CHAPTER SIX
vicki's in trouble!

Iylah sat down outside the Grill at one end of the table, glancing between Stefan and Elena who sat on either side of her. "You said you would explain everything. That's why I asked you to meet me."

As Elena started the conversation, Iylah mentally sighed in relief when the silence had finally came to a stop. The truth was, she had been invited by Stefan in the spirit of honesty, since apparently a couple secrets had been revealed the night before while she was at home with Bonnie.

The fifteen year old thought it would be better for him and herself if she tagged along, to tell Elena about her supernatural abilities too. Maybe then, the girl could have someone else to talk to about her powers, apart from Stefan and her Grams.

Until she would tell Bonnie of course.

With the look on her face remaining straight, the brunette continued. "When you google 'vampire', you get a world of fiction. What's reality?"

"I can tell you whatever you want to know."

His words also applied to Iylah — with that being another reason why she wanted to come. Yes, she knew about vampires, but only from what Natalia Hale, her mother, had told her.

"I know you eat garlic." Elena commented. Stefan nodded his head, letting out a 'yes' before the girl carried on talking. "And somehow, sunlight's not an issue?"

Iylah looked up from her phone when she heard a new voice, to see a waitress had approached their table with a tray of their drinks in their hand. She honestly felt like her inner child was screaming at her, sitting at the dinner table while watching her parents argue. She felt so awkward that she was starting to regret going in the first place.

They thanked the waitress for their drinks, and as soon as she walked off, Stefan looked back at the girls, raising his hand slightly that held a ring on his middle finger and stated. "We have rings that protect us."

"Crucifixes?"

"Decorative."

Iylah leaned forward slightly, opening her mouth to join in on the questioning. "What about holy water?"

"Drinkable." He answered her, before Elena then carried on.

"Mirrors?"

"Myth."

"You said you don't kill to survive." The brunette girl recalled what Stefan said previously.

"Animal blood keeps me alive." The Salvatore boy explained to the both of them. "I'm not as strong as Damon, he can be very powerful."

Elena narrowed her eyes slightly. "And yet you let him get involved with Caroline?" She rhetorically asked, as Stefan leaned back in his seat. "Forcing Damon not to do something is much more dangerous, believe me."

"He was hurting her." Elena was quick to remind him.

"He was feeding on her." Stefan corrected Elena, making Iylah pull a face at his words. What was the difference? She thought. "He was able to take away her memories of being bitten using a form of mind compulsion. She never knew what was happening to her. If he wanted to kill her, he would have."

"Is that supposed to make it okay?" Elena scoffed in annoyance.

"No. No, none of this is okay. I know that." Stefan argued, looking at the two girls who was wearing similar expressions on their faces.

Silence filled the table for a moment before Elena spoke up again. "Are there any others, aside from you and Damon?" She wondered.

"Not in Mystic Falls, not anymore." He replied.

The last two words of his answer grabbed Elena's attention, when she looked at him with her brows furrowed. "Not anymore?" She echoed.

Stefan nodded. "There was a time when this town was very much aware of vampires... and it didn't end well for anybody. That's why it's important you don't tell anyone."

"I can't promise that." She said, shaking her head at him.

"Elena, give me today." Stefan told the girl. "I will answer any questions that you have— just like I did with Iylah, and when it's over, you can decide for yourself what you wanna do with what you know. It'll be your choice."

Elena slowly nodded her head at him, confirming her answer before she turned to Iylah. "And just so I'm clear on this... you're a—"

"Witch." Iylah confessed, nodding her head at the girl. "Just like Bonnie. But, some of my abilities are different to hers."

"Does she know?" Elena wondered, making Iylah shake her head and let out a breath. "No. Just my Grams so far. We thought it would be best to not tell her until she has accepted her own abilities first. Otherwise, it would've been too much being thrown at her at once."

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"I'm coming!" Jeremy yelled, as he came running down the stairs to open the door to whoever was ringing the doorbell repeatedly. He had left Iylah upstairs, who came over to the house a few hours ago, after leaving Elena and Stefan that morning, to hang out. "Hey." Upon opening the door, Vicki stood there, currently wearing sunglasses on her face as she quickly stepped through the door.

"The sun is killing me. My eyes are on fire." Vicki groaned. Jeremy shut the door before turning to the Donovan girl with a look of concern. "Where have you been?"

Vicki panted. "It's good. Everything's good." She waved him off, quickly pulling him into a heated kiss. It lasted about a few seconds before Jeremy pulled away, when he realised Iylah was upstairs.

"Well, did something happen?" He questioned, as he stepped back slightly.

"I'm hungry." Vicki said, turning to walk towards the kitchen. "What do you got to eat?"

Jeremy followed Vicki into the room, watching as she started raiding his refrigerator, taking things out and putting them on the table. "You're high? Vicki, it's the middle of the day." He sighed.

"Could you not talk so loud?" The girl snapped at him. "My head, it hurts. I need quiet." She turned around, continuing to empty out the fridge until she found something to eat.

"So, who was so desperate to—" A voice spoke as the person entered the kitchen, having heard the noises from upstairs. Jeremy sighed, and turned around to look at Iylah who stopped in her tracks once she saw Vicki walking away from the fridge when she finally found something to eat. "Oh. Hi Vicki." She greeted awkwardly.

"Hey Iylah." Vicki mumbled a reply, before biting into the pizza.

Jeremy and Iylah shared a look before the Gilbert pulled her aside. "Sooo, what's going on?" Iylah wondered, referring to what Vicki was doing.

"I don't know." Jeremy sighed. "She came in here and kept telling me how her eyes were on fire and her head hurts— hence the sunglasses." He tried to explain. "And now she's hungry. She could just be high, but I'm gonna call Matt anyway."

"Uhmm okay." Iylah nodded, letting him through so he could quickly grab his phone to call Vicki's brother. Iylah stayed in the room, looking back at Vicki and sighed, thinking back to what Jeremy said. Was she really high, or was there something else going on?

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

After Jeremy called Matt, the Donovan boy didn't take long to arrive at the house, quickly knocking on the door before Jeremy let him in. "Where is she?" Matt asked once he walked in.

Jeremy shut the door behind him, before turning in the direction towards the kitchen. "Come this way." He instructed Matt to follow him, and they entered the kitchen to see Iylah crouched beside Vicki, pushing an open bottle of water to her lips for Vicki to drink — much to her dismay.

"Hey Iylah." Matt greeted softly. He sent the Hale girl a small smile of gratitude for the kind gesture towards his sister, before looking back at the boy next to him. "What's she on?"

"I... I don't know." Jeremy sighed, stepping away to let Matt approach his sister as Iylah mimicked his actions, closing the lid to the water bottle and placed it on the counter before walking over to where Jeremy was standing.

Matt crouched down in front of Vicki, pulling the sunglasses off her face as she groaned. "Hey, Vic. How you doin'?" He asked.

"Not good, Matty. It hurt." Vicki whimpered.

"Okay, where's it hurt?" Matt wondered. Vicki let out a cry, putting her fingers in her mouth as she touched her teeth. "My gums. My jaw hurts. My gum— there's something in my gums, and it hurts." She sobbed.

Matt went to place his hand on her shoulder, and use words of reassurance when Vicki quickly cut him off as she flinched away. "No, just leave me alone." She pleaded.

"Come on, Vic. Don't be like that." He said. "Let's get you home."

"Just turn it off." Vicki snapped.

"Turn what off?" Jeremy interjected. He was now standing alone after Iylah walked away from him and towards the next room, where she was stood watching the news.

"The talking, the chatter." Vicki quickly replied as she got up to her feet. "Just turn it off." She cried, brushing past the two boys, only to stop when her eyes met the television.

Logan Fell was currently stood at the crime scene with a microphone in his hand, reporting. "Three bodies were found dead in what is believed to be a drug deal gone awry. The bodies have yet to be identified." Tears spilled in Vicki's eyes, listening as he carried on. "They were discovered earlier today over at the old Mystic Falls cemetery."

"That's where we were last night." A now shocked Jeremy pointed out, and Iylah looked away from what was in front of her, turning to Jeremy as the saddened expression on her face dropped, raising her eyebrows in question. "Say what now?"

"What happened, Vic?" Matt turned to look at his sister whose eyes haven't left the screen, listening to Logan Fell continue. "...homicide, and are fast under way looking for suspects. They're asking anyone with information—"

"I'm calling the cops." Matt called.

"No, don't." Vicki protested, and grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. Jeremy approached her slowly, looking at Vicki worried. "What happened after I left last night, Vic?" He wanted to know.

But instead of responding with words, she shoved him, causing the boy to stumble back into Iylah's arms when the girl managed to react quickly and caught him. "Jer, you okay?" The witch asked, as Matt stepped forward, looking between his sister and Jeremy in shock.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Jeremy snapped, as he pulled away from Iylah.

Matt turned to face his sister and sighed. "Damn, Vic."

Two more people presented themselves as Stefan and Elena walked in. The latter looked around at the scene in front of her, with her brows pinched together in confusion. "What's going on?"

"She's really messed up." Matt explained through a sigh. Stefan glanced over at Iylah who gave him a look that confirmed what he already knew. The Salvatore boy gently pushed Elena behind him so he could stand in front of Vicki. "Elena, back up. Vicki, look at me." He muttered, placing his hand on her cheek to get her attention, before he began compelling her — as a quick way for her to calm down. "Focus. You're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine." He turned to look at the boys and advised. "Guys, take her up to bed. Shut the blinds. She's gonna be okay. Come on. Come on."

He started to guide them out of the room, leaving Elena and Iylah in the kitchen as they waited for Stefan to walk back in. "You know what's wrong with her?" Elena asked, seeing Stefan return.

"Yeah." Stefan nodded.

"What is it?"

"She's transitioning." Stefan shared as he glanced between the girls. Iylah huffed out a breath, while Elena still looked confused. "Transitioning into what?"

"A vampire." Stefan replied. Iylah shook her head at his words and sighed, muttering an 'I knew it' under her breath.

"What?" Elena let out, feeling shocked at what he just said and Stefan nodded. "Damon must have gotten to her." He figured. "She's new. She hasn't completed her transition yet."

"H-How does she do that?"

Stefan hesitated for a moment there, debating on whether or not he should tell her, when he finally spoke. "She has to feed on human blood."

Iylah pulled a face at that, raising a brow slightly as she asked him. "And what if she doesn't?" But, she had the slightest idea of what he was going to say next.

"She'll die." Stefan admitted. "She may only have a few hours."

Elena paced in the kitchen, before raising a finger in the air to gesture to upstairs when she pointed out. "She's upstairs with him right now." The girl expressed her worry for her brother, since he was currently alone with a vampire who needs to feed on human blood in order to become one. I mean, who knows what could happen?

"I can go check on them if you want..." Her words trailed off as Iylah looked between the pair with a wince. "but, I don't really feel like going up there to be his bodyguard. I mean, come on, that would just look awkward as shit."

"Anyway—" Stefan interrupted her rambling and gave her a look before she went any further. "It's okay. She doesn't know what's happening to her yet."

Elena turned around to face him. "So when is she gonna know?" She wondered.

"Right now, she doesn't remember anything." He began explaining to the girls. "A part of her is still human. But slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition, the memories will start to come back... and then she'll know she has to make the choice."

Elena pulled her hands away from her head when she heard him, making her stand back up straight and turn around to face him. She tilted her head in anger. "The same choice you made?"

Iylah's eyes widened. She stepped back slightly at that, when she realised she was stuck in another situation like that morning at the Grill. "I should get a drink... I'm feeling parched." She awkwardly pointed out, as she slowly headed towards the refrigerator to get a drink.

A few minutes have passed by, and Iylah stood in the corner of the kitchen, having drunk a quarter of what was in her bottle of water before hearing the sound of footsteps plodding down the stairs, followed by Matt's call. "Vic." He saw the girl run out of the door in a rush before he ran out after her. "Vic!"

Iylah put her drink on the counter before running out of the house, with Stefan and the Gilbert's in toe. "She was fine, and then she just— she just freaked out."

Matt turned to the others. "I'm gonna go look for her. Call me if you hear anything." He said before rushing off.

"I can track her." Stefan muttered to Elena.

"Go." She let him make a quick exit, leaving Iylah alone with the siblings.

"And I'm gonna go and kill Damon." The blonde-haired girl whispered. As she went to leave, Elena quickly pulled her back by her hood. "Absolutely not. You are staying here where I can see you."

"Aww man." Iylah pouted.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Jeremy leant against the counter, watching as his sister and Iylah cleared up the table from dinner, before letting out a sigh. "Maybe we should check in with Matt." He suggested.

Elena passed him the dishes she had in her hand, waving him off when she said. "He'll call when he finds her." She argued as she walked back over to the table where Iylah passed her another plate.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?"

"We wait. We're supposed to wait." Elena replied, handing him the dinner plate that Iylah just gave her. Jeremy stopped there, looking worried as he mentioned to Elena. "I don't know what's wrong with her."

Elena sighed. "She'll be fine." She let out words of reassurance, turning away from him. "It'll all be fine." She muttered, making Jeremy pull a face at her, not looking convinced at what she said.

The doorbell suddenly rang, causing them to turn their heads before Elena was first out the kitchen with Iylah and Jeremy following, to see who was at the door. As soon as Elena saw who it was, she quickly tried to shut the door on him, but he had pushed it back before she could.

"Ugh, it's you." Iylah grumbled. She stood behind Elena, rolling her eyes at seeing Damon standing there, when Elena, who kept her cold eyes on the vampire, called out to her. "Iylah, take Jeremy upstairs."

"Come on." Iylah huffed, guiding Jeremy upstairs where he wouldn't be able to hear what they were talking about.

"You're afraid of me." Damon noticed, just by her body language. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess. Stefan finally fessed up."

"Stay away from me."

"Hey, hey, hey, there's no need to be rude." The raven-haired boy shook his head, thinking he was reassuring her. "I'm just looking for Stefan. May I come in?" He asked, but never gave her a chance to respond as he pulled a face of realisation. "Oh, wait. Of course I can. I've been invited." He made his way into the house, shutting the door behind him as Elena backed away from him. "We can cut to the chase if you want. I'm not gonna kill you or the little witch upstairs, right now. That wouldn't serve my greater agenda. So... where's Stefan?"

"He's out looking for Vicki." She told Damon, and he rolled his eyes at her facial expression. "Don't look at me with those judgey little eyes." He took a step towards her, making her back up a little bit more. "Girl's gonna thank me for what I did to her."

Elena stopped and looked up at the vampire with a scowl. "Did you thank Katherine?" At the sound of her name, Damon hummed, now knowing that Stefan had told her more than what he expected him too. "Got the whole life story, huh?"

"I got enough."

"Oh, I doubt that." Damon said, standing with his back now facing Elena. His ears perked up at the sound of footsteps coming from upstairs, causing a smirk to appear on his face before he started to make his way towards the door. "Tell my brother I'm looking for him." He walked out the door, but just when they thought he was gone, the vampire popped his head round the door, looking at Elena again. "Oh, tip for later, be careful who you invite in the house." He looked up to see Iylah walking down the stairs, and gave the girls a smile before finally closing the door.

Iylah stopped next to Elena and crossed her arms over her chest with a grumble. "Wish we got that message before he came here for dinner." She let out a huff, looking over at Elena. "Jeremy's in his room. But, I gotta get home, so I will see you guys tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Iylah. Thank you." The Gilbert girl nodded her head as Iylah approached the door to head out. Just as she stepped outside, Elena opened her mouth and called out after her before she could shut the door. "Stay safe!"

"I will, El!"