Rosalie looked at the house nervously as she rang the doorbell. She heard voices from inside and then the front door was pulled open.
"Rosalie! Glad you could make it." Elena smiled at the blonde. "Are you hungry? We got some chilli."
"Oh sure." Rosalie replied perplexed and followed Elena to the kitchen. The blonde knew Elena and her history teacher were close, but for some reason she didn't expect to see him in her kitchen. "Hey, Mr. Saltzman,"
He looked up from the cutting board and smiled at his student. Jeremy and Tyler were sitting at the table and Rosalie was relieved to see the youngest Gilbert unharmed. She didn't take Niklaus as the kind of person who backed down from threats and was pleasantly surprised that she had been wrong about him. At least for Jeremy's sake.
"This is weird." Elena crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at the hybrid annoyed, "Klaus has hybrids stalking me and now you're sitting in our kitchen."
"Maybe I should just go." Tyler tried to get up from his seat at the table, but Jeremy pushed him back down.
"No, stay. You're not doing anything." Jeremy placed a bowl of chilli in front of Tyler and Rosalie. Rosalie bit her lip, she shouldn't have come. The tension in the room was unbearable and she felt herself being sucked into whatever was going on.
"Maybe I should go?" Rosalie spoke up, looking to Elena unsure.
"No, stay." Elena barked at Rosalie, before turning back to Tyler. "Unless you have to, you know, check in with your hybrid master."
"It's not like that, Elena." Tyler defended himself.
"What is it like, Tyler?" Mr. Saltzman asked, sitting down next to the hybrid. "What is the difference between being sired and being compelled?"
"Compulsion, that's just mind control, like hypnosis." Tyler explained, "But being sired is like faith. You do something because you believe it's the right thing."
"So you believe serving Klaus is the right thing?" Elena sneered.
"I don't serve him. Klaus relieved me from a curse that was ruining my life. I owe him that." Even Rosalie frowned at the way Tyler's eyes glowed when he was talking about Niklaus.
"But what if he asked you to jump off a bridge?" Alaric spoke up.
"He wouldn't." Tyler seemed perplexed. "And even if he did, I'd be fine. I'm a hybrid."
"So what if he asked you to rip your own heart out?" Elena questioned.
"Again, he wouldn't." Tyler answered, seeming annoyed by the questions.
"But what if he did?" Elena pressed again.
"I don't know. Then I'd rip out my heart." Tyler yelled and everyone looked at the hybrid shocked. Everyone except Rosalie, Niklaus had tried to explain the sire bond during their trip. Although even she was surprised to see how far the loyalty went. "You guys sound like Caroline. Getting all freaked out about something you don't understand."
"You're right, Tyler. I don't understand. Klaus has terrorised every single one of us and you're just blindly loyal to him." Elena yelled back. Rosalie had never seen the Gilbert girl loose her temper before.
"You're overthinking this. I can still make my own decisions." Tyler argued.
The tension in the room was disturbed by a ringtone. Jeremy pulled out his phone and stepped away from the table. "Hello?"
"Tyler, you need help. You're a danger to all of us the way you are right now." Elena let herself sink down on the chair next to Rosalie and took a bite of the chilli. Jeremy ended his call and sat back down next to Tyler. "What was that about?"
"Nothing." Her younger brother mumbled, stuffing his mouth with chilli.
"I think I should go." Tyler grabbed his stuff and got up. "Thanks for the food, Alaric."
Elena and Mr. Saltzman got up from the table, after Tyler left the house and started whispering by the kitchen sink. Rosalie looked at Jeremy, she hated small talk. "So I heard you don't work at the grill anymore?"
"No, I don't. You know what, I gotta go too. See you, Rosalie." He jumped up from the table and hurried out the door.
"Where is Jeremy?" Elena asked, when she turned around.
"He left." Rosalie explained. "Not sure where."
Mr. Saltzman and Elena walked to the table. Mr. Saltzman's eyes filling with panic when he noticed a ring lying on Jeremy's plate. "That's his ring."
Rosalie didn't understand what was so worrying about this ring. Elena frowned as she grabbed the ring. "Where did he go?"
Without saying another word, the two of them hurried towards the front door. Unsure what to do, Rosalie followed them. Jeremy was standing in the middle of the road as if he was waiting for something. Then she saw the car speeding towards the teenage boy.
"Jeremy" She heard the teacher scream as he sprinted towards the teen. Rosalie and Elena watched as he jumped in front of the car, pushing Jeremy aside. Elena screamed when the car hit Mr. Saltzman. Rosalie couldn't believe what was happening, when she watched the teacher fly through the air.
Elena and Rosalie ran towards the history teacher. The car had stopped. The driver rolled the window down and Rosalie immediately recognised the driver. It was one of Niklaus' hybrids. Rosalie gasped when she realised that this had been all Niklaus' doing. He told her that he wouldn't hurt Jeremy, but still he tried to kill him. She didn't realise why she was surprised at all, Niklaus was a killer. He would have no problem lying to her face.
"There I go, always bumping in to people." The hybrid grinned before driving off.
"Oh my god, he isn't breathing. We need to call 911." Rosalie was panicking trying to remember anything she had learned at the first aid course. Jeremy ran towards them crouching down on the ground next to them.
Elena took his hand and seemed relieved. "He's going to be fine. Jeremy, are you okay?"
"I don't understand. How did this happen?" Jeremy asked confused. Elena caressed his cheek.
Rosalie stared at the brunette, "Elena, Mr. Saltzman is hurt. We need to call an ambulance."
"No, don't worry. See this ring? It protects him from death. We just need to get him inside." Elena tried to calm the other girl down, before turning back towards her brother, "Who was that on the phone earlier?"
"It was Klaus." The boy realised.
"You were compelled, Jeremy. We gotta get him inside. Help me." Elena voice still frantic as the three of them dragged the body of their history teacher back inside the house.
"So how long does this ring thing take?" Rosalie asked still skeptic as she looked at the teacher, that was now laying on the sofa. Before she could get an answer the front door opened. She looked up and saw the dark haired Salvatore.
"How is he?" He asked as he looked at the unconscious man.
"He's dead, but he had his ring. Klaus' hybrid hit him, now we just wait." Elena was sitting on the coffee table.
"What is she doing here?" Damon asked and gestured towards Rosalie, who was sitting at the kitchen table. The blonde glared at the vampire.
"I invited her here. She suffered because of Klaus, just like us. She's on our side." Elena explained giving Damon a stern look.
"I thought I was here to study." Rosalie muttered. Was everyone lying to her today?
"Jeremy, why aren't you wearing vervain? Where's your bracelet?" Damon asked, ignoring the blonde.
"It was Tyler. That's why he was hanging out with you." Elena sighed. "But that reminds me. Rosalie, I got something for you." The brunette opened a drawer and handed her a silver bracelet.
"Thank you, Elena." Rosalie muttered confused but grateful.
"It's vervain. It protects you from compulsion." The brunette explained as she placed the bracelet around Rosalie's wrist.
"Oh, wow. Thank you. I didn't even know that was possible." Rosalie smiled now sincerely, admiring the silver charm on her wrist.
