#no sad damon around these parts only happy black haired damon >:)

[bluecoolr]

Some more sketches from today

@the-pinstriped-hood @probably-a-plant-thing @damien-mlm @solmints-messyocdiary

[arctickat2400]

Say You Won't Let Go <> Damon Salvatore

I stomped down the stairs after Stefan just gave me some random lecture on how I’m not being safe and how I’m putting myself in danger. How in hell am I putting myself in danger? I don’t see how that’s possible when Stefan barely lets me leave the house as it is. Like he can’t just lock me in this house for the rest of my life. I mean, I do feel very safe in this house, but it doesn’t mean I want to be locked in it forever.

Anyways, I stomped down the Salvatore stairwell, tears brimming my eyes. I walked through the halls and just as I was about to open the front door, I heard a voice that belonged to someone who I’ve had feelings for for awhile.

“What’s wrong, Kitty?” Damon stopped me, using my favorite nickname for me. He’s always giving me nicknames, but that one was my favorite and he always calls me that. And, Damon was like a brother to me, always caring for me and talking to me.

I turn around, wiping the excess tears off with the back of my hand. Damon gestures for me to go to him in the living room. I walk up to him as he wraps me in his arms, giving me a tight hug.

He lets go after a few seconds as I sniffle every now and then.

“Stefan broke up with me. It was stupid, but I guess it was for the best. I guess it just wasn’t working for him.” I told Damon.

“But, you don’t need to listen to my problems. I’m too annoying to make you go through that. I’m just gonna go home. Later, Damon.” I say to him, beginning to walk to the door.

Just as I touch the doorknob, I hear Damon call to me again.

“Hey, Y/N,” I turn at the sound of my name. “You wanna get out of here for a bit? Go somewhere. I heard there’s this new karaoke bar downtown. I heard it’s thriller. You wanna go with me? Get your mind off everything.” Damon asked, and I smiled at his gesture to help me. And, of course, I couldn’t say no.

“Sure, Damon. I’d love that.” I smiled at him, my cheeks blushing a bright red.

It’s weird. Why would I want to go to a karaoke bar? It was a club thing and there would be lots of people there. I hated big crowds and I hated parties and stuff like that. I guess i just really needed to get out.

Damon dropped what he was doing, slipping his phone into his back pocket and led me to his car.

He opened the door for me, patiently waiting for me to get in before shutting the door behind me.

Damon was always so sweet when it came to me, yet I never knew why ‘cause he hated like everyone.

He drove to the bar only 10 minutes away. It was about 8 at night so we had all night to hopefully have fun.

We walked inside, having to show someone our ID’s to get in. We, then, walked through a curtain type thing that led to a huge room that was the size of a huge house.

It was dark and there were lasers and lights illuminating the room for a glow in the dark kind of theme.

How was I able to survive in a place like this? I could barely survive school, let alone a huge party like this.

“You ready?” Damon asked me. I breathe in and out, looking up at him and saying, “Yeah.”

We walked through the big crowds of people, myself looking back every once in awhile to make sure I hadn’t lost Damon.

He pointed to the bar as I led us to it. We found to open spot where no one was sitting.

“I think you might need a drink or two.” Damon suggested, seeing as if I was still sad and down.

“I don’t think…” I didn’t get to finish when Damon called for the bartender.

“Two shots please.” Damon told the bartender.

This was my first club and my first ever drink that consisted of alcohol. Everyone has told me good things about these places and getting drinks and getting drunk, but I have never done it. This night is not gonna end well.

Two small glasses were set in front of Damon and I. The bartender filled the glasses with a clear substance that just looked like sparkling water.

I knew nothing about this world.

“You good?” Damon questioned with a smile.

“Yeah.” Was the only thing I said. I took the tiny glass in my fingers as I held it up to my lips. I watched Damon, having never seen this done before, as he dipped his head back, consuming the beverage.

I did the same, dipping my head back and drowning myself in what I think was Vodka. It was kinda sweet, but somewhat sour I guess. But I think I knew what everyone was talking about.

“That was…” I paused, thinking of the word. “Amazing!” I shouted, and Damon just laughed.

After a minute, “Hey, you wanna dance?” Damon asked me, gesturing to the hundreds of people on the dance floor.

I just smiled and nodded.

Damon led me to the middle of the dance floor, and to be honest, I had no idea how to dance. But, I just followed Damon.

I ended up just shaking around and I’m not even sure that what I was doing was dancing. Damon kept laughing at me, but I just embraced it as I took off my sweatshirt and wrapping it around my waist.

We danced the night away, Damon and I having the time of our lives.

At this point, I might have consumed like 20 shots, and I was everywhere. I was drunk off my ass and I’m surprised that I was more drunk than Damon. I guess he’s just had more experience with this kinda thing than I’ve had.

We went back and forth between the bar and the dance floor, taking many, many shots and drank a few bottles of beer. I gotta say, Vodka and tequila shots are much better than beer. But that’s just my opinion.

We laughed so much tonight, I don’t think i have ever laughed this much in my entire life, and I laugh a lot.

We danced some more, Damon laughing at every move I make.

We make it back to the bar and I was so drunk that I could barely stand. I was all over the place and I kept laughing at absolutely nothing.

I kept glancing at Damon and every time, he was always staring at me and smiling when I smiled or laughed. He actually never took his eyes off me at all tonight. I guess he just wanted to keep an eye on me, make sure I was doing okay or didn’t do anything stupid.

“You having fun, Kitty?” He smiled at me, drinking some beer out of a bottle.

“Are you kidding? I’m having the time of my life! This is amazing! And I feel like I can barely breathe!” I shouted over all the noise, laughing.

“Now,” I paused, slamming my hand somewhat hard on the bar. “Let’s do another.” I tell Damon in a laugh, meaning another shot contest.

“Y/N, to be honest, I think you’ve have enough. As much as I love seeing you this happy and laughing so much, I think you need to go home.” He tells me. And as much as I wanted to stay and have more fun, I think it would be a good, and smart, idea to go home.

I stumbled off my chair, but I was so drunk, I lost my balance. Luckily, Damon was her to catch me before I fell.

“Yeah, I definitely need to get you home.” Damon said as I started laughing.

Out of nowhere, I squealed mixed with a laugh as Damon threw me over his shoulder, my arms wrapping around his torso.

He carried me out of the bar and out to the car as I couldn’t stop laughing.

He put me in the front seat, buckling me up. And I guess I passed out right when he set me down, ‘cause when I opened my eyes, we were already in the Salvatore driveway.

I wasn’t laughing anymore. I guess when I passed out, that’s when y laughing stopped. I knew that I will have the biggest hangover in my life tonight and the biggest headache tomorrow morning.

I hopped out of the car and again, I almost lost my balance. Damon sped over to me, catching me once again. He picked me up bridal style as I snuggled into his chest. He carried me inside, locking the front somehow with me in his arms.

Damon’s POV

Y/N was amazing tonight. She’s usually pretty cool, but tonight at the bar, she was awesome. She would not stop laughing and she got so drunk. I was pretty proud of her. She’s turning out to be like me. And I don’t even know what I think of that.

I drove her home after I knew she'd had enough. This was her first time at a bar, well except for Mystic Grill, and this is also her first time getting drunk. Even when she was drunk as hell, she was still as beautiful as ever. And her laugh was like a choir of singing angels. I loved her laugh and I loved her. Yes, I said that.

She got out of the car and, like before, she almost fell, but I caught her before she hit the ground.

“Hey, hey. You’re okay.” I told her as she moaned. I picked her up bridal style in my arms, carrying her inside, her head laying on my chest.

I walked through the halls after closing the door just as Stefan walked towards us.

“What happened? Is Y/N okay? Is she drunk?” Stefan asked, stroking her forehead. I backed up a bit, pulling Y/N away from Stefan, knowing she didn’t want him touching her.

“I don’t know mom. Am I?” Y/N joked, lifting her head. I wanted to laugh so much. I love drunk sarcastic Y/N. “Why do you care anyways?” Y/N said, laying her head back on my chest.

“The lady has spoken.” I joked, looking back up at Stefan from Y/N. “She’s just a bit drunk.” I added.

“Yeah, I can see that.” Stefan said with a sarcastic tone.

“Asshole.” I heard Y/N say. She tried whispering it so Stefan wouldn’t hear, but he did.

Stefan just sighed and threw his hands up in the air in defeat, walking off.

“Nice, Y/N.” I laughed at her. I loved it when she was snarky like that. She let out another giggle.

Y/N’s POV

Damon carried me upstairs and into his room. Just as he was walking to his bed, I felt my stomach twist. Here comes one part of my hangover.

I slid off of Damon’s arms, running as fast as I could to his very large bathroom.

I kneeled down and started vomiting into the toilet. Damon ran up behind me and held my hair up.

“It’s okay, Y/N. Let it out. This is just part of the fun of getting drunk and having fun.” Damon laughed, holding my hair and rubbing my back. Some fun it is.

I turned around once I was finished and smiled a weak smile at him. He smiled back, saying, “C’mon, kitty. Let’s get you some rest.” He lifted me up, carrying me over to the bed.

He set me down, walking over to his dresser and taking out one of his black t-shirts that are rather big on me, reaching down to my knees at least. He was tall and I was short. What can I say?

Damon helped me take my soaking wet top off, replacing my shirt that wasn’t drenched in alcohol with his clean black shirt.

He took my pants off, leaving me in my underwear. He covered me in his blanket, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Thanks, Damon. For everything. Tonight was like the best night of my life and it was ‘cause of you. Well, except for the hangover… and the vomiting.” I said and we both laughed. I turned on my side,laying my head on his pillow.

“But, it was a great night and I can’t thank you enough.” I added, smiling at him. He smiled back, his smile leaving as fast as it came as he stood up, tucking me in a little more.

“It’s late, Y/N. Get some rest.” He said, beginning to walk out of the room.

“Hey, where are you going?” I asked, sitting up, the pain beginning to hit me from my upcoming headache. But, I didn’t want him to leave.

He walked back to me, lightly pushing me, carefully laying me back down.

“I’ll be here when you wake up. Don’t worry. Get some sleep.” Damon smiled at me, kissing my forehead as I closed my eyes and falling into a very needed deep sleep.

Damon’s POV

I woke up on the couch to a crash coming from the kitchen.

I ran in, seeing Y/N popping up from behind the island.

“Y/N, what’re you doing?” I asked her, walking to her as she leaned on the island, her hand rubbing her forehead.

“My head was just too much and I needed some Advil and water, but you were still sleeping. Stefan was gone and even if he was still here, I don’t want to talk to him. I tried to get it myself and when I tried to reach for a glass, I couldn’t reach it and I fell. And the glass fell with me and broke… and I’m sorry, Damon.” Y/N mumbled on. I could sense how much pain she was in and she seemed kinda stressed. I could tell how much the hangover was getting to her.

“Y/N, you have nothing to apologize for. It’s nothing to worry about. As long as you didn’t get hurt, everything is fine. Stefan will just clean it up later.” I told her with a small laugh at the end.

I walked over to her, careful not to step on the glass as I lifted her up onto the island so she wouldn’t step on any glass.

I went to grab another glass, watching for the glass on the ground. I filled it with water, getting some Advil and handing it to Katie.

After she took it, she closed her eyes and breathes heavily. I, then, picked her up in my arms, carrying her back upstairs.

“You really need rest, this being your first hangover. And as a vampire, your senses to this kind of thing are heightened, so you need to be careful what you do.” I explained to her.

“Well, why isn’t this affecting you like it’s affecting me?” She asked me as I set her back on my bed.

“‘Cause I have more experience with this kind of thing than you do, and also, you drank way more than me. I knew last night that you you might drink more than me so I made sure to drink less so I could make sure you were okay.” I told her while tucking her into bed.

“Well, thank you. But this headache is just too excruciating.” She paused, swinging her arm over her eyes. “Do you mind closing the curtains? The light is making it worse.” She complained.

The thing was, the curtains were already closed, my room as dark as it will ever be in the morning. Her senses were more heightened than I thought.

“Y/N, the curtains are already closed.” I mentioned to her.

“Oh.” Is all she said, realization sinking is as she uncovered her eyes from under her arm.

“The medicine she help soon.” I told her, standing up from beside her.

“Wait, Damon,” She called for me. I turned back to her.

“C-Can you stay with me?” She asked with a bit of hesitation, looking up at me. I let out a small laugh.

“Of course, Y/N.” I said, walking over to the other side of the bed and crawling in next to her. She rolled over onto her side to face me as I did the same as we stared into each other’s eyes.

“Damon, can I tell you something?” she asked, and I smiled in response.

“You have been more than just my ex’s brother to me. You have always been there for me, always helping me and saving my life more times than I can count.” I laughed at that. She continued. “And I can’t thank you more. But I’ve known you for awhile now, and nothing can deny what I’m about to say. Damon… I love you.” She told me.

I never thought that she would ever like me. I mean, after all the bad things I’ve done, after how bad she’s seen me act and the bad things I’ve done to her and her family, she’s still worthy of me.

I’ve loved Y/N since the day I met her. When Stefan brought her home, she walked in and I couldn’t deny my feeling for her. I guess love at first sight was real.

“Y/N, I…” But she interrupted me before I could go on. She rolled over onto her other side so she wouldn’t be looking at me.

“Oh my god, I hate myself so much. I can’t believe I actually thought that you’d like be back. That you’d like someone like me.” She started, burying her head in the pillow.

“Y/N…” I tried to get her attention.

“No, I know what you’re going to say and I knew it was coming. I just can’t believe how stupid I was to say that out loud.” She continued. But I wouldn’t let her go on any longer.

I crawled closer to her without her noticing. I swung my arm over her stomach, hovering over her body. I turned her chin towards me as she looked at me, my eyes staring into her beautiful blue ones.

“Y/N, you really need to shut up sometimes.” I smiled at her.

“What…” But I didn’t let her speak again when I leaned down and smashed my lips onto hers.

Our lips moved in perfect sync as she rolled over towards me.

“I love you, too, Y/N. I have since the day I met you.” I told her as we stared into each other’s eyes as I stroke her cheek with my thumb.

“I don’t want you to go.” She paused, looking into my eyes with a hopeful look in her eyes. “Say you won’t let go.” She demanded, hopefully. I couldn’t hold back a smiled. I bit my lips with a smile as I stared at her.

“I won’t let go. Never.” I admitted and it was true. I never wanted to let go.

I hovered over her as she giggled and I couldn’t not smile when she giggled. It was my favorite.

“And that giggle of yours is killer.” Her smiled grew bigger as well as mine as I leaned down and kissed her beautiful, soft lips once more.

[vanityloves]

anyways im gonna listen to/read the fuckin...rise of the ogre shit bc ive been putting it off 🪓🥴 im gonna put stuff under the cut bc im gonna be TALKING n dont wanna make a new post everytime

piss

ok he performed for 2 pounds 50. which is basically $3 today i- well it was absolutely a power play on his father behalf that also had the promise of money so.

also lol he said Rejection fueled my ambitions which, yknow,, i already knew but it still hurts and i will continue to talk ab it xoxo

AH HELP. "...if ebay had been invented at the time he would've sold me online there and then,"

"man hands on misery to man, yknow"

THEN PROCEEDS TO CONNECT IT TO MUSIC/HIS CAREER. this man said :) the one thing i truly have a passion for. the one thing i fucking like.

oh yeah. bullied by students AND teachers.

oh god hes 42ish during this interview? ok.

the fuckin school bully saying he wouldve acted differently if he knew what hed become

getting called "faceache", then proceeds to call 2d that. jfc he really does just repeat what everyone says. really "treating others how i was treated/how they treat me"

maybe thats why? hes kinder to fans? bc :] you support me and like me so, ok ill return that energy

MURDOC GETTING HIS ASS BEAT N PARADING HOME LIKE WELL I WON BC 'I PISSED YOU OFF' SJDJD

a real rowdy boy. absolute nasty boy. fraud and arson... shooting ppls windows with his air pistols

black sabbath being a huge inspiration? fucking absolutely.

became a satanist n shit at age 16? "it fitted me like a glove" "heavy metal and devil worshipping became my favorite past times" ajsj funny that ppl in trying times often seek religion or following of some sort

heavy metal being his favorite, n loving the clash, while hannibals was more punk based

hannibal breaking murdocs nose for the 2nd and 3rd time for playing his music on hannibals turntable

he doesnt sound that bitter? ab hannibal? he doesnt sound incredibly fond but he talks ab how he got him into a lot of music. so, i imagine they we're a bit closer than i thought?

international baccalaureate in antisocial? anthropology?

MURDOC IS ACTUALLY SMART HE WAS JUST. NOT INTERESTED IN THE SUBJECTS? I GUESS? (also,,, he literally Built cyborg noodle and i think he had a PhD too lol. but its always nice to hear hes actually...yknow, interested or good at other things)

alright but murdoc having a fascination w/ other cultures - or at least some interests, that lead him to actually study the damn subject and "pass with flying colors"

'fuck college though. im gonna be a rockstar'

he sold his soul at 18ish? whenever the fuck he got kicked out but college was mentioned so my brain goes to 18ish idk

he lived with his father still and paid rent via low paying jobs one including 'part time dressing as santa'

help he was ab to take a Personal Job for quick cash and uhh well, "still made me call him sir though" he really said 20 dollars is 20 dollars, huh "that story was totally true"

alright, 1997,,,

2d stuff

loves zombie stuff? thats really cute, and is freaked out by the way they move. god he rambles

both he and murdoc are horses in the chinese zodiac

[[jfc ok if the official shit compares them a lot i understand why ppl ship them but Dont. its a narrative foil and that doesnt always mean Romance jfc.]]

SUMTHINK.

truly... a lil stinker. super cute bouncing baby and a "bit thick" which is stull so endearing to me. hes just a happy man!

excitable 10 year old and would dance around his room

jfc the fact he has normal/caring parents. i kinda forget how opposite hes supposed to be from murdoc but i think thats another thing jsjsysg (murdoc said why isnt my tragic story making me famous why does he get to be the Star. no wonder he acts like a loon)

i still dont get how gettin bonked by a tree branch made him go bald and also turn his hair blue

big tiddy nurse mommy,,,

went to the same school as The Cure and got decent grades despite hittin the noggin quite hard. WANTED TO BE A STORM CHASER... OMG??

oh thats really cute, hed bond with his dad by building keyboards toegther 🥺💕

messed around with paints and graffiti? artistic king

MURDOC AGAIN: QHDJ 'VILLANOUS' GANG HELP

oh yeah d day...new instruments, new band, new singer - and 'had to be the best or no dice' and absolutely CONFIDENT that his songs were bangers ajsjd

but on that same note, had absolute faith (or desperate) in 2d which i love

ransacked the fucking music shop jdjdj and 2d said he was Just Standing There behind the counter the whole shift hdhdh

"thats when your eye came out, yeah" "yeah!-" HELP WHY DOES HE SOUND SO HAPPY AB IT ?? yes he said ut hurt but he sounds...ok

jfc murdoc ragdolling this poor mf around. dunking him and slapping him around. actually? so incredibly terrible and abusive and i hate him for that 🔫 im sorry 2d stans. we dont condone that behavior here ong.

how and why the FUCK did 2d's parents allow that fucker near their child after that i??? help. wtf. his moms a nurse why didnt she just have murdoc sit in plain view of other people. god damn.

2d flying out the window n hitting the curb "whoops"

"just two black holes...[ah] it looked great...a blue hair, blacked eyed GOD- the girls would go wild-" "pretty boy looks" ???? HELP. HE DOESNT GO LIGHT ON THE COMPLIMENTS, HUH

RUSS TIME

oh yeah, he straight up kiddnapped this man help. idk how he managed that, russ is a Big Man??

AND MURDOCS MUSIC WAS SO FUCKING SEXY GOOD that russel said hm alright ill stay, :] out ifbhis owm free will im screaming.

"oh this is one of them febreeze commercials" "uh . yeah sure. *murdoc turning on his Sick Tunes*" but that either means? it was just his guitar playing the convinced russ? unless he and 2d recorded sumn?

"2d was the looks, murdoc the brains, then russel truly was the heart"

'while 2d and murdoc liked music, this man was a MUSICIAN' god fucking bless this book holy shit ny man russ getting some respect. he said back hurts from carrying this band.

murdoc basically heard this guy had big trauma that gave him So Many Skills n said "thats what i want" ok idk thats actually really? inch rest ting to me. seems that murdocs fine handing out compliments but i guess that where his charisma really helps out yeah?

"he was going to be in my band whether he liked it or not" ...murdoc-

HELP. 2D IS LIKE BRO GO ON IM LISTENING 🥺 despite hearing the story 50-60 times and murdoc said fuck off you lil shit.

ok irrelevant but i love his voice! its super comforting n nice to listen to 🥺

HELP MURDOCS SO BITTER. "NOTHING THAT HAPPENS TO US IS NORMAL" WELL YEAH. THIS IS TRAUMA CENTRAL.

idk how/why he sucked up all his friends souls though ... how are they all possessing the same person. they said "its my turn on The Russ"

DELL IS HIS ACTUAL, LITERAL SOULMATE...KING...😭

went to a private school,,, and was already possessed? and the thing where he gets bigger and smaller is a reoccurring thing?

was in a coma for 4 years?

hiphop machine...time and history...the ultimate set i guess.

his knowledge was infinite and hes a "Renaissance man" hes so fucking smart our king. jack of all trades but a master of drums. he said i know im good and what of it

PAULA.

HELP. HE RMBRS THE STALL: CUBICAL NUMBER 3 🥴 IF I DO RECALL 🤤

yes russel our king. fuck up his nose 5 more times. probably stunted his growth too. he shrunk after russ gave him a wallop im sure

why dies paula sound like tracer overwatch

also only dated 2d for 2 months before joining the band?

HELP SHE REALLY WAS THE FIRST MURDOC FUCKER: "but when i saw murdoc with his thick greasy hair, green teeth and yellow skin i thought 'oh this is the ine for me!'" "OH HES SUCH A DANDY-" HELP ME IM HQJDHD

sick in the head...like i want to hurt people help girl. shes fucking Crazy. but she rly said damn i didnt hear back from him again 😭 and my purse is gone JSHHD

MURDOC: SHE WAS DEPRESSINGLY UGLY *still fucked her*

NOODLE TIME

"small japanese person!"

2d: we werent gorillaz until noodle arrived!

im dying the reason he chose gorillaz. 'swinging through the jungle baring my ass'

noodle really said "im just happy to be here" and she balanced everyone out 😭 "she gave off pure love and the fact that she could laugh at murdoc REALLY helped too" RUSS... IS BABY

JFC MURDOCS SO FUCKING CONFIDENT IN THIS BAND IM LIVING FOR THAT. HE SAID YOU WANT US SO BAD IT MAKES YOU LOOK STUPID. THE CHARISMA

2d rambling ab some girl he met and "ssSs" "whats the s stand for hawhaw" "i dont know!".

THE RECORD LABEL GUY.

one song is all it took i ❤ good for them

just murdoc talking ab the party that they threw for thier deal and saying "you dont know how much of a dick i felt like [when carrying one of those huge checks]" like oh thats whatll make you a dick? alright.

A FOOD FIGHT THAT WENT SO HARD THAT IT KNOCKED 2DS TONSILS OUT? WHAT THE FUCK

ahshdj damon and murdoc not getting along bc of Rival Band One Uppery + damon calling murdocs cuban heels crap since ge wore steel ones with gold spurs.

MURDOC FEELIN EMBARRASSED BC HES 'QUITE PROUD OF HIS SHOES'

but the band and damon getting over music and their ambitions and became a "paternal figure"

HELP MURDOC SAID AWIOGA @ RACHEL WHICH MADE HER THROW HER DRINK IN HIS FACE AND SPLIT FROM 2D. kinda sad actually, she said i still like 2d but murdoc kinda ruined it by trying to get it in with me, it put a strain in our relationship :/ oh god murdocs That Dude

nov 31 1998: started recording :]

40 tracks that got cut down to 15 holy shit

KONG STUDIOS 🤲

hooking up cameras in every room ejdjsu

webby artist of the year in 2006? holy shit

noodle learning ab kong studios omfg

JFC. YES I KNEW KONG WAS BUILT ON/IN A CEMETERY BUT I DIDNT KNOW PPL FOR THE FUCKING PLAGUE WHERE THROWN THERE HDJD

built in 1739?

the ghost of the first owners ghost still roams around in the kitchen in the early hours and moans 'aaa glass of water'

theres some rotting bullshit near the studios and in the summer its fucking TERRIBLE

the former owners were a biker gang, and they all died in a fire

murdoc said this place has bad vibes. i want it.

grim weather

the building feels impossible to escape from huHgg

[lettersinscarlet]

Sorry (Damon Salvatore Imagine)

Hey everyone! Just so you know, I finished a Colby fic earlier but I wanted to post this one first. My requests are still open for Sam, Jake, and Colby, I’m just trying to focus more on holiday stuff. I might accept some more Damon or Stefan stuff, depending on how well this one goes over. This is my first Damon fic so if it’s bad, oh well. Today has been wild and fun and not fun but that’s just life. Anyway, enjoy!

——————————————————————————

“No, Damon,” Stefan scolded with his arm around Elaina. “She’ll kill her,” he explained, glancing over to you.

Damon glanced down at you before meeting eyes with Stefan again. “Are you sure? Katherine doesn’t really know her or anything, maybe she’ll leave her be.”

“(Y/N) has something that she wants. Katherine always gets what she wants,” Stefan stated ominously. Damon thought about this for a moment.

“Okay then. We take a step ahead,” he suggested. Quickly, he bit his wrist, seeing the blood start to run before jamming it in your face over your mouth. You squirmed, but it was too late. You could already taste it.

Damon pulled away and smirked. “See? One step ahead.”

“Damon!” you shouted, using your hand to wipe away the blood around your face.

“What? You’ll be fine, and even if you aren’t, you’ll still come back,” he defended and crossed his arms.

You glanced at Stefan, refusing to look at Damon. “Whatever. It’s not my decision anyway, just tell me what you come up with,” you said. With that, you stormed off.

“(Y/N)-“ Elaina tried, but you were too angry. She quickly scowled at Damon before she ran off to talk to you. Stefan fixed his gaze on Damon and he shrugged in response.

“You can’t just force her to be turned just because you don’t want her to get hurt. That’s why we come up with plans, Damon,” he said.

“I stand by my actions,” was all Damon replied. Stefan sighed before he continued to iron out the details of his plan.

Katherine had just shown up to town, and she was making her presence known. Not only was she after Elaina, she was also after you for whatever reason. You still weren’t sure why, but you were a little shaken up. Damon had insisted about telling you the works of the vampire world in order to keep you safe. So now, you had vampire blood in your system, and you just hoped you wouldn’t die that night.

You weren’t opposed to being a vampire, you just knew the responsibility and you weren’t ready yet. You wanted to live out your high school life without fear or sunlight or being hunted. But now, it seemed that Damon had just made your choice for you.

Elaina came in to cheer you up, but anything she said didn’t help. You were scared, angry, and sad, but there wasn’t a whole lot you could do about it. You’d have to suck it up until the night was over.

Stefan came in later and told you the plan he had devised. Katherine was supposed to show up at some Founder’s party that night, and you guys were going to meet you there. You were supposed to stay near Damon and wait for the signal. Then, you would meet Stefan wherever he was.

You dressed up in a short black dress with heels and a matching bracelet and clutch. You had your hair up and you blended in well with the crowd. You refused to speak to Damon, you just stood near the wall and dipped on whatever drink was nearest to you.

“Easy there, we don’t want you throwing up out there,” Damon joked with a smirk. You crossed your arms but set down the drink on the nearest surface.

“Oh what? Are you not going to talk to me?” he asked. You still wouldn’t look at him.

“Whatever. I was still right to do what I did,” he said, staring you down.

“That’s your problem, Damon. You always-“

But before you could finish what you needed to say, you received the signal. You shot Damon a look before he grabbed your arm and led you to the spot you were supposed to be. There Katherine was, along with two others that you didn’t recognize.

“Hello, Damon and (Y/N). How lovely of you to join us,” Katherine said upon your arrival.

“Ah yes, I’m surprised you had time to come by. I know it’s a packed schedule, guarding the gates of hell and all,” Damon snarked back. Katherine laughed but there was no humor in it.

“Oh Damon, you still haven’t changed. Except I see you’ve found another toy to play with,” she observed, glancing you up and down. You stayed silent, not wanting to anger her further, but Damon would pay for that one later.

“Katherine, what do you want?” Stefan asked before Damon could make a come back. He scowled at his brother before turning his attention back to Katherine.

“Stefan, always in a hurry. Savor the fun some time,” she dodged. She paused for a moment before sighing. “If you insist. It seems that (Y/N) and Elaina both have something that belongs to me,” she explained, stepping towards you. Damon quickly shifted his position so that he was between you and her. Katherine chuckled before looking to him.

“Oh, Damon, I’m not here to hurt either of them tonight. They’re still useful to me. That doesn’t mean their family members and friends can’t be hurt, though,” she said, feigning concern. “So get the items back to me as soon as you can. Oh, and Stefan?” she said, turning to him. “I’ll see you later,” she said with a wink. She left, her two other goons leaving with her.

You turned to look at Damon. “So this whole thing,” you said, pointing at his wrist and your mouth, “was pointless.” You left again, hoping to go home.

“(Y/N), wait,” Stefan called, catching up to you easily. “I don’t think you should go home tonight. It’s not safe,” he added.

“What am I gonna do?” you asked, throwing your hands in the air.

“Call your parents and make up an excuse, but Elaina is staying with us, too.”

You sighed. “Alright, but I’m still leaving now. I’m just gonna grab some stuff.”

“Take Damon with you,” Stefan ordered. You went to roll your eyes, but he grabbed your arm. “Someone could just be waiting for you to go home and kidnap you and then Katherine could do whatever she wanted,” he said, making you shudder.

“Fine, fine,” you conceded. Damon was by your side in an instant, extending his arm out to you with a grin on his face. You brushed past him, walking to your car to drive home and grab some things.

The ride there was silent. Damon waited as you went in and quickly threw some things together before saying you were going to Elaina’s house for the night to your parents. You walked out and drive to the Salvator house in silence.

You went and got ready to go to sleep, or at least just lay in bed. You had a lot to process and you were still feeling all of those emotions you had earlier. You brushed your teeth, pulled your hair back, changed clothes and then went to read by the window. You were just getting to the good part before there was a knock on the door.

“I see Stefan assigned you the good room,” Damon remarked as he walked in.

“What do you want?” you asked, turning away from him.

“I- uh- wanted to say I’m sorry,” he muttered looking at the ground. You turned to look at him.

“What?”

“I wanted to say I’m sorry. Look,” he cleared his throat, “I’m not good with feelings and emotions. But with you, it’s different.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you asked, confused.

“Just-“ he stopped and made eye contact with you. “I would apologize for anything and everything if it made you happy. If I needed to, I would tell you how I feel 24/7 just because you asked me to. It’s just different with you,” he finished.

You stopped, looking at him for a moment. He looked sincere and you knew he meant what he said.

“I’ll compel you if you don’t want to remember that but-“

“Don’t,” you interjected. You stepped closer to them, gently placing your hand on his chest. “I want to remember every word.” You leaned up and you kissed his lips, slowing moving deeper into the kiss. You broke away and Damon’s eyes searched your face.

“If this is what apologizing gets me then I should’ve apologized to you way sooner,” he said, a breathless smile on his face.

“Oh shut up and come here,” you said, jumping up and wrapping your legs around him. He used his arms to support you as he carried you. You started kissing him as he walked and eventually your back hit a wall. You heard a few things shake and you chuckled against his lips.

“Stefan is gonna be pissed,” Damon noted, still kissing you.

“Who cares?” you responded, pulling your shirt over your head.

“Oooo a wild side,” Damon said, kissing new spots of exposed skin. “I like it.”

“Let’s see what else you like,” you added with a giggle as Damon brought you over to the bed. He smirked at you before he leaned down and started kissing you like you’d never been kissed before.

[geekofmanyforms]

New Beginning:Chapter Twenty

AN: Sorry for the long wait. I hope you guys like this update. I changed a lot, and plan to continue on that route. I will still go by episodes but will be putting a lot more of my own spin on them. I plan on skipping ahead a bit, but it won't be a time skip kinda thing. I promise it will make sense and go, pretty smoothly, I think. I am beyond ready for the Originals to get here! Also, I don't know if any of you are as excited as I am for the reveal of how El breaks her curse, but I have officially decided how she is going to be doing that. It's not exactly how I had originally planned for it to happen, but I had a dream a few weeks ago and just loved the whole idea. It's a bit sad; I think it may piss a few people off, but that's part of the appeal:) As always, please review and let me know what you think. Don't be a silent reader. I swear I don't bite! Also, this story has thirty some chapters on AO3 and Fanfiction.net. Edited by my Beta Casey.*

A steady buzzing pulled me from my fitful slumber. My neck ached as I rolled out of the tight ball I found myself wrapped up in. The muscles in my back burned, searing in protest as I sat up and stretched my body. An unhealthy popping sound made me wince as I moved my neck from side to side. I pulled my red hair from where it had become stuck to my cheek and was once again thankful that there was no one else here to witness the side of me that was more troll than human.

My phone buzzed incessantly again, and I glared dangerously at the little black machine that was responsible for my being awake at the ungodly hour of five a.m. Before I could even consider seeing who dared to wake me, I knew I needed to get out of yesterday's clothes and find some sort of caffeine.

I grabbed myself a change of clothes before slipping out of my room and tiptoeing to the bathroom. Once I was safely inside, I went about my business, allowing the hot water to rinse everything away. As I scrubbed at my skin, I imagined the water washing away the metaphorical stain on my soul, as well as the visible grime from the day before.

After my skin was sufficiently rubbed raw, I left the shower and dried my hair, weaving it into a loose, side french braid. Aside from the lotion I rubbed into my parched skin, I left my face natural and headed back into my room to grab my phone and purse. Shutting my door on the way out, I skipped over the squeaky step and stealthily made my way downstairs as I pulled out my phone to check who had tried to call. My head cocked to the side when I noticed I had an oddly large number of missed calls, all from Damon. What the hell did he want? Just as I was placing my finger over his name, there was a knock on the front door.

Dammit!

Jenna, Elena, and Jeremy were still sleeping, for God's sake! I quickly headed to the door and yanked it open, a few strands of hair blowing out around my face as it passed me by. Cerulean blue orbs and a familiar cocky smirk greeted me. I narrowed my eyes, grinding my teeth together. I could feel my cheeks warming and hated myself for it. Damon smiled wickedly and leaned against the door frame, one arm lifted above his head. His usual button-up shirt was absent today, instead he wore a long sleeve black t-shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His raven hair fell into his eyes as he moved closer to me. I bit my tongue, my traitorous fingers itched to brush the hair from his forehead. His smirk widened as if he could read my thoughts, and I stepped away from him, flexing my fingers, which only made him chuckle.

I hated his face. His stupid, cocky, yet oh so sexy face.

His right hand moved into view, and I noticed a large coffee cup. My whole body reacted to the sight. Every ounce of my annoyance bled away at the thought of getting the fix I needed. My face lifted into a grin, and my heart raced with joy.

"You bought me an iced frappe?" I squealed. "Those are my favorite!"

I grabbed the cup out of his hands and took a large, dramatic sip, moaning as the chilled espresso beverage satisfied my raging urge for caffeine. Caramel; he even got my favorite flavor.

"Wish I could say I bought it out of the kindness of my heart, but," Damon laughed mischievously. "It's a bribe."

I stepped outside, the cool morning air brushing over my skin, and goosebumps pebbled up my arms. I locked the door behind me, pulling my shirt sleeves down to cover my arms. "What do you want, Day?"

I took another sip of the caramel frappe and started down the porch steps. Damon followed beside me, his hands in his pockets.

"Well, it seems that your sister spent the night doing the naughty with my brother."

His face turned up for a moment, an unpleasant hateful expression marring his usually attractive face. Jealousy isn't a good look on Damon, and I found that knowing it was my sister that brought forth that sort of reaction, made me feel physically ill.

"So," he continued, "I want you to join me in interrupting their morning. To throw them off. I also want your take on Stefan's whole 'let's work together' spiel.'"

Damon used bunny ear quotations when he talked of Stefan's idea and I huffed out a laugh, sliding into his car and leaning my head back against the seat in frustration. When he got in, I turned towards him, my eyes hard.

"Fine, but I'll tell you right now before we even get there, I won't be involved in anything to do with damaging their relationship. I know this is hard for you, seeing them together, but she is happy, and I won't help you ruin that."

Damon's eyes scanned my face, his own expressionless as he focused on reading me. I was an open book, at least at this moment. I didn't need to hide anything from him. In fact, he needed to see it. He needed to know he could trust me, but he also needed to know my limits. Elena and Stefan's relationship; the game he wanted to play with his brother, that was one of them.

Once he had seen what he needed to, he nodded, moving back into his seat. He pulled out of my drive and drove towards the Boarding House, only slowing when I took out a coin to throw over Wickery Bridge.

"Why do you do that? '' he asked.

I rolled up my window and looked at him, shrugging. "It's silly, but it's my way of remembering my parents. People throw coins in fountains and wells to make wishes, well I throw them over the bridge and into the water where my parents died as a way to remember them. I want to make sure that they know I haven't forgotten them, and that I wish they were still here."

My voice cracked, and I cursed myself for allowing emotion to poke through my normally stoic exterior. Damon brushed a strand of hair from my face, placing it behind my ear, a real, none sarcastic smile gracing his lips.

"There's my Elandra," he whispered as we left the bridge behind. "Always so soft-hearted,"

I looked away from him, trying to ignore the way his hand had felt on my skin. Finally, we arrived at the house and I all but jumped from the car the moment he stopped. I stepped into the house and headed upstairs towards Stefan's room. I could feel Damon following me but decided to sip my coffee and ignore him. When I reached Stefan's door, I stood to the side and allowed Damon to take the lead.

"This is so mean," I sighed.

Damon smiled, opening the door and taking my hand, effectively cutting off my protests. He approached the bed, slowly sitting down at the foot and smirking at the vision our siblings made curled up together, unaware of the world around them. They were snuggled up, spooning. It was an unsettling image. Not just because it was my sister I was watching, likely after she had just had sex. Which was just...disgusting. It was also like I was watching a vision of the past. I was finally able to see, first hand, what it had been like when Katherine was with Stefan, all while Damon was in the wings, pining and devastated that the woman he loved was with his brother, always just out of his reach. It made my stomach roll. Was that the sort of thing Damon imagined every time he looked at my sister?

I turned away, feeling more like my past self then I wanted to admit. My heart hurt; this whole situation was starting to bother me more than I expected it too. Katherine would love to know that, and I couldn't let her see it. I couldn't let her use the pain of my past to get what she wanted from me. Elena started to wake, and Stefan joined her seconds later. He wrapped his arms around her tightly as he kissed her on the cheek, a bright smile on his face. I swallowed roughly, averting my eyes from their private moment.

"Mmm. Good morning," Elena sighed contentedly.

This was so wrong. I am the worst sister ever.

Stefan pulled her closer and looked down at her flushed face. "I could get used to this,"

Damon sneered, tilting his head and choosing that moment to make our presence known. "Rise and shine, sleepyheads," he cheerfully said, slapping the bed with gusto.

I winced, turning my head away as they both jumped, my sister revealing her lacy black bra in the process. I quickly walked over to them, yanking the sheet over Elena with a growl in Damon's direction.

Elena narrowed big brown accusatory eyes at me. "Damon, Elara! Please!" she yelled, turning to face him and taking hold of the sheet.

Stefan, on the other hand, let the sheet fall, his bare chest in full view. Elena lifted the sheet to cover him again, glaring in my direction. I scoffed lightly, which turned into a full-on laugh when she bared her teeth at me in anger.

"Please, Lena. Do you know how many times I used to watch them swim in the lake with my brothers? I have seen both Salvatores bare-chested many times. Besides, Stefan is a brother in my eyes," I sighed, stepping next to Damon, who smiled up at me.

"You've seen a lot more than my bare chest, Miss Miller," he mock-whispered.

I blushed profusely and smacked his chest, avoiding my sister's fiery gaze. Stefan tried to reign in a laugh, turning it into a mild cough, which only made Elena grumble in anger.

"What are you two doing in my bedroom?" Stefan asked.

Damon scoffed, his face playful. "Oh, stop being smutty, Stef,"

Stefan pulled the sheet further up on Elena, making sure she was appropriately covered.

"Seriously, get out of here!" Stefan hollered.

I jumped lightly and grabbed Damon's arm, he shrugged me off with a laugh and leered at Stefan and Elena.

"If I see something I haven't seen before, I'll throw a dollar at it," he smirked.

I blinked several times at this and took a step back, my mind whirring at the oddly scientific idea he proposed. I wasn't entirely sure that's what he had meant, but the seed had been planted in my head all the same. Are Elena and Katherine COMPLETELY identical? It's a disgusting thought but an intriguing one. While all these weird ideas were flying through my mind, I didn't notice when Damon stood and leaned down, placing his hands on the frame at the foot of the bed.

"Now listen, we have some very important business to discuss," he said.

Elena sat back and sighed. "And it has to be right now?" she asked.

Damon sneered, crossing his arms. "Well, we have lots to do, now that we're all friends and working towards a common goal," he smirked.

Stefan and Elena exchanged a look, one that made me uneasy. I narrowed my eyes and stood side by side with Damon, crossing my own arms. Yeah, if they were working with Damon than Katherine was gonna win Miss Congeniality at the next Miss Mystic Falls pageant.

"So, to open the tomb, we need to find the journal to get the grimoire to undo the spell. First things first — since as you are Elena Gilbert, you're on journal duty," Damon said.

Elena huffed, pointing her bony finger in my direction. "Hello! Elara G-I-L-B-E-R-T!" Elena spat, spelling out our last name hatefully. "Why can't she do it?" she asked.

Damon turned towards me and shrugged. "Miller," he enunciated slowly. "She'll always be a Miller to me, and besides, I need her for something else. She is an all-powerful witch; journal duty is below her pay grade," he said with a cocky smile.

Elena glared at me, and I slapped Damon on the arm. "Damon, cool it. You're getting me into trouble," I whispered.

Damon turned to me with a wicked smile, and I raised a brow in question. "Since when am I helping? Elara I get, you bat your eyes and somehow convince her to help you," she petulantly said.

I placed a hand on my hip and ground my teeth together, ready to let loose on my childish little sister, but Damon placed his hand on my arm, stopping me before I could blow up on her. I let out a deep breath and tried to cool off, turning away as Damon continued with his little drama fest.

"Well, since Stefan's helping, and you have taken up residence in Stefan's bed, ergo…" he trailed off suggestively.

I bit my lip to keep from laughing, my cheeks burning from the effort. Stefan looked at Elena, ever the knight in shining armor...or sheet as it may be at the moment, and smiled warmly at her.

"You don't have to do anything that you don't want to," he said.

Elena sighed in acceptance, looking at Damon with a gleam in her eye, one that had my spidey senses tingling. Something was definitely going on. I tried to catch her eye and knew for sure they had some sort of plan the moment she guiltily avoided my gaze. I shook my head and turned away from her. She could look for the journal all she wanted, but she wouldn't find it. I would borrow it from Jeremy myself, then use it to locate the grimoire and take it before either of them ever had the chance. I wasn't going to let them stab Damon in the back, not this time. He needed to know that Katherine wasn't in that tomb.

"I'll look for it tonight," she said.

I stood straighter, lowering my chin and staring them both down in anger and defiance. Elena laid back in the bed, pulling the sheet over her face in annoyance.

"Good," Damon said.

Stefan looked down at Elena in amusement and then glanced at Damon and me. "How do we know that this journal will hold the location of the grimoire? We're really going to take the word of this vampire? He seemed like a bit of a dimwit," Stefan said, obviously hoping to stall Damon a bit.

I placed a hand on the back of my neck and rolled my eyes.

"In lieu of any other options," Damon said

I looked at them both and shook my head. "The location is in there. Don't worry. We'll get the grimoire," I said, staring at Stefan with heated eyes.

He watched me closely until Elena pulled the sheet from her face and sat up. "Ok, what exactly is a grimoire, anyway?" she asked.

Damon shrugged his shoulders and looked at me with a smile. "A witch's cookbook," he said.

I started giggling, my chest shaking with the force of it. Stefan sighed, laying back on the bed as Elena had.

"Every spell that a witch casts is unique itself, so every witch would document their work," Stefan explained, speaking towards the ceiling.

Elena watched him, her brows raised in surprise. She looked at me in excitement. "Do you have one?" she asked, voice rushed.

I lowered my head, my laughter dying down. "Elena, I'm not really that kinda witch, but yeah, I have had a few. They were more like journals, though, with memories and thoughts. They did have a few of my own spells that only witches of my kind could ever hope to cast. But they have all probably been lost to time," I said thoughtfully. "Even if they hadn't, with as many different names as I have had, and lives I have lived, only I would even know it was mine."

I refused to tell her that there were a few people that could probably distinguish my handwriting enough to discover if a journal belonged to me. She didn't need to know that the Mikelasons were some of the few people who probably knew me well enough to piece together the different facets of my life.

Elena looked disappointed for some reason, probably hoping I would loan Bonnie a bit of my past. When would she learn that Bonnie would never be able to do what I can? We were two very different incarnations of the witch. She was one of nature: and bound to everything that goes with that. I am a witch of creation: my ancestors were chosen, created to be what we are. My magic was not a gift from nature, so I will never be bound to her or her rules. Nor, will I ever be forced to bow to my ancestors or any other witch for that matter, dead or alive. I felt lucky knowing my ancestors would never force me to do their bidding. I was free to make my own mistakes, and if or when I needed their help, I would always have the option of asking for it, free of fear. Whether they accepted, it was another story. I had been taught long ago that my family line of magic came from deep within our cores. Our very souls were infused with ancient magic, the magic we can draw from. That's how I can channel everything through myself, and am visibly able to show my own magical signature. I can push it outward, and use the force of it as a weapon.

The true story of how my family became infused with magic had long been lost. My mother did tell me as a child that the first of our line, Ashilda, had come across a stone arch after our family settled on their land. When she approached the arch - one she was sure had been there since the time of the old Gods - she found a peculiar script written across it. When she placed her hand on the jagged edge of the stone, she cut the palm of her hand. When her blood seeped onto the rock, a bright light engulfed her. It spilled into her body, lighting up her core, infusing it with the power that we carry within us today. My mother said the old Gods found our line worthy, and now every firstborn daughter is blessed with the gift of magic.

Who knows if that is what truly happened, all I know is, that I'm grateful to not be beholden to anyone, let alone mother nature. I had warned Bonnie once already of what could happen to witches that went against their ancestors, and I was glad to not be one of her kind. I shook myself from my thoughts and focused on the conversation unfolding in front of me.

"And I don't like that disadvantage, so…." Damon clapped his hands together. "Chop, chop."

He grabbed my arm and escorted me towards the door backward. I stumbled dumbly; wait, what had I missed while I was daydreaming?

"You know, I really like this whole menage a foursome team thing. It's got a bit of kink to it," he chuckled, and I rolled my eyes. "Don't screw it up," he said, pointing at them both as he pulled me out the door.

Damon slowly walked me down the stairs, once we hit the bottom step, I yanked him to a stop, my finger on my lips. I used my other hand and pointed at my ear and then the ceiling. He rolled his eyes, their blue depths staring upward where I knew Elena and Stefan were probably trying to act all innocent. After a second, his face screwed up in disgust, and he took my wrist, dragging me outside towards his car.

"What?" I snapped

I figured I probably didn't want the answer if the look on his face was anything to go by. He pushed me into the car, and I huffed in annoyance. I was really getting tired of his pushy behavior.

I watched him warily as he slipped into the car, slamming on the gas and speeding out of the driveway like a man possessed.

"He knew I was listening. Whatever Elena was about to say...he stopped her. Then she decided to...change the subject," he said through clenched teeth.

I crossed my arms and glanced out the window. "Well, good for her. Seems like Stefan may be more fun than I give him credit for," I said under my breath.

Damon, of course, heard me and made sure to hit every bump in the road on the way to my house. By the time he was back in my driveway, at the speed he had been going, my head was quite sore from hitting the roof of his car, but it was worth it. I was sick and tired of him fawning over my sister. I turned my head towards him with a sigh.

"Listen, Damon, I hate to say this, but I don't trust either of our Saint siblings. They obviously have a plan of their own. But what they don't know is, I have insider info."

At my words, Damon's head finally shot towards mine, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. When I saw he was no longer harboring anger towards me, I continued,

"I already know where the journal is. So, I'm going to go get it, and when I have it, I'll recover the location of the grimoire. Then I'm gonna put the journal somewhere they can find it, and they'll never be the wiser."

Damon's eyes clouded with confusion, and I smiled wickedly, leaning closer as if my next words were a closely guarded secret. I lowered my voice,

"I thought you might wanna have some fun with them. We could see exactly what they planned to do. Play with them a bit," When I saw his eyes spark, I quickly added my amendment. "But gently," I added.

His full, pink lips pouted playfully, but his eyes never lost their spark. "You really are amazing, Ellie," he said.

I laughed lightly and decided to taunt him a bit. "And just think I could have been all yours. Elandra Salvatore."

His eyes darkened, and my smile became predatory.

"Too bad, eh. If only I had been born a Petrova," I sighed, my green eyes hardening for a moment.

Damon leaned away from me, his pale face slackening, and I almost felt bad for a moment, but then I remember the pain I had felt watching him as he lusted after my sister all morning, and the guilt vanished. Rebekah would be so proud.

"I'll text you, Damon. Do not make them suspicious of us," I said, pointing my finger at him.

He pushed back his emotions, his mask slipping back into place as he nodded. I slid out of the car and headed inside to find Jeremy and the journal.

Jeremy was pretty easy to locate; like most teenage boys, he was lounging on the couch playing video games.

"Hey, Jer,"

He smiled at me and I plopped down beside him. His eyes never left the TV as he continued rolling the joystick on his controller in a circular motion, a determined expression on his face. I leaned my head on his shoulder and watched him play for a moment.

"I have favor kiddo. Well more like a question," I said.

At this, Jeremy paused his game and spun around on the couch, lifting one leg onto the seat as he turned to face me.

"What's up, Ellie Bean?" he asked in concern.

My heart lifted at the love his expression showed, and I vowed to make sure Elena never forced him into anything again. At least for as long as I could. I felt my stomach sink and tried to forget, for now, that I wasn't going to be around for much longer.

"You remember that creepy monster journal you were reading of our ancestors? Can I have it? I am doing research for a story I'm writing," I said quietly, biting my bottom lip as if I were embarrassed.

Jeremy blinked at me, briefly surprised. Like everyone else, he didn't know that I was into writing (which I am, just never in this life), then smiled brightly. "You're a writer, El?" he asked excitedly.

I nodded quickly with faux enthusiasm, leaning in after looking around the room. "I like to write fiction, but since writing is Elena's thing, I've never nurtured it until recently. Please don't tell anyone, especially that I asked about the journal. I don't want anyone to know I'm into that sorta stuff, Jer," I flushed. "It's kinda embarrassing..."

Jeremy grinned, slapping a hand on my shoulder. "Deal, but I gave the journal to Mr. Saltzman, so you'll have to wait until I can get it back,"

My eyes narrowed into slits. What the hell is Alaric doing with a hunter's journal?

"That's ok, Jer. Just keep this between you and me," I smiled, rising to my feet. Jeremy nodded, pressing start on his game. I waved goodbye and raced out the door, pulling my keys from my bag.

Well, it looks like I'm making a trip to the school.

I pulled into the school, only a few cars lining the mostly deserted parking lot. I spotted the exact one I was looking for and felt my tight jaw tick. I didn't know what to expect, but Alaric Saltzman was proving to become more and more interesting, and not in a good way. It seemed he was going to be a problem, something I never wanted him to become. I had never gotten a bad vibe from him, and I had always been able to trust my vibes or 'sixth sense' about people. That was the only reason I wasn't calling Damon right now and giving him the green light to go in fangs blazing.

I shut off my car and held onto the strap of my purse tightly as I walked up to the entrance, silently praising whichever God was listening when the door was unlocked. I was saving my magical reserve just in case. I was still building up my stamina. The more magic I used, the weaker it made me. I needed to train so that I could cast longer without weakening myself. Who the hell knew what I was walking into. I had never been alone with Alaric or gotten close enough, to get a good read on him. I knew he was human, but that didn't always mean weak. Humans had the potential to be quite powerful with the proper training. As I entered, I squinted in the darkness, glancing around. When I knew I was alone, I cast a low-level spell on myself so that I would blend in with my surroundings. I grimaced as the cold feeling of an egg breaking atop my head slithered over me. I exhaled in relief. I should be sufficiently hidden from all except those who were either trained in the craft or at least knew what to look for.

I tiptoed towards the History classroom, all the while keeping my ears and eyes peeled. As I neared the room, I could see a faint warm light shining in the darkness.

Hello...someone is home.

I peeked into the room and found Alaric sitting at his desk bent over the journal, pouring over its contents with avid interest. His eyes were strained with exhaustion, and I felt a pang of pity for the poor man. What was going on with him? I watched him read for a few minutes, just taking in his mannerisms, trying to understand a bit about him. When he stood quite suddenly, I gasped, stepping away from the door as he burst through. I followed behind him, noticing with interest when he stopped in the middle of the hallway, his back rigid. He spun around and quickly scanned his surroundings in a defensive position, that of a trained hunter. I knew that look. I had seen it many times before. Hell, I had used it myself after Kol taught me.

I've got you now, Mr. Saltzman. Interesting, very interesting. Do the council members know he is a hunter?

I held my breath while his eyes passed over my near-invisible form. I knew that to the trained eye, a shimmer could be seen, but unless Alaric knew a lot about witchcraft, he wouldn't know what to search for. I kept my breath held deeply and watched him wait, head twitching left then right. Finally, he gave up, feet smacking against the tile floor as he headed back the way he had started. Air escaped my lips as my lungs thanked me for the oxygen they so desperately needed. I gulped down a few lungfuls and followed after my mysterious hunter/history teacher. I would seriously need to pay better attention in class from now on. Who knows precisely what type of supernatural beings he hunts. No need to piss him off unnecessarily. I found him in the teacher's lounge, making copies of the journal. The glow from the copier illuminated his still form, and I bit my lip, unsure if him having a copy of the journal was such a good idea. I stood next to him and watched as he finished rather quickly. When he was done, he shut off the light, and I followed him back to his classroom, this time without any oxygen deprivation. He lightly tossed the original journal on his desk and slipped the copy in a drawer beside him. Sitting back in his seat, he covered his tired face with his hands. I saw a quick glimpse of the purple bags under his eyes and felt the pang of pity in the pit of my stomach again. I wasn't entirely sure what exactly it was about this man, but I had a bit of a soft spot for him. I could see he was a good man and that he would be suitable for Jenna. Still, he seemed to be just as stuck in the supernatural world as Elena was, and that would just put my family at further risk.

Would it be worth it to help this man? As he pulled his rough hands away from his face, his blue eyes locked with my invisible green orbs, and I felt my shoulders slump in defeat. Something was telling me Alaric Saltzman was meant to become involved with the Gilbert family. I could feel a firm sense of resolve fill me.

Ok, Alaric, I'm going to help you.

I nodded as a plan started to form in my mind, and watched him grab a handful of papers from a tray on his desk. Leaning over them he began to grade, with much less enthusiasm than he had before when reading the journal. A sudden movement outside of the classroom caught both Alaric and I's attention, our heads snapping towards the disturbance. I stepped away from Alaric and moved towards the journal, using his captured attention to my advantage, my hand reaching out to it. When Alaric stood, heading to the door, I took the journal from the desk, slipping it into my bag with ease. Alaric stepped outside the room, his back ramrod straight. I watched him closely, ready to step in if he needed me to.

"Hello?" he called out.

I rolled my eyes. Really?

I almost wanted to tell him how very teenage girl in a horror flick he was right now. When he left the classroom for the hallway, I slipped my hand into his desk, where he had stashed the copy he had made and grabbed it as well.

Sorry, Alaric…

I stepped out of the room and slid past him as quietly as possible. I could sense a vampire here with us, and it wasn't either of the boys. I didn't plan on staying to find out who it was. I cast a quick protection spell on Alaric, hoping it would be enough to give him the shot he would need to take care of himself. I couldn't stick around all day, protecting him. I looked back at him one last time, he was still calling out into the darkness and exited the school. As I hopped into my car, I sensed a familiar presence in the air. Stefan? How did he find out about the journal? I put my car in drive and fled the school before Stefan got the chance to see me. I drove as quickly as I dared, and pulled into my house ten minutes before I would have driving the speed limit. I grabbed the journal and scanned the pages rapidly, searching for anything that would tell me what I needed to know. When I found what I was looking for, my eyes ignited with hatred.

That stupid son of a bitch!

I should have guessed. I pulled the copy from my bag and stepped out of my car, walking beside the house. I grabbed Aunt Jenna's tin bucket from the garden and sat it on the ground in front of me, placing the copy of the journal inside. I stood, brushing the gravel from my knees and snapped my fingers, setting the pages on fire. I stood in front of the bucket, watching the pages curl and burn as the smoke swirled in circles. Once the pages were ash, I took the pail to the curb, dumping the remains in the trash can with a smirk. With the original journal in hand, I headed inside. I could hear voices coming from the kitchen but chose to ignore whoever it was for now. I sat down next to Jeremy, who was still lounging on the couch.

"Hey, Jer. Did you tell Stefan about the journal?" I whispered.

Jeremy looked up at me oddly but shook his head. "No, why?" he asked in confusion.

I frowned slightly, hoping I could believe him and sighed. "Who did you tell?" I asked.

Jeremy looked more confused than ever at my strange questioning and blinked slowly before realization dawned on his face. "Stefan was here earlier when I was talking to this girl Anna about the journal. She wanted to see it, but I told her I needed it once I got it back from Ric. He probably heard me," he said, shrugging.

I leaned against his shoulder and smiled. "Ahhh. Well, that makes sense. Cause see, I went and borrowed it from Alaric, but Stefan was there asking about it. I was nervous and didn't wanna bother them, so I just took it. I'll explain it to Alaric later. I was just curious why Stefan wanted it. Could you tell Stefan you went and picked it up if he asks? Just tell him that when you grabbed it, Alaric wasn't around," I pleaded with puppy eyes.

Jeremy must have sensed my need and thought it was because I was a bit nervous around Stefan. His brotherly instincts kicked in.

"Yeah, of course, Ellie. You don't have to say shit to Stefan!"

I grinned broadly and kissed his cheek, giving him the tightest hug I could. "Ok, I'm gonna leave this here on the table for now. Remember, this is just between you and me, ok?"

Jeremy winked at me, and I left him to the TV and his lazy day. I felt bad for using my baby bro like that, but I knew he would understand when the time came. I just couldn't wait until we could really team-up. I wanted to tell him everything. I headed into the kitchen and was shocked to find Aunt Jenna planted on the counter, her legs swinging happily, a glass of red wine in hand. Damon was standing beside her, cutting into a tomato. I held the swinging door open, my lashes batting in amused confusion.

"My father never approved of anyone I dated, which only made me want them more, of course. What about you?" Damon was saying.

I scoffed lightly, releasing the door, the breeze of it swaying back into place blowing strands of my air around. I placed a hand on my hip. What an utter crock of shit. His father approved of our union until I was found to be a witch. Of course, by then, he had known Damon had basically dissolved our courtship in favor of Katherine. It had strained their relationship even more than it already had been. He had thought it a stain on their family honor, a broken courtship was a massive faux pas after all.

Damon spun around to greet me, the sharp blade pointed in my direction. "Have something to add there, Ellie," he asked, brow raised in a dare.

I held my jaw together tightly. "No, I was just under the assumption that there was one girl your father had approved of, once upon a time. At least for a brief period," I said tightly.

Damon cocked a grin, his eyes blazing in triumph. Had he been goading me? Jenna looked between us momentarily before watching Damon go back to cutting up the tomato.

"Yeah, there was one, but I screwed that up royally, so she doesn't really count," he said in an almost whisper.

Jenna handed him her glass of wine and patted him on the back in a gesture of solidarity. I giggled under my breath when Damon chugged down the last of her wine before pouring her more, when he tried to stop in the middle of the glass Jenna took the bottle, filling the cups to the rim. Damon chuckled, going back to his chopping.

"There were a few guys. Logan isn't the only loser I've dated," Jenna said mournfully.

Damon looked at me and pointed the knife in my direction again. "What about you?" he asked.

I choked on my tongue and started coughing. Jenna laughed joyfully. "Yeah, El, what about you? I'd like to hear about this. You have always been so secretive, and Elena won't ever spill about you," Jenna said.

I leaned against the island and sighed deeply. Damon was such an ass.

"Umm. I don't really date. I have had flings," I said, avoiding Jenna's eyes.

Jenna spluttered, wine flying onto my face. I wiped the liquid from my cheek and bit my lip, wincing at her surprised expression.

"Elara Marie!" she gasped.

I raised my hands in the air and shook my head. "Hey, no judgment. I am not...I have no time...I just don't want a relationship, and I'm not stupid. I'm careful," I said, stuttering painfully.

Jenna observed me weighing her words, with a resigned sigh, her shoulders slumped as she smiled weakly. "At least tell me who?" she asked.

I laughed uneasily. "Um, Tyler Lockwood and a guy from the football team. No one that you know. After Tyler, I decided to keep things casual. No close friends. It's my rule," I explained, twisting my fingers.

"Well, at least it's not someone like Logan Fell. I hope..." she said.

I shook my head, and she smiled. Damon, who had been oddly quiet throughout our conversation apart from the savage sound of chopping, bit out a few words. "Did they ever find him?" he asked.

I turned away, rolling my eyes. That asshat had deserved everything he got.

"He's not missing. He's in the Bahamas working on his tan. Very entitled, that one. Marches to his own drum." She drained the remainder of her glass. "He's a Fell. They're all snooty," she added.

Damon chuckled and poured some more wine in Jenna's glass. Was he helping her get drunk? She smiled brightly at him and headed towards the living room. I watched her go, hoping Jeremy would make sure she didn't get too smashed. I stepped beside Damon and leaned next to his ear, in the guise of reaching for a slice of tomato. He made to slap my hand, but I growled at him.

"I found it," I snapped next to his ear.

He froze before he held a chunk of tomato against my lips with an expectant expression on his face.

"The journal?" he asked.

I opened my mouth and let him feed me with a roll of my eyes. I finished my mouthful and nodded before adding onto my sentence.

"Yeah, but that's not what I'm talking about. I know where the grimoire is. Also, our plan involving the Saints squared is in effect in the living room," I said with a wink.

Damon's brows raised, and he dropped the knife with a hearty laugh. "The Saints Squared?" he asked in amazement.

I shrugged with a nod. "Suits them, don't ya think. Everyone thinks they're so damn perfect. Can you imagine what that must be like? I'd go mad under pressure!" I said, placing my hands on my cheeks.

I'd hate to live life feeling like I had to be perfect all the time. He shuddered dramatically, and I couldn't help but laugh. Damon drew my attention, my laughter ceasing when he spun on his heel, facing the doorway with a smirk.

"Hello, Elena," he said.

I stepped away from him and looked at my sister, whose arms were stationed across her chest, her big brown eyes judging me harshly. I groaned and maneuvered around my sister.

"I have an Aunt I need to make sure has sobered up, and then I have to pick up something from the store,"

Damon smiled at my excuse but kept his eyes firmly on Elena; it was enough to let me know he would keep her preoccupied. Not that he would find his job all that hard. I stepped out of the kitchen and found Jenna seated next to Stefan and Jeremy on the couch. My eyes zeroed in on the coffee table, where I was pleased to see the journal missing in action. I bit my lip to keep the smile from my face and patted Jeremy on the shoulder.

"Hey kiddo, get Jenna some Advil and a bottle of water. I need to get something from the store," I sighed.

Jenna protested, but Jeremy laughed, ignoring her half-hearted swats and semi-slurred words. Stefan looked up at me, eyes curious and a bit weary, but I smiled brightly.

"I saw someone got Damon to cook dinner. It's been a while since he put his skills to a less homicidal use," I whispered with a giggle.

Stefan's lips twitched, and he looked away, focusing on the TV again. "I'll be back in a bit," I said, grabbing my keys and jogging out the door.

Time to go dig up an asshole.

I drove as quickly as I could, heading towards the old cemetery where I knew Giuseppe Salvatore to be buried. As I pulled up beside the gate, I cut the engine and popped my trunk before I slipped out of the car. Digging in the back, I pulled out a flashlight and winced as I slammed the trunk closed, the sound echoing and seeming louder in the darkness. I pulled my jacket around me, listening to the crunching of the wet grass below my feet as I journeyed into the graveyard. I slowly repeated a silly mantra in my head to keep myself calm.

Zombies are not real, zombies are not real.

As the old fashioned tombstones came into view, I clenched my teeth and tried to keep the Thriller music video out of my head.

Come on, Elandra, you're over a thousand years old. Get a grip!

I pushed myself forward, shining my light on the tombstones as I came across them, heading deeper and deeper into the graveyard. Finally, towards the back, I found a worn stone, the edges chipped and words faded. I bent down, brushing my hand along the aged stone, dirt and crumpled leaves falling to the ground. It read; Giuseppe Salvatore.

Asshole extraordinaire is a more fitting moniker.

I sat my flashlight down and sighed, thinking over exactly what spell I needed to use. I needed to dig him up and then put all the dirt back, making the whole grave look once again undisturbed.

I nibbled on my bottom lip thoughtfully, then with a huff decided I would just pull the dirt up, then refill it and flattened the earth, making it look as it had before. It would exhaust me, but I had my Blackwood branch so I would be ok. I lowered my hand over his grave and scrunched up my face in disgust. This was not my idea of fun. I took a deep breath and let my power flow, slowly turning my hand as I felt my core flair with magic, a warm burning deep within. I opened my eyes and saw the electric blue light glow through my skin. The ground in front of me started to quake, breaking apart as the earth flew skyward. My other hand shot forward, stopping its travel, and I took a heavy breath as the dark soil froze in mid-air. My hands shook slightly as I began to maneuver it to my right so that I could have it all together for when I needed to return it later. I lowered it into a massive pile and looked at the hole I had successfully made with glee. I had done it. I stepped next to the hole, looking down.

A light brown wooden coffin rested below, a smattering of dark wet earth still covering the lid. Jumping down, I landed next to it and brushed off the dirt, the cold rough wood rubbed against my skin uncomfortably and I tried to ignore the sensation. I felt around the edges until I found a spot I could grasp, and started yanking up the side. Holding my breath, I pulled it open, moaning when I looked down at the skeleton of the man who had once helped kill me. In his arms was Emily's grimoire. I looked away, a thick lump in my throat, and gently pulled the book from his grasp. I tried to ignore the cold, slimy feel of the hard bone but couldn't hold back a gag. When I finally had the grimoire in my grasp, I sat it on the edge of the coffin and rubbed my hands down my jeans with a shudder.

Ugh...so disgusting!

I quickly slammed the coffin lid shut, shivering as I slipped out of the hole. I sat the spellbook next to me and lifted my hands, watching the dirt fly into the air again, and fill the hole. Once the coffin was covered, I waved my right hand, flattening the soil and making it appear as if I had never been here. I nodded in satisfaction when my work was done. I sent Damon a text, smiling and rolling my eyes when he sent back a bunch of heart emojis. I picked up the book and my light as I headed back the way I had come. My prize in hand.

On the way home, I stopped by the store and picked up a few things we had run out of as a way to maintain my cover story. So by the time I pulled up at my house, I had been gone for a little over an hour and a half. I quickly ran my hand over my clothes to cleanse them and placed the Blackwood branch back in my purse. I made sure the grimoire was in my bag and stumbled out of my car, closing my eyes as I shook my head roughly. I was a little weak from overexertion, but the branch had helped to restore most of my magic, and I was determined to fight through the rest of my weakness. I was getting tired of feeling so useless. I was supposed to be strong and powerful, and I needed to be. Shit was about to hit the fan. I was going to start training again. I ran inside, tossing my keys into the bowl by the door. I released a relieved breath when I noticed Elena and Damon were just now bringing the food in from the kitchen. I hadn't missed dinner. Hell yeah! I was starving. I took the groceries into the kitchen and rolled my eyes as I watched Damon deliberately bumping into Elena every chance he got. Well, I could have done without the flirting.

Was she the one digging up his father for him?

I grumbled under my breath as I went back into the dining room and slumped down into my seat, glaring at my sister as she laughed at Damon's actions. Damon placed a bowl on the table next to me, completely ignoring my existence as he focused on Elena. His eyes were hard as steel, and I realized they had been having a conversation right next to me. What was with me and zoning out today?

"Then you understand what I will do if anyone gets in my way," he threateningly told her.

Elena visibly gulped, and I couldn't stop the giggle that escaped me. They both shot me a look, Damon raised a brow and smiled while Elena glared hatefully. Damon walked away, leaving Elena alone with me.

She placed both hands on her hips and stared me down. "What are you doing, Elara? This game you are playing with him is going to get people killed. People we love!" she snarled.

I stood from my seat and placed a hand on the table, leaning closer to her. "No, what is going to get people killed is you and Stefan standing in our way. He needs to get in that tomb, Elena. It is the only way. I'd ask you to trust me, but it wouldn't make a difference, would it?" I asked, my eyes tearing up despite my anger.

Elena looked away, her hair falling into her face. The fact that she couldn't look at me was all the answer I needed. I had felt a smidgen of guilt for tricking her and Stefan. Still, the way they were going about things, and the fact that she was refusing to even trust me, her own sister, was enough to wipe it all away. I sat back down, my head falling forward.

"We're done here, Elena. You have made up your mind. Chose your side in this, and I've done the same. It's a pity really, all this time we're wasting," I said, my voice breaking off as I lowered my head into my hands.

Elena stood beside me in silence for a moment before turning around and walking away. I shook my head, frustrated tears spilling from my eyes. I brushed them away and placed my hands on my knees. There was nothing more I could do about our relationship right now. I had to do things this way. I knew what needed to be done to ensure the future went as smoothly as possible. Damon had suffered long enough. He deserved freedom, and this course of action would give him that. I shook off my melancholy as Damon and Elena brought out the rest of the food. Dinner was a stressful affair, my anxiety, and I held hands throughout the entire meal. Damon made sure to poke at Stefan and Elena the whole time. I basically inhaled my food just for the chance at a quick escape. As soon as I was done, I stepped out onto the front porch, the grimoire, still hidden in my bag. I sat down on the porch swing and held my bag against my chest, the massive indent of the grimoire, an oddly reassuring presence.

I pushed my legs back and forth as I swung. I let the cold night air clear my head, the breeze blowing the smell of honeysuckle and roses towards me from the garden at the back of the house. I slowly swung back and forth, the rhythm almost lulling me into a coma-like state, until I noticed a dark shadow blocking the light beside me. I turned my head and sighed when I saw Damon, Stefan, and Elena all huddled together near the open window. I inwardly groaned as I listened to Damon pestering Elena and Stefan about the journal. I couldn't help but smile when Stefan mentioned Alaric. Looked like he made it out of his encounter with the vampires alive. Good for him. I would need to introduce myself for what I really am sooner rather than later. I stopped swinging, the toes of my shoes scraping against the wooden porch when Stefan brought Jeremy into the conversation. I stood quickly and stepped back inside the house just as Damon was heading back towards the couch where Jeremy was sitting alone, Aunt Jenna having gone upstairs.

"No. Damon, leave him out of it!" Elena panicked, her eyes revealing the fact that she knew Jeremy had no idea where the journal was.

I wanted to pounce on her Ala cheetah and rip her to shreds. She had the nerve to accuse me of being the one who would involve the people we love. Yet, here she was willingly allowing Jeremy to be pulled into this even though she knew exactly where the journal was. I stood towards the back of their little group and crossed my arms, jaw tight.

"Why, what's the big deal?" Damon asked, shrugging his shoulders.

He was definitely enjoying this little game. I caught his eye for a moment and smiled briefly when their blue depths twinkled with mischief. I let out a relieved breath and lowered my arms, my defensive posture loosening. As long as he wasn't really planning on pulling my brother into the thick of things, I could let him have his fun. They deserved it, after all. I stepped up beside Jeremy, and Elena froze momentarily, her brown eyes widening.

"Damon, Elara!" she whisper-shouted, as only she could.

I cringed my ears protesting as my mind conjured up images of nails on a chalkboard. "Elena, calm down! Get a grip. Jeremy is going to be fine," I said.

I plopped down on the couch next to our brother, my arm draping over the back, and shared a loaded look with Damon, reminding him to tread carefully. Damon sat on the arm on the sofa, leaning close to Jeremy with his best attempt at a brotherly expression on his face. I chuckled under my breath, and placed a hand on my forehead, adding a new item to my mental checklist, 'Teach Damon how to be less creepy.'

"So...I heard you found a really cool journal from back in the day. Who else did you show it to?" Damon asked, trying (what I hope was not his best) attempt at nonchalant.

My chest shook lightly as I silently laughed. I was sincerely hoping this wasn't Damon really trying to gather intel because if it was, I felt terrible for him. I kept my eyes off my brother and was beyond proud when he didn't glance my way once. I had to give Jeremy credit, he had one hell of a poker face.

"Huh?" he asked, playing dumb.

Damon rolled his eyes, face hard. "Don't ask questions, just spill," he said.

I leaned across Jeremy and slapped Damon on the knee. Jeremy chuckled and looked between all four of us with guarded interest. "You're kidding me, right?" he asked, looking directly at me.

Elena started to speak, I assumed to ask Jeremy who else he had shown the journal to, but I held up my hand, stopping her mid-sentence.

"It's ok, Jeremy. You can tell us it's not a big deal. It's just…I guess that come to find out...that journal was a little more valuable than we originally knew." I half-heartedly explained, trying to convey with only my eyes that he shouldn't tell them about me.

Jeremy looked at me for a moment, his eyes scanning my face before he turned his head to look at Damon and Stefan, expression protective. He took my hand and gave it a tight, reassuring squeeze.

"Just this girl Anna," he said.

I released a breath I hadn't known I had been holding and squeezed Jeremy's hand in thanks. I could tell he no longer trusted the Salvatores, and I wasn't sure how I could remedy that right now, or if I even wanted to if I was being honest. The Salvatores had the potential to be extremely dangerous, and although I loved them, I didn't entirely trust them to protect my human family. In immortal years, they were young, and sometimes the decisions they made were lethal.

Jeremy's trust in the Salvatores wasn't my main concern right now, I had too many problems to deal with at the moment to add another, so, onto the mental checklist, it would have to go. At this rate, my list was going to be a few feet long.

Damon cocked his head in question. "The hot, weird one?" he asked.

I blinked a few times and tilted my body around so that I could see Jeremy. "The what?" I huffed.

Jeremy blushed and nodded quickly, a hand on his neck. "Yeah," he said.

Elena took the lapse in talking to step in front of Jeremy. She looked down at him in curiosity. "Wait, who is Anna?" she asked.

I leaned towards Jeremy and patted my knees excitedly. "What she said," I smiled, pointing my thumb at Elena.

Jeremy looked at all of us again, noticing all eyes on him, two sets of them anxiously awaiting his answer and huffed in exasperation. Before he could open his mouth, Elena's phone rang, and she yanked it out of her back pocket, glancing down at the screen. Her brown eyes blazed with annoyance for a second before softening as she answered, quickly catching my eye and pointing to Jeremy and Damon. I rolled my eyes and gestured for her to leave.

"How do you know her?" Damon asked Jeremy as soon as Elena headed up the stairs.

Jeremy looked away from our retreating sister and leaned against the couch. "I just know her. She wants to meet me at the Grill tonight," Jeremy said.

I smiled brightly and covertly winked at Damon. This would be the perfect way to meet Jeremy's mystery gal and get away from Elena and Stefan.

"Perfect," I said, clapping my hands.

Jeremy blinked rapidly, looking at me in shock. Damon stood, taking my hand as he did. "I'll drive. Come on," he said.

I grabbed Jeremy's hand and pulled him towards the door. "O-Okay," he said in shock.

I pushed Jeremy out the door and looked behind us, catching Stefan heading up the stairs towards Elena's room. I shook my head, a flare of betrayal stinging me. Even without super vamp hearing, I knew he was heading up there to tell Elena he was going to read through the journal and find out where the grimoire was. I looked away from the stairs and buried the feeling of betrayal, he was doing what he thought was best. Just as I was. I followed after Jeremy and hopped into Damon's car.

"You still with me, El?" Damon asked.

I turned my head towards him in confusion and saw the flash of fear and uncertainty in his eyes before he closed himself off again. I checked the backseat where my brother was staring out the window before I took Damon's hand and sent him a confident wink.

"Of course, I am. There's nowhere else I'd rather be," I chuckled.

Damon squeezed my hand, his cold skin raising the hairs on my arm. I cocked my brow and used my other hand to motion towards the ignition. "We gonna go?" I whispered.

Damon rolled his eyes and gave me his best cocky smile as he started the car. I moved my hand from his and placed it in my lap. I really didn't need to blur any more lines with Damon. Once we reached the Grill, Jeremy headed inside to find Anna. Damon and I stayed towards the back of the bar and waited. After a few minutes, Jeremy was joined at the pool tables by a short, long-haired brunette girl. Damon growled in recognition, and I froze in fear. If he recognized her, that could only mean one thing; she was a vampire. I focused on the girl and was shocked when her smiling face turned towards me, recognition instantly ignited within me, and my back became rigid with stress. I had seen her before, back in 1864. I knew her and her mother, Pearl, which was obviously why she was here now, flirting with my very human brother. Katherine might not be in the tomb, but I knew Pearl was.

Anna had another thing coming, though, if she thought she could use Jeremy to get her out. A Gilbert or not. She would not be using him for her revenge. I stood next to Damon, a silent sentinel throughout Jeremy's entire 'date' with Anna. When the night winded down, I texted Jenna, making sure she was sober enough to pick Jeremy up. I told her I had a few things I needed to do before I would be home. She was surprisingly ok with my late night to-do list, and for that, I was grateful. She told me she was okay to swing by to get him and I was glad to have at least one thing easily handled. Damon and I followed Anna's scent to a dingy Motel where Damon quickly stole Anna's room key. Once we were safely inside her room, I sat down next to him on the edge of one of the rumbled beds and waited, my eyes glued to the door.

"You know I could do this part on my own," Damon said.

I rolled my eyes towards the heavens and looked at him in annoyance. "Yeah, cause I'm just gonna leave you to deal with a much older vamp all on your own. That's not gonna happen," I said.

Damon smiled briefly, then held a finger to his lips, his blue eyes crinkling as he stood zooming behind the door. I slowly stood and crossed my arms. A low clicking sound came from the door, and Damon pressed his back against the wall, just as Anna came inside. Damon sped in front of Anna, taking her by the throat, and slamming her against the wall, taking her by surprise for only a moment. Before I could take control of the situation, Anna had grasped Damon by the throat, turning the tables on him, and she started to squeeze. Damon gasped in pain, choking from the strength of her grip. I sighed deeply and waved my hand, ripping the two vampires apart. They both went flying in opposite directions, slamming into the walls with loud gasps of pain and annoyance. I shook my head with a laugh and stood directly in the middle of the two. Damon was the first to sit up, leaning against his knees with a groan.

"Damn," he said, rubbing his neck. "You're strong for a little thing,"

I smirked, glancing at Anna, who was looking at me in pure shock. "How?" she finally managed.

I pointed at myself and shrugged. "Original witch, cursed, Reincarnate. Very long story," I said, shaking my hand in a blasé way.

Anna looked at Damon and started to laugh, her whole body shaking. Damon's face scrunched up in anger as he stood, moving towards the little vampire. I held up my hand, putting up a magical barrier between the two. It pulsed briefly, in a thunderous flash of light, before disappearing. Anna and Damon flinched, covering their eyes.

Damon banged his hands against the invisible wall of magic in anger, his blue eyes furious. "Whoa, moron slow down. I'm not gonna let you get yourself killed just because you're mad that she is laughing at you," I sighed.

Anna stood up and stepped closer to the barrier with a grin. "So, how are you enjoying having your ex-fiance around while you're trying to get your lover out of the tomb?" she sneered.

I lowered the barrier slowly, and stepped right next to Anna, tilting my head expression blank. I focused on her mind, smiling when she crumbled to her knees, screaming in pain.

"Listen here bitch, I already know why you're here and what you want. I know Pearl is in the tomb, but ya see, you have nothing we need, so if you don't want me staking your mother the first chance I get, then you need to stay the hell out of our way. That means leaving my brother alone," I said, letting up on the witchy migraine I was giving her.

Anna gasped, her pained sobs letting up. She looked up at me in confusion. "Your brother?" she asked.

I leaned closer to her and smiled. "Oh yeah, you don't know who I am this go around. Elara Gilbert at your service," I said, waving brightly.

Anna's face whitened considerably, and I could hear Damon chuckling darkly behind me.

"Yeah, Jeremy is my baby brother. Now I get your anger at the Gilberts, I do. I mean, Jonathan Gilbert helped kill me, but ya see, they are family now so I can't let you exact your revenge on any of them," I said, my voice firm.

I stepped past her and opened the door to her room. Damon joined me and looked down at Anna. "You heard everything she said, Anna. We work alone, and if I see you anywhere near the Gilberts, I will kill your mother myself," he said, stepping outside.

I glanced at Anna one last time and bit my lip. "I'll get her out, Anna. As long as you don't cross me. I never had anything against either of you, and your mother was a nice woman, but you go against my family or me, and you will regret it," I said.

Anna looked up at me, her brown hair falling into her eyes. Finally, she nodded. "You have a deal. Just save my mother," she whispered.

I placed a fisted hand over my heart and lowered my head. "Agreed. I'll call you when we open the tomb," I said, before turning and leaving the girl behind. I just hoped I made the right decision.

Once we were back in the car, Damon looked at me in confusion. "Are you really going to help her save Pearl?" he asked.

"As long as she keeps to her end of the deal. It's the right thing to do, Damon," I said, turning away from him. "Now, let's go deal with our Sainted siblings," I sighed.

Damon and I stood just out of view, watching Stefan shovel the dirt out of Giuseppe's grave. Elena stood beside the deep hole, the beam of her flashlight the only source of light in the darkness surrounding us. We were both shielded from detection by a magic barrier I had placed between our siblings and us. I watched in disappointment as Elena used the situation to joke with Stefan. She smiled down at him shaking her head.

"What?" Stefan asked.

Elena continued to shake her head in amusement. "Not many girls can say they've done this," she said.

I scoffed lightly next to Damon, tapping my foot on the ground. "Get a room, Elena," I whispered.

Damon placed a hand on my lower back and snickered. Stefan continued to dig until a loud thud interrupted his low grunting. I rolled my shoulders in anticipation.

"Finally, it's about damn time. It didn't take me nearly this long," I ranted.

Damon stepped closer to the barrier, his shoulders squared and watched his brother toss the shovel out of the grave. Stefan quickly started to wipe the dirt from the coffin as Elena knelt down, leaning closer to the hole to get a better look at what Stefan was doing.

"Hold the beam steady, Elena," Stefan said.

Elena nodded and held the light towards the grave with both hands. Stefan found an edge and started to pry the coffin open. Breathing heavily, Elena leaned forward with a gasp as the lid creaked open. I looked at Damon, and we both shared a smile.

"What? No, that's not possible. The journal said it would be here," Stefan sputtered.

I lifted my hand and lowered the barrier stepping out from the shadows with Damon by my side.

Well, what do you know?" Damon playfully said.

He cocked his head to the side and smiled down at his brother. I stepped up beside him and watched Elena closely, her brown eyes narrowed as she took me in with distaste. Stefan slammed the coffin lid closed and pulled himself from the hole, speeding in front of Elena. Damon sneered at his brother and turned to me with a smile.

"This is an interesting turn of events, wouldn't you say, Elandra?" he asked.

I looked at my sister with a frown, my head tilted. "Very interesting, Day. But sadly, I can't say I'm all that surprised," I said.

Stefan lifted his hands in supplication but kept himself firmly placed between the two of us and Elena. I wanted to laugh as if I would ever allow Elena to be hurt. Yet here he was, acting as if I were the enemy, all because I was siding with Damon.

"I can't let you bring her back. I'm sorry," Stefan said.

I ran my fingers through my hair, pulling gently in exasperation. I stepped closer to Stefan and leaned near him. "Listen to me, Stefan. Katherine is not in the tomb. She has never been in the tomb. Damon just needs to see that so he can move on. You need to give him that," I angrily said.

Stefan looked at me sadly as if I were a small child being tricked into believing in a fairy tale. "I'm sorry, Elandra, but I can't take that chance," he sighed.

Damon stepped in front of me, pulling me away from Stefan with a growl. "I can't believe I ever, for even a second, considered trusting you," he spat.

Elena whimpered lightly from behind Stefan, and I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"Oh. You're not capable of trust. The fact that you're here means that you read the journal, and you were planning on doing this yourself," Stefan said triumphantly.

I tried to step around Damon but was held back by his tight grip on my shoulder. Both Elena and I were being pinned behind the feuding Salvatore brothers, and I was beginning to lose my patience.

"Of course, Elandra and I were going to do things on our own, because the only people we can seem to count on is each other! You made sure I couldn't count on you many years ago, Stefan." Damon stepped closer to his brother, blue eyes rolling with emotion, and pointed his finger at Elena. "But you...If I hadn't had your sister...you would have had me fooled," he sneered, a thick pain in his voice.

Elena turned away, hiding her ashamed and hurt expression behind Stefan's shoulder. I shook my head and took Damon's wrist, pulling him away from our siblings and hopefully offering him what little comfort I could.

"So what are you going to do now, Damon? Because you know I can't allow you to open the tomb," Stefan said, stepping closer to us.

Damon laughed, smirking at his brother as he watched Elena follow carefully behind Stefan.

"What are you going to do, Stefan? All we need to open the tomb is a witch, and that won't be too hard to accomplish," Damon said, watching his brother with an intensely hateful expression.

As Stefan inched closer and closer to Damon, I held my bag tightly against my side. I silently cast a spell that would prevent anyone but me from touching it. I knew Stefan was planning something, and I was getting antsy. Stefan and Damon continued to dance around each other, each fighting for dominance. I slowly tried to inch away from them, unknowingly giving Stefan the shot at me he had been aiming for.

Stefan vamp sped in my direction. Before I could even take a breath, he was biting into his wrist and bringing it to my lips, feeding me his blood. The coppery taste ran across my tongue as I tried to fight against him. But it was to no avail, and before I could think to use magic, I had given in and started to swallow. The blood falling down my chin as I gasped for air. The thick liquid inched down my throat, and I gagged, trying to turn my face away from him, but his fingers held my chin tightly. I could feel bruises starting to form and just prayed for him to stop. When I had accepted enough, he pulled finally away. I quickly wiped the remainder of the blood from my chin and mouth, disgusted by the man I had seen as a brother. I didn't think I would be able to forgive him for this. At least not for a very long time. Before he could make another move, I twisted around in his arms, smacking him as hard as I could, allowing the hurt and disappointment to show in my eyes. Stefan looked away quickly and without an ounce of emotion, wrapped his cold hand around my neck, pulling me beside him. My feet lifted from the ground as he dangled me in front of Damon.

"Give me the grimoire, or I will snap her neck, and we will see first hand if her curse is affected by vampire blood," he threatened. "Are you ready to play Russian roulette with El's life, Damon?"

I clawed at Stefan's fingers but otherwise tried my best to hide the fear that was welling up inside of me. I could see everything I had been working for swirling down the drain.

I didn't want to die. That was a heady thought for someone like me to have, someone who usually had no choice but to accept death. Now though, all I wanted to do was fight...and live.

Damon stood in front of me, helplessly watching as his brother held my life ransom. I caught his blue gaze and followed it to my bag and then back to Stefan. I could see his resolve grumble as he started to give in. After everything, he was going to give in to save me. A small whimper of fear and disbelief caught Damon's attention, and flickering of hope started to grow in his blue orbs. Stefan's body froze in fear, and I watched his eyes darken as he realized that unless he released me, there was nothing he could do to save her. His shoulders stiffened, and I was sure he hoped that he could somehow still save Elena and get the grimoire out of this whole ordeal.

He was a moron.

Hopelessly I watched as Damon sped over to my sister, taking her by the throat. He quickly ripped into his own wrist, feeding her his blood. Elena's face turned to me, eyes round with fear, her lips stained red, as Damon's blood spread through her system. I could see the moment the realization of what it could mean for her finally clicked. Tears began to well in her brown eyes, as her whole body began to shake.

Damons hand held her steady as he stared down his brother, crystal eyes moving from Stefan to me in quick succession. "I can do one better. Give me Elandra, or you will have a vampire girlfriend, brother," he sternly said.

I watched the whole scene play out in horror, Damon had fed Elena his blood. He had made the decision to do to her what had been done to him. It was so easy for them to play with immortality; for me, it wouldn't work, but for Elena, it would, and it would be an eternity she never asked for. One that would cause a monumental disaster.

Oh God! There was so much that would be lost if Elena became a vampire. I could see the death and destruction of everything, and everyone we loved flitter across my vision, and panic began to set in. I could feel power start to course through my veins, sending a burst of magic across my skin. The bright blue burst of light caught Damon off guard, and he dropped Elena in shock. My skin glowed, a beacon in the darkness, and Stefan gasped in pain when his skin started to sizzle as if he had touched an open flame. I felt my feet connect with solid ground and caught myself as I fell forward, my hands landing on the soft grass in front of me. Stefan stepped away from me as I stood, my whole body still glowing with light. I turned towards the vampire that had held me captive, and I raised my hand, closing my palm into a fist, pulling him towards me. Stefan flew through the air, his eyes wide with shock. I lowered him to the ground next to Damon and he collapsed onto his knees. I quickly made my way to Elena, the glow of my skin dimming into nonexistence. Elena, still shaking, watched me in fear, doe eyes large. It was so reminiscent of the time I had once healed her when we were children that I froze momentarily, my eyes burning with unshed tears. I raised my hands with a smile, trying to reassure that I never wanted any harm to come to her.

"Lena, I am so sorry. I never wanted things to go this way. We were supposed to talk and nothing more. Stefan went too far tonight," I said with a wince.

My head was beginning to pound, one of the least fun side effects of vampire blood.

Elena shakily stood and backed away from me, heading closer to Stefan. "Elara, this whole thing has gone too far, and nothing will change until Damon leaves town. He can't be allowed to get into the tomb," she said, as she lowered herself down next to her vampire.

I ran my hands across my forehead and felt a cold hand against my neck. I glanced behind me and found Damon staring at Elena and Stefan with disgust. I shook my head and let out an aggravated breath.

"Elena, you really have no clue how very wrong you are. Damon isn't going anywhere, and the tomb will be opened." I took Damon's hand and started towards the car. I turned my head back, watching my sister help Stefan stand, checking him over for injuries. "Maybe when the tomb is open, and you both see that what you should be worried about was never inside it, then we can all work together again. Because we will need to be united for what's to come." My eyes connected briefly with Stefan's, and I tried not to show precisely how saddened by his behavior I was. "Please make sure she is safe tonight. She cannot become a vampire," I said.

Elena's head shot towards me as Stefan's eyes filled with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Turning away, I allowed Damon to lead me to the car.

"You gonna explain what you meant by that?" he asked me.

I glanced up at him and shook my head. "Not until you're free of Katherine," I said, slipping into the car. I leaned against the cold glass of the window beside me and closed my eyes. Tomorrow I would be heading to the Bennett house to procure us a witch.

It was time to open the tomb.

[mca-attack21]

Starting Over - Part 1

Here we go again, the start of a new series. This is a rewrite of The Vampire Diaries where Elena doesn’t exist. Instead, you have Y/n Gilbert. As in the show, it starts off Stefan x reader. And while Damon isn’t in this part. He is in the upcoming parts :)

Mystic Falls was once a happy place. It was where you took your first steps, where you became a sister. It was where your friends were, and where you had your first kiss. But that was before. 

You would never forgive yourself for your parents’ accident. They weren’t supposed to be out on the road that night, but you called them. Why did you survive? There was no logical explanation to that question, and you would give anything to change what had happened. But you couldn’t.

You lost more than your parents that night. You lost yourself. You lost any chance of happiness. Everything homely about Mystic Falls had also died in that car. You blamed yourself for their deaths and in turn for everything that had changed because of it. Jeremy had turned to drugs to ignore the pain. The relationship that you had once cherished with him had become almost nonexistent. Jenna gave up her youth, she was now forced to be your guardian. In all, you tried to distance yourself from everyone and everything. You desperately wanted to feel anything besides the pain and despair.

                                   ----------- Four Months Later------------------

Going back to school seemed completely foreign, but it was time to start to move on. Your goal was simply to make it through the day. To fake enough smiles and say enough “I’m fine’s” to convince yourself that it was true. 

You were not expecting to have to bust Jeremy at school in the Men's bathroom. You tried to be understanding, but you knew deep down that if continued on this path he was going to end up regretting it.

You were also not expecting to run into an extremely attractive stranger as you exited the men’s room. 

“This is the Men’s restroom, isn’t it?” he asked peering over you.

“It is, sorry. Long story” you sighed attempting to move out of his way. The two of you then proceeded to dance around each other until he put his hands on your shoulders and swapped places with you. You were blushing hard as you walked down the hall.

Later that day, you would see him again in French, Biology, and History. In History, Bonnie caught on to the fact that he was staring at you and sent you a text. This made you look over in his direction. When your eyes met, it was intense, you forced yourself to look away. 

You went to the cemetery to visit your parents grave. You were writing in your diary as you often did. You looked up when you got a weird feeling. A black crow flew by, it was so close you felt your hair move. It landed on their gravestone, and you felt as if it was staring at you. However, you figured that you were just being paranoid. You got up to chase it away and fog started to surround you. It was like something from a horror movie. You turned around to grab your bag and you could’ve sworn that you saw someone duck behind one of the other gravestones. Paranoid or not, this was enough to send you running. You weren’t paying attention to where you were headed and tripped over some tree roots and fell.

Unexpectedly, Stefan appeared to help you up. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. Were you following me just now?” you asked still shaken up.

“No, I was just on my way to the cemetery and I saw you fall,” he answered.

“I’m sorry, I guess it’s just the fog. And then there was this Crow, it was all very Hitchcock.” you rambled. You then stuck out your hand, “I’m Y/n”.

“Stefan” he replied. He then reached up and pulled a leaf from your hair. The way he looked at you, you could not help but smile. This was only the second time you had seen him, but it felt like you had known him your whole life. It was like at that moment everything had changed.

He broke you from your thoughts, “Did you hurt yourself?” he asked.

“Oh, I don’t know” you replied checking over your hands and legs. There was a nasty gash on your right leg from where you collided with a rock. It was starting to bleed enough to soak into your jeans. 

“You should go take care of that” Stefan advised. 

When you looked up, he was gone. You looked around, but there was absolutely no sight of him. Weird. You made your way home and took a shower. As much as you wanted too, you couldn’t get him out of your head. Just the thought of him made you smile. You were about to leave to meet up with Bonnie at the grill, but when you opened the door you literally ran into Stefan.

“I’m so sorry, I was just about to knock.” He said as he helped you straighten back up, “I wanted to apologize for my disappearing act earlier. How’s your leg?” he asked.

“It’s fine, just a scratch. And no need to apologize, blood makes some people squeamish.” You answered.

“Yeah, something like that. I also thought that you might want this back,” he said as he pulled out your journal. 

“I must have dropped it. Thank you so much” you smiled as you collected it from him.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t read it,” he assured you.

“Why? Most people would’ve”

“Well I wouldn’t want anyone to read mine”

“You journal?”

“Yeah, if I don’t write it down, I might forget it. Memories are too important.”

And if you weren’t falling for him before, you were now. It was like he was meant for you. “I’m just going to put this inside. You don’t have to stand out there.”

But he did. 

“I’m fine. Were you going somewhere?” Stefan asked from your doorway. 

“To meet a friend, do you want to join me?” you called back to him.

“Sure” 

At dinner with Bonnie and Caroline, Stefan revealed that he was born in Mystic Falls. He also told you that his parents died and that he was staying with his uncle. Caroline invited him to the back to school party the next night and he agreed to go only if you would be there. Bonnie spoke for you saying that you would be. It wasn’t long before you all went your separate ways. On your way home you contemplated what could be with Stefan, you got that school girl butterflies and heart eyes feeling. Just the thought of him brought a smile. You hadn’t felt this way about a guy in a while. Maybe ever.

The next day at the party, you wondered where he was. Maybe he had decided not to come. Maybe… you turned around and there he was. He caught you completely off guard. 

“I did it again, didn’t I?” he laughed.

“If you mean sneaking up on me, then yes. You seem to be pretty good at it.” 

“Do you want to maybe go for a walk?” he asked.

“That sounds great.” 

The two of you started heading away from the party. “You know you are the talk of the town?”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Attractive, mysterious, newcomer. Oh yeah”

“Attractive huh?” he laughed.

“That’s not what I meant” you replied trying to hide your embarrassment.

“Oh, so I’m not attractive?” he feigned offense. 

“I didn’t say that either” you blushed.

“You also have a mysterious thing going for you, with a hint of sadness,” Stefan replied.

“What makes you think I’m sad” you frowned.

“You forget that we met in a cemetery” 

“Actually, we met in the Men’s room” you corrected.

‘Actually, we met last spring’ Stefan thought to himself.

 You paused for a moment debating whether or not you wanted to tell him, “You don’t want to know. It isn’t exactly party chit-chat.”

“I’ve never really been a fan of chit-chat” Stefan replies taking your arm. 

You took in a deep breath, “Last spring, my parents and I were in an accident. Our car went off the side of Wickery bridge. I was in the back seat. I survived, but they didn’t.” 

You had to focus extremely hard to keep yourself calm. The flashbacks came and the guilt. You were not going to cry. It was four months ago. It is over. There is nothing you can do about it.

Stefan pulled you out of your thoughts. He was staring at you intently, though he didn’t look at you like you were fragile, or like you were broken. He looked at you with understanding and admiration. “You won’t be sad forever Y/n” he stated. The two of you continued to walk and talk. He asked you questions about your interests and your past. 

You eventually circled your way back to the party and he offered to get you both drinks. You were going to wait for him, but then you saw Jeremy stumbling off into the forest. You rolled your eyes at the fact that he was wasted yet again. You went after him and forced him to come with you. You wished that you could’ve found Stefan to tell him that you had to leave, but being a big sister had to come first. Luckily you hadn’t drunk yet, so you could drive the two of you home. 

“Go on, let’s hear the lecture” Jeremy groaned.

“I’m not going to lecture you Jer, not tonight.” You answered.

“Really?” he asked.

“I’m really sorry that you have to go through this. And I know that we haven’t been there for each other lately. But I am still your sister and I still care about you.” You reply, wanting to say so much more. 

“Y/n, I-“ he started as you rolled into the driveway.

“You don’t have to say anything, go upstairs and change. Drink some water, get some rest.” You spoke as you exited the car.

You debated going back to the party and seeing if you could find Stefan, but you had no way of knowing if he was there or not. Instead, you went upstairs, changed into your pajamas, and started writing in your journal.

A while later there was a knock on your door. You were happily surprised to see Stefan. 

“I’m sorry, I know that it’s late. I just needed to make sure that you made it home okay,” he explained.

“I did, and I am sorry for leaving without saying anything. I had to take care of Jeremy.”

“I can understand that”

“It’s warmer in the house, we can talk if you want? Would you like to come in?” you ask hopefully.

“Yes, I would like that” he answered with a smile as he entered your home.

[bellemorte180]

Just Good Business: Chapter Two

Caroline Salvatore, married into one of New York's most brutal crime families.

Niklaus Mikaelson, a notorious mob boss who is hell bent on taking down the Slavatores.

It's an affair for the ages.

WARNING: Incidents of domestic abuse are shown in this chapter.

Chapter Two: 

Six Months Later

At first, Caroline intended her tryst with Klaus to be a one off. It wasn’t. Within the months that followed, it became a habit. It started slow. It was over two weeks before Caroline learned anything of use for Klaus. She overheard a conversation between Damon and Stefan. They would be receiving a shipment of drugs coming down at the docks. Logan Fell, one of Damon’s henchmen was to receive them. Caroline told Enzo to set a meet. He drove an expensive French boutique that she often frequented, dropped her off and a few minutes later, she walked back out, getting into a different car.

Logan Fell’s throat was slit and the drugs stolen; causing a massive financial loss for both Damon and Stefan.

Damon and Stefan would, in return, strike back but Klaus was harder to reach. There were a few petty things here and there that Klaus would allow to happen, giving Stefan and Damon the feeling of power, but nothing major. Klaus had an iron wall built around him mixed with layers of corruption that it was difficult or anyone to get past. It had taken the brothers nearly a year to plan Kol’s death; then it had taken Jeremy close to another year to scope out Kol’s patterns and movements in order to take him down. Klaus was far more careful than his reckless younger brother was. Now, he had Caroline who was able to tell Klaus everything she knew. What surprised Caroline was how much she actually did know. She saw everything and because both Stefan and Damon wrote her off as useless, they said far too much in her presence.

And thus, began their pattern. They would meet whenever Caroline had something to report. Not always, but most times their meetings would end up in sex. Eventually, their relationship developed into a full-blown affair. There where time that Caroline went to him, without anything to report but for the sole purpose of feeling him between her legs. She would leave right after. Until she didn’t. Slowly, she started lingering behind or Klaus asked her to stay longer. They started talking as her head rested on his chest and he played with her hair.

He spoke of his childhood and how he got to this point in his life. He spoke of his father and how he learned he was the product of his mother’s affair; something that still ate at him to this day. He described how he took his own father’s life and how that was his first kill. He told her about Kol’s death, sending Rebekah out of state, leaving only Elijah and Klaus behind.

She told him about how happy she was before her marriage. She told him how her father left them when she was young and died when she was a teenager. She spoke of her teenage rebellion, college and the devastation she felt when her own mother sold her to Stefan.

Soon, it wasn’t just about the sex or information. It became more.

The difficult part was hiding her secret. Sometimes, Stefan was a bit too curious at his wife’s activities while other times, he all but sent her away. Enzo always arranged the meetings. They never took the same car, met at the same place and Klaus bought her a secondary phone-that all her calls from her Stefan approved phone would be forwarded to. If either Stefan or Damon felt the need to ever track her, her phone would always ping at the location she claimed to be at.

They took stalk pictures; just in case Stefan would request proof of Caroline’s whereabouts. Enzo and Klaus thought of everything. Caroline knew that neither Stefan nor Damon suspected that it was Caroline feeding information to Klaus; because they did not think she was capable of much at all. However, they knew that Klaus always seemed to be one step ahead of them at every turn. Neither suspected that there was a mole in their organization, let alone their homes but then again Damon did not suspect what was happening under his very nose.

“They are sleeping together; they have to be.” Caroline replied, leaning against Klaus’s chest. They were lounging in the massive bathtub in his penthouse; bubbles floating around them. Tonight, was one of her friend’s birthday and Caroline was supposedly out at the clubs, having a good time. She went, took photos and left before the third shot of tequila. “I just can’t prove it.”

“That is a problem.” Klaus replied, teeth nipping at her ear; causing her to whimper. His fingers drew circles on her skin under the water. He was stated and relaxed; holding her close. Caroline learned that Klaus, despite the fact that he was possibly the cruelest man she had ever met, liked to cuddle. He enjoyed those moments after sex that were calm and peaceful. Caroline wondered if he had been like that with his other lovers, or if it was just her. She was not sure if she wanted the answer. “I could have Enzo plant something. Camera perhaps?”

“To risky. If he starts snooping around, Stefan and Damon may the wrong idea and think I’m having an affair with him.” Klaus’s chest rumbled from behind her, he reached over the tub to the small stand that was holding their glasses of wine. The friendship that blossomed between Caroline and Enzo was an odd one. Klaus often joked that the man’s loyalty shifted from Klaus to her; but that as long as she stayed safe, it did not bother him. Not only that, but Enzo was fiercely loyal to his girlfriend Bonnie and Klaus knew that. He wouldn’t being doing this job if that was not the case.

“Why are you so certain that Stefan and Elena are fucking, love?” Klaus asked, bringing the glass of red wine to his lips. “You know Stefan is in love with her. It could be one sided. Perhaps Elena is the perfect little faithful wife to Damon.”

“They just are. I can tell.” Her tone held a hint of relief to it that Klaus could not pin point. It wasn’t sadness or fear but something else. She noticed something, a shift in her home and it concerned Klaus. Anything that could possibly endanger Caroline concerned him.

“Caroline? What is it?” She turned in the tub to face him. He narrowed his eyes at her. Caroline did not keep much from Klaus but when she did, it typically had to do with her marriage with Stefan. Klaus did not take kindly to the fact that she still had to play the pretty little wife for the man; especially when it came to their sex life.

“Stefan has been less demanding…...in his visits with me.” Caroline looked at him, his face unreadable. His body stilled but the grip on her hips tightened. She leaned in and kissed him gently, hoping to ease the anger that was radiating off of him. “It has been over two weeks since he wanted anything from me.”

“I don’t like it that he fucks you at all.” The words came out as a hiss. His teeth her clenched together and his jaw locked. His eyes were ablaze with fury. He sat up straighter, bringing Caroline’s lips to his for a possessive kiss. She melted into him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. The kissed for a few moments before he broke away from her. “You’re mine.”

“I’m yours. You know that.” Caroline whispered. “But he is my husband and he will be until all this is over. If I try and refuse him. It would be far worse for me in the end.” They knew it was true. In the early days of her marriage, Caroline learned that lesson the hard way. Klaus knew the stories and it was enough to send him into a frenzy; but he refrained from doing anything rash. They worked too hard to get this far just to throw in the towel now. Killing Stefan would only create more problems. The needed Damon to turn on Stefan.

If only they could find proof of Elena and Stefan’s infidelity…

“I’ll arrange something. A way for me to have eyes and ears in the house.”

“Are Enzo and I not enough for you?”

“You are more than enough. Enzo is disposable.” Klaus joked but it was half-hearted; his mood still black from Caroline’s reminder that she still had to on occasion sleep with her husband. Caroline threw him a small glare at the mention of Enzo. She knew he didn’t mean it, especially since he was still ensuring that Enzo’s girlfriend got the care she needed. “I need something tangible. Recordable. I’ll have to figure something out.”

“Niklaus.” There was a knock at the door. Klaus cursed while Caroline reached for her glass of wine. Caroline climbed off of him and leaned back down into the water; resting against the side of the bathtub. She covered herself with bubbles.

“Come in Elijah.”

Caroline had met Elijah on multiple occasions. At first, the older brother was skeptical of Klaus’s ongoing affair with the young woman. However, Caroline proved herself useful and when he realized that once Klaus was able to dispose of the Salvatore brothers, Caroline would not be going anywhere, he changed his tune and welcomed her with open arms; or at least, as open Elijah knew how to be.

Elijah Mikaelson was scary, intimidating and powerful. He had a high-ranking position in the FBI and had one to many friends in high places. More than once, Elijah came in the cover up some of Klaus’s more impulsive schemes. He was constantly picking up after Kol, when he was alive, who would start a turf war over the smallest of things. If it was not for the lawyers Damon and Stefan employed, she was sure that Elijah would have had them thrown in some federal prison by now on some trumped-up charge.

“Mrs. Salvatore, I did not realize you were joining my brother this evening.” Elijah replied, completely undisturbed that he interrupted what most would consider an embarrassing moment. Instead of turning away, he just leaned against the sink on the other side of the bathroom.

“Elijah, always a pleasure.”

“What do you want Elijah?” Klaus bit out. His mood had soured completely from his happiness earlier. He always enjoyed his moments with Caroline and the fact that they had too sneak around was getting to him. More than once, he thought about having Caroline brought to him, protecting her and hiring her the best divorce lawyer; but that would not solve his need for see the Salvatore brother’s dead. It would only provoke them. Children did not take kind to others stealing their toys.

“I had the most interesting case come across my desk today.” Elijah pulled out his phone from his suit pocket. He showed Klaus a picture of a young woman covered in blood and her head separated completely from her body. “Her name is Meredith Fell. Cousin to Logan Fell, that fellow whose throat you had slit a few months back. She did some interesting work for Stefan and Damon at one time.”

“What about her?” Klaus asked but Caroline grabbed the phone at the mention of the name Fell. She knew that name and knew the connection they had to her husband. The photo was gruesome and reminded her of the photos Klaus had shown her of her mother. “Caroline?”

“This is Stefan. This is his work.” The murder was identical to her mothers. She knew his signature anywhere. It wasn’t that he decapitated his victims but more or less that he enjoyed putting them back together. “Why is it on your desk?”

“Valid question. Why are you looking into this Elijah? A single murder is a bit below your paygrade.” Klaus narrowed his eyes in confusion. The murders that Stefan committed were typically handled by the NYPD and since they bought a new commissioner, it was swept under the rug.

“Because this murder did not occur in New York, but in New Jersey. It crossed state lines and the fact that it bore similar markings to a cold case from six months ago in New York, it became federal jurisdiction. Your mother’s murder.” Elijah linked eyes with Caroline and she felt the emotion well up in her throat. She had accepted that Stefan would not go down for her mother’s death but hearing that there was a small chance almost made her want to cry.

Klaus stood from the bathtub, not caring that he was naked in front of his brother or the fact that water was dripping all over the tile flooring. Elijah scolded his brother and handed him a towel, which Klaus quickly wrapped around his waist. The look on Klaus’s face could only be described as manic glee. This was unexpected but a happy turn.

“Elijah I could kiss you.”

“I’d rather you didn’t.” Elijah replied. “I subpoenaed all the documents from the Elizabeth Forbes murder as well as a few others. I picked up the documents this evening before coming here. It may be a few days but I should have enough evidence to open a formal investigation against him.”

“And if you don’t?” Caroline asked.

“I’ll make enough evidence.” Elijah replied in a tone that was hard. Caroline forgot for a second that this was personal for him as it was for her. Kol was Elijah’s brother too. Klaus could strike, often, hard and fast. Elijah, while not above planting evidence, lying under oath and arranging the occasional accidental death, still had some boundaries that he was forced to operate under. “One way or another, he’ll go down for this.”

“One way or another?”

“Either through the courts or publicly. What I have in store for Stefan and Damon Salvatore is something they will never recover from.”

“Well, this night keeps getting better and better.” Klaus replied. He took another sip of his wine, this time wearing a very pleased smirk. He leaned down and kissed Caroline on the lips. She did not care that she was naked nor that Elijah was standing right there. The idea of Stefan being thrown in a jail cell, even if it would be temporary made her very happy. “Although, I do think we shouldn’t put all our eggs in that basket. Caroline, tell my brother where dear Damon is tonight.”

“He is meeting with Mayor Lockwood later on.” Elijah cocked his head at her and waited for her to continue. “At her house, late on a Friday night.” She could see Elijah’s wheels turning in his head. Carol Lockwood was old enough to be Damon’s mother and while it would not be unheard up, Damon was not one to bed a woman that much older than himself. He was also very faithful to Elena. Probably the only redeeming quality about him. “Now Elijah, get your mind out of the gutter. Damon is expecting a shipment next month. Twelve men are coming in, by ship, from Italy. I don’t know what cargo they are bringing but it’s very important that Mayor Lockwood…looks the other way.”

“Interesting. Very interesting.” Elijah shot a look to Klaus, who had picked up Caroline’s phone and scrolling through it. “I thought you had an understanding with the Mayor?”

“I do.” Klaus replied in an almost bored tone. “It appears her and I will have to have a conversation, and soon.” He turned to Caroline. “Your husband is asking when you plan on being home. I told him that you and that red headed friend of yours were enjoying a pitcher of margaritas. I sent him this picture.” Klaus strolled over to her and showed her a photo that was taken earlier in the night. It was her and Aurora having drinks at the club they had been at earlier; and one she was certain Aurora was still at. “He says not to drink to much and to take your time. Seems like someone is up to something.”

“Well, it looks like you just bought me a few more hours.” Caroline smiled. She reached for his hand and kissed it. Klaus turned to his brother and made a motion that told Elijah he needed to bugger off. Caroline giggled. “I think Klaus is trying to say that you’ve over stayed your welcome. Thank you for the update. We’ll be in touch.”

“Yes, brother. What she said.”

“Very well. Have a pleasant evening. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Elijah shut the bathroom door behind in time to hear the splashing of water and Caroline’s high-pitched laughter. Despite the method of his brother’s relationship with the married woman, Elijah couldn’t help but have a budding respect for Caroline.

It wasn’t until wee hours of the morning that Caroline walked through the front door of the mansion. She had always found it strange that Stefan wanted a home in the middle of upper-class suburbia. It was in a gated community and Caroline hated everything about it. It felt suffocating and fake. The lights were all off, not that she was expecting anything else. Stefan wasn’t expecting her home, believing that she was out with the so-called best friend and as long as she had Enzo and wasn’t making a scene, he allowed for such diversions from time to time. It was to show the world that he was not a controlling husband but one who allowed his wife the social life she had before marriage.

Caroline made her way up the stairs to the master suite quietly, hoping not to wake Stefan, but as she got closer, she could see the light under the door was on. There was a sound coming from inside and it was a woman’s voice. She was moaning and whimpering. There was the slight sound of the bed creaking and hitting the wall. Once she reached the door, she grabbed the handle and turned, pushing the door open.

Inside was the scene she expected the moment she heard those noises. Stefan’s back was to her, his hips thrusting forward. Elena was on her back, legs spread and her body arching into Stefan’s. Her eyes were closed and head tilted in a way that gave Stefan access to her neck. Elena cried out a just as she did, her eyes opened.

“Caroline!?” Caroline jumped back the moment Stefan flew from the bed. On instinct, Caroline did the one thing that her gut was telling her to do.

Fucking Run.

She dropped her silver heels, her purse and bolted down the hallway. However, in her bare feet and tight shiny dress, she just wasn’t fast enough. By the time she reached the stair way, Stefan had caught up with her and grabbed her by the hair; pulling her backwards. Caroline latched onto his hand, digging her nails into his skin; but the slight pain seemed not to faze Stefan. He dragged her down the hallway, Caroline kicking and yelling for him to let her go.

Stefan tossed her into the bedroom, throwing her into the dresser. Her body smashed into it, the side of her face hitting the drawer, before landing on the wood flooring. He reached down and picked Caroline up by her throat and slammed her into the wall. Elena was rushing around the room, frantically gathering her clothes and dressing. Stefan pressed his still naked body against hers and tightened his hand on her throat.

“You say nothing.” Stefan’s voice was the most dangerous she had ever heard it. It was low and menacing. “Do you understand me? You saw nothing. You know nothing. You keep your mouth shut and I’ll let you pretty little head stay on its shoulders. Understand?” Caroline nodded the best she good and Stefan gave her a charming smile. “Good.”

For good measure, he slammed her head against the wall one last time before dropping her to the ground. He kicked her twice in the stomach, causing her to go into the fetal position. Her entire body ached from his assault. Dazzlingly, she could hear Stefan dressing while exchanging words with Elena. She opened her eyes to see a blurry vision of Elena walking past her following Stefan, not even sparing her a glance.

She closed her eyes again, drifting off.

It wasn’t until late morning that Caroline came to. She was in her bed, the same bed Stefan fucked Elena in, and her clothes had been changed. She sat up and nearly cried. She looked down and noticed that her waist was bandaged; and was the part of her body that hurt the worst. She pulled herself from the bed and walked to her now broken dresser. She pulled a change of clothes out and went into the bathroom. She turned on the light and looked at herself in the mirror.

The sight was frightening. There was a cut on her forehead that had been cleaned and a bruise that covered the side of her face. Her neck bore marks in the shape of Stefan’s hand. She didn’t remember getting dressed or cleaning herself up. She turned on the sink and washed her face as gently as she could. She wanted to shower but how her waist felt, she figured it would not be the best idea. She did the best she could to wash away any dried blood that was left. She changed into a pair of jeans and a tank-top with a built-in bra. She figured she would grab a cardigan, despite the hot August air, to hide the bruises that were left on her arms.

“You gave me a right scare last Gorgeous.” Caroline all but jumped back as she re-entered her bedroom. Enzo was standing in the master’s bedroom with a concerned expression on his face. He held up his hands to show her he meant no harm. “I heard the commotion from outside, I came running the moment I heard what was going on. Admittedly, he hid when I saw Stefan and Elena coming out.”

“You cleaned me up.” Caroline replied and Enzo nodded.

“I cleaned the wound on your head. Got you to drink some water and wrapped your waist as tightly as I could. I think you have a cracked rib. I stayed as long as I could, ensuring that you were okay but I couldn’t risk Stefan realizing I was there.” Enzo stated. He walked closer to her and his voice dropped low. “I let him know what I found last night. Caroline, he is ready to reign hellfire down.”

Enzo stepped away from her then and left the bedroom quickly before anyone came upon them. She stood in the middle of the bedroom contemplating and thinking. She knew that Enzo would contact Klaus for her. She could not risk reaching out to him now. Stefan would be watching her and the last thing he could know was about her affair. What he did last night would be nothing compared to what he would do to her if he knew about Klaus. Flashes of the pictures Elijah showed her came to mind; Meredith Fell’s body, her head completely detached from her body.

Once she felt her bravery reached her, Caroline made her way down the stairs. It was slow process. Her muscles ached and groaned with every movement. However, she could not hide away in the bedroom all day; that would only make Stefan angrier. When she reached the kitchen, she made a cup of coffee and sat at the island, thinking the night before and how terribly wrong it went.

“What did you do?” Caroline looked up quickly to see Damon leaning against the archway. His tone was light as though he did not have a care in the world. His arms were crossed and he was eyeing her up and down. “I know my brother has a temper but what did you do that made him that angry?”

“I was out with Aurora last night. Had one to many. Came home late.” Caroline replied.

“And now she knows not to do that.” Caroline froze at the sound of Stefan’s voice. He entered the kitchen, his eyes never left hers-a warning lingering behind them. He took the cup of coffee from her hands and drank from it. He sat it back down and kissed the top of Caroline’s head. “Come brother, tell me about your meeting with the Mayor last night. Tell me, what does she look like at three in the morning?” Stefan chuckled, his tone filled with humor as though his wife was not sitting before him, beaten and bruised.

Days past and Caroline did not leave the house; both because she was too injured and Stefan would not allow it. She stayed put, walking on egg shells and unsure what to do. Damon and Elena were over most days, but that was not unusual. Elena became extremely nice to Caroline, acting as though they had been the best of friends forever. Caroline smiled at her, but did not engage her to much. Stefan’s eyes rarely left hers and he made sure that she was never left alone with Damon; who seemed to notice nothing at all. Enzo filtered in and out as usual, giving her only looks; clearly not being able to say anything at all; but something was about to happen.

Come Tuesday morning, hellfire came raining down. She locked herself in the house, rarely doing anything other than reading and watching movies. Stefan made it a point to stay home for the rest of the weekend and did not go into the office on Monday or Tuesday; telling them that Caroline was sick and needed him to care for her. In truth, he did no such thing. He ignored her and she knew that this was another way for him to control her and watch her movements; but Caroline gave him no reason to strike out at her. It was about ten past nine in the morning when everything changed.

“FBI. Open up.” Caroline sat up quickly, her body crying out as she did. Before anyone could answer the door, it burst open and agents came flooding in. Dozens and dozens of agents started tearing the house apart, looking for something; anything.

Stefan flew down the stairs, demanding to know what was going on. He yelled at the agents who ignored him and continued the assault on the massive house. Elijah Mikaelson stepped over the threshold casually, his hands in the pocket of his trousers; not giving a single fuck in the world.

“Get the hell out of my house. You’re not welcome here.” Stefan hissed at him but Elijah looked at him impassively. He reached into his suit jacked and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. Stefan snatched it out of his hand and began to read.

“I believe that you’ll find a federal warrant allows me to be in every inch of your house.” Elijah replied coolly. A loud crash came from inside the dining room; the china case if Caroline was assuming. “We are investigating the murder of Meredith Fell and re-opening the murder of Elizabeth Forbes. Two deaths we have sufficient evidence to believe you were involved with.”

“This isn’t a warrant to search my house.” Stefan hissed out.

“My apologize. That must be the one for your arrest.” Elijah reached in and pulled out another piece of paper. “This must be the one for the search of your house. Do not worry. We have another warrant searching your brother’s home as well.” Stefan snatched the paper out of his hand and read. “Now, you can either come with me willingly or I can have you taken by force. I’m sure you would not want to make more of a scene in front of your wife.”

Stefan turned to look at Caroline, her bruised face and battered body on display for all the agents around. Her shorts and tank-top left nothing to the imagination. The visible hand-prints on her neck made it clear that she had been chocked. It would not take a genius to know what happened to her and now the FBI clearly knew what Stefan did to his wife behind closed doors. While Stefan was busy glaring at his wife as though she brought the FBI to their door, Caroline stole a glance at Elijah. His expression seemed cool and collected but there was something behind his brown eyes that was terrifying.

“Fuck you.” Stefan replied, turning back to Elijah; who just gave him a cruel smile.

“Take him.” Two agents descended upon Stefan and roughly pulled towards the front door. “I’d cooperate if I were you Mr. Salvatore. I would hate for this to become more of a spectacle than it already is.”

The agents dragged Stefan from the house while Caroline just watched; catching glimpses of her neighbors pointing and whispering behind their hands. Chaos raged around her as her home was being destroyed. Every ounce of furniture was being destroyed, torn apart and searched for something. She could hear the same treatment being done to the second and third floor. When a hand touched her shoulder, she jumped; for a second, she thought Stefan some how made his way back into the house but was relieved to see that it was Elijah looking at her.

“My apologize Mrs. Salvatore. Caroline.” Elijah said, his eyes searching her. “Are you well?”

“I’ve been better.” Elijah nodded in understanding. “Whatever your searching for Elijah, it won’t be here. Or at Damon’s. They are not stupid to keep anything incriminating here.”

“Perhaps but some raids are not meant to find anything at all.” Caroline read between the lines. These agents were not hear to find anything but instead to plant something. This was just one step in a larger plan. “I believe that you’re wanted upstairs Mrs. Salvatore.”

Enzo’s words echoed in her mind. Caroline, he is ready to reign hellfire down.

Caroline gave him a confused looked and it wasn’t until he smiled that she turned and went quickly as she could up the stairs; her cracked ribs only allowing her to move so fast. She passed all the agents and stepped over the debris that was being left behind. Her eyes searching every face she passed, looking for one in particular. When she got to her bedroom, she pushed the door open and saw only one agent. Except, he wasn’t an agent at all and he wasn’t searching for anything.

Klaus stood in the bedroom she shared with Stefan, an FBI jacket hanging off his shoulders. He wasn’t going through their belongings, trashing the room (which was already trashed by another agent) but instead he was installing something in the television that was perched on the mantel, facing the bed.

“Klaus.” He turned when he heard the sound of her voice. He dropped his screwdriver and marched over to her. Gently, he placed his hands on her face. He took category of every bruise on her body and Caroline could feel the rage that was radiating from his skin. His body was shaking and she could feel the tension radiating from him. “I didn’t know you joined the FBI.”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes.” Klaus replied but his lips tugged upward. “I needed a way into this house. To you. Elijah was more the willing to provide the distraction. I was one face of many, storming in. Stefan would be focused on Elijah and I could come in undetected.” Of course, Klaus would use the FBI as a distraction for his own personal vendetta. “I wanted to come here and kill him the moment Enzo informed me of what happened to you. Elijah’s cooler head prevailed. This was Elijah’s plan.”

Caroline stood on her tip toes and kissed his lips lightly. She wasn’t up for anything deeper than a light peck but Klaus was willing to accept what she could give. She buried her face into his chest, inhaling his scent. This the safest she felt in days. Klaus felt like home to her and she wanted out of this hell. She knew that they were working on it but last night scared her. Stefan was one mood away from killing her.

“What were you doing when I came in?”

“Installing a camera. There will be dozens throughout the house once this is over.” Caroline shot him a look. “Stefan’s arrest will only hold him for so long. His lawyers will have him out on bail within days.” Caroline nodded in understanding. This was not the end but instead a power play. Caroline realized that what Klaus had done before, sending pictures of Jeremy’s body, raiding Stefan and Damon’s docks, slowly dwindling down their power, was child’s play. “He will never lay a hand on you again. If he tries. I will know. We are going to attack him from all sides. Financially, ruin his reputation, Stefan won’t be able to make a move without us knowing.”

“And Stefan and Elena? Their affair?”

“Give it time, love, and they will be a tragedy of their own making.”

[groovyzombiellama]

Stuck Between Two

Title: Stuck Between Two

Requested? Yes.

Plot: You are the twin sister of Elena and you are in love with Damon, but due to Elena being in love with him you feel like you will never have a chance, so you move on to Theo, ending up pregnant with his child.

Word count: 1081

—***—

A lot of people lead pretty complicated lives, not knowing where to turn, what road to take. And you were feeling particularly confused with your life at this time, unaware that it would all start getting even worse in a very short period of time. Being the twin sister of Elena Gilbert was sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse. Even though you were twins, and shared a very close bond, everyone somehow first noticed Elena, while you were on the either the second choice or just the somewhat awkward sister to the girl they were interested in. Elena made it clear that you were her sister and that you meant a lot to her, and you were truly thankful for that, but there was one department that she really couldn't help you with. Just like the custom that two brothers fall in love with girl looking like Elena, which hasn't happened yet to you, not that you were aware of, some call it a Petrova doppelganger, but it's pretty complicated, due to her not being the first one, in the same way, two sisters were in love with a Salvatore. You knew that the reason there were doppelgangers of you in the first place was because the universe kept trying to bind for life a girl looking like Elena and a guy looking like Stefan.

But once again it failed, firstly when Elena and Stefan broke up, and she fell in love with his brother Damon, but also because of the fact that you were only great friends with Stefan, and also in love with Damon. Everything about him was just intoxicating to you. He was the typical tall, dark and handsome type, but there was so much more to Damon than that. He was all the things you usually hate on a guy. He was cocky, sometimes pretty harsh, arrogant, fast-paced and so many other things that just make a guy unattractive to you. But when it comes to Damon Salvatore, every single one of those things attracted you to him even more than you'd care to admit. You couldn't really remember when was the last time you felt that way about a guy, but no matter how much you told yourself that you had absolutely no chance with him, because he was in love with your twin sister and dating her, you couldn't find a way to get him off your mind and out of your heart. The more time you spent around him, being part of the Mystic Falls gang and Elena's twin, the stronger your feelings grew.

You knew that you had to find a way to get over Damon, and after going to Beacon Hills for the weekend, trying to get out if town, you figured you've found just what you needed to. It pained you to go out and use another guy to get your mind off Damon, because you didn't want to hurt him, but after trying everything else, from non stop parties to long trips as far away from Mystic Falls as possible, this was your last resort. You and Theo met at a bar one night, when you went out to try and drown your sorrows in a glass of burbon. But the choice of liquor was terrible, because it made you think of Damon even more. Its his favorite drink, and instead of forgetting all about him, you were remenicing about all the times the two of you shared a glass of burbon and just spent time talking. You were the female member of the Damon/Alaric drinking team. But you mostly cherished the times you and Damon were alone, talking and laughing together.

It wasn't until Theo spoke to you that you noticed him sitting on the bar stool to your left. He offered to buy you another drink, and it was only then that you realised you were staring at an empty glass for about ten minutes now. You really didn't care who payed for your drink, as long as you were able to drink some of your sadness away. Theo introduced himself and after shaking hands and exchanging names, the two of you began talking. You had to admit that you were feeling pretty comfortable in Theo's company, which is why you continued seeing him, and that slowly turned into a relationship. At first, you didn't think much of it, and regarded the relationship as nothing more than a fling and your attempt to forget the blue eyed man with raven black hair. But through time, you started thinking that maybe along with forgetting about Damon, you might me starting to fall in love with Theo. You hoped that seeing Damon again wouldn't erupt in butterflies roaming in your stomach. But the moment everything got worse for you was the moment you found out you were carrying Theo's baby.

Yup, that's right. Somehow you actually managed to get pregnant. You knew that Elena would be furious with you and that you'd probably be on the verge of telling her about your feelings towards her boyfriend, so you waited as long as possible before spilling the beans to the Mystic Falls gang. You didn't want to get rid of the baby, because you believed that everything happens for a reason and this baby was in your belly for a reason, and you couldn't bring yourself to just toss that away and get rid of it. Theo was pretty happy to be a dad, he was really starting to fall in love with you, and hearing that you were pregnant made him the happiest man on the planet. But neither the pack nor the Mystic Falls gang were happy about the newfound situation, which kinda had you feeling it was better like that, because for once, you were the twin that was being payed attention to. It was no longer 'Elena, Elena, Elena… OhOh and Y/N too, I guess'. Now they were actually calling you and even if for a while making you feel truly cared for. But no matter what they said, you'd still be keeping the baby. You didn't know the Beacon Hills pack personally, but you could tell they were pretty worried about Theo having another person on his side. But Theo and you were looking towards the future, and starting your lives together, slowly falling in love with each other, and the further away you were from Damon, the less he was on your mind.

—***—

I don’t own either one of the gifs but I was the one to put them together :)

@cokecola4211 I hope you like it ❤️

Edit: I realised that I didn't check the imagine before posting it and left a Serbian word in there, oops sorry 😅

[the-daily-multi-fandom-post]

The oldest Salvatore #2

Part 1          Part 3

Summary: (Y/n) Salvatore is the oldest Salvatore, but only by two minutes. She is Damon Salvatores twin sister. She isn’t what you think though. Unlike her brothers (Y/n) was given the gift of immortality at the young age of 18. But there was a down side to that. (Y/n) has been in a magical induced coma since she was 18, only to come out it when she is needed the most. What happened so bad that she woke out of her Coma? What did she have to do to protect her brothers? Find out when you read The oldest Salvatore. 

“How are you alive?” Damon asked his older twin in awe and shock. She was still wearing what they had  buried her in; her favorite color dress, her soft (hair color) braided down her shoulder, and a pair of black flat shoes. But instead of her being clean. Her dress seemed to be falling apart from being so old. Her hair seemed to have dirt and leaves in the braid. She needed new clothes and a shower. 

“When I was feeding the animals in the barn a woman appeared to me and gave me a gift. She told me it would be used when it was needed.” Y/n answered her twin brother while standing up. “I don't even know why or how its possible, but I’m here.  I’m alive, I was asleep. I don't even know how I even got in the grave. All I remember was the woman giving me the wooden box with a bottle of glowing purple elixir. I don't even know. . .” She was working herself up, she was so overwhelmed with everything going on.

 “How about I take you to your room. You can clean up and get some rest.” Stefan said looking at his older sister. She nodded with tired eyes. Stefan gave Damon a sad smile and took y/n by her hand and lead her to the room. 

They walked up the stairs and to a door right across from Damons. “We made you a room even though we thought you were dead. It helped us grieve and make us feel like you were still there.” Stefan said as he opened the wooden door. 

Opening the door they were meet with a huge beautiful room. Light gray walls with white trimming. A couple book shelves around the room full of all types of books. A large wooden bed frame, framing the queen size bed with a (your favorite color) comforter and sheets. A night stand beside the bed with a small lamp and note book. A dresser beside the closet; both full of up to date clothes, shoes, coats and jackets.

 “Thank you, Stefan. This is wonderful.” She said gratefully. “You’re welcome, The bathroom is right here.” He said as he walked over to the door on the other side of the room. Next to the French doors that led outside to the balcony. “The shower is right here.” Stefan said pointing to the shower. “Shower?” Y/n asked making Stefan chuckle. “Its the same thing as a bath, but instead of being in a tub with boiled water you can control the water.” Stefan said as he looked at his sister. “Turn the knob this way its hot, Turn it this way it gets colder.” Stefan explained, showing her how to do it. “The towels and rags are over here.” He pointed to the cabinet next to the shower. “Soap and stuff is in this cabinet.” He said opening the cabinet under the towels. “I’ll leave you to get a shower. If you need me just yell.” Stefan said looking at his sister with a smile. 

He couldn't stop smiling. He just was so happy to have his older sister back. She was like a mom to him we they were little. She helped him in everyway possible and took so many beatings for both him and Damon. She was always protective of the two. She never let anyone lay hands on her brothers. Not one person but their hands on either one of the Salvatore brothers. Y/n always made sure of the, event though it put her in trouble since she was a woman . 

Stefan left his sister going down stairs where Damon sat on the couch in the parlor drinking some bourbon as he stared at the wall. “I don't understand how she is alive.” Damon said still staring at the wall. Stefan nodded as he poured some bourbon for himself. “I know, I’m going to call Bonnie over see if she can figure out what is going on.” Stefan said looking at Damon. 

Not even two minutes later the front door opened and slammed shut, followed by Bonnie yelling for Stefan and Damon. 

“Stef-, Oh.” She said as she ran into Stefan. “What’s going on?” He asked looking at the Bennet witch. “We have a problem.” 

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whats the problem? Is Y/n the problem? Why is Y/n back to life? Find out in part Three 

[sunshineandfangs]

Klarosummer - Waterfall || Taw'um Alruwh

@klarosummerbingo​

Warnings: some violence and mentions of Damon’s abuse of Caroline. Nothing graphic.

Caroline fluffed her curls, getting them to sit just right as she stared into the water’s reflection. Some would consider it impractical to trek all the way out to the Falls to fix her hair, but...

The young blonde bit her lip. But there was something about what she saw when she looked into the water. She saw herself, of course - and maybe it was just some odd light refraction illusion - but she always thought what she saw appeared a little more confident. As if the version of her in the water was just a bit stronger and wiser.

Whatever, so it was a little silly, but it wasn’t like she was hurting anybody. It was just the town legends getting to her, that you could see your true self in the Falls.

The chime of her cellphone pulled her out of her thoughts. 7:25 its clock announced cheerfully, and she knew she should get going. Caroline gave her hair one last pat and winked at her reflection. 

“Wish me luck with the other brother, kay?”

She whirled around, heading back toward school, a slight bounce in her step.

Caroline Salvatore had a nice ring to it, didn’t it?

---

Her chest screamed in agony, and she couldn’t process if it felt like it was burning or freezing. If it was being crushed or split open.

Her breaths were ragged and wet, the taste of copper on her tongue. Was she dying?

I don’t want to die!

She whimpered, the words only sounding in her head, her lips twitching uselessly.

The roar of the falls was in her ears and still the formation of the rocks funneled his voice to her.

How could she have ever thought she wanted that-that monster.

He was laughing at her. As if her death was amusing. Crowing about how she took care of his cleanup for him. Why it wouldn’t even be an animal attack. Just another sad teen suicide.

Her tears were burning against her face that was rapidly going numb and cold.

I don’t want to die...

---

Caroline had lived a very long time. Centuries upon centuries. Long past anyone she had come to care for, human or supernatural. They all left her in the end, either taken from her while she was elsewhere, by foolish enemies that would pay for their crime thrice over, or by their own will, wishing to take their final rest.

She didn’t begrudge them that, though it made her existence rather lonely. Loves had come and gone. Friends and partners and companions. So, selfishly she took the most comfort in herself. Catching glimpses of the other lives she could have led.

Never though, had one cried out so strongly that she could hear them. 

The voice was young, so young, and dying. Dying while having barely lived at all.

Caroline frowned, unthinkingly reaching out to the dying girl, and to her surprise, she fell through the water.

---

“Hello, Caroline.”

She blinked rapidly, unsure how she had gone from dying to...whatever this was. There was nothing but blackness and one other figure. And she forgave herself for her no doubt idiotic expression considering said other figure was herself!

The other her smiled, looking a bit amused. And Caroline bristled at the apparent condescension. She opened her mouth, about to snap something rude, but they read her irritation and their expression became a bit apologetic before smoothing into solemnity.

They spoke hurriedly before she could.

“I wish I could better explain things to you, Caroline, but you don’t have much time. Your body is still dying and once it does you’ll lose this opportunity to choose.”

“Choose? Choose, what?” Caroline’s brow furrowed, blurting out the first thing that came to mind. “Is this like Harry Potter?”

They looked momentarily confused before recognition sparked. “I suppose that is somewhat accurate, yes. Unfortunately you cannot return. You are human with no magic of your own, I am sorry to say that you’ll just pass out again and die. Truly, this time.”

Caroline frowned, the hope she hadn’t even realized was blossoming crushed in her chest. She crossed her arms, glaring at them. “Then, what? You’ll go?” She meant it sarcastically, but at the slight shift in the other her’s face, she shrieked. “What, is this body snatchers?!”

“No, our bodies will swap places. Mine is not human and will survive the process, while yours will be destroyed.” She spoke quicker, cutting off Caroline’s indignant questions about what the point would be then. “Your soul however is strong enough. It will be able to pass through.”

She was still confused and frustrated. “But you just said that your body will be going to where I am.”

“There are infinite versions of you Caroline and infinite worlds for them to inhabit, as is the case for everyone. Your soul will find its best match.”

Appalled, Caroline retorted, “I’m not going to steal someone’s life!”

The other her stepped closer, expression soft and a bit proud. “It won’t be theft. Two souls can’t occupy one body, wherever you end up, that version of you will have already passed on. Now, I understand this must be a lot for you to process and it’s a momentous decision, but you’re almost out of time.”

As if her words were a signal, the blackness surrounding them seemed to crack and shudder.

Panicking, Caroline began to ramble, words tripping over themselves. “Okay, okay, so like second chances. You go to me. I go to like some coma patient version of me or something. And no one gets hurt? They’re already dead. I’m basically almost dead. And-and you’re whatever you are?”

“Yes,” they nodded.

Caroline ran shaking hands through her hair and took a deep breath.

I don’t want to die.

---

The ancient woman kept her eyes closed through the journey, though she felt her arrival. Water and rock and blood suddenly assaulted her senses where there had been unnerving nothingness before.

With the last connection she had with that odd nexus of worlds she sensed that the other her had also arrived safely. She even got the impression that good things awaited her.

Good luck.

Even as part of her was wishing the other version of her well, the rest of her was processing the events that had occurred in this world. Perhaps, it was a bit duplicitous of her to not have warned the young girl that she would get a semblance of her memories, but she didn’t want to be clueless. And there had been no time to offer the necessary reassurances. 

Standing up, Caroline squeezed the water out of her hair, absently noting she would also need a change of clothes. Above her, the cackles of some obnoxious young vampire cut off.

He flashed down, severely invading her personal space as he stared wide-eyed at her.

“That’s impossible!” He spat. “You were dead.”

Caroline’s lip quirked. “For centuries now,” she drawled.

He spluttered. “But I compelled you! You were just some useless, weak little girl!”

Her amusement quickly faded, events the girl herself hadn’t known had happened flashing through her mind.

Expression dark, her arm shot up to crush his throat.

She had no tolerance for rapists.

He dangled in her grip, weakly clawing at her arm as he choked. She contemplated tormenting him, the type of suffering she could bring down on his head.

But then she thought of the girl he had assaulted and chased to her death. The happiness that girl now had an opportunity to have. Recalled ancient memories of her own beast of a husband. The being she had become after her friend defied nature to help her. And she decided she and the girl both deserved better than to dwell on this cretin.

“Feel fortunate,” she told him. “You’re not worth my time to torture.”

With no fanfare she plunged her other hand into his chest and ripped out his heart. She didn’t bother to watch the light fade from his eyes, simply chucked both his corpse and heart into the woods like the trash he was. 

Let the animals have a feast.

---

Caroline twirled her pen, wondering for the millionth time how the other Salvatore could tolerate going to school. She had to be here because the whole town knew who Caroline Forbes was. Mass compulsion wasn’t worth it when she was choosing to stay.

After all, there was an unusually high occurrence of supernatural drama here and she wanted a front row seat. At least that part was interesting. Plus, she considered it a bit of a homage to the other version of herself that she carried out some of the gril’s dreams. And winning Miss Mystic Falls was actually somewhat amusing.

Not to mention the worried murmurs she had overheard from the rest of her “friends”. Originals? Doppelgangers? Curses? This supernatural world sure had some fascinating things.

And with some fantastic acting (if she did say so herself) she passed herself off as an accidental turning in the aftermath of what Damon had done. (Oh my god! He-What did he do to me? What’s happening to me?! Please, don’t kill me!) 

It certainly won sympathy points from Elena and her disdain for Damon got Stefan to be, at least publicly, quiet about his concern for his vanished brother. It also helped that no body was found.

Caroline smirked, amused by her own thoughts. Those animals sure ate well that night. 

Still, despite supposedly being a new supernatural now, the others mostly kept her on the outer edges of their drama. Perhaps as some misguided attempt at protection. But while it made information gathering a little harder, overall it made her life more convenient. The less time she had to spend acting like a teen aged girl the better, really.

Her eyes shot up as Alaric walked into the room, pen now still and firmly gripped in her hand. Her instincts were blaring that something was off.

She watched with curious eyes as the man asked what they were learning, flipping through one of his notebooks. Odd. Alaric leaned toward the disorganized side, but he rarely forgot his lesson plans.

One of the girls in the front row, Dana she believed, reminded him that they’ve been covering the 60′s as the silence stretched.

“Right. The 60′s,” he repeated, still not sounding particularly prepared.

Her eyes narrowed as she watched him spend a long moment staring at Elena, an abnormal interest in his eyes. It didn’t seem to be lecherous, and Alaric hadn’t sent that type of warning bell ringing, but if she was wrong...

Her grip tightened, near cracking the plastic shell of her pen.

“The, uh,” he coughed as he turned to write on the board. “The sixties.”

Her eyebrow rose as she watched the man literally write ‘The 60′s’ on the board. That was useless.

“-wish there was something good I could say about the sixties, but...” He turned around, continuing to fail at teaching. “Actually, they kind of sucked. Except for the Beatles, of course. They made it bearable. Uh, what else was there? The Cuban missile thing, the uh...we walked on the moon. There was Watergate.”

Elena apparently took pity on the man.

“Watergate was the seventies, Ric. I-I mean, Mr. Saltzman.” She hurriedly corrected as several people stared.

“Right. It all kind of mushes together up here, the sixties, seventies. Thank you, Elena.“

And though Caroline continued to observe the man, he didn’t do anything else suspicious save lecture with little coherence. Continuing to mention random things that occurred in the sixties. Seeming to just list them as they came to mind.

At the end of class, she waved the others on when they glanced questioningly at her, mouthing that she had a question as she gestured toward Alaric.

Leaning back against one of the front desks, she watched as the man shuffled some more papers around. Managing to read some of the print, she was pretty sure he was just trying to get rid of her.

Too bad. 

Clearing her throat, she called, “Mr. Saltzman?”

He looked up, a quickly smothered flash of irritation on his face.

“Yes, what is it?”

She cocked her head, wondering how she was going to play this. She was around 98% positive now that this was an impostor. Possession, illusion, shapeshifting, something to that effect. And if it were any of those things, even if he had an informant, he couldn’t know much about her. Being on the outskirts was once more to her benefit.

Well, I was just complaining about boredom...

She rushed forward, slamming the man against the chalkboard, her forearm pinned across his throat. There was shock and barely hidden rage in his expression.

Her eyes dilated, noting with rising interest that she couldn’t compel him.

“What are your intentions with Elena? Are you some kind of pervert?”

---

Whatever Klaus had been expecting from the blonde baby vampire it hadn’t been this.

Although her audacity was rather infuriating she hardly knew who he was, and her reasoning was arguably admirable. He did value loyalty after all.

So, deciding to go along with it, he reminded her he was on vervain. Then, made up some nonsense answer about being particularly concerned about Elena, name dropping himself as a reason.

Her eyes were still narrowed and suspicious, but she backed off after a moment, letting him fall from her grasp. His landing was awkward with a little stumble in order to maintain his ruse.

She smiled at him, a surprising and delightful amount of malice in her expression. “Of course, Alaric. Rest assured though, if I discover you lied to me and you have nefarious reasons for watching Elena...Well, let’s simply say I will delight in feeding you your internal organs. For decades, if I have to.”

With a little parting wave, as if she hadn’t just delivered a gruesome (by human standards anyway) threat, she turned and strutted from the room.

Klaus leaned back against the chalkboard, staring after her, a little intrigued despite his better judgement.

Perhaps, he should start looking into backup vampires? He might actually regret killing that one.

---

Making her way down the hallway, Caroline processed what she had sensed when she tried to compel definitely-not-Alaric.

Vampire and wolf.

A hybrid.

Her eyes flashed gold as a smirk curled on her lips.

Fascinating.

---

Author’s Note: Title is “Twin Spirits” aka “Soulmate” in Arabic the closet I could get to Egyptian which has one of the oldest stories involving the concept. Ancient Greece does as well, but I’m trying not to repeat the languages used in the titles. (Viaggio and Cuore Malato don’t count since they were technically the same story). 

Considering how this one turned out, I’m quite pleased that “Twin Spirits” really fits though: both soulmates and parallel selves. Also, if you’re curious, I imagine the formerly dying Caroline went to some All Human AU where she’ll get her happily ever after with that version of Klaus ;) I’m a sap, what can I say?

[amirdawar]

In a sea of black, white and silver, she had stood out.

Perhaps a pitiful understatement…

Didn’t she always?

Their eyes met across the expanse of his bustling foyer before he’d even realised it, and he was sure his heart had stopped beating at the very sight. It was all magnetism—raw and innate. He could still sense her presence with no explanation as to why, but a very real frustration at the fact that he couldn’t help it. Brunette hair cascaded down her back, billowing behind with every purposeful stride; the usual beautiful smile, absent. Yet still, her expression silently beckoned him to follow as she weaved through the crowd.

Where was she going? Why the fuck was she here in the first place?

If he’d wanted to be angry about the sight of Lara Rutherford on a night like tonight, he was struggling. Miserably. Amir had no vested interest in seeing his ex-fiancée again—least of all marring these precious moments he wanted to be proud of with their history—yet he couldn’t help but feel as though he owed her. The pain in her eyes was of his doing, he was sure, and whether she was deserving of it or not, that had never, and would never, sit right with him.

The last he’d seen, Revati had been in the company of his parents. If Fatima could’ve had the woman at her side all night to dote over, Amir wouldn’t have got a word in.

He was sure it was the reason his smile refused to fade.

Until now.

Even if he could’ve warned her about Lara’s arrival, did he want to? Wasn’t one of their nights ruined by the unexpected already enough damage? Maybe it was all empty. Maybe he was just looking for excuses because he already knew that acknowledging her presence was wrong. That no matter which way he cut it, somebody was going to be disappointed in him; Revati, Lara, himself.

Aurélie didn’t say anything as he politely excused himself from their group’s conversation. Judging by the fire in her eyes, though, Amir was sure he wasn’t the only one who’d seen the Rutherford.

He followed her. Just like he always did.

Was that what she was thinking to herself as she made her way through the thinning crowds?

Eventually she rounded a corner, as confidently as if she’d been here a thousand times already, and there she waited; a quiet spot now that most of the guests were either making their way to the front of the hotel for the countdown less than half an hour away, or to the courtyard for a better view of the fireworks. They had some privacy. Too much, perhaps, for his liking.

It was a conversation he would’ve rather had in the company of others.

Amir had a habit of saying idiotic things when it came to her, but even he didn’t ask why.

“An Instagram reveal was a little bit harsh.”

It was a solid punch in the face before he’d even gained his footing.

In his excitement to finally be able to share news that he’d kept secret for months, he admittedly hadn’t considered how it might’ve affected anybody but the two of them. It hadn’t been until Ashraf had mentioned TWI picking up on the headline that he’d even considered Lara seeing the post at all, and just because he didn’t owe her a courtesy call beforehand, didn’t mean that he shouldn’t have. Didn’t mean that he had to sink to her level of callousness.

Now he was confronted by the guilt head-on; big brown eyes and the tell-tale signs of tears.

“Lara,” the man faltered. Let out a deflated sigh. “I’m sor—”

He didn’t expect her to bring a hand up to stop him.

“I deserved it. I don’t deserve your apologies.”

He didn’t expect that, either.

“It’s your mother’s ring, isn’t it?”

Amir was so sure he’d never heard her so defeated, he was struggling to stomach the notion that it was even partly his fault. That was the sound of a woman who had come to the painful realisation, valid or not, that she had never been deemed worthy of the same. It shouldn’t have torn at his chest, and yet he couldn’t help it. In every other aspect of his life—every relationship, every decision, every ambition—he had control of himself. But when it came to Lara?

“Yeah, it’s hers…”

The woman merely nodded in understanding, glancing down at their feet.

It fell silent for a moment. Amir wondered whether he would’ve been doing them both a favour if he ended the conversation there; saved her from the regret of this tomorrow morning, and himself from the understanding that he still wasn’t as detached as he liked to believe. Nothing changed the fact that he was in love with Revati—nothing ever could. It was different with her, and he knew even Lara saw it. But shutting out her wasn’t as simple as he’d convinced himself it would be, either. It wasn’t black and white. It wasn’t one or the other. It was cutting away years of unhealthy feelings and toxic habits and praying to God he was still worthy of the better person after it.

It’d taken him so long to remember how to be him without her.

Maybe with this, she was finally coming to terms with the same.

“I’ve been trying to make my peace with this for a long time, and even though I’m not quite there yet, I am trying.”

It sounded so brutal and sincere that Amir believed her. Knew her well enough to realise, as she looked back up at him, that she was still hurting profoundly behind a rapidly fading brave face.

“Are you happy?”

There was no hesitation on his part. Not a single fucking moment. The small smile that followed wasn’t meant to mock, it was merely an involuntary answer in itself.

“Yeah. I am. I’m happy.”

Amir watched as her face fought sadness, acceptance, and stubbornness; all as she nodded, forcing a smile that might’ve been sincere, but evidently still pained her.

“Good.” It came out after some strain, more of a sob than a response, and it cut like a knife. The brunette placed her hand over her mouth as the tears started to pool. “I do mean that. I’m glad.”

Tears were so rare for her—the kind of woman who saw emotion like this as a weakness to be exploited—that when she began to cry, it was more disarming than any of the times she’d screamed at him since the demise of their relationship.

He realised he didn’t know how to deal with it anymore.

“Fuck, Lara…”

When he finally pulled her into an embrace, it was as though she lost all ability to hold it in.

“I’m sorry it wasn’t me,” she muttered into his shoulder, pouring out a soul so many still questioned the existence of. Few realised it in the way he did, but Lara felt just as everybody else; she was just better at hiding it until she wasn’t. “I’ll be sorry about that always. I’ve been God awful, but I really do just want you to be happy.”

“It’s okay,” he muttered, sighing out through his nose as he wrapped his arms around her, chin resting against the top of her head. Was it? ”It’s all right. I wasn’t perfect either. I did some shitty things.”

It didn’t surprise him to feel her nod. Let out a sad chuckle.

“Like not coming home. You said you just needed space, not that you were staying in London…”

The hand that’d been gently rubbing the top of her back stilled.

What?

“You should have stayed, Amir. Even if it wasn’t for me, it would’ve been fine, but Damon. Was it really so bad you had to leave a whole lifetime behind and start over? You couldn’t have even kept The Kingdom instead of going in to business with her for another one?”

Each word that left her mouth was another twist of the knife in his gut, and she didn’t even realise it.

For a moment his head was swimming in confusion. It had to be another round of her usual games; more attempts and guilt, more attempts at manipulating him. But when he leaned back, just enough to look down at her, he realised that she was hiding behind nothing. Lara Rutherford believed the words leaving her mouth, and he was stunned.

All this time, and she’d had no idea?

“Your father told me you didn’t want me back in the city…”

What was happening?

In an instant, her expression shifted. As her eyebrows pulled together in confusion, she seemed to look a whole other type of hurt.

“He told me you didn’t want me back. He said you wanted my hotel, he threatened Rev—”

“What? I never said that,” she denied so immediately, with such offense. “How could I ever say that?” Her voice cracked, and for a moment, the sadness returned again. “I know how much you loved that place. How hard you worked on it. I would never have taken that away from you…”

Lara had no fucking idea?

“I had to go into business with Aurélie. I took a loan,” he clambered for words through his own pain now, shaking his head. He couldn’t fucking believe this. “He gave me nothing for The Kingdom. Nothing. I had no way to pay my investors. All I got for my shares in Empire was enough for the first class plane ticket back to London. I didn’t want to lose either, he gave me no choice. He said—”

“This isn’t happening,” she breathed, stepping back just enough to put her head in her hands. “Damon thinks you abandoned him out of choice.”

“I know.”

Now it was her turn to frown.

“What do you mean, you know?”

“I knew Damon assumed the worst. I was,” Amir paused, realising only now how fucking patronising it was. How high-and-mighty he sounded for ever thinking it was his choice to play saviour, “I was trying to protect him.” Amir pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. “I thought it would be easier for him to believe I bailed than to explain what Andrew had done. What you had.”

Or hadn’t.

God, he’d been so fucking stupid.

“My father didn’t tell me any of this.” Suddenly her back straightened. The tears she’d been struggling to fight back didn’t seem like such a struggle anymore, because the flare of anger had more than subdued them. “He lied to me.”

“He lied to us both.”

How long had he spent hating her for taking The Kingdom away from him? Amir might well have been content to leave Porto Velho for London, but the threats about never being able to go back were a whole other ball game. One he’d blamed on her for years. The idea that none of it had been her doing after all was a monumentally difficult pill to swallow.

Apparently for her, too.

All this time spent in quiet resentment.

Could they have moved past things more easily without it?

“Amir, where are you? It’s almost midnight, man!” The sound of Ashraf’s voice rang out through the hall, and it grounded him in an instant. Where they were, what was happening; it couldn’t be here and it couldn’t be now. “You guys sure he came down this way?”

Lara seemed to realise the same, and pushed him gently back in the direction whence he came.

“Go. Before he sees me.”

“We need to talk about this—”

“Another time,” she finished his sentence, nodding her head. “Another time. It’s okay.”

“There are so many French here.”

If they saw her on the way out, with the way tensions had risen lately…

“I know. It’ll be okay. I’ll wait for the fireworks and leave whilst they’re all distracted, all right?”

Amir’s jaw tensed, begrudging as he took his steps backward.

He watched as Lara took a deep breath. Pressed her lips into a thin line.

Determined.

With her last words, he parted:

“Go. I’ll fix this. I promise.”

[exquisitley-obsessed]

Pieces of People - Part 2

Summary: Vampire y/n returns to Mystic Falls after finding out her friend Stefan Salvatore has gone off the rails with blood, what she doesn’t expect to happen is find out her deep rooted connections with the Michaelson family, in particular – Elijah.

Word Count: 2386

Pairings: Elijah Mikaelson x Reader

Warnings: None <3

A/N: Now the scene is set the next few chapters will hopefully be a bit more interesting <3

MASTERLIST FOR THIS STORY, MASTERLIST

“Wow, so you’ve really got up to a lot,” y/n mumbled, her lips dipping into her fourth glass of golden liquid.

“You could say that,” Damon muttered, now standing and staring into the fireplace where only delicate embers remained, dim but still alive.

“So right now, you have this…”

“Coffin,”

“Yes, this coffin, and you don’t know what is in it but you think whatever is in it will help you kill this Klaus guy,”

“Something like that,” Damon flicked his eyebrows up at her before sitting himself on the coffee table, face illuminated.

“You know what I’m going to say right,” y/n’s legs were tucked up underneath her and there was a satin cushion pulled into her lap.

“Yes,”

“So, will you let me...help that is,” Her head rested against her hand lazily, her eyes fluttering closed with every glass.

“Well, even if I said no, which I’m not going to by the way,” Damon began, “You’d try and get involved one way or the other,” Y/n gave him a look that was somewhere between ‘you’re right’ and ‘sorry’, “Besides, you could actually be useful.” Damon’s face somehow managed to be both mischievous and kind. Y/n hummed in response happily before standing and placing her now empty glass onto the nearest coaster.

“Okay, I’m going to bed because I’m officially exhausted and in the morning…we’ll discuss battle plans,”

“Why are you so exhausted?”

“Well, as soon as I heard about just some of the drama going on around here I basically journeyed over here none stop,”

“Where did you come from?”

“Don’t worry about that Damon,” Y/n distantly smiled, “Just…my problems,”

“Same problems that made you leave the first time?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe,��� Y/n spoke softly, a glint of something cryptic in her eyes, “Now, is it okay if I stay here or should I go find a hotel or something?”

“Oh, don’t be stupid y/n, you know you can stay here,” Damon smiled placing his own glass down before leading y/n over to the warm wooden staircase. “You know,” Damon called over his shoulder, “You could always stay in my room,”

“Well that depends, do you still have those silk sheets?”

“Of course,” Damon murmured leading her down a hallway towards a dark door.

“Ahh, unfortunately, I don’t like slipping right out of bed whilst I sleep,” Damon spun round in a blink to face her, his eyes inquisitive as he glanced over her face, from the edges of her brows to the shadow under her jaw.

“Are you sure?” The playfulness in his voice had disappeared.

“Yes Damon,” Y/n whispered after a moment, her hand resting on the cool metal of the door handle, “I’m sure.”

Pushing onto the door, y/n walked into a familiar room, the room she had stayed in when she was last here in the 50s. And nothing had changed. Walking in, y/n’s mind swam with memories of thick A-line skirts and red lipstick, large curlers and reckless behaviour.

“You know,” She said suddenly turning back to where Damon was leaning against the door frame. “Why is it that whenever we meet you're always in love with another woman,” Damon’s eyebrows instantly furrowed when he heard this.

“What?”

“Oh come on, first it was Katherine and now it’s Elena,” Y/n moved over to the bed and rubbed the soft cotton material between her fingers, Damon didn’t respond. “Don’t fret about it though, I think she likes you too.”

“So, you’re not mad?” Damon questioned, moving a little further into the room. Y/n’s head snapped over to him.

“Damon. I literally have no reason to be mad.” y/n distantly smiled, “You will always be first and foremost my friend. No matter what…slip-ups we had in the past. If she’s someone that could make you happy, then I’m happy.” There was a pause between the two, both of them staring at each other with a wistfully happy look.

"I really think she is."

 It was the next day and the sun was gently tumbling through the half-closed burgundy curtains of y/n's new and temporary room. But then again, everything becomes temporary after so many years of living. Last night had been a successful reunion with Damon, however, the butterflies in y/n's gut left her still with an uneasy feeling. She had still to meet Stefan.

Groaning, she rolled out of her bed, her heart swelling once more at the sight of the room, a room that seemed to have quite literally been waiting for her to return. The dresser still had some old sketches she had done way back, the vintage mirror had a small crack in the top left from when she had carried it into the room and held on a little too tightly and, of course, there was a small board next to the door full of pictures from the 1950s, all black and white.

Some were of Mystic Falls, pictures of the river and the flower garden outside the church. Other were of y/n herself, taken by her passing friends or the Salvatore brothers, some of them even had the Salvatore brothers in them. One, in particular, stood out. It was of y/n squashed in between Damon and Stefan, all three of them grinning to contain their laughter from a long-forgotten joke.

Back then y/n wasn't too stressed out about the secret that had haunted her for nearly 900 years. But after a rather deep and dark night with a rather strange nightmare, y/n couldn't ignore the fact anymore. She had left almost immediately the next day, setting off on a journey back to her hometown of y/h/t.

Sighing heavily, y/n gently opened the door and shut it behind her before padding over the rich russet floor to the staircase, her socks slipping every so often on the smooth wood. Making her way into the never used kitchen she flicked through barren cupboards only finding half-empty bottles of liquor.

"God, they really do have a drinking problem," She muttered under her breath right before she found what she was looking for, coffee. "Oh, hell yeah," She sighed, reaching out and wrapping her fingers around the box.

"Looking for something?" The voice behind her came almost out of nowhere, with a small yelp y/n swung around to confront who was behind her throwing the box of coffee in the process, the figure lifted his hand in a split second and caught the box. Y/n immediately went into attack mode before she saw who it was.

"Stefan," She sighed heavily, "You scared me,"

"I could say the same thing," He replied calmly, moving over to the coffee machine and filling it up, y/n remained silent. "What you doing here y/n?" Stefan's voice was cold.

"Oh, you know, I was passing through town, thought I'd drop by to see my best buddies Stefan and Damon Salvatore," Y/n murmured back as she pulled herself up onto the kitchen's island. Stefan simply stayed silent as a response.

"Honestly y/n, why are you here?" Stefan finished with the coffee and turned to face her. Y/n looked him up and down, he really had changed. There was something taught and restrained about him, it seemed like every muscle was standing on end, his smile was pushed and sad and his eyes were drained of any emotion.

"Honestly…I heard about you," Y/n said softly, "I heard you'd gone off the rails with blood and...I wanted to help," Stefan didn't respond, he simply turned back to the coffee machine grabbed the mug placed it next to her and went to leave. "Stefan wait," Y/n followed him into the hallway, the coffee left behind.

"Why? Because I need to hear about how you want to fix me, how everyone I care about, even you, is looking at me with either pity or anger? Well, guess what y/n, you can pack up and go back to wherever you ran off to the first time because I’m back on animal blood." Stefan swung back around and began striding away.

"Stefan!" Y/n gasped, "Why the hell are you being so rude?" She strode right after him.

"Oh, don't act like that y/n," Stefan's voice echoed throughout the hallway. Then, Stefan abruptly stopped just at the top of the main living room, y/n was just about to retaliate when she saw why Stefan had stopped. Standing in the living room was Damon, Elena, a pale girl with blonde hair, a dark girl with brown hair and a tall man with a shadow-like stubble.

"Ah," Damon hummed, "Now everyone's here, we can start the meeting."

 “So, to recap,” Damon called out in his commander voice, “Me and Stefan will go to dinner with Klaus and Elijah to buy you time to open up the mystery coffin.” Damon briefly looked at the girl Bonnie, “Rick, you Caroline and Elena should look into the sexy psychotic doctor, I want to know what her deal is.”

“I’m on it.” The sweet man with messy hair responded but not before giving Damon icy eyes.

“I have one question,” Caroline piped up, her sweeter than sugar voice echoing throughout the room, “Who’s she?” She gestured vaguely to where y/n was standing behind the sofa.

“She,” Damon met y/n’s gaze, “Is unimportant,” y/n raised an eyebrow and Damon sighed heavily, “For now…I’m sure she’ll somehow come into play later.”

“She...is also here to help,” y/n turned back to Caroline, “Not harm.”

“But how do you know Stefan and Damon?” Caroline pushed further.

“I’m just an old friend. I knew them before they were vampires and I stayed with them for a little bit in the 50s.” Y/n shrugged.

“Woah,” Caroline murmured, “I feel sorry for you.”

 “So, you okay staying here looking after the house for tonight,” Damon was pulling on a black suit jacket getting ready to leave.

“Of course, but the more important question, are you okay with this?” Y/n questioned, wearing an old pair of pyjama shorts and an oversized cropped hoodie with thick, woollen socks.

“Yeah, don’t worry about me,” Damon grinned in his lovingly cocky way, “I’m in good with this Elijah guy, we’ll be just fine.”

“Elijah…” Y/n rolled the name off the tongue, “That name is so familiar to me. Is he someone I would know?”

“I’d hope not, he’s an original, granted he’s the nicest of the bunch, but…still.” Damon pondered. Just then Stefan walked into the room, buttoning up the cuffs of his fitted black suit.

“You ready?”

“Woah, so you guys are really digging the black suits right now.” This only earned a playful eye roll from both brothers.

“Okay, we’re off, see you later,” Damon said, jumping up the small set of stairs and heading for the door.

“Be safe, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Y/n called after them. After watching the door close behind the Salvatore brothers, she found herself flopping onto the couch.

“Hmm,” She sighed looking around, what was she going to do?

But even when she had woken up this morning she had already known what she would spend her evening doing. Running up to her room she grabbed a small notebook from within the folds of her pillows and a pen from her dresser before settling back down onto the sofa.

Opening it up to the first page, y/n began to read. She was reading the journal she has kept for the past 5 decades, documenting every discovery and every new lead she had ever had, all to do with the secret that confronted her in a nightmare not so long ago.

See, y/n was born in 1111, which would make her supposedly 900 years old. She spent around 19 years of her life being human, but she only knows this from judging her body. But the secret is that she doesn’t know how she became like this, how she became a vampire. She has no idea who turned her, or even if she had a choice in the matter. All she knows is, is that she woke up in 1180 in northern England as a vampire. That’s 50 odd years of her life and her infancy as a vampire that she doesn’t remember, that in her mind, it’s just a period of a blank black canvas.

It was only after a nightmare in the 50s that finally forced y/n to seek out those 50 years she doesn’t remember. So she travelled to the town she was born in, and from there went to northern England. Documenting the entire experience in this journal, and not stopping until she had heard word of her friend’s Stefan and Damon’s trouble.

And tonight, it was about time that she sat down and read through the entire thing, to try and make sense of the messy scribbles, and emotional rants. As the evening passed y/n took in page after page of her own writing, reliving every moment she had spent tracking down those lost years.

As she read she underlined questions that still didn’t have an answer to like did someone or something take these memories from me? And if so why and who? And who turned me into a vampire? And how did I end up in Northern England?

She read, and she read and she read until one of the few remaining clean pages presented itself to her. Picking up the pen she took her time and wrote out a word.

Elijah

The word was so familiar, but how could it be when she knew for a fact that there were no Elijah’s in her life, there have never been. So, she wrote it out again, the same curl of the ‘e’ and swoop of the ‘j’ slowly began to burn into her eyes, haunting her soul. Moving on she wrote out another two words, unsure if she would feel anything similar.

The Originals.

As soon as she wrote it she found herself drawing a neat oval around the words. It was at this moment that a chill began to run the length of her spine causing her to slam the journal shut creating a noise like a snapping bone. Glaring into the fire, y/n got up and poured herself a drink and, at that moment, she just knew.

She knew she was onto something.

next part

tag list: @bcfangirlthatswhy

[elejah-verse]

I Can Dream About You/3

Fanfiction

Elijah Mikaelson x reader

Another time...another place... A Rock’n’Roll Fable

AU TVD/TO story

With Klaus Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Caroline Forbes, Rebekah Mikaelson, Stefan Salvatore and others

a/n: I just want to say thanks to everyone liking this story and reading. Love you to bits. xoxo

tags @rissyrapp20 @dendrite-lover @elejahforever

_____

Stefan arrived at the Salvatore Mansion parking his bike in front of the main entrance, together with his biker mate Enzo. The walked inside in their muddy biker boots, smelling of machine oil, not caring about where they now took off their jackets. Lily Salvatore, having heard the bikes pull in got out of the lounge to meet her son.

 "How I've missed you"- the woman now moved to her son giving him a kiss on the cheek, which Stefan let her, just to please her. He didn't like her molly-cuddly ways, so he quickly moved away.

"Can you please put the jackets away- if your father sees them with that sign on the back, you know how furious he would get"- Lily asked in a sweet mellow voice.

The jackets had a black reaper sign at the back with the name of his biker gang- RIPPERS.

"I really don't care if he sees it or not. I am not staying long. I just came to get some stuff"- Stefan walking now up the stairs to his room. 

Lily was now slightly agitated and she hurried after her son, trying now to talk to him to reconsider leaving the family altogether.

"He didn't mean it. You know how furious he gets, but then when he calms down, he sees sense"- Lily said referring to the very heated argument Stefan had with his father Giuseppe the day before, adding-

"Your brother is getting married tomorrow. Will you not be standing as his best man?"

"I am. I promised Damon, and I will do it. But that's the last family thing I will do."- Stefan said.

"Oh, Stefan, why are you so stuborn. See, how Damon changed. He found a good girl, he will start a family- what will happen to you?"

"Come on, mom. Damon is doing this for the money." - Stefan said.

"It's not true. He loves Rebekah."- Lily said.

"Keep telling yourself that."- Stefan shot back at his mother.

Lily's eyes now watered. She could not believe, or accept that her sweet little boy changed so much. She blamed it on the bad company he kept, turning him into, what she considered, bandits. She tried to get him away from the bikers and get him back to be her golden boy. But after having felt the taste of freedom, and not having to live according to his father's rules, there was no turning back. 

So, how did Y/N get involved with the likes of Stefan Salvatore? 

Well, after Elijah left, without  giving her any particular explanation, she went from shellshock mode, into sadness, which transformed into anger and then not caring much. And at that point when she was lingering between anger and not caring  much what will be, she hooked up with Stefan at a New Year's party in the Diner. Which was roughly some six months after Elijah had left. And so they went from seeing one another on occasion, to seeing one another quite frequently. He treated her good when they were together. They had fun. It was nothing heavy, and she didn't want it to be, and neither did Stefan. She swore to herself she would never fall hard for a guy, like she fell for Elijah. 

She was in love with the dapper SEALs marine from the first hello they had exchanged when they met at the Mystic Fall's Lake Fest, nearly four years ago. And it was bliss, even though her parents had reservations about her dating seven year her senior. When they met, Y/N had just turned 18. But since he was the most responsible Mikaelson, they didn't mind. He had already had a rank of commander in the Navy Seals. And he was reconsidering retirement and getting out of the force. But there were not many people like him around, so very capable, honourable and reliable, and the Navy couldn’t  let him go just yet, granting him only free time till further notice. It was unheard of, but in certain occasions, certain operatives got more than some ordinary military officer would get. 

After hellish five years of service as part of the special operative forces, living a life that was strictly about the operations, returning home to Mystic Falls, he plunged into what some would call just a normal life, completely giving himself into all that it offered. He enjoyed the time with his family, his sister and brother. Letting himself fall in love. Same as Y/N, he had fallen hard. The military and his operative life seemed to be a different universe, he had blocked out, as if someone compelled him to do so. 

He had told Y/N bits and pieces of what his military past, but he could not tell her exactly what he was doing and definitely not about the ops. And whenever she would start to ask more questions, he would override the conversations kissing her, or talking about some every days stuff, her stuff- or his family's, like he wanted to completely erase that he was a navy officer. 

"Let's talk about how beautiful this sunset is"- he would say as they sat down at their favourite spot at the pier-"navy life is so boring. We're like robots sometimes, everything is 9:00 this or 15:00 that- I love to watch the colours the sun paints tonight- or - how the rays play out the brown shades of your eyes"- looking at her like no other looked at her before. Kissing her like no other did before, making love to her like no other made before.

And then all was gone one day- just like that. Puff. Only a letter remained and a heart that stopped beating with the love. At least with the love it beat for him. 

At the Mystic Falls Lake, now, Y/N  stopped crying. She looked at herself in the review mirror. Her eyes were all puffed up. 

“No more crying over him. This is done.” - she now put the engine on and drove away from the place. As she got back to the house, she tried to wash it with extremely cold water, hoping to reduce the puffiness. She hated feeling the way she felt. All mushy. But, it could not be helped. The emotions she had bottled up for a very long time now played like someone let million butterflies boxed up loose. She now flashed back at the brief moment earlier as his hands on her arms, him being so near her. She now gulped shivering up inside. 

A knock at the bathroom door, hearing Caroline's voice brought her back to reality. She answered her friend that she would be out in a minute. Y/N now wiped her wet face off with a towel. Running her hands through her hair she took a deep breath, and then got out to meet her friend.

As she got out, Caroline noticed immediately that she had been crying.

“What’s happened?”

Y/N now had to tell her what had happened earlier at the Mystic Lake.

"He went there? Oh! That means he is still hung up on you"- Caroline said enthusiastically.

"And so what if he is. What's the point. He will leave again. Maybe already in a few days when the wedding is done. And I am so stupid to even cry over someone like him. I wish I had never met him."- Y/N said with an angry tone.

"And what if he is not"- Caroline said.

"Please can we talk about something else- like are we going out to the movies."

Caroline was not so happy about Y/N swaying of the subject. She would want to now dissect every detail of the conversation, of the move he made, her friend made, what his facial expression was. And, of course make an elaborative plan how to get the man of her friend’s dream back. But, she understood that Y/N wouldn’t want to rake through her heartache involving this particular man, and she now said somewhat resigned with a huff-

"We can do. Streets of Fire are on. Or rebel without a cause"- Caroline said.

"Streets of Fire"- Y/N chose.

"So- how about the non-bachelorette party?"- Caroline asked-"she didn't invite you even though you are Stefans +1"- by she the blonde meant Rebekah.

"Are you kidding me? She would rather have her head shaved than invite me. And who wants to be with those five fakes anyway"- Y/N now referred to Rebekah's female clique. 

"You're right"- Caroline said.

"Plus, I don't think I will go. He will be there"

"Elijah is her brother, of course he will be there.”

"Exactly"- Y/N said.

"But, you are Stefan's +1"- Caroline stressed out again.

"I can't be around Stefan now. Last night-  when he kissed me and we started - you know- but- when he touched me- I could not be with him. I don't know why- I pushed him away- and he left pissed off-"

"Seriously? Did you really push him away?"

"I did. Told him that I was tired and - never mind. I really have a headache. Can we have a rain check. I really don’t feel like going anywhere.”

"Oh, no. You can't stay at home. It would look like you are pining over him- Elijah I mean. And everyone will be out on the town tonight. It’s the bachelor and bachelorette night of the year I also heard there will be a chickie run tonight. De Martels are organizing it. It's all a hush thing- but everyone who is everyone will be there. You can’t miss this.”

Chickie run or a chicken race was a illegal race thing, where guys test their gall and bravery by taking their cars to the cliff and racing them towards the edge. The first one who jumps out is considered chicken.

Y/N hated such things. And she only went once to it back in High School.

"I am not going there."- Y/N said-"it's such an immature thing to do."

"Right. Movies then"- Caroline said.

"Yes, the movies. Ok. Let me change." - Y/N now went to her wardrobe and started looking at the dresses and sweaters. Finally she got her skinny jeans out and decided to wear a white shirt with it. She put her new red high heel shoes, and wrapped a short red scarf around her neck. Deciding after a while what to do with her hair, she pulled it up in a ponytail.

“Ready”- she said to her friend as she got out of the bathroom, giving herself one more look in the mirror.

_____

Earlier, at the Mikaelson Mansion

After the meeting with Y/N at the Lake, Elijah went directly back to the Mansion.  And straight to their gym, down in the area of the cellar. He took his jacket off- put the boxing gloves on  and got all of his frustration out on the punching bag.

Klaus walked in the gym having been told by the many wedding staff that they saw Elijah go down to it. Elijah was still kicking the soul out of the bag.

"I gather you were with Y/N"-his brother remarked. 

Elijah stopped for a second, sweat dripping down his forehead now looking at Klaus-

"What is it? You don't have to check upon me. I just- I will be fine."

"Sure you will."- Klaus said-"ahm- well, Kol and I are going to the bachelor thing. Well, we are crushing it. Wanna come- you can actually punch the real face out of Stefan Salvatore"

"Not interested. We may not like the Salvatores, but Rebekah does. At least one of them. If he comes to the wedding with a busted lip, she will have your guts for garters."- Elijah now took the boxing gloves off adding-"This is my mess. I left the girl broken hearted. It has nothing to do with him." - Elijah grabbed his jacket now and walked out of the gym. 

Klaus followed him continuing to talk him into going out with them anyway. Maybe he would find someone else. Y/N could not be the only woman, surely, Klaus egged him on to look somewhere else.

"Not for me" Elijah said as they walked upstairs to their bedrooms-"why are you bothered so much about me. How is your love life? Kol tells me you and the bartender got close more than once. Forever playing the field? She seems a sweet woman"

"Camille? Well, yeah, she is sweet. But she doesn't move me"- Klaus said.

"Father will expect grandchildren soon"- Elijah said.

"Are you serious? What I am supposed to put shackles on just because he wants an heir. Rebekah is giving him one"

"But you are the first born"- Elijah now joked at the expense of his brother adding-"you know what he is like. Old school- Rebekah will be a Salvatore tomorrow, so- "

"So, you go and find someone and make him loads of grandkids. You're the marrying kind, which brings me to the point- you were so in love with Y/N, and I know she was crazy about her- how come you didn't ask her?"

Elijah now gave Klaus a serious look-"You're seriously asking me this"

"I am seriously asking you this"- Klaus said.

"Did you not see me the way I was when they got me out of that wretched place? By some strange providence I made it alive. And with my body limbs in tact"

When Elijah was rescued from the Burmese prison, Klaus went with Mikael to the Navy hospital in California where they transported Elijah. They could barely recognize him. He was skinny, malnourished. Had broken arm, leg. Beaten severely and mentally tortured. The op went horribly wrong as one of Elijah's squad was a traitor. Elijah spent more than  a year and a half recovering in California. No one knew about it, except for Klaus and Mikael and they were sworn to secrecy. The real truth was kept from Esther, as well as Kol and Rebekah.

Klaus now just nodded his face serious as well, muttering a sorry.

Elijah hated bringing all of that up and now told his brother that he would go get a shower and joined them a little later. 

All the time in California, he worked hard on his recovery. Mental and physical. All that time, as well as in prison, Y/N was always on his mind and in his heart. The thought of her had made him survive when he thought he would break down completely. Many times, during his recovery he would go to the phone and stand there wanting to make a call. But what could he say. And it would not be fair to her to drag her into his messed up world. She should be free to live a life without difficulties and study. He didn't want to take her away from her studies. Little did he know that she would abandon her pre- med and settle to be a nurse instead.

As he was leaving the Mansion, he caught up with Rebekah, who was going out herself-

"Please, make sure they don't get drunk like skunks. Damon, too. I want a nice day tomorrow. That goes for you, too "

"You have my word Miss Mikaelson"- Elijah saluted the blonde.

"Don't joke, Elijah. I'm serious"- Rebekah slapped him across the arm.

"I'm not joking. That's my mission for the night. I know what they are like"

"Good. I'm so happy you're back."- Rebekah said scampering away as her friends now arrived in a car to pick her up.

Elijah got into his Porsche and drove off as well.

💗💜❤️

The full moon smiled down at everyone that night. The bachelor party as well as the bachelorette party started off as usual. Drinks, dance, strippers appearing in each party. Elijah keeping a watchful eye at his brothers, till the De Martel brothers and friends appeared- crashing the party and causing everyone to  end up on the Mystic Hill on a dare. It was, of course about the Chickie race thing.

No matter how hard Elijah tried to convince Damon and Kol not to get into it, nothing could be achieved.

"You of all people know what honour means. This is not the navy, but I have to keep my honour up there"- Kol spat drunken at his brother.

Klaus, who had a bone to pick with Tristan anyway now said that he would go against him.

In all that craziness, Stefan arrived with his biker mates. Y/N and Caroline followed having heard in the diner about the race taking place.

She was a bit surprised seeing Elijah there, but it was soon clear that he tried to stop all of them involved from doing something stupid. And then, something extraordinary happened. One of Stefan's Ripper biker mates punched Lucian as he spat at the biker about something, which blew into a big punch up. In all the madness now Stefan, who was fuelled earlier by Enzo about how he saw Y/N and Elijah together talking sweetly to one another,  went  to Elijah swinging a punch at him. Elijah gave the biker as good as he got. Seeing what was happening, Y/N could not keep away as she knew this was about her now went to separate them, wedging herself between them- "STOP IT"- "ARE YOU MAD- ENOUGH! "

As both men felt their jaws now looking at each other with raging eyes,  someone shouted that cops were on the way, Stefan looked at Y/N meaning are you coming and she shook her head slightly meaning  a no. He just waved with his hand at her a whatever running away to his bike disappearing in the night with his friends.

Elijah now grabbed Y/N’s hand and they ran to his Porsche, her now shouting at him that she has to get Caroline.

"I saw her get away with Klaus"- Elijah said-”come on. We got to get away”

"Are you sure?"- Y/N asked.

"Yes. Don't worry. He'll take care of her."-Elijah replied.

"Ok"- Y/N said slipping inside Elijah’s Porsche now. Him pressing the gas full on, with the car screeching, they literally flying away from the place into the night.

-to be continued-

[writingkeepsmewhole]

I’m Forgiven?

This is part 5 of Vampire Princess. This is a long one. Octavia goes to the founders day party her making admins with Damon.

Damon Salvatore x OC Octavia

Warnings:None?

Taglist I’ll happily tag you” @problematicpastry @butifulsoul125 @kpoplover1306xdepressedgirl315

Part 1  Part 4 

It’s been a few weeks since my almost, whatever I had with Damon. Caroline has not treated me any different making me guess Damon hasn't told her. Making me feel even more guilty for not saying anything. The guilt thickens when I catch Elena looking at me with the judgmental big sister look she gives Jeremy.

I found myself staying in my room more and more because of it.

Sad thing is I talked to a crow more than I have people.

Walking down the stairs dressed in fluffy ripped up skirt and a corset top and a leather jacket. My hair was braid and I had purple smokey eye and nude lips. My knee high black boots in place on my feet.

I took note of Jeremy storming up the steps. Sighing I finished the walk into the kitchen to see Elena sitting at the table.

“What did you do to our little brother?” I asked earning myself a slight glare.

“Nothing, I just-.” She was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

“I’ll get it.” She says standing up.

Sighing I move to the the bowl on the counter taking a apple.

“No pancakes?” Jenna asked smiling.

“Not today I’m going to have a people free day thank you.” I say grabbing my bag where I left it on the couch the night before.

“Same as you have had a people free week?” She asked making me tense slightly.

“Exactly.”

“Hey, O?” She says right as I get to the front door.

“Are you okay? I mean I’m here if you want to talk.”

“I’m fine it's just hard getting use to everything.” I say putting on my best fake smile.

“Oh alright. Well if you promise you are okay.”

“I promise.” I say smiling again then quickly leaving before she can ask me anything else.

Hearing a caw as soon as I stepped outside made my head snap to the porch swing seeing my crow sitting there.

“Don’t poop on my swing.” I say pointing at it then walking down the street.

After a few hours of drawing at the park I decided to grab lunch at the grill.

I changed my mind when I saw Caroline talking to Bonnie. She saw me to though waving me over.

Sighing I moved to sit next to Bonnie.

“Hi Care.” I say smiling softly.

“Hey are you okay O?” Bonnie asked looking at me.

“Just having a bad, well week.” I say shrugging.

“I’m sorry do you wanna talk about it?”

“Yeah we can talk if you want.” Caroline said chipper as always.

Sighing I decided it was best to just tell her tired of the guilt.

“It’s about Damon…” I say slowly not knowing where to start.

“Is this about you guys talking the other night at the game and Elena thinking you two were doing something?” She said quickly surprising me and Bonnie.

“How did you know?”

“O, Damon told me silly.” She says smiling.

“It’s fine I’m not mad at you or him it was a misunderstanding.”

“Caroline I don’t think-.”

“It’s okay really trust me. I’m not mad.” She says smiling as if to make me feel better.

“Anyways I better go I have to get dressed for the party tonight. Are you two coming.”

“Yeah I’ll be there.” Bonnie says smiling up at her as Caroline moved out of her seat.

“And you Octavia?”

“Umm, Yeah Elena is making me go.”

“Awesome see you two there then.” She says smiling and walking off.

“That was weird.” I said.

“I think that was just Caroline she has been like that a lot lately.”

“Maybe she is on drugs?” I ask looking at the door then at Bonnie.

“Or just really happy.”

“Something.” I say as a waitress comes over to take my order.

“So what happened between you and Damon?” Bonnie asked.

“I don’t know even if it really was something. We didn’t do anything we just….”

Not knowing what to say I found myself playing with the salt shaker.

“Octavia tell me.” She says taking the salt from my hand and setting it down.

“We were just talking, we were just standing really close is all.”

“Did you want something to happen?” She asked

“That’s the part that scares me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. I think I just need to laid.” I say laughing softly.

“Well, just be careful I get a bad feeling from Damon.

“Like a witchy feeling?” I asked earning a slight glare.

“No just be careful.”

“Always.” I say smiling at her.

Pushing myself away from the table I stand up and grab my bag.

“Where are you going?”

“Home I have party to get ready for.” I say lifting my shoulder in a shrug.

“You don’t seem to pleased about it.”

“If Caroline is going so is Damon so that’s just gonna be really awkward.”

“Why Caroline didn’t seem mad about it.”

“Yeah but I don’t know how Damon feels about it. Or I for that matter.” I say accepting the fact I was perplexed by Damon.

“Well I’ll be there to give you an excuse to stay away from him.”

“Bon Bon you are never an excuse you're a priority.” I say winking at her earning a laugh.

“I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.” She says waving.

Waving I turn and leave the Grill and start walking home.

“I’m home.” I yell when I walk into the house only greeted by silence.

“If there is a psycho killer here let me eat before you take me out thanks.” I say walking to the kitchen only stopping to throw my bag on the couch.

Opening the fridge I sat to making a sandwich with a cold pop.

“Yeah because this is healthy.” I say looking at the more than enough chips on the plate.

Going into the living room I eat a chip while turning on the TV.

“Another body found.” Flashes across the screen making me sigh.

“Why are you watching the news. You hate the news.” Says a voice making me jump.

I turn around to see Jeremy looking at the TV.

“I just turned the TV on ya creeper.” I say turning back to face the TV.

“Why are you sneaking up on me.”

“You are the one that started yelling as soon as you got here.”

“So you just decide to sneak up on me because I yelled.”

“Yeah seemed like a good idea. I didn’t really plan anything it just happen.” He says moving to sit beside me.

“Well what’s up with you? You seemed pretty mad this morning.”

“Oh you know just are big sister being a grade A bitch like always.” Jarmey says making me blink at him a little shocked.

“Sorry she has just been on my case for a while.”

“Yeah mine too.”

“What did you do?”

“Almost kissed Caroline’s boyfriend.”

“The older dude?”

“Yeah.”

“Funny didn’t peg you for liking older men.”

“He’s not that old.”I say shoving him with my shoulder making him laugh.

“Hey I don’t judge just didn’t know you liked wrinkles.”

“He’s not that old!” I say again laughing it mixing with his own.

After we calmed down and ate my sandwich I nudged Jarmey with my elbow.

“Alright tell me what’s going on with you and Elena?” I say earning a sigh from him.

“She is giving our parents stuff to Ms. Lockwood for the party tonight.”

“Yeah I know.” I say softly not wanting to anger the beast.

“Yeah well you know she is giving Dad’s watch. Just giving it over like it meant nothing to him.”

“The men of this family are meant to have it. It’s not meant to be in some case with people staring at it remembering how are parents died and giving us some pity glance all over again.” He says his voice getting louder and strand the more he talks.

“I’ll talk to her.”

“No I don’t want you to talk to her. No one should have to talk to her she should just think about someone other than herself.” He says standing up.

I take a breath and stand up and wrap my arms around him.

I was always put in the middle maybe that's why I was closer to Jeremy than Elena. After our parents died she separated herself and left me and Jarmey alone so it was only natural for us to be closer.

“What’s going on?” Asks the person we were just talking about.

“Why do you care?” Jarmey asks pulling away from me and going upstairs.

“What’s wrong with him?” She asks point to the steps.

“You.” I say picking up my plate and moving to the kitchen.

“What do you mean me?”

“Oh ya know you being you thinking about making everyone like you because you have to return to normal.” I say knowing that this not just about Jeremy.

“Is this about Jermay or you?” She asks blocking me from getting to the sink.

“What do you think?”

“I think that everyone around me is turning on me for no reason.”

“Maybe you should think about that and figure out why.” I say setting the plate on the counter and trying to turn around only to be stop by Elena grabbing my arm,.

“Just tell me what’s going on.”

“You are only worried about yourself.” I say honestly and pulling my arm away from her and going upstairs.

Stepping into my room I locked my door and my bathroom door. Going to the desk I turned on music making it loud on purpose.

I went to my closet and dug out every dress I owned throwing them on the bed.

“Alright which one of you ladies is going out with me tonight.” I say bending to pick up a short black dress.

“Too sluty.” I say putting it back in the closet.

Picking up a sweater dress I look at it wondering when I bought it. Giving the fact it still had the tag on it made me think it was a gift.

Hanging it back up I grabbed another and another until I settled on a red dress i forgot I had.

Leaving it on the bed I turned to grab took at my shoes but stopped seeing an all too familiar crow sitting on my window.

Smiling I moved to open the window the crow hopping and making a soft noise.

“Hello there.” I say slowly reaching out to pet it.

“Sadly you are the only one not to make me mad today.” I say softly stroking its head.

Getting up I return getting dressed.

A few hours later I was ready to go.

I was dressed in a tight dark red dress my leather jacket from earlier. My hair let down making it super fluffy. A cut cress red eye, wine colored nails and red and black ombre lips. Then black boot wedges to match.

“What took you so long?” Elena asked as I walked down the steps.

“Do you see these lips?” I asked pointing to my face.

Sighing she rolls her eyes at me.

“Alright I get it can we go now.”

“After you.” I say gesturing to the door.

It didn’t take long to get the Lockwood's house. It was the largest house in town as far as I know. Though Elena said Stephan was just a bit bigger. I didn’t make a joke about that sentence though the twelve year old in me wanted to.

As soon as we got to the property I remember the last and only time I was here.

It was only a month after me and Tyler got together and I was dumping him for being a dick to Jeremy.

“Everything okay?” Elena asked as we followed in line of everyone going in.

“Yeah why wouldn't I be?” I asked glancing at her.

I was still mad about this afternoon but not enough to make things weird for Stephan

“Well last time you were here you broke up with your boyfriend.” She says softly touching my arm.

“Yes who I was only with for a few weeks. That was also like a year ago so I’m okay.” I say rolling my eyes at her as I walked threw the door greeted by Tyler’s mom.

“Hi Carol.” I said waving at her and quickly ducking through the crowd of people.

Scanning the room I quickly decided to find my hiding spot outside.

I was stopped by bumping into a waiter. Apologising I looked up just in time to catch Elena waving me over.

Sighing I moved to stand next to her.

“Want to go look at everything everyone brought in?” She asks smiling trying to make up for today I’m guessing.

“Sure.” I say shrugging.

Smiling she lets Stefan lead her into the room of different artifacts from the different founding families.

I purposely kept away from our parents things. I didn’t need any sadness on top of the guilt I felt.

I know Caroline said it was okay but it didn’t feel that way it was more of a nagging feeling in my jut that I had to fix it. How? I didn’t know but I knew I would try.

Feeling eyes on me I look up to meet bright blue ones, that belonged to none other than Damon. Meeting my gaze he smiled softly and tilted his head. The movement getting Caroline’s attention making her turn to look at me.

“Octavia you came!” She says smiling brightly but not moving from Damon’s side.

“I did. Elena forced me to go after Jeremy reused.” I say moving to stand in front of her but not looking at Damon.

“Younger brothers can be that way.” Damon says his voice seeming to suck out the air in the room.

“Damon.” Stephan says turning to join our group.

“Brother.” Damon says smiling.

It didn’t take a genus to know Damon and Stephan did not like each other. It making me wonder what happened that made them mad at one another.

“Look at all these old names.” Elena says trying to clear the air.

Her saying names that are still familiar being paste thru generations.

“Wait does that say Damon and Stephan Salvatore?”

“Our ancestors. Tragic really.” Damon says looking at Elena then me.

“They don’t want to hear about boring history.” Stephan says almost taking a step closer to Damon.

I lift an eyebrow wondering how they made it this long without killing each other. I remembering when they came to my house and that they seemed tense then.

“I would love to get to know more about your family.” Elena says smiling at Stephan.

I roll my eyes wanting to leave but not wanting to be rude. I also didn’t want Damon to think he got under my skin.

“Well I’m bored and I want to dance. But, Damon won’t dance with me.” Caroline says pouting.

“Nope.” Damon says shaking my head making me once again roll my eyes.

‘Why do girls like jerks?’ I think to myself.

“Could I borrow your date?” She asks surprising me.

“Oh umm..” Elena says looking at me.

“Don’t look at  me I didn’t bring a date.”

“You didn’t?” Damon asks smirking.

“No.” I say ignoring the feeling he was judging me.

“I don’t really dance.” Stephan says.

“Of course you do. He can do it all.” Damon says smirking enjoying his little brothers pain.

“Well I’m not taking no for an answer. We’ll be right back.” Caroline says pulling on Stephan’s arm leading him out of the room.

I look shocked then look at Elena to see if she is going to do anything.

“Well that’s my cue.” I say moving towards the door.

I stop when I feel cold fingers wrap around my arm. Spinning around I stop when I meet bright blue eyes with my own.

“Wait. I need to talk to you.” He says his gaze staring into mine.

I feel my whole body relax and go calm all at once. Taking a breath I nod softly.

“Alright. About what?”

“Elena could you give us a moment?” He asks looking at her smiling politely his hand still on my arm.

“Oh, umm sure. I need to find Stefan anyway.” She says walking out.”

“Now, where were we. Oh right. Me apologizing for the other night. I’m sorry for being a jerk and trying to kiss you. My therapist says I’m acting out. Trying to punish Stephan.”

“If that’s so why go after me?” I ask confused.

“Because you are his girlfriend's twin sister. You tell each other everything. So getting to you gets to her and back to him. We both know how girls blow everything out of the water.” He says smirking making me wonder why I’m not pissed at him for saying all that.

“Why are trying to punish Stefan is it because of Katherine?”

“I guess you could say that. It kinda runs in the family. Sibling rivalry and all. It actually started with the original Salvatore brothers.”

“What happened?” I ask tucking a piece of hair behind my ear wanting to get to the bottom of Damon’s and Stefan’s dislike for one another maybe I could help.

“The Salvatore name used to be royalty in this town. Until the war. There was a battle here.”

“The battle of willow creek right? We are learning about it in class. Wow that makes me sound like I’m fourteen.” I say earning a chuckle.

“Well just a bit.” He says smiling it making his blue eyes almost glow.

“Well what most history books don’t tell you is when the soldiers fired on the church the people they killed wasn't there by accent. The were believed to be sympathizers so they got rounded up to be burned alive. Stephan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church. When they left to safe them they were shot in cold blood.”

“That’s awful.” I say holding my chest unable to imagine on your way to save someone knowing you’ll never make it.

“It was.” He says nodding as if he was there.

I guess if it was his history hearing the story so much he probably felt like he was there.

“Who was in the church?” I ask softly touching his arm.

“A woman I guess.” He says looking down at my hand then back up at me.

“Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?” He asks softly.

Lifting the corner of my mouth in a smile I shrug.

“I guess.”

“You can leave now. Sorry for keeping you so long.”

“It’s okay. Care to walk me out?” I ask feeling my heart jump making me blush.

“This mean I’m forgiven?”

“For now.” I say smiling.

Earning one back he holds his arm out to me. Looping my arm with his we both walk outside Damon quickly returning to Caroline and me to well myself.

Deciding I have had enough social life I call a cab home knowing it’s stupid expense but not knowing how else to get there.

I knock on Jeremy’s door yelling at him that I’m home him yelling back. Walking into my room I kick off my heels and go into the bathroom starting the process of getting ready for bed.

I dress in some shorts and a way to big t-shirt. Climbing into bed I get the weirdest feeling like something was missing. Looking around my room I took at where everything important to me is it all still in it’s correct places.

Shrugging I lay down turning off my light and get some sleep.

[vintageneptune92]

Whispers In The Dark Chapter 3

Master List

Elijah wasn’t in his room when Samantha got back to his hotel. She had no idea where he was. She removed her heels and tossed them to the side. She dug through his clothes and found a black T-Shirt. She quickly slipped out of her clothes and threw the shirt on with her underwear. She should have packed a bag but she was too upset when she left the boarding house. She had stopped the argument before it had started with Damon- but she knew that they would be having it soon. She was too upset about what had happened with Stefan. Her relationship with him was complicated. His ripper binges, his lack of humanity tore their relationship apart. She had one simple rule she applied to herself, you don’t turn it off. You never turn it off. Her humanity was the one thing left from who she used to be and she wouldn’t ever give that part up. And so the melancholy was hitting her like a freight train. This is why she had stayed away. Her brothers could be selfish when it came to Katerina and the same applied to Elena. Samantha’s happiness wouldn’t rank on their priorities. So she would have to choose. Them or herself. She always chose them. This time, however, would be different. There was no way in hell she would ever willingly walk away from Elijah again. She found a bottle of her favorite whiskey and headed out to the balcony to wait for Elijah.

A few hours later Elijah entered his room. He sensed her there before he saw her heels and clothing tossed into a pile on the floor. Quirking his eye brow he entered further into the suite. The bathroom was open and the light was off and she wasn’t in his bed, which he anticipated since clearly she was in a state of undress. It was then that he noticed the door outside was open just a crack. He wasn’t aware she had become so immodest. As he approached the door he saw the empty bottle of Jack Daniels on the railing. She stood leaning against the railing. He could feel her distress through the glass. She only drank copious amounts of whiskey to dull the pain. Her drink of choice was always dry champagne or Whiskey mixed with ginger ale. She occasionally drank it on the rocks. Emotional pain was the only time it came straight from the bottle. If he hadn’t realized the turmoil within her he would have been incredibly turned on by her standing there in his shirt that hit her right above the knees. He sometimes forgot how small her stature really was. He always saw her as so mighty. A force to be reckoned with. She was one of the very few that showed Niklaus no fear and lived to tell about it. He missed the days of living in New Orleans watching her get right in his face. Of course he would push back but he almost always complied with her demands of him. That was when Elijah thought he could be saved. He was convinced his Samantha would be the one to do it. She may have been a dangerous women when she needed to be but she was filled to the brim with love and light. So much so that he feared it would one day be her Achilles Heel, especially when it came to her brothers. She claimed otherwise, but her love for them knew no bounds. He steadied himself and his desire for her before joining her.

“Samantha what’s wrong?” She stood up straighter but didn’t turn to face him.

“What makes you think something is wrong?” He could hear her steel herself as she spoke. It was a rarity that she closes herself off to him.

He stepped cautiously closer. Approaching like she were an animal easily spooked. “Sammy please.” He watched her freeze. He hadn’t called her that in a very long time. There were only a handful of people in this world she allowed to call her that term of endearment. Damon was the first and for a very long time the only. Stefan never dared to call her that. Not since he had been a child. Not since things had changed. That left Elijah and Kol. Anyone else was dead. Elijah was never big on nick names as such. But he knew when to use it. When he really needed to reach her. When she placed herself figuratively out of his reach. He watched her slowly turn. He saw the intoxication on her face. Her sad eyes and tear stained face. He paused briefly and took his jacket off and rolled up his sleeves. He pulled her to him and he slowly sat down on the ground and held her. This was rare for her. She usually rallied and fought through anything that came her way. Not very often did she allow herself to be this vulnerable. And so he sat with her trying to comfort her until she was ready to talk. He knew better than to push her. She would open up in her own time. He knew it was linked with her brothers and he has to fight the urge to rip both of their hearts out.

Samantha awoken as a sliver of light peeked into the room. She didn’t remember falling asleep, let alone getting into bed. She glanced over at Elijah’s sleeping peaceful form. He was beautiful. He was on his side facing her so she inches over and got as close as she could to him. As if out of habit she felt his arms circle around her and he buried his nose into the space between her neck and shoulder as he let out a contented sigh. She suddenly felt embarrassed over the night prior and her extreme behavior. She was not the dramatic type. Not in that sense anyhow.

“I can feel you brooding” she let out a little laugh when she heard his comment. She rolled back to her back and he propped himself up slightly staring at her. He absently was curling a piece of her hair around his finger. “Talk to me. What happened? I haven’t seen you like that in quite some time.”

“Damon knows about us. I told him. Obviously he wasn’t happy. I left before we could really fight but I know it’s coming and I know what is coming. They will expect me to choose them. Choose her over you.”

“I would never ask you to choose my crusade over your family.”

“No because you’re too noble. But you should ask.”

“I know what the outcome would be.” He watched her as she sat up and then kneeled next to him.”

“No Elijah, you don’t. I’m not letting this come between us. I will not allow them to force me to put her above you. They have never put me above the women in their lives. I’ve been in love with you for more than half of my very long life. I’m not loosing you again. I won’t let them come to any physical harm but I’m not going to help them save her and thwart you. I can’t.”

“And if you lose them?”

“Then I lose them. For the first time I’m choosing me. My happiness. They clearly don’t care if they lose me.”

“You know I will do what I can to make sure she survives this.”

“I know. And if she doesn’t then she doesn’t.” Elijah pulled her back to him.

“Shhh. No more for now. We can talk about it more later. Let me just enjoy a little more peace with you this morning. Samantha nodded and buried herself into his embrace.

Sam took a deep breath as she headed into the boarding house after Damon requested her presence. She found him sitting sipping a glass of blood on the couch.

“You beckoned?” Her voice was dry with a hint of sarcasm.

“Sam don’t be like this.” Damon’s voice was pleading. He hated fighting with his baby sister. They were usually a team. He also knew how sharp her tongue could be when angry. Her temper was epic.

“I’m just not interested in you trying to turn me against the man I have loved for a century.” She watched as Damon rolled his eyes.

“Wouldn’t dream of it. But I need you to let me into your head. It’s the only way to know what we need to know without you telling us.”

“Absolutely not!” She hid her panic. There were things that Damon could never know.

“I’m sorry, did you just say no?”

“You are NOT rifling through MY memories and moments that are private to save some girl you barely know.”

“When did you become so selfish?” Samantha scoffed.

“That’s rich Damon, especially from you. I have sacrificed a hell of a lot for you and Stefan. More than I should have. I’m not doing it any more! You don’t get to put me in the middle of this. You don’t get to try and come I between Elijah and I. I am not loosing someone I love again because of you and Stefan. SHE’S NOT YOURS DAMON! She’s not in love with you. She’s Stefan’s and hell would have to freeze over before I saved her for him.” She wipes away a tear that slipped out from her eye.

“I thought we had gotten past that.” Stefan’s voice was quiet, hurt seeped from his tone.

“Just because you put yourself back together and aren’t tearing people to shreds anymore doesn’t mean your past transgressions are forgotten or forgiven. I died trying to save you. You repaid me by taking the one person I loved away. I won’t let you do it again. I shouldn’t have come back here. I should have stayed away.”

“Sammy don’t say that.” Damon was begging her again.

“It’s true Damon. I always get hurt. I always put your needs before my own. I can’t this time. And if that makes me selfish than so be it.” She started to walk out of the room.

“Where are you going?” Stefan had his arms crossed in front of him.  

“To grab my things. I can’t stay here. And once Elijah is done here I’m leaving with him and I won’t be back” She headed upstairs as her brothers stood speechless.

[shadowcatgirl09]

New Beginnings~Chapter 4

TVD Season 6 AU: After a few too many startling revelations Bonnie is fed up and decides to leave. Enter the little town of Havencrest, a quiet place, perfect for settling down away from everything. Or so it's thought; Bonnie left the constant chaos that was Mystic Falls only to get mixed up in something much darker.

Whoo another update! Don’t have much to say other than happy belated BonKai day family! Ngl I was super engrossed in other stuff and I had to work that day so yeah. Hopefully this makes up for that somewhat. Without further ado please enjoy the chapter. Italics=Thoughts/flashbacks. TW for mentions of animal abuse and violence

@kingcobrakai1972, @fuckitimfangirling, @bonkaishippersclub, @needlexheart, @madeunmexico, @bonkai-reign, @bonkai-diaries, @a-bonkai-fantasy225, @albion19, @leianaberrie, @scorpio-karma, @mysticfalls-originals, @nys30, @jemicloisfan, @1972trash, @bonwhynot, @bonkairedemption if I forgot to tag anyone please let me know

Though some people were still staring at Austin's retreating back, a handful were giving her scornful glances. Bonnie was starting to become agitated. She sat down on a bench in the park and began tapping her foot impatiently. Rusty scratches against her leg for attention, she picks him up and puts him in her lap. "I can say I have an alibi, which I really do, but magic was more than likely involved in this."

Noelle was tapping her chin, pacing back and forth thinking of solutions. "True, but we need undeniable proof."

Sian's entire being radiated sadness. "She doesn't deserve this. She's innocent."

Caleb's shoulders are tense, watching the townspeople warily. "We know that but unfortunately the combination of Bonnie being a witch and her familiar being him is going to have the town on edge."

Bonnie grew apprehensive. "What's wrong with Rusty?"

There was a beat of silence until Sian spoke up. "A lot of the townsfolk believes he's a curse."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed, leaning forward head slightly tilted. 

Sian clenched the knapsack closer to herself. "He wasn't always a chow chow puppy, some months back he was a pitbull. A-uh-a guy who was into dog fighting wanted to use him but Rusty disobeyed one too many times and he...killed him."

Noelle closed her eyes, lips pursed in anger while Caleb just watched for Bonnie's reaction. The young woman grasped Rusty to her; Harsh breaths coming out of her nostrils. Rusty whined attempting to twist his little body around to reach her face.

"That wasn't the only time...I think he died twice before that too. He never really made it to adulthood." Sian buried her face into her bag murmuring. "Like owner, like dog."

Caleb put a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you should head on home."

"I'm fine Caleb." Came her curt reply.

Noelle finally opened her eyes. "No Caleb's right." She turned to him. "Take her out of here, there's too many emotions swirling around."

"But Noelle!"

"I said no."

Sian just cast sorrowful eyes at Bonnie and then buried her head back into her bag so only her copper hair was showing.

"I'll take her with me to the scene, see if we can find something."

"Okay. Keep us posted." 

"Will do. Be safe." With one last look at Bonnie he grabbed Sian and ran off in the direction of a small side street.

After watching them leave Noelle turned to Bonnie. "Let's go get your hair done."

"You can't be serious." Even Rusty's head tilted in confusion at Noelle's ridiculousness.

"As serious as a heart attack." She peered at Bonnie closely. "Have you ever had cornrows before."

"No."

"Individuals? Locs? Weave of any kind?"

"No, no, and no."

"Yeah that won't do. Get up." Rusty barked twice which Bonnie assumed it meant hell no.

"Look Noelle I'm a suspect in a murder I can't just be prancing around getting my hair done."

"Yes you can! This will get your mind off of things and a chance to try something new with yourself!"

"Someone you knew personally just died. How can you be so blase about this?"

"Because, one, changes for the better start small. Or in your case big and then small. You already got out of a toxic environment." She sat down beside Bonnie. "And two, she was already dying. She had maybe another week or two tops."

Realization dawned on Bonnie. "You're giving me another alibi in case something happens again."

She made finger guns. "Now you got it." 

"Did anyone ever tell you you're annoyingly persistent."

"So I've been told." She stood up and faced Bonnie holding her hand out. "Let's go."

"I'll go but I'm not taking your hand."

"Sweet! Come on my car is parked on the other end of the park."

"Cool, but we have to stop by the pet store first. I need dog food for Rusty."

"Fine by me."

                                                          -----

Elias takes a swing at Kai but he's distraught and his eyes are blinded with tears so Kai has no problem avoiding him. When he swings again Kai grabs his arm twisting it behind his back then snapping it at the elbow. At this point he's past caring if anyone hears him as he drags Elias kicking and screaming to the pool.

Using his bulk, Elias manages to break free of Kai's hold only to be kneed in the stomach and elbowed in the face. Seeing as that wasn't taking him out Kai gripped Elias's hair and slammed his face into the diving board. With his knee in his back he then heaved his brother's head into the pool.

"Come on Eli, you're a good swimmer, let's see how long you can hold your breath under water. Last I heard it was for a solid seven minutes! Let's try for eight!"

Elias is desperate now and his thrashing around is getting worse, Kai presses his knee down harder and uses his other to break his brother's good arm. Suddenly Kai feels it, the approaching footsteps followed by shapely brown legs. When he looks up he's staring directly into a pair of moss green eyes. No anger, fear or hesitation; Just disgust and disappointment. He's used to Jo giving him that look over time but with her it's different. It's like his heart is being squeezed and his ears start ringing and everything around him becomes a white noise save for her voice.

"You're a monster. You don't deserve forgiveness."

Kai catapults awake to the smell of something burning and quickly put out the flames attempting to scorch the place. Glancing downward he notices that the journals remained intact. Checking his phone it reads 7:20pm, which means he was reading for at least five hours and passed out for the rest.

His phone vibrated with an unknown number popping up. With a degree of caution he answered. "Hello?"

"Kai? It's Mahir. I've been trying to get in contact with you for hours. I thought you got caught in a trap Joshua set or something."

"Uh yeah. I got distracted reading." He's still disoriented from getting up so fast. "You okay? You're less talkative than usual."

"I'm fine. How did you get my number anyway?" Kai had sent a coded message to the coven in order for them to show up at the restaurant.

"Josette."

"Mahir, what did you do?" His voice held a warning tone. In spite of Jo wanting nothing to do with him he still held a soft spot for her.

"Chill, I just tracked her down and asked for it. Her husband though...he may have a cracked rib or two. My presence caught Josette off guard and he reacted accordingly which put him in his current predicament."

"And Jo?"

"Gave me your number and told me she never wanted to see me again."

"Okay good. As long as Jo's fine I don't care what happens to her husband."

"Heh. Sooo...how is it?"

"The things I found in here are indescribable! This place is just wow! But Mahir the craziest part are the journals I found here. They detail the Salem Witch Trails and the cause behind it."

"What? I thought that was mass hysteria."

"Same here but my ancestor Alastor described something completely different. He said something possessed a normal human woman making her act differently, unusual fits of anger, muttering strange things, and contorting her body into odd positions. It's recounted as a black mist that mostly wreaked havoc at night."

"Save for the black mist part you just described The Exorcist." Kai could hear air whipping in the background Mahir must've been outside driving. "That's crazy."

"Tell me about it, Bon-I mean a Bennett ancestor was blamed for obvious reasons along with some others."

"Anything else?"

"Apparently my ancestor was super thirsty. There's as many entries about Ana Bennett as there are about the trails."

Mahir let out a hearty laugh. "Seems like that runs in the family. Joshua was like that with Sheila, though he hid it well."

Kai's lip curled in disgust. "I did not need that picture."

"I don't know man I met Lucy Bennett once and let me tell you I would gladly bring her into the family."

"Stop!" Kai grabbed the suitcase he brought with him and opened it. "Look I'll call you back when I land back in Virginia."

"Cool. Catch you later."

"Later." Kai started stuffing it with the journals putting the Bennett one on top. "I'll just keep this with me for the time being." Looking back he also grabbed the Tesseract as well. He had a strange feeling he would need it.

Stepping out into the crisp night air Kai replaced the magic barriers and glamour back on the place and headed to the ferry.

                                                          -----

Elena runs into the room, phone in hand. "Damon I found them. They're...on the campus."

"Gee why didn't we look there first." He sat on the couch watching tv.

"Because someone was too wrapped up in his mother and then Bonnie." Elena spat.

"Why don't you want to bring Bonnie back Elena? She's our friend." He smirked. "Are you jealous or something? We did get pretty close in the prison world."

Elena was starting to question what she saw in him. "No Damon I'm not jealous. It's just that when I last saw her she looked so tired, so done with everything. As much as it pains me to say it I-I think she's better off without us." She hung her head sadly.

Damon turned the tv off. "That's bullshit Elena and you know it! She belongs here with us!"

"Not if it's only killing her inside! Bonnie's too good, to nice to say anything, but I watched her leave, Damon not you. And besides why are we bringing her back anyway? Just so she can fix all of our problems like always? Sacrifice herself like always?" Tears were beginning to pool in her eyes. Bonnie leaving of her own accord struck something in her. She was used to her friend just bouncing back from whatever was bothering her, ready to help the team. 

Damon got up from the couch. "Elena, where is this coming from?"

"From watching my best friend leave everything she has ever known and loved behind just to have peace. Realizing that she did so much for me, hell everyone in this damn town, while I barely did the bare minimum for her." She fell to her knees sobbing. "I was so self absorbed I didn't even acknowledge Bonnie's problems. Or her constant suffering."

"Elena." Damon crutched down placing a hand on her shoulder. "Bonnie chose to do those things because she loves you. Like when she sent me back to you."

"But she shouldn't have had to do it in the first place. We should've done better Damon." She shook his hand off and stood up wiping her eyes. "Get up we have to get Stefan and Caroline to turn on their humanity before anymore people die."

                                                       -----

The salon they were heading to was on the other side of town. Bonnie was eyeing the small houses they were passing along the way, taking mental notes of the ones that had a for rent sign. Rusty, who wore himself out playing, was sleeping soundly in the backseat.

"Question."

"Shoot."

"How long does this process take?" Bonnie didn't want it to take too long as she wanted to check out those houses. The idea of the duplex sounded nice but she wanted privacy.

"You can't be serious." Noelle's tone was somehow both mocking and curious.

"Yes I am. I've never had any of those hairstyles before." She pointed to her bob. "It's always been like this and or curly."

Noelle side-eyed her. "Oh wow, but to answer your question it depends what hairstyle you get and how many people are doing your hair."

"Hmm. Do you have a book or magazine?"

"For the hair? Yeah there should be a magazine or two in the backseat."

Instead of just reaching back she used magic to put it in her hands. Bonnie began flipping through it, coming to a stop at a particular hairstyle. When they came to a light she pointed to it. "I think I want this one. The faux locs."

Noelle gasped. "I think that hairstyle would look gorgeous on you! Did you want shoulder length or long?"

"Long. I haven't had long hair in a while." Not since before she died for the second time. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. “Never again.”

"Eighteen inch would probably be best then." Noelle parked in front of a small african salon/barbershop. "We're here."

Bonnie peered at it from the passenger seat. It's a nice two story spot between a clothing boutique and a shoe store. Houses lined the rest of the street.

Noelle turned to her. "You ready?"

She glanced back at Rusty's sleeping form. "As I'll ever be."

Noelle left the back window open a crack and together the girls sashayed into the shop. There were two other women getting their hair done, three of the hairdressers were free. The place smelt of incense and it gave off a relaxing feeling. 

Bonnie cleared her throat and spoke. "Hi. I would like to get my hair done in this style." She pointed to the the magazine she held up.

One of the middle aged african women smiled at her. "Sure, do you want any colors?"

"Black with caramel highlights."

The woman waved her over and Bonnie sat down. "Did you wash your hair today?"

"No."

"Okay. So first I'll wash and blow dry it then we'll get started."

"Alright."

As the two women walk to the back of the salon a heavy metal tune goes off catching the quiet place off guard. Noelle gives an embarrassed smile. "Sorry. I'll be in the sitting area Bonnie."

Bonnie gave a thumbs up and laid her head back in the sink so it could be washed. In the process of getting it washed Bonnie could hear Noelle talking on the phone to someone. She could barely understand what was being said but she did recognize a few words from those anime that Jeremy used to watch.

"Arigato, ja matane." Noelle hung up and sat down next to Bonnie.

"You speak japanese?" Bonnie figured Noelle was mixed but not with japanese.

"Fluenty. My mom taught me."

"Cool."

5 minutes later Bonnie was in the chair getting her hair done. 10 minutes later another woman joined her speeding up the process. Noelle's phone rang again and she side-eyed Bonnie.

She raised an eyebrow in question.

"It's Caleb."

Bonnie went to lean forward but remembered there were people in her hair. "Answer it!"

She muttered a spell and put the phone on speaker. "Find out anything?"

Sirens could be heard in the background where he was. "We found another one. This time there are organs missing."

She groaned. "Who was it?"

"Mr. Shaw." Caleb said solemnly.

Noelle closed her eyes in reflection. "He was the local bookshop owner." She said to Bonnie.

"Gutted him like a fish. I'll be shocked if they get any-oof!"

Noelle and Bonnie could hear a deep voice reprimanding him followed by a quick sorry.

"That was the chief." The sound of the poilce chatter grew further away. "Anyway when Sian touch the body she freaked out and then fainted."

"What?!"

"Calm down. She of course then woke up spouting gibberish and promptly vomited. Other than that she's fine."

"Did you manage to catch anything?"

"Uh, let me see...here it is! She said something about a messenger of the U.M.N and don't leave the castle."

Noelle looked like she seen a ghost. "The U.M.N is involved?" Her hands begin to shake causing her phone to clatter to the floor. "No." Her voice came out in a whisper.

Bonnie was bewildered. "Noelle? What's the U.M.N?"

She wasn't responding just beginning to hyperventilate.

"Noelle!" Bonnie grabbed her arm and shook her.

"What?" Her eyes still looked haunted but otherwise she was coherent.

"What's going on? You were starting to panic."

"The Underground Magic Network." She blurted it out.

"Yeah you said that."

"They're a massive group of dark magic users that terrorized Havencrest twenty years ago." She bent down to pick up her phone. "Probably trying to release that thing under the church in the woods."

"What thing?" Something besides Rusty was calling her here, that much she knew for sure.

Noelle met her gaze. "The black mist that caused the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials. The six covens sealed it in this town."