𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐲 | 𝐭𝐯𝐝

-7-

just to confirm, Alaric died in season 3 episode 22. River came back before that and that's how she ran into him. She was hiding out in Mystic Falls and then was captured in season four episode 1.
-
Two rows behind the doppelgänger, we sat to watch the Mass. Elena had gone up on stage to say a few words about the Pastor after no one else stood and the door swung open and Damon revealed himself. He dipped three fingers into the Holy water and touched his forehead, chest, and shoulders to form a cross. I listened closely. "Don't know why that always makes me smile." He whispered. He sat down next to me and said lowly, "She doesn't look so good."

"Maybe you should have told me she was rejecting all food sources." Stefan glared. "Jealousy's beneath you, brother." Damon hummed. "Please, do you not remember when we snuck out without him? He went postal." I scoffed. "That's because you were my girlfriend, not his. Besides-"

"Can you three shut up?" A voice whispered. I looked at a blonde. We quieted down and Damon nudged my side and looked back at Elena. She was holding onto the podium, almost about to collapse. The alluring smell of blood leaked through our noses. Elena was about to give in. "Nobody move. Don't turn around, it's a trap." I told the vampires around us.

Stefan walked up and wrapped his arm around Elena, leaving me to sit next to a human. I didn't look at him. "Cry." I mouthed at Elena. She pretended to cry and walked with us. He sat her down next to a familiar man. He was the one that Damon stood over the night Stefan, Elena, and I were stuck in a barn.

"Please turn to page forty two in your hymn book. Let us join together in a song." The priest instructed. Everyone stood and pages turned around us. I grabbed a book and shared it with Damon. It was a mimic. "What do we do, Damon?" Stefan whispered. "We stay. We are human. Now get to singing. Can she feed on...?" I glanced at the human boy. He nodded. Elena looked at Stefan for approval and he agreed.

"I'm gonna go rip his head off now." Damon cleared his throat. "You do that, Damon, and you risk exposing all of us." His brother muttered. "Well, I think the risk will be slightly diminished when I, you know, rip his head off."

"Too bad. I'm on board with Stefan for this one. You're staying. Now shut up and sing." I looked up at him and he stared right back. "Okay." He mumbled. Elena pulled away and Matt covered the wound. She wiped her mouth. I let out a sigh and we all sat down. A man went up to speak. "That's a Lockwood," Damon informed me. "Oh."

"Back in first grade, I was a brat who couldn't be bothered with team sports. I didn't care much about anything that didn't affect me. But he was the one who made me understand how important it is to be part of a team; a community. Of giving yourself up for the sake of..."

And just like that, he was shot.

-

Everyone was panicking and running. The blonde and Stefan ran up to the man and I followed while Damon escorted Elena out. "Hello, Lockwood. Here to help." I huffed, yanking the stake from his chest. "Ow!" He hissed. "Oh suck it up."

"I'm gonna kill the bastard." The man groaned. "Damon's way ahead of you. Stay here, I have to help him." Stefan advised Caroline. He grabbed my arm and I ran out with him. Connor rolled Damon over and was now on top of him. He pulled a stake from his belt and was about to stab Damon in the heart, but I quickly threw him off. Connor ran to his truck and sped off. Stefan held his hand out to Damon, who took it. He began to pull him up, but stopped and punched Damon in the face. "Uhh, what the hell was that for?" He groaned. "You know what."

Stefan walked away. "Alright, get up. You're my ride back." I laughed. I helped him up. Damon wiped the dirt off his suit and began walking towards the car. "I'm never going to hear the end of that, am I?" He questioned, knowing I'll tease him about the time he was an idiot and got punched in the face by his brother in a church parking lot.

"Nope."

-

When we got home, I changed into jeans and a black shirt Damon left. It's not like he'd care anyway. Besides, it smelled like vanilla and alcohol. It was cute and had a little pocket on the top right.

Stefan told us to meet him at a high school. Oh god, the number of times I've graduated from different places. I slipped on socks and sneakers, then walked to my car and began driving. What could he possibly want? I parked and walked towards a bench, where 7 people stood. Damon, Stefan, Elena, that one boy Elena fed off of, the one who stayed with the wounded boy, and a bunch of others I didn't recognize. It was awkward. The group introduced themselves and I did the same. "Stefan, what are we doing here?" I asked. I noticed his paper lanterns.

"We're finishing the memorial we didn't get to have earlier." He stated, passing out the objects. "We need to start healing, Damon. We've all lost so much, especially recently. I think we're numb to it. We push it away, we make a joke out of it, ignore how we feel. We've never just let ourselves grieve." Stefan continued. "So, you're lighting lanterns?" Damon frowned. He was obviously dumbfounded but I found Stefan's gesture cute. "Yeah. Yeah, we need to do this."

"What we need to do is find out who this hunter is and what he knows about the death of the Council. We have more important things to be doing right now than this." Damon denied. I wacked his chest. He smiled at me. "Not tonight, we don't." I sighed.

"This is for my uncle Zach and my friend Lexi and for Alaric." Stefan lit his lantern. "Lexi?" My jaw fell. He nodded sadly and glanced at Damon. He looked down guiltily. No...

"This is for Vicki." Matt lit his. Caroline got up and took the lighter. "This is for my dad. And Tyler's." She lit hers. Jeremy grabbed the lighter next, then looked at Elena. "This is for our parents." He then looked around again. "For Vicki. Anna. Jenna. And Alaric."

Damon denied the lighter. "This is for my Grams," Bonnie mumbled. Elena grabbed it. "This um - is for my mom, my dad, Jenna, everyone that you've all lost, everyone that this town has lost. And for me, I guess."

I was next. Who was mine for? What had I lost? "This is for Tobiah...for Mallory. For me. For Stefan. For Lexi...For Damon. This is for the people we lost years ago. This is for my family and for relationships that failed. For old chapters, I suppose."

I watched as the white lantern began to flame into a beautiful orange. We all released our lanterns and watched them slowly lift into the sky. I felt better. Maybe I needed that.

I looked at Stefan. He was looking at me while everyone's eyes remained on the lanterns. There was muted sorrow and comforting pain in our longing stares. It was as if we were saying goodbye to what we had. Like we had to forget the two kids we once were. Maybe it was for the best. "Always and forever." I mouthed. I walked away from the group and got into my car.

Always and forever.