Chapter 4: Hearts and Copper
POV: Sam Barton
The Mystic Grill hums with after-school energy—clinking glasses, teenage laughter, the smell of burgers and fries mixing with the faint scent of spilled beer from the bar section. Sam enters and immediately spots Caroline at a corner booth, waving enthusiastically. Her blonde hair catches the light, and she's wearing a blue dress that makes her eyes seem impossibly bright.
Sam weaves through the crowd, automatically noting exits and potential escape routes—a System habit already forming. The clone's voice whispers through their mental link from its position at the estate: "Anything interesting happening in town?"
"Just a date," Sam responds internally. "Keep practicing your speed. Stay hidden."
"Boring. Let me know if vampires show up."
Sam slides into the booth across from Caroline, who has her infamous planner spread across the table like a battle plan. The page labeled "New Friendship Goals" makes him suppress a laugh.
"You actually schedule social interactions?" he asks, settling into the worn vinyl seat.
Caroline's cheeks pink. "Organization is not a character flaw."
"I never said it was." Sam grins. "I'm impressed. Most people can barely remember to eat lunch. You've planned the next three weeks down to fifteen-minute intervals."
She studies his face, checking for mockery and finding only genuine interest. The wariness in her expression softens.
"Most people think I'm neurotic," she admits.
"Most people are idiots," Sam thinks, but says, "Most people wish they had their lives half as organized as you do."
Caroline's smile transforms her entire face. Where moments before she looked defensive and uncertain, now she radiates warmth and confidence. Sam feels something shift in his chest—a dangerous flutter of genuine affection.
"Careful," he warns himself. "Don't get too attached. Attachment makes the inevitable pain worse."
But looking at Caroline's earnest blue eyes and the way she chews her lower lip when nervous, Sam finds his medical student's clinical detachment crumbling.
"So," Caroline says, closing her planner with decisive precision, "tell me everything. Favorite music, secret hobbies, embarrassing childhood stories. I want the full Sam Barton documentary."
"Everything?" Sam raises an eyebrow. "That's a lot of ground to cover."
"I have time." She leans forward, chin propped on her hands. "And curiosity. Fatal combination."
For the next hour, Caroline interrogates him with the intensity of a CIA operative. She wants to know about his parents' archaeological work ("Were they like Indiana Jones?"), his British accent ("It comes and goes, doesn't it?"), and how he learned to defuse the Tyler-Matt situation so smoothly ("Natural talent or secret training?").
Sam deflects with humor while letting carefully crafted truths slip through. He mentions learning self-defense from his "uncle" (a lie covering his past life's classes), his fascination with history because "the past explains the present," and his loneliness despite the trust fund and large estate.
"I get that," Caroline says softly when he mentions feeling isolated. "Lonely in a crowd. Everyone thinks being popular means you're never alone, but..." She shrugs. "Sometimes you feel most alone when you're surrounded by people who don't really see you."
The vulnerability in her voice catches Sam off-guard. This isn't the shallow, insecure Caroline from early Season One. This is a real person—complex, thoughtful, afraid of being judged for her intensity.
"Tell me about the pressure," Sam says gently.
Caroline blinks, surprised by the direct question.
"What pressure?"
"The kind that makes you schedule everything, plan every interaction, try to be perfect for everyone." Sam reaches across the table, squeezing her hand briefly. "I see it in how you hold your shoulders. You're carrying weight that isn't yours."
She stares at their joined hands, and when she looks up, her eyes are slightly wet.
"My mom," she whispers. "Sheriff Forbes expects excellence. Perfect grades, perfect extracurriculars, perfect behavior. I'm terrified of disappointing her."
"Because Liz Forbes is fighting supernatural crime while trying to raise a daughter alone," Sam thinks. "The pressure isn't Caroline's fault."
"You're not responsible for other people's expectations," Sam says carefully. "Even your mother's. You could never disappoint anyone, Caroline. You're extraordinary."
She stares at him like he's spoken a foreign language.
"You really believe that?"
"I deal in medical facts," Sam replies with a small smile. "Empirical observation. And the data conclusively shows that Caroline Forbes is remarkable."
Caroline laughs—a genuine, delighted sound that makes Sam's chest tight.
"Did you just science your way into complimenting me?"
"If it worked."
Before Caroline can respond, shouting erupts from the bar area. Sam's head snaps around to see Matt Donovan facing off against Tyler Lockwood near the pool tables. Between them stands Vicki Donovan—but unlike canon, she looks sober, exhausted rather than high.
"She's my sister!" Matt shouts, shoving Tyler's chest. "Stay away from her!"
Tyler shoves back harder. "She can make her own choices!"
"Not when you're the one giving her pills!"
Sam's pulse quickens. In the original timeline, this fight escalates, Vicki stays entangled with Tyler's drug crowd, and eventually becomes vulnerable to Damon's predatory attention. But something's different here—Vicki looks clear-eyed, present in a way she never did in the show.
"Butterfly effect," Sam realizes. "My presence has already changed things."
"Excuse me," Sam tells Caroline, rising from the booth.
He approaches the brewing fight with calculated calm. Both Matt and Tyler have their fists clenched, testosterone and territorial instinct overriding rational thought.
"Hey," Sam says loudly enough to cut through their argument. "Tyler, that was an incredible touchdown pass last Friday. Perfect spiral."
Tyler pauses, thrown by the unexpected praise.
"What?"
"The forty-yard bomb to Henderson. I was at the game." Sam grins easily. "Coach Williams must be thrilled to have a quarterback with that kind of arm strength."
The flattery hits its target. Tyler's aggressive posture relaxes slightly.
"Yeah, well, Henderson made it easy. Good hands."
"Still, takes skill to thread that needle." Sam turns to Matt. "And that block you threw to protect the pocket? Textbook. You two are going to tear up the conference this year."
Matt blinks, confusion replacing anger.
"You were watching the line blocking?"
"Offensive strategy fascinates me." Sam shrugs. "Plus, you guys are too smart to get kicked off the team for a bar fight. Scouts notice character as much as talent."
Both boys visibly deflate. The immediate threat of violence dissipates as Sam's words sink in. Tyler unclenches his fists; Matt steps back from fighting stance.
"Look," Sam continues, lowering his voice, "whatever this is about, fighting here gets you both suspended. Is it worth throwing away your season?"
Tyler glances at Vicki, then at Matt, something like shame flickering across his features.
"It's not worth it," he mutters, then louder: "Sorry, Matt. I... whatever. I'll see you at practice."
He stalks out of the Grill, leaving Matt, Vicki, and Sam in tense silence.
"Thanks," Matt says quietly, offering a hand. "You're good at that. Defusing things."
"Experience with hotheads," Sam replies, shaking his hand. "Football players aren't so different from medical students under pressure."
Matt grins at that, and Sam feels a warm satisfaction as another potential friendship solidifies.
Vicki studies Sam with curious eyes.
"You're the new guy Caroline won't stop talking about," she observes.
"Guilty." Sam glances between the siblings. "Everything okay here? No judgment, just... if you need someone to talk to."
Vicki's expression shifts—surprise, then cautious gratitude.
"I'm trying to get clean," she admits. "Tyler's not happy about losing his party buddy. But I... I can't keep doing this to Matt."
Sam's heart clenches. In the original timeline, Vicki never gets this chance at sobriety. She dies as a vampire without ever truly living.
"Good for you," he says honestly. "That takes real strength. If you need support—group meetings, someone to call when it gets hard—I can help you find resources."
"You'd do that? You don't even know me."
"Everyone deserves a chance to start over."
[QUEST COMPLETE: PREVENT ESCALATING VIOLENCE]
[REWARD: +150 EXP]
[NEW RELATIONSHIP: MATT DONOVAN (FRIENDSHIP ESTABLISHED)]
[NEW RELATIONSHIP: VICKI DONOVAN (TENTATIVE TRUST)]
Sam returns to Caroline, who has watched the entire exchange with growing admiration.
"That was incredible," she says as he slides back into the booth. "How did you know exactly what to say?"
"Lucky guess." Sam deflects. "Plus, Tyler and Matt aren't really enemies. They're just scared kids trying to figure things out."
Caroline studies his face with newfound intensity.
"There's more to you than you let on, isn't there?"
"If only you knew," Sam thinks, but smiles mysteriously. "Everyone has depths."
They finish dinner in comfortable conversation, the earlier tension replaced by easy chemistry. Caroline tells him about her college plans (early admission to several universities), her mother's expectations (impossibly high), and her secret dream of traveling to Europe after graduation ("Mom thinks it's frivolous").
As they prepare to leave, Caroline insists on walking to their cars together. The Grill's parking lot sits under broken streetlights, creating pools of shadow between the scattered vehicles. Sam automatically positions himself between Caroline and the tree line bordering the lot—a habit from his clone's tactical training.
"You're very protective," Caroline observes, noting his positioning.
"Good manners," Sam deflects. "My parents raised me to—"
A mental alert from his Enhanced Speed clone cuts through his thoughts like a knife: "Sam! Someone's watching you. Predatory. Wrong smell. Trees, northwest of the parking lot."
Sam's perception sharpens instantly. He can't see the watcher, but every instinct screams danger. The scent of copper and decay drifts on the evening breeze—subtle, but wrong.
"What is it?" Caroline asks, noticing his sudden tension.
"Thought I heard something," Sam says casually, maneuvering them toward her convertible while keeping his body between her and the treeline. "Probably a coyote."
Caroline laughs. "In downtown Mystic Falls? You're paranoid."
"You have no idea," Sam thinks, helping her into her car. As she drives away, he sends his clone mental instructions: "Investigate. Carefully. Don't engage."
The clone's response comes back tense: "Found claw marks on a tree. Too high for animals, too deep for humans. Copper smell everywhere. This isn't natural."
Sam's hands shake as he walks to his own car. The supernatural world is stirring. Something knows he's here—something that watches from shadows and leaves impossible markings.
"Stefan should still be days away," he thinks frantically. "What else could be here? Rogue vampires? Something attracted by the System?"
As he drives home through Mystic Falls' quiet streets, Sam's mind races with possibilities. Has his presence changed the timeline so dramatically that new threats are emerging? Or was something always lurking here, waiting for the right catalyst?
[QUEST UPDATE: IDENTIFY SUPERNATURAL THREAT]
[WARNING: UNKNOWN ENTITY MONITORING HOST]
[RECOMMENDATION: INCREASE DEFENSIVE PREPARATIONS]
[EXP GAINED: +100 (THREAT DETECTION)]
[CURRENT EXP: 500/500 TO LEVEL 3]
[LEVEL UP ACHIEVED!]
Sam allocates his new stat points as he pulls into his driveway: +2 AGI for dodging, +2 PER for sensing danger, +1 VIT for survivability.
[UPDATED STATS:]
STR: 10 | AGI: 12 | VIT: 13
INT: 12 | WIS: 11 | PER: 12 | CHA: 11
HP: 460/460 | MP: 330/330
Inside the estate, Sam finds his clone pacing the basement with manic energy.
"Three sets of claw marks," the clone reports immediately. "All at vampire height. Scent trail leads north toward the old Salvatore boarding house, then vanishes. Whatever it was moved fast and covered its tracks."
"Description of the smell?"
"Copper, rot, and something else. Something... hungry."
Sam sinks onto his basement crate, processing the implications. Caroline's innocent smile flashes through his memory—bright, trusting, completely unaware that something predatory watches from the darkness.
"It's starting," he realizes. "The supernatural chaos. Vampires are coming to Mystic Falls, and when they do, everyone I care about becomes a target."
The clone stops pacing, sensing Sam's emotional shift.
"What do we do?"
Sam looks at his duplicate—hyperactive, loyal, eager for action. Tomorrow brings another day of high school pretense, but underneath the normalcy, Mystic Falls is changing. The predators are circling.
"We get ready," Sam says quietly. "Stronger, faster, smarter. Because when the real monsters show up, we're going to be the only thing standing between them and the people we care about."
Through their mental link, both versions of Sam Barton feel the weight of that responsibility settle on their shoulders like a lead blanket. Somewhere in the darkness beyond Mystic Falls, ancient evils stir toward consciousness.
But for tonight, Caroline Forbes drives home safely, Vicki Donovan chooses sobriety over self-destruction, and Matt Donovan gains an unlikely ally.
Small victories. But in a world where vampires feast on the innocent and werewolves hunt under the full moon, sometimes small victories are all that stand between hope and horror.
+1 CHAPTER AFTER EVERY 3 REVIEWS
MORE POWER STONES == MORE CHAPTERS
To supporting Me in Pateron .
Love [ The Vampire Diaries: The Clone Sovereign ]? Unlock More Chapters and Support the Story!
with exclusive access to 27+ chapters on my Patreon, you get more chapters if you ask for more (in few days), plus new fanfic every week! Your support starting at just $6/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes like [ In The Witcher With Avatar Powers,In The Vikings With Deja Vu System,Stranger Things Demogorgon Tamer ...].
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!