Damon gave a sarcastic smile towards a passerby from where he sat. That had to have been the 4th person that looked at him funny for just sitting on a bench...pouting. He wasn't pouting...at least that's what he kept telling himself. It had been a few hours since the whole alleyway fight with both Stefan and Eve. And he was still a little pissed about the whole situation. The two of them ganging up on him. Stefan, with his jealousy act, and Eve with her...with her-self. Damon sighed and stood up. He needed to walk around a little more. At least this way people would stare at him like he was crazy. If he was walking, people wouldn't notice his sour mood.
As he walked through the square, his mind was still stuck on the fight. He had gotten so angry over something so little and the way Eve looked at him...His heart clenched in his chest making him feel sick. Damon grumbled. He deserved it...Sure, Eve and him had fought before, and sometimes that would lead to not speaking...for years at a time...but something about this felt different. After each fight, he would be the one to leave...he didn't want Eve to leave first...he didn't want Eve to leave ever...he had to find her.
Stung up lights made the town center feel so much more bright, that and the constant chatter and booths set up had him distracted. He could always feel when Eve was around, but with all the commotion, he could barely keep his head straight. After looking for a moment, he felt someone just behind him. When he turned around, there he saw the young, teenage vampire, Anna. A scoff nearly left his throat.
"You're still around?" Damon questioned, watching as she turned her head and looked around at the surroundings before motioning for her to follow. Damon nearly slouched his shoulders in protest. Eve wasn't around to snicker quietly so what was the point of being dramatic.
"There's something you need to know." Anna muttered quietly, once she had pulled him to the side. "The vampires from the tomb are planning an attack tonight." Anna stated seriously, folding her arms. Damon's brows furrowed.
"How do you know this?" Damon knew it sounded harsh, but why did she know that?
"I went to them." Anna stated back quickly, looking around her again. "They think I'm with them, but I'm not." Anna said, shaking her head at the thought. "They want the Founding Families dead." Despite himself, Damon's heart fluttered at the thought.
"When is this supposed to happen?" Damon asked after a moment to process the new information.
"When the fireworks start." Anna stated back seriously. Damon let out a small sigh.
"John Gilbert wants to use that invention on them." Damon stated, looking away from the teen vampire, dread building up with the knowledge that the invention didn't work.
"Then we can't be here!" Anna stated quickly, but Damon shook his head.
"It doesn't work. It's been deactivated." Damon explained, seeing the confusion spread across Anna's face.
"Well, then a lot of people are gonna die." Anna snapped back. Damon let another scoff leave his mouth.
"Where are they right now?" Damon asked.
"They're already here, Damon." Anna stated, shaking her head before looking around again.
"Try and find Jeremy, I'll go and find the others." Damon stated seriously. "It doesn't look like there's much time left." Damon muttered, looking around as more people were beginning to settle in their own space to watch. Anna only nodded and quickly walked away from him. Damon looked around at the crowd. Focusing his attention on voices, the first one he heard was the familiar gruff laughter. Perfect.
Damon quickly began walking towards Alaric's voice. He could hear Jenna making small talk close to him. As he walked, he nearly froze in his spot when he heard the higher pitched laughter of Caroline, sounding as if it were muffled...Damon chanced a glance towards where the laughter was coming from, but there were too many people to be able to see which building she might be in...who she might be with...Damon shook it off quickly, he needed some kind of protection first if he was going to go out and look for Eve.
"Ric!" Damon stated quickly, walking up behind the man. Alaric turned around and raised an eyebrow at him before Damon grabbed hold of his jacket and pulled him from the rather large group.
"Yeah?" Alaric asked, raising an eyebrow at being pulled from his friends.
"You keep those nifty little vampire darts in the car?" Damon asked quietly, stopping in his tracks to make sure not to get too far ahead of himself and leave Jenna behind.
"Ye-yeah. Why do you ask?" Alaric asked, looking behind him to Jenna as she continued to talk, glancing over at him for a moment with suspicion.
"Because the square is crawling with tomb vampires." Damon explained hastily. I think we might need a stake or two." Damon stated. "Get Jenna out of here too. I'm going to see if I can find Elena." Damon muttered. Alaric simply nodded, turning back around to the group and walking over to them quickly. Elena's laughter entered his ears. Damon turned and saw Elena and Stefan walking towards him. Lucky. Damon quickly walked up to them and took Elena's free hand in his.
"What are you doing?" Elena asked with a scowl.
"Saving your life." Damon stated, making the couple stop in their tracks. "Fifteen words or less." Damon stated, looking over at Stefan as he stared back at him. "Tomb vamps are here. Founding families are their targets." Damon explained watching as more and more people began to walk towards an opening of the town square. "Get her out of here, now." Damon stated, staring at Stefan before letting go of Elena's hand and walking away from the two quickly.
"Wait, where are you going?" Stefan called back to him.
"That's more than fifteen words, Stefan." Damon tried to chastise playfully, but he couldn't stop his heart from frantically beating...Where was she.
Eve glanced at her phone once more when the table grew silent again. Matt had taken to glaring at the back of Tyler's head and Caroline had become bored with her big stuffed elephant Eve had won her and that had taken the seat beside Matt. Caroline sighed, pulling Eve from her phone.
"Listen, I am on both sides of this little love story with you and Damon," Caroline began, turning her body towards Eve's and grabbing hold of her hand, making her put her phone down onto the table. "But right now, I'm on the side of 'leave his ass, you deserve better'." Caroline sassed. Eve couldn't help but laugh.
"I wasn't lookin' at texts from him." Eve snarked back. It was true...kind of. Her near full attention was on a text she had sent to Liz...nearly an hour ago...the other tiny thing she was looking at was an unopened text from Damon. Eve looked back at Caroline as she pursed her lips and gave a glare. Eve snorted at the interaction. "Ya should be more worried about yer own boyfriend." Eve muttered back quietly, glancing over at Matt. "He's been starin' down Tyler de whole night." Eve snarked, making Caroline sigh and nod. Her attention went towards Matt and Eve's went back to her unanswered text to Liz.
"There was this time, freshman year," Caroline started, staring at Matt with a small smile. "When Bonnie and I were in a fight and we swore that we would never talk again." Caroline chirped, optimistically.
"Caroline, give it a rest." Matt muttered back, making Caroline sigh back, leaning her elbows on the table and sighing in defeat.
"Leave his ass?" Eve muttered quietly as Matt's attention went towards his own phone. Caroline let out a puff of air from her nose, sending a playful glare back at Eve. "I got ya a nice replacement already." Eve wiggled her shoulders, nodding at the elephant beside the grumpy Matt. Caroline let out a snort before her attention quickly snapped towards the commotion just on the other side of her.
"Let go of me!" Tyler snapped. Eve looked over at the scene where the Mayor was grabbing hold of Tyler's arm roughly. Caroline quickly got out of her seat and came between the two. Eve's hand ghosted the motion to stop her, but it was only in vain. Caroline was quick.
"Mayor! Is everything okay?" Caroline asked with a smile. Eve felt herself slowly pulling herself to where Caroline sat to also get up. Matt had jumped at the moment as well. For humans, they were quite fast. Or Eve was just slow. Her mind had been frazzled throughout the day...yeah that was a good excuse.
"Please Tyler; I need you to go home. Now." Mayor Lockwood pleaded gently towards Tyler, as Tyler simply glared back. "Take your friends with you." He continued to try and bribe his own son. Eve was now standing up, but Matt quickly went to Caroline's side.
"Why? What's going on?" Matt asked, standing beside Caroline protectively. The mayor simply let out a sigh.
"I can't explain. All of you need to get home now. Please." Mayor Lockwood pleaded. His eyes slowly shifted as Eve got closer to the group. With his expression in view, Eve felt her heartbeat quicken at how scared he was and how his eyes quickly shifted to one that Eve knew was a warning to her. "Here, take my car keys." He continued, pulling out a set of keys from his pocket and handing them to Tyler. "It's out back. Caroline, Matt, go with him." He quickly stated. Caroline looked over at Matt before looking at Eve as Matt grabbed her hand and began walking after Tyler.
"Wait!" Caroline snapped, pulling her hand back and stopping in front of Eve. Eve felt her skin prickle from the sheer panic in Caroline's voice...the slight fear and confusion that swam in her blue eyes. Eve glanced back at Mayor Lockwood before her attention was back on Caroline. Instinctively, Eve cupped Caroline's face with her right hand. Caroline grabbed hold of Eve's left hand.
"I'll be okay." Eve stated seriously, giving Caroline a reassuring smile. "I said I wouldn't leave without a goodbye. I would never hear de end of it from ya if I didn't." Eve sassed gently. "Go, I'll see if I can find yer mom." Eve said sternly, letting go of Caroline's face. Matt gently took hold of Caroline's arm and began pulling her towards a back door to the bar. "Have I ever lied ta ya?" Eve asked as Caroline's hand slowly slipped out of her own.
"You b-etter not." Caroline stated, trying to sound strong, but the soft crack between her words gave her away. Eve gave her once last reassuring smile as Matt pulled her away.
"What's going on?" Eve asked the Mayor, dropping the act as Caroline turned around and let Matt lead her out the doors.
"There's a plan to get rid of all the vampires in town tonight." Mayor Lockwood said in a whisper. "There's a device that Johnathan Gilbert found that emits a noise that only vampires can hear." He continued seriously. Eve felt her heart flutter for only a moment before she remembered that Bonnie had deactivated the device he was talking about. "I don't want my boy or his friends having to deal with that kind of dilemma." He stated seriously. "We're going to start the machine during the fireworks...which will start as soon as I go out there and announce it." He continued to explain. "That way, people are distracted...hopefully." Mayor Lockwood sighed. Eve nodded.
"Where's Liz Forbes? I haven't seen her all night...isn't she a part of dis?" Eve asked seriously. The mayor simply shook his head.
"I haven't seen her since we had the discussion in her office...she wasn't too keen on the idea…" Mayor Lockwood admitted. "But, her people are on the job so we can get this cleaned up. When it goes down, let the deputies know. They'll be taken to Gilbert's old office basement." The Mayor explained. Eve only nodded. "Be safe out there." He stated, nearly placing a hand on her shoulder. Eve quickly retreated from the action before giving an apologetic look. Mayor Lockwood only gave a small smile back before turning and leaving the bar.
Eve took in a deep breath before she grabbed her phone from the table. Matt hadn't grabbed Caroline's elephant. Eve sighed as she picked up the elephant and left the bar as well. She had to get to Liz...who knows what happened with Johnathan Gilbert being involved. Eve nearly rolled her eyes when she saw how quickly the Mayor had walked over to the platform. Eve quickly made her way across the crowd of people to get to the Sheriff's office. The sound of a mic turning on had everyone's attention slowly turn towards the platform. Eve continued to quickly make her way towards the Sheriff's office, toting with her the large elephant.
"For one hundred and fifty years, Mystic Falls has been the kind of town that everybody wants to call home." Mayor Lockwood began his speech as Eve finally made it to the office building. "Safe, prosperous, welcoming. And we have the Founders to thank for that." The Mayor continued as Eve walked into the office and placed the elephant by the door. A few claps were heard. Eve looked around the office but didn't see Liz...Her eyes traveled towards the stairs to her main office. "That's why I'd like to dedicate this evening's firework display to their legacy." The Mayor finished his speech as a round of applause broke out. Eve quickly ran up the stairs and opened the door to Liz's personal office. Eve looked around the office before she saw Liz sitting next to a radiator.
"Liz?" Eve asked, quickly walking up to her and kneeling down. The sounds of fireworks began outside.
"Oh, thank God. There's a key on my belt on the desk." Liz stated, pointing rapidly towards her desk.
"What happened?" Eve asked, walking over to her desk. Her phone began to buzz, making Eve stop and look at who was calling...Damon.
"John Gilbert, that's what." Liz snapped, making Eve shove her phone back into her pocket, letting the phone continue to buzz. If it was important, he would leave a message. "Him and the Mayor came in here, explaining that they had already had a plan and were going to use my deputies to round up the vampires." Liz scoffed angrily...but Eve could barely hear her over a sound. Eve dropped to her knees in front of Liz's desk. "Eve...Eve, what's happening, what's going on?" Liz asked, but her voice was drowned out by the sound and the scream that left Eve's throat as she covered her ears to try and stop the noise. "Eve! Eve! What's wrong?" The sound of her own shackles and voice became white noise as Eve could feel blood beginning to pour from her ears.
Damon had become more frantic. Elena was safe, Anna had Jeremy somewhere safe. Alaric had taken Jenna home. Everyone was safe...except for Eve. He had looked in the bar, the last possible place he had even heard Caroline laugh...but that didn't even prove that Eve had been with her. Sure, it was a likely scenario, but Caroline was gone by the time Damon was able to look. Damon looked at his phone and hesitated to call. Damon let out a grumble as he heard Lockwood begin a speech.
"For one hundred and fifty years, Mystic Falls has been the kind of town that everybody wants to call home." Damon rolled his eyes, looking around before he saw Johnathan Gilbert walk into the old Gilbert building. Damon began walking over towards the building after him. "Safe, prosperous, welcoming. And we have the Founders to thank for that." Lockwood continued, but Damon wasn't listening. "That's why I'd like to dedicate this evening's firework display to their legacy." Why was he so worried about Evelyn anyway? It wasn't like she was part of the Founding Families. At least, not part of the originals...Damon grumbled as he looked at his phone one last time before he pressed the 'call' button. Damon heard the dial tone ring as he opened the door to the Gilbert's building. Johnathan Gilbert was messing with the device...not like it was going to work.
"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Damon snapped, glancing one last time at his phone as it continued to ring.
"Yeah. As a matter of fact...I do." John said back with a smirk. Damon glared back at the man before he began walking towards him...and then the sound started. Damon dropped his phone, falling to his knees and grabbing the sides of his head as the sound continued to screech into his ears. "You know what's great about this?" John asked, Damon could hardly hear him through the high pitched noise. "I mean, besides the fact that all the vampires in this town will finally be dead." John muttered, turning his back to Damon as he fell to his side. "You'll be able to die with your brother and girlfriend!" John chirped happily, turning back towards Damon with a syringe. "I mean, as long as you two are still getting along. You seem to have a very long history together." John taunted. Damon continued to scream and yell in pain...trying to block out now two noises, the high pitched one and Johnathan Gilbert's voice. Neither were helping.
"I don't mean to gloat, but I did a bit of digging on your precious little redhead." John continued. "She has quite the history. I had a little help with my research, but it all was worth the wait...well, despite her having killed me when I mentioned one of her nephews." John shrugged as Damon curled up into a fetal position to keep himself from seeing the stupid man sounding so confident and not being able to kill him himself. "Couldn't even imagine if I brought up that relationship with that Ashton guy." John muttered. Damon bit his tongue before feeling a slight pinch pierce his arm. "Perfect time to bring up any bad blood. You know, seeing as you'll die and all." John stated with a chuckle. The world was becoming dark from what Damon knew was vervain. Eve had better be alive. He wanted to make sure she was able to snap Johnathan Gilbert's neck the next time she saw him.
Eve groaned as the sound had finally stopped. She slowly sat up, pulling her hands from her ears and rubbing her bloody hands against her leggings. Rattling of handcuffs nearly made her pass out. Eve looked back towards Liz...who was looking both terrified and incredibly angry. Eve didn't say anything, simply grabbing her phone and standing back up.
"What THE FUCK." Eve flinched as she heard Liz scream behind her. "You're a FUCKING VAMPIRE?!" Liz continued to scream as Eve tensed, looking and grabbing the keys from Liz's belt. "I can't believe you!" Liz snapped. "I trusted you!" Eve froze, anger quickly bubbling and overflowing at the sentence.
"I haven't done anythin' ta lose dat trust!" Eve snapped back at Liz, quickly twisting around to look at her. Eve gasped as the door to the office swung open and Eve dropped the keys.
"Liz?!" It was Mrs. Lockwood… "Liz, are you okay?" Mrs. Lockwood asked, looking over at Eve hesitantly before quickly walking over to Liz.
"I'm fi-"
"What's going on?!" Mrs. Lockwood asked frantically, turning around in a circle.
"I need the key." Liz stated sternly, looking over at Eve. Eve bent down and grabbed the keys she had dropped.
"I've been looking everywhere for you! Something happened to Richard!" Mrs. Lockwood stated more frantically than before. "They took him!" Mrs. Lockwood said, beginning to shake.
"Who took him?" Liz asked as Eve walked over and handed her the keys.
"Your deputies!" Mrs. Lockwood snapped. "I don't understand, he's not a vampire!" Mrs. Lockwood stated angrily as Liz fumbled with the lock. At the accusation, she froze, looking first up at Mrs. Lockwood before her eyes slowly slid towards Eve. Eve felt her heartbeat increase. Mayor Lockwood wasn't a vampire...but had been taken? Eve could work with that...Liz quickly uncuffed herself and stood up.
"Let's go." She stated sternly, gently grabbing hold of Mrs. Lockwood's arm before she gave a quick glance back towards Eve. Nothing more was said as the two quickly left the office without Eve. Eve rubbed her head, letting the silence take over. For once...the silence was a welcomed presence.
Damon slowly began opening his eyes. The incisive noise had finally stopped, but vervain was still in his system. Everything was still hazy...except a voice.
"We don't have much time. Let's finish this." Johnathan Gilbert. Fuck that man. Damon made a mental note to kill the bastard as many times as his stupid magically ring would let him. The sound of something hitting the ground caught his attention, but only for a moment. John's voice broke the otherwise silence. "Anna." Damon turned his head slowly to see John standing over Anna's. "You can head up, I'll take it from here." John stated, looking over at the man who was splashing now what smelled like gasoline around. Damon could only watch as John pulled a stake from behind his back.
"Please...no!" Anna pleaded on the ground before John slammed the stake into her heart. Damon flinched as he saw the veins begin to crawl up her neck and onto her face. Poor Jeremy. That kid could not catch a break. Damon breathed in, watching as John stood back up, grabbing a red canister of gas and pouring more out onto bodies before making a trail up the stairs.
Damon let himself blink only once before he forced himself up and looked around at the bodies of vampires around him...And then the fire came down the stairs. Damon frantically looked around at the bodies closest to the stairs to try and see if she was one of them...The fire spread quickly down the stairs...but luckily, it was the most orange he could see...no one had red hair. Damon let himself fall back on his back. The fire quickly began to spread, from body to body to beams. Damon rolled to his stomach as he heard groaning…Damon looked at the man, sitting up with a suit on.
"Mayor...is that you?" Damon questioned, squinting to try and see through the bright flames around him.
"What are you doing here?" Mayor Lockwood snapped back, looking back at him. Damon would have shrugged if he could.
"I'm a vampire. What's your excuse?" Damon asked, watching as the horror slowly spread across the Mayor's face. "No, really. The vervain didn't affect you. You're not a vampire." Damon continued, watching as the Mayor scooted himself further away from him...into the lap of a vampire. "What the hell are you?" Damon asked, confused as to why the Mayor was down here…
"Mayor Lockwood!" The vampire stated happily, snapping the Mayor's neck. Damon couldn't help the smirk that followed. Damon only relished the moment for a second before he began to get up.
The sounds of vampires groaning in pain...and dying almost made him miss the cracking of a beam above his head. Damon quickly moved out of the way as the beam fell. On his knees, he could see the room a little better...not really better, but better than laying on the ground.
"Eve?" Damon called out, nearly surprised by his own voice, calling her name out. "Eve, you'd better not be in here." Damon said aloud once more, trying to have a better look at all the bodies around him. There weren't that many females so it should be easy...Unless she had already burned...Damon shoved the thought from his mind. "Evie, sunshine, firefly, hunny," Damon called out once more, muttering all the nicknames he had given Eve throughout their...friendship. "I'm just telling you this now, but if I find out that you're dead, I'll kill you again in the afterlife." Damon snapped. His heart was beating so quickly at even the thought.
Eve quickly looked around the town square before her attention turned towards the smell of fire. Eve's heart fluttered. No.
"No, no, no, no, no." Eve muttered quietly as she quickly ran towards the burning building. Police were hanging outside the building. Eve saw Elena and Stefan in front of Johnathan Gilbert. Eve nearly flittered over to the group, but forced herself not to.
"You're crazy." Eve heard Elena snapped as she finally got beside them.
"Oh. Eve." John stated sounding disappointed. "Pity you couldn't be there with your boyfriend." John muttered. Eve felt her fist clench up. "I'm doing what should have been done 145 years ago." John muttered, turning his attention back towards Elena. "This is the right thing, Elena." John stated. Eve felt Stefan's hands grab hold of her wrists. "Oh no, go ahead Stefan. Let her kill me. That way she can be thrown in with the rest." John muttered. Stefan's grip grew tighter as he grabbed her other arm to keep her in place. "You can try and save him, if you want...but you won't make it out alive." John stated brightly.
"You know the building well. Is there another way in?" Stefan asked behind Eve, still holding her in her place as to not kill John...but oh she was going to kill John.
"Uh...there's a utility door around the side." Elena stated. Stefan quickly made his way towards the side of the building, keeping his grip on Eve tight.
"He'll be okay." Stefan stated aloud. Eve wasn't sure how much she believed him. It sounded more like reassurance to himself. Once in front of the door, Stefan let go of Eve's wrist and opened the door.
"Hey!" Eve turned around to see Bonnie quickly rushing towards them. "You can't go in there!" Bonnie snapped. Eve nearly did the same to Bonnie's neck but forced herself to stand perfectly still. "The fire will take you out!" Bonnie stated seriously.
"He's my brother, Bonnie." Stefan stated before rushing into the building. Eve clenched her fists before looking back at Bonnie.
"A lot of people would have died if I had actually deactivated the device." Bonnie stated quietly. Eve felt herself turn and throw Bonnie against the building across from the opened doorway. Bonnie let out a gasp as she fell to the ground.
"I could have used da bloody device fer meself!" Eve nearly screamed, stomping up to Bonnie. "I've got a century old vampire who has been lookin' ta make me life a livin' hell for DECADES!" Eve yelled, standing over Bonnie. "Do ya know how bloody USEFUL DAT COULD HAVE BEEN?!" Eve screamed, feeling her whole body shake.
"Eve! Stop!" Elena's voice snapped aloud. Eve continued to glare down at Bonnie as Elena quickly ran in between the two, kneeling down to help Bonnie.
"Now, because ya hated me bestfriend more dan ya valued yers, de Salvatore boys are dead." Eve hissed, her eyes beginning to sting. From the smoke or from the tears, Eve wasn't sure. All she knew was that she needed to get away from Bonnie and now Elena or else she would kill more than just Johnathan. Eve quickly stalked away towards the back of the building and into a wooded area behind them. She couldn't breath…
Damon let out a harsh cough as the heat was beginning to get to him. He had been called out her name...but no one answered. It was either a blessing or a curse. To die without knowing if she was safe...The flames to the stairs died down for a moment. Someone came rushing down.
"Damon!" Stefan...good ol' Stefan. "Come on, hurry!" Stefan muttered, wrapping an arm around him.
"Wait." Damon coughed as Stefan began dragging him towards the stairs. "Wait, Stefan, I can't find her." Damon muttered. Stefan continued to pull him towards and up the stairs.
"She's fine! But we have to go!" Stefan snapped. Damon felt a slight weight in his heart lift as Stefan flittered them up the basement stairs. Smoke-free air finally came into Damon's lungs causing him to cough.
"Oh my God!" Damon heard as Elena came and quickly wrapped her arms around both Stefan and him. Damon continued to cough, pushing himself away from Elena's touch. "You're okay!" Elena said breathlessly, letting go of Damon and hugging Stefan. Damon took in a deep breath and stood up straight only to begin coughing again. In the middle of a cough, Elena pulled him into a hug. Damon only patted her back once before he coughed some more. Chatter from Stefan and Elena filled the white noise he heard but he only had one question.
"Where is Eve?" Damon asked, clearing his throat and looking around. Only then did he see Bonnie...looking guilty. Why would she look guilty...Oh right, the Gilbert device...Damon was slowly getting mad, but Bonnie's guilt was only the topping of his anger. Damon looked back to Stefan. "Stefan. You said she was okay." Damon nearly growled.
"She is." Elena butted in, keeping herself in front of Stefan...like a cute little shield. As if she could stop him.
"Then where is she?" Damon snapped, looking back down at Elena.
"She...she ran off into the woods." Bonnie cut in. "She was...mad at me…" Bonnie muttered. Damon could feel the guilt radiating off of her. Damon let out a small, annoyed huff as he patted his pockets. Fuck. He dropped his phone.
"Stefan, you have her number." Damon stated seriously. Stefan sighed, looking slightly annoyed as he pulled out his own phone and handed it over to Damon. Damon quickly snatched the phone from Stefan and called Eve. The phone went to voicemail immediately.
"You know, a thank you might be in order." Elena muttered viciously. Damon paused and looked at the people around him.
"Thanks for the phone, Stef." Damon muttered, turning and walking towards the wooded area, repeatedly pressing 'call' on the phone. There was cell reception out in those woods. He was sure of it...So...why wasn't she answering.
Eve sat down against a tree. Let herself shake. Let herself cry. Let herself breath. Let herself remember that she could easily shut it off...but that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to scream, but her mouth was too dry. She wanted to feel all these emotions that make a person human. It was a cool night. Damon is dead. Eve shook her head and leaned it against the tree. And then...her phone began to ring. Eve forced herself to pull the phone from her pocket and look at the caller ID. Liz Forbes. Eve hesitantly answered.
"Hello?" Eve answered.
"Where are you? Caroline was in a car accident." Eve felt her heart stop for a moment.
"Wh-What?" Eve asked, sitting up straight.
"Caroline was in a car accident. She's in the hospital." Liz stated. Eve could hear in her voice that she was shaking.
"I-I'm still in town. Where are ya?" Eve asked, forcing herself up.
"I'm near my office. Do you want to come to the hospital with me?" Liz asked. Her questions weren't harsh, but they came off forced.
"A-aye." Eve forced out, beginning to walk back towards the Gilbert's building but stopped herself. She could avoid that building. She wanted to avoid that building. "I'll be there in a minute." Eve stated. "What...what happened? I dought she was goin' home with Matt and Tyler." Eve stated, not wanting to hang up in fear Liz would just leave without her.
"I…" Liz sighed before becoming silent. "They were on their way back home and then something happened to Tyler. He lost control of the wheel and they ran into a wall." Liz explained, sounding professional, rather than a scared mother. She was a Sheriff after all. Eve was good at hiding her emotions as well...but maybe she didn't need to. Especially after the whole noise incident...the Mayor had been taken but he definitely wasn't a vampire...so why couldn't she just be another one of those cases?
"Are the others okay?" Eve asked as she made her way around a building and began walking towards Liz's office.
"Fine." Liz states flatly. Eve sighs. "I'm in a squad car. I see you." Liz said as lights from a car flashed at Eve. Eve ended the call as she got into the passenger seat of the police car.
"Hi." Eve stated quietly. Liz only nodded as she began to drive. Eve put on her seatbelt. The two remained silent for a long while. "Should I have gotten in the back?" Eve asked aloud, nearly chuckling the question but shutting her mouth when Liz didn't even smile.
"Mayor Lockwood is dead." Liz stated seriously. Eve looked back at her for a moment. "He wasn't a vampire...but the device still affected him." Liz muttered, sounding annoyed at her own findings. Liz let out a soft sigh. "I don't know why it affected him and...I don't know why it affected you." Liz said aloud. "I'm….I'm sorry." Liz apologized, looking back over at Eve. "I shouldn't have yelled at you the way that I did." Liz said gently, turning her attention back to the road.
"It's okay." Eve said quickly. "Ya were under duress. Ya had been handcuffed on a radiator fer a while. I'd yell at anyone who came in." Eve gave a small chuckle back. Good. Eve didn't want Liz to be worried about her. She wanted her to worry about Caroline...Eve let the remaining ride stay silent.
Damon grumbled to himself as he sat outside of the Gilbert's house. Why did it matter if he was being a good person if Eve wasn't even around to see him do it...not as if she cared...Damon's hands squeezed the steering wheel. No. She did care. She was just...busy. Too busy to pick up a call. Damon hissed out a breath before opening his door. Caroline was in the hospital. She was busy being friends with Caroline. Even in his mind, the word felt as if it were sneered out...He had to do this. Damon flittered into the house and up into Jeremy's doorway. The boy was putting something in his drawer before he turned around.
"What are you doing here?" Jeremy asked. Boo. Not even a little jump. Eve would jump. Damon shoved the thought out from his head.
"Anna's dead." Damon stated seriously as he leaned against the doorframe.
"I figured that once they took her away." Jeremy sighed out standing still. Damon saw the rise and fall of his chest. A broken heart.
"I know you cared about her." Damon stated as gently as he could.
"Yeah, I did." Jeremy stated back.
"I saw her killed." Damon said seeing the slow anguish form on Jeremy's face as he tried to hide it. "I was watching and all I could think about was...I wanted to help her, but I couldn't." Damon explained, watching as Jeremy's lip started to quiver.
"Why are you telling me this?" Jeremy asked, tears beginning to form in his eyes.
"I took away your suffering before...I can do it again." Damon stated as Jeremy sat down against his dresser. "But it's your choice." Emphasis on 'your'. Damon was killing this whole 'nice' thing. But Jeremy was shaking his head.
"Look, I know you think you took it away...but it's still there." Jeremy stated, his whole body beginning to tremble. "Even if I can't remember why, I still feel empty...and alone." Jeremy explained, looking down at his feet for a moment to compose himself. And making me forget won't fix it. It won't fix what's really wrong." Jeremy continued, looking back up at Damon only for a moment. Damon let out a small sigh before he began walking over to Jeremy.
"What I did to Vicki...was wrong. I'm sorry for my part." Damon stated. A slight weight lifted as Jeremy gave back a soft nod. Damon turned to leave.
"Anna said that vampires don't have to feel pain." Jeremy stated aloud causing Damon to stop in his doorway. "That they could turn it off, if they shut out their humanity." Jeremy stated as Damon turned around.
"It's very true." Damon stated, confusions slowly building up as to why Jeremy would make such a comment.
"Is it easier that way?" Jeremy asked, now standing up.
"Is what easier?" Damon asked back, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Life." Jeremy stated. Damon took his statement in and thought only for a moment.
"Life sucks either way, Jeremy." Damon stated, nearly chuckling at the nagging he could nearly hear Eve muttering. "But at least if you're a vampire, you don't have to feel bad about it if you don't want to." One more, the nagging imagine of Eve came and went in his mind.
"Is that what you did?" Jeremy asked seriously. Damon let his heart clench. Despite the nagging image of Eve in his brain...it wasn't actually her.
"I did it for a…" Damon got out, not wanting to stutter over his own words. "I did it for a very long time…" Damon stated, feeling his heart continue to clench in his chest. "And life was a lot easier." Damon admitted. In that moment, he missed not having to feel anything. Not feel bad for his growing affection towards Elena. Not feel bad that Katherine never loved him. Not feel bad...knowing he was pushing the only woman that ever really loved him away. Damon sighed, leaving Jeremy alone. A part of him wanted to shut it off. Jeremy wanted to do something stupid...and he wasn't going to stop the teen.
Eve sat in silence beside Matt in the waiting room. Liz had gone into the surgery room or watch room with Caroline...Eve wanted to compel her way in as well, but she was already on thin ice with Liz...and she wasn't about to confirm her vampirism so easily…Eve had been showing Matt all the pictures that Caroline had taken in New York, or at least the ones Caroline sent to Eve's phone. It seemed to help calm his nerves...At least for a moment. And then the pictures ran out. And silence followed. Besides the sound of the hospital around them.
Eve knew Caroline was dating Matt, but honestly, they didn't have much in common besides the stereotypical cheerleader dating the football player...and even then, a lot of the time Caroline did most of the talking. The silence between the two really showed that Caroline did most of the talking for both relationships…
"Hey man." Eve and Matt both looked up towards the voice. Tyler. "I'm so sorry. Look, I don't even know what happened." Tyler apologized, looking guilty and saddened at what had happened. Matt took a moment to respond before he shook his head.
"It's okay man. She'll be alright." Matt reassured, nodding towards the other free seat beside him. Eve patted his hand gently, causing the teary eyed man to look over at her. Eve gently squeezed his hand as Tyler sat down beside him. The sound of a sliding door opening brought everyone's attention to Liz. Matt stood up so quickly, Eve was sure he would get a rush from the blood going to his brain.
"What's happening? Is she alright?" Matt asked quickly as Eve slowly stood up beside him. Liz took a moment and nodded.
"There was some internal bleeding." Liz stated. "They're taking her into surgery." Liz said. Eve could tell she was trying her best to be strong, but even the strongest humans still feel. Eve reached out and grabbed hold of Liz's hand.
"What else did they say? Is she gonna be okay?" Matt asked, sounding slightly annoyed that his main concern wasn't being answered. Liz squeezed Eve's hand.
"They're gonna do everything they can." Liz said quietly. Eve sent a small glare back towards Matt before he tried to ask anymore questions. Matt took in a deep breath and sat back down. Liz patted Eve's hand before letting go and taking a step towards Tyler. "Tyler, have you talked to your mom?" Liz asked, glancing over at Eve for just a second.
"I left her a message telling her I was here." Tyler said back. Liz took in a sharp breath.
"You need to call her." Liz stated sternly, despite the shake in her breath.
"What is it?" Tyler asked, looking seriously back at her. Liz shut her eyes for just a moment.
"It's your dad." Liz stated before turning back around and walking towards the electronic doors. Eve followed closely behind her. She heard the crack in her normally solid and clear voice. Liz continued walking faster, but Eve was able to keep up, even if it was with a little vampire speed. "You're not supposed to come back here." Liz said, her voice breaking. Eve remained silent as Liz froze in her tracks and turned. "Caroline is in surgery." Liz said quietly.
"Have ya called yer ex-husband?" Eve asked. Liz let out a sudden sob. Eve quickly walked up to her and hugged her. "It's okay. I can call if-"
"N-no." Liz stated, hugging Eve back tightly. "I called him. He's on his way with Steven." Liz muttered through a sob. Eve froze, not wanting to use her vampire strength on the woman, but God did she want to. To squeeze as much hope and optimism into this woman as she could. But that would surely crush her. No need to put two Forbes' in the hospital.
"She'll be okay, Liz." Eve said, gently stoking the woman's hair. "I just never dought she'd go ta dese lengths ta make me stay." Eve muttered quietly making Liz let out a snort as she finally pulled away. Eve smiled back at the woman, reaching into her pockets and pulling out a kleenex and shoving it in Liz's face. Liz let out another laugh as she hastily took the kleenex and blew her nose.
"I can tell you don't have kids." Liz chuckled between blows. Eve let out a small scoff.
"I keep kleenex in me pocket, dat's pretty close!" Eve sassed back making Liz chuckle some more.
"True, but you also shoved it into my face like a child." Liz snarked back. Eve snickered. "Thank you." Liz smiled as she pulled the kleenex from her face after dabbing her eyes.
"Of course." Eve smiled back. "Wouldn't want anyone knowin' dat de Sheriff of de town has any of dose nasty feelin's." Eve sassed playfully. Liz laughed once more before she straightened herself out.
"I've got to go. They're prepping the surgery. I'm going to stay in her room and wait for her." Liz's smile slowly faded as worry took over her face. Eve nodded before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a handful more of kleenex and shoving them towards Liz. Liz chuckled gently and took the handful. "As soon as she's out, I'll let you know." Liz reassured.
"Ya can just call." Eve stated, pointing at her phone as Liz turned and began walking away. "Dat way ya don't have ta leave. Liz smiled and nodded back. Eve let herself sigh. Her heart was heavy. Caroline Forbes wasn't going to die today. At least if she had anything to do about it.
Eve looked at her phone for a moment before opening up her contacts and dialing Damon.
Damon finally opened and shut the door to the Gilbert's house. Elena was coming up the steps.
"What are you doing here?" Elena asked, looking him up and down suspiciously. Damon froze and looked at her...something was...off.
"A failed and feeble attempt at doing the right thing." Damon shrugged, looking her up and down for a moment.
"Which was…?" Elena asked, trailing off. Damon watched her more carefully...even her speech pattern was different.
"It's not important." Damon stated, shaking his head. "Let me take that for you." Damon said, already reaching out and taking the dress and purse from her.
"Thank you." Elena stated as Damon put them down on the porch swing...Stated.
"You know…" Damon muttered, turning back around to...Elena. "I came to this town wanting to destroy it." Damon explained, watching Elena's movements carefully. "Tonight, I found myself wanting to protect it." Damon continued. "How does that happen?" Damon questioned himself. "I'm not a hero, Elena." Damon stated. "I don't do good. It's not in me." Damon stated, looking down for a moment.
"Maybe it is." Elena stated lowly, taking a step towards him. Damon simply shook his head.
"No." The words were simple. Easy. "It's reserved for my brother, and you...and Bonnie...Evie." Damon almost didn't catch the slight change of features Elena showed...it was too quick to even tell what it was...but it was something. "Even though Bonnie has every right to hate me, she still helped Stefan save me." Damon said quickly, sensing something from even mentioning Eve…
"Why do you sound so surprised?" Elena asked. Damon paused...that was it. Elena...Elena sounded more emotional when talking...Damon's heart skipped a beat. Katherine.
"Because she did it for you." Damon stated, trying to calm his beating heart...keep up the conversation as if he hadn't just discovered that his long lost first love was standing in front of him. "Which means that somewhere along the way, you decided that I was worth saving. And I wanted to thank you for that." Damon smiled. The double entendre meaning of the words hit him hard as he stood so close to her.
"You're welcome." Even now, her words had no emotion behind them. No preppy little 'I told you so' in her tone...and yet...Damon leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. As he pulled back, something in his chest fluttered alive as he saw the look in her eyes...and then felt the kiss on his lips. Damon let himself savor the moment before his phone began to ring and he quickly pulled away from Kathrine and looked at the caller.
Evie.
Damon took a step back from the woman and answered.
"Evie." The words sounded hasty, out of breath.
"Caroline got inta a car accident and is in de hospital." Eve stated back quickly. Damon's heart fluttered just from hearing the woman speak. Was he that desperate for her attention. It had been a mere few hours since he talked with her...or more so...hurt her…
"Hi." Katherine said aloud as the door swung open. Jenna stared at the two, pulling Damon's attention from the phone.
"It's late. You should probably come inside." Jenna stated, sending a glare towards Damon. Damon felt his heart nearly stop at Jenna's words. He had just invited Katherine inside the Gilbert's house. Shit.
"I'll be there soon." Damon muttered back into the phone before ending the call. "Jenna, I-" Damon got out as Katherine grabbed the things from the porch swing and snuck around Jenna. Jenna simply glared back at him and shut the door on his face.
Fuck.
A/N:
Guess who came back within a YEAR MOTHERFUCKERSSSSSS. And guess what next chapter is? SEASON 2! We did it! We got through not even half a season! Y'all ready for some more MFING ANGST BABYYYYY. Cause WE GETTIN IT. And HELLOOOOOOO KATHERINE. FucK do I appreciate all the responses to this! I love getting little emails about reviews and comments and just genuinely any kind of reaction towards this!
Also! I hope everyone is being safe during the plague that is COVID. I still gotta make that essential money even tho unemployment would pay more but *peace sign*. Anyway! I love you all and I'll get around to editing this sometime. I'm far too excited about this once more! Even tho it's been nearly 4 months. SHHH.
I love you all!
-Nebula
Unedited 5/30/20