𝟓𝟒

a/n: Char's outfit for the chapter is above!

TW: ptsd, panic attack, and there's tears

☆═━ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑━═☆

Serena's breath hitched, turning on the lights when Jacob's body dropped to the floor, "What the hell are you doing in my room, you creep!"

She rose to her feet, opening her room's door farther to wake her mother, "Mom! Get here to see what that idiot you let into our house is doing," He tried to sit up, murmuring something along the lines of 'don't tell her'. Serena scoffed out, kicking his stomach, "I am calling the police, you scumbag!"

Serena spat out, grabbing her phone off the nightstand as Coralie walked into the room, asking, "Jacob...Serena, what's going on here?"

"What's going on here is your husband is a thief," She claimed, taking notice of her bag that lied beside him, "That I am going to put behind bars."

"Serena, wait! I am sure there's an explanation for this."

The brunette rolled her eyes, shaking her head before greeting, "Hello, Sheriff Forbes," She bent down, pulling her bag off the floor before walking over Jacob's body and out of her room.

✵ ✵ ✵

Charlotte Bernard was back living under the Salvatores roof after Damon implied it was not the best choice to live with Paulina, considering what she had done. Not planning on raising suspicions, she complied.

The brunette had gotten dressed, pulling her bag over her shoulder after shoving in all of her books. She turned around, letting out a gasp when she spotted Stefan at the door, "Uh...a hello would have been nice."

"I thought you were used to people sneaking up on you."

Charlotte pursed her lips together, "It's not really something you get used to."

Stefan nodded before stating, "You and Damon are late."

"Sorry, I overslept," She shrugged her shoulders, excusing before walking past him and up to Damon's room, "I am sure Damon did, too. I mean we would never intentionally turn down meeting you."

He chuckled humorlessly at her sarcasm, "Charming."

"Thank you," Charlotte sent him a smile before knocking on Damon's door, scowling when he walked past her and into the room, "Hey, he could be indecent—and you totally don't care..." She trailed off, sighing.

"Good morning," Damon greeted, whistling happily as he walked out of the shower with a towel around his waist.

"You're late," Stefan claimed, reminding him, "We were supposed to meet Bonnie at the witch house in ten minutes."

"Relax, brother. You don't want your hair to fall out."

"Would you hurry up? We have work to do. You know, Klaus isn't gonna spontaneously self-destruct," Stefan forced a smile on his lips, stating bitterly.

"Why are you all happy potatoes, though?" Charlotte asked, furrowing her eyebrows in curiosity, "You haven't been that happy since I temporarily killed Elijah...which you shouldn't have been happy about now that I mention it."

Damon chuckled, replying, "That was something to be happy potatoes about, don't deny it."

"I will be with you two in a minute," He smiled, pushing the two vampires out of the room before slamming the door shut.

Charlotte nodded to herself, turning to Stefan with a raised eyebrow, "Well, that went well."

Stefan chuckled, walking away from her, "Shut up."

"Mhm, alright, okay."

✵ ✵ ✵

"I am filing a restraining order and I want him behind bars," Serena folded her arms together, sitting in front of the Sheriff, "He tried to steal from me! That guy is sick in the head!"

Coralie shook her head, turning to her old friend from high school, "It was a mistake. He must have been sleeping walking or something—"

Serena interjected, scoffing out, "People sleep steal now too or what?"

Liz rolled her eyes at the older Bernard before turning to her daughter's friend, "Look, Serena, you have every right to file an order against him and no one would blame you."

"I will blame her!"

The Sheriff turned to Coralie, spitting out, "Shut up, Cora, or I will throw you in there with him."

"But he did nothing—"

"I am filing an order. I want him in jail and I want her the hell out of my house," Serena stood up, pulling her bag and keys off the desk.

"Sheriff, I have got school but I will be back right after."

"Yeah, okay, dear. It's fine."

Coralie had a hand over her forehead as she turned to Elizabeth Forbes, "What are you doing!? That's my husband!"

"And that's your daughter, Cora!" Liz reminded her, shaking her head in a disapproving manner, "Or are you just so stupid you forgot about that?"

✵ ✵ ✵

"You two didn't say anything to Elena about the coffins, right?" Stefan asked, walking up to the abandoned witch house with Charlotte and Damon.

"No, I said I wouldn't."

"I know what you said," Stefan replied, shrugging his shoulders before turning to Charlotte, "And you?"

Charlotte sighed, shoving her hands in her pockets, "Well, she didn't ask so of course, I didn't tell her."

"Are you implying that if she asks, you will tell her?" Stefan stopped in his tracks, turning to the Bernard vampire to ask her.

She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, "Of course I will."

"Charlotte, do you even understand the point of all of this—"

She cut him off, folding her arms over her chest, "I won't lie to Elena."

Stefan rolled his eyes, recalling, "You lied for her before."

Charlotte pursed her lips together, retorting, "I lied for Elena's sake," She brushed him off, "But you are not Elena and I am not lying for you."

"Then, by all means, leave."

Damon scoffed out, turning to the two, "Can you stop acting like kids?"

"You think this is me acting like a kid?" Charlotte chuckled humorlessly, turning to look at Damon before she shrugged, looking back at Stefan, "If I leave, the first thing I will do is tell Elena about this and if that's not enough, I will stop by Lina's and Klaus' to give them the coffins."

"I am either in or nobody is," She had her hands on her hips, looking between the two Salvatores, "Clear?"

"Crystal."

"This is exactly why I didn't want you to know about this," Stefan shook his head with a roll of his eyes.

Charlotte raised her eyebrows, "Because I am smarter than you? I think like a human being or is it because I actually care if Elena chose to hate you?" She glanced at Damon, commenting, "Unlike him."

"Why? Why do you care?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Umm...maybe because you are my friend?"

"I stopped being your friend or someone you remotely care about a long time ago," Stefan shook his head, stating, "You just haven't let yourself admit it."

The brunette vampire frowned, exhaling sharply, "No, you are my friend and so is she, so I am not just gonna stand by while you ruin the only good thing in your life. You did before, people are supposed to learn from their mistakes."

Stefan raised his eyebrow at her last sentence before Charlotte walked away from him, greeting Bonnie. He watched the Bernard girl smiling at Bonnie before the two of them were walking away and out of the woods.

He ruined the only good thing in his life before, was it too late to not do that again?

✵ ✵ ✵

"And you just filed an order against him? What did your mom have to say about that?"

Serena shrugged her shoulders at Elena's question, "Don't know. I didn't care enough to say and listen. I have school, remember? Gotta get to college. Put Dad and Nana's savings to use."

Elena pursed her lips together before squeezing Serena's shoulder in reassurance, "It's going to work out. I know it will."

"I wish," The human Bernard forced a chuckle to escape her lips as she shrugged her shoulders once again, "Here they come," She said, looking behind Elena as Charlotte and Bonnie walked up to them.

"Hey, sorry I'm late, I...I got held up."

"And I overslept," Charlotte said after Bonnie's excuse.

"It's okay. We just got here too," Elena brushed it off, reassuring them as Charlotte raised her eyebrows, noticing Serena didn't walk away when seeing her. It was progress.

"Can you pass me the balloons?" The doppelganger asked before Serena bent down, handing them over to her, "Thanks," She took them from her hand before asking Bonnie, "What got you running late?"

"I was...working on some new spells. You two?"

"Working out with Alaric."

Serena crossed her arms, holding her bag close to her chest as she revealed, "I was at the Police Station, making sure Jacob doesn't have a good life anymore."

"What happened?" Charlotte asked, worry taking over her features.

"Woke up, found him in my room after being interrogated at 4 in the morning, he confessed that he was trying to steal some money from me. He and mom's financial status is going down the hill," She explained, letting out a long breath.

"That's awful...Serena, I am so sorry," Bonnie patted her friend's back, shaking her head.

"Don't apologize. If anything it's an excuse to get them off my back, huh?" Serena joked, raising her eyebrows as she attempted to take the conversation off of herself, she asked Elena, "There was something you wanted to tell us?"

Elena ran her tongue over her bottom lip, starting, "So, I have something I need to tell you, and you're not gonna like it."

"What happened?"

"Jeremy is gonna be leaving town for a while," She sighed, folding her arms together, "He'll be staying with some old family friends in Denver until this whole Klaus thing blows over."

Bonnie furrowed her eyebrows together, stating, "Jeremy wouldn't just leave you to deal with Klaus on your own."

"I know...I asked Damon to compel him."

"You what?" Charlotte questioned that once, shaking her head, "Elena, you are stripping him of his free will. This is unacceptable...How could you do that?"

Elena looked down, shaking her head, "I know, Charlotte. I know everything that you are going to say but it's not safe for him here anymore. Leaving will give him a better life."

"Let's admit it. It's all any of us wishes to do these days," Serena rolled her eyes, huffing out, "Just take a car and drive until this fucking town is nothing but a bad dream."

✵ ✵ ✵

Charlotte placed her Chemistry book in her bag, walking out of class before she found Serena standing in her way, "Hey...how are you? Can I...help you with anything?"

Serena pursed her lips together, looking at Charlotte who looked genuinely concerned about her before she took in a deep breath and stated, "I am sorry, Charlotte."

The brunette vampire furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion, "You are sorry? For what?"

Serena Bernard wasn't used to admitting she was wrong. She hated it. She knew she was wrong and she wanted to apologize, to fix things but she wasn't sure where to start or how...Serena just wished Charlotte could read her mind and figure out how sorry she was and just straight-out forgive her but unfortunately, she could not read minds.

"About everything," Serena exhaled, shrugging her shoulders, "About acting like a bitch when deep down I knew that your guilt with what happened was killing you."

Charlotte wished she could make her niece stop talking, it hurt to be reminded of what happened. At the same time, she knew that it was important for Serena to let it all out. So, she closed her mouth and listened intently.

"About being the worst friend in the whole world and not appreciating you enough when I probably would be dead without you," She sighed, tears forming in her eyes as she continued, "I know that I talk to you to in the worst way and I say the wrong things but I don't mean to be this way, not to you...It's just how I always am and I have no idea how to change."

Serena took in a deep, remembering that she was still in the school's corridor, "The point is...I am sorry. You have every right to not forgive me if you don't want to but I just need you to know that I really want to be better than this...I just don't know how."

Charlotte's heart broke, watching Serena try to speak through her tears. She never held something against her, Charlotte always told herself that whatever happens, she is just a kid who never asked for a messed up life.

She nodded, "It's okay."

"Okay, you forgive me or okay, you don't want to talk to me again?" Serena used her knuckles to rub the tears off her face as she sniffled.

The brunette vampire chuckled softly, replying, "Forgive you, of course...I will always forgive you. I just...wish you could, too," Charlotte didn't know how but somehow tears were forming in her eyes as well.

Serena smiled, sniffling back, "Stop crying. We look like total idiots standing in the corridor."

"I know," Charlotte chuckled through her tears before pulling her niece in an embrace and the younger Bernard hugged her back like her life depended on it.

✵ ✵ ✵

"Hey, stop shuffling!"

Charlotte turned to Matt, shaking her head at him, "It's just a few more seconds, Matt, and did we really have to hide in a closet? Like behind a couch would have done it?"

The Donovan rolled his eyes, claiming, "But that would be so obvious."

Charlotte sighed, taking in a deep breath. To think spending more than a few years in what could be a prison of sorts could make her less terrified of confined spaces was a wrong idea.

Caroline walked into her house and placed her stuff down. All of a sudden Elena, Matt, Charlotte, Serena, and Bonnie jumped out with balloons, party hats, and a sign, yelling together, "Happy birthday!"

"What are you guys doing here?" The blonde vampire furrowed her eyebrows together, asking in confusion.

"Well, you blew off school and missed our work of birthday art, so...," Elena smiled, taking off the crown she was wearing and putting it on Caroline's head.

"Change into warmer clothes, we are going to the Falls. S'mores, campfire..," Bonnie stated, grinning as she listed out.

"Cake! Like when we were little!"

"Except for the tequila!"

Serena chuckled, adding, "And Vodka."

Charlotte shrugged her shoulders, "And well, me."

The Forbes girl felt bad turning them down but she had to as she shook her head, "Thanks, guys. Really, um, I'm just not feeling my birthday this year."

"I'm sorry, what? You've already claimed your birthday as everyone's favorite day of the year."

She nodded before sighing exsaperatedly, "Yeah, and now, it's just a reminder that technically, I'm dead. Look, I didn't even like 17. And the only point to being 17 is to get to 18," Caroline folded her arms together, claiming, "It's a filler year; I'm stuck in a filler year."

"Well, then so am I," Charlotte shrugged her shoulders, walking up to the blonde, "I did die at 17, too. The point is life doesn't have to stop after you die."

"Yeah, you're not stuck, Caroline."

"Yeah I am, but it's okay—"

"Wait," Charlotte interjected, shaking her head, "I know exactly what you need to," She exchanged a look with Elena, both of them having the same idea.

✵ ✵ ✵

They had arrived at the Fell Crypt after Elena and Charlotte's instructions, "There it is!"

"This is creepy, even for us," Bonnie declared, shaking her head as a soft chuckle left her lips.

Elena shook her head, stating, "No, Caroline was right...technically, she's dead. Sorry," She turned to Caroline who sighed, yet to understand what was happening, "But you don't need a birthday, you need a funeral."

Charlotte took over after Elena, claiming, "You need to let go of your old life so you can peacefully move on with your new one. It's what I did," She chuckled, cracking a joke, "Granted, I didn't have a cake or Tequila and Vodka but it was better after that."

"Was it?"

Charlotte nodded, shrugging her shoulders, "It happened recently. I realized that holding onto Charlotte Bernard, the sweet, innocent, and naive girl from 1864 wasn't the right thing," She smiled, running her tongue over her bottom lip, "I am not that person anymore. It grounded me—the obligation to stay like that...it weighed me down...now, I am free, happy."

Caroline smiled, starting, "Okay. Here lies Caroline Forbes..."

Elena was putting candles on top of the birthday cake—baked by Charlotte as she named, "Cheerleader, Miss Mystic Falls, third-grade hopscotch champion...," Caroline giggled at that.

"Friend, daughter, overachiever...," Bonnie smiled at her best friend, shrugging her shoulders.

Serena rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless, "A pretty good Barbie."

"The worst baker in the world," Charlotte added, shaking her head when Caroline's lips parted, taking offense.

"Mean girl, sometimes, no offense," Matt said, smiling at the blonde as he raised his hands in surrender.

"Ah, none taken."

Elena sighed, a small smile on her lips as she finished, "She was 17, and she had a really good life. So rest in peace, so that she can move forward."

She walked up to Caroline, holding the cake in front of her, "That's what you really need. What we all really need. Amen, or cheers or whatever," The doppelganger shook her head as the rest of them laughed, "Bonnie?"

Bonnie lit the candles with her powers, "Nice! Okay, make a wish."

She held the cake out to Caroline, who closed her eyes and made a wish.

✵ ✵ ✵

A while later, they were eating the chocolate cake that Charlotte had so willingly done from scratch. Matt took the bottle of tequila from Bonnie, but Elena snatched it from his hand and drank as he turned to her, she shrugged.

"Ah-ah. I need it more than you do, trust me."

"Don't know why you guys settle for that, though," Serena chuckled, shaking her head, "Vodka is much stronger and does the trick for me."

"Don't know why you drink at all," Charlotte pursed her lips, replying before taking a bite of her cake, "Caroline, what are you doing?"

Caroline was texting on her phone before she looked up at them, "What? Nothing," She stopped texting, and held her hands down in front of her, trying to hide the phone in them.

Elena shook her head, stating, "Okay, you're a bad sober liar. You're an even worse drunk liar."

The blonde sighed, revealing, "I might have texted Tyler."

"Caroline..."

"What? I'm delicate."

"Give her a break!" Bonnie spoke up, scoffing out, "You can't control what everyone does all the time."

There was an awkward silence after the Bennett witch spoke up. It oddly reminded Charlotte of yesterday when she couldn't control herself or keep her words to herself.

"Wow."

Matt shook his head, standing up, "Ouch, Bon."

"Sorry, I know it's Caroline's birthday, funeral, or whatever but, I just feel it's really wrong that you compelled Jeremy to leave town," Bonnie exhaled sharply, stating.

Elena sighed, defending her point of view, "I'm doing it to protect him, Bonnie. I want to give him a chance to have a quiet normal life."

"He should be able to choose how he wants to live it, you're taking his choices away," Bonnie retorted, furrowing her eyebrows together in frustration.

"Bonnie, you can't tell him."

"Why? Are you gonna compel me not to?"

Matt sighed, speaking up before they could take it too far, "You know, you guys are ruining a perfect funeral."

"I'm sorry. I'm just gonna go sleep it off or something," Bonnie shook her head, rising to her feet before she turned to Caroline, "Happy birthday."

Serena put down the Vodka, "I should probably follow her...she is also kind of my ride home, so yeah," She rose to her feet, making her way to the door, "Bye guys, don't drink much, and happy birthday, Care. I love you."

"I love you, too," Caroline called after before sitting down where Bonnie once sat, "And then there were four."

Charlotte sighed, "Well, who wants to share embarrassing childhood memories?"

Everyone laughed at that, it was so random yet a usual thing to do at times like that. The Bernard started with herself, "My first actual words were Excusez moi."

"French?" Elena raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I learned French before English. My family was originated from France back in the 1700s or something," She shrugged her shoulders, failing to remember in detail.

Matt raised an eyebrow, "What's embarrassing about that?"

"It was to my father when he told mom that it didn't matter if I wore pink or black and that I am just a child and the colors are nothing to me," Charlotte chuckled fondly at the moment.

"Aww, so cute," Caroline laughed out, squishing the Bernard's cheeks before the latter swatted her hand away.

A while later, the four of them were laughing. Matt and Elena sitting on a bench and Caroline's head resting on Charlotte's lab before Tyler walked in, speaking quietly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to crash the party."

Matt rolled his eyes, turning to face him, "So don't."

"No, it's...it's okay," Caroline shook her head, rising to her feet before she greeted Tyler, "Hi."

"Can I talk to you for a sec? It's kind of important."

Caroline nodded, excusing herself from them before following Tyler into the woods.

Charlotte sighed, noticing their expressions, "Guys, he can't control this," She folded her arms together, "Neither does Caroline. She loves him. He is sired and he can't do a thing about it."

Elena nodded, "We know...it just...it sucks," She sighed, turning to Matt, "Are you okay?"

The Donovan took the tequila from her hands, downing a mouthful, "Yeah, I want her to be happy, you know? It's what I want for all of you guys, in the middle of this crazy life you got stuck living."

"Is that how you see it? That we're stuck?"

"Isn't that how we all see it?" Charlotte shrugged her shoulders, looking down at her feet.

"I'd say it's attached itself to you all pretty tight, yeah."

"Bonnie is right, you know, I have no business messing in Jeremy's head. I just don't know what else to do," The doppelganger shrugged her shoulders, seemingly hopeless, "He is in danger here. I can't lose anyone else that I love."

"I get you but driving him away is sort of the same thing, Elena," Charlotte claimed, looking up at her friend.

The three of them waited for a while but Caroline never made it back so they left to look for her. Matt was shining a flashlight around, calling out, "Caroline!"

"Great, we've been abandoned," Elena concluded, sighing exasperatedly, "Okay, we're going on a search party, I don't trust that she won't get back together with him."

"Caroline!"

"Come on, Caroline we don't have anymore drinks!" Elena called out again, "Matt's being haunted by the Fell ghosts," She playfully nudged Matt with her shoulder, Matt nudged her back and smiled as Charlotte rolled her eyes at the two, smiling nonetheless.

Suddenly, someone knocked Matt's head against the crypt wall at super speed, and Matt fell to the ground unconscious. Charlotte whipped around so quickly but she felt someone's hands on her neck before everything went dark.

✵ ✵ ✵

Charlotte's eyes fluttered open, taking in a deep breath. It was dim, she couldn't see a thing and when she reached her arms forward, there was a wall that she couldn't path through. The brunette quickly panicked, banging her hands above herself and beside her only to realize that she was stuck.

The blood hammered in her ears. Her heart thudded in her chest. Her hands shook. Her feet tingled. Her vision was disfigured as if she were looking through a fish-eye lens. She had to get out.

Charlotte screamed, tears rushing down her cheeks, "Somebody let me out! Let me out!" She felt her heartbeat quickening, "Please, let me out!"

She cried harder, her chest growing tight as bile rose in her throat, "Please, I can't breathe!"

Charlotte was in a car trunk. Of course, she hadn't realized that, being too busy worrying about how to get out and feeling like she couldn't breathe anymore.

"Stefan, pull over!" Elena screamed out at him, worrying as Charlotte's frightened screams had gotten louder, "She is having a panic attack, Stefan! Stop the car, Stefan!"

"Not now, not yet."

Charlotte's screams and cries had gotten louder as squeezed her eyes shut, turning to Stefan, "So, what's the plan, Stefan? What's the big move you're making?"

"I took Klaus's family to make him suffer. I'm not gonna let him make himself a new one."

"So, what are you gonna do, huh? Are you gonna lock us in some cave and keep us hostages?"

"Maybe," He shrugged his shoulders.

"This is about me, okay? Klaus needs me to make his hybrids. Leave Charlotte out of this, please!" Elena begged, pursing her lips together.

Stefan shook his head, "You are wrong," He sighed, stating, "I have spent all summer with this guy. I know him. He says he doesn't care but if something just ticks off Paulina, he knows what to do. Charlotte is here for motivation. The minute her friend hears her then I have got him."

"Stop the car, Stefan! Stop the car, I need to help her!"

The Salvatore ignored her, dialing Klaus, "Stefan, how nice to hear your voice."

"Tell your hybrids to get out of town, Klaus."

"Well, that's not gonna happen until I get my coffins back."

"Okay, well then I'm gonna drive your blood source and Charlotte off Wickery Bridge—"

Paulina spoke up, revealing the phone must have been on speaker, "What does she have to do with this?"

He placed his phone on speaker as well, "You hear that? That's your friend, struggling to breathe."

"Stefan...," Paulina's voice was shaking for the first time. Elena had never heard her sound so...defeated as she said, "Please, keep her out of this. Stefan, she has nothing to do with what's happening."

"She does, now."

"What do you think driving her off the bridge would do?"

Elena assumed that was Klaus speaking, it seemed Paulina was too taken by Charlotte's frightened screams and cries to even think logically.

"Oh, that is for Elena. Charlotte, stake her? Rip her head off? Something poetic."

"I don't believe you, Stefan. You won't kill her," Klaus claimed, shaking his head.

Stefan bit his wrist and forced it into Elena's mouth and forced her to drink his blood, "No! No! No! What are you doing?"

"What's going on?"

Charlotte felt her lungs closing in, she couldn't breathe. Her mind was taking her back to the tomb where she was locked up for years and years. It still haunted her dreams—or should she say nightmares.

Her screams weren't as loud but she continued banging against the trunk, feeling the air wouldn't get in her lungs no matter how much she tried. She felt like she was dying and she couldn't do a thing about it.

Charlotte remembered when the blood would stop running through her veins when all she could do was stare ahead, she couldn't even do a thing as little as smiling or as desired as crying her heart out.

"Stefan, slow down! Stefan! Stefan, stop it!" Elena screamed out as Stefan drove faster and closer to the Wickery Bridge.

"Fine, I'll send them away. You win."

The doppelganger screamed as the Salvatore didn't slow down, "Stefan! Stefan, stop!"

Paulina yelled out from where she was on speaker, "Stop the car, Stefan!"

He slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop just as Klaus hung up. Stefan got out of the car and opened the trunk, standing back when his eyes landed on Charlotte. Elena had shoved him away from her, forgetting about what she had just gone through as she pulled Charlotte out.

"Hey, you are okay. None of it is real, you are okay," Elena held Charlotte up, her heart was breaking as she watched the Bernard vampire try to grasp what was real, being stuck in the tomb or Elena standing in front of her with a guilty-looking Stefan standing behind her, "You are not in the tomb anymore. You are alive and you are okay."

"Elena?"

She nodded, pulling the brunette close to her chest, "Yeah, it's me. It's fine. Everything is fine."

Charlotte's breathes were getting steady as she kept holding onto Elena, squeezing her eyes shut as if opening them would bring the nightmares back.

Somewhere through that, Elena had asked Stefan to leave—more of yelled at him to do so.

"Can I...stay with you tonight, please?" Charlotte asked, fidgeting with her sleeves, "I—I just really don't want to be alone right now."

"Honestly, me neither."

✵ ✵ ✵