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
Charlene sat awkwardly next to Damon as Pearl spoke up after seeing they were settled down and ready to listen.
"We've taken up residence at a farmhouse just outside of town." She explained. "It'll suffice for now."
"Wait, what?" Charlene blurted out, shocked. "All 25 vampires are out of the tomb?"
Pearl pursed her lips at her, looking like she regretted letting her stay for the conversation. "Not all, some." As if that made it better. "I imagine that a few already left town. Others are probably still in the woods or like us acclimating."
Damon shared a look with Charlene before turning his gaze to Pearl and Anna. "How did they get out of the tomb?" he asked.
"I think the witch…"
Charlene cut her off, "Her name is Bonnie."
Anna rolled her eyes in response as she went on, "Screwed up that part of her hocus pocus."
Charlene didn't know what to say to that. She still couldn't believe the tomb vampires were out and about…the spell had failed. Which meant that Grams died for nothing. Charlene's eyes glanced down at her feet.
"I understand from Anna that the foundering families still have a secret council?"
"And you're a part of it." Anna added, nodding towards Damon.
He scoffed. "That's ridiculous."
"I've been in Mystic Falls since the comet, Damon." Anna informed him, even though that was old news. "I'm up to speed."
"And so am I." Pearl said, "And now that you've infiltrated the council, I'll need to know everything they know. Starting with a listing of the names of all the council members and their families."
"And everyone you've supplied with vervain."
"Yes, that will have to stop immediately."
"Sorry, but I'm confused." Charlene spoke up, getting Pearl's attention. "But what's the point? What are you trying to achieve by doing all that?"
For some reason, Pearl smirked a little at this. "Curious thing, aren't you? Abigail was the same way."
She made a little face at that. She didn't appreciate being compared to Abigail. They may look alike but personality wise, they had nothing in common.
Pearl didn't say anything else on the other subject as she went on to answer her. "Mystic Falls is our home. They took that from us. Our land, our home. It's time we rebuild."
Charlene's eyes widened a little.
"What, are you crazy?" Damon commented in disbelief. Then, he rolled his eyes. "It was 1864. Wake up woman. The world has moved on."
"As a reward for your help, I'm willing to give you what you want most." Pearl told him.
"He won't do it." Charlene blurted out. "Right Damon?" She looked over at him.
Damon didn't seem to hear her though as he scoffed. "I want nothing."
"Abigail."
This made him pause, but not for long. "You wouldn't even know where she was. You've been under the ground for the last century and a half."
"I was best friends with Abigail along with her siblings long before we came to Mystic Falls, Damon." Pearl reminded him with her arms folded across her chest.
He got up to his feet and blurred in front of her, getting right in her face.
"Damon…" Charlene started, standing up herself.
"Stay out of it, Charlene." He hissed, and she went silent as he spoke to Pearl in a threatening tone. "I, no longer, have a desire to see Abigail again. And there's no way in hell I'm gonna play the role of your little minion."
Pearl's face darkened as she shoved Damon away from her with all her strength went sent him into the couch again.
Immediately, Charlene tried to go to his side, but her arm was grabbed by Anna. "Hey!" she turned her head to glare at her.
"I'm not asking for your help, Damon." Pearl snapped. "Finding Abigail was just mere gesture of kindness. The rest is non-negotiable." She shoved her fingers into Damon's eyes, and he yelled out in pain.
"Damon!" Charlene cried out in horror, forgetting for a minute about what he did, as she tried to pull out of Anna's grip, but it was no use.
Pearl let him go and he crumbled to the ground, hands covering his face as he groaned in pain. "I have four hundred years on you, little boy." She growled. "I'll rip you limb from limb without even blinking and you know it. I'll be in touch." With that, she and Anna left, so now Charlene was able to rush to Damon's side.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" she questioned worriedly.
"Of course, I'm not okay!" he snapped.
Charlene rolled her eyes as she gently tugged his hands away from his face. She examined them carefully. His eyes were blood shot, a little bit of it leaking from his eyes. She used her speed to grab a wet washcloth before returning to Damon and cleaning off his eyes, being as gentle as she could.
"Ow…" he groaned when she accidently pressed a little hard.
Charlene winced. "Sorry…" she mumbled. Honestly, she had no idea why she was helping him. She was still pissed off at him, but she figured this was she gets for being too soft. While she cleaned his eyes off, she could feel his gaze on her face.
"Why are you helping me?" he asked, the very same question Charlene was wondering herself.
"Probably because I'm too nice for my own good." She said with a shrug.
"No. You like me." She didn't have to look at him to know he was smirking at her. "Despite the fact that I killed your aunt, Elena's mother, turning her into a vampire."
In response, she put pressure on his eyes, making him wince again. This time, it wasn't on accident.
"Don't take my kindness for forgiveness, Damon." Charlene snapped, a little bit of annoyance in her tone. "I still hate you for what you did and it's gonna take a lot more than you getting hurt for me to forgive you for what you did." She dropped the washcloth and stood up to her feet. "Goodbye, Damon."
With that, she turned on her heel and walked off, leaving him on the ground to stare after her.
Despite the fact that initially she wasn't for going on a double date with Matt and Caroline, Megan was actually pretty excited about it after realizing that this would practically be the first time her and Stefan went out on an actual date. It actually felt normal. That she was a normal girl, with a normal boyfriend, going on a normal date with two friends. Sure, it probably wasn't going to last but she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
There was a ring at the door, breaking her from her thoughts.
Megan smoothed out her shirt as she headed to the front door. Opening it as soon as she was there, Stefan was on the other side as he held out his hand, which had a bouquet of flowers clutched in them. Megan actually gasped at the sight of them.
It was daisies, her favorite flower.
"You got me flowers?" she asked, taking them in disbelief. None of her old boyfriends ever gave her flowers, so that's why it was such a shock to get them. But this was Stefan, and he wasn't like any of her other boyfriends.
"Yeah, thought it was appropriate since this is a date and all." Stefan said with a smile.
She smiled radiantly back at him. "Well, thank you. I love them." She sniffed the flowers before moving in to grab his hand and tug him inside. "Since this is a date, shouldn't you be driving too?"
"That's how it normally goes, but you're the one with the car." Stefan reminded her.
She giggled. "Good point, but why don't you have one? You would think being as old as you are, you would have one."
"Oh, I have one. I just never drive it."
"Of course." Megan teased. "I wouldn't either if I had vampire speed." She went into the kitchen with Stefan following her and she grabbed a vase from the cabinet to fill it with water to put her flowers in. "I'm really excited for this. I haven't been out in ages, at least for something as normal as a date." She put the flowers on the counter before turning to Stefan as her hands slid to the surface of it. "But if you want to, we can always cancel."
Stefan regarded her, confused. "Why would we do that?"
"Because, I don't know, it just feels like, this isn't real, you know? That we're actually going to be able to normal teenagers for once. It feels like we were never going to get to a place and be able to do it and be normal."
He said nothing for a moment, going around the counter to join her on the other side. He pulled her into a hug, and she melted into it.
"That's why we're going to do it." Stefan told her softly as he pulled her in closer. "We're going to go out, have some fun and try to remember we don't have to be always so serious." He pulled back from the hug to grasp Megan's shoulders, pulling her back so she would meet his gaze. "Listen, when I decided to stay here and to get to know you, it was so that I could do things like this. Bring my girlfriend flowers, take her out on a date, and try to be normal."
"Even if it doesn't last." Megan added with a smile.
Stefan smiled back. "Then, let's make it count." He kissed her forehead before offering her his arm.
She took it as they headed towards the front door. "By the way, have you ever been on a double date before?"
"Oh, absolutely. '72, Hef and the twins."
Megan's mouth dropped a bit. "You're kidding?"
His lips twitched up in amusement. "Yeah…I got Miss June."
"I really can't tell if your joking or not." Megan said as she eyed him down to try and figure it out. He winked at her in response and she shook her head, grinning as they finally made it out the door.
Kelly Donavan was annoyed. Really annoyed. She had come for a job interview at the Grill but nope, the one who was giving the interview was a woman that dated this guy who slept with. So, she figured that the woman totally ditched her. Kelly let out a sigh as she looked up, over beside her only to see a guy that she had never seen before. He had black hair, wore a leather jacket…and was that sunglasses? He sat down and she finally spoke up.
"What's with the glasses inside?" Kelly asked.
The guy, who was Damon, took off the sunglasses and didn't look at her. "My eyes were a little sensitive today." He finally looked at her and Kelly's first thought was how beautiful his eyes were.
"Your new around here?" Kelly stated bluntly.
"On the contrary, I'm very old." Damon looked at the bartender, who was now standing in front of him, "Bourbon, neat."
The bartender left and Kelly spoke. "I haven't been gone that long." She said, flirting a bit, obviously. "I would remember someone who looked like you."
"Yeah. Where did you go?"
"Around, about."
Damon chuckled as he took a drink of his bourbon which the bartender just gave to him. "Been there, done that," he said, sitting down the drink.
"I love to see a man drown his sorrows. It's so…sexy." Kelly made sure to make her voice sound seductive as she said this.
"It's more like nursing my wounds," Damon corrected without looking at her. He glanced at her, "You?"
"I was supposed to be interviewing for the bartender job, but I think the manager blew me off."
"Well, that's not very nice."
"Yeah." Kelly said. "Last time I was in town, I slept with her boyfriend."
"That's not very nice either."
Kelly just shrugged. "It happens."
"Yes, it does…"
"Kelly?"
Kelly glanced up and was surprised to see Jenna standing there.
"Kelly Donavan." Jenna said with a laugh, going over to her old friend.
"Jenna!" Kelly exclaimed happily as they hugged each other with Damon watching on, amused.
Jenna broke the hug and grinned, "I heard you were back in town." She looked at Damon, "She used to babysit me."
"And then I used to party with her." Kelly added, nudging her in the side playfully.
Damon looked at them, pretending to be interested.
"This woman is crazy."
"Not as crazy as you." Kelly teased.
"I'm not anymore." Jenna admitted.
"Well, sit, drink!" Kelly told her old friend.
Jenna shook her head. "I shouldn't," she said. "I'm responsible now, haven't you heard?"
"Well, take a night off, it's good for the soul!" Kelly exclaimed as she sat back down.
"Great for the soul." Damon added with a smirk.
Jenna gave in and sat down next to Kelly with a sigh. "This is not going to end well."
Damon smirked as the bartender poured them shots, "Can't wait."
They picked up their glasses and clicked them together before drinking them at the same time.
While Megan was out with Stefan, Matt, and Caroline, Charlene had decided to spend the day with Elena. It had been awhile since they spent time together with everything going on, well they spent time together, but not just the two of them. So, Charlene wanted to make up for it, and follow Megan's idea of trying to be normal teenagers without vampire drama. Though like with her best friend, the blonde knew it wouldn't last.
"This is nice, Char." Elena said softly as they sat together in the movie theater, eating popcorn even though the movie hadn't started yet. "We haven't hung out like this in a long time."
"I know." Charlene slid her arm around her sister's shoulders. "I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry I haven't really been there; you know how crazy it's been."
"Yeah, I know, which is why I'm not angry with you about it, so no need to apologize." Elena told her with a smile as the movie started the previews. "Let's just enjoy the movie and the amazing popcorn." She grabbed a few and tossed them in Charlene's face playfully, grinning now.
She glared at her, but she was being playful about it too. "You're getting it later, Lena-bear." She hadn't called Elena that in a long time, so she wasn't surprised to see her sister getting emotional about it. Charlene smiled at her, squeezing her hand before returning her attention to the movie.
After the movie was over, it was getting darker outside and they went over to the Grill to grab some drinks and food, even though they had stuffed their faces with popcorn. They entered the Grill, giggling and laughing with their arms locked together and their heads leaned against one another. It felt like they were children again without a care in the world, and Charlene couldn't help but bask in it. Unfortunately, it died when spotting Damon at the bar with Jenna and Kelly Donavan.
Elena, of course, noticed, like she always did. She frowned at the sight of him.
"Come on, let's go somewhere else." Elena suggested.
"No." Charlene said, keeping her sister in her spot. "We're not going to let Damon Salvatore ruin our sister day, okay? We're not giving him the satisfaction. We're gonna get some drinks and food, play pool, and pretend that he doesn't exist."
Elena didn't say anything for a moment, then she nodded with a grin, "You're right. You get the drinks and food, and I'll rack up the pool table. But be prepared to lose."
"Oh, we'll see about that." Charlene teased with a laugh as Elena headed off to the pool table and she went towards the bar, keeping her distance from Damon, not that he noticed her over there.
After ordering the food and getting the drinks for her and Elena, she headed over to the pool table, passing by Megan, Matt, Caroline, and Stefan. She waved at them briefly before finishing her way over to Elena.
Megan noticed Matt's gaze trailing over to Elena as Charlene stopped over to her. The brunette smiled, taking the drink from the blonde. Caroline saw this too and frowned. Quickly, Megan spoke up, grabbing Matt's attention.
"So! How are things with your mom being back, Matt?" she asked. "It must be difficult getting back into the swing of things."
Matt rose a brow at the sudden change of subject, but didn't comment on it. "Yeah, a little bit. But she seems like she's trying. I, uh, actually put my mom up for the bartending job here."
"Really? That's good. I'm sure she'll do great at that." Megan said encouragingly.
"Yeah." He glanced back at Elena. The change of subject thing didn't work out as good as Megan thought it would. She sent an apologetic look Caroline's way, but the blonde didn't seem to notice. When he finally looked away and glanced towards the bar, the look on his face changed. "You got to be kidding me…"
Confused, Megan looked to see what he was talking about. Her gaze landed on Matt's mom, Jenna, and Damon sitting at the bar, taking shots.
She rolled her eyes as the older Salvatore turned towards them with a smirk. What Charlene saw in him, Megan would never understand it.
Over at Miss Gibbons house, Fredrick opened up the door for his girlfriend Beth-Anne because they were about to leave the house but was caught by Harper.
"Where are you going?" Harper asked suspiciously.
Fredrick looked at him and smirked, "Beth-Anne and I are going out for a bit. Hit the town, hit up our heels."
"We're not supposed to leave," Harper protested. "Miss Pearl made that very clear."
Fredrick frowned as he stepped closer to Harper until he was standing right in Harper's face. "You're going to stop me?" he asked in a threatening tone of voice. Harper didn't say anything, and he smirked. "I didn't think so."
With that, he and Beth-Anne and left Harper standing there, watching them leave.
Jeremy was heading down the stairs to go to the kitchen when he heard the doorbell ring. He opened the door and was surprised to see…
"Anna?" Jeremy said, looking at her in disbelief.
"Surprised." Anna joked with a laugh.
"I thought you and your mom were leaving town."
She shrugged. "Change of plans." Her lips formed a slight pout, "Sorry, I thought you would be happy to see me."
"No, no, no. I mean…" Jeremy cursed himself for stuttering. "I mean…I am. Of course, I am."
"Alright then," Anna said with a smile. "Step aside." With that, she entered the house, missing the look on Jeremy's face.
TBC...
In...
There Goes the Neighborhood, Part 3...