another dead history teacher

"ATHENA? ATHENA, ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"

Athena looks up from her notebook, eyebrows briefly furrowing as she is thrust back into reality at the sound of Caroline's voice. She shakes her head, shaking off her momentary confusion. "Yeah, of course I'm listening,"

The blonde looks at her disbelievingly. "What did I just say?"

"Something about how Matt's mom walked in on you two, right?"

Caroline flushes at the reminder but sighs exasperatedly. "I said that like ten minutes ago. I was making sure you were going to be here for the Founder's Fundraiser. Mrs. Lockwood wants us to help with– what is wrong with you?"

Athena's eyes widen at Caroline's abruptness and she looks at her confusedly. "What do you mean?"

"You've been spacing all day, you didn't even have anything when I brought up Elena and Bonnie, which is just concerning."

The brunette shakes her head, giving her ex-girlfriend an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Caroline, it's just– it's Stefan."

Caroline's brows furrow with worry. "What's wrong with him? He's not back with Elena, is he?"

"No," Athena huffs, anger flaring up at the thought of it. "You remember the tomb we were trying to open for Damon?"

The blonde nods.

"It– it didn't work. I mean, it did. But Katherine wasn't in it, and Stefan got trapped and now," She speaks hurriedly, trying to get her words out before she gets hysterical in public. "Now Damon, Bonnie, and I have to find a way to get him out of there before he starves to death."

Caroline's jaw drops slightly and she reaches across the table they're seated at in the middle of the Mystic Grill. "Oh, my god. First– first of all, does Lexi know?"

"I tried to call her, but she didn't answer, and she hasn't responded to any of my texts. I think she's out of the country with her boyfriend."

Caroline sighs, biting her lip. "I'll try calling her later. But, you said that Damon and Bonnie are helping? Isn't Bonnie out of town?"

"I told her to go, she needed to after what happened with Grams. It's– it's my fault, I just thought if she pushed a little harder, Stefan could get out. But it killed her."

"Athena, she made the decision to help. She was smart, okay? She knew the risks, and she would've told you no if she really wanted to. You can't beat yourself up about that."

Athena shakes her head, unwilling to delve into that route of conversation. "I've just been out of it. It's been, like, four days, and I've barely slept. I don't know what to do,"

"I think that Stefan would want you to take care of yourself before anything else,"

She huffs a wry laugh through her nose. "Bonnie said the same thing."

"Okay," Caroline swipes a hand out, looking at Athena incredulously. "Since when do you like Bonnie?"

"I don't know," Athena shrugs, twirling the straw in her drink mindlessly. "When Elena is out of the equation, I like people so much more."

Caroline rolls her eyes fondly but grins at her more Athena-like comment. She didn't like seeing her so despondent and out of touch. She supposed she never paid much attention to how much Stefan had brought Athena back to life in the recent weeks.

Heaving a sigh, Caroline drew her hand from Athena's and picked up her soda to take a sip. "You know I'll help as much as possible. Well– as much as I can stand to be around Damon."

"Ouch, Caroline. I thought we were closer than that,"

Caroline feigns innocence as she tilts her head at Athena. "What's that saying? Speak of the devil and he may appear?"

Damon sits down beside Athena, giving Caroline a wink that she rolls her eyes at. He looks at the brunette, eyes scanning her worriedly before he hides his concern with his usual smugness. "Are you ready to go? I have been formally invited to be auctioned off at tonight's festivities, apparently I'm one of Mystic Falls' most eligible bachelors."

"You would be chosen to play prostitute for the night," Athena rolls her eyes, meeting Caroline's exasperated gaze briefly. "Yeah, let's go. I need to change my clothes, I smell like dirt."

"You probably wouldn't smell like dirt if you stopped falling asleep in the tomb."

Athena glares at Damon, missing Caroline's incredulous look.

"You've been sleeping in the middle of the woods?! Athena, do you have a death wish?"

"It's not like I'm alone, Stefan's there!"

"Yeah, trapped inside the tomb with no way to get out! Are you kidding?" Caroline exclaims.

The brunette stops short of her rebuttal and closes her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I want to leave, please. If I have to come back here tonight, I need to mentally prepare myself."

Damon gives Caroline an apologetic look as he stands she waves off, sighing to herself disappointedly. She hadn't meant to say all of that so rashly, but she was worried about Athena. No matter what happened between them, she would always worry about her.

"I'm sorry, Athena,"

Athena shrugs on her coat, flicking her hair out of the collar. "I'll be back later,"

──────

"You planning on buying a bachelor tonight, Athena? Or just freezing to death?" Damon looks her up and down, making her roll her eyes as he pins the bachelor tag onto his shirt before opening the door to the Grill for her.

"No, but I figure my life is at risk any moment I'm with you, so why not go out in style?"

Damon hums his assent, looking around the crowded bar. His eyes fall to where Elena's aunt is talking to Alaric Saltzman, and he narrows his eyes suspiciously. "I had Sheriff Forbes do a background check on Alaric."

Athena looks up at him as she flags down a waitress, ordering water. "Why? Besides the fact that he knows about vampires and saw me kill someone."

"Well–"

"Athena!" Caroline's voice interrupts Damon, who plasters on a greeting smile to the blonde before hiding his eye roll behind his bourbon. She saddles up to the table they briefly claimed with Matt at her side holding a tub of dishes with a towel over his shirt.

Athena smiles softly at the girl, looking at Matt with a hardened gaze momentarily. She and Matt never got along, for obvious reasons. It didn't help that he was dating her ex now.

Caroline leans forward slightly, kissing Athena's cheek in greeting. "You look good. I wish Stefan was here to see you."

Athena smiles, shrugging the stab of pain the topic off.

Matt furrows his brows, latching onto the small bit of hurt in her eyes. She didn't miss the way he was practically foaming at the mouth trying to figure out why she was upset. It almost pained her to see another person ruined by Elena Gilbert's existence, and perhaps she would have cared more if he was anyone else.

"Stefan can't make it tonight?"

"No, he's got better things to do than watch middle-aged men vie for attention in one last desperate attempt to feel attractive before they go out and get hair plugs or buy a Ferrari."

Damon winces as Matt looks away, resisting the urge to make some sarcastic remark in regard to her harshness.

Caroline sighs, looking at Matt. "He's already been hit on like 35 times. He's total cougar bait."

"Impressive," Damon notes, giving Matt a nod of acknowledgment.

"More like embarrassing," He shakes his head, wiping his hand off on the towel thrown haphazardly over his shoulder.

Caroline laughs at Matt before suddenly straightening her spine. "Hi, Mrs. Donovan!"

The older woman barely gives Caroline a glance before she hugs Matt, making Athena narrow her eyes accusingly at her. Athena looks at Caroline, seeing a hurt look cross her face before it's hidden by nonchalance.

"Is Elena here yet? I haven't seen her in so long," Kelly Donovan raised a dark brow, looking around the bar.

"Elena Gilbert isn't allowed within a ten-foot vicinity of me if possible, Mrs. Donovan," Athena gives the woman a cold smile that makes her do a double take.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because she's a bitch," Athena deadpans, taking a sip of her water through the plastic straw, ignoring the shocked look on the woman's face. "And frankly, so are you if you can't take five minutes of your useless life to realize what a great person Caroline is, and that your son should be fucking honored that she's picking him."

"Excuse–"

"I wasn't finished," The teenager straightens her posture, adjusting the sleeves of her dress and shifting her stance on her black stilettos. "I don't know who you think you are popping up out of nowhere every few months just because you need some more money, or because your boyfriend of the week left you high and dry in some back alley motel after he was done with you, but in no sense of the word are you better than Caroline Forbes, okay? Get off your pedestal, Mrs. Donovan, because you aren't the prize horse you think you are."

Athena flicks her pin-straight hair over her shoulder and stalks off, hoping to find a bartender easy enough to bribe for an alcoholic beverage so she could suffer through the rest of the night.

A silence falls over the table and Caroline has to turn and hide her head to stifle her smile from the shell-shocked woman, who looks to Damon for some sort of olive branch.

The raven-haired man just shrugs and picks up his bourbon with a smirk. "Kids these days."

──────

"Hey, Athena!"

The brunette stops when Matt flags her down, holding a martini in her hand as she hurries back to Caroline's side. "If you're here to scold me for reaming your mom, then you're next."

"No, no," He shakes his head. "I just wanted to say thank you for sticking up for me and Caroline like that. Caroline told me you guys were, you know–"

"Together."

He nods reluctantly. "Not many people would do that for their ex's new boyfriend or girlfriend, you know?"

"I didn't do it for you, Matt," She looks at him incredulously. "Just because Caroline and I aren't together anymore doesn't mean I don't love her and want what's best for her. But, if you hurt her feelings in any way possible, I will come after you, Matt Donovan."

She leans towards him, making him instinctively lean away. "And I am capable of much more than a few harsh words, alright?"

He nods, eyes wide with fear as Athena gives him a wide grin and continues her short walk to where Caroline's sitting at the admissions table.

"What were you and Matt talking about?"

Athena sighs, taking a drink of the martini Damon had gotten her from the bar. "Don't worry, I just threatened him a little bit, nothing too bad."

Caroline sighs, but shakes her head, unable to stop the small smile that grows on her face as she turns towards the stage. "Damon is scheming, isn't he?"

"Isn't he always?" Athena asks, rhetorically. "He's got a plan."

"And last but not least," Mrs. Lockwood's voice rings out through the bar as she reaches Damon in the lineup, and Athena gently gestures for Caroline to watch. "Damon Salvatore. We don't have much on you,"

"Well, I'm tough to fit on a card,"

Carol Lockwood raises a brow, ever the flirt. "Do you have any hobbies, like to travel?"

"Oh, yeah," Damon nods, laying his charm on thick for the people watching. "LA, New York. A couple of years ago, I was in North Carolina, near the Duke campus, actually. I think– I think Alaric went to school there. Didn't you, Ric?"

Athena smirks, leaning forward to whisper in Caroline's ear. "Did you know that Elena was adopted?"

Caroline startles, snapping around to face her. "What?!" She leans in, whisper-yelling her surprise. "Are you serious?"

Athena nods. "Miranda and Grayson aren't her real parents– her birth mom? Alaric's dead wife, Isobel. And guess who killed her?"

"Oh, my god," Caroline looks at Damon again. "That's– that's horrible."

"All is fair in love and war," Athena drains the rest of her drink but doesn't miss the disbelieving look that Caroline gives her. "Caroline, you can have an out. Damon will compel you to forget everything if you're not comfortable with all of this."

The blonde shakes her head after a moment. "No, I just have to get used to it, I guess."

"Yeah, 'cause I know your wife did. I had a drink with her once, she was a great girl. I ever tell you that? 'Cause she was," Damon feigns a struggle to find the right word before his blue eyes light up knowingly. "Delicious."

Athena's gaze shifts from Damon, who nods once at her and she watches as Elena pushes through the crowd and exits the bar in a hurry. She sets her glass down beside Caroline and grins deviously. "Wish me luck,"

Following the doppelgänger outside, her heels click on the concrete loudly enough that she knows Elena hears her before she turns to face her. Athena resists an outright laugh at the tears beneath her eyes.

"You knew, didn't you? That he killed her."

"Of course I knew, Elena. But it was fun to see you find out."

Elena shakes her head, gesturing to the brick building. "I– I actually felt bad for him. I thought that the whole Katherine thing would change him, but I was just stupid."

"I'm not going to argue with you there," Athena heaves a sigh, her exhale appearing in the brisk air before her. "But you've got to know by now that he's not so easily swayed."

"Why– why are you protecting him? He's not a good person, Athena."

"There's no such thing as a good person, Elena, you should know that better than most considering you've spent the better portion of your life resenting me," Athena scoffs, stepping towards the girl. "And I'm not protecting him, Elena, I'm protecting myself. The world is full of monsters and things that go bump in the dark, but if you surround yourself with them, you'll be safe in the end."

Elena shakes her head, looking at the girl in disbelief. "If you surround yourself with monsters, then you become one."

Athena shrugs. "Then so be it. I have a better chance at living that way,"

Elena goes to retort something, to perhaps question how she got such a skewed view of life, but her eyes fall behind Athena's shoulder to a familiar face just down the street.

Seeing her confusion, Athena looks at her warily. "What? What is your problem?"

"That man," Elena nods her head in his direction. "I know him– when I went to go find out about Isobel, he was there outside of Trudie's house."

Athena clenches her jaw and heaves a sigh, her eyes closing for a moment as she collects herself. "I am so damn tired of saving your life, Elena. Go inside, get your keys, and tell Caroline that you are going home."

"What?"

"Go, now," Athena shoves her towards the door and waits until she's disappeared inside before she turns to face the man only a few feet away from her. "What do you want with Elena?"

"I have a message for her."

"Well, if it's a threat on her life, I'm gonna have to revoke it. You see, I have this thing about getting the last word in, you know? And I've kind of sworn to myself that if I ever get the chance, I'm going to kill Elena myself. You understand, don't you?"

"Tell her to stop looking."

Athena rears back, looking at the man confusedly. "Stop looking for what?"

"She doesn't want to know her. She doesn't want to talk to her."

"Who– Isobel?"

"She needs to stop looking,"

Athena narrows her eyes. "If Isobel is alive, that means she's– oh, shit."

"Do you understand?"

"What? Yes, I understand."

"Good," The man nods, glancing out towards the street. "I'm done now."

He backs up right as a truck speeds down the road and Athena jumps backward, her hands shooting up to her mouth in shock. She lets out a shaky breath, looking around to see the people who had witnessed it, too.

"What," She breathes out. "The fuck."

──────

"Damon, did you really turn Elena's mom– what the shit?"Athena stops short in front of the fireplace, looking down at her history teacher. "Oh, so when I want to kill another history teacher I can't, but you can?"

Damon rolls his eyes at the teenager, gesturing to the open couch beside him. Narrowing her eyes, she takes the seat and turns towards him. "Why'd you do it?"

"Which part?"

"All of it."

He heaves a sigh. "She came to me, saying she knew what I was, and begged me to turn her, so I did. I'm a generous man."

"Damon,"

"I killed Alaric because he wasn't going to stop trying to kill me. And when he couldn't kill me, he'd turn to someone else, like you. It's not my fault he couldn't handle his grieving."

Athena folds her arms across her chest, shifting her gaze away from Alaric's body. "What, like you're handling Katherine?"

He gives her a short warning look that she ignores. "I'm handling it fine."

"No, you're not," Athena stands up, moving in front of him with the hot flames against her back. "You– you've been drunk for four days straight, you've had bodies piling up left and right, and you're lashing out more than usual. Damon, she lied to you. You have to realize that."

"It's not a coincidence that Isobel came to me,"

Athena looks at him in disbelief. "Oh, my god, who cares? Even if Katherine had something to do with it, that doesn't mean that she loves you! She led you on for years and sent you on this wild goose chase for over a century, Damon. Every single thing you've done up to this moment has been connected to Katherine, and you think her declaration of love was through Elena Gilbert's biological mother?"

Damon glares up at her, briskly swallowing the rest of his bourbon. "You don't know Katherine like I do, Athena,"

"You're right, I don't. And that gives me the ability to see what she did to you, and Damon, it wasn't love. That woman never loved you, you were a cover. You were a means to an end, and it sucks, but you need to move on. It's 2010, and you have your brother and people who care about you, who genuinely care about you. Why do you need Katherine so badly?"

A silence falls amongst them before Damon sets his glass on the table and weaves his fingers together in his lap. "Loving Katherine Pierce is the one thing I've done my entire life, human and vampire. I was naive and stupid when I was younger, thinking she could turn me and we would spend eternity together. But after I was turned, I used that as my focal point. I had to anchor myself somehow, or else I'd end up like Stefan did."

"So, what, you're afraid if you give up on Katherine, you'll lose control over everything?"

He nods once.

"Damon," Athena sighs, perching herself on the coffee table before him. "Katherine doesn't deserve you. She hasn't deserved a second of your time in the past century and a half, and how she feels towards you isn't your fault. You deserve better, so just– just stop clinging to the past and make a future for yourself."

When he doesn't respond, Athena stands and straightens her dress once more. She leans over and grabs the bottle of bourbon and a glass off of the minibar beside him and steps carefully around Alaric's body.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see Stefan, and you are going to take care of the dead body. I know someone who cleans carpets, I'll call them in the morning. Goodnight."

──────

"Knock knock!" Athena smiled as she came down the stairs of the ruins, stepping carefully in her tall heels as she heard Stefan's feet scuff along the dirt inside the tomb. When she comes to light, Stefan's smile widens as he takes her in.

"Wow," He looks her up and down, eyes widening at the sight of her. "What's the occasion?"

Athena rolls her eyes, pouring herself a glass of the bitter liquor. "It was a Founder's Fundraiser thing at the Grill, they were auctioning off bachelors."

"Oh," Stefan leans against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. "Did you participate?"

"Ugh, no," She scrunches her face up in disgust, taking a sip of her bourbon. "Every event Carol Lockwood throws is so weird and culty. The founding families are weird– no offense."

Stefan chuckles, shaking his head. "So, what's got you in such a good mood, then?"

"Well, I got to yell at someone and threaten Elena again– and then I had to save her life, again," Athena rolls her eyes irritatedly and Stefan huffs a laugh. "And then Damon killed Alaric, and I yelled at him for how he's been acting about Katherine."

"Wait, Damon killed Alaric? Why?"

She shrugs, swishing the brown liquor about briefly. "Alaric showed up at the house trying to kill Damon because he killed Isobel– who just so happens to be Elena's real mom, talk about coincidence. So he was trying to get revenge, but Damon ended up killing him."

Stefan heaved a sigh, eyes flashing with concern for his brother. "Did you get through to him at all about Katherine?"

"I don't know. I told him to deal with Alaric's body and then came here," She shakes her head, gently setting the alcohol down on the ground beside her.

Silence settles between them momentarily and Athena sighs, her smile faltering slightly. "Did you ever ask Pearl about Katherine?"

Stefan's eyes widen briefly, but he nods. "Yeah, uh, Anna wasn't really as forthcoming as Pearl was but I figured that would happen. Pearl told me that if Katherine had a way of escaping the tomb that none of them knew about, it was because of Emily Bennett. They were always scheming, trying to make sure Katherine's cover stuck."

"Which means we need to read her grimoire again and see if she said anything about the tomb or the night of the raid."

"It might be a dead end, but it wouldn't hurt to look again."

"I'll call Bonnie when I get back to town and see if she can find anything," Athena fumbles with the chain on her dress, lifting her eyes back up to Stefan's when she feels his piercing gaze on her. "What?"

"You look nice. I wish I could've been with you tonight."

"Soon, I promise," Athena rests her hand on the barrier, a hopeful look in her eyes for the first time in nearly a week. "I don't know how just yet, but I promise we'll get you out of here soon."

Stefan opens his mouth to respond, but the two startle when a sudden presence joins them in the ruins.

Athena snaps around, facing Damon incredulously. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Sorry to break up the love fest, but we have a problem," Damon's blue eyes are wide and alert, and Athena eyes him warily. "Alaric is alive."

Athena's jaw drops slightly and she glances over her shoulder, seeing Stefan with the same look on his face.

"What? How is that possible?"

Damon shrugs, wringing his hands together. "He didn't have vampire blood in his system, trust me, I wouldn't turn him. He– he said that Isobel gave him some ring or something and said it'd keep him safe, but what ring brings people back to life without turning them into something non-human?"

Athena sighs, her smile gone from her face as if it'd never been there to begin with. "Where is he now?"

"I don't know, he ran off and I just let him go,"

"Damon,"

"Go," Stefan cuts Athena off, nodding to the stairs out of the tomb. "You need to figure this out first."

Athena shakes her head, looking between the brothers as Damon begins to pull her away from the entrance to the tomb. "Getting you out of there is the number one priority– Damon–"

"We will get him out, I promise," Damon looks down at her, panic still dilating his eyes. "But we have to do this, too."

Athena stops, giving Stefan an apologetic look before her face hardens into that of frustration. "I swear to god, if Alaric is somehow immune to dying, I'm going to kill him for being such a nuisance."

──────

author's note; this is so much chaos,, I just wanted to finish the episode 

originally published; 12.2.20. 

edited: 11.28.23. 

- liz