Chapter Eight

Alexandra

I haven't talked to Jenna in over three days. I've just talked to Jeremy and Elena. Plus Jeremy has a new person in his life. Which is great because he needs to stop worrying about Vicky, although Damon told him she left town.

Damon. He's been great since I found out that Elena and I are adopted. Stefan has been helping her and Damon has been helping me. Speaking of which, Damon is talking to me right now, same with Stefan.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" I ask.

"Do you remember anything about that man?"

"Black hoodie, black boots. That's it. Well for apperance. I remember the cracking noise his bones made. It was so loud and vivid." I close my eyes to try and forget it. I feel a hand on my back and I open my eyes to see whose hand it is. It's Elena's. "The noise was like cracking your knuckles or neck or popping your fingers. It was ten times louder and I just can't deal with it. I wanted to throw up." Elena runs her fingers back and forth across me back as they ask me questions.

I see Stefan pulling out a wooden box. Elena get's curious, as do I. I'm sure Damon knows what it is.

"It's a box full of jewlery to give to family and friends. All of the jewlery contains vervain. You both know what vervain is." We nod. "This one is for Jeremy." Stefan says, handing it to me. I lean back into the couch and turn to meet Damon's eyes. I smile and wink. He smirks and shifts so he's a little closer to me. I look back to Stefan and Elena as they pick out which pieces of jewlery to give to who.

"I've got one for you. Stefan thought it would appropriate for me to give it to you rather than himself." I turn back towards Damon and grin.

"Go get it." I tell him. He's gone in a second and not back for three more. By then I've turned to Elena and Stefan, they were showing the heart pendant that they were going to give to Caroline to me when Damon got back. He carefully picks up my hand, and I leave it suspended in the air as he puts a gorgeous silver charm braclet on my right wrist.

"I know," he says. Damon's cocky as always.

"Are you sure Stefan had you give it to me? Are you sure it wasn't just you wanting to spend more time with me?" I snicker and turn back to Stefan and Elena.

"I always want to spend time with you."

" 'Lena, Alexandra! Money!" I heard Jer yell from downstairs. I make my way out of my room and down the stairs with money.

"Here you go," I say. I take the pizza and the pizza guy steps out of our house. "Are you going to the fifties dance tomorrow?" I ask Jeremy.

"Was planning on it. I'm going to help out so I can raise my history grade. Mr. Saltzman is so cool. He erased all of my past grades and gave me a fresh start by letting me write a paper about some aspect of the history of this town. It was a lot of fun. That's when I met Anna."

"That's good!" I'm glad. I would have kicked his ass if he kept that jackass file. That was rude and uncalled for. It's wrong of a teacher to do that." Jer nods. "Alright. I'm going to take my two slices and go upstairs have fun with your video games or whatever you're doing." He nods and I go up to my room to finish picking out tomorrow outfit for the fifties dance.

When I walk in my room, it's clean instead of a mess like before and there's an outfit sitting on my bed. It's perfect for the dance. Damon, you are a llife saver.

'Thank you!' I text to him.

'Anytime.'

'Want a slice of pizza?' I'm sure he was shrugging. Like always. Like every man in the world.

'Sure.'

"Hello," he whispers into me ear. I jump and turn towards him. "Scared you, didn't I?"

"Oh hush. So have you had any luck finding this guy?" Damon shakes his head. "Awesome."

"Don't worry, your pretty little head about any of it. It'll all be fine." He lays on my bed and grabs a slice of pizza to eat.

The next day at school, I found Caroline and told her I had a present for her.

"Is this some lesbian friend thing, cause we're freaky like that?" She grins and giggles. I laugh too.

"I just wanted to give you a gift." I hold out the necklace, full of vervain, to her and she takes it, immediately falling in love with it. "Hope you like it. It's from Elena and I."

"I love it! Thank you!"

"Of course Care!" I laugh and we sat down. "So you and Matt?" I noticed after the whole Damon biting thing that she moved on to my sister's ex. Which is fine with me. While I liked Matt, I think I like Stefan better.

"We've hung out a couple times, we've peaked as friends but this is weird! I shouldn't be talking to you about this. He's your sister's ex!"

"But, secret between you and I, I think I like Stefan better as Elena's boyfriend than I do Matt. Matt is sweet and caring and the perfect boyfriend but we've known him our entire lives. I think that's a bit weird. Plus they were best friends before hand."

"Yeah, that is weird. I would like Stefan better too."

"But we're both fine with it. She just wants you and Matt to be happy and if it's with each other then by all means go for it!"

"It's all about her," Caroline mutters.

"What do you mean, Care?"

"Matt's not over her. And we all can see it. Don't pretend you haven't seen his looks in the hallway."

"Elena's crazy about Stefan. Sure she still wants to be friends with Matt, but it's all about Stefan now. Matt knows he's got to move on and I'm sure he has. You're the girl to get him to date again. To be in a relationship."

"Really?"

"Yes."

I walk out of The Grill. Slow day, so I got my food quickly, did my homework quickly. It was quiet and nice. My phone starts ringing as I walk over to Jenna's car. She's letting me borrow it and I appreciate it, I just wish she would have told us sooner about the adoption.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hello Alexandra, what a pretty name," a dark, sinister voice says.

I stop in the middle of the road. "Who is this?"

"You hit me with your car." My stomach flips and I begin to get nervous. "I see you got another." I turned and saw a person in all black on his phone walking toward me. I couldn't see his face but he was stalking toward me. "You got away from me. You wont next time." I raced to my car and then to the boarding house. Stefan and Damon have to know about this.

Elena was already there when I arrived. I rushed in, my head spinning. They were on the couch talking when I burst in.

"Oh my God, I just saw him."

"That guy you ran over?" Elena asks.

I nod. "He called me as I was walking out of The Grill and I turned to see him stalking towards me when he said, 'you got away from me, you wont next time' in a sinister voice." I was genuinely scared. I couldn't stop shaking. I think it was only Stefan and Elena here, which was cool with me. I wouldn't want Damon seeing me shaking and scared out of my mind. I barely want Stefan to see it. "Why me? What does he want with me? And why call first?"

"We're predators, Alexandra. We hunt, we stalk. It's often as exciting as the kill," Stefan explains and Damon comes bouncing in the door. Originally probably going to his room but sees me and how nervous I am, deciding that he was going to sit with me.

"What's up, Allie?" He says softly as he sits next to me, keeping a fair distance.

"The man she hit with the car is stalking her," Stefan clarifies.

"How does he know my name?"

"Public record? Compelling someone for the information," Damon suggests. Stefan shrugs.

"I want you both to take this," Stefan says, handing Jer's pocket watch to Elena.

"This is Jeremy's pocket watch. Where'd you get it?" she asks.

"I got it from Damon, who got it from Logan, who probably got it from you. It's not just a watch. It's a compass, sort of. It points to vampires. He opens it and let's the arrow point to him and click into place.

"Why did our father have it?"

Damon spoke up this time. "The Gilberts were one of the founding families and back in 1864, they were among those who sought out the vampires in the town. It was used to find and eradicate vampires."

"I want you two to keep this to keep yourselves safe." We nod.

"You staying here, 'Lena?"

"Stefan will drop me off later." I nod and go back to the car, Damon following me. I turn towards him and look him in the eyes.

"I'm scared."

"It's okay, but you don't have to be." I gave him a look. "Do you really think I'd let anything or anyone harm you," he asks, pushing a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

"Thank you." I wipe a tear that fell onto my face. "I'm going to go. Thank you again."

Later, when Elena got home, we talked to Jenna about being adopted.

"Your mom was going to tell you two."

"If our mom was here now, she'd tell us," I tell Jenna angrily.

"Your dad was at the office when a young girl came in. She was in labor with you two and he delivered. He lent her a place to stay but a few days later, she was gone. He didn't know what to do. Him and your mother were trying to get pregnant but nothing was working so she took the chance and kept you both. If anyone wanted proof, their names were on the certificate."

"What was the girl's name?" Elena asks.

"Isobel."

Elena and I were having a blast getting ready for the dance tonight at school. It's a Friday night and we've got the whole weekend ahead of us. She's probably going to be with Stefan. Me? No clue. Maybe Damon will entertain me.

"So who's even taking you to the dance?"

"I'm a proud Gilbert girl, so I'm taking myself. Unless Jer is going to skip out on his plea to his history teacher."

"Are we even Gilberts anymore?"

"I'd like to think we are. Mostly because I will always lo... why is that thing moving around?" I ask. The compass arrow is spinning around. "Call Stefan," I say. She nods and down just that. I go downstairs and investigate.

The scary part of the investigation is that someone grabs my shoulders, and pushes me into the wall, hand around my throat, teeth at my neck. I build a scream but I don't feel anymore pressure before I can let it out. I hear two vampires going at it. Fighting that is, not sex. I open my eyes when I hear the door slam shut. Damon is standing in front of me, checking to see if I'm okay.

"My goodness, that was scary. How'd you get over here so fast?"

"Ran. Stefan should be here in a couple seconds. Let's sit down." He guides me over to the couch and we sit with Elena sitting across from us on the other couch. When Stefan arrive his fair mood is immediately put off by the dreary, scared emotion in the room.

"Are you okay?" He asks Elena and I. We both nod and Damon gets up. He tells Stefan everything and Stefan returns to sit next to Elena as Damon keeps standing.

"Did he say what he wanted?" Damon asks.

"No, he was too busy trying to kill me to make conversation." I snap.

"How'd he get in?"

"Posed as a pizza delivery guy last night," Elena answers.

"Points for creativity," Damon answers. I slap him as he passes to sit back down next to me. "Hey, I'm serious."

"And you have no idea who this guy is?" Stefan asks.

"No." Stefan nods, but he's not buying it. "Don't look at me like that, I told you we had company."

"Do you think there's more than one?" Elena frightenly asks.

"We don't know," Damon says.

"Damon, he was invited in." Damon nods. "Then we go get him tonight. You up for it?" Stefan asks us.

"What do I have to do?" Elena and I ask at the same time.

"Let your boyfriend take you to the dance. I'll take Alexandra. And we'll see who shows up. Till we get him, this house isn't safe. For anyone who lives in it," Damon says, pointedly looking at me. I shrug.

"You sure this is a good idea? You taking me to the dance?" I ask, smoothing out my new poodle skirt. It's pink and long and I love it. My top matches but is silk, not wool like the skirt. I'm in the car with Damon as he is driving us to the dance. He went home and got his car while I changed into my outfit. "You're supposed to be what? Twenty-three, twenty-four?"

"So?"

"So, the student population and the staff population, of like fifty, will give me a bad reputation. Same with Elena. If they knew how old you two really are, they'd all have heart attacks, you old man."

"Don't call me an old man."

"You're 170 years old."

"So?"

"So, you're old."

"I've met people much older than that. Like 800 years old. It's amazing. The older we are, the stronger."

"That really doesn't make any sense if you think about it from a human's perspective. Once you start getting old, you break down and wear out. Not grow physically stronger with old age."

"I guess you're right, but I just like this whole age/strength seniority thing going on. It feels good," Damon tells me.

"What, knowing you can beat me in an arm wrestling competition? News flash, if you were human, you'd still be able to do it."

"Wimp."

"It's not my fault I've never seen this town as a threat."

"Well it is at the moment and we need to get a move on because Stefan and Elena like to make a big entrance where ever they go so let's go." I nod and we get out of the car. I rest my hand in the crook of Damon's elbow and Elena did the same to Stefan as we walk in.

All eyes are on us. Mostly because we've got gorgeous men on our arms.

"They're all staring. Wait a couple are glaring," I say.

"You're the only one I see," Damon says looking at me. Damon crushed my fears of bad rumors going around when he pulled me into the dance floor with him, making me dance with him. He started dancing according to the music, which was a slow song, thank goodness. But since I can't dance, I'm on top of his feet. He holds me tightly as we dance.

"Can't you sense other vampires or something?"

"It doesn't work that way." I sigh and lean my chin on his shoulder, I can just barely look over his shoulder which is good so I can keep a look out. "Do you see him yet?"

"Not unless he's wearing a pompadour."

"Not one of the better fashion trends back then."

"Come on, I bet you looked great in the fifties." I giggle. He doesn't answer. "Are there pictures? Please tell me you didn't get rid of them!"

"Gone, all gone. That's the one thing Stefan is good for. He burned them all."

"What was it like? In my head, I have this picture of somewhere between 'American Bandstand' and 'Grease' and it's all varsity sweaters, poodle skirts, and milkshakes."

"Well that and you know, the McCarthyism, segregation, and nuclear arms race." He acts as if all of that was nothing compared to the world now. "There were poodle skirts." I smiled.

"You've got to teach me some dance moves from the fifties!"

"Nope. Not going to happen."

"Don't you want to show Stefan up? I hear he's gonna show my sister some moves if she asks."

"Maybe later," he suggests, smirking. I roll my eyes as the song ends. "Can I get you a drink? I hear the punch is pretty boss."

I laugh. "Stealing Mr. Saltzman's lines to get my aunt now?" He laughs. We were walking past them when Mr. Saltzman was hitting on Jenna. Apparently they met at The Grill after Jeremy told her about his clean slate and the essay he had to write. I thought it was pretty normal to meet at a restaurant, well bar.

"I guess I am. Want some punch?"

"I'm okay. But I am going to talk to Bonnie and Caroline." He nods and says he's going to find Stefan. I meet up with Elena and we go talk to Bonnie and Caroline. "Having fun?"

"No, but this," Caroline gestures to the top of her head to the tip of her toes, "took about two hours so I'm staying for at least half of that." I chuckle, my good mood getting better.

"What's Damon doing here?" Bonnie asks, snarkily. My mood dissipates.

"He wanted to come," I defend. "Besides, he's kind of my date. I promise he'll behave." Bonnie gives me a skeptical look. "Promise, Bon."

"So what's this? You're dating Damon now?" Caroline sneers.

"No. He's an alright guy. It's not like I can kill him," I chuckle.

"There's a thought," Bonnie mused.

"Hmm. I'll help," Caroline says tipping her cup into Bonnie's. They clack together and I roll my eyes and walk away.

Damon and I end up dancing again, slow dancing again. "Maybe he won't show," I think aloud.

"You mean we did all this dancing and talking for nothing?" Damon feigns his hurt.

"The horror!" I joke. I look around and someone in the back corner with a hoodie on, catches my eye. I step away from Damon and find Stefan and Elena. When I do, Stefan goes and investigates. My phone does ring. I nudge Elena and she puts her ear to mine as I answer. "Hello?"

"Hello Alexandra. Elena. Here's what you two are going to do. There's an exit door behind you. You have five seconds."

"No," Elena answers.

"Or your brother dies. Tick tock." I end the call and run. Elena catches up to me and we go out the door. He follows, stalking us, herding us. We keep running till we hit double doors that were locked. The vampire is coming our way. The only other way out is to run toward him and go through the cafeteria. We do just that. Our adrenaline is pumping and we rush to the other side but the doors are locked. It's useless.

He managed to grab ahold of Elena's hair and throw her back against the table just a few feet away. She picks up pencils as he picks her up and pushes her roughly into the wall. She screams as she plunges the pencils into his hand and stomach.

I run over and grab the mop sitting against the wall casually. I break it in half and I almost shove it into his abdomen but he grabs it, pulling me toward him. He's about to take a tasty bite of my neck when everything disappears and I find Damon and Stefan in the room, the makeshift stake on the other side of the room where Damon is.

"Hey dickhead!" Damon says. "No one wants to kill you, we just want to talk." The vampire growls and lunges for him. Damon tosses the stake to Stefan and Stefan plunges it into his chest cavity.

"Now you feel like talking?"

"Screw you," the vampire growled. I had to admit he was quite scary.

"Wrong answer." Stefan twists the stake into his chest even more than before. "Why are you doing this?" The vampire answers in a sinister voice, even what he says is sinister. 'Because it's fun,' he says. 'Because they look like Katherine and Charlotte,' he says.

"You knew Charlotte?" Damon asks, surprised and yet confused.

"You thought you were the only ones, didn't you." He chuckles. "You don't even remember me, do you?" Damon tried to get him to talk about opening the tomb without hurting the vampire anymore but he refused to cooperate so he twisted the stake. "The grimoire. Check the journal. Jonathan Gilbert's."

"Who else is working with you?"

He shakes his head. "Who else is there?" Damon growls, very upset.

"No. You're going to have to kill me."

"Works for me," Damon says. He pulls the stake out and plunges it into his heart. I close my eyes and turn away before he does it. I don't want to see the gore that accompanies the death of someone, even if the vampire was trying to eat me.

Damon drove me home, Elena and Stefan came in with me. I honestly thought they were going back to the boarding house. Guess not. Though Damon left me to deal with the couple and the death floating around my head.

"I'm going to go to bed." I tell Elena. She nods and I go to my bedroom and close the door. I sigh and get dressed in my jammies. I go back out and find Damon in my room like every night after we spend a long part of the day together. He just likes to wish me goodnight and hopes I'm safe. When I'm crying, he'll hold me. Other times, like now, we will just talk for a bit till I get even more tired and he says goodnight and leaves before I'm out.

He greets me when I climb into bed. "Hey." He is sitting on the window bench in my room.

"Hi. So that dance was fun."

"Very."

"Thanks for letting me stand on your feet, getting your shoes all dirty in the process. It means a lot because I can't dance very well. If it's swaying back and forth, nothing to it, I'm good."

"It's alright. It's not like they aren't made anymore. I'm not going to throw a hissy fit about shoes." I smile. He walks over and joins me on the bed. He sits on the edge on my side. I move my legs enough so he can sit.

"I have a question."

"Okay."

"It's kind of a personal-ish question. I'm not sure if you're going to want to answer. It's about Charlotte." He nods slowly. "What made you fall in love with her?" I whisper. He sighs.

"Lots of things. Her beauty, her dominance, the way she treated me and those she cared about, like Katherine. Like Stefan." He pauses, regaining his composure. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. You know you can't treat me like you do and still want her," I say softly. "I just don't want her to come back and see the way you worry about me, then make me a 'threat' in the future."

"You're not just protecting yourself right now. There's more to this."

"No," I deny, lying straight through my teeth. "I just don't want her to see me as the enemy when I'm not. It's a very real thing that could happen." I pause. "Good night Damon," I murmur, sinking down into my bed some more. He leans on his hand and uses the other to hold my face and stroke my cheek with his thumb.

"Good night, Allie. I hope you're okay. Especially with everything that has been happening tonight." I nod.

"I'm okay." I smile and place my hand atop his. He smiles softly, not reaching his eyes, and removes his hand. I feel a loss but it's quickly replaced with his lips against my cheek.

"Night."