Vicky POV
It's Friday night, and I'm at the school's football game. I don't care much for football, but being here helps take my mind off things.
Knowing vampires, werewolves, and witches are real—and that some of them live right here in Mystic Falls—is terrifying. Especially that vampire who tried to kill me. Twice.
I took Elena's advice and started carrying a wooden stake in my backpack. Just in case. But even with it, I know I don't stand a real chance against a vampire. I mean, who am I kidding?
Sukuna told me to quit the drugs. Said dulling my senses would get me killed. And… I haven't touched anything since I talked to them. But it's hard.I'm an addict.And truthfully? Sometimes I want the high—not for the fun of it—but just to forget how real and how dangerous this world is now. But I can't. I won't.
I need to stay clean. I need to start training, maybe even take up boxing like Elena and Jeremy. I don't know if it'll help me survive a vampire attack, probably not… but maybe it'll help me stay sharp. Stay ready.
Because I want to protect Matt. He's the only family I have that actually gives a damn about me.
And I don't think I could live with myself if something happened to him—if he got hurt by one of those things and I was too high to do anything about it.
I have to be better. For him.
"Hey, Vicky."
Jeremy's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned toward him.
"Hey, Jeremy," I said, forcing a small smile.
"I haven't seen you in a while. Kinda feels like you've been avoiding me."
"I haven't been avoiding you," I replied honestly. "I've just had... a lot on my mind."
He nodded slowly, then reached into his pocket. "Well, I got something for you."
He held out his hand—pills.
My heart sank. Not even a full week clean, and temptation was already staring me in the face.
"No thanks," I said, backing up a step. "I'm trying to get clean. And honestly? I think you should too."
His expression shifted, defensive. "What? Did Elena put you up to this? She tell you to say that to me?"
"No," I said firmly. "She didn't tell me anything. I'm saying this because I don't want to be a drug addict anymore. I want better for myself. For once."
He didn't say anything right away, just looked at me like he wasn't sure whether to be mad or impressed.
"And actually…" I continued, "I wanted to ask you something."
Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"Can you train me in boxing?"
That got his attention.
"You want me to train you?" he asked, surprised.
"Yes. I want to learn how to defend myself... and get in shape," I said with conviction.
Jeremy looked at me for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. I can do that."
"Good. And like I said before… I really think you should get clean too."
He hesitated, his gaze dropping. "I'll think about it."
Sukuna & Elena POV
"Thank me it's over. That was so boring," I muttered.
The football game had finally ended. Surprisingly, Mystic Falls won. Now we were in the parking lot, just waiting for Bonnie and Caroline.
"It wasn't that bad," Elena replied with a small smile. "I wanted to be there to support my friends. And don't you mean 'thank God'?"
"Yeah, whatever. No. I said what I meant."
She laughed softly, shaking her head.
A few minutes later, Bonnie and Caroline arrived, joining Elena and chatting about the game. While they talked, I shifted my focus elsewhere—specifically, to one of my birds. The one watching Mr. Tanner.
He was walking alone through the parking lot, headed toward his car.
I double-checked the area—no one around, no witnesses.
Once I was certain, I gave the command.
The bird dove straight into his chest, its body charged with curse energy. It pierced through him cleanly—he died instantly.
So did the bird.
Just like that, the annoying teacher was gone.
I sent a few other crows to retrieve the fallen one and collect every feather left behind. No evidence. No loose ends. No suspicion.
Just a mysterious death.
Exactly how I planned it.
The Next Day
It was Saturday morning. Elena and Bonnie were in the kitchen, casually talking about the Lockwoods' party later that evening. I wasn't really paying attention—most of their conversation was just boring gossip—until Bonnie brought up something interesting.
"Did you hear what happened last night? Mr. Tanner died. His chest was completely destroyed," Bonnie said, whispering like it would somehow make the news less intense. "Do you think it was a vampire? Maybe… Damon?"
"I have no clue," Elena replied. "I asked Sukuna as soon as I heard. He doesn't think it was a vampire… or Damon."
Bonnie shook her head. "That's insane. Something like that happens in our town and we don't even know what did it?"
I appeared on Elena's cheek.
"It might be crazy, but all we can do is stay alert. How's your magic training going?" I asked.
"It's going well. Grams is teaching me a lot," Bonnie said, her expression softening.
"Good. Make sure you're learning defensive magic too. Just in case. Also… buy a gun."
"WHAT?!" they both said in unison.
"What? Just in case your magic runs dry," I said, shrugging. "Besides, this is America—everyone's packing."
"I'm sixteen! And I thought regular bullets don't hurt vampires?" Bonnie frowned.
"Again—America. And second, you can get wooden bullets. I can even curse them to hurt vampires worse."
"I am not getting a gun," Bonnie said firmly.
"Whatever," I muttered as I disappeared back into Elena's soul.
Later That Day
We were at the Lockwoods' house. Nothing too exciting yet—it was just another fancy party—but Elena had a secret mission: get the damn Moonstone before anyone noticed she was gone.
Right now, she was off to the side, pretending to admire the Lockwoods' family heirlooms. In reality, she was looking at her parents' rings on display.
I could feel her emotions—heavy sadness mixed with guilt. She hadn't said a word, but I could feel it all pulsing through our shared soul.
"You do know it's not your fault they're not here anymore, right?" I said gently.
"I know," she replied, her voice quiet. "But I still can't stop thinking about that night. If I hadn't argued with Matt… or if I'd just asked another friend for a ride… or even if I let you take control…"
"You can't keep dwelling on what-ifs, Elena. You'll drown in them. What happened to your parents wasn't your fault. Sometimes… bad things just happen to good people," I said.
She didn't respond right away. Just stood there, staring at the rings with that familiar ache in her eyes.
But I knew she heard me.
She took a deep breath.
"Okay… let's focus. The Moonstone. Where do you think it is?" Elena asked.
"It's in the office. Under the carpet, beneath a fake floorboard," I said.
After I gave her the location, she slipped away from the party, moving through the halls without being seen. She made it to Tyler's dad's office and quickly pulled back the carpet. It didn't take long to find the false floorboard. She pried it open—and there it was.
A safe.
"Shit," we both said at the same time.
I forgot there was a damn safe. And of course, I had no clue what the combination was.
"Okay… what now? Unless you magically know the combo?" she asked.
"Why would I know that?"
"Says the guy who somehow knows my future," Elena said, shooting me a look.
"Okay, fair point… Try his birthday."
She typed it in—nothing. Still locked.
"Try his wife's birthday," I suggested.
She did. Still nothing. She tried again. And again.
"Seriously? who wouldn't use their wife or son's birthday for a safe like this?" I muttered.
After about ten minutes of guessing, she finally typed in a date.
Click.
"Wait… Was that the Founders Day date?" I asked.
"Yep," she said, opening the safe.
Inside were old documents and, nestled in a small velvet-lined box, the Moonstone.
She snatched it, closed the box, carefully restored everything to how it was, and pulled the carpet back over the hidden compartment. With the Moonstone secure in her bag, she slipped out of the office and casually made her way back to the party—completely unseen.