Eloise is eleven hours and forty minutes into a twelve hour drive when she finally reaches the big, green Welcome to Mystic Falls! sign. It disappears in a blink as Eloise speeds her Jeep down the surprisingly not so shitty main road leading into the town where Damon was born and raised and eventually killed.
There's a travel mug full of coffee in Eloise's cup holder, half full of stale coffee that she'd gotten at her last gas stop about three hours back. She's not a big coffee drinker but Eloise had needed something to keep her awake, so she'd gotten the biggest cup of coffee she could get her hands on and a bag of lays potato chips which now lays empty in her passenger seat.
While they'd tasted great at the time Eloise thinks that what she really wants is some real food and a bed to sleep in. Both of which she can get at the boarding house much to Eloise's relief. She isn't sure she wants to starve longer then strictly necessary, and going to the local diner to order food would take way more social interaction then the young witch is currently capable of.
So she continues driving until her GPS leads her down a long driveway leading to Damon's home.
"Arrived." Her GPS chirps, the incredibly monotone voice grating on Eloise's nerves.
She pulls off to the side of the circle drive, not entirely sure where she should actually be parking, and turns off her car. Eloise doesn't get out right away, instead she sits and stares at the house in front of her because Eloise has seen some pretty beautiful houses but Damon's is stunning. Not that it can actually be considered a house per say.
When she's had enough of feeling like a complete creep Eloise gets out of her car, grabs her things, and makes her way to the front door.
Damon hadn't told her whether or not he'd left a key when he'd talked to her around lunch so Eloise checks the more obvious places one might hide a key but when her search turns up empty Eloise merely rolls her eyes and presses her hand against the door knob before muttering under her breath. There's a low scrape as the door unlocks which makes her smile despite her annoyance.
Even she's smart enough to ward her fucking apartment against intruders.
It's obviously something she and Damon are going to have words about later on seeing as he's not actually home at the moment.
But just to be sure, "Honey! I'm home!"
When no one answers her, admittedly, too jovial cry Eloise steps into the house with her things and shuts the front door behind her.
If she'd thought the outside of the house was nice the inside is even better. Dark wood, red decor, and antiques everywhere. Seriously, half of the stuff decorating the walls could have probably paid for Eloise's entire fall tuition, books included, simply due to the fact that it's old and obviously from different periods of time. A good deal of the decor is obviously from the Civil War era but there's bits from the twenties scattered around too, as well as some lovely bits of pottery and art that must have come from somewhere very much not America.
Eloise can honestly say she's impressed.
First things first, Eloise drags her bags up the stairs to the second floor and hesitantly makes her way to the spare bedroom Damon had told her was ready. After a few goes at it Eloise does find her new room. She spares a moment to admire it before tossing her bags onto the bed to be sorted out later, you know, after she's eaten something that isn't saturated in sugar or salt.
So back into the kitchen she goes, fingers digging into her pocket to fish out her phone so that she can call Miranda and maybe even shoot Damon a text message to let him know she made it safe and sound. She thinks he'd probably appreciate it.
He worries a bit too much in Eloise's expert opinion.
But Miranda worries more, which is why she's the first person Eloise calls once she's got herself a sandwich and a glass of water.
Exactly three rings and a bite later Eloise is greeted with the chipper sound of her roommate's voice.
"Did you make it?" Miranda asks, sounding both mildly concerned that Eloise might not have made it and annoyed that she'd only just now decided to call to let Miranda know if she'd made it or not.
"Yeah, I'm helping myself to Damon's lovely stash of food."
"Not his bourbon?"
"Dude, I just spend twelve hours in a car."
"Your point?"
"I'm tired and as soon as I finish up my sandwich I'm going to bed. I'll steal Damon's precious bourbon tomorrow when we're discussing Klaus Mikaelson and little miss Doppelganger."
A pause, then, "You're such a pansy."
There's fondness there so Eloise doesn't bother to feign offense. Instead she just smiles and says around a mouthful of sandwich says, "How was work today?"
"Boring. I don't understand how you do it all day. There was literally one customer today Eloise! One!" Miranda moans.
"Oh! Was it Mrs. Berti?"
"No... It was some old dude."
"What'd he want?"
"Well, he bought some herbs and ingredients from the upper level. Something to do with warding? I don't know, he was boring."
Eloise rolls her eyes, "Do you only pay attention to the ones that aren't boring?"
"I only pay attention to the boring ones when they give me the jeebies." Miranda replies, and Eloise can practically see her smirk.
A quick glance at the stove tells Eloise it's entirely too late for her to continue carrying on a conversation with as little sleep as she's had. So it's with a reluctant sigh that she bids her roommate goodbye, cleans up her mess, and trudges back up to the spare bedroom where she pulls out a pair of cotton shorts and a ratty old t-shirt to sleep in.
She's out seconds after her head hits the pillow.
~X~
"Ellie? You awake?"
Something soft pokes her in the cheek.
"Ellie?"
Swatting blindly at whatever's poking her Eloise somehow manages to connect with warm, supple leather and a lean frame.
"That hurt Ellie."
The bed dips beside her as Damon, because now that she's awake she can recognize the voice, drops onto the bed and curls around Eloise's body. It's nice, Eloise likes cuddling, so she shifts around so Damon is forced to wrap his arms around her to keep from being pushed off the bed and tucks her head under his chin. He smells like Old Spice and a woman's perfume.
"What time is it?"
"Ten-thirty, give or take, I figured you'd probably want something to eat before I introduce you to the mystery gang." Damon replies, fingers already working to very gently untangle the mess of Eloise's hair.
"That's surprisingly sweet of you."
"I can be a surprisingly sweet guy."
Eloise hums softly but doesn't move to get out of bed despite knowing it's well past time she did. Getting up now would give her time to eat a healthy breakfast and talk to Damon about everything that's been going on in Mystic Falls before she has to meet with the doppelganger and the rest of the people who will be popping in and out of Eloise's life for the next couple of weeks.
But her bed's so damn comfy and Damon's warm.
"Alright," Damon grunts, "come on."
Suddenly she's being pulled into Damon's arms and lifted up into the air, tossed over his shoulder like some sort of life-sized-rag-doll. It earns the raven haired vampire a light swat to the lower back which doesn't seem to do anything but amuse him, much to Eloise's chagrin. She's too tired to fight him off though and so she allows the older man to cart her into the kitchen where he drops her into a stool in front of the island.
Eloise crosses her arms on the counter top and drops her head into the cradle she's created.
"What do you want, Ellie?"
"To die."
"You know, considering what we're up against that might happen."
"A pancake!" Eloise moans, trying not to think about her upcoming graphic murder. "Just make me blueberry pancakes."
"Blueberry pancakes coming right up, princess."
The next few minutes are full of Damon shuffling around the kitchen while he gathers all of the necessary items to support Eloise's unhealthy obsession with various pancakes. She'd have ordered crepes if she was confident Damon would be able to make them properly but... Well, Damon's good at a great many things - emotional support being one of them - but he's lacking in the crepe making department.
While Damon makes breakfast Eloise shuffles over to the coffee machine to pour herself a big ole cup of inky goodness.
She drops an ice cube into her coffee because she's not a savage, ok? She's perfectly content not burning her tongue to hell and back. Damon doesn't seem to agree, however, because he raises an eyebrow at her and shakes his head like he's ashamed of her. Which is ridiculous. Eloise is perfect.
"And a shit ton of blueberry pancakes for the pretty brunette with the big eyes. Eat up buttercup." Damon commands as he places a plate in front of Eloise.
Eloise digs in after flipping the older man off.
The taste of absolutely way too much syrup and the equally sweet tang of blueberries explodes on Eloise's tongue, causing the young witch to moan in absolute delight. Swallowing so as not to look like a complete heathen in the next couple of second Eloise levels Damon with a look.
"Marry me and I will be the best fucking witchy wife you've ever had. All you'll ever have to do is supply me with coffee and blueberry pancakes... And strawberry crepes on my birthday... Or, you know, whenever."
"I've never actually learned to make crepes, you know." Damon remarks.
"Never mind, you're a damn heathen." Eloise jabs her fork in the vampire's direction to emphasize a point. "Where's the other brother? You know, veggie vamp? The pretty boy?"
"Stuck in the tomb with Katherine."
"Well, that's unfortunate."
Eloise got a call a few months back just raging over the fact that Katherine - the woman Damon loved, the woman Damon died for, the woman who turned him - was not actually desiccating in the Tomb and was, in fact, prancing around being a back stabbing bitch while Damon pined after her for the better part of his immortal life. Now, this hadn't been news to Eloise at the time as she'd sold enough magic to people who knew Katherine but... Well, she hadn't known how to tell Damon at the time. When she'd said as much to him after he'd bled his heart out the older vampire hadn't talked to Eloise for an entire two weeks before he'd shown up on her doorstep one night and they'd got piss roaring drunk in her living room.
Damon cried, it was very touching.
"Yeah... Think you could, uh, you know? Get him out?"
"Have you met me? The real question is do you want him let out of that tomb?" Eloise asks.
She has not personal connection to Stefan, no loyalty to him either. If she's being frank Eloise's loyalty lies in Miranda and Damon. They're the only people Eloise has ever really been able to trust as they've never used her for their own agendas without telling her and have never stabbed her in the back. Loyalty breeds loyalty and all that.
If Damon doesn't want Eloise to get Stefan out of the tomb then she won't... Even if it doesn't really sit well with Eloise's own morals.
Before Damon can answer the cell phone on the counter goes off, a short series of beeps shattering the quiet calm of the kitchen before Damon can answer.
Eloise turns her attention back to her now soggy pancakes and continues eating while Damon talks to some witch - probably the Bennett witch - about locking the doppleganger up in her house. Which is, admittedly, a really good idea considering what she tried to do the night before.
"Get dressed, we're going on a field trip." Damon commands after he's hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket.
With a two fingered salute Eloise jumps off the stool, makes her way to her room, and sifts through her suitcase. She ends up pulling out a light weight black knit crop top, a pair of dark wash high waist jeans, and a pair of ankle boots. Comfortable, yet, she'll look hot as hell. Perfect combination. Slipping into the bathroom Eloise changes before brushing her teeth and throwing her hair up into a bun.
Damon's waiting for her when she come trotting down the stairs. He's got a duffel bag in one hand and a travel cup of coffee in the other. Eloise smiles as she takes it from him.
They leave pretty quickly after that. Loading up into Damon's car and heading to the tomb where Eloise waits in the car so that Katherine doesn't find out about her, that way she can't do something stupid like sell Eloise out in exchange for her freedom. It's cute that Damon can work himself up enough to come up with something like that considering Katherine probably already knows about her... Eloise still takes the opportunity to flip through Damon's tunes and replace the crappy ones with some of her own.
He'll thank her later.
Totally.
Eloise is in the middle of a wicked air drum solo when Damon slides back into the car and tosses a water bottle full of blood onto the floor at Eloise's feet.
"Uh, Damon, real suede." a pointed look at her absolutely adorable taupe booties. "If that shit leaks you're buying me a pair of Louboutins."
"Yeah, yeah, you ready to meet dopplelicious?"
"Totally! We can bond over what a jerk you are."
She thinks she catches Damon muttering words like bloodthirsty and savages and fashion but ignores it in favor of watching the roads they take to get to the doppleganger's house. It's a pretty straightforward route and the girl's house is pretty standard, or, it would be if it wasn't for the slight sizzle of magic surging across Eloise's skin as she steps out of the car.
A quick glance up and down the street is the only precaution Eloise takes before trotting after Damon, who's left her standing on the front lawn like an idiot while he opens up the front door.
"At least give me two points for ingenuity." She hears Damon say as she steps into the house and pulls the door shut behind her.
"Do you think this is funny?"
"Yeah, Elena, I find hilarity in the lengths that I have to go to to repeatedly save your life."
Deciding to give the two a minute Eloise begins the lovely task of snooping through the doppleganger's house to make sure there isn't anything nasty that the other witch might have missed. She doubts there is but she knows a witch who likes to mess with people's heads by cursing their microwaves. Eloise has also been known to use a lovely little spell that allows her to spy on people through their mirrors.
Ok, look, it sounds really bad but Eloise had good fucking reason for doing it and while some of the stuff she's seen through the mirrors are absolutely disgusting she's managed to save her ass once or twice by doing it.
And maybe now she can save Elena or the rest of her family.
With a sigh Eloise sticks her index finger in her mouth, steps up to a hallway mirror, pops her finger out of her mouth, and then proceeds to trace her saliva slick finger around the edge where the glass meets the frame. She pours her objective into the spell and the slight shimmer of the mirror before it settles is the only thing that tells Eloise her spell worked.
She proceeds to do it in every single room of the house.
Because she's thorough.
Smiling, Eloise makes her way to the living room where Damon is mocking the doppleganger, the doppleganger is glaring at Damon, and a boy whom Eloise believes to be Jeremy merely uses his sister's lap as a pillow. The two humans jump when they notice her.
"Oh, right, forgot about you." Damon rolls his eyes and Eloise can't help but think that he is such a raging dick. "Doppleganger, human, this is the best witch... Best witch, this is the doppleganger and her brother."
Eloise raises a hand to wave and says, "Pleasure to meet you."
Damon snorts before grabbing her raised hand and dragging her from the house. Once they're out in the yard and close enough to the car that neither of the human occupants of the house will be able to hear them Damon turns to her.
"You do anything productive?" He snips as he holds open the door.
"I mean, I kind of hope that Elena doesn't do anything immoral anywhere with a mirror in the room." Eloise makes sure to pull her compact mirror - it's covered in blue crystals and looks like a sea shell - out of her purse to wave in Damon's face.
He just winks at her and says, "Always found it fun to take risks."
"You're a pig." Eloise groans.
"Hope you're hungry pretty lady."
"My stomach is a ravenous pit that can never be satisfied."
"Good, cause we're meeting a friend at the Grill."
Eloise sighs, she knew what she was getting into when she came to help Damon but... Meeting all of these people in one day and not actually interacting is exhausting.
"You're paying."
"Excuse me?"
"Hey, I'm the one that had to pay to fill my gas guzzler. You can fork out a twenty for a burger and fries."
Beside her Damon huffs out a breath and shakes his head before turning onto the main road and heading into town.
~X~
Alaric Saltzman seems to be the only one actually expecting Eloise aside from Damon. When the dark haired vampire introduces Eloise in typical Damon fashion Alaric just offers up a polite smile and shakes her hand before thanking her for coming.
Eloise finds that she rather likes Alaric "Call me Ric." Saltzman.
She likes him very much.
But she also likes Matt, the boy who isn't actually friends with Damon but likes Ric and serves her her burger with a giant grin and a wink. If she weren't, you know, able to drink legally Eloise might have been tempted to get to know Matt in a more personal way. But alas, it isn't going to happen. Eloise consuls herself by devouring her burger and scarfing down her fries.
It isn't until a pretty woman with tanned skin walks into the Grill that Eloise really starts paying attention.
"Where is Mason anyway?" Ric asks.
"Decomposing in his truck."
Ok, gross, but not gross enough to discourage her from finishing her smoothie.
"So you think she's a werewolf?"
"Well, I hope not being that it's a full moon and all Ric." Damon hisses.
"She's a werewolf." Eloise confirms.
"Are your spidey senses tingling?" Damon asked, wide eyes full of mockery.
Eloise rolls her eyes but doesn't give him a response.
Damon doesn't seem bothered, he just reaches into his pocket and shakes a bag of wolfsbane at Ric.
"Well, we'd better be sure."
"What is that?" Ric asks and he sounds mildly put out.
"Wolfsbane."
What happens next is like a giant train wreck happening in slow motion. Eloise isn't sure why Damon didn't just take her word for it but she watches passively as shit gets ready to hit the fan.
Ric waltzes up to the werewolf, plays the perfect drunk, and when the pretty lady starts getting uncomfortable Damon shows up to rescue the fair maiden. He's good at that, actually, rescuing people. Eloise thinks it's one of the reasons they click so well... Still doesn't mean she's really ok with what Damon's about to do to that woman. And as she watches Ric stir in the wolfsbane Eloise determine's to let Damon dig himself out of his own grave.
She knows that if anything bad actually happens she'll be the first one to step up to defend Damon but it's still a nice thought to let him scramble.
Eloise isn't sure how long she sits there but she and Ric have a lovely conversation about world history and a couple of drinks. The witch goes to dig around in her purse for a couple of bills to tip Matt with when she catches sight of her compact mirror. It's shaking slightly, not enough to be noticeable but enough. Eloise is quick to excuse herself and run to the bathroom.
Locking the bathroom door Eloise digs out her compact, flips it open, and swallows harshly when she sees a tall man with dark hair interacting with the doppleganger.
"Klaus' obsessions have made him paranoid, he's a recluse, he trusts only those in his immediate circle."
Eloise snaps the compact closed and books it out to the main part of the restaurant to where Ric is sitting.
"I need you keys. Now." Eloise snaps even though she's already snatching them out of his coat pocket. "Catch a ride with Damon, I have to be somewhere."
Before the man can reply Eloise is walking for the front door and Ric can't rush after her because it could cause a scene and he may be forced to leave Damon alone with the werewolf. Eloise trusts Ric to protect Damon. So she doesn't even spare him a backward glance as she slips out of the bar and into the crisp night air.