"Where are they?" I heard Elena ask inside the house.
"See?" I said to Damon with a smirk lightly pushing him away. "We're late"
"You weren't complaining" he retorted mischievously.
"They'll be here any moment" Stefan said.
I ran ahead of Damon giggling as he struggled to catch up and ran inside the house.
"We're home!" I announced.
Elena and Stefan came from the leaving room and I shrugged on the white blazer I was carrying.
"Did you go hunting or on a fashion show?" Elena asked eyeing me.
"I had to pass by the Cullen's place before hunting, Esme wanted to see me, check if I was alright" I shrugged. "Alice attacked me"
"Right" she chuckled.
Damon entered the house, breathing heavy and threw me a glare while tossing my pumps to me.
"You don't play fair" he said smiling.
"Not my fault you're slow, Salvatore" I said slipping my feet on the shoes and ran my fingers through my hair.
"It's kind of hard to try to go ahead of you when I get such a nice view of you ahead of me" he said coming behind me.
I chuckled as he zipped my skirt up and kissed the side of my neck.
"Ready to go?" Damon asked Elena.
"Yeah" she said showing him a backpack.
"Have you ever flown first class?" I asked getting my bag.
"Who did you compel for that?" she asked.
"Please, I use miles"
"At least your vacations were useful for something" Damon grumbled getting the car keys.
"Bye, Stefan" I said. "Have fun"
"Watching a psycho killer" he smirked. "I will, of course"
I laughed and linked my arm with Elena's dragging her out of the house.
"Can I take the window?" Elena asked as we looked for our seats.
"It's your only option" Damon said.
I pushed past him, dragging Elena and pushed her to the window seat and sat beside her. Damon narrowed his eyes.
"You can seat in front of us" I said innocently. "Alone"
He pouted but put the bag on the compartment above us and sat on the window seat in front of Elena.
"Feel free to stretch and kick the seat in front of you" I said flipping through a magazine.
"If you want to lose your legs" Damon said.
"Are you sure it wouldn't be better if Damon and I exchanged seats?" Elena asked.
"Nah, he'll bother me the whole flight" I said.
"You promised" Damon said turning in his seat.
"Did not"
"You said…"
"I would think about it. Not happening, Damon"
"What?" Elena asked confused.
"Nothing" I said.
"Mile high club" Damon pouted. "Never tried with another vampire"
"And you won't ever try" I said smirking while still flipping through the magazine.
He huffed and sat back on his seat like a stubborn child. Elena chuckled and I smiled at her.
"It's good… to see you two carefree" she said. "You two are… great"
"I know I'm awesome and you wouldn't live without me" Damon said.
"I'm sure we all could live without you and your big ego" I laughed. "Thanks, Elena"
She nodded and relaxed on her seat, staring out the window. I saw her frown reflected on the window's glass, and she seemed deep in thought.
"Everything alright?" I asked softly.
"Yeah" she mumbled not looking at me, "Just worried about Jeremy"
I knew she was lying but I let her be.
"They said he would be here" Elena said as we looked for Jeremy.
"There he is" I said pointing. "Batting cage 5"
We approached and watched him for a moment.
"Next time we compel him, remind me to make him better at baseball." Damon said.
"He's not so bad" I commented playing with the heart pendant of my necklace.
He missed a shot. I could feel Damon's smirk to me.
"Fine. But he could be worse" I shrugged.
"Jer!" Elena called.
He turned so quickly at her voice that he had to dodge the ball coming at him. He cocked an eyebrow at us and walked out of the cage, hugging his sister.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked putting her down.
"We came to check up on you" I said.
He turned and grinned, pulling me to a hug. I could feel Elena and Damon tensing and I held my breath. Still, I remembered the smell and taste, and his heartbeat seemed too loud in my ears.
"You're back" he said happily. "I told them you would"
"Yeah" I murmured awkwardly.
He let me go and just then realized his mistake.
"Sorry, I forgot" he stepped back.
"It's fine" I said with a small smile.
"So, why are you here?" he asked us, shooting Damon a glance.
"Hi to you too" Damon grumbled.
"We just wanted to see you..."
"Elena you called all week" Jeremy cut her off. "And why would you need two vampires to just check up on me?"
"We need a favor" I said. "We need you to contact Rose, the vampire that kidnapped Elena for Elijah"
He looked between Damon and I and then at his sister, not believing what he was hearing.
"So, you traveled across the country to get me to talk to a dead vampire?" he asked frowning.
"Dead vampire is redundant, but yes" I smiled.
"I can't" Jeremy said.
"What good is you dying and coming back to life if you can't talk to a ghost when I need you to?" Damon asked scowling at him.
I slapped him lightly in the chest.
"I can't right now" he looked at something over our shoulders. "My friend just got here, and yes, Damon, I actually have some" Jeremy said. "I'll call you when I'm done"
"Hey, Jeremy!"
I tensed and we turned, narrowing our eyes at Kol. He had an amused smirk as he approached.
"Well, who do we have here?" he asked innocently.
"This is my sister, Elena…"
"Kol" Elena said angrily and tugged on Jeremy's arm.
"Of course you would befriend an Original. Everyone seems to" Damon said bemusedly.
"What?" Jeremy asked confused.
"Kol is Klaus' brother, he was sent to watch you" I said glaring at the Original.
"No hard feelings, mate. But we're not buds" Kol said to Jeremy and put on a flirty smirk, turning to me. "Isabella, it is truly a pleasure to see you again"
"It is a displeasure" I retorted.
"Have you ever been to Denver? I could show you around"
"Go" Damon snapped at Elena and Jeremy.
"I like playing cat and mice" Kol smirked as Elena tugged on Jeremy's arm forcefully.
"Is it because you are as dirty and useless as a mice? Really? Klaus' pawn? Didn't think you were a pussy" Damon taunted.
I was about to tell him to stop taunting Kol, but Kol did it for me by throwing a right hook. It was a mean right hook, Damon staggered back.
"Ahn, this one is for killing me" Kol said as Damon flexed his jaw.
"You're just mad cuz you aren't man enough for Bella" Damon teased with a grin.
I got in Kol's way as he was going to attack Damon again. He glared down at me.
"I don't like to hit ladies" he said.
"Me neither but it's all I can do at the moment" I snapped and kicked in the guts.
He groaned, grabbed my arm, twisted it until it broke and pushed me away.
"Don't get into things you can't handle, darling, leave this to men" he said and got an aluminum bat. "I'll never get used to aluminum. But hey, at least it won't break"
He hit Damon on his sides with the bat, and Damon went down. Elena helped me up and I twisted my arm to correct the bone's position, and got the bat from Jeremy's hand.
"Yeah, but aluminum doesn't do this!" I growled breaking the bat and staking Kol in the back.
He dropped the aluminum bat with a painful groan and I played with the other half of the bat, taunting him. He reached behind him to take the bat out and waved my index finger in front of his face.
"Tsc, tsc" I scolded.
I staked him in the heart and he went still, his skin turning an unhealthy shade of grey.
"Let's go" Damon said grabbing my arm.
"He's not dead" Jeremy said as if we needed the reminder.
"But it will give us a heads start" I said grabbing his backpack and throwing at him. "We'll talk about your choice of friends later"
We ran up the stairs of the motel, Damon and I looking around for any signs of being followed.
"Where are we?" Jeremy asked looking at our surroundings.
"Corner of somewhere and nowhere, where Kol can't find us" I answered searching for our room. "It's this one"
I opened the door and we all entered. Damon shut the curtains and I made sure the bar was stocked.
"I can't believe Kol was a vampire" Jeremy muttered sitting on an armchair.
"Well, didn't you find it weird that you made a friend so fast? Have you met you?" Damon asked smirking.
"Not helping" Elena snapped at him.
"Drop it, Damon, we have more important stuff" I said.
"Alright Whoopi, what do you need?" Damon said sitting on the bed. "Candles? Incense? Pottery wheel?"
"That's not how it works" Jeremy said rolling his eyes at Damon's antics.
"I know, I know. They push from the other side and you pull from this one"
"It's a bit hard to contact someone I haven't met" Jeremy said. "Do you have… a picture?"
"Picture? Of what? A trip to Disneyland?" Damon rolled his eyes. "I even wanted to take some of her while…"
I scowled at him and he smiled innocently.
"Come on, Rose, you're not gonna actually make us wait, are you? I know you're obsessed with me" Damon said.
"Maybe she'll come to drop your ego down a notch" I said smirking. "I'm sure between her and I we can destroy this egotistical Damon"
"You would only have nice memories to share" Damon retorted.
"Alright, uh – tell me something about her" Jeremy asked.
"Um, well she does this little thing with her tongue…"
"Something that matters, Damon" Elena said.
"I know you want to tease me, but we don't have time, Damon" I said.
"Fine" Damon sighed and got deep in thought for a moment. "She spent her last day in paradise. Soaking in the sun and reminiscing about what it means to be human. And when death came, she didn't fear it"
He smiled at me and I gave him a sad smile back, remembering the day she died.
"She's here" Jeremy said quietly. "She's saying she likes the… other side. She has freedom"
"She hated that she was constantly running away" Elena muttered.
"Is she still hot?" Damon smirked.
Jeremy scowled at nothing, and I imagined Rose's answer didn't please him. He rolled his eyes and looked at us.
"She misses you"
"Well, I feel like a third wheel" I said getting a drink.
"Ahn, she was rooting for Damon and you, Bella. She is thanking you for listening to her that day, for… saving Damon" Jeremy said. "This is weird, giving messages"
"I bet" I chuckled throwing him a small bottle of scotch. Elena scowled at me. "What? Not like I'm corrupting him. He drinks. Stop being so motherly, Elena, you'll go grey"
"Okay, let's go straight to the point" Damon said.
"She knows why we're contacting her" Jeremy shook his head. "She doesn't know which Original she is connected to. Some girl named Mary changed her"
"Mary?" I frowned. "That's… vague"
Jeremy nodded and a minute later he looked at us.
"She's gone. She went to search for this Mary, see if she can find anything"
"Great, more waiting time" I said flopping down on the bed.
"Hey" Elena said walking to me. "What are you doing here?"
"I got bored out of my mind inside that room" I said smiling at her.
"So you're gonna stay here? Alone?" she asked copying my position leaning against the rail. "Why Damon doesn't keep you company?"
"He knows when I need some time alone to think"
"Oh" she mumbled standing up. "I'm… gonna go…"
"You can stay" I said. "I needed time away from him. Just don't tell him that"
She nodded and leaned against the rail, facing the wall while I watched the street.
"So, any particular reason you want a break from him?" she asked softly.
"I don't think he would like my thoughts very much and he can read me so easily sometimes"
"Yeah, he does that… it's freaky and annoying"
"Jeremy still waiting for Rose?"
"Yeah. I had hoped an Original changed her, since she worked for Klaus and Elijah, but…"
"Things are never so simple"
"Yeah" she sighed. "And if Damon and Stefan's bloodline isn't connected to Klaus then I'm sure Damon will try to kill Klaus as soon as possible, not caring if Tyler is connected to Klaus directly…"
"Tyler would die too" I mumbled frowning.
"Yeah, Caroline is… Wait" she turned to me. "Too? What do you mean, too?"
"Elena, just… leave it alone"
"No. What is it?" she asked worriedly.
"I told Damon I'm connected to Katherine's bloodline and he didn't hesitate on accepting that" I looked at her. "Meredith only stole Damon's blood after I left. So, the blood she gave me, the one that mixed with Damon's from the prank night… We don't know who is it from. She said it was a vampire caught in the round up, so technically, a tomb vampire"
"Katherine knew all of them" she said hopefully. "She must have changed them"
"Not all of them. The Volturi were helping her escape, so they had other vampires in hand, and Klaus made a lot of enemies that could have helped the Volturi and Katherine, creating her a personal guard"
"So, there's no way to know if you're of the same bloodline as Damon" she asked panicky.
"Don't tell him. I'll tell him in time, for now… don't tell anyone"
"What if you're not? And he kills Klaus and… Or Kol. Oh, my God, it could be any of them" she rambled.
"Elena, stop it, he'll hear you" I hissed.
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, staring at the horizon.
"You're acting weird too" I commented. "Wanna talk about it?"
She shook her head and her eyes filled with tears.
"Okay" I whispered soothingly.
"Stefan said something, and I want it to not be true, and I really try not to make it true, but… it has been bothering me all day" she rambled on the verge of crying.
"Do you want to talk about it? This time less vaguely?" I asked softly and she hesitated. "It's okay if you don't… I'm trying to reconstruct our friendship, I'm trying to be your friend again. I just want you to know that I'm trying and if you need me…"
"That's the thing" she said wiping a tear that escaped. "You're so great, and you are my friend"
"Oh" I frowned. "It's my diet, isn't it?"
"No!" she said quickly. "It's just… You're so good to me – even when you're being mean and pretending to have shut your humanity off. And I… I'm a terrible friend"
"Stefan said that?" I asked angrily. "God, Elena, it's not true. You're the best friend anyone could ask for"
"Stefan pointed out that I might have feelings for Damon" she blurted.
Oh.
"Oh"
"I'm… I don't know. I swear, Bella, I would never…"
"You do" she looked confused. "You do have feelings. We had established that a long time ago, before summer" I said referring to the kiss she and Damon shared when he was in his deathbed.
"I'm confused. I don't know what I feel. And I don't want to feel. I shouldn't. You two are so perfect for each other. And I'm fighting it, but Damon has been there for me when Stefan wasn't, when you left..."
"Stefan said he kissed you after I left" I said quietly. I had left the subject alone, but since we were on that road, i might as well ask.
"He was drunk. I mean, I had seen him drunk, but that night I wondered if vampires could have alcohol poisoning. He tried to kiss me… and he did for a second, but he called me Bella and I told him to go home. I tried to make him see I wasn't you" she continued to ramble. "You really did break his heart by leaving… And you bring a side of him, it's a sweet, wonderful side that it's so rare to see, most of the time it's because of you. I wished he would show that side more. It reminds me of everything I'm missing, because Stefan is… not Stefan… I'm so sorry. I know I suck. I mean, no… vampire pun intended, I swear! I just… if you wanted to kill me now, I wouldn't blame you. You went through so much to be with him and here I am…"
"Elena. Elena!" I interrupted grabbing her by the shoulders.
"Sorry" she muttered wiping the tears away from her cheeks.
"It's… okay. I don't blame you. I obviously think he's lovable, lovely" I smile and she gave me an awkward one in return. "Of course you feel that way… For so long he tried to make you feel like this, and he can be nice and sweet, when he wants to. It's okay to feel something for him…" I trailed off and sighed. "I don't hate you, Elena. You can't… tell your heart who to fall for. Now, we need to drink. Because although I don't blame you, or hate you, or want to hit you, this is weird as hell, and I probably want to be oblivious to this for awhile, while you work on understanding what you feel"
She gave me a teary smile and I hugged her.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to go bat shit crazy – no vampire pun intended – and scream at you and then disappear for the summer" I said.
"Thanks, Bella" she muttered. "You're great. And it makes this even worse"
"Scotch and tequila will help" I grinned and her and we walked to the room. "I was told I get bitchy when drunk so you won't feel so bad"
She rolled her eyes at me and chuckled while we entered the room. Damon arched an eyebrow at us, inspecting Elena's red eyes. Jeremy seemed worried.
"We're gonna have a shot party" I said going to the bar. "I saw tequila somewhere…"
"What are we celebrating?" Damon asked.
"Well, we're contacting your ex-hook-up, we have an Original looking for us, we're about to lose all white oak stakes, Elena's boyfriend is weird, my boyfriend is an asshole…" I looked at Jeremy showing him the bottle. "Wanna join me on the 'Bonnie-is-awkward-with-me' round?"
"No, thanks" he said giving me a small smile. "I think I'll need to stay sober to play medium"
"Alright, I'm in on the Bonnie-is-awkward-with-me round" Elena said taking the bottle from me. "And on the Damon-is-an-asshole round too"
"I'm creating the I-have-to-endure-two-annoying-joker-beautiful-girls-that-piss-me-off round" Damon said.
I grinned at him and passed him the glass.
"Okay, I'm hammered" I said putting down the glass. "I'm going to sleep"
"I knew you still couldn't hold your liquor" Damon teased.
"Tsc, tsc, tsc. I can drink more than you, Bella" Elena giggled. "Shame on your vampire ass"
"She's gonna pass out soon" I predicted standing up. "Be careful"
Damon pulled me to his lap and kissed me hard.
"Stop it" I murmured against his lips. "We have company"
He smirked and I knew he was thinking that the last time I said that, Rebekah went from company to partner. I sensed Elena watching us and I blushed, the alcohol masking it a bit. I slapped his thigh and stood up.
"Behave" I told them before jumping on bed, face down on the pillow.
I dozed off in a minute, hearing them make another toast.
"Bella" someone said softly, shaking me. "Wake up. Bella!"
I groaned and sat up.
Jeremy arched an eyebrow at me.
"What?" I asked groggily.
"I should ask you. Rose told me where to find Mary and Elena and Damon are gone" he said confusedly.
I snapped up from the bed looking around for something.
"Stay here" I told Jeremy before storming out of the room.
I had turned on the corridor and found them. I held back a gasp and hid behind the wall. They were kissing.
"What the hell?" I heard Damon snap.
"I… Hm... Oh, God" Elena mumbled in shock.
"Have you lost your mind? I'm with Bella!" Damon continued angrily.
"I'm sorry"
"I'm gonna forget this because you are drunk and you don't mean it. Whatever if your problem with Stefan at the moment, don't drag me and Bella into it! I love her and if you ruin things between us… I swear to god, I will strangle you, Elena"
"Sorry" she mumbled quietly.
I walked out of my hiding place with a small smile.
"Hey, there you are" I said.
Damon frowned at me, before putting on a mask of innocence while Elena turned so fast she almost fell. Damon scowled at her as he helped her stand straight and she blushed the deepest shade of red a human could. Her heart was beating so fast, that if I hadn't seen anything, I would be suspicious.
"Rose contacted Jeremy, she knows where we can find Mary" I said. "Everything alright?"
"Peachy" Damon said walking to me. "Get her some coffee, she's not good"
I nodded and he kissed me softly. I smiled at him and cocked an eyebrow at Elena.
"Black with a lot of sugar sounds good to you?" I asked her.
She nodded, avoiding my eyes. I rolled my eyes at her and waited for her to walk ahead of me back to the room before going to get some coffee.
"Are you okay?" I asked Elena turning on my seat to look at her.
She seemed a bit green, but mostly red from her embarrassment. Although she still hadn't told me anything. She nodded, still avoiding my eyes. I think she barely said a handful of words to me. I turned around and turned the radio down, Jeremy was almost sleeping in the backseat. Damon put his hand on my thigh and I gave him a questioning look. His smile erased the frown he had been wearing and he quickly looked back at the road. I entwined our fingers together, knowing we would need to talk or he would act strange about it forever. I wasn't about to do it with Elena listening, she didn't need to die of mortification. He turned on a quiet, almost deserted street. He parked in front of a large house with a light scoff. We got out of the car, and Elena told Jeremy to wait in the car. He was reluctant but did it anyway. Damon walked ahead, almost dragging me to keep up with him, while Elena followed, trying to keep up too.
"Slow down" I whispered to him.
He frowned at her, sighed and slowed down. I knocked on the door, but Damon just entered.
"Damon" Elena hissed.
I sighed and told her to go ahead. When I followed her I was impressed. By how dirty and messy that house was.
"What the hell?" Elena muttered.
"Vampire hoarder" Damon said brushing his fingertips against a centuries-old vase.
"Oh, so it isn't only your family with that messy attic?" I teased.
"That was my human family" he rolled his eyes at me. "It's stupid"
"I think it's cool" I said showing him an antique pocket watch.
"Who is this Mary person?" Elena asked.
"Scary Mary. She's really old, super creepy" Damon said as we looked around.
"And how do you know her?" I asked.
"I dated her" he said nonchalantly.
"Of course" Elena chuckled.
"What?" he shrugged. "I said creepy, not ugly"
"Ahn, I would have to disagree" I mumbled gesturing for them to come over.
A woman, a vampire, was staked to the wall, her skin grey and lifeless. Her clothes seemed from the past century so I guessed her death wasn't recent.
"Great" Damon sighed.
"Shame about Mary, she used to be a blast"
I turned and cocked an eyebrow at Kol, sitting in an armchair playing with his phone. "Don't quite know what happened. I fear all the time she spent with my family might have ruined her. She was a bit of an Original groupie"
"You knew her?" Elena asked.
"Yes" he said and tilted his head to the right. "Oh, do you mean, did I turn her? I think I did. But no, wait, maybe it was Rebekah. There was also a Klaus period. And let's not forget the Elijah affair. I spoke to my brother. I know you're trying to find out who you descended from. Now you never will. So, where did we leave off?"
We would never know who initiated Damon's bloodline.
"Screw you" I said with a sarcastic smile.
"Oh, dear, I've hit a nerve" Kol smirked standing up. "Relax, darling, I just want us to be even"
Damon pulled me behind him, even though I could hold my own against Kol. Kol smirked at him and I discreetly moved Elena closer to the exit and passed her the car keys.
"You snapped my neck, messed with my sister, killed my brother and then you humiliated me" Kol said bitterly.
"It was nothing, really" Damon shrugged with a grin.
Kol attacked him, throwing Damon against the wall and he winced at the force, falling on the ground.
"Go" I turned to Elena who was frozen in shock and fear.
I turned to Kol, he was kicking Damon in the ribs. Pulling him away from Damon I threw him on the ground and stepped on his throat. He smirked and easily got me off him and flipped so he pinned me to the ground, his fingers tight around my neck.
"I like to fight my brothers for fun. It was useful" he told me and looked me up and down. "We have got to stop meeting like this, beautiful"
"Or what? You might turn into a man eventually?" I taunted and kicked him off.
He chuckled as I stood up and looked at Damon scrambling up holding his sides with a painful scowl.
"We're even. It was nice seeing you" Kol winked at me before blurring away.
I let out a breath, feeling my face change back to normal and went to Damon.
"Are you alright?" I asked worriedly.
"Fine" he grumbled. "Let's go. This was all a waste of time"
The ride home was silent, disappointment killing everyone's mood. We dropped Elena and Jeremy home and Damon seemed to relax once Elena jumped out of the car. I leaned against the passenger door and watched him drive to the Boarding House. In a way, it was good to see the way he was acting, it assured me he had been truthful about never again choosing her over me.
"What?" he asked glancing at me.
"Are you gonna tell me what's up with you and Elena?" he tensed and I chuckled. "Sometimes you're so easy to read"
"Nothing…"
"I saw it, Damon. The kiss at the motel"
He paled and turned to me with a deep frown.
"Bella, I swear… Dammit, ahn, it was a mistake. I didn't…"
"Relax, Damon" I chuckled leaning over and kissed his cheek. "I saw and heard everything you said. I love you too"
"You could have told me you knew what happened and wasn't mad" he grumbled.
"But what fun would be in that? You had to see yourself squirming"
"I didn't squirm" he protested. "I was just trying to explain what happened in a way you wouldn't hate me or Elena"
"You were worried I would hate her?" I asked.
"Well… she's your friend" he shrugged.
"Damon, I'm not going to kill you for caring for her" I shrugged. "As long as you're truthful to me…"
"I love you. She doesn't mean what she once did to me" he said taking my hand and kissing the back of it. "Besides, why the hell would I trade hot vampire sex with you for boring, breakable human sex?"
"You're incorrigible" I said. "Only God knows why I love you"
"I think you know why you love me" he smirked.
"No. It's beyond my comprehension. You're such a jackass sometimes, not romantic at all and moody. There's also the fact that you think you're always right. The times you think your jokes are funny, but they are just inappropriate and silly. There's also the fact that you're an eternal womanizer…"
"Geez, will you continue all night long?" he laughed.
"And that annoying fact that that even with all of that, you still make me love you" I sighed as if it was the worst thing that could happen to me.
He tugged on my hand until I leaned over the console and he kissed me softly.
"Right back at ya" he murmured against my lips.