[  COMING SOON [ in two weeks when I graduate college ]  ]

☽︎

WHAT'S A JUICE BOX?

Clementine Donovan was a pyromaniac.

Okay, she wasn't. But purposefully starting one major fire in her lifetime was one too many to be considered not a pyromaniac, at least according to the doctors.

Maybe we should back up.

Clementine Donovan wasn't a pyromaniac, but she was a Seer.

Except that wasn't true either. It's just what she told people.

In actuality, Clementine Dacus had been a semi-fan of the TV show The Vampire Diaries in her first life. And she wasn't even all that fond of fire. But then she'd gone and died in one of her own creation after getting drunk at a bonfire birthday party she was throwing for a friend.

Then she'd gone and got reincarnated as the twin sister of Matt Donovan, who wasn't even supposed to exist.

Admittedly, it took her underdeveloped brain a while to realize what had happened, but by the time Jeremy Gilbert was born, she had a grasp on what was going on. She was an imposter in this mystical world with knowledge of what was to come. And she wasn't thrilled at all.

Because what the fuck do you mean she was human in the middle of this shit show?

When Clementine was one, she said her first word — fuck. She'd been holding onto that one, waiting to say it, and then point to her piece of shit father when her own mother asked her where she learned that word.

When Clementine was seven, she told Bonnie Bennett's Grams to tell her friend about her being a witch to protect her, and she actually listened. That meant Bonnie had years to practice using and strengthening her magic.

When she was eight, she and Bonnie told all their friends, Jeremy and Elena Gilbert included, about the supernatural world around them. Jeremy never looked at his parents again the same way when he learned that there was a vampire locked in the basement of their father's medical practice who was being tortured.

Clem wanted to save him but knew it wasn't the time. Not yet. She was only eight after all, and fairly useless.

When they were nine, everyone enrolled in self-defense classes, which confused their parents. But Clem wanted to, and all of Clementine's friends always did what she did because she was the glue that held their friend group together.

As Clementine and Bonnie reached the age of ten, they started a side business where Bonnie sold daylight jewelry and Clem helped them get into contact with vampires that needed them. Some paid with money — lots of money — but some paid with favors and information, like a vampire in Richmond named Slater.

When she was eleven, Matt snitched and ruined her life. And all because she'd gone and burned down the Wickery Bridge.

He'd never believed her fanatical stories about vampires and witches. And he was convinced Elena Gilbert wouldn't give him the time of day because she was too busy discussing the supernatural with his sister, Bonnie, and Caroline. Starting the fire had just solidified his decision to snitch.

So he told his mother all about her so-called delusions and new hobby of arson. How she really believed vampires and werewolves were real. That it was the reason she made them do self-defense.

A week later, Clementine was shipped off to an institute in North Carolina. A place where they treated her like she was crazy, a place where she wasted away for seven years.

Until one day when her deadbeat mother stopped making the payments. So, at seventeen years old, she was released and had to find her own way back to Mystic Falls, Virginia.

Things had gone differently because of her meddling, of course. Now, Elena Gilbert still fell for Stefan Salvatore and his charms. But Caroline, who'd never doubted Clem for a minute, dutifully drank vervain every day and was never abused by Damon Salvatore. Everyone knew what the brothers were when they came to town, wary of them because of the stories Clementine told.

And when Matt found out Caroline was a vampire, he started to realize maybe his sister wasn't crazy after all. Something he'd learn now that she was out of the hospital where she'd practically grown up.

But first, she had a stop to make in Charlotte.

☽︎

Staking Mikael had been hard. Like, really hard. Clementine didn't exactly have a lot of opportunities to build muscle definition in the hospital. It was even more embarrassing because she'd decided to record it for proof, only for her failure to be caught on camera.

But finally, after putting all her body weight on it, she'd staked the bastard who was now a pile of ash that she collected in a jar for safekeeping.

After that, Clem had to hitchhike all the way back to Mystic Falls, nothing but the clothes on her back, a backpack with some of her few personal items, and the cheap phone that still used minutes that she got from a gas station. God, she felt like a drug dealer when buying the burner phone.

Except Clementine didn't stop at home first. No, she had a vampire to save.

The security at Augustine was embarrassing — or maybe she'd just caught them on an off day.

Nevertheless, she made it all the way to the underground lab, coming across Wes Maxfield as he dissected Lorenzo St. John on a table for his own scientific purposes. He was so invested in the regrowth rate of Enzo's spleen that he didn't see the young girl sneaking up behind him with a fire extinguisher in hand.

Enzo watched through bleary vision as Wes' body dropped, revealing a young, blonde-haired girl with a perky smile on her face. She was standing over him like some kind of savior.

"Are you an angel?" he couldn't help but ask weakly.

"For you, Baby Girl, I can be whatever you want," she said with a flirty smile. Then she reached down and hauled Wes up by his arm, holding his wrist to Enzo's mouth. "Go ahead and juice box him."

Though Enzo didn't know what a juice box was, he still drained the wretched doctor in seconds, feeling his strength return to him as all his wounds began to heal. And once he was full, Clementine began untying the binds around his wrists and ankles.

"Who are you?" Enzo asked, watching her curiously. He wasn't sure this wasn't some trick used to psychologically torture him.

"Clementine Donovan," she said, grinning at him again. The grin made him feel warm for the first time in seventy years. "But you can call me Clem. Now, you coming or what? Because I'm about to light this place on fire."

He smirked at her and slid off the operating table, taking her outstretched hand. "I'll go anywhere with you, Angel."

So, that was how Clementine ended up setting her second major fire.

Maybe she was a pyromaniac, as she and Enzo certainly had the time of their lives burning Whitemore House to the ground. Before doing so, they'd found an abandoned daylight ring that must've belonged to a long-since-dead vampire. Enzo didn't mind swiping it.

And thus began their trek to Mystic Falls. That's when Enzo began asking his questions. Who was she? How did she know about him? Why did she save him?

Clementine Donovan. I just know things. And because you didn't deserve that.

Those were her answers.

Of course, she ran a few more things by him like being locked up for half her life just like he had been, something that made him feel closer to the girl. He wanted to throttle her brother for subjecting her to it at such a young age.

She also let him know that Damon Salvatore was residing in the town that they were heading to, which he was not thrilled about. Clementine had to carefully explain that Damon turned off his humanity at the thought of losing his best friend of five years, which is why he left him to die in the fire. And then he made it worse by killing the love of his life.

By the time they reached Mystic Falls, it was safe to say Enzo was bummed the fuck out.

But not as bummed as he'd be if he was still in a cell and being tortured.

"Angel, which way to your house?" he asked as they passed the Mystic Falls sign.

"You don't want to rush to Damon right away?" she asked, surprised he was still sticking with her.

He shrugged. "Think I need a little time to calm down lest I kill him — you said you didn't want me to kill him."

"True, but I didn't think you'd follow that request," she admitted. "And just a few more miles. Maybe someone will pass and pick us up."

Of course, that'd been a blind guess. She didn't exactly expect for someone monumentally important to drive past them, intrigued by the pair that was out so late at night.

The pair walked for another thirty minutes before a car slowly came to a stop beside them. It was a nice town care that didn't have a speck of mud on it. Whoever owned it kept it in immaculate condition. And the driver only stopped because it appeared to be a young girl walking in the dark with a much older man.

"You two are far from town," a familiar voice said as the window rolled down.

Clementine perked up at his velvety voice, so she quickly bent over and looked at him through the window, taking in his chisled jawline and deep brown eyes. "Yeah, our car broke down just a few miles back. We're trying to make it home before my brother freaks out and thinks I'm dead."

"Would you like a ride?" he offered, raising an eyebrow. "It's not very safe here at night."

"Oh, it's Mystic Falls," she waved him off, "nothing bad ever happens here."

"I must insist," he said politely.

Clementine looked at Enzo over her shoulder, who was tense and ready to run if need be. He wasn't used to being around people yet. "What do you say, Baby Girl? Want a ride?"

"If it gets you home safe, Angel," he said softly, knowing he could defend them if this human was less than honorable.

Clementine turned and beamed at the man behind the wheel, who found himself momentarily memorized by her grin. "Then we'd love one. My name's Clementine, and this is Enzo."

"Hi. I'm Elijah."