Bennet Residence:

James Bennet wasn't originally gonna sleepin at his parents' place, but admittedly, it doesn't cost anything, and he's very used to sleeping on the couch. His mother offered Bonnie's room while she was away, but.... he decided to pass on that. After all, imagine the scenario when she decides to come back at that specific moment.

Late, probably midnight, is when a slight noise wakes him up. Groaning, his eyes blink awake before he notices that his front door has opened up a crack, making slight creaking sounds every five seconds.

Except.... he was pretty darn sure he closed it.

James glances around, suddenly getting a feeling like he's being watched by something, which isn't exactly wrong since wherever he turns, a hidden figure is behind his skull, just standing there.

Not seeing anything, he gets out bed and peaks his head out of his room and into hallway, once again looking left and right, but not seeing anything. At first, he thinks his memory must be wrong before hearing weird noises coming from the kitchen.

James blinks as he takes slow and cautions steps towards the staircase... where the noises then turns into voices, and those voices turn into whispers.

"Hsjfsijsoidjfs......"

When he steps down and finds himself in the living room, the darkness feels even more dark than it originally was, if that makes any sense. It feels like someone's watching him, but no matter where he looks, there's no person in sight.

It's almost as if-

*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!*

His phone suddenly ringing at such a quiet time causes James to mentally jump inside a little bit, before he pulls it out to see it coming from an unknown number. Despite this, he answers it. "Hello?"

"Hello, James Bennet." A quiet, overly calm, but somewhat intimidating voice emits through his ear drums, prompting the guy to frantically scan around the living room even more. "I apologize for the constant spooks I've been giving you, trying to travel from one side to another has proven to be a little difficult, especially when you're trying to teach yourself as quickly as possible."

"Who is this?" James immediately questions the man with suspicion laced in his voice.

"Though, of course, I would have normally taken things slowly. That's what I'm good at after all, comes with learning how to stop yourself with aging, it's how I also figured out how to transform my body into someone else's temporally." The man keeps talking, despite James very serious question. "People will say it's cliche, but I agree that time is the greatest ally one could have, it heals all wounds, and everything else..."

"Hey man, I don't like talking to people who don't tell me their names, especially if they've been messing with me for weeks straight." James growls into the phone as his temper begins cracking with every word he spits out.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I guess death just... gives you a new aspect on life. It makes you constantly think of what you've done, and what you didn't do. The memories just now feel like stories one would put in a history book." The stranger's voice comments with a small chuckle, before realizing that he's rambling again. "But enough of that, I think it's finally time that we, as potential allies, formally meet."

The phone then abruptly hangs up.

"Hello, James Bennet."

The collage kid mentally jumps for the second time tonight as the man's voice now emits from real life, snapping his head around to see an old man appearing from the shadows. Someone who he doesn't recognize, yet he looks like he, on the other hand, knows him very well.

"My name..... is Candor."

.

____________________________________________

Wilderness: Gibbons Home

Also on that night, the re-visitors of Mystic Falls have all but completed their little gang. After Harper, there was Fredrick, and a few others. And now, almost everyone that was in the tomb have now made it a ghost place. Almost, because it was never guaranteed to find all of them without unwanted attention.

...and because Damon Salvatore is still in there.

Annabelle, after getting her beauty sleep, heads downstairs to see what's going on with the others. Turns out that with everyone here, the place is now practically a homeless shelter, in a very fun way. He passes one who's helping another with a modern haircut, there's Bethanne who's pouring herself a drink, there's the gang of Vampires who watch in awe at the television screen in front of them, and that's not counting the people trying to find a 'style' that doesn't include something from the 1800s

Anna has to help the Vampires by letting them see that there's a remote control that allows them to change the channel. The second it starts playing cartoons, the Vampires are taken aback even more by what they're seeing, and Anna just lets them have keep that amazement while it lasts.

The next room she walks into however, she finds the owner that's forced into this whole missing being fed on by the mentioned Frederick, who's clearly getting a little too forceful with how he's biting her wrist. Anna hears her whimpers and groans, but knows she's unable to be 'mad' or 'scared' about it.

And something about that makes her angry.

Acknowledging her presence, Frederick shares eye contact with her, and the redness behind her gaze does end up making him separate his fangs from her veins, though he does it in a very rough manner. "Did you get enough sweetheart?" Samantha asks with a motherly voice that makes Anna even more comfortable.

"For now..." Frederick answers while still sharing a tense stare with Anna.

"Anna, Ar-Are you hungry? Do-do you want a little?" Samantha then asks her, offering her wrist to her. However, her slight stuttering makes it clear that either her actual emotions are slipping through the cracks of the compulsion, or she likely needs to let her heart recharge her system.

"No. Thank you, Miss Gibbons." Anna politely declines with a shake of her head, breaking eye contact with Fred to give her a fixed smile. "Why don't you lay down for a while and get some rest?"

"She's fine." Frederick retorts, seeing what she's trying to do and not wanting it. This prompts Anna to continue glaring at him as he turns his eyes back to Gibbons, his pupils pulsating. "Aren't you, Miss Gibbons?"

"Of course, I am." Gibbons 'confirms' with a nod. "I-I'm fine..." She assures Anna. However, the Vampire's hearing begins to finally hear it. The beating.... the rapid beating of her heart. Beating.... yelling... screaming..... crying.... wanting it to stop.

She is almost dead.

As Samantha walks away, Anna gives Frederick one final glare before leaving the room as well. Can't say that she's surprised that he's never changed.

That dumb fuck...

_________________________________

Mystic Falls High: The Next Morning

The bell rings, and History class is concluded, though not before Alaric asks Y/N to hang back for a few seconds. "I'm glad your back in your class, and that you've gotten a lot less.... you know." The teacher comments without saying the word that could accidently get his student suspended. "But there's still the test coming up, and with you having missed the previous two-"

"Hey, Y/N!" Matt calls in through the other side of the doorway, accidentally interrupting the two of them. "You said you had Econ next period, right?"

"Yeah, for sure, give me one second." Y/N confirms with a nod before turning back towards Alaric. "Rick, I promise you, I got that stuff handled. Jeremy's offering me his notes to me, and I got the entire public library to study in."

"Yeah, or, you know, you could ask the teacher for help." Alaric also points out, humorously pointing to himself as if he's trying to be subtle about it. "It's not like, you know, it's my job or anything."

"You know he owes me a favor after the paper thing, best for his conscious if I ask him." Y/N reminds him with a small smirk.

When that's all done, he then heads out of the classroom where he eventually meets up with Matt. As they walk down the wall way together, the Donavon kid explains to Y/N what he wanted to talk about. And it turns out to be a sequel to a conversation they once previously had.

"Hey, I talked to Roberta at the Grill." Matt then brings up, Roberta being his new manager. "And there's still a bartending position open if you want it." He then offers while shooting him a hoping smile.

Ah, that's right, it got opened up after the previous bartender, uh.... got fired.

(Plz don't unfollow)

"You sure?" Y/N questions with a hesitant squint of his eyes. With the whole tomb mess resolve, it would be a good time now. But... "I mean, your mom's back in town, right? I thought you'd suggest it to her."

"I did, but, well.... I have no idea how long's she's staying." Matt mentions with a small shrug. "So, for all I know, it'll be back in a week or so. Plus, with all that stuff about your dad, and I know you'd want to separate from your mom as soon as possible..." He gives him an empathetic smile. "It wouldn't hurt to be able to get your own place."

"Wait, so you think I'll actually be able to afford a house by the time I graduate?"

"Oh, dear lord, know. Especially not collage." Matt quickly shakes his head at that, laughing. "But... it's a start. You need experience, right?"

"And.... they're letting guys that are still in high school help keep a bunch of old geezers get themselves drunk?" Y/N questions before cringing at himself a little bit. He just sounded like Tyler for a second there.

"Well, you're a technical adult, and Roberta's desperate. So... I say it's a solid combination for 'not giving a damn' end quote." Matt quips while giving him a quirky smile, to which Y/N hums. "Just think about it..."

Y/N looks at him before eventually nodding.

"You know what? I think I will."

"Hey, dorks!" Tyler's voice announces his presence as he practically jogs over to them. "Take a guess who's back in town?" He excitedly challenges them with a look that seems to actually want them to try and guess it, prompting Y/N and Matt to share a look.

"Vicki?" Matt guesses.

"Your humanity?" Y/N guesses not as seriously, causing Tyler to give a look that knew it should've expected a witty response.

"James Bennet is back in town, baby!" Tyler exclaims loudly, excitedly clapping the two of them on the shoulders. "He just called me and wants to catch up with us. We're meeting at the Grill right after school, early supper, that kind of thing. So, you better show up or else I'm kick both of your asses."

"Like you did in Football?" Y/N teasingly questions, to which Tyler gives him a blatantly fake smile before bumping past him specifically. He plan to goes into Economics with Matt until something pops back into his mind. "Hey, save my seat for me?"

"Uh... I'll try?" Matt replies, not really having that kind of power. Y/N still jogs off, though, prompting him to shrug as he heads into the classroom.

"Tyler! Wait up!" Y/N calls out to the Lockwood kid, causing him to turn around and see the guy following him. Seeing that it's him, he begrudgedly acknowledges him.

"What do you want, Sheriff Hoyt?"

"I wasn't that horrible..." Y/N comments as he finally makes it back to him, only for Tyler to give him a look which causes the teen to let out a small sigh in response. "Look, I still think you're a major piece of trash, but I can also see when I make dumb decisions as well." He tells him, swallowing before he says... "So.... I'm sorry for trying to pick a fight with you."

Tyler slowly nods at this, seemingly taking a second to mentally swallow his pride before responding. "It's all cool man..." He tells him earnestly. "And, I guess you were right about Jeremy. I just... I need a second to get used to the new him. It's just too weird for me, like someone wiped his memories from a year ago..."

Y/N's hand twitches.

"Yeah...... yeah, I agree, that is really weird." Y/N comments agreeingly with a quick nod, easily regaining his composure. "Um.... see you at the Grill then."

"Yeah, see you." Tyler nods as they both head their separate ways. Meanwhile, Y/N thinks about Jeremy and the compulsion, and the rules behind it. During which, he spots Stefan walking down the hall, which quickly cuts off any thought as he urgently rushes inside the classroom before he can see him.

It's like he's scared of him.

But for what reason exactly?

__________________________________

Wilderness: Gibbons Home

Vampires are still currently trying to get the handle of things, even with the now knowledgeable Pearl to help them out.

"And the keypad is for texting, which is what you do when you want to avoid talking to someone." Peral tells Harper, who stares at the row of letters, numbers, and weird (Greek?) symbols that he begins messing with. While 'texting', a pop up on the screen suddenly appears as he accidently hits the green phone symbol on it.

"Anna, Hey, uh... it's me, I can't really come up with similar mediocre titles, but, uh.... if you wanna talk at the Grill before you go, I think I'll probably be there by...... midnight, or something..." A male teenager's voice suddenly emits through the device, causing the both of them to jump. Just then, the Annabelle herself walks in and upon hearing the message playing, mentally panics and quickly jogs over to cut it off.

"I-I didn't break it, I swear." Harper sheepishly tells Anna, hoping he didn't, at the very least. However, Anna just gives him an 'it's alright' look as the message stops.

"I was just showing Harper what you taught me." Pearl explains as the two share a seemingly innocent smile in appreciation for the new world around them. Don't know if Anna should be happy or worried about that. "What a marvelous device!"

"Who was that?" Harper asks curiously, and maybe its his curious face or something, but she ends up answering honestly.

"Y/N L/N." Anna tells him, the last name obviously striking a few of them as familiar. However, it's a really old voicemail where the owner of it has no doubt changed his mind over the past few days.

"Is that your boyfriend?"

"Of course, not." Peral answers for Anna in a dismissive voice before she can say anything, standing up because now is the time for her to finally establish herself in the world outside of this house in the woods. "What do you think?" She then queries Anna, referencing to her new modern outfit.

"Very respectable." Anna comments with a slightly fixed smile. Grey and black does suit her.... suit, so it should work fine.

"That's the goal." Peral nods as she stretches it out a bit. "Can't say that I miss corsets."

"Susie Sunshine gave me her car keys and her ATM card." Anna pridefully tells her mother, meaning that they won't have to speed-walk, or have to worry about money. And, granted, when you act like a bitch and have the name of a kid show's girl doll, you kind of deserve to be robbed blind.

Pearl blinks when she hears three letters being put together to form a word. "What's that?"

"I'll explain later." Anna tells her as he mentally reminds herself about the whole 'Tomb Vampire' thing. However, right as Peral grabs her purse and they begin to head out, one of the Vampires purposefully steps in their way.

"Where are you going?" Frederick questions the two of them with an envious look, to which the two women share a look.

"We have some business in town." Peral tells him while nodding to herself and Anna, though obviously not mentioning what that 'business' is. "We'll be back as soon as we can. I trust that you'll keep an eye on things?" She then says with an expecting gaze, to which Fred scoffs.

"So, I'm the babysitter now?"

"Frederick, if this is going to work, we have to cooperate with one another." Peral reminds the Vampire man who's clearly bitter with having been forced to stay in a house in the middle of nowhere with only one human to feast on. Her older blood doesn't suit his tastebuds, apparently. "You know what happened to Damon, there are people in town who know..."

Frederick sarcastically nods at her. "So you keep saying...."

"I'll watch things, Miss Peral." Harper promises the woman with a more obedient expression, knowing full well who's the leader of this subconscious group.

"Thank you, Harper." Peral says with a satisfied smile, before she and Annabelle then walk past them and leave the house. After the door closes, Fredrick gives Harper an obvious glare before moving away to go do something else than be near him.

So much for trust in common identity.

__________________________________________

Mystic Falls: Bennet Residence

If there's one thing James love more than his family, it's his car. Like, seriously, do not touch the Impala, whatever you do. He's probably washed it more times than necessary. Heck, he probably didn't even need to on this specific day either. But yet, he's doing it. Mid-way through this car-wash, gets a phone call from a familiar face.

"A double date? Seriously?" James repeats the words he is being told by Elena through the phone. He tries to find a way to put all the pieces together since he feels like even she wouldn't think of this. "Let me guess, it was Caroline's idea?"

"Is it that obvious?" Elena sheepishly queries from the other end, to which James chuckles in confirmation. "I mean, I wasn't planning to say yes, but after Stefan's brother.... moved out, and also with the-" She quickly cuts herself off. "I mean, school has just been more stressful than I thought, so... I guess I can't really say no."

"Well, if you gotta go, you gotta go."

"I'm sorry..." Elena then begins apologizing, causing James to drop his head with a sigh. "I know that you already invited everyone, but you know how Caroline-"

"Yes I do, but please don't sweat about it. It could end up slinking through the phone." James interrupts her with a quip, not wanting to go through another one of these apologies again. "Just have fun, don't drink, and I still you'll be alright."

"I don't drink anymore..."

"Don't lie, Red, it's bad for your health." James instantly calls her out, smiling before they share goodbyes and hang up the phone. Right as he does this, he looks up to see Candor standing right front of the garage.

Damn it...

Now, the two are walking on the sidewalk, trying to seem casual despite their currently dynamic being anything but. "You know, I always wish that I did end up achieving immortality. Having one's heart ripped out wasn't as painless as you probably expect."

"Can't say I relate...." James comments while giving Candor a pointed look, which the warlock easily notices with the lack of any subtly that the guy's showing.

"You know, I recommend that you bring down the staring a little bit. You'll make yourself look crazy if people see you glaring daggers at thin air." Candor advises with blank yet somehow cheeky expression. James looks around, and sees one guy walking his dog glancing at him, causing him to sigh.

"What do you want?"

"Your help, obviously. Resting in peace would suit me better right now if that wasn't the case." Candor answers in a snarky tone, James wants to give him another look but understands his lesson this time. "You see, when I call myself a 'Druid' I don't mean that as a 'different' or 'even more unique type of Warlock'. It's a title to.... represent my calling in life, I protect Earth's nature, good and evil, and in return, I gain an extra year to life."

"So, you are a different type of Warlock." James corrects him, though mostly guessing that as according to what he's hearing. Candor chuckles at him.

"No, I made a deal with Sil-" Candor's about to explain, only to cut himself off with a haunting expression right when he's about to say the name. "I made a deal with a powerful being who used his magic, back in Ancient Greece."

James blinks at him, shocked.

"So what, are you saying that you're.... you were two thousand years old?" James questions with slight shock in his voice, to which Candor slightly smiles voidlessly.

"Yes, but I usually lie to everyone I 'serve' or 'command' so they can never know the truth." Candor explains with a slightly mixed face. "The truth about..... him." He adds, looking down with that haunted expression back on his face. James squints his eyes at him until the Ghost snaps out of it. "Tell me something..... do you care about your family?"

"Pretty sure you wouldn't have haunted me if you didn't know that already, old man." James points out with a sassy look that clearly says 'get to the damn point', and Candor smiles.

"Then go to the old tomb, beneath the church of old Mystic Falls. Stefan Salvatore had recently dug a tunnel, allowing anyone to get in." Candor instructs him, before changing directions and walking towards a nearby fence of a resident's backyard. "You'll see the evil there."

The second he walks through it, probably thinking he looked smooth, James sighs as he looks around, wondering if he should follow his instructions.

What kind of evil....?

___________________________________________

Mystic Falls:

You know the usual, when teenagers have fun, the adults do their jobs in order to live in a house. And, hopefully, get to have some fun at some point. Though, sometimes, those chances to have fun get shot down when more things come up, prompting another for a chance to have fun. In other words, it's all... one unpredictable cycle.

"Miss Sommers?" Pearl calls for upon seeing her in front of the house that's caught her family's attention, prompting the woman to quickly turn around to acknowledge them.

"Yes, hi, Pearl." Jenna greets back with a polite smile, shaking the woman's hand. She got the call from the woman who's only mention was that she was interested in the building due to having a 'conscious love for history' which was thankfully bought.

"Hi, this is my daughter, Annabelle." Pearl then introduces the seemingly young girl, who Jenna seems to recognize my face.

"Of course, Jeremy and Y/N's friend."

"Nice to see you, Miss Sommers." Anna tells her with a fixed smile, to which Jenna chuckles modestly.

"Oh, Jenna, please." The woman mentally waves her off, letting the girl know that she doesn't need to use that name around her anymore. But that aside, back to the topic at hand. "This property was in my brother-in-law's family for generations. It's, uh, one of the original structures in Mystic Falls." She mentions some trivia to Peral while searching through her pockets for her keys. "It used to be one of those old-fashioned drug store thingies."

"An apothecary?" Pearl immediately guesses correctly, since, well.... it was her building, after all.

"Yeah."

"You don't say...."

"Sorry if it's a little musty, no one's been in here for months." Jenna warns Pearl with a friendly humorous face, though that only pleases the woman more, it means that it'll look exactly like how she left it, which should be oddly satisfying.

"I'll use my imagination."

While idly looking around at all the other people, since standing perfectly still is a little difficult for Anna, having the body of a teenager and all, she sees people of all shapes and sizes. Old, tall, young, and small, and.... Y/N L/N.

Her expression drops when she sees him walking down the town square, not noticing her as he casually talks with someone on the phone while walking down the sidewalk. The way he walks, and chuckles, it could fool anyone else, but she can easily look past it.

He's hiding something inside.... Something she probably created.

"Anna?" Pearl that calls her daughter's name, prompting her to snap out of her thoughts. She quickly whips up a fake expression of calm before following them.

"Coming mother."

_____________________________________________

Mystic Falls: L/N Residence

The sun has turned orange, meaning it's getting close to that time he should meet up with the others for the whole get together Tyler is hosting along with the old football team, with Jeremy and Matt possibly being there as well. Since it's his friends, that means that there's no reason for Y/N to not get involved as well.

While grabbing a new set of clothes, he occasionally exchanges text messages with...... Isobel. Yes, he knows, this is really stupid, you don't have to tell him. But he needs answers. Since day one of summer, he's been getting hints of the spirit inside of him but can get never really get a clear indication on what it all means. Is it something he should avoid? Will it make him a worse version of Damon? The last thing he wants is to turn into him. So for the sake of himself and his friends, Bonnie, Elena, Alaric, and others, he has to figure this mystery out .

After finishing all of that, he is finally ready to head out. When he opens the door, however, he's caught off guard by the young girl standing on the other side of him, crossing her arms in a way that shows slight nervousness. "Hey..." She greets with a hard to make smile.

It's Anna.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in." Y/N sarcastically remarks as he gives her and her body a blank look before leaning against the door with a pointed look directed at her. "Thought you left town with your mom..."

Anna swallows as she glances off to the side before talking to him again. "We need to talk."

"No, no, I don't think we do." Y/N denies her with a snarky look, clearly just wanting for her to get off the property. "I think you made yourself pretty clear last time when you pretend to like me, only for it to turn out to just be a part of your little plan."

"It wasn't like that..." Anna quietly retorts with a small exhale. "Just, give me a-"

"Anna, don't lie, especially when it's so obvious." Y/N quicky interrupts her, his face silently begging her to stop trying to suck up to him to earn his forgiveness. "You and I both know that your kind only sees humans as... tools, assets, and food. Nothing else." He states to her as he rolls his lips a little bit. "I mean, you're literally, like, what? A hundred years old? What exactly is supposed to be different with a guy like me?"

"Y/N...."

A buzz from Y/N's phone helps his pay attention to that instead of her. Looks like it's Tyler who's making sure that he'll show up to the thing. He sends a quick reply to assure that he's coming, thought he'll be making a pit stop along the way, and then gives Anna a blank look as he closes the door and shoulders past her.

"Please.... don't me hate you anymore that I do right now.'

_____________________________

Wilderness: Gibbons Home

The rest of the Vampires have been doing nothing but waiting, and waiting, but also talking, talking about the things Pearl has said to them, things that Anna has claimed to have seen. Despite it coming from a Human's decisions, it's still a topic of conversation. At least, to them, since, you know, they'll be taking the town back sooner or later.

"I don't believe it, any of it." Frederick comments with a shake of his head as he sits in the living room, with Harper, Bethanne, and a few other Vampires sitting/standing around with him. "There's no way that a human boy killed Damon Salvatore."

Harper moves his head up from his palm and gives him a look. "Pearl said that-"

"I don't care what Pearl said." Frederick snaps, immediately cutting the guy off. "We're Vampires, we're made to be stronger than ten of those meatbags combined, and all of a sudden, now it takes only one to bring a single one of us down?" He scoffs as his own words. "It's ridiculous."

"We all saw his body when we woke up." Harper reminds him with a criticizing look. "There's was a stake in his heart, the humans still know we exist."

"Damon was young, Pearl and Anna could have easily done that themselves." Frederick theorizes, knowing the strength of a more than half a thousand-year-old Vampire. "You ask me, it's all an excuse, excuse to keep us in this damned house while they get to wonder off and 'explore' and all that..." He lets out a sigh, his customs still preventing him from swearing. "I hate this house...."

"Its better than the tomb." Bethanne mentions, to which Frederick sighs again. Although that's true, it feels like they've been casted in another sealing spell all over again.

"I didn't stay locked up for a hundred and forty-five years to end up locked up here." Frederick states passionately, his leg thumping as he thinks about it all over again. "The humans are weak, if they do know, they're used to young Vampires. We're not young."

Some of the other Vampires share looks, secretly agreeing yet not wanting to argue with Pearl's authority. On the other side though, there's those willing to enforce it. "Maybe you should quit complaining." Harper criticizes, causing a tense silence to fall inside the room.

Frederick silently glares at Harper, setting his glass down on the coffee table before standing up to walk menacingly over to his chair. "You're gonna stop me?"

"Let it be, Frederick." Bethanne warns him, but she nor the other Vampires look like they plan to stop either of them. Honestly, this is the most entertaining thing all night. "You heard what Pearl said."

"And like I've mentioned before, I don't care what Pearl said." Frederick replies, his eyes never moving away from Harper as he tits his head at him. "What you got, boy? Hmm?" He taunts him, pressing for a fight. The other Vampires smirk as they watch.

And a fight Frederick gets, as Harper abruptly shoots up at super-speed and shoves him back onto the couch, prompting the other Vampire to return the favor and slam him against the fireplace. "Try that again-"

Before they can continue, however, Frederick feels his lungs suddenly closing together, and everyone looks over to see Pearl and Anna in the living room now, with the former's hand wrapped around the rouge's neck. "Back... off." Pearl orders, separating the two from each other. "Back off. We don't fight each other, those are the rules."

"And I'm tired of your rules." Frederick angrily seethes as he rubs his neck with a pained expression. "I want out of this house! Why can't we go into town?"

"Eventually." Pearl promises Frederick, who gives her a skeptical look. "But for now, we have to keep a low profile."

"No one knows who I am."

"Stefan Salvatore still does." Pearl points out, however, that name only causes Fredrick to laugh.

"And I wish to hell I could run into him." Frederick remarks with a sanguine expression on his face, dropping his hand as he thinks about wrapping his hands around that man's throat. "He and his dead brother are the reason we got caught in the first place."

And the other one is living on borrowed time.

______________________________________________

Mystic Falls: Central Park

Y/N is now at the meeting spot, aka his 'pitstop' that he mentioned earlier. His little affair he's gotten himself into is simple. She gets information for her little wiki page, and he gets the same thing with the added addition of being able to stay away from Anna. It's clear she feels guilty about what she's done, but he just can't stand to look her in the face right now, not even for a minute.

He looks around and picks a random bench to sit in, knowing that no one will really care about him sitting there anyway. All that he'll get really is a small glance, including the woman he's meeting with who will instantly recognize him.

And, as expected, he eventually spots a woman approaching from the corner of his eye and calmly sits down without really looking in his general direction for more than thirty seconds. To everyone else, they are just small strangers having small talk. "Thanks for coming..." Y/N says emotionlessly to which Isobel nods.

"My pleasure. Thanks for last night, by the way." Isobel says teasingly, though her sunglasses and blank expression do a good job of hiding it from outside perspectives. Yes, she's wearing sunglasses at night. Guess it's a Vampire thing.

"Do you have it?" Y/N just asks her, ignoring whatever she's trying to attempt.

Isobel, likely amused by his insistence to keep things serious, nods and pulls out a small USB stick that he subtly hands over to him. "Here, everything on a Google Doc. Some of it includes theories, but thanks to what you told me, I have mostly confirmed facts in there as well." She states, assuring him that he'll find some things he hasn't heard of it.

Y/N nods and puts it in his pocket. "Thank you."

"There's just.... one more problem, however." Isobel brings up before he can think about walking away. "I still haven't learned everything." She tells him, causing Y/N to mentally sigh.

"What do you mean?" He questions her, wondering what else she needs to know before she's satisfied. Is there more than just information that she wants? Are there other motives.

"You mentioned that you ate a piece of that Jeff kid's ear, and I double-checked to see if Wendigo's truly turn the second one resorts to even the tiniest piece of cannibalism." Isobel mentions, her voice urging Y/N on into thinking this is something he wants to hear. "But according to what you've told me, you're still in the second to last step of becoming one."

Y/N blinks, having not expected a conclusion like that. "What are you talking about? You mean the process has even more steps?" He questions sarcastically, to which Isobel calmly nods.

"You've only turned half-way. The Wendigo spirit can only 'activate' as you put in, when you're in danger or when your emotions are ramped up to a level it can take advantage off." Isobel states what Y/N has deciphered on his own. "But then you still haven't gotten into..... the form you saw in your dreams."

"So...." Y/N glances down, putting the small bits of this information into his head. "Something really.... really..... really bad, needs to happen to me." He concludes, and Isobel nods.

"And that just covers a bit of it." Isobel replies as she stands up preparing to leave, but not before putting her hand on his shoulder and giving it a good rub. "Give that a good read tonight, if you want to avoid it.... or embrace it." She tells him before walking away, back into the nocturnal crowd, leaving Y/N with his thoughts alone.

Geez, no wonder Wendigos are barely around....All of the fucked-up guys have managed to become one.

Eventually, he too stands off of the bench, but little does he know that someone has ended up listening on their conversation the entire time.

Anna.

And she is not happy with what she just heard.

______________________________________________

Wilderness: Gibbons Home

Despite that.... lecture, from Pearl, the plan hasn't changed for Frederick. He's tired of being in this old house with these old people with old blood. He needs younger blood, something from someone completely filled up, and could keep him satisfied for at least the next day after. And, he's needs to see what this new world can offer him.

He's not the only one who thinks that, too.

"Where are you going?" Harper asks the both of him upon catching both him and Bethanne with their feet mid-way through the door. Frederick closes his eyes with a sigh, but turns around to face him anyway.

"Bethanne and I are going out for a bit." Frederick tells him with a casual smile on his face, as if he totally is allowed to be leaving right now. "Hit the town, kick up our heals.... that sort of thing."

"But we're not supposed to leave." Harper reminds them as he closer, his eyes clearly warning him against doing what the strongest Vampire says. "Pearl made that very clear."

"You gonna stop me?" Frederick questions in a defiant manner, getting in his face as he doesn't like the idea of a slave telling him what to do. Harper matches his gaze, but doesn't say anything, knowing that his blood isn't strong enough. "I didn't think so."

Then, they leave, consequences be damned.

"You'll have to forgive them." A man behind Harper remarks, causing him to turn around and see one of the Vampires he doesn't recognize walking up to stand next to him. "Frederick was one of the lucky ones, he was found in the woods straight away, has the curiosity of a child."

"He's going to get himself killed." Harper replies as he looks back towards the door they left in, along with the other Tomb Vampire. "That is, even if they both make it back without a scratch. Pearl will punish them."

"Indeed, that's Frederick for you, always thinking about the present and never the future." The other Vampire comments with a small nod, before giving Harper a serious look. "But, during his entire childish rant, he's right about one thing...." He then mentions before walking down the hall, as Harper watches him go curiously.

"We're not young Vampires anymore..."

___________________________________

Mystic Grill: Evening

Thankfully, with no other interruptions or anything else for him to do, Y/N heads over to the grill where the rest of the guys are. Hopefully, he isn't late, as the slight paranoia in himself wonders if others will suspect him sleeping with a woman that's twice his age, maybe even more so. But, that's just him asking for attention that he doesn't need from everybody else.

Stepping inside the grill doors, it doesn't take that much for him to spot the gang. He also sees Jeremy a few feet away, likely waiting for his old classmate as well. Wanting to catch up, he's about to approach him, only to pause mid-way when he sees Tyler beating him to the bunch. I'm sorry, is his eyes deceiving him or something?

Whatever they were talking about quickly ends as Tyler walks away before Y/N can even join in, in time. He walks up and gives Jeremy a clearly curious brow. "What was that about?" He asks him, to which the kid just shrugs.

"Asking for something to spike in his cup. 'Cause it's practically a party we're going to have here and blah, blah, blah." Jeremy answers with a small shrug, causing Y/N to blink at him in surprise. "Yeah, I'm serious. He's a total dick every time we cross paths, and expects me to not take it seriously or something."

"Oh brother..." Y/N comments with a small laugh that he shares with Jeremy. "Honestly, there are moment where I'm convinced he's just really stupid and we all shouldn't take it to heart." He tells his friend as a small way to comfort him. "Karma will run his dirty ass over eventually."

"I think his parents are just.... not right for him." Jeremy considers in a quiet voice that seems to be in Tyler's offense, causing Y/N to give him a look that asks for elaboration. "Okay, don't tell anyone, but... I think it was a week ago? During that whole career thing at school, you know, when I was trying to be nice to him again, he got really angry and shoved me against a locker." He shares with him. "All expected, right? Well... then his dad rolls up, pulls us outside and..... he tells us to fight."

Y/N blinks, almost spitting his drink out if he had one. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously. And he meant it too. If it wasn't for Mr. Saltzman who came just in time, we all probably would've ended up throwing a punch at each other." Jeremy states, nodding at Tyler who's now talking to his guys all casual like.

"Geez..." Y/N silently exclaims with a shake of his head. "So, he takes after his dad, huh?"

"Yeah.... whether he likes it or not." Jeremy agreeingly replies with a nod. Then, the doors to the Grill open, and out comes Elena, Caroline, Matt.....

And Stefan.

Everyone else that knows them greets casually, though when Y/N and Stefan make eye contact, there's no point in trying to hide the darkness behind each of their eyes. A consequence of actions that have occurred in the past. For whatever reason they are here....

Y/N should probably stay back.

A few minutes later, Tyler walks up to Y/N without him knowing at first. "Hey, we're all gonna move outside. Give the live square here space for their double date." Tyler tells him, though getting no response from him at first. "Hey, bro, you with us?"

"Uh, y-yeah, yeah...." Y/N quickly snaps out of it, heading to the outside tables before needing to be told twice. "Sounds good!"

Tyler squints at him as he walks away before just shrugging it off.

______________________________________________

Wilderness: Vampire Tomb

James, despite his better judgement about trusting a ghost that's started haunting him, giving him the creeps, and has openly admitted to lying to almost everyone in his life about... well, everything there is to no about him and who he is as a Warlock, has decided to head to the tomb as part of his advice, due to getting a bad feeling that surrounds Elena and her friends' safety all of a sudden.

Finding a random spot to park his car, he then hikes around the woods where his chosen trail eventually leads him into the old ruins of Mystic Falls. He fails to see any purpose of being there until he sees a huge hole in the ground right in the floor of the old church. This must be the tomb that Candor mentioned.

Finding a trail that provides an alternative to jumping down and risk breaking his legs or getting stuck, James finds an old door wide open, practically inviting him inside. Besides some tourches laying around, there's nothing here that catches his interest, so he steps into the tomb.

He searches the tomb, noticing how the walkways go from narrow to wide. Despite being labeled a 'tomb' by the ghost, James fails to see any bodies of any sort, not even mummies. He does see a narrow tunnel that leads him into a very wide spaced room with a small gate in the middle, which does give him something. A dead man with all color drained out of his skin as he lies on the dirty and dusty floor with a stake in his heart.

"Feeling 'gothic' yet?" A voice suddenly chimes in from behind James, causing him to snap his head around and see Candor stepping out of the shadows and back into his view. "That's what this generation calls the genre, am I right?"

"What the heck is this, ghost guy? Why the fuck am I here, standing in a literal empty tomb?" James questions the obvious one that's on his mind, squinting at Candor who clears his throat as he looks down at the corpse laying between them.

"Do you have any idea who this is?" He queries James, referencing to the dead Vampire. The guy glances down at it before giving him a dismissive shrug.

"No, what about it?"

"His name is Damon Salvatore. Brother.... to Stefan Salvatore." Candor then explains to him, the name obviously striking James as familiar. He was Elena's boyfriend he met a day ago. "You do know what Vampires are, don't you?"

"My mentor back in New Orleans has told me about them, yes." James confirms with a nod, listening intently as he's slowly starting to understand the danger Candor's hinting at.

"Good." Candor nods, pacing around the room and observing it as if it was a museum. "This place used to host all kinds of Vampires that were alive during the Civil War. Mystic Fall's old government assumed that they burned them all, but a witch, not me, decided to help them cheat death." He explains to James, knowing that he's going to need to lore to understand the concept of what he's about to say next. "However, this live stuck fool...." He briefly points towards Damon's body. "...and an angry teenager unknowingly gave them all an entire hospital bag worth of blood. And now, they have all left the tomb, one.... by one."

James blinks as he processes all of these words at once. "Are you saying...?"

"Yes, Mr. Bennet." Candor confirms with a nod as he steps closer towards him with a very serious look on his face. "The town is currently infested with two thirds of these powerful Vampires, who have only grown stronger as ages have passed." He tells him, not cutting any corners with telling James that everyone is in danger. "And if you care about any of your old friends, I suggest that you prepare to follow any trace a Vampire leaves behind the second you find one."

With that, he then slowly disappears in front of James, leaving him with all of this new information that is sure to put a cloud on his day.

"Aw... shit."

______________________________________

Mystic Grill:

Y/N sits around with the guys, most of them either commenting on the appearent double date happening inside the diner, or wondering what the heck is taking James so long when he was the one that called them all out here in the first place. Hopefully, he has a good excuse prepared in his back pocket or the boys might just think that he forgot about them all.

At one point, Tyler gets up and walks over to Y/N's seat. "Hey man, mind getting everyone else another round?" He requests, to which Y/N raises his brow at him, wondering when that became his job.

"Why me? You're the one who stood up."

"Well you are the one with the secret stash of alcohol, so...." Tyler mentions with a face, causing Y/N to sigh and wish that he never shared that information with him in the first place if it means he has to clean up for e everybody else. "Oh, and let them know that it's in James, since his ass is pretty much late." He then also slides him a piece of paper, which makes his friend chuckle upon seeing.

"Wow, okay..." Y/N mutters as he reluctantly stands up and heads back inside to approach the bar.

He orders another round of the same drink, since everyone's also trying to get as drunk as Y/N is, with the difference being that they don't have a girl that's practically dumped them, except for Tyler, and they aren't trying to make themselves forget.

Sadly, however, just as he was worried about it, Stefan walks over and does the same thing for his group without looking in Y/N's direction. Though, they clearly know that the other person is there. "Diet Coke please...." Stefan orders before the two now have to stand there, right next each other. "So, how's your day." He then casually asks Y/N.

"Fine, depending on your version of it...." Y/N answers back, the two never really looking at each other. "So.... Double Date, huh? You sure about putting Matt and Elena on the same table?" He then asks him as if nothing's going on between the two of them.

"I don't mind. It's not like you can act like your old life doesn't exist. One where you didn't know that Vampires were real and that one was around you while animal attacks were happening the entire time." Stefan replies with a calm voice, completely able to understand where Elena would be coming from if she makes any references about her old dating life.

"Makes sense." Y/N earnestly comments, knowing that too. They thankfully have to exchange small talk for very long as a few minutes later, the part time bartender shows up and delivers the Vampire's order. "Hey, can I ask you something?" Y/N then says before he leaves, a rather bold request considering what he's done. "How are you still able to just... Keep living your life without feeling like a mess?"

Stefan turns around before staring at him for a couple seconds. "You probably shouldn't be asking me that." He says with a blank expression before walking away, something which Y/N takes as a polite way of saying, 'go fuck yourself'.

Well deserved, he'll admit.

After giving everyone of his lazy ass friends their drinks, he tells them all he needs to read the bathroom. There's nobody else inside, so Y/N just picks a random stall and handles his business. After he washes his hands though, he notices that this is one of those bathroom visits where something is off.

"Are you serious?"

Y/N snaps his head around and sees Anna standing right behind him, looking like she just saw him feed entire baby to a cow after killing it. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Isobel? Out of every rebound girl you could've picked, you chose Isobel?" Anna criticizes him with a very angry face. "Are you fucking serious?"

"What?" Y/N blinks before panickingly glancing at the door. "Are you crazy?! Get out of here before Stefan or Elena sees you."

"No, I should be asking you that, because I have never seen somebody just ask to ruin his life since a hundred years!" Anna yells as she gives him a look pointed towards the supposed stupidest man on earth. "Do you have any idea who she is?"

"You mean a Vampire?" Y/N instantly answers with a scoff that says he's not that stupid. "Yeah, I figured that one out."

"And you slept with her?" Anna correctly puts everything together as she mentally face palms with both hands. "Oh my gosh, this is straight out of a horrible romance movie...."

"You mean you actually watched romance movies?" Y/N questions with a raised brow. "That's surprising."

"Y/N, this isn't a joke, this is quite literally a dynamite ready to go off the second it runs out of fuse to burn out." Anna tells him with a very serious face, emphasizing the chaos that's threatening to ruin his relationships. "You have to separate yourself from her."

"What? No, I can't." Y/N immediately protests with a shake of his head. "I need to figure out what I am before I ever lose control again and this is the only option I got left."

"Okay, do you wanna know now? Or do you want to protect Elena's innocence before she realizes that you're sleeping with her damn mother?" She questions in a rough tone, and the reaction Y/N gives tells her everything she needs to know. "Yeah, now it feels even more dirty, don't it?"

Y/N lets out a big exhale as he thinks about what to do next. "And why the heck are you telling me this?" He asks her with a dirty brow. "I already told you to keep you and your freak mother away from me-"

Mid-sentence, the door to the bathroom opens with a echoing creak. With that being the only direction she can speed away to, and now technically blocked in this room, Anna mentally panics and comes up with the first idea on her mind. She abruptly pulls Y/N in and begins making out with him, causing him to freeze, though he doesn't stop her. In fact, he finds himself kissing her back.

However, even the attempt to act like a drunken couple doesn't work.

"Oh... Excuse me?" A familiar voice that Anna recognizes comments, and the female Vampire breaks away from Y/N to see that it's Frederick of all people who came into the bathroom. "Isn't this the men's bathroom."

"What the hell-?" Anna gets close to swearing him out, but cuts herself off, glancing at Y/N as she decides to keep her cool. "Yes, it is, sorry...."

She storms out, leaving a perplexed Y/N behind as Frederick then turns towards him with a very big smirk on his face. "Lucky guy..." He tells the teen playfully as he goes into a random stall, bumping shoulders as he passes him.

Y/N blinks before the alarms blare in his head and he sprint-walks out of the bathroom to approach Stefan again. Well, not exactly, but when he makes eye contact with him again, he points towards the bathroom and mouths the word to him.

"Vampire..."

Stefan immediately understands and looks over right as Frederick steps out, getting the hint that he's not one of the friendly ones.

A Civil War Vampire.

Shaking his head, he heads back to the others, trying to figure out what he's supposed to do next until a let set of shouting puts that on hold. "There he is!" Tyler exclaims as he points towards the new man that's just entered through the doors, who easily sees where they are with those high voices. "James! James! James! James! James!" Every single one of the team chants.

"Geez guys, you bring and confetti and the band out here too?" James quips with a raised brow as he walks over to them, having finally made it after having to drive here from the old place of Mystic Falls.

"Almost, bit Jess took a sick day, we scrapped that idea." Tyler responds with the same amount of sarcasm, before the two then clap and hug. "Man, it's really you! For a second, I think you ended up ditching on us man."

"Oh, I wasn't planning to, trust me." James says with an earnestly apologetic look. "I just had something that abruptly came up the last second."

"Yeah, yeah, sure...." Tyler says with a small nod, smiling as if he's suspecting him of getting into some kind of mischief. "But anyway, I wanna introduce you to someone." He tells him before calling out to Y/N. "James, meet the second-best player we had."

"Don't even start there, bro." Y/N warns with a shake of his head, knowing that he can humble Tyler greatly if he gave just one example. He then turns to James. "Sup man, Y/N L/N." He then introduces himself to the Bennet guy, giving him a side-hug.

"Nice to finally meet you, Y/N. Matt's been telling me how many times you plummeted Tyler onto the grass." James replies with a friendly smile, causing Tyler to roll his eyes while everyone else chuckles. "And Jeremy! Is that you in the corner?"

"Hey, man.... " Jeremy nods as he eventually pops out and hugs his friend as well. "Glad to see you again."

"You too...." James responds before noticing that he truly does have everyone staring at him.

"So.... you guys wanna break?"

_______________________

Mystic Grill: Outside

Just out the side door, walking around the walls of the building is one of the football guys who got a little lucky talking to a girl. With a classic 'teenagers knowing they are doing something bad' behavior, giggling and what-not, they find a small alleyway and begin making out with about as much class as a homeless man on meth.

They only get about two minutes in before a gust of wind causes them to briefly pause, finding it to be a little louder than usual. "What was that?" The girl says, looking around to make sure that wasn't just her mind.

"It's nothing. Forget about it." The jock dismisses the feeling as he re-directs the girl's face to re-focus on him again. He eagerly continues the make out session, until a rough thud two seconds later erupts. "What the-" He utters in a slightly frustrated voice until they both eventually see a man they don't recognize standing one of the ends of the alleyway, walking up towards them. "Hey, man, what's the big deal?!"

"Watch your mouth, boy." Frederick scorns as he marches over to him, looking like he hasn't eaten dinner in an entire week. "The more realistic reaction is to be afraid...... very afraid."

"What are-" The jock tries to speak again until Frederick uses his vampiristic sprint to suddenly grab him by the throat, while Beth appears from behind the shadows and grabs the girl, putting a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

"You know Stefan Salvatore?" Frederick then immediately begins interrogating the teen, his eyes pulsating as to affect the kid's mind. It doesn't even take a second before he's under his compulsion. "I've seen you talking with him at the grill."

"Yes..."

"Where is he? Where does he live?"

"The mansion near Wickery Bridge.... everyone talks about it." The teen says, the last part not really being important. But what he gives is enough for Frederick, who lets out a sanguine smile before ripping the jock's throat out with one small pull, and quickly swooping in to drink out of the large hole. Bethanne then eagerly does the same with her victim.

They then simply throat the bodies in the weird green box with trash in it, and then move on.....

Now having a location.

__________________________________________

Mystic Grill:

*Another small sex scene here. I know everyone voted for everything, but we don't need another bit of something we've already scene, so this one will be very small-ish.

Meanwhile, everyone back inside has been living the moment. James is back, chatting up with everyone he used to play with, Jeremy has left now, but has also gotten plenty of time to catch up with James. The place just isn't really his scene. Y/N, on the other hand, has also hung back, having some obvious things on his mind.

They've come back.

"So, James, tell me something." Tyler, who's been the most excited to have James back after so long, to the point he has his arm wrapped around his shoulder, remembers a little fun fact about him. "You remember every time you have a certain tackle on someone? What would you say?" He queries him, to which the ex-jock presses his lips together as everyone watches expectedly. "Come on what is it? Here comes the....?"

James, after a minute, sighs as he finally remembers it. "Here comes the bulldog."

"Here comes the bulldog!" Tyler repeats much louder, prompting him and everyone to bark as if it's some kind of chant. James chuckles as he feels like he's surrounded by idiots, lovable idiots, at the very least. They keep it going for a little while longer until James notices Y/N purposefully standing by himself, just leaning his shoulder against the wall. Something is clearly off with him.

"Give me a second, would you guys?" James requests as he calmly stands up, leaving them to go talk about him behind his back instead of too his face. Tyler shrugs, allowing him to go and approach Y/N who just idly drinks a cup of what is likely spiked beer. "Hey man...." He softly gets his attention, just casually standing next to him. "Heard you've gone through a hell of a month."

Y/N stares at him for a few seconds before shrugging. "Yeah, well.... people say that there's a grieving process, but..... they'll all lying to your face when they say that it eventually ends." He replies before taking another drink, to which James agreeingly nods.

"Yeah..... You have any other family in town?" James then asks him, to which causes Y/N to raise a brow as he wonders where this sudden concern has come from. "I mean, that's why I moved here, to be with my family." He adds, which does make the other guy nod in understanding.

"Um..... Yeah, I do. Though it's kind of hard to see them as often as I want to." Y/N answers, secretly talking about Alaric, having found that the two have had problem with their schedules as of late. "But, I got my friends. I reckon that's enough for one guy."

"True, true...." James comments with a nod. "You seeing anybody?" He then asks next, which is definitely a question that Y/N has no choice but to pretty much lie about.

"No.... used to, but broke up with her very recently." Y/N answers, and not wanting to even mention the secret hook-up she's having. In fact, that and the new information he's been given makes him realize that his mood has no chance of getting itself back up. "But, anyway.... I gotta go. I have things to do tomorrow and I don't want to drink myself into a hangover." He says as an excuse before heading out.

James looks a little perplexed, knowing that he's seemingly trying to avoid talking to him, but just shrugs it off. "Alright, see you later." He says as he taps on Y/N's shoulder.... tensing up again when he's getting another sudden flash of visions while Y/N exits the Grill.

Once out, Y/N decides to make a quick detour before actually driving back home. He gets on his motorbike and heads to the motel where he knows Isobel is staying for one more night. Even though he doesn't really owe her anything. She might stay if she thinks that he'll come up with those other answers the doc hasn't solved yet.

And so, he's right outside her room, knocking on the door in a very urgent manner. This means it doesn't take very long before Isobel opens it, wearing a robe and lingerie. "Yes?" She simply says with a waiting expression, eventually letting Y/N in when he silently asks with his face if he can. "Why are-?"

"You need to get out of town." Y/N instantly tells her before she can start some random sentence, catching her slightly off-guard.

"W-Why?"

"There's other Vampires here, Vampires that lived probably ten times longer than you have." Y/N quickly explains to her with a urgent tone that encourages her to do what he advises. "Look, I don't know why I'm really telling you this, since we're just business partners as best, and you're one of those things, but if you value living on for another twenty years, you'll get out before you get caught in the crossfire of their murder spree."

Isobel processes his words and nods, but doesn't exactly move to pack her bags yet. "Thank you..." She whispers before her hands touch his clothes and she leans in, kissing him sensually on the lips. It's so toxicating that Y/N once again kisses back, but not because of old feelings.

He eventually snaps out of it and packs away from her. "Stop.... just stop." He quickly declines her. "I know what you're doing, and I've been letting it happen, but I can't act like a mess anymore." He tells him, trying to be as nice as possible about it. "Whatever.... transaction we've been exchanging... it's done."

"I know...." Isobel, to Y/N's surprise, nods in agreement as she seems to genuinely understand what he means. "But.... we've already crossed the line now. One more wouldn't hurt.... especially since we both know it will actually end this way." She says to pour more poison into the guy's poor mind, pulling him in for another passionate-but-no-love kiss that lasts longer than it needs to.

Y/N feels like a robot at this point, since she must of put in some kind of cheat code that has made him obey. Isobel, who's robe as fallen to the ground, finally breaks the ten minute session to then trail her kisses down to his nether regions, where she eventually unzips his pants and drops his underewear.

Y/N swallows, but doesn't resist as he leans against the wall where he eventually feel Isobel's mouth wrapped around his cock.

"Fuck...."

___________________________________________

Mystic Grill: Outside

Meanwhile, during that time spam, James and the others also split to head home, the time demanding that they get a little bit of sleep before morning comes the next day. James heads to his car where he eventually finds with a little beep-booping from his keys and vehicle's headlights. His mind cannot help but think about what he saw... the second he touched Y/N's arm, all he could see was blood and a mansion that was utterly ruined.

It almost looked like.... the interior of the Salvatore Boarding House from the web.

This and everything else he's seen today prompts to make a new destination when he enters his car. He inserts the address of the boarding house to his GPS. But, when he turns around so he can back out of his parking spot, he instead finds a dead guy sitting in the back seat, blocking his view.

"Finally realized it, did you?" Candor notices with a small, approving nod. "Yes, Stefan is a Vampire and our new friends are going to pay him a visit before they kill the rest of the town."

James scoffs at him.

"They're gonna try...."

_____________________

L/N Manor:

Y/N makes it back home, though not with a satisfied feeling for tonight. Usually, even if it was a pretty shitty day, he'd have something that he felt like he accomplished like a tiny quest in a Video Game. Here, he has nothing.

He walks into the kitchen, ready to grab himself a new set of bears despite his 'hungover' excuse he gave to James earlier, but paused when he heards an odd noise coming from the back yard. Pulling a bottle out of the fridge, he steps out to investigate.

Looking around, he doesn't see anything at first, but then he feels wind blowing hastily against his skin, and a presence to his right. This makes him sigh. "You just won't give up, will you?" He mutters as he turns towards Anna who's leaning against the wall. "Haven't I been a dick to you enough for you to get the point."

"You don't deserve this, Y/N...." Anna tells him with a sympathetic shake of her head, to which Y/N rolls his eyes. "I mean, even when you were thinking of killing Damon.... You were always so much fun to be around... It ruined my entire villainous plan." She says with a small joke at the end, showing a mixed smile. "Do you really hate yourself that much?" Her face then turns to sadness. "Do you hate me?"

Y/N bitterly chuckles at her question, taking a gulp as he looks into the night sky, thinking on his response. "I could never hate you, Anna." He finally answers earnestly, causing the girl to blink at him. "Even..... Even in the back of my mind, I'm thinking about you, and it makes me happy.... But I don't know why." He looks down at his glass. "That's why I'm always drinking this shit, why I'm hooking up with women in all ages.... Because I want to forget about every game of fooseball we've ever played and when he did that fucking romance cliche and bumped heads because you dropped your books."

He shrugs.

"But nothing works."

Ann glances downward. "You're not mad about me lying, aren't you?" She guess with what he's told her, and Y/N clicks his tongue his response.

"Not really."

Anna slowly nods, understanding him, but that doesn't prevent the pain her words give him. He makes it sound like she's a tumor in his brain that's killing him. "So... What makes me so ugly to you?" She questions with a look that begs him to say otherwise. "I know what happened was fucked up, and I know that I made you think that you were just one my pawns in my little game, so what do I have to fix? Please tell me..."

Y/N sighs, shaking his head as all he sees is her not getting the point. "There's nothing to fix." He tells her bluntly, which almost comes across a him dismissing her feelings. Anna looks him, confused and also a little frustrated.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He looks over a her with a blank expression, abruptly pulling out a knife from his person....

And cuts open him palm.

"What the fuck?!"

"Drink it." Y/N commands as he holds up his hand, giving her a good view of his blood that begins falling out of his skin. "Come on, you're a Vampire, right? Don't you need it to survive?"

"Y/N....." Anna quavers as her eyes move in multiple directions, her body shaking like a vegetarian who's just eaten a burger. "Please...."

"What? What's wrong?" Y/N practically taunts her as he steps closer, further encouraging her inner demons. "Don't you want this? Aren't your forced to the scent of blood?"

"Please..... Stop...." Anna begs, her voice turning into a whimper as her senses, heart, and mind, all combat each other at the same time. "Don't make me.... I don't want you..."

"Oh, I think you do, Anna." Y/N calls her out, knowing that she has no choice but to be drawn to it. "After all, that's what you all want, even if you've already killed two people worth of the stuff."

He steps even closer and also puts his hand up to her face. And eventually, the outcome is undeniable, as Anna gives in, the veins around her eyes turning black as she forcefully grabs Y/N hand and sinks her teeth into the gaping hole. The teen winces a bit, but gets used to the pain fairly easily.

Once she's done, Anna snaps out of it and looks at Y/N as if he's insane. Ashamed, she then speed-runs away, leaving the guy to his own self-misery.

Once she's gone, Y/N glances down, and sees his hand regenerating. He wipes the blood that's left on his pants and heads on inside.

That's why he can't be in the same room as her.

"It's because you're one of them."

________________________

Salvatore Boarding House:

But that can just be the end of the story tonight. There's one more thing he has to do, something else that could actually help him fill a tiny piece of this gaping hole in his soul. There's no guarantee that it'll actually work, but in his mind, it's worth a shot.

He parks his motorbike somewhere close to the front of the building and is about to knock on the front door, only for it to open for him. Unsurprisingly, it's Stefan standing behind it, after probably hearing the motorcycle with his super-hearing and saw him through a window.

"You're really brave, sometimes, you know that?" Stefan comments as he looks sternly into his eyes, referencing his decision to come to this mansion. Y/N nods, agreeing with that.

"Can I come in?" Y/N then asks for permission, not wanting to waste time with humor since it won't get him anywhere. He then also pulls out his pistol and hands it to him. "I'm not armed with anything other than this." He lets him know, assuring that this isn't a trap like the one he sprung on his brother.

Stefan slowly takes the gun, glancing down at it for a few seconds before nodding at Y/N and further opening the door so he can step inside. The teen nervously tucks his hands in his pockets as he looks around."So.... How quiet is it in here now?"

"Bad choice of words." Stefan advises his poor decision to address the mansion of all things. Even if it's big, he's still home alone for a specific reason, all day, every day. Y/N follows him to the fireplace where he messes with it a little bit with a poker to spark some more flames.

It makes Y/N really nervous all of a sudden.

"Look, if it's not something important, then you don't need to-"

"I know." Y/N abruptly says with a knowing nod, causing Stefan to look at him with a raised brow. "Look, I wish I could say that I regret killing Damon, but I still really don't. But before he died, he showed me moments you and him shared together.... Before you lost that woman." He lets him know, not saying Katherine by her name as he still wants to keep his knowledge of her a secret for now. "And... I know what that feels like.

Stefan stares at him blankly, not knowing what to say at first. "I didn't lose her that night...." He tells Y/N with a shake of his head, Katherine being the last thing in it. "I lost Damon, the actual Damon. The one before I turned him into a monster, like me."

"That's not true...." Y/N denies, causing Stefan to snap his head towards him.

"And what gives you the right to say what Damon was or isn't?" Stefan questions with a hash glare, showing that Y/N hit a nerve that the Vampire usually keeps hidden. But he knows that he shouldn't be given that courtesy.

"Because I know you lost him the second... The second that Vampire came between you two, and controlled your minds." Y/N answers with a blank expression to hide some genuine fear. "You may not have known what you were doing, but Damon did. He made his choice, no compulsion required."

"Doesn't change anything..." Stefan says with a shake of his head, turning around to stare back at the fire. Seeing this tension, yet still evident restraint makes Y/N wonder.....

"Why haven't you killed me yet?" Y/N asks with a raised brow. "I don't have any weapons. Now's your perfect opportunity." He brings up, causing Stefan to sigh, as if disappointed that he brought it up.

He opens his mouth, only for a glass shattering sound to cut him off and they both turn their heads to where it came from. "Did you hear that?" Y/N asks, hoping Stefan's hearing picked up anything.

"Yes...." Stefan confirms in a quiet voice, confirming the danger. They then hear footsteps echoing from the neighboring room, causing them to mentally prepare for an unwanted visitor....

The steps get closer....

And closer....

And closer....

And closer....

Until eventually....

Alaric Saltzman comes out from behind the corner.

"Rick?!" Y/N exclaims as he drops whatever stance he was making in belief. "What the heck was that? Couldn't announce yourself?" He questions the seemingly confused teacher as he glances between his two students.

"I thought you knew I was coming?" Alaric answers while he notices their tense expressions, causing Y/N to raise a brow at him.

"Why?" Stefan asks.

"Because Y/N texted me."

Y/N blinks. "No I didn't." He tells him with an extremely confused brow, reaching for his phone to prove it. However, as he checks both, all he feels is air. "What the fuck? Where's my phone-"

Suddenly, a loud fleshly noise emits in the room, and both Y/N and Stefan slowly look up to see Alaric shaking as he stares back at them.... looking down.... he then sees a large kitchen knife in his chest, the tip of the blade coming out of his front and dripping blood the floor.

He then falls to the ground, dead.

"NOOOO!" Y/N yells in shock and rage before feeling himself suddenly getting punched hard enough that his back hits the table in front of the couch. Stefan jumps and looks around to see Bethanne now standing in the corner of the room with a sanguine smirk on her face. He prepares to fight back, but gets interrupted by a whistle that draws his attention to the man right behind where Alaric previously was.

"He's right, he didn't....." The killer responsible for the Saltzman's death comments amusingly as he walks towards Stefan with a happy smirk, knowing that he's going to enjoy what happens next. "I did."

[][][][][][]

She storms out, leaving a perplexed Y/N behind as Frederick then turns towards him with a very big smirk on his face. "Lucky guy..." He tells the teen playfully as he goes into a random stall, bumping shoulders as he passes him.

And swipes his phone out of his pocket.

[][][][][][][]

"Frederick...."

"You recognize me? That's a first, or did your ex-girlfriend tell you about me?" Frederick taunts Stefan with a head tilt, the mention of Katherine causes Stefan's blood to boil. He charges at the Vampire, only to get his fist grabbed the second he throws a punch at Vamparistic-speed. "I got tens of years on you, boy. We all were turned long before you were." He growls as he then twists Stefan's hand around, causing him to wince and groan in pain. "You're dead meat."

He then delivers a powerful uppercut that sends Stefan across the room and against the wall, where he then falls on a couple drawers before rolling onto the floor with a series of thuds and bangs. Frederick shakes his head at how weak Stefan is compared to him, but is sadistically satisfied as this means that he and Beth can have some fun with both victims before they die.

"And you...." Frederick than slowly turns to Y/N, who tries to get himself up off the floor, only for Beth to keep him on his knees the entire time. The Vampire's face moves around for a moment before he just mentally shrugs. "I have no idea who you are." He bluntly states as if having expected someone else. "You don't really look like a founding families kid to me."

"Well then you need glasses...." Y/N mutters at him, earning himself an elbow in the back by Beth.

"You got a big mouth for someone so weak." Frederick notes with an amused smile, before deciding not to waste too much time here. He eyes and nods at Bethanne, who's lips grow wider as her eye veins turn black. However....they then hear Y/N chuckling under them, which starts evolving into laughter. "What's so funny, meat?"

"If you came a few minutes early, you would know....." Y/N quietly says as he forces himself up to look at them with a big smile on his face. "Stefan had the gun with wooden bullets."

The mention of wood causes Fredrick's eyes to widen as he swiftly turns around, only to see that it's too late as Stefan is now standing up and shoots about four bullets into his chest. The Vampire shouts in pain, prompting Bethanne to drop Y/N in a rage and charge at her with her speed.

Stefan aims at her, but his bullets miss as Bethane does a little bit of a zig-zag, allowing her to avoid each piece of wood that flies in her direction. She then grabs the gun with her fist and is about to crush it.... when she freezes and begins crying as she grabs her head like she has a massive headache and slowly collapses onto the ground.

Surprised, Y/N and Stefan looks over and sees James Bennet, walking into the room while channeling his powers into Bethanne's mind. "I can't hold her forever!" He then warns them, prompting Y/N to snap out of it and reach for one of the table's broken legs and marches over towards the attacked Vampire before impaling the sort-of stake into her chest.

Thankfully, it's long and sharp enough to pierce her heart. Bethanne's skin then slowly turns gray, and James realizes his mental attacks, as all three of them watch the Vampire die while on her side. "Fuck out of my town..." Y/N growls as he dusts off any loose crumbs of wood on his jacket. That was for Rick.

"You do that pretty often, don't you?" James assumes correctly seeing how easily the teenager kills without question.

"You have no idea...." Y/N responds with a blank look that more or less confirms his assumption. "Now, what are we gonna do with the other one?" He asks as they all turn around towards where a shot Frederick is supposed to be....

Only for them to see that he's gone.

"Son of a...." Y/N mutters as he clenches a fist, looking at the other two with a frustrated face. "How did he get all of those bullets out so quickly?!"

"He didn't need them out to keep standing." Stefan answers with a knowing look, since his conditions are a lot different than the Vampires they just faced. "They've probably been drinking on Human blood the second they gotten free, that, and the fact that they've gotten stronger with time makes them very powerful."

"So basically, only vervain is left to weaken them?" James concludes as he lets out a big exhale. "Great..... and there's hundreds of these things out there."

"Hundreds?" Stefan questions as he and Y/N all slowly turn to him with an alarmed reaction. That choice of words doesn't sound very promising. James glance at them all, his mind debating before the obvious ruling is that there's no point in keeping any secrets from someone who's aware and is a Vampire themselves.

"Yeah, some tomb under Mystic Fall's old church opened up. Something gave them enough blood to feel their bones again." James explains, causing James and Stefan to share a haunted look. "I assume that one by one, they all started stepping out and drained whoever passed by until they found some place to hide... or sneaked out of town."

In other words, the situation is much worse than either Y/N or Stefan thought.

Almost all of the Tomb Vampires are in Mystic falls

_______________________________________

Wilderness: Gibbons Home

Anna retreats back to the house, her brain trying and failing to process what the heck Y/N just did the entire way there. Was he testing her? Was he trying to give some kind of message? Or was he just shunning her for something she can't control? All she knows is that she feels embarrassed and angry that the idiot almost got himself killed by her.

Sneaking back inside, she sets down her stuff into a random room, so he doesn't wake her mother in the bedroom. However, as soon as she sets her bag and jacket down, the lights abruptly turn on and Anna turns towards the light switch to see Pearl leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. "Where have you been?"

Oh, dear....

"Um...." Anna quickly tries to form an excuse, thinking that she wouldn't have encountered this part of the 'sneaking out' plan. "I just..... needed some air."

"For three hours?" Pearl questions with a raised brow, not buying it at all since her tone also makes it painfully obvious that she's keeping something away from her. "Tell me, where have you been?" She asks again, marching closer to Anna.

"Out." Anna semi-repeats her answer as well, being about as specific as a blank piece of paper because she doesn't want her to know whose ancestor she was trying to get back together with. "I was out."

"Annabelle, don't do this." Pearl pleads with her daughter as she doesn't like hearing the excuses and non-answers. It hasn't even been a week yet since the tomb and it already feels like there's something she's keeping from her. "I can't fight you too."

Anna scoffs, trying to hide her feelings away from her. But eventually, seeing the look on her mother's face and her embarrassment resurfacing causes some tears to fall. "I'm sorry." Anna whimpers, causing Pearl's expression to soften.

"Oh...."

She wraps Anna in a motherly embrace, allowing her to cry against the shoulders.

However, the sentimental moment doesn't get to last very long, as the same door that Anna just entered from opens up again with a slightly louder creak. And out comes a staggering Fredreick who rips out the wooden bullets from his chest right before realizing that out of everyone, the leader is standing there with her daughter. Pearl then looks at him with him with blank eyes. "So, where's Bethanne?"

"She won't be coming back." Frederick reports, his tone expressing the sadness he feels in losing the person that he loved and turned. That, and knowing that he broke Pearl's rules and threatened the person she enlisted to be responsible for all of them.

"What happened? Where is she?" Pearl asks calmly, though her eyes express that she knows the answer, but wants Frederick to confirm the very outcome she predicted would happen.

"Well, you were right." Frederick states, not wanting to say it out-loud. He glances angrily at Anna for a split second. "We shouldn't have left." He tells her, knowing that that's really what she wants to hear.

"No." Pearl agreeingly says with a shake of her head, pulling out a water bottle filled with blood out of the fridge before closing it. "Hungry?" She offers as she sets two glasses down on the kitchen island, to which Frederick nods as he only got one single human during his entire hunt.

Pearl then hands one of the glasses to Fredrick, who takes it....

Before being swiftly stabbed with a wooden spoon, causing Frederick to grunt as he falls onto his knees.

"Next time, you'll listen to me." Pearl states as she casually sets the bloody spoon into the sink before sitting next to Anna next to the dining table, leaving Frederick to deal with the few seconds of pain himself.

If only their conflict had ended right then and there.

______________________________________

(A/N) Wassup? We're back y'all! I hope you guys didn't think that I was abandoning it again.

Now, usually, I just pause for a bit before the ideas come and I write, but this chapter took a while because I was genuinely unhappy with my first take that I deleted and re-wrote a bunch of scenes here, prompting a long wait. The problem being something that was similar in the decade's dance chapter, being that there was a lot of filler and a lot less Anna, Y/N, and Isobel that I really wanted.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this episode, and be ready for the next one, because that is when shit will finally go down, like.... seriously go down.

Plz vote and comment, any count as feedback, and I'll see you in the next one.