the big picture

THE ECHO OF HER STEPS IN THE HALLWAY FELL HEAVILY IN THE SILENCE. Her pace slowed as she listened to the various people sneaking through the building, barely stifling laughter at the thought of the fallout of their pranks. Athena tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear, dark brows twitching when she heard a familiar voice echo with the clanking of weights.

Turning down the hall, she slowed her pace as she approached the weight room, dark brown eyes dragging over the slits in the blinds lazily as she realized it was only Matt. Smirking to herself, she purposefully tapped the window, catching his attention as she stepped into the doorway.

His blue eyes roamed over the room warily before finally landing on her and her smirk widened at the sound of his sharp inhale.

"Athena?"

She tilted her head, a taunting smile gracing her face. "Miss me?"

"Matt shakes his head, still shocked at the sight of her as he takes a wary step towards her. "What are you doing here, Athena?"

Mocking a pout, she holds a hand to her heart. "I thought you'd be happy to see me, Matt. You know, for old time's sake."

His face furrows in confusion and she gestures a lazy hand at him, leaning her weight against the doorway. "You know– like, you protecting Elena and me trying to have her head on my mantle. I'm gonna miss it when she's gone. The cat and mouse game she always likes to play with me. It's a shame she's not very good at it,"

"Elena is dead, Athena. You and Bonnie killed her," He spits their names like it kills him to admit it, but it only serves to make her more smug.

"It's really cute that you think I don't know what's going on," She smiles tightly. "We tried to kill her, and we failed, which is something I don't like doing. She's like a goddamn cockroach, Matt, she just won't die."

Her smile drops and she steps into the weight room, her angry steps backing him into the wall. "But I know you know where she's at," Athena slams him against the wall, squeezing his jaw painfully tight between her hands as she looks into his fear-filled eyes. "And if I have to bleed it out of you, I will."

Matt shakes his head stubbornly. "You'll have to kill me before I tell you anything,"

"I plan to, Matty," She brings her other hand up, tapping the tip of his nose with her finger. "And when I'm done with you, it'll be Tyler. And after Tyler, I might go to Jenna, or Alaric, or even Carol."

Matt's eyes fill with rage and she smirks, knowing she'd finally struck a nerve. "So, you either tell me where she is, or I ask our very good friend Caroline to go door to door and kill everybody in this town until I have my answers."

Matt seems to contemplate her offer for a moment before he steels himself again, eyes hardening. "Like I said. You'll have to kill me first."

Raising her hand, she clenches it into a fist and rolls her eyes. "I knew you were going to say that,"

Slamming her fist into his nose, she catches his weight with one hand as he slumps, unconscious. Athena steps back, letting him fall to the ground, and she bends over, yanking his arm up as she begins to drag him down the dark hallway of the high school.

Her gaze shifts as Caroline and Klaus appear at her sides, eyeing her knowingly. Caroline sighs, almost pitying Matt. "I'm guessing he didn't want to give her up,"

"Figures," Athena scoffs as they walk through the school, belatedly following Tyler's echoing voice. "Only Matt would defend a girl who never loved him."

Klaus smirks, turning to open the metal doors to the gymnasium with a smirk. "I'm sure it's a mistake he won't live to make twice,"

The hybrid walks into the gym before the girls, his voice echoing as he clears the students out with the claims of being caught. Once they're sure mostly everyone is out, Caroline and Athena walk in behind him, the goddess still dragging Matt's unconscious figure behind her.

She sees immediately that Tyler hasn't gone anywhere, obviously recognizing Klaus, and his eyes widen when he sees Athena and Caroline approach the hybrid.

"Caroline?" His eyes drift to the vampire, then to the goddess, and finally to his best friend's limp stature on the ground beside their feet. "What did you do to him?"

"Oh, shut up," Athena waves him off, stopping him before he can even try to jump at her. "I knocked him out because he wouldn't tell me where Elena is, and I figured school wasn't the place to torture him. But, all of that can be avoided if you tell me where she is, Tyler,"

Tyler's brows furrowed, but his realization set in before he could disguise it as something else, and Klaus was on him in a second. Wrapping his hand around the werewolf's neck, he smirked evilly as the teen struggled for air. "Where is she, Tyler? Where's Elena?"

"Never," He choked out, dark eyes shooting toward Athena and Caroline. "T–Tell you,"

"Of course," Klaus mocked pitifully. "You'll protect the girl who gets everyone killed. How brave of you."

Much like Athena had Matt, Klaus slams his fist into Tyler's face and lets him fall to the ground as his eyes roll back. Heaving a sigh, the hybrid turns around to face the two girls. "We're in for a long night, girls,"

Athena rolled her eyes, reaching down to grab Matt's limp arm again as Klaus started dragging Tyler out of the gym. "Whatever, as long as we're done by the time school starts tomorrow,"

Caroline huffs, giving Athena a somewhat incredulous look. "I don't know how you can be thinking about school right now,"

"Trust me, Caroline, in the grand scheme of things, torturing these two idiots is last on my list of priorities,"

──────

"Ric, buddy," Damon rapped his knuckles on the door of Alaric's apartment, sighing irritatedly when he got no answer. "Come on, let's go get a drink, maybe compromise on the whole attempted-murder-of-your-girlfriend's-niece thing!"

There's another moment of still silence before the door opens and Damon smiles smugly as it opens to reveal Alaric's irritated, yet hesitant face. "What are you doing here, Damon?"

"I just told you, I'm trying to kill your girlfriend's niece,"

"No," Alaric dutifully ignores his blunt statement. "What are you doing back here, Damon? Why did you come back to Mystic Falls?"

The vampire's brows furrow and his smile falls, face hardening defensively. "You know why, Ric. So why don't you just make this easier for all of us, and invite me and my lovely friend in for a drink?"

Alaric's eyes dart to Rebekah, who raises a challenging brow at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Who's that?"

"We can do introductions later, just invite the crazy lady in and we'll have a nice chat,"

Rebekah sighs from behind Damon, giving him a narrow-eyed glare. "I hate you,"

"Don't sweet talk me, Barbie, you're not my type,"

"Oh, yes, you like the witch, don't you?"

Damon shoots her a glare over his shoulder that she smiles sweetly at before they both turn back to Alaric with hardened stares.

The history teacher shakes his head, giving them a pointed look. "Damon, I'm not an idiot. I'm not inviting you or her in."

"I've already been–"

"The lease isn't under my name anymore," Alaric interrupts, already anticipating his next words. "Not my apartment, not my invite."

Damon clenches his jaw, raising a hand to wrap around the doorframe as his irritation rises. "That's not very friendly of you, Alaric,"

The man shrugs, careful to stay inside the loosely-protected apartment. "You don't get it, Damon. Things have changed here, we all got used to you being gone. You can't just come back here and expect to take over everything again."

"I don't like your friend, Damon," Rebekah says, her tone flat but all the more intimidating. "And I'm feeling quite hungry."

"He's full of vervain, Rebekah, there's no use," Damon tilts his head, running his gaze over Alaric. "You're right, Ric. Things have changed around here, but that doesn't mean I can't take over. We won't stop until Elena is dead, and there's only so much time until one of you trips up."

He steps up to the invisible barrier, clenching his jaw as his proximity makes Alaric take a step back further into his apartment. "You're only human, Ric. And so is Jenna, and Jeremy. You can't protect them all the time, and soon enough you'll have to choose. Which one is more important? Saving Jenna, or saving yourself?"

Alaric clenches his jaw at the threat and he looks at Damon accusingly. "Just leave us alone, Damon. I'm not going to tell you where Elena's at, so just give up before you do something you can't come back from."

Damon chuckles, the sound low and threatening. "You don't understand, Ric. I'm the monster that kids have nightmares about. I'm the one who will do unspeakable things for the big picture, and you know what big picture I'm seeing right now? No Elena, no half-cocked vampire hunter thinking he can threaten me and live to see another day, and no problems for the foreseeable future for my family."

He points a finger at Ric, already turning around to leave. "You know where to find me when you've made your choice, but you should know that I'm prepared either way."

Alaric, uselessly, calls out one last time. "I thought I was your friend, Damon,"

"You were," He shrugs. "But you're not my family."

──────

Stefan and Bonnie take the calm approach.

They're hoping that Elena isn't at the Gilbert house simply because they're not exactly prepared for the inevitable confrontation, but they both want all of this over before it really starts.

Bonnie knocks on the door, comfortable with the surroundings but uncomfortable with the memories. Years with Elena, holding her while she laughed, while she fawned over Matt, holding her while she cried over her parents and drug Athena's name through the dirt. Sharing smiles while she fawned over Stefan.

Even then, Bonnie thinks, looking at the vampire across from her, she didn't believe he'd ever truly wanted to be with Elena. Back when he first came to Mystic Falls, there was a tenseness to Stefan, a desire to run from his past but keep him grounded to it– it's what Elena was for. She was nothing like Katherine, at least not openly, but she allowed him to cling to the last thing he had as a human.

But now, she can see the differences in him. He speaks more confidently, less stuttering, and more sure of what he's saying. His eyes don't hold a sorrowful sadness, they don't look haunted, they look light. When the sun hits him, he doesn't flinch, he embraces it, reaching for Athena with a smile she always returns.

Athena had settled Stefan. Given him a peace he'd been chasing his entire immortal life, even if neither of them realized it. Bonnie could see it, though. She could feel it, too. When she first shook Stefan's hand last year, it was darkness and death, but now when she hugs him or lays a hand on his arm, it's warmth and love that has healed his troubled past.

The witch can't help but smile to herself at the thought, but her brief moment of peace and contemplation is interrupted by the front door swinging open, Jeremy standing there blandly before recognition sets in and he moves to shut the door.

Stefan stops him, his palm holding the door open and pushing against Jeremy's weak hold as they walk into the house. Stefan clears his throat, giving Jeremy an almost pitying smile. "You know why we're here, Jeremy."

"Yeah," The younger boy clears his throat, looking between them nervously. "And you know I'm not going to give her up."

"We know," Stefan nods, glancing at Bonnie. "That's why we're here."

Bonnie raises her hand, flicking it slightly, and Jeremy's brows furrow as her spell hits him. Laying a hand on his chest, he feels an odd sensation ripple through him and he looks at Bonnie with a look of both confusion and betrayal.

"What did you do to me?"

"Consider it a GPS," Bonnie says. "Anywhere you go, I'll be able to find you. That means going to see Elena, or even getting up from your bed to go to the kitchen."

"Bonnie,"

"I wish it could be different, Jeremy. But I have to do this."

The teenager scoffs, anger rising, and Stefan moves protectively in front of Bonnie. "Elena was your friend. You could've saved her and you know it."

"The Elena I knew died in that car accident, Jeremy. And if you opened your eyes, you'd see the same thing."

Jeremy hesitates, and both Stefan and Bonnie can see that he agrees with them. But he quickly stops himself from verbalizing it and shakes his head, still childishly stubborn in a way that they had all left behind long ago. "She's my sister,"

Bonnie looks at him understandingly, but she has long since given up on defending Elena from other people. "Would she do this for you, Jeremy? Would she risk her own life to protect you? Risk her entire family's lives, too?"

Shaking her head, Bonnie turns, Stefan already halfway out the door. "Don't break your back for her just because she's your family. You deserve better, Jeremy. You always have."

They leave him standing despondently, and even though Bonnie didn't vocalize her upset, Stefan seems to sense it, and he brings her into a side hug before they get back in the car, squeezing her tight so she can take a small breath and let some of the tension out of her shoulders before she has to steel herself again when they face an inevitable threat.

She gives him a grateful smile and he slides into the driver's seat, and she quickly hurries over into the passenger side. Before they're even completely out of the driveway, Stefan's phone rings and he answers it on the second ring.

"Yeah?"

There's a slight pause, and Bonnie wishes she had super-hearing more than anything right now.

"Really? Oh– Okay, okay. We're on our way," Stefan's foot presses harder on the gas and Bonnie looks at him quizzically. "No, he didn't. We can talk when I get home. Don't kill anybody."

A small spark of amusement flickers in the vampire's face and Bonnie easily deduces that Athena is on the other line. There's nobody else who can humor Stefan like she can.

He heaves a sigh, fond exasperation lacing his voice. "Just don't get blood on my rug, okay? I love you, too. I'll see you soon."

Hanging up, he drops the phone in the cupholder and glances at Bonnie, shaking his head minutely. "Athena. They have Tyler and Matt, who unsurprisingly, didn't cooperate,"

Bonnie's eyes widened slightly. "They're at the boarding house?"

He nods.

"Are they...?"

"Alive?"

She nods.

"For now. But Athena's patience is already questionable to begin with, so I can't imagine this taking too long in either outcome,"

Bonnie's brows twitch. "Outcome?"

"Well," He shrugs, stopping briefly at a red light. "It's one of two ways. They give Elena up and live, albeit in fear of my frightening girlfriend, or they die protecting Elena."

Bonnie fumbles with her hands in her lap, glancing out of the window at the oblivious bystanders who became blurs as they drove through town. "They won't survive either way,"

"Bonnie?"

"I can feel it," She states cryptically in response to his concerned tone. "No matter what, neither of them survive very long in our world."

Stefan bites his cheek for a moment before nodding in agreement, giving Bonnie a knowingly sympathetic look. "If they do the right thing, they'll have a better chance than most. That's usually the most you can ask for."

"I just wish things had turned out differently,"

"I get it. But don't let that hope hold you back from seeing the bigger picture,"

"Which is what, exactly?"

He gives her a small smile before turning his gaze back to the road. "You. Your life, your future. All of us. Everything's going to work out for us, Bonnie. You'll see."

────── 

author's note; besties im so hungover and sore do not come for me if this chapter's a mess 

originally published; 6.21.21.

edited: 12.6.23.

- liz