Chapter 15: Help

Aria was beaming. Sure, she was confused with everything that happened, but to her, it couldn't have been more perfect then it had turned out. She'd shamed Camille and Kelly, showing them up to be the bad ones in this. She showed up her dad, proving to him that he didn't win this battle, she did. She always beat him, no matter what it was doing. Looking into the mirror, she blinked, snapping out of her thoughts as she resumed running the wipe across her face to take off her make-up. They were on their way back to Mystic Falls. They had a long way to go, but at least they were all together. Everyone helped her and she really had to thank them, she wouldn't feel like she does without them. Frowning, she thought about her encounter with Caroline. What had happened? Shaking her head, she tied her hair back into a ponytail as she stepped out of the bathroom and made her way down the bus. Yes, they were on the travel bus, it was big enough for all of them, so they weren't complaining.

"Aria!" Elena gave her a grin as she entered the lounge area.
"Hey." She smiled softly, taking a seat next to Damon as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he pressed a kiss to her temple.
"How are you feeling?" Raising an eyebrow, she tilted her head.
"Tired," She admitted with a laugh, "Proud I guess. I wanted to thank you guys, for everything you did. I couldn't have done it without you."
"This calls for drinks!" The blonde announced as everyone laughed and she walked to the kitchen.

"I'll be back." Aria murmured to Damon, getting up from the seat before he could say anything and she followed Caroline to the kitchen, "Car?"
"Yeah?" Turning around, she looked at her as she got out 5 glasses.
"What happened? I, I touched you and you were in pain...what happened?"

Caroline bit her lip, lifting a bottle of every different alcohol out of the cupboard, pouring different types into the glasses. Aria watched her, waiting for an answer as
she swallowed nervously, watching what drinks she was pouring. Obviously Damon's was the bourbon, the boy slept and lived bourbon. Shaking her head, she crossed her arms.

"I don't know Aria," Turning to her, she bit her lip, "I wish I knew. I felt like my head was exploding, like I don't know."
"I...I did that?" She whispered scared.
"I don't know Aria. I don't know if you did it or not, because if you did," She paused, thinking about it, "You would be a-"
"A what?" Stepping forward, she looked at her, feeling her heart racing.

"A witch Aria. You would be a witch." She told her, frowning.
"Me? A witch," Shaking her head, she laughed it off, "Nope, that's impossible. I would know if I were a witch."
"Aria, have a think about it." She nodded at her, lifting all the glasses as she walked out of the kitchen.

Think about it? What was there to think about it? There was no way in hell was she a witch. Surely, she would have known if she was a witch, wouldn't she? Frowning, she swallowed and thought about everything since she came to Mystic Falls. The amulet Damon gave her, would she have got random flashbacks? Even he thought it wasn't possible. The compulsion? Was she really compelled or convinced? Her parents car crash, she'd had a fight with them, even wished they were...oh god. Placing her hands on the side of her head, she panicked. What if it's true? What if she is a witch? Why would she only be picking up senses now? What did this all mean? What was she going to do? Maybe she could talk to Damon, he'd help her. He would understand. Feeling arms encircle her waist, she closed her eyes, feeling her body relaxing.

"Hey, you okay?" Damon questioned, leaning his chin on her shoulder as she nodded softly.
"I, yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. It has been a long day huh?" She murmured in response, knowing that if she asked a question to his question, it would throw him off track.
"A very long day. How about we have our drink, then go onto bed huh? Sound good." He asked, kissing the side of her neck.
"Sounds perfect."

Walking around the Mystic Grill, taking orders, Aria felt drained. Something was wrong, obviously she knew that. She felt sick. Rubbing her hand across her forehead, she walked over to Matt, giving him a weak smile as she read him the orders.

"Aria are you alright? You don't look so good?" Matt asked, raising an eyebrow as she gave him a quick nod.
"Fine. Just...perfect." She answered softly, finished off the orders as she grabbed the jug of coffee and orange juice off the counter.
"You sure? Because if you want, you can go home. Besides, it is not really busy. Oh look at that, your gang just walked in, my mistake."
"Trust me, I'd rather be here doing something. I need to be...doing something." Placing the jugs down, she rubbed her throat and closed her eyes.

"Aria, you sure your alright?" Frowning, looked at her, lowering to her level.
"Fine." She told him, rubbing her hand across her face as she looked behind her, seeing everything sitting in the booth talking.
"If you say so." He answered, "I'll do this." Taking the jugs, he walked from behind the bar, going to tables as he poured them drinks.

"Aria." A voice whispered in the air as she turned around quickly, frowning. What was going on? Looking up at the lights, she felt them getting brighter and covered
her eyes letting out a breath. The room was spinning, she was sure of it, or maybe she was spinning. Pressing her hands against the counter, she stared at the counter top.

"Come join us." The voice whispered again as she turned around just as quick, to see no one there. She was going insane. She was sure of it. Looking at all the lights, she Seen them flickering and her eyes widened as she stared at them, not sure what was going on. What was happening? She looked around, seeing that everyone else was staring to notice as well. What? Rubbing her temples, she seen the flickering getting worse as the room began to spin faster.

"Help." She spoke, her eyes shutting as she fell into unconsciousness, hitting the floor with a bang as all the light-bulbs shattered causing screams to echo throughout the Grill.

"Aria!" Matt ran over, bending down, feeling her neck for a pulse, "Call 911!"

Caroline looked over, her eyes wide as she seen Aria lying on the floor unconscious. What just happened? Looking around at everyone, she swallowed, seeing all of the glass lying about on the floor? What the hell just happened?

"Damon, it's Aria!" Caroline told him, pointing over as he looked over, his eyes widening as moved out of the booth, hurrying over as he bent down.
"What the hell happened?" Damon questioned Matt as he pressed his hand against her cheek, feeling how hot her skin was.
"I don't know. She was acting weird, she didn't look right. She just collapsed."
"I'm not waiting for an ambulance, screw that." Lifting her into his arms, he held her close as he made his way out of the Grill.

Stefan and Elena looked at Caroline, raising their eyebrows, looking for answers as she shook her head, stepping out of the booth as she hurried after Damon, knowing She was going to have to talk to him.

There was beeping throughout the room. It was constant, one after another. The sound was running through her head. She wanted it to stop, why wasn't it stopping? Forcing her eyes open, she found that she was staring at a white tiled ceiling, where the hell was she? Sitting up quickly, she held her head wincing as she looked around the room. She was in hospital. She recognized the place. Her last visit wasn't that fortunate. What happened? All she remembered was being at the Mystic Grill.

"Aria." The voice sang, wisping through the air.
"Leave me alone!" She shouted, holding her head in her hands.
"Join us Aria. You are one of us."
"Stop, stop it."
"Join us."
"I said stop!" She shouted, tears falling down her cheeks.

Damon rushed into the room, worry rising within him as he heard her shouting. He thought someone was trying to get to her. Frowning, he looked around and didn't
see anyone. Looking over at Aria, he seen she had tears rolling down her cheeks and moved over at vampire speed, cradling her against him.

"Shh...shh. It's okay, your okay." Damon whispered soothingly, running his fingers through her hair.
"Tell them to stop." She whimpered, more tears falling.
"Who? Who's that?" He asked softly, rocking her.
"They just won't stop." Leaning against him weakly, a sob slipped from her lips as he looked over to Caroline who appeared in the doorway.

Biting her lip, she gave him a nod as he closed his eyes as if he were in pain and held Aria closer. Turns out, what Caroline had told him earlier was true as can be and Aria was suffering it. Holding her closer, he whispered soothing words into her ears as she held onto him, sniffs heard throughout the room. He was going to help her.

A/N: Hey everyone, I know it's WAY confusing. It's a twist lmao :D Hope ya enjoyed anyhow!

Shauna
xxx