❝ Pain makes man think.
Thought makes man wise.
Wisdom makes life endurable. - John Patrick. ❞

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Cordelia walked towards the Gilbert Residence. She opened the door and came face to face with Elena Gilbert, who immediately crossed her arms with an uneasy expression on her face. "Good morning to you, too, Elena," Cordelia greeted with a raised brow. "You knew about Stefan and Damon but didn't tell me anything," Elena replied to her with an upset tone. 

"Wasn't my secret to tell, Elena. And if I, your brother's best friend, told you that, would you believe me or would you just accuse me of being stoned?" Cordelia asked, her tone was defensive, but she knew she had a point in regards to what she was saying. "Well, I..." Elena trailed off; she knew working it out on her own was the only way she would have believed it.

"Anyway, that aside... I'm here to pick up Jeremy for the Vicki Donovan search," Cordelia told Elena before the mentioned person appeared with a smile. "I'm ready," Jeremy pushed past Elena and walked down to Cordelia's car. "Look, Elena, what happens between you and Stefan is your trouble, not mine, but Stefan cares about you, so... give him a chance, Elena," Cordelia expressed, ignoring the pinch in her chest at the words. 

She nodded her head before turning and following after Jeremy. Cordelia knew exactly where Vicki Donovan was. Before Damon had shown up at her place, he had spent time with the girl after the cemetery, and it resulted in him snapping her neck and turning her. In Cordelia's opinion, she was the worst person to turn into an immortal being, considering her usual emotions were a struggle to control; having heightened emotions was worse.

But she needed to get Jeremy away from Elena to tell him the full truth. Damon had already told her that she could know how much the boy meant to her. "Cornflower, you okay?" Jeremy asked once they drove off from the Gilbert Residence. "I gotta tell you something, and I need you to remain calm about this." Jeremy looked at Cordelia. He took immediate notice of the worry in her eyes and the anxious tapping on the wheel.

"You're scaring me, Cordelia," Jeremy told her. The last time she was anxious like this was when she had been the one to tell him what had happened to his parents. "You know how I told you that Stefan and Damon were vampires," Cordelia reminded him, glancing at him for a moment before adding, "Well, they're having a bit of a fight and uh, Vicki was caught in the crossfire of Damon's emotional tantrum."

Jeremy was silent at those words. He clenched his fists before asking, "Is she dead?" Cordelia laughed humorlessly. "Technically... She, uh, she's a vampire. An out-of-control, very dangerous vampire and she just might be focused on you," Cordelia explained to him before leaving the car in silence so that he could process what he had been told. "Are they going to kill her?" Jeremy asked her; he had taken her former words in and backed off from Vicki, but he still cared.

"No," Cordelia answered before frowning, "As long as she doesn't kill anyone." Cordelia pulled into the parking lot of the school, where the Halloween Carnival was being hosted. "She's a drug addict... will that affect her?" Jeremy asked cautiously. "Yes, Jer. It can have a huge effect, the same with her volatile and impulsive personality; she can be a threat if not taught properly," Cordelia answered him truthfully. 

"But she'll be okay, right? I mean, I still care about her even if she doesn't care about me... And she's Matt and Scott's older sister," Jeremy expressed in question. "I'm always truthful with you, so this won't be any different. I have no idea, Jeremy. It can go two ways, she could turn out to be an incredible vampire, or she could lose control and hurt someone really bad," Cordelia answered him truthfully.

"What if she shows up tonight?" Jeremy asked. "It's your choice, Jer. But if you feel unsafe, find Stefan or me, and we'll look out for you," Cordelia replied before grabbing his hand, "Your sister will be pissed at me for telling you this, but she knows too. I know she just wants to protect you, but people can't always rely on others, and you are capable of so much more. I just... I won't lose you, too." 

Jeremy looked into his best friend's eyes, a tear fell down her cheek, and he reached over to embrace her in a tight hug. "You won't lose me, Cornflower. Never," Jeremy whispered to her. Cordelia was eased hearing those words, but something deeper inside taunted her that everything was bound to fall apart; whether it was self-doubt or something else, she didn't know.

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Cordelia walked into the School Halloween Carnival dressed as Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls, her hair tied in two loose ponytails hanging down her shoulders with blue scrunchies holding them. She had blue eyeshadow that matched the blue cropped top and blue tight skirt she wore per Caroline's demands. Her black thigh-high boots made her stand taller than normal and she held a lollipop in her hand.

She had ditched the fluffy jacket that Caroline had given her, knowing she'd get too warm in the crowded area, but it was clear that eyes were on her as she walked past people to approach Caroline, who was wearing a similar costume, except it was Blossom instead. Even Jacob, who was lurking dressed as a male Wednesday Addams, had catcalled her playfully, getting a teasing bow in response.

"I told you that you'd look so good!" Caroline cooed with a grin. "And where is our Buttercup?" Cordelia asked her twin sister. "Right here," Bonnie spoke as she walked up to them. Cordelia smiled, seeing the green version of her outfit on Bonnie. "Told you this was a better look than the witch costumes," Cordelia told the two. Caroline rolled her eyes at that. 

"Cornflower?" Jeremy spoke, catching Cordelia's attention. She turned to him and smiled. "Hey, Jer," Cordelia greeted while Jeremy grinned at her. "Hey, Bubbles," Jeremy greeted, making the girls laugh. Jeremy bit back the teasing words while the younger Forbes ignored them. "Jeremy, let's dance," Cordelia told her best friend, dragging him along despite his refusal.

"You know, sometimes I question why they never got together, but then I actually take a moment to look at them and see how well they work as best friends," Caroline told Bonnie truthfully. The witch grinned at that as she couldn't help but agree with her. "I wholeheartedly agree with you there, Caroline," Bonnie replied before the two cheered their drinks and watched as Cordelia and Jeremy danced like idiots on the dancefloor without a care in the world. 

Stefan walked into the room, having lost Vicki, knowing she'd be there searching for Jeremy; however, his eyes moved straight to Cordelia, and he looked her up and down. His mind was reeling at the sight of her and the amount of skin that was showing. He took notice of the smooth scars slightly hidden on her hip and the slight imperfections that seemed to make her more unique. 

Caroline caught the younger Salvatore eyeing up his sister and she smirked with pride, she had her indifference towards Elena considering her and Bonnie had a habit of pushing the older Forbes away to run off on their own so the idea of her little sister taking Elena's boyfriend's attention was like a subtle prize knowing that Cordelia had clear feelings for Stefan that she pushed away for the sake of Elena's own happiness; as she always did.

Jeremy managed to escape dancing at the request of a drink by Cordelia, the blonde had stepped to the side to relax and cool down. Someone grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the building, her head turned to see Vicki Donovan with a very angry expression on her face. "Vicki, you need to calm down before you hurt someone," Cordelia told her calmly. "Oh, the only person I'm going to hurt... is you," Vicki replied to her. 

They reached outside, and Vicki threw Cordelia across the pavement. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Cordelia screamed as she looked at her arm to see road rash. "Jeremy rejected me 'cause of you, you little whore! Told me that I should go back to Stefan and get in control," Vicki growled at the blonde. "He's right, Vicki. Look at what you are doing!" Cordelia growled back, her eyes were flickering, but neither was paying attention. 

"You will not be in my way, Cordelia Forbes, the perfect daughter, the perfect friend, the perfect girlfriend..." Vicki rolled her eyes with a scoff as she stalked towards Cordelia, "I couldn't believe that Penelope chose you. I was right by her side, and yet all she saw was you, so I thought... why not, Jeremy's cute... but it barely affected you because you're so PERFECT!" Vicki picked Cordelia up by her throat and slammed her against the bus, knocking the wind from her chest. 

"Well, when you're dead, perfect corpse," Vicki mocked before she moved to feed on her. Jeremy ripped Vicki away from Cordelia, causing the younger Forbes to drop to her knees, gasping for air. Jeremy stood protectively in front of his best friend. "I was a game to you?" Jeremy asked Vicki, who laughed. "Oh, please, you were desperate!" Vicki screamed at him, "Poor baby who lost his parents and turned to drugs to ease the pain. Boohoo!" 

Cordelia looked up at that, Jeremy winced deeply at the words, and Cordelia felt his pain. Her eyes overlapped with a silvery mist as she stood up and glared at Vicki. Unfortunately for Cordelia, her magic wasn't in tune with her emotions, making them useless. "You should be more careful about who you piss off," Cordelia told Vicki. who rolled her eyes and rushed forward, throwing Jeremy aside before sinking her teeth into Cordelia's throat right as Stefan and Elena appeared.

Stefan rushed forward to rip Vicki off of Cordelia, while Elena went to her brother, who had knocked his head on the wall. "Are you okay?" Elena asked Jeremy, who pulled away from her and ran over to Cordelia. He ripped a part of his shirt and applied pressure to her throat to stop the bleeding. "Stop, Vicki!" Stefan warns, but then she turns her head to Elena, but before she could rush her, she dropped to her knees, screaming out, holding her head. 

Stefan, Elena and Jeremy turned to Cordelia, whose eyes filled with misty silver, and a strange galaxy-like mist surrounded her hand as she held it out at the Donovan girl. Though her emotions were haywire, her magic not tuned to her from the lack of training, her inner survival instincts took over to defend her from the threat that had harmed her.

Slowly, Vicki's skin changed from its tan colour into a grey before she dropped to the ground with a piece of wood in her back that turned to dust the moment she had hit the ground. "I'm sorry..." Cordelia whispered as she leaned into Jeremy's arms. He took in a slow breath before focusing on his best friend. "Blood right? Your blood will heal her?" Jeremy asked Stefan, making Elena look up at him, confused. 

"You know?" Elena asked before looking at Cordelia, "You told him?!" Cordelia rolled her eyes despite the pain in her neck from Vicki's teeth, "If we're gonna have the Salvatores in our lives, then we may as well keep people informed so they can be safer. Be angry all you want, but Jer deserved the truth." Elena was pissed, but Stefan understood Cordelia's choice; he respected that.

"Here," Stefan offered, he bit into his wrist before holding it out to the blonde. Cordelia, with Jeremy's help, leaned forward and consumed some of Stefan's blood; her heart skipped a beat as the known metallic blood didn't taste like a copper coin but like a sweet candy apple instead. She pulled away and let out a breath of relief. Once her wound had healed, she opened her eyes to see Stefan's green eyes locked on her; the feeling he had when she drank from him was something he had never felt before. 

"Better?" Stefan asked her softly. "Yeah, thanks," Cordelia replied before Jeremy helped her up. "And Vicki?" Jeremy asked cautiously. "I'll call Damon," Stefan told them before looking at Jeremy, "Get her home and cleaned up." Jeremy nodded, leading Cordelia to her car. Cordelia's heart was broken knowing that both Matt and Scott had lost their sister. She had no idea how Scott would take the news, but she knew he wouldn't want to be friends.

"Scott knows about the supernatural, Jeremy..." Cordelia whispered to the silent boy, his heart broken by the words that Vicki spoke. He had hoped it was just her high emotions from the transition, but they felt more real than that. "We don't have to say anything," Jeremy replied. He knew just how bad Scott's anger could be, so the idea of telling him wouldn't be smart. "He deserves to know the truth, Jeremy," Cordelia whispered before they went quiet.

After calling Damon, the older Salvatore showed up to deal with the body while Stefan left to keep an eye on the partygoers. Elena had told him to leave her alone as she stayed by Vicki's body with tears falling down her cheeks. "You should go, I got this," Damon told Elena. "You did this. This is your fault," Elena snapped at Damon. 

"You confuse me for someone with remorse," Damon replied to her. Elena tries to hit Damon, but he grabs her hand and stops her, "None of this matters to me. None of it." Elena glared at him, "People die around you. How could it not matter? It matters, and you know it!" She hits him, and he glares at her, "You need to leave." The hardened gaze made her step back before leaving Damon to deal with Vicki's body.

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Rosemary Speaks

Editing back through this specific chapter was a journey. It's currently 2:19 AM on the 17th of December, 2025, as I edit through these chapters. And being able to fix my own plot hole of her 'informing Jeremy' despite already doing so earlier felt nice to change.

I also feel like I need to point out that while Cordelia technically has power. Her levels at similar to a 'low-level' witch until she unlocks her true potential way later in the book. And having her magic tied to her emotions means that she cannot always be capable of using it without risk of losing control. Please keep that in mind for future chapters.

For my OG readers, how do you like the subtle changes?
If you remember lmao

See you in the next chapter!