❝forget me❞
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

THE ACHE IN ELENA'S NECK IS THE FIRST THING SHE REGISTERS WHEN SHE WAKES. Immediately after that, it's the sensation that she's being moved, carried in someone's arms somewhat carelessly.

Then she remembers what had happened. The mess of the masquerade ball, nearly dying because of Katherine, breaking her own heart along with Stefan's, and then– then Charlotte being hurt. That's the last thing she remembers.

Elena's eyes flutter open and she gasps sharply at the face of the strange man above her. When she twitches in his arms, she can feel restraints around her wrists and ankles and her heart races in fear.

He moves her abruptly, setting her down on a couch that smells like mildew, but with a quick glance past him she thinks it might just be the whole house.

"Where's my sister? Where's Charlotte?"

"Sh,"

Elena struggles against the bindings on her wrists and she turns her head, finding her sister lying on the couch beside her, still unconscious with a wound on her forehead that's dripped blood into her hair. "Charlotte,"

She snaps her head towards the man again, brown eyes going with with desperation. "Please, she's hurt,"

The man hums, lowering his face towards Elena's before his gaze deepens with hunger as it shifts to Charlotte's wound. "I know. Just a taste,"

"No, don't–!" Elena throws herself across Charlotte's lap, struggling as she shields her from the vampire.

"Trevor!" A sharp, feminine voice comes from behind Elena and she twists her neck around, watching as a stern-faced woman comes around the side of the couch, giving the man, Trevor, a warning look that has him backing away from them.

"Buzzkill."

Trevor turns and leaves, shooting one last threatening look at Elena before he's gone.

Elena turns her attention to the woman who she rightly assumes is another vampire, watching as she closes threadbare curtains around the windows in the room. "What do you want?"

"I want you to be quiet," The woman snaps, looking over her shoulder at Elena. "Like your sister."

She rushes over to Elena and she can't fight against the sudden attack, helpless as she's rendered unconscious once more.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Charlotte wakes to the sound of a man and a woman talking, neither voice recognizable in her ears.

She shifts, wincing at the dull throb on her forehead. She flinches when she lifts her fingers to press at the wound, feeling the tension of the knot forming beneath her skin.

When her eyes open, she can tell that it's daylight, but the sunlight has been dimmed wherever she is. It's dusty and smells like an old library in the room, and the grand staircase in front of them looks like it's seen better days.

"Charlie?" Elena's weak voice startles her and she sits up quickly, grimacing at the wave of nausea that washes over her.

"Elena," She breathes out her sister's name, shaking hands hovering over her form beside her on the couch. "Are you okay? Are you bleeding?"

"No," Elena shakes her head, holding her hands up for Charlotte to undo the rope on.

Charlotte looks around, scanning for anyone, and Elena seems to catch onto it. "It's vampires," She tells her older sister, unprompted. "A guy named Trevor. I didn't get the girl's name,"

Charlotte clenches her jaw as she pulls off Elena's ankle bindings, setting the rope on the couch behind her. "Did they say why they took us?"

Elena shakes her head. "No. But the girl, she wouldn't let the guy touch us."

"So only one of our kidnappers has morals, then? Great," Charlotte bites out wryly, earning a small, sad smile from her sister.

She slips off her heels from the night before, flexing her toes uncomfortably as she stands and offers a hand to her sister.

"What are you doing?" Elena takes her hand, letting her pull her up.

"We're getting out of here," Charlotte intertwines their fingers together, pulling Elena with her up the stairs and down the main hallway where the sound of voices grows stronger.

Charlotte hears the woman's wary voice ask the other vampire a question. "How's the other girl?"

"Still passed out," Trevor replies, likely talking about Charlotte.

"You didn't touch her, did you?"

"Give me some credit," Trevor scoffs audibly. "So, you called him?"

"No, I called one of his contacts. You know how this works."

"Did you or did you not get the message to Elijah?"

Charlotte's brows furrow as they grow closer to the vampires, and she glances at Elena, seeing a matching look of confused curiosity on her face.

"They say he got it,"

"Wonderful. And what?"

The vampire's hands slap on her thighs impatiently. "So, that's it, Trevor. He either got it or he didn't. We just have to wait."

The man sighs. "Look, it's not too late. We can leave it here. We don't have to go through with this,"

"I'm sick of running!" Emotion clogs the woman's voice, and Charlotte can hear the desperation in it.

"Yeah? Well, running keeps us from dying."

"Elijah's old school. If he accepts our deal, we're free,"

Charlotte stops abruptly outside of the room the two are in, and Elena stumbles on a loose floorboard behind her, making it creak. It immediately catches the vampires' attention, and Charlotte quickly backs up, shielding Elena behind her.

"You!" The woman steps forward, pointing an accusing finger at the both of them. "There's nothing around here for miles. If you think you're getting out of this house, you're tragically wrong. Understand?"

Elena looks past Charlotte, narrowing her eyes at the woman's feigned bravado. "Who's Elijah?"

Fear flashes in the woman's eyes. "He's your worst nightmare."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Damon's hands clench around the steering wheel of his car as they fly down the countryside road, trees and pastures a blur in the windows.

Stefan sorts through a duffel bag full of weapons provided by Alaric, and it catches Damon's eye from the driver's seat. "He sure likes his weapons,"

Stefan shakes a small bottle of vervain in his hands, eyeing the odd shape of it.

"What the hell is that?"

"I don't know, it's a vervain bomb or a grenade launcher or something like that. Cory and Alaric said it'd be a good diversion."

Damon shrugs, lips twisting. "Weird."

"Hey, how much further is it?"

"About 80 miles,"

Stefan nods, falling quiet for a split second before he speaks again. "Who do you think took them?"

Damon's hands tighten around the wheel again. "Someone from Katherine's past. She said she was running from someone," He shakes his head, poorly feigning the nonchalance he certainly doesn't feel. "Guess they thought they had better odds taking both of them."

He didn't say it, and neither did Stefan, thankfully, but they both knew that Charlotte was far more likely to get mistaken for Katherine than Elena. Even a detail as nondescript as their hair set them apart, and made them entirely different levels of targets to stuff like this.

Damon knew that– had known that, to a degree, since the first time he saw her. But he'd had the unfortunate luxury of not having to face that frightening reality until now. Until Stefan had called him this morning and told him that Charlotte and Elena were missing.

"Thank you for helping me,"

Damon rolls his eyes, grimacing. "Can we not do the whole road trip bonding thing? The cliche of it all makes me itch."

Stefan scoffs out a laugh. "Oh, come on, Damon. We both know that you being in this car has absolutely nothing to do with me anyway,"

"Stefan, don't."

"No, Damon, let's talk about it."

"There's nothing to talk about,"

"That's not true," Stefan turns towards him, shaking a finger. "Just get it out. I mean, are you in this car because you want to help your little brother save the girl that he loves? Or is it because you love her sister? Hm? I mean, come on, express yourself. I happen to like road trip bonding."

Damon shakes his head, trying to shake off the stomach-dropping feeling Stefan's words inflict on him. "Keep it up, Stefan. I can step out of helping as easily as I stepped in, and you need my help. Elena needs my help. We both know Charlotte can help herself."

"No, see," Stefan shakes his head, turning back to face the road in the passenger seat. "You can't. You love Charlotte too much to let anything bad happen to Elena, even if it was to spite me."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

With the understanding that they couldn't run if they wanted to, Charlotte and Elena are left to roam the house freely.

Charlotte lets Elena lead her around curiously, uninterested in getting to see the old house in this context. She'd probably be much more interested if she wasn't a kidnapping victim, but she can't say that archaeological feats are any good at distracting her from that glaring fact.

Elena eventually pulls them into a room where the woman, Rose, they'd learned, was standing near a beam of sunlight peaking in through a window.

"Why are we here?" Elena wastes no time questioning her, making the vampire turn to face her with a displeased look.

"You keep asking me these questions like I'm gonna answer them,"

"Don't talk to her like that," Charlotte snaps, her words making Rose laugh lightly.

"You're worried about respect at a time like this?"

Charlotte clenches her jaw, glaring at the woman. "You kidnapped me and my sister and I haven't killed you for it, so I think you can speak to her with a little bit of respect, actually, yes."

Amusement flashes in the vampire's eyes. "If you weren't so painfully human..."

"What?"

"Nothing," Rose shakes her head, keeping the other half of her observation to herself.

"What do you want with us?" Elena quickly brings the subject back around to the issue at hand, grabbing Rose's attention from her sister.

Rose shrugs, holding her hands up innocently. "I personally want nothing. I'm just a delivery service,"

"Delivery to who? Elijah?"

Rose hums, pointing a finger at Elena. "Two points to the eavesdropper,"

"Who is he?" Charlotte asks, narrowing her eyes at the recurring name of this Elijah guy. "Is he a vampire?"

"He's one of the vampires. The Originals."

Elena and Charlotte sport matching looks of confusion.

"What do you mean, the Originals?"

"Again with the questions," Rose sighs. "Haven't the Salvatores been teaching you your vampire history?"

Charlotte's hand squeezes where it's wrapped up in Elena's, and she feels her twin tense beside her. "You know Stefan and Damon?"

"I know of them. A hundred years back, a friend of mine one tried to set me up with Stefan. She said he was one of the good ones. I'm more of a sucker for the bad boys, though, but I digress,"

Charlotte presses her arm against Elena's, clenching her jaw at the woman's words.

"Who are the Originals?"

Wistfulness and fear crosses over Rose's face. "Trevor and I have been running for 500 years. We're tired, we want it over. We're using you to negotiate ourselves out of an old mess."

"But why us?"

"Because you're Petrova doppelgängers. You're the key to breaking the curse."

"The Curse of the Sun and Moon?" Charlotte asks incredulously, earning a pleased look from Rose.

"So you do know your history,"

"What do you mean we're the key? The moonstone is what breaks the curse," Charlotte steps forward, dropping Elena's hand as her mind reels with the newly revealed information.

"No, the moonstone is what binds the curse. The sacrifice is what breaks it."

"Sacrifice?" Elena asks weakly from behind her.

"The blood of the doppelgänger. You're both a doppelgänger, unfortunately, which means in order to break the curse, one of you has to die."

Elena's quiet gasp drowns in Charlotte's ears and she turns her head to look at her sister, finding a look on her face that perfectly displays the harrowing feeling in Charlotte's mind right now.

Elena collects herself faster than Charlotte, though, stepping back up to her side to look at Rose. "Tell me more,"

"Captivity has made her pushy, hm? What do you want to know, doppelicious?"

The three turn to look at Trevor as he walks into the room with a smirk on his face like Charlotte and Elena haven't just had their worlds shattered with mere words.

"Who were you running from?"

"The Originals,"

"Yeah, she said that," Elena gestures to Rose dismissively. "What does that mean?"

"The first family, the old world. Rose and I pissed them off,"

Rose makes a noise of discontent, shaking her head.

"Correction," Trevor holds up his hands. "I pissed them off. Rose had my back, and for over half a millennium, they wanted us dead."

Charlotte swallows roughly around the lump in her throat. "What did you do?"

"He made the same mistake countless others did," Rose said gravely, with a hint of mockery in her tone. "He trusted Katerina Petrova."

"Katherine," The twins breathe in unison.

"The one and only, the first Petrova doppelgänger."

Trevor shrugs like, what can you do. "I helped her escape her fate and now I've– sorry– we've been marked ever since."

"Which is why we're not gonna make the same mistake again."

Charlotte sees the polarizing fear in her sister's eyes and she quickly takes her hand, pulling her from the room before the vampires can say anything else.

She leads them back down to the room they'd woken up in and makes her sit on the couch before she follows suit and drops to the old cushion like her strings have been cut.

"Charlie," Elena says her name quietly, sounding like she used to when she had a nightmare and didn't want to wake their parents up so she'd creep into Charlotte's room and ask to sleep with her.

Charlotte lays her hand on top of her sister's, squeezing it gently without looking at her, not willing to let her sister see the tears in her eyes. "I know."

Elena lets out a long, weary sigh and shifts on the couch, and a crinkling noise captures both girls' attention.

Elena moves the old pillow tucked in the corner, her face twisted in confusion as she pulls out the folded piece of paper that was stuck beneath it.

She holds it between them, unfolding it to reveal the note.

Stefan and Damon are coming for you. – B

Elena lets out a sigh of relief and Charlotte's eyes flutter shut, unable to feel the relief her sister does through the tsunami of grief pooling inside of her. She feels like the tide is still pulling back, getting bigger and bigger, set to create disaster as soon as it lets go.

She isn't sure how much longer it's going to take for that tide to come crashing in and destroy everything. She knows she can't stop it.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"We're getting close. Jeremy said there's an access road just past mile marker six,"

Damon nods, reaching into the backseat to grab a blood bag from his hastily packed bag. He tears the top off of it and starts drinking it, not even relishing in the taste like he usually does because he's only feeding so he can rip the heart out of whoever took Charlotte.

Feeling Stefan's gaze on him, he pulls the blood bag from his mouth, shaking it tauntingly. "If you want some, just ask."

"I want some,"

"Ah, that's so sweet," Damon smirks wryly. "You're gonna be all big and strong and save your girl, but don't worry. I've got your back. It'll be fine."

"I'm not joking," Stefan says simply, making Damon's smirk fall. "I've been drinking a little every day. I'm slowly increasing my intake and building up my strength."

Damon slowly hands him the blood bag, watching him curiously as he drinks. "Does Elena know you're drinking blood?"

Stefan hands the bag back to his brother without finishing it, showcasing his newfound restraint. "I've been drinking hers."

Damon's jaw clenches. "How romantic. Since we're road trip bonding, remember the days when all you lived for was blood? You were the guy who ripped someone apart just for the fun of it."

"You mean when I was more like you?"

He hums lightly, smiling coldly at his brother. "Yes, Stefan, exactly. Back when you put blood into me so I could be a big, bad vampire. I wonder if Elena would be so quick to open her veins to that guy– the guy who almost killed her twin sister. By the way, what happened to that guy? He was a hoot."

Stefan looks at Damon, unaffected by his harsh words as he shakes his head and looks back out the windshield. "I guess he found something else to live for."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"He's here!" Trevor's panicked voice echoes in the empty old house as he rushes into the room where Elena and Charlotte are sitting, Rose lazily leaning against the wall nearby. "This was a mistake,"

Rose stands upright, clasping Trevor's shaking hands in hers. "No, I told you I would get us out of this. You have to trust me."

"No, he wants me dead, Rose!"

"He wants them more," Rose says, her eyes skimming towards the twins.

"I can't do this. You give her to him, he'll have mercy on you, but I need to get out of here,"

He tries to take his hands back, but Rose just holds on tighter, pulling at him to get his frantic gaze back on her. "Hey! What are we?"

Trevor softens, letting out a long breath as he collects himself. "We're family, forever."

A knock on the door echoes through the house and the twins watch the two vampires flinch despite their little pep talk.

"You're scared," Elena says, watching them.

"Stay here with them and don't make a sound," Rose gestures to the twins as she gives Trevor the order before she quickly hurries up the stairs to answer the door.

Charlotte turns towards her sister, roaming her eyes over her unharmed state. The dull headache she'd woken up with has slowly worked its way up to a pounding migraine and every blink makes her pulse throb behind her eyes, but she ignores it in favor of her adrenaline.

"Whatever happens, don't look at him, okay? Don't even talk to him," Charlotte tells her sister firmly, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "We're not going to say a word to him, understand? It's the best chance we have at surviving."

Elena nods quietly, pursing her lips together like she's reminding herself to be quiet.

They startle when footsteps grow closer, stopping a few feet away at the top of the stairs, and Charlotte's hands clench around Elena's arms as she takes a deep breath.

She turns around slowly, lifting her gaze up to meet the stranger's at the front of the landing. She takes him in, the tailored suit he's wearing and the careful style of his hair that seems to pair with the sharp cut of his jaw. He radiates power, even in his silence. But with the short distance between them, Charlotte can see the shock on the man's face as clear as day.

His eyes shift from her to Elena, and she shifts further in front of her sister, making his attention return to her.

She blinks and he's standing before her, the stiff air in the room disrupted by his movements. Charlotte bites her tongue to stop from flinching at the distance he's minimized, lifting her chin as he takes a step closer to her, eyes roaming over her face, lingering on the cut on her forehead that's scabbing over.

He lowers his head as he raises his hand and Charlotte remains steady, refusing to show an ounce of fear to him.

His hand wraps around her hair, shockingly gentle as he lifts it away from her, and she can hear Elena inhale sharply behind her as he lowers his face towards her neck, taking in her scent and the way her pulse is likely rabbiting in his ears.

"Human," He breathes out on his exhale, pulling his head back to meet Charlotte's eyes again. "It's impossible."

She feels the hand in her hair loosen as he drags it away, his fingers catching on her jaw as he goes, unblinking as he takes her in. She can see the shadow of a smirk on his lips as he processes the truth standing before him.

"Hello, there,"

Charlotte narrows her eyes slightly and he latches onto the minute reaction, shaking his head once before he turns away from her.

"We have a long journey ahead of us. We should be going."

"Please, don't let him take us," Elena breaks her silence with the plea and Charlotte jerks a hand back, grabbing her sister's wrist as Elijah's attention goes to her.

Elijah looks at the display of protectiveness and shakes his head again, this time to himself, as he fully turns away from the doppelgängers.

"One last piece of business and we're done," Elijah says as he walks towards Trevor.

"I've waited so long for this day, Elijah," Trevor says, desperation and relief lacing his voice. "I'm truly, very sorry."

"Oh, no, your apology's not necessary,"

Trevor shakes his head furiously at the Original's words. "Yes, yes it is. You trusted me with Katerina and I failed you."

Elijah tilts his head. "Oh, yes, you are the guilty one, and Rose aided you because she was loyal to you and that, I honor. Where was your loyalty?"

"I beg your forgiveness,"

"So granted."

Charlotte flinches as Elijah's hand comes up and he smacks Trevor's head off of his shoulders like he was batting away a fly.

Elena makes a strangled noise of shock from behind her and Charlotte's eyes squeeze shut when a spattering of blood hits her cheek and she turns away as Rose lets out a grief-filled yell.

"You!"

"Don't, Rose," Elijah warns, carefully stepping away from Trevor's separated body. "Now that you are free."

He turns to look at the twins again, and upon seeing the blood on Charlotte's face he takes out the carefully folded cloth in his suit pocket and offers it to her.

She looks at it for a long time, waiting for him to take it back, but he doesn't. Swallowing, she takes it from his hand and wipes the offending substance off of her face, staining the pristine fabric.

"Thank you," She says quietly, clenching her jaw at the satisfied nod he gives her.

"Come," He gestures to both of them and Charlotte tenses.

"No," Elena says, stepping up beside Charlotte. "What about the moonstone?"

Elijah's eyes narrow at her words and Charlotte shoots her a glare.

"Elena,"

"What do you know about the moonstone?"

"We don't know anything, she doesn't know what she's talking about,"

Elena ignores her sister's attempt at saving the situation. "I know that you need it and I know where it is."

"Yes?" Elijah steps forward, urging her on.

"I can help you get it,"

"Tell me where it is,"

Elena shakes her head stubbornly. "It doesn't work that way,"

The man's eyes narrow. "Are you negotiating with me?"

His eyes drift to where a tear-streaked Rose stands near Trevor's body. "It's the first I've heard of it."

He looks down at Elena, eyes locking onto hers in an unsuccessful attempt at compelling her. His gaze falls further, then, to the necklace sitting on her chest. Something dark flashes in his eyes and he lifts the chain with a finger. "What's this vervain doing around your neck?"

He yanks the necklace off of her and throws it across the room, sending it clattering to a far corner as he grabs her head roughly, so unlike how he'd touched Charlotte, and compels her.

Charlotte moves to step forward, but he shoots her a warning look that has her stopping and watching helplessly.

"Tell me where the moonstone is,"

"In the tomb, underneath the church ruins."

"What is it doing there?"

"It's with Katherine,"

The Original vampire hums. "Interesting."

His interrogation is interrupted by the sound of glass breaking upstairs, and they all startle at the unexpected noise.

"What is that?"

"I don't know," Rose shakes her head, looking around.

"Who else is in this house?" Elijah demands, making Rose frantic.

"I don't know!"

Elijah moves quickly, grabbing Charlotte's wrist and not letting go of Elena as he takes them upstairs, Charlotte stumbling over her bare feet at the disorienting speed.

He pushes Elena off towards Rose, glaring at the vampire. "Rose,"

"I don't know who it is,"

"Up here,"

Charlotte and Elena look to each other at the sound of Stefan's voice echoing through the house.

Elijah drops his hold on her and rushes up the stairs, and the woosh of a stake cuts through the air, lodging itself in Elijah's hand. The vampire does little more than grunt as he looks down at it.

"Down here," Damon's echoing, mocking voice comes next, and Charlotte lets out a sharp, relieved breath.

Elijah pulls the stake from his hand and tosses it into his other one, looking down at where Elena, Rose, and Charlotte are no longer standing.

Tucked away in a corner, Stefan holds a hand up to silence the twins, earning nods from them as he prepares another weapon.

"Excuse me," Elijah's voice echoes through the house, danger laced in his words. "To whom it may concern, you are making a great mistake if you think that you can beat me. You can't. Do you hear that?"

The sound of something breaking follows his rhetorical question.

"I repeat, you cannot beat me. So I want the girls, and I'm going to count to three or heads will roll. Do we understand each other?"

Charlotte looks down at the vervain bomb in Stefan's hand and she quickly yanks it from his grip, pushing past him to reveal herself at the top of the stairs above Elijah.

"I'll come with you," She says, clenching her hand around the grenade hidden in it at the curiosity that shines in his eyes when he sees her. "Just leave my sister and our friends alone."

Elijah appears in front of her as fast as he had in the other room, and she tilts her head back to maintain their eye contact.

"What game are you playing with me?"

Charlotte rips the pin out of the vervain grenade and shoves it at Elijah, stepping back as it explodes in his face. He yells out as his skin burns, but the relief of a successful attack is gone quickly when she see how fast he's healing. He lunges for her and she jumps away from him, turning away as Stefan pops up and shoots another stake at Elijah.

It barely phases the Original and he ignores Stefan entirely, going again for Charlotte, but Stefan stops him, throwing the weapon down and tackling Elijah down the stairs in a heap.

Elijah recovers immediately, standing over Stefan on the floor as he goes for the stake nearby.

Before he can get at it, Damon appears before him, shoving the broken coat rack into his heart, pinning him against the wall of the house.

The familiar state of decay slowly overtakes Elijah and Charlotte presses a hand to her chest in an attempt to get it to stop racing.

Rose steps out from her hiding place and sees Elijah slumped over himself on the ground, unmoving, and she wastes no time in disappearing out the front door.

Damon turns to go after her, but Charlotte shakes her head, stopping him. "Just let her go,"

Damon turns his attention to her and she melts beneath the relief and worry shining in his bright blue eyes. She pays her sister no mind as she hurries down the stairs and flings herself into Damon's open arms, dropping her face into his neck and relishing in his comforting presence.

His big arms wrap around her entirely and he breathes her in just the same as she does him, holding her like she's something breakable. "Are you okay?"

She nods against him, squeezing him tighter.

He pulls his head back, looking down at the wound on her forehead. "You're bleeding,"

She lifts a hand to the head wound she'd momentarily forgotten about, wincing when she presses at the knot again, all of the pain from it rushing back in a second. "It's from when they took us. But it's fine for now, I promise. I just want to go home,"

Damon's eyes search her face for any sort of lie, but there's none to be found and he seems content to set her back on her feet as Stefan and Elena head for the door hand in hand.

Damon glances down at Charlotte's bare feet and wraps an arm around her waist, startling her as he hoists her up, tucking his other arm beneath her legs to hold her. "Come on, Cinderella. Let's get you home,"

She laughs, wrapping her arms around his neck and laying her head against him. "She only lost one shoe,"

"No, I'm pretty sure she lost both of them. Seems pretty stupid to fall in love with a girl who only lost one shoe,"

Charlotte laughs again, shaking her head against his chest as fondness seeps into her bones. "You're ridiculous, Damon,"

He hums and it vibrates against her. "Yeah, I know."

She shifts abruptly, smacking Damon's chest. "Hold on! I forgot something in there, I'll be like– two seconds,"

Damon sighs, setting her back on her feet and she rushes back into the house, hurrying down the old stairs and carefully avoiding looking at Trevor's headless body as she skirts around it, heading for the small, glinting chain of silver lying on the floor.

She tucks Elena's neckless into the small, seamless pocket in the skirt of her dress and runs out of the house as quickly as she'd run in. In her haste, she misses the way Elijah's fingers twitch near her ankle as she flutters out the door beside him.

Instead, she's looking at Damon, smiling as he picks her back up and holds her like she'd never left his arms.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Charlotte's eyes flick towards her window as the curtains billow suddenly, and her eyes meet Damon's in the reflection of her mirror when he appears behind her.

She smiles tiredly, turning to face him. "I didn't think you'd stop by so late,"

"Ah, yeah," He shifts, clearing his throat quietly. "I wasn't going to, but, uh, I realized that I took this the other night,"

He holds out the black, satin mask she'd worn with her dress to the party, recalling how he'd taken it off of her that night. She barely even registered the fact that he'd taken it with him at the time, and then the night had turned into an absolute mess and a simple mask was the last thing on her mind.

She takes it from his grasp, giving him a smile. "Thanks," She'd barely gotten in the door before Cory and Jeremy were on her, Elena and Bonnie reuniting right beside them. Cory had just left, and she's sure that Damon waited until he was gone, probably not in the mood to deal with his never-ending teasing.

"Probably can't ever wear this outfit again, but," She gestures at the dirt-stained dress still on her frame, laughing it off. "Thanks for bringing it back."

He nods quietly, looking her over. "Have you gotten any vervain, yet?"

She shakes her head. "No, I was about to go make some of Jenna's nasty tea just to be safe."

"Good."

Charlotte's brows furrow and she sets the mask aside on her dresser, stepping towards him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," He breathes out, taking a step towards her. "Yeah, I'm okay, sunshine. I'm just... trying to come to terms with how horrible I'm about to be."

Her frown deepens. "What are you talking about, Damon?"

"I have to say it," He says, quietly and to himself. "Just once. And I need you to hear it, because I can't keep it to myself anymore."

Charlotte's heart pounds and she looks up at him with wide eyes. "Damon..."

"I love you, Charlotte,"

Charlotte's breath hitches audibly and she takes a step towards him, reaching out to lay her hand on his arm. He looks down at the point of contact, swallowing roughly.

"I have loved you since the moment I saw you, before I even knew your name. I love you so much that I almost hate you for it, because you don't even realize the power you have over me. You make me want to change, but you've never asked me to. You make me want to be better, just so I can feel like I deserve to have you, and that's... dangerous for someone like me."

Charlotte blinks through the tears in her eyes, her lips quivering. "Damon, I–"

"It's dangerous for me, and it's twice as dangerous for you," He doesn't let her speak, shaking his head as he wipes away the tears on her cheeks. "I couldn't live with myself if I ever lost you, do you understand? I would never get over it."

He drops his forehead to hers and she wraps her hand around the back of his neck, keeping him close.

"God, I wish you didn't have to forget this," His voice is a trembling whisper and the words hit her cheek as he pulls back, showing her the tears in his eyes. "But you do."

His words process quickly and she looks at him in confusion. "What?"

"I love you, Charlotte Gilbert. I always have and I always will," He cups her cheeks gently, feeling the way she starts to shake her head when she realizes what he's doing. "But I can't do this to you."

"Damon, please," Her voice breaks on a whimper and he lets out a ragged breath at the sound of it. "You don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do,"

"No, please," She leans into his touch, closing her eyes at the comfort in how familiar it is, unable to stop from inflicting the pain upon herself. "I don't want to forget."

Damon takes a deep, unsteady breath. "Everyone I love leaves. And if this is what I have to do to keep you from leaving me, then so be it."

He meets her eyes again, clenching his jaw to steady the quiver in it. "You have to forget," He whispers the word, swallowing around the lump in his throat to steady his voice. "I will– I will always love you, Charlotte. But you have to forget, okay? I can't lose you. You have to forget that I love you."

Tears spill down her cheeks as she closes her eyes, and the warmth of his hands disappear suddenly.

When she opens her eyes, he's gone, and she looks towards her closed window with a trembling breath that chokes in her throat.

Her hand shakes as she reaches into the pocket on her dress, pulling Elena's necklace out of it. Her eyes burn with more tears as her lamplight shines off the metal, and it falls out of her hand as her grip goes weak, floating to the floor with a muted thump.

Charlotte falls to her knees beside it and buries her face in her hands, letting sobs overtake her body, her shoulders shaking violently as she tries to muffle them.

"Charlotte?" Elena's voice comes through her bedroom door but she can't respond, taking in a stuttering breath in between her cries. "Charlotte, I'm coming in!"

Her bedroom door bursts open and Elena's heart plummets when she sees her sister on the floor, sobbing hysterically. "Charlie!"

Elena stumbles to the floor beside her sister, gathering her in her arms, letting her latch onto her like a lifeline.

Elena cups Charlotte's head, holding her close as she rocks her sister back and forth, letting her weep into her shoulder, staining it with her grief-filled tears.

Fear pulses through Elena as she holds her sister, and she looks past her to the floor, trailing off into her mind as she wonders what could possibly earn such a violent reaction from Charlotte.

It's been so long since she's seen Charlotte like this. She can't help but feel like she's only going to get worse.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

author's note; would any of you believe me if I say I'm genuinely sorry for this

edited and published; 7.1.24.

- liz