A/N: You guys are the best! Thank you so much for all the love! I hope you enjoy this next segment just as much.
The appeal of having pizza delivered proved to be too much to resist. Cynthia was thrilled to be getting Mountain Dew in the bargain as well. She had started bouncing and spinning around the main floor in her socks while they waited. After a bit of persuading, she managed to convince Damon to play music and dance with her. Cynthia wanted to try and coax him to teach her foxtrot or cha cha or something to keep her mind occupied. For some reason, Damon told her she should have food first.
Please, as if that would help her follow better. He could make her just as dizzy as the blood loss. Which was precisely why she did not suggest tango. Dancing for fun and sheer enjoyment was fine and dandy. Something that was meant to be performed more seductively would be... Not necessarily wrong, but not something she felt prepared for, particularly with someone as aesthetically pleasing as Damon.
At least they had music.
"Aren't you going to ask me where I was today? Damon pulled her to sit with him on the couch. By mutual agreement, the pillows were staying where they were, so Cynthia leaned against his shoulder instead.
She shrugged a little at his question. "That's your business, isn't it? I reckon you'll tell me if you want to. But I'm not going to pry. You're obviously not too mad at me, or I wouldn't be here. And that's all I was really worried about."
Cynthia sat up a little straighter, turning so she could actually watch Damon's face as they spoke.
"I care most about the now and the future. What I would love to do is go home, but I don't have the faintest idea how I came to be here in the first place. For the interim, I might as well consider it impossible." She gave him a lazy smile. "Unless you want to talk about our horrible love lives, Spike. The love of your life turned out to be a selfish bitch who faked her own death. I might as well be dead as far as mine is concerned. We're both just winning so hard at being living unliving things."
Anger, danger, Will Robinson. Damon's expression flared with anger, sparks practically flying as he held her neck in a vice like grip. The blood vessels around his eyes enlarged and darkened. Seconds later, and he was standing with her still pinned to the coach by her throat.
"You can't know that for sure."
On the contrary, Cynthia was pretty much certain. It's the basic rule in this world that Katerina Petrova always escapes from any death attempt. And she also almost always gets precisely what she wants. It was similar to the way it was a rule in Leverage that Sterling always wins. Cynthia didn't attempt to say anything though; she simply stared up at Damon calmly. The world was only them right now; time might as well have frozen for all she cared about. A creeping warm and fuzzy feeling spread up from her neck around her jaw and to the base of her ears. Being choked wasn't really painful or uncomfortable, at least not the way Damon was doing it. Even his snarling demonic face just had Cynthia blinking, rather at peace with the situation, although the black spots in her vision were a little worrying.
Her favorite monster in a person suit calmed enough to release her throat before the blackness crept over her eyes completely. Cynthia was pretty sure he was glaring at her, but she was too busy feeling giddy from the rush of air and oxygen to care. Damon was probably trying to figure out why she didn't act afraid of him, even when he was in a fury. But it should be obvious by now, really.
She didn't have anything to lose. And he was much too fun to get upset with over silly things like this.
"You said Elena never had a sister, fraternal twin or otherwise, in this show of yours."
Cynthia nodded, grinning a little as she sat up. She was cracked in the head. This was a little bit fun.
"True. I'm not saying that I'm opposed to checking on Katherine. But I'm not going to be shocked if she isn't there. Even you can probably admit that she can be a narcissistic piece of work. Personally, you deserve better than to languish at the foot of a doppelganger's altar. But you don't need my blessing."
Damon's face was inscrutable as he looked at her. "Oh, little one, you really don't know me as well as you think you do if you can say that with a straight face."
Cynthia knew arguing with him wasn't going to work, so instead she pretended to look affronted and diverted their conversation. "Oi, that is not going to be my nickname. No short jokes or commentary on my height. You can do better than that; I have it on the highest of authorities."
Her own ears and Wikipedia.
The vampire just smirked at her, pulling her up into a standing position in front of him and nuzzling beneath her ear.
"Maybe I should call you Sinful instead," he countered huskily. "Because you're sinfully delicious and fun to play with." He nipped at her neck, brushing his fingers down her sides and leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake.
"Plays on my name are equally uncreative," Cynthia said firmly, proud of herself for managing that when she felt so hyper aware of everywhere that his body touched hers.
Damon just snickered at her, "So picky."
A moment later, Damon had released her and zipped out of the room. He left a quite confused Cynthia behind, trying to figure out what had lit a fire under him so quickly. She started to follow before she heard his chiding warning, "Horror movie victims are to stay out of sight." Finally, there was a knock on the front door, and Cynthia realized what was going on at last. Their pizza had arrived.
And her soda! Score!
She skipped right back to the den, not noticing or caring if Damon actually paid or just compelled his way into getting their food. Either way, she was quite happy to snag some of her pineapple and chicken pizza.
"You're food choices are disgusting, just so you know," Damon informed her before eating his own. Cynthia was pretty sure it was a Supreme, but she didn't actually know all the pizza names. She didn't like most meats on her pizza. Or mushrooms. Or anchovies. Or most things, actually. Peppers and onions were fine though, just not her choice with pineapple.
And pineapple and cheese is freaking delicious.
"You can have your opinion, Damon," Cynthia told him sweetly. 'It just so happens to be wrong."
"I'm sorry. I can't hear you over the sound of how delicious my pizza is."
The den was a wreck. No, it was a masterpiece. They had stacked their pizza boxes next to the fireplace, neither feeling motivated enough to take them to the kitchen just yet. Cynthia was gnawing on a crust as she leaned on the couch, her feet resting in Damon's lap. The girl felt incredibly content and relaxed. Naturally, her evil vampire BFF was therefore staring at her with mischief in his eyes.
As she started to swallow her second to last bite, Damon grabbed and picked her up in a flash. Cynthia was startled enough to have to cough the bread back up so she could actually send it down the correct pipe. Something she suspected entertained Damon greatly.
"Bored now?" Cynthia chirped.
"Let's do something fun!" He grinned down at her face. She thought his teeth gleamed wickedly in this light. "How do you feel about skinny dipping?"
Maybe more than just his teeth was wicked.
"I think you might give me a heart attack if we try that. To go from exsanguination to that much shock? I don't want to be an eternal teenager, Pikachu."
The dick just looked pleased with himself, giving her a cocky smirk. "Afraid that I'll be too much for you to handle?"
She rolled her eyes before deadpanning, "Yep, that's it. Your body is bound to be grotesque and mentally scarring. And I just don't need that in my life. It would haunt my nightmares."
Damon growled in response. She thought it was playfully, but she couldn't swear to it.
"Hideous, am I?" His grip on her grew tighter, almost painfully so. "You're so lucky that you are useful."
Cynthia reached up and pet his hair. As long as he was going to hold her, Cynthia might as well make use of this extra height. "You'll come to like me in time. I grow on you. Like a fungus."
"I'll have to invest in the proper herbicide."
She pushed at his chest playfully, then brightened. "Hey! Speaking of, let's go on a treasure hunt! We can find where Zach hides his little vervain farm. And then I can tell Jenna all about the strange plants I found growing here. "
Damon dropped her unceremoniously to the ground as Cynthia giggled.
"I'm sorry, Aunt Jenna. I wasn't paying attention to the leaves. I was a bit preoccupied with the fact Zach or Stefan like indoor gardening." She hopped up, ignoring her graceless fall.
Damon was back to playing bored and aloof. "You really think Zach has been growing vervain here? I'm not sure he's that clever or that incredibly stupid."
Oh, they were so not arguing about this. Hadn't she already proven to know plenty about his past? Hadn't she called last night and today's game? Just because Damon didn't want to believe that his True Love was an ungrateful dog who wouldn't ever choose him didn't mean that he could keep doubting her like this. Cynthia had things to do, events to change, and a whole lot of heartache to avoid.
"I was right about tonight," she told him sternly. "Now, come on. There's a panel or a door in here somewhere that leads to your little basement of horrors."
Damon may or may not agree with her, but he at least decided it wasn't the worst way to kill some time. Because he didn't grumble too much as they searched for and found the door before trooping downstairs.
"Plus," Cynthia chatted idly. "You'll want to build up a resistance to it. Not only will it prevent you from being outed so easily, it will make it harder for the Mikaelsons to compel you. Not an advantage that I imagine you would be willing to tolerate giving up."
They had swung open a few doors to supply closets and peeked into cells that Cynthia really did not want to know the origin of. Why would a boarding house need prisoner cells? Seriously?
"Remind me why I care about this whole Originals curse thing... What was it?"
She peered up at him and chimed helpfully, "The Sun and Moon curse?"
"Right, whatever. What's to stop me from just leaving you losers to it as I walk into the sunset?"
More dead ends. Cynthia was getting really tired of how well Zach and the previous human Salvatores hid this vervain. She growled at a room full of furniture, much to Damon's amusement. He could go suck on a lemon. The man really was having issues accepting the truth about Katherine and for some reason that really irritated her.
"Boredom. Possessiveness. Knowing how insufferable Stefan will be about Elena. Knowing that Niklaus and Elijah are who Katerina has been running from for the past five hundred years? Take your pick," Cynthia rattled off with a casualness she didn't really feel. "Besides, why miss the opportunity to ally yourself with beings of that much power?"
Forever was an awfully long time to be enemies.
"You're annoying when you're right. No more talking. More spelunking."
She wisely refrained from commenting on the fact this could be a much shorter trip if he used his senses. Vervain had a smell, she was pretty sure. Keen vampire senses should be good for something. All she had found was a priest hole and a bunch of storage.
After a while, Cynthia and Damon had both grown bored and started playing hide and seek – although obviously one of the parties had an unfair advantage – as well as a progressively darker 'Would You Rather?' She paused in the middle of answering one of Damon's questions, slowly releasing the door knob of the room she had tried.
A fluorescent light lit up the room with UV rays, and humidity from the trapped plants had her practically drinking air. Cynthia squeed in delight when she properly realized her success.
Tch. Silly vampire probably hadn't been trying.
"Yo, D. I think I've got a live one here."
His arms wrapped around her, and Damon crooned into her ear. "I see you finally found it too. You get a gold star."
That dick. Cynthia spun to face him indignantly, but just ended up cracking up at his expression.
"Whatever, hot shot." He ruffled her hair, honest to goodness smirking down at her. Cynthia ducked out of his hold, tapping his shoulder before dashing off to where she thought the stairs back up were. "Tag! You're it."
Back on the main floor, all of the pizza was depressingly cold so Cynthia reluctantly put hers up. He could take care of his himself. Not that she expected the man cared. Upon Damon's insistence, she texted her 'aunt' that she was going to be spending the night with her BFF. Grinning up at said BFF, Cynthia then added that she hadn't been kidnapped by a serial killer against her will or anything.
Damon just shook his head at her, only a hint of a smile on his lips. He clearly didn't appreciate her epicness. He insisted on them leaving the room - 'it's so dull here, chickadee. Let's move this party elsewhere' - so Cynthia followed him obligingly. Damon had his drink, and Cynthia had her two liter of soda. Although it was more like one liter by now.
"You know, Stefan is going to be coming home soon. You should probably shower and get that blood off of you." How did Damon's eyes always seem to be so full of light and energy?'
Normally, Cynthia would have probably seen the wisdom in Damon's suggestion. Unfortunately, at the moment, she was too busy serenading him.
"'Don't touch me!' I screamed. I've got Unfinished Businessss," Cynthia pranced away from Damon's attempt to catch her. "You've got blood on your hands, and I know it's mine! I just need more time. So get off your low; let's dance like we used to."
She was a giggling, hyper mess. And Cynthia had absolutely no regrets.
Damon was incredibly patient of her play dodging him. He wrestled her still at a perfectly normal human speed, and even saved her pretty soda that had been doing such an ace job of keeping her happy when she almost dropped it.
"But Daaaamon, I don't have any clothes to wear after I shower," She pouted up at him.
He clearly didn't see the problem, and it showed in his face. So Cynthia crossed her arms stubbornly across her chest and tried the jealousy card. "I thought you didn't like me flirting with the other Salvatores."
The vampire rolled his eyes at that, but he stripped off the shirt he had been wearing and threw it at her. Having lost patience, Damon's eyes captured hers. "Take a shower. Now."
She was so, so lost, but everything was gonna be epic somehow.
"You know, I think I would actually like to take a shower. Can I use yours?"
He quirked a smile, looking terribly pleased with himself. Cynthia wasn't sure why.
"Certainly," Damon agreed, leading the way and even opening the door for her. "Make yourself at home."
The hot water felt like heaven, and a very flushed Cynthia returned to Damon's room cocooned happily in a very fluffy towel. Damon had stepped out, which was possibly very gentlemanly of him. Probably just because he had been bored though. Or wanted more alcohol.
Cynthia stared mournfully at her soda. Something about taking a shower always made her mouth feel dirty. Damon was going to have to cough up a spare toothbrush if they made a habit of this hanging out at his place after nightfall.
She flopped on his bed, wet hair and all. Cynthia was pleased to note that it was getting a little bit curlier. Not enough, in her opinion, but she could dream.
What was taking Damon so horribly long? He didn't seem the type to wait out of consideration for her potential state of undress. Speaking of which. She slipped his t shirt over her head, enjoying the softness of the cloth. For once, her diminutive height worked in her favor. The shirt reached half way down her thigh, definitely too short to play at being a dress, but at least Cynthia didn't feel horribly exposed in it.
No, she was just distracted by his scent clinging to the fabric.
Raised voices downstairs had Cynthia creeping to the door, pulling it open just a crack to hear things better. She might have felt guilty for eavesdropping if the two men weren't so loud they were practically begging anyone to listen in.
"You don't think of anyone but yourself, Damon! Should I be worried that you chewed up the pizza delivery guy too?"
That had to be Stefan. She could recognize his dulcet tones quite clearly.
"Don't be ridiculous, Stef. Firstly, it was a girl. So misogynistic of you. This is the twenty first century, dude. Get with the program. Secondly, that would be noticed."
And naturally, that would be Damon. Because who else would Stefan be yelling at who would sound that cocky and smooth back.
"And what," something had a bee up Stefan's bonnet. "You don't think the Gilberts will notice when one of their kids never comes home?"
Huh, that's right. She had 'died' tonight, hadn't she? What with the sugar and caffeine and the delicious shower, Cynthia had almost forgotten. Although it was a bit sad that Stefan had such little faith in his brother. He didn't make it a point to draw undo attention to himself when he intended to stay in an area. It was counter intuitive.
"What am I supposed to tell Elena," Stefan continued. Maybe he could try the truth. Crazy, right? Try 'fessing up before love and emotional manipulation got involved.
"That sounds very much like a Stefan problem. Not a Damon problem." Several collisions and some groaning later, Cynthia heard Damon speak again. "Dear God, you're no fun, Stef. See, this is why you should drink human blood. It would make you so much stronger. Heighten your senses, expand your powers. It might help even the playing field."He paused. "Football reference. Too soon?"
Stefan was too busy groaning, or Cynthia was pretty sure she would have heard more things breaking. Damon didn't miss a beat though.
"You know, I do just so happen to keep a snack bar around. Trust me, Stef. You will love her."
Cynthia straightened at this, listening all the more intently as their voices were dropping.
"What are you... Haven't you done enough damage today, Damon? Just... let whoever it is go."
"See? Boring. Never mind all of that. It's in the past." Damon raised his voice louder to make it obvious he wanted to be heard before beckoning, "You can go ahead and join us now, kitten."
Cynthia didn't question how he knew that she was listening. There was no doubt a reason as to why their argument had been so loud to begin with. She did grimace a bit at the fact the only clean – of blood, anyway – clothing she had to wear was Damon's shirt. But it really could have been worse.
She padded down the stairs, pretending not to notice Stefan having a heart attack at her appearance. The girl smiled languidly at Damon through half lidded eyes. "You called, Master?"
His eyes laughed right back at her, and she flushed when she realized he was still shirtless. Way to imply far more was going on.
"C-Cynthia?" Correction. Stefan was having a stroke. His speech was impaired, and he looked shaky on his feet. But there were no signs that the boy was experiencing pain.
"Or, as I prefer to call her," Damon teased, his eyes positively gleaming, "Meowth."
She beamed up to him, then finally faced Stefan and waited patiently as he stuttered asking how she was alive. He then insisted on checking her for injuries, which was the point Cynthia had to call a halt to things. Stefan's concern would have been more tolerable and believable if it weren't for the fact he was the one going around provoking his brother to kill in the first place. Seriously, how do you misread your brother that badly after a century and a half without it being at least partially willful?
So Cynthia smiled blandly up to the teenaged vampire. "I couldn't miss our date, Steffy. Can I get either of you a drink?"
Damon practically preened, replying before Stefan could fully form his refusal. "Fantastic idea. Pour us both something, won't you, kitten?"
She dutifully walked over to where Damon kept the alcohol stored in crystal glass bottles, hiding her smile as Stefan hissed a question about Damon's sanity. She poured a healthy amount into both glasses, then returned to Damon who was now lounging on the couch again, giving him his glass first.
"I know the smell of your blood in here has got to be killing Saint Stefan," Damon said conciliatorily, his voice practically oozing. "Why don't we help him with that?"
"That's really not necessary." Stefan was watching both of them, clearly seeing Damon as a wild animal that would attack at any moment. He had become a statue again, but the stiff line of his jaw, practically wired shut, and the intensity of his gaze said it all.
Naturally, Cynthia didn't listen to him. For one thing, it would break the illusion she was having so much fun helping Damon with that she was a compelled puppet or pet. For another, Stefan really did need to build up his tolerance to human blood and break out of that 'holier than thou' attitude sooner than later. So she held up her wrist to Damon.
The vampire gently unclasped the bracelet, his gaze holding Stefan's steadily before he efficiently bit down. Cynthia rocked back on her heels, but otherwise remained quiet as Damon then squeezed a few drops of blood into one of the glasses.
"Be a doll and give that to Stefan, then get back here. I prefer to drink mine straight from the vein."
Her future date could not look more stoic if he tried. Stefan was clearly fighting his own inner vampire if the veins and capillaries darkening and swelling into visibility were any indication. He accepted the glass, spine rigid as he glared daggers at Damon. Cynthia had just started to return to Damon when she felt him grab her still slightly bleeding wrist. Surprised, she paused and looked back to Stefan curiously.
Stefan wasn't looking at her though. His attention was still all for his older brother. "She doesn't exist for your amusement, Damon. You can't just keep her here and treat her like a fine wine to break out for company."
"Not this again. Why can't I?" Damon scrunched his eyes for a moment before peering at Stefan as one might a particularly curious five year old. "I don't hear her complaining, do you?"
Stefan was very gently pulling Cynthia closer to him and away from Damon, trying to shield her with his body.
"Because you compelled her," he insisted.
"It's funny how you assume that I have to be messing with her mind. It's like you have no faith in my ability to seduce someone the old fashioned way."
Stefan scoffed. "No, I just know you, Damon. And I know the games that you like to play." He finally actually faced Cynthia, his voice softening. "You can go home."
Now that he was finally paying attention to her, Stefan would be able to see Cynthia's frown of confusion. "Why would I want to do that?"
He released her hand, wiping his off briefly to remove the lingering temptation of blood, before grasping her shoulders.
"Because it's not safe for you here, Cynthia. You have to understand that. This relationship you two have isn't healthy or normal. Surely some part of you knows this."
Her frown only deepened. "Well, your denial is definitely abnormal and unhealthy, but Damon makes sure I have a healthy amount of iron, vitamins, and sugar." Or he would if asked. The sugar was true though. "I don't see the problem."
Stefan's fingers clenched tighter around Cynthia's shoulders and she stole a look to Damon to see his proudly amused expression. "Damon ripped your throat out only a few hours ago. He could have killed you. He almost killed you. How can you possibly be okay with that?" Stefan asked fiercely.
Cynthia stared at the teenage vampire in front of her with pity. "Because he is my friend, and I accept him just the way he is. Besides. I'm fine and I got pizza and soda out of it. What's not to love?"
Damon finally interrupted their little conference. "You can't faze her, Stef. Believe me; I've tried. It's great fun."
She patted Stefan comfortingly on the shoulder, then skipped back over to sit with Damon. The elder brother kissed her forehead, and Cynthia lifted her wrist up to him so he could feed. Then she turned her attention back to Stefan again. "So, how did the game go? Was Tanner thrilled with you enough to forgive your tardiness?"
Stefan was gripping the glass in his hand so tightly, Cynthia thought she might actually see spider lines from it starting to crack. He was staring at her. Really, Stefan did that a lot. Stare. He could probably list it on his resume. 'Can give brooding stare for hours.'
"You okay there, Stef?" Cynthia pressed, a bit more distracted now as Damon bit deeper. He was taunting Stef, the sassy exhibitionist.
"I... I'm sorry. I can't."
The green eyed vampire fled the room, leaving the glass behind on a side table with a particularly violent slam. Shortly after Stefan retreated up the stairs, Damon stopped drinking, only fueling her suspicions. Cynthia pulled her wrist back to her chest, gripping it to staunch the sluggish flow of blood.
"He's such a prude when he is off the wagon," Damon sighed, shaking his head a little at his younger brother's behavior.
Cynthia leaned back against the couch. "Maybe we should give him bagged blood in his alcohol first."
The psychopath next to her grimaced. "But it's disgusting. That would be like torture."
Clearly, not something he planned to casually do over a long term to his brother. Never mind his supposed promise to make Stefan's life a living hell.
"Your brother eats rodents, Damon. I am pretty sure that even old, room temperature bagged blood easily counts as a step up from that."
"Mn," Damon finally quaffed his bourbon. "Maybe you're right. Either way, It's bedtime for the human. So get your cute little butt upstairs and into bed. I'll clean up down here before Zach has a heart attack."
Reluctantly getting up, Cynthia gave Damon an impressed smile. "You're so thoughtful, Damon!"
He just smirked at her. "I know. Now scoot."
Cynthia woke up to find herself using a very still Damon as a pillow. He was reading through some sort of binder, but apparently hadn't tried to move her at all.
"Morning sleepyhead," he greeted, flicking a page. "Your phone has been going crazy. Take care of it before I shoot the thing to put it out of its misery. I have no idea how you could sleep through that."
Sitting up and stretching, Cynthia gave him a wry smile. "I suspect blood loss, sugar crash, and emotional exhaustion probably played a role in that."
"Maybe. All I'm hearing right now are excuses."
She snorted, fighting her hair to get it out of her face and acting a little less like it wanted to mimic a lion's mane. "You're right, Damon. I'm just using my humanity as an excuse to sleep on you. You make a magnificent pillow."
Cynthia jumped out of bed, stumbling when she heard Damon mutter 'Knew it'. Righting herself, Cynthia found her phone and scanned through the texts and missed calls. After a brief mental debate, she decided to call Jeremy. Might as well start improving things between the two of them now.
"Jer bear!" She greeted as soon as the dialing ring stopped. "Why have the women in our family gone insane?"
"Cynthia?" Jeremy should really stop sounding so incredulous when it came to her. "Where have you been? It's almost noon, and no one knows where you are."
Seriously? So what if it was almost noon. It wasn't like the Gilberts went to church. At least, not that she knew of. Cynthia couldn't remember a single time that it had been on her television, although it was possible that it was simply not aired to avoid alienating anyone.
"Okayyyy," it was her turn to sound like her conversational partner was insane. "I may have slept late. Is something wrong?"
"Uh... no? I guess. I think Jenna just wasn't expecting it? Hang on – Yo Aunt Jenna! Cynthia is cool – You coming home soon?"
Cynthia covered the microphone with her hand and mouthed a quick question to Damon. 'Mind giving me a ride?' The man closed the binder and stood to give her a dramatic bow. Grinning, Cynthia removed her hand from the phone and went back to talking to her not brother.
"Actually Jer, how do you feel about going to the mall with us? We'll swing by and pick you up."
"What would I need at the mall?" His lack of imagination was truly disappointing. The drugs were so not good for his higher mental processes.
"Gee, I dunno. It isn't like there are three or four video game stores there or anything. Or ice cream. Those didn't stop existing over summer break, did they? I know I've been out of it, so I could have missed it, but..."
Jeremy actually almost laughed. "Okay, okay. No, they still exist. But where are we going to get the money for any of that?"
Cynthia grinned impishly. "Let us worry about that. See you soon!"
Hanging up, she turned to face Damon triumphantly. The man looked bemused, as if he found her actions adorable.
'You do know that I'm not going to actually pay for anything for your kid brother. Who, by the way, isn't even really your brother."
Cynthia raised an eyebrow before replying impassively. "Of course he isn't. Jeremy is probably my cousin." She certainly shared more features in common with Elena than the future giant. Keeping a straight face for as long as she could, Cynthia continued, "But anyway, it's for the greater good. Of my happiness and domestic peace. Consider it to be you helping me give a peace offering."
"Peace offering?" Damon asked, his voice deceptively calm. "Did you steal his girl or something?"
Not registering the undertones at first, Cynthia laughed and shook her head. "No, that's all teen wolf right now. I don't know. He's been avoiding me since I got here. And when I actually went to his room to make sure to invite him to the breakfast I made yesterday, he acted like he thought I was a demon or something."
It wasn't until the darkness sparked with a barely repressed rage that Cynthia realized Damon had taken offense for some reason. His monster was almost visible, even through all of his charm and charisma that normally kept it so carefully hidden.
"Damon," Cynthia said cautiously. The vampire gave her a challenging look, daring her to try and control him. To be afraid now or to make everything she had said just the night before a lie. "Don't do any permanent damage, please."
The vampire's body language eased just a fraction. "Come on then, killer. We've got a pretend brother of yours to pick up. Let's rock and roll."
Cynthia had donned the pants she wore the night before, abandoning the bloody shirt for the Salvatores to take care of one way or the other. Besides, she didn't want to take off the shirt she had borrowed from Damon. And no, she wasn't giving that too much thought.
This time, when Cynthia skipped up to the porch and inside the house, Damon waited outside, the picture of politeness. Running to her room, Cynthia changed quickly into a sundress and a pair of comfortable sandals.
"Jer! You coming or what?" She shouted at his closed door.
"I'm coming; I'm coming. Keep your shirt on."
Little too late for that, so Cynthia grinned. As soon as he exited his bedroom sunglasses in hand, Cynthia grabbed his arm and made a beeline for the stairs. "Let's go, lil bro!"
She practically dragged him outside, shouting a 'Hi Aunt Jenna! Bye Aunt Jenna!' as she did so.
"Jeremy! Meet Damon, my bestest of best friends. Damon, meet the troublemaking little brother."
"Who are... Wait, this is who you spent the night with?"
The fifteen year old who slept with a seventeen year old or however old Vicki is better not be slut shaming her right now. Cynthia stared at her 'brother' challengingly.
"Yeah," she said slowly. "Am I not allowed male friends?"
Jeremy must have sensed danger from one of them, because he backpedaled quickly.
"No, no. You just don't normally spend the night with them. And they're usually a bit younger."
Cynthia and Damon exchanged a smile that clearly said Jeremy had no idea how right he was there.
"Fair," she smiled sweetly. "You can have shotgun. I'm gonna lay down and nap."
"You need more sleep?" Jeremy looked disturbed as they climbed into the baby blue convertible. Cynthia thought he deserved it for assuming whatever he was. Because she knew Jeremy didn't believe in vampires yet. Although he could have jumped to blood sacrifices for demonic ritual summoning and necromancy.
So hey. Feeding a friend was totally chill in comparison.
He chose to divert the conversation rather continue down that thought trail. Good for him. "So why are you going to the mall?"
"It's a ploy to talk to you," Damon smirked, looking through the rearview mirror to see Cynthia play sulking over the delay of her nap.
"I'm sorry for shutting down like I did, Jeremy. I realized last night that I apologized to Elena and Jenna when Damon brought me home the night of the comet. But I never told you," she told him seriously. "I should have been there for you instead of just focusing on how overwhelmed I was with my own loss. "
Jeremy twisted in his seat, staring at Cynthia as if she were a stranger. Or perhaps a wild animal. He looked uneasy enough for it to be either.
"You don't have to apologize, Cyn. It's whatever."
She was so looking forward to whenever Vicki finally chose this kid and he became less miserable. Even if Vicki isn't exactly someone she approved of, Jeremy would need to figure out they weren't a good match for himself. She couldn't dictate who he loved or his life choices.
"So," he continued, "just checking, but you guys are buying me a game as a bribe so I'll talk to you again? Right. Sure."
He rolled his eyes and slumped against the car door. Cynthia shook her head a little, dodging Damon's meaningful stare before closing her eyes. Suddenly, she just wanted the trip to be over, and for school to get here. At least then there would be Stefan to entertain her.
Before she could see Stefan, Cynthia had to face her supposed twin. Elena was apparently not overly thrilled with the fright she'd had wondering if Cynthia was okay, at least, not going by her furious texts. Apparently their aunt Jenna hadn't remembered that Damon was Cynthia's BFF, so when neither Bonnie nor Caroline had any clue as to her whereabouts, the three girls had panicked. To that end, Cynthia had gone searching for suitable jewelry to keep them protected with vervain. At least, for Caroline and Jenna. Bonnie and Elena were only getting something because she wasn't going to be rude by leaving them out. She got herself one as well, although she didn't exactly feel the need to wear it constantly. Cynthia trusted Damon. It was more the other vampires she didn't. Katerina first and foremost among the ones currently at large.
She wasn't sure exactly what Damon said to Jeremy when they went to GameStop, or even if he did say something to him. All Cynthia really knew was that her vampire bestie looked incredibly smug afterwards.
She decided not to press.
The rest of the trip was uneventful. All three of them got blizzards, and Cynthia politely didn't ask who Damon had compelled to pay for all of their things. It was actually kind of fun listening to Damon tell Jeremy about all of the hallucinogenics he had tried, what he couldn't recommend, and highlighting the brilliance of sorority parties.
The petite brunette supposed it was one way to encourage Jeremy to pay attention to his grades. Talk up college life. Probably will mean more if and when he finally gets over Vicki Donovan since it was obviously a long term thing for him and a bit more than a crush. That had to resolve somehow, and sooner than later would be great. Cynthia was against altering the minds of her family and friends in general, which was why she hoped Vicki figured things out for herself and soon. It wasn't even like Jeremy was a real step down. Okay, so Tyler was a jock and the son of the mayor. Big whoop. Jeremy was the Gilbert scion, which meant a lot in a town that still celebrated its founders all these years later.
Better, Jeremy had never practically raped Vicki in the woods or forced her to do anything really. He didn't have anger issues around the full moon, seeing as he wasn't one murder away from triggering lycanthropy. The only thing Jeremy might ever trigger was his possible ability to become a vampire hunter. Which would put a damper on things, admittedly.
Cynthia still wasn't sure what to plan in regards to the whole Silas or Travelers thing. She didn't really have enough information to do so. Scraps of knowledge just were not enough. She really needed Slater or Elijah or... maybe Sheila Bennett.
What a fantastical idea. She was going to have to hang out with Bonnie more and see if she couldn't swing a (re?) introduction to her Grams. And not just because Cynthia wanted more information to help craft a future for Mystic Falls that she wouldn't mind living in. Sheila Bennett was a fountain of information to Cynthia's recollection, and she suddenly had hope again about finding why she was here. What had caused this dramatic shift? And most importantly, how and could she go back home to her life and her love?