A/N: not beta-ed because Happy New Year, my sweet dumplings!
Kol entered the Mystic Grill a few minutes before Bella and Jeremy left and hovered near the bar. Staying away from her had taken every ounce of strength he had, especially when she made a point of checking him out and whispering questions to Caroline about the "sexy mystery man."
He chose to seat himself in their vacated booth and reveled in the warm, luxurious scent of her. His succubus. And had to remind himself, once again, that he would touch her soon enough. Because staying away was rapidly becoming far too difficult.
Even when they were abstaining from blood exchange, he could at least touch her.
Rebekah joined him and let out a slow sigh. "It went fine," she spoke quietly.
"I had no doubt it would," Kol whispered in turn.
Rebekah grinned at her brother and didn't answer him, as Matt was approaching their table.
"Should I even bother taking your orders?"
"Another margarita for me, darling," Rebekah purred, much to the waiter's annoyance and arousal. It was an odd combination that Rebekah seemed to evoke most everywhere she went. People tended to hate that they wanted her.
"Whiskey," Kol said.
Matt nodded and left to serve their drinks, while the vampires watched from the corners of their eyes, making sure he wasn't going to do something stupid like slip in some vervain. But unless the ice was made from vervain-infused water and blended into Rebekah's margarita, they would be fine.
"Thanks, Mattie," Rebekah flashed him a winning smile and took a sip from her drink. "Yours is the best."
Their server flushed with the compliment, and Kol realized the man had a different interpretation of her comment. Meaning they had, at some point in the past, slept together.
Gross.
"Now tell me, darling, who was the enchanting creature that came in with Jeremy Gilbert? They seemed rather close, but didn't seem like they were together."
Matt clenched his jaw defiantly and exhaled slowly as he put together that Rebekah was only being nice to gather information. "What, need more ways to torture the Gilbert family?"
"Always," Rebekah answered with a devious smile. "Kidding. I'm just curious. It isn't often we have fresh blood around here, after all."
Kol had to hand it to his sister: she was pushing the right buttons to wind Matt up just enough to warn Elena, or Caroline, or whoever he was on speaking terms with at the moment, that the Originals were interested in the newcomer.
With any luck, Kol would be able to play the role of seducer, to lure a "clueless" Bella away from her friends and family. To push Team Elena to show their hand to her, and hopefully reveal what their intentions with the additional Hunter in their midst are. For they would surely warn her to stay away from Kol; a perfect segue into exposing Bella's knowledge of vampires and occult.
True to form, he could hear Matt texting furiously from behind the bar and had to smile at the predictable nature of humans.
Bella wasn't sure what she had been expecting upon returning to the Gilbert home. Renée and Bella had spent more than a few summers with her aunt and uncle and cousins, and her mom starred in most Bella's memories.
From the driveway, she could think of many: playing in with their parents in the front yard when she and her cousins were children, and later, sitting on the porch and bullshitting with her cousins when they got older. Then there was the living room, where they would inevitably fall captive to Grayson's Indian Jones marathons.
The trundle bed in the guest room. Bella always took the pull out-pop up mattress stored underneath. She didn't have to pull it out this time.
Her throat clenched at the thought she wouldn't have to sleep on it ever again and was torn between taking the main bed to feel closer to Renée, and sleeping on the lower to make things feel more normal. But nothing was normal, not anymore.
She set her small duffle on the dark, hardwood floor and sat on the bed experimentally. Before she knew it, Bella was curled up and clutching pillows, trying desperately to hold on to the faint notes of her mother's perfume that couldn't possibly still be lingering in the room.
A knock sounded from the other side of her door and drew her out of the mental and emotional spiral she was heading for. "Can I come in?"
Bolted upright and tried to compose herself, but could still feel the flush that had spread up her neck. "Sure, Jer."
Jeremy left the door open and smiled broadly at her before he faltered and grew concerned. "Uh, so, I know you wanted to keep things chill and not do much during your visit, but we've been invited to the Salvatores' for dinner," he explained He flashed her a smaller smile of triumph, clearly hoping his news would make up from whatever had Bella in a mood.
It was precisely what they had hoped for.
"Well, that was nice of Stephan," she answered dryly.
Jeremy snorted at the implication that Damon had nothing to do with making the offer, which was probably true. In fact, Bella got the impression that if it were up to Damon, she'd stay far away from his home. Or locked up somewhere so he could finish his interrogation.
"When are we leaving?"
"An hourish. So, if you need to rest up or anything, now's the time."
Bella was struck with inspiration at that moment and smiled. "Actually, I think I'm going to run to the store real quick."
Thankfully, Jeremy seemed to intuit that asking her why she needed to would put her on the spot and just nodded. "Cool. Can you grab me a few things while you're out? I kind of forgot deodorant, toothbrush, and you know, pretty much everything except clothes."
"Well, at least that means you probably remembered socks and underwear."
Jeremy paled at her words and ran to his old bedroom, where Bella could hear first the sound of his bag dumping onto his bed, followed by the sliding of wood on wood as he checked his dresser.
"I have some boxers here still," he called out, announcing the good news to the entire house.
Bella smiled at his outgoing behavior— Jeremy had always been funny, but he was finally sharing his personality with others and it made her extremely happy to witness it.
She pulled on her warm, red sweater, grabbed her purse, and headed out of the house. If she recalled, there was a store that sold toiletries and household items a few blocks away, and while it was a little chilly, the sun was shining and the walk too good to pass up.
It didn't even both her that she was being followed by a vampire. It was probably Damon or a hybrid, but she didn't care enough to check and see. What did it matter?
Not only did Bella have the ability to drain his particular brand of vampire, but having also fed on Rebekah's energy, Bella was more than a little cranked. It was possible she could even stand her own ground, physically, if it came down to a surprise altercation, like an attempted abduction.
And, even if I was, there's no reason I can't just go along with it.
Because then there'd be even more fun.
Maybe I could press my luck.
With her walk nearing an end, Bella caught a flicker of movement at her right from between the buildings that lined the street. It wouldn't make sense for Damon to overtake her when following her had proven easy so far.
Kol.
It was thrilling to know she had a hostile at her back, and a friendly in front of her. Because there was no way Damon hadn't also seen or heard the imposing Original. There was something exceptionally arousing about the situation, about the added danger. The knowledge that Damon had no idea what awaited him, if it came down to a fight, was exciting to her.
Shit, my pulse.
Bella paused and rifled through her purse quickly, as though she were looking for something. "Oh, phew," she huffed to herself and continued on her way, presumably after finding whatever it was. Perhaps lipstick, if she were the type to care. Maybe hand sanitizer if she was careful about germs. Or even her wallet, if she were more scatterbrained.
It didn't matter what the vampire and hybrids assumed, so long as they did.
She wondered which vampire she'd manage to spot first. Would they both follow her inside? Make themselves known to her? Would they wait outside and confront each other?
Her heart was racing with excitement as she crossed the threshold and she was forced to cover once more. "Shit. What was I—," Bella muttered and pulled her cellphone from her jacket pocket. It wasn't entirely a lie, considering Jeremy hadn't actually specified what all he needed, and was pleased to see that he'd thought to text her a list after she left.
Bella grabbed a basket and wandered the aisles, tossing in whatever she thought she might want or enjoy, including a maddeningly complicated puzzle. The temptation of doing something so tedious with vampires that needed to pass as human in front of her was too great to pass up.
She felt him step inside the store, felt him draw nearer and nearer, felt him stalk her over the tops of shelves.
Next, she found everything Jeremy needed, and was looking for snacks and booze when he finally revealed his presence by walking down the aisle she was in.
He was obviously playing the role of Kol, the Original vampire that was here in a Mystic Falls convenience store for the sole purpose of stirring up some shit. He even pretended to browse for a moment while stealthily eyeing her body like any other depraved vampire would. Which was actually very much to her delight. "Need a hand?"
Bella gave a tiny jump in return, pressed her hand to her chest, and faced him quickly. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you there." She was perfectly sweet and apologetic for her own feigned startle response, if she said so herself. "I think I've got it, but thanks."
Kol made a show of examining the contents of her very full basket.
We're playing Little Red Riding Hood!
"Ah, but surely you don't have enough room for more in your basket," he practically purred and eyed the bag of assorted candy in her free hand, "what with all of your boyfriend's toiletries in the way."
Bella smirked at the direction the conversation was taking and went along with him. She tried to look properly embarrassed by the implication, however, and hoped her excitement could be interpreted as an awkward woman flirting with an extremely attractive man.
"No, I don't have a— these are for my cousin. We're just visiting but he forgot to pack a few things."
As beautiful as it was, she couldn't keep her eyes trained on his face, and gave in to raking his body, drinking him in the way she would a glass of ice water in hell. She was burning, desperate for his touch, his love.
We can't keep doing this.
We can't hurt each other with this separation.
It feels so wrong.
Bella was clamping down on her energy, preventing even the smallest amount from escaping, but still, Kol's eyes grew black with a desire all his own. She couldn't help but to tease him by bending over to inspect a shelf, giving him an unhindered view of her ass.
It was a game, a very dangerous game with potentially dire consequences, and it was the most fun she'd had in her life.
She earned the lowest rumble of a growl from her vampire. It vibrated through her, even with a foot of space between herself and Kol, and sent a rush of warmth to settle between her legs. Under no circumstances would she want to fuck in a drugstore, but knowing he could smell just how ready she was for him was intoxicating.
Bella tipped her head back and swung her hair over her shoulder in a way that she knew Kol was particularly fond of. "Hmm, on second thought would you mind very much helping me out? I think you were right— my hands are just a little too full."
She could practically hear Kol's thoughts as his "hungry" face rose briefly to the surface, telling her just what her hands— among other parts of her— needed to be full of.
He grabbed a case of beer she pointed at and followed her to the till. The cashier raised her eyebrow when Bella asked for bottles of vodka, tequila, whiskey, and a nice scotch from behind the counter, but said nothing.
Kol inched closer and closer to her; a hunter unable to keep from his prey, especially when he knew she was likewise hunting him. "I should probably help carry these to your car."
Bella shook her head and frowned. "Oh, no! I walked here— I wasn't thinking about how many bags I'd have to carry back."
"Then perhaps I could interest you in a ride?"
Ride, indeed.
Her clit ached and throbbed with the phantom touch of her vampire, and the need to give to and take from him was too much that she almost moaned in the store.
Kol stared deeply into her eyes and spoke calmly. "You'll come with me to my car, where you will only do whatever you truly wish to do with me— you will be safe to give in to your every whim and desire, and ask for nothing you don't want, or would cause you harm."
His compulsion was worded far more carefully than most vampires would bother with; centuries of understanding his gift meant having a deeper appreciation for free-will. He knew she couldn't be compelled, but he also knew they had an audience of at least one Salvatore— who could learn a thing or two about the art of subtlety. Plus, it was the easiest way to get her to follow him down the quickly darkening alley.
So, she did.
They took twists and turns around buildings before coming upon his car, tucked away from sight of anyone that would pass by on the main streets. The instant her bags were stowed in the back seat, Bella found herself pressed between Kol and the outside of the now-closed door.
One hand gripped her hip tightly to him, while the other reached up to twist into her hair, freeing a whimper of longing from her lips.
"Fuck me," Bella panted against the cool glass where her face was pressed. She didn't know if she was begging or demanding— or both. "Now."
Kol had his pants unbuckled and unzipped, and her own pulled down to just above her knees a split second later. Before she even had a chance to mourn the loss of his touch at her hip and in her hair, his hands returned and jerked her body closer to his, entering her in one swift movement.
"Fuck," she collapsed against the door, and was grateful Kol had thought to provide a surface to brace herself against while he thrust into her.
He gave her hair a tug, effectively tilting her head back and to the side to expose her neck. "I've wanted you since the first moment I saw you," he growled from behind her. He lowered his mouth to her skin to drag his tongue up and down her pulse point. "I could tell; there's something completely and utterly devious about you."
"Yes," she whined as he took her roughly. Each deep, hard thrust of ecstasy caused her knees to buckle beneath her. His hand at her hip was the only thing keeping her from crumbling to the broken, rocky pavement below.
"You crave sin the way the moon craves the sun; forever chasing your next dance danger. You play with fire, but oh, how you love the burn."
Bella swore repeatedly and spoke the Lord's name in vein more than once.
Kol growled then, a long, deep, threatening rumble that carried down the alley. Bella recognized it for what it was: it was a warning to anyone or anything listening that she was his. The sound made her insides flutter and tighten, flutter and tighten, until she was so very close to bliss, to coming tightly around him.
My vampire.
"Take."
"Do it."
They whispered the words at the same time, so softly that they remained between the two of them, and it was the tipping point.
Bella drew from him, her love, her vampire, and tightened around him the moment his teeth sank into her soft flesh. He drove into her with abandon, allowing her to ride out her climax for long minutes after.
Bella was sure she would combust from the sheer amount energy she was receiving from Kol when his hand slid around to her front. A finger slipped between her slick lips and slid over and around her clit in rough circles.
"You're fucking perfect," he whispered and licked at the rivulets of blood that still leaked from her neck while she arched her back, an angle that had him driving more deeply inside of her. "Divine and delicious, and so fucking perfect."
Bella came with a gasping growl of her own, and briefly surprised herself with the sound. She, too, was making her claim known. It drew Kol over the edge with her, and for a few seconds, after so many weeks of stress, everything was right with the world.
Everything.
Every single thing, big or small.
Because, together, they could do anything and everything.
Kol rested his forehead against the back of her shoulder and placed discreet kisses against her skin. He was reassuring her that he loved her, that he had only been taking her the way a ruthless vampire would a willing partner. But he needn't have worried; there was not a single moment she didn't enjoy herself.
"You're fucking perfect," she rasped back, hoping it would reassure him in turn. "We should do this again sometime."
She felt him smile against her as his hands wandered her body underneath her sweater. One cool hand cupped her breast and pressed her tightly to him. The other came to rest against the front of her neck, where he wrapped his fingers around her possessively.
"There is nothing in Heaven or on Earth that will keep me away from you," Kol murmured quietly. "Not ever; no matter where you go, I will follow you."
And I, you.
Bella was positive Damon heard him, and that Kol's true meaning would be lost on him. His words would be interpreted as a threat by the Salvatore, as well as the Hybrids.
Kol removed himself from her with a grunt of pleasure that sent a reflexive shiver through her. Her back arched toward him, her center seeking him once more as a whine of longing escaped her.
"Now, now," Kol whispered over the sound of him fixing his jeans. "You'll have me again, Pet, no need to fret."
While the nickname was for the benefit of listening ears, to indicate ownership, Bella found she didn't entirely hate it.
Kol took care of her next, and tried to slide her underwear back up and over the curve of her ass. Which was difficult, considering his hand was still cupping and squeezing her. He took his time, and Bella grinned at the knowledge that even though he'd had her more times than she could count, her vampire still loved to watch her body, no matter if she was putting clothes on, or taking them off.
"Look me in the eyes," he ordered once he had finished with her.
Bella turned slowly and met his concentrated gaze.
"You can't remember that I bit you, but everything else is yours to keep."
"Why?"
Kol grinned, apparently hoping she would ask. "Because you need to be mine without knowing you're mine if you're to be any use to me.
He bit his wrist and offered his blood to her. "You need to drink." It wasn't an order, and doing so without compulsion would speak volumes of their seemingly immediate bond to anyone and anything watching them.
"Why?"
"Just in case," Kol whispered and gasped with pleasure as her tongue lathed greedily at the healing wound. She drank until the marks healed, far more than she needed to heal the wounds on her neck. "Now, be a good girl and only forget that I bit, drank from, and shared my blood with you."
Bella nodded and smiled dazedly. "Thanks, by the way, for uh— everything," she gestured between them. "I don't do this sort of thing but I— there's something about you."
"I could say the same for you," he murmured darkly and closed the distance between them to kiss and nip hungrily at her lips.
Kol returned to his brother's home feeling sated for the first time in a long time. Of course, Klaus couldn't help but notice the 'pep in his step' or the smell of sex that lingered on his brother, and didn't waste time commenting on it.
"Have a good evening, Kol?"
"You could say that," Kol grinned evilly. "I claimed the cousin."
"I've heard. You would do well to remember that I told you to follow, only." Klaus was standing before him, glaring into his eyes with a simmering rage.
He's just mad it was me, and not him.
"You know me, brother; couldn't help myself," Kol shrugged carelessly. "I wanted her, so I did it. She's sexy as hell, utterly divine actually, and useful to have to gather information," he finished with a gentle push of his index finger against his brother's chest. It was a reminder to Klaus that Kol was his own person, with his own wants and desires, and Klaus would do well to not forget he didn't control him.
Klaus scowled and stepped to the side to leave Kol's space— he didn't take a step back and therefore wasn't giving in, but he was going around. For now. His defiance wouldn't be forgotten, Kol knew, but it wasn't like Klaus was his maker.
"Plus, it'll kill Jeremy and Elena when they find out."
That gave Klaus pause, and Kol could hear the huff of amusement that left his older brother at the thought.
"Fair enough. And I must admit that I'm surprised: you gave this indiscretion far more thought than I would have considered you capable of."
"You wound me, dear brother," Kol answered dramatically. "Though, to be fair, I didn't think of it until I was on my way home."
Klaus sighed with disappointment. "Just when I think there's hope for you, you continue speaking."
Kol rolled his eyes and mimicked his brother's words under his breath, the way he had for centuries and took his leave. Once he was safely in his room, he pulled his cellphone from his pocket and could almost feel his un-beating heart leap for joy to see texts from her.
Bella: Is it just me or was that hot as fuck?
Oh, no, it most certainly wasn't just you, my love.
Bella: Like, I don't want to invite an audience next time or anything
Well, there's an idea…
Bella: But it felt so fucking good to shove it in Damon's face.
Bella: That sounded dirty. I mean good to rub it in that YOU get to keep me.
Gods above, let me keep her.
Kol: Not just you, definitely no audience *next time* but I could be persuaded in the future, and you have absolutely no idea.
Kol's cock stiffened and twitched as he replayed each and every moment of their afternoon. Claiming her so publicly— even if their only witnesses were Damon and a few hybrids— made each atom in his body rejoice. She was his, and he was hers, and now it was known. It needed to be.
Even though, after the best months of his entire existence, he had known it already. Now everyone else did, too.
He desperately wanted to reach for himself, to grab and stroke his cock to the rhythm of their afternoon tryst, but being in a house filled with so many sensitive ears was enough to still his hand. He could always take a shower for sound-cover, but what would be the point of washing her scent from his skin so soon when he could enjoy her for a while.
The vampire was interrupted from his struggle by the sound of Elijah standing in the hallway outside Kol's bedroom door.
"Come to tell me I mucked it all up?"
"Actually," Elijah spoke with the mind-numbingly calm affect he usually reserved for chastising his siblings, "I came to inquire as to your plan for recklessly claiming a member of the Gilbert family to be of any benefit at all."
"Oh, good, because I could have easily assumed from your tone that you think my actions deserving of reprimand. Thank you so much for clarifying, brother of mine."
Elijah flitted to one of the studies, if Kol's ears weren't deceiving him. It gave both brothers a few moments time to recover enough to keep the discussion civil. Perhaps Kol had pressed a little too hard. It's entirely possible that his brother, while unable to keep his tone in check, had spoken the truth, rather than criticize Kol.
But Kol had to play his old role again; reckless, ruthless, hair-trigger temper and massive overreactions.
Kol heaved a small sigh, and thought that Bella might be rubbing off on him, as well as Rebekah, if he was so easily capable of thinking so rationally about Elijah.
He joined Elijah in the study and took a seat across the desk from the other vampire without waiting to be asked. Kol even clasped his hands together to keep from snarking at his brother. "So, would you prefer a hand-written, itemized list or a thought web to act as visual aids?"
Elijah gave the tiniest of smirks, and pulled a sheet of paper from the drawer. He offered it, and a pen, to Kol, forcing the vampire to make good on his offer. "Why don't you pick what you think is best?"
Bella didn't bother taking a shower after she was dropped off. Why do that, when she could absolutely reek of an Original vampire at dinner?
She did, however, freshen up and change her underwear. Fully dressed again, she was in the process of selecting a warmer sweater for the evening when her cousin knocked on the door frame. He offered her a teacup by way of greeting and Bella had a suspicion it was supposed to appear to be laced with vervain.
"Drink it," he said firmly, purposefully.
Her drinking it was to be performative, then, for any Salvatore brothers lurking about, or for Elena to pass the message on herself: Bella had consumed vervain, and was off-limits for compulsion and being fed on.
She downed the liquid and pretended to wrinkle her nose at what she was pleased to find was normal tea. "No offense, Jer, but ew! What kind of tea is this?"
"It's some aunt Renée brought a few trips ago, I think."
"You mean from a few years ago? Well, that explains it, then— it's off. Kind of dirty tasting almost, or musty."
"Oh, shit! Sorry, Bells! I just thought tea would be relaxing and—"
"It's fine," she answered with a sigh and handed the cup back before twisting the cap off the bottle of vodka. She took a swig and swished it around her mouth before swallowing. "Okay, ready to go if you are."
The drive wasn't as tense as Bella thought it would be, though, it could simply be that she had drank a third of the bottle already.
"You smell like a distillery— have some gum," Jeremy tossed a pack in her direction when they stopped at a red light.
Bella giggled uncontrollably for a few moments at his serious tone and popped a few pieces into her mouth. "Hey! It's for everyone's safety," she protested.
Jeremy glared at the succubus and Bella remembered they were probably being listened to.
"Okay, it's for Damon's safety. It's hard enough to deal with him while I was mostly sober, and considering I can't get the vision of slamming a heavy book on his dick, I thought it would be helpful to suppress my feelings with alcohol. Feeeeeeeeeelings, Jer! I have so many of them."
"Wait, is that why you brought a textbook with?"
Bella choked on her inhale and got caught in a loop of laughing and coughing. It wasn't why she had brought the book— she packed it solely to set her hosts on edge. Her giggle fit didn't stop until they finally turned off onto a quiet, dark, highway.
"It's so spooktacular! Add a bit of smoke and fog, and BAM we could be on the highway to Silent Hill."
"You're ridiculous," Jeremy shot back with a grin. "Tonight's going to be fun."
"Of course, it is! See, drinking was a good idea!"
"Yeah, yeah," he said with mock disappointment with his lush cousin.
They finally came upon a large manor and pulled into the long driveway. It was beautiful, in a haunted-Victorian way that would ordinarily appeal to her. But knowing the inhabitants, and the fact that Damon killed for its ownership, Bella couldn't bring herself to truly enjoy the sight.
How many people have died here?
It was a morbid question, but filled and clung to the inside of her brain like a cloud of smoke in a room without windows.
She carried the sack filled with bottles of booze and handed the box containing a five-thousand piece nebula puzzle over to Jeremy. The door was open before he had a chance to knock and Bella found herself being pulled inside by Caroline who led her to the kitchen to catch up.
"Oh, hey Bonnie!" Bella addressed the other woman in the kitchen with a smile. "I didn't know you'd be here, but I'm glad you are!"
"It's good to see you, Bella," Bonnie answered with an odd smile, as though she weren't really all that pleased, or was, at least, uneasy by Bella's presence.
"Well, I came bearing gifts of alcohol— anywhere I should set them down, or?"
"Let me help!" Caroline took the bag from Bella and set to work arranging them with the mixers already out for the drinks, including strawberry-cranberry juice.
"Ooh, did you know if you mix cake flavored vodka with that kind of juice you make a "strawberry shortcake" shot?"
"That's a genius idea," Caroline exploded and clapped her hands excitedly, "plus, I'm pretty sure I have some in my car— don't ask."
Bella glanced around the kitchen when Caroline left and took in the near boiling pot of water on the stovetop. "Anything I can help wi—"
"No," Bonnie answered her quickly and flashed her another tight smile. "Go ahead and visit with Elena."
The succubus mentally rolled her eyes and grabbed the scotch and whiskey bottles before meandering through the home to the living room. At least, she assumed so it was the living room, based on the couches and chairs scattered around the fire.
"Bella," Stefan addressed her politely from next to a long, built-in bookshelf. He extended a hand in greeting when they were close enough. "I'm happy you could make it."
"Me too," she said and gave him a genuine smile. "Thanks so much for inviting me— oh and here, I brought you a host gift." She held up the bottle of scotch in offering.
"I'm more of a whiskey man, myself," Damon said bluntly from the entry arch behind her.
"Then I suppose it's a good thing I got it for Stefan," Bella answered while still looking at Stefan and handed it over.
Stefan shot her an odd look and gave an almost imperceptible sniff of the air, and she realized he could definitely smell Kol.
"Considering Stefan is the one who invited me, it seemed only fitting."
The younger of the two brothers seemed to recover from the shock of smelling the Original and gave her an amused grin. He had to turn away to hide his reaction and used it as an excuse to cross the room and place the bottle among a collection of others and returned with a more neutral expression. "Well, thank you very much for the gift."
Bella nodded politely.
Now, for my next act, we enter phase two of Opereration: Mess With The Vamps.
Bella didn't bother turning around as she tossed the bottle of whiskey behind her in the direction of Damon's voice. "Catch."
Thanks to Kol's blood, she was able to hear Damon rush to do just that at vampire speed. Even if she hadn't been able to hear it, she certainly felt his energy approaching her space rapidly.
"What would you do that for?" Damon spluttered indignantly.
Bella turned to look him in the eyes and smiled sweetly. "Because I knew you'd catch it." His pupils widened in response, just the flicker of fear and suspicion. "You were right behind me, dude."
Damon just stared at her and they were interrupted from making awkward conversation by the arrival of Caroline, bearing a tray of shot glasses. Bella took the offered glass and downed it in one go, which was the only way to enjoy a shot, after all. "It's perfect, Car!"
"I'm glad to hear it!" The blonde vampire passed the rest of them out quickly and set the tray down on the central coffee table. She gestured for Bella to take a seat on one of the couches. "So, tell me more about the last few years. I feel like it's been forever since we've actually been able to catch up."
Elena slithered out from wherever she had been lurking, or hidden away by the vampires until Bella was finished being assessed for threat-risk, and joined the other women in the sitting area.
"Nothing exciting— I've mostly just been hanging out around home and applying for places to get my cert hours in after I finished school in June. Having time to breathe again is nice."
"I bet!" Caroline's eyes sparkled with excitement, and Bella could tell how desperately the girl wished to continue her education. "Well, tell me more about school then! What was your major? Did you minor in anything?"
Bella smiled, grateful for the vampire's politeness and the opportunity to share her knowledge without letting the vampire out of the bag, so to speak. "So, I took a lot of anthropology classes for my undergrad and got into studying other cultures, alongside psychology. That's what my degree is actually in— psychology, I mean.
"But I also studied in the field of parapsychology. It's the study of the paranormal, the work efforts on proving the existence of, and peoples' beliefs surrounding it. It's a much harder program to get into than you'd think, because the job field is super small. The only people that made it are the ones with gimmicks, like on the TV. So, I rounded out my education with therapy and counseling and it all kind of evolved into whatever you'd call my mash-up." Bella shrugged when she finished, implying it wasn't a big deal for her to study such a niche topic.
"Speaking of your education," Damon finally spoke up from where he leaned menacingly in the entry arch. He finished off a glass of amber liquid, likely the whiskey she brought, before he finished his statement. The vampire was clearly drawing the moment out to annoy her and everyone else on purpose. "Imagine my surprise to find that no Isabella Swan has ever attended the University of Washington or the University of Virginia."
Bella rolled her eyes and tried to put a cap on the fury that craved to punch through the surface of her being. Then again, it wasn't like she hadn't researched the Salvatore brothers in the last two years to benefit her education. "I'm not sure if I'm more freaked out that you checked, or more pissed off that you'd bring it up in front of everyone when you could have just asked me directly."
She knew Damon had it out for her, had known it since before she arrived, thanks to what she had gathered about the vampire from his time in Colorado. He was just the type of person to think that the world was at his hands, that everyone else was fair game to be explored and exposed whenever he saw fit.
"For your information, there's a good reason Isabella Swan never attended either of those schools. In fact, if you dug around enough to find that out, you probably came across my death certificate, too."
Between the three vampires that didn't need to breathe, and the shock that occupied Elena's face, she was met with relative silence.
"Or not," she muttered and sighed before grabbing another shot glass and knocked it back. "It isn't really your business, and I'd rather not get into it."
"That's fair," Stefan broke the silence. "You're allowed privacy," he shot a glare at his brother.
Even if the relationship between Stefan and Elena wasn't exactly healthy, especially considering her conflicting interest in Damon, Bella found herself slowly warming up to the younger Salvatore.
"Thanks," she nodded in her direction and huffed out a sigh.
"Dinner's ready," Jeremy called out from the kitchen where he had been assisting Bonnie.
The tension increased with each step in the direction of the dining room. Each dinner guest seemed to gravitate to a similar pattern they had selected in the diner. With the exception of Bonnie, who sat on the other side of Stephan, and Damon, who had opted for the head of the table to place Elena between the brothers.
All the better to see each face, process each reaction, and direct the conversation from.
This is going to be interesting.