"Stripped"
Chapter 6: Watch Your Back
The party was already in full swing when Bella pulled up and she groaned. Part of her wanted to just drive away right now, call Carol and tell her that she had come down with a stomach bug, but the responsible part of her wouldn't allow it. Her car door opened, an attendant helped her out and then Bella slowly walked up the steps of the Lockwood mansion.
Council members all greeted her, welcoming her back, asking how her dad was, and just wondering what she was doing after this year as far as college was concerned.
"Bella," Carol said, coming over and stealing her away from the group, "Thank you again."
"They're my friends Carol," Bella said.
"How did you regain your powers?" Carol asked quietly.
"Maybe another time," Bella said before she looked around, "Right now isn't exactly the best time to talk about that."
"Oh no," Carol said as she looked to the entry way, "I thought they left."
Bella looked and saw Elijah, Rebekah and Kol coming into the house.
"Bella excuse me," Carol said before she walked towards the group.
Across the room Klaus was smiling as he looked at Bella; she did clean up nicely. Her hair was straightened and for once she was wearing some heavier make up. Her dress clung to her body in the most perfect way and Klaus could tell that Bella was pure…in more ways than one. He grabbed two glasses of champagne and headed for Bella but Elijah stopped him.
"You can't do that Klaus, remember the deal." Elijah said quietly.
"Yes," Kol said while taking the two glasses away from Klaus, "Allow me."
Kol sauntered over, stood behind Bella and presented her with a glass.
"Champagne my dear?" Kol asked.
"No thank you, I'm driving." Bella replied as she turned to face him, "What are you doing here?"
"I never miss a party," Kol said, "Where's your crasher at?"
Bella tensed and Kol laughed.
"Come now you didn't think we wouldn't be watching you now did you?" Kol asked, "Perhaps you are as naïve as you look."
"Everyone catches people off guard every once in a while," Bella replied, "I'm no different."
"Oh but you are my dear," Kol said, "Would you care to dance?"
"I think the lady will decline," Damon said while coming to join them.
"Thought you were going out," Bella said relieved.
"Well I thought about it and figured you could use some back up," Damon said before he turned his attention back to Kol, "Why haven't you and your psycho family left town yet? There's nothing here for you."
"Oh I beg to differ," Kol said while eyeing Bella up and down, "There is quite a lot here for us and I must say it comes in such a pretty package."
"Back off," Damon said, stepping in front of Bella a bit, "She isn't interested."
"I can be very convincing," Kol replied.
"Kol," Elijah said while coming up to his brother, "Leave them alone."
"I was only talking to them," Kol said with a shrug, "Just getting to know the new resident in Mystic Falls that has everyone in a tizzy."
"Leave her alone," Elijah warned.
"I'll be seeing you around Bella," Kol said, "Maybe it's time I went back to school." Kol said as he and Elijah walked away.
"I just knew once you came back to town I would be chasing all the assholes away." Damon said while taking Bella's arm and looping it through his before leading her away.
"I could have handled him," Bella defended.
Damon shook his head, "Bella look around," Damon said and she did, "Everyone here wants something from you. Half of them don't know what they want; they just know you can give it to them. The other half knows what you're capable of and want to use you to gain what they want."
"Where does that leave you?" Bella asked.
"I'd jump from side to side," Damon teased, "I'm kidding which leaves me to watching your back." Damon leaned back, "And what a beautiful backside you have."
Bella shoved Damon and looked annoyed, "You are such caveman,"
"I'm only being appreciative towards a beautiful woman." Damon argued.
"You're 168 years old Damon," Bella said, "Hitting on me is against the law."
"No it's not," Damon replied smirking, "You're 18 now, you're legal. Besides Eddie was just over 100."
"How did you know that?" Bella asked shocked before she became angry, "You read my journal."
"You and Stefan with your journals," Damon said, "You should really stop laying them out."
"It was in my room," Bella said before she hit Damon, "How could you do that?"
"What?" Damon asked, "You wouldn't tell me about what happened so I had to find out. Also by the way, shape-shifting wolves Bella, really?"
"You are such an insensitive jerk," Bella hissed, "You don't think about how your actions will affect others or how wrong they are at times."
Bella started walking away and Damon caught up.
"What is the problem?" Damon asked.
"You violated my privacy and trust." Bella said in disbelief.
"Oh come on," Damon said annoyed, "You're joking right."
"No I'm not," Bella said, "That is just disrespectful and wrong."
"Bella will you chill," Damon said, "I'm not gonna stick around while you pull some overdramatic crap."
"Then leave," Bella said angrily, "You know I thought we were doing okay, but this just…"
Bella couldn't finish her sentence instead she walked away from Damon, who grabbed two glasses of champagne and downed them.
Bella walked outside to the back porch and just stood outside, looking up at the sky.
"Trouble in paradise?" Kol asked.
"Get away from me," Bella said.
"Oh come now," Kol said while walking over to her and trailing his finger down her arm, "We're going to be working together so how about we get to know one another."
Bella looked at Kol and used, causing him to grab his head and sink to the ground in silent pain.
"Don't ever touch me again." Bella said before she released Kol.
That was a mistake as Kol blurred towards her just as she reached for the door handle. He grabbed her and blurred her into the woods.
"Now, now," Kol said while pinning her against a tree and inhaling deeply, "That wasn't very nice and I was trying to be a gentleman but now I know you like it rough."
Kol's fangs extended before he bit into Bella's neck swiftly. He covered her mouth so she couldn't scream as he drank heavily, quickly weakening her.
"You taste divine," Kol said after removing his mouth from her throat. It wasn't long before he returned to drinking from her.
"What are you doing?" Elijah asked, pulling Kol away from Bella who slumped to the ground, "We need her."
"Calm down," Kol said while licking his lips and the edges of his mouth, "I was only drinking a little."
"She's the only one that can bring back Klaus' body," Elijah hissed before he looked towards the house. "Damon's looking for her."
"So?" Kol said while wiping his face.
"So pick her back up and pretend to be drinking from her." Elijah said. "I have to get back inside before he notices I'm missing. I'll send him your way."
Kol picked up the unconscious Bella and moved her hair to one side to expose the bite that was still bleeding.
"Well if your boyfriend is going to come and no doubt kick my ass then I should make it worth it." Kol said before he bit back into Bella's neck.
The next thing Kol knew, he was thrown away from Bella before being picked back up again before everything went black…Damon had snapped his neck. Damon dropped him and walked over to Bella.
"Bella," he said while shaking her, "Damn it."
"Bella?" Tyler's voice said, cutting through the darkness.
"Tyler," Damon said "Come help me."
Tyler looked shocked, "What happened?"
"Kol," Damon growled, "I'll deal with him later right now help me get her into the house without us being seen."
Tyler distracted the guests while Damon blurred Bella upstairs to a little living room.
"What happened?" Elena asked while coming in.
"Kol," Damon replied, "Stay with her, I'm going to talk to Elijah."
Damon walked down the stairs and found Rebecca with Elijah.
"Damon," Rebecca said while smiling, "You look dashing, need some company tonight?"
"Keep your brother away from Bella." Damon said while ignoring her.
"What are you talking about?" Elijah asked, seemingly confused.
"You're brother nearly drained her dry," Damon said, "He's out in the woods still. I suggest you go get him and leave."
"It won't happen again," Elijah promised before he disappeared with Rebecca.
"What was he thinking?" Rebecca asked angrily.
"It's Kol; he doesn't think," Elijah said.
"If he ruins this for us," Rebecca growled.
"He won't," Elijah said as they came upon Kol who was awakening, "I told you to pretend, not actually bite her again."
Kol rubbed his neck and smiled as he stood up, "Well that second go-round made me getting my neck snapped completely worth it."
"Kol," Rebecca said after slapping him, "Don't do that again. We need her and I have a feeling we don't want to be on her bad side."
"Oh are you letting a little witch scare you?" Kol asked. "Please if tonight is any indication, she isn't as strong as she looks."
"Don't be fooled Kol," Elijah said, "You're too old for that."
.*.*.*.*.*.
Elena tried to stop Damon from leaving, but he was gone too quickly. Elena tried not to breathe, but when she turned to look at Bella all she could focus on was the blood that was still flowing from her neck.
Elena tried to fight the smell as her fangs descended and she started to back away. Within her she was fighting her new nature…the thirst. The one that was causing her to constantly be focusing on someone's pulse; she could practically hear the blood flowing through the people around her.
Suddenly nature won and Elena flew across the room, sinking her teeth into Bella's neck.
.*.*.*.*.*.
"Damn originals," Damon mumbled as he opened the door. "How is she…ELENA!" Damon yelled and blurred throwing Elena off of Bella, "STEFAN!"
Stefan appeared and grabbed Elena before she could rush back to Bella.
"Get her out of here," Damon said as he bit into his wrist and forced it into Bella's mouth.
Stefan dragged Elena out as she thrashed. Damon sat there and listened; Bella's pulse was weak (almost nonexistent) but there was a small quiet thump that started to pick up as Damon's blood flowed down her throat and into her system.
"Come on sleeping beauty wake up," Damon said as he moved her hair to watch the wound heal.
Slowly Bella came too and when she did, she pushed Damon away and started to gag.
"Don't you dare throw up my blood," Damon warned as he rubbed Bella's back to calm her down. "That's very valuable, just ask Meredith Fell."
"What happened?" Bella asked while trying to not puke.
"Kol took a nice bite out of you and then Elena did." Damon said, "They almost killed you."
"How's Elena?" Bella asked while swallowing back the puke and blood that was trying to come back up.
"She'll be fine," Damon said, "You need to go home."
"I'm alright," Bella said while standing up and getting dizzy.
"I don't think so," Damon said as he steadied her, "You've had enough fun for one night."
Damon wrapped his arm around Bella's waist to keep a hold of her before he led her out of the room.
"Bella," Elena said, looking really upset. "I'm so sorry."
"It's alright," Bella said while touching her friend's hand, "Hey at least it wasn't some stranger you don't know what with all the kind of things some people carry in their blood."
Elena laughed a little.
"Well as much as this night has been, Bella needs to go home." Damon interrupted.
Damon and Bella said goodnight to everyone before they left.
"Where's my car?" Bella asked while looking around.
"I took it home," Damon said with a shrug.
"You aren't off the hook Damon," Bella said.
"I just saved your life," Damon said, stunned that Bella was still mad.
"You invaded my privacy," Bella said angrily as she opened the car door, got in and slammed it.
"Easy on the doors, this is a classic." Damon said angrily. "Plus I bought this baby brand new."
"Glad to see something has meaning for you." Bella said while crossing her arms, "Just take me home."
"Are you going to stay mad at me forever?" Damon asked as they drove.
"I don't know," Bella said, "Are you ever going to stop and think before you act?"
"I just wanted to know what happened." Damon defended. "I knew you wouldn't tell me."
"How do you know that?" Bella asked. "All you had to do was ask what happened and I would have told you."
"Yeah right," Damon scoffed.
"You know, I put enough trust into knowing you aren't going to hurt me again so why can't you trust me?" Bella said as they pulled up to her house, "Thanks for the ride."
Bella got out and walked into the house. She showered, got into her pajamas and as she walked out of the bathroom (while brushing her hair), she saw Damon lying on her bed.
"What are you doing?" Bella asked, flabbergasted.
"You have way too many pillows." Damon said, ignoring her.
"I have a king sized bed Damon, I need more pillows. Again what are you doing?" Bella replied.
"You only need two pillows," Damon said, "One to lay your head on and the other to snuggle with."
Bella laughed, "Damon Salvatore snuggles with pillows," she said.
"No I'm talking about you girls," Damon replied before he threw a pillow at Bella.
"Sure," Bella said with the smile still plastered on her face, "Are you going to answer my question?"
"Maybe," Damon replied.
Bella shook her head, "Damon I'm tired and I don't have time for games. I'm going to sleep."
"Mind if I crash on the couch again?" Damon asked.
"Long as you stop looking through my stuff," Bella replied as she climbed into bed.
"You know I'm really comfy here," Damon mused, "And your bed is big enough for the both of us."
"No," Bella replied while setting her alarm clock.
"Oh come on," Damon said, "I'll even snuggle with you."
"See I knew you liked snuggling," Bella said while putting her hair in a messy bun, "The answer is still no."
"You're no fun anymore." Damon pouted, "You used to let me get away with sleeping in your bed."
"I did not," Bella said appalled.
Damon smacked his forehead, "Oh that's right, I used to sneak in here after you were asleep and leave before you woke up." Damon said.
Bella looked at one of the pillows, levitated it and used, making it go into the direction of Damon who was running out the door. Bella listened as she heard Damon get whacked quite a few times with the pillow and once in a very special area for him.
"Uncle," Damon yelled which was at a higher pitch than normal.
"Goodnight Damon," Bella said before she laid down, drifting off to sleep with a smile on her face.
.*.*.*.*.*.
The light streamed through Bella's window, causing her to roll over. She inhaled and smelled Burberry cologne before she realized she was not laying on a pillow.
"Morning sunshine," Damon said; his hands behind his head as he smirked down at her. Bella's eyes got big and Damon's smirk grew wider, "Hey at least I waited for you to wake up."
"Damon!" Bella yelled before she reached for the pillow next to her but he was already out the door.
She heard the front door slam, followed by Damon speed off in his car.
She grabbed her phone and texted;
Next time I see you, you're dead ~B.
Oh come on, you know you loved waking up next to me. I'm irresistible ~D.
Only in your dreams would I even enjoy waking up next to you ~B.
Ouch you just wounded my ego ~D.
I'm sure it takes more than one little sentence from me to wound your ego ~B.
Believe me when I say your opinion of me matters and yes, your words can wound me ~D.
Bella was frozen at Damon's admission and before she could reply, he sent her another text.
Might want to get up; just saw Tyler pull up to your house. See ya later ~D.
Bella quickly put on a robe and walked down the stairs. She opened the door before the bell rang.
"What do you want?" Bella asked.
"Came by to check on my friend," Klaus said with a smile, "You did say to keep up appearances."
"I also said to make sure your family didn't screw things up and if I remember things correctly, your brother nearly killed me last night." Bella said angrily.
"Kol can get a little carried away." Klaus admitted, "But your blood is just so tantalizing."
"My blood is off limits," Bella growled. "Now get the hell out of here."
"But we're friends," Klaus pouted.
"We're friends in public. In private it takes every ounce of strength I have to not kill you." Bella said before she slammed the door.
Bella's phone rang and she went to answer it.
"Hello," Bella said annoyed.
"Hey kiddo," Charlie's voice said, "You okay?"
"Hey dad," Bella replied while smiling, "Yeah just really stressed."
"I bet, Elena said you've been unpacking, plus all your school work, then I heard you had a party at Carol's; I can understand." Charlie said with a laugh.
"How are things going in Forks?" Bella asked while starting to boil some water.
"Oh same old, same old," Charlie said, "Everything is really quiet."
"How's Jake and Billy doing?" Bella asked.
"Worried about you," Charlie chuckled, "They think I was a fool to let you move away and be on your own before you headed off to college."
"What did you say?" Bella asked.
"I said you're eighteen and right now maybe being on your own is what you needed. Besides you aren't alone you have an entire town watching out for you," Charlie said with another laugh.
Bella and Charlie talked for a few more minutes before she hung up since Charlie had to be at work.
Bella spent the most of her morning doing homework before she showered. She then went into the study only to pull and unlock one of the bookcases. This case held every grimoire from every witch in her family. She carefully lifted up some glass to reveal the oldest grimoire…the one that belonged to the first witch in her family. The book was so weathered that Bella was careful to not damage it. Liliana (that's who had written this book) was considered to be the only witch in her family to use black magic; the darkest of the dark magic there was. She had created a spell to bring back a dead vampire (her lover) who was burned after he was staked. She was later burned during one of the many witch hunts in history but she had been successful.
Bella set the grimoire down and took a deep breathe; using a spell like this was abandoning every moral her family had. After Liliana had died, it took her family centuries to balance things and now she was about to tip the scales but when she thought about it she was saving an innocent…Tyler. Sure it was for selfish reasons, but no one deserved to be trapped while someone like Klaus ruined everything he had.
Bella slowly opened the grimoire and started to take notes.
A/N: Hey my dears how are you? Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't worry this is only the beginning of what is about to start happening so I hope you're ready.
Thank you to my lovely beta Dark~Supernatural~Angel for all the amazing work she does. She made up a live journal for me with book covers, links to outfits and such. The link is;
: / / dark-spn-angel dot livejournal dot com / 44790 dot html (just get rid of the spaces and actually put dots. The website gives us a hard time actually letting us post the link for some reason. Also put http in front of the : )
All you have to do is find the story you want click on "master list" and it will take you there with links to outfits, book covers, videos etc…
Thank you to you my wonderful readers I am so glad you are enjoying this story.
Updates on a couple things;
The next chapter for Buried Secrets 2 is coming along, but taking a bit more time, those of you who read the last chapter know why so it's taking a little bit more time to write Bella the way I am so please be patient with me.
The Devil You Know fans mark your calendars because on September 30th the sequel Never Let Me Go will be posted! I'm going to talk to my wonderful beta and see if maybe over on the live journal if we can get a teaser posted each week.
Until next time my dear, wonderful, amazing readers review…they get you teasers for the next chapter ;)