[the past] | completed

i'm so sorry

"How's it looking?" Caroline entered the room behind Elena, a hopeful grin plastered on her face.

Damon stood in the doorway, staring at his relative.

"He's still unresponsive," Damon replied, never once taking his eyes off of Jughead. They had made him a little bed in Damons room. His head was propped up by multiple pillows, and he lay, eyes now closed. Due to the uncomfortableness it caused them earlier, Damon had to flap his eyelids down.

"He hasn't moved since we've found him," Damon continued, taking mild steps closer to Jughead.

Jughead still had a pulse... well, he would if he wasn't a vampire. But they knew he wasn't dead, because if he was, then he would have began to desiccate. And gratefully, Jughead still looked like Jughead.

"How's Veronica?," Damon asked, not wanting to speak any further of his relative. Both Elena and Caroline hesitated to speak.

"She hasn't woken up yet," Caroline stammered out. "I should... go check on her," Elena excused herself from the room, wiping her teary eyes the second she was out of sight.

She hated to admit it, but she had always had a soft spot for Jughead. Ever since Damon 'took him in'.

And it may seem wrong to an outsider, but Elena had only known Veronica for a short time. Sister or not, Jughead was her real family. And if Veronica ever had to pick— she would never say it aloud, but— she would choose Jughead.

And she could not just stand by and let him lay there, dying. All because of her sister.

She went down to the 'dungeon,' a small place where Stefan, Damon, Caroline, Katherine, and Elena had all been before— even Jughead once. It was normally used to keep vampires in, to either flip their switch back on, or to snap their behavior back. Either way, now it was Veronicas turn.

Elena turned up in front of the large steel door, and opened the small sliding window she was able to see Veronica through.

   "V?" Veronica lay on the ground, unmoving. "V?" Elena repeated. Veronica didn't move an inch.

   "What do you want," Veronica stated. Her voice was flat and emotionless. It scared Elena for a quick second.

   "Are you... okay?" Elena didn't know exactly what to say. She was ultimately surprised and startled that Veronica answered her in the first place.

   Veronica finally shifted over so that she stared at the bare ceiling.

   "Do I look okay?" Elena closed her lips tightly. "I'm a monster, Elena. An even bigger monster than a regular..." Veronica faltered. She didn't want to say it... but she had to learn soon.

   "Not only do I hurt humans, but I also hurt my own kind!" Veronica sat up, tears pouring out of her brown eyes like waterfalls.

   "I-I'm a— vampire cannibal!" Veronica choked out. Then, she fell apart, crying into her own arms. It was the first time she had ever said it out loud. She had been holding back on it for so long because she knew it would make her feel this way: wickedly horrific.

   As much as Elena wanted to go in and hug her, they didn't know how dangerous she was right now.

   "Damon's looking into it, Veronica. Just, please don't cry." Veronica sobbed into her shoulder.

   "Elena, I bit Jughead!" Elena didn't know what to say or do, so she quickly coughed out, "well if it makes you feel any better, you didn't just bite him— he hasn't woke up since, so—"