I'll never love again [1]

THE NEW DEAL

"I feel like I'm going crazy. Totally paranoid all the time." Elena told Bonnie as Nat ate some fries. They were at the Grill hanging out and Elena was telling Bonnie about her weird run in with that creepy guy in the morning.

"You have a right to be. Klaus is still out there and he knows you tried to kill him." Bonnie says matter of factly. Nat nods at that. It had been a couple of days since Homecoming and Klaus hadn't even called Nat to see if she was okay after everything.

"Why hasn't he made a move? There has been no sign of him." Elena frowns and turns to Nat. "Have you talked to him?"

"Nope." She says and takes a sip from her glass of water.

"Great. Just my slow spiral into insanity."

"Join the club. Everytime I close my eyes, I have that nightmare. On repeat." Bonnie mutters.

"The same dream?" Nat asks curiously. For some days now, Bonnie had been dreaming of the old witch house and some coffins there.

"Yeah! Four coffins, Klaus is in one of them. It's weird."

"What of it's not just some dream?" Elena asks. "What if it's like... you know... a witch dream?" Nat thought about it for a second and realized that it may be true.

"It's just stress. I'll figure it out." Bonnie tried to dismiss her and Nat frowned.

"I don't think it is, Bon. Trust me, I've been there already." The witch just stares at her and nods before turning to her sister.

"And what about Stefan? Has there been any sign of him?"

"He betrayed us Bonnie. The Stefan we know is gone." Elena tells her dejectedly.

"How is Damon handling it?" Bonnie then asks.

"Damon is... Damon." Nat said and looked around the Grill, spotting Damon sitting at the bar with Ric, who was grading papers. He had lots of different alcohol bottles in front of him and a glass in his hand.

"Nat." Bonnie called and she turned back to her. "Did you already drink all of Dr. Martin's herbs?" She asked gently and Nat took a deep breath and shook her head.

"Not yet. I've been rationing, but it's gonna run out soon." She says.

"How soon?" Elena asks her frowning.

"Next week." She says curtly and Elena shuts her eyes, nodding slowly. "It's okay. I'll deal with it." She shrugs and drinks more water, trying to hide her pain. Truth be told, she was freaking out. Nat didn't think she was ready to start having lapses again, but it would happen if she wanted it or not, she just had to be strong enough.

"Uh, well. I'm gonna go home, try to figure out this freaky nightmare." Bonnie said awkwardly and both girls nodded. She grabbed her things and walked out of the Grill. A few minutes passed in silence before Alaric waved them over.

"Ric wants us to go there." Nat told Elena and stood up, walking towards him and Damon quickly. When they got there, she furrowed her brows. "What's up?"

"Jeremy was fired last week." He told them and Nat sighed in frustration. Elena frowned and ran a hand over face. "He also got an F in his history essay. I... I don't know, guys." Ric said, clearly lost and not knowing how to deal with him.

"We'll try to talk to him, okay? Just go home and finish your work, Ric. We'll be there soon." Elena told him and he nodded, grabbing his things and leaving them with Damon.

"Mm, what are you gonna do with your baby bro?" Damon slurred. Nat frowned and looked away.

"You stink." She told him flatly and he pouted. "Why are you so drunk this early in the morning?"