Author's Note- OH MY GOSH! Thank you so, so much for everyone who reviewed, followed and/or favorited. You guys are the best! I can't believe there are almost 100 followers to this story! I know that can be low for some people but I'm so ecstatic to know people like this odd pairing! I do apologize for how long this chapter has taken, but I was finally able to muster enough happiness to write this.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone who reads this story, even those phantom readers out there- if you exist! I'm still going off of season 4, episode 10, after school special, and the next one- catch me if you can, so more bold. After this, it'll be more of my original work! Enjoy!

Chapter 6- The Downfall Of Us All- Part I

Damon couldn't say he didn't want to kiss Elena again. He'd been obsessed with her for three years, since the very moment he met her. But obsession isn't love. It's dark. It's ugly. And most importantly, it's a lie.

But a part of him, wanted to bask in the lie. Transform it into something tangible. Having Elena like this was a victory for him. He'd gotten the girl. But he had the boy. And he was happy. Deliriously in fact. But, as he stood there, in Elena's kitchen, with her in his arms, her lips on his, he couldn't help but think, did he deserve Eric anyway? He'd let himself come here to Mystic Falls. Eric was right, he heard danger. And he came. Not for himself. Not for his brother. For Elena. His life revolved around the Petrova doppelgangers, it always had. And maybe that's who he belonged with.

Except, all he could taste was something fruity. Maybe kiwi. And it was glossy. Not rough. Not icy. And didn't taste like blood. He wasn't leaning upward. There were no large, encompassing arms holding him steady. Instead there were small hands clutching his chest. But most of all, there was no passion. No dominance, no control. Just trembling lips awaiting his next move.

"What the hell!"

It was as if a fog was lifted from his mind as he pushed Elena from him. The darkest recesses of his mind might want him to forget Eric, want to remind him he deserved much less than the viking but his heart won this battle.

"Damon," Elena reached out for him again, but he slapped her hand away.

"No Elena. I can't do this,"

"Why not Damon? It's me. And you." Elena tried again, taking a step into his personal space, he could almost feel her body heat. "I love you. Being with you, is everything I want."

"You don't know that Elena. I've been back, what three days?" He exclaimed, pushing her to the side, moving toward the kitchen table, needing space. "The last time I saw you, you were pretty content with spending your eternity with my brother. So what? I move on. I fall in love, and am finally able to get over being rejected by doppelgangers, and you just decide I'm the brother you want,"

"It wasn't like that Damon!"

"Then what was it like?"

"I don't know" Elena sighed, leaning against the counter, fingers curled around the countertop, her knuckles white. A few strands of her chestnut brown hair fell into her face as her head fell. "I died minutes after speaking with you. I let Stefan save Matt, and I was okay with that. But then, I came back. And I waited for you. I didn't want to be in transition. I didn't want to be a vampire. But then, all these memories you compelled came back. When I first saw you, the night my parents died. That time, you told me you loved me. That you couldn't be selfish with me. And then, I found myself in a barn, dying, and all I could think about was seeing you again. So I transitioned. But you never came. You never answered any of my phone calls. My text messages. It was like you were the one who died, and I tried not to worry. But the days past, and we heard nothing. And Stefan was so calm, like it didn't matter. But it mattered to me Damon. You were always there, and then you weren't. And I realized all those feelings I had for you, the ones I crushed. I pushed away, couldn't be ignored anymore. You were the one I should have gone to that night, but Stefan felt like the safe choice." Their eyes met from across the room, and then Elena was back in front of him, grasping his hand that was by his side with her own. "But I don't want the safe choice Damon, you know? You're the one that invades my dreams. All I want is you. And now you're here. And I just want you in every way I can."

Damon was silent for a moment, unable to speak. Needing to just process it all. All he could think was how Stefan must have felt this entire time- no wonder his brother was barely speaking to him this week.

"Look Elena, I'm sorry you died, and that you're a vampire, but I didn't leave to hurt you. I left to move on, and that's what I did. And I'm happy. We can still be friends, but this," He gestured between the two of them, letting Elena's hand fall from his own. "Has to stop,'

"How do you know they'll make you happier than I can? You've been with her, what, less than a year?" Elena snapped, her cheeks flushing as her eyes turned ferocious making him in turn feel the heat rise in his own body, his one hand curling into a fist.

"How do you know you would Elena? You're just a screwed up, lonely girl who doesn't know what she wants." He spat, turning on his heel, making his way toward the front door. "I know what I want. And it's not you. Get over it,"

Elena appeared in front of him, her anger gone, instead her face was frozen in fear.

"Wait, Damon. Please." She pleaded with him, reaching out for him but he smacked her hand away. "This isn't like you."

"This is me leaving you. This is me not wanting anything to do with you." He continued toward the door, his hand grasping the handle. He needed to leave before his anger got the best of him. "Thanks for the closure Elena,"

And he left, not giving her any time to convince him otherwise.

"Stefan?"

Her voice followed her back as she stood in the foyer of the Salvatore boarding house, the rooms unusually dark with the curtains drawn shut of the especially large windows of the manor. Obviously Stefan hadn't opened them back up since Damon's party of two a few nights ago.

She wasn't even sure why she had bothered coming in anyhow, Stefan's car wasn't in the driveway, but his car hadn't been at the Grill either and she was growing concerned her best friend had found himself wrapped around a pole, passed out and reeking of alcohol for any human to find. Alive.

But as she turned back around, she could hear the distinct sound of pages turning coming from up above and relief washed over her. "Stefan I know you're here. You can't hole yourself up here, and ignore the world. So what if Elena and Damon are having dinner together? That doesn't mean-"

She paused in the doorway of Stefan's attic room, only to find Damon sitting on the plush rug, leaning against his younger brother's queen size bed, reading- as she inspected the thick, off colour pages, and black, elegant cursive-Stefan's diary.

"Means what Barbie?" Damon asked, amused as he glanced up at her, a wicked gleam in his pale blue eyes.

"Isn't that a little high school? Reading someone's diary?" She snorted, attempting to grab the journal from Damon's hands, but he was too quick, and she found herself reaching for air, as Damon was already leaning against Stefan's desk across the room, by the window.

"Coming from the prom queen?" Damon laughed, purposefully flipping to the next page with theatrical flourish. "Besides, how else am I to catch up on scooby gang gossip?"

"I didn't think you cared about any of us?"

"Oh I don't, but when Elena Gilbert kisses you, you get a little curious,"

She knew in the back of her mind that Elena would make a move on the older Salvatore brother, but hearing it out loud from Damon mildly surprised her. And brought a wave a despair to wash over her as she thought of Stefan, and how upset he'll be when he hears.

"Listen to this," Damon called out to her, bringing her out of her thoughts. "I know it was selfish of me, but I was happy for awhile when Damon was gone. I thought maybe he'd left to let Elena and I be together. To stop fighting for her affections, as she was the one who chose me. And for the small window of time, all was well."

Damon took a breath, and she knew she should stop him from reading anymore, but she knew this would be the only way Damon would ever, truly hear, and understand what his little brother had gone through this year.

"But with any vampire's transition, she started changing. Her emotions became heightened, and her feelings more intense. I knew her and Damon had a connection, but I never knew how deep it ran until just a few months ago. She's became obsessively worried about him, as he wouldn't return any of our phone calls or text messages. And when his phone was disconnected, Elena thought the worst. I could barely keep her in Mystic Falls, she was so determined to find him. Then a month ago, the inevitable happened and she broke up with me, saying she was in love with Damon and chose the wrong brother that night.

Now he's coming back. This will the best day of his life I can imagine. He'll take her, and I wonder how long Elena will be incorruptible. Especially if he has no humanity. But maybe this will be a good thing, he'll either do something so heinous, she'll leave him. Or Elena will bring the good out of him. She's the only one I've ever seen be able to make Damon have some decency.

But I can't think of that right now. I've made a deal with Klaus to find the cure for vampirism. If I can find it, and give it to her, she'll be able to be human again. Be happy again. I know she doesn't want this life, and maybe, just maybe…."

"I think that's enough of this," She said, as she was able to take the journal from Damon, walking over to the bookshelf to put it back in it's proper place.

"I know, it's a little over dramatic for me too but my brother has always been a bit of a drama queen."

A snort of amusement escaped her as she put the journal next to the one simply labelled 2010.

"So Elena was serious when she told me she loved me?"

Her back stiffened at the sudden seriousness of Damon's tone. She wasn't sure if Damon was asking her, or himself until she turned back around, to see Damon studying her intently.

"Yes, she really is Damon."

There wasn't a hint of a smile as Damon sighed, leaning forward, so his elbows touched his outstretched legs, as he put his head in his hands. "How long?"

"Honestly, I don't know,"

She had a sneaking suspicion the girl loved Damon for at least a year, but she kept that notion to herself. Neither brother needed to ever know the exact time Elena choose one over the other. She sometimes wondered if Elena always loved both of them.

She shifted her weight to her other leg as she observed Damon intently for the first time since she'd arrived in the boarding house. His shoulders were slouched still, as if a terrible weight straddled them. His face was grim, tight making the man look older than he was. And his eyes were stormy, the blue in them were almost grey.

For the years she'd known Damon, she honestly didn't know the vampire all that well. She knew him as a psychopath. A killer. Someone who cared little about anyone else, except himself. And Elena, sometimes. And on rare occasions, his brother. But it all the time she'd been around the elder Salvatore, she was sure she'd never seen him so, conflicted before. So emotionally drained.

Shouldn't Damon be grinning ear to ear, with Elena perched on his side, gloating to the whole world he finally won the heart of Elena Gilbert? Annoyingly so, that she'd be forced to have her eyes on a constant roll as Damon, and Elena would regale her with tales of their love, and sexual exploits that she'd want to throw up.

Her heart leapt into her throat as Damon thrusted her back into reality as his guffaw rattled her eardrums as she watched the grin that tugged at Damon's lips, turned into a full blown smile until it turned into some mutated monstrosity that engulfed his entire face that reminded her a little of the Joker. Damon clutched the sides of the desk as his head shot up, raising to the ceiling as his eyes brimmed with tears of mirth, while his peals of laughter filled the once silent room.

She didn't know Damon was capable of laughing so purely. "Are you okay?"

Damon just shook his head at her as he continued to laugh uncontrollably, making her twitch uncomfortably. She watched as he ran a hand through his raven locks as the other wiped away the stray tears. "Sorry Barbie, but this is too good."

She just stayed still, staring at the eldest Salvatore. "Oh come on, don't look at me like that Caroline. You can't see the fucking irony in all of this? Elena finally decides I'm deserving of her when I leave town, and find someone else?"

Damon continued to chuckle as he walked around Stefan's desk, and toward his little brother's impressive collection of liquor he'd obtained since the beginning of this, irony. She didn't know what to say. What to do. Except stare at Damon dumbly.

"Have a drink with me. Let's drink to the irony of it all," Damon passed her a glass of what she could surmise as bourbon. She wasn't usually one to drink, but after this entire bizarre experience, she accepted it graciously. Damon grinned at her, clinking their glasses together and downed the entire contents of his in one swift motion.

She just shook her head, tilted her glass towards Damon before taking a sip of hers. "So you're dating someone? It's not that girl from earlier?"

"What? Lydia. No."

"What are they like? Human? Vampire?" She asked, watching Damon curiously as he took out his worn, black leather wallet from his back pocket, passing her a folded piece of paper.

"Vampire," Damon simply replied as she put her glass on the bookshelf and unfolded the piece of paper, only to realize it was a photo. "You could say they aren't exactly my usual type,"

It was a polaroid photo, though it looked new. She was taken aback slightly at the decor in the background, and clothes people were adorned in, everything looked like some gothic fetish club. She brought the photo closer to her as she took in the photo better, noticing that the people in the photo seemed to be unaware of the photographer.

Damon was in the center, leaning on some black, leather bench, in the tightest leather pants she'd ever seen on a man, as he looked forward, but not at the camera, clearly at something, or someone in the distance. There was a man who was leaning casually near Damon, Damon's arm overtop of the man's shoulder, the blond man's other shoulder leaning against Damon's leg. She couldn't tell if the man was leaning against Damon's chest or the picture just made it appear that way, but she couldn't see Damon being okay with another man leaning against him. But they did seem too close for comfort, but neither seemed bothered by the close proximately. Maybe it was due to how seeming tall this blond man was, as his legs spilled over the bench and onto the floor, if he wanted to lay down like he was, it would be rather uncomfortable if he was closer to the edge she supposed. That wasn't the only odd thing about the man, as he was dressed in a light grey suit, and a black dress shirt underneath. He didn't seem to fit the decor as he looked elegant, regal almost, a stark contrast with the blood red walls behind him, and the clearly cheap, gothic decor. He must be one of the other vampires she thought, old too she guessed. He wasn't facing the camera at all, only half his face was visible, and he was clearly talking to someone that wasn't present in the photo.

And then there was what she could only surmise was Damon's girlfriend, as she was the only woman in the picture. She was confused why she wasn't Damon's type, she was absolutely breathtaking, maybe it was because she appeared older than him, or that she was blonde. Damon clearly prefered young brunettes.

She stood between the two men, her hands leaning casually on the back of the bench behind them, in a tight red, leather dress that hugged her curves giving her a nice hourglass shape. She was glancing down at Damon, a slight smile on her face clearly conversing with him, or listening to something he was saying; it was hard to tell.

"That's Pam," Damon said, making her flinch as Damon was now behind her, pointing at the woman. His fingers brushed over the man. "And that's Eric,"

"You two look good together," She handed the photo back to Damon, who brought the photo closer to his face, a genuine smile crawling on the edges of his lips making her falter for a moment. She couldn't recall a time she'd seen Damon honestly captivated. "Older than you usually date. I thought you had a thing for highschool girls, or brunettes,"

Damon laughed bitterly, as he carefully folded the photo back up, and put it back into his wallet, his recent cheerfulness expiring. "And look how that turned out?"

She forced a smile for Damon's sake alone, as she moved toward him, putting her hand on his arm comfortingly. She realized she was actually feeling sorry for Damon Salvatore, what was the world coming to? "At least you've found someone else. And you seem happier,"

Damon glanced down at her hand and back at her, clearly perplexed. He wasn't the only one stumped by her current behaviour, she never knew she'd ever comfort the psychopath.

"It doesn't bother you?"

Now it was her turn to feel bewildered."What?"

Before Damon could reply, a faint buzzing could be heard and she realized it was Damon's cellphone in his pocket. She let go of the vampire as he pulled out his phone, his face instantly souring. "I guess it's the 2000's now, " Damon mumbled, shoving his iphone back in his pocket.

This entire situation was beyond baffling now. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Damon asked, before sighing. "Yeah, it's just Elena. Again."

"Why is she calling you? You did tell Elena you're dating someone now?"

"Of course Caroline, but she didn't exactly get the message," Damon said, waving his phone in front of her face, the screen lit up to multiple unanswered text messages from who she could only assume was Elena.

"What are you going to do?"

"Ignore her?" Damon laughed, shrugging. "I'm leaving in three days. And I doubt I'll be coming back to Mystic Falls for at least a decade after this,"

"Look I could talk to her, if you want," She blurted out, surprised at herself for actually offering to help eldest Salvatore brother.
"Would you?" Damon's steel blues were on her own, his eyebrows raised at her. Clearly he was surprised at her sudden helpfulness too. "That would be so much easier,"

"I don't know how much help I can be, I've been trying to convince her for months you're no good, but maybe now she'll listen,"

"Some women just find me irresistible, what can I say?" Damon joked as he winked at her, making his way toward the door. He turned back around, giving her his rare, charming smile. "But seriously barbie, thank you. I owe you one,"

And like that, Damon vanished; the sound of the front door opening and closing was the only indication he'd left the premises.

She stared at the doorway of Stefan's bedroom where Damon had just been, her mind going a mile a minute. Did her and Damon actually have a civil conversation? Was he actually nice to her?

What was happening?

His phone lay silent next to him as he sat on a log in the forest near the Gilbert cabin, whittling a sharp point to make more wooden bullets, needing some time away from little Gilbert and least valuable player. Elena may have stopped her incessant calls and texts since last night, but now he was bothered by the other, younger Gilbert. When the week ended, he'd be content with never hearing the last name GIlbert ever again.

He sighed deeply as he heard the crunching of underbrush, the familiar scent making him frown. "What do you want Klaus?"

"You know, if you adjust your angle a little bit, you'll get a sharper edge,"

He gave the hybrid a bored look before he continued back to his task at hand.

"I know how to whittle, thanks. Now I know why those hybrids hated you. You are annoying,"

"Actually, I'm just perplexed as to why Jeremy hasn't killed any vampires," Klaus continued on, clearly his own agenda on his mind as he took a seat next to him on the rotting log.

"I feel like we've had this conversation before Klaus. Old age getting to you?" Damon joked. "Darwinism Klaus. He needs to be able to protect himself before we hunt down our first vampire nest, or before I create one for him."

" And here was I, thinking you were the fun brother! Let's play a little game, shall we? Jeremy needs more victims, and there's a whole town of people down the road, just waiting to be turned into vampires for the slaughter."

"You don't think that occured to me Klaus?" He stopped whittling to give the Original his full attention. "Jeremy isn't ready. Soon, but not now. He'll be butchered. Look Klaus, the cure isn't going anywhere. I know I'm running out of days, just give me a few more and Jeremy will be ready."

"That's not what we agreed upon, and I'd hate to do something rash." Klaus grinned devilishly, as he picked at a bit of leaf on his jeans. "Doesn't matter anyhow, I've already made the necessary corrections,"

"What did you do?"

Damon knew as he closed the door of his blue Camaro, they'd reached their destination. He could smell the slight decay of a transitioning vampires. The air was thick with death, but it wasn't as suffocating as the silence he endured during the ride here, from the tacit animosity quarterback and little Gilbert were giving off in waves. It's not as if he was their favourite person to begin with, but their unexpected, and deadly encounter with the pizza girl slash newly made vampire courtesy of their favourite thousand year old original, the two idiots blamed him, and were downright furious. How was he supposed to know Klaus would negate on their original agreement?

Actually maybe he should known better. Klaus was an impulsive bastard on a good day.

He outwardly sighed, harshly pulling on his leather jacket, wanting nothing more to turn around and head back to Louisiana, but Klaus dug his grave and now he had to lay in it.

The two teenagers stood side by side, staring at him from the other side of the car, both awaiting for him to make the first move. He gave the bar a once over, the neon sign Merlotte's lighting up the dismal parking lot, giving the bar a dead end type vibe, which from its forest surroundings, made it suitable for the area.

He strutted forward, ignoring the growing worry in the pit of his stomach as he made his way toward the front door of the establishment. Who knew what house of horrors the hybrid created for them? In this moment he realized this was the first time he'd ever felt genuinely sorry for Jeremy.

The wooden door creaked as he threw it open, exposing a stereotypical dive bar atmosphere, with a neon sign that spelt bar on the wall next to the door. There were a few scattered old, wooden tables and chairs some occupied by corpses, with a rustic, wooden bar in the middle of the room, littered with bodies, and booze. There were humans feeding blood to the responsive people, clearly compelled as they moved hypnotically.

Klaus sat perched on the middle stool, sipping alcohol and glancing periodically at himself in the dismal mirror, he almost wondered if the hybrid knew they were here, but the slight smirk adorning the vampire's face gave him away.

"I was beginning to worry you boys wouldn't find the place," Klaus jested, his smirk turning into a manic smile, as he poured himself another drink, his back still turned away from them.

He continued forward, the two teens absentmindedly following him, as they inspected the room in horror.

"What the hell..." Jeremy breathed out.

"Did you kill all these people?" Matt exclaimed, his voice unsteady.

"Not exactly." Klaus subsequently turned slowly to face them, like a villain would do in a classic Bond movie. "They're in transition," He almost expected a maniacal cackle, but Klaus just grinned demonically instead, as he approached the hunter that could, raising a single finger and poking him in the chest. "Killing them is your job,"

Little Gilbert and quarterback stared at him then, their matching expressions showed genuine astonishment, though there was that animosity still brewing beneath the surface. "I thought you said I wasn't ready for this? What the hell Damon?"

"This wasn't exactly my plan," He said, throwing his hands up in exasperation but he couldn't help his own devilish smirk from exposing itself as his baby blues locked with Klaus' own. "But Klaus was nice enough to get the ball rolling, so what the hell right?"

Jeremy gawked at him, then Klaus trying to ascertain their new allegiance, and his predicament itself. He felt sorry for the kid, but he wanted to go back to Louisiana to Eric. And if that meant going along with the hybrid, than so be it. "No way, I'm not doing this," Jeremy muttered, shaking his head as he took a step away from them, his eyes shifting at the door they came in.

Klaus' expression turned malicious as he took a menacing step toward the hunter. "What makes you think you have a choice?"

Both men moved into a fighting stance, Jeremy reaching slowly behind his back toward the gun he'd stashed in the waistband of his jeans, and he knew he needed to intervene. He stepped in between the two, throwing his hands up between them in a vain attempt at a peace gesture, turning to his star pupil. "Look Jeremy, you have to kill vampires to complete the hunter's mark. Mark equals cure. You're in a bar of almost vampires, so get your hunt on,"

"Fuck you!"

"Jeremy…"

"Enough! Have at it, or else," Klaus growled.

"I don't take orders from you, dick. I barely like taking them from him," Jeremy stuck his thumb over in his direction. "Hunters can't be compelled,"

Klaus chuckled darkly as he made his way over to Jeremy, throwing an arm around the kid. "You're right. I can't compel you. But if your conscience is getting in the way, then allow me to make this easy for you. Because I can compel them," He gestured toward the stirring vampires. "I'm gonna give you a two-minute head start. Then I'm gonna send every vampire in here after you. You kill them, or they kill your friend...Matt"

"Wait a second," Matt took a few stops back, the colour from his face draining as he looked wildly around the room.

"No," He started, shaking his head. This was all wrong. "No. You turn them. He kills them. That was the deal Klaus!"

"I'm taking artistic license."

"We talked about this Klaus, you know he can't take them all on at the same time. He's just a human." He roared.

"He's a hunter," Klaus corrected as if that made a hell of a difference. "Besides, with you as his coach, he'll be fine. It's Matt I'm worried about,"

"Ah…" His mind went into overdrive as a surge of panic coursed through his veins like electricity. "Jeremy go get the weapons from the car. I'll be right behind you," He tossed his car keys at Jeremy, then made eye contact with Matt. "Both of you,"

"If I hear an engine start, I'll kill Matt myself," Klaus called out as the boys fled the room, leaving him with the lunatic, and over a dozen murderous vampires.

What the hell was he going to do?

"Elena?"

Caroline closed the door behind her softly as she stepped into the Gilbert home, surveying the darkened surroundings, the light of her phone helping her make out the familiar layout of her best friend's home. She noticed, again Elena hadn't answered any of her text messages or phone calls. Same with Bonnie. She supposed she was going to have to do Elena's intervention herself. She worried about both of them, and their growing obsession with the men in their lives.

Her enhanced hearing picked up the clink of glass on wood flooring and in the next instant she stood in the entranceway of Elena's kitchen, seeing her best friend sitting on the floor, leaning against the cupboards, drinking wine and staring absentmindedly ahead of her.

"Elena?" She said quietly, watching as her best friend wiped away a stray tear as she gathered herself, the only sign she'd heard her.

She sighed bitterly as she flopped onto the hard floor next to Elena, taking the wine glass away from her. "You know, I'm growing concerned about all of my best friends increasing dependency on alcohol to solve their problems,"

"Damon bought that," Elena whispered quietly, reaching out for it, but she swatted her hand away.

"Doesn't mean you have to drink it," She replied. "Why haven't you been answering your phone? Or going to class?"

"What's the point?"

"Seriously Elena? Don't go all Bella on me." She joked, trying to get a rise from Elena, maybe even half a smile but the girl held firm. Grim as ever. "He's not worth it,"

"But I love him Car,"

"I know you do."
"He has someone you know. I just thought we'd be together, just like that. I never once thought that he'd leave, and find someone else. And I just kissed him anyway." Elena sighed bitterly,

"I know,"

Elena's head snapped in her direction, confusion written all over her face."How do you know?"

"Damon told me last night when I ran into him at the Salvatore boarding house." She replied simply, not wanting to go into anymore details.

"Is he mad at me?" Elena asked, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"He's more worried about your behavior than anything. This isn't like you," She said, feeling at odds with herself. A week ago she'd never speak a kind word about the eldest Salvatore but now she was comforting her best friend and fulfilling a promise for him by for once in her life defending him.

"I know Car, but I want him you know? I need him! I just love him so much, and I care about him more than I've cared about anyone in my entire life and I just want to be with him. I know I don't deserve him, I broke his heart but these feelings for him are just all consuming." Elena spluttered on, a chill ran through her body as those words resonated with her.

"Elena do you hear yourself?" She asked as she saw Elena about to go on further. "This is starting to become out of hand. You need to accept Damon has a girlfriend. And from what I gathered, he's happy with her. I know it's hard to-"

"He kissed me back Car, for a minute he let himself go. And I know he loves me, he's here isn't he? Without her." Elena started again, helping herself up from off her kitchen floor. "So how happy can he be?"

"You didn't see they way he looked at her though Elena. He seems captivated like he was when-" She paused realizing her mistake in that moment.

"Like when he used to look at me?" Elena finished her thought for her, as she wiped away the bits of mascara that was running down her face; a cunning smile encroached in the corners of her lips. "Well that's it then!"

"Hm"

"I've been going this the wrong way. I thought I could just have him but clearly I was wrong," Elena strolled away from her and toward the front door and she was quick to get off the floor and follow her best friend to the front of the house. Elena had stopped in front of the mirror, pulling down her shirt as she admired herself in the mirror, fixing her lipstick. "All I need to do is convince Damon why he loved me in the first place."

"Elena I don't think-"

Clearly Elena was ignoring her now as she opened the door, interrupting her. "I'll just go stay at the lake house with him and Jeremy. Help out. Remind Damon why for three years he loved me, and not her."

"Elena I-"

Elena turned back to face her. "Thanks Car, I really needed this talk."

And like that, the door closed behind her best friend and she was left to stand dumbfounded in Elena's foyer.

For the second time in one day, she was stuck wondering what was happening in her life?

He fell against the door, chest heaving as he closed his eyes, raising his head to the sky. He felt around his abdomen, as blood just tricked out, feeling the wound healing itself.

What a great way to spend a night.

"Damon!"

His eyes shot back open, coming face to face with an outraged Elena, hand on her hip, a disapproving glare directed at him as her annoying twerp of a brother stood behind her.

"You called your sister?" He snarled, pushing himself from the front door of the Gilbert lake house, shoving past the Gilbert siblings, and making his way toward the living room.

"What the hell were you thinking Damon?" Elena called after him as he fell onto the couch, nodding over to Matt on the loveseat, who was cleaning out a neck wound with a washcloth.

He immediately reached out for his bottle of bourbon he'd left on the coffee table, needing something alcoholic to deal with this appending argument.

"They could have died Damon!"

"I didn't exactly plan for any of this to happen Elena." He snarled as he shot the glass back, emptying the contents of his tumblr. "Besides," He turned, his eyes narrowing. "I let your little brother and Matt run ahead of me while I dealt with a dozen or so newbies. They're stronger than they look. Especially when they figure out how to hunt in packs."

Elena's expression immediately softened, taking a step toward him, but Lydia strolled past her and took the immediate seat next to him.

"You okay?" Lydia asked, as she lifted up his tattered black t-shirt, inspecting his bloody stomach where there once was a table leg stuck into it a few minutes ago.

"Yeah, it's already healed. A newbie vampire got lucky, ripped his head off for his trouble,"

"Good," Lydia smiled, getting back up, purposefully colliding shoulders with a mute, stationary Elena before heading into the kitchen.

Elena watched Lydia for a moment, pure rage in her chocolate brown eyes before she turned to him, her expression softening. His anger was caught in his throat as she stared at him, the way he'd seen Eric admire him.

"So does that mean that they're all gone now?" Jeremy asked, cutting the thick tension in the room.

Elena turned away from him, going over to the love seat, taking the washcloth from Matt's hand and started to help the quarterback clean his wound.

"I don't think I got them all, but the suns up so they'll have to find somewhere to hide out for the day."

"So what do we do now?" Jeremy asked, his attention diverted as Lydia came back with a washcloth, a knife, and a glass.

"Take off your shirt,"

"We need a plan. There's a group of compelled vampires out there, and as soon as the sun goes down, they're gonna come after Matt, so we have to find a way to protect him." Elena said, her eyes widening as he stripped, lying down on the couch.

"Yes, I know," He answered, as he closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of a warm cloth on his stomach. He could feel everyone's eyes on him but he ignored them, his mind instead placing him in his warm bed in Louisiana while Eric tended to his wounds.

"We need to call our friends,"

"What's barbie, sabrina and my brother going to do? Bore us to death with ethics?" He snarled at Elena, shaking his head at her utter stupidity. "There will be no problem anyway, once big Jer and I go on a hunting expedition,"

"I don't think so Damon!" Elena exclaimed, as she finished taping up Matt's neck. "We need to take this seriously! Can your, friend go do something else. We need to discuss this, and she has no business being here."

"Lydia? She's just being a pal, like you are for Matt," He said lightly, smirking at Elena while Lydia finished cleaning his abdomen, putting the dirty cloth on the table, picking up the knife. "The only people who have no business here is quarterback and you. The little hunter that could and I can take care of this ourselves. This is all for you anyway Elena. Everyone is risking their lives so you can have the cure,"

"I don't care about the cure Damon, I -"

The wind beneath Elena's sails was taken away for a moment as everyone in the room watched Lydia slice open her wrist, placing it over the glass. Jeremy and Matt were used to Lydia feeding him, though he usually just fed from her, clearly she was trying to be modest with their new guest.

As the glass was brimming with blood, he bit down on his own wrist, placing it against her mouth, as he took the glass from Lydia..

"Yes Elena, I know. You don't want to put those you love in danger. But going all bleeding heart isn't going to help us now. You should have thought of that month's ago. Now you're knee deep in Original drama. Rebekah and Klaus want the cure, and we both know they'll do anything to get it." He stated as leaned back against the couch, sipping blood while watching as Lydia picked up his tattered shirt, and walking out of the room once more. "I know this is tragic, but your brother agreed to kill vampires. And now he has an added incentive. So you take least valuable player home; Jeremy and I will finish this,"

"I'm sorry? I'm supposed to leave him with you?" Elena asked, laughing irately. "The man who thinks it's okay to have some, slut around to feed him blood? Does your girlfriend know?"

"My, girlfriend is the one who gifted her to me for the week. I don't think this has anything to do with Lydia, this has more to do with the fact that you are jealous!"

"Of her? No way." Elena said. "You kissed me back Damon. And you may say you have a girlfriend but I know you love me. Or you wouldn't have come to Mystic Falls at all. And you certainly wouldn't have given your time to helping my brother complete the hunter's mark," Elena moved across the room, and he stood up as she came face to face with him, her expression softening, her earlier anger expiring. "You can say all you want you came down for your brother, but I know you wanted to see me again. Why can't you just be honest with your feelings Damon."

His eyes searched hers, wanting nothing more in that moment to kiss her again. To take her upstairs and do all the sinful things he'd ever conjured up in his head to do to her gorgeous body. And then leave, having her expunged from the dark depths of his mind.

"As much as I love seeing my sister flirt with the biggest asshole I've ever met, I'd rather be fighting for my life in a room full of vampires. So can Damon and I go?" Jeremy piped up, making him do a double take as he and least valuable player were standing in the doorway toward the front door.

"I don't know I-"

He placed his hand on her arm, catching her gaze. "Trust me Elena. I'll keep him safe. I promise,"

She stared at him for a long moment warily, but finally she nodded her head yes. He squeezed her arm, and then made his way toward the door, catching the shirt that was thrown at him from Lydia who stood at the foot of the stairs.

"Be safe" "Be safe"

"Do you really think they went back to the bar?

Damon nodded at Jeremy who came toward him, as he opened the trunk of his car, taking a quick, mental inventory of the weapons stashed inside of it. Deciding too, what would be the best choice of weapons for the little hunter that could. "Where else are they gonna go? It's all cabins and vacation homes; they can't get in anywhere."

He passed the 9mm to Jeremy, who put it behind his back. He then passed him too the compound bow, knowing little Gilbert was better at the bow then the gun. Besides it was silent, less chance of catching the attention of other, unsuspecting vampires. "All right. There you go."

"Fine. Let's get this over with" Jeremy said as he pulled back on the compound bow.

"Listen, just go one at a time, only shoot for the heart, don't hesitate, and don't miss." He lectured, handing the kid some arrows.

Jeremy just gave him a dark look. "Save the teaching moment. Elena's not here. You don't have to pretend like you give a damn about me."

He forced himself to not let his anger get the best of him as he closed the trunk of his favourite car, wanting nothing more than to ripe little Gilbert's head off. He wasn't going to live down earlier, was he? "I'm trying to keep you alive, dumbass." He shoved the rest of the arrows into Jeremy's chest, then headed toward the door of the bar. "Come on."

He doesn't bother to wait for the kid, knowing he's trailing behind as he walks up the few steps and toward the battered, wooden door. It creaks as he tugs it open, the air stale and dusty as he steps into the dive bar. His eyes land on the familiar neon sign, his head swaying to an old song that he can't place the title of from the jukebox that was next to the door until he falters, his attention drawn to the large pool of blood that encroaching toward his Salvatore Ferragamo shoes. He liked this pair he thought as he stepped around it only to realize it was just the tail end of a trail of blood, leading around the brick wall that had disguised the true horror depicted.

Tables had been overturned, Chairs thrown about on the weathered hardwood floor. Blood was everywhere, on tables, on the walls, over the bar. Though there was still that thick trail of blood that lead from door and toward the back. Clearly he hadn't been invited to the massacre.

"Something's not right." He mumbled mostly to himself as he followed the trail of blood blindly toward the back, and into the storage room.

As he pushed the bloody, dirty plastic strips away so he could move into the walk in freezer, he noticed the giant pile of vampire corpses in the corner next to some frozen hamburger patties. That couldn't be kosher.

"Looks like we're gonna have to find some new vampires. What a waste." He sighed bitterly, throwing his hands up in exasperation, though his mind was reeling.

"What the hell happened?" Jeremy asked, like he had a clue.

"I confess." His back stiffened as he watched Jeremy spin around, bow loaded, his finger on the trigger. Good reflexes he thought as he too came face to face with Kol Mikaelson who had his arms raised, his hands bloody, a bottle of booze in his left hand. Just his luck, another Original. "I did it."

"Kol?"

"Jeremy, good to see you, mate. Sorry about the mess. Ugh, it was a little crowded when I arrived, and I prefer more intimate gatherings." Kol nattered on, making him roll his eyes. "We three need to have a little chat." Kol gestured toward them, taking a swig from his glass bottle. From the smell, he guessed scotch. "Care for a drink?"

"He's underage" He took a few steps forward, so he was ahead of Jeremy so he was able to save his sorry ass incase this went sideways. Or when really. "And I don't like you, so let's just cut to it."

Kol just grinned devilishly at him before gesturing around the room. "You know, my brother bragged about his plan to complete Jeremy's hunter's mark. It was easy enough to track this lot down. They were all hiding in the shadows. Now, killing young vampires is easy" Kol paused, his attention solely on him. "Or old ones, for that matter."

"Why? What's it to you either way?" He asked.

"Because, you fools, in your zeal to find the cure, you risk waking someone very dangerous."

His sour mood uplifted slightly as his smile turned deadly. "Oh...You must be talking about Silas."

"What do you know of him?" Kol snarled, making him frown.

"Nothing. Don't want to. Not our problem."

"Isn't it?"

"Uh-uh."

"A few hundred years back, I came across a group that worshipped Silas. His followers told me that he would rise again, and when he did, he would trigger the end of all time. You know, being an immortal, you can see why I'm opposed to time's ending." Kol said, as he paused, taking a long swig. "So I murdered all of them." Kol shrugged. "And now, here you are willing to risk raising him in your search for the cure. I can't exactly sit back and let that happen, can I?"

"We're not going to back off the cure 'cause you were told one too many scary bedtime stories, you idiot." He hissed.

Kol just pushed him, throwing him back a bit, it hurting more than he'd like. Jeremy cautiously raised the bow as he glanced between the two of them. "Jeremy, we were mates in Colorado. You're a smart lad. Why don't you call off this imbecilic treasure hunt?

"I'm not calling anything off, mate."

Kol sighed, pacing a bit, toward the shelves, and back to the center of the room. "Well I could kill you. But then, I'd have to deal with the hunter's curse. And I, I don't particularly feel like being haunted for the next century." Kol stopped then, clearly an idea forming as he grinned. "Better idea. I'll just rip off your arms" .

He saw Kol before Jeremy could even register that his life was in immediate danger, and he rushed in front of the kid, throwing Kol back as hard as he could, only moving him through the plastic sheeting, and into the nearest wall. Kol recovered in an instant and came barreling forward, but again he collided with the shorter vampire, pushing him into the wall, putting all his strength into it.

"Jeremy, run!"

Little Gilbert rushed past him as his fist collided with Kols face, making the Original stagger for a moment. He aimed another one at his face, but Kol caught his hand, and like that he was in a painful headlock.

Then darkness.

He could hear the faint sound of music, as he began to come back into consciousness. His head and neck throbbed, and he groaned, attempting to open his eyes but he couldn't muster enough strength at the moment.

What the hell happened? Where was he?

The last thing he could remember was being trapped in that freezer with Kol. Then going to the Mystic Grill to find Jeremy. And then…

Oh right. He found out he was compelled to kill Jeremy by Kol. He'd chased Jeremy into the tunnels, completely bent on killing the kid. Had he? He couldn't remember a damn thing.

Everything was hazy. Had his blood been drained?

"Easy there buddy. You lost a lot of blood,"

He winced as he opened his eyes finally, glancing over to see his brother looming over him, a stake in hand. He noticed, as he took in his surroundings that he was in the Salvatore cellar, or what they now used as a jail cell. He tried to sit up, but he didn't have enough strength, instead just clutched the dirt beneath him.

It was coming back. Stefan was there in the tunnels. He'd snapped his neck.

At least he hadn't killed the kid.

"So you bled me out then?"

"Yeah, I really didn't have much of a choice. Kol's compulsion is still in effect, so you need to stay locked up. We don't have any vervain, so… this is the only way to weaken you," Stefan replied, as he moved back, leaning against a sizable dirt pile where they once grew vervain.

"You sound real torn up about that. Shouldn't be going after Kol, make him decompel me?"

Stefan just smirked. "Yeah, yeah sure. That sounds easy enough Damon. I'll get right on that," He quipped sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes, suddenly overcome from a coughing spell. His lungs ached as he convulsed, wanting nothing more to go back to sleep. It was then when he heard the distinct ringtone of the one man he'd kill to see at this very moment.

"At least let me answer my phone," He wheezed.

"So you can call Elena to let you out? Or your bloodbag friend? I don't think so," Stefan said, as he took out his iphone. "Whose Man-sk-en anyway? They've been calling since sundown. And texting though I can't read a word of it, "

"Månsken? That would be what I'm sure Barbie told you is my lover. So could I please just talk to them,'

Stefan just grinned at him as he closed his fist around it, hearing it crunch, bits of metal flying from it, the screen completely shattering. His brother then tossed it to him. "What? I heard her name was Pam, not Man-sk-en or whatever. Don't lie to me Damon, not in the position you're in."

"Have you ever heard of a nickname? Fuck," He sighed, examining the completely destroyed phone. "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"It's better for everyone if you stay here, at least for now. Once we find the cure, and Elena is human again, and you aren't compelled you can call Pam, or Man-sk-en or whoever. You can do whatever the hell you want," Stefan exclaimed, as he made his way toward the cell door.

"Stefan," He croaked out. "Wait,"

He was ignored as the door closed shut, Stefan gave him one more once over and then he retreated away, his footsteps becoming softer.

"Stef-"

"Sol, it's going to be okay. Don't think, just feel,"

Damon jolted awake, as he could heard a set of footfalls coming toward his prison. For a moment, he'd been in bliss, with Eric. Was he ever going to see that man again? He couldn't count the hours. The days. He could barely stay conscious.

He glanced up, to see the solemn expression of his brother. His prison guard.

"You coming to snap my neck again. Because I woke up feeling completely unmurdeous, and I'm pretty sure that it's safe to set me free," He groaned, though he mustered enough energy to smirk at his little brother.

Stefan kept silent, just tossing him a vile of blood. Wow, how generous.

"Oh man, really? You practically bled me dry. You could have sprung for a bag, or something." He said, as he uncorked the vial. "I'm thirsty."

Stefna, again didn't say a word, just pushed a bottle of water through the bars.

"Not exactly what I had in mind,"

He groaned, but was able to raise himself up from the dirt floor, and toward the door. Stefan stepped aside and he was greeted with Klaus. His day was just getting better he thought bitterly as he grabbed the water bottle, needing to lean on the door to gather what was left of his strength.

"Hello mate,"

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Klaus just grinned murderously at him. "Babysitting."

"Oh,"

Clearly Klaus and Stefan had come to some sort of agreement. He hoped in hell his brother hadn't sold him to Klaus, who knew with his mood these days.

He watched his brother, who was leaning against the wall next to his cell, take out a few vials of blood. He could feel his blood lust spike substantially. It was burning him from the inside. "Give him a vial of blood every couple of hours, so he doesn't desiccate. If he gets too much strength back, or if he just annoys you, bleed him out again."

"Silent treatment, huh? Is that your best shot?" He snorted, turning toward Klaus."He's still pissed that Elena loves me, and not him. Or found out we kissed."

"You sure about that? 'Cause I saw him trying to sneak out of Rebekah's bed this

morning, which would suggest to me that he's moved on." Klaus revealed.

Stefan just sighed, as the two of them shared a dark smile. "Well, well. Looks like my brother ripped out a page of my revenge-sex handbook."

"Well, why don't you two enjoy your little, uh, villain bonding time? I'll let you know

when I get the dagger from Rebekah." Stefan said, and he stormed off toward the stairs of the basement.

"I think we've upset him," Klaus teased as he opened up his cell, pushing him lightly, which sent him hurtling on to the dirt floor.

"Is that wise? Opening up my cell? What would Stefna say?" He said, though instead of getting back up, he laid on the floor, tossing his broken phone into the air and catching it again.

"With your blood loss, you wouldn't even make it to the stairs before I broke your neck." Klaus stated, as he became to pace along the room. "But you're more than welcome to try mate,"

"No thanks,"

"You know, none of this would be an issue if you'd have just done your job properly. I thought I could trust you to train Jeremy yourself," Klaus said as he stopped pacing for a moment, glancing down at him.

"No, you weren't. Are you kidding? You got there day three. Do you know how hard it is to get these Xbox brains to focus?:" He snarled.

Klaus clearly wasn't listening as he continued. "And then when I turned a room full of barflies into vampires for him to slaughter, you let Kol kill them."

"Your brother problem, not mine, buddy."

"Maybe." Klaus countered, stopping again in front of him, staring him down. "But we made a deal Damon. And it's been a week."

"Yeah well I didn't exactly plan for your brother to get in the way. Take it up with him."

"Oh I'm dealing with Kol, that's why your brother is off courting my sister for her dagger." Klaus said, as he knelt down, his eyes growing stormy, his expression homicidal. Shivers ran down his spine. "But as for you, I don't exactly have a use for you anymore, and I'm not exactly in the mood to stay here, and babysit you."

"Klaus, whatever you're thinking, stop." He said, as he tried to slowly move away from the hybrid, his eyes fixated on the door as a million escape routes flashed through his mind.

"A deals a deal Damon."

And with a blur, he fell back into the darkness.

Eric hadn't moved an inch for the last three hours, his eyes straying toward the empty cage that hung above him, empty. Missing his gorgeous dancer. His Damon. There were dozens of vampires frequenting his establishment, many attempting to gain his attention but he couldn't be bothered to speak; his mind too consumed with worry.

He hadn't gotten any word from Damon at all for the last two days. He'd finally cracked and contacted Lydia, feeling like a jealous human but he needed confirmation that at least the man was alive. Just so he could punish him for not answering his phone but Lydia hadn't shed much light on the situation. Only that Damon had left with the boy he was training, and hadn't returned back to the lake house they were staying at.

Where was he?

He was hurled back into reality as his phone rang, immediately garnering all his attention. Disappointment arose as the number was blocked, and not Damon's, but he answered it anyhow. "Hello? Who is this?"

"...Eric?"

He'd know that voice from anywhere even if it was just a whisper, and he flew from his seat, and out Fangtasia in order to hear him better .

"Damon!" Worry began to creep up his spine. "Are you okay?"

"Is it that obvious?" Damon asked, a strangled laugh hitting his eardrums. "Something's happened. I don't have much time."

"What are you talking about?" He asked immediately as his began to pace around the side of the building. "Damon?"

"I'm dying."

Nothing could prepare him for this as he fell against the ugly beige brick wall, his hand shooting out to support himself before he tumbled to the ground.

"How?" It was all he could ask, feeling himself being thrown from time, the world spin madly around him as he stood still. "How is that possible."

"It's a long story," Damon began, hearing the rustling of sheets in the background. "I promised Klaus I'd train Jeremy, and he gave me a week, but warned he'd bite me if the week had passed. I was reckless with the time, and his brother Kol, who is insane by the way, compelled me to kill Jeremy in order to not raise Silas whose apparently going to bring the end of days. My brother snapped my neck, I ended up in our cellar, drained of blood, with Klaus as a babysitter. And the next thing I know I'm in Klaus' bed, with his fangs in my neck. A werewolf's bite is deadly to my species."

The fingers that were still clutching the wall curled into a tight fist as his vision blurred, his jaw painfully clenched. "How long?"

"A day, maybe. I've never witnessed anyone actually die from the bite. I ended up putting my friend Rose out of her misery when the hallucinations and fever were too much for her." Damon replied, his calmness unnerving.

His hand suddenly collided with the wall of Fangtasia, the bricks crumbling around him as he felt his bones break in his hand.

"Is there a cure?"

"Klaus' blood." His eye twitched at the name, the presence of the white oak stake in his leather jacket becoming heavy in it's pocket. "This may all be for nothing. He's using me as a pawn to either get my brother or Elena to deliver Jeremy to him. But my brother wants the cure more than my life, and Elena will choose her brother over me as she should."

"Don't worry, I'm coming to you Damon, I'm not going to let you die." He said, more for himself than Damon at this point. His mind was reeling with options, debating the best course of action to take to get to Mystic Falls as soon as possible.

"Don't Eric, it's not worth it. You wouldn't make it in time anyhow, the sun's about to rise in a few hours and besides I couldn't live with myself if I got you in harm's way. Klaus is powerful, maybe more so than his brother because he is a hybrid." There was a pause as Damon coughed in his ear, hearing the obvious pain his lover was in. His eyes darted to the sky, and to the forest as he fiddled with the edges of his black shirt. It felt as though an anchor had been tied to his ankle- he'd never felt this helpless in the thousand years he'd been undead. "Look I didn't call to argue, I just wanted to hear your voice one last time. I don't know how much time I have, I took this phone from one of Klaus' rooms. And I have no idea where the psychopath went."

"Damon I can't just-"

"Please, just let me talk. I need to say a few things before the hallucinations become too hard to distinguish between reality." Damon said, his voice becoming raspy and almost incoherent. "I love you Eric Northman. I need you to know that. You came into my life at a time when I needed someone and you filled a void I didn't even know I had. You made me question myself. You changed my reality. My life has always been, whether I liked it or not, a time before you, and a time after you. You revolutionized my world. You became my world."

The distinct sound of coughing, and spluttering was deafening in his eardrums as his legs gave way underneath him, crumbling to the ground.

"I fell in love with you because you loved me even when I couldn't love myself. I don't think I could ever live without you. And I know this isn't good enough. saying I love you isn't enough. But you have to promise me you'll find someone else. That you'll love someone the way you loved me. You always loved me more, and I want you to find someone who will never doubt, who will never think of anyone else when they are with you. Someone who will love you purely. Honestly. Someone who will love you like the way the poets write about love. Like you are their last tank of oxygen on earth. That they can't breathe without you. You deserve someone better than I."

His fingers gripped the cold dirt, feeling the tears of blood trickle down his face, his unbeating heart inflamed inside his chest. How could Damon ever think, for one moment he'd want anyone else after him? "Damon-"

"Let me finish." Damon pleaded with him, his voice the only thing anchoring him to the world. His hands shook as he attempted to wipe the blood from his eyes, the very act feeling as if he had weights attached to his arms."Just promise me, you'll at least remember me. And not what you'll hear, and not the Damon Salvatore everyone else knows, but the one I only ever showed you. The man I became when I was with you. That you'll remember the good times. That you'll smile and remember the memories we created. And maybe we'll meet again on the other side. But just say you'll remember me Eric. I need to know I'll always be a small part of you, lie if you have to."

"Damon-"

His heart surged inside his chest as he could hear a commotion in the background, Damon screaming out in agony. He growled into the phone, his hands clenched into fists, his vision going white.

"Damon can't come to the phone right now. I'd ask if you'd like to leave a message but he'll be dead by the end of this phone call. Have a good day now."

The line went dead, and in the next instant his hand enclosed around the device feeling it crumble underneath the pressure, pieces of metal and glass ripping into his flesh.

A ghost of a smile crept up over his face because, as his other hand grasped the white oak stake- he was going to kill Niklaus Mikkelsen and every god damn one of his family members. No one takes away what is his.

….

Well Part 1 is done. What did you think? Sort of left that at a huuuuuuuuuuge cliffhanger. Like it? Hate it? Love it? Let me know!

Do you think Damon is dead? Will Eric come to the rescue? Time will tell.

Thank you so much for reading! 'til next time!