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Sempiternal
Chapter Six
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*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ ゜ﾟ*☆*ﾟ
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                    "There has to be more to this dress," Rebekah exclaimed from her dressing room. Carter stood in her own, glancing down at the emerald dress Rebekah had claimed would compliment her eyes. It had a low v cut in the front, and stopped an inch above her knee. It was form fitted, squeezing every part of her body just right. "There's not," Klaus responded. "Come on out, girls." She heard Rebekah's curtain rip back, so she pulled hers back soon after. Rebekah's blue eyes drifted towards Carter with an envious gaze that sent electric shocks up the small girl's spine. She kept her gaze forward, fearful of the emotion behind Rebekah's. "So, women in the 21st century dress like prostitutes, then. You know, I got dirty looks for wearing trousers." She ripped her eyes from Carter's petite figure, noticing Klaus staring at her about the same time Carter noticed herself. "You wore trousers so women today could wear nothing," he joked.

"And what is this music? It sounds like a cable car accident." Carter held in a humorless laugh, fighting the urge to roll her green eyes. "It's dance music," she told the vampire, noticing the shocked look rise on her face. "People dance to this?" Stefan nodded his head, looking at the blonde with a bored look. "Are we done?" Klaus asked. He stood from his seat, eyes trailing Carter's body. "You should get the dress, love. It compliments your curves." Rebekah rolled her eyes at her brother. "And why are you so grumpy?" she asked him, crossing her arms over her chest. "I needed one thing from you for my witch to find out why my hybrids are dying, one thing. Your necklace. And you lost it."

His hands had tightened into fists, causing the strawberry blonde's eyes to slightly widen. "I didn't lose it. It's just been missing for ninety years," she argued, fire spitting from her tongue. Her eyes flickered toward Stefan, her coral colored lips lifting upward at the sides. "I like it." The smile fell from her face as she stared at him. "What? I said I like it." Her eyes rolled skyward in annoyance. "I can always tell when you're lying, Stefan." She looked to Carter, the envious look gone. "Come." With raised brows, Carter followed Rebekah once the vampire gripped her hand in her own, pulling the banshee toward her dressing room. "Nice one, good work," Klaus teased Stefan, earning a scoff. "You're the one that pulled the dagger out of her." For a moment, she thought she saw Rebekah smile. "I heard that!" she made known, picking up the fourth dress she had chosen.

It was a nice blue dress, much like Carter's but with a circle shaped neckline. Carter stood awkwardly to the side, eyes meeting Rebekah's in the mirror. "Alright. I'm going to get fresh air," the two heard Stefan announce before the retreating sound of footsteps. The store doors soon jingled with the bells, closing after the retreating Stefan. "You don't fancy him, do you?" Rebekah asked out of the blue, her jaw set tight. A laugh pushed through Carter's full lips without a warning, her hand flying to muffle the sound. "Me? Like Stefan? Oh, God, no," she told her with another giggle. "If it makes you feel any better, I was dating his brother." Rebekah choked back a gasp, fighting the surprised expression from her face. "Damon Salvatore, hm? You must like them dangerous," she teased, or at least Carter felt like she was teasing her.

"I didn't always. Before him I dated the quarterback like a total high school cliche.." Rebekah motioned for Carter to come closer, to which the strawberry blonde obliged. Without having to mutter a single word, Carter took the hint and gripped the zipper. "But I... I'm not sure if I should forgive him this time," she breathed out, pulling down the metal before backing away. Rebekah had no shame or embarrassment, undressing before Carter with her gaze locked on the strawberry blonde. "What did he do?" she asked, genuinely curious. Carter glanced away from Rebekah's reflection as the blonde pulled the dress up her long legs. It complimented her skin nicely, making her eyes pop.

"Well, for one, I died in his arms and traumatized him. And when he saw me, he didn't believe it was me and I guess tried to kill me." Her eyebrows raised in shock. Carter tucked her wavy locks behind her ears, her cheeks becoming red from embarrassment. Though she felt like she had walked out of a corny teen romance novel, she had to admit that the current situation she and Damon were in was nowhere near normal. She wasn't supposed to be used to the feel of his fingers around her throat, at least when its non consensual. She sighed at the dirty thought, her hands covering her burning cheeks. "Wow.." Rebekah chuckled, amazed. "So, are you a vampire?" Carter shook her head, zipping up Rebekah's dress now that it stayed at her shoulder. It stopped in the small of her back, allowing most of it to be shown. She smoothed down the dress slowly, sucking in her bottom lip.

"Then, what are you?" Carter shrugged her shoulders only, stepping out of her dressing room without a second look. Maybe she wasn't a banshee anymore. She hadn't felt anyone's death coming since she had came back. Well, she didn't think she had. She slipped back into her dressing room to change back into her regular clothes, thinking about all the deaths she had seen so frequently with Klaus. Her heartbeat began to pick up, her hands sweaty and shakey. She tried to calm her breathing with a good memory, but she couldn't really remember one before she died. Of course, her memories weren't gone. She could remember almost everything from before, yet a single good memory seemed so out of reach. She squeezed her eyes closed as tears began to build, threatening to spill over her warm cheeks.

"Carter," a voice spoke to get her attention. She glanced up to see a familiar face with a ghostly palor standing there, his lips formed in a frown. Her eyes widened in fright at the sight. "J–Jackson?" she whispered. Images of his body in that big, black bag began to resurface. The memory of losing him still so fresh in her mind. Her chest felt restrained within the tight dress, like someone was pushing against her. Her breath came out in sharp gasps, eyes wide and wild with fear. "This can't be happening," she stuttered out, hot tears falling down her burning cheeks. She fell back into the wall opposite of the apparition, her palms flat against the cool wood. He moved forward cautiously with pinched brows. "You've got to breathe," he told the girl.

She slipped down the wall, gasping for breath. A strangled cry left her lips as he neared her. He bent down, reaching out to graze his fingertips against her face. She let out a sharp whine, pushing his hand away. "N-No! Don't touch me. You aren't... you aren't real," she cried out, fighting against the knot in her throat. Her head began spinning, causing her body to slump further to the floor, eyes squeezing closed. "Leave me alone, please," she begged, broken sobs ringing in her ears. A sharp knock against the wood sent her eyes flying open, her arms reaching for anything to help her stand to her feet.

His body was nowhere to be seen, vanishing before her very sight. Anxiously, she pulled herself to her feet, feverishly wiping at the tears that coated her skin. "Carter?" It was Klaus. She drew in a shaky breath, focusing on breathing more than answering his call. As she lifted herself into a straighter position, the sudden change seemed to haze her mind. Her balance faltered, fog clouding her racing mind. She closed her eyes, ready for the darkness to take over once more as she felt her body teeter a little too far to the back. Two strong arms grabbed a hold of her before she hit the ground. She let her eyes flutter open, seeing Klaus' worried face.

"What's wrong?" he asked with genuine concern, pulling her body into his chest. His warmth calmed her down, the feel of his slender fingers running through her hair gave her comfort. "I don't know," she whispered, burying her face into his chest. "I don't know what's wrong with me..."

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

AUTHOR'S NOTE;

okay, i know this chapter was short.
i just kind of wanted to give you a
glimpse at what's going on with carter.
and i wanted to emphasize rebekah's
feelings for stefan and to introduce
the two's relationship.

also, guest appearance by the ghost of
jackson twombly!

honestly, i do miss his character.
i feel like he could have possibly been a
great addition to this plot line, but i needed
to have him die in the last book.

don't forget to vote and comment.
thank you to everyone who's been reading!
ephemeral has hit 95k reads and is so close to 5k votes.

i am so grateful for all of you.

until next time!

edit 11/01/9

hi, guys! its been a very long time since i've
published this story after revising it.
i hope you're still here :(

just to let you know, i am working diligently to
complete editing so i can get back to writing for
our sweet babies.

thank you for your patience and
i love you! ❤️