**Chapter fourteen**
The funeral
*Hailey*
"Wake up, Hailey! Wake up!"
I groaned, and rolled away from the bastard that was keeping me away from much needed sleep.
"I wouldn't do that, Ava, or Hailey's going to kick your ass when she wakes up." said a different voice that I recognized as Elena's.
"Well, the bitch has to wake the fuck up, and unless you have a better plan, I'm gonna stick with this one." Ava said, poking my cheek, hard.
"I do, actually." Elena said in a slightly amused tone.
I heard footsteps coming towards me, then Elena whisper in my ear, "Hailey, you have five seconds to wake up, or Caroline gets to pick out what you wear for the day."
My eyes flashed open, and I jolted up. "I'm awake! I'm awake! Just keep the blonde and her sparkles away from me." I shouted.
Elena laughed, and Ava mumbled, "Whatever, I got her into the state of consciousness."
She stood up, and nudged my thigh with her foot. "'bout damn time, sleepy head. The funeral starts in less than 2 hours." she said, her blonde hair falling into her eyes.
I brushed my crazy bed hair out of my face, as my stomach twisted into knots at that word. "Funeral? What funeral?" I said quickly, thinking about my death vision/dream of Ava.
"Carly Fell's." Elena answered, rolling up her sleeping bag.
"Do I have to go?" I whined, pulling my blanket back over my head.
"Hell yes you do! If I have to go to the funeral of the whore that stole my boyfriend from me in the 11th grade, then so do you." Ava answered, pulling my blanket off me.
I groaned but stood up. "I hate you." I told her.
She smirked at me. "You love me." she retorted.
I rolled my eyes, but grinned at her. Then I took a brush and a hair binder out of my bag, and pulled my crazy mess of hair into a ponytail.
"Lena bear, can you be a dear and roll my sleeping bag up for me?" I asked her, smiling hugely at her and batting my eyelashes.
"Why can't you do it?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Because you're so awesome at it." I replied sweetly.
She rolled her eyes at me. "Lazy ass." she complained, but started rolling it up anyway.
I slid a sweatshirt over my head, and then zipped up my backpack, while Elena finished up with my sleeping bag. "See you at the funeral, Aves." I said, hugging Ava.
"Yeah, we should hang out soon." she said, hugging me back.
"We will." I confirmed, before a thought popped into my head.
"Hey, aren't you going to go out with David Lopez?" I asked her, pulling away.
Her eyebrows furrowed together. "How'd you know that?" she asked, confused.
"You know school gossip- especially in small towns; spreads like wild fire." I lied quickly, determined to cancel Ava and David's date, even if I had to go out with him instead.
"So, are you?" I asked, impatient.
Ava nodded; looking sheepish. "Yeah, we are on Tuesday. I didn't tell you because I know you don't like him."
"Of course I don't like him! He's a major man whore! you can't go out with him." I insisted, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Oh and why not?" she asked stubbornly, biting her lip.
"Because he'll try to cop a feel, and sleep with you. I know, because he's the biggest man whore at school, even bigger than Tyler- and that's saying something. Trust me Ava; you can't go out with him." I pleaded, giving her my best puppy dog eyes.
"How about you, me, and Elena hang out on Tuesday instead?" I added.
She stared at me for a long time, before finally giving in. "Fine, I won't go out with him, but you owe me big, Ellis. He's so freaking hot!" she exclaimed.
I smiled tiredly at her. "Thanks Ava, see you later, bitch." I smirked as she walked out of the room.
"Whatever, hoe." She called over her shoulder, and I laughed. it was so good having Ava back- like having my older sister back.
And I didn't plan on losing my big sister so soon.
~LMF~
"So, why is it so important that Ava doesn't go out with David Lopez?" Elena asked after parking in front of my house.
"Because she would seriously regret it later." I answered, grabbing my bags.
"Yeah, I guess she probably would." Elena said, but there was still a crease between her eyebrows.
I waved bye to her, as I walked into my house. It was silent, as I walked into the kitchen to get a muffin. As I opened the fridge for some milk with my chocolate chip yumminess, I saw yet another note held to the fridge by a magnet.
I sighed and plucked the square, white piece of paper off, and read it.
Hailey-
I went to help Hannah Fell set up for the funeral reception. Please, for the love of god, dress appropriate for the funeral. (This means no skinny jeans!)
- Holly
I love how she always signs off with 'Holly' and no 'love mom.' just shows how close we are. I threw the note and the wrapper of my devoured muffin away, before walking to my room. I opened the door, and Ellie greeted me. I scratched her behind the ears as I walked to my closet, to find an "appropriate" outfit for the funeral.
I settled on a simple black dress, converse, and leather jacket. My mom wouldn't be too thrilled, but at least I wasn't wearing skinny jeans.
After I showered, I wrapped my hair up in a towel and applied my makeup. I quickly straightened my hair and slid on some god forsaken heels. I was running very late, and wasn't in the mood to hear my mother bitch to me about being on time.
I ran to my car, managing to only roll my ankle three times. The only good thing about Carly's funeral, was that I forgot all about my death vision about Ava. I was still in denial about predicting Carly's death, but I wasn't even going to take chances on losing Ava.
~LMF~
I pulled into a parking space in the church parking lot that was, of course, farthest away from the church. I was already 10 minutes late, and was practically sprinting in high heels to get to the chapel. When I entered it, I was careful not to make any noise, because the minister was already going on about how wonderful Carly was, and how she went too young.
I tried not to roll my eyes, as I slid into a bench in the back, which was occupied by one other person. "Late to a funeral? That's very disrespectful to the dead, Miss Ellis." Damon said sarcastically, smirking at me as I sat down next to him.
"The dead should be glad that I showed up at all, let alone sober." I retorted, frowning slightly as I remembered our last encounter.
As if reading my mind, Damon whispered, "I'm sorry that I ran away last night- I don't really like blood."
I shrugged, that was a reasonable explanation. "Don't sweat it, I'm the same way with clowns." I shuddered slightly. I was absolutely terrified of clowns.
We didn't talk much during the rest of the service, since the lady in front of us with red rimmed eyes kept giving us dirty looks. Even though I said I was over the whole blood incident, I kept thinking about the list of weird things about Damon. And now, with my newest vision about Ava, I couldn't just ignore the facts anymore. There was something supernatural about Mystic Falls- and there was a very real possibility that the Salvatore brothers were a part of it.
I leaned against a wall, texting Ava as everyone waited to go to the cemetery for the burial. Ava wanted to hang out after, and I quickly agreed to.
Suddenly, an arm snaked around my waist, and dragged me into an empty room. I barely had time to gasp, before there were lips on mine.
I sighed slightly, all thoughts about Damon being something other than human escaping from my mind, as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Damon," I mumbled, as he pulled away to kiss my neck. "I-I need to find my friend." Even as I said it, I knew that there was no way I would be leaving.
"I think she can wait ten minutes." He mumbled, bringing his lips back to mine. I moaned lightly, entwining my fingers into his hair.
"Or twenty- whatever." I agreed, closing my eyes.
Damon lifted me up, and pushed me against the wall lightly. His lips pulled away from mine, and went back to my neck, as his fingers grazed my thighs, before slowly travelling up. I was really glad that I shaved today.
Suddenly, I felt a sharp prick on my neck, and my eyes popped open. "Ow!" I said, my eyebrows furrowing. Damon had pulled away from me, and I just managed to catch a glimpse of his demon face, before it went back to normal. But I knew that I hadn't imagined it this time.
I touched where his teeth pricked me. he hadn't drawn blood, but there was a slight indent where they had dug in.
"I-I think I better find my friends." I said quietly, and then ran out of the room before he could stop.
Damon Salvatore wasn't normal that was for sure.
~TVD~
I drove straight home, despite knowing that my mom would be angry that I didn't go to the burial or reception. I needed to think, I needed to be alone.
I trudged up to my room, my mind whirling. There was too much to think, too much to take in. I really didn't have enough proof to firmly convict Damon of being something other than human- just a gut feeling, a strange reaction to blood, some animal attacks, my best friend's opinion, and some faces that could very much be my imagination. I needed more.
I ignored Ellie, as I flopped down onto my bed. I accidently knocked into my nightstand, and a book fell off of it. I groaned, and sat up, only to find that it was Victoria's diary.
Despite the current situation, I sat down on the floor, and flipped through it. I was glad for the distraction from my thoughts, as I stopped to read one of the last entries in the diary.
March 4th, 1864
I did it. I killed them. I killed mother and Andrew. But it is for the best, I saved them from passing on the Ellis curse. I saved the world.
But I would still be in trouble if others found out. They would not understand what I had done to save them. Only Katherine knows, and she understands. I trust her, she is my best friend. I know her secrets, and she knows mine. All of mine.
I stopped reading, confusion and horror floating through my mind. Why did Victoria kill her mom and this Andrew? who's Katherine, who she can apparently trust?
I flipped through the diary, looking for more information. a couple of photos fell out of it, and I picked them up and looked at them.
It was as if the world stopped. My eyes widened, and my breath caught in my throat. It wasn't possible, but here was all the proof I needed.
The picture in my hand was of Damon. I was sure of that, even if it was in black and white. But he was in very old fashioned clothes. Underneath the image, were the words Damon Salvatore, 1864.
1864- 148 years ago.
It all made sense though, now that I thought about it. All the facts fit together, even if everything I've ever known was put into question.
Damon Salvatore was a vampire.
~TVD~
A/N: I hope two updates in two days makes up for the lack of them so far. Oh, and this cliff hanger. Thanks to: aireagle92, Angelfang, Jeune Coeur, jacquline, and AudreyDarke96!
Like always, review!
~Abby