The Gamble

A Vampire Diaries Fanfic.

Damon Salvatore x Ashlan Corral

'For those who forget what it means to be Alive.'

Song: ''Echo"- Jason Walker

Chapter 10

"The Ache In The Hole In My Chest"

I woke up alone in the bed.

It took me a moment to realize that Damon wasn't cuddled up next to me like I recalled him being. With a frown, I sat up, and looked around. There wasn't a single sound in the house, making me frown. Quickly, I pulled on some clothes before turning to the door. My eyes widened when I saw Damon standing in the doorway.

"Hey, where did you-"

It took me a second, but then I recognized that worried look on his face. A frown crept onto my lips again as I took a step closer. He looked sweaty and confused as he looked at me.

"Damon?" I asked, confused as well. His eyes widened as he seemed to come to terms with something.

"Lani," He paused running a hand down his face. "If you're here then..."

"Then what?" I asked again, placing a hand on each of his shoulders. He looked at me with pursed lips, he did not look happy at all.

"Madison is here."

...

"Wait, what?"

1864

DAY 25

Something strange happened today.

I hadn't been thinking too much about my memories lately. To me, it was just 'before Damon' in my head.

Only now have I learned how important they are.

I had a dream, I was playing with other children, the same as always. This time though, I was outside, and I was seeing different things. One minute I was playing tag in the school yard, then I turned to see a woman standing by the fence. She's the same ugly lady as before, with such a wicked expression. She smirks, her brown eyes locking with my own. She raises a hand to beckon me over, and I find myself drawn to her.

When I get to the fence, she just stares at me for a second before grinning.

"What's your name?" She asks, and I find myself answering, though I don't know why.

"Ashlan," I pause, shake my head, and then I look back at her with confusion. "And yours?"

"Katherine." She says with a cruel smile, but then she looks over my head and a frown appears on her face. Slowly, I turn to look in the same direction. My five friends, practically my brothers, have all stopped and are glaring in our direction. They stand so still, as though sizing Katherine up, but when I turn back to her, she's long gone.

I woke up in Damon's arms, and although I felt confused by the dream, I soon found comfort in his thicker frame. Curling up against him more, I smile before falling back to sleep. It was then that the real confusion began.

I could very easily see Stefan now, he was walking next to me as I looked over to him, but his clothes were different, his hair as well. He looked different all together, but I couldn't place to feeling exactly. He started talking then.

"Yes, Madison, even from day one, only had eyes for him. He saved her from a wolf attack, and from that day on she always watched him, and it was as though he was the most fascinating creature alive. She was infatuated with him, and perhaps that is what led to her downfall." He said, and we stopped walking to sit on a rock. I quirked a brow, a little confused.

"Wait- what?" I asked, but Stefan continued.

"Needless to say, when a pretty girl caught Damon's eye, he couldn't resist. But Madison wasn't like most girls Damon had met. She wasn't looking for sex."

"What did she want from Damon?" I asked, curious, making Stefan smile down at me.

"His love." He said, and my eyes widened. "Madison was the first person I had ever met, who kept Damon's interest for more than a week. She was always fascinated with him, infatuated really. It was like she was a librarian and Damon was her library. She had to know every fact about him, every detail in order. Damon wasn't used to this though, he was actually quite nervous around her."

"Damon? Nervous?" I laughed, Stefan did too. "What happened next?" I asked, feeling like a child being told a bedtime story.

"Damon and Madison, they took the next step." He said, and I raised my brow, but then I understood.

"Oh." I said, looking to the ground.

"I had never seen Damon so happy," He said, and I looked up to him and smiled a bit. "It was like Madison lit up his world."

"And then?"

"He proposed."

...

"What?! What did she say?!" I asked, getting excited. Stefan grinned.

"She said yes. And she was pregnant just days before the wedding." He said, and it was then that my smile began to fade. I realized this was where the downward spiral had to begin, because there was no Madison today at all.

"But that wedding never happened, did it?" I asked, to which Stefan bit back a frown and shook his head. "What happened?" I asked.

"Katherine came."

My eyes snapped open after that, and it took every ounce of my will power not to leap out of bed. Damon's arm was still wrapped around me, so I, very carefully, lifted my arms to the locket in my hands. What was so precious about this that made me remember a memory right away? Why had I been able to remember that person so well? That person, her face wasn't there, but her voice, it was so painfully familiar!

Carefully, I tweaked the locket open, and my eyes popped as well.

It was all a blur for a second, it felt like electricity was bubbling through any contact we made as his hands went to my waist and mine in his hair. Nobody had kissed me like this before, but I kept insisting I shouldn't enjoy it.

We backed into another room, and my legs hit something and I tumbled back onto his bed. He followed me, kissing me roughly, and I involuntarily moaned, making him smirk as his hands touched my bare stomach. Then, without warning, he yanked my shirt over top my head, and began to kiss my stomach.

It was so much like my dream as I moaned softly with each kiss, my hand tangled into his hair as he looked up at me. I knew what would happen next, but even two dreams couldn't prepare me for the look in his eyes.

That dark looked, I could tell he wanted to devour me, all those veins pulsing rapidly. Before I could shout for him to stop, he pounced on me, and bit down onto my throat. I didn't scream though, for a second later he backed up, looking dizzy.

"Where'd you get vervain...?" Then he fell over onto the floor, so I sat up and looked at him.

"It's true, you're one of them." I whispered, and he looked at me before he close his eyes, groaning.

As he fell to the floor though, I looked to the doorway and gasped.

A near mirror image of me was standing there, she smiled at me softly, and then shook her head. Slowly, recognition poured onto my face as it dawned on me who she really was.

"You're-"

"Time to wake up sweetie."

I jolted up that time, my heart racing. Damon jumped next to me, but when I saw the sleepy gaze I was instantly reminded of that scary face and booked it across the bed. Damon's eyes widened slightly at my reaction, but then I squeaked as I fell right out of the other end of the bed. He got out of bed and came around to hold me, my whole body was shaking as I let him wrap his arms around my back and knees.

Nausea swept over me suddenly, our nude bodies touching, for once he was a lot warmer than I was. I turned and grabbed a vase from the table next to his bed and pulled it towards my face. The build in my gut broke as I emptied my stomach's contents into the vase. Damon's eyes were wide, he too looked afraid.

When I pulled away from the vase, I looked up to him with wide and frightened eyes.

"What's happening to me?"

PRESENT DAY

"Lani I think you know just how stupid that plan sounds."

I growled, frustrated with Damon's lack of input.

"I don't think you understand how this is any better! I mean chaining me to your side for the whole carnival? I was going to hang with Mason, y'know, bug Tyler, be the cool teach I sought out to be! Plus I can help you figure out what's with that family." I insisted, but Damon just rolled his eyes before sitting on the couch. We had been pacing the parlor for a while, each arguing over what to do while Stefan watched us.

"Oh yes, and let you possibly take a bite out of the surfer? Who knows what sort of things you could contract from that guy." Damon said, sounding slightly disgusted.

"Damon," I warned, though I knew he was right. Hanging out with Mason also bared the fact that I could lose to my temptation and bite him. Damon glanced at his little brother before standing up and placing his hands on my shoulders.

"If the Lockwoods are supernatural beings, there is a chance that they could hurt you, maybe even kill you or expose you." Damon said, and I tried my best to keep myself calm. He was doing this for me, he was worried for me, I couldn't let my mind lose that thought.

"I know," I said, putting my hands over his. "But if what you said is true then we can't leave any stone unturned." I said, giving a mischievous smile.

"What exactly did happen that Elena is so upset with you?" Stefan asked Damon. Those magical blue orbs rolled as he turned to glance at Stefan. One of his arms pulled me close while the other sat at his side, useless.

"Oh didn't I tell you? Madison's back in town." Damon said casually, making me frown a little. Stefan looked really surprised then.

"What?"

"Yup," Damon said, rubbing a hand in a circle over my back as I stayed close to him. "She killed Jeremy and compelled Elena to think it was me."

"Why would she do that?" I asked, glancing up at him.

"She said that whoever gets in the way of what she wants will pay for it, and I... kinda stuck my nose in her business." Damon admitted.

"What does she want?" Stefan asked, Damon pursing his lips.

"She wasn't quite clear on that part." He said, seeming to think deeper. I pulled away and grabbed a glass of rum for myself, before downing it in one go.

"Great, as if Katherine wasn't enough to worry about," I muttered, but then I turned to frown at Damon. "Are you sure she looked exactly like me?"

"I thought it was you until she said she wasn't." Damon admitted, but the guilty look in his eye...

"Wait, how could you think it was me? I was sleeping right next to you." I said, pointing at myself as I frowned. Damon frowned too, shaking his head.

"You took off Lani," He said, making my eyes widen. "I went to follow you and then Madison showed up."

He had such a guilty look...

"What... did you kiss her?" I asked, taking a step closer. "Hold her?" I stopped in front of him. "Why do you look so guilty?"

"Okay, guys," Stefan said, making us both look over to him. "I know you'll want to sort this all out, but we need to keep focus. Madison, Katherine, and who knows what else is running around out there, we should really keep an eye open."

I nodded, Stefan was right, now wasn't the time to be focusing on silly moments like God knows what happened with Madison... wait no not Madison, an imposter, but who the Hell is she? Why does she look like me?

That woman.

I fingered my locket, thinking about that time, that cold moment where the locket did indeed give me the answers.

"Right," I muttered. "We'll keep an eye out."

Stefan nodded before leaving the room. He seemed to want to give us some time to talk, and as I felt arms around my waist pull me closer, I knew Damon was definitely guilty of something.

"Just tell me something, Damon." I began, he hummed a reply. "Do you still love me?"

"Of course." He said, almost sounding insulted. I smiled at that, and laced my fingers with the hand resting on my hip. He buried his head in my hair and inhaled, I sighed at the touches, they were so gentle. When I first met Damon, I never would've thought he could be so... so kind and soft and... amazing. I love him more than I loved Axel any day of the week.

"Can you make me one promise?" I asked, he hummed again. I turned around, still in his grasp, and looked him dead in the eye. "No matter what happens, I always, always, always want to be your friend. So if we don't work out, promise me you will still be my friend?"

Damon chuckled before kissing my forehead.

"I doubt that I could say no, even if I wanted to."

This was a baaaaaad idea.

Well, this actually might enter my list of top five of my worst ideas ever, right after running away with a homicidal vampire and the grad year of 07... yeah, this actually might beat those right now.

While Damon and Stefan were busy checking out the Lockwood's, I had strayed as far away as possible, all the way to the Ferris Wheel. As I sat alone in the seat and the wheel turned, I took deep breaths for a second.

"For someone intelligent enough to differentiate between me and Elena, you are really stupid."

"I never was right with all the pushing and head trauma." I said, looking over to Katherine. She smirked at me, the wheel stopping with us at the very top. We stayed quiet for a moment as I peered over the edge, gulping. I had been playing hookey from school for a while, due to being a fresh baby vampire, Stefan and Damon both agreed (gasp) on making me stay away for the next for weeks, but I had to go back soon. Still, I had been avoiding most of my students, which was very difficult. The gimmick they chose was that I was mourning a lost family member, drifting in and out of town.

Well, it wasn't too far off, I was thinking of my 'big brother' Axel a lot. I missed him, I wanted to hug him and tell him I will never forget him, that he taught me so much, that if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have gotten this far.

Ah, I can't though, because he's gone.

"What did you want?" Katherine asked, a sly smirk on her face. I mimicked it boldly, enjoying that I too had plans Katherine didn't know about. I leaned against the opposite guard of the wheel, turning my body to look over to her.

"Well since I believe we're even again," I began, referring to her snapping my neck and Damon pretty much telling her to piss off. "I'd like to know what you're up to."

"How do you feel about Madison being back in town?" Katherine said, making me raise a brow.

"Changing the subject? Oooh, somebody's up to something, must have something to do with me if you haven't, what were your words? Strangled me with my guts?" I challenged, not letting her get away with it. She grabbed my hair though, and pulled my head down to hit the safety bar. It rattled my brain, but when she shoved me back against the guard, I smirked.

"Oops, did I hit a nerve?" I teased in a condescending tone, the dent in my skull healing instantly.

"You're the one not answering questions." Katherine stated pointedly, I smacked her hand away though, the smirk never left my face. Readjusting my seat, I propped myself in a better position before speaking.

"There is no way that is Madison." I said confidently, but Katherine just raised a brow.

"Oh?"

"Madison is dead, she died before I even met Damon." I said, and I could practically see the gears spinning in her head. Something seemed to click, making her smirk.

"If you're so sure, then who did that?" She asked, pointing down below. Taking the risk, I glanced down. There, on the far side of the carnival by the parking lot, was Caroline, I could see her head buried in a guy's neck. It was then that the smell of blood wafted over me. My eyes widened- did she-

Before I could think anymore, Katherine grabbed my head to make me look at her. She growled a little, and for the first time since we met I felt cowed by her.

"I don't need to rip your guts out to strangle you," She said, smirking smugly. "Because you're such a vile thing, you'll want to do it for me."

Do it for her? My mind ran across that possibility, what if I did do it? Why was I picturing my own body parts spewed out in my own hands? Disgusting, I felt vile, awful, so I punched her in the face. She recoiled just enough for me to take a flying leap out of the wheel. From there, I ran as fast as I could to Caroline. Nobody could see me, so I ran quickly towards her.

"Caroline!" I shouted, literally ripping her off of the guy. He fell to the ground, and I trembled when I did hear a heartbeat. Turning to the blonde, she looked at me with wide eyes.

"You smell so good," She said, before appearing in front of me and pinning me down. She grabbed my shirt collar and looking me in the eye. "I'm sorry, but I'm so hungry...!"

When she let her fangs slip out of her mouth, I gave a growl and flipped myself behind her, successfully pinning her down.

"You can't feed like that Caroline!" I scolded, lightening my grip when she started to bawl her eyes out. She was scared, clearly this was the work of Madison and Katherine. Why were they even working together? Or was it coincidence? I shushed her as she started to cry, turning her around to hold her head in my shoulder.

"You'll be okay, but you have to calm down." I said, stroking her hair a bit. She cried, but held on to me. It was then that I felt all the guilt, the feelings you get when you turn. I had given my life for Damon, the choice had always been mine, and I made it, but Caroline never made that choice. It was taken away by Damon's, Stefan's, Elena's, Bonnie's, and my own actions towards or against Madison and Katherine. It was our fault she was like this now, and we would shoulder it for the rest of our lives.

"I killed him, I-I couldn't stop! Help me! Please help me Ash!" She begged, I nodded, feeling and understanding her emotions. I stroked her hair a bit more, letting her cry it all out.

"It's okay, but you have to keep calm, you can't let it beat you, you're the master of control Caroline, prove me right." I said, glancing to the side when I saw Damon standing there. There was a stake in his hands, but as I eyed it and then his face, I knew what was going on. Caroline continued to cry, but Damon only took slow steps towards us.

"Damon," I began, making Caroline's head snap up to look at the raven haired man. She shook her head, holding me tighter. Damon frowned at me, motioning to bring her forward. When I didn't move he looked to the sky for patience.

"She's going to die eventually, why not do it now before her mother does it?" He said, glancing at Caroline. My eyes widened, why did he have to say that?! I shushed Caroline as another fit of sobs wracked her body.

"Easy Caroline, you'll be fine." I soothed, Damon frowned at me and tried to yank her away. Instead, another person zipped in and pulled Caroline away from both of us. Stefan stopped next to Elena, who held Caroline as he stood in front of them protectively.

"Stefan." Damon said warningly. I grabbed his arm, he turned to frown at me.

"You guys get Caroline out of here, I'll keep him busy." I said, making Damon roll his eyes.

"You forget Lani," He said, leaning closer to me. "I'm faster than you."

He took off towards the group, and he was right, I was a lot slower. That wouldn't discourage me though. I was more upset, and I let that fuel my speed to try and cut him off. It didn't work as well as I thought, I only managed to stand between him and Caroline, but barely an inch was between my chest and the stake.

Now he looked pissed off.

"Ashlan," Damon warned, it had to be the first time since we met that he used my full name, it scared me a little.

"Then why didn't you kill me?" I challenged, holding the stake over my heart. Not once did our eyes stray from each other as we glared down. "A young vampire without any idea how to control her emotions."

"You can control you emotions, Barbie Doll can't." He snapped, but I just growled and pushed him away. Stefan grabbed Caroline and walked into the building then. Elena seemed to be watching us.

"I can't!" I said, scowling. "I may not be addicted to all blood, but I certainly can't control my anger Damon." I said, feeling the blood rushing through me as I spoke. It was Damon who kept me intact, but whenever he wasn't around...

Suddenly he fell to the ground, holding his head and he groaned out his agony. My anger dissipated instantly, a frown forming on my lips. When he didn't get up, I fell to his side, turning him over.

"Damon?" I asked, but he kept on groaning.

"I told him, if anybody else got hurt, he would have to pay the price." Bonnie said, making my head snap up as she walked towards us. I hadn't even noticed the hose had turned on, the water spraying around us in a circle. It was only when the fire encircled me that I tried to get out. Each time I came close to it though, the flame wall grew.

My anger grew.

"Bonnie," I growled, noticing the flames encroaching on us. In my worry, I pulled Damon closer to the middle. I couldn't help myself then, the anger at everyone and everything was slowly cracking out, and this time Damon wouldn't stop me. I glared at Bonnie so harshly I knew she flinched. "Let me out." I demanded.

"You both with burn." She said calmly, the grey skin crawling from my face to all the way down my body. It hurt, the skin felt like it was cracking and breaking open. I could hear it ripping around my face, an ooze falling from my veins. It was blood, and each time my veins pulsed my blood was pushed out. It made me so angry to see her standing there so confidently, and then there was nothing holding me back but a wall of fire.

Maybe it was a good thing we were separated, I might hurt Elena.

Said girl leaped onto Bonnie, making the witch lose her focus and the fires stop. Damon stopped groaning, but he didn't get up. Bonnie looked at Elena, shocked.

"Why did you stop me?"

"It isn't their fault." Elena insisted, but then I snapped.

"No," I growled, the girls looking at me with wide eyes when they realized I hadn't calmed down. I was too far gone now. "It's her fault."

Like pouring salt in the wound, I wanted to rub in Bonnie's mistakes as I slowly stalked towards her. She was my prey, I had to make her suffer.

"It was you, who got involved with us by not giving back the witch's talisman, you who killed your gran as the price. It was you who told Damon to feed Caroline blood, you who was so pathetically incapable of protecting her on your own." I said, my slowly, languid steps never stopping. I could hear Elena's heartbeat going erratic. It was music to my ears.

"Ash th-that's enough." Elena said, taking a step back.

"Oh no, it's never enough with Bonnie." I zapped in front of her, but she used that spell to give me an aneurism. I cried out, but the ache of my flesh peeling outweighed the ache of my brain popping vessels. I was barely two feet from her, so I grabbed her hand and squeezed. Her eyes widened and the pain stopped instantly.

"I will rip apart your entire body," I said, putting pressure on her palm. She was so in shock she just stood there, eyes bulging out of her head. "And maybe then you will feel my pain."

"ASHLAN!" Elena screamed, but before I could snapped the stupid witch's wrist, Damon barreled into me and pinned me to the floor.

It wasn't enough...

Not enough pain...

I growled, kicking him in the chest to throw him off of me before I stood. He tried to pin me, but I growled and bit the wrist that grabbed my shoulder. He pulled back and I stepped away from him and the others. I looked around at the three.

The looks on their faces...

I clutched my head, it hurt, I felt so disgusting. I crouched down, holding my head as I rocked softly. Damon came over to put a hand on my back, but I recoiled. The pain all over my body was too much, I had to hear it, the sickening crack of bones, the sound of their lives leaving their bodies...

"Don't touch me." I squeaked, tears falling down my face. Dammit, don't come near me Damon, I don't want to hurt you! Yet he kept coming closer, not once seeming afraid.

"Lani," He began, pulling me into a hug, I tried to fight, to push away, but he was still stronger than me. "Shhhh, I'm here."

He soothed me a bit, but everything still ached. My jaw ached from my fangs being extended for so long, but I cuddled into him and sobbed a bit. He didn't move away, and even when I tried to look at Elena and Bonnie, he just pulled my head back down and soothed me some more.

"I'm good." I said after the aching of the blood and greying skin stopped. When I touched my face, it was smeared with blood, but it was smooth and healthy skin. Damon looked me in the eye to be sure I wasn't lying, but then he nodded and clasped a hand on each of my shoulders.

"I've got a dead body to bury, but in the mean time, go inside and clean up." He said, making me nod. Glancing at Bonnie and Elena watched me warily, but I simply disappeared inside of the building. Once inside, I took a very deep breath, then zipped to the exit on the far side. Once there, I raced towards the edge of town, into the tree line.

Out in the forest, nobody was going to see me, nobody would think poorly of me. Stefan did it all the time, why couldn't I? So I stood there, taking in the scents, trying to find a heartbeat. A twig snapped, I could hear the even heartbeat of an animal not far from here. The grey skin came back then, so did the absolute rage. I smirked wickedly, indulging in the slight twinge of pain that the skin brought on, but it was worth it.

Taking off, I stalked my prey, a doe, like I the hunter I am. When it got boring, I leaped at it, and absolutely devoured the creature. When I was certain I couldn't pull a single drop more of blood from the body, I reared my head back and looked to the dark sky. The euphoric feeling of devouring a creature, stealing their life.

I loved it.

Thump thump

My head snapped down, my eyes locking on another deer not one hundred feet from me. It stared for a second before it spun around and ran, it's white tail a flag of alarm. I grinned, powering forward and striking with my bare hands.

This was so just the beginning.

Ha! Check it! It's such a long chapter! Go me!

So Lani is kind of spiraling down wards hm? Wonder what's going on? Haha I am so dying to reveal more about her and the plot, sometimes I don't know whether I should just throw it out there or not! I wonder how Damon is going to take Lani's behavior, if he finds out that is... I also realized that Damon doesn't actually know that much about Lani's past, I've been focusing so much on Damon that I haven't given you guys Lani's full story! Wow, horrible me huh?

I love you guys for reviewing by the way! Thanks so much!

So anyway, I was thinking a lot, and I figured I should totally try something new on FF. So I am now going to reply to one review each chapter, and have a 'Ask the Author' segment! You can ask me anything at all as long as it isn't too personal! Anything about the story (characters, plot line, what inspired me, etc...) to about future projects and so on.

RATE AND REVIEW!

REVIEW OF THE DAY: Today it goes to-Mia Salvatore! I haven't ever heard that rhyme before, but I think it's very cute. Who knows, maybe I'll add it into the story somewhere lol. Are you really sure they can get through it? Or are they going to crash and burn first? Hmmm, I wonder...

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Any ideas for why Lani is acting like she is? I of course know, and I'm sure you guys are gunna be all 'oh snap' when it clicks, but until then I hope it leaves you squirming in your seats!