SEASON ONE — EPISODE FOURTEEN
"𝙨𝙤 𝙞 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡"

‧˚꒰🍷꒱༘‧—

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'✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ NOT EVEN TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Brooke found herself curled up beside Bonnie with a blanket draped over the both of them and a cup of tea in her hands, Sheila Bennett sat opposite the two girls, "How did you know where we were?" Bonnie asked, her brows furrowed as Brooke sipped on her tea peacefully.

It was rare she found a moment of peace these days.

"Many things can fuel a witch's power. Worry, anger. After Stefan told me that they had taken you, I had a lot of both." Sheila glanced over at Brooke, smiling when she noticed the calmness on the girl's face as the hot liquid flowed down her throat, "A simple locator spell was easy after that."

"I'm sorry." Brooke muttered, knowing that if she never got herself caught up in the mess that was Ben McKittrick, maybe this wouldn't have been as bad as it was, "About all of this."

"Not as sorry as they're gonna be." Sheila smirked towards Brooke, causing the aforementioned girl to smile softly. A door in the hallway closed and Elena and Stefan walked into the living room, the aforementioned girl letting out a stressed sigh.

"So, what do we do now?" She asked, placing a hand on Bonnie's shoulder as she stood behind the two girls and Stefan stood beside Brooke, his hip brushing against her arm.

"Well, for now, you need to stay here." Stefan told the four, crossing his arms over his chest.

"A prisoner? In my own home?" Sheila was taken aback, sending Stefan a look of disbelief whilst Brooke just sipped on her tea silently, just listening to them speak, "I don't think so."

"I can't protect you if you leave the house." He looked down at the older woman, shaking his head lightly.

"We'll protect ourselves." She told him, a stern look on her face and Stefan nodded, looking away towards Brooke, noticing the gash on the side of her head from where Ben had knocked her out.

"We need to let him have Katherine back. He's not gonna stop until he gets her. If we help him, maybe that ends it." Elena explained, but Bonnie looked up at her, her brows creased.

"No. He doesn't deserve to get what he wants." Bonnie disagreed and Brooke agreed, placing her cup back on the table.

"I second that." She added.

"What other choice do we have?" Elena eyed both of the girls before she looked over at Stefan, who wore an unsure look.

"Witches being pulled down by vampire problems. As much as we try to do to stay out of it." Sheila looked over at her granddaughter, who only looked down at her hands, "I'll open the tomb. You get your brother's girl and destroy the rest with fire. Then this will be all over."

"We still have to get Damon to agree." Stefan added and Brooke looked up at him, letting out a scoff.

"Damon's a bitch." She mumbled, causing a quiet giggle to erupt from Bonnie and Brooke smiled with victory, taking a sip of her tea.

"Well, that bitch already agreed once. Why wouldn't he again?" Elena raised a brow, crossing her own arms over her stomach.

"Then we double—crossed him, remember? So, now he's angry." Stefan replied.

"He's hurt. There's a difference."

"No, I'm pretty sure he's angry." Brooke leaned her head back to look up at Elena, who didn't look back at her, her eyes distant and locked on Stefan.

"Wait... I think I know what I have to do."

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IT WAS THE DUKE PARTY, and Stefan practically begged Brooke to stay there, telling her to stay put and out of trouble. So, she reluctantly obeyed his demands and walked over to Matt and Caroline, noticing them hand—in—hand, "Oh, gross. Stop it." Brooke reached between them and smacked their hands apart, causing Matt to chuckle and Caroline to glare, completely different reactions.

"Hey, Brooke. Where have you been?" Matt pulled her in for a hug, adjusting the beanie on her head and she smiled wide, kissing his cheek as they pulled away.

"I was sick, Nathan gave me his cold." She lied, leaning over to ruffle Caroline's hair and the blonde giggled, moving away from her.

"Don't ruin the hair, Brooke!" Caroline complained, but couldn't wipe the grin from her lips and Brooke only rolled her eyes, looking between the two.

"Have you seen Jeremy?" She asked, rolling back and forth on her heels and her hair swayed from side to side, the wind blowing a few strand into her face.

"I saw him by the beer barrel not too long ago." Matt told her and she smiled at them, nodding before she spun around, making her way through the groups of teenagers until she reached the beer barrel. She did a full 360 spin, searching her surroundings until she spotted Jeremy stood by a tree, only he was stood speaking with Anna, causing her eyes to widen.

"Shit." She muttered to herself, unsure of what to do. She thought quickly, there was a hint of hesitation but she wasn't about to let Anna snatch Jeremy up for some stupid sacrifice. The Elliot girl rushed over, only to bash into a large shoulder, causing her to fly back. The impact almost knocked her on her ass if it wasn't for the boy grabbing her arm, pulling her back onto her feet.

"Jeez, watch where you're going, Brooke." Tyler Lockwood snapped, clearly annoyed and she furrowed her brows, watching him storm off. What's got his panties in a twist?

She didn't reply, though, way too worried about her little cousin but when she looked back towards the trees, they were gone, "Fuck!" Brooke visibly face—palmed, making her way towards the ruins of Fell's church where Stefan, Elena, Bonnie and Sheila were, hoping that that was where Anna had taken Jeremy.

Brooke ventured further into the woods, her eyes scanning between the trees for any signs of Jeremy, they were wide and filled with concern.

"Jeremy!" She yelled, spinning around when she arrived at a tiny clearing but there was nothing, only the sound of wind blowing through her hair and the sound of the distant music from the party, "Jer!" She ran a hand through her hair worriedly, her bottom lip finding its way between her teeth.

A twig snapped nearby, the subtle sound sending a sense of hope over her and she spun around towards the noise, only for her hope to vanish when she locked eyes with Ben.

"Hey, pretty." He smirked from between the trees, taking a few steps forwards but as he did that subtle movement, she moved backwards quite a distance, causing a pang in his cold, black heart.

"Stefan told you to leave." Brooke stated, her voice stern as she attempted to hide her fear, but there was no use, Ben could see she was scared. But, he didn't want to use it to his advantage, it actually pained him to see her in such a state towards him.

"I know, but I couldn't leave without seeing your beautiful face one last time." Ben complimented, hoping his flirting would soften her up but she stayed weary, serious and fearful towards him, making sure to keep her distance.

"Where's Jeremy?" Brooke demanded, her glare cold and his smirk only widened at the name of the little Gilbert.

"Oh, don't worry. Jeremy's safe." Ben nodded along with his words as if that would convince Brooke further, but her brows furrowed, her eyes squinting.

"Am I supposed to just trust you?" She queried, tilting her head to left just a tad and he let out a low, dry chuckle, clearly amused.

"Why not? If you trust that shady little Stefan guy then why can't you trust me?" He lifted his eyebrows as if it was a 'gotcha' moment but Brooke just sent him a look, a look that humiliated him. He was stupid.

"Because Stefan hasn't knocked me out, kidnapped me or played with my feelings and did I mention that you kidnapped me?" Brooke's voice was now raised and she took an angered step forwards, a frown on her paled face.

"Oh, come on! It's all just for Anna's stupid plan, speaking of the devil..." Ben smirked at Brooke, a smirk that told her everything she needed to know but before she could turn around, before she could even comprehend that she just walked into a trap, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her hear and everything went blurry, "Anna! You didn't have to hit her that hard."

"She's a bitch, why not?" Anna shrugged as Brooke fell to the ground, now completely unconscious.

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IT WAS BRIGHT BEHIND HER CLOSED EYELIDS, and loud screaming filled her ears as soon as she felt herself coming back to reality. But, when her eyes finally snapped open to see what the commotion was — which only added to the excruciating pain in the back of her head — she regretted it instantly.

There he was, the man she was supposed to call her boyfriend, engulfed in flames, screaming in agony as he fell back onto the grass nearby. She quickly sat up, her eyes darting just a few metres away to where Stefan stood, wielding a flamethrower.

She gasped as Ben fell to the floor, face first, her hand over her mouth as tears brimmed her eyes. While she hated Ben, she never wanted to see anyone being burnt alive to crisp.

"What the... f..." Brooke trailed off, scrambling to her feet and she winced, holding the side of her head when she felt a shock of pain run through her mind. Stefan spun around, his eyes wide as he turned off the flamethrower, throwing it to the grass before he rushed over to her, shielding the burnt corpse with his body.

"Are you okay? Do you have a concussion?" He lifted his hands to the sides of her head, forcing her to look up at him and she winced, lightly shoving his hands away from her.

"No, don't..." She grabbed ahold of his jacket, tears brimming her eyes as she attempted to push him aside, wanting to see if Ben was still alive, or at least still conscious but she knew there was no point in having hope, the vampire was dead.

"Brooke, he's dead." Stefan confirmed, grabbing her shoulders to hold her in place just as a singular tear rolled down her cheek, "Come on." He placed his hands on her lower back and guided her to the entrance of the tomb, making sure she couldn't see Ben's body on the way.

They entered the dark, yet lit up tomb to find Bonnie and Sheila stood in the centre with torches surrounding them. Bonnie's eyes lit up at the sight of Brooke, but she didn't move from her spot beside her Grams.

"Where's Elena?" Stefan spoke up, his hand still firm on Brooke's lower back as she wiped a tear away from her cheek and she looked around, also noticing Elena's absence.

"Damon took her inside." Bonnie gestured towards the entrance of the tomb and Brooke's eyes widened with shock, mostly fear. She looked towards the entrance of the tomb, then her eyes trailed back over to Bonnie, who sent her a warning look. But, knowing Brooke, she never listened to the warnings and ran head first into trouble.

So, expectedly, Brooke sped past Stefan and into the dark tomb without as little as a torch, ignoring Bonnie's calls for her to come back out. Her eyes searched the darkness, she didn't know what awaited for her in there... Death, probably, but death awaited her around every corner, there was no point in avoiding it anymore.

"Elena." Brooke whisper—yelled, hoping Elena was nearby but just as she tripped over a rock in the middle of the concrete flooring, she heard the Gilbert's scream surround the entire tomb, "Elena!"

In the distance, she noticed a light, supposedly from a torch, so she rushed towards it, rounding a corner as Elena's screams only grew louder. It didn't take long for Brooke to find her cousin lying on the ground, Anna holding the human girl's wrist to her shrivelled mother's mouth.

"Get off of her, bitch!" Brooke kicked — something she was quite good at, thanks to her cheerleading — and Anna fell backwards onto the ground, giving Elena enough time to scramble away from the two vampires, into Brooke's arms.

Brooke reached into her pocket and pulled out a small cloth, holding it to Elena's wrists in hopes to stop the bleeding. Then, suddenly, Stefan appeared, though it was expected after hearing Elena's screams and he pushed Anna away, ushering for them to get out, "Go, go! I'm right behind you." He told them, pushing them towards the entrance and Brooke wrapped her arm around the Gilbert, quickly guiding her out of the tomb.

A few moments later, they both ran out of the tomb's entrance and into the opening where Bonnie and Sheila were stood, a large open spell book in their hands, "Elena. Stefan—"

"He's right behind us." Elena cut her off, trying to catch her breath as she pointed to the doorway. The two girls noticed the two Bennetts looking behind them, so they both spun around, their eyes landing on Stefan, who just stood by the door, "Stefan, what are you doing?"

Brooke stayed silent, her eyes wide with worry and she looked back at Bonnie, who held the same worried expression, "It's gonna be okay. We'll fix it." Bonnie assured them, holding the book closer to her face.

"What is it?" Elena asked, still oblivious.

"The seal's still up." Brooke stated, having figured out what was going on and Bonnie nodded, confirming her suspicions.

"Wait, you went in there not knowing if you can come back out?" Elena took a few steps towards Stefan, her eyes brimming with tears and Brooke watched the scene, clearly distraught with her arms crossed over her stomach, "Oh, my God."

"I heard you scream." Stefan responded, his voice quiet and Brooke shook her head, unable to handle it anymore.

"You're a fucking moron." She muttered towards Stefan, rolling her eyes at his stupidity. She could've saved Elena and gotten out, but Stefan had to save the day and it honestly pissed her off. She sent Bonnie and Sheila a glance before she rushed out of the ruins, making her way outside.

But, as she stepped onto the grass, the wind engulfing her, she noticed Ben's burnt corpse nearby and she felt herself breaking down at the sight. Brooke slowly approached, making sure to keep her distance and a few tears slipped down her cheeks as she dropped to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest.

Every night felt like a nightmare, every day felt like hell and she wasn't sure how much more she could take. But, in that moment, as she sat across from the corpse of the vampire who'd tricked her into falling for him, she let it out all out.

She let out every tear, every negative emotion and all of her fears, all of her sadness, all of her grief.

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