Chapter 11
Damon looked over to see Elena waking up and he grinned at her when she looked at him in confusion.
"Morning." He greeted and she gaped at him for a moment before looking out the window with a frown.
"Where are we?"
"In Georgia." He answered and she whipped her head back around.
"Georgia? No, no, no, we're not. Seriously, Damon, where are we?"
"Seriously, we're in Georgia." Elena frowned at him. "How you feeling?"
"I-I…" She trailed off, touching her forehead gently.
"There's no broken bones. I checked."
"My car…" Elena began slowly, trying to piece things together. "There was a man….I hit man. But then he got up and-Who was that?" She asked Damon and watched his blue eyes narrow.
"That's what I would like to know."
"Where's my phone?" Elena panicked and felt around for it. "Okay, we really need to go back. Nobody knows where I am. Pull over." The girl frowned when Damon made no move to pull the car to the side of the road. "I mean it, Damon. Pull over. Stop the car."
"Oh, you were so much fun when you were asleep." He murmured, but did pull over like she requested. "Please keep it down. You'll wake Janey." Elena paused with fiddling with her seatbelt and turned her head. Jane was lying across the back seat of the car. She gasped.
"Oh, my god….You found her." She saw the blood coating her collar. "What happened to her?" She looked back at Damon. "Is she okay?"
"She'll be fine. She just needs some rest."
"Who did that to her? Logan?"
Damon nodded. "He was saving her for someone else."
"What? Who?"
"Don't know. I never found out."
Elena undid her seatbelt and slid out of the car, trying to keep quiet and Damon did the same. Elena left her door open.
Jane woke up to the sound of arguing and blinked, trying to regain her vision. Once it cleared she realized she was propped up in the backseat of Damon's car. Frowning, she turned her head, wincing with pain and glanced out the open car door where a warm breeze was blowing in from.
Elena and Damon were in a heated argument.
"You can't do this." Elena said to Damon. "I'm not going to Georgia."
"Well, you're in Georgia." Damon retorted. Georgia? Jane frowned. What are we doing here? Why didn't he take me home?
"Without you're little magic necklace I might add." Jane watched Elena touch her neck. "I could very easily make you…agreeable."
"What are you trying to prove?" She asked him and a cell phone began to ring. Elena looked at Damon.
"That's my phone." She accused.
Damon fished it out of his pocket. "Hmm, it's your boyfriend." Jane watched Elena turn her head. "I'll take it." Damon pushed the button and held it up to his ear. "Elena's phone."
"Elena? No, she's right here?" Damon drawled. "And yes, she's fine." Damon offered her the phone. "He wants to speak to you."
"Uh-uh." Elena shook her head.
"Yeah, I don't-I don't think she really wants to talk to you right now." Damon rolled his eyes at whatever Stefan had said. "Relax. Oh, by the way, good news. I found Jane." At the mention of her name, she glanced at Damon again. "She'll be fine after a while." He smirked at something his brother said. "Road trip."
"Don't worry. You have a good day. Mm-mm. By now." He hung up.
"Look, no one knows where I am." Elena murmured, watching Damon slip her phone back into his pocket. "And Jane…No one knows she is either, Damon. She needs to go home. So, can we please just go back?"
"We're almost there."
"Almost where?" Jane spoke up and Elena jumped. Damon looked down into the car and smiled.
"Hey, damsel in distress." She tried to sit up and he pushed her back down with the tips of his fingers. "Ah, ah, ah. Don't do that. You have to stay still." She scowled and tried to swat at him. "Don't do that either."
"Why am I here? Why didn't you take me home?"
"Well, I was going too, but unfortunately, Elena had an accident."
Jane stopped swatting at Damon to look at the girl. "Elena? Are you all right?" She asked and the girl nodded.
"I'm fine."
Jane saw she had a few bruises and she tried to sit up again. "Where are we Damon? I want to go home."
"A little place right outside of Atlanta." Damon answered and Elena frowned. "Oh, come on, Elena, Jane, you don't really want to go back right now, do you?"
"Yes." Jane nodded.
Damon looked at her. "Trust me, your problems are still gonna be there when you get home." He sighed at the look on their faces. "Look, step away from your lives for five minutes. Five minutes."
Elena sighed. "Am I gonna be safe with you? Is Jane?"
"Yes." Damon answered, but Jane couldn't tell if he meant it.
"Will you promise not to do that mind-control thing with us?"
Damon looked from Jane to Elena. "Yes."
"Can we trust you?" Jane asked, looking at him and Damon turned his gaze to her. "Can I trust you?"
"I never said we couldn't stop being friends. You're the one who thought there was something more."
"You kissed me!" She snapped, slapping the seat beneath her. "You used me."
"Yes, but you did agree to it. And you kissed me back."
Heat flared in her cheeks and Elena scowled at Damon's back. Jane looked away from him. "That's still not a reason to go doing that to people. We can't be friends if you do that."
"Can't you forgive me?"
"No."
Damon chuckled. "That might be hard, considering that you were in my arms again. And now you're in my car."
Jane's face turned tomato red. "Shut up, Damon."
"I promise to take you home later."
"Did you give me your blood?" She demanded, feeling of her neck.
He gave her a lopsided grin. "I had too. You were going into shock."
Jane bit her lip. "You didn't take mine did you?" Damon shrugged. "That's not funny, Damon! We can't be connected again!"
"Well, it wasn't much. I just needed something to tide me over."
"Excuse me?! I am not some, some snack or something!?"
Damon took her chin and made her look up at him. "To a vampire you are." He smirked and she scowled at him, hitting his hand away. "Settle down, princess. I gave you blood, but you still need to recover." He reminded her and turned to Elena. "Get in the car. Come on."
Elena sighed and got inside. She looked behind her at Jane who was biting her lower lip. "Jane?"
"I'll be fine." She sighed and looked out the window. Why did he have to tease her so? Didn't he know it still hurt?
"Bonnie!" Stefan called and the young witch turned to see him.
"Stefan."
"Hey." Stefan smiled at Bonnie and she smiled back. "I, uh, haven't seen you lately. How are you doing with everything?"
"I'm fine. It's all fine." Bonnie stated awkwardly. It was hard to be okay when things seemed to be spiraling.
Stefan nodded, sensing her nervousness. "Good."
"Yeah." Bonnie murmured and then she turned her head. "Are you back in school?"
"No, actually I came here to find you. I was hoping you can help me with something. A spell."
"Stefan," Bonnie sighed and faced him fully. "Look, I know that Elena is okay with all this and I appreciate what you did to help me, but I'm not ready to dive into this with you just yet." The whole vampire thing still freaked her out and she couldn't understand how Elena and Jane could be so calm about it.
"I understand, Bonnie. But this is important. It's Elena and Jane. They're with Damon." Stefan murmured and the witch sighed. Elena and Jane were her best friends. There was no way she could just walk away and not do something. Especially since they were with a psychotic vampire.
She went over to a bench and he followed.
"I have Elena's necklace." Stefan told her. "I was hoping that you can use this to make some sort of a connection." He handed it to her. "I just need to know if she's okay."
"How do you know I can do this?" Bonnie asked curiously.
"I've known a few witches. I've seen what they can do."
She nodded, having to be content with that answer. "I'm still new at this."
"That's okay. Just give it a shot." Stefan urged. Bonnie nodded and clasped the necklace in both of her hands. She shut her eyes, concentrating and then...
"Nothing. Nothing's happening." She looked up at him. "Usually there's an image or…" She glanced around nervously. "Tell me if anyone is looking."
"Okay." Stefan nodded and Bonnie picked up a leaf, laying it on the tabletop. He waited as the witch lifted her hand over the leaf. Float. Come on, float. Nothing again.
"What's is it?"
"I don't…Something's wrong."
"With Elena?" Stefan asked, but Bonnie shook her head.
"There's something wrong with me. I have to go. I'm sorry, Stefan. I can't help you."
She gathered her things and fled and Stefan watched her leave with a worried expression.
"So, where's my car?" Elena asked, after glancing at Jane again. She was slumped in the back of the car, looking moodily out the window. She was still upset.
"Uh, pulled it over to the side of the road." Damon answered her, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. "I don't think anyone will bother it."
"What about that man in the road?"
"Man in the road?" Jane repeated. "Someone made you crash your car?"
"Yeah…he appeared out of nowhere. I hit him and then he got back up." Elena told her and then looked at Damon. "So was he a…?"
"From what I could tell, yeah."
Jane bit her lip. Another vampire? "You didn't know him?" She asked Damon.
"If I've never met him, I wouldn't know him." He told her. "I mean, it's not like we all hang out at the Vamp Bar and Grill." Jane rolled her eyes.
"Where are we?" Elena asked and looked out the window. "You brought us to a bar?" Damon got out and she followed after him. "Damon I'm not old enough. They're not going to let us in."
"Sure they will." Damon grinned and then folded up his seat, reaching in towards Jane. She shook her head. "Come out. You need the fresh air and you probably need food. Am I right?" Jane sighed and he smirked. "Thought so. Now come on." He beckoned and she let him, pull her out of the car.
The bar wasn't what Jane had expected and she was pleasantly surprised. It was cozy inside and the atmosphere made her calm. At least she hoped it was the atmosphere and the décor and not the fact that Damon was near her. She kept close to Elena as they came in and walked up to the bar.
"No." A voice stated suddenly and the three of them looked over to see a beautiful young woman standing behind the bar, her eyes on Damon. "No, it's can't be." She said in shock. "Damon?" She hopped up on the bar to swing her legs over and come face to face with the eldest Salvatore whose smirk widened at the sight of her.
"My honey pie." She cooed and kissed him soundly on the lips. Jane felt queasy, but she wasn't sure if it was because of the bond or if she was just that in need of food. The woman broke away from Damon's lips finally and glanced at Jane and Elena. "And who are these? You're new admirers?"
"This is Elena." Damon introduced and Elena smiled pleasantly. Bree looked from her to Damon a knowing smile on her face. "And this is Jane." The woman stared at Jane for several minutes and the girl grew uncomfortable.
"My name's Bree. Let me get you all drinks. You look like you could use some." She cast another glance at him before turning to the bar to get the drinks. She hopped back over, grabbing shot glasses and lined them up in front of the three. Damon sat between Jane and Elena
"Listen up everybody." Bree announced. "Here's to the man who broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness. Drink up." She declared, tipping her head back and draining one of the shots and Damon drained both Elena's and Jane's before sliding their empty glasses back over to them. Bree never noticed.
"So," Bree began, turning back to refill their shots. "How'd he rope you in?" She asked Elena.
"I'm not roped in." Elena said, about to correct her. "Actually I'm dating his-"
"Honey, if you're not roped, you're whipped. Either way just enjoy the ride." She glanced at Jane. "Unless you're the one who's getting the attention?"
Jane started to shake her head. "No. Not me."
"So how did you two meet?" Elena asked Bree.
"College." She laughed.
Elena looked at Damon in surprise. "You went to college?" Jane giggled.
"I've been on a college campus, yes." Damon answered, holding his empty shot glass for more and he smirked at Jane who was still giggling. His hand unconsciously touched her lower back.
"About twenty years ago, when I was a sweet young freshman I met this beautiful man and fell in love. And then he told me about his little secret…made me love him even more. I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody."
"She's a witch." Damon whispered dramatically to Elena and Jane and both looked at Bree in surprise.
Bree smiled at Damon softly. "You changed my world, you know."
"I rocked your world." He smirked. Jane wrinkled her nose.
"He is good in the sack, isn't he?" She asked Elena who blushed a bit. "But mostly, he's just a walk-away Joe."
"Hey, I'm going to call Jenna. She has to know where I am." Elena stood up and Damon nodded at her. She looked at Jane who gave her a nod that she was okay and she went outside.
"Here you go, honey." Bree stated, setting down a basket of food, a cheese burger and fries, in front of her and a Coke. Jane smiled at her.
"Thank you, but-"
She smiled back. "You looked like you need it." Bree looked at Damon. "So what do you want?"
"So, where did you find her?" Bree asked Damon. They were sitting in at a table in the back of the bar.
He raised an eyebrow. "Find who?"
"Her." She nodded at Jane. "The Elemental Seer."
Damon arched an eyebrow. "Come again?"
"You don't know?"
"She is a rare little thing. They are almost nonexistent." Bree murmured. "A long time ago around the time of the first witches, there were Seers. Dream Seers, Oracles, Fortune Tellers, Palm Readers, Psychics…" Damon glanced at Jane. "So which is she?"
"Well…She has dreams sometimes. But if she touches you she can read past and future."
Bree nodded. "She's part Dream Seer and Psychic. What's her family name?"
"Evans."
Damon didn't miss the way Bree stiffened. "Does she have a tattoo?"
"Yes."
"Sun, Moon, or Star?"
"Star. Why."
"You found one." She breathed. "I can't believe it. I thought they were all gone. Or gone into hiding."
"What?"
"That girl is a Star Elemental." The witch was practically buzzing with excitement. "Used by witches in rituals and powerful spells for centuries." Damon's brow furrowed. Was that why Amelia asked him to kill her?
"You best keep her safe. Don't let anyone else know what she is. I won't harm her, but there are others out there that would." Bree smirked when Damon's eyes flickered over to her again. "You bonded with her haven't you? Better be careful."
"What do you know about that? Like why it happens? Is it just me?"
"Her blood is used in sacrifices. Therefore any use of it by any being has different meanings. Witches use it to cast spells. Vampires use it to have insight. The bond ties her to you. The more you bond the stronger it gets." Bree smiled secretly. "Which is why you can't keep your eyes off her." Damon rolled his eyes. "How many times."
"This is the second time."
Bree nodded. "Her blood is like an aphrodisiac to vampires."
"That explains the erotic dreams." He muttered and she laughed. "We both had them." Bree sipped her drink and waited for Damon to turn back to her from looking at Jane. "Why did it hurt her to break it?"
"Because she must have some feelings for you. Not love necessarily, but if she cares enough about you it can hurt." Damon nodded. "Just be careful. Sex is just as strong a bond. In fact that makes it more so."
"Come on there's got to be another way." He said to her, turning the subject from Jane and of the remembrance of their shared dream.
"After all these years, it's still only Katherine." Bree shook her head. "How do you even know she's still alive?"
"Well, you help me get into that tomb and we'll find out."
"I already did, twenty years ago, remember? Three easy steps: comet, crystal, spell."
"There's a little problem with number two. I don't have the crystal."
Bree shook her head. "That's it, Damon. There is no other way. It's Emily's spell."
"What about new spell with a new crystal that overrides Emily's spell?"
"It doesn't work that way, baby. Emily's spell is absolute. You can't get into that tomb." Bree watched Damon swallow back hurt, but his eyes showed how tore up he was. "I'm sorry." She stood up and walked back behind the bar, chatting to Jane about her food.
Outside, Elena's phone was ringing and Damon listened in.
"Elena is that you?" Stefan asked.
"I'm here."
"Where are you?"
"You lied." Elena frowned.
"Not until I explain, please."
"So, you didn't lie?" Elena continued.
"Just tell me where you and Jane are. So that I can come and get you."
"How am I connected to Katherine, Stefan?" She asked.
Stefan sighed. "I honestly don't know."
"Do you expect me to believe that?" Elena asked dumbfounded
"It's the truth." He whispered. "Listen-" She ended the call before he could finished and turned around to see Damon standing there waiting for her. She jumped a bit.
"Are you okay?" He asked sincerely
"Don't pretend to care. I know you're gloating inside." She snapped and moved past him.
Bree peered out the window to see Damon outside with Elena. Jane was in the bathroom so she had no fear of alerting the girl to what she was doing. As long as the seer never touched her. She would be safe.
The witched hopped back over her bar and went to the phone, dialing quickly and she turned on the blender to mask her voice to the all-hearing vampire outside.
"Hey, it's Bree. You'll never guess who just walked into my bar."
Stefan walked up to Bonnie's Gram's house worried about the young witch. Knocking on the door politely he waited patiently for the elder witch to open it. It had been a long time since he had seen Shelia.
"Hi." Stefan smiled.
"Can I help you?" She questioned.
"I'm Stefan, a friend of Bonnie's." He replied and she raised her eye brow at him. She knew who he was. Stefan held his hand out to her to shake in sign that he was well aware she was witch and he wanted her to trust him. "Her dad told me she might be here."
"She was, not anymore." The women answer vaguely, not willing to give out information just yet.
Stefan nodded. "Do you know where she went?"
"No, but you do."
"I'm sorry?" He asked in confusion.
"I told her to chase down her fear, and I'm sensing now you know exactly why she was scared." She informed him. "You know what I am. Yet you offered me your hand, which means you wanted me to see that I can trust you."
"Can you?"
"I'll trust you'll keep her safe." Shelia replied. "Just as I trust you'll keep Jane safe." Stefan blinked. "Yes, I know about her too. You'd better be on your way then, I'm not going to invite you in, I'm sure you're going to understand why." Stefan nodded and she shut the door.
"Let's just say I descended from Katherine. Does that make me part Vampire?" Elena asked worriedly as she ate some fries. She and Damon had come in to get some food. Jane looked at Damon curiously.
"Vampires can't procreate." He explained before smirking. "But we'd love to try." Jane flushed and shook her head.
"Damon."
He chuckled at her and then shook his head at Elena. "No. If you were related it would mean Katherine had a child before she was turned."
"Did Stefan think he could use me to replace her?"
"It's kinda creepy if you ask me." Damon remarked.
Jane shook her head. "I don't believe that. Stefan would never do that to Elena." Damon rolled his eyes at her.
"Come on, what? You don't like pickles?" He asked Elena, snatching the discarded food off her plate. "What's wrong with you?" Jane giggled and Elena smiled at her.
"Can I ask you a question?" Jane wondered and he looked at her.
"You just did." He pointed out.
She ignored his teasing smile and gestured at his plate. "How can you even eat... if technically you're..." She couldn't bring herself to say it and he smirked at her.
"Dead." Damon whispered, looking around dramatically. "It's not such a bad word. As long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally."
"Oh."
"This nice act. Is any of it real?" Elena questioned and Damon shrugged mysteriously. Jane wasn't sure she believed that.
Bree walked over to them. "Here you go honey." Damon nodded as she passed him another beer.
"I'll have one too." Elena told her after a moment.
"Hmm?" Damon tilted his head in confusion.
"Time out, remember?" Elena looked at Jane. "Jane?"
"Um, I don't think that's a good idea." She shot Damon a look. "The last time was disastrous."
"You are still mad at me."
"Of course I am." Jane stated firmly.
Elena waved the bottle at her. "Come on. Just one. Our five minutes needs a beer."
"Fine." Jane sighed. Bree set them down in front of the girls. Damon held his bottle out to them. Elena and Jane clanked their bottles against his and then both girls took a hefty swig. Elena grimaced and Jane coughed much to Damon's amusement.
Stefan found Bonnie down in a large hole in the ground and knew instantly that it contained the tomb inside. He jumped down lightly and saw Bonnie looking around in fright and backing away from the tomb door. He raised a hand and touched her shoulder.
She screamed and Stefan grabbed her when she tried to run away. "Get away from me!"
"Bonnie, it's me Stefan." He said, turning her to face him.
"Stefan." She whimpered and then started to panic. "The ground gave way and I fell."
"It's okay, it's okay." He said soothingly. "Calm down, c'mon, I'm going to get you out of here."
Bonnie looked around. "How?" She asked in fright.
"Just close your eyes." He told her and she did, trusting him completely. Stefan wrapped his arms around her and jumped up, taking them both out of the cave. He released her slowly and smiled. "You can open your eyes now."
Bonnie looked around in awe. "Whoa."
"I didn't want to scare you." Stefan informed her.
"How did you know where I was?"
"Well, your grandmother told me what you were doing. I guessed the where." He shrugged and she shuddered, looking back at the hole.
"I heard them." She whispered. "Down there, behind the door." She turned back to Stefan. "Are they in pain?"
"In the beginning – yes." He told her truthfully. "But now anymore, they've been starved to the point of desiccation."
"But if they have blood–" She began frightfully and Stefan quickly shook his head to dispel the fear.
"That's not going to happen, Bonnie. They can't get out. Emily saw to that when she had you destroy the crystal. You're safe." Bonnie nodded, feeling a bit better.
"Ready, go!" Bree announced and a crowd of people around Jane did shots. She had wanted to join in, but something kept her from doing so. Something was going to happen and she felt it.
"That's three!" Elena announced slamming her shot glass on the bar. She glanced across at Damon as he struggled to keep the alcohol in his mouth and smirked. "Do you need a bib?"
"Sorry I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol." He teased back and Jane snorted. She felt around in her pocket and drew out a piece of paper. It was the paper that Noah had given her.
"Whatever." Elena slurred. "Alright! Who's next?" She looked around. "Jane! Join us."
"No, thank you." She said and then stood up. "Can I borrow you're phone? I want to make a call."
"What's that?" Damon asked and snatched the paper from her. "Ooh, this a boyfriend we don't know about?"
"Give it back, Damon."
Elena smirked at her. "Who is it? Someone I know?"
She shook her head. "He's new to Mystic Falls. Give me the paper Damon."
"Where'd you meet him? He must be good looking for you to forget all about me." The vampire teased and her cheeks reddened.
"Why do you care?" Jane hissed at Damon and took the paper from him.
He grabbed her arm when she made to walk past him. "I do care." He said softly, an unexpected look on his face. "I still want to be friends with you, Jane."
"I wish I could believe you, Damon, but I just don't."
She pulled away from him and went out the back door. Damon watched her leave and blamed the bond on his mixed feelings.
Elena watched her go and shrugged before facing the bar. "Another round, Bree." She ordered.
"Honey, you should be on the floor." A blonde woman next to her slurred.
"I'm not even drunk." She lied. "My tolerance is, like, way up here." She jumped to prove it. Damon smirked.
Jane smiled. "I'd like that. I should be back really soon. Um, I was sorta of kidnapped for this road trip with my friends." She said into Elena's phone.
"That's too bad. I was hoping to see you tonight."
Jane's cheeks turned pink and she smiled shyly. "You were?"
"Yeah. So, who are you with?"
"My best friend Elena and a guy named Damon."
"Damon, huh? Should I be jealous?"
"No." Jane laughed. "It's not like that. Damon is…Well he's not exactly a nice guy."
"So…Elena. As in Gilbert?"
"How'd you know?"
"I, uh, ran into her brother."
"Oh. Jeremy."
"Yeah. Nice kid. So you will be back tomorrow?"
"I hope so. Could I call you when I get back?"
"I hope so. I'd really like to hear your voice again."
Jane did a small happy dance. "Okay. Well, I should probably give Elena her phone back. I was borrowing it."
"Goodbye, Jane. I can't wait to see you again."
"Bye, Noah."
Jane ended the call and smiled happily. Elena's phone began to ring in her hand and she answered it. "Elena's phone. Oh, hi Jenna. No, no, she's okay. I'll her talk to you." She went inside and found Elena playing pool. "Elena!"
The girl turned her. "Hi, Jane. look I'm winning!"
"That's, um, great but your Aunt wants to talk to you."
Elena took the phone back from her. "Aunt Jenna. No, hang on it's loud in here. I can't here you." Jane followed after her when she saw the girl had an unsteady walk. Elena tripped once she got outside and Jane ran up to her.
"Elena! Are you all right?" She asked and suddenly there was a hand over her mouth. Elena turned around and gasped, dropping her phone.
"Say a word and I'll snap her neck." A man said lowly, his brown eyes flashing in the darkness. Elena nodded and he jerked his head silently telling her to go forward. Jane struggled to move, but the man had a tight grip on her and she knew he was a vampire.
He marched them around the back of the bar and once they were near the water tower, he pushed Jane towards Elena.
"Stay here. I don't want to hurt you." He said and stepped into the shadows and out of sight.
Elena hugged Jane to her. The intense fear pushing back her drunkenness.
"He's going to hurt Damon." Jane whispered lowly and Elena swallowed. Yes, she still was unsure about him, but she didn't want any harm to come to him and neither did Jane.
"Hey." Bree walked over to Damon handing him another beer "Where are your girls?" Damon looked around.
"Hmm. One was right back there and the other one…" He had thought Jane had come back inside, but he really hadn't been paying that much attention. Damon, a voice said in his head. Jane was calling to him. That was one good thing about the bond. It made her easier to find. Don't. "Don't, what?" He wondered and walked around out back. He found Elena's phone on the ground and picked it up, glancing around. Something wasn't right.
Watch out.
Jane's voice in his head warned too late as he rounded the corner. His focus was on the girls at the foot of the water tower so he didn't see the vampire watching him until Elena cried out.
"Damon, no!" She shouted and then Damon found himself being beaten on with a metal pipe. The vampire beat Damon's legs, breaking bones that would take a while to heal and gave him enough time to do what he came to do.
Damon groaned. "What the hell!" He hissed as pain skyrocketed up his legs. Elena and Jane made their way over to the pair of vampires as the one who beat Damon began dousing him with gasoline.
"What are you doing?!" Jane cried to the vampire. "Stop it!" He turned to face, growling warningly for the girls to stay back. Elena grabbed Jane's arm and pulled her back a bit.
"Who are you?" Damon growled as the man looked at him.
The vampire glared at him. "That's perfect. You have no idea." He scoffed and continued to pour the remaining gasoline over Damon's body, soaking him.
"What are you talking about?" Elena asked in confusion. "What did he do?"
"He killed my girlfriend." He answered and looked back at Damon. "What did she do to you, huh? What did she do to you?!"
"Nothing." Damon stated, having worked out what was going on.
"I don't understand." Elena murmured.
"My girlfriend went to visit Stefan and Damon killed her. Got it?" He snarled.
"Lexi." Jane spoke up the vampire paused, looking at her. "Lexi was your girlfriend?" The vampire kicked Damon in the face out of spite. "Stop it!"
Elena stepped closer. "She told me about you... She said you were human."
"I was." He replied grabbing a matchbox from his pocket as he turned back to Damon. Elena knew she had to stall and she tried again.
"Lexi turned you?"
"You want to be with someone forever... you have to live forever." Damon tried to move, but the vampire kicked him back down
"She loved you." Elena spouted at him quickly. "She said "When it's real you can't walk away"."
The vampire turned to her. "Well that's a choice you're not going to have to make." He snapped at both of them.
"Don't! Don't, please, don't hurt him." Elena begged.
The vampire looked at Damon and lit a match. "I'm doing you a favor."
"It's not Damon's fault." Jane blurted before he could toss the match on the downed vampire. Everyone looked at her including Damon.
"What?" The vampire asked in confusion, the match quickly going back out.
Jane nodded. "I…I didn't warn Lexi she was going to die. I-I'm a Seer and I saw her die." She stepped closer to him. "It's my fault, Lee." His eyes snapped up to hers in shock. She nodded. "I'm telling you the truth."
"Why didn't you warn her about him? Why didn't you stop him?"
Jane bit her lip hard. "I…I meant too, but I was…I was drunk. Lexi and I drank and…I'm so sorry." Lee hung his head for a moment.
"Lexi was always drinking." He muttered with a small laugh. He looked up at her. "I don't blame you."
"Lexi loved you and she was good, and that means you're good too." Jane told him.
Elena nodded. "Be better than him. Don't do this. I'm begging you."
"Please, Lee." Jane whispered. "Just let him go."
Lee looked down at Damon who was weak on the ground and picked him up by his collar. He stared at Damon for a moment tossing the vampire away from him and into a wall a few feet away. Damon slammed into it and fell to the ground with a groan of pain.
"Thank you." Elena breathed out in relief.
"It wasn't for you." The vampire said softly and glanced at Jane once before darting off into the night. Elena and Jane waited a moment and then ran over to Damon.
"You really need to learn how to make friends, Damon." Jane told him and he snorted a laugh.
"What and miss out on all the fun?"
"You smell like gasoline. Real fun time."
Elena giggled and Damon rolled his eyes.
Stefan walked Bonnie up into her Grandmother's house and Sheila opened the door when she sensed them. "Well, look who's returned form battle." She greeted Bonnie and pulled her granddaughter into a comforting hug. "Can I talk to your friend for a minute?" She asked and Bonnie nodded before turning back to Stefan.
"Thank you." Bonnie smiled and Stefan nodded once.
"I appreciate your help, Stefan." Sheila smiled once Bonnie was out of sight.
Stefan smirked. "You're welcome... Sheila."
"I wasn't sure you remembered."
"October 1969." Stefan recited with a small smile.
"I was barely a teenager." Sheila smirked.
"And you were holding one of the only anti-war sit ins within miles of Mystic Falls." Shelia nodded. "You know when you spoke people were mesmerized. I know I was."
"Until the cops showed up." She laughed and Stefan laughed too. "You took a big risk coming to see me earlier... letting me read you, realizing who you were. It could have gone a complete different way." She informed him and he nodded seriously.
"You family has a very long history of keeping my secret... I knew that I could trust you, if you believed I was worthy of your trust."
Shelia looked worried. "Bonnie knows, doesn't she?" She asked quietly.
"Yes." Stefan nodded solemnly. Shelia sighed.
"Please understand, out loyalty can only extend so far. This town won't be easy on any of us if they figure it out. And I'll protect my own before anybody else."
"I know that." Stefan mused. He didn't blame her.
"As long as we're clear. So how is Jane?"
"She's…confused."
Shelia nodded. "Keep her safe, Stefan. What she is? What she truly is..." The woman shook her head. "Jane's too sweet a girl to be messed up in that."
"What do you mean?"
The witch handed him a leather bound book tied with strings. "Read. That is Mona Evans' journal. She asked me to keep it safe for her. She had hoped that her granddaughter hadn't gotten this particular power, but I'm afraid she has."
Stefan's brow furrowed. "Why didn't you give this to Jane?"
"Because once she finds out…I don't think she'll ever trust another living soul. Including her own friends."
Damon watched Bree take another shot of tequila, her head tossed back. He watched her slender throat swallow the liquid and felt a bit of remorse filter through him. She had been one of the few people in the world he had trusted and she had proved that to be a mistake. He would always hold a special memory of her within his mind, but this betrayal went too deep for him to reconsider not doing what he came to finish.
Bree turned to him, almost surprised to see him there.
"The girls and I were just leaving, I want to say goodbye." Damon informed her and his tone was neutral with wasn't a good sign.
"Good to see you again, Damon." She whispered.
"No kiss?" He asked, slightly smirking at her.
Bree swallowed. "I full of Vervain." She said rapidly. "I put it in everything I drink."
"And you're telling me this why?" Damon asked in a "Why do I care?" voice.
"Lexi was my friend. How could you?" She turned around to walk away, but Damon was suddenly there and she gasped. "The tomb can be opened." She blurted in a last attempt to stay his purpose for the visit.
"You're lying!" Damon growled at her.
"Emily's grimoire." Bree tried again. She would help him as the last thing she would ever do. "Her spell book. If you know how she closed the tomb the reversal process will be in her book. You can open the tomb. Use that and the girl. Her blood must be used to make the reversal powerful enough."
"And where is this book?" Damon questioned, stepping closer as Bree walked backwards.
"I–I…."
"You have no idea."
"No. I'm telling the truth." Bree looked at him frantically, her back against the bar. There was nowhere left to run.
"And I believe you." Damon's eyes softened for a moment as he gently touched her cheek. "My dear, sweet, Bree. That's why I'm almost sorry." He reached into her chest and tore out her heart in seconds. Bree gasped and the life went out of her as he stepped away from her body. No one betrayed him and got away with it.
"So why did you bring me with you?" Elena questioned as they sped down the road on the way home. Jane was asleep in the back seat.
"Well... you're not the worst company in the world, Elena. You should give yourself more credit." He joked. "Jane isn't either."
"Seriously?"
Damon shrugged. "I don't know...you were there in the road, all damsel in distress like. And I knew it would piss off Stefan...And you're not the worse company in the world, Elena."
"I used to be more fun." She sighed.
"You did okay."
"I saved your life." She informed him with a smug smile.
"I know." He smirked.
"Actually. Jane saved your life. And don't you forget it." She warned him.
Damon dropped Elena off at his house so she could talk to Stefan and then drove Jane to her house.
"Great. Sheriff Forbes." Jane sighed as she spotted the police car.
"I called her and told her I found you. She doesn't know that you already learned about the vampires." Damon sent her a look. "So listen to her speech and play along."
"I can act, Damon." Jane told him with a roll of her eyes. He smirked and shut off the car.
Liz got out of her car and embraced Jane as the blond stepped out of Damon's car.
"Thank god, you are all right!"
"I'm fine. Just…A little shaken up. Damon explained it to me. I…I just didn't know those things existed."
Liz nodded solemnly. "Don't worry. We took care of it. You're safe." She pulled back with a sigh. "Jane…your mother…"
"What about her?"
"They are losing her."
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