Hey guys - important note. Alaric isn't really going to be involved with the Mystic Falls group except for his role as Jeremy's mentor, which is obviously going to change how some events play out. Damon didn't stop by the Grill and Alaric never saw him. I figured the position of best friend and drinking buddy was already filled. As always, let me know what you think! xx

Suzanne had been laying on the couch, messing around on social media and trying to stay awake so she could see when Damon came in. It was nearing one in the morning, and honestly – she was starting to get a little worried. But he was probably at the Boarding House. Stefan would no doubt need some help after he got himself kidnapped and -

When her doorbell rang, Suzanne winced with annoyance, already hearing Killer starting to wake up in the kitchen. Rushing to the front door before the person rang again, Suzanne pulled open the door quickly. What she saw on the other side was the sort of thing she had nightmares about.

Stefan Salvatore was standing in her doorway, and leaning heavily on him was Damon. He was covered in blood, which wasn't out of the ordinary. This time, however, Suzanne could see that it was his own blood.

"Oh my god. Oh my god what happened?"

Stefan took a step forward and Damon let out a groan, so without bothering to think it through, Suzanne said, "I invite you in. Get him on the couch."

Stefan helped his brother over to the couch in their den, and when Damon was laid out flat, he turned to face Suzanne.

Damon was alive, and his wounds already looked like they were healing, so Suzanne turned to Stefan and said, "We have a cooler down in the basement. Grab three – no, four blood bags."

The second the younger Salvatore was out of sight, the rage that had been building emerged since it had become clear none of his injuries were even close to fatal. It wasn't the screaming, violent sort of anger. No, this made Suzanne's entire body still while she wore a blank face, concealing her thoughts as best she could.

"Suze, it's fine –"

"You had better fucking tell me that one of those vampires randomly got the drop on you. I really need you to have some sort of excuse about why you're more dead than usual when you told me your little rescue mission would be easy."

Stefan walked back in at that moment, and after looking back and forth between Suzanne and Damon, he simply put the blood bags where Damon could reach them and walked into the kitchen, clearly picking up on the tension and staying out of it.

"I may have downplayed the situation."

Suzanne couldn't keep eye contact. Scanning him over one more time and seeing the tears in his clothing that signalled the insane amount of injuries that had already healed, Suzanne clenched her jaw.

"If we talk right now, I'll say something I'll regret. I'm going to bed."

Suzanne turned and started walking up the stairs, ignoring Damon as he shouted after her for her to come back.

When she had securely closed the door to her bedroom, her entire body seemed to tighten. The places on her palms that her clenched fists were digging into would definitely leave a mark, but she was so, so angry.

Damon – Christ. He'd lied to her, and not about eating the last of the hummus or something. He had lied and could have died without her knowing. It wasn't fair, she knew that, but a lot of her rage was selfish.

What the fuck was she supposed to do if he died? Damon had carved himself a place in her life. He was her best friend, and the first person she had ever really relied on. He couldn't just ruin everything. Suzanne had been scared enough when they had just started getting close, and it had taken months for her to finally be convinced that he wasn't going anywhere. Even having to imagine –

He couldn't do this to her. Suzanne wanted to punch something or have some kind of outlet for the emotions that were boiling inside of her. She didn't regret their friendship, that was something she would never be able to do. But god, she'd been relaxing at home and lazing about. He could have been staked while she looked through her goddamn News Feed.

Shucking off her jeans and sweater, Suzanne crawled into bed. Stefan could take care of him, after all, the little rescue mission was the reason their couch was probably ruined. She had absolutely no desire to even look at Damon right now.

Stefan woke up asleep in an admittedly comfortable chair. But even the most comfortable chair couldn't change the fact that his foot was asleep and his neck was aching despite him being a vampire.

Not realizing immediately what was going on and while he was still on edge, Stefan leaped out of the chair, quickly whirling around to see what was going on.

Damon was sitting upright on a bloody couch next to him. All of last night came back – Damon arriving to save him, nearly dying, and Stefan having to drink Elena's –

Actually, he wouldn't think about that just yet. Instead he focused on Damon, who looked pissed off as he scrolled through his phone. Before Stefan could try to start any kind of conversation, the loud footsteps that probably belonged to Suzanne came down the stairs.

When she walked into their line of sight, Stefan saw that she was carrying a small suitcase. He saw Damon open his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, Suzanne spoke in a flat voice with an entirely blank expression on her face.

"I'm going to stay with Nick for a few days in New York."

Damon stood and actually seemed honest - something that was sort of strange for Stefan to see - when he said in a quiet voice, "Suze, c'mon. Everything is fine."

Suzanne's face finally broke into a look of stress and anger.

"Yeah. Everything is fine. But you're a fucking asshole, so I'm leaving."

Obviously reading something in Damon's reaction that Stefan himself couldn't interpret, Suzanne's voice was much softer when she continued, "I'll be back in three days tops. I'm not tearing off any friendship bracelets or anything. But I just need to not stare at evidence of you getting in over your head and lying to my face. Please get rid of the couch while I'm gone. You've got the dogs."

When the front door closed behind the woman, Stefan heard Damon clear his throat. His older brother had a cocky smirk covering his face, but it seems... off. When he spoke in a blithe tone with a slightly rough voice, Stefan realized how deeply affected Damon was. It was completely bizarre to him, and Stefan almost didn't want to believe that Damon was actually friends with the woman. It made it so much harder to still feel hatred for his older brother.

"Come on. Let's get this thing to a dumpster. You owe me one after I saved your ass."