WHEN VIOLET AND KLAUS ARRIVED BACK IN MYSTIC FALLS, neither of them were expecting the avalanche of things that had gone wrong in the 24 hours that they were gone.

The biggest problem though, was that Connor, the almighty hunter that was part of the Brotherhood of the Five, was killed by none other than Elena Gilbert. After her soulmate had explained the aftermath that would occur to the newborn vampire, Violet felt slightly bad. But at the same time, when did something happen that didn't involve Elena and her 'struggles'?

It was safe to say that both of them were irritated to be thrown back into the chaos after such a relaxing mini vacation. But at this point, it was a given when you lived in Mystic Falls.

Apparently one of the hybrids had also been killed, which resulting in the rest of them 'paying their respects' and drinking almost every ounce of booze located in the Lockwood Mansion.

"Well, don't let me interrupt." Klaus said as he and Violet came up behind Tyler. The petite blonde narrowed her eyes at the brunette standing in front of her former friend when she pulled her thumb from mouth and stared innocently back at the couple.

Tyler turned on his heel and glared at the Original. "I didn't know you were here."

Klaus leaned into Tyler face, growling, "Clearly."

The oldest hybrid took a swig from the bottle of scotch he held in the hand that wasn't intertwined with Violets. "I just popped 'round to celebrate Dean's successful retrieval of the vampire hunter." He smiled sarcastically. "Yet when I arrived, I learnt that not only was Dean unsuccessful, but that Elena killed the hunter."

Hayley glared daggers at Klaus and Violet could feel a rage begin to bubble up in her. "Well, maybe if you had let Dean use force on Connor instead of sending him in on a suicide mission." The female werewolf spat.

Before the hybrid could counter, Violet snapped at her. "Maybe you should mind your business, wolf girl."

Hayley took a threatening step forward, growling when all Violet did was raise an eyebrow. The human was done taking bullshit from supernatural creatures, especially not some random wolf that came sauntering in like she new about everything that was going on.

Tyler placed a hand in front of Hayley to keep
her from potentially attacking. "What do you care if Connor's dead anyway?"

"I have my reasons." Klaus replied. "They've ceased to matter. Cheers." Klaus raises the bottle of alcohol and takes a drink. A knock sounds from the front door in the next room, and when Tyler answers it, Caroline stomps in with a large cardboard box.

"I brought your stuff. Old laptop, your jersey, the charm bracelet." She gives Tyler a look.

Violet feels something weird in the pit of her stomach–she could feel that something was off. She had known Caroline since elementary school, and though the vampire was a naturally great actress, her eyes would deceive her to anyone that knew her well enough.

But maybe it was just that she was heartbroken by the fact that Tyler had apparently cheated on her during his time away with none other than the werewolf girl behind them.

"Care, this isn't a good time." Tyler shook his head, glancing back at his 'guests'.

Caroline shoved the box into his arms."Just take it

Violet stepped forward, a look of pure concern on her face. "Caroline." The vampire folded her arms across her chest, her gaze softening when she met the eyes of her best friend. Violet raised her eyebrows as if asking, "Are you okay?" And Caroline nodded and gave her a small, forced smile.

"By the break-up drama unfolding before me I assume you've met Hayley." Klaus spoke up, receiving no reply. The hybrid motioned for the wolves he sired to come with him. "All right, come on, let's go. Let's leave them alone. Your talents are needed elsewhere."

Tyler narrowed his eyes. "For what?"

"I think you've got more important things to deal with, mate." Klaus replied. As his latched his hand to Violets, the shorter blonde comfortingly rubbed Caroline's shoulder and followed the hybrids out of the house.

━

"I don't want to talk about it." Stefan's voice said through the voice immediately after answering.

Violet struggled to keep up with her soulmate, her much shorter legs preventing her to be able to walk as fast. And she also wasn't a vampire, let alone in shape, so she was quite out of breath already.

"Well, I can't imagine why, what with you ruining all my plans for a hybrid filled future." Klaus replied, bitterly.

Stefan then defended himself, "Well, it wouldn't have happened, if you hadn't sworn me to secrecy."

"Well, life's full of ifs, Stefan. But let's accentuate the positives, shall we?" The Original grinned slightly. "The hunter was one of five; we'll find another. It may take centuries, but we've got nothing but time, right?" He questioned, slipping his hand into Violet's so she wouldn't have to sprint to keep up with him.

"You're using your calm voice today. Who's getting killed?"

Violet had to admit that she was wondering the same, though at this point she had a feeling that it wouldn't be either of the Salvatore brothers.

"Not you, if that's what you're worried about. But I am concerned about your beloved. Have the hallucinations started yet?" Klaus asked.

There was a pause that almost made Violet laugh. It was clear as day through his voice that Stefan was surprised by Klaus' words. "What do you know about that?" The younger vampire muttered over the phone.

"I'll tell you." Klaus smirked. "Where are you?"

"I'm at her house."

"How convenient, so am I."

Klaus knocks on the door, sharing a look with Violet before the door opens, Stefan being quick to exit the house and slam the door.

"You know, this would all be a lot more civilized if I was just invited inside." The Original commented, following Stefan down the porch steps with Violet on his heels.

"It's bad enough I'm out here talking to you." Stefan grumbled, resulting in an eye roll from the petite blonde girl in front of him. "What do you know?"

"I killed the original five hunters, remember? When one kills a hunter, there's a bit of a consequence." Klaus vaguely explained.

"What kind of consequence?" Stefan questioned, concerned for the well being of the newbie vampire that was currently inside the house.

Klaus frowned slightly. "The hunters were spelled by witches to kill vampires; if you prevent one from fulfilling his destiny then he'll take you down with him."

Stefan's thick eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean? Connor's dead."

"He means, Connor's death won't prevent him from making Elena his final vampire kill." Violet interjected, looking up at the Salvatore vampire. Klaus' mouth lifted up into a smirk. "She'll need to come with me now. I'll lock her up, keep her away from any sharp wooden objects."

"She's not going anywhere with you." Stefan denied, his shoulders becoming tense as his body stiffened from the annoying protectiveness he felt for Elena.

"Stefan, if we leave her alone, she'll kill herself before the sun goes down." Violet spoke, attempting to talk sense into her former friends brain. If he didn't wanted Elena to die, then she would need to come with her and Klaus immediately.

"She's stronger than that." Stefan insisted, glaring down at Violet.

"Is she?" Klaus questioned. "Believe me, it's for her own good."

The door to the Gilbert Residence suddenly flew open, Damon shouting, "Elena!" before Klaus acted quick and grabbed onto both Violet and Elena, who had ran out of the house, and sped off before Stefan or Damon could blink.

━

Chris, one of Klaus' hybrids, opens the door to a room unfamiliar to Violet. The petite blonde followed behind her soulmate as he dragged in Elena by her arm.

"Let go of me." The brunette vampire snapped, attempting to pull her arm from the strong grasp of the Original hybrid.

"Certainly." Klaus says, roughly letting go and pushing her further into the room.

Elena took a second to analyze the room, along with Violet who didn't even know that the room existed. "I apologize for the lack of windows; it's to preserve the art." Klaus spoke, subconsciously intertwining his hand with Violet's as she stepped next to him. "And of course to prevent you from taking off your daylight ring and burning yourself to death in the sun."

Elena gave him an incredulous look. "I'm not gonna kill myself. I would never do that."

"Oh, but you'll want to." The hybrid replied seriously. "I did. Problem is, I'm immortal." Violet gave his hand a small squeeze, her chest aching a bit as she recalled the tail he told her of when he killed the first five hunters.

Elena's eyebrows furrowed. "You went through this?"

"Yes, I did. For fifty-two years, four months, and nine days." Klaus informed the doppelgänger. He turned his body to stare thoughtfully at the statues that were placed in the room as Violet let her thumb softly rub the skin on the back of his hand.

"I was tormented, in my dreams, my every waking moment, relentless, never-ending torture." He mumbled, turning back around the face Elena. "It was the only period of my life when I actually felt time. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of finding my soulmate."

"So, you knew that this would happen if Connor died?" The brunette questioned. "That's why you got involved. Did Stefan know too?"

Klaus kept his expression stoic as he answered the doppelgänger's relentless questions. "All he knew was that the hunter had to be kept alive. You should have listened to him when he said he had it covered, love." His voice became slightly raspy as it usually did when he got angry.

An expression of slight anger came upon the Gilbert girls face. "What else does Stefan know?" She asked, earning an eye roll from Violet.

Klaus now wore the infamous Mikaelson smirk. "Well, that's one of life's little mysteries, isn't it?" The pair of soulmates back away, heading for the door until Elena spoke up again.

"How did you make it stop?" Klaus froze and Violet could feel herself becoming protective. The mere thought of the half-century of torment he experienced clearly still disturbed the hybrid and Violet was about five seconds away from duct-taping Elena's mouth shut to get her to stop talking about it.

"He didn't." Violet snapped, glaring daggers at the doppelgänger. Klaus nodded. "Eventually it just stopped." He added.

Seconds after, though, the smirk returned to his face. "The hallucinations tend to appear in strange forms." He knocked on the metal door twice with his thumbs, resulting in Chris opening it to let the soulmates out.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."
Klaus spoke before they exited the room and the door slammed shut.

━

"Are you okay?" The voice of his soulmate tore Klaus from his thoughts. He had been zoning out for about five minutes and it was really beginning to worry Violet. "Sorry?" His head snapped to look at her and, upon seeing her concerned expression, turned to stare at the wine in his glass. "No, yeah, I'm fine." He mumbled.

The petite blonde let out sigh, reaching over to take his left hand into her right one. "Hey," Violet tried again when he refused to meet her eyes, this time her voice more forceful. Reluctantly, Klaus lifted his head to connect his blue eyes with her hazel ones. "I know you might feel obligated to act all tough and mighty around other people, but I am not other people. I'm you're soulmate and you don't need to act like that with me. I love you, okay? Don't shut me out."

Instead of responding, Klaus placed his hand on the back of her neck, bring her closer to him until their lips met. Violet's breath hitched but she didn't hesitate to respond, her lips moving softly against his, the same tingles she always felt when they kissed spreading throughout her body.

It took a few seconds for it to occur to Violet that they were in fact in public, causing her to pull away from Klaus, her cheeks flushed and tinted a bright shade of pink. Klaus smirked, but felt his heart swell at the sight of his soulmate.

He could hear her heart beating frantically as it always did during moments like these and he placed his palm against her warm cheek. "Thank you, little flower. I don't think I express enough how in love with you I️ am."

Violet let out a small laugh, only making Klaus grin more. "I think you do say it enough. But I wouldn't mind hearing it more." She teasingly remarked, leaning in to give him one more chaste kiss on the lips.

If she could, Violet would freeze time just so she could live in this moment forever, but sadly that wasn't possible and their moment came to an end when Violet saw Caroline approach from her peripheral vision.

The blonde vampire sent an apologetic smile to her best friend and slipped her jacket off. "Place looks pretty good considering your hybrid got blown up in it." Caroline spoke, her words directed towards the Original.

Klaus raised his eyebrows. "Caroline. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

Caroline walked over to Violet's other side, looking down at the couple. "I want you to give Elena back." She was talking to Klaus, but it was clear that the vampire was also talking to Violet who she knew was slightly more understanding and could potentially convince Klaus to let the doppelgänger go if convinced herself.

"Ah, they sent you to sweet talk Violet so she could convince me." He said, causing Caroline's shoulders to drop slightly. "Well, good form, but I'm afraid I can't do it."

Caroline looked back and forth between the soulmates. "Why not?"

Violet sighed, wishing that they would just let them be and trust that Elena was in safe hands. "She needs Nik's help, Care." Violet told her best friend. Caroline only scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Look, I'm not gonna burden you with the gory details, I know you have enough on your plate already." He cocked an eyebrow, a small smirk painted on his lips.

Caroline glared at him. "That's none of your business, actually."

"Yeah, well," Violet began, looking up at Caroline. "just know that if Tyler was still sired to Nik he never would have hurt you. I never wouldn't let him get away with it."

Caroline felt ashamed that she was keeping secrets from her best friend. The vampire could feel guilt bubble up in her gut from the genuine concern Violet expressed for her. The small blonde girl had no idea that they were lying to her to get her soulmates hybrids to become unsired.

When Caroline didn't reply, Violet exhaled through her nose, nodding her head towards the bottles of alcoholic drinks in front of them. "Do you want a drink?"

Caroline smiled softly. "Yeah. Thanks."

━

Caroline glanced down at her phone, a small look of panic flashing across her face. But as soon as it appeared it was gone and she was looking up at Violet and Klaus with an innocent smile.

"So, here's the thing," The blonde vampire giggled nervously. "I didn't just come here to try to get you to release Elena."

Violet could only sigh, already expecting something like this to have happened, while Klaus continued to grin. "You don't say."

"I came here to distract you so that Stefan could go to your house and break her out, which he did." She spoke, causing both the soulmates to frown. "And, don't get mad, but then he lost her."

Klaus shot up in a fury, Violet not hesitating to follow him, shooting her friend a disappointed look. Caroline, though, was quick to get up and attempt to stop them. "Violet–"

Violet turned her head quickly, "Caroline, you're my best friend and I love you, but if you don't stop talking I will let him snap your neck." She threatened, motioning to her furious soulmate.

"They figured out how to stop the hallucinations!" Caroline spoke, making the couple freeze. They both quickly spun around, Klaus glaring at Caroline fiercely.

"Ok, you have ten seconds to tell me."

━

As the pair of soulmates ran towards the Lockwood House, Klaus glanced down at Violet. "If I have to kill someone tonight, will you try and stop me?"

The petite blonde hesitated. "I'd rather you not, but if it's necessary then I won't try to stop you." She said with a shrug as the ran up the porch steps.

Just as they reached the front door, it opened, revealing Chris with his packed bags in his hands and Tyler and Hayley stood behind him.

Klaus smirked up at his hybrid. "Going somewhere?"

Chris began to back away but before he could attempt to explain himself, the Original's hand was around his throat and he was sped and pinned to the staircase. "When I said don't let her out of your sight, what did you think I meant?" Klaus growled, glaring murderously at Chris.

"It's not his fault, it's mine." Tyler spoke up, his voice shaky and panicked. Clearly they–foolishly in Violet's opinion–weren't planning on getting caught. "I was distracting you. It's my fault she got away!" Tyler insisted.

Klaus didn't look away from his suffocating hybrid. "Then maybe you should be the one to die for it."

"No one has to die!" Hayley yelled over the chaos, further annoying Violet.

"Did I not say earlier to mind your damn business?" Violet snapped, surprising both Hayley and Tyler with how dangerous she looked and sounded as she glared at them.

Hayley's eyes flickered between the two soulmates looking at her, fear clear in her eyes as she realized that it was idiotic to mess with either one of them. "Tyler's covering for me. I'm the one that let her go."

Tyler looked at his friend, startled. "Hayley–"

"No." She stopped him. "You want someone dead, go ahead. Kill me." The werewolf dared, leaning in closer to the Original. "I'd rather die anyway than end up as one of your sired little bitches."

Klaus held his hand in front of Violet, who nearly lost her temper and lunged at the she wolf. "Don't tempt me, little wolf."

The hybrid turned his head back to Chris. "Your existence is to serve me. To please me. Do you understand?"

Chris nodded frantically, his voice shaking. "I'm sorry, I won't fail you again."

"No, you won't." Klaus agreed, moving aside. "Get out of here."

Violet reached down to clasp her hand into her soulmates, squeezing it as a gesture of affection, silently communicating that she was proud of him.

But the moment didn't last long, as, as soon as Chris began to walk away, the door slammed open and Stefan sped in only to stab the hybrid with a wooden stake.

"No!" Hayley cried out as Chris fell to the ground. Not a second later, Jeremy walked in, a large axe held tightly in his hand.

Violet's jaw dropped, but as she remembered Caroline's earlier explanation, she realized what was gonna happened and braced herself, hugging Klaus' arm closer to her.

"Jeremy?" Tyler yelled out. "What the hell, man?!"

Stefan looked over at Tyler and Hayley, his expression almost pained, but it was clear that he didn't feel very guilty for what was about to happen. "I'm sorry." He told the pair.

The vampire nods once at Jeremy and the Gilbert Boy lifts the weapon above his head, Hayley screaming out and Violet squeezing her eyes shut just as his arms come down and chop the hybrids head clean off.

━

A few days after the Elena-going-insane-slash Jeremy-killing-a-hybrid incident, the annual Miss Mystic Falls pageant rolled around, and, much to Violet's dismay, Caroline signed them both up to be apart of the set up crew.

And that is why Violet was currently walking around the Lockwood residence with Caroline, her phone practically attached to her ear and the two blonde girls and Stefan talked on the phone, Caroline using her advanced hearing, of course.

"What do you mean you're not coming?" Caroline questioned in disbelief. "I don't need to remind you that your Miss Mystic Falls attendance record totally sucks." She told him, referring to the last years Miss Mystic Falls pageant where he ditched Elena to go chase down one of the other contestants because he got a taste of human blood and went slightly insane.

"You're also a founding family member," Violet reminded him. "So, by definition you have to be here."

Caroline led them to a table where one of the other crew members was arranging some flowers, shooing her off before she rearranged them to her liking.

"Elena and I broke up. By definition, I don't need to be anywhere." Stefan replied. The two friends shared a look.

Caroline spoke up as the two of them walked to yet another table. "Did that sound as depressing to you as it did to us?"

"Because it sounded pretty depressing." Violet muttered as she worked on another flower arrangement.

"Oh, I'm not depressed. I just want to rip into someone's artery and feed until I can't breathe anymore."

Violet rolled her eyes. "Drama queen." She sang, smirking as Caroline held in a laugh. "Well, you can't. As your sober sponsor, I am not going to let that happen." The blonde vampire told him. "Try and sublimate."

There was a pause from the other line before Stefan spoke up again. "She said she has feelings for Damon."

Violet's face scrunched slightly up at the new information, raising her eyebrows as Caroline began to freak out. "What? She can't have feelings for Damon! He's...Damon. And you're...you. And I'm – revolted." Caroline rambled. "You know, I'm gonna talk to her. I'm going to shake some sense into her clearly diseased brain."

"Yeah, well I don't know what good that'll do." Stefan mumbled. "Elena's right, being a vampire really has changed her."

"All the more reason you need to cure her." Violet sighed. She was really getting tired of all this vampire Elena drama.

At the sound of footsteps, Caroline and Violet turned around, spotting the girl of the hour walking towards them. "Look, we got to go. Be careful. And remember, there is sublimating and then there is insanity." Caroline reminds him.

"I'll be fine. Bye." Stefan said before hanging up.

Violet could admit that she really didn't want to talk to Elena at the moment. Because even though they've silently agreed to be civilized around each other, Violet couldn't just forget the part Elena played in the almost downfall of her soulmate and his family.

But after some begging from Caroline, Violet sighed in defeat and followed her friend over to where Elena was arranging flowers.

"Look, I'm your best friend and I would never pick sides," Caroline began once they reached her, "but are you sure that this is what you want? Because Stefan is your soul mate."

Violet raised her hand. "Soulmate wouldn't be the correct term since they aren't really but–" She cut herself off when she saw the not-so-subtle shut up look Caroline was giving her. "Sorry, proceed."

Elena shot Caroline a look. "Sorry. Picking sides." The blonde vampire sighed in defeat.

"It's not like I don't love Stefan anymore, but I can't deny that ever since I turned, my feelings for Damon have become more intense." Elena said, clearly very conflicted.

"Yeah, we know. Stefan filled me in on all the gory Damon details." Violet shrugged, her lip curling up slightly. Damon might be one of her best friends, but she couldn't deny that he might not be the best boyfriend material, especially compared to his younger brother.

The brunette suddenly looked worried, her eyebrows furrowing as she looked in between the two blonde girls. "He did?" Her frown became deeper as the both nodded. "Is he okay?"

Caroline glared at Elena. "No, he's heartbroken."

Elena's shoulders dropped. "Well, what was I supposed to do? Lie to him?"

"No," Caroline shook her head, her blue eyes hard as she glared at her friend. "but you weren't supposed to let Damon weasel his way into your confused newbie vampire heart."

"Well, he did," The younger vampire replied. "and that's exactly what I am–confused. I need to figure out what these feelings actually mean."

"Excuse me!" A new and unfamiliar voice called out. The three teenagers looked over, their eyes landing on a man with dark curly hair and dark stubble to match. He wasn't bad looking, but Violet thought everyone was a little average compared to her soulmate. "I'm a little lost. I'm here to interview contestants." He informed them as he approached them.

"You're Professor Shane." Elena realized, sharing a look with Caroline and Violet, the shortest of the three making a small ohh noise.

Professor Shane grinned. "Yeah, that's right. Professor by day...pageant judge by other day." He joked. Caroline was the only one to bothered to fake laugh, the two other girls just eyeing him curiously.

"In spite of being absurdly unqualified, I'm apparently awarding a scholarship?" He told them, his ending statement sounding more like a question.

Caroline nodded towards the house. "Uh, inside by the parlor."

The man pointed in the same direction. "Right in here?" Caroline hummed and nodded. "Mhm."

"All right, I'll just follow the scent of hairspray and world domination." He said, Caroline letting out another fake laugh as he walked away.

Once he was out of earshot, Elena turned towards Caroline and Violet. "He's the one who told Damon how to break the hunter's curse."

"He's also the one that has Bonnie so obsessed with practicing magic that she bailed on pageant prep." Caroline added, her tone annoyed.

"And now he's judging Miss Mystic Falls?" Elena questioned. Caroline only shrugged, her eyebrows raised. "Jack of all trades or kind of creepy?" Elena asked.

Violet glanced in the direction he left in. "Definitely just creepy."

━

As Violet and Caroline stood together outside of the Lockwood Mansion, talking quietly to each other about things that still needed to be set up for the pageant, the vampires head snapped up to three younger girls approaching with flowers in their hands.

"Woah, woah, woah, stop, stop!" Caroline exclaimed, bringing the girls to a halt.

"Those flowers go in the back as indicated by the floral chart–"

"–that you guys had plenty of time to memorize." Violet cut in. She had been doing the same routine with Caroline for the past few years with school dances and other town events, and together, the two of them were certainly a force to be reckoned with.

"Yeah, thank you." Caroline rolled her eyes as they turned to walk the other way.

"Now, how did I know I'd find you at the helm of the ship?" Klaus' voice suddenly said to Violet, catching both girls attention. "Right alongside the Captain." He added, looking over at Caroline.

Violet beamed, immediately bringing her soulmate in for a kiss and laughing lightly when she heard Caroline gag.

"Go away. She's busy." Caroline said, glaring at the hybrid and ignoring the look she received from Violet.

Klaus shrugged innocently. "I was just wondering what time I should pick up Violet tomorrow." He informed her, lifting his arm to place it around Violet's shoulders.

As Violet opens her mouth to reply, Caroline looked up from her clipboard and spoke for her. "How about a quarter to worry about it later?"

The petite blonde sighed, shaking her head she looked up at her soulmate, silently telling him to ignore her. "Since you insist on coming, be here at two p.m." She told him, stepping closer to him as he casually placed his hands on her hips and smiled down at her.

"It's black tie optional," Violet continued, pulling his necklace out from where it had fallen under the neckline of his shirt. "And I already have a dress, so do not even think of getting me any accessories or corsage or anything, understand?"

Klaus narrowed his eyes playfully. "Not even another beautiful diamond bracelet?"

Violet lightly hit the back of her hand against his chest. "Especially not another bracelet. You spend too much money on me." She scolded him, though the bright grin on her face canceled out any serious vibe she was attempting to give off.

The hybrid cocked an eyebrow. "Who says I spend any money?"

Violet's jaw dropped slightly as she playfully gasped and pushed him away. She glanced over at Caroline, sighing at her annoyed expression.
"I am busy though, at the moment, so I'll see you later?"

The Original nodded with a smile. He gently lifted her chin with his thumb and forefinger, kissing her sweetly once more before letting her go.

They exchanged grins once before before Caroline grabbed her hand and began to drag her away into the house.

"I'll see you later, little flower!"

━

The following day, Violet, Caroline and Elena stood in one of the many rooms in the Lockwood Mansion helping April Young pick out a dress to wear for the pageant later on.

The younger girl held up the red dress to her body and then the blue a second later.

"Blue." The three girls chorused.

April's eyes flickered between them. "Really? The blue seems a little safe."

"Safe is good when it comes to the judges." Elena told her, Caroline and Violet nodding in agreement as they recalled their times on the Miss Mystic Falls court.

"She's right. Gracie Lockwood had a three-foot slit her year and practically got laughed off the court." Caroline spoke, the three older girls laughing.

"She got my vote." Damon's voice suddenly rang through the room. Elena immediately stands straighter, her breath hitching at the sight of the blue-eyed vampire.

Caroline grabs a random object, throwing it directly at Damon's face. "Get out, lurker!"

Damon glanced at the object that was now on the floor, sarcastically whispering, "Ouch."

"Where's Professor Shane?" Damon asked, seemingly unfazed as Caroline stomped over to him.

"Check the judges table." The blonde vampire sarcastically smiles, attempting to slam the door shut. Just before it could close on his face, Damon stops it with his hand and opens it back up.

"Red one, definitely." He says to April, who immediately looks down at her choices with a conflicted expression.

Violet sighed. "We've already agreed that the red one is a little bit too showy." She said, smiling sweetly at April.

Damon throws his hands up. "It's a pageant. That's the whole point." Caroline glared at Damon while sassily placing her hands on her hips. "Did you win Miss Mystic last year? No. I don't think you did."

"Neither did Elena and she wore blue." He remarked, raising his eyebrows at April. Violet glanced at Elena, exhaling at the slightly offended look she wore.

"Nobody cares what you think." Caroline snapped.

April shrugged, raising her hand. "I care."

Damon nodded towards the young girl. "See? April cares. Red, right, Elena?" He asked, all the attention turning towards the flustered brunette.

Hesitantly, Elena nodded. "The red is pretty." Caroline's face instantly falls and Violet looked at the newbie vampire with a confused expression.

Damon nodded once, grinning smugly. "And my work here is done." He said before pivoting on his heel and walking away from the room.

"Uh, what happened to thirty seconds ago when you hated the red one?" Caroline questioned Elena, who only stared at the spot Damon previously stood in with a glazed look. "What happened to safe is good?"

Elena suddenly shook her head, seemingly snapping out of her trance-like state. "Whichever one you want to wear, April." She said before quickly leaving the room as well.

Caroline looked over at Violet, "What just happened?" Violet could only shrug with a tired sigh as she looked down at the silver watch around her wrist.

"I don't even know, but it's about 20 minutes before we need to head out. April, which dress are you gonna wear?"

The girl looked between the two dresses and giving them an apologetic look. "I think I'm going with the red one." She decided.

Both Caroline and Violet nodded understandingly, motioning for her to go get dressed. As April girl closed the bathroom door, Violet turned to looking thoughtfully at her reflection in the body mirror they had set up.

"Hey, Care." The shorter girl spoke up, getting her attention and receiving a hum in reply. "Do you think Nik will like it?" She quietly asked, trying to look at herself from different angles.

After a stressful shopping trip with Caroline, Violet went home with a sleeveless, light grey, knee-length dress with monochrome roses decorating the fabric. To accessorize, Violet had on a pair of plain black platform heels and a black and white bow to pin back some of her curled blonde hair.

Caroline was prepared to give her best friend a sarcastic comment about the hybrid, but upon seeing Violet doubtfully chew on her bottom lip, she smiled softly and sighed.

"Yeah, I do. But I also think Klaus would worship you even if you showed up in a trash bag." She commented, making them both laugh.

The vampire walked up behind her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Seriously though, Vi, you look amazing. And as much as he annoys me, I have no doubt in my mind that Klaus will love you no matter what you wear, just as he should."

Violet let her tense shoulders relax as she smiled at her friend. "Thanks, Care."

━

"Welcome to this season's Miss Mystic Falls." Carol Lockwood announces from the stage set up, everyone clapping. "We are so excited to showcase our most outstanding community leaders in the making."

Just as Caroline told her, Violet walked around the tables, picking up some empty champagne glasses. Spotting a bus boy, she quickly walked over to him, placing the glasses onto his try. "Hey, why am I bussing your tables? Caroline specifically said no empty glasses."

As the bus boy walked away, Violet strolled over to the orchestra that was playing background music. "Could you guys pick up the tempo? Remember, this is a pageant, not a funeral." She told them, smiling in satisfaction as they played more upbeat.

"And how am I doing?" Violet turns and smiled in relief at her soulmate.

"You're perfect." She sighed as she approached him. Klaus pulled her closer and gave her a short kiss, keeping her in his embrace even after they pulled away.

"You seemed stressed." The hybrid mumbled, his hand rubbing her back softly as she leaned into his chest.

Violet nodded. "I am. With all of this Elena becoming a vampire drama and everything with the hunter and the cure, stacked on top of having to help set up the pageant and be here because I'm a founding family member–" Klaus cut off her rambling with another kiss, this one being slightly more intense and causing the familiar warm feeling and pink tint to spread across Violet's cheeks.

"Everything will turn out fine, flower, I promise." Klaus assured her. Violet, though, looked up at him doubtfully. "I don't know, Nik–"

"Do you trust me?" He cut her off, raising his eyebrows at her. Violet immediately nodded. "With my life." She replied without a thought.

Klaus smiled softly at her. "Then trust me when I say that everything will be fine." He lifted his hand to her face, stroking her cheek softly with his thumb.

Violet subconsciously leaned into his touched, nodding. "Okay."

━

Violet was beginning to think that the universe just wasn't on her side. Or any of her friends sides for that matter. It seemed as if things were running smoothly if you forgot about Elena's odd behavior from earlier and Jeremy not showing up to be April's escort.

But of course, they did live in Mystic Falls, and if you were enjoying life for even half a second, the world will just come crashing down on you the next.

It was Caroline's voice from a few feet away that caught her attention, but it wasn't until she faintly heard the name Damon fly from her friends mouth and her soulmate mutter, "Uh oh.", that she decided to step in and break things up before a vampire cat fight broke out in front of half the town.

"...why do I think that you won't hesitate to tell me?" Violet caught the last of Elena's sentence as she reached them, staring worriedly between the two female vampires.

Caroline looked taken aback for a second before she glared at the brunette in front of her. "Fine, friend-tervention. I think your so-called "feelings" for Damon are really starting to cloud your judgment and I don't like it."

Just as Klaus came up behind her, Violet glanced around, biting her lip at the many people who were looking over at them with a mix of expressions, the main ones being annoyance and curiosity.

"And the thought of you two together really makes me want to barf." And that was her cue. Violet carefully placed a hand on Caroline's shoulder. "Easy, Care , you're making a scene." She told her friend quietly, looking over at the hurt looking Elena.

"Wow, Caroline, thank you for making this very difficult time so much easier." The doppelgänger snapped, storming away.

Caroline could only blink, staring at Elena's back with furrowed eyebrows. "How did I become the bad guy."

Klaus and Violet shared a look, the small blonde girl linking her arms with Caroline. "How about we go get a drink? Nik can tell you all about being the bad guy."

━

"It's just, as her best friend, it is my duty to warn her when she's making a giant mistake, right?" Caroline rambled to Violet and Klaus, earning a small nod from the shorter blonde.

"And now she's taking Damon's side on everything." Violet added, pursing her lips in thought.

Klaus looking at the girls with an amused expression. "So, being a vampire's changed her?"

Caroline pushed some of her stray blonde hair behind her ear. "But being a vampire only amplifies who you already are. It doesn't turn you into a completely different person."

"It's very peculiar." The Original agreed, smirking and looking to the ground, confusing both girls.

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him, looking between the soulmates. "What's that look for?"

"It'll all make sense eventually." Klaus grinned.

The vampire rolled her eyes, shaking her head at the hybrids vague response. "Whatever, just – just hurry up and find the cure."

Caroline suddenly looked over to wear all the guests were sitting. "Look, thank you for giving me a break, but I should really get back."

Violet looked up at her friend smiling softly. "Do you want me to–"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Caroline was chuckling and shaking her head. "No, Vi, don't worry about it. Thanks for helping me do all this, I couldn't have done it without you. Stay here, enjoy some free time with Klaus while we still have it." The Forbes girl grinned before walking away from the couple.

Violet shook her head. "That girl works too much." She mumbled, taking a seat on a stone bench next to Klaus.

A moment of comfortable silence passed between the soulmates before Violet spoke up. "Would you ever take it? The cure, I mean." She asked Klaus, her head tilted to the side as she awaited his answer.

"Now, why would I want to cure myself of being the most powerful creature on the planet? Hm?" He asked, glancing at her as he peeled back the foil from the bottle of champagne he held in his hands.

Violet let out a small laugh. "So there's not one single moment in your whole life that you wanted to be human?"

It took him a moment, and just as Violet though he was going to avoid the answer, the hybrid popped the cork and grinned at her. "If I was human I wouldn't have the love of my life sitting right in front of me."

━

woah hey I'm alive, hi! I know I'm a horrible person and I haven't updated in literally months. If you read my last authors note, then you'll know exactly why I haven't been able to. You can go and read that for the long version, but the short version is just that I haven't had time.

It's been a rough couple of months but now I'm back and hopefully I can finish this book before the year is over. Only 4 more chapters after this so, wish me luck!

This chapter is dedicated to my extremely good friend -voidraeken for her support these last few months and for just being an amazing friend.

Thank you all for your amazing support, I love you all!

– alexis