❝The one who fell and gets up, is so much stronger than the the one who never fell❞
•

"So, you and Damon are going to Chicago to get Stefan and you want me to be the third wheel and tag along?" I asked Elena through the phone.

"Yea, basically." She responded and I groaned. "Come on. Do it for Stefan."

"You mean 'do it for the awkwardness that lies between you, Damon and Stefan'." I scoffed, while searching through my closet. "You know I hate being a third wheel.

"Please." She whined. I roll my eyes, knowing that she's pouting.

"Fine." I huffed and she cheered happily. "But you owe me." I warned, playfully.

"Okay, no problem." She said. We soon shared goodbyes before I hung up and looked for an outfit to wear. I soon picked out a floral dress, with an oversized cardigan, brown knee-high boots and burgundy tights.

I hate being a third wheel. Especially when it's between the three most complicated people that ever walked on earth.

I put on my outfit with some gold studded earrings. I looked down at my attire and smiled before hearing a honking noise outside. I looked out the window and see Damon's car out front.

I pick up my phone that still had Tyler's text on display. He told me that he told his mom about being a werewolf. I was kind of proud of him for that since he's been struggling to tell her all this time. I guess he texted me because he always used to come to me with this problem.

He has Caroline now.

Damon honked his car again and I rolled my eyes before going outside.

"Don't rush perfection, Damon." I sighed, getting into the back of his car.

"You consider yourself 'perfection'?" He laughed and I sent him a glare.

"Are we going to save your brother or not?" I asked rhetorically. He rolled his eyes before driving off, leading Elena and I to have a conversation. "So what are you going to tell him?"

"I'm not sure." She muttered, fiddling with her necklace. "I just hope he'll listen."

"I sure hope we find him, 'cause it would suck if the last momento of Stefan was that crappy old necklace." Damon stepped in, causing Elena and I to roll our eyes.

"It's an antique, Damon. Like you." She shot back and I snorted.

"That was a good comeback." She smiled at me before, Damon pulled out a diary from the backseat.

"Read this." He demanded, changing the topic. "Paints a pretty little picture of Stefan's first experience in Chicago."

"It's Stefan's diary. I'm not going to invade his private thoughts." Elena said and Damon rolled his eyes.

"That's low, even for you, Damon." I joined in.

"You need to be prepared for what your about to see." That is true. Stefan isn't the most stabilized person in the world nor the most easiest to handle.

"I've seen Stefan in his darkest periods. I can handle it." Elena defended, so Damon opened the diary, flipping through it.

"Here's one: March 12th, 1922 'I've blacked out days. I wake up in strangers blood, in places I don't recognize with women I don't remember'." He said in a brooding tone, trying to imitate Stefan.

I gasp at his words, "I'm shocked. Stefan's not a virgin?" I joked. Elena snatched the book from his hands and started reading it herself. "Eyes on the road, grandma." I teased him and he scoffed.

"Fine. Back to my game. Tell me if you see a Florida plate." He said and I shook my head, sitting back in my seat, and rested my head on the window, falling asleep.

•
•

We soon make it to an apartment complex. Shockingly, Damon and Elena didn't bicker the whole way.

"Stefan could live anywhere in Chicago and he chose this?" I ask as we made it to his apartment. "It's so... ordinary." I wish I lived here to be honest. That's how normal it is.

"There used to be an all-girls high school around the corner, but it shut down for attendance issues. Weird." He told us, raising an eyebrow.

"If your trying to scare me into giving up and going back, it's not going to work." Elena scoffed, but all he did was shush her before breaking the lock.

"Here we are. Stefan's second personality home." He said. We walked inside and began to roam the place. My fingers lightly go against a book, seeing as everything is basically covered in dust.

"Pretty obvious he hasn't been here." Elena sighed.

"Tour's not over yet." Damon stated as he walked to a bookshelf, tracing the boarder of it, and opening it swiftly, revealing bottles of alcohol.

"Stefan hid his alcohol. What a monster." I joked earning a stifled laughed from Elena and a glare from Damon.

"Look harder." Elena walked closer as Damon suggested and looked around. I decide to look as well, only to see a wall covered in names.

"It's a list of names." Elena said quietly. Damon hummed in response. "All of these people are his victims?"

"Still handling it?"

"What were you doing in the 1920s? Paving the way for women's liberation?" I retorted, walking over to the small bed and sitting down, dust flying.

Damon just shrugged, "I was around. Chicago's a big city. Stefan was a cocky ripper douche, but I could avoid him and still indulge in a few Daisy Buchanans of my own." He smirked and I cringed before he walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" Elena stepped in, standing beside me.

"His old stomping ground."

"We're coming with you." I said and he shook his head.

"No. You guys stay here and whip up an actual plan. I'll come back when I find him." He said quickly before leaving us.

"Dick." I muttered, "I honestly see how sincere he can be one minute, then a total ass the next. You have your hands full." I chuckled. She laughed too, but shortly, so I decided to change the subject. "Tyler told his mom about him."

"Really? How did it go?" She asked, but I shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Didn't respond to him when he told me that." I said truthfully, letting silence fill the room. She sat down on the bed, taking out Stefan's diary.

"You guys were cute together." She said suddenly and my eyes widened.

"You knew?" I shrieked and she laughed, flipping through the book.

"Of course I knew. Every time you guys were near each other, you both were so nervous and jittery. And you were obviously giving it away because you blushed a lot." She replied, "I was mad that I had to find out on my own, but I understood."

"Well, we're not together anymore." I sighed. "That's why I stayed to myself this summer and that's why I left your party the other day." Well, part of that is true.

"Now it makes sense." Her eyes widened in slight realization. I nodded as she continued to read his diary.

I unlock my phone, his text still there. My fingers hovered over the keypad, thinking about texting him.

Well, that is until I heard footsteps. Two of them. Klaus and Stefan.

I quickly turn to Elena who had wide eyes. I mouthed 'go' to her and she quickly grabbed all her belongings went to the hidden doorway. I, being smart as I am, hid under the bed. After a few seconds the door is kicked and I jump slightly, putting a hand over my mouth as the footsteps walk closer.

"What a charming little homestead." Klaus said, he feet stopping by the bed. "Do you feel that? Is anybody here?" He asked and my breathing hitched. Dammit.

"It's been vacant for decades. People must break in all the time." Stefan suggested and I sighed, "Why'd you bring me here?"

"Your friend, Liam Grant, the one who drank his wife's blood... I could never figure out why you wanted his name. And then you told me your little secret. It was all part of your ritual..." Klaus trailed off and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"To write it down." Stefan said and I let out an inaudible gasp. Elena.

"And relive the kill... over and over again." I hear the hidden closet open and I screw my eyes shut, hoping he didn't see Elena. "Do you believe me now?" I hear the floorboards creak, hearing them go towards the closet. It was silent for a few seconds, before Stefan spoke.

"Look what I found." He said and my heart began to race. Stefan, please! "1918. Single Malt." I hear the bottle clang, causing me to let out a shaky breath, having it become muffled through my hand.

"Let's go and find someone to pair it with." Klaus said and the closet closes. The footsteps walk past again, before they leave the apartment.

I waited a few minutes before scooting from under the bed. I dust off my dress and sweater before walking to the closet. I open it, seeing Elena backed up against the wall in shock. "He didn't see you right?"

"No." She said in almost a whisper. "Only Stefan." I nodded at her statement, before pulling her out the cramped space. Elena called Damon to tell him what happened before soon thinking it was best to hide behind a wall just in case they came back. I sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, twirling my phone in my hand, while Elena stood, vervain dart tightly gripped in her hand.

An hour passed before the door open. I stood up instantly, nervous, but let out a huff when it was only Damon. We came out if hiding and I sat on the bed, running my hands through my hair.

"Finally! I called you an hour ago!" Elena complained before he gave her a bag.

"Make yourself presentable. I know where Stefan's going to be tonight." He said, ignoring her. I scoffed, shaking my head at him.

"I told you that we were practically discovered by Klaus and you're worried about what I'm wearing?" She said in disbelief.

"I had an hour to realize what a bad idea it was to leave you two here alone. Process it and move on." He said with slight regret on his face, "Are you okay?" His eyes flickered between us two.

"Yeah." She answered before he looked at me.

"Couldn't be better." I gave a fake smile, letting it drop a second later.

"Okay, good. Get dressed. You're all road-tripy and gross." He said to Elena and I rolled my eyes. He just can't stay kind and caring.

"So you know are he's going to be?" I questioned.

"Yes, with Klaus. So I'll distract Klaus and you deal with Stefan." He said to Elena.

"Okay. Thank you."

"But, you're going to have about five minutes tops before that hybrid freak rips my heart out. So please, tell me you can do this." He said with worry eyes.

"I can do this." She said and he nodded, before I had raised my hand awkwardly.

"What am I going to do?"

•
•

"This totally unfair. Elena gets to bring back Stefan, you get to talk to Klaus, and I get to sit in the back of your car with no WiFi." I groaned. Elena was behind a car, waiting for her cue while Damon was arguing with me. "I'm going to die in here."

"You won't die, Rowan." Damon huffed at me.

"Yes. Yes, I will. You're locking the windows and doors." I fought back.

"Yes, so you can't wander off and go missing like last time." He smirked when my face fell.

"That wasn't my fault. You all know I'm not a fast runner." I growled. "If I was, I would have joined Thomas and Minho."

"Who the hell is Thomas and Minho?"

"They're from the Maze Runner." I pouted when he rolled his eyes.

"Just stay here." He demanded, before getting out the car and closing it behind him. I watched him walk to Elena before going inside the bar.

Instantly, I crawled up to the passenger seat, putting my phone on the charger. I was not dying with a low battery. Not like I would die anyways. I believe the day I will die is when something or someone supernatural kills me, and even then, Bonnie will bring me back like she did with Jeremy. Probably.

It's just that people around here don't actually die, well not naturally. It's mostly 'animal attacks', as a friend of mine would say, or they get turned, don't feed, then die.

The usually per say.

"What is wrong with you?" A voice said, breaking me out my thoughts. It was muffled due to the closed windows, but I still heard.

"What is wrong with you? You kill Andie one day, you save my life the next? What are you, good, bad? Pick one." Damon hissed and I realized he was talking to Stefan.

"Klaus almost saw Elena today. You have to get her out of Chicago. Rowan too." Stefan said and I curse lowly. How the hell does he know I'm here?

"She's not going anywhere until she's got you checked into vampire rehab and on the mend. Trust me. I've tried." Damon retorted, "And you already know Rowan is too stubborn." I shrug slightly to myself. That was true, I can't fight him on that.

"She is the key to everything. Klaus can't know that she's alive." Stefan said, aggravated. The key?

"What are you talking about?"

"She was suppose to die in the sacrifice and she didn't. Now Klaus can't create any new hybrids. His witch is seconds away from figuring that out. Tell Elena to go home and forget about me." Stefan sighed before it went silent.

"Tell her yourself." I look out the window and saw Damon went back inside, so I took my chance trying to get the door open. With ease I soon got it open, so I grab my phone and ran after him inside the bar. Thank you, Ric for the nifty skills.

I saw Damon sitting with Klaus so I sit right beside him when I get inside. Damon looks at me with angry eyes, before Klaus spoke.

"I see they've opened door to the riffraff now." He chuckled at his own joke and I scoffed.

"Oh, honey, we have been called worse." I smirked and so did Klaus when he saw me, but turned to Damon. "Try harder next time." Last time Klaus seen me was when Elena was on her deathbed and he believed it was best to flirt with me. Klaus may be sexy and all, but he's a hybrid mess. He need rehab.

"You don't give up do you?" He asked Damon, twirling a little umbrella in his hands.

"Give me my brother back... you'll never have see us again."

"Well, I am torn. This lovely girl is very attractive and you see, I promised Stefan I wouldn't let you die, but how many freebies did I really sign up for? And clearly you want to die, otherwise you wouldn't be here, so..." He trailed off and I blushed slightly when he called me attractive, but I shook my head remembering he's a killer. A very cute, killer.

"Well, what can I say. I'm a thrill seeker." Damon said and Klaus laughed before, gripping Damon neck. I stood quickly about to pull Damon back, "Rowan go." He choked out. I shook my head and looked at Klaus.

"Let him go." I demanded.

"No can do, sweetheart." He picked up Damon with one hand, stabbing him with the other. "Oh dear, what was that? I'm a little boozey, so you'll forgive me if I miss your heart the first few tries." Klaus said, stabbing Damon once more.

"Stop." I cried out. I tugged on his sleeve of his shirt, but failed to get him off Damon since Klaus is way stronger than me and I didn't bring any weapons with me.

"Oh! No, that's not it." He hummed, not acknowledging my pleas. He stabbed Damon again, "Almost."

"You want a partner in crime? Forget Stefan, I'm much more fun." I tried to persuade him.

"No thank you sweetheart. You're to precious. Wouldn't want to ruin your innocence." Klaus grunted before tosses Damon to the ground. He breaks off a chunk of wood from a chair, about to stab Damon, but a woman caused it to light up in flames. Klaus threw it and groaned, "Really?"

"Not in my bar." She stated. Is that the witch that's helping Klaus? "You take it outside." Klaus looked down at Damon who's face was scrunched up in pain.

"You don't have to negotiate your brother's freedom. When I'm done with, he won't want to go back." He removed himself off Damon and walked away, not without giving me a wink. "See you around love." I cringe before going to Damon.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine." He groaned, "You are just so damn stubborn. If you stayed in the car, then things wouldn't have went that way."

"You don't think I know that? And yes it would have, either way." I smirked, pulling him up. "Let's go." We walk out the bar, seeing Elena sitting in the car and Stefan gone. I get into the back seat, while Damon gets into the drivers.

"You okay?" He asked, but she kept quiet, playing with her necklace.

"Just drive."

•
•

I told Damon that I was going to walk home when he dropped off Elena, so when he reached Elena's house, I got out the car also. I suggested to Elena that I should stay with her, but she said she just wanted to sleep.

I respected her choice and began walking home since my car was still at Damon's. I was in no mood to continue driving with Damon to his house, then get my car and drive to my house.

I was too tired.

I stared at the dark screen on my phone, seeing it was only 11 at night. I knew I would be dragged to do something else tomorrow. I always was, so at least I try to make the best of it.

Not even glancing up, I walk up to my house only to bump into a very big, heavy and hurtful object. I groaned, rubbing my knee and picking my head up to see my car. I brought my eyebrows together as I see a note attached, reading:

I got it for you since I know it would have been forever until you got it
-Ty❤

I look around me and see it was very dark out now, so I just take the note and go inside. I went up to my room and reread the note, laughing at it.

"Unbelievable." I mutter to myself. I toss the note in the trash and go take my shower, wanting to forget this day.