CHAPTER SEVENTEEN   /   ACT ONE

When the Sun Rises
( WARNING: Mention of Suicide )

                             Angelina laid fast asleep in one of the guest bedrooms of the boarding house. A warm silky blanket was placed over her body, and nearly 20 empty blood bags were spread across the floor around the bed. Angelina has stayed here for the previous five days to assist Damon in keeping an eye on Stefan and his cravings.

From what she could tell, he was gradually improving. But he was still moping around, feeling bad about what he had done to that girl. He hadn't had a single drop of blood since then, owing to his confinement in the basement. Damon and Angelina have both tried to get him some blood so he doesn't rot from desiccation, but he wouldn't even look at it.

But Stefan's stubbornness wouldn't mean she would give up on getting him back to normal.

Her eyes slowly opened up to the beaming daylight shining through the drapes, gently adjusting to the overwhelming brightness. She sat up and yawned softly as she stretched her arms into the air. During her stay here, she would get up every morning and go check on Stefan to make sure he was still alive and well. Or that he hadn't escaped.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, slipped on the bunny house shoes, which she secretly stole from Elena's bedroom, and began exiting the bedroom into the hallway, and down the stairs where Damon sat reading a book.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." He muttered without even bothering to look up from his book.

"Morning." She greeted, and continued making her way towards the basement.

"Y'know, he's not going anywhere." Damon spoke up as he flipped a page in his book and turned his head to look at her. "You don't have to keep going down there."

"But he has to drink something, he may be high on blood but I'm not letting him starve himself." She stopped in her tracks, turned around to face the raven haired vampire and crossed her arms. "And I'm not letting him mope himself to death."

"Do what you want." He shrugged, sighed, and returned his attention back to his book. "And get a brush while you're up, your hairs a mess."

The Petrova couldn't help but roll her eyes as she made her way down to the basement, feeling the chill creep over her skin, sending shivers down her spine. The feeble lightbulbs barely lit up the gloomy corridor, casting eerie shadows as she walked.

Approaching the mini-fridge, Angelina grabbed a couple of blood bags, one for Stefan and one for herself. As she ventured to the door of the cellar, she found him lying on a small bed against the wall, seemingly lost in his own world.

"Stefan," she called out, leaning against the metal bars. No response. With a sigh, she tossed a blood bag through the bars, landing it on the floor. "You gotta feed. It's been days. If you keep denying it, you'll start desiccating before you know it."

His silence taunted her as she peered through the small window in the door. "..Please."

He continued to remain silent, which only enhanced her festering aggravation. "Fine." She exhaled and back away from the door.

"I'll be back to make sure you're not dead and rotting." Exiting the cellar, she tore the cap off her blood bag, taking it down greedily. Back in the living room, Damon lounged on the couch, engrossed in his book.

"Did he even touch it?" Damon's question cut through the silence, though he already guessed the answer.

"Nope." Angelina dropped the empty blood bag on the table with a heavy sigh, frustration evident in her voice.

"Didn't think so."

"Y'know you don't have to pretend you don't care." Angelina leaned over the back of the couch, her chin resting in the palms of her hands, peering over Damon's shoulder. "I know you do, I can see right through you."

"Caring is you and Elena's thing, not mine."

The doppelgänger rolled her eyes and straightened her posture. "Speaking of, where is Elena? She texted me last night saying she'd be here."

"I dunno, probably at school." He shrugged his shoulders before raising his head and looking at her. "Y'know, shouldn't she be the one staying over here? She's the one that's actually dating him."

"You're his brother." She shook her head, her lips pursed together. "Shouldn't you be helping?."

"When are you leaving?" He commented.

"I dunno, until Stefan's better. Why?"

"Because you're a complete nuisance." Damon smiled sarcastically and she responded with an eye roll.

She faked a smile before glancing over to the side table where a small device that resembled an old antique watch sat alone. "What's that?"

The vampire smirked as he shifted his gaze to the watch. "That my friend, is the device John Gilbert wanted. Pearl gave it to me."

"Was that before or after you killed her to get it?"

"There's no blood on my hands." He lifted his hands in the air jokingly. "She willingly gave it to me."

"Huh.." She took the watch from the side table, frowned, cocked her head to the side and stared at it intently. "Something about this, it's familiar."

"Whatever it is, it doesn't work. Apparently, it was Jonathan Gilbert's. Pearl stole it from him thinking it was a vampire compass, but it was a pocket watch."

"Doesn't look like a pocket watch."

"Well, if you know anything, speak now or forever hold your peace." He joked, and she chuckled lowly, before tossing the watch on the couch, backing away, and dragging her feet towards the stairs.

"I'll be in the shower, don't miss me too much."

"Oh, I won't."

                             As hours ticked by, Angelina and Damon's attempts to coax Stefan into feeding or even just talking fell flat. Frustration hung heavy in the air as they watched him withdraw further into himself.

Then, a hesitant Elena finally summoned the courage to join them in the cellar. Damon tagged along, ready to lend a hand. They understood her apprehension; after all, she was just a fragile human.

For Angelina, Stefan's refusal to feed was more than just a concern about his physical well-being. It was about the turmoil raging inside him. Being a vampire usually meant having no hesitation when it came to taking lives, but Stefan was different. He carried the weight of his past actions, haunted by remorse in a world where such feelings were rare.

For years, Stefan had battled with self-loathing for his past misdeeds. From the perspective of someone who had been taught by her sister for centuries to shut out her humanity, Angelina couldn't help but admire his enduring remorse. She wished for him to cling to that sense of guilt, seeing it as a beacon of his moral compass.

In the cozy glow of the fireplace, the crackling flames danced, casting flickering shadows around the dimly lit library. Angelina set her glass aside as she heard the familiar sound of footsteps approaching. Turning, she saw Elena and Damon entering the room. Damon's face was etched with brooding intensity, while Elena wore a worried expression, her concern palpable in the air.

"Why the long face?" She titled her head to the side as Elena sat next to her and the Salvatore poured himself a glass of bourbon.

"It's Stefan," Elena began, fidgeting with her fingers. "We were trying so hard to get him to drink, and I told him he needed it to survive, but he- he said he didn't want to."

"What?" Angelina's brows drew together and her face appeared concerned. "Why would he say that?"

"He feels bad about hurting that girl," Damon answered for her and took a sip from his glass. "It's very typical Stefan martyr stuff."

"Typical Stefan martyr doesn't usually say he doesn't want to survive." The Petrova retorted.

"It will pass." He argued.

"Will it?" Elena's face softened. "Because he seemed to be in a lot of pain."

"Yeah, well, that will pass too, once he eats."

"I didn't mean physical pain.."

"I know what you meant."

Lost in her own thoughts, Angelina tuned out Elena and Damon's conversation, her gaze fixed on the floor. She couldn't shake the worry gnawing at her about Stefan's well-being. His struggle with depression and guilt was something she understood all too well, but the idea of him starving himself sent chills down her spine.

She wanted nothing more than to reach out and help him, to understand his pain, and most importantly, to convince him to keep fighting, just as he always had.

"Are you two gonna be okay here if I run out?" Damon spoke up, snapping her back into reality. "I have to go to an errand with the teacher."

"The teacher?" The Pierce girl questioned. "Alaric? You two are friends now?"

"More or less." He replied and backed away from the sofa, grabbing his jacket, and left the library alone while Elena watched. Just as Damon exited the room, Angelina stood up from the couch without word, attempting to leave but just before she could get past the couch, a voice stopped her.

"Wait-" Elena stood up, and Angelina reluctantly turned around with an annoyed and impatient expression all over.  "I wanted to talk to you."

"Can we do it later?" The doppelgänger crossed her arms, tapping her foot against the wooden floors impatiently.

"Sorry, it's just-" Elena continued on and stared down at the floor. "What you said about Damon the other day.. the thing about him being in love with me, what did you mean?"

"I said it pretty plain and simple." She sighed, ready to leave again but her doppelgänger continued to speak.

"But was it true?"

"Can we talk about this later?"

"Sorry, I just-"

"Goodbye, Elena." Angelina interrupted her, then spun around on her heel and walked out of the library, avoiding further conversation with her.

A foreboding shiver crept down Angelina's spine as she made her way to the basement. Something felt off, terribly so. Stepping into the dimly lit corridor, she turned the corner only to find the cellar door wide open. Panic gripped her as she rushed inside, only to discover Stefan's absence, leaving behind an eerie emptiness.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she spotted his bright blue daylight ring, abandoned on the bed before her. With trembling hands, she reached out and grasped it, her heart pounding in her chest, a sense of dread settling over her like a suffocating cloak.

"Elena!" She called out for her doppelgänger. "We have to go!"

                             In the depths of the woods, the doppelgängers forged ahead in search of Stefan, their footsteps echoing in the eerie silence. They had split up, each determined to track him down. The darkness seemed to close in around them, casting a sinister shadow over the quiet forest.

Angelina's mind was consumed by thoughts of him, her heart pounding with fear at what she might discover. Gripping his daylight ring tightly, she pressed on, her only focus finding her friend before it was too late.

As she trudged on, guided by the faint shimmer of moonlight on the lake's surface, her anxiety grew with each step. Finally, she reached a small hill and there, standing alone, was Stefan, his gaze fixed on the tranquil waters before him. Relief flooded through her, but she knew their journey was far from over.

"I should've died that night," Stefan spoke up after a long period of silence. "Just like I had chosen. I should've let Damon die, too."

"No, Stefan." Angelina replied, twisting her head in his direction as she shook her head. "Katherine shouldn't have turned either of you in the first place. But she did, and if you die now, it's not gonna change anything."

"Every single person that's been hurt, every single life that's been lost, it's because of me."

Angelina's expression softened into a gentle frown as she searched for the right words to say. In truth, she saw a reflection of her younger self in Stefan's struggles. Katherine had turned her against her wishes, just as she'd done with Stefan. But Angelina understood the necessity of it; without the vampire blood coursing through her veins, she would've met a grim end at Niklaus' hands.

Over the centuries, she'd come to terms with her vampiric existence, grateful for the chance to live. Yet, there were moments when she couldn't help but think things would've been better for her if she was left for dead.

As she watched Stefan grappling with his demons, Angelina couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. She knew all too well the weight of guilt and remorse. But she also knew that dwelling on the past would only lead to a life of eternal suffering. Stefan needed to find acceptance, just as she had, or risk being consumed by his mind forever.

"Becoming a vampire was one of the worst things that ever happened to me," Angelina began, and he turned to face her. "For months, I wished I could've been human again, and if I'm being honest, I still do."

"But over time I had to live with my immortality. Unlike you, over time I became someone who felt no remorse for the lives I had taken. I had to shut my humanity out of my life if I wanted to survive. But you, you've survived being a vampire for years and yet you held onto your humanity."

"I made the choice to turn, Angelina." He replied, gazing at the ground. "And because of that choice, a lot of people died-"

"And here you are standing by the lake, waiting for the sun to rise because you feel guilty." She interrupted. "Because years ago you made the choice to protect others from the darkest part of yourself-"

"You don't understand, Angelina." He stopped her abruptly, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "It hurts me. It hurts me, knowing what I've done and that pain is with me all the time! And everyday I think that if I just give myself over to the blood, I can make that pain stop."

"It would be that easy, and everyday I fight that, and I'm so terrified that one day I'm not gonna wanna fight that anymore; and the next time I hurt somebody, it could be Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, or even Elena."

"But that's the thing Stefan. If you don't at least try to fight to blood, then you're putting all of this pain on yourself. I know that you can do this,"

"Why? Why do you have so much faith that I can do this?"

"Because I love you, Stefan."

"You've fought for 145 years, I know you can do the same now." Angelina shed a single tear, which was quickly followed by many more. A moment of silence came over the two. Stefan's eyes avoided hers as he felt too shameful to make eye contact. "But ultimately, the choice isn't mine. It's yours." She wiped her tears away and opened her palms before taking his hand in hers and placing his daylight ring in his palms. "So you can throw this ring the lake and wait for when the sun rises, or you can put it back on and keeping fighting. For Elena, for Damon, for me, and.. for yourself."

Hesitantly, Angelina let go of his hand and began to walk back up the hill, her head held low, tears streaming down her face, blurring her vision. Just as she was about to speed off into the night, Stefan's voice called after her.

"Angelina!" He yelled, and she turned around, surprised to see him looking up at her and sliding the ring back onto his finger. As he ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her, a wide smile spread across both of their faces.

They both cried for what seemed like an eternity in each other's arms as they held each other close. They understood that no matter how difficult things became, things will eventually improve.

As friends. Just friends.

AUTHORS NOTE
OR POSSIBLY MORE THAN FRIENDS IKYKYK
this was the most important chapter in act one and so are the next two

like i didnt realize how quickly season two was coming and then it just hit me. so only two more chapters of act one and then season two

BTW THIS BOOK GOES ALL THE WAY UP TO SEASON FOUR, POSSIBLY SEASON SIX IF I CAN. SEASON TWO AND THREE ARE THE JUICIEST BC I HAVE SOMETHING RLLY BIG PLANNED FOR THEM SO YEAH HEHEHE

I DIDNT PROOF READ THIS ILL DO IT LATER CAUSE IM TAKING CARE OF MY GRAMMAS CAT