Stefan met him at the town square. "Jenna told you." he suspected. Alaric simply nodded. "So it's true. Your wife Isobel was Elena's birth mother?" Another nod. "What does Elena know?" Alaric finally asked. Stefan sighed. "About your wife?" he asked the question like he already knew the answer. "About everything. About you, your brother." Ric clarified. The vampire hesitated a little, but then he told him that she knew about the vampires and the fact that Ric knew about them too."
"Does she know about Damon and Isobel?" the teacher continued his interrogation. "No. I couldn't tell her. Not until I was sure." Ric understood. It would be enough of a shock for poor Elena. She was a sweet girl and he wished he could spare her the details. But she had a right to know the whole truth. Just like him. "You said you'd help me." he reminded Stefan once again. "I asked Damon without saying too much. He doesn't remember." the vampire claimed. Which wasn`t good enough for Ric, so he demanded that Stefan asked his brother again.
"Damon is not stable right now." he sounded pained, but the teacher didn`t really care. "You said that before. But you know what, I don`t care. He murdered my wife, or at the very least made a meal out of her. When has he been stable?" he asked, getting angry. The vampire was only stalling. Maybe he already knew more than he let on. With a heavy sigh Stefan asked him not to push it, promising he would handle it. That it would be too dangerous for Ric.
"Is that what you'll tell Elena? Let it go, because it`s dangerous?" Obviously he had hit a nerve, cause the next thing he knew the vampire was in his face, hissing at him to leave Elena out of this. Ric took a step back. Stefan`s presence wasn`t nearly as overwhelming as Damon`s, but nonetheless threatening. "I need to know what happened. I think you would, too."
The vampire took a deep breath and calmed. "I need something more than just your wife's name. A picture, something I could show Damon." he said after a while. Ric pulled the picture of Isobel out of his jacket and handed it over. Stefan looked at it, nodded and left. Alaric felt that he really needed a drink after this drama and decided he could just grade papers at the Grill.
A few minutes later he was sitting at the bar, drinking a glass of bourbon. He didn`t look up when he heard someone enter, but he flinched when that someone ordered a bourbon and sat down next to him. "Behold the teacher. Grading papers at a bar?" Damon mocked. Ric looked at him and instantly wished he hadn`t. Up this close those blue eyes were way too hypnotic. "It's, uh.. more fun with a buzz." he stammered. The vampire actually smiled a little wistful at that. "Well, most things in life are. Sober' s depressing." he mumbled, sipping at his drink.
Alaric watched him, curious. "You don't strike me as somebody who gets depressed." he observed, instantly regretting it when the vampire´s gaze got even more intense. "You say that like you know me." There was a strange undertone to his voice. Ric`s heart rate sped up, but he managed to shrug. "Just a hunch." Damon kept staring at him and the teacher couldn`t look away. The sounds of the bar, of the people around them, faded into the background as they stared at each other for what seemed like hours.
Finally Alaric managed to tear his gaze away. He prayed he wasn`t blushing as he quickly finished his drink and got up. Muttering a greeting in the vampire`s general direction, without looking at him he made his way towards the exit. It took all of his willpower to walk out of the bar at a normal pace, instead of running away as fast as his legs would carry him. He could feel the vampire`s gaze on himself the whole time.
The teacher went home, where he took some time to compose himself. But all too soon he had to get ready for the Fundraiser. Once again cursing himself for agreeing to partake in the stupid raffle and cursing Carol Lockwood for asking him in the first place, he finally dressed up and headed to the Mystic Grill. The party was already in full swing when he arrived and he worried a little about the many women mingling in the room, laughing, talking and sneaking not-so-discreet glances at the men. Alaric sighed and decided he needed another drink if he wanted to make it through the evening.
A short while later Jenna found him and he apologized for running off earlier. "No, I'm sorry for dropping it on you, but I felt like you should know." she murmured. He just nodded. Part of him felt glad that she`d told him the truth, but another part already regretted ever coming to Mystic Falls. He`d come here to find answers and all he got so far was more questions.
"At some point, maybe you and Elena could talk. I'm sure she'd like to hear about Isobel, what she was like." Jenna suggested. Ric cleared his throat, feeling more than a little uncomfortable about the topic. He wasn´t sure if Elena would like what he could tell her. He had loved Isobel, of course he had, but their relationship had been a difficult one. Especially towards the end.
Isobel had changed, back then. Had become distant and strange. Or rather, even more strange. She`d always been obsessed with her work, but during those last few month she had become almost manic. He wondered if he had ever really known her. "I don't know if that's a … a great idea. At least not … not for a while." he finally murmured. Jenna nodded understandingly. "Of course. No pressure. It`s up to you." she assured.
The teacher was almost thankful when their talk was interrupted by a girl, who told him he had to go on stage soon. He moved to the back, nodding to the other four guys already gathered there. His gaze lingered on Damon for a second. Then the vampire grinned at him and he quickly averted his eyes.
Finally Carol Lockwood called them onto the stage. She introduced each bachelor and asked a few questions. Alaric barely paid attention. He hated being put in the spotlight like that. The many stares that were directed at him made him feel uncomfortable. Unbidden the image of a slave auction came to his mind and he had to suppress a snort at the thought of him and the other guys being sold off to the highest bidder. And to make things even worse, Damon was standing right next to him, fuelling Ric`s nervousness with his mere presence.
He was startled out of his musings when Carol suddenly stopped in front of him. "Alaric Saltzman. Wow. That's quite a mouthful. What do you do, Alaric?" she asked cheerily. Ric barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He told her he was working as a history teacher, while he absently wondered if she was either drunk or on drugs. This cheerfulness simply couldn`t be real. Especially for someone who was married to Richard Lockwood. The Mayor was a real dick. You probably had to be constantly drunk to handle him.
"History. Oh well, give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls, something crazy." Carol asked, looking at him in anticipation. Without really intending to, Alaric looked over at Damon. The vampire smirked at him, his blue eyes twinkled with mischief and Ric felt at a loss for words. He opened his mouth, but nothing intelligent came out. Carol shrugged. "He's probably saving the best stories for his date." she mused. With a false grin she moved on to Damon and started questioning him. The teacher suddenly found himself paying attention, when Damon remarked that he liked to travel.
"L.A., New York. Couple of years ago I was in North Carolina. Near the Duke campus, actually. I think … I think Alaric went to school there. Didn't you, Ric? And your wife did too, right?" the vampire looked at him with a questioning, completely innocent look and Ric felt his temper rise. He balled his hands to fists and fought the urge to wipe that damn smile off Damon´s face. So the bastard knew exactly who Alaric was. Had probably known all along.
Carol continued talking, completely oblivious to what was really going on between the two men. Ric didn`t pay attention. He was staring straight ahead now, not wanting to see the triumph on Damon´s face. The vampire would pay, he vowed silently to himself. He registered absent mindedly that Jenna would be his date and couldn`t help but feel glad about it. At least he already knew her, so hopefully it wouldn`t be too awkward.
The teacher breathed a sigh of relief when he was finally allowed to leave the stage. He went to find Jenna, who held up her ticket with a smile. "So, I guess this means you owe me a date." He forced himself to smile back. "Looks like it." Jenna looked at him closely and her smile faltered. "You don`t have to go through with it, you know? I understand." she mumbled and Ric blinked at her, not really sure what she was hinting at. Before he could say something she tugged at his arm and motioned for him to follow her.
She led him to a quiet corner, away from prying eyes. "I like you Ric and I won`t deny that I find you attractive. But I know when I don´t stand a chance." Jenna let him know, puzzling him even more. "Jenna, I don`t…" he started, but she didn`t let him finish that sentence. "It´s okay. Didn`t take a genius to figure out your interest lies elsewhere." she said with a wry smile, gesturing to her left. Alaric followed her line of sight and spotted Damon. It took a second until it clicked, but then he shook his head vigorously. "No. No, that`s not what you think." he assured.
"It`s okay, really. I don`t mind. I can understand you. He`s ridiculously hot. And I won´t tell anyone. Don´t worry. Your secret is safe with me." Her grin was back and once more Alaric felt at a loss for words. She couldn`t really think he was interested in Damon. Well he was, but not like she thought. His eyes flickered back to the vampire, who was engrossed in a discussion with Elena. The girl seemed angry and Ric wondered if Stefan had told her the truth about Isobel`s death.
"I`m not sure if he swings that way, but from what I`ve seen of him so far I wouldn`t be surprised. And with the way he looks at you… You should take the chance. But I have to warn you – he`s a flirt. So if you`re after something serious he`s probably not your best choice." Jenna advised. Alaric looked at her, surprised that she didn`t seem all that upset. She was even smiling again. "You can talk to me, you know? I`d like for us to stay friends." she told him.
For a second he could only stare at her, amazed at her words. He realized that while she was beautiful and sweet and he really enjoyed spending time with her, he simply didn`t feel drawn to her. Not in that way. Finally Alaric`s lips curved into a smile and he nodded. "I`d like that, too." he said sincerely. "And I am taking you out on that date. Dinner and a movie?" Jenna actually laughed at that. "Sounds like a plan." she agreed. Ric couldn`t help but feel glad that things were finally cleared between them, even if Jenna thought he was interested in Damon. He would have enough time to prove that her assumption was wrong. And with a little luck Damon wouldn´t be problem to anybody much longer.