You're Undead to Me - 1x5

The Truth

Morning light poured through the Salvatore Boarding house as Stefan descended the stairs. As he approached the door of the cellar, he peered through the window. Inside he could see his brother pale-skinned and his eyes rolling back as he heard his brother approach. "Where's my ring." He could feel the ghost ring effect on his left hand where it was gone.

"You won't be needing it anymore." Stefan's voice echoed through the cellar as Damon turned his head to stare at his brother.

"How long have I been here?"

"Three days." Damon's nose scrunched as he tried to set himself up.

"What are you doing?" Stefan's brows furrowed as he continued to peer through a fenced window.

"During the dark ages when a vampire's actions threatened to expose or bring harm upon the entire race, they would face judgment. They sought to reeducate them rather than to punish them." Damon tried to ignore his brother but Stefan made sure he spoke loud enough that his words would drill into his head. Damon laid his head against the wall and looked over at his brother.

"You know what will happen if I don't...feed on blood." He grumbled as he situated himself.

"You'll grow weaker and weaker. Eventually, you won't be able to move or speak. In a week your skin will desiccate, and you'll mummify. A living corpse. Unable to hurt anyone. Ever." Damon couldn't believe the words that were coming from Stefan's mouth. He knew what was going to happen and still insisted on allowing Damon to deteriorate in the cellar.

"So what, you're just going to leave me in the basement, forever?" Stefan clenched his jaw.

"I've injected you with enough vervain to keep you weak. Once your circulation stops, I'll move you to the family crypt, and then in 50 years, we can reevaluate." Damon stared at Stefan in disbelief. Leaning toward him, his pride got the best of him.

"I'm stronger than you think." Stefan didn't flinch.

"You always have been. But you're not stronger than the vervain. And we both know it. I'm sorry. Didn't have to be this way." With that, Stefan shot one last glance at his desiccating brother before leaving the area where the cellar entrance was. Once up the stairs, he approached Zach. "He's awake. He's weak, but it's probably best to stay out of the basement. He's Damon. I'm not sure how dangerous he still might be." Zach nodded and took in a breath.

"You're going to school?" Stefan stared at his relative and then nodded.

"I came here to live a life. It's about time I get back to that. And Amy, if she's still speaking to me. I've been ignoring her texts." It pained Stefan but he knew it was what he needed to do to deal with Damon.

"Why?" Stefan leaned toward him with a serious look on his face.

"What am I supposed to do, feed her another lie? I hate lying to her, Zach. I'm not good at it. She already knows I'm not being honest with her." Zach stared at Stefan. He understood his concern but he also wanted Damon to be dealt with and done already.

"What choice do you have? You came here because you wanted to live as normal a life as you could. You knew this was going to be a part of it." Sighing, Stefan turned and exited the boarding house.

Amy stretched in her bed and pushed the covers back. There was a comfort in knowing Stefan was clearly taking care of things. There was also an annoyance that he had deflected any communication. Either way, she had told him she trusted him and she needed to prove that by not holding it against him. He had told her he would be busy and she had to believe that it was for good reason. Tiptoeing from her bed, she stepped over to the bathroom door, which she opened but revealed Vicki Donovan. Her mouth fell open as Vicki looked at her. The brunette was brushing her teeth and she bent to spit and smile at Amy. "I–I'm sorry. I'm almost done." Amy smiled back and nodded.