"Not that I'm complaining," Lucy said as she sorted through the clothes the Salvatores had found for her and Caroline to dig through, "but why exactly did you guys keep a bunch of women's clothes from different decades?"

She found a green patterned dress that she handed to Caroline. It would look good on her.

Care glanced between it and the clothes she already had in hand. "I was thinking Jackie Kennedy."

Lucy blinked at her. "Um...no. Jackie O was amazing but Jackie Kennedy was not sexy. Be sexy."

Lucy turned her gaze to Damon as he leaned in the doorway. "Is there some sort of fetish Caroline or I should be aware of?" she asked holding up a bunch of clothes.

Damon gave her his 'aren't you funny' look and sauntered off. Lucy pulled a blue tie-dyed dress from the pile and smiled. Perfect.

"Oh, I love it," Caroline said with a smile.

Lucy leaned toward the girl. "Did you notice that Damon never actually answered me?"

"I heard that," Damon yelled from downstairs causing both girls to laugh.

***

The dance was well underway by the time they arrived at the school. Damon kept hold of Lucy's hand as they walked to the door, their fingers intertwined. "Any word from Elijah?"

Lucy shook her head. "I texted him and told him what was going on, but he didn't respond."

"Should we be worried?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Fantastic," he muttered and held the door open for her.

The gym was decked out and Lucy looked around in awe. No one had ever put this much effort into a dance at any of her schools. Not even prom.

"We have a special shout out tonight," some girl in a crocheted bikini said from the front as they stepped into the crowd in the gym and Elena and her minions joined them. "This is for Elena from Klaus."

Everyone in the group froze, Elena looking particularly unsettled as 'This is Dedicated to the One I Love' started playing. Lucy put her head down and bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Damon tugged on her hand and rolled his eyes when she just shrugged again. It wasn't her fault Klaus had a sense of humor. "That was a lame, cheap shot," Matt said. "He's just trying to bait us."

"I know everyone here," Elena said.

"Maybe he's not here," Stefan added. "Maybe he just wants us to believe that he is."

"We should probably pretend we're here for the dance," Lucy said. "We look kind of obvious just standing in the middle of the floor."

"There's Ric." Damon tugged her in the direction of the teacher.

This was not going to end well. Lucy just knew it. RicKlaus smirked at her as they came to a stop beside him. "Special dedication, huh? This guys a little twisted."

"I'm not impressed," Damon said with a twist of his lips and Lucy's stomach dropped. She preferred not to insult the big, scary hybrid unless they had to.

"Well, I thought it was funny," she said.

Damon rolled his eyes but RicKlaus grinned. "Is that so, sweetheart?"

Damon bumped him with his elbow. "Quit flirting with my girl." RicKlaus put his hands up in a gesture of innocence. Stefan motioned Damon over to him. He held out his hand for Lucy and she shook her head.

"You go ahead. I'll be fine here with Ric."

Damon shrugged and danced his way over to Stefan and his date. Elena joined them a beat later. Lucy followed him with her eyes as he started dancing with Elena. It didn't bother her until her vampy ears heard him say, "I've got moves you've never seen." Irritation slid through her but it was just Damon being Damon. She knew that.

"You don't like her much, do you?" Ric's voice asked from behind her and she moved to stand right beside him.

"Let's just say, I'm indifferent." Her eyes followed Damon as he went to dance with Bonnie. She narrowed her gaze. What was he up to? He couldn't stand the witch. Before she could focus to listen in, RicKlaus spoke, drawing her attention.

"I see you completed your first task. They have no idea I'm not who they think I am."

She shrugged. "It's not as if it was difficult to keep my mouth shut."

He hummed in agreement. "It was more of a test than a task. I had to be certain you could be trusted when it came to more...challenging assignments."

"I don't suppose you know where your brother is?" she asked to change the subject.

"Elijah is taking a little nap. He's such a buzzkill."

"So you daggered him?"

"You do know all about us, don't you, love?"

She glanced over to find his gaze locked on her. "I know some things. Elijah told me stories about his family, not the Original vampires if you get my meaning. I only know about the daggers because we pulled one from his chest not that long ago."

"The more time I spend with you, the more I understand why he is so fond of you." RicKlaus ran a finger down the side of her face. "It would be a shame if any harm came to you. So, task number two. You will not intervene in anything that happens tonight. You may observe, but you cannot help your companions until I am gone. You may not do anything that puts you at risk before then. Understood?"

She sighed. "Understood."

He leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to her temple. "I'll see you later, love." And with that he was gone.

Lucy turned and her eyes darted around the room only to find everyone she cared about was no longer in the gym. Shit. She was pretty sure even leaving this room would put her at risk so she found a chair along the wall and took a seat.

Elena ran into the gym a short time later, her eyes immediately falling on Lucy. "Lucy, we need your help. Klaus is in Ric's body. He's trying to kill Bonnie," she explained after she ran over.

"Elena, you need to find Damon or Stefan. I can't help you," Lucy stated through gritted teeth. She didn't like being out of the action.

"What are you talking about? We need you. Now. Damon needs you."

Lucy's gaze moved past the girl to fall on Stefan as he made his way over to them. "What's going on?"

"We need to help Damon and Bonnie but Lucy do anything."

Stefan looked at his friend in confusion. Damon had explained to his brother about Klaus and his 'favors' earlier. "I can't help you, Stefan. Until he's gone, I need to stay right here."

"Got it. Elena, let's go," he said, pulling her away.

"But-"

"Now, Elena."

Lucy sighed as she watched them disappear out of sight, Elena shooting her looks over her shoulder as she went. At least it hadn't been Caroline asking. Lucy had trouble resisting her puppy eyes.

***

He's gone. Meet me out back.

Lucy jumped up and hurried outside when she got the text from Damon. When she found him, he was putting Bonnie's body in the trunk of the car. "What happened?"

Instead of answering, he turned and opened his arms. She ran over and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I know, baby. It's okay. It'll all be okay. I promise."

"Damon, I got your message. I can't find anyone. What's going on?" Jeremy called as he approached them.

Damon kept her wrapped in his arms as he turned his head to speak to the little Gilbert. "We need to talk."

Lucy climbed in the passenger seat and Jeremy got in the back. Damon started driving as he explained his and Bonnie's elaborate plan. When they arrived at the old witchy manor, Damon carried Bonnie inside, Jeremy following along while Lucy stayed in the car. When he got back they drove straight to the boarding house.

As soon as they stepped through the door, Elena was up and out of her chair. "What did you do with her?"

Caroline sat beside Stefan on the couch. Her tear-stained face lifted up and she looked between Elena and Damon.

Lucy felt a twinge of sympathy. She may not give a shit about Elena but Caroline was hurting and Lucy didn't like it.

"Calm her down," Damon said with a glance toward Stefan. Why he thought his brother could get her under control, Lucy had no idea.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here," Elena snapped before turning her rage on Lucy. "This is your fault. You refused to help us. You let her die." Her head jerked to the side as Elena slapped her.

Lucy was really getting tired of that.

Damon stepped between them and pushed Elena back. "Don't touch her. Don't you ever touch her."

Caroline and Stefan moved to join them, Care placing a hand on Elena's arm to pull her further away from the angry vampire.

Damon glared at her a beat longer before turning his attention to the others. "You all need to calm down and listen." Lucy wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his back. One hand came up to hold her wrist. "We couldn't have anticipated Klaus using Ric's body. There is no way to prepare for something like that. Klaus wasn't going to stop until Bonnie was dead. He needed to believe it. She cast a spell. Bonnie's alive. She's fine."

He turned when he finished speaking and placed one hand on the side of Lucy's neck. He searched her eyes. "You okay?"

She nodded. He took her hand and they headed for their bedroom, ignoring the others until Stefan stopped them on the stairs. "You know you could have told me."

"How do I know when you're going to go blabbing things to your girlfriend or her little doppelganger friend?" Damon pulled Lucy against his side.

"Do you even understand what you put them through?" Stefan asked. "Do you care?"

"I believe the words you're looking for are 'thank you for saving the judgy little witch who has tried to kill you on multiple occasions'." Lucy's anger was evident in her tone and Damon rubbed a comforting hand on her arm. She stepped away from his touch. "Don't try to calm me down. I'm sick of this shit. This is why I don't give a shit about Elena. This is what she turns people into. Not only do you have to save her ass all the time, you have to keep her happy while you're doing it. Fuck that. If Bonnie died they'd be pissed you didn't save her. She lives and they're pissed they weren't in on the secret. It doesn't matter what you do, it's never right."

Stefan at least had the self-awareness to look ashamed of himself. Caroline leaned into his side and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Elena appeared beside them and nudged them out of the way so she was face to face with Lucy. Dumbass. "You don't have the right to say anything. You didn't help anyone, including Damon. I don't understand why he even wants you around after that."

"Of course you don't understand basic human decency. Why would you?"

"Hey, Luce. Come on, it's okay," Caroline said, trying to calm her friend down before she did something Elena would regret.

Lucy ignored the blonde. She was still pissed. "You want to know why I didn't help you? Because Klaus Mikaelson saved my life and in return I owe him three tasks. I wasn't permitted to interfere until he left." Lucy moved down the steps toward the doppelganger. Stefan moved so him and Caroline were further away from Elena. "You want to know what the first task he asked of me was. He asked me to deliver you to him." Lucy flicked her eyes over the girl dismissively. "The he decided you weren't worth the effort. Prove him wrong, Elena. Be more."

"More what?" She lifted her chin in defiance, but her voice trembled.

"More than the martyr. More than the damsel in distress. Be more than the doppelganger. Come on Elena. Show us what you're made of." Lucy's gaze moved between the trio in front of her. "Now if you'll excuse me, I intend to show my boyfriend that someone appreciates him."

Damon wrapped his arms around her and kissed her when she was back at his side. She glanced over her shoulder to meet the eye of the other Salvatore. "And Stefan? Get her the fuck out of my house."