HUMANITY - A Stefan Salvatore Fanfiction

CHAPTER 5 - DECORATING

They were safe.

That's what mattered.

Caroline, Stefan and even Damon.

Sophia was angry. And she felt as though she had every right to be. Her uncle had tried to have her friends killed.

It had been several weeks since that one night in the forest, since her world had changed completely, and Sophia felt more confused than ever. She was so sure that vampires were the answer, and now there were werewolves too. It was as if every time she managed to catch her breath, something else managed to knock it away again.

Today however, Sophia needed to focus on the Masquerade Ball. Her Mom had gathered volunteers to help set it up, and as much as Sophia didn't want to, it was one of her Father's favourite traditions, and she knew she had to go.

Carol Lockwood had asked her daughter to collect some boxes from her Uncles car, and as she reluctantly made her way outside, she bumped into the one person she had absolutely no desire to speak to.
"I'm not talking to you" Sophia said, as Mason approached her with an apologetic smile. "You tried to hurt my friends."
"Then can you listen?" her Uncle replied, earning a glare in response. "Please?"

Sophia said nothing at that, which is all Mason needed to continue.
"Your Dad was always better with the smart decisions," he said. "I was the cocky younger brother, that always managed to screw up. But he's gone now, and I... I wanted to protect you and Tyler."
She glanced at him then, a pang of guilt hitting her chest hard. Her Father... She could hardly imagine how he'd react to all this.
"I don't need protection from my friends," she murmured.
Mason shrugged, shaking his head slightly with a scoff. "Maybe not," he said, pausing. "I wasn't trying to hurt you, Soph."

"It's okay."

Mason stopped, slightly taken aback by Sophia's simplistic sentiment. He raised a questioning brow at his niece, encouraging her to continue.
"You look at them like they're people, not monsters," Sophia explained, a slight grimace washing over her features. "Dad... he would have killed them without thinking, as soon as he knew what they were."
Mason scoffed. "Maybe he would have thought differently if he knew that us Lockwood's can be every bit as dangerous as the vampires."
"Maybe," Sophia smiled. "But he was stubborn as hell, so I doubt it."

"Just like you, Soph."

At that comment, Sophia let out a laugh. Her Uncle grinned back at her, more familiar than she had seen him in weeks. After a moment, they paused, and Mason turned to lift a couple of boxes from the trunk of his car. He placed two, stacked one on top of the other, in Sophia's waiting arms, the pair of them fumbling slightly as he did so.
"Got it?" Mason laughed, steadying the boxes in her hands. They were light, thankfully. Full of masks and place holders. Sophia nodded, grinning over the stack of cardboard.

"Good, get those to your Mom, okay?"

And with that, the pair parted, and Sophia made her way back towards the house. She used her hip to push open the door, and then placed the boxes on the table in the hall as it swung shut behind her.

Maybe, she thought, catching her breath as volunteers bustled around her. Just maybe everything will be okay.

It was at that moment that Damon stepped in from the back of the house, his younger brother just a few steps behind him.
"If it isn't my favourite Lockwood," Damon quipped, "is Cinderella ready for the ball?"
Sophia shot him a glare, before managing a slight chuckle as she shook her head at him bemusedly. "As I'll ever be. God knows why my Dad loved this masquerade so much."
"Oh come on," Damon replied, unable the stop the grin from spreading across his face. "The masks, the intrigue and anonymity? It's exciting."