𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙣—"𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧"

———

𝘾𝙇𝘼𝙍𝘼 𝙃𝘼𝘿 𝘽𝙀𝙀𝙉 𝙒𝘼𝙇𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙏𝙊 Mystic Grill with Bonnie for a few minutes, they shared recent events. Mostly talking about Bonnie's mom and how she's dealing with everything, and school, and then Bonnie brought up the originals.

"So...I heard you and Kol have been talking."

Clara glanced up from staring endlessly at the ground as she moved one foot in front of the other to Bonnie, who had a broad smile covering her face as she brought him up. Clara chuckled to herself a bit, surely either Caroline or Elena talked to the witch about how the girls been recently involved with the Mikaelsons.

"You know, they're not as bad as they seem," Clara argues, not having a harsh tone but more as a statement. Bonnie seemed to believe her, as it always seemed the witch was much easier to talk to than the judgmental crowd that fits half of Mystic Falls population. "They're nice, really."

"Everyone seems hellbent on killing them, though. Damon and Stefan especially," Bonnie replies, a bit more softer. Clara stopped walking, and turned to the witch as she grabbed hold of her arm, also stopping her from walking.

"Killing them? How? I thought Rebekah burned the last of the white oak?" Clara blinks a few times, and it started to click inside her head as she let out a huge breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Damnit, Damon."

This morning, when Damon was being so spotty and controlling, she now figured out that was why he wouldn't let the girl into Alaric's apartment building earlier. "They have a white oak stake, don't they?" Clara could see Bonnie swallow hard as she thought of the best way to form her words.

"They have multiple white oak stakes, Lara, like a ton," Bonnie explains, and she looked as if she just spilled her darkest secret. Clara closed her eyes as she tried to think, or more control her anger. The blonde girl doesn't get mad that often, but when she does, it grows very fast like a wild fire. And there is no controlling it after one lights a match. As soon as Clara spun around to continue walking forward, she bumped straight into another person without even realizing it.

"Sorry," the girl grunts, her hand immediately raising to her shoulder, which made the physical contact with the person.

"How nice to see you again, Clara!"

Clara stood there a bit astounded as she recognized none other than the Mikaelson hybrid in front of her. "Klaus?"

"Hello, darling, hello Bonnie," Klaus has his best fake smile on while showing a bit of his white teeth. He folds his arms where they end up behind his back, holding his hands, as he leans forward a bit. "I need a tiny favor from the little witch."

Clara didn't like the way that Klaus asked, it sounded as if he was going to take that favor even if they didn't want too. She gazed to Bonnie beside her, who also shared the worried glance, and then took a step in front of her. "Sorry, Klaus, but we have somewhere we need to be."

Clara grabs Bonnie's hand real quick, and tugs her as she tries to walk past Klaus. But she was rudely interrupted when Klaus grabbed her shoulder, hard, stopping her exactly in her steps.

"Now, Kol gave me orders not to hurt you," Klaus starts, pushing the blonde girl up against the wall. Bonnie was standing there for a moment, wondering whether or not she should use her magic that she's been struggling. "And I'd rather keep my word. But... I'm afraid I need the witch to do a spell for me."

Klaus suddenly takes hold of Clara's throat, tightening his long, slender fingers around her small throat. The sudden air was being tugged out of her lungs, and she was trying for dear life to breath in any amount of air. She raised both of her hands, placing them on Klaus's strong grip on her while she banged on them with as much effort that she could muster. But no matter what, his grasp on the girl was not lessening. He then spins Clara around, where one hand is around her neck still and the other is around her chest, holding her tightly in her grip.

Klaus raises the arm he was using to hold Clara's chest closer to him, biting into his wrist as he breaks into the skin. He shoves his wrist, bloody full, into Clara's mouth. Clara chokes on the blood by swallowing heaps of the metallic tasting liquor into her mouth, trying her best to scratch the man's arms off her, but his grip on her didn't stop. Once he let go, the blonde was glancing towards Bonnie with pleading eyes, begging her to do something. She could feel the blood smeared all over her lips and chin, and she was fighting the urge to let tears let loose.

She trusted Klaus, and he was showing her just exactly why she shouldn't. Clara makes these mistakes too often, trusting people and giving them the benefit of the doubt.

"Now, Bonnie, I'd really hate to make your friend here a vampire, so I suggest you do what I say."

•••

Clara woke up with her once soft cheek leaning up against a cold, hard surface. She blinked several times, trying to gain back her consciousness. She couldn't remember what happened last, other then Klaus force-feeding her his blood, and then tricking Bonnie into helping him with a spell.

Clara heavily lifted herself up, using the base of her palms as support, then stays bent on her knee's as she tries to think. A hand instantly raises to her head as she flinches, touching a open cut wound on the top of her forehead. It wasn't a terrible wound, but it did sting like a son of a bitch.

She was still in the middle of the small alleyway, trash and dirt littered everywhere. She glanced down one way, no one being seen, and then down the other, still nothing. It was dark now, and Clara wondered how long exactly she was out. She finishes lifting herself up, and now standing up on her feet, Clara makes her way to the end of the alleyway.

There were a few cars and people, but none seemed interested or even paid attention to the blonde girl. She placed a hand on the wall nearby for support, and she took a few moments to practice breathing. She was completely out of breath, she didn't quite know why, and needed a moment to take deep intakes and release soft outtakes.

Clara padded her pockets, suddenly remembering her phone. She didn't find it in her front pockets, and didn't find it in her back pockets either.

"Damnit," the soft eyed girl muttered to herself, full of disdain. She then glanced over to where she originally woke up, and a breath of relief was let loose as she recognized her iphone sitting near the wall by a black trash bag.

She raced over to her phone that was a few feet away, and then picked it up, immediately dialing Damon. She pushed the phone up against her cheek, and then with every ring the girl became more self-conscious. It went to voicemail, and she let out a mighty huff of annoyance.

"Damon, please answer your phone, no games this time," Clara explained, and once again her hand rose to touch her injury, which was still banging with pain. After her voicemail, she hangs up the phone quickly and then dials another number, Stefan. After one ring, he answers the phone, and a small smile makes its way onto her face.

"Hello?"

"Oh, how I love your voice right now!" Clara exclaims, letting out an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Look, Klaus has Bonnie, and Damon isn't answering his phone, I don't know how long ago that was but—"

"—Wait, what happened to you?" Stefan questions, and Clara was rather hoping to leave this part out.

When it came to the Salvatore's and their worry and protection, it grew beyond what was needed. They both always cared about the blonde girl, ever since she gave Stefan a pencil he needed on his first day at the school and she met Damon with a sarcastic comment instead of just sleeping with the raven-haired boy.

"I think I was knocked out," Clara states, once again tracing back to her head wound. "I, uh, woke up on the ground after Klaus threatened me to get to Bonnie, he fed me his blood and everything."

"Did he kill you? Are you in transition?"

"No, I don't think so," Clara says, taking a few steps forward on the sidewalk as she starts following a couple in front of her. She knew she was in the middle of Mystic Falls, because Bonnie and her were only moments away from Mystic Grill, so she just had to make it there and she'd be fine. "I mean, I feel fine."

"Thank God," Stefan breathed out, and if it were any other time she'd be thanking the boy for caring such deeply about her, but now wasn't the time. "Do you need me to pick you up?"

"No, I'm right by Mystic Grill, I'll be fine," Clara responds, and then a smile crosses her face as she spots the familiar bar across the street.

"Clara, there's something you need to know," Stefan speaks up, and she could hear him lick his lips as he hesitates. She then knitted together her eyebrows as she waits for Stefan to finish, and after a moment, she continues. "We're trying to kill Finn, he's at Mystic Grill right now and Matt's putting vervain in—"

"You brought Matt into this?" Clara quipped, her tone sounding a bit more harsher than intended. "That's why this morning Damon wouldn't let in the apartment. You were making the white oak stakes, weren't you? So you could kill them all? And once again, Clara Lockwoof is left out of the plan because of her weak heart."

"Having compassion doesn't make you weak, Lara," Stefan immediately answers, not leaving a second of hesitation.

By now, Clara has just opened the door to Mystic Grill, and as she entered her eyes landed on Stefan as he was sitting down at a table by himself. His phone was still glued to his ear, and his eyes seemed to be staring heavily at people across the room. So, the blonde followed the trail of Stefan's eyes and they landed on two people; a bright red-head woman who looked pretty attractive, and her company, Finn Mikaelson.

Clara takes the phone that was still in her hand, and then hangs up on Stefan. She watches the boy, who was utterly confused as to why the girl hung up, and then she walked over to him. As much as she wanted to continue the argument, now wasn't the time. The boy spins around as soon as he hears the close footsteps, and then it seemed like a breath of relief escaped his lungs as he looked at the girl.

"I do mean it," Stefan stands up, pulling the girl into a quick hug. He wraps his strong arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder, and then she placed her cheek on the boy. As he pulls away, his index and middle fingers reach for Clara's head cut, but she backs away before he could make physical contact. "Your passion, your kindness, it's what makes you, you."

Clara's eyes flickers from the ground to Stefan, and she smiles broadly at the boy, and his sudden outburst. "Thanks, Stef."

The boy takes his original seat, and then points with his hand to the seat across from him. The girl nods, accepting his question if she were to sit. So, she quickly sits down and places her elbows on the table as she uses two finger to pinch her nose, feeling a headache come on.

"So, you're trying to kill—" Stefan raises one finger, making a 'shush' sound, and then he points other to the red-head and the Mikaelson boy. "Right, super vampire hearing."

Clara tried her best to keep her emotions hidden, but that was always hard with Stefan. She could always try to hide things from her friends, but apparently she's all too easy to read just as she finds it all too easy to read other people. Stefan noticed, and he reached forward to place his warm hand on Clara's wrist, giving it a tight reassuring squeeze.

"I'm sorry, but it needs to be this way," Stefan gives the girl a small nod, and she glances with sad eyes to the duo across the room. "Lara, as soon as we kill Klaus—"

"—Why are you so hellbent on killing him?"

"Because he took everything from me!" Clara backed away, taking her wrist away from Stefan's touch. She was frightened by Stefan's sudden outburst, and the people around them seemed to notice the two's misbehaving. Stefan took a moment to take a deep breath, glancing around to the nearby people. "I didn't mean... look, I want my revenge."

"It won't bring back what you lost," Clara stated, feeling her teeth start to grit together. Then her eyes land on Matt as they passed the duo, and she looked at her friend with such annoyance she sworn she could've melted him with laser beams, but it however didn't happen. "You're going to get yourselves killed. You kill one Mikaelson, and they're all going to come after you."

Clara wasn't given a chance to say anything else because Matt walked over to the two, and nodded to Stefan while picking up his now empty mug. Clara glared daggers at her friend, completely annoyed he was helping the vampires when he always scolds Clara for doing the same thing.

That face was his signal, by now he's put the vervain in their drinks. Clara saw a female waitress take over a tray of shots over to the duo, and she glanced to Stefan, who was ready to up and leave. Clara was extremely pissed off at the fact she was once again put in the middle of vampires, no matter how she tried to avoid it.

"And I'm going to have to help you, aren't I?"

a/n: thank you & love y'all <33 kinda a filler chap aw. if you gus ever get confused on what ep is it or anything just comment & i'll try to help !! also, i'm sooo shook because i don't know if i wanna make clara a vampire or not ahHH