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
After finishing up at the Grill, Megan followed Charlene back to her house and they entered the kitchen together.
Jenna and Elena were already there, getting ready for the barbecue.
"Hey Jenna! Thanks for the invite!" Megan exclaimed cheerfully as she skipped over to one of her favorite adults, giving her a one armed hug.
"You're always invited." Jenna smiled over at her as she returned the hug while Elena greeted her sister, embracing Charlene.
"Aw, well thanks." Megan chirped. She released Jenna, clasping her hands together. "So, what can I help you with?"
"You can put the chips in the bowls."
"I'm on it!" Megan went to do that.
Charlene took a grape from a bowl and plopped it in her mouth. "By the way, thanks for letting me invite, Caroline." She said in between chews. "This will be the perfect distraction for her."
"Well, she's not the plus one I'm worried about." Jenna stopped what she was doing and frowned at her niece. "Why is Damon coming?"
"Damon's coming?" Elena repeated.
Charlene sighed heavily, rubbing her temples as Megan returned over to them with a bowl in her hands. "Yeah, unfortunately." She mumbled to her sister, then out loud, she said to Jenna, "Because Alaric is too nice for his own good…come on Jen, can you please try and be nice? For me?"
"I'll be nice when Damon learns to keep his paws off of you."
"Then I guess you'll be waiting for a long time until Jenna's nice to him" Megan said to Charlene, stealing a chip from the bowl once she filled it up.
Her best friend gave her withered look, but she shrugged her shoulders at it. She was only telling the truth. Charlene looked like she wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Mason entering from the kitchen door.
"Good news! I found the shot glasses!" Mason announced cheerfully, holding said glasses in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.
"That would be my exit." Elena said, and she left.
"I'm gonna go outside and call Stefan to make sure he's still coming." Megan commented quietly to Charlene before following Elena but not without taking the bowl of chips with her. She winked at her best friend, who just shook her head at her.
"You're here for ten minutes and I'm already back under the bleachers at the pep rally." Jenna joked with Mason, nudging him in the side with her elbow.
"Like old times, huh? Only I didn't swipe it from my old man." Mason grinned at her.
"Wow, this is great. This is exactly what I wanted to learn today." Charlene teased, making the two adults remember she was still here.
"Oh hey, Charlene. Nice to see you again." Mason smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder. The blonde nearly swooned in response.
Charlene smiled back at him. "You too, Mase." Surprisingly, he eyed her down.
"You look very pretty today, by the way." Mason complimented her, making her giggle.
"Well, thanks. You don't look that bad yourself." Charlene flirted, tucking her hair behind her ear, and biting her bottom lip in what she hoped was a seductive way. She seemed to forget that Jenna was in the room with them until her aunt said something.
"If your going to flirt with my niece, wait until I'm out of the room. Please." Jenna said, but she wasn't being mean about it. She actually looked amused.
"Sorry Jenna." Charlene apologized. She wasn't really sorry about it. It felt nice being flirted with.
"Sorry." Mason gave his own apologize, but the way he looked at Charlene, he wasn't sorry about it either.
Seeing the look on his face almost made the blonde blush. Alaric entered the kitchen, eying the expensive bottle of wine.
Her teacher grinned at Mason. "Oh, the expensive stuff! I like you already."
"Just happy to be invited." Mason said, smiling.
"Thank Ric, it was actually his idea."
Mason looked over at him, surprised while Charlene frowned, remembering what Damon had said at the Grill. "Really?"
"Yeah, you know I thought it would be nice to meet some of Jenna's high school friends." Alaric explained awkwardly, noticing the look on Charlene's face. He probably realized that Damon had let the blonde in on what was going on. "Dig up a little dirty." He grinned at Jenna teasingly.
Mason laughed as he started to pour the shot in the three shot glasses. "I've got dirt…I've got dirty."
Charlene giggled at the blush on Jenna's face, but it came as quickly as it went.
"I have no secrets." Jenna said, picking up a shot glass. "Only dirty shame."
"To dirty shame." Alaric held up his shot glass and they clicked the glasses together in a toast.
"I'm sure there's a lot of it." Charlene teased, looking at Mason.
He gave her a flirty look. "Oh, you have no idea."
She grinned in response, but it dropped when Damon came into the kitchen. She couldn't help but glower at him as he looked over at her with a smirk before turning his attention to everyone else in the room.
"Hey." Damon greeted with a smile.
Jenna frowned at him, annoyed he was here, and Charlene couldn't blame her. "Damon."
"We were just doing shots." Alaric said to Damon. "Let me get you a shot glass, buddy."
"Here. Use mine." Jenna practically shoved her shot glass into Damon's hand before leaving the room.
Alaric gave a look to Damon, then followed after Jenna. Charlene would have left too but leaving Damon alone with Mason was probably a bad idea.
"She doesn't like me very much." Damon said with a shrug.
Charlene crossed her arms. "Trust me, it's for a very good reason."
"Never said she didn't." Damon stared at her way too intensely for her taste and she looked away.
Mason looked between the two of them. "Are you guys dating?"
Charlene's head snapped up at that. "What? No! I'm single. Very single." She stressed out the single part as she looked at Mason.
"Good to know." He smiled and Charlene bit her lip, missing the jealous look on Damon's face. "So…" He turned in Damon's direction. "I don't think we've met before. Mason Lockwood." He held out his hand for Damon to shake.
"Oh sure." Damon shook his hand, forcing a smile. "Damon Salvatore."
"I know. I've heard great things about you."
"Really? That's weird." Damon released Mason's hand with a smirk. "I'm a dick!"
"That's the understatement of the century." Charlene mumbled, but Damon heard her, his smirk widening.
Outside on the porch, Megan sat in a chair with the bowl of chips in her lap as she called Stefan. He didn't answer his phone and it went straight to voice mail. Megan frowned because it was strange he didn't answer but she left a message for him.
"Hey Stefan, I don't why you didn't answer but you're probably just busy…I just wanted to make sure you were coming to Jenna's barbecue. I did leave a message about it earlier, but you never called me back…anyway, please just call me back when you can." Megan ended the call and sighed as she leaned back in her seat. Hopefully he was okay. It was strange not hearing from him all day.
"Is that Stefan?" Caroline asked as she came outside from inside the house and sat down next to her.
"I just called him again and left him another message." Megan explained, picking at the chips in the bowl. "Should I be worried, Care?"
Caroline looked like she didn't know what to say. "I'm sure he's fine…ooh are those chips?" She changed the subject abruptly, taking the bowl of from Megan.
"Uh yeah, go ahead and take them, I guess." Megan didn't protest as she was done with them anyway.
Caroline smiled in thanks before eating the chips. "God! I cannot stop eating." She said. "Stefan says it's a great way to supplement the cravings. It's horrible just fighting the urge for blood every day." She popped another chip in her mouth.
Megan smiled at Caroline sympathetically. "I bet…Stefan hates that part of himself."
"Yeah, and he hates that you're a constant temptation."
Megan looked at her friend startled. "Did he really say that to you?"
"The desire to rip out of your jugular every time he's with you? Trust me, it's there. It's why I had to break up with Matt." Caroline ate more of the chips and wasn't looking at her anymore.
It shouldn't be a surprise to hear that, but Megan still didn't like it. She hated that being with him could be hard for him sometimes.
Alaric popped his head outside. "Hey! Food's ready, come get it."
"Finally!" Caroline sat the chips down and stood up. "I'm starving." She gave Megan a smile before she headed inside.
Megan didn't know what to think about Caroline said, but she decided not to think about it as she grabbed the bowl and stood up before heading inside.
Stefan sat there, feeling as if he had been here for hours. The sisters were saying nothing, and it was beginning to get frustrating. He sighed as he spoke and leaned forward towards them.
"You know, we can sit here as long as you want." Stefan said, "And when you guys start to desiccate, there's a tomb with your names on it."
"You know…" Demetria licked her dry lips as she weakly looked at him, "I feel like we've been doing all the talking…I've been curious about something…about you and Megan…do you pretend to be human with her? Is that why you're with her?"
"Actually, I don't have to pretend to be anything when I'm with her." Stefan answered. The only reason why he was responding to her question, it was because if he answered her questions, maybe she would answer his. "That's the whole point. I get to just be myself." That's what he loved about being with Megan, among other things.
"Does she know that you love me?"
Stefan scoffed. "I don't."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Stefan, but you do. You just don't want to admit it to yourself…" Demetria informed. She said nothing for a moment. "Do you remember…when you took me back to my room that night…?"
Stefan said nothing as he was sucked into the memory. Abigail couldn't help but think about that night too, but about Damon…
1864…
"I had such a nice time tonight, Stefan." Demetria told her date with a smile as he brought her back to her room. She always had such a great time with him. That was something she would never lie about.
"How long do you plan on staying in Mystic Falls?" Stefan asked softly, squeezing the hand he had in his.
Demi smiled as they stopped in front of her room, and she turned to face him. "I suppose it depends on how long I'm wanted." She smiled again. "It was very kind of your father to give me shelter, even if it was just supposed to be Abigail and Katherine."
"How could he not?" Stefan took a hold of her other hand, staring into her eyes. "You lost your family in that fire too. I'm just grateful you made it to Atlanta."
The way he stared at her; she couldn't help but blush at his words. "Thank you…so I am wanted?" She looked up, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
Stefan blushed as well as he gave her a shy smile back. "Uh, very much so." He said softly. "I know we've only known each other for a short while…but I've never met a woman quite like you. I look at you and I see an angel. I touch your skin…" He let go of one of her hands to caress her face, and Demetria could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "And my entire body ignites. I kiss you and I know I'm falling in love."
"Stefan…" Demetria breathed, closing her eyes as they leaned towards each other, and their lips met.
The kiss didn't last that long, and he pulled away only to stare into her eyes. "I am in love with you."
Demetria let out a shaky breath, stepping back from him a bit. "Stefan…you can't be…there's so much that you don't know…"
"More to learn and love…"
"I…I think it's time to say goodnight…" Demetria mumbled, turning around to go into her room, but Stefan stopped her by grabbing her hand. She took a deep breath and let it out as she turned her head to look at him, seeing the concerned look on his face.
"I have upset you?"
Demetria shook her head. "No…no…of course not." She told him softly. "I was just surprised that is all. Until tomorrow." She let her hand slide out of his and she opened her bedroom door, stepping inside and closing the door behind her.
Wrapping her mind about what happened, Demetria leaned back against her door and touched her fingers to mouth, closing her eyes and thinking about how it felt to hear someone said that they loved her. It was the best feeling in the world…
-0-
"Thank you for accompanying me tonight." Abigail told George Lockwood with a smile, pretending that he didn't know her secret
"It was quite nice, wasn't it?" George agreed, smiling back at her. "Even if it was just to get Damon Salvatore jealous."
The smile fell at that as she looked down at her feet for a moment. "Yes…I'm sorry about that…"
"Oh, don't be." George brushed her apology off. "I think it worked out quite well…he couldn't keep his eyes off of us. Of course, it was mostly you…if it wasn't obvious you look beautiful tonight."
Abigail blushed. If it wasn't for the fact he knew her secret, or that she was in love with someone else, she could definitely see herself falling for him.
George kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, Miss Abigail."
"Goodnight." Abigail said, giving him one last smile before she went into her room.
She turned around to close to door when she heard Damon's voice from behind her.
"I was beginning to wonder when you'd come back."
Abigail closed her eyes briefly before turning around to face him. "What are you doing here, Damon?"
"I wanted to see you." Damon answered as he slowly walked over to her. He said nothing for a moment. "Why did you go with George Lockwood?"
"Because he asked me, and I said yes…" Abigail said softly. "I would have gone with you…but you never asked me."
"I didn't know wanted me to."
"Well, I did want you to. I thought I made it obvious that I wanted you to…but apparently I guess I didn't. So, I went with George, and I'm not going to say I'm sorry I did because I had a good time." Abigail brushed by Damon to get to her bed. "It's time for me to go to bed…it's been a long day and…" She didn't get to finish her sentence as she felt Damon grab onto her arm, and she opened her mouth to protest.
However, the words never left her mouth as it was busy being kissed by Damon.
It surprised Abigail, but it really shouldn't have. It took her a moment to return the kiss and when she did, there was so much passion in it her toes curled into her shoes and her insides tingled.
Abigail moaned as he began to push her towards her bed and start to take off her dress…
Present…
The flashback ended for Stefan and Abigail, the latter blushing and the former looking down at his feet.
"So, go ahead and torture me all you want but my answers are going to remain the same…" Demi told Stefan softly as he barely looked up at her. "I never compelled your love…it was the real…and it was real to me too…"
Stefan didn't know what to say, and honestly, there was no words to say.
All throughout the lunch, Megan kept looking at her phone, making sure she hadn't missed a call from Stefan. Every time she was met with disappointment.
She sighed, picking at her food. Charlene immediately noticed.
"What's wrong?" she whispered.
"Nothing important…I'll tell you later…" Megan told her quietly. She cleared her throat, smiling at Jenna. "Everything looks great, Jenna."
"Thanks, but I can't take all the credit." She said with a smile. "Charlene cooked most of it."
Charlene waved the compliment off. "I just cooked a few things, nothing to be fussed over."
"I don't know…this is actually the best barbecue I've ever tasted." Mason told her.
"Really?" Charlene asked, a bright smile on her face.
He returned her smile. "Really, but that might be because of the pretty girl cooking the food." He flirted, making Charlene giggle.
Megan couldn't help but be surprised by the flirting as she gave her best friend a look, wondering what that was about.
"Well, thank you." Charlene giggled again, giving Mason the flirty eyes.
Megan stuck a glance at Damon and to say he looked jealous would be an understatement. She stifled a laugh. It was pretty funny to see. At least this was entertaining. Too bad Stefan wasn't here to laugh at this with her.
When her mind went to her boyfriend, Megan frowned and looked down at her phone.
Still no call.
Charlene knew she spent most of the barbecue just flirting with Mason. She just couldn't help it as he was easy to flirt with and he could tell he was having fun flirting with her as she was with him. She did notice the jealousy in Damon's eyes as they shared flirty comments with her, but she paid it no mind.
Unfortunately, he made her pay attention to him.
Charlene froze in place when she felt a hand on her thigh, already knowing it was Damon…only because she was sitting next to him, and it couldn't be Megan.
She tried to ignore it, but it got harder and harder as his finger inched closer to the edge of her skirt. Curse her for wearing a skirt! Charlene glared at Damon in a way she hoped no one else saw it. He pretended not to look at her, like he had no idea what he was doing.
The bastard.
Charlene stayed as still as she could. He had his hand up her skirt now and used his fingers to stroke her inner thigh. She knew she could have shoved his hand away from her if she really wanted to…but she didn't want to. She hadn't been touched like this in a while…at least by herself. It was kind of a secret from most, but she never had sex before. She knew what it was like from what Megan had told but she didn't do it herself.
Charlene was one of those girls who wanted to wait until she found the one, but she definitely didn't need Damon to know that she hadn't had sex before. It was none of his business anyway.
She could only stay still for so long so when his fingers brushed in between her legs, she jumped up to her feet, startling everyone in the food.
"I…I'm gonna go get desert!" Charlene exclaimed loudly. She didn't look at anyone as she rushed out of the room, missing Damon trying to hide the smirk on his face.
A little while later, Charlene was still in the kitchen, hearing the group in the living room playing Pictionary. She would have joined them, but she wasn't any good at those types of games, so here she was, opening the pie Damon had brought with him. She took it out and sat the pie down on the counter. She wasn't really paying attention, so she didn't notice Damon coming up from beside her.
"Boo."
Charlene jumped at the sound of Damon's voice right beside her and she turned her head to look at him, smacking him on the lightly when she saw the amused look on his face. "Not funny." She scolded, but his smile only widened, making her roll her eyes. "What do you want? Shouldn't you be bothering Aunt Jenna and trying and failing to get Mason to admit he's a werewolf?"
"I much rather bother you." Damon admitted with a shrug. "It's getting kind of boring in there."
"Right." Charlene said slowly, shaking her head as she turned back to the pie.
Damon was silent beside her for a moment. "I know what you're doing…"
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, looking confused. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh, don't lie. You're flirting with Mason Lockwood." Damon answered bluntly.
Charlene scoffed. "I am not." She lied. "That's called being nice. You should try it sometime. And even I was, you're just jealous. Jealous that I'm interested in someone other than you!" She snipped.
She looked away from him again, huffing a bit. She waited for Damon to respond, but when he didn't, she signed in relief, thinking he had left the kitchen. Charlene was never that lucky though and she froze when she felt someone against her back as well as arms encircling her waist. Her breath caught in her throat, knowing it was Damon, because who else could it have been.
"What…what are you doing?" Charlene managed to ask, trying, and failing to keep her voice from shaking. She felt Damon smile into her hair.
"Oh, I'm doing nothing." He told her innocently as he moved her hair away from her neck and moving it over to her other shoulder. Charlene couldn't help but gasp a little and she shivered at the feeling as he began to live open mouth kisses against her skin. "You know…you look really pretty today…Charlie…" he whispered into her ear before leaving a small kiss behind the slope of it. "You look pretty every day but today especially…"
Charlene didn't know what to say to that, not that she could as her mouth was too dry. She closed her eyes in pleasure as his hands explored her sides and her hips. The lustful part of her wanted him to touch her actual skin, but the other part of her, knew it would be bad idea. She was supposed to be mad at him, but his touch made her forget all about why she was mad at him in the first place.
After a moment of gathering her thoughts, Charlene finally spoke, but it was in a husky whisper. "You're trying to seduce me, aren't you?"
He said nothing as he slowly turned her body around so she was facing him and he made sure to have his face close to her face, so close she could feel his warm breath. "Is it working?" he purred, lifting up a hand to stroke her face.
She closed her eyes at his touch as her breathing became slightly erratic. "Not at all…" she answered, opening her eyes to stare into his lustful ones. She licked her lips and she watched as Damon's gaze darkened and he glanced down at her mouth.
The air hanging around them was intense, and all Charlene wanted to do was kiss him, but she didn't, changing the subject.
"So…how's Operation Lockwood really going?" she asked, keeping her voice as steady as she could. She stayed in his embrace as she subconsciously moved her body even closer to his. Close enough where she could feel everything.
"He's my new BFF." Damon responded sarcastically. He smirked at her, leaning down to start kissing her neck again, while his hands slid down her back only to cup her ass in his grip and pushing her crouch against his.
Charlene moaned at the feel of him. They shouldn't really doing this here, not with everyone in the living room, especially Jenna. The last thing she needed was to be caught in this kind of position by her aunt.
"Day…I don't think…" Charlene tried to tell him, but she trailed off, moaning again as he began sucking on her neck. "Damon…"
"You can flirt all you want with Mason…but you'll always be mine." Damon told her with a growl that sent warmth between her legs. He sucked a little bit harder, hard enough to probably leave a mark. If it did leave one, it was like he was marking his territory and at the moment, she found herself not caring. It made her flush actually, thinking about belonging to someone.
Hearing footsteps coming from the living room broke the intense moment between them. Reluctantly, Charlene shoved Damon away from her, quickly moving her hair to cover the growing mark on her neck as Jenna came into the kitchen. She ignored the smirking Damon beside her, and her aunt spoke.
"There you are." Jenna said brightly as she stood on the other side of Charlene, smiling at her niece, oblivious to the tension in the room. "Isn't this fun?"
Damon flashed her a charming smile and Charlene rolled her eyes. "Yes, thank you for inviting me."
"Did I have a choice?" Jenna asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"I know what you must think of me…" Damon started, but her aunt cut him, her narrowed eyes turning into a full on glare now.
"No, you don't." She told him sternly. "You've never dated you; I've dated many you's."
Charlene bit back a laugh as she grabbed a cake knife from Jenna's mom's silver set and handed it to her aunt. Damon noticed it.
"These are fancy." He commented as he moved over to look at the set for himself.
Jenna didn't look at him as she answered, beginning to cut through the pie, "Thanks. My mother's silver set."
Charlene noticed the look on his face and knew he was thinking about doing something. She gave him a weary look, but he pretended not to notice as he took a knife from the set.
Back at the boarding house, Stefan hadn't said anything since the reveal that Demetria had never compelled him to love her. Tried of the silence, Demi spoke up.
"Must be overwhelming to finally hear the truth after all these years." She said, making Stefan shake his head.
"It wasn't real." He told her in denial. "I remember you compelling me."
The brunette sighed, rolling her eyes skywards. "I did, but it wasn't to get you to love me. I compelled you so you wouldn't be scared of me after you found out what I was. I couldn't stand the look of fear in your eyes so, I had to take it away."
Stefan finally looked at her, his gaze slightly harsh. "Well, whatever feelings I had back then, they all turned to hate."
Demetria rolled her eyes. "Sure." She said sarcastically as Katherine spoke up, unable to help herself by commenting.
"Love, hate, such a fine line." Katherine said with a smirk as she glanced at Abigail, who was mostly remaining silent through the whole thing. What was up with her? Shrugging, Katherine changed the subject, back to the Lockwood situation, "Anyway, George Lockwood was causing all sorts of trouble. He used the vampires to cover up his own tracks. He told the founding families about us. But he was willing to strike a deal with me."
Stefan's ears perked up at this, a curious look on his face. "What kind of deal?"
"A deal to rid the town of vampires." Katherine couldn't help but think of that day with a fond smirk.
1864…
Katherine walked outside with George Lockwood along the Lockwood property, discussing the plan. Abigail and Demetria were busy with Damon and Stefan, so they weren't here, but they knew about what was happening, however, they left the planning to Katherine because she was planner of everything, down to getting them to get involved with the Salvatore boys.
"I just spoke to Giuseppe Salvatore." George told Katherine. "The round up happens tonight."
"Good." Katherine nodded, glad to hear this. "Insist that they do a body account before the church is set ablaze."
"I will."
"27 vampires."
"Once the flames create chaos, crawl to the exit under the quire loft. I'll be there to set you and your sisters free."
"Make you're sure your not followed." Katherine informed him seriously. "I need everyone to believe we perished in that fire."
Present…
Stefan stood from his seat angrily after hearing all of this. "You knew they were gonna burn all the vampires up in the church?"
"I practically lit the match." Katherine said uncaringly. "My sisters knew what was happening, but I was the one to plan everything. Right down to them getting involved with you and Damon, of course, never expected them to fall in love with you guys. That was never part of the plan." She looked at Abigail and Demetria, Abigail specifically though, who looked down in response.
"They were your friends; they were your family and you just sold them out." Stefan said angrily.
Katherine stared at him. "Without blinking."
In the living room of the Gilbert household, Megan sat with Charlene on the couch and Caroline was with them too. They all weren't in the mood for desert, not wanting to be involved in whatever Damon was planning.
Not that she was even thinking about that, Megan was worried about Stefan, even more so now, considering she hadn't heard from him all day. She looked at phone again as they sat on the couch but still nothing.
"Still nothing from Stefan?" Charlene asked, seeing her look at her phone for the thousands time probably.
"No. I'm starting to get worried." Megan said with a worried frown. "I should go check on him." She stood up and Caroline noticed.
"What are you doing?" she asked, looking alert.
"Er, well, would it make me a horrible friend if I left you to here to go check on Stefan?" Megan gave Caroline a sheepish smile.
"I'm going to go too." Charlene said. "I'm worried about him too." She glanced at Megan for the okay and she nodded as the blonde stood up too.
If they were pay attention close enough to Caroline, they would have seen the nervous look on her face. "I don't think that's a good idea, you guys."
Charlene frowned at her. "Why not? Damon has everything in control here, so there's no reason why we can't leave."
"Take it from me, there's nothing worse than a clingy girlfriend and friend." Caroline responded.
Charlene frowned again, but Megan said something, looking startled by Caroline's statement.
"I'm not being clingy, Care." She said. "I'm just being concerned. I haven't heard anything from Stefan at all, and that never happens. He always answers my phone calls. I wouldn't be a good girlfriend if I wasn't worried."
"And I wouldn't be a good friend either." Charlene added.
Caroline said nothing for a moment as she sighed heavily, finally standing up herself. "How about I drive you?"
"Sure, that would be great, Care. Thank you." Megan said as she got a weak smile from Caroline as the blonde turned around to start heading to the front door. She looked at her friend for a moment before glancing back at Charlene. "I wonder what that was about."
Her best friend shrugged. "No idea."
Megan frowned for a moment, but decided to brush it off for now. She just wanted to see and make sure Stefan was alright.
"What did George get in return?" Stefan asked eventually once his anger faded somewhat. "For giving you, Demetria, and Abigail's your freedom."
"Something he wanted desperately." Katherine answered vaguely.
Stefan frowned. "So, you sent 27 of your friends, just to fake you and your sister's own? No…you three were running from something… what was it?"
Katherine shrugged. "Everyone has a past, Stefan, and ours needed to stay needed to stay far, far away." She scowled then. "But thanks to you and your brother, my plan nearly failed before it began."
Demetria nodded and spoke, getting Stefan to turn and pay attention to her. "When Katherine told that the vampires were being gathered, I needed to see you one last time. I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye but what I didn't know was your father had used your love for me to trick you into drinking vervain, poisoning your blood. Then, of course, Damon had to be Damon, nearly ruining everything." She gave Abigail a look at this, but her sister completely ignored it.
Stefan said nothing, thinking about that night. How they saved the Pierce sisters and how him and Damon got shot by their own father… Thinking about it, the anger came back with a vengeance.
"We came for you, we tried to save you." Stefan said through gritted teeth.
"We didn't want to be saved, Stefan." Demetria told him softly.
"So, then Damon and I died for nothing. For nothing!" Stefan shouted furiously.
For the first time in a while, Abigail finally said something. "You're wrong, Stefan." She said, her voice soft and calm compared to Stefan's. "You two didn't die for nothing. You died for love…"
Stefan had no words for that.
Damon was in the kitchen now after failing once again with Mason. He had been positive the knife thing would work, but obviously not.
It was beginning to get frustrating to say the least, but he wasn't giving up. Not by a long shot.
Mason entered the kitchen with a grin. "Jenna just brought out 'Guitar Hero.'" He informed Damon. "Might be time for munity!"
"Well, I happen to like Guitar Hero." Damon said starkly. "So, you, my friend, are barking up the wrong tree." He smirked at his joke. It was definitely his best one tonight.
Mason didn't appreciate it as much as he did, but who would be if this was constant thing happening. "Okay." He said in frustration. "Enough with the innuendos, you win, you're hilarious."
"Thank you." Damon responded smugly.
"Come on, man. You don't you think I know what this barbecue about?"
The question made Damon's playful nature disappear. "How do you know about me?" he asked, almost threateningly. "Your brother was completely clueless."
"It doesn't matter." Mason brushed it off. "I'm not your enemy, Damon."
"You tried to kill my brother." Damon pointed out.
Mason crossed his arms over his chest. "That was mistake." He admitted.
"Really?"
He nodded. "There was confusion. I couldn't chain myself in time. I have no control after I shift."
"What, no obedience school?" Damon said sarcastically in response.
"I'm serious." Mason told him with a serious look on his face. "Let's not spark some age old feud that doesn't apply to us."
Damon scoffed. "You expect me to believe that you are in Mystic Falls planting peach trees?" He gave Mason a 'give me a break' look.
"I lost my brother; my nephew lost his father." Mason said, "I'm here for my family. Let's be above this." He held out his hand.
Damon stared at it for a moment before he shook on it and Mason gave him a grateful smile, then left the kitchen, missing the eldest Salvatore slide out a knife from the cutlery box and into his back pocket.
Megan groaned in frustration as they stood outside of Caroline's car, waiting for a tow truck, which felt like was never coming. She didn't know how it happened but as they were driving to the boarding house, one of Caroline's tires had blown out. That happens hours ago so it was nighttime now and they were still waiting, even though Caroline had called the tow truck hours ago. But with how long they had been standing here, it felt like she had never called in first place.
"Calm down, Meg, I'm sure the tow truck will be here soon." Charlene tried to reassure her.
It didn't work as Megan groaned in frustration. "Caroline, did you even call the tow truck?" She asked, turning to the other blonde.
"Of course, I did." Caroline reassured. "They said they should be here soon."
"That was hours ago, Care." Megan pointed out. "They would have been here by now."
"I should just call Jenna or Elena. They can take us there instead." Charlene suggested.
Megan was about to agree with her, but Caroline cut her off.
"No!" The blonde protested. "Just let me try the tow people again." She took out her phone and typed the phone number in as she said jokingly, "And I'll use my agro voice."
"No thank you, we can just walk from here." Megan said, "The boarding house isn't that far from here."
"We can't just leave my car." Caroline scoffed a bit.
"I'm sure it'll be okay." Charlene told her. "We haven't going to be there for a long time, so we can just come back for it."
"Just give me a minute."
Megan had been trying to stay calm and not get frustrated with Caroline's attitude, but she failed this time as she said, "Caroline. What's the matter with you? What about me being concerned about Stefan, don't you understand?"
"What's the rush?" Caroline asked curtly, jerking her head up from phone. "Why are you hurrying to get to a relationship that will never work?!"
"Caroline." Charlene looked at her bewithered, but Caroline ignored it as she glared at Megan, who shook her head at her in disbelief.
"I have no idea where this is coming Caroline. I don't know if your projecting your feelings about Matt to me and Stefan or…"
Caroline interrupted her, "I'm not projecting anything! You might be a witch, but you can still get old and die, and Stefan's a vampire. You're gonna be 70 and in diapers and he's still gonna be smoking hot and you will never have children, Megan! And you are too maternal to not have children!"
"Caroline, what's going on with you?" Megan questioned, concerned in her voice now. "You've never said things like this to me before…"
"There's nothing wrong! I'm just trying to be your friend." Caroline said weakly.
"Well, you're not really doing a good job." There was a honk and lights ahead as the tow truck finally showed up, but even though it was here, Megan didn't want to be anywhere near Caroline at the moment. "There's the tow truck. We're just going to walk, okay? I'll let you know when we get there safely."
She started to leave, but Caroline grabbed onto her arm rather roughly, making Megan wince and look at her friend startled.
"Caroline, stop that. You're hurting my arm." Megan didn't know what was up with Caroline tonight, but she didn't like it.
"Don't leave me alone." Caroline begged, and she couldn't help but notice the fear in her voice.
"What are you so afraid of?" Megan asked concerned, hoping to get an answer this time.
Caroline didn't have time to say anything as a man's voice sounded.
"Hey there, someone call for a tow truck?"
Megan waited for Caroline to say something, anything that hinted at what was up with her. When she got nothing, she sighed and pointed to Caroline.
"She did." Megan said before grabbing Charlene's hand as they started up the road. They walked in silence for a bit before she broke it, looking at her best friend. "Are we really going to walk the rest of the way there?"
Charlene laughed, and grabbed her phone to call Elena.
At the Mystic Grill, Mason got out of his car and went to the back of his truck to open up the trunk. He thought he was alone, but he looked behind him, and saw Damon approaching him. Mason turned his body around to face him with a smirk.
"What? More dogs jokes?"
Damon shrugged. "Nah, those got old." He sped up to Mason and immediately stabbed him in the stomach with the stolen knife from the Gilbert kitchen.
Mason fell to his hands and knees in pain as Damon walked around and opened the tail of his truck. Though it hurt, Mason struggled to get up to his feet as he pulled the knife from his stomach.
"You know, I think it was the werewolves who started this whole silver myth." He said as Damon stared at him surprised. He moved past Damon as the vampire circled around him, so he was standing where Mason once was. "Probably for moments like this." He closed the tail and faced Damon, slowly walking up to him.
"Duly noted."
"I was really looking forward to last call." Mason joked before his face went serious. "Now you made an enemy." Then he smiled. "Oh, and next time you see Charlene, tell her I said hi."
Damon didn't say anything, but his eyes darkened at the mention of Charlene. Mason smiled one last time, then turned around as he headed back inside his truck.
Stefan paced back and forth in the dungeon as Demetria, Katherine, and Abigail watched him with cautious eyes. "Are you gonna tell me why you came back here or are you just playing another game?" he asked, stopping to look at Demetria.
"Oh my god." Demetria rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Come on, Stef. I've already answered this question, multiple times already, okay? The answer is going to remain the same."
"Well, answer me again." Stefan said seriously.
Demetria sighed and met his gaze. "I know what I want Stefan, and I don't care I will do anything it takes to get you back. Katherine might have a long list of victims, we all do, but I don't mind to add yet another person to that list."
Knowing what she meant, Stefan scoffed. "Come on Demetria, if you wanted Megan dead, you would have done it by now."
Demetria couldn't help but smirk. "You make it seem like I can't, but I still could. If I have to, I will snap her neck like a twig, and you know it."
Stefan growled and went over to the chair he had been sitting in, snapping one of the legs from it, before charging to Demetria and hovered over her with it, ignoring the sounds from Katherine and Abigail. His chest was still rumbling with growls and Demetria didn't have a reaction to the stake hovering over her, but she couldn't help but react to sounds from Stefan.
"You know, you look so sexy when you're angry." Demetria commented flirtingly. "Why don't you show this side of yourself more often?"
Stefan glared at her, but the comment seemed to reel him in, and he relaxed, stepping away from her and dropping his arm to the side. Demetria looked smug about this.
"See, I knew you don't hate me as much as you say you do." She said with a grin, but then it fell as she frowned him. "Look, I don't want you to see Megan anymore and if you don't, then your going to suffer the consequences as I will kill everyone that she loves with Katherine and Abigail's help while she watches and then I will her kill her while you watch."
Stefan rushed over to her again and strangled her by the neck. Demetria gasped as her airway was cut off. He held the stake above her again and growled again.
"Don't you think for one moment that I won't kill you."
Because he was distracted, he didn't notice Katherine and Abigail had broken free from their chains until he was thrown off of Demetria by Katherine and Abigail and into the wall. Stefan groaned as he slammed into the hard stone.
Demetria broke free of her own chains and kicked them off to the side as Stefan stared up at the three of them shocked. "All of us have been sipping vervain every day for the last 145 years." She explained.
"You caught us by surprise once and we aren't going to let it happen again." Katherine added. "It doesn't just hurt us, Stefan."
"What? Why?"
Demetria slowly walked up to him and kneeled before him, titling her head to the side at him. "I've told why Stefan. I've missed you and I just wanted to spend some time with you without any interruptions from…" She trailed off, hearing the front door of the boarding house opening up and the sound of Megan's voice.
"Stefan, are you here?!"
"Yeah, your car is here so we think you are!"
Abigail perked up at the sound of Charlene's voice.
"Hello? Stefan?" This time it was Elena's voice. All three of the sisters shared smirks with one another. Looked like their three doppelgangers were here.
Demetria stabbed Stefan in the leg with the stake, causing him to cry out. He couldn't stop them as they vamp sped out of the room…
"Something's wrong." Charlene abruptly commented, stopping in the middle of the room. She knew Stefan was in here, but she felt three other presences in the boarding house, but she didn't know who as she didn't recognizes their senses.
"What do you mean?" Megan asked worriedly.
"Someone else is here."
"Very perceptive."
Charlene turned around and froze at the sight of the person in front of her. Abigail Pierce.
Her doppelganger's cold gaze wandered over her.
"Oh my god." Megan breathed as Demetria and Katherine made their appearance as well. To see them in the flesh was unnerving to say the least.
Charlene felt Elena tense beside her, and she looked over at her sister, who looked terrified. Instantly, she grabbed onto Elena's hand tightly.
"You must be Elena." Katherine said, eyeing her down.
Charlene put her free arm in front of her sister protectively and Katherine rolled her eyes.
Megan stared at Demetria, open mouthed, not knowing what to think about this.
"Hello there, Megan." Demetria greeted as she smirked at her wickedly.
"I don't get it." Megan blurted out. "How…how is this even possible and why do we all look alike?!"
None of them said anything as they moved around the three of them, observing them intensely from top to bottom. Elena and Megan stiffened as Katherine and Demetria touched their necks as they walked behind them.
"You're asking the wrong questions." Katherine said mysteriously.
"Megan! Elena! Charlene!" Stefan's voice sounded and each of them whirled around to face him.
Charlene looked back quickly only to find Katherine, Demetria, and Abigail weren't there anymore. With them gone, she was able to relax as was Elena and Megan.
"Are you okay?" Stefan asked instantly with concern.
Megan was the first one to respond as she slowly shook her head. "No…not really…" She took a deep breath and let it out before going over to Stefan, grabbing his hands as she looked down at the wound that Demetria inflicted. "What about you? Are you okay?"
"Not really." Stefan admitted, and gathered Megan up into a hug, which she gratefully returned.
Charlene couldn't wrap her mind around what happened as she wrapped an arm around Elena's shoulders, bringing her sister into her side.
Mason returned home, looking, and feeling exhausted. What happened today was something he hadn't expected. Now, he was just ready to shower and go to sleep.
It didn't look like that would be happening anytime soon as he heard Tyler's voice coming from the living room.
"How was that barbecue?" His nephew asked.
Mason sighed. "Not great." He said nothing for a moment as he looked at Tyler. "Are you still pissed?"
"Are you still keeping secrets?" Tyler retorted.
"Yep."
"Then I'm still pissed." Mason shook his head and said nothing, but Tyler continued as he stood up from the couch and headed over in his uncle's direction, "Hey, you know I was thinking about that stone you were looking for. I might know a couple of places it could be."
Mason looked at him frustrated. "Do you think this is a joke? If you know where it is, then tell me."
"Tell me how you trigger the curse?"
"If I tell you, you won't be able to think about anything else. I don't want that for you."
Tyler crossed his arms stubbornly. "I think I can handle knowing."
Mason scoffed in disbelief. "You think you can handle it, tough guy? You have no idea." He argued.
"You want your stupid rock or not?!"
Tyler was in his face now and having enough of this back forth, Mason grabbed him by the shoulders, slamming him roughly against the nearby wall.
"Tell me what it is!"
"Tell me what triggers the curse!"
"You have to kill somebody!" Mason shouted, and Tyler's face fell. "Human blood! You take a person's life away from them and then the curse is yours forever! Can you handle that?!"
The look on Tyler's face said it all.
No…no he couldn't.
Holding onto Stefan's hand, Megan entered the Grill with her boyfriend. Charlene ended up taking Elena home, so it was just them tonight, which was always nice.
After today, Megan needed food and a drink, but the latter especially. They walked past Caroline who was sitting by herself, and she hoped her blonde friend wouldn't stop her, not after what happened between them earlier.
Caroline stopped her anyway when she noticed them. "Megan."
"Hey." Megan greeted with a weak smile as Stefan touched her shoulder and nodded towards the table, signaling he was going to go get them one. She nodded back and he left to go get one, leaving her alone with Caroline. "What is it, Caroline?" She asked tiredly.
"I am so sorry about earlier today." Caroline apologized, and Megan could tell she meant it. "I don't know what came over me."
"You don't need to apologize." Megan waved it off, but she did appreciate it. "It's really okay. What you were saying wasn't a lie. It was all true. It's just hard to hear sometimes, that's all.
Caroline looked at her hopefully. "So, you aren't mad at me?"
"I'm not, no. I can't stay mad at you even if I tried, you and Charlene have that in common." Megan joked with a smile to show that she really wasn't mad at her. "I know you were just trying to be a good friend and I do appreciate that."
"My own head case, horrible way." Caroline admitted. Megan started to leave, thinking that was in end of the conversation but stopped when the blonde spoke again. "I really am sorry."
Megan smiled and nodded at her before leaving to join Stefan at the table he had got them. She settled down in her seat, taking a drink of her water.
"I'm starving." Stefan said, breaking the silence. He sighed as he rubbed his temples.
"Oh, I bet." Megan pursed her lips at him. "I'd be hungry too if I spent my entire day with my crazy ex and her sisters."
Stefan sighed again and looked at her. "Listen, I know you're upset but we have to take her serious as well as Abigail and Katherine." He said, "Today was all about the lengths they would go."
"I think if she was going to hurt me, she already would have, and her sisters would have done the same to Charlene and Elena." Megan reminded him. "They were standing right in front of us."
"Megan, you guys just caught them off guard. It doesn't mean you or Elena and Charlene are safe."
"You say that as if I'm afraid of her. I'm not, Stefan. I could take her out if I really wanted to." Megan said seriously. "So could Charlene and I know that Charlene could protect Elena if Katherine decided to attack her."
Stefan shook his head her words. "You guys should be afraid of them."
"Well, we're not." Megan crossed her arms and leaned back against her seat. "I really don't want to have this conversation, Stefan. Let's just eat and talk about this tomorrow."
"We need to talk about this now, Megan. We can't ignore what happened."
"I'm not ignoring it." Megan argued. "It's just…what else is there to talk about? We aren't going to do what she says. If we break up, we're just giving her what she wants…"
"If today taught me anything, is all three of them are used to getting their way."
Megan looked at him in disbelief. "So, what? You actually think we should do what she says?"
"Listen, she's sadistic, okay?" Stefan argued back, leaning in towards her. "She threatened you, she threatened everyone."
Megan was beginning to get frustrated with her boyfriend. "I get what you're saying, she's dangerous. All of them are." She agreed. "But we know that every day we're together, it's dangerous, but we're still together in spite of that. I just don't get why your letting her have so much power about our relationship…"
"This is the reality of our situation."
"Well, you know what, reality sucks." Megan bit out and Stefan said nothing. She sighed, sliding her hand over Stefan's on the table. "We shouldn't be fighting right now. Doing this is giving her exactly what she wants. She wants to get in between us."
Stefan took his hand out of Megan's grip and didn't meet her gaze. "She already has, Megan."
Those words made a hurt expression crossed her face and her eyes welled up with tears. "Wow…" she whispered. She looked at him as he finally looked up at her with painfilled eyes. Shaking her head, she stood up from her seat, grabbed her bag, and left wiping away her tears.
Damon stopped outside of the Grill after overhearing Stefan and Megan's argument. It was hard to believe they were actually fighting but it looked believable, not that he really cared if they were arguing or not.
He walked down the sidewalk to go home, but stopped when Abigail came out of her hiding spot. He rolled his eyes and kept going as she followed right behind him.
"You look upset." Abigail commented. "Did you have a bad day?"
"Bad century." Damon said. "I heard you and your sisters were on the loose."
"I guess you heard that from Stefan?"
"No…Charlene." Damon thought he saw a look of jealousy cross Abigail's face, but he brushed it off, knowing that wasn't possible as this was the girl who said she was never in love with him in the first place.
"Oh." Abigail managed to say through gritted teeth. She took a breath to calm herself. "So, what happened?"
Damon rolled his eyes, but answered her anyway, "I tried to kill a werewolf. I failed. Now, I feel like I'm not living up to my best self."
Abigail gave a small smile. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, Damon. Werewolves aren't easy to deal with. Trust me."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you know about werewolves?"
"I know enough, but I wouldn't tell you. The last thing I want is for you pick another fight with a werewolf and get hurt. Don't be the hero, Damon." Abigail warned him.
"Been there, done that. At least this time, it'll be worth it." Damon snipped and turned around, missing the hurt look on Abigail's face.
Finally returning home, Megan went up to her room and sat down her bag on her bed.
Rubbing her eyes, she yawned, closing her eyes briefly. When she opened them, Megan saw Stefan standing in the middle of the room. She stared at him for a moment before breaking out into a grin as she ran over to him and tossed herself into his arms.
He caught her and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her close to him. Megan buried her face into his chest, snuggling into it.
"Are you okay?" Stefan asked her as he ran his fingers through her hair.
Megan sighed at the feeling. "Ugh! Having that fight was awful!" she whined, lifting her head back up. "Faking a fight like that felt so wrong."
"I know. I hated it too. It felt too real."
She nodded in agreement and kissed him desperately as if it was the last one they would share in a while. He returned the kiss just as eagerly. After a few minutes, Megan broke the kiss and rested her forehead against his.
"Did you see how Caroline reacted to our fight?" she questioned.
Stefan nodded glumly. "I did."
"I knew there was something wrong with her today, but I had no idea it was because of Demetria." Megan shook her head sadly. "I don't know how but somehow she had gotten to her… she was listening to every word."
"It won't be long until Demetria gets a play by play."
"I wish I would have realized something was wrong sooner." Megan said with a sigh. "It was so obvious something was up…but I wasn't paying attention enough I guess…"
Stefan brushed her hair back soothingly. "I know…this is pure Demetria. She's always finding someone to do her dirty work and her sisters are the exact same way…Katherine especially."
"Damon was at the Grill too." Megan told Stefan, reminding seeing her boyfriend at the bar. "So, he probably heard the fight too. I don't know…do you think we should tell him it was fake?"
He shook his head. "The only way Demetria is gonna believe it is if everybody believes it." He answered. "That's the best way to make her think she's getting what she wants."
"I guess telling Charlene is out of the question…" Megan mused with a frown, not liking the idea at all, but Stefan had a point. The less people who knew the better.
"Yeah, sorry." Stefan apologized, and Megan waved it off.
"It's okay. Charlene will understand." She told him. She said nothing for a moment before she shook her head. "I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that Demetria is doing this to use just to get you back…" The thought of losing Stefan to her made her eyes tear up a little.
"It's not why she's here, okay?" Stefan reassured, placing his hands on her shoulders, and looking into her eyes with a serious look in them. "No matter what she says, I know her. Demetria only cares about anybody but herself, she never has. She's incapable of love. She's here for another reason."
Megan frowned. "I just wish we knew what it was."
"Me too."
Not say anything else on the subject, Megan buried her face into Stefan's chest again and tightened her grip around his waist, closing her eyes. Whatever the reason was, there was no way Demetria was going to take Stefan away from her. Not if she had anything to say about it.
Abigail rejoined her sisters as they stood outside looking up at the moon. She said nothing to them, staring up at it too. Her mind went to the day they escaped the burning church and looking at her sisters, they were thinking about it too…
1864…
In the woods, Abigail stood with Demetria and stared sadly at Damon dead on the ground a little ways away from her. "I wish we didn't have to leave." She whispered, a hand to her heart.
"I know." Demetria said, placing a hand on Abigail's shoulders. "But this is for the best. They're going to be okay."
"I hope so." Abigail gave her sister a weak smile.
"Girls." Katherine said, getting them to turn and look at her. She was standing there with George. "It's time to go."
Abigail and Demetria started over to her as Katherine turned around to face George.
"All done, George." The brunette told him. "Thank you."
"Now onto your part of the deal." He said, holding out a hand.
Katherine sighed as she reached into her skirt pocket and held out the moonstone he had wanted. He tried to grab at it, but she pulled it back with a stern look on her face.
"If anyone learns of our escape, I will find you and I will kill you." Katherine threatened. "Don't think that I won't." She finally handed the moonstone over.
George let his fingers examine the stone for a moment with a smile. "We shall keep our secrets to our grave." He told her, slipping the moonstone in his pocket. He turned around. "Now, you three must hurry." He left and Katherine went after him.
Abigail didn't leave just yet and neither did Demetria. They shared looks with one another before picking up their skirts and hurrying over to their lovers.
Falling to her knees in front of Damon, Abigail reached out to touch his face gently and lovingly. "I wish things could be different." She whispered. "If they were, I would have spent forever with you. But I will be back, and we will see each other again. No matter what it takes." She leaned down and placed a kiss on his lips.
"I love you, Stefan." Demetria breathed, stroking Stefan's face. "We will be together again, that's a promise." She kissed him too.
They would have stayed a little bit longer if it wasn't for Katherine calling their names.
"Abigail! Demetria!"
They looked at Stefan and Damon one last time before they took off after Katherine.
Present…
A hand being placed on Abigail's shoulder broke her out of her thoughts. It was Demetria and she glanced at her once before looking up at the moon again and touching her lips with her fingers with a smile.
Abigail stared back up at the moon as well, sighing.
TBC...
In...
Kill or Be Killed, Part 1...
Now this is really the longest chapter to date. I could have spilt it into a three part episode instead but I really just wanted to finish it in one go, so here it is! I hope you guys enjoy it! Until next time! :D