The O'Connell's (Under Editing)

Stacey

Rebekah and Hope engaged in a heartfelt conversation upstairs in Hope's room, surrounded by the comforting warmth of shared memories. Meanwhile, the rest of the group gathered downstairs, where Bonnie and Caroline delved into Lilly's past. Jeremy and Elena found themselves discussing Jeremy's falling grades with the occasional comment from Damon.

Elena, scrutinizing Jeremy's school report, pointed out the academic challenges, "Jeremy, you're failing nearly all your classes, even art, which you love."

Jeremy defended himself, "I've had more important things to deal with, like adjusting to being a hunter and helping Cami against rampaging witches."

Damon interjected, "Cut the guy some slack, Elena."

"Damon, this is important," Elena retorted, annoyed. "Jeremy, we'll talk about this later. I'm going to find Stefan."

As Elena left her seat, Damon followed suit, curious about Stefan's whereabouts. Elena called out, "Stefan?"

A distant voice echoed from the cellar, "I'm down here!"

Puzzled, Damon and Elena exchanged glances before hurrying downstairs to see what Stefan was doing.

"What are you doing down here?" Elena questioned, her curiosity sparked.

"I heard something and found this on the wall," Stefan pointed to the words 'I'm Stacey O'Connell' hastily scrawled on it.

"Who wrote that? Stacey is in Florida," Elena stated, perplexed.

Damon, injecting humour into the situation, teased, "Maybe she's dead, and her ghost is haunting us." He smirked while making ghost movements using his hand gestures.

"Very funny," Elena responded with a roll of her eyes. Meanwhile, Stefan detected another sound.

"What's that scratching noise?" Stefan asked, his attention on the peculiar wall activity.

"The wall," Elena exclaimed, stepping back. Damon caught her as she tripped, their eyes locking for a moment before Elena stood up and joined Stefan.

"What? Not even a thanks?" Damon smirked.

Elena rolled her eyes and put her arm through Stefan's, staring at the new writing on the wall that read, 'I'm in New Orleans.'

"How are you here?" Stefan inquired.

"Seriously, baby bro? Now you're talking to it?" Damon teased.

"Maybe she really is Stacey," Elena mused. The scratching on the wall resumed, revealing the word, 'Spell.'

"That answers it. I mean, she is a siphon," responded Elena. Caroline and Bonnie, both curious about the delay, came downstairs and saw the writing on the wall.

Caroline spoke first, "What the hell are you guys doing he–" Caroline's attention was turned to the writing on the wall, "Stacey? As in Cami's cousin, Stacey?"

Elena nodded as she continued speaking to the wall, "Why are you communicating with us? Cami isn't here."

The scratching continued, 'I can help.'

"You have a spell in mind, don't you?" asked Bonnie. The word 'Yes' appeared on the wall.

Caroline continued, "You want us to go to New Orleans?" Once again, the word yes was written on the wall.

Rebekah and Hope heard the commotion and came downstairs into the cellar along with Jeremy, who followed behind.

Rebekah asked, "What the bloody hell is that outrageous scratching noise?"

Stefan was going to answer, but Hope beat him to it, "Rebekah, the wall."

Rebekah's attention was drifted to the wall, "Who's Stacey?"

"Cami's cousin," answered Hope.

Elena explained everything, and by the end, Rebekah willingly decided to go back to New Orleans to see what was happening.

"I'll go. I'm due to a trip to New Orleans anyway." Rebekah headed up the stairs, everyone following behind her.

As Rebekah prepared to leave, she noticed a subtle hint of melancholy in Hope's expression. Sensing the internal conflict, Rebekah approached her gently, "Hope? Would you like to come with me?"

Hope hesitated, glancing at her friends for any objections. Surprised to find their supportive nods, she finally responded, "Sure."

Rebekah grinned, "Great! We'll get the entire family together except your uncle Elijah since he's still away, but we can make do without him. We could have a bonfire—it's a family tradition after all."

Hope's smile grew, "Sure, sounds good. But I haven't packed anything."

"No worries. We have clothes at home, and if you don't fancy them, we'll indulge in some shopping. Just us, maybe your aunt Freya too, but between us, her fashion sense is questionable."

Hope chuckled at Rebekah's playful remark about her aunt, said a quick goodbye to her friends, and followed Rebekah out the door.

In the car, Rebekah settled into the driver's seat while Hope buckled her seatbelt. Rebekah cast a warm smile at Hope, saying, "New Orleans, here we come."