𝖺 𝖼𝗎𝗋𝗌𝖾 𝗁𝗂𝖽𝖽𝖾𝗇 𝖻𝖾𝗁𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖻𝖾𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗒

━━━━━━━━━━

Pain.

A feeling Evelyn knew all too well. One she was used to. Both physically and emotionally. The emotional pain was a numbing sensation that seam to come from the pit of her stomach and almost became physical as her back was forced to be the arc.

The first time she truly felt pain was the day her parents died. It hit her like a train. That reality was not all perfect as she viewed it as. It took over a portion of her brain, consuming her. Stealing away her happiness, her light and was now being held captive by sadness and the dark.

And at one point, when she was alone, and the feeling became too much, she screamed. It was the kind that came straight from the eyes and soul and just like a flip of the switch, the aggressive tears were wiped away and replaced with a smile. A pretty yet broken one but it was enough for people to believe her. For her to believe.

Still, the invisible scars were permanent, refusing to leave her. A reminder that behind close doors, the pain would be evident in her eyes and sat there for a life time, trapped in the confusion she carried.

That is what Evelyn questioned herself. The confusion that constantly knocked on her mind.

When was the first time she truly experienced pain?

Another secret hidden from her.

From a young age, an innocent child that shouldn't have withstand any kind of pain, emotionally and physically at the same time.

And tonight, the wound from her invisible scars would open and history repeats itself.

Only this time, she would forever remember and hold it with her.

A beautiful yet a tragic curse she was blessed with.

━━━━━━━━━━

1998

"Can you please tell mommy? I'm scared." A 7 year old Evelyn tugged on to Elena's hand with a pout on her face.

"She's not going to shout at you, Eve," Elena reassured her as she held on to her sister's hand, stepping out of the school bus and towards their house.

"Yes she is. Her and daddy said i'm not allowed to take it off and I didn't listen to them," Evelyn whispered. "Lena, please. I'll share ice cream with you."

"Really?" Elena asked. "Pinky swear?"

Evelyn hesitated. "Uh– yeah," she nodded.

"You have to pinky swear, Eve," Elena urged her to do.

Evelyn sighed and joined her pinky with Elena's whilst the other hand was behind her back, crossing her finger.

"I'll tell her," Elena said and Evelyn smiled widely, hugging on to her sister's side.

Opening the front door, they were greeted by a 4 year old Jeremy, shouting and clinging on to their mother's leg.

"Hi mommy," Elena beamed with a bright smile and Evelyn immediately hid herself behind her sister's back.

"Hey girls," Miranda smiled back. "How was your day?" She picked up Jeremy from the floor.

"It was great," Elena nodded and Miranda looked behind her to see Evelyn biting on her thumb.

"What's wrong, Eve?"

"Nothing." Evelyn's eyes widened and she ran past them, climbing up the stairs towards her bedroom, her waist length curls bouncing with each step she took. They heard the door to the room close and Miranda frowned.

"Did something happen, Elena?"

Elena remained quiet. "Elena?"

"She's scared to tell you but she lost her bracelet. She thinks you will shout at her," she told her the truth and Miranda sighed.

"Okay." Miranda placed Jeremy down. "I will take you to play with Kenji soon."

"Now!" Jeremy demanded.

"Eve's upset. Let me talk her first, okay?" Miranda spoke softly and Jeremy sighed with a nod.

She walked up the stairs into Evelyn's room. "Eve?" She opened the door but found her nowhere in sight.

Hearing a small sniffle, Miranda headed towards the closet and found Evelyn hiding inside it, her knees pressed up against her chest. "There you are."

Evelyn looked up with her doe eyes filled with tears. "Mommy, i'm so sorry. I didn't mean to take it off. It was tickling my hand so much and Care Bear told me to put it inside the bag but when I wanted to wear it again, it was gone. I'm so sorry. Please don't be angry."

Miranda smiled, picking Evelyn up and set her on the bed, crouching down in front of her. "I'm not angry." She tilted Evelyn's chin up and wiped her tears away.

"You're not?" Evelyn swung her legs back and forth, her hands fiddling with the hem of her dress.

"No." She shook her head. "We'll get you another one tomorrow."

"Cool," Evelyn nodded with a wide smile.

"You said your hands were tickling?" She held Evelyn's hands and glanced down at her palms to make sure if the glow appeared.

"Yes," Evelyn nodded. "It was tickling so much." She let out a small giggle. "Both hands." She wiggled her hands in the air.

Miranda eyes darted back to her hands immediately. "Both hands?" She whispered under her breath. "How do you feel, Eve?"

Evelyn shrugged. "I feel great!" She laughed.

"Mommy?" She looked up. "Are you okay?" Evelyn's small palms rested against the side of her mother's face.

"Yes," Miranda reassured with a smile.

"Okay," Evelyn chirped. "Can I still have ice cream?" She tilted her head to the side, her hands clasped together and sending her an innocent smile.

"Only a bit."

"But–" Evelyn pouted.

"Too much isn't good for you," Miranda scolded lightly.

"Fine." Her shoulder's slumped and Miranda kissed the top of her head.

"Do your homework first." She stood back up and left the room.

"I'll tell daddy to give me more ice cream then," Evelyn quietly giggled.

━━━━━━━━━━

As night replaced the day, the full moon had graced it's beauty, reflecting the pure rays of the sun and became as peaceful as the daytime.

However, she was not at peace.

Evelyn twisted and turned in her sleep, a gasp escaping her lips as she jolted up awake, her eyes full of fear as her body trembled.

The chilling, eerie voice was back and it frightened her.

Glancing down at her hands, she hissed as they twitched and felt a burning sensation.
Scratching her hands, she whimpered when the pain wouldn't disappear.

Hearing a small whimper from Evelyn's room, next door to his. Jeremy jumped out of his bed, his feet directing him towards her room as he opened the door slightly, peeking his head in. "EJ?" He called in a soft whisper.

When she didn't answer, he tip toed into her room to find his sister scratching at her arms harshly. His eyes widened when a purple glow appeared then disappeared from her hands. "EJ?" He reached out to touch her but she backed away.

"Stay– stay away," she whimpered. "Go."

"I'll call mommy and daddy. Don't be scared," he whispered and reached out once again to touch her hand.

Confused as to what she was feeling, her glowing eyes darted towards Jeremy, jaws tightening. "I said leave!" Jeremy's small body was thrown against the wall, his head hitting the hard surface.

He gasped in shock, hand touching his forehead when he glanced down at his tiny fingers, the blood coating it. A scream escaped his lips followed by a sob when Evelyn made to move towards him.

"Jemmie." Evelyn's eyes were brimmed with tears. "I'm so sorry." The room were filled with their cries. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Grayson stormed into the room, the scene taking him by surprise. His children were crying uncontrollably. "EJ hurt me." Jeremy ran towards him and Grayson eyes darted to the blood on his forehead.

"I–" Evelyn began when he looked at her. "I– it was by accident. I d– don't know what's happening to me," she sobbed.

Miranda stood behind Grayson, eyes widening. "Mommy, make it stop!" Evelyn screamed, her small body pressed against the corner of the wall, rocking back and forth as she gripped on to hair tightly.

They turned around when Elena stood by the door, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "Why is Eve crying?" She frowned when she saw Miranda sitting in front of Evelyn, whispering words to her.

A loud rumble startled them all and Jeremy clung on to his father tightly while Elena ran towards them, clutching on to Grayson's leg.

"Elena, take Jeremy to your room." She drifted her eyes towards Grayson as he set a crying Jeremy down.

"But–" Elena looked back at Evelyn. "Eve?"

"Now!" She jumped up in surprise and grabbed Jeremy's hand, running and locking the door to her room.

"It hurts so much," Evelyn whimpered and moved away from her parents.

"Eve, I need you to calm down," Miranda spoke soothingly as she slowly reached out to hold her.

"Get away from me!" The burn increasing and spreading through her body. "The voice is being mean to me. Make it stop."

"You need to stay calm."

"Stop it!" Her parents flinched when objects flew across the room.

"Grayson do something," Miranda pleaded, watching helplessly as Evelyn's breathing grew uneven.

He ran out of the room, remembering when Sheila had given herbs to use on Evelyn.

"I– I hurt Jemmie." Evelyn shut her eyes. "I'm a b– bad person."

"Eve," Miranda spoke warily as her eyes glanced up, lights flickering and the room shaking slightly.

"Make it go away," Her soft voice pleaded. "Please. It hurts."

"Make it go away!" Evelyn yelled making the fear rise in Miranda.

"Look at me." Evelyn's teary eyes met hers. "Breathe in and out, slowly." Miranda showed her but she kept shaking her head.

"I– I can't." Evelyn rasped.

"You can do it." Miranda encouraged but the room shook violently.

Back in Elena's room, the siblings heard a loud noise, flinching and holding on to each other. "What's happening?" Jeremy whimpered when the room also shook.

Grayson ran back into Evelyn's room but a strong force had stopped him from reaching forward to Evelyn and Miranda.

Watching as the glow on Evelyn's palm began to appear, Miranda struggled and eventually wrapped Evelyn's body in her arms, closing her hands into a fist as their daughter trashed in her arms, demanding for the pain to stop. She looked back at her husband and urged him to quickly sedate her.

"No!" Evelyn shrieked. "No!" Miranda kept a firm hold on her. Grayson pressed the needle on Evelyn's arm as the herbs kicked in, and the room had also stopped shaking.

"Everything hurts," she whispered as she laid limp against her mother's arm.

"Shh, you're safe." Grayson brushed the hair away from her face and Evelyn slowly fell unconscious.

Miranda and Grayson eyes met each other's, tears in them, a silent understanding between them.

A nightmare that neither of the Gilbert siblings knew had happened. Forgetting the horror's Evelyn faced and inflicted on them all.

━━━━━━━━━━

"Put me down," Evelyn gritted when Klaus had carried her in his arms, vamp speeding them out of Alaric's apartment and outside the building, refusing to let her stay with Damon.

"Kevin. Put. Me. Down. Now," she emphasised her words as he continued to walk whilst carrying Evelyn in his arms. "Kevin!"

Klaus inhaled a deep breath and set her down. "Happy?" He remarked.

Fixing her hair, she narrowed her eyes at him. "You better find a lawyer soon because i'm definitely placing a restraining order on you," she snapped.

Klaus chuckled and she huffed in frustration. "This is not funny."

"It is," he continued to laugh.

She moved past him and he grabbed a hold of her hand, tugging her back to him. "Where do you think you're going?" Evelyn paid no attention to his question but on his hand that was holding on to hers.

"Remove it," she said in a low voice. He smirked and raised his hands up in the air. "Thank you," she grimaced and cursed her manners towards him. "I take that back."

He raised an eyebrow, frowning. "Don't make me feel bad. Nope. You don't deserve a thank you." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"But I did what you told me to," he chuckled.

"You didn't let me stay with Damon," she argued. "So no, I take back the thank you because you don't deserve it. Maybe a little." She palmed her forehead. "Not at all." He watched with an amused smirk.

"He's going to die anyways. There's nothing you can do, love," he shrugged.

"You are so insensitive," she gasped.

"Well I don't care about some arrogant vampire," he snapped. Especially Damon.

"Well I do because he's my best friend," Evelyn said. "He's always been there for me."

Klaus clenched his fist tightly. If only Damon hadn't been bitten by a wolf, he would've definitely used him for the sacrifice whether Evelyn liked it or not.

"Are you done talking about him?" He murmured in a low tone.

"No i'm not," she scoffed.

"Enough about him." He took a step but she poked her finger on his chest, making him stop.

"He was saving them from you! And it's all my fault because I told him to," she whispered. "It's my fault he's dying." Klaus heard the anger change into guilt. 

"I'm a murderer." She ran a hand through her hair. "I've just killed my best friend."

"It's not your fault," Klaus said and she looked up at him.

"If anything it's his fault for thinking he could stop me. Quite pathetic of him if I must say so," he tutted smugly and she rolled her eyes.

"Are you going to keep showing off that you are some bad boy that no one can beat because it's getting boring now," she remarked. "I'm tired of hearing the same shit coming out of your mouth. 'I'm much stronger than you," she imitated his British accent.

Klaus frowned, having nothing to say. "Yeah that's what I thought. Keep that big mouth shut. Always talking nonsense," she scoffed.

"I–" Klaus began to argue but she interrupted him.

"Shut up! Why is my life such a mess ever since you arrived?" She pointed at him and turned away from him.

"You're not going back to him." Klaus sped in front of her and she took a deep breath. "Don't make me compel you."

"Hate to break it to you but you can't," She smiled sarcastically.

"Then i'll carry you over my shoulder this time," he challenged her.

Evelyn sighed in defeat. "Urgh– you're so irritating." She slipped past him and walked away.

Glancing up at the sky, the moon had arrived and now the sacrifice was going to happen soon.

Stall him. She thought. Maybe that will stop him from killing Elena or at least delay it enough for her friends to ruin it.

"Actually–" She walked back towards him.

"If you're going to insult me again, keep it to yourself. Your words don't hurt my feelings," Klaus gave her a sarcastic smile.

The amount times you said ouch says otherwise.

"I wasn't going to. Get over yourself." She brought her hand out forward.

Klaus glanced down at it and placed his hand on top of hers. "What are you doing?" She scrunched her face. "I don't want to hold your hand. I want my phone back dumbo."

"Dumbo?" He asked.

"Yes. Dumbo," she rolled her eyes. "For a 1000 year old hybrid, you sure do lack a lot of common sense."

"I do not," Klaus disputed.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night. Now give me my phone."

He reluctantly reached down into his pocket, handing Evelyn her phone. "And my pepper spray too. I know you stole it." He sighed and handed the pepper spray too.

"And the other one." She peered up at him through her lashes, waiting for it. He rolled his eyes and placed the other one in her hand too.

"I need to check if they work. God knows what you did to them," she mumbled.

"I didn't do anything," he rebuked.

"I don't believe you." She tested the first one as she sprayed it in the air. "This one works." She nodded to herself and brought out the second one, struggling to press the button. "Why isn't this one working? You did something to it," she accused him.

"I didn't!"

"Yes you did. Look." She clicked the top of it. "It's not spraying."

Klaus rubbed at his temple in annoyance. "Give me it."

"No." He pressed his lips tightly and tried to pry it off Evelyn's hand. "I can make it work by myself. Get your hands off it." She slapped them but he didn't budge.

"You clearly can't," he said when Evelyn kept pushing him away.

As they continued to fight over it, Evelyn's hand was directly facing Klaus and sprayed him. The sound of a hiss and grunt caught her attention. "Oh shit! That was by accident."

"Vervain?! Why are you so violent towards me?! This is the third time in two days," Klaus grunted as he placed a palm on the side of his face and rubbed his eyes too.

"It was by accident too! I'm sorry," Evelyn reprimanded. "But the first time you were being creepy in Alaric's body. I'm not sorry for that."

"Vervain inside a pepper spray?" He wiped it off and glared at her.

"I just added it recently after Elijah scared me and I thought it would be safe to have a vervain one in case a vampire attacks me," Evelyn explained. "Look I have two now and it's colour coded." She gestured to her sprays. "Blue for humans. Red for vampires. Oh that reminds me I should have another one with wolfsbane. A green one maybe."

Klaus took a deep breath and stalked towards her. "Give them back to me."

"Never." Evelyn ran away from him. "They're mine. Get your own." She held on to them tightly. "Do you know how expensive these are? Especially this brand."

"I don't want to know, now hand them back," he said as Evelyn ducked under his arm.

"You want them back?" She asked and he nodded. "Then here, take it." She shoved them inside her bra and gave him a smirk. "You can't touch me now."

Klaus narrowed his eyes at her chest and groaned in frustration. "Fine," he mumbled. "Let's go."

"I'll go home by myself. I don't need you to follow me like a lost puppy," she scoffed.

"Bloody hell." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

Evelyn gasped, crossing her arms over her chest. "I am not stubborn. You are."

"I am not. You are," he sent her a glare.

"You are."

"You are."

"I am," Evelyn said.

"I am," Klaus absently nodded.

"Got ya," she laughed and pointed to his face.

Klaus eyed her and she stopped laughing. "What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Laughing or is it illegal to laugh at you because you're an Original." She rested her hands on her hips.

"You're up to something," he noted.

"Oh totally, I'm plotting your death and thinking what I should have written on your headstone and what type of flowers you'd like for your funeral," she casually shrugged and he groaned lowly.

"I'm thinking, in not so loving memory of a creepy hybrid named Kevin," Evelyn tapped on her chin in thought.

"You're trying to stop me from doing the ritual," he pointed out.

"So you do have some brain cells left," she sassed and Klaus scowled. "Congratulations." She clapped her hands.

"You're going to kill my sister so of course i'm going to distract you." Eve tone down that confidence. He's definitely going to kill you now.

"I have to," he gritted. He wished they had never met like this but he had waited too long to finally be his true self. "I don't care if she's your sister!" He spoke in a harsh tone which made her flinch.

Klaus looked into her eyes, trying his best not to get lost in them, they were glittering in the dark but he could see it was full of sadness and he was losing the battle of will power.

He shook it off. "Come on, it's late for you to walk by yourself and it's dangerous."

"Screw you. I'll be just fine," Evelyn retorted back. "I don't need you to protect me."

"And you call me stubborn," he muttered.

"That's because you are." Evelyn continued to walk away from him.

She glanced back at the moon as it was slowly about to pass it's apex. She winced and stumbled back a bit, suddenly feeling tiresome, as if her energy was being drained. Why was she feeling like this?

Klaus noticed and sped over to her, grabbing on to her waist to stop her from falling. "You want to walk by yourself now?" He mocked.

"Don't you have people to kill, my sister included?" She shot back and winced at the tone of voice she used. She hated being angry but her emotions were getting the best of her now.

"Love–"

"Don't call me that. I am not your love!" She snapped.

"Fine! Eve," Klaus said.

"Not even that. It's Evelyn for you," she said. "We're not friends."

"I don't want to be your friend either," he said, his tone filled with bitterness.

"I'm glad we can finally agree on something," Evelyn sarcastically smiled back.

She faced away from him and felt another rush of energy hit her as she stumbled back again. Her arms suddenly having the urge to itch. "Ouch," she whispered as she glanced down at them, the glow appearing then disappearing.

"What's wrong?" Klaus asked from behind, his face full of concern.

"I don't know," she murmured. "It tickles?" She questioned herself.

"Woah." Her head fell back against his chest and Klaus quickly grabbed a hold of her. Why was she feeling so tired?

"Don't even fight me on this." He pulled her up into his arms when she was about to protest. "Don't," he warned her.

"Fine," she whispered tiredly.

He tried not to smile when she rested her head under his chin to shield her face from the wind and wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him.

"You stress me out so much," she mumbled.

"So do you." Klaus briefly looked down at her and she stuck her tongue out.

"You suck."

━━━━━━━━━━

Evelyn knew she was definitely defeated. There was no way this ritual could be stopped anymore. She side eyed Klaus, his eyes instantly meeting hers and she huffed, looking away from him.

Walking towards her house, Evelyn demanded to be put down so Klaus trailed behind her when he had noticed she was still looking a little pale and tired, and kept stumbling back every time she took a step.

"Stop walking slow," Klaus noticed the way she was slowly dragging her feet. "It's not going to work."

"Then stop being a creep but I guess we both can't have what we want," she retorted back.

Klaus sighed, grabbing her hand and quickened their pace towards the house. "I don't need you to hold my hand," Evelyn said.

"I don't care," Klaus ignored her protests, keeping a gentle grip on her hand and his thumb was caressing the back of it.

Evelyn groaned, when her eyes met the front of her house. Now there was nothing she could do to stop him.

"Why didn't you just turn me into a vampire? You didn't have to turn an innocent into one," she said softly, breaking the silence as she glanced up, her emerald eyes staring into his.

He didn't say anything, just continued to gaze at her. She was selfless. Too much for her own good that she was willing to save someone else over her own life.

She stopped and stood in front of him. "Won't you reconsider, Nik." Her hands were pressed against his chest, a temptation. Most of all her innocence made it hard for him.

"Please." Her pleading tone was making it more difficult.

"No," he said in a final tone as he took a step forward and she stepped back only to be met by the porch stand as his body towered over hers.

"Why?"

"I can't let you die," he murmured, and she frowned, confused by what he meant.

He would never turn her into one without her permission. He couldn't lose her, especially since he had finally found her.

"Who did you turn then?" Evelyn asked.

Klaus smirked, shaking his head. "That's none of your business."

"Please don't kill my sister. I beg you," she said with a broken voice.

He brushed the loose strands of hair out of her face then running his thumb along her jaw. "I have waited far too long to be rid of this curse, love."

And I have waited too long for you.

"Did I say you can call me that? What did I tell you?" She asked in a low tone.

"Evelyn," he murmured with an eye roll.

She turned her head away from his light touches. "Do you remember our deal?" He asked and she glanced down at the ground, nodding her head a little.

"Yeah," she mumbled. You creepy dumbass.

He used his thumb and index finger, and placed it under her chin as he lifted her head up and stared into his favourite colour. Even in the dark they were bright and glistening.

"I don't want you near the sacrifice. I'll come and get you after it's done. Do you understand?" He told her sternly and Evelyn reluctantly nodded.

"I need words, love," Klaus demanded.

Evelyn was about to protest, reminding him to not call her the endearment, but instead answered him. "Yes."

There was nothing she could now. She made a deal with the devil but it was for Jenna's life. She would do anything to make sure her family and friends weren't harmed even if it meant she had to risk her own life.

He nodded, "I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't do anything stupid."

She felt a whoosh of air and just like that Klaus had left. "You're an annoying ancient fossil!" She shouted.

"Eve?" Stefan now appeared in front of her.

"Stefan." She rushed towards him, engulfing him in a hug. "I tried. I begged him not to but he's going to kill her." He pulled her back, cupping her face and wiped her small tears away.

"Hey, It's alright. I'm going to find a way okay?"

"It's too late," Evelyn sniffled as she shook her head. "I did everything I could. I don't want to lose Elena."

"You're not going to lose her," he reassured her.  "You need to be safe. Let's get you inside home."

"Can I go with you?" She asked.

"No, you can't," he shook his head.

"Fine, I won't go," she sighed.

━━━━━━━━━━

"You have to let me go!" Evelyn complained.

"No." Stefan saw the small pout forming on her face. "Don't give me that look. You're not going. End of discussion."

"Why?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's too dangerous for you, Eve. You could get hurt," Stefan reasoned.

"Why? Because i'm human," she scoffed sarcastically.

"Yes! Because you're human and Elena wouldn't want you to be there," Stefan said.

Jenna stood next to Evelyn and opened her mouth to talk but Evelyn put a hand up to silence her. "I don't care," she said as she went to grab her jacket. "I'm going and you can all deal with it."

But a little prick was pressed against her neck, she turned around to see Alaric with a needle in his hand and an apologetic look as black dots began to cover her eyes and she fell unconscious.

"I'm sorry, Eve," he whispered and before she could fall to the ground, Stefan lifted her up in arms and laid her down on the couch.

"How long will it last?" Stefan asked Alaric whilst looking down at Evelyn. He didn't want to do this but she left him with no choice.

"It will last through the night," Alaric said then turned to Jenna. "You're staying with her." She nodded and placed Evelyn's head on her lap.

Stefan glanced down at his phone when Damon had been calling him, he answered it and pressed it against his ear. "Damon?"

"Eve's not here." He could hear the panic in Damon's voice.

"Eve is safe." Damon breathed out in relief. "Klaus let her go but we had to sedate her. She was being too stubborn and wanted to go with us," Stefan said as he glanced down at Evelyn.

"Good. That girl never listens."

"We're sticking with the original plan. We're meeting Bonnie right now," Stefan trailed off.

"He was going to use Jenna, but Eve saved her." Damon cut him off.

"She did?"

"Yeah," he replied back and continued to discuss more about the plan.

"What happened?" Alaric asked once Stefan hung up the call.

"Klaus was going to use Jenna," Stefan said and Jenna gasped. "But Eve convinced him not too. She saved you." He looked over at Jenna.

Jenna eyes widened and she glanced down at Evelyn in shock. "She saved me? My own niece saved me," she murmured as she kept caressing her nieces hair, placing a kiss on her forehead.

Once again Evelyn put someone else's life before hers.

━━━━━━━━━━

Evelyn groaned, waking up when the memories flooded back in her mind. She placed a hand on her chest, trying to steady her breathing and took a glance at the clock to check it was past midnight.

"You weren't supposed to be awake this early," Jenna spoke nervously and Evelyn turned her head to the side, her face covered with a scowl.

"You're angry," Jenna stated quietly.

"What? No. I'm so happy," Evelyn sent her a sarcastic smile.

"Eve–"

"I'm going to ruin Ric's face again," she muttered and Jenna quickly sat besides her on the couch.

Jenna sighed, "Eve you saved me." Evelyn's eyes softened and held her hands in Jenna's.

"Did you think I was going to let him? Of course, i'm going to save you," Evelyn said.

"Thank you," Jenna whispered with tears in her eyes.

"No. You don't ever have to thank me. I'll do it all over again to keep any of you safe," Evelyn smiled.

Jenna pulled her in a hug. "I don't deserve you," she whispered and Evelyn rubbed her back.

"I didn't want to lose you too. We need a parent," Evelyn said once they pulled away and Jenna wiped her tears away.

"Now I need to go." Evelyn stood up, heading towards the door and Jenna ran after her.

"No you can't go. It's too dangerous." Jenna stood in front of her and Evelyn rolled her eyes, moving Jenna away, gently.

"I have to save Elena. I can't let her die as well." Evelyn opened the front door.

"No, Eve. The others have a plan. Don't go. It's dangerous," Jenna pleaded.

"I'm going and that's final," Evelyn stubbornly said.

"You can't or else–" Jenna paused for a moment. "I'll ground you." Evelyn scoffed.

"Yeah, right and there's no point chasing me because you and I know that i'm a fast runner," she smiled smugly and ran out of the house before Jenna could speak.

Evelyn ran as fast as she could to the woods where Klaus was performing the ritual. She reached just in time and found Stefan laying on the ground unconscious. Then in front of her was Elena around a fire.

"Elena?" She quickened her footsteps but as she was about get closer to Elena, the flames increased causing her to step back.

Klaus' eyes hardened when Evelyn arrived. He had specifically told her not to come to the ritual. Why was she being so difficult?

"Never listens does she?" He mumbled.

"Elena!" Evelyn shouted and Klaus wrapped his arm tightly around her as her body fell back against him.

"What are you doing, Eve? Go home!" Elena cried out for her sister as she watched Klaus restraining her from moving.

"Let me go!" Evelyn screamed, thrashing to get out his hold.

"Why don't you ever listen?" Klaus' harsh glare bored into Evelyn's as he turned her around to face him.

"Because I don't take orders from a dumbass like you, Kevin." She pushed him away from her.

She glanced back at the circle and noticed a familiar boy which she assumed had been turned into a vampire. "No," she whispered with a shake of her head.

"Tom?" The boy who asked her to the dance.

"He's innocent! Why couldn't you kill a criminal?" Evelyn snapped.

One of Klaus' hand reached out and cupped the side of Evelyn's neck bringing it dangerously closer to his, her breath hitched and he looked at her with menacing eyes.

"I clearly remember you having no concern to who I was going to turn as long as it wasn't Jenna," he taunted with a smirk.

Evelyn swatted his hand away. "Elena, it'll be fine. I'm not going to let him kill you." She looked back at Elena.

"I do love your courage but I can force you to sit here and stay silent." Klaus' lips brushed against her ear.

Klaus looked over at Greta. "Whenever you're ready, Greta," he called and the ring of fire around Tom disappeared. "Your turn," he smirked.

Evelyn removed her gaze away when Klaus staked the boy from the back and let him fall to the ground. Klaus then knelt down and staked him in the heart.

He stood in front of Evelyn and she opened her eyes, they were now full of terror. She peered over his shoulder to see Elena then back at him. "Please, Nik," she implored as her lips quivered and his thumb wiped away the stray tear from her eye.

"It has to be done." Klaus moved away from her. He feared to glance over at her, knowing how saddened she was feeling right now. Hopefully one day she would understand but for now this sacrifice was necessary.

"It's time," Klaus announced as Elena got up and walked past him.

"Thank you, Elena." She looked at him in disgust.

"Go to hell," she sneered.

She looked back at Evelyn who was staring at her. "Lena," she whispered.

"Shh. It's okay, I promise," Elena reassured her and Evelyn shook her head. Elena mouthed an 'i love you' to her.

How desperately she wanted to tell her sister that everything would be fine. That she wasn't going leave. They had came up with a plan but Klaus could not find out about it.

"No!" Evelyn screamed.

Klaus slid his fangs into Elena's neck drinking her blood until the last drop while Evelyn just watched him with an emotionless expression, and as soon as Elena's body fell to the ground, everything else passed by like a blur for her.

She struggled to breathe and clenched her eyes shut. So many emotions were running everywhere now. Anger was roaring in her veins. She wanted to scream. She was confused. Most of all, she was hurting so much.

Damon found Evelyn who was stood still in her spot. As he approached her, the ground violently shook. "Eve?" Damon called her.

"Stay away from me," Evelyn sneered as she lifted her hand up and a stream of light erupted from her palm, causing Damon to collide with a thud at the ground. His eyes widened in shock.

"I don't know what's happening!" Evelyn yelled out in pain as she wrapped her arms around her body. "Make it stop!" She sobbed as she fell on to her knees and pulled them up to her chest, the feeling inside burning immensely and consuming her. "It's hurting me so much."

There was a small silence as Evelyn opened her eyes, the colour of it flickering to now a purple and that was when she had enough. Her body was urging and fighting to release all the anger and pain inside her. So she did. She began to scream. Her surroundings shaking madly. A blinding light now lit up the dark woods, she was unleashing it subconsciously, making almost everything levitate around her.

"How is this happening? Bonnie do something!" Damon shouted over the ruckus as a strong force restrained from him getting any closer to Evelyn.

"I can't. She's too strong," Bonnie grimaced, trying to stop what Evelyn was doing but it was beyond her powers.

Evelyn continued to cry out in pain as she gripped onto her hair tightly, blood running down her nose and mouth. The smouldering ball of light lit up in anger, and thrust itself upon the sly, exploding and a scent of flaming carcasses filled the air.

Klaus' eyes widened in shock as he covered a hand above his eyes from the bright glow that Evelyn released from herself and lit up above them. He tried to reach for her but an invisible barrier was still shielding her. She whimpered as bolts of light formed around her hand, and without knowing what she was capable of doing, she fired them everywhere making it dissolve into ashes.

After exerting too much energy and destroying pretty much everything in the woods, she eventually stopped, breathing heavily and sobbed.

Klaus took a step but Elijah kept a hold on him. "You've caused enough damage to her." Elijah was quick enough to take him away with his vamp speed.

Damon ran and kneeled in front of Evelyn, her eyes were droopy, ready to close. "Eve, stay awake." He cradled her in his arms.

"Everything hurts," she managed to say and slowly closed her eyes.

Damon looked up at Bonnie and Stefan who also shared the same look as him. Confused at what they had just witnessed. He stood up with her in his arms and sped away back to the Gilbert home.

"EJ?" Jeremy called when he saw an Evelyn unconscious in Damon's arms.

"What happened?" Jenna asked as she followed Damon up the stairs to Evelyn's room.

"I don't know," Damon murmured as he set Evelyn down on her bed.

Jeremy crouched down, stroking Evelyn's hair as he pressed his fingers on her neck, his eyes widening when he looked up at them. "Her pulse is slow. Why is it slow? How did this happen?" He panicked.

"I don't know. She made everything around her shake," Damon tried to explain as he ran a hand through his hair.

Kenji looked at a Bonnie who was nervously standing in silent. "You knew, didn't you?"

"Uh–"

"If there's something you know, tell us now," Jenna demanded.

"I'm so sorry. She was having some trouble with herself the past couple of weeks and she told me not to tell any of you yet. She didn't want anyone to worry about her until she was sure herself and we found out."

"Of course she would say that," Jenna sighed.

━━━━━━━━━━

The first thing that caught her sight appeared to be a tiny ball at the horizon. It slowly came out of the shadow of clouds, increasing in size. The cooing and chirping of birds were the first sound Evelyn could hear. Her eyes rested up at the golden rays, bringing out a softer hue as she sighed in content.

Evelyn's eyes then drifted to the building that was standing in front of her. It was her home.

Confused, she took a step towards it, climbing up the porch stairs and opened the front door. Stepping inside, she took a glance around.

Everything was just like when her parents were alive. Comforting and filled with so much happiness and life. It felt like peace.

She froze, seeing a figure standing in front of her. "Mom?" A small whimper escaped her lips.

Miranda looked at her daughter, smiling with teary eyes. "My sweet girl."

Evelyn smiled as she ran up to her. "Mommy." The two embraced in a hug that she had yearned for so long. "I missed you so much."

Miranda pecked the side of her head. "Me too."

"How– how can I see you? Am I– Did I–" she asked, her heart beating rapidly.

She felt a hand placed on her shoulder and tilted her head when Grayson stood besides her. "No you're not," he smiled.

Evelyn squealed and hugged him tightly as he laughed with tears in his own eyes. "I missed you both so much."

"We missed you too." He stroked the back of her hair.

Evelyn looked at them both. "I am sorry. I couldn't save you both and I–"

"It's not your fault. We're so sorry," Miranda said with look of guilt.

"What?" Evelyn raised a brow.

"I just wanted you to have a normal life and I know we were in the wrong for what we did but you were just a child. It was too much for you to handle," Miranda cried.

"Since I was a child?" They nodded to her question.

"You were born with it," Grayson answered.

"We're so sorry, Eve," Miranda repeatedly apologised.

"It's okay," Evelyn gave her a reassuring smile. "I understand."

"But you have to wake up now, Eve. They need you," Grayson told her softly and Evelyn looked at him.

"No," Evelyn shook her head. "I want to stay with you two." Her lips quivered and he cupped her face. "Don't make me go."

"You can't."

"But it's so lonely over there without you," Evelyn whispered. "It hurts waking up everyday not seeing you both."

"I know but you have a wonderful life ahead of you and i'm sure there's someone out there, waiting for you, who will protect you and make you happy once again," he told her. "This isn't what you want."

"You can't be here," Miranda spoke softly. "Jeremy, Elena and Jenna need you too."

She reluctantly agreed. "So this is a goodbye then?"

"I'm afraid it is," Grayson nodded with a sad smile.

She hugged them to her tightly. "I love you so much."

"We love you too."

"And we love you just the way you are. You will always be our daughter," Miranda whispered and Evelyn nodded.

━━━━━━━━━━

The home felt empty now. Silence was all Evelyn could hear when she woke up. She stared down at her hands, taking a shaky deep breath as she tried to remember what happened.

"Eve?"

Evelyn found Elena standing outside her room. "Elena?" She whispered and ran to hug her.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked as she scanned her face and body for any injuries.

"You're here," Evelyn said. "I thought–"

"I'm not going anywhere," Elena smiled.

"EJ," Jeremy rushed towards Evelyn and hugged her tightly. "Don't ever do that again. I was so scared," he whispered.

"I'm okay. Aunt J? Where is she?" Evelyn asked.

"Hey, i'm here." Jenna sat besides her on the bed and stroked her niece's cheek. "You scared us so much. I thought I lost you."

━━━━━━━━━━

Evelyn sat down in the living room, her family and friend surrounding her. "How do you feel?" Bonnie asked.

"I'm okay. I think," Evelyn let out a nervous laugh, a heavy sigh followed by it after.

"I saw them." She looked between her siblings and Jenna. "I saw mom and dad but I don't know how I ended up there. I– I think it was a dream," she murmured in confusion and they frowned.

"My head hurts." She rubbed at her forehead and leaned against Kenji who wrapped her arms around her and soothingly rubbed her back.

"What was the last thing you remember?" Damon asked in a soft tone.

"Um– Elena dying," she tried to recall what happened at the ritual. "After that I don't remember like I– I blacked out?" She furrowed her brows. They all looked at each other with a look of worry.

"Eve, you had a breakdown and everything around you started to shake," Bonnie told her. "Your powers were showing–" she explained what they had witness from her.

Evelyn gasped in shock. She didn't think that it would be that extreme. "I can't remember it," she murmured as she glanced down at her hands that were resting on her laps.

"Did I hurt anyone?" She asked.

"No you didn't," Bonnie said.

"Well besides making me fly around in the air," Damon mumbled.

"I'd say that's karma for choking me," Kenji teased and Damon glared at him, taking a step towards him.

"It was a joke! Don't cry over it," Kenji shrugged.

"Have you seen this before? What am I?" Evelyn asked the Salvatores brothers, hoping they would know.

"This is a first we've seen," Stefan told her.

"Eve?" Jenna called her.

"Yeah?"

Everyone shared a look before Jeremy spoke. "John's dead."

Evelyn gulped, trying to keep the tears in and stood up. Bonnie stepped forward to help her but she stopped her. "I'm fine. I'm okay. I just need to be alone for a while."

She walked back up the stairs, shutting the door to her room and forced herself to be quiet so no one could hear her.

━━━━━━━━━━

Glancing at the person in front of her, Evelyn was now unsure of the person she was. The lie she would constantly tell herself had always been the truth. She was different. Someone she didn't wish to be. She wanted to blend in but that was impossible. It always had been but this time, her senses were clear to her and there was no lying.

She sighed as she smoothed out her dress. Once again another funeral in the family. John had died after bounding his life force to Elena's with Bonnie's help, sacrificing himself so it could bring Elena back to her human self if she died and not a vampire.

Now her biological father, the only parent she had left, was now gone too. She was heartbroken to a point there was no tears anymore in her eyes.

And although, she never trusted John after everything he did, she was willing to mend their broken relationship.

She heard a knock on her door and took a peek over her shoulder catching her siblings, standing outside her room with a small smile. "I'm nearly done," Evelyn cleared her throat.

"Take your time," Jeremy said while Elena stood behind Evelyn, taking the comb off her and tended to her hair.

"John wanted me to give you this." Jeremy handed an envelope to her. "And this." It was a small box and she took it from him.

She looked at them and smiled sadly. "Hug?" She asked and they nodded, holding each other for a moment.

"I love you," she whispered and they whispered the words back to her.

"I'll be down in a bit," she said and they left her alone.

She sat down by her window and opened up the letter.

Evelyn,

It's no easy task being an ordinary parent to extraordinary children. I failed in that task. And because of my prejudices, I failed you and Elena. I'm haunted by how things might have played out differently if i'd been more willing to hear yours and Elena's side of things. For me, it's the end. For you, a chance to grow old and someday do better with your own child than I did with mine.

I know you will be the best mother to your child. You've proven it so many times with your siblings. I'm so proud to have a daughter who has a generous heart and is selfless which no one deserves to receive from you. Yet you still offer it to everyone. Even me.

The ring I give you, is to help you control your powers. Your parents, Miranda and Grayson kept it safe until the time arrives. They were going to help you but after they left, I made a promise to them that I would support you. I never resented what you were. You don't deserve to go through this alone.

I don't ask for your forgiveness or for you to forget. I ask only that you believe this. No matter what you are, I love you all the same. As i've always loved you and always will.

- John

A quiet sob escaped Evelyn's lips and she wiped the tears that had been rolling down her cheeks, closing the letter and looking down at the box. With trembling hands, she opened it up and took out the ring, slipping it on her finger. It was a unique ring she had ever seen.

A knock on her door had her turning her head to see Jenna standing outside. "I–" A shaky breath escaped Evelyn's lips as she tried to form the words.

Jenna's witnessed the tears that were threatening to fall again from Evelyn's eyes. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"Oh, Eve." Jenna strode towards her.

"They– they never hated what I am. None of them. They were going to help me and now they're all gone," she sobbed as fresh tears replaced the old ones.

Evelyn rested her head on Jenna's shoulder as she consoled her. "It's going to be okay. We'll get through this together." Jenna placed her head against Evelyn's.

"I'm so scared. I don't want to hurt anyone," Evelyn said with a croaky whisper.

And sadly that was the problem she wouldn't be able to control.

Just realised majority of this chapter was Eve and Klaus arguing and acting like an old married couple even if they aren't yet lol.

One more chapter left then we move on to the road trip chapters which I have a lot to write about before s3. I've missed my fav trio.

I love you!