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"I though we got each other's hearts so I pushed you way through, hurting myself to live with it."

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JAMES POV

The thought of Blair roaming the streets all while afraid, lonely, and lost of herself is something I cannot stop thinking about. Caroline had told us what happened- about how she saved her life. I can't help but think this is evidence that the Blair we use to know is still there. Perhaps she never even left.

Damon left a while ago to talk to Stefan leaving me alone with Joel and Rebekah who had invited herself into the Salvatore home.

As of right now, it's just Joel and I sitting across from each other in the living room while Rebekah silently cries in the adjacent room. The argument Elena instigated about how Klaus has done nothing but destroy her life the other day had taken a toll on the old vampire, but I now know she is on our side.

Bored and anxious for Damon to return, I turn to my brother to find he's staring at the blazing fireplace, a brooding expression on his face that hasn't changed the moment we came back after finding him unconscious on the floor from the attack Fredrick had commenced on him.

"What's the matter with you? Embarrassed a dead vampire managed to blind side you? He was a ghost after all," I say, trying to lighten the mood.

"No," Joel says nonchalantly with a shake of his head.

I furrow my brows. "Then what is it?" I ask.

"Blair- she mentioned how suspicious it was that Lexi only appeared on the day ghosts were roaming around Mystic Falls. I can't keep thinking that it wasn't a strange coincidence," he admits, an glooming expression plastered on his face.

As soon as the words leave his mouth, my blood runs cold and the whole atmosphere around us changes. I knew this would come up again. I just hoped I could push it off for as long as possible. It's only now do I realize how selfish that was, considering he never got to say goodbye.

"Joel," I begin, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

By now his full attention is on me, and suddenly I can't find the words to explain to him that our sister is dead. More importantly, that it was Damon that killed her.

"Is she dead?" he croaks. His eyes are glistering with tears, making his blue eyes appear more like glass.

"Yes," I say succinctly.

He only nods, his jaw tight as he struggles to hold back tears. "How?"

"Joel, that's not i-"

"How did she die James? I deserve to know. For Christ's sake, I deserve to know more than that. I didn't even get a bloody chance to say goodbye, because I thought I was going to see her again tomorrow," he says, his tone growing angrier. I can tell he's letting all his anger out now; he's going to explode.

"All those tedious years of watching over you silently, obeying Klaus out of fear for your life! He threatened your life too James, not just mine! Your goddamn life James, and you couldn't find the balls to tell me that my own sister, our sister was dead?" he exclaims. "Do you have any idea what it feels like to have to constantly look over your shoulder?" he asks.

"Yes," I think, but I know now is not the time for an argument. Joel's hurting, and all I can do is listen.

"I escaped Klaus's grasp by myself when you didn't even know I existed. Even then, I saved your life. The least you owe me is an explanation," he yells, pointing an accusing finger at my face.

"It was Damon, Joel. Damon killed Lexi right in front of my eyes," I admit, watching closely for his reaction. I can still see the image of the night he killed her vividly in my dreams, so I can only imagine what Joel is feeling having it all sink in.

He clenches his jaw at the mention of Damon's name, but to my surprise he doesn't seem angry; at least not right now. If anything he seems sad, but that's understandable. Honestly if he wasn't sad, I'd be concerned.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye," Joel whispers before he gets up, and walks away.

I don't try and stop him, as frankly I don't know what else to say. He needs time, much like I did after witnessing the murder of my sister.

"And I thought I was having a bad day," Rebekah says, entering the room.

At that moment Damon walks in the door with two familiar humanity-less vampires following behind in his trail.

"It's about to get a whole lot worse," I mutter.

I stand up along side Rebekah as I eye Stefan and Blair, unsure how to react. As they approach us my eyes stay locked on Blair, expecting her to do something out of character, but to my surprise she avoids eye contact with me completely, as if she's afraid. As if she's afraid looking at me will spark some emotion she's so keen on concealing.

"Before you all break out into a full on civil war, I'll have you know we've agreed on a cease fire for the time being," Damon begins, his hands held up in defence.

"Why is that?" I wonder.

"As of right now, we have a common enemy, and we have a common goal," Damon explains. Before I can ask more, another figure walks in the door.

Rebekah immediately tenses beside me and I clench my hands into fists.

"Hello Mikael," I greet bitterly.

∆ ∆ ∆

Precisely twenty minutes later, Mikael ends up with a dagger in his heart as all the pieces of this newly developed plan fall into place.

After talking with a compelled Stefan and a shaken up Rebekah, Klaus is now convinced that his father is dead, when in reality he just took the bait for our long awaited trap.

When Klaus announced he was indeed coming back to Mystic Falls, everyone scattered and went their own ways, preparing for homecoming that was happening tonight where the rest of our plan would take action. That left Rebekah and I sitting rather awkwardly in the library, staring at Mikael while we waited for him to wake.

"Are you really ready to watch your brother die?" I ask, speaking up.

"It's long overdue," she murmurs.

"Agreed, but are you ready?" I ask again. Even Elijah had been seconds away from killing his brother before the noble man in him decided last minute to postpone his death.

Before Rebekah has a chance to respond, Mikael gasps awake on the floor beside us. His eyes immediately dart to Rebekah, his daughter who he so wrongly crossed.

"Don't even think about pulling some fatherly rubbish lecture. It means nothing," Rebekah snarls.

Confused, Mikael glances at me, but I'm too reluctant to take sides on this one. I only shrug.

Rebekah stands up and leaves so it's only Mikael and I in the room. I've known Mikael ever since I was human, as he was more of a father figure to me than my own father who was almost never there. Being the older sibling of the three, I was always in charge of Lexi and Joel. Mikael was never a close friend, but he wasn't an immediate enemy either.

Hell, Mikael had even helped Elijah and I over the years with our revenge tag on Klaus. It was only when Mikael decided all his children were bloodsucking monsters did Elijah and I refuse his help, resulting in his disappearance. It's only now have I come face to face with him again, and I know neither of us knows what to say.

"What is wrong with Rebekah?" Mikael asks.

"I think she's just mad still of how you're the reason she, along with all her siblings are forever cursed with being an 'abomination to the world'- your words not mine," I say.

"Is that right? And do you James, feel the same way?" Mikael asks, his brow raised.

"I guess I would've like to have been given a choice, along with your children," I point out. I look down at my hands, brooding about the night Klaus turned Lexi, Joel and I.

"You see James, you wouldn't have met Blair if you weren't what you are," Mikael says.

I look at him, and realize he's right. Klaus might have given me the power to meet Blair, but he's also taken her away from me. Not just physically, but emotionally too.

I don't want to admit that he's right, but to my luck he changes the topic.

"Do you really trust Stefan and Blair to follow through with the plan to kill Klaus? Aren't they his ....?" Mikael asks, only to be interrupted by Damon.

"Bitches?" Damon snickers, walking into the room.

"That is my queue to leave," Mikael says. "See you tonight." He nods, before walking off.

"What do you think of this plan Branson?" Damon asks.

"I don't like it. Too many things can go wrong," I admit.

"You mean another Elijah episode might happen?" he asks.

"Yeah that. Someone's humanity is going to get in the way," I sigh.

"Luckily for us, two of our members don't seem to possess such emotion," Damon murmurs.

Just then Blair walks past the hall towards the front door diverting our attention from our conversation to her. Damon and I scramble up and follow her just as she's about to leave.

"Blair, where are you going?" Damon asks.

"Klaus told me to come and return to him with more information on Mikael," she explains.

"He doesn't know that he's not daggered anymore," I point out. "We can't let him know the truth."

"She's compelled," Damon sighs. "She has to go, but she and Stefan did see Mikael daggered, so let's hope that was enough to be a loophole in the compulsion."

Blair sends us a sarcastic grin, but by the way she's tightly gripping the door handle, I know something is up. She's hiding something, and something tells me Damon knows what she's hiding. Their exchange of glances tells me so.

Our attention is turned to the ceiling where Stefan's room is above us. Judging from the sound of footsteps and voices, Rebekah and Elena are engaged in a polite discussion. Suddenly there's a loud crash and a cry of pain as someone tumbles to the floor.

"I see you don't plan on taking Rebekah tonight," Blair smirks.

I turn to Damon and smack him on the arm. "So we suddenly agreed to dagger Rebekah?" I question.

Damon only shrugs. "You said someone's humanity was going to get in the way."

As I shake my head in disgust and glance back by the door where Blair was standing moments ago, we find that she's disappeared.

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BLAIR POV

"Klaus! I need a dress right now!" I bellow through the surprisingly empty mansion.

"And what? You expect me to act as your fairy godmother?" Klaus asks amusingly while walking down the staircase.

"As much as I would like to see that, I'm afraid time is of the essence. Speaking of, where is everyone? Did all your pups run away from home?" I grin.

"No," he growls, "the dance has been relocated to Tyler Lockwood's home. My pups are setting up there." 

I purse my lips and nod before making my way past him up the stairs in hopes of finding a dress when suddenly his firm grasp on my arm stops me.

"What?" I snap.

His stern expression softens slightly at my reaction, and he releases his grip. "I was just wondering if you were there when Mikael died, but apparently there's more on your mind. Care to share?" he asks. I can tell he's trying to compel information out of me.

"Mikael is dead, and  you'll get your proof tonight. Homecoming is in two hours and I need a dress," I sigh, expressing all my present problems in one sentence.

"Alright sweetheart. Upstairs to the right. Whatever's there is yours." 

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JAMES POV

"Remember the last time we walked into a high school dance?" Damon asks as we stand outside the Lockwood mansion which is already booming with music and reeking of alcohol.

"Yeah, and Klaus bombed that one too?" I ask, remembering the night. In all honestly all I really remember is how stunning Blair looked that night. How free she was, how happy she was all because she could feel.

"Klaus is quite the party bomber isn't he?" Stefan asks, draping his arms around Damon and I. Damon and I glare at him, and he quickly backs down.

"Sorry. Wouldn't want to wrinkle the suit," he says, patting my suit down.

"Why don't you go find your emotionless twin Stefan? Have some sibling bonding time," Damon suggests sarcastically.

"Meh, we've had plenty of time to bond over the summer. It's funny how killing and ripping people apart can really bring people closer together," Stefan says with a smirk. 

Damon and I turn away in disgust, my body shivering slightly at the thought of all the people Stefan has killed in his lifetime. Being a ripper is an unfortunate disease that Stefan was just lucky enough to catch. It's like an addiction, except more extreme. 

"Speaking of siblings, where's Joel?" Stefan asks.

"He needed some time alone," I murmur, remembering the conversation we had this morning.

"Ah, maybe you should've stayed home too Stefan," Damon remarks, smiling at his own joke.

"Let's not forget why we're all here okay?" I say, attempting to calm things down.

"You're right James. So, here's the plan: Klaus is expecting Mikael's body at his door step tonight, but that's not part of the original plan," Stefan explains seriously.

"So what do we do?" Damon asks.

"We give Klaus what he wants. We deliver Mikael to his doorstep. He just might be a little more alive then Klaus was expecting." I smirk.

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[completed & edited: 08/17/2021]