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iv. moonstone

IN ALL HONESTY, Erin began to forget what life had been like without the presence of the supernatural. Were town-wide events always so hectic? Did vampires constantly lurk in the shadows? Had the Founders' Council convened behind closed doors at every chance? Or was Mystic Falls just another boring little town where nothing ever happened?

     Erin couldn't imagine it anymore. Not with the chaos that had become her home. They were lucky to get a few days of peace until the next calamity struck.

     While Jenna's barbecue had been relatively uneventful, the moments that took place after were anything but. Damon made a new enemy in Mason Lockwood with a silver steak knife to the chest. Something werewolves were apparently immune to. A volunteer park restoration and picnic led to Sheriff Forbes almost killing Stefan and Damon, followed by a forced stay in the Salvatore Boarding House cellar.

     And Katherine, her personal brand of anarchy came with a demand toward Elena and Stefan. She wanted their relationship to end. Something neither of them were willing to do. So they faked little fights, knowing that it would get back to Katherine. A truly stupid game to play against the vindictive vampire, but they didn't seem to care about the consequences.

     "Are you sure about this?" Erin questioned, turning in the front seat of her and Elena's car. "I mean, pretending to fight with Stefan? It's not like it's a secret. Too many people know you're faking it."

     Elena sighed from her place behind the wheel. "What else are we supposed to do, Erin? Break up?"

     That would be the most straightforward and logical decision. But Erin came to the realization long ago that Elena and Stefan were far from the logical type.

     Erin just shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. What if Katherine finds out?"

     Elena shook her head, leaned back against the cloth seat. "I can't think about that. She doesn't get to win, not like this. We can't let her."

     "This is dangerous, Elena," Erin exclaimed toward her hardheaded sister. "Katherine already killed Caroline, and basically made her spy on everyone. We don't know what else she's capable of."

     Erin didn't know what to think when she learned about Caroline's predicament. Katherine threatened her friend, forcing her to keep tabs on them as a way to remain up-to-date on all things Mystic Falls. That meant she was willing to do anything to get what she wanted. Kill, manipulate, lie. They didn't know half of what their vampire ancestor would do if they crossed her.

     They were on thin ice as it was, and Elena and Stefan refusing to go more than a few days without seeing each other could lead to a major fallout. A preventable fallout that they didn't seem to care about.

     With a sigh, Erin met her sister's stare and said, "I hope you know what you're doing."

     "Me too." Elena raised up and grabbed the door handle. "Now, let's get this over with," she voiced, climbing out of the car.

     Erin followed, shutting the door behind her with a loud smack. "Don't tell me you hate the masquerade, now. It's like - the only tolerable event we have."

     "I'd enjoy it more if we didn't have a crazy doppelgänger running around, making our lives miserable," Elena retorted as they headed for the front entrance of the Lockwood Mansion.

     Erin pressed her lips together and nodded. "Yeah, you might have a point."

__________

     People were scattered throughout the Lockwood home and the surrounding lawn, preparing for the masquerade the following night. Tables were placed, strings of lights were hung, and various other forms of decoration dotted the area ornate ways.

     Out of all the events that took place in their small town, the masquerade was definitely one of the largest and most grand. Who wouldn't want to partake in fancy dress and flaunt an elaborate mask for the whole night? It was one of the only times they could live out their fantasy dreams. Of course the event was popular.

     Erin and Elena were put to work on the back lawn, setting centerpieces on tables and filling empty candelabras with their missing candles. Not the funniest job, but they would do anything to help Jenna out.

     Their aunt had taken to volunteering for basically anything and everything she could get her hands on. Erin worried that she took on too much at times, but she realized that Jenna knew her limits. And with Erin, Elena, and Jeremy hardly ever home, she needed something other than her grad school work to keep her busy.

     Erin raised up on her toes to place a basic wax candle in one of the candelabra's holdings, while Elena did the same on the other side. She didn't know what Carol Lockwood's obsession was with candles, but she guessed the woman could have a worse interest. Better to let the widow have something to look forward to.

     Right then, Bonnie approached them with a box in hand. She set it down onto the table and gave them a tight smile.

     "You're here," Erin grinned in return.

     Bonnie sighed. "I'm here." Her eyes proceeded to dart across the lawn, as if she were in search of something. Or someone.

     Elena gave her a look and said, "Caroline's not coming. I told you."

     "Just making sure."

     Erin resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Ever since Bonnie discovered that Caroline had been turned into a vampire, she avoided the girl like the plague. She didn't call or text. She didn't want to see her. Nothing. After she spelled Caroline a ring so she could walk in the sun unburned, Bonnie acted as though their friend was dead to her.

     Erin knew that Bonnie didn't like vampires, or specifically Damon, but she never thought that she would completely ostracize Caroline when she became one. It wasn't her fault. She didn't ask for it.

     Come to think of it, Erin realized she hadn't met a single vampire who actually had, except for Isobel.

     "You know, eventually, you're gonna have to talk to her," Elena told the Bennet witch.

     Bonnie gave her a look of, somewhat, betrayal. "Could you make it a little less obvious you're on her side?"

     Erin did roll her eyes at that. "There aren't any sides, Bonnie."

     Bonnie glanced between them and continued, "come on. Since Caroline became a vampire, we barely see each other. Losing Caroline was bad enough, I didn't think I'd lose you guys, too."

     Erin's eyes narrowed toward her. "You didn't lose Caroline. She became a vampire. She isn't dead. She's the same person we've known our whole lives."

     Bonnie looked at her and voiced, "She's a vampire, now, Erin."

     "So?" Erin shot back with a shake of her head. "That doesn't matter. But it seems it does to you." She stepped back from the table, ignoring Bonnie's fallen expression and her sister's concerned one. "Maybe there are sides. And if so, I'm on Caroline's."

     "Erin..."

     Erin brushed Elena's call aside and turned, striding away from them to head into the Lockwood Mansion. She was not about to stand there with someone who completely abandoned their friend for something beyond their control. Bonnie's apprehension toward vampires was valid, but Erin couldn't ignore her blatant disregard for Caroline. She wouldn't.

__________

     Dozens upon dozens of masks were dumped onto cardboard boxes, waiting to be chosen for the upcoming night. Erin sorted through then, placing them on a table for easy access. Some people made their own, wanting to stand out amongst the crowd, while others simply picked one from those offered. Erin had been the former in the past, but she decided to just grab one from the community pile that time around. She didn't have the time or interest for anything else.

     As she sifted between collections of feathers and glittering rhinestones, Erin jumped when someone appeared at her side. She released a long breath, raising a hand to her chest. "Damnit, Damon. What're you doing here? I thought you weren't coming?"

     Over the last few days, Erin's friendship with Damon had almost returned to normal. She still held resentment with the fact that he killed Jeremy, but their usual jests and tension-less presence around one another resumed.

     Something Elena wasn't too happy with, but Erin didn't cater her life to her sister's wishes.

     "Looking for my baby bro," Damon answered, releasing a terse breath. "Speaking of, would you tell yours to stop following me around?"

     Erin's brows furrowed. "What? Why's he following you?"

     "Ask eager beaver." Damon nodded behind him, before he exited the closest door to the back patio.

     Erin followed his previous line of sight to see her brother hot on the vampire's trail. "Jer, what's going on?"

     Jeremy stopped to face her. "Damon and I are looking for a moonstone. Apparently, it's for something called the Sun and Moon Curse. Tyler Lockwood has it, and his uncle wants it."

     Erin blinked at the onslaught of information. She remembered the mention of the Sun and Moon Curse from Duke. It was the origin of the vampire and werewolf species. But she didn't know anything about a moonstone, or that the Lockwoods were involved with it.

     "Wait, moonstone? What does it have to do with the curse?" Erin questioned, her mind whirling.

     Jeremy shrugged. "Not sure. Damon can explain it better than I can. Look, I have to go talk to Tyler..."

     "Jeremy, just..."

     "Please, don't pull an Elena and try to tell me what to do," Jeremy cut her off.

     Erin shook her head and raised her hand. "Whoa, slow your roll. I was just gonna say 'be careful.' You're in this mess whether me or Elena like it or not. We can't really tell you what to do."

     They honestly couldn't stop Jeremy from wanting to insert himself into their supernatural business. He was sixteen, now, and he could make his own decisions. It wasn't really fair for Erin, or Elena, to try to keep him from something he was involved in nearly as much as them.

     Jeremy stared at her for a moment, before he smiled lightly. "Thanks, Erin."

     Erin gave him a smile of her own, before her expression slacked. "Just don't tell Elena I said that."

__________

     In some miraculous turn of events, Damon and Stefan managed to enlist the help of Bonnie. They wanted to interrogate Mason Lockwood about why he wanted the moonstone, where it was, and why he was involved with Katherine Pierce.

     Even stranger than vampires, witches, and werewolves, it seemed Mason found himself in a romantic relationship with the ruthless vampire.

     And just when Erin believed her life couldn't get any weirder.

     However, following her sister's vampire boyfriend through the woods could be classified as weird.

     Elena and Stefan's fake fighting made it so they were unable to communicate out in the open. That meant Erin was left out of the loop in her presence. They had no other choice than to follow him as he left the Lockwood's in a hurry.

     Erin thanked herself for throwing on a pair of tennis shoes that morning as they hiked through the woods toward the edge of the old Lockwood property. A forgotten stretch of land that once held the family's estate in the late 1800s. Only things that remained were stone ruins of the home's foundation, a cellar, and an unused well.

     Although, the contaminated thing seemed to have gained some attention as of late.

     Erin and Elena came across Stefan, who leaned against the well's edge and looked down into the dark stone hole.

     He looked up when he heard their footsteps against the forest floor. "You shouldn't be here," Stefan stated, his attention aimed toward his girlfriend.

     Elena simply moved to his side. "I know, but I am. What's going on?"

     Erin stepped up beside them and noticed the metal grate still locked onto the top of the well. It had always been there, even when she and her friends played there as kids. Their parents worried about it relentlessly, warning them not to go near the thing in case they fell in and drowned, but they never really paid them any mind. They thought they were invincible back then.

     Oh, how wrong they were.

     "Bonnie thinks the moonstone is down here," Stefan told them.

     Without another word, Stefan grabbed ahold of the grate's lock and tore it off with ease. He pulled the grate off next, tossing it aside with a thud. The dark hole into the ground was revealed, forcing him to grab a flashlight he brought along and shine it into the stone structure.

     Erin peered down to see water at the bottom, reflecting the flashlight's beam and the faint rays of the sun overhead. A smart hiding place for a moonstone. They never would've thought to look there without Bonnie.

     Stefan set his hands onto the side of the well and pushed himself up onto its edge. His flashlight still in hand.

     "Hey," Elena spoke and pulled his gaze to her. "Be careful."

     "I'll only be down there for a minute," Stefan said, before he looked away and leapt into the well.

     Erin watched him fall into the darkness, hearing a splash as he landed in the water.

     Silence answered for a moment until Stefan's scream echoed from inside. "Elena!"

     Erin's eyes widened at the sheer terror in his voice.

     Elena's did the same as she snapped to the well. "Stefan?" she shouted down to him.

     "Elena!"

     Erin leaned over the well's edge, but she couldn't see far enough down to where Stefan would be. "Stefan, what's going on down there?" she called out.

     He only screamed in answer.

     "Stefan, what's happening?" Elena questioned next.

     "Ver - vervain!" Stefan struggled out until another scream of agony followed.

     Oh, God. The well was full of vervain. Stefan was trapped in the toxic mess, burning every second he stayed inside.

     "Stefan? Stefan!" Elena yelled, but Stefan failed to respond.

     Erin's heart hammered in her chest. If they didn't get Stefan out and fast, the vervain was going to kill him. She searched for something to help them, but she froze when Elena made a move to climb the edge of the well.

     Erin reached out and grabbed a fist full of her sister's shirt to keep her in place. "What the hell are you doing?" she exclaimed.

     Elena looked back at her and said, "we have to help him, Erin."

     Erin nodded. "Yeah, but that jump will kill you, and then you'd both be dead down there."

     Elena contemplated her words and then sighed, hopping off the well.

     With her sister's suicidal tendency squashed, Erin resumed her search for something that could help Stefan. She stepped around the well, pausing when she spotted a chain next to the stone. Darkened by age and overgrown with weeds. Erin rushed toward it, grabbing one of the linked strands to heave it up, but the thing wouldn't budge.

     "Elena, help me." Erin glanced at her sister.

     Elena noticed what she wanted to do and hurried over, crouching to lift the chain. But even with the two of them, the chain wouldn't move. It had rusted together and was one big hunk of useless metal.

     Erin huffed, standing as she ran a hand through her hair. What were they going to do?

     Before she could rack her brain for another option, Caroline appeared between the trees in a blur. "Erin!" she voiced as she spotted her.

     Erin sighed. "Caroline, thank God. Stefan's in the well, and the chain's rusted together."

     Caroline moved for the well, ready to jump down into it, until Elena stopped her.

     "No, no, no! You can't!" Elena rushed out, standing beside them. "It's filled with vervain." She ran to the well's edge and stared down into the shadowed hol. "Caroline, we've gotta get him out. Now!"

     Caroline went for the chain and used her new vampiric strength to pry it apart. She lifted the end, tossing it over the bar that once held a bucket for the well.

     Erin helped Elena onto the well's edge, taking hold of the chain to wrap around her sister's waist. Caroline couldn't go anywhere near the inside without burning from the vervain, so that left one of them. And silently, Elena volunteered. All but ready to save the life of her boyfriend.

     Caroline held onto the rest of the chain, prepared to ease Elena down into the well. "I've got you, okay?" she assured her friend.

     Elena nodded, readjusting the chain to rest under her thighs. "Okay."

     To Erin's surprise, Bonnie ran up to them just as they were about m to assist Elena out over the gaping hole.

     "What's going on? You just took off in a blur," Bonnie heaved, trying to catch her breath.

     Caroline tightened her grip on the chain. "I heard Elena screaming. Help them."

     Erin maintained her hood on Elena's arm and urged her off the stone wall. Bonnie did the same, making sure she remained upright on the chain.

     Elena grunted, catching herself on the inside of the well with her feet.

     "Are you ready?" Caroline asked, bracing against the ground as she held the eldest twin's weight.

     "Yeah," Elena called up.

     Slowly, Caroline eased the chain out and let Elena sink lower into the well.

     Erin held her breath, watching her sister drop and drop and drop. Her form grew darker as the shadows overtook her.

     Suddenly, the chain whirled and slipped from Caroline's hands. She quickly regained her hip, halting its movement against the bar. "Sorry!"

     Erin leaned further across the well's edge, just barely making out her sister still suspended from the chain. "Elena, are you okay?"

     "I'm fine. Keep going!" Elena's voice echoed.

     Caroline released a breath, letting the chain continue deeper into the well.

     After a few seconds, the chain's movement ceased. Elena hit the bottom. Caroline called down to her, only to gain a command to pull Stefan up. The girl didn't waste any time, yanking on the chain as fast as she could.

     Erin gasped when Stefan's body came into view. Every inch of exposed skin was covered in bright red splotches, still sizzling from the vervain water that soaked into his clothes.

     "Oh, my God." Erin grabbed his arm, pulling him over to the stone wall. Bonnie and Caroline helped her unclip him from the chain and place him on the ground.

     Erin had never seen Stefan look so horrible. Of course she witnessed a vampire get burned by vervain, but that was something else entirely. There wasn't a place on his body where the plant hadn't scarred him.

     Caroline returned to the well to pull Elena up, but she stayed to find the moonstone. Erin stayed at Stefan's side, knowing that it's what her sister would have wanted, until screams erupted from the dark hole.

     Erin rocketed up from the found and raced toward the well. "Elena! Elena, what's happening?" Elena's screams continued. "Answer me!"

     A moment passed and Elena shouted, "I got it! Come on, bring me up!"

     Erin sighed, keeping her stare on the well as Caroline ripping the chain up into her hands. Once her sister came into view, she snatched at her waist and pulled her out of the well.

     Elena seemed fine, although soaked, as she tore off the chain and dropped beside Stefan. The box she held tossed away. "Oh, God. Stefan." She took in the sight of him, before she grabbed a rock from the ground and sliced it into her wrist.

     Erin cringed as Elena raised the wound to Stefan's lips, forcing him to drink her blood.

__________

     Later that evening, Jenna and Alaric commandeered the Gilbert kitchen for dinner. They had worked through the complications in their relationship and were officially a couple. Something Erin was thrilled about. They both deserved some happiness in their lives, and if that included each other, she didn't really mind.

     Erin changed out of her sweaty, vervain infested clothes for something comfier. Jenna might have wanted her to dress a little better for dinner, but an old t-shirt and joggers were what she needed after the weird day.

     Alaric headed for the dining room table that didn't actually sit in a designated dining room. Erin's parents hadn't wanted one, opting to use the space next to the kitchen as a second sitting area. That way she and her siblings could still spend time with them as they cooked.

     The plates Alaric held were set onto the table as he distributed them onto the placemats. Erin helped, adding the needed amount of glasses and silverware.

     "I've been meaning to ask," Alaric spoke, capturing Erin's wandering attention. "How're you holding up? I mean, after everything lately."

     Erin shrugged, setting a fork onto the yellow mat across the table. In some strange way, she felt perfectly fine. The craziness of her life had become an odd constant, distracting her from the boring events that made up her days in Mystic Falls. At least the vampire drama was interesting.

     "I'm fine," Erin replied, gaining a doubt-filled look. She chucked a bit. "Really. I think I've gotten used to the crazy."

     Alaric sighed as he moved a plate. "I wish you didn't have to."

     Erin gave him an appreciative smile. "I know, but it's my life now. Might as well accept it."

     Right then, Elena entered the kitchen, having showered off the vervain water that stuck to her skin. She glanced around the room and asked, "where's Jeremy?"

     Alaric looked at her and said, "oh, he went straight up to his room. He said he wasn't hungry."

     A brief pause in conversation led them to hear Jenna, talking to someone on the phone held to her ear.

     "Who's she talking to, anyway?" Erin questioned, having seen her aunt on the phone when she joined them earlier.

     Alaric glanced back at Jenna and shrugged. "I don't know." His attention returned to them as he asked, "everything go okay today?"

     Erin and Elena exchanged a look. Okay? That was a bit of an understatement.

     Elena pressed her lips together. "There were a few hiccups, but yeah."

     Erin scoffed, setting the rest of the silverware into their designated places. Elena needed to reevaluate her definition of okay.

     Alaric picked up on her reaction and started to retort, but Jenna moved toward them and caused him to remain silent.

     "Of course, I understand," Jenna said, lowering the phone to hold it out. "Elena, it's for you."

     "Who is it?" Elena questioned, not receiving an answer as Jenna returned to her previous spot at the island counter. She blinked, lifting the phone to her ear. "Hello?" Her eyes went wide.

     Erin's brows furrowed as Elena held up a finger and stepped away. No, she wasn't getting off that easy. Erin hurried over to her sister, leaning close to the other side of the phone to hear the caller.

     "Did you enjoy your little rendezvous with Stefan this morning?"

     Erin froze when she recognized the voice. Not because of the person themselves, but because it was identical to one that escaped herself and Elena.

     "I will always know, Elena. I will always be one step ahead of you," Katherine Pierce spoke with all the confidence in the world. "Do you know how easy it was to get inside of your house? To replace Aunt Jenna's vervain perfume, to convince her to stop drinking her special tea?"

     Erin's heart nearly seized. Katherine had gotten Jenna off vervain.

     "No," Elena muttered, but the vampire could still hear it.

     "Jenna's been my little spy for days now. But unlike you, Jenna actually listens to me. So when I suggested that the world would be a much better place if she were to just..."

     Erin spun around in time to see Jenna lift a butcher knife high. "Jenna, no!" she screamed, too late as her aunt arched down and drove the blade into her stomach.

     Jenna gasped, falling to the floor as blood poured from the knife still embedded in her skin.

     Erin kicked off the hardwood, almost slipping in her house-shoes as she raced for Jenna. She dropped to her side, hands hovering around the knife as more and more blood seeped out and pooled at her knees.

<March 17, 2022>

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

One more chapter until the love of my life is here!

I'm trying my hardest to get through these chapters as fast as a can, but my migraines are being a bitch. Still haven't figured them one, but I'm getting another MRI and blood work done in a month. So, hopefully I'll get some answers soon.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

- Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.