Meredith was just sitting on her bed, staring at the ceiling, and wondering
what she wanted to do in college. *Should I be a writer? Maybe an actress?
No, how about an artist? * Suddenly, a noise at the door. She jumped (which
she laughed at, because she was laying down) and raced down the stairs. In
her rush, she tripped and landed in an ungainly heap at the bottom. Getting
up slowly and walking gingerly towards the door, she did a few deep
breathing exercises, and opened the door. When she did, she saw Matt's
shocked face. "Hi, Matt. What are you doing here?" She gently touched the
bruise she was sure was there on her hip, and winced.
Matt studied Meredith for a moment. She seemed to be out of breath as if she ran to get the door. Giving her one of his most cheerful smiles he stepped inside and waited as she closed the door. "I got your message and figured you needed some company. Guess you haven't heard from Alaric yet huh?" Leaning back against the door he looked around at Meredith's house with a little twinge of envy. 'Everyone lives so much better than me and my family. One day I'll have a nice house like this, after I finish school and get a good paying job.' he thought with determination. "Oh I saw Bonnie and Mary at the IHOP they were having breakfast. She said something about applying at the college. You going to join us Mer? Come on brainy it'll be a breeze for you. You've got to do it," he said to her in a slightly teasing voice. "I'm going on a football scholarship. The coach already has me on the list for the team. He was impressed with my long throw." he said proudly and shrugged. "It's better than nothing, at least I'll get a good education from it." Putting his hands in his pockets he jiggled his keys at his left and looked down at his scuffed sneakers.
"No, I haven't heard from Alaric, yet. But, you know him. He's probably too busy or is just worried that I'm doing something. You don't have to stand in the entryway...you *can* come into the living room...or better yet, you can follow me to my room so I can get some shoes on. I think I'll take you up on that offer to apply to the college. It beats sitting around here all day." They start to walk up the stairs. "Oh, I completely forgot my manners. Hello, Matt. How are you??" She gave him a dazzling smile. She frowned, as if remembering something. "You said you saw Bonnie and Mary at IHOP? Oh! I guess that explains why Bonnie didn't answer the phone. And Mary's back, huh?"
They walk into her room and she opens the closet door. Looking down at her clothes, she chooses a pair of tennis shoes. Walking over to the vanity stand, she brushes her hair, applies some lip-gloss, grabs her wallet, and turns to Matt. "I'm ready. Shall we go?"
Stefan straightened his jacket and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked up at his brother, smiling. "I told you. You DON'T intimidate me anymore, Damon and you never will again. You can try all you like, but at this point, it would be a giant waste of time," he said, not breaking eye contact with his brother.
"And you what Damon? If you did hurt me, you know Elena would come looking for me. She has chosen me over you and that bothers you doesn't it? She loves me, and you can't stand that. You can't stand that she has chosen me over you. I bet it tears you apart inside to know that you have lost. That you can never have her, because her heart belongs to me?"
He hoped these words would anger his brother. He wanted Damon to hurt, to feel rejected. To feel as if he had lost to the one person he hated most. "Oh and Damon, I meant what I said before. You should leave here today if you know what's best for you", he said before turning again to walk away.
"That would be a wonderful idea wouldn't it? Who would save you next time, Stefan? If I hadn't been there, you would have been dead, all of you. Do you think your angel Elena could have brought you back from the dead?" Damon answered angrily.
The desire to rip his brother to shreds was quickly mounting inside him. He had made a promise to Elena to take care of Stefan, but it wasn't honorable now that she was back. Not in Damon's opinion.
"Speaking of the little angel, do you want me to tell you just how much Elena loves you? Do you want details on how she swooned at my feet? Do you want a picture of her falling in my arms, her lips all over me?" Damon's black eyes flared with anger. "She was my vampire, because she had more of my blood in her than yours. Think about that, little brother. She came to me more than she came to you."
The muscles in Damon's arms flexed unconsciously. The predator in him screamed to jump at Stefan. But something deep inside stopped him.
Stefan felt the adrenaline start to rise again inside of him. He spun around and walked toward Damon once more. 'You want this to continue Damon? So be it...' Stefan thought to himself as he approached Damon once again. Stefan walked up close enough to his brother to feel his breath on his face. Calmly Stefan said, "Your words don't bother me Damon. Whatever may have happened in the past is in the past. I KNOW she loves me. Hell, I don't see her at your side. She's much too strong for you Damon. Even now that she is human again, she would be able to resist you."
Stefan caught himself at the last minute. Damon wasn't there when he had asked Elena if she were "hungry". Damon didn't know she was human.... until now. He saw Damon start to smile.
"Not for long, little brother, not for long." Damon stepped back from Stefan, the grin still spread across his face. "The game is on." With that, he exited the small clearing and was no longer in site.
'So Elena was human again.' Damon hadn't been sure when he left the other night. But Stefan's words had confirmed it. Oh it wouldn't be long before Stefan tried to remedy that situation he was sure. Stefan couldn't imagine a loooong life without the little lady by his eternal side. He may fight it at first, but he would eventually succumb to the temptation.
Damon laughed aloud. He just had to get to her first.
Stefan watched as Damon disappeared into the darkness. He knew he made a mistake in telling Damon that Elena was human again.
'Damn it, Stefan. You really ARE stupid', he thought to himself. 'I have to get back to the boarding house. I have to make sure Elena is okay.'
Stefan knew Damon was out there somewhere close by. He could sense His brother's presence not far away.
'I have to get there before HE does...'
Stefan started running as fast as he could through the woods towards the boarding house.
'I am coming Elena!'
Damon was fast. As soon as he had gotten out of sight of his brother, he transitioned into the black crow once again, and circle back around to the boarding house. He entered it quietly, taking the stairs to the upper room. The door was slightly open, and through the crack, he could see Elena sitting on the bed.
He started to turn away, but instead pushed the door open and stepped inside. He walked over to the edge of the bed, and looked down at her. He touched a strand of her loose blonde hair, letting it slide through his fingers. "Hello, Elena."
Stefan approached the boarding house and looked up at his bedroom window. No light on. He could sense his brother's presence, not sure of how close it really was. Silently but swiftly, he opened the door and headed up the stairs towards his bedroom. By this time he knew Damon was here. Anger instantly swelled inside of Stefan at his brother's insolence.
Without a moments hesitation he burst through the bedroom door and pulled Damon away from the bed, lifting him off of the ground and heading towards the stairs.
"How DARE you do this Damon. I TOLD you that if you came here I would kill you. Now, you've asked for it...", he said to his brother. "NOW you will be sorry..."
Damon reached up and pried Stefan's hands off of his shirt. In doing so, he tightened his hands around Stefan's wrists, all but cutting off the circulation. He pushed Stefan against the wall, holding him there with his hand, his face only inches from his own.
"Don't you ever, and I mean ever, think about doing something so stupid again." He spoke to Elena then, but his eyes never left Stefan's. "You better gain control of your little boyfriend, sweetheart, before I do something I know I won't regret."
Caroline pulled her car in front of the Smallwood mansion. Compound was more like it. If her house was considered huge his was gargantuan in magnanimous proportions. She just sat for a while, lazily draping one elegant arm out the window. Tyler was probably gonna be pissed. But maybe the fact that she looked hot and came bearing grilled New York strips from the steak house might soften his reaction to her. She touched the take-out box containing 4 steaks and grilled potatoes and corn. A seemingly loving caress. She needed Tyler back on her side. He was the key to taking the town back from disappearing/reappearing Elena and her undead boyfriends. She stepped out the car and used the side view to see herself as she ran her hands over her tight Brazilian-cut jeans and peasant belly-top. She tossed her auburn and blonde curls over her shoulder and moved her sunglasses to on top of her head. She grabbed the food and walked up to the massive porch and front door. She knocked.
Recovering from injuries was so much better when you had nothing to do but sit there. Tyler smiled at the maid cleaning up his room, making sure to direct her to add more pillows to the already massive pile accumulated behind his head. He was spoiled and he knew it, basking in the luxury of being able to sit still for once. Soon he would get bored with the lazy routine, but for now, it suited him just fine. And his head wasn't complaining as much when he didn't move, so that was a benefit of the lack of exercise.
Alaric looked up from the book he was reading and rubbed his eyes. It was 5am and he had been sitting here reading for seven straight hours.
'This is becoming an obsession', he thought to himself and closed the book he was reading entitled, "History of Count Vlad Tepes Dracula."
He had come to England after contacting a colleague of his at Duke University who told him to contact a Professor Lietch of the University of London. He said this Professor Leitch had organized an elite group of supernatural investigators who traveled around the world collecting data on supernatural events and that he would be an excellent source of information for him. Of course, Alaric had not told his colleague what he had seen in Fell's Church, only that he needed more background on vampirism. Alaric had met with Professor Leitch and was told that evidence of actual vampirism is rare if not non-existent and that there was not much information on it. Except for past accounts of warriors drinking the blood of their victims during war in the early fifteenth century.
Hence the book he now held in his hands about the one and only, Dracula.
Alaric sighed, "This is useless. I would probably get more information from a Hollywood Producer than from this place. At least THEY seem to know what a vampire really is."
He stood up from the table and headed back to his room. He had been permitted to stay on campus in one of the dorm rooms for as long as he required it. It was only down the hall from the library he had just left. Although with the amount of time he spent there, he may as well have slept there instead. He opened the door and turned on the light. There were books and papers strewn everywhere.
'I should really organize myself a bit more', he thought and made his way to the bed. He took off his shoes and lay down.
"This really is useless", he said aloud. "What I need to do is talk to Stefan directly. He has been a vampire almost as long as Vlad Dracula. I could write a real "Interview With the Vampire", he laughed out loud. "Anne Rice eat your heart out"
He sighed and closed his eyes; trying to get some much needed sleep. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, an image of Meredith popped into his mind. He opened his eyes again, staring at the ceiling.
'I haven't forgotten about you Meredith. God, I miss you!' he thought. He sat up, looking around the room with all it's papers and books everywhere.
"I have to get out of here", he said, picking up the phone. He got out his wallet, taking out the paper Meredith's number on it. He dialed the number and waited. Hearing it ring until the answering machine picked up. "Hi Mer, it's Alaric. I just wanted to tell you that I miss you and that I will see you really soon. I am leaving here. Tomorrow."
Mary frowned as she gazed out the window. She absently watched as trees and houses passed. Her thoughts were dragged back to the dream. Her eyelids began to droop. Without realizing it, she had began to doze. She was surrounded in darkness. In the night sky. The stars surrounded her like a forest. 'Wait, not stars,' she thought. 'Eyes!' She could not move without the eyes watching. She felt so naked. She curled up, helpless, in the only dark corner she could find. She was hidden well from the eyes. Just when she felt safe a hand reached out from the darkness. A hand searching for her. Mary shrieked in terror. Had it not been for her seat belt she would have bolted from the still moving jeep. She shivered in fear as her wide eyes darted about.
Matt studied Meredith for a moment. She seemed to be out of breath as if she ran to get the door. Giving her one of his most cheerful smiles he stepped inside and waited as she closed the door. "I got your message and figured you needed some company. Guess you haven't heard from Alaric yet huh?" Leaning back against the door he looked around at Meredith's house with a little twinge of envy. 'Everyone lives so much better than me and my family. One day I'll have a nice house like this, after I finish school and get a good paying job.' he thought with determination. "Oh I saw Bonnie and Mary at the IHOP they were having breakfast. She said something about applying at the college. You going to join us Mer? Come on brainy it'll be a breeze for you. You've got to do it," he said to her in a slightly teasing voice. "I'm going on a football scholarship. The coach already has me on the list for the team. He was impressed with my long throw." he said proudly and shrugged. "It's better than nothing, at least I'll get a good education from it." Putting his hands in his pockets he jiggled his keys at his left and looked down at his scuffed sneakers.
"No, I haven't heard from Alaric, yet. But, you know him. He's probably too busy or is just worried that I'm doing something. You don't have to stand in the entryway...you *can* come into the living room...or better yet, you can follow me to my room so I can get some shoes on. I think I'll take you up on that offer to apply to the college. It beats sitting around here all day." They start to walk up the stairs. "Oh, I completely forgot my manners. Hello, Matt. How are you??" She gave him a dazzling smile. She frowned, as if remembering something. "You said you saw Bonnie and Mary at IHOP? Oh! I guess that explains why Bonnie didn't answer the phone. And Mary's back, huh?"
They walk into her room and she opens the closet door. Looking down at her clothes, she chooses a pair of tennis shoes. Walking over to the vanity stand, she brushes her hair, applies some lip-gloss, grabs her wallet, and turns to Matt. "I'm ready. Shall we go?"
Stefan straightened his jacket and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked up at his brother, smiling. "I told you. You DON'T intimidate me anymore, Damon and you never will again. You can try all you like, but at this point, it would be a giant waste of time," he said, not breaking eye contact with his brother.
"And you what Damon? If you did hurt me, you know Elena would come looking for me. She has chosen me over you and that bothers you doesn't it? She loves me, and you can't stand that. You can't stand that she has chosen me over you. I bet it tears you apart inside to know that you have lost. That you can never have her, because her heart belongs to me?"
He hoped these words would anger his brother. He wanted Damon to hurt, to feel rejected. To feel as if he had lost to the one person he hated most. "Oh and Damon, I meant what I said before. You should leave here today if you know what's best for you", he said before turning again to walk away.
"That would be a wonderful idea wouldn't it? Who would save you next time, Stefan? If I hadn't been there, you would have been dead, all of you. Do you think your angel Elena could have brought you back from the dead?" Damon answered angrily.
The desire to rip his brother to shreds was quickly mounting inside him. He had made a promise to Elena to take care of Stefan, but it wasn't honorable now that she was back. Not in Damon's opinion.
"Speaking of the little angel, do you want me to tell you just how much Elena loves you? Do you want details on how she swooned at my feet? Do you want a picture of her falling in my arms, her lips all over me?" Damon's black eyes flared with anger. "She was my vampire, because she had more of my blood in her than yours. Think about that, little brother. She came to me more than she came to you."
The muscles in Damon's arms flexed unconsciously. The predator in him screamed to jump at Stefan. But something deep inside stopped him.
Stefan felt the adrenaline start to rise again inside of him. He spun around and walked toward Damon once more. 'You want this to continue Damon? So be it...' Stefan thought to himself as he approached Damon once again. Stefan walked up close enough to his brother to feel his breath on his face. Calmly Stefan said, "Your words don't bother me Damon. Whatever may have happened in the past is in the past. I KNOW she loves me. Hell, I don't see her at your side. She's much too strong for you Damon. Even now that she is human again, she would be able to resist you."
Stefan caught himself at the last minute. Damon wasn't there when he had asked Elena if she were "hungry". Damon didn't know she was human.... until now. He saw Damon start to smile.
"Not for long, little brother, not for long." Damon stepped back from Stefan, the grin still spread across his face. "The game is on." With that, he exited the small clearing and was no longer in site.
'So Elena was human again.' Damon hadn't been sure when he left the other night. But Stefan's words had confirmed it. Oh it wouldn't be long before Stefan tried to remedy that situation he was sure. Stefan couldn't imagine a loooong life without the little lady by his eternal side. He may fight it at first, but he would eventually succumb to the temptation.
Damon laughed aloud. He just had to get to her first.
Stefan watched as Damon disappeared into the darkness. He knew he made a mistake in telling Damon that Elena was human again.
'Damn it, Stefan. You really ARE stupid', he thought to himself. 'I have to get back to the boarding house. I have to make sure Elena is okay.'
Stefan knew Damon was out there somewhere close by. He could sense His brother's presence not far away.
'I have to get there before HE does...'
Stefan started running as fast as he could through the woods towards the boarding house.
'I am coming Elena!'
Damon was fast. As soon as he had gotten out of sight of his brother, he transitioned into the black crow once again, and circle back around to the boarding house. He entered it quietly, taking the stairs to the upper room. The door was slightly open, and through the crack, he could see Elena sitting on the bed.
He started to turn away, but instead pushed the door open and stepped inside. He walked over to the edge of the bed, and looked down at her. He touched a strand of her loose blonde hair, letting it slide through his fingers. "Hello, Elena."
Stefan approached the boarding house and looked up at his bedroom window. No light on. He could sense his brother's presence, not sure of how close it really was. Silently but swiftly, he opened the door and headed up the stairs towards his bedroom. By this time he knew Damon was here. Anger instantly swelled inside of Stefan at his brother's insolence.
Without a moments hesitation he burst through the bedroom door and pulled Damon away from the bed, lifting him off of the ground and heading towards the stairs.
"How DARE you do this Damon. I TOLD you that if you came here I would kill you. Now, you've asked for it...", he said to his brother. "NOW you will be sorry..."
Damon reached up and pried Stefan's hands off of his shirt. In doing so, he tightened his hands around Stefan's wrists, all but cutting off the circulation. He pushed Stefan against the wall, holding him there with his hand, his face only inches from his own.
"Don't you ever, and I mean ever, think about doing something so stupid again." He spoke to Elena then, but his eyes never left Stefan's. "You better gain control of your little boyfriend, sweetheart, before I do something I know I won't regret."
Caroline pulled her car in front of the Smallwood mansion. Compound was more like it. If her house was considered huge his was gargantuan in magnanimous proportions. She just sat for a while, lazily draping one elegant arm out the window. Tyler was probably gonna be pissed. But maybe the fact that she looked hot and came bearing grilled New York strips from the steak house might soften his reaction to her. She touched the take-out box containing 4 steaks and grilled potatoes and corn. A seemingly loving caress. She needed Tyler back on her side. He was the key to taking the town back from disappearing/reappearing Elena and her undead boyfriends. She stepped out the car and used the side view to see herself as she ran her hands over her tight Brazilian-cut jeans and peasant belly-top. She tossed her auburn and blonde curls over her shoulder and moved her sunglasses to on top of her head. She grabbed the food and walked up to the massive porch and front door. She knocked.
Recovering from injuries was so much better when you had nothing to do but sit there. Tyler smiled at the maid cleaning up his room, making sure to direct her to add more pillows to the already massive pile accumulated behind his head. He was spoiled and he knew it, basking in the luxury of being able to sit still for once. Soon he would get bored with the lazy routine, but for now, it suited him just fine. And his head wasn't complaining as much when he didn't move, so that was a benefit of the lack of exercise.
Alaric looked up from the book he was reading and rubbed his eyes. It was 5am and he had been sitting here reading for seven straight hours.
'This is becoming an obsession', he thought to himself and closed the book he was reading entitled, "History of Count Vlad Tepes Dracula."
He had come to England after contacting a colleague of his at Duke University who told him to contact a Professor Lietch of the University of London. He said this Professor Leitch had organized an elite group of supernatural investigators who traveled around the world collecting data on supernatural events and that he would be an excellent source of information for him. Of course, Alaric had not told his colleague what he had seen in Fell's Church, only that he needed more background on vampirism. Alaric had met with Professor Leitch and was told that evidence of actual vampirism is rare if not non-existent and that there was not much information on it. Except for past accounts of warriors drinking the blood of their victims during war in the early fifteenth century.
Hence the book he now held in his hands about the one and only, Dracula.
Alaric sighed, "This is useless. I would probably get more information from a Hollywood Producer than from this place. At least THEY seem to know what a vampire really is."
He stood up from the table and headed back to his room. He had been permitted to stay on campus in one of the dorm rooms for as long as he required it. It was only down the hall from the library he had just left. Although with the amount of time he spent there, he may as well have slept there instead. He opened the door and turned on the light. There were books and papers strewn everywhere.
'I should really organize myself a bit more', he thought and made his way to the bed. He took off his shoes and lay down.
"This really is useless", he said aloud. "What I need to do is talk to Stefan directly. He has been a vampire almost as long as Vlad Dracula. I could write a real "Interview With the Vampire", he laughed out loud. "Anne Rice eat your heart out"
He sighed and closed his eyes; trying to get some much needed sleep. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, an image of Meredith popped into his mind. He opened his eyes again, staring at the ceiling.
'I haven't forgotten about you Meredith. God, I miss you!' he thought. He sat up, looking around the room with all it's papers and books everywhere.
"I have to get out of here", he said, picking up the phone. He got out his wallet, taking out the paper Meredith's number on it. He dialed the number and waited. Hearing it ring until the answering machine picked up. "Hi Mer, it's Alaric. I just wanted to tell you that I miss you and that I will see you really soon. I am leaving here. Tomorrow."
Mary frowned as she gazed out the window. She absently watched as trees and houses passed. Her thoughts were dragged back to the dream. Her eyelids began to droop. Without realizing it, she had began to doze. She was surrounded in darkness. In the night sky. The stars surrounded her like a forest. 'Wait, not stars,' she thought. 'Eyes!' She could not move without the eyes watching. She felt so naked. She curled up, helpless, in the only dark corner she could find. She was hidden well from the eyes. Just when she felt safe a hand reached out from the darkness. A hand searching for her. Mary shrieked in terror. Had it not been for her seat belt she would have bolted from the still moving jeep. She shivered in fear as her wide eyes darted about.
