gilbert boy ▪ tvd [completed]

|s i x t e e n|

Charlie remembered snippets of his high school days. He remembered the joy he used to feel when he walked down the halls with Celia tucked under his arm or the excitement of a football game.

He walked down the hall with a new purpose, setting things right between himself and Klaus. 

He pushed open the gym doors, and his eyes immediately landed on Elena, who sat in the middle of the room, tears in her eyes. "Charlie?" She asked, her voice soft. 

He studied her for a moment before he disregarded her and looked at Klaus, who looked unimpressed by his presence. "Not moments after waking up from a brutal death, your sister decides to whammy me, yelling about how I betrayed you-- which I didn't, but the way." 

Klaus scoffed, "Then how do you explain her?" He snapped, motioning to Elena, who seemed to shrink under Charlie's gaze. 

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware that she had to stay dead, Nik," He huffed. "I would never break your trust like that." He shook his head as he tilted his head, avoiding looking at his little sister. 

Klaus pursed his lips, nodding slightly. Before he could say anything, the doors to the gym opened again, only this time it was Bonnie and Matt that entered. 

"Bonnie, get out of here!" Elena cried out. 

Bonnie and Matt turned to run, but Klaus had already used his speed to get between the two and the door, smirking slightly. "I was wondering when you'd show up. Now we can get started." Klaus pushed them further into the gym, turning to the two humans (who Charlie hadn't noticed), who were crying. Dana struggled to balance, shakily wobbling on her right foot. "Ah, Dana, why don't you relax? You and Chad sit tight." 

Dana was quick to fall into Chad's arms, relief washing over her face once she got off of her foot. Klaus turned to Bonnie, who stood tall, trying to show no fear, but Charlie knew that Klaus made people shaky in the knees when he was around. "I assume you're the reason Elena's still walking around and alive?" 

Bonnie put on a brave face, but Charlie saw the fear in her eyes as she stood in front of Matt like a human shield. "That's right. If you want someone to blame, blame me." 

"Oh, there's no reason to blame, love. Just your witchy interference seems to have caused some undesirable side effects. And since you cause the problem, I'm going to have you find the fix." Klaus smirked, tilting his head in amusement. 

Charlie's eyes fed to the doors, and this time, it was Rebekah pulling Tyler along. Charlie had met the boy in passing, and he wasn't impressed by their first meeting. He was far too arrogant for Charlie to find him a suitable acquaintance. 

She dragged Tyler in by his upper arm, Tyler struggling against her superior strength. "Get off of me!" He snapped angrily. 

"Hush now!" The blonde snapped back teasingly. 

"I'd like you all to meet my sister, Rebekah. Word of warning, she can be quite mean." Klaus smirked, making Rbeekha roll her eyes. 

"Don't be an ass," She exclaimed as she threw Tyler at her brother. 

Klaus ignored his sister as he gripped onto the werewolf that stood no match against the hybrid. "I'm going to make this quite simple. Every time I attempt to turn a werewolf into a hybrid, they die during the transition. It's quite horrible, actually." 

The Original Hybrid bites his wrist and forces it into Tyler's mouth. "I need you to find a way to save my hybrids. And for Tyler's safe, you better hurry." He then snaps Tyler's neck, instantly killing him. 

Charlie's eyebrows furrowed as Klaus looked at him. "And if that's not enough motivation enough, how do you feel about losing Charlie here, all over again?" He hadn't noticed Rebekah come up behind him, only to stab him in the back, directly in the heart with a blade. 

His face scrunched up in pain before he went limp, and he fell to the ground in a heap. Rebekah looked down at him, her lips pursed because she didn't want to hurt him, but family was always and forever, and she would do anything for her brother. 

▪ ▪ ▪

Charlie woke up with a harsh cough, throwing his body forward as he groaned in pain. The fabric underneath his hands made him frown and look around the foreign room he was in. It had an open concept and large windows, with the bed placed against the far wall with silk sheets. 

"Seeing as you and the Gilbert's are on the outs, I thought you could stay here-- that is, if you planned on staying in Mystic Falls." 

Charlie looked up and locked eyes with Damon, who leaned against the threshold of the bedroom. He had so many things to say the vampire, an apology was in order, but Charlie couldn't think of how to say the words without sounding more of a prick than he had. 

"What happened?" He mumbled, his voice hoarse. 

"Well, Tyler is a hybrid now. It turns out, Klaus needed Elena's blood for the transition to stick. I got my ass handed to me by Klaus, broke Elena out of the hospital before she was bled dry. And then I brought you back here, with a knife in your back." He explained, and Charlie groaned as he remembered the events that took place. "So, guess you're not as buddy-buddy with Klaus as you thought?" 

Charlie's jaw clenched as he slipped off of the bed and walked over to the floor-length mirror to check his back. "He was the only one that understood what I was going through." 

"Because he's a werewolf?" Damon offered with a scoff. "I've dealt with my fair share of werewolves, and I know it isn't a nice experience-- but Klaus of all people?" 

"Oh, please. Stefan willingly gave his life to Klaus so you could live. Look how that turned out," Charlie sassed back as he pulled the back of his shirt up so he could see where the wound had been. "I would rather get stabbed in the back all over again than listen to you complain about who I trust." 

"Well, maybe you should think about who you trust because they might just stab you in the back," Damon ground out, narrowing his eyes on the Immortal before he turned and left the room. 

Charlie dropped his shirt and pursed his lips as he glanced at the doorway Damon had once been occupying. Charlie didn't know who to trust anymore.

▪ ▪ ▪

He couldn't stand staying in the room any longer; he finally escaped and made his way down the stairs, where he was met with the sight of Elena and Damon having a heart-to-heart. 

"What about Charlie?" Elena asked softly, staring into the fire. "Is he on our side?" 

Damon was quiet for a moment. "I don't know, Elena. Charlie doesn't know who to trust anymore." 

Charlie felt touched that Damon tried to stand up for him before it felt like his heart was ripped from his chest. "I don't trust him," Elena said firmly. His eyebrows furrowed as she continued. "He didn't care that I was there; all he cared about was making amends with Klaus. He's not on our side anymore." 

Charlie didn't think so either.