CHAPTER EIGHTEEN | BEFORE SUNSET

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THE LAST THING THAT RILEY EXPECTED TO HEAR WHEN SHE WOKE UP WAS THAT ALARIC HAD COMPLETED THE TRANSITION. When Damon had left him at the tomb, it was quite clear that Alaric was not going to feed and complete the transition. But, Bonnie had turned up at the Gilbert residence with a bite mark on her neck. Damon explained that the Bennett witch was lured to the tomb in the middle of the night so that Alaric could feed on her to complete his transition.

"What do you mean he turned?" Stefan exasperatedly sighed as he wandered over to Bonnie with a towel for the wound on her neck. "I thought you were standing guard?"

"I saw Damon a little while after you guys left and encouraged him to go and see if Ric was okay. I mean, come on. It's not fair that he had to die alone." Riley filled the younger Salvatore in on the events after they left the tomb.

"Don't blame me. Blame Bonnie the blood bank." Damon rolled his eyes and glanced over at the wounded Bennett witch who was still wearing her dress from the dance. "She fed him."

"I had no idea what was happening. Okay, the witches led me there. They wanted him to feed so he turned." The Bennett witch defended herself while she continued to dab the towel against her neck.

Stefan nodded. "So, where's the stake now?"

"Oh, you mean the White Oak one? The one that can kill an Original and wipe out an entire line of vampires?" Damon questioned sarcastically before his smile dropped and he glared at Bonnie. "We don't know."

"If you are so upset with me, why did you feed me your blood to save my life?" Bonnie growled out of annoyance with her eyes narrowed toward the Salvatore.

"Because I do stupid things, Bonnie. I do things, like let my friend die with dignity when I should have just killed them."

"Plus, if you let her die, I would've killed you. So, I mean, there's that." Riley shot Damon a pointed look.

"Alright, so, how do we kill him?" The younger of the two vampires cleared his throat in an attempt to change the subject.

"I've been trying to figure that out. A witch can't truly make an immortal creature, there's always a way to undo a spell."

"There has to be a balance." Riley nodded in agreement with the Bennett witch. "But, this time— it's different. Esther knew that we'd try and find a way to stop him. So, naturally, she planned ahead."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden ring of the doorbell. Jeremy rushed down the staircase and opened the door to reveal the Hybrid stood on the front porch. "What the hell do you want?"

Once Riley and Stefan heard Jeremy's voice, they rushed into the corridor. "What the hell are you doing here, Klaus?" Stefan glared at the Hybrid and pushed Jeremy aside for his own safety.

"Well, for starters, young Jeremy here could show some manners and invite me inside," Klaus spoke with an insincere smile.

"You seriously think you'll get an invitation inside? You're really are delusional, aren't you?" Riley spat as she felt Damon appear beside her.

"Jeremy, why don't you go up to your room?" Stefan urged the teenager, though Gilbert didn't listen to Stefan's orders.

"Now," Damon's tone was a lot harsher and Jeremy soon disappeared from the door.

"Hm. Poor lad. Loses one questionable father figure only to be replaced by the likes of you two."

"You'd think, wouldn't you?" Riley shrugged. "But, I mean, today's just been a day of surprises. I mean, you know Alaric's not dead, right?"

"Oh, I know all about my mother's invulnerable little creation, that's why I'm here. I'm leaving town. Just need to pick up a few road trip necessities. Spare tire, flashlight. Doppelganger." As he spoke, a smirk soon appeared across his lips.

"Can't help you there." Damon patted his brother on the shoulder and pulled him back before he slammed the front door on Klaus.

Stefan sped straight up the staircase and into the spare room that Elena was eager on redecorating, but the doppelganger was nowhere to be found. "She's not here."

"What? Well, where the hell did she go?" Riley raised an eyebrow in disbelief just as Bonnie appeared in the hall with a clueless look on her face.

"Klaus wants in. We have to keep him out." Damon watched Klaus from the window. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he rushed over to Riley. "Duck!" Stefan dropped to the floor with Bonnie, whilst Damon held Riley. As soon as they dropped, the glass window shattered.

Stefan pulled himself up from the floor and rushed into the kitchen. He glanced out of the window and sighed. "Elena's cars gone."

"Why wouldn't she tell anyone where she was going?" Bonnie asked with a dumbfounded look on her face once everyone made their way into the kitchen.

Suddenly, the front door flew open after Klaus had launched a football inside. He then appeared holding pieces of a white picket fence and a smirk on his face. The pieces of the fence were launched into the house at high speed until eventually, Stefan received a call from Alaric.

Alaric had told Stefan that he had both Elena and Caroline at the high school with him and that if Klaus didn't turn himself over, he would surely kill the both of them without hesitation.

The Hybrid grabbed a piece of rolled-up newspaper and set it alight before he strode back onto the front porch just as Stefan and Riley appeared in the doorway. "Put it out," Stefan ordered.

"Come outside and make me." Klaus countered with the newspaper in the air steadily as he watched Stefan confidently take a step out of the house.

"Trashing the house and trying to kill us isn't going to help you. Elena isn't here." Riley explained when she noticed the Hybrid's confident smile fade a little.

"Alaric has her and Caroline and he's gonna kill them both unless you turn yourself over to him." Stefan continued on from his best friend. At the mention of Caroline, Klaus' face instantly fell.

The Hybrid threw down the newspaper and dropped the propane tank. "Now, I know you're not asking me to walk into a certain death."

"I really wish we could. But unfortunately, if Alaric kills you there's a one-in-four chance that we die, too."

Damon walked out onto the front porch with one of the pieces of the fence over his shoulder. "I'll take those odds."

"And, a hundred percent chance that Tyler dies." Stefan continued the list.

"I'm good with that, too."

Riley let a small sigh escaped her lips as she stepped from the house and onto the porch. "Don't be a dick."

"Why don't we just figure out a way to put Alaric down?"

Klaus stopped and turned on his heels dramatically. "Okay, how about Damon and Riley sneak in and distract Alaric, while Stefan grabs Elena and carries her to safety?"

"Huh, that's a great idea. What's to stop him from killing Riley and me instantly?" Damon narrowed his eyes at the Hybrid.

"Nothing." He responded bluntly with a smile.

"Caroline's in there. Don't you have a thing for her? Or, did she just reject you too many times?" Damon stepped forward, inches away from the Hybrid until Riley yanked him backward.

"This isn't really helping anyone, is it?" Riley sighed.

"I might have an idea." Bonnie appeared in the doorway as all eyes averted to her. "My mom used a desiccation spell on Mikael that immobilized him for over sixteen years. If I can get it, I might be able to use it on Alaric."

"If and might. Your words inspire such confidence." Klaus spat with a sarcastic tone that caused Riley to roll her eyes.

"Shut up." The strawberry-blonde ordered. "A spell like that needs a lot of vampire muscle to take him down, including yours, Klaus. You willing to play as a team?"

"Just so we're clear. The sun sets in about eight hours. If we don't succeed before then, Elena will be dead. I'll be gone and the rest of you will be left to fend for yourselves."

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"I just got this." Bonnie held her phone up as she, Damon, and Riley headed toward Jeremy who was sat on a bench just outside the school, where Caroline and Elena were being held hostage. "It connects me to Caroline and Elena through our phones."

"Look, they're in Alaric's classroom." Riley pointed out after Bonnie swiped the locator app to the life to reveal a map that showed the two girls as pin dots on the map. "You guys should go in from the South."

"Hm. Digital locator spell. I like it." Damon hummed in response before he walked toward Jeremy. "Hand it over."

"I'm not giving you my ring. Let me do this!" The young Gilbert argued back.

"By my math, you've already bit it once, possibly twice, wearing that thing and if for some reason Riley and Bonnie can't restart your heart and you do indeed die, then before we know it, we have another psycho alter-ego case on our hands."

Jeremy rolled his eyes out of annoyance and glared at the three supernaturals in front of him. "This is my ring. Elena's my sister. No one's gonna fight harder for her than me."

"Jerem—" Riley began, though she was swiftly cut off.

"Fine, be stubborn," Damon growled lowly as he turned to the two witches. "Try not to kill him, will you?"

"Look at this." Klaus' condescending voice echoed once he and Stefan strode straight over to the group. "One big happy family."

"Drink this." Riley extended her hand and gave them a vial of blood. "It's a mixture of our blood. It bridges all three of you to us so when we stop Jeremy's heart, you'll have the power to stop Alaric's."

"You need to make a physical connection to his bloodstream; a vein, artery, something connected to his heart." Bonnie continued to explain.

"If one of us gets a clean shot, take it, the other two hold him down," Stefan suggested while he took the vial of blood from Damon and took a swig.

Klaus nodded and took the vial from Stefan. "Before we all walk through these doors, let's get on the same page, shall we? I was the one who created your vampire bloodline, therefore I am responsible for your lives. And Tyler's life, Caroline's life—" He turned directly to Bonnie. "And of course, Abby's life, should anything go wrong."

"Or you're just lying to save your ass." Damon narrowed his eyes toward the Hybrid.

"I'm not lying. But, go ahead, call my bluff. Let the teacher kill me. You'll all be dead soon thereafter." He smirked before he finally took a sip of the blood.

Stefan let an exasperated sigh escape his lips. "Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

Riley watched Damon turn on his heels and wander toward the high school. "Damon." As she called out his name, he suddenly turned around to face her. "Good luck. "

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For the spell to work, Bonnie and Riley had to stop a human heart and Jeremy nominated himself for that role. He was prepared to do anything to save Elena, even potentially dying.

"Let's do this," Riley spoke confidently. She and Bonnie placed her hands above Jeremy and began to mumble the spell until they both suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Jeremy lifted his head from the ground in confusion as to why the two witches stopped the spell.

"Something happened. The connection broke." Bonnie explained down to him with a worried look.

After a while, the two witches felt the connection again and began to chant the spell until the life drained from Jeremy. The spell was complete and Jeremy was laid dead on the ground in front of them.

"We did it," Riley spoke quietly. She was almost impressed with the fact that she and Bonnie had stopped Jeremy's heart, then she snapped back to reality.

The two held their hands over Jeremy's chest and chanted but it was no use, the spell wasn't working. Bonnie stopped chanting and began hitting the boy across the chest. "Oh, my God. Jeremy! Jeremy!"

"Come on, Jeremy! Wake up!" Riley yelled out until there was a loud gasp of air that escaped Jeremy's lips and he jolted upright. "Oh, thank God."

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Riley headed back to the Salvatore house and paced up and down their bedroom. She prayed that Damon and Stefan were both okay and that the plan was correct but there was always the possibility that something went wrong.

"Riley." Damon breathed heavily as he appeared in the doorway of his bedroom. He didn't expect to see the strawberry-blonde in his room, since she had been sleeping in one of the many other rooms in the voice.

"You're okay?" The witch rushed toward him, eyes widened with fear. "Please, tell me you're okay."

"I'm okay," He grabbed Riley by the arm and pulled her into his embrace. He felt her hands snake around his neck whilst he pressed a kiss on the top of her head. "We're okay, Riles. Klaus is gone. He's gone."

"I'm sorry. I just— when you walked into the high school earlier I thought there was a chance that you might never come out." The strawberry-blonde pulled away and looked him dead in the eyes. "And, I just—"

"What, Riley?"

Before she knew it, Riley's lips were crashed against Damon's and her hands were placed on his cheeks to pull him closer to her. She kissed him like she was starving, desperate to breathe the air that he provided. The kiss took Damon by surprise, but he welcomed it nonetheless.

Damon felt Riley tug at his shirt and it was suddenly tossed across the room. He grabbed hold of her hips, picked her up with his lips still hungrily roaming her neck, and dropped her down onto his bed. He hovered over her, eyes scanning her body with a devious smirk on his lips before he ripped her shirt open to reveal her lingerie.

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