Hey readers.
I am completely sorry at how long it took me to write this chapter. I was thinking were I should go, or focus on. Plus, I don't know what I am going to do for the next few episodes/chapters, so it might take me a little bit to figure that out. I promise I will try to update every week but school is starting again on Monday. Yay. If I don't, just don't hate me please.
This chapter focus a lot on Damon and Josie. I know, I know. I am team Delena as well. I swear they will happen, and the consequences with relationships because of that.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 10: Dinner and a Funeral
I should have let Damon die.
Right now, I feel like I had been ripped, chewed, and digested by werewolves. My muscles were sore, the bundle of fibers tight and are hard as stone. On the bright side, my skin wasn't burning and tender as usual. I just feel like I worked out for hours at the gym. Maybe just shifting is equivalent to exercising. This thought pleased me. I just discovered a new weight loss program for myself.
I hear the familiar footsteps entering my room, and then came the voice that go along with them, "Well, I heard it from Sheriff Forbes, who heard it from a very distraught Carol Lockwood. Thus, ending our werewolf chapter, bringing us to…"
From my position, which is face down between the pillows, I roll over onto my side to glare at Damon, who looked like he wasn't doing anything wrong. This simple task caused all the tight muscles pull in reluctance. The drowsiness from my eyes tells me that I didn't get enough sleep. He smiles a greeting to me, while he flips a dragger in his hands to emphasize, or anticipate, shoving the instrument into the original vampire's million-year-old heart. Damon could not wait to do that to Elijah, while I couldn't wait to go back to bed.
He was talking on the phone, probably with my cousin or his brother. I had a few more seconds before he would turn his full attention towards me. With a loud huff, I plummet back down into the folds of warmth. The blankets and pillows happily swallowing me back in comfort.
"Exactly." He states, still on the phone.
Yep, definitely should have let him died. Sleep is very important to me. You have to be an even more important person in order for me to interrupt this special alone time. He nudges my shoulder, which causes me to gasp inwardly at the contact. Any movement, external or internal is going to be hell. He nudged me again when I didn't respond to acknowledge the initial contact. I growled a low rumple of warning. If he were going to touch me again, he knows that he would get something unpleasant in return.
"Well I got a crafty little dagger. Oh trust me Stefan, I 'm gonna dot all my T's. I don't want any surprises. Yes, Stefan, I've become you. Got to run. I've a murder to plan. Busy day." He hangs up changing course from murder to sunshine, "What are you still doing in bed? It's a beautiful morning." This time he was talking to me. I still hadn't decided if he was worth interrupting my special alone time.
It didn't help that he was way too chipper for me too. "Go away." I grumbled, burrowing even further into my sanctuary.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. What's wrong with my baby bear, the bed not just right?"
Oh god, not another nickname. "What is wrong is that I am not sleeping." The words were muffled, lost in the pleasant abyss, but he still understood me.
He moved away from the side of bed, which should have alarmed me. Believing he finally left, he proved me wrong by ripping the covers off, exposing me to the cold. "Bet you're awake now."
I curled myself into a tight ball, trying to savor the warmth, "Why do you torment me? What have I done to you? I saved your life." I tried to replace the pillows as my blanket to savor the depleting warmth. It wasn't working the way I wanted.
He rolls the blanket into a messy ball and throws it aside, "I will take that as a thank you. Now get up." He takes the pillows as well, one at a time, "You've been sleeping too long. You need to get out, get some air." He throws them along with the blanket, all far enough from me not to be able to reach for.
I throw the last pillow that I clung too at him, not caring about the pain that it inflicted on me doing so, or that now I lost all the reasons for staying in bed, "Does it look like I can rejoin the world?" I snap at him, upset that he disregarded my feelings about the scars and burns covering every inch and every part of me. The world wasn't ready for me yet, and I felt the same way about it.
Leaning in close to me, supporting himself on the edge of the bed, "Well, you look pretty good to me." He smiles that devilishly smile. He nods towards the mirror, hinting that I should take look at my reflection.
My eyes lower, screeching for any sign that he was messing with me. I look down at my arms to see that my skin was normal again. I screamed with more delight than surprise. I jumped from the bed to look at the mirror hanging against the wall, shortly not feeling any of the soreness.
Every part of me, that I saw, was smooth and supple again. There was no indication of any damage. It was a complete miracle. It only took me a few days to heal externally, however it felt like a lifetime. Everything was just as it was before, until I saw my chest. Right above my heart, where Klaus placed his final blow, that was supposed to end me, was something that was hard to comprehend medically.
Some of the skin was slightly discolored, darker than my natural color. If I looked closer, I could see it was a distinct design, thin, swirling vines with attaching leaves, spreading its way from the core of my heart to cover my left breast, almost reaching the bottom of my neck. I had never seen anything like this before. If it wasn't permanently on my skin I would have thought it was cool, but since I know where it came from, it was just a horrible reminder. A reminder that literally will never be forgotten, or ever leave me. In addition, being internally damaged wasn't bad enough already.
It must have come from the electrical shock. The amount of voltage that coursed through that area must have scared the skin tissue. The lines that looked like vines were probably my veins and arteries. The leaves looking things were something I couldn't explain. They were out of my scope of knowledge about the human anatomy. In some way, this brought some comfort, because I was scared of knowing the truth behind the scar. Or whatever it was.
"Now, there's my pretty girl." Damon places his hands on my shoulders, glad to see me happy.
I roll my eyes, "Such the charmer." My fingers grazed the new mark. It was smooth just like everywhere else, not rough or coarse like scars or burns usually are. It was as if it was actually my skin.
"Just for my best girl. How are you feeling? Besides the obvious." He eyed the place I touched, but thankfully didn't comment. He probably will later though.
"Much better, I just feel sore." I rolled my neck, hearing small pops to empathize the tension in the muscles, "It's probably from the shifting. My body wasn't ready." I moved my hand to rub the back of my neck, feeling the bulging knot.
He begins to stroke that area, his thumb digging into the center of the bunched bundle of fibers. I exhale sharply, as the ball starts to unravel under the pressure. He was good at this. "If I could, I would do this all day, but I have to get going." He presses his thumb deeper, "Come with me."
I watch Damon work on my neck in the mirror, our eyes catching contact at his last statement. I would rather he stay here and let him cure me everywhere. "Not today, I think I just need one more day of solitude." When I finished declining him, the knot gave in, finally releasing.
"Alright." He removes his grip from around my neck, sliding the tips of his fingers along the beginning of my spine, to about my shoulder blades. The physical contact caused goose bumps to erupt across my flesh.
It took me a few tries to get out what I wanted to say, "Give my regards to the world outside." I lightly brush my fingers against the fragile area, finding it satisfied, along with the goose bumps.
He stops a brief second, hand on the doorframe, almost debating whether to leave or not, "I will. I'm sure it misses you." He smiles, moving his way out of the room. I guess he chose to leave, while I chose to sacrifice my sleep for him. I hope this is not a foreshadowing.
Damon leaves me there, recovering from his touch, which was so intimate. He was only helping me out, yet it felt different to me, almost sensual and pleasurable. The place he kneaded felt better, however, my other parts needed his assistance. However, I was on my own to fix myself. In addition, maybe he was worth cutting my special time short, even if he left.
Ugh, I need to get ahold of myself.
For the rest of day, while Damon was away, I tried everything to get rid of my soreness. I took a long warm bath, with aromatherapy to help relax. The bath salts smelled good, and cleared my sinus, but that was it. Afterwards, I tried to stretch, doing yoga poses from what I could remember. There was little success from all those techniques. It all had to do with my mind.
There was too much going on inside there. There was just a cluster of thoughts, which I was unable to abolish. These things were leading me to more stress, therefore to lose focus.
Damon, Damon, Damon. He was the main star of my distractions. He has been plaguing me for too long, and it was just getting worse. I was becoming annoyed at my escalating attraction to him, mentally and most definitely physically. He did things to me, stirred things inside that no one else had accomplished before. I am a strong person, but he makes me feel vulnerable. I was cruel to him, but now all I feel is compassion. I use to hate him, now…I feel for him.
I wonder if that is how Elena feels towards him.
No, I will not go there. I can't.
For the hundredth time I did the downward dog, the muscles, in the multiple areas this position targets, screamed out in resistance. Yet, I pushed from my hands, feeling the pull through the shoulders, down my back, toward the heels of my feet.
"Now this is what I like to walk in on." Damon declares, standing in the doorway.
At the sudden announcement of his presence, it startles me and gravity takes ahold. I fall right onto my shoulder, which takes the full impact of my weight. "You really know how to bring a girl down." I whine, rolling onto my back.
"Sometimes not the way I like." He reaches out his free hand. The other one held a garment carrier. He pulls me up in one easy movement, alarmingly close to his face with mine, "How's trying to heal your body going?" His breath swept over my face, dazzling me at how good it smelled.
To clear my head, I took a step to the side, "So far, unsuccessful." I breathed out, almost in a pout at failure. I turn away to wipe the sweat from my face. It was embarrassing to be perspiring like crazy with a hot guy right in front of you. I hope that I didn't stink. I really worry a lot about my body odor. Especially since even Damon's breath smelled good.
It had been a few hours since I last saw Damon, but the spot he fondled itched to experience him again. Some other places itched to experience him too. Whoa, calm down now. I thought to myself, trying to forget about those certain places.
He comes to stand beside me, and then wiggles his fingers, offering them, "My hands are at your beck and call."
"I'll make an appointment later." I dismiss the offer, using the towel to wipe the spot to make the itch stop. Hopefully, also ceasing the other itches.
"Don't leave them waiting too long now."
There was another moment we shared. For a few seconds we stood there, watching one another, waiting. I don't know what for though. It made me feel like I was the only one he wanted. My cousin wasn't on his mind, it was just me. He opened his mouth to say something. I observed intently the bottom lip, remembering their taste. He pulls it back against his top lip changing his mind, very much to my disappointment. Since this morning, there has been this tension between us, and it's just been building. Now that I think about it, maybe it has been amplifying since we met.
He swings the garment carrier, placing it between us, momentarily slicing through that tautness, "I got you something."
I raise a curious eyebrow, "What for?"
"Does there have to be a reason?" He cocks his lips to side, doing his sexy smirk.
"Damon, everything you do is for a reason." I take the garment carrier, gently laying it down on my still unmade bed.
"Okay, that might be true." He rolls his eyes.
I unzip the bag, the first thing I saw was a ton of tissue keeping the piece of clothing safe. At first, I was gentle with it and then they grew annoying so I started to rip them. I couldn't wait anymore, I wanted so badly to see what Damon got me. I stopped ripping when I felt something soft. It was so soft that it must have been silk.
With even more gentleness, I removed the dress. The main color was emerald green that reached down the dress where, almost touching my knees, it lightens to sea foam white. At the bottom, there are delicately placed designs of white blooming flowers, outlined by the green.
"Wow Damon, I never would have guessed you had taste. You always wear the same things." I kind of complimented, and kind of teased. I held the material against me, already knowing it would fit. He knows my size because of all the times he has seen me naked.
I went to the mirror to examine myself, "Why green though?" I ask. Black and blue were my usual colors.
"You needed some variety." He does his Damon face, which consisted of widening then lowering his eyelids, while moving his eyebrows upwards, and twisting his lips in his signature smirk. Somehow, this became my face facial expression of his. It was so mischievous, practically sinful.
I titled my chin up, acting as if I was offended, "Maybe you should practice what you preach."
"Give me that dress back." He reaches towards it. He was still holding that smirk.
I twisted away from his clutches, gripping tightly to my new possession, "You look good, calm down." I mocked, returning the dress to where it was safe in the garment carrier. "Now, the reason for the dress?"
"I'm having a dinner party, with Elijah as the guest of honor. Or dishonor, depends on how you look at it."
"Do you really think that's smart Damon?" I sit down on the bed, leaning back on my forearms. "It seems a little funny that you're inviting him over. I mean, if I was Elijah, I would be suspicious and watching you carefully."
"Oh, I know he is. That's why I also invited your aunt. Dissolve some of that suspicion. He thinks I won't do anything in front of her, but -" He eases that important information into the conversation.
My eyes widened in shock, and I interrupt him, "What? Jenna is coming over here?"
"Yep, so it's also Elijah's funeral and a family reunion. Two for one. You're welcome." He smiles at me as if he solved world hunger in two seconds.
"Thanks for telling me now." I was starting to freak out a little bit. I knew I was supposed to see my aunt sometime soon, but not today soon.
"Why? You look normal again. There is nothing to freak out about." He shrugs as if it wasn't a big deal.
"She's going to wonder what I'm doing here. Also, I wanted one more day to myself." I cover my face with my hands, stressed even more so.
He waves it off, "Just say I invited you. And you do not need any more time. Stop putting off the inevitable." He provokes me, pushing me.
"Yeah, that's totally a good explanation. As for the second part, good point." I mumble, knowing that he was right.
"Isn't it? I know what I am doing Josie."
"Get out." I point towards the door.
He walks backwards towards the exit. Before he disappears around the corner he says, "You're welcome for the dress."
"Thanks, it's perfect for a funeral."
With a sigh, I fall back onto the bed, already dreading the dinner party. I know my aunt, she is going to know something is up and I will have to lie to her again.
What I am I going to do with my hair?
For sure, Andie is going to be here tonight. I sigh, rolling over on to my side, forgetting that my muscles hated any kind of movement. Tonight was going to suck.
Damon didn't even give me a time to be ready by. How is he even going feed this people? I don't want to know. All these silly questions were just clustering my head even more so, and it was already full up there. Soon it was going to burst.
Maybe for my hair I'll leave it natural. No, it looks better straight. What would Damon like?
Son of a bitch! I have a problem.
A few hours later of just laying around pondering, I finally decided on what I was doing with my hair. I already washed it this morning so I just rewetted it, reviving the curls. I pulled a few of them back, away from my face, tying them with a hair tie. My hair cascaded down my back, flowing nicely because of the layers. The ponytail gave me some volume, and made me almost look like a Greek Goddess.
For my makeup, I went simple. Usually, I would have done smoky but I toned it down with earthly tones of brown to compliment the color of my skin and eyes. The rest was light foundation, a rosy cheek stain, and a classic pink lip-gloss.
When I put on my dress, everything came together nicely, especially when I put on my white flats. What now Andie? Great, I haven't even seen the girl and I was already talking crap.
Damon was already downstairs with her, setting up. I was going to go help him, but she showed up and I decided to stay up here in the safe zone. Now, it was time for me to rejoin the world.
I had to admit I was a little scared at first, but Damon was right. I couldn't keep putting this off, even if I was sore as hell. With a big smile on my face, I descended the stairs, trying not to remember that last time I was here I was saving Damon. I heard the voice that made me want to run upstairs, but also run to it at the same time.
"Oh I am so grateful that Damon tells me everything." Ugh. That voice was Andie, which I automatically roll my eyes.
On that cue, I entered the dining room, "Hey Jenna."
She turns around quickly at the sound of my voice, "Jo!" She exclaimed, soon convinced that it was really me when we made eye contact. We wrapped our arms around each other. It felt so good to be in her tiny arms.
"What are you doing here?" She asks, breaking our hug, but not our contact as she held onto both my arms.
For a second I went blank, soon the lies will come that I have to tell her. "Damon invited me." At least that wasn't a lie.
Her eyes squinted, taken back by my answer, "Why would he invite you?" I could already see her mind working, imagining things that weren't true. Maybe not entirely.
Our reunion was shorted lived, also stopping the soon interrogation, when someone announced his or her presence at the door. She goes to answer it, since Andie left to the other room. She leaves me for a brief second, and yet I already miss her.
The other side of the door shows Uncle John. Damon left out that he was going to be here too. He can make someone feel so out of the loop.
"Who invited him?" Jenna sighs, already annoyed at him before he even steps into the house.
Damon walks around the corner, not pleased either, "John. Surprise. Leave." Okay, he didn't know he was going to be here either. It makes me feel a little bit better.
John sees me, which it catches him totally off guard, "Hey Jo, nice to see you again." He greets me, bypassing Damon, who notices me after John acknowledged me.
"Hi, Uncle John." I smiled slightly, not going in for a hug, even though he was about to go in for one.
"When Jenna told me she was coming to a dinner party for Elijah, I decided that I couldn't miss out on all of the fun and games." He tells to Damon. And people hate Damon, I think everyone hates Uncle John more. "So, Jo, when did you get back? You look good."
Before I could even answer, Jenna just walks away, taking me along with her. We leave the room to where the table was set up. She was marking her territory that I was her family, meaning I was on team Jenna. As soon as we rounded the corner, another notification goes off, indicating that someone is here.
"I think that's Elijah." My aunt leaves me again, to either confirm or deny her hypothesis.
"Yeah, you go find out." I say, feeling a little displeasure at her excitement.
"Jenna. Wonderful to see you again. You look incredible." The vampire's voice fills the room.
I fought the urge to throw up. "Is there any brandy around?" I ask at loud to myself, not looking forward to this dinner. Damon and Andie will be cup caking, and Jenna with Elijah will be making goo-goo eyes at each other. This was not going to be a good time.
"Thank you." She replied, a smile very evident in her tone.
Yeah, this dinner was going to suck. I said it once, and I am going to keep saying it until it's over. All too soon the guest started to herd into the room I was already waiting in. I waited for everyone to sit because I didn't know where I should be placed. I assumed Andie would sit next to her, for now, man, but she didn't.
The table only had room for six, Damon placed me next to him, thankfully positioning Jenna between her friend and me. Small conversation was already flowing, nothing that I was interested in. I seemed so out of place with these adults, even though I was twenty-one.
"I have to say, Josie, you look beautiful tonight. That dress, where ever you go it, has excellent taste." Damon purrs as he pushes my chair in, directing where I would sit. Is he trying to stir some trouble?
I didn't even know he was behind me until he spoke, "Oh, this old thing? I found it in my closet, never been worn." I brush the compliment off, hoping to defuse the trouble he probably started. Take that smartass.
Jenna eyed us, watching our reactions to one another, "So Josie, have you seen Tyler? No one's seen him for a while."
I turned my attention towards her, just moving from one uncomfortable subject to another. "I have no idea." I shrug, getting a little warm under her curious gaze.
"Huh, I wondered with all that time you guys spent together." She takes a bit, all the while studying my reaction at the mention of Tyler.
I shrugged again, hoping she will leave me alone, at least for now, "It's not any of my business."
While Jenna filled Damon's glass of wine, she moves onto him, "I hate to break it to you Damon but according to Elijah your family is so not the founder of this town." She suddenly switches gears to my relief.
Before he takes a drink, "Hmm, do tell." He winks at me. Thankfully, no one caught that. He loves stirring up crap.
Elijah answers with that suave accent, and proper posture, "Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a fraction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690's. Over the next hundred years, they developed this community where they could feel safe from prosecution." Well isn't he so knowledge. Walking the earth since the day it was created sure did help.
"Hmm, because they were witches." Jenna jokes, taking another bite enjoying conversing with Elijah.
"Yeah, but there's no tangible proof there were witches in Salem." Andie interjects. Obviously, she's compelled not to remember anything about the secret supernatural population in Mystic Falls. It shows that Damon doesn't trust her.
I hold back a snort, while Damon and I shared a look. More than half the guests here know what is out there in the world. Almost half the guests here were a part of that secret population.
Damon sarcastically explains to Elijah, "Andie's a journalist. Big on facts."
"Well, the lore says that was this wave of anti-witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighboring settlement, so these witches were rounded-up, they were tied to stake in a field together and, uh, burned." Elijah counters. He said all this to Jenna, like he really only wanted to talk to her. As if he knew he was looking at Jenna too much, he turned to her boyfriend, "Some say you could hear the screams from miles around us. They were consumed by the fire. Could you pass the…"
Stop looking at her. I thought to myself, barely touching my food. It tasted good, Damon can cook even if I never seen him do it.
"I wouldn't repeat this to the historical society." Jenna takes a drink of her wine. Andie laughs at the semi-joke.
"It's starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me." John adds his input to the conversation.
"Or someone who was there." I whispered before taking a drink myself. Damon and Elijah were the only one who heard me.
"So why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?"
Elijah was irritated at the question, even though it was a simple one. He knew Damon was asking him something he intended of hiding. "You know…a healthy historian's curiosity, of course."
Damon smirks, knowing the place where the witches was sacrifices was of importance to the old vampire, "Of course."
Knowing the room was filling with tension, "So the food is really good." Damn, that was lame.
"Yes, I quite agree with Josephine. It has been a while since I had a home cooked meal." Elijah compliments, smiling charming the women, minus me of course. I was still shivering at the way he said my name. "How long have you been in Mystic Falls?"
I took another bit of food, trying avoid any awkwardness that I was feeling. I didn't realized he asked me a question. "Miss Sommers?"
"Oh, that's not her last name, it's Russo." Jenna steps in.
"Really? So you're Italian?" I should have just stayed quite. Elijah switched his concentration to me.
"Yes, my father side is." I replied, desiring so much not to talk to him, especially about myself. He could gather any information and use it against me.
"Her mother is one of my sisters." Jenna takes another step in my business, giving more information to the calculating vampire, the master manipulator. If she gave anymore, I swear he'd know my date of birth and social security number, both the American and the Italian one.
"Parli italiano?" Speak Italian. He asks, speaking my father's native language.
"Un po." A little. I answer, feeling like he was going to say he was going to kill me in Italian and no one else would know what he was actually saying; expect maybe Damon, but I was not entirely sure.
"Where are your parents?"
"Why, are you going to tell on me?"
"What is there to tell?"
"Nothing, I'm completely innocent.
"Then you don't have to worry."
When the dinner had turn toward getting to know me, Damon intervenes, "Does anyone care for some cognac? I have a bottle I've been saving for ages." I breath out the air that I had been holding. I gave a look that Damon would understand was relief.
"None for me thanks. Nine bottles of wine is my limit." Alaric holds of this empty class.
"Josie, come help me." Damon states standing up from his seat.
Then Andie looks at Damon, exchanging some kind of signal , "The gentlemen should take their drinks in the study.
Ewe, stop looking at him like that. Jenna saw my face, which caused her to spark another thought in her mind or help develop the one she already has.
"I have to say the food was almost as wonderful as the company." Elijah tosses his napkin down on his plate. He just so polite, yet evil.
"I like you." Andie points to Elijah.
"Alright slut." I whisper again, walking away with Damon.
"Here you are gentleman, make yourself useful. Hmm?" Jenna hands John a few plates.
"Here, here. Put me to work." I here Alaric say before I stopped listening. She barely even looked at him throughout the dinner. She was so enthralled with Elijah.
I follow Damon and he pours me a drink, which I have been silently begging for since before the dinner started.
"So, let me guess, in addition to the moonstone, the doppelganger, the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, you need to find this witch burial ground." Damon says, handing me the drink. Was face was utterly confused until I saw that he wasn't talking to me.
Elijah walks about the room, casually look, so at ease, "Because I feel as though we've grown so close, Damon, I'll tell you yes. Do you know where it is?"
Damon gives nothing away, "Maybe." He holds out Elijah's drink, "Tell me why it's so important."
He takes it, "We're not that close. It's quite a collection you have here." He turns his back towards Damon.
"Hmm?" Damon, pretends to be interest as he gathers the weapon that will kill Elijah.
"It's a funny thing about books. Before they existed, people actually had memories."
"Uh!" Damon exclaims, hearing the door slam.
Alaric walks briskly in, along with Andie, "Gentlemen, we forgot about dessert."
She waves her slim hand towards outwards, "Elijah." Calling him to follow her.
"Miss Star." He complies, taking her hand. He takes her, and me, by surprise by spinning her, before walking away together.
"I never would have guessed Elijah was such a ladies man." I said, placing my empty drink down to cross my arms puzzled at the revelation.
Damon hits Alaric on the arms for messing up his plan. Who in turn points to the weapon, and neither Damon nor I understand. If we were playing charades, we would have lost, easily. He writes down to clarify that the dagger will kill Damon if he uses it.
The three of us leave the room, but not before, I get myself another drink. This night was about to get crazier. Right as I entered back into the dining room, "Ric, would you do me a favor and grab the notebook out of my bag?" Andie asks Alaric.
Damon, who was sitting in the same seat as he was at dinner, says, "Elijah, did John tell you he's Elena's Uncle/Father?" Okay, maybe I'm not up for this kind of crazy. I was about to turn around and walk away into a different room, but I didn't want to leave Damon, even if he is causing the craziness.
"Yes I'm well aware of that." Elijah answers not at all considered with the matter.
"Of course, she hates him, so there's absolutely no need to keep him on the endangered species list."
What is Damon getting at? I question, wondering why he wants Uncle John dead. I know John is not a good person but he still is family. Sadly he is Elena's father, she hates him but he's a part of her. My father and I don't get along ourselves, but if anything happened to him it would affect me deeply.
"No Ric, it's on the front pocket—you know what? Excuse me, guys. Sorry." Andie stands up from her chair to get her notebook herself.
As she goes around the table, John challenges the oldest person here, "What I'd like to know, Elijah, is how do you intend on killing Klaus?"
"John we should probably get clear right now. I allow you to live solely to keep an eye on Elena. I allow Elena to remain in her house, living her life with her friends as she does as a courtesy. If you become a liability, I'll take her away from you and you'll never see her again." Elijah makes clear to everyone at the table, not just John. He just said if everyone makes the wrong move against him, Elena is gone. I finish the rest of my drink, staring down at the bottom of the glass.
If Damon can't kill Elijah then we're screwed, if we do kill Elijah we would be still screwed? Klaus is still coming for us either way. Does killing Elijah really stop the real danger? Or are we just stopping one of the many.
Andie sits back down, either ignoring or oblivious to the tension surrounding the polished tabled, "Ok. My first question is when you got here to Mystic… "
Elijah screams out. "Ahh!"
We all jump away as Elijah slowly decomposes at the hands of Alaric. We will soon find out how screwed we going to be.
Alaric demands to Damon, taking charge of the situation, "Now, get rid of him before Jenna comes back with dessert."
Damon agrees shocked, maybe somewhat proud, at what his friend had just done, "Alright." He points at me, "You with me. Grab his feet."
I didn't say anything when I listened to Damon's order. He could have done this himself, but maybe he did it so I didn't have to face Jenna so soon. He takes the upper half of the dead vampire, who was super heavy. Good thing he didn't eat any dessert. Damon uses his vampire speed, knowing I would be able to follow the pace, to get to a cellar before the human, that I really care about, witnesses her niece carrying a vampire corpse.
The cellar was a medium sized room with no furnishings, a dirt floor, and a heavily built door. I would actually consider this a dungeon. Thinking about that caused me to feel uneasy. I was just in one not too long ago.
"Just drop him here." Damon instructs.
That seemed a little disrespectfully, even if the guy was a threat to everyone around us, especially my cousin. I dropped him anyways, because he was so heavy. I felt like my back was about to give out, which is weird because I was strong enough to defend myself but not carry a vampire.
"I didn't get anything on my dress?" I check myself, looking for any signs of blood or grime.
He takes a step closer to me, his eyes lowering to their smoldering level, "No, unless you wouldn't mind getting dirty." Damon suggests something that I wasn't really asking for. However, if he did early then I would have considered it.
In addition, this was not a place to get that kind of dirty in. "I'll pass, thanks for the offer though it was sweet." I smile, smoothing down my dress. "Now, I have some lies to tell to Jenna." I turn to take my leave when he stops me.
"Yeah, I think she's onto us." He lifts his hands up as if he was innocent to the cause of her hawk eye gaze on us throughout the dinner.
Placing my hands on my hips, I calmly say, "I saw that too, Alaric and Elena need to tell her the truth." I tried to play it cool, not wanting to give him any content of whatever game he was playing.
"No, I meant us." This time, there was no hint of any mischief or troublemaking in his eyes. This was scaring, yet exciting me.
"Is there something between us?" I ask, wanting to hear him say it, ending the tormenting thought that this was all in my head. I know it was very stupid to do, but I just needed the confirmation.
Alaric walks into the room, ruining yet another moment, "Now, you said there wasn't going to be any violence."
Damon smirks, "Says the guy that did all the killing." He walks out the room, with Alaric bickering at him all the way to the other room.
"Hey, I took the shot because I saw an opening, not because I planned to do this with Jenna in the house. Now, you can't lie to me like that."
Damon just ignores him, taking a sip of his bourbon.
"Hey, I am your friend, damn it. And you don't have any friends. So, no more lying."
"Josie's my friend."
"Yeah, we'll see how long that will last."
"What is that supposed to me?" I jump in, feeling a little defensive myself.
Damon gets an urgent call from his brother, delaying the tension for a moment. He leaves the room at his vampire speed and he returns within seconds. "Come on we have to go." He states, and I grab his hand, heading towards the front door.
"Hold onto this." I toss the moonstone to Alaric.
When we reach the foyer we are stopped shortly, "Where are you two going?" Jenna casually questions, crossing her arms. I immediately drop his hand, practically shoving it away from me.
Crap. I got nothing.
"I ran out of booze. We are going to get more to continue fueling your boyfriend. Be back." Damon smoothly lies with straight face and easy attitude.
"I'll come with you." She was about to pick up her coat when Andie calls to her.
"Jenna stay with me here, don't leave me with all these men. No matter how charming they are."
"Right, bye Jenna." I wave, and Damon takes my hand again, hurrying me outside door, while all the way she watches are connected fingers.
If Elijah doesn't kill me tonight, Jenna will.
"What happened?" I take my seat in the passenger side of Damon's Camaro.
He peels out onto the dirt road, "Elijah's alive. We weren't supposed to take out the dagger."
"Oh, we are going to need all the luck we can get now."
Damon pushed the car to it's almost maximum speed limit, I prayed it wouldn't die on us. "Why didn't we just run? Why do you even have a car when you have vampire speed?"
"Have you seen my car?"
"Yes, I see your point."
"What's the plan of attack? Or defense?"
"Main priority is to not die."
"I thought protecting Elena is number one?"
"I meant for everyone on our team."
"Well, I can't argue with that."
Damon went quiet, thinking to himself. It wouldn't be long before we reached the cabin. He was cutting it close, I mean close. If he conducted a plan, yet he didn't tell me. We pulled into the trail that bends around the side of the cabin. Thick bushes that even a light could not penetrate through hid the car.
"Stay here." He gets out of the car.
"Are you kidding me?" I had my hand on the door knock, ready.
"I need you outside in case Elijah takes off with Elena."
"Don't let him."
"I'll try."
"Do more than that." I pushed.
I waited outside, concealed in the bushes closer than where Damon parked. He has already been inside for a few minutes preparing Elena and Stefan on what they have to do. I hope that it works or I had better be ready to run like hell.
There were footsteps crunching the rocks beneath them. Elijah strolls, sizing up the place taking his time. He takes three stones, aiming them at the house. As if he was skipping a stone on the water, he tosses them. They bust down the front door.
I imagine Elijah playing baseball. It was a scary thought.
Elena stands in front of door, not daring to cross the threshold where he could get to her. They talk and I hear,
"You know I maybe not be able to enter the house, but I'm a very patient man."
I zone out suddenly, feeling a burning sensation in my chest. The mark was stinging, temporarily blinding me with the pain. I thought I was having a heart attack, that's how bad it was. As soon as it came, it was gone, leaving me gasping for air. I touched the mark, it was back to it's normal temperature. That was so weird.
I returned to watching the exchange between Elijah and Elena. I see her on the floor bleeding. I'm about to run out when I remember Damon telling me to stay here. My action could ruin the whole thing.
No matter how painful it was, I stayed in my position, watching my cousin bleed out like how Jenna had done before. I trusted Damon. I trusted him so much that I did nothing but wait until Elijah takes Elena if he does so, just like what he told me to do.
It turns out, that he didn't. As he is about to heal her she stabs him in the heart. When the weapon is plunged into his heart, and he decomposes, I take off. Elijah is dead again, so there is no need for me to stay hidden. Stefan gets to her before I do.
Damon steps out, "Little tip. Don't pull the dagger out."
Good thing I trusted him enough, because his plan worked.
The Camaro's trunk is open. Elijah's body was stuffed inside, and I did not want to lift him up again. "Stefan it's your turn to carry him." I go to Elena's side, standing farther away from the second time dead Elijah. "How you doing?" It's been a little bit since I've seen Elena. She exhales, giving me that 'why me' look. I gather her up in my arms, "I know. One vampire down, another one to go."
"I just wanted a few days for Stefan and me. I don't know how much time we have left together." She looks down, already defeated when we haven't even meet the real threat yet.
"When all this is through you will have all the time in the world." I stoked her arms, giving her some comfort and support.
She just smiles a little bit, just to make me feel better rather than herself. "I'm glad you're healed."
"Me too. I look human again."
"What's that?" She touches the strange mark, eyeing it closely.
"I have no idea. It's probably from the electricity." At least I hoped. The way it looked, and what it did to me earlier, it was starting to worry me.
"Does it hurt?"
I shake my head, "No, it's feels normal." Now.
"Huh, it's like a tattoo."
"Don't tell me Klaus tattooed me."
"No, it wasn't there before."
"It's just go with it's a miracle." Or a curse.
Damon digs through the jacket pockets of dead Elijah, "Uhh! What do we have here? A little moonstone stone of soap. I'll hold onto this." Which he actually hands to me.
As I held the cold stone in my hands, I could feel right away the power it held inside it's tiny structure. I could feel this charge pulsating from it. The current radiated not only in my hand but also in my chest, where the mark was. It just better not because it to react like it did earlier.
Elena asks, "So that's it? I mean, as long as we keep the dagger in there, then he stays dead. "
Damon answers, "Pretty much."
"Ok, then…goodnight." She starts to walk away with my instep behind her, but she stops in the doorway, "You know, you guys want me to fight, find, I'll fight."
"Oh my god…who are you and what have done to Elena?" I hold my hands up, in utter shock.
"But if we're gonna do this you can't keep anything from me anymore. From this moment on, we're doing it my way."
Damon. "That seems fair."
Stefan. "Ok."
She gazes at me, waiting for my answer, "As long as it keeps you alive I'm willing to do anything."
"Ok." She leaves the cellar, seeming a little more at ease and satisfied.
Damon says, "Seems like she'd had a change of attitude."
"Let's just hope it stays that way." I leave as well. "I'm going to get my things and I'll be home." I tell her as I go up the stairs.
There wasn't much to pack, so I was finished quickly. As I make the bed, Damon says, "Ready to leave me so soon."
"Leave you Damon?" I fluff a pillow, patting it a few times, "That's impossible, you're always around."
He smiles, taking his leave. I don't want to say goodbye as of yet, plus I still had that question from before.
"So we need to finish talking about earlier." I begin, following Damon to his room.
"I know, come in." He holds his bedroom door open for me. As soon as we both step inside, we both know we are not the only ones. Someone was taking a very hot shower. The steam was floating from the bathroom into his room. "Andie? I thought you left."
Oh Gross. I turn to walk away not wanting to see her naked again.
"Hello Damon. Hey, do you have a robe?"
What the fuck? I whip back around, charging back into the room. Fury consuming me like that night Jenna stabbed herself.
"How did you get out?"
"I knew that if I begged you not to kill Elijah, that's exactly what you'd do. Little known fact, Originals can compel vampires, but as soon as they die, the compulsion wears off.
"And you knew?"
"And I'm still here. I didn't run. I meant what I said, Damon. I'm going to help you. So…how about that robe."
I rounded the corner, trying to ignoring the fact that Damon was having a conversation with a completely naked Katherine. This was the moment I was going to meet the famous Katherine.
"Who are you? Another girlfriend Damon? Certainly lost your taste." She examines me, trying to belittle me.
Nothing she said was going to faze me, "Actually bitch, I'm the upgrade."
"You know I'm about to snap your neck." I could not get over how much she looked like Elena.
Even though she may look like my cousin, but it wasn't going to stop me from kicking her ass, "Oh do it, I'd love to see you try." If I could release an originals grip from around my neck, I could totally take her on.
She did her whole vampire thing, and charged at me. With the palm of my hand, I pushed back with more force than she was exerting towards me, causing her to fly backwards into the marble wall. If I put any more force, I think the wall would have cracked.
With a triumphing smile on my face, "You were saying?"