10: Travel the World and the Seven Seas.
When Elena opened her eyes and found herself in the backseat of Damon's Camaro she started to panic. Alice rolled her eyes from the passenger's seat, arms crossed over her chest. "Trust me, bitch tits, I ain't thrilled about this either."
"Bitch tits?" the brunette muttered with bewilderment. "What the hell is this?"
"A kidnapping," Alice replied flatly.
Damon rolled his eyes. "Quit being so melodramatic."
"She was unconscious from a car accident and you practically threw me in the car. That, by the eyes of the law, classifies as kidnapping. Remind me to get a whistle."
"Well the law isn't so clear cut when you're a vampire now is it?" He quipped back. She pursed her lips and stared out the window.
Elena watched the way Damon teased her, poking at her side until she looked at him. She cursed at him, resisting the urge to clock him because he was driving. He made a stupid comment and she moved her hand to slap him. Elena watched as he laughed and grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers and slamming their hands down on the center console. She was sure the force cracked the plastic inside. She noticed the way Alice kept playing with her hair with her free hand and frequently recrossed her legs different ways. No matter how many times she called him a jackass and he told her she was crazy they both smiled.
Elena eventually smiled too. They had fallen in love with each other.
"Really, Damon?" Alice chastised as they stared up at a sign that read 'Bree's Bar' in neon lights. "A dive bar? You really know the way to a woman's heart." She snickered.
Elena got out of the car and stretched her legs; she wasn't ecstatic about the bar. "I'm not old enough," she argued as Damon forced the other ravenette out of the car. "They're not going to let me in."
"By all consideration," he replied as he flung Alice over his shoulder, "Alice here is barely twenty. And stuck at that mind you. They'll let you both in." He ushered Elena inside with Alice pounding on his back. He only set her down when they entered the bar.
"No, no," Alice heard a woman drawl. "It can't be. Damon? My honey pie!" The woman came up, grabbed Damon's face and kissed him.
Elena snickered at Alice's expression. She looked ready to rip the woman's face off. Elena enjoyed seeing that side of Alice, jealous and protective of something. She knew the last time the raven haired girl cared about anyone so deeply it was her sister. She recalled once when Jeremy threw sand in Devora's face and hair, making her cry, and Alice got revenge by scaring him with a wolf mask. Vicky had teased Devora and gotten a fist in her face for it.
"Bree," Damon greeted, "this is my brother's girl, Elena. And the little spitfire to my left is Alice Monrovia."
Bree smiled at her, also acknowledging the green aura coming off of her. "A Monrovia; there's a name I haven't heard in some time. How'd he rope you in, sweetness?" She asked as she poured drinks for everyone.
Alice's face turned bright red. "Wh-what's that supposed to mean? I'm not roped in anywhere with anyone!"
Elena liked the way Damon laughed and wrapped an arm around her, keeping his other free to drink. They got into talking about the Katherine/Elizabeth's crystal and how if he didn't have it there was no way to break the spell on the tomb. He seemed discouraged but blew it off to drink. At one point, he turned to Alice and asked if she was as bad at darts as she is at pool. She laughed and Elena was confused.
"I hustled him at pool," Alice explained. "I told him I'd never played and sank three balls on my break. We were evenly matched but my dumbass scratched on the 8-ball." She laughed.
"A cute little thing like you hustled Damon Salvatore?" Bree questioned curiously. "I never thought I'd see the day. Tell me, sweetheart, what is your relationship with him? You two are adorably close."
Alice stuttered and sputtered at a loss for words. She felt Damon snake both of his arms around her abdomen. He put his head on her shoulder and grinned. "Alice is my girlfriend," he replied simply with a kiss on her cheek.
She swore she was going to pass out. Should she fangirl? Should she run the hell in the other direction? She wanted nothing more than to scream at the top of her lungs, really.
"And she's about to get her ass kicked at darts." Damon's voice snapped her from her thoughts. She blinked and stood, meeting eyes with Elena as he took her hand and dragged her away.
Elena saw her mouth 'What the fuck?! ' to her as he pulled her along. She smiled and laughed.
The brisk cold hit Alice's skin and she smiled, breathing it in. Elena huffed and jumped a little when the ravenette surprised her. "Sounds like that conversation went shitty," she commented.
Elena sighed, leaning against the wall. "I had to call my aunt and just after I dealt with that Stefan called."
"I take it it didn't go well."
"He knew I looked like Katherine, Alice. This entire time. And he never said anything. What am I supposed to do about that?" She then realized who she was talking to and apologized.
Alice shook her head, dismissing the apology. "You're supposed to keep going," she told the brunette honestly. "So you and Katherine share the same face. Yeah, that adds plus like a zillion on the creep factor scale," Elena laughed a little, "but you're not supposed to run away with your tail between your legs. This chick is supposed to be all that and a bag of chips. Well let me tell you in my experience with chips that bag is half air just like she's half ego I'm sure." Elena laughed more. "You have the same face. I guarantee you your personalities are polar opposites and Stefan genuinely fell for you for you. He probably saw your face and it freaked him out so he did a double take, realized you're nothing like her, and boom fell in love." She shrugged.
Elena stared at her sympathetically. "Why are you trying so hard to get her back then if you're so in love with Damon?"
Alice's eyes widened as she stared forward. "Don't use words you don't understand."
"You know it's true though, don't you? That you and Damon love each other?"
Her expression fell. "Don't use words I don't understand."
"Alice anyone can see it. It's right in my face for god's sake today. I've been watching you two all day. He already called you his girlfriend!"
"Until his real girlfriend is released."
Elena surprised her by grabbing her by the upper arms. "Take your own advice, Alice. You don't even look like Katherine! You and Damon come from similar backgrounds. You get along. You understand each other. He probably saw you that first day and thought about killing you but he didn't so he kept coming back for more and boom, fell in love."
She shook her head, sadness creeping up in her grey eyes. "What Damon and I have is only temporary until Katherine comes back to take what's hers."
"Damon hasn't been hers in over a century if he ever even was. Why don't you fight for what's yours?"
She blinked, taking in the brunette's words. She realized the girl's hands were still on her but they had gone from forcing her attention to comforting her. She looked to the ground. "Katherine's so much older than me," she admitted with sorrow. "They have a history together. I wouldn't stand a chance."
"Their history is just that, Alice: history. What Damon's managed to form with you is something greater than that. I sometimes think it's even greater than what Stefan and I have."
"What are you talking about? How long have you contemplated this?"
Elena smiled at her. "It's been a while, Alice. We've all seen it. Damon fell in love with you even harder than he did Katherine just as you fell for him. You're both hopeless." She shook her head, still smiling. "So guarded and afraid and that's why you both lash out. Think about it, Alice." She rubbed the girl's arm before turning and heading inside.
The chime of the door rang through Alice's ears, the small bell on her crystal mimicking the noise. She stood in her spot unmoving with her jaw dropped. Was there even a sliver of a chance that Elena was right? That Damon fell for her harder than Katherine? If that was the case, why was he still trying to free Katherine? She ran her hands through her hair and let out a groan, realizing her heart was thumping madly. She delicately slipped a hand over her chest, feeling the pounding through her skin. With a sigh she reached for the door. A hand grabbed her mouth from behind and dragged her away.
"Where's Alice?" Damon questioned.
Elena looked behind her to the door with confusion. "She should have been right behind me. We were just talking outside."
The two ran outside and didn't find Alice. Damon could pick up the scent of her perfume and someone else. She was taken. Elena didn't miss the way he got heated when he made the connection. Someone came up behind Damon and struck him. Elena jumped back in fear as the two began to fight. The man dragged Damon down the street and she followed quietly where she found Alice hung upside down over a pile of wood shards soaked with gasoline.
"Got yourself a feisty girlfriend, man," the stranger told Damon, beating him down into the pile of wood. "Figured since you killed mine, I'd kill yours."
"And you are?" Damon struggled, the wood digging into his skin.
"Lexi's boyfriend, Lee," he replied coldly, flicking a lighter. "Got your lady strung up there with a vervain soaked rope that continues to shred the more she tries to fight. And she does love to fight."
Elena watched the way Damon got angry and fought against the pain to hit Lee. Lee pushed him back into the wood pile. Out of the blue something whizzed by Elena. All she could see was a black, red, and brown blur. The blur knocked the lighter from Lee's hand and flung him into a branch, impaling him. A snap came from Alice's rope and she screamed, starting to fall. Damon fought to catch her through the pain, surprised when the blur whizzed by his eyes with his raven haired damsel.
Alice was placed on her feet and the blur was gone. She stood where she was placed as Damon forced himself up. Elena questioned her if she was alright. A shaky hand touched her face as she stared after the blur. "I'd know that scent of Bath and Body Works and dirt anywhere," her voice came out in a whisper. "That was Dev…"