❛ ACT I ❜
-ˋˏ chapter eighteen ˎˊ-

THE NEXT DAY the Gilbert siblings were determined to try and live a normal day without the grief and death. Well, it's mainly Elena. Jeremy was trying but it was clear he wasn't near moving on. Sofia wasn't any better, Elena had to drag her older sister out of bed because she knew Sofia wouldn't move.

The vampire appreciated what Elena was trying to do it but everything still hurt. Walking past Jenna's closed bedroom door, entering the kitchen and not seeing the woman making coffee and greeting her. It all felt like needles pricking her heart before violently stabbing it.

Like Elijah read her mind yesterday, he gave her the space she needed. Klaus kept him busy anyways in his wolf form. The noble original cleaned up the messes his younger brother made in his reckless new freedom but Sofia Gilbert stayed in his thoughts. He missed her and could feel her misery through their connection.

But he resisted his desire to see her.

In the town square there was a movie projection of 'Gone with the Wind.' And of course Caroline Forbes would be the one to suggest the siblings accompany her.

"You brought me to see a girl movie." Jeremy stated, carrying the folded up banklet in his hands. He was grumpy.

Elena sighed and took the blanket. "We had to get out of the house, Jer. This is our three-hour distraction from reality." She layed it down on the grass.

Sofia stayed silent as she watched the people around her. She felt uneasy being around so many people suddenly. Some were looking at them constantly, probably pitying them. Sofia hated it.

"Is that what we're doing? Pretending like our lives aren't screwed?" Jeremy asked.

Sofia snapped her head towards her brother with a frown. "Don't say that Jeremy." She scolded, earning a look from him.

"We need to do this, okay? Breathe, eat, sleep, wake up, and do it all over again until one day, it's just not as hard anymore." Elena told the two and sat down, Jeremy and Sofia following suit reluctantly.

It felt weird to be doing this in Sofia's opinion. She remembers staying inside and becoming anti-social when her parents died. Now Sofia was forced to sit and watch a movie she doesn't wish to watch in public.

A familiar blonde vampire skipped towards the trio with a smile and two baskets of food in her hands. "Hey! There you guys are. Who's hungry?" Caroline placed the baskets in the center.

Jeremy was still not having it. "Are we really doing this?" He looked to Sofia for support but the brunette shrugged without a word.

He frowned.

Caroline sat down next to Sofia, immediately linking arms with her friend. "Yes, we are really doing this. We are going to take a page from Scarlett. We made it through the war. I know you guys went through hell, and my mom knows I am a vampire, so basically it's like Atlanta has burned. And yet, in spite of everything, we persevere." She raised her fist on the air in an attempt to lighten the mood.

This made a tiny smile tug on Sofia's lips. Caroline was a person full of light who deserved someone who will put her first. Sofia will forever be grateful for Caroline's optimism in dark times. It made her feel less hopeless.

Jeremy watched his sister smile genuinely for the first time in two days and this made him loosen up too. He sighed in defeat. "All right.What are we eating?" He sat down next to Elena, who straighted up at Jeremy trying and Sofia smiling.

Caroline smiled triumphantly. "Something good!"

Whilst Caroline rambled about what she brought for the group to eat, Sofia felt a hand gently squeeze her own. She looked to it's owner to see Elena offering her best reassuring smile, clearly worried for Sofia as well. But the vampire didn't want her siblings to worry over her so she smiled back.

But it was clear it wasn't real.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Sofia managed to sneak off during the start of the movie without Caroline noticing. The vampire really wasn't into it and just wanted to be alone. She decided to spend her day at home, properly grieving.

When she wanted a drink from her stash the girl discovered that it was finished. That brought her to the Salvatore house that was eerily silent. But Sofia didn't stop to investigate and made her way to the basement.

She stocked herself up with blood bags to take home, knowing Damon and Stefan weren't bothered by it. Just as she shut the fridge her hearing picked up laboured breathing not too far from her.

Sofia was confused since she believed she was the only one home. Carefully dropping the bag of blood against the fridge, Sofia walked towards the cell. Her brown eyes peered through the bars to see Damon lying on the ground.

"The hell -" She opened the door and pulled it open. This made Damon slowly look up at her. "Damon what are you doing locked up in here?" She asked, walking closer into the dirty room.

"Oh, hey Sof." He groaned tiredly with a sarcastic smile. "Just, ya know, chilling." He grunted again, not moving from his position on the ground.

It was clear he was in pain but this made Sofia even more confused. She kneeled down next to his body and noticed how sickly pale his skin was. A thin layer of cold sweat sat on his face and his eyes looked as if they were about to shut and never open again.

She's seen someone in this state before. Rose.

Quickly before he could stop her, Sofia grabbed his arm and pulled up the sleeve. Her breathing stopped.

"You were bitten?" She gasped, making Damon open his eyes to meet her fearful ones.

"This nifty thing?" Damon tried to chuckle. "A little gift from Tyler Lockwood last night."

"No." Sofia muttered, looking at the growing bite in his inner arm. It wasn't as bad as it could be but it will only get worse. "Why didn't I know about this?" She looked at him again, angry

"You were grieving Sofia, I wasn't going to tell you I'm dying on the same day. Plus you hate me now after I fed Elena my blood, I thought you wouldn't care."

"That's such bullshit Damon." She scoffed loudly, beginning to sit his body up and support his weight. "Of course I care if you die. How could you think I wouldn't?"

The Salvatore only frowned in response as she forced him to stand up. "Where are you taking me? I'm supposed to stay here because I'm suicidal." Damon drawled out the last word mockingly.

"Of course you tried to kill yourself. " Sofia muttered before speeding upstairs to Damon's bedroom. She dropped him on his bed earning another groan of pain. "That's for being a dick about this." Then she moved his body under the covers and puffed his pillows. "Now let me take care of you, I have experience."

"You are sooo bipolar." Damon coughed but allowed the Gilbert to wipe his face with a wet cloth she fetched from his bathroom. He opened his eyes to watch her. "Why are you being so calm?"

Her face remained blank as she wiped his forehead. "I'm staring to get use to people dying around me." Sofia said honestly but inside she was breaking. She can't loose Damon. It doesn't matter if she was mad at him before or if she hated him, Sofia couldn't deal with the fact that her best friend was dying.

"Sof.." Damon trailed off, noticing how sad she became.

She cleared her throat and stood up, walking back to the bathroom to get supplies. "Where's Stefan during this? Does he know?"

"Of course he knows, he's the one who locked me up." Damon muttered but she heard him. "He's off being delusional thinking he can find a cure. Talking to Bonnie and the witches. But they won't help since they hate me and all."

Sofia frowned as she rinsed out the cloth. There was no cure for a werewolf bite. Not one that's been made yet. The healthy thing to do was to sit down and start actually realizing her best friend won't see the next sun rise. But that just wasn't Sofia. She'll take care of her dying friend until his last breath.

Flashbacks of Rose dying came flooding back.

Taking a deep breath, the vampire returned to Damon and placed the cold cloth back on his forehead. He will start heating up and having hallucinations soon. Sofia just hopes she'll be able to handle them.

"Have you experienced any affects yet?"

"Well there's the obvious feeling of dying." Damon muttered and Sofia rolled her eyes. "But I've had an hallucination."

"Of?"

"Katherine."

"Oh." Sofia nodded, not surprised. She squeezed his hand. "I'm going to make you soup. I made Rose and she loved it."

"You know I'm dying in a few hours right?" He looked at her strangely.

Sofia glared lightly. "It will make you feel better, so lay here and sleep. I'm locking the door for now. I would have given you a blood bag but your body won't take it." She stood up and made sure Damon was comfortable before leaving the room and locking the door.

Once she was downstairs and the possibility of the man overhearing was slim, Sofia took out her phone and typed in Stefan's number.

"Hello?" His voice asked against her ear.

"Hey have you found anything on the cure yet?"

"You know?"

"Yes and I'm taking care of him. So anything?" Sofia asked desperately.

"Yeah actually, the witches told Bonnie the name 'Klaus.' So it's clear he knows the answer. I'm heading over there now."

Sofia felt the slightest relief. It didn't mean Damon was saved but it was close. There's actually a cure for a werewolf bite. But of course, because of their luck, only the hybrid knows.

"That's good news Stefan." She said. "Do you need me there?"

Sofia would have Elena or Caroline look after Damon if it meant she helps Stefan cure him.

"No no, it's fine. Someone needs to look after Damon. Only one of us needs to get dragged into this."

Sofia listened carefully as Stefan's breath hitched, hesitant to ask her something.

"Does Elena know?"

Sofia pursed her lips, knowing Stefan knew of his brother's feelings. She still answered honestly. "No, I haven't told her. But I should Stefan so she can say um, goodbye. Just in case."

"Yeah, you're right." Stefan muttered. "You'll tell her?"

"Yeah."

"Okay thanks Sofia. Bye."

Stefan hung up and Sofia removed her phone from her ear.

Stefan was really understanding, she thought. Elena did care for Damon, maybe not in the same way he does for her but she does nevertheless. She needs to say goodbye. Despite Stefan's displeasure for his brother's affection towards his girlfriend he wouldn't hide this from her.

"It better not have carrots." She caught Damon muttering upstairs. Sofia rolled her eyes and entered the large kitchen to start preparing the carott-less soup.

But then her eyes traveled across the counter to the stool where Jenna sat two days ago. Sofia didn't realize she was standing in the same place as well.

Suddenly her heart felt like it was breaking all over again. The whole Damon situation briefly made her forget the loss. That's probably why she wants to make him soup. To occupy herself enough to not think of the fact that Jenna was dead.

She stared at the empty seat with sad eyes for another moment before forcing herself to look away.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"I don't deserve you."

Sofia looked next to her at a weak Damon with confused features. They were lying next to each on his bed silently. It was a peaceful silence, not one that made them uncomfortable.

Damon looked paler and his bite was getting more gruesome. Sofia abandoned the soup downstairs to boil so she could be near him. If Stefan failed, she really could loose her him tonight. Even if their last moments were in silence, Sofia wouldn't care.

His blue eyes weren't open but he knew the expression she wore. "I don't deserve your friendship." He specified.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked quietly, still looking at him. She didn't bother to deny the statement because they both knew it was true.

"I don't know why you took a chance on me." He ignored her question. "But I'm grateful you did. You made this one-pony town bearable."

"Only bearable?" She scoffed but a tiny smile followed.

"You got on my ass about stuff sometimes so yes, only bearable."

"Because someone other than Stefan needed to."

Damon hummed still with closed eyes. "You know, I still think we'd make a hot-ass couple." He opened one eye and smirked.

Sofia shook her head at his words with the small smile still present. "We would." Then she looked at him pointingly once he opened both his eyes. "But it wouldn't work because you're in love with my sister."

Damon frowned. "You ruined the moment." He stuck his tongue out at her childishly.

She rolled her eyes and sat up on her elbows. "Yeah by telling you what you already know."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not? You're dying Damon and I'm your best friend. Maybe you need to get it off your chest."

"But you're her older sister who wouldn't even approve." Damon told her before it was his turn to give her a pointed look. "Am I wrong?"

Sofia stayed silent and looked back at the ceiling, fiddling with her ring.

"Exactly."

"Well you haven't proven to be the best for her Damon. Or are you forgetting that you shoved your blood down her throat two days ago?"

"I don't regret that Sofia." At her name she looked at him. Damon's eyes looked directly into hers. "Because between my brother and I, I'm the one who will keep her alive during all this."

"She wouldn't have been alive Damon. She'd be like us. Do you want that for her? You and I both know my sister wouldn't take being a vampire well. Are you that selfish?" Sofia asked. She didn't mean for this conversation to take this turn.

"Yes because when you love someone you're okay with being selfish if it means you don't loose them." Damon responded before coughing.

Sofia sat up properly and rubbed his back. But her mind drifted elsewhere.

Elijah confessed that he was selfish with her that day at the Lockwood mansion. He ignored the risks because he needed to know her. He didn't tell her because he knew she'd push away. Did that mean he loved her? That's ridiculous! They've only started to get to know each other recently.

Sofia shook her head at her silly thoughts. But she couldn't deny that they made her miss Elijah. She actually wishes he was with her right now. But Sofia needed space and time.

Sofia heard the front door downstairs open and shut before hurried footsteps started up the stairs.

Damon heard it too and looked at Sofia. "Who is that? If it's a stripper so I can have a last lap danc-"

Elena entered the bedroom right in the middle of his sentence. Damon shut his mouth.

Sofia's nose scrunched. "It's nice to know dying doesn't change your priorities, Damon." Then she looked at her nervous sister. "You can take my place for a bit while I dish up the soup."

Sofia called her sister ten minutes ago and told her everything. Elena wasted no time in getting to them.

She saw the dirty look Damon sent her as Elena took her place on the bed and ignored it. He wants Elena here, he can pretend to not care all he wants. But Sofia sees right through him.

The tension that suddenly formed when Elena sat next to Damon didn't go unnoticed by Sofia. She looked between them whispering before leaving for the kitchen. After, she'll wait a bit outside his bedroom while they talk, in case he has an hallucination and Elena needs to get out of harms way.

But Sofia's feet barely made it ten feet before a familiar and terrible agony shot through her body as her heart's flesh tore. A yell left her lips and her hand came up to her chest, feeling the veins start crawling into her skin. Her other hand gripped the railing near her tightly as her breathing became short and rushed.

"Sofia!" She heard Elena exclaim worriedly before the girl came into her vision. "What happened?" She asked, looking at Sofia strangely since her sister quickly turned away from her in an odd stance. She couldn't see the wound.

"Nothing, 'Lena. I'm fine." Sofia said, hand still touching her chest in pain. She'll never get use to the horrible feeling of metal piercing her heart. "I almost tripped. Go back to Damon, I'll bring the soup." Sofia instructed, still not turning around.

Elena frowned suspiciously but didn't say anything, trusting Sofia. "Okay.." She sent one last worried look at her before retreating back to the bedroom.

Using her speed, Sofia rushed to the kitchen.

Her eyes looked downwards and filled with terror at a sight she's seen before.

That meant -

"Elijah." Sofia gasped. "No.." Her hand hanging by her side balled into a fist. There was only one explanation. Klaus daggered Elijah and didn't keep his promise of leading Elijah to their siblings. This is not good.

She frowned at her grey skin around her heart.

At all.

She was wearing a long sleeved red shirt that unfortunately didn't cover her chest and collarbones. She needs to cover the wound up. Her friends and family can't know yet.

Completely forgetting about Damon's soup, Sofia ventured into her own room at the Salvatore house where she had spare clothes. She already knew what she wanted before she even took the black hoodie out. It was actually Jeremy's but he 'lost' it weeks ago.

Once she was covered, Sofia let out a grunt of anger.

She hated Klaus. How could he do this to Elijah after promising him their family? Now Sofia was back to desiccating slowly and she can't see Elijah anymore. Who knows how long Klaus would keep his brother daggered. Days, weeks, months, years!

Will Sofia never see him again?

Sofia didn't want to think about that. She still wanted to spend more time with him and get to know him. She wanted to explore the idea of Elijah and herself. It was scary but something Sofia wanted.

Her fingers grazed her birthmark, thinking about the bond. A soft sigh escaped her lips.

Then she remembered the fact that Stefan went to see Klaus.

Sofia quickly took her phone out and called Stefan but it went straight to voicemail. She frowned and tried again but she got his voicemail for the second time.

Was he hurt? Did Klaus kill him?

She quickly ran to Damon' bedroom to ask her sister to call Stefan in hopes Stefan is just ignoring her calls in particular. But the vampire was taken back to see none other than Katherine Pierce standing by Damon's bed with a vial of red liquid.

"Katherine?" Sofia asked and the doppelgänger looked at her. "I would have heard you come in -"

"I'm 500 years old, I know how to sneak past a baby vampire." Katherine rolled her eyes, enjoying the offense covering Sofia's face.
Then she looked to Damon on the bed, who's been watching cautiously. "I brought the cure."

Sofia's eyes widen. "Stefan did it?" She asked, but the hesitation in her voice was clear. It's commonly known to not trust Katherine Pierce and Sofia wasn't sure what tricks the woman wanted to play.

Katherine nodded at her before sitting next to Damon. Both the Gilbert sisters took eager steps closer.

"You got free." Damon whispered.

"Yep. Finally." Katherine poured the cure into Damon's mouth.

"What is that?" Elebs asked because there was no cure for a werewolf bite yet here Katherine was feeding it to Damon. Who looked freakishly slightly healthier in the mere seconds he consumed the liquid.

Katherine didn't answer, liking the idea of being the only one in the room who knew the truth.

"And you still came here?" Damon rasped, looking at Katherine sceptically.

The vampire touched his face tenderly, shocking everyone in the room. "I owed you one." Then she stood up.

Sofia rushed to sit next to Damon and smiled in relief at the healing wound. She wasn't going to loose him.

"Where's Stefan?"

Sofia looked away from Damon and towards Elena, remembering the reason why she ran here in the first place. "Yeah, his phone is going straight to voicemail. Is he okay?" She asked, frowning. Her fingers were combing through Damon's hair instinctively.

Katherine ignored Sofia, looking at Elena with mischief in her eyes. "Are you sure you care?"

Sofia's eyebrows furrowed. What is that supposed to mean?

Elena shifted uncomfortably. "Where is he?"

"He's paying for this." She lifted the empty vial. "He gave himself over to Klaus. I wouldn't expect him anytime soon."

"What do you mean, "he gave himself over"? "

"He just sacrificed everything to save his brother, including you. It's a good thing you have Damon to keep you company. Good-bye, Elena. Sofia." Katherine sent the two on the bed a glance, seeing Sofia looking down at her best friend questionably. Before she left, she looked towards Elena.

"Oh. It's okay to love them both. I did." She smirked slightly before leaving.

"Elena." Sofia stated and the doppelgänger looked at her with hesitation. "What did she mean by that?" Her eyes stared into Elena's.

Elena knew how easily her older sister could get anything out of her and the girl herself hasn't even figured it out yet. So she gulped and didn't reply, sending a look to Damon before quickly walking out the bedroom.

"Hey." She nudged Damon. "What happened? Why is she acting this way?" Sofia questioned him.

Damon groaned slightly as he sat up before replying. "We kissed."

Sofia stood eruptly from the bed. "What?!" Her eyes were wide. "Damon!" She grabbed a pillow and threw it at him with all her strength.

The pillow hit him hard. "I'm still recovering here!" He glared at her.

"You kissed her?!"

"She kissed me!"

"I can't believe this! Stefan just sacrificed himself to Klaus to do lord knows what and here you two are kissing!" Sofia waved her arms around, emphasizing how upsetting the news is. "How could you let her kiss you?!"

"This is my fault? I was literally dying five minutes ago! She technically took advantage of me!" Damon tried to save himself.

Sofia glared sharp daggers at the man. "You are very lucky that you just survived a werewolf bite Damon Salvatore or else I'd have given you a worse fate."

Damon gulped.

Sofia sighed before pulling him into a hug, stuffing her face into the crook of his neck in relief.

Yes, she was pissed but that didn't mean she forgot about almost loosing Damon. She was so grateful towards Stefan for getting the cure. The young woman just worried about what the youngest Salvatore did to earn it.

Damon tensed, waiting for her to punch or stab him but Sofia continued to hug him tightly. He finally relaxed and hugged her back.

"You're so bipolar."

"Do you want me to chop up carrots and put it in your soup?"

"Now that I'm healthy I'm throwing it away."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The entire drive home, Sofia lectured Elena about her kiss with Damon. The girl said nothing, letting the guilt and worry eat at her. It didn't help that Stefan was not returning calls or texts. No one knew where he was. And it was terrifying.

Jeremy was already asleep when they arrived and Alaric was crashing on their couch. Neither girls minded though. After a tense 'goodnight', the sisters departed to their separate bedrooms.

Sofia let out a loud groan filled with exhaustion, anger and misery once she was alone. She really wishes Jenna was still here. Her aunt would let her talk everything out. Make her feel okay.

Tears barely filled her eyes. Jenna was dead. Elijah was daggered. She was dying. Stefan was nowhere to be found.

What the fuck is her life?

Then the doorbell rang.

Sofia frowned, and looked at the clock on her bedside table. It was 22:06. Who could be knocking so late?

She quickly made her way downstairs, suddenly feeling tense from the presence on the other side of the door. Her fingers wrapped around the door handle and she opened it, eyes widening.

"You look horrible, love."

Sofia stared at Klaus Mikaelson in silent shock. The man stood on her front door step over the welcome mat with his hands behind his back.

The hybrid smirked at her reaction.

But the shocked expression soon shifted into one of hatred. Her soft eyes hardened into wood and her lips pulled down into a sneer.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "I'm guessing you're still upset about your aunt." He leaned against the white doorframe casually.

Her fists clenched and it took everything in Sofia to not rip his head from his body.

"I'm not stupid enough to try and kill you now that you're a hybrid." She spat. "But don't you ever mention Jenna again."

His eyes narrowed, straighting up and towering over her intimidatingly "Do you know who you are talking to?" His tone changed.

Sofia clenched her jaw before looking at Klaus with a newfound advantage. "I could not care less Klaus. Besides, I know that you won't kill me. Elijah would end you."

The tinest of smirks tugged on her lips when his expression faltered. It was only for half a second but Sofia caught it and loved every second of it. She wasn't sure if Elijah held any power over his brother until now.

An annoyed tight lipped smile formed on his lips. "Someone did their homework." He chuckled dryly. "Let's cut to the chase then, shall we?"

"Get out of my face." Sofia moved to slam the door but Klaus grabbed it and glared at her before forcefully pushing it back.

"Mmhm, you see that tone makes we want to rethink my decision to not let you die."

"Excuse me?" Her eyes narrowed, anger flaring.

"We need to talk, Gilbert. I suggest we do it outside so no one overhears." He suggested. "It's about something I know you don't want your family to hear."

The threshold was the only thing preventing Klaus from harming her. He might not kill her but the possibility of her getting her neck snapped is high. But Sofia also didn't want her family and Alaric to see her talking to Klaus.

She huffed and stepped outside, shutting the door behind her. "Don't try to compel me, I digest vervain."

It was true. She started three days ago at Elijah's request after he informed her of his family's ability to compel vampires. He wanted her to not be weakened by the herb either. It was painful but it will help her in the end.

"You're familiar with the fact that you're linked to my brother?" He asked and she nodded hesitantly. "So that means you're desiccating because I daggered him."

Sofia's eyebrows furrowed. "You can't prevent my death. You're definitely not undaggering him any time soon."

"Yes which means you will die. But." He raised his eyebrows and smiled mischievously. "You will die quicker the further away you are from my brother. And I'm taking him and Stefan with me far away from Mystic Falls."

Sofia was relieved to hear her friend's name, meaning he was alive. But then she registered what he said and stilled. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Elijah never told her that.

"You don't. So I come to you with a offer. You come with us on my trip to create more hybrids and stay close to Elijah since my family's coffins are never too far. And I'll even have a witch with much more power than your friend create you something that can keep you alive until I undagger my family. "

Sofia scoffed."Yeah right. And you want something in return, don't you?"

"Of course, love." He smirked. "But that will reveal itself later on." He clapped his hands together. "So either you come with me and Stefan and live or stay here. You'll be dead by the end of the week." Klaus shrugged. "It's your choice."

Sofia was stunned into silence. There wasn't even a choice and Sofia knew that Klaus knew it too. She's going to have to leave for who knows how long to not die. She's leaving her siblings and her friends without a trace or a why.

She didn't want this. The eighteen-year-old found herself wishing that this wasn't her life. A life where there isn't choices or peace. A life where the supernatural ruins everything.

Her heavy silence was enough for Klaus. He nodded. "We leave at midnight. Stefan and I will be waiting in Warehouse 6 by the docks. Don't be late and don't tell anyone why you are leaving. Say your goodbyes."

He sped away.

Sofia exhaled a shaky breath, leaning against her front door and laying her head in her hands. The urge to cry resurfaced but she ignored it. Instead she took in deep breaths of chilly
air and let the silence of the night consume her. She stayed like that for minutes before finally composing herself and entering the house.

The clock on the wall said she still had an hour and thirty minutes before she leaves. That's enough time to pack and say silent goodbyes.

That's what Sofia spent her last minutes in Mystic Falls doing. She packed her entire closet into two suitcases because she has no clue when she'll return. She packed her section of the bathroom cabinet into a tiny bag and the bloodbags she still had where put into a separate suitcase. (she prays they were not going to an airport). Then she collected all the money she's saved since she was thirteen and left it on the kitchen counter with a note for her siblings. It was alot and hopefully enough. They still all had money from their parent's and Jenna's will but it was just a precaution. She left her car keys too.

She wrote a letter for both her siblings telling them to stay together and look after each other, a letter to Alaric asking him to watch over them, and letters to her friends. It was the least she could do.

When the long hand struck the thirty minute mark, Sofia was already packed and ready. But she still had one last thing to do.

Quietly, she entered Elena's room. Her sister was fast asleep and oblivious to her presence. Her diary sat not too far from her, telling Sofia that she wrote her thoughts before drifting off.

The vampire lovingly kissed her little sister's forehead and whispered an 'I love you, Lena.' She painfully caressed Elena's hair, feeling the sadness overwhelm her so she left quickly and shut the door silently.

She did the same to Jeremy, except she stayed a little longer watching him peacefully sleep. Her brother has been though so much and it hurt Sofia thinking about how her absence would affect him. He's going to think she left him. Just like their parents and Jenna.

She even tidied his messy room just because she knew she wouldn't do it for awhile.

Sofia stood at the top of the staircase, looking between the closed bedroom doors of Elena, Jeremy and Jenna. A few tears escaped her eyes and the urge to abandon the plan and just stay gripped her. But it was for the best, she convinced herself.

She quickly went down the stairs and smiled gently at Alaric's sleeping figure on their couch. Her suitcases were by the door waiting for her.

Sofia gathered her luggage and opened the door, taking one last look at the interior of her house. A picture on the shelf next to the door caught her eye.

It was taken when Sofia was fifteen. Their entire family went on a ski trip for winter break and Sofia can remember how excited she and Elena were. Jeremy was terrified and stuck close to their dad whilst his sisters, mom and aunt skied. The picture was taken after that.

In the photograph Sofia was squished in her mom's embrace as she smiled happily at the camera being held by her dad. A twelve year old Jeremy hugged their dad's torso with his eyes closed shut in fear adorably and a fourteen year old Elena pulled a funny face matching Jenna's at the camera.

Without a second thought, Sofia took the picture frame and stuffed it in her shoulder bag, knowing she'll need to see their family's happy faces for the time to come.

Then she finally left. Shut the door and didn't look back as she disappeared into the night. Leaving Mystic Falls with a heavy heart.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

AUTHOR'S NOTE

and that's a wrap!

after SO long I finally finished season 2 and let me tell you, season three is where the good stuff happens.

what do you guys think of the last chapter? any thoughts or predictions for season three now that Sofia went with Klaus and Stefan?

Thank you for reading this far! I appreciate very single one of my readers 💘

please vote!