Matt Donovan's P.O.V.
I stepped out of the shower and towel dried my hair before wrapping it around my waist and walking to my room. "Morning." Faye said squeezing past me to get in the bathroom a bundle of clothes and towels tucked under her arm. I sighed and Lee made a run for the bathroom just as Faye closed the door and locked it.
He pounded his fist against the door, "Faye!" he shouted angrily.
"I've been waiting fifteen minutes!" she shouted from inside the bathroom.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"I told her I had to pee." He snapped.
"I don't believe you!" she screamed back. I heard the shower turn on.
"Damn it Faye!" Lee said banging his fist against the door once more for good measure.
"Go outside!" I could hear the smile on her face.
He turned to me and I motioned for him to go ahead and he took off to the back yard. I shook my head. Faye and Lee had apparently moved in while I'd been in Italy. It was going to take some getting used to. I walked past my mom's old room and looked inside. Faye had completely taken over, her things neatly put in every nook and cranny. I passed Vicki's room and did a double take. It looked like she was still living here. Lee's things were scattered in every direction and there seemed no method to the madness. I held onto my towel walking into my room and changed into a pair of jeans and tee shirt, threw my varsity jacket on and grabbed an extra Mystic Grill uniform shirt stuffing it into my book bag. It was after all my first day back in school and to work since Italy. I'd come back only four days ago with Elena who was now staying alone in her house due to the fact that Saltzman now had a homicidal split personality.
I walked out of my room and into the kitchen. The shower was still running but Lee was back at the table looking over some voodoo book. Lee scrawled something in the margins and then looked up closing the book casually tossing it aside and flashing me a smile. "Morning." He still wasn't dressed and had on a pair of pajama pants and black muscle tee.
"Hey." I answered back, reaching for a bowl.
"Faye made waffles." He said and I noticed the pile on a plate in the middle of the table.
I looked at them cautiously, "Are they any good?"
He shrugged, "I was waiting for you. I figured if you ate them and ran off to Mexico, I'd avoid."
I smiled, "You're a jerk." I grabbed a plate from the cupboard and piled a few on. Lee slid me the syrup and I lathered the sticky maple on them.
He looked at me as I took my first bit and when I went back for a second he got his own plate, and the pair of us ate.
When we'd finished Faye walked out of the shower fully dressed and done up. I pretended to look at the watch I didn't have on my wrist, "Wow, for a girl I think that's a record." I said playfully.
"Ha ha." She said and Lee piled his plate in the sink and then walked into the bathroom, slapping Faye on the backside as he walked past her. "hey off limits." She snapped pointing at him as he slid into the bathroom raising his hands in surrender. "Off limits to ex boyfriends." She said again and he closed the door. She took a seat in the chair that Lee had not sat in and I liked that they had their own chairs in the kitchen. It made the place feel more like home. A flash of my mom laying on the kitchen floor filled my head and I shook the memory loose. "You okay?" Faye asked sliding my cleared plate in front of her and then taking the last three waffles. I nodded and she moved the syrup across the table with her mind.
"How come you can move things around like that?" I asked. "I don't think Bonnie's ever done anything like it, before."
"She can." Faye answered, "She's just B-b-boring." I smiled.
"How's your mom?" I asked.
Faye looked outside the window to the shack where she and Lee had set her up. When I'd come back Faye had said her mom had come here looking for her and that some kind of demon had attacked her. She'd needed to call Bonnie and her friends Dianna and Melissa to come from Chance Harbor and seal the demon inside of her until they could figure out a way to get it out. "She's eating." She finally said forcing a smile. "Did you scatter your mom's ashes?"
I could feel my muscles tighten. While I'd been gone Sheriff Forbes had arranged for my mom to be cremated and held onto her ashes for me until I came back. "Not yet." I answered.
She reached out and grabbed my hand, "Mothers." She muttered and I felt a grin spread across my face. "So you nervous about first day back at school?" she asked, and I tilted my head to the right.
"I'm not as worried about school as I am about Elena." I answered back honestly.
Faye rolled her eyes, "Give me a break." She got up and reached into the fridge pouring herself a glass of apple juice, "I mean between her and Cassie Blake I really don't know who's more pathetic, oh wait yes I do the brainless men who fall at their feet." She sipped her glass and Lee emerged from the shower in nothing but a towel, his normally Edward Cullen like hair abnormally smooched down.
He flashed us a goofy smile, "Your water heater, rocks." He said pointing at me before turning to change in his room. Faye and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"You wanna head over to the Grill real quick before school?" I asked.
"No." Faye said firmly, "Look I'm all for cutting classes but it's your first day back. We're gonna go to the Grill and either Damon or Rebekah or insert name of some crazy vampire will be there and then what happens you miss school again. I mean school's kind of important."
"What's important is paying the bills. If anything I should just-" she cut me off.
"Don't say it, don't even think it. You are not going to quit school so you can work full time at some crumby dive. You're better than that. Lee and I are helping out. He got that job at the book store on Laurel Avenue and I start at Crimson in like two days." Crimson was a boutique in town.
I let her reassurances sink in and shook my head, "Okay, you're right." I chuckled.
She smiled, "See, everything will work out just fine."
Lee came from the hall and clapped his hands together, "So are we stopping by the Grill before school?" he asked.
I pulled into the parking lot coincidently next to Caroline's car and took a deep breath. "It's just school." Faye said before opening the passenger side door and hopping out of my truck. I did the same and Lee leaped out of the truck bed landing squarely on his feet and the three of us walked into the school, just being inside the building seemed claustrophobic. The normality of it compared to everything I'd been through, seemed trivial. How could I care about football games and bake sales when I'd murdered a man just days earlier.
"Matt!" I turned around to see the annoyingly high pitched voice came from none other than Tina Fell. "Hey stranger haven't seen you around." I forced a smile.
"Yeah a death in the family will do that to people." Lee barked and the blonde jumped sky high and then scurried off to her cousin Blair. I looked at him and arched an eyebrow, "What she was being a bitch." He said and we continued down the hall to history.
"Faye!" Jeffrey's voice traveled down the hall and I turned to look at the same time as Lee.
"You two go on." She said leaving us real quick, "I'll catch up."
"She been hanging with him a lot?" I asked, and Lee nodded.
"Hey." Caroline said popping up next to us.
"Hey." I said back awkwardly.
Lee stood there a minute and then slapped us both on the shoulder, "That's good you two get it all out. I'm gonna head to class." He squeezed between us and walked into Saltzman's room.
"So, have you talked to Bonnie?" she asked, and I shook my head. "She's sorry Matt."
I couldn't believe this, "She was gonna let you die Care." I whispered loudly. "I'm gone two weeks and all of a sudden that's okay."
"Exactly me, she was going to let me die. If I can forgive her why can't you?" she asked her hands on her hips.
"She wasn't there Caroline. I needed her and she wasn't there for me." I snapped.
"There it is."
"There what is?"
"You aren't mad about her letting me die. You were mad because she didn't say how high after you said jump."
"Wow, really okay Caroline. Next time… what if next time you don't have me to rely on and then what Caroline? Huh!" I screamed and everyone in the hall turned to look at me. Their eyes bearing into my whole body and I couldn't do anything except walk away.
"Okay so first day back was a bust but I think I have just the thing to chill you out." Faye said finding me bussing tables after school at the Grill.
"Seeing as I had to walk here I'm gonna say first day didn't go so well." Lee stated taking a seat at the booth across from Faye.
I rolled my eyes and turned to bus the booth behind them. "Please, I'm telling you my friend Nick. Rest his soul or whatever, he used to make this potion it was a hundred percent natural. We used to take it to loosen up it's kind of like an instant drunk feeling without the hangover and dizziness." She clasped her hands together. "Please I've never made it myself and I really wanna try."
"So go ahead why'd you wanna drag me into it?" I asked collecting plates and glasses.
"Come on, I don't wanna get crunk alone." She bit her lower lip and scrunched her face and I couldn't say no. She was trying to help after all.
"Fine." I gave in.
"Yes!" she squealed and plopped back in her seat to stare at a disapproving Lee. "Lee?" she asked cautiously.
"Faye." He stated flatly shaking his head sternly.
"It's one time and it's for Matt." She whined.
He looked up at me and then back to her, "Whats going on?" I asked.
"Nothing." Faye hissed.
Lee hesitated a minute, "Just this once for Matt and then that's it." He said and Faye clapped.
"Perfect."
Faye showed me the vial of clear liquid and I arched my eye brow. I'd just gotten back from work and the kitchen was a mess, "Guys." I sighed not in the mood for dishes.
"Lee will do them. I promise." Faye said crossing her heart.
"I will?" he asked and I shook my head rolling up the sleeves of my flannel.
"No." she snapped and grabbed my arm forcing me into my chair round the kitchen table. "You aren't doing chores tonight. Now listen carefully this isn't exactly what my friend used to make. Its more potent and its sort of laced with Devil's spirit." She said biting her bottom lip.
"Devil's what?" I asked getting back up.
"It's an herb and its harmless." She retorted, flashing Lee a dangerous look.
He rolled his eyes rubbing the back of his neck, "Its fine as long as we don't do it in excess." He reassured and Faye smiled.
"Isn't everything." She answered and her logic seemed… logical.
"Okay." I said and Faye brought over three tall glasses of chilled Cola, then poured a third of the vial in each glass.
"Now normally it would just be a few drops on the tip of your tongue but because of the Devil's spirit I had to tweak it just a bit so, bottoms up." She said and the three of us chose a glass and clanked them together. I brought the cold bubbly to my lips and chugged.
When the glass was empty I slammed it down on the table and Lee followed suit. I let out a loud burp and Lee did as well.
"That's crass." Faye said and then burped herself. The three of us laughed and when that had passed looked at each other patiently.
"How long till it works?" I asked.
"Devil's spirit is usually five to ten minutes." Lee answered.
"Nick's concoction was almost immediate so I'm guessing maybe fifteen twenty minutes till we feel it." Faye added as we moved into the living room and plopped down on the couch.
Forty five minutes later, and there was nothing, "Well that was a bust." Lee said standing up, "Grill?" he asked and I nodded joining him.
"NO!" Faye whined, "I'm not going to the Grill it'll kick in any minute and when it does I don't want to be at the Grill."
"One of the herbs in your potion probably just canceled out the effects of the Devil's spirit, face it Faye. It was a bust." Lee said grabbing his jacket off the arm of the sofa.
She pouted, "Come on Faye, I'm starving." I announced and she reluctantly got up to join us out the door.
I slid into the booth beside Faye as she slid in on the side opposite us. "This sucks." She said loudly as I noticed Bonnie, Elena, and Caroline sitting at a table in the far corner of the Grill.
"Sasha!" I called out to the waitress in this section who was on shift. She turned to me a huge smile plastered across her face.
"When'd you get back?" she asked tapping her steno pad with a pen.
"You think you could sneak me three whiskeys?"
She gave me a sly smile, "Lickety split."
I flashed her back a grin as she sauntered off. "Nice." Lee said as we leaned over to catch a better view of her exit.
"Urgh, when did you turn into a creeper?" Faye asked me and I put my hands in the air.
"Hey you said I was supposed to have fun tonight. I'm a guy." I stated matter of factly and Lee hooted as Sasha returned dragging her fingers through my hair and walking back over to the bar.
"Well at least you're in the spirit of things." Faye sighed raising her glass, "To fun."
I glanced over to Elena and the other occupants of her booth, Damon had joined them. "To fun." I said and the three of us clinked our glasses together, before downing the pleasant brown warmth.
It went down smooth and then unexpected explosion in my brain and a surge of energy flared through me. "Whoa!" Lee shouted and Faye shook her head. I grabbed Lee's knee and squeezed, clenching my other hand into a fist.
"Well that's different." Faye finally said.
"What is this?" I asked covering my face with my hands inhaling and exhaling deeply before pulling them away.
"It's the potion." Lee answered, "The liquor must have triggered it."
I turned to Faye and she smiled, "We need to dance." She said and we rushed over to the juke box, "I'm picking." She squealed and Lee and I waited on the dance floor till Spark by Data Romance started over the speakers as Faye joined us. She reached for my hands and slid them down the sides of her body and to her hips. While hers looped around my neck. Lee circled us watching intently before sliding his right hand behind Faye's neck and moving his body behind her, his right hand traveling down her body till it found her midsection. I felt his left hand slide to my hip as Faye lifted one of her arms to press Lee closer to her. Everything felt magnified by a thousand, every molecule, every touch felt like a rush of fire and ice and electricity. My hands traveled over Faye and Lee's body and theirs did the same. I didn't know where either of us ended or began. Then I was surrounded entombed between Faye and Lee. She pressed against me so tightly I almost became her and the same intense pressure came from Lee as he danced behind me. The vibrations of their bodies sent waves of euphoria over me. I'd never felt anything like this.
The song ended and I was ripped away from the center by a stern grip around my wrist, I pulled away to see Bonnie's glare, "What are you doing?" she asked while Faye and Lee flanked either side of me, as Caroline and Elena did the same for Bonnie.
"I'm having…" I couldn't remember.
"Fun." Faye added, and I snapped my fingers.
"Yes, fun." I enunciated carefully.
"Oh my God." Elena rushed forward grabbing my chin and looking me squarely in the eyes, "He's stoned." She said throwing her hands up in the air.
"Relax it's a small potion." Faye sighed pulling at my arm, "Come on let's dance."
I tried to follow her away from the others, but Bonnie grabbed me again. "A potion, of course it's a potion I could sense it's effects across the room. What is it?" she was looking at Lee. He just looked at her and started laughing. The reaction was contagious and Faye and I followed suit almost falling over from the hilarity of Bonnie's remark. "Faye magic isn't a toy."
My roommate's laughter faded to giggles and then she glared at Bonnie angrily, "You're a buzz kill." She said pushing her into Caroline sending the two girls to the floor sliding across the room slamming against the small stage.
"Nice." Lee hooted while Elena reached out for me, but Lee shoved her into Damon's waiting arms.
"I told you the Grill would be lame." Faye said snidely looking Damon in the eyes. He grabbed his head groaning in pain, sinking to his knees.
"Damon!" Elena cried out while the patrons watched us.
"Let's bounce." Lee said, sliding his arm over my shoulder as Faye slid her hand in mine and the three of us walked out of the Grill.
As we walked outside I collided with Rebekah. "Matt." She said and reached out wrapping her arms around me, Faye and Lee side stepped to get out of her way. She peeled away from me smiling, "I thought you'd run off with that harlot Katherine for good." She looked relieved, "My brother Kol told me about what happened in Italy how you'd helped him."
"Helped him?" I asked listening as hard as I could but her hands on my forearms felt like winter.
"You drew the blood from Elena, killed the mage to help him bring Janyafehr back." She continued her smile still plastered to her face. "It worked we brought back Nik."
I pulled away from her, "You brought back Klaus?"
"Oh my God after you killed his mom to get back at him." Faye said and Lee burst out laughing.
"How'd you even do it?" I asked shaking my head.
"When your friends killed Finn, we found a spell that would allow us to a vampire back. So we tried it out on Kol's girlfriend and when it was a success. We did the same for Nik, once we knew we only needed a little of the doppleganger's blood. We used the bit Nik had pulled from her when he first found out about her blood being the key to creating hybrids." Lee's laughter finally died down and there was a small moment of silence as this information sunk in.
"But you needed a witch." I slurred.
"We had Maddox's cousins fly in. What's the matter with you?" she asked and I turned to see I wasn't the only one feeling a little dizzy. "You sound strange from the inside."
What was the matter with me? My head reeled and I turned to walk down the steps in the back entrance of the Grill. Lee and Faye followed as did Rebekah. I leaned against the wall a minute and felt this pull in my chest. "Matt?" Rebekah asked reaching out for me and then my heart began to race again the way it had when the high kicked in and I was better than better all over. I spun around grabbing Rebekah's wrist and pinning her to the brick wall. She struggled to get away but I held on stead fast, "Matt you're hurting me." She cried and I dawned on me that I shouldn't be able to, but I felt strong.
I leaned in close to whisper in her ear, "You wanted to be even, let's be even." I opened my mouth and bit into her neck feeling the cooper taste flood my mouth. I tore out a piece of her with my teeth. I could hear Faye and Lee cheer for me while Rebekah screamed. I moved away from her then spun her around ripping the back of her jacket off and dug my blunt fingernails into her skin then drug them down her back. She howled in pain. I grabbed a fist full of her blonde hair and then slammed her head against the wall once twice three times and she fell to the floor. I knelt down beside her as she cried, "Now we're even." I stepped over her as Faye and Lee followed.
"That was awesome!" Lee said playfully jabbing my shoulder as we walked into the Salvatore Mansion.
"Why are we here again?" I asked, still trying to wipe the blood off my mouth.
"To raid their bar." Faye said walking over to the liquor, while Lee plopped on the sofa.
I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and peeled off the layers of clothes I had on. I was getting warm. I left on my jeans and stared at my upper body in the mirror, sliding my hands over my torso, "I'm really hot." I said and Faye laughed wildly taking a swig from a bottle. Lee waved her over and she handed it to him while I admired my reflection some more. I could almost see my veins pumping the blood through my body.
"Property of Damon Salvatore." Lee said in a mockingly deep voice and I turned away from myself to look at him.
"What is it?" I asked walking over to them.
"Some book, got his initials in it." Lee said putting it on the coffee table.
"Let's play truth or dare?" Faye announced happily.
"Yes!" I agreed.
"No!" Lee shot back and we stared at him disapprovingly.
"Why not?" Faye pouted.
"Cuz I'm not ten." He answered back taking off his black over shirt.
"Spin the bottle more your game?" I joked and he smirked, just as the front door opened and Elena, Caroline, Bonnie, and Damon walked in.
"Great the party police." Faye whined.
"I found the potion." Bonnie snapped, "you used Devil's spirit and King's Foil?"
"So." Faye said the three of us standing now.
"Were you drinking my scotch?" Damon asked abruptly and Lee took another swig.
"So," Bonnie went on, while Elena grabbed onto Damon's shoulder, "The combination's lethal. It rips through your blood stream in a matter of hours." Bonnie said and that tearing feeling in my chest came back. I groaned and lurched forward struggling to stay upright as Lee and Faye did the same. I could feel tears streaming down my face and then in two seconds the severe pain was gone and I was better than I had been all night. It was like an intense rush. I stood up and clapped my hands together.
"Oh my God, Matt." Caroline gasped clamping her hands over her mouth.
"I feel great. What?" I asked feeling my face and when I pulled my hand away I saw the tears I'd cried were blood. I looked over to Bonnie, "You did this." I accused.
"Damon, Caroline." Bonnie said and the pair of them started toward us.
"We're just trying to help you Matt." Caroline begged.
Lee reached down and grabbed Damon's book off the table and wrapped it with a black rope he pulled out of his pocket then, slammed it back onto the table. Damon fell to the floor. "Didn't think we wouldn't put up a fight did you?" Lee said walking over to Damon who was sprawled out.
Caroline walked over to me slowly, "Matt, this isn't you. It isn't any of you. The potion it heightens everything annoyance turns to rage, sadness to depression. Bonnie has a salve it'll draw the poison out of you." She held out a tentative hand.
"Shatter." Faye said and the mirror Caroline was standing in front of burst, the glass cutting into my ex. "Don't pretend to be his friend now." Faye took a step forward as Caroline cried in pain. "Where were you this morning when he was thinking of dropping out, or when he cries in his sleep about his dead family." Lee picked up Damon's book and slammed it down again. Damon groaned.
"Matt, please." Elena begged, and there was another searing pain in my chest, followed by a ringing in my ears. I clutched my chest tightly and Elena ran across the room for Damon's book.
"Matt!" Lee shouted losing his balance and falling forward the book sliding across the room. Elena running towards it, I grabbed a nearby chair and threw it. It collided with Elena and exploded into splintered shards of wood.
There was a flash of blonde hair and I was up against the wall, knocked out.
I came around and jolted upright, Caroline looked up from the book she had in her hand and smiled, "Feeling better?" she asked, and I rubbed the back of my stiff neck.
"I feel like I've been hit by a truck. Where are Faye and Lee?" I asked
"Damon's watching Faye and Bonnie's watching Lee." She answered.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Well aside from you being a complete jerk?"
"Yes." I said, fully aware of what I'd done and the guilt was already washing over me.
"You almost died. Rebekah came out of nowhere and knocked the three of you out."
"Where is she?" I asked remembering what I'd done to her.
"She left." Caroline sat there quietly and then got up to stand at the foot of the bed, "She saved your life, you know." She finally said.
"Rebekah?" I asked dumb founded. "She murdered my mom there's no way in hell I'm-"
"No, Bonnie." She said sitting down.
"I'm shocked." I said rudely getting up, and I immediately felt dizzy. Caroline's hand was on my shoulder and she made sure I got back into Stefan's bed.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked once I'd gotten comfortable, "Why are you so angrey with her?"
I waited a minute trying to think of how to explain myself, "Faye and Lee helped me save you. I didn't know them but they were willing to risk the balance of nature for me."
"If you haven't noticed that girl isn't really one for the rules." Caroline scoffed referencing tonight's events.
"Something else she did for me," I let the words spin around inside my head a minute, "I've known Bonnie my whole life and she didn't pick me. She didn't choose to help me."
"Matt." Caroline said holding my hand.
"No one ever picks me and here come these two strangers and for some reason they pick me, and they keep picking move to Mystic Falls take care of my home while I'm away and when I get back they try to help cheer me up."
"They almost got you killed."
"I get that, but you and Bonnie and Elena. You guys left me behind and I just feel like I'm always just trying to catch up. They don't make me feel like that."
"I get that." Caroline said and she leaned in to kiss me on the forehead.
"Knock knock." Bonnie said from the doorway and Caroline stood up.
"I'll give you two a minute." She said and left Bonnie and I alone.
"Thanks," I mumbled and she nodded, "For saving me." I looked up at her and she walked into the room grabbing a chair and dragging it to the side of the bed I was sitting on.
She took a seat and I shifted in the bed, "So, promise me you won't do something like that again."
"Take a supernatural mind boggling substance, sure." I joked and she smiled.
"This is serious Matt, you could have been hurt. The potion works with your endocrine system. It doesn't work on you the same way it would on someone with supernatural abilities."
"Guess my medium status doesn't give me any lean way?"
She shook her head, "I'm sorry. I heard what you said to Caroline and I just want to say that you're right. I wasn't a good friend to you the night Jeremy died. I was confused and scared you saw what happened to Esther, the consequences magic can have. I don't want something like that to happen to me." She said her eyes tearing up, "I'm scared Matt. I'm scared all the time." I leaned forward reached out and slid my hand behind her neck and my lips touched hers.