DO I LOOK LIKE I KNOW?

"Don't do this, Enzo," Clementine cried as Enzo dragged her to the front steps of her home. She had tried to free herself, but he was too fast and strong. "Please. Please, don't do this. Don't listen to him."

Tears were falling down Enzo's face, both already knowing Clementine's fate. It didn't matter how much he cared for her — it didn't matter that she was his savior, his Angel. He was going to kill her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as they reached the door, which he gently pushed her up against. "I'm so sorry, Angel."

Enzo cupped Clem's face and wiped away her tears with his thumb as softly as he could. And she leaned into his touch, shutting her eyes for a moment.

"I forgive you," she said, opening her eyes once more. "This isn't your fault. Please, know this isn't your fault."

A sob got caught in Enzo's throat as he leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers. She could see how he was physically shaking, trying to restrain himself despite how much it hurt. So, she helped him along, not wanting to prolong it.

Clementine pulled him into a kiss — a short and sweet one that tasted like the saltiness of tears. And it broke both their hearts that their first and last kiss was because of Klaus' wretched compulsion.

Enzo took in a deep breath as they pulled away, his forehead still on hers.

"Do it," she said so quietly he almost didn't hear. "And tell Elijah I was telling the truth."

Clementine then let herself be selfish, leaning up for another kiss. She could feel Enzo trembling against her, and before he could even reciprocate the kiss, his hands were moving, and the sickening crack sounded throughout the trailer park followed by the sound of a body dropping.

☽︎

Stefan was the one to get the body — Clementine's body. It hadn't started to go cold yet, but he knew it wouldn't be long. But he couldn't get rid of her yet.

No, Elena demanded to see her for herself. She refused to believe it. She thought Enzo was pulling some kind of twisted stunt just to be cruel.

However, when Stefan set her body gently on the couch, Elena fell to her knees and crawled to Clementine, choking on tears as she reached for her friend.

"No, no, no," she cried, cupping Clem's cheeks. "Wake up, Clemmy. Please. I can't - I can't — wake up!"

"She's gone, Elena," Damon said, a frown on his face. No, they weren't the best of friends, but he didn't like seeing Clementine die at the hands of his best friend.

Speaking of Enzo, Stefan found him at the trailer with Clem's head in his lap, crying over the girl. But as soon as he noticed Stefan, he bolted, too ashamed of himself to say anything. Damon tried to call him but he wouldn't pick up his phone.

"Elena," Stefan said softly, hugging her from behind. "It's—"

"No!" Elena yelled, pulling out of his grip. "I can't - I can't — she's everything, Stefan. I love her."

"We all do," Stefan said, swallowing thickly.

"No, I love her!" she wailed, clinging to Clem. "She's not dead! She can't be."

It took a long time for the youngest Salvatore to coax Elena away from Clem's body, and that was when Damon came in. He took her body carefully and walked her to the backyard, grabbing a shovel on the way. Damon sighed, looking down at her body with a troubled expression before placing her in a cheap wooden box that they kept on hand for when a dead body popped up that needed to be gotten rid of.

Klaus had been in town one day and already killed someone important to everyone — what more could he have planned? 

☽︎

Clementine's eyes flew open as she let out a gasp, her hand flying to her neck which was in perfect condition. Her breathing came quick and she fought off a panic attack as she looked around her surroundings, only to find that she was in the middle of the woods, in unfamiliar territory.

"Ugh, finally," a deep voice complained from behind her. "You've been lying there forever. It was no fun."

Clem whirled around only to be even more shocked by the sight of Malachi Parker leaning against a tree, eating a snack and watching her with calculating eyes.

"I'm in the goddamn prison world," she mumbled in disbelief.

Kai's gaze hardened, realizing she knew who he was and hadn't been randomly dropped there. He wanted to kill her then and there, but he'd already tried it. When he tried to drag her unconscious body off, his hands passed right through her like she was a ghost.

"I'm not supposed to be here," Clem said with a frown, looking around. "I died. I'm dead."

"Don't look dead," he shrugged.

Giving up on getting answers for now, Clementine approached Kai warily. "I'm Clementine," she introduced, holding out her hand to shake.

Kai snorted and rolled his eyes. "What kind of parent names their kid Clementine?"

"The kind that locks their kids up in insane asylums and leaves them there to rot," she said flatly, surprising him with her snark. "And you are?"

"Malachi."

"What kind of parent names their kid Malachi?" she asked in a mocking tone, making him laugh.

"I know," he smirked. "It's like they want me to be evil. Uh, not that I'm evil, though."

"I mean, who doesn't want to murder their entire family at some point?" she asked, not wanting him to feel bad about that. "Especially when your family is full of dicks."

"They were dicks," he nodded in agreement. "So, what do you mean you died?"

Clem's expression fell as she put her hand to her neck. "An Original vampire dick killed me."

"Bummer," he mused. Then he held out the bag of food he was munching on. "Pork rind?"

"Never had one," she told him before reaching for the bag. Only for her hand to pass right through it. He laughed as her face fell once more, trying again and again to grab the bag. "Goddamnit. I'm a ghost. I died, and I'm a ghost trapped in 19-what-fucking-ever."

"Someone doesn't sound happy to be here," he said teasingly.

"Well, I had big plans you know? I mean, for starters, I was gonna have you out of this place by Christmas. I need some help wreaking havoc on the Gemini Coven."

Kai's eyes lit up at the mention of his coven. "What do you mean you were gonna get me out?"

"Baby Girl, I had it worked out," she sighed. "Have a Bennett witch back home and got a friend to track down the Ascendant. Stupid Klaus and his stupid vampire compulsion."

"Yeah, fuck that Klaus guy," Kai muttered in agreement. No, he didn't know who Klaus was, but he fucking hated him for ruining his chances at freedom. "How do you know who I am, by the way?"

Clementine just shrugged. "I just know shit. I'm a Seer."

He scoffed at that. "Seers don't exist in the world anymore."

"And Kai Parker doesn't exist in the world anymore," she shot back, which made his eye twitch. "Ha. You can't touch me, bitch. Can't kill a ghost."

"No, but I can think real hard about it," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Where even are we?"

"Oregon?"

"Why am I here? Why wouldn't I show up in Mystic Falls where I died?" she questioned.

"Do I look like I know?"

"Attitude much?" she scoffed. Though she had a smile on her face, thinking it was fun talking to Kai.

"Well, since you're stuck here—"

Kai cut himself off when Clem began flickering in and out of vision, making them both frown with confusion.

"Where you going, Orange?" Kai asked, his brows furrowed.

Clementine looked down at her hands which were growing translucent. "Do I look like I know?"

☽︎

Elena had cried herself asleep in Stefan's arms, blabbering on about missing Clementine and how was she going to tell Matt and of all the people Klaus could've chosen. Damon was across from the couple on a couch, drinking his fourth glass of scotch, exhausted by everything that had happened that night.

"She out?" Damon asked, raising an eyebrow. Stefan just nodded, not wanting to wake up Elena. "She took that worse than Bonnie. Wonder why?"

"Shut up, Damon," Stefan sighed, knowing what he was hinting at.

Damon just put his hand up innocently. "Just saying at least Klaus got rid of the competition."

Stefan glared fiercely at his brother, his own grief going to his head, as he already considered Clem as a close friend, no matter what Elena may or may not have felt for the girl. Losing her wasn't something he wanted.

"Just go to—"

"Shut up," Damon suddenly said, sitting up straighter.

"You're the one that won't shut u—"

Damon shushed him and waved his arms, straining his ears. "Listen. Do you hear that?"

It took Stefan a moment to get past the soft snores Elena was letting out. It was the faint, muffled sound of someone banging on something with their hands.

"Is that coming from—"

"The backyard," Damon finished for him.

Leaving Elena behind, both brothers flashed out of the house, following the sound to the fresh pile of dirt in the garden that went six feet down. Stefan and Damon looked down with wide eyes, listening to the faint sound of someone sobbing and pleading to be let out.

Stefan was the first to react, racing to get two shovels while Damon listened in disbelief. Clementine had been dead and no one, not even Enzo had given her vampire blood recently.

From inside, Clementine was finding it hard to breathe, her claustrophobia creeping up on her. It reminded her of those early days in the hospital when she'd be restrained to her bed in the dark, trapped with no way of escaping. Tears spilled from her eyes and slid down her face as she continued to beat against the wooden box she was placed in, screaming until her lungs were burning.

But before she knew it, the moonlight was blinding her eyes as the lid was removed, dirt falling on her face as she gulped in the fresh air. She squinted up, seeing the concerned faces of Stefan and Damon above her, shovels in both their hands.

"You buried me already?" she asked, coughing up some dirt as she did. "Not even a real funeral? Assholes."

☽︎

Elena thought she was seeing a ghost when Clementine was the one to wake her up. Because why the hell had she been forced to watch her two best friends die on the same day only to find out they were alive?

Clem was still a bit stunned over dying and coming back to life so suddenly — not to mention confused as she wasn't a vampire. She was still the same old human Clementine Donovan.

"Where's Enzo?" Clementine asked weakly, speaking for the first time since being unburied.

She'd just gotten out of the shower, and Elena was helping her comb her wet hair.

"He's not picking up," Damon told her, leaning in the doorway with Stefan at his side. "But I left a message. He'll check it eventually."

"What happened, Clem?" Stefan then asked.

"Stefan," Elena muttered, not wanting Clem to talk about it if she wasn't ready.

"It's okay, Lena," she mumbled, wiping her eyes. "Klaus... he can compel vampires even in Alaric's body. He told him to take me home and snap my neck. Enzo tried so hard but he couldn't fight it."

"And how the hell are you alive?" Damon then questioned. "You're not wearing a Gilbert ring."

Clementine shook her head cluelessly. "I don't know. Really, I don't." She decided to keep her little trip to the prison world a secret — they didn't need to know who Kai was yet.

"We can ask Bonnie," Elena suggested.

"No," she said, sighing. "Bonnie needs to focus on Klaus."

"Then at least go to Grams. She moved out of town but she's just a day's drive away," Elena told her. She needed answers so that she knew Clementine was really okay.

"Alright," Clem told her, giving in. Then she turned and hugged Elena tightly. "I'm so glad Klaus didn't hurt you tonight."

"I'd rather me die than you," she mumbled, hiding her face in her neck. "I can't lose you, Clem. I can't."

"I'm still here," she said softly. "Not going anywhere, it seems."

☽︎

That was how Clementine found herself on the front porch of Grams' little house just a day away from Mystic Falls. She'd already texted Elena, confirming that she'd taken the dagger out of Elijah. And she warned Jenna that Klaus in Alaric's body would come after her, so she was staying on campus until the sacrifice was over. Clem had warned her that something bad would happen if she didn't leave.

"Clementine," Grams said with a bright smile when she opened her door. She thought very highly of the Seer that kept her from dying when opening the tomb simply because Bonnie was strong from knowing about her magic so young.

"Hey, Grams," she said with a sheepish smile. "I, uh, kind of have a problem."

"Well, I figured you didn't come to say hello," she said, opening the door wider.

Clem followed her into the house, and Grams led her to the kitchen where they sat at the breakfast bar. After she asked what was happening, she briefly explained to the older witch what happened — dying, appearing in the prison world, and then waking up still human in the spot where she was buried.

By the time she was done, it was safe to say Sheila was intrigued. So, she took Clem's hand in hers and started muttering in Latin, the words meaning nothing to the human.

Suddenly, Grams pulled away from her like she'd been bitten, her eyes wide.

"What?" Clem asked, a frown on her face.

"You are not from here, child," she said, her voice trembling.

Clem's face went white. "I - I don't know what you mean."

"Yes," she said firmly. "You do."

"I... do," she admitted quietly, like she was afraid someone might overhear. Then Clementine sighed. "Look, Grams, I care about Bonnie and Elena and everyone else. I'm trying my best to keep everyone safe. I'm not a danger to them. I just want to know why I died and came back."

"You came back because your soul is not complete," Grams said, hovering her hand over Clem's heart.

"What's that mean? I'm soulless?" she asked with a little grin, thinking she was making a joke.

"In a way," Grams revealed. "Child, when you were sent here, your soul shattered and splintered. It was cast all over, shards finding their way into many beings. And until you reunite with your soul completely, you will not be lost to the world."

"They have my soul? What, like a soulmate?" she questioned, tilting her head.

Grams nodded. "A soul bond, more precisely, and more than one of them by the feel of things."

"Well, who are they?" she asked eagerly. Soul bonds hadn't existed in the original TV show, so she was intrigued.

"It doesn't work like that. Because you aren't from here, all supernatural creatures will feel a pull toward you — whether good or bad is up to them. But these with traces of your soul will be unable to fight that pull until you are their entire world. Maybe they'll see you as a lover of sorts, but some could just see you as a friend, someone to protect and love. They won't know right away, but it will become clear."

Clem was more confused than ever. "Well, if that's why I came back, then why did I go to Kai Parker's prison world?"

The disapproving look on Grams' face was plenty to go by. Kai was potentially one of her soul bonds, and that seemed like an atrocity to Grams. After all, he'd slaughtered his whole coven.

"Thank you, Grams," Clem said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. "You've helped me more than you can ever imagine."

"Just be careful around those Originals, Clementine," Grams warned. "And keep my Bonnie safe."

"I won't let anyone harm her."