Birds tweeted and sung just outside the window. Sunlight streamed in, lighting the room up uncomfortably and I seemed to be positioned just in the way as the light shone across my face. I groaned and turned over, blankets twisted around my legs before sliding off of me and onto the floor.
"Really?" I grumbled into the pillow.
I rolled onto my back and stared tiredly up at the ceiling. And all of yesterday's events floated back to me.
Being kidnapped, not believing it. Laughing about it. Arguing with Hollee whilst Elijah my kidnapper just watched. Her locking herself in a room. Elijah being killed. Playing with Stefan's face. Damon... Damon. Just thinking about him hurt. He didn't care. He lied to me. That night we spent together really was a one time thing. I should have known.
I sat up and ran a hand through my hair, untangling it as well as I could with my my fingers.
I glanced around, taking in my surrounding and noted that I was in Damon's room. My dress was draped over a chair in the corner and that made me glance down. I was still wearing the short I had managed to slide on but instead of the purple camisole Hollee had given me to wear, I was dressed in a black shirt. There was no doubt in my mind as to who this belonged too and that pissed me off. I didn't want to be wearing his clothes. It didn't feel right after last night.
But as I looked around, my only other option was the dress and that was a big no. But then I remembered the bag Hollee bought around for me last night. No doubt she packed extra clothes in there.
I hopped off the bed, leaving the duvet on the floor -Damon can clean that up- and headed out the door to scout out my bag, where ever the hell the ended up.
As I crept down the stairs, voices could be heard from the living room. Unfortunately that was where I was heading and I really wasn't in the mood to face anyone right now, especially Damon. I suppose I could just turn around and head back upstairs but then I'd be trapped in Damon's room wearing his clothing and no way in hell was that going to happen.
So I just walked in. And as I did, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over at me, almost like they'd been caught doing something they shouldn't have. When my eyes zeroed in on Rose that was actually a very believable thought. What the hell was she doing here?
Stefan and Elena were sat on one of the couches, Damon unsurprisingly by the alcohol, Hollee was stood by the fire place where she had a good view of everything and Rose was secluded on the other couch.
"Hey," I greeted casually. "How are you all?"
And then I found it. By the bookcase in the corner sat a black bag that could only be the one I was looking for. Or it could be one of Damon's bags of weapons, either one would be a good find right now. I felt awkward standing before everyone in Damon's shirt, particularly when they were all already watching me.
Hollee was the first to speak. "Hey, how're you feeling today?"
My eyes flickered to Damon. "Better." And that wasn't exactly a lie because I did feel better. I wasn't how I was yesterday; Childish, unbelieving, completely drugged up. But I knew I wasn't myself still. That was just my hurt keeping me down though. Hollee doesn't need to know any of that, she'll just rip Damon a new one and as much as I'm really not liking him right now, I doubt that would benefit anyone.
"Good," Hollee said with a sigh. "because I don't think I could deal with you still being loopy. It was like having a child around."
"A very adorable child." I said with a smile.
Hollee snorted. "Not with the way you looked."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." And walked around everyone to grab the bag. "You did pack more clothes for me, right?" Holding the bag up.
"Of course."
That's a relief.
"None that you would like, though." She added.
I should have expected that. I mean why would she pack something I'd like to wear when she has complete control over it. Really, there was no point in even asking.
I turned to Elena. "How're you holding up after yesterday?" I threw a point glare at Rose.
"I'm not sure." She answered quietly and huddled into herself.
I narrowed me eyes at her and everyone else. "What's going on?" I asked slowly.
Damon shifted his weight from foot to foot and took a swig of his bourbon. "That's what we were trying to figure out until you came down and interrupted." That was a sharp pang to my heart. Not only was that night nothing, but now he's acting like he hated me. Had I done something? Had I said something? I didn't think I did, but there had to be some reason to why he's acting like this. Why he seemed to hate me suddenly.
It was funny really, it was just my luck to fall in love with a complete ass-hole who couldn't care less.
I ignored him, moved over to the couch with Rose, sat down and dropped the bag to the floor. "Okay, I'll sit here and keep my little mouth shut so you guys can continue with whatever the hell you were doing before. That okay with you, Damon? Or would you preferred I disappeared?"
His eyes narrowed but he said nothing to me and turned his attention to Rose who seemed to shrink under his gaze for a moment. "Talk." Damon demanded.
"Okay, you have to understand I only know what I've picked up over the years and I don't know what's true and what's not true. It's the problem with all this vampire crap but Klaus, I know he's real." Rose said.
What the hell are they talking about? "Klaus?" I questioned. "Is that really someone's name? It's horrible."
"I thought you were going to keep your mouth shut." Damon snapped.
"I was, but I'm curious and now that I know it's pissing you off, I'm just going to have to continue asking questions."
Elena ignored us. "Who is he?" That's a good question.
"He's an original, he's a legend." Damon replied, not taking his narrowed eyes off of me.
"From the first generation of Vampires." Stefan added.
"Like Elijah?"
Rose shook her head. "No. Elijah's the Easter bunny compared to Klaus. Klaus is the real deal."
I looked at Elena breaking eye contact with Damon. "So I take it you didn't actually know Elijah yesterday, then."
"We've all tried to tell you that several times."
I held my hands up in defence. "I was drugged! I have an excuse."
"Can we get back to the problem at hand?" Damon said. "Klaus is known as the oldest."
Oldest what? Vampire. No way. How would these people even know who the oldest vampire was? And why would that even need to talk about him in the first place?
"Okay," Elena begun. "so, you're saying that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me?"
I could see the disbelief and fear in her eyes. She was trying to cover it as much as she could, and I feel like she was succeeding to everyone but me. I was her sister. Her twin sister. I can see things in her that other people just couldn't. I wanted to call her out on it and maybe comfort her. But that would not turn out the way i'd want it too. I wasn't the best person and giving comfort, I always felt awkward and everything I said always ended up sounding fake even when I was being completely genuine.
"Yes."
"No."
Rose and Stefan answered simultaneously. Okay they are definitely not helping this situation at all.
Damon sighed, obviously getting tired with the whole thing. "What they're saying is, I mean if what she's saying is true..."
"Which it is." Rose insisted.
"And you're not just saying it so I don't kill you-"
"Which I'm not."
"Then we're looking at a solid maybe."
Okay, he's not helping either. After all that, I thought that maybe he would have come to a finalised decision and done or said something of use.
I leant forward in the chair. "Do any of you actually know anything?"
"I was just thinking the same thing." Hollee spoke up for the first time and I sent her a grin.
Damon didn't seem to like that Hollee was talking, let alone actually here. "No one asked for your input." He snapped
"No one asked for yours either." I said and once again Damon was glaring at me.
"Okay!" Stefan said loudly. "You two need stop this, you're acting like children."
"He's the one acting like a child, not me." I mumbled.
"Lillie..." Stefan warned.
"Shutting up now." I sat back, relaxing into the sofa and pulled my feet up, tucking them under me.
"Look, Elijah's dead, right?" Stefan said, getting back to the topic at hand. "So no one else even knows that you exist." He said to Elena.
I slowly raised my hand, holding it high in the air. "I have a question."
"Is it going to be worth our time." Hollee asked.
"Obviously." I said.
"Is it relevant to right now?" She rephrased.
I nodded dropping my hand. "What's up with Elena? Why is it important for people to not know about her?"
Everyone seemed to shared knowing looks and that worried me. Even Damon and Hollee briefly glanced at each other. "She's the Patrova doppelgänger. She's the key to breaking the curse." Rose informed before anyone else could. And I was grateful for that. Who knows what kind of lies they might spurt my way.
I raised my hand again. "What curse?"
"The curse of the sun and moon." None of these answers were helping me in the slightest. They were just leaving me with more questions that need answering. And that would take far too long. Damon was already getting antsy and no doubt my questions were bugging him. So I dropped my hand again and nodded like I knew just what the fuck Rose was talking about.
"Anymore questions you want to interrupt us with?" Damon asked coldly. I gritted my teeth and shook my head. I was having trouble not to start cussing him out. He was really playing on my last nerve.
Stefan stood up from his place on the couch and started pacing. "Look," He said with a pause in his movements. "I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him. I mean, we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know if he's real." He had a very good point. "For all we know he could just be some sort of stupid bed time story." Okay, that was a more stupider point.
"He's real," Rose said with strong conviction. "And he doesn't give up. If he wants something he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus then you're an idiot."
Damon swallowed back the remains of his drink and put his glass down onto the table and stepped forward. "Alright, we're shaking. You made your poin-" He stopped mid sentence as Elena stood up and grabbed her bag off of the floor.
"Where are you going?" Stefan asked frowning.
"School." She replied simply. "I'm late."
My eyes widened. School. I totally forgot. I hurried to my feet. "Wait for me! Let me just get changed and we can go. Yeah?"
Elena looked at me like I was crazy and I froze. "Are you really gonna make me walk?" I whined.
"You're not going."
"Yes, I am. My attendance is shit and I really need to improve that."
"Well not today you don't. You were drugged up pretty bad yesterday, I want you to stay home and relax today. Sleep and drink lots of water."
I really shouldn't be complaining, I mean free day off of school I should be happy about that. But if I didn't go to school and Elena wasn't going to give me a ride home, that forced me to stay here at the boarding house... With Damon... That was no happening.
"Please!" I begged. "Let me go to school. You can force me to have any other day off, just not today."
"Why?" She asked slowly. "What's happening at school today?"
"Nothing. Okay, fine." I said. "If I can't go to school can you at least give me ride home?"
Elena glanced down at her watched and grimaced. "I can't. I'm already late as it is. I really should get going."
I fell back onto the sofa defeated. I have no idea how the hell I was going to be able to deal with Damon all day.
"Hollee, watch her will you?"
I groaned loudly. Now I'm being babysat.
"Sure." And the the front door slammed shut. I can't believe she's doing this too me. Well, I guess it's not too bad with my babysitter being Hollee. At least she knows how to have fun.
After a while it didn't feel like babysitting. And I guess it wasn't. I could do whatever I wanted and Hollee wouldn't tell me otherwise, unless I left the house. Then I reckon she would have something to say about it. Luckily everyone one else had left to go and do their own things, leaving just Hollee and I the house. Damon wasn't too keen on that Idea and this time it had nothing to do with me but instead Hollee. They really didn't like each other and I couldn't understand why.
Currently Hollee and I are sat watching The Avengers. Or I was trying to at least. It was hard because every two seconds Hollee moved, whether it was crossing and uncrossing her legs. Or just shifting her weight. It was aggravating.
I tried my hardest to ignore it, but after moving once more I couldn't take it. "Are you okay? You've not stopped fidgeting throughout the entire movie."
Hollee straightened up. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Really?"
She sighed. "No. I have something to tell you."
Well that's never a good thing. "What've you done now?" I asked.
"It was something I did a while ago actually..." She dropped her eyes away from me back to the Avengers.
"How longs 'a while ago?'"
"Like, last November." She said almost casually.
She was being vague and I didn't like it. "What did you do, Hollee?"
She looked over at me and chuckled nervously. "You remember that guy from yesterday?
No. I wanted to say. The only guys I really remember seeing yesterday was Damon and Stefan. Oh, and Elijah... "You're not talking about the dead guy, are you?"
"I might be..."
I sighed. "okay, what about him?"
Hollee moved so that she was sitting facing me and she bit her lip, thinking. "Um. He...um. I...I met him last November."
"...What?"
"I knew him before yesterday."
She's lying. She's gotta be. Although that would explain her sudden cowardice, hiding away from him. That was completely out of character yesterday. "The dead guy?" I clarified. "The one who just happened to kidnap me and my sister? That guy? You knew him?"
"Yeah." She nodded slowly, obviously not liking my reaction but what was she to expect. "You're not making this any easier for me, Lils." I know her way too well.
"Okay," I relaxed back into my seat and looked at her. "I'm sorry -But really? How did you know him?"
"He was in London...I met him three days before he was due to leave... and... well..."
"Well?" I pressed impatiently. "God, this suspense is fucking killing me, how well do you know Elijah?"
Hollee's cheeks reddened and she swallowed. "Um. I kinda...I slept with him."
My mind just went blank. "...huh." I was trying to process just what Hollee had said but my mind was having none of it.
"I slept with him." She repeated. "Multiple times. And he bought me stuff too."
And then it finally clicked. "Oh god! That's -What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Hollee looked offended. "What do you mean what's wrong with me?! He's fucking gorgeous!" Well her opinion on him was rather strong if she was going to cuss defending herself.
"He's a vampire!" As soon as the words left me I know I shouldn't have said them. It wasn't fair of me to throw that at her considering I've slept with Damon, who also seems to be a vampire. I was a hypocrite.
"I didn't know that! He didn't tell me!"
"Did you even know anything about him before you jumped into bed with him?"
"Yes." She answered easily.
I cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah?" Like what?"
Hollee's shoulders sagged. "His name."
"Wow," I breathed. "You really do get swayed by pretty thing, huh?"
"Yeah." She agreed. "You should know that by now."
"Unfortunately, I do."
Hollee went to say something more but hesitated. "Do you hate me now?" She finally asked.
My eyes widened and I quickly shook my head. "No! Of course not. Why would you think that?"
Hollee was tense and stiff but at my words she seemed to relax just the slightest bit. "Because... I don't know. I was scared. And embarrassed."
"What was there to be embarrassed about?" I asked with a coy smile. "As you said earlier, 'he's fucking gorgeous.'" And he was. It really was a shame that someone so handsome had to be so evil and kidnappy.
"I know he is!" Hollee said with a grin but it faltered. "But he was the reason you were drugged up in the middle of nowhere and I feel weird about it!"
I could understand where she was coming from but technically he didn't kidnap us or drug us, it was his little side-kicks. And even though I was high as fuck, he didn't seem all that bad.
"Eh, Don't." I said. "You knew him before all of that shit went down. You didn't know."
Relief washed over Hollee almost instantly and she sighed as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulder. "Thank you." She said softly. "You're the best."
I gave a cocky smirk. "I know.
After watching more of the avengers I turned to Hollee. "So," I said with a grin. "Where would you put him?"
Hollee's head snapped my way. "Who? Where? What?"
I laughed. "Elijah. Where would you put him on our hot meter?"
The hot meter was something Hollee and I had come up with one time and it had just stuck. We used to always use it to rate people so that they didn't know what we were talking about.
"Oh!" Hollee exclaimed in realization. "Dylan O'Brien. Definitely."
A nine? No fucking way. "Really?" I said. "That high up?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I told you, he's fucking gorgeous. He'd be top if he cut his hair."
"I admit that he's pretty attractive but no way is he that high. No one's that high in real life." Lie.
She scoffed. "You were on drugs. I wouldn't expect you to understand."
"Being on drugs does not in anyway affect my vision..."
"But it might've affected your memory.
"No way." I denied. "I remember everything. Thank you for making me walk bare footed on stones, by the way." I added with a tight smile.
"You're very welcome." Hollee replied easily.
"It hurt." I said
"Good."
"That's mean."
"What do you expect from me though? Your boyfriend killed the guy I put at number nine." She pointed out.
Damon's words from yesterday popped into my head. "He's not my boyfriend."
"Well, sorry." She said. "But the point still stands because you slept with him. "
I shook my head to rid the thoughts of Damon and forced a smile. "I've slept with Mason... Your points invalid.
Hollee's face scrunched up in disgust. "That's my cousin you're talking about there... And anyway, this isn't what we're discussing!"
"Alright, sorry." Although I didn't mean it. Hollee's reaction was funny. "We were discussing jus how Elijah doesn't belong that high up."
Hollee shook her head." No we weren't! We were discussing the fact that your Salvatores killed him!" My Salvatores?
"Aren't we past tha- Wait a minute!" I quickly said as a thought came to me. "Since when were you and the Salvatore's so close?" I hadn't thought about it before, probably because I was high as shit, but now that I do think about it, it's weird that the Salvatore brothers and Hollee worked together to rescue Elena and I. "I thought you hatred them –or Damon as least."
"I'm not close with the Salvatore. " She said with a shrug. "Stefan and I just had a ... the other night."
"What kind of talk?" I asked curiously.
"We just talked about some stuff. He knows I'm a hunter... well, in training anyway."
"And you're just telling people this now?" How could she forget to tell me thing before, this was big!
Hollee rolled her eyes. "By 'people' you mean only you, right? And I haven't had a chance to tell you before now, so don't get antsy with me."
"Fine." I huffed. "But seriously how did that even come up in a conversation?"
She paused. "Er... It just kind of did, I guess."
"Do they know that you're a werewolf?"
She looked thoughtful. "Not... at the moment. I don't think it would go down very well, considering what was going on with Damon and Mason –I know he stabbed him. Mason told me, before you ask."
That makes sense. I'm surprised that Mason didn't bring that up though when we had lunch together.
"So you know that they are vampire, right?" I had to make sure. If she doesn't I'm totally screwed.
"Yeah, I'm not dumb."
I raised my hands in surrender. "Okay, geez. I was just making sure."
"Sorry." Hollee apologized. "It just felt like a stupid question. I'm a freaking werewolf. I can practically sniff them out."
"I'm surprised that haven't sniffed you out yet, actually. Or just assumed and stabbed you like Mason." I was surprised that Damon hadn't actually taken it upon himself to actually test his theory. Because I know that he suspects her. Who wouldn't. Especially with Mason being one and Hollee being so close to him. He already just wants to kill Tyler with no actually proof of his werewolfiness. So why's he not gone after Hollee yet?
"Bloody hells, Lils, that's not morbid at all."
I shrugged. "What? It's just a thought."
"Yeah," she said. "a bloody morbid one."
"But something could have... could happen."
"It won't." Hollee said reassuringly. "I'll be fine."
" I'm sure Mason said the same thing..."
Hollee cocked her head to the side and stared at me carefully. "...Do you know something about where he is, then?"
I frowned and shook my head. "Just what everyone else does- he went back to Florida."
"Is that what you think?" Hollee questioned. "'cause I don't, he would have told me."
I nodded. " I do. His life's in Florida, his friends, his job –whatever the hell that is. Why wouldn't he go back? Maybe he didn't tell you because it was a split-second decision."
"We had plans." Hollee said sadly. "And he just left. It doesn't seem right –but that's not what we're talking about." She was brushing it off. Did she know something that I didn't?
"I'm sure he'll call when he's got the time." I said with a smile. "And what were we talking about again?"
She cocked one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows. "You slept with a guy who killed a guy I slept with."
"In my defence," I said. "The guy I slept with was saving me from the guy you slept with."
"Yeah, but my guy was hotter."
"Debatable."
"Well, no. But there's not point anyway is there. None of it matters."
"True." I nodded. "You're guy's dead.... Wait - that was insensitive of me. I'm sorry." I quickly added on to the end. That was a bit harsh of me. I shouldn't have said that. For Hollee to have put him so high up on the Hot meter, she must have felt something for that man.
Hollee's face dropped slightly, but she quickly recovered with a small smile. "He wasn't ever really mine in the first place. And yeah, it was insensitive. But it's okay, I mean, you're right."
Our conversation was cut short when the door opened and Damon and Rose came wondering in. I turned away from them and focused my eyes on a 'dead' iron man. We missed the big fight at the end of the film, which sucks.
"Oh you two are still here, huh?" Damon commented, heading straight for his bourbon. Rose lingered in the doorway, unsure whether to come in.
I sighed. "Now that you're home can I leave?"
He looked at me. "I wasn't the one keeping you here."
I took that as my cue. I nudged Hollee. "Ready to go? I kinda just wanna go home and sleep."
She nodded. "Yeah."
I turned the TV off and grabbed my bag from the corner. I paused be Damon. "Thanks." I said quietly. " For letting me crash over last night."
He hummed and turned away from me to face Rose. "Want one?" He asked her, otherwise completely ignoring me.
I bit my lip and shook my head. What's the point of even trying with him?
I reached Hollee stood by the door. With one glance back into the room to see Damon hand Rose his glass of bourbon. "Let's go." I said.
The ride home was quick, and filled with small chit-chat. I couldn't wait to get home and sleep in my own bed, not that Damon's was uncomfortable –far from it actually, but I missed my own. And Jeremy and Jenna.
Hollee pulled up to the curb and shut the car off.
"Thanks for today." I said, grabbing my bag.
"Anytime." She said with a grin. She looked past me and frowned. I twisted in my seat and my eyes landed on a Stefan with his arms wrapped around a crying Elena.
"I best go and see what's happening." I said, opening the door.
"Keep me informed?" Hollee called through her window as I started up the path. I gave her a thumbs up and she started her car, driving away.
As I approached Stefan and Elena, Stefan smiled softly and I returned it, Elena just continue to cry.
I hoisted my bag high up on my shoulder and reached out for her. She fell into my arms and I held her close, letting her cry into my shirt. "I've got it from here." I told Stefan quietly over Elena's head.
He nodded. "Call me if you need anything. "
"I will. Good night, Stefan."
"Good night."
Elena and I were sat on my bed, the duvet wrapped around us both, each supporting our own tubs of ben and Jerry's ice cream. When I had helped Elena inside, Jeremy, making sure that I was okay, instantly bombarded me. And I was. He didn't seem like he wanted to let me out of his sight but Elena can be very persuasive when all teary-eyed. Jenna greeted me too when I had come down for the ice-cream and asked where I had been the last two nights. I lied slightly and just told her I had been staying with Damon. It wasn't technically a lie of such. She didn't seem to happy about that but it was the first thing that came to mind when I had to think of some kind of cover up. I mean it's not too much of a stretch, she knows we've slept together, so why wouldn't I crash at his place.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" I finally asked, breaking the silence hanging over Elena and I.
"I went and saw Katherine."
My spoon froze half way to my mouth. "I'm sorry –what did you just say?"
Elena stuck her spoon in to her ice cream and placed it on my bedside table. She shuffled around and sat cross-legged facing me. "I went and say Katherine today." She clarified.
"Yeah, that's what I thought you said. I was hoping you were lying."
"I'm the doppelgänger." Elena mumbled to her self.
"We went over this just this morning, didn't we? We already know that. Why's it bugging you so much?"
"Because Katherine is running from Klaus. He wants to break the curse and he needs the blood of the doppelgänger to do it. He was going to use her, but she ran and ended up turning herself into a vampire – He needed her human, so she was no use to him anymore."
Where was she going with this?
"Because she disobeyed him, he killed her entire family."
"Where are you going with this Elena?" I asked hesitantly.
She looked at me with watery eyes. "It's all my fault. Everything that is going to happen will be all my fault." She blubbered. "He needs a vampire, werewolf and witch to complete the ritual. That's why Katherine turned Caroline. She is going to use everyone. Caroline, Tyler, Bonnie. We're all going to die. And if I run, he'll end up killing everyone I've ever met. I don't know what to do, Lillie." She cried.
She leant into me and wrapped her arms around my body. "Shh," I cooed softly. This was so weird. I wasn't the most compassionate person around and I didn't do well when it came to comforting people even when I tried my hardest to do it. I always ended up saying the wrong thing. "It'll be okay, Lena. Don't worry about it for now. You'll be okay, I promise."
I placed my own tub of ice cream down beside hers and laid down with Elena. I hummed some random song that popped into mind and let my eyes close, whilst playing with Elena's hair.
"I love you, Lillie."
"Love you too, Lena."