### Lockwood Manor
Lockwood mansion was shaking with the thrum of bass when Elena and Bonnie slipped through the door. The foyer swirled with teenagers in glittering tops, football jackets, and too much perfume, each clutching a red plastic cup.
Elena hadn't wanted to come, but Bonnie dragged her along after the day's tension. Now they stood near the back patio, a little removed from the crowd.
"Elena, I'm sorry for lashing out earlier," Bonnie said, her voice softer than usual. "It's just… I lost my cool for a second. One moment he is caring and the other he is not. You know the changes, you've seen them to."
Elena looked down into her cup. "Bonnie, you have to stop fixating on him." Reminding herself, more than Bonnie. "...He clearly doesn't want us in his life anymore. It was only because of your grandmother that he made a scene. Not for me and you, like he used to."
Bonnie's fist clinched, wanting to reveal what she knew. Tell her that he has involved himself with something far more sinister. He needs help. From her. He is dying. But she couldn't bring herself to tell her what she found.
'No! I can't involve her into the supernatural world. It is better it stayed that way' steeling herself. Not knowing; it was Elena's existence that brought Doom to Mystic Falls.
Bonnie leaned against the counter. "You are right. It is best that we have nothing to do with him. You can avoid him like you do Matt." A wicked smirk on her face.
Elena laughed despite herself. "Yeah… Only if it was that easy. I've tried, but his presence makes thing so difficult. Also give a break to Matt. He isn't such a bad guy."
"Yeah, right! Not the reason you broke up with Ayaan in the first place at all." Bonnie nudged her shoulder. Still having hidden animosity with Matt because of what happened in January of 2008; and the series of events that followed.
Meanwhile, on the front porch. Stephan enters donning his classic black leather jacket and brown spikes. His eyes searching for someone. His hearing heightened.
"... Well anyway, lucky you. The latest hottie in town is definitely interested. Time to move on, Elena. For your sake. For his too."
Elena hesitated. "Stefan's a good guy. But I'm not sure yet."
She didn't realize his vampiric hearing caught her words, and for once, his brooding face softened. Beer in hand, he walked toward them.
Bonnie noticed and smirked. "I need a refill." She winked at Elena before disappearing into the crowd.
---
### Bridge
Stefan tilted his head toward the back doors. "Want to get some air?"
Outside, the night was cooler, the party's noise muffled. They walked toward the small wooden bridge over the pond, the boards creaking beneath them.
Elena forced a smile. "You know you're the talk of the town."
He chuckled. "Why?"
"The broody sadness," she teased. "It's mysterious."
"You seem sadder than me."
Her smile faltered. "What makes you think I'm sad?"
"You were standing in a graveyard when we met."
Elena looked away. "That's not exactly party talk."
"I'm not much of a party-talk person either," Stefan said gently.
She sighed. "Last spring… my parents' car went off the bridge. Into the lake. They died. I was in the backseat. I survived. They didn't. So, yeah. That's my story."
Stefan's expression softened, quiet sympathy in his eyes. He didn't offer empty words. Just silence, and then: "You won't be sad forever, Elena."
Her throat tightened. She turned to the water, wishing she could believe him. His eyes deep and searching for a feeling in her face.
---
### Front Gate
Inside, the atmosphere shifted when the doors opened again. Ayaan stepped into the mansion, black jacket pulled high, burn marks hidden.
The reaction was instant. Conversations faltered. Whispers filled the air.
*He's here.*
Even fallen, even shrouded in gossip, Ayaan commanded attention. Golden Boy. Fallen Prince. Admiration, resentment, awe — he was the center of gravity whether he wanted it or not.
Bonnie noticed the surge of chaotic magical energy in the air. Her mind immediately thought of the phenomenon she was researching: The Evil Fire. Her chest tightened.
Across the living room, Vicki drifted toward him, cigarette tucked behind her ear. Without a word, Ayaan gestured. She followed him out the back door.
Jeremy, slumped on the couch with another drink, saw them go. His eyes narrowed. Without thinking, he pushed up and stumbled after them.
---
### Woods behind the Lockwood Manor
The trees muffled the party's thrum. Ayaan walked ahead, his pace brisk, Vicki hurrying to keep up.
"Ayaan, slow down—" she protested.
He turned suddenly, eyes blazing, and pressed too close, their chest touching each other.
His hand gripped her shoulders as he pushed his lips onto her. Hurried. Without finesse. Forced muffled sound leaving Vicki's mouth, as if strangled.
"Ayaan. Stop. What are you doing?"
His voice was rough, shaking with fire. "Don't talk!" He continued.
Vicki's breath caught. "Ayaan—"
"Aye! Stop it!" Jeremy's voice cracked from the shadows. He staggered forward, fists clenched.
"She said no!" Pulling them apart by grabbing Ayaan's shoulder but failing miserably.
Ayaan didn't move. His palms tightening into a fist against the tree, but his action undisturbed.
"I said stop it!" Jeremy grabbed Ayaan's arm this time, pulling him back.
*whoosh* In an instant, Ayaan snapped.
His hand shot out, clamping around Jeremy's throat, lifting him an inch off the ground. His voice was low, venomous. "Don't get on my nerves, Gilbert. Your family isn't here to save you anymore. And even if they were—I might not give a fuck."
Jeremy gagged, eyes bulging. His eyes ready to pop out!
Vicki shouted, her voice sharp with fear. "STOP! AYAAN"
His hands loosened.
"GO BACK!" she shouted at Ayaan.
The words pierced through. Ayaan froze, chest heaving, the fire receding. His grip slackened. He dropped Jeremy, who stumbled back coughing.
Without another word, Ayaan turned and stormed back towards the party, vanishing into darkness.
Jeremy clutched his throat, glaring. "What the hell is wrong with him?"
Vicki glared back. "And you... I don't need your help."
"Seemed like you did," Jeremy rasped.
"He was just drunk," Vicki said quickly, defending Ayaan even as her hands shook.
Jeremy scoffed. "I'm drunk too. You don't see me attacking you like an animal."
Vicki's eyes hardened. "You're worse. You're in love. You want to save me. Look into my eyes and tell me I can be saved. I don't need saving, Jeremy."
"Is that what you think?"
"Yeah. So, get lost. Don't meddle in things." She lit her cigarette with shaking hands and walked away, leaving Jeremy in stunned silence.
---
### Deeper in the Woods
Vicki didn't make it far before the night shifted. The shadows thickened, the air grew sharp, and a blanket of fog curled up from the ground as if summoned.
A voice slid through the mist, smooth as silk, cold as a blade of wind at her ear.
She spun. A man emerged from the darkness—elegant, dangerous, his smile too sharp to be kind.
Before she could react, his face changed, fangs flashing in the moonlight. He lunged, and her scream died in her throat. The bite was sharp, almost intimate, draining her until her knees gave way.
When he drew back, her skin was pale, her cigarette dropped into the dirt.
Then Damon stiffened. His eyes widened as a jolt seared through his mouth—fire and iron entwined. He hissed, staggering, clutching his jaw. Around Vicki's neck, a faint sigil etched into a chain flared once, then faded, leaving only the bitter taste of ash on his tongue.
Damon licked the blood from his lips, his smirk edged with both fury and amusement. A memory flickered—New Orleans, almost a decade ago. The same sting. The same craft.
"So… you were hiding here, in this town," he murmured. His smile sharpened. "That makes things interesting. Quite the welcome to the party." He licked his lips again, eyes gleaming. "This will be fun."
And with that, he vanished into the fog.
---
### The Party
Jeremy had been drinking steadily since Vicki and Ayaan.
Cup after cup until his words slurred and his eyes glazed. Elena noticed him weaving toward the back doors and shouted across the party, her voice cutting through the music.
"Jeremy, stop!"
Stefan, beside her, turned at the tone. Elena caught his sleeve. "Wait a moment. I got to handle my brother." She shoved her cup into his hand and stomped after Jeremy.
Jeremy stumbled toward the woods, retracing the path of his earlier fight with Ayaan. Branches scratched his arms as he muttered curses under his breath.
From behind, "Jer, stop!"
He didn't slow. "Leave me alone, Elena," he slurred, pushing forward.
His feet tangled in the roots. With a sharp grunt, he tripped and fell—right onto something cold and still.
The reek of blood hit him first. Then his eyes adjusted.
"VICKI!" Jeremy's scream ripped through the trees.
Elena caught up just in time to see him scrambling off her crumpled body. "Ahh—oh my God!" she cried, horror flooding her voice.
Vicki lay pale, blood streaking her neck, her chest barely rising.
The sound carried. Stefan bolted from the party, his speed inhuman as he cut through the dark toward them.
---
By the time Matt arrived, his face was pure panic. "Vick? Oh God—what happened?"
The sirens wailed in the distance. EMTs rushed in, lifting Vicki onto a stretcher. Jeremy sobbed; Elena tried to hold him steady.
At last, Ayaan appeared silently beside the stretcher, his face hard, unreadable. He stepped close as they slid Vicki into the ambulance. His hand brushed her arm for just a second. He mumbled a slight chant under his breath: "Pṛthivyāḥ dīrghajīvitāt" (by the grace of the earth, outlast us all).
A faint glow pulsed, unseen by most, but Bonnie felt it ripple like heat. Stefan too stiffened, his senses sharp. Tyler, watching from the crowd, had a flash of memory: years ago on the football field, a broken leg, Ayaan's hand, the pain vanishing. He realized it hadn't been a dream.
Vicki's breathing steadied. The wound closed just enough. Enough to look survivable, enough that doctors wouldn't ask questions.
Matt didn't notice. Elena didn't either. But Bonnie's eyes widened. The Evil Fire was there too, leaking from Ayaan like a storm barely contained.
The ambulance doors slammed. Matt climbed in, shouting promises to his sister.
---
As the ambulance pulled away, Ayaan stayed on the curb. His head lifted. His eyes locked with Stefan's across the crowd.
'Doesn't feel like him' Ayaan thought. 'He hasn't fed. Bloodlust is static. But it was a vampire. Which means another one. Interesting. But they made a mistake. Attacking what belongs to mine.'
The fire flickered in his gaze, raw and dangerous. Stefan stiffened, holding his stare, but said nothing.
Bonnie, standing near Ayaan, shivered. The air rippled around him, his anger radiating like heat. She whispered under her breath: "It's consuming him."
Then Ayaan vanished into the night, leaving only whispers and fear behind.
The party was over. And Mystic Falls would never feel safe again.