N: I am terribly sorry for the delay; my internet connection's a mess here. I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me.
This chapter's short, I know, but I hope you'll like it.
Thank you to my wonderful beta Valerie (2serendipity)!
Bloody truth
"That's not possible," Bonnie said, looking at the floor like the answer to every question of the universe was imprinted there.
"Are you sure? Where exactly is your witchy mother anyway? Last time I checked on her, she was in Colorado; and that was like, four years ago `or so," Damon asked, and Bonnie turned around to look at him.
"You checked on my mother?" Bonnie asked, surprised.
"Well…yeah…" Damon answered, looking a little embarrassed. "It was the whole 'protect the Bennett witches' thing. Don't you remember?"
"Oh…I…I don't know where she is…"
"Well then, for all we know, she could be the one that sent it – whatever 'it' is – here, right?"
"He is a werewolf," Elena answered, getting the satisfaction of seeing everyone's attention turning to her at once. "He didn't turn because of his ring. You know, the ring Matt thought was to protect him from sunlight. He says that Bonnie's mother spelled it for him a year after he triggered the curse, and that he hasn't turned since."
"What? There's a ring… a ring that can stop me from turning? Why didn't anyone tell me this sooner?" Tyler asked, looking around.
"Because no one knew, I guess," Elena answered.
"There wasn't anything in Emily's grimoire about it, or in any of the other grimoires we took from the Martins. I didn't know such a spell even existed," Bonnie said.
"Maybe it didn't exist. I mean, every witch can make her own spells, right?" Damon asked, and Bonnie nodded in approval.
"Yes, they can; but it takes a lot of power, more than my mom had, I think."
"Maybe she had help? Who knows; maybe she got some dead witches to help her , just like you did; only, you blew it of course," Damon remarked, gaining him a sharp look from Elena.
"Oh, don't give me that look! Am I the only one who thinks this would've turned out way better if Bonnie would've killed Klaus like she was supposed to, when she was supposed to?"
"Damon, we've talked about this before. Bonnie could've died using that much power…" Elena started.
"Yeah, as opposed to Jenna, John, Jules…I mean, I hated the woman and I can't really say I minded her death all that much, but still. Now Stefan's off the wagon and many lives have been and will be lost because Klaus is still walking the earth. You really tell me it's better that all these people died, and more probably will die instead of just one?" he asked, looking directly into Elena's eyes.
One single tear left her eye to run down her cheek, and Damon had to resort to his last bit of strength not to run over and wipe it away with his fingers, then take her fragile body in his arms, to hold her tight and tell her everything was going to be ok, to apologize for the harsh words that he had just used to her.
"He is right…" Bonnie said. Her eyes were still glued to the floor.
Before anyone had the chance to say anything, Elena ran out of the room.
***season three – off the wagon***
"Hey there, sugar, how come a girl like you gets to be all alone at this time of night?" the guy asked. She turned around just in time to witness the huge smile on his face. "I'm Luke, and you are?" He continued.
"Whoever you want me to be," she answered with a smirk.
"Oh, I like that! How about I just call you Claire...?"
"Sounds great."
"So, Claire; do you wanna dance?"
"How about we go someplace quiet instead?" she whispered into his ear and he smiled, nodding in approval.
She grabbed his hand and made her way towards the door, looking over her shoulder to make sure he was still there. And sure enough, he was following her like a lost puppy.
"Nice ride!" the guy said, sounding surprised.
"I know… but you won't get to see the interior," she answered. When she turned around, her irises were still crystal blue, but her cornea was bloody red. Thick green veins were disfiguring her face and two pointy white fangs caressed her bottom lip.
"What…? Your face…it's…what are you?" he asked in shock.
"Really? Come on; fangs, bloody eyes…and there's a tip: I'll drink your blood…all of it, until there's nothing left!"
"You're a…you're a…"
"Come on, boy, I haven't got all night. I got places to be, people to kill!"
"You're a vampire."
"Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding… And the winner is: … sorry, I forgot your name again."
"Luke…th-e name's Luke," he answered with a trembling voice.
"Well, Luke, first I need you to deliver a message for me. We'll let the players in this town know we're playing, which is only fair, right?" she said and he just watched her, confused. She took a step closer to him and he took a few steps back, until his back hit the car.
"No, no, no, not the car! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get the stains of blood off…anything?"
"Wha…what…"
"Come here!" she ordered, looking him directly in the eyes, leaving him no choice but to do as he was told. She bit into her wrist and pushed it into his mouth. "Now it's my turn," she said, pulling on his hair to force his head aside. "It's only fair that I get to drink yours, since you drank mine."
Her deathly canines pricked his skin…only a soft moan escaped his lips.
Soon she was holding a dead body.
"Now be a nice boy and don't stain my leather seats," she mumbled as she dragged the body into the car.
***season three – off the wagon***
"No, Bonnie…he's not right; why the hell did you say that?" Jeremy snapped.
Damon just shrugged his shoulders and before anyone could say anything, he followed Elena up the stairs. He knocked softly on the door, but he didn't wait for an answer; he just opened the door and walked inside. He stopped in the middle of the room and just looked at the girl curled up in the middle of the bed.
He'd done it again; he'd hurt what was probably the last person in the world he wanted to hurt…but he had to, he had to push her away, keep her away from him. They weren't thinking straight: she missed his brother, he missed his brother, and the worst part was…he was the only one who knew just how really gone Stefan was. He'd read the newspapers; he'd seen it all before. He wasn't exactly lying to her: they would …no, he would get Stefan back, but it would take years and years to get him back on track; years that for him and Stefan didn't mean anything, but for a human…for her, it meant everything. She would ruin her life if she insisted on waiting for Stefan.
"I'm not here to apologize," he said.
"I know…" she whispered.
"Elena…" he started carefully, but even the smooth voice he used didn't make her turn to face him. "…I know you want him back. I want him back too. I mean, he's my brother and I love him; God knows I tried not to love him, but I can't stop. I owe it to him to try and save him, since he's like this now because of me… so I need to do this, but you don't… and you'll just ruin your life trying."
"You're wrong… I owe it to him not to give up on him too," she said in a soft voice.
"Elena… you chose to live a human life, so now you have to live it, or it will all have been for nothing. I'm sure that that's not the kind of living John had in mind when he gave his life for yours."
"That's a cheap shot, Damon."
"I know, but it's all I've got. Look, Elena, I'm not asking you not to love him or not to think about him, not to miss him and not to want him back. I'm not asking you to forget or to stop hoping, but you can't go on like that. He's gone and I'm responsible for you now…"
"You don't get to be responsible for me. I can take care of myself. I'll be 18 in like…a few hours, I'm as good as an adult now," she shouted as she turned to face him.
"Then act like one!" he retorted and he was gone before she could even open her mouth.
***season three – off the wagon***
"Is she ok?" Alaric asked. All eyes were on him as he descended the stairs.
"She'll be fine," Damon answered. "And we're taking a break from all this; we're having a party, tomorrow."
"But…do you really think that…" Alaric started, but he didn't get to finish his sentence as Damon interrupted him.
"It's Elena's 18th birthday. We're having a party and that's final. You think you can all put your own drama aside for one night on her account?"
Everyone nodded.
"Good; Blondie you still know how to throw a party, don't you? You used to be very good at this stuff back in your living days…"
"Hey!" The young vampire shouted. "I think I can still manage. At the Grill, I suppose?"
"No…" Damon said and everyone looked at him, surprised. "Here. This place is definitely big enough and I want her to remember some happiness in this house since nothing good happened here. Maybe that way, she'll look at it differently, maybe…"
"Ok, I can work with that, but that has to go…oh, that's pretty," Damon stopped talking and his eyes followed Caroline who was now pacing around the room.
Caroline stopped in the middle of the room and turned to face the group. "I'll make it look good, I promise," she said.
"I don't doubt it."
N: Here you go, please do take a minute and leave a review, it would mean a lot to me!
The next one will be my version of Elena's 18th birthday, one think I can assure you it will be full of surprises.
