I`m not really happy with chapter. Damon doesn`t even make an appearance and nothing all that important happens. At first I thought about deleting it. But I decided to follow the storyline (at least for now and with some changes), so these things need to happen. They might even be important later. So I decided to leave it that way. Hope you like it anyways and I promise the next chapter will be better. And it will have lots of Damon Scenes.
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Two days later Alaric was back at school. He was sitting at his desk, reading the journal Jeremy had given him. At least, he was trying to read. Somehow he just couldn`t concentrate today. His mind kept flashing back to his encounter with Damon in the hallway. His reaction to the vampire`s close presence still puzzled him. At first he chalked it up to the mind control the vampire had tried to use, but deep down he knew that it was more than that.
Damon had stirred up thoughts he hadn`t had since his early college days. Back then the teacher had admired the male form just as much as the female, if not more. But things had changed when he met Isobel. He had convinced himself that he was completely straight and up until now he hadn`t questioned that. Now however… Well, the vampire was gorgeous, Alaric grudgingly admitted. But of course that didn´t change the fact that he had killed his wife. And it certainly wouldn`t stop Ric from getting revenge.
Giving up with a frustrated sigh the teacher went to make copies from the journal, which he quickly put into his locker. Jeremy would want this back soon, he supposed and it couldn`t hurt to have access to the information whenever he needed. He had just put the journal back onto his desk and sat down to start grading papers, when he heard a noise outside. Looking up he thought he saw someone move past his open door. "Hello?" he called out. No answer. Strange. The school should be deserted at this time of day.
Frowning he got up and went to investigate, but saw no-one out in the hallway. Still he felt a shiver race down his back. Two days ago the hallways had appeared empty as well and seconds later he had come face to face with a vampire. "Someone there?" he tried again, but still got no answer. Deciding not to take any chances he went into the teacher´s lounge again to get his bag. Quickly he took a blow dart gun out of the duffel bag and inserted a wooden stake into it. He had modified the gun himself. Just one of the many weapons he had brought with him to Mystic Falls. Some he had even designed himself.
He cocked the gun and crept back towards his classroom. Peering around the corner for a second he saw someone inside. No-one could have entered the room while he wasn`t there. At least no-one that was moving at human speed. Which meant the person in there couldn`t be human.
Entering quickly the teacher shot a stake at the intruder, who caught the stake effortlessly. Alaric reloaded the gun and pointed it at the vampire again, only now recognizing Stefan. So he was right about Damon´s brother being a vampire as well. "You shouldn't have done that." Stefan said quietly, suddenly rushing at the teacher. Before Ric had a chance to react the gun was knocked from his hands and Stefan pushed him into the desk. "Have a seat." the vampire ordered
Alaric hesitated, but in the end sat down, watching the vampire warily, who was now inspecting the gun. "What is this, compressed air? Did you make it yourself? Who are you?" the teacher didn`t answer. He tried to come up with a plan, but failed. Should have known hunting vampires wouldn`t always be that easy. Killing Logan Fell had made him feel too cocky about himself. He flinched when Stefan stepped closer. "I'm not going to hurt you...unless you try that again." the younger Salvatore assured and handed back the gun. Alaric took it, still watching the vampire suspiciously, trying to find out what kind of game he was playing.
Stefan sat down and asked again who he was. "I'm a teacher." Ric answered honestly. Stefan sighed in annoyance. "Are we gonna have to do this the hard way?" His voice sounded pretty even, but Ric recognized a threat when he heard one. Giving in, as there really was nothing else he could do, the teacher relented. "My wife was a parapsychologist. She spent her life researching paranormal activity in this area. It was her work that led me here."
Stefan asked where his wife was and Ric`s face darkened. "Dead. A vampire killed her." he spat, surprised when Stefan flinched. The younger Salvatore recovered quickly however and asked about the Gilbert journal. It was only then that Ric realized the journal was no longer where he`d put it. "It was on my desk. Someone must`ve taken it."
Stefan looked troubled at that, but continued his interrogation nonetheless. "How long have you been aware of me?" Alaric snorted at the question. I haven`t really been aware of you until I tried to shoot you, he thought grimly. What he said however was: "I learned just recently. What about your brother?" Stefan didn`t even blink. "You met Damon." It was a statement, not a question. He must have known that Damon had tried to compel the teacher. "Who do you think killed my wife?"
This however surprised Stefan. "Are you certain it was Damon?" he asked. Alaric nodded grimly. "I witnessed it." And a part of him wished he hadn`t. Knowing nothing at all would be better than knowing just a bit. Just enough to keep him searching. "If you're here for revenge, this is going to end very badly for you." Stefan warned. Ric suspected that this might very well be the case, but he couldn`t stop now. He just had to know the truth. "I just want to find out what happened to my wife. I saw him draining the life out of her. He must have heard me coming. He just...disappeared. So did her body. They never found her."
Stefan stared at him for a second. "Damon can never know why you're here. He'll kill you without blinking." Yes, Alaric didn`t doubt that. But he could take care of himself and that`s what he told Stefan as well. Only the younger Salvatore didn`t seem to believe him. "No, you can't." he scoffed. His next words surprised the teacher. "I can help you. If you let me." Ric looked at him suspiciously. "Why would you help me?" That didn`t make sense. It had to be some sort of trick. Vampires were rumoured to be sneaky creatures.
"I`m not like my brother. I don`t want people to get hurt. I just… I just want to live a normal life. As much as possible for someone like me." Stefan replied. He seemed honest, but Ric wasn`t convinced. "Please, let me help you." the vampire said. Reluctantly Ric nodded. He could use some help. Maybe Stefan was honest, maybe he wasn`t. He would probably find out soon enough. For now he decided to believe him. But he would stay alert. "I still don`t trust you." he let the vampire know. Stefan actually smiled at that. "I didn`t expect you to. I don`t trust you either." Fair enough, Ric supposed. "That means you`ll find out what happened to my wife?" he asked.
"I`ll ask Damon about her. I can`t promise you anything, but I`ll try, okay? And you stay away from Damon." It was an order, not a request. Ric decided to follow that order for now. But if Stefan didn`t come up with news soon, he would go after Damon himself. Only the younger Salvatore didn`t need to know that. "I`ll stay away from him." he promised. "Anything else?"
"We need that journal." Stefan murmured. Ric thought of the copies, safely locked away. "Why do you need it?" he asked. Stefan fidgeted a little. Finally he heaved a sigh and started explaining. He told Alaric about the vampires, locked away in the tomb underneath the old church, about Damon`s plan to free them and the fact that they needed the journal to find out how to break the spell that sealed the entrance shut. "If Damon succeeds it will end in a massacre. Those vampires will be out for revenge. I need the journal to stop him and protect this town. So if you know where it is, please give it to me."
After a moment`s hesitation Alaric got up. "I don`t know where it is, but I made copies. Come on." He went to his locker and retrieved the copies, handed them over to Stefan reluctantly. "Thank you. You`ll get them back." the vampire promised. Strangely enough, Ric believed him.
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The next few days were rather uneventful for the teacher. He didn`t see Stefan or Damon and tried to concentrate on teaching instead of vampires. Stefan had given him his cell phone number, just in case and he had to resist the urge to call and ask if there was anything new about Isobel yet. Thankfully work kept him pretty busy, although most students in Mystic Falls didn`t have a rather spectacular attendance record. It seemed like there was always at least one student missing from class and more often than not Ric didn`t even know why. This week Bonnie had been excused from school, because of the recent death of her grandmother. Elena had failed to attend twice without an explanation and he hadn`t seen Stefan at all. Which was nothing new, really.
Therefore the teacher was quite surprised when the vampire actually showed up to class at the end of the week. He lingered after the other students had filed out of the class room and Ric turned his questioning gaze on him. "Here, I promised you`d get them back." Stefan murmured, handing over the copies of the journal. "Thanks. So… did you find out what exactly happened to Isobel, yet?" Stefan shook his head. "I didn`t have time to ask my brother. Things have been … difficult."
Alaric frowned, wondering what the hell that was supposed to mean. "You promised to find out." he reminded the vampire, wondering if it had been a good idea to leave it up to him. He should have gone after Damon himself. The younger Salvatore sighed. "I know and I will. I just need more time. There has been a lot going on lately and my brother is… not exactly stable right now." His voice sounded strained, tired and Ric suddenly remembered the rest of their talk.
"I take it his plan to free those vampires didn`t work out then?" he asked, getting worried when Stefan looked away, his shoulders hunched. "No, it didn`t. Or rather it did, but not like he`d planned. It was … a disaster." he mumbled. His words didn`t make sense. "And that means…?" the teacher prodded. "It means you should probably keep those stakes handy." Stefan muttered darkly, turning on his heel and storming off without further explanation.
Alaric looked after him in shock. Just great. From what he`d gathered that meant 27 murderous vampires were now running rampant around town. But maybe he had misunderstood Stefan. At least he hoped he had. With a sigh Ric put the copies into his bag and quickly left the room, deciding to be extra careful from now on.
The teacher stifled a groan when he ran into Carol Lockwood on his way out. That woman had lately become the bane of his existence. Not only had she talked him into chaperoning the next school dance, she had also somehow gotten him to agree to participate in the bachelor raffle tomorrow. Really, where did these people get those ideas? And why had he agreed to do this? He supposed he had said yes in the end just to shut her up. And now here she was again, enlisting his help in decorating for the Founder`s Fundraiser. Ric had every intention of saying no, telling her just how much work he still had to do.
Strangely enough by early afternoon the next day he found himself helping Jenna putting up banners for the Fundraiser. At least he had someone to complain to, even if Jenna only laughed and told him that you simply didn`t say no to the Mayor`s wife. "Come on, this is weird, me being raffled off like a Disney Cruise." he grumbled. "In this town, fundraising is like indentured servitude. You don't have a choice. Besides, you're a bachelor and you're eligible, so there you go." Jenna reasoned. Ric sighed and put the last banner up. What the hell had he gotten himself into?
Startled he noticed that Jenna was watching him with a weird look. "Oh, god. I can't believe I'm gonna do this." she suddenly mumbled. Ric looked at her questioningly. "Do what?" he asked, hoping she wasn`t going to ask him out on a date now. Somehow they were still dancing around each other and he still wasn`t sure if he wanted to date her or not. Luckily Jenna didn`t ask him out, but she shocked him nonetheless. "I … I have to tell you. Elena recently found out she was adopted and she's been looking for her birth mother...whose name was Isobel. "
"Isobel? Like my wife?" he questioned. "Isobel never had a baby." Jenna bit her lip and asked if he was sure. Ric frowned. He would have known if his wife had a daughter. "Nope. No way." he clarified. What a weird idea. Just because Elena`s mother`s name was Isobel… Jenna took out her phone and handed it to him. "This is Elena's birth mother." The teacher stared at the screen in shock. She looked younger, but it was definitely his wife. "Ah, she …she never told me. I, … I'm gonna go. Yeah, I'm just gonna … go." he stammered, giving the phone back and walking away quickly.
His mind was reeling. Isobel had a daughter. Elena. And she had never felt the need to tell him. He just couldn`t believe it. It made him wonder what else she had kept from him. Arriving at his apartment he slumped down on the couch. After a while he got up again and started rummaging in a drawer, until he finally found what he was looking for. He carried the little box over to the couch and took out a picture of Isobel. One of the very few ones he`d kept. After the funeral he had given most of them to Isobel`s parents. He didn`t really know why.
Looking at the picture now made him remember. Especially the last few month before her death. They had drifted apart. Isobel had always been obsessed with her work and at first he had accepted that, had even found it kinda cute. But it had gotten worse. She had spent nights working at her computer, slept through the day. In the end he had barely seen her at all. Sometimes she had just disappeared for days and he hadn`t known where she was. Or who she was with.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts he sent a quick text to Stefan and asked the vampire to meet him. He wanted answers. And he wanted them now.