Edited 2/25/12
Chapter Four- Disturbing Behavior
" I just don't know why you want to bring chili to a potluck." Damon said to Elena as He, Elena, and I were in the kitchen, " Everybody brings chili."
"I know right." I said from beside him, " That's why I'm being original. Rice and pea's, my dad's recipe, straight from Jamaica."
"Hey Ric." Damon said as Alaric entered the room
"What's up?" Ric asked him
"What time do you want to go to the Lockwood Party?" Elena asked Ric
"Ah. Those founders parties aren't really my thing." Ric replied
"Show up there's gonna be nine other people that brought chili." Damon continued with his chili rant
"It's an old family recipe, okay?" Elena said
"Yeah, I know." he said, " I knew you're old family and they made sucky chili."
He came over to me and took the knife from my hand.
"Hey!" I exclaimed, " I was using that."
"I know." he said, smirking
I pushed him with my shoulder and laughed .
"Why are you here again?" Ric asked Damon
"They know." Damon answered
"He thinks were gonna break." Elena told Ric, " But were not gonna break."
"Were going to keep cooking and pretend like we didn't spend the entire summer looking for someone that didn't want to be found." I added
"They're in denial." Damon stage whispered
"We're not in denial." Elena said
"No?" Damon asked, " You're still wearing this necklace. Isn't this a reminder of your unbreakable bond with Stefan?"
"Shut your face and let her be, Damon." I said, grabbing the knife and finishing what I was doing.
"Fine." he said walking away from Elena
I heard the doorbell ring and followed Elena out of the kitchen. She opened the door and Care was standing there with a dish in here hands.
"I come bearing gifts." she said
"Please say that's not chili." Elena sighed
Before Care could respond Bonnie came in.
"Bonnie!" I exclaimed
"I'm back." she said giving Elena and I hugs
"I leave town for the summer and everything goes to h*ll for all of you."
"Bonnie." Jeremy said coming down the stairs
"Jeremy." Bonnie said before jumping into his arms and kissing.
I gasped when I saw Anna at the top of the stairs.
"What?" Care asked
" You're shoe's are adorable." I said, covering my tracks
"Thank you."
I nodded before looking back to the stairs to see that Anna was gone.
Elena, Caroline, Bonnie, and I were sitting in the kitchen after Jer had gone back upstairs.
"The problem with my dad's normal side of the family is normal made for a really boring summer." Bonnie said
"Normal is much better than paranormal." Aurora said coming into the kitchen
"Aurora, you're here." I said, " Good, you can help me with this rice."
"Okay." she said walking over to me
"I know what you mean, Aurora." Care said, " After the last few days I would kill for normal."
Care started to pour the chili into a crock pot.
"Since when did you learn how to cook?" she asked Elena
"Audrey helped." she said, " But only because Damon was helping her."
"Damon's helping you cook?" Bonnie asked me
"All of you can stop judging." I told them, " He's just being a good friend."
"Where did you get that necklace?" Aurora asked me
"Damon." I answered
"Oh, so he's giving you jewelry now?" Care asked
"It was just a birthday gift." I replied
" From his mother before she died and he told him 'give this to someone special' " Elena quoted Damon
"You heard that?" I asked, " Eavesdropper!"
Before she could answer she yelled
"Did I splash you?" Care asked her
"No, no, my necklace." Elena said pulling it off her skin, " It burnt me."
"Maybe it's a sign you shouldn't be wearing it." Aurora said
"Aurora." Bonnie started
"I'm just saying."
"Let me see it." Bonnie told Elena
Elena held out the necklace to her and as soon as Bonnie touched it, it sparked and Elena dropped it.
"What the h*ll was that?"
Bonnie, Care, Elena, and I were sitting on benches on the Lockwood property and were trying to figure out what happened with the necklace.
"I have an identification spell that might be able to tell me what magic affected the necklace." Bonnie said, looking at a page in the grimoire
Elena handed her the necklace and Bonnie.
"It's gonna take awhile so tell me if anyone's coming."
"So are you and Damon like a thing, now?" Care asked me
"What?"
"Caroline…" Bonnie started
"Focus." Care told her before turning back to me, " As your friend, that worry's for you daily, what is going on between you and Damon?"
"There is nothing going on between Damon and I ." I said, " He's been just as focused on finding Stefan as Elena and I have been."
"Yeah, but that doesn't make him any less Damon." Elena said
"Exactly." Caroline continued, " If my own father, who I love dearly, can't change me. No one's changing Damon. Not even you."
"Look, why are we even talking about this?" I asked
"Hey, guys." Bonnie said, pulling us away from our conversation
We all turned to her to see the necklace was levitating.
"What are you doing?" Care asked
"I'm not doing anything." Bonnie told her, " It has it's own magic."
"Did Stefan ever tell you where he got the necklace?" Care asked as we were heading to the door of the Lockwood mansion.
"No." Elena replied, " And I never asked. Hopefully Bonnie will be able to figure it out."
"Please tell me it's time to go." Ric said, joining us
"Beyond." I said, " Where's Damon?"
"Probably off doing bad thing's to good people." Care answered, " Consider me the honesty police."
Then she looked into the other room and hid behind me.
"What is it?" Elena asked her at the same time Ric asked "What's the matter?"
"It's my dad." she explained
We turned to see Bill in the other room getting a drink.
"Why would he even show up here?" Elena asked
"I don't know but I can't…" she didn't finish the sentence
"We get it." Elena said, " I'll call you later."
Care nodded before heading upstairs.
"What was that all about?" Ric asked Elena and I
"Speaking of doing bad thing's to good people…" I said as we headed out the door
As we walked down the stairs Damon joined us.
"Wait, Houston we have a problem." he said
"Where have you been?" I asked
"Managing Bill Forbes." he said, " Apparently he's impervious to compulsion."
"How?" Ric asked
"I have no idea. But he threatened to out me. Don't get me started on the irony of that."
"What did you do to him?" I asked, " How did you know the compulsion doesn't work?"
"That's not the most important piece of information I mentioned, Audrey."
" What does he want?" Ric asked
" He wants to control the council." Damon responded, " Says it's been compromised."
" It has!" Ric replied
" He wants to put vervain in the town's water supply." Damon continued
" Maybe it's not a bad idea." Elena said, " I mean, it'll help you keep yourself in control now that Stefan's not here to... "
" To what? To keep me in check? Make me behave? I should have killed him this morning." Damon said
" He's Caroline's dad, Damon." I told Damon
" Yeah, and when I kill him, she'll have one more parent than we do."
" Oh, come on, Damon!" Ric said putting stepping in front of Damon when he tried to pass
" You're repeatedly killing my buzz today, Ric. Step aside."
" Yeah, it's not going to happen."
" Your temporary funeral." Damon said before snapping his neck
"Damon, no!" Elena said, " What is wrong with you?"
Damon walked past us and headed inside.
"I'll call Care and get her to help with Damon." I said, " Will you be able to get Ric into my car?"
"Yeah." she said and I handed her the keys before grabbing my phone out of my pocket and dialing Care's number.
"I'm only answering in case it's a friend emergency." Care answered her phone
" It's an emergency." I said walking after Damon
"I'm stronger than you little girl." Damon said as I entered the room and I saw him holding Caroline by the neck
"But I'm angrier." she said before kicking him away then she grabbed her dad and left.
"Bummer." Damon said from the floor, " I love a good girl fight."
"You can't do this anymore, Damon." I told him, " Not in this town. Not around me."
" Why not? It's nothing I haven't done before." he said, picking himself off the floor, " Why is it suddenly so important for everyone to keep me in check?"
"Because I don't want you to be what other people think that you are." I said
"What? A monster? Sorry to disappoint you, Audrey, but last time I checked, I was still a vampire!" Damon snapped
"Yes but I wish that you didn't have to act like one!" I yelled
"I am not Stefan." he retorted, " How about you stop trying to turn me into him."
Then he walked out of the room leaving me slightly jarred.
"I am not going to tell you I told you so." Care said as we walked across the square
"Thank you." I said
"But I did tell you." she continued
"Ok, you and Damon were both right." I said, " I was trying to change him. But if he wants to be in my life... "
"Wait." Care interrupted me, "It's been a long week, so I'm just going to be blunt. It doesn't matter what he does, Damon's gotten under your skin."
"That's not true." I argued feebly
" God, just admit it, Audrey."
"Admit what, Caroline?" I asked, " That I love him? That I shouldn't love him because it's wrong for me to be happy with all of this going on with you and Elena and everybody else?"
"You do deserve to be happy, Audrey." Care told me before sighing
I turned to see Bill walking to his car.
"Do you need me to…?"
"No, I got it." she said before heading over to him.
I continued walking across the square and I saw Bonnie and Elena talking at the Grill.
"Hey." I said, " Taking a seat."
" So I saw Jeremy and he said that you still have my necklace." Elena said
"Yeah, I haven't figured out what's going on with it yet." Bonnie said
"I know. But I just... I feel weird without it. The whole Stefan of it all." Elena said
" Okay." she said handing over the necklace, " Did Jeremy also tell you he's been seeing the ghosts of his dead girlfriends?"
"What?" Elena asked
"So he finally told you?" I asked
"He told you?" Bonnie asked me
"I can see them so he didn't have to." I said
"You're kidding." Elena said and I started getting a really weird feeling coming from her
"I wish." I said
"It's because I brought him back to life. The witches said there would be consequences. Guess they were right ." Bonnie said
Bonnie and I turned to the waitress to thank her and when we turned back Elena was gone.
"What the h*ll? " I said looking around but not finding Elena anywhere