And here you are with your next chapter! Sorry that it wasn't sooner, I just had psychology essays and I still have homework that needs to get done. I'm going to Dublin for the day tomorrow and I want to get my next pirate chapter finished too, not to mention that my beta is hounding me for another chapter of my Dark Knight fiction. And while I do all of this, I like to read.
I only just realised that Jean Graham sort of reminds me of Sue Sylvester from Glee...the way she insults everyone with ease and never gets Cliona's name right...
I also like how Damon is nice to Cliona and listens to her, yet he can be a jerk to his brother, it's obvious that he can care about people, after Andy died especially.
You get more Ryan and Elena here so, I hope you like that. Elena should become more and more frequent, Bonnie and Lucy too. Sorry for this long note but, it had to be said...well maybe not my excuses but still.
Enjoy and review!
By the time Thursday finally came around, Cliona was practically counting down the days until Jean left for home that Sunday. Cordelia had called the night before to tell Cliona what had happened earlier. Apparently Jean had been insisting that they go shopping. Cordelia liked to shop but she absolutely hated it with her mother, especially when she became a little too 'honest' as she liked to call it.
After shopping, they had gone to lunch together, only for Cordelia to be criticised on the type of salad she had ordered and how she should drink more water because whatever she had been drinking at the time wasn't helping her pores. This subject had started Jean off on the topic of black heads and how Cordelia was always using the wrong cosmetics.
And the worst part?
It was only 1pm.
Cliona put down the phone, feeling terrible for her friend as she did so. She looked down at the phone just imagining what Jean was saying right now. Probably complaining about shoes or Cliona, or the town. Or maybe she was complaining about Cordelia's relationship status, which would spark a reaction and Cordelia could come home crying. Then Cliona could fight with Jean and put the chase on her, only for the older woman never to be seen again.
Cliona sighed, disappointed at how her fantasy wasn't real. It would have been amazing but it was just a fairytale. Besides, Cordelia would still allow Jean back into her life. That was the funny thing about Cordelia, she would fight with you and you may not talk to her for years, but when it came to her mother she'd be a completely different kettle of fish.
The bell above the shop door jangled and a middle aged man walked in. He had light brown hair and a receding hair line and a serious look on his face when he walked in, which instantly turned into one of awkwardness.
"Are you Miss Murphy?"
"Yes. I am. Can I help you?"
The man outstretched his hand towards her, "I'm Ryan. I'm Kyle's father"
"Oh" Cliona took Ryan's hand and shook it. "Very nice to meet you at last. You have a lovely son, very hard worker"
"That's always nice to hear"
"We love having him around."
"Well actually I came to talk to you about his job here actually"
"Is everything okay?" Cliona asked. Her eyes widened as she expected the worst. She didn't want to lose Kyle. How else would she learn about the towns inhabitants and prevent herself from getting bored on those long days when she had to work on her own.
"Oh no no. Everything is fine. I just wanted to come by and tell you how thankful I am that you took him in. No one else would do what you did, especially with his track record. I wanted to say thank you for reaching out to him. He's a completely new person now. He isn't getting into trouble and he's not coming home drunk or anything. You've done so much when you don't know us. So if there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask"
Cliona was stunned. She hadn't expected Kyle's father to thank her but now that she thought about it, Kyle had been different when she had first met him compared to now.
"Um, no problem. I'm fine for the moment but if anything comes to mind, I'll let you know"
"Okay-"
Ryan was interrupted when the bell over the door sounded throughout the room and in walked Cecile, a bright pink shirt and a pair of green pants.
She looked around but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Ryan. Cliona could've sworn that she had seen a flash of anger in her eyes before a look of shock crossed her features. Without a word, she turned and walked out of the shop, just like that.
"What's her problem?" Cliona asked, mostly to herself.
"Look, I don't know how to repay you so for now I'll give you some advice" Ryan said, the seriousness back in his eyes, "Watch yourself around her. Be careful"
Cliona opened her mouth about to ask what he was talking about, but Ryan had turned around and headed for the door before she could get even a word out.
Kyle wouldn't be in until later, Cliona didn't know how Kyle would have reacted if he'd seen his father walk into the shop.
000
After lunch, Cliona decided to get cracking on inventory and got counting the stock, always the person that liked to be on top of things. Kyle has sweeping the floor as the brunette woman stood by the shelves, pen in hand.
As she wrote down the amount of coffee mugs there were, she decided to ask Kyle what he knew, "Kyle?"
"Hmm?"
"What do you know about Cecile?"
"Only what I've told you, why?"
"Just wondering, I got a warning about her today so I was just curious"
"Who warned you?"
"Oh…um…don't know them, some girl." Cliona lied through her teeth. She didn't want to tell Kyle that his father had been in the shop earlier.
"So...how have you been keeping?" she decided to jump to a different topic as she went over to the shelf where the glow in the dark Jack Skellington alarm clocks were on display.
"Okay I guess, are you feeling okay?"
"Me? I'm fine. Why?"
"You just…you're acting unusual. Normally you'd want to know about someone new or something. You don't usually ask people about themselves in depth"
"I only asked how you are"
"Come on, spill it. Please don't turn into every other adult here that lies and keeps secrets"
"I met your dad today" Cliona blurted, but trying not to look worried. On the inside, she was terrified of Kyle's reaction, wanting to shake and look apologetic, while on the outside she was the picture of cool.
"What did he say?" Kyle asked, turning back to his job and sweeping the floor, even though he was looking at the floor Cliona could tell that he was trying to keep his cool too. He was curious as to what his father had said but he refused to look pushy. It was insane how much she had in common with this kid.
"Just that he's proud of how you're getting on in life. You seem clean and staying out of trouble and that he said that he wanted to say thank you for giving you the job here…which makes me want to ask, have you been using?"
"No" Kyle responded calmly, still watching the floor, "Not since that day you took a drag yourself. There was just something about it, and it made me realize that there was no fun in it"
"You're dad is proud of you Kyle, he's just terrified that he'll screw up and that that will impact your life. He's terrified about raising you on his own. You're all he has and he doesn't want to screw up anything. You're his son at the end of the day and nothing is going to change that. And as cheesy it sounds, he only wants what's best for you"
"He isn't the only one that lost her" Kyle said quietly, mostly to himself.
Cliona let out a breath and walked over to Kyle, taking his sweeping brush. "I'll tell you what, you go and talk to your dad. I mean really talk. You have to do it sometime and it's better late than never. He's all you have left too. I'll cover for you"
Kyle was like a statue for a couple of minutes. "I didn't expect you to be so deep" he half smiled.
Cliona smiled back, "I'm shocked myself. Maybe it's just what happens when you turn eighteen"
Kyle could only nod before grabbing his jacket and his backpack as he headed out the door.
Cliona could only hope that she had said the right thing.
000
"Please no. Please don't" Cliona begged, making Damon walk into the room to see what was gong on, assuming the worst but only finding Cliona sitting by the fire with her phone.
"But why? I'm telling you that she's some sort of evil witch. Why can't she just leave us alone?" Cliona had a look of desperation on her face as she stared at the floor in front of her and then to the fire, still not noticing Damon's presence.
"Yeah but…it's my house too. So? Oh don't bother playing that card with me. There's a huge difference….like the fact that you actually like my mother….and that she'd stay at some hotel or something…she'd go explore the town for herself, not follow me to work so she can tell me how-"
Cliona looked shocked as, who Damon was guessing was Cordelia, interrupted her. He knew that he could easily listen in but he was finding it much more entertaining to just witness Cliona's end of the conversation, he found the faces she pulled quiet funny.
"Look, just do what you need to do, just make sure that that woman isn't anywhere near me…Of course I'm going, why? ... Are you serious? Ugh…well there should be a hell of a lot of people there so I'll just try to blend….oh haha very funny" Cliona pressed a button to end the call and looked back at the fire, a brooding look on her face. Damon found it as the perfect time to make his presence known.
"The serious face doesn't suit you, to be quiet honest" he smirked, taking a seat on the couch across from her.
"That hag is staying in town for longer because her stupid flight got cancelled"
"And I thought you liked staying here" Damon faked being wounded, making Cliona break out a small smile.
"You have an amazing house don't worry-"
"Oh no, not the 'its not you, its me' speech"
"Will you shut up and let me finish?"
Damon shut his mouth and waved his hand, allowing her to proceeding, mockingly.
"I came here to get away from people like that, and I got a house so that I could live in it, not her. I have work to do; I have my stuff in that house. I don't want her here anymore; I never wanted her here anyway. She just invites herself."
"And is Cordelia aware of this?"
"Cordelia knows that I don't like her mother, I've said it on more than one occasion and she agrees. But she won't fully...leave her mother, she is always there when she wants something from her and it pisses me off. Her own mother is using her and she can't see it! And even if she does, she just stays! If I can drop a parent then why can't she?"
"Well it's her mother I suppose. Your mother is meant to be your one best friend"
"But her mother was never her friend. She never comforted her and told her that everything was going to be okay. She never picked her up when she fell down and dusted her off and told her to try again. You know who did? Me! That woman is a succubus!"
"What do you mean by drop a parent?"
"It's nothing, Cordelia and I just have some things in common"
"What kinds of things?"
"Just...things"
Damon was itching to compel Cliona into telling him the whole story but he didn't want to. He had no problem in invading people's privacy, such as Stefan's journals, but he didn't want to interfere with this woman when she didn't want to be interfered with. Cliona sighed as she looked down at her phone and said, "They say that a girl is never supposed to be let down by her dad, and I was. So I know how Cordelia feels since she's being betrayed by her mother over and over again. She keeps looking for some hint of redemption in her mother, but even I know that's never going to happen."
"I know the feeling, although I suppose it's different for women, seeing as you're all...more emotional about this sort of stuff" Damon smirked over to her, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Seeing his smile, made a smile appear on Cliona's face as she looked back at him.
"So how was your day today?"
Cliona snorted at the question and gave Damon a look as if to say 'are you serious?'
Damon merely looked back and replied, "What, I haven't seen you since this morning, besides, as the owner of this house I need to know that you aren't some secret serial killer"
"I went to work, came back, that was it"
"Nothing interesting happened this week at all?"
"Nah...met Kyle's dad, he told me to beware of Cecile, whatever that was about..."
"What?" a look of seriousness crossed Damon's features as he sat up straighter.
"Yeah, she walked in and then walked out without saying a word, Ryan came into the shop to thank me for hiring Kyle, he seemed genuinely thankful."
Damon smirked, mostly to himself, as he thought everything over, a bit smug that Ryan had thanked Cliona after Damon himself had verbally attacked Cecile, when she wouldn't drop the subject of Cliona being a witch, and had said that Cliona had done an amazing thing in helping Kyle by hiring him. It was a nice feeling, knowing that he had been the cause of the one nice thing that had happened to the woman across from him, all week. "That was certainly nice of him"
"Odd though"
"You're seriously going to question it? In a town like this?"
"Touché"
"Any plans for the upcoming party?"
"There's another one?"
"Yup, very history proud place. They have lots of parties every year, they just love to celebrate"
"So then what? A house gets demolished or a rock is turned over and everyone celebrates, just like that?"
Damon chuckled at her analogy. It was true that the inhabitants of Mystic Falls held a lot of parties but Damon knew that with the right words, Cliona would attend, and might even enjoy it seeing as there would, after all, be alcohol to keep her amused.
"Well this party thing is on tomorrow"
"Is it early?"
"Around two o'clock"
"I was planning on not bothering to open the shop and having a lazy day" Cliona almost whined.
"Well you have to go"
"Why? I'm not even from here"
"So? You live here, and it might look suspicious, people might take it up the wrong way, your absence might insult them" Damon smirked over at Cliona, who responded by grabbing the nearest cushion and throwing it at him. "What? I was only making a point"
"Fine I'll go" Cliona mumbled into another cushion she had picked up and held to her face.
"That's the spirit"
"Where will you be?" Cliona asked, raising her head and looking at Damon.
"I'll be there, don't worry, if you want a ride the offer is there. I don't think you should drive seeing as you'd probably end up having a repeat of the last time"
"And that is?"
"You'll get drunk"
"I could say no to a drink if I had to, excuse you!"
"Right, keep telling yourself that"
"What, you think I have no self control?"
"Oh please don't go there. I get enough of that from Stefan!"
"Wait...your brother's an alcoholic?" Cliona asked disbelievingly. Damon's head was back but his eyes widened and he looked at her after she had asked this question, obviously not expecting it. Cliona took this up differently and instead began to try and fix her mistake, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry...just didn't see that coming"
Damon smiled at her discomfort and decided to have some fun, "Its okay. You should know if you're going to stay here. He's had some trouble with his drinking habits for a good few years now. I've tried to help him. He's clean at the moment but who knows for how long?"
"Must be hard, taking care of him on your own and all"
"It is" Damon replied, trying to see how long he could play the sympathy card, which he was thoroughly enjoying. He watched as Cliona stood up and went over to the fire to throw another stick into it and sat down next to him, knowing that she had only used the fire as an excuse to sit beside him.
"I know that it's hard, trying to be there for a younger sibling on your own" Cliona said gently, holding his hand and squeezing it, "But it's something that you can always get through, as hard as it may seem at the best of times"
Damon hadn't expected her to say that. She had spoken about a parent leaving and not really speaking to her siblings, but this was certainly new to him. She seemed so sure, sounding like she had really been in the position that he was in. It was a comfort to him, as he looked into her eyes and saw her looking back at him, a small smile on her face. He knew that he wasn't alone. Damon could feel himself inching closer towards her, and closer. Her eyes half closed as she felt herself getting closer too, their noses were just touching each other, both of them in a silent trance, when the door flung open and Stefan walked in, causing Damon and Cliona to both jump apart, or in this case Cliona, seeing as Damon rather glare at his brother. He didn't regret telling Cliona that Stefan was an alcoholic after he had just interrupted them like that.
"I think I'll go to bed now, it's late and I have a busy day tomorrow"
Stefan, who was oblivious to what he had just done, nodded and said his goodnight, as Damon was left to glare at his younger brother, saying his goodnight too but not letting his eyes leave Stefan. And with that, Cliona went upstairs, not to be seen again until the morning.
000
That Friday morning, Cliona decided that she should go to work, but close up early and put up a 'closed for town function' sign up. It was odd not having Kyle around, as he was in school, but Cliona managed just fine. The work began to pile up, as she found new inventory which had just been delivered that needed to be accounted for, and stocked and priced with the price gun. The floor looked like it needed a good sweep and the windows still hadn't been cleaned since the shop had opened.
At midday, Cliona decided to close up the shop and go to see if her house was empty, so she could find something to wear for the party in two hours. The house seemed empty when she stepped inside, so Cliona rushed upstairs to her closet to see if she could find anything as quickly as possible in case it turned out that she wasn't alone. A dark green dress was the only thing that she could find which was suitable for the party, so she tried to dig around for a pair of shoes to go with it, only to find a pair of black heels with fake crystals on the straps. Cliona couldn't help but roll her eyes. She wasn't into fashion and shopping and the only person in the house that was, was also a shoe size smaller. Luckily the dress covered her feet and Cliona had some black coloured jewellery to add to the outfit. Grabbing her things, she rushed down the stairs, only to hear her name being called out, or rather, something similar "Oh Clodagh darling!"
"Cliona" Cliona corrected, trying not to do so through gritted teeth.
"Yes, that's what I said. I haven't seen you in age's darling, you haven't been around. I hope you haven't had a falling out with Cordelia."
"Oh no, just busy. Working over time, with the shop only being new and all. Lots of jobs need to be done"
"You work too much, gives you wrinkles you know. And here I was, thinking you were avoiding me"
"Me? Never!" Cliona replied, lying through her teeth. She wanted to get as far away from this woman as soon as possible. Cliona knew that Jean was practically the devil incarnate and she didn't want to be around her once she began firing off her insults and pretending that she didn't even notice their effects on people.
"Oh that's nice dear, so what rag to clean your car with have you come by to collect?"
"Those cheap ones you get, I hear that some people even turn them into dresses and outfits but you already know that since you're wearing one. I mustn't keep you waiting, blabbering on about things you already know about, see you later Jean" Cliona didn't even hesitate as she walked out of the house and towards her car. The image of a shocked Jean replaying in her mind. The picture brought a smug smile to Cliona's lips. The party should be fun and she had stood up to Jean by playing her at her own game, today was certainly going to be a pleasant one.
On the drive to the boarding house, where she was planning on getting changed, she couldn't help but let last nights events play over in her mind, as the thoughts as Jean began to fade. Was it wrong what she had done? Should she have said what she had said? Cliona hoped that she hadn't scared Damon off, especially as he was letting her crash at his house while the anti-Christ was there. And with that thought, Cliona began to worry some more.
She may have sorted Jean out for the moment, but everyone in town was attending the party and if Cliona had to go, that meant Cordelia had to go. And if Delia went, her mother would demand to know where she was going and would then proceed to... go too.
No, Cordelia would never allow it, she knew that Cliona would cover for her and make up an excuse saying that her mother was in town or something. Cliona wouldn't exactly be lying if she said that Jean was sick, because she was...in the head.
Cliona pulled up outside the house and walked in, finding the place empty. She walked up the stairs and went to get ready for the party, not knowing what to expect for the day.
000
The party started off just like the last one, with the long queues of people waiting to enter the Lockwood Mansion, the only difference being that this time Cliona had wound up going with Damon, almost like an unspoken date if you could even call it that. While waiting in line, nothing was said until they reached the steps, ironically behind the same couple as last time which gave Cliona de ja vu.
"Your friend hasn't arrived yet"
"She's probably not coming, with Jeans flight being cancelled"
"You don't think that Jean would show up? Pass up an opportunity to insult both of you in public?"
"If she tried that, I'd tell everyone that she was drunk, but that would only be after I publicly throttled her"
Damon chuckled at how serious Cliona looked as she kept her eyes ahead of her. "People might help you, if she tries her antics with the rest of them"
"Oh no, I know how this woman works. She will play the nice and perfect English woman that was well educated and brought up, and then she will try to publically humiliate her daughter. Because that is what bitches like her do"
"People like what do?" a voice came from behind the pair, causing them both to turn around to see Stefan and Elena, their arms linked and bright smiles on their faces.
"Stefan, what a pleasant surprise, what are you doing here?" Damon said, looking at his brother with an obvious fake smile upon his face to match Stefan's.
"Oh you know? Celebrating the town, with the town, and all that. Couldn't leave Elena without a date now could I?"
Elena, who Cliona recognized from the shop as the brunette, offered her hand to Cliona and said, "Hi I'm Elena, we haven't properly met" with a genuine smile on her face, her brown eyes sparkling.
"Cliona"
"Unusual name, you own the shop don't you? Around the town square?"
"Yup, Riot Next Door"
"Great name, I've seen you in there. You've got some cool stuff"
It was becoming obvious by now that Elena was struggling for things to say. Cliona didn't know whether to let her continue to struggle, which she found a little amusing, or if she should help her and say something else. Seeing as they weren't alone, she chose the latter. "I love your necklace. I kinda have a thing for silver jewellery"
"Thanks, Stefan gave it to me. You have very unusual earrings, they're cool"
"Damn, I forget to take those out"
"No leave them in. They go well with the dress, which totally matches your eyes by the way"
Cliona smiled in thanks, as the line moved forward. She had forgotten to take out her shark tooth earrings which were dangling from her ears, her curled brown hair barely concealing them.
"Well we better leave you kids alone before the girl talk begins to escalate." Damon interrupted as they reached the door, this time being welcomed by a caterer. Without a second thought, Cliona had been dragged away in another direction, to where what she suspected was the dining-room.
"Carol, you have the place looking stunning" Damon said to a woman with short brown hair and pearls around her neck. He was obviously acting in order to get into her good books, then again the woman didn't necessarily look like the type of person you could walk up to and hi-five and greet with a simple 'hey'.
"Damon, I'm glad you could make it. And who is this?" she asked, a little snootily for Cliona's taste as she eyed her up and down.
"This is Cliona Murphy, co-owner of Mystic Fall's first ever alternative shop" Damon embellished, making Cliona out to be some sort of god, making her want to roll her eyes at him. He can kneel on the floor and kiss my feet while he's at it, Cliona thought to herself.
"Oh hello, I'm Carol Lockwood, pleasure to finally meet you" Carol said, shaking Cliona's hand. Carol looked behind Cliona, her expression changing before she faced the pair and said, "I'm sorry, but I'm needed somewhere. Enjoy the party" and with that she was gone.
"What is this party even in celebration of anyway?" Cliona whispered.
"I have no idea"
"You should, you're from here"
"So?"
"So you should know!"
"Oh come on, you need a drink"
"And you need a slap but that doesn't mean you'll get one though"
Damon turned around and smirked down at her, "Why? You don't want to ruin my dashing good looks?"
"No Mr Ego, it's because I don't want to risk breaking your jaw. I need someone to entertain me while we're here"
"And here I was, thinking that you were beginning to like me"
"Oh don't get too ahead of yourself, I like you already. I wouldn't have agreed to stay at your place if I didn't. And where are you going? The bar is that way"
"I'm not the biggest fan of that bar" Damon replied, smelling the vervain coming from it. Sheriff Forbes was obviously intent in finding that new vampire. Damon led them outside by the wall which over looked the full extent of the Lockwood's back garden, which had been covered in fairy lights that would obviously be turned on when it got dark outside. Damon pulled out a small bottle of whiskey and took a sip before handing it to Cliona, who took some for herself.
"At least you came prepared" Cliona said, thinking about how he had had no problem with the bar at the last party.
"I'll have you know, that I'm always thinking ahead"
"I don't know why you bother. You never know what the future brings"
"But you have to admit, a safety net is handy"
"I'm not denying it. I'm just saying that the future can screw you up too"
Damon looked at Cliona and thought how it was ironic that there were people in this town that were accusing this woman of being a witch, when she was accusing Jean Graham of the exact same thing. People in this town just didn't like people with a brain. His father had never liked him because he had had the sense to leave town and now Cliona was being accused of witchcraft because she wasn't from the area and hadn't been raised with the same customs as the rest of them. This woman was a genius and everyone felt threatened by her and her differences, so they felt the need to put her out. And the worst part was that she was completely oblivious to it while it was going on underneath her very nose.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked, noticing that Damon had been staring at her for a while.
"I'm thinking about how you are different to every other person in this town"
Cliona looked away as she felt a blush creep up her cheeks.
"How am I different?"
"Because you know you aren't perfect and you except that. You play people at their own game and you can actually say that you have some brains"
"No I can't"
"Yes you can"
"No"
"You have your own shop"
"The owners of all the others can say that too"
"See! You were smart enough to think up of that come back"
"Have you been drinking since before you came here?"
"Were you always this modest?"
"Excuse me"
Damon and Cliona looked up to see Ryan Sterling in a suit, looking down at them, "I'm sorry to interrupt but I was wondering if I could borrow Miss Murphy for a few minutes"
"Of course, I'll be right back" she said to Damon before getting up from the wall she had been sitting on and left to go inside with Ryan.
Damon watched them as they left. An unexpected pang of jealousy coursed through him. He had been talking to her first and he had even brought her here. What right did that guy have? And why was he feeling this way? Had he just made a fool of himself after what he had just said? I need a drink, Damon thought as he pulled out the whiskey bottle again.
Meanwhile, Cliona was dancing with Ryan among the rest of the guests.
"I wanted to thank you again, I know that I must be annoying you by now but...Kyle came to talk to me the other day and I just want to say that I really appreciate it. We both needed that. And I want you to know that I'm here still, if you need anything."
"You could tell me something"
"Anything"
"Why do I have to stay away from Cecile?"
And I shall leave you with that lovely cliff hanger. My next update should hopefully me up before the end of next week. I have exams next week so...I'm not so certain about specific times.
Hope you liked the chapter.
Don't forget to review! Or at least Follow me on Facebook as CaptainSkitzoVamp, the link is on my page, or you could just click on Homepage over my Avatar.
Until next time.
Skitz ;)