A Night On The Town

[Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries. No copyright infringement intended. I'm just borrowing brilliance and adding my own.]

PART ONE

9. You're Undead to Me Pt 3

I slept in the park. I hadn't done that in years. It used to be fun and daring and incredibly creepy. Mystic Falls always got so quiet at night. But now…

I'm the kind of monster that makes people fear the darkness.

I slept on a park bench beneath the stars. I ignored all Elena's phone calls. I ignored the phone call from Stefan, though I wondered how he got my number. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I didn't want to see anyone.

Alex, what the hell happened? Where are you? –Elena

I didn't reply to her text. I stared up at the night sky and cursed Royce for attacking me. I cursed Andrew for saving me. I cursed myself for coming so close to killing another member of my family.

It was almost three in the morning when Stefan found me. He didn't say anything at first. He took a seat at the end of the bench and stared up at the sky with me in silence.

"I'm sorry," I said finally, my guilt turning my voice thick. "I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Alex," he said gently.

"I almost attacked my sister," I argued, sitting up to face him.

"But you didn't," he replied. "You left. A new vampire shouldn't be able to do that so easily, but you did."

I shook my head, not wanting to be comforted. I deserved this. "I shouldn't have come home. I shouldn't be here. It's too dangerous."

"Alex, you can't leave them again," Stefan said carefully. "They're still healing from the loss of your parents. Leaving them now would destroy them."

I angrily wiped at the tears leaking from my eyes. "Stefan, I almost attacked her! I could've killed her. I saw myself killing her!"

He turned to fully face me and gripped one of my shoulders. "Alex, you didn't. You walked away. You just need more time to adjust. And I can help with that."

I scoffed and shook my head. "Why would you do that? Why would you help me?"

He dropped his hand to his side and answered, "I care about Elena. I know how much you mean to her and I know how it would destroy her if she lost you. I can help."

I didn't believe him, but I still asked, "How?"


I glanced between Zach and Stefan insecurely and uneasily. And skeptically. And uncomfortably. "This is weird. This is really weird."

"It's safe," Stefan argued. "And practical."

"It's weird," I stated, shaking my head.

"This is a boarding house," Zach pointed out. "An empty one."

"What is Elena going to think about this?" I asked Stefan. "You're her boyfriend. This is just…weird. And suspicious. She's going to be suspicious."

"She's already suspicious," Stefan muttered. "And this isn't permanent. This is just for when things become…difficult at home."

I rolled my eyes. "You mean when I'm seconds from chowing down on one of my siblings?"

He sighed. "It's your best option, Alex."

I inwardly groaned, knowing he was right. I looked around the cavernous parlor and sighed in defeat. "Okay, then. Show me to my new room."

"I'll give you the tour and you can pick one," Stefan told me, gesturing for me to follow him toward the stairs.

I glanced at Zach. "Are you okay with this?"

He nodded, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets. "Whatever keeps the citizens of Mystic Falls safe," he answered truthfully. "I'm used to rooming with vampires."

I nodded and followed Stefan up the stairs to the second floor of the boarding house.

He was right. This was my best option. Alternating between living here and living at home would give me time to adjust to living amongst humans. The plan was to slowly ease into a normal life. Stefan said diving headfirst into my old life and expecting a good outcome was rather foolish and he was right.

Stefan had a tendency to be right about a lot of things.

I followed behind him as he pointed out the different bedrooms on the second floor. There were eight total, three of which were spoken for by the Salvatore men. Stefan's room was actually in the attic. All the bedrooms were large and well-kept and fully equipped with beds, wardrobes, and desks, ready to be used.

"Zach keeps the place clean. I think he does it out of boredom." Stefan shrugged as we turned down a hallway. "You can pick any bedroom you want. Make yourself at home. We have bed sheets and blankets in the linen closets, but feel free to get your own if you want."

"Thank you," I murmured my reply as I took in the paintings and artifacts lining the walls. A lot of the paintings looked old and the artifacts varied from chipped china to antique ottomans armoires. "You have a lot of stuff."

"It's an old house. And we hate throwing things out. I hate throwing things out," he corrected. "I'm not sure if Damon cares, but Zach is a pack rat."

"They're memories. I get it," I said with a nod. "This place is quite awesome. It doesn't have the same museum feeling the Lockwood Estate does, though. That's good."

Stefan pointed at a closed door to the right at the end of the hallway. "That's Damon's room." We skipped that door and turned to the bedroom directly across from Damon's.

Stefan opened the door and let me peer inside. My eyes widened at the enormity of the bedroom. It had a hardwood floor and wooden paneled walls with a massive wooden bed pushed against the right wall. Directly across from the doorway were two massive windows that looked out over the driveway. Light spilled into the room, giving it a very cozy atmosphere and turning it a golden auburn.

"Is this room being used?" I asked Stefan, silently praying that it wasn't.

"It is now," he replied with a smirk. "Welcome to your new home, Alex."

I smiled and stepped into the room, feeling good for the first time this morning.


When I returned home to pack a bag of clothes and whatnot for my new bedroom, Elena and Jeremy were gone. Caroline had called while I'd been exploring my new bedroom to remind me that I was expected at the carwash in a sexy bikini and my Miss Mystic Falls sash.

I dug the sash out of my closet and set it aside. I dug through my drawers until I found a burgundy bikini, a pair of black short shorts and a black tank top with a very revealing v-neck. I changed quickly and pulled a brush through my hair a few times before tying it up in a ponytail.

I wasn't ready to face people yet. I wasn't ready to face Elena or answer her questions, but Elena wasn't the kind of person that was easily avoidable. She had a tendency to track people down and demand answers. I told her to do just that last night. I had a feeling my own advice was going to come back to bite me in the ass.

Time to face the music, I thought dryly as I pulled my sash over my head.

The school parking lot was wet and packed full of cars, people, and buckets. Moisture hung in the air like a cloud.

Somehow, Caroline knew the moment I arrived. She appeared in front of me at the entrance to the parking lot and exclaimed, "There you are!"

I gave her a forced smile. "Hey, Caroline. Sorry I'm late."

"Yeah, Elena was asking for you," she said, pointing off toward the end of the parking lot. "But this isn't social hour. We're already backed up and need more washers, so snap to it. Go find Bonnie. She'll tell you what to do."

I saluted her. "Yes, ma'am."

She turned and disappeared into a crowd of bikini wearing girls. I spotted Bonnie not too far from the entrance helping Matt wash down a large SUV and headed in their direction.

"Hey," I greeted them both. "I'm assigned to help you," I told Bonnie with a lame smile. "You're not a slave driver, are you?"

She laughed and tossed me a sponge. "Not unless I have to be."

I laughed lightly and started scrubbing down the hood of the car. "Hey, Matt, thanks for getting me the job at the Grill."

"No problem. We need the extra hands." He turned and dipped his sponge into a bucket of soapy water. "Business has been slow, but the days are going to start getting colder now. That means more people taking shelter from the cold."

I hummed and nodded. "So I came home just in time."

A red car pulled into the parking lot and a teenage boy climbed out of it. Bonnie dropped her sponge into her bucket and turned to greet the boy.

"Oh, Tiki!" she called to one of the school's cheerleaders and one of Caroline's friends. "This one's yours."

The tall, dark skinned girl came forward reluctantly. "Why do I always get the homely ones?" she grumbled irritably. She set her bucket on the ground in front of the car and addressed the boy. "Just to be clear, you car's a POS."

Piece of shit. Wow, nice Tiki. I glared at the back of the girl's head.

"I mean, we can wash it, but it's still a POS," Tiki sneered.

"You don't have to be rude," Bonnie scolded her harshly.

"No, rude is uglying up the road with that junker," Tiki retorted snottily.

The boy tossed his car keys into the driver's seat and stalked off without a word.

Bonnie glared at Tiki as she bent down to fill her bucket with more water. I straightened, staring at Bonnie as something passed over me. Something warm and faintly pulsing. It felt good as it passed over my skin. It felt almost comforting, but I had no clue what it was.

And then the water in Tiki's bucket exploded upward out of the bucket, drenching her. She screamed and stumbled back as she lost control of the hose.

"What the—? Oh, my God! What the hell—?"

Matt leapt to her rescue. "Whoa! Hey!" He managed to wrench the hose from her and fold a section of it in halt, cutting off the flow of water. He laughed at the sopping cheerleader. "Wet and wild, Tik!"

She didn't look amused.

Bonnie, on the other hand, looked rather satisfied. Smug even.

I inched toward her, stepping in her line of vision. I raised a brow at her in question.

She shrugged. "What?" She glanced from Tiki to me, her smug expression faltering. "What?" she asked innocently.

"That felt like magic," I muttered under my breath, lifting a hose off the ground and rinsing off the SUV.

Bonnie gave me a questioning look. "It felt like magic?"

I shrugged. "I felt it. Like a wave." I chuckled and waved it off. "Eh, it was probably nothing."

Bonnie hummed noncommittally and lifted a towel to start wiping down the car.

When Matt returned, I muttered, "I need my own car. I can't keep driving Jenna's car around. She's going to need it back at some point."

Matt paused in the middle of drying off the windshield, looking thoughtful. "I'm selling my old jeep. It's a wrangler. It's just sitting out behind my house."

My eyebrows rose in surprise. "You're selling your jeep? You love that jeep!"

"I have a truck now. I can't afford both. I'm selling it for six hundred. I need the money."

"Six hundred?" I gaped at him. "Seriously? That's a steal!"

"Like I said, I need the money. Things are tight at home. The Grill is a steady, slow income and the tips are okay, but it's just barely enough to keep the bills paid."

"Well, then," I smirked at him. "Consider it bought. I'll transfer the money to your account as soon as possible. Or would you prefer cash?"

He raked a hand through his dripping hair. "I'll give you my account number. It'll be nice knowing the jeep will stay in our little family."

I fist pumped and gave a whoop. "Hear that, Bonnie? I just got myself a jeep wrangler!"

Bonnie laughed and continued rinsing and drying. "At least we know you can clean it."

I threw my sponge at her, suddenly feeling lighter than air.

A felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see who it was. My smile disappeared instantly when I saw my sister.

"Hi," she greeted with an edge to her voice.

"Hey," I said slowly, cautiously. "Um, I'll be right back, guys," I called to the others and steered Elena away so we could talk in private.

"I'm going to pretend that all my phone calls last night and this morning weren't ignored and jump right to the point," she began angrily when we were out of earshot of anyone else. "Where the hell did you go last night? And why did you leave like that?"

I sighed heavily. "I…I really don't know, Elena. I don't know what came over me." The lie tasted bitter on my tongue, but I couldn't very well tell her the truth, especially not here. "One second I was fine, then next I wasn't. I honestly don't know what happened."

She didn't look satisfied with this answer at all. "You looked horrified. You looked like you'd just witnessed a murder or…seen a ghost or something. You looked…" She shrugged helplessly and shook her head. "I was worried about you. And you didn't answer any of my calls."

"I went to the park. I just…needed air. I needed space." I wiped my hands over my face. "I don't know. Maybe I had some kind of panic attack. It kinda felt like one."

I lowered my hands and Elena's eyes followed the movement, her eyes caught on something on my left hand. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at my ring, reaching for my hand.

"That's weird," she said as she lifted my hand to examine the ring. "Stefan has the same kind of ring. A little fancier, but the stone is the same. I was just talking to him about it." She laughed a little in surprise. "Where did you get this?"

I opened and closed my mouth, my throat closing for a moment as I thought quickly. "Uh, Andrew gave it to me."

"Andrew, the guy you stayed with in England?"

I nodded. "It, uh, was a parting gift."

A web of lies. I was digging myself a deeper hole.

"It's kind of pretty," Elena said, turning my hand from side to side. "Those are trinity knots, right? Celtic?"

I nodded dumbly. "Yeah."

"And the stone is lapis…lapis…"

"Lapis lazuli," I answered automatically, pulling my hand from hers to study the ring myself. "I like it. It's kind of tacky, but…" I shrugged.

"It's you," Elena said. "Anyway…don't ignored my calls anymore, okay? If you're having a panic attack, you need to tell me. I can help you."

No, you can't.

I nodded.

"I need to go find Stefan, but I'll see you at home, okay?"

"Uh…" Okay, how do I tell her I'm moving in with Stefan and Zach? "Actually, I'm not going to be home tonight."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to stay with a friend. Don't worry, I'm not leaving town or anything."

She opened her mouth to ask more, but Bonnie called to me at that moment.

"We got another car to wash over here!"

I nodded and held up a finger. "I gotta go, but I'll call you later, okay?"

She only had time to nod.


I can't hide this forever.

I was very aware of that fact.

Stefan can't either.

We were both doomed. I just had to get that through to him. I wasn't sure if he fully understood.

When I was done for the day, I went searching for Stefan, spotting him next to the tables at the end of the parking lot where people were paying for their carwash.

The moment he saw me, he asked, "Hey, have you seen Elena?"

I nodded. "Uhm, like an hour ago. I kinda wanted to talk to you about her, Stefan."

"I know, I know," he said with a sigh. "I don't like lying to her, Alex."

"I don't either, Stefan, but we're fooling ourselves if we think we can keep this a secret forever."

When my own words sunk in, I panicked and glanced around widely. No one was within hearing distance. "Oh, thank God."

"What?" he asked.

"It's nothing," I assured him. "That just came out wrong. Sounded a bit presumptuous."

"Ah." He nodded with a smirk. "Sorry, you're not my type."

I laughed. "I'm more into bad boys. Dark and mysterious."

Stefan snorted, a sound that really didn't suit him. "You would've been perfect for Damon."

I raised a brow at him. "Your murderous, raving lunatic brother? Thanks."

"He's more than that underneath. He tries to be a monster."

I frowned at his sorrowful tone and realized for the first time that he truly did care for his brother. And what he was currently doing to him was taking its toll.

"Well," I said after a moment. "I need to grab my things from home and head back to the boarding house."

"Yep. I'll see you later. I'll find Elena."

Elena wasn't the only who'd disappeared. Caroline had bailed some time ago. No one had seen her for several hours. Tiki, now in charge and loving it, stopped me before I left and asked me if I'd seen her. I bolted before Tiki could throw any of her responsibilities onto me.

I walked the four miles back to my house and retrieved my bag before heading for the boarding house. It was a long walk, but I was a vampire. I reached the house in less than ten minutes.

I called Elena's cell just as the boarding house came into view, but no one answered.

"Hey, Elena. It's Alex. Call me back." As a last thought, I added, "Though I'm probably in no position to ask for that right now, am I?"

I stopped when I noticed that the front door was open. Frowning, I ended the call and stuffed my phone back into my pocket. I walked up the steps and across the porch into the house, glancing cautiously inside.

Something felt off. Something was off. A 'feeling' inside of me hinted at it, but the dead crow on the floor in front of the door confirmed it. I knelt down next to the crow, eyeing it in confusion and disgust.

"What the…?"

And then a hand closed around my throat and lifted me off my feet, slamming me against the wall adjacent to the door.

I growled and wrapped both hands around Damon's wrist, using all my strength to snap it. He howled in pain and wrenched his arm out of my grip, stumbling backwards. I lifted my right leg and kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him crashing against the opposite wall, which was doused in sunlight. He let out an agonized scream as his flesh started to burn, revealing the muscle and tendons beneath.

He rolled out of the sunlight and shot to his feet. He reached out and slammed the front door closed before turning to me again.

I backed away quickly, but the attack I expected didn't come.

"You're not human," Damon stated, eyeing me up and down in surprise. "Vampire?"

"What else?" I growled, keeping my body tense in case he charged.

He was looking at me in a whole new light. "How long have you been a vampire?"

"A couple weeks," I answered.

"Hmm, new. Young and weak." He glanced down at my left hand and spotted my ring. "Nice ring. Mind if I borrow it?"

He lunged forward, taking me off guard despite my caution. He tackled me to the ground and reached for my ring. I struggled against him as we fell onto one of the couches in the parlor, but he was far stronger than I was.

He hissed in pain when he touched my ring and jerked his hands back sharply. Again, I lifted my leg, this time planting my foot in the center of his chest and kicking him off me hard.

He flew backwards and crashed to the floor, but he was on his feet in a second. "Okay, what's up with your ring?" he growled out irritably.

I glanced down at it curiously. It had burned him. How had it burned him?

I had a good idea, but I wasn't certain. "Well, I'm guessing I've added my own protection to it. Just in case someone tried to steal it."

"Protection?" he scoffed as he inched forward.

I bared my teeth at him, preparing to run if he launched himself at me again. "I'm a witch."

His eyebrows shot up. "That's impossible. You can't be both."

I smirked at him. "Well, guess what? I am."

He narrowed his eyes at me and gave me another once over. He surprised me by raising his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I give." He straightened and smiled at me. "So Alex, what brings you here?"

The sudden question took me by surprise. I blinked in confusion and straightened my back.

He glanced back toward the door and noticed the duffle bag I'd brought with me. "Are you planning on staying a while?" he asked.

I pursed my lips and nodded. "Yeah. Temporarily."

"Let me guess, living in a house of blood bags a bit too much for you?"

"Uh, yeah. A bit." What the hell? Total mood change. "Where's Zach?" I asked as I glanced around the parlor. I couldn't hear anyone else in the house.

He turned his back on me and walked across the parlor to a table with a tray of decanters sitting on it. As he poured himself a drink, he answered, "Uh, Zach isn't going to be around much anymore."

My eyes narrowed for a moment as I tried to figure out what he meant. A second later, a horrible thought struck me. I rushed down the hall toward the basement door and flew down the stairs.

Zach was lying just outside one of the basement rooms. I guessed this one to be the one Damon had been locked in. I knelt down next to Zach and searched for a pulse, but I knew I wouldn't find one. His heart no longer beat.

Sadness filled me. I hadn't known Zach very well, but he'd been living in this house since before I could remember. He'd always been here. Sure, he'd come off as bitter sometimes, but he was always nice.

Not knowing what to do, I turned and walked back up the stairs and down the hall to the parlor.

Damon appeared in front of me holding a glass. "Here, drink this. It'll make you feel better."

I glared at him, accepting the glass automatically. "You killed him."

"Yep, but hey, don't frown. He's in a much better place."

"You're a monster," I muttered, staring at him in shock. "He was your…nephew. You killed him."

He shrugged. "He was human, Alex. Humans all die eventually." He gave me a small, reassuring smile. "I made it painless."

I lowered myself into a chair, not knowing what to say or do. There was obviously nothing I could do. He was stronger than me, though weakened from being locked up for several days and vervained. I couldn't stop him. I couldn't lock him back up. If I even tried, he could kill me.

"Ugh." His groan had me looking up. "This simply will not do."

He was back across the room at the table of decanters, but this time he was filling his glass with blood from a blood bag. It was half empty and smelled cold. It smelled delicious, but cold.

"Stefan has gotten rid of my blood supply. Or hidden it."

"Can't you sniff it out?" I asked dryly.

"Not in my weakened condition." He glanced out the window at the now setting sun. "Hey, it's almost nightfall." He grinned at me. "Wanna go drinking with me?"

"Not in a million years," I snarled.

He pouted and turned back to his glass. He lifted it and took a sip. "Ugh, cold. Bleh."

Without thinking, I muttered, "Don't you know how to use a microwave?"

His eyes snapped to mine. He stared at me for a contemplative moment before grinning widely. "Genius."

He disappeared into the kitchen and I heard the door to the microwave open and close before it turned on. He let it go for about a minute before stopping it and opening the door again.

"Brilliant! Alex, you are brilliant," he called out.

I groaned and dropped my head into my hands.

After Damon took off—one minute he was there, the next he was gone—I carried my bag up the stairs, though I honestly wasn't sure it was a good idea to live here anymore. I unpacked my clothes and placed them neatly in the wardrobe that stood next to the bathroom door. I carried my toiletries into the monstrous bathroom and placed them in the cupboard above the granite bowl sink.

I didn't know what else to do. There was a dead body down in the basement and I didn't know what to do about that. The last time I'd seen a dead body was at my parents' funeral.

I heard the front door open and close. I walked out of my bedroom and rushed down the hallway to the stairs. When I reached the bottom and turned to face the front door, Stefan was kneeling next to the bird.

"Damon escaped," I blurted, my anxiety swelling inside of me. "I would've called you, but I don't have your number."

He looked up at me as I approached, his eyes wide with shock and horror. "He escaped? Where is he? Where did he go?"

"Stefan," I said softly, kneeling down in front of him next to the dead bird. "Stefan, Zach—"

I didn't manage to get another word out. In a flash, Stefan was gone.

"Zach! No, no, Zach!"

I sighed heavily and stood up. I walked into the kitchen and searched the cupboards and drawers for a trash bag. I returned to the front door and picked the dead bird up off the floor, stuffing it into the bag. I grimaced and tied the bag closed.

A minute later, Stefan came storming down the hall with a wooden stake clutched in his hand. My eyes widened in shock, guessing what his intention was.

"Stefan, he probably already has blood in his system now," I told him, dropping the bag by the door and stepping in front of him. "Human blood. You only feed on animal blood. He's stronger than you."

"I have to kill him," Stefan growled. "He killed Zach. He killed him! He has to die!"

He stepped around me and flung the door open.

And came to an abrupt halt.

Elena took a few deep breaths before demanding, "What are you?"