Into the Frying Pan
There was a searing pain in Matt's arm that woke him from his sleep. Immediately, he placed his hand on his left shoulder. It had already been over a week since he had been shot. He realized that he was going to be very sore for a long time to come. Lightning flashed outside of his window, as loud clap of thunder passed overhead. Matt looked outside of his window. The rain was coming down in sheets and the wind could be heard howling from miles away. Matt would never admit it aloud, but he had always been terrified of thunderstorms since was a little boy. Matt had just gotten back into bed when heard a loud knock. It seemed to be coming from the front door. Matt told himself that there was no one outside of his house. However, the knocking persisted for a few more minutes and then stopped. Matt relaxed a little bit and layed back down in bed. He had just put his head down on the pillow when he heard a door creak open. Matt sat up abruptly and his heart began to race. There was someone inside of his house.
It was nearly 4:30 in the morning. The storm had been raging now for an hour. Elena rolled over and felt her hand touch something solid. She opened her eyes. At first she could not make out the figure that was lying on the other side of the bed. Then slowly her eyes were able to focus on the other person in the bed. "Damon?" she whispered quietly, confused. Damon turned over and looked at Elena. He stared deeply into her dark brown eyes, for a moment that seemed to last an eternity. "What's going on? What happened?" she asked, groggily. Damon gently stroked her cheek with his hand. Then he laughed a sly laugh that filled the air around them. "Don't worry, Elena, nothing happened" he assured her. "You've been sleeping for quite a while. You happen to be sleeping in my bed, Goldilocks. I have to sleep somewhere" he added. Elena quickly nodded her head. She was still confused. There were so many questions that she wanted to ask him. She could scarcely even remember any of the events that had taken place over the last couple of days. Suddenly, she remembered something. Elena looked over to her right to see if it was still there. There on the dresser sat the necklace that Elena had worn. It was the necklace that had given her unimaginable power. Damon sat up and looked at Elena. He placed both of his hands on her shoulder. "What's wrong Elena?" he asked her, concerned.
"Katherine was here" Elena said, abruptly, as she quickly got up out of Damon's bed.
Matt got up out of his bed. He walked over to his closet and picked up the only thing that he could get his hands on, his old baseball bat. He could hear footsteps that were coming down the hallway. Within a few seconds, the intruder would be at his door. The doorknob turned and the door was flung open. Matt ran forward and took a hard swing at the man's head before he could even see his shadow properly. The problem was that the wood never did connect with the man's head. It was as if it had been stopped mid- swing. "Matt stop it's me!" yelled the man. Matt was still confused as the lights flickered on in his bedroom. "Matt please, I'm sorry that I startled you. I didn't know where else to go" he said, speaking very rapidly.
"Mic- Dad" Matt started to say. He felt as though he would never be used to using that word. "What are you doing here?" Matt demanded. Matt's father took a deep breath.
"Matt there's something that I have to tell you" he said. Matt sat down in the chair near his desk. He couldn't even imagine what his father was going to tell him. He remembered what had happened the last time that this stranger had said those words to him.
Now it was Damon's turn to be confused. "Elena what are you talking about?" he asked her. Elena looked scared. She wasn't sure what was happening. Did she dream about Katherine being there? Was this encounter real? Had she actually spoken to Katherine mere hours ago? Elena began to get more and more panicked as memories began to flow through her mind. "Damon I- I think Katherine was here. She came in after you left me to go to sleep. I remember talking to her" she told him. Damon walked over to where Elena was standing. He could see that she was very shaken up over this encounter. He grabbed Elena and pulled her close to him. Elena's head was upon his chest. "Calm down. We'll find out what she wanted and then we'll kill her. Ok? She's not going to be able to do anything to you" he assured her. Elena nodded her head in agreement. Elena had calmed down and was now breathing normally. Then she remembered what had happened during the rest of the encounter with Katherine. Elena suddenly began to feel lightheaded. "I need to sit down" she told Damon. He let her go and she down on the edge of the bed. "Damon, I know what happened. I drank her blood" Elena whispered to him.
Matt's head was spinning. He abruptly got off his chair and was now pacing around the room. His father was very calmly looking at him. "Look I know that this is a lot to take in but- he began to say, but he was interrupted by Matt screaming. "Are you completely insane?" Matt was yelling across the room. "First you show up out of nowhere. Then you go MIA for a few days. Now you're back and you are telling me that vampires, werewolves and witches exist. And you're a—you're a witch" Matt said, stumbling a little over this last word. Matt's father began to shake his head, as drops of water fell down to the floor. He was still trying to dry himself off, the best that he could with a towel. "Actually Matt, I'm a warlock. You're one too, you know?" he said gently to Matt. Matt decided that he should probably sit down again. He began to rub his hand over his forehead. He had such a headache. "So what are you saying? I have magical powers?" Matt asked. He was honestly trying to believe this. He just couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Let me clarify. You have the ability to become a warlock. Up until now, the power has been suppressed. Now that you know what you are, it is your choice whether or not you decide to use it. I can help you, if you want" Michael offered. Matt was beyond words. All of these things that his father was talking about seemed utterly impossible. However, something deep inside of Matt, told him that his father was telling the truth.
"What?" Damon gasped, not believing what she had just told him. Damon was angry now. He briskly walked over to the closet and put on a shirt. "I swear when I get a hold of that conniving wench I am going to slowly tear her to pieces for forcing you to drink her blood!" he yelled. Elena shook her head, and placed it in her hands. When she put her head back up Damon could clearly see the tears rolling down her face. He sat down on the bed next to Elena. "What's wrong Elena?" he asked, quietly. Elena stared at Damon's face for a few more fleeting moments. "No, Damon don't do that" she said, as she placed one hand on top of his hands. "It's not really her fault. I- I drank from her willingly" she sobbed. At first Damon wasn't sure what to do. He never had been very good at handling these emotional situations. This was normally Stefan's territory. Finally, he said "Well, you were tired, you probably didn't know what was going" he said. Damon actually hated saying something that he wasn't sure was true. He didn't like telling Elena any story just to make her feel better. What if it was true? What if she did know what was going on the whole time? What if she wanted to become a vampire? All of these questions raced through Damon's mind as he spoke to her. "Yes you're right. I was probably just tired. I didn't know what was going on" Elena cried. Damon took Elena and pulled her into a tight hug. Then a thought went through Elena's mind as well. How could she have lied to Damon like that?
Matt was still reeling from all of the information that he had learned in the past hour or so. He looked at the clock. It read 5:45 am. "I-I don't know what to do with this" Matt stammered. "I don't want this to be true. It- it can't be true. I don't want to be a warlock!" Matt yelled. Matt looked around, trying hard not to look into his father's face. Michael stood up and walked towards Matt. He attempted to touch Matt's arm and he was abruptly pushed away. "Matt, I understand that you're upset. You have every right to hate me. Please let me help you. I can tell you anything that you want to know. I just need to explain certain things to you" Michael said, gently as though Matt were five years old.
"You know that Mom is in town?" Matt asked, suddenly. Matt could tell that he had just struck a chord with his father. He continued, "She's here at the hotel. She came after she heard that I had been shot. I wouldn't let her stay here though. I don't want her here. She comes over every day to see how I'm doing. I bet that you didn't know that" Matt said. Michael shook his head back and forth. "No, I didn't know that" he admitted. Michael hesitated briefly, before saying what he was going to next. "I have to tell you something Matt" he said. Matt shook his head, no. Michael decided to continue despite Matt's obvious objection to anymore news. "I have to tell you about that night. I have to tell you why I left" Michael said to him.
There were only small glimmers of light beginning to shine through the room now. Elena hadn't noticed before, how early it actually was. The time was passing quickly, and soon everyone would be awake. "Damon-?" Elena asked, hesitantly. Damon turned to face her. "Yes?" he said, curiosity showing all over his face.
"I'm sorry, but I have to know what happened. You told me that I killed Klaus. I want to know how" she said, looking pleadingly at him. Damon sat down on the bed and Elena followed suit. The way the Damon was looking at Elena sent chills down her spine. She realized that whatever he was about to say must have been pretty bad. Damon took a deep breath. "Elena" he whispered. "I don't think that you are going to you're going to like what I have to tell you" he said, quietly. Elena's pulse began to quicken. She was really nervous now. "Please Damon I have to know" she begged. Damon nodded his head in agreement. He took Elena's hand in his. "Ok just remember that you asked for this" he told her gently. Elena tried to catch her breath. She convinced herself that she was ready for everything she was about to hear.
Matt had decided that it was best just to listen. "That night was a very bad night. Your mother and I had gotten into a fight. You were very little and Vicki was just a baby. I knew that I should leave. I knew that I had to leave. This town has a history, a bad history. I had learned what kind of powers I possessed. At first, I had the exact same reaction that you did. I didn't want to hear any of it. There was talk from the Founders Council that there was a possibility of vampires returning to the town."
"The Founders Council?" Matt asked, sounding confused.
"Yes, Matt I was part of the Founders Council. I joined it, after I found out I was a warlock" Michael explained.
"The Donovans weren't one of the founding families were they?" Matt asked. Michael, shook his head. "No, they weren't. They came shortly after the founding of Mystic Falls" he explained. "They laid low because we come from a long line of witches and warlocks. However, when the council found out about me they decided to make an exception" Michael said. "They wanted me to help them find vampires. They thought that vampires might have come back to the town at that time. I uncovered a secret that I was never meant to know about. That's why I left. I didn't want you, Vicki, and your mother involved" he explained.
Elena was beyond speechless. She was shaking and sobbing. Damon held her head against his chest once again. He knew that he shouldn't have told her. However, he had decided a long time ago though, that he would never lie to her. He was Damon. He didn't sugarcoat things. He was beginning to think that maybe he should have. "I can't believe that I did that" Elena sobbed. "Well look Elena, it wasn't your fault. It was all because of that necklace" he said. "Bonnie said that she felt a power. It was a power like nothing that she had ever felt before. There was some supernatural power that enhanced the abilities that Michael had already given you through the enchantment on that necklace." Damon and Elena both glanced over at the necklace that was sitting on the desk.
Elena took a deep breath. "Bonnie used a spell on him first right? Then I- I staked Klaus with an ash stake?" Elena repeated uncertainly. Damon nodded his head. "And then I just didn't stop did I?" she asked. Slowly, Damon shook his head no. "Then I staked him repeatedly like 10 times or something?" Elena asked him. Damon did not answer. She took his silence as a resounding yes. "And then I attacked Alaric?" Elena asked. "Yes, Elena, you did. Stefan and I had to pull you off of him. You were one strong little thing. I don't know what that power was but it was nothing like I have ever seen before" Damon said. "It was only after you were restrained, that you started to calm down. It was like you weren't yourself. It was like you were this entirely different person. The spell made you that way. Then you started to feel bad about what had happened. You began to cry. That was when I had my chance. The necklace finally came off" he explained. Then Elena asked a question that she had been wondering. "Where did the stake come from?" she asked. Damon shook his head.
"I have no idea. I think that was another part of the magic. Whoever, performed it, must have wanted Klaus dead too" Damon said. Damon looked at Elena. She was still crying slightly. Damon took his hand and wiped her tears off of her cheek. "It's going to be ok you know" he assured Elena. Then he bent over and kissed her on the forehead. "I have to go talk to Stefan. I'll be back in a little while" he told her. Elena nodded her head.
"Ok, I guess that I'll get dressed and go to see Bonnie" Elena said. With that, Damon left the room. Elena got up and began to change into something more appropriate to go and see Bonnie. She quickly threw on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Then Elena walked over towards the dresser. She picked up the necklace and hastily stuffed it into her pocket.
