The damp grass was cold beneath my bare feet, causing me to shiver and wrap the over-sized shirt tighter around my body. Surveying the area around me, I noticed tall trees and heard the sound of soft, clucking waves down by a small string of grassy shore. A gazebo stood in the center of the image before me, its details remaining sharpened whilst the outskirts of the site were more blurry.

However, among the details that laid out in front of me, it wasn't the gray, shady light caused by the cloudy night that caught my attention, but rather the man sitting in the old gazebo, staring out empty into nothing with a surrendered posture. Even with his back turned to me, I recognized him with ease.

Damon.

But he was unlike the Damon I knew, this one wearing an old-looking, striped shirt under a brown vest with his hair in a longer style, some curls beginning to form by his neck and ears. He turned around in his seat to spy in my direction, giving me a clear view of his face. He looked younger somehow, more innocent.

At first, I thought he was looking right at me, but then I heard two sets of footsteps approaching from behind. I twirled to see Stefan nearing with a girl wearing a big dress that revealed the time period, if Damon's clothes hadn't done it already; somewhere around the 1800s, if my history served me right. What the hell was going on here?

"What are you doing?" Damon asked in a weak voice. "Who is that?" His gaze fleetingly traveled over the girl.

"I brought her for you. She is a gift," Stefan responded. Somehow he reminded me of the bloodlusting Stefan I had recently met, far from the one who Elena had presented me to at the dinner with Bonnie so very long ago. "Have a seat, please," Stefan told the girl whilst looking her straight in the eye, motioning for her to sit down in front of Damon.

The older brother's gaze travelled between the obedient girl and his brother, putting the pieces together. "What have you done, Stefan?"

"Damon, I've been to see father. He came at me. I didn't know my own strength. There was blood everywhere. He was dying, and the blood was too strong. I needed it. I had to have it," Stefan explained, still acting strange.

"You fed," Damon stated.

"Yes. And it's incredible. My body is exploding with power, Damon," Stefan exclaimed.

"No," Damon sighed and shook his head tiredly.

"I can hear things from far away. I can see through the darkness. I can move, like it's magic!" Stefan made grand gestures with his arms while he spoke, overwhelmed by his sudden new power. He moved closer to his brother, continuing in the same worked up tone. "And the guilt, the pain… Damon, I can turn it off. Like a switch. Katherine was right. It's a whole other world out there, Damon."

The older Salvatore rose up on unsteady legs, attempting to escape his brother's urging tone. "Katherine is dead, Stefan. There's no world without her," he stated.

"No. You can turn that off, too," Stefan said and grabbed his brother by the neck, forcing him to look at him. "You don't have to feel that pain anymore."

"I don't want it." Damon tried to shove Stefan's hands away, but in his feeble state it was to no use.

"You're weak. You'll be dead soon. You need this," Stefan urged his brother, forcing in his words by shaking Damon's head in his hands.

"No," Damon let out.

"You'll die," Stefan pleaded.

"No. I can't," Damon's strained voice breathed out; if it was like that due to Stefan's hard grip or Damon simply being close to tears, I couldn't tell.

"Please." Stefan reached out his hand for the girl, and she stood up to step towards him. The blonde Salvatore turned to show his fangs and the red veins playing under his dark eyes, before biting into her neck. Like Damon, I stared at him, gaping. "I won't let you die," Stefan said as he withdrew his hand from the girl, to grab Damon by his chin.

"No. I can't," Damon protested.

"Don't fight it. We can do this… together," Stefan spoke urgently, his tone confident tone. Nodding at his brother, he stepped back and gently pushed the girl towards Damon.

The struggling finally stopped as Damon saw the two small dots of blood, left there by Stefan's precise fangs. Damon half-stumbled and was half-pushed by his brother to step closer to the girl, before Stefan's hand on the dark-haired man's neck was now longer needed to force the oldest Salvatore's mouth to merge with the blood.

As a new pair of fangs breaking her flesh sounded, I moved around the pair to get a clear view of Damon's face. Finally, done feeding, Damon drew back whilst Stefan held onto him, acting as a supporting pillar. With my clear view of Damon's face, I saw the shift in his eyes, just before he lunged back in for more blood.

The clarity of the events before me turned into a blurry mess, and the only thing I could hear now were two familiar voices.

"How do you feel?" Stefan called in the grayness around me.

"You were right. It is a whole new world," Damon answered, a newfound strength to his voice.

"We can explore it together," Stefan spoke contently.

"You got what you wanted… You and me for all eternity. But hear this, brother." Damon's voice enveloped in bitterness. "I will make it an eternity of misery for you."

"Damon!" The fog thickened around the name.

A feeling of rapidly being rushed upwards filled my being, and I awoke with a jerk.

At first I had trouble placing myself, being thrown back into reality so harshly. I laid and stared up into the darkness, hinting a familiar ceiling located above my bed. Then, my senses became aware of a crooked mattress beneath me and an arm wrapped around my body, making sense of the situation. Flashes of memories from the previous night rapidly darted past my eyes.

Right. I had slept with Damon.

Bringing my fist to my forehead, I tried to comprehend why I'd thought that was a good idea. I came up with now answer besides one: because I'd wanted to. What kind of mess had I gotten myself into?

Resisting the urge to facepalm at myself, I instead carefully turned my head to the side. My gaze met the calm face of a very much asleep Damon. The relaxed curve of his mouth, the hair falling into his eyes a bit, stirred up hazy images.

What had I just seen? Had it been a memory? It must have been!

A wrinkle between Damon's brows occurred, and he pulled my body closer to his, embracing me in the warmth of the cover he had stolen. Aha! I knew he was a cover stealer!

Or maybe what I had seen was Damon's dream? It wasn't unlikely; I sometimes re-experienced old, haunting memories in my dreams as well. A vampire like him would surely have done enough terrible things to be plagued at night. But this, what I had seen, must have come to the surface because of Stefan's current blood problem; Damon remembering how it all began. Was I supposed to have seen that? Or did it occur by accident since I just so happened to sleeping right next to him?

With a sigh, still very much asleep, Damon nestled his nose into the crook of my neck. For a brief moment, I closed my eyes to cherish how perfectly it seemed to fit there, how perfectly he seemed to fit against me, before forcing them open again. What was I doing? Seeing that memory made it feel as if I had an insight into something I wasn't supposed to know about; something never would've been shared with me if the person in question had been conscious. And I didn't want to be here when he woke up and realized his mistake.

Daming all the consequences, I made my decision. Maybe too quickly, maybe too rashly, but my mind had been set.

Slowly, my gaze traveled up Damon's muscular arm to his sleeping face. With his arm still very much wrapped around me, it made my following move a bit problematic. Trying to pretend that I was moving around in my sleep, I turned my back to Damon in the hopes that it would give me the space to scoot out of his embrace. I was wrong. Instead, my plan backfired, and rather than being given a gap to escape through, Damon's other arm decided to wrap itself around my body as well. Crap.

The situation called for patience, which I found myself lacking. Constantly, really. But since I sensed he was closing to waking up due to the stirring at my back, I laid perfectly still whilst forcing my breathing and heart rate to remain as slow and steady as possible.

As I laid there, relaxed, I felt Damon wake up briefly. He lifted his head, as if to scout the room laid in shadows, before he rested it against the pillow again, his arms hugging me slightly tighter. After I felt a content sigh brush against my neck, his arms eased around me.

With him drifting back asleep, body turing heavy, I waited another moment. Then, holding my breath, I dared reach out to raise his arm from my waist. Next, I rolled out of his grasp.

Landing on the floor softly, grimacing at the faint protesting sound the bed made, I took a careful peek at Damon. He was still asleep.

Silently breathing out, I swiftly grabbed my same black jeans from yesterday to slip them on. A dark blue shirt, my all-time favorite boots and a dark-brown leather jacket from the floor were also snatched whilst on the move. Thankfully, I found my bra and a pair of underwear near the bed, getting dressed as quietly as possible.

But when I heard a grunt behind me, I froze dead in the middle of putting on my shirt, its fabric being left like an infinity scarf around my neck. My lips twitching from the curses I held back, I slowly turned to spy towards the figure in my bed.

Seeing that he had found a pillow to hug instead, my chest relaxed as I released an inaudible breath.

Moving again, quickly and quietly, in the dim light of the stairwell I buttoned my pants and stepped into my shoes. Going to throw my jacket on, I realized that I lacked the feeling of my brick of a phone hitting against my ribcage in its usual pocket. Shit.

Debating to go back inside and find it was quickly shrugged off, so instead I moved to leave it behind. Hopefully, I wouldn't need my little brick for the following hours. Where I was planning on going, being without it might even be far better.

"Parker…" Chase began, hesitantly. Gazing past me and out the side window of his car, his eyes got an uncertain edge to them when landing on the large house.

A large house, falling apart, but with the lights on and music vibrating from it.

"Are you sure about this? It doesn't feel like a good idea to drop you off her, when–"

"When I threatened you for ratting me out to Tim?" I filled in for him. "This is your way of paying me back, Chase. It doesn't make me your responsibility, I just wanted a ride." Jerking at the handle, I kicked the car door open, slamming it shut behind me before leaning in through the rolled down window. "Just be back by tonight."

"But all day?" Chase checked, again. His concern was as clear as the dawn beginning to spread over the horizon beyond the tall trees.

"I know what I'm doing," I assured. His doubtful expression didn't change. I rolled my eyes. "Go, Chase," I insisted, cutting him a sharp glare. "Now." Not waiting for him to protest again, I turned on my heel and headed up the path to the house.

Even with a new day dawning, the party inside the doors showed no sign of stopping. If it had laid any closer to town, or had neighbors, the police would have been here to shut everything down ages ago. But the secluded spot gave anyone looking for an escape the means to flee their lives for as long as they desired.

Just what I needed.

No knocking was necessary – or even possible to hear over the pounding music – so I simply walked right in. Squeezing myself in-between bodies still dancing as energized as if they'd just begun, I moved further into the house, closer to the music. I knew, from experience, that once I'd crossed the dancefloor I would reach all kinds of different types of alcohol.

But as I was halfway across the floor of jumping bodies, the music stopped. Cut off.

First, protests rose, but as the crowd spotted who had been the one to end the pounding beat, their voices faded. When all was quiet, I turned to look at the figure standing on the DJ's platform as well.

The girl in charge of the music stared with eyes just as wide as the rest of the horde's, all looking right at me.

"Well, well," Tim drawled, eyeing me up and down. Keeping him from seeing my fist clench at his gaze, I moved it to behind my back. But I doubt he would notice. At least given the bottle in his hand. With the way he held it, it certainly wasn't his first. His walking proved that as well.

"Timothy," I greeted, testing the limits and mood of his current state. In my teenage life here, I'd many times encountered Tim drunk, but during those times we'd still been together and, well, not hated each other.

How times change.

He swayed a little, letting out a sharp laugh. But his eyes remained unreadable. Was there fight in them? Just regular banter? It was impossible to tell. When he'd come close enough for me to be able to, I still saw nothing. Just his gaze raking over me.

"Parka, Parka…" Tim muttered. Around us, the crowd seemed to draw back a bit, but still close enough to hear every detail if a possible screamfest was to emerge. This town… "What got you to swing by? Earning us," he spun to gesture for the crowd, "this great pleasure!" Coming back, his eyes locked with mine. Finally, I could see him properly.

I smirked sideways. "Well, you see, Timmy. It was, of course–" Swiftly, I grabbed his bottle from his hand, raising it in the air above me, as if to cheer. "–to have a good time!" I stated, taking a swig of the disgusting beer. The weak, foul taste brought back old memories from this place, as well as others I'd either been dragged to or found myself in.

As Tim watched my movements intently, his gaze burning, the rest of the gathered seemed to hold their breaths. Until:

"Well!" Laughing, Tim moved to place an arm around my shoulders. And I let him, even managing a smile that wasn't all that fake as he faced the crowd. "Let's show this one a good time then!"

Cheering erupted, as the music returned. Instantly, bodies around us started bouncing up and down with the beat, quickly forgetting the close drama from seconds ago. Although Tim didn't. With his hand still on my shoulder, he walked around so we stood facing.

"You good?" he asked, eyes too clear for him to be drunk eyeing my face. Maybe I'd misjudged him earlier. A hiccup escaped him. Or maybe not.

"Yeah." I nodded, taking another swig of his beer to prove my point. "Just blowing off some steam."

With a wide grin spreading, Tim's hand finally left me to gesture at the crowd grandly. "Then you've come to just the right place, baby!"

Even if he was annoying and a dick and made my skin crawl most of the times, I found myself smiling briefly. It was probably the beer, helping ease my tensions. I turned to scout for more.

"Thank you, Chaseyyyy. You're so sweet." Leaning over the gear lever, I gave Chase's golden cheek a slight peck. "You're just the best, you know?"

When I slumped back in the car seat, my whole body felt wonderfully full of light buzzing. Even if the alcohol might have gone a bit to my head, I was still in a relaxed state; and that was even after I'd almost wrestled my ex to the ground.

"Yeah, yeah. You should really get some sleep, Parks," he stated, eyes boring into mine seriously. "Since you were there all day, and with how it ended with Tim when I showed up–"

"Pfft! That was nothing," I waved off. "Fighting's part of our thing. It's like flirting, basically."

"That didn't look flirty to me," Chase remarked, grimly. He had a point, since I'd been dangerously close to move past the screaming of insults to jump on Tim, all after he'd decided to get a bit too handsy for my liking. I had enough problem with one guy in my life to worry about, I certainly didn't want that ex of mine to get any ideas. Speaking of which.

"Don't worry about it," I said, turning to look out the window up at my apartment building, not able to help but wondering if a certain someone was still there. I had been gone all day, not calling Chase until night had fallen once more, but with Damon one never really knew. "See you around," I directed over my shoulder at Chase, half-heartedly, as I nudged the car door open to head for my building.

Normally, climbing up the stairs was a piece of cake, but this time taking the steps made me became painfully aware of all the liquor I'd consumed over the course of the day. The steps swayed a bit beneath my feet, the walls not quite finding me when I tried to reach for them. Nevertheless, I managed to reach my front door in one piece. Only one thing left to do.

With a bracing breath, I shouldered open my stubborn door. And was faced with my very much empty apartment. Huh. Oh well! One less confrontation for the day. Honestly, Tim had kind of drained me in that department, so it was probably for the best.

As I was just about to seat myself on my couch, feeling my bones long for the rest, a beep from my phone went off, from somewhere further inside the flat. It wasn't a call being known, nor a text, but rather a reminder. I knew what that meant without having to find my brick to check it.

"Shit!"

"You're–"

"Late!" I filled in for Bella. "For my shift. I know, I know. Sorry." Taking support from the bar counter between us, I let out a sharp breath caused by my sprint here. If I'd thought I'd felt the alcohol earlier, this was an eye-opener. Instead of filling me with a nice high, being tipsy now made the room around me spin a bit.

"–drunk," Bella finished with one swift look at my appearance.

"Ehrm, excuse me?" Trying to cross my arms, I was forced to let go of the counter, which almost caused me to tip over in the process. Okay, maybe I was a teensy bit drunk.

"You heard me. Forget your shift. Go home," Bella ordered, turning. To just leave me. Standing there, holding onto a stool to prevent myself from falling over again.

"Wasted run," I muttered, daring to ease my grip to stand on my own to feet without support. But since I didn't have to stick around at the Grill, what use was there to stick around? Easily, I decided to just go back home again. Walking this time. The idea of sleeping it off started to feel more and more appealing…

However, fate had other plans.

"Hey!" I grunted as someone walked right into me at the door. "Watch where you're– Elena?" I blinked, laying eyes on my sister.

"PARKS!" I was attacked by a hug, Elena holding onto me as if her dear life depended on it. "Where have you been?! I've been calling you all day!" She withdrew, only to grab my face and hold it firmly in her hands, shaking me slightly. "Are you drunk?!" It couldn't be that obvious!

"I'm fine," I said and pushed her hands away. "What's with the worrying?"

Finally, Elena stopped trying to get to me, instead biting her lip as she stared searchingly at my face. "You haven't gotten any of my calls?"

"I, ehrm, left my phone at home," I lied smoothly, then frowned at my sister's panicked expression. "Why? What's going on?"

She shook her head, tired. "You've missed quite the day…" Her head shot to the left, as if to scout the area of the nearby Town's Square. Following her gaze, I saw nothing.

"What are you looking for?"

"Who," Elena corrected me with a sigh. "Look, I don't have much time. But the short version is that Isobel is back."

"Your birth mom?" I exclaimed. Elena hushed me.

"Yeah, but not so loud! Earlier today she requested a meeting, said she wanted a device Damon had. If she didn't get it, she would start killing innocent people!" And obviously that was a problem. "She hurt Matt, Parks." Poor guy; yet I merely raised a brow. "And kidnapped Jeremy!"

"She WHAT?" I snapped. How dare that bitch hurt my family! Screw the rest of the town! Elena and Jeremy were off-limits.

"That's why I'm here," Elena explained patiently. "Isobel wants a device created by Johnathan Gilbert, or she'll kill Jer." Her gaze flew back to the Town Square.

"Then I'm coming with you," I stated, grabbing Elena's hand to pull her with me. Before she could stop me, I'd managed to drag her across the street and over the green lawn towards the monument in the middle of the park area.

"No! Parks!" Elena janked me back by my arm. "She said to come alone."

"I'm freaking drunk, Elena!" There! I admitted it. Happy? "What kind of a threat am I?"

"I still think you could put up quite the fight," a silky smooth voice spoke from behind me. Simultaneously, Elena and I turned our heads towards the sound.

"Isobel," was all Elena managed to get out. A woman with raven-black hair gathered in a high ponytail eyed me up and down. She was dressed entirely in black, and there laid an aura of something untouchable around her. A faint bell of remembrance rang at the back of my mind. But it stopped when I met her eyes. Dead. Clearly, no emotions home there.

"You must be the older sister," Isobel remarked with a cold smile.

"You look older," I stated, folding my arms over my chest.

"You remember me," Isobel stated. I nodded.

"Dad's clinic, a rainy evening, a terrified girl standing on the doorstep and gazing down at her swelling belly with fear," I counted up. No reaction. "I was eight, not stupid!" I huffed into her perfect face accentuated by beautifully done makeup, again getting absolutely no reaction whatsoever in return. Oh, this was going to be hard. Tilting my head to the side, I pointed at Isobel's forehead. "Is that a wrinkle?" Elena pulled at my arm, signaling for me to shut up.

"Where is the device?" Isobel asked my sister, deciding to ignore me completely.

"Where is our brother?" Elena retorted.

"This isn't a negotiation. Where is the invention?" Isobel spoke coldly.

"No, it's a trade. So where the hell is Jer?" I bit back in Elena's place, feeling like I needed to bring at least something to the table.

Isobel barely threw a look my way as she showed off a microscopic, content sneer. "Do you really think that I came alone?" Hearing footsteps behind me and Elena, I turned to see a tall man and woman stopping a few feet away from us. I could take them.

"Did you really think that I came alone?" Elena replied, crossing her arms. Just as Isobel, I turned to peer over her head and her black, curly ponytail flipping, to spot none other than the approaching Salvatore brothers. Oh, shit.

Briefly, my gaze found Damon, but I quickly decided to direct my attention on Stefan instead. Damon could wait. Right now, the bigger question was what the younger Salvatore brother was doing here, considering he shouldn't be anywhere near Elena after what happened! With his recently reappeared bloodlust, as well as I'd gathered from Damon's dream this morning, Stefan's case was getting further and further away from any redeeming qualities he might have shown previously. However, there was a time and a place for everything.

"For god sakes," Isobel muttered. "Call home," she told Elena with a sigh.

"What?" Elena blinked, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Call home. Ask to speak to your brother Jeremy," Isobel clarified with a roll of her eyes.

Without a moment to lose, Elena dug up her phone from the pocket of her brown blazer, turning her back against Isobel to look at me as the signals went by. "Jeremy?" she finally exclaimed. Even if I couldn't hear anything from the conversation on the other end, Elena's expression of relief said it all. "I'll be home soon, alright?" Tucking her phone away, my sister nodded at me. She took a deep breath. Safe. "You were never gonna hurt him," she stated, glancing over at Isobel. Truly, I wished I could have believed the same, but looking over at my sister's birth mother gave me a far different impression.

"No, I was going to kill him," Isobel answered, confirming my suspicion. "Don't look for any redeeming qualities in me. I don't have any," she told Elena with a shake of her head.

"But you took a risk with Damon. How did you know that he was gonna give it to me?" Elena questioned.

"Well, at first I thought that he cared about you since you look like Katherine." Isobel observed her daughter with her head tilted to the side, before she turned to fully face me. "But now I can see that he's in love with someone else." The second the words had left her lips, it felt as if she had poured a bucket of ice cold water over my head. Seeing my probably blanching reaction, Isobel allowed a little smirk to be shown.

What? In love with? Was she messing with me? We had slept together once! There was no love so far. Or…?

Carefully, I dared to throw a look Damon's way. He seemed uncomfortable, as he glanced over at Stefan. He couldn't be… It was ridiculous!

As the silence prolonged, I shoved my thoughts of denial down, feeling Elena's confused and questioning gaze on me. I ignored her, along with Damon – who had now turned his eyes to me – by focusing my narrowed stare on Isobel. Paying no mind to me, she held her hand out for Elena. Stepping forward, my sister placed the notorious device in her birth mother's pale palm.

"Thank you," Elena spoke.

"For what?" Isobel asked.

"For being such a monumental disappointment. It keeps the memory of my real mother perfectly intact." Withdrawing her hand with that coldly delivered comment, Elena raised her chin. At her side, I repressed the urge to give her an high-five.

"Goodbye, Elena. As long as you have a Salvatore on your arm, you're doomed. The same goes for you." The last was shot past my sister, at me. My response was intensifying my cold glare. "Katherine was smart. She got out. But we all know that you're not Katherine," Isobel finished, eyeing her daughter up and down with a hint of disappointment.

"Thanks for the pep-talk, mother of the year," I muttered. It was either that, or ripping a plank loose from one of the benches to stake Isobel with it. But the female had one last comeback prepared, tilting her head to the side to observe me with an awfully content smile, radiating just how full of herself she truly was, her gaze eyeing me up and down as well.

"Do you always dress in such a hurry, after you've had–"

"OKAY, thank you and goodbye!" I interrupted, when feeling my heart stop cold in my chest. There was no way in hell I'd let that woman wreck relations more than she already had. Quickly, I reached to smooth my hair into place the best I could, correcting my clothes before Elena could turn and take a closer look at my appearance.

Still smirking slightly, Isobel slowly walked away, her two minions after her. As soon as they'd started making their way across the park, I once again felt Elena's questioning gaze on me.

"You okay?" was all I managed to whisper my sister's way, earning a nod mixed with a shrug. Understandable, after that encounter.

Stefan walked closer, embracing Elena in a hug, whilst I glared at the two.

"He's okay now, Parks," Elena reassured me, as if reading my murdering mind. I scoffed my displeasure, and Stefan released Elena.

"If you have something to say–"

"I do, actually," I stated, through clenched jaws, as I took a step closer. "As you might recall, I told you that I wouldn't hesitate to take you down if you couldn't control your bloodlust. You are not allowed anywhere near Elena anymore, vamp!"

"Parker!" Elena exclaimed, her eyes wide as she tried to wedge herself between me and Stefan.

"It's okay," Stefan assured her over his shoulder, as he gently kept her back. "I get it," he told me with a humble nod. "If the roles were reversed, I would have felt the same. So I can't blame you. I understand completely if you don't approve of Elena's relationship with me after what happened, but I'm not gonna walk away unless she wants me to. Sorry." He held my eye, firmly, until he was done. I could only stare at the mad man.

Where was my damn conflict? Why was he being so straightforward and calm? Pushing all the right buttons with his arguments? Because if there was one thing I always lived by when it came to my siblings, then it was to not force them to stop doing something they want to do.

Cursing Stefan inwardly, I raised my chin. "Fine," I said shortly, gritting my teeth. "But I got my eyes on you," I warned.

"Of course," Stefan answered with a nod. From behind him, Elena shook her head.

"You done?" my sister questioned me with a raise of her brows.

"Yep."

"Good." Elena rubbed her forehead with a sigh. "I need some sleep."

"I'll take you home," Stefan offered.

The scenario instantly began playing out in my head; Stefan and Elena together meant that Damon and I would be left alone. Meaning that the conversation about not only what had happened last night, but also Isobel's little bomb dropping just now, was closing in like a speeding car on a highway to hell. A glance over at Damon, still standing a bit further away, confirmed my suspicion. I was met by his intense blue eyes staring right back at me.

"Actually!" I knocked Stefan away from Elena with a bump of my hip, throwing my arm around her shoulders. "Sister bonding time," I declared.

Elena glared at me and tried to shove me away, but I stood my ground. "Parks–"

"It's been ages, Elena! And we really need to talk." Faking a cough, I discreetly jerked my head in the direction of the older Salvatore brother.

Instantly, Elena stopped fighting me, her face going blank as she understood my little hint. "Yeah, you're right... Sorry, Stefan. I'll–"

"It's okay," Stefan reassured with a small smile. Clearly, he didn't want to overstep my newly drawn line, dropping the matter in a chivalry way. UGH!

"Great! Come on!" I dragged my sister towards where I guessed she had parked her car, making a large circle around Damon, without as much as glancing at him, before hurrying my steps and dragging Elena along with my fast pace.

"Parks–"
"In a minute."

Once we'd both jumped into the car, and I'd instantly turned on the stereo that have the speakers blast in the car to make the whole vehicle vibrate like a massage stool, I finally turned to my sister, just as she shut the door to the driver's seat.

"I did the thing," I stated.

"What thing?" she sighed, rubbing her temples.

Since I couldn't bear the look I knew was about to paint her face, I turned in my seat to watch the empty street before us, taking a deep, preparing breath. "I slept with Damon." There was no need for me to be facing Elena, as I could see her swiftly turn in her seat out in the corner of my eye.

"YOU WHAT?"