[ I swear I'm gonna study all day today but it's my birthday!! so here is my present to all of us ]

☽︎

I FIND MYSELF INCLINED TO BELIEVE YOU.

Clementine liked to think she was a good friend. And what did a good friend do when another got kidnapped by werewolves and tortured? You throw a sleepover — a sleepover that was filled with lots of crying as Caroline told them how Tyler stood there and did nothing while she almost died.

Shoving four teenage girls into a queen-sized bed was difficult, but not impossible. While Bonnie and Caroline were cuddled up, Clem had her arms wrapped around Elena, who was lying on top of her.

But then the peaceful and restful morning was interrupted by a phone ringing, which woke them all up. Caroline groaned and pushed Elena off of Clem.

"Go away!" she mumbled.

Elena let out a huff as she landed on the floor, and a sleepy Clem leaned over the side of the bed and smiled at her. She smiled back at her before grabbing her phone, answering the call from Stefan.

"Hello?"

Both Caroline and Bonnie looked at Elena with a glare, both annoyed at being woken up. Bonnie shushed her while Caroline whined her name. So, Elena crawled to the hallway, which was pointless because they could still hear her.

With a smile still on her face, Clementine crawled out of bed too, bringing a pillow with her. She sat next to Elena, putting her head close to the phone to listen in on Stefan.

"How was the slumber party?" Stefan was asking.

"Good and much needed," she said.

Clementine smirked and grabbed the phone. "When can you and Lena have one?"

"Clem!" Elena said, blushing as she got the phone back.

Stefan laughed as Elena's friend flirted for her. "Mmm. That can be arranged."

"Okay. Now. Today. Take me far, far away," she mumbled.

"Even with everything that's going on?" he questioned skeptically.

"Because of everything that's going on," Elena sighed. Then she leaned her head on Clem's shoulder.

"And you're sure this has nothing to do with dodging your father who just got into town?" he asked, referring to John Gilbert, who was there and getting on everyone's nerves.

"Uh, this has everything to do with that."

"Well, in that case, where would you like to go?"

Elena smiled and caught Clementine's eye. "Maybe my family's lake house. But can we bring Clemmy?"

Stefan let out a laugh, not aware of how serious she was being.

"Can't," Clem answered. "Got a tea party to go to. Something tells me Damon is going to get stabbed in the neck, and Enzo and I gotta see that."

"Good luck with him," Stefan said. "Meanwhile, I'm stealing Elena away from you."

"Mmm, just for the weekend, Salvatore. She's back to being mine after that," Clem said with a smug smile. Then she kissed Elena's cheek before falling down to lie on the floor, using the pillow she'd stolen. "Bye, Steffy."

☽︎

Clementine and Enzo looked nice, they both knew. Clem was in a pretty sundress with blue flowers all over it, and Enzo was forced into a suit — he wouldn't wear a tie no matter what Clem tried.

They walked arm in arm into the Lockwood mansion where the Historical Society's Tea Party was being held. Already, several prominent members of the community had arrived, including Jenna and Alaric, as well as Damon and his new — was she his girlfriend? Andie Starr.

"Do you see what I see?" Enzo asked in a quiet tone, his eyes fixed on someone in particular. But Clementine was too focused on the snack table. He sighed and turned her head forward. "I see someone who is fond of picking up hitchhikers."

Elijah was standing with Damon and Carol Lockwood, not looking thrilled as he shook Damon's hand.

"He's wearing a tie," Clem murmured before heading over there.

Not wanting to be around the Original, Enzo muttered something about going to talk with Alaric, who he was still getting to know. He was wary given that he was a vampire hunter, but that was still better than an un-killable, thousand-year-old vampire.

Damon was the first to spot Clementine, and he smiled tensely, wondering why the Seer thought she needed to be there.

"And there's Tangerine," Damon said, smirking at her.

"Demon," she teased, leaning against him. Then she looked first at a very stunned Carol Lockwood.

"C - Clementine," she stuttered out. Her mouth hung open like she was some kind of idiot, and Clem fought hard to keep a glare off her face. She couldn't stand Carol Lockwood, who was so obsessed with herself and the wealthy founding families. "I didn't know you were... um, you were—"

"Released," Clem said, finding the right word for her. "Yes, just a few days ago. It's been so great being back home. I'm surprised Tyler didn't tell you."

Carol's jaw twitched, something both the vampires noticed. "Tyler's been... distant since his father's death. But enough of that. I didn't know you knew Damon."

"Well, we're just the best of friends now," Damon said with a sarcastic smile, throwing an arm around Clem's shoulder.

"Well, Clementine, why don't you meet Elijah Smith? He's in town doing research for his book."

"We've already met," Clementine said, turning to smile at Elijah, who raised an eyebrow, surprised she'd admit it to Damon. She then offered her hand for him to shake. "But it's nice to see you not on the side of the road."

Carol's eyebrows furrowed, but before she could ask more questions, she spotted something horrifying. "That is not how you're meant to pour the tea — excuse me, Elijah."

As she scurried off to reprimand a poor worker, Damon looked between Elijah and Clem curiously.

"You knew who I was when I picked you up," Elijah noted.

"I know lots of things," she said with a coy smile. "Like I know someone's gonna stab Damon in the neck soon."

Damon's eyes went wide. "What?" he asked quietly. "Are you gonna stab me? Enzo? My brother?"

"Not telling," Clem said, singing her words a bit. Then she shot Elijah another smile, wiggling her fingers at him. "Bye, Mr. Smith."

Clem returned to Enzo just as Damon led Elijah into the study for some privacy.

"What's he want with him?" Enzo asked, leaning down, his lips brushing the top of her ear.

"To fail at threatening him," she said, piquing Alaric's interest.

"And how does that turn out for him?" he asked.

In response, Clementine grabbed one of the long pretzel sticks off the snack table and then pretended to stab it into Enzo's neck, who made a big deal of choking and clutching his imaginary wound.

Alaric just rolled his eyes at their dramatics and muttered something about needing a drink.

"C'mon," Enzo said, offering Clem his hand.

"Where are we going?" she asked, keeping an eye on the study door.

"Missing the sunlight still," he murmured. "Thought we might go on a walk."

"Well, lead the way. From what I remember, the gardens are pretty bitchin' here."

Both were all too happy to leave the tea party — it certainly wasn't Enzo's scene. And all anyone did was point and whisper about Clementine.

"I got you something," Enzo said with a content smile as they stepped outside.

"Oh, yeah?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't have to get anything for me."

"I wanted to. Saw it and thought of you, Angel," he said before digging something out of his pockets, coming to a short stop. She watched with wide eyes as he held out a ring box. "Go on. Have at it."

She carefully took the black, velvet box and opened it, revealing a golden ring with a blue stone in the center of it — lapis lazuli. 

"I know you aren't a vampire or anything, but I had Bonnie make it," he said, looking at his feet. "Just in case something happens. I want you to have one."

"I love it, Enzo," she said, hugging him before even putting the ring on. "Now, you owe me a stroll through the gardens."

The vast gardens at the mansion were the perfect place to hide away, which was what they both wanted. But even still, they were found ten minutes later.

Elijah approached as they looked at a fountain, wiping blood off his hands. He eyed Clem curiously from the back, watching how she fed pieces of a pretzel to the birds near them.

Enzo was the first to sense him, looking over his shoulder. And when he saw Elijah, Enzo wrapped his arms a little tighter around Clementine, not wanting her harmed.

"Did you stab him?" Clementine asked, not looking away from the birds.

"In the neck," he said. Elijah didn't think anything of it — just blamed her suggestion on his reasonings. There hadn't been a Seer in centuries, after all, so he and the Martins didn't suspect anything of the sort. "You seemed to have come out of nowhere, Clementine Donovan. There's no record of you in this town for nearly the last decade."

"That's because I was sent off to the crazy house in North Carolina," she said with a perky smile. "I'm the town crazy."

"You're not crazy, love," Enzo couldn't help but say, not wanting her to believe what half the town said about her.

Elijah studied her chipper expression, searching for some kind of explanation, because she certainly didn't seem crazy. "And what is the town crazy doing back?" he questioned.

"Enzo, would you go check on Damon?" Clem asked, not taking her eyes off of Elijah.

"Are you sure, Angel?" he asked, not trusting her alone with the Original.

"I'm sure," she said. "I know he won't hurt me."

Reluctantly, Enzo left them alone. Then Clem threw her last piece of pretzel before perching on the edge of the fountain. She nodded to the spot next to her, and Elijah slowly took a seat next to her.

"I know why you're here."

He nodded. "To kill Klaus."

"To get your family back."

In an instant, Clementine was pressed up against the side of the house, Elijah's hand around her throat. But she still had that smile on her face — the smile that made his chest feel warm. He hated the feeling.

"You know nothing of my family," he said, gritting his teeth.

"I know a lot of things," she said, swallowing thickly. "I know that the Sun and Moon curse is fake. I know someone in this town has a fancy little dagger. And I know those coffins aren't at the bottom of the ocean."

Elijah's eyes widened and he stumbled back, not sure how a mere human could know such things while clearly keeping that information away from her friends.

"What I don't know," she then said, walking closer to him. "Is if that elixir could even really work. That's what I really want to know."

"You know my plan was to sacrifice Elena," he surmised. "But you haven't warned the others."

"Elena already knows. She's smarter than people think," she said, defending the girl. "I'm not stopping the ritual, Elijah."

"You want it to happen to kill Klaus."

She smiled and shook her head. "I don't want your brother dead, Elijah. I just want both him and Elena alive, which evidently, is a tall order."

"And the dagger?" he asked, deciding to change the topic. It was clear Clem was only going to let him know so much.

"John Gilbert is a conniving son of a bitch," she shrugged.

"And my family?"

"He takes them everywhere he goes, just waiting to break his curse."

Elijah shook his head. "No, you're lying. Niklaus told me himself that he tossed them into the Atlantic."

"Look at me."

He frowned, staring into her blue eyes. "I'm already looking at you—"

"No, look at me," she sighed. "I'm a human — one of the only ones in this fucked up friend group. I have Elena's best interest at heart, and what's best is being honest with you."

"And yet you're still keeping secrets," he noted. "It's a dangerous game you're playing, Miss Donovan. So, why do you care if Klaus lives or dies?"

"Because I know something you don't know," she said teasingly.

"Yes, I gathered that," he said dryly.

"Elijah," she said softly. "Trust me."

"I'm not a man that trusts easily."

"I know," she said with a small smile. "Which is why I'm gonna tell you something."

He tilted his head, listening intently.

"Tomorrow night, you're gonna get daggered by someone. Then again by Elena when they realize they have to leave it in. You're gonna let them," she said, crossing her arms.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because Klaus is almost here. And he needs to think you're incapacitated."

"Because I will be incapacitated."

"Elena and I will free you when we need to," she promised.

"How do you know this? Or is this a threat?"

"I'm a Seer, Elijah. I've been seeing the future since I was three," she admitted, altering her lie.

"That's not possible."

"I've known that you and your brother were coming for Elena since I was a child. Hell, I warned Abby Bennett when your father came for her when we were four. And I know a lot more than just that."

"And yet you didn't warn them?"

"I did the best I could while locked away because my brother thought I was crazy," she told him. "I made sure they knew about vampires. I ensured they had self-defense lessons and knew to drink vervain. But I couldn't look Elena in the eye and tell her she had to be sacrificed on an altar just because I want Klaus to break his curse."

"And if I ask again why you want him to live, I assume your answer will be the same. I know something you don't?" he asked, huffing a little bit.

She smiled innocently, and Elijah hated it, knowing she wasn't as innocent as she seemed. "So, do we have a deal? You get daggered for just two measly little weeks. Then I free you."

"I'm afraid I'm going to need something else out of you if so," he told her. She just raised an eyebrow. "You mentioned my father. Where is he?"

In response, Clementine dug her new iPhone out of her pocket. She'd transferred all of her photos from her burner phone, so she pulled up a selfie and flashed it to the Original.

Elijah's eyes went wide at the image. Clem was leaning down next to Mikael's burning, grey corpse, the White Oak dagger sticking out of him. She was holding up a peace sign with her other hand.

"Impossible," he breathed out and yet he believed it. He knew his father was truly dead. He looked from the phone to Clem like she was the savior of the world or something. "How?"

"Well, I'd wanted to do that for a long time," she shrugged, a goofy grin on her face. "I was real lucky they ship insane people so close to where Abby stashed him."

"You aren't insane," Elijah said softly, feeling his heart stir for the girl who had done so much for him with one conversation. "Will you be at the dinner party? I don't relish in the idea of being daggered again."

"And I'm sorry that you have to be," she said, meaning it. She knew how much pain it brought him, and thinking that reminded her of Kol and Finn who had been daggered for so long. "But it will be worth it. It will get your family back."

"And why don't I just take Elena, sacrifice her, get my family, and forget about this hellish town?" he questioned.

"Because you need Elena alive," she insisted. "Trust me."

Elijah took in a deep breath. "Surprisingly, I find myself inclined to believe you."

"So, do we have a deal?" she asked while sticking out her hand to shake.

In response, he took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her knuckles. He loved the light dusting of red that coated her cheeks. "We have a deal, Miss Donovan."

☽

︎

Clementine was surprised when Tyler knocked on her door in the middle of the night. Of course, she was awake, trying to remember every second of the dinner party that was about to happen. That was the problem with only being a casual fan of the TV show. She knew Elijah got daggered, she just couldn't remember if it was Damon, John, or Alaric. Hell, Andie could be the one to do it.

But Tyler distracted her from her train of thought. He was standing in the cold, a bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey, Ty. Come in," she said, nodding back.

"I can't," he said, looking down. "I'm leaving Mystic Falls. I just came to say goodbye."

Clem swallowed thickly, processing his news. "I just got back, and you leave. Guess the town couldn't handle the two of us."

He let out a humorless laugh and nodded. "Look, you were the one to tell me what I was when I was a kid. You warned me. Helped me control my anger. I thought you deserved a goodbye for that."

"Take care of yourself, Ty," she requested. "Please."

"I will if you will," he said. "This curse shit is... insane."

"That's one word for it."