Chapter 12
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story besides Charlie
In the middle of the night, I wake up to someone knocking on my window. I try to ignore the knocking but then I hear Damon talking.
"Charlie, invite me in. I know you're awake. I can tell by your heartbeat."
"Come in" I mumble into my pillow. I open my eyes to see Damon climb in through the window. As soon as he's in my room he heads straight from my closet. He then starts pulling out clothes and proceeds to throw them at me.
"Get up" he says, "We're going for a drive."
"Where to?" I ask as I pull myself out of my nice warm bed.
"You don't need to know that. Get dressed. I'll be waiting in the car" he says then exits the room. I look at the clothes he pulled out and I shake my head. I walk back over to my closet and pick out different clothes.
I open the passenger door of Damon's car and I take a seat. As soon as my door is closed Damon starts the car and takes off down the road.
"Can you tell me where we're going now?" I asks him as we drive pass the Welcome to Mystic Falls sign and we leave Mystic Falls.
"We are going on a little road trip to Georgia. I thought it would be a fun idea. Do you have a problem with that?" he says without taking his eyes off of the road.
"No. No problem. Just wanted to know where we are going" as I finish that sentence I become aware of another presence in the car. I turn around and I see Elena laying on the backseat, knocked out.
"What the hell Damon!"
"What?" he asks while looking at me innocently.
"Don't what me. Why is Elena knocked out on the backseat?!"
"She may or may not have been in a car accident."
"What? Is she okay" I ask while looking at Elena, worriedly.
"She will be fine. She just has to sleep it off."
"Why did you come and get me if you already had Elena with you?" I ask as I turn back around to face the front of the car.
Damon looks at me and asks "is that jealously I hear?"
"What? No. I was just wondering."
"Uh huh. Sure you were."
"I am not jealous" I state as I cross my arms and look out of my window.
"Please don't be mad at me. I'm just teasing" he says.
I continue looking out of my window and I ignore him. When he realises that I'm not going to reply to him, he sighs and he turns the radio on.
A while later I hear can hear Elena slowly waking up.
"Morning" Damon says to her.
"Where are we?" Elena asks as she sits up.
"Georgia" Damon replies.
"Georgia? No, no. No, we're not. Seriously, Damon. Where are we?"
"Hate to butt into this conversation but Elena we are in Georgia" I say as I turn around to look at Elena. Elena looks at me in what appears to be shock.
"Charlie? What are you doing here?"
"Damon decided to go on a road trip and he decided to drag me along."
"How do you even know Damon?"
"I drank her blood a couple of times" Damon butts into mine and Elena's conversation.
"You know what he is?" she asks me.
"Yeah, but enough about me. How are you feeling?"
"I-I" Elena starts to say but Damon cuts her off "There's no broken bones. I checked."
"That's not creepy at all" I mutter to myself but I know Damon heard me by the look that he shots me.
"But my car. There was a man. I hit a man. But then he got up and- who was that?" asks Elena.
"That's what I want to know" Damon states.
Elena then decides to start freaking out.
"Where's my phone? Ok. We really need to go back. Nobody knows where I am. Pull over. I mean it, Damon. Pull over! Stop the car!"
"For god sake Damon. Would you just pull over to shut her up" I snap, getting very annoyed with Elena's freaking out.
"Oh, Elena. You were so much more fun when you were asleep and Charlie, you were more fun ignoring me." Damon says as he pulls the car over onto the side of the road. Damon and Elena both get out of the car and I slowly follow them. When I close my door I look up to see Damon holding Elena up. For some odd reason, seeing his arms around her makes my stomach churn. I shake the feeling away when I see Elena step away from him and say "why are you doing this? I can't be in Georgia. I wrecked my car. I have to go home. This is kidnapping."
"That's a little melodramatic, don't you think?" Damon asks.
I laugh at what he asks but I try to hide it by turning it into a cough.
"You're not funny. You can't do this. I'm not going to Georgia" Elena says stubbornly.
"Charlie thinks I'm funny."
"Don't bring me into this." I say to Damon.
Damon ignores me and turns back to Elena. "Anyway, you're IN Georgia. Without your magical little necklace, I might add. I can very easily make you... agreeable."
"What are you trying to prove?" Before Damon has a chance to answer Elena, a phone starts ringing.
"That's my phone" Elena states. Damon pulls Elena phone out of his pocket and looks at the screen.
"Hmm. It's your boyfriend. I'll take it." Damon says then he answers the phone. "Elena's phone."
"Elena? She's right here. And, yes, she's fine."
"He wants to talk to you" Damon says and holds the phone out to Elena.
"Uh-uh" Elena shakes her head.
Damon puts the phone back to his ear and starts talking again.
"Yeah. I don't - I don't think she really wants to talk to you right now."
"You have a good day. Mm-hmm. Bye now." Damon hangs up the phone and puts it back into his pocket.
"Look. No one knows where we are. Can we please just go back?" Elena asks Damon.
"We're almost there."
"Where is there?" I interrupt.
"A little place right outside of Atlanta. Oh, come on, Elena. You don't see Charlie worrying about going back. She chose to come on this road trip. You don't wanna go back right now. Do you? What's the rush? Time out. Trust me. Your problems are still going to be there when you get home. Look. Step away from your life for 5 minutes. 5 minutes!"
"That was very convincing" I say after Damon finishes his little speech. He looks at me and smiles.
"Am I gonna be safe with you?" Elena ask.
I throw my hands up into the air. I feel like every conversation just goes around in circles with Elena.
"Yes" Damon says.
"You promise not to do that mind control thing with me?"
"Yes."
"Can I trust you?"
"Get in the car. Come on" Damon then walks around to the driver's side of the car and gets in. I follow his lead and I get into the backseat of the car. I figure that it's Elena's turn riding up front. Elena very cautiously get in the front of the car. Damon then starts driving again.
A short while later Elena breaks the silence by asking "so, where's my car?"
"I pulled it off to the side of the road. I don't think anyone will bother it" Damon says.
"What about the man in the road? Was he a...?" Elena trails off.
"From what I could tell. Yeah."
"You didn't know him?"
"If I've never met him, I wouldn't know him. I mean, it's not like we all hang out together at the vamp bar and grill."
"Oh my god. That is an awesome idea. How much do you reckon I would make if I opened one of them?" I asked no one in particular.
"I don't think that's a very good idea" Elena says as Damon pulls in front of a bar named 'Bree's Bar.'
"Why not?"
"Because the vampires would eat any human that came into the bar" Damon states as he turns the car off.
"Oh, right."
"Where are we? You bought us to a bar? Damon, Charlie and I aren't old enough. They're not going to let us in" Elena tells him.
"Sure they will" Damon says as he gets out of the car. Elena and I both follow his lead and we get out of the car. I close my door behind me and follow Damon into the bar. As soon as we take a seat at the bar, the woman behind the bar says "no. No, it can't be. Damon. My honey pie." She then proceeds to lean over the bar and grabs Damon. She pulls him in and kisses him. I gag as I see this and then I look away. When they pull away from each other, the woman says "listen up everybody! Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness." The lady then proceeds to pour shots. "Drink up!" The lady and Damon both have a shot.
"Ahh. Whoo! So, how'd he rope you in?" she asks Elena as she pours her a shot.
"I'm not roped in. Actually, I'm dating his-"
"Honey, if you're not roped in, you're whipped. Either way just enjoy the ride" the lady cuts Elena off.
"Um, excuse me. What's your name?" I ask her.
"The name's Bree. This is my bar."
"Ok. So, how do you know Damon?" I ask her yet another question.
"Collage" she replies shortly.
"You went to collage?" Elena asks Damon.
"I've been on a collage campus, yes" Damon replies.
"About 20 years ago, when I was a sweet, young freshman I met this beautiful man, and I fell in love. And then he told me about his little secret, made me love him even more. Because, you see, I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody" Bree says.
"She's a witch" Damon stage whispers.
I look back over at this bar keeper. I guess I can see that she's a witch, kinda. But I would have never know if Damon hadn't of told us.
"Changed my world, you know" Bree says.
"I rocked your world" Damon says smugly.
"He is good in the sack, isn't he?" Bree asks me and Elena. "But mostly he's just a walk away Joe. So, what is it that you want?"
About an hour and a half later and a lot of shots, Elena gets a phone call from Jenna so she goes outside to take it.
"Damon" poke. "Damon" poke. "Damon" poke. After I poked him a few more times, he turns his head and looks at me.
"Can I help you with something?" he asks.
"Can I have another shot?" I ask then start giggling.
"I think you've had enough" Damon says and take my shot glass out of my hand.
"Pleeeease" I say and I bat my eyelashes at him. He sighs and says "last one." He then pours one last shot for me. As soon as the shot is poured, I grab it off of the bar and take it. I then proceed to slam the glass back onto the bar. Damon then takes my shot glass back away from me. He turns to Bree and says "no more drinks for her." He then points at me.
"Alright" Bree says as she sets a glass of water in front of me.
"You ruin all my fun" I say to Damon as I pout.
Damon chooses to ignore me and goes back to the conversation he was having with Bree before I interrupted them. "Come on, there's gotta be another way."
"After all these years, it's still only Katherine. How do you even know she's still alive?"
"Who's Katherine?" I ask.
"Shh. Drink your water" Damon tells me, I take a sip of my water. He then says to Bree "well, you help me get into that tomb and we'll find out."
"I already did. 20 years ago. Remember? 3 easy steps - Comet. Crystal. Spell."
"There's a little problem with number 2. I don't have the crystal."
"Why do you need a crystal to get into a random tomb to get some girl called Katherine?" I ask feeling out of the loop. Damon just looks at me. "Yeah, yeah. I know. I'll just drink my water."
"That's it, Damon. There is no other way. It's Emily's spell" Bree says as Damon turns back to her.
"What about a new spell with a new crystal that overrides Emily's spell" Damon asks.
"It doesn't work that way, baby. Emily's spell is absolute. You can't get into that tomb."
"Damon" I say.
"Yes?"
"Can I please go play pool?" I ask while looking at the pool tables where a couple of really cute guys are playing.
"I suppose. Just stay inside and don't leave" he says.
"Thank you" I say as I hope of off my stool. I kiss his check and I make my way over to the pool tables.
"Hey, can I play?" I ask one of the really cute guys.
After about two games of pool, Damon comes over and says "I got you some food. Come eat it."
"Okay. Bye guys" I says as I put the cue stick down and walk to the bar with Damon. When we reach the bar, Elena is already there eating. Damon sits on the stool next to her and I sit on the other side of him. I take a huge bite of my burger as Elena starts talking "Let's just say that I'm a descended from Katherine - Does that make me part vampire?"
"Wait! The same Katherine that-" I didn't get a chance to finishes my question because Damon wrapped his arm around my neck and put his hand over my mouth.
"Vampires can't procreate. But we love to try. No. If you were related, it would mean Katherine had a child before she was turned."
Elena looks weirdly at the fact that Damon hand is covering my mouth but she ignores it, asking "Did Stefan think that he could use me to replace her?"
Damon looks at me as he removes his hand. I get the message that he doesn't want me to say anything about Katherine or the tomb.
"Kinda creepy if you ask me. Come on, what? You don't like pickles? What's wrong with you?" Damon ask as Elena takes the pickles off of her burger. Damon then take the pickles off of Elena's plate and eats them.
"How can you even eat? If technically you're supposed to be..." I trail off.
"Dead. 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" Damon says as he smiles at me.
"This nice act. Is any of it real?" Elena asks.
"Here you go" Bree cuts in as she hands Damon a beer.
"Thank you" Damon says to her.
"I'll have one two" Elena says.
"Hmm?" Damon says looking at Elena.
"Time out, remember? For 5 minutes? Yeah, well that 5 minutes is going to need a beer" says Elena.
"There you go" says Bree as she hands Elena a beer.
"Can I have one?" I ask.
"No" Damon replies.
"Why not?"
"Because one, you're 16. Two, you're a lightweight and three, I said so" Damon says taking a sip of his beer.
I just decided to sit back on my stool and to eat my burger.
A little while later I am still at the bar watching Damon, Elena, Bree and a few other random people taking shots. I would be more than happy to take shots with them but I can't. All because Damon says I can't. Who died and made him king.
"Ready...Go!" Bree says then they all take a shot. Elena slammed her glass back onto the bar and claps.
"That's 3. Do you need a bib?" She asks Damon.
"Sorry I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol."
"Whatever. All right. Who's next? Another round Bree."
"You should be on the floor by now" I say to Elena. She looks at me and says "I am not even drunk. My tolerance is, like, way up here." She then proceeds to jump up and down and reach up to the sky.
"Yeah, you're not drunk at all" I say sarcastically.
"All right. Here you go" Bree says as she pours another round of shots.
After another hour of taking shots and playing pool, Elena's phone rings. She decided to take it outside and soon after she leaves, Damon follows her. Two pool games after he leaves, he comes back and says "we're leaving. Go outside to the car."
"But we were just about to start another game. Can't we stay a little longer please?" I whine.
"No, Charlie. Now go wait in the car. Elena's out there" he replies.
"But-"
"Now Charlie."
"Fine" I say as I put my cue stick down. I then make my way out to the car and I get into the back seat because Elena was already sitting in the front seat. When Damon finally comes out of the bar and gets into the driver's seat, I decided to lay down and go to sleep.
After some time later I wake up to someone placing me in my bed.
"Damon?" I ask as I curl up into my pillow.
"Yeah?" he replies.
"Thanks for taking me tonight. I had fun."
"Glad you had fun. Now go back to sleep"
"Mmm, kay."
As I slowly drift back to sleep I feel Damon stroke my hair.