Damon wanders into the living room, walking as if in some kind of trance. He clutches a wooden stake loosely in his hand. His gaze lands on me, but I know he's not here. Damon's lost in his own head, grappling with the loss of someone he considered a friend. The loss never gets easier. It hurts the same every time. The only thing that can be done is to shove it away. If we don't it becomes all-consuming. Even as a human, Damon felt the things he had to do. Putting the past behind him has become a constant struggle.
"Is it done?" I question, getting up from the couch. Gently, I take the stake away from him, tossing into the fire.
The vampire reaches out, taking my hand, "Yeah. We need to call the Sheriff. The last thing we need right now is the police department out searching for vampires again."
"We don't need to do it now, Damon. It can wait." He'll reach a breaking point. I'm used to pulling Damon back from the edge, but if he falls over getting him back won't be an easy task. Too much too soon could send him spiraling. With everything going on we can't have the added pressure of babysitting Damon.
My boyfriend shakes his head, "No we need to do this. I'll call Liz."
As Damon disappears into the kitchen, I go back to the bedroom. Rose lies in the middle of the bed. If it wasn't for the gaping hole in her chest it'd look like the vampire was just sleeping. After all the pain she finally looks calm. I'm glad Damon was the one to do it. Rose deserved to be in the company of someone who cared for her when she died. As I gather her in my arms, I feel relieved that we were able to put aside our differences in the end.
I shut the trunk of Damon's car as he climbs into the driver seat. Silently, we drive into the woods. Ahead, lights fill the path. Liz leans against the hood of her car, walking towards us as we join her, "Here is your vampire."
"How did you find her?"
"Doesn't matter," Damon asserts. "What matters is that it's over."
Liz nods, accepting the lack of an explanation. All she cares about it keeping Mystic Falls safe. She'll let us keep our secrets. "Thank you, Damon, both of you. Once again you've helped keep this town safe."
As the officer goes to take Rose from the truck, I step in her way. Burying Rose is important to Damon. He deserves to get to say goodbye to her in his own time. Turning the vampire's body over to Liz would make that impossible. Damon and I need to finish this, "We'll bury the body." I snap the trunk shut, hiding our friend from view.
I stay by the car, allowing Damon to dig the hole and say his final goodbyes to Rose. When he returns he pulls me into a hug, holding me close to him for a long while. I'm glad that he's willing to show me that Rose's death did affect him. Our bond is special, something no one else could understand. I've stood by Damon through the worst and best times of his existence. That means something not only to him but to me as well. We need each other, now more than ever.
Elena sits in the living room, standing as Damon and I come through the front door. She shouldn't be here. Half of this mess is because of her. Damon is in a fragile state. He needs time to process without others around. "You were supposed to leave."
"I did, but then I came back to make sure that you're okay," Elena explains, pouring Damon a drink.
Who the hell does she think she is? Her being here doesn't help anyone. She needs to stop thinking she has some kind of effect on Damon and how he's feeling. "I can take care of my boyfriend just fine, thanks."
"Look, I'm just glad it's over," Damon answers.
Elena rolls her eyes, taking a step towards the dark-haired vampire, "You know I don't believe that."
"Just go home, Elena-" Damon glances over at me able to sense the hostility filling the room "-before you cause trouble."
The female frowns, placing a hand on Damon's chest, "Damon, I'm your friend."
"I'm well aware of that, but I don't want you here." Damon takes a step back, snaking his arm around my waist. "Diana is perfectly capable of giving me everything I need." As Elena goes to argue, Damon cuts her off. "Go home, Elena!"
Stefan's girlfriend stares down the vampire, finally letting out a defeated sigh. "Okay, I will." She steps forward, giving Damon a hug. "Good night, Damon."
The second the door closes, Damon collapses into me, his forehead fitting into the crook of my neck. Gently, I take his face in my hands, thumb working over the smooth skin of his cheek. He's falling apart. "Let's go hunt, Damon, like old times."
The dark haired vampire lies out in the middle of the street, his chest rising and falling evenly. The glow of the streetlight illuminates his pale skin. As a car comes around the turn of the road, its driver slams on the breaks, exiting onto the street. She walks forward slowly, hesitant to approach Damon.
"Are you hurt?"
Damon's head flops the other side, sparkling blue eyes landing on the female, "Not physically."
"Do you need help?"
My boyfriend blinks back at the driver, "Will you help me?"
The female takes a step backward, "My phones in my car. I'll call someone."
As she turns her back on Damon he stands, cutting off her path. He reaches forward, tucking a few strands of the female's hair behind her ear. From my hiding spot, I can almost taste her fear. Damon talks softly, stroking the woman's cheek. He doesn't compel her to have no fear, to not worry. Damon feeds off the terror. It fuels him, makes the blood sweeter.
As he continues to talk to the driver, I come out of the shadows, approaching from behind.
"Why can't I move?"
Slowly, I gather the female's hair, guiding it away from her neck, my fingers dusting over the vein running through her throat, "Because we don't want you to."
"What's your name?"
The female stutters, finally spitting out the single word. "Jessica."
"Hi Jessica," Damon says in a velvety voice, withdrawing his hand from her face. "I have a secret. I have a big one. But I never said it out loud. I mean, what's the point? It's not going to change anything. It's not gonna make me good, make me adopt a puppy. I like this-" Damon leans forward, his lips now even with Jessica's ear "-your fear, it gets me going, I love it."
Jessica shakes like a leaf caught in a strong autumn breeze. Her heart pounds against her chest, blood rushing through her veins. "Are you going to hurt me?"
"Only a little," I smile wickedly as she turns her head to look at me.
She lets out a cry of protest, "Please don't."
"But we have to Jessica-" Damon takes the female's face in his hands, forcing her to look back at him "-because we're not human."
The tears begin to fall, terror radiating from our victim, "Please don't."
"Okay," Damon sighs, stepping out of Jessica's way, giving her a clear path back to her car. "You're free to go."
The female scrambles forward, yanking the door of her car open. As she goes to get in, I fly in front of her, reveling in the gasp of surprise and the whimper of fear that escapes her. "Oops," I slam the drive side door shut, wrapping my hand around the back of Jessica's neck. "Looks like we lied."
I sink my teeth into the soft flesh of Jessica's neck, warm blood flowing over my tongue. My hand finds Damon's as he joins in the feed. As the drained girl's body hits the ground, Damon's eyes meet mine. He's breathing heavy, tongue flicking out to collect the blood gathered along his bottom lip. Slowly, he steps forward, pinning me against the car door. Hungry lips find mine, his hands roaming over my body. We are one.
As hot water flows over my skin, I work my fingers through Damon's damp hair, enjoying the moan of pleasure he responds with. He turns, kissing from my forehead to my lips, before shutting off the shower. We dry off, the voice of the newscaster floating in from the television in the bedroom.
"The sheriff's department believes drugs played a part in the assailant's deranged and violent behavior that left three people dead at last night's booster club dinner at the local high school. The authorities believe last night's assailant may also be linked to the missing campers and park ranger who have yet to be found as well as 25-year-old Jessica Konig, reported missing this morning. The sheriff's department says investigations are pending and no further comments will be made."
I shut the news off, lying out across Damon's bed, "It seems like we've caused quite the stir."
"At least this pitiful town has something to talk about again," Damon muses, hovering over me.
Sliding my hands over his bare stomach, I catch his bottom lip between my teeth, tugging gently, "Well, it'd be a shame if we left our audience without fresh new material."
"I love it when you're bad." As the vampire leans in to continue our kiss, there is a knock.
Slipping off the bed, I pull the door open. Stefan stares back, quickly shifting his gaze as he realizes I'm unclothed. Damon's brother coughs, trying to shake off his shock. "Sorry to ruin your fun, but I need you two in the living room."
"We could all talk in the bed," I trail a manicured nail over Stefan's jaw, biting at my lip. "It'd be just like old times, Stefan."
The younger Salvatore swallows, closing his eyes as he shakes his head, "I'll just, uh, be in the living room."
Rolling my eyes, I shut the door, turning to Damon who has already begun to pull on pants, "Your brother used to be so much more fun."
"I'm sorry love," Damon answers, kissing my forehead.
Pulling a shirt on over my head, I catch Damon by his belt loop, "It's okay, I have the best brother already. I'll let Elena keep my sloppy seconds, at least for now." Winking, I exit the bedroom, making my way up the hallway. Just because Stefan hasn't given in yet doesn't mean I won't keep trying. I know Damon's brother, there are only so many times he can say no.
"I really hope someone died, little brother," Damon grumbles, joining me on the couch.
Stefan sighs, pacing back and forth in the middle of the room, "My news may be worse. I tried contacting Isobel yesterday. I wasn't able to get ahold of her, but I found someone who can help."
"Who?" I demand, not in the mood for Stefan's cryptic hints. Damon and I have a town to terrorize.
Instead of answering, Stefan runs his hand through his hair, fiddling with the books on the side table. Whatever news he has to share must be awful. Once Stefan makes a decision, he's usually pretty confident in it. To see him squirm makes me nervous. There's a whole line of people that Stefan could have contacted for help with our Klaus situation, most of which wouldn't be welcomed with open arms.
"I believe Diana asked you a question, Stefan," Damon prompts.
Stefan stops pacing, eyes settling on his older brother, "John Gilbert."
"You brought back John Gilbert?" Damon scoffs, shaking his head. Of all the people who he could have talked to, Stefan had to choose the worst possible person. Johnathan Gilbert isn't here to help us. He hates vampires. If he's back that means there's something here that he wants. John doesn't do anything unless it directly benefits him. "That was your big save Elena move?"
Stefan finally sits, his elbows resting on his knees, "I went looking for Isobel and I got John instead."
"That doesn't sound like a good trade-off at all," I stand, unable to sit with my frustration anymore. I didn't think I was going to have to babysit everyone. Leave Stefan alone for one second to have a little fun and he brings back the devil himself. "At least Isobel had information. John Gilbert has no pros to make up for his long list of cons."
I get a shrug in return, only fueling my aggravation towards Stefan. He was smart to not do this in bed. I probably would've snapped his neck. "He said he could help us, and we're desperate."
"We're not that desperate, Stefan," Damon protests. "The guy tried to barbeque me. Diana knows how to get ahold of Klaus."
Stefan gets up from the chair, coming to stand before his brother, "Damon, Bonnie's new witch friend is working with Elijah. We have to assume the moonstone was never destroyed. It does us no good to contact Klaus if he can still use the stone to break the curse. Elena is putting all her faith into some deal that she made with Elijah to keep everyone safe. I mean do you trust Elijah?" Stefan turns to look at me, pleading with his eyes for me to take this situation seriously. "Should we trust Elijah?"
"He's spineless," I reply lazily draping my legs over the armrest of the couch. "He's a yes man. He only has as much power as Klaus or whoever in charge gives him. He'll go back on his word the second someone above him says so."
Damon's brother throws his hands in the air, palms smacking against his jeans. He obviously thinks that my explanation of Elijah's limited power clears up this whole debate. "See, she doesn't trust him. I don't trust him. He's an original. He can't be trusted. And, it's not like we can kill him because apparently, he can't die."
"Well he can," I correct the younger Salvatore. If we're going to have a conversation about this we might as well have all the facts correct. "Klaus just made sure every tree that could be used to make a stake to kill an original was burned. So-" I frown, hating to admit that Stefan has a point "-yeah, killing him isn't an option."
Damon shakes his head, trying to lead us back to the original point of the conversation, "I'm still waiting for the part where John Gilbert is the answer."
"He knew about the sacrifice. Isobel told him. He said he knew of a way to keep Elena safe," Stefan explains as if he's reading off the ingredients on a cereal box.
My boyfriend shrugs, still not convinced, "And how do we do that?"
"He's not talking, at least not to me, anyway." And the truth finally comes out. I should have known that the only reason why Stefan was dragging Damon and me into this is that John isn't willing to cooperate.
Rolling my eyes, I sit back up, "Oh great, so he's still being his normal, dick of a self. Perfect."
"How do you know John?"
Seriously? We have an original vampire issue and Stefan wants to question how I know a man who's spent his entire life trying to eradicate every supernatural being he comes across. "I'm in Isobel's research. We've crossed paths."
"Great work Stefan, top notch," Damon brings his hands down hard on his knees, pushing himself up off the couch. "As if Diana and I didn't have enough problems."
Stefan turns to his brother, taken aback by the question, "You and Diana? You know, I've been dealing with all the same stuff you two have."
As Damon's brother goes to say more, I step forward, placing my hand on his chest, "Stefan, he just lost a friend, cut him some slack."
"Hey," Stefan shifts his gaze to Damon. With everything that's been going on neither brother has been able to talk to the other about the Rose situation. "I am sorry about Rose. I know you cared for her."
Damon scoffs, trying to play the situation off as less than it is, "I knew the woman for five minutes."
"Well, you cared about her after five minutes so I wonder what that means," Stefan counters. Are they really going to turn everything into a fight today? We were having such a good morning too.
Damon shrugs, deciding it's better to egg his younger brother on than be the bigger person and walk away. "It means I care, Stefan. It means I'm changing and evolving into a man capable of greatness. You better watch your back because after I'm done terrorizing the town, I may just have to go get a hero hairdo of my own and steal your thunder."
As Damon leaves the room, Stefan turns to me, raising an eyebrow, "You're entertaining this new attitude?"
"I mean, you did interrupt sex this morning to tell us that Damon's worst enemy is back in town because you invited him," I shrug patting the younger Salvatore on the shoulder. "I feel like he deserved a few digs."
Stefan frowns, "You two can't keep eating through the town, you know that, right?"
"Oh, it's so cute that you think you can give me life advice, Stef." I laugh, rolling my eyes at the vampire. He's adorable when he tries to keep everyone under control. "Let me fill you in on something, just so we're all on the same page. Damon and I will kill whoever we feel like and nothing you say or do will stop us. The sooner you understand that, the better. Is John staying with Elena?"
Stefan nods, "More than likely."
"Perfect, now you're being useful," I answer, beginning to pull on my shoes. "Damon! Come on, we need to pay Elena a visit!"
Stefan's girlfriend answers on the first knock seemingly unfazed by Damon and I being on her front porch. If anything, the look in her chocolate eyes says that she was expecting us.
"Where's John?" Damon demands.
Elena moves to the side, allowing us to step into the entryway, "He's not here. He left. I don't know where he went. He just blew in, announced to Jenna that he's my dad, and then took off."
"Good, at least I won't have to pretend to like someone whose heart I'd love to shove up their ass," I lean against the stair railing, doing a double take as Elena's words fully wash over me. "Wait, John Gilbert is your dad?" The doppelganger can be self-absorbed and a huge pain in the ass but I never thought it was due to being a product of Jonathan.
Damon raises an eyebrow; "It's public knowledge now?"
"Apparently," Elena answers back with a shrug that says she's given up on trying to keep her private life concealed.
"You knew?" I direct at Damon, not thrilled with being left out of the loop.
Instead of answering, Damon takes a step towards Elena, "You okay?"
"Yeah," Elena nods, wrapping her arms around herself in some kind of self-soothing hug. "Jenna's head is spinning, but I'm okay."
I hate it when they do this. Something so minuscule in Elena's life draws in Damon and it's like nothing else exists. We didn't come here to comfort Stefan's girlfriend, even if her father is Satan himself. We need to know what John knows. If he's going to talk to anyone it will be his own daughter. "Well, if I'm not needed here, I'm just gonna go snack on Jeremy."
"What?" A mane of dark hair flies as Elena quickly turns in my direction, her eyes ablaze. At least I know what'll get her attention.
Damon shoots me a look as if he's seriously worried that Elena is going to believe that her brother is letting me feed off of him. In response, I roll my eyes, giving him an indifferent shrug. Even if she did find out, there's nothing Elena Gilbert could do to stop me. "Calm down. I just wanted to see if you two were still paying attention or if you got caught up in Elena and Damon la la land."
"What crawled up your butt?" Elena demands.
Damon steps between us. There's been bad blood between the doppelganger and me since the night Stefan tried to kill himself. Unfortunately, the only way I'm able to keep the brothers safe is by not beheading Elena. What a pity. "She's a little testy. Apparently, John and she have a history. Hey, did he say what he was going here?"
Finally, we're back on topic.
"No. You know, Stefan thinks he's telling the truth about wanting to help me," Elena reiterates what Damon's brother told us this morning.
I seriously hope she's not buying his bullshit story about trust and using whatever resources we can during desperate times. "That's one problem with your boyfriend. He's too trusting. Always has been."
"Well, do you believe him?" Damon asks, getting to the meat of the issue. Unfortunately, if Elena is onboard with the whole John Gilbert help train, there's nothing we can do. Well, at least not without upsetting a whole bunch of people.
Elena shakes her head, scrunching up her nose in disgust, "No. I don't believe him for a second."
"We don't either."
Stefan's girlfriend nods, "So what are we going to do?"
"Kill him," Damon offers up with a shrug.
"Rip his body apart."
My boyfriend gives me an approving nod, "Set him on fire."
"And then come up with a better plan," I finish off with a wicked smile. Nothing would bring me more pleasure than finally seeing Jonathan Gilbert buried six feet deep. He's been a pain since the day Isobel uttered his name.
Much to my chagrin, Elena looks horrified by these suggestions, eyes wide, lips slightly parted, "Damon! Diana!"
"We're joking," Damon scoffs as if this should have been evident from the start. Who in their right mind would think that two vampires known for resolving issues with violence would actually do anything that we just said?
Coming up behind Damon, I hold my fingers a few centimeters away from each other, "We're a little serious."
"Diana!" Stefan's girlfriend gives me her best 'I'm serious' look, which comes across more like she's constipated than anything else.
Damon pinches my fingers shut, encasing my hand within his, " Don't worry, I'll keep her under control."
"As if," I answer back, spinning away from Damon as I yank the Gilbert's front door open. "Bye Elena!"
"Wait!" The female quickly begins pulling her shoes on. "I'm coming with you."
Goddammit. I roll my head onto Damon's shoulder, whispering through clenched teeth, "Oh great. Our leach has attached itself again. Here I was just starting to enjoy doing things just to the two of us."
Damon ushers Elena out the front door, shutting it behind us, "Just put on a happy face and be glad we aren't running all over the country trying to keep her from killing herself."
My cell phone rings as we pull into the parking lot of the Mystic Grill, Jeremy's number scrolling across the screen. Waiving Damon and Elena ahead, I lean against the back of the car. "Not a great time, Jeremy."
"Well, make it a great time," Elena's brother counters, "John knows you're feeding off of me."
I should have known him being back was going to be nothing but trouble. How the hell did he find that out? Only Jeremy, Stefan, and Damon know what's going on. "How does he know that?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. I tried to give him his ring back and he told me I needed it more than him if I was going to keep offering my neck to the locals," Jeremy answers. He sounds panicked, his breath coming through the phone in short spurts, his words choppy. "I swear I didn't tell anyone, Diana. Not even Elena knows."
Shit. I run brush my hair away from my face, tapping my nails against my teeth. The movements meant to help exhaust the anxious energy seem to only make the situation worse. I must have gotten sloppy. Maybe the wounds aren't healing quickly anymore. I could have left something over there. Maybe John has been watching us. "I trust you, Jeremy. You may be impulsive, but you're not stupid. Can I come over later? We'll talk more. I need to figure out what John knows about the curse."
"Yeah. I'll be home." Jeremy hangs up the phone.
Turning, I run into Damon's chest, his hands wrapping around my shoulders to steady me. "Trouble in paradise?"
"Were you listening?" I answer.
Damon shrugs, "Call it an intuition."
"John knows I've been feeding on Jeremy." Guilt builds in my stomach; trying to claw it's way up, sinking into my brain. "He swears he didn't tell, but..." I trail off not knowing what else to say. This is exactly what Damon thought would happen. Turns out he was right.
"Do you believe him?"
Nodding, I do my best to avoid eye contact with my boyfriend. I don't want to see the emotion behind his eyes. The consequences of my actions are usually left for others to deal with. Having to face them down is uncomfortable, "I want to."
"Go. Elena and I can handle John. You and Jeremy need to figure this out."
My brain is telling me to go, but my heart wants to stay, "Damon-"
"Di, if this isn't handled it could turn into a bigger issue. I have things covered here. Figure out what you're doing with Jeremy; just think about the consequences of continuing to do what you are. This affects more people than just you." Damon hands me the keys to his car before kissing my forehead and disappearing back into the Grill.
Jeremy sits on his bed, pencil trailing over a blank sheet of paper. He jumps, the line on the page skipping as my feet hit the hardwood floor of his bedroom. Smiling apologetically, I slide the window shut, perching on the end of the mattress.
"We've got to teach you how the front door works," Jeremy smiles, setting aside his drawing as he crawls closer to me.
I shrug, pulling my hand away as Jeremy goes to grab it. This isn't our normal interaction. I don't want him to think me being here changes the fact we have a John issue to deal with, "The window is more fun."
"I thought you needed to deal with John," Jeremy prompts, getting up to shut the door.
Letting out a sigh, I nod. Things between Jeremy and I have never been awkward. Our conversations always flow smoothly, some kind of magnetic energy bringing us into each other's orbit. The forced interaction makes me itch, "I am dealing with John."
"I don't want to stop what we're doing," Jeremy blurts out. He once again moves closer to me, tilting his head a little to the right, exposing the vein in his neck. "He can't stop me from making the decision that I want."
This is going to be much harder than I expected. Jeremy's stubbornness knows no bounds, "He can, Jeremy. I don't know how much you know about Jonathan Gilbert, but if he wants something to stop, he typically gets his way. He'll tell Elena, who would make this very difficult. He could tell the council that I'm a vampire. Right now, the best place for me to be is in Mystic Falls. I need to watch over your sister and you and Damon and Stefan. You and Bonnie seem to be moving in the right direction. This thing that we're doing is just gonna mess it all up."
"I thought we agreed you were gonna stop trying to push me away," Jeremy counters, squaring his jaw. I'm up against a brick wall now.
I rest the heels of my shoes on the edge of Jeremy's bedframe, "I'm not pushing you away, Jeremy. What we're doing, it's intimate. I don't want you to be giving part of yourself to me while you're trying to pursue Bonnie. It's not fair to either of you."
"I'm not sure we're seeing it the same," Elena's brother answers. "When you feed off of me, I feel alive. My whole body goes light and things become sharper and-"
I cut him off, "That's a connection. That's you enjoying what's happening. Whenever I'm around you all you think about is if and when it's going to happen again. I know because I've been where you are. What we're doing isn't a friendship, Jer. I'm using you, in every sense of the word. John knows that and he's going to do everything he can to put a stop to it."
"Fine. If you don't want to do it anymore compel me to forget because you're right. I will never not be able to think about it. Compel me to forget what you've done; make me never want it again. That's the only way it'll work." He knows what he's doing. Jeremy is challenging the very basis of our friendship. The night I chose to let him decide if he forgot what happened with Isobel we made a pact. Compelling Elena's brother to forget that I've fed from him breaks the trust we've established.
Leaning forward, I brush my nose against the soft spot on Jeremy's neck, taking in a shaky breath. His heart rate picks up as he presses into my touch. Gently, I flick my tongue against the skin, feeling the animalistic instincts begin to take over. I know what I'm about to do, but I can't stop myself. Something about Jeremy draws me in. Who am I to be the one to sever a bond the universe created? "You need to tell him we've stopped."
"Are we stopping?"
I sink my teeth into the vein of Jeremy's neck, letting the warm blood flow over my tongue. Elena's brother lets out a hiss of pain before relaxing underneath me. Running my tongue over my bottom lip, I pull away. "I can't compel you, Jeremy. I promised I wouldn't."
"Do you always keep your promises?"
I take his face in my hands, "No."
"So why are you now?"
Pressing my fingers to the puncture wound on his neck, I chant under my breath, the wound quickly disappearing, "Do you trust me?"
Jeremy nods.
"Then you have to accept that I don't have an answer. You can't tell anyone Jeremy, not Elena, not Bonnie, no one. Are you okay with keeping this secret from them?"
Elena's brother stares back at me, chewing on his lip as he thinks over the ramifications of the answer he's about to give me. "What are you going to tell Damon?"
"The same thing you're going to tell Bonnie. I have to go now." I move back towards the window, sliding it open.
Jeremy blinks back at me, seemingly in a trance. He can deny it all he wants but letting me feed from him has an effect, "The door works fine."
"The window is more fun."
