Ambience ~ n.m.

14; Before It Happened

'I Found' Amber Run

"I've moved further than I thought I could, but I miss you more than I thought I would."

Us Gilbert siblings had a tradition that certainly no one else had. A tradition that could be seen as morbid. This tradition was to paint the room of our deceased legal guardians, and it would be the third time we have painted this room after our parents died. Elena picked out a random dark green color after Alaric's light green and began painting.

"Going darker, huh?" Stefan asked coming into the room.

"Only color we had," Elena told him, painting in the crevices of a window pane.

"That's what happens when you decide to paint your dead guardian's room in the middle of the night," Jeremy raises his eyebrows at us.

"I don't suppose anyone tried to talk you out of doing this so soon," Stefan sighed, giving Elena a worried look.

"We have to keep moving. Otherwise we'll start thinking, and we don't want to think," Elena explained, getting more paint on her paintbrush.

"It's definitely became a Gilbert tradition," I sigh, painting around an outlet.

"You want a hand?" Stefan asks.

"So are you two, like, back together or something?" Jeremy asked.

"What? No, Jer, we're just-" Elena starts.

"I was just checking up on you guys. Seeing how you were doing after everything," Stefan defends.

"We're fine, but if you are trying to be the good guy again, why don't you do the right thing and give us one day. Just one day without any vampires in it," Jeremy scoffed. Stefan sighed heavily, looking after Jeremy as he angrily stormed out.

"He didn't mean that," Elena told Stefan.

"Yeah, yeah he did," Stefan frowned. The doorbell rang out through the house. "I'll get that," Stefan smiled at the two of us before walking out to the front door.

Elena's phone started to ring and she set down the paint roller, her eyes holding confusion. "It's Alaric's phone," Elena states, making my eyebrows crease. I set down my paintbrush and quickly walk to her as she answers the call, putting it on speaker. "Whoever this is, it's not funny," Elena hisses.

"Who else would it be?" Alaric's voice chuckles.

"Ric?" Elena and I ask breathlessly.

"Listen closely. I'm at the school. I have Caroline. And if you want to keep her alive, I need you girls to get into your car and come down here right away. If you tell anyone where you are going, I will kill her," Alaric threatened.

The line went dead. Elena and I looked at each other and quickly made our way out of the house. Elena and I arrived at the school and quickly got into the school. We heard echoes of Caroline's screaming.

We ran to the source and entered Alaric's old classroom, seeing Alaric sitting in his desk chair with an easy smirk across his face. Caroline was duct taped to a deck, tears streaking her cheeks. Pencils were stabbed into her hands and a vervain rope gagged her.

"Caroline!" Elena and I exclaim together.

"Let her go, Alaric!" Elena demands. Alaric gestured towards our friend.

"Free her yourselves," he smiles evilly.

Elena and I hesitantly rushed to Caroline. Elena slowly pulled a pencil out of Caroline's hand. "We don't have all day," I help Elena, but disregard Caroline's pain. She'll be in more pain if the pencils are pulled out slowly, I grab the pencil and yank the pencil out, causing Caroline to cry out in pain.