CHAPTER SEVENTEEN | PICTURES OF YOU

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

PROM WAS THE EVENT THAT EVERY HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR DREAMED OF. Having the perfect dress, the perfect hair, even the perfect prom date. Klara just wanted the evening the be perfect, despite the sizable problem that was Elena Gilbert. She, Caroline and Bonnie had all gone prom dress shopping together which gave the Bennett the perfect chance to discuss the nightmares about Jeremy that she'd been having.

"What kind of dreams?" Caroline questioned as the girls walked out of the dressing room and she moved in front of the mirror to look at herself wearing a pink dress.

"Usually, I'm at his grave and all of a sudden he appears to me." Bonnie sighed out with a hushed voice, in case anyone overheard this discussion.

"Oh, Bon." Klara tilted her head sympathetically toward the witch as she glanced back at the dresses that were hung up. "Maybe it's because you never really got to say goodbye to him?"

"When I woke up, the couch was on fire." Bonnie raised an eyebrow toward the Adams girl. "I don't know if it's because I was emotional in my dream, or if Shane was right: without his help, I'll lose control of my magic."

"No. It's because you need a night off from mourning." Caroline nodded with a determined look on her face. "And, I'm gonna make sure that you have it."

"Um, you look super hot, by the way." Bonnie smirked toward Caroline, who gasped and then gazed at her reflection again. "Matt and I are gonna have the sexiest date there."

"It's a shame I'm goin' with Stefan, if I wasn't I'd definitely wanna be seen with you." Klara grinned toward Caroline as the three girls giggled, but the laughter was interupted by Elena and Rebekah's entrance. 

"—Hey, Bonnie. Heard you got your mind wiped, that sucks." The doppelganger's eyes then drifted to Caroline's dress. "Pretty dress, Caroline."

"I know. You helped me pick it out months ago when we were friends, before you tried to kill me." Caroline sternly spoke with a bitter smile on her face as Elena continued to examine the dress.

"I thought it looked familiar." She then glanced at Klara, who was looking through a range of red dresses. "Hm, don't really think red is your colour, Klara."

The blonde vampire twirled around on her heels and narrowed her eyes toward the doppelganger. "Thanks for the input, don't really think I asked for it though. But, it's the thought that counts, right?" She tilted her head to the side and gave Elena a sarcastic smile.

"Can you press this for me? I'll pick it up later." Caroline spoke toward the woman that worked in the shop and then headed out the back of the store to remove the dress.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Klara examined herself once more in the full length mirror situated in her bedroom before she finally started down the staircase carefully. Her feels clicked against the hardwood floor of the house with every single step she took until she reached the front door, which had been left open. 

She furrowed her brows and took a step outside to see a rather large black limo parked just out the front. A small formed on the blonde's lips as Stefan appeared from the back wearing a black suit with a flower arrangment in his hand. 

"You look stunning." He spoke as if the blonde had quite literally taken his breath away from the moment he saw her emerge from the house. He lifted the flower arrangment up. "These—uh, these are for you."

"They're stunning, Stefan." Klara quietly chuckled at how nervous he seemed once she carefully excepted the flowers and lifted them up to her nose to smell them. "Thank you." 

"Oh." He then pulled a corsage out from the limo and smiled toward Klara. The light blue and white flowers matched the blue of her dress perfectly. "May I?"

"Of course." She breathed as he gently lifted her wrist up and secured the corsage around her wrist. His fingers grazed her skin of her lower arm before he pulled her in gently for a kiss. It was short, but intense.

"After you." He stepped aside from the vehicle and gestured for her to enter, which she did. She could tell from the way the evening had begun, that her prom night would be one that she would never forget for as long as she lived.

The theme of their prom was Pictures Of You. The venue was decorated with pictures of the seniours throughout their entire highschool carer. Once Stefan and Klara arrived, he stepped out of the limo first and held her hand to help her out. She patted down the skirt of her dress as the two walked up the red carpet which led inside the venue.

"Well, if it isn't the couple of the century." Elena stepped in front of Klara. The blonde immediately recognized the dress that Elena wore—it was Caroline's. "Oh, yeah. Before you ask, this is Caroline's dress. I thought I'd do it a favour."

"Because that wasn't bitchy at all." Klara breathed under her breath. She was determined to not let Elena ruin her prom night, and yet here she was, ruining it. "Haven't you got anyone else to bother tonight?"

"I'm bothering you? Oh, but, Klara, I thought we were friends." Elena furrowed her brows as she feigned sadness, but suddenly smiled. "Oh, yeah, that's right. Friends don't steal friends boyfriends."

"Uh, it definitely wasn't like that, Elena." Stefan interupted in defense of his girlfriend. He then raised his eyebrow toward the girl. "Besides, why do you care? You jealous or something?"

"Jealous?" Elena echoed with a scoff as she eyed Klara up. "No. I was just wondering at what point I decided to pick a snake as a friend. Funny."

The doppelganger gave them one last smirk and then disappeared off into the crowd. Klara exhaled out of irritation and Stefan could see the anger than began to build up in the blonde. He extended his hand for her to take. "May I have this dance?"

"Oh, Stefan, I don't feel lik—"

"—Dance with me." He grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her out into the dancefloor. His hand gently moved down to her waist while the other intertwined with her fingers. "Oh, come on, I'm the one that hates to dance, remember? You're letting her get to you, stop it."

"Easier said then done." Klara breathed out and finally gave in to the dance. She swayed gentle with Stefan as the slow music blarred through the music. "Elena drama aside, so far, you've given my the best night possible."

"Well, it's the most sentimental night in high school and high school just so happens to be where you and I first met, so..." Stefan trailed off with a light smile on his face. "I just wanted to make sure you had a good night, honestly."

"I am having a good night." Klara smiled as she stared into his eyes, their lips inches apart. "I'd be happy wherever, as long as I was with you."

Klara never felt more alive than when she was with Stefan. She couldn't quite explain how one person made her feel such intense emotions, but she couldn't help feeling guilt for what Elena said. Maybe she did steal Stefan right out from underneath Elena—from her best friend.

The blonde vampire broke away slowly from Stefan's hold once the song finished. She noticed the confusion on his face the moment that Klara began to back away. "I need, so— uh, I need some air." 

Klara remained seated on a bench just outside the venue as she stared at the dozens of pictures dotted around for decoration. The first picture she saw was one of herself, Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena. The second was a picture was one of her and Stefan after his first football game. Then finally, there was one of her and her father—one week before he skipped town.

"Hey." Stefan's voice echoed from behind Klara, he stood behind her with his hands in his pockets. "So, uh, Silas has been appearing to Bonnie as Jeremy."

"You're kidding?" Klara's eyes widened as she thought of the Bennett witch. The girl was grieving Jeremy and Silas was using the grief to his own personal gain. "Got to hand it to him, it's a good way of getting her to trust him, but God— what a sicko."

"I came because I wanted to speak to you, actually." Stefan awkwardly cleared his throat as he let his eyes fall to Klara. "So, what Elena said tonight made sense. I think that— I think that you and I got caught up in something. Maybe spending all that time together over the summer made us confused. I think we're better as friends."

"But, I don't— No, I don't understand." Klara quite literally felt her heart shatter into a millon pieces right there and then. She jumped up to her feet with tears in her eyes as a lump began to grow in the back of her throat. "You said you loved me." Finally she let the tears fall as her voice broke.

"I lied." He spoke with a serious look on his face, but suddenly that serious look turned into a smile. "Your mind is a very dark and riveting place, Klara. So desperate not to be abandoned by somebody else you care about. Not being enough must be exhausting, right?" 

In an instant, Klara gasped as she felt the blunt end of a wooden stake pushed through her abdomen. She dropped to the floor in agony as she glanced up to who she thought was Stefan. "No. Silas." She breathed in an attempt to pull the stake from her chest. "Where's Stefan? Where is he?"

"He's in the woods, where I convinced him I was you. He's probably in a bit of pain now, too." He dropped down beside Klara and plunged the stake in further. She cried out in agony as he gentle carressed his thumb against her cheek. "Such a shame."

Once Silas disappeared, Klara grabbed the end of the stake that hung from her chest and clenched her hand around it. One... Two... Three. She counted before she yanked the wood from her abdomen and tossed it to the ground beside her. "Ugh!" A gasp of pain and relief left her lips.

"She's over here." Damon called out shortly after he heard Klara's cry. He and Stefan hurried over but her eyes widened fearfully, terrified Silas was toying with her once more. 

"Get—get the hell away from me!" 

"Silas got to you as well, huh?" Stefan exhaled knowingly as her fearful look began to fade. "Come on, Klara, it's us."

"How do I know?"

"The guys an immortal freak that can somehow get in our heads, I don't know how we're suppose to prove it to you, Goldie-Locks." Damon frustratedly rolled his eyes at how cautious Klara was being, but a smile soon appeared on her face. "Why're you smiling?"

"You called me Goldie-Locks." She breathed out a sigh of relief as Stefan pulled his girlfriend up to her feet. "Are you two okay? Where's Bonnie? Silas said he was going after her."

Almost as soon as she asked about Bonnie's whereabouts, car alarms began to sound from the parking lot in the distance. Then, a strong wind soon followed the alarms and the vampires knew that what was happening was not natural. It was Bonnie.

Yet sped to the parking lot where Bonnie was stood over Elena, forcing all of the bones in her body to break as she choked on blood. "Bonnie! Bonnie, stop."

Damon crouched down next to Elena, who fell into his arms weakly. "Damon. Help me." The doppelganger begged as she held onto her head.

"Bonnie, you're killing her." Stefan spoke softly as he stood behind the Bennett witch, who obviously wasn't in her right mind.

The witch took a breath. "I know what I'm doing."

"No, you don't. Bonnie, that's the magic talking, Elena is your best friend. You can't do this." Klara pleaded with the witch. "Bon, please!"

Elena glanced up to her friend as blood began to pour from her nose. "Bonnie. Please..." She gasped in immediate agony, but then the spell suddenly stopped and Elena fell into Damon's arms.

Klara furrowed her brows as she took a step closer to Bonnie. The witch looked daze, confused and broken. "Bon, are you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright. I almost died. The shell of my best friend almost killed me! None of this is alright!" Bonnie yelled directly at Klara and Stefan before she headed away from the vampires.

"I got you." Damon whispered into Elena's ear as he helped the vampire up to her feet. Bonnie's attack had clearly left Elena feeling more vulnerable than usual, so that was their opportunity. Stefan stepped behind Elena and stabbed her with a syringe that contained vervain. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

They took Elena back to the Salvatore house and took her down to the basement. She was still out of it due to the amount of vervain Stefan had stuck her with. He laid her down on the camp bed in the cellar while Damon and Klara stood in the doorway. "She might not feel much, but she's gonna feel that in the morning." The Salvatore mused.

"So, what's the plan?" Stefan asked, his eyes glancing between his brother and his girlfriend.

"When Bonnie was whaling on her tonight, I could see it in her eyes. Elena thought she was gonna die—she was scared." The eldest Salvatore confirmed with a nod. 

"Fear." Klara whispered out with a look of hope in her eyes. "Elena felt fear, right? So, if we want her back we need to scare her into turning it back on."

"Care to talk about our other problem?" Damon raised an eyebrow as he looked toward the blonde and then his brother. "You know, the one that can be anyone, anywhere, any time."

"Silas still needs Bonnie. And if tonight is any indication, she's not pushover." Stefan nodded slowly. "She's not gonna let him manipulate her, not anymore."

"I wouldn't underestimate his talents. He fooled the hell outta' the three of us." The vampires made their way out of the basement as Stefan slammed the door shut. "What did he say to you two, anyway?"

"He appeared as Klara. Led me out to the woods claiming he saw Silas, and the he staked me." Stefan looked toward his girlfriend, who refused to look up from the dusty floor. "Klara, how'd he get to you?"

"Doesn't matter." She shook her head. The last thing that she wanted to do was relive what he said to her, no way. She walked away from the two brothers and headed back up the staircase and into her bedroom. 

As soon as Klara stepped into her room, Stefan appeared in front of her with his arms folded across his chest. "That bad, huh?" He knew Klara inside out. He knew when something was bothering her. "You can tell me what happened, you know?"

"I don't want to tell you because I don't want to think about it." Klara snapped viciously as she kicked her heels off, picked them up and placed them in her closet. 

"Well, it's clearly gotten under your skin." Stefan pressed a little more as he heard an irritated sigh leave her lips. "Klara, whatever it was, it was a lie."

"He spoke about how I'm afraid of being abandoned. How I'm terrified of the people that I love, that I care about leaving me. You know what the funniest thing is—that it's not a lie, Stefan, it's the truth." Klara swung back around to face him with a stern look in her eyes. 

"Klara, I would never leave you." Stefan's words were confident, it would almost have been easier to just believe him then and there.

"He also told me that you didn't love me. That you loved Elena and whatever we're feeling is the result of some conflicted, messed up feelings that stem from the amount of time we spent together when we left town with Klaus."

"I love you, Klara." The Salvatore stepped forward and grabbed the blonde by the face, forcing her to look at him. "You. That summer put everything I felt for you into perspective—you were the only person there for me when I turned it off. And, as for being abandoned, I want to spend the rest of my life by your side."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───