If anyone is wondering what episode that I'm going off of, it's 1.15 (A Few Good Men). I'm really excited to write Damon and Alaric together (omgsohypedilovethem) and I'm also excited for Eve to come into the picture and mess with stuff (*cough* Alaric *cough*).
AN 2022: The excitement to edit Alaric and Damon together is still there! I'm excited to see how I can add on and have their relationship be a little more in-depth! Also, back to regular chapters. As far as I know, there won't be many more serious changes such as chapters 4 and 5 being switched. Anyway! I still love you all!
Damon was…obnoxious. Especially when his alcohol levels lowered. Eve had taken all the alcohol from Damon to keep himself from drinking himself to death, even with his protests. Eve had dealt with Damon choking on his own vomit and dying from drinking too much, and she was not about to deal with that when he was already miserable. Drunk-Damon was enough work, but Damon waking up from dying was a whole other box of worms that Eve didn't have the energy for. Three hours was too little time for her to run on when it came to babysitting Damon Salvatore.
More times than one, when Damon died from something or someone when he came back to life, he was pissed. From drinking too much to another vampire snapping his neck, Eve had to deal with the aftermath as well as the rampage of emotions that was Damon. So, Eve had taken his bottles of alcohol from him. She could handle a hungover Damon, but a dead-come-alive Damon was something that three hours of sleep would not be able to handle.
"Evie, my head hurts." Damon whined from the couch as Eve picked up the numerous empty bottles with the sorority girls putting their clothes back on. Eve didn't bother looking at Damon or giving him any reaction to his cries. He had been complaining ever since Eve took his alcohol away from him over 30 minutes prior. Every movement or speck of light that hit Damon caused him to complain. "Eviieee." Damon tried again to gain Eve's attention, dragging out her name. Eve let out an annoyed sigh, tossing what she hoped was the last bottle into a trash bag.
"You are so annoyin'." Eve muttered aloud as she reached under the table to grab the cap off of an unknown bottle of booze. "You have been whingin' ferever Day." Eve sassed, tossing the lid into the trash with the other bottles. Damon slumped further into the couch with a grumble.
"I'm not done drinking, Evie." Damon complained, folding his arms and pouting. Eve mocked him under her breath, making sure he could see her mockery, turning and looking at the rest of the library for empty bottles.
"You looked miserable enough to me." Eve shrugged, walking over and motioning for Damon's empty glass he had in his hand. Damon mimicked her back, talking with his hand and not giving her the glass. Eve rolled her eyes back at him, snatching the glass from his hand and walking back over to the bar.
"And how are you going to make me not miserable, Evie?" Damon asked playfully as he followed her to the bar. Eve raised an eyebrow back at him. "My shirt is already practically off." Damon purred, reaching around Eve to toss the single bottle Eve had missed into the trash bag. Eve clicked her tongue, placing the glass on the bar before she turned back to Damon and began buttoning up his shirt.
"Day, I am runnin' off of a New Year's Eve party with three hours of sleep," Eve began, watching Damon smirk and almost start talking. Eve finished buttoning his shirt, placing his hand over his mouth to physically stop him from talking. "And you are runnin' off of God knows how much bourbon," Eve continued, fixing his collar. "I would think that you would want us to both be at our best." Eve said softly, winking up and watching as Damon's face turned slightly stunned at her brazen words. "You are goin' to tell me the latest and greatest gossip of this desolate town while we take those lovely little college girls back to their dorms." Eve chirped, patting Damon on his cheek, and turned towards the girls. "Alright ladies, let's get you all back to the dorms!" Eve exclaimed, seeing that all the girls had put on their clothes. The girls nodded obediently before going back to their mindless chatter with one another. "Besides Katherine, somethin' brought Stefan back, but I am more interested in you and why you're still here." Eve teased, looking back at Damon playfully. Damon's face dropped from his once smug and flirty expression to one that was much sadder. "It better not be another girl." Eve tried to chastise him, but that comment made Damon only look more guilty…Eve felt like her eyes would roll into the back of her head. "Out the same way you came in, come on." Eve snapped aloud, turning back to the girls who all jumped a little from the tone and quickly began leaving the library. Eve followed behind them, not bothering to listen to hear if Damon was following.
Had Eve really been so out of the loop? How long had both Stefan and Damon been in Mystic Falls anyway? It made sense that neither would clue Eve into any scheme that involved Katherine, let alone one that involved the possibility of getting Katherine out of her tomb. Eve nearly screamed in frustration. Damon had been trying for over 145 years to find a way to get Katherine out of the tomb, which wound Eve up in some nasty predicaments of their 98 years of knowing one another. Needless to say, Eve wasn't impressed with Damon's unhealthy obsession with a woman that, from Eve's perspective, was a piece of shit. Eve had her work cut out for her when it came to helping Damon out of a Katherine-sized slump. Eve followed the girls out of the boarding house, watching as they continued to chatter.
"It's a long story, Evie." Damon mumbled, turning Eve's attention back to the droopy man. Eve folded her arms, waiting for an explanation. "You know I've been trying to get into that tomb forever, and I know you're not happy that I succeeded-"
"No, Damon, I'm not happy you succeeded, because now I know that Katherine has and will always be a miserable fecker who is probably still alive somewhere." Eve snapped back at Damon, stopping him from his self-pity trip. "I don't know why Stefan is in Mystic Falls, and I highly doubt you asked him here, so there is probably some girl. I just hope you're not doin' that stupid little self-destructive habit of fallin' in love with someone you can't have." Eve huffed out irritably. Damon rolled his eyes back at her.
"You know Katherine was mine to begin with." Damon muttered under his breath, lowering his eyes. Eve scoffed back at him.
"Damon, I swear ta God if I hear ya even mention Katherine one more time, I will cut yer feckin' tongue out of yer mouth." Eve swore back at him, shaking her finger at him disapprovingly. Damon's head snapped back up to look at Eve with a slow-spreading grin. Eve bit her tongue when she realized her mistake. When she got angry, her Irish accent got much thicker. She had lived long enough to make sure her accent wasn't as harsh as it used to be…but every now and again, the harsh 'a's and 'er's popped back out…notably more when she was pissed.
"My, my, Miss Eibhlín, that mouth of yours is spewin' somethin' auwful." Damon mocked Eve's accent as well as the fact that she cursed at him. Eve could never get the word 'fuck' to ever sound less harsh, as well as her 'for's. Damon always teased her when she would say fuck, just because it always sounded so harsh. Eve groaned at his attempt at replicating her accent.
"Insufferable." Eve hissed, ignoring the warmth that spread across her cheeks. "Come on, I have to get these girls back to their dorms before your brother throws just as big of a hissy fit as you." Eve sassed back, patting her back pocket, only to realize she had left her keys upstairs in her bedroom. Eve huffed. "Watch them for a second." Eve said pointedly, ignoring the smirk Damon had on his lips. Eve flittered back up to her room, grabbing her car keys as well as a stick of gum. Damon was smelling very bourbon-y. Eve flittered back to Damon and unlocked the car with the click of a button. Two girls got into the backseat of Eve's convertible and the other four stood next to their own convertible that they had driven. "Follow me back to your dorm, okay?" Eve called to the four girls. The one girl who stood by the driver's side nodded before all four of them got into the car.
"Why are you always listening to what Stefan tells you?" Damon griped aloud. "He could tell you to go hunt some Bambi with him and you would jump. How high and all that jazz." Damon continued to grumble, throwing his head back dramatically.
"You are bein' a drama queen." Eve murmured, nudging Damon forward. "It's goin' to be a drive to Charlottesville, so come on." Eve explained as the two began walking to the car. "Oh, here. You smell like booze." Eve said, handing Damon the stick of gum. Damon scowled at the offer. "Careful, Day, I might start to see the resemblance between you and Stef if you keep makin' that face." Eve teased playfully. Damon scowled even harder, unwrapping the gum and throwing it into his mouth.
"Where did you get the car?" Damon questioned as Eve walked around to the driver's side and got in. Damon followed by getting into the passenger side.
"Rich guy at the airport." Eve shrugged as she buckled herself in. "He had plenty to spare. His cute little driver was even nice enough to sign the papers over to me." Eve smiled, nodding at the glovebox. Damon opened the glove box, taking out the papers and examining them with a smirk. "I mean, it was a fair deal. He kept his life for tryin' to grope me on the plane, I took his newest car." Eve shrugged innocently. "Buckle your seatbelt." Eve said, nodding at Damon. Damon rolled his eyes.
"Nothing has changed, huh Evie?" Damon chuckled, buckling his seatbelt. Eve laughed back, checking the two girls who were still chatting together.
"I can't just take somethin' from someone without knowing them." Eve defended herself quickly. "I mean, what if the person I compelled to give me their car had saved money for years and I come along and just take it. I would feel bad." Eve stated sternly as she began to drive out of the driveway. "I have to hold on to some of my humanity. I can only let meself be bad fer so long." Eve shrugged and side-eyed Damon who snickered.
"Remind me again why we haven't seen each other in 13 years?" Damon smirked back at Eve. Eve felt her chest warm at the memory.
"As soon as you tell me what happened with Katherine and the tomb." Eve reasoned, turning onto the main road from the driveway of the boarding house. Damon let out an unhappy groan as his hand went up to his eyes to shield them from the sun, and to just groan in general.
"I thought you said you'd cut my tongue out if I even mentioned her." Damon sassed back, leaning his head back against the seat's headrest, only opening one eye to see Eve roll her eyes back at his antics, taking the sunglasses from her head and shoving them onto Damon's face. Only one side of the sunglass' arm landed so that it sat on Damon's ear, but the other had missed. "Thank you." Damon expressed seriously, not fixing the sunglasses. Eve laughed when she had a chance to look over at him to see half of the sunglasses falling off of Damon's face. 13 years was far too long to be away from her best friend. Even if he was a pouting, dramatic baby who was heartbroken over a horrible woman…Eve missed him terribly. Maybe Mystic Falls wasn't so bad…as long as she had a friend…
Alaric needed to talk with Stefan. The sooner the better. Alaric was becoming antsy as he paced the small town's square, checking his watch and looking over his shoulder anxiously. So much had happened in the last few weeks. Alaric knew his wife had a child when she was a teenager, but he didn't know that her child would be one of his students. Not only that, but that same student was dating a vampire - his sworn enemy. Well…maybe not 'sworn' enemy. Alaric hated Stefan's brother far more. Alaric ran his hand through his hair. There was a lot he wanted to talk with Stefan about and far more thoughts that ran through his mind.
Jenna. Jenna was a constant thought in his head. How bad he felt about everything that had happened with her and to her. Her sister and brother-in-law died, giving her full custody of their two children and forcing her to move back to a town she wasn't too fond of, from what Alaric heard from Jenna. Not only that but finding out that Isobel, Alaric's wife, was Elena's, Jenna's god-daughter, mother. The twisting tales of Jenna's life were far worse than Alaric would ever wish on someone. Elena and Jeremy were very different, yet the same sorrow for them was in his heart.
Both Elena and Jeremy had lost their parents. Jeremy later lost a girl he was sweet on, and Elena…well, Elena's life seemed to get more and more complicated. Especially with her dating Stefan, a literal vampire. Alaric wondered for a moment if Stefan had told Elena about vampires, or that he was a vampire. Maybe Elena had realized something was different about Stefan and had figured it out. Alaric knew about vampires, hell, he had become knowledgeable on the creatures ever since his wife disappeared. But Elena, having already a ton on her plate from everything that had happened to her in just a summer, was still just a kid. And if Elena knew about vampires, would she have told her brother? Would she have told Jenna? Alaric sighed, turning and seeing Stefan walking up to him quickly. Now or never…
"Thanks for meeting with me." Alaric breathed out as Stefan sopped in front of him. "Something's come up." Alaric began, thinking about how strange it might look for him, a history teacher, to be meeting up with a student.
"Jenna told you." Stefan stated, not letting Alaric continue. It would definitely be weird for a history teacher to be talking to a student, but looking nervous about it. Alaric tried to calm his rapidly increasing heartbeat.
"Yeah." Alaric nodded, looking behind him to check if anyone would hear their conversation. People were going to think.
"So it's true." Stefan sighed, pulling Alaric's attention back to him. "Your wife, Isobel, was Elena's birth mother." Stefan continued, more so letting the fact become a reality by speaking it. Alaric finally felt more confident. He was supposed to be an adult.
"What does Elena know?" Alaric practically demanded. Stefan sighed and crossed his arms tensely.
"About your wife?" Stefan asked, keeping his eyes on the ground to not meet Alaric's intense gaze. Alaric rolled his eyes. At this point, Isobel didn't matter…even if it hurt him to even think about it.
"About everything. About you, your brother." Alaric expressed, still trying to see where the baseline of knowledge was at. Elena wouldn't just openly talk to Alaric about something like that. If Elena knew about vampires, why would she think that her new history teacher knew about them as well? Even worse, Alaric and Jenna were becoming closer, which was also a roadblock for any type of sharing of what goes on in a teenager's life.
"She knows what I am and she knows that you know about vampires." Stefan said after a moment of silence. Alaric nodded, letting his brain catch up on the new questions that began to enter his mind.
"Does she know about Damon and Isobel?" Alaric questioned nervously. It would be better for her not to know, but if Stefan had told her about vampires, why wouldn't he tell her about what Damon did to Isobel? Alaric felt his blood begin to boil even at the mention of Stefan's brother.
"No. I couldn't tell her; not until I was sure." Stefan said truthfully. Alaric let out a small sigh of relief.
"You said you'd help me." Alaric muttered. God, he was so pathetic. Asking help from a creature that killed his wife. Sure, Alaric knew who killed his wife, and it wasn't Stefan, but to know he was basically begging for help from a vampire didn't sit right with him.
"I talked with Damon without saying too much." Stefan defended himself. "He doesn't remember. He was too drunk to remember, or care to think much more of it." Stefan explained. Alaric tried to keep calm, but the more he talked with Stefan, the more he realized he needed a drink…and to grade papers.
"Well ask him again." Alaric insisted sharply. Stefan only shook his head.
"Damon is not stable right now." Stefan replied instantly. Alaric scoffed back at him.
"You know he murdered my wife, or at the very least, made a meal out of her." Alaric snapped back. "When has he been stable?" Alaric mused with a bitter laugh.
"That depends on the way the wind is blowing." Stefan murmured back. "Look, he's cooling off. I'm telling you not to push it." Stefan continued grimly.
"Give me a reason not to." Alaric growled back threateningly. The more the two spoke, the more Alaric could tell that he wasn't going to get much more out of Stefan.
"How about your survival; how's that for a reason?" Stefan stated back, not even flinching at Alaric's tone. "I called in reinforcements. She's a good friend to Damon, in more ways than one." Stefan tried to reassure Alaric, but Alaric was even more disturbed at the fact that the sociopath that killed his wife could be capable of having friends. "I'll handle it, but I need you to let it go." Stefan continued sternly.
"Is that what you'd tell Elena? Let it go?" Alaric wondered pointedly back. Alaric was already annoyed with Stefan being neutral on the whole situation, but telling Alaric to 'let it go' was not something Alaric wanted to hear. Stefan's jaw clenched as he turned back and took a step toward Alaric.
"Leave Elena out of this." Stefan snarled back threateningly. Alaric didn't move. Bringing Elena into the conversation was a bold move, but it was a necessary one to get Stefan to understand the gravity from Alaric's perspective.
"I need to know what happened." Alaric asserted, not stepping back from Stefan's advance. "I would think you would want to know too…For Elena's sake." Alaric said, folding his arms. He was getting under Stefan's skin. Stefan sighed, taking a step back to compose himself.
"I need something more than your wife's name." Stefan grumbled. "A picture, something that I could show Damon." Stefan continued, looking around the two, much like Alaric had at the beginning of the conversation. Alaric pulled out his wallet, pulled out a picture of Isobel, and handed it to Stefan. Stefan took the picture without another word and walked away.
Alaric stood, watching the vampire leave before walking away himself. He needed a drink…and to grade papers. But he would need a drink before he even picked up a pen to quiet his brain from thinking of all the new information that Stefan gave him. Even if it wasn't much…Elena knew about vampires and the fact that he knew about vampires, but did she tell her brother? Jenna? And who was this supposed 'friend' of Damon's? Alaric pondered who would be stupid enough to be friends with a monster like Damon. Most likely another monster, despite Stefan saying that she was helping Damon…Maybe Alaric could use this 'friend' to get to Damon…
The ride to Charlottesville had been…eventful for Eve. Damon had been busy. There was a secret vampire hunting council that he managed to get on and become a prominent member of…by killing Lexi. Eve tried not to be too harsh on him since he did have his humanity turned off…up until a month later. Eve did wish that he had picked a different vampire to kill instead of killing Stefan's best friend. Eve was grateful that Stefan called when he did. Stefan must have realized the same thing, seeing that Damon's humanity was turned back on, Eve was the next best step to make sure it stayed on. Luckily for Stefan, Eve's humanity was still on.
Eve moved on from that to Katherine. Damon caught her up on his side of the whole 'get Katherine out of the tomb and have her love me forever' scheme that Damon had come up with. Everything went to shit and Eve was a little pissed at the witches who tried to trap Damon inside of the tomb. Would Eve have turned out like Damon? Spending decades trying to help get her friend out of an impossibly shut tomb? Eve wasn't in love with Damon though…and yet…Eve felt like she would spend decades helping him. Would he do the same for her? Eve tried not to dwindle on that question, fearing she already knew the answer.
"Eve?" Damon's voice broke the silence of the drive back to Mystic Falls from Charlottesville.
Damon had finished the rundown by the time the girls were dropped off at their dorms, which interrupted Eve from basically screaming at Damon for all the stupid things he had done up to that point and how stupid he was for feeling so sad…But the way he said her name instead of her nickname made Eve's heart soften. Damon only ever used her name instead of his nickname for her when he was going to say something somewhat important or serious. Eve simply hummed back at Damon, keeping her eyes on the road, but glancing over at him. Eve's heart softened even more when she saw how sad and stupidly effective his puppy-dog eyes were, even from only his side. Eve almost chuckled. Damon and Stefan were a lot more alike than either wanted to admit.
"I'm sorry I've been such a drama queen." Damon muttered with a sigh. Eve raised an eyebrow back at the man, unsure if he was actually serious or if it was one of his fake apologies. Eve couldn't help but laugh as she saw the genuine frown on his face. "I just apologized and you're laughing?" Damon scoffed back, staring back at her accusingly.
"Of course I'm laughin', Day." Eve snickered, looking over at him with a smile. "You are a drama queen. It's who you are, and if you think I'm upset with you fer bein' your stupidly dramatic self, then you don't know me at all." Eve retorted back with a sarcastically sad tone, putting a hand on her forehead dramatically. Damon huffed out his own reluctant laugh.
"I'm not apologizing for being a drama queen in general, I'm…I'm just-" Damon attempted, stumbling over his words, but Eve flicked his nose, pulling him out of his slump to glare over at her.
"I know what you're apologizin' fer, you dim-wit." Eve sassed back, putting her hand back on the wheel. "You tried for over a century to get that wicked little-" Eve started but stopped herself from dragging Katherine's name through the mud…only for Damon's sake. He already began looking sad again. "I just…I get why you're upset. I'd be upset if you were supposedly trapped somewhere and when I finally got you out, you weren't even there." Eve shrugged back gently. Eve was trying to be nice to the obviously hurt Damon. She didn't even know when the whole tomb-break happened. For all she knew, Damon had been pissed for weeks before turning his sadness into drinking, or his humanity on to torture himself some more. Eve sighed. "Day, I'm not goin' to lie to you; I'm not happy to be back in Mystic Falls, and I'm not happy that the reason I'm back is because of Katherine." Eve began, seeing Damon wince a little. "I'm even more upset that the bitch was never in the tomb, to begin with." Eve continued, letting some of her frustration out before breathing in to calm herself down. "I want this whole shitty situation to turn good." Eve gestured vaguely. "I want this to be your escape. To finally live your life. Not just livin' a life where you're devoted to her." Eve tried to clarify. Eve wanted Damon to be happy, and he wasn't, but maybe now that Katherine wasn't plaguing his mind, he would finally let her go.
"You know, we should thank Katherine-" Damon tried to continue, but Eve snorted.
"I'd rather die." Eve retorted pointedly, looking over at Damon who was finally allowing himself to relax.
"Let me finish." Damon shot back just as quickly. Eve rolled her eyes and motioned for him to continue. "If it weren't for her, I would have never met you." Damon shrugged casually. Eve glanced over at him and scoffed. "You're the light of my life, Evie, the sun to my sky." Damon chirped happily, clapping his hands together as he practically sang the praises at Eve.
"Christ, I need a drink." Eve huffed back at him, rolling her eyes. A smile had already begun to spread across her face. "And some small-town gossip." Eve continued playfully, wiggling her shoulders and looking back at Damon.
"I was wondering why you drove over the bridge." Damon mused aloud, nodding toward the window. "I thought you didn't want me to drink anymore." Damon pointed out with a smirk, looking over at Eve.
"Who said you were goin' to drink?" Eve teased, watching from the corner of her eyes as Damon looked offended. Eve stuck her tongue out at him. "You owe me a drink that isn't bourbon." Eve grumbled, forcing any memories of her time drinking bourbon from her memory. Unfortunately, Eve could tell by Damon's smirk that he would bring them up.
"You don't want to relive the '60s, Evie?" Damon chuckled back. Eve shook her head in protest as the fuzzy memories began to resurface in her mind.
"And kill the whole town? As temptin' as it is to wipe this place off the face of the Earth, I'm goin' to have to decline." Eve snickered back. "Now tell me how to get to the Mystic bar, or whatever it's called." Eve stated sternly, seeing the downtown street lamps come into view.
"Mystic Grill, Evie." Damon corrected. "Come on, get your small town names right, city girl." Damon taunted, gently nudging her arm. Eve rolled her eyes back at him.
"Bite me, Salvatore." Eve barked back playfully. Damon took Eve's hand, but Eve snapped it out of his grip just as quickly. "Not when I'm drivin'!" Eve chastised back. Damon only laughed.
"Bite me, don't bite me, goodness Evie, the mixed messages I get from you are insane!" Damon smirked back as Eve's ears began to burn as she clicked her tongue back at him.
Eve continued driving through the small town's downtown as Damon directed her where to go. Eve would never get over how small towns were. In California, it would have taken an hour to even get to a good coffee shop, but in Mystic Falls, everything was just next to each other…without traffic. People could just walk around and not worry about being stabbed. Eve hated how quaint the town felt…especially with its strung-up lights and Christmas decorations still hanging on the light poles. Damon's groan pulled Eve from her daydreaming.
"Jesus Evelyn, when did you learn how to drive?" Damon whined as Eve finally pulled into a parking spot. Eve rolled her eyes back at him. She may have taken 2 wrong turns, but it was a small town, if she just went in a circle, she would be right back where she was in under five minutes.
"1937." Eve snapped back, unbuckling her seatbelt when she put the car in park. Damon breathed out as he undid his own seatbelt and got out of the car. Eve quickly followed.
"You know, I could use a bourbon myself if I'm supposed to gossip." Damon said aloud as he leaned against the trunk, waiting for Eve. Eve patted her back pocket and felt her phone before walking up beside him.
"Fine, whatever, just tell me things!" Eve exclaimed playfully, watching as Damon casually crossed the street without looking. "Hey, just because you get hit by a car doesn't mean you're out of tellin' me what's been goin' on!" Eve lectured, quickly following after Damon, looking both ways. Damon swatted a hand back at her.
"No one drives around town, Evie. It's perfectly safe…enough." Damon smirked as Eve caught up to him. Eve snickered as the two began walking down the sidewalk. Eve looked at the storefronts, trying not to look at them fondly.
"Why do they call everythin' here Mystic 'such and such'?" Eve pondered aloud, seeing that most stores started with 'Mystic'. "There are other names that a bar can be called." Eve continued as the two walked up to the Mystic Grill. "Mystic Library, Mystic Bakery, I've even seen a Mystic First National Bank!" Eve ranted as Damon simply chuckled and held the door to the bar open for her.
"Is that why you kept missing the parking spots?" Damon inquired back with a smirk as he followed Eve into the bar. Eve looked around the dimly lit grill, or bar, or whatever it was. Even with just standing next to the opened door, Eve could feel people staring at the two. "Careful, Evie," Damon whispered next to Eve's ear, making her jump. "You're fresh meat in here. Gotta be vigilant for biters." Damon teased with a smirk as Eve whipped around and glared at him. "Oh wait. That's me." Damon said with a wink, chomping his teeth together playfully. Eve rolled her eyes and pushed him towards the bar.
"I'll meet you there, I'm goin' to the restroom." Eve said aloud. Immortality wasn't quite as fun as Eve would have thought. It wasn't like she had a real option, but if she had, she would have looked into creatures that didn't need to pee.
Eve let her mind wander as she ventured to the restroom. The bar had a rustic feel with dark overtones, which made sense since it was still a bar. There were tables for the grill part and a few televisions that were off, but otherwise, it wasn't like a bar she had been in for quite some time. Maybe it was because of how tired Eve felt, but the new Mystic Falls was…cute. Eve rolled her eyes at herself as she found the restroom and quickly did her business. When she came out after washing her hands, she could see Damon sitting at the bar next to a man. As Eve walked up to the bar, she listened in to the two men's conversation.
"Don't you have some papers to grade?" Damon asked, looking over at the man.
"It's-uh-more fun wit a buzz." The man muttered back with a gravelly voice. Eve chuckled at his statement.
"Most things in life are." Damon shrugged back, noticing Eve. "Sober's…depressing." Damon grumbled, raising his glass and drinking it, almost like he was taunting her. Eve rolled her eyes. Damon was allowed to do whatever he felt, even in Eve's disapproval…but if she wanted gossip…
"You don't strike me as somebody who gets depressed." The blond man murmured.
"You say that like you know me." Damon sassed back.
"Nope. Just a hunch." The two stared at one another and Eve began making her way over to Damon quicker. Damon was hungover and grumpy, and the man Damon was talking with had something against Damon. Eve could tell just by the tone of how he was responding to Damon that there was something off. Eve needed to get to the two before Damon decided to do something reckless and stupid. "You have a good afternoon." The man said after a moment as Eve finally got behind them to get to Damon's left side. Eve didn't mean to be so close, but when he stood up, he backed into her. "Oh, sorry." The man apologized, quickly stepping closer to the bar to not have the two collide again.
"No, that's my fault, I was too close." Eve reassured quickly, stepping back so that the man could step away from the bar. The man gave a small apologetic laugh before he nodded and walked around Eve. Eve went and sat next to Damon on his left side still, seeing that there was a glass waiting for her.
"Being nosey I see." Damon chuckled into his glass as he took a drink. Eve scoffed as she took a sip of her own drink. The sting of the alcohol against her throat made Eve shake her head. "A little too strong for such an early time, my queen?" Damon mocked after he finished his sip.
"Pardon me lack of tolerance fer alcohol durin' the day, you alcoholic." Eve jabbed, swirling the liquid around at Damon. Damon rolled his eyes. "I may have the stereotype of likin' jameson, but I am not the stereotypical Irishwoman who can handle her alcohol at 4 PM on a Friday afternoon." Eve continued in a snooty tone, taking another drink. Damon snickered back at her. "And who was that you were bein' hostile to?" Eve questioned, nodding back to where she knew the man had left while staring a hole in the back of her head.
"Alaric Saltzman. He's the history teacher at Stefan's high school." Damon shrugged back casually, taking another drink.
"Wait, go back, Stefan is in high school?" Eve was barely able to snap those words out when an older woman with short blonde hair came and stood on Damon's right side.
"Daytime drinking, hmm?" The woman teased Damon gently. Damon raised his glass at her. Eve noticed the uniform and star she wore on her chest. Eve glanced over at Damon, but he was only focused on his drink. She must have been some kind of officer.
"It's all the rage." Damon grumbled back while taking another drink. Eve rolled her eyes back at him, seeing that he was nearly out of his bourbon already. Damon usually wasn't friendly towards law enforcement, so to see him so casually speaking with the woman made Eve even more curious. The woman looked over at Eve curiously.
"Hello." The blonde woman greeted. Eve smiled back at her.
"Hi." Eve chirped back, wiggling her fingers in greeting. The woman smiled at the gesture.
"You must be a friend of Damon's?" She inquired, looking between the two. Of course Damon wouldn't tell anyone he had a friend. That would ruin his whole dark and moody aesthetic. Especially with his friend being so much more bubbly than him.
"Aye. Evelyn Branagin, but you can just call me Eve." Eve introduced herself happily, reaching her arm in front of Damon. Damon scowled back at her, curling his own arm around Eve's as he took a drink. The woman gave a small chuckle at the action as she shook Eve's hand carefully, trying not to cause too much movement against Damon's throat.
"Liz Forbes." Liz smiled back as Eve pulled her hand back to her side, patting Damon's cheek before picking up her own drink. Damon stared back at her, attempting to scowl but slowly smiling, hiding it by taking another swig of his drink. Eve stuck her tongue out back at him.
"Wait! The sheriff!" Eve exclaimed excitedly, remembering Damon having mentioned her in his explanation of events while the two drove to Charlottesville. "Do…Am I interuptin' anything secret? Because I can go…" Eve said, pointing away from the bars and back towards where she knew there was an empty booth. Liz looked over at Damon hesitantly. Oh shit. Eve probably wasn't supposed to know about the secret vampire meetings. "He didn't tell me much, he just told me here was in some group, but I couldn't get what that group was." Eve chattered on, trying to not make the human nervous. Eve could hear her unease. Luckily, her heart slowed back down. That was Eve's cue to leave. "So, in case, I'll go wait elsewhere." Eve smiled, turning back to her drink and downing the rest of the jameson in one swoop. Eve forced herself not to grimace at how strong the alcohol was. "An empty booth, alright Day?" Damon's nickname slipped before Eve could catch herself. From what little Damon told her of the people in the small town, Eve wasn't sure a nickname was the best way to leave…Damon looked over at Eve and smirked.
"It won't be long, right Liz?" Damon asked, not even bothering to look back at Liz. Liz shook her head with a small smile.
"No, it'll be quick. I'd hate to interrupt anything myself." Liz teased back at Eve. Eve felt her cheeks warm at the indication of Liz's tone.
"I'll be with you soon, Evie." Damon practically purred out Eve's nickname. Eve rolled her eyes when Damon winked at her as she stood up. Eve tried to give a friendly smile back at Liz, but now both she and Damon were staring at Eve in a certain type of way. Eve wanted to crawl into a hole and die. She knew her cheeks were bright. She could feel the heat.
"It was nice meetin' you." Eve said quickly, as she walked toward the empty booths quickly. Liz was a lot taller, and even with Damon on a barstool, Eve was still the shortest one. Eve internally screamed.
"It was nice meeting you too!" Liz called back. Eve waved but didn't bother turning back around. Now Eve understood why Damon was so nice to the sheriff. The two fed off each other. Eve sat with her back to the two, not wanting to see the Cheshire-like grins on their faces. "She seems nice." Liz teased softly to Damon. Eve tried to ignore her burning cheeks. Taking that jameson as a shot was not ideal. "Is she just a friend, Day?" Liz badgered playfully, using his newly found nickname on him. Eve let herself groan quietly. Liz wouldn't be able to hear her, but Damon could. Damone chuckled. Eve didn't want to know if it was from Liz's comment or Eve's groan, but Eve needed to focus. She was not going to miss the secret meeting about vampires.
"She's the one I mentioned to the council." Damon said, not answering Liz's question. "She has nice handwriting. She could make notes or something, although, I think she would add in her own opinions in the sidebar." Damon chuckled into his glass. So he had talked about Eve. To a whole council that was founded to keep the town safe from vampires. The irony wasn't lost on Eve as she chuckled.
"Speaking of the council, I need a favor." Liz's own chuckled turned into a sigh.
"You ever been in love?" Damon questioned aloud. Eve rolled her eyes. She really shouldn't have drunk all her jameson. Damon was about to go on a sad rant about Katherine and as much as Eve wanted to stop listening, she was also curious as to what the vampire hunting meeting would be about.
"Excuse me?" Liz sounded taken back by the question, which was normal.
"Have you ever been so bent on someone, just to have your heart ripped out by them?" Eve scoffed aloud at Damon's continuing pity party.
"Just because you had permission to talk about Katherine on the ride to Charlottesville, doesn't mean that offer still stands here." Eve muttered, folding her arms and leaning back into the booth. Damon hummed.
"You forget I was married." Liz stated coolly back. Eve's brows shot up.
"Right. Gay husband." Damon said nonchalantly, making Eve cringe. No decorum when it came to Damon. "She'll have what I'm having." Damon mumbled aloud. Eve heard liquid being poured into a glass. "Sit down." Damon directed casually, patting the seat beside him.
"I can't stay long…but there's a fundraiser here tonight that the Founder's Council is throwing." Liz began to explain with a small sigh. "The town's most eligible bachelors get raffled off for dates…" Liz said finally taking a breath in. "And, well, we're short a bachelor…" Eve could hear how nervous Liz sounded in her tone as well as a little embarrassed.
"Is this what you do when there's no, um, vampires?" Damon whispered the last word. Eve snorted at the comment, once more thankful that Liz couldn't hear her. "You organize bachelor raffles?" Damon chuckled.
"Oh, trust me, at this point, I miss the vampires." Liz laughed softly back. Eve didn't need to see Damon to know that he was smirking. "Look, you're a hero to his town, Damon. I know most people don't know it, but you are, and you're single…and a catch." Liz prattled on quickly, obviously wanting Damon to help her out. "Unless you're already taken." Liz said playfully. Damon puffed out a laugh. Eve rolled her eyes, feeling her ears begin to burn.
"Who? Me and Evie?" Damon wondered with a scoff of a laugh. Eve couldn't resist turning and peaking at the two. Eve could see, even from just Damon's side profile that he was beginning to smirk, almost like he knew Eve was watching. "As beautiful and radiant as she is, she is just a friend." Damon practically sang the compliments out. "I have no chance with her." Damon shrugged, glancing over towards Eve. Eve rolled her eyes, despite the warmth that began to burn across her cheeks as she quickly pulled herself back into the booth.
"Whatever you say." Liz teased back. Eve grumbled to herself. This woman didn't believe Damon and especially with how the two acted, Eve knew Liz wasn't convinced by Damon's near mocking comments. "Why don't you come to the raffle tonight then and help me out." Liz continued her original predicament of getting Damon to be a bachelor at some raffle. "You can bring your beautiful friend and maybe she can find herself a radiant friend herself." Liz continued to badger Damon playfully. Damon groaned himself at her comments. "Oh come on, help me out." Liz begged, dropping the playful attitude as Damon sighed. "Carol Lockwood won't let me live it down if I come up empty-handed." Liz continued her pleads.
"You know…A room full of women clamoring to win a date with me? Sounds tasty." Damon purred back. Eve hoped her snort was quiet enough that Liz wouldn't hear her. Liz let out a relieved laugh.
"Thank you!" Liz breathed out happily. Eve smiled to herself at how relieved the woman sounded. If this woman wasn't a mom, Eve would be surprised. There was something homey about her and her tone with Damon that made Eve's chest feel warm. Either that or the jameson was finally reaching her chest and she was warm from the alcohol…
"One thing," Damon said, sounding like he was keeping Liz from leaving. "Can you get information on someone for me?" Damon asked softly. Eve listened in even more knowing that Damon was trying to be quiet. "Alaric Saltzman. He's the history teacher. There's just something a little off about and I just-I just want to make sure that the high school did their homework on this guy." Damon explained quietly.
"You got it." Liz agreed before Eve could hear her beginning to walk away. Eve quickly pulled out her phone and began looking at it, pretending she wasn't listening in on the conversation she wasn't supposed to be able to hear. "He's all yours." Liz said as she patted the table on her way by, giving Eve a wink before she began walking towards the exit. Eve snickered to herself before she got out of the booth and joined Damon back at the bar.
"So, the scary sheriff is doin' your dirty work?" Eve sassed as she hopped up on the seat to Damon's left. Damon rolled his eyes back at Eve before he took a drink of his freshly refilled bourbon.
"It's easier for her to get information than for me to get any. Like I told her, there's something off about him, and I just want to make sure Stefan's alright." Damon muttered lowly as if he was ashamed.
"Awe, is the big bad wolf out to get your baby brother?" Eve cooed back playfully pinching Damon's cheeks. Damon swatted her hand away from his face.
"Ever heard of knowing thy enemy, Evie?" Damon grumbled with a sarcastic smirk. Eve raised an eyebrow back at him.
"You're askin' me that?" Eve retorted. "The girl with a literal arch-nemesis that I have to keep track of or else?" Eve quipped back, tapping her finger to her chin. Damon winced at her casual remark. "You're just jealous that he has a deep voice, aren't ya?" Eve changed her tone to a more playful one. Damon rolled his eyes back at her before raising his finger to get the bartender's attention. "Nope!" Eve said, quickly putting her hand over his glass. The bartender looked between Eve and Damon cautiously. "We're good. What's the tab?" Eve inquired as Damon tried to snatch the drink from Eve. "Stop it." Eve snapped back, grabbing and drinking the last little bit of bourbon that was left.
"Evieee." Damon whined, throwing his head back dramatically as Eve grimaced from the bourbon. Eve stood up, ignoring Damon's plight before grabbing his hand and pulling him up from his seat. "Why are we moving so fast?" Damon griped as Eve pulled him over to the pool table.
"Shut up and tell me about Mystic Falls." Eve demanded, whipping around and pointing a sharp finger at Damon who nearly ran into her. Damon faltered a little before sending Eve a glare. "Come on, you got me a drink and you got you a drink, so it's your turn to tell me what's goin' on in this shithole of a town." Eve continued, making her tone a little more gentle to not upset Damon anymore. Damon let out a dramatic sigh before he went and grabbed two pool sticks.
"Fine, fine, fine, only if," Damon began as he walked over to Eve, raising the pool sticks over his head. "You be more demanding. It's very attractive." Damon murmured seductively as he looked down at Eve. Eve could smell the bourbon emanating from his breath with how close he was. Eve rolled her eyes before grabbing his shirt and dragging him down to be closer to her.
"Only in your dreams, loverboy." Eve whispered before stealing one of the pool sticks from Damon's grasp as he was distracted and smacking him in the side. "Now tell me why you and Stefan are in this here." Eve growled before she walked over and grabbed the blue chalk for the pool stick, ignoring Damon as he rubbed where Eve had hit him.
"Do you even know how to play pool?" Damon griped back as Eve tossed the blue chalk over to Damon before she began arranging the billiard balls into numerical order in the rack. Eve scoffed back, putting a hand to her chest, dramatically acting offended at his words.
"I will have you know that I know the basics," Eve stated back seriously, wagging her finger at him. "8-Ball bad, stripes versus solids, hit the balls into a hole, win." Eve rattled off the basics, looking up at Damon when the number 15 ball was placed in the last remaining slot of the rack with a smile.
"Mhm, so if 8-Ball was the game you wanted to play, which is the game you described, you would have to move the eight ball to where you have the five ball." Damon said, nodding at Eve's placement.
"And ruin me numerical order?" Eve scoffed. Damon only chuckled and rolled his eyes.
"You've been alive for how long, Evie, and you still don't know how to properly play pool?" Damon tsked at Eve as he leaned against his pool stick. Eve rolled her eyes before walking closer to Damon.
"That's rich comin' from someone who can't play chess." Eve laughed back, gently poking his chest before walking around to the front of the pool table.
"We've talked about this." Damon groaned, tossing his head back dramatically. "When you're already a master at cold hard calculations, what's the point in moving little pieces around a board?" Eve rolled her eyes back at him. It was dumb. It was a dumb analogy. Eve took the cue ball and placed it onto the pool table to line up with where she had unevenly placed the rack of billiards.
"What's the point of stabbin' little balls with a stick when you're already a master at stabbin' peo-" Eve began to say aloud, but made sure that the last word was covered by the sound of the cue ball hitting and breaking apart the billiards. Damon's brows raised before a smirk quickly flew across his lips. "Now," Eve said, standing up straight, turning back to Damon. "Talk," Eve gestured at the pool table while dramatically pointing her pool stick back at Damon. "And play the stupid game." Eve said seriously before a smile broke from her stern expression. Damon put his hands up in defense before walking around the pool table to where the cue ball had come to rest.
"Well, it all started in 1864," Damon began to say wistfully. Eve sent him a glare before she tried to wack him with her pool stick across the table. Damon caught the end of it, pulling Eve towards the table, across from him. "We have to start from the begging to get to the end, Evie. Patience." Damon chastised back with a smirk.
"You already told me about Katherine." Eve sneered back. "What brought Stefan here? What's keepin' you both here?" Eve demanded, ignoring the looks that the two were getting for apparently having a playful back and forth conversation to a fight. Damon stared back at Eve, a mixture of emotions ran across his features before he let go of Eve's pool stick.
"Fine." Damon snapped back, lining up his shot before hitting the cue ball and sinking at least 2 striped balls. "But play the stupid game." Damon jabbed, nodding at the pool table. "I've got stripes."
AN 2022: Howdy. If you're reading the comments of this fic, first of all, same I do that all the time cause I'm nosy, but secondly, this chapter and chapter 7 were shoved together…because even after fully editing the original chapter 6, I had only added about 1k words, which only made chapter 6 4k words and I hate that for me. So! Doubling up! If the rest of the chapters aren't fully up to date yet, you can skip chapter 7 for now (as of 4/12/22, this is the case. I'll come back and let you know when 7 is fixed). I still won't be editing the early author notes, even with the chapters having changed / been deleted or merged. But I still love all the people I replied to (and didn't reply to)!
RIP to Eve not understanding pool. She still doesn't, but Damon doesn't know how chess words so it's an even trade.
AN: I feel like I should mention that this isn't one of those fics where my OC takes anyone's lines, or someone who is supposed to say a line to someone else actually says it to her. I never really got into those stories. I feel like Eve should have her own input on issues (and knowing all the characters, I don't think she would say anything that they would say in the first place) because she is a sassy cinnamon bun. And I also don't want the story to be based solely on her. The world does not revolve around my little Eve, but, she will be mentioned in a few conversations when she's not around (for example, this chapter because it is supposed to follow Eve but idk I do what I want?). Okay. I should go. Make sure my Evie doesn't turn into a Mary Sue. Okay. I love you. Bye!
Ps. (Another shout out to this PERFECT MUFFIN OF LOVE) Hello GiraffePanda2, you reviewing this story makes me so happy alone omg. I'm so happy you like the way I write Eve's accent! I WAS SO WORRIED THAT IT WOULD GET ANNOYING TO READ. I'm also super glad that you like the whole 'bite me' because every time I write it, it makes me cackle because irony is hilarious. ALSO. THE FACT THAT YOU THINK I'M A GOOD WRITER WARMS MY HEAR YOU HAVE NO IDEA! *fans away sparkly anime tears* Along with Damon, omg, I know, I was so worried in that episode he was so drunk for so long like 'bby are you okay?' Sorry if you don't like attention either because I'm just replying to your reviews on here as a shout out but you make me so happy like 'I need to FINISH for THIS LOVELY HUMAN BEING' But smooches because you're still so presh and must be protected at all costs!
3k to 8k