A/N: First of all season premiere was awesome! I loved it so much! But felt bad for Rebekah at the end! Bad Klaus! Hopefully, he'll redeem himself to her. Thank you all so much for the reviews! I appreciate them all so much! I'm glad you liked the Damon scenes! I loved writing them! Oh and I've had a lot of reviews asking Klaus to be included in the love triangle for Beth. Don't worry, they'll still be plenty of Elijah and Kol and I would really like to know what you guys think if I did do that so I put up a poll on my profile to vote! Thank you guys again and I hope you like this chapter!
No Place Like Home:
They arrived back home around 4 in the morning. Since, Alaric was now staying at Elena and Jeremy's house, Damon just dropped them off there. Beth took a deep breath as she got out of the car. Elena got out behind her while Damon stayed inside. "Don't worry, El." He assured her. He knew that any anger of Alaric didn't match his concern for her. "I'll swing by tomorrow okay?" He leaned out the window to see her.
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow…. Thank you, Damon." She said seriously and he smiled at her before she backed away to let him drive off. She sighed as she walked in behind Elena. Elena gave her an encouraging smile as they opened the door. Day came trotting to the door and he went crazy seeing his owner. Beth bent down to pet him. Alaric was up and sitting on the couch when they came in. He got up when he heard the door open and the girls stepped into his line of vision. He stopped walking. Beth and him just stared at each other, before she broke the silence. "Hi." She gave a weak chuckle.
He sighed and ran to hug. Beth wrapped her arms around his neck. Her gray-green eyes glistened with tears in them. He held her so tight; he didn't want to let her go. Finally, after a whole summer of searching, she was home. Elena went upstairs, quietly to tell Jeremy. Beth pulled back and saw that Alaric was near tears too. He put his hands on her shoulder. "Never, ever do that to me, again." He said seriously and she nodded. "Ever." They were each other's family. They had no one else.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She apologized as she started to sob. "I missed you." He took her back in his arms and rubbed circles on her back, placing his chin on the top of her head. She hadn't realized how much she missed him until she saw him. He was like a father to her and she was scared she'd never see him again. But they were both safe now. That was what mattered. She was finally home.
xxxxx
Even, when they arrived at 4 in the morning, Beth didn't get to go to sleep till 5. Jeremy was happy to see her and Alaric wanted to make sure she was okay. Between them and Elena, she was basically interrogated. It wasn't till an hour later that she finally went to sleep. Elena let her sleep in her room until they could figure out the living situation. Beth woke up alone in the room. She saw it was already 12:30. She grabbed a hoodie and threw it over her tank top before going down the stairs. She was yawning as she walked into the kitchen where Alaric, Damon and Elena were. There seemed to be some tension between them. "Hey, sleeping beauty." Damon greeted her with a wink as Elena hurried to cut up some onions. She smiled at her though.
"Hey, Beth."
Alaric smiled seeing her and Beth walked over to hug him. "You were practically dead to the world, kid." He commented and she smiled. Whatever tension there was, was gone when she walked in. "Are you hungry? Did you sleep okay?"
"Yeah I slept fine." She assured him with a smile. "But I am starving."
"Lucky for you, I got pizza." Damon grinned as he slid a slice in front of her. "To save you from Elena's sucky chili." Beth laughed and Elena nudged him in the stomach. "I have to go though cause the sheriff needs me." He surprisingly past them and quickly placed a kiss on the top of her head, before anyone could notice before leaving.
"Well, what's on the agenda today?" Beth asked as she took a bite of the pizza. "I need to get back into the swing of things before school starts."
"Well, Jeremy and I redid the attic as a sort of bedroom for you, if you want." Alaric told her and she smiled. She didn't know they went through all that trouble for her. "It's actually pretty big. You can always go back to the apartment though some nights."
"It'll be perfect!" Beth grinned at him and he smiled back.
"And we're going to the Lockwood party later today, hence the chili." Elena added to them as she washed her hands. Beth and Alaric shared a grimace. Neither one of them was very into the founder's party.
"Thanks but pass."
"Oh come on! You just said you wanted to get back into things. Caroline will be there and she'll want to see you. And Alaric you have to come. We've got to get back to normal!" Elena said determined as she stirred the pot. Beth frowned. She knew that it was about Stefan. She didn't want to admit it but it hurt her, when Stefan didn't want to come back with her.
"All right, we'll go." Beth agreed with a smile. Day trotted into the room and lied down near Alaric. Elena smiled back happy that she was on board. Beth quickly finished her pizza before standing up. "I'm going to go get dressed first, though and wake Jeremy up." Beth went upstairs and took a quick shower. The shower helped her get her thoughts straight. After getting out she ran a brush through her wavy hair. She quickly put on a yellow tank top with black skinny jeans. Beth took a quick look in the mirror and walked out of the bathroom. She knocked on the door to Jeremy's room but there was no answer. She knew it was better than to go in a teenage boy's room. She heard Elena talking to someone at the door.
Beth walked down the stairs to see her hugging Bonnie. Caroline was looking at them with a smile but her smile widened seeing Beth. "Beth!" She shouted surprised. She ran and hugged her and Beth laughed as she hugged her back. "When did you get back? What happened? Are you okay?"
"Last night, Damon and Elena brought me home and I'm fine." She assured her and Caroline squealed and hugged her again. She was happy that her best friend was finally home. Beth finally got down the stairs to hug Bonnie, who hugged her just as tightly as Caroline.
"I leave town for a summer and everything goes to hell for you three." Bonnie said and they just exchanged a look. This was Mystic Falls. Nothing was bound to go well for them. Caroline just threw an arm around her best friend and gave her a small squeeze. She had so much to tell her. No one else usually listened to her without rolling her eyes, other than Beth. She was just happy she was safe.
"Bonnie." Jeremy had come down and Bonnie grinned.
"Jeremy!" She said excited before running over to him and kissing him. He gave her a long hug. He was happy she was home. But Beth saw him looking worried behind her back before covering it with a smile. The girls all went into the kitchen with Elena to help her finish the chili. Bonnie and Beth were sitting side by side across from Caroline and Elena who were working on the chili. "The problem with my dad's normal side of the family made for a really boring summer."
"After the last few days, I would kill for a normal family." Caroline told them. Beth threw her a sympathetic smile. Elena had already filled her in on what happened. Beth was surprised that Damon hadn't killed her dad yet for torturing her but he still was Caroline's father. "Since when did you learn how to cook?" She asked Elena.
"Damon helped me a little."
Beth scoffed. "He practically made the whole thing. Sorry, Elena but you can't really cook." Caroline laughed and Elena playfully hit her with a dishtowel.
"Damon's helping you cook now?" Bonnie asked as she petted Day. He had taken to sitting on Beth's lap when they were in the kitchen. He like sitting on high places. Her and Caroline exchanged a look as she poured the chili in a dish. They obviously thought there was more going on then she let them know and Elena and Beth picked up on it.
"Both of you stop judging. He's just trying to be a good- ow!" She exclaimed all of a sudden. The girls all looked at her worried as she touched her neck. Caroline thought she wasn't being careful enough.
"Ah! Did I splash?"
"No, no, my necklace." She told them. She took it off. The skin on her neck where her necklace was is now burned. "It burned me!" She was surprised.
"Maybe it's a sign you shouldn't be wearing it." Caroline suggested. But they all knew it was something else. Bonnie was looking at it.
"Caroline…"
"What, I'm just saying. If you're going to be 'cooking' without Stefan."
Beth smiled. "Here, let me see it." Elena held it by its chain and held it out for her to see. Beth and Bonnie both looked at it. Beth tried to touch it but it shocked her and Elena dropped it on the counter. All the girls looked at each other. This was getting weird.
xxxxx
Beth saw the girls sitting over on a bench and chairs away from the Lockwood party. Since they all had to be there, Beth grabbed her grimoire and decided to meet them. She sat next to Caroline who was near Elena and Bonnie. "I have an identification spell that might be able to tell me what magic affected the necklace." She told her as she took the book out of her bag and balanced it on her legs. Elena handed her the necklace. "It's going to take a while so tell me if anyone's coming. Okay?"
"So you're not like, switching Salvatores are you?" Caroline asked Elena. Beth sighed, she knew she wasn't going to give this up.
"Caroline…"
"Stay focused." She ordered and she turned back to Elena. Beth went back to the incantation on the pages. "As your friend who worried daily, what is the deal with you and Damon?"
"There is no deal." Elena insisted. Caroline gave her a disbelieving look. There obviously was something going on there. "He's been just as focused on finding Stefan as I have."
"Yeah, but that doesn't make him any less Damon." Caroline said. "If my own father, who I love dearly, can't change me, no one's changing Damon. Not even you." Elena was denying that she was trying to change him but everyone else can see it. Beth didn't even try to change him. He was who he was. She loved him with his good and bad parts. She accepted that and she knew changing him wasn't possible.
"Look why are we even talking about this?" Elena asked.
"Hey, guys." Beth spoke suddenly. They all turned to her. The necklace was levitating in the air.
"What are you doing?" Caroline asked curiously.
"I'm not doing anything." Beth told her. The necklace was floating over the grimoire now. Bonnie looked over at it. "It has it's own magic." The girls all looked over to Elena.
Bonnie and Beth both knew that they couldn't figure this out in one day. Beth was walking around the Lockwood mansion, looking for Alaric. Elena and Caroline went to go talk to Mrs. Lockwood but it was starting to get dark. Beth was walking back to towards mansion. She smiled seeing a familiar jersey about to walk into the house. "There's my favorite football player." She shouted out. Tyler quickly turned around to face her smiling face. His jaw dropped at the sight of her and she laughed.
"Beth?" He asked. He couldn't believe she was here and actually talking to him. It was basically his fault she left. Not only did she do that but also she ran and threw her arms around his neck. He was still in shock but he just hugged her back. "I-I can't believe you're here. When did you get back? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I got back early this morning. I've missed you, Ty." She said as she let go of him.
"I thought you'd be pissed me at." He admitted with a weak laugh. She looked at him confused. He wasn't the one who made her leave. That was technically her choice. "Since I was the one who bit Damon. I'm the reason you had to leave."
"That wasn't your fault, Tyler. You weren't in your right mind." She told him reassuringly. He still looked unconvinced. Everyone including him was worried sick about her this summer. If he had controlled himself, she would have stayed home but Beth didn't see it that way. He wasn't the one to blame. "It's fine. I'm home now and you're home. It's going to be okay." She smiled at him encouragingly.
He smiled back. "You're right. We're going to be kick ass seniors too!" He agreed as she wrapped an arm around his waist. They started to walk towards the house.
"Dude, you smell." She commented.
"No way."
"Yes way." She laughed back. He rolled his eyes. "Go shower. I'll see you later. Trust me, I'm not going anywhere today." He nodded before taking off upstairs. She was making her way back to the other side of the house. Her phone rang and she picked it up. "Hey, Elena. What's up? Where are you guys?"
"Um, I'm in front of the house. There was a fight with Damon." Elena told her vaguely.
"What? Give me a minute I'm on my way." Beth hanged up. By the tone of Elena's voice she knew that it was not a good thing. She quickly jogged over to the front of the lawn. She saw Elena on the phone pacing in front of Alaric, who was lying dead on the grass. Beth ran over to them and kneeled in front of him. "Oh, God. Alaric."
"He has his ring on. He'll be okay." Elena assured her, as Beth grew more concerned by the minute.
"What happened? Who did this to him?" Beth asked her looking up. Elena didn't really want to tell her but the look on her face said everything. "Elena… was it Damon?" She sighed and nodded her head. Beth stood up, fuming. "Where the hell is he?"
"He went inside but he's really angry. He's going after Caroline's dad and she went in after him. I have to go see if she's okay. Stay here and keep an eye on Ric." Elena told her as she walked away and Beth wanted to argue but she didn't. Alaric was most important right now. She checked his hand, just in case and was happy to found he was indeed wearing his ring. She didn't know what she'd do if he wasn't.
After a few minutes, she heard footsteps coming her way. She looked up and saw it was just Damon. He was wiping blood from his mouth. He looked down at her unreadable expression but he knew she was angry. "El-"
"We need to get him out of here before someone sees him." She told him not looking at him. Damon just nodded and helped picked him up. He put him into the backseat of his car. They drove in silence to the boarding house. Damon grabbed Alaric and Beth kept the door opened while he brought him into the family room. He laid him on the couch. Beth stood over him, silently waiting for him to wake up.
Damon knew that she was pretty angry if she still wasn't saying anything to him. He walked over to her. "Well, at least you get to see the ring in action again." Damon said trying to joke with her. Next thing Damon felt was Beth's knuckle connecting with his jaw. Even for a human she hit him pretty good. "Ow! Damn it! I know I might have deserved it but damn, El!" He exclaimed while holding onto his jaw.
Beth in the meantime was shaking off her hand. She couldn't believe how hard she hit him. Her hand was throbbing but it would go away. "Yeah, you did deserve it! You stupid ass jerk!" She hit him on his arm.
"Ass jerk?" He asked amused. She just scoffed.
"Really? That's what you say to me?" She asked in disbelief.
He shrugged. "Well, yeah. I mean come on. That's kind of lame, El."
"Well I have a few other words for the asshole who killed my godfather!" She shouted at him.
"Oh come on, El. Don't be such a drama queen. He's not dead." He said, blowing it off. She scoffed. Alaric was lying there lifeless on the couch and he said he wasn't there.
"You snapped his neck, Damon! His neck!" She exclaimed.
"He'll wake up with a bit of pain. He'll be fine." He told her. She glared at him. She went to hit him again but he caught her arm this time. It wasn't tight, just enough so she couldn't reel back and punch him again. "Don't try that again."
"Why are you going to kill me too?" She asked angrily. Damon was surprised and slightly hurt that she thought he would do that. But Beth was too angry to even feel sorry for him. She was just glad that Alaric is wearing his ring. "No, you don't get to play hurt. Not when you just did that to Alaric."
"El, I'm sorry." He tried to apologize.
"No you're not! Or you wouldn't have done it in the first place!" She snapped at him.
"I was in a bad mood. Okay? Everyone was trying to tell me how to act and try to change me into saint Stefan and I snapped. I didn't mean to." Damon defended himself. The last thing he wanted for Beth to do was hate him, especially since she just got home.
"I get that you're not Stefan. I don't want you to be! I know you got pissed off but I'm not trying to change you! So why the hell would you take it out on me? On Alaric? " Beth yelled at him, angrily. Damon stopped. He didn't think that Beth would think he killed Alaric because of her. He should have known better than anyone that she would be the last person to try to change him. He moved closer to her but she backed off. "When he wakes up tell him I'm at the house. And just try not to take your anger out on him next time." She walked away before he could say anything else, slamming the door shut behind her.
