Living in a ghost town

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Emma was walking back to her flat, thinking that it might be a good idea to sell the car she had bought, since Mystic Falls was such a small town that she could easily do everything she needed to do on foot. Jenna's house was further away, of course, but now that her aunt was dating Alaric, it wouldn't be hard to get a ride with her new coworker whenever she wanted to visit.

The girl was happy, and it was as if she could feel the weight of the contract inside her purse. She had been hired for the position of literature teacher a few minutes ago, and it was all thanks to Alaric. The pay was good, the school carried fond memories of when she went there, and she caught herself more than once thinking about how different her life might have been if she'd just stayed in Virginia.

Perhaps if she had finished high school in Mystic Falls, made friends there as Elena had, her choice of university would have been different, and, as a result, her life would have been different. Her going to Oxford was directly linked to numerous events that she wished had not existed, and she wished with all her might that she could go back in time and redo some choices. However, she knew it was pointless and painful to dwell on the past. Shaking her head, she allowed herself to be glad for the present and the prospect of a new future.

She had her hand on the door handle of the Mystic Grill to get a coffee, when someone came distractedly out of the place talking on the phone and bumped into her before she had time to react and take a step back.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" the boy who hit her asked her, looking concerned, before turning his attention back to the phone that was still in her ear and saying in a rather low tone "Elena, I'll talk to you later, okay? Love you".

As soon as the boy hung up the phone, Emma looked at him interested and cracked a half smile, putting her hands on her waist.

"You're Stefan" she commented, and he raised an eyebrow.

"And you are?"

"Emma, your girlfriend's cousin" she replied, and he cracked a shy smile, looking embarrassed. Stefan held out his hand to finally greet her.

"It's a funny way of getting to know each other, but anyway, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Emma". Emma smiled and accepted the greeting, shaking his hand firmly. Stefan seemed like a good guy.

"The pleasure is all mine. I was beginning to believe you were a figment of Elena's imagination, you know?" she joked and the boy let out a laugh. A third person joined the two at the front of the Grill and when Emma turned to see who it was, she came across Liz Forbes.

"Apparently no one can stay away from Mystic Falls for long", the woman commented smiling and taking Emma in a short hug.

"I promise I've stopped giving you a hard time, Sheriff Forbes" Emma replied, and the woman extended her hand to Stefan, greeting him. Just then she turned back to face Emma.

"Oh, I don't worry about that after seeing Jenna all grown up. I know she was the one exerting a bad influence on you" the sheriff replied and Emma giggled. "How's it being back in this little town?"

"It's being good, really good" Emma confessed "I just got hired at Mystic High".

"That's great! Congratulations!" Liz replied. "I believe this is a good time to call you to Mystic Falls' Historical Society Volunteer Day. I'm counting on you too, Stefan" the woman turned to the boy, who nodded positively.

"I'll be there, Sheriff".

"Great," Liz replied. "Well, duty calls. It was great to see you again, Emma!"

"Same" Emma replied and watched the woman walk away.

"You seem quite popular around here" Stefan commented, putting his hands in his pockets. Emma stared at him with one eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"I doubt that very much. Sheriff Forbes only knows me because Jenna and I used to attend underground parties. Well, I used to attend, Jenna actually organized it", she replied and Stefan laughed.

"I can't imagine Jenna organizing anything of the sort" Stefan commented.

"We've all matured I suppose" Emma shrugged. "Well, I've rented you out for a long time, Stefan. You're free to keep chatting with your girlfriend's cousin, I free you", Stefan laughed again, and held out his hand to her again.

"It was a good chat, I might add. It was a pleasure, Emma" he said, and Emma shook his hand again. "See ya around".

"See ya", she replied, and strode into the Grill.

Stefan returned home while typing a message to Elena, telling her that he had met Emma in front of the Grill and asking his girlfriend to talk to her cousin and explain the need to be discreet about the fact that she had overheard the vampire talking to the girl on the phone. After all, the two of them still needed to stick to their plan to make Caroline believe that the two of them had broken up. It was becoming increasingly clear that Elena's friend was passing on information to Katherine, and the last thing Stefan wanted was the vampire after Elena. He took the opportunity to arrange to meet Elena in the evening to arrange a public discussion and keep up appearances.

Arriving home, he spotted a redheaded girl leaving the house, completely scruffy and with the skirt of her dress hiked up. He rolled his eyes at the scene, and waited for the girl to drive away and disappear through the gate. Once inside the house, he found Damon shirtless and bare-footed, wearing only a pair of jeans as he poured himself a generous glass of whiskey.

"Good afternoon, brother" Damon greeted, raising his glass towards the younger man, as if proposing a toast.

"You have to stop bringing girls here, Damon, we've talked about this" Stefan complained, throwing his backpack on the couch.

"Are you the only one allowed to have fun? Doesn't seem fair to me", the older man replied, and Stefan rolled his eyes again.

"Katherine is back, and she has access to this house" Stefan replied snorting, as if Damon wasn't understanding something obvious.

"Yeah, and the bitch isn't worried about me. Or did you forget that she spent 145 years pretending to be dead?" Damon replied bitterly, taking a large sip of his drink. "You and your dear Elena who should be on your guard, the bitch is possessive".

"Speaking of Elena, I met her cousin today" Stefan commented.

"Emma?", Damon questioned, dropping his glass on the arm of the armchair and staring at his brother in anticipation.

"You know her?"

"Yes, interesting woman", Damon commented, and Stefan opened his mouth to say something, but Damon was quick "Relax brother, I'm not going to do anything with your precious girlfriend's cousin".

In fact, Damon had found Emma quite interesting. It had been days since Jenna's barbecue, and it would be a lie to say that he hadn't been quite intrigued by the young woman. However, Emma in town seemed like an added problem, one that neither he nor Stefan needed. After all, it was hard enough hiding all the supernatural shit going on in Mystic Falls from Jenna, who, in addition to being Elena's aunt and legal guardian, was still Alaric's girlfriend.

Mason was a problem they would still need to deal with, and Damon had no idea how they would do that. Maybe he could lure him to the forest at the charity event that would take place over the weekend, but for that he would need Stefan's help. Damon never much liked monotony, but by God, he'd had enough of dealing with problems. First Katherine and now Mason. And for the icing on the cake, yet another member of the Gilbert Family had returned to town. If Emma was as nosy as Elena and Jeremy unable to keep a secret from the cousin he seemed so attached to, that would be one problem on top of another problem. Damon huffed and took another sip of whiskey.

When the day of the event arrived, Damon raised his eyebrow in disbelief as he witnessed a rather awkward argument between Stefan and Elena, which meant that the two of them were up to something. However, he decided to put it aside and walked through the park in search of Mason, who was sure to be there. The werewolf had been acting suspiciously ever since he'd returned to town, approaching all the authority figures, reconnecting with old colleagues, talking to people Damon knew belonged to the Council. And he wasn't liking having a werewolf in his town at all.

He stopped his search momentarily when he spotted a mane of golden-brown hair caught in a loose ponytail. He smiled in a corner and moved in just close enough to get a better look, crossing his arms. Emma was sitting on a wooden child's chair, making her knees almost rest against her chest as the girl leaned forward with a paintbrush in her hand, drawing a large butterfly on a child's cheek. She was wearing a rather plain blue flannel shirt, black trousers and a thick-heeled boot of the same color.

What caught his attention the most and even provoked a small laugh was seeing the girl wiggling in her chair to the rhythm of Rolling Stones, which was playing on a small radio positioned on the children's table next to her. She was shaking her head and mumbling the lyrics while keeping her eyes on her painting. The little boy who was being victimized by the terrible butterfly was giggling and shaking his shoulders to the rhythm of the music, which drew smiles from Emma.

When Emma finished painting and handed the brush to another volunteer, Damon followed her from afar and watched as she reached a lemonade stand. Before he could get closer, however, he spotted Mason touching her elbow and causing the girl to turn to him with a smile on her face. Damon felt his jaw lock and his lips close into a thin line. He watched from afar as the werewolf leaned toward the girl, and sharpened his ears. Damon rolled his eyes and felt like throwing up as he realized Mason was trying to flirt with Emma. Idiot, he didn't get the aunt and now he's trying his luck with the niece, Damon thought.

Deciding to interrupt the awkward and uncomfortable scene, Damon approached the two and cracked a smile at Emma.

"Look who's here, the non-Gilbert" he teased looking at the girl, who in response smiled debauchedly and raised an eyebrow. The vampire turned to the werewolf "And Mason, working hard?"

"Just doing my part", Mason replied, and Emma didn't fail to notice that the man's shoulders had stiffened. She frowned and watched the interaction with interest. The two of them were being weird again. What the hell was it between the two of them?

"I heard you talked to Stefan" Damon commented, and for a moment Emma thought he was referring to her, and opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Mason.

"Nice guy" the man replied, and Damon smirked.

"Way nicer than me, I can assure you".

"Nice is overrated" Mason said, and Emma felt her own face contort into a grimace. Could it be possible for the situation to get any weirder?

"That's what I keep saying!" Damon replied debauchedly, and Mason took one last sip of his lemonade and turned to Emma again.

"My break's over, see you later, Em". The man then turned to Damon and gave him a deadly look "Have a nice day, Damon".

The black haired, blue eyed man smiled victoriously and watched Mason disappear among the crowd, but then turned to the girl in front of him, who was staring at him with frowning eyebrows and crossed arms. Damon took two steps forward and positioned his index finger between her eyebrows and massaged the girl's skin.

"You can't tell me to stop doing that if you keep doing it too, Em", he teased and she arched her eyebrows.

"Don't call me Em", she replied, but she didn't sound angry or irritated. She sounded curious.

"Only Mason can call you that, huh?"

"If you weren't here being completely weird with him again, I'd have time to tell him I hate that nickname" she replied, and he smiled, finally taking his index finger off her forehead. She threw her head to the side and stared at him with interest.

"So... Emma" Damon began, throwing his arms behind his own body and leaning forward slightly to get his face about the same height as hers. "We haven't had much time to talk so far, since the first time we met you called me an asshole, and the second time was at a barbecue full of other people who took my attention".

Emma laughed and uncrossed her arms and picked up her glass of lemonade again, which had been left on top of the vending stand, and took a sip.

"Correction: the first time, you were an asshole and nearly ripped off my mirror, which makes the barbecue the third time we've seen each other", she replied, and he tossed his head to the side, clicking his tongue in his teeth.

"You didn't see me when I almost ripped off your mirror, so that time doesn't count, but I'll accept the fact that I was an asshole", he replied, and she laughed again.

There was something about Damon. He was intimidating, had frighteningly penetrating eyes, and had made her completely nervous and uncomfortable the day they'd met at the Grill. Remembering the look of him staring back at her in the rearview mirror still sent shivers down her spine. However, ever since the barbecue at Jenna's house, Emma had found herself becoming more and more interested in the man. He carried an aura of mystery, and was extremely difficult to read. At the same time that he intimidated her, he amused her. He had insightful comments and managed to engage interesting conversations. Plus, the curiosity to know what was between him and Mason was eating her up inside. She stared at Damon curiously.

"You're quite an interesting person" she commented, and he smiled.

"I could say the same of you" he replied, leaning over to the lemonade stand. He kindly paid the little girl in charge of the refreshments and thanked her nicely. The little girl held out a glass to him, which he accepted and held between his hands. "However, we are at an inequality of arms, since you know my full name and I don't know yours, Emma non-Gilbert".

"Why do you want to know? Do you want to add me on any social networks?" she asked in an amused tone.

"Maybe, or maybe I want to search for you on the internet and see if I can find something to satisfy some of my curiosity" he replied in the same tone, and Emma smiled uncomfortably. Damon didn't fail to notice her annoyance and frowned, taking the glass of lemonade to his mouth as he watched her. As soon as the liquid touched his tongue, Damon felt a stabbing burn and spat out the lemonade, tossing the glass away. The vampire began to cough, holding his own throat. It felt like it was on fire.

Emma, worried, tossed her own glass aside and led Damon by the arm to a wooden stool, patting him on the back. When the man stopped coughing, but remained holding his throat and breathing hard, she knelt in front of him and held Damon's face between her hands. He could barely see her worried brown eyes, as his own were blurred from tears.

"Are you allergic to anything?" She asked worriedly "Damon, are you allergic to anything? Lemon? Sugar? Anything at all? I need to know what to do".

"Ver-vervain" he whispered, and Emma frowned, not understanding what he was saying.

"Open your mouth" she ordered, and he didn't answer, he trailed off panting and red faced. "Damon, open your damn mouth, I need to see if your throat is swelling".

Damon then obeyed and opened his mouth, and she saw that his throat was completely red, like it was burnt, and she muttered an "oh my god". Gathering her strength, she pulled Damon up and had him throw one arm over her shoulder, looping her own around his waist. She intended to lead him to the first aid stand, but was intercepted by Stefan, who stared at her in questioning as he cradled his brother from the other side.

"He drank lemonade and I think it had something in it that he's allergic to" Emma explained, feeling her face hot and her breathing short. She was nervous and it would be quite an achievement if she could help Damon before he had an anxiety attack.

"Vervain" Damon whispered to Stefan, and the younger man's eyes widened. Stefan pulled the black haired Salvatore from Emma's arms and looked at the girl.

"I'll take it from here, Emma".

"Are you sure? My car is nearby and..."

"I'm sure. I have his... his medicine in my backpack, don't worry", Stefan replied, and Emma nodded positively, but couldn't get out of her seat. She stood still watching the two brothers disappear into the crowd.

When she finally looked around, she saw Sheriff Forbes in the distance whispering something in the ears of two officers. The two then nodded positively and each disappeared to one side. A clown with large gas balloons crossed Emma's front and when he finally passed, the Sheriff had also disappeared.

"Creepy town", Emma muttered to herself and decided to look for Elena.