I drain the shot down, giving him a grin. “How many is that? I lost count after 15.” I giggle, pouring myself another shot. I’m drunk as hell, have been ever since I got that picture. The best part is, I found out, that it was taken before Damon and I got cozy in bed. He lied to me when he said he almost kissed Elena. He actually did. Anyways, I’m drunk so I don’t have to think about that.
“Love, I think that’s enough.” Klaus frowns, as I drain another one.
“If it has been enough Klaus, I would be passed out right now.” I smirk, the world kind of spinning when I move slightly. Woah, I haven’t been this hammered in a long time.
The front door opens, Stefan walking into the house. He frowns at Klaus and I, obviously confused. I didn’t invite him to the party, he just showed up. I was already drunk so I didn’t say anything.
“What are you doing here Klaus? I don’t think Aria needs your company at the moment.” Stefan glares, shutting off the music I had blasting.
“Hey! I liked that song.” I whine, trying to stand up. The second I do, the world spins, and I start to tumble over. Stefan speeds over to me, catching me before I can hit the floor. I smile at him, “I like being in your arms Stef. It makes me feel all warm inside.” I giggle.
He rolls his eyes, setting me down on the couch opposite of Klaus. “I think you need to sober up a little.” Stefan’s eyes travel over all the empty bottles of bourbon. “What’s got you so upset?”
“I think it’s best you don’t know.” I slur, knowing it will hurt him too.
Stefan gives me a suspicious look before turning back to Klaus. “What do you want?”
“The question is, what do you want? My hybrids left town, just as your drunk sidekick demanded. So please, tell me what I need to do to get my family back.” Klaus sighs.
“I’m not a sidekick!” I yell weakly before bursting into a fit of giggles. That’s pretty funny isn’t it?
“Well, see Klaus…I’m not negotiating.” Stefan shrugs, taking a seat next to me on the couch. I grin, jumping on top of him, and snuggling into his jacket. Stefan sighs, pushing me off him, and giving me a stern look not to move. I smile, saluting him.
“Well you understand that holding them indefinitely is the same thing as dropping them in the ocean.” Klaus smiles, but it looks very forced.
“I want Elijah back.” I whine, giving the boys puppy dog eyes.
“No, no. You leave Mystic Falls then in a few years give me a call. Then we’ll talk.” Stefan smirks, ignoring me, the statement directed at Klaus.
“I’m going to give you another chance. Just one more. Let’s make a reasonable deal.” Klaus says.
Stefan leans forward, a challenging glint in his eyes. “Or what? You make one move and I will drop-“
Klaus laughs, cutting Stefan off. “Yes, right. Crazy Stefan. Hm. How’s that woking out for you? Any friends left other than your drunk friend here?” Stefan leans back in his seat, not answering Klaus. Klaus gives Stefan a tight smile, “I’ll be seeing you soon.” Klaus disappears, I giggle, thinking fairies disappear into thin air too. Maybe Klaus is a fairy.
“I can’t have you drunk today Aria.” Stefan states, standing up.
“But if I’m not drunk, I’ll feel the pain Stef.” I complain, desperately not wanting to feel the pain.
“What pain? What happened last night Aria?” Stefan questions.
“I’m not drunk enough to tell you.” I admit, not wanting Stefan to carry around this burden too. It’ll hurt him, I know it. He still loves Elena somewhere in there.
Stefan shrugs, his mouth in a grim line. “Sorry about this then.”
He speeds behind me, I hear a snap, then everything goes dark.
=================
I groan, cracking open my eyes. Ugh, my head hurts like hell. I wince, sitting up in the seat. Great, I’m in a car, did Stefan kidnap me? I look over at Stefan who is driving. “Did you snap my neck?”
Stefan nods, “Best way to get you relatively sober.” Stefan tosses a pair of dark sunglasses at me. “The sun is going to hurt like hell with the hangover you’re going to get. You were hammered.”
I sigh, slipping on the glasses. “What exactly did you need me to be sober up for?”
“A lot happened last night. I tried getting ahold of you, but your phone went straight to voicemail. Where were you last night Aria?” Stefan questions, shooting me an almost concerned look.
“I wasn’t having the best night.” I sigh…that’s an understatement. Last night was one of the worst in my life.
“Elena knows about the coffins.” Stefan states, sounding annoyed.
My anger burns up just hearing her name. “Bonnie told her?” I ground out through my teeth.
Stefan gives me a weird look, “Yeah…”
“Where are we going?” I ask, not liking the look Stefan is giving me.
“We’re going to Bonnie’s mom’s house. Apparently her mom can help her open the locked coffin. We think only a witch can open it up. Elena lied to me, saying they went to your guys lake house. But I found something that said otherwise. So now we’re going to go and make sure they’re not doing anything stupid.” Stefan explains, sounding calm. Ugh, that is too much information to take in with a hangover.
I take a deep breath, “So I’m going to have to face Elena?”
Stefan gives me a slight nod, “Are you really that upset about threatening her. If I’d known it would mess you up this much I would have done it.” Stefan frowns.
I let out a sarcastic laugh, “It’s not that, trust me, it’s not that.”
“Then what is it? I’ve never seen you this fired up.” Stefan presses.
“Leave it alone Stefan, you’re greatly increasing my anger.” I hiss.
“Fine, I wont say anything else about it.” Stefan gives up, but I can see it is still bugging him. “We’re here.” he says, the car coming to a stop. I look up at the house in front of me. It looks kind of like a farmhouse or something. “Come on, I hear her.” Stefan states, before speeding away.
I mentally prepare myself for a moment, I have to be able to keep my cool. I have to. If I have a freak out and accidentally kill her…I’ll be in big trouble. With everyone.
I chase after Stefan seeing him stand in front of an angry Elena. I appear behind her, tapping her on the shoulder. She spins around, her expression becoming nervous when she sees me.
I smirk at her, happy Stefan gave me the glasses so she can’t see the murderous look in my eyes, “Hey Lena.”
I grab Elena’s arm, holding a little more tightly than I should, dragging her into the barn in front of us. I let go of her, pushing her forward slightly, causing her to stumble. “So what did you think? That Stefan and I wouldn’t find out?” I don’t even really know what’s happening, but I’ll act like I do.
“I honestly didn’t care.” she shrugs, and it takes all the willpower in me not to snap her neck.
“This is exactly why I didn’t want you in the loop Elena.” Stefan growls.
“Yeah because now you and Aria can’t do whatever you want.” Elena glares, thinking she’s the ruler of all. Stefan lets out a growl, kicking the chair behind him, breaking it into pieces.
“Hey!” some guys yells, jogging into the barn. “Everything alright here?” Who the fuck is this?
“Everything’s alright, trust me Jamie.” Elena casts a look back at us. “It’s better for you in there Jamie.” Elena nods, trying to be all nice and shit.
The Jamie dude walks past Elena, eyeing Stefan. “I don’t think so.”
I step in front of Stefan, right into Jamie’s face. “He’s not the one you need to worry about. If I were you, I’d listen to her and go back upstairs.” I threaten, not in the mood for some dumb human right now.
“I said I don’t think so.” the guy repeats pissing me off.
I wrap my hands around his neck, causing him to gasp for breath. I look into his eyes, “Get back upstairs, before I break your damn legs and you have to crawl away. Understand me?” I compel, shoving him away.
“I don’t think you’ve realize how bad you’ve gotten!” Elena seethes, as Jamie walks out of the barn. Oh don’t yell at me Elena, I want to kill you so bad right now.
“It’s the way it has to be Elena.” Stefan answers for me.
“Oh yeah, right, out villain the villain. I get it.” Elena sneers right as Jamie walks back into the barn with a shotgun pointed at Stefan and I. Cocked and ready to fire.
“You’re not suppose to be here. Either of you.” Jamie says, looking like he’s crazy. Ah…what the hell? Who is this again?
“Jamie, what are you doing?” Elena whispers shocked.
“What I was told. He’s not suppose to be here.” Jamie repeats, a far away look in his eyes. Shit. I know that look.
“Elena… he is compelled.” I say, right as he fires the shotgun. I feel one of the worst pains I’ve ever felt in my life, flying back about an inch. I curl up on the floor, letting out a cry of pain.
I hear another shot, and Stefan lands on the floor next to me. He curls up like me, his face scrunched up in pain. These must be wood bullets or something, because they hurt…so, so bad.
Hey, at least my glasses didn’t break…
I look up, seeing Jamie tie Elena tightly to a wooden beam. What is this guys problem? I let out a scream when I feel another stab of pain go through me.
“Why are you doing this?” Elena demands.
“Stop moving.” Jamie commands, pulling on the rope a little.
“Come on Jamie, let me go. They need help.” Elena insists, looking at Stefan and I like she actually cares. I wince, the pain not going away. The bullet must have shattered inside of me because I feel multiple things in my chest right now.
“Jamie!” a women yells from behind me. If I could turn around I would, but it takes everything from me not to pass out.
“Bonnie!” Elena screams, which tells me that Bonnie is hurt or passed out in some way. “Bonnie!”
Jamie runs out of the barn, following the women’s yell. If I wasn’t in so much pain, I would rip him to shreds. I let out another whimper, hoping the pain is going to ease up slightly.
I hope Elena can do something because I don’t know how much longer Stefan and I can last.
================
I scream again, just wanting the pain to stop. I don’t know how long I’ve been lying here in pain but it’s dark outside. So not I can’t even look badass with my sunglasses on. I took them off, and that was about the only movement I could handle. I bet I look freaking amazing right now.
“I’ve almost got it.” Elena states, trying to get the rope to snap. I look over at Stefan, and see he is not faring much better than I am right now. Wonderful.
I hear footsteps come into the barn, telling me that jackass Jamie is back. “Abby hasn’t called yet…” he says, and I’m guessing Abby is Bonnie’s mother.
“Jamie please, just let us go.” Elena begs.
“Don’t!” he yells, chocking the shotgun. “Please, don’t do anything. Look I don’t know why I shot them, why I’m holding this gun, but if you move or do anything, I’m going to shoot the girl again.” he warns, pointing the gun at me again. Please don’t shoot me bro. I’m already in enough pain.
“Okay…who gave you that gun?” Elena asks.
“A man came by here earlier today, he said it was wooden buckshot. Told me if anyone got in our way, I’m supposed to shoot them.” That’s why it hurts so much. It’s not just buckshot, which hurts like hell. It’s wooden buckshot.
“What else did the man tell you?” Elena questions.
“If Abby didn’t find the location of some coffins, I’m supposed to shoot myself.” That’s a good plan buddy, just shoot yourself now please. Thanks.
“What about me? What did he say about me?” Elena is trying to figure out if Klaus did this. Klaus doesn’t want to hurt her so…
“I’m not supposed to hurt you.” Jamie nods.
Elena almost smiles, but it vanishes. “Are you sure? Because these ropes are so tight that it is hurting me.” Elena whines to make it more believable. Jamie goes over to her, actually thinking that it is hurting her. As soon as he is close enough, Elena grabs the shovel next to her, swinging it at Jamie’s head. It hits him, knocking him to the floor unconscious.
Elena runs over to us, kneeling in-between us. “What can I do to help you two?”
“Every time I move the wood shifts inside of me, I can feel it against my heart. You need to get the pieces out.” Stefan pants, causing Elena to nod. “You have to help Aria first. She’s not going to last too much longer. She needs you right now.” Stefan whispers.
Elena nods, looking fearfully down at me. I close my eyes, knowing this is going to hurt like hell. Elena reaches down, and I let out a pain filled scream as she pulls a piece of the bullet out.
This is going to be a long few minutes….
Elena pulls out another few pieces, and I hold in my screams of pain. As she reaches down deeper, I can’t help but let out another scream. “I’m just trying to help!” Elena panics.
I manage to open my eyes, “Just get it out Elena, you have to help Stefan.”
“If you keep screaming maybe I’ll feel sorry for you.” Elena glares, using all her strength and pulling out the last shard. I give her a slight nod of my head, and she goes over to Stefan.
I block out Stefan’s cries of pain, slowly sitting up. But the time I’m up on my feet, Elena has finished with Stefan. I lean against the beam, surprised I can even stay on my feet right now.
“You’ve changed, something is different about you.” Stefan states, really looking at her for the first time in awhile. “You’re stronger…tougher.”
“You and Aria are not the only ones who changed Stefan. We all had to.” Elena says, looking down. By change you mean change Salvatore brothers bitch?
Stefan gives her a small smile, “That’s good to know.”
“There’s something I have to tell you two.” Elena says, standing up. “And it’s not because I feel guilty that it happened…it’s because I feel guilty that you two don’t know….I kissed Damon.”
Hearing her say that…it hurts so much more.
“Excuse me, I-I have to go.” I mutter, stumbling out of the barn. I only get a few steps, before I collapse onto the floor, but thankfully it is out of their view.
It feels so real when she says it…I…I don’t know what to think right now and that’s what scares me. How I feel right now…not knowing what to feel or what to do.
I look up when I hear footsteps, it’s Elena…and for some reason, I just don’t feel anything right now. I grab the side of the barn, pulling myself up to my feet. Pain shoots through me but I push it away.
“I don’t know what to say to you right now Aria.” she sighs.
I start to say something but stop myself. “I shouldn’t have kidnapped you Elena, the car…the bridge, it was too far. I admit that.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.” she agrees.
I let out a sad, quiet laugh. “Kissing the love of my life…is that too far Elena? Do you hate me that much now?”
Elena shakes her head, “I don’t hate you Aria, you’re my sister. It’s just that Damon and I…when you were gone, we spent so much-“
“I don’t want to hear it Elena. If I do, I think I might start crying again.” I say, sniffling a little.
“Again?” Elena frowns.
“I knew you two kissed, I knew it last night. Klaus sent me a picture of you two on the porch. He did it because he wanted to hurt me. He knew that was the best way to get to me. He practically ripped out my heart with that photo.” I whisper, and Elena starts to say something but I hold my hand up. “I’m not going to yell at you. I thought when I confronted you about this, I would be livid. But I’m not…I don’t really feel anything at the moment. But, I do know that I don’t want to be with a guy who doesn’t love me.”
“Damon loves you, we both made a mistake the other night.” Elena insists.
“I’m sure he does, but not the way we used to love each other. I think I accepted that a long time ago, but I-I just didn’t want to believe it. So if your heart desires Damon Salvatore then let it. Some people deserve to be happy in life don’t they? Not everyone is lucky enough to actually be happy.” I smile sadly, my heart hurting just saying this. I can’t force Damon to love me and be with me…if he truly loves Elena more now, what can I do? Nothing. Except maybe kill Elena…shut up Aria, you’re supposed to be being nice.
“Aria, it was just a kiss. A mistake.” Elena argues.
I close my eyes for a second, “If you truly love someone with all your heart, you don't go around making those mistakes do you?” I turn away from my sister, walking calmly to Stefan’s car.
I get into the passenger seat silently, Stefan sitting the same stiff way in the drivers side. “You knew, didn’t you? That’s why you were so upset…” Stefan figures out.
“Yeah, I knew…I didn’t want to tell you Stefan. Be mad if you want, but it was the right thing to not tell you. I wanted you to have a little longer, thinking in your heart that Elena was still yours. I didn’t want you to feel how I felt…” I let out a little sob, tears streaming down my face.
“I’m not mad Aria.” he smiles.
“You know what? Neither am I. I think I’m just heartbroken.”
===================
Stefan and I walk in the door, and my heart stops when I see Damon standing in front of the fireplace. I have to be strong, I’m not some weak girl that collapses because of a heartbreak. I have to stay strong, and relatively collected.
“You’re still alive, I assume that means Klaus didn’t get his coffins.” Stefan says, walking into the living room.
“Don’t look so happy, I was only able to get one of them out in time. The locked one.” Damon explains.
“Probably a good choice.” I smile tightly.
“Yeah…You know, if you’re banking on Bonnie’s mamma to open it, you’re screwed. She doesn’t have any powers.” Damon says.
Stefan shrugs, “Doesn’t surprise me. It’s been that kind of night.” Stefan and I both turn around to leave, but stop when we hear Damon ask,
“Is Elena okay?”
Stefan spins around, punching Damon as hard as he can in the face. Damon groans, moving his jaw around slightly. I hope Stefan broke it. “I take it you three had a heart to heart.” Damon’s eyes glance over at me, guilt showing in them.
“Don’t look at her like that Damon. You’ve hurt her enough.” Stefan growls, punching Damon in the face once again. I actually crack a smile, finding it amusing. “That one was for breaking Aria’s heart. She doesn’t deserve that, not from you. Stay away from her Damon, or I’ll make you.”
Aw, Stefan is being all sweet.
“Before you kill me brother, I have something to show you two.” Damon states, pulling out a dagger out of his pocket. A dagger used to take down an Original. I know Damon wouldn’t wake up the other brothers, so he must have woken up…oh my God…
I look at the dagger for a moment, before a grin comes to my face. This is actually the first time I’ve been happy today.
Elijah is back in business. Fuck yeah.