Chapter 2: Getting to know you
Part 1
Gabe parked his car in front of the police station and looked aside at his wife. "You sure you want to do this?" he asked soft. "I could just go in there alone and you can wait for me"
Rachel shook her head. "No, I, eh, I need to see it for myself" she said with a trembling yet determined voice. She unfastened her seatbelt and stepped out of the car, Gabe doing the same. He walked around the car and hooked his arm in his wife's. They walked up the porch and entered the station. They headed for the desk when sheriff Forbes noticed them. She handed some papers to one of her deputies and then came Mr. and Mrs. Lindy's way.
"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Lindy" she said sober.
"I doubt it's a good morning when you're being summoned to check whether your children are lying on your table" Gabe said trembling.
"I'm sorry" Liz apologized. "I can't imagine what you must be going through. I promise it won't take long" She led the couple to a room with closets and beds. She walked to two beds standing next to each other. A man in a white costume and a mask was standing next to the beds.
"I understand it if you need some time" Liz said. Rachel shook her head. "No. I have to see it. I have to know it" she said, sounding like she already did.
Liz nodded at the man and he removed the sheets of the face of the first corpse. Rachel shrieked and started crying, covering her face in her husband's cervix.
"Show me the other one" Gabe said, trying to keep his voice in check. The second face was shown and Gabe gasped for air. "What…what happened to her?" he asked shocked.
"Her heart's been ripped out" Liz said.
"Who would do something like that?" Gabe said disgusted and upset. Rachel looked up. "Vampires" she mumbled distracted. She turned around at the corpses. "Kelsey was a werewolf. The most popular way to kill a werewolf is to rip its heart out" She noticed the infection on Amber's arm. "That's a werewolf bite"
She looked back at Gabe. "They killed each other"
Part 2
Elena's fingers touched the carpet and her eyes opened slowly. Damon's heavy body was lying on her light one and she tried to push him off, in which she failed miserably. There was chocolate on Damon's chin and Elena couldn't help but kiss it off. Her lips went up higher and kissed his.
Damon groaned sleepy and cuddled up against her bosom. "Damon?" Elena gently pushed his shoulder. "Damon, I need to get up. I need to get to school" "Mm" Damon disapproved. "Call Ric" As he mumbled Elena could feel his lips soft on her breasts. "I can't risk getting late on my third day of school, Damon" she said trying again to get Damon off of her.
"It's a Saturday, Elena, there is no school"
And so Damon had no intentions of getting off. He lifted up his head. "There's cake in your hair" he noted as if he was talking about the weather.
"Now, how could that have happened?" Elena sarcastically replied. She gathered all her strength and pushed Damon off of her, causing him to stumble backwards off the couch. He didn't get up. "Damon?" Elena called worried.
She hadn't pushed that hard and he was a vampire. She crawled to the other side of the couch and looked down, but Damon was gone.
"Damon, stop playing these stupid games!" she shouted annoyed. Then she heard water running. "You have to be kidding me" she mumbled in herself.
She walked to the bathroom and opened it.
"Hey!" Damon yelled.
"Shut up!" Elena yelled back. "You got room in there for two?"
"No" Damon said, which was a total lie.
"Well, suck it up, I'm coming in anyway" Elena said. She removed the curtains and felt how ice cold water soaked her hair and clothes. Damon was attacking her with the showerhead. "Ahhh! Damon, you idiot! Stop it!" She quickly closed the curtains and shivered, looking worse than a minute ago. She dried her hair with the towel Damon was going to use.
"Teach you for trying to lurk at private objects" Damon said, acting reproachful.
"Oh, there was something to see then?" Elena scoffed.
The curtains opened again and Elena felt another stream of cold water. "Ahh!" she shrieked and she hastily left the bathroom.
Part 3
Covered in nothing but a towel Stefan opened the door of Alaric's loft in which he lived for the time being. There were two women standing in the doorway, one being the selfish vampire slut that had changed him and his brother, the other being a blonde girl he had not seen before yet somehow she looked familiar, as if she belonged to a part of his past he had tried so hard to bury he had forgotten it.
"Good morning, Stefan" Katherine said. "Won't you invite us in?"
"Give me a reason" Stefan smirked.
"Because you love me" Katherine said obvious and a glare of annoyance flashed over Rebekah's face.
"Who's Blondie?" Stefan said nodding at Rebekah. Blondie, seriously? If Stefan only knew…
Katherine raised her eyebrows and she quickly said: "Stefan, Rebekah. Rebekah, Stefan…Can we come in now?"
Stefan pulled his shoulders. "I'm not so sure about that, Katherine" he teased. "This isn't really my house, it's Ric's. I don't think I can invite you in"
Rebekah grabbed his neck and forced him outside. She pierced her stare in his eyes. "Invite us in now"
"Please, come in" Stefan said monotone and the two vampires entered the loft. "See, that's how it's done" Rebekah said smug.
Part 4
Tyler was sitting at the bar in the Grill, having a beer. "Aren't you supposed to tell me I shouldn't drink this time of day?" he said. Ronnie was cleaning glasses. "No, actually I was going to reproach you for not buying me one"
"Please, be my guest" Tyler said waving his hand. "Thank you" Ronnie said. She opened the fridge and got herself a beer which she opened with a spoon. She took a sip.
"I haven't seen you around here" Tyler said. "When did you get here?"
"About a week ago" Ronnie said. "My friend died. I'm here for the funeral"
"I'm sorry to hear that" Tyler said. "How did she die? If I may ask, of course"
Ronnie looked down. "She was murdered…in a way you can't imagine. I threw up when I saw her body, it was so awful"
"I'm sorry" Tyler repeated.
"It's fine" Ronnie replied. The door opened and she saw Caroline coming in. "Your girlfriend's here"
Tyler looked around. "Oh, that's Caroline" he said. "She's not my girlfriend"
Ronnie saw how a disappointed and hurt expression appeared on Caroline's face and Caroline disappeared. Ronnie took a small notebook and wrote down Caroline's name.
Part 5
Jeremy got out of bed, rubbing his eyes and putting on his slippers. He opened his bedroom door and walked downstairs. To his surprise Alaric was already up.
"Morning" Jeremy yawned. "Why up so early?"
"Preparing my classes" Alaric said.
"Come on, Ric, it's Saturday" Jeremy muttered. "Saturday morning nonetheless. Just come and have breakfast and then you can do your homework"
Alaric drank of his coffee. "I'm having breakfast right now" Jeremy shook his head and sat down. He wanted to pour some coffee, but discovered the pot empty. "Seriously?" he said looking at Alaric. He poured a glass of orange juice and made his breakfast.
"So, what's on today's schedule?" Alaric asked without looking up.
"Not sure yet" Jeremy mumbled with a mouth full of bread. "Hanging around a bit"
"I might give a quiz on Monday" Alaric said.
"Right, 'cause we've seen so much course material so far" Jeremy said sarcastic.
"I'm serious, Jeremy" Alaric said, now looking up. "I'm not going to give you better grades or give you special treatments because we live in the same house. You're going to have to work more than ever. I will not make it any easier for you than for the rest of your classmates. Am I making myself clear?"
Jeremy sniffed. "This was not how I planned on starting my Saturday"
Part 6
Caroline was standing with Elena, her cell phone in her hands, while cheerleading practice was on.
"I can't believe I quit this a year ago" Elena said.
"Why? You miss it?" Caroline asked as she was dialing a number.
"Not really, no" Elena sighed. "Maybe I should just get rid of my costume. It's not like anyone's going to see me in it anymore, right?"
Her eyes still on the phone Caroline replied mumbling: "Oh, I could think of someone who would love to see you in it"
Elena elbowed her friend, but smiled at the same time. "So, what's up with you and Tyler?" she tried to change the subject. Caroline shrugged, seeming not very pleased about the current subject. "What's there to tell? We've spent weeks locked in rooms next doors, he almost accidentally killed me, he helped me help you save Damon, we've spent the rest of the summer together…But really, what's there to tell?" she said a little hysterical.
"Caroline, is everything okay with you?" Elena asked concerned.
"Of course! Why wouldn't it be?" Caroline exclaimed. "It's not like I'm his girlfriend or anything. He can hook up with anyone if he wants to"
"Caroline" Elena said, putting her hands on her shoulders. "Go talk to him. Tell him how you feel"
Caroline threw Elena's arms off and looked at her phone again. "And I'm still not getting any response from Bonnie. This is not normal anymore"
Elena looked away. "I'm not sure I want her to come back. It would make things a lot more complicated if she were here. And I doubt Damon would welcome her and I wouldn't blame him"
"You can't stay mad forever" Caroline said.
Part 7
Elena entered the Grill and walked to a table. She was going to meet Damon there.
"Hey"
She looked up at Stefan. "Hi" she said uncomfortable. They hadn't really spoken since she had declared her love for Damon.
"Can I sit with you?" Stefan asked careful. Feeling it would be impolite to reject Elena nodded. "I'm sorry I wasn't there last night. Caroline told me she was giving a party to celebrate you and…Damon"
"It's okay, Stefan, it wasn't that big of a deal" Elena said.
"I just thought it would be weird" Stefan explained. "After all that happened I'm not his number one on his list of favorites. I'm surprised you're still talking to me"
"Can you quit feeling sorry for yourself?" Elena said.
"I'm sorry, I didn't…I'm sorry" Stefan said, lying his hand on Elena's.
Damon parked his car in the neighborhood of Mystic Grill. He got out of it and gazed inside to see if Elena was there. She was…and so was his brother. He saw the closeness between the two ex-lovers and jumped into conclusions.
Elena pulled her hand away. "Don't do that, Stefan" she said a little irritated. She looked outside seeing Damon with a shocked expression. "Damn it, he's seen us" She quickly got up and ran outside, hoping Damon was still there.
He was. He looked from Elena to Stefan.
"Nothing happened, Damon" Elena said.
"We were just talking" Stefan wanted to help.
"Can you please leave us alone, Stefan?" Elena said a little mad. Disappointed Stefan walked back inside the Grill.
Elena walked towards Damon and took his hands. "Damon, I can't do this. Not like this. You can't be jealous every time you see me talking to another guy. You need to learn to trust me"
"I do trust you" Damon said desperate. "But he's Stefan. He's your ex, he's always going to mean something to you"
"That doesn't mean I want him back" Elena said. "He tried to stop me from saving you. That moment I had a choice. I could stay with him and stay unharmed or I could fight him off and put my life and my friend's on the line to save yours. Doesn't that say enough?"
Damon looked down, seeming ashamed. "Sorry" he mumbled.
"You really need to work on your self-esteem. People do love you" Elena assured him. "I love you" And to show it she kissed him for a long time.
Part 8
Katherine was in the kitchen, making dinner. Or at least she attempted to. She hadn't been cooking since…well, this was the first time. She tried to open a bin, but the thing to open it was so stupid.
"Goddamn it!" she cursed and she smashed the bin against the wall. "Why can't we have blood like normal vampires?" she yelled.
"Because I feel like eating American food" Stefan said being annoying. "So better get it ready, already"
He was sitting on the couch with Rebekah who kept giving him secret stares. One time she didn't look away fast enough. "What's your deal? How do you know Katherine?" Stefan asked.
"Oh, we go back centuries" Rebekah said. "But it's not really an exciting story. No, the 20's were more my decade"
"Really? Why is that?" Stefan asked bored.
"Well, the music was better. You hardly hear any jazz nowadays. Just crap people call music" Rebekah complained. "And the people wore clothes. I mean actual clothes, they didn't wander around like prostitutes…And naturally, love"
"Tell me about him" Stefan said.
Rebekah frowned frustrated. "You really don't remember?" she asked sad. "What's there to remember?" Stefan asked, now interested a little. "Well, I guess I'll have to tell you then" Rebekah said obvious.
Katherine raced to Rebekah and grabbed her arm, forcing her to the front door. "Okay, it was nice catching up, but now we really have to go"
"What? No! I want to stay here! Stefan has the right to know who I am" Rebekah objected.
"He can't!" Katherine hissed. "You know what your brother said. Stefan can't find out until he says so. Only he can break the compulsion"
Rebekah angry turned around and walked back to Stefan. She kissed him, Katherine staring at them in shock. This was purely to provoke her, Rebekah didn't love him at all. She let go. "See you later" she winked and she walked out of the loft.
Part 9
Rachel was sitting at the table, her plate in front of her, but she didn't touch it. "You need to eat something" Gabe said soft. Rachel pushed her plate away. "You don't get to tell me what to do anymore" she said trembling.
"Come on, Rachel, that's not fair" Gabe said sad. "I'm just as devastated as you are" he said fighting his own tears, but Rachel only scoffed. "Oh, give me a break. You were the first to deny Kelsey was your daughter and you wanted to hand Amber over to the police"
"I thought I was doing the right thing" Gabe defended himself. "I couldn't let Kelsey stay here. She could've put us all in danger. And with Amber…I thought if I could keep her locked up she wouldn't be able to attack anyone"
But it seemed like Rachel hadn't heard any of it. "Do you have any idea how painful it is to have your heart ripped out? I don't, because it never happened to me, but I can imagine it must be awful"
Gabe placed his hands on the table. "Yeah, how did you know those things? How did you know it was a werewolf bite that killed Amber?"
Rachel looked up frightened and all was needed for Gabe to put the pieces together. "Oh my God" he said.
"Gabe, please" Rachel said scared.
"You're one of them" Gabe took the conclusion.
"No, I'm not" Rachel heavily shook her head. "I'm not. I'm still…normal"
"The gene hasn't manifested yet. Of course, why didn't I see it? All those times you were cranky at full moons, saying it was that time again" Gabe said agitated, looking sharp in Rachel's eyes.
"Please, don't kill me" Rachel begged.
"I'm not going to kill you" Gabe said. He grabbed his wife's arm and dragged her to the basement.
"Gabe, please, we can work this out" Rachel said nervous.
Gabe opened the door and pushed Rachel off the stairs. He closed the door and locked it.
Part 10
Night came in and both Elena and Damon were getting ready to go to sleep. Elena, wearing pajamas with a teddy print on it, was standing in the doorway of her room. "You want to come in?" she asked teasing.
Damon had this ludicrous…rule they had to sleep in separate rooms. It was so not Damon. "We can sleep together" Elena tried with puppy eyes. Damon walked to her and kissed her. Elena wanted to pull him inside, but he braced. "Oh, come on" she groaned, her lips still touching his.
"I'm not doing it, Elena, not tonight" Damon said and he kissed her again. Elena took of her top and took a step back. "You know you want me" she said with a smirk.
Damon took a deep breath. "Damn it" he growled and he got inside. "I knew I could win you over" Elena triumphed with gleaming eyes and a big smile. Damon threw her in his arms and Elena shrieked.
He walked to the bed and lay Elena down on it. He gave her one last passionate kiss, covered her under the sheets and flashed back to the door. "Goodnight, Teddy Girl" he winked. He closed the door.
"Ass!" Elena yelled.
"Love you too!" Damon yelled back.
A couple of hours later both were fast asleep. The window of Elena's bedroom went open and two shadows entered. They walked to the bed. One of them lay their hand on her throat and saw Elena's necklace. They ripped it off and shrieked. "Sssshhh!" the other one said. "I'm sorry. There's vervain in the necklace" the first complained. "Keep your mouth shut. If Damon finds out what we're doing…" the second hissed.
"I took care of that" the first said. "Okay, I'll keep her arms down and then you can do the rest. Eh, maybe you could let go of her throat? We need her to be alive" They pressed Elena's arms on the mattress and Elena woke up. She wanted to scream, but a pair of eyes stared in hers. "You will not scream. You will lay still and let us take what we came for. You will not tell anyone we were here nor what we've done"
"I will not tell" Elena said monotone.
"You won't miss your necklace"
"I won't miss my necklace" Elena repeated.
"Good girl""
Elena gasped when she felt something stinging in her neck. "What are you doing?"
"Just taking a little blood"
"No" Elena groaned. "You can't do that"
"Don't be so selfish, Elena. There are people out there that need your blood"
Elena felt how the needle was being pulled out and she heard a crack. The next second a bleeding arm was pressed against her mouth and she was forced to drink. Her neck healed and the arm was pulled away.
"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Elena" the second said and they jumped out of the window.