Try {One | Alaric Saltzman}

Girls' Night

"Tyler is gone? That's what you're calling me about? You know what I have to say to that: Good!" Damon exclaimed. "I'm sick of the vampire vs werewolf torture!"

"I just- I know he feels terrible; they tricked him." Abigail walked away from the swarm of students arriving for the day, stopping just in front of Alaric's car. "I mean, they preyed on the loss of his uncle to get him on their side. His uncle that you killed, by the way."

"God, why did you have to bring that up?" He let out a heavy breath. "Well, Tyler probably should've known there was more to the story when they were asking him to go after Elena."

Stefan's car pulled into the parking lot. "I have to go."

"Oh, wait, one more thing: when Alaric daggered Elijah, it broke his compulsion."

She scoffed. "Was that your way of telling me that Katherine's out of the tomb?"

He did not answer her question. "Alright, have a good day!"

With her hand still wrapped tightly around her phone, Abigail found Stefan's side. "Why is Katherine still here?"

"She wants what we want... Klaus dead." Stefan shrugged. "Maybe she sees us as her only chance."

Elena scoffed very similarly to the way her sister had into the phone as she approached them. "Considering she's sleeping across the hall from you, I think she's here to lure you and Damon back into her web. I want her gone."

"So do I," he stressed. "But she stayed. Shouldn't we at least try to figure out why?"

"How?" Abigail asked. "She lies ninety-nine percent of the time."

"Look, I hate it, but she does make a point: we don't know anything about Klaus. She does." He wrapped his arm around Elena's shoulders. "Maybe we should stay at your place tonight."

"No, you can't. Sorry. I told Bonnie and Caroline that they could come over." They stared back at her. "Look, Bonnie lost her powers and Caroline is having problems with Matt. They need another girls' night."

Stefan raised his eyebrows at her. "Maybe Katherine can join you."

They couldn't help but laugh as they walked to Alaric's classroom, especially since they knew there would be no smiles once they got there. Alaric was waiting for them, sitting slumped over in his chair with his hands in his hair. It was hard to imagine the way he felt, but it was easy to see the toll all the lies and secrets were taking on him.

"It was bad. You know, John planted all these seeds about Isobel and now Jenna knows I'm lying about something." He dropped his fist on his desk. "Which means it's only a matter of time before she starts looking for answers that will reveal what else I'm keeping from her. What we are all keeping from her."

Abigail sat on the empty corner of his desk. "John's going to end up dead on the kitchen floor if he's not careful."

"Yeah, well, easier said than done. I gave him back his ring so..." He looked back to Elena. "Jenna keeps asking about Isobel. You know, was she murdered? Why haven't they found the body? I mean, how much longer can she stay in the dark?"

"You think we should tell her the truth?" Elena asked.

"I'm saying I can't be around her and not tell her about Isobel." He looked at Abigail's hand, but he didn't take it. "It's too much."

She stood up, took a step back, and faced Elena. "It's becoming more dangerous for her not to know."

"I just thought that we'd at least hold off until after we've dealt with Klaus." Elena looked up at the clock. "Even then, how do we tell someone what we know? How does someone hear that?"