CHARLIE GOT A CALL FROM HER MOTHER, TELLING HER TO come to the house right away. She furrowed her eyebrows. Usually when she got a call like that from her mother, it meant that the flowers were the wrong color for whatever event that she was planning, but she sounded really serious this time. She was really confused when she saw Tyler and Caroline walking up as well. "What's going on?"

"We don't know," her brother answered, and they all entered the house. Their mother was nowhere in sight, so he called, "Mom?"

"In here!" she yelled, and judging by how far away she sounded, she was in the parlor.

They ran in to see both Mayor Lockwood and Sheriff Forbes standing there with solemn expressions as they watched all of their children approach them. The blonde girl breathed out, "Mom."

"What's going on?" Charlie asked, not liking the looks on their faces. She had not seen her mother look that sad since the death of Richard, her father.

Carol glanced at the Sheriff before taking a deep breath and announcing to the teenagers, "Alaric outed us to the council. He told them everything. The whole council knows what you are."

"He's got them looking for Klaus, and then they're gonna come looking for you guys," the blonde woman continued, her gaze shifting to each one of them, lingering longer on her daughter. "You can't be here when they do. You both need to get out of town."

"I pulled together some cash and Liz will get you some new identification and we'll get school records," the Lockwood woman explained, and all of them were staring at the adults in shock, not totally comprehending their words.

Tyler held his hands up to stop his mom and pump the brakes on the conversation a little bit since they were not totally sure what the hell they were talking about. "Woah, wait a minute, you want us to run?"

Sheriff Forbes sighed, a sad expression on her face since she knew that there was nothing that she could do to protect her kid and her boyfriend and best friend — two people that meant everything to her. "We can't protect you anymore."

"Well, we can't just pack up and leave!" Caroline exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

Charlie nodded in agreement. Everything that she had ever known was in Mystic Falls — all of her friends and family and memories. What was she going to do? "Yeah, we have a life here."

"If you stay, you're going to end up dead," Lix informed them, shaking her head to let them know that there was nothing else that they could do. "You don't have a choice."

The three teenagers went into the study to process everything that was happening. Caroline paced around the room while Tyler tried to calm her down. "We can't just leave town."

"Yes, we can," he insisted, and Charlie put her face in her hands, still trying to think about the fact that she had to leave the only place that she had ever lived. At least she had her brother and her best friend, though.

Caroline groaned, "But our friends need us."

"And our mothers need us to stay alive," he pointed out before getting up and walking over to her. "Look, Stefan and Damon are gonna do whatever it takes to protect themselves, but this is our lives. So let me protect you."

"I'll go anywhere with you. I mean, if we have to spend the rest of our lives running, I will run with you. But, first, I have to help our friends," the Forbes girl told him.

The brunette girl scrunched her face up. "That was really sappy and gross."

"Charlie and I will get our stuff together and meet you at the cellar in two hours," the Lockwood boy informed her, and his sister shot him a look saying that she did not agree to that. They kissed, and Charlie mimicked vomiting. "We've got to travel light, so what do you need?"

"Just you. Maybe a curling iron," the blonde joked before pulling him in to kiss again. This one was more passionate, and his sister was scared that it was going to turn into a makeout.

She groaned and rolled her eyes. "This is gonna be one giant date with me as a third wheel. Fun."

"Oh, I have to tell Bonnie!" Caroline yelled, her eyes widening as she pulled away. Not only did she have to tell Bonnie, but they had to tell everyone. She would fill them in when she got to Elena's, though.

"I'll call Bonnie, okay?" the boy told her. "Two hours, don't you dare be late."

☾❄☽

CHARLIE HAD FINALLY GOTTEN EVERYTHING THAT SHE NEEDED packed in a single duffel bag. It had been really hard deciding what to pack, but she just had to assure herself that she would be back one day. Everything would be waiting for her when she returned. She stood outside on the porch, ready to head to the cellar with her phone in her hand. She was contemplating calling Jeremy to say goodbye, wondering whether it would make leaving easier or so much harder. Finally, she made a decision. The phone rang twice before he picked up. "Hey, Gilbert."

"Hey, what's up?" he answered, and as soon as she heard his voice, she knew she made the wrong choice. Tears were already forming in her eyes. When she did not answer and just continued breathing, he asked, "Charlie, what's wrong?"

"Alaric outed us to the Council. Me, Tyler, and Caroline," she informed him, exhaling deeply.

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone, and she was a little scared that he had died or had a panic attack or something. "Oh, my God."

"Yeah, and it seems like our only option right now is to run," she continued, pulling her top lip between her teeth as she waited for his response. Part of her wanted him to act like it was no big deal and that he did not care so that she could leave without worrying about him. The other part knew that that would crush her.

"What?" he exclaimed, and she heard him stand up from wherever he was sitting or laying down. "When are you leaving?"

"Soon."

He furrowed his eyebrows because that was not a very clear answer in the grand scheme of things. "Like in a month soon or in an hour soon?"

"Like now," she replied, and it hurt her physically to say it as she ran her hand along the strap of her bag, knowing that Tyler and Caroline were most likely already at the cellar. She needed to get moving soon or they might leave without her.

"Where are you?" he asked, and she heard keys jangling, causing her to wince. "I'm coming."

She shook her head even though she knew that he could not see her. If he came — if she saw his face — there was no way that she would be able to leave. "No, Jeremy. Stay there. You've got enough on your plate."

"I don't care. It's you," he reminded her, like it was obvious that he would choose her over anything else, like it was obvious that he wanted her more than anything else.

She breathed out, "I just wanted to say goodbye before I left."

"No, this is not goodbye," he emphasized, knowing that that lousy phone call could not be the last time that they talked to each other. "I can come with you."

"No, Jeremy. Elena needs you," she told him. Elena had collapsed that morning, and she had had to go to the hospital. Meredith gave her some vampire blood, so she was good to go. However, Damon and Stefan were dealing with Klaus' body and everything. There was just too much going on.

He scoffed, and she heard a door slam. She prayed to everything that he was not on his way to her house. It did not matter, though. She would be long gone by the time he got there. "Yeah, but I need you."

"Bye, Gilbert," she muttered as tears started rolling down her face. "I'll call you."

"No, don't you dare hang up—" But she did. She clicked the button on her phone, cutting him off as she finally let herself sob into her hands. She quickly wiped her face off and pulled herself together. There was time for breaking down later.

She was walking through the woods and toward the cellar when she heard something moving in the distance. She furrowed her eyebrows and prepared for a fight as she racked her brain for what it could be. She jumped as she saw a figure sprinting toward her in the darkness, and breathed out a sigh of relief before freaking out when she realized who it was. "Jeremy? What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"Thank God, you're still alive. How do you feel? Where's Tyler?" he asked frantically, and she was so confused. His hands grabbed the back of her neck as he felt around her as if he did not believe that she was real.

"I feel fine, and he's at the cellar," she answered with a confused expression. "What the hell happened?"

He took a couple deep breaths, a little tired from all of the running. He looked at her in sadness and pity as he informed her, "Klaus is dead. He died."

"What?" she exclaimed, her eyes widening as a million thoughts rushed into her head at once. At first, she was happy that they had defeated him, but that was until she realized what it meant.

He continued, "Which means..."

"I'm gonna die, and so is Tyler," she muttered, finishing the sentence that he was too scared to complete. Both of them were praying that it was not true. Her brother was going to die. They were going to leave their mother with nothing.

"No, no, no," he told her. "We're gonna figure something out."

She shook her head, trying to fight the tears that were coming back. Her hands were squeezing his biceps hard, and she was surprised that she had not broken any of his bones yet. "It's too late, Jer."

"You're not dying. I'm not going to let you. We'll figure it out, just like we always do. If I can come back from the dead, you sure as hell can," he rambled on, positive that even if she did die, they were going to bring her back.

She looked at him with pity in her eyes. "Jeremy..."

"Bonnie can do something—" he started, but he was cut off quickly when she pulled his face toward hers and crashed their lips together. It felt so amazing to finally get to do it, and when he realized what was happening, he pulled her to his chest and kissed her back. Hard. It was tragic and beautiful, and the kiss mixed with both of their salty tears. She pulled away all of a sudden when an immense pain shot up her back. She fell to the ground, but he was quick to catch her. "Charlie!"

"You have to go, Gilbert," she ordered, realizing what was happening because it felt a lot like when she transformed into a werewolf.

He shook his head, refusing to move as she moaned in pain. "I'm not leaving you."

"You're not watching me die," she demanded. She was not going to let that be the last thing he saw of her. She assured him "I won't be alone. I'll have Tyler. Please, Jeremy. Please go." He yelled out in ager but obeyed her orders. Before he walked away though, he pulled her in for one more kiss.

Once he left, she stumbled toward the cellar just as Caroline was running out. Judging by the look on her face, she knew what was happening and had just said goodbye to Tyler. "Charlie!"

"Caroline, go!" the brunette yelled. If she turned into a wolf, there was no Klaus blood to save the girl. She needed to leave.

"No, no, no, no," the blonde bawled as she rushed over to her and wrapped her arms around her best friend. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Care, but you have to leave," she shouted, and Caroline sobbed once again before running away.

She finally made it down to the cellar, and she saw Tyler grunting down there. She locked the door as he looked up at her with a sad smile. "Going down together, huh?"

"Well, I couldn't let you just leave me here to deal with mom," she joked, and a mix between a laugh and a whimper. She had prayed that he had told Caroline to tell their mother that they had left town. She could not bare the thought of leaving her all alone.

He grabbed her hand, letting her know that he was there with her and that neither of them were going alone. "I love you."

"I love you too, big brother." And then everything went black.

A couple of hours later, Charlie was shocked when her eyes opened. She rubbed them, wondering where the hell she was and how the hell she got there. It took her a moment as everything came flooding back. The kiss with Jeremy, the hug from Caroline, and, most vividly, her death. She had died, and yet, she was sitting there in the cellar, all alone.

"What the hell?"