Tell me why every time I think I'm almost done with a chapter I come up with an idea that ends up doubling its word length.
CHAPTER 7
THE THRILL OF THE CHASEY
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Pearl had agreed to provide her with the blood.
Until Angela earned her trust, however, she was to consume it directly from the vein. That way, there was minimal risk of her using it for a spell that would in any way inconvenience them. Every morning, she was to meet with Anna behind her house and drink enough of her blood to cover her for twenty-four hours. It wasn't an alliance, but it was a step towards one and that was good enough for now.
She was driving home when she heard her cell phone ding.
Ty: can we talk?
It wasn't his fault she had reacted the way she did, but she wasn't sure he understood that. Knowing Caroline, she'd completely chewed him out for it. She texted him back as soon as she hit a red light.
Want me to come over?
Ty: only if you want to
His response hurt her heart. Of course she wanted to. She told him so, and as soon as the light turned green, her surroundings became a blur. The large, wrought iron gate that guarded the Lockwood estate was open when she arrived, as it always was. She never came unannounced, after all, and Tyler always had time to unlock it.
She parked near the steps that led to the wide, brick porch and stepped out of her car. Before going inside, she decided to take a moment to bask in the sunlight and breathe in as deeply as she could. The trees that surrounded the property and the constant watering of grass made it have what she thought must have been the best air quality in town.
After ringing the doorbell and waiting a moment, Carol Lockwood's elegantly-dressed figure appeared through the glass. Her face lit up when she noticed Angela, and she swung open the doors before bringing her into a hug.
"Angela," she said, "what a pleasant surprise."
"Hey, Mrs. Lockwood."
The older woman pulled back to look at her admonishingly. "It's Carol."
She gave a sheepish smile. "Right. Sorry. Carol."
"Oh," she pinched her cheek, "don't apologize for having good manners. Tyler's up in his bedroom."
"Thank you."
"I'll bring up some snacks for you in a minute."
She would have said "You don't have to," if she thought it would do anything. "Take your time."
The last thing she saw before disappearing up the stairs was Carol's brilliant smile, and she bit the inside of her cheek so she wouldn't laugh. It was no secret that she had been hoping for Tyler and Angela to fall madly in love with each other and get married ever since they first became friends, and it flustered Tyler far too much for her to not find it hilarious.
She tapped her knuckles against his door and immediately let herself through, briefly wondering why she bothered knocking anymore. He was standing near the large window that overlooked the back of the property, looking more ashamed than she had ever seen him.
She gently shut the door and walked to his side, stopping when they were only a few feet apart. The atmosphere was heavy with silence until she broke it. "It wasn't your fault."
His Adam's apple bobbed. "You had a panic attack because of me."
"I had a panic attack because of Damon. Not bec-"
"I shouldn't have grabbed you like that. It wasn't right."
She dropped onto his bed with a huff. "I'll admit, it wasn't very gentlemanly of you, but I know that your intention wasn't to scare me."
"It wasn't." His eyes pleaded for her to understand, though she already did. "Fuck, that was the last thing I wanted to do."
"I know, Tyler," she said kindly. "I know. And I don't blame you. So you shouldn't blame yourself either."
"But I did scare you. How the hell am I gonna forgive myself?"
She reached out and tugged on his hand until he sat down next to her. Her fingers ran through his hair the way they liked to run through Elena and Jeremy's. "You'll forgive yourself because I forgive you. If you don't, you'll be implying that I have bad judgment, and… you don't think I have bad judgment, do you?"
He said nothing for a while, choosing simply to stare at her. Finally, he swallowed and said, "Trick question." Her laughter made him smile. "I dated Caroline for over a year. I've learned how to spot them."
"But I wanted you to fall for my trick. That was the point."
"Too bad, short-stack."
She sighed lightly. "Well, anyway, you see my point, right? You were trying to make me feel better and I get that."
"Are you feeling better?"
She gave his hair a playful tug before falling onto her back. "Of course I am, you dummy. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have come over."
"Good. That's good."
The ceiling in front of her was surrounded by an elegant border, and it made her think of how everything about the Lockwood estate screamed "wealth." From the grass that made up more than half of it and was greener than any she had ever seen, to the marble fountain that was visible before one even stepped through the gates, down to the smallest of details like the ceiling borders and stairway railings. Sometimes, she felt unworthy to be so comfortable inside of it.
Out the corner of her eye, she saw Tyler lie down next to her. She heard the faint sound of sprinklers going off, alerting her that it had just turned three o'clock, and closed her eyes with a content smile. "You know," she muttered, "that sound reminds me of simpler times."
"You mean when my mom yelled at us that one time?"
Her smile widened. "Yeah…"
It had been a warm, sunny day like this one, and Angela had come over to play video games with Tyler. To this day she didn't know what possessed her, but at some point she'd looked out his window at that perfectly trimmed, wet, green grass glittering in the sun, and knew she wanted nothing more than to feel it between her toes as she danced until her clothes became so heavy from the water they forced her to fall to the ground.
With a mischievous grin, she'd grabbed Tyler's hand and dragged him down to the back of the house. When she took her sandals off and he realized what she was about to do, he tried desperately to stop her, saying that his father would kill him if they ruined the lawn. She simply rolled her eyes and pointed out that he didn't have to know; that he'd left the house a couple minutes ago to have a late lunch with someone important and that the only other person in the house was his mother.
Eventually, she'd managed to make him give in, and if she concentrated really hard, she could still remember how the short, plush grass felt beneath the soles of her feet. She could remember how the water from the sprinklers felt hitting the skin exposed by her white, lace sundress, and how unbelievably free she felt as she spun beneath the sun. She thought there was little she wouldn't give to feel that way again.
Unfortunately, their fun had been cut short when Carol caught a glimpse of them through her office window, and Angela had gotten yelled at by her for the first and only time in her life.
"When was that anyway?" She knew it had been the summer before last, but couldn't remember the exact date.
The bed sheets ruffled near her ear. "August 15th. The day before we got our tattoos."
"Mm, that's right. Feels like forever ago."
"Yeah." His voice was almost a whisper. "It does."
She didn't hear the sheets ruffle again for a long time.
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Caroline must have been a dictator in her previous life.
"You call that a lunge? Keep your back straight! That's, like, the whole point of a lunge!"
Angela shot her the most heated glare she could. "I'm trying, bitchface!"
Faintly, she was glad that Liz Forbes had gone down to the station before she got there and didn't have to witness the profuse swearing that had been taking place in her living room.
Caroline crossed her arms sternly. "Do or do not. There is no try."
With how her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes widened, Angela wagered she didn't look too unlike an angry frog. "Did you just quote fucking Star Wars at me?"
"Oh, is that what it's from?" She scrunched her nose. "A kid said it during French. Nerd."
"Ugh, I'd defend nerds if I actually cared right now."
"Come on. You only have to do five more. Then we can move onto pushups!"
All she could do in response was groan.
A good fifteen minutes later, Angela was laid flat on the bubblegum pink mat that Caroline had brought out and was doing her best to catch her breath. "This," she panted, "sucks."
Caroline's pigtail braids squatted down next to her. "Well, look on the bright side. You did super well."
Angela weakly turned her head to look at her. "Really?"
She smiled. "Really. And don't worry, the hard part's getting started. Things will be a lot easier from now on."
"…Really?"
Caroline stood with a giggle. "Yeah. Now come on. You need to rehydrate." Her cell phone started ringing and she hurried over to pick it up. "Hey, Bonnie, what-" There was a pause before Caroline's eyes widened. "What?" Angela forced herself up on an elbow and shot her a questioning look. "Yeah. Yeah, of course. Angie's with me. We'll call Elena. You call Tyler, okay? …Okay. See you in a bit."
"What's going on?"
She hung up, lips thin in worry. "Ms. Sheila hasn't woken up yet."
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"I've done everything I can think of!" Bonnie was pacing back and forth in Sheila's bedroom. Her hair was messy, there were bags beneath her eyes, and she looked like she hadn't slept all night. "I've tried to feed her, water her, I've shaken her and talked to her and I even tried to call my mom, but she isn't picking up!" She dropped into the armchair by the wardrobe. "I have no idea what to do."
"Have you tried using magic?" It was Tyler who spoke, and Angela cringed.
She opened her mouth to warn him that it was a sore subject, but Bonnie beat her to the punch. "Of course I have! But nothing happened!" She violently gestured towards Sheila's unconscious figure. "Obviously!" He put his hands up in surrender and awkwardly looked away, making Bonnie deflate with a sigh. She brought a hand up to rub her forehead. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I don't mean to yell."
"Hey," Caroline muttered, "I'd be yelling too."
That made Bonnie chuckle. "I know you would be."
Angela observed Sheila. Her chest was rising and falling steadily and she had felt her heartbeat just fine when she first came in the room, but nothing they did had managed to render her lucid. Part of her wondered if she disrupted the healing process by waking her up after the tomb.
She'd brought up the possibility of having Anna compel a doctor or a nurse to examine her, but Bonnie shot it down, saying that she didn't trust a vampire with anything regarding Sheila. Angela couldn't particularly blame her, considering Anna was a relative stranger to them all, but that had left her with only one idea.
"You can't do magic," she heard herself say, "but what if we find someone who can?"
All eyes fell on her.
"You know where to find another witch?" Elena asked.
The only place she knew where they could easily find a witch was New Orleans, but that wasn't much of an option. Not when she didn't know what they would do to her when they sensed what she was. And without Sheila awake, she couldn't learn where the Parkers or any of her other friends were.
"No. I don't." She pursed her lips bitterly. "But I know someone who does."
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The Salvatore Boarding House was one of the first places she visited when she realized she'd been reincarnated. Though she couldn't remember precisely how it had looked in her first life, she remembered that it had been one of her favorite buildings in the entire show. And now that she lived in Mystic Falls, Virginia, it was one of her favorite buildings in the entire town.
"Are you sure you're up for this, Lena?" She had insisted on coming with her, and this time, nothing Angela said managed to change her mind.
She nodded determinately. "I'm never leaving you alone with him again."
Angela made a face that said "it's your funeral" and tugged on the old-fashioned, brass doorbell. There was a wait so long she went to tug on it again, but then the door swung open… all by itself. She and her sister shared a look. After a moment, Elena decided to step inside, and with little choice left, she followed suit.
The air was different on the other side of the door. Sacred. It felt like stepping into a cathedral that had been erected centuries before she had been born and would still be standing centuries after she had been turned to dust.
"Hello?" her sister called out as they walked into the living room. Although, she thought that calling it a living room was a bit insulting.
The engraved, deep walnut walls rose so high she was sure she would get a crick in her neck if she tried to estimate how tall they were. There were elegant, exposed wood beams that supported the roof and framed an archway on either end of the room. The one to her left led to what seemed to be a sitting area with a fireplace, while the one to her right led to what was either a library or an office. A large, ornate, iron chandelier hung low from the middle of the ceiling, but she was sure that even if she jumped as high as she could, her fingers would never graze it.
The matching walnut floorboards were smooth and spanned at least thirty feet from her left to her right. They were decorated by beautiful, reddish-colored rugs and supported antique furniture that had no doubt been collected over the ages. Directly in front of her, there was an archway that led to a dining area. She could see that the wooden table was surrounded by thin, stain glass windows, and that only heightened her feeling of this being a sacred place. Above the archway hung a tapestry, and she noticed that there were other decorations scattered all around the walls; a shelf and a vase here, a pair of crossed swords there, and paintings that surely belonged in a museum.
At that moment, she felt so unbelievably foolish for ever thinking that the Lockwood manor looked wealthy. Comparing it to the boarding house would be like comparing the holdfast of a petty lord to that of the Sun King. This, she thought, was true wealth. And though she was too afraid to touch anything for fear of tainting it, she knew that she never wanted to leave.
"Well, this is new."
She whirled around to find none other than Damon Salvatore standing by the front door. He gently pushed it shut and sauntered towards them. "Gotta be honest, I was expecting Angela to come in first." His lips formed a smirk as he looked at Elena. "I was pleasantly surprised."
She saw her sister take a deep, shaky breath and envied her for it. She couldn't seem to breathe no matter how hard she tried. Elena gave him a brief once-over. "Wish I could say the same." Angela would laugh at that later, when she was getting dressed for bed.
Damon laughed at it now. He tilted his head and looked at Elena from beneath his lashes. "Something told me you were the fun twin." His eyes moved to her, and she felt her heart stutter in fear. "What are you doing here?"
Say something. If you act like prey, he'll treat you like prey. She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. "We want you to tell us where to find Bree."
"Huh," he flicked his eyebrows and began walking to the alcohol, "not so pleasant a surprise."
"It's the least you could do," Elena said, and Angela bit her tongue so she wouldn't beg her to shut up.
He pointed at them as he poured himself a glass of bourbon. Her insides twisted at the most recent memory she had of the drink. "Actually," he said, "the least I could do is absolutely nothing. Which," he brought the glass up in a salute, "is exactly what I'm planning on doing." He took a sip before walking away and sitting down on a lavish, patterned loveseat.
His back was to them, and Elena looked at her in annoyance. Angela moved so she would be within his line of sight again, distantly registering the fact that her sister was following her. "You mean you don't want our help with infiltrating the Council? Four dead bodies within a week… you really should know better by now."
He narrowed his cold, blue eyes, and her throat closed up. "What would a high-schooler know about the Council?"
She swallowed. "Thought we've been through all this."
"Alright then. I'll humor you. Tell me, great, omniscient twelve-year-old, how exactly are you planning on helping me get away with murder?"
"They trust us. The Council. They know we know about vampires. If we tell them that you're trustworthy and you don't do anything too… Damon-y, you should have a much easier time getting them to trust you, too."
He was silent for a moment before he rolled his eyes and took another sip of bourbon. "Thanks for the concern, but I'll manage just fine on my own."
"Had a feeling you'd say that." She brought her cell phone out of her purse and showed it to him. "It's nine fifty-seven. If I don't call Bonnie Bennett within the next three minutes to tell her that you've agreed to our terms, she'll out you to the entire town. If I don't call Tyler Lockwood within the next thirty-three minutes to tell him the same thing, he'll out you to the entire town. If I don't call Caroline Forbes within the next sixty-three minutes to tell her the same thing-"
"Let me guess: she'll out me to the entire town."
She smiled sarcastically. "Well done, Damon. Would you like a cookie?"
He stood with a glare, though she found that her fear had begun to dissipate. "Don't push it."
"Will you help us find Bree in exchange for us helping you infiltrate the Council?"
He said nothing for a moment before he sneered. "Fine. Hope you like beer and greasy cheeseburgers."
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"You couldn't have just told us where she was?" she asked from the backseat of Damon's blue Camaro.
"And leave you three to conspire against me?" He snorted. "No thanks."
Elena turned to look at him from the passenger's seat. "Why would she want to conspire against you? Isn't she your friend?"
"Ha!" Angela brought a hand up to her mouth too late. She tilted her head and looked at them in amusement. "Damon? Friends? Have you met him?"
Elena chuckled and Damon glanced at her in the rear-view mirror. "Keep it up, Raven Baxter. Might make me eat you next."
"You know, your threats aren't nearly as effective when I know you can't hurt us."
"Oh, that's right. I can't. Where does that Bennett witch live again? Maybe I'll pay her a visit."
Her eyebrows rose. "Why? Think killing her will render the contract null? All you'd be doing is committing suicide."
"Ooh, suicide. That's a good cover up."
Elena gave a sharp sigh. "Don't you ever get tired of talking to people like this? You know, knowing you can never just have a deep, meaningful conversation with somebody?"
He turned to look at her, and Angela caught how his eyes softened for a split-second. "You've talked to me all of three times and now you think you know everything." He turned back towards the road. "Here I thought I was arrogant."
After a long, silent moment, Angela awkwardly widened her eyes and dug her iPod out of her purse. "Right, well, um, I'm gonna listen to music and pretend I'm anywhere but here. Tell me when we arrive."
"You can listen to music without that." His hand reached out to turn on the radio, and the chorus of Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me came blaring out the speakers. He quickly changed the station to something considerably harder and glanced next to him, at a baffled Elena. "What?" He shrugged, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "Chicks love it."
.
It was two o'clock in the afternoon and she was beginning to get hungry. "Can we stop for food soon?"
"Yeah," Elena had to raise her voice in order to be heard over the wind whipping around them, "I'm starving."
"With all that hair you've been eating," Damon said, "I thought you'd be full by now."
About an hour ago he had decided to put the hood down, and she was glad she had brought a hair tie with her. Elena, on the other hand, was not so lucky, and kept having to spit hair out of her mouth.
Elena huffed and slapped a stray lock away from her eyes. "Hilarious."
"I know," he drawled.
Angela tilted her head. "Damon, can I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"How come you're being so nice today? It's unsettling." Since they'd embarked on their road trip, she hadn't once felt genuinely afraid of him. Angry? Yes. Annoyed? Absolutely. Afraid? Not so much.
"Why shouldn't I be nice? I have my trusty sidekicks helping me out with the Council, my brother hasn't been brooding up the place for an entire day and a half, and I'll be reunited with the love of my life within the year." He looked at her in the rear-view mirror. "Life's great."
She narrowed her eyes skeptically. "What do you mean Stefan hasn't been brooding?"
"Oh, he could be broodier than ever for all I know. He hasn't been home since Thursday."
"What?" Elena snapped her head towards him. "What do you mean he hasn't been home?"
"I mean he hasn't been home." He rolled his eyes. "Do both of you need hearing aids?"
"Actually," Angela said, "now that you mention it, I didn't see him at school on Friday." She'd thought it was because he was avoiding her, but now she suspected it was because of something far more serious.
"Yeah, actually, me neither." Elena turned around to look at her. "Do you know anything about that?"
Probably. "Not really." She smiled her kind, practiced smile. "We'll figure it out after we get this over with."
Elena smiled in return and reached forward to grab her hand. Gently, she mouthed, "Are you okay?" and Angela felt her eyes soften. She nodded reassuringly. The car turning right made her look up, and she saw that they'd pulled up to a McDonald's drive-thru.
Damon turned to them with a sarcastic smile. "You're paying."
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"Can we change the station?" Elena asked. "Or maybe just turn the radio off so I don't have to try and hear my own thoughts over the sound of road work."
Damon drew his head back in offense. "You mean Metallica? You don't like Metallica? What's wrong with you?"
Angela scrunched her nose. "Can't believe I'm forced to agree with him."
"See? Thank you, Angela. At least one of you is sane."
"Don't compliment me."
"And no, we cannot change the station. You need to become cultured."
Elena sighed. "Fine." She reached over to do it herself, but Damon covered the radio with his hand. She shot him an unimpressed look. "Really?"
"My car, my rules."
"Because why on Earth should Damon Salvatore show a modicum of hospitality?" Some hair smacked her in the face and she roughly shoved it behind her ear. "Could you at least put the hood back up?"
She saw his eyes crinkle in the mirror. He pushed a button, making the hood slowly cover the car, and asked, "What's your favorite color?"
Elena blinked. "What?"
"What's your favorite color?"
"N-no, I heard you, I'm asking why you want to know."
"You want hospitality. It's only polite for the host – me – to try and get to know the guest – you – a little bit better. So, what's your favorite color?"
"U-um… blue."
"Blue?" He sounded disgusted. "Seriously? Everyone says blue."
"Well that's my favorite color, gracious host. What's yours? Black like your soul or red like the blood of your victims?"
He laughed. "You know, I can see why my brother's smitten. You've got spunk, talking to a vampire like this."
"Wish I knew what my sister sees in you. And why she hasn't killed you yet."
She took that as her cue to speak. "Because I'm able to separate my feelings from what needs to be done. Just because I never want to see him again doesn't mean it would be wise to kill him."
Other than wanting to give him and Stefan a chance to be brothers again, there was the very real possibility that he would fall in love with her sister. And when Damon cared for someone that deeply, there was little he wouldn't do to keep them safe. Maybe this road trip is a good thing. It'll help put him on that track. That didn't mean she had to like Elena spending time with him though.
"It's good to know you're so wise, Angela," he said with fake sincerity. "Entrusting the secrets of the universe to a maniac would've been a really bad idea."
She clenched her jaw so she wouldn't say, "Your mother is a ripper," out of annoyance. She made a mental note to come up with an appropriate yo mama joke for if that ever came up. "That's not to say I'm unwilling to kill him if he becomes too big of an issue."
"Ooh, I'm shaking. So if you don't like Metallica, what do you like? Spice Girls?"
Elena scoffed. "Yeah, when I was in elementary school." Angela knew she still listened to them. "I don't know, I listen to… normal people music."
"Oh God, please don't tell me you only listen to the top 100."
"No. I don't know… like… ABBA."
"ABBA? Seriously? ABBA?" Elena shot him a glare. "Anyway. Favorite movie?"
"Are we honestly playing twenty questions right now?"
"Is there anything better to do? We have another two hours until we reach Atlanta."
"We could stop talking and listen to better music." She reached out towards the radio, but Damon playfully batted her hand away. Her nostrils flared and she went to try again, but he did the same thing. It happened again and again before Elena gave up and threw her hands in the air. "God! You are such a child."
"I'm 170 years old."
"A- Wait, really?"
"Yup. Kinda creepy for my brother to be so into you, isn't it?"
She thought that was rich, coming from him. "Don't let him get in your head. It'd be about as creepy as me dating someone my physical age." As the words left her mouth, she realized it wasn't much of an argument. If she could bring herself to see the MFMs as anything other than kids, she would have fallen for Caroline years ago.
"Don't listen to her," he said. His voice became a loud whisper and he brought a hand up to hide his mouth from her. "It's super creepy."
The small laugh that Elena failed to hide felt like a slap in the face.
.
"I spy… one stuffy Gilbert twin."
Angela rolled her eyes. "I'm not stuffy. I just don't like you."
"You know, I used to know a girl that looked just like you. She was much more fun."
"Yeah, well, you haven't exactly given me a reason to enjoy your company."
"You mean my charming presence isn't enough to make you fall madly in love with me?"
"Damon, the only time your presence is charming is when it isn't there."
He nodded as if she'd impressed him. "Not bad." He glanced over at her sister, who was sleeping peacefully. "So, now that she isn't listening… why'd you lie about not knowing what Stefan's up to?"
She nearly choked. "Uh, I didn't lie."
"Uh, yeah, you did. Vampire hearing, remember? Your heart was pounding."
"Sure it wasn't just because I realized how charming your presence is?"
His eyes crinkled, and she imagined his sarcastic smile. "Nice try. Tell me."
She looked at the cars rushing by and tried to keep her cool so he wouldn't know she wasn't telling the entire truth. "From what I know, the only time Stefan isn't brooding up the place is either when he's with someone he really likes or when he's been drinking… you know."
His eyebrows rose. "How do you- never mind. You think he's been eating people?"
She shrugged small. "It's just a guess."
"Huh… well… good for him."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"About time he remembered who he is. What he is."
"Wh- Have you completely forgotten what happens when Stefan drinks human blood?"
He shrugged a shoulder. "Hey, he never signed a contract. I don't care what he does."
She gaped at him. "How can you say that?"
His eyes met hers in the mirror, and for the first time since they got in the car, she felt a bolt of fear run through her body. "Because nothing matters, Angela. Nothing. Not until I find Katherine."
Something about the way he said the word "find" made her breath hitch in realization. "That's why you're coming with us to speak to Bree. You want her to cast a locator spell."
He said nothing, but that was answer enough. "It won't work," she wanted to tell him. "If she wasn't cloaking herself she'd be dead." But it would be infinitely more effective for him to find that out on his own. He pulled up to a grey, one-story building that had the words "Bree's Bar" written in large, green letters above the entrance.
Angela knew that it had turned six o'clock a couple minutes ago, because she'd called Bonnie to assure her that everything was still fine. She wondered what time it would be when they got back home, but she'd thankfully had the foresight to tell Jenna that she and Elena would be staying at Caroline's the entire day.
Damon nudged her sister awake, who rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and found the sign. "Is this it?"
"No," he drawled, "this is another Bree's bar."
Elena decided to ignore him and simply exit the car, prompting Angela to follow suit. The outside was rather plain-looking in her opinion, but through its windows she could see that it was as busy as the Mystic Grill.
Elena reached for the door, but jumped when Damon blocked it with his hand, like he had the radio. With a smirk and mirth dancing in his eyes, he opened it and gestured for her to enter. Elena tilted her head in suspicion, but Angela saw how her lips pursed in order to hide her smile. It wasn't a laugh, so it didn't hurt as much.
The inside was cozy, with brown, orange, and green shades everywhere. She wondered if all practicing witches had an affinity for earth tones, or if it was only Sheila and Bree. Damon guided them to the U-shaped bar in the middle of the room and sat on one of the industrial, leather-seated stools. They both joined him, Angela on his right and Elena on his left.
Damon loudly cleared his throat at the bartender, who was talking to a waiter on the other side and had her back to them.
"I'll be with you in a sec-" She glanced back and gasped big when she saw him. "No. No, it can't be. Damon, my honey pie?"
"Bree," his eyes ran up and down her body, "I missed those tight little tank tops."
Bree was a beautiful woman who looked to be in her early forties. Her umber brown skin was spotless, her long, curly hair was healthy-looking, and Angela thought that the grin that made two dimples appear in her cheeks was the prettiest she'd seen in a while.
Before she could blink, Bree had jumped over the bar and pulled Damon in for a fierce kiss. With wide eyes, Angela leaned back to look at her sister, and hid a laugh at the disturbed expression on her face.
"Listen up, everybody!" Bree grabbed a bottle and four shot glasses, pouring them all a drink. "This here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness!"
Angela heard some cheers and wolf-whistles as Damon turned to look at them with a wide smirk on his face. "Cheers," he said, and downed his drink at the same time as Bree.
Should I? I'm still underage. Technically. But if she wasn't okay with it, she wouldn't have poured me a shot, would she? "Screw it." Angela downed her drink and hissed when it burned her throat.
"Woman after my own heart," Bree said. She looked at her sister. "Don't you drink?"
Elena's mouth dropped open. "Oh, I, um…" Her eyes flicked to Angela, who shrugged in a silent repeat of her previous sentiment. She smiled coyly. "Yes. I do."
Bree gave a dimpled grin as Elena knocked back her shot. "That's the spirit. So, tell me," her gaze shifted between them, "which one of you did he manage to rope in?"
Angela coughed. "U-uh, neither."
"Oh, honey, if you're not roped, you're whipped." She sighed happily and poured them all another round. "Either way, I say just sit back," she drank her shot, "and enjoooy the ride." Angela raised a brow at the suggestive tone in her voice.
Elena awkwardly cleared her throat. "So, uh, how did you two meet?"
"College."
Her brown eyes looked to Damon in disbelief. "You went to college?"
He smiled. "I've been on a campus."
"Back when I was a sweet, young freshman, I met this," Bree pointed at him, "beautiful man. And I fell in love. But then he told me his little secret and I fell even harder. Because, you see," she leaned in conspiratorially, "I had a little secret of my own that I was just dying to tell somebody."
Elena threw her head back in realization. "That you're a witch."
That visibly surprised her. "You know?"
Angela gave a tight smile. "That's actually… kind of why we're here. One of our best friends? Her grandmother's a witch. There's something wrong with her, but we aren't sure what."
"Well, what seems to be the problem?"
"A few days ago, she expended a lot of magic and fell unconscious. She's still breathing, her heartbeat's steady, and she woke up shortly after she collapsed, but now, nothing we do is able to wake her."
Damon blinked. "Wait, the Bennett witch is knocked out? And here I thought getting rid of her would be an issue."
Bree's eyes went wide. "I'm sorry, did you just say Bennett? As in, one of the most powerful magical bloodlines in North America?"
Elena looked at Angela questioningly, but she ignored her. "That's the one. Have any idea if what's happening to her is normal?"
She let out a long breath, as if the surname had knocked the wind out of her. "Haven't had much experience with magic overuse, but… you shouldn't be having this much trouble getting her to wake up."
Her stomach sank. "I was worried you'd say that."
"What if she went against one of her ancestors' orders beforehand?" Elena asked. "Could that have anything to do with it?"
"Defying a dead Bennett witch?" Bree snorted. "Can't imagine it'd lead to anything good."
"But would it lead to this?"
She tilted her head and scrutinized them. "Could be. I'd probably have to meet her to know for sure. See if I can sense anything."
"When do you get off work?" Angela immediately asked, and she laughed.
"Why?" Her tone became low and suggestive. "Wanna buy me dinner?"
"U-um…"
"I'm the boss. I get off work whenever I want to. Although I should probably stay for another hour or two, considering I just started my shift."
"Well then," Damon raised his glass, "here's to old memories."
Bree poured herself another shot and mirrored his gesture. "And to whatever mess I just got myself roped into."
.
"Okay," Elena said, "you're cheating."
Damon had moved them down the bar and chose a seat on the corner for himself. Elena had taken pity on her by deciding to sit next to him, which allowed Angela to sit on the corner's other side.
It was so they could see each other well while they passed the time, she knew, but that didn't mean she liked how close Damon was sitting to her sister. Nor did she like the fact that his idea of passing the time involved playing drinking games.
"What?" he asked incredulously. "How would you even know that?"
Elena glared at him, but with how her cheeks were flushed from alcohol it didn't make her look very intimidating. "Because I refuse to believe you've never eaten a child."
He scoffed. "Do you really think I'm that evil?"
"You aren't exactly a model citizen."
"Yeah, well, neither is my brother." There was a sliver of amusement in his voice that made Angela narrow her eyes. She knew exactly what he meant by that.
"At least he never ate a child."
"And neither have I!"
They stared each other down until Angela decided to break them apart. "My turn! Never have I ever… murdered a high school teacher." The way his nose scrunched made her smile.
"Now who's cheating?" He drank regardless, and Elena smugly refilled his glass. "Never have I ever…" His eyes shot to Angela. "Kept a secret from my sister."
She knew exactly what he meant by that, too. She glanced at Elena. "Cheers?"
Elena clinked their glasses together. "Cheers." They downed their shots, and she could see that Damon was confused.
"What?" She filled them back up. "I'm not about to unload the secrets of the universe onto my sister. And you," she pointed at her, "kept Chasey secret for a whole entire month."
Elena groaned. "Oh God, please don't talk about Chasey in front of him."
"What? No, I want to know." He leaned forward. "Who's Chasey?"
Angela raised a challenging eyebrow. "Are you gonna tell him or should I? Because it was so long ago. The details are a little… fuzzy. I might," she gasped behind her hand, "exaggerate some things."
"Alright, alright!" She turned to Damon with a sigh. "Chasey was… my first boyfriend." His eyebrows shot up. "And he was unbelievably cute. His eyes were big, and round, and just the most beautiful shade of brown I've ever seen. His hair was soft, and perfect, and I loved running my fingers through it. He was always there for me when I needed him. Always. He was… God, he was just the best listener.
"My mom wanted me to get into writing, you know. Angie's special activity with her was singing and mine was writing. She got me this diary when I was little that I never really bothered to open until after she passed. I didn't need it, I thought, because I had my sister to confide in… and I had Chasey." She wasn't sure whether hearing that made her want to cry or cackle.
Elena sighed wistfully. "Chasey was perfect, plain and simple. But, you know, if I had to choose my absolute favorite thing about him… it would have to be his ears."
Damon had seemed enraptured until that moment. "His ears?"
"Yeah." Her lips twitched. "God, they just look so tiny and round, the way they sit on top of his fluffy little head. And they frame his blue top hat so well – or, well, framed. I did accidentally rip it off, like, a week after I met him. But still, even though I ripped it off, he stayed. He stayed with me through everything. Whenever he isn't on my bed he's on my bookshelf, just sitting there. Guarding me. Protecting me. My silent sentinel. I… I love him, Damon. I love him."
His expression was sour. "Chasey's a teddy bear, isn't he?"
Elena grinned proudly and raised her glass. "Got him when I was five."
"Great. Well. That was a waste of time."
"Like you have anything better to do."
He eyed Bree. "Maybe I do."
"You're disgusting."
"More disgusting than you falling in love with a stuffed animal?"
"I was five. Besides, from what I hear, you should be the last person to judge my love life."
"Ouch. Snark at where it hurts. How very Damon of you."
"I'm nothing like you."
"Sure you aren't."
"Stop doing that."
"Stop doing what?"
"Saying things in a tone that says you mean the exact opposite. It's annoying."
"It's sarcasm."
"It's annoying. And immature."
"Ooh, the girl who fell in love with a teddy bear joined the Maturity Police now, did she? What if someone found out about you and Chasey? Would you get fired? Or would you retire out of embarrassment? Oh! I know! You can start a movement to arm bears so he can come protect you from the big, bad threat of impending humiliation!"
"…I hate you."
"Sure you do."
.
"Ready?" Bree wiggled with an excited grin on her face. "Go!"
Damon had gotten bored by their game, and Elena must've had a bit too much alcohol in her, because she suggested they play a game of endurance instead. After the first round, people started catching on, and there were currently six other patrons cheering them on.
"That's three!" Elena clapped and looked at a bewildered Damon. She pouted mockingly. "Aww, poor baby… do you need a bib?"
"Sorry. I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Alright, who's next? Another round!"
"I'll go!" It was a young, red haired woman who spoke, and Elena welcomed her with a grin.
Bree snorted through her laughter and refilled their glasses. "Think I'll get myself a Porsche after this. Always wanted a Porsche."
Angela was getting antsy. "Elena, you might want to stop soon."
To her immense surprise, she blew her a raspberry. "Please, I'm not even a little drunk. My tolerance is, like," she went on her tippy toes and extended a hand as far up as it would go, "waaay up there."
She saw Damon get up from his stool and beckon Bree away from the crowd. As Elena and the redhead knocked their shots back, she quietly observed what she guessed was a conversation about Katherine.
The more Damon spoke, the more remorseful Bree looked, and after a brief verbal exchange, she squeezed his shoulder and spoke to one of her employees. The man nodded, and she watched him walk closer until he was behind the bar. Bree guided Damon into a side room before its door shut closed and she could no longer see them.
She glanced back at her sister. The last thing she wanted to do was leave her alone, but the first thing she wanted to do was listen in on what Bree and Damon were doing. She had to make sure he didn't kill her before they could get back to Sheila.
She addressed the man behind the bar. "Excuse me?" He came over to her, and she saw that his name was Avi. She smiled her kind, practiced smile. "Could you please keep an eye on my sister? I need to make a phone call."
He followed her line of sight and nodded. "Yeah, of course."
"Thank you." She pushed herself off the stool and, as quietly as she could, snuck over to the grey, metal door.
She covered her left ear with her hand so she could better hear what was happening inside, but it didn't do much. Her sister had amassed a group of loud, drunk people, after all. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. Elena had been a bit of a party girl before the murder – the Sommers gene, Grayson had called it – and while it gladdened her to see her sister's old and happy self, knowing that Damon was the one that brought it out of her produced nothing but resentment.
"…where…"
"…close?"
"Not…"
"…then…"
She pulled back with a grimace. This was useless. Her cell phone read nineteen, and with a start, she realized she had to call Caroline to let her know that everything was fine. Thankfully, the bathroom was quiet enough for a phone call. Look at that. Didn't lie to Avi after all. Everything was okay back in Mystic Falls according to the blonde, though Sheila's condition was unchanged.
She went back to Elena, eyeing the metal door all the while. She was fairly certain that since Damon hadn't murdered Lexi – something she would absolutely not allow to happen – Bree wasn't trying to kill him and he had no reason to kill her in turn. However, hearing that Katherine was virtually untraceable had every chance to upset him enough to do something drastic.
And what would happen if he did? Who would she go to then? Where did the Parker patriarch live? She wanted to say Michigan, but she was positive it wasn't Michigan. Would New Orleans be worth the risk? Emily wanted to kill her just by sensing what she was. Was it because of her being reincarnated or because of her being a parasite? How could witches and warlocks even tell what she was? Was there some way to cloak her identity? What if Sheila never woke up? What if she died sooner than expected? What if she killed her, just like she did her parents and Tanner? What if she couldn't save her? What if she could never save anyone? She had to save Sheila. She had to save Sheila.
She didn't realize she had broken her glass until Bree exited the room.
.
"This cheeseburger isn't that greasy."
Angela had ordered it for her. She didn't trust Damon around her sister when she was sober, and she trusted him around her far less when she was drunk.
"But," he said, "it does contain pickles, which you hate for some insane reason." He picked one off of her plate and popped it in his mouth.
Elena watched him in confusion. "Is any of this real? This whole nice act you've got going on? Because Angie was right. It's unsettling."
"It's only because you're here," she said. She had enough time to think about what was happening. Damon's emotions were on, or he wouldn't have cried when he found out that Katherine wasn't in the tomb. Seeing Elena, who looked exactly like her, must have triggered some instinct of his to make her like him. "He's never been this nice in front of me."
"Why is it unsettling, Elena? Because you're actually enjoying spending time with me? Do you not want to admit to yourself that you're having fun?"
"I am not having fun."
"Then what do you call singing along to the radio and partying with strangers?"
"I never sang along to anything."
"Oh, sure you did. I heard you mumbling along to Use Somebody."
"I don't even like that song! How would I know the words?"
"Maybe because you're a big fat liar."
"I am not a liar."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Except you are."
"I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"No," she said through gritted teeth, "I'm not."
"You are."
"Damon."
"Hm?" He had the biggest shit-eating grin she had ever seen in her life.
Elena was fuming. "You're acting like a child."
"I'm not the one throwing a hissy fit."
Elena threw a pickle at him, and Angela decided that enough was enough. "Okay!" She stood, sure that she looked as incredulous as she felt. "I need to use the bathroom. Elena. Come with me."
Never once taking her furious eyes off of him, Elena grabbed her purse and followed her. Angela turned on her as soon as they were alone. "Okay, what the hell is happening? Why are you acting like this?"
"I'm sorry, he just… ugh, he figured out exactly how to push my buttons. I didn't mean to get upset."
"What? Elena, you're flirting with him."
"What?" Her eyes went wide. "No, I'm not! Are you serious? He traumatized you, Angie. I would never flirt with someone that did that."
You'd never flirt with someone that snapped Jeremy's neck, either. "And you know what, while we're at it, what the hell is happening with you and Stefan? I thought you were going to ask him out, and now I find out you didn't even realize he was missing? Have you told him that you know what he is yet?"
Elena's mouth moved soundlessly. "I… um…"
"It's a yes or no question."
She glared. "No. Okay? I haven't told him. And you want to know why? Because even though a part of me is screaming to take the plunge and fall head over heels for him like it wants to, another part of me is screaming, saying that vampires are monsters that kill people, and traumatize people, and use them for their own amusement, and that Stefan is one of them. Alright? That's why I haven't told him. Because once I do, there's no going back.
"And even though you said that he's not that kind of vampire, whenever I think about what he and I might be like together… whenever I imagine us hugging or kissing, all I can think about is his face changing and attacking me and that being the last thing I ever see, and…" She took a shaky breath. "That terrifies me, Angie. That terrifies me more than anything."
I'm an idiot. "I never should've told you."
"What?"
She bit her lip. "I never should've told you. About him. It wasn't right. It wasn't my secret to tell. If I never told you, you wouldn't be feeling this way right now."
Elena shook her head. "Yes, you should have. And you did. Because you care about me and you wanted me to know what I was getting myself into."
"Actually, I told you because I was afraid you'd yell at me once you found out on your own."
She breathed a laugh. "The point is that you told me. And I'm glad you did. I'd have felt this way sooner or later. Better it happens now instead of when I'm already half in love with him."
"He'd make you happy, you know. I want you to be happy."
"You letting me think about this is what would make me happy. I get that you love me and want what's best for me, but… this is something I need to figure out for myself."
"Okay. I can do that. Sorry I, um, accused you of flirting with Douchebag."
"If I'm afraid of being with Stefan, I hope you realize how I'd feel about being with Douchebag."
"I do. I'm sorry." She looked at her hopefully. "Sisters?"
She smiled and brought her in for a warm hug. "Always and forever."
.
"You're an interesting one."
Angela shifted in her seat. "Am I?"
Bree smiled at her from behind the bar. "Oh, don't worry. I won't out you. But you might want to be careful. Not every witch follows my philosophy of individuals over species. Those that don't probably see you as a wild card. Which means they see you as a threat."
"Noted. So, I count as a species now?"
"Well, technically you're a supernatural phenomenon, but," she waved a hand, "that's not nearly as catchy."
She smiled. "No, I guess it isn't." She glanced at where Damon and her sister were sitting. "Hey, um, could you do me a favor?"
"Thought I already was."
"One that isn't nearly as tedious." Bree nodded. "Could you tell Damon what I am? He forced the truth out of me a few days ago, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't believe me."
"By forced the truth out of you, you mean…"
"He threatened to kill everyone in my town."
"Ah," she said lightly. "Good old Damon Salvatore."
"Yeah."
"I'll see what I can do. There's no guarantee he'll believe me either, but," she smirked, "something tells me that even if he does, a part of him will always be in denial."
She wondered if, considering how bizarre her story was, he would be as disbelieving when confronted with the existence of werewolves. "Good point."
"You know, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you some questions. Reborn souls are extremely rare."
"I have a question for you too, actually."
"Just one?"
"For now."
"Hm. You first."
"How do you know I've been reborn? Do you have to touch me like you do vampires, or do you just look at me and know?"
Bree looked up in thought. "It's like… there are two versions of you. Whenever I look at you, young and beautiful, I feel like if I look a little harder, if I just dig a little deeper, I can see something totally different. And then I do, and I see an old woman. That's when I know what you are."
She straightened in her seat. "What does she look like? The old woman."
"She looks like you, but about sixty years older." Oh. She deflated. "Still has that pretty little beauty mark above her lip, though. Always wanted one of those. Tried drawing one with eyeliner, but getting it to look the same every time was a royal pain in my ass."
"What about getting one as a tattoo?"
Bree's mouth dropped open. "Now, how did I never think of that?"
"Eh," she shrugged with a secret smile, "I like to think outside the box. Your turn."
"Okay…" She got more comfortable, leaning against the bar so they would be eye-to-eye. "Do you remember anything from your past life?"
"Some things. I remember things I experienced, but nothing that could help me identify who I used to be. I was… hoping that's who the old woman was. My previous self."
She gave her a sad smile. "Sorry, honey."
"No, it's probably better this way. I'd have too many people to mourn otherwise. Which is… super sad. Wow. Didn't mean to ruin the mood."
"I'm a bartender. It's my job to listen to sad stories."
She made an amused noise. "No wonder Cami chose this job."
"Who?"
"Never mind. Next question." Her phone ringing interrupted their conversation. It was Caroline, and that confused her. Did she forget to tell me something? "Hey, sorry, mind if I get this?"
"Go ahead. Should probably do my job anyway."
She walked outside into the dark, evening air to a quieter spot and hit Accept. "Hey-"
"Angie? Oh my God!" The panic in her voice immediately put her on alert.
"What-"
"There's a woman! By Wickery Bridge! Someone bit her! She's bleeding out!"
Her stomach dropped. "What?"
"What do I do? What do I- oh my God. There's so much blood. There's so much blood, oh my God."
"Caroline? Listen to me. I need you to tell me exactly where you are. You said by Wickery Bridge. Which side-"
"I-I'm on the side closest to the forest, but are you listening to me? She's dying! Should I call 911? Did one of your friends do this? I swear to God, if one of your friends did this-"
"No," she said quickly. "They didn't. They wouldn't." But Stefan on human blood would. She couldn't feel her legs. "Call an ambulance. We're coming home." Caroline hung up as soon as the words left her mouth.
She hurried back inside to Bree, who was pouring rum for someone. "Hey," her eyes widened when she saw her, "are you okay?"
Am I ever? "We need to go. Now. Can you finish up? Please."
"What- uh, yeah, okay, give me a minute."
Angela didn't bother staying to make sure she did as she was asked and rushed over to her travel buddies. "We're going home."
"Did something happen?" Elena asked. "You look pale."
Her eyes automatically fell onto Damon. "Vampire attack. Caroline might have just seen her first corpse."
Elena blanched. "Oh my God…"
"Well," he looked down at how he was clearly not in Mystic Falls, "that might become an issue."
"I'll be by the car. Don't keep me waiting."
In the seven hours it took for them to get back to Mystic Falls, she had formed about as many plans about what to do as soon as they arrived. They would stop by the motel first, she decided, to be completely sure that none of its supernatural residents were behind what happened to the woman. Then, they would split into two teams.
Elena and Bree would go see Sheila while she and Damon went to the boarding house. If they found Stefan there, safe and under control, they would move onto plan B. If they didn't, however, Angela would go searching for him while Damon stayed back in case he returned. Was her going out at night, alone, to search for a potentially bloodthirsty vampire a moronic idea? Absolutely. But she wasn't about to risk Damon making him worse.
She would try to get Anna to come with her, though she wasn't getting her hopes up. Angela helped her with Pearl and Harper, but it was nothing she wouldn't have achieved on her own. She doesn't have to know that. Guilt prodded her at the thought, and she found it to be stupid. Stupid and dangerous. She was becoming attached.
As soon as they stopped in front of the neon blue sign that marked the Iron Horse Motel, she all but jumped out of the car.
"Okay." She faced Bree. "You and my sister are going to Sheila Bennett's house. Elena knows where it is. Text me if something changes." She turned to Damon. "You and I are paying Anna's family a visit. See if they know who did it. If they don't, I'll try and get Anna to join us on the search for the attacker. Clear?"
"You know," he said, "you're kind of sexy when you're all in charge like this." She shot him a heated glare as Bree smacked his shoulder.
"Everything's clear," Elena said. "I'll make sure to update you."
"Good. I'll update you too." Maybe. "Let's go."
She knocked on the familiar motel room door, faintly hoping that she wasn't disturbing them. It was two o'clock in the morning, but its residents just so happened to be vampires and normal times didn't count for them, did they? Anna opened the door with a confused look on her face. Angela felt relief at seeing her in the clothes she'd been wearing that morning.
"What are you doing here?"
"We might have a problem. Can we come in?"
Anna looked behind her shoulder and back at them. She sighed and opened the door further, prompting them to enter.
She didn't see Harper, but the sight of Pearl wearing silk pajamas and in the process of taking her makeup off was more than enough to make her feel uncomfortable.
"Sorry for barging in like this."
"What's the issue?" Pearl asked.
"There was a vampire attack by Wickery Bridge. Around seven o'clock this evening. Do you have any idea who might have done it? Did you see anything?"
Pearl went back to removing her makeup. "Did we do it, you mean." It wasn't a question, and Angela's discomfort deepened.
"Partly. But partly I mean exactly what I asked."
"Before you visited, we had no idea anybody was attacked. Does that satisfy you? Hello, Damon."
He smiled, but his eyes were hard. "Hello, Pearl."
Angela ignored them. "If there's an unchecked vampire in town it means trouble for everyone. If you'd be willing, Anna's help in tracking them down would be more than welcome."
"What do you think, Annabelle?"
"I… think she's right. You want to co-exist with the people of this town. A vampire going on a rampage would draw suspicion."
She turned around from the mirror to better view her daughter. "And you would trust them to be alone with you?"
"I would trust Angela. I can take Damon if he tries anything."
"Alright then. Be careful."
"Glad to hear you have so much faith in me," Damon said. "While we're here, you wouldn't happen to know where Katherine is, would you? Weren't you two besties?"
"Besties?" The term seemed to confuse Pearl, and she found it oddly endearing.
Angela smiled. "He means best friends."
"Ah. I'm unsure as to whether you've noticed, but I've been entombed for the past one hundred forty-five years. I haven't been able to keep a very close eye on my… bestie."
"Alright," he said with a sneer, "then why wasn't she in the tomb in the first place? Surely you can tell me that much."
Angela moved to placate him. "Easy. She agreed to help us when she didn't have to. Show some respect."
Pearl regarded her with newfound approval in her eyes. "The guard. The one who locked us in. Katherine swore she would turn him if he let her go. She had him under her spell, just like everyone else in this town. He let her go."
He blinked. "But if she was free this whole time, why didn't she come back? She fed us her blood, she knew we might've turned. Why didn't she come back?"
"Because she didn't care," Anna said, and his eyes snapped to her. "I saw her in 1983, in Chicago. She knew where you were. She didn't care, Damon."
The water that caused his eyes to shine made her glance at the floor. What she had told Stefan was the truth. She couldn't care about Damon in practice yet, but the Damon that was in front of her right then and there was the one she cared about in theory.
"I don't believe you."
"You don't have to." Angela made sure she wasn't looking at him in pity. He wouldn't like that. "She can tell you herself. All you have to do is wait. What's one year when you've been waiting a hundred and forty-five?" He clenched his jaw. She sighed. "Look. We need to find whoever was behind this attack. They pose a threat to all of us."
Anna nodded. "Agreed."
"Damon. Would you be willing to stay at the boarding house in case your possibly-hopped-up-on-human-blood brother comes back and needs to be subdued?"
He chuckled humorlessly. "You want to leave me behind?"
Yes. "No. It's a genuine possibility we need to prepare for and you're the best candidate for the job. I don't know where the dungeons are and I don't have any vervain needles on me. You can easily snap his neck and lock him up. Though we should probably visit it together first, in case he's there and totally fine."
"What am I doing?" Anna asked.
"If Stefan isn't at home, then you and I are going out to look for him. But you should stay hidden. Even if it isn't him who's behind this, I'm a walking, talking blood bag. In other words, I'm bait. If I'm attacked, you'll jump out and snap the vampire's neck so we can interrogate them, but only if I'm attacked. Does anybody have any questions? Or a better plan?"
Damon smirked, but it looked sad. "Guess you're the brains of the group."
"Or any snide remarks."
"It was a compliment."
She blinked. "Oh… um… thank you."
"I don't have anything to add," Anna said.
"Right." She shook herself out of her shock. "Okay. Let's go."
Because things could never be easy, Stefan wasn't at the boarding house. Zach was, however, and greeted her with immense, bleary-eyed confusion. She decided that was a talk for another time.
Caroline had said that the woman was on the side closest to the forest, which led her to believe that Stefan was out hunting, the victim wandered too close, and he lost control and bit her. Which also meant that, hopefully, he was still in the forest alone. Or he could be binging on the junkies that hang out at the cemetery. Channeling her inner Caroline Forbes, she did her best to not think about that possibility and stay optimistic.
One downside to wandering around in the forest at nighttime was that it was dark. Like, really dark. And because she was an idiot, she hadn't accounted for that. Which meant that in 2009, where having a flashlight in your cell phone wasn't the norm, she was forced to use the tiny screen of her BlackBerry so she wouldn't trip and fall to her death. She glanced up at the trees, where Anna was following, and felt envious of her ability to see in the dark.
A twig snapped.
She whirled to her right and held up her phone. Her eyes searched the area, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Still, the point of this whole thing was to draw the vampire out, so with a deep, steadying breath, she began walking in the direction of the noise.
She glanced behind her. She could no longer see the road, and though she knew she was under the protective gaze of a five-hundred-year-old vampire, she couldn't help but feel nervous.
There was a noise that made her hair stand on end. It was rough and shaky, and if she didn't know any better she would say that it was the laugh of a smoker. You're in nature. Weird noises happen in nature all the time. Calm down. But maybe she shouldn't calm down. Maybe the loud thumping of her heart would help lure the vampire.
It was definitely a laugh. The vampire's toying with you. They snapped the twig- it snapped the twig. She couldn't think of it as sentient. It would be easier to be afraid if she saw it as an entity that was entirely other.
It snapped the twig to freak you out. It laughed to freak you out. Dad said that creatures like it enjoy playing with their food. It might throw something against a tree next. It'll be loud. When will it happen? Where will it happen? BANG.
She came across a structure. Through the dim light her screen emitted, she saw that it seemed to be the base of something larger, though the larger portion had been cut off. She angled her phone differently and saw another, similar structure some feet away. An old archway?
Walking around the area revealed other structures like it. There was a large, stone emblem sitting atop a brick column, a stone bench, and the marble base of what might have once been a fountain. She knew what these were: ruins. But which ruins were they?
A twig snapped.
She whirled around, and the earth fell beneath her feet when she saw the black silhouette of a man standing in front of her. He was taller than her and his hair was short, but she couldn't make out any discernable features.
He started walking, and whenever she took a step back, he took a step forward, matching her movements proficiently. Had she wanted to be poetic at that moment, she would have called what they were taking part in a delicate dance. As it was, all she wanted to do was run away.
The back of her knees hit the edge of a structure, and she nearly fell over. Her hands automatically shot back to steady herself, and she almost whined like a dog when her phone dropped to the ground. The man came closer and she realized she couldn't breathe. Did I work myself up to a panic attack? Did I seriously work myself up to a panic attack? What is wrong with me?
"Angie?"
That voice was familiar. The man reached down to grab her phone, and when he angled it so the side of their faces could be illuminated, she brought a hand up to her throat as she gasped for air.
"Oh my God. Oh my God. You're such an asshole. You are such an asshole, I can't believe you did that. I cannot believe you just did that."
Stefan's eyes were tight. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?"
"You should go."
"Excuse me?"
"I said you should go."
She furrowed her eyebrows. "Have you been here since Friday morning?"
He clenched his jaw and turned away. "Angie. Everything's fine. Please just leave."
"Yeah, I can see that." She moved to catch a glimpse of his face, but by the time he turned away again it was too late. She had seen the veins beneath his eyes. "You don't have to hide from me." She reached a hand up to touch him, but stopped herself at the last second. She didn't know if it would make things harder for him. "I fed you my blood, knowing full well what it would do to you. Please don't feel like you have to hide from me."
His body was rigid, and it seemed to her like he was trying not to breathe; trying not to smell her blood. Slowly, he turned back around. Using the light of her phone, she could see the dark color that filled his eyes; the veins pumping below them; the fact that he had to keep his mouth open so he wouldn't pierce himself with his fangs. She knew it should have frightened her. She knew it should have made her want to run as far away as she could. But to her, that face was just Stefan.
He was looking at her as if he expected her to begin screaming. As if he would deserve it. When she simply continued to stare, he became confused. "Why won't you leave?"
"Because I care about you." She walked to the bench and sat down. "And I don't want to leave you alone unless I'm sure you'll be okay." She silently prompted him to join her, but he remained standing.
"Yes. I've been here since Friday morning. I've isolated myself in the forest because Zach lives at the boarding house and I can't stand to be around his scent for more than five minutes." The way he was talking led her to believe that he was trying to frighten her into going away. "Because if I try to purge the taste of human blood from my mouth by drinking from nothing but animals I might actually stand a chance of recovery. As long as I can smell your blood it will be a constant source of temptation, and I could hurt you. Do you not understand that I could hurt you?"
"You could try. I have vervain in my system. If you drink from me, you'll burn." That was a good idea, actually. She made a mental note to keep a vial or two of the stuff on her person from now on.
He scoffed. "I'm beginning to think you have a death wish."
"You've been in here for three full days, Stefan. The way you feel around me right now, is it better or worse than when you first isolated yourself?" His mouth opened and closed. "The same? Has anything changed at all other than your rapidly declining quality of life?"
"If it was that easy to bring myself back from the edge, I wouldn't have a blood problem. These things take time, and effort, and determination that can't afford temptation."
"And I understand that." She stood, walking until she had to tilt her head to look him in the eye. "But other than Lexi, have you ever had someone to help you through this? Even a… source of temptation? Have you tried to see if it would work?" He stayed silent, and she offered him a gentle smile. "Can I try something? If you absolutely can't stand it, I'll stop."
"Because that doesn't sound ominous."
Her smile widened. "Oh, you're being a smartass! That's good. It means I'm helping."
He let out an amused breath, and when he said nothing, she took it as consent. Slowly, so he had time to stop her, she raised a hand. He stiffened when it reached the height of his face, and stiffened further when she laid it on his cheek. His eyes were locked on her wrist.
"Are you listening to me?" she asked. His nod was tiny. "Good. Now keep listening. Under the skin you see lies poison. If you bite into it, you won't feel euphoria. You won't feel the rush that comes with tasting human blood. Your tongue will burn. Your mouth will burn. Your throat will burn, and it will taste as foul as gasoline. It will feel like sandpaper grating against your throat as it tears it to shreds.
"Still listening?" Nod. "The scent is a trap. It's meant to draw you in and hurt you. You can't let it hurt you. If you let it hurt you, if you don't resist the urge, you'll be in such terrible pain that you won't know what to do with yourself. You'll do anything to get it to stop, but it won't. The burning, grating pain will never stop, and you'll never feel euphoria again. I don't think either of us want that. Do we?"
"No. We don't."
Her lips twitched. "No, we don't."
When he smiled with his mouth closed, she realized that his fangs were gone; that the veins had faded away, and that he was looking at her in a way that frightened her far more than his other face ever had.
She quickly pulled her hand away. "I think it worked."
"Yeah," he said softly. "I think it did."
She bit the inside of her lip, unsure of what to say.
"So if-"
"Should we-"
They stared at each other for a long, silent moment before the giggles burst forth.
"Sorry." He brought a hand up to his smiling mouth. "You go first."
She cleared her throat and tried to stop grinning. "I was going to ask if you think it'd be a good idea for us to head home. It's really late and we could both use some sleep."
"Pretty sure it's really early."
"I'm glad to know I helped, even if now I have to deal with the much more insufferable sassy version of you."
"You like the sassy version of me."
"I'm not responding to that."
"Hey, actually, what were you doing out here in the first place?" That wiped the grin from her mouth.
"There was a vampire attack. Caroline found a woman, half dead, by Wickery Bridge. Do you know anything about it?"
He was frowning, and she felt an odd instinct to smooth the line that appeared on his forehead. "Damon's probably behind it. I've tried to stop him, but-"
"Believe it or not, Damon's the one vampire I'm positive didn't do it. He was with me and Elena all day."
His eyebrows rose. "And what exactly were you doing with Damon all day?"
"Why? Are you jealous?" Her eyes widened and she slapped a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry. That was really inappropriate."
His shoulders shook with silent laughter. "To be fair, I think we pretty much, ah, leapt over inappropriate on Thursday night."
Her face burned hotter than the nonexistent vervain in his mouth. "I thought you didn't want me to feel uncomfortable!"
He glanced down and nodded, expression turning serious. "Right. You're right. I'm sorry. I have no idea who attacked her."
She huffed in an effort to calm down. "Well, whoever it was, they're still out there. What do you say-" Her phone buzzed in her hand.
Lesser Twin: Bree wants u
She barely restrained a groan. "Great. Anna. Please come down here." Anna immediately jumped down in front of them, looking somewhere between mildly annoyed and deeply amused. Stefan clearly hadn't been expecting her arrival, as his hands shot out of his pockets. "I have to go take care of something. Would you two be willing to comb the area without me?"
Anna nodded. "Shouldn't be too hard." Her eyes moved to Stefan. "I'll go west, you go east?"
"Uh… yeah. That works."
Angela shot them a tight smile. "Wonderful. Anna, you already have my number. Stefan, let me give it to you in case you find the vampire." After a quick exchange, she put her phone back up so she could see him. "Be careful."
His eyes were soft in a way she didn't want to think about. "You too."
West was the direction she had to go to reach the road, and Anna had been kind enough to offer to be her escort. Or perhaps it wasn't kindness at all that was behind her actions. Perhaps, instead, it was curiosity.
"You have feelings for him."
Angela nearly tripped. She looked at her with wide eyes. "What?"
"Do you deny it?"
"I-I mean… what does it matter? I don't need him like my sister does."
"Solid relationships aren't built on need. Take it from someone my age."
She scrutinized her. "Didn't take you for the gossiping type."
"I don't know if you've noticed, but I enjoy working from the shadows. It helps me gather information without giving anything away. But every now and then, it's fun to give things away." Her lips twitched. "Especially to people that are easily flustered."
"I am not easily flustered."
"I can smell the amount of blood rushing to your cheeks."
She glared. "Did you only come along so you could torture me?"
"No. I also came along because you're a valuable ally who's frustratingly fragile."
"And insult me."
"It's the truth and you know it."
She sighed and moved some hair behind her shoulder. "You're right. It is."
She could see Anna watching her out the corner of her eye. "I wasn't expecting that from you. Asking for our blood. Are you really okay with the possibility of becoming like us?"
"Vampirism sounds terrible if you can't control your hunger or walk in the sun, but… I need to stay alive in this world, no matter what it takes. For my siblings, mainly, but also for the people I want to save."
"Such as?"
"Such as Sheila. And your family. You're not out of the woods yet." Ironically enough, it was then that they reached the road. "I'll be fine from here. You should go."
"Don't get killed. The last thing I need is a newbie vampire on my hands."
"Why would I be on your hands?"
"An eye for an eye. You're helping my mother more than I thought possible." She smiled. "And I never forget a thing."
.
Bonnie greeted her at the door. "Hey… She's with Grams."
She walked in and observed her for a moment. "You look better."
"Yeeaah, Caroline kinda forced me to take a nap. And a shower."
She gently squeezed her shoulder. "We'll fix this, Bonnie. I'll make sure of it."
"Believe me, if there's anyone I trust to fix this, it's you."
She found Bree standing by Sheila's bed and she looked up when they entered the room. Elena was sitting in the armchair.
"Hey," Bree said. She gestured towards Sheila with a shake of the head. "She's in a coma. More specifically, one that can only be undone by the bloodline that caused it. I'm told that young little miss Bon-Bon over here can't do magic yet, which is probably why her ancestors did it in the first place. They wanted complete control over whether or not she wakes up."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "But that doesn't make any sense. I woke her up shortly after she collapsed. If she was in a coma, how could I possibly do that?"
She shrugged. "Maybe one of her ancestors tried to prevent it. Don't matter now." She addressed Bonnie. "Do you have any relatives that practice?"
"My mom, but I already tried calling her. She must have changed her number."
"Mm. My advice? Compel your way into a hospital until your magic awakens. She needs food and water that you can't give her without medical equipment."
"I don't want a vampire going anywhere near her."
"Then let her die."
Angela felt her mouth drop open.
Bree's eyes softened. "Honey… unless you want to become a bitter, hateful person, you're gonna have to learn, sooner or later, that that feeling you get whenever you touch a vampire? That cold, terrible, sinking feeling? It's bullshit.
"One of my best friends is a vampire, and she's just about the kindest, funniest, most badass bitch I've ever met. On the other hand, witches put your grams in a coma because they didn't like her thinking for herself. There's good and bad in every species. You can't let anything but your own mind decide who's what."
Bree shrugged. "At the end of the day, it's up to you. But if you honestly want her to live, that's your best shot."
Bonnie looked like she was trying not to cry. She glanced at Elena first, then at Angela, and finally at Sheila. She drew a deep breath and nodded.
"Tell Anna to meet us at the hospital."
It was pushing three o'clock by the time they got Sheila into the intensive care unit.
Anna and Stefan didn't have any luck with finding whoever it was that attacked the woman, and they all decided they would try again tomorrow. Angela would visit Liz Forbes and convince her to let her see the victim in order to ask her some questions, while the vamps did some "convincing" of their own around town.
Angela dropped onto Sheila's couch. "I'm beat."
Elena chuckled. "Tell me about it. Think I'll stay here tonight. Bonnie needs a friend."
"Mm, good idea."
"Today was…" She trailed off, as if trying to find the right word.
"Long? Crazy? Extremely, unbelievably draining and made me want an entire week off the face of the earth?"
"I was going to say fun."
She lifted her head to look at her like she was insane. "Fun?"
There was a small smile on her lips. "Yeah. I mean, apart from how worried I was about Ms. Sheila. How worried I am."
"Right," she stood, "it was nice having a sister, but you've clearly gone senile."
Elena laughed and smacked her legs with a pillow. "No, I'm serious. I mean, how long has it been since we went on a road trip? Since we went to a bar where no one knew us and did shots with strangers? We travelled to a different state on the search for a witch to help us, like something out of an adventure movie. There was something… I don't know… exhilarating about today."
"Elena. I think you need to sleep."
She pushed herself off the couch with a loud sigh. "Yeah, you're probably right." She gave her a tired hug. "Give Jer a kiss on the cheek for me before you go to bed."
"Will do."
"Are you leaving?"
Angela pulled back to see Bonnie. "I am. Lena's staying with you."
"Can I talk to you for a second? Before you go?"
"Uh, yeah. Of course." Bonnie guided her to her bedroom and gently shut the door. "What's up?"
She shrugged with a smile. "I just wanted to say thank you. You didn't have to go all the way to Atlanta for me, and I can't imagine being stuck with the source of your trauma for sixteen hours was too much fun."
"No, no, don't mention it. Like, ever." They chuckled, and she ran a loving hand through her hair. "You were right when you said we were sisters. There's little I wouldn't do for you, bunny."
She scrunched her nose. "Thought you said you'd never call me that again."
"You threatened me with a knife."
"A plastic knife. And we were eleven."
"Weirdly enough, it's way scarier when it's a little kid pointing the knife at you."
Her eyes went wide. "You mean I'm not the only person who's threatened you with a knife?"
"I… maybe used to have a drug dealer in my previous life. Had a bit of an altercation when I cut them off."
"Are you being serious?"
She grinned. "Absolutely."
"Oh my God!"
The laugh that left her was loud. "I'll tell you all about the mischief I used to get up to some other time." She opened the door. "Right now, I think I'll just stick to collapsing onto my bed."
She was still looking at her oddly. "Good idea. Have to get up early tomorrow."
Angela was going to ask why, but then she groaned in realization.
Really, of all the days to go on a cross-state road trip, try to keep Elena safe around Damon, attempt to hunt a vampire, help Stefan control his urges, and get Sheila to the hospital, it had to be the one before a Monday.
Question: What was your favorite scene (or scenes) from this chapter? Mine was probably Angela searching for the vampire in the woods because I love spooky shit and I could clearly see it in my mind while writing it.