Would you look at that, two chapters in the span of one day. That's pretty good on my end.
11
Vampire Reporter
"I can't believe Scumfell showed up last night and basically said I had no impulse control," Jenna ranted to Clara as she made a pot of coffee.
Clara was oddly subdued that morning, her eyes rimmed with red. She had heard her crying last night, she had gotten up to use the bathroom and heard it. Clara probably didn't even think she did. She wanted the girl to smile, to joke around with her to threaten Logan with violence. She sat down next to her and stared at the teen until she spoke.
"What's the problem?" Jenna asked, "It has to do with a guy…or girl doesn't it?"
"He sucks," Clara quietly admitted, "I shouldn't even like him, but here we are."
Ah, must be the guy she'd been talking to that day she saw her exiting a café next to the library. That had to be the problematic Damon Salvatore she'd heard about. The information was mainly from Elena, so she didn't know how much of it was overreacting and theatrics. Here, she felt horrible. Clara looked crushed, and deeply hurt. A sniff came from the teen before she quickly blanked her face. She threw a piece of toast at her, a small scrunch of the nose informed her that there was some emotion still there.
"None of that," Jenna said, "talk about your feelings, maybe you'd feel better."
"Did some jerk hurt Clara?" Jeremy asked as he came down the stairs, his sketchbook under his arm.
"Seems like it," Jenna nodded before walking up to him and letting him in on a secret, "she won a free room makeover from a sweepstakes. Go out with her to pick some stuff out, I think she just needs to be around someone right now who's not going to push her to talk, and not curled up with a cup of cold coffee."
"Right, what time should we go?" He asked.
"Around ten, you've got two hours," Jenna answered as she pulled something out, "The email said to just show this to the stores listed and they'd come and get everything done before the weeks over."
Jeremy looked at the card and he raised his brows. All expenses paid room makeover. He could do this, he could put up with a day of shopping with his awesome sister, who was currently resting her forehead on the table in a depressed state. He placed his tin of charcoal on her head and she barely reacted. Whatever happened, she was truly crushed. She had looked okay the day before. Elena came down the stairs as he started to draw his newest inspiration.
"Oh, morning," Jenna greeted.
"Morning aunt Jenna," Elena greeted back.
Elena looked at her sister and narrowed her eyes. There was no more trust there, not anymore. Jeremy looked up from his sketchbook and narrowed his eyes at her upon noticing the glare. He was firmly on the side of someone who was taking an interest in him and wasn't mothering him. She may kick his ass, but she also showed him how to do the same thing. She wasn't a bad person and he could see that.
"Any update with you and Stefan?" Jenna asked Elena stopping the strange glaring contest.
"He knows how I feel and where I stand and I know where he stands," Elena answered, "it doesn't matter. He's leaving, moving away."
"Where is he going?" Jenna asked as she pulled on a jacket.
"I've stopped asking questions," Jeremy answered, "the answer gets scary."
"Yours leaves, mine returns," Jenna muttered.
"Logan?" Elena asked as Clara finally perked up at the name.
Her mind was sluggish. She wasn't feeling the top of her game at the moment. All those pesky emotions that she liked to push down to where she pretended she couldn't feel them, oh they were rushing around her head. She had woken up from a dream about her father and started crying. Her hurt at being constantly betrayed also played a factor in that. She bit the inside of her cheek and grabbed her phone sending off one text message before turning it off. Her brother took the cup of coffee from her and patted her back. They could have a great day out together, even if his sister looked like she was going through hell. She'd know exactly what that felt like, so probably something not that bad.
Somewhere in the Salvatore boarding house, Stefan glared at his brother. He was just sitting there drinking. There was something bothering his older brother and he refused to acknowledge it. It annoyed him that his brother pretended that he didn't care about anything.
"So, any idea of where you'll go?" Stefan finally asked him.
"I don't know," Damon said as he finished off his drink, "London, maybe. See some friends."
"You don't have any friends, Damon," Stefan pointed out, "and one you might've had you pushed away completely."
"You're right, Stefan," Damon admitted with a sarcastic smile, "I only have you. So, where are we going?"
"We are not going anywhere," Stefan informed him, "I'm living my life as far away from you as possible. Maybe I'll visit Lexi."
"But we're a team," Damon said, "we could travel the world together, we could even try out for "The Amazing Race"."
"That's funny," Stefan rolled his eyes, "seriously, where are you going? Because we are not staying in this town. I'm pretty sure Clara might kill you on sight."
Damon doubted that. He remembered the face she had made when he took out his frustration on her. There wasn't any shock in her eyes, she knew his problem of taking out his emotions on those that didn't deserve it, just hurt and betrayal. That bothered him more than he cared to admit and they weren't even friends. He could lie about that all he wanted, but she was the closet thing he had to a genuine friend out here. She called him out on his bullshit and wasn't afraid to stand up to him. His phone went off and he frowned. She should've been too angry at him to even think about contacting him.
"Logan Fell is still alive Dumbass," He muttered as he read her text.
Well, he could do without the dumbass part. He sent her a thank you text. He heard the doorbell ring and he got up from his chair. There were very few people who actually used their doorbell. The Gilbert's walked in without even knocking, though only one of them could hurt them. He was quite surprised when he saw the sheriff standing outside his door. Clara wouldn't snitch would she? He plastered a charming smile on his face and greeted the physically older woman.
"How about this color?" Jeremy asked as he held up a card with a dark purple.
"Hmm, not a purple fan," Clara quietly answered as she looked at the paint selection.
Getting rid of the pink colour on her wall was a relief. She looked at the card for the "sweepstakes". It had Luci written all over it. It was an apology, but she didn't really know what for. It wasn't Luci's fault that she was stupid for not keeping her emotions in check. She'd like the distraction of school but that wasn't going to happen. Jenna was cool enough to call them in sick from school.
She looked at a light blue colour and but the inside of her cheek. Her favourite colour was blue. Not many people knew that. Everyone thought black, or red but not so. She picked up a cornflower blue and contemplated if it was too bright for a bedroom. No, it would be perfect with a dark wood floor and darker furniture. Jeremy watched her slow internal debate before she walked up to the paint mixer and ordered two cans of blue paint and a dark mahogany can. He wondered if they were going to do all the work because she seemed like that type of person. Was he going to learn how to change a wood floor? He had a feeling he was.
"How do you know how to put in wood floors?" Jeremy asked as he put the rented machine in the back of her car alongside the wood panels and paint cans.
"I watched a lot of videos on how," She answered, "my favourite thing to do at one in the morning was gardening, cooking, and home renovation videos."
"Why?" Jeremy asked.
"Because sometimes you need something to take your mind off the horrors that come from hunting," She admitted, "let's hit up the furniture store next."
"We don't have any room," He pointed out.
"Aha, that's why they made delivery my darling brother," She said.
Her teasing had lost its edge. He felt bad for her, but noticed that she was slowly returning to normal while they spent time together. They stopped outside of the furniture store and he found the one things that was going to take forever. She was so particular about certain things. She looked at each piece of furniture and all the specs that came with it. He saw a flash of black and he frowned.
"Dude, seriously?" Jeremy hissed at the vampire, "Leave her alone."
"Listen, I need her help for something," Damon said with a roll of his eyes.
"She won't help you," Jeremy informed him, "whatever you said to her, hurt and bad."
Damon ignored that little bit of guilt that started to appear at those words. The kid acted like he didn't know that. He frowned as he turned his attention towards a Clara that was reading the specs for a bed. The frame was a storage unit, and made of dark mahogany that she chose for the floor. She seemed out of sorts. He thought she got pretty even. He'd never felt his lungs liquify like that before. His eyes followed as she decided against the frame and moved towards a French style frame in the same colour. It was older and suited her more than the storage frame.
"She will, to get back at Logan Fell," Damon countered.
"He's a vampire too?" Jeremy asked in disbelief, "Good thing Aunt Jenna slammed the door in his face last night after he called her impulsive."
Did she somehow get some of the family traits of people that she wasn't really related to? Because that sounded like something Clara would do to someone who insulted her. He fidgeted with the vampire compass in his pocket. She was the only person he trusted to use it. It belonged to the teen next to him, but he wasn't about to say anything to him. He stifled a groan of pain as Clara finally noticed him and her shoulders tensed. Yep, she was still pissed. She was using her abilities on him and he felt his stomach protest as she squeezed it. What was with her and going for the organs?
"Jeremy, please go and find a salesperson I found something I like," She said to her brother in a calm tone.
"Right," Jeremy wisely went to find someone to help.
"What do you want?" Clara asked Damon as she released her mental hold on his stomach.
"Logan Fell, want to get rid of him?" Damon questioned as he caught his breath.
"Let me guess, he's a vampire now?" Clara sarcastically questioned, "Means there are more vampires in the town, those who can't walk around in the daylight since I haven't noticed them."
"Not like you'd go after them," He muttered, her eyes narrowed dangerously at him.
It was missing her usual fire, but that contemplation was still there. She was thinking about her next move. He watched as distrust appeared in her eyes. Oh, he made one of the worst decisions the previous night. He thought it wouldn't be so bad, but he was starting to understand he barely scratched the surface of hunters and their society.
"Just to get rid of Logan," She muttered, "I'd like to at least start with what I need to do first. I have a life, believe it or not."
He nodded at that. It was an acceptance to work together to get something done, but she didn't trust him. He needed to weigh his options and see what would put him back in her favour. A salesperson came up to Clara and she slipped on a kind smile before showing a strange card. He stood in the back as she was able to get her new furniture delivered to her house. She was oddly good at getting people to do what she needed them to do, without compulsion. Could she even do that? She could apparently crush organs, so compulsion wasn't too far out of reality.
"Goodbye," She said as she passed him.
He didn't even wince at her tone, simply smirked. Jeremy winced at her tone, because he knew that she could take someone down without the need for her abilities. He was guessing that Damon had never been physically kicked to the ground before. He had, repeatedly. It was not fun or comfortable. Even with the mat.
Damon stopped himself from appearing in her room. He waited until Jeremy left her alone for the day, needing something to eat. He was thrown through the open window. It happened each time he tried to enter through it. She was getting too good at throwing him to the same place.
"Use the door like a normal person," He heard her hiss at him.
He did and got the brotherly glare from Jeremy before being let in. Jeremy knew his sister was helping Damon only to get rid of Logan. She was going to protect Jenna. She felt like she had failed to protect Bonnie, that stupid séance hadn't been a clever idea. He knew her well enough to figure out her emotional cues and so did Bonnie. He was texting her, now that he knew she knew it was nice to have someone to talk about this with.
Damon walked into Clara's room and his nose was assaulted by the heavy odour of paint. The light blue colour was all around him and even on the small incline that was similar to her brother's room. Why she went with such a colour he'd never know. She pulled up a few pieces of wood with her bare hands and he paused for a few seconds. She was wearing a tank top and he was able to see her tattoo and her sinewy muscles moving with each board that came up.
"How are you so strong? You should look like you do heavy steroids with your strength," Damon pointed out.
"If you're going to insult me, I'm just going to throw you out the window again," She warned him as she ripped another floorboard up, "how are you planning to find Logan?"
"Gilbert compass," He answered as he brought it out.
"Which rightfully belongs to Jeremy and will be going back to him," She informed him as she pocketed it and continued with the boards, "and that's not up for negotiation."
"How do you even find a furniture set with bookshelves?" He grumbled in annoyance.
"I barter." She sarcastically answered as she continued with the floorboards, "If you're just going to stand there at least make yourself useful and help."
He kicked at a floorboard and she sent him an annoyed look and he was tossed out of her room, at least it was through the doorway this time. The door slammed shut just as Jeremy came up with some food and a drink. It opened for him and he went inside to drop the food off. The door closed once her brother quickly exited and he looked at the vampire. Jeremy didn't want to give the dick advice, but even he knew that a happy Clara was the best kind of Clara. Less moody, less likely to push it all down until it got to be too much for her.
"Listen, I don't know what you said," Jeremy said as he motioned for Damon to follow, "but I know an apology isn't going to get her to forgive you, actions will."
"She's such a big stickler for those too," Damon sarcastically said.
"Dude, it's advice from someone who knows how to read her emotions," Jeremy mocked his tone, "just take the damn advice. I like it when my sisters are happy, and Clara is hard to keep happy she overthinks things and worries more than people think."
"I knew about that overthinking," Damon pointed out, "She has a habit of losing herself in her head."
Jeremy frowned at him, and then turned his attention towards the ceiling. She was back at it again with the floorboards. She was supposed to use the tool for that. Well, it was better than her hurting someone. It was like pulling up the floorboards was replacing their gym time.
"You could always let her kick your ass," Jeremy offered, "she could probably do it without her abilities."
"I wouldn't doubt that," Damon admitted under his breath.
He sat on the couch and waited until the sound of floorboards being torn from the floor stopped. She came down the stairs. She looked at him and held up a hand. She turned towards Jeremy. She needs to make up this bad day to him. She didn't take her emotions out on anyone, except Damon but he could take the brunt of her anger. He was very stubborn and sturdy.
"I'll make sure to take you on a low-level hunt soon," She informed him, "I was thinking human poltergeist activity a few towns up from here."
"Sounds great," Jeremy nodded, and she gave him a thumbs-up before Damon was yanked to his feet and dragged out of the house, "that's fucking terrifying."
Clara finally let Damon walk on his own after they reached the mailbox. He fixed his jacket and tried to get his composure back. Yep, she's still mad at him. That was going to be a thing the entire day, he could tell. She waved a hand at him to leave and took out the compass.
"Seriously," He grumbled, and she simply sent him a warning look, "all right."
She finally had some quiet. The compass rolled around until it pointed north. She began her walk and ran her hand through her short hair, she would like it shorter but nearly buzzed hair wasn't in style yet. She also didn't know if she really should go that short again. Sure, it was easier to take care of, but she somewhat enjoyed the styles she could pull of with her current length. She ignored her thoughts and continued to follow the compass. It led her all the way to a warehouse. She took out her phone and switched it on. He sent her a thank you. She guessed he had some manners. Ah, she didn't care. She called him and didn't even wait for him to answer.
"I found him, now I'm going to kill him so I can go home and finish the floors," She told him.
"What is it that I said that's bothering you? You can tell me I'm a big boy," He said.
"I've been betrayed time and time again," She informed him, "the last time I ended up in hell for a thousand years. You tell me why I'm bothered, Mr Salvatore."
"Oh," He quietly said, "you think I betrayed you."
"You did betray me. I asked you not to say anything about my secret to Elena and you blabbed," She said, and she ignored the hurt that tried lacing her tone, "tell me, how am I supposed to trust you with information if every time something upsets you, you give it away?"
"I'm impulsive," He shrugged, and he wasn't surprised at the fist that came at his face and knocked him to the ground.
"The fuck kind of excuse is that?" She asked him as she kept him down by sitting on him, her hands on his shoulders keeping his arms down.
If it wasn't for the fact that she was angry at him. He'd enjoy the view. A pretty girl on his lap, straddling him? That sounds like an enjoyable time. An angry girl with the strength to kick his ass? Not a good time.
"I'm a work in progress," He said, and she crinkled her nose at him.
"You've had over a hundred years to be a work in progress and instead of taking steps forward you've taken steps backwards," She hissed at him, "you know how many assholes like you I've seen killed because of their attitudes? Know how many I've taken down?"
He clenched his jaw and glared up at her. She really called him out on his bullshit. It was just a glaring contest between the two of them, though her eyes were slightly glossy. It was like she'd rather he not die. He couldn't understand her.
"Why do you care?" He grounded out.
"I don't know, I shouldn't, but I do," She informed him before her nose crinkled in annoyance at herself, "there are so many faces to you Damon that it's insane. There's the one that lends me books and bounces jokes back and forth with me, and then there's the arrogant asshole that betrays me and hurts my feelings. Who's the real you, Damon? Because I can't tell."
He didn't answer that, and her face showed that she knew he wouldn't. She scoffed quietly and got up from him. He got up from the ground and waited for a few seconds before shrugging out of his jacket. He tossed it at her head, and she glared at him as she caught it. He still had some parts of the southern gentleman in him. Most of them were gone, so he wasn't too soft. She hesitated before pulling it on. Great, his jacket was going to smell like her for the next month.
"Wish me luck," He said.
"Break your neck," She countered.
She got on her phone as he went into the warehouse. She heard the shots and frowned in thought. He'd be fine, it wasn't like he wouldn't go in there without knowing he could possibly get hurt. Did she feel bad? No. Yes. She didn't know. She wished she had on Luci's number; it'd be easier to figure out why it was starting to bother her. She stopped fiddling with her phone when she heard more shots. A crow came and landed down on her knee.
"Does he need assistance?" She asked the bird.
It pecked her knee and she grimaced in slight pain. That was an affirmative. She couldn't help but find it ironic that one brother drank from animals while the other controlled birds. She shooed it from her knee and got up, slipping her phone into the pocket of Damon's jacket. She'd get it out before giving it back to him.
Honestly, Logan Fell holding a gun wasn't what she expected to see. He looked up at her and she simply raised a brow. She pinched the bridge of her nose and he held up his gun. She couldn't help but laugh at the sight of it.
"Dude, what a prissy gun," She informed him, "go away will you?"
Logan flew backwards into the warehouse. She didn't care that he was scrambling for his gun to fire at her. She picked up a long piece of wood and threw it at him. He scrambled out of the way of it. She walked towards Damon, grabbing another piece of wood. He looked up at her and she narrowed her eyes, he had some bullets still inside of him.
"What the fuck are you?" Logan asked as she picked Damon up and pulled his arm over her shoulder.
"I'm Clara," She answered, "and if you ever think about going anywhere near the people I care about I'll kill you."
"That includes him?" Logan was so confused.
"No," She answered, "if it wasn't for you insulting Jenna, he'd be fair game."
Damon wasn't surprised when she simply tossed him outside of the warehouse. She looked at him coldly before grabbing her phone out of the pocket of his jacket. She gave it back to him and started to walk back home. He got up to his feet and hurried after her. He appeared in front of her, and she gave him a look that showed she was contemplating hitting him. He rolled his eyes and placed his jacket back over her shoulders.
"He needs to be taken care of," He informed her, "and you, need clothing that doesn't leave your skin exposed."
"To be fair I was planning on replacing a wooden floor," She snarkily pointed out, "could've used a few pieces to throw at Logan."
"I think the fence posts were enough to scare him," He pointed out as he grimaced in pain.
"Wow, that looks like it hurts," She said in a slightly uncaring tone, "can't imagine being shot, what, ten times?"
"Oh, laugh it up," He darkly muttered.
"I might," She said, "but I don't think Car-bro would appreciate it. He still loves you."
Damon jolted at that; few people would say that to him. He grimaced when she knelt and dug around in his leg to remove the wooden bullet. She had to be purposely digging around to find it. She found it and extracted it. She tossed it to the side and crinkled her nose at the blood on her hands.
"Would you be able to walk now?" She asked him.
"You are a taskmaster," He groaned, "did you purposely dig around in my leg?"
"To be fair, I once sewed a gunshot close while the person screamed bloody murder," She informed him, "you'd know all about that medical practice, you lived through it."
"You went Civil War on someone," He said, "that I don't doubt."
She rolled her eyes and they both headed to the Boarding house. He immediately went to take a shower and get the rest of the bullets out of his body. She went into the kitchen and went to grab a glass of water, after washing her hands. She needed it. She drank it and quickly refilled her glass. Something came towards her and she caught it. A shirt. Damon tossed a shirt to her.
"I want my jacket back," Damon informed her.
"I might not give it back," She informed him, "very comfy."
He rolled his eyes at that and she removed his jacket and placed it on the back of a chair. His shirt went on over her head. Long-sleeved and knitted. Did he give her a sweater? She didn't know he owned a regular sweater. He came back out and pulled out his phone pulling shrugging his jacket on.
"Logan Fell is a vampire and when I find him again, I'm gonna destroy him limb by limb," Damon informed his brother when he picked up the phone, "No, I'm not ok. I was ambushed. I was shot and little miss vengeful dug around in my leg to remove a bullet so I could walk home."
"Hello, car-bro," She greeted as the phone came towards her location.
"Now, I'm vengeful. Just got to find him," Damon stated, "you're kidding me. Why the hell is he there?"
"Some of us don't have vampire hearing, you better explain this to me," She informed Damon.
"Well, I'll be right there," Damon informed Stefan as he waved at Clara to shut up.
"Do I not get to know what's going on?" Clara asked as he hung up on his brother.
"Logan's at the school," Damon informed her with a sarcastic smile.
She didn't smile back at him or make a snarky comeback. He quietly breathed out. He was so used to people giving him a second chance due to his charming personality. Here, she was simply ignoring it and continuing to hate him. How could he possibly get a second chance? He could smell her on his jacket, all spices and gunpowder. It was almost impressive how stubborn her scent was. It liked to cling to everything, even the guest bed she had stayed in.
"Why are you staring at me?" Clara questioned a raised brow being sent his way.
"Because I can't figure out how your scent stays for so long," He answered, "it's annoying."
"That's just how it is," She shrugged, "what do I even smell like?"
"Pie spices, honey, and gunpowder," He answered, "there's also a little bit of campfire mixed in as well."
"The last two make a lot of sense," She muttered, "blessed burned corpses and firearms."
Blessed. Burned. Corpses? He looked at her and she simply gave him a shrug. He grabbed his car keys and they headed outside. He opened the door for her, and she rolled her eyes before getting in. His car was the same as her, but she couldn't help but like hers more. His missed the smell of her dad's aftershave, and the memories inside of it. She blanked her face and ignored him as he began to drive them to the school. They passed a car and Clara blinked.
"Damon, he's not at the school anymore," She said, "We just passed him and Care. Stop the car."
Oh, he was almost excited to see Logan be thrown around like him. He'd sit back and watch her if he wasn't so focused on revenge himself. Working together to fight a common enemy and ignoring the strife between them. He stopped the car and she got out. A little tilt of her head and he heard the wheels on Logan's car pop. The sound of metal screeching against the asphalt was grinding in his ears. Logan got out of his car and seemed confused as to what happened. She briskly walked up to him and used her foot to bring him down to the ground. Damon stood back and watched as the undead news reporter let out a series of groans. Yeah, she was quite angry and taking it out on someone who was going to hurt those she cared about.
"What are you?" Logan asked and she rolled her eyes.
"Nobody ever asks how are you? Always what," She muttered as she went to the side of his car and tore the door open.
Logan went to roll on his side but was stopped by wooden bullets in his chest and leg. Damon had the gun that was used on him, the prissy weapon by Clara's standards. Said girls seemed more worried about Caroline than Logan. It was the way her mind picked and chose what was important or not that got him. Her hurt friend was more important than the vampire that hurt her.
"Paybacks a bitch," Damon said as Caroline was pulled from the car by Clara.
"I'm taking her home," Clara informed him, "do whatever you want to him, I don't care."
Yep, still angry at him. It didn't matter that she admitted that she cared about him, she was angry. He could deal with it, not like he really needed her help for anything. He was still on the edge about believing half of the things she said. He was sure that most of the things she talked about weren't real. Not that it mattered, crazies were always fun.
"Hey, I've got you Care," Clara quietly said as Caroline stirred and went to hit whoever was carrying her, "you've got a nice right hook."
"Clara, how did you even find me?" Caroline murmured as her head rolled to the side and landed on her friend's shoulder.
"I'm good at hunting things down," Clara answered, a little inside joke on her end, "let's get you inside and patched up."
Caroline mumbled something. Clara paused for a few seconds as she opened the Forbes house door. The home was nice, a little overly decorated in a manner that screamed Caroline. Her mother didn't seem to care about decorating but loved her daughter. She knew that. She found Caroline's room and sat her down on the bed.
"Where's your first aid kit?" Clara quietly asked as she looked at the cut on her friend's forehead.
"Under the bathroom sink," Caroline answered, her voice slightly slurred.
Clara made the mental promise to check her for a concussion. She found the kit and went back into the room. Caroline was more aware and looked like she was feeling guilty. Clara sat next to her on the bed and opened the kit. She pulled out the hydrogen peroxide and a cotton swab. She couldn't just pour it on her friend's face.
"Did Damon lend you his shirt?" Caroline asked as she noticed the shirt her friend was wearing; the nicer material gave it away.
"Sadly, if he expects it back he's sadly mistaken," Clara informed her, "I'm angry at him, Care and not just because of what he did to you."
"He hurt you too?" Caroline mumbled as she felt the sting of the hydrogen peroxide against her cut, "Weird, it seemed like he genuinely liked you."
"Not really, more like tolerated me because I have a lot of cool information stored in this noggin," Clara stated as she looked around for the Neosporin.
"True, but it seemed like he respected you," Caroline mumbled, "made me feel a little jealous if I'm being honest."
"Ah, it's fine," Clara told her with a small smile, "it's human nature, always unpredictable."
"Ugh, you say that like you aren't human," Caroline joked, gently pushing her shoulder.
Clara wondered about that. Was she truly human anymore? She didn't know of any humans that could do what she did. Even psychics couldn't do it. She finished patching up her friend and was a little surprised when the Sheriff came home. She left with an awkward expression on her face. She let out a long-suffering sigh when her phone went off. What was it and people not letting her finish her floors? She answered it and saw that it was her sister.
"This is Clara speaking," Clara answered.
"I need you to come and get me, please I can't drive like this," Elena's voice said, and she sighed.
She finally found out about Katherine and their similarities. She sighed and grabbed her keys before heading into her car. She was going to take Elena's car home and have Stefan drive her's back so he could have a reason to talk to her sister. It would work out, she knew it. She had to believe that.
"Hey, we'll take your car," Clara informed Elena, "he might think I'm visiting Damon or raiding their coffee beans."
"Why are you raiding their coffee beans?" Elena asked trying to keep herself together.
"Because they have the good beans," Clara shrugged as she was given the keys to Elena's car.
Elena got into her car and waited until they were driving down the road for her tears to start falling. Clara slowly grew uncomfortable and spared her sister a glance. The idea that she looked just like Katherine bothered her. She waited until Elena was ready to speak.
"I look like her," Elena informed her, "and so do you."
"Not as much, I'm not an exact copy," Clara quietly corrected, "I'm also taller than you two, so that's a bonus."
"How does this not bother you?" Elena snapped at her as she wiped at her tears, "Do you not care anymore?"
"I do care, but focusing on things that are in the past will never let you move forward," Clara stated, "okay, so I look like Katherine but I'm not her. I am Clara Gilbert, someone who understands their own identity."
"But, you've changed since the summer," Elena pointed out, "how can you say that you're still yourself if you change as you did?"
"Does this bother me, or you?" Clara countered, "Because I like me, Jeremy likes me, Jenna thinks the change is better. Why is it only you that's upset by it?"
"Because I lost my little sister and who she used to be," Elena stated, "that girl who happily followed all the latest trends and could cheerlead the hell out of herself. Where did she go?"
Clara shrugged at that. Who knew where some of her old personality went. When she started to remember and gain her soul back that personality was crushed under her previous one. Clara Schmidt had a stronger personality and the years to back it up. She looked back to the road and narrowed her eyes in thought. She thought she had seen something on the edge. She was getting paranoid; a vampire wouldn't mess with her. Word travelled fast in the supernatural world. A creature in human form that could crush organs and kill other supernatural's with ease. They wouldn't dare mess with her, not unless they were stupid.
She slammed on the breaks when something appeared in the road. So, it was stupid. She felt the tires slip on the road and she manoeuvred her body to cover Elena. She cushioned her twin with her abilities and grimaced as glass entered her back in multiple places. One piece even went past her spine and she felt it in her right lung. It was getting hard to breathe, but she could deal with it. Well, nice to know that she'd be fine if someone stabbed her organs. God, there was even a piece near her heart. The car rolled a couple of times before screeching to a sudden stop.
"Clara," Elena moaned in pain as her head spun.
"It's all right, are you okay?" Clara asked, her breathing sounded horrible to her own ears, "I'll get us out of the car, just hang tight."
"You're bleeding," Elena informed her, and Clara rolled her eyes.
"I'll be fine," Clara said, her voice slurring as she moved away from her sister and looked towards the body she had hit.
It was slowly pulling itself back together as she put her arm against the roof and reached for her seatbelt. It wasn't going to release her like usual, so she tore it off. Her weight caused more glass to enter her body. She let out a watery cough before pulling herself from the vehicle completely. She stood on shaky legs; a little bit of fibreglass was sticking out from the appendage. Oh, she needed to deal with her injuries soon. She limped to the passenger side and tore the door from the car.
"Clara?" Elena whimpered as the car shook from the removal of its piece.
"I need you to put your hands on the roof," Clara ordered, "I'm going to remove the seatbelt, and when I do, I want you to switch your hands to my shoulders."
Elena was stunned but did as ordered. Her sister ducked through her arms and reached for the seatbelt. She moved her hands to be on the other girls' shoulders, the material of her sweater was wet from her own blood. She still clung to the surprising strength of her sister as she was gently pulled out of the car. She looked over at the shadowy figure that was slowly walking towards them. She fearfully whimpered and her sister quickly looked over. She was about to use her abilities to throw him away when she felt the glass next to her heart shift and pain went through her chest. She needed to focus. The figure took off and she narrowed her eyes.
"Ah!" Elena yelled in a startled manner as Damon appeared.
"What happened here?" Damon questioned as he looked over the scene.
"Some idiot decided to be in the road," Clara quietly hissed before looking over at her sister, "I need to get her home."
"With all that glass in your back, I'm surprised you can even move," Damon said as he pulled Elena from her sister and carried her to his car, "sit tight."
Elena's affronted look was like her sisters, but she couldn't do it as well. He went over to the hunter who was yanking out the fibreglass from her legs with a strangled sound. She slowly got to her feet and stumbled a bit as the wound on her leg slowly healed. She was a mess. It was obvious she had taken the brunt of the crash for her sister. He reached forward and jerked one of the pieces out of her back. Her glare was far more impressive than it previously had been.
"I can get those," She informed him.
"Yeah, but that would take too long," He stated as he pulled another piece out, this one caused her to cough something up, "and you need to get your sister home."
"The sarcasm isn't needed right now," She grumbled as he removed the other pieces from her back.
"Can you move without stumbling?" He questioned.
"In theory, but if you need someone to fight then I'll be out for the count the moment I overexert my abilities," She informed him, "don't get into a fight. I like being aware of my surroundings."
His hand went to the small of her back as he ushered her into his car. He closed the door behind her, and she fumbled about for the seatbelt. He moved the wrecked car into the woods where it wouldn't be found. He drove to the Gilbert house and moved Elena inside, he left and started to drive off.
"Come on," Clara muttered, "why are you kidnapping me?"
"Because I need answers, and I know that you might be able to get them for me," He answered.
"Why should I?" She asked him.
"I made sure your sister got home safely," He said, "an eye for an eye."
She grimaced at that and turned her face towards the window. Soon her heart rate calmed and evened out. She had fallen asleep on him, which happened quite a bit around him. He rolled his eyes in annoyance before turning onto the interstate. They needed to make some serious time, he wanted answers and soon.