Chapter 2: The Birthday.
They walk through the darkness, Cass flat pale-pink ballerina shoes getting slightly wet because of the residue of the summer rain on the pavement. She hates this. She admits the plan is pretty nice, but why do they have to walk all this way when Stefan can wait happily in the car until it's his time to play? Her shoes are new. And, God, oh God, why does the plan have to include her acting all scared and damsel-in-distress and needy so that the stupid wolves would let them both in? She refused to act like she needed Klaus. And yet, here she is mulling the words she's going to say over in her head so everything goes according to plan, because, dammit, if it doesn't, then what was the point of the last three months? They hear the younger girl, the blonde one, Cass can't remember her name for the sake of her life, before they see her. She's calling for her dog, looking around exasperatedly. She doesn't even hear them walk into her yard. Talk about keen werewolf senses being top notch, Cassandra muses before making sure to morph her expression into one of fear.
"Jesus!" the blonde wolf exclaims when she turns around to come face to face with Cass and Klaus.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Klaus apologizes with a perfect American accent.
"I told you we had to call out to her, honey," she says, taking a step closer to him and looking around with frightened widened eyes. "This place is so creepy at night."
"Our car broke a few miles away," Klaus explains, putting one arm around her shoulders. "We've been walking for hours. Can we use your phone?"
"What about your cell phone?" the blonde asks, suspicious.
"His battery died and I left mine at the hotel." Cassandra giggles at the end, as if saying 'silly me!'
The blonde nods, starting to back away into the house. Apparently the rational part of her brain's catching up with what's going on here. Klaus gives her a flashing smile and Cassandra tries to look as innocent as possible.
"Oh, okay," the young blonde says, turning away from them.
Cassandra frowns. That's not part of the plan. The girl needs to let them in. She looks up at Klaus to see he's thinking the same thing. Cass calls out to the blonde before it's to late.
"So, will you let us in?" she asks, smiling a bit and widening her eyes a bit more, going for the doe-eyed look. "I'm really scared and I only want to go home."
"I don't care." The blonde snaps. "I'll bring the phone out to you." The girl sends them a fake smile before starting to back away again.
"I thought you southerners were filled with hospitality," Klaus says, his tone dropping slightly threateningly.
"I'm from Florida," the blonde says, her smile full of sarcasm and sass.
That's enough for Cassandra and she drops the innocent act in the blink of an eye. She can see the blonde's eyes widening slightly at the lethal glare the redheaded sends her. Cass doesn't even have to look up at Klaus to know he's changed the nice act too.
"That explains it, I suppose." She snarls at the wolf.
Klaus flashes toward the blonde wolf and grabs her neck, making eye contact so he'll be able to compel her. Meanwhile, Cass flips out her phone and sends Stefan a quick text; now.
"Now, show us a little bit of southern hospitality," Klaus compels, his accent back to the smooth British it's always possessed. "Sweet pie." He adds with a little smirk.
The blonde nods and walks back to the house, letting them in without much complaint, even if Cass could tell she didn't want to let them inside. The voice of the other woman reaches them as they make their way to the kitchen, Klaus' hands still on the blonde. The tanned-skinned woman has her back to them as she puts the contents of a pan in a bowl. When the girl doesn't answer her, she turns around, frowning. Her features turn a bit scared when she notices the scene playing out in front of them; Klaus, with his hand in the back of the blonde's neck and Cassandra, slowly making her way toward the counter, ready to stop the other woman if she were to do a reckless move.
"What's going on?" she asks, her brown eyes turning worried when the blonde younger girl starts to cry.
"Please, don't be alarmed." Klaus tries to console. "I was told Ray Sutton lives here."
"He's hardly ever here." The tanned wolf explains, shifting a bit when Cass gets closer to the knife on the counter. She doesn't really need it but it makes both women scare and the fear in their blood makes it all even more exciting. "He's on the road most of the time."
"But he comes back, doesn't he?" Cass asks, tilting her head to the side, her hair falling like a waterfall. "At least once a month." She adds, loving the way the other woman squirms. She hates werewolves.
"That's what I thought," Klaus says when he sees the woman squirm.
He starts to walk closer to her, dragging the blonde with him. The girl is trying to contain scared sobs, but the tears are streaming down her face. The other woman tries to stop the fear from showing on her face but it's noticeable in more ways than one. Her body language screams it into the air.
"Where is he now?" Klaus asks. Neither woman speaks. "you know, if you don't make us have to force it out of you it will be a lot less violent for you, won't it, Cass?" he warns, sending the redhead a glance.
"Hmh, yes, definitely." She hums, trailing a finger through the counter's edge. She knows it's a blatant lie but they don't need to know.
The woman sends them a hard look before making up her mind and running out of the kitchen from the other door and into the hall. Cassandra rolls her eyes, walking away from the counter and starting to walk after the idiotic woman. How could she possibly believe she could outrun them? Klaus chuckles, enjoying this, before walking away as well, the blonde girl practically being pulled by her hair by now. Cassandra knows Stefan has arrived when the woman screams from the hallway. Her suspicion is confirmed when she gets to the hallway and sees Stefan leaning into the doorframe with both of his hands, not allowing any exit. His expression is the same he wears each time they go hunting, that of an undeniably cruel predator.
"I love it when they run!" Klaus speaks, smirking at Stefan. Cassandra rolls her eyes. She doesn't really.
"He's in Tully!" the brunette exclaims, defeated. "It's near the border. A bar called Southern Comfort, it's in highway 41." Her voice quavered at the end.
"Thanks, dear. Now, may our friend come in?" Klaus asks the blonde.
"Yes, he may come in." she sobs, most likely already knowing her fate.
Stefan's face darkens considerably at the idea of a happy easy meal. He slowly opens the door and walks in, making the brunette cower away from him. The blonde girl starts to sob harder. Cassandra waits. She hates this part. This is where she's babysitter. It's also exhausting. Part of her wants to join Stefan in the carnage, another wants to cry at how brutal they're being. She's never truly ripped someone to pieces. She's killed mercilessly; she's tortured but never ripped someone apart. It freaks her out how easily Stefan can do it but she can't show that. Klaus would know everything's an act. And what would happen if suddenly Klaus decided to turn Stefan against her? She does not want to be ripped apart.
"Cassandra, love, kill this one quickly." Klaus throws the blonde at her, making the poor girl stumble and quiver in fear.
"Make that one suffer," Klaus says to Stefan as he starts to walk out. He never stays for this part. "I'll be in the car." He calls after him, shutting the door behind him.
Stefan's eyes start to turn red, veins appearing under them, and his fangs lengthen. Both women start to scream before they've even touched them. Cassandra turns to the blonde girl, who is looking at her with scared blue eyes.
"I swear it won't hurt," Cassandra tells her, praying that Stefan is too lost in bloodlust to hear her.
With one fluid motion, she snaps the girl's neck, watching as she falls to the ground, lifeless. Stefan can still feed on her if he hurries, so she makes her way into the living room, wanting to explore a wolf's house. She finds the wolves aren't that poor at all. Is that a species thing? Because the Lockwoods are packed with money. Of course, so is she, so she supposes it's a supernatural thing. She looks down at her feet when she realizes she's walking on hollow ground. Oh, this is interesting. She kneels down next to the rug, the sounds of screaming and Stefan feeding reaching her and forcing to suppress a shudder. No, no, no feelings. She's a rock. She does not feel, therefore, there should be no shuddering. And yet, here she is, fighting the urge to run away from this house that's soon to become as gruesome as Saw. She lifts the rug to find a trapdoor. She opens it easily and isn't surprised to find there's a basement filled with chains and restrains. She closes it again and puts the rug in place. They're very close to Mystic Falls, a few states away, a few hours away. Damon is definitely going to get this news and he's definitely going to come here. Her chest pangs. She wants to stay here, all night long, all day long, however long it takes until he gets here.
Cassandra misses him more than it should be possible. She doesn't understand how she was able to walk out 146 years ago. She supposes it has to do with how she switched the flip back then. She regrets not doing so now but she owns Damon that. She has to hurt because she hurt him enough. And she might as well get over him now. Damon probably doesn't know what she gave in exchange for the cure, he simply knows she left with Klaus, and Cassandra is certain the moment he finds out he's going to hate her. If Damon finds out that she's been pretending to love Klaus, kissing him, even going as far as to have sex with him, for the last three months, he's going to be so hurt he'll probably kill half of Mystic Falls. Or worse, kill someone she cares about to ensure she's as hurt as he is. Cass shakes her head. No, no, she's not doing this now. If she does this now she's going to cry. She's swallowed her tears all summer; she can do it for longer. She gets up quickly when the sounds of footsteps get nearer. The woman stumbled into the living room, looking terrified and with so much blood Cassandra isn't sure where she's hurt.
"Please, help me." the woman screams, desperate.
Cassandra is moved by the desperate cry for help and for a moment, she almost does help her. But she composes herself in time, morphing her features into nothing. She blinks and shakes her head, walking past her and into the hallway where she finds Stefan, looking like a crazed animal. She can't save the brunette; one, because Klaus will kill her if she does and two, because the woman is a werewolf and she will hunt them down if they let her walk away. She moves to the door and sits down on the porch, waiting and desperately trying not to think. Think leads to nothing good.
…
"Are you finished?" Cassandra asks even if she knows the answer.
Stefan is standing next to the sofa, his mouth covered in blood. The house is stained all over with blood and the living room is worse than Saw. She wasn't entirely sure that was possible. The bodies are sitting in the couch, completely ripped but pulled back together. The women's lost open eyes unnerve her.
"Here," she tells Stefan as she hands him a towel she found in the kitchen. He takes it without meeting her eyes. "Can I have a minute alone?" Cass requests.
Stefan looks at her weirdly before starting to walk out of the room, leaving her alone. She walks closer to the sofa until she's standing right in front of it.
"Ut animan tuam pacen," she says, hoping their souls will be free.
With that she turns on her feet to face the wall that was to her back. It's the only one devoid of blood. Until now. She reaches to the floor and touches a small pool of blood with her fingertips before walking towards the wall. She writes the message carefully, making sure it's legible. Then, she casts a spell so the message will only reveal itself when the person she wants to see it walks into the room. Once it's done, she walks out of the room and meets with Stefan by the porch of the house, ready for whatever is to come.
…
"No matter what you see or hear, do not call 911 or offer any help. Once you are finished with your disgusting and useless drunken needs and hobbies, you'll leave this place with no recollection of what you saw." Cassandra compels the last drunk before turning to where Stefan and Klaus are cornering Ray Sutton.
Klaus's been talking to him for around ten minutes now, bragging about how he was a hybrid, half-werewolf, half-vampire, explaining how he's been trying to locate him for such a long time. Ray's tough act has decreased but he still stands strong, she'll give him that.
"Where can I find your pack, Ray?" Klaus asks, he and Stefan walking closer and closer to Ray.
"You can't compel me," Ray says defiantly.
Stefan only lifts his eyebrows, daring Ray to try to say that again. Cassandra walks over to them, not really in the mood to torture Ray. Three months of nothing but that has made her lazy. Besides, they did not sleep at all since they killed the two wolves who directed them here. She may be a vampire but she also needs to sleep. Especially considering how much she loves to do so.
"Listen here, Ray, dear," she starts, not even bothering to acknowledge the two vampires are looking at her weirdly. She grabs his hair by the roots and forces his head backwards so she can meet his eyes. "Usually I'd let you figure things out on your own… but, sadly for you, it appears I've run out of patience. So, you have ten seconds to tell Stefan and my friend here the information we want or… well, let's just say it won't be pretty." The guy is stupid enough to glare at her. She lifts an eyebrow. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five…" she starts to count down, irritated that the wolf isn't breaking yet. How hard can it be to tell his pack's location? Do they hate vampires so much he won't even perk up at the possibility of being one of the most powerful species in the world? "Four… three…" she looks up at Stefan, slightly nodding at him.
"Scotch in the rocks, please." Stefan calls out to the bartender, taking a black velvet bag out of his pocket and starting to open it.
"Two… one." She finishes, pouting slightly at Ray. "Time's up."
She lets go of Ray's hair forcefully, making sure he hits his head in the counter while at it. Klaus smirks at this, enjoying the violence as always. She's not that repulsed by her actions, actually. Ray's a douche.
"We are going to play a little drinking game, Ray." Stefan announces, showing the velvet bag to the slightly dazed werewolf. Okay, so maybe she hit him too hard. "Something I like to call; truth or wolfsbane." Stefan finishes, picking some wolfsbane and lifting it up for Ray to see.
"Mhm, I love the sound of that." Cassandra hums. "Don't you, Ray?"
She twists his name until it sounds like the worst insult in the world. Ray starts to get nervous.
"This is going to be fun, Ray," Klaus says, smirking.
…
Birds' chirping is the only sound that welcomes Alaric and Damon into the eerily looking state, where Stefan last released his wrath. Alaric gets out of the car at the same time Damon does, but he's much more freaked than Damon looks. He's never actually come along with Damon for this things, he's not sure what to expect. Damon's phone rings but he ends the call and puts his phone back in his pocket.
"Elena again?" Alaric asks even if he knows the answer.
"Yeah." Damon replies, looking up at the three-story house and dreading what he might find inside.
"Why don't you just tell her what we're doing?" Alaric asks again, copying Damon and looking up at the white house. It looks too clean, too dead. That is never a good sigh.
"Because this may be just another half-lead and I don't want her getting her hopes up." Damon explains. "Besides, she already thinks I gave up, I want her to keep thinking that way."
"Well, they're all half-leads." Alaric protests. More like dead-ends, he thinks but keeps quiet. He knows this is as hard to Damon as it is to Elena. "And I'm not comfortable with this. She keeps talking about finding Stefan and here I am as your accomplice. What am I suppose to do? I'm practically living with them." He mumbles at the end, looking around the state with the unnatural feeling in the back of his head that someone is watching.
"Still sleeping on the couch, uh?" Damon asks. Both men know they're stalling; none of them really want to go inside the house.
"Yes, I don't know why. It's not like I'm helping or anything." Alaric pauses, finally ready to address the elephant in the metaphorical room. "It's quiet."
"Awfully so." Damon agrees.
They walk into the house, Damon being able to pass through the door without problem, and Alaric stars immediately. This is ugly. The place is trashed as soon as they walk in and there's a trail of blood that goes further into the house. He fights to keep his composure when he sees a bloodied handprint in the wall next to him. They stop walking when they reach the living room. The two corpses are perfectly arranged to look like the two women are simply sitting in the sofa, hanging out. Every joint has a thin trail of blood. Damon unconsciously releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. This is Stefan's doing, not Cassandra's. She's never ripped someone apart and put them back together. The messy kills are Stefan's, the organized ones are hers. He's come to learn that over the summer.
"Woah, a vampire for sure." Alaric openly stares, repulsed.
"Stefan for sure." Damon scoffs, walking closer so he can inspect the bodies better.
"How do you know?" Alaric questions curiously.
"It's his signature. He feeds so much, he black outs and rips them apart. Then he feels remorse and puts them back together." Damon explains as he slightly touches the blonde's feet.
The movement makes the entire body shift and the head falls off, rolling down until it hits the floor. Alaric gags and turns around, now definitely and completely disgusted. He looks around, trying to get the image out of his mind before he ends up throwing up.
"Definitely Stefan." Damon repeats, staring at the blonde's head.
Alaric nods and his eyes fall on the wall. His heartbeat races when he notices letters are starting to appear in the wall, slowly but surely they form words in what can only be blood. He calms down a bit when he reads the message but his heart is still racing.
"Uh, Damon?" he says hesitantly.
"What?" Damon asks, turning around to face the wall.
Whatever words were about to leave his mouth get stuck in his throat. He knows that handwriting and he also knows who else is with Stefan in this weird version of Splash Mountain where instead of being water there's only blood and nothing else. He reads the message twice, thrice, shockingly realizing this is the only news he's heard from her since she left. Because it is her, isn't it? Damon's eyes shot down to the end of the message, where the signature is.
Here's a tip; look under the rug.
—C.
Who else would sign with a C but Cassie?
"So what do we do?" Alaric asks hesitantly.
"Look under the rug," Damon says, shrugging.
They do as Cassandra told them and aren't that surprise to find a basement ready to contain several werewolves in a full moon under a trapdoor under the rug. They share a look.
"Well, what do you know? Werewolves." Damon drawls before letting the trapdoor snap shut.
He walks out of the house and comes back with some gasoline. Alaric stands aside, letting him work. He's not exactly sure what Damon's doing. He watches as Damon covers the two women and their surroundings with the flammable liquid.
"What are you doing?" Alaric asks.
"Covering their tracks." Damon explains. "They may not want to but I do."
With that he leaves the gasoline next to the sofa and walks over to the door where Alaric is standing. He lights a match and lets it fall near the rug, watching everything burn as Alaric makes his way out. His eyes go once again to the message on the wall. He doesn't care if it's written in blood; he knows how Cass probably obtained the blood and he still doesn't care. The only thing that matters is that she still cares enough to leave a message behind to help Damon out. Anastasia told him the Cassandra he knows is probably gone but that message gave him hope to think otherwise. He knows how dangerous hope can be. With that thought repeating in his mind like a mantra, Damon turns around and leaves the house to burn.
…
Ray grunted as he tried to break the chains that kept him tied to the wall. He had several darts in his face and neck. They'd been going at this for hours now. Stefan is still very entertained; Cassandra wants to kill herself out of boredom.
"Ray," Stefan says, walking over to him and taking one of the darts that was stuck to his neck. "You know how to end this now, just tell me where your pack is."
"I can't tell you that." Ray pants through the pain.
"Right, pack loyalty and shit." Cass nods from the small table she's sitting on. "Cant we just compel it out of him? How much vervain can he have on his system?" she asks, starting to walk over to Ray and ready to do as she said.
"No, no, I'm going to get it out of him." Stefan protests.
"Stefan, we've been at this for hours." She whines. She suddenly perks up, getting an idea. Ray's eyes go from her to Stefan and back again. "Maybe I can find a spell to get the information out of him?" she asks.
Stefan is about to talk when a brunette walks towards Klaus and starts to whisper to him. The other two vampires meet eyes, their small quarrel forgotten completely. Oh, those are not good news. Cassandra closes her eyes briefly as she hears what the brunette has to say: she saw Damon at the house. Fuck, she thinks, turning her expression to neutral and walking toward Klaus.
"My brother's still on our trail?" Stefan asks, right behind Cassandra.
"He's getting closer," Klaus says, his eyes going to Cassandra calculatingly. "I'm going to have to do something about that."
He starts to walk away but Stefan stops him. "No, no, let me handle it."
This is it, her only chance to see him again. She's not about to let that one pass.
"Oh, can I go too?" she asks, walking to Klaus' other side and pretending to be a little kind on Christmas. "I have a feeling Stefan is not going to be exactly nice and I'm bored. Maybe inflicting a bit of both emotional pain and physical may be all I need. Please, Klaus, let me go with him." She pouts.
Klaus stares at her. She doesn't even let the hope that's starting to brew at the pit of her stomach show on her eyes. Klaus turns to Stefan, his gaze hardening but Cassandra knows she already has the free-pass. She's been trying so hard to get it and she has it. She's earned it. Suddenly, the small smile that was threatening to appear leaves. She has never earned Klaus trust so easily. Something else is going on. And like that, all her hope and happiness and maybe a bit of giddiness is out of her body as she exhales.
"Aren't you even having a little bit of fun?" Klaus asks, signaling to Ray.
Cassandra blinks, focusing back into reality. Stefan simply puts a hand in her shoulder and forces her to move forwards.
"We are going to make sure my brother doesn't follow us anymore," Stefan says as form of departure.
They walk out of the bar and to the car in total silence. Only when they're halfway there do one of them dares to speak.
"Are you sure about this?" Stefan asks, looking at Cassandra sideways. "I will make sure he doesn't follow us."
"I know," she says. "But I also know this may as well be the last time I get to see him." She admits, looking at Stefan carefully, not sure if she can trust him or not.
Stefan nods, taking that information in. he then starts to explain his plan to her and she admits that, even if she hates the plan, it's actually pretty good. There's no way Damon is going to follow them again after this. And even if it hurts, she's glad because that means he's finally going to be safe.
…..
"Hello?" Andy asks as the light hits her square in the face, blinding her. She laughs nervously. "It's not funny, guys! You're burning my corneas."
Nobody answers her. She moves to the side, trying to see who it is that's standing there. She can see a silhouette but she can't see their face. She starts to freak out when the light follow hers. She laughs again before waving them off and turning around, only to almost walk into none other than Cassandra Woodhouse.
"Cassandra!" she exclaims, pressing a hand to her raging heart.
"Andrea," Cassandra says, just as emotionlessly as ever when it comes to Andy.
"Where have you been? We've been looking for you all summer!" Andy demands, sounding almost worried. "Are you with Stefan?"
"Shut up." Cassandra compels her.
Andy closes her mouth shut, feeling her heart beat hard against her ribcage. Cassandra grabbed her arm and turned her around, starting to walk towards the now turned-off light. Stefan is standing in the middle of the room, a serious expression etched to his features. Andy feels her body weaken with fear. She can tell by their expressions this is not going to be a nice meeting.
"Text Damon and tell him to come here," Cassandra orders her.
"Don't mention us," Stefan continues.
"Or we'll kill you." Cassandra finishes his sentence, making Andy's eyes widen in terror.
…..
Damon enters the studio, looking around the incredibly quiet place. He stops when he accidentally kicks a purse that's been abandoned by the floor. That's Andy's. he frowns and looks up, trying to see if he can hear Andy.
"Stefan," he says when he spots his brother.
"Brother," Stefan nods.
"You don't write, you don't call," Damon says, walking around Andy's purse and towards his brother.
"You need to stop following me." Stefan orders, ignoring Damon's comment. "You're causing some… problems."
"With who? Klaus?" Damon shoots back immediately. "I'm suppose to care what he thinks?"
"You're supposed to let us go." Stefan repeats.
Damon frowns again and takes another step forward. 'Us' as in Stefan and Cassie? Is she here?
"I saw your little work at Tennessee, keep that up and there will be no saving you." Damon comments, obviously stalling and hoping Cass will show up at some point.
"That's the thing," Stefan chuckles, looking down. "I don't want to be saved."
"He doesn't need to be saved." Cassandra finally walks to stand next to Stefan, a bit tired of the banter. Her breath gets stuck in her throat when her eyes meet Damon's but she doesn't show any emotion in her face or eyes.
"We'll I've got a birthday girl at home who is not going to like that." Damon shrugs, almost mockingly.
"Tell her to shut up and grow up." Cassandra retaliates, not even blinking. "Maybe that way she'll learn something."
"I can't do that," Damon says, a bit freaked over the fact that she's not reacting to his presence at all.
"Maybe we haven't made our point." Stefan comments to Cassandra, making her hum in agreement. "Andy, you still there?" he looks up to where Andy is standing dangerously close to the end of the roof.
"Andy?" Damon asks, confused.
"Oh, yes," Cassandra says. "Your little friend was very willing to help."
She points upwards and Damon follows her signal with his eyes. Andy is crying, shutting her eyes tightly so she won't see how far up she is.
"Damon, he told me not to move." She cries, shaking her head slightly. "He told me that I can't move."
"No, no, no, Andy, stay calm." Damon tries to console. It's a total failure, his own voice is alarmed. "Everything is going to be okay." He glares at his brother and at Cassandra then, incredibly angry. "Not cool at all."
"Oh, come on! It's a little bit cool, no?" Stefan mocks. "Andy, you can move now." He calls to Andy.
"What? No, no, no!" Damon exclaims, not wanting Andy to die.
Cassandra closes her eyes briefly before forcing them open. Damon tries to save Andy but Stefan throws himself at Damon and pushes him to the wall. Cassandra watches how Andy's face is full of fear and she decides to take matters into her own hands. With one pointed look, she forces the life out of Andy as painlessly as possible. By the time Andy's body collapses against the cold floor, she's long dead. Cassandra walks a few steps towards her, looking down at the broken woman. She hated her out of jealousy but she never believed she'd be killing Andy. Another innocent name to add to her pile of kills.
"Stop following us." Stefan growls at his brother before running out of the building.
Cassandra isn't so fast, though. Her eyes are still trained on Andy and she's actually feeling remorse. We've been looking for you all summer! She had helped Damon; she was probably the only person Damon had told about the killings, about the trail. And now she had taken that away from him.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Damon demands, his voice raising.
She snaps her eyes away from Andy to look at him, eyes icy and hard as an iceberg. "There is nothing wrong with me." she lets him know, even if it's a blatant lie.
"You sell yourself to a powerful hybrid to save me, you leave me a message to let me know your plan and then you kill my friend?"
He's practically yelling by now, expecting some sort of reaction from the redhead, waiting for her to yell back, to hit him, to insult him, to do anything. But she doesn't. She simply looks at him, an impassive look etched to her face. She really wants to ask how he knew she killed Andy midway but she doesn't ask. Instead she meets his eyes once more before turning around, ready to leave. Damon reaches out and takes her arm, making her pause.
"Let me go, Damon," she says.
Cassandra turns to face him slightly. She can see she's hurting him and that pains her but it's okay. Because he truly needs to let her go. He's safe without her. Her hand moves on its own accord to grab his and she lifts it away from her arm. Her hand lingers a second to long in his and she curses herself for it.
"Goodbye, Damon."
Cassandra walks away then, holding back tears. He doesn't stop her and part of her wishes he would.
…..
"You're back!" Klaus exclaims, looking up from the disaster that is Ray Sutton.
Sometime after they left, Klaus moved Ray to the pool table. He lays there, bloody and in pain, clearly distressed. He's no longer trying to mask it.
"I'd say 'I told you so' but I guess our presence already does." Cassandra comments sarcastically, making her way over to the pool table next to Ray's and propping herself up on it.
"Good," Klaus says, nodding at a brooding Stefan before focusing back on Ray. "See, Ray, it's a three steps process."
"I already told you where the pack is," Ray says. "What else do you want?"
"Clearly you haven't been listening to what I've said." Klaus reprimands. "I have great plans for you."
Klaus cuts his wrist with a knife and presses his wrist to Ray's mouth, forcing him to drink his blood. Cassandra looks on, interested. She's always wanted to know what happens if a werewolf gets turned.
"Don't worry, he'll thank me later." Klaus calls to the bar.
"And what now?" Ray coughs up.
"Step two, Ray." Klaus explains.
With one fluid motion, he snaps Ray's neck. Klaus then walks towards Stefan in the bar. Cassandra doesn't feel like eavesdropping but fragments of the conversation reaches her. Klaus doesn't believe Stefan doesn't feel, just as she feared.
"Your brother better believe your act, Stefan, for his own good." Klaus threatens and that's when Cassandra tunes the conversation out completely.
By now the tears she hold back the entire drive back are threatening to fall more than ever but she bites the inside of her cheek, so hard she tastes blood, until the tears disappear. She almost jumps out of her skin when she feels soft fingers pull her hair out of her face but she manages to control herself. She lifts her eyes to meet Klaus'.
"Did you have fun, love?" he asks.
"Lots," she hums, not believing the words leaving her mouth. "I am 100% sure I left an emotional scar that's not going to go anywhere." She pauses. "Oh, and I got to kill a bitch I hated." She adds.
"I'm glad to hear that. Finally someone is actually happy to be here." Klaus nods.
"Of course I'm happy to be here!" she exclaims even if her mind is screaming at her for saying those words. "And in a few hours, I'll get to find out what happens when a werewolf turns." She directs the conversation back to Ray, hoping the topic will steer away from personal questions.
"That's right…" he says, looking at Ray's dead body. "But first we need to go on a little road trip."
Cassandra groans, promising to herself she'll never go on another road trip in her life.
A/N: guys so sorry this took so looooongggggg. It took forever I am so sorrryyyyyyy. but here it is, thanks for waiting. read and review. uuhhh and favorite if you want and you know... follow... all those make me happy so... yeah...