𝟔𝟓

a/n: Cher's outfit for the chapter is on the left and the dress for the funeral is on the right!

☆═━ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄━═☆

"I will have a cheeseburger, extra fries, and a lemonade."

Charlotte ordered, smiling sweetly at the waiter before taking a look behind him, finding a miserable Damon Salvatore sulking at the bar, "Uh, on second thought...I will have it at the bar if that's okay?"

"Yeah, sure," He nodded as Charlotte got out of her seat and moved to sit beside Damon.

The raven-haired vampire spoke up, "That seat's taken."

She furrowed her eyebrows together before moving to sit on the other side, "Why are you all pouty?"

"I am not...pouty," He rolled his eyes at her expression, claiming.

"You and Elena are together now, shouldn't you be a few clouds upwards from cloud 6?" She raised an eyebrow, a smug smile on her lips, ever so proud of her joke.

Although it cracked a smile on Damon's face, he turned to her, "That's officially the worst pun I have ever heard and I have heard a lot..."

"Well, at least I am top in something," Charlotte shrugged her shoulders, forcing a smile on her face, "Even if it's making the most awful puns."

"You are in the depressed mode."

"What part of my wide beautiful smile says depressed?" She rolled her eyes, asking as the bartender left her order in front of her, "This is me being the happiest I have been in days."

Damon nudged her, taking a fry from her plate, "It's so wide that it sickens me, you smile wider when you hate life."

"I do?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow, finding that to be new information, "Isn't it logical that a person smiles wider when they are happier?"

"Logic loses its meaning when it comes to the great Charlotte Bernard," He retorted, chuckling humorlessly.

"I don't know whether to be flattered or offended...," Charlotte trailed off, shaking her head as she held the burger in both of her hands, "So, you and Elena?"

"Don't."

"I am just checking on my best friend who has started dating my other best friend, it sounds so weird when I say it out loud," Charlotte chuckled, taking a bite of her burger, "Just...how are you two doing?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," Damon pursed his lips together, revealing, "That day on the bridge, she had to leave for—"

"Us. Not Stefan but everyone else," She cut him off, stating, "Elena chose you, just cut the drama and go be happy."

The Salvatore turned to her, raising an eyebrow as she shrugged, "What? I want you both to be happy, why does it have to be complicated?"

"Your advice could work really well if you, yourself, used it..."

"I do use my advice before anyone does," Charlotte claimed, huffing out as she took a sip of her lemonade, "Or else I wouldn't recommend it."

Damon raised both of his eyebrows, "Really?"

"Mhm."

"Where is Stefan right now?"

"I don't know and it's not my business to know," She replied, folding her arms together.

He took in a deep breath, reminding the stubborn brunette vampire, "He did choose you. So, take your own advice. Just cut the drama and go be happy."

Charlotte rubbed the back of her neck, starting, "Stefan and I...we are different. Okay, a year and a half ago, I would want this, I would more than anything but things have changed. I have grown more as a person and I realize that Stefan and I don't work, if we do then that implies I am the girl on standby, the one on the shelf—"

"You are not the backup, he chose you."

"It's too late, Damon," She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, claiming, "I love him, I do...it's one of the only things I am sure of...I just don't know if I am still in love with him and there's a huge difference right there."

"C'mon, it's you and Stefan...isn't that like a forever kind of thing?"

"It used to be," She had a small smile on her face, replying, "Sometimes people are just not meant to be and it's sad and depressing but it's just the world we live in."

"Right..."

Charlotte shrugged her shoulders and took another sip of her lemonade as Damon asked, "So, how are you?"

"I am good," She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, nodding.

"Now the real answer?"

She crossed her arms together, "I am telling myself that I am on the right of the track but my subconscious is telling me that abandoning Lina doesn't exactly stand for right...so, I finally picked a side and my guilt is seeping through," Charlotte took in a deep breath, brushing it off, "But don't worry, she is probably out of town already and out of sight is out of mind, right?"

He hummed, seeming to look at something behind her, "Yeah, that's going to be a little hard."

"Why?" She furrowed her eyebrows together, turning around to his line of sight before spotting the one and only Lina Gilbert taking a seat at one of the booths, "Oh..."

"Maybe you weren't harsh enough, she still is the most self-absorbed and manipulative person we know."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow, a scoff escaping her lips, "While you exist? I don't think so."

✵ ✵ ✵

Serena put a plaster on the last box before carrying it down the stairs as Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows together after unlocking the house door. Serena had insisted a few days back that Charlotte should keep a key in case she ever wants to come and that she is not exactly a stranger to the house.

"What are you doing?"

"It's been two years. I am boxing things up," Serena answered, blowing her hair out of her face as she unlocked the basement, "I am getting sick of stumbling into something and tearing up in the middle of the day. People move on and it's healthy so that's what I am going to do."

"Did you...did you pack up Cassie's room, too?"

The teenager paused, setting the box down, "No...I figured it should stay there. I just...I just think that Dad and Nana's belongings are the problem, okay? Everything else is fine."

"I am still with Damon on the not staying here part," Charlotte rubbed the back of her neck, suggesting.

"This is my home, Charlotte. Where else am I supposed to go?" She exhaled sharply, inquiring, "This is my house and yes, it has some of the worst memories of my life...like my grandmother dying on the staircase I walk over every day, my father dying on a bed that is just below my room...and my sister dying right in front of this house...," Serena recalled every memory of them, tears swelling in her eyes.

"But it's not just that, alright? It has the only good memories of my life, too...," She pursed her lips together, forcing a humorless laugh out of her lips, "And my Nana's ghost would probably hunt me down if I even try to get rid of this house."

Charlotte took in a deep breath, looking over at all the boxes in the living room, "You should probably start cleaning your basement if it's taking in all of this...it has rats, many of them."

"You are joking, right?"

"I think they like the basement empty but you know what we can just—"

Serena cut her off, "There are rats in my house?!"

"Is this new knowledge to you?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow, "I mean...they could be older than me," She claimed, carrying a box and walking past her niece and into the basement.

"Charlotte! Please tell me you're joking!"

✵ ✵ ✵

Stefan was pulling the wooden bullets out of Tyler's torso with a pair of metal tongs as Caroline and Charlotte stood nearby, watching. The brunette vampire knew Tyler got shot by the new hunter in town, well, not because anyone bothered to call but she quite literally walked in on Stefan trying to pull the bullets out of his chest.

"Please tell me that's the last one...," Caroline asked hopefully as Stefan examined one of the bullets.

"These were specially carved; the length, the width. If you were a normal vampire, you'd be dead," He placed the wooden bullet in a glass of alcohol to clean it off.

Tyler sighed, sitting up, "This guy knew what he was doing. His gloves must have been steeped in vervain. He was looking for a vampire and he didn't hesitate for a second when he found one."

"Well, be thankful you are alive," Charlotte inhaled sharply, replying, "And try to stay inside, it seems like he is everywhere."

"You have seen him?"

She shook her head before stating with her arms folded over her chest, "Didn't have the misfortune but Damon did and Sheriff Forbes, too, now you and your mom and it's only been a day, he moves fast."

Stefan observed the bullet, "These etchings...," He touched it but pulled away quickly as it burned.

Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows together, "That's...weird."

"Are the bullets spelled?" Caroline raised her eyebrows, questioning.

"I don't know. They're something."

✵ ✵ ✵

Bonnie Bennett had gone MIA since getting Klaus back to his body and no matter how many times someone called, she wouldn't answer. Elena was too busy adjusting to her new normal and Caroline was happy for once with Tyler but Charlotte had nothing to do but worry about others, including Bonnie.

The brunette vampire knocked on the door, holding a pack of cupcakes in her hand, "Bonnie, open up."

"I know you're in there. I can hear you breathing," Charlotte stated, taking in a deep breath, "Bonnie, please, I am worried about you."

Charlotte Bernard was a genuinely friendly person, she always wanted to befriend new people, it was part of her nature. The thing with Bonnie was, she felt like if she was with the witch alone in the same room all hell will break loose.

Don't get her wrong, she liked Bonnie and her determination, her selflessness, and just about everything else but Bonnie still lost her Grams opening the tomb Charlotte was locked in, and deep down, the vampire felt like Bonnie had yet to forgive her for that.

Bonnie got up and opened the front door, "Hey, you okay?" She attempted to walk inside but couldn't as she asked, "Can I come in, please?"

She nodded her head and Charlotte walked in before placing the pack she had aside and taking the petite witch in her arms. Bonnie started to cry as Charlotte held on to her, "Hey, hey, it's ok."

A while had passed with the vampire comforting Bonnie before they moved on to sit in the living room and she started, "My Grams, it was like she was dying all over again. Just because I didn't listen to her about not doing black magic."

"Well, you're dealing with the Other Side," Charlotte reminded her, hopefully assuming, "Witches could probably be just messing with your head...trying to teach you a lesson?"

Bonnie pursed her lips together, retorting, "Well, it worked. I tried to do a basic nature spell this morning just to clear my head and it just brought it all back. Like it was happening all over again...," She took in a deep breath, shaking her head, "Sorry, I'm a mess, I've been holed up in here avoiding everyone. I've completely blown off Jamie."

"No, it's fine, really," Charlotte squeezed her shoulder in reassurance, "I know you are in a really bad place right now but...that's why we have friends, right?"

"Right," She nodded before sighing, "Aside from the cupcakes...You came here because you needed something, right?"

Charlotte shook her head, getting up, "Yeah, but, it can wait."

"No, come on. Charlotte, I'm okay," Bonnie looked up at the Bernard, asking, "Just...if something's wrong, tell me."

Charlotte exhaled, sitting down next to Bonnie before she unwrapped a cloth with the wooden bullets from Connor's gun in them, "Alright, these burn to the touch," She turned to Bonnie, adding, "Stefan said they could just be steeped in vervain, but this writing, have you ever seen anything like this before?"

"No. It's not magical writing if that's what you're thinking," The witch confirmed, shaking her head as Charlotte sighed, "Where'd you get these?"

"We might have a new vampire hunter in town..."

"That's bad timing."

"Oh, very."

✵ ✵ ✵

It was the day of the memorial for the council members, and Charlotte had a bad feeling about it. However, they all needed it to move forward so they just had to pull through. Charlotte tucked a loose of strand hair behind her ear as she walked into the church.

She stopped in the front, spotting Stefan as he talked to Caroline and Tyler, "What the hell are you doing here?" She whispered out the question, addressing Tyler.

"Being sensitive to the community's loss," He shrugged his shoulders, answering.

Stefan raised his eyebrow, "With a hunter out to get you?"

"I'm not letting a hunter stop me from where I'm supposed to be."

Caroline turned to the two vampires, adding, "Also, if he shows his face, I'm gonna kick his ass."

"Mhm," Charlotte pursed her lips together, moving down a row. She sat down, two rows behind Elena, Jeremy, and Matt. When the brunette looked beside her, Stefan was sat down next to her. Charlotte sighed, it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Before we begin the Mass, we'd like to open the floor to anyone who would like to share a memory about our late friends on the Town Council. I know that April Young wanted to say a few words about her dad," Carol started, smiling warmly at everyone present before calling, "April? April, are you still here, honey?"

"Is there anyone else who would like to share a recollection or a memory about Pastor Young?"

Elena stood up after a short moment of hesitation as no one was going to before Carol nodded, "Come on up, Elena."

She proceeded to walk up to the podium. Damon walked into the church; Stefan, Charlotte, Tyler, and Caroline all turned to look at him. He dipped his hands in a bowl of holy water and touched his forehead, chest, and shoulders in the formation of a cross, "Don't know why that always makes me smile."

He sat down next to Charlotte, commenting, "She doesn't look so good."

"Maybe you should have told us that she was rejecting all food sources," Charlotte replied, narrowing her eyes at the older Salvatore.

"So, you could start listing all the times you were right and I wasn't?"

"No, so, I would step in because you clearly have no clue what to do half of the time," She rolled her eyes, stating.

"I uh – when I talked to April earlier she was kind of nervous about coming up to speak. And now that I'm up here, I'm kind of nervous too," Elena started, holding on to the sides of the podium, "The worst day of loving someone is the day that you lose them."

"Do you smell that?" Caroline whispered.

Tyler nodded, confirming, "Blood."

"Nobody move. Don't turn around, it's a trap," Damon joined in, telling all the vampires in the room via vampire hearing. The blood had seeped through the balcony and started to drip into the holy water as Elena was losing it at the podium.

"I...," She breathed in and out, but veins started crawling towards her eyes. Charlotte rose to her feet and came up to the podium quickly before wrapping her arm around her.

"It's okay, I am here," She assured her, rubbing her arm gently, "Just focus on your breathing, you can do this."

She led Elena off the stage and back into the row next to Matt. The priest went over to the podium, "Please turn to page forty-two in your hymn book. Let us join together in a song."

Everyone in the room stood up and began to sing as Elena leaned on Charlotte for support when they finally got back to their seats, "The blood. Charlotte, the blood, I can smell it. There's so much..."

"I know," Charlotte took in a deep breath, "It's alright; just focus on your breathing. Push through for a little while, it will be okay."

Matt turned to them, questioning, "What's wrong with her?"

"She's hungry. She hasn't fed."

"So, get her out of here."

"I can't," Charlotte pursed her lips together, replying, "Someone's watching us."

She heard Damon stating through her vampire hearing, "I'm gonna go rip his head off now."

"Damon, don't."

Charlotte could hear Stefan telling him as well, "You do that, Damon, and you risk exposing all of us."

"Well, I think the risk will be slightly diminished when I, you know, rip his head off."

"I'm losing it," Elena's breath hitched in her throat as she said, worrying Charlotte further if that was possible.

"You have ten seconds before I go old-fashioned on the new guy."

"Don't do it, Damon. Please," Charlotte was quite literally begging him as she asked again.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Elena, feed from me," Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows together, turning to the Donovan, "It's okay, everyone will think you're upset. Just feed from me."

Elena glanced at Charlotte as if asking her for permission before the brunette nodded, letting Matt take Elena in his arms, "It's okay. You'll be okay." She moved Matt's collar and began to drink from his neck.

After a while, Elena stopped drinking. Her face went back to normal as she pulled away, "Thank you."

Elena wiped the blood from her mouth and Matt hid the wound. On the other side of the room, Tyler moved past Caroline and up the aisle. Elena turned to Charlotte, inhaling sharply, "The blood. I can still smell it. It's got to be April. We have to help her."

"Elena, we can't risk this," Charlotte held her back, shaking her head.

"Then I'm gonna do it!"

She tried to push past her best friend as the older vampire claimed, "This is irrational. Just wait, for the love of God, Elena!"

Suddenly, Tyler spoke up from the podium, "Excuse me. I just wanted to say a few good words about Pastor Young," They all turned to look at him.

"What do we do?" Elena sighed, asking after everyone sat back down.

"I don't know."

"Back in first grade, I was a brat who couldn't be bothered with team sports. Didn't care much about anything that didn't affect me," He expressed, looking up at everyone, "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—"

Connor shot Tyler and the hybrid spun and fell to the floor as everybody started to scream, ducking into the aisles, and some of them rushed out of the church. Damon made his way out with the crowd.

Caroline made her way towards Tyler after Serena who was sitting in the front rows. Carol rushed towards Tyler's side, "Oh my God."

The Forbes vampire ripped the stake out of Tyler as he coughed out, "I'm gonna kill that bastard."

Charlotte stared ahead, not spotting Damon anywhere, "Yeah, I think Damon is beating you to it now."

Charlotte could see that Caroline and Elena had it handled as she attempted to go outside, Stefan held her back, "No, stay here, I will help him."

The brunette raised an eyebrow at Stefan before simply walking past him. He rolled his eyes at her stubbornness before following her outside the church.

"Damon!" Charlotte called out as soon as she stepped outside, rushing past civilians freaking out. She and Stefan ran toward Damon who was still lying on the ground, groaning out in pain.

Stefan let out a sigh when he realized the hunter was nowhere in sight. Charlotte held her hand out to Damon and as soon as he took it sitting up, she furrowed her eyebrows together before punching him in the face, making him fall to the ground.

"Uhh, what the hell was that for?"

"For not trying hard enough. Just because she picked you doesn't mean you control how her life works now, Damon," She answered before shaking her head and walking away.

✵ ✵ ✵

Charlotte took a sip of her hot chocolate mixed with blood as she rested her legs on the couch and pulled her book up from the table. Whilst everyone was dealing with the consequences of the day, the brunette was giving herself a good ol' chilling night with a random book and hot chocolate.

She sighed in content, turning another page before someone walked into the living room. Charlotte looked up, seeing Stefan take his place on the chair in front of the couch she was laying on.

"You didn't come to the memorial."

"I didn't need it that much," Charlotte replied, shrugging her shoulders, "You are right. You are all grieving and through all of this, it's getting numb but I have it handled well."

Stefan nodded before reminding her, "Most of the time you say that...you are never truly doing well."

"People die...it's the way life works, or normally does," Charlotte said, pursing her lips together, "You take your time with grief and that's it. If you haven't noticed, I know how to distance myself from people when I have to."

"Yeah, I had a front-row seat with that."

She chuckled, looking back at her book, "Well, you deserved it."

Although normally that would be offensive, Stefan and Charlotte both knew she was just giving it as a casual reply and she was in a pretty good mood to let any old troubles ruin her night.

"Goodnight, Charlotte."

"Sweet dreams, Stefan."

✵ ✵ ✵

been a little too long, sorry guys my exams have been literally suffocating me and a lot of deadlines and homework.

I was thinking about keeping the punch stefan gave to damon but like char does it better y'all ✨

anyways, serena bernard's official book is posted on my profile now, called "sinners and saints". therefore her scenes on here won't be as much because I will be focusing on them in her own book.

hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it!