19. Heart Of Darkness

Caroline entered the school cafeteria and immediately she was shocked seeing everything.

"What is this?" Caroline asked, marching over to her sister.

"What do you mean what is this?" an annoyed Lily asked, "This is the decade dance preparation you're forcing me to help you organise".

"No, this" Caroline said, grabbing a feather boa, "The 20s? We're doing the 70s".

"Yeah, I'm not getting into this" Lily said, "You have a problem? Talk to the person who changed the theme".

"And who will that be?" a confused Caroline asked.

"Who do you think?" Lily asked.

"Too flashy people, it's supposed to be a speakeasy, not the world fair" both Lily and Caroline heard Rebekah say as she entered the cafeteria, when her eyes landed on Caroline, she walked over to the extremely annoyed Forbes, "Ah, good, you're here, we need help setting up the tables, so get to it".

"What do you think you're doing?" a furious Caroline asked.

"Somebody has to be in charge" Rebekah replied.

"Yeah, me, I'm the chair of the dance committee" Caroline retorted, "The theme of the decade dance is the 1970s".

"So you'd rather dress in tacky colors with bad hair than be a classic flapper from the jazz age?" Rebekah asked, "Honestly, I don't know how Lily tolerates you".

"Hey, keep Lily out of this" Lily said, not wanting to get between Caroline and Rebekah, knowing nothing good will come out of it.

"Go on Lily, don't be a coward" Rebekah said, "You know you loved my 20s idea when I presented it to the group".

A shocked Caroline turned to her sister, "Traitor!".

Lily glared at Rebekah, "Do you want me to die?".

"No, I want you to be honest" Rebekah retorted.

Lily sighed, she turned to her sister, "Don't murder me, I just find classic flapper more fun then bell bottoms and disco".

"See? It's more fun" Rebekah taunted Caroline.

"Ugh, whatever, have fun at your stupid dance" Caroline said, stomping out of the cafeteria.

Lily looked at a smug Rebekah, "You just had to put me between you two".

"Of course I did" Rebekah said, looping her arm with Lily's, "So question, what did you decide?".

"About what?" a confused Lily asked.

"About my brother wanting you to leave town with him" Rebekah replied, Lily looked at Rebekah in slight shock, wondering how she knew, "I might have heard your conversation when I was stomping up to my room".

Lily sighed, "I haven't decided anything yet, it's not a easy decision, I mean I would love nothing more then to get out of this town and explore the world, but I can't just leave my mom and sister".

"Stop overthinking it" Rebekah said, "If you want to leave, then leave".

"What happened to, get out of this before he destroys you Lily?" Lily asked.

Rebekah shrugged, "Are you going to listen to me?".

"What do you think?" Lily asked.

"I think you and my brother are exploring whatever is happening between you two" Rebekah replied, "And I also know that you don't listen to anyone but yourself and you don't think Nik is bad for you, so you're not going to take my advice".

"Was it genuine advice?" a curious Lily asked.

Rebekah sighed, "No" she admitted, "It was advice given in anger, so don't take it".

Lily chuckled, "Didn't plan on it".

"And about your mom and sister, if they really love you, they will be happy in your happiness" Rebekah said.

Lily smiled at Rebekah, "I didn't know you gave such good advice".

Rebekah shrugged, "I don't like to brag".

Lily laughed, she grabbed a feather boa and wrapped it around Rebekah's neck, "Let's have this conversation another day, we have a decade dance to organise".

"Yes we do" Rebekah said, grabbing another feather boa and wrapping it around Lily, making the Forbes werewolf laugh.

***

"Do you think they've got Jeremy by now?" a curious Alaric asked Stefan.

Currently, the hunter and vampire sat in the Salvatore's basement cellar, waiting for Alaric's alter ego to show up and tell them where he had hidden the last white oak stake.

"They should, I haven't heard from them" Stefan replied, "Elena's worried about him, knowing she can't count on his ring anymore".

"Who knows?" Alaric asked, "Maybe his alter ego's a pot smoking hippie pacifist".

Stefan chuckled, "Yeah, maybe".

Alaric let out a sigh, "I can't say I thought mine would be so hostile and militant".

"Actually, it makes perfect sense" Stefan said, "Your wife left you to become a vampire and your girlfriend was killed by one".

"He must really hate me" Alaric realised, "Here I am, the failed hunter slash drinking buddy of vampires".

"Eh, he's too judgmental" Stefan said.

"The thing is, he's me" Alaric pointed out, "I'm not compelled, I'm not possessed, there's no humanity switch, what drives him, is me".

"No" Stefan denied, shaking his head slightly, "No, he's not you, he's the darkest parts of you, parts we all have".

"Well, this is depressing, isn't it?" Klaus said, walking into the cellar and announcing his presence to the duo.

Lily walked behind Klaus, "We found this upstairs in the living room" she informed, showing Stefan the white oak stake they found.

"Now, by my count there should be one more" Klaus remembered.

"Yeah well, it's gonna take a little more time" Stefan informed.

"Why, because you're waiting for that one to pass out?" Klaus asked, pointing towards Alaric, "No thanks, I think I'll just kill him".

"Well then you won't know the location of the other stake" Stefan retorted.

"I can live with that" Klaus said, taking a step towards Alaric, but Lily quickly put her hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"At least give Stefan one chance to do this his way" Lily said.

"You might be willingly to live with that stake being out there, but I can't" Stefan told Klaus, "When we staked Finn, we discovered that killing an original vampire killed its entire bloodline, now, I don't know which one of you I'm descended from but I'd really rather not find out by dying, so why don't we just find the stake, destroy it, so we can all be safe?".

"I am perfectly okay with that plan" Lily said.

"So the fate of the entire vampire race depends on you finding a stake?" Klaus asked Stefan, he then looked at Alaric, "And to get it, we need you to pass out, which means that I feel totally justified doing this", Klaus speeded over to Alaric and snapped his neck, shocking both Stefan and Lily, "There, sleeping like a baby".

***

After Klaus killed Alaric and threatened Stefan to bring him the last white oak stake, both Klaus and Lily went back to the Mikaelson mansion, just as the duo entered the living room, they were shocked seeing Esther's body on the floor and Rebekah hovering over her.

"What's going on?" an extremely confused and shocked Klaus asked.

"She's dead" Rebekah informed.

Lily took a step towards Rebekah, she knew out of all the siblings, Rebekah would be the most affected by this, "You okay?".

Rebekah stared at Esther's body for a moment, she then looked at Lily, "I'm perfectly okay".

***

After confirming that Esther was dead and Klaus took care of her body, Klaus and Lily made their way back to the boarding house, this time with Rebekah, as soon as they arrived, their supper hearing caught Stefan beating Alaric up so his alter ego can come out, and after Klaus forced Lily to stay next to him, the trio finally heard Alaric's alter ego surface and confess that the last remaining white oak stake is in the cave no vampire can get into.

"Wow" Lily whispered, looking at the bloody face of Alaric, who Rebekah had dragged into the living room, Lily looked at her best friend, "You did that?".

"It's a little gratuitous, don't you think, Stefan?" Klaus mocked, "I would have been more gentle".

Lily shook her head at the hybrid, "He's lying" she told Stefan, "He wouldn't have been gentle, he would have straight up killed Alaric".

"I'm gonna take him to the caves" Rebekah informed Klaus and Lily, she then looked at Alaric, "You're gonna go inside and fetch me the stake, and if you think you can hide, you're wrong".

"And then there was one" Klaus said, as Rebekah walked out the house with Alaric, "I know about your brother's little mission to Denver, he failed, not that that's news anymore".

"So what are you gonna do now, Klaus?" Stefan asked, "You gonna kill me?".

"Even if I wanted to, your best friend wouldn't let me, and I'm trying to stay in her good books" Klaus said, making Stefan look at Lily who simply gave him a sheepish smile, "Which by the way, you lot make really hard with all your plotting and failing, and another reason I'm not going to kill you Stefan, is that I'm still waiting for my old friend to come back, by the looks of it, he's just beneath the surface, waiting to come out and play", Klaus chuckled, "Isn't that right, ripper?".

"I've been fighting that part of myself" Stefan admitted, "Thinking that if I repress it, it would go away, but it won't, and now that I've accepted it, it can't control me, and neither can you, so unless you're gonna stake me, why don't you get the hell out of my house".

As Stefan walked out of the living room, Lily quickly rushed after him, "You know" she said, when she caught with her best friend, both of them walking up to Stefan's room, "I'm proud of you".

"What for?" Stefan asked.

Lily shrugged, "For everything, I know with Klaus and the whole Elena and Damon situation, things haven't been easy for you, yet you haven't let that effect you in a bad way".

Stefan let out a sigh and sat on his bed, "I'm trying my best not to let it effect me in a bad way".

Lily sat next to Stefan, "And right now, that's the best you can do".

Stefan nodded his head, he then looked at Lily, a curious expression on his face, "Can I ask you a question?".

"Of course you can" Lily said.

"Do you love him?" Stefan asked, "Are you in love with Klaus?".

"I don't know" Lily whispered, "I know that I'm attracted to him, I know that he makes me happy, and I know that I am really tempted to accept his offer to leave town with him, but I don't know if I'm in love with him yet, I just feel like it's all happening so quickly".

"Wait, go back, Klaus asked you to leave town with him?" a shocked Stefan asked, Lily nodded her head in response, "And why haven't you told me this?".

"Because I haven't come to a decision to yet" Lily replied, "I'm confused Stefan".

"About Klaus?" Stefan asked.

"About everything" Lily clarified, "I don't know if I'm ready to leave my mom and sister behind, to leave you behind, I don't know if leaving with Klaus is a good idea, I don't know what it will mean for us, I don't know if I'm reading too much into it or too less, this whole feelings thing is just so confusing".

Stefan let out a small chuckle, "You and Klaus are two of the most complicated people I have ever met, I can't imagine your love story to not be confusing and complicated".

Lily let out a laugh, "Agreed".

"You know, you make him a better person" Stefan said, making Lily look at him in confusion, "Actually, you make him want to be a better person, a person that's worthy of you and he changes you too, he offers you a whole different perspective of the world you've hated so much".

"How come despite hating Klaus so much, you and Caroline keep pushing me towards him?" a curious Lily asked.

Stefan sighed, "Don't get me wrong, the thought of Klaus hurting you terrifies me, but Caroline is right when she said that I hurt you too, so did she, we all have hurt each other at some point but that doesn't mean we don't care for each other, yes I'm terrified of what will happen if this thing between you and Klaus goes south, but I also know that you will pick yourself back up, all I have to do is make sure that you know that you're not alone, no matter what you chose".

Lily smiled at Stefan, she scooted closer to Stefan and looped her arm around his, she then placed her head on his shoulder, "I love you, Stefan Salvatore".

Stefan kissed the top of Lily's head, "I love you too, Lily Forbes".

***

Presenting 2x19 of Fire & Flame!

How was the chapter?

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