Chapter Nine

"So, where'd you say your friend headed off to?" asked Bo, in a conversational manner as Elena and he walked up to his house located on the outskirts of town.

"Actually not sure." Elena answered, wiping her sweaty forehead. "It looked like from where I was standing, he was going in the direction of that creepy-looking wax house or whatever."

"Ah, the House of Wax." Bo corrected, unlinking the cuffs to his shirt and pulling up the sleeves to his elbows since it was a very warm temperature outside.

"Yeah." Elena nodded in agreement. "The House of Wax."

"Been inside yet?"

"Nope and I don't plan on it."

"Why not?" he teased playfully. "Too scared?"

"Not a big fan of wax." She admitted. "It creeps me out."

"I don't blame ya. If you're around it long enough like me, you'll learn to get used to it." Bo said, his blue eyes occasionally glancing down at the petite girl.

Elena briefly reminisced about the hillbilly she and Stefan hitched a ride with a few hours ago. When Elena asked him to roll a window down due to the horrid smell, the hillbilly told her, "You'd be surprised what you can get used to if you're around it long enough."

"And here we are."

"Huh?" asked Elena, distracted from her thoughts. The older man smirked in amusement at the brunette before gesturing towards his home.

"We're here, in case you were wondering."

"Oh." She muttered, embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

"No harm." Bo shrugged.

Elena's chocolate eyes scanned the two-story house; the exterior appeared incredibly old and the paint had faded throughout the years. When they were walking up the gravelly pathway to his house, she noticed a truck parked in front. Everyone in this town seemed to own trucks.

"You live here?" asked Elena, curiously.

"Yes, ma'am." Bo answered with an enthusiastic smile.

"Lovely home." She complimented.

Bo turned to Elena with a sarcastic grin. "It's okay, Elena. You don't have to lie to me. I'm well aware the house looks shitty and definitely needs some work done. But thank ya for the compliment anyway."

"No, really." She shook her head. "It's certainly old, but there's a strange charm to it that I'm liking. Definitely looks very old, but it can be fixed up properly if you really step up to it."

Bo chuckled as they walked up the concrete steps to his porch. "Fixing means money; money I don't necessarily have."

"Oh, I didn't mean—"

"I know what you meant." He smiled warmly. Elena visibly calmed down. She didn't want to upset the man, he's already doing so much for her. "Again, no harm." Bo added, reassuring her.

"Thank you." Elena acknowledged sincerely.

"Anytime, ma'am." He stepped up to his front door and reached for a pair of keys in his pocket, unlocking it. "Would you like to come inside or would you prefer to wait outside in the nasty heat?"

"Well, since you put it that way," Elena laughed before nodding. "I'll come inside – if that's okay with you."

"I did invite you in, did I not, Elena?"

"I guess you did." Elena smiled. "And I'm accepting."

"Great." He returned the smile.

For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other. Crimson colored her cheeks as he openly gazed down at her, as if she was a book that he was trying to unfold, page by page. His eyes are so blue, she thought momentarily.

"Elena!"

Eye contact was broken between Bo and Elena, as they turned to the new voice.

"Stefan!" Elena said in surprise. She wasn't expecting him to get back so soon. She figured he would cool off for a few hours and then return.

The young man walked up the gravelly path, his green eyes intimidating. Elena briefly wondered if he saw the long eye contact between her and this man, she seriously hope he didn't. She didn't need more drama from him.

"Hey there," Stefan greeted, hesitantly, staring between the two of them.

"Hey…" Elena responded, equally as hesitant. The silence grew incredibly awkward as Stefan stared the two down as if they something wrong.

"Hope you don't mind, man. But we didn't have the right size at my station so Miss Elena here is making sure we have the correct size for your ride. Fifteen inch, am I right?" Bo spoke so easily and casually.

Stefan nodded but there was evident suspicion in his emerald eyes. "You keep fan belts at your house?"

"If I'm not at the station, I get them delivered here." Bo explained. "But if you want to hold on to a sixteen inch and try to make it work, that's fine by me."

"No, no." Elena shook her head, cutting into the conversation, making the two men look at her. "We want the fifteen inch. And we're already here, so let's just get this over with."

Bo nodded towards her before turning to Stefan. "What say you, man?"

Stefan shrugged. "Okay. Sounds like a deal to me."

"Great. Come on in, you two." Bo opened the front door all the way and gestured for the couple to come inside. "Don't worry, the house doesn't bite." He quickly winked in Elena's direction. She smiled softly in his direction before stepping inside, Stefan trailing after her. Bo walked in behind them, shutting the door.

Cool air blasted from the AC.

"Oh, thank God, I was dying outside." Elena commented, pushing her moist hair back.

"Don't be so dramatic; it's not that hot outside. It's only 103 degrees. No big deal." Bo shrugged casually, trying to hide his laugh at the horrified look on the girl's face.

"Only 103 degrees? You're insane, Bo." She laughed, disbelievingly.

"Once again, if you live here long enough, you get used to it." He grinned at her.

"So, about that fan belt." Stefan interrupted rudely, not appreciating the fact that Elena was casually conversing with this random man who seemed to take a liking to her.

"Stefan!" Elena warned.

"No, Elena." Stefan said without taking his narrowed eyes off the other man. "I came here for one thing only and I need it now."

"Of course." Bo said, not affected by Stefan's bitter attitude. "I understand. Apologies to you, my friend. Allow me a few minutes to change out of this depressing funeral attire and I'll be back with you shortly to retrieve what you need most."

"Thank you." But Stefan's tone didn't sound acknowledging at all.

"No problem." He nodded to the younger man before turning away.

"Actually," Stefan spoke up, catching Bo's attention. "Hope you don't mind but I need to use your restroom."

"Don't mind at all. Follow me, it's right upstairs."

"Be right back." Stefan told Elena before following after Bo.

As the two men began to walk up the staircase, Bo called down to Elena, "Oh, and if you need something to drink, eat, whatever. Help yourself, there's plenty stuff in the fridge and cabinets, darlin'."

Stefan resisted the urge to punch the man.

Elena smiled and thanked him before the two men disappeared up the stairs. She released a sigh before looking around her surroundings. The inside of his house was cluttered with papers. Everything inside was squished together.

She began to walk around and scan over some of the stuff. Lots of newspaper clippings from early 70s, 80s, 90s. Early decades. She noticed a few clippings mentioned the name Trudy Sinclair. She wondered who she was.

Growing more curious, Elena picked through the papers and noticed the House of Wax museum plastered over some clippings.

Elena jumped as she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. A frown knitted her features as she pulled out her phone. Her heart jumped in glee when she realized she had very little reception standing in this house.

But the person who was calling her… Oh-oh.

"Caroline." Elena stated, wincing.

"Elena Gilbert!" the blonde shouted on the other line. Elena grinded her teeth and waited calmly for Caroline to finish her ranting. "Do you have any freaking idea of how worried I've been over you guys? Like, what the hell? I've called you like a thousand times!"

"I'm sorry, Caroline." Elena apologized, still peering down at the newspapers. "Things have been happening here, that's all. I finally just entered a house where I have reception."

"A house? Whose house are you at?"

"Some guy named Bo; he works at the local gas station."

"Ooh. Is he cute?"

Elena's cheeks reddened. "Caroline Forbes!"

"Whaaat? I'm serious. You're always saying you need a break from Stefan…"

"I'm not gonna cheat on him, Care." Elena rolled her brown eyes. "And if you absolutely must know, I admit, he's kinda cute."

"Oh, so he's definitely a hottie then?"

"I said he was cute, Caroline."

"Elena Gilbert, honey, I've known you all my life and every time you say a guy is cute, he turns out to be deliciously gorgeous."

"I am so not having this conversation with you, Caroline."

"Loosen up, Lena." She laughed. "So, what's up? Did you guys find that fan belt thing or whatever?"

"Yeah. Business is being taken care of at the moment. I don't know what the plan is after this but I don't know, maybe Stefan and I will crash in a motel here or something. This town is actually really nice."

"Ugh. I hate towns, especially small towns."

"You hate a lot of things, Care."

"That's true. Okay, we're literally at the game now. So, we're probably gonna be here for a long-ass time. Did you guys still want to tag along or…?"

"I don't know… I'm not in the mood for a loud, crowded football game and I don't think Stefan is either. I think we should probably keep to ourselves and try to work things out. Because I don't want to be on Stefan's bad side forever, you know?"

Elena checked behind her to make sure that her boyfriend didn't here that, or any of the conversation particularly.

"Well, we can always just meet you guys back out there once the game is over. We'll probably spend a night in Chicago and wake up early to go meet up with you guys, wherever the hell you are."

"Okay, I don't have much service here, but when I get the chance, I'll call you. If not, then just meet us in the town of Ambrose. You should be able to find it on the GPS."

"Cool. Are you guys okay?"

"We're fine, Caroline. Quit worrying."

"That's what the boys keep telling me." Caroline said in a dry tone of voice.

"Then maybe you should listen to them." Elena playfully said, smiling. "I'll talk to you soon, Caroline. Seriously, no worries. Everything is fine. I'll see you sometime tomorrow."

"Be safe."

"Will do. Bye."

"Bye." Caroline finished on the other line before Elena hung up her phone and slid it back in her pocket.

"Another friend of yours?"

Elena jumped in surprise and turned around to see Bo, finishing walking down the finals steps of the staircase. He changed out of his suit and into his work attire and a cap.

"Y-yeah." She stuttered. When she noticed him looking down at her hand, she still had the clippings. "I'm sorry, this isn't what it looks like. Well, maybe. Um… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"Don't sweat it." She relaxed when he presented a warm smile. He continued while heading towards his kitchen, "I assume you're thirsty?"

Elena placed the articles back where she found then and followed him into the nice, spacious kitchen. "Sure, if that's okay."

"How many times must I remind you, sweetheart? If I offer you something, quit asking me if it's okay. Because I assure you, miss, it's okay." He said, chuckling at her embarrassment before opening his fridge. "How about a bottle of water?" he offered, reaching into the fridge and pulling out an unopened bottle.

A smile full of gratitude, Elena thanked him before gently taking the bottle and unscrewing the cap before taking greedy gulps of the cold water as Bo watched her amused. She didn't realize from before that she was dehydrated.

"Careful there. Don't want the water to go down the wrong pipe." Bo joked, grabbing a bottle for himself and perching himself on the counter by the fridge.

"I'm an adult, thank you very much. I can take care of myself." Elena retorted with confidence that burst out of nowhere.

Bo chuckled, amused by the girl. He opened the bottle and took gulped down a few sips before asking curiously, "Really now? No offence, darlin', but you don't look a day over sixteen."

"Hey!" Without thinking about it, she smacked his arm in a playful manner, noting to herself how firm it felt under her weak touch. He regarded the action with enquiring eyes and she wished that she hadn't done that. As an attempt to wave the action off, Elena continued, "Hate to break it to you, but I'm actually eighteen, almost nineteen."

Bo nodded, appearing lost in deep thought before absently sliding off the counter and walking past the eighteen year-old girl, into the living room. Elena furrowed her eyebrows in slight confusion, wondering if she said or did something to upset him.

With hesitant steps, she entered the room and looked at some of the frames on the wall. The man had his back to her, he was staring outside through the dark, thick curtain.

"How long have you known him?"

The question caught her off-guard. Who was he referring to?

Elena spun around to see that Bo was still looking outside, still not looking at her.

"Who?"

"Your boyfriend."

Finally, he turned around and regarded her in serious silence, his ice eyes piercing.

She fixed her eyes on him as well – starting to sense something different. The way he was looking at her now; it reminded her of when the redneck earlier was leering in her direction. Her body tensed, not liking where this was going.

Despite her sudden anxiousness, she decided to answer anyway, "Oh, a few years."

One of Elena's hands clutched the wooden table behind her. There was something different in his eyes.

But she didn't like it so far.

Not one bit.

"Right." Bo said, nodding. His eyes never detached.

She felt naked under his scrutiny.

Elena shifted uneasily, very closely watching his every step and move.

Achingly slowly, he started to advance a step towards her.

Elena clutched the table behind her in a tougher grip – trying to anticipate the next move.

"You're still so young." Bo commented, almost softly as he stopped and inspected a vase of decayed roses.

A frown knitted her olive complexion as the man caressed the dead petals in a seductive manner.

"So young, fresh, and supple." He slid one of the long stems from the vase, his thumbs stroking the thorns. "Much like these roses before they withered away." His eyes slowly peered up from the rose and into Elena's chocolate orbs.

"Bo…" Elena warned, growing more anxious.

"That boyfriend of yours…" Bo spat as if it left a horrid taste in his mouth.

"Stefan…" She corrected hotly, defense pouring out.

"He can't give you what I can give you…" He whispered, staring her down, silently daring her to do something.

Elena stood her ground, even though she was incredibly terrified on the inside.

"Didn't you say you were going to get the fan belt?" she asked, afraid to know the answer.

A grin that heavily reminded her of the Cheshire cat, Bo shrugged carelessly before saying truthfully, "I lied."

There it was.

Her hands slicked with sweat and her insides twisted horribly.

"You lied." Elena repeated, the words tasting foreign in her mouth.

"Afraid so, sweetheart." He was still caressing the dead rose in his hands, regarding her with a sick deadly expression.

They both stared at each other, time seemed to have frozen.

Thinking quickly, Elena reached behind her, and with quick reflexes she didn't even know she possessed, she chucked a glass item at Bo as hard as she could.

Blocking the glass with his hand, a shard managed to slash him in the cheek and he released a nasty curse.

Elena used this opportunity to run into the opposite direction and into another room with a huge pool table located in the center. Her heart thundering, the brunette deftly grabbed a poker iron from the fireplace to protect herself.

All of a sudden…

Every light inside the house was shut off.

Elena was surrounded by darkness.

"Stefan!" she cried out desperately.

Guilt plagued her as she nearly forgot all about him. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes as she protectively held the iron in front of her, ready to strike if necessary.

Tears of shame rolled down her cheeks.

The entire time…

Bo was a fraud and Elena was too stupid to realize it.

"Stefan!" she called out again.

From upstairs, she heard a tumble, as if somebody fell down in a harsh manner.

"Stefan!"

She had to get to him before Bo did something. Blindly running in the darkness, Elena crashed into several things, trying to find her way to the staircase.

Feeling the banister, Elena sprinted up the steps, smashing into walls, attempting to find her boyfriend before it was too late.

"Stefan!" She felt the frame of a door. She tried to open it but it was locked. She could hear struggling from the inside. "Stefan! Leave him alone, you son of a bitch!" She screamed, going crazy as she smashed the iron into the door several times.

"Elena!" Stefan's panicked voice sounded from the other side.

Sobs tore out of Elena's chest as she pounded the door, trying to open it. "Stefan! Stefan! No! Please, don't hurt him!"

More noises of struggling happened on the other side of the door and Elena continued to release harsh sobs as she pounded uselessly on the door.

Finally, the room inside grew silent.

Deadly silent.

"No… no… no…" She repeated softly, her fists clenching angrily as she smashed the door, bruises already forming. "Stefan! Oh God! You bastard! You fucking bastard! No! No!"

Before she could comprehend what happened next, the lights suddenly snapped back on, momentarily blinding her vision.

As her clarity resolved, a force knocked himself into her.

She was caught off-guard completely, in the process, also losing her weapon. It clattered down the stairs somewhere.

Her head knocked harshly against the wooden floor.

"You're making this more difficult than it needs to be."

She recognized the voice and looked up into the man's eyes – those eyes that deceived and played her for a fool.

"Why?" She pathetically whispered, her face red and swollen from tears.

Bo chuckled sinisterly and straddled her waist, using his weight to pin the woman down.

A surge of anger built up inside and with all her strength, Elena reached up with her hand and smacked him as hard as she could on the cheek.

Bo wasn't expecting this – he was expecting her to pathetically give up. The previous victims he encountered always gave up.

This was unexpected.

Not done, Elena used his shocked moment to reach her knee up and harshly connect with his groin.

A groan of obvious pain left him and Elena used the final opportunity to punch him not-too-gently in the jaw.

That force was enough to knock him off her.

Scrambling up to her feet, Elena was prepared to make a run for it before his hand caught her ankle, resulting her falling down the stairs.

Every portion of Elena's body was on fire as she finally ended down at the bottom of the stairs. She was starting to feel extremely dizzy and weak. Lifting her head up, she saw Bo starting to get up from upstairs.

Quickly getting up, ignoring the horrible pain, Elena sprinted to the front door. She noticed a pair of keys hanging up. Snatching them, she ripped the door open. She heard loud footsteps from behind her.

She quickened her sprint.

Only she stopped when she looked at the truck – more particularly the headlights. One of them was smashed.

It all dawned on her like a ton of bricks.

Bo was the creepy trucker at the campsite last night.

The truck parked in the driveway being her only option, Elena swiftly jumped through the open window of the truck. Managing to successfully crawl through the window, she rolled the glass back up just as Bo smashed against the car.

Panicked, she locked the door and stabbed the keys in the ignition.

"Open the damn door, Elena!" Bo folded his arms together, looking at her like a scolded child.

"Fuck you!" Elena spat, glaring.

He smirked and smashed one of his elbows against the window without warning. Elena screamed as he reached inside and tried to pull her out. She crawled across the seats, gripping the end as he pulled.

She tried to kick him with no success.

With no other option, Elena reached forward and twisted the keys in the ignition.

The truck roared to life.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded from the outside.

Wordlessly, Elena made the truck go in reverse. She reached down and pressed her hand to the gas, nearly flooring it.

Bo held on to the truck as it speeded from his driveway backwards. He was still holding on to her legs and Elena quickly thought of a way to get rid of him.

She maneuvered her hand towards the brake and smashed it to the floor. Instantly, the truck stopped dangerously and much to her delight, Bo flew off the truck, landing not-so-gracefully on the grass.

Snatching her legs inside, Elena gripped the steering wheel, pulling herself up to a sitting position, and attempted to drive away from the town.

Elena stepped on the gas and spun the truck around.

There was only one problem.

She was stuck.

One of the truck's wheels fell off the slope.

"No!" Elena whispered in horror, looking behind her in the broken window. "This isn't happening!"

Quickly reaching into her pocket, Elena pulled out her cell phone and attempted to dial a number.

"You're definitely different from the rest of them, I'll give you that."

Before Elena could look up from her phone, she felt a blow to her head.

Bo smirked and instantly ripped the door open. Much to his sick delight, the girl was out cold. He striked her pretty rough. But it was necessary.

She certainly almost managed to escape him and the thought of that entertained him, for some odd reason.

Snatching the keys from the ignition, he placed them in his pocket before grabbing the unconscious girl and slinging her over his shoulder.

Daylight was slowly fading away into darkness as the man carried his victim back into his home, softly closing the door behind them.

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Date Posted: 08/22/14

A/N: Thank you so much for all the positive feedback that I've been receiving from everyone :D I think the next chapter is definitely going to earn it's rightful place in the M rating category.

I hope you all enjoyed and were on the edge of your seats during this chapter XD

Of course, please review :D

- Nina