CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: This day couldn't get any worse
WARNINGS: attempted murder, fire, matt donovan, stefan, damon, john gilbert

"OKAY, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT—IT TOOK YOU this long to figure out that John is Elena's real father?" Athena asked, rubbing her forehead at the pure stupidity that was the Salvatore brothers. They've been alive for so long and yet barely figured this one out.

Stefan threw his hands in the air, "you knew?" She makes a 'uh-duh!' face. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

Athena leaned her head toward them a bit, her eyes wide and her eyebrows up into her hairline, "I thought it was common knowledge!" She said.

Damon gives her a 'for real?' look, frowning.

Athena waved him off, fixing her dark yellow tie. She was in black trousers and a black suit-vest over a light-yellow button-up. She was wearing a black coat over it that went down to right above her ankles. It was one of her old suits from the first Founders Day.

Stefan was in one of his old suits as well. A purple tie tucked into a dark patterned suit-vest, the same patterned pants, a white button-up, and a dark brown coat.

Damon was dressed in usual Damon-attire.

"Whatever. You two look super retro," Damon says, eyeing them up and down.

Stefan rolled his eyes, "what are you even doing here?" He asked.

Damon cocks an eyebrow, looking around, "why wouldn't I be here? As I recall, I'm a member of a Founding Family." At seeing his brothers look, he relented, "look, Bonnie deactivated the Gilbert invention. Isobel's gone. Heh. And it's Founder's Day. I'm here to eat cotton and steal your girl," he smirked mockingly.

Athena snorted and shook her head. It was easy to see that Elena wasn't interested in Damon and seemed to be losing interest in Stefan. She finds it funny that the two boys are so blinded by their love for her. God, it's like Katherine all over again—except this time, Athena won't let it get Elena killed.

"I think I have a better chance at stealing someone's girl today than you do, Damon," says a voice from behind Athena. The redhead turns around, smiling at the werewolf and taking in the full outfit. Stefan and Damon look at Hayley as well, surprised to find her dressed in one of Athena's old suits.

She's wearing the same suit as Athena except that their ties and shirts are flipped colors. It was tailored earlier that morning so that it fit per Athena's request.

The Heretic had entered Hayley's room with a black clothes bag and a random man after having dropped Caroline off at her house and tossed the bag at Hayley saying, "put this on, Caroline will love it." Then she disappeared, leaving Hayley and the unknown man alone (he was the tailor).

"I fully agree," Stefan smiled, fist-bumping the werewolf. Damon rolled his eyes. Stefan then turned to Athena, "I need to tell you something," he said, grabbing her sleeve and pulling her away.

Athena yelped as she was almost knocked off her feet, having been too distracted staring at Hayley. "Watch the suit!" She hissed playfully, but did flick her arms, straightening out her sleeves. The smile dropped from her face slightly when she noticed the serious look on his—well, even more serious. He always looks serious even in the most hilarious of times.

"Do you remember that day in New Jersey where I found you at that bar with Cassidy?" He asked and Athena's eyes narrowed, slowly nodding. In 90', Athena and Cassidy had moved to New Jersey and on their first night, they went to a restaurant called Witherspoon Grill. Stefan had come in a little later and crashed their night. "I wasn't trying to ruin the evening," he sighed, "there was this... guy. He was tall. Taller than you—probably around my height. He looked young, maybe around 18? He was following you guys and I just..." He ran a hand through his hair, "I wanted to make sure you were safe, but I ended up being a dick."

Athena does recall feeling as if she were being watched, but every time she tried to figure it out, nothing would come up. She shook it off when Cassidy had pulled her into the restaurant. Then Stefan came in.

"I just thought you'd want to know," Stefan shrugged. Athena nodded to him, punching his shoulder playfully.

"Couple years late, but thanks," she said and walked back over to Hayley who slapped Damon's hand away when he tried to grab a piece of the bagel she was holding. Athena smiles in confusion, her brows furrowing, "where'd you get that?"

"While you two were talking, I went to grab one really quick and this—" Damon wildly gestured to Hayley who bit into the bagel, glancing between the two innocently "—little minx took it!"

"You were holding it out," Hayley shrugged, and Damon grumbled under his breath.

Athena snorted, shaking her head. Damon crossed his arms and looked at his brother for a moment before looking at the other two women, "so, correct if I'm wrong—why does she get a bite of a bagel?!" Damon gaped as Athena slowly chewed the bite that Hayley allowed her to take, her eyes wide.

Hayley narrowed her eyes at him, "she didn't try to choke me out."

Damon pauses and then backs off, "fair point. Anyway, continuing on. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Caroline kissed you while dating Athena, yes?" He pointed at Hayley who blushed a little bit and nodded. "So, have you," he pointed to Athena, "givin' Hayley a speech about staying away from Elena and pretty much saying who she can't be friends with?"

Athena and Hayley glance at each other, confused. "Uh," Athena scratches the back of her head, "no? It's not my place to tell Caroline who and who not to be friends with. Plus, they were scared shitless when I found out and that was entertainment enough." Hayley whacked Athena in the stomach with the back of her hand making the Heretic hunch over with a groan.

Damon turns on his heel to face his brother, "Athena didn't even give her girlfriend a speech when she kissed someone else and you're worried about me being in 'love' with your girlfriend when she clearly has feelings for you," Damon tsked, shaking his head. Stefan just stares at him, unamused. "You're scared now that Katherine's out of the picture that I'm gonna turn all my attention to Elena—which I already have considering she's one of my only friends!—But don't worry. Elena is not Katherine."

"You're right. She's not," Stefan agrees, giving a firm nod as he smiles at his brother.

Hayley purses her lips and leans closer to Athena, standing on her tippy toes to reach the girl's ear, "who is Katherine?"

Athena shivers from the hot breath on her ear and glances down at the werewolf. Her eyes are swirling with browns and greens, her beautiful hazel orbs staring up at her. Athena's eyes flick down to Hayley's lips, distracted. "Um," she licks her lips and looks back up into the werewolf's eyes, "an old lover who looks exactly like Elena."

Hayley's eyes move to something behind Athena, over her shoulder. The redhead turned around, confused and inhaled sharply when she saw Elena. Caroline, who was walking over with a grin, slowed to a stop when she noticed Athena's attention had been caught onto something.

Damon, Stefan, and Athena all stared at Elena; the two boys mesmerized. She looked exactly like Katherine. Athena remembers all the good times she and Katherine had, the late nights, the walks, the talks.

Hayley bites her lip, looking away from Athena and taking a slight step away, something heavy settling in her chest. Caroline stares at Athena with sadness and understanding.

History was bound to repeat itself, right?

Athena shook her head when her memories began to dive into the darker parts of her time with Katherine. She blinked a couple of times to clear the fog.

Elena smiles when she sees them, curtseying. Athena smiles back, bowing to her which causes the brunette to laugh before turning back to Hayley. She frowns when she notices that Hayley is looking anywhere but at her. "What is it?" She asks, confused.

Hayley meets her eyes, shaking her head with a smile. Athena opens her mouth to speak again, but movement in the corner caught her eye. She turned her head, her mouth dropping open slightly and her eyebrows raising up in awe. Hayley follows her gaze and finds Caroline staring back at them. The werewolf stops breathing, her heart skipping one or five beats.

Caroline is dressed in a beautiful yellow dress with different yellow accents. Her hair is styled in waves, a clip holding her bangs back. She's wearing the Miss Mystic Falls cache around her torso.

Caroline smiles and walks over to them, stopping a couple paces away and doing a twirl. She raises her eyebrows, holding the dress, "how do I look?"

"Gorgeous."

"Breath-taking."

Hayley blushes hard while Athena's ears turn red when they speak at the same time, stumbling over their words. Caroline smirks and closes the remaining space, "don't you two look dashing."

"Only the best for Miss Mystic," Athena smiles. Her mind goes back to a memory of standing side-by-side with Damon and Stefan, looking at Katherine while she picked who took her to the Founder's Day ball. Her face crumbles for a moment before she shakes the thought away.

Caroline sure as hell wasn't Katherine and Hayley wasn't Damon or Stefan. History would not repeat itself. Never again.

"Aw, your ties and shirts are matching," Caroline giggles, bringing her hand up to her mouth.

"I wasn't going to dress up, but she threw the tux at me," Hayley said, nudging Athena with her shoulder. "Though, the dresses from this era do look very nice." She looked around at the other girls who were all dressed up.

"They do," Athena agreed, looking around too. She pointed to a girl wearing a purple dress. "That one is definitely an old one. I feel like I've seen it before," she said.

Hayley nodded, "yeah, it looks like it. Very pretty though. Like her hair too." Athena hummed, nodding her head.

Caroline frowned in annoyance, jealousy flooding her, and cleared her throat. The two older women turned back around and looked at the blonde. "Can we take some pictures, please?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, her frown still on her lips. Without waiting for a response, the blonde walked over to Bonnie who was holding a camera.

Hayley opened her mouth to say something, but Athena just shook her head and pulled her over.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

"NO, HAYLEY, YOUR arm has to go around my waist—no—yes, like that, thank you," Caroline laughed as Hayley's arm finally settled into the right spot. Caroline guided the girl's other arm over her shoulder and tangled their fingers together as Hayley complained about how she didn't like photos.

Bonnie was watching the two and Athena who was standing beside the witch. She was very confused at what was happening especially since Athena seemed so calm about it. Hayley and Caroline were being extremely touchy and flirty with one another the whole time.

Matt, who was watching from afar and in his own suit, began to walk over. He knows how tough it is to watch the girl you're in love with fawn over and flirt with somebody else. Especially if that girl is Caroline. He's been in Athena's position.

Bonnie snapped the photo of the two and Athena looked at it over her shoulder, smiling at the goofy faces the two girls were making. They both looked happy, and that's all Athena wished for, especially after last night.

"Athena, get—"

"Caroline, what the fuck are you doing?" Matt asked and the three girls startled while Athena looked over at him. Caroline raised an eyebrow, glancing around confused.

"Oh, uh, taking... photos?" The blonde said even though it sounded more like a question. Hayley's grip on Caroline's waist tightened while her arm dropped from Caroline's shoulder.

Matt shook his head in disbelief, "you're doing it again, Caroline. I can't believe that you haven't learned. I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. First Tyler, then me, then Athena. It's an endless toxic cycle—"

"Matt, you need to shut up, right now," Athena said with a glare, stepping past Bonnie to get closer to Matt who was fuming. "Have you had another run in with that woman?" She asked, both concerned and annoyed. She was fed up with Claire interfering. The second she found that woman, she was going to make sure she stayed dead for good.

"No," Caroline said quietly, looking down at the ground, "it wasn't her. He's... wearing the bracelet." Athena glances down at his wrist, the one that wasn't hurt—he had fallen at work yesterday and broken his hand—and found the vervain bracelet around his wrist.

"Leave," Athena said to him, her voice deadly calm and her eyes filled with anger. When Matt didn't move, Athena shoved him backward a bit causing him to stumble, "now."

"You don't see it, do you, Athena?" Matt snapped, glaring at the redhead. He pointed at Caroline, "she can't stay loyal for long. She moves onto the next then the next then the next. When she is in a relationship, she gets feelings for somebody else. She did it to Tyler with me and she did it to me with you. Now she's gonna do it to you with her." He gestures to Hayley.

Athena's jaw clenches, "you two were broken up when I came to town. You have no right to be upset about her flirting or—or falling in love with me. You lost your chance, Matt! Get the fuck over it. Caroline is one of the most loyal people I have ever met, and you know nothing about our relationship."

Matt scoffed through his nose, shaking his head in exasperation. He steps towards Athena, getting almost nose-to-nose with her. "You don't even hear yourself. She's got you so brain-washed that you don't even notice that she's screwing you over," he hisses.

Hayley suddenly shoves Matt away, anger radiating off of her in waves. Matt flies backward, hitting the ground with a thud and hurting his arm worse. He cradles his wounded hand to his chest, face scrunched in pain. "I swear to God, I'll kill you if you come near them again—"

Athena wraps her arms around Hayley's waist when she moves to advance on the boy, holding the werewolf tightly against her body and whispering into her ear, "nuh-uh. Not here. Calm down." Hayley breathes out through her mouth harshly, tilting her head a bit as she continues to glare at Matt. "He's not worth it, trust me. He's just a sad little boy with a dick shorter than his hair," she murmurs, her hand yanking Hayley's arm back when the werewolf tries to get away.

Hayley shudders, her eyes closing as Athena's scent overwhelms her senses. Her breathing slows and she leans into the Heretic. Athena straightens up and shoots Matt a withering look which causes him to flinch away.

The redhead takes the camera from Bonnie's hands, barely sparing her a glance, peeved she didn't stand up for her 'best' friend. She guides Hayley over to Caroline, slipping an arm around the blonde that hasn't spoken a word since the outburst.

"Come on, beautiful. We have a float to catch," Athena says softly, squeezing the blonde gently as Caroline looks up at her. Athena smiled at her, and Caroline gave a small smile back. The redhead guides them to the float.

They stop a couple of feet away, watching as the rest of the girls and their dates get onto the float.

"You know," Caroline says, turning to face the two with sad eyes, "he's right."

"No, he's not," Athena argues.

"Yes, he is," Caroline said with a shake of her head, "I had feelings for Hayley while I was with you—I still have them." She looks up at Athena, defeated. She throws her hands up and scoffs.

Athena closes her eyes and shakes her head in astonishment, "you don't think I know that?" She asked, opening her eyes to look at the blonde. Caroline raises her eyebrows, shrugging her shoulders a bit. "I'm not stupid, Cal. I can pick out the signs."

"Then why did you never say anything?!"

"'Cause it didn't bother me!"

Caroline threw her hands up, scoffing, "why not?! Why didn't me having feelings for somebody else not bother you when I'm your girlfriend?! Did I not mean enough to you?"

"Oh, my God, Caroline," Athena gapes, her eyes wide with disbelief. She gestures between them with her hands, "how could you think that you didn't mean enough to me? You're one of the few people that mean everything to me! Despite your feelings for Hayley, you didn't act on them besides that kiss. I knew, when you finally figured it out and you were ready, you would talk to me. So no, I wasn't and still am not bothered that you like Hayley and Hayley likes you."

"Why. Not?" Caroline hissed through her teeth, stepping closer to her ex-girlfriend. She wasn't stupid either. She saw the signs—the smirks, the looks, the smiles, the comments. They were the same ones she got when Athena first arrived and the same ones she still gets. She just wanted Athena to admit it. "I kissed Hayley. And I know you want to as well so why the fuck don't you do it?"

"I don't want to kiss Hayley!" Athena snapped loudly, causing a few heads to turn their way. Caroline's eyes widened slightly, her heart stopping. Athena quickly turned toward the werewolf who was already staring at her, dejected and heartbroken. "Hayley—"

"You could've just told me that instead of letting me believe that you shared my feelings," the werewolf said quietly, her eyes glossy. She turned around and walked away, stuffing her hands in the pockets of the jacket.

Athena watched her go, cursing under her breath. She placed her hands behind her neck, looking up at the sky as she closed her eyes, muttering, "fuck, fuck, fuck," over and over again.

"Why'd you say that?" Caroline asked.

Athena throws her hands up into the air, letting out a scoff through her nose, "fuck, I don't know! Why'd you fucking pressure me?"

"Because I'm not stupid either, Athena. I may be blonde, but I'm not dumb. I know your tells. You may think you are this unreadable stack of walls, but you're not. At least to me. You have feelings for Hayley and you're holding back," Caroline says, giving the woman a tight-lipped smile before getting onto the float.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

THE PARADE FLOATS all looked great, but Athena wasn't really paying much attention. She and Caroline were up at the top of the Miss Mystic Falls court float, and she was trying to find Hayley in the crowd.

"This is Caroline Forbes, Miss Mystic Falls," Mrs. Lockwood announced in the microphone, "aren't they beautiful?"

"I think she left," Caroline pointed out with a smile as she waved at the crowd.

"You think?" Athena muttered, giving the girl a side glare. "You shouldn't have begun that conversation in front of her." She smiled fakely down at the people around them.

"You told her your whole life story, let her sleep in your bed, let her live in your house, yet you didn't want to have a conversation about your feelings in front of her?" Caroline turns her head over her shoulder to snarkily raise her eyebrows at her ex before looking out at the crowd. Athena exhaled sharply through her nose, discreetly rolling her eyes. "That day in your office, you knew what you were doing when you helped get her excited. You can't deny anything."

"Have you ever thought that maybe I just wanted to sleep with her? No feelings," Athena hissed, grinning as she waved at some of the kids.

Caroline elbowed her hard and Athena had to hide her wince. At least now she understood why Caroline was so strong. Fuck, she was going to have to explain that to her now too. "It did actually, but then I remembered that you aren't Damon," the blonde said through clenched teeth, waving at Bonnie and Damon coincidentally, "and you get this look in your eye whenever you look at her. It's the same look you get when you look at me. Some admiration, a little tender, a whole lot of attraction, and a hint of love." Caroline smirks back at her ex smugly and then waves to Olivia, Gray, Mateo, Anna, Lana, and Anzel.

Athena stares down at her with a dry look, "only a hint?" She deadpans.

Caroline shrugs, "hey, it's your eyes. I'm just telling ya what I see, babe."

Athena rolled her eyes.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

"WHAT ARE WE going to do about the Gilbert device?" Caroline asked, as she appeared across from Athena, changed back into her normal clothes. Athena had changed as well.

Athena sighed, "well, nobody from the pack is going to be out tonight. At least, they shouldn't be, but if they do, they're all wearing rings to keep them safe. I'm not gonna tell Damon or Stefan, I'm just going to try and lure them away from any hunters before it goes off. Who knows what Damon's gonna do to Bonnie when he finds out she tricked them.

Caroline nods her head, looking around the Mystic Grill with a heavy sigh. "Hayley has a ring, right?" She asked and Athena nodded. Caroline let out a relieved breath. "So, she's gonna be, okay?"

Athena takes Caroline's hand in hers, "she's going to be okay; I promise. I'm not gonna let anything happen to her," she says sincerely.

The blonde nodded, breathing out through her nose and raising their interlocked hands to her mouth, pressing a kiss against the back of Athena's hand. She rubbed her thumb along the redheads' knuckles, staring at their tangled fingers. "After this is all over, we need to talk. With Hayley," Caroline says.

"I know," Athena murmurs.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

DAMON FOLLOWED AFTER Jeremy who was storming away from the Mystic Grill. "I have so many emotions, but I can't express them 'cause I'm a teenage boy. It's so hard being a teenager," he mocked the youngest Gilbert.

"You're a dick," Jeremy said with a roll of his eyes.

"You do not talk to me like that," Damon said, turning serious, "I'm not Elena." He grabbed Jeremy's arm and pulled on it, so he was facing him. "And from now on, don't talk to your sister that way either."

"So, what, you're gonna kill me just because I'm being mean to Elena?" Jeremy asked, raising his eyebrows with an incredulous smile.

"Cut her some slack," Damon said, not answering his question.

Jeremy scoffed, giving him a disbelieving look, "she erased my memories."

"No, I did," Damon snapped, "she was protecting you. That's all she's ever done. Do you know how worried she was when Isobel took you? She begged me to give Isobel what she wanted because your," he pushed a finger into Jeremy's chest making the boy wince a bit, "life was on the line."

Jeremy stared at him for a minute, taking in what he said. Then he gave a slight shake of his head, "it wasn't her call to make." He tried to walk away but Damon yanked him back, becoming angry. Jeremy, thinking he had the upper hand, said, "let go of me before I cause a scene."

He glared into Jeremy's eyes; his mouth set in a firm line. "Look me in the eye and tell me if you were in Elena's position, you wouldn't have done the same. You wouldn't have done anything in your power to make sure your little brother didn't have to experience the same pain he had struggled with mere months before," he said. Jeremy opened his mouth to prove the oldest Salvatore wrong but couldn't get it out.

"Let him go," Stefan said, appearing beside them. He pulled Damon's arm as the dark-haired Salvatore let go. Stefan pushed Jeremy back a bit, giving him a once over, "you okay?"

"Yeah," Jeremy nodded, giving Damon a glare.

Stefan looked back at Damon with annoyance, "what my brother is trying to say is," he looked at Jeremy, "don't blame Elena for this. Damon turned Vicki and Athena was the one that killed her. Vicki was a threat to you, and she was a threat to Elena, Athena did what she had to in order to keep you both safe. I'm sorry that it happened. I wish that it hadn't."

Jeremy glances between the two and then looks away. "Shouldn't have made me forget," he said, apparently not having listened to anything that the two had just said and walked away.

"Good cop, bad cop. I like it," Damon says as he looks at his brother, trying to use his annoyance and turn it into humor. Much better than killing someone.

Stefan turned toward his older brother, "what are you doing? Hmm?" He asked.

Damon shrugged, "he was being a punk."

"Elena's relationship with her brother is none of your business, so stay out of it," Stefan said, stepping closer to Damon.

Damon rolled his eyes, raising his hands in surrender, "right. There's only one do-gooder hero role available. My apologies," he smirked, laughing mockingly.

"Get over yourself," Stefan said, smiling exasperatedly, "we both know that you're not doing this for the right reasons."

Damon narrowed his eyes at his younger brother, annoyed with this constant fucking jealousy act that he had going. Sure, Damon was flirty, but that was how he was. He has not once made an actual move on Elena. "See, there you go with that little jealousy act again," he said, "wh—what are the right reasons Stefan, I mean, please enlighten me."

"Well, see, Damon, it's only real when it comes from your desire to do the right thing for nothing in return," Stefan said, poking his brother in the chest, "and I know that it's an entirely foreign concept to you so I understand why you wouldn't understand."

Damon scoffed through his nose, shaking his head as his little brother walked away. He really did just want to help Elena out. It was his fault that Jeremy was mad, he was the one who erased his memories. He knew it was something Athena would do even though his approach probably wasn't the best way. He wanted to be better for Elena, Caroline, and Athena. They were his only friends—and Liz sort of.

"That was interesting," said a voice. Damon froze for a second, his eyes widening slightly. He quickly forced himself to untense and act cool, turning on his heel to face his old lover with a lazy smirk.

"Little brother has always been jealous," he shrugged, acting nonchalant.

"Really? I remember you being more of the jealous type," the vampire smirked back, crossing their arms and leaning against one of the booths.

"Sharing isn't my thing," Damon said.

The vampire cocked an eyebrow, "you shared Katherine three ways," they pointed out.

"And it was a mistake," the dark-haired man said seriously, his eyes darkening and the smirk dropping from his face, "I was blinded and in the process, I lost my sister and my brother."

The vampire hummed, looking towards the middle of the park where a little spiky-blonde-haired boy was playing with some other kids. They looked back at Damon, "you're gonna make history repeat itself if you continue to do this, Damon."

The younger vampire takes a step toward the other, "I'm not trying to. I can tell Elena doesn't have feelings for me. I did, don't get me wrong—she was one of the few people who believed in me, and she looked like Katherine. I also wanted to upset Stefan, but she's, my friend. I have no intention of trying to repeat anything. I just want Elena to have the relationship with her brother that I didn't get with mine." The older vampire didn't look convinced. "I've never lied to you, Bellamy."

The dark brown-haired man pushed off the stall and nodded. "You're right," he said, "but we're different people now."

Damon's expression shifts, "whatever," he said, "don't believe me. What do I care? I believed you to be dead, but it seems like I was wrong about that. I guess we truly are different people."

Bellamy raises his eyebrows, not a hint of remorse or guilt in his eyes. It hurts deep down in his heart. Just like it did when he realized that Katherine wasn't in the tomb. "I did what I had to. I had to get away from your family. Athena helped me and I was free."

Damon swallowed, the back of his eyes burning with tears. "Athena... Athena knew?" He asked, his voice hoarse.

Bellamy looked at the blonde running toward him, "she helped me," is all he said before a smile took over his face and he scooped up the small boy. "Hey, buddy! You having fun?"

Lincoln nodded quickly, a beam on his face. He looked over at Damon, tilting his head. "Who are you?" He asked.

Damon glances between the little boy and his old lover that he believed to be dead for almost two centuries. "That's an old friend of daddy's, Link," Bellamy said, giving the dark-haired man a nod. He walked away, leaving Damon with so many questions, confusion, and a whole lot of betrayal.

Lincoln looked over his dad's shoulder and waved to the younger vampire, "bye, Daddy's Friend!" He called with an adorable smile.

Damon raised his hand and gave him a small wave.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

ATHENA FOUND DAMON in the park center after searching for some time. Caroline had stayed back with Tyler since she was tired and didn't want to walk around.

She set her hands on Damon's shoulders from behind, squeezing them, "hey, Day. I was thinking that we could ditch this thing and go play some football on the school field. I've got a lot of energy I need to burn off, you know?" She smiled as he turned around to face her.

He stared at her for a moment, "football?" She nodded. He looked away from her for a second, thinking about his next move. He met her eyes once again, "you knew Bellamy was alive this whole time?"

She paused, her smile dropping. She swallowed and sighed. "I did," she admitted.

Damon laughed, shaking his head, "wow. Wow. Okay, so you get mad at me for keeping something that Stefan did from you, but it's okay when you do it?" He asked, raising his eyebrows with a sarcastic smile.

"It was the only way to keep him safe," Athena replied, "the day after he died, Giuseppe found him out and almost killed him. In order to keep him alive, your father gave him a deal—leave without a goodbye or die. Bellamy chose the first option under the guise that after Giuseppe died, he'd be able to see you again," she explained.

"It's been over a century and a half, Athena!" Damon hissed.

Athena looked around suddenly, remembering where they were and what was going to happen. She looked at the younger vampire with sudden panic, "look, I get it. You're mad. You have a right to be, but let's do this somewhere else. We need to get away from the town center."

"Athena!" Both Damon and Athena turned to see Anna quickly walking over to them.

"Anna? What are you doing here? I told you to get home with the rest of the kids," the Heretic said with a frown. That frown deepened when Pearl came from behind her daughter.

Pearl grabbed Athena's arm while Anna grabbed Damon's, pulling them away from the crowd. "The vampires from the tomb are planning an attack tonight," Anna explained.

Damon gave her a confused look, "and you know this... how?"

Anna glanced between the two. "I went to them," she explained, "Mom and I were worried and turns out, we had a good reason. They think I'm with them, but I'm not. They want the founding families dead." She gave them both a meaningful look.

Athena felt panic come over her. Liz, Caroline, Elena, Jeremy, and Tyler were in danger.

"What? When is this supposed to happen?" Damon asked, shaking his head as he tried to wrap his head around everything, he's learned in the last 5 hours.

"When the fireworks begin," Pearl replied.

Damon slowly nods, realization dawned on him. "That's what John wants to use the invention on," he said, "good thing witchy disabled it." Anna and Pearl shared a look before glancing at Athena. "I thought the tomb vampires were under some kind of oath or whatever."

"The ones who don't care for revenge are," Pearl explained with a shrug. Damon nods.

"Damon—"

"We can get to them before they kill anyone," Damon interrupted Athena, looking down at Anna, "where are they?"

"They're already here, Damon," she said.

"Fuck. Stay here, I'll go get Rick. Athena, go get blondie," Damon says.

Athena tries to stop him, but the man is already walking away quickly, heading in the vampire hunter's direction. Athena groaned and rubbed her eyes.

"We're so fucked," Anna sighed, crossing her arms. Pearl hums in agreement, nodding her head.

"You two are no fucking help," Athena grumbles, going after the dark-haired Salvatore. "Please be useful and find Hayley. Once this device goes off, I want the three of you safe," she calls back to them.

"Aye-aye, Captain!" Anna mocks, saluting her. Athena groans while Pearl shoots the redhead a thumbs up.

Rick rushes past her, giving her a nod in understanding. She doesn't acknowledge him, beelining it towards where Damon, Stefan, and Elena are.

"Hey," Damon says with a smile, taking Elena's other hand in both of his own, holding it to his chest as he looks around.

Elena raises an eyebrow, confused, "uh, what are you doing?" She asked, amused.

"Saving your life," Damon replied. Elena frowns, tilting her head while Stefan stares at Damon in annoyance. Athena can see the jealousy now clear as day. "In fifteen words or less, the bad tomb vampires are here," he explains as Athena reaches them finally. Stefan whips around, searching the area quickly. "What are you doing here? I told you to go get blondie," Damon said, looking at the redhead.

"You gotta let me talk for a second—"

"No, we don't have time to waste. Founding families are the target," Damon interrupted once again. He gives Stefan a look, "get out of here. Now." He lets go of Elena's hand and grabs Athena's arm.

Elena grabs Damon's arm, "uh, where do you think you're going?" She demands, worried as she glances between the two older vampires.

"That's more than 15 words, Lena," Damon tsked, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek before dragging Athena into the crowd. The redhead stumbled behind him, annoyed.

"Just do as he says!" She yells to them, catching a couple of looks, but uncaring. She needs Elena to be safe.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

INSIDE THE MYSTIC Grill, Caroline is sitting at a booth near the pool table Tyler is playing at. Matt had joined her sometime later which was uncomfortable and awkward to say the least considering what happened earlier and the animosity between Tyler and Matt. She honestly doesn't know why Matt's sitting with her.

"You know, I don't get why you two don't make up," Caroline muttered, swirling her straw around her cup.

Matt glanced at her, narrowing his eyes. "He made out with my mother and then beat me to a pulp," he deadpanned.

Caroline shrugs, "you're both pretty shitty people. At least he's trying," the blonde says. Matt rolled his eyes, leaning back and crossing his arms. "I mean, what you pulled today was fucked up. Athena's right. We were broken up when I met her and that night, you and Elena were sucking face. And I didn't have feelings for you when I was with Tyler, we both grew apart and our relationship wasn't good. I loved him and he loved me, but it was toxic and hurting us. I jumped into our relationship way too fast after that and I realized that way too late. That's why I asked for space to find myself again. You didn't give me that, you chose to be a complete dick about it. Tyler took our breakup better than you did and considering his anger issues, I'm insanely proud and very grateful."

Matt looked away from Caroline. He didn't know the full extent of Caroline and Tyler's relationship. They acted like the perfect couple when they were around people except for a couple of small, heated arguments and a couple messed up words. Tyler never told him what happened, only that he and Caroline ended on mutual terms and that he didn't have any hard feelings. Caroline had said the same. Even when he and Caroline began dating a month later, he just congratulated them and went on as normal.

"I didn't know that," Matt said quietly.

"No shit, Sherlock," Caroline rolled her eyes, "nobody did. Not even Elena or Bonnie. We were both too... traumatized by what had happened that we agreed not to speak of it the night we broke up." The blonde shrugged her shoulders, giving a small smile to Tyler's back. "Athena knows so I guess we both broke that agreement," she chuckles softly.

The blonde boy looks down at the table, releasing a breath through his nose. "I'm sorry. I know I've said it a lot and every time I give you more and more of a reason not to believe it, but... I am sorry. It's just hard seeing you so happy with—with Athena."

Caroline nods, her lips pursed, and her eyebrows raised. She doesn't say anything to that and takes another sip of her drink. She believes he's sorry, but she doesn't believe it won't happen again. So, she turns her attention back to Tyler, watching him play the game of pool.

She becomes on edge when she notices the mayor come in and begin walking towards Tyler though. That was another reason why things had become so toxic between Caroline and Tyler; Mr. Lockwood was always getting into Tyler's head trying to make him into an 'alpha male'.

As soon as the mayor grabs onto Tyler's arm, Caroline is out of her seat. "Mayor. Is everything okay?" She asks sweetly, but her eyes are showing a warning as she slips her arm through Tyler's. Mr. Lockwood looks at Caroline and steps back as his gaze turns to Matt who had also come over.

"Please, Tyler, I need you to go home. Now," the mayor says, staring at his son seriously, "take your friends too."

"Why? What's going on?" Matt asked. Caroline gives him a confused look as well, putting on her acting skills. She knew why. The device would be going off anytime now which would set off the vampires.

"I can't explain," he said, "but all of you need to get home. Now." He looks at his son pleadingly, "please."

Tyler can see the urgency in his eyes and nods his head, "yeah, okay." He agrees, placing the pool stick down and pulling Caroline away from him, making her shift the arm she's holding. Mr. Lockwood grabs Tyler's free hand and places the car keys in his palm.

"Here. The cars around the back," he says, "Matt. Caroline. Go with him."

"Where's my mom?" Caroline refuses to walk until she gets an answer. Tyler tugs on her but she doesn't budge.

"She's working," Mr. Lockwood said, but Caroline doesn't buy it.

Tyler pulls her successfully this time, guiding both her and Matt to the back and to the car.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

ATHENA'S PHONE RINGS a couple of minutes before the mayor is supposed to come onto the stage and she pulls it out of her pocket. Caroline's I.D. flashes up at her and she answers, still following Damon around. He hasn't given her the chance to speak so she hasn't been able to tell him about the device.

"What's wrong, love?" She asked, dodging a couple.

"My mom. Do you see her anywhere? Mr. Lockwood said she's working, but I haven't seen her since I left the house."

Athena can hear the worry in Caroline's voice. "I'll look, okay? I'm sure she's fine. She knows what she's doing, and she has a gun. I haven't seen her yet," she assures.

"O—okay."

"Hey," Athena says softly, "your mom is one amazing woman. She's strong and can handle herself just like you can. You forget, she's been doing this for a long time. She'll be home tonight, okay, baby?"

"Okay... okay, yeah, you're right. Mr. Lockwood just freaked me out. He seemed like he was lying when he said my mom was working. I'm sorry, I'll let you get back to work."

"Hey, no," Athena frowned, shaking her head even though Caroline couldn't see her, "no need to be sorry. You're worried about your mom. That's understandable. Be safe, alright? I'll call you when everything is done. Do you have a ride, or do you want me to call Violet?"

"No, no. Tyler's taking me home. Don't worry. I'll talk to you later."

"Goodbye, Cal."

"Goodbye, Atty."

Athena ended the call and stuffed her phone back into her pocket, looking up at the stage just as Mr. Lockwood stepped up onto it. She looks around as he makes a speech about Mystic Falls being welcoming and accepting—the regular bullshit. She had lost Damon the second she answered her phone and right now, that was the last thing she needed.

She stands up straighter, annoyance set firm on her features as she huffs through her nose. Her eyes follow the Mayor and Mrs. Lockwood who quickly flees the scene. She doesn't bother following after them, at any moment the device will go off and she needs to find—

A sharp ringing sound fills her ears, rattling along her skull and making her eyes become fuzzy. It's worse than chalk on a chalkboard—like a banshee screaming right in her ear. It hurts and makes her clutch her head. Usually, the Gilbert inventions don't harm her, but she's weaker because of the curse. She grimaces, "aah!" She growls in displeasure, her eyes flashing black as her witch side tries to protect her vampire one.

She stumbles into a nearby tree, clenching her jaw so hard that she feels it pop. The vessel in her neck protrudes from her skin as does the one in her forehead. The ringing refuses to let up even as her witch side tries to counter it with multiple spells.

Bennett witches, she thinks bitterly.

A sharp pain in her neck brings her attention to the man beside her, injecting vervain into her system. It barely fazes her, ripping his arm away and twisting it behind his back. He yelps in pain, his face scrunched up in discomfort.

Her vision blackens at the corners of her eyes, the ringing rattling in her skull. She shoves the man to the ground, letting him hold his sore arm. Another sharp pain is found in the back of her neck and another in her leg. On instinct, her arm flings out, knocking the police officer back and into another tree.

From the mixed pain of the ringing and the poison entering her system, Athena stumbles, staggering to the ground. She rolls onto her back, breathing rapidly and digging her palm into her temple. Her eyes are fuzzy as a figure advance on her, injecting another dose of vervain into her system through her shoulder.

Her limbs are useless, her body shutting down slowly. Her vision grows darker and darker until everything is encased in black.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

"WHAT THE HELL is that?" Tyler asked, looking back and forth between the two different sides of the road. A squealing is filling his ears, annoying and frustrating him. He squints his eyes as he feels a headache begin to form.

Caroline, who had been biting her nail in worry since Oliva had gone silent a minute ago, looked over at her friend. "What's the matter?" She asked, setting her phone down and leaning forward slightly. Then she hears it. It's barely there and makes her ears pop, but she hears it. The squealing that Athena described.

"That noise," Tyler replies, as if it's obvious. And it is, but it shouldn't be. As far as Caroline knows, Tyler is a human just like her and Matt. But then again, she's hearing that noise too. Even if it's barely. Tyler flinches a bit as the squealing gets worse.

"Wait, what noise?" Matt asked as Caroline shouts,

"Pull over!"

Tyler gives Caroline a panicked look before his hand flies up to cover his ear, his face scrunching in pain. He cries out, the squealing causing a throbbing in his head that hurts worse than any migraine he's ever had. It's at least 10 times that.

"Oh!" Tyler says as he tries to pay attention to the road, "aah!" He clenches his jaw, throwing his head back against the seat, attempting to stop the horrible ringing.

"Tyler. Tyler!" Caroline says worriedly, grabbing her phone and sending a text to Olivia quicker than she ever has in her life.

Livvy💙

Tyler's gonna crash the car

Tyler slams back against the seat, crying out as Caroline drops her phone and tries to reach for the wheel as Matt tries to get his buddy's attention. "Aah! Aah!" Tyler lets go of the wheel to clutch at his head, screaming in pain. The car goes out of control, sending Caroline back into the car door and away from the steering wheel.

"Caroline, the wheel!" Matt yells and Caroline tries to grab it in time, but she's too late.

"Fuck!" She shouts, covering Tyler and her own head while pushing Matt down onto the back seat as they crash into a heavy metal fence.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

ATHENA'S EYES SNAP open. Her clothes are oddly wet, and her nose smells the unforgiving scent of gasoline. She sits up quickly, her eyes following the figure of John Gilbert up the stairs. A moment later, fire erupts on the stairs, going down the line of vampires that's connected by gasoline.

She's beside Anna's desiccated body in seconds, yanking her away from the line of gasoline and beside Damon's slowly waking body. He gives her a grim smile which Athena returns. She pulls out the stake embedded in Anna's chest and color instantly returns to the girl. Damon sits up and grabs onto the vampire's arms as she wakes with a gasp.

Athena scrunches her nose at the smell of burning flesh and death. Her eyes quickly find Pearl's unconscious body close to being engulfed in flames and appears by her side just like she did in the church all those years ago. She slips an arm underneath the younger vampire's knees and one around her back and vamps back over to Damon and Anna, setting the woman down on their laps.

"Wake her up," she orders. She stands back up and looks around, trying to find anyone else worth saving. She couldn't care less for the tomb vampires in this place. They all would've had death sentences on their heads anyway for planning such a thing in a public event. Her eyes meet the pained ones of Mayor Lockwood, making her cock an eyebrow. "Mayor?"

He narrows his eyes, "what are you doing here?" He asked loudly, his ears still ringing.

"We're vampires," she states disinterestedly, "what's your excuse?" She asked. She sees when realization dawns on the mayor, his eyes widening with panic as he looks around at the burning basement. He backs away from him, landing on another vampire. She narrows her eyes at him, "what the hell are you?"

The vampire grins at the mayor who looks at him in fear. "Hello, Mayor Lockwood," he says and then snaps the man's neck. Athena grimaces and vamps over, grabbing Tyler's father and shoving the other vampire into the flames. She drops the man and looks around one more time as Pearl begins to wake up.

Her gaze goes to the other side of the basement where the flames are slowly growing worse and worse. A familiar dark blue sweater—her dark blue sweater—catches her eye as a body moves with a pained groan. Athena knows who it is mere milliseconds later when their scent overpowers the smell of smoke.

She's on top of the person in seconds, hissing as the flames lick her skin through her clothes. She wraps her arms around the brunette and crawls backward away from the fire. Athena releases a relieved breath once they're far enough away.

The person in her lap groans once more from the sudden movement, coughing as they inhale smoke. The side of their head is bleeding and Athena can see a deep cut along her hairline.

She reaches around the person, grabbing their chin and making them face her. "Hayley. Little Wolf? Wake up," she says, voice rushed and sounding out of breath. She needs the werewolf to wake up. Athena won't let her die down here, she won't. "Hayley, for fuck's sake, wake up," the redhead demands, shaking her slightly.

The werewolf groans and groggily opens her eyes, wincing from the light the flames produce. Her chest rises and falls with deep, heavy breaths. "W—What's going on?" Hayley asks, her words mumbled from exhaustion.

Athena lets out a heavy breath, smiling in relief as her head thumbs back against the wall behind her. She eases her grip on the werewolf, letting the woman look around.

"What the fuck is happening? Where are we?" Hayley asked in a panic, slipping off of the Heretic's lap and looking around. Damon and Anna are helping Pearl up so they can move away from the flames. Anna kicks a vampire that grabs hold of her leg, making them roll into the flames. They scream, trying to put themselves out.

"The device," Athena replies with a shrug. She grabs Hayley's arm before the werewolf can go far, pulling her back and spinning her around so that the brunette's looking at her. Athena stares into her hazel eyes that are filled with confusion. "You and Caroline are two of the people I'd kill for," she says which causes Hayley to smile, her eyes soft.

"I care for you too, Athena," Hayley murmurs with glossy eyes and closes the distance between them, finally connecting their lips. Athena inhales sharply through her nose, eyes slipping closed as she kisses the werewolf back. Caroline was right, she did look at Hayley the same way she looked at her. Athena grabbed onto the oversized sweater, pulling the werewolf almost on top of her, deepening the kiss.

"You know, this is a great show and all, but we're in a basement that is going UP IN FLAMES!" Damon shouts. Athena pauses, pulling a hair away from Hayley's lips as her eyes open, flicking over to the dark-haired Salvatore who had his hands on his hips. Hayley huffs through her nose, amused, her eyes still closed.

Pearl was holding onto Anna, amused and giving Athena a teasing smirk. The Heretic rolled her eyes and got up, helping Hayley up after. She kept a firm grip on the werewolf as she walked over, moving Damon's arm around her shoulder.

Just then, the fire dimmed a bit and Stefan came rushing down the stairs with wide, worried eyes. "Damon! Athena!" He says with relief, rushing over to Damon's other side.

"Alright, time to go," Athena said, giving Pearl and Anna a nod. The two Zhu's nodding back and then vamping up the stairs and out of the house. She nudges the two brothers and Stefan pulls Damon along upstairs. Athena guides Hayley in front of her, pushing her gently to follow them.

When they break through the backdoor, the three vampires and the werewolf are coughing up the inhaled smoke. Athena kicks the door shut behind them to make sure none of the vampires that could possibly be alive can get out. Elena is quick to rush to Stefan and Damon, helping to steady them as Damon continues to cough.

Hayley holds onto Athena, one arm wrapped around the redhead's neck and her other hand resting on the Heretic's ribcage. Athena keeps an arm firmly wrapped around the brunette's waist while the other reaches out towards the two younger vampires. Anna is quick to hug her and Pearl places a hand on her daughter's back in comfort.

"Pearl! Anna!" Everyone looks over at Leah who jogs towards them with relief. She slows as Pearl rushes over, letting the Hybrid embrace her. Anna gives Leah a smile at the concerned look she throws her. "You okay, Athena? Hayley?" She asked.

"Yeah. We're good," Athena replied, rubbing Anna's arm up and down and squeezing Hayley's hip gently.

"What happened?" Damon coughed out, looking over at Athena with confused eyes, "I thought the device was donezo. What was the ringing?"

Athena stared at him for a moment before her eyes met Bonnie's. She's exhausted from the spell she did to dampen the flames so Stefan could rush down there. Damon follows her gaze, looking at the Bennett witch with embarrassment. He looks drained as he stares at her, like he should've expected nothing less.

Athena looks away from the witch and wraps her other arm around Hayley as Anna goes to her mother and Leah, pulling out her phone to most likely text Mateo to let him know she's fine. The redhead buries her nose in the brunette's hair, letting herself finally relax. Soon, she'd go see Caroline and stop by Tylers—

Athena looks up suddenly, her body tensing.

Mr. Lockwood was in the basement. The ringing only affects supernatural's with enhanced hearing. If the mayor had a freakout—

"Athena, what's wrong?" Hayley asked, confused.

The Heretic's eyes widened, her heart stopping and dropping to her feet. Leah looks over at her, her own eyes filled with panic that sets off alarm bells in Athena's head. The Hybrid's phone is clutched in her hand, almost being crushed.

"'Tyler's gonna crash'," Leah recited the text message that Olivia had said Caroline sent her, her voice void.

Athena all but sprinted, vamping faster than she has in a long time. She skids to a stop a couple of paces away from Tyler's father's car that's crashed into a fence. The red and blue lights of the ambulance blare in her eyes.

On the ground, a couple of feet away from the car, Tyler is lying unconscious surrounded by two paramedics and Matt. She rushes over, falling to her knees beside the boy as the medics check his eyes.

They change color, a yellowish hue to them, the pupil growing larger before shrinking in the light. The paramedics jump back, shrieking in surprise which causes Matt to panic. Athena doesn't, she knows exactly what that is. She grew up around it, she's seen Hayley's eyes do it even though hers are a more golden color.

She's a fucking idiot. She knew George Lockwood and knew of his curse. He triggered his werewolf curse during the Civil War. He was one of the only Lockwood's to trigger their curse, but that didn't mean they didn't carry the gene.

Tyler wakes with a gasp a moment later, looking confused. "What happened?"

Athena sighed, relieved in knowing he was fine and looking up. She met Caroline's eyes, smiling softly. Hayley landed with a small thud near the car, taking a second to breathe before she straightened up and walked over. Caroline gave them both a small smile, happy that the tension seemed to have been handled, before she collapsed.

Athena freezes and everything around her slows. Caroline's eyes roll to the back of her head, body falling sideways and hitting the ground with a small thud. As her body falls, her mind flashes between now and 2000 when Cassidy's body fell the same way Caroline's is. Then time speeds up again.

"Caroline!" Hayley said with fear in her voice, rushing over.

"Hey, she needs help over here!" A woman from the crowd called to the paramedics as Athena slid over to her ex.

"Caroline, hey, baby, I need you to wake up," Hayley said, her fingers wrapping around the blonde's arm gently.

Athena could tell that something happened internally. She could smell it. She whistled to catch the medics attention before looking back at Caroline, brushing her hair away from her face. "We're gonna get you help, Princess," she murmurs, shifting out of the way so the human could check on her. Hayley lifts Caroline's arm slowly and carefully allowing Athena to check the blonde's abdomen. "Shit, fuck, fuck," the redhead said as she looks towards the medic, "you gotta take her to the hospital. Now!" She shouts.

Hayley continues talking to Caroline, telling her to wake up and that they're gonna get her help and that everything's gonna be okay. Athena doesn't say anything, she brushes Caroline's hair away from her face and checks her pulse. Both of their eyes are watering and there is a quiver in Hayley's voice that makes this far too real.

When the medics put Caroline on a stretcher and load her into the ambulance, Athena puts Hayley inside with them despite the werewolf's protests that the redhead should be in there and not her. Tyler and Matt hitch a ride as well considering they still need to check them out just in case.

Athena gets to the hospital before the ambulance, but only Matt questions it.

┍ ∞ ○ ∘ ɹǝʌǝɹoɟ puɐ sʎɐʍlɐ ∘ ○ ∞ ┙

ATHENA WATCHES HAYLEY with a close eye as the blood from her head gets cleaned. The wound had healed a while ago and Athena had compelled a nurse just to get rid of the blood. They've been at the hospital for who knows how long with Caroline in the ER getting checked on. Liz got here a little earlier and instantly went to go check on her daughter.

Athena hasn't said a word other than the compulsion. Matt is sitting next to Tyler, both quiet as well and anxious. Tyler looks like he wants to punch something, and Athena has a pretty good thought that he's blaming himself for what happened. Hayley has been staring blankly at the wall as soon as she sat down, looking every bit not present.

When Liz comes out of the emergency room, the two boys are quick to stand up. Athena doesn't glance at the blonde woman, her eyes focused on the door sliding shut. "What's happening?" She asked the sheriff.

Liz swallows down the emotion in her throat before she speaks, her voice shaking slightly, "uh, there was some internal bleeding. They're taking her into surgery."

"What else did they say? Is she gonna be, okay?" Matt asked.

"They're gonna do everything they can," Liz replied.

Athena almost chokes on the sob that tries to break through her throat. Her eyes are misty, and her legs feel weak.

The ring works differently on humans. It makes them more invincible, not immune to death like it does for the supernatural. There isn't enough magic in human blood to make it work the same and Athena doesn't know if the magic that flows through Caroline's veins is enough.

And she refuses to use her blood, Caroline and she haven't talked about her becoming a vampire, but the blonde has never said she wanted to. She said that it was a fascinating concept to learn and to study, but she didn't say she wanted this. If Athena fed the girl, she loves her blood and then she dies—Athena thinks Caroline hating her for all of eternity would be torture.

But living without the blonde would be 1000 times worse.

She doesn't know what to do. She can't think properly. All she can see is Caroline taking Cassidy's place. Hayley taking Caroline's. Her mother and Alix's death is suddenly replaced by the two women. Her son's bloodied body is replaced with Caroline and Hayley's.

Hayley on the other hand had put her head between her knees and started sobbing. Heart-wrenching sobs cutting through the hospital. She just wants one normal day with the two women she likes, that's all. She wants to figure out what the fuck their relationship is and she wants to kiss them both. And now she may never get that.

The doors behind them suddenly open and Athena turns, moving out of the way with a slight stumble, her arms crossed.

There's a woman in the bed, maybe around her early thirties. She has a piece of glass lodged deeply into her stomach, blood coating her clothes around the wound. There is also a head wound that's coating her hair. Her face is cut up and scratched and she's unconscious.

"Crystal?" Athena breathes in horror, her eyes widening as a nauseating feeling takes over her.

THE END OF ACT I

AN: we're finally finished with season 1. i'm gonna try to be more consistent with season 2. this last year was ROUGH, and I briefly lost my want to write, but i'm back. i hope you guys enjoyed this season finale chapter and are liking the book so far. i have a lot planned for this series and i hope you guys will stay for it!! thank you for reading and leave your comments for me!

Finished: October 11th, 2022
Edited:
Word Count: 10372