Chapter 4: Who's Next?
Damon walked through the door of the Boarding House the next morning feeling confused. He had just spent most of the night at Elena's and the rest of it walking around trying to figure out why he went there in the first place.
Elena was like Katherine…the Katherine he used to love, the beautiful woman that stole his heart and held his love in her hands. Now Katherine just continuously manipulated and toyed with him until she got her way, which she always did.
He walked past Stefan who was brooding in the living room as usual and straight up to his room. He peeled his jacket off and tossed it on a chair, and kicked off his boots before face planting into the bed.
"Where'd you go last night?" Katherine's voice questioned from behind him. "You missed out on make up sex." She quickly flipped him onto his back, and straddled his hips. She was wearing nothing but his black button up John Varvato's shirt and a white thong.
Damon ran his hand through the loose wavy locks that fell like a curtain from her head. "Ooh, you didn't have it without me, did you?" he smirked.
Katherine leaned down and nipped and his neck playfully. "I tried, but it got boring. The guy had no idea what he was doing." Damon leaned up to capture her lips but found himself pushed back into the mattress by her hand. "Where were you?" she demanded.
"Out." He replied shortly. Katherine arched a brow dangerously. "Fighting with you always makes me hungry." He explained.
"Liar." She sat up looking down at him. "You were visiting the girl weren't you? I can smell her all over you." She grumbled as she got off him and sped to the other end of the room where her clothes were and pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans.
Damon sat up and leaned on his elbows. "I got an invite." He grinned when her head popped up to look at him in surprise.
Katherine removed Damon's shirt from her body, and replaced it with a deep purple sleeveless blouse. "Really…just like that? Did you compel her?" she asked as she sat down and zipped up her knee high black leather boots.
Damon got off the bed and stood in front of her. "Didn't have to…she let me in willingly."
Katherine smiled deviously. "So she trusts you?" She stood slowly and ran her hands up his chest.
Damon nodded. "More than she should." His voice was lacking the excitement he would usually be feeling at this admission, but Kat didn't seem to notice.
"Perfect!" Kat wound her arms around his neck and played with the soft hairs there. "Now all I need you to do is get me that journal and we're golden." She placed a sweet kiss on his lips before pulling away and leaving the room.
Damon waited until she was downstairs before making his way to his dresser. He opened the top drawer and dug in the back for a mahogany box with gold trim and intricate designs. The name Graciella Salvatore was carved in delicate cursive. He opened it and pulled out the thin silver chain with a locket dangling from it. He made sure not to touch it. It was his mother's, a gift from his father to protect her from vampires. He stared at it long and hard debating whether he was going to put it back or not. He quickly slipped it into a silk pouch and shoved it in his jean pocket.
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Bonnie walked up the steps to Elena's house. She wanted to see how she was handling everything, and tell her about the things her Gram was teaching her. She walked right in like she always does and into the kitchen where Jeremy and Elena were eating breakfast. "Hey guys." She plopped her bag down on the chair beside her and sat down. She gave Elena a look. "How are things?" her tone of voice implied she was talking seriously. Jeremy didn't seem to notice.
Elena nodded. "Fine…I'm dealing." She admitted giving Bonnie a smile that said that she wasn't in danger. Bonnie sighed in relief.
"Dealing with what?" Jeremy asked, biting into a piece of toast.
"She broke up with Stefan." Bonnie quickly told him. "We were going to have a little girl talk." She smiled brightly.
Jeremy nodded. "Got it…that's you telling me to go somewhere that's 'else, right?" he stood and put his empty plate in the sink. "I'll be upstairs." He quickly left the room, and Bonnie immediately pulled her chair closer to Elena's.
"So, everything is okay?" she asked again in concern.
Elena nodded. "Yeah…I mean Stefan came by last night trying to apologize but I think he got the picture…I haven't heard from him since." She sipped her coffee slowly.
"What about this Damon guy and Katherine? Have they tried anything?"
"No…I don't think we have to worry about Damon." Elena claimed munching on her toast.
Bonnie looked at her wide-eyed. "What? Elena he's a vampire."
"I know…but he's been nothing but nice to me." She caught Bonnie's eyes and explained further. "Damon told me everything about vampires and everything about him and Stefan and Katherine." She whispered. "He was so open with me, Bonnie…I feel like I can trust him."
Bonnie shook her head. "You can't trust a vampire Elena…they lie to get what they want." She argued firmly. Bonnie couldn't believe her friend…sometimes she was too naive and trusting for her own good.
Elena frowned and stood putting her empty plate in the sink. "Why would he lie about his story? What good does that do him?"
Bonnie rolled her eyes behind Elena's back. "Because he wants you to trust him! He's bad news."
Elena turned back to her friend. "You don't even know him."
"Neither do you! Elena, think about this…he's not being nice to you because he wants to be you're friend, he wants something else and you're falling for it!" Bonnie exploded jumping out of her seat. Both of their heads turned to the entry when a rhythmic knock resounded on the door.
"I'll be right back." Elena went to get the door, and smiled when Damon was on the other side. "Hey…" she stepped aside and led him into the house and back into the kitchen. Bonnie stared at him for a while, before Elena's voice shook her out of her reverie. "Bonnie…this is Damon…Damon this is Bonnie." Elena earned a glare from her friend.
Damon smiled pleasantly. "Nice to meet you, Bonnie." The witch he thought to himself. This outta be good. He held out his hand for her to shake.
Bonnie stared at his hand then back at him and cautious placed her hand in his. Her Grams told her touching someone will warn you of any real danger. She pulled her hand away quickly and looked at him with wide eyes. She wasn't expecting to see that. She was expecting a darkness; blood and gore and death like she saw in Stefan…but this was different. She felt an emptiness coming from him, a longing…for love. "Nice to meet you too." Bonnie looked away. "I have to go, bye Elena." With that said Bonnie grabbed her bag and rushed out the door and to her car.
Damon blinked watching her go then turned back to Elena. "What was that about?"
Elena shrugged. "I don't know…she's been acting different since she found out she was a witch." Damon followed her into the living room and sat down on the couch beside her. "So did everything work out okay with you and Katherine?" she asked pulling her knees up to her chest.
Damon lounged back against the couch. "Yeah…she can't stay mad at me for too long." Damon lolled his head to the side and saw the distress on her face. "You…okay?" he asked uncomfortably.
Elena shrugged. "I guess I'm still trying to understand this whole vampire thing. There are still some things that aren't clear." She explained quietly.
"You know your ancestor Jonathan Gilbert kept a journal…the guy was obsessed with vampires." Elena threw him a puzzled glance. "He was on the Council in 1864…that just happened to be a big year for me." He joked, smirking slyly.
"How did you know I was a Gilbert? I never told you that." She claimed suspiciously.
"It was proudly displayed on a certificate in you room. 'Elena Gilbert: Honor Roll six semesters in a row'." He declared grandly using his hands to gesture.
Elena ducked her head a little, and gave him a half smile. "Yeah that was before my parents died…now I'm lucky if I get a passing grade." She mumbled, resting her head on her knees. "Losing them made everything else seem less important." She glanced up at him. "I guess you know what it's like."
Damon did know what it was like…he knew what it was like to watch everyone you've ever loved die around you, but he didn't show it. "My mom died when I was a kid and it sucked." He told her in a flippant tone. "But my dad was a dick…I still dance on his grave." He grinned, when it got a small smile out of her.
Why was he doing this? Why was he here, talking with Elena as if they were friends? Was it because she looked like Katherine and he felt comfortable around her, or was it because she actually seemed to care? He didn't know…and he wasn't going to drive himself crazy thinking about it.
"So what are you doing here? Was there something you needed to tell me?" she asked breaking through his thoughts.
"Uh, no not really…just wanted to make sure that Stefan wasn't bothering you again. Trust me as his older brother I know what a pain in the ass he can be." He teased.
Elena smiled tightly. "I haven't seen him…and he hasn't called me."
Damon stood. "Good." He stuffed his hands in his pocket and felt the silk bag. He fingered it gently, weighing his options. "Give me your phone." Elena reached into her back pocket and cautiously handed it to him. He made quick work of adding his cell number. "If Stefan comes back you call me…I'll kick his ass for ya." He winked before tossing it back to her.
Elena grinned. What was wrong with her…why couldn't she take Bonnie's advice and stay away? What was weird was that her ex boyfriend's brother was protecting her from said ex boyfriend…and even weirder, she was totally okay with it. It helped that Damon was smokin hot and made her feel totally comfortable. And apparently she was his type…although having a little crush on a guy that's been in a relationship for over a century with a woman that could kill you in two seconds flat probably wasn't a good idea.
Elena nodded. "Will do." She watching Damon leave thinking to herself, he can't be that bad of a non person… She got off the couch and moved to the closet where Jenna said all off her dad's family history clippings and books were.
She was interested in these journals Damon was talking about…maybe they would give her some answers.
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Damon walked through the town after leaving Elena's. What was he playing at with Elena…why was he putting himself in this position? He liked her company…and her if he was being honest. Damon didn't like anybody, but for some reason he liked her.
"Did you get it?" Katherine's heels clicked as she fell in step beside him. He was used to her sneak way of popping up from nowhere.
Damon glanced at her. "Noo…I didn't know where it was." He replied in snarky tone.
Katherine sighed dramatically. "Damon…" she sung out. "You're disappointing me." She stopped walking when Damon did.
Damon turned to her, carefully masking the anger he felt towards her. "I'll get it…" he bit out. "I'll just make her find it for me first." He smirked as Kat stepped closer to him seductively.
She walked her fingers up his abs. "My smart boy." She gazed at him lustfully from under her lashes. "There's a party tonight in the woods…it sounds promising. What do you say you and I make an appearance?" she suggested cocking her head to the side.
Damon ran a hand along her chocolate tresses. "I can never say no to a party."
Katherine closed her eyes, loving how he was always touching her. She would never get sick of it. "Mmm…I'm gonna do a little shopping, maybe find something you can take off later." Her eyes twinkled with excitement. "You wanna come?"
Damon's eyes widened. He hated shopping and Katherine would shop for hours. Well if you called compelling the store clerk into giving her anything she wanted free of charge, plus the perk of getting waited on hand and foot. "To that an emphatic 'no'." Kat laughed knowing he wouldn't come anyways. "I'm gonna dig up a witch or two."
"You do that." She leaned up and kissed him ardently. "And I will see you later." She strolled off down the street towards the shops.
It wasn't long after that he spotted Bonnie leaving the Grill. He caught up and fell in step beside her as she walked to her car.
"Damon." She greeted shortly, speeding up her pace.
"Bonnie." He replied in the same tone.
She glanced at him quickly. "I know what you are."
"And I know what you are, I like this game, this is fun!" he exclaimed with a grin.
Bonnie huffed. "What ever it is you want from me, I'm not doing it…especially for a vampire." She was glad she was nearing her car.
Damon stepped in front of her blocking her from the car door. "Ah but you forget the part where I don't give you a choice." He got right in Bonnie's face looking down at her menacingly. "Now listen here you little witch, I need a spell and I need you to do it." He poked her in the chest gently to drive his point home.
Bonnie kept a brave face, tightening her jaw. "You forget the part where I don't care." She shot back. "Now move."
Damon chuckled to himself. "Or what?"
The witch glared hard at him focusing her energy on him. She watched as he started clutching his head and dropped to the ground groaning in pain. Bonnie used this time to step around him and get in her car. "That's what." She said before closing the door and quickly driving off.
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It was an hour of so before he was to meet up with Katherine for the party, and he found himself in front of Elena's again. It was like he was drawn here like a moth to the flame.
He didn't even bother knocking sensing others in the house. He entered through her bedroom window and waited for her, sitting on her bed and holding the necklace in his hand.
Elena walked in and jumped a little. "Oh…" she calmed herself and stepped further into the room. "Two visits in one day…now who's the one who can't stay away?" she joked reiterating the words he once said to her.
Damon scoffed to himself. He really couldn't say away. "I really shouldn't be doing this." He mumbled looking down at the ground.
Elena frowned and tilted her head to the side, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Doing what?"
Damon stood and held up the necklace for her. "Here…" he slipped it over her head carefully. "Never take it off; it contains vervain." He declared strongly.
"What's that?" Elena looked down at the locket and fingered it gently.
"It's a herb, smells pretty…also it's toxic to vampires." He explained flippantly, as if it was no big deal. He put some distance between them and leaned against her dresser.
Elena smiled. "Thank you…but why are you giving it to me? Isn't that against some vampire code?" she kidded with a small smirk.
"It'll protect you from compulsion; Stefan's probably already used it on you…too much can turn your brain to mush." His voice was even and monotone which was unusual for him.
Elena stepped closer, looking at him curiously. "Why are you doing this?" Sure he was nice enough to her, but protecting her from his own kind…that was what confused her.
Damon closed the distance between them and stared deeply into her eyes. "Because last night you treated me like a friend…" he paused trying to find the words. "And I don't have any of those." His voice was soft and quiet and if he wasn't so close she wouldn't have heard him.
Elena found herself lost in his blue orbs, but forced herself to speak after a second. "So it's a 'thank you'?" she asked never tearing her eyes from his.
Damon frowned. "Yeah…I don't say that word…or the one meaning to apologize." He joked with a serious face.
Elena raised a brow. "'Sorry'?"
Damon pointed a long finger at her. "That's the one. Never. Take it. Off." He demanded with emphasis on each word. He shot her a smile before blurring out her window.
Elena blinked in surprise, and turned to look out the window. "So weird." She breathed to herself before touching the necklace again. The ringing of her phone made her jump a little with the vibration. "Hey Caroline."
"Hey, Elena…please tell me you're coming to the party tonight." She exclaimed.
Elena frowned. "What party?"
"Seriously? The one in the woods by the lake? You know…where it usually is?" Caroline's words were filled with sarcasm.
"Uh…" Elena collapsed on her bed. "No I don't think so…just gonna stay home. Not really in the party mood." She explained. "Maybe I can convince Jer to watch a movie with me or something." She chuckled.
"He's going too. Everyone is going, Elena…even the nobodies are going." She replied snobbishly.
Elena laughed. "Well I guess I'm less than a nobody." She wasn't bothered by Caroline's words, you get used to it when you've been friends for twelve years.
"You know I didn't mean it like that. But okay you don't want to come that's fine I'll just party enough for the two of us." She giggled.
"You do that Care…call me if you're too partied out to function and need a ride." Elena replied reliably.
"Mmk! I'll call you later."
After they hung up the phone Elena popped her head into Jeremy's room from the bathroom. "Hey…"
Jeremy was jamming to his head phones on his bed, and pulled one off his ear. "What's up?"
Elena shoved her hands in her back pockets. "Are you going to that party tonight by the lake?"
Jeremy gave her a little smirk. "Yeah…I'm meeting my friends there later." He was about to put the head phone back on.
"Wait!" Elena stopped him. "You're not drinking are you?"
"No, I'm going to go to a party where everyone else is drinking and I'm going to sit there and drink a diet coke." Jeremy responded sarcastically.
Elena stared at him sternly crossing her arms. "You need to stop doing this…it's not making this any better." She knew Jeremy was still having a hard time after losing their parents, hell, so was she but she was handling it in a non-alcoholic and drug free way.
Jeremy put his head phone back on and started scrolling through his ipod. Knowing she lost that one she rolled her eyes and went back into her room.
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The sun had set and the party had started. People were everywhere. There was a huge bonfire spurred on by wooden pallets, teens drinking and hooking up, and music blaring. It was like a buffet…for Damon and Katherine.
Once at the entrance of the woods, the couple split up. It was easier to lure in the prey when you were alone. Katherine darted to the other side of the woods and spotted a perfect candidate. He was kinda cute, bulky probably a football player. She cocked her head to the side, and smirked. "Think I'm gonna have fun with this one." She came out of the woods and approached the small group of guys.
Damon walked straight into the party and immediately grabbed himself a bottle of whiskey, it wasn't his usual scotch but it would do. He unscrewed the cap and took four big gulps. He was so confused…and drinking wasn't going to solve the problem but it was making him feel better.
He was sure Katherine was having the time of her life, all these juicy teens at her disposal, but yet Damon looked around and found himself unenthused. Friends. That word rung in his head like a God damn gong all day. These people had friends…and until last night he never understood the meaning of a friend. He studied them and watched them interact as he emptied the liquid in the bottle.
Damon wandered into the woods, the near empty bottle hanging loosely in his hand. He sat and leaned against a tree resting his head on the trunk. He heard voices in the distance heading towards him. A small group of two girls and three guys ran past him giggling but one girl stopped and looked at him curiously.
"Hey…are you okay?" She asked walking towards him slowly.
"I'm lost." He mumbled unmoving.
"You're in the woods?" she replied as a question.
Damon lolled his head towards her. "Not that kind of lost. Metaphorically…existentially."
She pulled out her phone. "Do you need help?"
Damon scoffed. "Well yes…can you help me?" he raised the bottle to his lips and finished the rest.
"You're drunk." She put her phone away.
"No," Damon dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Well yes…a little maybe." She started to back away. "No please don't leave, I really do need help." He got up and sped after her blocking her path. "Don't move." He compelled.
She was shaking. "I don't want any trouble."
Damon laughed sadly. "Neither do I…but that's all I got is trouble." He whispered staring at her frightened face.
"Why can't I move?"
Damon placed his hands on her shoulders, bending slightly to look in her eyes. "What's your name?" He didn't know why he asked. He never asked their names before, but for some reason he was curious.
"Jessica." She cried her voice wobbling and her tears streaming down her cheeks.
Damon smiled tightly. "Jessica…I have a secret. I have a big one. But I've never said it out loud." He vented his face full of emotions. His walls were down, they haven't been down in over a hundred years, and now was the time they chose to drop on him. "I mean- what's the point?" he dropped his hands from her shoulders. "It's not gonna change anything, it's not gonna make me good, adopt a puppy!" he expelled gesturing with his arms. He stepped closer lowering his voice. "I can't be what she wants me to be." His face turned sad, and defeated. "This is who I am Jessica."
Jessica sobbed; her eyes wide and scared. "Are you going to hurt me?"
Damon looked at her honestly. "I'm not sure." He blinked pulling himself together. He placed his hands on either side of her face. "Because you are my existential crisis: do I kill you or do I not kill you?" he explained staring at her neck.
"Please don't." she begged.
"But I have to Jessica." Damon's voice broke a little. "Because I'm not human, and I miss it…I miss it more than anything in the world!" he hollered, his eyes glassy with unshed tears and veins protruding from his neck. "That is my secret…but there's only s-so much hurt a man can take." He whispered painfully.
"Please, please don't." she cried helplessly closing her eyes briefly.
Damon took a deep breath and swallowed as he placed his hands on her shoulders again. He looked at her hard waiting until she opened her eyes. "Okay…you're free to go." He released her of his compulsion and Jessica sighed in relief, quickly running away.
Damon turned back to look and her and changed his mind. He had to…he was better at being a monster. He was after her in a blur, snagging her from behind and slamming her into a tree. His face changed quickly before he viciously sunk his teeth into her neck. Once she was drained he dropped her body and cleaned his mouth before heading back to the party.
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A/N: HAD to use that scene…I thought it was the best scene ever and just love love love it! Anyhoo…sorry for the late update, it's pretty long though so enjoy. Thank you for all your reviews I loved them! hope you like this chapter too
