Tainted desires: TVD [1] ✔️

eighty

After all the time that has passed, the dark cloud of grief still hangs over Mystic Falls.
And on this special day, what was postponed due to some hardships is supposed to take place.
The townspeople are not sure whether to be pleased or depressed about it.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

Matt and Elena are laying out memorial pamphlets on the rows of benches in the church.
The boy watches her stagger through the rows and walks up to Elena.
Everyone in the city has witnessed with their own eyes how she is slowly getting weaker and weaker.
But only she knows that her body is starting to slowly desiccate because she can't keep any blood down.

"How are you feeling? A little strung out?" he asks and hands her more pamphlets.
"I'm fine. It's just my emotions are all over the place. Everything's heightened.
I mean just the sight of all the names of the dead makes me want to cry for a week," she tells him sadly and he sighs.
"You didn't have to volunteer"
"People died.
People we've known our whole lives, so yeah, I did," she disagrees and glances over at the front of the church where she sees a young girl sitting on one of the pews.

"Is that-"
"April Young. Yeah," Matt tells her.
She greeted him and Jeremy earlier.
"Oh, wow," Elena mutters and walks over to her and sits down.
"Hey there"
April looks up and smiles slightly.

"Hey. Long time, no see. Not since..."
"My parent's funeral," Elena realizes and the look at each other awkwardly.
"Yeah"
Elena clears her throat and hugs April.
"Are you gonna survive this?" she asks quietly and April takes a deep breath.

"They want me to speak.
I guess all the kids who lost somebody can.
What am I supposed to say? I'm sorry my dad didn't fix the gas line?
But, if I don't say anything then...I mean, what if nobody does?
My dad and I didn't always get along or anything but, everybody still deserves to have nice things said about them at their own funeral, you know?
I mean, for my mom's funeral, everybody said these really nice things"

"You say what you want to say or you don't say anything at all.
And don't worry about your dad, everyone in this town loved him," Elena encourages her.
"Yeah. Until three months ago," April says, choking up at the thought.
"Even still"
Elena takes her hand to comfort her, but immediately feels the hunger rising inside of her and begins to get up.
"I'm sorry, I...I have to go"

Elena rushes off into the bathroom and pukes up Damon's blood in the toilet.
She's been drinking it every day and she still can't keep it down even though it's directly from the vein.

The doppelgänger gets up and walks over to the sink before she suddenly pukes up more blood.
She looks at herself in the mirror and breathes heavily.
Blood is staining her clothes and dripping down her chin, causing her to get upset and panic.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

"What are your plans for the day?" she asks her friend and puts her phone on speakerphone before she sets it down and keeps working on her makeup.
"Sage wants to explore the woods around our new home.
We need to hunt," Finn answers and the witch can hear his girlfriend yelling something in the background.
"Don't forget to ask her," Sage tells him and the original vampire sighs.
"What is she talking about?"

"It seemed like a nice idea for us to visit you.
However, you were no longer in California when we showed up for a surprise visit.
Your mother said something about a trip around the world, Ms. Amelia.
Is that correct?" Finn replies and Amelia pauses in her movement.
"You came out of hiding to check on me?
Someone could have recognized you," she voices her concerns.