CHAPTER FIVE

Nyx opens her eyes and looks around as she slowly starts to become more aware of her surroundings. She picks up her head and sees Dean standing in front of her with a knife. The teenager tries to move, but she's tied to a chair.

"I guess I hit you a little harder than I thought that second time." He says as he starts walking toward her.

"You're the shapeshifter." Nyx says, her voice low and weak.

He smiles. "You're a smart girl, Nycole, you catch on fast." He says. "That's part of what Dean likes about you, what I like about you."

"You may look like him, but you are not him." She argues.

"You would know." He puts his hands on her arms — which are tied to the arms​ of the chair — and his face is only inches away from hers. "You have a twin and a doppelganger out there. Tell me, what's that like?"

"Go to hell​."

"Maybe someday, but not today."

"What do you want with me?" She questions.

"I find you interesting. It's obvious that you're in way over your head and yet you try to keep up with the Winchester brothers anyway." He says. "You should've stayed in Mystic Falls. It was safer there than you'd ever have been with these two idiots."

"You don't know what you're talking about." She says, her voice slowly growing stronger, and he smiles as he puts his hands on her legs, moving even closer to her.

"That's where you're wrong. See, I have all of Dean's memories." He tells her. "I know how you met, what he thought the second he saw you. I can even tell you what your sister told him on the phone earlier. You wanna know what she said before I kill you?" He taunts.

Nycole spits in his face, and he straightens up as he wipes it away. He looks at her and then backhands her across the face. He backs up a couple steps as he looks at her, and she looks down at the position that she's in. She has an idea to get out, and there are two ways that it could go. One: it could actually work in her favor, or two: it could make things a lot worse for her.

Here's hoping it's one.

Nyx quickly leans forward in her seat until her feet are flat on the ground, then she throws herself backward, hard. She and the chair flip and it breaks. It's a damn good thing the chair is made of wood.

The teenager grabs a sharp piece as she gets to her feet, and he looks at her with a smile on his face. "Like I said, you're smart and you're fast, but that's not going to be enough to save you this time." He says.

"If I can survive a ghost, a wendigo, a house full of vengeful vampires, and Blood friggin' Mary, I think I can survive you." She argues.

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?" He says and then runs at her.

She ducks under his knife and turns around to face him again. She swings the wood at him, but he catches it and grabs her. He then pins her against the wall and his face is only a few inches from hers again.

"Dean's afraid of how he feels for you, you know that?" He asks, his eyes staring into hers. "He thinks he'll fall for you, and you'll end up leaving him just like everybody else."

Nyx stabs him with the piece of wood and then​ shoves him away from her as hard as she can manage. He pulls it out and drops it on the floor beside him.

"I'll make it a fair fight." He drops the knife. "But you'll still lose."

"We'll see about that." She says, and he runs at her again.

She moves back a step and then punches him across the face. They each land their fair share of hits, and he laughs as he looks at her. They're both pretty bloodied up at this point.

"I think the saddest thing is, he's afraid he'll lose you because you're just as broken as he​ is." He tells her. "If only you knew how much it hurt him when you said that you don't want to be with him. I think his first clue should've been the connection that you have to that vampire back home. Damon, right? If not that, then when he woke up alone after you two slept together."

"You know, there's​ not usually this much talking in a fist fight." She says, not wanting to hear his rendition of Dean's thoughts, and he nods.

"Right, we can skip to the end if you're getting tired." He kneels down and picks up the knife he dropped before.

He tries to use the knife on her, and she blocks his attack, but the blade cuts deep into her forearm. She screams out in pain, and he grabs her again, this time pinning her to the floor.

"The worst part is, he notices all the smiles and looks exchanged between the two of you. He knows how he feels and he thinks he knows how you feel, but then you said you don't want a relationship." He says, his lips next to her ear and the knife pressed against her throat. "You probably should've told him that before you slept with him. That was a real bitch move, Nyx."

"I did tell him before that night." She says through gritted teeth and then she brings her knee up into the side of his ribs.

He grunts as he curves his side, shrinking momentarily into the pain, and then he presses the blade more firmly against her throat. She doesn't dare move anymore as she glares up at him, knowing that the knife will break skin if there's even the slightest bit of a tug.

They hear movement coming from outside of the room that they're in, and he quickly turns his head toward the door. He unintentionally eases pressure on the knife, and she utilizes the distraction to shove him. His upper body moves up and she takes another swing at him. Her fist catches his jaw and he falls off of her, hitting the floor with a loud thud.

They hear footsteps moving toward them, and he quickly gets to his feet and takes off, trying to find an escape route for himself. Nyx pushes herself up and leans against a nearby wall. She cradles her arm that got cut and takes notice of just how winded she actually is. Her breathing is heavy and her hands are starting to shake.

A door bursts open​ and police quickly file into the room. It's a SWAT team. Two of them run over to Nycole, and the others keep looking for the shapeshifter.

"Are you alright, Miss?" One of them asks, and she nods. "Where did he go?"

"I don't know. He ran when he heard you coming." She tells them, her voice rough and her breathing labored. "I didn't see which way he went." They hear rapid gunfire — an automatic of some kind — and she jumps.

"It's okay. You're safe now." The other officer says, and she nods slowly.

—

Nyx wakes up the next morning and she looks around her hospital room. It looks like every other one that she's ever been in before — white walls, medical equipment surrounding her bed, including the monitor that her steady heartbeat is sounding from. Then she notices a familiar face sitting in a large chair in the corner of the room.

"Where's Elena?" She asks, her voice low and slightly hoarse, but he had no problem hearing her.

"I didn't tell her I was coming." Stefan says as he looks at her. "I wanted to know how you were before I told her that you're in the hospital."

"That's probably smart."

"I'm a little surprised that I'm your emergency contact." He tells her as he gets to his feet.

"After I got arrested back in California, I realized that having Jenna as the first person who's called if something happens to me probably isn't the best idea. John's out of the question, and there's no way in hell that I'd do that to Jeremy or Elena. My sister's boyfriend seemed like the next logical option." She explains. "Plus, I trust you."

He nods, now standing at her bedside as he looks down at her. "Now, you wanna explain how the hell this happened​?"

"How much do you know?"

"I saw the news. Dean's face is all over the place. They're saying he did this to you." He tells her.

She shakes her head. "We were hunting a shapeshifter, trying to kill it before it could kill a third person. It turned into him, and kidnapped me before we could get it. Dean would never do this to me...or to anyone for that matter." She tells him.

"You put up one hell of a fight." He says, looking at the bruises that are littered all over every trace of visible skin.

"It wasn't easy, that's for sure."

"I can get you out of here and heal you if you want. It's your choice." He offers, and she shakes her head.

"Not with this job. If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die as me." She tells him, and he nods. He may not like seeing her like this, but he knew that she'd say no to his blood. "And not in transition either, it's not a risk that I'm comfortable with."

"Alright, well, the police want to talk to you." He says, and she sighs.

Nyx talks to the police, giving them her statement. She tells them that she doesn't remember most of it, and she doesn't know why he attacked her. The last part isn't a total lie. Other than the fact that the shapeshifter's a psycho, she doesn't know why he did this.

They tell her that he's dead now, and then Stefan compels them to leave her alone. That they don't need anything else from her, and then he compels the doctors to release her from the hospital. They make it outside, and he looks down at her.

"Come on, I know where they are." He says as he hands Nyx her phone.

The two end up back at Becky's house, and Nyx starts getting​ out of Stefan's car. He's by her side in a flash and helps her stand up straight.

"Nycole." Dean rushes over as soon as he sees her.

Stefan closes Nyx's door for her, and she hugs Dean as soon as he's in front of her. She lets out a low groan, and he pulls away so that he can look down at her.

"It's just my arm." She tells him, and he looks at the sling that it's in. "It's not that bad, but the doctor doesn't want me to tear my stitches open."

"Stitches?" He asks, and she nods. "God, your head."

He gently touches her eyebrow next to the spot that a piece of medical tape is keeping it together. She turns her head down when she notices him looking at the scab on her lip where it was split.

"I'm fine." Nyx tells him as she moves her hair out of her face, looking back up at him.

He catches her hand and looks at her bruised knuckles. "You used my face as a punching​ bag, huh?" He asks, trying to lighten the mood, and she laughs.

It hurts her to do so, and she grabs onto his jacket as she leans her head against​ his chest. She steadies her breathing and waits for the pain to subside.

"She has stitches in her right forearm, a split eyebrow and lip, bruised knuckles and ribs, and a cracked rib." Stefan quickly fills him in, gaining Dean's attention. "She shouldn't be out of the hospital, but she's stubborn, and I can't compel her to do what she should."

"I'll take care of her." Dean says, and he nods as he looks back at Nyx.

Stefan doesn't doubt that she'll be well taken care of. He can see how much the boys care for her, especially Dean.

"Nycole." Sam jogs over to them, and Dean steps into his brother's path.

"Watch it." He says, and she smiles at the Winchester boys.

"I'm fine." She says, and Dean reluctantly moves out of the younger boy's way. "Just don't squeeze me." She tells Sam, and he hugs her.

"I was on my way to the hospital to see you when the shapeshifter grabbed me." Sam says as he pulls back to look down at her. "I was getting really worried when Stefan finally called and said that you were okay."

"I am okay. And nobody's gonna look for me, Stefan took care of that."

"I'm gonna go say goodbye to Becky, and I'll be right back." He says, and she nods.

"Thank you, for helping her when we couldn't." Dean says to Stefan.

"It was no problem. Like I've already told her, she can always come to me when she needs anything." Stefan says as he looks back at Nycole. "You should​ call your sister soon. After her last conversation with Dean, and him promising to keep you safe, she'd be dragging you home right now if I had brought her with me."

"Thank you, Stefan. After this, I definitely owe you one." She says, and he shakes his head.

"You don't owe me anything." He tells her.

"Seriously, thank you."

"Anytime you need anything, you call me." He tells her, and she nods; he then walks over to the driver's side of his car. He leaves as she and Dean walk over to the Impala.

"How did he get here in a night?" He asks, and she shakes her head.

"I have no idea. He's Stefan." She says, and he looks down at her.

"The shapeshifter... He did this to​ you, looking like me?" He asks, and she hesitates for a second before nodding.

"It was weird. He looked like you, he had all your memories, he said things only you would know... But the way that he said things, he wasn't you. It made it easier to fight him." She tells him. "That, and he was a little more annoying than you are."

"Annoying?" He asks, and she nods.

"He kept talking. I told him fights aren't​ supposed to have so much dialogue, but he was an even worse listener than you are." She attempts a joke, to no avail.

"What'd he say?"

"He mentioned the night we met, and your conversation with Elena." She says. "Mostly​ it was him telling me I couldn't beat him, and I was gonna die."

"I promised Elena that I'd look after you, that I'd protect you, and then I let you get kidnapped by this son of a— And look at you." He shakes his head.

"You didn't let me get taken, and he's dead now." She argues, reaching her left hand up and resting it on his cheek. "I'm here, that's all that matters. I'm alive and I'm right here. And I'm not going anywhere." She tells him.

He takes her hand in his and just looks at her. She can see the guilt in his eyes, and she knows that nothing she says is going to make him blame himself any less.

Sam clears his throat as he walks over to them. They both turn to face him.

"Hey, so, what about your friend, Zach?" Nyx asks.

"The cops are blaming this Dean Winchester guy for Emily's murder. Found the murder weapon in his lair, Zach's clothes stained in her blood." He tells them. "Now they're thinking maybe the surveillance tape was tampered with." He says, and Dean doesn't like the sound of it. "Yeah, Becca says Zach will be released soon."

"At least one good thing came out of all this." She says. "I mean, it sucks that you're legally dead and are being blamed for murder, and that I look like this, but—"

"Yeah, I get it." Dean says, and she chuckles.

The pain in her side immediately makes her stop as she holds the spot that hurts. "This car ride is gonna be fun." She says sarcastically.

"As soon as we get out of this town we'll get a motel room so you can get some rest." He tells her and then tosses the car keys to his brother. "You're driving, so be careful or I'll kick your ass."

Dean and Nyx get into the backseat, and she lays her head on his shoulder. Having him back here actually makes it more comfortable because this way she can sit up straighter​ and still easily lean on something without hurting her side.

Dean goes to rest his hand on her leg, but she moves it. "Yeah, not happening. Too soon." She says, and he looks at her.

"Something happen that I should know about?" He asks, resting his hands in his lap.

"Not-You had a thing for putting his hands in places that made me wanna chop 'em off." She tells​ him. "My arms, my legs, my face. The way he was talking like he knew us... He's lucky all I did with that chair leg was shove it in his stomach."

Dean rubs his own stomach, and she smirks at the look on his face. "We'll talk more about that later." He tells her, and Sam laughs at their exchange as he drives down the road.

Nyx holds her hand out, and he hesitates as he looks at it. After a moment, he places his hand over hers, and she interlaces their fingers as she tries to get more comfortable at his side. He looks down at her as she takes a deep breath, closing her eyes.