Try {One | Alaric Saltzman}

The Descent

The first thing Damon said when he answered the phone was, "Your sister is pissed at you."

Abigail closed her eyes, a sigh escaping her lips. She clenched her jaw, her fingers tightening around her phone as she did. Shaking her head, she said, "Yeah, I got that."

"She was going to find out sooner or later anyway," he brushed off her tone. "And, I mean, what was Ric doing in your bedroom? I mean, come on! Are you two stupid?"

"Oh, I don't know, Damon..." Abigail yelled through the empty house. "Maybe it had something to do with you deciding I needed to be punished! With having Bonnie lock me and my sister in our own home with some kind of magic barrier-"

"Wait a second!" He scoffed. "Are you trying to blame me?"

"No, Damon, I'm not. And you know that." She paused, running a hand down her face. "That's not what I'm calling you about, anyway."

"Then how can I help you?"

"How did Elijah compel Katherine to stay in the tomb?" She asked.

"He's an Original; they have special powers." His voice had become shaky and uneven as they spoke, but it was more obvious than ever when he said, "Which means I get to torture myself every morning with a glass of vervain infused bourbon."

"Hey, are you okay? You sound-"

"Jules bit Rose."

She sunk into her chair. "As in..."

"As in she is going to die."

"Oh, God," she sighed. "How bad is it?"

"The bite caused some kind of infection and it's getting worse." A beat later he added, "Sooner she dies the better."

"You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do. And if you were here, you would be saying the same thing."

Preparations for the annual Mystic Falls High School Cookout were well underway when Abigail dragged her feet through the parking lot. There would be plenty of joy to go around as the community celebrated the success of all the students, none of which she felt like she could participate in. So, even though she wasn't entirely sure her sister would be there, she found it as good a starting point as any.

Caroline found her side just past the band. "Hey! Where's Elena?"

"I'm actually looking for her." At Caroline's confused expression, she added, "We aren't really talking right now."

"I'm pissed at her for trying to get herself killed, too. But you can't stay mad at her for trying to protect you." Caroline faced her fully. "And she can't-"

"It's not about that." She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "How is Tyler? I feel horrible that I can't talk to him about... Well, you know."

"He's sore." Caroline brushed crumbs that weren't there off of her skirt. "I mean every bone in his body broke; it was awful. But he didn't hurt anyone, and I suppose that's what matters."

Her face fell. "It'll get easier for him, won't it?"

"Hopefully."

Matt jogged up to them in his letterman jacket although the temperature had been rising for weeks. "Caroline, you got a second?"

Abigail leaned into his line of sight. "Hey, Matt."

"Hey." He looked back to Caroline. "Care?"

With a small smile, she said, "Yeah, sure."

The Grill was busy enough that when Abigail sat down in a booth with Alaric, no one would ask questions. They didn't often meet this way, under the cover of open textbooks and notebooks. It was too obvious, too hard to explain why the top student needed extra lessons, but they could get away with it when they needed to. And, well, they needed to.