CHAPTER EIGHT   /   ACT ONE

The Fine Art of Kidnapping

                             Stefan and Angelina perched on Elena's bed, a tense hush enveloping the room as Elena rummaged for a towel to tend to Angelina's chest wound.

An hour had trickled by since they left the woods, a heavy silence weighing down their shoulders. Angelina couldn't shake the guilt gnawing at her. She'd shattered Damon's trust, maybe even their friendship. The memory of his pained expression, clutching her heart, haunted her thoughts relentlessly.

Stefan's voice pierced the quiet, his concern cutting through the tension. "You alright? You're quieter than usual."

"I'll-" She stammered, trying to find the right words. "I'll be alright."

"Damon was right," He began. "This is my fault."

"Why would this be your fault?" She furrowed her eyebrows, glancing over in his direction. "Damon pretty much hates me, and for good reason. This isn't your fault Stefan."

"He wouldn't have reacted the way he did if I didn't betray him in 1864." He responded. "Yes, he would've been mad, but he wouldn't have tried to kill you."

"Stefan," Angelina sighed deeply. "Let's not play the blame game. We just- we just need to worry about his plans to open the tomb. He has the grimoire now, and we have to get it back."

"You're right," He nodded his head in agreement.

"And um- thank you. Y'know, for saving me." She thanked him and titled her dead down at the floor. "Kinda surprised you didn't leave me for dead."

"Well, let's just say I consider you as a friend now."

Angelina managed a weak smile, her heart heavy with unspoken emotions. Even with Stefan and Elena together, she couldn't shake her feelings for him. Being just his friend was bittersweet solace.

Just then, Elena entered, breaking the moment with a warm, wet towel "Sorry I took so long, I had to lie to Jenna about where I was." she said, settling beside Angelina and gently dabbing away the blood.

"Thanks." Angelina exhaled.

Elena smiled in response and continued to wipe the blood off of her chest, causing the towel to become covered in blood. "Hey, Stefan?" She began.

"Can you get a bottle of aspirin for me?" She requested. "It's probably in one of the cabinets downstairs."

Stefan nodded his head and stood up from the bed before exiting the room, leaving the doppelgängers alone together.

"Um," Elena began, desperately trying to break the tension between them. "Do you- do you need anything?"

"No," Angelina denied, shaking her head as leaned back on the bed, Elena's removing the towel from her chest as she had washed off all of what she could. "I'm fine, but thanks."

Elena nodded, tossing the towel aside, struggling to find common ground with Angelina. Since her arrival, conversation between them had been scarce, filled with tension.

She didn't carry any ill will towards Angelina, but the stories Stefan had shared painted a less than favorable picture of her.

"Are you okay?" She asked her, and she nodded her head gloomily as she stared down at the, seemingly in a trance.

"I'm perfectly fine." She lied, glancing over at Elena and sighing. She stood up from the bed and stood in front of the mirror that hung above the dresser, pulling the ponytail out and letting her wavy hair fall down.

"Are you sure?" She continued to ask her questions, standing up from the bed as well and stepping beside her.

Angelina bit her lip. "I said I'm fine. I've dealt with much worse than someone trying to rip my heart out."

"But, Damon's your friend and he tried to kill-"

"Elena!" She snapped, slamming her palms against the dresser. "I'm fine."

The room fell silent, the awkward tension between the two rising once more.

"Sorry," Angelina muttered.

Elena nodded, offering a weak smile as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Suddenly, a shiver ran down Angelina's spine, a gut feeling telling her that they weren't alone. Without hesitation, she grabbed a pencil from the drawer and whirled around, driving it into the shoulder of the intruder with lightning speed.

A groan escaped the figure's lips as they stumbled back, revealing a face from the distant past – Anna Zhu.

"Anna?"

"Hello, Angelina," Anna replied with a chilling smile before swiftly snapping her neck.

                             Angelina stirred, her eyes blinking open to the dim, dreary motel room. A faint light filtered through the curtains, casting eerie shadows across the dingy space. It felt like she'd been out cold for ages.

A sharp sting jolted her awake, and she glanced down to find her right hand handcuffed to the bed, the metal laced with vervain. She winced at the discomfort but forced herself to ignore the pain, determined not to give away any weakness.

Taking in her surroundings, Angelina realized she was in some rundown motel room. Across from her, a man slumped in a chair, either asleep or dead – she couldn't quite tell. Either way, he wasn't exactly vigilant.

But Anna was nowhere to be seen.

Summoning what strength she had left, Angelina raised her free hand and delivered a series of slaps to Elena's shoulder, rousing her from sleep. Elena groaned, slowly blinking her eyes open as she sat up, taking in their dire situation with a mixture of confusion and concern.

"W-" She stumbled over her words.

Angelina pressed a finger to her lips and jerked her head towards the man slumped in the chair, urging Elena to stay quiet. Elena glanced over, her eyes widening with fear, but she nodded in agreement.

"Uncuff me," Angelina whispered urgently as Elena moved to her side of the bed. With cautious steps, Elena tiptoed towards the handcuffs, her heart pounding in her chest.

But before she could even reach out, the man snapped awake, his eyes locking onto Elena's attempted rescue. In an instant, he was on his feet, grabbing Elena's wrists before she could react.

Both doppelgängers held their breath as the man pulled Elena closer, their eyes meeting in a tense stare.

"Don't try to escape, don't try to help your friend," He attempted to compelling, unaware she was on vervain. "Don't even move."

"Do you understand?"

"I understand." She lied, playing along with his compulsion.

The man let out a disdainful scoff and stalked off, leaving the room shrouded in silence once more. As soon as Angelina saw him putting distance between himself and Elena, she seized the opportunity to yell out.

"Elena, run!"

With a surge of adrenaline, Elena bolted towards the door, flinging it open in a desperate bid for freedom. But her escape was short-lived as she came face to face with Anna, blocking her path.

Just as the sunlight spilled in, illuminating the room, Angelina's victorious shout turned into a cry of agony. The searing pain of her skin burning under the rays of the sun pierced through her as she realized her daylight ring had been taken.

Anna swiftly shut the door, casting the room back into darkness, and seized Elena by the arm, dragging her back inside despite Angelina's anguished screams falling on deaf ears.

"Seriously?!" She complained to the man.

"I told her not to move!" He defended himself. "I did that eye thing you taught me!"

"You forgot the lesson about vervain, she takes a vampire venom."

"Who are you?! What do you want?!" Elena yelled as Anna threw her into the bathroom.

"Doesn't matter." She spat and closed the door.

Angelina watched as Anna began to pace across the room, laughing to herself at how uncoordinated she was. She couldn't even get a good enough vampire to watch them.

"Well, that was a nice show," Angelina remarked, her voice strained and weary from the vervain coursing through her veins, sapping her strength. "Can't say I'm impressed though. A bit pathetic, if you ask me."

"Shut up," Anna snapped, irritation flickering in her eyes as she advanced towards her, her patience wearing thin.

"What's your deal, anyway?" Angelina prodded, her tone laced with annoyance as she searched for a way out.

She couldn't help but feel genuinely curious. In all honesty she believed Anna to be in the tomb, trapped alongside her mother, Pearl Zhu. But after the chaos of the raid, Angelina hadn't seen Anna until now.

"Ah, right. Your mom. Pearl, huh?" Angelina pressed on. "You wanna open the tomb too?"

Anna nodded hesitantly, continuously avoiding eye contact with the doppelgänger, who was thoroughly examining her body language. Of course, with the vervain she could barely move her wrists without inflicting pain upon herself. Which made it even harder for her to break free.

So, the best thing for her to do right now would be to get some information out of her.

"What I don't understand is why you aren't in the tomb." Anna lifted her head up, making direct eye contact with her. "My mother helped you and your sister, but she's been dead for over a century while you seem alive and well."

"Pearl and I barely knew each other. She was Katherine's friend, not mine. If you're gonna blame someone for your mother being in there, blame her." Angelina retorted, rolling her eyes.

Anna let out a scoff and strode away from the bed, her footsteps echoing across the room as she made her way to a cluttered dresser. With determination, she began sifting through the various items scattered across its surface.

"Where's my damn daylight ring?" Angelina demanded, her tone more command than question.

But Anna remained stubbornly silent, her focus solely on the task at hand. Angelina's frustration simmered, her gaze sweeping the room until it landed on her missing ring, glinting faintly on the dresser beside Anna.

"If you won't let me go, at least give me back my ring," Angelina pressed, her voice tinged with annoyance.

Anna spun around to face her, irritation evident in her expression. "No chance. I know that eventually you'll try to escape, but without your ring, you'll barely make it past the front door."

"What exactly is my purpose here?"

"Leverage. I know that one of the Salvatore brothers will try to find you two. And the only way they'll get you back is if they give me the grimoire."

"Right, and you couldn't have just kidnapped Elena, why?" The doppelgänger groaned.

"You ask a lot of questions."

Angelina shrugged, a sardonic smile playing on her lips as she turned away, resigned to her fate. It was clear she wouldn't be making a break for it anytime soon. All she could do was bide her time and wait for an opportunity to escape.

"Go get Elena," Anna commanded the man standing at her side, her tone authoritative. With a nod, he strode over to the bathroom, swung the door open, and disappeared inside.

Tons of noise erupted from the hallway, punctuated by an unfamiliar voice – neither Elena's nor the man's. Moments later, the man emerged from the bathroom, shoving the Gilbert girl out into the room before shutting the door firmly behind him, leaving the two strangers inside.

"Well, well.." Anna hummed, a subtle smirk appearing on her lips. "Elena Gilbert.. you really are the twins' doppelgänger."

"You must have the Salvatore boys reeling."

"Who are you?" Elena furrowed her eyebrows.

"I'm Anna." She replied. "Your brother may have mentioned me? I mean, we're like practically dating?"

Elena's perplexed face rapidly turned to shock, then rage. "What did you do with Jeremy?"

"Oh, relax." She rolled her eyes before grabbing Elena by the wrists and pulling her closer before swiftly snatching her phone from her pocket.

"Hey!" Elena protested, reaching for the phone, but Anna held it just out of her reach, a smirk playing on her lips as Elena eventually gave up.

Defeated, Elena moved away and settled onto one of the beds, positioning herself next to Angelina.

"Should I..." Elena trailed off, motioning towards the handcuffs, but Angelina shook her head firmly.

"Not yet," she whispered back.

Elena nodded in understanding as they both turned their attention to Anna, who lingered by the window, absorbed in her phone. The vampire held the phone her ear while Angelina averted her gaze, subtly indicating that she was eavesdropping on Anna's conversation.

"Elena, are you okay?" She could hear Stefan's voice from the other side of the phone.

"She's fine, for now." Anna replied. "Tell me you have the grimoire, and she'll stay fine."

A tense silence hung in the air before Stefan finally responded, his tone resigned. It was clear Damon had the grimoire, making their task all the more challenging. "I'll get it."

With a decisive click, the dark-haired vampire ended the call and tossed the phone onto the dresser. She strode over to the bathroom door and knocking on it sharply, signaling to her friend inside. The door swung open, revealing the man with another girl in his arms – none other than Bonnie, whom Angelina recognized from the dance.

Bonnie's expression shifted from confusion to shock as she locked eyes with Angelina, realization dawning upon her. This was the doppelgänger Elena had warned her about.

"Keep them buttoned down," Anna demanded in a patronizing manner. "Compulsion won't work, just use violence."

"Right." He replied in understanding, annoyed at her condescending orders. "I got that."

"Sit, behave!" He threw Bonnie to the bed, ordering her around like a dog. "So, you're the key to this, literally. The one who opens the door."

"Tell me, how long have you been a witch?"

"Is there anything to drink here?" Elena spoke up before her friend could respond, giving a small look to Bonnie and Angelina, indicating that she had an escape plan.

Angelina immediately nodded her head no to whatever her reckless idea was, but she disregarded her and proceeded on with her plan.

"Are you offering?" He came closer to her, a greedy expression on his face.

"There's water on the nightstand."

She hesitantly nodded and slipped over the bed to grab the glass of water. Angelina scowled at her rash scheme, which neither of them expected to succeed. It most likely wouldn't.

"Hey, can I have a sip?" Bonnie inquired before she could drink from the glass, and Elena hesitantly gave the glass to her friend.

She snatched the glass from Elena's trembling hand, her heart pounding with adrenaline as she turned to face the man. With a swift motion, she hurled the liquid at him, watching with a mixture of satisfaction and horror as his arm burst into flames, his agonized screams filling the room. It was a glass of vervain.

Angelina rolled her eyes in frustration as she observed the chaotic scene unfolding before her. Bonnie managed to escape unscathed, but Elena wasn't so lucky. The man seized her arm just as the flames began to subside, trapping her in his grip.

"Come back in, shut the door!" He yelled at Bonnie, holding the brunette hostage.

"Don't hurt her," Bonnie pleaded, her voice quivering as she reluctantly complied, stepping back into the dimly lit motel room and shutting the door behind her, her heart heavy with worry for her friend's safety.

"Don't make me!"

She obeyed his commands and closed the door behind her, worried for her friends life.

Bonnie closed the door with shaky hands, fear for her friend gnawing at her insides. "Lock it!" the vampire demanded, his voice sharp and commanding. She hurriedly complied, the click of the lock echoing in the tense silence that followed. He tossed Elena onto the bed beside Angelina, who shot her a withering look that went unnoticed.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

Grabbing a bottle of alcohol from the dresser, he prowled around the room, a sinister aura enveloping the space. "Witches don't have eternal life, right?" he taunted, his words laced with contempt.

"So you guys can die."

"Yeah, we can die." Bonnie whispered cautiously, her voice barely audible.

He chuckled darkly, taking a swig from the bottle. "Ah, that sucks." He taunted her sarcastically.

Angelina couldn't contain her irritation any longer. "You don't have to keep talking, you know," she snapped, her voice cutting through the tension. "Your voice is grating on my last nerve. And let's face it, we both know how this ends. Cocky vampire tries to take on a Bennett witch and an older, stronger vampire, and guess what? He ends up dead. Is that how you want this to go down?"

The vampire clicked his tongue in annoyance, telling her she struck a nerve. The doppelgänger smirked before glancing in Bonnie's direction then to the curtains that covered the windows. She took a few deep breaths as she stared at the curtains, bracing herself for her next move. With a swift move, she yanked down the curtains, flooding the room with sunlight. As the vampire writhed in agony, Angelina darted across the room to the darkest corner she could find.

At that moment, the door burst open, and Stefan stormed in, his eyes scanning the room with urgency. Catching Angelina's nod, he quickly ushered Bonnie and Elena to safety before his gaze fell upon the dresser. Without hesitation, he snatched up the Petrova's daylight ring and carefully slipped it onto her finger, a silent gesture of protection.

Grateful, Angelina flashed him a brief smile before turning back to the vampire, who was now cowering in the shadows. With one last smirk, she joined Stefan, fleeing the room as the vampire's screams echoed behind them.

AUTHORS NOTE
bro angelina is the definition of angst
why did anna have a glass of vervain in her room? i watched the scene repeatedly and i cant figure out why