09. History Repeating

Caroline groaned when the sunlight hit her face, she tried to move so the sunlight won't disturb her, but she couldn't as a hand was wrapped around her waist, for a second Caroline panicked, not knowing who was in bed with her, but as soon as she opened her eyes and turned to see who it was, everything about last night came rushing back to, Damon killing Lexi, devastating Brayden, and causing him to spend the night with Caroline, because he didn't want to go back to the boarding house to deal with Damon.

This wasn't the fist time Brayden had spent the night, but it was the first time he didn't disappear before Caroline woke up, usually whenever Caroline woke up, her bed would be empty, the only sign of Brayden being there would be the crumpled up sheets.

Caroline used this rare opportunity to admire Brayden's sleeping figure, Caroline had never seen Brayden look so peaceful, when he was awake, Brayden was either plotting something or worried about something, this peaceful Brayden was new to Caroline, and she liked it.

"Stop staring at me Princess" Brayden said, opening his eyes, his voice raspy from the sleep.

"I'm staring at you in surprise" Caroline defended, embarrassed that Brayden caught her staring at him.

"And why's that?" Brayden asked.

"You usually never stay the whole night" Caroline replied.

"That's not true" Brayden said, "I stay the whole night, just leave before you wake up".

"And why's that again?" Caroline asked curiously.

"Figured you wouldn't want your mother to enter your room and catch us two in bed together" Brayden replied.

"Then why stay today?" Caroline asked confused.

Brayden sighed, "I didn't want to go home and see Damon".

"You can't avoid him forever" Caroline said.

"I know that, but I do want to delay us coming face to face for as long as possible" Brayden said.

Before Caroline could say anything, there was a knock on Caroline's window, confusing both Brayden and Caroline.

"Who else enters your room through your window?" Brayden asked confused, as Caroline got out of the bed and towards the window.

"No one" Caroline replied.

"Princess, wait" Brayden said, but it was too late, Caroline had already opened the window.

"Damon?" Caroline asked confused, "What are you doing here?".

"I need to speak to Brayden" Damon said.

"Brayden isn't here" Brayden snapped, not wanting to talk to his twin, "Tell him to leave".

"Caroline please" Damon pleaded, "I need to talk to him".

"Princess, tell him there's nothing he can say to me that will make what he did acceptable" Brayden said.

Caroline sighed, "Okay, I'm going to go shower, Damon you can come in and talk to Brayden".

"Caroline--".

"You don't have to talk to him" Caroline interrupted Brayden, "Just listen to him".

"Thanks" Damon said, entering Caroline's room.

"Don't make him angry" Caroline told Damon, before going into her bathroom.

"Make this quick" Brayden said, glaring at his brother.

Damon sighed, "Look Bray, I know nothing I say will make it up to you, but you need to know I didn't kill Lexi to get back at you--".

"You did it to get back at Stefan" Brayden finished, "I know that Damon, but did you forget that Lexi was my friend to? What happened to our one rule?".

"I was angry okay" Damon snapped, "I was angry at Lexi and I knew I had to get the council off of our back so I used Lexi, I just wanted you to know that I'm--", Damon hesitated, he wasn't used to saying sorry to people, not even his twin brother.

Brayden sighed, he knew what his brother was trying to say, "You can't even say sorry to me Damon".

"Bray--".

"Tell Caroline I'll see her later" Brayden interrupted, not wanting to hear anything else from Damon.

"You don't have to leave, I'll leave" Damon said, as Brayden walked over to the window.

"No need" Brayden said, jumping out of Caroline's window.

As soon as Brayden left, Caroline came out of the bathroom.

"Let me guess, you heard everything?" Damon asked, sitting on Caroline's bed.

Caroline nodded, "You need to give him some time Damon, his hurt, the one person he relied on for everything just killed his best friend, you can't just except him to forgive you".

"I know that Caroline, trust me, I do" Damon said, as Caroline sat next to him, "I've never been on bad terms with Brayden, it's weird for me".

"Then why did you do it?" Caroline asked, "Why kill Lexi when you know how important she was to Brayden?".

Damon sighed, "I don't know, I guess I blamed Lexi for pushing me and Brayden away".

"What?" Caroline asked, confused.

"Whenever Lexi came, she made it her mission to get Stefan and Brayden to talk, to be brothers again, and while doing that, she would always push me and Brayden away" Damon replied, "Brayden's my twin Caroline, we've been together for centuries, the only time we were apart was in the 20s and that was only for a brief moment, I guess I was jealous, I was jealous that Brayden and Stefan got to be brothers again while I was left on the sidelines, I was at angry at Lexi, and I've been angry at Lexi for a long time, and I guess last night my anger took over me".

"Damon, why not tell Brayden this?" Caroline asked, "Why let  him walk away without a explanation?".

"I don't know" Damon admitted.

"If you want my advise Damon, tell Brayden what you told me, he will understand, and yeah he might not forgive you straight away, but he will eventually" Caroline said, "But if you don't explain yourself, then you might lose your brother forever".

Damon let Caroline's words sink in, he knew Caroline was right, he needed to explain himself but he didn't know how, it was easy to explain himself to Caroline, but for some reason it was hard to explain to his own twin that he was feeling slightly insecure.

***

"Caroline!" Elena yelled, running over to Caroline, "Wait up".

Caroline sighed, "What do you want Elena?".

"How long have you known?" Elena asked, coming straight to the point.

"Known what?" Caroline asked confused.

"About Stefan and his brothers" Elena replied, "And don't try to deny it, I saw you last night, you saw Damon stake Lexi but you weren't surprised by it, you were worried for Brayden, but not once did you question what happened to Lexi?".

"I don't know what you're talking about" Caroline said, avoiding Elena's question.

"Caroline" Elena said, blocking Caroline's way, "How long have you known?".

"Why do you even care Elena!?" Caroline snapped.

"Because I care about you Caroline, you're my best friend, I want to know if you're safe or not" Elena replied.

"Friend?" Caroline asked, "Tell me something, you hate Brayden right? You believe his dangerous?".

"Yeah" Elena replied, confused as to where Caroline was taking this.

"Then why not tell me the truth about him?" Caroline asked, "Why let me date a dangerous man Elena? As my friend, didn't you think to warn me or something?".

"You wouldn't have believed me" Elena replied.

"Maybe" Caroline said, "But you didn't even try to warn me, and now you have no right to ask me any questions, because turns out we are not as close as I thought we were".

"No, Caroline, please wait!" Elena called out, but Caroline ignored her and walked into the school.

***

"Hey" Brayden said, entering Stefan's room and seeing his little brother staring at the ceiling.

"What do you want?" Stefan asked, sitting up.

"I wanted to see if you were okay" Brayden replied, shocking Stefan.

"You wanted to do what now?" Stefan asked, not sure if he heard Brayden correctly.

Brayden sighed, "Look Stefan, I'm not good at this whole big brother thing, it's never been my thing and you know that, but last night, we both lost someone who was very important to us, Lexi wasn't just my best friend, she was yours to, and I wanted tell you that I'm sorry that you lost your best friend because of our brother".

"His not my brother" Stefan snapped, "Not anymore".

"Lucky for you" Brayden said, sarcastically, "Unfortunately, I can't disown him like you did".

"I know" Stefan said, nodding his head in understanding.

"Great" Brayden said, suddenly feeling very awkward, "I'm going to leave now".

"Brayden" Stefan said, stopping Brayden from leaving, "I'm sorry too".

Brayden didn't say anything just gave Stefan a small nod.

"Rise and shine!" Damon yelled, entering Stefan's room, making both Brayden and Stefan groan in annoyance, "Gonna be late for school".

"What are you--? What are you doing?" Stefan asked confused.

"Peace offering" Damon replied, holding two cups of blood, Stefan ignored Damon and got out of his bed, but Damon blocked his way, "Come on, you need it for blood circulation, does dead flesh good", both Stefan and Brayden didn't say anything, just glared at their older brother, "All right, I'm sorry".

Brayden scoffed, it was obvious to him that Damon didn't mean that apology, "At least pretend you mean it".

"Step aside, please" Stefan said, walking into his attached bathroom.

"I got the town off our back, it was for the greater good" Damon defended, "But I'm sorry, and to prove it, I'm not gonna feed on a human for at least a week, I'll adopt the Stefan diet, only nothing with feathers".

"How can you except us to forgive you, when you don't even look slightly apologetic?" Brayden asked.

"I mean it" Damon defended.

"If your apology was sincere then you would have hesitated before apologising, because you don't do apology, but not once did you hesitate, which makes me think, you don't mean it" Brayden said, knowing his brother all to well, "You want us to forgive you, then mean it that you regret killing our best friend and don't say your sorry just for the sake of it".

"Bray, I--".

"I realise that killing yours and Brayden's closest and oldest friend is beyond evil and yet somehow it's worthy of humor" Stefan interrupted, coming out of the bathroom.

"Are you mimicking me?" Damon asked.

"Yes, Stefan" Stefan replied, taking out a shirt from his cupboard, "Now that the secret society of vampire-haters is off our back I can go back to my routine of, how can I destroy Stefan's life this week?".

"And I can go back to sulking and Elena longing and forehead brooding" Damon mimicked, "While Brayden chases after Caroline".

"Don't bring me into this" Brayden warned.

"This is fun, I like this" Damon said, ignoring Brayden.

"And I will finally reveal the ulterior motive behind mine and Brayden's evil and diabolical return to Mystic Falls" Stefan continued.

"And that's my que" Brayden said, walking out of Stefan's room.

"I'm done too" Damon said, walking after Brayden, but not before turning to Stefan one last time, "This is so like you Damon, always have to have the last word".

***

As Bonnie was walking to her car, her path was suddenly blocked by Damon.

"Okay, it's your last chance" Damon warned.

"I'm gonna scream" Bonnie warned.

"Oh, no, don't do that" Damon said, pretending to be scared, "Let's stay on point, listen, me and my brother want our necklace".

"You both can't have it" Bonnie snapped, trying to walk away from Damon.

"Well, we can't take it, but you can give it to us" Damon said, following after Bonnie.

"Not happening" Bonnie snapped.

Suddenly, Brayden stepped infront of Bonnie, causing her to bump right into him, "Careful Bonnie, wouldn't want you to hurt yourself now, would we?" Brayden asked sarcastically, "Now, I know my brother has no manners what so ever, so I will politely ask you, please return our necklace back to us before we end up doing something bad".

Bonnie looked at Brayden, slight fear shown in her eyes, "No".

"Oh come on, we are trying to help you" Damon said.

"I don't want any of your help" Bonnie snapped.

"You do want our help and you don't even know it" Damon said.

"Bonnie, I don't like you very much, but still, me and Damon are trying to help you" Brayden said, "If you don't give us that necklace back, you will walk into a mess, that getting out of, might end up taking your life".

"What?" Bonnie asked shocked.

"Believe it or not, Bonnie, we want to protect you" Damon replied, "Let us help you get Emily off your back".

"How do you know about her?" Bonnie asked confused.

"We know a lot of things" Damon replied, "And we know more about that crystal than you do, and we know that she's using it to creep inside of you".

"Yikes, you look scared Bonnie" Brayden said, looking at Bonnie's frightened face, "And honestly, if you don't give us that crystal back, then you should be scared, because we will get that crystal even if we have to wait for Emily to give it back to us, we will wait for however long it takes, but how long before you lose your mind because of your dead ancestor, is the crystal worth your sanity Bonnie?".

"Next time Emily comes out to play, you tell her, that a deal's a deal" Damon said, as Brayden stepped out of Bonnie's way and let her finally walk away.

"I didn't think you would come" Damon told his brother, after Bonnie walked away.

"I didn't come for you" Brayden said, walking away.

"But you got to admit, we are a pretty good team, specially when it comes to scaring people" Damon said, following Brayden.

"I'm going to pick Caroline up, I'll see you, when I see you" Brayden said, walking away from his brother.

***

Brayden sat at the bar, drinking bourbon when Damon came and sat next to him.

"I'm sorry" Damon said, before Brayden could tell him to leave, "And before you accuse me of not being sincere, let me tell you that I do mean it, I don't like being on bad terms with you Brayden".

"Should've thought about that before you went ahead and killed my best friend" Brayden said, pouring himself another drink.

Damon went to say something else, but got interrupted by Stefan.

"So, Stefan" Stefan said, sitting on the other side of Brayden, "You know, I've been thinking, I think we should start over, give this brother thing another chance, we used to do it, oh, so well once upon a time".

Brayden groaned and downed his drink, "I hate this game".

"I don't, Damon" Damon said, mimicking his younger brother, "I can't trust you or Brayden to be nice guys, you both kill everybody and you guys are so mean, you're so mean and--".

"You're hard to imitate" Brayden said, after seeing Damon's hesitation.

"Exactly" Damon said, "I have to go that lesser place".

"Can I get a coffee, please? So, what's with the bottle?" Stefan asked Brayden.

Brayden sighed, "I wanted to enjoy one evening without my two brothers pissing me off, turns out, that's impossible".

"If you're so miserable with our company, then you could just leave, find a new town to turn into your own personal Gas 'n' Sip" Stefan said.

"I'm good" Brayden said, "You know me little brother, I love being miserable, so I'm fine right here, making you even more miserable then me".

Stefan rolled his eyes at his brother, while Damon simply chuckled.

"Thanks" Stefan said, as the waiter placed his coffee.

"What are you both doing here anyways?" Brayden asked his two brothers, "Keeping an eye on your favorite brother?".

"You know why I came" Damon replied.

"I'm not here to keep an eye on you Brayden" Stefan replied.

"So why are you here?" Damon asked curiously.

"Why not?" Stefan asked, taking Brayden's bottle of bourbon and walking away.

"Hey!" Brayden said, "That's my alcohol".

Both Damon and Brayden followed after their brother, Brayden wanting his alcohol back, and Damon curious as to what Stefan was up to this time.

***

"I bought the Chinese" Caroline said, entering the Gilbert house.

After her confrontation with Elena, Caroline had gotten a call from her saying her and Bonnie were having a girls night, and they wanted her to join, at first Caroline refused, she was in no mood to get in another fight, but Elena wouldn't have any of it, so against her better judgement, Caroline agreed for the girls night.

"Thanks" Elena said, as she started setting the napkins, while Caroline took the Chinese out.

Bonnie walked into the kitchen, but Caroline completely ignored her, and focused on the food, making both Elena and Bonnie sigh.

"Look Caroline, there was a reason I couldn't give the necklace back to Brayden and Damon" Bonnie said, having enough of Caroline's silence.

"And there is a reason why Brayden and Damon need the necklace that you stole from them" Caroline snapped.

"I didn't steal it from them" Bonnie snapped back.

"No, you just found it and refuse to return it to it's rightful owner" Caroline retorted.

"That necklace belonged to my ancestor Caroline, not Brayden and Damon" Bonnie said.

"If it belonged to your ancestor then why was it with Brayden and Damon?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know" Bonnie replied, "Maybe the stole it".

"They are not you Bonnie" Caroline said, making Bonnie frown.

"Will you still hate me if I tell you that I threw it away?" Bonnie asked.

"Seriously!?" Caroline yelled, "Do you realise how important that necklace was?".

"Do you know why Braden and Damon want the necklace?" Elena asked Caroline.

"If I knew I still wouldn't tell you Elena" Caroline replied, not telling Elena that the twins needed the necklace to free the girls they both love.

"Why not Caroline?" Elena asked, "We are your best friends".

"Let's not talk about being best friends, because then I will say something that none of you will like and in the end I will become the bad guy" Caroline said.

"The necklace was giving me nightmares" Bonnie defended.

"Then you should have given it back to the twins" Caroline said, "Not throw it away".

"Okay enough" Elena snapped, "No more necklace talks, no more Brayden and Damon talks, let's do manicures, who bought their kit?".

"Mine's in my bag" Bonnie said.

"I'll get it" Caroline said, wanting to get away from Elena and Bonnie, opening Bonnie's back, Caroline frowned seeing the necklace still in Bonnie's back, "Why are you such a little liar, Bonnie?".

"What?" Bonnie asked confused.

"Caroline" Elena warned.

"I thought you threw it away" Caroline said, showing Elena and Bonnie the necklace, shocking them both.

"I'm not lying to you, Caroline, I swear" Bonnie said, as Caroline placed the necklace on the counter.

"It's true" Elena said, "I watched her throw it into a field".

"Well then explain it" Caroline said.

"Emily?" Bonnie asked Elena, confusing Caroline, who had no idea who Emily was.

"Who's Emily?" Caroline asked.

"The ghost" Bonnie replied.

"Oh, the ghost has a name now?" Caroline asked.

"Caroline, please" Elena snapped, stopping Caroline from talking.

"I wonder why she won't leave me alone" Bonnie said.

"Okay, what is going on?" Caroline asked, finally having enough, "Why am I not a part of this conversation? You guys do this to me all the time".

"That's not true" Elena defended.

"Yes it is Elena" Caroline snapped, "I even told you that I've been feeling left out, but despite that you and Bonnie still leave me, god, Brayden was right, I really need new friends".

"So it's Brayden" Elena realised, "His been manipulating you against us".

"Are you even listening to anything I said?" Caroline asked, "This has nothing to do with Brayden, this has to do with the fact the my own best friends have been leaving me out, making me feel like an outsider".

"I can't talk to you, you don't listen" Bonnie snapped.

"You haven't even tried to talk to me" Caroline snapped back.

"Caroline--".

"No" Caroline snapped, interrupting Elena, "You both can talk to me when you decide you want to be honest".

Without listening to anything else, Caroline went into the Gilbert's living room, leaving an shocked Bonnie and Elena behind.

***

"Lucky shot" Damon said, as Stefan hit the bullseye on the dart board.

"More like a carefully honed skill over many decades" Stefan said, as Damon went to write the score down on the board.

"You're beating me" Damon said, "And Brayden's beating both of us".

"That's because I'm the better brother" Brayden said, taking a sip of his drink, "Also Stefan, don't think I'm not on to you, just cause I'm slightly drunk, doesn't mean I can't tell what you're trying to do, reverse psychology, seriously?".

"It's a little transparent but we admire the effort" Damon said, as Brayden took the darts from Stefan.

"So you both prefer the brooding forehead?" Stefan asked, as Brayden hit the dart board, hitting bullseye.

"Boom" Brayden said, "What's that, third bullseye in a row?".

"Show off" Damon said, taking the darts from Brayden.

"Nope, I'm just too good" Brayden said, writing his score down, "And Stefan, I actually do prefer the brooding forehead if it meant you will mind your own business and not try to get into mine and Damon's head".

"Seriously Stefan, what game do you think you're playing?" Damon asked.

"That's a funny question considering the fact that I have been asking you both that for months" Stefan replied.

"We haven't been here for months" Brayden retorted.

"Still, it's frustrating, isn't it?" Stefan asked his brothers.

"Touché" Damon replied simply.

***

Caroline sat in the Gilbert's living room, going through her phone, when Bonnie came and sat next to her.

"Look, you're right" Bonnie said, "Me and Elena have been hiding things from you, and it's not because we don't trust you, it's because I didn't think you would believe me, if I told you I'm a witch".

"I don't believe in the woo, woo, Bonnie" Caroline said, "But if you told me that, I would have believed you in a second, because I consider you my best friend, and I'm saying that, despite knowing that Elena's in the kitchen listening to my every word, and I thought you considered me your best friend as well, but clearly I was wrong".

"We didn't think you would be so hurt" Bonnie said, feeling immensely guilty.

"No, you both just thought it was typical insecure Caroline behavior" Caroline said.

"I'm ready to tell you everything now, if you're willing to listen" Bonnie said.

"I always listen Bonnie" Caroline said, "You and Elena just don't realise it".

"I'm sorry Care" Bonnie said, genuinely apologetic.

"It's fine" Caroline whispered.

Bonnie gave Caroline a small smile, "Elena, you can come in now" Bonnie called out.

Elena walked into the room and smiled at her best friends, "Well, there is just way too much drama in this room" Caroline said, really wanting to change the mood, "So, what do you guys wanna do?", both Bonnie and Elena shrugged when suddenly Caroline got an idea, "I have an idea, why don't we have a seance?".

"I don't think that's a good idea" Bonnie replied.

"Come on" Caroline said, standing up, "Let's summon some spirits, I mean if this Emily chick is really haunting you, don't you want to know why?".

Elena and Bonnie exchanged a look, realising that they both would like to know why Bonnie was being haunted by her ancestor.

***

Elena, Bonnie and Caroline sat on the floor of Elena's room, with all the lights off, and candles lit in the middle of them, while they sat in a circle around the candles, hands joined.

"What are we doing?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know" Elena replied.

"Shh!" Caroline hushed, "Be quiet and concentrate, okay, close your eyes", all three girls closed their eyes, "Okay, now take a deep breath", the girls took a deep breath, "Bonnie, call to her".

"Emily" Bonnie called out, "You there?".

Both Elena and Caroline opened their eyes, "Really?" Caroline asked, "Emily, you there? That's all you got? Come on".

"Fine, jeez" Bonnie said, closing her eyes again, "Emily, I call on you, I know you have a message, I'm here to listen".

For a moment, nothing happened, and suddenly the fire on the candles got higher, causing all three girls to gasp in shock.

"Did that just--?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, it just happened" Caroline replied, suddenly she felt a good chill, causing her to gasp and shiver slightly.

"It's just the air conditioning" Bonnie assured, just as the fire got higher.

"Ask her to show you a sign" Caroline urged, but Bonnie stay quiet, "Ask her, Emily, if you're among us, show us another sign".

"See, it's not working" Bonnie said, when nothing happened.

For a second everyone relaxed, but suddenly the window opened, causing the girls to let out a yell.

"No, I can't, I'm done" Bonnie said, standing up and throwing the necklace on the floor, just as all the lights turned off, "Get the light, please, get the light on".

"Hold on, I got it" Elena said, running over to the light switch and turning it on.

"You guys, the necklace, it's gone" Bonnie realised, looking down at where she threw the necklace but not finding it there.

***

"What are we doing?" Damon asked confused, as Stefan led him and Brayden into a football field.

"Bonding, catch" Stefan replied, throwing the football towards Brayden, which he easily caught with a roll of his eye, he then threw the ball towards his twin who also caught it easily, and then threw it back at Stefan.

"Mm" Stefan said, catching the ball, "Go on, give it a try".

"Don't forget who taught you how to play this game" Damon said, catching the ball as Stefan threw it back at him.

Damon threw the ball far away, and ran after it, both Brayden and Stefan exchanged a look and chased after Damon, both of them tackled Damon as soon as he caught the ball, making all three of them lay on the ground, groaning in pain.

"Ow, that hurts" Damon said.

"Downside of my diet, getting hit actually hurts a little bit" Stefan said.

"Not the only downside" Brayden said, looking up at the stars, "God, I forgot how much I loved stars".

"You always have, even when we were human" Stefan reminded, making Brayden frown, unlike other vampires, Brayden didn't enjoy remembering his human days.

Brayden sat up while his brothers stayed laying down, "What are you doing Stefan?" he asked, "You're drinking with me and Damon, you're having fun with us, playing football with us, and even reminding me what I liked when I was human, what exactly are you excepting from all this?".

Both Stefan and Damon sat up, Stefan sighed and turned to Damon and Brayden, "It wasn't real" he told them, "Our love for Katherine, and your love for Kaitlynn, Brayden".

"Oh, god" Damon whispered, while Brayden simply rolled his eyes.

"They compelled us, we didn't have a choice" Stefan said, "Took me years to sort that out, to truly understand what they did to us".

"Don't you dare compare Kaitlynn to Katherine" Brayden warned, standing up, "What me and Kaitlynn had, you will never understand it Stefan, so don't even try".

"Brayden's right" Damon said, standing up, "We are not taking that on tonight".

Both Damon and Brayden started to walk away, "What do you two want with Katherine and Kaitlynn's crystal?" Stefan asked, stopping his brothers.

"I wonder who told you about that" Brayden said sarcastically, knowing Elena snitched to Stefan, "And the crystal wasn't Kaitlynn's it was Katherine's".

Stefan stood up, "Come on, you both knew Elena would tell me".

"How'd you know it was Katherine's?" Damon asked Stefan, "Emily gave it to her on her last night, I was with her and you weren't".

"I was the last one to see her, Damon" Stefan revealed, making Damon glare at him.

"Unbelievable" Brayden whispered, "You know what's sad, Stefan? You come here and tell me and Damon that our love was compelled, that it wasn't real, and maybe it wasn't, but here you are, years later, back in this town, to fall in love with the person who has the same face as the women who ruined your life, how is that any better then me and Damon still being hung up on two women who apparently compelled us? And you know what, that's not even the sad part, that sad part is that you've convinced yourself that you love Elena when the reality is you are and will always be in love with Fae".

"Don't mention her name Brayden" Stefan snapped, while Damon clenched his fists hearing that name, a name all three brothers have avoided for a very long time.

"Why?" Brayden asked, "Did it hurt? It hurt me and Damon too when you claimed that our love was fake".

"You can't compare Fae to Katherine" Stefan said.

"But you can compare Kaitlynn to Katherine?" Brayden asked, "Just cause they were sisters doesn't mean they were the same, my Kaitlynn was nothing like Katherine, both you and Damon didn't even talk to her once yet you both judged her so quickly, but when I do that to Elena I'm the bad guy".

Stefan sighed, "What do you want with Katherine's crystal?" he asked, Brayden mentioning Fae, drained all of Stefan's energy, he didn't have it in him to argue with him anymore, that's what just hearing Fae's name did to him.

Damon smirked, "She didn't tell you?".

"We had other things on our mind" Stefan replied.

"Stop" Brayden warned, "He will rip your heart out and not think twice about it".

"Yeah" Stefan said, "I've heard that before".

"We have a bigger surprise, Stefan" Damon said.

"Damon, don't" Brayden said, not wanting Stefan to find out, he knew his brother enough to know that Stefan will never let them do what they were here for.

"No Bray, it's time Stefan finally knows" Damon said.

"Know what?" Stefan asked confused.

"We are gonna bring them back" Damon replied, shocking Stefan.

***

"Okay, fun is over, Caroline" Elena said, after looking for the necklace but finding it no where, "You made a point and I get it, now give it back".

"What?" Caroline asked shocked, "I didn't take it".

Elena looked at Caroline with a I don't believe you look, but before she could say anything she saw a shadow walk behind Caroline.

"What?" Caroline asked, looking behind her after seeing Elena's shocked face, "What happened?".

"I don't know" Elena replied, "Nothing, Jeremy, are you home!?", Elena looked out in the corridor wondering who she saw, when Bonnie's eyes landed on the necklace, that was now in the bathroom.

"Um, guys?" Bonnie called out, slowly walking towards the necklace, she entered the bathroom and picked the necklace up, and as soon as she did, the door behind her shut, causing her to let out a scream.

Both Elena and Caroline ran to the door and started banging on it, "Bonnie!".

"You guys, open the door!" Bonnie yelled.

"Bonnie? Bonnie!" Caroline yelled, trying to open the door but failing.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, banging on the door.

"What's happening?" Caroline asked.

"Try the other door!" Elena yelled, "I'll check the hallway".

"Okay" Caroline said, still trying to open the door, "Bonnie!".

"Please!" Bonnie yelled.

"Open up the door!" Caroline yelled.

"Please open the door!" Bonnie yelled, as the lights around the house started flickering, "Aah!".

"Bonnie!" Caroline yelled, looking around scared out of her mind.

Elena ran back into her room after failing to open the other door, "Bonnie!".

"Open the door!" Caroline yelled.

Suddenly the girls had a lock click, and the door automatically open.

"What happened?" Elena asked, "Are you okay?".

Bonnie looked at Caroline and Elena, "I'm fine" she replied.

"Unbelievable, you were totally faking it" Caroline snapped.

"Caroline, come on" Elena said.

"No, you scared the hell out of me" Caroline said, walking away from the witch.

"Bonnie?" Elena called, feeling something suspicious.

"I'm fine" Bonnie assured, "Everything's fine".

***

"How can you both bring Katherine and Kaitlynn back?" Stefan asked, following after his brothers.

"Before the sisters and the others were killed in the church remember what it was like in this town?" Damon asked.

"I remember the fear and hysteria" Stefan replied.

"Townspeople were killing vampires one by one" Damon said, "When they came for Katherine and Kaitlynn, me and Brayden went straight to Emily".

"We told her that we will do anything for her, but only if she saved Katherine and Kaitlynn" Brayden continued.

"And she did" Damon said.

"How?" Stefan asked confused.

"She did a spell, with the crystal" Brayden replied.

"And while the church was burning, we thought Katherine and Kaitlynn were burning in it" Damon said, "But they weren't".

"But I saw them go inside" Stefan said confused.

"There's a tomb brother" Brayden revealed, "It's underneath the church, the spell that Emily did that night, it sealed Katherine and Kaitlynn in the tomb, protecting them from the fire".

"Are you both telling me that Katherine and Kaitlynn are alive?" Stefan asked shocked.

"Well, if that's what you wanna call it" Damon replied, "They've been trapped in a mystical holding cell for the last century and a half".

"Aren't you an expert in starving a vampire Stefan?" Brayden asked, "Shouldn't you know how they are doing in that damn tomb?".

"Did you know that witches can use celestial events to draw energy into their magic?" Damon asked, "Me either".

"But in order for the crystal to become somewhat useful, our friendly neighborhood witch used the trusty comet" Brayden informed.

"And in order for that crystal to work again--" Damon started.

"The comet had to return" Stefan finished, finally knowing why his brothers returned to Mystic Falls.

"Downside, long time in between comets" Damon said, "And a couple of hiccups along the way with the crystal, but the comet passed and we got the crystal".

"That was obviously before your stupidity caused us to lose the crystal" Brayden said.

"Why would Emily--? Why would she do this for you two?" Stefan asked confused.

"Because she knew they were gonna come for her too" Damon replied.

"The price for her saving Katherine and Kaitlynn was us saving her lineage" Brayden informed.

"I remember, you both saved her children" Stefan recalled.

"Yeah, it's the only thing keeping me and Brayden from ripping that little Bonnie girl's throat out to get our crystal back" Damon said, "Oh, well, a deal's a deal".

"So whose down for another football match?" Brayden asked sarcastically, knowing his brother was still processing the bomb they dropped on him.

***

"I can't believe I fell for it" Caroline snapped.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked Bonnie, ignoring Caroline's outburst.

"I must go" Bonnie replied.

"If she's leaving, I'm leaving" Caroline stated.

"You guys can't leave" Elena said.

"Oh I can" Caroline said, as Bonnie walked towards the stairs, "I've had enough freaky fake witch stuff for one night".

"Thank you for having me" Bonnie told Elena, "I'll take it from here".

"Where are you going?" Elena asked.

"Back to where it all began" Bonnie replied, walking down the stairs.

"Bonnie" Elena called out, but she ignored her, "Bonnie? Oh, my god" she said, realising something, "Emily".

Bonnie faced Caroline and Elena, "I won't let them have it, it must be destroyed".

Both Elena and Caroline quickly ran down the stairs to catch up with Bonnie.

"Wait!" Caroline called out, as her and Elena ran towards the door, but before they could get out, the door shut and none of them could open it.

The door finally opened and the girls let out a yell seeing a figure standing there.

"What the hell?" A confused Jeremy asked, walking past the girls and into the kitchen.

Caroline quickly grabbed her phone and dialed Brayden while Elena called Stefan.

"How can I help you princess?" Brayden asked, as Stefan walked away from him and Damon to talk to Elena.

"Brayden, a witch named Emily is possessing Bonnie and I think she's going to destroy the crystal" Caroline said, getting straight to the point.

Brayden exchanged a worried look with his brother, "Where is she now?".

"I don't know" Caroline said, "She just said that she's going where it all started".

"The Fell's church" Brayden realised.

***

"Hello, Emily" Damon greeted, as he and Brayden saw Bonnie, who was actually Emily, walk over to the Fell's church, "You look different".

"I won't let you both do it" Emily said.

"We had a deal" Damon snapped.

"Things are different now, I need to protect my family" Emily said.

"We protected your family, you owe us" Damon said.

"And what do you think we will do to your family when you destroy that crystal?" Brayden asked, glaring at Emily.

"They will protect themselves" Emily replied, "I'm sorry".

"You're about to be a lot more than that" Damon said.

Both Damon and Brayden tried to charge at Emily, but she used her magic to throw both of them into the trees, the branch impaling both the brothers in their stomach, causing them to groan in pain.

"Emily, don't!" Brayden yelled, trying to remove the branch but failing.

***

Stefan ran to his brothers and one by one helped them down the tree.

"God, damn it!" Brayden groaned, as Stefan pulled him off the branch.

"Oh, that hurts" Damon complained, "This is why I feed on people".

"Stefan" Emily greeted.

"Hello, Emily" Stefan said.

"These people don't deserve this" Emily said, "They should never have to know such evil".

"What do you mean evil?" Stefan asked confused.

"Emily, I swear to God, I'll make you regret this" Damon threatened, as him and Brayden laid on the floor, still recovering from their injury.

"I won't let you unleash them into this world" Emily snapped.

"Them?" Stefan asked, he turned to his brothers who were trying to stand up, "What part of the story did you two leave out?".

"What does it matter?" Damon snapped.

Stefan turned back to Emily, "Emily, tell me what you did" he said.

"To save them, I had to save all" Emily revealed.

"You saved everyone in the church?" Stefan asked shocked.

"With two comes all" Emily replied.

"I don't care about anyone else!" Brayden yelled, finally standing up, "I just want Kaitlynn, just let me save Kaitlynn please, I promise you, other then Kaitlynn and Katherine, no one else would come out, please just give me the crystal, don't destroy it Emily, please don't do this".

"I knew I shouldn't have believed a single word that came out of both your mouths" Stefan said, holding his brothers back, "This isn't about love, is it? This is about revenge".

"The two aren't mutually exclusive" Damon snapped.

"Damon, Brayden, you can't do this" Stefan snapped.

"Why not?" Damon asked, "They killed twenty seven people and they called it a war battle, they deserve whatever they get".

"This isn't about revenge for me Stefan" Brayden said, struggling in Stefan's grip, "I don't want revenge, I just want Kaitlynn, please don't stand in my way otherwise even I don't know what I will do".

"Twenty seven vampires, Brayden" Stefan said, "They were vampires, you can't just bring them back".

"I'm not!" Brayden yelled, "I will kill all of them personally if you want, I just need to free Kaitlynn".

"This town deserves everything we give it" Damon said, glaring at his brother.

"You're blaming innocent people for something that happened a hundred and forty five years ago" Stefan said.

"There is nothing innocent about these people" Damon snapped, "And don't think it won't happen again, they already know too much", Damon looked at Emily, "And they'll burn your little grand-witch right next to us when they find out, trust me".

"Things are different now" Emily argued.

"Nothing's different now!" Brayden yelled, "We are supernatural creatures, not humans, things don't change for us Emily, you know this, as soon as someone finds out that Bonnie is a witch, she will be burned at the same place you were!".

"Don't do this" Damon pleaded.

"I can't free them" Emily said, "I won't".

"No" Brayden said, trying to charge towards Emily.

"Incendia!" Emily yelled, blocking Brayden's path with fire.

"No!" Damon and Brayden yelled, trying to run into the fire, but Stefan held them back.

Emily took the necklace from her neck.

"No, please, stop!" Brayden pleaded.

"No, no, no, please!" Damon yelled.

"Bonnie!" Elena yelled, as her and Caroline ran towards the fire.

Stefan quickly ran to the girls and held them back from the fire.

"No!" Brayden and Damon yelled, as Emily threw the necklace into the air, causing it to bursting into flames.

After destroying the necklace, Emily left Bonnie's body, causing the fire around her to die down.

Damon glared at Bonnie, and without thinking anything of it, charged towards the Bennett witch and bit into her neck.

"Damon, no!" Caroline yelled.

Brayden quickly speeded over to Bonnie, and pushed Damon away from her, before Bonnie could fall to the ground, Brayden grabbed her and fed her his blood, healing her bite, he then gently laid her down on the ground, even though Emily broke her side of the deal, Brayden couldn't break his side.

Brayden turned around and came face to face with Caroline, Stefan and Elena.

"Brayden" Caroline whispered, stepping towards Brayden, but he stepped back, stopping Caroline in her spot.

"I need to find Damon" Brayden whispered, speeding away, leaving a worried Caroline behind.

***

Stefan walked over to Brayden and Damon, who were sitting on a rock in the woods, both vampires had devastated looks on their faces.

"Katherine never compelled me, and Kaitlynn never compelled Brayden either, we both knew everything, every step of the way" Damon revealed to Stefan.

"It was real for us" Brayden whispered, "It wasn't real for you Stefan, but what Kaitlynn and I had, it was real, even if it was for a short time, what Damon felt for Katherine, that was real to".

"I'll leave now" Damon said, "I don't know about Brayden, but I'll leave this town".

Stefan nodded, after giving Damon and Brayden one last glance, he walked over to Elena, to tell her his decision, about leaving this town with his brothers.

"I'm leaving as well" Brayden whispered.

"You're going to leave Caroline behind?" Damon asked, slightly shocked, he was mentally preparing himself to live without his twin by his side.

Brayden sighed, "She's better off without me Damon, and you know that, and how I can leave you alone, turns out, you've all I got".

"I'll be fine, for the first time you've found someone whose made you happy, don't leave her, not for me" Damon said.

"She deserves someone better then me, she deserves someone human, someone whose not a monster, someone whose not me" Brayden said, "And how can you say that I can't leave Caroline because of you, in the past century you're the only thing that's stayed consistent in my life, I can't let you leave alone".

"You've all I have left to" Damon whispered, staring ahead of him.

***

Caroline stood next to Elena, tears streaming down her face as she heard Stefan tell Elena about him and his brothers leaving town.

"Caroline".

Caroline turned around to see Brayden standing behind her, Caroline quickly ran to Brayden and put her arms around his neck, "Please don't go" she cried, "Please don't leave me".

Brayden sighed, he tightened his grip on Caroline, relishing this hug to the fullest, knowing this was possibly their last hug.

"I'm sorry Caroline" Brayden whispered, "I'm sorry, but I can't stay here".

"No" Caroline cried, "Please Brayden, just stay, please stay with me".

Brayden finally broke the hug and cupped Caroline's face, "You are an incredible woman Caroline Forbes, and thank you for letting me know you, the real you, even if it was for a short period of time".

Caroline shook her hand, tears still streaming down her place, "Don't go Brayden, don't make me have to stay in this town without you".

"I can't stay Caroline" Brayden whispered, wiping her tears, "I'm not a good guy, I kill people just for the fun of it, I'm darkness Caroline, and you're the light, you don't need someone like me in your life, you need someone who is as pure as you, and I can't be that someone".

"That's not true" Caroline said, shaking her head, "You have good in you Brayden, I've seen it, you are not darkness, you balance me out, I need you, don't leave me alone here".

"You don't need anyone Caroline Forbes" Brayden said, kissing Caroline's forehead, "You are one strong women, who doesn't need any man to make herself feel stronger".

"I don't need anyone, but I need you" Caroline cried.

Brayden didn't say anything, he just placed a kiss on Caroline's forehead, "Goodbye, Caroline".

"No" Caroline cried, hugging Brayden and refusing to let go.

Brayden hugged Caroline and looked at Elena and Stefan, who were looking back at the duo with a sad expression on their faces.

"I don't like you Elena, I don't think I ever will, and I know you don't like me much either" Brayden said, running his hand through Caroline's hair, "But despite that, I'm asking you, be a good friend, stop leaving her out, she won't tell you, but she gets hurt Elena, she gets really hurt when you and Bonnie form a team and leave her out of it, please, just take care of her".

Elena nodded, tears in her eyes, "I will" she promised.

Brayden forced Caroline to break the hug, "Don't do this Brayden, please don't do this" Caroline pleaded.

Brayden gave Caroline a sad smile and walked away from the hysterical girl.

"Please don't walk away from me Brayden!" Caroline cried, "Brayden!".

Elena walked over to Caroline and pulled her into a hug, as she watched Stefan walk away in the same direction as Brayden.

***

Brayden entered his room, and for a second just stood in the middle of it, staring at the room that once felt like home, but now suffocated him.

"Aah!" Brayden yelled, starting to thrash his room.

He threw all the things from on his table on to the floor, he ruined his bed, he broke his bookshelves, he only stopped breaking things when there was nothing left to break.

Brayden fell to his knees and started crying, the matching necklace he had with Caroline, clutched tightly in his hand.

"Brayden" Damon said, entering his twin's room and getting shocked seeing not only the room's condition but also his brother's.

"I'm tired Damon" Brayden cried, "I'm just so tired".

Damon sighed, he kneeled next to his brother and pulled him into a hug.

Damon and Brayden never cried infront of people, but they allowed themselves to cry infront of their twin, because usually when one twin was feeling pain, the other twin was in the same boat with them.

"It hurts" Brayden whispered, "It hurts so much".

"I know, Bray" Damon whispered, tears welling in his eyes, "I know".

Unknown to the twins, Stefan stood at Brayden's door, tears in his eyes, seeing his two older brothers, who didn't let anything effect them, break down like this, hurt Stefan much more then he liked to admit.

***

Presenting 1x09 of The Vampire Diaries. . .

This was a long and emotional chapter, hope you guys liked it!

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on Damon opening up to Caroline about why he killed Lexi?

Thoughts on Caroline finally snapping at Bonnie and Elena?

Thoughts on the three brothers bonding, even if it was for a brief time?

Thoughts on both Brayden and Caroline's breakdown?