Review Responses:

Bornkiller9: I know right. Although, I think I've possibly made him even worse here. And yeah, Jeremy has a right to feel upset, or at least uncomfortable about the Mason stuff, but if he really couldn't deal with it then he should end the relationship rather than being petty. I'm glad to see I'm getting across both sides (at least I think I am) but since it's mostly form Scarlett's perspective, it's understandable that we'd want to side with her over Jeremy. And you're right, she had little, or no control, at the time when what happened with Mason happened. Either way, it doesn't excuse the way Jeremy's be acting now, or how he's treated Scarlett, or the secrets he's been keeping from her. He's now effectively doing the same thing she did, only it's come from a place of spite and he's consciously doing it, were as Scarlett had no clue – and once she realised she immediately stopped it. At this point I'd say their relationship is running on fumes, but we'll see if they can turn it around, but it takes two to make a relationship work. I'm glad you enjoyed the Caroline and Jenna bit. I thought both being new vampires would give them something to bond over and I think they'd be good friends, once you get pass the age gap, so we'll see how that relationship develops too.

Chapter 34: Chilli

Damon had been needing to get his mind off things. Things like the fact that he'd been abandoned by both his siblings. That his own brother had brutally torn his girlfriend to shreds, all so that he'd do what Stefan was too much of a coward to do himself. He'd gotten some form of revenge however, when he brought Elena to Chicago, forcing Stefan to tell her himself that he was done with her and never wanted to see her again.

What had been more satisfying than that however, was the fight he'd had with his brother before Elena showed up. After luring him out of Gloria's Stefan had tackled him, furious over the danger he'd put Elena. Damon had felt guilty about that – for putting his friend in that position – but in that moment, he lost sight of that. All he saw was how he'd hurt Stefan, and he'd wanted to do more.

It wasn't like back in the mountains, when Stefan had saved him from the Hybrid. There was no sense of owing him now, there was no feeling to stop after the first punch. If anything, there was an overwhelming feeling to keep punching, as he remembered what Stefan had left behind of Andie. So rather than direct him to Elena as planned, he started throwing punch after punch until Elena came running to stop him.

Even now, Damon wasn't entirely sure how she'd done that. One minute he'd been pounding his fist over and over into Stefan's face, and then Elena was suddenly between them and Damon had backed away from his brother. But there was no denying he'd enjoyed it, and God knew Stefan deserved it.

After that they continued with the plan as agreed. He distracted Klaus – got himself beat up in the process – while Elena talked to Stefan. As predicted, she failed to bring him back, and when Damon limped outside he found her alone and in tears.

He'd felt horrible for putting her through it all, but at the same time, it had to be done. He knew the truth about his brother, the one she'd refused to accept, until then. A long guilty ride home followed, with torturous thoughts that plagued him through the night and into the morning.

So, that was his problems with his brother. But what about his sister? Well, Sarah hadn't sent one text or even called Damon since he last saw her – the day he'd locked her up in the basement and came back to find her gone. As far as he knew, she was hunting Stefan, might even have been in Chicago the same time as him. She might even have teamed up with Stefan and the Originals for all he knew, however unlikely it was.

Either way, he found it irritatingly easy to envision them all laughing at him. His brother, sister and the Originals. All mocking him, the brother who was stuck back in Mystic Falls looking after the kids.

So in order to get his mind of those nasty depressing thoughts – and the idea of flicking his switch and creating some fun of his own – Damon had decided to do what he never thought he would do. He decided to make chilli for the Founding Families Chilli Contest. He was aware the whole thing was really a sham, like most Founding Families events, designed to give the council a chance to meet and talk about vampires. But even so, he'd needed something to do and he'd thought why not participate in the sham and win so that he could shove it in everyone's faces.

Scarlett however, didn't hold the same view point, and very early on had made a runner, claiming to have prearranged plans with her chew toy of a boyfriend. Damon had teased in the usual manner, reminding her to be back before dark, make sure she got all her homework done and to not get up to anything naughty with her boyfriend. Obviously Scarlett had appreciated his wit and thanked him for it, or at least that's what Damon chose to believe as he continued to work on his chilli.

It took a few running starts, but soon enough the recipe came back to him. He'd adjusted it slightly over the years, in order to keep up with the advances of modern day. In fact each of his siblings had their own new modern interpretation on their family chilli. But they'd universally agreed that his was the best of the lot. Another fact he chose to believe, and something no one ever challenged him on. Probably because his two siblings didn't know they'd agreed to it. But who cares, it's not like they were there to argue with him. Their loss.

After completing his batch of chilli in a massive cooking pot, he carefully stored it until it was time to go to the Founders Party. Once there, he unloaded his chilli like the many other families that arrived had, and hauled the large pot around the back where the contest was being held.

Was it a little sad to be carrying the pot on his own, while passing families were carrying their pots together – or even carrying three or four smaller pots. Obviously, but Damon was too cool to care about something so mundane. He didn't care that his siblings where God knows where, and that his girlfriend was dead. He was fine…just fine.

"You got enough there?" Jenna asked with a raised brow, snapping Damon from his latest stroll down depression avenue.

With his smug grin in place, he replied as if it were just another day. "Unlike you, I can actually cook, and people like to eat what I cook. So I figured I'd bring as much as I could."

"For the last time, I can too cook," Jenna growled, stood on the large back garden of the Lockwood estate, where rows of tables had been set up, with pots of family chilli lining each and every one. Various flower pots had also been placed along the tables, to make it look more attractive. And picnic tables further along the lawn were already occupied by several people, all of whom were digging into their various chillis with their families and friends. It was a standard town turn out for a Founding Families event.

"Let the chilli do the talking, honey" Damon teased, before lifting up his pot. "Speaking off, where do you want it?"

"You think I'm running this show?" scoffed Jenna as she folded her arms. "I'm a Sommer, not a Gilbert – therefore not a Founding Family, and therefore I have zero responsibility for any of this," she explained before waving a finger towards everything around them.

"Someone sounds bitter," Damon continued to tease, as he placed his pot on an empty spot on the nearest table.

"More like terrified," countered Jenna as she cast a quick look around. "I feel like I'm in the lion's den right now. I'm practically shivering because of the cravings, which given the weather is going to look odd. And I keep feeling that at any moment I'm going to get dragged away to be staked by Carol Lockwood."

Damon shot her a skeptical look, as he pulled out the name card to go with his Chilli. "You're overreacting," he said carelessly, as he threw the card down in front of his pot, which read, 'Salvatore Family Chilli.'

"How can I be overreacting when there's a secret council out to kill me and anyone else like me?" hissed Jenna as she leaned in towards Damon.

"Keep in mind, this is the same council that has no idea about me, my family, or all the kiddy supernaturals running around here. They're not exactly the brightest."

"Isn't that because you keep putting them off the scent, sort to speak?" asked Jenna, still twitching ever so often.

"Nope," Damon popped. "They were already completely useless without me," he declared with a grin. "In fact, I'd say it's only thanks to me that they've had any success at all." Despite his words, Jenna didn't seem any less tense.

With a sigh, Damon then waved his hand off towards the guests and said, "Go and find that boyfriend of yours or something. Have a drink, lighten up a little. Trust me, you're fine."

"But what about my…drinking problem?" asked Jenna lowly.

"Like I said, have a drink."

"Damon…"

He rolled his eyes. Typical, because of his brother, every new vampire thought they had to avoid drinking blood from humans or risk turning into a ripper. Little did they know, his brother was the exception and not the rule. All one needed was a little self control and then they could avoid killing someone while drinking form them. Then it was a simple case of erasing the memories and getting on with your day. But of course, his brother was nowhere in sight to see the problems he'd left behind. Nor was his sister here to deal with it. Which left Damon, who really couldn't stand this generation of new moral vampires.

"Fine… If you feel like it's getting to be too much, then come and find me. Or, I don't know, find a quiet corner with your boyfriend and take a bite out of him.

"Thanks," said Jenna dryly.

"Don't mention it… Hey, Carol," Damon said casually, prompting Jenna to jump around, only to see no sign of Carol Lockwood. Realising she'd been tricked, Jenna turned back around to glare at Damon, who was smirking away as he grabbed himself a bowl and spoon from one of the many stacks around all the tables with the chilli.

"You're a complete ass," Jenna muttered, before storming off.

"But I make excellent Chilli," Damon proclaimed, to which Jenna shot him another glare, before vanishing into the crowd.

With a satisfied grin, Damon began snooping around the chilli pots, grabbing himself a beer when he passed a cooler that had been left out on one of the tables. He popped the cap off with his thumb and then took a swing, before coming to a stop at one of the many chilli pots. This one had the name, 'Fell,' attached to it. That alone did not raise Damon's hopes. Regardless of how he felt about the Fell Family – for the record they were one of the more irritating Founding Families – he remembered their awful chilli all the way back in 1864.

But, just to reenforce his views, he took the spoon resting in the pot and pulled out a serving for himself, dumping it into his bowl before throwing the thing back and using his own spoon to sample the chilli. His face screwed up instantly in distaste. It seemed in the past hundred years, or so, not one cook had married into the Fell family and fixed their God awful recipe.

"Yep. 'Bout as bad as I remembered," Damon muttered aloud, before turning and finding a woman in front of him.

He had been about to warn her to stay away from the Fell's chilli, and all other chillis near it, when he suddenly found himself being sucked into her enchanting grey blue eyes. There was a beat, as he backed out of her space, taking her in with his brighter blue eyes. She was rather attractive in his humble opinion. Older than him at a guess – appearance wise at least – but she could easily pull off mid-twenties if she wanted. Dressed in a low cut, thin strapped, green and white sundress, the woman stood with her hands on her hips – pressing the material against her thin figure. She had one blonde eyebrow raised up, noticeably lighter in tone to that of her wavy amber blonde hair. And there was a flutter of annoyance passing through those grey eyes, that made Damon feel like he'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

He missed his window to speak, when the woman spoke up first. "You know, someone probably put a lot of work into that," she pointed out in a light voice, that might have come across as playful if not for the look that backed it up. That said, it wasn't so much a telling off either, more like general advice from someone passing by, like, 'try the cheesecake,' or, 'don't go down the back streets after dark.' It was certainly a little odd, and while Damon had been spoken to like this before, for some reason, this time it stuck with him.

Despite this however, he still managed to recovered with a signature charming smile. "It's Fell chilli, Sweetheart. Doesn't matter who made it, or how much elbow grease they used, it was always going to taste bad," Damon said before taking another sip of his beer.

"I made it," the woman said, plastering on a pleasant enough smile as she blinked past the insult, forcing Damon to meet her eyes as he realised his mistake. He almost choked on his beer, almost, before recovering once more and removing the tip of the bottle from his mouth.

Swirling the liquid slowly around his mouth in thought, Damon eyed up the woman smiling back at him before he swallowed. He chose his next words carefully.

"You're a Fell?"

"Yep," answered Ms. Fell. A small, innocent, teasing smirk sliding onto her lips. One that Damon couldn't help but find attractive as he grinned back.

"Well, I hate to tell you this – really I do – but your family's recipe is awful," said Damon humorously, leaning back against the chilli table. To his delight, Ms. Fell began to chuckle along in amusement with him. "I mean it. It's got to be the worst recipe I've ever tasted in all my life."

"And I suppose you're some kind of chilli connoisseur, right?" questioned Ms. Fell, brow raised once more in teasing, as she held back a laugh, her grey blue eyes alight with mirth.

"If it wasn't already so obvious," Damon answered, playing along.

"And one would assume, that a chilli connoisseur, such as yourself, would have one hell of a chilli recipe for me to sample?" she asked, challenge and teasing in her eyes as she stepped towards him. Damon grinned, liking the challenge that underlined her otherwise upbeat tone.

"Right this way," he said with a nod, leading her back over to his own homemade chilli.

"Salvatore, huh?" Ms. Fell said when she spotted the name tag by the pot.

"That's me," Damon said, filling up another bowl he'd grabbed with his own chilli, before throwing in a spoon as well and holding it out to the Fell stood beside him. "And as promised, a chilli that will show you the real meaning of flavour," he said confidently, grinning as Ms. Fell took the bowl, and sampled the goods. She chewed, and clearly seemed to enjoy, which prompted Damon to smirk all the more in victory. She did however, remain silent as she took a few more bites, before then placing the bowl down on the table and wiping her mouth with her hand.

"Not bad," she conceded.

"Thank you," Damon said humbly, with mocking bow.

"Bit thin though," she then added.

"Excuse me?" Damon said in dramatic offence.

"You probably should have let it simmer for a few minutes more," she added, grinning ever so slightly as she turned to face Damon, who was none to pleased with her criticisms. "Also, a tad too spicy for me," she added, waving her hand towards her mouth, as if fanning it.

"That would be the flavour," Damon argued with a grin.

"No, flavour's what you get when you try my chilli. Yours leaves my taste buds screaming and in dire need of a glass of milk."

"Please, your stuff is so plain, I'd have to throw a vat of acid into it just to make it interesting," declared Damon.

"A vat of acid, really?" chuckled Ms. Fell, smiling away at the charming man before her.

"It was very tasteless," Damon whispered, before the two began to laugh.

"Can you keep a secret?" she then asked.

"Depends on how juicy it is," Damon replied, his eyebrows dancing up and down teasingly.

Ms. Fell grinned, before leaning in towards Damon so no one could over hear them. "I didn't actually use the family recipe," she admitted with a child like smile that lit up her whole face.

"Well, that explains why it actually tasted good for once," Damon declared, before they both began to laugh. "For the record though, I'll continue to say that your family chilli is awful, until you come clean."

"I think I can live with that," agreed Ms. Fell with a firm nod and a bright smile, as Damon happily stared into her eyes.

"Damon?" said the Sheriff, who'd suddenly joined them.

"Sheriff," Damon acknowledged, as both he and Ms. Fell turned towards her. "Council meeting?"

"Yeah, she just called it," the Sheriff said, eyes momentarily going to Ms. Fell, before shooting back over to Damon. "See you inside," she said, to which Damon nodded before the Sheriff turned to round up the rest of the Council members.

"You coming then?" Damon asked, setting down his beer. He was about to leave, only to then stop when he noticed Ms. Fell wasn't going to follow.

"Actually, I'm more of an outsider Fell," she explained sheepishly, folding her arms as she remained with her back against the table. Damon frowned, not fully understanding. "It was only a couple months ago I even moved to Mystic Falls, and that was for work reasons over family ones," she explained. "So sadly, I don't get to be part of the, 'super secret Founding Families council,'" she said in mocking childish excitement, with finger quotes and all. As if the council was a made-up club at school that all your friends were in and none of the grown-ups knew anything about it.

Damon did a quick look around, before leaning over towards Ms. Fell and loudly whispering, "I could always sneak you in?"

She laughed, bringing another smile to Damon's lips. "Thanks, but I think I'd better stay out here and defend my chilli from the critics," she suggested with a playful and lively look in her eye. Again Damon couldn't help but smile, before straightening up and holding out his hand.

"Damon Salvatore," he said as way of a late introduction.

"Constance Fell," she replied as she shook Damon's hand with a warm smile that lit up both their faces. "'Connie,' to my friends."

"Well, Connie," Damon said with a sly and flirty grin. "I'll be sure to find you later, so we can continue to discuss the finer points of chilli," he said, walking backwards as he made his way towards the Lockwood mansion.

"I'd like that," Connie called after him with a smile, before Damon turned around with a backwards wave towards the Fell.