Since so many of you didn't want to wait, I updated a second time this week. This is a good chapter I believe, and it's one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you think!
Season 1 Episode 17 Let the Right One In
"I say we go to Pearl's, bust down the door, and annihilate the idiot that attacked us last night."
Damon was pissed, boarding up the window that the two vampires had broken when they tried to kill Stefan last night. He had been in such a good mood, coming home after his little… rendezvous with Alex. But that was shot to hell when the two idiots broke in an attacked his little brother. One was dead, the girl, and the guy… well he got away. Damon wouldn't let that happen the next time.
"Yeah. And then what?" Stefan asked. "We turn to the rest of that house of vampires and say, "Oops. Sorry?""
"I can't believe you made a deal with her." Elena said referring to Pearl. Damon winced, remembering how Pearl had persuaded him by pushing his eyes in with her thumbs.
"It was more like a helpful exchange of information." Damon said. "And it's not like I had a choice. She's... scary."
"Right ok." Elena said. "Don't you realize how bad this is?"
"You don't have to get snarky about it." Damon said. He was getting annoyed with Elena thinking that Damon had to be perfect. He made a lot of mistakes and his choices were usually the wrong ones, but she was always putting him down.
"I woke up this morning to learn that all the vampires have been released from the tomb." Elena explained. "I've earned snarky."
"How long are you going to blame me for turning your birth mother into a vampire?" Damon asked. Elena hadn't said a kind word to him since she found out. He couldn't blame her, he just preferred nice Elena over annoying Elena.
"I'm not blaming you, Damon." Elena admitted. "I've accepted the fact that you're a self-serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities."
"Ouch." Damon said. Elena didn't look the least bit remorseful about what she had said. Oh well, her opinion didn't matter. Alex saw something in him that Elena, Stefan, or anyone would ever see. Damon didn't even know what she saw, but he was glad she saw it.
"This isn't being very productive." Stefan said. "We're gonna figure out a way to deal with Pearl and the vampires."
Elena nodded and Stefan pulled her into an embrace. Damon rolled his eyes. They were so cute it was gag worthy. He never wanted to be that couple.
"Have either of you talked to Alex today?" Elena asked. "I've been texting her like crazy and haven't heard back."
"Maybe she's working." Stefan replied. "We could go check."
"No, she took today off." Elena said. "I made her so she could get a break."
Come to think of it, Damon hadn't heard from Alex either. He was surprised when Elena showed up without her. The two girls seemed to travel in a pack most of the time. That was partly to do with Alex not having a vehicle and another because the two seemed to be closer than ever. It was better for them to travel together, that way at least one could get away.
"Speak of the devil." Damon said as his phone began to ring. Alex flashed on the screen. "Good morning pretty girl."
"Damon?" It wasn't Alex's voice. It was her mothers, and by the sound of it something was wrong. Damon's eyebrows furrowed.
"Lauren?" He asked. Elena and Stefan tensed in front of him. "What can I do for you?"
"Have you seen Alex?" She asked frantically. Damon blinked a few times. The last time he had seen Alex, they had been kissing and then she went inside. Stefan gave Damon an accusing glare.
"No… no I haven't." Damon said. "Is she ok?"
"I don't know!" Lauren said hysterically. "I came home last night and someone hit me over the head. I woke up and Alex wasn't here."
"What?" Damon asked. Elena was looking between Damon and Stefan. Stefan had set his jaw, looking gravely at his brother. Elena jerked on Stefan, to get him to tell her what was going on.
"Someone was in the house last night." Lauren said, tears in her voice. "I'm afraid they took her."
"Ok." Damon said, calmly. "Ok, Lauren listen to me. Have you called the police?"
"Not yet." She said. "I didn't want to call unless I was sure. Damon, I'm so scared."
He swallowed hard.
"I'm friends with a sheriff." Damon said. "Lauren, I'm going to find her."
"Oh, thank God." Lauren said, sounding so relieved. "I'll call around and let you know if anything comes up."
"Sure." Damon said. "Bye."
Damon then slammed down his phone. He stood up, beginning to pace. She was gone. Alex was gone. He had her for two minutes and she was gone. This had Pearl written all over it. As a way of making sure Damon cooperated she must have taken Alex. But how would she know if he would actually come?
"What happened?" Elena asked. "Where is she?"
"I bet you anything those vampires took her." Damon said and looked at his brother. "Let's go."
"Wait, wait, wait." Stefan said. "We have to come up with a plan."
"She could be dead by then." Damon said. "I'm not taking that chance."
"We can't just go barging in there." Stefan said. "Then they could kill her and us. We need a plan."
"What if Damon's right?" Elena asked. "What if they… kill her?"
Damon huffed, punching the nearest wall. A hold the size of his fist was left there. He would have to get that fixed. This was his fault. This was all his fault. If he had stayed away like she wanted in the first place, they wouldn't have been able to use her. Stupid. He was so stupid.
"I need to hunt. Get my strength back up. " Stefan said. "I'm going to go and when I come back we will go rescue her."
Stefan then kissed Elena on the forehead and ran to get his rain jacket. That left Damon and Elena alone in the parlor. Damon could feel her judgy little eyes on him and he was becoming more and more agitated.
"Do you want something?" He asked through his teeth. Elena barely flinched with his tone. She was a tough one he had to admit.
"Why do you even care?" Elena asked. "About Alex. You don't care about anyone."
"Maybe I'm not as big of a self-serving psychopath as you thought." Damon said, pushing past her. He went up to his room, grabbing a box under his bed. He pulled out several wooden stakes. He would save her, if it was the last thing he did.
I woke up with a splitting head ache. My eyes fluttered open slowly, not wanting to open. I was lying on the cold hard floor, it left a crick in my neck. Once my eyes were open and fully adjusted I took in my surroundings. I was in a cellar of some sort. There were all sorts of gardening tools and hardware stuff. It looked like a work shop.
I pushed myself up, using a nearby table to pull myself into a standing position. There was a window, but it was too high up. I would never be able to get out without getting attention. And I assumed that the door at the top of the stairs was locked.
Mom.
I immediately thought of my mother. Was she ok? Was she dead? Did she know I was missing?
Would I die?
Would the people that brought me here kill me? Why did they want me and where was I? What was my purpose for being here?
I heard the door click and then I heard footsteps. I retreated to a corner, grabbing a screw driver as I hid. The footsteps stopped and I closed my eyes, bracing myself. This made me think of when Damon kept me captive.
Damon.
Did he know I was missing? Did he think I was dead? Would he come to get me? Did he care?
I didn't have time to think it through because my pursuer had found me. He wasn't looking at me, he hadn't seen me yet. So I took the chance and lunged for him. The screwdriver made it's way into his stomach and he grunted in pain. I stood there, watching him bleed before I tried to run. He caught me, tossing me to the ground.
"Bad idea." He said, pulling the screw driver from his stomach and tossing the bloody tool to the ground. I scooted back into the corner, never taking my eyes off of him.
"What do you want?" I asked him, tears threatening to fall. I blinked them away.
"Leverage." He said. I remembered his name was Frederick. "You are going to bring Damon Salvatore to us."
"Why?" I asked. He crouched down, looking eye level with me. What on Earth could they need Damon for?
"Revenge." He said. "It's your precious little Salvatore's fault that we were locked in that tomb."
The tomb? It must not have been closed. They must have gotten out. And now they were out for blood. My blood as it would seem.
"145 years I was in that tomb. Starving. Never able to feed." He said and then he was on me. His face right by my neck. "But now I can eat."
I closed my eyes, silently begging him not to. The tears ran down my cheeks and I felt my body start to shake. I had been terrified before, but now… now I was petrified. Not only was I going to die, but so was Damon. He would come and save me and then they would kill him. And then they would kill me.
"Don't worry." He said. "I'm not going to hurt you."
He stood up straight and turned. He started to walk away, and I felt less anxious the further away he was from me. But suddenly he turned back around.
"Yet."
Where the hell was Stefan? He was supposed to come back right after he hunted. But he was nowhere to be found. Damon had called his number several times, even resorting to calling Elena. She had ignored it each time. So, he drove up to her house. He called her again, and again she ignored it. So, he went to the door, knocking on it. She appeared in a second.
"You're ignoring me." Damon said, coming in. No sign of Stefan here either.
"The 6 missed calls?" Elena asked sarcastically. "Sorry. My phone is dead."
"Is Stefan here?" Damon asked. Elena's eyebrows furrowed.
"No. Why?" She asked. "You two were supposed to get Alex."
"Does it look like I have Alex?" He asked. "He went out in the woods and didn't come back. I can't get him on his phone. I figured he was here with you."
Elena tried to call, pulling the phone back when it went straight to voicemail.
"It's going straight to voice-mail. Where could he be?" She asked. Damon thought and thought but he knew where he was. The tomb vampires wanted revenge. Not just on Damon, but Stefan too.
"You're not going to like what I'm thinking."
Damon drove up to the farm house that Pearl had described. It was well hidden, not too close to town to cause any suspicion. But it was close enough to make a pit stop. Damon rushed to the house, leaving Elena locked inside. He got to the front door and started beating on it. No one answered.
"Pearl! Open this door." Damon ordered. "I swear to God I'll bust through and rip your head off."
The door did open, but it wasn't Pearl. It was the vampire who attacked him last night, Frederick was his name.
"Pearl's not home. Hmm." Frederick said and then looked up at the sky. "Beautiful weather. Not a ray of sun in the sky."
"Where's my brother?" Damon asked.
Frederick smirked and then stepped aside. He revealed two other vampires from 1864 holding a very injured looking Stefan. He looked at Damon with a pleading gaze. Damon felt his stomach lurch.
"And the girl." Damon said. "Where's the girl?"
Frederick licked his lips, snapping his fingers. In walked in a female vampire, pushing Alex into the room. She had been crying, her face puffy and eyes red. She looked at Damon with those big green eyes and he anger struck him.
"You're dead." Damon said and tried to bolt into the door, but he couldn't. The invisible border keeping him outside, much too far away from Alex.
"Whoa. I'm sorry." Frederick said. "You haven't been invited in. Miss Gibbons?"
In walked in an older looking woman, clad in all kinds if bite wounds. Still, she was smiling. She must have been under some strong compulsion.
"Yes, Frederick, honey?" The woman said.
"Never let this bad man in." Frederick compelled her.
"I'll never let him in." She stated back. Damon gritted his teeth. He looked back to his brother and Alex, both looking weak but Stefan looking the weakest. Alex was fighting with the vampire holding her, but she just wasn't strong enough.
"145 years left starving in a tomb, thanks to Katherine's infatuation with you and your brother." Frederick explained. "First few weeks, every single nerve in your body screams with fire. The kind of pain that can drive a person mad."
Damon glared, while Frederick just smirked.
"Well... I thought your brother might want to get a taste of that before I killed him. Billy." Frederick said.
Then one of the vampires stabbed a wooden stake into Stefan's side. Damon winced, as did Alex. She looked away, back to Damon. She was silently pleading with him to get her out.
"And since you can't come in." Frederick continued. "I guess this will have to do."
He sped over to Alex taking her from the female. She stumbled as he pulled her right in front of Damon. She stared at him, looking him right in the eye. He wanted to reach for her so badly. He wanted to take her far away from this place.
Then, Frederick sunk his teeth into her neck. Damon's eyes widened and Alex screamed. He pushed against the barrier, trying with all of his might to get to her. Frederick then closed the door, his teeth still in Alex.
"You bastard!" Damon yelled, still hearing Alex screaming in pain. He ran back to the car, meeting Elena who jumped out. He had to get in there. He had to save his brother. He had to save Alex.
"What happened?" Elena asked searching. "Where are they?"
"They have them." Damon explained. "I can't get in."
"Why not?" Elena asked.
"Because the woman who owns the house is compelled to not let me in." Damon answered. Elena look at the house.
"I can get in." Elena said and moved to go toward the house, but Damon stopped her.
"You're not going in there." Damon instructed.
"I'm going!" Elena insisted. Damon held her where she stood.
"You're not going in there." He repeated. It was too dangerous. If he let Elena in there, it would just be one more person he had to save.
"Why are they doing this?" Elena asked frantically. "What do they want with them?"
"Revenge." Damon replied. "They want revenge."
"We gotta do something." She said. "They could kill them!"
"I know." Damon said.
"We can't let them hurt them." Elena said. "We gotta get them out of there."
"I know. Elena, I know." Damon said grabbing her face. "But I don't know how to get them out."
Elena stared at him and nodded. He had to come up with a plan. Barging in wasn't going to work. He needed help. Help from someone who killed vampires.
They tied my hands to a chair, along with my feet. I tried with all my might to get away, but with the blood loss and my human strength I couldn't free myself. After they dealt with me, they tied up Stefan, but his roped her soaked in vervain. He dangled from the ceiling by his arms. His ankles were tied together and he hissed at the vervain touched his skin. It was like it burned him.
"Please stop." I begged. "Don't hurt him!"
"He deserves it." Frederick said and then he dropped vervain into Stefan's eye. Stefan groaned in pain and I felt my heart reach out to him.
"This isn't right!" We heard. All of us looked up to see a nice looking man standing by the door. His face was kind, unlike the other vampires I had encountered. He was also upset, upset about how they were treating us.
"He killed Beth-Anne. One of us, Harper. And don't you think for a second he wouldn't kill you if he had the chance." Frederick said. "Pearl says we're not here for revenge, right? I say that's exactly what we're here for. Starting with this."
He then scraped a knife along Stefan's chest, causing an eruption of painful sounds. I screamed at them to stop it, tears pouring from my eyes.
"And then his brother." Frederick said. "And anyone else who gets in our way."
"Let the girl go." The boy said, looking straight at Frederick. "She has nothing to do with this."
Frederick walked up to him, looking him right in the eye. They both looked dangerous in their own way. Frederick screamed evil and danger. He scared me the most. But the other one, he didn't show it as much. His was hidden behind his eyes, but I felt like he could kill just as well as Frederick could.
"Personally, I would like an extra blood bag." Frederick said. "Have to keep myself strong."
"This isn't right." He repeated, grabbing for Frederick. "She has nothing to do with this!"
"You're gonna want to let go of me!" Frederick warned.
"Miss Pearl will be home soon." The other said.
"Miss Pearl is no longer in charge." Frederick said. "Tie him up! And then stake him down."
Frederick then moved back to Stefan, tossing some more vervain on him. Stefan grunted.
Damon and Elena went to the school. No one was there, but one lone car was in the parking lot. Damon went down the hall, startling Alaric Saltzman who made his way to his classroom.
"Well, don't you look... alive?" Damon mused. Alaric tensed.
"You can't hurt me." Alaric said.
"Oh, I can hurt you alright." Damon said, but then Elena appeared. Alaric seemed shocked at her entrance.
"Mr. Saltzman." Elena said. "We need your help."
He hesitated looking between Damon and Elena. He then nodded to his classroom. The two followed him in. Damon went by the window, leaning casually. Elena stood in front of Alaric's desk. He stood behind.
"What can I do for you?" He asked.
"It's Stefan." Elena said. "And Alex, they are in trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" Alaric asked.
"Vampire trouble." Damon said from his place. He couldn't get the sound of Alex's scream out of his head. Frederick better hope Damon didn't find her or his brother dead.
"Stefan and Alex are in this house full of vampires." Elena explained. "Damon's a vampire. He can't get in. We need you. I would go, but..."
"But your life is valuable." Damon said, then looked at Alaric. "Yours on the other hand…"
Alaric glared.
"Stefan told me about your ring." Elena said, looking down at the large ring that he kept on his finger.
"What about it?" Alaric asked.
"Let me recap...You tried to kill me. I defended myself. You died." Damon said. "Then according to my brother, your ring brought you back to life. Am I leaving anything out?"
"Yeah. The part where I try and kill you again." Alaric said. "Only this time, I don't miss."
"Mr. Saltzman. Please. It's Stefan." Elena said. Alaric made a face.
"I'm sorry, Elena." Alaric said. "But it's not my problem."
"But what about Alex?" Elena asked, becoming frustrated. "She's innocent in all of this."
"Then she shouldn't have been hanging out with him." Alaric said pointing to Damon. "I'm sorry. I can't help you."
"That's a shame. Because the woman in charge of the crowd can help you find your wife." Damon urged. Alaric looked up.
"You're lying." Alaric concluded.
"Am I? Why don't you ask her for yourself?" Damon asked. Alaric hesitated. "Coward. Come on, Elena."
There was a pause as Damon led Elena begrudgingly out of the room. He was waiting for Alaric to stop him. The truth was, he couldn't rescue either one without his help. He was hoping he would take the bait.
"Wait." Alaric said. "I'll go."
"I'm so sorry Alex." Stefan said weakly. The other vampires had stepped out, leaving the two of us alone. I looked up at Stefan with knitted eyebrows.
"What are you sorry for?" I asked. He coughed, they had poured vervain down his throat, making it hard for him to talk. I could see his wounds healing, slowly but surely. The vervain wasn't helping. The other boy, was in the chair next to me, hands tied and stakes in his legs.
"This is all my fault." He said. "I shouldn't have involved you or Elena-"
"Stop." I ordered. "Just stop it."
He looked up at me, eyes red. I bet mine were pretty puffy as well. I sighed, shifting. I hissed when the ropes cut into my skin.
"This is not your fault." I said. "You didn't know they were going to take me."
"But danger follows me everywhere I go." He said. "And it followed you."
"I could have walked away." I quipped. "I could have walked away a long time ago. I walked into this."
"You don't deserve it." He said. "Any of it."
"Neither do you." I told him. He made a very painful noise, the vervain ropes still burning him. I winced as I heard his painful cry. I bet that this was part of my torture as well, watching them hurt Stefan. I was kind at heart, and this… this was killing me.
"Do you think he will come back?" I asked suddenly. Stefan looked up. "Damon I mean."
"He'll come back." Stefan said. "Maybe not for me."
"What do you mean?" I asked him. Stefan chuckled. I waited patiently.
"If you haven't noticed… my brother doesn't like me." Stefan said. "But you… he likes you."
I blushed, remembering when Damon said the same thing to me the night before. We kissed, twice. We kissed and I enjoyed it. We kissed and nothing else in the world mattered. But then everything went wrong.
"You bring something out in him that I haven't seen in a long time." Stefan said hoarsely.
"What is that?" I asked Stefan curiously. He looked up and smiled weakly at me.
"His humanity." Stefan replied. I swallowed and nodded. Stefan slumped his head, whimpering again in pain. I looked over to the other boy, who looked to be in almost as much pain as Stefan.
"Thank you." I said to him. "For sticking up for us."
"It was the right thing to do." He said. "You have no part in this."
"What is your name?" I asked him. He looked to me.
"Harper."
Damon sent Alaric up to the front door, while he stood in the back waiting. Elena was in the car, although Damon wasn't sure she would stay there. She had a knack for getting herself in trouble. He knew another Gilbert girl like that. Damon had thought about it, who he would save if he could only choose one.
He should have picked Stefan because he was his brother and all. But his mind kept going to Alex. She couldn't fend for herself, even though she tried. Stefan, although weak, was much stronger than Alex was. So, if he came down to the choice he would get Alex out first. He hoped it didn't have to come to that.
He waited for a while, wondering if Alaric was dead already. That would be hard to explain. But, he was pleasantly surprised when the back door opened and Alaric set the lady who owned the house in front of him.
"Oh, I'm sorry." The woman said once she saw Damon. "He's not allowed in the house."
"I know that." Alaric said. "But you've gotta make an exception."
"Get her out of the house. Now!" Damon said and Alaric pushed her out onto the porch. "Miss Gibbons, tell me the truth. Are you married?"
"No." She answered.
"Parents, children, anyone else who lives on this property?" Damon asked.
"No it's just me." She said.
"Good." Damon said and snapped her neck. He then effortlessly stepped inside the house. Alaric grabbed him by the arm.
"You were supposed to compel her." Alaric whispered.
"It doesn't work like that-" Damon said.
"She's human." Alaric replied.
"And I'm not! So, I don't care." Damon said. "Now, get out of here. And get rid of the body!"
He stepped in, hiding in the closet in the kitchen. They would come in at some point. He would strike then. He waited, and waited until finally he heard someone. They came into the kitchen, and once they were close enough to the door he flung it open. The door hit the vampire and sent him to the ground. Damon then took a stake and stabbed it in the heart. Then he moved. He snuck past them all, sneaking silently through the house.
He eventually found the stairs, going into the cellar. He found another vampire, stabbing it with a vervain dart. He looked and saw Elena hiding in the corner.
"Are you insane?" He asked. She rushed over to him and he let her follow him. They searched through the basement, finally finding where they were holding the two.
"Elena." Stefan mumbled when Elena pushed through the door. Alex looked over her shoulder, a wide smile spreading across her face. Damon crouched in front of her and he started untying her ropes.
"You came back." Alex said. Damon looked up and gave her a look.
"Of course I came back for you pretty girl." He said and continued to untie her ropes. Behind him, Elena was working on freeing Stefan. Once he freed Alex, she stood up and went to Harper in the other chair. She pulled the stakes from his legs and untied his hands. He thanked her and Damon felt himself smile at her kindness.
"There's vervain on the ropes." Stefan said hoarsely.
"Elena, pull that." Damon said. Once she did, Stefan fell onto Damon's chest. He then transferred him over to Elena and they began to move. Alex was right behind Damon, sticking as close to him as possible. He reached back and grabbed her hand.
"Can you get him to the car?" Damon asked Elena.
"Yeah." She replied moving for the stairs.
"Alright go." Damon said.
"What about you?" Elena asked.
"You rescue." Damon said. "I'll distract."
"I'm not leaving without you." Alex said. Damon huffed and turned to grab her face.
"As noble as that is I have to insist you leave." Damon said. She shook her head. "If you don't go you will die."
"What if you die?" She asked him. He sighed.
"I won't die on you." He said. "I promise."
Alex searched his face for a while before she nodded. He watched her help Elena pull Stefan up the stairs. She looked back to him once more and then he disappeared.
Elena and I rushed Stefan to the car, trying to hold him up and not slip on the wet ground. It was easier said than done. I could see the car in sight and felt relieve wash over me. Although I then thought of Damon, being all alone in that house. What if he died?
I didn't have much time to dwell on it, because Elena pushed Stefan into the car and she urged me to hop into the back. I did as she said and once we were inside she locked the door. However, she didn't start the car. She just sat there.
"What's wrong?" I asked. But I got my answer when a hand broke the window and pulled Stefan out of the car. It was Frederick, and he was beating on an already injured Stefan. Elena and I jumped from the car, seeing Frederick stabbing Stefan with a long stick.
"No!" Elena yelled and stabbed a vervain tranquilizer dart into Fredericks back. He fell to the ground and Elena ran for Stefan. He didn't wake up, no matter what she tried. I stood there watching, feeling my heart sink when I heard Frederick move behind me.
"Elena…." I said looking at him. He twitched. I looked back to Elena and she was pushing her wrist to Stefan's mouth.
"Elena, run." Stefan said.
"No, Stefan my wrist." She said. "You need more blood."
"Please run." Stefan begged. But Elena didn't quit.
"I trust you." She said. And with that Stefan bit into her wrist.
Damon and Alaric finished off the vampires in the house, but now they were surrounded by other tomb vampires outside of the house.
"So, what you said to get me to do this, about my wife." Alaric got his attention. "It was a lie, wasn't it?"
"Yup." Damon replied. But suddenly they heard footsteps, and then a female voice.
"Stop. What's going on here?" Pearl said as she came through the house. She saw the dead vampires and looked up to Damon. "What did you do?"
"Me? Your merry little band of vampires spent the day torturing my brother and my…. A girl I know." Damon explained.
"Trust me." Pearl said. "The parties responsible for this will be dealt with."
"Our little arrangement doesn't work unless you learn to control them." Damon said pointing a stake at Pearl's throat.
"This wasn't supposed to happen." Pearl admitted. She looked embarrassed and ashamed, but Damon wasn't buying it.
"Well, it did. If I had a good side..." Damon said. "Not a way to get on it."
He and Alaric then pushed past Pearl and walked through the door. But then Damon poked his head back in.
"By the way…" Damon said. "If one of your little slaves comes after Alex Gilbert again… you will all die."
"Elena!" I screamed when Frederick got up. He set his eyes on me, I was the closest target. He grabbed me by the neck, choking me. I tried to call out for help but I couldn't breathe. However, the pressure was gone in a minute. Elena ran to my side as I collapsed to the ground. I looked up and saw Stefan had risen, taking Frederick on. He had him up against a tree and he was stabbing a tree limb into his heart several times.
"Stefan." Elena said stopping him. Stefan turned with his vampire face still visible. Elena flinched but once he looked at her, his face returned to normal and he dropped Frederick to the ground.
"Nice work brother." I heard Damon's voice behind me. In a second I stood up and threw myself at him. He caught me effortlessly, holding me to his chest tightly. I held onto him for dear life, so happy that this was all over stroked my hair, cooing in my ear.
"Let's get you home." He said to me.
He took me to my house, walking me inside. My mom was there and she attacked me with a hard hug. Damon left, but I knew that he was in my bedroom, waiting for me. I told my mom that the guy took me, but that I was ok and Damon took care of it. She cried, holding me until I told her I needed to go to bed. She reluctantly let me go, promising to check on me every so often. I made my way to my room, shutting the door quietly behind me.
"She was scared to death." Damon said. He was sitting on the edge of my bed. I made my way over to him. "You're her life."
"Yeah." I said. "She's my best friend."
"Could you imagine what would have happened to her if you died?" He asked, not looking at me. He had his hands folded and he was glaring at the floor. I went to him, slowly slipping down to sit next to him.
"But that didn't happen." I said looping my arm through his. "You saved me."
He shook his head and stood up. I was startled by his sudden movement. It was like he wanted to get as far away from me as possible, but I couldn't get close enough.
"You could have died today." He said. I nodded.
"But I didn't-"
"But you could have." He repeated. He started to pace.
"Damon what is going on?" I asked. I had been under the impression that after my rescue that he and I… we would… well I didn't know what we would do. But I never expected this.
"You could have died." He said again. "You could have died."
"But I didn't." I said standing in front of him. I gripped his arms and he stopped, staring into my eyes. "I didn't die."
"You have a mom who adores you." He said. "Friends who love you. You have a life."
"Well yeah…" I said. "But what does that have to do with-"
"Did you ever think why they took you?" He asked. I swallowed. I knew why they took me. They wanted to get to Damon. If they took me, they were betting he would come and they could attack him. They were using me as leverage.
"Yeah… But Damon-" I began.
"It's me." He said pointing to himself. "It's all because of me."
"You couldn't have predicted this." I said. "Damon it's not your fault."
"Yes it is." He said and pulled away from me. "I can't be the one who tells your mother that you were murdered. I would never live with myself if I had to see that."
"What are you saying?" I asked. He looked up at me and then he took my shoulders into his hands. He looked me deep in the eye.
"I'm no good for you." He said. I had heard that one before.
"I don't care." I said, my voice becoming weaker.
"I'm dangerous." He said.
"I don't care." I repeated.
"I will kill you." He said. My lips parted. "Inadvertently I will get you killed."
I swallowed. That was probably true. Everywhere Damon went, danger followed. But I still couldn't bring myself to care. All I knew were my feelings for him and that they were growing every day.
"I can live with that." I said. Damon scoffed. I cupped his cheek, making him look at me. "Damon… I don't care about all of that. I want you."
"Well stop." He barked. He then turned to leave. I stopped him.
"I thought you liked me?" I said. "Did all of that mean nothing to you?"
"If I say yes will you drop this?" He asked. I shook my head. "You have too much to live for to be involved with me."
"But I want-" I began but he put his finger up to my lip to shush me.
"You need for me to leave you alone." He said. "And I will do that."
"Don't you walk away." I begged, tears in my eyes. "Damon…"
"This is my way of protecting you Alex." He said. "So… stay away."
"You don't want that." I said. "You don't want me to stay away."
I watched his back go rigid. He then sped to me and I felt the cool metal of my bracelet leave my wrist. I reached for it, but he held it out of my reach.
"Don't do this." I begged.
"I need to protect you." He said. "I do like you Alex."
"Then stop!" I almost yelled. "I don't want to forget. Please don't make me forget!"
"I have to." He said. "I don't want you around me."
"You don't want me around you." I repeated.
"I am a danger to you." He said.
"You are a danger to me." I repeated. He then swallowed, and I saw the sadness in his eyes.
"You can't be with me." He said weakly.
"I can't be with you." I said. Then Damon kissed my forehead and slipped my bracelet back on my wrist. He was gone then. Even with his compulsion it still hurt. I knew now that he was a danger to me, he didn't want me around, and I couldn't be with him. But he didn't take the feeling or the hurt away.
I ran to my mother's room, crawling into her bed. She held me close and let me cry. I cried until darkness over took me. And that night, I dreamed of Damon.