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chapter seven ━ this thing called time

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❝ just how long would you wait? ❞

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THE WARM COFFEE reached her lips and Melody drank it slowly so she wouldn't burn her tongue. The previous day's events had her mind busy though she tried to not think about it. It still bothered her as to the fact that no one in her family had cast the protection spell. And no one she knew in Mystic Falls cast the spell either. It was as if someone from the outside did it instead. But then that brought the question as to why.

Melody couldn't think of a reason. Why would someone she didn't even know, want to protect her? Things just didn't add up. Although it annoyed her to no end, she knew that there were more pressing matters than a mysterious person protecting her. Because at least they weren't trying to kill her.

Footsteps sounded through the kitchen and Melody turned to see Stefan. He smiled at her and she held out a cup of coffee to him. "Coffee?"

Stefan thanked her and grabbed it. He raised an eyebrow once he saw her drink from her own cup. "I didn't think you drank coffee."

Melody shrugged, taking another sip. "I usually don't. But I needed the extra boost this morning considering that there's this masquerade later."

"Ah, let me guess, you volunteered to help plan."

The woman finished off her coffee and set it in the sink, rinsing it off before setting it down. She turned around to look at Stefan and leaned against the counter. "I told Bonnie and Elena I would help," Melody explained, recalling when last night Stefan had told her that he explained to Elena about him trying human blood. She was mad. Elena was hurt by the fact that Melody was helping him through this instead of her. Not to mention the fact that she tried convincing Stefan that having human blood was a bad idea. "So now, I told them I wasn't helping because I'm pissed at Elena."

Stefan nodded, remembering the events of last night as well. "Like you said, it's my choice, not her's."

"Good." Melody grabbed a small knife from the knife set and aimed the blade at her hand. She jabbed her skin slightly, just enough to draw a little blood, and then held it out to Stefan. "Don't let her change your mind."

The younger Salvatore gave her a grateful smile and then walked toward her. He took a deep breath before taking Melody's palm, drinking the blood that was on the surface of her skin.

He wasn't going to lie; Melody's blood was intoxicating. It tasted different from just normal human blood. Stefan figured it had something to do with the fact she was a fairytale character and had magic. He knew that she must have known this, another reason why she wanted to help him, instead of Elena.

Stefan lifted his head and the veins disappeared. Melody waved her hand to heal her wound and smiled. "Do you think Katherine will be there?" she questioned, referring to the masquerade.

The vampire took a step back and looked at her with his arms crossed over his chest. "Who knows? Katherine is unpredictable, she could make a move at any moment."

Melody nodded and then let out a breath. "Well, you better get going. Wouldn't want to endure the wrath known as Elena Gilbert."

Stefan chuckled as they walked out of the kitchen. Melody followed him out of the house and stood on the porch as Stefan walked to his car.

"Just imagine what Caroline would be like," he reminded.

Melody laughed with him. "She'd be a hundred times worse than Elena."

Stefan agreed and then bid her goodbye, getting in his car, leaving for the Gilbert House. Melody closed the door and walked back over to the couch. She grabbed her sketchbook that — by now — had only a few clean pages left.

The sketchbook was a simple white cover with a decorative black design on the front. She had got it from Pan and Felix on her sixteenth birthday. Melody smiled at the memory and ran her hand across the front cover. It seemed so long ago when things had finally calmed down in the fairytale town. And to think that she was now apart of something bigger was crazy. However, she got a feeling that there was much more than meets the eye.

A knock interrupted her thoughts and she got and set the sketchbook down. When she opened the door, she saw Jeremy. "Little Gilbert," she realized, sounding confused and surprised. "What's up?"

"I need to talk to Damon."

"Damon's not here and neither is Stefan." Melody made a pouting face. "You're stuck with me."

Jeremy looked behind him and then looked back at her. "Fine. Tyler Lockwood has to kill someone to activate his curse. He's not a werewolf yet."

Melody looked bored. "That's nothing we already don't know."

"Mason Lockwood is looking for a moonstone, a special rock connected to the werewolf legend. That's why he's here."

She then became intrigued, her posture becoming more aware. Melody raised an eyebrow. "A moonstone?" she repeated.

Jeremy nodded, smiling like he was proud of himself that he actually did something for once. "And I know where it is."

Melody smirked a bit, amused at his reaction. "And why are you telling me this? I mean, I know you wanted to tell Damon, but still. Why would you even want to tell him?"

"Do I need a reason?" She gave him a look in response. "I just want to help, okay?"

"What does Elena say about this?" Jeremy didn't answer her and Melody sighed, rubbing her forehead. She could practically feel her next headache knocking at her skull, yelling surprise. "You didn't tell her, did you?"

"Elena doesn't want me getting involved in all this."

He tried to walk into the house but Melody put a hand on her chest to stop him. "And she's right. Elena might be a bitch sometimes, but she's your older sister and she wants to look out for you. But the other side of me is telling me to let you inside." She removed her hand and stepped out of the way. "The other side won because it lives to piss her off."

Jeremy smiled at her and Melody closed the door. She followed him into the living room. The younger boy saw her sketchbook, raising an eyebrow at it. "Is this yours?" he asked, pointing toward it.

Melody smiled and walked over. "Nah it's Damon's." Jeremy laughed at her joke. "It's mine. I've been sketching since I was little."

"But aren't you really old?"

"I'm only like a couple of centuries old," she defended, waving it off as if it were nothing though it clearly was. "I stopped counting my actual age a long time ago."

He set his bag down and watched as Melody sat on the one couch. "I sketch too. But I stopped for a while after my parents died."

Melody made a thoughtful sound, nodding along with the words since she could relate to him. "Yeah, I stopped for a while too. It reminded me of my dad. But in the last few years, I started up again."

The youngest Gilbert looked sympathetic. "Oh, I'm sorry."

The brunette waved her hand, smiling again. "No, no, don't worry. He's not dead, we just went through a big rough patch."

Just then, Damon strolled into the Boarding House with a smirk, Alaric following behind him. "Well, it looks like you two are getting along." When he saw Jeremy he stopped. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping," Jermy replied. "I'm the one who found out about the moonstone."

"Moonstone?"

Melody nodded and stood. "Apparently, Mason Lockwood is looking for a moonstone that is tied to the werewolf legend."

Alaric looked at Jeremy. "Does Elena know you're here?"

"Not exactly," little Gilbert responded.

"Well, Ric and I got some more research from Vanessa, the hottie, from Duke," Damon told them.

Melody rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. When did he not comment on women? Now that she thought about it, he never flirted with her unless he was just trying to tease her. Which was odd. "What about it? Thought there was nothing else useful there?"

"That's what we thought," Alaric replied. He looked over at her. "Do you remember the old Aztec curse she told us about?"

She nodded, making a motion with her hands. "Yeah, the sun and the moon jazz."

Jeremy looked intrigued and asked them about it. The history sighed, not wanting to explain it to him but he had useful information that they needed. "Supposedly vampires and werewolves used to roam freely until a shaman put a curse on them to limit their power. Since then, werewolves can only turn on a full moon and vampires are weakened by the sun."

Damon put his hand up and wiggled his fingers, showing Jeremy his daylight ring. "Most of them, anyway."

"According to the legend, the werewolf part of the curse is sealed with the moonstone." Alaric showed him a map and Jeremy took it, looking at it with a confused look.

"What do you mean sealed?" he questioned

Damon grabbed a glass of alcohol and started to wander toward the fireplace. Melody sat on the armrest of the couch, crossing her legs. "It's a witch thing. It means that whatever sealed the curse is almost one-hundred percent the key to unsealing the curse." She made a face. "Smart but also highly annoying."

Alaric nodded, trying to think as to why the uncle would want it. "Maybe Mason Lockwood believes he can use the moonstone to break the curse?"

"If we start believing in some supernatural witchy-woo legend from a picture book, we're idiots," Damon spoke up. They all turned to him to see him looking at them. "Who has the stone now?"

"Tyler," Jeremy told him.

"Can you get it?"

"Yeah."

Melody sighed, shaking her head. "Do you really think we should risk it?"

Damon looked at her. "It's the same book that says a werewolf bite kills a vampire, Melody. Ignoring it would make me an even bigger idiot. Let's go." He finished his drink and walked past them to the door. They all watched him for a moment before Melody scoffed, shaking her head.

"Great. Because getting the moonstone back from a very angry teenager is going to work out so smoothly."

———

Melody and Damon were walking the grounds of the Lockwood Mansion, looking for Stefan, when Damon spoke up. "You want to tell me how you lived? The bullet would've killed you."

"It did," she told him with a tired sigh, not really wanting to think about it since it was bothering her as it was. "But somehow there's a protection spell on me so I just came right back."

"Well, maybe your family took precautions."

Melody shook her head, looking around at the people who were helping get the masquerade set up. "That's the thing; no one in my family cast the spell. And I know no one here did." She was going to be honest with the vampire, not wanting to upset him if she did lie and because she despised secrets.

Damon made a face. "So you're telling me that there's this strange witch or warlock that is trying to protect you?"

The woman nodded. "I guess. But we can worry about that later." She caught sight of Stefan. "There's Stefan."

They reached Stefan and the younger brother approached them. "You're never going to believe what I just found out."

Damon smirked. "Oh, do tell."

"Katherine is with Mason Lockwood."

Melody laughed, crossing her arms over her chest with a whistle. "Man, that girl gets around." But she knew that they weren't actually a thing because the doppelganger wanted what she wanted. To her, love was a waste of time and strength. Why waste her tears on a man she could use and then drop when she was done with him?

"Katherine's with Mason Lockwood?" Damon repeated, still in shock.

"We missed it. He got into town right after she did," Stefan explained.

The brunette next to them sighed. "It makes sense. Doesn't make it any less disgusting."

"She's got to be using him. She has to be," Damon denied.

She arched her eyebrow at him, almost assuming that he sounded a bit jealous. Then she remembered that he was way over Katherine. Or so she thought. "But then comes the question: using him for what?"

Damon made an angry face as he rambled off his thoughts. "Mason Lockwood's looking for a moonstone that allegedly can break the full moon werewolf curse. Maybe Katherine wants it as well." Stefan questioned as to why, shrugging his shoulders. "Well..." Then he realized that he didn't know. "No idea. That's the beauty of Katherine; she's always up to something."

"So, how are we gonna find this moonstone?" his brother asked.

"Jeremy said he'd get it from Tyler," Melody told him.

Stefan gave them a look. "Why would you two involve Jeremy?"

He started to walk away from them and Melody and Damon turned around. The fairytale woman stepped forward. "It was my choice. I'm the one who let him inside." Stefan kept walking and Melody yelled at him. "He wouldn't stop even if I said no! Elena needs to keep a better eye on him!"

Stefan didn't turn back and she threw her hands up with a scoff. Damon patted her on the shoulder. "Don't listen to him. You made a point. Come on."

Melody glared before following after him. He led her to where Stefan stood, listening in on Jeremy's and Tyler's conversation.

"Hey, so I did a little research on that stone you showed me," Jeremy greeted the teen.

"I don't feel like listening in. Food is calling my name," Melody told the brothers.

"No worries," Damon replied. "We'll fill you in."

Melody nodded to them and walked away to the table that sat not too far. She grabbed a brownie, taking a bit. Once it hit her taste buds, she was in love, shoving some into her purse when no one was looking. When she came back, eating still, she saw Tyler walking away from Jeremy. Stefan looked at Damon with a shrug, walking away.

Melody looked at Damon. "He doesn't have it anymore does he?"

Damon smirked. "See, you didn't need to listen in. Your guessing skills are good enough."

The female smiled and shook her head, following after Stefan. "What's the plan now?" she asked the brothers.

"We need to find Bonnie and see if she can find anything else about Mason and Katherine," Stefan told her as they walked.

Melody flicked a piece of hair out of her eyes. "I'm definitely going to get a work out from this." She stuffed a brownie into her mouth from her purse. "Because I just ate ten brownies."

———

It didn't take them long to find the Bennett witch casually strolling to another room. Damon had gone up to her and grabbed her arm, dragging her out of the house and away from prying ears.

"Okay. This is as far as I go," Bonnie told him. They all stopped walking and Damon released his grip. "What do you want?"

"Just a little favor," Melody told her, moving her fingers to show a small space.

Bonnie looked over at Damon. "Like that's gonna happen with him here."

"So predictable," he sighed. He looked at Melody and Stefan. "That's why I brought them. They are peacemakers."

Melody raised her hand. "I disagree with that statement."

"Melody," Stefan replied, giving her a little look. She lowered her hand, frowning like a scolded puppy. He turned to the witch."I know how you feel about helping us out, but since you're the one that linked Mason with Katherine, we finally have an opportunity to get an upper hand on both of them so, just hear us out."

The brunette nodded, getting back on track. "And I understand you have no reason to trust me or Damon. But this could give us a huge advantage over Katherine."

"Pretty please," Damon begged.

Bonnie looked at them and sighed, nodding. "I'm listening." If it would help Elena and countless other innocents, she would do it in a heartbeat.

Stefan's phone started to ring so he got it out and looked at the caller ID, seeing that it was Elena. "I have to fill Elena in on what's going on." He looked at Damon. "Can you play nice, please?"

"I guess," Damon responded

"No worries Stefan," Melody smiled. "I'll keep him in line."

Damon gave her a smirk and Stefan answered the call, walking away. Melody gave him an innocent smile back, then looked at Bonnie. "Okay, so all you have to do is touch Mason Lockwood again to see if he gave Katherine the moonstone."

"My visions don't work like that," Bonnie explained.

"How inconvenient," Damon frowned. "Although, let's talk about that little witchy juju thing you do with me. You know, the fun one where my brain bursts into flames? What is that?"

Melody rolled her eyes. "If you want to give Mason an aneurysm, you should've just asked me. I'll do it if you don't want to Bonnie."

The witch looked hesitant. Then again, Mason was innocent and was most likely under Katherine's spell. So she shook her head. She would help but not hurt him. "I'm not gonna help you hurt him."

Damon made a face. "Fine. Melody will do the spell then."

———

Mason walked down the front steps of the Lockwood mansion toward his jeep when he saw Melody struggling to remove a table from the back of a truck. He remembered Katherine telling him to flirt with her to distract her so, he ran on over to her. "Hey, how did you get stuck doing that by yourself?"

Melody looked behind her and feigned an eye roll. "These guys were supposed to help me but they said something about draft picks. Whatever the hell that means."

He reached her side. "Here, let me give you a hand."

Mason grabbed the table and started to pull it out. Melody looked around her before looking back at Mason. She smirked and then used her aneurysm spell. He grabbed his head, yelling in pain, falling to his knees.

"This is for trying to use me," she told him.

She flicked her wrist, knocking him unconscious. Damon and Stefan appeared and Damon opened the passenger door of the jeep, gesturing toward it for Melody to get in. Stefan took out Mason's keys from his pocket and threw it to Damon. The brunette got into the passenger seat while the two brothers put the werewolf in the trunk. Damon then got in and drove off.

He looked over at Melody who looked pleased with herself. "That was epic," he smirked.

Melody looked over at him and smiled. "That wasn't even half of what I can do."

———

It was probably the first time she had felt so smug in her entire life. She finally got the chance to do something productive, something that actually helped. And Damon noticed.

They entered the Boarding House and Damon carried Mason over his shoulder. Melody put the bag on a chair, following Damon who had set the uncle down on another chair. He stood up and looked at her, nodding his head to one of the corners of the blanket that settled over the carpet and underneath the chair Mason sat in. "Grab that corner."

Melody stood near the blanket and raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because I don't want to stain the carpet."

The woman sighed and picked up the blanket as he asked. "Of course you don't."

They both pulled the blanket over the rug, making sure no spots were left uncovered. Damon went over to Mason's bag. Melody stood in front of Mason and titled her head. "He probably will wake up soon."

Damon pulled out chains from the bag, drawing her attention. "Whoa. Looks like this guy's used to being tied up." She looked at him for a moment before looking at Mason. Melody grabbed the sides of his head with her hands. "What are you doing?"

"We're looking for the moonstone, right?" she pointed out, closing her as. "I'm going to get inside his head and see if he gave it to Katherine, maybe even find out where she is. And if I'm lucky, find out what they're gonna do with it once they get it."

Damon nodded and started to chain Mason down to the chair. She took a deep breath, thinking over the questions her brother had told her a long time ago when things weren't so crazy.

Why was she doing this? To gain information. Who was she protecting? Her friends. Over time, Melody had begun to enjoy the feeling her magic gave her whenever she used it. She loved the burning in her veins when her magic coursed through them. Pan had told her that it was the same for him; that when you use your magic to protect someone you care about, the feeling is incredible because you know you did it for a selfless reason, not for yourself.

Then she got a flash of what looked like water. "I see something. The moonstone is somewhere small and there's water."

"Like a sewer?" Damon asked, having finished chaining Mason up.

Melody shook her head as she kept her eyes closed. "No. A well?" She started to second guess herself but then she nodded. "It's a well."

"Why would it be in a well?"

She broke her concentration and lowered her hand, opening her eyes back up. "I have no idea."

It caught her by surprise when Mason grunted and grabbed her wrist, making Melody gasp. Damon was quick to pull his hand off of her.

Melody looked at Damon, shaking off the feeling she got when he touched her. "I'm going to track down the well. Good luck."

She walked toward the door when Caroline appeared from the basement. The brunette stopped and smiled at her.

"Did you find the moonstone thing?" Caroline asked, standing in front of her.

Melody put on her black leather jacket, flinging her hair over her shoulder. "Not yet." Then she stopped. "Hey, you don't happen to know an old well around town do you?"

Caroline thought for a moment and then nodded. "Um, yeah, there's an old well I used to play in with Elena and Bonnie when we were kids."

"Do you know where it is?"

"On the edge of the old Lockwood property. Why?"

Melody quickly got out her phone and texted Stefan while she talked to Caroline. "Because that is where Mason is hiding the moonstone. I have to go, see you later Caroline."

She went to leave when the blonde stopped her. "Can come with?"

The fairytale woman turned to her and smiled, nodding. "Sure."

———

Stefan had just reached the well when Melody and Caroline approached him.

"Stefan!" Melody called.

The vampire turned to them. "Hey. You sure it's down here?"

They reached his side and Melody nodded. "I'm sure."

He pulled the lock off the iron grating and then removed it. He turned on a flashlight so the three of them could look down the well. Stefan let out a whistle and looked at the two girls before jumping onto the edge of the well.

Melody handed him the flashlight. "Be careful, I have a bad feeling."

"I'll only be down there for a minute." Stefan jumped into the well, splashing on impact.

The fairytale woman felt her magic start to burn, warning her that something wasn't right, something was off. Caroline noticed and became concerned. "Melody? What's wrong?"

That's when they heard Stefan scream for help. "Melody!"

Melody and Caroline gasped and looked over the edge. "Stefan?! What's happening?!"

Her magic was getting stronger and she was starting to grow worried. If she lost Stefan, things wouldn't be the same. And the fact that everyone she had met in Mystic Falls had already become her friend, scared her. What if she couldn't save them?

Stefan tried to climb out of the well but realized he couldn't. "Vervain. Help!"

"Stefan!" Melody yelled in worry. She tried to pick up the heavy chains from the ground but they were too heavy.

"Can't you just use your magic to float him out of there?" Caroline pointed out with a desperate look.

Melody glared at her in her frustration. "I'm not a freaking wizard from Harry Potter, Caroline! We need to do something!"

Caroline grabbed the chain from the ground while Melody climbed on the edge of the well. She wrapped the chain around herself and handed one end to Caroline. "Don't drop me."

The vampire nodded. "I won't. Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Melody started to lower herself down the well and Caroline continued to hold on. The brunette reached the bottom after what seemed like forever and then found Stefan, unconscious. She unhooked herself quickly and tied it around Stefan.

"Melody, what's going on down there?" Caroline called out.

"I got him! Pull him up!" Melody yelled back.

Caroline started to pull the chain up from the well, untied Stefan, and placed him on the ground. Melody grabbed the flashlight and shined it around.

"Melody! I'm ready!" Caroline yelled.

"Just give me a minute! I need to find the stone."

She started to feel the cracks in the stone for any sign of it. Caroline yelled for her to hurry and Melody felt around in the water. She then felt something and gasped when she hit a wooden box. Melody grabbed it. "I found it!" She sighed in relief, happy that this hadn't been a failure.

There was a hissing sound and she turned to see a snake. Melody screamed, cursing, backing up against the wall with the box to her chest. She tied the chain around her when Caroline yelled down to her. "Melody! What's going on?!"

"Bring me up! Bring me up!" Melody screamed, kicking them away with her shoe.

Caroline quickly started to reel her up. The woman reached the top and dropped the box on the floor, rushing over to Stefan. "Stefan!"

Melody then realized he needed to heal. So she grabbed a rock nearby and cut her hand. She put her bloody wrist in his mouth. At the smell of her blood, Stefan opened his eyes, starting to drink her blood.

"Please don't drain me dry," she told him.

Stefan then let go and sighed, laying his head on the ground. "Did you get it?"

She nodded, smiling a bit, relieved that he was alright. "Yeah. I got it."

———

When they arrived back at the Boarding House, Damon was rolling Mason's body into a blanket. Melody didn't even bother to acknowledge the body, she knew it was coming for him. Mason was bound to die in the crossfires for being involved with Katherine. She showed him the moonstone and the eldest Salvatore stood up.

"All this for that?" he questioned.

"Mhmm," Melody replied. She handed him the moonstone, crossing her arms over her chest when he held it in his hands.

Stefan spoke up. "I see you've exercised your usual restraint."

"Had to be done," Damon told him. He took out Mason's phone and texted Carol. Melody poured herself a glass of bourbon to get rid of some of the stress she gathered. "'Carol, big opportunity in Florida, I'm gonna be gone for a long time. Will send for my things once I get settled. Much love, Mason'."

"We need to get rid of the body," Melody sighed, drinking from the glass.

Her words went ignored when Damon caught sight of the last number dialed. He smirked. "Oh, the last number dialed. I wonder who that could possibly be?"

Melody set down the glass, quickly going over to him. Stefan tried to stop him as well but his older brother had already pushed redial. "No, no, no! Don't provoke her!"

Katherine answered her phone with a bored tone. "Mason, you should have been here an hour ago."

Stefan and Melody continued to try and stop him but Damon pushed them back. "Wrong boy toy," he answered. There was silence before he answered whatever Katherine had said. "He's right beside me! Although, his heart's across the room." Melody went to stop him but Stefan put out an arm to stop her. She looked at him and he shook his head no.

"I've had a very busy day today," Damon continued. "I killed a werewolf, found a moonstone. Hey, did you know that he hid the moonstone in the bottom of a well full of vervain? I guess he didn't trust you very much. Although, he did love you. Poor guy. Hey, where are you? Because, you know, I could bring him over. Last goodbyes and all that."

Then Damon chuckled. "Aww, did I put a kink in your master plan? I'm so sorry." He put the phone on speaker and Stefan and Melody listened to the last words Katherine said before she hung up.

"Do you honestly believe that I don't have a plan B? And if that fails, a plan C, then a plan D, and...you know how the alphabet works, don't you? Send my love to Stefan and Melody." When she hung up, Damon, Stefan, and Melody all exchanged worried glances.

The only female there gave him a glare. "Great job, Damon. Piss her off more why don't you?"

———

Later that night, Melody didn't go and comfort Stefan when he cried in his room. Elena had broken up with him after Katherine had Jenna stab herself. Katherine had won according to Elena. She knew it was best to leave Stefan to sort things out on his own, she didn't want to make things worse for him.

So to busy herself, she let her mind wander to the protection spell. Melody grabbed her sketchbook and flipped to a new page. As she sketched, she thought about it.

Why would someone want to protect her or all people? It had to do something with the curse that had been placed upon her, only to be broken once she was killed by who she thought was her brother, and awakened by true love's kiss.

Then, there was Isobel's research on her. How did Isobel have research on her? Melody was a part of a fairytale, born in a fairytale world. This world was a world without magic, without fairytales. So how did Isobel manage to get her hands on information about her?

Adding on to that, Melody felt as if she was always being watched. Though she dismissed it, it was getting harder and harder to ignore. It ate away at her and she felt like she was going mad. Maybe the same person watching her was the one who put the protection spell on her. It would make sense if you thought about it.

A burning sensation startled her thoughts and Melody realized it wasn't the burning of her magic. It was the burning of someone staring, watching her. Trying not to be too obvious as to startle the person away, Melody walked to the window and stood, staring out of it.

She crossed her arms over her chest, scoffing. "You aren't being very discreet. I know you're out there, watching me. And I promise you, you won't be able to hide for long. I will find you," she promised in a normal tone, knowing that whoever was out there could hear her.

"If I didn't know better, I would say that was a threat."

She went wide-eyed and was suddenly pushed back into the room. A figure appeared in front of her. He had dirty blonde hair and blue-green eyes, an accent to his words. Melody felt her breath leave her lungs, shocked that she had actually gotten an answer. "Who are you?" she finally said, whispering.

He smiled — a genuine smile — and stepped toward her, earning a step back from her. But he did not seem at all surprised, though he did look a bit sad. "You will find out in due time," he told her. He stepped toward her and this time Melody didn't move back. He planted a kiss on her forehead and keep his lips there, brushing softly. "But not now. I just couldn't help myself. I had to see you."

Melody didn't know why she felt so nervous. Her heart was beating fast and she could barely speak. "You didn't answer my question," she pointed out in an annoyed tone.

He chuckled. "You are just as stubborn as I was told." She swallowed, trying to ease her nerves. He leaned back and then look into her eyes. "There's no need to be nervous. I'd never hurt you."

Melody looked up at him, forcing an emotionless mask on her face. "You caught me off-guard. That's all."

He chuckled again. "I'll keep that in mind for next time." He put a hand on her cheek and brush it fondly. "But I have to let you wake up. You'll forget me."

Melody felt herself frowning, getting déjà vu from when Pan told her the same thing when Emma broke the curse. She remembered her dad telling her about it, how he always made sure that she was alright when the curse was being broken. "But I don't want to wake up. I don't want to forget."

He was different, she could sense it. He intrigued her and Melody was a curious being. She had to know who he was and why he was watching her.

"I know you don't," he whispered, now brushing her shoulders. "I don't want you to either. But you have to. It isn't time; I can't be selfish. Not yet." He sighed. "But when we meet again, you won't feel the same about me. You'll believe what everyone else thinks I am." He stopped brushing her and turned serious. "A monster."

He was allowing himself to be vulnerable, knowing that she wouldn't remember and that this was only in her head. No one would know that he was here.

Melody gasped awake and looked around. She pulled the covers to her chest, looking around in confusion. The female girl sighed and ran a hand through her hair, gathering her breath. It was a dream, but she couldn't recall what the dream was about. The brunette went into the bathroom and splashed her face with water before getting back into her bed. She laid down, shutting her eyes, instantly falling back to sleep.

But she was unaware of the vampire in the forest, outside of the Boarding House. He took one last look at Melody before flashing off into the forest.

———

As you can probably tell, I'm itching to get to the end of season two. You guys obviously know who it is that visited her. But I'm interested in hearing why you guys think that Klaus cares about Melody so much. Let me know! I hope you guys have a great day/night and don't forget to vote on this chapter, comment your thoughts, and follow me for updates!