II: Love On The Brain

Courtesy of years of experience initiating power-plays and rectifying dire supernatural situations, Reese understood the importance of having a plan. In any case, there was the possibility of any number of unexpected supernatural factors springing up to cause problems and further complicate things. The past was a testament to this, Nik and Elijah being prime examples. Acting on impulse was both a luxury she couldn't afford and a death wish — in the long run, it hadn't helped her then, and it probably won't help her now.

There was a list of the expected factors, and the first place was reserved for the Ravens. For the past fourteen years, they'd dominated over everything else, and it wasn't going to change anywhere in the near future.

When she was on the run, Diane did not send witches after Reese.

She sent vampires. Victims of the Viper Murders. It happened once, then twice, then thrice, then again and again. Reese figured after the third time that Diane was being smart, and not risking sending out actual Raven witches. They were already vulnerable as it is.

Of course, that was seven years ago.

Reese, cut off from the coven for three years now, had no idea where they stood. If by a miracle another blood-born Raven hasn't popped up recently, they can't kill her. Not right away, at least. That fact provided her safety, and helped her relax enough to properly enjoy high school.

With Elijah here, though, things were bound to switch up.

So, Reese wasn't surprised when she noticed somebody was stalking her.

It was an annoying intrusion that, unfortunately, she was well acquainted with. Normally, she'd be delighted to have another vampire to torture and maim — it always sent a powerful message, and she got to catch up with the coven drama too; it was a win-win.

Problem was, she had plans for today; plans that were crucial to her increasingly guilty conscience; plans that revolved around Caroline Forbes and her understandable anger at Reese. It was a risk to put off dealing with her stalker, but she decided, after all these lies, it was time to put Caroline first for a change.

Her day started at the Salvatore house, as it usually does, and she was receiving some vexing, irritating, annoying piece of news, as she usually does.

She was sprawled on their couch, legs kicked up to rest on the center table and arms stretched out. A rubik's cube floated in front of her, tilting and swirling around as she attempted to solve it with magic.

She was busily engrossed in it, turning it this way and that way,  when loud footsteps sounded, followed by Damon's exasperated voice as he dipped into the living room. "You brought back John Gilbert? That was your big 'save Elena' move?"

Stefan came in right behind him, wearing an almost identical look, arms crossed. "I went to go look for Isobel and got John instead. He said he could help, and  — we're desperate."

The rubik's cube clattered on the table, and a disgruntled pout made its way to Reese's face.

"We're not that desperate," Reese said in unison with Damon, who then shot her a look.

"Don't agree with me," Damon said, sitting down on the armchair opposite her. "It's unnatural."

Ignoring him, in a placating tone, Reese said to Stefan, "I don't like John. He's slimy. Besides, Elena's got that deal with Elijah. We don't need John."

"I'm sorry, since when was there a 'we'?" Damon asked.

"What could I have possibly done to betray your trust?"

"I'm sure I have a list lying around somewhere here," Damon said, putting up a front of confusion. "But off the top of my head, remember when you didn't tell us you were besties with the enemy —"

"The point is," Stefan cut in, "Elena's putting all of her faith into this deal with Elijah . . . I mean, we can't trust Elijah, and we can't kill Elijah  —"

Reese raised a finger, silencing him. "Put yourself in Elena's shoes for a minute."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean . . ." Reese smiled deviously. "There's a reason Elena's trusting Elijah, isn't there . . ."

Silence.

"C'mon," she prompted. "You know, it's not like Elijah isn't easy on the eyes. I mean, if he swooped in and promised to protect me I'd definitely f —" Not that they were aware Reese was in a similar position once.

Damon made gagging gestures at her, rolling his eyes.

She shrugged. "You've gotta admit, he's not far from her type —"

"Okay," Stefan pursed his lips, visibly trying not to scowl at Reese. "As I was saying, we've got to bring in a third party —"

Reese frowned, interrupting him again. "You're trying to replace me?"

"Yes, Stefan, you're trying to replace Reese?" Damon asked. "I mean, I'm all for it, but I still don't get how John's the answer."

"He knew about the sacrifice," Stefan said. "Isobel told him. He said he knew of a way to keep Elena safe, and he's got information about Klaus."

"I could've given you that," Reese said.

"But you're not, are you?"

Hm. Fair enough. She'd led them to believe that she'd gained knowledge about Nik through her supernatural connections, and not through personal experience. She indulged the rumors and fears surrounding Nik. They didn't need to know the details of their history together.

It was also what Elena had offered to keep quiet about.

Damon, expectedly, conceded. "Well, what is it then?"

"He's not talking," Stefan answered. "At least, not to me anyway."

Interesting.

Reese didn't like John Gilbert. He had an irritating (and usually inconveniently timed) proclivity for showing up out of nowhere and providing useful, accurate intel — stuff that Reese preferred the Mystic Falls Gang being unaware of. No doubt whatever information he has dug up on Nik would be correct, and although Reese wasn't playing on it, she would've liked for them to stay ignorant for as long as possible.

As for the part about saving Elena . . . well, no matter what it was, it would end up being temporary, since she was going to be sacrificed either way.

This was the first hindrance of Reese's day, then — figuring out exactly what John Gilbert was going to give them.

After Damon left, Stefan remained standing there, brooding.

Reese smiled, swinging her legs off the table. "Well, Stefan, now that Damon's gone, I can manipulate you without any interruptions."

Stefan sighed. "I know you're scheming Reese. Whatever it is, I don't care, as long as you don't put Elena in danger —"

"I don't really have to put in any effort to do that," Reese said. She stalked over to him and swung her arm around his shoulders, pulling him down. "She's doing that just fine on her own."

He gave her a please don't look.

" . . . All I'll say is, you better get used to being manipulated, because when Klaus shows up . . . ." she gasped. "Look, I just gave you information about him. . . how perfect! We don't need John Gilbert here after all."

"Really? The thousand-year-old vampire is manipulative? I'd never have thought—"

"I'm so sorry, Reese, for trying to replace you. You're the best third party I could've ever asked for—"

"Okay," Stefan said, shaking his head.

"Great." Reese freed him from her hold, and got to the point. "Now, I need to go kill a vampire, and you're going to come along to clean up and get rid of the body."

Stefan's phone dinged. He took one look at it, then handed it over to Reese, saying, "Guess it'll have to wait, though."

Her second hindrance arose here: the message was from Caroline, saying '911 NOW.'

Talking to Caroline had already been on her to-do list for today. She'd pushed it back to after she took care of her stalker, but . . .

Well, let's say Caroline was half the reason Reese hadn't kicked it and run away yet.

Reese crossed her arms. "She messaged you, not me."

"You can't avoid her forever."

"I'm not avoiding her. She probably doesn't want me around, anyway."

"You have to apologize to her."

"I don't see what I did wrong," Reese said indignantly. "It's not like I—"

"Betrayed her trust?" Stefan offered. He rushed ahead before Reese could reply. "Look, Reese, how many friends did you have before moving here?"

She opened and closed her mouth like a fish. How uncalled for. " . . . Elijah."

"Elijah," he parroted, a little miffed.

She shrugged. "Yeah."

He nodded, taking a moment to prevent himself from sighing again. He tended to do that a lot around Reese. "Okay," he said finally. "Reese, how do you think Elijah would feel if you breached his trust?"

She tilted her head to the side. "He gets over it pretty quickly, to be honest."

He blinked. "Reese, the point is, Caroline trusted you."

"It's not like I've done anything to her," she groaned.

"You kept your whole life — your entire existence as a witch — a secret from her for three years. She trusted you, and she's hurt that you didn't tell her because she thinks you don't reciprocate that trust."

"Oh."

She didn't know how it happened, but Stefan had grown into a habit of giving her unsolicited advice, and Reese had grown into a habit of accepting it. The first time he did it she'd been affronted that he — a pathetic vampire — had the nerve to try to counsel her — a Raven witch —  far superior to him. They were very different people. Stefan was caring, heroic, and had a strict moral compass. Reese was inscrutable, conniving, and generally worked in the gray area.

But it turned out he had a knack for nailing down her problems, which saved her thinking-power and granted her more time to spend plotting.

She was certain Stefan didn't intend to enable her, but if he couldn't stop himself from spreading the wisdom, that was his problem.

"Okay." Reese uncrossed her arms, the morose state she was in a few seconds ago disappearing in a flash. "I still have things to take care of, and a vampire to murder. If you really, really need me —"

"Seriously, Reese?"

"You know, because I'm much more powerful and smarter than you, just drop me a call."

She didn't wait for a reply and dashed out of the house.

─────────────

   Reese decided the best way to go about getting rid of her hindrances was to follow the order in which they annoyed her most, so after a quick stop at her apartment to pick up a few knives and reinforce the protection spells, she headed for the Mystic Grill.

John Gilbert was her first target.

She wasn't going to kill him. Not yet. That much was apparent when she ransacked her head, making guesses as to what intel he'd brought with him this time.

She'd argue the best, most fool-proof, and consequently the most difficult way to keep Elena safe would be to kill Elijah and Nik. The originals were creating the problem, so the obvious solution was to eliminate them. Elijah had never indulged her in the true weakness of an Original. Nik, when their time came, revealed to her the silver daggers that could temporarily incapacitate them.

But those didn't have the tendency to stick for long, and either way, it was impossible for John to get his hands on one.

Klaus guarded them like a dog, and the one dagger he got stolen from him was in Reese's possession. She'd taken it out of Elijah before fleeing to Mystic Falls and left him with a convincing replica. She'd known he would figure out it wasn't the real dagger eventually, but only after Reese got adequate time to get as far from him as possible.

So, the question remained: what exactly did John Gilbert have?

Damon had found his way to John before her, it seemed, as they were sitting at the same table along with Elena, Alaric and Jenna. Reese caught their eye the moment she entered and streaked past them to the memorial that had been set up for the recently deceased. They would come to her on their own, she knew.

If John had anything of worth, he'd try to hold it over her head.

She was notoriously famous in the supernatural world, after all, and these days, when her name popped up, so did Elijah and Nik's.

She was in the process of flicking her thumb over the wick of the candle, the flame erupting to life, when he reached her. Wrinkly and flaxen-haired, John stood there exuding an ill-suited arrogance as he snatched up a white pillar candle, and said, "Hello Reese. Long time no see."

"John," Reese greeted pleasantly. "Another year would've been nice."

He wore a taut smile. "Oh, you share the same sentiments as everyone else," he said, as if it didn't really bother him.

"And what does that say about you?" She asked, placing her candle in front of the picture frames. "Don't answer that, actually. Let's get to the point — what have you got?"

"Nothing you won't already know, I'd assume," he said.

She felt the urge to sneer at him. "Just spit it out, John."

"Oh, I'm not so sure. How do I know you're not playing both sides?"

"Both sides?" Reese asked innocently.

His smile turned pretentious and knowing. "Everyone knows you can't be trusted, Reese. But you're still here because they care about you. If they knew what I know, though . . ."

She got what he was implying loud and clear. So far, circumstances had forced her to reveal her direct association with Elijah, which they begrudgingly accepted only because Elijah wasn't their principal enemy. No, their principal enemy was Nik, and they were blissfully ignorant of the fact that Reese also had direct associations with him.

She felt a stronger urge to punch him.

"Oh, that I'm a supernatural celebrity?" She made a show of sighing, as if it galled her greatly. "I mean, I do prefer to keep it to myself, just so I can have a shot at a normal life. Imagine how difficult it would be to go to school if people were hounding me all the way there, asking for autographs and what-not."

A muscle jumped in John's cheek, and then his brows furrowed.

She was deadly serious, and her brown eyes glinted with convincing grimness as she leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper. "Tell you what — I'll give you a free autograph if you promise not to tell anyone."

His mouth quirked disbelievingly, and for a split-second, he looked genuinely confused. Reese had delivered her words devoid of even a sliver of sarcasm.

"Of course, if you do," Reese pulled back, "I'll have no choice but to kill you. It would be a shame, though, considering you've apparently come up with a way to protect Elena. I guess I'd have to torture that out of you, then."

That was when Damon joined them. He stood behind John and leaned in close to his face, sporting the cold, sardonic bug-eyes that came naturally to him, and said, "Don't think too much on it, John, and take the offer. Reese won't be the only one getting violent, then."

John reframed his earlier question. "How do I know I can trust either of you?"

"Oh, no, don't trust me," Reese said. "That would be foolish. Even for a man as dimwitted as you."

Damon shrugged. "There's your answer."

"Originals can compel vampires," John went on. "According to Stefan, that's why Katherine's still in the tomb. An Original has compelled her to stay there."

"You know, compulsion only works on those with weak minds," Reese said, placing the warm, sardonic quality her words always carry back in them. "I suppose I see why you'd fear it with Damon over here."

"Thanks for the support, Reese," he told her, picking up his own candle to light, and then turned to John. "That was because the vervain had left her system. Stefan and I, on the other hand, are chock-full."

"You guys are drinking vervain?" John asked, mildly bewildered.

"It's an acquired taste." Damon stepped forward, eyes widening creepily — the tell-tale sign he was about to threaten someone. "I don't see that magical ring on your stitched finger. So if you know something about Klaus, start talking . . . or I will kill you in your sleep."

Reese couldn't help but comment. "That was quite mild, Damon. I think you're getting worse."

Damon smiled acerbically. "Do you have anything better, Reese?"

Mirth danced across her face. "Oh, I'm not one for threats. Torture sessions, on the other hand . . . you know, there was this one time with a guillotine and a chainsaw involved . . . very Frankenstein, I have to say."

John raised his brows, putting across that he was amused, though the scowl could be heard in his voice when he spoke. "Now, is that any way to convince me we are on the same side? First, I need to know that I can trust you . . .," he glanced at Reese, "Damon. Then we'll talk."

And then he walked away. What an asshole.

"Don't trust him," Reese said.

"Is that your way of indirectly telling me to trust you?" Damon quizzed, rounding on her.

"Think of it as charitable advice," Reese replied wryly. "I do give it out quite a lot, you know. It's not my fault you don't heed it."

"Okay." Damon crossed his arms, leaning against the memorial table. "Then in another act of charity, do share what he knows about you that we don't."

Reese feigned a thoughtful look. "Didn't you just hear me reveal my status as a supernatural celebrity? I'm pretty sure you were eavesdropping on us."

With that, she strode over to Elena, intent on manipulating Damon through her. It would be pretty straightforward, considering Damon was like an obedient puppy when it came to her.

Elena had been watching them carefully from her seat. She steeled herself as Reese came to sit down beside her and offered her a friendly smile — a smile that they'd learned was anything but.

"Hello Elena," Reese said cheerily. "I have something to —"

"Tell me," Elena finished. She paused, inhaled, exhaled, and then said, "You said you'd help me deal with Elijah. I'm trusting you on that front, at least. As long as you keep your word, we won't have a problem."

Reese cocked her head. "I suppose Damon was relaying our conversation to you?"

"Yes."

Reese hummed. "Well, you're getting smart, aren't you?"

Elena's mouth twitched. "I don't exactly have a choice."

"I'll take the credit, don't worry." Then, just to bother Damon, who was sure to be listening, she said, "So, on a scale of one to ten, how hot do you think Elijah is?"

Elena was getting smarter. She'd quickly caught onto what John was holding over Reese, it being the same thing Elena was keeping quiet about to honor their deal. With carefully chosen words, Elena had communicated to Reese that she would only uphold her end of the bargain as long as Reese upheld hers. It was a promise and a threat fused together, which in Reese's opinion was a fundamental skill one had to adopt while wrangling with supernatural beings — or any beings, in general.

Sadly, as much as Elena was improving, she was not as good as Reese.

The sudden involvement of John Gilbert — and his possession of information about Nik through Isobel — opened up pathways that would allow word about Elena's existence to reach Nik sooner than expected. As long as the timeline worked out, Reese would remain a step ahead of the game.

As the sun dipped past the horizon and darkness blanketed the town, Reese's second hindrance turned into an emergency, wiping out all thoughts of her stalker from her mind and proving that sometimes even the cleverest could be outsmarted.

You see, the deal Elijah made with Elena did not directly involve Reese. She wasn't bound by it; she wasn't obligated to protect Elena or her friends, despite Elijah's then proclamation that she would. It was easy to assume he'd made a mistake, that he'd missed that tiny detail where he forgot to specify the terms to Reese and managed to rope her into it.

Reese was delighted when the thought regarding this first struck her.

The first step of her play was to remain neutral on both sides, of course, but the second step (or precaution) was not to enter any deals or agreements, and further to stay ten feet away from forging alliances. No peace agreements; no truces. Her reasoning behind this was simple: it would weigh her down. She'd have obligations to fulfill; people to save when she didn't necessarily care about saving them. It was a distraction, and a dangerous one at that. She was her own greatest ally — there was not much she wanted that she couldn't give to herself.

Elijah had a track record of changing that, the prime example being the fact that she'd probably be living a very different life today if she hadn't taken the deal he'd offered her, all those years ago. Sure, she'd come to appreciate that moment of weakness, but despite the love that had come out of it, she recognized it was still a weakness. Circumstances have changed.

A moment later though, she realized Elijah knew exactly what he was doing, because he didn't need to make a formal agreement with her.

A simple phone call was enough.

"The werewolves took Caroline," Stefan's voice crackled through her phone.

The unfamiliar sensation of dread flooded through Reese, turning her stomach and making her stiffen. She spoke into the phone calmly. "What? Why?"

"It's a long —"

"Shorten it."

"Tyler found out about Mason Lockwood. He confronted Caroline about it, they fought, so she sent me to talk him out of doing anything crazy with Jules and her pack. Tyler let Jules know I was keeping him, so Jules took Caroline."

Reese bit the inside of her lips to keep herself from absolutely losing it. "Charming," she bit out. "Where are they?"

"The clearing by Wickery Falls. We have twenty minutes."

─────────────

Reese did not often get angry. Her judgment was her best asset, and since anger was its enemy, she'd forced herself into a state of unremitting tranquility years ago. And apathy was a great companion to tranquility; combined together, they were her saving graces. 

The cruelty about Reese Yung was there was no middle ground with her.

It was either love or hate.

Reese loved Caroline.

After Stefan cut the call, she marched over to Elena and repeated Stefan's words to them. Damon jumped into another argument with Elena, so she left them to it. It would've been faster to get Damon to vamp her to the clearing, but precious time would get wasted.

She jumped into her car, pulled out, and sped away.

She had just reached the last turn to the clearing when a loud bang erupted from behind the car, and a strong force jerked her back. Her head banged against the window and her feet left the clutch.

The car came to a stop.

Reese let out a low groan, straightening herself. She pressed a hand to her dizzying forehead. Her fingers came back covered in bright red blood. Funny, she thought. She hadn't bled in a long time.

The car door was wrenched open, and since she'd been leaning against it, she fell out and crumpled on the road.

A dark-haired figure loomed over her. Dispassionate and resolved, a pallid, green-eyed face snarled at her, growing fangs and red veins.

"Oh, shit," she grumbled, rolling to the side as the vampire lunged at her.

She threw out her arm and willed the throbbing pain in her head away, focusing on the vampire. The magic tugged at her veins, answering to her thoughts. The body of the vampire flew and banged against the car.

"Very bad timing, stalker," she heaved out, ignoring the heaviness in her knees as she forced herself to her feet. The vampire writhed under the relentless hold of her magic, not saying a word. "I was going to interrogate you, but now I'll have to kill you."

"We . . . hurt not," the vampire said in between gulping down fistfuls of air, "We hurt not our own."

She supposed he found it fitting to say that to her because the coven had always struggled to accept her. Being a Raven witch was about being powerful and remarkable, so it was convenient for them that Reese wasn't purely Raven; enough of a Gemini to be marked an outsider when they wanted to.

"Memorable last words," Reese said with finality. "Enjoy the other side."

A slight twitch of her hand was all it took to tear out his heart.

She granted herself a moment to breathe, and then set off toward the clearing on foot. It wasn't far now.

She weaved through the trees in the dark, gravel and dead leaves crunching beneath her heavy steps. The throbbing in her head had returned, coupled with the pulsing amulet resting against her chest. Scuffled noises echoed, indicating that she was getting nearer to the clearing.

She emerged into a full-blown fight playing out between Stefan and Damon and the werewolf pack. They were outnumbered, she realized, as they sped around an RV, breaking necks and stabbing chests. Flamethrowers were involved, too.

But amidst the violence, her eyes landed on Tyler Lockwood. She strode straight through the open fire, arm out; an unseen force pushed Tyler violently against the RV, and then she had her hand around his neck, squeezing, pinning him there with her magic.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Tyler," Reese told him, a maniacal glint in her eyes, watching him struggle to breathe. Every ounce of friendliness had vanished off her face. "Tell me where Caroline is."

"Inside," Tyler panted, face turning red. "I— I think. Reese —"

Reese banged his head against the metal. He slumped to the floor, groaning in pain. "I'll deal with you later."

She stepped up into the RV.

Caroline was her first view: sickly pale, bleeding, slumped against a cage. A cage.

They put her in a cage.

"Reese," she sobbed out, fingers popping out to clutch the bars of her cage. "Reese, there's a latch —"

Reese rushed to her knees, unlocking the latch. She wrapped her hands under Caroline's shoulders and helped her out, whispering small words of encouragement as tears sprung to her own eyes.

"C'mon, I've got you," she said, as Caroline slumped against her body. "C'mon."

Someone ducked into the RV as they made their way to the door. Reese sent them flying backwards, one arm supporting Caroline, the other spread out to kill.

She saw fire and blood, and squeezed her fingers into a fist. Every werewolf fell to the ground, clutching their heads, screaming in pain. Reese did not relent. Not even when blood began pouring out of their ears and eyes. Not even when the loudness of their screams started to decrease, bit by bit, as they began to die.

Not until Caroline's grip on her tightened, and she felt the low, humming trill of spirit magic join her, much calmer, much more merciful. Caroline reached out and pried her fingers apart, releasing them from her hold.

─────────────

Reese replayed Stefan's words from this morning over and over in her head, as they sat silently in Caroline's room. Her fingers danced gently across Caroline's neck, picking out the wood splinters buried in her skin.

There was only the sound of Caroline's soft whimpers and Reese's angry, racing heart.

This was not like her.

She was behaving in a dangerously unusual manner.

Reese Yung did not act on impulses.

Reese Yung did not allow anger to blind her.

Reese Yung did not slip up.

Yet she'd done all three tonight. Her second hindrance, she thought, scoffing internally. As if.

"Reese," Caroline whispered. Fresh tears had sprung up in her eyes. She was gripping the bedsheet, though her hands were shaking. "Thank you for—"

"You don't have to thank me," Reese cut her off, voice just as low. She had taken out the last splinter, but she did not remove her hands from Caroline's shoulders. "You know I'll always be there, right?"

Caroline averted her gaze, choosing to stare at her shaking hands. Reese let go of her.

After a long moment of silence, Caroline murmured so quietly that Reese had to strain her ears to hear what she said: "I would've believed you, y'know."

A frown materialized on Reese's face. "What?"

"I would've believed you," Caroline repeated, louder. "If you'd told me. I would've believed you."

Reese swallowed, choosing her words. "I didn't want to hide anything from you, Care." A willful lie. "I'm a witch, sure, but I'm a Raven witch, and that comes with like, a whole other aspect of complications."

"Like what?"

"Like, sacrifice rituals, blood-linking, soul-linking, a magical inter-dimensional map that bonds every Raven together — and that's just the old stuff." Reese brushed her hair back with one hand. "The recent Viper Murders."

Reese failed to mention how involved she'd been in that. Not a can of worms she wanted to open right now.

"We should probably sit down for a good few hours and talk about this."

"Probably, yes."

An awkward pause.

" . . . maybe I would've spread a few rumors about you, though," Caroline said eventually, a tired but buoyant smile lighting her up. "Called you crazy, and what-not."

Reese shrugged. "It's not too late, you know."

Reese and Caroline — they hadn't been friends long when vampires came into the picture. Well, Reese wasn't sure what Caroline considered friendship. When she first enrolled in high school, Caroline had spent a long time gauging her out, as if on a chessboard, seeing where she fit into the clique. Reese had noticed as much.

It had started out as a game of faux smiles and superficial friendships. Then in the stoner spot, after hours, when she was high on witchy drugs and Caroline had been upset enough to dump her feelings on Reese, the world had suddenly clicked into place. Perhaps it was her out-of-sorts head, but there was this easiness between them that she'd found only once before.

It had been so recent but so precious.

And then, as Mystic Falls turned into a vampire nest overnight, the slow pace of their friendship picked up and began running headfirst into what Reese labeled as the deadliest weakness: love.

Caroline watched her for some time. "Can you stay?"

"Sure," Reese said. "I have to go make a call first, though."

Love was the problem — it was making her mess up. How could she forget she had a vampire on her trail? How could she become so lost, so clouded by anger that she failed to foresee? How could she get rid of that terrible panic that had seized her the moment Stefan had told her Caroline had been taken? How could she fix herself?

Thing is, friendships for Reese were always fleeting. She would find someone to talk to out of necessity. They would use each other to water down the loneliness they felt, but they knew deep inside that whatever they had was not meant to last. They would make each other laugh, but eventually and inevitably, the fire would dwindle down. They would move on and never look back.

Reese had been repeating this process since she left behind New Orleans.

Three years were not fleeting, though, she thought.

They had fastened a grip on her that she was not in the habit of dealing with.

Really, as she stood outside Caroline's house, clutching her phone, the only thing she felt used to was running. The temptation was strong, and it was not like she hadn't been planning on it. That was her plan, right? Don't enter any deals. Don't get tangled up in obligations to fulfill —  wasn't friendship a kind of obligation, too?

She called the only person she knew who could cure her of this confusion, this uncertainty, with a few sharp words and harsh truths. Yes, he would know.

"Elijah," she said, phone pressed to her ear. "I have to talk to you."

A/N: hello. this update is for aster. happy late birthday.

as is clear, Reese's crisis will play into the plot and her choices a lot, since she's always doing what she wants and what-not; acting in self-interest.  Elijah will be there to commentate along the way 😻😻

anyway im mostly just excited for klaus to get here and then the real fun begins.