CHAPTER SEVEN; LOST GIRLS

❝ the way I see it, fear can either cripple you or change you ❞

˚ ༘ ·˚꒰𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅꒱ ₊

˚ˑ1:35 ━━━●───── 3:47

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

↠ⁿᵉˣᵗ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ↺ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ⊜ ᵖᵃᵘˢᵉ

volυмe : ▁▂▃▄▅▆▇▉

･ ｡ﾟ☆

❝ the salvatore boarding house ❞

"WHAT ARE YOU," the words had come from Maya but she was certain the answer wasn't anything she was ready to hear. The world would have no choice but to change once he said the truth, but Maya needed to know it. More importantly, Maya needed to know what she believed about who Stefan was, was true. Stefan was kind, loyal, and strong. Maybe he wasn't innocent, but Maya didn't need him to be anything but honest. Even if the truth would change her entire world, what was left of it at least.

But couldn't speak, he couldn't shatter what world either of them were clinging to, especially Elena. The older of them had an innocence everyone could see and everyone wanted to protect, and Stefan was no different. He was a lot of things, guilty of so many sins but it wasn't until that moment he realized just how much of a fool he'd been. He tried to get something back that wasn't his anymore, life.

But he was dead and frozen in time while the two girls before him were not. So, though he didn't want to, he began to admit, "You know."

Finally speaking up the older Gilbert said, "No, we don't." Another lie said between the three of them, said for who none of them cared to know. At that point they were all liars trying to shift through the sea of what they had been telling one another.

Stefan started to walk out of the door, only when the tugging of Elena pulled Maya back did she move away from him. "Yes, you do, or you wouldn't be here." he told them looking between the pair.

"It's not possible. It can't be," Elena said being the only one who could find her words.

Stepping carefully towards them he told them gingerly, "Everything you know... And every believe that you have is about to change." For this he paused before he asked, "Are you ready for that?"

Tearing her arm from her sisters hold, the younger twin stopped moving letting Stefan get close. He could hear just how fast her heart was racing and just how hard she was trying to control it as she repeated herself, "What are you?"

He looked at both girls, mainly Maya who had spoken the question. I am dead, they are not, he reminded himself. They can move forward, I cannot, he repeated. Just wanting to free them, Stefan admitted what they needed to hear, "I'm a vampire."

The younger Gilbert felt her sister grab the back of her arm pulling her away from Stefan with one forceful pull. "We shouldn't have come," Elena told him.

"Wait," Maya tried unable to tear her eyes from Stefan's.

Leaving felt just as wrong as staying did and she didn't know which one she wanted. Making her want to stay even more Stefan attempted to reach out for them begging, "No. Please--"

Elena twisted away from his hold, "Don't touch me!"

In her recoil the brunette tried making her way towards the car but was cut off by the blur that was Stefan appearing in front of her. The wind whooshing past Maya told her eyes where to follow him. Stefan tried to reach out but still the older Gilbert twisted from him, "Let me go," she cried going to the car door. "Maya, come on," she insisted but her sister was glued to the ground not only from her fear of the unknown of it all, but was too curious for her own good.

The only thing that rivaled her curiosity was the bitter sting of knowing Stefan had broken a trust that had become so vital to her. The self proclaimed vampire opened his mouth to speak but Maya held up her hand and told him, "I don't want to hear another lie. I can't stomach them." Maya fought every impulse she had to cry, instead she stiffened her lip and raised her head passing him by.

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❝ maya's bedroom ❞

Death wasn't the end. Not always anyways, that was the one thing the night had thought her. Stefan had broken all conventional thinking regarding death, yet answered nothing for her. Her mind plagued itself with endless numbing questions. How old was Stefan really? Had he killed before? Was he the one who attacked her? No. No that felt wrong. No matter the doubts she did have, Maya hadn't doubted Stefan wasn't the one who hurt her. His eyes, every time she starred into hem she knew.

Yet she couldn't stop the questions from coming. It had been hours since they left Stefan's. Hours since Stefan had tired to explain his side, one they hadn't let him explain hardly at all. Hours since she and Elena had even spoken a word about it. They each snuck into their bedrooms and lock themselves away without a word.

Only a silent agreement not to say anything to anyone else. Who would believe them anyway? But the longer she sat there the longer something in her started to boil over. The thought that Stefan did know who attacked her, and protected them with his silence. Memories were more than a blur but as vivid as the room she sat in and he held the key to understanding it all and he refused to hand it to her. So by the time Stefan felt he waited long enough, another version of her was exiting her bathroom.

Hands held up Stefan protested, "Let me explain."

Her breathing started to deepen, "Get out," she managed to get out.

"Maya please. This is dangerous, you and Elena -- you can't tell anyone," he tried to make his case moving forward but his words only made her sick. They didn't sound like him trying to keep her from being pulled into a bigger world, they sounded like him trying to save face.

Shaking her head Maya nearly shouted, "Get out." Had her brother and Jenna not been home and able to hear she would have spoken louder, but they were, and she couldn't have them in the room now. "The only thing I want from you is the truth and I don't think you're capable of giving it to me."

"I thought lying would spare you," admitted the Salvatore boy.

"Well it didn't," replied Maya walking over to her window opening it wider for him to leave from. Turning back to him she finished, "It broke my trust in you. You let someone feed on me and worse of all you won't even tell me who."

The question flew from Stefan's lips, "And if I did tell you?"

"I wouldn't be able to trust it," replied Maya before repeating herself, "Now go. Please, if you were ever my friend...if you truly mean me no harm then go."

The vampire's head hung low as if a beaten dog as he made his way towards the window. Before climbing out through he had to say one more thing, "Tomorrow I will be at the grill, around noon. I will wait there all day if I have to but, if you want to know the truth I will be there. I don't think I'll be able to tell you everything, but I can tell you what you're missing. I can tell you my truth. I don't kill anymore Maya, and I wasn't the one who hurt you. I just failed you." Rather than pressure her with his presence waiting for an answer, Stefan slipped into the night out of her window. It was only once he was gone she had really considered would she meet him to hear his story?

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❝ mystic grill ❞

"I don't know if we should be doing this Maya," Elena said sitting beside her sister in the outdoor portion of the crowded restaurant. She had barely slept all night given those words Stefan had said, admitting what he was. The older twin hardly could stomach the idea of the pair of them waiting for him. Though she wanted to trust him more than anything actually handing it over was another thing entirely. People always said they wanted connection but most were hardly ever able to pay its price.

"Then leave," she told her sister keeping her eyes scanning around. Her bag sat within reach holding inside Maya's stiletto switchblade given to her by her father. She had assumed it was to keep the willful hands of boys away, but last night she began to wonder. All the things her father had made Maya learn were the very reason she wasn't afraid to meet Stefan.

Whatever had been done to her had only succeeded out of the sheer overwhelming force Maya didn't understand. After sitting there with Stefan, after getting the truth he promised she wouldn't be caught off guard again. Ever again. Maya needed the truth more than her sister could grasp, "I'm not leaving till I hear everything. I need to know if the face I see really is Damon's or is that another lie too."

Swallowing hard Elena then insisted, "If you're staying so am I." Truth was, the older twin was grateful her sister had such conviction to stay. Otherwise Elena very likely wouldn't have reached out to Stefan for a few more days, and would've missed how tired the undead man appeared as he approached.

They had gotten their much earlier than him but the second he had the in sight he sat at the spare seat in front of them. "Thank you for meeting me," was all he could bring himself to say.

Suddenly it was maya who was without words, leaving Elena to begin, "You said you would explain everything. That's why we asked you to meet us here. When you google 'vampire,' you get a world of fiction. What's the reality?"

"I can tell you whatever you wanna know," Stefan told her leaning in slightly to keep their voices down.

Never knowing how silly the thought was, Elena returned with narrowed eyes, "I know you eat garlic."

"Yes," he admitted with a nod as Maya methodically watched him. Taking in the details she was too ignorant to note before like his ring and just how old it was yet suited to his finger it was. It was a perfect fit and no one who had the ring passed down could plan on that happened for both he and his brother who dawned a similar ring. He sounded nothing like Tyler, or even Matt boys meant to be around his age. Stefan hardly liked most of the same things as them. And his clothes should've been a bigger clue, they were too expensive. The quality of his shirt wasn't one that would fade and was smooth on top his skin.

Stefan was a boy of means. A boy out of his place in time, but one with money nevertheless. But why hadn't she thought much of it? Why hadn't she seen the mask he wore? The main thing deceiving her was how little he followed the myths she'd known. From the moment they met he hadn't hid from the sun, and no vampire could survive sunlight...could they?

Leaning back against her chair May spoke up, "And somehow, sunlight's not an issue. Which seems a little...far fetched, though I'm talking to a vampire so." Those having been her first words since he'd sat down Stefan stayed quiet a moment. He partly thought she would sit there the whole time quiet and studying him. A look that made even the vampire feel like the human girl could somehow hear his heartbeat.

Nevertheless the thought of the sun hurting him after all this time brought only humor to the Salvatore. He still bit back the urge to chuckle and instead held up his ring, "We have rings that protect us," he told him.

We, Maya thought as the words fell from his lips, so there was another. Along with Stefan came another vampire and Damon had to be him. There had to be a reason those cold blue eyes were all she remembered, and all she saw when she closed her own.

"Crucifixes," Elena asked her question moving Maya's mind along before it had the chance to catch up

With a slight nod he countered, "Decorative."

"Holy water?"

"Drinkable," he elaborated.

Narrowing her eyes expecting more lies Elena added, "Mirrors?"

"Myth," answered Stefan with a shrug.

His words from the night prior echoing in her mind, May leaned forward to remind him of them, "You said you don't...kill to survive anymore. So what do you do then?" Her words were revelations to her sister who had assumed Maya had answered Stefan's call, not that he'd shown up to see her. After all that was what he had done so with her, but perhaps after seeing Maya? Stefan had taken many chances but sneaking up on both sisters in one tense night for them each seemed like tipping of scales out of his favor.

The Salvatore vampire looked down for a moment shame refusing to allowing him to meet their eyes. He hadn't wanted them to know about all of this, never this soon at least. However, Stefan thought it served him right for trying to have a life when he was already dead. "Animal blood keeps me alive, but not as strong as Damon. It can be very powerful," he explained finally, and rather casually, admitting his brother too was like him.

Maya couldn't speak. Her mouth wanted to but her mind didn't know what it wanted to say. All her mind did know was what it wanted to do -- hurt Damon. No. No hurting him wouldn't be enough for Maya. She needed more than him being bloodied, she wanted him bloodied, scared, and crushed. The ring in her ears blurred into Elena's angered questioning, "And yet you let him get involved with Caroline, and my sister?"

"Forcing Damon not to do something is much more dangerous, believe me," said Stefan and though he hated himself for telling them so, it was true. Time and time again when he tried stopping his brother he only ended up making things worse. Speaking directly to Maya he added, "I tried everything to make sure he couldn't hurt you without making his mad enough that he'd just kill you instead."

Silent as ever the younger twin sat there unable to speak while her sister had only anger to voice. There wasn't much in the world that turned Elena into a violent person, actually there was only one thing, and it was Maya. Not her sister and brother both, Jeremy was close, but with Maya? Something different took over for Elena, something primal. Her words splashed on him as if acid, "Well it wasn't enough, Stefan. He nearly killed her, time and time again and you should've stopped him. Before he added Caroline to his list of victims too."

His next words were a rational and ever Stefan knew that, yet he still said, "He was compelling them both -- I compelled Maya -- it's a form of mind compulsion without the memories they didn't know--"

"I knew," Maya interjected finally calling his eyes to her. "I understand you not killing him, he's your brother, but you let him hurt me. You let him hurt Caroline, and erasing our memories is supposed to make it okay?"

He was ruining this, the more he spoke the worse he was making things. Stefan had to pause and think, why hadn't he killed him? Had it been a stranger hurting them he wouldn't have thought twice. Though he supposed that was the problem because as Maya said, Damon was still his brother. Stefan allowed Damon to cause harm because it was easier than killing his big brother. Maya still believed Damon deserved to die but after seeing Stefan's face she doubted if he deserved to be the one that would do it.

When the Salvatore finally spoke again it was to say, "It's not okay. I was too weak to protect you the way you deserved and instead I played with your lives." He couldn't believe after such a short time together Stefan had already managed to cause such harm. Emily was right, he thought begrudgingly before continuing, "I'm sorry and I promise Damon will never hurt you again. I'll make certain of it."

Though neither of the girls outwardly wanted to believe him, they were lying to themselves when they said they didn't. Fear was operating them each too loudly for anything else to break through. "Are there any others, aside from you and Damon," questioned Maya moving them along refusing to engage with the idea of apologies for the moment.

He shook his head replying back, "Not in Mystic falls, not anymore."

HIs answer gave Maya a sinking feeling in her stomach noticing his repeated way of hiding the truth within his words. When he said he hadn't any siblings he spoke to, Elena heard he had no siblings, but he truthfully admitted he had some sibling just not a happy relationship with one. Now he had admitted vampires were there at one point in time, "Not anymore? So what, they were here," she urged.

Once more he exhibited the same shifting behavior, unable to meet their eyes as he contemplated his next words, "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 that you don't tell anyone."

"I can't promise that," said Elena. Exposing hm may have been the only way to keep themselves safe depending how the conversation ended. She didn't want to, but she couldn't risk him hurting Maya either. Not after everything she had done to survive it just seemed unfair to leave her open to danger.

Her answer was fair in the vampire's opinion, even if it wasn't what he wished to hear. However what he wished and what was realistic were two very different things. Stefan eyes fell hopefully upon the younger twin waiting for her to say something. When she didn't say anything at first he assumed it meant her agreement with her sister. Nevertheless Maya stunned them each, "Give me today. I will answer any questions that you have, and when it's over, you can decide for yourself what you wanna do with what you know. It'll be your choice."

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❝ the woods ❞

Maya hadn't sad a word the whole time she sat in the back while Elena, sat in front of the car being driven by Stefan. Not that they had said much more than her the entire time they drove deeper into the woods. "What are we doing here," Maya asked Stefan as he parked the car seemingly so deep it was beginning to gnaw at her soul. The more enlightened part wanted to trust Stefan but she couldn't help but hear her fathers words.

Back then Maya told him he was paranoid, an old man trying to make sure his daughter didn't set the world, and more importantly herself on fire. She was a idealistic pre-teen back then-- she hadn't seen her father punching at glass under water trying to break free and live as he mother laid already dead.

The girl who sat in the back seat of the car, had seen such a sight. Jaded forever by that, and now Damon, Maya couldn't trust that this wasn't some trick designed to get them alone. Men, boys, and sometimes even women were trying to hurt them, and she needed to protect herself.

"I want to show you something," he explained briefly casting a looking between the pair of twins. He exited the car swiftly after forcing them to follow suit behind him.

Without missing a beat Maya shut the car door returning, her words acting as a reminder for her sister, "In the middle of nowhere? Where no one will hear us scream?" As her feet crossed the ground Maya's eyes caught sight of a house in the distance -- the run down mansion near her meadow.

As soon as the thought occurred Maya realized how she'd been ignoring the smell of the meadow's flowers. Her milkweeds, stargazer lilies and her grand willow were all just out of reach to them now. They were on the opposite end, on the east where Maya entered through the woods; they now stood on the west where Stefan had driven them in from.

Voicing her thoughts just as they had begun, Stefan revealed, "This... Didn't used to be nowhere. Used to be my home." The house she'd spent years wondering about the life of, had been none other than the boy's who stood before her. What were the odds? That Maya, in a told of old ruins from founding families would find the one that belonged to Stefan? What were the odds she would then be able to meet Stefan in the flesh and not just read his story in old tattered pages.

"It looks so..." Elena trailed off her eyes examining the house none the wiser of the connection shared and being revealed between the pair beside her. Replies were futile to Maya now, all her mind could think about was the serendipity of it all.

There was no natural reason on earth they should've ever have crossed paths but heaven and hell had failed to stop the meeting of the Salvatore's and Gilberts. Even weaker to stop the meeting of Stefan and Maya. "Old," Stefan finished bringing the girls back to earth, "It's because they are."

Maya held up her finger to stop him from continuing, "Wait -- how long have you--"

"I've been 17 years old since 1864," Stefan said finishing her question with its answer and with it Maya looked for the support of the destroyed statues outside the house guarding it. Elena herself couldn't meet Stefan's burning stare and found herself focusing on the ground. The ground and her sister were the only things that were real to her at the moment. When neither could speak further, Stefan went on, "You said you wanted to know. I'm not gonna hold anything back. Half century before the boarding house was even built, this was my family's home. Damon and I... We were both born here. The Salvatore brothers, best of friends."

The story sounded like such a normal beginning, in this they were just like the Gilbert twins. A pair of siblings who loved each other deeply, tales separated only by time until even that no longer separated them. And the house that stood between all of that time had brought them together once more before they ever even met. When Maya saw Stefan in that moment she understood the isolation truth had buried within in. Hearing just the start of this story was enough to make her think, 'How would he tell me all he's lived through? How would I tell someone this? Would I tell anyone this or fear becoming hunted?'

"You knew Katherine, and Samara back in 1864 then," pieced together the Gilbert as they began to follow Stefan down the overgrown path of his home, "Damon made it seem like--"

The mere mention of the elder Salvatore made a part of May's brain enflame with fury -- Damon was still out there. In truth, she knew Stefan was only telling them his story because he feared she would get him killed but Maya didn't want him dead. The worse she could ever ask of him was to leave, and even that was felt like a longer shot than even she could make. No, Maya wanted to know if Damon truly deserved to die because if he had, she was going to see to it. It wasn't Stefan that was in danger, it was Damon. Stefan didn't have the strength to kill his brother and scary as it was, May knew she did have it in her.

Killing Damon wouldn't plague her with guilt -- he was her monster, and girls killed monsters. "Damon was trying to make you think that... I was still heartbroken. He saw that I was happy with you, and he wanted to ruin it," said Stefan feeling the tiniest bit of relief he was able to explain that much. He was a lot of things, things he hated, but he did care for Elena unexpectedly so. He'd come into town coming across Maya by accident the night she nearly died, and Elena in the cemetery while he searched for food.

She had fallen a horrible tumble but still Elena was all smiles when she introduced herself to him. There was a magnetism around Elena that not only eased him but made him curious about her and a future. Futures seemed so out of reach to someone with endless futures, Stefan couldn't explain her effect on him but it couldn't be ignored, only explored.

"Then why did he try and kill me," wondered Maya forcing them all to a stop as they came to the front of the house's foundation.

It was plain as day to see why Damon would want to ruin what Elena and Stefan had but why would he want Maya dead. The vampire gnawed on his lip not wanting to say what he believed to be true. It was truly such a layered conversation. Probably far beyond Damon's own understanding but not his brothers. Had she not been in such danger of his brother Stefan would've kept his mouth shut, but she was in danger.

"Because you remind him of Samara," was the best he could find himself saying-- that was another conversation for another day. "Samara was...hypnotic and Damon fell for her spell in a way I never saw him do before. But like most things with Mara it was another lie. Mara never cared for Damon as deeply as he did, and when he realize he hated her. Katherine cleaned him up and used him the same way after but, he never saw through Katherine. He hates who you represent to him and how I could find a friend in you. Damon had to make sure I was alone. That I had no one anymore. What better way than killing my friend who happens to be my girlfriends sister and make me responsible?"

"So because you loved the same girls 145 years ago I got attacked multiple times, murdered multiple times," Maya remarked disgusted making her dig her nails so deep into her skin she was afraid blood might start to come out.

Stefan shook his head at her remark, "Katherine wasn't just any girl, and Samara was certainly more than just a girl. They were both survivalist but Samara was the mastermind and the truly creative one of their plans. Which is saying something because Katherine didn't survive as long as she did by being a shrieking violet to violence and diabolical planning. Those sisters were our entire world, we didn't see color in life until they came into it. But everything fell apart when...Samara exposed them all."

"What does that mean," Maya wondered.

Words seemed to fail Stefan as he turned away from them, this was the only part he seemed to hesitate on for them. However meeting May's eyes again he couldn't deny her, never her. "Samara was the first of the vampire's to die back then. I don't know what, but she got sick, something made her sick and she went on a rampage taking half the town with her. She was brought out into the middle of town and to spare Katherine, she claimed she was the only one there and had controlled Katherine's mind. She bought her sister time even if Katherine didn't use it wisely -- she was dead not long after Samara. Both Pierce sisters dead, both by flames. One by herself before a whole town bought there to mock her, the other in a sea of people yet without the one person she wanted most."

The thought of what had been done to the sisters, however wicked Stefan said they were, made Maya sick. Women were often turned into monsters by men and then punished by history in the retellings of their stories. Maybe the two of them weren't good people, but had they deserved to be parted even in death? People were cruel and history class had taught her what people were willing to do to those they feared but... being parted from ones sister even when both are condemned to death seemed cruel even to Maya.

"In the time Katherine had left though? She made sure it counted. After Samara died, she used as her escort to the the founder's ball and it drove a grief sickened Damon insane." In this Maya couldn't find blame in the Salvatore for. She doubted she would've reacted any less than him.

Bearing the part about the party Elena remembered, "The first founder's party... Where you signed the registry." There was a bit of grateful relief that was coming with the conversation for the oldest Gilbert.

Shaking his head he went on to defend a position Damon had made him defend so many times before, "I didn't care that I had gotten something that my brother wanted. I didn't even care if it hurt him. I only knew that I wanted her. Loving Samara hadn't just driven him crazy, it drove me--- I don't think I ever recovered from losing her. Not fully. But who recovers from losing their first love to death?"

"How do you know what you had with her was real," inquired Elena with furrowed brows. A question that Damon had phrased to him many times before.

And just as he had told Damon he said once more, "I don't. I trust that it was because I saw the look in her eyes when she looked at me. Samara was a great actress, the best really but, if she was faking with me she was also fooling herself then too.

Maya couldn't help but chuckle, "So Damon got upset and jealous?"

Those seemed too simple a maneuver for describing his brother, Stefan was shaking his head telling her in reply, "That's the thing about Damon. He doesn't get mad. He just gets even. What Damon wants, Damon usually gets. I didn't know it at the time, but... Turns out that night she died...Katherine was with him, too."

"So he stole her from you, not the other way around. And for it Elena and I have to pay the price for it a hundred an forty five years later," jabbed Maya kicking at the ground to avoiding hitting anything else around her.

The younger Salvatore shook his head grimacing as he had to admit, "Turns out she wasn't ours to steal. She could control my mind and Damon's. She compelled each of us to keep the secret from the other, and for me to forget Samara. She wanted all of us to be together forever. If she couldn't have her sister she would have her favorite playthings instead." As he spoke Stefan found himself walking towards what remained of the iron gate guarding his childhood home. Once as a child Stefan could've sworn this would've been the home of he and his wife were they would raise their children. Chuckling smally at himself he added, "Didn't work out that way, but... Damon and I, looks like we're stuck with each other... Like it or not."

The twins watched as he leaned down moving over a stone that only seemed random as it was truly hiding something wrapped in fabric. From the moment he unraveled what was under Elena was stepping forward, "Is that Damon's ring," she asked.

He nodded holding up the truly vintage piece of jewelry answering, "I took it from him, but i have to give it back."

Maya took a step towards him pleading with him, "No. don't, Stefan. Keep it hidden. Better yet, pull back a curtain and let the son of bitch burn. He doesn't deserve to live after what he did to me." Intellectually Maya hadn't wanted to ask Stefan to kill his brother but realistically? She wanted the danger to her life eliminated, and she was starting to stop caring how she got it.

Intellectually Stefan understood how right she was, his brother, nor he himself for that matter deserved to live, but the twins did. They hadn't understood the threat he, and by extension they were under. "Maya, if i don't give it to him, he'll retaliate in the only way that he knows he can hurt me."

"And how is that," she wondered her jaw clenching at the thought of him allowing his brother to walk away free. He claimed he cared one moment but was letting the biggest threat to her live? Even if that threat were his brother.

Looking between the pair Stefan said, "By hurting the two of you."

There was a twisting pang of jealously that planted itself deep within Elena the moment those words were said. Followed by an acidic flooding of guilt that tormented her for the feeling so. Damon wanted them dead because they mattered to Stefan, Elena simply feared what that could one day become instead. In truth, though to her sister the idea was dumbfounding, Elena was incredibly jealous of her younger sister. Where Elena felt the desire to take chances, Maya simply took them without care for the thoughts of others. Maya didn't even care i she herself would regret her choices. She was capable and fun, not that Elena hadn't seen those qualities within herself but, her sister was...perfect to he. Such was the nature of sisters, to love and envy each other for being everything one wish they could be and more.

As they shared a knowing glance they remained ever silent as they always had, instead of speaking about what was noticed. The pair was close but admitting they could envy the other felt as if saying a wicked and mean thought. Those type of thoughts that should never be said even if they are noticeably felt. Silence had filled their way the whole trail back to the car until they reached it and Elena broke their shared silence by asking, "The mind control... You said Katherine used. Do you ever do that to either of us?"

A factor Maya hadn't even thought to consider even with all the suspicion her mind had conjured up for her. Out of all the answers he'd given none of them were more sincere than the one that followed, "No." Pointing to the necklaces around both their necks he finished telling them, "Those necklaces you both wear, it contains an herb called vervain. It protects you from being compelled."

The younger brunette's hand found its way to the purple stone guarding the herb around her neck. Even without telling her Stefan truly had been attempting to protect her without having to shatter what was left of a already frail world they each had. "I wanted to protect you both from Damon's influence. But I also wanted to," he trailed off for a moment not knowing how to finish his thought.

She hadn't known for sure why she was certain about what he couldn't say, but Maya's next words announced a secret understanding they had gained, "Protect us from you."

Stefan's eyes found the Gilbert's hating how right they were, he didn't want to be capable of harming either of them let alone any human. Vampirism had been his curse. Without confirming what was already known, Stefan swallowed hard telling them, "You should never take those necklaces off because no matter what happens after today, no matter how you feel about me... You'll know that you were free to make your own choice, for today and the rest of your lives."

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❝ the gilbert house ❞

The group of three hadn't known what else to do after leaving the ruins of Stefan's home other than to return to the Gilberts and continue talking. An idea that was as short lived as the time it took them to walk into the house having Vicki Donovan shoving Jeremy onto the ground. Before Vicki even knew it, Maya's hands were shoving the girl so hard she flew into the table behind her. Perhaps she should've asked questions, seen if Jeremy had done something, but all Maya saw was red at the sight her attacking her little brother. A brother Maya believed, Vicki had no business messing around with to begin with.

Between that and everything that happened between the girls and Tyler, this fight felt long overdue to Maya as she rushed out, "What the fuck is going on?"

"She's really messed up," Matt spoke up rushing into the room helping his sister up. Shooting a look the younger twin a look, "Mind asking something first before you start swinging Maya?"

Throwing her hands up blocking her brother as Elena helped him to stand she spat back, "Mind not being stuck on fucking stupid, Matt? She hit my brother there was never another response I was going to have." Perhaps had he not seen the look in Vicki's eyes he'd known, Stefan might've allowed for more of the moment to play out but it was too risky once he saw it. He was tugging on the back of Maya's jean jacket pulling her back much her angered hesitation.

Stefan reached one hand holding Vicki's face in place urging, "Vicki, look at me." There was a calming to his voice that answered the question inside MJ's mind; he was compelling her. It amazed her how he was able to do it right before Jeremy and Matt both with them each none the wiser. "Focus. You're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine." He pulled away turning to look at the boys ordering the pair, "Guys, take her up to bed. Shut the blinds. She's gonna be ok. Come on. Come on."

Despite the shared confusion the boys did as they were told leading Vicki, who certainly looked like the drug addict she was gunning to be, upstairs with them. The moment the door shut behind them Elena spoke up to ask, "You know what's wrong with her?"

Maya was swift to add on crossing her arms, "There better be more wrong with her than usual or I'm ripping her out of that bed."

Despite knowing where they stood, Stefan was careful to answer back quietly, "she's transitioning."

"Transitioning to what a Pokémon, a bitch, what," Maya asked waiting to hear a reason their fight shouldn't have continued.

"Be serious for two seconds, she's becoming vampire," he scolded resisting to urge to laugh at her wit as best he could. The only thing distracting her from his scolding was the knowledge he revealed along side it. With each passing second things seemed to spiraling further and further away from their normal lives. Stefan had to continue to tell them, "Damon must have gotten to her. She's new. She hasn't completed her transformation yet."

Elena brought her hand up to her head, "H-how does she do that," she asked.

There was a pause where Stefan hadn't wanted to say the truth but with the twins desperate to know the truth he couldn't bring himself to lie again, "She has to feed on human blood."

"And what if she doesn't," Maya wondered her mind finding its worse thoughts. She wanted Vicki away from Jeremy, and maybe to fight her, she didn't want her dead. That was the furthest thing from what she wanted

"She'll die," acknowledge the Salvatore filling the girls with dread, "She may only have a few hours."

Pointing to the floor above Maya reminded them, "She's upstairs with him right now."

Before she could rush up the stairs Stefan grabbed her arm keeping her back, "It's ok. She doesn't know what's happening to her yet," he explained.

"So then when is she gonna know? An hour from now? Or five minutes from now after she tries to kill them," Maya asked her words coming out as a venomous hiss. All thoughts of grace were forgotten when it came to the safety of their baby brother. It had to, Jeremy deserved that much from his sisters.

Stefan cast a worried lance upstairs as he returned, "Right now, she doesn't remember anything. 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."

Speaking up Elena couldn't help but remark, "The same choice you made?" Her question had stopped the others cold in the midst of their conversation-- what could he say to that? What could Maya say in response when objectively that had to have been what Stefan choose. However was he wrong for being a seventeen year old boy who hadn't wanted to die? Especially when, everything that history taught her, people were so limited back then, vampirism transcended limits. Maya didn't, and wouldn't blame Stefan for choosing possibilities over simple death.

Yet none of them were allowed to say another word before Vicki came barreling down the dark wooden staircase forcing her way out the door. Trailing only seconds behind her was Jeremy and Matt, "What happened," shouted Elena as they passed them by.

Shrugging Jeremy said only what he could, "She was fine again and then she lost it. I gotta go." Maya was hot on his tail attempting to stop him from going after her only for them all to be stop by the mere fact Vicki was long gone from sight. Stefan sent the pair a knowing look before taking off to find her just as Matt had while the twins forcibly lead their brother back inside.

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"Maybe we should check in with Matt," Jeremy said for what felt like the 200th time since Matt left. Neither twin knew what to say, which seemed to be a running theme for them as of late. They were clueless in the face of everything but Jeremy wouldn't stop his questioning which only made Maya roll her eyes while she picked up food. Vicki had blazed a trail of absolute destruction through their kitchen eating everything, especially the meat.

Jeremy was none the wiser just how unnerving that fact was when he threw it away. His sister nearly stopped cold in her tracks her mind following just how closely Vicki was coming to losing her humanity. But just as she considered the loss of humanity her mind flashed with Stefan offering Maya her necklace.

If his humanity had died when he did than why would he have given her the means of protection? Stefan's humanity was there -- were would Vicki's go? These were thoughts she wasn't afforded as MJ forced herself to find a reply, "He'll call when he finds her."

"Well, what are we supposed to do," Jeremy followed up with annoyingly fast pace. The middle sibling shoved a plate into his hand pointing him towards the sink, a moment to think was better than none.

Maya had locked eyes on her sister as she turned her back on their brother and said, "We wait. We're supposed to wait." Each of the twins knew her words were more of a reminder to each other. They need only wait for Stefan to return and give them something better. Whatever was happening with Vicki and the Salvatore's wasn't Jeremy's plight to suffer. He already had enough suffering for the sisters to watch him bare. These were selfish desires they each knew, but maybe after losing their parents it was what the universe owed them.

Jeremy had such weakness in his voice as he told them, "I don't know what's wrong with her."

There was a desperation in his eyes she'd known all to well. The wavering of her twin forced Elena to speak up for them, "She'll be fine. It'll all be fine." Their lies were getting harder and harder to stomach for Maya. This wasn't sneaking away to party, this was lying about his girlfriend who might be dead by end of night.

But much to their relief, the doorbell rang stopping them from lying any further. Before Elena could stop her, Maya was rushing for the door with her siblings trailing behind her. Maya gripped the knob turning it to pull it open just long enough to see those piercing blue eyes that haunted her nights.

Elena hadn't even fully reached her sister before Maya was attempting to slam the door shut. Her questioning mind was silence as Damon easily forced his way into the house. "Jeremy, go upstairs," Elena said practically pushing their younger brother towards the stairs. Despite never being the fighter like her sister, Elena couldn't shy away from protecting Jeremy, no matter the cost.

The youngest of the bunch opened his mouth but very few times in his life had he seen such serious glares from Maya and Elena each. Without much of a choice, Jeremy went upstairs allowing his sisters to deal with their business. With each step he took heeling ever worse for leaving them, but he trusted them instead.

Once he had gone Damon was ever so pleased with himself, he knew that they knew. The fear, the stiffness, it was all too familiar for him not to know. Arms crossed the elder Salvatore remarked, "You're both afraid of me. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess. Stefan finally fessed up."

The thought him believing she was cowering made something else take control of May. She couldn't name it, but suddenly something was driving her cross the room shouting, "Do I look afraid to you, you son a bitch!"

Cutting her off before she reached him, Elena gripped her sister pulling her away. They were human, and Maya was too quick to forget that. Pointing towards the door Elena tried ending things before they began, "Stefan isn't here. Now go."

Elena stood so firm it was almost as if she hadn't looked fear at all, thankfully for herself it felt the same for her. Instinct to keep her siblings alive had completely overwritten her desire to see the Salvatore dead. Their lives were more important than revenge, at least for Elena

To May nothing mattered more than seeing Damon bruised and bloodied just as he had left her. Scales needed to be balanced for justice to be served.

"Hey, there's no need to be rude," he said with such a underlying mocking sense Maya lunged for him once again.

Elena hadn't predicted it nor reacted soon enough to stop Maya's hand from leaving a red mark cross his face. She pulled her away once more just as the scratches left by her nails healed from Damon's face.

Stiffly he wiped the blood from his cheek, his jaw unclenched before he continued, "We can cut to the chase if you want. I'm not gonna kill you right now. That wouldn't serve my greater agenda. So... Where's Stefan?"

Letting venom spill from her every word, Elena replied back from in front of her sister, "He's out looking for Vicki."

"Don't look at me with those judgey little eyes. Girl's gonna thank me for what I did to her," Damon defended trying to close distance between himself and the twins. The older of them pushed them back into the wall until they couldn't move anywhere else.

"Did you thank Katherine," Maya asked even more venom in her words as he stood mere inches from them. She couldn't help but also add, "Or were you too stuck on Samara to care?"

Damon hummed backing away from the Gilbert girl, the twins knowledge being enough to back him away for now. There was bitterness to his next words, "Got the whole life story, huh?"

"We got enough," insisted Maya stepping out from her sister despite how she tried to hold her back. The brunette tugged herself free telling Damon, "At least I'll remember what he told me when he's gone, you're too much of a coward to let me remember a damn thing."

The vampires lips curled up with the certainty history had given him, "Oh, I doubt you got enough of the story. You're not angry enough yet." Speaking directly to Maya he added, "Forgetting was my mercy to you, remember that."

Damon reached up touching the ends of Maya's hair only to be swatted away. He chuckled making his way to the front door opening it wide enough to bring them some sense of relief. Cutting it short he stopped in his tracks looking back at the twins saying, "Tell my brother I'm looking for him. Tip for later? Be careful who you invite in the house."

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❝ the salvatore boarding house ❞

Maya had done her duty as a sister and stayed with her sister even after Stefan had come to tell them of Vicki's fate, and Elena's choice. Which was to keep his secret but ultimately Elena chose her siblings safety over her own joy. A choice May couldn't help but think her sister was too happy to make. Granted Stefan had given more than enough reason, but those were only discovered because her sister had been determined to find out what Stefan hadn't been ready to say.

Elena was owed the truth, but Maya didn't think Stefan planned to hide it from her for forever. Whether or not that should carry weight was Elena's choice alone. Just as Maya's choice was, so once her sister and rest of family slept she left.

Given she hadn't known Damon's mindset on her, Maya kept her stiletto knife in hand approaching the boarding house door. Much to her relief, exactly whom she had come for stood on the other side. Closing the door in hopes to stop them from being heard, Stefan stepped outside, "Maya? What are you doing here?"

Inhaling deeply Maya managed to tell him, "Elena got to say her piece about today, I didn't." The vampire stayed silent preparing himself for the blow of her words. "I understand why you didn't rush out the words 'I am a vampire and my brother tried to kill you.'"

Those had not been the beginning Stefan had expected. He stood straighter clinging to her next sentiment, "I-- I don't like it and I can't trust you right now because of it."

Maya had to pause allowing her heartbeat to settle. She was certain he could hear it and it was drowning out the sound of her words to him. "But I want to learn to trust you again," admitted the Gilbert, "I can't lose just h-how since my parents died I haven't been able to feel a thing. Anger, sadness, joy, indifference it had all blurred into this numbing constant until you. You didn't look at me and see who I was before there's no expectations with you. So maybe I am selfish, but I will keep your secret because I am not afraid of you Stefan. I know you thought I would be, but I'm not. I'm just asking for you to be willing earn back what you broke."

There wasn't a moment's hesitation for him, Stefan hadn't wanted to leave Mystic Falls anymore than she wanted him gone. "I'm willing," he swore to her.

Breath found her again, "Good, cause I was just getting used to you," said Maya her voice almost shaking.

"I promise I won't stop until you can trust me again Maya. No matter what," vowed the Salvatore.

Inhaling deeply Maya replied, "Good cause you owe me." He couldn't help but chuckle while she said goodnight returning to her car. Neither of them were sure of what tomorrow would look like, nor what their next steps would be, but at least this was not a permanent goodbye.

Maya's outfit for the next chapter.

maya's costume