like this every time you leave him with me?"

"Ummm...not really," you said, and Tyler looked taken aback"Kinda the first time I was a bit nervous but that's because I hadn't ever been away from him.

"Why not?"

"You know him."

"And your mom doesn't?" Tyler laughed.

"Yeah, but not like you do," you said because it didn't feel like you were leaving him with a babysitter anymore, where you had to explain how he might act. "You're with him every day."

"Well, I wasn't always," Tyler said.

"Yeah, but you're like....you have that connection," you said, moving your fingers together as if to illustrate.  "Like it's natural."

"Is it?" he asked, and Danielle widened her eyes and nodded even before you could.

"You're way better with him than I thought you were going to be," she said, and you added, "You're way more involved than I thought you were going to be."

"What does that even mean you guys?" Tyler sighed.

"Just that I thought you were going to be like the fun uncle," you clarified, "I wasn't expecting you to be, like, dressing him and stuff."

"Well, the kid's gotta look good," Tyler said with a laugh like it was no big deal.  But it was a big deal to you.

"Yeah, but he's so comfortable with you," you said because that special connection that they had was more than you ever thought it would be.  "And you take such good care of him."

"Yeah, I'm going for that 'Best Sperm Donor Ever Award',"  Tyler said, immediately giggling.

"You're more than that," you stressed.

"Oooh, do I get 'Best Boyfriend Ever' too?" he asked, and you turned to him grinning, your finger pinched together.

"You're like this close," you illustrated.  "We'll see how you do with the painting."

Tyler laughed, his hand coming to your low back and pulling out your chair for you, waiting until you sat down before he pressed a kiss to your cheek, whispering, "Best boyfriend ever."

And he was kind of equally adorable while you were picking out your painting design, and you were trying to decide whether you wanted to do a sunset scene or stick to a daytime beach scene when Tyler suggested that you did one of the split canvas ones together.

"You thought this was a lame date and now you want to be that couple? " you laughed.

"Yeah, I do.  It'll be cute," Tyler insisted, his lip getting pouty, "We can put it up in our dining room."

"'Our' dining room?" Danielle repeated, and Tyler's head snapped towards yours.

"You haven't told her yet?" he asked loudly and with surprise."

"No," you said, whispering loudly, "I was going to, but I just haven't yet"

'But you tell her everything" Tyler said, and you gave him a look, turning to look at Danielle.

"Tyler asked me  - us - to move in with him," you said, swallowing.  "In Dallas."

What you weren't expecting was for Danielle to respond by punching Tyler in the arm.

"Ow," he said, making a face and rubbing his arm, "What was that for?"

"Because you didn't tell me you were going to ask her," she said.

Well, I didn't know I was supposed to," he said, holding his hands up like he was innocent.

"First you don't tell me that you're in love with her even though it was obvious," she said, "And now I'm thinking it's going to take years for you to ask her to move in with you."

You turned to her with a frown on your face.  "Wait, you're not upset?"

"Why would I be upset?"

"Because I'm not going to be living here," you said, and Danielle shrugged.

"Yeah, I mean it sucks that you're leaving but I'd be more upset if I had to deal with you being upset about being away from Tyler," she said, "Or how you're not sure if he loves you or not like we did all this year."

"You did that?" Tyler asked, like he still couldn’t actually believe that you felt that way about him."

"Yes," you said, half exasperated, "and thank God you got me pregnant so I could focus the baby otherwise I would have been thinking about you 24/7."

"Well, now you and that baby get to come live with me," Tyler said, and then looked at Danielle, "And you can stop trying to beat me up."

"As long as you don't do anything stupid," she agreed, and Tyler laughed, scrunching up his nose.

"I would never," he said, and she gave him a look, "Okay, okay, I know I moved slow.  But, like, I haven't lived with a girl since my Mom, so...."

Danielle laughed, but then forced herself to straighten her face.  "Still....if you mess up, I'm coming for you."

"Oh you better," Tyler said, his head bouncing like he was counting as he spoke, "I'm gonna have to deal with you, myself, my sisters.  I'm so glad I'm trusted."

"Well, to be fair, your sisters also told me not to fuck things up with you," you grinned, and Tyler laughed.

"Seriously?"

"Mhmm," you said, "Everyone just wants us to make this thing work."

"Mmm.." Tyler acknowledged, leaning over to kiss you like he couldn't help himself. "I'm planning the next date though.  You guys need to come to Dally.  If you're doing that type of thing yet."

"What type of thing?" Danielle asked.

"The sleepover thing," Tyler said like he was trying to be innocent but failing, "Although I do have two guest rooms..."

"They've been together for longer than we have," you laughed.

"Nooooo," Tyler whispered a smile coming to his face.

"I distinctly remember you saying that you weren't dating," Jeremy said, clearly teasing.

"Technically," Tyler clarified, "But I was playing the long game.  And, like, if we weren't seeing other people, then it kinda counts."

"Isn't this like your second date?" Danielle cut in.

"Shhh..." Tyler whispered, and then laughed.  "We've done date-ish things.  We weren't seeing other people.  That definitely counts for more than two dates."

"You...weren't?" you asked him because you knew he wasn't sleeping with other people near the end of your pregnancy when you weaved in and out of feeling like you were together.

"No," he laughed, "I haven't even kissed another girl in over a year... wait, have you?  Kissed a guy, that is? Because if it's a girl, that's totally cool."

You rolled your eyes.  "The only guy I've kissed is the little man."

"That's a lie," Tyler said, and you frowned, "I can't you the other day with Gerry trying to shove his tongue down your throat."

"Okay," you laughed, "Only babies and four-legged beings."

"That's what I thought," Tyler grinned, "Although I need to keep an eye on those guys, I think they're trying to steal my girl."

You couldn't help the way that your heart swelled when he called you his girl or the smile it brought to your face.  "No, they're just part of the complete package," you said. "I love our little family."

You smiled as an older couple came in, the gentleman stopping to pull out her chair for her, getting settled in.  "Oh, do you have a little one?" the woman asked, leaning forward like he was right there.

"Yeah, he's almost 4 months," you said, "he's at Grandma's right now though."

"Oh, that's such a cute age," she said, sounding slightly disappointed she couldn't see him.

"Yeah, you want to see pictures?" Tyler asked, looking just briefly at you and you gave him your agreement, Tyler getting out of his chair to move over by her, holding his phone out, and you held back a laugh at the cute way she reached for her glasses.  "That's Bentley," he said, his finger on the screen, his eyes flicking up to yours.  "And those are his brothers, Marshall, Cash, and Gerry."

"Three dogs?" she asked, and Tyler gave an "mhmm..", continuing to flick through the photos.  "Oh my."

"First date?" The man asked, and for a moment you thought he was asking if this was your and Tyler's first date, until he continued. "Usually the first time you go out on a date without the kids and actually look forward to spending time together all you end up doing is talking about the babies."

"Oh....yeah," you said because it was kind of true.  "We did go grocery shopping without the baby once."

"Yeah, and we didn't buy anything for the baby at all," Tyler said, sarcastically, catching your eye with a smile, pushing himself up from where he was crouched, "Let me grab some tea."

"How do I make tea?" he whispered as he passed by you, and you laughed, standing up.  "I'll come out."

It was automatic to you, the process familiar as your mom was always a big fan of afternoon tea, and Tyler smiled as he grabbed mugs alongside you, looking over at the couple again, and you almost expected him to make a comment about how lame the date was once again, but he surprised you again.

"You gonna drag me along to painting classes when we're that old?" he asked and you smiled, your fingers letting the tea bag drop into the water.   

"Of course I am," you smiled, standing up on your tiptoes to kiss him.  R

"I think I gotta smuggle in something other than tea next time though," he said.

"As long as I get donut holes when we go on our next double date to Top Golf."

"How do you know  that's gonna be the date I plan?" Tyler laughed.

"Because I know you," you said.

"You don't know boyfriend me that well, this is only our second date, remember?" he teased, "I still got moves you haven't seen yet."

"Like what?" you asked, Tyler following you back to the table, warm mugs in hand.  "Skating?"

"Well, I do need to make sure I teach my girl how to skate," Tyler smirked.

"I know how to skate," you laughed, sitting back down.

"I know, but it would be so cute if I could teach you," Tyler said.

"Well, you can teach Bentley," you said, looking at Tyler's face.  "He has to at least be able to walk first, babe."

"I know," he said, sliding in next to you. "but he can still come to the family skates with us, people bring their babies all the time.  The one before the Winter Classic is gonna be awesome."

"We....get to come to that?" You asked because all you could think of was cameras and people who had been in that world for years, sacrificing to get to enjoy those big moments.  Not to mention it seemed like such a long time away, and you couldn't imagine just quite how your relationship would evolve over the next 5 months, just like you couldn't have imagined starting your family this way or falling in love with you best friend.

"Yes," Tyler answered, giving you a look like you were crazy, and then your worries kind of went out the window thinking how clearly excited he was to have someone to share these experiences with now.  "The poor kid's going to be sweating though."

"Why?"

"Because you're going to have him in way too many clothes."

"Well, I wouldn't want him to get cold."

"It's Texas," Tyler laughed.

"It's ice, ice is cold," you said, looking at Danielle and laughing, because you were loving having someone to have these disagreements with about how to take care of the baby more than you ever would have thought, listening to Jeremy and Tyler starting to talk about the logistics of having ice outside in Dallas while you started to paint, which was incredibly relaxing.

"Can you help me with this part, babe?" Tyler asked, interrupting your painting, pointing at the sunset part of his painting, which was essentially just a stripe of yellow above the harsh blue line of the water, although you could see he'd taken care to round out the circle of the sun.

"Why? You're doing great."

"Because I want it to match yours, and yours is like all blendy," Tyler said, gesturing to yours, and you laughed.  "How'd you get it to do that?"

"You have to kind of mix the colours into each other," you said, watching as Tyler looked at yours again and then dipped his paintbrush back into the paint.

"Shit," he mumbled a moment later, reaching his thumb out to try and wipe away the paint that was turning into a muddy mess, and then realizing that he swore, looking up.  "Sorry."

"It's okay," you said, more about his concern about messing up his painting rather than the swearing.  "Just let it dry."

"Let it dry?" he asked, half in alarm.  

"Yeah," you laughed under your breath.  "If you let it dry then you can paint over it and you won't be able to tell."

"Oh," Tyler said, leaning forward and blowing at the canvas as if to encourage it to dry, and you laughed even more at how cute he was being.  "Yours looks so great, babe," he said, still tending to his painting.

"Yeah?" you asked because it wasn't something that you had done in a while, although you loved the experience of painting.

"Yeah, I hope the kid gets your art skills," he said, blowing on his painting once more.  "I was going to put a poll on my Instagram to see whose people thought was the best but I'm going to lose that for sure."

"Not if you say which one's yours," you said, your lips turning up into a smile, "Your female fans will be all over that."

Danielle stifled a laugh and Tyler gave you a look, running his hand over the back of his neck. "I'm gonna be beating them off with a stick," you said, and now Tyler laughed, his foot bumping yours under the table.

"I think I've got an extra hockey stick you can use," he said. 

"When do you guys go back for the season?" Jeremy asked Tyler.

"End of August," Tyler answered, "then I have training camp a couple of weeks after."

"Are you ready to go back then?" he asked.

"Yeah, it'll be great to get back with the boys and see what we can put together this season," Tyler said, and you snorted, Tyler looking at you. "What's so funny?"

"You totally just gave him your media answer," you said, laughing because it was a thing he'd done to you before, where he'd get so caught up in his head that he'd forget who he was talking to and that he could be real, and Tyler laughed at himself.

"Yeah, I'm always happy for hockey season," he said, "But I'm really more excited to have Y/N and Bentley down there with me," he answered.

"Awe," Danielle said sweetly.

"I'm serious," Tyler said, "I've never had someone to come home to before."

"Have you even left her house?" Danielle said with a laugh.

"Well...no," Tyler said sheepishly, a smile creeping onto his face.  "But you know what I mean.  This whole thing is so crazy and I've never really had someone that I wanted to share it with like this before. Like, I know you've come to a lot of my games and stuff, but like last year when we had that little baby shower thing, I was like, I want you to always be my date. And I want Bentley to be running around in the family room with all the other kids and not care absolutely at all about the game but just be stoked to give me a hug afterward."

"Stop," you said, your hand clutched to your heart.

"Why?" Tyler asked, laughing at you.

"Because you're gonna make me cry again," you said,

"Sorry," he said, turning to press his lips to your head.  "Don't look at my painting then, it's too beautiful."

You inhaled a laugh through your nose, and Tyler scrunched his nose up as he looked at you.  "Did you just snort?"

"Shut up," you said, pushing at his shoulder and he laughed, moving with your hand so you could look at his painting.  "It looks so good," you said, taking in his rough recreation of the sample, a little shaking, but he'd put much more effort into it then you'd expected.

"I know," Tyler said proudly, "I blended it just like you said to."

"I'm gonna have to take a picture and send it to your mom," you said, "this is way better than the stuff you used to do in art class."

"And that's what's bad about dating a girl you knew in high school," Tyler said to Jeremy, "She knows all the embarrassing stuff about you."

"Well, you know all the embarrassing stuff about me," you relented.

"You don't do stuff that's that embarrassing," Tyler said, quietly, his lips turned up in a smile.

"I guess not," you laughed, just barely noticing Tyler glancing at his phone as you tried to perfect the shadow on your painting caused by the setting sun.  

"I'll be right back, okay?" he said, pushing his chair back and resting his hand on your shoulder. 

"Okay," you said easily, turning back to the other couple.  "So, what have you guys been doing lately?"

"We've been doing a lot of movie nights," Danielle said, "Jeremy just got one of those projectors for his deck and it's awesome."

"Oh, that sounds fun," you said.  "I don't think we've gotten through a movie since Tyler and I went when Bentley was still sleeping through the whole thing."

"Well, you guys should come one night," Jeremy said, "You can bring him."

"Yeah, that sounds fun," you said, "and it'd give me a reason to not be in my pajamas by 8."

"Well, you could come in your pajamas if you want," he laughed, and you listened to Danielle tell you about the movie that they'd watched last, realizing that you were falling more and more out of touch with what was current.

"Whatcha guys talking about?" Tyler asked, palming his phone and leaning down to kiss your head even though he'd only been gone for a couple of minutes.

"Just talking about we haven't watched an adult movie in forever, and that we should all have a movie night," you said, and Tyler raised his eyebrow.

"You and I have most definitely never watched an 'adult movie' together, but I'm totally down," he said, "It's kinda weird if there are other people there though."

"You know what I meant," you laughed half our of embarrassment because now it was real, looking at the smile that was spreading to Tyler's cheeks, laughing as he sat down.

"Yeah, a movie night sounds fun," he said, setting his phone down back on the table.  "Bentley's having a bottle by the way."

"My mom texted you?" you asked, already reaching for your phone, feeling surprised and then hit imm3diately hit with a wave of guilt that you hadn't heard it, even though you'd been checking it periodically and you knew, logically, that your mom could text Tyler or Danielle like she had if she really needed to get in touch with you. 

But there was no message waiting unread on your phone. 

"Yeah," Tyler answered, "She wanted to know how he likes to be held when he takes his bottle, and since I'm the one who usually gives him his bottles she asked me. So I just called her because it was easier."

And now you were beginning to think your mom might have ulterior motives.

"And....everything seemed to be going okay?" you asked, trying to make it sound like you were just casually asking, not being paranoid.

"Yeah, he took the bottle fine," Tyler said, and then narrowed his eyes a bit at you, laughing under his breath. "She sounded like she had everything under control."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure," he said, his voice light and teasing, "I could hear the kid babbling away in the background.  And I couldn’t hear the dogs at all so they're probably napping or starring your mom down trying to get an early dinner out of her.  All your babies are fine."

"You guys dropped the dogs off with Bentley?"

"Yeah, my mom really wanted them to come I too," you said.  You’d been worried about it being too much, but then Tyler had reminded you that you’d essentially demanded to have the dogs stay with you when he'd been gone, and you couldn't deny what great company they were.

"I think she likes having a full house," Danielle said.

"Don’t say that," Tyler chastised, "you're gonna make Y/N start crying again."

"I just don’t want her to feel alone when we move."

"She won't," Tyler said, his voice gentle but with an air of playfulness. "We've got a plan for that."

"Yeah, we do," you said, mirroring his scheming smile like you were hiding one of the best surprises.

And a little over an hour later, you were pulling into where you'd be picking that plan up, exchanging a quick smile with Tyler, hearing the barking of excited dogs before you'd even opened the door to get out of the car.  You laughed at the way Tyler wandered over to the chain-link fence like a little kid even before you tried to go to the front door, although you shouldn't really be judging because you were eyeing the puppies with their paws up against the fence, wishing you could go over and crouch down to bring your hand to an opening to feel a little nose.

You turned when the door opened, smiling at the woman who greeted you.

"Y/N?" she asked, and then looked over your shoulder.  "And Tyler?"

"Yes," you said, reaching out to shake your hand, laughing at the way Tyler had kind of stepped towards you and was looking between the puppies and the two of your like he couldn't decide what to do.

"You can open the gate," she said, walking towards him with her hands in his pockets, and you watched Tyler unclasp the latch, already bending down with his hands outstretched, using his foot to try and wrangle the puppies from getting out, and you could already hear his voice grow impossibly high, talking to the little creatures.

"Which one's ours?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at the breeder.

"She's not ours," you reminded him, stepping inside the gated yard now with it closed securely behind you, bending down to let the puppies sniff your hand. And then you noticed the breeder's eye flicking back and forth between the two of you like she 3as trying to formulate the words to say.

"She's a gift," Tyler explained nonchalantly, crouched down on the ground and trying his hardest to pet all the puppies at the same time.

"For my mom," you clarified, knowing that the puppy wasn't something you were supposed to give as a gift, even though Tyler still thought it was the best gift ever.  "Obviously we'd take care of her, but my mom just really...needs a dog in her life."

Now the breeder seemed to relax, patting the full-grown dog at her side.  "I think she's one of the ones by you," she said, pointing at the ones by Tyler's feet.

Tyler smiled, crouching down a little more, petting and pulling one of the puppies into his body. "Oh, you're a boy," he said softly, playing with the puppies paw, and motioning for you to pick up the puppy jumping up towards her brother.  

"Hi," you said, pulling the furry little creature into your arms, scratching at her exposed belly, "you're so soft.  Are you coming home with us?"

"She's going to your mom's house," Tyler corrected, grinning with satisfaction that he'd caught you.

"Well, she can come over to our house sometimes." you said, nuzzling at the puppy, "We might need to babysit her."

"I thought you said four dogs was too many," Tyler teased, his lips turning up into a smile.  

"For us to have all the time," you clarified, turning the puppy in your arms, looking into her eyes., "Sometimes it would be okay."

"You have three dogs?" the breeder asked, which was the usual reaction.

"Well, he does," you clarified out of habit, to which Tyler gave you a look.

"You know they're your dogs too," he said, "Especially since we live together."

"Yes, we have three dogs," you said now, the breeder giving you a curious look and laughing at the two of your confusion when you were so obviously together.  "One of each colour."

"All labs?" she asked, and Tyler nodded. "They're the best aren't they?"

"They are," you agree, laughing as you got a kiss all over your face, the puppy squirming in your arms, lunging towards Tyler.

"Do you see your brother?" he asked her, and you set her down, Tyler following suit, smiling as the puppies ran towards each other, rolling over each other as they played, the older dog walking over and nudging at the puppies with her nose, Tyler immediately going over to her and bending down to rub her behind the ears.

"Is that their mom?" you asked, getting confirmation.  "Awe, are you keeping them in line, mama?"

Tyler gave you a look, one you couldn't quite figure out as the breeder offered to take the other dogs to feed so the two of you could have some time with the puppy, offering to grab you some of her food to take with you.  

"Why are you looking at me like that?" you asked because he was still looking at you as you sat down on the grass, spreading your legs to create space for the puppy between them, extending your arms to encourage her to prance over.  Tyler raised his eyebrows, moving to sit down next to you, leaning back on his hands.

"I just didn’t think about this making you cry."

"I'm not crying," you said, your hand reaching out to play with the puppy, who was leaving yellow hair all over your dress.

"Yet," Tyler clarified.

"Why would I cry?" you laughed, and Tyler sighed, leaning closer to you, reaching his hand out towards to curious creature, who likely already smelled other dogs all over you both.

"Because we're gonna take her away from her mom," he said, looking up at you with soft eyes.

"And you think I'm gonna be sad because that's going to make me think about how we're taking her away from her mom like we're taking me away from my mom?"

Tyler looked at you, blinking evenly.  "No, I just thought you were going to think it was sad," he said, "I didn't get that deep with it."

"Oh," you said quietly, thinking, "I mean, yeah, it's sad, but it's also happy at the same time."

"Like you moving to Dallas?" Tyler asked, someone, shifting closer to you to pet the puppy.

"Exactly like me moving to Dallas," you smiled, laughing as the puppy scampered up Tyler's legs.

"Hi, pretty girl," he said softly, rubbing her behind the ear.  "Do you want to try your collar on?  We brought one for you."

You held her as Tyler fished the collar out of his pocket, which had seemed impossibly small when you'd picked it out a few days ago, but that Tyler was able to clasp around her neck as you held her in place.  The light pink bow and collar were a little much, in your opinion, but you had to admit it looked perfect against her light-colored fur, and you couldn't think of anything better for her to wear to help your mom get the impression that she was a gift.

"It fits perfectly," you said.

"I told you," Tyler grinned, laying down on his side, the puppy running between you both playing for a moment before he pulled out his phone.  And you knew he was filming you for Instagram, his excitement over the puppy evident in your voice, but you felt you could let your guard down for a moment and just be his friend who he happened to be in love with, rather than thinking about how things might be perceived, laughing when the puppy lunged towards Tyler's phone, and he shut it off and put it on the ground, reaching for the puppy instead and rolling so she was settled on his chest.  "It looks so pretty," he said, pushing her ears back like he was playing with her hair, and barely even taking his eyes off her to ask you, "What are you looking at?", repeating your words from earlier, and you sat back.

"Just thinking about how cute you would be with a little girl," you said.

"I mean...yeah," he said, a little uptick of his lips.  "What made you think of that?"

"It looks like you're doing her hair," you said, nodding towards the way Tyler was twirling her ears, and he huffed out a laugh.   "I can just see you braiding a little girl's hair," you said, and now Tyler laughed harder.  

"I don't think I can braid, babe."

"You have sisters," you said.

"Who would never let me touch their hair," Tyler said. "Which is, like, a thing with girls."

"That is not true," you said, laughing because you loved it when he moved your hair to the side to make sure it didn't get caught when you were cuddling, and Tyler gave you a look. 

"The only time you actually let me touch it was when you guys were trying to teach me to braid at the lake house," he said, and you instantly recalled laughing till you cried with his sister because he was swearing under his breath trying to get it just right.  "And don't get me started on that French braid shit."

"At least you know what a French braid is," you smiled, Tyler's cheeks turning pink just a bit like he was embarrassed that he'd actually paid that much attention to what you talked about that long ago when you were strictly friends, without a strand of hope that you could be more one day. Or that you'd have a baby together one day.

"I mean, I guess I should have known you were into me then," Tyler said.

"Huh?" you asked, confused at how he'd somehow heard your thoughts, and now you were wondering if you'd said it out loud.

"You let me touch your hair, that's like end game," Tyler said, "It's easy enough to get a girl to let you touch her tits, you gotta work for the hair."

"Tyler!" you scolded, his giggle ringing out.

"Sorry," he said, trying to be serious, clamping his hands over the puppy's ears, nudging at her with his nose.  "You shouldn't listen to that, no, you're a classy girl."

You shook your head, laughing as he glanced at you out of the corner of his eye, holding the puppy's ears up like he was trying to give her some kind of weird bun, letting them flop back down.

"I think I could get Bentley rocking a little man bun pretty soon," Tyler said, "The kid came out with almost enough hair."

"Well, yeah...." you muttered, reaching over to flick one of his curls.

"You have more hair than me," Tyler said, turning his head to look at you, "and you have like a thousand hair ties at my house, so you don't have to pack any."

"Really?" you laughed.

"Mhhmm, kept finding them everywhere," he said.

"Well, sorry."

"Nah, it's fine," he said, "it's kinda cute.  Other than the fact that I was trying to convince myself that I wasn't in love with you and I kept finding your stuff all over my place like you already lived there.  So you don't need to bring any."

"No, I need to bring more because they always go missing," you said, "Someone likes to rip them out of my hair."

"That'd be Bentley," Tyler said.

"Which would be funny because he's never been to Dallas," you said, watching Tyler's smirk turn into a laugh.

"Hey, I don't care if I have to give you my whole closet," he said, "As long as you guys get to come to live with me."

"I told you so," Tyler said when you wiped a tear away that had started to roll down your cheek, your eyes on the gate now, your free hand holding the puppy who was sitting on a blanket in your lap, trying to keep her calm in this new experience that was a car ride.

"Shut up," you muttered, to which Tyler laughed, leaning over to press a kiss to your temple, reaching over to rub the puppy.  "Are you ready to go see your new home?"

"Did you see your new toy?" Tyler asked, reaching over to obnoxiously squeak the toy that was resting on your leg, that the puppy couldn't be showing less interest in at the moment. 

"I think she's tired," you said, your voice soft, trying to pet her to encourage her to put her head down on the blanket.

Tyler made a soft sound of acknowledgment, his hand moving to your headrest to back out, driving carefully like he did the first time you brought Bentley home like any sudden movement might be a disturbance. Luckily, she didn't seem bothered at all, likely tuckered out after all of the excitement.

"Do you know what dog this reminds me of bringing home?" Tyler asked softly, in contemplation.

"Gerry?" you asked, the yellow lab curled up in your lap reminiscent of the way Gerry had been, quickly passing out into a deep sleep as soon as you'd gotten him into the car.

"No," Tyler answered, his lips pressed together like he was amused that you thought he would be so simplistic.  "Marshall."

"I wasn't even with you when you got Marshall,:," you said.

"Well, no," Tyler said, a smile pulling at his lips, "But you were, like, the first person who got to meet him other than my family.  And you were the first person I told.  Even though you thought it was a bad idea."

He glanced at you as he said the last part, and you laughed.  "You were young," you said, "You'd just moved away and..."

"I could barely look after myself?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, that," you laughed, which made Tyler laugh harder.  

"Hey, I was way better at taking care of him than myself," he pointed out.

"You were," you said, "I was totally wrong."

Tyler gloated at your admission, "Hey, I knew we could handle it," he said, "You were the one who brought a baby home before I thought I was ready."

"Okay, a dog and a baby is not the same thing," you laughed.

"Yeah, a baby is way more intense," Tyler said, a grin on his face.

"You have three dogs," you said.

"We have three dogs," he corrected,

"And a baby," you said, Tyler's giggle ringing out through the car.

"Anyways," he said, "She reminds me what you were like with Marshall because he just curled up with you and got all calm like she is."

"Yeah?" you asked.

"Hell yeah," he responded, "And not just because you're awesome, but like you care about me enough that my kids were your kids.  Like, yeah, it's awesome to have a friend who'll watch your dogs for you when you're gone.  But your friend isn't supposed to take your dog to hang out in the other room when he's freaking out because there are too many people around or send your dog a care package because he's depressed."

"Well, your friend who’s never changed a diaper in his life also isn't supposed to offer to babysit for your kid that he helped create."

"Good thing we're not friends then," he said, flashing you a grin, his hand sneaking across to grab your boob. 

"Tyler, you're driving," you laughed, pushing his hand away, trying hard to scold him.

"We're at a stoplight," he said, his hand sneaking across, "we're out without a kid, I gotta get it in while I can."

"There's a puppy," you said, your hand wrapping around his forearm.

"She's got her eyes closed," Tyler said, nodding towards the window on your side, "I thought you'd be more worried about that guy watching us."

You turned your head quickly, Tyler's laugh ringing out before you could even get your head around to realize that no one was there. 

"You are such a jerk," you said, reaching your hand out to push against his chest, which didn't really do much, hard and solid underneath your hand, yet he moved, struggling like you were hurting him, quickly reaching out to grab your wrist like he was at wrestling with you, and you expected him to use his strength to gain leverage over you so he could poke you in the side, but instead he just pulled your hand towards him, pressing his lips against your knuckles, eyebrows raised thoughtfully. You smiled, shifting closer in your seat towards him even though you couldn’t actually touch him while he was driving, yet you still wanted to be as close as possible while keeping the puppy secure in your lap.

And as much as you were enjoying having time with just Tyler for the half-hour drive, you couldn't deny that when you got close to your mom's house, your couldn't wait to see Bentley, sneaking inside the front door and creeping up the stairs, already smiling before you rounded the corner to see Bentley sitting in your mom's lap on the couch, a book open in front of them, Cash curled up beside them, and you knew there'd soon be a different colour of dog hair covering that sofa.

"Hi," you said, Bentley's jerky movements allowing him to find you. "Are you reading a book with Grandma?"

"We're trying to, but someone keeps trying to take Grandma's glasses off," she said, curving around her grandson.

"Yeah," you laughed, bending over to see him more.  "He's started trying to pull Tyler's beard."

"Where is Tyler?" your mom asked, looking up now and realizing that he wasn't behind you. 

"Oh, he just had to take a call, he'll be in a minute," you lied.

She seemed to accept your lie, asking Bentley if he wanted to go see mommy, and you couldn't stop but hold your arms out, pulling him into your body.

"I missed you," you said, placing a kiss on his cheek, feeling like he was so much bigger than when you'd left, especially after holding the puppy. "How was he?"

"He had a few moments," your mom admitted, "But we worked through them.  He was good."

"Oh good," you cooed, bouncing Bentley until you got a smile. "Do you want to show me how he watched the sprinklers?"

"Sure," she said, standing up now, and you followed her out the back, laughing when you saw Marshall and Gerry stretched out in the sun on her deck, raising their heads up and squinting as if you disturbed them.  

"Are these new?" You asked, nodding towards the planters that were in the corner of the deck, listening to her tell you about how the posts themselves weren't new but she'd switched up the flowers this year, shooting off a quick text to Tyler while keeping your mom distracted so it was the dogs who reacted to the sound of the gate opening before she did, running to circle Tyler, the puppy secure in his arms, her tail wagging furiously.  Tyler's eyes connect with yours, raising his eyebrows just slightly, a soft smile towards your mom turning into a laugh when her eyes widened, drawn to the puppy.

"What are you doing?" She asked in surprise, and Tyler just shrugged, moving across the yard, the older dogs still at his feet. 

"We just thought we'd show this girl her new home," he said simply.  

"What?' She repeated with a laugh, and yet her arms reached out towards where Tyler was extending the puppy towards her.  

"We thought you needed a roommate," you said, smiling at the way your mom nuzzled the puppy in your arms, "Someone to keep you company."

"You got me a puppy?!" She asked, Tyler laughing at her response.

"Y/N didn’t think a puppy was a good gift, but I did."

"Shut up," you laughed, which made Tyler only laugh harder.

"No, it was her idea," Tyler said, nodding towards you, bending down to per his dogs who were buying for his attention.

"Tyler found her, though," you said, "and Bentley came  to the pet store with us and picked her out some toys'

"And we've got a crate and food and everything for her too so you have everything you need," Tyler said.

"But you can think about it if you want," you said, "Tyler and I can take her if you want a few days if you want to get set up for her or--"

Your mom hugged the puppy tightly to her chest, "she's not going anywhere," she said, to which Tyler laughed loudly and you smiled, reaching out to pet the puppy.

"Dif you see the puppy, Bentley?" Your mom asked, and you turned so he could get a better look, his eyes wide and interested.

"Hey, bud, did you have fun with grandma?" Tyler said, his thumb coming out to sweep over Bentley's hand, gaining his attention, glancing towards your mom "was he okay?"

Your mom smiled at you before repeating to Tyler what she'd already told you, giving a report on how he did with his feedings And naps, during which time Bentley decides to squeal.

"Grandma  let you do what?" Tyler asked, his voice exaggerates with shock, looking down at the dogs, Marshall laid back out again now.  "What did Grandma let Gerry get away with, Marsh?"

"They were well-behaved too," she reassured him, the puppy shifting in her arms. "Will they be okay if I put her down?"

"Oh, yeah," Tyler said confidently, your mom bending down to set the puppy down gently into the grass, letting her explore a little, making her way over to Marshall herself, where he stayed still yet reached his head forward, letting her sniff him, his tail batting while her little tail was going crazy.  "Good boys," Tyler said, Gerry making his way over to her excitedly but with control. 

Seeing their reactions, you bend down, sitting down on the grass with Bentley in your lap so he could get a better look, but what you weren't expecting was having a front-row seat to Gerry mounting the much smaller yellow lab.

"Gerry, stop that!" Tyler said, his voice raised in alarm, sliding his hand between the dog just after his hips started moving, pulling the dog off.  "That's like your....aunt? Just...dodon’t do that."

You laughed, both at the situation, and the way that Tyler's cheeks were tinted pink, pulling Gerry into his lap as he sat down next to you, your mom bringing the puppy into her lap, and you took Bentley's hand, letting him pet the puppy, who seemed undeterred by the whole humping situation.

"Do you like Grandma's new puppy?" she asked him, "you'll have to come to visit her because she's gonna get so big.  And grandma will come to visit you and your puppies, okay?"

And you smiled, Tyler leaning over to kiss the tear that was running down your face. 

It was gonna be okay.  

[alonely-dreamer]

Dangerous Creatures | Chapter 20: Peace and Forgiveness

Summary: Mackenzie Alemaund is an unlucky 18 year old teenager whose life changes drastically after she gets kidnapped by two vampires and learns, in the same day, that she is not human.

Pairing: Elijah x OC

Words: 9092

A/N: Please, note that I am French so there might be some mistakes here and there, besides I couldn’t have it edited! I hope you’ll like it!

Masterlist

New Series: The Valuable Sun

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19

Mackenzie didn’t like hospitals. She didn’t like what it reminded her off. She didn’t like the feelings it brought up. Walking through the hallways with Elena and Matt made her feel sad, uncomfortable, powerless, disgusted, scared and even angry. Though, she was scared and angry even before she got there. Alaric’s ring was supposed to bring him back to life and heal him but when he woke up on Elena’s floor, lying in a pool of his own blood, he wasn’t healed at all. They had to call an ambulance to get him to the hospital where he was going to spend the night in observation. She felt guilty for not wanting to stick around, but she really hated hospitals. Matt tried his best to distract her, but there was no way to shut out the smell and the noise. Besides, he wasn’t feeling too confident himself. After all, Caroline’s dad had been killed in this very hospital that morning and Mackenzie wondered if it was really a good idea to leave the history professor there alone.

“Any idea on who’s behind all these attacks?” he asked as they were walking out the hospital, to Mackenzie’s relief.

“No,” Elena shrugged. “Sheriff Forbes said that there’s no real suspects at all.”

Now that Meredith Fell had been cleared, they were back to zero. Elena had doubts, at first, until she heard that the doctor had a strong alibi. But it wasn’t entirely bad news. She was happy she had been wrong, and that Alaric’s girlfriend was innocent.

“It’s weird that he didn’t see who attacked him. Caroline’s father didn’t see his killer either,” Mackenzie said, “are we sure it’s not a vampire? Maybe Klaus trying to mess with us?”

“I don’t know,” Elena shook her head, unconvinced by the elemental’s theory. “Klaus got his family back last night, he has more important things to deal with then kill council members just to screw with us.”

“Besides,” Matt said, “would a vampire use stakes and knives to kill people?”

“I don’t know,” Mackenzie sighed. She was tired. They really couldn’t catch a break.

The cold air of the late night hit them as they exited the building. Mackenzie shivered, though not because of the temperature. They were walking towards their car and she was reminded of the mess they’d have to clean once they were back at the house.

“How are you dealing with everything?” Elena asked her friends. “I mean… you keep getting dragged into all this.”

“Honestly, I’m kind of lucky,” Matt answered. “The only thing that I have to worry about for tomorrow is showing up for my shift at the Grill.”

Mackenzie smiled without humor. He wasn’t wrong. He was kind of lucky. Unlike her. Though her luck had turned recently, since Elijah was back. Maybe she could get a job at the Grill, too. Maybe replace Jeremy. After all, it would do her good to have a normal thing in her life.

“Thank you, for everything today,” the doppelganger said to the human as they reached his car. “Really.”

“Get home safe,” he merely said as he gave them a small smile, before getting into his car.

They waited for him to be gone before they silently walked towards Elena’s car. She sighed, impatient to get home, as she reached for the car keys in her bag.

“I can’t wait to be done with this day,” she said as she put her seatbelt on.

“I know what you mean,” Mackenzie nodded. She wondered if Elijah had gone by their house and what he would have thought of all the blood he’d have found there if he had. Her heart tightened in her chest as she worried she had missed him. She figured he wouldn’t be too mad for being stood up once he heard about what happened.

Mackenzie closed her eyes and leaned back into her seat as Elena turned on the engine. She started backing up the car but immediately bumped into something.

“What?” Elena frowned, confused and worried. She didn’t see anything when she looked into the rear-view mirror.

“Did you hit someone?” Mackenzie asked, sharing her friend’s worry, as they both got out of the car. They made their way to the other side but found nothing there. “That’s weird,” she said, before she looked beneath the vehicle.

“Drive much?”

Mackenzie jumped, startled by the familiar voice.

“Rebekah,” Elena breathed out, backing away but she didn’t go far as the vampire seized the doppelganger by the throat and pushed her against the car.

“Surprised? You drove a dagger through my back, Elena. It hurt.”

“Rebekah!” Mackenzie shouted as the vampire was about to dive her teeth in the doppelganger’s neck.

But the blonde didn’t have time to hurt the Gilbert girl as it was now her back that was pinned against the car, and Elijah’s hand on her throat. Mackenzie always thought that seeing them reunited would be a beautiful moment, but she was starting to learn that beautiful moments were rare among the Original family.

“Leave,” he ordered his sister before he let go of her.

Rebekah said nothing as she straightened up and took a step towards her brother, with her chin high and a defiant look on her face.

“Are you challenging me?” he asked with an amused smirk.

“You’re pathetic,” was her only response. “Both of you,” she said as she looked at Elena. She then moved her eyes on Mackenzie who was behind the doppelganger. The elemental gave her a small smile she wanted friendly. She hoped she knew she had taken no part in Elena’s betrayal. Rebekah disappeared before she had a chance to say anything to her.

“Well,” Elijah smiled at Elena, “I believe we have a little catching up to do.”

***

Mackenzie was in the back seat as Elena drove back to her house, Elijah sitting next to her. The elemental figured that if Rebekah was back, it meant Elijah’s plans had been successful. Unfortunately, she came to learn that even if they had been successful, something had taken a surprising turn.

“Your mother?” Elena repeated, dumbfounded by what she had just heard. She had been told that whatever was in that coffin would be the answer to stopping Klaus for good, to killing him once and for all, but what Elijah was telling her was the complete opposite.

“Yes. It appears that even death cannot stop my mother.”

“A trait that runs in your family, it seems,” Mackenzie said with a yawn.

Elijah raised an eyebrow and turned to give her an amused smile. “Yes, indeed,” he said softly, quietly, almost like a whisper, with his smooth voice that made Mackenzie shiver.

“And… she’s not mad at Klaus for killing her?” Elena asked, trying to get the Original’s attention back.

But Elijah was too focused on the elemental sitting behind them. He caught her eyes and she wasn’t sure what he wanted but he wouldn’t look away. She gave him a confused look which only made him smirk.

“Elijah?”

He sighed as he turned his attention back on the driver.

“No. She’s forgiven him. She wants us to be a family again. So, we’re staying here, in Mystic Falls.”

“All of you?”

“Yes, all of us. But don’t worry. My mother instructed my siblings not to harm anyone.”

“Will Klaus listen?”

“Niklaus wants her forgiveness. He will do as she says.”

Elena almost scoffed. She doubted Klaus would listen to his mother, and if he did, who would have thought that all they had to do to stop the original hybrid was to call his mother.

Klaus might be stopped for now, but Mackenzie wasn’t reassured at all by the sudden come back of the original witch. After all, she was a powerful servant of nature who, according to Elijah, hated her kind.

“Our intention is to live here in peace, you have nothing to worry about.”

“I believe you, Elijah,” Elena said. Elijah was a man of his word. Even if he had betrayed them on the night of the sacrifice, she understood why. “I’m happy you got your family back.”

Happy, she was. Both girls were. Though, maybe a little bit envious and a little angry, not at anyone in particular, that Elijah and his siblings would get their mother back, but not them. No. Elena’s parents were still dead, Mackenzie’s too. It wasn’t fair, they thought. But they both knew all too well that life wasn’t fair.

When Elena pulled over, she was relieved to be home and ready to go to bed. She got out of the car, thinking Elijah would then say goodbye and leave, but when she reached the other side, she saw he was leaning against the vehicle, waiting for Mackenzie to come out.

“There’s a lot of blood in your house,” he said as Mackenzie closed the car door. “But there’s no one inside.”

“Yeah, we know,” Elena told him, “someone tried to kill Alaric.”

“The same killer responsible for Ms. Forbes’ father’s death?”

“That’s what we think,” she nodded.

“Are you sure you want to stay here? The attacker could come back.”

“I’m not leaving my house,” Elena said, though she knew the question wasn’t meant for her. “Besides, it’s seen worse.”

“It has?” Mackenzie asked, unaware she’d been living in a horror house.

Elena nodded. An awkward silence settled as she waited for Mackenzie to follow her.

“Could you give us a moment?” Elijah dismissed the doppelganger who looked at Mackenzie, silently asking her if it was okay for her to leave. She nodded. They waited until Elena was inside the house before speaking again. “Do you wish to stay here?”

She wasn’t sure. She hadn’t thought about the house being unsafe. But the victims of the mysterious killer had only been council members so far, and Alaric was one too, in some ways, so she would probably be safe.

“I don’t really have anywhere else to go.”

“My house has many guestrooms.”

She breathed out a laugh. “You want me to live with you and your siblings, two of them I’ve never met, one of them has kidnapped me, twice, and with your mother… who hates me?”

Elijah chuckled. “Fair point.”

“Thank you, though,” she said. For worrying about me.

“Feel free to change your mind.”

She doubted she would. In fact, she’d be happy if she never set foot in that house. His mother terrified her.

“What do you mean Niklaus kidnapped you twice?”

Mackenzie sighed. Right. He didn’t know about Chicago.

“It’s nothing. I was gone the next day.”

“You escaped my brother?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Stefan was there, it’s uh… it’s a long story. It’s not important.”

“Did he harm you?”

“No,” she quickly told him. “No, he… he just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t help you.”

“You went after Niklaus, to help me?” he asked, and she didn’t know if he was angry or just surprised but he didn’t look happy with her. After all, it was a very stupid thing to do.

“I didn’t go alone,” she mumbled, knowing it was a bad idea to mention Katherine. “Anyway, after that I came back here and… so did Klaus…”

“Mackenzie,” he said, stepping forward, bringing a hand to her face and locking a strand of hair behind her ear. “You shouldn’t put yourself in danger for me.”

“Why not? Isn’t that what friends do? They help each other.”

“You could’ve died. You were lucky enough Niklaus let you go the first time. He could’ve killed you.”

“Well… he didn’t.”

“Don’t put yourself in danger for me,” he repeated. She knew why. He’d feel guilty if she got hurt.

“Well, I didn’t do it for you,” she said. “I did it for me. Because I needed you. It was all very selfish,” she joked. He cupped her cheek with his hand, she could see on his face he wasn’t finding it funny. “I just,” she sighed, all joking aside. “I didn’t know what else to do,” she told him, putting a hand over his. “You’re all I have. I didn’t want to lose you.”

He gave her a sad smile. “You’ve made new friends.”

“Are they really my friends? They don’t even know who I really am. You… you do. You helped me. You were there for me. You answered my questions, you gave me a home, you dealt with my nightmares… You saved me.”

He looked down, not really sure of what to say or what to think. He had enjoyed her company, her friendship. He liked her. He really did. But like his brother had said: “love is a weakness”, and he was afraid he would get her killed, like everybody else he had ever cared about. But that was before. Before his mother had come back and made them a family again. Before he had his siblings back. Before he had a home.

He looked back up and smiled, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. She blushed as he placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

“It was no hardship,” he said. “And it was an honor to help you.”

***

Mackenzie didn’t even bother to take a shower before letting herself fall on her bed after having helped Elena clean up the blood. She was exhausted, to say the least. When she woke up, it was already late in the morning, and Elena was already up, bringing Damon and Stefan up to speed. Mackenzie was starving, though the mere thought of going to the kitchen made her lose her appetite. She didn’t think she’d ever eat there ever again since all she could see now was Alaric’s blood all over the kitchen floor. She took a long and hot shower, thinking about wanting to do something normal. Like get a job. Yes. That was what she was going to be doing today.

She picked up a basic pair of jeans and a purple shirt she was pretty sure belonged to Elena, before she stepped out of her bedroom, almost bumping into her roommate.

“Hey,” she laughed, “slow down. Are you going somewhere?”

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you knock.”

“I didn’t, I was going to,” she said, handing her an envelope with her name written on it. “This came in this morning. One for me and one for you.”

“What is it?” she asked, opening it.

Please join

the Mikaelson family

this evening at 7 o’clock

for dancing, cocktails and celebration.

It took Mackenzie a second to realize the Mikaelsons were the original family. There was something else written behind the invitation.

Mackenzie,

It would be my pleasure to introduce you to my siblings,

Please, do me the honor of accompanying me tonight,

I am looking forward to it, I believe you owe me a dance.

Elijah

PS: I hope you like the dress.

Mackenzie frowned. The dress? What dress?

“And this came with it,” Elena said, picking a box from the floor. It was a beautiful beige with a bow on it. It was large but not too heavy.

Mackenzie’s eyes grew big as she took it. Elena looked a little worried, though somewhat amused.

“Elijah?”

Mackenzie nodded.

“Can I see?”

She invited her in the room and laid the box on the bed before she opened it. She almost gasped when she saw it. He couldn’t expect her to wear this. It was way too nice.

“Wow,” Elena said as she carefully took it out.

The dress was a golden ball gown. The corset was heart shaped, the details finely made, with what looked like diamonds precisely scattered here and there. The skirt was gigantic. It looked like it was made for a Disney princess.

“You wanna know what I think?”

“Uh-uh,” Mackenzie nodded, speechless.

“I think he really likes you.”

Mackenzie didn’t know what to say to that, but she wouldn’t have had the chance to say anything anyway because someone came knocking on the front door.

“I’ll get it.”

Mackenzie was left alone to stare at the dress she didn’t even dare touch. She would look ridiculous in it, she thought. She ran a thumb over the embroidment. She wondered if those were real diamonds.

“Mackenzie!” Elena called from downstairs. There was panic in her voice, though she wasn’t shouting for help.

She hurried down the stairs to find Rebekah standing by the door. She understood why Elena had sounded scared, she had just tried to kill her after all.

“Relax, I’m not here to kill anyone,” the Original said.

“Then why are you here?”

The vampire shot a dark look at the doppelganger.

“I need Mackenzie to help me pick a dress for tonight.”

Mackenzie knew it was a lie, or not entirely the truth. Rebekah had learned that Mackenzie was no good at these sorts of things when she helped her get ready for the homecoming dance.

“Are you coming?”

She couldn’t really say no. Not that she was afraid of the vampire, but she couldn’t imagine it going well. She gave a look to Elena who had come to the same conclusion. The only difference was Mackenzie kind of wanted to go. She was happy Rebekah was back and she wanted to apologize for not being able to help her when Elena had daggered her.

So, Mackenzie nodded. “Yeah. Of course.”

***

Facing the big mansion, Mackenzie was starting to regret her choice. The last time she entered a house with witches inside, it hadn’t gone so well. She swallowed before following Rebekah into the house. As soon as she stepped inside, she started to feel it all. The five original vampires and the original witch’s magic. It was frighteningly powerful. She shivered. She hoped she wouldn’t meet Esther any time soon.

Rebekah led her to what she thought was a living room. She wasn’t sure because she had walked pass at least two of those already. But it was a big house after all. She then realized it was a dressing room. Elijah was there with whom she guessed were his brothers. They were trying different suits and Elijah was inspecting a pair of shoes. He seemed surprised to see her.

“Ah, Rebekah,” one of the two vampires Mackenzie had never met said when he saw his sister approach. He was wearing a black tuxedo and admiring himself in a tall mirror. “Tell me how handsome I am.”

Mackenzie raised her eyebrows. Remembering Elijah’s stories, she knew exactly who that was.

“Oh, brother, you know I can’t be compelled,” she told him, making Finn and Elijah smile.

“No, but your friend can,” he said, turning around and making his way towards Mackenzie.

She forced herself not to move, not to step back, and to keep her chin high. She didn’t want to show her fear. She didn’t want to be scared. They were Elijah’s siblings, he loved them, he trusted them enough that he wanted her to meet them. She would be strong, like Katherine had taught her. If you show them your fear, they win. Be brave enough that they like you, but not too much so they don’t kill you.

He approached and looked her deep in the eyes before he said: “Tell me how handsome I am,” he tried to compel her with a smirk on his face.

“You must be Kol,” was all she said, making Elijah chuckle and Kol frown.

“You gave vervain to your friend?”

“She doesn’t need vervain,” she said. “She’s a witch.”

“A witch?” he repeated, like it made him like her instantly. “Well, at least you’ve heard of me,” he winked, “I’m afraid I haven’t heard of you.”

“She’s Mackenzie,” Rebekah introduced her friend, “she’s Elijah’s girlfriend.”

Kol and Finn turned towards their brother with a surprised look on their face and Elijah just rolled his eyes.

“I’m not… we’re not,” Mackenzie stammered, her face suddenly a very bright red. “We’re friends.”

“Whatever,” the blonde said as she sat on the couch, in the middle of the room. “We have hundreds of dresses here,” she pointed at the other end of the room where garment racks were waiting for them, each dress more beautiful than the other. “You can…”

But Rebekah didn’t have time to finish as Klaus stepped inside the room, pushing the door so hard it bumped against the wall and made Mackenzie jump.

“You went after Elena?” he growled, making his way towards his sister, walking pass Mackenzie like she wasn’t even there. “What is wrong with you?”

“Here we go,” Rebekah smiled, like she’d been looking forward to this moment.

“Do you want another dagger in your heart?”

“Again with the dagger threats?” Kol said. “Don’t you have any other tricks?”

“Oh, go back to staring at yourself!”

Mackenzie watched the exchange and was somehow not surprised at all by the tension in the room. No matter what their mother said, peace and forgiveness was a long way still. After all, she’d be angry too if Klaus had daggered her and kept her in a box for centuries.”

A shiver ran down her spine and she instinctively straightened up as she felt a dark power approach.

Esther was here.

“Enough!” she stopped her sons. She came in from the other room, at the opposite of where Mackenzie stood. She moved her eyes over all of her children before they reached the elemental. She wasn’t happy. She wasn’t happy at all. But she didn’t look surprised. She must have felt her arrive.

And there went Mackenzie’s bravery. Kol she could deal with. Elijah and Rebekah were there to stop him if tried to do something stupid. But their mother, a witch, the witch that had created vampires… She wanted to run and never come back.

“Children,” Esther said. “Who is your friend?”

Elijah moved, vampire speed, to where Mackenzie was standing. He had his back turned on his mother and took Mackenzie’s hand, making her look up at him. He nodded, silently telling her it was going to be alright. She didn’t know if he had seen the fear on her face or if he could hear it in her heartbeat, but she was grateful he had come to her. He slowly turned towards his mother.

“This is Mackenzie, mother,” he said. “She’s a friend of mine.”

“She’s a witch,” Kol said, like it would gain her any points. But Esther wouldn’t be fooled. Mackenzie was no witch, and she knew it.

“A witch? Is that what she told you?” She didn’t sound angry or mean or threatening. She sounded calm. Too calm.

“It’s what I told her,” Elijah replied.

Esther looked at her son in silence for a few seconds, then at Mackenzie. The elemental wouldn’t look away from Elijah.

“Niklaus,” she eventually said. “Come.” And with that, she was gone.

“What was that about?” Klaus asked, not waiting for an answer before he followed his mother into the other room.

“Yeah, what was that about?” Rebekah repeated with a frown on her face.

Mackenzie looked up at Elijah who said nothing. She could see on his face that the decision to answer that question was hers and hers alone, and he would support her, no matter what she chose.

“I don’t know,” Mackenzie said with a trembling voice, then cleated her throat.

“Did you get the dress?” Elijah asked, hoping changing the subject would make her feel better.

She blushed as she remembered what Elena had said about it. “I did.”

“Did you like it?”

“I did,” she nodded. “Very much. Thank you,” she gave him a small smile that he returned.

“Give me back my friend,” Rebekah whined.

Elijah didn’t let go of Mackenzie’s hand right away, he didn’t let go of her eyes. He wanted to make sure she was alright. He stroke her hand with his thumb before letting go of it. She smiled, then nodded, before he stepped away.

“I’m sorry, did you say you weren’t his girlfriend?” Kol joked, making Mackenzie look away.

“You already have a dress?” Rebekah asked, like it bothered her. “That’s fine,” she waved a hand, “that gives us more time to look for mine.”

***

After getting Rebekah a dress, they had to get her a date. She already had someone in mind, but Matt was currently working at the Grill. Mackenzie had agreed to go with her, she had to go home anyway, to get ready for the ball, and the vampire had promised to drive her back.

They found Elena and Caroline sitting at a table inside the restaurant. Mackenzie asked Rebekah to walk pass them but of course, she didn’t.

“Careful Caroline,” she said as she stopped before them, interrupting their discussion. “It’s all well and good till she stabs you in the back.”

“What are you doing here?” Elena asked, looking at Rebekah, then at Mackenzie, then back at the vampire. “I know your mom’s rules. No murdering the locals.”

“We didn’t come here to kill anyone,” Mackenzie said, confused as to why she’d think Rebekah would drag her here to murder people.

“Get over yourself, Elena. It’s not all about you,” she replied before she walked away to find Matt.

“What are you doing fraternizing with the enemy?” Caroline asked her with a reproval tone.

“She might be your enemy, but she isn’t mine,” Mackenzie said. “She’s my friend, and she’s done nothing to you.”

“She helped her psycho brother turn Tyler into a hybrid!”

“And Elena stabbed her in the back, I guess you’re even.”

“Wait, what is she doing?” Elena interrupted them.

The girls looked up to where Rebekah and Matt were standing at the other end of the room and watch her give him an envelope.

“She’s inviting him to the ball,” Mackenzie shrugged, like it was no big deal.

“Why is she inviting him?” Caroline asked, very unhappy with the idea.

“Maybe because last time they were supposed to go to a dance, she was… indisposed.”

Elena rolled her eyes. “I thought we were over that.”

“I don’t think Rebekah’s over that,” Mackenzie said. “Don’t worry. She’s not gonna hurt him or anything.”

“And you know that because…” Caroline questioned.

“Because her mother wouldn’t like it and I think she likes him.”

The blonde shook her head then sighed as she leaned back into her seat. “Urgh. What time is this stupid dance?”

***

It was 6:30 and Mackenzie couldn’t stop looking at herself in the mirror, and not for the reason one would think. She loved the dress, she loved that Elijah had picked that dress, but what she didn’t love was her in the dress. Elena insisted that she looked beautiful and had even done her makeup. Golden eyeshadow, rose gold blush and a soft pink lipstick was covering her natural face. Mackenzie didn’t like it. She liked to be discreet, to be invisible. This was the total opposite. This was too much.

“Elijah won’t know what hit him,” Elena said. “Now, let me talk to you about protection,” she joked and Mackenzie’s face turned red, even the makeup couldn’t conceal it. She hit the doppelganger in the arm who left the room in laughter.

Elena wasn’t supposed to go to the dance. Though, Mackenzie didn’t know that. Damon and Stefan had instructed her to stay in her house, but of course she wasn’t going to listen. The girls were supposed to drive to the dance together but that was before Elijah showed up at their front door.

“She’s upstairs,” Elena told him before she called for the elemental.

“You look lovely, Ms. Gilbert.”

“Thank you,” she gave him a small smile.

Mackenzie walked slowly, carefully, as to not trip and fall. “What is it?” she asked when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Elena stepped aside and gestured for Mackenzie to look at who was behind the door. Her heart jumped in her chest as she saw him. She didn’t expect him to be there. She didn’t feel ready for him to see her yet. She didn’t even feel ready to leave the house like this. But Elijah’s eyes told a different story. His brown eyes slowly made their way from her face to the bottom of the dress then back up to her beautiful face. He could see her blush and hear her heartbeat, he knew how he made her feel, but she didn’t know how she made him feel.

He was wearing a black tuxedo, very classic, very Elijah-like. He smiled at her, realizing he had been staring in silence for too long.

“You look,” he paused, looking for the right word, “striking, Mackenzie.”

She didn’t think it would be possible for her to blush even more, but she did. She remembered that night before they left for the 60’s dance, how he told her she was bad at compliments, and had prepared for it. But everything she had planned on saying completely disappeared from her mind as he stood there, staring at her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“Th- thank you,” she whispered. “I, um…” she cleared her throat. “I didn’t know you were picking me up.”

“Well, I wanted to do this right,” he said. What he didn’t say was that if she told him she didn’t want to go once they got here, he’d take her to the Grill and buy her dinner. He knew she was afraid of his mother, and for good reasons, and it was his fault after all, he had told her many times that witches were her greatest enemies and her mother was the scariest witch they knew.

“I’ll see you there,” Elena said, kind of kicking her out.

Mackenzie took the hand Elijah was holding out to her and he helped her down the stairs. She felt very vulnerable in this dress, like she could step on the skirt and fall at any time.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered in her ear, “I’ll catch you if you fall,” he told her as if he had read her mind.

He opened the door for her, and she got in without giving him a look. She couldn’t bear the look on his face anymore. She felt like her heart was about to explode.

They drove in silence for a couple of minutes, during which Mackenzie’s heartbeat didn’t slow down. He wondered if it was because she was embarrassed, or scared.

“My mother won’t hurt you. She will follow her own rules.”

“She hates me,” Mackenzie whispered.

“No, she doesn’t.”

“You said she hated elementals.”

“And as far as I know, she’s never met one. She talks of peace and forgiveness. She might not like you, but she doesn’t hate you. And you will be safe, I promise.”

“I know I’ll be safe,” she sighed. He would be there after all. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt her, she knew that much. But she couldn’t help but fear the original witch. “Thank you for the dress,” she changed the subject.

“You already thanked me.”

“I know, I just… it’s very beautiful.”

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“Why did you choose this one?”

He gave her a quick look before focusing back on the road.

“I thought the color would suit you.”

“Gold?”

“Yes. And the diamonds. It was a dress made for you. Rare, unbreakable… priceless.”

She was thankful for the lack of light that hid her red cheeks. She tried not to stay speechless for too long.

“They… they’re real diamonds?” she breathed out, now aware that she was wearing thousands of dollars’ worth of rocks. The dress suddenly felt heavier. “Elijah… this is… too much.”

“Mackenzie, I’m a thousand years old,” he reminded her. “Nothing’s too much for me. Would it make you feel better if I said I didn’t pay for it?”

Mackenzie frowned, then thought about it. “I don’t know… did you?”

He chuckled. “Of course I did.”

Well, at least she wasn’t wearing stolen jewelry.

***

When they pulled over in the driveway, only a few guests had arrived. Mackenzie was playing with a diamond on her skirt, wondering if it would ever fall off. She didn’t know what she’d do if she started leaving a trail of diamonds behind her. Elijah noticed the diamond between her fingers and wondered if he should have chosen a simpler dress. He hesitated going forward with his plan.

“If you’re bothered by the dress maybe I shouldn’t give you this,” he said, getting a box from the inside of his jacket.

Mackenzie looked at the small square box and her eyes grew big.

“Tell me that’s not a diamond.”

He laughed. “It’s not a diamond.”

“What is it?”

“Open it,” he said, handing her the box.

She looked at him, suspicious, but then took it. Inside was a simple M pendant necklace, maybe made of gold.

“I love it,” she said, and he smiled. “You didn’t have to…”

“I know,” he said. “But I wanted to thank you, and I wanted to apologize. I put you in danger. I involved you in my business and that made you a target, and I wasn’t able to stop my brother from taking you. When he daggered me I was certain he’d kill you,” he paused, Mackenzie didn’t dare interrupt him. “But he didn’t. And for a moment I thought of leaving town, of leaving you so you wouldn’t be a target again. But then, you said you tried to help me, and Rebekah told me what you did for her the night Elena told her Niklaus was responsible for our mother’s death, and I realized you couldn’t stay away so why should I? You are a friend of my family, Mackenzie. Maybe the only person we can trust here. Our only ally. A true friend. So, I bought you that dress, because you deserve it. And I bought that necklace, because I wanted you to know how grateful I am to have you as a friend.”

Mackenzie tried to swallow the lump in her throat and blink the tears away. “I’m grateful to have you as a friend too,” she smiled.

“You showed me kindness at a time when my only goal was to destroy my brother. You became my friend when I was as alone as I was lonely. You said I saved you, but I want you to know that you saved me too. Because I stopped caring a long time ago, after my brother took everything from me, time and time again. And now that I have everything, I’m glad I have you to share it with. So when my mother asked me who I was planning on taking to the dance tonight, I knew exactly who I wanted to go with.”

Mackenzie looked away as she nodded. “I missed you so much,” she breathed out and he took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead.

“Come on. I can’t be late. My mother would kill me.”

***

Damon and Stefan weren’t happy about Elena being at the ball. But if they were really surprised, they didn’t know Elena at all. Only Bonnie was missing from the party as it seemed that the entire town had been invited. Even Caroline, who hated the original family, had come. Rebekah seemed happy enough by Matt’s side. Matt, on the other hand, looked very uncomfortable. Not because of Rebekah, but because this really wasn’t his cup of tea. To Mackenzie’s relief, Esther kept to herself and didn’t even talk to her guests. She only showed up once, at the top of the stairs, when Elijah had invited the guests to dance:

“If everyone could gather, please,” he had called from the stairs, his siblings standing behind him, a cup of champagne in their hands. “Welcome. Thank you for joining us. You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it’s tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance. Tonight’s pick is a centuries-old waltz. So, if all of you could find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom.”

That was when Mackenzie knew she was in trouble. She went in the opposite direction, trying to hide in the crowd of guests. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been fast enough.

“Are you running from me?” Elijah asked with a grin, as he appeared in front of her.

Her first instinct was to lie but then thought better of it. “Yes.”

He laughed. “Please,” he simply said, holding out his hand.

“No,” she said, turning around, but he wasn’t giving up. He took one big step and was in front of her again. She was too slow in her dress.

“Please,” he repeated. “This dress was made for dancing.”

She rolled her eyes. “I thought this dress was made for me.”

He laughed again. “Please,” he insisted, holding his hand out once again. “Would you do me the honor, Ms. Alemaund?”

She looked at his hand for a second, then back up at his face. He wouldn’t give up. She took a step forward and pointed a finger at him. “You are not allowed to let me fall.”

He smiled. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

She could feel Elena, Caroline and both Salvatores’ eyes on her as they joined the other guests in the ballroom. Who were they to judge? Especially Caroline. She was dancing with Klaus. But their attention made her feel more nervous. She was convinced she was about to embarrass herself.

“I don’t know how to dance,” she reminded her partner.

“That’s alright. I’ll lead,” he whispered in her ear.

He took her left hand and put it on his right shoulder before he placed his right hand on her waist and took her right hand in his left hand. She took a deep breath and squeezed his hand out of nervousness.

Her dress made it difficult for her to move but Elijah made it so easy for her to dance. She was so focused on her feet she didn’t realize they had to change partners at some point. She ended up in Kol’s arms who was more than happy to take over his big brother.

“Has my brother bored you to death yet?”

Mackenzie frowned. “Elijah is a lot of things, but boring isn’t one of them.”

He chuckled. “And how did you two meet?”

“It’s a long story.”

“That’s alright. We have a minute.”

Mackenzie hesitated. “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Well that’s the shortest long story I’ve ever heard.”

“I wouldn’t want to bore you.”

He laughed. “What’s with the attitude? You should be scared of me.”

“Why?” she asked, trying not to let his threats get to her.

“Because I’m scary.”

“You know your mother’s rules. You can’t hurt me. You can’t hurt anyone.”

“I know,” he sighed. “But I’m still dangerous.”

His cockiness was getting on her nerves more than it was scaring her. Besides, she figured he was just teasing her. So, she decided to tease him back, just like Katherine had taught her.

“You know what? Maybe I’m dangerous too,” she said which made him raise an eyebrow, but he didn’t have time to say anything back as they had to change partners again and she was back in Elijah’s arms.

“So,” he said. “You’re dangerous?”

“Eavesdropping,” she shook her head playfully, “rude.”

“My apologies.”

“You know, your siblings are exactly as you described them.”

“You get used to them through the centuries,” he said, and she laughed.

“When’s the last time you and your siblings were together like this?”

“Over 900 years ago.”

“That’s a long time to be separated from your family.”

“Indeed it is,” he said quietly, pain and grief visible on his face.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s okay. I enjoy talking to you.”

She smiled. “I missed this. You always answer my questions.”

“I promised you I would, didn’t I?”

“You did. I’m the one who didn’t come through with my promise.”

“Don’t feel bad about it. It was unfair of me to ask that of you.”

She remembered what her mother had told her, that she was capable of killing Klaus, and wondered if Elijah knew it. If he did, she was certain he wouldn’t ask it of her again, nor would he tell anyone as the information would get Klaus to kill her on the spot.

When the waltz was over, Elijah excused himself, leaving Mackenzie alone in the pool of guests. She walked around until she found Rebekah and Kol standing near the stairs, plotting something.

“Where’s Elijah?” the blonde asked.

“He abandoned me,” she joked as she stopped next to her friend. “Where’s Matt?”

“Flirting with his ex,” she sighed, which made Kol smile mockingly.

“You’ve changed, Bekah. Settling for mortals is the first sign of weakness.”

Mackenzie shivered suddenly, which made him chuckle.

“No offense, love.”

“What?” she frowned. “No, it wasn’t you.”

“Are you cold?” Rebekah asked, but wasn’t really interested.

“No… Someone’s doing magic.”

“Must be mother,” the blonde said.

“Why would she be doing magic now?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, not really interested by that either. “She’s a witch, it’s what witches do. You should know.”

“Unless you’re not really a witch, like our mother suggested,” Kol said with an evil grin.

Mackenzie looked at him but said nothing. “I’m gonna find Elijah.”

“You do that, ‘Ms. Alemaund’,” he said, imitating his brother’s voice, freezing Mackenzie to the spot.

“What?” Rebekah breathed out. “You’re an Alemaund?” Mackenzie looked around, hoping to see Elijah nearby. No luck. “You’re an elemental!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kol laughed. “Easy, love. Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with us,” he winked. She looked up at Rebekah who looked angry.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t tell anyone.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’d like to stay alive.”

Rebekah scoffed. “Well, that would explain why mother doesn’t like you.”

“Witches have tried to kill me before,” she said, shivering at the memory of that day she tried to get into that horror house, “you can’t tell anyone,” she begged them.

“Who are we gonna tell?” Kol asked. “We don’t know anyone here.”

“Don’t worry,” Rebekah said. “I don’t let my friends die, especially not in the hands of witches.”

Mackenzie took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She trusted Rebekah enough, it was Kol she was worried about.

“What’s going on?” Elijah asked, appearing behind her.

“Smart telling everyone your elemental girlfriend is a witch,” Kol smirked. “Changing her last name would be smarter, though.”

Elijah frowned. “And it would be smart to keep that information to yourself,” he coldly told his brother who laughed.

“Relax, brother. I won’t kill your girlfriend. I’m not Niklaus. It’s him you should worry about.”

“So what are you? A mermaid? Don’t tell me you’re a phoenix, please,” Rebekah asked.

A phoenix. An elemental of fire. Mackenzie could guess why she didn’t like them.

“I’m… complicated.”

“So you’re more than one,” Kol guessed.

“I’m complicated,” she repeated, taking Elijah’s hand, silently begging him to drag her away from his siblings. He happily obliged.

“Where were you?” she asked.

“My mother has requested an audience with Ms. Gilbert. I wanted to make sure her intentions were as pure as she claims them to be.”

“Elena’s or your mother’s?”

“Both, I suppose. My mother’s ability to forgive my brother has me asking questions I never thought I’d ask.”

“Well…” Mackenzie hated to be the bearer of bad news but, “she’s doing magic.”

“Yes, a privacy spell,” he nodded. “I can’t hear anything that’s being said in the room.”

“What did Elena say?”

“She agreed to tell me what my mother said to her.”

“Elijah,” Mackenzie hesitated, but she knew Elena would stop at nothing to kill Klaus, and she had already stabbed Rebekah in the back, she was certain she wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to him, “Elena can’t be trusted.”

“I’m afraid you’re right.”

“Do you think…” she paused, “do you think Kol can be trusted?”

“Kol is reckless. He doesn’t take anything seriously. But he’d hate to turn into Niklaus. He’ll keep you safe. For me.”

She could only hope he was right.

Half an hour later, they found Elena in the middle of the hall, amongst the other guests. Mackenzie followed Elijah to her, hoping the doppelganger wouldn’t do something she’d end up regretting.

“So how was my mother?”

“Intense,” she said, looking down at Mackenzie then back up at him.

“And for what reason did she need to speak with you in private?” he asked, taking two glasses of champagne from the waiter, and giving one to Mackenzie, then one to Elena, before he took one for himself.

Elena didn’t reply right away. She was looking at someone at the top of the stairs, and when Mackenzie followed her gaze, she saw Esther was smiling at the doppelganger.

“Elena,” Elijah tried to get her attention back, “should I be concerned about my mother’s intentions?”

Mackenzie slid her hand around Elijah’s upper arm, moving close to him, making Elena look at her for a moment, then back at Elijah.

“She just wanted to apologize for trying to have me killed.”

“So, it’s true then? She’s forgiven Klaus?”

“It’s true,” Elena smiled. Mackenzie was unable to tell if her smile was sincere, which meant it probably wasn’t.

“Evening, ladies and gentlemen,” Esther spoke to the room from where she stood atop the stairs. “Waiters are coming around with champagne. I invite you all to join me in raising a glass. It provides me with no greater joy than to see my family back together as one. I’d like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening. Cheers.”

Mackenzie raised her glass with the others but did not drink from it as she didn’t like champagne.

Elena walked away quickly after the toast.

“She lied,” Mackenzie said. She had no proof, except for the look on the doppelganger’s face. She looked just like she had when she had stabbed Rebekah in the back.

“I know,” Elijah nodded, before he finished his glass.

Mackenzie didn’t know if she was more disappointed than she was angry, but she was certainly both. If Esther was the key to killing Klaus, Elena wouldn’t miss the opportunity. But what angered her the most was that she looked them both in the eyes and lied. That was when Mackenzie knew that Elena was no friend of hers.

“What are you gonna do?”

“Right now,” he said, taking her glass from her and placing both his and hers on the empty plate of the waiter closest to them, “I’m taking you dancing.”

She complained as he took her hands and led her back to the ballroom where soft music was still playing, and some couples were still dancing.

“Have I told you how stunning you look tonight?”

“Yes, multiple times.” And it always made her blush.

She knew, however, that he was trying to change the subject and distract himself. She couldn’t imagine how he must be feeling. His mother had come back from the dead with a promise of peace and forgiveness and it turned out to be a lie. And if his mother could kill Klaus, then she could kill him too. She moved closer to him as the thought clang to her mind. She had just gotten him back. She couldn’t lose him again. She wouldn’t let it happen this time, no matter what she’d have to do.

“I’ll help,” she said after a moment of silence. “I won’t stand by and watch them try and destroy your family. It’s my turn to help you.”

He stopped moving, and looked down at her, letting go of her hand, but not of her waist. Mackenzie was getting nervous as he looked at her in silence with an unreadable face.

“Thank you,” was all he said before he took her chin between his fingers and leaned forward.

He didn’t know if it was the dress, or the way his siblings kept calling her his girlfriend, but he had wanted to kiss her ever since she had talked back to Kol earlier that night. I’m dangerous too, she had said. He didn’t know where that sudden confidence was coming from, and sure he missed the shy girl he had met seven months ago, but he was relieved to know that she could fend for herself. She was an ultimate, after all. And deep down, she would always be that shy girl, but stronger.

Her eyes grew big as his lips got dangerously close from hers. She could feel her heart beat hard in her chest and she knew he could hear it too. She closed her eyes, ready to experience her first kiss, ready to show him how much she cared about him, but before she could do any of that, he backed away.

“Something’s wrong,” he said, looking out the window behind him.

“Wh- what?” she stuttered, confused by what had just happened, or what could have just happened.

He said nothing as he walked away, and she followed him to the front door, where his siblings and Stefan Salvatore were already gathered. Elena joined them quickly, taking in the scene. Kol, lying dead on the ground, at Damon’s feet.

“Are you crazy?” Stefan breathed out, as surprised as everybody else.

“Maybe a little,” he mumbled. “Far be it from me to cause a problem,” he then told Elena who sighed like she knew exactly what had gotten into him. Mackenzie guessed she was probably responsible for putting him in a (literal) murderous mood, like she often did.

After Damon walked away, Mackenzie was ready to help Kol the way she had helped Elijah once, but Elijah stopped her, taking her hand, tilting his head towards Klaus, silently telling her not to show him what she could do.

Elijah helped Finn brought Kol back inside the house discreetly before he offered to drive Mackenzie home.

“What do you think got into Damon?” she asked once they were in the car.

“Probably nothing. I’m willing to bet it was all my brother’s fault.”

“Well I don’t know about that. Damon seemed pretty upset.”

“I’m sure Ms. Gilbert can tell you why.”

She scoffed. “I can’t trust Elena anymore. I was so mad when she daggered Rebekah, and now this? Lying to our faces?” she shook her head. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Ms. Gilbert is looking out for herself. And that’s what we’re going to do too.”

“I meant it when I said I’d help.”

“I know. And we’re probably going to need it. My mother is a witch, your powers will be effective against her.”

“I’ve been practicing but I don’t stand a chance against your mother.”

“It won’t come to that,” he said but she knew he only hoped that it wouldn’t.

Elena wasn’t home when Mackenzie arrived at the house. She was both relieved and nervous to be alone with him.

“Thank you for bringing me back,” she said as they reached the door.

“My pleasure.”

“You have a beautiful home, by the way.”

He gave her a small smile. “I’m afraid it’s not quite a home.”

Right. His mother was plotting against them. He didn’t really have a home, did he? But then again, neither did she.

“Well, it’s a beautiful house, no matter who lives in it.”

“You’ll have to tell Klaus. He’s the one who built it.”

Mackenzie cleared her throat, she didn’t seem to know what to say. She could only think about his breath on her face when he was about to kiss her, before Damon ruined it all.

“Goodnight, then,” she said, unlocking the front door.

He smiled, but she didn’t see it. “Goodnight, Mackenzie.”

She quickly entered the house and closed the door behind her. She leaned her back against it, sighing as her head hit the cold wood, kicking herself mentally for being so stupid. What a stupid idiot she was, she told herself. And she kept telling herself that for an hour as she took off her dress and removed her makeup.

I should’ve said something.

I should’ve done something.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Idiot. Stupid.

She let herself fall on her bed with a sigh.

Stupid.

She heard the front door open and decided to go and greet Elena but as she opened her bedroom door, she heard she wasn’t alone.

“So, uh…” Stefan said. “Esther wants to kill her whole family.”

Mackenzie’s heart jumped inside her chest.

“How’s that for Mother of the Year?” he scoffed.

“Yeah. And I got to look Elijah right in the eye and lie to him about it.”

Now, Mackenzie’s heart tightened. Her blood started to boil.

“Well, good. Can’t say I’ll be sorry to see any of them go.”

“I just signed their death sentences, Stefan…”

“No, you signed Klaus’ death sentence, Elena. Everyone else is just collateral damage.”

Collateral damage. The words echoed in her head. Collateral damage.

“It’s not that simple.”

“The family’s brought you nothing but darkness, Elena. It is that simple.”

Collateral damage. Death sentence. I got to look Elijah in the eye and lie to him.

It is that simple.

Mackenzie’s rage was unusual. It wasn’t blinding like it usually was. On the contrary, it was eye opening. She remembered something Elijah had once told her: kill or be killed, and, suddenly, nothing had never been truer. He was right. She’d have to kill again, she would kill again, because she wasn’t going to let Elijah die. To let any of them die.

Maybe Stefan was right, Klaus deserved it, maybe the entire original family deserved to die, but they weren’t any better. Maybe they deserved to die too. But whose choice was it? Who could decide who lived and who died? Mackenzie realized that no one had the right to make those decisions. She had relied on the notions of good and evil for too long, of right and wrong, but now she knew the world didn’t play by those rules. Stefan and Elena didn’t play by those rules. It had never been a fair fight and it would never be one. Everybody just looked out for themselves. There were always two sides, maybe none of them were right, maybe none of them were wrong.

But Mackenzie knew which side she was on.

And she realized Stefan was right about one thing. It was that simple.

**********

Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it!

Chapter 21 is available for early access on my Patreon page! Chapter 22 is available for instant access! You can find me at patreon.com/alonelydreamer ! Any support is highly appreciated!!

If you can't, that's okay! Chapter 21 will be posted next Wednesday!

Have a good week!

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[like-a-bag-of-potatoes]

12 Dates of Christmas - Rooftop Memories

A/N: I know Christmas is over, but since I’m the master of procrastinating, I didn’t get around to posting them all before Christmas. 

Prompt: Cuddling for warmth

Characters: Sebastian x Reader

Warnings: Some angst and some fluff. Mentions of cheating. 

Wordcount: 1854

The vibe between you and Sebastian had been strange ever since Chace’s party and the short kiss you had shared, but Seb had made a list of things to do to get you into the holiday spirit and he was determined to stick to it. It was the list that now had brought you to Central Park to get roasted chestnuts and some hot cocoa while enjoying a sleigh ride through the park. Technically, since snow had yet to fall, it was a regular carriage ride, but it was the thought that counted. 

“So, how’s that Christmas spirit coming along?” Sebastian asked as you made your way to the little stand that sold the cocoa. After that kiss a few nights ago he had been really nervous and awkward around you, like he didn't know how to start a conversation with you all of a sudden… which was ridiculous since he had known you since he moved to New York. 

“It's getting better,” you said honestly, looking up at him with a smile on your face. “So I think you can officially call success on your plan.” 

“Yes!” he exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air in victory. 

“You’re a dork, you know that right?” you asked, laughter filling your voice. If that kiss the other night told you one thing, it was that Sebastian was no longer just a friend to you, but all of a sudden he was this amazing man that you had started picturing your future with. You shook the thought from your head as you got in line to get your beverages.

“I'm offended,” he said with a gasp, but it was soon followed by a cheeky grin. The sound of your laughter sent a warmth through his body, even in the cold December air. 

As you reached the counter and saw who was manning the booth, you froze in place, something that didn't go unnoticed by Sebastian. 

“Hey. What can I get you today?” the cheery blonde on the other side of the counter asked. 

Sebastian furrowed his brows as he looked from you to the woman and back to you again, you were practically shooting daggers at her and he didn't really understand why. “Uhm- Two cups of cocoa, please,” he said a little hesitantly, looking at the other woman again. 

“Coming right up,” she chirped before starting on your orders. 

“What's goin-” he started, but you cut him off before he could finish. 

“I have to go,” you stated, not meeting his eye before turning on your heel and walking away in a brisk pace. 

“(YN),” he shouted after you, but you didn't stop. He put a five dollar bill on the counter for the cocoa and then jogged after you, calling your name as he did. “Hey,” he said when he finally caught up to you, grabbing your arm loosely to get you to stop. 

“I need to be alone,” you explained as sternly as you could while you turned to look at him, your eyes swimming with tears. “Let me go, please.” 

He released the grip he had on you and let you walk away, not really sure what was happening, but he let you go nonetheless. It was probably not the best decision he had made, but he also knew you so well by now that he knew there was no reason to chase after you or make you talk until you were ready. 

***

A few hours had passed since you left Seb in the park, and now that your anger and hurt had subsided a little, you felt guilty for just leaving him there without an explanation. Truth was that you had been caught off guard by that woman, and all of a sudden you were pulled back a month and a half ago, reliving Jeremy’s betrayal all over again. It wasn't until you had been in the cab that the reality hit you and the dots connected in your head. 

So now you found yourself on the roof of your building, looking up at the stars as you hugged your coat tightly around yourself. Up here you could hardly hear the noise from the busy streets below, and the clear night gave you a perfect view of the shimmering lights in the sky. It was peaceful up on this little patio, and you enjoyed it. 

Sebastian knew where to find you, but he had decided to give you some time before he sought you out, so when the daylight faded and the stars started appearing in the sky, he went to look for you. He found you exactly where he thought you’d be. “There room for one more up here?” he asked as he stepped out on the roof and your head turned to look at him. 

“Always,” you answered with a sad smile on your lips, one that nearly broke his heart. 

He sat down on the couch next to you and wrapped a blanket he had brought around your shoulders before handing you a to go mug of cocoa. “With Kahlua, just like you like it,” he said with a small smile. 

“Thank you,” you offered as you took the cup and clutched it between your hands, enjoying the warmth it provided for your hands. “I'm sorry about earlier,” you apologized, taking your eyes off of Seb and returning them to the stars above you. 

“It's okay,” he assured, offering you a smile that you didn't see. Your bright eyes sparkled in the light of the moon and Sebastian couldn't help but think that he could spend his whole life looking into those eyes if he got the chance. “Wanna tell me what happened?” he wondered as he tore his eyes from yours and looked up at the night sky. 

“That girl in the cocoa booth… she was the one I caught Jeremy with,” you explained, sadness in your voice. “And that's not even the worst part,” you added, turning your head to look at your friend. 

“What's the worst part?” he asked, meeting your eyes and furrowing his brows. 

“If she's here and working, that means that she isn't the Jessica that went with him to Hawaii,” you replied, connecting the dots for him. “And her name tag said Amy.”

Seb’s eyes widened in realization and he wished now more than ever that he could go give Jeremy a piece of his mind, or fist. “Have I told you what a massive dick that guy is?” he asked as he carefully wrapped his arm around your shoulder and pulled you into his side, placing a featherlight kiss to your hair. 

“Once or twice,” you said, a small smile playing on your lips as you took comfort in his embrace. “I just feel so fucking stupid, you know?” 

“You’re not stupid. He's a dick,” Sebastian assured. “You deserve so much better than him, (YN).” 

“Thank you.” 

Silence fell between you for a while as you just sat there and enjoyed each others warmth and comfort. It wasn't until Seb shivered next to you that you got pulled out of your train of thought. You sat up straight and held out the blanket towards him, silently inviting him to come sit under it. “We can go back inside if you’re cold,” you suggested, not wanting him to get sick. 

“In a little bit,” he returned as he moved under the blanket with you, wrapping it around his shoulder. “I remember many nights like this that we have spent together,” he said suddenly. “On a rooftop, wishing that the world beneath us didn't exist.”  

“Remember the first time?” you asked and you could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to find the memory. It took him a few moments before he gave up and shook his head. “I believe we were fourteen and it was after Violet Walker pulled my skirt down in the middle of the school cafeteria during lunch,” you reminded. 

“She was just a grade A bitch, wasn't she?” Seb said as he thought back. 

“I believe that's what you said back then too. And then I found you up on that same roof a few days later when Sophie Collins said no when you asked her to prom.” Seb chuckled at the memory. “Grade A bitch that one too,” you added with a giggle. 

“She was really hot though,” he defended, making you laugh. “There were some good nights on the roof too, though. Like when I caught you and Marcus Robbins making out,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. 

You couldn't help but laugh at that particular memory. “Yes, you and Maya Barker, if I remember correctly.” 

“Ah… that's right. I forgot about that.” 

“Yeah. You managed to cock-block us both that night,” you accused, making him laugh. “Was probably for the best though,” you noted as an afterthought. “You've always been there for me, Seb. I love you for that.” A more serious tone laced your voice now.  

“That goes both ways, sweetheart,” he said softly, looking into your bright eyes. If only you knew how deep those feelings sat in him. 

“I never brought anyone else up on the roof after Marcus. I know it sounds stupid, but I feel like this is our thing and I didn't want to taint that with memories of other people,” you told him, directing your attention to the stars again. 

“It's not stupid at all,” he said, his eyes taking in your profile, eventually landing on your plump lips. “I never did either.”

His confession made you look back at him and there was something in his eyes now that you couldn't put your finger on. Something that made you think for a second that his heart was in the same place as yours, but you couldn't be sure, and you didn't dare hope. Instead you linked your arm through his and hugged yourself to his strong arm, resting your head on his shoulder as you tried to keep the cold out. “Thank you for being you,” you said in a soft voice as he used his free hand to wrap the blanket tighter around the two of you. 

He didn't know what to say to that, so instead he rested his head on top of yours as the two of you sat there in the chilly night, cuddled together so you wouldn't freeze, memories of many night's like this filling both your minds. One of these days he would find the courage to tell you how he felt about you, but for now he just wanted to enjoy this moment. 

[geekofmanyforms]

New Beginning

Chapter Nine

*This chapter has been edited by my Beta Casey. Thanks for the follows, reviews, and favorites. Please let me know if you think things are progressing too slowly. Im worried that everything isn't running as smoothly as I hoped. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Your feedback gives me motivation, so don't be a silent reader. I promise I don't bite...too hard;)*

I opened the door to the house just as Jeremy was heading upstairs. I tossed my bag on the couch and followed him up. Oddly enough, he made his way into Elena's room. I had thought they were on the outs, but they were talking as I walked in. I ignored whatever they were saying and threw myself on Elena's bed. I wasn't much for open displays of affection, but after the crap day I'd had to deal with, I could really use a little sibling time.

"Gah, this day sucked, Lena!" I said, throwing my head in her lap and ignoring the oomph of protest that escaped her.

I covered my face with my hands and listened to her and Jeremy's conversation.

"Is Vicki in there?" she asked, nodding her head in the direction of his room.

My eyebrows rose at the revelation. Well, well, well little Jer getting it on with naughty Vic...

"You and Vic? Wow, I hope you wrapped it, Jeremy," I said without thinking.

Elena's mouth shot open, and she grabbed her pillow and used it to pummel me in the face.

"Ewww! Ellie that's disgusting. I don't wanna hear about what our brother does with Vicki or anyone else!" she shouted.

Jeremy was laughing loudly at our little display. I pulled myself away from Elena and jumped up beside Jeremy.

"What!? It's a valid and important thing to ask. I don't wanna be an auntie yet! Plus, Vic is...experienced. I just wanna make sure he is being safe," I tossed the nearby pillow at her face, then looked at Jeremy with a fixed expression. "So, you are being smart, right, Jer?"

He tried to hide the red shade the was beginning to cover his face without success. He put his hands over his eyes with a grumble. I laughed at his embarrassment and pulled his hands away, revealing his cherry red features.

"Ya know Jer, they say if you're too embarrassed to discuss sex than you're too young to be having it." I joked.

He pulled away from me and threw himself on Elena's window seat with a huff.

"We are being careful, El, and I know all about her past — it doesn't bother me," he said, indignantly

I sat back down beside Elena and laid back in her lap, shrugging.

"Okay then, that's all I wanted to know,"

Elena ran her fingers through my hair as we were all quiet for a moment.

"God, isn't it weird how adult our conversations have become? I can remember when we were all fighting over each other's toys. Where did the time go?" Elena asked.

Jeremy and I looked at her, our faces overcast with memories.

"We grew up, Lena. I miss our childhood as well but try to remember that we get to experience new things now. Like college, marriage, children," Jeremy said. "there is still so much to come,"

I quickly wiped the tears from my face as I imagined their lives. It was a sad and beautiful thought. I only wished I could be there to share it all with them.

"Ugh, enough of the heavy stuff. Now, how about we discuss why Lena is a pouty potato?" I said in a sing-song voice.

Elena smacked my forehead and sighed deeply. "I'm miserable," she said petulantly, her bottom lip sticking out a bit.

"Aww, poor little Lena. What happened?" I asked playfully.

I was hoping to lighten the mood because I knew exactly what was wrong with her. Stefan was still continuing to hide everything from her. She continued to play with my hair and looked down at me with a sullen expression.

"Stefan and I had a fight,"

My thoughts were confirmed. My eyes shifted to Jeremy, who had been tapping his foot impatiently. I could tell there was something he was hiding.

"Well, you should go get something to eat," he said.

I gave him a quizzical look as I slipped off of Elena's lap. I grabbed her hand and pulled her off the bed.

"Jeremy is right. I'm pretty sure I saw some strawberry ice cream in the freezer," I said.

I pushed her out the door and down the stairs. When I made to follow her into the kitchen, Jeremy grabbed my wrist and held me back. He put his finger against his lips and smiled at me. We waited in the living room, and I understood why as soon as Elena said Stefan's name. Jeremy pulled me back toward the stairs.

"He is gonna fix her dinner as an apology. He asked me if I'd help lure her downstairs," he said.

I shook my head and bit my bottom lip as we headed back up the stairs. "I really wanted that ice cream," I said, longingly.

Jeremy's laugh was all I heard as I pouted all the way into my room.

I was looking at myself in the mirror, eyeing my purple and black two-piece with a hateful glare. Why had I allowed myself to be talked into this stupid car wash? I wasn't even a cheerleader! I pulled at the top trying, in vain, to cover more of my cleavage. I felt incredibly exposed. My suit was just an average two-piece, apart from the black jewel placed conveniently between my breasts, but I still felt like I was basically naked. I mean, I could remember the days when a woman would be called a whore for revealing her legs, and here I was now, leaving very little to the imagination.

Damn Caroline and her shopping addiction. I should have known she had ulterior motives for offering to buy me a swimsuit. I gave the suit one last spiteful glare before throwing on my purple shorts and a tank top. Gods, this is gonna be so humiliating...

I grabbed my matching purple flower-shaped sunglasses and hooked them onto my shirt. I quickly braided my hair and sprayed on some sunscreen before headed downstairs. Elena and Bonnie had left five minutes ago, so according to 'Caroline Standard Time,' I was running late.

I yelled my goodbyes to Jenna, who was still somewhere in the house and made my way to my car. I hopped inside and winced as my skin met the hot leather. I turned the air on full blast and switched the radio on.

I was already nodding my head to the beat of the music as I pulled out of the drive. I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, singing along to the music when a black blur sped past my window. I screamed and tried to keep from swerving when I noticed a crow flying towards the windshield.

At the last minute, it changed direction and once again flew past my window. My breathing was rapid and substantial as I tried to calm myself down. My mind raced frantically when I realized that the crow had been much more than a bird. It was Damon.

I turned into the school parking lot and parked my car. I leaned into the steering wheel and let a few tears escape. He was calling for me, but what could I do? He was dangerous and explosive — he would be out for revenge, and that would lead to so much unnecessary loss. I heard a loud whistle and wiped my face before looking out my windshield to see Caroline. She threw up her hands and ushered for me to get out of the car. I waved and took a deep breath as I climbed out. I locked my car and ran over to Caroline, who was talking to a small group of people all wearing their own suits of torture.

"No friend discounts. No freebies. No pay-ya-laters. We are not running a charity here," Caroline barked, her hands on her hips, "No, we are not,"

I stood next to Elena and Bonnie, both smiling at Caroline in exasperation.

"No, we are not," Elena whispered, with barely restrained laughter.

I kept my mouth closed; too many thoughts stole any amusement I could have felt at Caroline's forceful attitude. Caroline looked down at her clipboard and began barking orders. I looked over to see Stefan heading towards us and sidestepped away from him. I wasn't ready to talk to him yet. My guilt was still too thick. I wasn't sure what he would do if he knew Damon was calling out to me. Luckily I was distracted by the hurricane that was Caroline Forbes.

"The event is called Sexy Suds, ya know. Why are you still dressed?" she asked.

I looked down at my shorts and tank top with a sigh and pulled my shirt off over my head. As I was slipping off my shorts, I could see Elena and Stefan kissing off to the side. I almost tripped in a mild shock. It was so strange seeing them kiss. All I could see was Katherine, which confused me because oddly enough, I never saw Katherine when I looked at Elena...until now.

"Okay, put your clothes in your bag and head over to Bonnie and Matt. You'll be pairing off with Matt while Bon works with Tiki and Tyler," Caroline ordered.

I looked away from the little public display of affection that had me baffled and moved over to Matt. I could see Matt was feeling just as sick by Elena and Stefan's presentation as I was.

"Uh-uh, no. None of that tortured pining stuff," Bonnie told him.

I couldn't help but smile at this.

"I'm just observing," Matt said.

I patted his shoulder as I passed him. I put my clothes in my bag and laid it on the ground next to Bonnie's stuff.

"Okay, let's get soapy," I said, earning a laugh from Matt.

I grabbed a sponge and began washing the red car in front of me. I ignored the stares I was getting from the guy we were washing the car for. I jumped slightly when the grey figure of Rebekah appeared beside him. She was looking him over with disgust on her face.

"God, look at this guy, Ellie — as if he'd ever have a shot with you. Ugh, he is disgusting!" she said aghast.

I bit back my retort, knowing how crazy I would look just carrying on a discussion with an invisible person. I continued to wash the windows trying to avoid the water Matt was flinging at me.

"Ya know, I have a few brothers that would love to meet you. One in particular," Rebekah said to the man who was now greedily staring at my ass.

I stood and adjusted my suit in embarrassment. Matt noticed my unease and grabbed the bucket of water that sat between us. He caught the eye of Tyler, who was standing behind the guy. They both tossed their buckets of water at the creep. Rebekah jumped out of the way, even though she didn't need to, just as the water hit him. He screamed in surprise and started to chase Matt and Tyler around the car. They were both laughing and shooting me smiles. I giggled along with Bonnie, who had used her powers to splash a rude Tiki after she had started whining about us mistreating the customers. Our fun was quickly ruined when Caroline stomped towards us in a blonde storm of fury.

"What are you guys doing?" she yelled.

We all looked at one another, all speaking at once. Caroline grabbed the creep by his ear and pulled him towards his car.

"Get outta here," she said.

The guy flipped her off and jumped into his still soapy car and sped off.

"Elena is out of towels and those shimmy things," Caroline told me pointedly.

I nodded sheepishly, "I'll go get some," I said, smiling back at Matt and Tyler.

They saluted me as I walked away and towards the school. The cold air greeted me and sent a shiver down my spine as I entered the empty halls. The eeriness of it all made me jump when my shoes squeaked on the freshly waxed floor. I kept my head down and tried to ignore the weird feeling that walking through the halls at school in my bikini gave me. I could honestly say it was an experience I never wanted to repeat. Finally, I reached the supply closet. I made to open the door when a shadow at the other end of the hall made me stop.

"Hello? Care?" I said, squeezing my eyes shut in annoyance.

I was the dumb girl at the beginning of every scary movie ever. I grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open — I was not getting killed today. I grabbed what I needed and kicked the door closed behind me. I quickly headed back the way I came when I heard a familiar, pleading voice behind me.

Dammit.

Slowly I turned around to see a flickering version of Damon.

"Elandra. Elandra, help me. Help me,"

I stomped my foot down in anger when the image flickered again and disappeared. He was totally gonna make me regret this. I dropped the towels and ran outside to my car.

I sped towards the Boarding House, slamming my hands on the wheel repeatedly.

"Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!" I yelled with every hit.

What the hell was I doing? He was going to hurt people! Yet, I couldn't turn around, not after hearing his voice call to me. He was still my Damon and was once my best friend, and I would be damned if I left him to mummify and suffer.

I wasn't the kind of person to leave him like this — It was almost like another curse. I trusted and saved people until I had nothing left to give. Angry tears filled my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I would just have to deal with whatever this caused. I could bury the guilt — I had too.

My tires squealed as I sped into their drive. I had to hurry; I wasn't sure how long Stefan would be gone.

Stefan, Gods he was gonna hate me.

I shook my head forcefully, I didn't have time for depressing thoughts. I entered the house quickly and scanned my surroundings for Zach. Luckily I found him on the couch asleep. I quietly stepped beside him and touched his head, causing him to fall into a deeper sleep — I didn't want him to get hurt. I would hate to be the reason the Salvatore bloodline was lost.

"Elandra, please," Damon said, his voice lilting through the air almost seductively.

I ran to the cellar door and carefully took the narrow steps one at a time. I finally made it to the door and looked in through the tiny window.

"You called?" I said sarcastically.

His eyes were lifeless, and his face was a sickly pale color. He licked his dry, cracked lips, and I could see his hunger. I felt pity surge in me, and I started to unbolt the door. I stopped and looked him over again.

"Don't kill me, Damon," I said.

His blue eyes cleared for a brief moment as he took in my words.

His weak face turned grave, " I would never hurt you, Elandra," he said, his voice dry.

The corner of my mouth lifted in a sad smile, "Now we both know that's not true, Damon," I whispered.

He turned away from me and started to fall, his strength giving out. I swung the door open and lowered myself down next to him, only just then noticing I hadn't changed from my bikini. I shifted slightly and felt the rush of blood in my neck and face. I sat on my knees and lifted his heavy head onto my shoulder.

"Damon, Damon! I'm gonna need you to drink, okay," I said.

His eyes were closed, and breathing was erratic. I looked around in panic. My gaze landed on a jagged stone by my foot, and I grabbed it in determination. I held the cold stone in my shaky hand and took a deep breath.

"Okay. Okay, I can do this," I whispered.

I took the sharper end of the stone and laid it against my neck, I dug it into my skin and let out a rush of air through my teeth. I could feel blood trickling down my throat as I tossed the rock behind me. Grabbing Damon's head, I laid his lips against my neck. I let out a relieved laugh as he started to lick the blood from my skin. I kept my eyes on the wall in front of me when he began to hold his own weight. A jab of pain told me he had finally inserted his fangs into the small gash I had made. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close as he drank my life's blood. The hand I had on his shoulder started to falter as I grew weaker — he was taking to much.

"Damon," I murmured, barely able to keep myself awake.

Slowly he pulled away, allowing me to see his vampiric face. It was frighteningly beautiful. In my weakened state, my mind was having trouble processing what was happening, but I was almost certain he let out a pained moan when I ran my fingers across the black veins under his eyes. My eyelids fluttered closed, and my hand dropped from his face.

"El, stay with me. Here, drink," Damon rushed out.

I could feel his wrist on my lips, and I parted them as best I could as the salty, coppery taste of his blood filled my mouth. I gagged and tried to spit it out, but he kept my head still and bent down to my ear, "You have to swallow it, sweetie. I took too much, and you're weak," he mumbled in my ear.

My mind caught up finally, and I allowed myself to accept his blood. I instantly felt better and let him help me sit up. I ran my hand across my mouth and wiped the red liquid from the lips. I looked up at his nervous face and couldn't help but grin at him.

"Well, that was something," I said.

He chuckled and stood up in front of me, offering his hand.

"Thank you for helping me, El," he said.

I brushed off the dirt from my legs.

"But, you didn't have to dress so...provocatively," he slyly said, obviously knowing how uncomfortable I felt.

I slapped his arm and growled, less than menacingly, at him. A noise from above drew our attention to the fact that we were not alone.

"That's Zach. Please don't hurt him, Damon. He is still your family, please," I begged him, taking hold of his arm.

He pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head.

"Okay, as long as he doesn't try anything, I will let him live. But, Stefan is gonna pay, El," he said menacingly.

I looked up at his face the pale grey look was gone. He was back to his annoyingly beautiful self.

"Just leave Elena out of it," I said.

He kissed my head again, lingering for a brief moment before, with a rush of air, he was gone. I looked around at the dark and empty cellar with dread filling me. Things were about to go to hell.

[this-year-ive-read]

Books I’ve Read in 2019 (A List in Progress)

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes - David Grann (***)

“The course of human events is not permanently altered by the great deeds of history, nor by the great men but by the small daily doings of the little men.”

Killers of the Flower Moon - The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI - David Grann (**)

“History is a merciless judge. It lays bare our tragic blunders and foolish missteps and exposes our most intimate secrets, wielding the power of hindsight like an arrogant detective who seems to know the end of the mystery from the outset.”

The Things They Carried - Tim O’Brien (****)

“They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity.”

“I survived, but it's not a happy ending.”

“But this too is true: stories can save us.”

Every Word You Cannot Say - Lain S Thomas (***)

“There are days when everyone needs you to be strong, even if you're dying inside, and you can only cry when no one's looking because you're petrified of letting them down.”

“I don’t know if I’m ever, really, ‘Here’”

Everything I Never Told You - Celeste NG (***)

“Before that she hadn’t realized how fragile happiness was, how if you were careless, you could knock it over and shatter it.”

“You never got what you wanted; you just learned to get by without it.”

Night - Elie Wiesel (****)

“To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.

“Those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow”

The Alice Network - Kate Quinn (**)

“Poetry is like passion--it should not be merely pretty; it should overwhelm and bruise.”

“What did it matter if something scared you, when it simply had to be done”

Love her wild - Atticus (***)

“We are made of all those who have built and broken us”

“A sky

full

of stars

and he

was staring

at her.”

When we Left Cuba - Chanel Cleeton (****)

“For the dreams that slip through our fingers.

May we hold them in our arms one day.”

“You can love someone and still not lose your reason.”

“Not all of us have the luxury of setting the world on fire, simply because we’re angry.”

Crush - Richard Siken (***)

“A man takes his sadness down to the river and throws it in the river

           but then he’s still leftwith the river. A man takes his sadness and throws it away

           but then he’s still left with his hands.”

“You’re in a car with a beautiful boy, and he won’t tell you that he loves you, but he loves you.”

“They want you to love the whole damn world but you won’t, you want it all narrowed down to one fleshy man in a bath who knows what to do with his body, with his hands.”

War of the Foxes - Richard Siken (**)

“Someone has to leave first. This is a very old story. There is no other version of this story.”

“I want to give you more but not everything. You don’t need everything.”

Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie (**)

“The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances.”

Fool Me Once - Harlan Coben (***)

“All love stories,” Maya’s father had told her many years ago, “end in tragedy.”

“There are moments in life when everything changes.”

Pirate Hunters - Robert Kurson (*****)

“They made a sound I’d never heard before but somehow had known my whole life, a waterfall of muted chimes, dense and deep and old”

“When John asked his grandfather about being heroic, Arison told him that he had not done anything special, just what he thought was right”

“The world came alive when a person got a chance to be good”

“Do it now. Tomorrow is promised to no one”

“And promised himself that no matter what, he wouldn’t put off until tomorrow what his heart told him to go for today.”

“He just looked out at the world knowing it was finally too late for his father to have an adventure, and nothing seemed in color anymore.”

The Lost City of the Monkey God - Douglas Preston (***)

“But then the teules [foreigners] arrived and everything fell apart. They brought fear, and they came to wither the flowers.”

Crashing Through - Robert Kurson (****)

“It wasn't who a person believed himself to be or what he pretended he would do in a given situation. It was what he did when he got there that defined him.”

“May opened his eyes. Electric dots of silver-white, as many as the sound of a rainstorm, ran to every space in the world, and when he tried to see where they led there was no world anymore, they led everywhere, across a blanket of night that had no edges, and for a moment May didn’t know where he was among these stars, if he was under them or around them or beyond them, they were everywhere and he was everywhere, he was where he wanted to be.”

Shadow Divers - Robert Kurson (*****)

“This is where the hangers on, and wannabes, and also rans, and once greats keep believing in the sea.”

“I love you and you’re not here for me.”

Ross Poldark - Winston Graham (***)

“The greatest thing is to have someone who loves you and—and to love in return”

“Autumn lingered on as if fond of its own perfection.”

Demelza - Winston Graham (***)

“Strange sometimes how easy bitter words came, how hard the kind ones.”

“Let me stay a little longer in the sun.”

Love Looks Pretty on You - Lang Leav (****)

“You turn him into poetry because you can’t have him any other way.”

“I have been quiet lately, I know. Not because I don’t have anything to say but because I have too much.”

“I struggle with things that are as easy to others as breathing.”

“Here is the story of my life. Hoping they would care about me or wishing they wouldn’t care so much.”

“When love swept in like the ocean

And left me in drops, like rain.”

Jeremy Poldark - Winston Graham (***)

“Resentment and bitterness and old grudges were dead things, which rotted the hands that grasped them.”

“It isn’t where you’re born in this world, it’s what you do.”

Edgar: an Autobiography - Edgar Martinez (***)

“I concentrate on the moment and Don’t let the past or the future overwhelm me.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the greatest mariner of all time.”

Warleggan - Winston Graham (***)

“Their lives had been the tragedy of one woman who could not make up her mind.”

“It was not the cold of the night that she felt but an inner cold that no coat would cure.”

“Remember this she thought. In times of jealousy and neglect, remember this. He said: “so you are not to be rid of me, my love.” “So I am not to be rid of you, my love.””

The Black Moon - Winston Graham (**)

“Blemishes on the beauty of a person one loves are like grace notes adding something to a piece of music.”

“We can’t alter the world, we can only adapt ourselves to it.”

The Lost Girls of Paris - Pam Jenoff (*)

“It is simply not enough to be as good as the men. They don’t believe we can do this and so we have to be better.”

Emma - Jane Austen (***)

“If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.”

“I may have lost my heart, but not my self control.”

Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë (****)

“Because he’s more myself than I am.  Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

“I have not broken your heart—you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine.”

“The entire world is a dreadful collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her!”

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Anne Brontë (****)

“beauty is that quality which, next to money, is generally the most attractive to the worst kinds of men;”

“But smiles and tears are so alike with me, they are neither of them confined to any particular feelings: I often cry when I am happy, and smile when I am sad.”

“If she gives you her heart,’ said I, ‘you must take it, thankfully, and use it well, and not pull it in pieces, and laugh in her face, because she cannot snatch it away.”

“This rose is not so fragrant as a summer flower, but it has stood through hardships none of them could bear: the cold rain of winter has sufficed to nourish it, and its faint sun to warm it; the bleak winds have not blanched it, or broken its stem, and the keen frost has not blighted it.  Look, Gilbert, it is still fresh and blooming as a flower can be, with the cold snow even now on its petals.—Will you have it?”

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë (*****) {Reread}

“You think I have no feelings, and that I can do without one bit of love or kindness; but I cannot live so”

“He made me love him without looking at me.”

“I sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you—especially when you are near me, as now: it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame.  And if that boisterous Channel, and two hundred miles or so of land come broad between us, I am afraid that cord of communion will be snapt; and then I’ve a nervous notion I should take to bleeding inwardly.”

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will”

“Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless?  You think wrong!—I have as much soul as you,—and full as much heart!  And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you.”

[annakie]

-----------

We're back for part two!  Remember the last time how I said....

And after that game... I parted ways with my friends once again.  Because I had tickets... to Critical Role.

Well... not only that, but I was finally meeting @thievinghippo​ IRL to see it!

CRITICAL ROLE (aka Friday Night)

I took off right after the previous game had ended and headed for the show.  My one big frustration was that it took 30 minutes for my Lyft driver to arrive from AROUND THE BLOCK (ok, about a quarter of a mile, but still).  In retrospect, I think he was hoping I'd cancel so he could get a bigger fare or something.  I think he just fucked himself over because he could have done that route twice in the time it took him to come get me.  So I got there with just a few minutes to spare and no time to get in the merch line.  But hey, I found Hippo and met a few other people from Tumblr whose names I recognized!  

It was so great to finally meet her, but we had almost no time to talk beforehand (but when we did, it was all about how mad we still are about Jaime / Brienne and also I tried to catch her up to what's happening in CR since she's pretty far behind.)

The show was AWESOME.  It was so fun to see live!  It was particularly awesome when the entire audience sang along with the theme song (See this video if you haven't yet for those of you not there: https://twitter.com/PhoenixHeart815/status/1157446225223962624 ).  It reminded me a lot of singing along with the Sparks Nevada theme the last few TAH shows, I got a little misty-eyed.

The bad?  It was really really hot in the theater.  At intermission I bolted out to the bathroom and buy cold waters.  I was about to get in the merch line but the lights already started flashing.  SIGH.  I gave Hippo a water and before we could settle in much, the show started again.  I told her my plan for the end of the show, though.

I will admit, my lack of sleep from the previous two nights was starting to catch up with me, and I had no caffeine available to combat it with.  I almost ducked out of the show early because I felt myself nodding off with the heat in the theater masked with the dark of the theater and that the second half of the show was less exciting (but still fun!) than the first.  Seeing the show live was amazing!

Just as Matt said they were ending the show there, I hopped out of my chair (I was in an aisle) and went into the lobby.  I was dying to get a set of the metal dice... and they were sold out of EVERYTHING except the big blue d20 and some pins.  ARGHGHGHGHGH.  So I got the d20, and watched the rest of the show including Liam's very surprising win, on the monitors.  (I'd voted for Liam because I assumed Sam would win.  I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. :)  Though I love Sam to bits.)

Hippo joined me outside in the lobby early, and we left the theater just ahead of everyone else and she waited and we chatted while I called a Lyft.  She wanted to get out before traffic got too crazy, too, so she took off.  I am VERY MAD I didn't get a pic with the two of us at all.  Next year?!  

Then of course my Lyft driver didn't come to where I was exactly (literally at the Lyft pickup/dropoff designated location) and I had to walk around and look for him and by the time I found him, he'd gotten boxed in so we had to wait in traffic anyway.  Ah well.

At least the freeway was re-opened that night heading back to the airport, and thus, my hotel, for a shorter ride.  I ended up not falling asleep til close to 2.

I loved my evening and would do it all again but that Jeremy and Marcus told me that the Starfinder game they played in that night was AH-FUCKING-MAZING and was literally one of their favorite games of their entire lives, both of them.  It was a multi-table megagame that had a pass-fail condition and would shape the next season of the Society, and I'm sad I missed it while being really glad I did what I did.  Sometimes it's feast or feast, and you gotta pick which awesome meal you want.

I didn’t take many pics, just one as they were settling in after Sam came out in his costume, and one during intermission.  It’s all on Twitch, anyway!

SATURDAY

Oh man, for some really dumb reason we'd scheduled our Saturday morning for 8AM... but it was Starfinder!!  Uh, I will say I consumed more caffeine on that Saturday than maybe any other day of my life.  But it was needed.

What also helped keep me awake that it was FUCKING FREEZING IN THE ROOM.  The game itself was an absolute blast, though.  It was a brutal slog through a dead planet with hostile aliens everywhere and we had to stealth through, collect information and get out.  This was the game I felt the closest to death in all weekend, I'll say that for sure.  But we did it!

The very kind Felice(sp?) who was at the table decided she didn't want to carry her hoodie through the dealer hall, where she was going next, and her husband was working the main table at the Pathfinder room, so she told me to leave it there with him when I was done with it.  Since our next game was also in the Paizo room, I took her up on this offer and was warm and comfy the next few hours.

Our DM, an Operative, and Felice, plus the Hoodie of Warmth +2.

A very rare picture of me, on the internet, along with the guys.

And our next game was our first Pathfinder 2 game!  We were very excited to try out the system, and were put at a table with a father and son duo.  Jeremy and Marcus were excited because the DM was the same guy who'd DM'd their Starfinder game while I was at Critical Role.  

The only bad thing that happened here was that the El Paso Cielo Vista shooting news broke.  I grew up in El Paso, from when I was 12 to 22... it's Middle School through college for me.  Even though I've now lived in Dallas twice as long as I lived in El Paso and I haven't been there in like ten years, it's still... a little bit home.  So I left the table for a little bit to get on Facebook and make sure my friends there were all okay (they are), and text with my mom to make sure a family member who still lives there is okay (she is, though she took awhile to answer mom so we were worried.)  I have a lot of thoughts though, which belong in another post, and I'm still angry and upset about the shooting, even though it didn't affect me personally.  But for now, that's the end of talk of that terribleness.

At our table were a father and ~10 y/o son, who I'm cutting out of the pics because posting pics of minors without getting permission is not OK.  Also, the game was SHORT.  It turns out it was designed as an intro to Pathfinder 2 or maybe even RPGs in general so we knocked it out pretty quick, like 2.5 hours.

One very cool thing that Pazio was doing was that when you played in a game, you got a wooden token that you took up to the prize table, and rolled a d20 + d10.  No matter what you rolled, you got a prize, though most of them were cool little boons for your official characters.  However, if you critted, you got to pick a physical prize from the table.  Well, we played so much that Jeremy and Marcus both critted twice.  They ended up getting ALL THREE Token boxes (like cardboard minis, very nice quality) for Starfinder, plus the Starfinder Beginner's Box.  Pretty sure those four things together retailed for over $100.  Score!

So after the short game, with time to spare before our next game, the gang decided it was Dealer Hall time, literally the first time Jeremy or Marcus had time to go AT ALL.  I volunteered to be the stuff-holder.  After dropping off Felice's hoodie, I found a comfy seat near an outlet that was near the dealer hall and let everyone dump the stuff they didn't want to carry with me.  They came back and left stuff with me, and then after a couple of hours, also brought me dinner from the food trucks.  It was a fair trade.

I also asked Jeremy to stop by one particular booth and pick me up a set of dice I'd decided on, Blue Turquiose stone dice from Metallic Dice Games.  I took some pics of the dice below, though the next day I did have Jeremy swap out the d20 at the booth because I didn't like how some of the faces looked (by far the angle in the pic is the best side, there was too much solid color on the other sides of the die.)  These are going to be my official dice for my 4e character, who is a storm sorcerer reskinned as a druid.

LOVE THESE DICE, can’t wait to roll ‘em.

DM, Dad and blurred-out son.

A blurred-out boy and my guys.

Our final game of the day was the Cypher system, which is made by Monte Cook (one of the original D&D designers).  Cypher is a fairly simple system which mostly just uses a d20 and d6, and the DM never rolls dice.  The original system was made for a game called Numenera, which we'd played the beginner's box adventure for a few years ago but didn't feel like we got a good feel for the system, so we wanted to give it a go with a DM who knew the system well.

Overall, we enjoyed the game, it definitely wasn't "bad"!  But the problem was, we all agreed later, that the module that was being run was the kickoff module for a much longer campaign, there was a huge lore dump near the end and we also didn't really "get" everything that was going on.  

It also had the most memorable ending, though.  We ended the game by trying to escape from a base while being chased by some guys who greatly outmatched us.  My character was a pilot, and we needed to leave via a shuttlecraft.  One of the players who we didn't know was on the "get the door open and provide covering fire so everyone else can get to the shuttle" team.  And then he needed to make a roll in order to also GTFO and get to the shuttle.

He rolled.  Got a 5.  There's a mechanic where you can spend a card that you've collected in order to re-roll.  So he did that, got a 2.  Someone else gave him a card to re-roll.  He rolled a 3.  Someone else did.  He rolled a 5.  I was the last one with a card on the table, so I slapped it down.  He rolled a 4.

It was amazing.  Amazingly terrible rolling.

My pilot already had the craft powered up and was waiting for only him to get on.  I sighed, looked the player in the eye and said...

"I'm so sorry, but my character sheet says that I have a personality flaw.  I'm impulsive and impatient and have a setback to anything that requires patience, concentration or willpower.  I'm not waiting for you."  I looked at the DM and said "I decide that he's sacrificing himself to save us, and take off."

So I left him behind.  

The player was 100% cool with it, we had a laugh about it, and he agreed it was what my character would have done.  So it was kind of a tragic and funny way to end the game.  Also Brian needed to get some sleep that night so he hadn't come to that game, and Marcus left a little early to tend to the family, so just Jeremy and I closed out the night.

DM on the left, players I didn’t know in the center, and one on the right.  The guy in the bright blue shirt in the center?  I killed his character.  Sorry not sorry.

SUNDAY

The next morning, sadly, was the last day of GenCon.  We only had one game scheduled that morning, our second Pathfinder 2 game.  And EVERYONE was gonna be at the game!  

I hadn't even SEEN Gwen or Laura the entire con, and when they arrived at just about the same time Jeremy and I did, we joked that we hadn't believed the others were at the convention.  

We'd hoped that they'd let us put all 7 people at the table (Kirstyn had left late Saturday night to fly home and be at a concert she was playing in.)  They did not.  So we split up "Kids" and "Adults".

Sadly, this didn't work out super well for either table.  Gwen/Brian/Ally's table had a DM they did not enjoy and also a married couple who actually fought with each other uncomfortably at the table(!!).  

We had a good DM, but also an old guy who... I did not like.  At all.  He talked over the DM, even when the DM was explicitly trying to answer a question we'd asked him, things like rules questions on how game mechanics in PF2 had changed from PF1, since, you know, it was a system that had released THREE DAYS AGO.  Also, he was very... helpful... in telling me how skill checks worked and also questioning my decisions on how I was playing my character.  (YES, thanks I did consider carefully before casting Sanctuary on myself, and yes, it WAS THE RIGHT CALL.  I was the only healer in the party and had gargoyles flanking me, THANKS.)

I literally told the guy (as nicely as possible) "Sir, I've been playing RPGs for over twenty years, I'm well aware of how RPGs work, thank you" the second time he told me how skill checks worked as I was adding up my die roll with my skill modifier and took two seconds to do the math. And sure he'd probably been playing for thirty or more but um... I know how to roll a skill check.

After a short break, I told my friends I might need to leave the table.  Instead, Marcus and I switched seats so I wasn't sitting next to him anymore and the DM tried to refocus the game a bit.  It helped me at least.  I just did my best to ignore the guy.  I'm pretty sure he just didn't have the greatest social skills in the world but sometimes my tolerance for people like this can be... low.  His brother was also at the table and seemed okay, at least.  

The game itself was pretty good, ignoring everything having to do with that guy.  After the game the DM thanked me for sticking around and basically empathized that he was getting pretty annoyed, too.  

Not the greatest way to end gaming at the con, but hey, it also could have been worse.  I took pics of that game but decided not to put pics of someone I didn’t like on the internet.

Gwen, Brian and Ally's game ended like 45 minutes before ours (sadly, much to their relief) and they'd left to do one more run through the vendor hall and then left the con to start their drive home.  I had Gwen pick me up a set of dice that... I haven't even seen yet... and they were hella expensive.  I'm kinda feeling buyer's remorse about them right now, I didn't need to spend that much on dice this con but... well, we'll see how I feel when I see them in person.  If I hate 'em, I'll resell 'em.

All weekend long I'd been texting with my BFF from High School's husband, who is also my friend.  He was at the Con as well but doing his own thing and we'd been trying to arrange a meetup.  Well, we finally did it!  He came and saw me, and we hung out for about 45 minutes, just talking about the con, and old times and what we're doing now and the family etc. etc.  So that was great!  I was really glad to see him and catch up.

It’s Richard!

After he left because he had to go help tear down the booth he'd been working at, like the day before, I set up "basecamp" in the same place as before.  I had thought about going back to the vendor hall where Jeremy, Marcus and Laura were, but I'd already sent Jeremy off to ask him to pick me up the one last thing I wanted (the official GenCon dice tray.  I have a Wyrmwood Lacewood dice tray for home use, but wanted a nice travel dice tray.  I had a leather one for Kraken, but I'm real unhappy with Kraken Dice now and wanted something else.  I don’t plan on buying from them ever again in the future.  The official 2019 Gencon tray is very nice, and Jeremy had gotten one the day before, so he picked me up one as well.)

POST-CON

I only had to wait about an hour for the end of the con, and by that time the only ones from our group left were "the adults."  So once we were all gathered back up, the four of us headed out and walked a couple of blocks to a restaurant, which we couldn't get into, so we went to the restaurant next door, the Yard House.  

Wherein we had comically bad service, but they were very nice about it, and also WE were really nice about it, and ended up getting about half our meal comped.  Like our waiter had put in all the drink orders for all his tables to our table, so we had the wrong drinks delivered about five times.  We never got water refills.  Marcus had half a beer spilled on his leg (not even his beer, just another wrongly brought to our table), Laura's Appetizer-as-entree came out as an appetizer.  We asked for more chips for the chips and guac and queso we'd gotten as an app and never got it, etc.  Also while the manager was there assuring us we wouldn't have any more drinks brought to our table we didn't ask for... drinks were brought to our table we didn't ask for.  It was actually hilarious by that point.  

The waiter was brand new (his second day) so we got it.  It was just one of those things.  But they took care of us, we tipped well, it was all OK.

So that was the end of Gencon.  Back at my hotel, which Jeremy and I had long decided we wouldn't stay at again, I'd taken a shower very early Saturday morning after Critical Role.  Sunday morning when I showered again, the water still hadn't drained from the tub(!!) but I was in a hurry and just showered in gross cold water at my feet.  Then told the front desk.

They hadn't even been in my room all day to even clean up the room at all, much less do anything about the bathtub when I got back to my room Sunday night, so I switched rooms.  And then the room next to me had left the alarm clock on, and it went off at 9pm.  And my phone in that room didn't work, so I had to go downstairs a second time to get someone to go shut it off.  Also the AC in that room never turned off, the controls seemed to do nothing, so it was like 60 degrees in there the entire night.  It was actually a relief to leave the hotel the next day.  Next year... we'll pay a little more for a bit nicer hotel.

Annnd.. the next morning Jeremy and I got to the airport early enough, flight was full but not delayed, and had no problems getting home.  Spent most of the day from getting on the plane to going to sleep that night with a massive migraine so I spent the afternoon at home sleeping and drinking lots of water.. but yay... no con crud!

I miss the con, but being back in my own bed with my kitties is all worth it.  Still, I can't wait for Gencon again next year. :D

[elejah-verse]

Always/11

Fanfiction

Part 11

Elijah Mikaelson x reader/Elena Gilbert

ft. Klaroline 

AU TVD/TO story

a/n: and so another story is wrapping up. I thought I write an extra  happy chapter for all the characters. They all suffered a lot in this story.

 Thanks so much for reading. I really hope you have enjoyed it. xoxo

Spring is in the air and I feel all romantic. LOL 

warning: fluff and the Mikaelson family happiness 

tags @rissyrapp20 @dendrite-lover @cassienoble2000 @captainshurley @goddessofthunder112 @elejahforever @idkhaylijah @hides2000

__________________

A month later

Elijah and Y/N/E laid in bed looking at the first baby scan-

"Tiny little fusion of you and me"- Y/N/E said.

"Our little sweetheart"- Elijah said.

"I feel happy - and maybe it's crazy to think this way but I feel like him or her we lost sent us this baby"- -Y/N/E said tearing up.

"Him or her will always be in our hearts'- Elijah said.

"Yes, always, now dancing with the angels."- Y/N/E said then turning to Elijah looking at him seriously-

"Last night- I went through one of my drawers in the walk-in and found this key"

Y/N/E got up and now showed Elijah the unusual key.

"This is from a deposit box"- Elijah said.

"Do I have a deposit box? Probably, ha? Can't remember. You know that still have bits missing in my head"- Y/N/E continued-"but why would I keep it in a drawer full of sports socks? Completely at the back of it?"

"I really don't know"- Elijah then said-"it really doesn't makes sense-"

"We can find out, can't we?"- Y/N/E said.

"Of course. I will get one of my friends tell me what bank it is"- Elijah took the key.

"Ok. Do that first thing tomorrow, now kiss me - us- and let's get some sleep. Rebekah is coming over and we are going through the whole ideas  she has done for the vows-renewal ceremony"

"Good luck"- Elijah joked a little bit.

"I know."- Y/N/E smiled kissing him.

Flashback

A week or so previously

Rebekah met Y/N/E for lunch

"Elijah told me that you two are renewing your vows. How come I didn't get this from you?"- Rebekah shot at Y/N/E as she sat down at the table.

"Because- ahm- we don't want anything big- just family"- Y/N/E to be diplomatic and cursed Elijah a tiny little bit for having slipped it to his sister.

"Oh no. Last time you eloped. This time you have to give us a bit more."

"Ok. Semi-big then, but really just family and closest friends. Deal?"- Y/N/E said.

"Hm-"- Rebekah let out and she knew that Y/N/E made sense-" we have a deal!"

"Anyway you'll get to have a grand thing yourself"- Y/N/E then said.

"What? Me? Please, like that is ever going to happen-"- Rebekah sighed a bit.

"I thought that things between Stefan and you are really going good."

"They are- but we are like thousand years from a proposal. Not everyone is like you and Elijah."

"I've seen the way he looks at you. He is a keeper"- Y/N/E said.

"Really- he looks at me dreamy?"- Rebekah asked as if she was a fifteen year old girl not really sure if her boyfriend was that into her.

"Duh"- Y/N/E replied.

"You're not just telling me to make me feel better"- Rebekah carried on with her insecurities. She was only like that when love was the topic.

"Please! I am serious about stuff like that. Now, show me what you got."

"Right."- Rebekah said filled with special energy-"you have got to have a designer dress. Here are some suggestions. Don't look at me like that. It will be three months after you give birth. You will fit in easily with all the yoga you are doing and healthy food you're eating" **** After Kol was released from the hospital, he and Sophie moved in with his father and mother, as he still had not recovered fully. Everyone was proud of his decision even though they have scolded him a bit since it was a dangerous thing. Jeremy's killers were charged and they had enough evidence to put them away for a long time. Mikael and Esther, as well as the others were ecstatic to find out that there was another Mikaelson baby on the way. 

The Mikaelsons had officially invited the Gilberts to a dinner to something that resembled a miniture peace conference that had Y/N/E and Elijah as mediators and the uniting force with a little help of their now joint therapist Camille. Another huge revelation came a day before the dinner as Miranda needed Y/N/E to know that she was her and Greyson's adoptive child. Camille found that Y/N/E had the strength to face all and it was important as the process of putting the past where it belonged.

"We don't know who your father was."- Miranda said-"I couldn't get pregnant and so we decided to adopt. The only thing we knew was that your mother was a sixteen year old girl, who was a runaway."

Y/N/E would lie if she said that it didn't matter, but with Elijah by her side and Camille's excellent guidance, she had all the support to process everything. And she poured a lot of her 'processing stuff' into her art, which was also a great theraputic vessel.

She had also changed the location of her attelier. Only a block away from their home, an celler apartment was transformed into her attelier. As Elijah asked what it was going to be she only said that she was inspired by Alice's adventures.

*** The last puzzle to solve was the key of a deposit box.

Flashback

A few days before Jeremy's death

Y/N/E rang Jeremy to come to her house to talk. It was her zillionth attempt to get through him even though she knew that she might not succeed. She prepared lunch for them.

"Hey sis, something really smells good, but will it taste good"- Jeremy snarked a bit as he got in.

"Stuffed tomatoes- the way you like them"- Y/N/E replied.

"Right. What is this about?"- Jeremy asked as they got in the kitchen.

"Does it have to be about anything? I haven't seen you properly in ages. I thought I'd see you at mom and dad's anniversary party- but you bailed. Mom was really sad"

"Please- with all those hypocrites hanging about I really was not in the mood. I got them a present and saw them two days after  - and no biggy"- Jeremy said.

"But still. Anyway, I need to  finish the sauce. Can you pass the wine - the south- american merlot."

"Ok. I need to swing to the bathroom"- Jeremy said,  got the wine and went out the kitchen. But, before the bathroom he went to Y/N/E’s walk-in wardrobe and hid the key in the drawer.

At the bank as they finally found out what deposit box it was for, they also found out it was Jeremy's.  After getting the approval to open the deposit box they found large amounts of money.

Y/N/E looked at it as if hypnotized, at first not saying anything. Elijah was fuming inside of him, but had to keep his cool as he didn't want to upset Y/N/E further.

"You know - huh- I can't believe it. Why? Huh- why was he like that? We have done nothing but love him. He had everything. Good education. A good beginning. And he just didn't care about anything or anyone"- and Y/N/E threw the box full of the dirty money up in the air, and the dollar bills flew all over the place.

Elijah jumped immediately down to her as she was sitting in the chair gently taking her by the arms- "Darling, look at me."

Y/N/E was crying-" Why?"- she muttered.

"There is no plausible answer. Some people get consumed with the darkness and - just can't get out of it - unfortunately. "

Y/N/E knew it. She tried to understand it so many times and had always hit the dead end. Elijah gave her a comforting hug.

At home Y/N/E wrote in her diary-

"Walking through Wonderland sometimes feels like you will get squashed by a giant pumpkin or open a door and slip into abyss and think you will never stop falling and hit something hard, but then you have a cat appear out of the woods bandiging your wound. There are days of colorful charades and dreamy Balls or at the turn of the clock they become a place of the darkest horror as everyone turns into zombies or leeching vampires. And then the clock strikes twelve and a prince grabs your hand or in my case a very handsome viking and kisses me like noone before making my heart accelerate to cloud eleven. Why eleven, I don't know. But I bet there is cloud eleven. Just like magic I am flying free.

And no matter what the weather we can do it better, with you and me together forever and ever... with clear heart and courage. Always."

××× In the weeks tha followed Y/N/E had her first exhibition after the accident,  She called it Walking through Wonderland. 

__________

Three months later

"Rebekah, can you please pick the cake up and take to the penthouse. I am still at the gallery. I've just spoken to him and he is mad that he had to stay longer at work."- Y/N/E said to her sister-in-law.

"I can't believe we made my father in on the whole surprise party thing. So, Elijah still thinks we are just meeting for drinks?"- Rebekah said.

"Yeah. I will then call him and say that I need picking up from the house. "- Y/N/E said-"I got to go- see you there in an hour." 

Flashback 

Couple of weeks ago

Rebekah met Y/N/E in her studio- "What's so urgent? Don't tell me you scraping the whole thing- cos I will not let you. The designer dresses are ordered"

"I called you about something else"- Y/N/E said-"I want to do something special for Elijah's birthday. He doesn't want anything particular. But I want to do something a little bit particular. It is his 40th."

"You want to do a surprise party!"- Rebekah said.

"Yeah, let's. He has been so wonderful throughout it all. I want to make it memorable.  Let's do his favourite food, his favourite everything, music, cheese-cake."

"You-"- Rebekah added.

Y/N/E chuckled a bit to the comment-"so, will you help me?"

"What are you talking about, of course, I will help you, duh! My company just won best party organizers of the decade!"

"I know, but you got so much work plus Stefan"- Y/N/E said.

"Talk about Stefan, I need to cancel our trip to New Orleans"

"Why? Not because of this? Don't."

"He will understand. I am helping a pregnant woman."- Rebekah said.

"No. This is your week away with a guy that you will marry- don't. I will manage."

"What do you mean - marry? Do you know something?"

"Oh, shoot"- Y/N/E said spoiling the surprise Stefan had installed for Rebekah.

"He is going to propose?"- Rebekah was out of her breath.

"Well, Bonnie heard him talk to Damon about - how you're the one!"- Y/N/E tried to wriggle her way out of it.

"But that doesn't mean he is going to propose? It's mad anyway, we've been together three months! This can't be right!"

"It is!"- Y/N/E said-"ok, Bonnie said he got a ring. So, don't go spoiling it. And act surprised."

Y/N/E finally caved in.

"Really?"- Rebekah was completely taken.

"Promise to be surprised"- Y/N/E said.

Days that followed, Rebekah was exercising patience, but it was the hardest thing to do. She even succumbed to look into the chest of drawers one night she stayed over at Stefan's while he was in the shower. but she didn't find it.

A day before the trip as she had breakfast with Y/N/E and Elijah, her brother asked her why she was on edge joking -

"Taking a whole week of work- how will you survive?"

"It's not that."- Rebekah blasted.

Elijah was surprised at her explosive reaction -" Am I missing something here? You are going on a romantic get-away and it's like you're going for torture?"

Rebekah sighed now telling him about Stefan's probable proposal.

"Oh?"- Elijah looked at Y/N/E who nodded and then told him how the whole probable thing came about.

"And you're a wreck cos you don't want to marry him?"- Elijah was confused.

"I do. I just can't wait for the thing happening- the proposal, I mean. And what if he doesn't do it there. You shouldn't have told me"- Rebekah said getting up-"got to go. Later-"

Rebekah left and Elijah remarked- "I've never seen her so stressed- and this is supposed to be about a good thing?"

"She is really in love with him. And yeah, I shouldn't have told her anything. It just slipped. Bonnie and I just talked and we got to the topic of true love and how she and Damon started off bickering when they met in college and turned to be OTL and Stefan could not find anyone, going from one relationship to another, just like Rebekah."

"I am glad for Rebekah. Yeah, she is really in love. Acting like a teenager. What's OTL?"- Elijah now asked .

"One true love"- Elena explained-"you're my OTL"- she came around the hub to him and kissed him. "You're my OTL, too"- Elijah said caressing her hair as he now kissed her back.

And Stefan did propose. Rebekah was bursting with happiness sending a photo to everyone in the family. 

___                       

Y/N/E got to the apartment carrying a little box. Everyone had already been there. Except for Elijah and his father.

As she got to the living room, she saw Rebekah telling everyone where they should stand.

Y/N/E greeted her guests putting her present on the sideboard.

Rebekah now turned to her-

"Ah, you're here. Ok. Will you go and change? I will help you. Father just called and they will soon be on their way"- Rebekah said to Y/N/E, who nodded and they went up to her walk-in together.

As she had a quick shower and changed, she made a call to Elijah.

"Hey, baby-" -Y/N/E said-"I just got in, and I need to change. Could you please come and get me. I don't really want to get a taxi"

Elijah would never refuse her, especially now that she was pregnant. And so they were on their way to the apartment.

To make the ruse complete, Mikael said he would wait for them in the car.

Elijah went up and got into the apartment.

"Y/N/E?"- he called  putting his bag on the chair and heard her say -"living room"

Elijah walked in and everyone shouted -"Happy birthday" - together with Y/N/E, who walked over to him smiling happily.

He was taken aback just looking at everyone wide-eyed. Mikael was there then as well.

"Happy birthday!"- Y/N/E said once again.

"Wow- I- "

Rebekah now passed on a glass of champagne to him and a non-alcoholic cocktail to Sophie and Y/N/E then let her take center stage.

Y/N/E now stood in front of Elijah, her gleaming eyes looking at him, watering a little-

"Elijah - my love - you have been there for all of us at one time or the other and you have been giving and giving and we wanted- I wanted you to know that you are so appreciated and loved- so just wanted to do something special - to always remember"

They all raised a glass to him.

"What can I say- thank you- so much. This is great- really is"

Y/N/E then gave him the gift. He unwrapped it and there was a watch with the engraving 

                       He embraced her dearly and kissed her.

Then there was cake cutting, buffet, more cocktails, music and dance.

I can hear her heartbeat for a thousand miles And the heavens open every time she smiles When I come to her That's where I belong

She gives me love love love Crazy love 

_____________

Time passed by, as it does, and they all continued with their lives in a positive way, never to forget the difficulties of the past supporting one another as best as they could.

This whole ordeal Y/N/E, Elijah, Kol went through made them appreciate so much more what they had, the people that were around them, old friends and new, especially their loved ones.

"So, what are you doing today?"- Elijah asked his wife as he brought the breakfast at the terrace where Y/N/E tried to make herself comfortable on the lounge sofa. She was now in her ninth month and her delivery date was just a few days ahead. Sophie was no better. Kol was as much as Elijah, a dotting father-to-be, fulfilling any craving Sophie had.

"Rebekah, Sophie, Bonnie and Caroline are coming over for late lunch and the double baby shower. There is nothing much I can do. My feet are swollen, my back hurts, I am big as a whale. I need a distraction."

"I thought you will not do the baby shower till after the baby comes-"- Elijah said helping Y/N/E sit more comfortably.

"I need something happening- so I told Rebekah yes to the baby shower and only the six of us. We will make a huge party for both our and Kolphie’s baby after."- Y/N/E explained.

"You are really getting into the party thing-"- Elijah remarked.

"Yeah- after everything we've all been through- why not? Why shouldn't we party? Let's celebrate life"

"You're right"- Elijah said smiling at her and now offered to give her a foot massage.

"Oh, thank you"- Y/N/E said happily-"I knew now why I married you"

"Now you know?"- Elijah teased her a little.

"You are the best foot massager  in the world"- Y/N/E said-"I mean- it is your hands that are just -oh- this soo gooood"

Elijah was happy seeing her relaxing. His soul whispered a little thanks  to the Universe for giving him precious moments like these, moments that at one time he thought would might never be.

"Did I tell you lately how happy I am?"- Elijah then said.

"No. But you don't have to tell me"- Y/N/E said-"I see it. Feel it"

"Well, I think I should say it anyway. "

"Of course, you should. We deserve a little happy"- Y/N/E remarked.

"We do, don't we?"

The way he said underlined a little bit of scared to be really happy and Y/N/E now reached to him with stretching his hand out to him to come closer to her.

Elijah immediately moved to assist her as he thought she needed him to help her get up or something and she pulled him towards her pouting a little, which meant she wanted  a kiss. And he kissed her dearly.  

"It will all be fine"- she said to him-" we deserve more than just a little happy."

He nodded and now kissed her again. 

"Anyone home?"- they heard Rebekah shout out all of a sudden.

They both moved as if they were caught in an inappropriate moment with Elijah shouting back that they are up on the terrace. 

"She has to return the key"- Elijah then said and Y/N/E nodded saying in a whisper- "You will tell her!"

Elijah made a face like can you not do it?- and Y/N/E shook her head saying in a very low voice- "You will have to- "

What it was they both felt like they would be hurting her feelings, as Rebekah has been there for both of them whenever they needed her and she had this exclusive right to come and go as she pleased. 

"Hi. Ok. I know I am early, but I got here with all the stuff ready and well, wanted to sit down with you, too for a little chat."

Both Y/N/E and Elijah knew that there was some kind of drama coming out and they were not wrong-

"Right. I will say it - Stefan has asked me to move in with him"

"And that is bad because?"- Elijah reacted immediately.

Rebekah now sighed-"It is bad because- well- I love my place- and- you know-"- Rebekah now looked at Y/N/E for a comment and support.

"And you don't like his place? And here goes tricky- how to tell him you want to but not really, but he should move into your place!"- Y/N/E said and Elijah was now looking at both of them like- I don't see a problem or drama here.

"You wouldn't get it anyway"- Rebekah shot at her brother-"you two never had this problem- you got together- got engaged- eloped and got to - well- you started living here like it was a normal thing."

"It was easy"- Y/N/E said-"Elijah's bachelor pad was too bachelor and had loads of bachelor history- plus- I never brought anyone here, except for him."

"You're not making it easier"- Rebekah moaned.

"You will either have to tell him you don't wanna move with him or ask him to move in with you!"- Elijah then said.

"What if he says no and then everything gets awkward and I lose him?"- Rebekah went on.

This was a cue for Elijah to leave as he knew Rebekah was going to grind about this particular thing forever.

He kissed Y/N/E goodbye and told his sister that she should not overthink too much.

"He doesn't get anything"- Rebekah remarked as Elijah walked away.

"Ok. Do you want to hear what I think"- Y/N/E then said.

"Yes. Shoot"- Rebekah said.

Y/N/E then laid out her thoughts in a very diplomatic way. 

__

Elsewhere, Caroline and Klaus were on the phone to one another as Caroline slipped very early out of his apartment as she had to go to her place to change and then to the studio to meet the new co-anchor and talk about how they would do the show.

"I think it's time you brought some stuff over to my apartment"- Klaus said.

"How romantic"- Caroline remarked.

"I thought you were a very pragmatic person. You told me to do any extravagant- no crazy gifts. I am just being practical. How many times did you have to get up at five to get to go to your place etc"- Klaus retorted.

"I don't know how we always wind up in your place, so, I have no other choice"

"Let's make a choice then"- Klaus said.

"What would that be?"- Caroline asked chuckling a bit.

"Marry me and everything is solved."- Klaus said.

"What did you just say?"- Caroline was stunned.

"What part?"- Klaus played innocent.

"The marry me part!"- Caroline said.

"Ah, that. Yes. Marry me"- he said.

"You are not serious?"

"I am very serious."- Klaus said and by the tone of his voice it was clear to Caroline that he really meant it.

She went quiet- in her head a little trailer rushed through beginning with their first meeting and to that very phone call.    

"Caroline?"- she could hear Klaus now on the other line bringing her back to reality- and she replied-

"I- did you have to ask me over the phone?"- Caroline was miffed.

Klaus now knew that he had messed up. But, as always knew way out of it- "Well- you hate all OTT stuff, so I thought if I do it in a casual way - this 8s the way to go"

"Seriously?"- Caroline said slightly annoyed.

"No"- Klaus admitted-"it just came out"

"It came out?"

"Yes. I had no plan, but I want to marry you. You are the one for me, my southern belle. You have been from day one!"

Caroline was left speechless, and that was a rare thing.

"I have to go. I'll see you later"- Caroline eventually said and hang up.

_____________________________________

[scorpio-karma]

Unnecessary Drama TVD 2x17 Review

I guess this could be the title of the show, but feel this is especially true with this episode because right from the jump things are dramatic and I don't understand why starting with Jenna.  

Okay so since I haven’t been watching this consistently so I might have missed some context clues but rage and betrayal???? Rage and betrayal about what Jenna? Like, I understand being mad that they kept it from her but other than that am I missing something for this dramatic reaction to Isobel just saying hi. Have they been lying about something she knows about now to build up to this point, but even if so I don’t understand this dramatic reaction. Fundamentally I know why she’s being like this, the writers needed an excuse to send Jenna away. However with in the context of the plot it makes absolutely no sense and makes her seem childish in ways she’s not supposed to.   

And Elena, I guess I should be proud since she's never seemed more like a teenager than now, but blaming John for this. What even logic? Does she remember the argument she had a few episodes ago with Stefan about getting Isobel and they ended up with John TO GET TO ISOBEL. Looks like you're boyfriend's plan worked. Now I'm not advocating that she be mad at Stefan but you want to be irrationally mad why not direct it at the right person. All John has done since getting to town is protect his daughter which frustrated me whenever she'd tell him "not after everything you've done" WHAT HAS HE DONE? Someone sincerely answer that question because I'm drawing a blank. It's crap like this that fuels the mentality this fandom has of "you're mean to my favorite character so your a bad person" because if Elena, the character the writers are so keen on me caring about, does this why would the fandom be better. So he tried to kill Stefan and Damon, his logic of protecting Elena still stands since they haven’t really done anything worthy of “I’m different” in terms of vampires. 

Also, you know the more I rewatch this the more and more sympathetic I am towards John, and he seems more and more sincere. While I didn’t hate him in my first watch I was always suspicious of him and that’s because the characters of the show build this suspicion around him. Now knowing his endgame as a character I don’t buy into this suspicion anymore because he has always been honest and sincere about his motives as character and they never involve harming other people. He spent his who existence on making sure his daughter had a good life, he wasn’t about to let two vampires she “loved” ruin that. Granted not all teenagers are clueless and not all adults are always right, but in this instance teenage girl is clueless and needs to listen to the actual adults. 

I've never really realized how little I care about Alaric and Jenna as a couple until episodes like these. He really never seems like he cares about her that much until he's about to lose her which is a red flag in my book. And I guess that makes sense since there was really nothing to hold the ship together, it was just "you're attractive" and "you're attractive" and nothing went beyond that. They never had a deep connection and it shows in moments like these where he doesn't care about her unless he's about to lose her. 

Ford product placement. I know I sound like the CinemaSins guy but they are really not subtle about this. It doesn't actually surprise me much since when I used to watch it weekly back in the day I remember them doing this often especially with songs but it was always with the car. Before it was Bonnie's Prius other than that I don't remember what the car was I just remember "hey this is a great song" and then the network notified you what the song was playing. Product Placement! With this episode in particular it really bothered me with how they shot it because it pans to the rear of the car, shows the license plate, then like shows her in the car, and they make it seem really eerie like she's about to get run into, or someone is watching her but neither are happening it's just Ford product placement. It was like, thank you for this unnecessary scene and this unnecessary shot to please your sponsors.  

For all of Carol Lockwood's failings I'll give her this: she notices when her kid is it's missing which is more than I can say for most of the adult characters here. Did Jenna really even notice when they sent Jeremy away? I don't recall the Sheriff being all that interested in where Caroline was for those days she was with Damon? I guess she wasn't gone because they hid out at her place but seriously how didn't she notice anything going on with her daughter then? And Jenna literally ups and leaves when she feels like it.  It's what made her death actually sad—her love for her son which I'm glad for since TVD does such a bad job with familial bonds, but she is the only character besides John to seem like an actual parent. 

I still don't understand why Jeremy is there. Like I always knew he was third wheeling it on their plans every time I guess it was nice it was always about Bonnie but other than that I was like, dude you have no function, what are you doing here? I mean I guess Damon doesn't really need to be there, actually no, scratch that, he was needed to find the place and then after that he leaves which is what Jeremy should have of done.  

Which idiot hid the moonstone? I bet it was Damon, but I don't understand why he has it when Lucy gave it to Bonnie. Like I said I haven't been watching consistent enough, the episode this occurs I watched over a year ago but I don't remember Bonnie giving Damon or any Salvatore the moonstone. And can we talk about how lame the name is "moonstone" it gets more and more ridiculous the more everyone says it. It sounds like something written by a child. But serious I get he was going for “in plain sight” but the bathroom which is frequented by many people including one you let in who you don’t trust. Y’all shoulda left that with Bonnie who could at least seal it in a place with magic.   

Why are Bonnie and the Bennett’s the only one to be put through pain, like they're the only ones to have horrific deaths, and even worse, why do her ancestors insist on putting her through more pain?  

I thought it couldn't get more cringe worthy than when Damon was essentially reciting his lines earlier about trying to save Emily, but dear lord Matt. He doe not do anger well, he looks like someone told him, now, be mad, and gave the director the best he could muster up which isn't great. But he did better with the deception, even though I knew where it was going I doubted myself for a moment and thought maybe he was sincere. And his conversation about Caroiline with her mother saying “I think she died” while was actually very touching also just reminded me of the many times Bonnie died and it’s never confronted but Caroline, who I’ve noted on many occasions is barely relevant to the plot, has this confronted multiple times and she only died once. Just saying--this blatant favoritism toward Caroline that tends to always result in Bonnie being treated less than human gets on my nerves so much I can’t even enjoy what would otherwise be a great scene.    

I've seen a weird amount of hate for Isobel which I find weird. Not because she's a good character or anything, but because of how much of a blimp she is on anyone's radar. Even her actions compared to the others are so small. There could have been a nuance to her character and to a degree it's there because her motives were clearly protect Elena, but beyond that she was always kind of lackluster. Also added with Nina’s acting, or lack there of, when she dies in front of her just makes me even more confused as to why anyone cared enough to hate her. Even when Elena is saying she’s sad I can barely believe it because well Nina doesn’t sound sad when she’s saying those line, she just sounds like she always does which is why always found it hard to empathize with her in the beginning of the show. The only reason I knew she was sad about her parent death was because she said it, there was nothing that really emoted this feeling. If she can barely muster up feelings of grief how am I supposed to even sympathize about it. That just distanced me from feeling like they were real people that were in her life, and just made them random fictional characters to add a tragic backstory. It’s really no wonder why I never really cared about Elena from the start.

"If you use to much power you die," how doesn't anyone else already know this? That's literally what killed her Grams which brings me to Bonnie, she always knew this, saw it happen, but why is she so keen repeating history. If she truly believes her powers are meant for more then she should probably know that they were meant for more than saving Elena’s life. But of course this is The Elena Diaries so that’s never going to happen. Instead we’re going to have Bonnie’s mother risk her life and leave her daughter all to protect Elena, because that makes a lick of sense. 

Bonnie their secret weapon, nothing has ever been more cringe worthy. Seriously watching Damon and Stefan discuss Bonnie like she’s an object they possess has never sat well with me. This is again one of those moments where I can’t get on board with Stefan as a character because he isn’t better, he’s just better than Damon and in this moment he’s proving to be the exact same as Damon if not worse because he’s the first to note this--he was the one to look back at the situation and point her out as their object leading the conversation there.

Klaus in Alaric’s body, you know I always felt he did possession bad especially in season 3, he just seemed like a creep and not in the way he was supposed to, but here he did an exceptional job. I almost wish Joseph Morgan had taken more cues from his portrayal because he managed to get the “ancient being” in his voice and mannerisms better. It’s like with JM they just told him “be British and use Shakespearean English” and called it a day. I’m not saying I didn’t like JM version of Klaus, but it’s clear where they started going wrong with this character. With the way Alaric is portraying him he is the most intimidating he’s ever been and that’s because everything built around him is actually living up to the hype. The show later just paints him as a whiny man with daddy issues and no real goals because trust me his plans get ridiculous after that and they dropped pretty much everything about Klaus from season 2. I probably would have enjoyed Klaus more if he had stayed this version, or at the very least did something worth while because I think we can all agree that the hybrid subplot was just a complete mess and pretty much marks when Plec took over as show runner because she has never been able to see the full picture. She just writes as she goes and hopes they connect at some point. psss, they never do.

Overall the episode was frustrating, but every episode is which is why I have to have at least two drinks before watching. Which I honestly don’t know why I do. I got drunk for the finale and that didn’t make anything seem even the slightest bet better, so why would it now. However in my defense, the finale is a complete incomprehensible mess so nothing was going to make it better in the first place.

[theprocrastinatingalien]

Looking towards Avengers 4 (with major Infinity War spoilers)

I'm aware that this might come across as negative, so I need to get something out there immediately... I absolutely loved AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR.  I thought it was epic, and in the same way that THE AVENGERS shouldn't have worked, it totally did.  Bringing all those characters together and it not being a shambles. I've always had faith in Marvel and (in particular) the MCU... all in all INFINITY WAR is a triumph.  My excitement for AVENGERS 4 is on overload already.

The second (and much better) ANT-MAN AND THE WASP trailer has just been released, and early next year we get to meet CAPTAIN MARVEL.  That's all exciting stuff, but AVENGERS 4... that's where we've heading to.  Kevin Feige has stated that there will be a line drawn for the fans... everything before AVENGERS 4, and everything after it. 

That's something to remember when discussing AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, because whilst it feels like everything has been leading to THAT film, that's not true, it's next year's outing that really is - as Doctor Strange would say - the endgame.

It's impossible to look towards AVENGERS 4 without  talking about INFINITY WAR, of course.... especially as, well, it killed off a lot of it's characters.  I'm not about to review the film, but we HAVE to talk about the deaths.   They're very important.

Marvel have always, seemingly, been afraid to kill off major characters.  One-off villains, sure.  The odd supporting character, maybe.  But the big players?  Not so much.  During the first two phases of the MCU, the biggest death is arguably Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) in AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON.  Sadly, the death is underwhelming because... we've only just met him.  Barring a tease at the end of a previous movie, the 'twins' were only properly introduced in the film that offed him, so we can't possibly care as much as if, say one of the originals had died instead.  A lot of people thought Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) might bite the dust, and that would've meant more, certainly.  Quicksilver it was though.   Then phase three happened - would things change?  A little bit, and not at first.  Personally I was disappointed with CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, as it was a film I went in absolutely expecting the exit of a known character.  The comic book source suggested a death should happen, and really if it wasn't known that Chris Evans had more films on his slate I would've really expect Captain America to be a goner.  Knowing that wouldn't happen I expected someone in his place.   The closest we come is (Don Cheadle's) War Machine's plummet. It's dramatic... but it's not a death and it is sadly completely signposted in the trailers.

I've made my peace with CIVIL WAR though, and moved on from my initial disappointment to regard it as one of my favourite movies in the franchise. Since then, Marvel have seemingly cottoned on to the fact that - as much as we don't want to see our favourites die - it needs to happen if the audiences are to believe the jeopardy of the situations the characters are in.  In GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2 director/writer James Gunn chose to kill off Yondu (Michael Rooker).  It's actually a powerful moment, and whilst Yondu is hardly a core member of the group, it's affecting enough.   THOR: RAGNAROK took it further... with half the cast of the previous films not returning anyway (Foster, Selvig, Darcy and Sif all missing), the devastation across Asgard at the hands of Hela (Cate Blanchett) sees off Volstagg, Fandral, Hogun, with Odin (Anthony Hopkins) having his swansong earlier in the film.  It's enough.  True none of the 'crossover' characters get taken out... but RAGNAROK does run straight into INFINITY WAR as the fleeing Asgardian race come face to to face with Thanos' ship.

That's precisely where we start INFINITY WAR too.   Whilst some characters are questionably missing - Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie and rock dude Korg for example - those we do see aren't around for long.   The Asgardian bodies are scattered, and the first 'proper' death of film is Idris Elba's Heimdall.  He bifrosts the Hulk to Earth and in doing so is killed by Thanos (Josh Brolin).  Thor (Chris Hemsworth - in his biggest, most important role during an Avengers outing) is shocked, but the bigger shock comes when Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is throttled to death.  Okay, for some of the audience I don't think this is as big a shock as it is for Thor, but it means a lot.  Loki has been a favourite with the fans, especially the favourite villain in the MCU, and whilst I've seen some bemoan a wasted death, I think it's perfect for the film. Loki IS  a villain, and the 'bigger' deaths need to be reserved for the heroes.

Gamora.  That's a big death, which actually guides the film to it's conclusion.  Zoe Saldana's green assassin plays such an important role.... it is sad when Thanos sacrifices her for the soul stone... but again, I'm sure we saw it coming.  ONE of the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY had to be offed. As the story unfolds, it makes sense that Gamora is the one.... and if it's a permanent death it's going make a big hole in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3!  She's the lead female after all.  But her death works... and, let's be honest, it's the effect on Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) that stops Iron Man and Spider-Man succeeding in getting the gauntlet off of Thanos, which could have won everything there and then.

We then have Vision (Paul Bettany).  He dies twice.   Once at the hands of Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) to save half the universe... and once by Thanos to destroy it.  Those deaths all have a lot of weight to them for varying degrees and reasons.  Heimdall is the first notable death, Loki a god, Gamora a guardian and Vision an android who probably could've been the saviour of the universe had his head not been a target.

Thanos then clicks his fingers.  A simple act, that has devastating consequences. Half the life in the universe gets wiped out - including half of our heroes.  Bucky, Falcon, Black Panther, Groot, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Drax, Mantis, Maria Hill, Nick Fury and Doctor Strange.  They all... disappear.  It's has a massive impact  The bad guy won.  The good guys lost.  The last shot of the film is Thanos smiling.   The credits are black and sombre.  At the very end we're normally told that our heroes will return... but we're not... instead we're told that Thanos will return.

It's a shock.

Until you think about it. 

If AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR was the last film of the phase, then the impact would be astounding, but we know AVENGERS 4 is now a year away. When the third phase was announced, a two-parter was announced - AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR PART 1 & PART 2.  Since then, the writers and directors have tried to undo that.  INFINITY WAR has now 'part one' attached, and the title to the follow up is still a secret.  We've been told that the film is very different to the one we've seen, but the title is technically a spoiler, so they chose to withhold it so audiences could concentrate on the movie at hand.

Having seen INFINITY WAR (and I'll state again - I loved it) I really wouldn't be surprised if the title for the next film ends up simply being AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR VOL 2.   I can't see how it's not a simple 'second part'.  Thanos smiling at the end of this movie might as well have had the words 'to be continued' written across it.

And the more I think about those deaths at the end, the more it bugs me. Why?  Because it's the wrong characters that died.   That might sound like a silly statement, but stick with me here... look at the list again.... in particular, Black Panther, Doctor Strange... Spider-Man... almost all of the Guardians.   They're all characters that will DEFINITELY be back.  Next year sees the sequel to SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING.  The year after, we have GUARIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3, and let's be honest, there's no way we're not getting a DOCTOR STRANGE 2 or  BLACK PANTHER 2.  Most of the characters (barring Maria Hill and Nick Fury) are phase 2 or 3 characters, and will have their place amongst phase 4.

Who are we left with?  Iron Man, Thor, Dr Banner, Steve Rogers, Black Widow, War Machine, Nebula, Okoye, Rocket and M'Baku.  These are the characters we'll be following into the next movie - what's odd about that is, except for the last few names on the list - these are the guys who are moving on.  Robert Downey Jr was the first guy we ever saw in this franchise.  Chris Evans has publically said he's done, and Chris Hemsworth's arc seems largely done now.    I'm going to come back to this.   This is important.  Right now, I'm going to start looking at what I know/suspect about AVENGERS 4...

CLINT BARTON, ANT-MAN, WASP and CAPTAIN MARVEL

These four are joining the action.   No question.   There's been a lot of upset that Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) was absent from the marketing, but that's simply because he wasn't in the film.  They probably could've shoehorned him into it they wanted, he could've shot lots of arrows in the Wakanda fight... but he's been saved for something bigger.   The on-set photos of him seem to suggest Clint is now going by the name Ronin.  I assume this is because, whilst he was keeping away from the Avengers to keep his family safe, his family then disappeared with Thanos' click.   He probably blames himself.  Maybe an extra pair of hands could've helped save the day?  With so many characters now taken out of action, I reckon Barton (whatever his moniker) will have a major role to play in the next movie.  Likewise, Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly and Brie Larson get to tag in... with Ant-Man (also noted to be missing from IW) Wasp and Captain Marvel (both ladies kept back until their superhero statues had been revealed officially in their respective movies) coming in the kick ass.  Captain Marvel even gets a tease in the post credits as Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) sends her an emergency message).  She's likely to play a key part too, as she's be noted to be the most powerful of all the heroes.

And it's now I need to go back to my feeling that they've killed off the wrong characters.  You see, think about this... as it stands, with the deaths we've have, we known it's all going to get undone.  We know things are going to be sorted to some degree.   But now switch it.   Imagine the characters that died at the end were Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hulk, Rocket, Nebula, War Machine... would we be so certain things would be undone?  Knowing certain contracts were at the end, others happy to leave... and imagine also, that first battle in New York, but with all the new guys - Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Spider-Man, the Guardians... all joining in what was already an brilliant cinematic scene.   How great would that money shot be - you know the one, with the six Avengers in a circle together for the first time, but now bolstered by added Ant-Man, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel...

I just wonder if the writers have missed a trick.  Because we do, really know things are going to be okay.  But we return to that feeling that a lot of these deaths in this movie were for shock value only, they will be undone.  Maybe not for EVERYONE, but mostly.  It also makes us wonder... is Vision gone?  Will Gamora, and maybe even Loki rise from their graves?  Hell, will the reset button go so far back that even the likes of Quicksilver and all over Asgard come back?

I think what we will see, is the original gang lay down their lives to bring all those characters back.  Going back in time might not actually be the big finale, it might be second act action leaving into a third act where Thanos joins forces with the Avengers against... a Gauntlet wielding Nebula (Karen Gillan's character does get to do that in the comic, and she's still around) or a different character... maybe the Skrulls will appear?  (I don't think that's the case though).

Whilst I am, I guess, disappointed with who they killed off, I do believe we'll have a cracking end to the three phases of the MCU.  I do believe that it'll end the franchise as we know - as certain characters will be leaving us, and there'll undoubtedly be a lump in the throat as they do.   Whilst a lot of the characters will (probably) be missing for large portion of the film, I do believe - if Sebastian Stan can be believed - there'll be the biggest 'money shot' we've seen - with more characters than we've ever seen, including characters like Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) coming into the mix somehow.

Whatever AVENGERS 4 has in store, I am so excited.  This will most definitely not be my last post n the matter.  There's so much to look forward to... what we already know, and all the stuff we haven't got a clue about!

[sorenthelegend]

Some thoughts on Evita

So tonight I saw the West End Tour of Evita at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow, and I decided to write some of the things I liked about it so enjoy 😂☺️

Kellie Gnauck was amazing as Evita - her voice had a beautiful quality to it, being both powerful but also very light and gentle as required. Particularly towards the end, she was so emotional and raw, and she brought me close to tears

Gian Marco Schiaretti was a perfect Che - even from as far back as I was sitting his facial expressions told exactly how the character was feeling at every given moment. I also loved the way he interacted with the ensemble, particularly during Another Suitcase in Another Hall (he protected the mistress from the advances of the other soldiers, standing up to one of them in particular and it was so attractive) His voice was absolutely stellar, especially during And The Money Kept Rolling In (and Out)

Jeremy Secomb was a good Perón, particularly during the finale (his broken “so what happens now?” made me cry)

Cristina Hoey was brilliant in Another Suitcase in Another Hall (which is my favourite song), her voice was very youthful and she acted the part perfectly, very sad and resigned after Eva’s harsh words (side note: given that this is the first time I’ve seen it live I hadn’t heard that little joining section before, and it really turned me against Eva as a character because she was so unnecessarily cruel - I liked it a lot because it stopped her character from being perfect, and even though she was brilliant in standing up to the establishment with her “the actress hasn’t learned the lines you want to hear” the cruel dismissal of the old mistress made sure that you knew she wasn’t really the “Santa Evita” her descamisados made her out to be) (that was a really long side note)

Oh What a Circus was great - Angry Che singing his “sing you fools” line was brilliant

In the Eva and Magaldi sequence, the lights went red when Eva shouted “Screw the middle classes! I will never accept them!”, which was just so cool

I also liked that Eva was a brunette back in her hometown but after her move to Buenos Aires she became a blonde

Speaking of Buenos Aires, the dancing in that scene was LIT, 10/10

The staging of Goodnight and Thank You was great, as after every new suitor Eva would exit the stage and then re-enter wearing something slightly more expensive, which was a good way of showing her ascent through Argentine society - also all of her suitors would kiss and touch her in the same way which I thought kind of showed how she saw them all the same, as just another way to get to where she wanted to be

I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You is one of my favourite parts of the show and it was just as good as I’d hoped - I also didn’t realised that their “are you here on your own?” parts were lies and that they just ditched their dates at the party (felt bad for the dates but I did like that touch - also loved how Eva made her ex-date hold her wine glass as she told Perón that she was here alone)

I flinched every time an insult was thrown in Perón’s Latest Flame, and I also really liked Che’s first real interaction with Eva - she totally shut him down (“is that the extent of your interest in me? Shows how futile acting must be”)

A New Argentina was a brilliant Act 1 closer -I already disliked the officers for their attitudes in Perón’s Latest Flame, but they beat up my boi Che and so I definitely hate them now. Evita was exceptionally good in this scene, and also I love the lyrics “but would I have done what I did if I hadn’t thought, if I hadn’t known, we would take the country?”

Don’t Cry for Me was so much better than I expected it to be - it started off gentle and quiet, and built gradually to a powerful ending which gave me chills - her costume was also stunning

High Flying, Adored was also great, staged very simply but very effective

Rainbow High is one of my favourite songs and it was done so well, I liked the way the ensemble used the mirrors to reflect the spotlights back onto Eva

Rainbow Tour was surprisingly one of my favourite parts of the show, my heart broke for Eva at the Italy stop, when she stormed out distraught, crying “did you hear that? They called me a whore!” I also liked the foreshadowing of her illness in France (she clutched at her side and cried out a little) Sassy Eva was brilliant in England with her “who the hell does the King of England think he is?” and her declaration that Argentina could do without England

I was very much here for Eva standing up to the middle classes she despised so much - she was smiling and posing for pictures with the aristocratic women who’d been talking bad about her, as she sang her “as you should have asked her to” lines (I live for the saltiness)

And The Money Kept Rolling In (and Out) was probably the highlight of the show for me - everyone acted and sang the hell out of that scene, and it was brilliantly staged (I got chills again)

The little girl who sang the solo in Santa Evita was absolutely perfect and had such a beautiful voice

Waltz for Evita and Che was so good, especially at the end when Eva collapsed on the floor - Che was reaching towards her, as though he wanted to help her up but was frozen in shock

The finale was heartbreaking - You Must Love Me had me nearly in tears, with Eva clutching at Perón’s arm as though for dear life, and as I said earlier Perón’s “so what happens now?” completely broke me. The climax of the show was haunting and beautiful and I absolutely loved it

Overall I had an amazing time at the show, and I would definitely see it again. Everything was done so well, and it definitely surpassed my already-quite-high expectations. And finally, shoutout to my little cousin who was one of the children’s chorus - she was great ❤️

ETA: I completely forgot to mention how AWESOME the orchestra was

[kinetic-elaboration]

May 20: 2x19 A Private Little War

Yet again, I feel like it is Friday. It’s not!!

Today’s ep is... unusual. I always think of it as weird because it’s not as optimistic as most TOS episodes; it’s not even a little bittersweet, more like downright bleak. I remember the first time I watched it, thinking, ‘....oh? that’s it then? no solution? we’re just gonna up and leave?’

Appropriate for a very obvious Vietnam allegory, especially one airing in 1967, but still... this is utopian science fiction! Show me people doing better!

It’s not even a complaint because I do think it was very gutsy to air an ep like this and I appreciate that they went there, so to speak.

But tbh it also felt different in other ways, too. It’s hard to put my finger on it... maybe because there wasn’t much sci fi (other than.. everyone being aliens). Maybe it was the extensive amount of time spent on new characters, and how little time was spent on the Enterprise or with most of the crew. Maybe it was the witch.

Anyway, some specific thoughts:

Oh, the brash young Lt. Kirk...exploring a planet for the first time.

Tyree? His “old friend”? Could that be an ex-boyfriend? I’m going to read it that way, just for fun.

Oh, no, Spock!

Twice in five minutes, Kirk was going to just straight up ignore the “don’t interfere, don’t use your weapons” policy--and it was his policy! But in his defense, someone was about to kill his ex-boyfriend, and then someone tried to kill his space husband, so he had his reasons.

M’Benga!!

How is he supposed to concentrate on the Klingons when Spock is hurt?

Thirteen years ago... okay, just gonna do some math--he was 21. That’s a little young for a lieutenant.

Uhura knows her history.

“Old style hand laser.” When do I get one of those?

Everyone’s really ganging up on Kirk here. Rude. Don’t they know his Spock is in the hospital?

So he’s like “screw this, gonna go see Spock now.”

No replacement Vulcan organs on hand? That’s too bad; gonna have to rely on Vulcan self-healing to just like... grow some new ones I guess.

Kirk needs his BFF down on the planet with him.

“Native costumes.”

Kirk is very troubled today, I think. “I’m just going to disobey direct orders so I can see my ex.”

He’s so idealistic, too... Maybe a little naive, but he is like that. He just sees this beautiful planet where the people are peaceful, and maybe it’s a little bit of a Pastoral Fantasy and there’s a bit of paternalism in it but... he’s not entirely wrong. No one should interfere and maybe they are just... better than humans. Like young Jim Kirk found these people and fell in with them as a whole and probably one in particular and I think that’s nice.

Omg fuzzy animal!

“Bones vaporized a native specimen.” That’s one way to put it, mom.

Those wigs are truly terrible.

Bones has nice arms.

They are not carrying Kirk particularly carefully here... just kinda letting his head loll around there

Oh no Tyree’s wife! Sorry, Jim.

“They are compassionate and gentle.”

Aw, gotta keep Jim all nice and warm and snuggly.

Honestly, I love her outfit.

She cast a spell to make him fall in love with her. Well, that’s an explanation.

“It brought up evil beasts from my soul.” Hot.

She immediately knows who “the friend from long ago” is lol. Must have told a lot of stories about Jim. His friend. His special friend. The “friend” of his younger days.

“He was made my brother.” The no-homo short cut for explaining an inexplicably strong male bond.

“Self-induced hypnosis, you say? You mean he’s conscious? He noticed me fondling his hand?”

...Is that a rat king? Oh, no, just a moving root.

McCoy’s like “I gotta learn how to do this.”

Tyree looks like Jeremy Renner in a bad wig.

JAMES??? JAMES YOU SAY? Has literally anyone ever called him James? Tyree’s own little special name for him? I was half-joking about the ex-bf thing but now I’m kinda serious.

Kirk is such a nerd. He just jumps at the opportunity to give a little presentation about the witch people.

Another Homoerotic Thing is the obligatory Female Character who’s now been sexually linked to both of them, providing a sort of bridge of association between the Very Straight Men.

“You will let him die when you have weapons to make him powerful and safe?” She has a good point.

“That’s what’s bothering me: the something we may have to do.”

Bones’s Southern accent really comes out on “killing is stupid and useless”

Scotty is so confused by all this hitting and madness! In his defense, it is straight up weird. Can you imagine Vulcans just, like, hitting each other? In the hospital?

In case you weren’t aware, these references to “20th century wars in Asia” should alert you to the Allegorical Nature of the Narrative.

This is all so sad. I don’t even really have commentary past that, it’s just... they’re both right, and there aren’t good answers. Other than I guess, expelling the Klingons. But even then the damage would probably be done. And Bones is just so good and so pure-hearted. Kirk is too but he’s also practical. And perhaps influenced by magic? I find that rather unnecessary to explaining his thought process here. He’s already gone rogue and in a sense, he’s in over his head. And he already has an inherent motivation to protect his friend.

Ah ha, Jim’s romantic music is playing. I don’t entirely get this scene outside of having an obligatory Jim Kiss scene lol. And to show how good Tyree is. And perhaps how mercenary Nona is?

I must say, I love this animal!

And I love Tyree. He doesn’t want to use weapons; he doesn’t want to fight; he doesn’t want to kill; and he won’t kill even when he sees Nona with another man.

The moment Jim took the rock from Tyree... so charged...

Flintlocks? Serpents? Really time to confuse Scotty now.

So it really does end with “Well that’s just how it is and how it has to be bye now.”

Another weird thing is that this is all tied to the Klingons, like they essentially started it, but we don’t really know what happens to them. Like, they broke the treaty, and Kirk and Bones have proof of that. Will this cause a much greater Diplomatic Incident? Will they continue arming the villagers, forcing the Federation to continue arming the hill people? To some degree, this doesn’t really matter--this ep isn’t about the Star Trek Extended Universe, it’s about breaking down the situation in Vietnam through the use of metaphor, but still. Questions are raised.

I think this is quite an ambitious episode, and even though I think in general it feels...unusual, I tentatively think the level of ambition is on par with S1.

I had mixed feelings about Nona. I loved her whole aesthetic and her witchy woman vibes and I do enjoy a Strong Female Villain. I think she was interesting in that she wasn’t really on either side--I got the impression that the witches were neither villagers nor hill people, and she really didn’t seem to have allegiance to anyone but herself. She wasn’t faithful to Tyree and she wanted to give the phaser to the villagers at the end, I suspect for the exact reason she said: she considered their leader to be the stronger one. She was also a necessary story element in a way, because the villagers were being egged on by the Klingons, but the hill people weren’t really egged on by anyone. Furthermore, I thought it was notable that, despite her power both literal and narrative, she was still subject to disrespect and sexual assault by the village men, which I didn’t see as punishment but more like... a commentary on gender, in a way.

All that being said... the Bad Woman made me do it is a little... not sure how I feel about THAT lol.

This was a very interesting Kirk and Bones episode. It really showed them both off well, and their friendship. And of course we see a lot of Kirk here: his history, his idealism, his optimism, but also how he is more pragmatic than Bones, and used to being the Captain that makes hard decisions, without even Starfleet backup.

Nice to see Bones showing off his bad ass side too.

So here’s the real question: is Tyree pre-Gary Mitchell, or from one of their “off” periods in the on-and-off relationship? Mom and I have decided he’s pre-Gary and I think that’s right. The 13-years-ago clue is a better one than the lieutenant clue, but if Kirk really was 21, he was way too young to have known Gary yet. Also I really do think he was at his most naive and impressionable pre-Gary.

Woah it is too late and I am TIRED.

Next is Return to Tomorrow, which is one of my FAVE eps. A really sleeper classic imo.

[andrewschlecht]

Untitled

On June 20th, 2015, I woke up with the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” in my head. Not like a normal, I have a song stuck in my head, sort of way. It was more like it was blaring in my head, but a peaceful kind of blaring. It may have been the fact that it was 4:00am and that is not a normal time for me to be up. I tend to lean more to the fact that it was one of those moments in life where you know God is letting you know he is there. This was the day I was giving one of my kidneys (turns out my left) to my father in law Dave. It was a decision that I felt was guided and planned by God.

Dave, medically, is no more than a random person. The odds of two random people being a match for a kidney is less than 5%. I felt the compelled to get tested anyway. Dave is a mentor, friend, and a wonderful father in law. He is also a great Papa to my two boys. I couldn’t imagine life without him. Both his kidneys were failing, and he was soon to be on dialysis. The average person on dialysis lives about 5 years, and it’s extremely difficult. So when I found out I was a match it was a no brainer.

I went through a few days of testing over several weeks, and they found me fit to donate. I was asked probably over billion times by my wife, Dave, and the doctors if I was sure I wanted to do it. I always felt peace about the decision so I never felt the need to waver. Throughout the testing I only told a few people about it. Mostly because I didn’t want to announce to the world that I was going to get tested to do something that statistically a long shot. But when I found out I was a match I still felt weird about telling people. I told a few friends about it, and of course my family.

Everyone was supportive, some apprehensive just for my safety, but very supportive. It was just something I knew I was created to do. I didn’t feel scared. I just felt like it was something I needed to do. Easy as that. I also had a friend, Cole Chesney, who had given a kidney to his Dad about 6 months earlier. Talking with him also brought peace.

Back to the morning of the surgery. God was with me. He just was. I arrived at the hospital and went back and put on one of those awkward hospital gowns. My wife and kids came to pray with me and be with me before I went back. A couple good friends, Jeremy Miller and Jason Smith, plus Amy, Dave, and one of his pastors were there to pray with me before I went back. It was one of those moments in life you will never forget. It meant the world to me for those special people to be there.

Shortly after that I was informed that the doctor was going to be late. This is typically a bad thing, but today it wasn’t. It allowed time for me to see my parents and sister before the surgery. The doctor was stuck in traffic or had car trouble or something, but that time was valuable. It gave me more time with my kids before as well which was really special.

The next thing I remember a couple nurses started prepping me for surgery and a nurse said, “Take this. These are the drugs your parents told you not to take” I chuckled and then I was out……….. I woke up in what I think was the same room, but could have been on a different planet for all I knew. I was high as a kite. I remember waking up talking. Just talking. The a couple nurses were there to make sure I was ok. No one I knew was there. They told me before surgery that family wouldn’t be able to come back to recovery, but at the time that didn’t matter. I started semi yelling for them to get my wife. After roughly 7 minutes of strange quasi yelling they went and got her.

For the next 30 or so minutes I continued talking. I guess this is what I do when I’m on these kind of drugs. My chosen topic was what I was thankful for. I rambled on about my wife and kids. My parents, brother, and sisters. Dave and Jenni (my in laws). My job at White Fields. My church. My podcast bros (DTD pod), and just how much I was thankful for everything. I remember this barely, but my wife continued to remind me of this.

After the initial wake up and drug induced ramblings some reality set it. This hurt. I couldn’t sit up. I’m super uncomfortable, mostly because of gas. (… on that.. To be able to see everything in my abdomen they had to blow it up with air.. this is what I was told.. so that’s where the gas came from.. they can’t get all the gas out after surgery) The gas can travel around your body, like a pain in your shoulder could be “gas pain” which is way different than the gas pain I was used to. I had several visitors that day. My parents and mother in law came to see me. Pastors and a few friends. An awkward encounter with another family member and I was ready to try and sleep.

I didn’t sleep at all the first night. I was on pain meds and binge watching Friday Night Lights on my phone, so not a horrible circumstance, but still I was in pain. I heard getting up and walking around is important so I tried to get up that night around 1:00am… but I guess the nurse was new and he didn’t have any clue how to help me up. After a few failed tries, I told him I’ll wait until tomorrow.

The next day I was able to get up. I walked a few laps and went to say hi to Dave who was down and across the hall. I also had several visitors. My wife of course. My friend Jay came, my aunt, and some other friends. It was nice. My friend Jason who came to visit also came that day. He brought me two gifts. One an Anthony Davis action figure, and book Outliers by Malcom Gladwell. He told me that what I did is going to define what it means to be a “Schlecht” for generations to come, and that what I did made me an “outlier” of a person. Those words meant so much to me. I will never forget that moment. I was weeping. Jason and I hadn’t been friends long. But God has a way of bringing people into your life when you need them. This is totally the case with Jason.

I got to go home after 3 days in the hospital. I remember feeling horrible when they told me I was good to go home. I thought, “WHAT?! I CAN’T POSSIBLY BE READY TO GO HOME YET?!” It was fine though. My wife came to get me, with a Braums chocolate malt in hand. You know I’m not feeling great when I don’t demolish a chocolate malt from Braums, but I wasn’t feeling well enough to drink it. But that is my wife. Always thinking of me.

I want to take a moment to brag on my wife, Amy Schlecht. She was incredible throughout this whole process. If you don’t know me at all, my wife and I have two kids (at the time 3 and almost 11 months). Taking care of young kids is tough. That may have been one of my only apprehensions about the whole thing, is the pressure it would put on my wife. I couldn’t pick up my kids or bend over for weeks. She would have to do it ALL, and she did. She did it with a smile on her face. She did it gracefully. She did it with a servants heart. I can never thank her enough for how she handled that month.

When I was home we had meals brought to us nearly everyday for a month. The response from our friends, coworkers, and family was astonishing. My friend Alex Speers even bought me the newest NBA 2k video game. He lives in Portland and had it shipped to me. He and my friend Luke Stephens came to visit me together. Two of my oldest friends. I’ll never forget that day for that and several other reasons I don’t care to share in this post.

Again… Jason Smith…. brought over another gift. If you know me at all you know I love basketball. NBA basketball to be exact, and if you could zero in on a player it would be Shaquille O’Neal. The gift was an entire box of unopened 1992 NBA cards. We sat and opened every pack. We laughed about players. We freaked out about players we loved, and overall just had a great time. Another thing (I feel like I say this a lot) I’ll never forget.

Something I wasn’t prepared for was the impact this would have on other people.. well besides Dave… There was an article printed in the Daily Oklahoman about the procedure so more people found out about it than I was truly comfortable with. This lead to an interaction with a neighbor. In fact with my next door neighbor’s friend.. So not even really my neighbor. I heard the doorbell ring and my wife had taken the boys down to our neighborhood pool. So I slowly got up and went to the door. There stood my neighbors friend who I only kind of knew. (back story. She was in a terrible accident about a year prior that kept her out of work and left her physically not the same… sad deal) She looked at me and started to cry. I was in a drug induced state at that point in time so I didn’t know what to do. She said to me, “What you did… gives me hope in the world again”… wow.. I had no idea how to respond. I think I said, “Really?” but then gave her a hug. I had no clue what God had in store. It was truly humbling.

Another story, but several months later. I work at White Fields. We are a home for abused and neglected boys ages 8-18. I am the education coordinator. One of my jobs is to teach our boys in the transitional classroom. All the boys there are not fit to be in public school. They are too violent, curse too much, won’t do their work, and bring a host of problems to the table. A particular boy did not like school when he came to us. In fact he hated it. Not only did he hate school… he hated me. For about a month he would refuse to work with me. He’d cuss me out daily. Try to hurt me. I tried everything I knew. I was out of ideas. I just thought if I stayed consistent it would pay off. One day I was beginning class and for some reason I opened up with, “Does anyone have anything they’d want to say before we start the day?”… this boy that hated me raised his hand, and I was like… oh boy… here we go… the words out of his mouth are some that…. wait for it… I’ll never forget. He said,

“You’re a good man Mr. Andrew”

I said…. huh? What are you talking about? Is this a prank? He replied that he heard what I did, and that he respected me for it. My relationship with this boy changed that day and that moment. I was able to form a good relationship with him. God had a plan.

A year later Dave and I are recovered from the surgery. Dave’s recovery was slower than mine, but overall he feels better than he has in years. At a recent appointment, he was told his labs looked like that of an 18 year old. Incredible. Dave and I were able to complete a 5K together in the fall, and in April my wife and I completed the Memorial half marathon. The only real ramification is I can no longer become a swim suit model. The scar left on my stomach isn’t terrible, but would take too much photo shop for me to pursue that career.

I want to encourage anyone who has thought about donating to do so. It will change your life and those around you for the better. You can help someone live a longer fuller life. Please call me if you have questions or doubts or anything. I’d love to talk about it. God is faithful.

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

[mcschnuggles]

title-less

Rich was honestly considering not going to school that day. He woke up feeling 90% little, but he’s fighting to stay big. That being said, anything could easily push him into little space.

However, Rich knew he had to get up and go to school. He has a test today. He sent a quick text to his friend’s group chat that simply read “90%”. Another text immediately followed his from Jeremy, reading “70%”. A second later he added, “…85% once I get to school.”

Rich swallowed thickly. If Jeremy slips in school…if anybody finds out about him…it’ll be his fault. Jeremy would probably be fine if it wasn’t for Rich making him feel littler.

Rich’s chest hurt, but he got out of bed anyway. He readied himself for school and finally left.

—-

“Rich, read number 15 for the class, please.”

Rich’s head snapped up and he looked at the teacher. He heard a few giggles and blushed as he looked back down at the paper. His english class has been doing stuff with alliteration…. This particular sentence is chock-full of S’s.

Rich’s breath hitched. “Th-thilly—” Giggles came from all around the classroom, making Rich’s ears burn with shame.

“Come on, Mrs!” Jake pushed himself away from his desk and stood up. “That’s fucked up. You know he has trouble with his S’s. He can’t say fucking ‘Silly Susie sings’ fucking whatever the way you want it read. And you’re gonna force him to do it?”

“Detention, Mister Dillinger!”

“Get fucked! Come on, Rich.” Jake walked over to his friend’s desk and pulled him up, leading him to the library.

The librarians absolutely adore Rich, Jake, and their entire friend group and almost always let them in the library. They seem to know about Rich and Jeremy being little and that the library is the only place in school they feel comfortable.

“Can we go upstairs?” Jake whispered to one of them as he held Rich tightly. The smaller boy tried to melt into Jake’s chest for comfort.

“Sure, sweetie. Is everything okay?”

“Our English teacher tried to force Rich to read something that’s hard for him. And she knows it’s hard for him too!”

“Oh, honey,” the librarian frowned, sympathetically. “Who’s your English teacher? I’ll bitch her out.”

Jake laughed. “Thanks, Mrs. Clarke, but I took care of it. I got detention which is unfortunate, but I’m not afraid to get another one if she makes my friend upset again.”

“Alright. Let me know if I can do anything for you.”

Jake nodded and began to take Rich upstairs to the couches, but stopped and turned back to the librarian. “Actually…could you get our other friends in here? I think they’ll help Rich feel better.”

“Of course. I’ll send them up to you.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Clarke!”

Jake smiled widely and finally brought Rich upstairs. Rich immediately pulled Jake to one of the couches, pushing him down to sit on it and then climbed right onto his lap. The boy curled against his chest, resting his ear over his heartbeat.

They sat like that for a few minutes in silence. Jake heard their friends open the library door downstairs, so they’re here, but they haven’t come up yet. They must know Rich needs some time.

“Hey, Rich,” Jake whispered. “How you feeling?”

Rich tilted his head back and blinked up at Jake, pouting.

“I know…. Mrs. Greaves is so mean, isn’t she?”

Rich nodded, tears pooling in his eyes.

“Oh, don’t cry, Rich…. It’s okay.”

Rich nearly jumped out of Jake’s lap when the door slammed open and Jeremy was stood there.

“Sorry,” he winced. “I didn’t mean to be loud…. Is Richie okay?”

Rich reached a shaky hand out towards Jeremy, who came running and immediately enveloped him in the biggest hug his noodle arms could manage.

“Sorry about that,” Michael panted, hands on his knees as his chest heaved. “I told him to wait, but he couldn’t…. You run fast, Jer!”

“Needed to see Richie. He’s sad, Daddy.”

“Yeah?” Jeremy nodded, a frown on his face. “Well, its a good thing he’s got you to help him feel better now, huh?”

“And us!” Jenna added, enthusiastically, appearing out of nowhere. She seems to appear out of thin air a lot. Michael swears he’s lost at least 5 years of his life from her doing that and scaring him all the time. Another 10 years lost is dedicated to Jeremy and Rich for either: being reckless, doing something stupid and/or dangerous, et cetera.

Brooke and Chloe followed Jenna, slowly and quietly.

“What happened?” Chloe whispered.

“Mrs. Greaves wanted him to read something like 'Silly Susie…something about seashells…’ I don’t know. He has enough trouble with S when he’s not little and he’s been halfway little all day—haven’t you, baby?”

“More'n half,” Rich mumbled, face pressed into Jake’s shoulder.

“Well, we’re gonna leave early today and get you taken care of. I’m also going to make sure Mrs. Greaves doesn’t pick on you anymore.”

Rich cuddled into Jake, forcing him to stand up with him in his arms and carry him out of the school. Mrs. Clarke will take care of them so they don’t get in trouble.

“Jenna and I will take my car and meet you at your place,” Brooke told Jake.

Jake simply nodded as he climbed into Michael’s car, still with Rich in his arms. Jeremy climbed in next to them. Chloe sat in the front with Michael.

“Is Richie okay?” Jeremy asked, frowning down at the baby sucking on his thumb. Jake gently smacked his thumb away from his mouth and replaced it with a pacifier.

“Yeah, he’s okay. He’s just having some emotional days. This isn’t a good time for him.”

“Why? Richie, can Jake tell me why? Or can you tell me?”

Rich’s eyes filled with tears, but he nodded.

Jake sighed and hugged Rich tight. “It’s coming up on the third year anniversary of his mom dying.”

Jeremy swallowed thickly. Poor Richie…. He took Rich’s hand and squeezed it to get him to look at him. “It’s okay, Richie. I know what it’s like to lose a parent—not like that, but my mom left me and my dad almost a year ago. It sucks.”

Rich sniffled, agreeing. “Mith her….”

“I miss my mom too…. But we’ve got each other. All of us! So it’ll be okay.”

Rich hummed, scooting off of Jake’s lap to cuddle both him and Jeremy. He’s not sure it will be okay, but Jeremy says it will be. He saw Jake nodding as well and Jake never lies…. So maybe it will be okay. But he still misses his mom. And he feels guilty for never visiting her or even thinking of her because the squip wouldn’t let him.

When his squip got deactivated while he was still in the hospital he woke up bawling his eyes out, thinking of his mom and how worried about him she’d be…. The nurses had to put him to sleep because he was annoying other patients. Jake was there when he woke up and he had comforted him somewhat, but he still feels guilty. Jake tries to help with that, but for the last few days he just couldn’t help feeling horrible about it. About everything he’s done since she died. Feeling this way has been making him feel littler more often. He’s already slipped into little space twice this week.

Before he knew it, Rich was lying on the makeshift changing table in Jake’s room getting a diaper on.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay, muffin,” Jake cooed, stroking Rich’s cheek. He seemed to pull a damp washcloth out of thin air, which he used to clean Rich’s red, tear-stained, snot-stained face. When had he started crying?

“You wanna wear your new fox pajamas?”

Rich shrugged.

“Do you wanna…open the present I got for you?”

Rich perked up slightly. “Pw'ent?”

Jake nodded as he lifted Rich and set him down on the bed instead. He went into his closet and pulled out a box, setting it on Rich’s lap.

Rich clawed, clumsily at the box.

Jake made a tear in the wrapping paper so Rich could open it. Rich grabbed the flap of paper and ripped. He pouted at the cardboard box and handed it to Jake.

“Pweathse, Dada?”

Jake’s heart melted as he opened the box with his pocket knife. How could he say no to someone so sweet?

“Here you go, baby.”

Rich looked inside the box and squealed when he pulled out a new, fluffy purple tutu!

“Thank you, Dada!” Rich kissed Jake’s cheek and dove into his chest, headfirst for a hug.

“You’re welcome,” Jake chuckled. “Wanna go show JJ and your aunts and uncle your new tutu?”

Rich nodded firmly. “On! Pweathse.”

“Alright, baby. Let’s get you some pants and a shirt too so you don’t get cold.”

Rich pouted and crossed his arms, but let Jake dress him. His pout was replaced with a smile when his new tutu was around his waist.

“Pickle?”

“Right here, baby.” Jake handed over the stuffed pug and helped Rich stand. Rich began waddling out to the living room as fast as he could.

Jeremy was sat on Michael’s lap, looking worried. Brooke was half asleep with her head was against Jeremy’s thigh and Chloe and Jenna sat on the floor, throwing a bouncy ball back and forth. Everyone looked up when they heard Rich come in, brandishing a huge smile on his face.

“Is that a new tutu, Richie?” Jeremy asked.

Rich nodded. “Yah! Dada gave me!”

“It’s very pretty!” Jenna exclaimed. She held her arms apart and Rich plopped down on her lap. He became very sad again, having a feeling of déjà vu. Mom….

“I got you a bottle, sweetheart,” Chloe offered. Rich graciously took the bottle and leaned against Jenna’s chest. He turned his head to watch Jeremy and Michael quietly fight about Jeremy taking a nap with Rich. A nap? But Rich isn’t even tired! He wants to play princesses!

Playing princesses would have to wait. Rich fell asleep less than halfway through the bottle, thanks to Jenna’s hand in his hair and Michael and Jeremy’s soft voices.

—- okay it just doesn’t want me to send this to you in messages i guess. whatever. be that way, phone

[you-and-i-for-forever]

10 Things I Hate About You AU Chapter 2

Fandom: Be More Chill, Dear Evan Hansen                                             Ships: Boyf riends, treebros, richjake, Zolana, Pink Berry                         Word count: 2.9k

Feel free to read this on my ao3 instead!

Read the chapter 1 here (tumblr) or here (ao3)!

Jeremy and Michael had planned to meet up during lunch. Michael only arrived at school just as the bell was about to ring for class so there was no way for him to meet Jeremy that morning.

They weren’t able to get any classes together, the ones Michael had signed up for were all full since everyone had signed up last spring and Jeremy had had to pick through the classes that nobody wanted.

Jeremy had ended up in German 1 and Jazz Band.

“Can you even play any instruments?” Michael had laughed over his gaming headset when Jeremy told him over the summer.

“No, but it was either that or Parenting Prep and I did not want to carry around a sack of flour and pretend it’s a child.” Jeremy had responded, tapping away at his controller.

The only upside to this all was that they had lunch together so Jeremy was relieved to at least get to see his friend for 45 minutes every day.

Jeremy had finally been able to navigate his way to the cafeteria. As helpful, needed and wanted as Jared’s explanation of the school’s social stratosphere had been, he hadn’t mentioned anything about where anything was in the building.

After Jeremy had finished gawking at the handsome Jake Dillinger, he realized Jared had disappeared on him. Jeremy was left to try and decipher the messy hand drawn map of the school Evan had given him a few days ago. Evan had even highlighted Jeremy’s classrooms, locker location, bathrooms, and nurse’s office for him.

So when Jeremy was finally about to make it to the lunchroom (after getting turned around several times), he was nervous when he didn’t immediately catch sight of Michael. The lunchroom was large, loud, and crowded and Jeremy didn’t know what to do.

Standing here looking for a friend would make him look weird and awkward but wandering up and down the lunch tables would make him seem pathetic and sad.

Jeremy started to sweat and feel jittery, he needed to make up his mind now before anyone realized what a complete weirdo he was. Jeremy quickly stepped into the line for a school lunch.

Jeremy was fully aware that he had a packed lunch in his bag but he didn’t know what else to do. He stood awkwardly in the lunch line – not really sure what to do with his hands – and hoped he could find Michael in the sea of people.

He made it to the cashier with a foil wrapped burger and some fries; still no sign of Michael anywhere.

Maybe they had gotten it wrong and he and Michael had two separate lunches.

“Jeremy!” A voice yelled from behind him as he stepped out of the lunch line.

Jeremy looked up from his tray, and spun around and, thankfully, finally spotted Michael.

He was in his signature red sweater shirt and white headphones.

“Michael!” Jeremy called, relieved to see his friend.

Michael jogged over to him, maneuvering around slow walking people.

“Dude, what’s up?” Michael laughed when he was finally at Jeremy’s side.

“Nothing, just waiting for you man,” Jeremy said, feeling a large, dorky smile plaster on his face.

Michael bumped his shoulder with his own, “Well let’s go then.”

Jeremy followed him, weaving in between jam-packed tables and packed tables. Michael led him into a separate section of the lunchroom, connected to the first through a pair of opened double doors.

Michael found them a more secluded table and sat down, Jeremy following his lead.  

“Dude, this is so weird being at school with you,” Jeremy said.

“Dude I know, It’s awesome! Now we can just hang for the next 2 years!” Michael said, bumping Jeremy’s shoulder again, “How’s classes so far?”

Jeremy shrugged and started to unwrap his burger. He watched Michael pull a container full of sushi out of his backpack, slightly jealous.

“They’re alright, just boring without you in them,” Jeremy said and took a bite of the burger. He scrunched up his nose, it wasn’t bad…but it wasn’t great either.

Michael gave him a warm smile as he chomped on his sushi rolls.

“How about you?”

Michael hummed, “They’re fine, much rather be getting high in my basement and playing games though.”

Jeremy blew air out of his nose in a laugh and shoved fries into his mouth. Michael opened his mouth to say something else but someone cut him off.

“Hey loser, what’s up?” A voice said from the other side of Michael.

Jeremy leaned in and saw it was Jared. He swung his backpack off and sat down in a seat.

“Nothing,” Michael said and fist bumped Jared.

“How have you already made friends with the new kid?” Jared asked with a laugh, eyeing Jeremy.

Jeremy waved at Jared, a little confused. He didn’t really know that Michael had any friends at school, at least not any he ever mentioned to him.

“Oh, me and Jeremy go way back. We’ve known each other since we were in diapers.” Michael explained twirling his chopsticks around his fingers.

“Dude, we were in preschool, you were the only one still in diapers.” Jeremy corrected him with a snort.

“Yeah, whatever.” Michael scowled at the memory.

Jared pulled out his phone and started typing away at it.

“I didn’t know you guys knew each other. Kind funny.” Jeremy commented.

“We always seem to get paired up to be lab partners in science so we just started hanging out.”

Jared, continuing to mess with his phone, reached over and grabbed Michael’s blue Gatorade. Michael huffed but didn’t both trying to get it back.

“I beat his high score on Super Monkey Ball a few years ago and he won’t leave my house until he breaks it and that’s the only reason we’re friends,” Jared explained, obnoxiously slurping on Michael’s drink.

Jeremy felt sort of weird about the whole situation. Why hadn’t Michael told him about Jared before? It’s not like they didn’t talk basically every single day.

Jeremy watched Jared lean over and show something on his phone to Michael. Michael pointed and laughed at it and Jeremy felt weirder. He hadn’t realized he was going to have to share Michael when he got here.

-

The first day back was bad. Not for any particular reason, most days were just bad for Evan.

He sat down in the middle of the classroom of 5th period English, (sitting in front meant everyone could see every little movement he made and sitting in the back might make him look like a troublemaker) relieved the day was almost over.

“Hello, class!” The teacher, Mr. McCormack called after the bell had rung, trying to bring the students attention to the front of the room. “I hope everyone had a good summer and that you all did the summer reading because we’re jumping right into The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway today.”

There was a low murmur of annoyance in the room at the teacher not exclusively going over the syllabus. Didn’t really mind though. No lesson plan on the first day always meant “Get to Know You” games and he’d have to try and interact with his peers. Not that he didn’t want to try and talk to some of them, he just knew it would just end with everyone thinking he was a complete freak, all sweaty and stuttery. It was just better for him to keep his head down and only talk to someone when he absolutely had to…and sometimes not even then.

Evan pulled out his copy of the book. He had really enjoyed it, he loved the way Hemingway described the traveling and bull fights.

“What did everyone think?” Mr. McCormack asked, looking around for volunteers. Evan watched Alana raise her hand immediately.

The teacher gestured to her then looked down at the attendance clipboard, “Yes, uuuh…”

“Alana Beck, sir.” she offered before clearing her throat to continue, “I thought the book was very romantic, but Hemingway himself was an abusive alcoholic misogynist who squandered half his life hanging around Picasso trying to pick up his leftovers.”

The teacher must have never had Alana in a class before, his eyes widening at the thorough answer.

“Very nice Alana, that was a very interesting and deep take away from this particular story. Would anyone else like to add onto that?”

No one raised their hand. Evan watched Alana look around a little, almost excited that she was the only one to answer on the first day.

“All right well I’ll just call from the attendance sheet…Let’s see…Evan Hansen?”

Evan’s heart jumped into his throat. Why had the teacher picked him? Why out of all the 30 people in the class did he have to call on Evan?

Evan looked up at Mr. McCormack, who was staring at him, waiting for an answer.

“Uuummmmmmmm” Evan let out and quickly flipped through his book, hoping he’d see a passage or clue on what to say. He had completely forgotten what the book was about the second the teacher had called his name.

“Uuhh,” Evan malfunctioned “It’s – The, uh – When – Ummmm.”

The teacher raised an eyebrow at him and Evan thought he might throw up.

Oh god, everyone was staring at him, everyone was thinking that he was crazy. All of his peers were probably laughing at him right now all thinking he was a complete idiot and that he hadn’t read the book.

Evan made a few more noises before he heard giggles behind him. They were laughing at him.

His brain was screaming at him to GET OUT THEY’RE ALL LAUGHING AT YOU YOURE SUCH A FREAK GET OUT OF THERE NOW!

“We’ll come back to you Evan, don’t worry,” The teacher promised and called on someone else from the attendance sheet. Evan could barely hear him.

He felt like he was going to explode. He was all twitchy and his heart was pounding in his chest and it was hard to breathe and he knew everyone was thinking about how stupid that Evan kid was.

The second, literally the second, that the teacher let them have a 5-minute break, Evan fled to the hallway with his backpack. He unzipped it as he walked, looking for his anxiety meds.

His heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest and he was losing it and everyone could see GET OUT OF THERE NOW!!!

Evan rounded a corner and saw a bathroom. He rushed into it and thought he had found his pill bottle and pulled it out. Only it wasn’t his meds, it was his pencil case that was half stuck under a couple of his notebooks so when he pulled it out, half of the contents of his backpack came with it.

Evan scrambled to pick up everything. He didn’t even know if there was anyone in the bathroom but he tried to shove everything back into his backpack as quickly as possible so no one would happen upon him and think he was a loser.

He glanced in his backpack and still didn’t see his pill bottle.

He heard the lock of a bathroom stall click.

Evan froze. From behind him, he heard someone walk up behind him and speak.

“So – um, what happened to your arm?” The voice asked.

Evan shot up and whipped around. Connor Murphy was standing in front of him, gesturing towards his cast with one hand, the other stuffed in his black jacket pocket. This was not the time to be dealing with a guy like Connor, someone who might blow up on him and make his panic attack worse. Evan hunched over slightly and looked everywhere but at Connor, feeling so incredibly uncomfortable.

If it was bad being Evan Hansen, school nobody, it was even worse to be Connor Murphy, school freak and nut job. Evan knew to stay away from him; he had a violent streak and a bad temper.

Plus he had suddenly vanished at the beginning of last year. He was there one day and then gone another and hadn’t shown back up until…just now. Rumors had spread like wild fire of course. None good. Some said he had gone to jail for killing someone in a hit and run while under the influence and some thought he might have dropped out of school to start a porn career. Most of the rumors figured he had killed himself and the Murphy’s were just trying to cover it up.

But Connor was back now, standing in front of Evan and he had asked him a question.

Evan looked down at his cast and felt flustered, heart beat still thumping in his throat.

“Oh I um,” Evan paused for a second “I fell out of a tree actually.”

“Fell out of a tree?” Connor asked.

Evan made a sound of confirmation. He started tugging at the bottom of his shirt, a bad habit of his. One his therapist was trying to get him to break.

“Well, that is just the saddest fucking thing I have ever heard,” Connor said in a deadpan tone.

Evan let out a breath of awkward laughter, “I know.”

He just stared down at his cast, thinking how it really was the saddest fucking things, and yet, if Connor knew the whole truth, it would have been even sadder.

“No one’s um,” Connor started and Evan looked up at him, “signed your cast.”

Evan was surprised that Connor even noticed or bothered to point it out. He wasn’t known around the school for being very empathetic.

“My step – My stepbrother did.” Evan flipped his cast over to reveal Jeremy’s small signature that was towards the top of his cast, right by the crook of his elbow.

“Well, it’s kinda sad to only have one signature,” Connor pointed out, looking a little uneasy and unsure about what he was going to say. “…I’ll sign it.”

Evan looked up at him. Connor wanted to sign his cast?

“Oh, you don’t have to.” Evan’s voice came out in almost a rushed whisper.

“Do you, uh, have a Sharpie?” Connor asked in a soft tone.

Evan pulled the marker out of his pocket and awkwardly closed the majority of the distance between himself and Connor. Connor took it and grabbed his broken arm a little too rough.

“Ow,” Evan accidentally let out. He usually just tried to keep quiet when someone bumped into it in the hallway. He didn’t want to cause a scene.

“Oh,” Connor said, and hesitantly bent over a little to start signing.

For half a second, Evan was worried he was going to draw or write something profane on his arm and he’d have to walk around with it for a few more months and then teachers would get mad at him but there’d be no way to get rid of it.

But Connor simply signed his name, albite in a large font that covered all of the top side of his cast.

“Oh great, thanks,” Evan said, looking at the large text. Could he really be that annoyed though? It wasn’t like anyone else was going to need the space. Connor handed him back the marker.

“Yeah well, now we can both pretend that we have friends,” Connor said, kind of shaking his head and shrugging.

How did Connor know Evan didn’t have any friends? Was it that obvious? Did he look that sad and desperate? Did his face just scream “lonely weirdo”?

“That’s a good point,” Evan said under his breath and reached for his backpack that was still sitting on the ground, ready to leave from this conversation.

Evan could feel Connor’s eyes on him and Evan started to head towards the bathroom door when he spoke again.

“Is this yours?” Connor asked and Evan heard rattling.

He turned to look at what he was talking about and Connor was holding his bottle of anxiety medication.

“It rolled over there,” Connor gestured over to the stalls “And it had your name on it, Evan Hansen, that’s your name, right?”

“Oh yeah, yeah, no that’s just my stupid, it’s just a stupid–” Evan reached for his meds but Connor pulled them back to look at the label.

“Alprazolam? That’s some pretty powerful stuff.” Connor said with a thin lipped smile, finally handing it back to Evan.

“Oh yeah I know…it’s actually not mine – it’s my stepbrothers he, um needs it um right now and that’s why I was going there now.” Evan finished the lie lamely. He didn’t want anyone knowing that he took meds. It was already embarrassing having these issues, he didn’t want people thinking he was clinically insane and needed pills to sedate him.

“Cool…well bye,” Connor said with a slight wave and walked past Evan, out of the bathroom. Evan watched him go.

Evan stood there for a few more minutes before he realized that his panic attack had calmed down a little. His heart was still racing and he was sweaty all over, but the dread and panic that was almost spilling out of him had subsided for the most part.

Evan packed him meds back into his backpack and slowly made his way back to his English classroom, thinking how lucky it was that Connor had decided not to try and kick his ass or kill him or something.

Though Connor Murphy did seemed a lot different now. Much calmer and somewhat subdued, not at all the same person who had slammed others into lockers or shoved them to the ground. Evan decided it was still a safe bet that this wasn’t a permanent fix and the smart thing to do was to avoid Connor at all costs so not to be one of those kids who got pushed to the ground.

…Again.

[geekofmanyforms]

New Beginning

Chapter Three

***This chapter has been edited by my wonderful Beta Casey. Let us know what ya think.***

Familiar soft lips caressed my neck, as calloused fingers lovingly stroked my hair. A pair of strong arms wrapped me in a firm embrace, and I couldn't remember the last time I had felt this safe, this loved. A warm summer breeze filtered through the trees around us, and I could smell the sweet scent of the woods we were hiding away in. The fingers of the man I was wrapped up in traveled towards my chin — lifting my face to meet his — and I found the most beautiful blue eyes. I reached out, running my fingers through his long blonde hair and smiled, brushing my lips against his. When our mouths met, it was like something inside me had finally found its place. His lips caressed mine, slowly for a moment, before he pulled me hard against his chest; his insistent hungry mouth parting my eager lips. I was clay in his hands, being formed into something beautiful and new. I gasped as his tongue ran across my lower lip. The heavy beating of my heart sped up to a crescendo, the beats seeming to spell out one word. Home, Home, Home.

Everything about this man felt right. My skin tingled as he ran his hands down my waist, lifting me into his arms. I wrapped my legs around him, giggling as he walked me over to the nearest tree; backing me up against it. A deep moan reverberated through his chest and I sighed loudly, grasping his hair tightly in my hands. Before I could pull him towards me for another kiss: a loud banging echoed throughout the woods, the trees surrounding us shook with each bang — their leaves falling to the forest floor. I blinked wildly in amazement, glancing around us at the falling leaves. I looked at the man — who it seemed was still caught up in our shared moment — and seemingly unaware of what had just occurred. Shaking my head, I decided to ignore it and just enjoy the firm God in front of me. I leaned forward, my lips hungry for his, but again before I could taste him, another loud bang echoed through the forest. The tree I was being held up against shook violently, my back arching in protest as my spine vibrated. I lowered myself to the ground, sighing deeply. My eyes tried to stay focused as the world around me started to become fuzzy; darkening around the edges. A dream. This had all been a dream. I held on tightly to the man."The Hybrid," my mind finally supplied. I took in one last look, his blue eyes sparkled as he smiled down at me. My Nik.

"Elarrrraaaa?!"

My eyes flew open at the loud banging on my bedroom door. I looked over at the clock and groaned — it was way too early for this.

"Elara?! You up yet? " Jeremy hollered through the door obnoxiously.

"Jer! I'm awake, for God's sake! Please end your obnoxious yammering!" I yelled back.

This earned me a laugh from the other side of my door. I pulled the pillow over my face, trying to remember the dream I had been having. It involved me and a particular Original Hybrid. I'm not really sure if it was a dream, or maybe memory. Whatever it was, it had been good — no — great.

It had also been a nice reprieve from all the stress that I had piling up since meeting with the Salvatores. Seeing Damon had let loose all of my memories. Now I knew everything. I knew how I had become a Reincarnate, why I live life over and over again. Being cursed by the Original witch over a thousand years ago: I will forever be forced to live until my eighteenth birthday, when the curse will activate, sending me on to a premature and painful death. Then, I will be reborn starting a new life. In my new life, I may or may not remember my past, and who I have been to others. It really depends on what sparks a memory. That's one of the worst parts of it, losing huge chunks of my life for long periods of time. I placed my fingers on the bridge of my nose, placing pressure against a potential headache.

I heard rustling from beside me, "What do you want Bekah?" I moaned in frustration, my voice muffled through the fluffy pillow.

A small sigh erupted to my left. I pulled the pillow away from my face and turned my head. As I was expecting, Rebekah sat beside me, head tilted downwards as she twirled a piece of her curly blonde hair between her fingers. Her white flapper girl dress, as always, brought a smile to my face.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked, "Oh, don't tell me the eldest Salvatore has already put you under his spell?"

She made a few dramatic gagging sounds as I threw my pillow at her. I knew full well it wouldn't do anything but fly right through her, but I just liked making her laugh. She has enough pain to deal with, so, when she visits me, I try to make it better, even if it's only for a moment.

I succeeded; She laughed brightly at my false attempt to hit her. I winked and flopped out of bed, and then made my way to my closet.

"If I remember correctly, you fell for the charms of Salvatore once as well, sister,"

I moved a few outfits around and then looked back at her with a smile.

"So Beks, are you gonna help me decide what to wear while your here? I know how much you love today's fashion..." I joked, earning an eye roll.

she sighed. "Ugh, no. Sadly I'm here on business,"

My smile died as she eyed me warily. I lowered the clothes I had in my hands and tried to keep my face from showing too much trepidation. She stood and eerily made her way towards me, her eyes sad and distant — this couldn't be good.

"What is it this time, Rebekah? You know I don't have long to help you anyways," I whispered.

I was using this moment to casually let loose that I had restored all of my memories. Rebekah frowned at me, knowing what I meant, but not knowing I had found out about my impending doom. I needed to tell her that when I had remembered Damon, I had recalled everything about my curse. Including everything that came with it, my life with the Originals being a huge part of that. Katherine, Emily, and I had discussed my curse during the life I had spent with the Salvatores, just before I had died when she had been shacking up with the brothers. I should have hated her, and I did, to an extent, but I had lived too many lives to judge hastily. Damon was as much to blame for coming back early and not finding me as she was.

Rebekah stopped in her tracks, watching my expression closely with watery blue eyes. I turned away from her, placing the clothes I had been holding back in my closet. I casually looked through a few more options as I swallowed deeply, trying to remove the lump in my throat.

"I just turned 17, Beks — which means the curse will take effect on my next birthday. I only have a year,"

I fought back tears as she brushed her hands through her curls nervously. She stepped forward, joining me in front of my closet.

"When did you remember?" she whispered.

I looked into her eyes, ignoring the grey, ghosty sheen of her skin.

"When my memories of Damon were restored, I remembered everything Katherine had told me the day before I died," I explained.

Her eyes rounded — her confusion was evident. I guess I'd never told her about Katherine.

"Katerina once told you about the curse...?" she asked in shock.

I nodded slowly, wary of her reaction. "Even if she hadn't, all of the memories of my initial life with you and your family came back to me as well. The ones with Katherine were just shown to me first."

Bekah placed a hand on her hip and raised a brow, clearly wanting a more thorough answer. I rolled my eyes and took another outfit from the rack, letting out an exasperated huff when Bekah shook her hand in front of it with a disgusted frown. I placed it back on the shelf and continued.

"Katherine and I have always had an understanding," I said nonchalantly.

It was hard to explain my relationship with Katherine. My time with the Salvatores was not the first I had met Katerina Petrova. Rebekah narrowed her eyes at me, knowing I wasn't entirely open with her.

"Listen Beks, trust me, kay? I promise to help you as much as I can between now and my next birthday," I pleaded,

I threw out my best puppy dog eyes; some of the things I remembered needed to stay with me for now. Let's just say, I had done something the Original Hybrid wouldn't be too fond of...

Rebekah tilted her head before nodding quickly, her blonde hair bouncing. "Ok, well I just wanted to let you know your old pal Katerina is on her way here. She plans on setting things up ahead of Nik. She hopes to earn her freedom by helping with his curse,"

Rebekah let out a haughty laugh. I frowned profoundly and sent my closet a brief look of disdain before I walked over to my chest of draws. I grabbed my nearest pair of jeans and hopped lightly to get my foot in the leg. Rebekah watched me in interest, still adjusting to the fashion of this period.

"So, that's just great. Does she know about me yet?" I growled in annoyance, throwing out my best bit of sarcasm.

I blew a bit of hair out of my face, glanced back at Rebekah, then yanked a black tank top over my head.

"No, not yet. I'm sure she would have called Elijah already if she had,"

She observed my face and shook her head when I reacted as expected. A small smile lifted the edge of my lips at Elijah's name. I missed him, he had always been a brother to me. I ignored Rebekah's smirk and headed over to my vanity, plopping myself down on the stool. I grabbed my hairbrush, quickly yanking it through my tangled red hair. I could see Rebekah in the reflection of my mirror, wincing as I manhandled my hair. She reached out towards me, her hand hovering inches lovingly from my head. She flexed her fingers as if she wanted to run them through my fiery locks as she once had, before pulling away slowly and frowning. She had always loved brushing my hair. I pulled the brush away and sent her a half-smile. I turned around on my stool and looked up into her eyes.

"Soon, Beks. I promise. I will get you out of that coffin," I said as my voice broke.

Rebekah leaned down towards me and ran a finger over the air near my cheek, a lost look shadowing her eyes.

"I know you will. If anyone can, it will be you."

Standing back up, she tossed a few loose curls over her shoulder and looked down at me with a cheeky grin.

"And, to answer the question you refuse to ask but are dying to know, Elijah is doing fine."

She looked away and frowned deeply as she closed her eyes, lowering her head she began rubbing her neck roughly.

"That being said...so is Nik. He is excited about getting closer to ending his curse," she said, the last bit with strong distaste in her voice.

I took in a sharp breath and turned back around, avoiding her searching reflection as I rolled my eyes, shrugging nonplussed. She knew where I stood on the subject of the Hybrid in question, so why bring it up?

"Elandra, just be careful this time — you know it has always ended badly. The first is why you were cursed, to begin with. Our family isn't good for you," she said regretfully.

I looked up at her reflection with a questioning look and found myself sinking into her deep blue eyes. I didn't want to discuss Nik. It was a sore subject for me. She knew that better than anyone — her entire family did.

"Beks, I have no plans to repeat the past. After all, it would be ludicrous to even try. It's not like it could last, and I don't think he could handle it," I whispered "I don't wish to be the cause of one of his massacres — not again," I added, placing my brush back on the table.

Her face filled with understanding. We had been through so much together, and I would be forever grateful for whatever allowed her to visit me while she was in the in-between. I stood up and turned around, standing face to face with the apparition of my best friend and soul sister. I brought my fingers close to her transparent face and traced the air near her cheek. I wanted to get as close to her as possible, even if neither she nor I could feel it.

"I gotta go, sis. Check-in with me later, ok?" I asked with a smile.

She agreed with a silent nod before disappearing entirely. I took a deep breath and sprayed myself with my Burberry perfume before grabbing my red bag and heading downstairs. Jenna and Elena were talking as I entered the kitchen.

"Elena, Do I look like an adult? As in respectfully parental?" Jenna asked.

I caught the brown doe eyes of my fraternal twin sister scan my outfit with distaste. My shoulders sagged, and I tried to keep my mood from falling as fast as my stomach when I noticed how utterly flawless she looked — as always. Her long, silky brown hair caught the light from the kitchen window as she moved around the room. Damned perfect Petrovas. I shook off my self-consciousness and gave Jenna a thumbs up brightly.

"Depends on where you're going," Elena said flatly.

I rolled my eyes at Elena and grabbed a pop tart from the cabinet.

"Don't listen to her Jenna, you look hot — and a respectful hot at that!" I laughed.

She gave me a small twirl before she spoke, a laugh still in her voice.

"Jeremy's parent-teacher conference — Hair up or down?" she asked.

She pulled her hair up, and then let it fall to demonstrate. I shrugged.

"Well, one is sexy stewardess," I said. "The other-"

"-Boozy housewife," Elena interjected.

Jenna smiled at us both. "Up it is. You're both feisty today," she said.

"Well I don't know about Elara, but I feel good today, which is rare, so I've decided to go with it. Fly free, walk in the sunshine, and all that stuff," Elena said.

Elena took a bite of her apple as she eyed my pop tart with distaste. I bit into it forcefully, moaning loudly and rolling my eyes into the back of my head.

"I'm just a happy go lucky kinda gal, Aunt Jenna, ya know that. Can't be sad forever," I looked around the kitchen as I made my way to the fridge for some lemonade. "Where is Jeremy?"

Elena looked at Jenna expectantly.

"He left early. Something about getting to woodshop early to finish a birdhouse," Jenna said, shrugging slightly.

I glanced at Elena, and our eyes met for a moment before looking back at Jenna. I popped open the lid of my lemonade and took a swig. Poor Aunt Jenna…

"There is no woodshop... is there?" she asked, her tone falling.

"No," Elena and I said in unison.

Jenna shook her head and placed a hand on her forehead. I stepped up beside Elena and took her hand, leaving Jenna to prepare for her conference, knowing she wouldn't be happy afterward. Jeremy hadn't been coping very well. It was harder on him and Elena then it was for me. After all, these weren't the first parents I had lost. It really does get more comfortable with time. I would see them and all of my other families again very soon, even if it would only last a short time before my next reincarnation.

"I'm driving, Lena!" I shouted.

I snatched the keys from her hands swiftly. Elena sighed and tossed her bag in the back seat before hopping into the passenger side. I slipped behind the car and got into the driver's side. I really loved driving and wanted to take advantage while I could. I never knew if there would still be cars when I lived next. We all could be Apparating everywhere by then. That would be so cool!

"What are you thinking about? You have a huge grin on your face," Elena questioned

"The future. Just wondering about the future," I said, sliding on my sunglasses.

I looked into the rearview, briefly noticing a grey-skinned, blonde-headed Original, smirking and shaking her head from the back seat. I ignored her and continued driving to one of the seven circles of hell, also known as High School.

Elena and I sat quietly in History while Mr. Tanner rattled on about Mystic Falls 145 years ago. Ugh, like I wanted to relive that. It had been rough enough the first time, with corsets and fluffy full-size dresses.

I kept my eyes planted on the shy flirting going on between Stefan and my sister. His spiky dark hair was easy enough to find in a small group like this, even without his striking good looks to add with it. I started keeping a tally of every time they would glance at one another, only to quickly look away. It was sickening. Of course, anyone with my past love life would be annoyed by new, young love — well, young on my sister's side, that is.

I laughed at my own joke, earning a look from Mr. Tanner. I smiled sweetly and ushered for him to continue. I started watching the time instead of the young couple when they finally stopped their glances after getting caught by Mr. Tanner.

I giggled quietly as the bell rang, giving me my freedom. School is a terrible burden after so many centuries of being forced to go. I sidestepped after almost bumping into Elena, waiting by the door for Stefan. I was about to walk away when I noticed him pull a copy of Wuthering Heights from his bag. I snatched it out of his hands quickly, shocked when I turned it to the title page and found my former initials in the corner, written clearly in ink and quill. I caught Stefan's weary gaze and quickly looked at a shocked Elena. I must look like a crazy person to her. My face pale, green eyes wide and hurt. It was silly feeling betrayed by Stefan, but I did. He had given me this book on my very last birthday, and now he was handing it over to my sister. Was he giving it to her? I cleared my throat and handed it to her.

"Wow, a first edition. That's... awesome," I said, a lump in my throat.

I excused myself before Stefan could stop me. I ran into the bathroom and found an empty stall just as a flashback took over. I could see my eighteenth birthday celebration at the Salvatore manor. Katherine, Stefan, and his father surrounded me with smiles on their faces. I knew somewhere Damon was hiding out, too scared to tell me he was home and in love with someone else. Stefan had set up the whole thing, knowing how sad I would be without Damon. I watched myself open up Stefan's gift to me. Wuthering Heights. I had been so excited to read it, even if I knew I never would, at least not as Elandra. I snapped out of the past and back into the present, sweat covering my face and arms.

I was shaking as a headache took over. I wobbled on the way to the sink. I turned on the faucet and filled my cupped hands with cold water, pouring it over my face and onto my neck. I held onto both sides of the sink and looked at myself. My dark, auburn red hair, was matted to my pale face, my ordinarily green eyes were dulled by a rampaging migraine that was quickly consuming me. I looked away from my pallid features and took a few deep breaths. Bright red against the surrounding snow-white caught my attention, and I looked down to find drops of crimson blood had fallen into the sink, I reached up and wiped the blood from my nose. I quickly rinsed off my hand and grabbed a paper towel. I could hear someone enter the bathroom but didn't bother looking at whoever it was. My head was tilted up, eyes focused on the ceiling as I tried to stop the annoying nosebleed that occasionally accompanied my migraines.

"Are you ok? I saw you run in here," Caroline asked.

I turned my eyes in her direction and shook my head gently my neck, joining in on the party of pain. I was beginning to feel weak and tired. The agony in my head was almost too much to bear. I looked at Caroline and frowned.

"Yeah, sure. Just one of my headaches," I tried.

She gave me a dirty look, always knowing when I was lying.

"Let me take you home, ok?" she asked, reaching out and taking the hand that wasn't trying to contain my nosebleed. She knew how bad my headaches could get, and I appreciated her concern but knew she couldn't help me, not this time. I pulled away and grabbed my bag, wiping at my nose one last time.

"That's ok Care Bear, I'll have Elena drive me. I'll meet up with you later," I said, heading towards the door.

Caroline pulled my hair away from the strap of my bag and patted my upper back with a sad smile. I squinted at the bright lights of the hallway as I opened the bathroom door, absently waving goodbye as I quickly headed away. I needed help, and I knew where I could get it. This headache was unlike the others. I had taken in too many memories in the last two days. I felt like I was dying, and since it was all because of the Salvatores, a Salvatore was gonna fix it. I pushed open the doors leading to the parking lot and stepped into the shadows at the side of the building.

"Stefan!" I called out, knowing if he were near, he would hear me.

After only five seconds, I felt a gush of wind, and the youngest Salvatore stood in front of me. I knew he could smell the blood because his face scrunched up in fear and thirst. I started to wobble again, and he quickly caught me.

"Elandra! What happened?!" he whispered in panic, his eyes running over me searching for an injury.

"The memories, they are too much this time. Please help me...it hurts, Stefan," I cried, falling to my knees in front of him.

He looked around, trying to figure out how to help me. His confusion was starting to annoy me, so I pulled his warm wrist to my lips for a second, unable to speak anymore. Even the sound of the breeze around us was like a knife to my head. Lifting me back to my feet, he finally understood what I needed. He bit into his wrist, then slowly placed it against my lips. Trying to ignore the foul, metallic taste of the thick warm liquid, I drank heavily for a moment. It was gross, but I was already feeling better. I leaned against Stefan, letting the last of the pain disappear.

"Thank you," I said, wrapping my arms around him.

He brushed my hair down and patted me lightly on the back. I could tell he was uncomfortable, so I stepped back to give him his space. Blood sharing could be very intimate, and for us, it was weird and awkward.

"Are you ok now?" he asked gently.

I wiped my mouth with the paper towel I still had and nodded.

"Yes, it's just a lifetime of memories coming back in a matter of days. Not to mention the memories I still have of this life and others. It's too much for my human mind sometimes," I explained.

We both looked around; luckily, we were still alone in the shadowed alcove off to the side of the school. The leaves rustled around us as we quickly stepped from the shadows, joining everyone else. Stefan tensed behind me and grabbed my hand, pulling me with him towards the parking lot. A large crowd was gathering, laughing and shouting, I was confused until I noticed Tyler and Jeremy standing in a defensive stance in front of each other. I moaned in annoyance as Jeremy shoved Tyler against his car.

"Walk away, Gilbert. It's your final warning," Tyler spat, his hands fisted in Jeremy's shirt.

I let go of Stefan's hand and ran ahead. I quickly stepped in between Tyler and my idiot brother, my hands outstretched on either side. I looked at them both as my red hair flew around me. They both stood back with their fists clenched in front of them, ready for a fight and breathing heavily. I could feel my magic trying to aid me, but I kept it pushed down.

"Listen, Ty, please let it go," I begged him, my eyes pleading.

His own eyes softened for a moment until Jeremy ruined everything by opening his big mouth, unaware of Tyler's little wolfie problem, which makes it very difficult for him to control his temper.

I had been able to sense Ty's inner wolf ever since the first day I met him. As a witch — it had always been something I had been able to do. At this moment, I could sense his inner wolf, teeth bared in anger. Even if he had yet to activate his curse, the wolf was still there — waiting to be released. Tyler's aura was flaring violently at Jeremy's challenge.

"No, this is your final warning, dick. I'm sick of watching you play Vickie. If you hurt her one more time, I swear to God I will kill you," Jeremy threatened.

Tyler moved towards him, and I quickly stepped in front of him, pushing against Jeremy, forcing my brother to walk away. Stefan followed right beside us with Elena observing Tyler. Where had she been during this whole thing? I shoved a protesting Jeremy into the back seat of my car, capturing several odd stares from the people around us, especially Stefan. He knew I shouldn't have the strength I do. I ignored them all and kept my focus on Jeremy, still trying to get at Tyler. I slammed his door shut and turned towards Elena. She was standing beside Stefan, her hand in his and face lined with stress.

"You coming, Lena?" I asked her in a huff of breath.

She looked at Stefan and sighed before hopping in the passenger seat.

"Elandra, we need to talk. There are still a few things I'd like to know," Stefan whispered before I could get in the car.

I stared right at him, officially done with the day. He observed me like I was a wild animal that could bolt at any moment.

"Yeah, I'm sure there are, but right now I'm dealing with family issues. I'm sure you can understand that." I told him, leaning into the car.

I stopped and looked over the top of the car and straight at him again. "Oh, and you need to tell my sister what she is and what you are," I whispered, almost silently, knowing he could hear me.

His face froze, but I didn't care. It needed to be said, especially since Katherine was on her way — along with someone much worse. I slid into the car and started it up. I pulled out of the parking lot with my two annoyed siblings in tow. I tried to ignore the thoughts that tried to fight their way into my head.

Who is going to take care of them when I have to leave?

These are the types of thoughts that keep me up at night. Though this was the main thought, I would have every lifetime, this one I seemed to have it more than usual.

As we pulled into our driveway, Jeremy jumped out of the car and took off for the house. Before I could shut off the engine, Elena insisted she needed to make a pit stop. I huffed, irritated that my precocious twin sister was dragging me off to who knows where.

She coerced me to stop the car in front of the Salvatore Boarding House and hopped out quickly. I shut off the car and jumped out after her; I could sense only one brother home, and it was not the one she was looking for.

I stepped in front of Elena and opened the door without knocking, heading inside.

Elena stood on the front porch, her face scrunched up in shock.

"You can't just burst into someone's house, El!" she quickly protested.

"Come on, Lena. Stop being so perfect!" I whined.

Elena's mouth fell open, and she grunted in annoyance, snapping her mouth closed with a huff.

"Fine. Stefan? Stefan?" she called out.

I left her in the doorway and went to make myself a drink. I avoided the red stuff that they had, yet again, haphazardly left in a jug by the Scotch. I would need to remind them that they were supposed to be playing human, and humans tended to keep their blood inside them — not on their bars. I rolled my eyes and tuned in to Elena, now speaking to the elder Salvatore brother.

"You must be Elena. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother," Damon said.

I stepped into the entrance and leaned against the wall a few feet behind Damon. I smiled, inwardly at his predatory posture. He was so different from the man I had once loved, but centuries of a life cursed with Vampirism would do that, I figured.

Especially when he spent that life hell-bent on revenge.

I was told the story of their Vampiric life by none other than the one who had ruined it, Katherine. She had found me centuries after I had left the life I had lived with the Salvatores. She owed me a life debt and wanted to repay it by helping me with my curse. I had saved her life once when she had still been a human. Saving her had led me to my own death, due to a very angry Hybrid. I had met Katherine when she was due to be sacrificed and pitied her. I hadn't been aware of who she was at the time and decided to help her. I very stupidly helped her escape her captivity. I hadn't received all my memories in that life yet, so I was unaware of exactly why she was being sacrificed. When Nik came across me later, he was unaware that I wasn't a doppelganger of the woman he once knew, but her reincarnated. He was already beyond angry at Katherine's escape, so in his fury, he snapped my neck.

That was the only time Nik had ever seen me; I keep myself hidden from him and Elijah. The only Originals to know of my existence and curse are Kol and Rebekah. For now, at least, they are both daggered. As far as Rebekah knows, Nik is still unaware of my affliction.

I followed Damon and Elena into the living room, staying out of Damon's view. He was so enamored with my sister that he hadn't even noticed me yet. I ignored my silly jealousy, reminding myself that this life was just as temporary as the others, and the Salvatores had always had a soft spot for the Petrova doppelgangers. I was snapped out of my daydreaming by the mention of Stefan's ex. I stepped further into the shadows of the large living room, curiously awaiting Elena's response. Was he going to tell her what she was?

"The last one?" Elena asked.

Damon stood in front of her place on the couch. "Yeah. Katherine, his girlfriend? Oh, you two haven't had the awkward exes talk yet," he said, feigning embarrassment.

"Nope," Elena spoke softly, looking down at her fidgeting hands.

Damon gasped slightly. "Oops, well, I'm sure it will come up now. Or maybe he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound. We all know how those relationships end,"

I leaned against the bookcase behind me. Damon was definitely trying to come between Stefan and Elena, and that wasn't something my Damon would have ever done. I guess the man I knew really was gone…

I ignored the rest of their conversation and decided to head upstairs. I was bored with eavesdropping, so snooping it was. I opened every door I walked passed until I found a bedroom that could only belong to Damon. It was a warm and inviting room, with a massive four-poster king-size bed that sat in the middle of the room. A pile of books sat beside the bed, and I chuckled at the memories they invoked. He had always loved reading before bed.

I walked over to the large oak chest of drawers along the right side of the room and pulled open the first drawer.

"Silk boxers, huh," I said with a chuckle, lifting a jet black pair with a grin.

I closed the drawer and moved on to the next. Unexpectedly, I found a small leather photo album underneath a pair of jeans. I checked over my shoulder towards the door to make sure I was still alone, then slowly opened the album. The first picture was of Katherine, of course. I fought my irritation and flipped to the next page. Next was Damon and Stefan on their horses, faces lit up with silent laughter. I smiled down at this picture, knowing that I had been just out of view happily laughing with the man I loved and my future brother-in-law. I flipped to the next image and held in a gasp. It was me.

I was in the garden, painting. My long hair fell gracefully against my back, and concentration was plastered on my face.

"That's my favorite," Damon said from the doorway.

I jumped, dropping the album. Luckily, it never hit the floor. I felt a stiff breeze, and Damon was beside me, holding the pictures in his hands.

"This is very fragile — we don't want it destroyed, now do we," he said, stiffly.

I looked into his crystal blue eyes and almost forgot that we had ever been apart.

"It's the picture I gave you when you left," I whispered,

It took me a moment to remember my manners, but I was just so shocked he still had it. I stepped away and leaned my head down.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have invaded your privacy,"

I walked further away from him and sat down on his bed, crossing my feet beneath me. He eyed me closely.

"You're different," he said.

"Well, yeah, of course, I'm a bit different. This is a different era. I've lived several lives since we last met," I chuckled, brushing my hair over my shoulder.

Damon sat beside me, taking my hand in his. "I thought I'd never see you again. I never forgave Stefan for what happened to you," he spat.

I gave his hand a squeeze and pulled away, wrapping my arm around his shoulder.

"Damon, it wasn't his fault — I chose to walk home alone. He didn't even know I had left until it was too late."

I wanted to tell him it wasn't his either, but that would mean revealing that fact that I had known all along about his early return from the war, and that he had chosen Katherine. I was sure blaming Stefan for my demise was just a way to hate someone else for what he really blamed himself for.

Damon turned away from me, pain written all over his face. "Did you suffer?" he asked, his voice cracking.

I didn't expect that question, so I wasn't sure whether to tell him the truth or not. Yes, I suffered. Of course, I did. It's a part of the curse; every death I face must be painful. Looking at his awaiting face, I knew I couldn't tell him that. Only two people knew — Katherine and Rebekah.

"No, It was quick," I whispered, choking back the truth.

He ran his fingers through my hair, his eyes asking me for permission. The world around me froze. I wanted to kiss him, to feel the love that had once lived between us, but something was stopping me. I could list off all the reasons why I shouldn't kiss Damon, but the one real reason that was holding me back at this moment had escaped me. Still, I knew I had to say no.

"Damon, we can't. Not now. I'd like to get to know you again, and there are a few things you need to work through — like Elena and Katherine,"

I knew he still held a torch for Katherine. She had really dug her claws into him. I stood, allowing the distance to snap him back into reality.

"You're right. How did you know about Katherine and me?" he asked, almost guiltily.

I wrung my fingers together, the awkwardness of the question makes me nervous.

"She told me, actually. I met her again in the life after the one I shared with you," I said,

I decided to keep the fact that I knew he was with her while he was supposed to be with me to myself. Some things I'd hoped to never rehash, although, I hoped that he would really listen to me and understand what I was saying as I revealed the truth of her location. Naturally, he chose to ignore it. Damon's face fell.

"Listen, I never expected you to stay celibate, Damon," I laughed.

He narrowed his eyes at me, and I couldn't hold his gaze.

"So, there's been others for you...?" he asked grumpily.

I kept my eyes on my feet and shuffled slightly.

"Yes, Damon. I have even loved again, but you have to remember, I didn't always remember you...us. Those memories don't always return," I told him.

He sped in front of me, causing me to yelp in surprise. He leaned in, his nose inches from mine, his eyes looked me over slowly.

"Well, now that I have you back, you should know, I won't give you up again so easily," he said firmly.

I wanted to tell him the truth that he would lose me again in only a year, but I refused to see that kind of pain on his face. After all, he would let me go, he would let me go for Elena. She was as much his weakness as his brother's. I knew after he realized that Katherine wasn't as trapped as he thought she was, he would finally realize she never truly loved him. It would always be Stefan, and truthfully, not even him. Katherine would always choose herself. Until then, I would let him believe what he wanted. I would play along… for now.

"Well, let the games begin. I'm excited too, yet again, be courted by you, Mr. Salvatore," I said with a curtsy.

His answering smile was blinding. A knock on the door interrupted us, bringing a frown to my face.

"Come in little brother," Damon sighed with a roll of his eyes.

I elbowed him in the ribs, laughing at his exaggerated gasp. Stefan walked in, stepping beside me. He looked at Damon and quickly noticed the little distance he put between us. I watched a thought pass across his face before being hidden as he schooled his features. He was angry about something, and I could guess exactly what that was.

He stepped in front of me and took my hand. I leaned my head back in surprise and looked into his eyes. The mischievous and vicious look that was passing through his forest green orbs reminded me too much of Nik at that moment, and that wasn't a good look on Stefan.

"I think you should stay here tonight, Elandra. We don't want something happening while my blood is in your system," Stefan said smirking at Damon.

I pulled my hand from his and growled at his thinly veiled attempt to piss Damon off. I knew it was because Damon had told Elena about Katherine, but still, it was a dick move. I had thought better of Stefan. I stepped closer to him and shook my head in disgust. His smirk melted a bit.

Damon's face fell as he started to come up with his own idea of what led to my feeding from Stefan. He looked at me and then Stefan and his eyes blazed with cold fury.

"You fed Elandra your blood!?" he shouted, pushing Stefan against the wall at Vamp speed.

I quickly followed their movements, a perk of being what I was. Damon held Stefan against the wall by his shirt, his face inked in black veins, his white teeth pointed and bared at Stefan's neck.

Stefan avoided looking at me and smirked, laughing.

"Yeah, she called for me in the shadows beside the school. Again, you weren't there, were you, Damon? But I was, as always," Stefan spat.

I could feel my hands shaking in anger. Damon's face was broken. I could imagine what he was picturing, and it was far from what actually happened. My power surged through me, and I couldn't hold it back anymore. I threw my hands forward and pushed a force field between them. Once they were separated, I pushed them to the floor, holding them, making sure neither could move. They both looked up at me in shocked horror. Damon's oceanic blue eyes were worried, and he strained as he tried to reach out to me.

"How dare you, Stefan! I asked for your help today. I trusted you, and this is how you repay me?!" I shouted, my voice echoed in the large room.

Stefan closed his eyes, too ashamed to meet my gaze. I used a little extra force to push him further into the floor, enjoying the cracking of his bones as they began to protest, and looked away towards his brother.

"Damon, you should know me better than that. Even if I have changed, I would never do anything with your brother. I am not Katherine! I was sick and used his blood to heal myself." I forcefully spat. "Now, I'm leaving. I know you both are probably a little freaked right now, but I want nothing to do with either of you at the moment,"

I spun on my heels and hightailed it out of the bedroom. I sped down the stairs towards the front door and found Elena waiting for me in the car. Her doe eyes wide, she could sense my anger, but knew better than to ask me what happened. I slipped into the driver's seat and gripped the steering wheel tightly as I started the car, speeding out of the driveway, tires squealing. I finally released the brothers when I could no longer see the large stone house in my rearview.

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