Crimson Whispers

Chapter Twelve

After an unsuccessful night of searching, I had a crazy night. Probably because it is Halloween. My dream was filled with vampires and witches. Elena and Matt were dressed up as a doctor and a nurse. It was like they were all doing some kind of Halloween play; Stefan, Matt, Damon, Jeremy, Elena, Vicki, and, for a moment, Bonnie and Caroline too. I watched as Vicki died. It felt so real. Of course, it was probably just a stress dream.

I woke up early and made my way to the Grill to meet up with Caroline. She and I wanted to get to school to help with the Halloween decorating and, of course, I wanted to see the costumes she picked out for herself, me, and Bonnie.

The moment I sit at the table with her, she shows me the witch costumes she chose.

Caroline: "What do you think?"

I try to act excited for her benefit.

Skylar: "Very cute. So we are gonna be witches tonight."

Caroline: “Yup. We are gonna have so much fun tonight.”

Skylar: “I hope so.”

Caroline: “Well, I know so. Come on.”

She drags me out of the grill and over to school, where we find Bonnie at her locker.

Caroline: “Bonnie, I have got your costume. [Hands the bag to her] It’s all here.”

Bonnie excitedly opens the bag and pulls out the witch costume but frowns when she sees it.

Bonnie: “Seriously?”

Caroline: “Aah! Come on. Can someone please be excited that it’s Halloween? I just wanna have fun. You know, just some silly, fluffy, Damon-free fun.”

Skylar: “I’ll try my best, but I’m still worried about the whole Vicki running off to god-knows-where thing.”

Bonnie pulls a necklace out of the bag.

Bonnie: “Hey, isn’t this the one you got from Damon?”

Caroline: “Yep, wear it, toss it. I don’t care. I just want it gone. Hey, have either of you seen Elena? Do we know what she’s wearing?”

Bonnie: “I was with Grams all weekend. I haven’t talked to her. Maybe she’s with Stefan.”

Caroline: “Riding to his castle on his white horse.”

Skylar: “I haven’t seen her since she left the house this morning. She actually broke up with Stefan after Vicki ran out of our house. I doubt she even knows what she’s going to wear.”

Caroline: “What? What happened between them?”

Skylar: “I have no idea. She doesn’t want to talk about it, as far as I know.”

Bonnie: “That really sucks. I hope she’s okay.”

The warning bell rings, and we head off to class. Once school is over, I finally go home and get ready for the Halloween party. For some reason, Elena and Stefan never showed up for school. I texted my sister, but she never responded. While I’m getting dressed in my witch costume, I hear someone downstairs. I walk down and hear Jeremy in the kitchen talking to someone.

Jeremy: “-and Vicki was in every single one of ‘em. So you may not see it, but trust me. Keeping me away from her is not for the best.”

Jeremy walks by me and I can tell he’s miserable. I walk into the kitchen and find Elena looking just as miserable.

Skylar: “Hey, what happened?”

Elena: “Oh, you know, just got into it with Jeremy again.”

Skylar: “About Vicki, right?”

Elena: “Yup.”

I pull her into a hug.

Skylar: “It’s gonna be okay. Hey, let’s go to the Halloween party together. I’m meeting up with Caroline and Bonnie there. We could really use a night off.”

She gives me a small smile.

Elena: “Sounds good. I’ll get ready.”

Skylar: “Awesome. I’ll help.”

I help her get ready in her nurse costume from last year, because apparently she’s been too busy to even think about Halloween. My witch costume is just the red version of Caroline’s costume. Jeremy joins us, after he threw on a black hoodie as his costume. The three of us go to school together and the party is crazy packed. It’s quite the event, filled with crazy teens in so many different costumes.

We make our way through the crowd and once we get into the school, we spot Matt, who smiles as he comes over to us.

Matt: “Elena, you went with last year’s costume, too, huh?”

Elena: “Yeah, I didn’t know that I was coming till an hour ago.”

Matt: “Me neither.”

It’s clear he is still in love with Elena with the way he looks at her. He tries to stop looking at her, looking at me instead.

Matt: “Love the witch costume, Skylar.”

Skylar: “Thanks, Caroline picked it out.”

Matt: “She did a great job. [He looks at Jeremy next.] And you’re going as…you?”

He rolls his eyes and walks off. Matt looks at us, completely confused.

Elena: “He’s not talking to me right now, we got into a fight.”

Matt: “Yeah, I got into it with Vic, too, when she got home. I’m trying not to smother her tonight, but part of me didn’t wanna let her out of my sight.”

Skylar: “Siblings can be quite difficult sometimes. [I point at Elena.] This one didn’t want to text me at all today.”

Elena looks stunned.

Elena: “Wait, she’s here?”

Matt: “Yeah. Well, you can’t miss her. She’s a vampire.”

Elena starts breathing heavily and looking around.

Elena: “Where did Jeremy go?”

Matt: “Elena, what’s the matter?”

I put a hand on her shoulder.

Skylar: “Are you okay?”

Elena: “I-I’ve gotta find him.”

She rushes off to find our brother, leaving Matt and I very confused.

Matt: “What was that about?”

Skylar: “I have no idea. She won’t even talk to me about anything lately. She keeps disappearing and when she is around, it’s like she’s just off in space somewhere, worrying about everything.”

Matt: “That’s rough. I’m having a hard time with Vicki too. It’s like she’s overwhelmed and angry all the time.”

Skylar: “I’m sure it’ll get better at some point. [I hug him.] I’m gonna go find Caroline and Bonnie.”

Matt: “Alright, I’ll see you later.”

We part ways. I go outside, looking for either of the girls. Along the way, I run into Tyler who has a couple of drinks in his hands.

Tyler: “Hey, Skylar. Love the outfit.”

Skylar: “Thanks. Have you seen Caroline or Bonnie anywhere?”

Tyler: “Yeah, they were over there by the candy bowl a few minutes ago. Want a drink? It’s a Lockwood special.”

Skylar: “No, thanks. Last time I had that, the toilet and I became best friends the whole night.”

He chuckles as I walk past him. I find Bonnie running from something.

Skylar: “Hey, Bonnie, what’s wrong?”

Bonnie: “Uh, nothing, just running from Damon. He tried to take Caroline’s necklace from me.”

Skylar: “That’s very rude. At least you got away from him. Let’s find Caroline and warn her.”

Bonnie: “I can’t. I need to get out of here. I’m sorry.”

Skylar: “It’s okay. You have nothing to apologize for. I’ll let Caroline know.”

Bonnie: “Thanks.”

I hug her before she quickly leaves the party. While I’m searching for Caroline, I come across Damon.

Damon: “Well, aren’t you a sexy little witch.”

Skylar: “Yeah, just a sexy witch with no time for jerks.”

I walk away from him. When I finally find Caroline, I warn her that Damon is here too. We try our best to enjoy the party and let loose for the night, even drinking some of Tyler's Lockwood special drink before eventually going home. When I manage to get home, it feels very depressing in my house. Apparently, Vicki left town and is never coming back. I can tell both of my siblings have been crying, but I convince them to join me for a scary movie night because it's Halloween.