Okay, here's the thing. Nothing happened in this episode. Lol. Nothing happens in this episode or the next, so this chapter and the next are going to be a bit slow. I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do. I tried to make them a bit more interesting than they were at first, that's what took so long writhing this out. I didn't know what do to for the longest time, but I got it were good now. Everything's cool.
Anyways, I need your guys help.
I'm trying to decide on what Adele and Damon's song should be. I have a few chocies but I'd like to see what you guys have in mind. So if you guys have any suggestions please let me know in the reviews, it would help a lot.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter, it means the world.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's.
Chapter 16: 1912
His footsteps echo through the narrow hallway as he walks swiftly towards the door at the far end. He clenches a manila envelope in one hand, his other is fisted, the muscles of his arm tense with stress as he tries to gather his racing thoughts, trying to clear his head before he faces him.
At the door he freezes, eyes falling down to the envelope with a certain amount of uncertainty. He knows he should give it to him, should present him with the information it contains but deep down, his gut twist. Imagining those eyes, he can't help the conflicting thoughts but this is his duty. This is his purpose, what was he supposed to do without it?
He's never questioned his boss, never second guessed a thing until he brought her to the church. He didn't know who she was at first, he knew of his boss's desire for this girl named Adele but he'd never seen her before, didn't know a thing about her until she started talking, started questioning his boss's methods. He hasn't been able stop thinking about it, he's always been loyal. He wasn't Justin. He wasn't.
The door opens before him and so lost in his own mind, he almost jumps out of his skin when the hinges protest the movement. "Dan." James's smooth voice calls out from inside the office. "What a surprise. Come in boy." A Trainee pushes past him lightly, making off in the direction he'd just come from and Dan swallows before stepping into the make shift office. He closes the door behind him. "What do you have there?"
"Information." He answers, his tone stiff. "Kristina came back from Mystic Falls this morning." He explains holding up the envelope for him to see.
"Ah. Yes." James rubs his hands together with a greedy sort of look in his eyes. "Is anything interesting happening? Has she still been hanging around that hybrid Klaus? He's going to be a real problem if he gets close enough to her, you know. We don't exactly have the resources to fight him. Damon Salvatore is one thing but Klaus Mikaelson is something entirely different."
"Sir, with all due respect, I don't think Klaus is our biggest problem anymore." Dan grimaces at the stern look his boss sends him.
"What could be a bigger problem than the Hybrid himself? You do know he's undefeatable right? We can't kill him; we can't even get close to him." James is quick to remind him and Dan nods eyes down casting towards the floor.
"Just take a look sir." He holds out the manila envelope for him and James snatches it, almost ripping it open to see what could be so horrible about its contents. It's a series of pictures which is nothing new and he begins flipping through the 10 or so that's there.
It isn't until he gets to the second to the last one that he understands what's going on. She looked to be at a party of some kind in a lace dress now probably ruined by the blood stains down the front and she's being held in the arms Damon Salvatore, her vampire boyfriend who looks to be screaming in agony over her and he doesn't have to get a clear shot of her to know she's more than likely dead.
"She's dead?" He questions, afraid of what the last picture in his hands would contain, his voice is controlled but Dan can see the anger beginning to dance in his dark eyes.
"Not exactly sir." His jaw clenches and he rips away the picture to reveal the last one and roars in anger as he tosses it across the room. As it floats to the ground Dan sneaks another peek at it, at her. Dancing with him, her eyes blackened, veins under them pulsing and fangs glistening in the lights of whatever club they we're in.
*VD*
Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked. Money don't grow on trees. I got bills to pay. I got mouths to feed. And ain't nothing in this world for –
She leans forward quickly and switches the station causing a noise of protest from the backseat that she promptly ignores as she leans back again and turns her head to continue her distant staring out of the window.
She watches the tree's pass by for another good 10 minutes before the sound of Michael's Kawasaki revving beside them draws her attention towards Justin. She can just make out Michael gesturing towards the upcoming gas station before he speeds off in front of them, Jasmine holding tight to his torso.
"Why does he want to stop?" She questions, tone mildly annoyed.
"Gas probably." Justin mummer's as they are approaching the gas station and she huffs a bit crossing her arms across her lap.
"And I sure as hell have to pee. How long have we been driving? Three hours?" Nate speaks up from the back, sitting up from lying across the bench seat.
"Try little over an hour, genius." Adele snips, glancing at the clock of the radio. "By this rate we won't make it until next week."
"Why are you in such a hurry to leave you're kingdom anyways Princess?" He leans forward in between the two seats up front and Adele is quick to glare at him.
"I told you not to call me that." She says and his dark eyes roll.
"And I ignored you, which I will continue to do." He responses with a snarky kind of smirk. "Why do you even try?"
"Cause maybe I'm hoping one day you'll learn how not to be a dick but I guess I've given you too much credit." Nate opens his mouth to retort but Justin silences him with a sharp glance as he parks the truck at a gas pump.
"Whatever. I still have to pee." The Australian vampire sighs as he slides across the seat and exits the truck and Adele can just hear him mumbling 'bitch' under his breath as he slams the door.
"You're very testy." Justin says as he watches Nate disappear into the building before turning to the blonde who is just staring at him. "I'm just saying, I know your hurting but tone it down a bit. We have a long drive a head of us and it's not going to make it go any faster if you're a consist bitch."
"I get it." She sighs as she reaches a hand up to brush her hair back. "I know, I can't help it, bitch is my go to mode when I can't seem to process my thoughts."
Justin laughs a bit. "Who said that?" He questions and she gives him a blank look.
"Damon." She answers and his small smile falls quickly before he pushes out a breath and reaches over, placing his hand on top of hers on her knee.
"I'm sorry." He mutters. "He's a real bastard for everything he's done."
Last night –
She sits in her mustang, trying to stop the never ending flow of tears as her fingers clench tightly to the stirring wheel. Her phone continues to vibrate in the seat next to her but she can't even stand to look at it, the picture of him haunting and very much heartbreaking.
After running from the boarding house and pulling herself together enough to actually drive away, she found herself at the Mystic Falls Motel, parking beside his black Silverado but she can't make herself get out of the car. She doesn't even know why she's here in the first place. She thought she was going home but this wasn't home.
A knock on the window causing her to jerk and she looks up to see his grey t-shirt covered torso and she finally releases the steering wheel and pushes the unlocked door open. She steps out slowly.
"What are you doing—Jesus Adele, what's wrong?" Justin frowns, green eyes narrowing in concern as he takes her by the shoulders to look at her face, her blue eyes shining with tears and bloodshot, and her porcelain cheeks puffy.
"I'm sorry." She cries. "I didn't know where to go."
"Adele, what happened?" He asks, voice soft but stern.
"Damon…" She breathes. "He cheated on me." His green eyes fill with understanding and his lips part in surprise before he pulls her into him, wrapping his arms around her tightly and she clings to the back of his t-shirt, her shoulders rocking with a new wave of sobs.
"I just don't know what I'm supposed to do now." She whispers, blue eyes staring aimlessly out of the windshield, watching Michael hold the door open for Jasmine as she exits the gas station, digging through the plastic bag in her hand before Michael swoops in behind her, lifting her up by her waist, spinning them towards his bike, parked at the pump beside them, as she squeals in delight, giggling up to the clear sky.
"Are you going to leave him?" Justin's question though expected still catches her off guard, leaving her a bit winded. She sucks in a large breath, bidding her time, thinking of an appropriate answer.
"I-I don't know." She finally gets out though the lump forming in her throat. "I mean that's what everyone is going to expect, is what they are going to want." She tells him and his head shakes, green eyes burning into the side of her head.
"It's not about what they want." He says, voice firm. "You don't do things to please other people. You do what will make you happy." She sniffles a bit and turns her head over to look at him, her blue eyes watery once more.
"Wise words," She cracks a half smile at him, full of nothing but sarcasm. "Especially coming from you Mr. my uncle is the guy who destroyed your life and is now trying to do it again."
He nods, rolling his eyes at her. "Yeah, yeah." He mutters. "But I'm serious Adele, don't let them talk you into something you don't want to do. He hurt you but if you think even in the slightest that leaving him isn't the right thing for you, then don't. You'll regret it forever and considering your new immortal status…" His shoulder lifts in a shrug. "Forever is probably going to be a long ass time."
She doesn't give him a response, instead turning her gaze back towards Michael and Jasmine, now joined by Nate looking to be in deep conversion as Michael pumps the gas into the bike.
If she was to tell the truth, she didn't know what was going to happen and that terrified her. The thought of leaving him made her chest tighten. He's not just the love of her life, he's her best friend and the thought of being without him made her feel sick but she just doesn't know if she can forgive him, trust him. Suddenly everything was uncertain to her, her future wasn't as clear anymore and that scared the hell out of her.
*VD*
Her laughing dies down to a soft giggle as he places her back on her feet next to the black bike that tormented her nightmares. It was silly she knows, her boyfriend is a damn vampire but the thing that actually scares her is his preferred method of transportation.
She was getting used to it but that was on short rides, just around the small town that resided in at the moment but Chicago was like a 10 hour drive and she just doesn't know if she can do it. When she stepped off of it on just that hour ride to this gas station her knees almost gave out on her, Michael had to catch her claiming that was normal. That Adele had the same reaction at first but Jasmine could hardly believe that.
"What are they doing?" Michael questions suddenly as he pulls the gas nozzle from its holder but his black eyes are focused on the Chevy beside them and Jasmine glances over, just barely able to make out the ex-hunter and Adele deep in conversion through the tinted windows.
"I have no idea." She mutters, a deep frown pulling at her thin lips. "Somethings up." She says with a sigh.
"You got that right." Nate with a full 32 ounce cup of probably coke comes up stopping beside her. "She's been a real bitch from the start of this little trip, getting on my last damn nerve."
"She does that." Michael sighs out. "Gets all defensive, bitchy when something is wrong."
"Well…I mean what are they talking about?" Jasmine asks, arms crossing over her chest and Michael gives a disapproving look.
"I'm not going to eavesdrop on their conversion." He tells her but Nate is quick to scoff.
"If you won't I will." And Michael rolls his black eyes deciding to focus on putting gas into his bike.
Nate narrows his dark eyes, his over sensitive ears seeking out there pacific voices and he zones in quick enough. "You'll regret it forever and considering your new immortal status…Forever is probably going to be a long ass time."
Nate sighs in defeat when the blonde never responses and Justin leaves the truck, eyeing them silently as he disappears into the gas station. "Came in at the end of the conversion but it's something about regretting something." He shrugs, taking a sip from his cup.
"Regretting something?" Jasmine's frown deepens as she gazes up at her golden haired boyfriend. "What could she possibly regret?"
"Who knows," Michael says replacing the nozzle to its rightful place at last, the bike full. "But whatever it is I'm sure it has to do with her dick of a boyfriend."
Nate laughs at the younger male whose black eyes regard him sharply. "Why do you hate him so much, mate? I just don't understand."
"You've never met the guy." Michael reminds him. "Have her introduce you and you'll figure it out."
"I don't know about that, I don't know if I want to meet the man who could possibly ever be in love with that." Nate scoffs lifting his gaze from the cup in his hand to the two blank stares he's met with from the couple in front of him. "Oh shit." He presses his lips together having forgotten of the blonde male and the princess's drawn out history. "Sorry." He mutters.
"Look," Jasmine finally speaks up. "Damon isn't that bad okay?" Her words are directed at Michael who scoffs before swinging a leg over the bike, positioning himself for when they are finally ready to get moving. He holds the black helmet out for his girlfriend who takes it with a scowl. "He's not and he loves her and he makes her happy. Just because he tried to kill you once doesn't mean he's the cause of all the world's problems."
"He tried to kill you?" Nate questions. "Why?"
"He needed a pawn to prove that the Lockwood's weren't werewolves." Michael explains briefly. "And he was jealous when he saw us together."
"What are you guys talking about?" Jasmine jumps spinning around to face the blonde female who managed to sneak up behind her.
"Your boyfriend." Nate answers bluntly causing Jasmine to glare before she notices Adele's passive expression before she excuses herself to go after Justin in the gas station.
"Oh yeah." Michael laughs knowing the full meaning of that passive stare. "He did something, fucked up big time too. I got that stare once; she broke up with me two days later. We got back together but she tortured me for two damn weeks."
"I'm telling you, I'm sure we're just misunderstanding. It could be nothing." Jasmine insist but Michael shakes his head sighing.
"I'm sorry Jazz but I know her." He tells her, reminding her that they do actually have a lot of history. It was easy to forget sometimes and she would much rather forget. "Whatever is going on, it's not nothing."
Nate shrugs, telling them that he's going back to the truck, to nurse his sugary drink. He was just looking for his next addiction now that he's kicked the alcohol and they watch him go before Michael turns back to gaze up at her, he reaches forward looping a long slim finger into the front belt loop of her shorts and tugging her towards him. "What's up lovely? I can see something is bothering you."
She looks down at him, though he's not much shorter, even sitting down and she bites the corner of her lip. "I don't want to ride on the bike." She finally says causing his head to loll back in a show of mock frustration. "I'm sorry."
"We've talked about this." He says. "You're going to have to get used to it."
"I know and I am but it's going to take some time. I just…it scares the living hell out of me okay and if we crash, I'll die. You're already dead." Her voice rises in volume, showing her true panic over the bike and he wraps a strong hand around to the small of her back, rubbing a soothing pattern into her pale skin and she melts against his side. "I'm sorry; it's just too long of a ride for me just yet. I have to take it slow."
"Alright. I get it." He sounds mildly disappointed and she sends him a thankful smile. "Go talk to Adele, I'm sure she'll trade places with you." Jasmine bends quickly, pressing her pink lips to his and he grins against them hand moving up to the back of her neck to hold her there before a honk next to them causes them to pull away and Jasmine laughs as she practically dances out of his reach towards the building and he smirks watching her while flipping off Nate in the truck who hollers a laugh.
*VD*
"Damon," He groans, eyes screwed shut as he tries to wait for the hangover to disappear, to wait for the healing to kick in. "Damon!"
"What?" He snaps, finally peeling his eyes open and his vision is blurred as he picks his head up to gaze at his brother standing at the end of his bed before closing them again because he knows that Stefan isn't supposed to have a twin. "What do you want?"
"You to answer your phone." His younger brother tells him, mentioning towards the discarded device lying beside the bed, on the floor. He must've dropped it at some point last night. He can barely remember getting to bed and considering the empty bottle of bourbon dangling from his fingers and the way he's passed out not even fully on the bed and still in his jeans and t-shirt from the day before he can probably guess why. He groans as he rolls, actually slipping from the bed and catching himself before he crashes into the floor. "It's been ringing almost nonstop."
"What time is it?" He questions reaching out to snatch up his phone to get the answer himself. His phone reads 9:12 am along with 6 missed calls. He groans again pulling himself up to stand before stumbling towards the bathroom, his body feeling stiff. "I need a shower." He grumbles and Stefan throws up his hands watching his brother try to fight off the alcohol poisoning he probably has considering the empty bottle he's still clenching wasn't his only one of the night.
"You're not going to call them back? At least find out who it was and what they wanted?" He asks and Damon gives a grunt in response before spewing off some incoherent ramblings as he flips on the shower and Stefan scoffs thinking, yeah alcohol poisoning and maybe had he managed to drink another bottle, he could have actually died. He wouldn't have stayed dead but still, that wasn't what Stefan wanted to come across this morning.
With a roll of his eyes Stefan leaves the room, leaving his brother to suffer alone in the after math of his decisions, of his actions. "You screwed up Damon," He says on his way out, knowing his brother may or may not be able to hear him. "Whatever happens now, you have no one to blame but yourself."
And as if Damon needed the reminder. The various ways this could come to an end playing in his head throughout the night and her expression before she disappeared from the house, her betrayed over-all lost expression was what drove him to down that first bottle. He needed to numb the heart ache, numb the pain but all the drinking did was fuel his desire to explain himself, to pour his damn heart out to her but she wouldn't answer her damn phone.
His shower is no less than 30 minutes he can guess and he spent most of it dry heaving, his stomach turning and twisting unpleasantly, his body almost refusing to heal itself probably as some kind of cruel punishment.
When he's finally out of the shower and starting to feel normal once again, his phone rings and he checks in only in the hopes that it's her but it's not. It's Liz and he lets out a frustrated sigh as he answers the call. "Now isn't a good time Liz," He begins quickly; he didn't want to hear what she had to say, didn't want to deal with life today.
"I think now is the perfect time." Liz cuts him off, tone sharp, annoyed. "I've been trying to call you all morning, what have you been doing?"
"You don't want to know." He answers dragging his fingers through his wet hair, pushing it back out of his face, maybe Adele was right. Maybe he does need a haircut.
"Okay well you need to get down to the station because we need to talk." She tells him. "We ran into a little problem last night. We had to arrested Alaric for the murders."
*VD*
Jasmine catches her as she's exiting the building, thrusting Michael's helmet into her hands. "Do me a favor?" She smiles, green eyes bright and hopeful. "Switch places with me?"
Adele's slim eyebrow raises a bit as she eyes the small teenager in front of her. "Can't handle that long on the bike huh?"
"No." Jasmine sighs with a shake of her head. "Going around town is easy, but 10 hours I'm just not comfortable enough yet to do that."
Adele snickers as she pushes the helmet back towards her friend. "Well take that back because I'm not going to use it. I hate that thing, it's uncomfortable."
"Yeah, tell me about it. Well at least you don't have to worry if you crash right?" She smirks and Adele shakes her head, waving her off towards the truck and Jasmine squeals out a thank you as she jogs towards it.
Coming up from the side of the bike, she zips up her leather jacket and throws her hair up, into a pony tail before swinging a leg over the seat behind Michael's lean figure and he grins at her from over his shoulder. "Just like old times huh?"
She ignores him scouting forward to wrap her arms around his mid-section and moving to her legs to squeeze his hips between her thighs. Michael revs the bike, ready to take off but stops just before to look back at his blonde ex. "What happened with Damon?" He questions and she's only slightly surprised by his blunt question and she considers only briefly about lying.
"He cheated on me." She finally states watching as he eyes her before his lips press together and he nods, revving the bike before shooting them forward.
*VD*
Michael speeds down the old back road and Adele clenches to him, face hidden in his tight back and she could almost imagine they we're back in sophomore year, riding out to Duke for a weekend party and that everything was okay. That they weren't technically dead and that her life was simple with no Damon Salvatore's there to break her heart.
This, what they we're doing was just so normal that it actually made her chest hurt but the Chevy following behind them by a couple miles was a good reminder that this wasn't normal.
She lifts her head to ask the male something about time though it hardly seems important as her eyes zone in on the crossroad they are speeding toward, or more likely the SUV waiting for them. "Michael!" She shirks but it's too late and the driver of the black Tahoe floors it and everything happens way too fast for her to even comprehend before everything is fading to nothing around her.
*VD*
He slams on the brakes, Jasmine propelling forward only to be stopped by her seatbelt as her green eyes widen and her face pales. "Michael!" She screams as they watch the unseen SUV barrel through the sports bike, so much smaller in comparison.
They can only sit and watch, as Adele is thrown losing her grip on the blonde male and Justin feels sick watching her land against the pavement of the street, skidding across it and finally rolling into the grass at the side. He watches her lay there motionless his eyes not even wanting to venture towards the driver of the bike but Jasmine can't look away.
She can't see much, her vision obscured slightly by the SUV and the bike crushed beyond repair but she can see his legs, his arm, the blood pooling, sliding along the street. "Oh my god." She cries. "Oh my god." She unhooks her seatbelt, fingers reaching blindly for the door handle but Nate reaches forward trying to grab a hold of her but in all her hysterical panic she throws him back against the seat he's in with a burst of sudden wind that makes the vampires head spin before she escapes from the vehicle pushing her 5'3 form as fast as she can. She rounds the SUV and her cry is a horrified sound of dismay as she covers her mouth with her hand.
His eyes stare up at her and their so lifeless and there's so much blood. His face is covered in it, in gashes and he must have died on impact. The only thing that made this horrifying nightmare in any form bearable was the voice in her head reminding her that he would come back.
When she turns her tear filled gaze towards the side of the road she can see Adele, laying there, her body twisted and Jasmine can only guess that she too is dead.
"Kill him and leave the Gilbert girl for last." She hears from a short distance and her head snaps over to the source and her heart sinks deeper into her stomach. It's him and he's talking to one of his lackey's and he's talking about Michael.
"He is dead sir." The lackey responses earning a glare from his boss.
"Make sure he stay's dead." And the lackey nods with a small sigh, pulling a stake from his weapons belt and Jasmine panics. She ducks down, beside Michael, hidden behind the SUV until the man turns the corner and spots her but she throws out her hand before he can shout out to his boss, muttering something in a language he can't understand and suddenly he feels like he was burning up from the inside and he can barely even groan in pain before his eyes roll back into his head and he drops down at Michael's side.
She sucks in a shaky breath pulling herself over to Michael slowly and sliding in, pulling him across her lap as she cries, reaching up a now bloody hand to brush away his blonde hair. She barely registers the blood seeping around her, staining her grey t-shirt and her jean shorts. "It's okay." She mutters as if he could actually somehow hear her. "Everything is going to be okay, I'm going to protect you."
*VD*
There is a small, cozy café down the street from where she works at the small boutique in the corner of town square and he picks her up on her lunch break where they walk down there, her arm wrapped firm around his bicep as she leans into him, trying to steal his body heat for herself. She hadn't realized it would be so chilly outside and the store has heating, so she hadn't noticed.
When they reach the little corner café, they are greeted at the door by the hostess who when finally picking her head up and noticing them suddenly stumbles over her words. "Welcome to...D-Damon!" She exclaims before clearing her throat. "Sorry. I'm just surprised to see you. I haven't seen much of you since graduation."
"Yeah," He chuckles beside her, pulling himself to stand up straighter, untangling his arm from hers. "I haven't made it my mission to stand out. It's nice to see you again Rose." His now free arm wraps quickly around her slender waist much to Rose's attention.
"Oh." She says in a bit of surprise. "I'm sorry, I'm Rose." She introduces. "I went to school with Damon, we kind of ran with the same crowd."
"Rose," Damon cuts her off before she can get a word out. "This is Adele, my girlfriend." He introduces for her and she's not sure why he feels the need to tighten his hold on her.
"Girlfriend?" Rose questions before quickly shaking her head. "Anyways, I'm guessing you're both here for lunch? Where would you like to sit? Inside or out?"
"Inside, please." Adele answers before Damon has the chance to answer and she realizes by his tense shoulders that that wasn't the answer he was going to go with but it's cold outside and she wasn't willing to freeze. She wanted to have a comfortable lunch after all.
Rose leads them to a table next to a window in the far back and telling them that there server will be with them shortly before disappearing back towards the front. When she's fully out of earshot Adele leans forward. "What was that about?"
"She's Katherine's best friend and now I'm sure this little encounter will somehow make it back to her. Those two caused me nothing but grief and trouble in high school." He explains and she understands right away. She knows all about Katherine Peirce.
"You loved Katherine." She says slowly watching his face twist in disgust.
"Yeah," He agrees. "But it's so much clearer now then back then that she was nothing but a spoiled bitch. She was selfish and she only aimed to please herself no matter who she hurt. Everybody hated her; I was just too blinded by her to see that."
"Well," Adele laughs softly, leaning her elbows onto the table. "I'm so glad I don't have to worry about you having any remaining feelings for your first love."
"God no." He laughs feeling himself leaning forward as well. "How could I even think of her with you right here in front of me? You're so much better then she could ever wish to be. Selfless, funny, beautiful." She giggles lightly as he lean up towards her, their noses brushing. "But you two do have something in common." She actually frowns at this as his smirk turns sly. "You two have the biggest attitudes I have ever encountered in my life. You are both super bitchy." Her mouth drops open with a gasps but before she can say anything, to yell at him, he leans forward the rest of the way, capturing her lips in a slow kiss that makes her forget her surroundings as she grins.
When he pulls away with a matching grin, she wishes she could slap him. "You better be glad that I like you so much."
"Oh believe me, I am." He laughs as he moves in for another kiss.
"Damon?" He jumps, actually slamming his knee on the underside of the table as he sits back, looking over with wide eyes, taking in the woman standing at the table, her mouth parted in shock.
"Mom?" He questions slowly before his gaze is redirected to over her shoulder. "Oh you have got to be kidding me." He groans his blue eyes moving back over to meet those of his girlfriend's surprised expression. "Mom, Dad," He watches as she jerks a bit, her spine stiffening as she regards the two older adults now standing over there table. "What are you doing here?"
"We just stopped in to grab some lunch before you dad heads off to work. What are you doing?" His mom's gaze moves from her eldest son to the pretty blonde across from him. She knows her, she's Miranda and Grayson's oldest daughter. Adele Gilbert, her younger son's girlfriend's twin sister.
"It's Adele's lunch break." He tells them before remembering that he hasn't actually introduced her to them. He knows that his parents already know who she is, but they don't know her significance to him. "Oh right." He shakes his head, standing quickly and reaching out to pull her up with him. "Mom, dad, you know Adele."
"Yes." Lily nods, smiling softly at the young woman. "It's nice to see you again Adele. How are your parents?"
"They're good. My mom is getting ready for the next founder's event and she said that she hopes you'll be around to help her out." She tells the woman who smiles fondly at the mention of it.
"Exactly what business do you two have, being here together?" His dad's booming voice startles them both for a moment but they recover and Damon takes a much needed breath before, he wraps a lean arm around her slim waist and pulls her flush against his side.
"Adele and I are in a relationship. We have been for a few months now." He tells them, watching his dad's expression waver just slightly and his mother's eyes to widen and her face to visible pale. "She's my girlfriend."
"G-Girlfriend?" His mother stutters over the word, throwing an arm out to catch herself on her husband's board shoulder behind her. "Oh god, I think I need to sit down." Damon's eyes so much like his mother's roll at the dramatics as Lily quickly pulls up a chair and sits herself in it.
Damon is starting to wonder where the waitress is but figures she's probably staying clear of the crazy. "This is not a big deal mom." He says after a second.
"Oh this most certainly is a big deal." She snaps up at her son. "Do you know how long I've waited for this moment? I thought for the longest time that you'd never get over that horrible girl but yet here you are with a new girlfriend. I'm just so mad that you kept this from us."
"That might be because I wanted to save us from this kind of a reaction." He snips earning the full force of his father's infamous glare.
"Your mother is a bit surprised but then again so am I. Is this something you thought you could hide from us forever?" He scolds much to Damon's annoyance and before Damon can open his mouth and spit out some kind of snappy comment, Adele steps forward.
"If I may interrupt, we we're planning on telling the both of you coming up in the next week or so. It's just that Damon and I have never had the easiest relationship and this is still fairly new. We just needed some time to figure out if it was actually going to work out between us before we started telling everyone we care about." She explains.
"But you two are confident in your relationship now?" Adele glances away from Lily to look up at Damon before nodding.
"Yeah." She smiles before turning back to the two and she realizes what she's about to do, she may regret but she can't seem to stop herself. "Would you like to join us for Lunch?"
"We would love to." Lily answers, glancing up to her husband who gives a simple nod and she can practically feel Damon's eyes boring into her skull.
They take their seats, Adele moving over to sit beside Damon instead of in front of him and finally the waitress makes her appearance, taking down there drink orders and leaving them to retrieve them. The silence that follows is a bit tense as Adele skims over her menu.
"So how long have you two been together exactly?" His mom finally speaks up and Adele figuring out what she wants to order places the menu back down to look across to the pretty woman.
"About 4 months." She answers.
"It was kind of a sudden development." Damon mentions, not looking up to meet either of his parent's stares.
"Haven't you both known each other for quite some time now?" This causes Damon to finally look up, meeting his father's stern and disapproving gaze. His father was the overly strict type and Adele knew from the countless times Damon's told her that nothing he's ever done has been good enough for his dad, that his dad thought a lot higher of his younger brother. "Why start a relationship now?"
"I had a boyfriend." She answers quickly, cutting off Damon's more than likely sarcastic remark. "I mean to tell you the truth; I was never the biggest fan of Damon's. I actually kind of a hated him, I thought he was irresponsible and selfish and I didn't like the way he treated woman but I don't know, he grew on me. He was there for me when I found out I was adopted and when my Uncle…" She cuts off for half a second to clear her throat. "When my biological father John died."
Lily's gaze turns sympathetic as she recalls the event. The news that the Gilbert twins we're actually adopted came as quite a shock to everyone, Elena had even camped out at their house with Stefan for a few days having been heart broken and unable to face Miranda and Grayson but when news spread that John Gilbert had died of a sudden illness and that he was actually the girl's biological father the shock was like anything else.
She remembers Elena showing up at their door at 1 in the morning, crying to Stefan about how her parents had taken off, telling her and her sister that their Uncle passed away and how she had found her and her sister's medical records stashed away in Grayson's home office earlier that day and when she managed to croak out the name of her birth father, it only made her cry that much harder.
Lily remembers wondering where the other Gilbert girl was and Elena telling her that she didn't know. That when Adele heard the truth, she was anything but happy and when the news came later that day, she had taken off, slammed the front door on her way out and blew smoke from her tires taking off from the drive way.
She had worried; a girl like Adele shouldn't have been out so late at night and so upset. The older woman, as a concerned mother herself had insisted they find her, but she remembers when they had actually been about to go and look for her, she remembers Damon finally coming in at close to 2:30 am and trailing in after him came the small figure of Adele, looking fragile and cold. He brushed off their questions with ease back then. Stating he merely ran into her and she was wondering where her sister was and they both figured she'd be at his place with Stefan, so he brought her back with him, he never gave anything away that he knew of the situation happening around him. Only now does she realize the reality of that situation.
"That happened almost a year ago and it still took you both this long to get together?" Lily questions, her brows furrowing and Damon glances at his girlfriend quickly before meeting his mother's gaze.
"She's stubborn. It took me that almost year to convince her to give me a shot." Damon attempts, though he wasn't about to mention the few times they hooked up before officially getting together. They weren't about to attempt that in Adele's mind, Damon was only supposed to be her rebound.
"I'm really glad you did convince me though." She says, her blue eyes regarding him with such warmth that he can't help but smile, reaching over to grip her hand resting on the table and she turns her warm eyes towards his parents who are watching their every move. "Your son is a great man and I'm really lucky to have him."
*VD*
Justin rushes out of the truck after Jasmine, Nate following close behind from the other side before gunshots ring out and Nate hisses in pain when a bullet just merely grazes his arm, ripping through the fragile flesh. He throws himself back, towards the ground for cover and he can hear Justin cursing from the other side.
"Shit!" The ex-hunter groans. "Nate!" He calls voice tight, laced in pain. The gunshots have ceased to stop though they weren't directed at anything or anyone and Nate turns to response to his best friend, to move around the back of the truck but he nearly slips at the surprise of a hunter sneaking up from behind him, his soft footsteps masked by the gunshots.
The hunter tackles him, but he's lost his element of surprise and Nate being stronger and faster gains the upper hand and shoves a fist through the guy's chest cavity, pulling out his heart and tossing it up and into the line of fire. The gunshots cease immediately and Nate listens to the low hum of shocked voices, three at most.
"Nathanial." James yells out voice full of disappointment. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be. Surrender, it'll be easier on everyone."
"You're joking right? So you can kill me? I don't think so. I happen to value my life." He yells back sliding down the side of the truck, chest heaving with adrenaline.
"Justin…" James changes tactics, ignoring Nate's response. "Justin, you've committed a great crime against your own people and we just want to get to the bottom of this. If you come out, we won't hurt you. We just need to talk this through. It's not too late for you son. Think of your mom and dad. They'd be very disappointed in you. What about your sister?"
Nate holds his breath until it registers that Justin doesn't respond to his uncles obvious way of trying to trap the guy into coming out from his hiding place.
A cracking of bone and a groan pulls everyone's attention and Nate peeks out just enough to watch the blonde female roll onto her stomach, her broken bones cracking and morphing back into place as she whimpers and groans in pain seemingly coming too at an alarmingly quick rate.
"Grab her." James demands, voice strained in urgency as he watches her try and regain some sort of conscious thought.
"Shit." Nate whispers watching the two hunters move towards her and he propels forward, to try and stop them but he's hit with a wooden bullet to the shoulder that makes him retreat back into his hiding place. "Shit!" He exclaims, reaching up to dig the bullet out of his shoulder with a short cry of pain.
*VD*
Her mind is foggy, her body is screaming in pain, broken bones snapping and healing back into place, open wounds stitching back together. What the hell happened?
Before she can even lift her heavy head to see where she was or what was going on, she feels pulling at her arms and her body is yanked from the grass causing a soft cry of pain as her body protest still trying to heal itself completely.
"Adele!" She moves her head blurry eyes just being able to make out the two guys pulling at her arms, pulling her across the pavement of the street they are on and her blue eyes barely register Jasmine yelling something as she hutches over a body. Michael's body.
Shit. What the hell is going on? She vaguely remembers riding behind Michael on his bike and…oh. As her mind begins to clear, she begins to remember, remember the SUV, remember the crash, her tossed from the bike like a doll and the pain of skidding across the street and finally peace, no pain, nothing but blackness and a dream. One of those dreams again.
"What…" She wheezes looking between the men on each side of her. "What are you doing?" She didn't know who they were or what they were planning on doing with her and she tries to yank at her arm but she's still weak.
"Just stay calm Miss. Gilbert, we are not going to hurt you." The man on her left speaks, in what she assumes is supposed to be a calming voice but it does nothing to calm down her nerves.
"Princess!" Her head whips back but she can't see him. She can't find where Nate's voice had come from but what she does see sends her heart racing and her panic to hit an all-time high. James. He's standing in front of Justin's truck, gun in hand resting at his side as he watches between the truck where she can only assume Nate and Justin are hiding and her.
"Shit." She mutters, yanking at her arms but the two men hold on tighter, drag her faster and she kicks out her feet trying to get her footing and when she does she digs her heels down into the street, trying to throw herself back, away from them. "No!" She exclaims but they stop to get a better hold on her and the distribution in movement and the wind causes her to get a whiff of all the blood, and a hunger so deep rooted causes her mind to begin to cloud back over and a surge of energy gives her the strength to break free. She twist her right arm up, effortlessly popping it out of place and the guy holding it stumbles back with a curse.
"Just calm down Miss…" The man grunts when she rips her arm from the guy on the left and lunges at him, knocking him to the ground as her teeth bite viciously into his neck, ripping at the skin. When she pulls away and the hunter is dead, she can feel his blood surging through her and her now black eyes lift to the other hunter that is backing away, gun raised and aimed at her but she speeds away, stopping only when she's tucked back behind the SUV with Jasmine, the raven haired witch jumping at her sudden appearance.
"Is he okay?" She whispers and Jasmine nods.
"What are we going to do?" She whispers back and Adele swallows looking around before glancing at Jasmine, her eyes still black, veins still pulsing, fangs poking at her bottom lip and blood dripping from her chin.
"I'm going to end this." She whispers back. "Enough is enough."
"Adele…" But she's already gone and Jasmine curses, slowly letting go of Michael and crawling her way up towards the edge of the SUV, but when she looks out she can't see Adele anywhere.
*VD*
James whips around, trying to look in every which direction at once, trying to spot a head of blonde anywhere. "Find her!" He yells to his last remaining hunter, the rest of his back up. "Find…" He cuts off, actually sucking in a breath of surprise when he blonde appears in front of him, he goes to lift his gun but she grabs his hand, squeezing and he groans as he can feel the bones cracking, snapping until he drops the weapon and before he can even think of going for his stake, she's already taken it, throwing it away.
"I told you." She snarls, eyes blazing and he can't remember a time he felt such fear. "You should have listened." And she grabs him by the shirt, pulling him up and cuts her teeth into his neck but she's pulling away a second later coughing as she doubles over, but she keeps her tight grip on him.
James laughs much to her annoyance. "You should have realized that I'd be stocked full of vervain." He snips watching her, waiting for her to get weaker but when she looks back up at him, her red lips pulled into a cruel smirk.
"That's okay," She's cut off but Nate's urgent voice calling out to her and she turns her head to look over at him, standing at the front of the truck, peering down the side of it and his shoulders are tense. "What is it?" She questions and without realizing that her grip on the hunter has slacked leaves her surprised when he breaks free taking off in the other direction and she's about to take off after him.
"Leave him!" Nate snaps as he's finally moving down the side of the truck and she curses before following him, wanting to see what was so urgent and when her blue eyes catch the sight before her she sucks in a harsh breath. Justin.
Nate bends down to the ex-hunter who is sitting propped up against the back wheel, head dropped, eyes closed. "Justin." The vampire whispers looking down at his grey t-shirt drenched in blood. "Shit, Justin." Nate practically squeaks as Adele comes up beside him as quick as she can, bending down.
"Justin…" She reaches forward, fingertips brushing his neck before she lifts up his head, fingers pressed to his pulse point. She takes a deep, shaky breath and she can feel her gut clenching and her throat tightening. "Oh god, Justin…"
"He's bleeding." Nate says and Adele glances over at him, her blue eyes glazed over in on coming tears watching him bite into his wrist and she stops him when he moves to bring the bleeding wound up to Justin's mouth and Nate's dark eyes bore into her.
"Nate," She whispers, voice cracking. "Just listen." And the older vampire swallows hard.
"He can't," He shakes his head. "He can't be…" Nate cuts off hanging his head as he tries to come to grips with the reality of the situation. "A bullet must've hit him," He chokes. "He called out to me but I couldn't…I couldn't get to him. I could've saved him."
"You just said it yourself Nate…" Adele reaches towards him, pulling him up to look at her. "You couldn't get to him. There was nothing you could do." She pulls him over to her, wrapping her arms around his back as he buries his face in her shoulder, his whole body trembling.
"He's my best friend." The vampire cries as a few tears manage to escape down her pale cheeks, as it feels like someone's punch a hole through her chest and was twisting her heart.
"What is going on?" Adele glances up towards Michael, when he comes around the corner leaning into Jasmine who helps to keep him standing as he cradles his right arm to his chest. "What the hell happened?" She can tell he's still foggy but his mind is clear enough to register the scene in front of him.
"He was shot." Adele says voice cracking as she's rubbing a hand down Nate's back as he clings to her. "He's dead."
*VD*
She closes the door to the boarding house as softly has she possibly can, hoping she can stop herself from making too much noise. She doesn't want to be caught here in case anyone is there though Damon's car is gone but she needs to pick up a few things and possibly shower, get at least some of the massive amount of blood she has caked on her off.
She didn't want to go home, didn't want to face Elena or Alaric in her condition but she sure as hell wasn't going to stay in this house with Damon, so she decided to take the lesser of two evils and stick it out at the house with Elena's frantic questions that she may be able to dodge and Alaric's concerned stares that she may be able to ignore.
She creeps up the stairs, her footsteps almost completely silent and when she reaches the top, Stefan is waiting for her, making her jump when she doesn't notice him at first. "Holy shit Stefan." She breathes. "You could have at least warned me."
"I could have but that would have risked you taking off, fleeing if you will." Is his short comeback before he regards her appearance with narrowed eyes. "What the hell happened? Is that you're blood? Oh god Adele did you…"
"No." She stops him quickly. "No, god no. A lot of it is mine." She looks past him, eyeing Damon's closed bedroom door. "Is he…"
"No." He shakes his head. "He's out right now but I should think he'll be back soon." Stefan explains. "Are you going to tell me why you're covered in your most of your own blood? You know you took off so fast last night, not that anyone could blame you but when you didn't call anyone today and nobody could seem to find you, we got worried. I think I'm seeing now that we might have had a reason to worry."
"Stefan I really don't want to talk about it right now." She says much to his annoyance. "I just…all you need to know is that I really just want to change my clothes and grab my laptop before I have to go home and face Elena so I can maybe relax and wait for the many nightmares I'm sure I'm going have and I want to do it all without running into Damon because I don't think I could handle seeing his face right now." She rambles on without so much as a breath of air and when she finally stops, her eyes are stinging and her throat is closing.
Stefan noticing her about to have an emotional break down, springs into action, taking her small frame into his arms and holding her close as he whispers that everything is going to be alright. Once she's calmed down, he pulls away. "You know maybe if you don't want to go home and face Elena's 3rd degree you could just hang out here, you know take a shower and change." She's about to open her mouth but he's quick to cut her off. "Away from Damon. You look like you need some type of sappy girly love story movie marathon. I could call Caroline and have her bring some of those over, maybe even some ice cream and I'll even cook for you both all while we're hiding you out in my bedroom where Damon is not likely to come around unless he needs to bug me which I think he's done for the night. My door also locks, so I'm sure that will help."
Adele actually laughs at the idea but find herself nodding. It actually sounded pretty amazing and after the day she just had, after Justin, amazing would be pretty great.
Remember to leave a review with a song you think would match perfect with Damon and Adele.
Next time on Lose Myself:
It's the Wickery Bridge fundraiser,
Damon gets a visit from an old friend,
And
Adele has to decide what she wants to be about her relationship with Damon.