Heather and Crystal were sitting on the picnic table in Chesterfield Park watching Crystal's son, David, play on the playground. They were laughing, joking and reminiscing about the good ol days when they were in school, when Heather's phone rang. She pulled it out and looked down at the screen, frowning. Crystal raised an eyebrow when she saw this. "Who is it?" She asked. Heather shrugged, still looking at the phone.
"I don't know. Some weird number has been callin me for the last couple days." She said as the phone started ringing again.
"Want me to answer it?" Crystal asked with a sly smile. Heather looked at her and smiled, then handed the phone. "This is Heather's phone, Crystal speaking. How may I help you?" Heather laughed and covered her mouth with her hand, watching Crystal's face change. She put her hand over the phone and looked at Heather. "He says his name…" She paused, trying to remember. "Damon Salvatore?" She finished in the form of a question and watched as Heather paled, her mouth dropping open and her eyes widening in surprise. She stared at Crystal for a minute before holding out her hand. She let out a slow breath and raised the phone to her ear.
"Well, well. Damon Salvatore. What a surprise." She said, her voice changing instantly. Crystal's eyebrows raised.
"Well it shouldn't be. I've been trying to get a hold of you for a couple days now." He responded. Heather gave the phone a disgusted look and sighed.
"Well, excuse me for not keeping your number." She said. He groaned and made a wounded sound.
"Ouch! That hurt!" He said, amusement in his voice. Heather rolled her eyes.
"What do you want, Damon?" She asked, her voice cold and hard.
"Elena's dead." He said, skipping the jokes. Heather's grip on her phone tightened, a sick feeling forming in the pit of her stomach as her blood ran cold.
"What do you mean Elen's dead, Damon?" She asked, panic in her voice. Crystal's eyebrows shot up as Heather slid off the table and began to pace. "How?"
"Kol." He said. That one word was enough to make Heater's blood turn from ice to fire.
"Kol. As in, The Original Kol?" She asked. She could imagine Damon rolling his eyes and shaking his on the other end.
"Yeah. That one." Damon said sarcastically. "You should come back for the funeral." He added.
"Damon, I cant go back to Mystic Falls." She said. Crystal tilted her head as she watched Heather pace. Heather glanced at her and waved away her look of concern.
"Jeremy needs you right now, Heather." Damon said. Heater's eyes filled with tears as she fought to keep her voice steady, her grip on her phone tightening even more.
"Don't you dare use Jeremy Gilbert as an anchor to me back there, Damon! I would love more than anything to see Jeremy again, it's been to long, and I would love to see the gang again and I'm sorry Elena's gone. I'm sending my prayers and condolences your way, but I cant go back to Mystic Falls, Damon." She said through clenched teeth, her face flushed.
"Why not?!" Damon asked, his voice rising. Heather bit down on her lower lip, squeezed her eyes shut and raised a hand to her forehead.
"Beacause you're there." She said and as the dam broke, she hung up the phone before he could say anything else. She let out a sob, tears running down her face. Crystal jumped off the picnic table and was at her side in seconds. Heather dropped her phone and threw her arms around her best friend, crying until her chest hurt. She sank to the ground and Crystal sat down next to her, rubbing her back as her sobs subsided.
"What's going on, honey?" She asked in a soft voice. Heather took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she looked at the ground.
"You remember when I was soul searchin and took that road trip and ended up in Mystic Falls, Virginia?" She paused long enough for Crystal to nod. "Well, I met some people there and made some friends. Elens, one of those friends, died. Damon was a frenemy, that's who called. Me and Damon don't exactly see eye to eye. He said Elena's brother, Jeremy, is having a hard time coping and me and Jeremy, well we kinda had a thing while I was there. Damon says Jeremy needs me, since Bonnie, one of my other friends and Jeremy's other on again off again girlfriend, died and now his sister. I would love to go see Jeremy again, but I cant go as long as Damon's still in town." She aid, her voice still sad and pathetic, but growing colder and stronger the more she spoke.
"So don't go back for Damon. If Jeremy needs you, then go. I'll go with you. I'm curious to see this town and meet these people you never talked about." Crystal told her. Heather chuckled and shook her head.
"I cant ask you to go back with me, Crystal. There's a reason I don't talk about Mystic Falls. And what about David? You sure as hell are not takin David to Mystic Falls." Heather said as an after thought. Crystal flicked her wrist as if it was no big deal.
"Josh is home this week. I'll leave him with his father. Does this mean we're going?" Crystal asked hopefully. Heather shook her head and stood up.
"No, Crystal. We are not going to Mystic Falls. It's not gonna happen!"