Invisible Control

by LittleHandGernade

::Complete:: Addie Gilbert loathes the supernatural world her sister Elena brings into their life and wants nothing to do with it. She doesn't want anything to do with anyone, really. Compelled, Addie is told to take control of her life and now she is. But how do you make someone realize you're right in front of them when you're invisible?

35. Chapter 38

After the run, Damon took the longest shower in history. He was always quick; but when Addie was desperate for him to stick to his predictable, usual routine, he broke habit. There was another nasty little confrontation when she found him sitting outside her door again, hair still soaking wet. It wasn't that Addie wanted to make him feel even more guilty or hurt him but it was the only way to get rid of him.

There was no point in Damon being a watchdog because even on a good night she had problems sleeping. It wasn't possible for her to do so when every time she shut her eyes images of a dead Bonnie appeared. If she wasn't asleep then she wasn't going to have nightmares. And it was his problem if he had an issue with her wearing actual clothing as opposed to pajamas when she went to read in the study to pass the last of the night. Who knew when Stefan would magically appear in his own home? At least he hadn't questioned that excuse.

To make sure he was toughroughly upset, when Damon had insisted on lighting the fireplace, Addie had made a snippy remark about him trusting her to be safe alone around such a dangerous element that could kill her. Mocking his protectiveness of her had pushed his limit of patience with her and he was most definitely upset. When Damon got like that, he drank. A lot. When Damon drank like that, his ears weren't so sensitive.

Doing those nasty things to him had been a hard decision and as Addie stood in front of Elena's door, she faced another hard one. Did she drag Elena back in to hopefully working with Elijah? If they were going to go through with the doppelganger sacrifice, it would be nice to have her cooperation. The knowledge that she wouldn't actually die because of a magic potion might ease her nerves a little. The great question, though, was whether or not she would go tattling back to Damon and Stefan who, judging by his daggered state, were not eager to jump on the Elijah bandwagon.

It was too big of a choice for Addie; she'd let fate decide. Elena spent nearly an equal number of nights in Stefan's room as she did her own. If she was in her room, it meant she should be clued in. Quietly, Addie crept inside and looked at the huddle of blankets on the bed. In she was. Tiptoeing lightly, she made her way to the bedside. Slowly, careful not to wake and startle her, Addie placed her hand over Elena's mouth. Leaning into to her ear, she loudly whispered, "It's Addie. Don't scream."

At the sound of her sister's voice Elena bolted awake. The was something over her mouth but she still made to scream until she saw her sister hovering inches above her face. That was almost as alarming as if it were a stranger. Addie never did have a knack for subtly waking people and when she woke someone in the middle of the night it was never good. Sometimes Addie felt a burning need for someone to listen to three hours of nonsense at 2am. Other times she was suddenly inspired with a great idea and tried to rope someone into, like the time she convinced Jeremy to spray paint a superball black and play wall ball at midnight because it was too easy during the day. Then there was when she put into motion grand schemes; it had been the middle of winter and Addie convinced Jeremy to make it look like they had run away. They had a stupid little fort in the woods that Addie had been stocking with blankets and snacks for a week. Their parents freaked in the morning and called the police. The stupidest thing was that Addie had done it all because she was mad that they got grounded for something Elena couldn't even remember two weeks before the incident.

Elena knocked Addie's hand away but she clamped it back in place just as soon as Elena made to speak. Shaking her head vigorously Addie whispered in her ear again, "Silence. Damon's awake. Get dressed and meet me in the cellar. We can save you and Bonnie but the boys won't play the game." Addie pulled back to see if Elena was going to go along with her. She nodded. Addie grinned widely at her and slipped out the room.

Down in the in the basement, Addie knelt in front of the cellar door as she faced the obstacle she had forgotten about. Damon had put a combination lock on it. The turn style locks always came with random numbers and Addie, along with everyone she knew, had always found it easier to just remember than rather than trying to reset the combination. Either way you had to remember something. However, it did make it pointless to try any numbers of significance to Damon. The movies made it seem to simple to break a lock by just listening for a click at the right number but it all sounded like metal brushing metal to her.

"I'll tell you the combination if you tell me why you're trying to get in there," yawned Elena as she joined her.

Addie snorted, "You know the combination?"

Elena shrugged, "Damon told me."

"What? Why would he tell you and not me?" she snipped back.

"Well, he said you had too much heart and were too naive and would try to get in," Elena recounted.

Addie tugged at locked in frustration and scowled, "He got the last part right."

"What's this all about, Ad?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course."

Addie nodded; she already knew that. "Do you trust Elijah?"

"No," hesitated Elena.

Not the answer she was hoping for but not really a shocker. "Do you still trust me if I trust Elijah?"

"I'm not in the mood for your games at 4:30 in the morning," avoided Elena.

Addie raised one shoulder and dismissively said, "It's a game of your life and your death; not mine. Your choice if you throw the dice or wait for Dumb and Dumber to play your turn."

"Which one's Dumber?"

"In intellect and street smarts Damon's Dumb but he hides it. Emotionally he's Dumber."

Elena scoffed, "Not true. Stefan has degrees from Yale and Harvard."

"And Damon doesn't see the point of having someone lecture at him when with his eidetic memory, reading is a far more effective learning method." Addie stalled, slightly reluctant to admit but wanting to defend Damon. "Not to boast but we both know I'm wicked smart and I actually care and try. Damon had never done an IQ test and it had been a few years since my last one so for one date we decided to get professi-"

"Hold up," interrupted Elena, "that's what you guys do for fun? Spend eight hours taking tests that don't make sense and answering bizarre questions?" Addie nodded. "There is something fundamentally wrong with that. And how is that even a date? You're tested by yourself."

"You compare results afterwards? The point is that he beat me by miles in everything but quantitative and analogical reasoning and spatial reasoning. The only reason he did slightly better on inductive reasoning is because I don't like probable answers; I like factual answers! Overall though, his base intelligence line is greater than mine," she admitted slightly bitterly.

Elena shook her head slowly as she tried to understand their relationship but she just wasn't getting it. A loud, she wondered, "Is everything a competition or fight of some sort between you two?"

"Mmm...it's not a win-lose thing so much as it is a power struggle. Ever notice how much he likes to be in control? That's when he's bitchy," Addie pointed out, trying the lock again.

"So you're dating a male, vampire version of yourself."

Addie snorted, "Hardly. I'm usually fairly passive with him. Mostly because what he wants control over doesn't matter. Am I going to pout if we watch MSNBC? No, but he will if we watch CNN. Either way I get the news and it's not from FOX. If keeps being persistent about controlling a kiss and refuses to if he can't than fine; all the more enjo - " Realizing what she had been talking about Addie cut herself off and blushed. Quickly she jumped back to topic before Elena could say anything, "Combination?"

"First, why do you want to undagger Elijah," persisted Elena.

"How do-"

Elena gave her sister a cross look, "I'm not you but I can figure out why you want in there, A) Only a daggered Elijah is behind that door and B) Damon wants to keep it that way. Which begs me to ask why is he not down here trying to stop you?"

"He's not listening."

"He's always listening. He's Damon."

"Not always."

Elena frowned disapprovingly, "What did you do, Addison May?"

"What I had to in order to get him out of the way and it will have all been pointless if you don't tell me how to open this damn lock soon!" Addie snapped, her voice rising slightly.

"Look, if you think he's the answer then I trust you but I don't think I want to get mixed into this yet. Wake him up, take my car and go somewhere else. He will kill Stefan and Damon. I won't tell them anything but you know the first thing Damon is going to do is check on you when he wakes. I'll try to distract him with places you've might have gone so go somewhere he wouldn't think," Elena compromised. "Flaw: He's gonna notice my car is gone and you can't drive."

Addie smirked and tapped a finger against her forehead, "Pro: I drove dad's truck all the time when we took back roads camping and to the lake house and such. And in my screwed up mental state due to him, I'm in a world where I don't care about laws regarding a valid driver's license,"

"How are you doing with that?"

"I haven't slept. I'm about to wake up someone that was betrayed when I said they were safe. I'm questioning whether I can actually handle Damon and being with him. I have to keep reminding myself Bonnie is alive. Oh, and I purposely hurt my boyfriend so badly that he would drink it away. I'd say I'm doing rather well. Doesn't sound too far off from me on a good day, no?" quipped Addie, pissed that her sister would even ask such a stupid question.

"The bad thing is that I can't tell if you're joking or not."

Burying her face in her hands Addie laughed, "Of course you can't. You don't know me, Elena. I can't even remember the last time we liked each other. You want to know how we ended up in this screwed up little relationship square? You met the good and moral and praised and favored and saintly brother. The we met the bad and dark and damaged and emotionally fucked up and troublemaking brother. When two saints meet it's like destiny or fate. But when a saint like you meets a problem like Damon, you want to fix it and so you start to but you only leave a bigger problem. Troubled finds troubled. But one of the problems with troubled people is that they hold too tightly to what they have. Damon's held on too tightly to the the trouble he's had and now I might just shatter in his clutch. But because you're saints you and Stefan will never crush because you always believe in redemption and hope and because Damon and I are problems and trouble, we will always hold on to our saints, no matter how much we may hate them, because you guys will always believe that we can be better.

"But two saints are like superglue and that means I'm stuck with Damon in my life whether I'm with him or not. Truthfully, it's better when we fight, bicker and make up then when we use to just fight and bicker. Though it hurts a lot less when we fight and he acts like an idiot when we're not together…." Addie trailed off as she stared at the ground idly spinning the lock.

Elena blinked slowly; she wasn't even going to begin to try and understand that. All she knew and all that mattered was that Addie went from being mad at her to thinking about breaking up with Damon, which meant that was what was really bothering her. Elena knew that by now Addie was all talked out about how much she hated her and just used it as a smoke screen for when something else was wrong. For her to actually start talking about what was bothering her though, that was new and new was usually a bad sign. Maybe Elijah would get her mind off Damon.

"Combination's your birth month, your birthday, and your favorite number," Elena relayed, ruffling her sister's hair before going back to bed.

"Wait!" Addie called.

"What now?"

She had to be certain before she went through with this, "You rolling the dice?"

Huffing, Elena rolled her eyes, "I gave you combination."

"You should know, when Klaus was going to use Katherine, Elijah had a potion made that would revive her after the sacrifice. You still have to go through with it. Klaus has to do the ritual to be weak enough for Bonnie to kill him without killing herself," Addie admitted. "Still game?"

Elena considered this for a minute. "How long have you known about the potion?"

"It's possible he told me the night you made your deal?" Addie smiled innocently and shrugged questioningly.

"You never thought to tell me?!"

She shook her head, "I tell you, then you tell everyone and no one is looking for a way to stop Klaus before he sacrifices you. I'd rather not put all my eggs in one basket but every other basket has broken and trusting in the potion is the only choice left because Klaus is here and there's no more time for practice. The game has started."

Elena nodded, "Ok. You're right. I'll do it."

Addie scowled at the lock. Who the hell changed the preset combination?! Furiously she spun the dial until the arrow passed zero twice before landing on nine, counterclockwise to eight, full spin to eight again. Since infinity wasn't technically a definable number Addie chose the number she could rotate to make the infinity sign. The lock unlatched.

Addie wasted no time pulling out the dagger rammed through Elijah's heart and sat by the door, waiting for him to wake. She wasn't exactly sure how angry he'd be at her when he woke. Alaric was the one who had staked him. There wasn't exactly a guide book on reviving Originals and how long it took but it definitely wasn't five minutes.

Her foot tapped anxiously as she waited for Elijah to return to a living dead thing. While Damon wouldn't be listening, he also wouldn't be sleeping and the sun had to be up. Someone was going to come downstairs soon. Addie preferred that not happened but if it had to she'd want it to be Elena since Klaus needed her or Stefan since he didn't set him up to be daggered. Drunk Damon was an ever worse option than him sober. Sober he was reckless and would have at least baited Elijah; drunk he was damn near suicidal and either would be convinced that he could kill Elijah or want Elijah to kill him. His moods were even less predictable when he drank. But either she had grown use to it or he actually had cut back quite a bit. One drink was still frequent but between his vampire metabolism, tolerance level, and how slow he drank it, Addie would guess that it was just for the taste or out of habit. There was no way he was feeling the effects when it took him as long to drink the alcohol as it would take a normal person to flush it from their system. She wondered why the change.

The charcoal ash tint of Elijah's skin and the way his skin clung to his veins and bones as if everything in between had been sucked out actually made it easier to look at him. Even though he was dead, he didn't look like a dead body. Not like Bonnie had. Wasn't it suppose to take hours before a body - no, she couldn't let herself go there. Researching the process of what happened to a body after it died, what happened to her mom and her dad, had been too disturbing. She didn't need to remember that; she hadn't thought about that since the night she met Damon. The night the nightmares stopped. The night he had compelled her. She was forgetting that he had done it as an experiment! Not to be a good person. Why did he make it so hard to hate him?

Instinct had Addie pressing herself hard against the wall when Elijah suddenly gasped and violently spasmed, his back arching up from the ground in a most unnatural way. She forced herself away from the wall and over to him as he continued to spasm and gasp for air. As the jerking and twitching eased, his skin returned to normal but was extremely pale. His breathing was getting worse, though. A pop issued from Addie's neck as he was abruptly on his feet and she was straining to look up at him. She loathed vampire abilities.

Her neck didn't suffer for long though as he was soon doubled over and grasping at his chest, unable to breath. Addie unhelpfully stammered out unintelligible sounds. She could feel her chest beginning to tighten as her heart slammed against her ribcage. The panic was going to overtake her. She had no idea what to do! Blood freaked her out because losing it meant you died. Choking, not being able to breathe freaked her out the exact same way. She need this guy to live. But he was already dead. Oh, God. Because she undaggered the dead thing, it was gonna be her fault when he died again. And because she figured out that pulling the dagger out killed rather than revived an Original, it was gonna be her fault when Klaus killed Elena. Now she was the one trembling viciously and struggling to breath.

Opening her eyes, Addie began to panic harder. Elijah was gone! The double dead vampire disappeared. None of this made any sense. She needed to think. She needed to run. But to run she needed to breathe. Covering a hand over her mouth so she couldn't keep gasping, Addie tried to count her breaths. No good. The air in here was musty and even more suffocating. She needed fresh air. As she still tried to count and breathe, Addie stumbled up the steps and to the front door. Her heart falter; just outside the door crouched a panting Elijah.

Sucking in a giant gasp of air, she whispered in amazement, "You're here." Relieved that he wasn't dead, her breathing began to become more regular. Had she really just thought he had vanished? That she had killed him by pulling the dagger out? Jonathan Gilbert wrote it revived. Plus, he would have died the previous night when they pulled it out for the fake plan. It was a good thing that she wasn't going to be an EMT or ER nurse or doctor. A lot of people would die when she came face to face with someone immediately needing life saving treatment.

Again he shocked her into stumbling backwards when he rushed at her. A little sigh of relief escaped her when he couldn't enter. It had probably just saved her life that Damon made this a safe house. That still didn't mean he should have coerced her into signing the deed.

Clutching at the door frame, Elijah fiercely demanded, "What happened?"

Addie quickly put a finger to her lips and said as quietly as she could, "Too many ears here." She quickly walked to the key ring and quietly removed them. Her foot almost crossed the threshold when she hesitated. A voice that sounded eerily like Damon said she was being reckless. Mentally she sneered at it; like it had any right to talk about reckless. Still. "Can I trust you?" she asked in a hushed tone.

Elijah eyed the dagger still in her hand and repeated, "Can I trust you?"

Her eyes followed his gaze. She was confused as to why she still even had the thing, Addie nodded and passed it to him without hesitation.

---

Damon glanced at the photo of him and Addie on top of the Ferris Wheel that sat on his nightstand. Five hours of staring at it with his buddies scotch and bourbon was enough. He preferred not to mix his liquors but when the bourbon only carried him from pissed to even more brooding and depressing than Stefan Damon needed something to push him to that point where he just didn't care anymore. Unfortunately the bourbon was in the study with Addie and neither wanted to be near the other at that point. That left the scotch. The pounding in his head told him the mix wasn't a wise move. He need to feed and rehydrated.

It hadn't been hard to pull himself together enough to brush his teeth and shower; he blissfully didn't care that he was fighting with Addie. She wasn't the only one who could suppress their emotions. He'd worry later about how unhealthy that was for a relationship. When Addie was a little less bitchy, he'd care. Until then the only attitude he would have towards her was protective. At least that was his stance until he started to shave. Since he hadn't shaved since Thursday morning, he normally wouldn't until Sunday night. While he didn't understand it, Addie liked him with a bit of a 5 o'clock shadow so he had cut down from shaving every day to every three or four. Shaving almost a full two days early was wrong feeling. He had started it unconsciously and had to finish it unless he wanted to look like an idiot for only shaving a small part of his face.

Shaving early wasn't a huge deal but they were in a pretty bad spot in his opinion. To make up for his blunder he had picked the RRL classic black Oxford. Damon could hold up his black Dolce & Gabbana suit and black Valentino suit in front of Addie and she wouldn't even notice how they were completely different styles and cuts. He had to have at least ten black button ups, though, and while she never said anything about the others, every single time he wore the RRL she either said she liked it or made it very obvious that she found him more attractive than usual. Maybe it wasn't obvious to everyone else but the workings and understandings of their physical relationship were very complicated.

Damon took one last glance in the mirror and quickly ran his hand through his hair. There. It wasn't perfectly in place, which she didn't seem to like, but it wasn't so messy that it bothered him. At the door he hesitated and pushed his sleeves up halfway. She liked his arms, more specifically his biceps but it was either the them or the shirt. Really, the best idea was probably to go shirtless. No, walking around the house without a shirt only flew when Elena wasn't around.

Leaving his room, Damon debated between the hallway and the stairs. Fresh day. Fresh start. He had been kidding himself about not caring. Her being upset with him was torture. She needed her space but he could work on getting closer by offering something that she probably needed: a visit with Jeremy and Bonnie. He was the only one who could tell her where they were unless one of those twerps broke the gag clause. He'd check the room first so he wouldn't have to backtrack even though she was most likely in the study still reading a detective or true crime novel where everything added up and made perfect, logical sense because her world didn't.

He rapped lightly on the door three times. No answer. "Addie?" No answer. He knocked harder. No answer. He smirked, "Say something if you don't want me to come in." No answer because he found the room empty when he stuck his head in. Downstairs like he had expected.

"Ugh. Must you constantly do that in public?" Damon groaned as he ran into Stefan and Elena sharing an intense "good morning" kiss over a mug of coffee.

"No, see, you're confusing public and private. Where we live is private. School, where you were making out with my sister last night, is public. Have you considered asking yourselves that question?" Elena shot back, annoyed at being interrupted and still a bit upset with him for the incident with Bonnie.

Dramatically, Damon sagged his shoulders and tossed his back in exasperation, "That was the first time, Mom. Your sister gets embarrassed when I grab her hand in front of people we know. I'll admit to having kissed her in public when we haven't been in Mystic Falls but never like that. I'll take the blame for last night. I was trying to prove something and - well, it's really none of your business."

"You see," Elena smirked, "that's where you're wrong. Addie paid me a visit at about five in the morning for some rant on problems, troubles, and concerns. She's hard to follow but I gathered a few things I doubt you know about your own relationship and it became very apparent that she is a kid involved with a grown man and had no parents or guardians to stop it from happening. I'm seeing now that this relationship at least needs some moderation. I'm going to start - "

"What? What exactly are you going to do, Elena?" challenged Damon. The only reason he put up with her quasi lecture was because he'd been expecting it a long time ago. It was about damn time. "I'm always going to do what is best for Addie in the long run, in the big picture, even if it means hurting her like I did last night or leaving her. You can't make me do anything besides that. The real question is how are you going to get Addie to do what you want?"

"I'll… I'll…"

"That's the problem!" he laughed, "No one makes Addie do anything. I can't get her to follow a simple instruction even if it's in her own best interest! Elena, I assure you that if our relationship needs moderation, it's of exactly how much being with me is dragging her into all this danger versus how much comes just from being your sister. Addie wanted nothing to do with this world. When you and Bonnie were taken by Anna she wasn't so keen on playing savior then. Now, she's running in with stakes and daggers galore. Is she just growing up or is it something else?.Do you have an answer to that? Is it me or is it you?

"First she was kinda like 'You guys go have fun playing mind games and throwing yourselves at danger, I'll stay busy with life. I'm just gonna tell the witch we need to kill you all and help uncle John.' And then she goes, 'Well, I apparently don't want this guy to die for some reason but I don't want vampires here so I'm gonna team up with the only one I know that's more diabolical than him in a plot to get rid of the vamps.' Next Addie, well, she does a lot of flip flopping that you don't need to know the details of but in the end she says, 'I really like this Damon guy and I think I want to date him. Mmm no I don't. Wait, yeah, I do since we're team awesome because we freaking fooled Katherine Pierce to the point where she was impressed. That must mean something.' Then she's like, "Damon, we have to trust the bad guys. I trusted you and now we need to trust Elijah and Katherine and the Martins and the hungry lions. Oh, nevermind about Katherine, though. But you should still definitely trust the guy who wants you dead.' Now with the Klaus stuff she's like, 'Damon, I'm gonna have fun playing mind games with the biggest, baddest vampire ever and throw myself in danger. You can either be totally cool with that and laugh while I knowingly antagonize Klaus or I'll never speak to you again. And yes, I know I'm manipulating you but there's gonna be magic and vampires and werewolves and all we need to complete the fun now is a magical flying dragon!'

"And trust me, I'm well aware of how old she is. It's why a lot things are the way they are and they're not changing until she learns to grow up. I'm simply not going to have the age argument with you. I've lost count of how many times I've fought with your sister about it. If you want to know my stance and opinion I'm sure she will recite them word for word to you since you guys are so close now. And if you know something about my relationship that I don't," Damon scoffed, "I wouldn't act so high and mighty about it. It just means that I probably don't want to know and I'll know when the time is right, if that ever comes to fruition."

"Stressing out with everyone thing that is going on is normal, Damon," Stefan said reassuringly as he watched his brother mess up his hair. That was very unlike him. "Especially with-"

"Stressed?" cracked Damon's voice before he laughed. "No, no. I'm not stressed. Cool as a cucumber, really. I just need to talk to Addie…. And I'm pretty hungry. Have you guys seen her?"

Elena shrugged, "Her room? She said she was going to bed after she talked my ear off."

Damon shook his head, "I already checked. I left her reading in the library about half past four, she's probably still there."

"Uh," Stefan frowned in hesitation, "You might want to eat before talking to her."

"This is more important," insisted Damon.

"I hate to add to your nonexistent stress but I was just in the study and Elena was just in the kitchen and could see into the living room and she wasn't in any of those places or her room. If she's not there than… well, you probably have better ideas to look than I do," Stefan informed his brother awkwardly, sorry he couldn't be of much help. "Any idea, Elena?"

She stared into the light brown coffee, swirling it, careful to not show deception, "It's Addie; she does weird stuff for reasons that don't make sense. But my guess is that she just took off on a run. She literally ran so much after our parents died that the rubber of her shoes wore really thin. After last night. and what she told me, I'm almost certain she's running."

Damon rubbed against the pounding in his head; he really needed some blood. More important, though, was that Addie had still gone off on her own with Klaus out there. He had to know she was ok. "She probably won't answer me. Elena, can you try calling her just so I know she's safe?" he asked wearily. "I'm going to get something to eat."

Going for a blood bag, an apprehensive feeling came over Damon when he saw the basement door cracked slightly open. Elena probably didn't make sure to pull it all the way closed when she daggered Elijah; it was and had a tendency to stick. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, however, he let out a loud stream of very colorful language when he saw the cellar door open.

"What?" Stefan demanded in concern instantly appearing by his side.

Furiously stalking towards the door he continually repeated, "No, no, no, no! She did not! She wouldn't dare!" When he saw the room empty he hit his head against the door frame and swore, "For fucks sakes, Addison! When you're pissed at me you smash the expensive alcohol; you don't wake up the guy that wants me dead and is likely going to kill you."

Stefan shook his head in disbelief and confusion, "Elijah's gone?"

"No, he's here. She woke up the other guy we had locked up, you idiot!"

"That's - how did she even do that? I thought you didn't tell her the lock combination."

"I didn't," he seethed, closing the door and inspecting the lock to see if she had broken it. Realizing it was still intact and had been unlocked he bellowed, "Elena!" Pushing past Stefan and storming up the stairs he muttered, "I said that guy was going to be more of a problem daggered than undaggered."

---

Addie stared anxiously at the tea set the Mrs. Lockwood had laid out while Addie waited for Elijah to change into one of the late mayor's suits. Elijah admitted that he had gotten her off of vervain and was compelling her. So far Addie wasn't doing very well at this. She had only barely remembered that it had been a month since Elijah had last fed and had run back inside for a couple of blood bags. Holding them hadn't settled well with her so much so that Elijah asked if she was ok. Then she had to make the recovering vampire think of a safe place to go and have him drive there due to the lack of license. Uncertain of where to start, the ride had been awkward and silent. Somehow opening with "sorry my boyfriend planned a party to kill you" didn't seem wise.

Seeing Elijah return, she quickly stood. Wasn't that something that in that etiquette training she had to do for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant? Addie wished she had paid more attention. But Elijah was quick to motion for her to sit again as he occupied a large, white arm chair. That's what she hated about the Lockwood manor. Everything was so pristine and white. It felt sterile and unlived in. Her home was smaller but she lover the pictures of her and her siblings as they grew and the knicknacks that reflects their lives all around the place. It was cozy. The boardinghouse wasn't like that.

"Where did you get the dagger?" Elijah curtly asked, breaking through her thoughts.

At least he had given her a place to start. "I'll tell you everything but I want something in return," Addie said, her voice slightly quivering.

Elijah frowned as he steepled his fingers in front of him, "I believe the time for negotiation has already passed."

Addie shook her head, "Not if you want to kill Klaus. I am the only person in this world who knows where the moonstone is. I offer that, a lack of interference from my friends and family, and a cooperative Elena in exchange for the potion that will save her."

"And why should I consider this when I can simply compel the stone's location from you?"

Damon had wanted to keep it a secret that she could resist compulsion but she needed to work this deal with Elijah. "You can't."

He looked at her in almost disappointment, "You're forgetting that vervain eventually leaves your system."

"I remember. While you were unfortunately daggered, I became trained in how to resist compulsion. I've been working on it for most of the year." It was just a harmless little white lie; she didn't exactly know how being compelled by Damon, then being injured, then receiving his blood had made it so she couldn't be compelled. Only Damon had tried to compel her so far but in the gruesome instruction manual from Katherine, when she did it, her victim couldn't be compelled by any vampire so that was what Damon and she were going with.

"It is Klaus who enjoys torture but I will use it on you if I have to get the moonstone," warned Elijah, truly sounding as if he prefered not to.

Again she shook her head, "That will never work. I'm afraid you're underestimating the lengths I will go to for my sister. I would die before betraying the stone's location."

"Seems you're quite certain."

"She's family."

Elijah fixed himself a cup of tea with milk and sugar and poured on for Addie before sitting back and silently sipping at it for several minutes. Eventually he set the cup back down and looked at her curiously, "What did you know of the dagger?"

Addie took a deep breath as she recalled, "I learned of the dagger the night you saved Damon from the werewolves, for the second time. Alaric Saltzman made a remark that night about Damon thinking twice before trusting it to kill you. I told you at the dinner party it was a trap as soon as I knew. I was trying to save you from it. I didn't think Alaric would dagger you. You are the only answer I had and have to this Klaus problem. I would be stupid not to turn to you. Why Damon can't get past his jealousy and that I trusted you faster than I trusted him, I don't know. Elena, I only told her of the potion this morning and that you were the answer to our problems. That's why she helped me undagger you but she refused to come along to talk to you. Why? I don't know. Everyone seems to think I'm crazy for trusting you but I think they're crazy for not trusting you."

The old vampire nodded wisely, "Despite your interest in the elder Salvatore, you determine who you trust based on logic and reasoning rather than emotions, unlike most people. Plus, betraying people you make deals with tends to make it difficult to face them again. I will work with you on the condition that I receive an apology from both Salvatores, your sister, and Mr. Saltzman. I will not give you the burden of convincing your uncle as he is a lost cause."

"Two things," wavered Addie. "An apology from Alaric isn't exactly possible and I promise to explain why. Though, I don't understand why you need an apology from Stefan and Elena."

Elijah was taken aback by this. "Obviously for daggering me."

"They had nothing to do with that. They were out of town," she pointed out.

He studied her curiously, "Addison, what do you know from the moment that I was daggered to the end of the night?"

Odd question. "Um, Damon heard a commotion in the dining room. I followed him there but he wouldn't let me in. He didn't want me to see you desiccated. I was really angry with him and I meant to go home but I had said some pretty regrettable things that I needed to apologize about before leaving. I was in the study listening to some music and the next thing I knew Damon was waking me. He told me that he hadn't truly killed you and that if it came down to the wire, he would remove the dagger, you would wake, and…. Well, I'd really rather not give you more reason to kill him but he was convinced that we'd get the potion and save Elena."

"He, no one told you of the events that transpired after they struck me the first time?" concluded Elijah in amazement. Deception ran so deep.

Addie froze, her tea cup halfway to her lips. No one? First time? She was being kept in the dark again but not just by Damon this time. "Excuse me?"

"John Gilbert, Mr. Saltzman, Mr. Salvatore, one of them removed the dagger. I woke up in that cellar. Our deal for a peaceful evening had been broken. I was merciful; I spared everyone in the house despite my promise otherwise. However, it was obvious that I could not maintain my deal with your sister if her friends were plotting to kill me. I did not take her prison out of courtesy but I was left with no choice. Just as you will do anything to save your sister, I will do anything to take down my brother Klaus." He held up a hand when Addie went to interrupt and continued reiterating the story monotonously, "I went to take Elena and she tried to make more deals but it was all a ruse. When your sister neared me, she sunk the dagger into my heart."

Damon's actions had almost gotten Elena kidnapped? It was unlikely Elijah would have bothered to use the potion in the sacrifice meaning Damon not respecting her wish to trust Elijah could have possibly gotten her sister killed. Her thoughts were broken as the theme to Star Wars emitted into the silent room.

The music grew louder as Addie took the cell from her pocket and glanced at the caller ID, Elena. She flushed in embarrassment, fumbling to silence her phone. "I'm so sorry," she said profusely. "I have no idea why it isn't on vibrate. It's always on vibrate."

Elijah waved his hand dismissively as the music stopped. "It's no bother. Are you sure you shouldn't get that?" he inquired when it immediately began to vibrate after she declined the first call.

Addie bit anxiously at her lip; it was rude to take a phone call but Elena wouldn't call back to back unless something was wrong. If she wanted something, she would text; especially since she knew Addie was meeting with Elijah. Reluctantly, she smiled apologetically at the Original, "If you don't mind. I don't think Elena would repeatedly call unless there was an emergency." Elijah nodded and she accepted the call.

"Tell me you're ok! Are you insane? Where are you?" Damon rushed out in a mixture of anger and panic.

"I recall my sister sounding much more feminine. You are most definitely not Elena," scowled Addie. Dealing with Damon was not something she had time for.

From the other end of the line Damon seethed, "I'm not playing games. Are you ok?"

Inhaling dramatically, Addie made him wait as she made it seem like she had to consider the answer before sighing, "No, I'm talking to you. Other than that I'm perfect."

"Where's Elijah?" he fumed.

"With me, of course. We were having a lovely little chat over tea before you so rudely interrupted."

Addie could imagine the way his jaw tense as he gritted through his teeth, "Where are you?"

"It's a secret party. Invitation only. No crashers," she said lightly, refusing to let his anger trigger her own. "Elijah and I need some time alone."

"Oh, my God, Addie! You're mad; I get it. That doesn't mean you act reckless. You cannot trust him," stressed Damon.

She eyed Elijah hesitantly, "Unlike some people, Elijah is a noble man of his word, Damon. He lives by a code of honor. I can trust him. By warning him about your plan of at the dinner party and removing the dagger, I have proven myself."

"You what? Addie, you cannot do this."

"This is my decision, Damon. I ask that you respect it. You know the consequences if you don't, though. I'm asking you nicely to not do anything stupid. I'll be in touch," Addie informed him in the most collected, rational voice she could muster up in dealing with him. Ending the call, she turned back to Elijah and apologized, "I'm sorry about that. It was not what I was expecting. Where did we leave off?"

Clearing his throat, Elijah sat up straighter, "I was nearing my demands for working with you. I want an apology from Stefan and Elena for daggering me."

"Right," Addie recalled slowly. With wide, innocent eyes she looked back up, "I swear I had no idea about. When Damon told me that removing the dagger would revive you I assumed he learned that from Katherine or Uncle John when he gave him the dagger or that Elena and Stefan read it in Jonathan Gilbert's journal when they read that it would also kill Damon if he used it. I'm sure it's no coincidence that Damon didn't mention he learned from first hand experience and put my sister in harm's way."

"I believe you. Your confusion and surprise were genuine when I mentioned them," conferred Elijah, pouring more tea into Addie's empty cup.

Thinking aloud, Addie considered if she could meet his demands, "Elena trust me when I put my trust in you; she will apologize. Stefan trusts in Elena and will do whatever she wishes; he will also apologize. Damon, on the other hand, while he says he's going to respect my choices when it comes to dealing with Klaus and will go along with whatever I say, I'm not certain how far I can trust him on that before he decides that my safety is most important. Not only that, there is the matter of his pride to contend with." Addie ran her fingers through her hair, feeling her stomach clench in a mixture of anger, hurt, and desperation. "Even when he has wronged me, Damon isn't the best at apologizing. I can't recall the last person he apologized to besides me. No apology from him will be sincere."

The vampire nodded knowingly, "I don't expect it to be."

"Then why demand one?" Addie asked in confusion.

Elijah caught her eye and his spoke more than his words. "Damon Salvatore needs to learn the meaning of respect."

This was about getting Damon to apologize for betraying her trust, not Elijah's. Elijah wanted her to get him to prove that he was sorry enough to her that he was willing to take the blow to his ego of apologizing to Elijah. Baffled Addie wondered, "Why?"

"I once said you reminded me of the potential of a girl I use to know. Part of what ruined that potential was too many Damon Salvatores. If one does not feel respected, they begin to not respect themselves."

She grinned and laughed cheekily, "And they say you're the bad guy. Now, if only I could convince the rest of the lot that I'm not still some weak kid who can't defend herself."

Elijah shook his head, "I don't believe they feel that way at all. Don't confuse their love and desire to protect you with underestimating you. We are most protective of the ones we care strongest about and think that they need use even when they don't. The problem you're facing is that you think differently than the others. As a way I believe you would put it, they follow the textbook's method to solve the equation while your mind sees another way to the right answer."

"That is how they tried to explain my dyslexia to me," Addie smirked.

"But I bet it doesn't slow you down," he grinned back. "While some things may take you a little longer but your results exceed expectations."

While pointing out that he hadn't phrased that in a logical way didn't seem wise, Addie understood Elijah's point. She frowned, "Unfortunately, we don't have time for me to convince Damon for the same reason I can't get Alaric to apologize."

"And why is that?"

"We're still negotiating," objected Addie, refusing to inform him of anything until he agreed to help. "Say Damon doesn't apologize; if everyone agrees to keep him locked in the cellar weakened by vervain until this is over so he can't interfere, would that be satisfactory enough?"

Elijah studied her in mild surprise, "You would be willing to do that? To put him through that?"

"Are you underestimating the lengths I would go to for my sister, again?" challenged Addie.

"He is your boyfriend; you do care very strongly for him. He would be in an immense amount of pain."

It was a challenge to not roll her eyes; she knew all that. Swallowing past the lump in her throat was difficult but she nodded in assent. "I'm not hoping for this option. Damon promised me he would do whatever it takes to save Elena. If he can't handle damaging his pride, then he will have to sit out on the sideline if that is what it takes to save her. He's not going to agree and will have to be tricked, though. Hopefully he will forgive me but if he can't do that or manage a simple apology all to save my sister's life, then he's not the man I thought he was. I told you; Elena's family. She comes first. She will always come before some guy."

The lengths that she was willing to go, hurting someone else to save her family, was nothing Elijah hadn't done himself. He had never faced having to hurt someone he loved for family, though. While it was a terrible thing, it was something he was uncertain he'd be able to do. In his mind, saving family was the noblest thing anyone could do. It was her conviction in her willingness to hurt Damon that made Elijah put out his hand to strike the deal. Besides, he would never torment her with actually having to do that. He'd just chain the arrogant little pest up if he really became a problem.

Addie eyed the hand warily, "You will provide the potion to save my sister and no one I care about will come to harm for betraying you?"

"Yes. You will do your best to secure apologizes from all and provide the moonstone and cooperating Elena. We both understand what happens if Mr. Salvatore refuses to apologize," agreed Elijah, laying out his terms. After they struck hands, Elijah grimaced and tugged at his collar uncomfortably. "I need some air. I'm feeling a tad… dead. You can catch me up on why Alaric Saltzman cannot apologize and where the situation currently stands outside."

Suddenly eager to get the worst news out, as soon as they exited to the back of the Lockwood manor Addie blurted out, "Klaus is here and he's possessing Alaric."

The only reaction the vampire had was a small nod and sighed, "Of course he has. One of his favorite ticks."

"Ooook," Addie drew out, looking for something more helpful. "Well, we kinda had a show down with him last night so he knows we know. What's he going to do next? You're the one that knows him. Was I hallucinating when I heard you say he was your brother? It's been over 24 hours since I slept and I tend to do that," she rabbled as Elijah kept quiet.

After walking several minutes in silence, Elijah looked at her and answered, "You know that blood does not define a sibling. Klaus is now my brother only by blood. I still know him, however. I want to start at the beginning though. Daggering me would have released Katerina. Where does she stand in this?"

"Surprisingly, Damon let her live after she encouraged him to use the dagger, knowing it would kill him. She was on board with helping us take down Klaus so she could stop running but a better looking offer came along. She was betrayed and Klaus took her," relayed Addie. She worried she might be crossing a socially appropriate line but curiosity demanded, "You wanted to save Katherine from Klaus' sacrifice because you loved her, yet you wanted her to pay for her betraying Klaus?"

"There was a time I would have done anything for Klaus but that has long since passed. Over the centuries Klaus has daggered my family one by one."

A chill ran through Addie as she stopped dead in her tracks. In disbelief she whispered, "A whole family of Original?"

"Yes. I can see your shock. I believe the term you want is 'O.M.G.'" quipped Elijah, walking back to her.

"Unlike most of my peers, I prefer to use full words. Though, that would be how Caroline or Elena might respond," Addie muttered distractedly. That was a whole family of unkillable vampires that could be undaggered.

Hoping movement would help ease the shock Elijah put his hand on her shoulder and gently guided her forward. "My father was a wealthy landowner in Eastern Europe. Our mother bore seven children."

"Wait, your parents were human?" Addie smacked herself in the forehead, "Of course they were; vampires can't procreate."

"True. We weren't born vampires, though. Our origin as vampires is a very long story, Addison. Just know that we are the oldest vampires in the world. We are the Original family; from us, all vampires are created," Elijah spoke as if teaching a class. "So as you've seen, nothing can kill an Original. Not Sun, not fire, not even a werewolf bite. But there has to be one exception to every rule; however, my family made sure to burn down that tree."

"A white oak stake," deduced Addie, her brow furrowed. "That's where the white oak ash for the dagger comes from. That's why it takes you down. But it's not enough to kill you."

The vampire nodded, "Yes. The witches won't allow anything truly immortal to walk the earth. Every creature needs a weakness in order to maintain the balance."

Addie stopped again and crossed her arms in front of her, staring expectantly at Elijah. "Let me get this straight: all this is so Klaus can break a Sun and Moon curse when the sun doesn't even kill him? And if it did, why wouldn't he just get a daylight ring? We're gonna break a cure so all vampires can suntan? I'm sorry but I don't understand why a guy would spend his life of that mission. Especially as one that seems as self absorbed as Klaus."

Elijah laughed, "I did say I liked you. Don't you find the curse of the sun and the moon so… biblical sounding?"

"No," she scoffed. "It's sounds more like Greek mythology. There's no obvious lessen and the story makes no sense. Werewolves get to live normal, happy lives except for one night of the month while every single day vampires have to live in the shadows. Not to mention that they have to be sorta cannibalistic. And they have a never ending desire to kill. Yeah, they get to live forever but for how long can you live in the same place? And it's not like they can have a family. So, sure it's safer for everyone else if vampires are cursed but out of the whole vamps versus wolves things, I think they already got the crappy end. A good curse would have made things fair."

He laughed harder, "I think you'll find varying opinions on who gets the better deal. But making it fair is what a good curse would have done. However, people aren't interested in breaking an ok curse. That's why Klaus created a bad one. People want to break a bad one. Klaus created a fake curse and planted it all over the world so everyone would be searching for the two things he needs to break the real curse."

This time, Addie didn't hold back on rolling her eyes, "Of course Klaus created a fake curse to distract from the truth." Just like Damon faked Bonnie's death to distract from the truth. Damn psychotic, serial killing narcissistic vampire and their evil but genius dublicity.

"You don't seem surprised," Elijah smirked.

She shrugged, "I never took much interest in the curse. Sounded too much like a Brother's Grimm story to me. Plus, I'm beginning to become jaded to the lengths a bad guy will go to in order to reach what they want." Damon wasn't bad bad, though. He was just on the extreme end of the stereotypical bad boy. "The real curse is undoubtedly something personal. What is it?"

"Why do you figure that?"

"Because he's just that into himself and I don't see him spending his life on behalf of someone else," she retorted bitterly, ignoring her phone buzzing from a call a third time.

She was quick. Elijah nodded slowly, "It's a curse on him that he's been trying to break for the last thousand years and Elena is his last hope. Your phone will not stop its incessant buzzing. Answer it, please."

"It's gonna be Damon ordering me back," Addie warned.

"I can wait for a phone call."

She scowled at the caller ID and jabbed at the button to answer, "I said do-"

"Klaus went after Jenna," Damon abruptly interjected, before she could start ranting. He asked Elena to call but no, she was too busy comforting Jenna. He had even asked Stefan but no, he had to comfort Elena. So he was stuck calling the girlfriend he was mad at and who was mad at him.

Addie's heart began to race and blood pounded in her ears. She had even noticed she dropped her phone until Elijah was holding it out to her. Shaking, she held it back up to her and quivered, "Tell me."

Damon sighed with false reluctance, "You should get back here." If he could get her home he could keep her safe from Elijah.

"Tell me, Damon!"

The easiest solution would be to tell her that Jenna was dead and that would send her running home. Her voice already told him that it was what she thought. He couldn't do that though; especially not after last night. The fake death card wasn't an option. "She's not doing well, Ads."

"Well give her your blood. It's not rocket science!" Addie cried, nervously running her fingers through her hair. She wasn't dead but… but there was still time.

"It's not like that. Physically, she's ok. Emotionally, not so much. She saw Stefan turn because Klaus as Alaric was blabbering on about vampires or something and Stefan needed to get her out of the house but she wasn't believing, and, well, she knows about -"

Addie shook her head, "Nope. Nu-uh. Elena wanted this supernatural stuff, she can deal with the fallout. And seriously, Damon? You and I both know I don't handle the emotional crap. Low blow trying to convince me back."

"You can't just -"

She silenced her phone and shoved it back into her pocket. Curiously, she followed Elijah as he began to walk back towards the manner. "So, what's his curse."

"My family was quite close, but Klaus and my father did not get on too well. When we became vampires, we discovered the truth. Klaus was not my father's son. My mother had been unfaithful many years before. This was her darkest secret. Klaus is from a different bloodline. Of course, when my father discovered this, he hunted down and he killed my mother's lover and his entire family. Not realizing, of course, that he was igniting a war between species that rages until this day. That is partly how Klaus came up with the story behind the Sun and Moon curse," recounted Elijah.

"Um," Addie stalled, she didn't want to sound stupid but, "isn't the werewolf gene passed down, making Klaus a werewolf? But he's a vampire? So, he's like a vampwolf or werepire?"

"He's been using the term hybrid," corrected Elijah with distaste. "A hybrid would be deadlier than any werewolf or vampire. Nature would not stand for such an imbalance of power. Therefore the witches, the servants of nature, saw to it that my brother's werewolf side would become dormant."

Addie brows knitted together as she surmised, "And Klaus wants to make it active."

He nodded that she was corrected, "If allowed, Klaus would sire his own bloodline. He'd build his own race. Endangering not just vampires, but everyone.

Her frowned deepened as she realized something, "There's no chance of using the dagger on him, is there?"

Elijah shook his head this time, "When a werewolf is wounded by silver, it heals. An Original can't be killed by anything but white oak ash on a silver dagger. So you see the conundrum."

"That leaves magic," she muttered, thinking back to Bonnie. Dead Bonnie.

"There's one way to kill any supernatural species...at the hands of the servants of nature themselves," confirmed Elijah. "Which brings me to the Martin witches?"

Addie inhaled sharply, not anticipating that question. "I don't want to lie but I also don't want to give you more reason to kill Damon."

Elijah frowned, "You should consider the implications of having to say that twice now. You already have my word."

"About daggering you," Addie pointed out, "not about anything else."

"You listen and remember when you make deals; that's wise. A tip to improve your technique: make your demands all inclusive. Though, I do not intend to kill Mr. Salvatore for anything that occurred while I was daggered," resigned Elijah. Unless he had hurt Addison; Damon wasn't the only one who felt protective of her. Her wit and intellect reminded him too much of Rebekah. Had they never been turned, perhaps his sister wouldn't have had her heart broken too many times and wouldn't have felt so entitled. She'd be more like Addison, perhaps. Though, she needed to become more like Rebekah in some ways; she had the fierceness and independence of his sister but not the confidence or self-esteem.

"I'll remember that. Thank you. Anyways, there was a bit of a misunderstanding. An invisible force that we didn't know was Luka tried to undagger you, Damon thought a flamethrower was an effective solution to ghost, Dr. Martin went after Elena because he was upset and grieving, and Katherine killed him," recollected Addie as quickly as possible.

Elijah's brows furrowed, "The unfortunately we're down a witch with enough power."

Addie hesitated, not wanting to offer up Bonnie unless it was safe for her, "After the sacrifice, Klaus will be weaker than usual? Like a lot weaker?"

"The curse must be broken during the full moon. When Klaus is in transition. That's when he'll be at his most vulnerable. A witch with enough power...can kill Klaus."

"You were looking for the site of the witch massacre to channel that power for Dr. Martin, yes?" He nodded. Addie smirked, "As much trouble as he is, Damon was the only reason we found that site. I have a witch that can channel up that much power and is more than ready to take down Klaus.

---

Addie frowned as she heard crashing and clattering as she inserted her key to the boardhouse into the old lock. "I'm sure that's a good sign," she muttered, pushing the door open. Turning to Elijah she smiled awkwardly, "You're welcome to come in but please, do pardon whatever mess is currently being made." Stepping further inside she looked at the living room and through the kitchen; all was calm there. Another crash. Addie was distracted by the door opening again.

"What's going on?" Elena demanded, dropping her pursue by the door. She had just taken a very shaken up Jenna home and was not in the mood for one of Damon and Stefan's pissing matches.

Addie held up her hands innocently, "We just walked in. I know less than you. Actually, I know more. It's coming from the library." At least those consecutive thuds sounded like books falling. With Elena right on her heels and Elijah a few feet behind, she rushed in that direction. One of the side tables was smashed, as was a chair, it looked like a body had flown into one of the bookshelves and the brothers had each other by the shoulders, with the obvious intent of harm. Addie exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing?"

At the same time, Elena yelled a commanding, "Stop!"

Damon couldn't care less about what Elena wanted but it was Addie's voice that made him break away from Stefan. Finally, she was home safe and - "Have you lost your mind?" he snapped, spying Elijah just behind the sisters. "You've invited him in? The question is what the h-"

"Elijah and I have created a new deal," Addie said loudly, cutting Damon off.

"Oh, really?" he grinned, feigning surprise. "That's just wonderful, marvelous news!"

Elijah looked at the two other vampires and Elena, "The three of you will come to no harm at my hands. I only ask three things in return: Elena's cooperation, which she has agreed to, the moonstone -"

"Oh!" Addie had almost forgotten. She pulled it from her back pocket and passed it to Elijah. "Here."

"You undaggered him to hand over your sister and the moonstone!" exclaimed Damon, pulling at his hair in frustration. "Wait," he grinned slyly, anger flickering in his eyes, "I forgot about your delightful little tea party. Addie, I told you I-"

"Shut. Up. For once in your life just shut up." Though her voice was quiet, Damon had never heard it so filled with rage, effectively stopping him. Addie looked Elijah, her voice had returned to normal when she said, "And your last request?"

"An apology," Elijah said simply, looking at the other three occupants.

"A what?"

Elena nodded, "I apologize for tricking and daggering you."

Stefan came closer so he could shake Elijah's hand said, "I'm sorry for the part that I played in your death. I was protecting Elena. I will always protect Elena."

Everyone's eyes landed on Damon who scowled, "Is that potion still part of the deal?"

"It is."

"And you're trusting him?" he asked Addie with a raised eyebrow. She nodded. Damon ran a hand over his face as he considered this. It was obvious that they'd simply lost their minds. They were scared and running. "You can all go to hell," he decided, storming off to his room.

Stefan tried to apologize for his brother's behavior, "He's angry with me right now. He'll-"

"Nu-uh," Addie interrupted, glaring at Stefan. "He's angry with me to but that doesn't give him the right to be a dick. Elijah, will you please fill in Elena and Stefan on the finer details of the plan? I'm sure everyone will feel much more comfortable when they know more. I'm going to try and talk to Damon."

Addie tried to take deep, calming breaths on the short trip to Damon's room but they didn't help. Breathing might work for anxiety but it had never worked when she was angry at Elena and it definitely didn't help now that she was pissed off with Damon. Whatever therapist had told her deep breathing meant blowing out the anger must have been blowing out the smoke of whatever hippie love drug he'd been on. Still she needed to be the rational one in this. She could handle her anger better than he could. But it was possible Addie was more angry. Without out knocking, she entered his room, closing and locking the door behind her. It would give her another half second to try and be rational with him while he messed with it.

Damon stopped unbuttoning his shirt, closed his eyes and counted backwards from ten. Only one person would be foolish enough to come into his bedroom without knocking. Addie, because she had an open invitation. Not turning from his window he barked, "Out." Her footsteps came closer. "Get out, Addie." She'd stopped but she wasn't leaving. He'd just have to make her. Knowing she'd hate it, he sped over to her. Damn it. She didn't startle, jump back or simply leave because she knew he was trying to piss her off. He'd need to try harder.

Her hair felt like silk around his hand as Damon held the back of her head so she couldn't pull away. He lowered his face to right in front of hers and softly warned, "I'm upset. You know what happens when I'm upset. You have to leave."

"You won't," she insisted, shivering slightly as his lips ghosted along her jaw. When she felt them press against the side of her neck, Addie sternly reminded, "You can't."

The scent of her cucumber melon shampoo filled his nose. Damon hummed thoughtfully, pressing a kiss just behind her ear before tauntingly whisper into it, "I think you're wrong. Remember yesterday when I cut you and used the same knife to cut myself without cleaning it first. That little bit was a rush. I can only imagine…. Or perhaps I'll find out if you don't leave. Now."

Addie made to slap him but he easily caught her by the wrist and looked at her boredly. She fumed, "You dick! Do you think you're the only one who gets to be pissed?"

"No but of the two of us, I'm the only one who can actually use my anger against the other, as you can obviously see," he smirked, nodding towards the wrist he still held.

This wasn't fair! Yes, they had both hurt each other. Yes, they needed to work it out. How was anything suppose to work if everything was a struggle for power. He always had the advantage. Because of what he was, who he was, they couldn't even argue fairly. Or could they? It was a low move and wrong and beyond manipulative and it probably wouldn't work but she just might win this fight. After all, Damon was still just a man.

Addie yanked her wrist from his grip so her hand could grab at one side of his collar, as her free hand already had the other. Before Damon could register what was happening, she was kissing him. She felt him breathe out in surprise against her mouth, and then they were kissing hard and hot and intense. Despite being surprised and angry with her instinct had him responding instantly; he would always respond to her.

It didn't take Damon long to figure out what Addie was up to. The sudden intensity and pressure and that delicious way she really bit at his lip, it wasn't Addie's style. It was all too aggressive. She was angry and taking it out on him the only way she could figure out how. Of course she would do something like this. His Addie didn't yell and scream or handle her anger in any health way; she suppressed it. Damon knew that method could only work for so long before someone snapped and she had. He definitely didn't mind, though. Hell, he was angry at her too. This was far more constructive than yelling at each other or him accidentally killing her. But why did being with her have to make him so moral? He'd had angry sex plenty of times; it was one of his favorite kinds of sex. But Addie…she'd regret this.

Reluctantly, he let go of her bottom lip. Turning his head had never been so hard as when she went to kiss him again. His voice was torn as he couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. "You don't want this. Not like this, Addie."

"Pretty sure I'm tired of you making decision for me," she snapped.

He scowled as her lips pressed along his jaw, "I'm warning you one last time. I get that you're upset but so am I. We both know I make mistakes when I'm upset. You need to go."

"Just shut up," fumed Addie. She wanted to kiss him but that was proving difficult when he wasn't cooperating and insisted turning his head. It wasn't like she could just grab him as she needed both her hands at his collar to help her balance on her toes just to stay within kissing distance. It frustrated her to no end that even in this they weren't equal. Addie had felt him kissing her back; his hand was still on her hip with his thumb brushing the skin just above her jeans. He wanted this just as much as she did. "Damn it, Damon! Do you want to be pissed off by yourself or together? I pick together."

Damon's jaw clench as he accused, "Why are you trying to make me be the bad guy?"

"I'm not trying to make you be anybody! But maybe I miss the guy who didn't care so much!"

And there it was. Yes, she was mad about the previous night and him being over protective and a little over reactive. The reason she was so pissed off hadn't made sense until just then though: she was so upset because the fact that he loved her scared her. Or she was truly mad that he loved her. Both irked him.

"Fine," he growled, picking her up and letting her legs wrap around his waist, "I'll be that guy."

Not caring so much was the plan when he had started his day; it seemed like a mighty fine idea to go back to. Except when her hands found purchase in his hair and tugged, the groan he bit back proved it was impossible. Damon didn't give a damn if the rest of the house overheard them but Addie would. When she stopped being so angry, she'd be mortified. That's why he had to move to fumble on his dresser for the damn sound machine. The fact that he couldn't stop caring was irritating the hell out of him.

The sound of a wave crashing filled the room just as Addie felt Damon tense up. He took back control of the kiss, biting at her lower lip until she shuddered, nipping at the corner of her mouth. Hold up! Addie pulled him back by the hair as she leaned, effectively breaking them apart. He did not get to take control of her kiss; that wasn't how it was going to work. Unfazed by his glare she demanded, "Down."

Damon shook his head and countered, "Bed," already moving towards it. He dropped her on to the bed a little more carelessly than he normally would have. But this wasn't like normal. Though, he did pause to wait and see what she did. Had she been trying to stop him or be in control? Addie did stop to kick off her low-cut converse but she was soon moving to the center of the bed. He followed her, thankful she had been wearing high tops; Damon was not in the mood to wait.

Hovering over her, Addie decided to let him have a minute of control. His lips crashed into hers with a bruising pressure, demanding entrance. The taste of tea reminded him of Elijah and just how angry he was. Growling, he nipped hardly at her lip and felt her hiss in pure pain. Instantly, he pulled back, swearing, "Shit." It was just a little bit but he could taste sweet, delicious blood on his front teeth.

"Fuck!" Damon cursed again moving onto his back. "Ads, I'm so-"

"Shut. Up," she emphasized, swinging her leg over his hips. When would he get that his voice was simply making her more upset with him. "I love this shirt," she muttered thoughtfully, "but it has to come off."

Making to undo the buttons he hadn't reached when she came in, Damon was surprised to find that Addie had already undone them. She was staring at him expectantly and he didn't like it. Though he felt bad for having just hurt her, she wasn't letting it slow her down so he wouldn't either. Deciding to sit up made Addie shift in his lap but she simply smirked, wrapped her legs around him, and pressed herself closer to him. Her heart was pounding. Damon was almost always the one to take the lead in these sort of situations. She roughly attempted to push off his shirt but Damon squared his shoulders and locked his arms around her. Two could play her little game.

Damon gave Addie a sly grin and shook his head. "That's not happening until this," he tugged on the back of her plaid purple and black button-up, "comes off. You do wear so much plaid."

"Damn it, Damon," she spat, smacking his shoulder. It didn't hurt but he didn't miss her lack of playfulness like usual. "You're not being fair."

"There's nothing fair about this," he murmured against her neck, just before biting over that oh, so sensitive spot. Her breathing hitched as she tensed in surprise. A little more pressure and she was relaxing into him. Better. He continued to increase his bite until she was pliant against him, one hand at his head holding him in place and the other digging into his back. Perfect; she wasn't about to try anything. He slipped his arm from around her to under where her shirt rested on her shoulders. Silk skin glided beneath his hands as he pushed the cloth out of position. As Damon slid the shirt down her, he took the spaghetti straps of her black tank and adjusted them to lay against her upper arms.

When Damon moved to kiss her bare shoulder, he felt her small, warm hands pushing flat against his chest. That was enough of his teasing for Addie. Clearly they weren't seeing eye to eye on how the whole "angry makeout" worked. It wasn't a time for teasing and sensual. She pulled his face close to hers and demanded, "Take it off."

As Damon shrugged out of the shirt, Addie resumed kissing him fiercely. Her lip wasn't bleeding anymore, at least. It had just been a scrape. He would simply have to be more careful. Anger flared up again when he tasted tea but he forced it back; he couldn't afford to get that upset with her. It was easy to push that aside when her hands were leaving paths of fire up his chest, down his biceps, over his back. Damon was anticipating her usual path of light kisses along his jaw, down his neck, then sinking her teeth in just enough to make him groan, afraid of hurting him. Apparently being pissed at him threw that caution out the window. When she aggressively went straight for the attack, a lightning shot through him. His head tilted to give her better access, his back arched, his grip under her tank was sure to leave a mark from tightening, and he had to quickly move to curl his fingers around her bare shoulder to avoid pulling too hard at her hair. "Fuck, Ads," he swore under his breath. He felt her tense and start to ease up, afraid that she'd hurt him but Damon held her closer and whispered encouragingly, "It's good, love. Really good."

For another minute Addie continued worried at the skin before pulling away to switch sides. Damon was quicker; her head bounced lightly against a pillow as he moved to hover over her. His damn speed. Addie scowled, "Stop cheating!"

When she went to push him away, Damon easily caught her wrists by one hand. Pinning her hands just above her head his eyes narrowed in frustration, "Seriously? You want to talk about playing fair?" Carefully he caught her pouting lower lip between his, nibbling until he heard the whimper she tried to strangle. With the sound he felt a tightening around his waist and realized her legs were still wrapped around him. He broke the kiss and shook his head. "You don't get to use that word," he murmured roughly in her ear. He kissed just below it. "I know exactly why you started this little game." A gentle brush of the lips where her neck and shoulder met. "If you get to use your against me," Damon lightly taunted as he trailed small, warm kisses along the skin he'd exposed, "I get to use mine."

The top of her tank rested just over the swell of her breast. There was the briefest hesitation before he decided to allow his lips to graze against the soft skin just above the shirt. Under his lips he could feel her heart quicken at the sensation, her hands desperately twist in attempted to twist away from his hold and sensed her trying to arch closer to him, desperate for more pressure. Taking advantage of the movement, Damon slipped his hand under her back, edging the shirt up to let his fingers dance above the band of her jeans.

Addie inhaled sharply when she felt Damon allow some of his weight to rest against her as his hands were too busy to allow his forearms to support him fully. A quiver of excitement ran through her as she felt his abs brush against the couple of inches of skin bared above her waist; from the firmer kisses he pressed against the top of her left breast, Addie guessed he had felt the same thrill of excitement. Eager to feel more of him she wriggled against him in attempt to drive her shirt further up.

Damon suppressed a groan as he began to work back up her shoulder. Her legs were wrapped high enough around him to prevent any accidental contact but her squirming had made his pants shift and he could feel himself becoming stiffer. He nipped softly at the tender skin at the center of her neck and lustily growled, "That definitely isn't playing fair."

The more she tried to fight the grip at her wrists the tighter Damon held them. She huffed in annoyance, "Stop teasing."

"You did it," he justified in a mumble against her pulse point.

Desperate to take back at least some control; Addie writhed against him again. Damon groaned lowly and quickly moved to still her twisting hips as his jeans grew increasingly uncomfortable, freeing her hands. Instantly they were in his dark hair, trying to pull him closer, trying to get him to do something more than just whispers of lips moving up and down the column of her neck. Instead, he did the opposite.

Sighing heavily, Damon rested his forehead against her. He brushed the tip of her nose with his and whispered, "Addie."

She hummed in response, raking her fingers through his hair. Her lips sought his in response but Addie felt him him shake his head against her forehead and simply call her name again. Something was wrong. Not wanting to be caught staring at him while making out, she slightly opened one eye to peek at his face and attempt to read his emotion. He was staring at her. And caught her.

"I want you to look at me," Damon stressed softly, rolling his eyes.

Suddenly very aware of their compromising position, Addie flushed. Feeling self-conscious she went to unwrap herself from him. While Damon didn't stop her from pulling her tank back down, he gently squeezed at her outer thigh, encouraging her to stay in place and reassured, "It's ok; you're fine."

"I feel like a koala clinging to a tree," she muttered, feeling ridiculous. Trusting him though, Addie slid her hand back into to his hair and lightly scratched at his scalp. His eyes, much darker than usual, fluttered shut briefly. Addie found it odd that for someone who was so obsessed with their hair being perfect, Damon really enjoyed her messing it up. Quietly she quipped back, "Now you're not looking at me."

"Have I mentioned how random you are?" he smirked, eyes still closed. "I doubt I even want to know how you came to comparing me to a tree and yourself to a koala."

"Well, I think it's rather obvious," Addie mumbled."And no, I don't think you've told me that today."

His smirk turned into a grin as he met her deep blue eyes, "Obvious because you understand 'Addie Logic' but to normal, non-random people, it's hard to follow."

"Oh, hun, we both know you're far from normal," she giggled, patting his cheek patronizingly.

While it was stupid and he wasn't too fond of pet names, Damon felt his heart flutter when she called him that. She always called her friends or family "sweetie" or "honey" when she felt the need to point out the obvious but, not matter what, he was always just "Damon". His name sounded like a blessing when she said it but she had never used a term or nickname indicating a deeper level of connecting. Addie was afraid of his growing feelings for her; Damon didn't see the need to point out hers were too.

"Very true," acknowledged Damon, "but you would get bored with normal. We both would."

Addie pursed her lips in thought before slowly saying, "No, no. I think I could do normal."

"You mean you could date a guy like Matt Donovan?"

"Good point. I need a guy who knows how to defend himself."

"You mean someone who will fight back with you."

Addie carried on as if he hadn't interrupted, "A guy who can, for the most part, hold his end of the conversation."

"You mean someone who can follow your logic and random topic jumping. That would have to be a mythical creature; something definitely not normal."

"And, even though I can do it myself, a guy willing to help me win war."

"You mean someone who would go against their own instincts and be stupid enough to follow you into a trap," he resigned. He let his hand cup her cheek and searched her eyes. Yes, that was what she really wanted. Damon knew he promised no more lies but he just couldn't deny her this. He would have to find a way to either save Elena himself or be there to picked Addie up when she crumbled under Elena's death. Damon grimaced, "I'm sorry. I'll apologize to Elijah but not because I'm sorry but because I promised you I'd save your sister and he presents the only option. But, Addie, I'm not going to mean it and I'm not trusting him. You're trusting him. I'm just saying some words to help you."

"That's all I ask," she whispered, matching the way he ran his thumb over her cheek on his own.

Addie's eyes shimmered, and before he could wonder from whether it was tears or the way the light hit the them, Damon kissed her. This time it wasn't frenzied, rough or angry. This time she brought his face closer to his and let him take control. Damon wanted to say those three words so badly but he knew he couldn't; not yet; so he tried to pour every emotion he'd put into the words into the kiss. The intensity returned when he tried to non-verbally tell her how passionate he felt. He was back at her neck, his love-bite full of lust. . She was moaning and moving in his arms, arms filled with the heat and softness that was Addie. Under the tea, he could still taste her cinnamon toothpaste; that was Addie. He didn't even know that had existed before her. She even had her own signature scent that was Addie; cucumber melon, blackberries and vanilla and… blood, sweet, delicious blood. Blood that didn't smell nauseatingly sweet anymore. Blood he could feel moving through her as his teeth….

Cursing, Damon buried his face in the pillow. He didn't need to double check if he had really felt his fangs extend. Had bloodlust mixed with real lust or had it been bloodlust that had him nipping at her pulse point the whole time? It was a weakness for her but to really get to her, he had to move a up just a fraction of an inch; that triggered her lust. Her heartbeat sounded louder than ever; he could smell the blood pumping through her wrist as she stroked his hair. Before she had smelled so sickeningly sweet that he had learned to block it out. Now her blood was like a siren, smelling as sweet as a vampire's, as his own. Why was it taking so long to control the lust? He had forgotten to drink because of the Elijah fiasco but that didn't explain the extreme thirst that unquestionably demanded to be sated by her blood. The only thing that could tear him away from the thought of her blood was her curious voice.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Damon snapped. The bloodlust was making him frustrated. He needed to get it under control. He had learn to manage the hunger ages ago. Why couldn't he shake it off now? Why did she have to have the most appetizing blood he had ever come across?

Addie continued to play with his hair, hoping to help while easing her own anxiety. "The bloodlust," she whispered. "Why is it affecting you so bad? You've never - ok, when we first started kissing it bothered you for fifteen seconds but it's never happened since then. You've been battling it for nearly four minutes."

It felt a lot longer. "That's not-"

"I felt your fangs start to descend, Damon. Don't lie to me, please," she pleaded. "I'm not upset or even scared. I just want to know why now?"

"Alcohol plus forgetting to eat because my girlfriend woke up the guy who wants to kill me plus arguing plus kissing make for a difficult combination to battle," he muttered. It wasn't a lie.

Addie rolled her eyes; extracting the truth from him could be like pulling teeth. You needed to say exactly the right thing. "I guessed that. There's more; you would have just gone and got a blood bag if that was the issue. Something's keeping you here. What's wrong, Damon? You can tell me."

"You really don't want to know," Damon bitterly laughed.

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't."

"I want to know."

"You want to know that suddenly all I can think about is drinking you?" he bit back.

Addie frowned, "Wh- I get why you would want to because of the hunger but why would you want to when you know you can't?"

"Because I already told you; I'm pretty sure I can feed off you now," he reminded in a mocking voice. "And I'm still here because you're keeping me here. The whole living person versus blood from a freezer aside, your blood is… God, it's like a really tempting bag of illegal weed to a stoner."

"You're talking like me."

Damon groaned, "I want to eat you and you're analyzing my simile? You should be scared, Addie."

She continued to play with his hair in a distracted manner as she thought, "You drank my blood before. What happened?"

"I don't know! Some kind of allergic reaction; my throat started to swell shut," he sneered into the pillow wondering why the hell any of that was relevant.

"If you truly believe you can safely drink my blood, then do it," Addie offered.

"You've lost your mind," Damon decided. He could feel her heart slamming against his chest as he let himself rest against Addie.

Addie turned her head to encouraginly whisper, "I want you to."

He was getting some control; his face had returned to normal but his fangs were still descended. Damon closed his eyes, pressed his forehead to hers again, and tried even harder to calm himself. His fangs pushing into his lower lip, hard and painful. "No."

"I want you to. This isn't the first time I've offered; remember our first date and you got ill? I'm ok with it." Her breasts flattened against his chest as she arched up against him, baring her throat. The scent of her blood was everywhere, all over him, filling the room.

"Aren't you scared?" he whispered, annoyed that she wasn't more concerned about her safety.

"Yes. But I still want you to."

"Ads, love - I can't - I-" He bit her. His teeth slid, razor-sharp, into the vein at her throat like a knife slicing into the skin of an apple. Addie gasped, her eyes flying open and her body arcing up against , sweet, blood exploded into his mouth. It was like nothing he had experienced before; the closest comparison he could come up with was what he imagined it would be like if he took the perfect size hit of every wonderful drug he tried in the 80s followed by a shot of bourbon. Through the high of her blood, Damon vaugely became aware that he was still releasing venom; he had used it not to hurt her but too much in a human would kill them. She was enjoying it; stroking his hair, his back, holding him tight. Addie had already had way more than enough. Still, heat poured out of her, into him, lighting his body; he had never felt, imagined, anything else like it. He could feel the strong, sure beat of her heart, pounding through her veins into his, and for that moment it was as if he lived again, and his heart contracted with pure elation.

He broke away. Damon wasn't sure how, but he broke away and rolled onto his back, his fingers gripping the sheets hard. He was still shuddering as his fangs retracted. The room shimmered all around him, the way things did in the few moments after he drank human, living blood.

"Ads… ," he whispered. He was afraid to look at her, afraid that now that his teeth were no longer in her throat, Addie would stare at him with revulsion or horror.

She hummed in response, interlacing her fingers with his.

"You didn't stop me," he stated bluntly, filled with mixed feelings of frustration and hope.

"I didn't want to."

He looked at her. She was on her back, her chest rising and falling fast, as if she'd been running. There were two neat puncture wounds in the side of her throat, and two thin lines of blood that ran down her neck to her collarbone. Acting on instinct Damon leaned forward and licked the blood from her throat. A chill ran through her as her fingers settled back in his hair.

"Damon..." He drew back. Addie was looking at him with her big deep blue eyes, surprisingly serious, her cheeks flushed. "I…"

"What?" he pressed after several seconds of silence. For a wild moment he thought she was going to say 'I love you,' but instead she shook her head, yawned, and hooked her finger through one of the belt loops on his jeans. Her fingers played with the bare skin at his waist.

Her yawn triggered him back to reality. Exhaustion was a problem when they were getting her to resist compulsion. "Are you okay? Did I drink too much? Do you feel tired? Are—" God, he was stupid. Damon bit his wrist until blood bubbled to the surface. He wanted to spit out the little that had gotten into his mouth. To Damon, his own blood had always tasted like water, like nothing but now it tasted like it was taken from the Hudson river. Was that what Addie tasted? It didn't matter. He shoved his wrist up to her mouth and she gave him a look that clearly asked if he was serious. "Drink."

"I am fine," she insisted through another yawn, trying to push his hand away.

"Drink!" he ordered repeatedly. "I don't care if you think you're fine. You suffered some major blood loss."

"I've suffered worse."

His jaw clenched in frustration and he had a difficult time keeping his voice level. "Yes and each time you did, you drank! Drink." She continued to stare at him boredly. "Ugh. Fine. Don't come asking me to heal you when people start asking why you have two puncture marks on your neck."

Addie glared at him but took his bleeding wrist, first quipping, "I'll tell them I was role playing Twilight."

"Seriously?" he asked with a disgusted face.

"I don't even know what happened past the first book," she snorted, dropping his healed, blood free wrist. "Hope you're happy because now I'm cold."

Damon laughed, climbing off the bed and heading to his closet, "I am happy to report that I did drink my girlfriend's blood and I did not kill her."

She laughed harder, "I read enough to know that you sound like Edward Cullen when he did the same thing."

"You know what?" he asked, coming back with the same cashmere scarf he had given her the first time she drank his blood. "We're sticking to Dracula role playing if anyone ask."

"So am I Lucy and you're going to feed on me every night as I waste away and then turn me into a vampire and I get beheaded or am I Mina and you feed on me three times, I drink your blood, start having a creepy psychic connection to you, and am like a half vampire until me and my group of suitors and doctors kill you, freeing me of your curse?"

Damon contemplated aloud as he carefully wrapped the scarf around her, "Well, you've had my blood and I've had yours which makes you qualified to be both. I think we can rule out Lucy though since I'm not gonna turn you and really, you'd probably use your vampire powers for good rather than eating children. As for Mina, well, we apparently are starting to sound alike so that could be a connection thing, you don't need vervain to resist compulsion which is a vampire trait so that makes you something, and our story does end with you running off with a suitor and having kids. My guess is the Mina plotline will be more believable if someone ask but this time, the vampire gets to live."

Addie's brows knitted together in thought as she distractedly thanked Damon for the scarf. The story was eerily parallel. Dracula had been one of the most bogus books she had to read for school and now she was semi living it. Still cold, Addie laid down and wrapped up in the blankets and yawned again. "Did you sleep last night?" she asked Damon curiously. watching him put his shirt back on.

"Uh, no. I don't really sleep well without you anymore. Fighting with you doesn't make sleep come any easier," he muttered sheepishly as he had trouble doing up the buttons.

"Same," she replied, quickly tacking on, "about the sleep I mean. I didn't get any." She yawned again.

Concerned that he may not have given her enough blood, Damon walked over to her and felt her forehead with the back of his hand. "Do you feel ok?"

Addie swatted at his hand and rolled over. "I'm tired not sick, you twit. Can, um, do you mind if I take a nap in here?" she asked hesitantly.

"Ads, you never have to ask that. You have a 'come and go, use as you want' access pass to here. You know that." Damon shook his head, glad she couldn't see; he'd come to think of this room as theirs rather than his. It felt wrong without her in it after she spent almost every night for a month with him. "Although, as the other occupant with such access to this room, I must warn you that we may encounter each other from time to time."

"Like now?"

A grin broke out on his face when he heard the slight undertone of hope. They were still upset with each other but it was going to be ok. "Yeah. See, I made a deal with my girlfriend not to go to bed angry so I haven't slept all night and I need to use the room to finally nap since I'm not mad now."

"How funny," Addie grinned to herself, unrolling from the blankets so she could share with Damon. She felt the bed dip and shift as he got in. He settled himself behind her, an arm casually slung around her waist.

"This ok?" checked Damon. He wasn't sure what the limits of the temporary 'cease fire' truce were. Addie tucked her hand under his and nodded. After several minutes, it became apparent that he wasn't going to sleep until he knew. "Did you…" He could barely bring himself to ask. "Did you like it?" He had probably released so much venom to keep from hurting her that she was probably feeling as buzzed as he was.

"Yeah," Addie answered shyly. "I liked it."

"Really?"he said in mild surprise. Addie and blood dix typically mix.

"You couldn't tell?"

For the first time Damon felt bashful as he answered, "I thought maybe you were faking it or just pretending to for me."

"I don't fake things, Damon," she said firmly. "And I don't lie, and I don't pretend."

No way a guy like him got a girl like her. Not for long, at least. "You're a heartbreaker, Addison Gilbert," he said, as lightly as he could with her blood still running through him like fire, knowing that whether it be when they woke up or in fifteen years, losing her was truly going to break his heart.

---

A/N: The end is near! Fingers crossed I will have this done by Jan 17 (One whole year, one whole story) but no promises. A sequel is in the works. Would you guys like it to stay in third person or see a shift to first person? Comments are always welcomed.