Rocks and Hard Places
DG32173
Sarah: I didn't say this last chapter, but I will this chapter: the jewelry I had Damon give Elena – the set that had belonged to his mother – and Damon's pendent belong to me, and so do the enchantments placed on the jewelry. Please don't use them without asking me first and waiting for my permission. I don't own Golden Corral… but I love their buffet! Also, I don't own any songs mentioned here. The lyrics used are from the song "We Are Together" from the end of the movie Grease. Considering how damn old that movie is, I'm quite certain that it's safe to use the lyrics. I don't own any of the songs referenced here nor do I own Wal-Mart. I'm just using the layout of my local Wal-Mart. Anyways, I hope anyone still reading enjoys this chapter too.
REVIEW REPLIES
kfulmer7: yes, the shared emotions through their jewelry will be an awesome part of their sex-life. I'm so glad you think that her thoughts and their emotions had a lot of detail. And yes, I'm also glad that Jeremy's going along, though he's going to be a big cockblocker at times.
rcardinals4: yes, the jewelry is interesting. I made it up myself and I even made up the designs myself because I have never been able to find pictures of jewelry like the ones I imagined. And yep, they're going to explore and have fun and Jeremy's going to be a big cockblocker at times.
Chapter 2
The Road to the Capital
"So, where are we going to stay tonight?" Jeremy asks from the backseat.
I feel Damon's smugness at whatever his reply is and I silently send him an urge to share. He rolls his eyes at me. "We're going to stay in Washington for a few days before continuing on to New York," he tells us.
"Washington? As in Washington, D.C.?" Jeremy demands, suddenly very excited as he leans forward between the seats.
"Well, the only other Washington I know is on the other side of the country and is a state," Damon says dryly.
"Can we go to Arlington?" Jeremy requests.
"I'll give you two a grand tour. I happen to have known a number of the soldiers buried in Arlington," Damon says, grinning.
"How?" Jeremy asks eagerly.
"The civil war wasn't the only war I've been in," Damon replies, chuckling. "I've fought in both World Wars as well as Desert Storm, Vietnam, and, most recently, the War with Iraq that's going on now."
"You've seen a lot of combat," I remark.
"Well, America is my home. I was born and raised here. I've even spent most of my life as a vampire here. Don't get me wrong, I've done a lot of travelling over the decades. But I always come back to the states," Damon tells us. "I'll defend this country with everything I've got."
"I wish I could have been a soldier," Jeremy says wistfully.
"It's not all glory and honor, kid," Damon says. "I wasn't the only vampire fighting for the country they called home. Vampires fighting in the wars for their country prey on the enemy. And if that wasn't enough, mankind's come up with war toys that are just as deadly to vampires as they are to humans. They're called bombs. Sure, we're fast and powerful. But if you step on a landmine, you're just as dead as if you were human. That or you're losing body parts that were caught in the blast. Sure, they'll grow back, but it takes time and lots of blood."
"Have you ever been within range of a bomb?" Jeremy asks curiously.
"I have not. But I've had a lot of close calls. I've also been tortured as a war prisoner in countries that know about vampires, witches, and warlocks and know we're not just a part of folklore. Not fun," Damon says.
"How'd you get away?" I ask.
"My jailors had grown careless after a while. I got out and rescued as many fellow Americans as I could find," Damon says with a shrug.
The look on his face and the emotions echoing from him through our jewelry tell me not to push it. Jeremy seems to get that vibe, too. I glance at the clock on the dash and find that it's going on six. "Can we stop for some human food soon? I haven't had anything since the sandwich I had for lunch," I tell Damon. "I'm hungry."
Damon chuckles and motions to the passing billboards. "Take your pick of restaurants," he says. "We're nearing Fredericksburg."
Jeremy's the first to spot the sign to the restaurant we both love. "Golden Corral! Elena, they have a Golden Corral!" he says eagerly.
"Can we go there? Please, Damon?" I beg.
Damon shakes his head at our excitement. "Fine," he says.
"Yes!" Jeremy and I cheer simultaneously.
"Don't go trying to feed on the humans, kid," Damon warns Jeremy. "I'm trusting you enough to bring you out into the world in places that don't know your name and face. Screw-ups out here will only piss off your sister. Take those screw-ups back to Mystic Falls and you're dead and you'll probably take Blondie, Steffie, and I down with you."
"I didn't happen to bring any blood bags when I packed our stuff," Jeremy says uncertainly.
"Elena, look in the glove compartment and get him a blood bag," Damon says. "While you're at it, get me one too."
I sigh and free my hand from his so that I can open the glove compartment. Damon takes that moment to turn off the interstate while I get out a couple of blood bags and count the ones left. "You only have two more after these," I tell Damon as I pass one to my brother. Then I rip off the valve on the one in my hand before passing it to Damon.
"Thanks," he says. "And, yeah, I know. We're going to have to make a pit stop in Fredericksburg for a cooler, ice, drinks, munchies, and then find a hospital so I can teach your brother how to raid a blood bank. You're tagging along, too, Elena."
I'm startled at that. "Why?" I ask.
"Well, if you're going to go through with the turn into a vampire, you'll have to learn how to raid a blood bank. It'll be a lot easier to teach you while I'm teaching him. If worst comes to worst, you can always play decoy," Damon says between sips of his blood.
"And how am I supposed to do that?" I demand. "I highly doubt we'll be in the same area as the ER. And I don't happen to have on a patient's armband."
"You're smart, Elena," Damon says wryly. "You'll think of something." I hear Jeremy slurp the last of the blood from hi blood bag. "There's a black garbage bag down in the floorboard back there, kid. Put your trash in there," Damon says, finishing his blood bag. He hands the empty bag to me. "Elena, pass this and that valve to him so he can do the same with it."
I obediently pass the stuff to Jeremy, who stuffs all the trash in the black bag. "We almost there?" Jeremy asks. "I'm getting restless back here."
I roll my eyes at Damon's annoyance. "He's always like this on road trips," I tell him. "It's remarkable, really. He can sit still for ten to twelve hours at a time with his sketchpad but he can't handle being stuck in a car for long."
"I don't have anything to do in a car," Jeremy complains.
"Keep up the 'are we there yet' mantra, and I'll be more than willing to snap your neck to shut you up for a few hours," Damon tells my brother, turning into Golden Corral's parking lot. He quickly finds a parking spot.
Damon and I climb out, then Damon lets Jeremy out of the backseat. I meet the at the front of the Camaro after Damon locks up. I take Damon's hand and lace our fingers together. He flashes a grin at me before escorting me inside. Jeremy follows us in. Damon grabs a tray and we get into line.
"What would you like to drink?" the guy at the drink section of the counter asks.
"Sweet tea," I reply.
"Same," Damon says.
"Me too," Jeremy adds.
We get our drinks in some big plastic cups with a lid that we can take with us. Jeremy and I move so we can see Damon's face and we both burst out laughing. "What's with the cups?" Damon demands as we move up in the line.
"Is plastic not good enough for you?" Jeremy teases. "Cause if it's not, I'll take your drink."
"Not if I get it first," I tell my brother.
"It's my drink." Damon protests.
"Then suck it up, Damon," I tell him. "You're drinking from a plastic cup tonight. There's a huge collection of them in one of the kitchen cabinets from all the times Mom and Dad took Jer and I to the Golden Corral in Richmond."
"I noticed," Damon says dryly. We stop in front of the cashier and Damon pays for our meal. That's when he sees all the different bars. "Less than forty bucks for eating as much of all that as we want?" he asks, floored.
"Yep. C'mon, let's go find a table," I tell him.
"You mean, we get to pick our own table?" Damon asks, even more surprised.
Jeremy laughs. "Yep," he replies. "C'mon, man, lets get moving. You're so not used to family restaurants, are you?"
"This is the first time I've been to one," Damon admits.
"Well, Golden Corral is one of the few family-style restaurants where you can seat yourself," I say, grabbing one of Damon's elbows. Jeremy grabs Damon's other elbow and we guide him to a table in the section across from the desert bar. I set out our tea so that Damon and I are next to each other and Jeremy's across from me. "Okay, set the tray here at the edge and leave the receipt on it so that our waitress can sign it. Now we can go fix our own plates."
"Where are the plates?" Damon asks.
"Up next to the bars," I say, pointing out the ones by the desert bar. "I'll see you guys when I get back," I tell them, keeping my purse on my shoulder as I make my way all the way to the opposite end of the restaurant to start with a large salad with some sliced fruit on the side. As I'm carrying it back to my table "I'm Still a Guy" by Bard Paisley starts playing from my purse. I roll my eyes and ignore my phone. If Jeremy wants to talk to me, he can wait until we're back at the table to do so. I set my plate down and take my seat just before the guys return. "I'm Still a Guy" is still playing and Jeremy glares at me as he takes his seat across from me.
"Are you going to answer your phone?" Damon asks, raising an eyebrow at me as he sits next to me..
I smirk and point at my brother with my fork. "If he wants to talk, he can talk in person. I'm not going to answer my phone," I tell Damon with a sweet smile.
Damon coughs to cover up a laugh, which earns him a glare from my brother. "Seriously, Elena, you made my ringtone that?" Jeremy demands, pulling out his phone and ending the call.
"What were you expecting?" I ask before stuffing a mouthful of salad into my mouth.
"I don't know, but I wasn't expecting country!" Jeremy complains.
I examine their plates while I chew my salad. Jeremy had gone straight for the home style baked macaroni and cheese and filled his whole plate with it. Damon had gone for pork ribs, pepperoni pizza, and corn on the cob.
I roll my eyes. "You two had better be glad you can't gain weight because you'd get fat off your food," I tell them. Damon rolls his eyes while eating his corn on the cob. Jeremy chuckles before spooning up a mouthful of macaroni and cheese. "Starches and fats," I sigh.
"You've filled your whole plate with rabbit food," Jeremy sneers.
I chuckle. "This is just the first plate. I figured I'd start off healthy and progressively get more and more unhealthy until its time for desert."
"Why did you park us right next to the fountains?" Jeremy says, looking over my shoulders pitifully. "And why did I have to sit facing them?"
"If I sat facing them, I'd gain weight every time I looked up," I tell him. "And you're across from me in case I have to kick you to remind you of your manners."
"Do you two always argue whenever you're eating at the same table?" Damon asks curiously.
"This isn't arguing," I tell him with a grin. "This is just how we are with each other when we're both in a good mood." I stuff a forkful of salad in my mouth.
"I'd hate to see it when you two aren't in a good mood," Damon mutters.
"Think of how you and Stefan get when your upset with each other but not quite to the point of physical blows coming into play," Jeremy says.
"Gotcha," Damon says.
"We've only ever gotten into one no-holds-bar brawl with each other," I say when I clear my mouth. "Remember it, Jeremy? Two summers ago?"
Jeremy groans. "Yeah, you sent me to the hospital with a broken nose, my left arm was put in a sling because you sprained my wrist, and I even had to have a cast on my right foot because you broke a number of the bones in it by slamming a fucking fire extinguisher on it. I had to be in a wheelchair for weeks because you don't fight fair," he complains. "Oh, and don't forgot the double black eye and the dislocated left shoulder."
"You're the one who started the fight," I point out. "I told you that you didn't want to push me that day." I turn to Damon. "I got off rather lightly. He broke my thumb and pinky finger on my right hand and my left middle finger. I also pulled a muscle in my right shoulder wielding that fire extinguisher. That's about it other than a bunch of bruises and scratches. You so need to teach him how to fight. He fights like a girl, all hair-pulling and clawing at his opponent. I whooped his ass that day."
"I'm starting to think you actually know how to hold your own against a human," Damon tells me with a chuckle. He turns to Jeremy. "Seriously, pulling hair? What is wrong with you? Where's your manhood?"
Jeremy sighs. "Dude, she's my sister," Jeremy points out. "I didn't think she'd actually go all-out on me and by the time I realized what was going on, I was already down for the count. Dad came just in time to save me from getting hit upside the head with that fire extinguisher."
"Dad was all 'that's enough, Elena. You've already shamed the poor kid, no need to knock him out, too'," I say gleefully. "Mom was a bit more upset because we totally destroyed the living room. All that furniture in there now, even the TV and PS3, were replacements for the stuff we annihilated. She took it the money out of our hides for the rest of the summer."
"But, seriously, a fire extinguisher?" Damon asks, highly amused.
"In the self-defense classes we were enrolled in, we were first taught that anything can be a weapon to use against your opponent. Some things you need to get a bit more creative to find a way to use as a weapon than others. I went through an PS3 controller cord, the TV and BluRay remotes, the fireplace poker, and a number of other things laying around. He had a ton of paper cuts from the magazines I demolished to use the pages as knives. The fire extinguisher was the last weapon in my vast arsenal because it was also the heaviest and most awkward. But I didn't go so far as to use my nails or tug at his hair." Damon shakes his head and his awe echoes at me through our jewelry. I stuff the last bite of my salad in my mouth while Damon just stares at me like he had never seen me before. I set my plate to the outside of the table. "Well, I'm going for my next plate," I tell them. "You two better finish your food before it turns to ice. Damon, when you're done, just stack your plate on top of mine and grab a new plate for your next trip to the bars."
With that I walk to the hot bar and grab a new plate, a smile on my face as I sense his disgust at discovering his food had gotten cold. I load up my plate with macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed carrots, sweet peas, black-eyed peas, and a slice of pepperoni pizza before heading back to the table. I see that both my brother and Damon are gone from the table, their half-eaten plates from the last round stacked on top of mine. I smirk. 'That's the good thing about getting a salad on the first round. There's usually a lot of talking and you don't need to worry about hot food growing cold,' I think, taking my seat and setting my plate down. I take a swallow of my tea, closing my eyes briefly in bliss.
Suddenly, "Dangerous" by Cascada starts playing from my purse. I roll my eyes and ignore it. Apparently this is 'find out what ringtone Elena gave me' night because first Jeremy called me and now Damon, though they are both here with me. Well, I can play that game, too. I pick up my pizza and take a big bite out of it. Damon slides into his chair next to me, hitting 'cancel call' on his phone. My phone goes silent. "You think I'm dangerous?" he asks with a smirk.
I just shrug and motion that my mouth is full. I continue eating my food, ignoring Damon's increasingly frustration at my refusal to respond. Jeremy slides into his seat across from me. I smirk at him and reach into my purse and press the second speed dial button.
"We go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong
Remembered forever as shoo-bop sha whada whadda yippidy boom da boom
Chang chang changity chang shoo bop that's the way it should be
Waooo Yeah"
Damon stares at my brother like he's grown a second head. In fact, a lot of people are turning towards are table to stare at us. And I'd swear that if it were possible for vampires to blush, Jeremy would be turning crimson right now. "What the hell, Elena?" Jeremy demands, quickly digging his phone out of his pocket and hitting ignore.
I laugh. "You did it to me," I point out. I turn to Damon. "You're next," I warn. I get an echo of Damon's horror as I press the first speed dial on my phone.
"Helpless When She Smiles" by Backstreet Boys plays from Damon's back pocket. He groans and pulls his phone out to hit ignore. "Seriously, Elena?" Damon asks incredulously.
"You two did it to me," I point out. I turn to Jeremy. "Seriously, Grease?"
Jeremy shrugs. "You said Grease and Grease 2 are your favorite musicals and that was your favorite song from Grease," he replies.
"How'd you even find it?" I demand.
"It took a while and a lot of working out the proper wording I needed to find it," he admits.
"You so have to share that. I want that song," I tell him, grinning.
"That song makes absolutely no sense," Damon groans.
"It's hilarious," I say with a laugh. "Food's getting cold," I remind them, picking up my spoon.
Damon's third plate is his dessert, which is banana pudding, two pieces of fudge, a brownie, and a bowl of mixed ice cream with a little bit of every topping offered. Jeremy and I keep making trips to and from the other bars, leaving Damon staring at us in awe after the fifth trip each. Or was it sixth? I lost track. "How are you two not full?" he demands. "I'm getting sick just watching you stuff all that food down your throats!" Jeremy and I exchange a look, mutually agree that he'll never understand, and continue on eating. "I saw that look!" Damon growls.
"Damon, we're teenagers," Jeremy points out. "Teenagers tend to eat a lot."
"I know that, but you two are eating so much that our bill was nothing compared to it!" Damon says, his awe quickly fading into incredulousness.
"I'm for a few rounds of desert after this," Jeremy tells me, stuffing his last bite of pizza in his mouth.
"Okay," I say with a grin. "Save some for me."
"A few rounds?" Damon asks weakly.
"Oh, we usually try to eat a little bit of everything that's on the desert bar. That requires a few trips," I tell him before stuffing my last bite of my third salad into my mouth before setting my plate with Jeremy's. Damon's plates are long gone to be cleaned. I make my way back to the hot bar for more mac-and-cheese. Jeremy and I both love Golden Corral's home-style baked mac-and-cheese (me too!). We always tend to pig out big time whenever we come to Golden Corral. And neither of us has ever gotten sick from it. I pile my plate up with mac-and-cheese and carry it back to the table. I've noticed that I've been getting a lot of strange looks from the staff that work behind the hot bar. Apparently they're not used to seeing a girl with my figure eat so much. I take my place next to Damon and examine Jeremy's first plate of desert. He had gone for all chocolate: chocolate cake with chocolate icing, a large brownie, three pieces of fudge, two chocolate cookies, and chocolate pudding. I roll my eyes and dig into my mac-and-cheese.
Damon sighs and I get an echo of how ill he's feeling just watching us eat. I ignore it and continue to eat. "Relax, Damon," I tell him when that uneasy feeling he's echoing continues to increase. "We have never gotten sick after Golden Corral. And Jeremy's actually started on desert a lot sooner than he normal does. Normally it would take at least three more plates for him to decide it's time for desert."
Damon groans. "If it weren't completely impossible for vampires to throw up unless they forced themselves to, I'd be running for the nearest toilet right now," he mutters. "You two are making me regret my third plate."
I roll my eyes. "You're being a wimp, Damon," I mock.
"I am not!" he protests vehemently. "You two have bottomless stomachs. That's the only possible reason neither of you look the least bit ill! Just watching you two gorge yourselves like this is nauseating!"
I exchange another look with my brother and we shake our heads at each other before we continue to eat. I polish off my mac-and-cheese and set my plate to the side. "Okay, desert bar, here I come," I say with much anticipation as I push myself out of my chair and go to the bar. I grab a plate and contemplate what I want first. I decide to grab some banana pudding, some chocolate pudding, a piece of chocolate cake with chocolate icing, a large brownie, and a cone of blue cotton candy. I carry my prizes back to our table.
"No way! I didn't see the cotton candy!" Jeremy protests. "I have to get me a cone next trip."
Forty-five minutes later, nearly three and a half hours after we entered the door, Jeremy and I finally let Damon talk us into leaving, much to his relief. "I have to say, I now have a healthy respect for your appetites," Damon admits as we walk out the door. "Did you two even notice the looks the staff was giving you as you kept going to the bars again and again and again?"
"I did get some strange looks," I admit.
"Yeah, I noticed I got a few looks myself," Jeremy concedes as we arrive at the Camaro.
Damon shakes his head. "I have a feeling that the manager was seriously contemplating having us pay a little more because none of them had ever seen a couple of kids put away that much food without getting sick," he tells us, unlocking the car. He let's Jeremy climb in the backseat while I make myself comfortable in the front passenger, shutting my door and buckling my seatbelt. Once Jeremy's safely tucked in the backseat, Damon sets the driver's seat upright again and climbs in.
As Damon pulls out of the parking lot to, "Bye Bye Bye" by *NSync starts playing from my purse. I groan. "Who's that?" Jeremy asks, his amusement very evident in his voice.
"Stefan," I mutter.
"You chose a breakup song for Stefan?" Damon asks, laughing.
"Yes," I grumble, silently willing the song to stop playing and signal Stefan's given up. It stops at the end of the song, signaling it's gone to voicemail. Two seconds later it starts over. I groan again and dig my phone out of my purse. I hit accept and put it to my ear. "What?" I snap.
"Elena, don't be like that," Stefan starts.
"I can be however I want," I tell him. "We're over, remember?"
"Only until I can figure out a way to get rid of Katherine," Stefan protests.
I laugh humorlessly. "That's rich. That's fucking rich," I say. "So you haven't been to my house, have you?"
"Why would I?" Stefan asks, confused.
"I'll give you a hint: go to my house. Don't go through my window because it's locked. Go to the front door instead, but only if Jenna's home. She has an envelope for you from me. That will give you all the answers you need. Until you read the letter that's in the envelope, don't call me back," I snap, hanging up as he tries to ask what I'm talking about. I then turn off my phone to avoid any further nuisance calls.
"Well, that was fascinating to listen in on," Damon says, his immense amusement echoing at me through our jewelry.
"I agree," Jeremy says with a chuckle.
I toggle the light over my side of the car so that I can dig through my purse and find my IPod. I quickly find it and the cord I can use to both charge it in a car and listen to it from the car speakers. I plug it in and look through my playlists.. I finally decide on a collection of pop music from 2000 through 2009. I hit play, repeat, and shuffle. Then I turn off the light. All three of us burst out laughing as my IPod decides to play "Bye Bye Bye" first.
"Maybe your IPod is trying to tell you something?" Jeremy suggests between giggles.
"That I need to get Stefan out of my life?" I ask around my laughter.
"I'll vote on that!" Damon adds, chuckling.
We keep laughing until the song ends because every time we begin to sober up, someone convulses into giggles again and that gets the others going. The next song, "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" by Fall Out Boy, starts and we're finally able to get ourselves back under control. "It shouldn't have been that funny," I admit, gasping for breath.
"I kept trying to stop but then you two got me going again," Damon protests, though I feel his continued amusement.
"You have to admit it was pretty hilarious Elena's ringtone for Stefan was the first song to come up after she just hung up on him," Jeremy says cheekily.
"True," Damon and I chorus. "Well, we still need to pick up some stuff," Damon continues. "First to Wal-Mart for the normal road trip stuff. Then to the hospital for the vampire road trip stuff."
"Wal-Mart?" Jeremy asks incredulously. "I thought you were too good for stores like Wal-Mart."
"When it comes to clothing, yes. But you can buy just about anything there. So we're heading to Wal-Mart for munchies, drinks, a cooler, and a few bags of ice," Damon explains. "Kid, you better be prepared to share floor space with a big ass cooler and bags of munchies."
"I figured I'd have to share space with the cooler and the food," Jeremy says. "That stuff certainly won't fit up there."
Damon pulls into Wal-Mart's parking lot. I raise an eyebrow at him. "Have you been to Fredericksburg before? You aren't even asking for directions," I tell him.
"I've been here a few times," Damon admits, snagging a parking space close to the grocery entrance that had just been vacated. "Okay, everyone out," he says.
"I have to wait for one of you two to get out before I can," Jeremy points out. I roll my eyes, climb out, and shut my door. Damon climbs out and lets Jeremy out of the backseat before locking up and shutting his door. We all meet at the back of the car to enter Wal-Mart together. "You know, if it wasn't for your blue eyes, Damon, we'd actually look like a group of siblings," Jeremy says as we make our way inside.
Damon's response is to hit him in the back of the head. "The only way you're going to be calling me brother is if I marry Elena and become your brother-in-law," Damon retorts.
"I'm cool with that, except for the fact that it would in turn make Stefan my brother-in-law, too," Jeremy replies. "And that would be annoying."
"It is annoying being related to him," Damon chuckles.
"Okay, you two, enough," I say, grabbing a buggy. "We came to pick up some things. Let's pick them up and get out of here."
"And here I thought you'd be looking forward to a shopping trip," Jeremy says, feigning surprise.
"Stefan made me grumpy. Talking about Stefan makes me grumpier. So change the topic if you're going to keep talking," I reply. "First we start with the cooler. Let's get two."
"Where would they be kept?" Jeremy asks.
"I dunno," Damon replies.
I groan. "C'mon, idiots," I say, pushing the buggy towards the back of the store. "Coolers are generally kept in sporting goods, which is generally next to automotives for some reason. And that's generally located at the back of the store near the auto repair shop."
"Oh," they chorus, falling in step behind me.
"You used the word 'generally' three times," Damon says.
"That's because each Wal-Mart is setup differently, but most of them have the same general layout. Most, not all. Some are very peculiar in their setup compared to the majority of the stores," I reply, taking a left at the back aisle.
"I see the auto shop," Jeremy says. "It's at the far end of this aisle."
"Then sporting goods should be somewhere around there," I say, pushing the buggy forward and letting the boys follow behind me. "We're lucky it's so late. Otherwise this place would be crowded." Even with so few customers, it still takes a few minutes to traverse the distance to the other end of the store. As we get close, I see that I was right about where sporting goods are kept. I look down each aisle in sporting goods until I find the one with the coolers. "Let's get two," I say.
"Why?" Damon asks, baffled by my request.
"One for drinks, one for munchies," I reply.
The boys exchange a look and a shrug. We spend a few minutes comparing size and capacity of the different coolers before getting two of the largest, one red and one blue. "I'm not going to have much room in the back with these behemoths," Jeremy complains.
"Dude, you're a vampire," Damon replies. "You won't get cramps so deal with it."
"Okay, back to groceries," I say, turning the buggy around and pushing it down the long aisle back to groceries. "We'll start with sodas and work our way up."
Once we're in the area with sodas, the boys get in a heated debate over whether we should get Pepsi or Coke. I end the debate by grabbing a twelve-pack of each. I grab a twelve-pack of RC Cola for myself. Then we go over an aisle and grab a package holding twenty-four bottles of water. Jeremy sighs at that but otherwise holds his peace. Then we make our way to the chips aisle. Jeremy cleans it out of the medium-sized bags of Cheetos. I roll my eyes but don't comment since I like them, too. We also take out a good portion of the different flavors of Doritos as well as several bags of Fritos. We each grab out own bag of trail mix. I go for when with assorted nuts, raisins, and M&Ms. Jeremy goes for one with white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and peanut butter chips, raisins, and assorted nuts. Damon grabs one with pretzels, M&Ms, and mixed nuts. We then move on to the candy aisle. The boys go wild there but I put my foot down at grabbing a bit of everything. I tell them they can have three large bags of candy each. Damon complains that it's his money that's paying for this. I glare at him and use my emotions to enforce my decision. He sighs and gives in. I pick out my three large bags of candy – white chocolate M&Ms, tropical skittles, and Reese's minis. I put them in the buggy. I notice that the guys had put their bags in the buggy and are eyeing the wall of Christmas candy with such longing that I decide to take pity on them and allow each of us two things from the Christmas candy side of the aisle. I grab a large box of Queen Anne chocolate-covered cherries and a giant solid dark chocolate Santa and add them to the buggy. I then wait as the boys roam up and down the aisle, examining the huge selection available before making their choices. Then I move us to the gum section because no road trip is complete without gum. I tell them to grab three three-packs of whatever gum they want. I go straight for the Juicy Fruit. Damon follows my example while Jeremy goes for cinnamon-flavored Extra. I don't take time to take in what they had selected as their candy.
"Okay, now on to where the cookies are kept," I say, pushing the buggy, which has become increasingly heavier as we filled it up. The guys fall in step behind me as I push the buggy up to the aisle that has freezers lining one side and bread lining most of the other with one end dedicated to pastries and cookies. Once there, we first grab a bunch of our favorite: I go for the honey buns with chocolate icing, Jeremy grabs a bunch of chocolate donuts holes with chocolate icing, and Damon zeroes in on the M&M cookies. Then we grab three of everything else, one for each of us.
"Okay, I think that does it," Damon says, looking at our overflowing shopping cart.
"Not quite. We're still missing three things," I tell him.
"What?" Jeremy asks.
"Jeremy, go grab some clips and twist ties. They'll be somewhere in the grocery section on something like this," I say, fingering a mini-rack hanging from the shelf with the donuts. "Damon, we need two large bags of ice for the cooler with the drinks and what we're picking up next," I say, being discreet because a lady just pushed her shopping cart past us. "The big freezer with the bags of ice should be near one of the exits. I'll meet you two up at the checkout."
They nod and take off at a trot to find what I told them to get. I turn the heavy buggy around and make my way up to find a checkout with a short line. Because of how late it is, I manage that immediately: checkout lane four is completely empty and is open. I move around to the front of the buggy and drag it in with me. I begin unloading the stuff onto the conveyer belt. Thankfully, we had managed to get the lids off the two coolers and put a good portion of the groceries in them. I lift out each cooler and carefully set them on the conveyer belt.
"Where you off to?" the guy working the register asks.
"My brother, my boyfriend, and I are going on a really long road trip," I say with a smile. "We didn't really stock up for the trip before leaving Mystic Falls because we wanted to get out of town and away from my ex as fast as possible. So we decided that we'd stock up here after we had dinner at Golden Corral."
"Mystic Falls?" the guy asks in surprise, scanning item after item. "You're a long way from home."
"Gonna be even farther, soon," I reply.
Jeremy comes walking up with the twist ties and clips at the same time that Damon arrives with the ice. "I'll go get another shopping cart," Damon says, taking off for the grocery entrance at a jog after putting the bags of ice on the conveyer belt. He's back in less than a minute and starts carefully packing the scanned items in it while Jeremy browses the magazines at the other end of the counter.
"Anything good, Jer?" I ask my brother as I keep loading up the conveyer belt as free space is made.
"Nothing," Jer says after a moment. "I guess I could grab the Reader's Digest and we can laugh over the humor sections."
"Nothing's wrong with laughing," Damon replies.
"Okay then," Jer says, grabbing a copy of Reader's Digest and tossing it on the conveyer belt.
I notice Jeremy eyeing the candy and scowl at him. "Jeremy, we've got enough sweets. Maybe next stock up you can get something different," I tell him.
He groans. "You're no fun, Lena," he complains.
"Really, kid, we've got plenty here. We don't need to add more to this," Damon points out, moving his buggy out of the way now that it's full and starting to fill mine up with the heavy stuff, including the ice and the coolers.
About fifteen minutes later, we walk out of Wal-Mart with nearly $300 in two buggies. When we get to Damon's car, we take the time to dig out the blue cooler, fill it with one bag of ice, then we rip open the three boxes of soda and start burying them in the ice on one side. We get about four of each type in before I call a halt to it, telling them to put the rest of the sodas in the trunk. Then I stuff six bottles of water into the other side of the cooler. I have them pour the rest of the ice in while I put the rest of the water bottles in the trunk with the soda. I then start sorting through the bags of food, putting the food we will share in the red cooler while the candy, cookies, and pastries we chose for ourselves are sorted into two double-bags each.. "Okay, Jer, you're gonna need to climb in the back first so Damon can pass the coolers to you," I say. Damon quickly unlocks the Camaro and tilts the seat forward so that Jeremy can climb in the back, which my brother does. I pass the blue cooler to Damon. "Tell him to sit that one in the floor space behind my seat," I tell him as he takes it.
"You heard her," Damon tells Jeremy as he eases the blue cooler into Jeremy's hands.
"You know, this would be so much easier if the roof was down," Jeremy complains. The car shifts back and forth slightly as Jeremy gets the cooler settled.
"Deal with it," Damon retorts.
"Okay, read for the next one," Jeremy says finally.
I pass the red cooler to Damon. "This one goes either on top of the drink cooler or on the seat next to it. Up to you on that one, Jer," I say as Damon passes it to Jeremy.
"I'll put it on the seat. I can handle not being able to stretch out. I don't want to be stretched out and have it falling on me," Jeremy says wryly.
I sort through the bags remaining. "Okay, these are Jeremy's bags," I say, passing them to Damon. He passes them to Jeremy. "I'll keep ours in the floorboard around my feet," I tell Damon, picking up the remaining bags. I had stuffed all the extra bags into one. I toss that one into the trunk before shutting it. I pick up the four goodie bags – two mine, two Damon's – and make my way around to the front passenger seat. I climb in while Damon puts the buggy on the yellow line on front of the car and is in the driver's seat before I finish buckling my seatbelt.
"Now to the hospital," Damon says, turning the key in the ignition.
My IPod turns on when the engine starts. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day starts playing. I start singing along softly. Jeremy picks up on the second verse and Damon picks up on the third. By the time the song ends, we've pulled into a parking spot in the hospital. Damon waits for the very last note of the song to sound before turning off the car. "We need to listen to Green Day after this," Jeremy says.
"Good idea," Damon agrees, glancing at me.
I roll my eyes. "Fine, I'll go to my Green Day playlist when we get back," I tell them, opening my door and getting out with a smile. "You should be warned, the only playlist I have that has most of Green Day's songs in it also features a lot of Bon Jovi songs as well," I tell the boys when we meet at the front of the car. "I think there's also a All-American Rejects song on the list, 'Dirty Little Secret'."
Damon chuckles. "Good taste," he remarks, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "C'mon, kid. Time for Blood Bank Robbing 101," he continues, guiding me inside.
Jeremy sighs from right behind us. "Our parents are probably rolling over in their graves right now because we're about to rob a hospital of blood," he tells me.
"As if they haven't already rolled over a few times from us interacting with the supernatural world and you joining the ranks of the undead," I point out.
"She has a point," Damon says, unable to stay out of any conversation for long.
"Anyways, you're showing us how this is done, Damon," I say. "It's your show."
"Showing 'us' how it's done?" Jeremy asks, immediately picking up on the key word.
"We'll explain later, kid," Damon says, tugging me through the front doors of the hospital before Jeremy can press the subject. Jeremy lets out a sigh of indignation but keeps up. We go up to the front desk.
"Can I help you?" the bored intern asks, studying her nails.
"Actually, you can," Damon says, pulling out the Salvatore charm as he takes his arm from around my shoulders to lean against the desk.
The girl looks up and meets Damon's eyes. Jeremy and I watch from either side as Damon easily captures the girl's eyes and mind in one fell swoop. "How can I help you?" she asks in that monotonous voice that a human under compulsion uses.
"You can tell us where the hospital keeps its supply of blood bags," Damon compels.
"Go all the way down the hall behind you and take the last right. You'll want the last room on the left," she replies.
"What blood type do you seem to have too much of? We just want to take some with us and my girl doesn't like it when I take what's needed by the hospital," Damon says conversationally.
"We've been having far more A-positive and AB-negative donors than we've had patients who need those blood types," she tells us. "We keep asking them to stop donating for now, but they keep appearing 'in case there's an emergency'. We're so stockpiled on those types that we're sending some to the other hospitals in the area tonight."
Damon and Jeremy both grimace. They both prefer the O-types in blood. Damon doesn't like A-types because he says it's too spicy and Jeremy can't stand AB-types. He likens it to the taste of sour candy, which he also hates. "You're getting A-positive and I'll get AB-negative," Damon tells Jeremy. He turns back to the girl. "Now, will we need a key to get to the blood?" he asks.
"No. the board of this hospital decided that it's too dangerous to keep the blood locked up because when we did keep it locked, we were losing more patients in the time it took to get out the keys and unlock the door to the blood room and the refrigerators the blood is kept in. This new method of operation has been in place for two weeks and has been working quite well," the girl replies.
"Thank you," Damon starts, glancing at her name tag, "Rita. Now, you won't remember any of this nor will you 'notice' us leave. It will be like we were never here." Damon then shepherds us down the hall. "How lucky are we? Normally I have to hunt down someone with a key to blood room and the fridges the blood is kept in. Or at least make my way through a maze of doors that needs a staff member's id scanned to open."
"Don't go crowing just yet, Damon," I warn him. "You wouldn't want to jinx us, would you?"
"Of course not," Damon assures me as we take the last right turn. I feel Damon's Power uncurling from within him as he stretches his senses to check for potential witnesses. That's all the warning I get before he scoops me up and thanks to that warning, I managed to keep from yelping in surprise. "C'mon kid, we have to be fast. I have a feeling that delivery is going to be picked up soon." I bite my lip to keep from crying out as Damon and Jeremy vamp down to the blood room and through it's door. Damon sets me on my feet again before reaching into an inner pocket of his jacket and pulling out a small duffel bag. "Okay, Jeremy, find the fridge with A-positive and I'll look for AB-negative. Elena, hold the bag."
"Who's keeping watch?" I ask, taking the bag from him. I unfold and open it while the boys checks each of the eight fridges for the blood types we're stealing.
"If you keep quiet, Jeremy and I can keep an ear out for anyone coming this way," Damon growls. I nod my understanding and hold the bag as they each find their fridges and start scooping up armfuls of blood bags to dump in the duffel bag I'm holding. I find myself wondering how my life got so insane that I can't bring myself to care that I'm standing in a hospital's blood room holding the duffel bag while my brother and my boyfriend raid the stockpile so that they can continue to stay 'alive' and not desiccate. I shake my head with a wry grin on my lips, deciding that my life has been messed up since the day I discovered that vampires are real and that my boyfriend at the time and his devastatingly handsome older brother are both vampires and have been for a hundred-and-forty-five years. And it just kept getting more and more messed up as the days passed. Now I find myself wondering what mythical creature isn't real. Finally, Damon takes the full, heavy bag from my hand and zips it up. "Jeremy, grab your sister and let's get out of here," Damon says.
Jeremy scoops me up in his arms where I had expected him to try to argue with Damon. "Drop me at vamp speed and you'll wish I'd just stake you and end your miserable life," I warn him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"Relax, Elena, I'm not going to drop you," Jeremy says, rolling his eyes at me.
Damon peeks out into the hall and signals the all-clear. Then it's all a blur of light and color as the boys race through the halls and out into the night air. They only slow down when we reach the Camaro. Jeremy carefully sets me back on my feet at my door before circling the car. Damon unlocks the car. I climb in while Damon leans his seat forward so Jer can climb in the back. I shut my door and buckle up. By the time my buckle is fastened, Jeremy's in the back and Damon is also in. "Stuff as much of that blood into the ice in the blue cooler as you can, but make sure there's an equal amount of each," Damon says, starting the car.
"You keep some of it in the glove compartment, so why does it have to stay cold?" Jeremy asks.
"Glove compartment is short term storage," Damon replies, pulling out of the hospital parking lot. I pay attention as I look through my playlists, searching for the one I promised we could listen to. "Blood needs to stay cold once it's taken out of the human up until point of consumption. Other wise it gets all congealed and nasty. It still keeps us going, but the taste is absolutely revolting. Like trying to eat hot vomit."
"Gross," Jeremy says disgustedly. "Well, do you need any blood bags for the glove compartment?"
"Pass three or four of mine to Elena so she can stash them," Damon replies.
I sigh, set my IPod in my lap, and turn to get the blood bags from Jeremy. He passes me four and I turn back around so I can stash them in the glove compartment. Then I pick my IPod back up and continue looking through my long list of playlists. "Jeez, Lena, how many playlists do you have?" Jeremy asks.
"A lot," I reply.
"Apparently," Damon mutters.
"Found it!" I crow. I hit play, shuffle, and repeat before setting my IPod on the dash. Right off the bat "Dirty Little Secret" by The All-American Rejects starts playing. I immediately start singing along. Damon and Jeremy pick up after a few lines. Damon and I even get so into it that we lean towards each other every time we sing 'I'll be your dirty little secret'. Right after that song comes "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi, one of my personal favorites. And apparently it's one of theirs, too, because they both bite off exclamations of joy before joining me in singing along. I keep singing with them as the miles and hours go by. At least until my singing is more yawns than words. It just shows how well my IPod knows me that the song playing is "Wake My Up When September Ends" by Green Day.
"Get some sleep, Elena," Damon suggests as I valiantly try to keep my eyes open. "We'll take care of you. If you're still asleep when we get to the hotel, we'll get you and the stuff in."
"M'kay," I mumble sleepily, making myself comfortable. Which is to say that I unfasten my seatbelt so I can curl up on the seat with my head in Damon's lap.
Damon sighs. "You just love making things more difficult for me," he tells me, taking a hand from the wheel to stroke his fingers through my hair. I mumble something that doesn't make sense to even my own ears before drifting off to sleep, feeling safe, relaxed, and loved.
Sarah: well, that was way harder to get out than it should have been. I hope everyone who's reading this enjoyed what I wrote. Also, do review and tell me if you want to see Damon's version of this fanfic. I'm working on it now, but I'm still undecided about posting it. If you ask really nice, I might even do a sister-fic from Jeremy's view. Anyways, off to the third chapter.