Chapter XIII : I don't really feel anything anymore...

"How are you feeling ?"

"What do you think?"

I swallowed the rest of my glass of water in irritation and complete embarrassment before placing it dryly on the small wall on which I was. I was trying to ignore the re-shred acrid shot of the alcohol I had consumed before I gave a stinging look at the hybrid.

"How could you let me drink in the company of ... him?" I was trying to cover my heart skipping a beat, grumbling under my breath.

"Hey, I'm a bartender. Refusing to serve you would be counterproductive." Defended the idiot in front of me before shrugging nonchalantly.

I winced as I could still taste the alcohol on my taste buds before squinting my eyes in irritation on the brown."You're a fucking hybrid now. Why are you continuing to work at the Grill already?"

"Because I like to be exploited?"

"Not funny. At all."

Felix rolled his eyes at my comment before raising his eyebrows with another smirk."You should have seen yourself next to Klaus."

"Oh, go to hell." I sighed in exhaustion.

And yet I knew that our peer had probably looked funny. I couldn't believe I had acted so carefree, provocative even with the Original hybrid. It was not what I expected when I went to the Mystic Grill to vent my concerns to Félix. A fact that Félix quickly seemed to take into account as he suddenly crouched down to find himself at my height. I looked up to meet his gaze just to find again that momentum of comfort and confidence running along my veins. Felix was probably the only being on this planet who could make me feel safe with a single look.

"I'm sorry for laughing." The brown apologized immediately, placing his hand on mine in comfort."I know you can't always control Milana's attraction."

I puckered my lips in a sense of frustration before succumbing to shame again. The truth was that it wasn't all about Milana. Part of me, and I didn't know how much, wanted to learn more about Klaus. Not the one who had haunted my dreams all summer, but the one who had been left transformed by his father's abuse and decades of inhumanity.

I swallowed with difficulty like the memory of the abuse that Niklaus had suffered at the hands of Mikael resurface in my mind before returning my attention to Felix in the hope of distracting me from my thoughts.

"When will your service end?"

"Well after your dinner with the four musketeers." Replied Felix making me grimace again at the reminder of this famous dinner.

I still couldn't believe that I had agreed to go to this dreadful gathering of brothers. Even worse with what had just happened. I wasn't really sure I could ever be in the presence of Klaus again. Especially not after what happened earlier.

Unfortunately attending this dinner was part of the business I had made with Elijah. He would be there to protect me. A fact that Milana seemed to believe as hard as iron. Her confidence in the Original was astounding. However I was still in control and if the original vampire could break a word then I figured I might as well do it.

And that had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I may not have been as ready to participate in the 'let's eliminate Klaus' plan from the surface of the planet as before.

Unfortunately it turned out that when I finally decided to step back from the supernatural world, and this by breaking the very promise made to an original, I always found myself at the heart of the drama.

It turned out that I was not the only one to have had a hectic day since when I returned home I ended up being overtaken by Caroline's dramas. And Alaric. And Caroline's father. And then Tyler.

It turned out that Alaric's girlfriend was really psycho. She apparently killed her ex, the medical examiner and killed Caroline's father. Which btw had vampire blood in his veins when he died. Which meant he was currently in transition. Hence the fact that the blonde was currently on her porch with Elena while her parents were in her house. I found myself in a deep frown as I tried to make a selection of priorities from my long list of concerns.

The first was to abandon my promise to Elijah.

The second had been to join Caroline and Elena on the porch despite the fact that I had picked up on their conversation from the moment they addressed the fact that Alaric's girlfriend was a killer.

At least so far.

"Do you think Tyler might have something to do with this?"

I looked up, lightening my frown a bit just to give an incredulous look at the blonde. Admittedly he had bitten her, endangering her life expectancy but that was all Klaus. Another fact that had the gift of making me even more guilty.

I had literally acted in unconsciousness earlier.

"Why ?"

"Well if it's still a dirty trick from Klaus. Tyler is enslaved to him. And ... he does absolutely everything ... what Klaus tells him."

"No!" I finally intervened in spite of myself in a somewhat annoyed tone before controlling my irritation at the sight of Elena's gaze."It wasn't Tyler."

Unsurprisingly, Caroline finally gave in to fear and sadness as she resumed in a tone laced with emotion."I can't watch my father die. I will force him to eat."

"In that case, you won't be any better than Katherine who killed you to make a point." I intervened again, catching the blonde's gaze as she looked up with her sapphire blue eyes to look at me helplessly.

" I…"

To my surprise, Elena took my side letting me watch the brunette with a mixed feeling of Milana along my chest."Mila is right. You can't go against his decision. You have to accept it. All your father has left is the freedom to choose."

Caroline looked away leaving me to squint my lips in a feeling of sadness as I could see how much the blonde seemed on the verge of losing any ounce of control over her emotions. Losing a loved one was never an easy ordeal and after all the deaths I had seen in the past few months I wish I could say that I had somehow become immune. But not Caroline. No, Caroline felt the burn of the loss. And it was probably going to get worse. But she had to accept the choice of Bill Forbes.

Even if I couldn't help but think he was just a selfish, idiotic fuck. He had a chance to stay in the life of his daughter, whom he had so easily set aside for the past few years. He was just a hypocritical jerk who thought he was acting on his beliefs. To hell with his fucking convictions. He was just an old bastard who did what he liked by putting himself in the place of a martyr.

Although I damn hate vampires in this town it didn't mean that I necessarily hated vampirism. Certainly, I was doing very well as a monster of another kind but it was not as repulsive. The only thing I really despised was the fact that these psychopaths thought they absolutely had to act like the monsters they were portrayed.

Caroline was the exact example of what I meant. Hence the reason why I would always be proud to have helped her in her transition. She had become the best version of herself and all this while drinking blood.

"I hated him with all my might after what he put me through. With all my might." Caroline sobbed, sniffing before putting her hand on mine as I squeezed her shoulder lightly in comfort."And today I have only one idea in mind : to save his life."

"It's normal, it's your father."

Caroline nodded weakly as I sat down, legs crossed in Indian style, by her side before lowering my eyes on my hands joined to the understanding of her question."What was the hardest part for you when you lost yours?"

If I had been asked to do so last year, I might have shed a tear, but Milana's presence had certainly made up for this type of weakness. She was easily in control of my weaknesses when I was easily in control of hers. However, I didn't really know which was more difficult to manage. The painful feeling of loss or the very feeling of knowing that you have moved forward.

"Thinking about the list of things he can never do again." Elena replied clearly still moved at the mention of our father."The things a girl needs from her father."

Finally Caroline gave in to sadness letting me watch Elena hug her as I realized for the first time how insensitive I had become in the past few months.

It was before I suddenly saw a certain familiar face going up our aisle. The latter immediately caught my gaze with a sorry air at the sight of Caroline and Elena sobbing in the arms of one and the other. He seemed almost hesitant as he slowed down in his ascent letting me give him a nod as a sign of encouragement.

Matt returned my sign before coming to a halt again as Caroline straightened up."I am sorry."

The blonde immediately rushed to the blond letting me watch the duo with a new weight on the chest. I could feel the raw emotions below the surface. Only they remained below the surface. they weren't about to be released and that was probably what scared me the most.

When I was in my state of silence, I was guided by pain and my emotions only. And then I came to cooperate with my feelings by exploiting my rage and disgust for the vampires in this city. At least that was before I let Milana manage my feelings for me.

I didn't really care about Matt and Elena's conversation as I followed the duo to our porch. It turned out that there was really nothing more for Bill Forbes to do. He had made his choice.

So Matt, the great white knight, volunteered to bring us back.

Noticing the duo slowing down the stairs, I hastened to overtake them, hailing on my shoulder."Thanks for the ride. I go. I still have sheets to fill out for Alaric lessons."

Yep, I still had to lead a normal teenage life through all these dramas. Well, a slightly gifted teenage life.

I used my keys to open the door before reaching the switch to turn on the hallway. However it was before taking a break as I realized that the light seemed to burn out. Now that might be perfectly normal, but I couldn't really ignore Milana's sudden self-preservation instinct.

The latter seemed to charge me with energy as I walked step by step through the heart of the entrance. I hastened to take out my phone to use the flashlight before giving a glance over my shoulder as Elena and Matt made their turn in the corridor.

"Did the bulb burn out?"

"I am not sure."

"It must be a power failure." Matt suggested.

I almost immediately rolled my eyes at his recklessness before sighing as I made my way to the kitchen, murmuring under my breath."Yeah. Our life is so normal why worry."

"Mil-oh my god!" Elena suddenly jumped as she pulled out a flashlight just to reveal a huge pool of blood on our floor.

"What the hell?"

I just couldn't help raising my lamp to Matt's face with a sharp whisper."Power outage, huh?"

Matt hastened to retrieve the lamp from Elena while the latter rushed to our knife service letting me give her a disillusioned look before feeling panic settling along my chest as I was not long in noticing a bloody handprint on one of the walls leading to the living room.

A fact that seemed alarmed just as much Elena as she hastened to join my side by grabbing my wrist in an unnecessary gesture of protection. Didn't she know that I could send an Original into the air by the simple thought ? Oh right maybe not!

My train of thought was soon interrupted by the sight in front of me. There, leaning against the wall with a knife protruding from his abdomen was an unconscious Alaric.

For the first time in months I finally felt my heart skip a beat in fear as I rushed to his side soon imitated by my stupid sister who hastened to touch the handle. That was enough to extract a groan from Alaric, further alerting Matt."There is too much blood, Elena!"

"I know ! Call an ambulance!" Elena immediately panicked.

"A what ? Have you lost your damn mind?"

"He's dying, Mila!"

"You must kill me!" Hailed suddenly Alaric before spitting blood in a coughing fit as he caught our attention."Elena, you-you must kill me. I don't know ... a supernatural being ... the ring."

Elena froze clearly overwhelmed by the situation letting me gauge her in disbelief and impatience before glancing at Matt in frustration.

This idiot really called an ambulance.

Without paying attention, I felt my conscience recede in the back of my mind, leaving me as a mere spectator of Milana's position.

"Fuck this!" Growled Milana in my place, letting me notice for the first time her deep voice compared to mine.

Reacting immediately she grabbed the handle of the knife without hesitation before tearing it from Alaric's chest just to slit his throat with a sharp blow. It was like slaughtering an animal for her. A direct and direct hit that left Alaric choking on his blood for a moment before suddenly going limp.

I looked for a moment through Milana's eyes just to suddenly feel an immense weight of fatigue. I didn't even have time to realize Elena's screams that I suddenly fell unconscious.

Damon was still convinced that Meredith Fell was the killer. After all, she attacked him to steal his blood and the bitch was pretty stealthy. Not to mention that her ex was the first to be killed.

Even having been targeted tonight Alaric remained skeptical. Elena was naively convinced that Alaric's luck with women couldn't be that bad. And yet the evidence was there. Damon didn't really want to be an inspector but the evidence was there. The stake used to kill the medical examiner came from his car. Meredith had access to his car and a motive. So, he was always convinced that she was the killer.
Unfortunately the only person who could corroborate his words was currently dozing off following, and he quotes Elena's words "possession of Milana".

Honestly Damon couldn't be more confused right now. He was certain of his choice for Mila but her reaction and the recent events made him doubt. Elena seemed to have had some sort of reversal of feelings and he would lie if he said that part of him, probably the one who had pinned over Katherine for the past 145 years, was joyful. And worst of all, Mila seemed to completely ignore this brand new change in her sister. Or even him. She had simply become impervious to any feelings.

He let out a long, melancholy sigh as he looked at the little brunette lying on her bed from where he was leaning before trudging towards her. He took his place on the still free space of her bed before bringing his hand along Mila's face to remove the rebellious strands that could hinder her in her sleep.

She was so delicate. And still he could easily see how much she had ripened in the past few months. Her features were harsher, less childish and still she seemed to become the teenager she was when she slept.

Suddenly, Mila jumped in a seated position while leaving a gasp leaving Damon to move back a little to give her room to breathe. Unsurprisingly, she instantly began to panic by looking frantically around her.

"Damon?" She breathed with a wide look as her eyes finally settled on him.

"Hey there, Emily Rose."

Almost instantly the brunette let out a sigh at his salute before resuming from her hectic awakening by shaking her head."The exorcist? Really?"

"Listening to your sister, one could almost believe that you started vomiting while crying out to the devil." Damon explained in a comical tone despite the underlying concern.

A fact that Mila seemed to quickly realize as she gave him a suspicious look."Why are you in my room?"

"Oh you know me. I feel rather frisky at the idea of meeting the devil."

Mila rolled her eyes before suddenly freezing into memory and panic."Alaric-"

"…is okay." Damon quickly interrupted, putting his hand on hers to reassure her."Did you really slit his throat?"

Mila winced as she turned her head in his direction in defense."It wasn't me."

"Hm ... remind me to never piss off our local ancestor again."

Much to the duo's surprise, Mila left a faint smile before she gave him an amused look."She already knows that you're going to keep on pissing her off. Otherwise you wouldn't be you."

"She's pretty smart then." Damon commented before tilting his head slightly to look at their still joined hands.

A fact that Mila soon noticed in her turn as she slowly withdrew her hand in hesitation. She used it to straighten up more before clearing her throat which was visibly uncomfortable. A fact that had the gift of frustrated Damon greatly. Mila was the only one truly at ease in his presence. At least it was before.

"So ... Alaric is alive." Mila said in an embarrassed tone leaving Damon leave a simple 'yup'."And ... how was the dinner?"

Damon immediately winced as he straightened up."Well ... I think Milana is going to have to make more and more appearances."

"Why?" Mila asked immediately with a deep, concerned frown.

"It may be that our plan to kill Klaus is still messed up." Damon explained with a grimace at the look of her eyes irritated by their new failure."Klaus's still running loose. And I should probably mention that now we have two more Originals brothers and Rebekah to contend with."

Mila suddenly stood still at this new ounce of information before swallowing, giving him a serious look."You mean ... you mean that Kol and Finn ..."

"... are free." Damon nodded, realizing how deep in the shitty situation they were."Plus whatever was unleashed from the coffin."

Damon knew waking Elijah was a damn bad idea. And again, he had listened to Mila. If ever something happened to her through his fault he could never forgive himself.

A fact that Mila seemed fully aware since she was not long before he felt her hand on hers again. He immediately raised his troubled eyes clearly surprised by her gesture just to meet her determined look."It was my choice to wake up Elijah. And believe me, I can manage the Originals family."

"Look who took the big head."

"I learn from the best."

Damon found himself laughing despite the gravity of the situation. There was really only Mila to do such a thing."Those who teach are those who suck. You can't have learned from me."

"I was talking about Milana." Mila replied with a sly little sneer in the corner of her lips.

"Oh oh I see." Damon huffed in slight disbelief, leaving Mila to giggle in fun.

A more comfortable silence fell over them as Damon looked at the brunette affectionately before showing a cheeky smile."Do you think you could make room for me?"

"Don't push, Damon."

"At least I would have tried."

The brunette rolled her eyes at his impudence before letting herself fall back against her pillows. She struggled against her duvet to slip under it, offering Damon a delightful view of part of her belly before she slipped under her covers. The vampire found himself gauging her with a thoughtful look as she rolled over onto her side."Go back to your house, Damon."

She was drifting between sleep and consciousness when Damon lay cautiously by her side. He made a superhuman effort to leave as much space between them as possible before turning his head in her direction awaiting her objection.

When she made no sign of recognition, Damon made himself more comfortable before taking full advantage of her smell infiltrating his nostrils. He closed his eyelids, releasing a calm breath before coming to a sudden halt at the sound of her tired hum.

"When I wake up you will be gone."

This time Damon left a simple, soothing smile. Klaus, Stefan, Elena, Alaric's killer girlfriend and the Originals could wait.

He could be satisfied with one night for now. He hadn't given up yet.

Hey guys,

It's me. Again !

Please feel free to leave a review. This gonna help me to write more. Or not. (Joke ^^)