04. For Whom The Bell Tolls

Damon and Brayden sat in a car they stole together, with Damon driving and Brayden sitting in the passengers seat.

"Why couldn't we drive what according to you was my car?" an annoyed Brayden asked.

"Because if you had your memories you would remember that we all have sworn never to get into your car with you" Damon replied.

"Oh come on, I can't be that bad of a driver" Brayden complained.

"You're not a bad driver, you're just really reckless" Damon said.

"If you say so" Brayden said, clearing having a hard time believing Damon.

"You really remember nada?" Damon asked.

"I know by nada you mean nothing" Brayden replied, "I know what day it is and what year we're in, I know the type of car you're currently driving and the type of car I have, what I don't know is who the hell am I and what is your relation to me".

"I'm your twin brother" Damon reminded for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"So you say, but you can't blame me for being cautious" Brayden said, he then grabbed the nearly empty blood bag from his lap, "And I'd like to point out, this one blood bag is not filling me up".

"It never does" Damon said, "Technically, it should since you're a vampire".

"A fact that I'm still having trouble grasping" Brayden retorted.

"Realistically, it shouldn't, because you're you" Damon continued.

"Right, the other person claiming to be my youngest brother told me that while he's known as the insatiable ripper of monterey, I've build up my reputation as being known as the ruthless Salvatore who loves murdering people" Brayden said.

"Something you are way too proud of" Damon commented.

Brayden sighed, "All of this is too much to process" he said, throwing the blood bag on to the backseat.

"Hey!" Damon snapped, "You are a vampire, not a caveman".

"And apparently you're my brother, so stop trying to be my father" Brayden retorted.

"You're not the type of person to litter Brayden, despite all your flaws you do have principles, which clearly the two thousand year old witch erased along with your memories" Damon taunted.

"Good for that two thousand year old witch, who I bet can drive much faster then you" Brayden taunted back, "Why the hell are you driving like a freaking grandma? Oh wait, I get it, you're the boring brother, aren't you? And I'm the fun one, clearly, wait what does that make Stefan then, the safe one?".

Damon let out a chuckle hearing Brayden, suddenly he pressed harder on the accelerator and started speeding the car down the dark empty road.

"What the hell are you doing now?" Brayden asked.

"Do you trust me?" Damon asked.

"I don't know you" Brayden retorted.

"Good answer" Damon said, suddenly pulling the handbrake and spinning the car around, which then caused the car to flip multiple times on the road, the two brothers falling out the car.

Brayden laid on the road, laughing from what happened, "Got it, you're not the boring one".

Damon who laid a bit behind Brayden let out a chuckle, "Whoo" he whispered, loving what he just did, it reminded him of the good old days with Brayden when both of them used to do similar stunts together.

***

"Tell me I didn't make a mistake in agreeing to let Damon take care of Brayden instead of Stefan" Caroline asked Kaitlynn through the phone, walking the corridors of Whitmore while Kaitlynn was in the Salvatore's library.

"I'm sorry but lying is bad for a friendship" Kaitlynn teased.

Caroline sighed, "What did he say again?".

"Nothing much, he just sent me one text saying, so far, so good" Kaitlynn informed.

"Which probably means they've devoured girl scouts by now" a panicked Caroline said.

"You really need to stop panicking and just trust that Damon's got this" Kaitlynn said, trying to make Caroline feel better, "He loves Brayden, he'll do everything he can to help him".

"But Kait, it's not uncommon for patients with retrograde amnesia or other traumatic brain injuries to turn volatile" Caroline informed.

"I didn't know you were a doctor" Kaitlynn teased, "Since when do you know so much about amnesia?".

"It's possible I've studied up on my Chem, Bio-Chem, Applied Micro Bio, Molecular Bio and Grey's Anatomy" Caroline replied, "The real one and the television show".

"And why did you study all that?" a confused Kaitlynn asked.

"Because I want to help Brayden" a slight embarrassed Caroline admitted.

"Is that why you went back to Whitmore?" Kaitlynn asked.

"Yeah, I don't know how to help Brayden in Mystic Falls and since Damon is trying the emotional route, I figured I'd try the medical one by gathering information at Whitmore" Caroline replied, "I just want him to remember everything, remember us".

"And soon he will" Kaitlynn promised, "Hey, you should come to the graveyard bell-ringing ceremony at Mystic Falls, I'll convince Damon to bring Brayden there as well, just because he doesn't have any memories of you, doesn't mean you two can't spend some time with each other".

"I'm scared he won't like me Kait" a scared Caroline whispered.

"Caroline, the moment Brayden met you, he was smitten by you, this amnesia, instead of taking it as a negative thing, think about it in a positive way, you and Brayden get to experience all the firsts in your relationship for the second time" Kaitlynn said.

"What if this time it's different?" Caroline asked, her insecurity getting the best of her.

"Caroline, just show up, and watch Brayden be smitten by you with as much as he was the first time he saw you" Kaitlynn said, "When he woke up, you left before could even look at you properly, just give him one chance at proving that no matter, Brayden Salvatore will always love you".

Caroline thought about it for a moment, "Fine" she finally said, "I'll come".

***

Damon and Brayden sat at the Grill.

"To uncle Steve!" they heard a random man announce, while ringing the bell and downing a shot.

"To uncle Steve" the twins and everyone else in the Grill cheered, before downing their shots.

"This town is so morbid" Brayden commented, "Who in their right mind is so upbeat about dead people?".

"Well, in the theme of morbid town tradition you go back to the 1820s when people were so paranoid about cholera thing that they would occasionally bury a body a wee bit before its time" Damon explained.

"So I was right, this town is freaking morbid" Brayden said, "They have a holiday celebrating burying people alive".

"Well, they were so paranoid, that they would actually request to be buried with a string attached to a bell above ground" Damon continued, "And then the whole family hung around the grave for twenty four hours in hopes of hearing the bell and their loved one would come back, but now it's just a kick-ass excuse to get hammered".

"Lovely" Brayden mumbled, just as a waitress walked over to the brothers.

"Hello" Damon greeted.

"Hey" the waitress greeted, grabbing the many shot glasses on the table.

Brayden looked at the waitress and suddenly his eyes went on the waitresses neck and suddenly he was filled with a immense urge to bite into her neck.

Damon seeing that, quickly realised he needs to get the waitress away from his brother, "Oh, hey darling, we'd love another round, please".

"You got it" the waitress assured, before walking away.

After the waitress walked away, a shocked and slightly panicked looked at his brother, "What the hell just happened?".

"That, my brother was you jonesing for something stronger than a blood bag" Damon informed, "I mean, blood bags usually do the trick for you but you can't go too long without fresh blood".

"Okay, great, I'm finally convinced that I'm a vampire" Brayden said, "Now it's time for me to act on it".

"Well unfortunately Bray, there are three types of vampires in the world" Damon said, "There are those that can handle moderation, like me, then there is vampires like our younger brothers who are rippers, and there's vampires like you who tend to only drink from humans when you want to kill them".

"Well, I'm not a psychologist" Brayden started.

"No you're not" Damon confirmed.

"But since I don't have my old memories, maybe my eating habits are no longer the same" Brayden said, "Maybe this time I can drink from humans without wanting to kill them".

"Let's not try it out, okay?" Damon said, holding up a shot.

"Boring" Brayden said, clinking his shot with Damon and then downing it.

"And here I thought Damon would have bored you to death" Kaitlynn teased, walking over to the brothers.

Brayden looked at Kaitlynn and immediately a smile formed on his face, "And you are?".

The smile fell slightly from Kaitlynn's face, "Kaitlynn" she introduced.

"Kaitlynn" Brayden whispered, "Nice to meet you, Kaitlynn".

"Nice to meet you to, Brayden" Kaitlynn smiled, she then turned to her boyfriend, "You didn't tell him about me?".

"Two hundred years is a long time" Damon defended, a sheepish look on his face, not wanting to admit to Kaitlynn he purposely avoided her topic.

***

"So, what did you text me?" Kaitlynn asked Damon, Brayden having gone to the bar, "So far, so good, I know how to handle my brother, I know what I'm doing".

"Hey, I never said I know what I'm doing" Damon defended.

Kaitlynn sighed, "All of this is useless" she said, taking her phone out of her bag.

"Who are you calling?" a curious Damon asked.

"Fae" Kaitlynn replied.

"She's not going to answer" Damon said, a bitter tone in his voice.

"A witch is the cause of Brayden's amnesia, something tells me a witch is the only one who can undo it" Kaitlynn said. 

"Don't you think I know that?" Damon asked, "Against my better judgement I called your best friend, but she refuses to answer anyones calls, surprise, surprise".

"Maybe cause it's not us she wants to hear from" Kaitlynn suggested.

"Kait, she walked away from Stefan, for the second time" Damon reminded, knowing where Kaitlynn was taking this, "I don't think she's waiting for Stefan, and I'm not going to ask Stefan to contact her, I already have one brother problem, I can't afford for the other to spiral as well".

"So what are we going to do, Damon?" an slightly annoyed Kaitlynn asked.

"I say, for now, let's just let Brayden be Brayden" Damon replied, he gestured towards the bar where Brayden was busy flirting with the waitress, "Fun, carefree, drunk Brayden, without hundred years of trauma and responsibilities on his shoulders".

Kaitlynn shook her head in disgust at the scene, she then turned to her boyfriend, "Caroline better not see a scene like that when comes to see him".

"You managed to convince her?" Damon asked.

"It took a long time but yeah, she's coming tonight" Kaitlynn informed.

"And what happens if Brayden has no reaction seeing her?" a slightly concerned Damon asked.

"Oh please, Caroline Forbes is hardwired into Brayden Salvatore's mind and heart" Kaitlynn said, "There's no way he won't have a reaction seeing her".

"Let's hope so" Damon said.

"I know so" Kaitlynn retorted, before turning back to look at Brayden but to both her and Damon's confusion, Brayden was nowhere to be seen, "Where the hell did Brayden go?".

"You don't see that cute little waitress anywhere, do you?" a concerned Damon asked.

***

The waitress that Brayden was flirting with, had gone to the back to wash her hands, while she was washing her hands, she looked up in the mirror and she gasped in shock seeing Brayden standing there.

"Don't make a sound" Brayden compelled the waitress, taking small steps towards her, "And don't be scared, I promise I won't kill you, I just want a taste, I think I need a taste", Brayden moved the waitress head to the side, exposing her neck to him, "The thought of killing you is scary, but somehow the hunger makes it all better".

Brayden went to bite the waitress but before he could, Damon showed up and shoved his brother to the shelf, "Today, I'm the safe brother".

***

"Honoria Fell" Brayden read, as he, Damon and Kaitlynn walked across the cemetery, "That's a horrible name".

"Shh, our brother Stefan's kind of the one who killed her" Damon informed.

"Huh, sucks for her" Brayden said, shrugging and following Damon into the Salvatore's crypt.

"Hindsight being 20/20, way too much temptation at the bar" Damon said, "So to stop your human killing gene, we need to minimize human contact till we get your brain all witchy-wooed back to normal, so here it is".

"Our family crypt, really?" an annoyed Brayden asked, as Kaitlynn lit the candles around them, "So, how many of these family members did I kill?".

"Well, our father was killed by Stefan, who art in hell" Damon said, ringing the bell in his hand, "Uncle Zach, my bad, uncle Joseph, that was you, on the bright side our mother died of consumption".

"Oh, lovely" Brayden said sarcastically, just as Damon's phone beeped, taking it out of his pocket, he realised it was a text message from Jeremy.

I need to talk to you and Stefan ALONE.

"I gotta go see someone" Damon said, knowing Jeremy wouldn't text him if it wasn't anything important, "Party on without me, brother", Damon showed him a bottle of bourbon and placed it on the bench, "For you", he then walked over to Kaitlynn and handed her the bell, "And this is for you".

Once Damon had walked away, Brayden walked closer to Kaitlynn, "Please tell me your family history is better than mine".

"I'll let you decide that" Kaitlynn said, extinguishing the match, "My parents were murdered by a very vengeful vampire, stabbed multiple times and me and my sister indirectly were the cause of it".

"And how's that?" a curious Brayden asked.

"Well, the vengeful vampire wanted to use me and my sister in a sacrifice, but we chose our lives and ran so he wanted revenge" Kaitlynn replied.

"By killing your parents?" Brayden asked, Kaitlynn nodded her head, "Wow, what a dick, I hate him".

Kaitlynn laughed, "I'm glad that with or without your memories, your hated for Klaus is still the same".

Brayden smiled seeing Kaitlynn's laugh, "How can I forget you?" he mumbled.

"You didn't really have a choice, Bray" Kaitlynn said, "And it's not surprising that you forgot me".

"To me it is" Brayden said, "I mean, you're beautiful, pretty, smart and clearly a strong women".

"Thank you for the compliment" Kaitlynn chuckled, "But I'm not that strong, I'm just lucky that I'm surrounded by people who will never let me fall".

"Was I one of them?" a curious Brayden asked.

Kaitlynn nodded her head, "You were the first person, other then my sister, to actually care for me Brayden, the moment we met, I tried pushing you away, it's kind of my thing but even after knowing the truth about me, you never looked at me any differently".

"When did we meet?" Brayden asked.

"Oh, we met in 1864" Kaitlynn replied, "When you were human".

"And you were a vampire?" Brayden asked, Kaitlynn nodded her head, "Describe it to me, how was our first meet?".

"I have a better idea" Kaitlynn said, "Let's go to the place we met, I have a feeling that place, though ruined, could be the key to your many memories".

"Gladly" Brayden smiled, following after Kaitlynn out of the crypt and towards the old Salvatore mansion.

***

"Hello?" Jeremy greeted, answering Damon's call.

"Jeremy Gilbert picks up" Damon taunted, "Wow, it's a Remembrance Day miracle, now, what is that you want? I've already got my hands full with a hungry vampire who forgot that he's the anti hero of the story, not the villain".

"I need you to come meet me, and I need you to bring Stefan along" Jeremy pleaded.

"And I need you to be less vague and less weird" Damon retorted.

"I know where Fae is" Jeremy blurted out, suddenly causing Damon to freeze, this was not what he was expecting, "I'm at the boarding house, get over here and I'll explain".

***

"Kaitlynn, not to be a downer or anything, but this place you brought me to seems like a ruin to me" Brayden commented.

"It didn't always look like this" Kaitlynn said, looking around and a small smile forming on her face remembering the Salvatore brothers as humans, "Once upon a time, this used to be your home, this is the place where we first met".

"What happened to it?" a curious Brayden asked.

"Well, your father died, and you three brothers turned into vampires and scattered across the world" Kaitlynn explained, "There was no one left to take care of this place", Kaitlynn looked at Brayden with an hopeful expression on her face, "Remembering anything yet?".

Brayden shook his head, "Sorry, this place doesn't seem familiar to me at all".

Kaitlynn let out a disappointed sigh, "Do you want me to at least explain how we first met?".

"I would love that" Brayden smiled.

"You and Damon were teaching Stefan how to play football, right here" Kaitlynn pointed around her, explaining to Brayden what happened and where it happened, "Me and Katherine, my twin sister, had already met Stefan, but we hadn't met his two older brothers who were off at war, I remember coming out with my sister and immediately both Stefan and Damon's attention went towards my sister, or that's what I thought at the time", Kaitlynn smiled remembering Damon telling her it wasn't Katherine he noticed first, it was her, it was always her, "But there you were, with your cheesy pick up lines, and while your brothers chased after my sister, you stayed back and went on quiet a nice walk with me".

"Sucks I don't remember all that" Brayden said, really wishing he remembered his and Kaitlynn's first meet, wanting to know if he felt the same thing he was feeling right now.

"Still nothing?" a disappointed Kaitlynn asked.

Brayden shook his head, "I'm sorry Kaitlynn, but I don't think this place is gonna bring anything back".

"Hey, better safe then sorry" Kaitlynn said, nudging Brayden's shoulder with hers, "Also, tell me if I'm pushing too hard for you to remember everything, it's just really strange for me to see you like this".

"Strange?" a confused Brayden asked, "How so?".

"I'm just used to Brayden Salvatore, the anti hero, the one who always has control over everything, the one everyone turns to when they had a problem knowing you would have a solution, it's just really strange to be helping you out of a problem instead of the other way around" Kaitlynn admitted.

"Well, when I get my memories back, I promise I'll solve all your problems" Brayden teased.

Kaitlynn chuckled, "You better, now, shall we go to our next stop?".

"Are you planning on giving me a whole tour of Mystic Falls?" an amused Brayden asked.

"If that's what will take to jog your memory, then yes" Kaitlynn stated, making Brayden chuckle, Kaitlynn grabbed Brayden's hand and pulled him along, "Come on, Mystic Falls is a small town but it has a lot to show".

***

"Why are we here?" a confused Brayden asked, as he and Kaitlynn, after making sure no humans were around, stood on top of the clocktower.

"Out of all the vampires I met throughout my life, you are the person who enjoys being a vampire the most" Kaitlynn explained, "When you were human, I never wanted for you to turn into a vampire, I was worried you would lose yourself, but turns out I was worried for no reason, once you turned, you never lost yourself, you just became better, so much better then so many of us".

Brayden looked at Kaitlynn, "We were in love, won't we?" he suddenly asked.

Kaitlynn looked at Brayden in confusion, "I thought Damon didn't tell you about that yet".

"Kaitlynn, I have amnesia, I'm not an idiot" Brayden retorted, "According to you, I'm someone who likes things fast, loud and quick, but I was willing to go on a quiet and peaceful long walk with you, while my brothers chased after your sister, I went after you, the reason you didn't want me to turn into a vampire was because you were worried about me, because we were in love with each other, and something tells me, you're the reason I wanted to turn into a vampire in the first place".

Kaitlynn let out a chuckle, "Sometimes I forget how smart you are".

"But we're not together anymore, are we?" Brayden asked, Kaitlynn shook her head, "From what I see, you're a good person, so did we break up because of my human murdering habit?".

"Absolutely not" Kaitlynn said, "Yes you murder humans, but at the same time you care for them immensely, you hurt the people who do wrong but you take care of the ones you love, you're a good person Brayden, never doubt that".

"Then why did we break up?" a confused Brayden asked.

"Because we were meant to meet, we were meant to teach other what love felt like, but we were never meant to last Brayden" Kaitlynn admitted, "You and I, we were short lived, but we were epic, there was love, heartbreak, angst, happiness, though short lived, it was amazing, but it wasn't something that could last forever".

"Why not?" Brayden asked.

Kaitlynn wanted nothing more then to tell Brayden about Caroline, but she couldn't as Caroline wanted to tell him herself, "Why don't I tell you that on our next stop?".

"Sure" Brayden said.

"You ready?" Kaitlynn asked.

"As I'll ever be" Brayden replied.

Kaitlynn smiled, she then looked down and jumped down from the clocktower, while a smiling Brayden watched on.

***

After much convincing, Damon had managed to drag Stefan to the boarding house where Jeremy was waiting for them.

"Okay" Damon said, announcing his and Stefan's presence to Jeremy, "Where is she?".

"And how do you know where she is?" Stefan asked, glaring at Jeremy, not liking this one bit.

"Get her here" Damon demanded.

Stefan turned his glare to his brother, "If she wanted to come back, don't you think she wouldn't have left in the first place?".

"I can't call her" Jeremy informed the brothers, making them look at him in confusion, "The reason she isn't answering anyones calls, is because no one can call her".

"Jeremy" Fae called out, suddenly appearing behind Jeremy, the whole time she had made sure Jeremy couldn't see her, she had seen him live in guilt after finding out what happened to her but after meeting him once and making him promise he would keep her death a secret from everyone, she never made herself known to him again, not wanting him to feel guilty for Bonnie's actions, "Don't do this Jeremy, he won't be able to take it".

"I've been hiding this from everyone for months" Jeremy said, ignoring Fae, "And I can't keep hiding it, the guilt is killing me, I can't watch all of you hate for something she would never do".

"We don't speak crazy person Jeremy, you have to translate that for us" Damon snapped, getting very impatient.

"Think about it Damon, I was dead" Jeremy reminded, "I wasn't supposed to come back".

"Yeah, but Bonnie managed to bring you back when the veil was down" a confused Stefan pointed out.

"Magic finds a balance" Jeremy said, "I'm not supposed to be here".

Suddenly realisation crossed over both Damon and Stefan's faces, they finally realised what Jeremy was hinting at.

"No" Damon whispered, while Stefan stood there in shock.

"In order for Bonnie to bring me back to life, she had to sacrifice someone else's life, and she did" Jeremy informed.

"No" Stefan whispered, shaking his head, "No, what you're saying is not the truth, Jeremy!".

"Don't say it Jeremy, don't you dare" a furious Damon warned.

"After being away from Stefan for thirty years, do you really think she would walk away from him again?" Jeremy asked, "Do you think she would go the entire summer without contacting Kaitlynn and Caroline even once?".

"Jeremy, stop" Fae pleaded, her heartbreaking seeing Stefan's face.

"You say it, and everything in my brother's life goes to crap" Damon snapped, glancing at his younger brother in worry, who seems to have gotten into a shock state, Damon turned to Jeremy, "Do you understand me? Everything changes".

"Don't say the words Jeremy" Fae cried, "Please don't put him through this, he will punish himself for eternity for hating me all summer".

"Don't" Damon whispered.

"Fae's dead" Jeremy whispered.

Stefan glared at Jeremy, before Damon could stop him, Stefan had speeded over to him and punched him, "No!" he yelled, "She's not dead, Fae is not dead, okay?!".

"I'm sorry" Jeremy whispered, "I just couldn't take the guilt anymore".

"She's not dead" Stefan whispered, tears spilling down his face, "She can't be dead, she can't leave me, not like this".

"Stefan" Fae cried, standing infront of the hysterical vampire, "I'm here Stefan, I haven't left you, I'm right here with you".

Both Stefan and Fae fell to the ground on their knees, both calling out to each other and both hurting that they couldn't be with the other.

***

Kaitlynn and Brayden arrived at the quarry.

"This is the place you were trapped in for three months" Kaitlynn informed, looking at the water infront of her with a unreadable expression on her face, "Everyone thought you walked away from us, but I had a feeling something went wrong, I'm really sorry for not acting on it".

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Kaitlynn" Brayden assured, "I don't remember my time in this quarry, but if I did, I think I would appericate you not thinking that I just got up and left".

"Yeah, that thought never seemed right to me, you're not someone who abandons people" Kaitlynn said, "You didn't even abandon me when you found out that I was a vampire".

"I must have really loved you" Brayden teased.

Kaitlynn chuckled, "You really did" she said, "When you love someone, you give it your all, you make sure the other person knows they are loved and that they will always be loved, that they having nothing to be afraid for, as long as you're with them, you'll keep them safe, no matter what".

"Thank you" Brayden blurted, making Kaitlynn look at him in confusion, "For distracting me from my hunger, it worked".

"I'm glad" Kaitlynn smiled.

"And thanks for not seeing me as a monster" Brayden added, "I mean, when I first saw my reflection, even I thought I was a monster, but you don't think that".

"Because you never thought that about me" Kaitlynn said, "When you first saw my true face, you touched my face and told me not to hide, you wanted to see my true face because it made no difference to you, in your eyes I was Kaitlynn, just Kaitlynn, you were the first person who didn't jump away from my true face Brayden, when I thought I was a monster, you assured me all you saw was a girl".

Brayden stepped closer to Kaitlynn, he grabbed her hands in his and laced their fingers together, confusing Kaitlynn, whose eyes went wide when Brayden pulled her closer to him, "I still see you, Kaitlynn" he whispered.

Just as Brayden started leaning in, Kaitlynn quickly blurted out, "I'm with Damon, and you have a soulmate".

 Immediately Brayden looked at her in shock, "I'm sorry what?!" he asked, taking a step back from the vampire infront of him.

"I'm now dating Damon, and you're in a relationship with your soulmate, Caroline" a guilty Kaitlynn whispered.

"Not only did you forget to mention that my brother's now dating my ex-girlfriend but also forget to mention that I'm someones soulmate?" a furious Brayden asked.

"I wanted to tell you" Kaitlynn defended, "But Caroline wanted to tell you about your relationship herself, she's been trying to gather the courage to come see you and she wanted to be the one who tells you everything and I didn't want to take that from her".

"You should have told me" Brayden said, shaking his head, guilt flooded through him, he had no memories, but this girl, Caroline, had all his memories, they were soulmates, meaning they were meant to be but despite that Brayden was about to kiss another girl.

"I'm sorry Brayden" a guilty Kaitlynn apologised.

"As you should be" Brayden said, glaring at Kaitlynn, before the Pierce vampire could say anything to him, he speeded off.

"Brayden!" Kaitlynn yelled, but Brayden ignored her yell.

***

Night had fallen and Kaitlynn was still in the woods, looking for Brayden who seemed to be determined to not come infront her.

"Hey" Kaitlynn answered her phone, "Where are you? I've been calling you for ages".

"I'm at home" Damon replied, wondering how to tell Kaitlynn about Fae, "Look, I really need to talk to you about something".

"I need to tell you something as well" a guilty Kaitlynn said, "Brayden's gone".

"What?" a shocked Damon asked, "What happened?".

"I told him about us and then about him and Caroline, and he got angry that I hid the fact that he had a soulmate" Kaitlynn informed, "Damon, he was really angry and upset and I'm scared this graveyard full of people is about to become his next meal".

Damon sighed, "Okay, I'm on my way".

***

An angry and extremely guilty Brayden walked through the graveyard full of people he wanted to kill, as he was walking, Brayden bent down and grabbed a bottle of bourbon that was placed on the floor and took a massive swig out of it.

"Brayden?".

Brayden turned around and came across a girl with blonde girl, a girl who looked extremely beautiful to him, a girl who as soon as Brayden saw, he realised who she was, a girl who infront of, the attraction he felt towards Kaitlynn seemed like a very distant memory, because what he felt for Kaitlynn was nothing compared to what he was currently feeling.

"Caroline" Brayden whispered.

Caroline looked at Brayden, her eyes wide in shock, "Wait, you recognise me?".

"I took a wild guess" Brayden clarified, "So, you're my soulmate?".

"Kaitlynn told you?" Caroline asked.

"Well, I kind of left her no choice" Brayden admitted.

"Are you okay?" a concerned Caroline asked, something seemed off to her about Brayden.

"Oh, I'm perfectly fine, I'm totally not struggling to rip into each and every single humans throat present in this room" Brayden replied, sarcasm evident in his voice.

As soon as Caroline heard Brayden's words, a concerned look came on her face but before she could say anything to him, Jesse walked over to the duo.

"Keg stand got passed out, so I stole these" Jesse informed Caroline, holding two cups in his hands.

"Whose this?" Brayden asked Caroline, immediately hating Jesse because of the way he was looking at Caroline.

"This is Jesse" Caroline introduced, before turning to Jesse, "Hey, do you mind just giving us a couple minutes?".

"Yeah, please walk away now because for some reason I absolutely hate the way you're looking at Caroline right now, it's making me really want to rip your head off" Brayden stated, glaring at Jesse.

"Brayden" Caroline scolded, she then turned to Jesses and started compelling him, "Go away, hide, I'll find you", once Jesse had left Caroline turned back to Brayden.

"So is this a thing in my life?" Brayden asked, anger evident on his face, "First my brother steals my girlfriend and now it seems like a stupid human stole my soulmate".

"Okay, first of all, you were the one who pushed Damon towards Kaitlynn" Caroline defended, "And second of all, I'm not interested in Jesse, you're just angry and hungry and thinking nonsense, so just let me help you, okay?".

"And how can you help me?" Brayden asked.

"Believe it or not Brayden, but I know you, I know how you get when you're jealous and angry" Caroline replied, "I know what will take your mind off all of this".

"I'm not jealous Caroline" Brayden snapped, "I'm hungry and I'm extremely confused with everything that I'm feeling right now, I don't want your help, what I want is some food".

Before Caroline could stop him, Brayden had speeded away from her.

"Seriously?!" an annoyed Caroline yelled, before speeding after her very stubborn soulmate, hoping he doesn't do anything stupid.

***

"Hey, Caroline, it's Jesse" Jesse greeted, leaving the Forbes vampire a voicemail, while looking around the Salvatore crypt in extreme confusion, "I don't know what's going on but for some reason I'm in a crypt in the cemetery and I have no idea why".

Suddenly, Brayden appeared behind Jesse, and before Jesse could even react, Brayden bit into the side of his neck, causing Jesse to let out a panicked yell.

After drinking a bit of Jesse's blood, Brayden pushed the terrified human away from him.

"See" Brayden said, his mouth slightly bloody, "I might be angry and extremely confused right now, but that doesn't mean I'll always take it out on you humans".

"I don't know what you are, man, but--".

"I'm a vampire, with no memories of his past" Brayden informed, "I'm a vampire, who apparently only drinks from humans when I want to kill them, I've also been told by my dickhead of a twin brother that anger clouds my judgement, but look at us right now, I'm angry, like extremely angry, this whole memory loss thing sucks ass, but I haven't killed you, I call that progress".

"Let me out of here, please" a terrified Jesse pleaded.

"I should do that, shouldn't I?" Brayden asked, "I mean, if I want to prove everyone wrong, then I should do the right thing by compelling you to forget me and let you leave without another scratch on you, but what will I lose if I don't let you go?".

"I don't know you, man" Jesse cried.

"Then let me introduce myself to you" Brayden said, "Hi, I'm Brayden Salvatore, whose memories a stupid two thousand year old witch took away, and my brother of a hundred and sixty some years stole my ex-girlfriend but apparently that was on me because I had moved on with my soulmate, someone who I don't remember, and it really sucks not remembering her, I mean I see the way she's looking at me, with her eyes full of hope and love and all I can do is stare at her with nothing but blankness in my eyes, that's not fair on her, despite not even knowing her, I hate that I'm hurting her, at this point, I have nothing more to lose, I've lost my memories, I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose her too, so honestly Jesse, killing you is probably the best thing for me right now".

Jesse opened his mouth to protest, but before he could even get a word out, Brayden had speeded over to him and bit into his neck once again.

***

After receiving Jesse's voicemail, Caroline rushed to Salvatore's crypt where she was shocked seeing Brayden draining the life out of Jesse.

"Brayden!" Caroline yelled, running over to Brayden and quickly separating him from Jesse, "Brayden, stop!", Caroline glanced at a unconscious Jesse, she then turned back to Brayden, "This isn't you, okay? You might not remember, but I do, you are better than this, you are not this person".

Brayden looked at Caroline, then at Jesse's body, then back at Caroline, "I don't know who I am" he whispered, extremely overwhelmed with everything, "You all keep telling me who I'm supposed to be, but I don't remember that person Caroline, it's making me lose my freaking mind!".

Before Caroline could say anything to him, a frustrated Brayden walked out the crypt, leaving Caroline behind to heal Jesse, and also wonder how she can help Brayden out of this.

***

Damon and Kaitlynn entered the Salvatore's living room where they saw Brayden burning a bunch of photos.

"Brayden" Kaitlynn called out, "Where were you? We looked everywhere for you".

Brayden looked at an old photo of him, Damon, Stefan, back when they were humans, a photo Damon had dug out, after staring at the photo for a moment, Brayden dumped the photo in the fire.

"What you doing there, brother?" a confused Damon asked.

"Getting rid of the past" Brayden replied, throwing a photo of him and Jeremy, someone he hadn't met but Caroline had informed him his name, into the fire.

"Sure you wanna do that?" Damon asked, concern for his brother.

Brayden looked down at the last picture in his hand, which was a picture of him and Caroline at the decade dance, instead of burning the photo, Brayden folded it up and placed it in his back pocket, he then stood up and face Damon and Kaitlynn.

"I'm not that person in that photo" Brayden said, "Without my memories, I can never become the man I was before, I get that we're twins Damon but I have no attachment to you, I don't want yours or Stefan's advice because it makes no difference to me, I don't want to hear about our past Kaitlynn, because honestly I don't care about it, now excuse me, I have somewhere to be".

"Brayden, wait--" Kaitlynn started.

"Relax" Brayden interrupted, "I'm not going on a murder spree, I'm just going on a walk to clear my head, and plus I can't go on a murder spree because Caroline is going to be calling me every hour, and right now, she's the only one I want to talk to, so goodbye".

"I think we just got dumped" Damon told Kaitlynn, after Brayden had walked away.

Kaitlynn sighed, "We need to get Fae here" she said, making Damon freeze, "Brayden needs his memories back, he's never going to trust us without it and Fae's the only one who can help him".

Damon slowly turned to his girlfriend, "Kait, Fae can't help us".

Kaitlynn looked at Damon in confusion, "Did you speak to Fae?" she asked, "What did she say to you? Did she explain why she left?".

Damon cupped Kaitlynn's face in his hands, he knew his next words will be hard for her, but he also knew he couldn't hide this from her.

"Fae's dead, Kaitlynn" Damon finally revealed.

"What?!" a shocked Kaitlynn asked, refusing to believe what she just heard.

"Fae never left us" Damon informed, "She died, Bonnie sacrificed her life to bring Jeremy back to life, I'm sorry".

***

"Hey" Caroline greeted, wearing her black funeral dress, and entering the Salvatore's crypt where Brayden stood, "How you feeling?".

"Much better" Brayden assured, "Which means you can relax, I haven't killed anyone since I last saw you, I took a walk last night and somehow ended up here, for some reason, this felt like the appropriate place to come", Brayden turned around to face Caroline, immediately a frown came on his face seeing her facial expression, "Something's wrong" he realised, "What is it?".

"It's Fae" an emotional Caroline informed, "My friend, our friend, she's dead".

"Oh" Brayden said, he didn't know what to say, "How?".

"Please don't ask" Caroline said, shaking her head, "Because then I'm going to have to try to come up with an answer which means I actually have to think about it, and then I'll start crying, and I'm afraid that I might not ever be able to stop".

An emotional Caroline, sat down on the bench, Brayden sighed and sat next to her.

"I'm sorry I don't remember her" Brayden apologised, feeling extremely guilty for not remembering Fae.

"I don't know" Caroline said, "Part of me just wishes that I could trade places with you, because without all the memories maybe it wouldn't hurt so damn much".

"It's going to be okay" Brayden comforted.

Caroline shook her head, "No it's not" she said, "I'm never gonna see her again, I just got so used to her being there all the time, and now what, I'm supposed to just learn to move on without her? How do I do that when all I have is this sadness and this anger and--?".

"And me" Brayden finished, making Caroline look at him, "Memories or no memories, I will always be there for you Caroline, whenever you need me, you'll find me by your side".

Brayden laced his fingers with Caroline's, making a small grateful smile form on Caroline's face.

***

Damon entered his room, where Kaitlynn was, sitting on her and Damon's shared bed, looking down at a photo of her and Fae and sobbing.

"Kaitlynn" Damon whispered.

"I knew something was wrong" Kaitlynn cried, clutching the photo to her chest, "I knew she wouldn't just leave like this, how am I supposed to go on without her? I can't do this Damon, I can't live without her, she's my best friend, my sister, all this time she was dead, I was happy with you but she was dead! All this time I was begging her to return without knowing that she couldn't even if she tried!".

Damon sat next to his girlfriend and pulled her into a hug, "I'm so sorry" he whispered, tears in his eyes as well, Fae meant something to everyone, and her death had broken everyone's hearts, "I'm sorry".

***

Damon, Kaitlynn, Stefan and Caroline walked over to a tree stump where the group was gathering to honor Fae, Jeremy was already present there as he was able to communicate with Fae.

Caroline was the first one to step forward, she walked over to the tree stump and placed a selfie of her, Fae and Kaitlynn, it was the selfie Fae took of them when they first became friends, she then walked back to her spot, tears streaming down her face.

Stefan stepped up next, with tears streaming down his face, he placed a necklace he bought for Fae on to the tree stump, a necklace he never got to give to her.

Kaitlynn stepped forward and placed a bracelet Fae had once gotten her, she then walked back and Caroline pulled her into a hug and both the best friends sobbed, both missing the third piece of their friendship.

Lastly, Damon stepped forward and placed Fae's grimoire into the tree stump.

"Thank you" Fae said, appearing next to Jeremy, tears in her eyes, "I didn't know how much I needed this till now".

Jeremy blinked his eyes in assurance at Fae, he then stepped forward and grabbed the bell from the tree stump, "We ring this bell in honor of Fae" he said, "In remembrance for her", Jeremy rang the bell and then stepped back, "I'm not sure what else to say".

"Tell them, tell him" Fae said, looking at Stefan, "That I'm still here, I'm not leaving any of them, tell him, that even if he can't see him, I'm always going to be with him".

"She says that she's not going anywhere, she said to tell you Stefan, that even if you can't see her, she's always going to be here for you" Jeremy informed, making the tears fall faster down Stefan's face, the guilt eating at him, Jeremy looked at Kaitlynn, "Fae has watched you have the summer--".

"The summer of your life, the kind of summer you have always dreamt of" Fae said, walking over to Kaitlynn, "Seeing you so happy made me very happy Kait, don't ever feel guilty for being happy Kait, if anyone deserves happiness then it's you and Damon", Fae walked over to Stefan, "I love you" she cried, "So, so, so much, I don't blame you for hating me, so you should stop blaming yourself, you were the best thing to happen to me Stefan Salvatore, and I'm extremely lucky that I died being loved by you", Fae turned to Caroline, "Care, I know you're scared for yours and Brayden's future, but you have nothing to be scared of, even without his memories, you are the only person Brayden trusts, he will never not love you, you are it for him, just like he is for you, and I know he will always be there for you, no matter what", Fae stopped talking when the group heard footsteps coming towards them, looking behind Caroline a smile formed on Fae's face, "Brayden".

Caroline turned around and came face to face with Brayden, who was wearing a black tux, with a white rose in his hand.

"It didn't feel right not to attend" Brayden admitted.

Caroline sobbed harder seeing Brayden, without wasting a second she ran into his arms.

Brayden hugged Caroline back, "Told you I'll always be there for you" he whispered, running his hand through Caroline's hair.

After breaking the hug with Caroline, Brayden walked over to the tree stump and placed the rose he brought along, "I'm sorry for not remembering you" he whispered, before walking back to Caroline, and immediately pulling her into his arms, while both Damon and Kaitlynn comforted Stefan.

"This is perfect" Fae cried, standing next to Jeremy, "Everyone I love is here, this is a perfect goodbye".

"I'm sorry" a guilty Jeremy whispered to Fae.

"It's not your fault, Jeremy" Fae assured, "It's okay, I'm going to be okay", Fae glanced back at the group, "We all are".

***

Presenting 5x04 of They Don't Know About Us!

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Damon trying to get Brayden to remember everything again?

Thoughts on Brayden being attracted to Kaitlynn?

Thoughts on Brayden getting angry at Kaitlynn for not telling him about Caroline?

Thoughts on Brayden comforting Caroline over Fae's death?

Thoughts on the group at Fae's funeral?