Archive of Our Own

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PrologueLife really couldn’t get any worse for Ryleigh Jameson as she looked through the bills spread out on the table. She glanced over at her mom who was nursing a beer and watching television. She felt herself well up with anger and then as quickly as it started, it faded. Ryleigh resented her mother, but at the same time couldn’t be mad at her for everything she’d been through. Ryleigh, or Rye, as she preferred had graduated from high school with honors the previous summer and had a full scholarship to Yale, but she’d had to turn it down. No, she wasn’t forced, but if she hadn’t stayed home and gotten a job, her mother would have been homeless. Sarah Jameson was a cancer survivor on disability due to the loss of a limb to save her life. Rye’s Dad hadn’t been able to handle the situation when she was diagnosed and had split during her sophomore year of high school. So, yes, her mother received a monthly check, but it only covered a third of their expenses. It would cover half, but her mom had sunk into a deep depression and wasted half of her money on booze. All she did, all day, was sit in front of the television and watch talk shows. Rye, on the other hand, had two jobs to keep the lights on and food on the table. She finished writing the checks to the bills they could afford and stood up with them in her hand; she didn’t trust her mom to take them to the post office. As she was walking towards the door, she glanced at her mom.
“I’m off to the book store, will you please try and eat actual food tonight? You’re going to make yourself sick again. There are leftovers in the fridge or meals in the freezer that you can warm up.” Her mothers glazed over eyes met hers and smiled softly.“Sure baby, I’ll eat, I promise. Be careful closing tonight; I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Rye didn’t respond to that statement, she just turned and walked out after waving goodbye. When she got to her car, Rye caught a glimpse of what she looked like. Her usually vibrant strawberry blonde hair looked dull, and her eyes had dark circles under them. She was a slender girl standing at 5’7, and she’d recently lost too much weight. When you worked as much as she did and worried about how they were going to pay their electric bill, she didn’t have much of an appetite. She did eat more than her mother though because she had to keep her strength up to work both jobs. Rye liked her second job the best, but it didn’t offer full-time hours. She was a shift leader at the local bookstore, and she only worked three nights a week. Her day job was working in a warehouse grabbing items that needed to be shipped to customers. It was extremely challenging work, and sometimes she thought it was too much for her, but she did it…she had to. She was only nineteen, and she felt like a thirty-year-old single mom. She went through her shift flawlessly, and she was so grateful that the following day was her day off from both jobs and she could recuperate before she had to do it again. At the end of the night, her coworkers were laughing together as they looked at the paper. It irritated her that they didn’t pull their weight and expected her to do it all. She walked over to them and scowled.“You haven’t even started working on your go-backs. Put the paper down and get busy, I’m not going to be here all night because you don’t want to do your job.” The girls gave her a look of disdain and huffily put the paper down that they hadn’t even bothered to purchase. The closest one to her, a seventeen-year-old cheerleader picked up her basket of unwanted books and rolled her eyes.“Relax, Rye, geeze we were just laughing at an ad in the paper under wish fulfillment, I mean it’s silly. We’ll be quick; I don’t see why you get so worked up over this throwaway job.” Ryleigh shook her head as the girls walked to through the aisles, still giggling about what they’d read, or probably at her. She picked up the paper and started to fold it back when she saw the ad in question.“Is your life going nowhere? Stuck in a never-ending cycle and can’t seem to pull yourself out? We can help! Stop by The Wish Factory today for a complimentary wish! One lucky person will receive a wish of a lifetime, so stop by soon.” Rye stared at the ad for what seemed like forever, but eventually tore her eyes away and refolded the paper and put it back on the stack. She’d never heard of anything like that before. What the hell were a wish factory and a complimentary wish? It had to be a scam, and she wondered how many people had been drawn in by the idea of dreams. She continued to clean and face the store and ended up having to wait for the girls to finish because they were too busy gossiping. When she finally got home, her mother was passed out on the couch, bottles of beer littering the floor and empty pizza box next to her. Great, they were barely getting by, and she decides to order pizza when they had a house full of food. Feeling her angry tears forming behind her eyes, she walked over to the kitchen table and flopped down. When she looked up she froze, it was the strangest thing. On top of all the bills and invoices that she had set up was a copy of the paper, and it was turned to the very ad that had been nagging at her. Only, she hadn’t bought the paper, and she was pretty sure her mother hadn’t left the house.

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Rye didn’t know what she was doing as she parked in front of the tiny store. There was only one other car in the parking lot of the shopping center, and it didn’t sit well with her. She was at a loss as to what she was doing there. It was her day off she needed to be cleaning her house and trying to catch up on her sleep, but here she was…at the friggin wish factory. It all boiled down to hope, it was stupid, but there it was. She was only nineteen, and she was living like a worn out middle-aged dropout. She had hope that her life wasn’t going to be like that forever, so she wanted to give it a try. Still, it was foolish, and it was this back and forth that had kept her in her car for the last ten minutes instead of getting out and going in. Rolling her eyes, she shut her car off and climbed out. She made sure it was locked and that she had her pepper spray on her keychain firmly in hand as she walked through the dimly lit entryway. She saw only a counter and a small round table up against the wall. There wasn’t any merchandise or wall decorations, an uneasy feeling began to surround her, and just as she was trying to back out without being heard, a voice sounded from behind the counter.“Ah, welcome to The Wish Factory, I do apologize for the state of our store. We are brand new and just getting started.” Rye looked around with a puzzled expression and couldn’t keep from asking the obvious question.“Why are you opening if you have no stock out?” The man moved forward gracefully, almost as if he was floating and she found it be incredibly unnerving. He was extremely tall, had to be at least six five and his eyes were, well they were a bright purple. She found herself staring at them until she shook her head, thinking they had to be contacts. He smiled serenely at her as he gestured her towards the table. Rye clenched the bottle tightly in her hand as she walked over, never turning her back to him and took a seat. He walked over soundlessly and sat across from her.“I can understand your confusion, but I assure you that what you read was real. I am called Grady, and I am but a servant of the Other, and we have come to balance out this realm. There is too much despair, lying, grief, and crime. Too many innocents suffer needlessly because of the selfish, and we have come to cure it.” Ryleigh knew that her mouth was open as she stared at him, she couldn’t help it. What kind of nonsense was this? He smiled knowingly at her as he spoke again.“I understand your confusion and your skepticism, but you are entitled to your complimentary wish. What will it be? You can have anything that your heart desires, and I will make it so. Though choose wisely because the next wish you don’t get to choose, and it certainly isn’t free.” Ryleigh stood up as she eyed him, it was just too weird, she had to go.“You know, I think I’m okay, my curiosity got the best of me, and yeah, I’m gonna go.” He smiled again and gestured towards the door.“Of course, you are free to leave; you are no prisoner. If the ad found you though, you have been deemed a worthy candidate. Of which wish, that I do not yet know, but you may take your leave. I do urge you to at least take your complimentary wish. Only speak what you wish, and it will be.” Ryleigh had enough of this dude and the way he talked.“Okay so if I asked for a million dollars to miraculously show up in my account for me to use as I want with no repercussions or taxes, could you make that happen?” Grady bowed his head and spread his arms out in front of him.“Is that your wish, Ms. Jameson? Think wisely before you answer as this is the only free wish you will get.” Ryleigh felt a shiver go down her spine as he said her name because she was pretty sure she hadn’t given it. Rolling her eyes, ready to leave she threw her hands up.“Of course, that is my wish!” Grady stood up and walked over to her and took her hand.“Before I grant your wish, I would like to know your motivations for such a sum. You do not seem like a greedy girl, so please indulge my curiosity.” Rye was taken aback by his question and the fact that she was suddenly calm and knew that he’d never harm her. She swallowed and without knowing why she answered him honestly.“Well, the money would pay off all of mine and my mom’s debts. She’s got a lot of hospital bills because chemo isn’t cheap and isn’t fully covered by her insurance. Not to mention my car is falling apart, we’re going to lose our house, and I am killing myself working two jobs.” Grady gave her a sad smile and nodded as he placed his free hand on top of hers.“Thank you for answering so honestly; I am truly sorry for everything you’ve endured, without complaint I might add. Your money is in your personal account, not the one your mother has access to so that you may distribute it where it needs to go without fear of her dipping into it to buy more beer. You’ll find that it was made as a lump sum deposit due to an unexpected inheritance that is tax-free.” Ryleigh felt the tear slip down her cheek as she looked up into the depth of Grady’s eyes. She pulled her phone out to check her bank account, but somehow, she knew the money would be there. When she unlocked her bank’s app, she gasped when she saw the balance in her account. She looked up at the kind face of Grady and back down at her phone. She sputtered her response, thinking she must be dreaming.“But, I only asked for a million, this is so much more than that!” He continued to smile his kind smile, showing no sign of pity at all.“Consider it a gift from myself as I know your exact situation. I also know which wish you are tasked with if you will accept it. I think you’ll find it most agreeable.” Ryleigh jerked back as if he’d smacked her. This was the catch, and she should have known before she opened her mouth.“Wait, why would I be tasked with a wish, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of a wish?” He let go of her hand and motioned towards the door.“Go home now, Ms. Jameson and get your life in order as you see fit. I will call upon you soon to offer you your next wish and explain the rules. You may decline it, but if you do, you will not be offered a wish ever again. The money will remain yours as that was your freebie. Be safe going home and please do purchase a new car, yours will not last another week, I’m afraid.” *********************** Ryleigh walked out of the shop and to her car in a complete daze and drove straight to the bank. When she asked about her deposit at the counter, the teller greeted her warmly and ushered over to the bank manager who began to explain the need for different account and savings as the FDIC only covered $250,000 per account. He expressed his condolences to the loss but excitedly got the paperwork ready for her to disperse the money into savings and high yield accounts. Grady had given her a sum of over 20 million, and she was speechless as to what do with it. When she got home, she immediately called her job at the warehouse and told them she quit. She then called her bookstore job and told her that she had to take the following day off but would be back to work the day after that. Her mother eyed her suspiciously as she sat at the table in their kitchen and paid off debt after debt. Once she’d finished paying off the most important things, her mother towered over her, standing with her crutches.“Sweetie, what the hell is going on in here? I heard you call your boss and quit the factory, and you can’t do that! How are we going to live? You know I hate to put you in this position, but I can’t work, and you know it. You’ve been in here spending money like crazy that we just don’t have. What did you do, did you get in with some bad people to get money? Please tell me you didn’t do anything illegal.” Ryleigh looked up at her mother and pursed her lips.“The purse strings are closed. I found the paper you were trying to hide from me showing that I had control over your disability check. You’re going to wean off the alcohol, and it’s going to be locked up and dispersed to help you cut it out completely. I’ve paid off the mortgage and your medical bills. I’ve also hired a therapist to help you get more active and eventually you’ll be fitted with a prosthetic for your leg. We’re going to be fine mom, just great. ********** Ryleigh was so relieved at being out from under it all. She still worked her part-time job to get out of the house and to give her mom some privacy during her therapy sessions. She kept waiting for Grady to show up and she was terrified that he was going to tell her that there’d been a mistake and that she had to give the money back. After a month of getting her life back together as he suggested, it happened. She had let her guard down and convinced herself that she’d never see him again, but when she got home from the bookstore one overcast evening, Grady was sitting on her porch swing looking as serene as ever. She approached him cautiously, shoving her long strawberry tresses out of her face. He stood up at her approach and bowed to her with a smile. He glanced around the small house with a growing smile.“Ms. Jameson, I am so pleased to see you again, and looking far better than the last time we met.” Rye smiled back at him and walked over to him, not afraid, just cautious.“Hi Grady, this is a surprise. I honestly thought that you’d forgotten about me by now.” Grady shook his head and chuckled at her.“Nonsense, I just wanted to give you plenty of time to get your affairs in order before I came to offer you your wish. Upon settling your free wish, it was pressed upon me which to give you. If we may go inside, I’ll present it with the rules, and you may choose to accept or deny.” Ryleigh took a deep breath and moved to unlock the door; positive she’d be able to resist what he had to offer.“Sure, come on in, I finally got my mom to start sleeping in her bed again, so we should have the front room to ourselves.” His smiled widened as he stepped inside and walked over to the living room.“That’s genuinely great news; I am very happy for you. Now, if you will sit, I will start the explanations.” Rye was amused as she sat across from him, he seemed amused. He reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a key fob. He kept it in his hand, palm open and faced her as he began.“This is the Channeler. It has two buttons as you can see, and I will explain what this is. You need to get away and live the perfect life meant only for you. You’ve truly had a tough time, and this will take that away and let you choose the life you want. There are rules; however, that must be followed strictly. It may seem easy, but I assure you it has taken down a great many.” Ryleigh looked at the fob dubiously; it seemed so harmless. Sensing her disbelief, he held out his hand.“I will demonstrate what this will do for you, and then I will explain the rules and the consequences. Please take my hand and then tell me one of your favorite television shows, a show you love to talk about and sometimes wish you could be a part of.” She took his hand and shrugged her shoulders; she had no idea what show to give him. She hadn’t had time to watch tv in so long that she said the first thing that popped into her head.“I don’t know, how about the Flash?” He smiled and bowed his head pressing his thumb to the left button on the fob. He began walking towards her television, taking her with him and reached out to touch it. He waited patiently as she hesitated but reached out to touch the top of the tv as well. Instantly she felt a heaviness and the sense of being jerked forward. Her vision blurred for a couple of minutes, causing her to panic, but then it suddenly stopped. She glanced around to take in her environment, and her mouth dropped open at what she saw. She was standing inside the flash’s command center at Star Labs. Grady let go of her hand and smiled.“Go ahead and look around, interact. You’ll get five minutes in this universe before we must go back so I can explain everything to you. Do not worry, they will know who you are, and you will know what to say.” She turned around in a full circle and came to a stop at the suit. Barry’s costume was right there, and she couldn’t help herself as she reached out to stroke it. She jumped at the sound of a familiar voice coming from behind her.“Hey Rye, I’m so glad that you stopped by, I was really hoping that we could talk.” She turned around suddenly and came face to face with Barry Allen. She glanced around the room and saw only Barry, Grady was nowhere to be seen. She looked back at Barry and knew instantly why he was so cautious towards her; it was crazy as she had memories of conversations that had never taken place. She took a step towards him and tilted her head.“Hi, Barry.” He grinned, reached forward and took her hand.“I know I probably shouldn’t have told you, but I couldn’t bear the thought of not telling you. I mean, you agreed to marry me, and this is such a big part of why I am the way I am, you deserved to know.” Suddenly their love story was in her mind. Was she in love with him? It was so foreign yet so strong, the pull to him. Still, she also felt the betrayal of finding out his secret after dating him for so long. She took a step back from him, her hand slipping out of his.“I don’t know why I came here tonight; I guess I just wanted to see it for myself. You really are the flash…and you didn’t tell me.” He ran a hand through his hair, apparently terrified he was about to lose her.“Babe, I don’t have an excuse. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth. I didn’t want you to be a part of this, but I love you, and I want to be with you and start a family with you. We couldn’t do that without me telling you.” Rye shook her head, seeing the options in front of her, but she had the evidence in her head, and she wanted to answer truthfully as if it actually had happened.“How did you expect me to react, Bar? We’ve been dating for over a year, a year, and you’ve kept this from me. I just think that I need some time to process before I can give you a proper answer.” She saw a tear fall down Barry’s face as he shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded.“No, I get it, I understand. I’ll back off and give you the time you need, and I’ll respect whatever decision you make.” Suddenly the room dimmed, and Barry seemed to freeze. Grady appeared next to her and held his hand out to her. She gratefully took it; she was so confused about what just happened. He smiled as she placed her hand in his and pressed the button on the right. The pulling sensation returned, but it wasn’t as bad. After a few minutes, her vision returned, and she was back in her living room. She sat down slowly on her couch and glared at him.“What the hell kind of virtual reality was that?!” He sat down beside her and chuckled at her reaction.“That, my dear Ms. Jameson, was not a virtual reality experiment. You truly were in Central City having a conversation with your lover, Barry Allen AKA the Flash. When you enter their dimension, you are a part of the story, good or bad.” She couldn’t process it; she was still a little dizzy as she stared at the mysterious man in front of her. He held up the fob in front of him and smiled once more.“Intrigued?”

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Rye didn’t know what to say at first, she stared at him with her mouth slightly open. She’d just met Barry Allen, and she’d broken his heart from the feeling and looks of it. It was incredible, unbelievable, and scary all rolled into one big confusing ball. For his credit, Grady didn’t say anything as she worked through everything that had just happened. First, she’s given an opportunity to become financially stable, and she might even be able to go to college. Now, here this person was offering her entrance into fantasy land. Who doesn’t fantasize about being sucked into their favorite show to interact with their favorite characters? Everyone does it, some just on different levels than others. It was insane though, to think she could just escape into a television show and forgot about her life here with her mother. Grady was watching her patiently, and when she looked him in the eyes, he smiled gently. She took a deep breath and motioned towards the television.“Okay, please explain how that worked. Everyone knows that Barry Allen is in love with Iris, yet he said we were in engaged and it looked as if I broke his heart when I said I needed to think things through.” Grady chuckled at her confusion and began his pitch.“You would not live in any individual season or storylines. The basic premise of the series you love will still be there; only you will be inserted to the storyline. The storyline would fit around you and the people in that world would know you. Now, before you ask any more questions, please allow me to explain the rules.” This was the part that Rye was dreading; there had to be some huge catch to being able to live in a tv show…even thinking that to herself was incredibly weird. She realized that he was waiting for her, so she nodded, and he smiled as he continued.“You will be allowed to live in your chosen realm for a maximum of six months at a time. Now the six months will be very real in the story you want, but for each month you are gone there, only a day will pass here. Once your time frame is up, you must return until the fob turns colors and then if you wish, you may go back to the realm you were in or another one of your choosing. The fob will turn green when it is ready for you to use. It will turn pink alerting you that the time is closing in for you to return home, and you can then but once it turns red, you must. If you do not follow these rules or you decide to go back to one of your stories early, the fob will disappear as will the fortune you’ve been granted, and life will return to the way it was before you saw the ad and the opportunity would never present itself again. Call it an honor code if you will, I will not be here to guide you in and out of the realms, but we will know if it is abused.” Rye stared at him as he began to outline the rules. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad, but she could understand how someone would probably become addicted to being able to climb into one of their favorite stories to escape their reality. She eyed the device he held in his palm before speaking.“I thought that you said the money was a freebie and I could keep it.” He nodded and smiled kindly at her once more.“You may keep it if you decline and you may also keep it if you accept and follow the rules. The draw of the other worlds is powerful, and it has taken down several people. However, if you master it and you follow the instructions…it’s yours to keep…forever.” Ryleigh was battling inside because she really wanted to accept the gift that was being handed to her. However, if she messed up, then the funds would be gone, and she’d be back where she started, in her own personal hell. It was all about willpower, she decided. She’d just have to follow the instructions to a T to make sure she didn’t mess things up for her mother. She started to reach out for the fob but hesitated as she looked at him.“What if I get where I am going, and I have questions, or I need help?” He nodded in understanding; he was definitely a man of minimal words. He observed and actually only spoke when spoken to, which he did just then.“All you have to do is say my name, and I will be there to assist with anything you need. Also, if you choose a dangerous world, you will always be protected. The characters that you’ve allied with will always keep you safe, meaning you cannot die while you are there…unless, well we will get to that part if it happens. For now, the safety wheels are on, and you are impervious in any world. What is your decision?” Rye couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a little fun and reclaim her youth that was taken from her. So, she took the device from his hand and smiled.“I’ll follow the instructions, I promise and if I have questions, I’ll ask.” Grady stood and bowed to her.“I have every confidence that this time, the fob has chosen the right person. I do hope that it can stay with you and that I will not have to reclaim it. Do enjoy yourself, Ms. Jameson, you’ve definitely earned it” She watched as he walked out the front door without another word, leaving the device in her hand When she looked down, she gasped because it had turned a very vibrant green. She took that as a sign that it was good to use and there was no time like the present. She took her purse into her bedroom, and when she got the nerve up, she walked back into the living room. She thought carefully about which show she wanted to visit and feeling a little foolish while pressing down on the left button, touched the television. Immediately her vision blurred and the pulling sensation like before told her it was working. When she came to, she was standing inside of a nicely decorated bedroom. She glanced down at her hand, and the fob was white once more, so she placed it on the nightstand next to what had to be her bed. She glanced around to try and figure out where she was because even though she’d thought of the show she wanted, she didn’t recognize her surroundings. When she spotted pictures on the desk against the opposite wall, she was more than a little surprised. She had not returned to Star Labs like she’d thought…she was in Mystic Falls. *************** Rye was more than a little excited as she glanced at the photos in front of her. There were photos of her, Elena, Bonnie, Matt, and Caroline. She and Tyler were in several pictures by themselves, and she had memories of dating Tyler her freshman and sophomore year before moving away. Wait, her memories were telling her that she was a transfer student back to Mystic and that she was a senior in High School. That was not something that she wanted to relive; she was nineteen in real life, why the hell was she going to be stuck going to school? Granted, when she thought about her absolute favorite show that she was sometimes embarrassed to voice, the school wasn’t a prominent feature of the show. Needing clarification on a few things, Rye called out for Grady and, as he said, he appeared immediately. He cocked his head to the side, waiting for her question when she threw her arms up in confusion.“Okay so I was thinking about the Flash, and it brought me to Mystic Falls, I thought it was supposed to take me where I wanted?” She was impressed; it looked as if he was fighting a smile as he answered her.“The fob knows your heart, and you may have been thinking of the Flash, but this is where you truly wanted to go. You are a senior in high school, and you’ll find that things are very different from when you moved away. Now, I’m glad that you called because there is something that you should know. Do not try to prevent certain events from happening. Yes, this isn’t set in any real season, but certain events are going to happen no matter what. If you try to prevent something from happening, your allies here will become suspicious and well, just don’t do it.” Rye thought about asking why she was a high school student but decided against it. It didn’t really matter; they were in the high school for the whole first half of the series, so it made sense. When she turned to thank him, he was gone. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was time to go to school and she knew instinctively that it was around the first couple of days, something she’d always hated growing up. She looked down at her outfit and was surprised at what she saw. She was wearing a cute blue sundress with matching flats. She grabbed the Gucci bag that was on her desk and tried not to giggle. She walked out of her room and navigated her way down the stairs and into the front room where her “dad” sat at the kitchen table. So, she was a Fell, and this was Thomas Fell, wow she was a founding family member. He looked up at her when he saw her and smiled.“There she is, are you excited to be back home? I’m sure your friends are excited that you’re here.” All the memories of growing up with Elena and the group were there, but there was also bitterness…interesting. She smiled and shrugged at her dad and sat down across from him.“I didn’t tell them I was coming back, I mean it’s not like any of them kept in touch when I left.” He frowned at her and sat his paper down, reaching for her hand.“I didn’t know that, why didn’t you tell me that you hadn’t talked to them? You picked Mystic Falls for your senior year; I’d have taken you anywhere. I’m a little confused as to why you wanted to come back if it wasn’t for your friends. Please, tell me that your motivation wasn’t Tyler Lockwood, I don’t think I could take that.” She stood up and grabbed her keys off the hook next to the back door with a chuckle.“Oh please, Tyler is so very junior high, and I’m completely over him.” Her dad stood up and walked over to her, giving her a small kiss on the forehead.“Well, I’m glad to hear it. Honestly, I think you could go the entire year without dating…I would be okay with it.” She laughed, liking the rapport she seemed to have with him.“I’ll just bet you would. Anyway, I’m going to go; I have to stop by the office for my schedule, so I don’t want to be late on my first day…ugh.” He laughed as she walked out the door. She smiled brightly when she saw that her car was a baby blue bug convertible, it was so very her, and she’d always wanted one. She climbed behind the wheel and made her way towards the school, and the directions were in her head. When she pulled up, she was surprised to find a full parking lot. She suddenly had butterflies in her stomach as she climbed out of her car and headed towards the entrance; she absolutely did not want to go in there unprepared. She was startled when she heard a deep familiar voice call to her from behind her.“Wait, it can’t be, Ryleigh Fell?” Rye turned around and saw a very handsome Matt Donovan coming towards her. Holy crap it was Matt fricking Donovan! He was so beautiful, yet it was weird because she had all these memories in her head from growing up with him. She pasted a small smile on her face as he approached her, trying to calm her nerves.“Well well well, if it isn’t Matt Donovan, my goodness how you’ve filled out.” He chuckled as he stopped in front of her. He laughed again before enveloping her into a brotherly hug. She returned it and sighed because it was nice, she could tell he had missed her. She couldn’t really be mad at Matt for not staying in touch, everything that had happened to him was ridiculous, so she decided to let it go. He pulled away from her still gazing at her with a stunned expression. “Seriously, Rye, I can’t believe you’re here, when did you get back?” She shrugged as they started walking towards the school.“Last week, my dad had promised me that I could go to any school I wanted for my senior year, and I wanted to come home.” He put his arm around her shoulder and laughed once more.“Man, but that means the whole crew is going to be back together. Having you back here, Rye, it’s seriously the best news I’ve had in a very long time.” Rye didn’t respond as they reached the main hallway. It was so surreal being in this school with her favorite fictional characters. Matt walked her all the way to the office and then said a lingering goodbye…interesting. Once she had her schedule, she walked into the history classroom and almost danced with anticipation because this was Alaric’s class, one of her favorite characters. He accepted her schedule and told her to pick an open seat. She didn’t want to seem like a loner or an overachiever, so she took a spot in the second row and waited. She watched as Alaric walked over to the bookshelf and plucked one of the books off the shelf and handed it to her. She’d thought she had arrived in the first week, but from the date on the board, class had been in session for almost two. She heard familiar giggling entering the room, but she kept her head down, flipping through the book that he’d given her. Most of it was real and things she already knew, but some of it wasn’t, some pertained to Mystic Falls. She heard Alaric greet the people who had entered, and Rye held her breath, excited to see their reactions.“Good morning, Elena and Bonnie, go ahead and have a seat…are you two alright?” Rye looked up then and saw that Bonnie and Elena were staring at her with their mouths slightly open. Bonnie was the first to break the silence and approach her.“Oh my God, Rye is that you?!” Rye sat back, smiled, and grinned.“Hey Bonnie, long time no see.” Bonnie’s smile faltered a little at her response, and she felt a little guilty, but she was putting herself in her character's shoes. Rye Fell had grown up with Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie and when she’d moved, not one of them had kept in touch with her. If that had really happened, she’d have been pissed, so she was going to play it aloof instead. Bonnie took the seat next to her, not taking her eyes off her.“Seriously, when did you get back and why didn’t you let us know you were coming?!” Rye shrugged and glanced around; she noticed that several pairs of eyes were on them, including Mr. Saltzman. She sighed as she turned her head to look at Bonnie thoroughly.“You know how it goes; I go where my dad tells me.” She didn't intend to be a bitch, but it had been almost two years, and they weren’t close. It was Elena’s turn to speak, who’d taken the seat behind Bonnie.“I can’t believe it’s really you, Rye; I’m so happy you’re back.” Rye smiled coolly and turned her attention back to the front of the room.“Well, it’s definitely good to be back.” At that moment, Stefan walked through the door, and it was all she could to do to hold back a squeal. Stefan and Damon were ridiculously sexy, and she realized that it was going to be harder than she thought to pretend like she didn’t know what was going on. He came down her row and picked the seat behind her, but he leaned down to kiss Elena on the cheek before sitting. Alaric chose that moment to call the class to order.“Alright guys, it’s Monday, the start of a new week and I need your papers on my desk. Come on, pass them up and I’ll pick them up. I have two announcements to share with you, and then we’ll talk about what we’re going to do this week. First, in light of the tragedy at the Young Farm, the school is taking donations for the families involved. Collection tins are going to be in the cafeteria, and the receiving of friends will be on Wednesday for anyone who wants to attend.” This brought Rye up short because she was pretty sure that Elena was human, but the farm explosion happened in season 4 after she was turned. Grady had said that things were going to be different, so this was going to be a lot of fun. She brought her attention back to the front when Alaric continued to speak.“The second announcement is that we have a new student with us today, Ryleigh Fell, so let’s make her feel welcome, okay?” Before she could stop herself, she spoke up because she hated the name, Ryleigh.“Please, it’s Rye.” He smiled as he nodded.“Alright then, Rye it is. Now your name is Fell and this being a history class, tell me. Are you of the Fell’s of the founding family or is it just a coincidence?” Rye smiled a little nervously but tried to squash it. Personally, she hated speaking in front of people, but from her memories, she could tell that Rye Fell loved attention almost as much as Caroline did.“Yes, I was born here and lived here up until two years ago, but my dad and I moved back last week.” She watched as Alaric plastered a fake smile on his face, it was fascinating to witness. Everyone was so suspicious on this show, so it made sense that her arrival just after the explosion was going to cause them to wonder. She listened as he explained the week ahead and felt the eyes that were on her. This was going to be the most fun she'd ever had.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Rye felt their eyes on her as she sat through Alaric’s class and she was beyond giddy. It was hard to keep her cool when she was about to become an obsessive fangirl. She sat back during his lecture and sifted through the memories that weren’t there before. The bitterness that was there was legitimate it would seem. How these thoughts, emotions, and memories were there was making her freak out, but she tried not to focus on that part. Rye had been there every day for Elena when her parents had passed, but after the move, Rye Fell’s mother had gotten sick. She’d called Elena and emailed her every day, and it had gone unanswered. Caroline and Bonnie had corresponded for a few months, but those soon died off as well. The only one who was consistent in staying in contact was Matt, up until the previous year. She knew from her extensive watching of TVD that this was due to Vicki and all the vamp stuff, so she really couldn’t hold a grudge on him. Could she really be mad at the others anyway? None of that had happened to her, though the tidbit of the mom getting sick was a low blow. She came back to herself when she heard the bell ring. She sighed, grabbed her purse, the new book, and headed for the door. She had barely stepped into the hallway when she heard her name from two different directions. Elena had called to her from behind her and Caroline was rushing towards her from down the hall. Caroline’s face with the picture of happiness as she came to a stop in front of her.“Oh my God, Matt told me you were back during first period, but I had to see it for myself. I can’t believe you’re back!” Rye allowed herself to be enveloped in Caroline’s arms and two things happened at the same time. One, she was fighting extremely hard not to squeal because Caroline was her absolute favorite character. Two, she immediately knew that Caroline was a vampire and the knowledge genuinely frightened her. She received a flash of Caroline’s death via Katherine in her head, and she involuntarily jerked back away from her, her eyes wide. Caroline’s face fell as she dropped her arms back to her side. Rye was still trying to regain her composure when Elena and Bonnie stopped beside them, the circle of friends complete. Bonnie took her hand and smiled at her shyly; she seemed to be afraid that she was going to bite her head off.“What she said, we are so happy to see you, Rye. We have to do something tonight; we have to catch up.” Elena perked up at that statement and smiled.“Hey that's a great idea, why don’t you come over to my house after school and we can have a sleepover for old time’s sake and catch up?” Caroline rapidly nodded her head in agreement and turned her brilliant smile on her. Rye’s skin was crawling at standing face to face with a vampire. This must be something that was added for drama because Caroline was probably the least scary vampire on the show. Rye started to back away and gave them a noncommittal shrug, pulling her schedule out of her pocket.“I don’t think today is a good idea, guys, but maybe another day once I’ve gotten settled.” She immediately turned on her heel and started briskly walking towards her next class, trying to shake the uneasy feeling. She did, however, distinctly hear what came out of Bonnie’s mouth.“Great, our best friend, is back after two years, and she hates us.” She didn’t hear anyone’s reply as she ran into someone in her haste to get away. She would have fallen on her butt if not for the strong hands that gripped her shoulders. When she looked up, her eyes locked with Tyler Lockwood and she felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach. What the hell was that? Sure, Rye Fell may have dated Tyler, but she the person couldn’t stand his smart ass so why was her pulse quickening? He stared at her completely dumbfounded, giving her the time to recover and smirk at him.“Same old, Ty, not looking where he’s going.” He gave an involuntary chuckle as he dropped his hands and let go of her.“Damn, Ryleigh, I didn’t know that you were coming back to Mystic.” She tilted her head to the side and pushed the butterflies away; she did not like Tyler freaking Lockwood. She didn’t answer him just raised an eyebrow and moved to go around him, and he let her go. She had English next, and Rye wasn’t looking forward to it. The fact that she had to go through a full day of school was awful, and she was ready to go already. She’d chosen her seat after her handing her schedule to the teacher and getting her book. She’d been sitting for a minute when, right before the bell, Stefan Salvatore breezed in like he didn’t have a care in the world. He chose the seat right next to her, and she was sure that he’d done this on purpose. They still had a few minutes before the class was supposed to start. She flipped through the book, trying to appear calm and ignoring the fact that Stefan was within touching distance. She heard when he leaned over, and she braced herself so she wouldn’t reveal her excitement at meeting him. “We didn’t get to meet earlier; I’m Stefan Salvatore, I’m Elena’s boyfriend. Elena’s pretty upset right now, and I just thought you should know that.” Rye turned to face him and was hit with the full blast of his perfection. It took her a moment before she could respond to him.“Well, that’s okay, I’m not really looking to rekindle the fabulous foursome, yes we called ourselves that.” He frowned at her, and for a moment she thought he was going to let it go, but she remembered this was Stefan. He’d do anything to make Elena happy and right now getting her to drop her antagonism would do the trick.“Why don’t you at least sit with us at lunch? You guys can take it from there?” Rye was saved from saying anything else as the teacher called the room to be quiet. It was going to be a very long day; it would seem. The next class was one with Matt, and she was okay with that. It was Chemistry, and he had an open seat next to him. The teacher informed her that his was the only open table, which she was grateful. She had just sat down when she felt someone staring daggers at her. She glanced over her shoulder and did her best to hide her surprise. Rebekah Mikaelson of the original family was sitting behind her. If she was there, then they must be nearing the part where she runs Elena off the bridge. It should have already happened though from what was going on, so it was a little confusing. She turned to smile at Matt who was smiling as well. She was glad to have at least one person that she felt comfortable with. The thing with Caroline still spooked her; she was okay with vampires. Case in point, Stefan was staring at her and talking to her, and she hadn’t freaked. Could it be because she hadn’t touched him yet and Rye Fell didn’t know he was one? Having two sets of memories was incredibly weird and distracting. The teacher wrote the assignment on the board and left them to work independently. She leaned over so she could speak to him, but she was careful because she knew that Rebekah could hear her.“So, today has been a big giant ball of awkward and boredom.” This got a chuckle from Matt who was trying to align a group of slides in order.“Yeah, Elena in my second period and she told me that you were kind of cold to them. What really surprised her though was your reaction to Caroline. I mean, the two of you used to be joined at the hip inseparable, and she said you couldn’t wait to get away from them.” Rye was afraid that her reaction had been noticed, so she played the upset friend card.“Please, it wasn’t just Caroline I reacted to. All three of them are just so fake; they don’t care about me; they want everyone around to think we’re all still so chummy, but whatever. The only person at this school that I was actually looking forward to seeing was you.” This caused him to jerk his head in her direction, surprised by her admission.“Okay, I don’t understand, what’s going on with the four of you? Don’t blow me off, I was part of the same group, and the four of you, myself, and Tyler were always together. I get why you aren’t happy to see Ty, I mean the guy can be a real douche, but the girls? What gives?” She was shocked that he didn’t get it, maybe they just didn’t talk about her at all.“Matt, you were the only one who stayed in contact with me, well up until last year anyway.” His face turned red at her statement, and he gave her a look of shame that made her feel guilty.“Rye, I know I dropped off the planet, I’m so sorry. It’s just that so much has happened here, and I was just trying to deal with it all.” Rye nodded and placed her hand on his arm.“I know, Matt, I know what happened. I’m so sorry about Vicki; I can’t believe something like that could even occur in a town like Mystic. You at least attempted to stay in touch with me, and I’ll always be grateful. Elena wrote to me for the first month I was gone and then silence. When my mom got sick, I called, texted, and emailed and didn’t hear a word. Bonnie stayed in touch for about four months and then she too stopped responding to me. Caroline lasted the longest of the three, but only for about two more months. They were supposed to be my best friends, Matt, and they abandoned me.” Rye was proud of herself being able to pull that speech off. She had to play this part of being the injured party, and it was difficult because she knew everything that had been going on. The introduction of vampires, witches, and werewolves would cause anyone to stop their regular routine, but Rye wasn’t supposed to know any of that. When he didn’t respond right away, she leaned over him and fixed the slides as they were all out of order. When she sat back up, he spoke, his head close to hers.“I had no idea they’d stopped their contact with you, Rye. I guess I can’t blame you for being pissed then. We all grew up together, so it should have been easy to stay in contact with you. I’m really sorry about your mom; I don’t think I actually ever said that.” Rye shrugged it off, the feels of having a sick mom were getting to her, and she had a guilty thought of her mom whom she’d left to visit a fake reality. He bumped her shoulder playfully, bringing her attention back to him.“What are you doing for lunch today?” Rye groaned quietly; it was her high school experience all over again. Who did you sit with at lunch?“Ugh, I have no idea. This guy, Stefan, was in my last class and was practically begging me to sit with them so Elena and I could make up. Is he whipped or what?” This got a startled chuckle from Matt who immediately bent over the table to pretend to work on their project, but he did answer her.“He and Elena have a weird relationship that’s for sure. It’s like a weird Edward and Bella thing, and they’re completely obsessed with each other.” The reference almost reduced her to a fit of giggles, but she was able to reign it in.“Well what do you do, do you sit with them?” He sighed and shrugged his shoulders.“Sometimes I do, yeah, but mostly I just hang outside until last period. Why do you want to spend time with me outside instead?” Rye gave him a brilliant smile and nodded.“That would be wonderful, yes.” He chuckled and shook his head once more but didn’t say anything else. In the last fifteen minutes of the class, the teacher came around to inspect everyone’s work, and she was glad that she’d rearranged his slides because she was handing out grades right then. When she stopped at their table and picked their worksheet up, she came up short and turned her head to her.“Well, Matt you lucked out with Rye being your lab partner. Maybe she’ll tutor you so your grade will pick up, this gets an A.” Matt’s mouth dropped open, and he gave her a brilliant smile.“Wow, I don’t think I’ve gotten an A in science since middle school, thanks, Rye.” ********************* The rest of the day passed completely uneventful, and for that she was grateful. She didn’t have anyone she knew in her fourth-period class, which she found odd since she was there to interact with the storyline. She was actually glad to have the time to herself so that she could come up with a game plan on how long she was going to hold the grudge and be able to avoid Caroline. She was very bummed that her body responded in fear at the very thought of speaking with Caroline again because she loved her on the show. When the final bell rang, she grabbed her books and went in search of her locker. She was standing there organizing it and didn’t hear when the very person she was avoiding came to a stop next to her and immediately began to speak.“Okay look, I realize that I lost touch and stopped talking to you. I was going through some stuff, and I didn’t want to bother you with it. Plus, I kind of started dating Tyler, and it was weird because he was your boyfriend for a long time and I was afraid that you’d be mad at me. Then, some other stuff happened to me, and I can’t even begin to explain any of that. The point is, we are best friends. Time and distance don't change that; we made a promise when you left that nothing would come between us and our friendship. So, will you please please stop avoiding me and the others so that we can make up?” A ripple of anxiety ran down her spine as she turned to look at Caroline. She was giving her the patented “please forgive me because I’m uncomfortable” smile. When she closed her locker and turned to face her, she jumped because they’d all gathered around her. Bonnie, Elena, Caroline, and Stefan were all standing in front of her looking hopeful. She was just about to decline when Matt came up behind her and put his arm around her shoulders.“Come on, Rye, let’s go hang out and catch up. I’d say let’s go to the Grill, but they’d probably ask me to work, and you can’t really talk there.” Rye turned her head to glare at Matt, apparently letting him know that she thought he was a traitor. Before she could answer, Stefan, piped up a little hesitantly.“We can go over to my house; it’s quiet and big enough to accommodate everyone.” She watched as Elena’s lips twitched at the suggestion and turned slightly to respond.“What about Damon, won’t he mind having his home invaded by a bunch of girls?” Stefan smirked and shook his head.“Trust me, Damon won’t mind at all, plus I don’t care if he does.” At the mention of Damon and the possibility of laying eyes on him, her pulse quickened, and she hoped that the two vampires standing in front of her attributed that to her unease. Rye gently disentangled herself from Matt and backed up a few steps.“Wow, do you guys like to gang up on people. Look, I don’t think we really have anything to say to each other, so I say we drop this whole thing, okay?” Rye was mostly saying this because her body was reacting violently with being near Caroline. Bonnie huffed and rolled her eyes, frustrated with the situation.“Dammit Rye, will you stop being so damn stubborn and come hang out with us? We want to apologize and repair the damage, and you’re not meeting us halfway here.” Rye didn’t want to fight them; she was there to get to know them, it was the whole point. Still, she hesitated because it was Caroline’s character to hug when she was excited. She was going to have to talk to Grady about that; it was sort of pissing her off that she was afraid of bubbly blonde. She crossed her arms in front of her and groaned in frustration.“Fine, but I have to see if my dad cares because we still have a lot of unpacking to do.” Just like she predicted, Caroline squealed and moved to hug her, but Rye quickly raised her hands to stop, and it did. Caroline abruptly ended her motions and frowned at her, clearly hurt.“Okay then, Stefan lives at the old boarding house, do you remember how to get there?” She searched her memories and found that she did, indeed, remember how to get there. When she said as much, they all separated to go with an agreement to meet at Stefan’s in an hour. When she pulled into the driveway of what was going to be her home for the next little while, she felt relief. She was excited to get into it with them and get to know them away from what the show told them. Still, she wanted to know why she got a flash as she did as well as why she was afraid of the other girl. She found a note pinned to the fridge from her father saying that he was going to be out very late and that there was money in the counter jar for food if she wanted to order in. She ran up to her room and pulled the sundress off, deciding to change clothes. She pulled on a cute pair of leggings that had a design going up the side of her legs. She then pulled on a dark purple, sleeveless tunic followed by a pair of ballet flats she found in the closet. She grabbed the little fob off of her table and stared at it, and it was still white. She had no idea how long she’d get in this reality, he’d said six months, but who knew if time meant the same thing here. She placed her hands on her hips and stared around the room.“Grady, are you here?” She shrieked when he suddenly appeared by her side.“I am now, is everything living up to your expectation?” She recovered from her fright and plopped down on the bed.“Well it’s day one and already a ton of drama, so it definitely fits in with the mood of TVD. I had a couple of questions though, and I hope you can answer them. Caroline is my favorite character, and every time I get near her, my body starts to shake and I’m terrified. When she hugged me, I got a flash of her being turned by Katherine, what the hell is that about?” Grady smiled at her, clearly amused by her tirade.“Well, you wanted to be an integral part of this world, so we made that happen. You are a witch like Bonnie, though you don’t know that yet. You’ve never encountered the supernatural before now, so you weren’t aware of your abilities. When you interacted with Caroline, your baser instincts took over, telling you that this was a predator.” Rye’s mouth dropped open and then immediately started to laugh.“Okay, that is way cool! Okay, so I guess the reaction to Caroline makes sense now.” She thanked him and headed out of the room after he departed. She was going to be late getting to Stefan’s, but she guessed that made sense because of her attitude. When she did arrive, she saw several cars, and it made her wonder just who had shown up. When she got to the porch, she hesitated. She was probably going to get to see Damon, and she had to make sure she didn’t react in a stupid, fangirl way. Right, when she was about to knock, she heard the argument that was going on inside, and it was evident to her that it was Damon speaking.“I just don’t understand what you were thinking inviting a stranger into our home during this mess. We’ve got hunters here, but yes let’s ask a complete stranger whose arrival is a little suspicious into our home.” She heard Elena grunt and respond.“She’s not a stranger, Damon, she’s one of my best friends. We all group with her and we owe an apology, me especially. If you want to be mad at someone, you can take that out on Stefan; he’s the one who suggested she come here. I was going to have her come to my house, but he thought to bring her here would be better.” She shook her head; she shouldn’t be eavesdropping. She cleared her throat, knowing that the vampires in the room would hear her and raised her arm to knock. Before she could touch the door, it was opened, and she came face to face with Damon for the first time.“You must be the girl that everyone is falling over themselves for in there, were you planning on standing on the porch all day?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ryleigh couldn’t say anything as she stared at Damon, trying not to give herself away. Interpreting her silence, the wrong way, he let go of the door and smirked. It was such a Damon thing to do that he’d just assume that she was speechless due to his sexiness. In this instance, though, he would be correct. Ryleigh had met Ian before at a convention, but this was Damon, and it was oh so different. He oozed sex and charm, and she had been utterly unprepared for it. She idly wondered if she’d be able to get her hands on some vervain because she had a feeling that she was going to need it. Realizing that she was standing there, staring at him like an idiot, she shook her head slightly and smiled at him.“Sorry, I was supposed to meet my friends here, and I was debating on whether or not I actually wanted to go in and go through with this.” Damon’s smirk never left his face, and he took a step towards her, causing her pulse to quicken and his grin to widen.“Well, I can understand with this group, drama all around. I’m Damon, by the way, I’m Stefan’s brother. You must be Ryleigh Fell, the long-lost friend that they’ve been freaking out about inside.” He held his hand out to her, and she hesitated. She could ignore it, but he’d get suspicious, and that was never a good thing with Damon. She placed her hand in his and was immediately given an image of him killing the hikers from the pilot episode and several others, including Vicki Donovan. She was unable to hide her jump as the images flooded her and her eyes flew up to his. His eyes narrowed as he continued to hold her hand. He opened her mouth to say something when she heard Elena from the hallway.“Damon, will you please let go of her, so she can come in?” Damon immediately dropped her hand and stood aside.“Oh, by all means, please do come in.” He didn’t entirely move out of the way, making her brush up against him to get by, and she knew he did it on purpose to intimidate her. When she followed Elena to the Salvatore’s enormous living room, she was greeted with a small surprise party. There was a welcome home banner and several friends, and it slightly deflated her. She’d thought it was supposed to be just the girls, but there were several others there as well. Matt, Tyler, Jeremy, Alaric, and Meredith Fell were there. Meredith, she realized, was her aunt and it made sense that she was there because she knew about vampires as well. She stopped in the doorway and forced herself to smile. When Damon passed her, she jumped again, and everyone noticed. Caroline was quick to run to her side and take her hand, pulling her into the room.“Okay so yes, we said it would just be us, but the boys and your aunt wanted to see you too.” At addressing her, Ryleigh gave Meredith a genuine smile and walked over to hug her.“Hi, Aunt Meredith, I’m sorry I haven’t come to visit you yet.” Meredith enveloped her into a warm hug that was nicer than she expected. She laughed softly as she pulled away from her and held her hands.“It’s okay, Sweetie, I know moving back is a significant change. I just can’t believe how beautiful you’ve become. Promise me you’ll set aside a day for me soon so that we can go shopping and have a girl’s day, just us.” Ryleigh noticed her emphasis on the “just us” part and knew that it was a warning. She nodded at her aunt and grinned.“That sounds definitely doable.” Alaric was standing next to her and reached his hand out to her.“We didn’t get to meet officially; I’m Alaric Saltzman. I’m Elena’s and Jeremy’s guardian and history teacher.” She knew that she wasn’t supposed to know about Jenna, so she looked over at Elena with a curious look.“Wait, where’s Aunt Jenna, I thought she was living with you guys?” Alaric immediately sighed and withdrew, and the tone of the room changed. Jeremy was the one to answer her.“Uh, Jenna died last year, there’s been a lot of things going on. Our Uncle John died too, so it’s been pretty rough. Mr. Saltzman was kind enough to step in so we wouldn’t be put into the system.” She watched as a moderate redness crept up Alaric’s neck as he shrugged.“It’s not a big deal; it just seemed like the right thing to do.” Ryleigh sighed and walked over to Elena. She pulled her into a hug which was immediately returned.“I’m so sorry, Elle.” She used the nickname that was in her memories and it caused Elena to chuckle and really hug her back.“Wow, Rye, I’ve missed you so much and your nickname.” The mood lifted instantly, which was a definite relief. After letting go of Elena, she walked over to Jeremy to hug him as well, and he readily accepted it. Damon interjected causing her to jump out of Jeremy’s embrace. She was seriously getting annoyed with her body having a mind of its own. “Well this is all very touching, Ric, why don’t you and I leave the kids to it? Meredith, are you staying, or do you want to come with us?” Meredith walked over to where she stood and hugged her once more.“I’ll let you get reacquainted with your friends, but I meant it about us spending time together.” Ryleigh smiled and waved as she walked out the door with Damon and Alaric. She was mildly disappointed that Damon wasn’t going to be staying, but at the same time, she was relieved. Her reaction to him was much more violent than Caroline’s. She noticed Bonnie watching her curiously, and she tried to lighten the mood as she spoke to the group.“Well, this is awkward, anything we can do about that?” This got everyone to laugh which was her intention. Stefan moved away from Elena and motioned to the table that no doubt Caroline had set up.“Caroline set up snacks and drinks so please guys, help yourselves.” Using the excuse to move away from Caroline, she walked over to Matt, who as pouring soda into cups. She lightly bumped his arm, but not enough to make him spill anything. He threw her a grin that made her smile in return. He really was easy to be around; she was completely relaxed when she was with him.“So, you decided just to throw me to the wolves, I see.” He laughed as he handed her one of the cups.“Come on; it's no big deal. It’s like ripping off a band-aid, and it needed to be done. Too much has happened to all of us to throw away friendships.” Ryleigh knew that he was right but fighting with her fear of Caroline and the memories that weren’t really hers was beginning to become harder as her memories of what happened on the show seemed to be fading somewhat. “I know that Matt, but it’s all so weird now and it’s not like we can just pick up where we left off when I left.” Matt raised an eyebrow at her.“I don’t see why not, you seem pretty comfortable with me. Speaking of that, what’s up with you and Caroline? You can tell her feelings are hurt by your avoidance.” She knew that she couldn’t let anything slip, even though Matt knew that they were vampires. She tried to keep her answer as vague as possible.“I don’t really know how to explain it; she just seems…different.” He started to reply when Bonnie suddenly appeared in front of her.“Hey Rye, I need to use the restroom, let me show you where it is.” Matt chuckled and walked away while shaking his head. Ryleigh put her drink down on the table and gave her a confused look.“I’m okay, Bonnie, I don’t need to go.” Bonnie took her hand, and a different sort of feeling emerged. It was warm like she knew that she could trust Bonnie with anything. Bonnie’s mouth opened slightly, and it was evident that she’d had the same current.“I insist, that way you’ll know where to go later.” Unable to protest any further, she allowed Bonnie to pull her from the room and down the hall to a bathroom. She shut the door behind them and walked over to the sink, flipping the faucet on. Bonnie whirled around to face her, an expression of complete surprise on her face.“How long have you known?” That question confused even her usual self, what was she talking about it?“Bonnie, are you alright? How long have I known about what, why are we in the bathroom?” Bonnie walked over to her and took both of her hands this time.“You’re a witch, I can feel it, why didn’t you say anything?” Ryleigh snatched her hands back, instinctively knowing she needed to play it cool.“Geeze, Bon, how much have you had to drink?! There’s no reason to start name-calling, this awkwardness isn’t my fault.” Bonnie stared for a few seconds before shaking her head as if she didn’t know how to respond.“No, I wasn’t calling you a bitch, Rye, you’re an actual magical witch. I am too, that’s why that current passed between us when we touched, we can always tell other witches apart.” Ryleigh began to back away from her towards the door.“Listen, I don’t find this funny at all, I’m just going to go.” Bonnie sighed and began to chant. Ryleigh gasped as the water from the faucet leaped out of the sink and began to rain down in the middle of the room like a waterfall, getting water everywhere. She squeaked as the cold water started to hit her and jumped back.“Okay Bonnie, stop it!” Bonnie opened her eyes, and the water went back to normal. “You really didn’t know that you’re a witch? Your reaction to Caroline at school though, and to Damon just a few minutes ago. You saw something; I know you did, so you just didn’t know?” Ryleigh was breathing heavily at what just happened. It was exhilarating yet terrifying to witness at the same time. “I…I saw Caroline die and then I saw her kill some guy at what looked like a fair. It terrified me to see her like that. Then Damon, well I saw a lot more when I touched Damon. I don’t know what it means, and I just know that I’m freaked the eff out. Enough about that, though, what the hell did you just do?!” Bonnie smiled and shrugged.“I found out what I was when they arrived too. The first time I touched Stefan, I got a flash like yours only it wasn’t as distinct. We should practice together so we can see what you can do.” Ryleigh shook her head and held up her hands to stop her flow of words.“Wait, you saw a flash when you touched Stefan? What the hell is going on, what’s wrong with them or us?” Bonnie walked close so that she could whisper the next part in her ear.“That’s just it, Stefan, Damon, and Caroline are vampires.” She backed away from Bonnie, her eyes wide in pure shock. She hadn’t expected Bonnie to just blurt it out to her the way she had. She stared at Bonnie for a few seconds and then burst out into laughter.“Okay, you almost had me, this was an excellent prank. How did you guys come up with that so quickly, though? Look, it was funny, but at the same time, I thought we came over here to catch up. I’m going to go; this is seriously lame of you guys.” She opened the door and gasped as she came to a halt. Damon was standing menacingly in the doorway. He stepped toe to toe with her, and his face was murderous, Ryleigh was genuinely terrified as she looked at him. He gritted his teeth as he spoke to her softly.“So, you’re a witch, are you? That’s just a little too suspicious for my taste.” He grabbed her throat and pulled her into the hallway. She heard Alaric and Bonnie yell at him at the same time, but he just slammed her up against the wall. His eyes started to vein up and turn red, and she knew what was coming. Before she could scream, his face screwed up in pain. He let go of her, and he clutched his head, crying out as if in agony. She gripped her throat and gasped for breath, and she vaguely heard heavy footfalls come running into the hallway. She could only focus on Damon; he’d almost killed her. She could listen to the chatter around her, but it seemed far away. She recognized Elena’s voice from next to her.“Bonnie, I think he learned his lesson, stop it.” She distinctly heard Bonnie gasp out that it wasn’t her when hands grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. She was face to face with Stefan, and his face was filled with remorse. His hands cupped her chin as he looked into her eyes.“Hey, you’re okay now, you can stop.” She shook her head as if coming out a trance and Damon’s shouting ended very abruptly. She glanced around the room and saw that everyone was staring at her. It was then that she realized that she’d been the one causing Damon’s pain. She gave one last look around the room, felt a tear slip down her cheek and then she was running.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ryleigh got to the front door and flung it open as she tried to get to her car in vain. She knew that the vampires could run so much faster than her, but her fear was genuine. She hadn’t even realized she was doing anything, but it was evident that she’d been the one hurting Damon. Not that she wasn’t happy that he’d been stopped because he’d been a second away from ripping into her. She made it halfway to her car when strong arms circled her waist and stopped her. She shrieked and began to fight, trying to free herself. The arms around her were strong and held her in place. She was crying freely now; this was not what she’d expected at all, though it should have been. Damon was one of her favorite characters, but the guy really had no qualms killing anyone if he thought they were a threat to his family. She continued to struggle when she finally registered that someone was speaking to her; it was Matt.“Ryleigh, calm down, I’m not going to hurt you!” His words finally penetrated her foggy mind, and she sagged into him, a sob escaping. He turned her around to face him and enveloped her in a tight embrace, making her feel safe. He stroked her hair and whispered to her that she was going to be okay. She was shaking with fear, and when she saw Stefan cautiously approaching them, she jumped back, but Matt held her steady. Stefan held his hands up in surrender, showing that he meant her no harm.“Ryleigh, I am so sorry for my brother, he really doesn’t think things through before he acts. Please, come back inside, and we’ll explain everything to you." Matt gently pulled her back and looked at her with a warm smile.“Come back inside, they’re not going to hurt you, I promise.” She couldn’t believe that even Matt was trying to get her to go back into that house. There was no way she was stepping foot over that threshold again. She was going straight back to her house and using the fob to go back home. She’d expected a fun adventure in Mystic Falls, but there was angst, drama, and murderous intentions towards her and she didn’t want anything to do with it. She pushed Matt away from her and began to back up towards her car.“Like hell, I’m going back in there, you can forget it. I’m going home; I don’t want any part of any of this, so you just stay back!” Bonnie, Elena, and Caroline were outside now too, and they came to a stop beside Matt, causing her to step back several more steps, her arms outstretched in an effort to keep them back. Elena stayed where she was, and when she spoke, she sounded on the verge of tears.“Rye, please come in and let us explain, don’t leave it like this.” Ryleigh scoffed as she finally reached her car and ran to the driver side.“Back off, I’m going home, and you can’t stop me.” After making her bold statement, she quickly reached for the door but realized that she’d left her purse inside the house. She groaned in frustration and decided it wasn’t worth it and began running down the driveway towards the road. She made it to the side road and realized that she was incredibly foolish. The Salvatore’s lived at least 15 miles outside of the town, but she couldn’t make herself stop. She screamed again and came to a skidding stop, almost falling when Damon was suddenly in front of her. He gave her a pensive look, held his hands up, and didn’t move towards her.“Okay that was totally my bad, I’ll admit it. Your arrival is a little suspicious, but Bonnie told me that you didn’t even believe it until I attacked you. Look, please come back, the vampires will stay on a different side of the room, and we won’t try to touch you, I promise.” Ryleigh had the feeling like she was going to faint, she couldn’t catch her breath, and her vision was tunneling. She tried to speak but started to wobble. She had a sense of falling but couldn’t stay awake as everything went black. ************************
Ryleigh wasn’t out very long, but when she came to, she was lying on the couch in the boarding house living room with a cold rag lying on her forehead. She slowly started to come out of it, but when she realized where she was, she jerked herself up to a sitting position. She felt Matt’s arms encircle her, but she pushed him away, not wanting to be touched. She saw that Damon had kept his word and the vampires and Tyler were sitting in chairs across the room leaving Bonnie, Elena, Jeremy, Matt, and Alaric on her side. Staring at Tyler across the room with them confused her. She knew that she should be aware of why he was over there with them, but she couldn’t put her finger on why. Elena’s eyes were red as she looked at her and Matt looked hurt that she’d pushed him away. She couldn’t worry about any of that at the moment; she just wanted to get the hell away so she could go back to her reality. She frantically looked around the room but couldn’t remember where she’d sat her purse down. Shoving the throw off her, she sat up completely and placed her feet on the ground, eyeing Tyler once more.“Ty, why are you over there with them?” It was then that she noticed Caroline. She had a tortured expression and tears were running down her face, but she steeled herself against it. Tyler cleared his throat and glanced over at Caroline before answering.“I’m not a vampire if that’s what you’re asking…but I am a werewolf.” The air just whooshed out of her lungs at his admission. She had known that, why hadn’t she been able to remember that earlier? The more she thought about it, she remembered the events of the show as she’d watched them, but she had to concentrate on them. She stood up and kept looking around the room as she spoke.“I want to go, where is my purse?” Alaric spoke from behind her, not leaving his perch on the arm of the couch.“You’re in no shape to drive anywhere right now, Ryleigh. I’ve called your aunt, and she’ll be here in a few minutes but in the meantime…let us explain.” Ryleigh scoffed and began to pace, not knowing what else to do with her nervous energy.“Explain what exactly, Mr. Saltzman? Let’s start with the fact that my ex-best friend seems to be a vampire and my other ex-best friend is a witch. My ex-boyfriend just told me that he’s a friggin werewolf and Elena’s boyfriend and his brother are vampires too, one of which who tried to kill me! Do you want to start with that?! I want to go home where I can forget any of this happened. I didn’t come here for this, I came here to get to know them, but this is way the hell more than I bargained for.” Caroline spoke for the first time, her voice breaking as she did.“This is the biggest reason why I stopped talking to you, Ryleigh. I was in an accident, and I was turned into a vampire. How do you explain to your best friend that you’re no longer human? I know that it felt like I was abandoning you, but what else was I supposed to do? I was excited when I saw you, but I was also worried because I didn’t want to drag you into any of this.” Ryleigh understood what she was saying, but she couldn’t stop her outburst.“Then you should have left me the hell alone, Caroline! I made it pretty damn clear that I didn’t want to rekindle our friendship, but every single one of you pushed it on me, so why would you do that if you didn’t want me to know?!” No one had an answer for her, and she realized that she was becoming hysterical, the thought to call Grady had entirely escaped her and she was frantic to get out of there. Damon spoke, not leaving his post by the bar.“You know, she’s got a pretty good point there. You guys knew the danger of inviting someone into the circle, especially with the Mikaelson’s and the hunters. Why would you push to resume a friendship that seems dead?” Bonnie answered Damon’s question before Caroline had a chance to.“Damon, we grew up together, all of us. The six of us have known each other for as long as I can remember and she’s back after being gone for two years. We knew the risk, but we didn’t anticipate it coming to a head so quickly. Regardless of any of that, she’s a part of this now. She has powers, and we could seriously use her help.” Ryleigh was just about to respond when her aunt briskly entered the room looking furious. She looked around the room and spoke to everyone when she stopped in front of her.“You all assured me that nothing like this was going to happen! Alaric, you explicitly promised me that nothing was going to happen to her. Ryleigh, I took a cab so that I can drive you home, okay? Let’s go, grab your stuff and we’ll leave.” Ryleigh still didn’t know where her purse was when she saw that Damon was holding it with a smirk. She stared at him, seriously contemplating letting him keep it when his brow furrowed. He walked over to her, and she took an involuntary step back, causing Meredith to step in front of her. He sighed and handed the purse over to her aunt and backed away, but not before addressing her.“Ryleigh, I really am sorry, I tend to shoot first and ask questions later. I don’t like that you’re afraid of me, I promise you that you’re safe.” She stared at him and felt warm all over. His expression was that of confusion and worry, and he was actually upset that she feared him. She couldn’t help her reaction to him any more than she could help it from Caroline. She followed her aunt out of the room without saying goodbye to anyone. When she was safely in the confines of her room, she plopped down on the bed and started to cry. That was the scariest experience of her life, why the hell had she thought she’d live in a different reality? There was a reason that these were shows and not real life, they were dangerous. She looked around for the fob and picked it up. It would be so easy just to leave this world behind and go back to her house and pretend that this never happened. She put it back down, so conflicted with what she wanted to do. She started to pace once more and thought things through. True, she’d never been that scared in her life, but she’d also never felt more alive. These two days in Mystic Falls had meant more and made her felt more than she ever had. Should she go home to her safe, unsatisfying life or should she continue to stay here and see what happened? Plopping back down onto her bed, she called out for Grady. He was instantly in front of her, a grin on his face.“My have we had an exciting two days so far. That did escalate rather quickly, did it not?” She wiped her face off as she stared at him and wondered if he was evil.“Did you know what was going to happen when you sent me here?” Grady frowned and came to sit beside her.“We set the basic outline, but you make your choices. For instance, you chose to go to the Salvatore house instead of blowing them off. If you hadn’t gone, you wouldn’t have learned the truth about your friends for another month. Also, you seriously hurt Caroline’s and Matt’s feelings today, so it may take a little while to get back in the good with them. Think of it as a live-action, choose your own adventure story. Every decision you make has a consequence.” Ryleigh nodded and took a deep breath to steady her nerves.“Why are my memories fading, I forgot that Tyler was a werewolf for a few minutes.” Grady nodded and answered her honestly.“Well, you seemed to be struggling with have all that knowledge, so I took it away to let you experience the real story. If you’d prefer to remember all that happened in the show as you watched it, I can restore it.” Ryleigh threw her hands up in the air in frustration.“Of course, I want to retain the information; it’s the only leverage I have here!” He frowned at her and stood up.“You seem very distraught, Ms. Jameson. Would you rather go home and wait for the fob to recharge so you can go somewhere less stressful?” She’d already made up her mind that she was going to stay, she had to see how it played out.“No, I’m not going to chicken out. You told me that I couldn’t die while I was here, so I’m going to trust that and just let go. I just wish I could lose my fear of Caroline and Damon…though Damon is understandably scary as hell.” He bowed to her and responded with a smile.“As you wish, please call upon me as you need. I’ve restored your memories so no more fogginess.” With that statement he was gone, leaving her to contemplate her next move and how she was going to handle them the next day.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The next morning, Ryleigh was extremely nervous, but she knew that if she wanted to stay, she needed to confront the situation head on to move past it. She didn’t even bother dressing up, just pulled on a pair of designer jeans, cute top, and sandals. She left her hair free-flowing; there hadn’t been enough time to do anything else with it. She grabbed her phone and saw a text from her aunt asking how she was. She quickly responded that she was fine and headed to school. The kitchen was empty when she got there, meaning her dad had already left for work. She left in a rush to try and avoid being late. She found a parking spot relatively quickly, and after taking a deep breath, she ventured towards the school. She saw Tyler and Matt standing off in a huddle talking to each other. They stopped once they saw her, but she ignored them and kept walking. She wanted to work things out but wasn’t quite ready. When she walked into her history class, Alaric greeted her with a smile, but that was it. Elena, Bonnie, and Stefan were already in their seats and the only open spot left was the one she’d occupied yesterday. She kept her eyes forward as she slid into it, feeling their eyes on her back. She also noticed the looks that Mr. Saltzman was exchanging with them. It was as if he was asking them what the hell they were going to do about her. She struggled to pay attention and luckily, he didn’t call on her. Once the bell rang, she made a beeline for the door, but she wasn’t fast enough. Elena grabbed her arm to stop her and followed her out into the hallway.“Please don’t avoid us, Rye, we seriously need to talk about this.” She stared at Elena and then glanced at Bonnie, both were looking at her in a hopeful way. Stefan was scarce as if he knew his presence would only intimidate her more. She started to walk away when she froze. She saw a figure that she’d been hoping wouldn’t be there yet. The hunter from the show, Connor was standing behind them, talking to Matt. The difference in this situation from the one on the show, Matt didn’t have Elena’s bite mark on his neck. When he looked their way, she averted her eyes and looked at Caroline who was walking past him. He stopped her, his arm outstretched, so before she could stop herself, she ran over to her.“Caroline, there you are, I’ve been looking for you!” Caroline, startled, jumped in her direction and gave her a big smile. Without thinking, she reached forward and hugged her, whispering in her ear.“Don’t touch him, follow me.” She pulled away from her and kept her hands in hers, and surprisingly she didn’t feel afraid of her anymore.“Geeze, Care, you just disappeared with your boyfriend yesterday and didn’t even say goodbye.” Caroline was the master of this sort of thing and laughed.“I know, and I’m sorry about that, but you know Tyler and how he can get.” She turned and waved at the hunter who nodded and headed in the opposite direction. Caroline turned back to her a look of concern and confusion on her face.“What the hell was that?” ******************** Ryleigh couldn’t believe that she was back in the Salvatore mansion, they’d opted on skipping the rest of the day. It was classic TVD though, they skipped a lot of school and never seemed to get into trouble because of it. They were waiting on Stefan and Damon before she explained herself. Tyler, Matt, Bonnie, Elena, and Caroline all assembled in the living room, where the day before she couldn’t wait to escape. She paced trying to figure out why Connor was at the high school. She remembered from the show that he’d come to Mystic because of the explosion at the farm, so it made sense that he was there. If she was in the season where they were going to meet Silas, she was so done and not going there. She heard the door open and a few seconds later a very confused Damon, Stefan, and Alaric rounded the corner into the room. Elena stopped upon seeing Ric; he was a teacher, how the hell was he there? He seemed to know her question without her voicing it, and he explained he had a free period. Stefan walked towards her but kept his distance to make her feel more comfortable.“Okay so what’s going on, Caroline said you freaked out about a guy at the school trying to shake her hand?” All eyes were on her, and she felt her face redden at all of the attention.“I don’t really know what happened, I saw him, and I got a flash." Damon interjected as was his style and walked to stand next to his brother.“I thought that you had to touch someone to get flashes like that.” Ryleigh hoped that she sounded believable, so she went for it.“I don’t know how any of this works, all I know is that this crap started when I got back here. I saw a mark on his arm, and it looked like a tattoo and his glove…it’s soaked in vervain. I don’t know how I know this; I just do, so please stop staring at me like I’m insane!” Caroline walked forward and pulled her into a hug, a tear falling down her cheek.“I totally believe you, Rye, and that means you saved my life back there.” Damon groaned and walked over to the bar to pour himself a drink.“That’s just great; I knew there was a hunter in town. I found one of his stakes, but if he’s sniffing around the high school that means he knows that’s where they are. The question now, is what the hell do and how do we kill him?” Following her instincts that this information was okay to share, she held her hands up in protest.“You can’t kill him!” Stefan glanced at his brother and then at Elena, thinking she was upset because she didn’t want them to kill anyone. He crossed his arms as he answered her, so he’d appear less threatening.“Look, I understand your misgivings about us killing him, but we have to. These hunters are apparently driven by their need to kill vampires. They don’t care if they hurt innocents to do it. I mean, this guy stabbed the pastor’s daughter to try and lure us out.” She stared at Stefan for a moment, both shocked that he’d still stabbed April even though Elena wasn’t a vampire yet and because he’d told her. She shook her head and waved him off.“No, Stefan, that’s not what I mean at all. You can’t kill him…it’s complicated.” Bonnie stepped forward then, her eyes wide.“Wow so you’re not just a witch, you have psychic abilities too! You should meet my friend, Shane; he might be able to help you with your powers as he helps me with mine.” She started to say something about that asshat, but decided against it, sensing that she couldn’t divulge his part yet. Stefan spoke again, needing clarification and preventing her from speaking.“Okay, what did you see exactly, Ryleigh? Why can’t we kill him?” The answer was spoken from behind them, and it was all Ryleigh could do not to squeak with fear. “Well because the person who does the killing will be tormented to death, it’s a curse I believe, and I’ve seen it happen. My, but you are very well informed on hunters. I don’t think we’ve met before, I’m Klaus, and this is my brother Elijah…you are?” Everyone in the room was incredibly tense as they stared at him, but she just swallowed her fear and replied.“I’m Ryleigh Fell; I grew up here.” Klaus smiled at her as he reached his hand out to her in a greeting. She hesitated but placed her hand cautiously in his. His smile widened as he bent down and kissed her hand.“It’s definitely a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Fell, any friend of Caroline and Bonnie’s is a friend of mine. Oh, do forgive me, Elena, I didn’t mean to leave you out of that. How are you doing my dear?” As Klaus moved over to speak with Elena and Caroline, Elijah moved forward and clasped her hand. A spark ran through her fingertips all the way to her scalp, and her eyes darted up to meet him in surprise. It was evident that he’d felt it too because his lips twitched, and his eyes danced at her as he mimicked his brother’s greeting. “A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Fell.” He didn’t immediately release her. Instead, his thumb began a lazy circle on the back of her hand. Ryleigh found her voice and shakily addressed him.“You too, please call me Ryleigh.” At her quiet request, he broke out into a full smile causing a shiver to dance down her spine. “What a lovely name, Ryleigh, I look forward to getting to know you better.” She opened her mouth and realized at once that he was trying to compel her, to do what, she had no idea. She snatched her hand out of his and stood up straighter.“You can’t compel me, you know.” This got a chuckle out of him as well as Klaus, but it was still Elijah that answered.“That’s extremely interesting because I don’t smell vervain on you, my dear. I was just checking anyway, and I meant no harm.” She couldn’t understand what was happening, but she did know that she couldn’t look away from him. It wasn’t until Matt walked over to her and placed his arm around her shoulders and started to guide her away that spell was broken. She couldn’t stop herself from looking back over her shoulder and saw that he was still looking at her as well. Matt’s jaw was clenched, and she knew that he was uncomfortable around vampires, and now the humans were outnumbered. Matt sat down in the only available armchair on that side of the room and Ryleigh perched on the arm next to him. He visibly relaxed and slid his arm around her waist. She looked back over, and Elijah was still watching her, causing her mouth to open slightly in surprise. He smirked at her and finally looked over at his brother to speak softly to him. She looked down at Matt, but he was stonily silent and looking at the back of Elena’s head. She hesitantly ran her hand on the back of his head, feeling the softness of his hair, causing him to glance up at her so she could speak to him.“Hey, are you doing okay?” He rolled his eyes and met hers after a few seconds.“I just really don’t like those guys and seeing him look at you like that just bothered me.” Ryleigh was very conflicted, and she knew that she had to nip this in the bud. She wasn’t there to have a romance with any of these guys; it wasn’t real. She took her hand away from his hair and smiled prettily at him.“You’ve always been a great friend, Matt.” He sighed and ruefully chuckled.“Yep, that’s me alright, everyone’s best friend.” Ryleigh mentally kicked herself as she stood up from the chair. She’d hurt his feelings with that comment, but it had to be done. She walked over to the table and picked up her purse and headed for the door. She’d made it to the entryway when Klaus was suddenly standing in front of her.“Just where, pray tell, do you think you’re going?” Ryleigh clenched her jaw at him, for some reason, Klaus didn’t scare her, maybe it was the whole Caroline thing. “Oh, I’m sorry, did you think I was part of the Scooby gang over there? No, I couldn’t let Caroline be hurt, we were best friends once. However, I’ve told you all I know and all I’ve seen, so I’ll be going because I won’t be a part of any death plans for that guy.” Klaus started to protest, but Elijah was instantly at his side, his hand on his shoulder.“Come now, brother, let’s not frighten her. I’m sure if she learns anything else about our young hunter friend, she’ll be more than happy to share it with us, am I correct, Ryleigh?” She was once again stuck in his hypnotic gaze, and she loved how he said her name. Mentally punching herself in the gut, she took a step back and moved around them.“Sure, if I see anything else, I’ll call Elena.” She quickly made her exit and was thankful when no one stopped her. She spent the rest of the afternoon in her house, going over her reaction to the boys. She’d expected to react all melty with Damon because it was Damon. Matt surprised her though, he was so sweet and just a good person in general. The spark with Elijah was downright shocking though; she hadn’t seen that coming at all. She made a promise to herself that she wasn’t going to let any of them seduce her. She wasn’t there to hook up with them; she just wanted to be part of the story, even though a lot of the show was the characters hooking up. At five thirty, her stomach became insistent on food, so she drove the short distance to the grill. When she walked in she was relieved that none of the group was there. She sat down in a booth and had just ordered when Tyler slipped into her booth. She stared at him and almost groaned. He looked extremely uncomfortable, but it was like he was on a mission.“Hey Rye, I just wanted to talk to you…alone. I’ve missed you, I know I don’t have any right to say that to you after the way I left things, I guess I just wanted to apologize.” Ryleigh relaxed when her food arrived so that it gave her something to do other than focus on this idiot in her booth.“It’s whatever, Ty, I’m so over that. You’re with Caroline now, and that’s fine.” He nodded, and she watched as his jaw clenched.“True and you and Matt seem awfully chummy together.” Ryleigh sat her drink down and laughed.“Oh my God Tyler, are you really jealous right now? Matt and I are just friends, I just got back into town, and I’m not looking for any sort of romance, not that it’s any of your business. Can you just go so I can eat?” He started to protest when a voice that made her stiffen sounded next to her.“Everything okay over here?” She looked up to see the hunter standing right over them. She gave Tyler a nervous look, hoping that he understood her message and he seemed to. He stood up and put his hands in his pocket.“Yeah, everything is cool, I’ll see you tomorrow at school, Rye.” She was more than a little pissed that he’d left her alone with this guy, but it was a classic Tyler move. She gave him a nervous chuckle and tried to get him to go.“Thanks for that, he’s an ex, and it’s complicated.” He gave her a charming smile, trying to put her at ease.“I know exactly how that can be. I’m Connor, by the way.” He held out his hand to her, and she knew that she needed to take it to alleviate his suspicions about her and her friends. She gave him her best smile and placed her hand in his, immediately flooded with images of him and his plans.“It’s nice to meet you, Connor, I’m Ryleigh.” His grin widened, but he didn’t make a move to sit down.“I won’t keep you from your dinner, but maybe I’ll see you around sometime.” She smiled and nodded her agreement, watching him go. When she saw him leave, she picked up her cell phone, heaving in breaths to stave off a panic attack. Elena didn’t answer so she tried Caroline. When no one answered she groaned in frustration, she didn’t have the Salvatore’s number, and she didn’t want to involve Matt. She motioned for the waitress and explained that she wanted her food to go when she saw Alaric at the bar. Her shoulders immediately sagged with relief as she told the waitress where she’d be. She darted over to him and jumped up into the seat next to him. He didn’t look at her as he shook his head.“That’s seat is taken, I’m afraid, and I’m not interested in any company.” Ryleigh raised an eyebrow and almost laughed at his reaction when she spoke.“Well, that’s too bad, Mr. Saltzman because we have a serious damn problem and I’m tired of being put in the middle of it.” He jumped at the sound of her voice, and he cursed as he spilled his drink on himself. He looked around the room to make sure that no one noticed them, which she found amusing.“Ryleigh, what are you doing over here? It wouldn't look good for us to be seen in a situation like this, people will get the wrong idea.” She rolled her eyes and jumped back down off the stool.“Oh please, no one would think anything like you’re insinuating. Our…pest problem, Mr. Saltzman, I just spoke to the exterminator, and he gave me some interesting news.” That got his attention, and he closed his eyes for a minute before downing his drink and standing up.“Okay, I’ll meet you at Damon’s house, I’ll call them.” She nodded, went to grab her food, and jumped into her car. She arrived at the house, and she didn’t see any cars in the driveway. She ran up to the porch and knocked only to be greeted by Damon, who stepped aside to allow her in.“I spoke with Ric, and he’s on his way. Stefan is with Elena, and they’ll be here shortly as well. I take it you saw something when you spoke with him?” She turned to face him only to find him almost nose to nose with her.“I saw more than something, and I’m scared.” His brow furrowed, and he brought his hands up to her shoulders.“Don’t worry, Ryleigh, I promise you nothing will happen to you. It’s my fault that you were pulled into this because I acted so rashly.” Ryleigh knew she was blushing, but she ignored it as she slowly backed out of his embrace and turned around only to run into Elijah. His hands replaced Damon’s, and she got a shot of images that caused her to jump away, but not in fright. What was it with these damn men and their need to touch her? Her face was entirely crimson as she darted into the living to wait for everyone else. She quickly glanced at the boys and found Damon grinning in amusement and Elijah frowning. She’d seen herself and Elijah in a very…Interesting situation. She was thrilled when the door opened, and everyone else began to fill the room. Here they were about to be forced to fight for their lives, and she was stuck between two very sexy guys wanting her attention. Luckily for her, Damon didn’t think of her that way. He’d made a promise to Elena that he wouldn’t harm her, and he was pretty good about keeping promises to her. Klaus was the last one to stroll into the room and sighed in a bored way.“So that was quick, what happened that’s so important?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Once again, Ryleigh was the center of attention, something that she was growing to hate. She had to tell them, she could say what she needed to, but she didn’t understand how that worked. She began to pace, she was severely worried about pissing off an original, but she knew from Grady that they couldn’t actually kill her. She plopped down on the couch and Elena was instantly at her side, holding her hand. Elena really was a good person. She saw the best in anyone and put everyone’s life ahead of hers. Knowing that they were all waiting for her and several of them were becoming impatient, so she began.“Tyler and I ran into the hunter, Connor, at the Grill tonight.” She saw Caroline stiffen out of the corner of her eye at the mention of Tyler, but she barreled on to keep her from causing a scene.“I shook his hand, and I saw way more than I expected or wanted to. He’s killed a ton of vampires and vampire sympathizers. He has no remorse for doing any of it, either. He followed Rebekah to the school because he saw her feeding, where, I don’t know. He knows that there are more than her, but he doesn’t know specifically who. Rebekah is planning a party, I heard a few people talking about it, and he’s going to make a move there. I don’t know what exactly he’s planning, but I saw all of us there, minus Damon, Alaric, Elijah, and Klaus. I saw Tyler in the hospital, but Care and Stefan…well it was bad.” When she finished, there was absolute silence as they absorbed her words. Klaus stood there shaking his head, while Elijah was already dialing his phone. His velvety voice was the only sound to pierce the silence of the room.“Rebekah, Niklaus and I need to speak with you immediately, can you meet us here at the Salvatore’s house? Well, we didn’t tell you because you didn’t want any interference while you attended school. However, this is extremely important, so exceptions must be made. Perfect, see you then.” He put his phone up and glanced in her direction. She quickly lowered her eyes only to have Caroline come to a stop in front of her.“So, why were you at the Grill with Tyler, Ryleigh? I know that you two have a history, but that was almost two years ago, and you have plenty of other people fumbling all over themselves to get to you.” Bonnie sighed and was the first to respond to her rant.“Caroline now is seriously not the time to be worrying about any of that.” Ryleigh held her hand up to stop Bonnie from continuing and addressed Caroline herself.“That’s seriously your first thought about me? Wow, see I knew that nothing was different with you guys. This is the last time that I involve myself with any of this mess; you are on your own after this.” She’d pulled her arm away from Elena and stood, moving off to herself. Elena followed her, a hurt expression on her face.“Wait, that’s not fair, Rye, we’re here, and we’re trying, but you keep making things so awkward and painful.” Ryleigh scoffed at her and couldn’t refrain from responding because this pushed even her buttons, separate from the fake memories.“God Elena, could you be any more self-absorbed? After I met Connor at the Grill, you were the first person that I tried to call following with Caroline and Bonnie. It was like a bad flashback because all three of you ignored my call and none of you attempted to call me back. I don’t have anyone else’s number, so I had to accost Mr. Saltzman at the bar to get everyone together. Don’t talk to me about making things difficult because that isn’t me.” She watched as all three of them looked incredibly guilty. Bonnie started to respond, but Ryleigh rolled her eyes and waved her off, addressing Caroline again.“For the record, I was at the Grill by myself when Tyler sat down at my table. He's always been a player and a douche, so stop projecting your insecurities onto me.” There was silence once more until Klaus’s laughter broke through, causing them all to jump. Caroline glared over at him, but he couldn’t stop laughing as he replied.“I’m sorry luv, but she’s got a bit of a point there. Listen, I like a good catfight as much as the next bloke, but we really do have more pressing matters than listening to your ridiculous love lives.” At that precise moment, Rebekah entered the room haughtily but halted when she saw everyone. When her eyes landed on Ryleigh, she scowled darkly.“What the bloody hell is she doing here?!” Klaus just smiled and motioned for her into the room while Elijah answered.“Rebekah, this is our new friend, Ryleigh Fell. She’s a witch, and she has some valuable information on the hunter that’s here.” She stopped glaring when her brother mentioned a hunter.“What, so one of the five is here?” Klaus, never one to mince words, spoke rather coldly to her.“Yes, and as usual, my dear sister, it’s your fault that he’s here at all. He saw you feeding, and he followed you here.” Rebekah opened her mouth to say something but thought better of it. Elijah sighed and walked over to his sister and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.“This party that you’re planning to throw, you need to cancel it. He intends to make a move, and everyone will be put in danger.” Rebekah stiffened at his words and her eyes once more went to Ryleigh.“This is because she says so, and you’re all just going to take her word for it?” Damon was the one to answer this time; he hated when Rebekah threw tantrums, so he tried heading this one off.“She hasn’t been wrong so far, and I’m not going to let you put my brother in danger,” Klaus interjected once more, apparently bored with the back and forth.“Come on, of course, she’ll still throw the party.” Everyone jerked their attention to where he lazily leaned against the wall. The expressions were a mixture of confusion and disbelief, and it caused Stefan to speak for the first time that evening.“Klaus, you can’t be serious, it’s a blood bath of innocent lives waiting to happen.” He ignored Stefan and rolled his eyes, annoyed they didn’t understand.“Yes, I am serious, Stefan, when have I ever not been? It makes the most sense because we know exactly where he’ll be and it’s the best place to take him out.” Ryleigh saw the sense in the plan. He was going to be there anyway, and it eliminated the need to look for him. No one had anything else to say about it, so they started to disperse. Ryleigh grabbed her purse, but Caroline stepped in front of her once more, blocking her path.“Rye, I’m so sorry that I automatically jumped to the wrong conclusions. You know how insecure I am, and these vamp emotions only heighten that. Yes, I did ignore your call, but it was because my mom was lecturing me on being careful and safe. She actually took my phone away from me when it rang, and you know how scary my mom can be. You were my best friend once, so, please…can we just try again?” She could tell that Caroline was genuine, she had tears rolling down her cheeks. Ryleigh felt herself thawing to the other girl and felt her own tears start to fall. She’d always wished for a friend like Caroline, so she nodded and hugged her for real this time, causing her to giggle. When they broke apart, Elena and Bonnie were there too. They both apologized and soon they were all crying and hugging. When they stepped away from each other, they were thoroughly embarrassed but found only Stefan and Damon in the room, the others deciding to give them a moment, and both brothers were smiling. Ryleigh knew that it was time to leave, it was time for the cuddles to start and she had no desire to be a third wheel. She grabbed her purse and headed for the exit. She honestly felt like a part of the story just then, and she was filled with a giddy sense of belonging, it was a heady experience. Bonnie was talking to Damon, Elena and Stefan were retreating to his room, and Caroline was chatting with Klaus. She slipped out of the room and headed towards the exit when Rebekah was suddenly in front of her, her face full of rage.“Look, I know you grew up here and all that, but just stay away from Matt. He’s finally starting to warm up to me, and you’re ruining everything! So, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll back off.” Ryleigh had never liked Rebekah as a character and cheered on more than one occasion for Klaus to dagger her permanently. She was a spoiled brat who whined like a baby when she didn’t get her way. Plus, she really didn’t like being threatened, especially by her and she was done playing the helpless damsel in distress. She shifted her purse onto her other shoulder and returned her cold stare with one of her own as she responded.“Please, Matt can’t stand you, and he has no interest in dating vampires, he’s barely friends with them. If I want to date him, then I will, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me because you don’t scare me. You’re used to getting your way, but guess what princess, life wasn’t designed to cater to you. Now, get out of my way so I can leave.” She watched as the other girl began to shake with fury and Ryleigh almost groaned. It was such a perfect plan, let’s goad the one vampire who hates her guts and can’t be killed. Rebekah’s eyes started to change, and she charged forward, unable to control her anger. Rebekah’s hand grazed her throat when she threw her head back and screamed. She watched as the girl clutched her head as Damon had done, only this time Ryleigh was in complete control. Keeping her concentration, she took a step towards her, aware that everyone was milling behind her. She bent down so that Rebekah would be able to hear her over her pain.“Come at me again, and I’ll do worse than give you a headache, do you understand?” When she stood back up, she broke the contact causing Rebekah to stop screaming. She continued to cower, clutching her head, and groan. Rye turned her back on her and found Klaus and Elijah with her eyes.“That’s twice in two days that I’ve been attacked. The next time, I won’t be so nice about it.” Klaus smirked at her unable to hide his amusement and fascination.“My my do you get more and more intriguing by the minute. You have more power than a witch I’ve seen in a very long time, including that of our Ms. Bennett here.” Bonnie walked towards her with her eyes wide and nodded as she spoke.“He’s not wrong; I almost died trying to take Klaus out.” Ryleigh’s eyes jumped to his, and he merely shrugged and continued to grin.“As I said, you’re powerful. Despite what you said earlier, I expect you to be at this party of Rebekah’s. We may need your special talents after all.” Her feathers were ruffled once more as she pursed her lips, ready to leave.“Klaus, I do not take orders from you. I’m going home now; my dad is going to be wondering where I am.” Turning on her heel, she stepped around a still cowering Rebekah and walked outside. She could distinctly hear Klaus’s voice as she walked away.“Well that was something to witness, I understand completely why you’re so taken with her, brother, though she is a bit young for you. Oh Rebekah, do get up and stop…” She didn’t hear the rest of his words, but she was smiling as she climbed into her car.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The next few days were uneventful, but there was a tension in the air as everyone waited for what was going to happen next. They hadn’t seen or heard from the hunter, so they kept a low profile. Rebekah’s party was scheduled for the last Saturday of the month, on her one-month anniversary of being in Mystic Falls. Gradually, she fell into a very comfortable routine. The first weekend, she had a sleepover at Elena’s house, though Stefan and Damon were outside the whole time making sure Connor didn’t make an appearance. Ryleigh had never experienced anything like this before, not having had any real close friends where she was from, and it was a nice feeling. They talked about boys, caught each other up on their lives, and cried about the people they’d lost. By the third week, the party was growing closer, and she began to become more and more apprehensive. They were in entirely new territory because the show had been entirely different and she hadn’t gotten any new visions. During the week of the party, on Wednesday before, she was sitting next to Matt during Science class, she was extremely nervous about the upcoming weekend. She was also very frustrated because, since that day at the Salvatore’s, Matt had been dodging her. He kept the conversations to a minimum and kept his text replies down to three words or less. She hadn’t re-encountered Elijah, and she was more than a little grateful. That electrical current that had passed between them had been strange and intense. Maybe they were avoiding each other, but whatever the reason, she was glad to be free of that drama for the time being. When their science class was over, signaling their lunch period, Ryleigh stopped Matt, who was trying to make a quick exit.“Matt, please stop avoiding me and tell me what I did wrong. You haven’t talked to me in over two weeks, and I’ve gone long enough with radio silence from my friends.” His features immediately softened, and he sighed, resigned to the situation.“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shut you out again. Let’s go outside, and we’ll talk.” Glad that he was finally acknowledging her presence, she followed him out to the common picnic table on the lawn and sat opposite him. Matt pulled two peanut butter sandwiches out of his pack and offered one to her. She smiled as she accepted it and waited for him to begin, not wanting to push. He took a bite first before looking her in the eye.“I guess I liked having something normal in my life for a change, but then you just fit in so comfortably with them and all of that. Plus, you and that Elijah guy had that weird stare off and it seemed to be going somewhere, so I backed off. I hate all this vampire crap and how it’s infected every aspect of my life. I guess I was just disappointed that you got pulled into it too, and almost immediately.” She knew exactly what he meant as he explained why he’d kept his distance. Matt’s life was incredibly difficult with his absentee mom, school, and having to support himself. From watching the show, his friends always seem to push him to the side, and he never got a happy ending. It was probably the main reason that their friendship was so easy, they were very similar. She leaned forward and took his free hand in hers.“Trust me; I didn’t expect any of that to happen, I mean who would guess that vampires were real? The witch thing was completely out of left field too, and I have no idea what I’m doing most of the time. I can’t lose you as a friend, Matt; your friendship means too much to me. You and I are kindred spirits with our absent families and outsiders to the circle of friends that we belong to. We’ve known each other too long to let something come between us. Also, the Elijah and me thing, that’s never going to happen. The guy is like a thousand years old, and I’m only eighteen and interested in the living.” This got a laugh from him, and the tension began to diffuse around them. He squeezed her hand back and didn’t take his eyes off hers as he replied.“I’m so glad to hear you say that. The other girls are so enamored with the whole vamp thing, and I just wish they’d all go away…well okay maybe not Caroline, but still.” She gave him a sad, knowing smile.“By other girls, you mean Elena, don’t you?” He stared at her for a few seconds before he shook his head.“You know at one time; I was really bothered by the whole Stefan and Elena thing, but not anymore. Stefan is a pretty good guy, and she and I have been over for a long time. What about you, though? Do you have any leftover feelings for Tyler? He and Caroline have been fighting a lot lately, and he confessed to me that he still has major feelings for you. She scrunched up her nose in distaste at the thought. It was hard even to dredge up the nostalgia for Tyler that they’d implanted. Her intense dislike of his character was overshadowing anything Grady could have implanted.“A world of no on that, Tyler was never that kind to me. It’s a mystery that we dated for as long as we did, I was stupid to have put up with it. Man, but do we have an incestuous group of friends. I dated Tyler, you dated Elena and Caroline, now Caroline is dating Tyler, and I’m pretty sure that Bonnie is secretly dating Jeremy.” This caused Matt to bark out a surprised laugh before he could respond.“Oh wow, I’ve never really looked at it like that, but you’re so right.” She glanced down at her phone and groaned when she saw the time.“Ugh, I do not look forward to going back in there.” He nodded his agreement and stood up, leaving her with nothing to do but follow suit. As they walked back over to the entrance, she bumped his shoulder playfully.“Are you planning on going to the party this weekend?” He glanced over at her and frowned.“You mean the one at Rebekah’s house where all of the crap is supposed to go down? I hadn’t planned on it, no.” Ryleigh was a little deflated at his reply since everyone was going to be paired off with dates, but it was probably for the best. She knew that she’d resolved to abstain from any romance, but she loved hanging out with Matt. He paused on the front steps, watching her expression and looked genuinely confused.“Didn’t she attack you a couple of weeks ago? Why are you even going when you hate Rebekah as much as I do?” She knew that he wouldn’t understand her explanation, may even get a little upset about it.“With everything that’s supposed to happen, I’d never forgive myself if someone got hurt and I could have helped prevent it. I guess it’s a good thing that you aren’t going. You’ll be one less person that I have to worry about.” The bell was going to ring any second, but they continued to linger in the entrance. Matt gave her a small smile as he looked at her.“Rye, do you want me to go to this party?” She felt her cheeks grow warm at the sudden change in atmosphere. She didn’t want to lead him on, but at the same time, she didn’t want to lie to him, so she answered honestly.“Well, it 'd be good to have a friendly face there. Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena are all taking dates.” Matt took a step closer to her, and her heart began to race, and she was mildly comforted that she didn’t have to worry about him hearing it.“Is that what this would be, Ryleigh? A date?” She opened her mouth to answer him, but no sound would come out, so she cleared her throat and tried again.“Well only if you…I mean…oh crap.” He gave her a full-blown smile at her fumbling and cupped her face, his hand radiating warmth down to her toes. He leaned forward as if he was going to kiss her, but he stopped inches away from her face, his eyes never leaving her as she spoke.“How does two sound? I’ll come and pick you up.” At his closeness, she could no longer form words, so she just nodded, causing his eyes to smolder. At the sound of the bell, the spell was broken, and they jumped apart, both laughing as they raced towards their next class. ************************ When Saturday finally arrived, Ryleigh dressed in the utmost care, she was, after all, trying to make an impression. She slipped on a baby blue sundress that was in her closet and found a cute pair of lace-up sandals. She pinned half of her hair up to get it out of her face and curled the back half until it was perfectly bouncy. When her phone chimed that it was two, she went down the steps to wait in her living room. Fifteen minutes later, she had yet to hear from Matt, so she began to worry. She shot him a quick text and asked him for an ETA. When her phone chimed five minutes later, she was excited only to find a text from Caroline, asking where she was. She quickly shot her a reply letting her know that she was waiting for Matt, but Caroline’s instant response was that Matt was at work and to get her butt down there. She stared at the message for a few moments, utterly disbelieving that Matt would be that kind of guy. She headed for her car after she texted Caroline to send her Rebekah’s address. Once she was driving, she couldn’t stop herself from driving by the Grill, and sure enough, Matt’s truck was in the parking lot. Angrily pulling into a spot, she climbed out of her car and searched the dining room for him once she was inside. She spotted him cleaning a table, and she walked over to him, more than a little hurt.“Matt, did you forget to tell me something?” At the sound of her voice, he turned around with a smile, but it quickly fell off when he saw her outfit and her face. He set his bucket down and took a step towards her, but she retreated backward. His face was full of remorse as he gazed at her.“Oh man, Ryleigh, I’m so sorry. They asked me if I wanted to pick up a shift and I completely forgot that today was the day of the party.” She nodded, swallowing the tears that were forming. She was so mad; she’d promised herself that she’d avoid this very thing and yet here she was. She didn’t respond verbally, just turned on her heel and headed for the door. He called out to her and took her hand, alarmed that she wasn’t answering him.“I mean it, Rye, I’m so sorry, I promise I’ll make it up to you. Please, I really want this to happen.” She turned to stare at him; the entire situation had been a huge wake-up call.“Don’t worry about it, Matt, this wasn’t a real date anyway, and it’s better that you’re not going to be there. You should go back to work; I don’t want you to get into trouble.” Matt dropped her arm at her tone and sucked in a deep breath.“Rye, please don’t do this, I can meet you there in a few hours, and we’ll talk. I swear that this wasn’t intentional.” She shook her head and opened the door. She didn’t leave without replying to his plea.“It wasn’t intentional because it wasn’t important enough to remember. Look, it’s okay Matt, I mean that. This wasn’t a good idea, to begin with.” She left then, climbed into her car, and made her way to Rebekah’s house. By the time she arrived there, the place was jammed packed. She sat in her car for a minute, not ready to face what was supposed to happen. When she climbed out and started walking towards the crowd, she turned back around. She debated on whether to stay. She’d been looking forward to hanging out with Matt, and now she was going to be an extra wheel among her friends. She searched the crowd but didn’t see any of her them. She’d just started to type a message when Caroline appeared next to her, apparently already drunk.“Ryleigh, you came, I’m so happy!” She forced a smile on her face and nodded, but Caroline knew something was wrong.“Uh oh, something happened, what’s wrong? Was Matt supposed to be your date today?” Ryleigh rolled her eyes, trying to play down her hurt feelings.“Please Care, Matt and I are just friends. We’d agreed to ride together, but he forgot to tell me that he’d been called into work. It’s just as well really; he shouldn’t be here if whatever is supposed to happen actually happens.” She hadn’t fooled her one bit as she enveloped her into a hug and began to rant.“Ugh boys suck so bad, Rye, they’re a bunch of jerks! Matt stood you up and Tyler and I just totally broke up last night. I’m so glad that you’re here because if I have to see Elena and Stefan making cutesy faces at each other one more time, I’m going to rip someone’s face off. Not to mention, Bonnie brought friggin Jeremy, and they’ve been making out since they got here.” Ryleigh didn’t know what to say; she ultimately agreed that all boys, even in a fantasy situation, were asses. She told Caroline that she’d be right back because she wanted to find a cup for the keg that was set up. When she made it to the kitchen, she froze, her heart racing. Standing, calm as you please, was Connor. He grinned at her as she approached, and she tried to appear nonchalant as she reached for a red solo cup that was sitting in the bag next to him. He beat her to it and handed it over calmly.“I was wondering when we were going to meet again. That guy didn’t give you any more problems, did he?” She smiled at him and shook her head, she was trying to appear normal and not show that she was freaking out.“No, he’s dating my best friend, so his priorities are back where they belong.” She started to walk away when he grabbed her arm, and she felt a knife press up against her back. He leaned down to whisper in her ear so only she could hear him.“Do as I say, and you might live through this. I didn't intend to use you as my bait, but your blond friend never came back.” He dragged her through the door that led into the dining room, unfortunately, it was empty. He shoved her up against the wall and reached around her to crack the window open. Ryleigh was terrified so when he turned her to face him, she lifted her hand and used her powers to push him away. He hit the opposite wall with a surprised grunt, but she was running to the opposite side that also had a door. She tried to pull on it, but it was locked, and she was too scared to concentrate hard enough to use magic. When she turned around, she cried out as Connor’s knife pierced her stomach. She’d never felt pain such as that before, and it only intensified when he pulled the knife out. An alarming amount of blood began to flow from her, and she felt herself on the verge of passing out. He grabbed her arm and roughly dragged her back to the open window. She sank to the floor as her tears began to flow. He quickly bound her hands together and then looked down at her.“It’s nothing personal; you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He left her then, and she began to gasp for breath as anxiety started to swallow her. She tried to concentrate on the ropes her hands were bound in but cried out in frustration when they wouldn’t budge. The door she’d tried to escape into started to shake violently and after a few short moments, it was ripped off of its hinges, wood splinters flying everywhere. Rebekah walked into the dining room, completely confused when her eyes landed on Ryleigh.“What the hell is going on down here?!” She started to walk over to where she was sitting, and Ryleigh began to cry freely.“Please don’t…please don’t kill me.” She heard Rebekah swear, and then she pressed her wrist up to her mouth. At the first drop of blood, Ryleigh turned her head away and cried for Rebekah to stop. With surprising gentleness, Rebekah grabbed the back of her head and turned it back towards her wrist, holding her there to allow the blood to flow into her mouth. When she could no longer feel the intense pain, Rebekah took her wrist away and made quick work of the ropes holding her hands in place. She leaned down to look in her eyes, and Ryleigh was surprised to find them filled with worry as Rebekah spoke.“You’re going to be fine; Matt would have never forgiven me if I’d let you die. Now, tell me which way he went so I can go and kill that bastard.” Before Ryleigh could tell her not to because of the curse, Elena burst into the room.“Something is wrong with Caroline and Stefan, oh no, Ryleigh!” Ryleigh heard the hunter’s voice comment behind them and then she listened to the fighting begin. Elena tried to help her move, but she was extremely weak from the loss of blood. Trying to focus her vision, she saw when Elijah and Klaus entered the room, and Elijah was immediately by her side. When he was sure that she was going to be okay, he kissed her forehead and then joined the fight with his siblings. Her eyes focused long enough to see Rebekah rip Connor’s heart out of his chest. Klaus stared for a few minutes and then began to yell and berate her for doing something so foolish and then he plunged a dagger into her chest. It was too much for Ryleigh to comprehend and she began trying to scramble to her feet. Elena told Klaus about Caroline and Stefan, to which he left once she told him where they were. A sob escaped Ryleigh when she was finally regained her vision and saw nothing but all the blood from where she’d been stabbed and Connor’s gaping chest cavity. Elijah cautiously took a step towards her with his hands outstretched for her to take.“You are completely safe, Ryleigh. Our sister is only sleeping until we can figure out a way to break her free of the curse. The hunter is dead, this is all over, and I promise you that you’re safe.” She jerked away from him when his hand grazed hers gently and ran into a shocked Bonnie and Jeremy. They all tried to stop her from leaving, but she was able to use enough of her powers to subdue them, so she could escape. A few hours later, safely in her fake home, Ryleigh was holding the fob and sitting on her bed. She’d been an idiot to think that Mystic Falls would be a fun vacation spot. She’d been ignoring the calls and texts from everyone. She’d just about pressed the button when the doorbell sounded on her front door. She kept it in her hands as she shakily walked down the steps to see who it was. When she opened the door, she found Matt, who didn’t wait for an invite, but walked in and wrapped his arms around her. She returned the hug, but it was an automatic motion, she was still in shock from the event she’d witnessed and been a part of. Over his shoulder, she saw Damon and Bonnie standing on her porch, both looking pensive. Neither attempted to come any closer, sensing she was at a breaking point with it all. Matt pulled away from her and cupped her face gingerly as a tear fell down his cheek.“God Ryleigh, I’m so sorry, I should have been there with you. That guy would never have gotten his hands on you if I’d have just left the Grill with you” She started to protest the silliness of his musings when his lips cut her off. It was a pleasant feeling, and she allowed herself to kiss him back for a moment before she broke away from him entirely. She shook her head as she spoke, she couldn’t go there.“No Matt, we’re not doing this, it isn’t real! I just wanted to have friends; I didn’t ask for any of this. You have to leave; I don’t want any of it!” Matt made a startled sound from the back of his throat as he tried in vain to stop the flow of tears he’d been fighting.“Okay, Rye, I’ll leave you alone.” Not waiting for him to turn around once he was back on her porch, she closed the door in his face and locked it. She ran over to the television set and wished for home as she pressed the button on the right. She felt the familiar tug, and after a few seconds, she was back in her own living room. She turned in a full circle, so relieved to be back, but when she faced the couch, she found Grady sitting there, frowning at her.“So, it appears that we need to talk.”

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Ryleigh stared at him for a minute before moving to sit beside him on the couch. She was surprised that he was there since he’d told her that she could leave at any time, but she had to go if the fob changed colors. When she looked down at the fob, she saw that it was indeed a different color, like a peach. She was also surprised by how the soreness she’d felt from getting stabbed was suddenly gone. It had disappeared the moment she’d realized that she was in her living room. It was something that they never really talked about on the show. Yes, vampire blood healed the wounds, but the soreness and pain didn’t immediately go away. She finally walked over to where he sat on the couch and sat next to him. He was frowning at her, but it seemed more out of concern than anything. She turned herself to face him somewhat to make it easier for them to talk and she took a deep breath before speaking.“I guess we do need to talk. That whole experience was fantastic, but that last bit? That was too much; no average person could see that and want to stay.” Grady bowed his head for a moment and then replied, his face a little pensive.“Well that’s right to a certain point, but the real point is to realize that it’s not real…yet. You’re there to get to know your favorite characters and going through a scenario such as what you went through only strengthens bonds on that kind of show. As you saw, your friends were there, and they were anxious for you. Matt, however, may not get over you pushing him away such as you did.” Ryleigh scoffed at his words; he had no clue.“Please, there’s no way that I’m going back there! That whole mess was insane from the beginning. I was attacked twice, and then I get stabbed by the hunter! Yeah, no way am I putting myself in that situation ever again.” Grady smiled a somewhat knowing smile and stood up.“Well, I always say ‘never say never.' You had a strong bond with them so I wouldn’t write them off completely. So, the recharge of the device is relative, but you were only there for a month, one full day here. It shouldn’t take long for it to recharge and then you can pick a different realm to visit.” Ryleigh shook her head; she didn’t want to do it anymore. The idea was fun to think about, but after living it, she couldn’t see herself going anywhere else. She held the fob out to him and shook her head once more.“You can have this back; I don’t see myself using it again.” Grady held his hands up and backed away towards the front door.“I’m not ready to accept defeat yet with you, Ms. Jameson. Sleep on it and try again in a different world once it’s recharged. Call me anytime you need or want.” After making the statement, he opened her front door to leave, but paused and glanced over at her.“Oh yes, one more thing before I forget. Your absence from your life here is work-related. Your job sent you to a book expo to see about getting new vendors. Whenever you are in the other realms, your absence will be because of your work; it’s the easiest excuse.” Ryleigh started to say that they didn’t do things like that, but when she went into her room, paperwork was on her bed. It had a list of book distributors and items that were going to be delivered to her store. She looked at the fob and rolled her eyes at it, placing it on the nightstand next to her bed. She’d never use it again; she was entirely sure of it. ************** Three days had passed since she’d returned from Mystic Falls and she was downright surly. She wasn’t trying to be, and she tried to reign it in, but she was lonely. She’d gotten used to having friends to talk to regularly and hang out with. Now, she was back to her normal routine of working and taking care of her mother. Yes, she had money now, and she could see about enrolling into classes, but it wasn’t the same. Her friends from high school had all moved on and weren’t in town anymore. They didn’t keep in contact with her, and she couldn’t blame them because she didn’t remain in contact with them either. So, when she came home from work after a late night, she was relieved to see the fob had turned back to its vibrant green color. She knew it was silly to try again and she definitely wasn’t ready to back to Mystic Falls after what had happened. Still, being able to belong to a group of friends was something that she missed. Her mother was doing a lot better with her new routine, and she was almost completely off the alcohol, though she still had bad days. She sat down on her bed and stared at the fob, wondering if she could go through it again. She ignored it and got ready for bed. She got out of the shower and put on her pajamas when she walked back into her room. The fob was staring at her, the green glowing as if telling her to use it. Biting her lip, she picked it up and went into the living room. It couldn’t hurt to try it once more and see how it went. She’d take Grady’s advice and go to a different realm; Mystic Falls was out…for now. She closed her eyes and thought of her second favorite show. She pressed down on the correct button and touched the television, feeling the familiar tug and dizziness associated with teleporting into the fantasy of her choice. When it settled, and she knew that she wasn’t in her living room anymore she glanced around, getting a feel for her surroundings. She could tell at once that she was in a motel room and not a regular house. She searched the memories that she knew they’d given her and she was glad to see the fob had taken her to Central City, just like she’d asked. Sifting through everything, she knew about the show so far and what they’d given her was more comfortable this time around. The flash had only aired three seasons so far, a whole lot less than TVD. She realized that her background was similar though, she’d grown up with Iris and Barry, and they’d been friends all through school until she’d taken a lab assistant job in Coast City. It seems that she was Harrison’s Well’s niece and he’d experimented on her. Her name was still Ryleigh, but her last name was Wells. It appeared that in this version of the story, Harrison had a brother, Hank. She was a big science geek, and she’d spent summers at Star Labs, only to have Harrison do experiments on her. She shook her head to clear thoughts and wished that she’d changed clothes before traveling when her closet door suddenly opened. She jumped back, startled that it had done it on its own. She realized then, seeing it in her thoughts that this was the reason she was there. She wanted to reach out to Barry, another scientific mind to figure out why she had powers. So, it appeared that whatever scenario she put herself in, she was going to have special abilities…she wasn’t mad at that. She glanced at the clock and on the nightstand and saw that it was the same time as she’d arrived home, it was well after midnight. She placed the transparent fob in the drawer of the little table and climbed into the bed. She just hoped that she could actually sleep from the excitement of meeting Barry for real the following day. The next morning, she chose casual clothing from her wardrobe, jeans, a simple floral boho blouse, and flats. She grabbed her phone, keys, and wallet before heading out the front door. She was able to get a cab easily enough and told the taxi driver to take her to the police station, where she knew that Barry worked. She couldn’t help but stare at the scenery as it passed, it was beautiful and just like the show. When the cab came to a stop in front of the station, she had butterflies in her stomach, for what reason, she didn’t know. She walked up the steps and headed for the lobby, which was just that…a lobby. A pleasant older lady smiled at her at the reception desk, so she knew that this was where she needed to start. The woman behind the counter held out a clipboard to her.“Welcome to the Central City Police Headquarters, if you’ll just sign out visitor log, please. How may I help you?” She quickly signed her name and answered the lady while she was writing.“Yes, I’m looking for Barry Allen, is he in today?” The lady smiled and picked up the phone, but not before responding.“Mr. Allen is on the Crime Scene Investigative team, and I’ll check to see if he’s in the office.” Ryleigh waited patiently as the receptionist spoke quietly on the phone and then looked over at her with a smile.“It appears that Mr. Allen is indeed in his office today, he’s just conferencing with one of the detectives now. You can take the elevator to the third floor, and the flight of steps to your right will bring you up to the labs.” Ryleigh thanked her and then headed for the elevators. She was nervous, but she couldn’t tell if that was her or her character’s thoughts because she hadn’t spoken to Barry in over a year. When she stepped out onto the third floor, she couldn’t help the gasp as she looked around. It was exactly as she pictured it, it was incredible. She hadn’t moved yet when she heard a distinct voice from the show and turned to greet Joe West as he called out to her.“Oh, my goodness, it can’t be Ryleigh Wells! It has been way too long, how have you been?” Ryleigh allowed him to hug her and she felt her excitement rise as she answered him.“I know, I haven’t meant to leave it this long, but life happens. I’m actually on vacation from the lab in Coast City, and I thought I would come down and surprise Barry and Iris.” He grinned and began to lead her over to the stairs.“Well, I can tell you that they’re both going to be very excited to see you. Barry is upstairs in his lab; I’ll take you up there. Iris works at the newspaper now, and I can give her a call if you want.” They walked up the steps and down the hall towards the lab that Barry worked in. She nodded at Joe and thanked him.“Yeah, that would be great. Thank you for showing me the way, I won’t be here long, I don’t want to interfere with his work.” Joe chuckled as they came to a stop outside of his lab door.“Don’t worry about it; he’ll be happy to see you. I’ll let you go in by yourself so you two can catch up, but I’ll go give Iris a call.” She said goodbye to Joe and took a step into his lab, her mouth dropping open. It was incredible being there for real, but she didn’t see Barry. She stepped in a little further when she heard him; he was behind the little half wall talking to someone.“Eddie, I don’t know what to tell you. Iris will be happy with anything you get her because she values the thought you put into the gift more than what the gift is.” She heard Eddie’s voice and realized they must be in the first season still. “Thanks, Barry, that actually does help me.” He came around the corner and smiled when he saw her.“Oh sorry, did you need to see Barry? I was just leaving so he’s all yours.” At the sound of Eddie talking to someone else, Barry rounded the corner and stopped, a huge grin splitting his face.“Ryleigh? Wow, I can’t believe you walked into my lab today! It’s so good to see you!” Ryleigh returned his smile and gladly hugged him back as he reached for her. The hug lasted longer than an average friendly hug normally would, and she knew she needed to go through the memories they gave her more thoroughly because it seemed like she and Barry had been close enough to have had a close call relationship wise. Barry finally released her, his hands lingering on her waist before stepping away when he realized Eddie was still there. He chuckled nervously as he introduced them.“Eddie, this is Ryleigh Wells, Iris and I grew up with her, and she’s one of our oldest and best friends.” Eddie kept his smile on his face as he reached for her head.“Oh, it’s nice to meet you, I’m Eddie Thawne, I’m Iris’s boyfriend. She has mentioned you several times, so it’s good to meet you finally. I have to talk to Joe about a case we’re working on so I won’t keep you two from catching up.” Once he was gone, Barry turned his smile back on her, full watt this time.“I am so glad you finally came back for a visit, I just wish that you’d told me you were coming! Where are you staying, I know your parents moved away.” Ryleigh started to walk around his lab to get a feel for it as she answered.“I’m just hunkered down in a motel; I got in late last night. I actually came to talk to you about something…it’s Important.” His smile fell off his face when she replied, and he sat down on the stool at his work table.“Oh, please tell me you’re not at that roach motel off the highway? We can do better than that; I’m sure Joe wouldn’t mind you staying in Iris’s old room. I’ve moved back in with him, and Iris lives with Eddie now.” Ryleigh chuckled and shook her head.“That’s okay; I don’t want to impose, Barry, I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to stay.” He frowned at her but quickly cleared it up as he motioned for her to sit down next to him.“I’ll let it go for now, but what did you want to talk to me about? I’m in between cases right now, all caught up, so you have my full attention.” Ryleigh didn’t take the offered seat; instead, she fidgeted next to him as she worked up the courage to tell him what she needed to say.“Well first, I don’t want you to be upset with me. I was in town the day the Particle Accelerator blew up at Star Labs. It was only for a few hours because I was meeting Jerry. I heard on the news that you were in a coma a week after it happened, Iris didn’t tell me. I called several times to check in on you, and I didn’t realize until recently that you were ok.” Barry was immediately in front of her, his hands on her shoulders.“You don’t have to apologize, Rye, I know that you and Iris had some sort of falling out, though neither of you will tell me why. First thing’s first though, why were you meeting Jerry? I thought you were done with that loser!” She felt the blush creeping up her neck and ending in cheeks as she answered.“Oh, I’m definitely done with him now, he completely ditched me during the explosion. There was this blast, and it rendered me unconscious for a few minutes, and when I woke up, I was alone. That’s actually why I came to see you, Barry. Since that night…well…I can do things. I was hesitant to come forward because I’ve been seeing reports on the news about people with powers and how evil they are. I wasn’t sure that I’d be received if I told you that I was able to do weird things like the people on tv.” This got Barry’s attention, and she watched as different emotions played on his face. He went through remorse, shock, anger, and then what seemed like pity.“So, you were affected by the blast from Star Labs? It just so happens that I’ve been working with the team there to help them research the Meta’s. Once I’m done here, I can take you there, so we can run some tests and see what we’re dealing with.” Ryleigh felt the anger bubble up from the pit of her stomach, and she shook her head.“Why on earth are you working with anyone at Star Labs? I came here for your help Barry, but I’m not stepping foot in that place ever again.”

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Ryleigh watched as Barry bowed his head and frowned. She could remember the conversations that they'd had about her uncle. Barry had idolized him when they were teenagers because of his brain. He'd known that her father hadn't been on good terms with Harrison and that she wasn't a big fan, but he'd never pressed for a reason. She'd also never told him about the experiments that he'd done on her. Harrison Wells, at the time, was a pillar of the community and everyone thought highly of him, so she'd known that no one would believe that he'd use his own niece as a lab experiment. She'd accidentally found Grodd's cage and been sneaking him snacks when he'd caught her. He wasn't mad, but he was fascinated by Grodd's reaction to her, so he'd started doing similar experiments on her. It made sense that when she had the misfortune to be in Central City during his particle accelerator explosion, it had manifested in similar ways. Ryleigh loved the depth of the memories in this realm. She was a little worried about her powers; she had telepathic abilities that she sometimes lost control of, as well as telekinetic abilities. Barry placed his hands on her shoulders and stepped closer to her, and he looked pained as he spoke."I know that we haven't spoken in a long time, Rye, but I hope you know that I'd never let anything happen to you. I know that you and your uncle have a strained relationship, but the team at Star Labs is the best place to run tests on you. We can figure out what's going on and the best way to help you. Wells is…yeah, I can understand why you don't trust him, but Caitlyn and Cisco are the best in their field." Ryleigh felt warmth at his words, and she realized that Ryleigh Wells didn't just have a crush on Barry, she was in love with him, or had been at one point. It was a weird feeling because she could separate herself from it, but the feeling of being in love was new and foreign to her. She could also feel a deep fear of Wells, similar to the reaction she'd had to Damon when he'd attacked her. She lowered her head, trying to figure out the best course of action. She knew that Barry was a good guy, and he really would try to protect her, but she knew that Harrison Wells betrayed Barry regularly. She was still trying to figure that out, when Barry placed his hand on her cheek, causing her to meet his eyes. He smiled softly at her as he spoke."I really have missed you, Ryleigh. Harrison doesn't even have to be there if you don't want him to be. I can get in touch with Caitlyn and Cisco and find out a time when he'll be gone so she can run the tests then." Ryleigh knew that she was blushing, so she just chuckled nervously and sighed heavily."I missed you too, Bar. If you think they'll be able to help, then I'll go with you. I came to you for a reason; I knew you'd be able to help me figure this out." It was that particular moment that Iris walked in the room, talking before she registered her presence."Hey, I ran into my dad downstairs, and he said that Ryleigh was in town? Oh, wow it's been a long time, Rye." Barry kept smiling as he dropped his hands away from Ryleigh and looked up at Iris. Ryleigh turned to smile at Iris as well when she was flooded with memories as to why she'd kept her distance. It had been before Barry had been struck by lightning. They'd been spending a lot of time together; she'd been helping him with his investigation of his mother's murder. They'd almost kissed when Iris walked in on them. She'd taken Ryleigh aside and told her that Barry was being polite and that she needed to back off because he didn't like her in that way. Iris had been extremely blunt about it, and she'd had no reason not to believe her because they were best friends. When her eyes met Iris's however, she realized that it was because Iris had feelings for Barry and didn't like the idea of the two of them together. She stepped forward and pulled Iris into a hug, which after a few seconds she returned. When she stepped back, Ryleigh grinned at her trying to diffuse the tension that had surrounded them."Wow Iris, you look beautiful, it's so good to see you. I'm sorry I've been out of touch for a while, work has been crazy. I came to see Barry about a case study I've been working on, and I needed his smarty brains." Iris returned her smile, and it seemed genuine as she replied."It has been too long, Ryleigh. You missed all the excitement last year with what happened to Barry." Barry came to a stop beside them, sensing a cat-fight on the rise and, in typical Barry fashion, tried to play referee."We've already caught up on that, Iris. I was just about to take her to Star Labs so that we could help her with her study. Do you want to meet up for lunch so we can catch up?" Iris winced and glanced at her watch."I really wish I could, I have an interview scheduled for a story I'm working on and tonight is my anniversary date with Eddie. Can we do lunch tomorrow? I'm completely free, and I'll be there." They agreed to meet the following day, and when Iris was gone, he turned to look back at her, his expression thoughtful."Ryleigh, why did you disappear on us last year? I know that you and Iris had a fight, and she's so tight-lipped about it, but it spilled over into our friendship too." Ryleigh chuckled nervously and shrugged; there was no way she was going there."Come on Barry, when have Iris, and I never fought? It was just one of those things, and I feel sorry for staying away as long as I did, but I really was bogged down with work. I'm just happy to see you and see that you're doing okay after what happened." She could tell his wheels were turning and that she hadn't wholly dissuaded him from finding out why they'd fought, but he decided to drop it for now. He grabbed her hand and started walking towards the exit. As they walked down the steps, he glanced over at her, his eyes bright."We'll go get some coffee, and I'll call Cisco to see when would be a good time to drop by." They were waiting for the elevator when Joe came to a stop next to them."Wow seeing the two of you together really brings back memories. Iris and Eddie are busy tonight. Ryleigh, why don't you come over to the house this evening for dinner, I'll cook." Ryleigh had memories of Joe's cooking, and she was excited to go to the West house."That would be great, Mr. West, I've missed your cooking." He laughed and patted her on the back."Excellent, I'll serve at seven to give you time to catch up. Where are you staying, by the way? If you're staying at the motel off the highway, I insist that you come and stay with us. That place is one more violation away from being shut down, and it's not in the safest part of town." Ryleigh opened her mouth to say something, it was funny that they both knew she was staying there, but Joe stopped her."That's what I thought, Barry, make sure you get her settled, alright?" When they stepped into the elevator, Barry was laughing at the perplexed look on her face. He began running lazy circles on the back of her hand with his thumb as he leaned up against the elevator wall. He looked over at her with a wistful expression that she was usually reserved for how he looked at Iris."I told you that you were missed around here. I tell you what; we'll go get that coffee and depending on what Cisco says, we'll go get your stuff and get you settled." She laughed as she looked back at the police station."Aren't you technically still on the clock?" He shrugged and started pulling her in the direction of Jitters."They can page me if something comes up, it's been a pretty slow week."________________________________________Ryleigh was trying to contain her excitement before Barry returned, but it was difficult. She'd claimed a table in Jitters while Barry went to get their coffee. He was also on the phone with Cisco, trying to determine the best time to head to the lab. It was amazing being in a place that you wished was real so that you could visit it. She watched Barry from where he sat and sifted through her memories of when they were younger. She wondered if what Grady had initially shown her was where they were headed. It was strange because, on the show, he'd always pined for Iris, but she'd never been a huge fan of that character. She'd sometimes thought that Barry should have ended up with Caitlyn, but they'd never do that. She watched as he hung the phone up and headed towards her with their coffee in his hands. He sat hers in front of her with a smile and then took the seat opposite her. She took a sip and savored the flavor of the latte. She met his eyes across the table and saw he was grinning."I was hoping that I still remembered your favorite, it looks like I did well. Cisco said that Wells is holed up at his house and has been the last couple of days, meaning we can go over there after coffee if you want." Ryleigh felt tense, but she also knew that learning to control her gifts was going to be paramount. She could hear the buzzing in her head getting louder, and it seemed that was the problem. She'd created a device to help block the voices out of her head, but it didn't last very long. She nodded as she put her cup down on the table."Okay, I guess I don't have much choice in the matter." Barry frowned, and he started to say something, but she waved him off before he could."It's alright, Barry, I'm desperate for help on this so we can go whenever you're ready." She could tell he was relieved as he stood up from the table and waited for her. They walked outside and waited for a cab, and she had the sudden urge to giggle. Whenever Barry wanted to get somewhere, he could just usually run to it, having to go slow due to her being there must be driving him nuts.The cab ride over was spent in mostly silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. She was nervous because her character hadn't been there since she was a senior in high school. Cisco had been her favorite character on The Flash, so she was looking forward to meeting him. When they pulled up in front of the lab, she was more than a little nervous. She hadn't had any problems with her witchy powers in Mystic Falls, and she hoped honing whatever abilities these were would be just as natural. Barry retook her hand and began to lead her into the building. They were silent as they walked through the lobby and down the long hallway that they didn't really show much of on the show. They stopped at an elevator and went down two levels to get to the lab. They never went into that much detail in the series, but it made more sense. They came to a stop in front of the computer console that they always showed. He squeezed her hand and smiled as he began to walk over to the clinic Caitlyn worked in."I'll go get Caitlyn and call Cisco; you can sit in the chair, I'll be right back." Ryleigh didn't sit as he suggested but instead stared open-mouthed at the control center that she always saw the team sitting at while Barry was out saving people. She looked over to the room that he'd escaped to and saw that he and Caitlyn were in a heated debate while both throwing glances at her. She knew that they were talking about how to keep his alter self a secret while she was right there in the lab. She glanced around the room before they noticed that she was staring at them. It was when she'd taken a step closer to the controls to look at them; her arms crossed over her chest, so she wouldn't accidentally touch something when she heard a voice behind her that made her stiffen."Well this is a pleasant surprise, Ryleigh, I didn't know you were coming for a visit." Ryleigh knew that this was an evil person from watching, but her character reacted violently just as she had in Mystic Falls. She was distraught that he was there since Barry had assured her he wouldn't be. She slowly turned around and came face to face with the person her character had nightmares about."Hi uncle Harrison, I didn't know that you were going to be here today. I just asked Barry to help me with a study I'm working on. I had read that you'd been injured during the blast." He looked down into his lap with a small smile before looking back at her stiff posture."A fate you probably believe I deserve, I'm sure. Well, don't let me keep you and Barry from doing what it is you need to do. Let me know if I can help in any way; it's good to see you. Despite what you think of me, I do care about you, and I was only trying to see if it was possible." She opened her mouth to retort when Barry was suddenly by her side, his arm going around her waist lightly in a somewhat possessive gesture."Dr. Wells, I hope you don't mind that I was going to use the lab to help Ryleigh, Cisco said you wouldn't be here today." He shook his head lightly his eyes going between the two of them."Don't worry about it, Mr. Allen, you know you're always welcome. As for me, I intended to take the day off, but there's something that needs my attention." As Wells turned around in his wheelchair and headed out the door, Cisco came around the corner with a grin. His smile only widened when he saw Barry's arm around her and Ryleigh knew instantly that they were going to be friends."Hey Barry, sorry I'm late, I was working on some new tech that I think is going to be revolutionary. So, you must be Ryleigh, and I've heard a lot about you from both Dr. Wells and Barry, it's nice to meet you finally." He held out his hand to her, his smile never leaving his face and she readily took his hand to return the hello. Before she could say anything, his hand clamped down onto hers, and he went rigid. His grip was painful, and she looked to Barry for help, but he wasn't looking at her. After only a few moments, Cisco jerked his hand from hers and took a step back, gasping for breath as he zoned in on her."Wow, that was incredibly intense and probably the fastest I've vibed anyone." She looked over at Barry who had a pained expression on his face and was running his hand through his hair. Caitlyn was now standing behind them, and she held out her hand with a soft smile of her own."Hi, I'm Caitlyn Snow and don't worry, I'm not going to go all weird on you." She felt herself relax as she accepted Caitlyn's handshake. Barry spoke causing her to make eye contact with him, and she could tell that he was worried."Sorry about that, but it's one of the reasons why I wanted you to meet Cisco. He was affected by the blast as well, and he can sort of determine what a Meta's power is so I thought it would be helpful. Caitlyn is a doctor, and she'll be able to run tests to see exactly how your abilities are intertwined with you. It's sort of a pet project of ours to catalog the Meta's and help the police with the bad ones." She realized then that he wasn't going to tell her. He was giving these looks to both Caitlyn and Cisco as if to say not to say to her, and she was a little bummed, but she did understand. Caitlyn motioned for her to follow her to her work area which she did after a little hesitation, which she noticed and smiled to reassure her."It's okay, Ryleigh, I promise I'm not going to do anything creepy. I'm just going to run some necessary tests after you tell me a little bit more about what it is you've been experiencing." She was just about to walk through the doorway to Caitlyn's lab when Dr. Well's voice sounded from behind her."Well well, it seems like our summer together may have been more successful than we originally thought, right Ryleigh?"

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Ryleigh should have known that Dr. Wells would have stayed as soon as he saw that she was there. His curiosity would have gotten the better of him. No one moved as they looked between the two of them and she was at a loss for words. She didn’t want to tell him anything because he’d take credit for it and try to manipulate her or worse, put her in the vault. Dr. Wells was evil, and she’d have been afraid even if the implanted memories didn’t make her be. She decided to be confident, so she squared her shoulders and placed her hands on her hips. She glanced at Barry who looked like he was utterly lost for words. When she faced Harrison Wells, she glared at him.“My being here has nothing to do with you; Barry thought that Caitlyn could help me with a case I’m working on.” He grinned and nodded as he glanced between Barry, Caitlyn, and her.“Ryleigh, I’m not going to hurt you, despite what you might think, I just want to help. If you have side effects from our experiments together or the particle accelerator, including me, is in your best interest.” She looked to Barry for support, but she could tell by his facial expression that he agreed with him. She opened her mouth to deny what he said, but Barry beat her to it.“Look Ryleigh; he makes a fair point. I think we need all hands on deck for this one, especially if it’ll help you.” Ryleigh felt two things at once, and she didn’t have time to analyze them just then. She was fascinated by her response because she could see the logic in his statement, but her feelings were something completely different. She’d watched the show, she knew how smart Wells was, so it made sense to have him help, but her implanted memories refused even to consider it as an option. She bowed her head because she didn’t want to give anything away when she spoke.“I didn’t come here for his help, Barry, I came here for yours. Look, it’s okay, I will figure it out on my own.” She glanced up at Barry and saw that he looked hurt by her rebuff, but she couldn’t dwell on that. She briskly walked out of the room and headed in the direction they came. She could hear them talking but couldn’t make out the words. She made it to the elevators when she heard someone call her name. She turned to see Cisco running up to her with a smile.“Hey, wait up; I just want to talk to you for a minute.” She turned to face him, frowning as she replied.“They chose you as their spokesperson?” He laughed and shook his head before answering her.“No one would ever choose me to be their spokesperson. I get that you have some reservations with Dr. Wells. He never talked about it, but he said that he regretted the relationship he had with you. I’m not here for that though; I wanted to take you down to my lab so I can check out your earpiece. Barry mentioned that it was deteriorating, so I thought I could at least look at that and see what I can do.” Ryleigh loved Cisco on the show; he was one of her favorites, so she thought about his offer. She sighed heavily as she answered him; he needed to know before they did anything.“I wouldn’t mind you taking a look at it, honestly, but if I take this earpiece out…you won’t be able to hide your thoughts. It’s powerful; I’ll be able to hear everything you think.” He grinned and pressed the appropriate button on the elevator.“That’s okay; I think it’s kind of awesome. I told the others to stay away because I got the impression that too many would be harmful, otherwise why the device?” She couldn’t help but return his smile; it was infectious. She followed him down to his lab, and it took sheer willpower not to squeal. Once he was at his desk, he held out his hand to her. She took a deep breath and took the earpiece out and handed it to him. She was immediately flooded with his thoughts, and it was both refreshing and weird.**
This is so cool, imagine the information you could get with this ability.
Wait, she can hear me right now, crap. This design is pretty cool,
but it has to be annoying always to wear something in your ear.
Maybe I could design it as an injection? No, that would be too painful.
Perhaps it could pin and sit under her ear, how would that not be an injection though?
It looks intact; maybe the frequency just needs to be amped up if it’s dying out.**Ryleigh interrupted his inner monologue by laughing, and she couldn’t help it. She sat down in one of the chairs available and laughed. He looked at her, his face red, but immediately went back to work. She tried to ignore his thoughts, but there didn’t seem to be an off switch. She watched as he disassembled the earpiece and began to tinker. She grimaced when she heard a buzzing noise; it usually signaled when someone else was coming into hearing distance and sure enough before he even walked into the doorway.**
She looked ready to bolt, I don’t want her to leave, and I’ll just have to convince her to stay.
I’ve missed her more than I realized and she’s just as beautiful as I remember.
I want to ask her why she disappeared, but I’m afraid of the answer.
She’ll tell me what I already know, ‘I just don’t like you that way, Barry.’ And it’ll be embarrassing for both of us.
Not to mention, how can I keep my secret? If she can read minds, it’ll only be a matter of time before she discovers it.
It’s hard enough trying to keep my speed a secret from Iris; it would be even harder with her.
What would she think if she knew? Would she be mad, scared, or proud?
This is Ryleigh, and I don’t want to screw it up like I had last time we were together.
I want her to stay for good, but how do I convince her to stay? **Ryleigh couldn’t intrude anymore, and it seemed as if he was sticking to the hallway while he tried to come up with an answer for all of his questions. She was also hearing Cisco’s thoughts on how to improve on her gadget when she groaned.“Okay, you two have to slow your thoughts because it’s giving me a headache. Barry, you staying out there with your skulking is making it worse because I now hear both of you and you’re both so loud.” Cisco looked up from his table with a raised eyebrow and Barry walked into the room with a sheepish expression. Barry was the one to speak as Cisco was too focused on the task at hand.“Please tell me you didn’t hear all of that.” Ryleigh winced because she didn’t want to lie to him, but she knew that he was feeling more than a little awkward now.“I’m not going to lie; I heard a lot. It sounds like you and I need to have a conversation soon. I won’t do it now because I can hear everything so it wouldn’t be fair, and it would make both of us uncomfortable…but I did hear a lot.” Before he could answer, the buzzing got louder, and the pressure in her head got much more cumbersome. She looked up at Barry with a panicked expression.“Please stop whoever is coming down here. Cisco has my device and…oh god; there’s more than one.” Barry ran into the hallway at her words, and she could hear him from where she sat.“Caitlyn, you and Dr. Wells have to go back upstairs. She can’t be around more than one person right now; it’s hurting her.” She didn’t hear their responses, but the pressure eased, and it made her groan in relief. When she sat back up, Cisco was staring at her with his mouth open, and she knew his question.“How did you concentrate long enough to make this?” Ryleigh sifted through her memories and answered him truthfully.“I found a basement lab that I kept to myself. It has all the different prototypes to see which one worked. I couldn't leave my lab for months.” Cisco stared at her for a few minutes, but she heard the words flit through his head right when it registered on his face that he knew she heard him.**
Wow, she’s pretty amazing.** Ryleigh and Cisco worked for several hours as he made improvements to her earpiece and she found that they had more than a little in common. Soon, they were laughing and discussing ways they could make improvements on not just her earpiece, but on how they could make a Meta reader to detect them. She was amazed that she could follow what Cisco was talking about, but it seemed that she was a mini inventor as well and almost as smart as him. It was well after 5 pm when he finally handed her the earpiece back with a smile. She took it hesitantly from him and then with a deep breath, put the earpiece back in. She clicked it on, and the silence that enveloped her was bliss that she actually laughed out loud. She stood up and without thinking, pulled Cisco into a hug.“Oh, my goodness, thank you so much! The buzzing in my head was getting so bad, but now it’s just me and my thoughts alone. I just hope that I can replicate it if it starts to happen again.” Cisco grinned at her, and she could tell that the two of them were going to grow to be excellent friends. He shrugged and started to lead her out of the lab as he responded.“I don’t think it’ll deteriorate any time soon, but I am going to work on something new for you. It’s got to be annoying to wear that in your ear 24/7, so I’m going to see if I can make something smaller and more manageable.” When they got back to the top deck, they found Barry in deep conversation with Caitlyn. Dr. Wells was nowhere to be seen, but Caitlyn saw them enter and smiled at her, causing Barry to turn around. He walked over to her and took her hand, his expression cautious.“I take it that you two were able to fix your device? We can come back tomorrow so that we can talk about the other part to your newfound powers, but it’s getting late so we should go and get your stuff, so we won’t be late for Joe’s dinner.” Ryleigh agreed with the plan and said goodbye to who she hoped would become her new friends. Once they were alone, outside of the building, Barry didn’t immediately speak. Ryleigh sighed, knowing that his behavior was her fault she squeezed his hand and tried to reassure him.“Barry, I’m sorry for snapping at you back there, I know you were only trying to help. Harrison and I are never going to have a good relationship; he makes me extremely uncomfortable. You brought me here to help me, and that’s what happened. Cisco was able to ramp up the frequency on this device, and now it’s just me…no more intruding on people’s thoughts.” He turned to face her fully; his face was a mixture of relief and something else she couldn’t pinpoint. “I just hope you know that you can trust me with anything, Rye. I love you, you’re one of my best friends, and I’ll never do anything to hurt you.” It was such a genuine admission that she felt her throat tighten as her feelings gripped her. He smiled, trying to lighten the mood and pulled her towards a cab that was slowing.“Let’s go as I said, Joe is probably going to go all out for dinner, and I definitely don’t want to miss that.” ******************
It didn’t take long for them to grab her things from the motel and get over to the West residence. They just walked through the door when Joe was placing dishes onto the table. Barry told her to go ahead and sit down, that he was going to take her things up to Iris’s old room. She walked over to the table where Joe was finishing up, and she smiled gratefully at him. The sense of family was strong here, unlike Mystic Falls where she’d felt like an outsider. She knew that Barry and Joe genuinely cared for her and she reveled in the sense of peace that settled over her when she was around them. It was a feeling that she hadn’t even felt for a long time in her real life. Joe waved her offer of help away and told her to take a seat. Barry soon joined them, and they all sat down to the delicious dinner that Joe had prepared for her. When they’d all eaten their fill, Joe leaned back in his chair and sighed contentedly. “I gotta say, this feels right with you being back here, Ryleigh. Barry and Iris have missed you terribly; they can’t be the three musketeers without you.” Ryleigh chuckled as his reference because she had a memory of the three of them dressing up as the trio for a Halloween when they were younger. Barry groaned and dropped his head back, laughing“You know I think I still have my vest.” This caused Ryleigh to fall into a fit of giggles. Joe stood up from the table and started to clear away the table, but Ryleigh stopped him.“Oh, absolutely not, Mr. West, you cooked so I will do the dishes.” He smiled at her and shook his head.“I know you’re not going to be here forever, Ryleigh, so take the time to spend time together. Oh, and I think you’re old enough to stop calling me Mr. West, you can call me Joe.” After making this statement, he took their plates and disappeared into the kitchen. Barry stood up from his chair and held his hand out to her. She accepted his outstretched hand and allowed him to pull her into the living room and onto the couch. Once they were settled, he positioned himself so that he was facing her.“Okay, I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room. You heard my thoughts while I was standing in the hallway. I think it’s only fair that you tell me why you’ve avoided coming home for so long.” Ryleigh lowered her eyes, knowing he did have a right to know, but she didn’t want to drive a wedge between him and Iris.“Oh Barry, can we not dredge it all up? Iris seems to be over it, and I know I certainly am.” He leaned forward, his face serious, and she knew that he wasn’t going to let it go.“I’d have let it go if you hadn’t stayed away from me too. I’ve barely heard two words from you since you left…I deserve an explanation.” Ryleigh sighed and closed her eyes for a brief moment. The feelings in this world were so much stronger than they were in Mystic Falls and she wondered if it was because she wasn’t fighting them anymore. She allowed for it to happen naturally and it was real for her. When she opened her eyes, he was still staring at her, so she took another deep breath and answered him.“Iris told me to back off because I was embarrassing myself and you didn’t like me the way that I liked you.” Barry’s mouth opened slightly at her words and silence surrounded them. He sat back, a stunned look on his face before his expression contorted in anger.“She said what?!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Barry stared at Ryleigh for several seconds after her admission, and she wished dearly that she hadn’t told him. She’d embraced the feelings of this realm had given her, and she didn’t want to hurt him. She watched as he leaned forward and took her hand in his. The sensation of his hand on hers was warm and sent a shiver down her spine and caused butterflies to fly in her stomach. but something was off and she couldn't pinpoint it. She wasn’t sure this was such a smart idea. Sure, it felt real, but it wasn’t, and she was afraid she was going to fall too far down the rabbit hole. Still, looking at Barry’s sincere expression, she realized that she didn’t care so much, but something was definitely holding her back. She wanted the full experience, and she wanted to go for it. Ryleigh lowered her head and sighed, making a move to stand, but he wouldn’t release her hand, so she spoke.“This is exactly why I didn’t want to say anything to you about this, Barry. I’ve forgotten about it, and Iris obviously has as well. I won’t make the same mistake twice of hanging all over you like I used to. I really don’t want any of this to affect our relationships.” Barry snapped out of his thoughts and pulled her hand gently to move her closer to him on the couch. Her pulse was starting to speed up at the way he was looking at her, but she honestly had no idea what he was going to do or say. When he finally did speak, she found herself holding her breath.“Rye, it did affect our relationship, don’t you see that? We used to be inseparable, and I’ve barely seen you in the three years you’ve been gone. Iris seldom talks about you. I used to wonder why and all she’d tell me is that you guys had been fighting. Now, I understand the reason, but I still don’t understand the why of it. Iris has only ever thought of me as a brother, and you and I were headed somewhere before you took off. I just wish you’d have talked to me instead of taking her word for it. I was crazy about you, completely nuts, and I was devastated when you left. I thought it was me because I remember when we almost kissed. I thought we were heading in the right direction, but you left.” Ryleigh felt her mouth open at his speech, but she didn’t know what to say to him or how to respond at all. The feelings swirling around inside of her were confusing, new, foreign, and exciting. She was saved from answering entirely because at that precise moment; Iris stalked into the living room. She stopped in her tracks when she saw them, and her eyes narrowed when she saw their linked hands.“I thought you’d be back at the hotel, on your way back to wherever you’ve been living by now.” Again, Ryleigh was saved from speaking because Barry gently let go of her hand and jumped up from the couch, exploding and leaving a very shocked Iris and Joe, who had just reentered the room, in his wake.“You’ve got a lot of nerve, Iris, how dare you! I told you three years ago how I felt about Ryleigh. I told you that I thought we were heading towards a relationship, that I was falling in love with her, and you tell her that she was embarrassing herself? You’re the reason that she left and never looked back! What in the hell possessed you, to do that to her or better yet to me?! You and I are as close as brother and sister…or at least I thought we, were.” Ryleigh sighed heavily and sank back into the couch with a flop. Joe groaned, sat down in the armchair closest to where she sat and shook his head at his daughter.“Oh Iris, please tell me you didn’t do this.” Iris stood up straight and glared at all of them, unapologetic in her stance.“So, what if I did, dad?! The idea of the two of them together is laughable, they’d have been miserable together, and it would have made things weird for all of us!” Barry jumped in again, utterly furious with the girl he’d considered his closest friend.“Dammit, Iris, that wasn’t your decision to make for Ryleigh or for me! I confided in you, and you scared her off while stabbing me in the back! All the while making it weird anyway. I honestly don’t know if I’m going to be able to forgive you for this, Iris…you took three years away from me.” Iris looked at Barry and then back at her dad, completely ignoring Ryleigh, which was starting to piss her off.“Dad, I don’t want her staying here, especially in my room. We’re not in high school anymore and the days of us being best friends are over.” Joe stood up at the same time Ryleigh did and spoke before she could, his expression and tone saying just how disappointed he was.“Iris, you know how much I love you, but you’re wrong here. Barry is as much my son as you are my daughter and what you did was so wrong. The three of you have been friends since you were little kids and I even told you that I thought they were headed into a relationship. Now, she’s my guest, and I don’t want her staying at that motel. You don’t live here anymore, sweetie, you live with Eddie now, so it’s not your decision to make.” Iris stared at him and then turned to face Ryleigh with a look of absolute fury that surprised her.“They think you’re all sweet and innocent, bravo, Ryleigh. Do they know that I told you I had feelings for Barry before you decided that you liked him too?” Before anyone could speak on her behalf again, she took a step forward, angry at the picture she was trying to manipulate them into seeing.“Iris, you told me you had feelings for Barry when we were sixteen years old! I moved out of the way, but you never did anything about it. You started dating John and never mentioned Barry again to me that way. Things between him and I didn’t start developing until midway through college! You’ve always been the kid jealous of someone else’s toys. You only liked him when you couldn’t have him, or when someone else wanted him. You’re pitching a fit right now when I’m just here visiting, and you’re living with someone! Make up your mind, stop being so friggin melodramatic, and leave me out of your schemes.” Iris glanced at Barry, who was sitting down with his head in his hands. She took a couple of steps towards him but stopped when she started to speak.“Barry, I’m sorry if I hurt you, I was only trying to protect you.” Barry dropped his hands; he was unable to hide the rage displaying on his face.“Protect me from having the kind of relationship I’ve always wanted? Protect me from being with the woman I was in love with? Iris, that’s not being my friend, that’s the exact opposite of friendship.” Iris scoffed and looked over at her dad for support, but he just shook his head at her. Iris pursed her lips, threw her hands up, and stormed out of the house. For about thirty seconds, there was complete silence following her dramatic exit. Ryleigh saw Barry start to move, but she walked across the room to where Joe stood.“I think I’m going to head to bed; I’m sorry for bringing all of this drama with me. I’m going to see Caitlin and Cisco tomorrow, and then I have to get back to Coast City. I don’t want to cause any more trouble with you, Barry, and Iris.” Joe let out a weary sigh, as if he’d been exhausted for years and waved her statement away.“Ryleigh, please, you are welcome to stay here as long as you want to, it’s good to have you back.” She favored him with a warm smile and then fled to the room that was once Iris’s. Once she was in the room, she was overwhelmed by the fact that she was in Iris’ room and she was unwelcome there. She was extremely uncomfortable and knew she’d never be able to sleep there. She gathered her clothes together and quietly opened the door. She’d heard Barry go into his room and Joe had left the house completely. She scheduled an Uber to come and pick her up and crept out of the house as stealthily as she could. She didn’t want to go back to that crappy motel, but she couldn’t stay in that room either, it had too much negative energy there. She knew that she could go to Harrison’s house, and he’d welcome her with open arms, but that would be a cold day in hell before she did that. Resigned, she went back to the motel and checked in. She thought about Texting Barry but decided against. She needed to really think about what she wanted to do about him and the whole romance situation. He’d just show up anyway and try to force her to go back with him. She knew that seeing him was going to be incredibly awkward, but her pulse quickened at the idea of it just the same. The next morning, Ryleigh woke up to her phone ringing. She knew that Barry was probably upset with her for sneaking away again, but it had been necessary. She had an appointment with Caitlin and Cisco, so she got up and started to get ready. Her phone began to chime again, but when she saw the name, she quickly pressed ignore. She was shocked at the name that showed up on the caller ID, but at the same time, her other half was irritated that he was trying to find her. She wanted to get her powers under control before she got involved with any different weird situation. She’d just gotten her stuff together when Grady popped up in front of her. She jumped with a startled squeak causing him to grin. He bowed slightly at her and sat down at the little table as he addressed her.“Good morning, Ryleigh, you look well. I’m so pleased to see you enjoying yourself and the device. You’re really getting into the atmosphere and your character, that’s fantastic.” She smiled and sat down in the chair opposite him.“I don’t really know when or how it happened, but I just stopped thinking about it and went with it. So, you never randomly come and see me, is everything alright?” He nodded and took in his surroundings before he spoke.“Oh perfectly, I just wanted to check in with you. I’m surprised you left the West residence and came back here. Are you so very against romance in these realms? Alas, I’ve come to tell you that you need to call your mother. She was notified of your business trip, but she has been trying to reach you.” Ryleigh immediately picked up her cell but paused when she realized what she was doing.“Will I be able to call her from here, Grady?” His grin only got wider as he nodded and stood up.“Of course, we’d never leave you without a way to communicate with your family.” Ryleigh dialed the house phone, and her mom picked it up almost immediately.“Ryleigh, where the hell have you been?! I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day, and all your co-workers will tell me is that you’re on another business trip. This stupid therapist said he wasn’t going to come back without some sort of payment.” Ryleigh gritted her teeth as she spoke carefully to her ungrateful mother.“Mom, you have money in your personal account. I put some in there before I left for exactly this reason.” She heard her mother let out an irritated sigh because this wasn’t the answer she was looking for.“Number one, this nonsense about therapy was completely your idea, so I’m not paying for it. Number two, I’m out of money, my account is actually in the negative. I can’t believe you only put a thousand in my account, you’re a millionaire now, and I’m your mother.” Ryleigh felt her anger rise and she noticed that Grady was observing her as she answered her mother.“Mom, you said the key word right there. I am a millionaire, and I’ve more than taken care of you. I paid all your medical bills, your regular bills, and hell I paid off your house note! I’ve been gone for less than a day so how in the absolute hell have you spent over a thousand dollars so quickly? It doesn’t matter anyway because I’m done, I’m not supporting you anymore. I am your kid; it isn’t the other way around. It isn’t my responsibility to take care of you. If you have no money, that’s your fault. Now, I’ll pay the therapist, and I’ll pay him directly because that’s important. As far as spending money goes, you’re going to have to wait until your next disability check.” Her mother sputtered as she rushed to defend herself.“I can’t believe you’d be so selfish! What I am I supposed to do for food and basic necessities?” Ryleigh let out a rueful chuckle and tried to calm herself down.“As I said, I’ve been gone for less than a day, and when I left, there was a kitchen full of food. You also have plenty of toiletries because your doctor kept giving you stuff because he felt sorry for you. Now, if you need something important, text me, and I will consider it.” Not letting her mom respond, she ended the call and turned to face Grady.“Thank you for coming to tell me that she needed me.” He shrugged and glanced around once more.“I’d consider renting an apartment if you’re going to stay here the full time because this place is awful.” With that frank statement about her living conditions, he was gone. She ordered her uber and headed over to Star Labs; she was already late.****** When she arrived at the laboratory, she felt a sense of relief mixed with apprehension. Her memories were more vivid, and it seemed she desperately needed Caitlin and Cisco’s help. She walked in and knew that Barry wasn’t there because he had to work his day job, but Caitlin was there. When she walked over to the clinic area, she found her waiting for her. Ryleigh genuinely liked Caitlin, she was a respectful person, and her calming nature put her at ease. They greeted each other and had just started walking towards the bay area when a familiar voice came from behind her.“Hey Caitlin, sorry to just drop in on you like this, but we have a bit of an emergency on our hands.” Ryleigh turned towards the voice and saw Felicity standing in the doorway Ryleigh was a huge fan of Arrow and could barely contain her excitement when she saw her favorite character standing in front of her. Once she was entirely turned to face her, Felicity’s face lit up. Before she could say anything, Oliver Queen came around the corner with Diggle, Laurel, and Lilah in tow. When they saw her, they all seemed relieved. Oliver walked over, gave her his patented smirk, and held his hand out to her. Her heart gave a little flutter and she began to realize more of what was going on. It was strange because the memories weren't fully coming to her, almost as if it was being filtered, but she couldn't think about that as Oliver spoke to her.“Ryleigh, so this is where you ran off too…without saying goodbye to anyone. It makes a little sense that you’d be here though because you said you knew people here.” Felicity laughed gleefully as she walked forward and embraced her as if they were old friends. She spoke as she hugged her and part of her wanted to giggle due to her giddiness. “So, you left Team Arrow to join team Flash? I thought you wanted a break from all the crime fighting. Wait, is Barry, the friend that you were always talking about? Have you gotten used to the way he zooms around yet? It still freaks Dig out, and it is hilarious.” Ryleigh was shocked that Felicity would just blurt out Barry’s secret to her the way she did, and her face must have shown it. Oliver snickered as he responded with a shake of his head.“Of course, he hadn’t told you that yet.” It was hard for her to keep a straight face because the news wasn’t a surprise to her, but it was to her character. They all looked super awkward, and it was all she could do to keep from laughing. Caitlin had this sour look on her face as if she was sucking on a lemon. Oliver and Dig were trying to maintain control of their amusement, but Felicity looked as if she wanted to burst into tears. It was that exact moment when Barry and Cisco came strolling into the room. He overlooked Oliver and his group and immediately and purposefully walked up to her.“I can’t believe you snuck out last night, Ryleigh, Joe was so upset about it.” Ryleigh started to answer, but Oliver beat her to the punch.“So, you’ve got a habit of disappearing with no notice, that’s good to know. Man, you’re worse than Sara though, she at least will say goodbye.” Barry snapped his attention to Oliver then as if he just realized he was there. He looked back and forth between Raleigh and Oliver a few times before he finally responded.“Oliver, it’s good to see you, man, but what are you doing here?” Oliver chuckled but answered him just the same.“We have a situation in Starling City, and we came to ask for your help. It’s a bonus that Ryleigh is here though because we can use all of the help we can get.” Barry once again looked at Ryleigh, but confusion clouded his face.“I thought you lived in Coast City, how do you know Oliver?” Ryleigh sighed heavily and jumped right in before someone could speak for her again.“When my first design of the earpiece started to degrade, I sought out Ray Palmer because he’s a genius at tech, but I met Felicity instead. She was able to help me out, so I returned the favor. However, it started to degrade again, and the next person I thought of was you. Well, that’s not true, you were the first person I thought of, but it was so awkward with what Iris had told me.” Barry nodded, but he still seemed to be struggling to accept it, and he told her as much.“So, you fought with them, with Oliver? Do you realize how dangerous that was?!” Ryleigh didn’t appreciate the insinuation and pursed her lips as she answered.“Barry, I can stop a bullet with my brain. I can create a forcefield that can stop an army. I think I was pretty safe and helped to keep them safe in the process.” Barry looked shocked but was visible he hadn’t grasped how powerful she was. She was still irritated that he wasn’t coming clean about his powers and it was apparent he didn’t plan to. He started to say something when Cisco spoke first as he looked at Ryleigh.“You can create a forcefield? That’s bad-ass.” This caused them all to start laughing, but it was short-lived because Barry was still a little upset.“I still think it’s dangerous.” Ryleigh crossed her arms as she glared at him.“Yes, but probably not as dangerous as you running in and out burning buildings and dodging bullets. When do I get to see the suit, by the way?” It took him a minute to register her words as he waved them off.“That’s not the same thing at all; I’m super-fast, so it looks like everything is in slow motion, and furthermore…” He cut his sentence off as his eyes got wide as he stared at her. Ryleigh nodded with an annoyed expression.“Oh, by all means, please continue.”

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Ryleigh watched as Barry’s face fell when he figured out that she knew about his ability. She felt kinda sorry about the whole situation because she’d known anyway because of her knowledge of the show. Still, she was supposed to act it out as if she hadn’t known so here, they were. She ignored him completely when he didn’t say anything and walked over to where Oliver and Felicity stood. If they needed her help, she was curious to see what kind of evil guy they were facing. Usually, if it was a team-up, it was a big bad. She was still a little weirded out with the whole thing because they weren’t in a season she recognized. Cisco had his vibe ability and was open with it, yet Harrison Wells was still in his wheelchair and hadn’t been found out yet. She knew what happened in the first season with Eddie and she seriously didn’t want that to happen. Sure, Iris was a bitch, but she wouldn’t wish that on anyone. When she came to a stop in front of Oliver, she crossed her arms as she addressed him.“Okay, what exactly are we dealing with, Ollie? If you need my help and The Flash’s help it’s got to be bad.” He cringed when she brought it up, it was as if it was a question he was hoping to avoid.“Slade Wilson is back, and he’s brought an army with him. Now, he’s been cured of the Mirakuru, but he’s still extremely formidable. He’s got about fifty men at his disposal, and he’s already kicked mine and Dig’s asses. We had a lot of help with the last group, but the league of assassins isn’t interested in helping since I turned their offer to take over down.” Ryleigh couldn’t help it when her mouth dropped open at his admission. Were they already at the portion where Ra’s al Ghul tried to destroy starling city and brainwash Oliver? He shook his head when he saw her expression and spoke to her softly.“That’s a conversation for another day; I just need Slade out of my city.” Ryleigh went through her memories and realized that she and Oliver were actually really close. They’d bonded over their problems, and they felt like brother and sister to each other. It had really hurt her to have to leave, but she’d needed to fix her devices because the pain had reached a breaking point. She reached out and placed a hand on his arm.“Oliver, when this is all over, I hope you’ll let me explain myself.” He didn’t grin like she’d hoped he would but instead regarded her with a blank expression.“If you’ll help, that’s great; I don’t expect anything else from you, Ryleigh.” He turned on his heel and left the room after making that statement. Dig and Lyla waved goodbye, but Felicity and Laurel stayed behind. Laurel was the first to break the silence.“He’ll come around, Rye, he’s just hurt that you didn’t feel like you could confide in him.” Felicity smiled gently and nodded her agreement before putting her two cents in as well.“You know Oliver just as well as we do. He considered you family and when you disappeared…well he feels like you didn’t return the sentiment. Don’t dwell on that right now though, let’s get the job done and you’ll have plenty of time to set things right.” Ryleigh felt her eyes well up with tears; she was genuinely upset that she’d hurt him. She could tell that she hadn’t meant to, but she’d been worried about stepping out of bounds with the mind reading. She was also sensing she’d been worried about losing control of her telekinesis…she hadn’t wanted to hurt him physically. She saw Felicity look at Barry and mouth the words “sorry” before they took their leave. Caitlyn tactfully made herself scarce as did Cisco, leaving her alone with Barry. He didn’t immediately walk over to her, and she was getting irritated. Rolling her eyes, she started to walk over to Caitlyn’s lab when he stopped her. His face looked crestfallen, and it was obvious he felt terrible where she was concerned. He took a firm grasp on her, hand and looked her directly in the eye when he spoke.“Ryleigh, I’m so sorry you had to find out the way you did, I take it Felicity told you?” Ryleigh took her hand back and crossed her arms in her practiced defense, move. “She did it accidentally, but the question I’ve been asking myself here, Barry, is how you could keep it from me? I came here to you, told you all about my supernatural secret. I divulged an embarrassing moment between myself and Iris, and you’ve kept mum about yourself. How do you think it makes me feel to know that you don’t trust me enough to tell me?” Barry sighed heavily, a sound she was familiar with, it was like he had the world on his shoulders. She wasn’t happy with his answer, however, when he finally responded.“It’s more complicated than all of that, Ryleigh, I don’t tell anyone. Yes, we’re childhood friends, you have special powers, but you’re not out in the public like the Flash is. It’s dangerous for anyone to know about me because if my enemies found out about people I care about; it puts them in danger.” Ryleigh had hated that answer when she’d seen the show, and she didn’t feel any different having it said to her. She scoffed at his generic explanation and started to walk away. He called her name to stop her, but she just kept walking until she reached Caitlyn’s lab. She looked up from her desk with a sad smile and motioned for her to sit down on the cot. Caitlyn ran a series of tests that took two hours, and she drew enough blood to start her own Ryleigh Wells blood bank. She came back with a series of questions, and after yet another hour of analysis, she came up to her with a smile. Seeing the smile on her face did make her feel better, but she was still upset with the whole situation with Barry. It seemed that the two of them always got two steps ahead and then took five backward from the memories she had. Caitlyn began to explain that the reason she was losing control of her telekinesis was that she was holding back. When she held power in, it bubbled over and exploded like a shaken-up soda pop. The realization that her fear was the reason she’d have outbursts and break things without meaning to, well it made a lot of sense. When Caitlyn was finished, she leaned forward with a serious question.“Thank you, Caitlyn, that really does make me feel better. However, is there a cure for this, can it be taken away?” Caitlyn’s happy expression immediately fell, and she knew the answer. She watched as the other woman fidgeted with the right way to tell her, and in the end, she just reached out to pat her hand.“Ryleigh, I can’t imagine what living with something like this must be like. Barry asked the same question when he first realized his speed and his limitations. The unfortunate reality is that the particle accelerator changed your chemical makeup. It’s changed you on a cellular level, and it can’t be undone.” Ryleigh had known the answer to that, and she was excited to try out her telekinetic powers, but still, …it was only human to ask. When she stepped back into the main room, she found Barry waiting for her. She was more than a little surprised to see him in his flash suit. Cisco stood behind him with a huge grin and a dark blue suit and a face mask. She raised an eyebrow at the two of them as she drew closer. Barry glanced over at Cisco and motioned for him to start. Cisco took a couple of steps towards her and held out the gear for her to take.“Barry is going to have to carry you to Starling City, and your normal clothes will catch on fire. Plus, if you’re going to join Team Arrow, you need to conceal your identity as well, so this kills two birds with one stone.” Ryleigh took the suit that he held out to her and inspected it. When she was done, she chuckled at them and shook her head.“Yeah, there’s absolutely no way in hell that I’m wearing this skin-tight thing. I already have a suit in Oliver’s man cave, so I don’t need this. Plus, I got a text from him, and it said they’re not making their move until nine which gives me plenty of time to get on a train. Cisco man, thanks for the effort though, I appreciate it but yeah I’m a girl with insecurities, and I’m not squeezing into that…ever.” Barry frowned at her and moved to stand next to Cisco.“You’re seriously going to take a train to Starling City? It’s a five-hour train ride to get there, and you’d never make it in time. I know you’re mad at me, Rye, but just put the suit on so I can get you there and then you can change into your outfit.” Ryleigh walked out of Caitlyn’s lab severely uncomfortable in the spandex like the blue suit. It made her appreciate the actors more than before because if they could squeeze into something like this and still feel good about themselves, well it was stupid. Still, they had personal trainers on speed dial, and she looked frumpy. When she stood in front of them, Cisco and Barry both just stared at her. It made her even more self-conscious than when she tried it on, and now they were just gawking at her. She crossed her arms in front of her once more and scowled at them. Cisco raised his hands in surrender and made a quick exit, while Barry walked up to her with a grin and took her hand.“Wow, Ryleigh…you look…yeah.” Ryleigh rolled her eyes, she felt slightly better from his expression but still awkward, and she let him know.“You are such a guy! There is absolutely no way in hell I’m keeping this on once we get to Starling City.” He tried to reign in his laughter, but it was a major fail. He bent down and picked her up quickly as if he wasn’t this skinny guy who looked like he’d fall over picking up a nail. Still, he was holding her very carefully, and they were doing the weird stare at each other that made her more than a little mushy. Trying to break the silence, she cleared her throat as she clasped his neck.“Well let’s get a move on, this is super weird.” He frowned at her statement but told her to hold on. The feeling of moving as fast as they were should have made her sick, but she couldn’t really tell they were moving at all. All she could focus on was the fact that Barry was literally wrapped around her and holding her as tight as he could without hurting her. Their bodies were pressed entirely together, and it was seriously hot…and that is why she felt like she needed to vomit. She was fighting with herself because she knew that this wasn’t real, but she wanted it to be. She could feel the things her character could, and Ryleigh Wells was head over heels but didn’t want to show it. Ryleigh herself wasn’t in love, but she was curious to see where it would lead. When they reached Starling City, he didn’t stop; he just kept running until he was in Oliver’s hideout. He set her down, his eyes smoldering…she wasn’t aware he could do that. However, the spell was broken when she was on her own two feet and promptly fell on her ass. She heard laughter break out around her and she couldn’t help but join in. She stood up shakily and found Dig with his arms crossed nodding at her.“I told you that crap was weird, Oliver! It freaks me out that he can run that fast and here Ryleigh is running with him!” This made her laugh even harder and bend over at the waist, still trying to catch her balance.“I’ve missed you too, Dig. Please tell me that my suit is still here and available because I cannot and will not wear this another second.” Felicity stood up with a grin and opened the cabinet that had held it previously. She started to hand it to her but took it back as she-wolf whistled at her.“I don’t know, Rye, you might want to keep that on. It might distract some of the men on Slade’s side; you are smoking!” Ryleigh felt her cheeks warm up as she snatched the suit out of the other girl’s hands.“Not going to happen…ever.” When they were all ready, they all stood over Felicity’s computer which had a diagram up of an old abandoned warehouse. It had always struck her as odd at how many abandoned warehouses there were between Arrow and the Flash. They knew where he was, and they were going to take him by surprise and charge him instead of letting him wreak any more havoc. When they had a solid game plan in place, Ryleigh looked over at Oliver in confusion.
“I don’t understand, who let him off the island? He was trapped underground in purgatory, so who let him off?” Oliver shook his head and rubbed a hand down his weary face before answering.“I honestly don’t know, but I’m going to find out, and they’re going to be joining Slade back on that island.” Ryleigh was nervous, and she couldn’t help it. She still had the Mystic Falls debacle in her head, and here she was jumping headfirst into another fray. Sure, she had supernatural powers and apparently, she’d fought side by side with Oliver and Laurel before, but she hadn’t actually done it. Even Roy had shown up, and she realized that she had a close relationship with all of Team Arrow. It was comforting, but she could also tell that she’d hurt them and her easiness with them was hurting Barry. This whole living in a television show was so drama filled, and complicated…she was beginning to love it. They all rode in Oliver’s van together, even Barry, with Diggle behind the wheel. Lyla was not joining them, and she understood why. They were all trained and had worked together before, but Lyla was a mom and didn’t need to be in unnecessary harm’s way. When they were a little way away from the warehouse, Barry jumped out, and they waited for him to give the signal. Roy, Laurel, Dig, and Ryleigh were to remain around the perimeter while Barry took out the guards on the front and Oliver took out the guards on the roof. When Barry showed back up in front of them, it was go time. They all took off running, and she was happy to notice that she had no problem keeping up with them…well the regular people, Barry was already gone. When they got to the main entrance, the fight had already started. Barry was in a battle with several of Slade’s men, his classic two-faced mask on their faces. She couldn’t see Oliver, and that fact bothered her. When more men flooded out of the warehouse, she realized why he needed the help. Slade had more than fifty men at his disposal, and she wanted to know how he’d recruited as many as he had. A group of four immediately charged at Diggle, and she wasn’t having it. Diggle belonged by Oliver’s side, and she needed to get him inside the warehouse. Concentrating her efforts, she focused on the guys headed his way and sent them flying in the opposite direction. She briefly paused with her mouth open when she saw them hit hard against the building. Dig turned her way and gave her a thumbs up before heading inside. It was then she fully embraced where she was. These people trusted her and her ability to fight alongside them, so she was going to go for it. She followed her instincts and realized she could focus her efforts better if she used her hands…though she thought she looked ridiculous. She used her hand to sweep the crowd that was headed in Barry’s way. She heard a gunshot ring out and flinched, but she didn’t have to worry because Barry was in front of her and he dropped the bullet on the ground at her feet. He grinned at her and then took off once more. Frustrated and over the situation, she let out an irritated growl. She used her comic book knowledge to bring her arms in like she’d seen in several panels of Wonder woman. It had the desired effect as a wave of energy went flying away from her and knocked everyone down. Unfortunately, it also beat her allies down, though they didn’t seem to mind. Barry used the time to gather the fallen enemy’s weapons and tie them up. He stopped in front of her and took her hand.“Wow, you really do know what you’re doing out here…it’s hot. Let’s go; we have to help Oliver and Dig.” Not needing anymore goading from her, she let him sweep her up and run inside, leaving the others to follow.

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When they made it to the entrance of the warehouse, Barry had to quickly put her down because a group of masked men was charging in their direction. Ryleigh pursed her lips once more and swept them aside with a motion of her arm. That was how they went through the building, as Rye knocked them against the walls, Barry tied them up. She could hear laughter and what sounded like swords hitting each other, and she knew they were close. Barry was nowhere to be seen at that moment, so she kept low and crept along the wall. She gasped when she saw Dig slumped against the wall, unconscious. She pressed her fingers against his throat and was so relieved at finding a pulse, she almost cried. She felt someone coming up behind her, and as she whirled around, it was too late. Slade Wilson stood in front of her with a smirk. She didn't want him to know about her powers just yet, but that didn't keep her from being scared. He towered over her he smirked and then glanced down at Diggle."Oh, don't worry, love, I didn't kill him yet. I want to do that in front of his master that he follows so blindly. You, though, I knew that he had a team of followers now, but I haven't seen you before." Ryleigh didn't answer him but glanced around her and didn't see anyone. He caught what she was doing and began to chuckle."Now now, I can be a gentleman when I want to be. You are looking for your crew; I take it? Follow me then, and I'll take you to them. You, grab him and bring him with us." Two of his men came out of nowhere, surprising her and picked Dig up. She thought briefly about intervening, but at that moment, Slade had the upper hand. He chuckled again, bringing her attention back to him."Oh, you're feisty, I can tell. You want so bad to take me out, but you have no idea what's going on here…I'm not the bad guy." She kept silent as she followed him into the middle of the warehouse, and she had to stifle her gasp. How the hell he'd gotten the best of the situation was beyond her, but there they all were. Roy, Oliver, Laurel, and even Barry were all on their knees with glowing metal cuffs around their hands and knees.He came to a stop when he got next to Oliver and motioned his with his hand and a smirk. She thought that she'd be put into cuffs, but instead, the two men carrying Dig walked next to Laurel and dropped him very indelicately onto the concrete next to them. She gritted her teeth and jerked her face up to Slade's. He wasn't looking at her, though, he was looking at Oliver. Oliver's mask was off and his visible to everyone in the room, this was not good. He was shot in the arm, and his face was bloody. Barry was unconscious like Dig, but only Laurel looked unharmed in the lineup. Folding her arms in front of her, she caught Oliver's eye and mouthed "I'm sorry" before addressing Slade."Wait, are you going to tell me that you've suddenly developed a gentlemanly behavior towards women? You roughed up all of my friends, but leave Canary and me unharmed?" He slowly brought his attention back to her and took a couple of steps towards her. Oliver began to struggle, but when he did he, began to seize as if he was being shocked. It made sense right then why Barry was unconscious because he would have tried to use his speed to get out of the cuffs…meaning Slade had known about Barry all along. He was doing his best to intimidate her when he came to a stop in front of her and then looked at Laurel."I am not the one who murders women in this scenario, girl. Your friend over there is the one that has no qualms about killing women." She rolled her eyes and felt safe saying what she was about to say because of her memories of conversations with Oliver."Wait, you're still blaming Oliver for Shadow? Dude, that was like such a long time and war ago, get over it already! Oliver did not pull the trigger, that douche bag Ivo did. You, on the other hand, stand here pretending to be all noble, when you ran Mrs. Queen through with a sword right in front of him and his sister. I think you're way past trying to fool anyone about personality." Slade stared at her for a few seconds, as if he didn't know how to respond before he burst into laughter. She could tell that she'd pressed his buttons because though he was laughing, his eyes were glaring murder at her."Damn girl, you've sure got some balls. I've got all your allies completely incapacitated, and you stand there as if you have a chance to get out of this. The only reason I haven't put you in my special cuffs is that I don't know you. I know all of them, Oliver is extremely predictable, but you…I haven't seen you before." She saw his hand as he reached for her throat, but he never got close. While he was busy laughing and glancing around, she'd inched closer to her friends and had erected a forcefield around them. Slade's face turned to absolute fury as he beat against the invisible wall that she'd created. She could feel her heard and knew that she only had so long to do what she needed to do. Concentrating as much as she could on the wall, she knelt down behind Oliver and put her hands right above the cuffs. She kept her eyes on Slade who was trying to shoot through her barricade as she deactivated the cuffs. They snapped open, letting Oliver stand up and face her. She was struggling by then, but she wanted him to know."I'm so sorry for bringing that up, Ollie, I didn't know what else would distract him." He grinned at her and shook his hands out."Don't apologize, you saved us. Are you going to be able to get them all off?" She was already working on Barry's feet, having gotten his hands free when she shook her head."No, I am already losing focus, my head feels like it's going to explode. I'm going to get Arsenal's off, and you two have to keep them off me while I get the rest because I can't keep the wall up and do this much longer." Oliver nodded and moved in front of her."They won't lay a hand on you." She was slightly worried that Barry hadn't woken up yet, but she needed to focus on the task at hand. She was able to get Roy's hands free before the wall slipped away from her, but she wasn't in time for the feet. Chaos broke out when they realized they weren't being held back anymore, but the lag time allowed her to free Roy's feet. He immediately jumped up and took the group behind her. She moved next to Laurel and started working on her cuffs. She felt her place her hand on her arm as she continued to work."Ryleigh, your nose is bleeding, you need to stop. Don't worry about us, wake Barry up so he can get you out of here." She'd felt her nose start to bleed, but knowing she was safe from death, she ignored it. She moved down to Laurel's feet and kept working. Just as Laurel was free, hands gripped the back of her hair and pulled her to her feet. She needed to free Dig, who was now awake, but not struggling. Laurel must have warned him against it, but he was also a sitting duck. She was almost entirely out of juice, but she would not go down without a fight. Her hair was tugged harshly, and she was brought face to face with Slade, who was looking at her differently as he addressed her."Well, it would seem I really did underestimate you, my dear. I knew that he had a secret weapon, but I thought it was The Flash. I had no idea he had someone like you up his sleeve. I'm going to enjoy breaking you and unleashing you on your friends. It could have been civilized, but you ran your mouth about things you know nothing of…now we'll do it the hard way." Her feet were leaving the ground as he picked her up by the hair, causing her to cry out. She heard Oliver call out her name, but she was losing it. The power in her stomach was reaching a boiling point and the time that her tv self-had feared so much was coming to a head. She had just enough time to yell at Oliver to get down when her head whipped back, and she lifted off the ground by herself. She felt the surge of power leave her and the grip that Slade had on her fall away. She could hear sounds of crashing and yelling, but it was as if it was far away. She'd lost complete control of her powers, and it was as terrifying as Ryleigh Wells had feared. She felt it end and had the sense of falling, but she couldn't focus as everything around her went black.
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When Ryleigh came to, she was in familiar surroundings. She opened her eyes and found herself lying on the medical cot in Star Labs. She focused in and found Oliver, Barry, and Felicity all huddled up with Caitlyn who looked pensive. When she turned her head, she found Roy sitting next to her bed. He was leaning over at the waist with his head in his hands. It filled her with warmth because these people were anxious for her, she belonged. It felt more like a family than the group in Mystic Falls because she allowed herself to embrace where she was instead of fighting it. She was interested in going back there, even though she'd told Grady she wouldn't. What would happen if she embraced the feelings of Ryleigh Fell instead of fighting them? It would be interesting, and she knew she was going to go back, she just didn't know when. She kept sweeping the room and didn't see Laurel or Diggle anywhere, and she hoped they were okay. She held herself immobile, she wasn't ready to reveal to them that she was awake. She was observing the group, and she could tell that Barry and Oliver were worried. She could also hear what they were saying, and if she didn't know she was safe, it would scare the crap out of her. Caitlyn was trying her best to be quiet, but she heard every word."I think she'll be fine, but her body expelled so much energy that there really is no telling what it did to her body. Cisco made her a new device for her ears since hers was destroyed, but her telepathic abilities are the least of her worries. Oliver, it sounds like this might be the reason why she left Starling; I think she was afraid something like this would happen." Before anyone could respond to her, Joe came running into the room, his eyes full of worry. She'd lowered her lashes to appear to be still sleeping, but she could still vaguely see them. He started at her still form and took a deep breath as he addressed the group."I got a call from Detective Lance, so I came straight here. He told me that you guys demolished a building fighting that guy and though he knows it wasn't your fault, they're calling for your heads. What happened out there, is Ryleigh going to be okay?" Barry walked over to Mr. West, and she was shocked to see a tear running down his cheek as he answered."Ryleigh ended up saving all of us, but yeah she hurt herself. We were all cornered, and Slade had these electroshock handcuffs on our hands and feet. She put up this barricade and freed us but, she started losing her power because she was using so much energy. I was unconscious, and they told me that Slade grabbed her and was choking her when she basically exploded. It knocked everyone out, but it woke me up. The building had started to come down, so I ran everyone to safety outside the building, Oliver and I tied Slade and his goons up, and then I ran Ryleigh back here. Right now, Slade and his men are in our cells in the chamber, but they're going to be moved to the island as soon as we can figure out how." Hearing the events from Barry's perspective was interesting, and she couldn't stay silent anymore."I demolished a whole building?" Everyone instantly jumped and turned in her direction when she spoke. Roy took her hand, and she turned to give him a warm smile. Barry went to her other side and took that hand gently when he responded to her question."Oh Ryleigh, I'm so glad that you're okay, you scared the hell out of us!" They weren't answering her question, so her eyes found Oliver. She knew that he wouldn't lie to her, so she stared at him before he favored her with a small smile of his own and answered her."It was already a damaged building having survived Merlyn's quake, Rye, but yes. Your blast of energy that you let off brought it down around us…you saved us." Ryleigh kept her eyes focused on Oliver as she asked her next question, though instinctively, she already knew the answer."Did I…did I kill anyone, Ollie?" She could tell the answer before he responded because Felicity, Barry, Roy, and Joe all looked away from her. Only Oliver kept her gaze and answered her honestly."Four of Slade's men were still in the building when it finally came down…Barry could only do so much in that short of a time." She felt her breath hitch and heard Barry's angry response to Oliver's words."Dammit Oliver, she is no condition to hear any of this right now!" Oliver raised an eyebrow and smirked when he finally broke eye contact with her to look at Barry."You really underestimate her, Bar, she values honesty, and she'll get really pissed if any of you try to keep this stuff from her." She nodded her agreement with his words when it dawned on her his hidden meaning. She glanced around at all of them and spoke out, asking all of them."Wait, what else are you keeping from me?!"

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Ryleigh stared at everyone around her, and she felt bile rising in her throat. She’d killed four people, and they were more worried about her. Sure, they’d been bad guys, and this was fiction, but it had felt real going through her memories. She discovered that she and Oliver had fought about killing at the start of her tenure with them. She’d been adamantly against taking a life, and Oliver had warned her that fighting evil combined with her powers, it was going to happen eventually. Now, here they stood and just like he’d foretold, her powers took not one, but four lives. Barry and Oliver were still arguing about keeping things from her, so she took the time to look around. Roy still held her hand, Joe was weighing in on the argument, Felicity was talking with Cisco and Caitlyn, Laurel stood off by herself, and Dig was gone. All these people cared about her; it was a family. She hadn’t belonged to one in so long, it was starting to get to her. She knew that Barry was close to telling her that he was in love with her, and she wasn’t ready for a scenario like that. She was going to finish this conversation and head home to deal with her mother. She needed to talk to Grady to see if they could avoid the romance option altogether until she was ready to pursue that or even willing to attempt it. When she tuned back in, and they were all still arguing, she sat up, groaning at the soreness, and yelled for them to shut up.“God, that is enough out of all of you! You’re all talking about me as if I’m not sitting right here in front of you!” Laurel unfolded her arms and walked towards her bed with a look of annoyance on her face as she spoke.“Thank the stars, I was about to use the Canary device to shut everyone up.” Ryleigh spared her a smirk before looking at Oliver once more.“Ollie please…what’s going on?” He stepped away from Barry and Joe, both who looked crestfallen and stood at the foot of her bed. He reached forward and placed a firm hand on the top of her foot before answering her.“According to Caitlyn, the amount of energy you dispelled from your body is lethal. Now, obviously you aren’t dead, but if your powers keep growing like you’re worried about, it could kill you and people around you.” She stared at him in silence for a few seconds until Cisco interrupted.“Hey now, don’t fret just yet because I’m already working on something to help.” Oliver ignored him and began to gently knead her foot with his fingers while continuing with what he was saying.“I get now why you left; you were afraid of exactly this. You could have told me what was happening to you, Rye, I would have listened. I mean, we could have done something to help you…I could have helped. I hate that you didn’t feel like you could confide in me.” Ryleigh sighed and tried to sit up, but Oliver was instantly by her side, trying to prevent that by put his hands gently on her shoulder. She eventually gave up trying and tried to calm herself down instead. She looked up at Oliver and took his hand. She then squeezed Roy’s hand that held her as well and addressed all of Team Arrow, as Dig chose that exact moment to walk in.“Look, you guys took me in when I didn’t have anyone. I haven’t felt like a part of something that special in a very long time. When I felt on the verge of losing control, I couldn’t…wouldn’t put you all in that kind of danger. It was selfish to bring this risk home to Barry, but he’s probably the smartest person I know and the best friend I’ve ever had. I wanted to tell you what was happening, Ollie, but I knew you would have tried to convince me to stay.” Oliver gave her a small smile and slipped his hand into her free hand causing her breath to catch. She’d completely misjudged the feelings earlier, and things made so much more sense than they had before. Her reaction to Oliver was a strong one, and as she dug deeper into the implanted memories, she found that the relationship she shared with Oliver was not a platonic one like she’d initially thought. Before she could address the enormous elephant that just popped up in the room, Laurel gasped and ran towards the door, where Sara stood with a smirk on her face. She embraced Laurel and then looked straight at Ryleigh, her expression changing to one of concern. Oliver straightened out and went to greet her, completely missing the expression on Barry’s face. He was looking at Oliver instead of at her, but Ryleigh saw the mixture of disbelief and anger. She was distracted away from Barry briefly because Oliver started shouting at Sara.“Absolutely not, Sara, she’s still recovering from her injuries, and we’re already working on a solution. You’re not going to just waltz in here and start making demands!” Sara didn’t respond to Oliver but instead turned her gaze onto her and understanding hit her. Sara was with the Legends of Tomorrow show, and she’d seen a future involving her. Sara moved closer to her despite how Oliver trying to block her. It was interesting the way everything was happening. Sara didn’t go with the Legends until after she was brought back from the dead and Oliver had dealt with the League of Shadows or League of Assassins as it was sometimes called. Here, the timeline was all over the place. When Sara came to a stop at the foot of her bed, her brow furrowed. Ryleigh had memories of hanging out with Sara, not just fighting alongside her, they’d been friends. When Sara began speaking, she knew that it wasn’t with good news.“Ryleigh, what happened here?” Barry jumped in before she could answer, it was becoming a running theme in both realms with people jumping to speak for her.“Why are you here, Sara? Don’t get me wrong, it’s always good to see you, but if this has to do with Ryleigh, we’re taking care of her.” Sara’s eyes never left Ryleigh’s while Barry spoke, and she pursed her lips pensively before responding.“Look, we saw a future where Ryleigh loses control of her power despite her best efforts to contain it with a necklace that Cisco made her. Her powers didn’t take out an abandoned building like it did this time, it took out Coast City. Ray thinks he and Dr. Stein have a solution and they’re already working on a device that can help her control her powers. Normally, we would just stay here while we worked the problem, but we’re already working a case of missing children throughout time. We saw this happen and I made them turn around and come here because it’s Ryleigh.” Ryleigh looked at Oliver’s obstinate expression and then at Barry, who just looked mad in general, and did the only thing she could think of.“Grady, are you there?” Grady popped up next to where she was lying, and everyone else appeared to be suspended. He smiled serenely at her as he took in the scene, chuckling as he addressed her.“My goodness but things are always so interesting when I show up. How may I assist you?” Ryleigh loved being part of this set of shows and the family. The romance with Oliver had thrown her for a loop though. She glanced around at everyone, who still appeared to be paused and then asked her question.“Do I have to leave with Sara and the Legends, or Can I stay if I want?” He chuckled once more as he patted her hand, ready with the answer.“Look at it as a choose your own adventure story. You’ll always be presented with a group of choices, and sometimes a particular side quest, if you will. All your options will have a ripple effect and change the possible outcomes. Does that help explain it to you? She breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.“I was hoping your answer was going to be along those lines. Thank you, Grady, I’m having a blast here.” He smiled at her, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.“I’m so happy to hear you say that, especially with your first experience. I do need to let you know that your mother is trying to reach you once more and you’ll want to address that situation at some point. Ryleigh’s good mood immediately plummeted with his announcement. Grady saw it and bowed, taking a step back.“I truly apologize having to bring you such news. I was already on my way to visit you when you called. Please never hesitate to ask questions, Ms. Jameson, I will always be here to help.” After making this statement, he dropped her hand completely and vanished. After a few seconds, the room un-paused and Oliver exploded.“Sara, it’s not an option, alright? I just found her again, and I’m not going to let you just swoop in and kidnap her on your voyage through time!” Ryleigh said Oliver’s name, causing him to look at her and he immediately deflated because he could tell she’d already made her mind up. She glanced over at Barry, hoping to head off his outburst, but he burst out before she could speak. He moved closer to Oliver, entirely focusing on him instead of her.“Oliver, what the hell are you talking, you just found her again? I’ve known her my entire life, and you…you’re acting as if the two of you are lovers!” She watched as Ollie winced and lowered his head at Barry’s statement, and Barry’s accusatory eyes turned on her as he completely lost it.“You guys are lovers?!” Ryleigh mustered all her strength and began to push herself up. Oliver immediately stepped forward to stop her, but she held up a hand to stop him. She saw the shocked look on Felicity’s face and instantly felt horrible because it had always been evident that she had feelings for Oliver, it was painfully obvious. Roy and Diggle had known, she had memories of a conversation she had with Dig. Ryleigh tentatively placed her feet on the floor, she completely ignored the room’s objections as she gingerly stood. She limped over to where Sara was watching her, almost with pride in her eyes. When she reached her, she leaned forward and hugged her. Her character had missed her friend and had been extremely worried for her when she’d taken off on a spaceship. She addressed her first as she stepped back, to get it out of the way.“Sara, do you really think you can control my powers?” Sara gave her an enthusiastic nod and a smile as she answered.“Yes, Ray Palmer and Dr. Martin Stein are with me, and they’re confident they’ve come up with a solution.” Ryleigh rewarded her with a smile, and it seemed her character knew Dr. Stein, she’d attended one of his workshops. She stood up straight and took a step back as she answered.“I’ll go with you if they’re with you. I have one condition, Sara. I don’t want to get caught up in your missions, I belong in Starling City. Can you promise me that you’ll bring me back?” Sara glanced at Oliver, who had a small smile on his face, and she grinned.“Yes, I can time our ship down to the same day, so technically you’ll only be gone for a few hours.” Ryleigh nodded and then turned tenderly to face the room and spoke to everyone.“Guys, can I have the room to talk to Barry? Ollie, you should probably stay too.” Everyone started to move toward the door. Joe stopped beside her and squeezed her shoulder gently; Roy, Laurel, and Dig hugged her, Caitlyn stopped and asked her to please sit, and Felicity just paused to stare at her with her tear-filled eyes before bolting through the door. Once the three of them were alone, she held a finger up to Oliver and limped over to where Barry stoically stood. She’d had time to analyze her feelings, and he wasn’t going to like it. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves before she met his eyes and spoke.“Barry, I’m sorry you had to find out like this. I had every intention of telling you, but things happened. I had no idea that you knew Oliver, he never told me the Flash’s identity. I had to quit my job in Coast City a year ago because my device kept degrading quickly. I sought out Ray Palmer two months later, and I’ve been living in Starling City for the last ten months. You can’t be mad at Oliver, Barry, because he had no idea, I even knew you.” Barry shook his head, obviously upset and his voice shook as he spoke.“That’s why you kept trying to dodge me when I asked you why you left. Do you love him?” Ryleigh sighed and didn’t look at Oliver when she answered him.“Yes, I do Barry, and he needs my help. Will we still be together after I ran off the way that I did? Who knows? I love you, Barry, I always will, but it’s not a romantic love…not anymore. I think we had our shot and we missed it. I was in Coast City for a year before the Particle Accelerator exploded and you never visited, hell you barely spoke to me in that first year. We work best as friends, and I hope you’ll keep being my friend, Barry.” Barry took a shaky breath when she stopped talking and began moving towards the door. He paused at the entrance and spoke with his back to her.“You’ll always be my best friend, Ryleigh.” With that, he sped away and disappeared around the corner. Ryleigh turned to face Oliver who had his head bent and his arms crossed across his chest. She started to move towards him, but he shook his head and walked to her instead, speaking softly.“Ryleigh, please sit down, you’re making me nervous.” He placed his hands softly on her arms and met her eyes. The butterflies that exploded in her stomach were a combination of standing in front of him and the feelings that Ryleigh Wells had for him. She reached up and gently touched his face as she made a promise, she was confident she’d keep.“I’ll be back, Ollie. I had every intention of coming back, always did.” He nodded and smiled at her.“You were right not to tell me you were leaving because I would have tried to stop you.” Going with her instincts, she reached up and touched her lips lightly to his. Oliver instantly increased the pressure and wrapped his arms tenderly around her waist. The kiss was intense, but it didn’t last long. He pulled away and rested his forehead on hers.“Just promise you’ll come back, Rye.” She sighed as she ran her fingers through his hair.“I promise I’m coming back, Ollie. This thing with the League of Assassins…I know it’s bad, you don’t have to tell me that. It’s your turn to promise me now, promise me that you’ll be careful.” He kissed her softly once more and let her go.“I’m always careful, but for you, I promise to be extra careful.” Oliver left her in the room so that she could change clothes. She hugged everyone goodbye and kissed Oliver goodbye with a pent-up passion she hadn’t known she was capable of. Sara escorted her onto the Waverider, their timeship. She introduced her to Ray Palmer, Dr. Stein, Jefferson, Mick, and Cold. She’d been hoping to meet Rip, but it was in the section of the storyline where Rip was missing. They told her that they’d begin working with her on her powers the following morning, but they wanted her to go to the med bay so they could heal her wounds. Once they placed her on the high-tech cot and got her situated, they left her alone. After waiting a few minutes to make sure they weren’t going to come back, she hopped off the table and walked to the mounted television that was on the wall. She pulled the Channeler out of her pocket and looked around wistfully before pressing the home button and placing a hand on the tv.______________________________________________ When Ryleigh opened her eyes, she was standing in her bedroom, and it was dark outside. She could tell that she’d been gone for only one day again since she hadn’t made it a full month in that realm. She looked down at the fob and found it to be a pale yellow. She walked into the living room and saw her mom passed out on the couch and empty liquor bottles surrounding the sofa and all over the floor. Pursing her lips, she knew that she had work to do. She went into the kitchen and logged into the computer she’d bought before entering Mystic Falls. Once she’d completed what she wanted, she went to bed. She woke up early the next morning and left for the realtor’s company she’d looked up. She was going to buy her own house, a small one, and then place her mother in rehab. It seemed to be the only way to keep her away from the alcohol. She knew that her mother wasn’t going to take this news well, so she prepared her favorite dish, chicken parmesan casserole. Her mother stumbled into the kitchen, grumbling because she was still upset that she’d been cut off financially. Her mother scarfed the meal down and then sat back with a smirk. She waved her hand around the dishes and glared as she spoke.“I hope you don’t think this forgives you for leaving me destitute.” Ryleigh scoffed and shook her head, standing up and carrying dishes to the sink.“I’m not apologizing for anything because I didn’t do anything wrong. This is a goodbye meal, mom because we’re not going to see each other for a few months after tonight. I’ve hired a cleaning crew to scrub this house and close it up until you get back. I’ve bought a house of my own that I moved into while you were blacked out. You are going to a 90-day rehab, and once the 90 days are over, we’ll re-evaluate to see if you can come home with supervision or if you need a longer stay. While you’re in the hospital, you’ll get an allowance of $500 a month to spend responsibly as you see fit. Once you’re out, that’s it, I’m done taking care of you. I’m going to go to college, and we’re going to have a normal mother-daughter relationship.” When she finished speaking, there was a knock at the door, and she tensed up because she hated that she had to do this. Her mother was sputtering at her but couldn’t find the words. Ryleigh left her to answer the door and ushered the two orderlies that were there to pick her mother up. Her mom slammed her hand down onto the table and screamed at her.“You ungrateful little shit, what gives you the right to lock me up? How is this even legal?!” Ryleigh tried not to think of the scene her mother had caused when it was told that her daughter had conservatorship over her and that she’d had the right to place her in rehab. She spent two weeks getting her childhood house settled and covered so that it would be easy to open up once her mother came home. She also spent the time settling into her new home, a little cottage that outside of the city limits and well enough away from her mother. The fob had changed colors after only two days of being back, but she had to live in the real world for a couple of weeks before she could even think about going to a new or previously visited realm. It was a month before she was ready to dive in again. She sat on her brand-new sofa and called for Grady. He popped up with a sad smile and sat down next to her.“I love your new home, Ryleigh, you have excellent taste. I am truly sorry it came to that with your mother. What can I do for you?” Ryleigh liked Grady, he always seemed genuine when he spoke to her, so she trusted him with the request she was going to make.“Grady, I loved being with the flash and arrow teams. I want to go back there, and I also want to go back Mystic Falls…eventually. I know you know what shows I like, and I want you to take me somewhere where I can’t be tempted with a romance.” Grady looked taken aback by her request, but he didn’t immediately shoot her down, and she took that as a good sign.
“Well, it’s drama, Ryleigh, every single show has a romance element. I take it you mean you want to go somewhere a romance is unlikely because unfortunately there’s not a show where it’s impossible.” Ryleigh nodded and as she stood and walked over to her television.“I’ll accept that answer.” Grady joined her by the television as he gave her a mischievous look.“You are one hundred percent sure you would like me to choose for you?” Ryleigh had a feeling she was going to regret this decision in some way, but she nodded. “Yes, I want you to choose because all of the shows I’m coming up with have a definite romance possibility.” Grady shrugged, took the device out of her hand, touched the tv, and held out his free hand to her as he spoke.“I have just the place for you.” Ryleigh hesitated as if it was the first time, he was showing her how the Channeler worked. She took his hand and immediately felt the familiar tug as she was pulled forward. When her vision cleared, she found herself alone in a field of very tall grass, the Channeler in her hand. She turned around in a circle and was shocked that she was outside. She looked down and found a backpack at her feet, and she knew that it belonged to her. She picked it up and slung it around her shoulders and began walking. She knew she needed to sort through the new memories of wherever it was he sent her, but it was so hot she couldn’t focus. Her most immediate thought was “where the heck was everyone?” She continued to walk, sweat starting to pour down her back. She came upon a street and stopped because it looked eerily familiar, but she couldn’t place it. She looked up and down the road and saw no cars and no people. It was so odd, where were all of the cars? Resisting the urge to call and demand Grady explain himself, she trudged along until she finally saw a figure off in the distance. She couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman and, in that instance, she didn’t care. She’d passed a semi-truck a little bit back, but she’d found it empty. Taking the backpack off her shoulders, she cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted.“Excuse me! Can you tell me where I am? I seem to be lost, and I haven’t seen a car at all!” The figure turned slowly towards her and began to shuffle in her direction. She was confused as to why they weren’t speaking, but it was hot, and she could understand not wanting to yell. It wasn’t until the figure was close enough for her to make out its features and she heard the sound she’d hoped she’d never hear in real life that balled her hands up in fists at her waist and yelled at the sky.“Grady, you dick, you sent me to the Walking Dead?!”

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Ryleigh immediately turned on her heel and started walking in the direction she'd come from. She didn't want to waste her energy running away from one zombie, especially this sticky heat. She began to briskly walk to put as much distance from her and it when she heard a noise coming from the woods to her right. She was about halfway back to the truck she'd discovered, and she was curious. She wasn't sure what season she was in, and she hoped it was Negan's season. When she heard the chilling death call of several undead getting closer to her, she swore colorfully to the air around her and broke out in a run. She had to do precisely what she had wanted to avoid and expense most of her energy putting distance from a herd. When she reached the truck, she pulled herself up and tapped on the window. When nothing immediately answered her, she attempted the door, only to find it locked. Groaning, she went to the other side, keeping an eye on the oncoming trouble. When she pulled on the passenger door, it opened easily for her, and she almost cried in relief. She pulled herself cautiously and as slow as she could afford into the cab. When she found it empty and the keys in the ignition, she silently said a thank you to Grady for having her escape plan. She closed the door as gingerly as possible, but she knew it was probably heard. She quickly locked the door and ducked behind the seats where a cot was laid out for whoever had owned the truck. She pushed the bedding as far to the side as possible and cowered behind the chair. She could hear the dead getting closer as the groaning and growling because almost deafening. Just as the first hand began to beat on the truck, she heard a horn in the distance. After a few minutes, the hand slapping of the few that knew she was there stopped, and she assumed they wandered off. The horn of the mysterious car grew louder as if moving closer to the herd and after a few minutes began to fade off into the distance. The heat beating into the truck was almost overwhelming, and she fought the urge to pass out. She pulled the water bottle out of her bag, took a sip, and poured a little bit onto her head to attempt to cool her off. Unfortunately, the bottle was warm, and it only alleviated the heat for a moment.As she sat there, helpless to leave until she could no longer hear the undead, she sifted through her memories and found herself the sibling of a favorite character and a doctor from a critical point in the story. She held her shirt over her face to try and block some of the smell out. They only briefly touched on the stench of the dead in the show, focusing more on the story. The smell of the passing herd was almost enough to knock her out, and that with the combination of the heat wasn't going well. Deciding to chance it, she leaned forward and checked to see if the truck was in Park and not Neutral. Once she'd confirmed this, she turned the key that was in the ignition. Almost instantly, the truck roared to life, and air began to blow through the vents. She cried out in surprise, and a few tears slipped down her cheeks as she closed her eyes and let the increasingly cool air blow on her face. She climbed into the driver's seat and looked at all the controls and knew instantly she would not be able to drive this large vehicle. When she straightened up, she saw Daryl Dixon standing in front of the car, looking shocked to see her.Ryleigh didn't know whether to be excited or nervous because the look on his face wasn't exactly welcoming. He motioned at her, but she couldn't tell what he was trying to say to her. When he moved closer towards the window, she ducked back behind the seats again. She knew, logically, that he wouldn’t hurt her, but she was too warm, and he had his crossbow. She heard a light tapping on the window and then it was Maggie’s voice, not Daryl’s and she immediately felt a shiver go down her spine. Maggie was one of her absolute favorite characters too, and she was excited and scared at the same time.“Hey, do you mind turning the engine off this thing? It’s incredibly loud, and it’s gonna attract the herd we led away back here to us. We aren’t going to hurt you, I promise. We didn’t know this truck belonged to anyone.” At her soothing voice, Ryleigh pulled herself up into the driver’s seat and found her smiling at her from the driver’s window, but Daryl wasn’t anywhere to be seen. She knew she was right about the noise, so with a sigh, she turned the engine off and looked at her smiling face. She hopped off the step and spoke again, her voice much further away.“I meant what I said, we’re not going to hurt you, you can come out.” Taking a deep breath, she reached for the handle. She knew that she needed to step out because the air in the cab hadn’t cooled off enough and the sun was winning the battle, making the inside feel even more sweltering than it had before. She started to unlock the door when she noticed she still couldn’t see Daryl, so she pulled her hand back. She’d had time to go through her implanted memories, so she had a good idea of how her character felt about strangers. She glanced in the mirrors and then pursed her lips as she addressed Maggie, who was waiting for her to get out of the truck.“Where’s your other guy? I’m not coming out until I can see both of you or you both leave. I have a weapon, so if you try and force me to either come out or you try to wait me out, it’s not going to end well for you.” Maggie raised an eyebrow and looked to her right and motioned with her hand. She saw Daryl start cautiously walking towards her in the side mirror. Once he was standing next to Maggie, he whispered something to her that she couldn’t hear and then Maggie looked back at her.“It’s just the two of us, and we understand a woman traveling by herself can’t be too careful. I’m afraid this trust thing has to go both ways. You just told me you have a weapon, so we’re going to have to work something out. We’ll put our weapons away as long as no walkers show up and you show us both hands when you get out, that way we can all clearly see each other.” Ryleigh knew that they had the upper hand in the situation, and she wouldn’t last much longer in the heat. Swearing once more, she held up her hands and stared at them, waiting.Maggie put her knife and gun away immediately and then looked at Daryl. She could tell he didn’t want to put it away, but he reluctantly slung the bow over his shoulder and onto his back. Daryl then made an impatient motion with his hands telling her to get out of the truck. Judging by how long their hair was, she was guessing they were on the tail end of their stay at the prison, which she wasn’t looking forward to. She didn’t want to be in the middle of a war with the Governor and walkers, which is precisely what happened to them. Still, she couldn’t stay there, so she kept her right hand up and used her left hand to open the door. There was a gentle breeze blowing, and when it hit her face, she let out a sound that was a mixture of a sob and a laugh. She was so relieved to be out of the furnace that created inside that truck that she stood up too quickly and immediately began falling. She couldn’t help the yelp that escaped as she began to tumble, but she never hit the ground. Both Maggie and Daryl had rushed forward and had kept her from falling completely. Once they had her on her feet, she backed away and held her hands back up.“Sorry, I…I stayed in there too long, and I’m a little dehydrated now. The truck isn’t mine, I just used it to hide from the herd. If there’s any water in the back, I’d be grateful for a bottle, but otherwise, I don’t care what you do with it.” Maggie and Daryl exchanged glances with each other before Maggie decided to ask her more questions.
“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you out here traveling by yourself? It’s not safe for more than just the walkers.” She couldn’t stop the quiet chuckle that escaped as she bent at the waist.“Trust me, you don’t have to tell me that. I just escaped a bad situation a few weeks ago. I was in a hospital in downtown Atlanta being forced to perform medical treatment on patients they inflicted the damage to, so you don’t have to tell me about it being dangerous out here.” Maggie sucked in a breath and ignored Daryl’s grunt of clear warning as she leaned down to talk to her.“Wait, so are you a doctor or a nurse? Do you have any medical supplies? We are in desperate need of some antibiotics and a few others if you know where to get them.” Ryleigh stood up and regarded the two of them, but before she could answer, Daryl spoke for the first time.“We could really use your help, and you could really use food and water. We can help each other out here.” Ryleigh gauged their faces and knew they wouldn’t hurt her, but she didn’t want to seem too eager either.“What’s going on at your camp that you’re in desperate need of antibiotics?” Maggie’s lip quivered a little as she answered, and she knew immediately where they were in the series and how close they actually were to the end of the prison.“There’s been an epidemic of some flu-like virus, and we’ve got several people quarantined…including my husband. Please, if you can help, we really need it.” Ryleigh sighed and stood up and only swayed slightly as she responded to her frantic plea.“If it’s the flu, antibiotics won’t help them, the flu is a virus that has to run its course. However, if it’s terrible, they’d need antihistamine, steroids, and sinus medicines to keep their drainage out of their chests. So…how bad it is?” Ryleigh watched as a tear slipped down the other woman’s cheek, and she covered her mouth. Daryl stepped forward and glared at her as he patted Maggie on the back.“So, you really are a doctor then, are you going to help us?” Ryleigh sighed and nodded and began walking around the truck.“Let’s see what’s in this truck, it’s a medical supply truck, is that what drew you to it? If there’s medicine on here, it’s bad because of the heat, but they might have equipment we can use. Also, not far from here is a nursing home that should be well stocked. Grady’s guards didn’t touch them or the walkers inside in case they became desperate for the medicine. They’ll also have oxygen tanks if you have the room to get them.” Maggie straightened at her words and walked to the back of the truck.“Let’s get going then, Daryl, give her one of the sandwiches, we don’t need her passing out on us, and give her a bottle of water. What’s your name, by the way?” Ryleigh walked towards her and stopped next to her, handing her the keys to the truck.“My name is Ryleigh, and you never did tell me how bad things were.” Daryl walked over to her, holding a foil-wrapped sandwich and bottle of water. She took them gratefully and waited until they answered her. Daryl opened one of the sandwiches and began to eat in front of her, showing her, it was safe before he responded.“We have about twenty people in a secure location away from the main population. Some of them are pretty bad, and some are just coming down with it.” Ryleigh waited, but he didn’t provide any additional information, so she sighed and looked at both of them.“How big is your community that you have twenty people quarantined? Are you in an area where you’re cooped up and have no circulation? You have to tell me exactly what’s going on so that I know what I’m walking into.” She knew why they were cautious; they didn’t know her. Maggie was ignoring them and focusing on getting into the back of the truck. Daryl shook his head and began to spill the details.“Look, we took over the prison that’s down in this region. We have a substantial community, walls and fences to secure the place. We have a yard, of course, but half of it is being used for crops and farming. So no, we don’t have circulation coming through, and the virus is spreading quickly. We’ve had two people die from it due to drowning.” Ryleigh looked at them and began to back away, the medical training in her head was furious with them.“Oh God, you have no idea how bad it is. You gave me your food, you’re not wearing face masks, and you just exposed me to this virus! Look, I’ll take you to the nursing home, help you grab what you need, but I’m not going to put myself in a situation where I’m going to contract this whatever it is.” Maggie hopped down off the back of the truck and glared at her as she walked towards her.“It’s like you said, you’re already exposed because of us, we need your help.” Daryl put a hand on her back to try and calm her down.“Maggie, she said she’s going to take us to get the stuff we need. We can’t force her to come back with us, we’re not those people. Glenn is going to be just fine, so let’s get this stuff and get going, I’d like to be back before dark.” Maggie took a deep breath and then gave her an apologetic look.“He’s right, I’m sorry, I would never force you to come back with us. There are a lot of blankets in this truck and bedding, no medicine. A stack of these blankets is going to take up half the trunk, that’s how big it is, so we need to just go to the home.” Ryleigh nodded and turned back towards their green Hyundai when she paused.“Oh no, we were too loud.”

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The herd of walkers that Maggie and Daryl had successfully led away from the truck was now making its way back towards them. The number of walkers heading their way was much larger than what she'd seen earlier, or at least it seemed that way. Maggie and Daryl quickly closed the trunk of their car and jumped in, wasting no time. The only thought in her head was how many there were until Daryl called out to her. She turned around in a daze and saw two things at once. A new walker, from the looks of it due to less decay, was shambling up to Daryl's window, which was down, and a man holding a shotgun, possibly the truck driver was running after them. She didn't know what else to do, so she ran around to the driver's side of the car and pulled out a knife that was on her belt. Daryl noticed the walker just as she came up behind it and plunged the knife into his skull. They also didn't touch on how soft they were; it was a weird sensation because they were the opposite of rigor; they were closer to jelly-fying. The body fell to the pavement with a heavy thud, and then she whirled around to face the oncoming driver. She heard the distinct sound of Daryl's gun cocking, followed by his firm voice."Step to the left, Ryleigh, I don't have a clear shot if he tries something." Not needing to be told twice, she jumped out of the way as the man reached the car. He and Daryl didn't say anything at first, just stood there staring at each other with their guns pointed at each other. Finally, the other man spoke, his voice hoarse and shaky as if he'd not used it for days."You take anything from my truck?" Daryl's gruffness was just as it appeared on the show as he answered, his voice low, and threatening."Ain't nothing to take, there a reason why you're pointing a shotgun at us?" The man glanced to the walkers getting closer to them."Sorry, I didn't know if you were friendly or not. Please…if you have a camp, take me with you. I've been stuck out here for days, the truck turns on, but won't drive and I'm out of water and food." Daryl never took his eyes off the man as he slowly opened the door with his left hand and stepped out."How many walkers have you killed? That's a question for both of you." The man scoffed and shrugged. "How the hell should I know? They're everywhere and I don't exactly stop to count as I take them down. Look, they're getting closer, can we do this in the car or back at your camp?" Daryl moved closer to Ryleigh and for some reason she was very grateful for this; Daryl made her feel safe just standing beside her. He spoke again, no sense of urgency coming from him despite the herd shambling in their direction."No, we can't, Ryleigh, how many have you killed?" She was surprised by the question because she didn't think they'd ask her because they wanted her help so badly. Luckily, it was an easy answer for her."None, I was in the hospital pretty much the whole time and there were police officers there, so I never had to…well except for this one I just took out." Daryl didn't even stop to take in what she said, just asked the next question."How many people have you killed?" Ryleigh was just as surprised at the answer in her head as she was with the questions, but he was looking to the man in front of them for an answer first. The man shuffled on his feet before bursting out the answer."I don't know okay. I was in downtown Houston when all this started and there were people everywhere and they were trying to get into my truck. I wasn't about to be overrun so I just kept driving." Daryl made a grunting noise and then nudged her with his elbow."Now you, how many people have you killed?" Ryleigh discovered that she didn't feel guilty about her answer, so she just answered, she wanted to get out of the heat and away from this place."Three, I've killed three people." Daryl spoke to the man before acknowledging what she said."When you say you don't know, do you mean you drove through people and walkers? Why?" The man was getting nervous and scoffed, clearly irritated at being questioned like he was."What does it matter? It was every man for himself back then, Houston was a cluster and I just needed to get myself and my truck out." Daryl didn't respond to him but nudged her in the arm again."Why did you kill the three people?" Ryleigh found it difficult to start talking about, but as time was of the essence, she quickly explained herself."Two of them were my parents. My mom had been bitten and didn't want to turn and my dad was surrounded by them with no weapon and no way to escape so I put them both out of their misery. They both asked me to, but the third was self-defense at the hospital and one of the main reasons I left." Daryl didn't ask her to explain further; just spoke without looking at her, his crossbow trained on the man."Ryleigh get in the backseat if you want to come with us, I won't force you. You, on the other hand aren't invited. We need people we can trust and there's something off about you and your story, so we'll be going now." It happened so quickly that she almost missed it. The man rushed forward with an angry growl and Daryl let his arrow fly. The arrow hit its mark like always, and it hit him square in the head. Ryleigh didn't waste any more time; she jumped in the backseat. The door hadn't even fully closed before Daryl was whipping the car around. Ryleigh gave him directions to the senior home that she had told them about and waited anxiously for them to arrive, and not hearing the herd in the distance. He pulled into the lot, and she could tell immediately that it had remained untouched. The guards at the hospital had yet to need the supplies here, so it was still chained. She was still very apprehensive to be there because what if it was a trap that it looked this way? What if they were waiting for her because they knew she had the key and would head this way? When they exited the car, Ryleigh hung back, sweeping her gaze back and forth, trying to discern any signs of a trap. Maggie walked up to the door, waiting for her to follow, but Daryl hung back as he sensed her hesitation. He slowly walked back to where she stood and gave her a questioning look."Hey, is everything alight? Is something out of place here?" She knew that she had nothing to worry about because she couldn't be harmed, but that didn't stop the overwhelming sense of fear she felt. So, because she felt pure terror, she had to call out to him. "Grady, can you come out please?" He appeared next to her instantly and made her jump. He gave her a serene smile as he gestured towards her."I do hope this setting was to your liking, I've always been fond of this show myself." Ryleigh stared at him for a few seconds before asking her question."I do love this show, but I never would have picked it as somewhere to go. I mean there are freaking zombies everywhere! I just wanted to check that the same rules apply here that they did in the other two realms. I can't be hurt here, right?" Grady bowed his head slightly as he answered her critical issue."That's correct, you are perfectly safe though it may seem grave at times due to where you are but trust me when I say you are in a bubble when it comes to these creatures. If you can't save yourself, someone or a situation will always be there to keep you from harm." Ryleigh let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and smiled weakly at him."Thanks, I guess I needed that reassurance after what's happened so far. This story just jumps right in with the chaos and drama." He smiled wider at her and gestured around him."You requested a realm where romance was the most unlikely. I've placed you in an apocalyptic setting where death is at every turn, so yes chaos and drama abound. Is there anything else you require?" Ryleigh shook her head and took another deep breath to calm her nerves."No, that was all I needed, thank you for always coming to my aid, Grady." He simply smiled, and then he was gone. Daryl reached out to her and gently touched her arm and she realized she needed to answer his question that was left hanging in the air."I can't tell, to be honest with you, and that scares the shit out of me. These people that I was with, they're crazy and dangerous. They need my skills and they'll likely be hunting me. I didn't want to come here because this is one of the first places they'll check." Daryl started doing his own sweep as he guided her to the front door. When they made it over to Maggie, he filled her in."Maggie, I need you to stay with the car and honk the horn if you see anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. Rye here has the key to the door and she's afraid the people she was with are going to be looking for her here." Maggie opened her mouth to object, but Ryleigh headed her off."I have done inventory here, so I know exactly where the medicine is that you need for your people. I can be in and out in five minutes barring in extra security they may have added in there." Maggie looked like she was going to object, but she clearly saw the logic in the plan and headed back to the car. Before she could get too far, Ryleigh had to warn her."Maggie don't honk the horn if you see them. They have guns and will hurt you so just…lay low and hide if you see anyone." Maggie nodded that she understood and got in the car keeping her head on a constant swivel. Ryleigh didn't want to open this door, but she needed to get in and out as quickly as possible. She unlocked it and opened it as quietly as she could. She motioned to Daryl the trap they'd set at the threshold so they could walk over it. She whispered for him to step only where she stepped, so no alarms would be set off. She creeped towards the stockpile of medicine that they'd kept hidden, her steps careful. It wasn't until they were at the end of the corridor when she heard the voices. She stopped abruptly, causing Daryl to bump into her from behind. She held her finger to her lips and crouched down next to the administrative desk. She found she knew who the voices belonged to, and she closed her eyes to a rush of adrenaline and fear that threatened to consume her. Two officers were sitting in the corridor in front of the very door they needed to get to. One was Benjamin, one of the nicer officers who didn't threaten or abuse his position. The other was Travis, and he was a mean son of a bitch. He helped Gorman abuse the residents of Grady and enjoyed every minute of it. Dawn hadn't been able to control either of them, though she liked to think she did. It was Travis that was talking, and he sounded surly."I can't believe Dawn was dumb enough to leave this key lying around for that bitch to grab. I don't think she survived; she'd have already been here. We've been in this shithole for three days and I'm ready to go. If she hasn't shown up yet, she's not going to." Daryl put his hand on her hip to get her attention and motioned for her to follow him. He was heading towards the side room they'd passed in hopes they could hide there. Ryleigh knew what she had to do, and if she tried to explain it to Daryl, he'd say no. He didn't know her, but he was a protective person and he'd be against her plan. When he opened the door, she tripped him and shut the door gently behind him. It didn't stop the loud crash from his fall echoing along the whole building. She heard the men swear violently, so she pulled her weapon out and shimmied behind the administrative desk they'd been beside. She could see them walk by the open area, and when they were enough distance in front of her, she came out and pointed her gun at them."Well, Travis, looks like you're just as stupid as always and Dawn as smart. Drop your weapons and kick them towards me." She could feel Travis' anger and rage as they turned to meet her. Benjamin wouldn't be a problem, but Travis was a wildcard, and she didn't have time for this nonsense. She cocked the gun to make her point and pointed the weapon at his crotch to make her point."Please make a move, Travis, I've been waiting to shoot your dick off for months." He sneered at her and took a bold step forward."Please, Ford, you do not have the lady balls to pull that trigger." With that statement, he took another step towards her. He was much closer than she was comfortable with so with a sigh, she pulled the trigger. The shot was loud, and she regretted it instantly. Surrounding walkers would have heard it and so would patrols if there were more than these two. Still, the bullet hit its mark and Travis fell back in a fit of agony and tormented screams. She started to point her gun at Benjamin, but Daryl jumped out of the room he was in and wrapped his arm around his throat. She held her hands out and called for him to stop."Daryl, wait, please, Benjamin won't hurt us." Daryl relieved him of his gun before removing his arm. Benjamin looked at her and then down at Travis, who was still screaming his head off. Without warning, he pulled a knife out of his boot and shoved it into Travis' head. The sudden stop of screaming was almost as jarring as when it began. When he stood up, he scowled at her."Ryleigh, what the hell?! I specifically told you to stay the hell away from this place, yet here you are! Who is this and why did you miss our rendezvous point?" Ryleigh tried to hide her shock from this and went through the memories she had. It had been Benjamin that had given her the key to this place and told her to stay away unless necessary. She also realized that she was supposed to meet him two days ago at a house they'd staked out and they were going to set off together. It was out of necessity and not romance. She shrugged her shoulder in apology."I got trapped by a herd and couldn't make it, plus…I didn't honestly think you were going to go." He angrily shook his head and began taking off his police vest."It doesn't even matter now; you've given me the out I needed. I can fake my death here and set off on my own. Get what it is you came here for and get going, there are two more officers that are supposed to relieve us in a couple of hours. You need to be far away when they come because it is probably going to be Gorman and you don't want to face him." Ryleigh knew that she did not, in fact, want to face that man. She turned on her heel and headed for the door, unlocking it quickly. It was just as stocked as she remembered, and she began to fill her backpack up with the necessary medical supplies. She grabbed several different kinds of antibiotics, pain medicine, gauze, alcohol, inhalers, syringes, and a couple of ventilators. She knew from watching the show that they only had one, so she just grabbed as much as she could fit into her bag. She also grabbed several IV bags and then turned to face Daryl. "I think I have everything we need and more to treat them. I'm going to lock the door back in case we ever have to come back." Daryl nodded and headed out the door, not trying to take the bag from her. She wouldn't have given it because it was her insurance of safety to their camp, but she appreciated that he didn't try. She walked over to Benjamin, who was busy setting up an elaborate ruse for his death. She hesitated before she walked by him."Ben, come with us. They have shelter and fences and what seems like a community." He stopped what he was doing to face her. He smiled gently and pulled her into a hug before shaking his head."You're not going to a safe place, Rye, not if you need all of that. I'm going to chance it on my own, I'm just glad to be rid of Grady so thanks for that. Be careful and maybe one day we'll meet again." She didn't try to talk him into it; he'd clearly made his mind up. Instead, she walked out the door, stepped over the trap, and relocked it as if she'd never been there. The ride to the prison was a long one, and it was done mostly in silence. Maggie was an absolute bundle of nerves, fearing they'd taken too long to get back. When they finally pulled up to the gates, she found that her apprehension didn't lessen, it grew. Daryl drove up to the building and past two sets of gates, just like in the show. When he parked, he turned and looked at her with a relieved smile and gestured for her to follow him. She had nothing left to do but get out of the car and come face to face with everyone. Michonne and Tyrese were there as Rick was outside the quarantine block. Michonne looked pensive as she gazed at Ryleigh, but Daryl and Maggie explained everything to her. She looked at her with wide eyes and a relief you never saw on the show as she finally spoke to her."Niceties will have to wait, some of the patients have gotten worse." At this claim, Maggie gasped and took off running. She and Daryl had nothing left to do but follow. As they got closer, they could hear shots and yelling. She knew from watching the show that several of the sick had turned and they were fending them off. She ran into the open door in the sick ward without even hesitating. What she was greeted with was far worse than the show depicted. There were bodies everywhere, both turned and not. She looked up and saw that Herschel was struggling with a zombie that had a ventilator in its mouth. She swore and ran up the steps and ran to Maggie, who was crying next to a convulsing Glenn. She opened her bag and pulled out the new ventilator bag and kit and got to work."Maggie, you need to calm down and hold his head for me because he's awake and he's going to fight me." She sniffled but did everything that she asked of her. She found this part comforting because she knew exactly what to do. Once she had him properly bagged, she gave instructions."Okay you have to breathe for him, Maggie, pump the bag in five second intervals. I'll get started on the meds." She was pulling things out of her bag when Hershel came into view. Ryleigh didn't stop what she was doing but did speak with him."You must be Hershel, Maggie's told me about your setup and thought you could use some help. I've got syringes and antibiotics if you can tell me how many Iv's I need to start and help me with that, I'd be appreciative." He didn't hesitate to start helping and told her that they had three others as sick as Glenn and five more that were showing signs of worsening. She nodded and kept working, glad to be doing something she knew how to do. Once Glenn was situated, Maggie smiled through her tears at her.
"I can't thank you enough for this." Ryleigh just nodded and went to work on her other patients. It took the better part of three hours to set everyone up with Iv's and injections that needed them. When it was over, she had to walk outside for fresh air. She kept the bag with her because chances were that everyone had been exposed and were going to need to go on a round of meds to keep from getting sick. It was hot and uncomfortable, and she was about to fall from exhaustion. She'd barely taken in a few deep breaths when she heard her name. She turned around and saw a gathering of people come up to her, Daryl in front with a smile. He stepped forward and took her hand gently to show her that everything was okay."Everyone, this is Ryleigh, we came across her on the road and she volunteered to help us out. Ryleigh, this is Carol, Rick, Michonne you met earlier, this little guy is Carl, and Herschel. You'll meet everyone else eventually, but this is the council and they wanted to meet you." Rick stepped forward first and gave her a pained smile."Thank you for your help, most people wouldn't have done this even before all this happened. You're welcome here as long as you like."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ryleigh looked around the council and made eye contact with Daryl who was hanging back and observing. She didn’t say anything right away and surveyed the courtyard with the food tent and all of the water. It was an impressive setup, but she also saw all of the weapons in locked bins and the fortifications they’d made. She turned back to the council who watched her and tried to gauge her reaction. Sighing, she gave them a tentative smile and stepped forward to greet them, but she became extremely dizzy and stumbled. Daryl caught her and helped her stand up straight. She knew that this was going to immediately raise alarm bells, so she chuckled nervously and moved her curly hair out of her face as she spoke.“Sorry about that. I haven’t eaten much in the last couple of days or had water either. Maggie and Daryl shared what little they had, but I'm dehydrated." Beth immediately moved forward and passed her to where a barrel was marked “Drinking” and used the spigot they’d made to pour water into a cup for her. She turned around and handed it to her with a small smile. Ryleigh took it from her gratefully and couldn’t stop the emotions from coming forward as everything hit her at once. Her voice shook and a few tears escaped as she thanked her. They ushered her over to the benches under the food tent so she could sit down. Daryl slid over a plate of vegetables and venison that had been on the grill. She glanced at him and gave a small smile as a thank you, but couldn't vocalize it because Rick sighed and began to speak.“Daryl told us a bit about the situation you were in before while you were in with our sick. It sounds like a horrible situation and I’m sorry for what you went through. I am thankful that you decided to come here and help us.” She shrugged her shoulders as she glanced back over at Daryl who stared at her intently enough to make her blush and lower her eyes before answering.“Well, it wasn’t really a difficult decision since Daryl and Maggie unknowingly saved me from that herd. Also, I became a doctor to help people and where I was…that wasn’t helping. It was awful and I had endured from the beginning. Being able to come here and help your community is what I should have been doing from the beginning.” Rick and Michonne thanked her again before leaving with Beth. Ryleigh looked down at the plate of food Daryl had given her and spoke of her thanks for the first time as she looked at him.“I can’t tell you the last time I had something that wasn’t processed or canned so thank you for sharing this with me.” Daryl dipped his head as he nodded and sat up straight.“It’s what we do here. We take care of each other. We are a community, but several of us have been together since the beginning. We’re not a community, we’re a family and like Rick said, you’re welcome here as long as you want to be here.” She felt another tear slip down her cheek and she hurriedly wiped it away. She pointed at the firepower they had sitting in stations around the courtyard. When she looked back at Daryl, he was eyeing her curiously, so she answered him after swallowing the mouthful of food she’d been chewing.“It seems like you all might have a bit of trouble you’re dealing with. I really don’t want to get involved with any disputes, but I’ll stay long enough to make sure your people are healthy.” Daryl nodded and stood up, not offering any details as to why they had so many weapons sitting out in the open. From her extensive knowledge of the show, she knew it was because of the Governor and she was afraid that his last attack that would destroy the prison was going to happen very soon.**********Ryleigh had been in the prison for four days and had met all of the main cast and most of the Woodbury people as well. They all would stop and say hello and many would thank her for coming and helping them. Caleb, their previous doctor, hadn’t made it as he’d been very badly sick as well. She was currently in the sick block tending to everyone. She stood up after checking on Sasha, who was still very weak, and went to check on Lizzie. The young girl looked at her with curiosity but didn’t say anything. Ryleigh sat down next to her in a folded chair that had been placed there and smiled gently at the young, troubled girl. She didn’t immediately want to touch anyone. She wanted to make sure they were comfortable with her first, especially the children. As she sat and looked over Lizzie, she motioned to a book she’d apparently been reading."The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” She said, “That’s a very fun book. Are you enjoying it?” Lizzie nodded and was about to say something when a bout of coughing overtook her. Ryleigh leaned down and picked up the tea that Hershel had made for her, but she hadn’t drank. She held it out to her with a raised eyebrow and smile as she gently chided her. “You’re meant to drink this, you know.” Lizzie returned her smile this time and took the cup from her. “Hershel told me I had to read it.” Lizzie explained. “He said he wanted me to read it and he was going to quiz me. I like Tom, he’s funny.” Rye grinned at the young girl and was relieved when she finished her cup of tea. She motioned to her as she leaned forward to check her temperature.“Do you mind if I check your fever, Lizzie?” The girl nodded so Ryleigh went to work and found that she was still too warm, but the main fever had broken. She was administering another dose of antibiotics when she heard a voice over her shoulder. “You know you are allowed to take breaks for sleep, Ryleigh.” She smiled at the concern she heard in Hershel’s voice. “I know and I plan on it.” She said, “I am just making sure my favorite patient here is okay before I check on Glenn and call it a night.” Lizzie couldn’t stop the smile that appeared at Ryleigh’s words. It pleased Rye to see the girl smiling instead of worrying about Carol and her sister. After telling her to get some sleep, Ryleigh stood up and headed over to the staircase. She glanced over at Hershel as they both began the climb.“That tea of yours is genius. It's really helped break everyone’s fever." She said as she gestured around the block. “It’s definitely worked faster than the Tylenol I gave them.” He chuckled at her words and nodded in acknowledgement before answering. “They don’t teach natural remedies and herbs in school these days, or they didn’t before all this happened. I picked it up from my parents and it’s a known fact that elderberries are extremely beneficial for the immune system. Luckily for us, there is a whole bushel of them in the woods behind the prison.”After checking on Glenn and making sure his airway was clear, Ryleigh made her way down to the common area in front of C block. She didn’t sleep in either block because of her daily exposure to the sickness. She had the medicine to make sure it didn’t spread anymore, but there were still children, the youngest being Judith, and the elderly. They would have the hardest time fighting it off, even with medicine so she didn’t risk it. After eating a small helping of oatmeal, she headed down the corridor towards Solitary. A few of them were staying in the solitaire rooms to prevent exposing anyone unnecessarily. Daryl was in the cell next to hers, but he’d rigged his door to remain open. He didn’t want to feel imprisoned, which she didn’t blame him for, but she enjoyed her privacy. She was just about to enter her room when he appeared in his doorway.“Ya just now settling in for the night?” She paused and looked at him and stomped down her giddiness at the fact that he was talking to her. He was always so quiet so when he interacted with her, she had a schoolgirl reaction. She nodded at his question and ended up yawning before she could reply, causing him to grin. He shook his head at her and crossed his arms as he regarded her. “You’re just as bad as Rick and Hershel.” He exclaimed, “You’re liable to collapse if you keep going like you are.” She tilted her head and regarded him with amusement. “Hershel is on watch with them now and he’ll come and get me if there’s an emergency.” He nodded at her as she continued to explain. “I was a resident in one of the busiest hospitals in downtown Atlanta, so I'm used to living off three hours a day or less. Besides that, Lizzie, Sasha, and Glenn are still extremely sick and require close monitoring. They’re getting better, but it’s slow because it settled in their chests before we got back with the medicine.” She watched as Daryl’s face fell at her words.“I didn’t realize it was that bad.” She sighed and nodded, feeling her eyelids grow heavy. “Well, we’re living in a time where we have no more modern medicine such as flu vaccines.” She pondered out loud. “Also, with this disease causing the dead to rise, we’ll have new diseases or old ones we haven’t had to deal with before. Luckily this looks like a severe case of swine flu, and I know how to deal with that already. With everyone being in such close quarters, we’re lucky we haven’t had a chickenpox or measles outbreak among the kids.” Daryl stared at her for a minute before shaking his head. “Damn,” He said, “So you’re telling me we were better off being out in the open and on the road?” She laughed at his expression. “Being here is the safest place for anyone,” Ryleigh explained. “That being said, you’re not completely wrong. Being out there exposed everyone’s immune systems to harsh environments and allowed our bodies to naturally fight it off. Here we’re all crammed in together and sickness spreads in close quarters with no ventilation.” He nodded and reached out his hand and placed it gently on her shoulder. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough for coming back with us and saving my family. You knew how dangerous it was, but you came anyway.”Over the next three weeks, Ryleigh managed to administer preventative medicine to everyone through Beth in C block and Daryl in D block. She was trying to maintain distance because of her constant exposure to the sickness in A. She’d been there for a month, and she’d grown extremely close to Hershel, Glenn, Maggie, Beth, Carl, and Daryl. Rick remained very distant because he was constantly patrolling the fence line. Her closest allies were Daryl and Hershel. It was ridiculous because they were literally in an apocalypse, but the relationship with Daryl was strong. He kept her company when she had to stay up all night. He even stayed with her when she had nightmares after a close call in A block after a few people didn’t make it and turned. Sasha was now well enough to return to C block and Glenn was getting close. He was through the brunt of it, but he was still weak and coughing more than she’d like. They were currently up on the platform, looking over the courtyard. They were standing so close that their shoulders touched, and she was laughing at a story he was telling her about when he was younger and had gotten lost in the woods. Neither was really paying attention to anything except each other when they heard a rumble in the distance. The smiles they’d been sporting immediately fell from their faces when the guard tower that had been left standing exploded in front of them. A shriek left her mouth as Daryl pulled her down and used himself and the metal grates to protect her from debris. Upon seeing what he saw, his eyes were wide and he swore. He took her hand in his and placed his free hand on her cheek as he spoke. “You have to get the sick out and get out of here. We’ll meet up on the railroad tracks. This guy is bad news.” She started to protest, but he pulled her forward and pressed his lips to hers, shocking her into silence. “Please, Rye, get them out and get to safety. I’ll find you.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ryleigh didn’t have time to process the kiss or the fact that she didn’t mind it. She hugged him briefly before turning and running into A block. She’d just entered when an explosion rocked into the side of the main building, sending her to her knees. She ushered people out, telling them to get to safety. She then ran to the top of the staircase where Maggie helped Glenn get his shoes on. She ran over and grabbed her backpack that she’d left there as well as her jacket. She glanced at the two of them, unsure if she should stay with them or leave. They both rushed over to her once Glenn was fully dressed. Maggie grabbed her hand and led her and Glenn down the steps towards the exit. Rye knew what was going on and even knew she would survive, but it was the scariest situation she’d ever been in. This trumped being in an explosion with Oliver and being stabbed in Mystic Falls. Maggie pulled her hand, getting her attention.“We have to get to the bus.” She shouted over the noise. “It’ll be leaving any minute!” They were down the steps and halfway to the door when another blast shook them all to the ground. The three of them helped each other maintain their balance before making their way outside.It was absolute chaos as they dodged not just debris, but bullets and walkers as well. Maggie ushered Glenn towards the bus, but Ryleigh got separated from them due to a steady stream of undead. She was cornered with only her knife, which she gripped, ready to fight. Shots suddenly rang out, sending her would-be killers to the ground. She looked up and saw Carl standing in front of her with his gun raised. She rushed over to him and pulled him into a hug, relieved he was okay. He shook as he hugged her back, but quickly pulled away because it wasn’t safe to stay where they were. Ryleigh took in big gulps of air as she thanked him.“Thanks, kid, I appreciate the save. Where is your dad?” Carl’s face fell as he pointed to the very battered Rick. He was standing next to Judith's bloody car seat, but there was no sign of Judith anywhere. Her face crumpled at the sight but couldn’t say anything as Rick ran towards them. He had his own gun out and a bag slung over his shoulder. He glanced around them, not seeing any of their group and motioned for them to follow. He spoke as he ran. They were still dodging bony, grabby hands and falling debris from the now destroyed prison that had once been their safe haven.“Let’s go!” He yelled, “We have to get out of here!” They made their way towards the downed fence. Their progress was slowed by the concrete, rocks, and bodies that littered the yard, but also due to Rick’s injuries. Rick stopped in his tracks and faced Ryleigh, holding out a handgun to her. She hesitated to take it, so he grabbed her hand and pressed the gun into her palm, forcing her to accept it.They finally made it out and onto the railroad tracks. Ryleigh stopped and looked around for any sight of the one person she longed to see. Daryl had told her to meet him there, but what if he’d assumed she hadn’t made it? She knew from the show that he was with Beth, but she couldn’t remember if Daryl ended up on the tracks at all or not. Rick and Carl had walked quite a distance ahead of her when they realized she’d stopped walking and wasn’t with them. Rick called out to her as quietly as possible, his voice hoarse from his injuries.“Ryleigh, it’s not safe to stay here, we have to keep moving.” She looked over at him, her eyes filling with tears as the adrenaline began to wear off. She looked around again as she answered him.“Daryl told me to meet him at the tracks. He should be here, he wouldn’t leave without, he wouldn’t leave.” Rick walked back to her, his face soft as he placed a hand gently on her shoulder.“Ryleigh, if anyone made it out,” he lamented. “It was Daryl. He’ll find us, he’s the most efficient tracker I’ve ever seen. In the meantime, we have to keep moving.” She knew he was right, especially as she got her fist really clear look at Rick. She nodded as she began walking again.“Okay, you’re right.” She said, “We need to find someplace to hole up, I have to treat your wounds, Rick.” The three of them walked silently down the tracks. The mood was somber as they were all lost in thought. Rick and Carl were separated by a significant distance as Carl was walking ahead. She didn’t want to disturb them, but she could hear his sniffles. Once they reached a clearing, they saw a picturesque neighborhood on their left. Carl kept walking, but Ryleigh jogged forward and stopped him.“Hey kiddo, we should look for a place to stay for a few days here. Your dad is about to collapse.” Carl lowered his head a moment before nodding and walking in the direction of the houses. Rick called for them to slow down, but Carl was in a mood from his grief. Ryleigh lightly bumped his shoulder as she spoke to him softly.“Let’s be very careful here, okay?” she asked softly. “I’m counting on you for your shooting expertise because I’m a terrible shot.” Carl smiled at her words briefly before meeting her eyes and responding.“I’ll protect you, Rye.” Her heart warmed at his softly spoken declaration. He was such a good kid.They were able to clear the house easily enough. They moved the couch in front of the door and tied the door shut to prevent anyone or anything from breaking in without them knowing. Ryleigh got to work bandaging and cleaning Rick’s wounds. She was shocked by how extensive they were. Carl left to find supplies, despite her saying she’d travel with him if he’d wait. After making sure Rick was breathing once he’d fallen asleep, she climbed the steps and went into the master bedroom. She shut the door and began peeling her dirty clothes off. She had a couple bottles of water, so she was able to clean up a bit, but made sure to save most of the water for drinking. After checking the bed for bugs or anything she wouldn’t want to sleep on, she climbed under the sheets in her underwear and instantly fell asleep.Ryleigh slept deeply through the night, missing Carl’s angered speech that he hurled at Rick who was still unconscious. It wasn’t until a sharp knock sounded on the door that she snapped awake. She hurriedly pulled on clean clothes and ran down the steps with her bag. She wanted it near her in case she needed it. When she got to the living room, Rick was awake and sitting on the couch. She looked around for Carl but didn’t see him. Rick looked up and once he saw her, he motioned to the kitchen. She walked in and found Michonne standing next to the dining room table where Carl was eating dry cereal. At her entrance, Michonne glanced up and smiled sadly at her. She walked forward and pulled Ryleigh into a tight hug. When they pulled back from each other, Michonne spoke softly.“It’s good that you’re with them. I saw Rick’s condition at the prison, but then I lost him. She nodded at the other woman’s words and glanced over her shoulder before answering.“He was in very rough shape. I still don’t know how he managed to walk all the way here. Carl here saved my life back at the prison. Did you…were you with anyone else?” Michonne shook her head and sighed before answering.“I was alone until I recognized Carl’s footprints. I’m lucky you all are still here, but it looks like Rick will need another day or two before he can start traveling again.” Ryleigh didn’t want to end up in the train car, but she knew that’s where all of this was headed. She gestured around her as she spoke.“Where exactly are we going to go? We could stay here, it’s as safe a place as any.” Michonne sighed once more and leaned up against the counter.“You’re right, we could stay here,” she thought out loud. “However, I for one, would like to find the others. The bus got out and I know Daryl got out too, I just couldn’t get to him.” Ryleigh’s head snapped up at the mention of Daryl and she sucked in a breath. She hesitated to ask, but she had to know.“You saw Daryl get out? He told me to meet him at the tracks, but we didn’t see him.” Michonne smiled slightly before answering her, giving Ryleigh a knowing look as she answered.“He definitely made it out, but the exit he took probably kept him away from the tracks. Did you two finally admit you liked each other?” Ryleigh felt her cheeks warm up at her question. She wasn’t sure how she’d missed the signs, but she’d had no clue until he’d kissed her. She shook her head as she answered Michonne’s question.“No, not really, but when the first explosion happened, he told me to get the sick out. I didn’t want to leave him, but he kissed me and told me he’d find me.” Michonne’s teasing smile dropped off her face at her words and she pulled Ryleigh into another hug. She spoke softly as she tried to comfort her.“Then he will find you, Rye. It was obvious to everyone except you how much he liked you. For him to take that step and make that promise, he must have stronger feelings for you than even I thought. We’ll find the others. I have to believe that.” Rye only nodded in response, but Carl spoke up before she could reply.“You and Daryl huh? Michonne is right, it’s about time one of you made a move.” This caused Michonne to laugh loudly as the three of them walked back to the living room. Once they were all in the same room, Michonne addressed them all.“We should look for more supplies. We’re dangerously low on food and water.” Rick tried to insist that all four of them could go, but Ryleigh overrode his decision as his doctor and told him he needed to stay put to rest. She grabbed her backpack of clothes and medical supplies. Her bag wasn’t even half full of what she had and slung it on her back. She hoped she could replenish her medical supplies and get more clothes before they hit the road.The three of them walked briskly down the street and further into the neighborhood. The houses closest to the one they were staying in had already been badly looted. As they reached the end of the street, they crossed a street. This part of the neighborhood looked untouched. They went house by house and swept more than they thought they would. They ended up going through around eight of the houses, meticulously looking for food and water. Ryleigh and Michonne were lucky and were able to find a few sweaters that would fit both of them. Neither really cared about style or color at this point, so they just divvied up what they could carry and put them in their packs. When they reached the fifth house, they hit the motherlode of canned goods. They came across several cans of beans, fruit, and even a can of ravioli. Michonne found chocolate bars, which she was very excited about. They were getting worried about finding water, but eventually found some water bottles in the last house they checked out. With their packs much heavier than before, they decided to call it a day and head back to Rick. They were coming into view of the house, laughing at a story Michonne was telling them. However, they saw a frantically waving Rick running their way.They all made it safely away from the neighborhood and back to the tracks. Rick explained that a group of men had come into the house and talked about taking the women. They found some of Michonne’s and Ryleigh’s shirts they’d washed out in the sink. Rick hadn’t been able to grab them because when he’d ducked into the bathroom, one of them was on the toilet causing Rick to have to kill him to sneak out. It was getting late, and the sun was setting so Ryleigh let out a loud sigh before speaking.“We should find some place to camp so you can rest more, Rick. You shouldn’t even be up and walking this much.” They kept walking a little more when Rick suddenly came to a stop next to a van beside the tracks. Ryleigh thought he was trying to decide if they should sleep inside the van, which would be ideal, but he turned to them and pointed.“Look at this, what do you guys think?” They all walked up to a large map with writing on it.SANCTUARY FOR ALLCOMMUNITY FOR ALLTHOSE WHO ARRIVE SURVIVE!

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ryleigh was walking behind Carl and Michonne as they attempted to balance on opposite sides of the tracks, trying to outdo each other. It was cute, the relationship they’d developed. They needed each other and it was nice to see Carl behave like a kid for once. Rick had his head bent down as he walked ahead of the group. It was awkward between him and Carl at the moment, and none of them knew how to alleviate it. Rick was completely oblivious to Michonne and Carl’s antics as he spoke up from his position. “I think we’ve got about a day’s worth of water left.” He said with a sigh. “We’re lucky it’s cooled off a little, but…” His voice trailed off as he stopped his stride and turned around. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he saw what Michonne and Carl were doing. “What are you doing?” he asked. Carl chuckled slightly as he answered his father. “Winning a bet.” Michonne scoffed as she kept her eyes on her feet. “In your dreams!” she exclaimed. Ryleigh made eye contact with Rick and both of them grinned at each other. Carl’s voice wavered as he responded.“I’m still on.” He said and waved an arm at Michonne, trying to distract her. It only caused her to laugh because Carl almost lost his balance. “Spoke too soon, wise guy.” She laughed. Rick started walking towards them, not wanting to interrupt their game, but knowing they needed to pick up the pace. “This might go on awhile,” he said. “Maybe we can speed this up?” Michonne just kept her gaze on her feet with her arms out to her sides for balance as she replied. “Yeah, you’re right,” she replied. “Shouldn’t be fooling around. We should probably, Carl!” she yelled, trying to distract the young boy, but only ended up losing her balance and falling off. Ryleigh couldn’t help the soft peal of laughter that shook her body at the older woman's defeated look. Carl smiled hugely as he stayed on the tracks and faced her. “I win, pay up.” He held out his hand expectantly to her. Michonne pouted as she glanced at him and dug through her bag. Rick joined Ryleigh in her laughter as he too watched on in amusement. She held out two candy bars to the boy, keeping the Big Kat bar towards her, hoping Carl would take the Cruncho bar. Carl looked at her hand, licking his lips in anticipation. “Is that really the last Big Kat?” He asked. When he reached for it, Michonne’s pout got worse as she complained. “Oh come on!” Carl couldn't stop laughing.“Hey, but you said, winner’s choice.” Michonne sighed as she glanced back at Ryleigh, causing her to shrug and continue to laugh silently at the situation. Michonne pouted more as she shoved the Cruncho back in her bag. “Go ahead, take it.” She said defeatedly. “It’s yours, you won it fair and square.” Ryleigh watched as Carl broke open the bar and pulled a third of the bar off and handed it to Michonne. When she hesitated, he just held it out further. “Come on, we always share.” Michonne grinned at the boy and took the chocolate. “Fork it over.” She said softly. Ryleigh started to walk forward again when Carl looked back and held out another third of chocolate to her. Carl scoffed as he shook his hand at her. “Come on Rye, it’s tradition that the three of us share the sweets.” Rick chuckled at the girl’s reluctance to take his son’s prize, but Ryleigh took it with a big smile and used her free arm to wrap around his shoulders. Carl didn’t shrug out of her embrace, just kept grinning which warmed her heart. Rick nodded at the sight in front of him before walking again.They continued to walk for a few more hours, but then moved off the tracks so they could put up snares and setup their camp. While Rick set the snares, Ryleigh and Michonne created a perimeter of cans and pieces of aluminum they’d found so they would hear if walkers or something else stumbled upon their camp. Ryleigh was extremely hungry and desperately needed a shower. She’d even be happy with a small creek so she could wash some of the grime off her body. Most of all, she wanted to see Daryl again. She hoped he was okay. She had no doubt he was, but living it versus watching it was a very different thing. She knew in the back of her head what was taking place with the rest of the characters, but here she was with Rick’s group. She knew what was going to happen and she was terrified of it. Rick walked back to camp and slipped under the ropes and smiled at her. He and Carl carried wood and built a fire. He set a can of beans on top of the makeshift grill he made and glanced at his son. “How hungry are you, scale of one to ten?” he asked. Carl looked up at them with a grin on his face as he deadpanned “15.” He turned his head to Ryleigh who sighed, “22.” She spoke. Michonne also kept her stoic expression when Rick’s gaze landed on her. “28.” Ryleigh watched as the man bent his head and chuckled at the three of them. “Yeah.” He sighed as he shook the can of beans and divided it up between them. It was a lot and went quickly. Afterward, he stood up and looked at all three of them.“Well, it’s been a while. I’m going to check the snares.” Carl looked up at his dad curiously. “Can I go with you?” He asked him. Rick smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Well how else are you gonna learn?” He asked the kid. He stood up and kicked dirt onto the fire to kill it before it got too dark, and he addressed them. “Hey, you two, come on, you need to learn as well.” Michonne and Ryleigh exchanged glances before standing up and grabbing their weapons, following behind the two males. Rick led them to where he had the snares setup, hoping to catch enough food to move on towards Terminus. “Well stay another day or two,” he began. “Get some more rest.” Ryleigh nodded and spoke up from behind him. “Finish healing up?” she asked to which he nodded and said, “I’m almost there.” They walked further on before Carl spoke up, looking between the adults. “We’re close now, right?” he inquired nervously. Rick asked if he meant Terminus and confirmed they were close.None of them expected the question that Carl asked next. “When we get there,” he hesitated. “Are we gonna tell them?” Michonne exchanged worried glances with Rick before responding. “Tell them what?” Carl paused before meeting Michonne’s eyes. “Everything that’s happened to us and all the stuff we’ve done.” He stated blandly. “Are we gonna tell them the truth?” Ryleigh watched as Rick sighed and bent his head, his hands in his pockets. “We’re going to tell them who we are.” He explained. Carl shook his head, something was clearly bothering him. “But how do you say that? I mean…who are we?” They could see that Rick was struggling to find an answer, but he was saved from answering when the familiar snarl of a walker reached their ears. Michonne pulled her sword out and walked towards it, confidently, and sliced its head off. They didn’t pause their walk and finally made it to one of the snares that caught a rabbit. Carl lamented how small it was, but Ryleigh was thankful that they’d have something at least. She watched as Rick went over the slipknot snare and set it back up. Carl watched him, riveted, when they heard someone screaming for help. Carl ran away before anyone could react. Rick called after him and tried to get him to stop, but he kept running. They couldn’t do anything except run after him. They came up to a man completely surrounded by more than twenty walkers. Carl tried to rush into the field, but Rick grabbed him and kept him quiet. Ryleigh closed her eyes and covered her ears as the man’s frightened screams turned into ones of agony as the walkers took him down. She could hear Rick quietly telling Carl that they couldn’t help him because there were too many. However, she was just trying to drown it all out. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Michonne’s sympathetic expression, motioning for her to follow her. “We gotta go!” She didn’t hesitate to run behind the older woman, wanting to get away from the scene.When they got back to the tracks, they just ran. They didn’t want to let the walkers catch up, so they ran until they were unable to run anymore. They could still hear the herd, but they kept moving, hoping to lose them. Michonne pulled them off the tracks and onto a side road, having finally lost the herd. “I thought maybe there’d be some houses down this way,” she panted from exhaustion. “Maybe even a store. There’s gotta be some food around here somewhere.” As they rose over a hill, Carl called their attention to a blue SUV with the back door open. They walked over to it and searched through it. Michonne took care of a particularly gross walker that looked partially melted into the pavement. Rick decided that they should use the car to camp. Michonne and Rick were going to take first watch, so Ryleigh crawled into the backseat with Carl and let the boy lean on her shoulder so they could try and get some sleep. She could hear the low voices of Rick and Michonne but couldn’t make out their words as she began to finally doze off.Ryleigh and Carl were rudely awoken by a bang on the side of the car. She jerked up from her laid-back position and her eyes widened at the man standing next to the car. She didn’t hesitate, she jerked her hand down on the lock, having already locked the front seat. Carl followed her motion and locked his side too. She looked forward and saw that several men had surrounded their camp and Rick and Michonne were being held at gunpoint. She could tell the man was speaking, giving a pompous speech, but she and Carl couldn’t hear it inside the car. The man next to the car tapped his hand on the glass, grinning, and exposing his yellow teeth to them. Carl gripped her arm, and she could tell he was just as terrified as she was. She heard the man’s next words because he yelled. “Shit and here I was thinking of turning in early on New Year’s Eve!” he shouted. “No who’s gonna count down the ball dropper with me, huh?” It was then that he began to count, and she glanced over at Carl. “Just look at me, okay?” she told him. “Don’t look out there, we’re going to be okay.” Carl met her eyes, full of fear as he nodded at her. The guy kept tapping on the car side, chuckling at her. When she heard a familiar voice next to Carl’s window, she gasped. “Joe!” She turned and locked eyes with Daryl. He gave her a tiny nod before moving towards the front of the car.She couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation, but she could see the way that Daryl was looking between Rick, Michonne, and the car. The man holding the gun to Rick’s head was becoming more and more agitated as Daryl spoke. She watched as Daryl dropped his crossbow and held his hands up, his bottom lip quivering as he pleaded with them. She couldn’t hear anything until she heard the man Daryl called Joe yell “It’s a lie!” She screamed when the man next to Daryl hit him in the gut with the butt of his gun. She heard Joe yell for his comrades to teach him all the way and she hated watching him get hurt for trying to protect them. His body hit the side of the car and she jumped as his eyes met hers again before he fell to the ground. Ryleigh was so distracted by what was happening to Daryl that she didn’t notice the man outside picking the lock on the door until it was wrenched open. The man leaned in and gripped her hair tightly. “Come here!” he growled at her, his foul breath overwhelming her senses. At the sharp tug on her scalp, Ryleigh let out a sharp yelp. Michonne screamed, "No!" as she struggled against the man’s hold. She heard a sharp crack and assumed that someone slapped her. As he held a knife to her throat, she couldn’t stop the tears that streamed down her face. “You leave her be!” Rick screamed as he tried to get up from the ground. She heard Carl yell as he launched himself at the man. However, the man pushed him off easily and slammed him into the car. She watched in horror as Carl hit his head on the side of the car and slumped to the ground, unconscious.She continued to struggle as the knife bit into her neck. He bit her ear and shushed her, using his free hand to stroke her hair. Rick spoke to the man who had the gun on his head, trying to get them to leave everyone else alone. “Listen, it was me. It was just me.” He pleaded. “Please let them go.” The man threw a hand up and nodded. “See, now that’s right!” He stated. “That’s not some damn lie. Look, we can settle this, we’re reasonable men. First, we’re going to beat Daryl to death. Then we’ll have the girls, and then the boy. Then I’m going to shoot you and we’ll be square.” Ryleigh knew true fear when the man started laughing at his own words. He was truly psychotic. She couldn’t react because the man removed the knife from her neck only to roughly shove her to the ground. She tried to crawl forward, but he grabbed her legs and pulled her back to him. She kicked out and screamed. She heard Rick tell them to let her go in a dangerous voice, but she fought with everything in her being. He leaned over her and sneered at her. “Stop your squirming!” he yelled and grabbed one of her hands. She lashed out with her other hand, scratching his face and making him yell. He swore and when his fist connected with her face, stars burst in her eyes. He just laughed as she continued to try and fight him off as she cried. She didn’t know what happened next, just that a gunshot rang out. The man who pinned her down paused and she tried with renewed energy to get him off her. After what seemed like forever, more gunshots rang out and she was yanked to her feet, the man holding the knife to her throat once more.Michonne stood in front of her with a gun pointed at them. He panicked and began screaming at her. “I’ll kill her! I will, I’ll kill her!” Michonne scowled at him, keeping her gun pointed at them. “Let the girl go!” she yelled at him. She watched as Rick stood up, completely covered in blood from his face to his torso. He held a knife as he regarded the man holding her. “He’s mine.” He said dangerously. He moved past Michonne, and the man was so flustered that he let her go and she stumbled into Michonne’s waiting arms. Michonne cradled her to her chest as she sobbed into her arms, listening to the sounds of Rick killing her assailant. Michonne stroked her hair and whispered in her ear that everything was going to be okay. After a moment, she pulled away from Michonne, still shaking as she looked up at her. “We need-we need to check on Carl.” Michonne looked over her shoulder and her eyes softened. When she turned around, she saw Carl clutching his father. However, when he made eye contact with her, he broke away and crashed into her. Ryleigh wrapped her arms around the young boy as he cried and apologized to her. “I’m so sorry, Rye! I-I tried to stop him, I’m sorry.” Ryleigh closed her eyes as she rocked Carl back and forth and shushed him. “Carl, sweetheart, you were so brave. I’m okay, he didn’t do anything other than hit me, I’m okay buddy.” He looked up at her then, his eyes puffy from crying. “You promise?” He asked. Ryleigh leaned forward and placed a kiss on his forehead and nodded. “I promise, Carl, I’ll be okay.”When she let go of Carl, she struggled to stand up because her legs were shaky. When strong hands grabbed her shoulder, she jumped and tried to get away until she heard his voice. “Hey, darlin, it’s just me.” Daryl’s voice sounded behind her. She turned to face him, and her face crumpled once more. Daryl wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him as she started to cry again. He used one hand to cup her cheek and kissed her forehead. “You’re safe, Rye, I got ya.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The five of them had been walking for what felt like forever. Ryleigh was walking slowly, stuck in her own thoughts, and not really paying attention to her surroundings. Daryl was in the front, talking lowly with Rick, but she didn’t mind. She was happy to be alone with her thoughts after what had happened the previous night. Carl was being extremely cute with his need to make sure she was okay. She couldn’t believe that this was the third show she’d jumped into and out of all of them, the one she’d become most attached to. TVD was her favorite and she knew she wanted to go back there and try again. She’d been too scared to let go but being in The Walking Dead had taught her to jump in and stop thinking. She’d had a near miss in all three, but this one was the worst. Being in a dystopian or apocalyptic environment would, of course, bring out the worst in people and she’d experienced it more than once in the short time she’d been there. It was hard to mark the time passing with no actual technology available, but she kept a close watch on the fob. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realize that everyone had stopped, and she walked right into Michonne. The other woman placed her hands gently on her arms and bent down slightly to look at her. “Rye, honey, are you okay?” Heat flooded her cheeks as she realized that they were all looking at her now. She gave Michonne a small smile and nodded. “Sorry,” Ryleigh began. “I was in my own little world.” Michonne returned her smile and let her go to walk over to where Daryl and Rick stood, discussing their next move. Ryleigh didn’t need to help strategize so she walked over to where Carl was digging through his pack. “Hey, bud, you doing, okay?” He looked up at her with a small frown, before digging in his pack. “Yeah, I’m looking for my hoodie. I know I packed it and it’s chilly.” Ryleigh bit her lip as she tried to stop herself from giggling. She untied the hoodie he’d let her borrow earlier from her waist and held it out to him.“Do you mean this hoodie, Carl?” He glanced back up at her and chuckled, taking it from her. “I forgot I gave it to you.” He said with a laugh. “Are you sure you don’t need it?” Rye waved him off and was silent as he slipped it over his head. She jumped when strong arms snaked around her waist and pulled her close. She could feel Daryl’s breath on her neck as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “How you doin, Darlin?” he asked her quietly. “Don’t say you’re okay, please tell me the truth.” Ryleigh sighed heavily as she turned in his arms, slipping her arms around his neck, causing him to pull her closer. She lowered her head to his chest and took a deep breath. “I was so scared.” She whispered into his shirt. He squeezed her to him and kissed the top of her head. “Hey, nothing is going to happen to you while I’m around, you understand? Last night was close, but nothing like that will ever happen again.” Ryleigh lifted her head then and looked up at him with a small smile. “My hero,” she said quietly, causing him to chuckle. Without thinking, she stood up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. He immediately responded and gave her a long and intimate kiss that took her breath away. When they pulled away, he rested his head on hers once more. They were interrupted when a throat cleared next to them. They turned their head and found Rick and Michonne both smirking at them. Rick nodded at Daryl and smiled at Ryleigh as he said, “We should get a move on.”The five of them got back onto the railroad and began the trek towards Terminus. Ryleigh knew what was coming, and she wasn’t looking forward to it at all. Carl was still sticking really close to her, much to Daryl’s amusement. Daryl had his fingers interlocked with hers as his free hand was holding his crossbow onto his shoulder. They were relatively silent as they walked, but she could see Michonne keeping a close eye on Rick. What he’d done to ensure their safety was no small thing. Michonne was ready to pull him back from the darkness if need be. Rick kept glancing at her over his shoulder and she could see the attraction and romance slowly blossoming. He finally broke the silence and asked her if she was okay. She said that she was but didn’t say anything else. He then let her know that she was okay which caused the other woman to smile and say that shew knew he was. He looked at her, clearly confused, and asked, “How?” She smirked at him before nodding and saying, “Because I’m okay too.” Ryleigh and Daryl shared a smirk, but kept their mouths shut as they kept walking.After a few hundred more yards, they came across a sign that had been knocked over. Rick walked over to it and kicked it lightly with his foot. Daryl squeezed Ryleigh’s hand and kissed her temple before letting her hand go and walking over to Rick and Michonne. “We’re getting close.” He told them quietly. “We’ll be there before sundown.” Rick nodded as he looked at them all. “Now we head through the woods. We don’t know who they are.” Daryl nodded and said, “Alright.” With that they all moved off the railroad and into the woods to keep from being seen. It didn’t take them long to find their perimeter. Daryl motioned for them to be quiet as he walked quietly up to the fence. Rick dropped his duffle bag and crept up to the fence line as well. Michonne and Carl followed suit, but Ryleigh stayed back and kept a watchful eye around them. Rick looked around him and said, “We all spread out, watch for a while, and see what we see and get ready. We all stay close.” Daryl immediately walked back over to where Ryleigh stood and pulled her to him. She heard Rick ask Carl if he wanted to stick with him, but Carl said it was okay and walked away. Daryl and Ryleigh stuck together as they walked the perimeter but stuck to the trees to keep any lookouts from seeing them. Rick was in between the two groups, keeping an eye on both.After an hour or so, they all congregated back together as Rick began to dig a whole. He threw the duffle bag into it. Daryl walked over to him and gave him a look, but Rick sighed and said, “Just in case.” Once it was covered fully with dirt, they began to make their way towards the back entrance of Terminus. They climbed over the fence, Daryl catching her when she jumped over. They went to the back of the building and heard a woman’s voice saying, “Those who arrive, survive.” Ryleigh hesitated in walking in, and it caught Michonne’s attention. She paused and asked, “Are you okay?” Ryleigh knew that she couldn’t tell her so just gave her a look and told her, “I’ve got a really bad feeling about this, Michonne.” The other woman sighed heavily as she looked over her shoulder. She turned back to look at her with a grim face and nodded before saying, “Yeah me too.” Daryl and Rick looked over at them and motioned for them to follow. The two men took point with their weapons, but Michonne, Carl, and Ryleigh also had their weapons at the ready. Daryl was the first one in and made her nervous. He lowered his crossbow and looked over his shoulder at them with a truly confused look on his face. They could hear the woman speaking as if making a recording.Rick was a no-nonsense person, so he just walked up to the woman who was sitting at the desk, talking into a radio, and said hello. The girl cut off what she was saying and sat back, staring at them in fear. He said hello again, louder, and it got the attention of the other workers in the room. One man that she knew to be Gareth, sighed as he put a paint brush down and said, “Well, I’ll bet Albert is on perimeter watch.” He began to walk slowly towards them and asked, “Are you here to rob us?” Rick shook his head and told him no. He went on to explain that we wanted to see them before they saw us. Gareth looked around at everyone and said, “Makes sense.” He began to walk closer to them and said, “Usually we do this where the tracks meet. Welcome to Terminus.” He said as he held out his arms in a big show. “I’m Gareth,” He stated. “Looks like you’ve been on the road for a good bit.” Rick nodded and told him that they had. Ryleigh knew he was having an internal battle with himself, but he finally said, “Rick, that’s Carl, Daryl, Ryleigh, and Michonne.” Gareth just waved a hand at them.Gareth had a stupid grin on his face, and she didn’t want him anywhere near her. He threw his hands up in the air and said, “Hey you’re nervous, I get it, we were all the same way. We came here for sanctuary. That what you’re here for?” Rick nodded and replied, “Yes.” Causing Gareth to smile his stupid smile again and say, “Good. You found it.” He turned around behind him and addressed someone else. “Hey, Alex. This isn’t as pretty as the front. We got nothing to hide, but the welcome wagon is a whole lot nicer. Alex will take you, ask you a few questions. But first, we need to see everyone’s weapons. If you could just lay them down in front of you.” Daryl and Rick shared a glance before Rick nodded and said okay to the deal and laid his gun down in front of him. They all followed suit as Gareth looked at Rick and said, “I’m sure you understand.” Gareth motioned for them to put their hands out and he began patting them down. Alex began to pat Daryl down and commented on his bruises. “I’d hate to see the other guy.” Rick scoffed and said, “You would.” Alex then moved on to Carl and began to pat him down as he asked, “They deserve it?” Carl kept his awesome poker face as he said, “Yes.” Alex moved over to Ryleigh and when he began to pat her down, she winced because she more than likely had bruised ribs. He paused and sighed as he began to pat her down softer. “I’m sorry that happened to you.” He said as he looked her in the eye. She glanced over at Daryl and saw that his jaw was clenched as Alex moved away from her.Gareth patted Rick on the back and began talking again. He was so smarmy, and it was obvious he was full of shit. He said smartly, “Just so you know, we aren’t those kind of people, but we aren’t stupid either. And you shouldn’t be stupid enough to try anything stupid. As long as everyone’s clear on that, we shouldn’t have any problems. Just solutions.” Rick didn’t respond to that little speech, just stared him down. Ryleigh could tell by the look on his face that he wasn’t buying what Gareth was trying to sell. Alex reached down and picked up Ryleigh’s machete and handed it out to her with a soft smile. Before she could grab it, Daryl took it from him and walked over to her. He slid it into her thigh holster and asked, “You good?” Ryleigh nodded and reached out to squeeze his hand. He reached for his crossbow, but Daryl beat him to it. Alex looked nervous but motioned to them and told them to follow him. He guided them to the other side of the warehouse and opened a door that led them back outside. Daryl was the first out, once again, and asked how long the place had been there. Ryleigh tuned them out as she began to look around the place. To see it on the small screen was one thing, but to actually be there? It was crazy and she wanted to leave.Alex lead them around to the front where a woman with long brown hair was manning a grill. She greeted them softly and with a smile. She looked so unassuming that it was crazy. She kept cooking but she continued to smile at them as she said, “Heard you came in the back door. Smart. You’ll fit right in here.” Alex looked at them all nervously, but Rick just kept staring. She and Daryl began looking around their surroundings. She saw a sniper or lookout on the roof, and it made her nervous. She heard Alex ask the woman, who’s name was Mary, to fix them each a plate. There was no way at all she was going to be eating that. Michonne began questioning their motives, but she was looking around and when she laid eyes on Maggie’s poncho she sucked in a breath. She caught Rick’s eye and he subtly nodded at her. She followed his gaze and saw a man wearing their prison riot gear. She reached out and gripped Daryl’s hand causing him to look down at her. She motioned as softly as she could in the direction, and he stiffened when he saw what she was trying to show him. Alex began handing out food, but Rick zeroed in on Glenn’s pocket watch in Alex’s pocket and slapped the food out of his hand. He grabbed the watch and jerked it out of his pocket and held his gun to his head. Daryl put his arm out and pushed Ryleigh behind him and she in turn grabbed Carl. Rick asked them where he got the watch and they all fanned out, making a circle. Ryleigh held up her gun along with Carl while Michonne held up her sword.Alex tried to reason with Rick and talk him into putting his gun down instead of answering his question. Rick just responded with asking him how good his sniper’s aim was. He asked him again where he’d gotten the watch and he replied that he’d gotten it off a dead person. Ryleigh scoffed and shook her head. “That’s bullshit man! You wanna explain the prison riot gear and that poncho over there? You’ve got our people.” Rick nodded and pressed the gun further into Alex’s cheek. “You heard her, you wanna explain all that? Where are our people?!” Gareth’s voice sounded behind them, spewing absolute bull. “We found the riot gear on a dead cop and the poncho on a clothesline.” Ryleigh scoffed and shook her head but didn’t say anything. Alex was trying to reason with everyone and looked at Gareth saying, “Gareth, we can wait.” Gareth just told him to shut up. Rick got his attention and told Gareth to talk to him. Gareth held up his hand and Ryleigh tensed, knowing what was coming. Daryl grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, and she didn’t object. When Gareth closed his hand, Rick whipped around, and the shot meant for him went through Alex. Daryl began ushering her forward as they began to try and make their way out. The five of them began running and they kept being shot at. When they entered the warehouse, the door was being closed. Daryl motioned for them to go through a specific area, but their aim was awful. As they passed the cargo bins, they heard people yelling for help. Daryl paused and said, “What the hell!” Ryleigh bit her lip and didn’t say anything as he gripped her arm and kept pulling her with him. “Gotta keep up, Darlin, don’t wanna lose you.” If she was petrified, she would have melted on the spot.They made it into a room that was filled with candles and had the words “Never again” painted on the wall. Daryl stopped and looked around him. “What the hell is this place?” He asked worriedly. Michonne glanced and him and said, “These people, I don’t think they’re trying to kill us.” Rick spoke up then and mentioned that they were aiming at their feet. Ryleigh groaned and looked at them as one of the doors slammed shut. “Rick, they’re herding us.” He glanced at her and gave her a curt nod as they ran through the open door. When they made it back outside, they realized that they were stuck and at a dead end as people stood at the fence and on the roof, pointing guns at them. Gareth started calling out to them from the roof. “Drop your weapons! Now!” They were all frozen and glancing at themselves, but not moving. Gareth yelled at them one last time in warning as they all began dropping their weapons. He started yelling out instructions. “Ringleader, go to your left. The train car, go.” Rick began looking next to him and then back at Carl, and not moving. Gareth started yelling again and said, “You do what we say, the boy goes with you. Anything else, he dies, and you end up in there anyway.” Rick nodded at Carl and made his way over to the train car. Gareth then called for Daryl, calling him “the archer.” He looked over at Ryleigh and hesitated. Gareth, clearly getting agitated, called out to him. “Come on man, don’t make me shoot your girl, get over there!” Daryl made his way over, following Rick. Gareth nodded and called out, “Now the samurai.” Michonne gave him a death glare before glancing over at Carl and Ryleigh and making her way behind Daryl. Gareth made eye contact with Ryleigh and said, “Go ahead Red, your turn.” She gave what she hoped was a reassuring nod to Carl as she began walking behind Michonne. Rick was on the steps in front of the car but didn’t move to open it. He called out again, Ryleigh really wanted to hit him. “Stand at the door, ringleader, archer, samurai, red, in that order!” Rick looked over at Carl and yelled, “My son!” There was a brief pause before he finally called out for Carl to move.Gareth called out for Rick to open the door, but he refused and said he’d go in with Carl. Gareth warned he’d kill him then and told him to go in once more. Rick was pissed, it was obvious and when Carl was halfway to them, he opened the train car and walked up the steps and into the dark interior. When Ryleigh was inside, Daryl pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. Rick pulled Carl to him, and the door was slammed shut. Ryleigh was shaking and Daryl was rubbing a hand up and down her back, whispering to her that she was okay. They heard shuffling from the other side of the car, and they all tensed. They heard a familiar voice break the silence and say, “Rick?” Ryleigh gasped as she realized it was Glenn. Her adrenaline was so high, she’d forgotten about them for a brief moment. They watched as Maggie, Sasha, and Bob also stepped forward with another group of people. Rick nodded as he took a step towards them. “You’re here.” He said. Rick looked at the others behind them a little cautiously. Maggie spoke up and softly as she claimed they were their friends and that they helped save them. With his arm still wrapped around her waist, Daryl said, “Yeah. Now they’re friends of ours.” The big guy behind Glenn and Maggie slightly scoffed and said, “For however long that’ll be.” Ryleigh tilted her head as she looked at Abraham. She knew who he was from the show, but she was realizing something else from the memories in her head. Before she could say anything, Rick sated “No.” He walked over to the door and began peering out as he said, “They’re going to feel really stupid when they find out.” Abraham stepped forward again, peering curiously at Rick and asked, “Find out what?” Rick glanced over at them with a serious expression and declared, “They’re screwing with the wrong people!”She heard Abraham scoff and then begin to chuckle as he headed back over to his side of the wall. Maggie rushed forward and pulled Ryleigh into a hug which she gladly accepted, though it meant Daryl dropped his arm. Maggie chuckled as she kept hugging her friend and asked, “You and Daryl huh? When did that happen?” Ryleigh smirked at Maggie and shook her head. “It’s the darndest thing to be honest. When we were getting attacked at the prison, he just gave me a kiss that I felt in my toes.” She didn’t bother to try and whisper, the train car was small, and it echoed. They would have heard her regardless. Her words caused a few to chuckle as Daryl put his arm back around her shoulder. “Is that right, Darlin?” he said in a flirty voice. Ryleigh just shook her head and pulled Glenn into a hug. After greeting Bob and Sasha as well, she kept looking at Abraham and trying to sort through her thoughts. She began stepping towards him, ignoring Daryl’s attempt to pull her back. “Abey? Is that you?” Everyone stopped talking at her soft-spoken question. The ginger turned to face her with a look of shock on his face. “Ryles? You gotta be shitting me.” Ryleigh let out a cry that was half laugh and half sob and launched herself at the man who caught her with a laugh and brought her into a bear hug, leaving everyone around them confused.