The Vampire Diaries: Trinity

Chapter Seventy Three: My Brother's Keeper

Stefan does pushups in the woods, his phone lying on the ground in front of him.

"What do you mean you're not coming?" Caroline asks. "I don't need to remind you that your Miss Mystic Falls attendance record totally sucks."

At the Lockwood mansion, Caroline walks downstairs with a clipboard in hand, preparing for the pageant. She walks over to a table where a young girl arranges the flowers. She takes the flowers from the girl's hands and rearranges them to her satisfaction before walking away.

"Elena and I broke up. By definition, I don't need to be anywhere." Stefan says.

"Did that sound as depressing to you as it did to me?"

"Oh, I'm not depressed. I just want to rip into someone's artery and feed until I can't breathe anymore."

Stefan stops doing pushups and rolls onto his back.

"Well, you can't. As your sober sponsor, I am not going to let that happen. Try and sublimate."

He stares up at the sky in silence. "She said she has feelings for Damon."

"What?!" Caroline asks, shocked. "She can't have feelings for Damon! He's...Damon. And you're...you. And I'm...revolted. You know, I'm gonna talk to her. I'm going to shake some sense into her clearly diseased brain."

"Yeah, well I don't know what good that'll do. Elena's right, being a vampire really has changed her."

"All the more reason you need to cure her. Have you talked to Trinity? Do you think that there's anything about the cure in the palace?"

"The only communication I've had with Trinity is text messages. I can't call her. She knows me too well, if she hears my voice, she'll know that something's wrong." Stefan closes his eyes in guilt as he remembers daggering Rebekah. "Besides, I don't want to get her involved with this. She has enough problems on her hands."

Caroline sees Elena heading over to her. "Look, I got to go. Be careful. And remember, there is sublimating and then there is insanity."

"I'll be fine. Bye." Stefan says before hanging up.

Caroline puts down her phone and looks at Elena.

Stefan stands up when he is suddenly caught in a chokehold.

"In what world do the words tell no one mean tell your brother and every teenage sycophant in town?" Klaus asks.

"The secret's safe." Stefan chokes out. "No one who knows about the cure will endanger us. Trust me; you know I want to find it more than anyone else."

"Well then, I suggest you find some more vampires for Jeremy to kill before I'm tempted to offer you up as a victim." He lets go of Stefan, who steps away and turns to look at him. "And try and keep this one to yourself, would you?"

Trinity grimaces as she watches Malia drown her pancakes in syrup.

Malia notices her gaze and stops. "What?"

Trinity shakes her head. "Nothing."

Allison walks up and takes her seat at the table. "So after this, we should be in Kansas in about an hour." She looks at Trinity. "Feeling any vibes yet?"

"Nope." Trinity says, popping the 'p'.

"So we're really just going to travel aimlessly until you feel a vibe?" Malia asks.

"Basically. But, this gives us some time."

"Time for what?"

"Time to teach you how to properly shift. Things are never quiet in Mystic Falls, so I probably won't have a lot of time once we get back. It's best to start now." She explains. "We'll start small and work our way up. Maybe we should try a ferret first?"