(act two, chapter sixteen: know thy enemy)

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Jenna sat in the kitchen, casually eating out of the last jar yogurt when Elena and her daughter joined her.

"Are John and Jeremy asleep?" Jenna asked, looking up.

"I think so." Elena replied, settling in beside her.

"I hope so." Buffy also said, picking up a clean spoon and stealing some of her mother's yogurt.

"If I go to bed right now, there's a chance I'll wake up hangover-free," Jenna said, hopeful, glancing at her ice cream as if debating her next move.

Before Elena or Buffy could respond, the doorbell rang, echoing through the quiet house.

Jenna frowned, setting her spoon down. "Who's that?" She muttered, standing up.

"I hope that didn't wake up John." Buffy muttered, completely stealing her mother's yogurt now.

"Let's hope so," Elena muttered, though a flicker of confusion crossed her face. She hesitated for a moment before turning to follow her aunt, curiosity pulling her along. Buffy, intrigued by the sudden shift, abandoned the yogurt and trailed after them, wanting to see what was going on.

Jenna opened the door, and standing there was a woman Elena immediately recognized.

"Hi." the woman said, her voice calm but deliberate. "You must be Jenna."

Jenna blinked in confusion, trying to place her.

The woman's eyes shifted past Jenna, locking onto Elena, who had frozen in her tracks together with Buffy.

"I'm Elena's mother." The woman continued, her voice softening slightly as her gaze stayed on Elena.

"Isobel." Elena spoke, feeling her heart race with anger with the woman in front of them.

Jenna turned her head, eyes wide in shock as she processed what she was hearing.

Isobel stood at the door, her eyes fixed on Elena. Jenna, still stunned, couldn't find the words to react.

"Hello, Elena. It's nice to see you again," Isobel said calmly.

Jenna looked between the two, her confusion growing. "Again?" She asked, her voice shaky. Elena stood frozen, unsure of how to respond.

Isobel's gaze shifted to Jenna. "So, you're the woman who's dating my husband. I need to speak to Elena. May I come in?"

"N-n-no. Don't... don't invite her in," Elena stammered, panicking.

"I need to talk to you, Elena," Isobel insisted, her tone firm.

"She said no. You deaf?" Buffy asked as she slammed the door in Isobel's face before both her and Elena turned to Jenna, who had tears welling up in her eyes.

"You knew she was still alive?" Jenna's voice cracked as she looked at Elena. "Buf?" Neither the girls answered. "Ric? John? Did they know?"

"I can explain everything, Jenna," Elena said, stepping closer.

Jenna shook her head, stepping back. "No."

"Jenna, please," Elena pleaded, but Jenna turned and ran upstairs. Elena and Buffy immediately chased after her.

"Jenna, wait! Please wait!" Elena called out, her voice breaking. Jenna rushed into her bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

"Mom!" Buffy asked through the door, also tears running over her face. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was her mother crying. It shattered her heart into pieces every single time.

Elena stopped outside, pressing her hands against the closed door. "Jenna, you have to talk to us. We need to explain what's going on. Jenna, please." Elena begged her aunt, but Jenna didn't open the door. She was inside her room, on the floor, tears streaming down her face, too overwhelmed to respond to her daughter or niece's words.

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Elena opened the door to Alaric.

"Hey, is she up yet?" He asked, concern in his voice.

"She won't come out of her room." Elena replied, frustration and worry clear on her face. "Buffy has been sitting by her door the entire night, but Jenna still hasn't opened up."

"What'd you tell her?" Alaric inquired.

"Nothing. She won't talk to us." Elena admitted, shaking her head slightly.

"We're gonna have to fix this, Elena." Alaric said, a sense of urgency creeping into his voice.

"Mom, please just open up." Buffy pleaded, her voice trembling as she sat outside Jenna's bedroom door. The silence from the other side only made her heart ache more.

"Mom, please." Buffy whispered again, resting her hand against the door, hoping for any kind of response.

Just when Buffy stood up with a sigh, wanting to join Alaric and Elena downstairs, she saw the door opening creak open.

Jenna stood by her bed, a suitcase open on the floor as she stuffed clothes inside. The sight caught Buffy off guard, her heart sinking. "Mom, what are you doing?" she asked, stepping closer.

"I need to get away for a bit." Jenna replied, her voice strained as she folded a sweater. "I can't stay here and keep feeling like this."

Jenna paused, looking at her daughter with a mix of guilt and determination. "I just need some space to think."

Buffy couldn't help but let this remind her of when she found out about Alaric being her father. And she couldn't help but blame herself for not telling her mom about Isobel. She knew how she felt when her mom kept such a secret from her and now she had been doing the same to her?

"I understand that. And I'm sorry," Buffy spoke as she sat down on her mom's bed. "We should've told you about Isobel."

Jenna nodded, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. "I'm going to stay on campus. I have a thesis to write, and I can't be in this house."

"When will you come back?" Buffy asked, her heart racing at the thought of her mom leaving. But her stomach tightened as she noticed the uncertainty etched on Jenna's face. "You will come back, right?"

"Of course, I will. You're my daughter, I'm not gonna leave you. And I never will." Jenna spoke, crouching down before her daughter. "But, I just need a few days to process everything."

Buffy watched helplessly as Jenna picked up her suitcase, the finality of the moment settling in like a heavy fog. "Just promise you'll call me and that you'll take care of yourself?" Buffy said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I promise." Jenna replied, tears in her eyes again as she opened the door. "Take care of yourself, okay? I love you."

"I love you too, Mom." Buffy said, her voice breaking as she watched Jenna step out into the hallway. As the door clicked shut behind her, Buffy felt a deep ache in her chest because of the hurt they had caused her mother.

Buffy sat in silence for a few minutes, the weight of the moment pressing down on her. She finally decided to head downstairs when she heard the front door slam shut, echoing through the house like a thunderclap. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, her mood sank even further at the sight of John standing there, a smirk plastered across his face as he relished the chaos unfolding around him.

"Look who finally decided to join the party." He sneered, his voice dripping with mockery. At least that's how it sounded like to Buffy.

Before Buffy could think of a response, the tension in the air shifted dramatically. Alaric's fist connected with John's jaw with a satisfying thud.

Buffy and Elena exchanged wide-eyed looks, their spirits lifting for a brief moment as they watched John stagger back from the force of the punch. The shock on John's face was amazing.

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Elena, Stefan, Damon, and Buffy were all sitting together in the library of the Salvatore Boarding house.

"Do you really think Isobel's telling the truth about the whole doppelgänger thing getting out?" Elena asked, biting her lip nervously.

Stefan shrugged. "Honestly? I don't trust anything she says, but we'd be stupid to ignore her warning."

Damon leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, looking way too chill for the situation. "You should just stay here. Way easier to keep an eye on you two that way."

Stefan shot him a look. "In a house where any vampire can just stroll in? No thanks. Their house is safer."

Damon waved it off. "Well, then we'll just stay there. Problem solved."

Elena frowned, crossing her arms. "So, is that the plan? Neither of you let us out of your sight?"

"Let me know when you come up with a better one." Damon said, his smirk getting even more annoying.

"Fine. Then one of you bodyguards is gonna have to come with us to the Lockwood luncheon." Elena said, raising an eyebrow at them.

Stefan nodded. "That'd be me."

"I don't think I'm going . I'm sorry. I'm helping Caroline find Matt, if that's okay?" Buffy spoke.

"Of course it is." Elena smiled at her.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Not me. I have witch stuff to do with Bonnie."

"Wait, does that mean you're taking her to the—" Elena started, but Damon cut her off.

"Shh!" He put his finger to his lips just as Katherine waltzed into the room, like she owned the place.

"Don't get quiet on my account." Katherine said, smirking. "If you have a plan to fight the impending vampire doom, please do tell."

Katherine leaned in, her tone serious. "Seriously, what's the plan to get us out of this mess? I gave you a moonstone, a werewolf, and the dagger to kill Klaus, and all you have is a moonstone. Or so you tell me."

Damon leaned forward. "No, we have it."

"Where is it?" Katherine pressed, her eyes narrowing.

"It's in a very safe place." Damon replied, all mysterious-like.

"I've been honest with you. Time for you to return the favor," Katherine said, crossing her arms, acting like she was in charge.

"I think that I'm talking for everyone in this room when I say that I don't trust you." Buffy spoke, looking up at Katherine with annoyance.

"Buffy's right. Just because we haven't set you on fire in your sleep doesn't mean we trust you," Damon shot back, his tone sharp.

"You're giving me ideas." Buffy spoke with a smirk and Elena couldn't help but smile at that, feeling a little better.

"Fine. Be that way," Katherine said with a dramatic sigh before she turned and left.

"I'm going too. Caroline's calling me."

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"You know, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen. I was supposed to tell him at the right moment, in the right way, and he was supposed to be okay with it because he loves me." Caroline spoke to Buffy when she put her phone away. The Forbes girl took it out every few seconds to see if she got an call or text from Matt, even though both she and Buffy, who was driving, knowing that Caroline would probably drive them into a tree with her worry for Matt, know she could hear it because of her super hearing.

"I know, Care, but we will find him. I promise." Buffy softly spoke to her as she took another turn.

"What if he never forgives me? What if this changes everything? I just I don't want him to hate me."

"He won't hate you, Caroline. He's scared right now, but that doesn't mean he's done with you. People need time to process things like this. And besides if he hates you for this, he's not worth it." Buffy spoke firmly, but yet comforting.

"I just didn't want it to happen this way. Not with him finding out on his own and running off. I feel like I've lost control of everything."

Buffy placed a reassuring hand on Caroline's arm. "You didn't lose him, Care. He loves you. We'll get him to see that nothing's really changed except what he knows. You're still the same person to him. You are still the same person. Your food taste just changed." 

"But what if I'm not? What if he can't see past what I am now?" Caroline spoke, worriedly.

"He will, Care. He's not going to throw everything away because of this. You just need to give him the time to understand that."

"I really hope you're right."

"I always am. We just have to find him."

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They did not find him. He found them.

When it was getting late Buffy thought it was best for Caroline to go home and get some rest - even though she is a vampire -, but when they got to the Forbes house, Matt was inside. Buffy had left when she saw that the two needed some time, but when she got to the boarding house, the first thing she saw was John lying on the floor. Dead.

"What's happened here?" Buffy asked as she took a step over her uncle's body and walked over to the couch, placing herself down next to her sister.

"Damon."

"Naturally." Buffy spoke.

Elena looked confused and asked, "Why did they let me go?"

"Who?" Buffy asked, sharing the look of confusion that was on her sister's face. Elena let out a small sigh as she started telling Buffy what had happened today with Isobel and by the end of her story, Buffy's arms were wrapped around her. "I'm so sorry, Lena."

Elena gave her a thankful smile as she looked back up at Stefan about her previous question.

Stefan replied. "Well, anything John told Isobel, we have to assume that Klaus knows, right? So he knows you're not gonna turn yourself into a vampire. He knows we're keeping you safe."

Elena frowned. "He knows I'm not gonna run."

Damon walked in and said. "And that's why we need to take some precautions because we got played, all of us." He dropped a stack of papers onto Elena's lap.

Elena looked confused. "What's this?"

Stefan explained, "It's the deed to our house. It's in Zach's name. As soon as you sign it, it'll be in your name."

Elena was shocked. "You're giving me your house?"

Stefan nodded. "Isobel had the right idea with the safe house. You'll just stay here until it's all over. That way, you can control who gets invited and who doesn't."

Damon chimed in with a grin, "But I'll be super pissed if you lock me out. Maybe we should give them to Buffy. I'll be sure she won't lock me out."

"You could be surprised." Buffy looked up at Damon with a playing smirk on her face, but their conversation got put on hold when suddenly, John gasped for air and sat up. Damon rushed over and grabbed him by the collar, pulling his feet from the ground.

John stammered, "I swear I had no idea what she was gonna do. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Elena shook her head and said, "Damon, let him go. He and I need to talk."

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Buffy would love Bruno Mars' new song, just saying.

Words: 2420

Posted: October 23, 2024

Thank you so much for reading again! Be sure to comment. I love reading them and it keeps me motivated! I love you guys!!

Mwah Katherine