.
I'm thinking we should ride
To a place that we don't know
To a place where no one's seen us before
I'm thinking, you and I
Better just go with the flow
Last thing that we should do is go slow
Lurk - The Neighbourhood
A.N.: I hope this answers to your questions! If not just leave them and I'll address it on the next chapter. Feedback is love :3
The Yin and Yang Fallen Angel: In case it wasn't at all clear, Amelia is around 16 and a half. So, older than Jeremy but a few months younger than Elena. Hope it answers your question.
Damon was pacing in front of Amelia as she sat on the edge of his bed. He'd occasionally stop, look at her then he'd open his mouth narrow his eyes clench his fist and resume walking. He had been like this for the last ten minutes and it was seriously scaring her. She had never seen him act in such fashion. When he told her that he wanted to speak with her, she figured that he'd yell and make his vague threats only to have her tell him that she didn't believe since he loved her to bits. This, this was nothing close to it.
True to his words he did take her to Liz after the whole incident. Apparently he had been the one that noticed that she had been taking too long to return, meaning that she was missing. So, he went to Jenna unknowingly worrying her which led to Liz's involvement. While Damon searched the house for her and – after he saw the bathroom – Stefan, Jenna did a search of her own which he assumed that led Liz to calling him. He had been at the woods searching for her, worried out of his mind thinking that maybe Stefan was having a meal out of her and he just didn't seem to find them in time to prevent her death.
He hadn't outright told her how worried he was. How he felt that if he was human he'd have a heart attack, that knowing that she was with Stefan in that state… knowing that the next time he saw her she could be very well be thorn in not so pretty pieces… cold and dead… all the things he didn't associate her with. He didn't tell her the feelings of despair and impotency he felt or how he had been about to murder everyone and everything that crossed his path while he was searching for her. Even if she didn't have a clue regarding the extent of what he felt, she couldn't bring herself to be her usual self and respond as she'd usually did, to argue back… to be snarky as he was being. She allowed him to scold her as he kept touching her lightly as if he needed reassurance that she was in fact there, safe and sound next to him.
In the midst of his worry he didn't even think to clean the evidence – meaning the broken glass with Stefan's blood – and rushed out of the mansion. Liz found it and called him… That was another thing he didn't share with Amelia. When the woman called for his help he had been about to tell her to fuck off but then she said the magic words that made him return to the Founders Hall: Stefan and Amelia are missing. John and I need your help… There's blood Damon. So he returned to be stared down my John – mildly threatened by the latter, which led to him to punch the man. He didn't share the exact words but by the look on his face, whatever John had told him… had seriously angered him.
It didn't became more urgent to find her… He was already on it, but, it he had another worry added up to it. He needed to make the humans stay out of his path so he could quickly find her and Stefan. Amelia's life in his mind depended on how fast he got to her and as the hours passed he was almost sure the next time he saw her she'd be dead. That's when Elena found him. At first she was yelling at him, apparently blaming him for what was happening… She demanded to know where the hell he and Amelia had been since her aunt was worried sick. He had no patience to deal with the girl and was pushing her to the side when she had the nerve to grab him and demand answers. That was all that it took for him to flip. He shoved her hands away and told her to stay the hell away from him because he wasn't in the mood and he wouldn't be accountable for whatever he did to her. She began babbling that Stefan was also missing, that she almost had to drop out of the pageant… Like he cared on that moment about the petty thing! That was when Bonnie walked by them. She noticed that he was threatening Elena and used her witchy ju-ju on him making him tumble to the ground. He was about to rip someone's head off but as if like the gods hadn't forsaken him 150 years ago… he heard her voice. He managed to get away and ran to her. But then there was Stefan, blood and she was… touching his face? He didn't know what was going on.
Of course that he had recounted it rather loosely, with not as many details. He really didn't want her to know the extent of what her disappearance had caused… Hell…He didn't want to know himself, though he did admit the implications… to himself at the very least. Amelia was important to him, much more important than he had expected and it worried him. A whole lot.
Dealing with Liz hadn't been easy but Amelia played her part well. She apologized over and over and meekly nodded as all the adults ganged up to scold her. She did better that Damon had expected, at first he was all in for it – even scolding her himself. But then, well, who'd know what could have happened if she hadn't been the one to find Stefan… Her mother grounded her and took her home immediately. And not once did she tried to justify her behavior – it wasn't like she could tell the truth anyway…
When she got home Damon wasn't there. He had said that he'd be since he had to have a serious conversation with her, but he wasn't. She was a pile of nerves when he finally appeared. Her hands trembled and for once he wasn't smiling or joking. He was just… looking as if he didn't know what to do with her. Not offering her any explanation, smile or even comfort… God, on that moment she'd even be happy if he yelled at her. But he just scooped her on his arms and took off. They got to his house, apparently Stefan wasn't there yet, placed her on his bed and briefly told what had happened as he paced in front of her sometimes stopping to touch her gently on the shoulder, head or hands. Once the recounting of the events ended, he continued pacing.
The silence finally got the best of her. "Damon?"
He stops. "I am so pissed Amelia," he tells her sternly, narrowing his eyes for good measure. "So very pissed." She nods as she lowers her head. "What the fuck where you thinking? Stefan is dangerous when he's like that!"
"I know," she mumbles. "There were a couple of times that I thought he was going to end me."
He growls. "And what, you where okay with it? Are you suicidal Amelia?" He glares as he takes a few steps in her direction. "He wouldn't turn you… You'd be dead dead. Do you even realize that?" When she lowers her head he forces her to look at him. "Dead Amelia, for good." When she doesn't respond he removes his hand from her face and groans. He takes a deep breath and tries to calm down, he still didn't know what had led to her disappearance with Stefan nor what had happened while they were away. "What happened?"
"He was losing it in the bathroom," she says weakly. "Was all snark and bark but didn't really hurt me." She pauses and scrunches her nose. "Yanked me around for a bit, everything made him lose it."
"What?" He was glaring again and she had to fight the need to whimper.
"It was easy to piss him off… but… it wasn't serious… As I've said he didn't bite me."
He narrows her eyes and approaches. On this moment he seemed like a predator ready to jump on his prey. "What did he do?" His voice was dangerously low and she couldn't remember a time when Damon had frightened her more than on that moment.
"Uh… Pressed me against the door… I mentioned that he was losing it and he did," she mumbles lowering her eyes. She couldn't face him while he looked at her like that. "But then," she tells him with a more upbeat tone looking to him again, trying to calm him down. "We left and he calmed down… we had ice cream and we returned. You found us just before we had a chance to enter -"
"Oh, thank god you had ice cream," he snaps. "I'm glad you had a good time Amelia."
The feeling of annoyance soon surpasses everything else she was feeling – like the guilt of worrying everyone so much, especially Damon... She had never seen him act like this before. "Oh it wasn't like that," she counters raising her voice. "It wasn't like I was walking in the park with him talking about my crushes, Damon. We didn't plan to braid each other's hair in a sleepover. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do… I had to get him away, he could have killed someone."
"And?" He yells. "Was it better if he killed you? People die Amelia! Your life is much more important than theirs!"
"At the Founders Hall? You're laying low!"
He grabs her shoulders more forcefully that it would be normal. "I'd deal with it… You should have come to me, Amelia. You should have come to me instead of taking off with him on your own terms for ice cream!"
"It wasn't like that!"
When his fingers dig into her flesh she whimpers. Thankfully he immediately stopped and sighed as his grip loosened. "Next time think… Even if you have more sense than your cousin… You don't know the extent of what Stefan's hiding," he shares gently caressing her arms. "How dangerous it really was…" She tilts her head in confusion as he sighs again. "Next time come to me. Always come to me," he presses locking his gaze on hers. "Promise me Amelia, promise that next time… whenever something like this happen you'll come to me. Fuck the rest and find me. Always come to me." His stare was so intense that neither could blink. She nods. "No, promise me," he urges her. "I want to hear it. I need to hear it."
"If… if the situation allows it, I'll go to you," she mumbles. "I promise."
"Good." He closes his eyes briefly and walks away putting space between them. "Change so we can go to bed."
She raises an eyebrow. "I'm grounded."
"You are," he confirms. "I'm not letting you out of my sight." She rolls her eyes. "Just… go change. I'm tired and I'd like to sleep on this, okay? Don't make it worse than it already is."
She looks to him and nods as she gets up from the bed. After she got a t-shirt, she glances to him… was already taking off his clothes with his back turned to her. She sighs and walks to him pressing a hand on his shoulder. "I really didn't mean to worry you."
"You can't be that stupid Amelia." He looks to her and frowns. "Of course I would worry. You vanished, you didn't have your cellphone… Stefan was with you, there was a broken mirror… Abandoned shoes… I didn't know what the hell had happened. Did you even think?" She frowns. "You didn't. You can't have thought this through… How did you expect me to feel? Happy you vanished with him? Happy that you didn't come to me?"
"Seriously, I'm really sorry."
He nods. "I know. And you better be." A hint of a smile appears on his lips. "Now don't look so glum. You're about to sleep with me."
The small change made her grin and laughter bubble out of her. She squeezes his arm with a bit of urgency. For a while she had been worried that he'd behave like that for the foreseeable future. "Thank you for the privilege…"
"Don' butter me up missy. I'm still pissed." He bumps her nose.
"Not even if I said you are the sexiest man alive, well, sort off alive?"
He smirks. "Stating the obvious won't get you any points. But… It's pleasant." She giggles childishly making him shake his head. "Now change before I do it for you."
"Don't get frisky," she mumbles narrowing her eyes a bit.
The amusement disappears from his face for a second. Then, whether it was forced or not – she couldn't really tell - it reappears. "After all you put me through today… I've earned frisky."
"Not funny…"
He smirks. "Wasn't meant to be." She ignores him and walks to the bathroom. At least he had somewhat returned to normal.
When she returned to the bedroom, wearing his t-shirt and with her clothes folded under her arm Damon wasn't there. She furrowed her eyebrows before placing her things neatly on the armchair but before she had a change to leave the room to look for him, he returned. She didn't state out loud but when she saw him return she felt relived… It was silly, really, because she was in his house so he wouldn't exactly leave her there and vanish… Apparently the events were taking a bigger toll on her than what she had expected.
He had a glass of blood on one hand – that he was sipping – and a tray of food on the other.
"You're on bedroom arrest and not the fun kind," he states as he places the tray on the nightstand. "I figured you were hungry…"
She rolls her eyes as she walks to the bed. "Thank you for feeding me."
"I'm not a complete animal," he mutters as he sits down.
She smiles as she shakes her head. "Not to me at least."
There were no traces of amusement or mischief. "No. Not to you," he said with a serious tone. He was looking with a serious expression to her, making her feel odd… like something was wrong. His gaze was once again intense and she felt like he was trying to see her soul as he looked to her. "Uh, Damon?"
He blinks twice and adverts his gaze. "Eat."
He handed her the tray and as she ate he stared at the wall like there was something there she couldn't see. Even if it worried her – she had no idea exactly what as worrying him or putting him in that state – she couldn't bring herself to ask him what was going on. Plus, her mind was also occupied with Stefan. She wondered what the hell had happened after he ran away and if he was fine. She didn't want to ask, knowing that it could make Damon snap… So she ate in silence and when she finished they both lied down.
It was hard to fall asleep. First she was still worried and second since Damon was touching her more than he usually did, she couldn't let go of consciousness. She had been tucked into him, her body was completely pressed against him. His chin was above her head and his arms were secured around her, one by the waist and the other on her back. His index was tracing invisible patterns that she couldn't make sense of and even if his breathing was calm she could feel his body tense.
"Damon?" He mumbles a 'mh-hm'. "What's wrong?"
For a while it didn't seem he would reply. "Ames… how do you feel about vampires?"
The question threw her off. They had never discussed something like that and she wondered what his point was. "They're fast and bossy," she mumbles making him sigh.
"I'm serious…"
"So am I…" She makes a pause. She tries to reunite her thoughts, clearly he wanted a more complex answer. "I don't know what is there to feel… Sure, sometimes I'm scared… Knowing that someone could drain me and there wouldn't be much I could do to defend me."
"Sensible," he states. "And it's good you feel like that. You are powerless against one…"
"I got you… Not that powerless," she counters.
A humorless laugh leaves his lips. "What if I was the one that would drain you?" He removes his chin from the top of her head and stares.
She scrunches her nose. "I'd be fucked then."
"Yeah…" She could see that there was something troubling him but before she had the chance to ask, he continued. "Would you like to be one?"
She furrows her eyebrows. "What brought this on?"
"Can you answer it?"
She sighs as she continues to observe him. "Well, if it happens it happens… It's a matter of time from where I'm standing. My mortality rate will drop to zero with all the shit that seems to happen in this town."
He looked confused. "Guess so. You wouldn't oppose then?"
"I don't want to become one right now… If that's what you're asking… But with all this drama… I rather be one than dying. I wouldn't make a good ghost."
He shakes his head with a hint of a smile on his lips. He tugs her close again and rests his chin on the top of her head. "I never told you… but, there was a point when I didn't want to be one." She furrows her eyebrows, she hadn't expected that. It seemed, from the way he always acted, that he was the definition of vampire and had always been. "Clearly I did turn… but I didn't want to."
"I'd never guess."
He snorts. "You never would," he tells her with a somewhat serious tone. "Really… Stefan, he… well… he didn't want me to die…"
"What?"
"Yeah," he mumbles. "Got me a woman and everything. The only thing missing was the bow on her pretty head."
She furrows her eyebrows again. That… was surprising. "Really?"
He looks to her and nods. "Yeah. You're gonna laugh… but once upon a time both the Salvatore brothers were nice."
She rolls her eyes. "You're not that bad Damon."
"I've done horrible things," he tells her seriously. "I've maimed and killed. I tortured both physically as mentally… Almost nothing I did bothers me," he was giving her a meaningfully look that she couldn't decode. "I don't care about much neither do I want to… I like it like that. I don't like to care. Feelings make things harder."
She frowns. He seemed broken and she didn't really like it, in fact, she hated it and she wished that there was a way to prevent it from happening. She places her hand on his face and smiles. "You're not that bad," she tells him with conviction. "You're my best friend… One of the most important persons to me." She smiles cheekily. "You're almost at my mom's level."
He didn't mock her or joked. "Maybe it's because you don't fully know me," he says instead with a somewhat faraway gaze. "Maybe if you did you wouldn't want anything with me. I tend to destroy everything that is around me Amelia," he tells her with a stern tone. "If you did, maybe you'd look to me horrified like everyone else." Even if it seemed that he was trying to make her stay away from him, she knew it wasn't the case.
"Snap out of it," she mumbles lightly with her eyebrows scrunched in worry. "I know you're an ass and you've done terrible things. Sure, I don't know everything but it's not like you're hiding what and who you are." She offers him a smile. "For whatever reason, I still care about you."
He raises an eyebrow. "What if I killed children?"
"Have you?"
"Yes," he tells immediately.
Her tone was calm and composed. "Why?"
"Felt like it." She couldn't really tell if he was being honest or not.
"That's a no-no," she says. "Never again buddy, you hear me?" She then flicks his nose.
A small smile appears on his lips. "You are so screwed."
"Takes one to know one," she mumbles childishly.
He takes a deep breath. "But we're getting off track," he states. "I want to tell you something… I haven't really told many the story but." He looks to her and sighs. "I want to tell you."
"I'm all ears."
There was a self-deprecating smile on his lips. "I'm telling you the story of how Damon Salvatore became a vampire."
And he did not sparing her from any of the gory details. He told her everything from falling in love with Katherine, observing her hunt humans… the blood, their relation and Stefan's, the hunt for vampires, the fire and finally their deaths. At some given points when he was telling her something – which she figured that was either too hard or painful for him – he'd tug her closer to him and his index would run up and down her back more urgently. At other points he'd almost whisper, his voice lowering so much that she almost had to strain her hearing. And the part of their deaths… all the hate, the betrayal was so intense – like a festering wound. At the end he explained that he didn't hate Stefan because of what he did… That he didn't even hate Stefan because of Stefan but because of her. It was because all his life Stefan had always been the golden boy and Katherine had been his… She wasn't supposed to be Stefan's, he didn't want to share. Katherine was supposed to be his but instead she was Stefan's.
Through the story she didn't interrupt, though there were a few times she gasped. Mainly when their father killed them. Her mother would never do such a thing and unconsciously her fists clenched. She couldn't help but to feel hate towards the man… for better or worse, Damon and Stefan had been his children.
"So?" He looks to her.
She frowns and presses her head in his chest, closing her eyes. "It's awful." Her hand snakes around his waist and for a few seconds he seemed frozen. "I wish I could slap your father… What he did to you… to both of you…"
"He's dead now… And has been for a long time," he mumbles closing his eyes. "But I'm curious… Really, how do you feel knowing that?"
She looks to him and furrows her eyebrows. "Being an ass is in the genes?" She smiles, trying to lighten up the mood. "Still, can't imagine you in a uniform."
"I looked dashing… I think there's a picture around."
She giggles. "You'll have to show me." He nods. "Hey, are you worried about him?"
"That would imply I care… and I don't," he mutters.
She sighs. "Whatever… Are you?"
He rolls his eyes. "He's… okay. Elena." A bitter laugh escapes his lips. "Wanted me to help her lock him in the basement."
"What?"
He nods. "Oh yeah. Since you sleep in the same house as her." He smirks. "You better watch your back that's a cold one."
"Did you?"
He raises an eyebrow and snorts. "No. Stefan called his support group and soon he'll return to his brooding self and bunny blood and the world will make sense again." He pauses looking to her as he removed a few strands of her of her face. "We did have a brief conversation about you."
"Okay."
He raises an eyebrow. "Aren't you curious?"
"A bit," she admits biting her lower lip. "Scared too… You weren't too pleased with me."
"I'm still not." He pauses. "He said that you were a great friend and that I must have done something good on my past life…"
She smiles cheekily. "Well, I am awesome."
He laughs. "So humble."
"Hey," she calls him out in mocked offense. "It's true."
As soon as when Damon opened the door to her bedroom he understood why Jenna had told him to enter at his own risk. The punishment for disappearing without telling anyone hadn't ended yet, which meant that after classes Amelia had to be home… so to maintain the normalcy, sometimes Damon dropped by during the day to check on her. He had no clue what had happened in the time he hadn't been with her. He closed the door and sat on the bed observing her trying to understand before alerting her to his presence.
Amelia had her back turned to him and was violently splashing paint into a canvas she had placed by the window. Both the canvas and her were covered in paint – mainly black and red – and she kept muttering as she painted… violently. She was also hearing music, thus she didn't notice him entering the room. He couldn't make sense of what she was saying, she kept repeating - in a low mumbled and somewhat slurred way - 'not a puppy killer' and that she hated to be judged.
Feeling that he had observed her for too long, he sighs and gets up. He had no inkling of what had happened and watching her wouldn't bring him any closer to discover it. He places a hand on her shoulder making her screech and hit him with the brush she then held like it was a weapon. As she looked like she was having a heart attack, Damon laughed as he gently caressed her shoulders trying to calm her. Even if the sight was somewhat amusing, he didn't want to see her so frazzled.
"It's okay. Sh, sh." He says as his laughter calms down. "Put down the brush…"
She groans and immediately removes the earphones. "Don't scare me Damon!" She half yells. Then she sighs and tries to use her fingers to clean the pain of his face, making it worse. "Goddamn it. I thought I was going to die."
"I noticed," he tells her partly amused. "Now, why did you just attack me with paint? Not a nice way to treat me…"
She rolls her eyes. "I didn't know it was you." She picks up a humid rag she had nearby and gently wipes of paint from his face forcing him to bend a little. "I'm not having a good day. Tell me you didn't drop by to give me more bad news."
He seemingly ignores her inquiry. "You were fine this morning."
She slaps him arm and narrows her eyes. "I'm on house arrest… so lower your voice."
"We were here all night, so I don't see what's the issue," he tells her cheekily.
"Damon."
He pulls her to him and forces her to sit on the edge of the bed. "Tell me what's wrong? Who am I draining?"
"Not funny," she mutters.
Damon flashes her a charming smile. "I'm not joking. If someone did something to you, I-"
"No one is going to die," she mumbles. "I mean, I bet somewhere someone is dying… but, I meant. You're not killing someone today! Maybe I'm aiming my expectations too high… So, no murders right now. That's doable right?" He was looking to her with a small smile on his lips and a raised eyebrow. When she notices his slight amusement she narrows her eyes and stops ranting. "No one did something to me… I just had a disagreement and now I'm in a bad mood."
"Want to tell me?"
"Things between Bonnie and I aren't good. I spoke with her today." Then she shuts up and looks to the painting. Her hands were resting on her lap and she was twisting her left finger mind absently.
Damon could imagine how the conversation between them had gone. "Want a drink?"
She shook her head and told him exactly what had happened he couldn't say that he was surprised. Amelia had finally approached Bonnie, just to ask what was going on… the young witch snapped. It wasn't an argument per say, Amelia didn't really argued but at the end she thought that maybe Bonnie and her would never return to the place they were before. Apparently it was unacceptable for her to remain friends with Damon. Vampires were bad but Damon, apparently Damon had his own level of bad that was a mixture between puppy killer and bunny rapist and since Amelia knew, how could she even accept him? How could she befriend him? Bonnie told her that both of them had to live with their choices and that regardless of Amelia's choice… She now knew her role and that she would do whatever she felt necessary… no matter who or what was against her. Amelia's answer was simple: she turned her back and left. If her mother had taught her something that she took to heart was to leave when she was unwanted and clearly the conversation wouldn't turn pleasent anytime soon.
"You're not Satan!" Amelia says stubbornly raising her voice again. Damon merely looks to her and a small smile appears on her lips. "You're not."
"I'm not good," he told her.
Amelia narrows her eyes. "Not saying that you are. Things are far more complex than black and white. You've done bad and you've done good. She doesn't know you like I do…"
He was partly amused. "Oh? Tell me then."
She sighs. "You can be an idiot, there's no arguing with that." She then turns her attention to him and places one of her hands above his and gently squeezes it. "Sure, you most of the time only do good things when it benefits you… But… There's more to you, so much more and I trust you… I trust you with my life."
He gets up abruptly. "You are an idiot," he says with his back turned to her. On that moment, as she sat dumb folded on the bed, she wished she could see his face. He then gently turns to her and offers her a small smile. "Forget the jugdy witch… You got me, it's all you need."
She laughs and shakes her head, feeling he was being silly. "I know… sorry for attacking you with paint D." She gets up and walks to the canvas. "Why are you here anyway? I thought you had things to do?"
He nods. "Just wanted to check on you first… And also I wanted to scold you missy."
She raises an eyebrow. "Uh?"
He smirks. "Our resident vampire hunter slash history teacher." His tone was mocking. "Contacted me… He found a lead thanks to the contacts you gave him."
"Really? That's great!"
He walks to her and gently bumps her nose. "You went behind my back."
"I did," she admits. "I figure it would be faster and… it was…"
He rolls her eyes. "Next time don't."
She raises an eyebrow. "Sure. I won't if you won't…" She then grin at the disbelief on his face.
"This isn't a case of show me your and I'll show you mine Ames." Her eyes widen for the fraction of a second making him laugh. "Maybe later we can do that… But for now I'm going with him to check on the lead."
She ignores the first portion of his sentence. "The two of you alone?"
He rolls his eyes. "Well… you're not going… so don't even ask."
"I know that," she mutters crossing her arms over her chest. "It could be dangerous… for me… and you've made it perfectly clear that the only dangerous thing allowed in my life is you," she adds cheekily. When he raises an eyebrow she sighs, it seemed that he wasn't in the mood to appreciate the subtlety of her humor. "House arrest," she reminds him. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon… my mom is downstairs… I can't vanish during the middle of the day."
"Don't worry… I won't bite him." He smirks.
She shakes her head. "Just… don't antagonize him… much… I sort of like him, okay?"
He laughs. "You sort of like him now?"
"Oh, shut up… and don't harm my mom's future boyfriend, okay?"
"No promises… If he doesn't try anything, I won't… good for you?"
She smiles and nods eagerly. It was the best she'd accomplish so it was good enough for her. "Thank you."
He rolls his eyes feeling that she was being a bit ridiculous. "I'll drop by later." He plants a kiss on her forehead and when he was about to go she grabs his hand. He raises an eyebrow. "Ames… this isn't later yet… I know you need me to live but-"
She scoffs. "I just wanted to say thank you and good luck."
"Thanks." He then smirks. "I'll try to hurry so you don't get too angsty without me."
She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Make sure both you return in one piece."
He shakes his head and squeezes her hand before letting her go. "It will be fine. Don't worry."
She nods. "I'll try not to."
He then left and since he had calmed her down she just stood there looking to what she had done to the canvas. What a mess, she thinks looking at the splashes of paint. She sighs and begins collecting everything knowing she wouldn't be able to continue with it for now. After cleaning her utensils she goes down the stairs passing by Jeremy that looked at her before storming out of the house.
Her mother, who was in the kitchen looks to her. "What's up with him?"
"No clue," she states furrowing her eyebrows. "Teenage angst?"
Her mother raises an eyebrow. "You're a teenager too."
"I know." Amelia smiles cheekily. "Doesn't give me the power to read his mind or other teenagers. Pretty sure I wouldn't want to know too." Her mother snorts and rolls her eyes. "He's been out a lot…"
"If this is a scheme to lift your punishment-"
She raises her hands in the air in mock surrender. "Nop. You have every right of punish me for acting so childishly." Her mother squints her eyes. "Hey." Amelia pouts. "I'm perfectly capable of being reasonable from time to time!"
"It's so rare that I get scared whenever it happens," her mother comments with a smile on her lips. "A few more days and it ends anyway… Plus, it's been the most time we've spent together since we came to Mystic Falls. Well, you me and Damon."
Amelia laughs as she sits down on the sofa. "It's not that weird."
"It is," Jenna counters as she comes to the sofa and sits next to her daughter. "However, I haven't cooked in ages! So maybe this punishment is a great idea."
"Hey! That's totally unfair… You can't punish me so you can have Damon cook to us."
Jenna smiles. "Oh, I totally can! Perks of being the adult."
Amelia snorts. "Debatable."
"Oh, I'm extending your punishment kiddo!" Amelia narrows her eyes as her mother tries to maintain a serious expression then they laugh. "Want to see a movie?"
However, it wasn't Amelia who replied. Nor any one of the usually household members. "Oh, I always loved family activities. What are we seeing?"
Jenna sighs. "John, to what do we owe the displeasure?"
"Just wanted to check on my family," he says unfazed talking a seat. "So where are the rest of our family members?"
Jenna raises an eyebrow. "Your family is out. I think Elena is with her boyfriend and Jeremy must have gone out with his friends."
"Nonsense… You and Amelia are here…" Then both of them were glaring at each other.
Amelia sighs. "You guys are getting worse from day to day…" She comments as she picks up the remote. "Worse than children, who'd say that seeing someone naked would-"
"Amelia!" Her mother screeches narrowing her eyes to her daughter that was smiling sheepishly. "Please, don't make me relive one of the worst nights of my life."
John raises an eyebrow. "One?" He scoffs. "Doesn't Amelia have a right to know Jenna?"
Amelia raises her hands in the air. "Oh, I'm fine pal. Not that interested in what my mom does when her clothes aren't present. I'm just interested when everyone is clothed... When she's naked not my business."
"Not even-"
"John!" Jenna gets up and glares. "You will not come here to harass me. I'm not a helpless teenager any longer. So get out!"
"This is my brothers-"
She points to the door. "Out John, get the fuck out!"
He looks to Amelia that shrugs. "Don't look at me… You've brought this to yourself."
He groans. "Fine. This is not the end of this! Last chance Jenna, last chance." He gets up and smiles as if the whole exchange hadn't occurred making him look like he was a bit crazy. "I will see you both later," he says somewhat pleasantly he then goes away without giving them a chance to add anything else.
"He's a nutjob, isn't he?" Jenna merely looks to her. "Mom? Hey… Mom?"
For a while Jenna doesn't say anything and sits down. She grabs Amelia's hand and smiles sadly. Amelia was sort of freaking out and she was aware that she wouldn't like her mother's next words. This was the way that Jenna always told Amelia something that she wouldn't either like or something that was bad news, like when her pets died or when they had to move to Mystic Falls. Her mother would always look to her like that and caress her hands.
"Okay, just tell me… Please," Amelia mumbles. "The suspense is killing me."
"Amelia… You know I love you, right?"
Amelia groans. "Mom, please… Just say it!"
Jenna continues as if she hadn't heard Amelia urging her to go to the point. "When I was a little older than you… not by much… Well… it actually started when I was younger…"
Amelia sighs. "Mom, you aren't making much sense."
Jenna nods. "You remember that I dated that scumbag…"
"You've dated a lot of 'em."
Jenna raises an eyebrow. "Logan…" She clarifies. "So, you know it ended badly… because he cheated on me… Well… that's not the entire story."
"Was…" She corrected herself, people didn't know he was dead. "Is he my dad?"
"No, no! Sometimes it would be easier if he was." Amelia furrows her eyebrows. By the way her mother had always spoken of Logan Fell she had a hard time imagine worse people to be her dad. "After the break up I was fragile and I sort of disappeared for a while… I ran into John…" All color drains from Amelia's face… Okay, yes… Her mother was right. John was much worse. So much worse. "And… I had slept with him before-"
"Tell me that… No… I…" Amelia looks to Jenna and shakes her head. "No… Please."
Jenna nods. "He is your father Amelia… I… We tried a relationship… Not many people know that, only your aunt and uncle knew… But he was still hung up on his ex… And things ended badly… When I told him that I was pregnant… Well… it was bad."
Amelia nods as she pulls her hands from her mothers. She gets up and starts pacing. "Is that why… Is that why you hate him?"
Jenna sighs. "He's an asshole but it wasn't like he wanted me to do an abortion. We were going to try to raise you but he had this crazy notions… I just… I couldn't… So I ended everything with him and told him never to bother me again… and to never come near you." Amelia looked like she was about to faint making Jenna feel even more at edge. "He went on about the Gilbert Legacy and how he had to prepare his child for his duties… It was like I wasn't even in the picture…" Jenna confesses. "Sometimes it was like he resented the whole thing," she adds with a lower tone. "It didn't feel right, there was something wrong with him… in him. So… I never allowed him to come near you. Miranda always said that I was being crazy but she also supported my decision."
"I need time to process this," Amelia said suddenly glancing at her mother. "It's just a lot to take in…"
Jenna looks to her like her heart had just broken in a million pieces. "I understand honey… Just one last thing… He sent you several things over the years… I have them stored for once we had this conversation… I knew that one day I'd have to tell you." Amelia nods. "I'll drop them by your bedroom door… If… If you want to know more or if you have questions-"
"Thanks… I'm going to my room now."
"I love you Amelia."
Amelia stops and looks to her mother. "I know mom. I love you too even if I'm pissed… I just need time to process it, okay?"
Jenna nods. "Okay. I'll give you all the time you need."
Once she reached the room she closed the door and sat on the bed. John being her father was insane. John… the one who was a massive dickhead to her mother was and was causing problems to Damon… who also somehow was tied to Katherine… a vampire hunter… This was too much to process. She didn't even know how she felt. She always imagine that whenever she discovered who her father was nothing would change. She abided the philosophy that you can't miss what you don't have – and she never had a father, a present one – so she didn't exactly miss it… Sure, it sucked when she was younger and the other kids mocked her for not having one… but she was older… she had gotten over it. But John? Johnny was actually daddy? Oh, this was too much.
When she heard someone knock on her door she jumped from the bed fearing it was her mother. She wasn't ready for a conversation yet… but then, something else she had never imagined happening did… She for the first time felt relieved when she heard Stefan's voice.
He knocked again. "Amelia? Can I come in?"
"Who's with you?"
She could almost picture his confused face. "Uh? I'm alone… Elena is downstairs with your mother… She told us she gave you… difficult news…"
She rushes to the door and pulls him in. He almost stumbled on the box due to her abruptness. He looked at her and slowly bent down, picked up the box and entered the bedroom. She immediately closed the door after taking a peek at the corridor. "She told you?"
He frowns… or she assumes he does. With him it was hard to tell since he did brood a lot. "No… but she just told Elena and I… I'm sorry."
Amelia rolls her eyes. "Super hearing… I know." He extends the box making her take a couple of steps back like he was handing her a bomb. "Put it by the bed."
"Do you want to speak about it?"
She raises an eyebrow. "I missed the memo in which our friendship was stated."
He offers her a small smile making her feel stunted for the third time that day. "Oh, you know how post offices get… Next time I'll email it to you."
"Did… Was… Did you just make a joke?"
He raises an eyebrow. "I'd never joke about something as serious."
She laughed. She started laughing hysterically and when the laughter ended she was at the brink of tears. "Oh Stefan, this is so fucked up."
He slowly walks to her and pats her back twice before he noticed that she was giving him an odd look. "It's okay… My father was… a difficult man too… and I'm still an… okay… being… Genes don't change that much."
"God… You think that he's at your dad's level?" She looked horrified. "I considered him to be a bit… better…"
Stefan furrows his eyebrows. "You… Damon told you?"
Amelia nods. "Yeah, Damon told me… Is that a problem for you?"
"No… No!" Stefan smiles – or rather forces one. "He told you everything?"
Amelia shrugs. "How can I know? If you mean that you killed your father, yes… He told me that."
"Oh…"
She rolls her eyes. "Not in the mood Broody! I couldn't care less about your bloody skeletons right now," she tells him somewhat harshly. "I'm… I'm not okay right now. I'm sort of freaking out."
"I'm sorry." He sighs and tilts his head smiling again. "I'd offer you a hug but I'm sure that you or my brother would stake me. And I rather not die today, got stuff to do. I'm also bad at comforting you… I'm great at comforting people… Just not people called Amelia Sommers." A mangled noise leaves her lips – half snort half laugh. "But I'm a great listener!"
"Staking you is excessive… Removal of arms seems better," she states making him laugh.
"Not that much better," he states raising an eyebrow. "I'm attached to my arms… literally."
She laughs and again she almost ends up in tears. "God, stop it… Your making me feel bipolar."
He snorts. "That's a new one. I make you bipolar now?" She nods her head as she bites down her lip hard, trying not to burst down in tears. "Would it help if I was more demon-ish… I mean… Damon-ish."
"Not funny."
He grins. "I respectfully disagree."
She scoffs. "I'm afraid to wonder how much time it took you to think that one."
"Oh if you must know… I made a break from my morning brooding and thought of ways to change Damon with demon in a conversation."
"I am appalled!" She states trying to fight off a smile. "You took a break from your morning brooding session?"
He nods. "Nothing to worry about, by your accounts I'm already the best at it… So slacking off won't harm me." When she didn't reply to his quip he frowned. "Hey, hey. I'm here. I know you'd prefer if I was Damon… but I promise I'll be here distracting you till he gets here."
"You don't have to."
"I know. Neither did you have to risk your life," he told her seriously. "But you did and maybe you did because you didn't even knew the extend of the danger... or because you're a total lunatic or maybe… maybe we're becoming friends."
A faux offended expression appears on her face. "Perish that thought! Take that back! Take that back now!"
He laughs. "Oh, I know you like me deep down," he taunts her.
"As if." She puffs her cheeks making him laugh. The amusement and lightness quickly disappear from her face. "It's normal that I'm sort of afraid?"
"I assume you aren't speaking about me." She raises an eyebrow and he sighs. "Yes… John is complicated, I assume it won't be easy to deal with it." He glances at the box remembering her reaction. "Is that from him?"
She nods. "Mom said he sent me stuff…" She looks at the box and considers that it was small considering that it covered the almost seventeen years worth of existence. "I don't know how I should feel about this… Or even how Damon is going to take it."
Stefan sighs again. "You're worrying about Damon?"
"Of course I am," she mutters narrowing her eyes a bit. Of course she was, Damon had tried to kill him… He didn't really like John… Not that the later liked Damon. Also, she was a bit frightened of his reaction. Not on her behalf, but Damon could do something harsh and brash. Not that John was any better...
"I don't think Damon will do anything-" Stefan stops and laugh making her frown. "I really don't know how he'll react, but I know he cares about you… I'm sure everything will be fine. I'm here if you need me, you do have more people on your side Amelia, don't forget it. It's not just Damon. I'm here. Elena is also here… You just have to calls us."
She sighs as she walks to the bed. "Thanks for the sentiment."
Stefan shakes his head and walks to her, sitting next to her. "I mean it Amelia." He grabs her hand and squeezes it making her look to him perplexed. "I'm here if you need me."
"She doesn't," Damon states all of the sudden as he enters the room through the window. His eyes were narrowed and fixed on Stefan. "What's going on here?"
Amelia tries to tell him but Stefan beats her to it. "We're speaking, isn't it obvious brother?" However, this wasn't exactly how she would have put the situation.
"What's obvious is that your girlfriend is downstairs and that you're here," Damon states as he walks to them. Once he's close he harshly pulls Amelia to him.
Stefan shakes his head. "That was childish. Amelia and I are friends Damon. Maybe a foreign concept for you since she's your first friend in years… but friends speak."
"Yeah?" Damon smirks. "Your-"
"Enough!" Amelia loudly interrupts. She didn't even understand what was going on. "What the hell?" She narrows her eyes to Stefan. "Why are you provoking him?" She then moves her attention to Damon, who was still gripping her tightly. "What's gotten into you?"
Neither seemed to be paying her any attention. "I just wonder if our darling Elena would agree to this sight. You all cozy with another woman that it's not her. She might look for comfort in another vampire arms."
Stefan smiles. "I do admit that we looked cozy… I think Amelia is warming up to me, Elena will be happy with the news."
"Oh, that's great. So, should I swing by the kitchen and take her out to 'talk' now or give it a few more days? Should we all get cozy, the four of us?"
Amelia groans loudly. "Oh! Enough!" She yells as she trashes around on their arms. "I hate when you start measuring dicks. Elena is downstairs. You wanna fight about her do so at her side!"
"No contest there."
One of them at least had the decency of looking ashamed. "I'm sorry," Stefan mumbles looking to her.
"I'm sure I can make you regret it more," Damon states locking his eyes on his brother.
Stefan glances at him and sighs. He turns his attention to Amelia that was shaking her head at Damon. "My offer stands, if you need me you know how to reach me."
"She won't. Go away now," Damon mutters.
Amelia groans. "Damon!"
He looks at her almost innocently. "What?"
"Let go," she says and he does so. She turns her attention to Stefan. "Damon is here so don't worry."
"Maybe that just makes me worry more." Then Stefan shook his head and left the room.
"What was he doing here?"
"You're being silly." She makes a pause and sighs. "What the hell was that all about?"
Damon was looking oddly to her again. He wasn't blinking and he was looking right at her eyes. "I don't like to share Amelia." By his tone it was like he was threatening her, making a promise. "And I certainly won't share with Stefan."
"What?" She furrows her eyebrows. "Sharing? Sharing what? Elena? She doesn't like you that much… Also you shouldn't-"
"Never mind and answer me," he mumbles. "What was Saint Stefan doing in your room?"
That made her panic a bit and forget about how odd Damon was acting. Or why Stefan had also acted in such fashion. "Okay, I got something to tell you." If possible Damon looked even more annoyed. "I discovered who my father was… And we know him."
He looked confused. "Who?"
She looks at him and sighs. "Johnny, Johnny is my father."
Unlike what she was expecting, Damon laughed. He burst on laughter. "Oh, this is incredible. He's your father?"
"What's so funny about it?"
Damon shakes his head. "Oh, the irony. Your family legacy was built on killing vampires, something that your daddy continued with. And you." He chuckles. "You are best friends with one. You trust your life to one! Your ancestors must be ragging in their graves!"
She rolls her eyes. "Glad my crisis is amusing to you."
He smiles charmingly as he pulls her into his arms. "Just enjoying the irony. I'm here. If you want we can go murder him right now, you snatch the ring and I'll pull his heart out and give it to you… You can put it in a nice jar and label it daddy."
She smacks his back as she tries to wriggle out of the hug he was giving her. "Don't be ridiculous."
He lets her go and his expression turns serious. "Ames… You know that I'll probably end up killing him, right?"
She lowers her gaze. Yeah, she knew that. However, she didn't know how she should feel about that. "I know."
"Is this going to be a problem?" When she doesn't reply, he forces her to look to him. "Amelia?"
"I don't know Damon. I don't know him… apart from the insanity we're all in," she states scrunching her nose. "I don't even know if I want to know him."
Damon nods. "Fair enough." He looks to her bed and furrows his eyebrows. "What's up with the box?" He was already opening it when he asked the question.
"Stuff he sent me." She walks to him and sits on the bed. "Not sure I want to see it."
He gives her a sideway glance before looking to the box again. "Want me to… stop?"
She sighs. "Damon, you're free to look at its contents. I only ask that you don't burn or tear something apart." She offers him a small smile. "I got no secrets from you."
He was tense then he relaxed. "Sure." He smirks. "Except when you go behind my back…"
She rolls her eyes. "It paid off, right? And as I've said." She grins. "I won't go if you don't."
He laughs as he sits next to her, pulling the box with him. He looks to her and smirks. "If you show me yours I'll show you mine. I just gotta be second, when you see mine you'll be stunned and probably faint."
She laughs as she lies her head down on his shoulder. "Just stay here with me, okay?"
"I'm here for you however you need me."
"I know." She closes her eyes. "Thank you Damon."
She ended up falling asleep. When she opened her eyes she was no longer half sitting on top of him. She was lying down, covered by her blankets and the lights were turned off. Damon was next to her, or rather, under her. Her head was above his chest and for once he was actually sleeping with clothes. She tried to move slowly so she didn't wake him up but she heard his chuckle.
"You're one of those? Sleep with a guy and sneak of?"
She didn't know whether to laugh or to scowl. "Thought you were sleeping."
"Nah, your mother is onto to me," he whispers. "She opens the door every twenty minutes. I'm hurt she doesn't trust me."
She was alarmed now. "What? What time it is?"
"Around one in the morning," he replies. "Had a chat with her around eight."
She automatically recoils into his arms making him chuckle again and caress her back gently. "Don't worry. She was calling you for dinner. She was quite alarmed when she saw me."
Amelia snorts. "You could have hidden."
"I could, but you were on top of me sleeping. I didn't think that waking you up to see your mother was the best option," he counters. "Don't worry, she has no clue I snuck in. Your cousin covered for you."
The world was getting stranger by the second. "What?"
"Yeah. She said she had gotten myself in while Stefan was cooking." He left out the detail that Stefan hadn't seemed too pleased with her on that instant. But knowing his brother, he wanted someone to be aware of what he did so Damon didn't have a free reign. "So that was nice. I think I'm getting somewhere with Elena."
Amelia rolls her eyes. "Good for you buddy."
He puckers his lips as he looks to her. "Jealous honey?"
"So very much. Doing my best not to break down."
He grins. "No need to hide it! If I were you'd also be enamored with me."
"You're the reason I'm still breathing." She then stops to consider her words. "That one is actually true… Though, you're also the reason I stopped breathing."
He rolls his eyes at her attempt of humor. "I did break my word for a bit."
"Uh?"
He looks to her and furrows his eyebrows. "I felt the room for a while."
"Did you have fun at the family dinner?"
He scoffs. "No. I had a chat with Jenna and then with John."
She jolts. "What? He was here?"
Damon shakes his head and pulls her back down. "No, I went to him. Standard procedure… Just a bit of maiming and threatening."
"Damon." Her voice was soft but he could tell how anxious that thought had left her.
"He's alive, relax." Damon had his gaze locked on hers. "Just to warn him that if he tried to use you in his plans I'd give him a really bad ending. Something that would make him beg for death." She was half glad she didn't witness that particular occurrence. "He then tried to stake me and I had to stake him back. Just on the lung… I also removed the stake… so nothing to worry about."
She cringes as she laughs. "Nothing to worry…" She shakes her head and touches his face. "I'm glad you're not harmed."
"He promised to kill me painfully if I didn't stop spending time… or rather forcing you to be with me as I meddled and ruined your life." He grins. "Clearly the man doesn't know you."
"You got issues buddy," she tells him gently. "Still, thank you for not taking this too far."
He shrugs. "I staked him and broke his neck…" She scoffs. "You're welcome. I did it for you, you know that, right?"
"I do, I rather if you didn't," she told him seriously as she looked to the ceiling. "You don't have to harm people in my name."
"Not like that," he mumbles as he also moves his attention to the ceiling. "It's not on you the pain I brought him. I just needed him to know that you're mine and that you're off limits."
She shakes her head and raises an eyebrow. "I'm yours?"
Instead of replying he pulls her closes and mumbles a shush. He was rather still and she couldn't help but to blink, soon it became apparent the reason for his behavior. The door of her bedroom opened and her mother came inside. She sighed and planted a kiss on Amelia's head lingering a bit before exiting the room.
"Coast is clear, she's on her room now," he tells her after a while.
"Thanks, I'm not ready to face her yet."
He starts caressing her back. "I know you're upset… You got every right but-" She raises her head and narrows her eyes. She couldn't believe he was about to defend her mother. "Hear me out. She was right to remove him from your life. I've hear the letters, on most of them he speaks about your legacy… your family legacy and how you were a Gilbert… and that there were responsibilities attached to it. Nothing too odd for someone who doesn't know the full story, but definitely strange."
"She didn't tell me right away Damon." Her voice was gentle and laced with the pain she was feeling for her mother hiding the fact that he was her father for such a long time. "I might not have told her how odd I felt because he stared at me a lot… But she also noticed it. I always assumed it was 'cause of the vampires deal… but there was more to it." She sighs and closes her eyes. "She didn't tell me Damon, she didn't tell me and he is here almost every day."
"You know he won't take you on father and daughter dates…" He tugs her chin for a bit making her open her eyes. "He won't give you ice cream when you're sad… That's not what he'll do. What he wants it to turn you into one of them and my question is, do you want to be that? Do you want to live up to your name?"
She snorts. "Doubtfully, I'm currently bunking with the enemy." She then furrows her eyebrows. "I half considered the possibility of us using this to our advantage."
"No."
"But-"
He was glaring. "No way, you're staying away from him."
"You're not the boss of my cute ass," she mutters.
He smirks. "I agree with the assessment. The cute ass, not the part about me not being the boss of it."
She groans. "You're impossible!"
"I'm great," he says with the smirk still in his face as if she had just complimented him. "I managed to convince your mother that it was unfair to keep you cooped up… so your punishment is lifted. You can start thanking me and showering me with gratitude whenever you feel like it."
"I worship the very ground you step on." She raises an eyebrow. "Good enough?"
"Eh, I give it a 4/10 it lacked conviction… but it's late… So try again tomorrow." He moves as if he was about to leave the bed. Her hand automatically closes around his arm making him look to her with amusement. "I'm just going to get us something to eat, I promise I'll return Amelia." There was only a tinge of mockery in his tone.
Her cheeks burn in embarrassment and she immediately pulls her hand from his arm. "Thanks. I'm sure we have leftovers from the family dinner."
He scoffs. "Like hell. Give me ten minutes and I'll be back with something better than Stefy's food."
While he got out of the bedroom by the window she mentally thanked him for not commenting on her blush. Still, it had been a bit silly of her to hold on to him… She was just frazzled, she assured herself. She was frazzled and her brain was mush thus she acting in such fashion, Damon was a comforting presence. That was just it.
While he went to do whatever it was he had planned, Amelia got out of bed to change her clothes. Damon had removed her shoes but otherwise she was still wearing the same and sleeping in jeans had never been too comfortable. So she gathered her pajamas and went to the bathroom, she rather not get caught midway changing clothes again like it had happened a few days ago. She didn't even know who had the more amusing reaction. Her, who threw herself into the bed trying to hide under the covers of Damon who gapped for a bit before stating that she didn't need an elaborate plan to get in his pants 'cause he was easy. Even if he had replied in such manner, Amelia had noticed that he had moved his gaze from her.
When he returned she was already in bed. He had a box of pizza and a bag with him. He grinned before jumping to the bed and making himself comfortable. He was adamant about leaving the mysterious contents of the bag for when they finished the meal and even if she kept asking him what it was, going as far as telling him a couple of times that she was full he stuck to his word. He then removed the pint of ice cream and two spoons. She laughed as she accepted the spoon and even if she didn't comment on it, she was sad that most people didn't get to see this side of him.
It was exactly six a.m. when he forced her out of the bed. He shoved her into the bathroom and promised to shower and dress her if she didn't comply. When she was ready, he dragged her downstairs and made her help him with cooking breakfast. She was feeling a bit frustrated but a thirty minutes later she was running behind him, trying to smear pancake batter on his face. They were causing such a ruckus that Jenna, Elena and Stefan all appeared on the kitchen.
"What's going on here?!"
"I'm cooking," Damon stated before glancing to Amelia. "She's just trying to ruin my masterpiece."
She stomps her left feet. "You!" She moves her hands madly in the air. "Look at my face!"
"Everything seems normal to me…" Damon mumbles innocently.
Jenna laughs as she cautiously approaches Amelia. "What did he do to you kiddo?" Amelia remains glaring as her mother does her best to wipe the batter from her face.
"Me?" He pouts. "I'm hurt Jenna. Plus she started it."
Elena groans loudly. "You two are a pain!"
"Oh? You don't like to be woke up early Elena?" Amelia taunts. "Like you do to other people all the freaking time?"
Stefan sighs. "It's really early and we heard quite a commotion."
"Didn't know you had spent the night here," Damon says with a smirk looking to both. They hadn't really spent the night there. They had returned home around five a.m. He assume they had left to plot away from his prying ears. "Now we can all have a family breakfast… We just need the delinquent."
"That's quaint coming from you," Elena mutters.
Damon tsks her. "Someone isn't nice in the mornings. Didn't Stefy give it to you-"
"Nop!" Jenna half yells. "No!" She narrows her eyes as Amelia laughs. "I'm a responsible guardian."
"Totally," Amelia agrees. "And you know what the totally responsible thing to do is?" She looks at Damon and smirks. "Helping me get payback."
"Or," Damon quickly says before Jenna could reply. "We could team up and attack Stefan."
She pretends to ponder. "I don't know…" She then grins as she flickers a bit of the batter in Stefan's direction who pretends to be shocked by gasping dramatically.
"You two are going down," Stefan mumbles as he looks to Elena. "Shall we show them how it's done?"
She furrows her eyebrows a bit wondering why he was acting as childishly as Amelia and Damon but then she smiled. "Of course."
Jenna laughs "No way kids not on my kitchen." She then looks to Damon. "You make us food and you go take a shower."
"You used to be cooler mom." She then crosses her arms over her chest. "I'll be confiscating the coolest mom mug later."
Jenna shakes her head. "So long it's after your bath." She turns her attention to Damon. "I appreciate this but next time do it a bit later, okay?"
Damon scoffs. "Everyone is a critic."
