Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries and never will, but I do own Charlene Davis and Megan Swann and any other characters I come up with.
Author's Note: Hope you love the updated version! :D
Since she didn't know how long she was going to be here, Megan might as well get something to eat. She wasn't going to let Damon stop her from eating. She couldn't even remember the last time ate, so she got a burger and fries. At the moment, Megan was taking the pickles off her burger, not because she didn't like them. She just didn't like them on her burgers. Of course, her mind was still thinking about Demetria and how she was connected to her.
"So, let's say for arguments sakes, I'm descended from Demetria, would that make me part vampire?" Megan asked, deciding to just question Damon because he would, at least, answer her questions unlike Stefan.
"Vampires can't procreate." Damon popped a fry into his mouth. "But we love to try." He smirked.
Megan gave him a look. "Damon, I'm being serious. Can you not joke around for one second?"
"Now, where would the fun be in there?" he smirked again as Megan rolled her eyes in exasperation. He then shook his head. "But no, if you were related, it would mean Demetria had a child before she was turned. Same can be said for Katherine and Abigail."
Megan stared at him for a moment. "So, what was his plan? Did Stefan think he could use me to replace her?" She put the bun back on her burger before taking a huge bite, deciding not be lady like about since she was starving. She sat it back down before wiping her mouth and sighing. She really hoped that wasn't the case.
"Kind of creepy if you ask me." Damon said with a shrug.
"Well, same can be said for you and Charlene." Megan retorted. He was silent for a moment.
"Come on, what? You don't like pickles?" Damon changed the subject, reaching out to take one of her pickles. "What's wrong with you?"
She went to smack his hand away, but he managed to snatch one and put it in his mouth. "I do like them for your information." She stuck her tongue out at him. "I just don't like them on my burgers, that's all. So, hands off." He held his hands up in surrender and she actually chuckled, unable to stop the smile from appearing on her face. "How is that you can eat? You're dead." She wasn't afraid to say the word because it was true.
Damon laughed before answering her question. "As long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally."
"Except for procreating." Megan teased. He just smirked, and she shook her head. She said nothing for a moment, regarding him seriously. "Another question…why are you being so nice? Is this all an act, to make me believe your not as bad as I think you are?"
He didn't have time to answer as Bree interrupted. "Here you go." She said, handing Damon a beer.
"Thank you."
Megan eyed his beer, then glanced up at Bree. "You know what, I changed my mind, I'll have one too." She announced, causing Damon to look over at her. She saw his look as Bree gave her one. "What? You told me to put what happened in Mystic Falls on hold for five minutes, and you know what? I need a beer for it." She picked up her beer, holding hers out for Damon to click it with his.
With a smirk, he clicked it and Megan took a long drink of her beer before setting it down to let out a satisfying sound.
2 hours later…
Megan hadn't planned on drinking too much, but here she was at the bar, taking shot after shot with the rest of the bar. And Damon, who she didn't think she would be drinking with in a million years, but here she was.
"Ready…go!" Bree exclaimed.
Megan shot back her drink, faster than everyone else. She slammed down her shot glass and threw her arms in the air with a wide grin.
"And that's how you do it!" Megan cheered with a jump, giving the woman next to her a wink. "Now, Damon, how many was that? Three?" She smirked as she looked over at him to find him pouting. She burst out laughing, finding it amusing, before she pouted out her bottom lip and fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Aw, don't pout, Damon. It's not a good look for you. Or if you insist on being a baby about it, I can always give you a bib." She patted his cheek, giggling.
Damon got rid of the pout and schooled his face into his usual smirk as he pushed her hand away. "Sorry I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol."
Megan stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "I'm gonna take that as a compliment!" she grinned before turning to Bree, liking the woman more and more, but mostly because she was giving out the alcohol. "How about another round, Bree?" This earned cheers from the people around, causing her grin to widen.
"Honey, you should be on the floor!" The woman, who she winked at, exclaimed, drunkenly.
"Girl, I'm not even drunk!" Megan informed her, rather loudly. "I have a tolerance that's way up here!"
"Alright. Here you go." Bree poured another round.
"Thanks, Bree-Bree, you're a saint!"
Megan blew her a kiss, then grinned as she downed her next shot before starting to talk Damon's ear off. He seemed not to care, and it looked like he was enjoying himself, but Megan barely noticed. She didn't even notice the fact that someone was watching her and Damon.
A little bit later, Megan was having a laughing fit at the pool table, having a good time with random people. She didn't even bother getting their names, not that she needed to since she was going to be leaving after Damon finished with whatever he had to finish with. Megan couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun. It was definitely before all this vampire stuff started. She definitely needed this break from Mystic Falls, not that she would ever admit it to Damon.
Finishing her current drink, Megan finally noticed that her cell phone was ringing in her pocket. With the familiar ring tone of Charlene's number, so she didn't have to bother looking at the caller id as she answered the phone.
"Charlene!" she exclaimed, slurring a bit on her best friend's name. "Finally! You called! I've missed you!"
"Meg, are you drunk?"
Megan could barely hear her over the sound of loud music. "What was that?!" she practically yelled into her phone, probably hurting Char's eardrums. "I can't hear you! Hold on, let me get outside!" She grabbed her bag and stumbled a bit as she tried to walk outside, and she managed to get out of there. "Okay, I'm out! What did you say again?!"
"I asked if your drunk. Did Damon take you to a bar or something? Where are you, Megan? Stefan and I…we're worried about you. When are you coming home?"
"I-I'm fin-d, Charlie! And nooooooo, I'm not drunk!" Megan giggled girlishly.
"Megan…"
"Okaaaaaay, maybe a litttttle…" She showed with her index finger and thumb how much even though Charlene couldn't see. "But, I'm fin-d! And I'm somewhere in…" Before she could finish, she stepped down off the steps and in the process, she lost her balance and dropped all of her stuff on the ground. "Oh nooo…" She pouted with a sigh.
Megan bent down to pick her stuff up along with her phone. She was about to put the phone back to her ear when she was suddenly grabbed, and her mouth was covered before she could even let out a scream.
Damon headed back over to the bar where Bree was at, wiping down the bar. She looked at him, then looked around for a moment before turning her gaze but to him.
"Where's your girl at?" she asked.
"She's not my girl." Damon corrected her. "But she was back there." He looked back at the pool table, frowning when he didn't see her there. So, he ended up going outside because maybe she was out there.
He stepped outside of the bar, immediately spotting Megan's phone on the ground. The light was still on, signally someone was on the phone. He picked it up, putting it to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Damon!" Charlene's worried voice came over the phone. "Something happened to Megan! I was on the phone with her and…"
"Calm down, I'll find her." Damon tried to reassure her, and it seemed to work as her voice sounded calmer when she spoke next.
"Okay…call me after you find her…"
He didn't say that he would because she and he knew that he would. He hung up with Charlene before walking around the bar, spotting an electrical building. He started to head that way, but the sound of Megan's voice stopped him.
"Damon, no!"
He looked up to find his brother's girl hanging onto a tank. He didn't have time to react as he was hit by a wooden blank sending him to the ground.
Megan's eyes widened in horror, watching as Damon was sent flying to a ground. It was obviously this was a trap for whatever reason! Not knowing why, she was worried about Damon's safety, Megan hurriedly jumped down from the tank without hurting herself since it wasn't that far of a jump. She ran towards Damon while he was being repeatedly hit over and over with the wooden blank.
"Stop hurting him!" Megan yelled frantically, trying to get the person to stop. She wasn't so drunk anymore.
"What the hell?!" Damon choked out and the man hit him one final time, but he didn't stop there as he grabbed a tank of gasoline and started dumping on and around his body.
"Just stop!" Megan yelled again. In response, the man turned his head towards her, revealing his vampire teeth. Her eyes widened. He was a vampire!
"Who are you?" Damon demanded.
The man laughed darkly, tossing his head back. "That's perfect! You have no idea."
Megan breathed heavily as she got even more confused by the minute. "What are you talking about? What did he do?"
He didn't spare her a glance. "He killed my girlfriend." He glared heatedly at Damon, pouring more and more gasoline on him. "What did she do to you, huh?! What did she do to you?!"
"Nothing…" he grunted out, rolling on his back as the man finally tossed the gasoline tank to the ground.
"I-I don't understand, what's going on."
"My girlfriend went to visit Stefan, and Damon killed her. Got it?" He grabbed the bat and smacked Damon with it again, making him cry out.
Megan was still confused as hell, but only for a minute as she finally realized who he was, and her eyes widened. He was talking about Lexi! He was about to hit Damon, but Megan quickly stopped him.
"Wait! You're talking about Lexi, aren't you? You're her boyfriend…but I thought you were still human!"
His eyes turned to her, and her heart broke for him as she saw they were glistening with tears. "I was…"
"So, she turned you?"
"If you want to be with someone forever, you have to live forever." He turned back towards, poised to hit him again. Again, she stopped him.
"Wait! What's your name?" Megan quickly asked, deciding on that question because Lexi never mentioned him by name.
"Lee."
"Lee, you don't have to do this!" she pleaded with him. "I know what Damon did was extremely wrong, but Lexi…she loved you! She wouldn't want you do this!"
He turned towards her again, flashing his fangs, and Megan flinched. "You know nothing about her! NOTHING!"
"I might not have known her that well, but I know she wouldn't want you to do it! Damon's a dick head and he probably deserves whatever you planning to do to him…"
"Megan, not helping…" Damon groaned.
She ignored him. "So please, don't it!"
Lee said nothing for a moment. "I'm doing you a favor." He said simply, lighting up a match as he turned towards Damon again.
Megan could have used her powers to stop him, but she wasn't going to. She knew it wouldn't do any good if she did it.
"No, please!" Megan begged. "Don't hurt him! Please, I know it hurts, but this isn't the way to go about it! If you do this, you won't be any better than Damon! Be the better man! Be the man Lexi fell in love with!"
Lee paused, still holding the match, as he looked back over at her, eyes scanning over her face. Megan had tears running down them now. After a moment, he blew out the match and threw it on the ground before grabbing Damon and tossing him into the building. Thankfully, he didn't attack him after that as he glanced back at Megan, his eyes still with tears in them.
"Thank you…" she whispered, knowing he would be able to hear her.
"I didn't do it for you." Lee responded simply, and Megan knew it to be true. He did it for Lexi.
With those final words, he disappeared out of sight. Once he was gone, Megan ran over to Damon's body and helped him up to his feet.
"Are you alright?" she asked, worry in her tone.
He managed a smirk. "Aw, I knew you cared about me." Megan rolled her eyes and let him drop to the floor. "Hey!"
"Don't get used to it." She informed him before heading back into the bar, leaving him alone. She didn't save him because she cared, she saved him because she knew it would kill Stefan if his brother, even if he would never admit it. Stefan loved Damon and always would, despite what he did. That was the only reason she saved him. At least that's what she told herself.
Stefan and Bonnie headed up to Bonnie's Grams' house and the door swung open, revealing Shelia Bennett on the other side.
"Well, now, look who's return to battle." Shelia said, smiling as she hugged her granddaughter. Once the hug broke, she spoke again, glancing at Stefan. "Can I talk to your friend for a minute?"
Bonnie nodded, looking back over at Stefan. "Thank you."
Stefan nodded, giving her a soft smile. Bonnie smiled back before going inside the house and Sheila closed the door behind her granddaughter. It left her and Stefan alone to talk.
"I appreciate your help, Stefan." Sheila started off.
"You're welcome…" He paused for a moment, a smile appearing on his face. "Shelia."
Sheila hid a big smile. "I wasn't sure you remembered."
"October 1967."
"I was barely a teenager."
"And you were leading what was probably the only antiwar sit-in within miles of Mystic Falls." Stefan added.
Sheila nodded. "Hmm."
"You know when you spoke, people were memorized," Stefan said remembering it vividly in his head. "I know I was." He smiled.
"Until the cops showed up," Sheila said with a laugh before she grew serious. "You took a big risk coming to see me earlier. Letting me read you, realize what you were. It could have gone a completely different."
Stefan nodded, a serious look on his face. "Your family has a very long history about keeping my secret. I knew I could trust you if you believed I was worthy of your trust."
Shelia said nothing for a moment. "Bonne knows, doesn't she?"
"Yes."
"Please understand, our loyalty can only extend so far. This town won't be easy on any of us if they figure it out. And I'll protect my own before anybody else." Sheila warned.
Stefan nodded. "I know that."
Sheila nodded back. "As long as we're clear," she said. "Goodnight then."
"Goodnight Sheila." Sheila smiled as she went inside her house and closed the door behind her.
Bree drowned her shot, swallowing it before she heard Damon's voice from behind her. She forced herself not to look frightened as she stayed with her back facing him.
"We were just leaving, I wanted to say goodbye." Damon said, looking oddly calm.
"Good to see you again."
"No kiss?"
Bree turned towards him, finally. "I'm full of vervain." She warned slowly, keeping her voice cool and collected. "I put it in everything I drink."
"And your telling me this why?" Damon said, his eyes flashing dangerously.
"Lexi was my friend," Bree said, looking close to tears. "How could you?" She turned away from Damon was already in front of her and she managed to cry out before he could do anything. "The tomb can be opened!"
Damon's eyes narrowed at Bree as he moved closer to her. "You're lying!"
"Emily's grimoire, her spell book. If you know how she closed the tomb the reversal process will be in her book. You can open that tomb."
"And where is this book?"
"I-I…"
Damon took menacing steps towards her as she backed away as quickly a she could. "You have no idea," he growled.
"No! I'm telling you the truth!"
"And I believe you. My dear, sweet Bree," Damon cooed as he ran a hand down her cheek and she closed her eyes, letting out a sigh of relief. "That's why I'm almost sorry…"
Bree's eyes flew open and she let out a cry of pain as Damon took her heart out. He watched her fall to the floor with a surprisingly sorry expression on his face. With that, he wiped off his hand and grabbed his jacket before he walked out of the bar and got into the car where Megan was waiting for him.
They were finally in Damon's car, heading back to Mystic Falls. It was great to get away for a while, but Megan knew she couldn't stay away for long, not when there was stuff going on that she needed to know about. Megan stayed silent for most of the car ride, not really knowing what to talk about with Damon. But then something she wanted to ask came to mind.
"Why did you bring me with you anyway, Damon? You could have done this by yourself." Megan said, breaking the silence between them as she looked over at him.
"Well, you're not the worst company in the world, Megan." He said, but it didn't really answer her question. "You should give yourself more credit!"
She crossed her arms. "That doesn't answer my question, Damon. It has to be something more than just that."
He said nothing for a moment, glancing over at her. "You were there in the road, all damsel-in-distress-like. And, I knew it would piss off Stefan."
And there was the real reason.
"Should have known…" Megan mumbled.
"But mostly because you're not the worst company in the world." Damon continued, and she looked up at him.
"Well, thanks, I guess." Megan faced forward again before smiling widely, realizing something. "Then again, if I hadn't been there, you would be dead right now. Because I wouldn't have been there to save your life."
"I know." Damon admitted, actually smiling a little.
She looked at him again, smirking now. "And trust me, I'm not going to let you forget it."
The rest of the car ride flew by and before she knew it, they were back in Mystic Falls. Damon dropped her off at the boarding house before going god knows where, but that was the last she needed to worry about. Because now she finally had to talk to Stefan.
Megan went up to his room and he was there, but he wasn't alone as Charlene and Elena was there. Both of them perked up when they saw her and the blonde vampire was the first one to come up to her, hugging her tightly.
"Thank god! I was so worried about you!" she exclaimed as she hugged her.
Megan hugged her best friend back just as tightly. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to worry you. I had no idea that would happen."
"It's okay." Charlene pulled back from the hug and looked her over. "Are you okay? Damon didn't bother you too much, did he?"
"Damon was Damon." That was really all she wanted to say on the subject as she finally turned towards Stefan. "Hi…"
"Hi…"
Megan didn't beat around the bush any longer. "You could have told me. Why didn't you tell me?"
Charlene stepped back over to Elena, so they could have their moment, but she stayed in the room, still wanting to hear what he had to say. It didn't bother Megan because both of them were apart of this too.
"I wanted to tell you…" Stefan said quietly.
"But you didn't." Megan told him calmly. She wasn't angry anymore…just frustrated. "You told me there would be no more lies, Stefan, and here's yet another one to add onto the pile." She let out a frustrated breath. "I don't get why your keeping stuff from me. I've been able to handle everything else you threw at me: You're a vampire. You have a vampire brother. You told me my best friend got turned into a vampire. I was able to handle it. And I can handle the fact that I look like your ex-girlfriend, that my best friend looks like your brother's ex-girlfriend, and that Elena looks like your brother's ex-girlfriend's sister." That was a mouthful. I just want to know the truth…and what exactly I am to you? Who am I to you?"
Stefan stepped forward towards her. "You are not Demetria. You are the opposite of everything that she was. And so are you guys. You two are nothing like Katherine and Abigail." Those last two parts were directed at Charlene and Elena.
"And when did you figure that out, Stefan?" Megan questioned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Before we kissed? Before we slept together?" Her voice cracked at the end. Since it was one of the things that hurt the most.
He shook his head. "Before I met you…before I met all three of you."
Megan stared at him, shocked. "What?" She shared glances with Elena and Charlene, who looked just as shocked as she did.
"The first day of school. When we met. It wasn't the first time."
"Then when was it?"
Stefan sighed as he made eye contact with Elena. "Elena was the first one I met…and that was in May 23, 2009…"
The brunette's mouth dropped. "What? But…but that was…"
"That was the day your parents' car went off the bridge." Stefan finished quietly.
"You were there?"
Megan couldn't believe it. If that was when he met Elena, when did he meet her? She stayed silent as Stefan went on with his story.
"Every couple of years when I come back here, to see Zach and see my home. Last spring, I was out, by old Wickery Bridge. And I heard the accident. All of it. I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. The car was already submerged. Your dad was still…he was still unconscious. I was able to get to him, but he wouldn't let me help him, until I helped you…"
Elena immediately started crying and Charlene grabbed a hold of her sister, holding onto her tight as her own eyes welled up with tears.
"Oh my god…" she managed to say through her tears. "When I woke up in the hospital, nobody could figure out I got out of the car. They said it was miracle…"
Stefan gave a soft nod, his face filled with emotion. "I went back for them. But it was too late. I couldn't – I couldn't save them. When I pulled you, I looked at your face…you looked like Katherine. I couldn't believe the resemblance…so I started following you…and then I met you…" He turned his gaze to Megan. "You were sitting in the Grill with Charlene and I just couldn't believe it…you looked so much like Demetria…I spent months making sure you weren't her. I watched you. I learned everything about you. And I saw you were nothing like Demetria at all. And I got to know Elena and Charlene in the process and they were nothing like Katherine and Abigail either. I wanted to leave town, but, Megan, I couldn't. I couldn't leave without knowing you. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you…all three of you. I wanted to…"
That was one question answered, but there was another one Megan needed to know. All three of them did.
"Why do we look like them?"
Stefan sighed. "Megan…"
"Tell me please…" she begged.
He said nothing as he sat down on the nearby couch and he gestured at all three of them. They all sat down. Megan stared, waiting for him to say something.
He finally did.
"It didn't make sense to me. Elena and Charlene were Gilberts, Katherine and Abigail were Pierces, and you were a Bennett and Demetria was a Pierce. But the resemblance was too similar. And then I learned the truth…" He paused for a moment, looking down at his feet before looking back up at them. "All of you were adopted…"
Charlene couldn't believe it. They…they were adopted. Miranda and Grayson weren't their real parents. Her head was pounding. All this information was too much. Same could be said for Elena, but she actually ran from the room, while Charlene stayed, wanting to know more.
"How do you know this?" Charlene asked quietly, leaning into Megan's side as her best friend wrapped her arm around her shoulders.
"Your and Elena's birth certificates from the city records." Stefan started to explain, keeping eye contact with them. "They say Elena and Charlene Gilbert, Mystic Falls General. But there's no record of your mother ever being admitted. There's no record of her ever being pregnant."
"And what about me?" Megan questioned.
"There's record of her ever being pregnant either…" he said.
"But I'm still confused…I thought Demetria was Emily's sister?"
"She was…Emily's adopted sister. She's Katherine and Abigail's sister…"
Megan stayed silent. "So…does that mean I'm related to Char and Elena?"
"I have no idea."
It would make complete sense if Megan was related to her. She already felt like a sister to Charlene.
"What else do you know?" Charlene asked Stefan after a moment of silence.
He shook his head. "For me to go any further, I would've have had to look into the Pierce family, and I couldn't do that. It's too much of a risk. If someone found out I was asking about Katherine, Abigail, and Demetria…Listen to me…it doesn't matter." He cradled Megan's face in his hands, seemingly forgetting Charlene was there as she sat there awkwardly. "You are the woman I love. I love you."
Megan stared at him with soft eyes. "I love you too." She kissed him for a moment before burying her face into his chest.
"I'll leave you two, alone." Charlene said softly as she stood up. "I need to make sure Elena's okay." She started to walk out but stopped at the sound of Stefan's voice and she turned her head to look at him.
"I'm so sorry, Charlene." He told her quietly, holding onto Megan tightly.
She just nodded at him before leaving the boarding house and getting into her car where Elena was, tears streaming down her face.
"Are you alright?" Charlene asked her sister.
"N-no…I'm not…we're adopted…Char…" Elena whispered through her tears. "Why didn't Jenna tell us? And what about Megan? Is she related to us?"
Charlene sighed in response. "I don't have all the answers, Lena. We're going to have to ask Jenna, okay? And we're going to find out." She didn't say anything else on the subject as she started her car and drove away from the boarding house.
It didn't take too long to get back to their house and Charlene was the first to walk in, followed by Elena. Their aunt was sitting down on the couch, flipping through a magazine when they came in. Jenna looked up at them before she could get a word out, Elena interrupted her angrily.
"Jenna, are we adopted?" she demanded.
Jenna's mouth dropped in response. "I…"
Elena took that as answer enough and she shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe this!" she exclaimed, heading towards the stairs.
Jenna stood up and quickly followed. "Elena, wait!"
Her sister whirled around. "Why didn't you tell us?! I thought we were closer than that."
Charlene was mad her aunt too, but she clearly wasn't as mad as Elena was. Then again, she was always the one to remain calm in situations like this.
"Elena, I didn't…they asked me not to." Jenna said in a tone clearly begging with her to understand. She did glance at Charlene too, but the blonde still didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say.
"I don't want to hear it!" Elena stormed up the stairs, leaving Jenna and Charlene alone.
There was silent until Jenna turned to Charlene. "Are…are you going to yell at me too?" she asked in a hesitated tone.
"I think Elena did that enough for the both of us." Charlene responded simply, starting to head up the stairs. She didn't get far.
"I'm sorry." Jenna stopped her, grabbing her arm. Charlene didn't look back at her. "I wanted to tell you…but I promised your mom…and dad…"
After a moment, Charlene looked back at her. "I know…but you could have told us…I think mom and dad would forgive you for telling us…they're not here anymore to get angry at you…we had to hear it from someone else. We should have heard it from you, Jenna." Her aunt looked down at her feet, but she continued. "Is there anything you need to tell us about? About Megan…?"
Jenna looked up and bit her bottom lip. "Yeah…" she sighed. "Megan's your sister…but there's something else…Elena isn't."
"W-what?" Charlene looked at her aunt, shocked.
Alaric was sitting at the bar in the Grill, grading papers, when he heard a voice say,
"Bourbon."
Alaric looked over at a man with messy black hair. The man glanced at him too and Alaric froze, finding himself in flashback. The man was the same person, who killed his wife, Isobel. Alaric sat down his drink with an angry expression on his face.
TBC...
In...
Unpleasantville, Part 1