꧁ 𝟹𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝙾𝚅 ꧂
"WAIT OKAY SO WHAT HAPPENED?"
Skyler asked in confusion, Damon and her following Stefan down the stairs.
"Isobel just showed up at the front doorstep." Stefan explained.
"What's she doing here?" Damon questioned.
"I don't know that's what I'm gonna go find out." Stefan responded walking down the last step and turning into the hallway with Damon and Skyler hot on his heels when Katherine comes out.
"Oh come on," Skyler complained loudly, stopping upon seeing her, "Does this bitch never leave?"
Katherine smiled at her fakely, "I don't think that you should tell her that I'm here." She told Stefan.
"What? Why?"
"It's better if she and John not know that I stayed in town after I got out of the tomb." Katherine said.
"You're the one in cahoots with them." Damon commented.
"What? Scared they'll hunt you down?" Skyler asked rhetorically, coming to stand in between her brothers as she stared Katherine down.
"You made a deal with John that almost got me killed." Damon continued.
"I did what I had to to get out of the tomb." Katherine responded stubbornly.
Skyler narrowed her eyes, "Oh right, you always do what you have to for yourself, don't you Katherine?" Her name was spat out like poison, her glare intense enough to send the vampire six feet under.
Skyler wondered briefly if Katherine would be able to dig herself out of that hole.
Katherine glared at her, continuing despite her while scratching the back of her neck, "Now I'm reconsidering my alliance."
Katherine turned back in an attempt to leave when Stefan called out, "What do you know?"
The vampire sighed, spinning back around, "I know that I want Klaus dead, which puts me squarely on the team you."
"Besides if you two," Katherine pointedly left Skyler out without care making Skyler herself roll her eyes, tempted to snap the vampire's throat though that seemed to be a very familiar desire recently, "ever need me to swap places with Elena again, the less people know that I'm here, the better." She looked between the two brothers ignoring Skyler completely before her eyes landed on Stefan.
"Think about it Stefan, come on. Be smart."
"Oh what, like you?" Skyler commented snidely.
Stefan nodded in response to Katherine's words before taking a breath and turning on his heels, "Tell you what, how about you three call Alaric and let him know that his wife's just showed up on his girlfriend's doorstep." Stefan clicked his tongue before quickly leaving.
"Take me with you." Skyler called jokingly as the door closed behind him.
___________
"Do you really think that Isobel's telling the truth that words got out about the doppelgänger?" Elena asked a few hours later as she sits on the couch with Skyler who reluctantly sits on the opposite end as far away as she can get from her brother's girlfriend while said brother sits beside her in the recliner and Damon sits in another chair nearby.
"Look, I don't trust a word that she says, but I think we'd be stupid to ignore the warning." Stefan told her wisely.
"You know you should just stay here." Skyler and Elena's heads snapped over to look at him.
"What?!" Skyler hissed, her eyes wide.
Damon pointedly ignored her though his next words weren't just for Elena, "It's better for us to keep an eye on you."
"What, in the house that any vampire can enter? No." Stefan disagreed, "Her house is safer."
Skyler threw her hands up in a short victory. "Thank you!"
"Well, then we'll stay there." Damon replied.
"Okay count me out of any plan involving babysitting doppelgänger one or two." Skyler told them all sternly, pointing her finger at each of them with her eyes narrowed.
Elena sighed, looking at Skyler's brothers, Okay so is that the plan? Neither of you will let me out of your sight again?"
"Let me know when you come up with a better one."
Elena sighed once more, "Fine. Then one of you 2," The doppelgänger wisely left Skyler out of it causing the woman to smirk triumphantly, "bodyguards is gonna have to come with me to the Lockwood luncheon."
"That'd be me." Stefan said with a smile.
"Not me. I have witch stuff to attend to with Bonnie." Damon told them.
"Ooh yes, finally something interesting." Skyler grinned looking at her older brother, "Can I come?"
"Sure. Why not." Damon rolled his eyes, "We'll make it a party."
"Yes!" Skyler cheered happily.
What? She had gotten used to Mystic Falls's action-packed world and was now dying of boredom every time she was left out. Cut her some slack.
"Does that mean that you're taking her to the—"
"Shh." Damon shushed Elena just as Katherine's heels clicked as she entered the room.
"Don't get quiet on my account."
"If you have a plan to combat the impending vampire doom, please do tell." Katherine said leaning over the table behind the couch where Elena and Skyler are seated.
The four kept their mouths zipped shut, getting comfortable in their seats and silence as Katherine looked around at them.
"Seriously, what is the plan to get us out of this mess, hmm?" Katherine asked, "I delivered you a moonstone, a werewolf, and the dagger to lure and kill Klaus, and right now all you have is a moonstone. Or so you tell me."
Skyler looked over her shoulder at Katherine with a glare and a fake grin, "And all you have is an attitude for us letting you live."
"We have the moonstone." Stefan told Katherine sternly.
"Where is it?" Katherine questioned.
"It's in a very safe place." Damon assured her narrowing his eyes at her.
"I've been honest with you. Time to return the favor."
"You've been honest for five minutes. You've lied for over a hundred." Skyler snarked.
"Let me be honest with you, don't mistake the fact that we haven't set you on fire in your sleep for trust." Damon told Katherine with a smile on his face.
Finally, the vampire doppelgänger relented, "Fine. Be that way."
___________
Skyler decided not to go with Damon to the witch's house after seeing an interesting text on her phone from a certain original husband, though Damon didn't seem too disappointed only rolling his eyes before leaving without her.
Unfortunately, this left Skyler and Katherine alone. A fact that displeased Skyler a lot.
This is why she didn't wait very long after Damon left to grab her coat and head straight for the door before she got too angry with Katherine and snapped her neck.
"I'm leaving!" She called out halfheartedly before reaching for the doorknob only to be pushed against the wall by Katherine who ran at her with vampire speed, Skyler let out a gasp, her heartbeat racing from shock.
"What do you think you're doing?" Skyler questioned with wide eyes. Did Katherine want to die? Or think she couldn't?
"You know, you've called me Katerina one too many times to be coincidental." Katherine told her tilting her head and holding the woman by the neck against the wall.
"So?" Skyler questioned not daring to stutter or show fear. She wasn't scared and she certainly wouldn't act like it in front of her.
"Your brothers may be dumb but I'm not. You're not on our site, you're on theirs." Katherine spat out.
"Theirs?" Skyler questioned, willing her heart to stay calm, "Have you officially lost it, Katherine?"
"Elijah! Klaus! You're on one of their sides." Katherine growled, glaring at the vampire in front of her, "Which makes you my enemy."
Skyler stared at her for a second before finally dropping the act, grabbing Katherine, she reversed the position she found herself in, flipping them around she held Katherine by the neck against the wall.
"And what makes you think they will ever believe you?" Katherine was stunned into silence which seemed to be answer enough for Skyler who pushed the girl off the wall and away from her.
"That's what I thought. Do yourself a favor, don't mention this to anyone, Katerina, or you'll have more worries than just Niklaus finding you." Skyler warned, she made her way back to the front door, her eyes narrowed coldly on the woman before a warm smile graced her lips as she waved goodbye.
"Ta ta now." She said before shutting the front door and disappearing.
___________
Damon's blue Camaro rolled up to the house belonging to Isobel quietly, the second the car was stopped, the Salvatore brothers climbed out of their seats, shutting the doors behind them, leaving Skyler behind in the backseat.
"Oh what the—" Skyler cut herself off with a groan as she climbed into the front seat, she then got out of the car following her brothers, "Really?" She questioned glaring at them.
"Oops." Stefan said with a grin as Damon messed up her hair making her groan.
Stefan stepped back, looking up at the house, "Think this is the house?"
"Better be, it's the nicest foreclosure in town." Damon said.
"Swear to god if she's not here—"
"Don't be such a pessimist brother." Skyler said following him up the steps to the front door with Damon right behind her.
Stefan didn't bother ringing the doorbell when he got to the door, instead, he slammed it open, walking right in. Skyler and Damon came in behind him, looking around.
"I got upstairs." Stefan told them quickly climbing the staircase.
Skyler nodded, going to one side of the downstairs while Damon went to the other in search of Isobel or anyone else that may be lurking.
"Got anything?" Damon asked Skyler after they both quickly studied both rooms, Skyler only shook her head.
Just then, Stefan climbed back down the stairs, "but this is Isobel's stuff." Damon commented, "Definitely the right place."
"So where are they?" Stefan questioned on his way down the stairs.
"I don't know, Stefan."
The siblings glanced around as they rushed back out the door, slamming it behind them.
They were on a time crunch here and they could practically hear the clock ticking away in their ears.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
___________
"To be clear, I do not agree with this." Skyler said sternly as she stands in the hallway with Damon while Stefan talks to Elena.
"Well, you don't have to agree. We're doing it." Damon told her with a smirk, grabbing the papers he walked away.
Skyler let out a groan before she followed after him.
"He knows I'm not gonna run." Elena said.
"Which is why we need to take some precautions, cause we got played," Damon said stretching out the papers, "All of us." He added as he put the papers down on Elena's lap.
"What's this?" Elena asked looking down at the papers then back at them.
"It's a deed to our house. It's in Zach's name. Soon as you sign it, it'll be in your name." Stefan told her simply.
Elena didn't seem to think it was as simple as Stefan said and Skyler couldn't help but agree.
"You're giving me your house?"
"Against my will." Skyler commented crossing her arms.
"Isobel had the right idea with the safe house you'll just stay here till it's all over." Stefan explained, "That way you can control who gets invited and doesn't."
"Although I'll be super pissed if you lock me out." Damon said only half-joking.
Elena sighed in exasperation before looking at Skyler, "And you're okay with this?"
Skyler sighed, "I don't exactly have a choice." She said plainly, Stefan gave her a pointed glare which made her roll her eyes, "Yes I'm fine with it. Just sign the stupid papers."
At least this way Isobel couldn't kill Elena before Klaus could.
Elena nodded in acknowledgment when suddenly behind them John Gilbert let out a loud audible gasp as he woke up.
In a second, Damon had him held by his collar in the air while Skyler stood by his side.
"I swear I had no idea what she was gonna do." John gasped staring at him in fear as he breathed heavily, "I'm sorry." John glanced over at Elena for help or forgiveness, nobody could be sure, "I'm so, so sorry."
"Damon, let him go." Elena said reluctantly, Damon looked over at her like she was insane (which, she was), "He and I need to talk."
___________
"At least something went right today." Stefan was saying to Damon when Skyler entered the room.
Skyler stepped into the room, going over to her twin, "Ooh give me a glass of that." She said upon realizing he was drinking.
Stefan rolled his eyes, handing her his glass before pouring another for himself, "Hey where were you today anyway? We know you didn't stick around to hang out with Katherine."
"I have a life you know." Skyler told them indignantly.
Stefan shook his head chuckling a bit when suddenly he had a realization, "Katherine has no idea that Bonnie got her powers back." Damon hummed in the affirmative, "And Isobel had no idea what you and Jeremy took Bonnie to do today."
Stefan approached Damon handing his brother the third glass as Skyler follows over to Damon, curious about where this was going.
"We're the only ones who know." Stefan commented.
"That literally makes Bonnie our secret weapon."
꧁ 𝟸,𝟸𝟸𝟷 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 ꧂