A/N: Yes it's me, I'm finally back. I won't talk much now because I'm sure you're impatient. The real author's note is at the end. Without delay, here is chapter 7 of GYMW.
Elena stared at Damon, completely poleaxed, her eyes unseeing. They flicked back to trace the photo on her lap, taking in the portrait there. She was looking at the woman who had caused Damon so much pain…she was looking at practically a mirror image of herself.
Katherine? What does he mean Katherine? This can't be…what does this mean?
"What?" Caroline yelled, rising angrily off the couch and making Elena jump. "What the hell do you mean Katherine?" She exclaimed, echoing Elena's tumultuous thoughts.
"The woman in that picture is Katherine." Damon replied evenly, his eyes on Elena.
She was staring blankly at the paper in her hands, apparently stunned. He felt an unfamiliar breathlessness as he waited impatiently for any kind of reaction from her. He didn't care what she did, he just wished she'd do something other than sit there looking like he'd just killed her puppy.
"B...but that's just not possible. Unless Elena has some long-lost twin she never knew about." Caroline exclaimed.
She spun to look at Elena.
"Do you have a long lost twin you never knew about? Oh god this is just all so Days of Our Lives." She said excitedly.
Damon snorted and rolled his eyes, making Caroline glare at him. She plopped her hands on her hips and her cherry lips pursed in a pout.
"What?" She spat.
"Don't be stupid Caroline. Katherine is definitely not related to Elena." Damon rumbled.
Elena flinched almost imperceptibly. The way he said it…it was just so harsh. Was she somehow inferior to Katherine? Maybe that was why he was so combative towards her. Because she didn't measure up to the woman with her face.
Caroline sat in a huff, crossing her arms over her chest. "It could happen." She muttered.
"Damon." Stefan scolded, moving to put a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulder. "That was unnecessary."
"Oh shut up Steffy. We all know you're pussy-whipped. And you're not even getting any." Caroline glanced at Stefan confusedly, who rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"She was being ridiculous and you know it. Someone had to stop her before she went totally off track."
"Well then what's your reasoning?" A quietly pained voice asked.
All eyes turned to Elena.
Her mocha eyes were burning bright, boring straight into Damon and making him hitch his shoulders uncomfortably under their intensity.
"How is this possible Damon? I'd love to hear your explanation." She demanded, her voice so uncharacteristically weak it made him shiver.
He sighed, trying to shake off the worry that was hounding his mind and running his hand through his disheveled black locks for what seemed like the thousandth time.
"I'm not entirely sure. We do know you definitely aren't related. And I know for a fact that Katherine at least had a nose job, so she wasn't born looking like you. I wouldn't be surprised if she had even more work than that done. Regardless, she's not your twin. You are definitely one hundred percent Gilbert."
Elena looked at the portrait again, searching for anything in Katherine's face that would confirm Damon's words. She didn't want to have any ties to such a destructive woman.
There. Just around the lips and eyes there was…something. Her rosy lips were a bit too thin, pressed a little bit too tight together in their pouty pose. And there was a hardness, a selfishness about the set of her eyebrows and the light in her eyes that Elena was pretty sure had never been in her own face. Still, the differences were miniscule.
"Damon, this is…just…insane. They look, like, exactly the same." Bonnie chimed in, her voice hesitant and confused. "What exactly are you planning? How does this help us?"
Damon looked around the room like he was surrounded by idiots. "Don't you guys get it? This gives us a huge advantage. It gives us the element of surprise, something that Klaus won't have planned for. Why she looks like Katherine is beside the point. Elena is our secret weapon."
"But how?" Rose insisted. "I'm sorry Damon, but I'm just not seeing how this is helping. It's not like Elena can single-handedly beat the crap out of fifty men."
"Of course she won't. But she will be the one to bring Klaus down."
When everyone continued to look at him like he'd grown a second head Damon groaned, slumping back in his chair and throwing his hands behind his head. "Eli, help me out here."
Elijah stepped forward into the light, easily commanding the attention of the room. If it weren't for Damon's inherent draw, Elijah's would be the most powerful presence in the room bar none. His crisp gray dress shirt and dark slacks combined with his regal bearing brought all eyes to rest on him. He took a breath before speaking in a calm, controlled voice.
"What Damon has so spectacularly failed to communicate is that Elena's part in all this, though instrumental, is entirely non-combative." Elijah explained, ignoring Damon's exasperated glare.
"Our plan is simple. As you know, each year the Salvatore Group hosts a masquerade ball. The public excuse is a celebration of our town's legacy, but really it is a way for the Group to remind Mystic Falls who holds the power and for us to seek out potential clients. We believe that Klaus will strike then, when all the families in town will be present to witness him bring down the Salvatore Group, to kill Damon, as well as for them to see who will be in control in the future. Elena's resemblance to Katherine is our ace in the hole so to speak. She will not even have to act like Katherine, simply her presence will be enough to hopefully give Klaus pause and to give us the vital time to find and disable his troops." Elijah explained.
"Exactly." Damon said. "Klaus was obsessed with Katherine. Therefore, when he sees Elena, he will be completely consumed with her, his concentration will be shattered. He may even postpone the whole operation in the hopes that he can get Elena to leave with him. That would obviously be the best case scenario, but we'll be prepared in case that doesn't happen."
"That would be the best case scenario?" Caroline screeched. "If Elena left with Klaus, the psychotic, murdering asshole who ruined your life? How is that a best case scenario?"
Elena wanted to cheer in agreement, but couldn't seem to get her vocal chords to operate.
"Again Caroline, you're being ridiculous. Of course Elena won't actually leave with Klaus. We just want him to want her too. It will slow him down. Not to mention most of us here in this room will be on the floor with her to protect her." Damon scoffed condescendingly.
Caroline went back to pouting.
Damon turned to look at Elena; his fiery blue orbs alight with hope and excitement. He looked at her like she was the answer to all his problems. It was not a comfortable feeling.
"All you have to do is keep him talking Elena, dance with him, flirt a bit, just keep him chasing you. The rest of us will do the heavy lifting. It'll be over before you know it." He continued, smirking confidently.
She stared at him dully. Was he serious? Oh yes, the rest of them would do the heavy lifting. That's right. All she had to do was distract a psychotic, sadistic mob boss while posing as the ex-lover of not only said psycho but Damon too. Her hands shook, the picture fluttering like a butterfly's wings. This couldn't be happening. It just wasn't possible.
"That sounds…doable." Stefan mused, looking thoughtfully into the air.
"Stefan!" Caroline exclaimed indignantly.
"What? It does." He insisted.
"Of course it does, I came up with it." Damon said smugly.
Her breath was coming too fast in her lungs again and her head was throbbing. All her aches and pains, only a day old, seemed to be pulsing on her body. The air wheezed in and out of her lungs, not refreshing her at all. It was just one thing after another with these people.
She jolted suddenly to her feet, her eyes still fixed blankly on the quivering portrait in her hands.
"Elena?" Rose asked tentatively, her voice laced with concern.
Elena shook her head, her heavy tresses swaying around her, pulling on her scalp like concrete blocks.
"I…can't." She whispered. "I can't, I just can't…be here." She said, rocking unsteadily on the balls of her feet before whirling around and dashing for the door.
Damon felt like an idiot. He had completely forgotten how fragile she was right now, not just physically but mentally. She had just been assaulted in a place where she should have been safe and now he had to go and dump this emotional baggage on her.
Damon started after her, his hand extended and his expression worried.
Her head snapped up at his movement, her eyes frenzied.
"Don't! Don't come near me!" She exclaimed, panting heavily as she fiddled with the handle. She yanked on the door, whimpering when it resisted. "Please…I just…I…I need to be alone. Just for a bit."
When he continued to look unconvinced she tried to give him a shaky smile.
"I'm fine I promise. I just…need some air." She explained, slipping through the heavy door and shutting it behind her before Damon could say anything.
He was left staring at the silent mahogany, wishing he could have somehow made this easier for her. Wishing that in his fury he had remembered her fragile state and broken things to her gently. Wishing he didn't have to burden her at all, which was yet another uncharacteristic thing that this girl caused him to feel. He never had any qualms about using the tools at his disposal but the position he was forced to put Elena in was dangerous. He wished it didn't have to be her.
The rest of the room had watched Elena's breakdown and Damon's unusually sympathetic reaction in stunned silence. As if things weren't difficult enough, they now had to convince Elena of the role she had to play. As she normally did, Caroline summed it things up perfectly.
"Well shit."
Elena had spent the day hiding from anyone who might want to talk to her, especially Damon. She had heard Bonnie, Stefan, Caroline, and even Andie looking for her, calling her name, but she had tucked herself securely away in a shaded corner of the gardens that she had stumbled into a few days ago and that was especially hard to find.
She had shut her eyes and just let herself take deep breaths and think on everything she had learned in this exhausting day. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she would have to play the part in Damon's plan that she was asked to. There was no other way to protect her new friends. But that didn't mean she had to like it.
Now it was late, the sun having set in a flare of purple over an hour ago. She was exhausted and starving, awake for more than a day and unwilling to leave her hiding place to get food but at this point her growling stomach and drooping eyelids were forcing her inside.
She crept to the kitchen, which was miraculously empty, and began foraging in the cupboards, hoping to find some crackers and maybe some peanut butter to hold her over 'til breakfast. When she found the box of saltines she couldn't keep herself from munching on a few as she searched for the peanut butter, crumbs tumbling from her lips in her haste. The simple food just tasted so fantastic to her deprived tongue.
"At the rate you're going the mice won't have to worry about food for the next month." Rumbled a voice that she was coming to recognize even in her dreams.
She spun around, mouth full of cracker, to see Damon slouched lazily against the doorframe, one foot crossed in front of the other and looking entirely too godly to be legal. His arms were folded across his chest, pulling the dark material of his shirt deliciously taught over his defined pectorals and accentuating his powerful biceps, making her regret that she hadn't paid better attention to his chest that first night when she stumbled into his bedroom. His midnight blue jeans were slung typically low on his hips and she really wished, for the sake of her sanity, that he would invest in some belts. As usual, his messy black hair dusted his forehead and his stunning eyes blazed out from underneath, concern and something else she couldn't place burning within them. She couldn't help but take a deep breath at the mesmerizing sight of him.
Of course that was stupid because she sucked salty cracker crumbs right down her throat and god did they burn.
She immediately doubled over, choking and hacking to get the particles away from her windpipe. A heavy hand pounded her back while another supported her. When she managed to slow her coughs, Damon guided her to a tall seat at the big island in the center of the kitchen.
"Geez, didn't anyone ever teach you to chew your food? Do you want to injure yourself even more?" He exclaimed with a playful smile, bringing her a brimming glass of water.
She gulped the water greedily. "Sorry, I haven't eaten all day and I was hungry." She croaked.
"And you thought a couple of saltines was the best way to refuel?" He asked, looking at her incredulously.
She shrugged. "I can't really cook anything other than cereal. Not to mention I was trying not to run into anyone." She replied honestly.
Damon sighed heavily at that. As she sat there waiting for him to say something he began taking various things out of cabinets and refrigerators. By the time he had amassed a small pile on the counter, Elena's curiosity got the better of her.
"What are you doing?"
He pulled out a pan, placing it on the stove and turning the burner on so it could heat up. He glanced at her over his shoulder, a tentative smirk gracing his lips.
"Cooking."
"You can cook?" She asked incredulously. For a devious, violent, super-sexy mob boss it just seemed…so…normal.
"I am Italian." He replied smugly.
"Fair enough, but why are you cooking?"
"Well I can't very well let you go to bed with that poor excuse for a dinner, now can I? As your physician that would just be irresponsible of me." He explained, busily chopping a chicken breast and some peppers and onions. He set a pot of water boiling and dumped some linguini in to cook up.
"You're…making me dinner? Who are you and what have you done with Damon Salvatore?"
He chuckled, tossing the chicken and vegetables in the hot pan with some olive oil, salt, and pepper to stir fry.
"I used to cook all the time. I loved it. The consistency of it was soothing and the creative freedom always kept me interested. I've had less time to cook lately, but that doesn't mean I can't."
She had no response for that and so just sat quietly and watched him do his thing. Everything he did was clearly skillful and experienced, something she found very attractive in a man. He moved around his kitchen like he was meant to be there rather than in the theater of war he had found himself in. Her heart broke for him a little bit when she thought about what he had really been through and she found herself wanting to comfort him but unsure what to say.
Of course, when he scooped a strand of pasta out of the pot to taste it and check its doneness all her sentimentality flew straight out of her head. There was no room for that kind of thinking when his lips were so lusciously pursed to accept the noodle.
As he swallowed, her eyes were drawn to the powerful lines in his neck and jaw. What she wouldn't give to just run her fingertips along that chiseled jawline, just for a moment. He brought his index finger to his mouth, his tongue peeking out to dance across its tip. She swallowed heavily, suddenly very awake and very warm, particularly in that secret spot between her thighs. She crossed her legs tightly and bit her cheek to keep from moaning.
For god's sake woman! He's not even doing anything!
Apparently oblivious to her distraction (maybe…hopefully), Damon nodded, reaching for a colander and straining the pasta before dumping pasta, chicken, and vegetables all together into a bowl and mixing them up.
"Voila!" He exclaimed proudly, placing the giant bowl before her. "Linguini primavera for the lady. Mangia!" He said, kissing his fingertips dramatically. She couldn't help but giggle.
He grinned goofily in response which made him look like what she imagined he was like as a boy. For the second time that evening her heart throbbed heavily with a warmth she was afraid to acknowledge.
Shoving the uncomfortable swell of feelings to the back of her mind, she grabbed a fork and scooped up a generous portion of noodles, taking a hearty bite. The flavors burst across her tongue, seeming to caress that damp muscle in a cacophony of deliciousness. She groaned, closing her eyes in ecstasy.
"Damon, this is fantastic." She moaned.
"That's what she said." He replied, smirking deviously and moving to stand next to her. He scooped up his own forkful of pasta, taking a bite and raising an eyebrow as if daring her to comment.
She rolled her eyes. He was such a child. "Yeah. In your dreams."
He leaned towards her, grinning lustily, his elbow brushing her arm. Her eyes widened at the sudden invasion of her space.
"Oh, Elena, in my dreams you say much more than that." He replied huskily.
She almost choked on her noodles at the images that brought to her mind and decided that silence was probably her best chance of getting out of here without making a fool of herself and/or having wild, passionate sex with Damon right here on the countertop.
And since that was obviously not an option…Don't do him, don't do him…it, I mean it! Don't do it!
She shut up and took another bite.
They ate in comfortable silence for a while and Elena found herself quite content to simply be in his presence. It was soothing in a way, his sturdiness and self-assurance.
But eventually, as she always did, Elena had to rock the boat.
"What was she like?" She asked tentatively, avoiding his eyes and swirling her fork through the sauce on her plate. She didn't have to say who she was talking about.
Damon looked at her, her head down and focused on the eclectic shapes her fork was making in the oil, her luscious hair spilling over her shoulders and framing her cheeks. She was lovely even with her exhaustion and bruises and, was that a leaf in her hair? Really, every time he allowed himself to really look at her beauty, she stunned him and in a way wholly different from Katherine. He would have to remember to mention that to her at some point.
He was sure she expected him to refuse to answer, but with what he was asking her to do, with the way he had sprung it on her and with everything that had happened to her in the past week, he owed her this. He knew she had to be wondering if he saw Katherine when he looked at her. She needed this to ease her mind, or she would never agree to help him.
"She was…addictive. Like cocaine and alcohol combined with the best adrenaline high you've ever had. From the moment I met her I knew that she was different. So many women will stare and twitter and flit around you, but wait for you to make the first move. Katherine swayed right up to me at the bar, with her sexy little smile and her hypnotic, seductive eyes, told me I was exactly what she was looking for, and asked me if I'd like to buy her a drink. From that first moment I was hooked. I knew I had to have her."
They stumbled against his door, drunk and groping each other like teenagers as he fumbled to get the key in the lock. Her skin was fire-hot under his hands and her perfect globes had just the right weight in his palms as he squeezed and kneaded. He finally managed to get the door open and she immediately planted her hands on his chest, pushing him in the room and kicking the door shut behind her.
She shoved him against the far wall, her hands ravaging his chest and her eyes hungry. Her breasts heaved as he pulled her roughly against him by her ass, her skintight black dress bunched up so he could feel the lace of her thong teasing his fingertips. She raked his shirt up, making him shudder when her nails left furrows of pleasure-pain across his skin. She ripped him from the wall, surprising him with her strength as she pushed him to the ground. She immediately fell to him, straddling his hips, her heavy heat hovering right over his straining arousal, making him groan in frustration. He became hazy, his desire and the whiskey clouding his head, making him miss her triumphant smile and the dark glint in her darker eyes.
"But she was greedy and cold too. She told me she had never been in love; that she wasn't sure she could be. She told me if there was anyone she could love it would be me. And I was young and infatuated, completely unable to see any wrong in her. We would go out and she would flirt with other men, dancing and grinding with them. I would beg her to stop but she never listened. She even managed to convince me it was better this way."
He followed her into the apartment and slammed the door behind him, the wholly unconcerned expression on her face only fueling his frustration.
"Well, that was fun." She quipped, obviously unconcerned with the fuming man behind her.
"Katherine, for the love of God, you can't keep fucking doing this! You were all over that guy tonight! Why the hell do you do this to me?" He broke down.
She pouted prettily, walking seductively towards him, her lower lip jutting out and dangling like some forbidden fruit for him to steal.
"Oh, but lover doesn't it make us all the stronger? You know that you secretly love that, no matter how many men I have, you're the one who gets to come home with me." She replied, dragging her finger along his torso.
He snarled and threw her hand away, stepping back to pace angrily, like a caged panther.
"Honestly, Katherine, I don't. You can't keep throwing yourself at all these other men. Do you have any idea how it makes me look? How it makes me feel? Fucking hell woman, are you with me or aren't you?"
She tossed her head flippantly, her eyes flashing dangerously. "We've been through this before Damon and it is getting very tedious. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I will not be some little kept woman, content in her one and only. You are with me. Be happy with that and let that be the end of this."
She clapped her hands, smiling again, as mercurial as the ocean. "Now then, enough of this, we have company coming."
He stopped pacing, momentarily thrown off track. "Who the hell is coming here at this hour?" It was well after three in the morning and he thought that he would at least have his slippery vixen to himself for the remainder of the night and some steamy make up sex.
She waved her hand, a clear dismissal. "That guy from the bar of course. I think he said his name was Nick or Nate or something."
He almost roared in fury, grabbing her by her arms and practically shaking her.
"You invited him here? Why Katherine, why?" He raged.
She grinned lasciviously, completely unfazed by his outburst. "Why lover, we're going to have a little fun, he and us."
He recoiled. "You want to…what? Sleep with us both? Fuck no." The idea of any many seeing his Katherine in that way made jealousy and bile rise in his mouth.
She sighed, reaching up to stroke his face softly, catching his tumultuous eyes with her deep pools of brown.
"Oh my sweet, innocent Damon, it's time to try something new. I promise you will like this. And I will like this. Don't you want to make me happy?" She asked, her pouty mouth quivering slightly.
He turned his head away. He did want her to be happy. A happy Katherine was an intensely…grateful Katherine. And he did enjoy the way she chose to display her gratitude, rare as it was.
She continued to stroke his cheek with her thumb until her eyes had once again ensnared him.
"Forget everyone else. You know I care for only you."
"Before I knew it she had a whole menagerie of lovers on a rotating schedule. They would come when she called and I would typically be included, but sometimes I would simply be told to come home in a few hours. It killed me to see her with these other men, but as much as I wanted her to myself, I simply wanted her more. I knew she wouldn't stay if I forced her to choose.
But things began to get out of hand and I wasn't the only one with jealousy issues. All of her lovers wanted to take her from me and from each other. She only encouraged this rivalry like someone enjoying a dogfight. It was around this time that Klaus came into the picture. Of course you know how that worked out. I gave up my dreams of a doctorate, my desire to help people, all for her. I was sure she would choose me. I should have known better. Katherine would never accept the life of confinement that would be necessary to protect her from Klaus."
He walked tiredly into their bedroom, his feet dragging and his face haggard. He had just buried his father and already Klaus' minions were pounding at the gates. He rubbed his face, wishing he could wipe away the last year. He flicked the lights on, looking up to see his surprised lover, her hands elbow deep in a pile of clothes shoved unceremoniously into her nondescript black suitcase.
Her eyes were wide. She clearly wasn't expecting him back so soon.
"What are you doing?" He asked her, his mind trying to deny the sight before him.
She sighed. "I had hoped to be gone before you came back."
His eyes flashed dangerously from within his deceptively calm face.
"So you were just going to leave me, leave us, after everything we've been through? After everything I've done for you? My father is dead and I'm the captain of this shithole in a war with your psychopathic fuck-buddy. All of this was for you! How can you leave?"
"You know, you've always known, my life comes first! You wouldn't be with me if you didn't know this! I can't stay here, waiting for death or capture!" She yelled desperately.
"I would protect you! I am protecting you goddammit! We can still be together!" He cried.
She shook her head sadly, zipping her suitcase and tugging it to the floor. She looked at him, her eyes full of pity. "You never did get it Damon. We had fun lover, but you were never worth staying for. And that's not about to change."
She headed for the door, pausing right before him. "I'm running. I suggest you do the same. But it won't be with me."
She left him standing there, pained and stunned and alone.
"She told me I was a good time, but really I was only ever a slave and a meal ticket to her. After she left I shut down, only feeling rage. I buried all my pain, all my loneliness behind a wall of vicious self-defense. I recruited endlessly and destroyed Klaus' men mercilessly. Ripped them apart really. The cages saw a lot of use that year. For a long time all I saw was red. It was a very long while before I started to come back to myself."
He looked up to her, his face unflinching despite her resemblance to the woman that stole his innocence.
"That's what Katherine was like. I loved her. I thought she loved me back. I was wrong."
Elena stared speechlessly at him. The whole time he spoke his eyes had been pale and focused far away, his brow furrowed in pain. He was lost in his memory. She knew that feeling. And she now knew the story behind Damon Salvatore. After everything he'd been through she really couldn't blame him for being the cold, heartless bastard his reputation made him out to be. Though, the more time she spent with him, the more she realized he was much more than his reputation.
"So, where is she now?" Elena asked tentatively, her voice feather-soft.
He sighed heavily, pushing back from the counter.
"She ran for a long time. Somehow I still cared about her so I had my men keep track of her. In my new position I had the power and the resources to do that. Four months after she left me Klaus' men caught up to her. My man wasn't fast enough. She refused Klaus. Apparently she fed him the same shit about being a good time but not a keeper as she fed me. He killed her. Slowly and painfully so that she knew it was coming. If he couldn't have her no one could. Really, in a twisted way it was rather ingenious. It was the ideal punishment for someone like Katherine. She did so dearly love to live."
Elena shuddered. What kind of monster would use a good man like Damon only to break his heart? And what kind of monster would kill someone for choosing not to be with them?
Damon shrugged. "And that's all there is to it. Now you know what we're up against."
When he finished speaking Elena didn't even hesitate. Before her brain could catch up with her she was already on her feet and walking to stand before him.
He just stood there, his posture careless and debonair as always, but his eyes were swirling and riddled with memories just as painful as her own. His violent, abusive mask had cracked and revealed a peek at the broken, misused young man he had yet to put behind him.
She reached up, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight. He was so rigid, coiled muscles taught under her hands and against her body. He seemed almost frozen and she squeezed him tighter, trying to put some of her warmth into his body and thaw him.
There was no pity in her touch. She knew how painful pity could be and she would never do that to someone so hurt. In that moment all she wanted was to comfort him and let him know that he wasn't alone.
He didn't respond at all, but that was okay. His response wasn't important. All that mattered was that he comprehend and accept the comfort she was offering. She pulled back after a long moment, meeting his eyes heavily with her own. She hoped he knew how sincere she was when she spoke.
"I'm sorry for everything you lost."
She leaned forward and pressed her lips tenderly to his cheek, unable to keep herself from touching him once more. "Thank you for telling me."
She squeezed his wrist before letting him go completely, then turned and walked towards the stairs that led to the first floor. She paused in the doorway, turning back shyly, her gaze on him warmer than it had ever been before.
"Goodnight Damon." She whispered tentatively.
He stared after her, once again struck speechless and left standing alone by this slip of a girl with every reason to hate him. Before he could speak she was gone, disappearing and leaving him wishing he could follow wherever she was going.
"Goodnight Elena." He whispered to the empty doorway.
When Alaric got back to his temporary home in the Gilbert apartment that night his heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his ears. He rushed to Jeremy's bedroom door despite the late hour and pounded on it with his closed fist.
"Jeremy!" He roared frantically. "Get out here now!"
He went to the kitchen and filled himself a tall glass of water, guzzling it so quickly that it dribbled down his chin. He panted, turning when he heard Jeremy's door creak open.
The teen stumbled out dressed in nothing but some wrinkled flannel pants, his hair tousled and his eyes sleep-riddled.
"Whas goin' on?" He mumbled blearily, walking stiffly to collapse on the couch.
Alaric rushed over, impatiently taking a seat across from Jeremy.
"Jer, I know it's late, but you really need to pay attention right now. I have some news."
He sat up at that.
"About Elena?"
"Well, yes, indirectly. One of my sources got back to me just now with some upsetting news that's gonna force our plan to move forward." The teacher hesitated.
"Okay, what news?" Jeremy prompted.
"There is…a rival faction to the Salvatore group coming into town. They're called The Originals and they absolutely hate the Salvatores. We're going to have a gang war on our hands here. They're only a few days out of town. Our window to get Elena out has just closed drastically. We're gonna have to move fast." Ric explained.
"Woah, woah, hang on a second. If these people hate the Salvatores so much maybe they can help us. Can your contact get us in touch with them?" Jeremy asked.
Ric shuddered. "No Jeremy. We are not going to do that. You know how much I hate the Salvatore group but, these people…they put even Damon Salvatore to shame. We are in no way going anywhere near them. You are going nowhere near them."
Jeremy held his hands up, trying to placate his frantic guardian. "Okay, okay, it was just an idea, calm down Ric. What're we going to do then?"
Alaric looked at the young man who had ended up in his charge, his brown eyes determined and serious. "We're going to have to get Elena out sooner than we planned."
Jeremy furrowed his brows. "You mean…?"
"I hope you're ready. We're getting your sister out of there and I'm getting my revenge. Tomorrow."
A/N:
Okay, gear up, this is a long note, but it's important.
1) Yes! It's me again. I'm finally, finally back. You have no idea how frustrated I've been with myself these last weeks. I wanted to have a new chapter out to you guys weeks ago. I'm so sorry for making you wait so long. I promise I didn't want to. But, in addition to a shocking lack of inspiration due to being at home with my family (really, trying to write about love and violence with your parents and your twelve year old sister in the house is practically impossible) as well as to the lack of Delena goodness on tv, some rather awful things happened in the weeks following graduation that just really put me off my game. On the bright side, I am back and, though updates might not be as frequent as they were during the spring, they will definitely be coming more regularly.
2) What did you think of the chapter? There was a lot covered so let me know if you have any questions. Next chapter will be Alaric and Jeremy's rescue attempt as well as some interesting info about Isobel and we'll also get our first brief glimpse of Klaus. Do you think Elena will leave the Salvatore group or stay to help her new friends?
3) Thank you so much to everyone who alerted, favorite or reviewed since my last update. I know I make an effort to respond to all of your reviews (sorry if I ever missed you) but I've noticed a lot of authors don't bother. Would you rather I didn't respond and have my extreme gratitude just be implied or do you like hearing from me?
4) I've heard some rumors about M-rated stories being removed from . I don't currently have a livejournal, but if you notice this story has been removed, message me and I will begin to post updates there just for you lovely people.
5) I need to give a special thank you to a couple very special readers who took the time to message me over the last few weeks and express their desire and impatience for this chapter. Thank you so much to Silvia151a, Dana Sto, and beverlie4055 for giving me a much needed kick in the pants.
6) I am considering the potential usefulness of having a beta. I think it might motivate me more if I could get someone's consistent opinion before I post. If you're interested, have strong writing and grammar skills, and think you could get back to me quickly then send me a message and we can give it a try and see if it works.
Okay, I'm done talking. Hope you liked the chapter! Can't wait to hear what you thought!
