seven coming up lux!

✧

         "THIS IS SO NOT WHAT I IMAGINED WHEN YOU ASKED ME TO HANG OUT," Lux muttered, gracefully walking the tightrope of a fallen tree, eyeing Stefan with displeasure. His face was bloody as he finished drinking from a bunny. At first, the sight of the animal's blood caused her control to slip. She had sighed, feeling as her fangs emerged and eyes turned dark with veins running underneath, but taking a moment to ground herself, she went back to looking human.

The rabbit did not sway her again. The same could not be said for Stefan. Lux eyed the woods around them, ears taking note of the scurrying squirrels and birds fluttering around. She had been camping before here – once as a little girl with Uncle Timothy, but neither were suited for outside survival. He tried to build a fire, failed, and they spent half the night in the woods before Lux cried and demanded to go home. So – correction – she tried to go camping once.

But Lux had never been the type to enjoy the outdoors. She much preferred air conditioning and not dealing with bug bites. While those weren't a problem anymore, the gnats were still annoying. And she always hated getting her hands dirty, but after burying lots and lots of bodies, she felt more comfortable being grimy.

"I just want you to know that there's other ways to live as a vampire," Stefan said.

"Yeah, I know about the vegetarian diet. It's what the vampires in Twilight do," Lux snapped, "But, seeing as I'm not a Cullen, I opted to not go their way."

"Drinking from humans can be dangerous. It's easy to lose control and kill them."

"I'm aware. Before I learned I could compel, I was killing people left and right. And, I'm not saying that to boast, because I'm not proud of it, but I have control now," Lux stressed, "I can feed without killing. I've done it a lot, and it suits me just fine."

Lux huffed. Sitting down on the fallen tree she tightrope walked upon. "If you like the bunny diet, I'm good. To each their own – but snatch, eat, erase works great for me."

Stefan looked at her. Peering into his eyes, she saw a deep regret and longing, but he quickly shook that off. She frowned, but didn't comment. Whatever reason he had for hunting animals instead of humans was for him to know and her not to question.

He sat down beside her.

"Control is easy to lose."

Lux shot him a look. "I know. I mean, I willingly put myself in confined spaces with humans every day as a baby vampire, so I'm well aware of that slippery slope. But it's been working for me, and I'm proud of myself."

"I wish I had your confidence," Stefan smiled.

"If I ever start to develop an eating problem, I'll go on the bunny diet. Good?" she held out her pinky.

Stefan laughed a little before taking it. "Good."

✧

SINCE THE DEATH of Delilah Morgan, the only family member Lux has known has been her Uncle Timothy. Her grandma died when Timothy was in college, after which her granddad and Timothy had a falling out, leading to his disownment. Lux suspected the disownment came after Delilah got impregnated and Timothy supported her, but her uncle never said as much. He didn't speak much of Grandpa Lewis and she learned not to ask.

They hadn't heard anything regarding his death, so she assumed he was still kicking, just not in Mystic Falls since his retirement.

But little Lux adored her Uncle Timothy. Her knight in shining armor, who raised her and loved her. Last year they always dedicated one night a month to have a movie night. No interruptions from his work or her friends; just them, little Lux and knight Timothy. In the summer-not-mentioned, that ended.

Lux was so over wallowing though. Yes, she lost her humanity, was now a creature of the night that could still walk during the day, but damnit – she was going to make the most of it! As far as the world knew, Lux Morgan was human and in high school, so she was going to act like it! And that meant movie nights were still on.

"Not Mission Impossible, please," Lux groaned, "You're, like, obsessed with that movie."

"It's a spy movie – what's cooler than that?" Timothy defended himself, "And it's my time to choose, so hush. I don't want your opinions."

Lux shook her head, winding through the kitchen with her bowl of popcorn to the couch. They had seen the movie plenty of times – it's culture, Timothy explained when she was young – it didn't matter to her. What mattered was spending time with him.

"I've missed this," Timothy sighed, sitting back down after a bathroom break midway through the movie. Lux eyed him, heart breaking. It was all her fault there was a divide in the first place.

Well, it wasn't her fault she was turned into a vampire, and she didn't exactly blame herself for that summer long pity party. She needed that; being able to mourn who she could have been before being able to grow into who she was now.

And she wasn't exactly okay with being a vampire. She still missed being able to enter people's houses without first being invited in, and definitely missed not having any bloodlust. But she was settling. It had been a few months, she finally stopped killing people to sate her hunger, and life was good. She wasn't alone; there was Stefan, and, worse, Damon, but they were vampires and they understood.

Besides, she hadn't lost everything. Still had her friends, her uncle, and the high school life.

But there was a divide. She drew away from Timothy, and while she bridged the gap between all her friends, there was still a ravine between herself and him. Still, to mending bridges.

"So have I," she said in a low voice. His eyes flickered over to her, a ghost of a smile gracing his lips, before reaching over and placing an arm around her to bring her into a hug.

"I love you, kiddo," he whispered into her ear, "No matter what. And you can always talk to me."

Emotion clogged her throat. God, she hated the heightened emotions of vampirism. Human Lux wouldn't have been so affected by those words, and now here she was – Vampire Lux – about to cry.

Oh, how she wanted to tell him. Tell anyone. Vampirism was this big dark secret she had to hide from everyone, and it was draining. Always keeping a part of herself tucked away from eyesight, always playing the part of something she's not, and never truly free to be herself.

Except with Stefan.

She was free with Damon, but Damon wasn't a part of her life anymore. He didn't deserve to be. Stefan, though, Stefan was growing on her. He helped her learn more about being a vampire, answered any questions, and took up the teacher role from Damon. It was nice – he was nice.

"I love you, too."

The last part of his statement remained unanswered. She couldn't tell Timothy, in the same way she couldn't tell anyone. Although Lux didn't kill anymore, she still had. Lux, the teenage girl who hadn't murdered anyone, was gone.

Lux Morgan was a killer. And it terrified her that there could come a day when someone she loved looked at her like a monster.

Loud knocks on the front door rang through the house. She frowned, but stood up before Timothy had the chance. "I'll get it," she muttered, looking through the side window, frown deepened.

She opened the door and walked out to the porch, closing it behind her. "Stefan?" she asked, crossing her arms.

It wasn't unusual for him to show up. She had begrudgingly become used to a Salvatore brother waiting for her on the front porch. It was too common. Yet, it was the look in his eyes that made her falter. He looked uneasy, frightened – regretful, maybe?

"Elena knows."

Two words. It only too words.

"What?"

She looked around, eyes going wide. Her head whipped around, looking around for anyone who might be staring. Then, she laughed.

"What do you mean Elena knows? Elena knows what?" she demanded in a low voice.

Stefan opened his mouth then closed it. The words wouldn't come out, but he forced them to. "She confronted me. She knows I'm a vampire."

"How does she know?"

"I'm not sure. She showed up at my house and demanded an explanation. I – I had to tell her the truth, and I'm going to explain everything to her."

Lux stared at him. Face blank, she looked away, sitting down on one of the chairs. Stefan stood, watching her before joining.

"Did you tell her about me?" she turned towards him, half wanting to stake him and half wanting to just go back inside and pretend that Elena didn't know.

"No."

She let out a breath. "Is she okay?"

"She doesn't trust me. Told me to stay away from her," Stefan answered. Elena didn't take the news well, confirming her fears; she could never tell Elena, nor anyone else.

Yes, she couldn't compare herself to Stefan. Stefan was her boyfriend, but he was new. She had been Elena's friends since they were in diapers. Maybe she didn't trust Stefan, but that didn't mean it had to apply to her. Maybe she could be the exception to the rule! But one look at Stefan said differently.

"You said you're going to explain it to her."

"I'm trying to get her to talk to me. I just – I need her to talk to me," he stressed. The entire situation landed him in a panic, him expressing it more outwardly than her.

Lux brought her hands to her face, smushing them into each other. "I wanted her to know, but I was never going to tell her," she confessed, "I just wanted to tell my friends."

"Being a vampire can be lonely."

"Yeah, I'm learning that," Lux let out a chuckle, "If Elena hears you out, everything will be fine. I know it will. It has to be fine."

"I won't tell her about you. I promise."

Lux sucked in a breath. "Thanks."

She stood up, going back to the door, glancing back at Stefan. "You should go. I hope everything works out with Elena."

Walking through the door, she joined Uncle Timothy on the couch. He turned the movie back on, and she collapsed on the couch. Elena knew – Elena knew Stefan was a vampire, knew vampires existed, but Elena didn't know about her.

A part of Lux jumped at the opportunity to talk to her. This was what she wanted; a friend to know about vampires so she could talk to them. If she told Elena, she wouldn't have to hide who she was. But, on the other hand, Elena told Stefan to stay away, which was a clear sign that she didn't take the news well.

And if Lux confessed, she might lose Elena. Maybe even all her friends. She couldn't risk that. It was too lonely being a vampire, she couldn't stand it if she didn't at least have friends to pretend with.

✧

LUX WATCHED THE cheerleaders stretch. She didn't miss being on the squad, but she did miss the companionship of a team. Being apart of a larger group, feeling like she was in a family – it was nice. She stood with Bonnie a little further away from the group that Caroline was commanding. It was good to see Caroline adjusting back after what Damon did to her. God, she couldn't imagine being used a human blood bag for so long.

Okay, yes, she did drink people's blood, and did compel them to give it willingly – but she only went for victims once, no repeat customers. And she only compelled them to be quiet, not feel pain, then forget. Overall, she thought herself to be kind.

"I don't miss being under Caroline's command," Lux laughed, a carefree smile on her free.

"Tell me about it," Bonnie groaned, "My arms hurt so much from holding up Dana yesterday. It's overkill."

"You guys did look good at the football game last week."

"Thanks. At least our effort counts for something," Bonnie smiled before it turned to a yawn.

"Tired?" Lux raised an eyebrow.

She still felt tired, even as a vampire. Unlike what Twilight proclaimed about vampires, she did in fact still sleep. It wasn't strictly necessary – she didn't need sleep to live, but without it her mind wasn't as sharp and Stefan told her that compulsion wouldn't be as effective. Besides, what the hell would she even do with that extra time?

The idea of forever was still too much to digest – all the possibilities, the places to go, the languages to learn, hobbies to take up, she didn't need the extra time not sleeping would give her. And, well, she always loved sleeping before.

"Haven't been sleeping well the past few days," Bonnie nodded, "And Grams has been keeping me busy."

"With that?"

Bonnie hesitated, eyes flickering around before leaning in, "Do you believe in witches?"

Her slow beating heart skipped a beat.

"Is this about you being psychic again?" she teasingly asked, though her mind raced. She watched Bonnie set a fire not too long ago. Stefan said witches existed and Bennetts were powerful ones.

"Yes," Bonnie looked down, as if embarrassed, and guilt swarmed into her gut, "I just – either I'm going crazy, or I have magic. You saw me the other day, I set that car on fire. And it's not the first time – I've lighted candles, and sometimes when I touch people, I get these visions. I mean, I predicted Coach Tanner's death."

"Bonnie –"

"No, Lux, I can't ignore this. Grams says we're witches, and – and I think she's right, because the alternative is that I need to be locked in a mental asylum."

Looking at her distressed friend, Lux sighed. "I believe you," she confirmed, watching the relief wash over Bonnie. It was her only comfort. Bonnie the Teenage Witch, and Lux the Vampire. What a pair they made.

"Bonnie!" Caroline called, waving for their friend.

The Bennett girl looked back at her. "Gotta go."

"Have a good practice," Lux smiled back.

She watched for a few minutes as Caroline commanded the squad. Going through cheers, then practicing hoisting people in the air, but her attention wavered. Elena had agreed to meet Stefan at the Grill after school, and her nerves were shot.

Eventually, she stood up. There was no point staying for the whole practice. It was better to go home and get some homework done, if anything. She walked back over to the parking lot, stopping when she saw Matt outside his car.

"Hey, shouldn't you be at football practice?" she walked over.

"Tyler knocked my head. Coach thinks I shouldn't play anymore today in case I have a concussion," Matt shook his head.

"So, instead of going to get a checkup, you're going home?" Lux raised an eyebrow.

Matt waved off the concern. "I'll sleep it off. You haven't see Vicki, have you?"

Lux frowned. "No, sorry."

"She didn't come home last night, and she wasn't at school today. I mean, it's probably nothing, she's skipped before, but you know," Matt shook his head, "I'm probably overthinking things."

"No, you're just concerned. I mean, you are her brother, you have the right to be concerned," Lux told him, "But you're right. She's probably just hungover and she'll be home when you get there."

"Thanks, Lux."

"No problem."

Matt shuffled awkwardly, turning to leave before looking back. "Look, uh, I've been meaning to ask if you'd like to go to dinner sometime?"

Lux blinked, eyebrows raising in surprise. "Like, on a date?"

Matt's cheeks flushed, "Yeah. I mean, you're the one who said I should move on from Elena."

"So you wanna move on to me?"

"I just wanna see if it could lead to anywhere. I mean, I kinda thought I'd date you before Elena asked me out," he admitted.

"Oh."

She didn't know that. It had always been Matt and Elena, she never considered there being a possibility of anything else. She remembered Elena coming over to them after asking Matt out, the largest smile on her face, squealing that she finally did it and he said yes. She never stopped to think about Matt in a romantic light.

But, now she did. Looking at him, she knew as a boyfriend that he was sweet and considerate, perfect for the girl looking to get married and have children with, a white picket fence in a small town. That wasn't her dream, but Matt was nice, and she hadn't been on a date in a while.

"Yeah, I'd love to go on a date with you," Lux smiled. Technically, she was breaking girl code, but Elena was with Stefan now, no matter how rocky that was right now, and she didn't seem intent on ever getting back with him. Of course she'd never date Matt if Elena told her no, though.

He smiled, and she couldn't help but share that excitement. Everything was coming up Lux.

✧

BUT WHAT GOES up, most come down. One frantic phone call from Stefan and now she was hunting Vicki Donavan because, for whatever reason, Damon thought she'd make a good vampire. She really wanted to stake that man.

"You didn't tell me Damon escaped," she hissed.

"I had other things on my mind, and that I thought I could handle it," Stefan defended himself.

"Clearly, you couldn't. I could've been helping you, and then maybe this wouldn't have happened."

Stefan shot her a glare, she only returned it. Damn Stefan for thinking he could handle Damon, because now Vicki Donavan was becoming a creature of the night, and that wasn't a fate she would wish on anyone. Not even her worst anymore. Although, her worst enemy was Damon, and he was already a vampire, so...

They found the newly turned girl in the cemetery. Stefan stepped forward, calling her name. "Vicki."

She had known Vicki for so long, seen so many versions of her. She saw the young Vicki who wanted to be Miss Mystic Falls, the Vicki who cheered Matt on at his football games, and the Vicki who got caught up in drugs, working at the Grill and dating Tyler, though he would never admit to it to save his own face against his parents.

But she had never known this Vicki; the crying girl who looked so young and helpless. "I'm starting to remember things, what he is, what he said. I remember you. The hospital, the...the rooftop, it's all coming back."

"I'm so sorry. Damon had no right to do this to you."

She agreed. Damon didn't have the right to ruin Vicki's life because he was bored or bitter. Vicki didn't know what awaited her; the bloodlust, the loneliness, the separation between herself and the rest of the world.

"He said that I need to feed. What will happen if I don't?"

Stefan swallowed. "You'll fade quickly...and then it'll all just be over."

"I'll be dead," Vicki concluded before shaking her head, "I don't want this."

"I know. It'll be okay. You're gonna be okay, I can help you," Stefan promised. He said all the things Lux wished she heard when she first awoke, clawing at her throat with hunger, going mad until that maid had come in and the thirst was just too much.

"Is it better? Is it better? Will I be better? I wanna go home. Will you take me home?"

"Okay, we'll take you home, and everything's going to be alright," Lux spoke, "We're going to help you, and you're going to be just fine."

Stefan reached out his hand to Vicki, who started to take it before there was a gunshot. Lux let out a scream, watching Stefan fall to the ground with a bullet in his chest. Looking to where it came from, she saw a man walk towards them. Gun and stake in hand.

"No!" she screamed, racing over to the man and forcing him against a tree. She twisted the arm holding the stake, breaking it then forcing the wooden object out of his hand. Another shot. She screamed out his pain when the bullet punctured her stomach.

Backing away, the man raised his gun again, aiming for her heart when Damon sped towards him, biting the man's neck before throwing him to the ground. Damon rushed to Stefan while Lux grabbed at her stomach, reaching inside to take the bullet out, covering her hands in blood.

"It's wood," Damon said as Lux stared at the bullet in her hand. "They know. If anyone's gonna kill you, it's gonna be me. My ring."

Lux looked over to the brothers before glancing to Vicki. "No! Vicki!" Stefan managed. Her face was covered in blood – oh God, Vicki Donavan was a vampire.

"I'm sorry," Vicki stood up, running off. Lux tried to follow, but with her stomach still healing from the bullet, she wasn't fast enough. She went back to the Salvatores.

Speeding to Damon, she shoved him to the ground. "How dare you? You abused Caroline, you manipulated me, and now you turned Vicki?" she pummeled fists into him, breaking his nose. "You're a monster."

He flipped them over, stabbing his hand into her chest, holding her heart in his hands. His eyes gleamed and he smirked. "Takes one to know one, sweetheart."

Her hand shot around his neck, bringing the other one from behind, snapping his neck. Damon fell on top of her, and she dislodged his hand from her chest before shoving him off her.

Stefan stood up in that time, offering Lux a hand, which she took. "I have to get back to Elena, will you take his body back to the house?"

Lux stared at the man who manipulated her. She wanted to ripe his heart out, but looking into Stefan's pleading eyes, she relented. "I'll handle him."

"Thank you."

She watched him run away before turning back to Damon, lugging his body across her shoulder, and running to the Salvatore house. Laying him on the couch, she sat on the opposite chair with her arms crossed. She was not letting Damon wake up without either her or Stefan present, she didn't trust what he would do.

Thirty minutes after she had made herself comfortable, Stefan walked through the doors. He took a look around at the situation before sitting next to Lux. "Elena agreed not to tell anyone that I'm a vampire."

"That's good."

"She broke up with me."

"...not so good," Lux corrected herself, "How are you?"

Stefan shook his head. "She can't trust me. I'm a vampire, that's enough."

Lux looked away from him and back to Damon. All three were vampires, but the way Stefan said it, it was synonymous with monster. Ungodly beings who deserve to be hunted because they were dangerous. And she agreed in some cases; Damon was a monster, she had her moments, and was sure Stefan did too.

But Stefan didn't even feed on humans anymore, and she was still blending in with humanity and refused to compel people for simple things or kill them. Damon called her a monster, and some days she felt like that, but right now – staring at the man, knowing what he had done, she didn't feel like she was monstrous at all.

"I don't think she understands what being a vampire means. I'll talk to her, she knows me."

"Lux."

"I know what I'm risking, Stefan," she cut him off, "I know that there's a possibility I'll be losing a friend, and that it's dangerous to tell people, but she's my friend, and she already knows they exist. I have to tell her – for her sake and mine."

Stefan hesitated before nodding, and Lux took that as her cue to leave. "I'll see you at school."

It still felt odd to combine the mundane with the supernatural, talking about vampirism then adding teenage nonsense into it, but it was a combination she was struggling to balance. And it was hers; she was the odd one out, not being human yet pretending to be anyway.

Leaving the Salvatore house, she ran to Elena's. Knocking at the door, Jenna let her in, so she went upstairs.

"Lux," Elena's eyes widened in surprise to see her there, "Um, now's not really a good time."

"I know, but can we talk anyway? It's important."

Elena hesitated but let her into her bedroom. She sat down on Elena's bed, for the first time feeling uncomfortable in her friend's bedroom. Elena sat, too. She hesitated before looking at her friend.

"I just had to let you know, because you know about Stefan, that I'm a vampire," it felt weird confessing it. Elena was the first person she willingly told. Damon found her, and she exposed herself, but Elena was the first person she sat down to tell.

Elena's eyes widened. "What?"

"I got turned at the beginning of summer, when I went to New York with Uncle Tim. That's why I wasn't around last summer, I was just trying to get used to everything," she continued, "And, I know that you might be scared, and you might not be able to trust me, but – I am never going to hurt you or any of our friends. I have control over my bloodlust. I'm still Lux...I'm also a vampire, but I haven't changed. So don't be scared."

No matter what, she had to take this risk; she could only keep herself hidden for so long. And it was nice to have one of her friends know, even if it changed things forever.

author's note
so this chapter was longer than i anticipated seeing as only one scene was actually from the show and everything else came out of my ass. tbh, i love lux, and i loved this chapter as a whole. timothy owns my heart even though he hasn't really been apart of the book much, and her interactions with stefan were so good to be.

and yes, i am having lux go on a date with matt because she's a teenage girl. in like every fic i write, i only have my oc date their love interest and no one else, so i kinda want to try something new and have lux date matt. obviously they aren't going to last, but i think it will be fun to explore, especially considering what's happening to vicki and how much lux knows about it. oops

i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!!