(1) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Forty-Nine

Cassandra and Damon are eating together at the bar. Burger and fries. She hasn't eaten since heaven knows when, she's starving. And he's impressed. She doesn't care what she looks like as she eats. She's taking stacks of fries into her mouth at a time. He chuckles a little and she looks at him.

"What?" She asks him, he motions to her lip and she frowns. He smirks at her and brushes his thumb over the corner of her lips, to wipe away the ketchup she's got smeared, she blushes as he presses his thumb into his own mouth to clear it of the sauce. She clears her throat and picks up another fry. "Let's just say that me and Elena...that we're descended from Katherine and Ally...does that make us part vampire?" She asks, Damon snorts and smirks at her.

"Vampires can't procreate" He pops a fry into his mouth and wiggles his eyebrows at her. "But we love to try" She shoots him a look, lip threatening to twitch up into a smile. "No, if you were related, it would mean Katherine or Ally had a child before they were turned" He informs her, she hums a little.

"How did you meet them?" She asks him, he looks away from her.

"Come on, what?" He takes her pickle from her plate. "You don't like pickles? What's wrong with you?" He asks her and then takes a bite of her pickle. She shoots him a look.

"Don't avoid the question" She scolds him. "If I'm related to them, then this is my ancestral history" He sighs and looks at her.

"You should ask Stefan. He's better at talking about all that touchy crap" Damon argues a little.

"I'm asking you" She counters. "Just leave your part out of it if you want" He tilts his head in question and then softens. She's trying not to upset him. He snorts a little.

"Katherine came to town as an 'orphan', my father took her in" He tells her, and that's about as far as he much as he wants to talk about Katherine with Cassandra. "A year before that. Ally had moved into town. Worked as a florist. Kept to herself mostly. We were.....friends" He shrugs and turns back to his food.

"Why didn't they arrive together?" She asks him.

"Hmm no idea" He answers. "Didn't get along probably...." She raises her eyebrow in question and he gives her a look back. "Shockingly didn't care much about asking at the time" He points out and finishes the pickle, she frowns a little.

"How can you even eat? If technically you're supposed to be..." She motions with her hand and gives him a look.

"Dead?" He whispers and then laughs. "It's not such a bad word. As long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally." She studies him a moment and then snorts. He raises an eyebrow.

"This nice act. Is any of it real?"

"I'm always nice to you" He counters.

"Not always" She reminds him, he hums and shrugs. He is better though. He has been better though. He is trying. Bree interrupts them.

"Here you go" Bree hands Damon a beer.

"Thank you"

"I'll have one too" Cassandra offers, Damon turns to her and raises an eyebrow.

"Hmm?" Damon asks her surprised.

"Time out, remember? For five minutes?" She reminds him. "Yeah, well that five minutes is going to need a beer" Cassandra points out. Bree smiles at her and opens a beer.

"There you go" She holds out the beer to Cassandra who reaches out to take it. Her fingers brushing over's Bree's own. Bree's eyes widen a little and she pulls her hand back as soon as she can. Her cautious and alarmened look at Cassandra unnoticed by her and Damon who is watching Cassandra.

...........

Later; At the counter, Cassandra, Damon, Bree and others are now taking shots of liquor. Cassandra looks, and feels, more relaxed than she has in months. She's pretty sure that's the alcohol that's doing that.

"Ready...Go!" Bree states, chanting slightly. They all shoot down their drinks. Cassandra downs hers quickly, claps her hands, and does a little dance. Damon watches her with a smile.

"That's three!" She cheers and looks at Damon who has dribbled some of his drink. "Aw, does baby need a bib?" She playfully teases and pouts at him, he snorts.

"Sorry I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol" He points out, she sticks out her tongue at him like a snake and he smirks.

"Whatever. Alright," She comments. "Who's next? Another round, Bree"

"Honey, you should be on the floor!" Bree tells her. Cassandra smirks.

"I am not even drunk" She argues, but she is very slightly drunk. "My tolerance is, like, way up here" Cassandra reaches for the sky, her fingers sparking with mist. Damon grabs her arm and pulls her hand down, giving her a look.

"Stop that" He whispers in warning. She just chuckles back and wiggles her fingers at him. He can't help but smile. Sees so...relaxed. Not self-controlled. Not scared. Not sad. Just free.

"Alright. Here you go" Bree pours another round of shots. Behind Cassandra and Damon, a man enters the bar and goes to the counter away from Cassandra, Damon, and the other patrons. Bree goes over to him and motions with her head towards the pair at the bar as Damon leans closer to Cassandra as they both take another drink together.

......

Damon sits at the bar, his head resting in his hand as he watches Cassandra. She's dancing. Swaying to the beat of the music playing. Her red mist dances with her. She's not hiding them at all. And he is going to have to compel everyone in this bar to forget they've seen her do this. This is another reason why she stopped drinking. Her powers don't like it or they do, she couldn't figure out which. But she has a harder time controlling them. They become freer. Damon turns back to his drink as Bree pours him a fresh one. Cassandra's phone starts ringing, she pulls it out of her jacket pocket and then sets it to her ear as she answers it.

"Hello?"

"Cas?"

"Jenna! Hold on, it's loud in here" Cassandra offers and heads to leave the bar.

"Cassandra, where are you? Are you okay?" Jenna asks her, her worry clear in her voice. And yeah, Cassandra feels bad. She should have at least told Jenna the truth when she called earlier.

"Huh? Yeah. No, I'm good. Everything's fine. Hold on, I can't hear you"

"No, it's not fine! I got a call..." Cassandra leaves the bar, but catches her footing, almost tripping, but she does drop her phone. She sighs and closes her eyes before she picks it back up.

"Hello?" She asks into the phone. "Jenna?" The mysterious man from the bar comes up behind her and covers her mouth. She drops her phone again.

........

Inside, Bree glances at Damon who taps his fingers on the side of his glass.

"Hey, where's your girl?" Bree asks, Damon frowns and looks around the bar for Cassandra.

"Hmm. She was right back there" Damon looks over at where Cassandra was dancing but she's gone. He continues to look around the bar to see if she hasn't just moved somewhere else but she is definitely gone. Damon stands from the bar and then leaves in search of Cassandra.