Chapter 12
*Note the only thing I forgot to say was that because Rose is Bela,etc...the flashback scenes Katherine was telling Elena about won't be with Rose obviously...so just think that it was another person or friend of Trevor's that turned Katherine not Rose.
Coffee Shop, Richmond
Rose and Damon filled Slater in on the current events with the kidnapping and Elijah...along with some of the things Rose had picked up while at Elijah's.
"...and you're sure Elijah's dead?"asked Slater.
"Well yeah, I killed him myself." Damon said proudly.
"Probably should have buried him or cut of his head to make sure." said Slater.
Damon glared at him...who did he think he was, of course Elijah was dead.
Rose broke in before the two men could go at it.
"Look we need your help. Without Elijah we have no other sources, so if someone wanted to get in touch with Klaus, how would you hook him up?"
"Craigslist."
Rose looked surprised, Damon rolled his eyes.
"Really?" he replied in disbelief.
"Seriously. I respond to a personal add to get sent to somebody who knows somebody who knows Elijah, who's dead...and that's where my connection ends."
"Okay. Here's what I don't get...Elijah moved around during the day, which means the original vampires knew the secret of the day ring. So why would Klaus want to lift the curse of the sun and the moon? I mean who cares..." Damon stated.
"To keep the werewolves from lifting it. I've heard that that if a vampire breaks the sun curse then the werewolves are stuck with the curse of the moon forever and vice versa...I mean the werewolves have seemed to be dwindling in numbers lately".
'Hunters probably' Rose thought to herself.
"...and I've never seen one but rumor has it" Slater continued.
"Not such a rumor." Damon interrupted.
"Really?" Rose asked. "Of course." she mused.
"Mystic Falls? God, I got to visit this place. It sounds awesome!" Slater said, enthusiastic.
"Can we stop the curse from being broken at all?" Damon asked.
"What do you mean?" Slater asked.
"Well, if we render the moonstone useless, would it stop the curse from being broken?"
"Probably but why would you want to do that?"
Rose knew where Damon was headed with this...Elena. If Klaus wanted her because of what she'd heard from Elijah about the whole Katherine, or now Elena, being the sacrifice to this curse no way would Damon allow the curse to be broken.
"Tell me how." Damon demanded
"You think I'm gonna help you figure out how to do something that will piss of an original?"
"You want to walk in the sun? I can make that happen if you help us." Damon said.
He could? Rose thought...would he be able to do that for her?
Outside of the coffee show Elijah is listening to them. They were still completely oblivious to the fact that he had survived. He'd heard enough at this point, and decides to interrupt them before Damon Salvatore can get any more information. Besides, what was Rose doing dishonoring their agreement? He throws the coins on the window. All the windows break and Damon, Slater, and Rose drop to the ground. Slater and Rose are burning. Damon looks outside but Elijah is gone, then he turns to see Rose. Damon quickly takes off his jacket and covers her skin, then picks her up and makes his way out amongst the rush of people leaving. He gets out the door and makes his way to her SUV.
Once he sets her down in the passenger seat he notices her starting to heal.
"You'll be okay." He told her.
"I know." She replied.
"Who was behind that?" he asked, he was pretty angry.
"I don't know. Where is Slater?"
"Who the hell knows." He told her...
"He's not behind this Damon, I can tell. He wouldn't have betrayed us."
"Than who did?" Damon asked.
"I don't know...Klaus? We shouldn't be doing this...we're dead, we're all dead if we keep this up." she practically cries.
He helped her the rest of the way in, putting a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
Salvatore Boarding house. Later that Night.
Damon was sitting there drinking, again. He held the glass in his hand, pausing as he heard someone step into the room.
"I'm sorry about before okay? I didn't know that would happen."
"I believe you." he told her, and he did. He wasn't sure why after all this time of not trusting anyone that he trusted her, but he did.
"There are times when you remind me of someone I used to know."
"Why is that?"
"This person always talked a big game, like they had no fear of consequences, always seemed to be working an angle never worrying about the other people who had to pay the price for it...but underneath it all they were scared and felt bad, and if someone could just have seen past the lies and walls then you would know that they really did care."
"Yeah, so where did this person end up?" Damon asked, half interested.
"Dead." she replied..."Or should I say undead."
'Vampire...naturally' Damon thought to himself.
Rose decided to leave out the fact that she had been describing herself. Knowing Damon he would figure out it had been her.
Damon never replied, just handed her a glass. She held it as he poured. He then raised his glass to meet hers.
"To friendship..." he said. The both grinned a little.
"You know I don't blame you, for fighting your feelings...especially for her."
"Why's that?"
"Survival. If we want to survive sometimes it seems best to not care about anyone."
"Caring gets you dead then?"
She didn't answer him aloud, just gave him a sad look.
"You know, maybe you're right about the vampire switch...and maybe now is the time to shut off our emotions."
He didn't really believe that's what she wanted...nor did he think she could. So he challenged her, like she had with him earlier that day.
"I will if you will." he told her.
She laughed a bit. "Touché Mr. Salvatore."
They just stared at each other for a minute. There was something between them that neither one had felt in a long time, whether it was trust, a strong connection, friendship...but there was something.
The next thing they knew they had blurred to each other, standing in the middle of the room. Their eyes locked, and nothing outside of them existed. Their earlier problems were hidden. Finally they both reach forward at the same time, wrapping arms around each other as their lips lock together in a duel. God it had been so long since she'd had this kind of touch, and not only did she want it but her vampire senses were on overload and she craved it. The speed in which he moved his hands up her back and shirt made her feel like he had to have more than two hands. She pulled her hands from around his neck and ran a hand up the front of his shirt. Definitely no going back. They finally broke apart, but only long enough to remove each others shirts. It was only a split second before they fused their lips together again, and then Rose decided it's time to be even more bold and shoves him back at vampire speed to the large leather chair (sofa?) in the room.
An hour later, they both found themselves on the floor in front of the chair with a blanket covering them. She'd managed to pull her tight black tank top back on along with her black lace panty, while Damon remained shirtless...which was never a bad thing. They didn't say anything for a while. Rose finally pulled herself up to a sitting position to bring herself to Damon's height.
"It's a lie...I don't think we can really shut it off. Maybe at first, but after a while all it is is pretend, isn't it?"
He didn't answer, just gave her a look saying he wasn't disagreeing with her. He was certain he didn't want to get into it, or admit how much emotion he really did have.
Before she could say anything else, her phone rang.
Damon reached over and picked it up, then handed it to her. He stayed alert as she answered.
"Hello?"
"Rose?"
"Slater. Are you alright?"
"Yeah. Sorry I ran, I was freaked."
"No, I'm sorry to have involved you."
"Look, I don't really want any part of this, but I did some digging."
Damon gives her a look that asks her to continue. Patience wasn't his friend.
"Ok, what did you find?" she asked Slater.
"You can destroy the curse, if you have the moonstone."
"How? I'm not following you." she told him, and looked over to Damon.
"Well can your friend get the moonstone, you'll need it." She locked eyes with Damon, she knew he could hear everything Slater said. She gave him a questioning glance, and he nodded his head.
"Yes, he can get it. What next?" she asked.
"You need a witch. Get the moonstone, a witch can figure out what to do next. I have to go, good luck Rose." he said, then hung up the phone.
Rose slowly put her phone down, and looked at Damon again.
"So?" she asked. "How can you get the moonstone?"
"I know where it is...getting it could be fun though."
"Why's that?"
"Katherine has it."
"Oh." Rose replied. That wasn't good.
"Katherine's stuck in a tomb...but we can't just waltz in their since a vampire won't be able to leave once they enter, so we need to figure out how to get the moonstone without letting the bitch out."
"Sounds complicated. You know a witch?"
"Yep. Elena's friend. We don't get along that well but she'll do anything for Elena."
"She sounds like a different breed of witch than the ones I've met in my time."
"She's loyal and a good person...blah blah blah...she's a bit judgy when it comes to vampires, mostly just me."
"Do you blame her?" she asked, laughing.
"Nope. Not at all."
"So, what next? Go find people to help you get the moonstone?"
"No." he answered, smirking.
She gave him a confused look.
"Rose, it's 11 pm, and I want to have fun. We deal with the curse crap in the morning...so do me a favor and shut up about it." he told her.
Before she had a chance to reply he grabbed her waist and sped them off to his room.
End Chapter.
Chapt 13
Salvatore home
It was definately morning, and Rose could feel a small amount of sunlight in the room as she awoke...and it was almost too close for comfort. She had a momentary laspe in memory as she pondered over where she was ...with nice sheets for once. She made a move to turn over and it finally dawned on her... Damon's bedroom. Right, that did happen last night...more than once actually. And really, she hadn't woken up in a man's bedroom in quite some time...several years in fact. Thing is though it wasn't just some guy, it was Damon bloody Salvatore (no pun intended). Was it weird that she was so completely comfortable around him? Rose heard a noise and looked up to see Damon coming out of the shower. Should she feel weird now? Than he smiled, not his usual smirk, but an actual smile. Nope, not weird at all.
"Sorry to cut our fun short, but I'm going with Stefan to talk to the bitch."
"I assume you mean Katherine?"
"Yep. Curse to destroy, so moonstone to get. As I'm sure you are aware make yourself comfy. There's blood in the basement."
"Let me know if you need help."
Damon nodded. "That will be after Stefan and I get the moonstone. Trust me, you don't want to go with us to see katherine."
Rose agreed.
Damon then leaned over the bed, pulled the covers down Rose's body just for the fun of it, then gave her a quick kiss. He headed for the door quickly, then turned to give her a smirk and let his eyes linger a bit on her exposed legs. Rose felt vulnerable, but tried not to show it. Before she could give him any sort of witty or seductive reply he was out the door.
Oh Lord...what the hell has happened to me? Rose thought, sighing as she laid her head back down. She told herself last night it would be a one time thing, she figured he felt the same way. They were friends sure. There was chemistry yeah, but no way could she let herself get attached to him. Elena may not have been his, but it was completely clear Damon's heart was only set on Elena and no one else. Besides, Rose had tried letting her guard down once before, and it almost got her killed. However, for some reason even though she was no way going to let herself fall for him, she'd really never been more herself around anyone like she was around him. Was Damon trustworthy? No way...if it meant saving Elena he'd throw Rose under the bus in a heartbeat...atleast that's what Rose told herself. However, she'd never been that trustworthy or honest herself, so she didn't worry about it. Damon was a good enough man for her, and this unique friendship they had seemed to work. They didn't discuss it, they just went with it and had fun. So if this happened again she would most definately not hate it.
Elena knocked on the door of the boarding house. Stefan and Damon were going to go back to Katherine...but she was tired of everyone else fighting for her life. So here she was going to ask for help...and if need be do a little bargaining to get her way.
Rose had heard someone at the door, and figured Damon was back. She wrapped the robe around her and made her way to the front door.
She finally spoke as she rounded the corner, but she probably should have used her senses to determine that the person in the house was in fact human...not Damon.
"You know it's not nice to leave a girl naked so early in the morn..." Rose stopped her sentence abrubtly as she saw Elena, and made sure her robe was firmly tied.
Elena looked surprised...Rose didn't blame her at all.
"I'm sorry...I thought you were...nevermind" Rose said quickly. "Look, there's no one else here." Rose figured Elena was here for Stefan or Damon. So what Elena said next came as a surprise.
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you." Elena replied.
"Oh. Well I should probably get dressed..." Rose said, a bit sheepishly. God was this awkward.
Elena only nodded. Rose blurred back to Damon's room, found the bag of hers that Damon must have been kind enough to bring in that morning, and quickly got dressed.
She returned to find Elena sitting on the sofa.
"So, what it is that you need from me?"
"I need you to take me to Richmond. I would like to talk to Slater, get more information." Elena answered.
"What? No." Rose replied quickly. Slater wasn't going to want anything more to do with this in the first place, he'd said that already.
"Why not?"
"It's a bad idea."
"No it isn't. From what Stefan told me, which I assume is what Damon told him, your friend Slater obviously knew more about Klaus than what he told you. You guys just gave up before you got it."
Gave up? Ha.
"Right, you mean because someone blew up a coffee shop with us in it?" Rose asked sarcastically.
"There's more to learn, we just have to find a way to get it."
"Why are you asking for my help with this?"
"Because you owe me. One word from me and Damon or Stefan could've killed you for kidnapping me."
Oh good God. This girl was such a teenager sometimes. Okay fine, Rose had to give her a few points for knowing how to use a situation to her advantage...after all it was probably what Rose would have done in the past. Still though it was annoying...not to mention not entirely true.
"I was compelled."
"True, but Damon's killed for less."
"You know what I think?" Rose said. "I think that just maybe what you said isn't true, and the only reason you're coming to me with this is because you know they don't want you doing this?"
"We're having a disagreement." Elena admitted. Of course Rose would see right through her attitude. "They are willing to risk everyone that I care about, and I'm not."
"They are just trying to protect you." Rose told her.
"Yeah well we both know you could care less about protecting me. Which takes us back to you taking me to see Slater."
Rose sighed. It wasn't that she could care less, after all she came back because she though they all deserved to know what was going on. Yet Elena was somewhat correct. She wasn't really used to caring about anyone, let alone some teenage girl.
"What exactly do you hope to achieve with all this, and what do you think would get me to agree to help you?"
Elena ignored the first part of the question.
"How would you like to walk in the sun again?" Elena asked her.
Was this girl trying to make some sort of deal with her? Rose mentally was rolling her eyes. Yet she couldn't deny the truth.
"I've been living in the shadows for 3 years now, what do you think?" she replied.
"I think I know a witch who can make that happen for you if you help me."
"Elena I'm not sure bargaining with me is the best way to go. I can't promise you that Slater will tell us anything."
"I get that. I won't blame you if Slater doesn't talk. I just need you to take me to him, help me atleast get him to hear me out."
Finally Rose relented, and nodded.
End Chapt.