Chương 14: Friday Night Bites
A/N: first off, thank you, thank you, thank you. Wow. I was overwhelmed by the amount of love that people had expressed in the previous chapter. So, thank you guys. I had over 78 messages in a single day, which is a whole new experience for me. Thank you. And to hear that my story made someone binge read...wow.
Thank you for the kudo, and bookmarks[ao3] . Thank you for the Collections and Power Stones[Webnovel] . Thank you for the stars and saves[Wattpad] . Thank you for the favorites and follows[Fanfiction].
Most importantly, thank you all for your time and love.
Now...
There was a whole lot of confusions that many of the readers had about the system and Neena. While these doubts were mostly raised by Webnovel readers, I decided to clear these confusions up for all, in case there were other readers who had these doubts but didn't express it for whatever reason.
1) The system and Neena are not in a Slave like relationship. The System saved Neena from certain death and transferred Neena's soul to another World using its out power under a condition. For two years the Host must complete quests for the System.
This is not Simply for fun or exploit Neena. The System needs energy to function. It absorbs energy through quests. It used its energy to do soul transfer. Neena is obligated to help the system re absorb the energy it used for her sake. The system also needs energy to travel the many universes. It does this by absorbing the World Power or Experience Points.
System 143 also needs the energy to upgrade so that it can use more Worlds. The systems do this as a way to maintain balance and they save souls that are stuck to repeat their life again and again.
2) As for Damon's misty powers...I have an explanation for it, but I am not sure how to execute it without making it seem like it was shoehorned into the Plot yet. But yes, they are going to make a return.
3) Neena's use of potions is not the same as her using pot or drugs. Potions are a part of her being a witch. I realize that you want to see Neena use her powers but her missions are pitting her against vampires. You know, immortal beings who are stronger and faster than her and most of them have years of combat experience. She is only a three month old witch. Her spell casting power in not faster than vampire reflexes. She need her potions but I digress, potions are not the same as drugs (at least I did not think so.) Is it?
4) I was asked if Neena being an Anomaly would mean anything to the story. Well, I do have a plan for it. I'll give you guys a clue- it's the reason why Neena's soul reacted to Aleena's call for help.
So...don't judge me...but...weird pairings that seem to go through my mind are:
Jeremy x Kol
Enzo x Kol
Bonnie x Damon x Kol
Bonnie x Damon x Enzo
Katherine x Enzo
Katherine x Rebekah
Finn x Jenna
.... Yeah...my mind is weird huh? I don't know why my thought processes are so weird.
I wanted to ask you guys something seriously: Does things like her being an Anomaly, or a previous system seem odd or too Deus ex machina to you? I added it in to make her transmigration seem a bit more concrete and make the system's presence seem more natural.
This chapter was difficult to write because I didn't really know how to handle Tanner's character. To kill him or not to kill him? Can you guys guess what I did?
Anyway, once again, thank you for your love and support. It makes me want to keep writing.
Happy readings.
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Chapter 14
Friday Night Bites.
When Jenna had come back from meeting with the mayor's wife after discussing the founders party she had cried tears of joy seeing the Blood soup. Neena had to hide some away for Jeremy before she finished everything off.
Neena was sure her family was Gluttony from FMA at this point. They seemed to have endless pits for stomachs.
Caroline and Bonnie left after Jeremy returned home from somewhere, half drunk and Elena and Jenna started to scold him and things became awkward.
Sending them off, Neena returned to the living room to find Jeremy run up the stairs as Jenna tried to get him to come back down.
Neena wanted to know where he had gone too but refrained from asking him. He would just become defensive and hostile and not give her an answer. She knew it was not with Vicki though. He was still avoiding her.
After everyone had went to bed, Neena took out the soup from the fridge, reheated it and brought it to Jeremy's room.
She texted him to open the door.
When he did, she saw that his cheeks were tear stained and eyes were bloodshot. He was looking at her warily.
Neena sighed. "I bring food for the young prince. His highness must eat as he is a growing boy and tomorrow he is to go school- I mean education guild or something."
Jeremy chuckled and rolled his eyes at her fake British accent. His eyes had fondness and love in them. "The Queen did not have to carry the food thyself. Let the servants do such works."
Neena laughed. "The Queen am I? Yes. I shall be the Queen. Well, the servants will eat it themselves if they found out there is any left of the Blood soup."
Jeremy looked horror struck. "Such rank defying servants. The Queen must guillotine them."
Neena handed him the bowl of soup. "Eat. It's not good to sleep on an empty stomach. The queen is off to her beauty sleep now. Sweet dreams, little prince."
Seeing the back of his sister walk away from him made Jeremy restless. She always seemed to be there for him, even when he didn't realize he needed her there. "Hey, Neena?"
Neena looked back at him, curious.
"I love you, my witchy sister."
Neena shook her head and laughed. "And I love you, my little prince. Bye then."
She walked into her room again, relaxing her tense shoulders. Alone at last. She had never been a social person in her last life. Maybe that's why she was always put in these social gatherings now. It was Karma.
She felt drained. Not physically or Magically but mentally. She was feeling sluggish.
Neena fell into deep sleep as soon as her head fell on her pillow.
Sometime at night, she felt her bed dip on the other side.
Neena turned around, confused. She saw that it was Elena.
"What's wrong?" Neena asked, squinting her eyes, her mind addled in sleep.
"Weird dream," Elena whispered, "Can I sleep here?"
Neena nodded, offering her blanket to the doppelganger. Elena quickly draped herself and snuggled close to Neena, her doe-like eyes just looking at Neena's face.
Neena put her hand over the girl and pulled her closer. Elena responded by putting her own hand over the gilbert witch's waist.
"I'm going to quit cheerleading," Elena whispered.
"Mm. Me too. I'm quitting my job," Neena slurred.
"We are a pair of quitters," Elena said, giggling.
Neena nodded. "Twin quitters."
"Neena?" Elena called. There was no response. "Neena?"
"Mm?"
"Are you asleep?"
"You woke me up again."
"Sorry."
"Mm."
"Neena?"
Neena snorted a little.
Elena tightened her hold on her sister.
"Neena?" she called.
"Mm?"
"I'll drive you from now on."
Neena blinked her eyes open. "What?"
Elena hid her face in the crook of Neena's neck, which was an achievement because both the girls were broad shouldered. "I'll drive you from now on. Wherever you want to go."
Neena realized what the Doppelganger was thinking. "I can't avoid cars forever, Elena."
Neena felt wetness on her shoulders.
"Elena? Elena? Come on. Don't cry."
Elena's body was shivering.
Neena hadn't really considered how her little 'accident' would affect Elena, the girl who was in the back of her parents' car when they drowned. She already lost her parents to a freak car accident only five months ago. Now she heard her twin sister was in a car accident last night. She must be so scared.
Shit.
Neena sighed, and held the girl closer. "I'm fine, Elena. I might not have an indestructible body but I'm not going to die just like that. You know what? Fo you can drive me until next week, but I drive from then on, okay?"
Elena nodded, her hair tickling Neena's neck making her giggle.
Elena smiled and the two fell into deep sleep.
Neena's phone rang a melodious tone. Her alarm of 4:30 Am to practice her magic.
Neena felt weight against her chest. She slowly opened her eyes and looked.
Elena head rested on her breast, the doppelganger's body was slanted, on of her leg on her thighs and her hand holding Neena's waist in a tight grip. Her other hand tucked one of Neena's hands between their body. The blanket was thrown off somewhere.
Neena sighed. Looked like she was not getting any magic practice done with octopus Elena on her bed.
[Ding!]
[Quest Alert!
Friday Night Bites!
Save William Tanner from dying.
Reward: 100 points.
Accept/Reject]
Neena twitched in irritation but didn't respond to the quest notification.
[Host?]
'Yeah?'
[Are you not going to save Tanner's life?]
'I am. Accept quest.'
[You don't have to do every quest, you know.]
'I know.'
[I thought you liked Alaric Saltzman.]
'I do.'
[But you are saving Tanner?]
Neena sighed and moved Elena's head to the pillow. Were all human heads so heavy? Was it because Elena was the Protagonist?
'I did think of it for a split second but I can't let it happen, 143. If I let Tanner die even when I knew before hand about it then that makes me a worse monster than Damon is right now. I would be knowingly letting a man die. I can't do that. My moral compass is not that twisted, unfortunately.'
[Okay. Good Night, host.]
'Night.'
Neena went back to sleep and woke up at 6: 30 because of Caroline's 4 missed calls. She woke Elena up and forced her to help make breakfast with her reasoning that she couldn't order out all her life because it was not economical.
Jeremy was surprised to see Elena help with cooking and stood at the threshold of the kitchen unsure. Neena smiled at him and pulled him in, forcing him to do the eggs. "Come, my little prince. The royal eggs await to be boiled by you."
"Yes, my Queen."
Elena gave the two of them confused look. Neena just winked at her and then went back to frying the bacon.
Jenna came down at the smell of food and was surprised by the warm picture of the three teenagers working together. Grinning, she helped them plate everything on the table.
As they sat at the breakfast table, laughing and joking, Jenna started to understand what was different about them that day. They were finally healing. Jeremy looked more aware than she had seen him, even before her sister's death. Elena was no longer pretending to be happy. She was no longer trying to be an adult. But it came with a price. She looked at her second niece, who was forcing Elena to eat fruits without much success.
Aleena was the one who was holding them together, Jenna realized. The girl who had magic, apparently, who struggled with visions and being unable to tell what was reality had forced herself to change. She was trying to be there for them all. She saw the tiredness in her movements. She was always doing something for them or her career. Always so focused unlike her previous self. Jenna felt guilty. She was the adult in the house yet her 17 year old niece seemed to be doing much better than her at adulting.
Neena put more toast on Jenna's plate. "Eat more! You are going to Whitmore for research right? Do you want me to pack you lunch?"
Jenna shook her head, overwhelmed.
Neena frowned at the dazed expression on her face. "What's wrong?"
"Just realized that you have grown up," Jenna said with a thick voice.
"It's alien abduction," Jeremy said to Jenna. "But since it's an alien that cooks good food, we will let it stay."
Neena mock glared at him, her heart hurting at the truth of his words. "You shouldn't eat alien food then!"
She tried to grab his plate of bacon but he ran away with it. "Good bye, my queen! My royal stomach awaits the bacon."
Neena smirked in satisfaction. "That's what I thought. You better run, you nerd!"
"Queen?" Jenna asked.
Elena shrugged. "He has been calling her that all morning."
Jenna smiled. "Well she is almost as dramatic as one."
Elena laughed and pinched her cheek. "Isn't she?"
Neena glared at the two. That was Aleena! Not Neena! Huffing, she went back to her food petulantly.
They all left after breakfast. As promised, Neena allowed Elena to drive her to work, where she quit. Mrs Malcolm tried to make her stay but Neena refused.
There was another reason for her quitting the job when she did. The Malcolms were a part of the council and Mrs Malcolm had started to hint at wanting to see the Gilbert Family Heirlooms. Neena was sure it was to get her hands on the Gilbert Watch and she was not going to let the Council get their grubby hands on it any sooner than necessary.
Neena opened her bag and looked at the stack inside it. A bottle of healing potion and blood replenishing potion were still left from last time but nothing else. She really wanted to use the system market but she wouldn't be able to practice or get used to the surge in power of items because Elena was being clingy. She really wished Elena had not found out about the accident. It would have made things easier.
Elena drove them to school so that she could give Care the bad news, and meet Stefan. Elena went to talk with one of her classmates in Mat, stalling from facing the Blonde Dictator and Neena went to find said Blonde to give her a heads up and try to Weasel her way out of having to replace Elena on the team. It should have been easy to find her but as it turned out, Caroline was also in charge of the refreshments for the game not just decorations and the cheerleading team. Neena was sure that girl had a time-turner hid somewhere. One person should not be able to do so many things.
Her search lead her back to where Elena stood waving at Stefan's retreating back. Neena and Stefan smiled at each other as they crossed path. She saw Caroline approach Elena with a purposeful gait, her face scowling.
Neena heard the tail end of Caroline's question as she neared the pair. "-in uniform because?"
Elena looked lost. "I...um..."
"Relax, Blondie," Neena said, putting her arm around the blonde girl's shoulder. "She only came to practice yesterday and she was not able to do the routine anyway. Why are you so high strung? By the way, nice necklace Elena."
Elena smiled. "Thanks, Neena. Stefan gave it to me."
"Gifting jewellery already," Neena said teasingly. "The guy moves fast, huh?"
Elena laughed.
Caroline frowned at them. She turned to Neena, pulling the Gilbert witch's hand off her shoulders. "And where is your uniform?"
"Probably in my locker."
Caroline looked at her in disbelief. "What do you mean 'probably'?"
Neena blinked at her from under her eyes, a guilty smile on her face. "It's in my locker Carebear."
Caroline flushed. She pulled at the girl's cheek, making her wince. "Stop with that expression! You are not Demon Salvatore and I am not Bonnie the teenage witch. I won't fall for your...your...your Medusa charms."
"It's Damon, not Demon," Elena said to the blonde. "And Bonnie is not a witch. And I think Neena's Medusa stare is working if you are flushing like that, Care."
If only she knew, Neena thought. Bonnie is not just a witch. She was a Bennett witch.
Caroline snorted. "No, I'm right. On both accounts. And Neena, I mean it. No eye charming of Medusa."
"Eye charming," Neena mocked. Elena suppressed a giggle. Caroline blushed. "Why would you say that, Carebear? I have been practicing my Medusa eyes for so long! I must seduce as many handsome men and women into becoming my minions!"
Elena started laughing at the fake British accent Neena talked in. She joined in on the fun. "Why, dear sister, do you want minions? And why should they be handsome? Don't discriminate."
"World domination of course. Only pretty people can ensnare my enemies," Neena said in a tone that implied it was a foregone conclusion. "Yesterday, Jeremy declared me a Queen. I must have minions to look the part."
Elena nodded seriously. "You are right. How stupid of me. We must find you many minions. My sister should have an infinite number of minions. I shall help you sister. We shall rule this world with an iron fist."
Caroline sighed. The three of them were becoming weirder. And she couldn't even blame it on that Demon no matter how much she wished she could. She decided to just join their crazy wagon.
"Why don't you buy your sister a castle as well Elena. Don't stop at pretty minions. After all, Queens should live in Castles," Caroline said in a teasing voice.
Elena looked horrified. She dramatically took hold of Neena's hands into hers. "Oh, forgive me My Queen! You are a Queen without a castle! I have failed you before I could even start. I shall buy you ten castles, sister! No, I shall build it with my own hands!"
Neena burst into laughter. "Yup. You should."
Elena grinned at her sister. She had never felt as close to Neena as she did now. It was a novel experience, having a loving little sister. Is this what it was like for everyone? She felt sad on missing out on years of this connection with Neena. But her sister had never seemed to care about before. Her eyes seemed to always accuse Elena of doing something, though what it was she never figured out. Her sister seemed to hate her more than anything. Whenever she went to any party, Aleena would look at her like she was doing a great sin by being there even though, Aleena herself would be there as well.
Elena wondered if she would ever get an answer for the hatred she used to have. She wanted to ask her. But she was scared. What if asking her about it made her sister realize she is supposed to hate Elena? That thought hurt her. She wouldn't be able to handle it. Not now. Not after feeling what it felt like to be loved by her sister. She couldn't ask her. She couldn't.
"Build your sister all the Castles you want, Elena. And while you do that, I am taking this one. Neena, come with me!" Caroline started to drag Neena by hand.
"What! Where are we going!"
"I told you before that if Elena quits then you have to join the team!"
"This is bullying innocent bystanders. Elena! Help! Return to cheerleading! It's your Queen's orders."
Elena gave her a strained smile and waved her hand at her. "I'm sorry, your majesty."
"Traitor! Off with your head."
"Stop being so dramatic," Caroline scolded as they walked away. Neena just laughed in response.
"But it's fun!" Neena said. 'And I'm trying to not think about my latest quest.'
[Denial is not an attractive trait in anyone.]
'Says the string of data. What do you know about attractiveness?'
They started practice after she changed clothes, during the whole time of which she whined a lot.
Caroline finally used her basilisk stare to shut her up.
Tanner was giving his speech. Everyone was cheering. Neena wasn't as enthusiastic as others but Caroline wasn't really paying attention. Thank God for small mercies. As the time for the game came closer and closer, Neena felt her heart race faster and faster. It was almost time for Damon's attack.
There was a commotion from somewhere behind them. Neena could hear someone screaming. She recognized the voice. Vicki. She was confused. Did Vicki get attacked during this time too? Or did she change things too much?
"-you're hurting him!"
Neena stood in confusion at the seen in front of her. Was that Jeremy and Tyler fighting and rolling on the ground?
A bottle broke.
Neena realized what scene she was in.
Her body moved before she could understand what she wanted to do. She stood between Jeremy and Tyler and pushed the two away from each other. Jeremy fell on the ground. Tyler was in the red haze of Werewolf induced anger and charged at the fallen boy. Neena punched him in the face. It hurt her hand and hardly stopped the boy. Tyler looked delirious and angry. He moved towards her, eyes holding a murderous intent. She was sure his eyes flashed yellow.
"Jeremy, no!" Elena screamed from somewhere.
Neena turned in time to see a broken bottle piece coming towards the Lockwood boy. She unconsciously raised her hand to stop it. Another hand came between them. The bottle slashed the back of that hand. A piece cracked off it because of the force of the swing, and buried itself into her palm.
Neena's mind was unfocused as visions of what happened, what could have happened, and everything crashed her mind. Her head hurt. Her magic was agitated.
She was loosing control.
She felt overwhelmed and breathless. She forced her magic to back down. The visions faded from her mind.
[Ding!]
[Skill update : Magical Awareness raised to 30%
Host can now sense the magical entities around her.]
There were screams. Elena, Bonnie and Caroline rushed to her side.
Neena stared at her bleeding hand in a daze. What just happened to her?
A large bloody hand took her hand into it. Neena briefly realized she had small hands in comparison.
A feeling of cold and loneliness entered her soul. What she imagined death to be like.
"Don't move it too much. Someone, get a first aid kit!" Someone said to her.
Neena looked up in confusion. "Stefan?"
He stared into her eyes, searching. She could see the veins on his face becoming barely visible.
He could smell her blood.
She used her magic to cover the scent of her blood. It was not perfect, but it seemed to help him as the veins started to disappear.
"Thank you," he whispered.
[Ding]
[Skilltree Unlocked: Wind Manipulation!]
[That was unexpected.]
'I know. For me too.'
"Stefan! Neena! Is it bad! Oh my God, Show me!" Elena said, coming to their side.
"I'm fine," Stefan told her.
"But I saw it. He hit you."
"He missed. I'm fine. It hit Neena though," Stefan said, hoping to distract her.
It worked. Elena made to grab Neena's hand frantically, hoping she was not hurt badly.
Stefan did not let go of Neena's hand and stopped Elena's approaching one. "The glass shard is stopping the wound from bleeding out. We had better not shake it too much."
"Neena!" Jeremy yelled as he came next to her, hand hovering over her and Stefan's joint hand. Neena looked at him. His lip was split, and his nose was bleeding. And he was crying. Genuinely crying. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"What were you thinking!" Elena shouted at him. "You could have killed her!"
"I'm sorry!" he said.
"Here!" Bonnie said, bringing a white box with the 'first-aid' on it. "Let's move to the bleachers. It will be easier."
Caroline brought three bottles of water and a towel. "We should wash it first."
Elena took the bottles from her. Jeremy took the towel.
"Can someone please remove the glass shard?" Stefan asked. His voice was shaky.
Elena then remembered that Stefan had blood phobia. He was still holding on to Neena's hand so steadily. She looked at him with soft eyes. He was so strong.
Caroline took the tweezers from Bonnie and started to slowly take the glass out. Neena hissed at the pain.
"Slowly!" everyone shouted.
Caroline suppressed a flinch. "Seriously? Would you idiots relax a bit!"
Neena finally started to realize where she was. She looked around her in surprise. Since when did she become so important to these people?
Neena sighed. "It did not go that deep, guys. I'm sure it didn't damage any of the veins or arteries."
"Oh My God!" Jeremy said in horror. "It could have hit something major! We should take her to the hospital!"
The others nodded in agreement.
Neena shook her head making her hand shake a bit. Everyone hissed at her to be still. She realized she was not going to find an Allay among the teenagers. She turned to Stefan, trying to use the puppy dog eyes.
He looked uncomfortable. "Does it hurt?"
Neena frowned. She looked at him like he was a strange creature. Others were looking at him it disbelief.
"I have a glass shard lodged to my palm, Stefan. Do you not see it?"
"Does it hurt?" he asked forcefully.
"Yup. It does."
Stefan sighed in relief. "Then you will be fine. If it doesn't hurt is when we have to worry because then it means that there is a major injury."
None of them relaxed at those words but they weren't fretting as much as before.
"Were you drunk?" Elena hissed at Jeremy.
"Elena," Neena said.
Elena glared at her.
Neena smiled at her. Elena looked at her, confused. "Go right ahead."
Jeremy looked at Neena like a kicked puppy.
She snorted. "You took a broken glass and aimed it at Tyler. If Stefan had not pulled Tyler away you would have been sitting in jail for atleast attempted murder. So, no buddy. I am not stopping the Elena tirade. You deserve it this time."
Jeremy wilted like a flower in winter. She felt bad for him but she also knew when to not support him.
Elena started scolding him. It was like the girl had been holding a lot of stuff in because it lasted for a long time. And Jeremy surprisingly listened to it all. Even responding meekly. It might have had something to do with the fact that most of her sentences ended with "you could have killed Neena." Talk about aiming for where it hurts. Elena was vicious.
"Done!" Caroline said, gaining everyone's attention.
The wound was wrapped neatly.
"If you didn't want to do cheerleading so badly say so. Don't do stuff like this to get out of it," Caroline said in false anger.
"You wouldn't have let me go," Neena said in a squeaky voice.
"Kick off is about to start," Stefan said. "I'll see you guys later."
Stefan went away after that, Caroline and Bonnie following after him because they had cheerleading.
Jeremy and Elena hovered around her, worried. Neena sighed. These two were acting like she was made of porcelain, when in fact of the three of the three of them, she was the magical one. Then again, the World didn't want them dead. She should stop comparing her life expectancy to that of the Protagonist, that was just asking for a beating.
They walked towards the stand.
[Ding!]
[Quest Alert!
Friday Night Bites.
Save William Tanner from dying.
Reward : 100 Experience Points.]
Neena froze.
Elena and Jeremy stopped as well. They looked at her in confusion.
Neena started to sprint to the back of the playground. Her mind only had one thought. To get to Damon before it was too late.
Come on! Come on!
Her legs started to burn as she increased her speed. It was the first time she became aware of how long the field was. She could hear Elena and Jeremy running behind her, calling her back.
She didn't stop. She couldn't.
[Host, how will you explain this to Elena?]
'Not now!'
[Host!]
'I'll tell her the truth!'
[You don't have to do this. It's unnecessary risks.]
'There is no unnecessary risk here! A human life is at stake and I have the foreknowledge to stop it! If I don't, then I am not the person I thought I was. Who I want to be.'
[Understood.]
They ran out the field and burst into the back corridor.
Neena saw it was empty except for the body lying on the cemented floor. She ran to it. She touched his neck and chest. There was barely any life.
"Call an Ambulance!" she screamed as she put pressure on the wounds on his neck with both her hands trying to stop the bleeding. Jeremy stopped her from using her injured hand, instead putting the pressure on it himself.
Elena made the call.
Neena was desperate to save him. She could feel the warmth of his blood seep in between her fingers.
Panicked, She tried to use her magic to save him. To close the wound. Her magic refused to obey. The soul was passing on.
She still had the potions!
[His life force is too low for you to use potions. If he had magic himself it would work but he is a normal human. If you try to use the potions on him now, it will usher his death faster.]
By the time the Ambulance came, Tanner had passed away.
[Ding!]
[Quest Failed!
Friday Night Bites.
Save William Tanner from dying.]
[I'm sorry.]
'So am I. If I hadn't been hurt, I would have been able to get away from every one. I could have followed Stefan. I could have saved Tanner.'
The police took their statements. No, they didn't see what attacked Tanner. Yes, they were sure.
The police left after that.
Neena had wanted to talk to Bonnie about it but the witch had already left. The one person who was feeling a bit like her left.
Caroline was forced to leave with her mother because the Sheriff was worried for her safety. The Blonde promised to meet her in the morning.
Elena kept giving her sister a look as she talked to Stefan. She had always noticed the weird behaviour of her sister. She would answer a question nobody asked, talk about something she had thought to do but didn't say out loud. It had always been like that.
Sometimes, her sister didn't even seem to be all there. She had seen those signs. But she hadn't cared enough to question it. She had the mentality of she doesn't like me so I won't like her. Now, seeing her sister have that same look again after seeing Tanner die she wondered. Whose death did Aleena kept seeing back then?
The younger Salvatore side eyed her in trepidation. The Salvatore could see it in Neena's eyes that she knew something. Would she attack them? Kill them?
Neena was in a daze. She kept thinking about Tanner's dead body. She could still feel the ghost of his pulse slow to a stop under the pad of her fingers. She could still feel the moment her magic told to her he was gone.
Neena never liked Tanner. Not when everything was fiction and it didn't change when everything became reality. But she didn't want him to die. And even though she knew it was Damon who killed him, even though she knew it was the world's plot, Neena felt responsible. Because she was someone who knew. Because she didn't put in a fraction of the effort she put in saving Caroline.
She took a breath and calmed herself. She knew this world. She knew she couldn't save everyone. But she would try. She would try better than she did with Tanner.
[Don't.]
'System?'
[You are a transmigrated soul that would be eaten if you take the wrong move. You can not afford to save everyone. You are letting your emotions control you.]
Neena sighed. 'I'm not becoming a caped crusader, 143. I know I can't save everyone. But I will try my level best to save those I can.'
They reached home. Jenna was concerned about Neena's injury and wanted to know if she got it when Tanner was attacked. When she found out how her wound came to be, Jeremy was grounded.
Surprisingly, he complained only a bit.
The family huddled around her.
Neena gave them a strained smile. "I... I... Can I have a moment for myself? Please?"
Elena was about to deny her but Jeremy held her back. "Sure, Neena. Go."
Neena didn't wait for the rest of them to answer, and went into her room. She was about to change clothes when a crow cawed from her window.
"Damon?"
The man appeared in front of her.
"What's up?"
"I killed Tanner."
She sighed and nodded. "I know."
He looked surprised by her response. "Aren't you going to try to kill me for it? Attack me?"
"I am not in a good state of mind, Damon. Come back tomorrow."
He looked at her. Really looked. There were dark circles under her eyes. Her face was taut with tension and vigilance. Her eyes were haunted even though the usual ray of light, of life was still present.
"Have a good rest, then," He backed away with a soft smile. "Also, I liked your soup, so did Stefan. You should have seen Zack's face when he found out it was made from blood. I laughed my ass off and so, I will make it myself again, with different blood sources of course."
Neena fell on her bed.
"Good for you. You do that," she muttered and started to snore.
Damon stood there, unsure. Was she just that kind or was she that much of an idiot to sleep in the presence of a century old vampire even though he killed her History teacher an hour ago.
Bending down, he kissed her forehead and switched the lights off for her. The room plunged into darkness.
What an interesting Witch. He wondered if Bonnie was like her but then shook his head. Why did he care about the Bennett Witch? It wasn't his problem.
Damon left through the window.
________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N: I was going have Neena talk to Bonnie after the attack when she is looking at the numbers.
As the story developed, I realized Neena was getting into a weird mindset. Maybe it was because I wrote this part at midnight, sleep driven. But now I can't bring myself to change it because it sort of shows character. I mean this is the first time she was witness to an actual murder. Seeing it on TV is not the same, right?
Next chapter would be Bonnie and Neena bonding session and Elena trying to figure out what was going on with her sister. At least that's what I want to write.
If you liked this chapter please like, comment, vote and Kudos guys! Thanks for loving this story as much as you all do.
Stay safe. Stay home. Wear masks. Love you all.
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