38; Plan B | Part One
Next morning, Marissa's eyes flickered open when she heard her cell phone beep with a new text message. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure the noise didn't wake Jeremy, then reached out to pick the phone up.
She turned the sound off, then checked the message, her hands shaking in fear when she saw it was a text message from Katherine. The vampire was still bossing her around and making her do her dirty work or she'll make good on her threat to kill everyone the blonde has ever loved.
This time Katherine wanted a Stefan update. She wanted to make sure he and Elena were staying away from each other. She laid back on the mattress and planned to type out a response, then froze when she heard hushed voices down the hall.
She used her enhanced hearing to listen in and realized it was Elena giggling and quietly talking to someone. Her eyes slightly widened when she realized it was Stefan that she was talking to. They were faking the breakup.
Biting her thumbnail in thought, she wondered what she was going to tell Katherine. If she told her the truth, she feared what the vampire would do in retaliation, but if she lied and was caught, it would make things even worse.
There was also Elena and Stefan to think about it- she hated having to spy on them and she hated how Katherine was trying to control them. She knew how it felt to have someone threaten you and force you to break up with the person you love.
She went through the same thing with Tyler after Mason threatened her. She didn't try to stand up to him, she didn't fight to keep her relationship, she just walked away. She had to respect them for not backing down. She wished she would have been that brave herself.
Before she could figure out what to do, she felt Jeremy stirring beside her. She turned her head to the side and saw him slowly open his eyes. When he saw her looking at him, he let out a tired groan, then closed his eyes again before asking what time it was.
"Too early," she answered as she glanced at the time on her phone, before setting it back on the bedside table. She tried to push the text from Katherine out of her mind. She would answer her back later.
"I feel like we just went to sleep," he stated as he opened his eyes again to look at her.
"We kinda did," she pointed out with a guilty look on her face. She flashed him a small smile and added, "I'm sorry for keeping you up so late."
He shook the apology away, then rolled from his side to his back. "It's okay. You were upset and for good reason."
"Yeah," she breathed out as she thought about the day before.
Tyler had a close call and thought he had triggered his curse, but thankfully Sarah was okay. Then if that wasn't bad enough, Mason had sent a plan in motion to kill the Salvatore brothers. She and Elena were able to stop it in time and save them, but saving them meant exposing herself to her mother, who did not take it well.
"How are you feeling?" he questioned.
"I'm feeling...I feel like my mom knows I'm a vampire," she said blankly. "And she thinks I'm a monster and she doesn't even see me as her daughter anymore. That's how I feel."
Turning her head to look at him, she turned the question back on him. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling like I have a little smart ass laying beside me," he joked as he flashed her a smile. He turned his head to look at the ceiling as he added, "But she's also feisty and not a monster." Looked back at her, he continued, "She's pretty amazing...and she's my best friend."
She shot him a smile to thank him, then turned over to her side to raise up a little. She rested her head on her hand, then looked down at him. "You know what I love about our friendship?"
"Hmm?"
"I love how well you know me." She smiled at him. "You know me, Jeremy, which means you know exactly what I need to hear. You just get me."
"I'll always get you, Ris," he said, reaching up to tuck a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. She swallowed hard as his finger lightly brushed her cheek when he lowered his hand. The feelings she had for him were still lingering, but her love for Tyler was still present as well, making her one very confused girl.
She knew she needed to be careful until she figured out what she really wanted from both boys. She didn't want to give anyone false hope or lead anyone on.
With that thought in mind, she cleared her throat, then sat up all the way. She pulled her legs toward her and wrapped her arms around them. "I should get going. I need to get to the Salvatore's and check on Mom."
"You sure you're up for that?" he questioned as he sat up beside her.
"No," she softly admitted. "But it needs to be done. The sooner she's vervain-free, the sooner she can be compelled, and-"
"The sooner all is forgotten," he finished for her.
"For her, maybe..." She began to say, then softly added, "But, I'll never forget."
"Hey..." He quietly said, then waited for her to turn her head. Laying a hand on the side of her face, his thumb caressing her cheek. "Whatever she said, whatever she's feeling, it's not the truth. It's not how she really feels about you, Rissa. Give her time, she's in shock, but soon she'll see you for what you really are. She'll see how being a vampire has only made you stronger. You're still the amazingly beautiful person you have always been. Soon she'll see all of that. She'll see you."
Leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers, he whispered, "Just like I see you."
"Jeremy..." She breathed out, getting his attention. He pulled back to look at her and wondered what she wanted to say. She looked at him closely, different emotions running through her, but the one she was feeling the most was the urge to be closer to him, to feel his lips against hers like when they kissed months ago.
She laid a hand on the back of his neck, her nails grazing his skin as she leaned toward him, their faces so close she could feel his warm breath hit her lips.
"Jeremy, I uh, I..." She wasn't even sure what she was going to say to him. She was just going with her feelings and listening to what her heart was saying.
"Yeah?" he questioned as he reached up to brush a lock of hair from her face. "What did you want to tell me?" he asked, feeling his heart beat in his chest. He knew the words he was hoping would come from her lips, but he didn't want to get his hope up.
She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word, she heard her phone vibrate on the table, breaking the moment. She pulled back from him, relieved for the interruption- this was the wrong time.
Minutes ago she told herself she needed to figure out what she wanted before making a move, but all it took were some sweet words and loving glancing from him, and she almost forgot everything she told herself not to do- she needed to do better. She couldn't get swept up in the moment with him again. All that was going to do was confuse him and possibly hurt him.
Giving him a sweet smile, she leaned toward him again to kiss his cheek, lingering a few extra seconds before pulling away. "I just want to say thank you. Thank you for just being you and always being there for me."
He returned her smile, he appreciated her words, but couldn't deny that for a moment, he thought she was going to say something else. He tried not to feel too disappointed as he said, "You know I'm always here for you, right?"
"I do," she said with a short nod.
Without another word, she stood up from the bed and walked over to the dresser to grab the set of clothes that were laid on top of it. Elena had set out a pair of jeans and a shirt for her to borrow the night before.
As she went to walk out of the room to shower, Jeremy spoke up, "Did you want me to go with you? To the Salvatores'?"
Turning to face him, she said, "You don't have to."
"I don't mind," he said back. "Plus I wanted to talk to Damon."
"About what?" she questioned, curious about what they would have to talk about.
"I want to help," he answered as he stood up.
"With what?"
"With anything," he said, taking a step forward. "I'm tired of losing people, I'm tired of seeing the ones I love getting hurt while I just stand on the sidelines doing nothing."
"Being on the sidelines is exactly where you need to be," she argued. "Jeremy, you don't have to get involved-"
"You're involved which makes me involved," he cut her off. Taking another step, he came to a stop in front of her and laid a hand on the side of her neck. "I've got your back, Ris."
She gave him a small nod and said back, "And I got yours."
•••
Minutes later, she knocked on the Salvatores' front door and waited for Damon to answer. He swung the door open, his usual smirk on his face when he saw her. His smile dropped slightly when he saw Jeremy standing beside her.
"Mini-Forbes and Little Gilbert," he stated as he looked at them. "Why is the dynamic duo at my front steps?"
"I'm here to see my mom," Marissa answered as she walked through the open door into the house. "And, Jeremy-"
"Needs to talk to you, Damon," he finished for her.
"And why do I need to talk to you?" Damon questioned as he blocked Jeremy from walking into the house.
Jeremy looked over at Marissa and raised his eyebrows, silently asking her if she wanted to tell him. She blew out a breath, then turned to look at Damon as she said, "Tyler isn't a werewolf yet, Damon. He has to kill someone first to activate his curse."
"Whoa, fascinating," he said, as if he could care less. He turned his head to look at Jeremy and began to shut the door, "Not enough."
Jeremy threw out his hand to stop him from closing the door. "But Mason Lockwood is and he's looking for a moonstone. That's why he's here."
"A moonstone?" Damon questioned, intrigued by that part of the information. He already knew about Mason being a werewolf, but this was the first he was hearing about a moonstone. If Mason wanted it, then he wanted to know all about it and he wanted it in his hands.
"For some reason, it's really important for him to find it," Marissa stated. "Apparently, it's related to the werewolves legend."
"And we know where it is," Jeremy added, referring to himself and Marissa.
"And you two are bringing me this why?" Damon asked the teenagers as he looked at one and then the other one.
"Do I need a reason?" Jeremy questioned, then added, "Look, I just want to help, okay?"
"Damon, just let him in."
He ignored her comment, then turned to look at Jeremy as he questioned, "What does your sister say about this little discovery?" When he didn't answer, he smirked, "Oh, you haven't told her, have you?"
"Well, Elena doesn't want me getting involved in all this," Jeremy explained.
"You know, I can kinda understand why she's involved..." Damon began to say as he gestured over to the blonde vampire. Looking back at Jeremy, he added, "But you...you're a Gilbert, you just can't help yourself."
Jeremy shot him a look, trying to make him understand how badly he needed this. He was tired of sitting around while people he cared about died. He had lost too many important people- not to mention, the times his sister was hurt or the close calls Marissa had. He needed this. He wasn't going to just stand there anymore while the others risk their lives.
Seeing the look on the younger boy's face, Damon added sarcastically, "Your search for life's purpose is as obvious as it is tragic."
"You might as well let him in, Damon," Marissa spoke up from inside the house. "If you won't let him help you, he'll still help me; so either way, he's already involved."
Jeremy nodded his head at her comment, then added, "So are you gonna let me in or not?"
Damon released the door and turned away from it, Jeremy glanced over at Marissa with a smile on his face as he walked into the house and shut the door.
He finally felt like he could actually do something. He felt like he had a purpose. He didn't have to feel helpless and watch bad things happen anymore, he could help put a stop to them.
•••
After speaking to Damon a few minutes longer, Marissa left him and Jeremy to talk more, while she went down to the cellar to check on her mom.
She opened the door and saw her quickly sit up from the cot she had been laying on. She sat on the edge of the cot and tried to look anywhere but at her daughter.
Marissa took a few more steps inside the room and saw a tray of food sitting on a chair. She glanced over at her mom as she questioned, "You didn't eat?"
When her mom avoided the question and looking at her, she added, "I talked to Damon. He said all the vervain is almost out of your system. You should be out of here and back into your bed by tonight."
As her mom remained silent, she scoffed. "So, I guess you're just going to ignore me, huh? Pretend I'm not even here?"
"Yes. So please go," Liz said, finally raising her head to look at her daughter for a moment, before dropping her head again.
"Fine," Marissa breathed out as she grabbed the tray of food. "Maybe I should have just stayed dead then. Would that have made you happy?" she said sarcastically as she began to walk toward the door.
"Are you...Are you really dead?" Liz questioned with a pained look on her face. She never thought much about how her daughter became a vampire, she was too upset at the thought that she was one.
"Yes and no," Marissa answered as she paused at the door.
"How is it possible?"
"I died with vampire blood in my system."
"So you did-you did die?" Liz asked as she pulled in a shaky breath, trying to keep tears from filling her eyes. She couldn't handle the thought of her youngest daughter dying. She didn't want to thank how close she came to bury her.
As she nodded her head to answer, she added, "It was the wreck?"
"No," Marissa said, shaking her head. "No, actually the vampire blood is what saved me. If it wasn't for that, then I would be dead. Real dead, Mom. As in gone and never coming back."
Her mom didn't say anything as she looked away with tears in her eyes and thought about she had said.
Thinking she was being ignored again, Marissa scoffed and said, "You know, you have this big hang-up about vampires and yeah, they have their bad parts, but they have their good parts too." She balanced the tray with one hand to reach up to wipe away a lone tear from under her eye. "Maybe one day you'll see that. Maybe one day you'll see me."
Without another word, she turned and walked out of the room. She made her way upstairs and went into the kitchen to set the tray down. She land her hands on the counter and dropped her head for a moment as tears filled her eyes.
Pulling in a deep breath, she quickly wiped the moisture from her face, then left the kitchen to join Jeremy and Damon in the study.
"You okay?" Jeremy questioned when he saw the look on her face.
She shook her head to answer, but didn't want to get into it at the moment. He didn't question her any further as she plopped down on the couch with a sigh. She knew seeing her mom would be hard, but she didn't expect it to be that hard.
"Why the long face, Mini-Forbes?" Damon asked as he poured himself a drink. "Mommy Dearest still not welcoming you with open arms?"
"Damon..." Jeremy began to say, letting him know she didn't want to talk about it.
Damon shrugged and took a sip of his drink. "Well, look on the bright side; soon she'll be freshly compelled and she'll see you as her darling daughter again."
"Right," she breathed out in disbelief. She knew compulsion didn't solve all problems.
Before anyone could say anything else, they heard the front door open, then saw Alaric walking toward them holding a box in his hands.
"Ric!" Damon called out in greeting.
Alaric entered the room and sat the box down on a table and saw the two teenagers, causing him to ask, "What are you two doing here?"
"I'm checking on Mom," Marissa answered.
"And we're helping Damon," Jeremy added. "We're the ones who told him about the moonstone."
Alaric folded his arms across his chest and glanced over at Damon, who gave him a shrug. He looked back at Jeremy and asked, "Does Elena know you're here?"
"Not exactly," Jeremy answered as he folded his arms ready for an argument from the teacher, but thankfully he didn't say anything else.
"What you got?" Damon asked, changing the subject as he opened the box and glanced inside.
"This is Isobel research from Duke. Her assistant sent it to me," Alaric answered.
"Mmm, Vanessa. The hottie," Damon stated as he picked up a book from the box. He remembered speaking to her when they went to Duke recently.
"Vanessa yes," Alaric said, taking the book from Damon. "Now, do you remember the old Aztecs curse she told us about?"
"Sun and the moon, blah blah blah," Damon said sarcastically.
"An Aztec curse?" Jeremy questioned as he walked over toward them. "Cool."
"What Aztec curse?" Marissa asked as she sat up in the chair and folded her legs underneath her.
"Supposedly, vampires and werewolves used to run freely until a shaman put a curse on them to limit their power," Alaric explained. "Since then, werewolves can only turn on a full moon and vampires are weakened by the sun."
Damon wiggled his fingers, showing off his daylight ring. "Most of them, anyway."
"According to the legend, the werewolf part of the curse is sealed with a moonstone," Alaric continued as he handed Jeremy the document talking about the Sun and the Moon curse.
Standing up from the chair, Marissa walked over to stand behind Jeremy and looked at the document from over his shoulder.
"What do you mean sealed?" Jeremy questioned as he and Marissa looked up from the paper and waited for an answer.
"It's a witch thing, whatever seals the curse is usually the key to unsealing the curse," Damon explained.
"Maybe Mason Lockwood believes he can use the moonstone to break the curse," Alaric said, thinking out loud.
Marissa thought about what he said as she walked closer to the table and peered inside the box. Regardless of why Mason wanted the moonstone, she was curious about why Katherine wanted it. It must be for an important reason if she was forcing her to do it, even going as far as threatening her.
For a brief moment she wondered if the two could be working together, but if they were, she couldn't understand why. Why would Katherine need a werewolf? One bite from him could kill her. She would think it would be too dangerous.
"Hmm," she breathed out as she tucked her hair behind her ears, then she reached inside the box. She picked up a couple of books and glanced at the titles until she heard Jeremy ask her what she was thinking.
"What?" she asked as she looked over at him. "I wasn't thinking anything."
"You sure?" he questioned. "You have that look on your face. Anytime you start brushing your hair behind your ear, I know that means you're thinking hard about something."
"No," she lied as she shook her head. This was the only downside about someone knowing you so well. They knew all your expressions and gestures. It was hard to hide anything from them, but she couldn't tell him what she was thinking about. She couldn't involve him with anything having to do with Katherine.
"If we start believing in some supernatural witchy-woo legend from a picture book, we're idiots," Damon stated to the group. He glanced over at the teenagers and asked, "Who has the stone now?"
"Tyler," Marissa answered, feeling a pang in her heart at speaking her ex-boyfriend's name.
"Can you get it?" Damon asked her.
"I can try. I doubt Tyler would really want to talk to me though," she softly said. She knew after their last encounter she only left him even more confused. That was never her intention, she never wanted to confuse him or hurt him.
"I can get it," Jeremy volunteered, knowing it would be hard for her.
"See, now your life has purpose," Damon said to the younger boy sarcastically.
"So, you do believe it?" Jeremy asked the older vampire.
"It's the same book that says a werewolf bite kills a vampire. Ignoring it makes me an even bigger idiot," Damon pointed out as he began to leave the room. He called out to the others that it was time to go.
Before Jeremy could walk away, Marissa grabbed his arm to stop him. "You don't have to do this. I can talk to Tyler."
"I know, but you got all of this stuff going on with your mom," he pointed out. "You don't have to do everything alone, Ris. You know you can lean on me."
"I know," she said, giving him a small smile. "I just wished I was strong enough to deal with all this."
"Are you kidding, Ris?" he questioned, surprised by the words coming out of her mouth. "I always knew you were strong, but lately, you blow me away. You're stronger than you know."
She flashed him a genuine smile, before stepping forward to wrap her arms around his middle to hug him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her for a few seconds until Damon yelled out for him to hustle. He gave her a quick kiss on top of the head and told her not to worry- everything was going to be okay.
Marissa watched him walk out of the room with a smile plastered on her face to not worry him, but as soon as he left the house her face fell.
She knew he meant well, but things were so far from being okay; her mother could barely look at her, Tyler was cursed, she was being threatened by an old vampire who turned her and that was just the tip of the iceberg. With the way things were going, she was starting to think things would never be okay again.
•••
For the first half hour, Marissa wandered around the Salvatore house and tried to keep her mind distracted. Once an hour passed, she slipped her cell phone out of her pants pocket to text Jeremy. It shouldn't take this long to get a stone from her ex-boyfriend.
Seeing she had several missed text from Katherine, she felt her stomach knot up. She knew she needed to answer her and tell her the latest, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She hated doing her dirty work and was tired of being her personal spy.
Feeling her phone vibrate, she held her breath and glanced down, worried it was going to be Katherine again, but blew out a sigh of relief when she saw it was Jeremy. That relief didn't last long as she read the message. Tyler didn't have the moonstone anymore, he gave it to his uncle.
She rolled her eyes and blew out an annoyed breath at the news, then texted him back to ask what the plan was now. He told her he didn't know, but he would keep her updated.
She was in the middle of texting him back when she heard a noise coming from the cellar. She listened in and heard her mother pacing back and forth. She heard her sniff and blow out a breath- like she was trying to keep her emotions at bay. Their relationship might be shaky at times, but she still hated the thought of her mom being upset.
She pocketed her phone, then made her way downstairs to the cellar. She pushed the door open, getting her mother's attention. Liz came to a stop and watched as she came inside the room.
"I'm sorry," Marissa softly said. "I'm sorry that I'm-that I'm such a disappointment. I'm sorry that you hate me-"
"Oh, Marissa, I don't hate you," Liz cut her off. She took a step toward her, planning to comfort her out of habit, then came to a quick stop. Dropping her arms to the side, she added, "It's just...I don't want this for you."
"I didn't either. I'm sixteen years old and now I will never age. I can never grow up or have a family," Marissa said with tears in her eyes. "This isn't what I wanted for my future, but it's what I got, and I'm trying to make the best out of the situation. I'm trying my best to be good."
"Have you killed anyone?" Liz questioned.
"Once," Marissa answered quietly, feeling guilty. "But I didn't mean to. It was-It was an accident."
"Do you drink from people?"
"I want to, but I'm scared to. I'm scared I won't be able to control myself," she answered honestly. "I mainly drink from blood bags. Stefan tried to get me to drink animal blood like he does, but I couldn't do it. You know how I love animals. I couldn't hurt one."
A small smile appeared on Liz's face for a moment as she remembered how big of an animal lover her daughter is. She remembered all the random animals she had brought home through the years that she found. For a moment she forgot what her daughter was now and could see her little girl again.
Her smile fell when she realized Marissa would never be the same again. Vampire or not, she was growing up and she was not that little pig-tailed, bright-eyed, little girl anymore.
"What?" the young blonde questioned when she saw the look on her mother's face.
"For so long, I viewed you as a little girl. I never stopped to realize how much you have grown up and now this...I can see how strong and confident you are becoming," Liz began to say as she took another step toward her and come to a stop in front of her. She reached up, then paused for a moment, before continuing to move her hand to lay it on the side of her face. "You don't have to take my memories away. This is how I want to remember you. I'll keep your secret."
Marissa lowered her head as she choked back a sob. She raised her head to look at her mother and gave her a small smile. "I wish I could. I wish more than anything that you could remember this because I know I will never forget it, but I can't."
"If you're worried about them, just say you compelled me. I won't tell. I'll never do anything to hurt you."
"I know, Mom, I know, but you're never going to trust them," Marissa pointed out as a tear fell from her eye and rolled down her cheek.
Hearing a noise upstairs, she glanced up at the ceiling for a moment, then looked back at her mom. "Damon is home. He'll compel you soon and you'll be back at home like nothing happened."
Without another word, Marissa turned and began to walk toward the door. She paused when her mother said her name, causing her to turn around and whisper out, "I'm sorry, Mom."
As she walked up the stairs, she wiped at her face to get rid of the tears. Once she walked into the room, she wanted to appear in control of whatever came her way, but she never expected to walk in and see Mason sitting in a chair passed out.
She was even more confused when she saw Bonnie standing nearby, while Damon chained Mason to the chair. She went to place her hands on Mason's head until Marissa spoke up to ask what was going on. She saw Bonnie avoid looking at her while Damon explained. They suspected that Mason was with Katherine and they were hoping Bonnie could gather information from him.
She felt her eyes widen briefly at the news. She had thought before about them working together, but thought it would be too crazy of an idea. It just made her fear Katherine even more. Apparently, she was willing to use anyone, no matter how dangerous they could be.
"So you're looking for the moonstone?" Marissa questioned as Bonnie placed her hand on either side of Mason's head and closed her eyes.
As Damon nodded his head, Bonnie spoke up, "I see water."
"Maybe the falls?" Marissa guessed.
"No, it's somewhere small and dark," Bonnie added.
"Like a sewer?" Damon questioned.
"No. Like a well? That can't be right," Bonnie said, trying to figure out exactly what she was seeing. As the picture in her mind cleared a little more, she added, "Yeah, it's a well."
"Why would it be in a well?" Damon asked.
Bonnie's eyes popped open as looked over at Damon and began to say, "I told you, I only get what I get-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Mason reached out and grabbed her wrist. In a flash, Damon jerked his hand away from her while Marissa stepped forward to lead Bonnie away from the werewolf. She stood in front of the witch in case anything else happened.
Bonnie took a few steps back and said, "That's it. That's all I got."
"You said it's in a well, right?" Marissa spoke up, while deep in thought. As Bonnie nodded her head, she added, "There's an old well in the woods. Me and Jeremy use to play there sometimes."
"So did we," Bonnie said, referring to herself, Caroline and Elena. "Do you remember where it is?"
"Yeah, it's on the edge of the old Lockwood property. I use to love playing there because I..." She began to say, then paused for a moment. A sad smile appeared on her face, before she quietly continued, "I use to hope to catch a glimpse of Tyler."
"I'll let Stefan know," Bonnie volunteered as she pulled her cell phone out before walking out of the room.
"Hey, judgy!" Damon called out, getting her attention. When she turned to look at him, he added, "Thank you."
She gave him a short nod, then turned to leave. When they heard the front door shut, Damon turned back to look at Mason while Marissa asked, "What do we do now?"
"You're going to go into the other room with Jeremy and ignore anything you hear," the older vampire said as he stood in front of Mason, who was starting to wake up.
"Damon-"
"Marissa...Go."
She nodded then turned to leave the room. She knew he was serious when he called her by name. He almost always called her 'Mini-Forbes'.
She jumped when she heard Damon punch Mason as he demanded him to wake up. She tried to tune out whatever was going on in there and instead tried to locate Jeremy. She heard his heartbeat and followed it into the study, where he was looking inside the box Alaric brought earlier.
"Hey..." She breathed out as she walked into the room.
"Oh, hey," Jeremy said, glancing over his shoulder at her. "How's your mom?"
"We had, probably, one of the most honest conversations we have ever had, and by the end of the night she's not even going to remember it," she softly said, coming to a stop beside him.
"I'm sorry, Ris," he said sincerely as he gave her a small smile.
"It's okay," she said with a shrug. "It has to be done."
The two were quiet for a moment while Jeremy searched inside the box a bit longer. She closed her eyes, a look of disgust came across her face when she heard Damon hurting Mason. She could hear his skin sizzling when Damon stuck a hot iron bar into his chest.
When Mason let out a pained scream, Jeremy jerked his head up. He glanced over at Marissa with wide eyes. She shook her head and said, "You don't want to know."
"You know, Mason is not my favorite person, but there has to be a better way to get information out of him," she said when heard Damon asking him about Katherine. When he didn't get an answer, he stabbed him with the hot iron again.
"Maybe there is," he stated as he pulled something out of the box.
"What is that?" she asked when she saw him holding an old, dried up plant.
"Hold on," he said, pulling out his phone and looking up a few things. The two were quiet as he read a couple different sites.
"It says this is Aconitum Vulparia," he began to say as he read from one of the sites. "Commonly known as aconite, blue rocket, and wolfsbane."
"What does it do?"
"It seems like every source says something different," he answered as he went to another site. "One myth says it causes lycanthropy, but this one says, it's toxic."
"The lycanthropy one doesn't sound right, so I wonder if it's toxic."
He wrapped the plant back up and placed it back into the box, then picked the box up. "Come on."
The two teenagers walked out of the study and made their way toward the living room.
"Damon, stop," Marissa stated as she and Jeremy walked into the room and stopped him from stabbing Mason again. "We found something."
"Ooh. What is it?" Damon questioned as he walked over to them.
As Jeremy explained what he found, Marissa cautiously stepped over toward Mason. She folded her arms across her chest and came to a stop in front of him. She lowered her eyebrows in concern when she saw the shape he was in.
"I bet you're loving this," he breathed out in pain.
"Actually, I'm not," Marissa answered honestly. "I might not like you, but I wouldn't wish this on you."
"Don't-Don't tell Tyler," Mason quietly said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"What?" she asked confused.
"Don't tell him about this. He doesn't need to know," Mason explained. All he wanted to do was protect his nephew. He never wanted him to go through the pain he went through. He wanted him to beat the curse and have a normal life.
She gave a small shrug and tried to lighten the moment by joking, "I'm not supposed to talk to him anyway, remember?"
Mason breathed out a chuckle and winced when a pain shot through his body. "I think we both know you were never going to stay away from him."
The two were quiet for a moment as Jeremy continued to tell Damon about the wolfsbane. When he mentioned something about it being toxic, Mason let out a groan.
"I'm guessing toxic," Damon stated as he looked over at the werewolf.
He grabbed some of the plant, then walked back over to Mason. Marissa took a small step back as Damon asked Mason what Katherine was doing in Mystic Falls. She was curious about that as well. She also would love to know why Katherine turned her and was forcing her to do her dirty work, but she had a feeling those were questions that would never be answered.
When Mason didn't answer, Damon brushed the end of the plant against his cheek, causing it to burn him. The two teenagers looked away, feeling uncomfortable about the turn of events when Mason began to scream out in pain.
"Why is she here?" Damon demanded.
"She's here with me," Mason shouted. "Why do you ask, you jealous?"
Damon took a step back and tried not to let his words bother him. He rolled his eyes for a moment, before saying sarcastically, "How rude of me. You know, I just realized, I didn't offer you anything to eat."
He stepped back toward Mason and shoved the wolfbane in his mouth, causing Mason to groan out in pain.
Marissa quickly turned her head and looked at Jeremy as Mason began to choke on the plant. When Damon removed his hand, the werewolf spit the toxic plant out and started coughing.
"Damon, I think that's enough-"
Damon ignored the blonde vampire as he questioned Mason, "Why do you want the moonstone?"
"Screw you!" Mason called out.
"Ah! Wrong answer," Damon said, moving his hand toward his face and holding another piece of wolfsbane.
"If he was gonna say anything, he would have already!" Jeremy pointed out, trying to get him to stop.
"I'm taking your eyes now," Damon threatened the werewolf.
"The well! You can find it there," Mason finally said.
"I know where it is," Damon said with a scoff. "I want to know what it does and why you want it."
"Katherine wants it!" Marissa shouted, getting the vampire's attention.
"How do you know that?" Jeremy questioned as he looked at her with a confused looked on his face.
"It's...It's uh..." She began to stutter, trying to think of a way to explain how she knew that. She knew how badly Katherine wanted it, she even went as far as threatening a teenager to get it, but Marissa couldn't tell them that.
With a shrug, she added, "It just makes sense. He's getting it for her."
"But the question is why?" Damon asked as he looked back at Mason and waited for him to answer.
"She's gonna use it to lift the curse," Mason answered.
"Of the moon?" Damon asked in disbelief. "Now, why would a vampire help a werewolf break a curse that keeps them from turning whenever they want?"
"So I wouldn't have to turn anymore."
"Why?"
"Because she loves me," Mason answered honestly.
Damon let out a laugh. "Now-Now I get it. You're just stupid. Katherine doesn't love you. She's using you, you moron."
"I'm done talking," Mason stated.
"Yes, you are," Damon said back as he handed Jeremy the rest of the wolfbane. Without taking his eyes off of the werewolf, he spoke to the teenagers, "It's time for you two to leave."
"We're staying," Marissa said, standing her ground.
"No, you should go," Damon demanded. "Both of you."
"We're staying, Damon," Jeremy repeated as he took a step toward him. "He's had enough."
"He's right, Damon," Marissa added. "We got what we could out of him and it's over."
Mason turned his head to look at Marissa as he pleaded, "Just help Tyler. Don't let this happen to him."
She nodded her head to let him know she would as Jeremy took another step toward Damon to reason with him, but in a flash, Damon grabbed Jeremy by his throat.
"Damon!" Marissa called out, her eyes widen in shock and fear as she watched the scene in front of her. Before she could react to save her friend, she saw Damon push Jeremy across the room and onto the couch with his hand still wrapped around his throat.
"You wanted to be a part of this? Well, here it is! Kill or be killed!" Damon barked in his face. Pointing toward the weakened man in the chair, he added, "The guy is a werewolf; he'd kill me or Marissa the first chance he got! So, you suck it up or leave."
"Damon, stop!" Marissa yelled out again as she rushed over to them. She grabbed Damon by the arm and used all of her strength to pull him off of Jeremy. Sitting down beside her best friend on the couch, she asked him if he was okay as he began to cough and tried to catch his breath.
"He wants me to kill him, anyway. Don't you, Mason?" Damon began to say as he walked back over toward the werewolf. He stood in front of him as he questioned, "It really is a curse, isn't it?"
Knowing what was coming next, the two teenagers stood up and began to walk out of the room. She shot Mason a look, as if apologizing for what was coming, but he gave her a short shake of the head, letting her know it was okay.
He knew as soon as he came back to Mystic Falls he could be walking right into his death, but he was oddly okay with that. He got to spend time with his nephew and tried his best to keep him safe. He had lived a fulfilled life and got to do some of the things he always wanted to do, but since triggering the curse his life had taken a turn for the worst. It wasn't called a curse for nothing.
Marissa jerked the front door open and stormed outside with Jeremy following along behind her. He called out her name to get her attention, then reached out to grab her arm and bring her to a stop.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"No, I'm not," she answered. "You know it's funny, just the other day I was all for killing Mason. I even wanted to help, but now...No one deserves that, Jeremy."
It was one thing to go after Mason when it was somewhat a fair fight. Like the day before when he orchestrated the whole thing with trying to kill Stefan and Damon, but today, he was attacked when he wasn't expecting it and tied up and tortured. It hardly seemed fair.
"I know," he said, nodding his head in agreement. He saw her flinch, knowing she was hearing something that Damon was yelling from inside.
Laying his hand on the small of her back to lead her toward the car, he said, "Come on. Let's get out of here."
The two walked to the car together and wished there was more they could have done. All she could do now was keep her word and help Tyler. She would protect him the way Mason tried to.
As much as she hated him forcing her to break up with him, she understood the reasoning behind it. At the end of the day, she wanted the same thing he did- keep Tyler safe.
•••
A/N; Thank you to everyone reading and/or adding the story. Also big thanks to belladu57, HALEB. TRASH, Lucy Greenhill, RHatch89, sherna55, Iris RainbowWolf, turning. the. pages. in. time, pierce through the heart, paulavara140, Martyna Malecka, lillian tuckein and Nascarfan0305 for reviewing.
Happy reading!
xx