Alaric walked through the door of the Boarding House when Stefan greeted him, "Thanks for coming, Ric." He said.
"Can I get you something to drink? Bourbon? Coffee? Bourbon in your coffee?" Damon joked, and I rolled my eyes.
"Elena and Erin mentioned that you needed my help." Alaric sat down as Stefan replied, "Yeah, we were hoping you could shed some light on the Lockwood family.
I sat on the couch next to Elena, who was being super clingy with Stefan. I mean, I did like Stefan, he was my best friend, but that was it, right?
"And why would I know anything about the Lockwoods?" Ric asked us. "Well you wouldn't, but your dead-not dead vampire wife might." Damon answered him.
"Isobel's research, from when you were at Duke together." Elena said, and Stefan added, "You said that she had spent years researching this town."
Alaric sighed and explained, "Isobel's research here, in Mystic Falls, was mainly rooted in folklore and legend. At the time, I thought most of which was just fiction."
"Like that amazing vampire story." Damon mocked him and raised his eyebrows. "Aside from vampires, what else?" Elena questioned our aunt's flame.
"Lycanthrope." Alaric answered, and we all looked at each other, confused until I spoke up, "Werewolves."
"No way, impossible. Way too Lon Chaney." Damon argued. "Is it?" Stefan countered, and Damon answered. "I've been on this planet 160 some odd years, never came across one. If werewolves exist, where the hell are they?"
"Why do you suspect the Lockwoods?" Alaric asked us. "Because vervain didn't affect the mayor on Founder's Day, but the Gilbert device did. And it affected his son, Tyler."
"And at the school carnival, his uncle, Mason exhibited inhuman behavior when he fought one of the carnival workers. We think it suggests a supernatural entity." Damon then looked at me and stated, "Also, Mason has a crush on Erin, so we gotta assume that whoever likes Erin is supernatural."
I glared at Damon and he just winked at me. "We were hoping that Isobel's research would help us find out what it is." Elena explained to Alaric. "Well her things are at Duke, her office is still there. She is technically still missing." Ric told us.
"Well, can we get access to it?" Damon asked Ric. Alaric sort of shook his head a little, but Damon pressed on the matter. "Ric, we don't know what we're dealing with. If this wolf man thing is true, I've seen enough movies to know it's not good. It means that Mason Lockwood is a real life Lon Chaney, and that little Tyler punk may be Lon Chaney Jr., which means that Bella Lugosey, meaning me, is totally screwed."
"Are you sure you two wanna do this?" Stefan asked Elena and me as we packed to go to Duke. "Which part, digging through our birth mother's lifework," I started as Elena finished with, "Or going to Duke with Damon."
I knew that Elena hated Damon, but she put a lot of bitterness and resentment into that sentence that it startled me, and by the look on Stefan's face, it surprised him as well.
"Either, both." Stefan answered us, but he looked at Elena curiously as she stuffed her bag. "Well, I'm sure about the first part. But Ric is a good buffer, so we can all bond in our anti- Damon solidary." I stated.
Stefan smiled at me, and I could see Elena's frustration build up. "I wish you were coming, though." Elena complained, and my eyes went wide, that was very desperate. Stefan stood up from the edge of the bed and looked at us.
"You, know what, why don't we give it a couple days huh? We can wait till Caroline's less of a danger so I can go with you two." Stefan offered, and Elena looked at him with sad eyes, "It's okay that I'm going, right? And be honest because if it's not then I can stay home and we can help Caroline together. She needs all the help she can get if she doesn't want to kill people." Elena asked her boyfriend.
"No, listen I want you to go. You both have questions about your lineage and about Katherine. Look, I'm not going to let the fact that Damon's going get in the way of you guys getting some answers." Stefan shook his head as he talked.
"You hate it though, right?" I asked him playfully with a smile on my face. He smirked at me and repeated, "I hate it." We all chuckled and I grabbed my bag and went downstairs with them following me as we heard the sound of a horn and Jenna calling our names.
We walked past Jenna and she smiled at me. Elena stopped to talk with her about something, but Stefan and I kept strolling to the car. "Hey, um do you know what is wrong with her?" Stefan asked me. I shrugged and said, "Damon killed our brother, and my bet is that she is putting all of her frustrations and anger onto one target: Damon."
Stefan nodded and Elena ran up to him. I walked up to the car and threw my bag into the back. "Sorry you can't come too, Stef." Damon fake pouted as Stefan rolled his eyes. I turned to Stefan as he told me, "Call me if you need anything." I nodded as Damon interjected, "I'll take real good care of her."
Stefan hugged me and went to peck Elena on the cheek, but she would not have that. Elena grabbed Stefan's face and practically started making out with him in front of everyone. Damon and I just looked at each other awkwardly as Stefan struggled to keep up with Elena.
A laugh escaped my mouth as Elena pretty much tried to stick her tongue down Stefan's throat. Damon then stated, "Okay, that's enough. Time to go." Stefan opened the door for Elena and I. Smiling at my best friend; I hopped inside the car as he shut the door after me. "Bye." He waved at me as the car started and went into motion.
About half an hour into our journey, my phone rang. I picked it up and said, "Hello?" "Hey Erin! I'm having a party today at the swimming hole on the Old Lockwood property. Remember when we were little and you and I used to run around over there?" Tyler asked me, and I laughed, nostalgic for the old times.
"I remember." I assured him. "You should come and drop by." Tyler urged me, and I could tell that Damon was listening in to the conversation. "I'm sorry Ty, I can't. I am currently on a trip to Duke, you know, looking at colleges and stuff." I hated lying to Tyler, but I had to.
"That's okay, when you come back I'm sure there will be another party. But I do wish that you were here. Anyways, I gotta go. I'll see you later, Gilbert." Tyler said, and I told him goodbye as well.
"How are you doing back there?" Damon asked us as he patted my knee. I slapped his hand and he said, "You know, this whole pretending to hate me thing is kinda getting old."
Alaric scoffed, "I don't think they're pretending, you did kill their brother." Damon rolled his eyes, "There is a huge astrofix to that statement, he came back to life."
"Yeah, thanks to a ring you didn't know he was wearing." Elena snapped. "Why are you so sure I didn't know?" Damon questioned, and I butted into the conversation, "Did you?" I asked him.
"Yes." He stated. Elena squinted her eyes at him, "You're lying." Damon groaned, "Elena, I saw the ring. It's a big tacky thing, it's hard to miss."
Thankfully, soon after we approached the entrance to Duke. We walked through the door as Alaric explained, "Isobel was employed by the Anthropology department given that most paranormal phenomena rooted in folklore."
We then saw a girl at a desk, and Alaric introduced himself and shook her hand, "Hi, I'm Alaric Saltzman. I called earlier." "Yes, of course I'm Vanessa Monroe, research assistant, Comparative Folklore." Vanessa then looked at Elena, Damon, and I weirdly, almost cautiously.
"Uh, let me just grab Isobel's keys." She said. Alaric then introduced us to her. "These are my friends Damon, Elena, and Erin. I hope this isn't too much of an imposition."
"No, please. Isobel's office is right through there. Isobel was on of my first professors, she was brilliant, one of the reasons I went into folklore. I have to ask, is there any news?" She asked Alaric who shook his head. He, of course knew what became of my biological mother and his wife.
"No, I'm afraid not." He lied to her, and she showed us the way to her office before telling us she would turn on a light. Elena and I walked over to one of the shelves when I heard some noise come from the other room, "Hey, where'd she go?" I questioned.
Suddenly, Vanessa came out from the other room with a crossbow in her hands, pointed at Elena. Quickly, I got in front of my twin before Vanessa shot the arrow. Once she fired it, I prepared for the impact, but it never came. I opened my eyes to come face to face with Damon, who took the arrow for me.
Alaric took Vanessa into the other room while Elena and I got stuck with Damon. Elena stood behind Damon as he told her to pull the arrow out. "Pull it out, Elena, it hurts." Damon ordered her. Elena wouldn't do it, so I got in front of her, took the arrow, and pulled it out of his back. Damon shivered a little bit, trying to numb the pain. "That bitch is dead." He stated and tried to leave, but I blocked him.
"You are not killing her." I commanded him. "Watch me." Damon winked at me seductively. "You touch her, and I swear I will never speak to you again." Elena snapped at Damon who raised his eyebrows.
"What makes you think that has any power over me? Because I took an arrow in the back for your sister? You are severely overestimating yourself." Damon tried to put his arm around me, but I pushed it away.
"I forgot that I was speaking to a psychotic mind who snaps and kills people impulsively. Fine, go ahead, do whatever you want." I could tell that Elena was trying to manipulate him, but I had no idea if it would work.
"You're trying to manipulate me." Damon stated, figuring out what she was doing. "If by manipulate, you mean tell the truth? Okay, guilty." Elena said. I did not want any part in this conversation. When Damon didn't answer, Elena took my hand and pulled me out of the room.
I opened the door and saw Vanessa almost hyperventilating at the desk. Alaric nodded at me, telling me that it was okay to speak. "My name is Erin Gilbert, and this is my twin sister, Elena Gilbert. We are Isobel's daughters and descendants of Katherine Pierce. And this is Damon Salvatore who you just shot." I jerked my head towards Damon who added, "I would be extra nice to me right now."
"Look, we need your help. We need to see all of Isobel's research, anything related to Mystic Falls." I told her, hoping that she would help us in our search for answers.
"This box tracks Katherine's arrival to Mystic Falls in April of 1864." Vanessa put the box down in front of me. "Is this all you had about her?" I questioned her. She nodded and said, "All that I'm aware of." I looked at Damon who was standing in the corner, reading something.
I grabbed a piece of vervain and gave it to her, "Here, take this." "Does vervain really work?" She asked me, and I nodded. "Nope, not at all." Damon said from his spot, while Elena glared at him. "Can he hear us?" Vanessa questioned me. I raised my eyebrows and nodded. "No, that would be creepy," Damon loudly whispered.
"Can he read minds too?" Vanessa kept questioning me, and Damon answered, "You know, if you want to see me naked, all you have to do is ask." Elena stated from her spot near the bookshelf, "No, that he can't do." I interjected and added, "But he is very capable of being a first rate jackass."
Everyone except for Damon chuckled a little at that, while Vanessa stuffed the vervain I gave her into her shirt pocket. I slammed down another book as Elena started getting frustrated, again. Damon then came up behind me and I told him, "There's nothing in here about Katherine that we didn't already know."
"Well, it's a bummer that we're not friends anymore because then I could tell you what I know." He offered, and I turned to him. "I wasn't even part of that. And now who is manipulating who?" Damon smirked and started to check me out when Alaric called us over.
Vanessa started telling us about this ancient curse, "There is no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls, but here are some records of some lesser known legends. Everything from Scandinavian Skin walkers to the Marchelda Reds. The Curse of the Sun and the Moon."
"It's Native American." Alaric guessed , but Vanessa corrected, "Aztec. It explains one origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia. The short story, six hundred years ago, the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires. They terrorized the country side, made farming and hunting impossible until an Aztec shaman cursed them. The vampires were then slaves of the sun, and the werewolves were servants of the moon. As a result, vampires could only prowl at night, and werewolves could only turn on a full moon. When the full moon crests in the skies, whoever unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse turns into a wolf."
"Can they control the transformation?" Damon asked. I rolled my eyes and answered, "If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse." Damon smirked and made a clawing motion at me, but I put my back to him.
"Werewolves will attack humans, but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them to hunt their prey of choice. Vampires." She explained, and my eyes went wide as I looked at Damon. "Well, if werewolves were hunting vampire, I would know it."
Vanessa shook her head, "Not if there aren't that many werewolves left alive. Hundreds of years ago, vampires hunted them almost near extinction." "But why would they do that?" Elena asked. I answered, "To protect themselves."
Vanessa sent an appreciative nod in my direction, "Legend has it that a werewolf bite is fatal to vampires."
After a few more hours of searching, I decided to call Stefan to fill him in on what we found out. "Hey," He answered. "Hi. Listen, we learned some stuff here, and I know it's going to sound crazy, but I wanted to fill you in." I told my best friend, hoping that he wouldn't get hurt while we were gone. "What's up?" He asked.
I told him what we found out and he sighed on the other line. "I don't know what it means, or if we should even believe it, but it's a full moon tonight, Stef, and after what you saw Mason do." "I'll be careful." He promised me. "There's one more thing." I rushed into the phone. "What is it?" Stefan asked.
"According to legend, a werewolf bite can kill a vampire." I said. There was a long pause before Stefan said, "Listen, I gotta go. I'll see you when you get home, okay?" "Okay," I said before I hung up and went back inside.
I found Elena looking inside the Katherine box, and she pulled out a picture. "Hey, have you done any research on dopplegangers?" Elena asked Vanessa. This piqued both mine and Alaric's interest as we watched them. "Well, the word means many different things to different cultures, but typically, a doppleganger is a living breathing double of oneself."
"Did Isobel have any research explaining the link between us and Katherine?" I asked Vanessa, joining the conversation. Vanessa pointed to the box and answered, "That's all she had on Katherine, sorry." I heard Damon closing a book in the background, and I turned to look at him. He avoided it, as per usual.
"But, I can tell you that doppelgangers usually torment the people they look like, try to undo their lives. It's not very uplifting." Vanessa tried to give us more information. "And more things we already know. Just, I wanna know why we all look alike." Elena's frustration was only building, and I knew that if Damon kept trying to talk to her, she would tear him apart.
"Head scratcher, isn't it?" Damon goaded my twin. "Do you know something, or are you gonna just be yourself?" Elena asked him. "Well, if I know anything, I'm not gonna tell you with that attitude." Damon told her. I groaned, while Elena faced him. "That's good, and this is coming from someone who wants to be Erin's friend? You know what? Friends don't manipulate friends, they help each other. Even if she did forgive you, you would just betray her yet again. You know it, and I know it." Elena then walked out of the room, and Damon stared at me.
Elena and I got to the car, and found it locked. Damon then came up behind us and unlocked it. "Here, allow me." He opened the door for us, and Elena climbed in. Damon stopped me as I was about to get in the car.
"You're not gonna be able to hate me forever." He said to me. "Can we go, please?" I asked him, not making eye contact. He then sighed and gave me a book. "You didn't dig deep enough." He told me. I looked at the book and recognized it. "Petrova? I saw this on the shelf." I said with a little bit of attitude.
"Katherine originally came from Europe. Petrova was her real name, Katerina Petrova to be exact." Damon muttered, and I sort of melted when he said her name. I mentally slapped myself for thinking that, he tried to kill my brother.
"How did you know that?" I questioned. "Well, way back when, I saw it engraved on an old heirloom. Men snoop too you know. Let me know what you find, I'm very curious myself." I looked at the book and went to go in the car when he stopped me yet again. "You have every right to hate me, I understand. But you hated me before, and we became friends. It would suck if that was gone forever. So is it, have I lost you forever?"
"Thank you for the book, Damon." I dodged the question. He then looked hurt, but stepped out of the way and let me into the car. Elena glanced at me and took my hand, squeezing it. Whatever happened, we were in this together.
"I can't believe I hurt him. He was the one person on this entire planet that I never wanted to hurt." Caroline cried. "It's not gonna get any easier. You just have to work that much harder." Stefan told her.
"I shouldn't be with him, should I? Not if there's any danger." Caroline whispered, almost to herself. "I'm the last person to make that kind of decision for you. I mean, if I followed my own advice, I would have walked away from Elena a long time ago."
"Do you ever think you should have?" Caroline asked her mentor. "I know I should have, I just can't." He replied to her, and Caroline nodded, understanding. "Because of Erin." This made Stefan's head snap up, surprised that Caroline knew. "Everyone knows, Stefan. Me, Bonnie, Damon and even Elena, the only person that doesn't is her. You only dated Elena to get close to her because you love her. We all see the way you look at her, you look at her the same way that Damon does. Both of you love her, and you can pretend to love Elena all you want, but it will always be Erin." Caroline blabbed.
Elena walked into the house, and Damon followed me to the front door. "Road trips work well for us." He said. "This doesn't mean that things are back to the way they used to be, Damon." I told him as he scoffed. "Oh, cmon, you know I chipped off a little of your pretend wall of hatred."
I turned to him and said, "I need to know the truth, did you or did you not see the ring?" I saw him struggle with himself a little bit before he answered, "No, no I didn't. Katherine really pissed me off, and I snapped and I don't know what I would have done if he wasn't wearing it." I could see that he was truthful, and I was a little relieved, but I was angry. "Erin, I am so sorry." He said.
I nodded and thanked him for being honest. "And the question about our friendship… The truth is I'm not sure if you have lost me forever. Jeremy is still alive and breathing, but I can't get over the fact that for a few seconds, I thought that my brother was dead thanks to you. Just give me some time to sort everything out."
"You already knew that didn't you? You and Elena used me today." Damon seethed. I shook my head and said no because I really didn't. I just realized in that moment that I have some sort of feelings for Damon. There is a thin line between love and hate, and I don't know where I stand on that line.
"Elena used you, I didn't want any part in it. Friends don't manipulate friends." I told him, and walked inside the house.