Chapter 4: Turning Tables

His own fear came from the realization of how much that hurt.

"Ok, that was cheating." Caroline said from the ground.

"All's fair in love and war, baby." Damon said above her.

"Now, get your hand off my throat."

He smirked and let her go. Caroline stood up, dusting dirt off her back. "You said we weren't using vamp-speed. If you hadn't cheated, I totally would have kicked your ass."

"Right, because every bad guy you're going to fight is going to fight fair." Damon said, pacing easily in front of her. "You wanted to know how to fight like a vampire, this is how. Now, c'mon, try again."

Caroline's knees locked. She bounced lightly on the balls of her feet. She clenched her fists. Damon stared at her, his eyes narrowed, waiting for any movement. There was silence. A twig snapped. A flock of birds erupted from the trees. The wind blew and rattled branches. The live earth moved beneath their feet.

Then she darted forward.

Her arms outstretched, she meant to knock him over— but he took her by the shirt and yanked her up over him to throw her to the ground again. Caroline's heart quickened as she sailed over him. Oh, no, not again!

Her hands gripped into vices around his shoulders and as she hit the ground, he tumbled down with her. They rolled, one trying to best the other for higher ground. They collided with a tree. Her leg jerked up, hooking under him, and she kicked him across the clearing. He flew and smashed into a tree. There was a massive cracking sound and as Damon slid down, the oak snapped in half.

But his feet had barely hit the ground when he leapt forward with a backhand that Caroline was sure broke her jaw. She popped it back into place and gave him an upper hook that knocked him off his feet. He hopped up and darted at her. He shoved her into a tree, and she shoved him back across the clearing. Another loud crack. He threw her backward, she stumbled, and he kicked her in the chest.

He kicked her in the face. Caroline tasted blood. He kicked her again. She felt a tooth chip as her jaws crushed together. He darted forward and pushed her off her feet.

"Come on, Blondie." His eyes were alight. He smeared the running blood from his nose with his forearm. "We were having fun."

Caroline stood up and pulled a branch that had pierced her side all the way through. It was dripping blood. She shook leaves from her hair.

"I'm not even close to being done."

She swung with her right arm. He ducked. She swung with the other fist. He step-sided it and backhanded her across the face. They paused.

"You're going to have to do better than that." He sounded breathless.

"I'm trying." She gasped.

"Try harder." He said, through gritted teeth.

—Damon, pushing her back to bed—

—Damon, ripping the flesh from her neck—

—Damon, biting her back as he methodically rode he in her own room—

—Damon, holding a stake to her heart when she first became a vampire—

A hiss reverberated in her chest as she whipped about to face him, her pointed teeth bared. Caroline barely glimpsed his shocked face before she leapt onto him. She threw him so hard to the ground, the forest floor shuddered. She roared in his face. His face changed and he roared back. He grabbed her and threw her away from him. She came at him with fast punches. He blocked two but the last one, she slammed right into his face. He stumbled back and Caroline didn't hesitate. She swooped down and snatched up the branch that had pierced her. She landed on him, straddling his hips. The point of the branch lay directly over his heart.

Her golden hair brushed his nose as they lay face to face. Damon's breath hitched. Caroline never remembered being this close to him since becoming a vampire.

If she breathed, their bodies could be completely touching.

Suddenly Damon wrapped his legs around her ankles and he flipped her. Caroline felt her knee crack and she gasped as he landed on top of her. They stared for a moment before he lowered his head and put his lips to her ear.

"You have this power and you're still afraid to use it." He murmured. "You're a vampire. Start acting like it. Next time, finish through with the kill."

When he climbed off from her, she felt tears sting the corners of her eyes. She lay there for a minute, staring at the recently risen moon, forcing herself to keep the tears in her eyes.

"Get up, Caroline." Damon said. His back was facing her. His shoulders were tight. "We're supposed to meet them back at seven."

Stefan had taken Elena, Jeremy and Alaric back in his car. Damon and Caroline decided to run back. In opposite directions, of course.

She hadn't stood in the clearing for more than a second longer after they agreed to reconvene at the Salvatore house. She wouldn't look at him. She didn't speak. She just looked . . . hurt. Out of the corner of his eyes, Damon watched her clean dried blood from her hands on her pant leg.

"So, good day, everyone," Alaric had said, smiling. "I know Jeremy learned how it feels to get his ass kicked. Repeatedly."

Jeremy scowled. "I'm hungry. Either drop me off at the Grill or order pizza."

"Sounds like a plan." Alaric nodded. "Is that alright?" He looked at Stefan. The vampire nodded.

"We can take my car." He continued. "But there's not room for everybody. Damon, Caroline, would you mind—,"

Caroline was gone in a brush of leaves. Damon stared at the ground. Stefan was the first to look at him.

His eyes read, what did you do?

Damon only smiled. "Well, since she's off, I'll be going too."

He turned and sped off into the dark. He dodged trees, weaving in and out of moonlight. Cold wind flew by like nettles but it didn't bother him. He didn't really feel it. All he could feel— all he could see— was Caroline's face, sad and smelling of tears. He ruined the one day where she didn't glare at him out of disgust. Out of hatred. Out of loathing. Out of fear.

His own fear came from the realization of how much that hurt.

Caroline stared at her face in the mirror. Black lines marked the path of the mascara ruined by the tears. She couldn't stop crying. And she wasn't entirely sure why.

Come on, Forbes, pull yourself together! Don't you dare let him see you like this!

But it was more than that. It was that she had failed. She couldn't be a good human, not now that she was tainted as monster. She was ruined, impure. Her father had made sure she knew that. This was the second day that had gone by without her parents knowing her where she was or who she was with.

They probably don't care if you're dead or alive, a nasty little voice inside of her head said. They actually hoping you are dead. Caroline Forbes, daughter of the town sheriff, is murderous, bloodsucking horror. Mom has probably been plotting a way to kill you the second she saw you with that bloodstained mouth.

Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. Another sob wracked her body.

She was also a pathetic vampire. Damon Salvatore made sure to remind her of that.

"I can't do this," she cried aloud. "What am I?"

Where do I belong?

She heard the front door open. Gasping, she ran a cloth under some hot water to clean off the smeared make-up. She managed to look semi-presentable before she sped down the stairs to greet them.

Jeremy was happily snacking on bread rolls, while Ric carried the other two boxes of pizza. Stefan and Elena, hand-in-hand, followed in after the two.

"Hey, guys" Caroline said in what she hoped was a cheery voice. "What took you so long?"

Alaric raised an eyebrow and waved to the boxes in his hand.

"Ah, right," Caroline nodded. "Guess Jeremy couldn't wait."

"Oh, no," Stefan chuckled. He threw himself onto the couch. "It was Alaric who couldn't wait to get back here and play some more Skyrim."

The skin around Alaric's neck flushed red. "Hey! I just—,"

An ear-shattering screech echoed out from the servant's courter. Stefan was on his feet.

"What's he done now?" he muttered and sped off down the stairs. Caroline glanced at Elena, who had turned white, and followed him with her vamp-speed.

When she entered the room, she gasped. The old man was sprawled out on the bed, sweating. His skin was tinged yellow. Red spittle poured out the side of his mouth, staining his mangy beard. His eyes were constantly rolling back in his head, the whites the color of grey paste. His body, as thin and knobby as skeleton, twitched and his wizened chest spluttered to keep breathing. And at his side knelt Damon.

Their hands were clasped in what looked like a prayer. Then she realized the man was speaking.

"And I had a family, you know? A wife that loved me, and two beautiful little boys. I was just wanted to provide for them, you know. Be the man they could respect. I didn't know it would end like this. I'm never going to get to say goodbye, am I? I'm never going to apologize for all the terrible things . . . terrible, terrible things . . ."

Elena burst through the door, Jeremy and Alaric sharp on her heels. She gasped and put a hand to her mouth.

"I don't want to die, but I can feel it." His breathing worsened and a shaking hand grabbed Damon by the shirt. "Tell them I was a good person. Tell them I died without fear."

"What's going on?" Elena breathed. Stefan shook his head mutely.

The old man coughed, blood flying. He sucked in breath and his whole body shuddered, like it was rejecting the oxygen. Like his body was rejecting life. Fat tears leaked down his cheeks, drawing blood down through his beard and onto his heaving chest.

"I don't want to want to die!" He sobbed. His body started to convulse again. "But I can't take this pain!"

He screeched again. The scream faded in a violent sob.

"I can't do this," he howled. "Please, please, I can't! Please ki—,"

Before their eyes, Damon stood up, grabbed the man's head and snapped his neck. His body went limp and the last bit of blood spilled from his mouth onto the pillow beside his crooked head. He was still at last.

Damon couldn't remove his eyes from the body.

"Damon," Caroline began. "What—,"

"You son of a bitch!" Elena screamed. She walked up to him and slapped him. "You didn't have to kill him! We could have brought him help! Or given him vampire blood! What were you thinking?"

Damon's mouth fluttered open and shut. He wouldn't meet Elena's eyes. He took a step back, and bumped into the wall, looking surprised to see it was there.

"How could you, Damon?" Elena started to cry. She was furious. "You psychopath! He was a poor innocent man, who was sick and dying and his last wish was to see his family, and you took that away from him! This is a whole new low, Damon!"

Damon's mouth slipped over words. "I— you— you don't understand."

"I understand perfectly." Her teeth were gritted. "You think that whoever comes in this house is just yours to play with. You can kill whomever you want because you're the big bad vampire! Well I've had enough of it, Damon! I'm sick and tired of you prancing around—,"

"Elena." Caroline barked. "Shut up."

Damon looked up and met Caroline's eyes from across the room. Elena stopped mid-sentence and swiveled her brown, tearstained eyes towards the blonde vampire.

"Wh-wh-what?"

"Shut up, Elena." Their eyes were still locked. "Damon did what he had to do because it was the right thing. He was in pain, dying slowly. Damon saved him from another hour of torture."

"But we could have given him blood, vampire blood. Or taken him to the hospital," Elena protested. "We could have saved him."

"Sometimes, people can't be saved." Damon said to Caroline. He had managed to find his voice. His gaze finally shifted to Elena. "He wanted to die. So I gave that to him. I thought you'd be proud of me."

He glared at Stefan, before walking heavy-footed up the staircase and disappearing.

"Caroline," Stefan said slowly. "Take Elena upstairs to my bedroom. I'll be there in a minute. Alaric and Jeremy help me move it."

Elena shivered as Caroline led her up the stairs.

*A/N More chapters to be posted later today. Just wondering if this is easier for anyone out there to read! Thanks all!