Chapter 16

December 10th 2010

Evie's hand shook from the concentration and she slowly lowered it. Still nothing. Her powers were kaput, and she wasn't sure how long it would last. The cup remained on the desk and hadn't even budged an inch. It had been about five days since that night at the Salvatore Boarding House. Stefan had tried to call her several times, but she had ignored him. She wasn't angry with him, but she didn't want to talk to him. She had a feeling he was just wanting to casually mention something about Damon, and she didn't want to see that son of a bitch much less talk about him.

A knock on her door had her looking up. It was her father.

"Hey, cupcake. Feeling better?"

She nodded.

"You want some breakfast? It's waffle day. You're favorite." He smiled at her and she smiled back faintly. He had noticed her odd behavior lately and it worried him. Had someone hurt her or been mean to her? He came and sat next to her. "Baby girl, what's wrong?"

She shrugged. "Nothing. I'm just tired."

He frowned lightly. "Is someone bullying you or something? Talk to me."

Evie sighed. "I just want my powers to come back that's all. And I keep having nightmares."

He nodded, feeling a bit of relief that it wasn't a bullying problem. "They'll come back, sweetie. Just give them time. Your powers are more mental than physical." He tapped her forehead. "Gotta quit thinking so hard. Your mom used to meditate when life got chaotic. Try it. Sounds crazy, but it worked for her."

Evie smiled. "I'll try anything at this point."

He chuckled and kissed her head. "Come on. If you don't eat now, you won't have time and you'll be late for school."

"Do I have to go?"

He smirked and ruffled her hair, making her scowl. "Come on before your grandma comes looking for us."

"Have you spoken to Evie?" Elena asked Stefan.

He shook his head. "She won't answer my calls. And Damon hasn't spoken to me since that night."

"Is he still looking for Katherine?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. He waited 145 years, only to find out that Katherine could not care less. I mean that's gotta hurt, right? And then he lost the one person he could actually talk to."

The brunette sighed. "I still can't believe that they talked at all. Or that she'd have that much influence on him."

Stefan hadn't told Elena everything about Damon and Evie's strange relationship because he wasn't honestly sure what that had been. He didn't think it had been physical, Evie was smarter than that, but the way Damon acted around her sometimes... His brother was a giant flirt, but some of their banter had confused him.

"Shocked me too, but Evie is different, and she could joke with him like it was nothing. I think he liked that." He replied finally and she nodded.

Elena looked over Stefan's shoulder. "She came to school today."

He turned too. Finding Evie at her locker. The blonde was pulling books out of her locker, a small frown on her face.

Feeling their eyes on her, Evelyn turned her head. She looked from one to the other before hesitantly waving a hand at them. they waved back and she closed her locker, walking away from them.

"At least she waved." His girlfriend commented and Stefan looked back at her. "I wish I knew what to say to her. Bonnie would."

Stefan just nodded. "I know."

Caroline plopped down in her seat and Evie looked up from her book, raising an eyebrow at the girl's huff.

"What's the matter with you?"

"Matt is still hung up on Elena! And his mother hates me." She groaned dramatically and laid her head on her desk. "It sucks."

"Kelly hates everyone that is better than she is. Don't let her get to you." Evie responded, looking back at her book.

"Where have you been? Were you sick? I've missed you." The words were tossed quickly at her in a whiney tone and no one could read through all that.

The blonde smiled at her friend's dramatics and put her book away. "Yeah, stomach bug." She lied. "But I'm trying to get back to a semi-normal routine."

"What do I do about Matt?" Caroline asked, laying her head on her arm.

"I don't know what to tell you. He's dating you, not her."

"That's it! A double date! That's brilliant Evie!"

"If you say so..." Evie muttered. She had no idea where Caroline had gotten that idea from her sentence.

"You can come too. We'll find you a date." Caroline scanned the room as she spoke. The other girl could see her mouth "no" over and over at each boy she saw.

"Um, that's okay." She said quickly, hoping to stop the inevitable. "A triple date sounds complicated."

"No, it's not." Came the chipper response. "It'll be fun!"

Evelyn sighed. "No. I don't think that's a good idea."

"Are you still feeling sick? What's going on?"

"Actually, I'm playing at the Grill tonight and-"

"Perfect! We'll meet you there and I'll find your date!" Caroline gushed.

Evie groaned and wanted to bash her head into the wall next to her. "Care." She griped, but was ignored.

"Harper, where have you been?"

She looked over to see Tyler smirking at her from the desk adjacent from her.

"What's it to you, Lockwood? Couldn't find someone else's paper to copy?" She smirked back. The easy back-and-forth was comforting and familiar.

"Maybe..." He grinned.

Caroline sucked in a breath. Evie glanced at her.

"Oh, no. Don't you dare."

"Yes!"

"No, no, no!" Evie protested.

"Hey, Tyler!"

"Caroline, shut up!" The girl hissed.

The jock turned around. "What?"

Caroline beamed at him. "Wanna be Evie's date? Matt and I are double dating with Elena and Stefan. I invited Evie and she needs a date."

Tyler looked at Evie, his eyes checking her over. Evelyn grimaced and he grinned.

"I'm in."

"She's playing at the Grill tonight. So, we'll just meet her there."

"Perfect." Tyler winked at her and turned back around. Evie groaned.

"And you won't be able to give us an excuse not to go." Caroline muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

"I'll just climb out the bathroom window." The girl muttered back and was ignored again.

Elena looked up when Evie plopped down across from her and Stefan at the lunch table. To say they were shocked would be an understatement. The girl had practically fled from them to this morning, but here she was.

"I don't understand her at all!" The blonde exclaimed, waving her hands dramatically and then folding her arms across her chest. "She's impossible!"

Elena laughed. "Caroline?"

"Yes! I should have said I was still sick and went home." She complained and then looked at Stefan. An almost guilty expression crossed her face. "Sorry about screening your calls...I've been out of it lately."

He shook his head. "No, it's okay. Really. How are you?"

"My powers are fritzed out. I overdid it. My dad thinks my mind is blocking me from using them, but so far nothing."

"Sounds like a night of normalcy is what you need." Elena spoke up. "That's what I was telling Stefan this morning. Maybe we all need a break from supernatural stuff."

"Well, Stefan could use some normal." Evie teased and he laughed. Elena smiled. "Normal people relax. You're too tense."

"And it's supposed to be fun." The brunette added.

"Fun?" The blonde snorted. "It sounds disastrous."

Elena nodded. "I think so too, but it could be fun."

"Awkward is the word, you're looking for."

"Who's your date?"

"Tyler Lockwood."

"Oh, my god." Elena giggled.

Evie sighed. "Awkward is definitely the right word to describe tonight."

"…Nobody said it was easy

Oh, it's such a shame for us to part

Nobody said it was easy

No one ever said it would be so hard

I'm going back to the start…"

Evie played the last note and the crowd clapped when it was over. She had spotted the gang at a nearby pool table, Caroline's enthusiastic waving had caught her attention halfway through the song. Tyler was looking at her differently than he usually did. His expression was warm, thoughtful. It confused her. She excused herself from the stage, taking her break and headed over to their table. The other act for the night went up to take his turn. This guy sang without a guitar, just background music.

"Good job, Evie." Tyler said to her, sounding sincere. He was wearing a black shirt that clung to his skin. Evie knew he was good looking and even had a crush on him at one point, but she wasn't sure she had one now.

"Thanks." She came closer and Caroline beamed.

"Yay, we're all here!"

Evie felt eyes on her and turned her head.

Damon was sitting at the bar with Kelly Donovan and Jenna Sommers. The two women were laughing like old friends, but his eyes weren't on them. They were on her. Those dangerous blue eyes were trying to catch her attention. She ignored him, feeling sick at seeing him. The reminder that Alaric was dead made her feel nauseous and then seeing Jenna whom she had heard had been interested in the man, didn't help matters. Elena's aunt had no idea that he was dead.

"You are feeling okay?" Matt asked her. "You look kinda sick."

"I'll be fine." She muttered and Tyler handed her a coke. "Thanks."

He winked at her and then offered the cue to her. "Your turn, Harper."

"Get ready to lose, Lockwood." She smirked at him and he laughed.

After a few rounds, they took a break, letting the others chat near the pool table.

Tyler came over with the baskets of fries and sat down across from her.

"Gonna tell me why you agreed to this?" Evie asked him, dousing her fries in ketchup.

He rolled his eyes. "Because I like you, Evie. And we never hang out anymore. You're always gone."

She was a little more than relieved to find that he was just here to hang. There was no date pressure or awkwardness.

She sighed. "I know. I've been out of it. Photography." She lied.

He shrugged. "It's okay. I'd like to see them some time."

Evie grinned. "Sure." She glanced over at the bar without really thinking about it and caught Damon staring at her again. She frowned and looked away, nauseous. "I've got another song to do and then I'll be done." She told him and he nodded absently, digging into his food. "Don't eat my fries." Tyler smirked at her when she said that and she headed back for the stage.

"What you thought was real in life
Has somehow steered you wrong
And now you just keep drivin', tryin' to find out where you belong

And I know you feel helpless now
And I know you feel alone
That's the same road, the same road that I'm on, yeah"

"She's so good." Kelly sighed, sipping more of her drink. Damon turned his head in her direction. Jenna was nodding at the woman. "I was hoping that she and Matt would end up together."

Jenna nodded again and Damon wondered if she'd fall in the floor nodding dizzily that way.

He turned back to the stage, but Evie was already off it again and he looked for her. He found her after a moment talking to Tyler Lockwood of all people. They were laughing at something that Matt was saying and he frowned deeply.

"...bit it in front of everyone." Elena laughed and Matt grinned. "And I was grounded from seeing this one." She smiled at him and Caroline scowled at the table.

"The time Evie tried to sneak past her grandmother in that store." Matt spoke up. "That was great."

"She piggyback rode me through the store." Tyler nudged her and Evie snorted.

"Was fun." She said shrugged. "And she never caught me despite that I had the serious giggles."

Stefan laughed.

"Elena." Caroline said, getting up from the booth. "Come with me?" She indicated the bathroom and the two girls left

"I gotta go too." Evie muttered and Tyler snorted.

Opening the bathroom door, she almost ran into Elena and Caroline.

"Hey, Evie. How's it going?"

The girl shrugged. "It's fine for what it is. We're friends and just catching up." She looked between her and Elena. "What's going on with you two?"

Elena sighed. "It's nothing." She saw the other girl's pale face. "Evie? You okay?"

"Yeah. It's been a long night is all."

Caroline pouted. "You're not going to leave, are you? I think Tyler likes you."

"As a friend."

"Well, you can both still hang out with us. We're going to Stefan's."

Evie's face paled more. She didn't want to be in that house.

"Uh, that's okay I think I'll just get Tyler to take me home."

Caroline gave her a puppy dog look. "No, really. It'll be fun. Why don't you want to come?"

Rather than answer her, she sighed. "All right, sure. We'll meet you out there."

"Great!" She said and gave Elena another look before leaving.

"What was that about?"

Elena frowned lightly. "Matt and I used to date, and it bothers her. I can't help that most of our conversation takes us back to that."

"She's insecure mainly. It's just a hurdle she has to get over."

The brunette put a hand on Evie. "You don't have to go if you don't want too." She said quietly. It hurt her to keep Alaric a secret, but Stefan didn't want Damon to find out yet. She could see how much it was affecting Evie and she knew that Stefan felt guilty, but it was for the best that she didn't know yet. Stefan would tell her, just not yet. And Alaric hadn't come back to teach yet. He was in hiding himself, keeping away from Damon for a while.

Evie and Elena exited the bathroom and parted ways. Evie went to get her guitar and put it away, waving a hand at Tyler to let him know where she was going.

"You play beautifully."

She turned to see a man standing behind her. He was smiling at her in overly friendly way and a shiver of revulsion went down her spine.

"Uh, thanks." She murmured and put her stuff into her new truck. It wasn't brand new, she had bought it from a neighbor, but it suited her just fine. The interior smelt of leather and lemons and she loved it.

"You have a nice voice too."

She turned her head again and said dismissively: "Yeah, thanks." She was hoping he'd go away. She was getting a bad vibe from him. He moved closer when she shut the truck door and she pressed against it to avoid touching him.

"You're pretty too."

"Look, buddy. I'm not interested." She tried to move away, and he blocked her, smiling madly. Locking eyes with her, he leant forward and she hit the truck again to avoid him.

"You'd like it." His pupils dilated.

Vampire.

Evie swallowed. "You need to back off before I get pissed." She jerked out the stake hidden in her jacket and he chuckled. "Stay away or I'll stake you."

"Well, well. Little songbird is feisty." His dark eyes flashed with amusement.

"Hey, Evie!" They heard Tyler calling her name and he drew back.

"Maybe I'll see you again and we can finish this conversation, Evie."

She felt her skin crawl at the way he said her name and swallowed thickly. Before she could muster a response, he disappeared around the side of the truck. She moved off of the truck and peered around the corner of it to check and see if he had really gone. A hand landed on her arm and she yelped.

"Come on, 'fraidy cat." Tyler laughed at her wild-eyed expression. "We're heading over to Stefan's. I'll give you a ride."

Heart hammering in her chest, she followed Tyler to his car.

Evie stopped in the doorway to the house, a frown on her face. She wasn't quite ready to go inside, but knew it was stupid of her to be afraid of a house. Or afraid to see the living room where Alaric had been murdered. She lingered behind the others, pretending to admire the décor from afar.

"This place is huge!" Tyler beamed and came up behind Evie, having just parked the car. He leaned closer to her. "Think there's a hidden torture chamber?"

She rolled her eyes, smirking slightly. If only he knew what had gone on in that basement. "I'm not going into the basement with you."

"Ah, come on. It'll be fun." He coaxed and his hand brushed her arm. "What are you still a 'fraidy cat?"

"No." She scowled more at herself than him. "It's just a boring old basement."

"Hey, Ty." Matt called from the living room. "Come look at these!"

The dark-haired teen leaned back and tilted his head at Evelyn. "You coming on in or just lurking in the doorway like a stalker?"

"You're the stalker." She responded and shoved him out of the way. He laughed as they went down the hall to meet the others.

Taking a steadying breath, she followed him down the steps into the living room, averting her eyes from the crime scene.

The two humans and the vampire were admiring the stand of cars, while Caroline and Elena hung back.

"You like cars?" Stefan was asking Matt as Evie joined the boys at the display case.

"That's an understatement." The teen male replied.

The vampire smiled. "Come with me."

Tyler shifted. "You got any booze?"

"You just now asked?" Evie snorted and he sent her a smirk.

Stefan nodded, hiding a smile. "There's a liquor cabinet."

"I've been here. I know where it is." The girl stated and saw Stefan looking her in concern. "You guys go ahead. We'll probably just hang in here."

He nodded at her, glad to see that she okay and led the way back out of the house. Caroline gave her a wink and thumbs up and Evie rolled her eyes. Elena snickered and shoved her friend out the door with Matt and Stefan.

"You didn't want to see what he's got?" Tyler asked.

"I've seen it." She waved him off. "It's nice a car. It's a Karmann Coupe."

"Nice." He nodded, impressed.

Evie led him to the kitchen, where she stopped at a cabinet next to the doorway to the dinning room. She opened it and Tyler's mouth dropped open.

"Holy shit. I think we've hit the jackpot." He reached in and pulled out a heavy bottle of bourbon. He grinned and held it up. "Want some?"

"Uh, no duh." She scoffed playfully and snatched it from him, pulling out the stopper and downing a few mouthfuls. The sting of it felt good and right now she just wanted to drown all her problems away.

"So, you've been here before." He said casually and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah...Stefan and I are friends. He doesn't have many you know."

"Right." He nodded, but he was still eyeing her. "Doesn't he have an older brother?"

"Damon. He's not right in the head." She said quickly and dragged a chair over to the cabinet.

"He was staring at you at the Grill."

She frowned. "Like I said, not right in the head."

Hoping to get out of the uncomfortable situation, she grabbed a couple of bottles off the top shelf. Two of Damon's personal stash of hardcore liquor. Smirking in satisfaction, she jumped down from the chair and closed the cabinet.

"Ready to party?" She grinned waving the bottles at him.

Tyler grinned back.

"I'm sorry." She said again, as they finally made it back up the stairs. They had taken a drunken tour of the house, stopping in Damon's room to throw pillows and for her to leap on his bed and mess up the covers. She couldn't wait for him to see the mess.

Tyler had tried to make out with her, but she couldn't get into it.

He shook his head at her. "It's fine. I think it's the booze talking anyway." His eyes widened after he said that and sat up quickly. "Shit! I'm sorry. Not that you're not attractive, because you are. Really hot. I'm just full of bourbon."

She snorted at him. "Don't hurt yourself there, Lockwood."

"I'm serious."

"Whatever you say."

Tyler's phone buzzed again and he cussed at it.

Evie lifted her head. "Your dad again?"

"Yeah. I was supposed to be home an hour ago."

"Your dad likes me, say you were watching me at the Grill. My truck's still there he can check. And your mother would hate it." She grinned at him and he laughed.

"Yeah, he'd believe me if I could walk straight."

Evie laughed at that and waved at him. "Better practice."

"You'll get a ride home?"

"Yup. Caroline won't leave me stranded."

He snorted and waved at hand at her. "See you later, Evie. And don't drink that all by yourself."

"Sure. Sure." She shooed at him and he shook his head, leaving her to lay across the plush armchair.

Tyler walked unsteadily outside. Stefan and Elena were sitting on the low wall of the porch. The garage was still open and he assumed that Caroline and Matt went for a spin in whatever car Stefan had hidden in there.

"Hey, I gotta head home. My dad's texting." Tyler spoke and the couple looked at him. "Evie's still a little tipsy she's sitting in the armchair."

Stefan nodded. "Thanks for coming. We'll make sure she gets home."

Tyler waved and walked off to his car.

"I'm going to tell her about Alaric." He said lowly to his girlfriend. "She needs to know he's alive. It won't help with Damon, but she might get more confident to do her magic."

Elena frowned. "Did you see Damon looking at her in the bar tonight? It was almost like he misses her. But that would mean he had feelings."

Stefan shook his head. "I didn't see it, but you might be right. Evelyn is probably the first person that he could have a conversation with and enjoy it. And from what I understood, they had been talking for months. He might actually miss her."

"Maybe it's good she's not talking to him then. Make him realize that his impulsiveness will drive everyone away." She turned to him curiously. "Months? I thought she hated him."

"I don't really know the extent of their relationship." He admitted. "Evie's not the kind of person to sleep with him. At least I don't think so."

Elena frowned. "Well, I'm not sure about that either. Caroline thinks they did."

Evie scowled when a booted foot tapped her sock covered one. She knew who it was without looking. The familiar scent of leather and his good-smelling cologne had hit her nose as soon as he got close enough. He sat on the other end of the couch and she held the magazine closer to her face.

"Ignoring me still?"

She slouched further in the seat, stretching her foot out to kick at him lightly in warning.

"Come on, Eves. Talk to me."

"Go away."

"Still can't do magic, huh?"

"Keep bothering me and find out." She grumped and flipped through the magazine. "Where's your cougar mom?"

Damon snorted and snatched the magazine from her, looking at it himself. Evie now had no choice but to look at him.

"We got busted by the jock."

"Ew, Matt had to see that? Disgusting."

"Jealous?" Damon smirked. "You sound jealous."

"Hell no. Do who you want. Just try not to make people vomit." She grimaced and reached for the bottle at the foot of the armchair. Damon rolled his eyes.

"Drinking out of my stash? Rude."

Evie stuck her tongue out at him and drank from the bottle, before that was snatched too.

"Gimme. It's mine anyhow."

She turned to sit up and blinked when the room spun for a second. Eyes adjusting, she started to get up.

"Where you going?"

"Nunya business." She smirked, thinking that was clever. Damon smirked when she toppled back to the couch unable to stand upright.

"You're so wasted. No way you can drive properly. You'll end up in a ditch."

Stefan walked into the room, eyeing his brother.

"Don't look at me like that." He said without glancing away from the girl.

"Are you crazy?" Stefan demanded.

"Save the lecture. Look-"

Someone burst through the window, tackling Stefan and Damon got up out of his seat.

He recognized the vampire straddling his brother. It was Fredrick. One of the tomb vampires. Said vampire was stabbing a shard of glass into Stefan's chest. Damon grabbed the vampire and tossed him away.

Evie yelped as Damon and the intruder almost landed on her as they fought. She got up off the couch and saw Stefan lying in the floor.

Another vampire jumped in heading for her and Evie waved her hand without thinking. The female vampire was tossed into the nearby bookshelf like she had been pushed. She hadn't gone as far as Evie had wanted nor as hard. Stefan recovered quickly and grabbed broken piece of wood, attacking the vampire that Evie had thrown.

Evie was looking at her hand in shock. Were her powers coming back? Someone slammed into her and she flew into something hard and soft at the same time. She raised her head to find herself nose to nose with Damon, eyes locking on one another's. She was lying on top of him when he had cushioned her fall.

He grunted from under her, moving so that she was straddling his hips and not pressing into his thighs. "I'd say something clever, but we're being attacked."

"Since when would that stop you?" She countered, trying and failing miserably to ignore their positions.

He rolled her off him non too gently and she landed in the floor with a thump as Fredrick came at him, grabbing the lapels of his jacket. With a grunt, Damon was sent flying onto the coffee table. Evie blinked as the enemy vampire now hovered over her in seconds. It was the same creepy one from the Grill.

He grinned at her, recognizing her at the same time. "Well, well. Evie isn't it?"

Evie held back a shudder and motioned with her hand, but he only moved back a few feet.

He inclined his head at her curiously, but before he could say anything Damon was tackling him. Fredrick was thrown across the room and he slammed onto the floor in front of the fireplace. He stood up and looked around, seeing his companion dead thanks to Stefan and Damon offering his hand to Evie. With a snarl, he disappeared back out the window.

"Shit." Damon cursed, pulling Evie to her feet.

Stefan nodded. "Yeah...I remember them from 1864. They were in the tomb."

The human girl looked at him. "They got out!?"

"Yeah, about that." Damon muttered and Evie and Stefan frowned at him.

"You miss me."

"Do not."

"Then why are you still here drinking my good stuff?" He sat down next to her and took the bottle from her. "Share." He took a long sip of it, and she scowled before glaring out at the yard. "Going to ignore me again? And after the rescue?"

Evie faced him again. "Shut up." She got up and he grabbed her wrist. "Let go." She snapped, but he tugged her back down.

"Calm down, feisty pants. Take it easy." He released her and offered the bottle back. "Magic still on the fritz, huh?"

She nodded and sighed, leaning back against the steps and plopping her legs out in front of her. She took the bottle from him, staring back out at the yard.

"He's not dead."

"What?" She turned to look at him or squint at him rather, the booze making her headache. His proximity didn't help either.

"The History teacher." He rolled his eyes. "I don't know how he's up and about, because I know I pierced a lung, but he's alive. Hiding in his apartment like I wouldn't find out. Nothing goes on I don't know about."

Evie frowned and slammed the bottle down on the step. "That's not funny."

"It's the truth, Eves. Alaric Saltzman is not dead, and you can ask Stefan, because I know he's been to see him. So, Elena probably knows too." Damon shrugged and drained the rest of the bottle she had set aside. He wasn't sure why he was telling her. He didn't owe her anything, but at the same time, he felt the need to tell her. It was conflicting.

Evelyn turned to look at him. "I'm still pissed at you."

He shrugged. "I'll take what I can get." He leaned close to her, his nose bruising hers and making her eyes cross trying to look at him drunkenly. "And don't date anymore jocks. Lockwood's a twerp."

"Tyler's not all that bad."

"Bullshit." Damon said with a roll of his eyes.

Evie scowled and shoved him out of her face. "Back off, Salvatore. Since when are you concerned about people I date?"

Damon shrugged again; his face impassive. "I don't. But I'm usually good at reading people, Eves. Be careful." He tweaked her nose playfully. "Don't want to find you crying because he dumped you." She slapped his hand away, rubbing at her nose which was tingling from his touch.

"That's not going to happen and let's not pretend you care about my wellbeing."

She stood up, stretching her arms above her head. Damon watched her shirt ride up and was tempted to pull her back down to him. She was drunk enough to stay if he enticed her thoroughly, but part of him, a strong part, urged him to not make her madder at him.

She turned to go, and he grabbed her arm. "Want a ride? You shouldn't be driving. The poor citizens of Mystic Falls will lose mailboxes and fences."

"Shut up." She huffed and he smirked when she didn't argue.

He pulled up in front of Alaric's apartment building and Evie turned to him.

"That's not my house."

He rolled his eyes. "I know it's not, my Eves. It's the teacher's. Go on up and see for yourself."

Evelyn chewed her lip but didn't move to get out of the car.

"Are you afraid of zombies now?" He asked causally. "He might be decaying."

He smirked when she punched his arm with a scowl.

"Oh, shut your cakehole."

Evie raised her fist to knock and hesitated. Was he really there? She leaned her ear against the door, listening hard. Someone was walking around inside. Swallowing, she sighed and knocked on the door.

After a few seconds it opened, not all the way, just as much as the chain lock would allow.

Alaric's gaze landed on her and she felt her breath catch.

"Evelyn?" He said half confused and relieved. He closed the door and undid the chain. As he opened it, she rushed at him and hugged him tightly, ignoring the burning in her cheeks. "Are you okay? What are you doing here?" He was wearing a white t-shirt and black jogging pants, a towel around his shoulders from having hastily dried his hair, and his feet were bare.

The teenager was shaking slightly, and he was worried she was hurt or scared of something.

"I thought you were dead. Damon killed you." She said slightly muffled because her face was in his shirt. She couldn't help but inhale his scent of pine tree aftershave and mints.

Alaric opened and closed his mouth several times. "Oh...Oh!" He patted her. "Uh, guess you saw me? How did you know?"

She sighed and stepped back, tucking her hair behind her ear as she frowned. "It's a long story. I know what Damon is and apparently you know so...You need to know what I am."

He gave her a strange glance and she shook her head. "I'm not a vampire, I swear. Just let me explain."

To test her, he said nothing, but stepped aside and he closed his eyes in relief when she walked right by him.

Alaric sat back in the chair. "Wow. That's amazing. Can you do something now?"

"Um...well I can try." She muttered, biting at her thumbnail. He wondered what it was she wasn't telling him, but he let it go.

Evie concentrated on the empty mug of hot chocolate. Slowly it rose into the air and she made it spin around.

"Whoa..."

The cup floated back down to the coffee table, a bit shakily and Evie closed her eyes for a minute.

"I can't do anything else right now. I'm tired and still a bit drunk."

Alaric was in awe. "That was neat."

Evie smiled. "I can do a lot more, I just need more time."

He smiled back. "Do you need a ride home?"

At that time her phone buzzed and she glanced at it to see Damon's message of "Let's go" come up on the screen.

"No, I've got a ride." She muttered.

Evie felt the bed dip.

"Did I say you could come in?" She muttered from under the blanket. "Or plop yourself on my bed?"

"So...You didn't say much on the ride home. And you didn't even thank your chauffeur, moi."

"I'm still pissed that you tried to kill him." She lifted the edge of the covers to glare at him. Damon shrugged.

"I know, just pointed it out." He paused for a second. "Too pissed not to let me stay?"

Evie huffed. "Just because we spoke earlier, and you took me to see Mr. Saltzman doesn't mean that you and I are acquaintances again."

"Acquaintances? Ouch. Thought we were partners."

"You killed someone right in front of me! Someone that I was fond of."

He snorted at her. "Fond of? You cried."

"Well, you killed someone it was...crazy." Her face was red.

"No, that's not why." He said teasingly.

"If you're going to point out that he's older than me and into Jenna, I already know that." She snapped. "I just didn't like seeing him dead, okay?"

He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Take it easy. I'm not making fun of you. It's just an observation."

"Yes you were. Why are you in here?"

"...Because."

Now Evie smirked at him. "I think it's the other way around, Salvatore. You realized your mistake when you had no one to talk to. Admit it, I'm your only friend."

Damon muttered under his breath and she grinned at him until he rolled his eyes and tossed the blanket back over her face.

"Shut up, Eves."

"Got tired of talking to yourself, didn't you?" She teased and then he eyed her. "What?"

"He knew your name."

She chewed her thumbnail for a second. "He was at the Grill. Cornered me by my truck."

Damon frowned, the urge to go find Fredrick and finish him off grew. He knew her name, he might come looking for her. Especially after seeing her with him and Stefan. Her damn magic was on the fritz too.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No. Apparently he's just a creeper. Watching me in the Grill. He tried to compel me to go with him."

Fuck. Now he knew she couldn't be compelled as well. He'd definitely try to harm her. Damon kicked his boots off. There was no way he was leaving her unattended.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting comfy. Gimme a pillow."

Evie scowled he reached across her for a pillow and shoved him. "Get out. You're not staying. The house is safe."

"He could be lurking outside. You want your Gran to venture outside?" He snapped harsher than he intended, and she quieted. "He's not out there right now," He said in a softer tone. "-but he could be. There are not many people in this town with your name and he can easily compel someone to find you. Your magic's on the fritz and you need to sleep. I can tell you haven't been sleeping well. That and you need to start eating again. I can tell you've lost weight."

Evie frowned. "Creeper. How'd you know all that?"

He traced a dark circle underneath her right eye, and she looked up at him. "Because I see it. I've been around you long enough to tell." His fingers trailed down her face and his thumb went over her lower lip. His eyes slid back up meet hers.

"Go to sleep. He won't show up."

Thunder rumbled loudly, shaking the house and she jumped at the sound, almost landing on top of him.

"I won't let the storm get you either."

"Oh, shut your cake-hole and stay on your side of the bed."

Damon smirked in the darkness.

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