a/n: Thanks to all who reviewed my last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one as well.


Chapter 9 Breaking All Ties

It might be impractical to seek out a new romance,
We won't know the actual if we never take the chance...
-Will Do by TV on the Radio

"This is messed up," Tyler responded after Elena and Damon had finished recounting what had occurred in the Dark Dimension.

"But you think you know where the sphere is?" Caroline raised a perfect eyebrow.

"Yes," Elena nodded hesitantly. "You must find an honest one, one of only forty-three, if you wish to seek this orb of the kitsune. His birthplace is where this item is laid, in the depths of the sinking spring. Go here and the ultimate treasure will then be thine, for the discoverer will then have what's mine," she repeated. "My first thought was presidents. There have been forty-three presidents so far."

"There have been forty-four," Caroline corrected quickly. "Obama is the forty-fourth president."

Elena was already shaking her head. "Grover Cleveland was both the twenty-second and twenty-fourth president. Although Obama may be called the forty-fourth president, he's the forty-third original president."

"And an honest one would be Honest Abe," Caroline spoke up.

Damon shrugged. "Who knew school was actually important."

"So where do we go now?" Tyler questioned.

"It says we have to go to his birthplace," Elena continued. Her chocolate orbs spanned across the other three people in the room. "He was born in Kentucky, although I don't know the exact location."

Caroline already had her phone out. She quickly connected to Safari and typed in her search.

"He was born in Hogenville, Kentucky," Caroline spoke as she looked up from her phone. "And there's a national park there. And a water supply known as Sinking Spring."

Relief engulfed Elena as she smiled at her friend. "This is actually possible."

"But you forgot one thing," Damon said from nearby. She turned to see his blue eyes staring intently into hers. There was no gentleness in his eyes now, or any other indication of the Damon he allowed her to see. Now, he was back to the stone coldness that he was known for. Part of Elena wanted to run to him then and punch him until he returned to the Damon she truly knew. But doing that would solve nothing.

"What did I forget?" she questioned as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"We have to wait for Katherine to get here. We're working with her, remember?"

"I see no reason to wait for her," Caroline input.

"You defy her, and she'll kill anyone you love without second thought," Damon made clear. Despite his fierce tone, his mannerisms reflected disinterest. "But it's your decision."

"She did help us get this far," Elena said.

"I still don't trust her," Caroline shrugged.

"None of us do," Damon laughed. And it was a real laugh.

"Then let's leave her a note," Tyler said as he stood up. "Tell her we know where the orb is, and give her a place to meet up with us at. It seems like a fair compromise."

Personally, Elena loved any plan that allowed them to set off now. "How long will it take us to get there?"

"Around six hours," Caroline replied. Her blue orbs looked to Elena and reflected her tiredness. "We'll get there before noon."

Elena loved the sound of that. Her brown eyes searched Damon, and she waited until his blue eyes made contact with her before she spoke. "Do you think you could get us a ride?"

Smirking, Damon nodded. "I'd love to."


The sun hung on the horizon to signify the beginning of a new day. Alaric stood in the Gilbert kitchen and watched the sunrise in silence. It was peaceful here now, with all the memories of what Klaus had done being only a distant reminder of the pain they had faced. He missed Jenna more than he could have ever imagined, but hopefully, he would have her back soon.

A yawn echoed from the other side of the room, and Alaric turned to see Jeremy. His brown eyes were barely open as he found a glass and poured him some orange juice.

"I don't remember ever seeing you up this early," Alaric remarked.

"I see her when I sleep," Jeremy shrugged. Without asking, Alaric knew he was speaking of Jenna. "It's easier to just stay awake."

"Fair enough." Pulling himself from his position, he went over to the table and sat down in one of the chairs. As Jeremy mimicked his movements, Bonnie strolled into the kitchen too. She had spent the night in Elena's room to prevent herself from driving home. It had also allowed her to keep an eye on Jeremy and make sure he recovered from the spell.

"Good morning," Bonnie beamed as she poured herself some orange juice too. After scouring through the kitchen, she came to the table with a plate and bagel. Her green eyes watched Jeremy warily as she ate her food.

"So I was thinking," Alaric began slowly. "If we want to keep Jeremy safe, I think we need to know exactly what is needed to perform this spell."

Bonnie brushed a few crumbs from her fingers before she went to the kitchen island and grabbed one of the many books in the room.

"I actually found the spell last night," she replied as she turned to a bookmarked page. "It wasn't what I expected it to be."

"So what is needed?" Alaric questioned. He mocked curiosity as he glanced to the page.

"The person wanting to bring someone back would have to create an invisible square where the vertices are identified by two objects from the person who is going to be brought back, and two items from Jeremy's life. Once Jeremy enters the square, he'll be trapped there."

"That's a little creepy," Alaric joked.

"Creepy is an understatement," Bonnie replied after she swallowed the bite of bagel she had just taken. "That person will then have to come forth with someone to give as a sacrifice. The person must be alive when he/she enters the square with Jeremy, but the spell will kill that person."

"I'm assuming the spell must be completed by a witch?"

"Not necessarily," Bonnie frowned. "This isn't a normal spell. It's just to be used to balance nature. Therefore, anyone who knows how to do this can say the spell and bring someone back."

"Is there anything else?"

"It has to be performed at midnight," Bonnie replied. "But that's about it."

"So there isn't much we can do to protect him," Alaric spoke slowly. He acted like he was contemplating what their next course of action should be. He arched his head to the side as his eyes lit up with inspiration. "I think we should go to my house. It's one of the easiest ways to keep him safe since there haven't been any vampires who have been invited in there. And I have plenty of weapons to fight anyone else who comes at us."

Slowly, Bonnie nodded in acceptance. "That sounds like a plan to me."

Jeremy cleared his throat loudly. "It should be my choice. You two realize this, correct?"

"It will keep you safe," Alaric spoke up. Pain arched through his body as he felt the lie in what he had just said. With all the dark thoughts roaming through his mind, Jeremy would only be safe if he was far away from Alaric.

"I'll go," Jeremy replied. He had a frown on his face though. "Just let me grab some of my stuff first."

As he disappeared, Bonnie turned to face Alaric. "We have to keep him safe," she whispered. "I can't lose him again."

And with those words hanging in the air, Alaric walked out of the room.


Elena glanced out the window and watched the world zip past her. They had been driving for a few hours now, and both Caroline and Tyler were asleep in the backseat of the Trailblazer Damon had picked up. It wasn't lost on Elena that Caroline and Tyler's hands touched while they rested. Elena was eager for the chance to ask Caroline what was going on between the two of them.

She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she failed to notice they were slowing down. Eyeing Damon quizzically, Elena moved her hands to her seatbelt.

"What are we doing?"

Instead of speaking, he pointed out the front windshield. Elena followed his gaze and noticed that they were stopping at a Marathon gas station.

He pulled beside the pump, and Elena was suddenly surprised that something so normal could look so bizarre.

"Come on," Damon smiled as he shut the door and walked toward the gas station.

Following him, Elena tried to suppress a smile. It still found its way onto the corners of her lips, however, and she caught Damon looking at her.

"Get whatever you want," Damon spoke as they wound their way through different aisles full of unhealthy snacks. "We're not going to stop for a while, and I know you have to be starving."

Elena knew he was right. She hadn't eaten much of anything since Stefan had disappeared.

She almost laughed at that thought. No, her dietary problems had first appeared when Jenna had died, and when she had thought she was going to lose Damon too.

But here with him now, it felt like anything was possible. It felt like she could take on anything as long as he was by her side. It was a feeling she didn't want to lose.

"What kind of chips do you want?" he smiled as he picked up three different kinds. Then, he shrugged. "We'll just get all of them."

Elena laughed. It was the first time she had truly laughed in days, and it felt amazing.

"Damon." Elena shook her head. "You don't have to buy me anything."

Damon stared at her like she was crazy. "Who said I was buying anything?"

Elena smiled as she looked deep into his blue eyes. This was the Damon she cared about so deeply, the one he would only be with her. Part of her wanted to be with that Damon for forever. But another part knew how dangerous those thoughts were.

As if sensing her thoughts, Damon leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips. It wasn't a demanding kiss, but more of one to show her that he was there. For the first time since she had kissed him on his deathbed, she realized that whatever she had awakened couldn't be contained any longer. Whatever consequences came, they'd face them together.

Not wanting to leave, Elena reached up and gave him a kiss of her own. Then, she turned and looked at the rows of soda in the coolers in the store. Knowing that she needed to stay hydrated, she grabbed multiple bottles of water before taking a Dr. Pepper from the shelf too.

Damon raised an eyebrow, but didn't remark on her beverage choices. Instead, he motioned for her to go up the next aisle of snacks.

When they finally reached the counter, they had close to thirty dollars' worth of snacks and drinks. Damon motioned toward their silver Trailblazer outside. "We need fifty dollars in gas for that vehicle too."

The man rang up the order, and then Damon compelled him to forget about them being there. Elena felt guilty, and threw the little money she had on the counter before following Damon outside.

"I saw that," he remarked, although he never turned around to face her. As Elena caught up to him, she noticed that he was grinning.

In that moment, it was easy for Elena to forget the danger they were truly in. It was easy for her to not think about Stefan, or the fact that she had kissed his brother multiple times now. It was easy to pretend like they were just on a road trip where their lives didn't depend on them finding a mythical sphere.

When Damon climbed back into the driver's seat, he smiled warmly at her. Elena had picked up a bag of Doritos, and munched on them as he started the vehicle again. As his fingers entwined with hers, she felt the familiar warmth he gave her spread through her veins. It was at that time that Elena realized Caroline had opened her eyes, and was starting at them in shock.

Yanking her hand away from Damon, Elena instead focused on her chips. The moment she had done that though, she regretted it. The warmth had disappeared from Damon's eyes, and they stared straight at the road in front of them.

Knowing she couldn't fix things now, Elena sunk in her seat, and gazed outside too.


a/n: Please review. =)