chapter seventeen
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Mystic Falls 1864
the moon was full and at it's peak and all was quiet in the town when Alex Pierce arrived back at the Salvatore estate. she quietly crept through the small door that lead into the kitchen, making sure not to wake any of the sleeping members of the house.
she grabbed a candle from the cabinet and snapped her fingers, lighting it instantly. she then reached to grab a cloth, wiping the blood from her lips. from a distance, she heard the same door she had previously walked through open and Stefan Salvatore appreaed with his signature smile that drove all the girls crazy, especially this girl before him. she loved everything about him.
Alex approached him with wide eyes, setting the candle on the table, "are you mad? someone could see us!" she hissed in a whisper.
Stefan pulled her closer to him. a hand on her waist, and the other resting on her neck as he used his thumb to wipe away the blood from her face. his blood, "there, now it does not matter if anyone shall see us," he pecked her lips and Alex smiled, "all they will see is two young, foolish teens stealing kisses in the night"
"and I'm sure we could both charm our way out of trouble," Alex wrapped her arms around her lovers neck and leaned in close, "just like we always do," she then pressed her lips to his in a teasingly slow kiss. she back away with a smirk, picking up her candle once again, "but tonight shall not be one of those nights"
Stefan groaned, watching as the girl giggled and made her way upstiars. he stayed put for a moment, a smile on his lips and his heart beating out of his chest. the way he felt with Alex was different compared to Katherine. Alex made his heart pound with anticipation, waiting for whatever adventure they would go on next, or even the next time he could kiss her. loving her was like reading a book no one has read before, you had no idea what you were getting yourself into, but as you kept reading you got more and more intruiged and wanted it to never end.
she made him feel like there was so much more to know, so much more to discover. she gave him passion, adventure, danger, and a burning desire to have her by his side forever. something everyone needs at least once in their life.
that next morning, Alex walked through town arm in arm with Damon Salvatore. during Alex's time in Mystic Falls, she had grown to like the eldest Salvatore brother. not romantically, but as a friend, a brother. she enjoyed the company of someone who wasn't an adult, her lover, or her sister. the two were much alike in many ways, and could talk to each other about anything. Damon was the closest friend Alex had in a long time, and she hoped their friendship could last forever. the two friends were visiting Pearl, a good friend of Katherine's and a vampire, so of course Alex was good acquaintance's with her as well.
Pearl gave her a look as she walked in with the other Salvatore brother that wasn't her lover she spoke to Pearl and her daughter, Anna, so much about, "are my eyes deceiving me or are you becoming more and more like Katherine everyday?" Pearl asked younger vampire.
Alex laughed, rolling her eyes, "Damon is just a friend, Pearl. I've come to collect some lavender. I'm making tea later"
Pearl raised a brow. lavender was Alex's signature scent, but drinking the flavored tea was special, "lavender tea? this must be a special occasion, then"
"it is," Alex nodded, the mention of her plans for tonight made her feel giddy inside, "I'm going to tell Stefan I love him"
++++++++++++++++++
a small smile crept onto Alex's lips as she remembered those days. the days where she was happiest, literally, the happiest year of her life. and now, 145 years later, she laid her head on the bare chest of the same man she dreamt about. he had one arm above his head, and his other holding onto her hand on his stomach. the feeling of his body beside hers hadn't changed a bit, it was still warm, comforting, and safe.
she opened her eyes to look up at him, expecting him to still be asleep, but instead he was staring down at her. Alex giggled as she looked away, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. she had no idea how, but Stefan always made her blush and giggle as if she was a little school-girl.
"how long have you been staring at me, creeper?" she teased him, a laugh naturally escaping her lips.
Stefan chuckled and ran his free hand through her hair, "only an hour"
Alex sat up, using the blanket to cover her chest, and laughed in disbelief, "only an hour? now why on earth would you want to look at me for that long?"
"because you look beautiful when you sleep," Stefan said with a smile, and his words made her heart flutter, "I'm surprised you've just now noticed, it's something I've always done"
"I guess I should pay more attention to you... though it's not like I don't already"
Stefan looked into her eyes, "I'm always paying attention to you, Alex," he sat up and put a hand on her neck, a simple touch that made chills run down the girls spine, "every time I look at you I never want to look away"
Alex bit her lip to contain her smile, "you're still quite the charmer, Mr. Salvatore," she said, "always knowing how to make a girl weak"
he chuckled, leaning closer to her and letting his fingers run circles down her back, "I believe I still have that affect on you. don't I, Miss Pierce?"
she pulled him closer to her by the back of his neck, kissing him roughly, but then pushes his chest, making him fall back down with a chuckle. Alex blushed, again, and stood up from the bed not caring that she was bare and not bothering to wrap the sheet around her body since she knew no one had been at the Salvatore home besides them since the day before, "enough! I need to get dressed and leave before anyone sees me," she giggled, picking her clothes up from the floor.
Stefan groaned, continuing to lay in his spot in the bed, reminding Alex of the memory she dreamed of. he noticed her smiling at him and raised a brow, "who's staring now, huh?"
she scoffed, "whatever," she pulled her shirt over her head and grabbed her shoes, not bothering to put them on yet. she grabs her phone in her free hand and checks her messages. one particuarlly stands out and causes her heart to sting.
Stefan notices the sad look on her face, "what's wrong?" he asks.
"Carol Lockwood is dead," she breathes out, still shocked and confused, "I need to find Tyler before he goes on a hybrid style killing spree"
Stefan then decided it was time for him to get up as well and walked over to Alex, making sure to stand nearly chest to chest with her, "and miss the opportunity to get day drunk with me? you have changed," he spoke with a slight smirk, his deep morning voice and the closeness of their bodies nearly making the girl want to take him back to bed.
she licked her lips, "believe it or not but Tyler is my friend," and with that she vamped down the stairs to the front door.
before she left she put her shoes on and dialed the young hybrid's number. she looked in the mirror by the front door to the house and fixed her appearance as the call went straight to voicemail. the heretic sighed, deciding to send the boy a voicemail.
"hey Ty, I know you're probably not wanting to talk to anyone right now, but I just wanted to check up on you..." she paused as she sat in the drivers seat of her car and started it's engine. she leaned back, exhaling slowly before adding on, "I'm really sorry about your mother, Tyler. she was a good woman. I-I just feel like it was my fault. I could've stopped Niklaus, but I..."
memories of the night before resurfaced, the scene of the murder of the hybrids, the blood on her hands, the hunger she felt grow immensely. she wanted to find her brother, but she felt as if she would go on a ripper bender, and she knew seeing Stefan would help her.
"...I was distracted and I'm sorry. just, uh, call me back. please. you don't deserve to go through this alone" the phone then beeped, signaling that the voicemail was stopped. a whooshing sound filled her ears and Alex turned to see Stefan in the passenger seat with a grin.
"mind giving me a ride to the grill?" he asked, and held up a flask full of blood, "I'll let you have a bit of Alvin the chipmunk"
Alex rolled her eyes once again and pursed her lips, "what, no bunnies today?"
the younger vampire held his hand to his chest, "believe it or not, I'm actually a bunny activist. they are just too cute to kill"
"yeah, okay" she scoffed in a mocking voice, getting the car in gear and beginning to drive the unstable vampire to the grill so he could get day drunk.
++++++++++++++++++++
after dropping Stefan off at the Mystic Grill, Alex drove to her penthouse and changed. she made sure to compel her special guests to leave and forget about her a couple days before so that she wouldn't be tempted to go on another ripper bender again.
she changed into black jeans, a baby blue loose shirt, and her signature leather jacket and drank the rest of the blood from Stefan's flask. as she opened her fancy double doors, her sister Rebekah stood on the other side, unable to get in. she got one of those 'special guests' to sign the deed to the penthouse so that no unwanted guests would barge into her home.
"well isn't this a surprise. I thought you were daggered in a box?" Alex raised her brows and smirked.
a frown formed on Rebekah's face, "I was, but then I got out," her eyes dilated as she compelled her sister, knowing that she was off vervain because of their brother, "now you're going come with me to the high school without fighting. we have class"
Alex's eyes glossed over as the compulsion worked. she stepped out of her penthouse and followed Rebekah down to her car and the two drove to the high school.
the heretic cursed under her breath at herself for being stupid enough to go off vervain as she sat in a chair in the library. well, tied to it actually. Alex was strong enough to be able to resist compulsion and leave, so Rebekah tied her to the chair so that she wouldn't leave. oh, the lovely bond of sisterhood.
Alex huffed as she tried to break free from the ropes, "hey blondie, do you mind taking this off of me so I can haul ass out of here?"
Caroline turned her head to face the older girl with a disgusted face, "I have a name, you know. and no, I won't"
Alex huffed once again, blowing a piece of hair out of her face since she couldn't use her hands. Rebekah then walks into the library with Stefan.
Elena stands up, "Stefan..."
Rebekah tilted her head as she sat Stefan in a seat, "did I say you could move?" Elena sits back down and the Original claps her hands, "class is in session! you've all been compelled; you know the rules. answer my questions honestly, no disobedience, no one leaves. April, my sweet, take notes. this is how you get answers in this town"
she stands in front of the table the four vampires plus April Young sat at, "let's start with a little quiz. In the year 1114, my brother learnt, thanks to yours truly, about a brotherhood of vampire hunters with tattoos that grew with each kill. these tattoos revealed what, Elena?"
"a map"
she nodded in approval and turn to the other side of the table, "which led to...? Caroline?"
"a cure for vampirism" the blonde responded.
the eldest brunette's eyes widened, "a what for what? why is this the first I'm hearing about that?"
"ah, that's right. Niklaus compelled you to only think about bunnies and rainbows and sunshine. but now it's time to come back to reality, sister,"
Rebekah looked over at the only male in the room, "Stefan Salvatore, the last time we saw each other, you had a vampire hunter, but in order to decode the map, you needed the location of the hunter's sword, which you got out of me using some... very dirty tricks. assuming you found the sword, you also found the cure, and yet, you're all still vampires, which means something went wrong"
Rebekah looks at April, who was scribbling furiously on a piece of paper, "what are you doing?"
"oh, you asked me to take notes," the human replied innocently.
"I wasn't being literal, darling. but now that you mention it...a flow chart would be nice, which means index cards and push-pins. go, fetch," with that April leaves the room.
Stefan speaks up for the first time since he entered the library, "you're wasting your time. we don't know anything"
the blonde Original furrowed her brows, "so, you just gave up? I thought you would do anything to save Elena? even if it meant taking the cure yourself, so you could grow old and die with her?" Elena and Alex look at Stefan with a shocked look on their faces, though Alex's was more of sadness, "why do you look so surprised?"
Alex looks down at her lap with a sigh. the others are silent as well, "I'm missing something. what is it?" Rebekah pesters them.
"they broke up, okay?" Caroline finally speaks, "now let us go"
the other blonde shows a face of fake shock, "broke up? wait, I'm confused. I thought Elena was your epic love, Stefan?" Rebekah sits down in April's chair and she looks at Stefan, "I asked you what happened. you have to tell me"
"she slept with Damon," he spoke, a hint of sadness in is voice. Alex bites her lip, remembering how she helped calmed him down after Caroline shared the news with him, and then she slept with him.
Elena looks at Stefan, surprised that he knew the information, but then she looks at Caroline who was filled with remourse, and she knew the blonde blabbed off to him.
"so, vampire Elena is a trollop who likes bad boys, which explains why Stefan reeks of alcohol and lavender," the blonde Mikaelson looks over at her sister when mentioning the heretic's signature scent. Alex's eyes widen at the comment and she looks over at Stefan who was already looking at her, "but what it doesn't explain is why sweet, loving, innocent Elena could be so heartless towards Stefan... how could she hurt you like that? answer, please,"
"she didn't know it at the time, but she was sired to Damon"
Rebekah sits on a chair between Stefan and Elena, "a sire bond. that's fascinating," she scoots closer to the table and rests her head in her hands, "and what do you think about that, Elena?"
"I think you're sad and bored and in desperate need of a hobby" the doppelganger smiles sarcastically.
Rebekah compels Elena, "you're hiding something. fess up"
her eyes glossed over as she was compelled to answer, "I didn't sleep with Damon because of the sire bond. I slept with Damon because I'm in love with him,"
Stefan looks up and at Elena. He seems visibly hurt by what she said. Elena looks shocked at what she said.
Rebekah smirks at the tension she had caused and the drama she had missed. she gets up from the table and moves over to her sister Alex. the youngest Mikaelson sat up straight and avoided eye contact, "I'm not telling you anything"
the eldest sister laughed, "I might not be able to compel it out of you, but I already know your secret, sister"
Alex tilted her head, wanting to know if Rebekah would actually say it aloud in front of Elena, "and what might have I done that's so horrible that I have to be tied to this chair and watch these children break each others hearts?"
Rebekah smirked and began to pace around the table, "I actually wasn't going to mention it at first, but when Stefan said Elena slept with Damon, there was barely any sadness in his tone. then I realized he reeked of lavender..."
the blonde stood behind Elena and placed her hands on the girl's shoulders, leaning in to her ear, though everyone could hear her next words, "Stefan went back to the girl he never really stopped loving... Aleksandra"