A/N: So I'm a poop. But here is another chapter because I'm cool and had time today!
ALSO! Another shout out to GiraffePanda2! Because you have come back for more and I will present more ;) But yes! I love that 'curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back'. I was actually working on titles and I think you'll like the next one! But again, thank you for reviewing, it warms my cold heart ^3^ hearts galore AGAIN!
AN 2022: Enjoy this newly updated (4/2022). Still going strong on editing and no plans on stopping! It should become better around chapter 10, just because that was when I truly changed to 3rd person and really got my groove. Until then, mon amies, thanks for following along for the ride.
Los Angeles ; 2010
Eve sat upright in her hotel bed quickly, looking around the room to find the source of the loud ringing. Her phone continued to buzz and ring on the nightstand next to the bed as Eve let her rapidly beating heart settle down before grabbing the phone and looking at the caller. And just like that, her heart seemed to stop beating altogether. Stefan.
"Hello?" Eve answered, suddenly feeling wide awake as she looked at the red neon lights of the hotel alarm clock that read 5:27.
"Hey…" Stefan Salvatore. Of course it was Stefan. His voice never changed, and Eve had learned to recognize it throughout the years, as the two kept up phone numbers to keep in touch. Eve sat up, frozen for a moment from just hearing his voice. It had been…over five years since the two had spoken last…But Eve recognized his voice as if the two caught up regularly. To be fair, regularly for vampires was very different than regularly for humans. "It's-erm-Stefan," Stefan muttered out, sounding tense. Eve couldn't help the snicker that left her throat.
"Nooo." Eve gently teased back into the phone. "I would have never guessed! You sound sooo different." Eve cooed back at him sarcastically, rubbing her eyes and yawning as Stefan chuckled back. "What do you need, Stef?" Eve asked through a yawn. She hadn't been asleep for more than three hours…and she was still a little tipsy from her previous outing the night before.
"You sound tired, I should call you back when you're more awake…" Stefan trailed off. Eve scoffed.
"Don't you dare hang up on me, Stefan Salvatore." Eve warned pointedly, swinging her feet from under the covers and dangling them over the edge of the bed. "You woke me up fer a reason, now tell me what that reason is." Eve stated sharply as she allowed herself to stretch before stepping down onto the cold, hardwood floor. Stefan let out a soft laugh that turned into a worried sigh. Eve instantly felt herself grow worried. "That…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so snappy so early." Eve apologized quickly, realizing how harsh she sounded. Something about Stefan made Eve want to keep him happy. It was probably his stupidly effective puppy-dog eyes. Eve stepped over two sleeping men and walked over the balcony and stepped outside.
"It's Damon." Stefan grumbled out after a small sigh. Eve stopped, barely getting the door closed behind her as she stood now frozen in place. The street below her, so many stories down, was already filling with traffic. The lights of apartments and other skyrise hotels had lights illuminating through windows. The city was waking up and the sun was slowly rising. "He needs help, and you're the best help I can think of." Stefan continued, sounding exhausted and defeated by his brother's obviously upsetting antics.
"Have you and him made up?" Eve wondered, more to herself, but with still being a little tipsy, the words had come stumbling out of her mouth. Stefan remained silent. That answered that. But it didn't answer why or how Stefan would know that Damon needed help. Were the two together? Why had they decided to meet up? More importantly, why didn't they invite Eve? "Pretty rude to have a vampire get together and not invite me, Stef." Eve slurred slightly. Now Stefan let out a more annoyed sigh making Eve chuckle. "What happened with Damon?" Eve asked, taking a step over to the railing, leaning on the guardrails and shivering from their temperature. Even for LA, the new year air was especially crisp. The breeze didn't help. It would warm up, but Eve only had shorts and a bra on. It wasn't like she cared if anyone saw her. She'd been sad and depressed and a little drunk from the new years eve bash she had.
"Katherine happened." Stefan mumbled, obviously getting over Eve's slight drunken reply. Even without having seen his face, Eve knew Stefan was holding his head in frustration. Eve let out an annoyed groan of her own.
"Christ; is he havin' another midlife crisis?" Eve moaned out, throwing her head back dramatically. Stefan let out a soft chuckle, making Eve's worry diminish, even for a moment. Of course she was still worried about Stefan's stupid older brother, but with Stefan being able to laugh, Eve knew it wasn't deadly serious…Despite Stefan's regular tone.
"You could say that." Stefan snickered back. Eve ran a hand through her curly hair, accidentally pulling and ripping a chunk out from the mere force. She had enough hair to spare. Eve tossed the hair over the rail, watching it blow away.
"He is such a dick." Eve complained, rubbing her eyes of the little sleep that stuck to them. "She's in that tomb, entrapped forever, if we're lucky," Eve began grumpily. Just thinking about Katherine made Eve's blood boil. Fuck that woman. And not in the way that Damon wanted to. "Damon can't get into the tomb. End of story." Eve stated sternly as if she was lecturing Damon and not Stefan.
"Yeah…well, about that…" Stefan began, trailing off, his tone going back to his serious one. "Listen, I know you hate Mystic Falls, but-" Stefan tried before Eve interrupted him.
"Stefan-" Eve warned him just by the tone of her voice, feeling anxiety rise in her throat at just the thought alone, but Stefan cut her off now.
"I know, I know, but-" Stefan began to try and talk but quickly let out a defeated exhale. "I wouldn't ask you if it weren't serious…" Stefan explained. Eve could hear how desperate he sounded, and how sorry he was to even be asking her to do something she didn't want to do. "Or is 45 years not a long enough time for not seeing one another?" Stefan questioned, a hint of almost forced playfulness entered his voice. Eve let out a snort.
"I was the one who didn't have their humanity on and led you to go full ripper on some girl, so that's more of a question fer you to answer, not me." Eve teased back, tensing up only slightly as she realized how blunt the remark was.
"I think I can forgive you." Eve relaxed at Stefan's casual response. "I have to go, but…just come back to Mystic Falls." Stefan stated, not even asking anymore. "I'll make it up to you somehow. See you soon." Stefan had already hung up before Eve could protest. Eve rolled her eyes, looking at her phone to see that he did hang up. Stefan was so sure Eve would just pack up her life and leave for Mystic Falls…and he would be right. Eve sighed, looking back out at the city's skyline once more. Maybe a change would be good…
Eve knew that if both the Salvatore brothers were in Mystic Falls that they would be back in their old boarding house, and there was plenty of room for Eve. Hell, Eve had her own room in said boarding house…But the town was so quiet. It had been a rough couple of months, and Eve had been using the noises of the city to silence her ever-wandering mind…Perhaps leaving the big city for a small town would be good for her humanity…Eve took in one last breath of the polluted city air before walking back into the dark hotel room.
Eve walked around and stepped over one of the sleeping men on the floor, going and turning on the lights to the hotel room. Eve had been living in luxury for the past few months to try and ease herself back to being single. Her last relationship had taken a dive and Eve had to remind herself that she was worth luxury. One of the men began to stir as Eve put her suitcase on the king-sized bed she had slept on alone. Eve ignored him as she checked her phone for the temperatures in Mystic Falls. Eve scowled seeing that the high was only 44 degrees (6c) and would get cold. What was even good about Mystic Falls?
Eve sighed, grabbing some skinny jeans and a long-sleeved, dark grey shirt from her suitcase before switching her shorts for the jeans and pulling the shirt on, and throwing her duffle bag next to the suitcase. It was a good enough outfit for a flight. Eve continued packing, paying for a nearly private airplane ride to Charlottesville as she made sure she had all her things before shoving things into her suitcase and duffle bag. Hopefully, the things Eve left at the boarding house were still there, including some clothes. Eve didn't mind living out of her suitcase and duffle bag for the last few months, but she also lived in a city that had accessible shops to buy new clothes from when she wanted. Mystic Falls…not so much. Eve looked down at the man on the floor as he began moving again.
Eve looked at the two men on the floor, still feeling too drunk to really care how they were feeling. She did feel bad for how dark the bite marks she had left up both men's arms and necks were though. Eve nudged the first man again until he looked up at her and blinked, trying to remember where he was. Eve wiggled her fingers down at him.
"Ah, Miss Branagin, sorry, we must have fallen asleep!" The man said in a heavy Italian accent, still groggy as he rubbed his eyes and grabbed the other man's foot, shaking it. "Luka, wake, wake, Miss Branagin is awake!" He continued, sounding a little more frantic as the other man, Luka woke up with a start. Eve shook her head, kneeling down in front of the man.
"Marco, you are goin' to listen to me." Eve said, grabbing hold of his face to make sure that even if he was asleep, he would be compelled. "You and Luka are goin' to forget about last night and what fully happened." Eve explained, compelling Marco to forget. Marco nodded his head. "If anyone asks why you both are covered in bite marks, just tell them it got kinky between the two of you. You never met me and you were never here." Eve continued, compelling Marco who sat frozen, only nodding once Eve was done. "Go." Eve compelled, nodding at the door and standing up, walking over and compelling Luka with the same information. Both men left and Eve sighed, remembering the night she had.
It was new years eve and Eve was sad. She had been drinking at a male strip club when a bachelorette party came strolling in. All the women were already drunk, which made Eve joining the party very easy. Eve didn't have to compel any of the party to do body shots off of the strippers, which just so happened to be Marco and Luka. Once Eve became bored, she said her goodbyes to the bachelorette party and brought the two men back to her hotel room. Eve knew she drank a lot of vodka with the two, which led to her drinking a lot of blood from both men. Eve didn't even sleep with either men, which seemed to confuse them. There was a line drawn between that sort of compulsion, even for Eve.
Eve did one last sweep of the room, making sure she didn't forget anything. It was a pain to have to call a hotel and explain that something was missing when no one was supposed to be there. Eve didn't mind scamming hotels that cost thousands of dollars to stay in for a single night. Eve glanced down at her right hand to make sure her daylight ring was still on her ring finger. It still was, which meant she didn't have to hunt down either men and kill them. Eve grabbed her suitcase and duffle bag and left the room. Luckily, despite the time she had, there wasn't any blood to compel some poor maid to forget about and just clean up.
It had been years since she had seen Stefan…and it had been years since she had seen Damon. Hopefully Damon was too drunk to remember what happened the last time the two saw each other. They had spoken and actually kept up with one another, unlike Eve and Stefan who simply kept each other's phone numbers up to date. Damon was her best friend. Even if it pained her to say it some days. Damon, in general, was a pain…but Eve couldn't help but feel a little excited to see the dramatic meltdown Damon must have been having for Stefan to ask Eve to come help with. As Eve waited for the elevator to reach the top floor of the hotel, her mind wandered. Why had both brothers been in Mystic Falls at the same time anyway?
Mystic Falls
Eve had grown mind-numbingly bored of the sorority girls' chatter in the back of her new car as she drove them from their college in Charlottesville to Mystic Falls. Stefan wasn't going to like how Eve chose to help his older brother, but then again, Eve didn't like having to go to Mystic Falls. Luckily, however, the drive was coming to an end and Eve could see the boarding house's driveway. Eve pulled into the driveway and parked, turning back towards the girls who continued to talk to one another excitedly. Eve should have compelled them to not talk the whole hour it took to get to Mystic Falls…Hell, Eve should have compelled them to just not talk.
"Do you two remember what I told you an hour ago? The plan?" Eve asked, pushing her sunglasses up on her head. The two girls nodded eagerly. Eve breathed out. "Alright, then let's go." Eve said, grabbing the new and expensive bottle of bourbon from her front seat before getting out of the car. Eve watched as the car that had been following her parked. Before Eve could even tell the two girls that she had been in her car, the four girls from the other car got out and the six regrouped and began talking with each other. Eve rolled her eyes and quickly began walking towards the boarding house, knowing the girls would follow. If Eve had to hear any more about a boy named Peter, she was going to kill all of the girls.
Eve glanced back as she was only a few feet from the front door, looking back at the girls as well as at her new car. One of the passengers of the private airline she used to get to Charlottesville tried to cop a feel with her just-so-happened to be a trust fund baby with three jets, which meant he could afford another new car. The 2009 Lexus convertible was compensation for his unwelcome advances. His driver was nice enough to sign over the papers for Eve to have full ownership of the car as well. Eve should have killed him if his driver was willing to do whatever it took to make a woman happy that he had upset. If anything, he would be a useful pocket to use for money. Eve turned back and looked at the front door, now only a step away.
Eve was distracting herself from her nerves, thinking so in detail about the car. It had been a long time since she had seen either Salvatore brothers. The boarding house was a safe house for her, but as she stood at its door, there was a certain level of anxiety that began to trudge up. The outside didn't look any different, but what about the inside? The last she knew, a Salvatore descendant was living there…Zach was his name. Eve doubted he would still be living there, or in general if Damon was around. Damon had a bad habit of killing relatives, either out of spite or just for fun. Eve shook her head, clearing her mind of the intrusive and useless thoughts as she knocked on the door and hid the bottle of bourbon behind her back.
Eve listened in the house, hearing someone stumble around before they walked up to the door and threw it open. Damon held onto the door, his shirt haphazardly buttoned up, with a nearly empty glass of bourbon in his hand. Eve raised an eyebrow at him as a smile slowly crept across her lips as Damon looked down at her with a bored face that turned to shock. Eve quickly caught the glass before it could hit the floor. Eve already had a drunk Damon she had to console, and she wasn't about to add hurt to the mixed emotions Damon was already going through.
"Evelyn?" Damon said her name softly, looking Eve up and down as if he didn't believe that she was there. Eve attempted to not beam back at him, only looking up at him as he towered over her. She usually wore heels, but with having a flight, private or not, she was only in a pair of boots that didn't give her any extra height.
"Hey Day." Eve beamed back as nonchalantly as she could. Damon looked at her as if she was a ghost. It had been nearly 13 years since the two had last seen one another. Compared to Stefan and Eve's 45 or so years apart, 13 years was like a weekend. Eve had barely blinked when Damon's arms wrapped around her, lifting her up into a tight hug. Eve laughed and hugged him back, holding onto his now empty glass and the bourbon, wrapping her arms around his neck to keep herself a little balanced. Damon spun the two around before putting Eve back down.
"Jesus Evie, you can't just show up on a guy's doorstep without warning." Damon chastised playful back as he had to lean up against the doorframe to keep himself upright. Eve could only snicker at his obvious drunkenness. "And wh-who," Damon hiccupped, trying to blink away his dizziness. "Who are these lovely ladies?" Damon questioned with a smirk, wiggling his fingers at the girls. Eve heard the girls giggle behind her.
"Does it matter?" Eve sassed back, pulling Damon's attention back to her with the same smirk he had shown the girls. Eve rolled her eyes. "I brought you somethin'!" Eve exclaimed, beginning to pull the bourbon from behind her back to the front. Damon raised an eyebrow back at her, shaking his head.
"You're not wearing a bow…or at least one that I can see." Damon insinuated with a wiggle of his eyebrows, looking Eve up and down. Eve scoffed back at his attempt at drunkenly flirting with her.
"No bow on me, Day." Eve retorted with a shake of her head. Damon gave back a large frown. "I thought you may want some bourbon, but if all you want is a bow, I can take this back." Eve teased, tilting the bottle back and forth at Damon's eye level. Damon scoffed.
"I'd rather have you in nothing but a bow, Evie." Damon purred, grabbing the bottle where Eve's hand was. Eve huffed back at him, annoyed with herself for feeling her cheeks begin to burn. Damon chuckled lowly back at Eve.
"You are insufferable." Eve grumbled back, pulling the bottle back from his grip. Damon let out a while. "What's the magic word?" Eve drawled out, putting a hand to Damon's chest and pulling the bottle back away from him.
"To see you in nothing but a bow? I don't know, I've been trying to figure that out for centuries." Damon taunted back down to her as he continued to try and grab the bottle from Eve. Eve rolled her eyes, which only gave Damon a chance to quickly snatch the bottle from Eve's hand. "Thanks." Damon chirped as Eve sighed back at him. "Come on in, my cold west coast queen." Damon invited, outstretching his hand for her to come into the boarding house. Eve wanted to argue with him, but he was right about her being cold. "You ladies can come in too." Damon smirked back at the college girls. Eve stepped around him into the boarding house that was much warmer than it was outside. No wonder Damon was shirtless. The chattering of the girls began to get louder as they approached the house. "Am I allowed to ask where you found such fine specimens to have a fun time with?" Damon questioned lowly to Eve as the girls began entering the house, giggling about how attractive Damon was and how blue his eyes were.
"College." Eve shrugged. "You have got to get out more." Eve sassed, pinching Damon's cheeks much to his chagrin. Eve batted her eyelashes back at him innocently as he shot her a half-hearted glare. "Now come on," Eve insisted, grabbing hold of Damon's arm as she began to lead him into the house, nodding for the girls to follow.
"Am I allowed to know what you're doing here?" Damon wondered aloud as the two walked through the house. Eve thought for a moment. Stefan didn't tell her the whole story of why she needed to come and help Damon as soon as possible other than more Katherine drama. Katherine drama and Damon didn't mix. Katherine and Damon didn't mix.
"Stefan called." Eve shrugged casually as the two neared the library. Damon's attitude shifted at the mention of his brother. "Somethin' about Katherine…" Eve muttered, tapping her chin as if she was trying to remember why Stefan had called. Eve knew. Eve also knew Damon and how Damon felt about Katherine. But Damon also knew how Eve felt about Katherine. Damon's mood instantly soured. "You, my moody friend, make me so angry I want to snap yer neck." Eve stated casually, letting go of Damon's arm and taking a step down into the library, walking over to the bar that had a nearly empty bottle on it. "But I'm here to get you out of your little Katherine funk." Eve turned and tossed the empty glass back at Damon who caught it, much to the delight of the college girls behind him. Ever the showman, Damon turned and smirked at the girls. "So you will be in here doing whatever you want with these nice sorority girls while I go and grab me bags from the car." Eve explained her plan as Damon stepped into the library with the girls behind him. "They've already been compelled, just don't kill them. I don't want to have to explain that to Stefan." Eve warned, wagging a finger back at Damon as he looked at her with surprise. Damon looked back at the girls before seemingly accepting what Eve was telling him to do with a smirk, walking over towards Eve.
"Will you be joining me for this little party, my queen?" Damon asked as he playfully began dancing as he approached Eve. Eve raised an eyebrow playfully back at Damon as he finally reached her, now only shimmying his shoulders.
"Once I'm done puttin' me things away." Eve agreed with a nod, letting herself smile at Damon's comical actions, taking a step towards him. "But until then, you stay here and drink that expensive bourbon." Eve asserted, gesturing towards the bourbon in his hands, re-buttoning his shirt up for him.
"Kind of wasting time with buttoning that up, Evie." Damon breathed out, staring down at her. Eve looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, despite the flutter her heart did when she saw him looking at her like she was the only thing worth looking at in the world. Eve buttoned the last button before patting his face.
"I'm modest, what can I say." Eve shrugged back, tapping the bottle in Damon's hand as Damon snorted back. "And don't bring up '85." Eve warned, pushing her way around him. "Drink." Eve stated, pointing at the bottle once more.
Your wish is my command, Evie." Damon grinned, opening the bourbon and pouring himself a glass in the glass Eve had thrown at him. "Hurry back." Damon said with a wink, walking over to the stereo and turning it on. Eve grimaced at the volume. "Alright ladies, who wants a drink?" Damon called out over the music. The girls let out squeals of delight as they walked over to the bar. Eve quickly excused herself from the scene, flittering outside.
Eve could hear the music Damon had turned on had gotten even louder. Eve sighed. She had wanted some quiet when she had already come from such a loud city. Eve grabbed her suitcase and duffle bag from her trunk and hurried back into the boarding house. Stefan was already going to be pissed when he found out that Eve brought college girls for Damon to drink from, the least she could do was be there when he showed up and began his lecture. Eve walked upstairs and down the hall to where her bedroom was only a few doors from Damon and on the far side of the upstairs from Stefan's room. It made sense, Damon was the one that 'gave' her the room back in 1915...after the accident. Eve ignored the feeling in her gut at just the memory, opening the door to the bedroom.
Dust particles were in the air. It looked like no one had been in the room in years…which would make sense. Eve walked over and put her suitcase and duffle bag on the bed, scrunching her face when dust flew into the air from the simple action. Stefan invited her, or told her to come to Mystic Falls, and he didn't even bother making her room ready to be occupied? Stefan hadn't even cleaned her sheets for her. Eve sighed, walking over to the window and opening it, trying to help some of the stuffy air get out…along with some of the dust. Eve grumbled, looking at the book on her bedside table. Eve let out a laugh. The last time Eve had touched the dust-covered book was back in 1996. No one really had been in her room for over a decade. Eve pulled her suitcase and duffle bag onto the grounds before beginning to pull the blankets and sheets from the king-sized bed.
"Evelyn!" Eve jumped as Damon's voice echoed from the library. Eve flittered back into the library, nervous about what Damon could have done, or wanted. Damon turned from his spot he had been dancing with a college girl. Eve stared at him, seeing the bottle in his hand was nearly empty…The bottle she had given him not even 10 minutes prior. Eve folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to explain why he had yelled for her. "Evie!" Damon exclaimed with a lazy smile, chugging the last bit of alcohol in the bottle before handing it to the college girl before he slowly made his way over to Eve.
"Day, I told you I was getting my things." Eve scolded watching Damon stumble and pretend he was dancing. Eve sighed. "Can you at least not yell like you're dying?" Eve griped. Damon looked back up at Eve as she stood in the library's doorway, mimicking her while looking snooty before sticking his tongue out at her. "I was about to clean me sheets." Eve explained in a huff, gesturing back out of the library.
"My sheets are clean. You're welcome to sleep with me." Damon grinned before wiggling his eyebrows back at her. Eve let herself snort, looking him up and down. His shirt had become all the way unbuttoned now, and the college girls around him were dancing in far less clothing than she had brought them in with.
"You can sleep at the end of the bed." Eve nodded, grabbing the empty bottle from his hands. "Christ Day, how am I supposed to have a good time if you drink everythin'?" Eve sassed, walking over to the bar with the empty bottle.
"Do you not see those girls over there?" Damon mused, following Eve to the bar. Eve rolled her eyes, placing the empty bottle on the bar before rummaging around for something to give her a little bit of a buzz. "Or did you go all Stefan on me and only eat poor little Bambi's now too?" Damon complained, leaning against the bar and snatching the first bottle Eve grabbed. Eve glared back at him.
"Don't be such a baby, Damon." Eve chastised, pulling out another bottle of some type of whiskey. Eve didn't even get a chance to open it when she looked up and saw Damon beginning to pout. Eve sighed before flittering over to one of the girls, biting her neck. Much to her dismay, the girl moaned at the action. Eve pulled herself away, looking over at Damon who was already much happier, as a smirk slowly appeared on his lips. "Happy?" Eve hissed back, trying to walk away from the girl.
"Oh come on, join the party!" The girl gushed happily, beginning to dance up against Eve. Eve felt her cheeks begin to burn at the blatant and sexual movement against her body. Damon's chuckle made Eve scowl back at him, flittering away from the girl and back to the bar, grabbing the bottle back from Damon and drinking whatever it had in it. It was way too early for all of the chaos that was happening around Eve. And now she was drinking Jack Daniels.
"You must be desperate to not feel anythin' if you're drinkin' this shit." Eve coughed, looking at the bottle with disgust. Damon took the bottle from Eve, looking at him as he took a drink before chucking the bottle into the fire. A surprised laugh left Eve's mouth, watching as the alcohol from the bottle made the low fire spark back to life in a bloom of smoke. Eve and Damon leaned up against the bar, watching the fire for a minute.
"Glad I didn't turn off my humanity?" Damon inquired, looking at the flames from the fireplace. Eve watched him, unsure of where his emotions were taking him. It wasn't a good place, but Eve felt like she had something to do with keeping him from going off the walls and doing something Stefan would disapprove of.
"Of course I am." Eve retorted back truthfully. "You're more of a dick than usual when you've flipped that switch." Eve teased, nudging him with her shoulder. "Now are you goin' to let me go wash me sheets or do I have to continue to babysit your dramatic ass?" Eve questioned, looking back up at him. Damon scoffed.
"I don't need to be babysat." Damon mumbled back, beginning to pout. Eve hummed back, not even bothering to look at his grumpy expression.
"Well, if that's the case, then I'll leave you be fer a little while." Eve shrugged back casually, beginning to walk away from him. Eve didn't get very far before Damon grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him.
"If anyone needs a babysitter, it's you." Damon concurred, keeping his hand wrapped around Eve's arm to keep her in place. Eve puffed out a laugh.
"Mhm, and that's why I'm fully clothed and you're havin' a hard time keepin' your shirt on?" Eve sassed, gesturing towards his opened shirt and bare chest. Damon looked down at himself before smirking back up at Eve.
"You know, Evie, if you're so distracted by me, you can just say so." Damon purred, begging to trace a finger up her arm. Eve ignored the shiver that ran up her spine at the action and scoffed.
"Oh please." Eve groaned, pushing Damon's finger off of her arm. "I've known you fer almost a century, Day, I'm not about to fall fer your drunken flirting." Eve shook her head, beginning to walk toward the bookshelves. "You know, it's almost a little pitiful that you're givin' me all of your attention when these lovely ladies came all this way to see you." Eve clicked her tongue in disapproval as she looked at the bookshelves before seeing a book she hadn't read in a long time on a taller shelf.
"As I recall, my drunken flirting was your downfall back in New York." Eve jumped when Damon's voice growled the words into her ear. Eve tried to turn around in protest, but felt Damon's arms wrap around her waist and pull her against him. "So, I would suggest you watch that bratty little mouth of yours." Damon mumbled, once again next to Eve's ear. Eve felt her heart flutter in her chest and her cheeks grow hot.
"Bite me." Eve snarled back, turning her head to better see him, only for her curly hair to block her view of Damon. Damon chuckled, resting his chin on top of her head.
"Been there, done that, Evie." Damon sang back, reaching up and grabbing a book. "Too bad you didn't stay human. You had the sweetest blood." Damon purred next to Eve's ear again, sending a shiver down Eve's back.
"You would miss me too much if I were a human and died a boring, human life." Eve quipped, looking at the book in Damon's hand. "I would haunt you." Eve nodded, grabbing the book from Damon to better see the title.
"As if you don't already." Damon mumbled back making Eve roll her eyes.
"I've read this. You made me read it." Eve grumbled, seeing that the book Damon had given her was Call of the Wild. "It's just a sad story about a dog, Day." Eve was spun around to face Damon after the statement.
"Buck is the greatest character of all time!" Damon declared sincerely. Eve couldn't help but laugh. "Why are you laughing, Evie, I'm serious!" Damon continued, sounding dejected. Eve continued to laugh as she broke free of his grasp and stepped around him.
"Because, Day, you're drunk and sad about a fictional dog, and you haven't even begun to tell me the whole story, despite me having read it!" Eve explained back, waving the book at Damon playfully as she stepped over to the couch. Eve motioned towards the couch for Damon to sit. He still looked to be wobbly on his feet.
"And yet, I still don't feel drunk enough." Damon sighed loudly, walking over and sitting on the couch reluctantly. Eve rolled her eyes at his deploring attitude. Eve gently ruffled his hair before she began to walk back toward the bookshelf. "Hey, I didn't say I was done with you." Damon objected, grabbing Eve's hand and pulling her onto his lap.
"Damon." Eve warned back at him as he wrapped his arms around her, making a point to move Eve's hair before nuzzling into her neck. "Damon, come on, you have college girls to ravage!" Eve whined feeling her face grow even hotter as Damon simply chuckled against her neck.
"Mmm, very true, but you're far more entertaining when you're flustered." Damon murmured through a laugh against Eve's neck. Eve groaned irritably, attempting to pull herself from Damon's grasp. "Plus, I can see your pretty green eyes with you being so close." Damon continued his onslaught of compliments. Eve glared back at him, which only made him bat his eyelashes back at her.
"Christ, you need to get laid." Eve grumbled, as she finally pulled herself off of him and stood up. Damon whined before laying down on the couch dramatically.
"Is that an offer?" Damon smirked, leaning upon his elbow. Eve stared back at him, trying to keep herself from smiling and egging his actions on. Eve turned and got another bottle from the bar, bringing it back to Damon who took it eagerly. "Your silence is deafening, Evie." Damon complained, opening and taking a swig from the bottle and grimacing. "Did you purposefully give me Stefan's disgusting whisky or was that your way of turning me down?" Damon asked as Eve walked back over to the bookshelf, placing the book on one of the shelves carelessly.
"Just drink the alcohol, you big baby." Eve sassed back, ignoring him as she looked at the bookshelves again. Damon let out a long groan in protest. Eve rolled her eyes, looking for a book she wanted to read. Eve heard a moan from one of the girls again, making her turn and check. Damon was drinking from her.
"How do I taste?" The girl giggled aloud. Eve turned back to the bookshelf, nearly jumping when she saw Stefan standing in the doorway to the library, looking at the scene with confusion.
"Eve?" Stefan walked only a step into the library, stopping once he saw Eve. Eve felt a guilty knot beginning to form in her gut.
"Hey Stef." Eve chirped happily, ignoring how she knew Stefan was going to lecture her once he found out the college girls were her fault. "Long time no see! Still have your fancy hair." Eve continued with a smile, taking a step over to him. Despite the irritation he had for the situation he walked in on, he smiled back at her.
"I didn't know you were back yet." Stefan admitted, walking over and embracing her. Eve hugged him back, happy to keep the scoldings at bay.
"I can tell!" Eve began her own chastising remarks. "Me bed was dusty, Stefan! You ask me to fly all the way here from LA and you don't even air out me room!" Eve lectured, pulling back and wagging her finger at him. Stefan chuckled and sighed.
"It's been…a long day for me." Stefan confessed remorsefully before he looked back towards Damon who had a look of disappointment that Stefan was there to break up the party. "And it seems like it's going to become even longer." Stefan grumbled, folding his arms. Eve shut her eyes for a moment, looking over to Damon for help, but Eve knew he would be useless and make matters worse. He had been drinking. "I assume you had something to do with this." Stefan said, looking back at Eve. Eve gave an apologetic smile back. Stefan only exhaled before walking over to the stereo and shutting it off. Eve followed behind guiltily.
"Greetings." Damon called out, his arm wrapping around the girl he had just been feeding on keeping him balanced.
"Can we talk?" Stefan questioned, his arms folding once more. Damon began bringing over the girl but Stefan shook his head. "Without the Tri-Delts?" Stefan stated sternly. Damon scoffed, mocking offense as his hand went to his chest.
"Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of them." Damon defended, looking over at Eve and smirking. "They're really good at keeping secrets." Damon hummed, winking at Eve before looking over to Stefan. Stefan shot a look at Eve.
"You called me at five in the mornin', Stef. I was still tipsy." Eve reasoned, folding her own arms now. "More alcohol and pretty girls were the best I could come up with to make Day stop bein' such a sourpuss on such short notice." Eve nodded sharply.
"This wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I asked you to come." Stefan chided seriously, gesturing towards the girls who had stopped dancing and were just talking with one another, ignoring the little vampire meeting that was happening.
"You didn't exactly disclose why I was needed to urgently." Eve growled back, becoming more agitated with Stefan's tone. Damon's eyebrows furrowed together as he looked at Stefan.
"You didn't tell her?" Damon interjected before Stefan could say whatever he was about to say. Eve stared between the two, waiting for one of them to tell her what was going on. Why the two brothers were back in the same boarding house, hell, why Eve was called to come to Mystic Falls; any information would be helpful.
"It's a long story…" Stefan trailed off with a shake of his head. Eve scoffed back at him.
"You called me and told me to leave California for this Godforsaken town to help Damon and now you're telling me 'it's a long story'?" Eve snapped, gesturing towards Damon. Stefan took in a sharp breath, as if Eve had punched him. "I'm here, aren't I? I deserve to know why." Eve said sternly, folding her arms again waiting for Stefan to explain whatever long story he had.
"Katherine wasn't in the tomb; she never was." Damon said, pulling Eve's attention towards the older Salvatore. Eve's brows furrowed in confusion at his words. "We got into the tomb…and I looked everywhere in there for her." Damon explained, his voice growing quiet as he looked past Eve. "She was never there…and she knew where I was for years." Damon breathed out grievously. "She never…she never even tried to…" Damon grew silent, his jaw tensing up as he was overcome with emotions. Eve felt her heart falter, staring at the upset man before looking over at Stefan.
"Would it help if I vowed to stake the bitch if I ever see her?" Eve wondered aloud to both Stefan and Damon. Eve caught Damon shoot her a glare. "What's another arch-nemesis to a gal like me?" Eve tried to joke playfully back at Stefan, ignoring Damon as he walked around them both back towards the bar. Stefan gave a remorseful smile back, gently touching Eve's arm as he walked after Damon. Eve sighed to herself.
"You're both worried about me, but you don't need to be." Damon reassured, his words slurring as he spoke and grabbed another bottle from the bar. Eve hesitantly followed behind Stefan. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Damon sassed, pulling out a clean whiskey glass and putting it onto the bartop. "I mean, I spent the last 145 years with one goal, and I mean, I succeeded." Damon shrugged, pouring a large glass of dark alcohol into the glass. "Granted, Katherine wasn't in the tomb to be rescued, but c'est la vie." Damon breathed out, taking a long drink from the new glass. "It's actually liberating to not have some master plan anymore." Damon quipped, lost in thought for a moment. "I can do whatever the hell I want!" Damon continued thoughtfully before downing the entire glass.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Stefan mumbled aloud, looking back at the college girls who had made their way over to the couch. Damon groaned.
"Relax, Stefan. I haven't killed anyone in…too long." Damon retorted back truthfully. Stefan looked back at Eve before looking at Damon and nodding towards the group of girls sitting on the couch.
"And those girls?" Stefan asked, looking between Damon and Eve. Eve rolled her eyes back at Stefan.
"They'll end up back in their dorms with headaches." Eve replied before Damon could. Damon looked over at her, almost thankful for her interruption. "Don't worry your pretty little hero hair off, Stef. I'll take care of it." Eve teased gently, reassuring Stefan of his worries about the girls. Eve had brought them here, and Eve was going to take them back.
"See! Evie's always thinking ahead." Damon smiled, gesturing towards Eve. Eve smiled back at him, shaking her head before giving Stefan a much more genuine smile. Stefan sighed, but seemed to relax knowing there was a plan in place. "But, seeing as you didn't even know Evie was here, you need something from me." Damon said, wagging his finger at Stefan. "Drink up and spill it, brother." Damon sassed, walking around the bar and shoving the bottle against Stefan's chest. Stefan cleared his throat before taking the bottle.
"There was a woman you may have known a few years back." Stefan began, but Eve snorted.
"Aye, that will narrow it down." Eve chuckled, making Stefan shoot her a disapproving look. Damon joined the snickering.
"Her name was Isobel. From North Carolina at Duke." Stefan continued, ignoring Eve's snarky comment.
"You want to discuss the women of my past right now?" Damon challenged, looking over at Eve and pointing at her. "Seriously?" Damon continued in a softer voice. Eve breathed out a laugh.
"Very funny." Eve shot back, making Damon smirk at her. Stefan glared at the two, looking at Eve nearly begging her to just stay quiet so he could finish up his questioning. Eve rolled her eyes, gently nodding for Stefan to continue.
"You killed her." Stefan continued, ignoring both Damon and Eve's joking demeanors.
"That's like finding a needle in a haystack, Stefan." Damon confessed, leaning against the bar to keep himself up. Stefan should have led with the fact that Damon's heart was shattered into a million pieces because of Katherine instead of being so vague. That bourbon she brought Damon was expensive and high volume, and even with Damon being a vampire, as well as building up a tolerance for alcohol, with him having apparently chugged the whole bottle within 10 minutes, he was obviously even drunker than he had been when Eve showed up…Which was saying something…
"I just want to know if you remember anything about her." Stefan stated curiously. "It's important." Stefan continued seriously. Eve could tell Stefan was up to something…but Stefan dug his own grave with his own secrets, he could use those secrets to dig himself out of it. Damon stared at Stefan's collar, stepping closer to him and moving it around.
"Nothing is important." Damon stated, patting Stefan's shoulders. "Not anymore." Damon grumbled, grabbing the bottle from Stefan's hands before making his way toward the college girls. "I have to go and exploit some women in the name of grief…because one woman won't let me exploit her for my own personal means." Damon stumbled back as he looked at Stefan before winking at Eve and turning back towards the girls. Stefan let out a defeated sigh.
"I can't believe you sometimes, Evelyn." Stefan scolded, rubbing his temples in frustration. Eve could only laugh.
"Yes, you can." Eve sang back, walking up and nudging him with her shoulder. "Maybe next time tell me what's goin' on before I show up unannounced." Eve suggested with a shrug. Stefan looked down at her with a sorry look. Eve clicked her tongue at him. "You go find this Isobel lady, and I'll make sure those girls get back to their dorms safe and sound, yeah?" Eve nodded towards the girls, trying to bargain with Stefan. She hated seeing him look like someone had kicked a puppy.
"Fine, but it'll be a minute before I get the chance to give you a rundown of what's been going on." Stefan remarked seriously. "And…maybe you'll want a few drinks beforehand." Stefan said hesitantly. Eve stared back at him before shaking her head.
"Sometimes, I can't believe you, Stefan." Eve scolded back, using his own words against him. Stefan chuckled and shook his head. "Go. You already upset the baby once today." Eve chastised, beginning to push Stefan towards the library's doorway.
"I heard that." Damon barked as Stefan and Eve walked to the door. Eve let out a snort.
"And you didn't defend yourself?" Eve sassed back, putting her hands on her hips, glancing up at Stefan. Stefan's serious look faded for a moment, as a smile crept onto his lips. Stefan couldn't complain about Eve's presence. He missed her too, she was sure of it.
AN 2022: So, this chapter (4) and the next chapter (5) were switched. There isn't much of a difference between the two when it comes to things that have happened, but I did make this chapter all in 2010 rather than having it switch between 2010 to 1912 like it originally had.
And for my own personal being, 5k to 8k!