Hello, my lovely readers. One crisis is averted while others bubble beneath the surface in this chapter. On with the show…
Chapter 24: Of Monsters and Men
A week passed. Then another. Three. Four. Before Rebekah knew it was the day of their prom. Life seemed to be moving rather quickly. Things had calmed down since her friends discovered the supernatural in their midst. After the initial shock, they'd come to a decision to accept things for what they were. Well, not everyone, Klaus was still upset about Bekah dating Stefan.
"I forbid you to go to prom with him," Klaus hissed into her ear as they walked down the hall toward the front doors.
"Nik, it's not your decision. It's my life. Besides, do I forbid you to date Caroline in spite of the possibility of her having a disease?" Rebekah retorted, glancing at her brother and tossing her long locks over her shoulder.
"I don't have any diseases. Or at least I don't now," Caroline cried, startling Rebekah by slapping her on the back and then leaping into Klaus' arms, wrapping her arms and legs around him. "Miss me?" she demanded, staring into Klaus' eyes.
"Always," Klaus replied, kissing her.
"Ew," Bonnie let out a giggle, coming to join them with Kol who had his arm wrapped around her shoulders. "Please! Do us all a favor and get a room!"
"I second that," Rebekah added.
Kol grinned. "I would like to offer a veto," he announced and the girls rolled their eyes at him. "What? Our cable is not working and this is the closest I get to HBO right now."
Stefan appeared with Elena. "Hey, Bekah," he said, leaning over and giving her a quick kiss. "Are you ready for tonight?"
"I believe so," Rebekah told him, lacing her fingers with his and leaning on tiptoe into another, longer kiss.
"Enough," Klaus snapped, glaring at Stefan.
Stefan wrapped an arm around Rebekah's waist. "Klaus, I'm not going to hurt her," he said quietly but firmly.
Rebekah looked from her boyfriend to her brother. She could see the silent battle of wills being played out between the two. Klaus shook his head and set Caroline on her feet. "Let's go," he muttered, striding off.
"How's Damon?" Elena asked, drawing their attention. Elena seemed to be avoiding Damon since she found out about his being a vampire. She'd been avoiding the older Salvatore brother and he'd been avoiding her, too.
"Why don't you stop by the house with me and Bekah and you ask him yourself?" Stefan suggested.
Elena shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. Not after the way that I—the way that we left things. It was pretty bad." She looked so uncertain and lost. Rebekah felt a mixture of emotions boiling to the surface. The one that won was annoyance.
"Look, Elena, he's still Damon. He's an arse. You knew that. Now, you know that he lives off of—what he lives off of," she looked around as they left the school building, "it changes nothing. If you love him, it changes nothing at all."
Elena tucked her hair behind her ear and shouldered her bag. "Okay. I guess I can come over. For just a couple of minutes. We still need to get ready for tonight." A faint smile tugged at the corners of Elena's lips. "I never thought I'd be going to prom. I don't have a date but that's okay. I'm sure I won't be the only one going stag."
"You can come with us," Bonnie said. "Kol keeps talking about a threesome."
Elena let out a shocked giggle while Kol grinned happily. "Yeah. Okay. But the only part that's going to be a threesome in the prom part, not the night of the prom part."
"We'll see where the mood takes us," Kol said which caused Bonnie to scoff before she slapped him on the arm, hard.
"Hey, guys! What's up?" Matt called, jogging over to them. "Hey, Rebekah."
"Matt, did you know that Elena is going to prom with Kol and Bonnie? Perhaps you could even out their numbers? Think of it as a favor to me," Rebekah told the boy, flashing him a wide smile.
Matt cleared his throat, looked at Elena and then back at Rebekah before smiling back. "Sure. Sounds like fun. Save me a dance?" he asked Rebekah.
"Of course," Rebekah replied.
"I've got to go. Ty's got some family drama and –" Matt shrugged. "Anyway, I'll see you tonight." He hurried off and Stefan watched him with a frown.
"What's wrong?" Rebekah asked him.
Stefan glanced back at Rebekah. "Nothing."
"That is not true," Kol jumped in, being the nuisance he'd been born as.
Stefan looked at Kol. "You're right. I just don't know what is wrong."
"You mean other than the Lockwoods running around on all fours and howling at the moon three nights of the year?" Kol offered with another grin. "I think that would sum it up quite well."
"Kol, shut up!" Bonnie whisper-shouted. "We're in the freakin' school parking lot! You don't know who's listening to us!" She looked around, hugging herself.
"You act as if someone will pop out at us from one of the bloody bushes." Kol shook his head, heading toward his car and unlocking it. "For my part, I'm not worried," he said.
"Ugh!" a groan came from inside Kol's car and Kol let out a shriek before back-peddling into the car behind him.
"What in the bloody hell is in my car?" Kol demanded, pressing himself into the car behind him.
Stefan moved over to the car, peered inside and then laughed. "Why don't you take a look?" He waved at Kol's car and Kol moved toward it with look of uncertainty.
"Bloody hell!" Kol groaned, pulling open the backseat door. "Jer, what are you doing?"
"Anna," Jeremy moaned.
"No, that's Kol," Bonnie replied, peering at Jeremy who looked drunk.
"Jeremy!" Elena cried, coming over to glare at her brother.
"Hey, sis, what's going on?" Jeremy asked, rubbing his hand over his eyes and yawning.
"You're in my car!" Kol shouted, waving his arms in the air and looking perturbed. Rebekah grinned. This was the most at ease she'd felt in a month. "What are you doing in my car?" Kol yelled.
"This is your car?" Jeremy looked confused. "Huh. I thought it was Elena's. Oh, well. Sorry." Jeremy sat up. "While I'm in here, can I get a ride back home?"
Kol let out a grunt of disgust. "If you puke, I will make you pay to have it cleaned," he threatened.
"Cool," Jeremy nodded before falling over and going back to sleep.
Bonnie began to giggle. "See you later," she said, waving before getting into Kol's car.
Rebekah sighed, took Stefan's hand and they went over to his car with Elena. Honestly, Rebekah had no idea if Elena confronting Damon was a good idea or a dreadful one but at any rate. It was better than just waiting until they ran into each other in public and had it out.
The drive to the Salvatore's was a quiet one, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Elena got out of the car last. Then she stood beside Stefan's car until Rebekah took her by the hand and led her to the house. "You'll be alright. We'll be with you the whole time," Rebekah reassured the girl. She had no idea how much help she could be since she was stuck in this human body but she'd try at the very least.
"Thanks," Elena whispered.
Stefan opened the front door. "Damon!" he called. "I'm home."
Damon must have answered because Stefan headed upstairs, listening to something that Rebekah and Elena could not hear. "He's upstairs," Stefan told the girls. "Rebekah and Elena. Yes. I know. Calm down. No!" Stefan snarled, his fangs popping out. "Not funny! Damon, I'm not kidding!"
"What?' Rebekah demanded.
"Nothing," Stefan muttered, relaxing his features.
Elena frowned and her body looked stiff, her shoulders hunched and her eyes narrowed. "He threatened us, didn't he?" she stated, her tone dark.
"No," Stefan answered, too quickly.
Elena shook her head and they entered the hallway. Stefan moved in front of them and walked into what Rebekah believed was Damon's bedroom. "Damon?" he called, looking around.
Rebekah looked around; then let out a cry when a pair of arms encircled her waist and pulled her against a cool body. "Over here, brother," Damon said, his hand moving around her throat.
"Damon, let her go!" Stefan yelled.
"Why? Think of the fun if I made her into one of us and we could go on the road. Take a tour of Europe. You like traveling, don't you, Bex?" Damon whispered into her ear.
"Damon, stop this!" Elena shouted, glaring at him, her eyes boring holes into him while tears ran down her cheeks. "Just stop it! Right now! Just stop!" Her body trembled but her voice was steady. "If you want to turn someone, turn me!"
Rebekah felt Damon's arms loosen around her. "Turn you? You can't stand the fact that you mistakenly involved yourself with me? Why would I want to make you into a vampire? You'd be a terrible vampire. You'd be worse at it than Stef and that is saying something, honey."
Letting go of Rebekah, Damon grabbed Elena and jerked her against him. "You want me to kill you instead? You've got a death wish, right? Maybe that's it. Right? You want me to end your sad little human existence and then you won't have to cry about mommy and daddy and worry about little brother and whether you'll have a date to prom? Poor you! Poor, poor little Elena and her poor, sad little life! Yeah. Let me fix this for you."
Elena glared at Damon. "Why don't you? Come on, Damon? You're a big, bad, unredeemable monster! Please, do us all a favor and prove yourself right about every hideous thing you think about yourself! I should have known you were a vampire, since you don't care about anything but yourself! Oh wait, no, that's not being a vampire! That's just you being you!"
"Oh, I'm going to enjoy killing you! I'm going to make it nice and slow!" Damon hissed, his fangs coming out.
"Damon, stop!" Stefan yelled.
Rebekah grabbed Stefan's shoulder, shaking her head. She could be wrong but she thought it was best to see how this played out. Stefan gave her a look like he thought she had lost her mind but did not try to interfere.
"Do it!" Elena screamed, punching Damon in the shoulder. "Do it! Do it! Do it!" she continued to scream as Damon sank his fangs into her neck and she let out a cry and then they waited.
Rebekah knew that if Damon didn't stop soon that she would have to help Stefan stop Damon from killing her friend. She just hoped that that it didn't come to that.
After a second, Damon pulled back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Damn it," he grunted.
"Why did you stop?" Elena cried, panting and placing a hand to her neck.
"Because…" Damon let out a cry of frustration. "Because I…" He groaned, turning away from her.
"Because you care?" Elena said quietly. "Caring is human, Damon. That means you're not a monster."
"And you don't really want to die," Damon snapped, turning back to face Elena who looked surprised.
"Yeah. I guess I don't." Shrugging, Elena peered up at Damon. "I'm sorry for the way I reacted when I found out about you. It's just strange. I never thought that vampires existed but it explains a lot."
"Like? Why you're so strong and fast," Elena told him.
"You noticed?" Damon cracked a smile.
"Yeah. Even before you looked at me twice. I noticed a lot of things about you." Elena glanced at the floor.
"You had a thing for me?" Damon teased her.
Elena blushed. "Yes."
"Maybe we should leave you two alone," Stefan suggested.
"Isn't there some kind of stupid dance you're taking Rebekah to tonight?" Damon asked, not bothering to look at Stefan.
"You mean prom?" Rebekah inquired.
"Yeah. That archaic tradition," Damon stated with a smile. "You want to go with me, Lena?"
Elena's eyebrows rose. "I already have a date."
"Cancel," Damon ordered her.
"No! That would be rude and Matt's a nice guy," Elena protested.
"Nice guys finish last. Ask Stef," Damon retorted, his eyes widening.
Stefan rolled his own eyes. "Thanks. We're going to my room while you two work out the details. Damon, try to not turn your girlfriend into a vampire, and, Elena, try to not allow Damon to eat your date."
Rebekah took Stefan's hand and he led her into up to his bedroom. They undressed and climbed into bed, whiling away the next two hours with pleasurable activities that left them both gasping for breath.
"Let's forget the prom and stay here tonight," Stefan suggested, pressing soft kisses to Rebekah's lips.
"You're not getting out of this, Stefan, I've spent the majority of my life wishing to have these trivial moments that so many humans take for granted." Rebekah ran her hands over his back, looking into his eyes while Stefan smiled down at her, running his lips down her cheek and stopping at the base of her throat, she felt his fangs brush her skin before they disappeared and his lips moved downward. "Do not try to distract me, Stefan," she warned before he made her cry out, her back arching.
"You want to go to a school function where someone's going to spike a punch bowl, get into a fight, someone's going to end up crying, someone's going to break up and there will probably be at least one fatality involving a car accident and alcohol?" Stefan questioned her. "When we could spend the rest of the day, all night and the next morning doing more of this?" he slipped back under the covers and Rebekah moaned.
"Yes, I do. Now, finish up because I'm off to join my friends at my home when we're done here." Rebekah stated before she let out a loud cry.
"Keep it down in there!" Damon shouted.
"Okay. That's it! We'll have to continue this after the dance," Stefan groaned, his head popping out from under the covers, his lips pressing to hers before he climbed off of her.
"Thank you, Damon," Rebekah groaned in frustration.
"You're welcome," Damon said, flinging the door open and coming inside in a tux. "How do I look?" he asked.
"Get out of my room!" Stefan yelled, pointing at the door with one hand while he pulled his pants up with the other.
"Oh, come on, Stef, I've seen you naked since you were a baby, anything changes; I'll drop a five." Damon turned to Rebekah. "Lady's opinion." He waved at the suit.
"You look nice, Damon," Rebekah said. "Now, will you, please, try to be a gentleman and allow me to dress?"
Damon smirked at her. "Where's the fun in that?"
"Get out!" Stefan thundered.
"Okay. Okay!" Damon held up his hands, rolling his eyes. "No, need to get your panties in a twist. Oh, and Bex, Lena, Caroline and Bonnie are all downstairs, waiting on you. Looks like Caroline decided to bring the party to us. Good idea since we've got plenty of room and I don't mind ladies prancing around in their underwear in my house."
"And that would be exactly why we're going to the Grill until you're ready," Stefan said, tugging on his shirt, kissing Rebekah and then crossing the room to shove Damon out ahead of him.
"You're not kicking me out of my own house!" Damon yelled. "And I'm not going into the Grill dressed like this. I have a reputation to maintain! Stefan! Stefan! Let go of me! Is that vervain! Ow!"
Rebekah slipped off of Stefan's bed before dressing herself. She felt pleased to be able to wander around the Salvatore home unhindered by Damon's spontaneous appearances and his erratic behavior. It would also be nice to have some girl time.
"Re-be-kah!" Caroline called, popping into the room. "Ha! I finally found you! I've been all over this house looking for you. Did you know that they keep blood in a freezer in the basement and have some kind of weird cell in the basement? I wonder if Stefan has some kind of weird thing about role play and chaining women in the basement? I think that's scarier than being a vampire."
"Shut up, Caroline," Rebekah moaned, walking around her friend.
"I brought your dress," Caroline sang behind her.
Rebekah whirled on her heel, placing a finger in Caroline's face. "So help me, Caroline, if you did anything to my dress, I will become your worst nightmare!"
Caroline let out a laugh, rolling her eyes. "Chill. I didn't do anything to it. Although anything I did to it would be an improvement. That dress in boring with a capital B."
"At least I won't look like tart," Rebekah spat back.
"You found her!" Bonnie shouted, coming up the stairs with a bottle of champagne. "I found where they keep the good stuff."
"And I know where Damon's room is," Elena told them.
Rebekah's eyebrows rose. "I do not want to get ready in his room."
"Trust me. You do," Caroline replied, taking the bottle from Bonnie and drinking.
Elena led the way into the bedroom where a TV played. Caroline grinned. "I want to move in here," she announced.
"Me, too," Bonnie exclaimed, running over and tossing herself on top of the bed and flopping on her back. "This is amazing."
"Yes, it is," Elena added, going over and falling down beside Bonnie. Caroline crawled in between them and beckoned Rebekah to join them. They handed the bottle around the group.
"Tyler's going to be a werewolf one day," Caroline said, looking into the bottle. "That's going to be weird. I mean our lives are weird and I don't really care. It's just that I feel like I'm helpless now. More helpless than I was before when I knew there were horrible people in the world and that I just wanted to take charge of my life. But now there are these monsters—"
"They're not monsters, Care, they're just like us, only not," Elena tried to explain and then looked confused.
"Vampires have feelings. Heightened senses. And they have to live off the blood of living creatures to live. Werewolves are a different breed of animal. They can be quiet dangerous. Once they change they have little self-control –" Rebekah tried to help Elena explain when Caroline interrupted.
"But that wolf last month stopped because Tyler told it to. So they do have some self-control," Caroline pointed out. "Or it recognized Ty."
Bonnie nodded. "That was weird."
"Let's forget about vampires and werewolves and figure out what exactly we're going to do with Caroline's hair," Rebekah said with a devious smile.
Caroline looked at the other girls. "You're not touching my hair," she warned them.
"Get her!" Rebekah shouted and Caroline tried to get away but the others piled on her, tying her wrists and ankles with a sheet Rebekah ripped up. Damon could bill her. "Now, what do you think? Red? Blonde? Brunette?" Caroline muttered curses at her while she struggled. "Oh, well, we'll figure something out before tonight."
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Peace,
Jessica