Chapter Twenty-Two: Alone Together
My heart is like a stallion, they love it more when it's broken
Do you wanna feel beautiful? Do you wanna?
I'm outside the door, invite me in
So we can go back and play pretend
I'm on deck, yeah, I'm up next
Tonight I'm high as a private jet
'Cause I don't know where you're going
But do you got room for one more troubled soul?
I don't know where I'm going
But I don't think I'm coming home and I said
I'll check in tomorrow if I don't wake up dead
This is the road to ruin and we're starting at the end
~Fall Out Boy
Nilin woke up before Elena, like usual. Actually she was awake before anyone in the house. She popped her head up to look at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was going on eight o'clock. Nilly laid back down on the pillow and rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. Staring at the ceiling, she tried to comprehend how she ended up spewing every one of her dark secrets out on the table last night. All her skeletons were out of the closet and running free.
Stefan, Bonnie and Elena knew everything now and Nilin was left there feeling like her control on this situation was slipping. She squeezed her eyes close. Process, accept and move on. That's what she had to do, right? But for some reason she couldn't quite do that.
When she thought about it, Nilly could feel a bit of weight lifted off of her shoulders. On the other hand she was now carrying around the fear of what could happen to Elena, Bonnie and Stefan. She could look after herself, Nilin was good at that, but now there were three more people she had to protect. Maybe not Bonnie, she had magic on her side, but Elena and Stefan were just humans that had no idea how cruel and evil vampires were. That's what scared her the most, the fact they were so defenseless against Christian.
She wanted to stay in MysticFalls for how ever long she could and enjoy it. Being here was the happiest she'd felt in a long time, minus the bumps along the way. But that was just Caroline, who in the whole scheme of things was unnoticeable… and Damon, who was more like a mountain then a bump but she'd save that pain for another time.
She promised herself something then, no matter what happens, no one would get hurt. But, if she wanted to fight this thing alone, she'd need to do some looking into.
When she looked up at the clock again, it was 9:00. Nilly sat up, stretching her arms out. The bites on her arm were almost completely faded now. Whatever Mildred did, it caused them to heal faster than normal. Nilly shrugged it off as she shook Elena a little.
"Mmm, what?" she mumbled.
"I'm going to go out for a little." Nilly said. Elena rolled away from her and gave her a thumbs-up. Nilly scooted out of bed and made her way to the guestroom. With her newly reloaded closet Nilly got dressed quickly. She put on a simple black cropped top, showing off a bit of skin below her navel. She threw on a pair of white jean shorts and her usual pair of converses along with that. Running her fingers through her hair, she grabbed her shoulder bag and car keys.
As Nilly stepped out of her room, she could hear movement from behind Jenna's door. Quickly she scurried down the stairs and out the door before anyone noticed. She made her way into town which was already busy with activity. She parked her Jeep and crossed the street. Opening the wooden door, Nilly heard the chime of a bell as the scent of books filled her nose. She closed the door behind her and looked around, no one was at the front counter.
"Hello?" she called. That's when she saw a head pop out from behind a shelf. Nilly gasped, jumping back. Magnolia came over smiling, taking her earphones out. Her long brown hair hung in a ponytail tipped with red. She was wearing black shorts and a shear white top with the silhouette of a wolf howling on it, under that she had on a black spaghetti strap shirt.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you," she swung the headphones in her hands. "Music was a little loud." Nilly laughed, smiling back at her.
"It's okay, I'm just a jumpy person." Magnolia grinned as she went around the counter and sat on the stool behind it.
"I think people do yoga for that," she said.
"Yeah, you also need coordination for yoga so we don't really go well." Nilly joked, leaning on the counter. Just then Nilly heared someone coming down the rickety staircase, she turned to see Shellie bouncing towards them.
"Well, look who it is," she sang as she came over to the counter. "Long time, no see." Her very long hair flew around her shoulders, one small braid going straight down it. She was wearing a white tank top with a long necklace that had a small dream catcher hanging from it. Her hands were looped in the pockets of her tan khaki shorts.
"Why, hello there." Nilly said, grinning.
Shellie went over to Magnolia bumping her hip. "What brings you to Reader & Seethe's, the best bookstore in MysticFalls?!" she asked dramatically, raising her sharp eyebrows.
"The only book store in MysticFalls," Magnolia scoffed, rolling her eyes.
Nilly laughed. "Well I needed a place to breathe and I was hoping you could help me with something," she said.
"Sure, what's up?" Magnolia asked her, sitting up straighter.
"This is going to sound weird, but what books do you have on vampires?" she asked, "And the real stuff, not the storybook Dracula."
She expected the girls to laugh at her or at least look at her like she head three heads. Instead, all she got was an eyebrow raised form Magnolia and a little smirk from Shellie.
"I think we have something perfect for you," Shellie said as she turned and headed for the stairs, motioning for Nilly to follow. As they went up to the second floor, Nilly saw the huge dog lounging on the sofa.
"Morning, Lee-Roy." Nilly called. He lifted his furry head and woofed at her. She smiled at him before turning back to Shellie. She had pulled a box off one of the selves and was now kneeling on the floor, removing the lid. She picked out a book from the box, leather bound and old. Shellie dusted it off and handed it to Nilly.
"What is it?" she asked, looking the ancient thing over.
"It's a very old book from the 1800's. Supposedly a time when MysticFalls ran ramped with vampires." Magnolia explained, walking over and sitting next to Lee-Roy. He laid his head in her lap as she began stroking his head. Nilly sat on the other sofa, folding her legs under her, book in lap.
"Ah, yes. The tall tales of MysticFalls." Nilly laughed. "So do you believe in these?" Nilly asked.
Shellie came over and plopped down on the other side of Lee-Roy. "Well, all those stories had to start from somewhere. There had to be a truth in them, right?" she said.
"Right," Nilly said, looking down at the book.
"Yes, those big scary vampires, right Nilly?" Magnolia asked. Nilly looked up at her. She wasn't sure what to say.
"Right," she said again, laughing nervously.
"Do you believe in them?" Shellie asked looking at her.
"Um, them?" Nilly questioned.
"Vampires," Mags winked. These girls were so strange. Why were they asking her about this stuff?
Nilin didn't know how to answer. The weird thing was that she was willing to answer. With a shrug, Nilly answered. "Yeah, I do," she said. "Why? Do you?"
Mags and Shellie just looked at each other and then gave Nilin a strange smile. "Well, then you must know some things about them?" Shellie asked, crossing her legs.
Nilly shrugged. "Just what I've been told in scary stories," she answered.
Magnolia nodded, "You know they have to be invited in to go into a house, you know how they can control minds?" she suggested.
Nilly eyed her. "Yeah," she said slowly. "But how do you know about these things?"
Shellie and Magnolia looked at each other, then Shellie straightened up. "Everyone has their stories," she said. Nilly unfolded her legs and placed her elbows on her knees, leaning forward.
"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," she said, grinning.
Magnolia stood up, Lee-Roy hopping off the couch. "You're not ready to tell us yet." Magnolia said to Nilly. "But when you are, we'll be here."
"What makes you so sure that I have stories?" Nilly narrowed her eyes as she stood up.
"Like I said, everyone has their own stories," was all Mags replied with. They were odd ones, that was for sure. It was obvious to Nilin that they weren't just two small town girls, but it was also obvious that they weren't a threat to her. For some reason Nilly wanted to talk to them about this, but then she realized Magnolia was right. She wouldn't make it through without breaking down, and she really didn't feel like crying anymore.
"Besides, you don't really want to be here do you? There's somewhere else you want to go, we're just second best," she continued. Nilly sighed, shaking her head again.
She looked up at Magnolia scrunching her nose, "No. You're right."
"Of course I'm right, I'm awesome," she said, smiling.
"You're creepy that's what you are," Shellie said, coming up from behind them. "So, Nilly, where do you want to be?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Nilly bit her lip, and shrugged.
"I should get going, then. How much for the book?" Nilly asked.
"On the house," Magnolia winked. "Thanks for stopping by, Nilly." Nilly left the store and got back in her Jeep, with a sudden rush of confidence she started car.
By the time she found the boarding house it was late in the afternoon. Even though Nilly's known about the house since she was a kid, she had never been up there. Nilly drove down the long windy driveway slowly. She peeked out her window at the house, it was astonishing. The boarding house was a vast building of rust-red bricks made from clay, and it was flanked with age old cedars and maples. All but one of the windows were dark, shades drawn closed. Nilly just hoped someone was home.
She peeked in her rearview mirror. Scrunching her hair up a little, she attempted to control the fly-a-ways. The gash under her eye had fade remarkably, only a soft pink line where the skin was once cut. Her lip wasn't as lucky. All the swelling had gone down long ago, but her bottom lip still held a red split. It didn't hurt any more, unless she accidentally bit down on it. The wound on her neck was completely invisible thanks to some very expensive cover-up. She checked to make sure she didn't have anything in her teeth and then opened her car door.
Nilly walked up to the double doors, taking a deep breath she rang the doorbell. She waited, rocking back on her heels. Letting out a sigh, she rang it once more. No answer, no sound. Nilly went to knock on the door. When her fist tapped it the door creaked open. Her eyebrows rose as she called out, "Hello? Anyone home?"
There was no answer. She stepped into a large foyer with a flight of stairs to her left. The banisters, like the door, was natural light oak so polished that it seemed to glow. The inside of the house was dim, but she could see the wooden walls, hard oak floors and very expensive looking rugs.
"Hello? Stefan? Damon?" she asked, her voice echoing up the staircase. She walked down the long hallway, curiosity gripping her. The wall arced open to a side room, she stepped into the large entrance of what look to be a living room. A long leather couch sat in the middle with a black iron coffee table in front of it. A grand fireplace sat on one wall, a book case on the other. A large stereo system that seemed out of place and two old looking sofa chairs cloaked in red were on the third wall. Two large windows were across from her, red velvet curtains covering them. The room was silent and empty. Nilly kept walking down the hallway. She felt a strange pull inside her chest to something as her feet patted against the rug. She stopped and looked in the next room.
This room was brighter. A crystal chandelier hung above her, Nilly looked up admiring it as it threw rainbows on the white walls. Light oak trim lined the walls, matching the wood floors beneath her. Brightly colors painting hung on every wall. Another small fire place sat in there, this one white with delicate wood designs. A huge window, with a cushioned window seat, was open, letting the light in. Even though this room seemed magical it wasn't because all those things. What made Nilly's eyes widen was the concert grand piano that sat in the middle of the room. It was made of a dark oak, its lid open and bench out. It was gorgeous.
Nilly walked over to it and sat down slowly. Her fingers swept over the keys silently. Lining her fingers up correctly, she played a cord. It rang through the room making Nilly smile at the sound. She scooted the bench closer and sat up straighter. She struck another cord, and then another, moving her fingers faster until she established a melody. She began to hum softly with the piano. With her head down staring at the piano as she played, her mother's gentle voice came to her mind. Nilly began to sing the words;
"Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence."
Her voice faded out, her fingers picking up speed, swooping over the keys. She looked up from the piano, something caught her eye. She looked over to the door way and her hands froze, the last chord hanging in the air. Nilly put her hands in her lap and swallowed hard.
"Hi," she said shyly, her cheeks blushing.
"Hi." Damon smirked at her. He was leaning on the door frame, his charcoal eyes staring at her. He wore a black button up shirt, sleeves rolled up over his crossed arms and dark denim jeans. His dark hair perfectly and recklessly fell over his forehead. Nilly could feel her heart kick up a notch.
"Um, the door was open, I mean, I didn't open it. It opened when I knocked. I-I rang the bell, twice, and- I got your note before I left. You, uh, you wanted to talk." Nilly floundered, her cheeks burning. She shook her head. "I should just go," she said about to stand up.
"Wait," Damon said lightly, pushing off the wall and walking towards her. "What was that you were playing?" Nilly sunk back down on the stool.
"It was something my mom used to sing to me. I can't believe I still remembered all of it," she answered looking down.
He came closer to her, still smirking. "It was beautiful," he said.
She looked back up, finding his eyes on hers. She smiled, "Thank you."
"What else can you play?" he asked.
Was Damon Salvatore asking her to play for him? Nilin was suddenly terrified that all those years of lessons from her mother would go flying out the wind. With nervous laughter, she turned back around to the piano slowly, sitting up.
"Well, I'm a little rusty but-" her hands began to move, a new rhythm emerging, a slower deeper rhythm. With his eyes on her, she took a shaky nervous breath and began to sing softly.
"As much as I'd like the past not to exist
It still does
And as much as I'd like to feel like I belong here
I'm just as scared as you
I have nothing left
And all I feel is this cruel wanting
We've been falling for all this time
And now I'm lost in paradise
Run away, run away
One day we won't feel this pain anymore
Take it all away
Shadows of you
Cause they won't let me go"
He watched as she lost herself in the song, the way she rocked with the beat somewhat and the way her delicate fingers glided over the keys. They way her face looked as she played, the peacefulness of it. Then, she started to sing, the words hitting his vampire tuned ears. Again he had that strange sensation in his chest. A chronic pain that only showed up when Nilly was around, but sometimes Damon welcomed the strange ache.
At that moment, as he watched Nilly, he couldn't compare one thing about her to Elena or Katherine. She was completely her own and he had her right in front of him. The piano faded out with her voice. Then she placed her hands back in her lap and looked up at him. Her blinding blue eyes met his, searched his face like a small child looking for acknowledgement or praise. He softened his expression and leaned his elbows on the piano.
"Did you write that?" he asked her. Nilly nodded, "Yeah a few nights ago. I never put it with piano though." He loved when she talked to him, the way she got all flustered and nervous. His favorite part is when blood would trickle to her cheeks, causing her to blush and stammer even more.
"I like it," he said, giving her one of his charming grins.
The blood flew back to her cheeks as she said, "Thank you." She stood up then, pushing the bench back noisily. "I should leave, I didn't mean to bother you," she said, so innocently the ache in his chest worsened.
"You don't have to go, we do need to finish our chat," he said, getting a smile out of her. "Besides you can't leave before I show you my spectacular hosting skills." Damon smirk as he took her arm. "Come on Nilin, stay a little. What do you have to get back to now that won't be there later?" Damon asked.
He knew he convinced her to stay when he saw the tension leave her shoulders. She let out a sigh. "Fine, I guess I can stay," she said. "For a little," she added when she saw his victory grin.
Author's Notes:
This chapter is all about the town's secret of vampires, as far as Nilin knows Mystical Falls is a perfectly normal, non-vampire infested, town. Guess you'll have to read the next chapter now to see what's going to happen. Thanks for reading guys!
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RLS
Featured Songs:
Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel
Lost in Paradise by Evanescence
ATTENTION! So, listen up my fabulous readers, I have added a new element to this story. Its a website called Polyvore and you can create collages and things. I've added to all my past chapters links to see the outfits of your favorite characters in that certain chapter. SO you can take a look back at the chapters or just got to my page at Polyvore and looks through. Just got to: rorileesmith DOT polyvore DOT com
I'm in no way sponsoring anything, this is just a neat website I found out that I've been using and something else I'd love to share with you guys. So if you want to check out this chapters outfits, do the following. Thank you so much guys!
Check Out the Outfit:
Go to Polyvore DOT com and attach the following to the end of the url,
Nilin:
/chapter_fourteen_nilin/set?id=90398660
Magnolia:
/chapter_fourteen_magnolia/set?id=90397685
Shellie:
/chapter_fourteen_shellie/set?id=90398108