21st April 2009, Start of Spring Break...
"Can you believe Brook? She's so—ugh." Hanna complained as she pushed back her honey blonde hair back. "Ava! You better be listening, not thinking about you-know-who." She laughed after she said it and ran off somewhere.
Rolling my eyes, I turned off the engine and took out the keys. I got out and picked up the bags, putting Hanna's bag on the hard floor of the parking lot.
Hanna had gone and disappeared. I knew she would come back. She always did. I shivered a little as cool spring air caressed my half-exposed shoulders. Carefully, I pulled my denim jacket over my exposed shoulders and pulled at the sleeves.
From the parking lot of the woods, I could see the branches of nearby trees swaying in the breeze as it invited us into the deep woods. The skies were clear and blue with white clouds, gently gliding across the sky.
I breathed out and breathed in the woodsy smell of the woods. Hanna was right, this wasn't about Isaac. This was about having the best spring break I could have with Hanna and everyone before I went back to Mystic Falls.
I swung my red backpack over my shoulders and then walked over to the back of the campervan to check for the tent. There was no tent.
"Oh my gosh. You're still here?! We're supposed to be swimming on the lake by now or grilling up some hotdogs' on the barbecue or y'know what I mean." Hanna stomped over to me and grabbed my hands, ready to drag me away again. "Everyone's waiting for—oh, right. Bags. I totally forgot."
"Of course you did. You scatter-brained goat." A sarcastic voice drawled out.
I huffed and turned to glance at June. Her short copper hair was pushed back with a bright crimson hair band as she twirled a loose strand of her hair while she walked over to us and rolled her eyes.
"June, be nice." I checked her outfit out. She looked cute but seriously a plaid skirt with a red cardigan on a camping trip. "Love your outfit but we're here to camp. Not audition for 'Heathers'." I remarked with a grin.
She snorted and picked up her bag from the trunk, closing it after she did so. "It's for my aesthetic. Obviously. Although, I don't mind channeling Heather C." She checked her nails and shrugged.
"Aesthetic? Seriously." August appeared from behind June. He stood behind his twin with his hands on his hips. June turned around and stuck out her tongue. I laughed watching the twins bicker.
"Just don't cry when you trip and scrape your knees or something." He turned his gaze back to me and Hanna. He breathed out and smiled, waving at us. "Hey, Ava." He grinned as a light blush spread across his face. He turned away from me to glance at Hanna. "Hanna."
Hanna, June and I shared a look before I rolled my eyes and decided to break the silence. "There's no tents. Are we staying at a cabin or are we gonna build our own shelter?" I teased August as he ran his fingers through his ash blonde hair.
He laughed. "No—"
"—You guys just gonna stand around or we gonna get to Jason's lakehouse after the spring break is over?" Amanda asked while she stood at the edge of the woods with Max, Devin and Jason behind her staring at us, bored.
Max and Devin left while Jason stayed behind for his girlfriend.
"Coooome on." She gestured to the woods as she disappeared with Jason's hand in hers.
June and Hanna followed. Hanna remembered to lock the campervan after taking back the keys from me.
"Shall we?" August gestured after our friends.
I took his hands. "We shall."
I shivered a little as I felt someone's gaze on me. I turned around to look behind me at the empty parking lot. There was no one there but I could feel someone's gaze on me.
"Hey, Gus." I called out as we stepped into the woods. August turned his head to gaze at me as he gently tugged me into the woods. "Do you feel like we're being watched?" I asked, a little on the edge.
"...No. Maybe, it's probably a bird or something—"
Just as August spoke, a loud and sharp caw was heard as a black bird flew over our heads. August and I ducked, placing our hands over our ears to block out the loud cawing of the crow.
"It was a crow." August laughed. "You were getting worked up over a crow."
"Shut up." I glared at him before rolling my eyes and smiling sheepishly. "We're getting late."
August grinned as I passed him the compass, Hanna and I had bought a couple weeks before the trip. He held it up and pointed in front of him. I grabbed his hand and set off in that direction.
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"Watching the sunset. Pretty romantic. Don't y'all think?" Max carefully commented, giving a suggestive look to August and me before glancing at Amanda and Jason who were practically on top of each other.
It wasn't the first sunset we had seen after the break had started but it felt different. Three days into our break and things were definitely better. I had long forgotten about Isaac.
Hanna had grown closer to Devin, someone she had obviously been in love with since they were kids. Even I had to admit, this was a great idea. Everyone was definitely happier. God, I was gonna miss leaving them behind. I was gonna miss them a lot.
I rolled my eyes while August awkwardly smiled, turning away to glare at Max. "It is. Isn't it?" Hanna commented with a dreamy expression on her face.
June, August, Max and I stared at each other for a while before craning our heads to glance Hanna and Devin gazing at each other.
Max leaned forward. "Since when is 'that'—" He gestured to Hanna and Devin. "—a thing."
I placed a hand over my mouth and muffled my laughter. June shook her head, bored.
"Since a while, Max. Wake up and look around." August retorted, rolling his eyes. "They look good. Dev's clearly happy." His eyes wandered over to me.
"I can't believe you didn't know about that. It was so obvious." I added with a smirk, putting my head on August's shoulders.
June nodded, her wet copper tresses covering her face as she did so. "Come on, Mad Max. You gotta look past your video games, sometimes." She added, tossing her hair back.
Max scoffed. "You guys are missing a perfectly good sunset." Amanda called out as she nestled her head into Jason's neck. June and I shared a mutual look of disgust as the twins, Max and I, made faces at the overly affectionate couple and shifted in our seats to gaze at the sunset.
We all watched in silence as the sun set slowly. The bright orange orb burned the sky a vivid kaleidoscope of blues, lavenders, oranges, reds and yellow. Slowly, little by little, the sun shrunk as it was devoured by the quiet and still lake.
Then it was gone, leaving us with a sky of lilac. Jason being Jason decided to start clapping, Amanda followed her boyfriend, to stop him from embarrassing himself while June and Max shrugged only to follow. The rest of us cheered on as well. It was nice.
Devin was the first to get up. June and I watched with a similar smirk as he held out his hand for Hanna. She took it without a thought as she smiled with a dreamy look on her face. On the other side, Jason carried Amanda on his back as they marched down the dock and back to the lake house.
I laughed as I followed June. I stopped when a cold shiver passed through me. I felt a gaze on me. When I looked around. There was no one.
Caw. Caw. Caw.
I gazed at the now-dark purple sky above as a black crow flew above my head and sat on a branch nearby. Caw. It called out once more as its black beady eyes stared into my amber orbs. I shivered involuntarily, pulling my towel tighter around me.
The bird turned its head away from me and looked off into the distance. I followed its gaze into the deep dark woods. I took a sharp breath and shook my head, striding over to the lake house.
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Heavy breaths and pants were mixed in with the rain as I sprinted through the woods, being half-dragged by August as I also tugged June behind me.
Leaping over the thin winding creaks, moss-covered boulders and the rain soaked slippery rocks, we made our way back to the campervan. We had all packed in a hurry after last night. This spring break had taken a clear turn for the worse.
Everything had blurred into a sickening blend of blood, rain and the darkness of the night. The earth was wet and moist under my feet. Even through my heavy combat boots, I could feel the rain-soaked forest floor.
Hanna jumped into a muddy brook, swollen by the ongoing rains, her knees scraped, her dress soaked in mud and rain. She gasped and moaned in pain while Devin quickly picked her up without hesitation, placing her on his back. "Keep going." Devin hissed, picking up his stride with Hanna on his back.
I swallowed and nodded, dragging the twins after Devin who had the keys to the campervan.
"We need to go back." Amanda cried out, pulling June and as a result, pulling me and August. "Please. You guys, Jason is back there. We need to go back." She begged as tears slid down her face, mixing in with rain.
Max stomped over to us and pulled June away from Amanda, giving August a look to do the same to me. He glared hard at Amanda and started walking away, tugging June behind me.
"You can go back if you want to but we won't." He declared, starting to pick up his pace.
She glanced at me and August in desperation as Max and June disappeared behind the curtain of tall and dark trees. August glared at her mercilessly while I threw her a helpless look before running off after the two couples in front of us.
In my haste, to get away, I had accidentally dropped the compass. It shattered the moment it hit the forest floor. August bent down to pick it up before handing it to me. It was still working, I guess.
The woods began to widen and thin layers of fallen pine needles and leaves disguised the perilous and rocky terrain. We ran beside Max and June, Hanna and Devin, long gone along the twisted creek.
From behind us, I could faintly hear Amanda's breaths as she ran, trying to catch up with us. "Please..." She tried again.
"...I can hear you all." A deep and teasing voice echoed throughout the woods. We all paused and shared a look.
Amanda threw her hands over her mouth to silence herself. Oh my god. He was getting closer.
"Ready or not. Here I come."
I pulled my hood further along my face and pulled August to continue running while throwing a look at Max and June to do the same. Amanda didn't need a sign as she helplessly followed us.
"Come on, Ava. I just wanna talk..." The voice taunted me as August's grip on my hands tightened.
We reached the parking lot in no time, catching up to Devin and Hanna. Devin fumbled around with the keys for a bit as we held our breaths in fear of being caught. He quickly found the keys, unlocking the door and sliding into the driver's seat with Max in the passenger seat.
Hanna, June and I along with August quickly filed into the campervan, ready to close the door. But we hesitated as Amanda stood outside.
"Amanda. Get in, please." Hanna begged her with her hand outstretched to her.
"Jason's not coming back, Mandy. Come on." June added as she held my scarf to her bleeding neck.
Amanda snapped her head to glare at the red-head. "You don't know that!" She hissed as she rubbed her arms. Her skin glistened in the rain as she kept on sobbing. "None...of you know that. Please, let's go back for him. I'm begging you guys." She sobbed.
I breathed out tiredly, sharing a look with Max and Devin before I pulled Amanda into the van without warning.
"I'm so sorry but you saw those fishermen or...their bodies at least." I pulled the door closed as August signaled Devin to start the van. "He's gone. There's no way he would have survived. I'm so sorry." I stared at her with teary eyes while August rubbed my arms, trying to comfort me.
She choked as she let out another set of sobs. "No...no, no! This can't...be happening." She cried helplessly while Devin sped through the roads. Her eyes became unfocused and bleary.
I leaned into August's arms and buried my face into his body. All of a sudden, Amanda dragged me off of him and pushed me onto the floor of the van.
"This is your fault. None of this would be happening if you didn't date that low-life wannabe artist, Isaac." She screeched while Hanna helped me back into my seat as she and June along with August glared hatefully at Amanda. "And now...now he's gonna kill us all."
Then she did something, no one saw coming. Amanda turned her attention to Devin. She reached over and turned the steering wheel, fighting with the boys at the front for control of the van.
The van shook as it almost swerved off the road. August sprang into action and with his twin, pulling Amanda off the boys.
"You stupid bitch! What the hell were you thinking?!" June punched Amanda's arm as she shouted at her.
"Literally none of this would even be happening if Jason didn't invite Isaac and Brook." Max turned around and spat out. "Now Brook is lying dead with a broken neck somewhere in the woods along with those fishermen and Isaac's out for blood, all cause your 'boyfriend' couldn't take a fuckin' hint that no one wanted Isaac around." He continued on.
"He was trying to be nice for once. For Ava. For all of you." Amanda retorted without hesitation. "Come on Gus, Isaac's supposed to be your best friend."
"Best friend, my ass. He broke into June and Gus' house and tried to set fire to their dad's car—let's not forget how he cheated on Ava, not once but repeatedly and when she broke with him the first time, he stalked her and tried to break into her house and actually almost put her cousin Lauren in the hospital." Max added, glaring at Amanda.
I choked. "What? Lauren's accident..." I turned towards August and Max stared at them with wide eyes. "You all knew about this." I gasped out.
"And you." I glared at Amanda. "You were defending Isaac . Wha—" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
This wasn't my main concern. I knew he was a terrible person. My main problem was that Isaac was a vampire. How he died and why he was hunting us was a mystery to me. Like come on, he cheated on me with multiple girls, why was he fixated on me for crying out loud.
"Y'know what? Forget it. That's not my main concern. Let's focus on getting back home. Okay?"
A chorus of agreement rang through the van as everyone agreed with what I had said except Amanda who still looked helpless and betrayed. I took a seat next to August and June again, putting my head on June's shoulders and closed my eyes. I was so tired.
"Screw you all." She spat out. My eyes snapped open as I stared at Amanda. She took a seat beside the door. "I hope Isaac gets you all." She laughed with a crazed look in her eyes.
Thwack.
The loud sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed throughout the van. A hush fell throughout the van as Hanna pulled her hands back and rubbed it. She had slapped Amanda. The twins stared with their mouth and eyes widened in shock.
Hanna, who would never hurt a fly in her life, had just slapped Amanda. "Pull yourself together and look at yourself." Hanna began, her usual perkiness was gone, replaced by a helpless and tired tone. "Jason wasn't worth it. Never was. Never had been."
"Shut up." Amanda bit out. "What do you know?"
"He was sleeping with Brook." Devin suddenly spoke out, taking his eyes off the road for a second. "That's why he invited her two days ago."
"Wha—" Amanda breathed out. "That bastard." She pushed herself against the door of the van and started sobbing hard.
No one said anything for a while. Then Amanda stopped sobbing, turned around. It happened all too quick. She pulled the door open and slid out of the moving van, closing the door behind her.
"Amanda!" "Mandy!" We all yelled out in shock. Devin stopped the car as June parted the curtains at the back of the van.
From the back window we could see Amanda lying on her back as she painfully picked herself off the road. I could see from a distance, blood dripping down her head while cuts and bruises marred her chocolate skin. It looked painful.
Devin started reversing the car to get Amanda back when we all screamed out for him to stop. Isaac stood behind her with his mouth caked in blood, a crazed look in his eyes as he grinned from ear to ear like a psychotic serial killer.
We all screamed at Amanda to run but much to our dismay she only stared at us, dazed. Isaac threw us all one last crazed look before he dove straight into Amanda's neck while flashing to where she was.
Her screams echoed throughout the woods and the empty rain-soaked roads. Without even thinking Devin, restarted the car as he sped through the slippery road again.
"Oh my god! Amanda!" June sobbed as she leaned her head on her brother's shoulders. I was too shocked to do or say anything. "She...she's gone." She sobbed even harder.
"We need to get out of here—" But Max never finished those words.
"LOOK OUT!" I yelled out.
Isaac stood in the middle of the road. Before Devin could react, he drove straight through him. The van flipped and crashed before it landed.
Glass shattered as the van split into two. The last thing I remembered was Isaac standing over all of us before I faded out to nothing.
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Gasp.
"—little place—outside of Atlanta—don't wanna go back—now—problems—still —be—when you get home—Step away from your life for five minutes. Five minutes!"
Damon's loud voice pulled me away from the nightmares of my past as I groaned and moaned in pain. I awoke with a gasp, clutching my stomach.
"Oh look! 'Little Miss Sunshine' is awake." His head poked into the car as he smirked down at me. "Good morning, sunshine!"
I shrinked away from him as daylight hit my eyes. Using my hands to cover my eyes, I cowered and clenched my head in pain. There was an odd buzzing in my ear. Breathing in and out, I tried to calm myself.
"Oh my god! Ava, you woke up. I was so worried." Elena pushed Damon aside and engulfed me into a hug. I blinked hard, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"Wha—" I said only to stop myself, my throat felt dry and painful.
"Here." Damon disappeared for a second, only to return with a water bottle. "Drink this." He held out the water bottle in front of me as he leaned on the side of the open passenger door. Bending down and standing up straight, he looked me over.
"...Huh. Guess you didn't need my blood after all." He tilted his head to the side and glanced at Elena. "I gave some to Elena, here—but when it came to you, you started healing freakishly fast. Like you started glowing like a firefly and then you were fine."
His words rang through my head as I debated for a while whether or not I should accept the water bottle. After a while, the desperate side of me won as I carefully snatched the bottle away from him and took a sip. I had healed fast. That hadn't happened before.
Last time, I overused my powers, I needed vampire blood so what was so different this time.
Within seconds, half of it was empty. "...What are we doing in Atlanta?" I questioned out loud, handing him back the bottle and changing the subject before Elena could ask anything else.
"We—" He gestured to me and Elena as he leaned over me to put the bottle away. "—are going to meet an old friend of mine for something."
I sighed and threw my head back, rubbing my head in pain. This migraine was killing me, I turned to stare at Elena when my eyes had adjusted to the bright light. She was safe and mostly unharmed, there was a cut on her forehead, other than that, she was fine.
But her necklace was missing, the one with vervain.
Pushing myself off the leather seat of the car, I turned my body to face Elena and Damon. They were both bickering over something, I didn't care enough to listen to.
"Where's your necklace?" I asked, folding my arms.
Without a word, her hands moved to her neck. She breathed out loudly. "I...left it at Stefan's..." She trailed off as she realized what she had done.
In anger, she foolishly left the one thing that could protect her from vampires.
"You promise not to do that mind control thing with me?"
Damon glanced at me while I gave him a look of warning. He clenched his jaws and reluctantly nodded. "Yes." He got in the driver's seat, before opening the back door for Elena.
But Elena didn't get in. Instead she stood there with her arms folded. "Can we even trust you?" She interrogated him, glancing at me for support.
In response, I shrugged. "Probably not." I retorted, pulling the passenger door to close it. I gestured to her to get in. "...But I guess we might as well enjoy the ride, since we're gonna skip a whole day of school. Might as well make it worthwhile."
"You heard her. Get in the car. Come on." Damon added, starting the car again.
Elena glared at him before she mouthed something to me. Something I didn't catch as she stomped over and got in the car. I turned to glance at Damon who smirked before he sped down the sunny countryside road to his destination
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Damon pulled up in front of a bar which was almost in the middle of nowhere. He parked his car near the entrance of the bar. I poked my head out the window to stare at the sign.
'Bree's Bar'
I got out and stretched my legs, looking around the parking lot as I did so. There weren't many cars parked in front of the bar. It made sense. It was the middle of the day during office hours.
"You brought us to a...bar." Elena accused Damon as she got out of the car reluctantly, pulling me along with her. I rolled my eyes at Elena's dramatic antics and pulled away. "We're not old enough, they're not gonna let us in."
I gave Elena a deadpan look before turning around to go back to Damon's car to grab my cardigan. "Um, 'Lena. Have you seen who we're with?" I asked out aloud, slipping the dusty rose cardigan on.
"Exactly. Ava's got it." He smirked, turning away from us and leading us into the bar.
"Hey! I'm not defending Damon." She stopped at the threshold of the bar. Her head snapped to glare at me. I dropped my voice and grinned. "I'm just stating the obvious, here. He's a vampire. Now, come on." I grabbed her hands and gently tugged her inside.
Inside the bar, there were customers sparsely spread out while a beautiful woman tended the bar. She wiped the bar with a rag as music blared ambiently from the speakers hanging overhead.
Most of the bar patrons seemed half drunk already or too busy among themselves to notice us. I glanced around the bar to get a feel of it. It was definitely different from the Mystic Grill. This felt more rustic in a way, more warm.
I glanced back at the bar as Elena and I followed close behind Damon who rubbed his hands together in anticipation. The bartender put down her rag and turned her head to look at us.
"No." She walked over to the front of the bar to get a closer look at us. "No, it can't be."
Her large brunette curls spilled down her back as a flash of recognition went across her face. In an instant, her mood turned from apathetic to excited.
"Damon." She jumped over the bar, sliding across it and strutted over to Damon. "My honey pie." She called out sweetly.
Elena and I shared a look of confusion but before either of us could react. The mysterious tall, dark and beautiful woman kissed Damon. They started making out while Elena and I looked on in disgust. Great, now I wanted to throw up. I regretted not backing up Elena back in the car.
I should've gone home.
I watched with wide eyes of disgust, turning away to preserve whatever was left of my 'innocence'. Luckily, it was around this time, the woman let go of sucking Damon's face. Letting him go, she strode towards the bar and gestured to four empty seats in front of the bar.
Without a word, Elena and I took a seat beside each other. Damon decided to take a seat next to Elena as I decided to make the seat next to mine, a place to keep my cardigan.
The woman as Damon had introduced her as 'Bree' hopped over the bar again and picked up a bottle of tequila. Her hips swung side to side seductively as she brought it over.
"Listen up everybody!" She shouted, holding the bottle of tequila up and getting the whole bar's attention with her loud and confident tone. "Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness!" She opened the bottle up and poured shots for everyone, bringing four over.
"Drink up!" She and Damon shared a smirk before their downed their shot in one go.
Elena stared at hers in discomfort, seeing this Damon took hers without hesitation. After a moment of self-debating, I reached over to drink mine, only for Damon to drink mine as well. I glared at him as he simply shrugged with a mocking grin on his face. This was totally revenge for not letting him sit next to me.
Bree chuckled, leaning over me and Elena. "Ahh. Whoo!" She stared at Elena with some interest. "So, how'd he rope you in?" She poured Elena another shot.
Elena hesitated to answer, glancing at me awkwardly. I just shrugged, reaching over to down my shot this time. Only for Damon to take it out of my hands again. Come on. He's the one who told us to have fun.
"She's not roped in." I grumbled out as I glared at Damon.
I turned to give Elena a look. She stared at me with a gratified smile. "Yeah, I'm actually dating his brother." She added with an awkward smile. Elena really didn't want to be here.
"Congrats." Bree grinned and leaned towards me. "So you're the one who's roped in then." She questioned, her eyes glinting with a hint of mischief.
I choked on my spit and started coughing violently.
"God, no." I waved my hands in front of my face to emphasize my answer, accidentally touching Bree. She noticeably froze for a second before her eyes shifted back to its mischievous glint.
"I'd rather stick a hot poker in my eye and throw myself off a cliff with a snake attached to my neck than be roped in with 'that'..." I gestured to Damon.
She chuckled lightly in response. Her eyes still distracted as she stared off at a distance. "Honey, if you're not roped, you're whipped. Either way, just enjoy the ride." She poured more drinks.
Elena stared at me in concern before shifting her attention to Bree. "Okay. So how'd you guys meet?" She asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice.
"College." Bree replied with a little smirk.
Elena grinned and turned to Damon with wide eyes. "You went to college?" She asked with a slight hint of awe.
I snorted and threw my head back. "Probably to prey on some college girls." I mumbled out.
"You're half right." Bree lightly commented.
"I've been on a college campus, yes." Damon ignored us and smiled at Elena.
Bree smiled fondly before turning away from us, grabbing a rag and started wiping the bar again. "About twenty years ago, when I was a sweet, young freshman, I met this beautiful man—" She gestured at Damon as I pretended to throw up. "—and I fell in love."
She put down the rag in front of me and Elena, leaning towards us. "And then he told me about his little secret, made me love him more. Because, you see, I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody."
A secret.
I glanced at the ceiling, trying to guess what her secret could be. She was obviously not a vampire. Then that must mean. "You're a witch." "She's a witch." Damon and I said at the same time.
Damon leaned in to whisper to Elena while I muttered out loud, staring at Bree. At my guess, Damon and Bree turned to glance at me, somewhat impressed.
She grinned and picked up the rag again. "Changed my world, you know."
"I rocked your world." Damon corrected her, taking a swing of his drink.
"He is good in the sack, isn't he?" Bree asked no one in particular, not really wanting an answer but more like voicing her own opinions.
She sighed and turned away. The fondness in her eyes was gone, replaced by a cold hardness. "But mostly he's just a Walk-Away Joe." She looked far off into the distance with a fond smile but an empty gaze like she was remembering memories of a lifetime away.
Memories of a youth that would never come back. I guess that was the downside of loving a vampire. I accidentally made eye contact with Damon as I fidgeted in my seat. Would Elena face the same thing if she continued down this path with Stefan?
Bree put her rag away, putting her hands on her hips and leaned towards Damon with a hostile look.
"So, what is it that you want?"
For a moment Damon didn't say anything. He gestured with his eyes towards Elena and me. Bree taking the hint walked away, leaving the three of us alone. Damon followed after her without hesitation.
Seeing Damon gone and being free of him, Elena grabbed her phone from his jacket and told me she was going to call Jenna. I simply nodded and put my head down for a bit. There was still a slight buzz in my head. The pain had numbed a little but the buzzing was still there. It had faded a little but it was still there.
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I walked over to a quiet and desolate area behind the bar, making sure I was alone. I brought my hand together, trying to muster all my energy together and envision an orb of light. I tried hard, pushing myself as hard as I could. But there was nothing. I huffed loudly and tried again. Nothing.
A loud choking sound escaped me as I took a step back and leaned on the back of the bar. The wooden wall felt cold. It was a hot day but I felt so cold. It wasn't Damon or a vampire that made me feel this way but I just felt empty. I didn't know why.
Did I push myself too hard?
Was this my punishment for not listening to Miss Sheila?
I didn't know.
My mind was a mess.
The buzzing sound grew louder and louder, till it almost felt deafening.
"Huh." I swallowed heavily and took a step forward, shaking the buzzing sound off.
Taking a deep breath, I brought my hands forward and put them in front of my face, side by side. I focused hard, closing my eyes and trying to envision a ball of light. Nothing. I tried again, this time with my eyes open.
"Come on." I muttered, staring hard at the thin air between my hands.
For a moment, there was nothing. Just when I was about to give up, the buzzing grew louder. Even louder than it was before. I felt like I would drown and lose myself in that noise.
Breathing hard, I tried hard to ignore it. I pressed on and kept my focus. Just when I was about to give up and go back, a little spark appeared in between my hands. I let out a tired laugh out in relief.
As quickly as the spark had appeared, it disappeared fast. I bit my lip and kicked the ground in front of me in frustration. Shaking my head, I brought my hands together again, leaving a space between them, ready to try again.
"...You're gonna burn yourself out at this rate." Bree's bored voice broke through my focus, almost making me jump. I turned around with widened eyes to stare at her. "May I?" She asked.
I didn't say anything. I was too shocked to react. Damn it. I was spotted. I was so sure, no one was gonna be here. Elena and Damon were busy, I thought Bree was as well.
"No." I replied, rejecting her help. "In fact, you saw nothing." I focused hard on her. "And you're going to leave me alone."
Bree's brown eyes flickered to amber for a second. I sighed in relief. That still worked. She dumbly nodded and started backing off. Turning around, she took a few steps away from where I stood before she stopped and swayed on her feet, before quickly catching herself from falling by grabbing onto a wooden column.
All of a sudden, she started laughing. "Took me by surprise, you did." She slowly turned around, regaining her bearings and striding towards me. "Now. Where was I?"
She stared at me with a grin before blinking. "I asked if you wanted my help?" She repeated. I stared at her before slowly backing away and trying to act like I hadn't heard her. "...I can help you find what you are."
I paused and turned around to glare at her. "How do you know I don't know what I am?" I retorted.
"Well if you did, you wouldn't be out here struggling. Now, would you?" She bit back.
"You're Damon's ex." I remarked. "Forgive me for not trusting anyone related to him."
I rolled my eyes and tried leaving again. Walking past her, she grabbed my arms. "You trust his brother, though, but you won't trust me."
Pulling back my arm from her, I folded my arms. "Stefan never welcomed Damon with open arms."
"You have a point." I threw her a mocking smile, knowing I was right and tried walking away. "But I despise him. He's a scum who took advantage of me when I was young." She grabbed my arms again. "I'm just trying to prevent you from making the same mistakes as I did. Don't trust Damon."
I snorted. "Yeah. Tell me something I don't know."
"Fine. I'll tell you something you don't know...for a price." She smiled sinisterly.
Standing up straighter, I stared at her with pursed lips. "What's the price?"
Her smile deepened. Warning sirens blared in my head. I really shouldn't be trusting her. "...A little bit of your blood." She tilted her head and slowly traced the lines in my hand, stopping to scratch the back of my hand, almost drawing blood.
I drew my hand back from her. "I'll think about it." I replied quietly. I glanced at my feet and scrunched up my face in concentration. "...What does Damon want with you? I'm sure this is not just a 'friendly' visit."
"Observant, aren't you?"
I shrugged and glanced at her. "I try."
Bree didn't say anything for a while. She turned away from me and mumbled something before turning back. "I can trust you?" She asked, her cold eyes piercing through me. "To stop him—if things go south." She added as an afterthought.
"You don't have to ask." I replied without thinking.
"Good." She took a step forward. "There's tomb in Mystic Falls, full of vampires—"
"—Damon's asking about this because?"
She glared at me for cutting her off. "Because of Katherine." Turning away from me, she leaned against the back of her bar and stared off into the distance. "Over a hundred years and it's still that bitch."
"If it makes you feel any better, she's not that great of a person. She is, as you said, a 'bitch'." I tried to cheer Bree up. I don't know why I bothered but I guess it was the part of me that sympathized with her.
She didn't say anything, letting my words mull in her head. "How do you know what Katherine's like?"
My eyes widened for a second before I composed myself and tried to think of a decent lie. "I've...heard things...about her."
"From the Salvatore brothers?"
"And family journals." I added, trying to make my lie more believable.
It wasn't technically a lie but it wasn't the truth. There was a possibility that Bree knew what I was. If she really did know what I was, she'd probably know my weaknesses. I still wasn't sure if she was a friend or a threat.
Bree nodded, understandingly. "Damon wants to get Katherine out of the tomb."
"If he gets Katherine then what about the others, won't they—"
"—also get out. Yes." She turned to stare at me before she grabbed my hands. "Twenty seven vampires will be let loose onto your little town if Damon gets his way."
"Twenty seven. Oh—" I stumbled back. "They're supposed to be dead—burned to death." I played along, acting like I knew nothing at all.
"You're aware of Emily Bennett, I assume." I nodded, wordlessly. "She spelled the tomb to protect them. To save Katherine, she needed to—"
"—save them all. I know." I breathed out. "But doesn't he need a crystal and the crystal is gone."
Bree raised her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes. "...There's another way...but I haven't told him that yet." I opened my mouth to ask her for more. "A Bennett witch. The spell was casted by one and it can be removed by one."
"Thank you." I stood back, my mouth dry and hands sweaty.
Twenty seven vampires.
"I have to go. Excuse me." I pushed past Bree and went further, somewhere else. Walking away, I tossed my phone in my hands contemplating my next move.
Ring. Ring.
I rolled my eyes ready to take out my batteries and put my phone away when I stopped. It was uncle Nate. Damn it. Pursing my lips and clearing my throat. I answered the phone.
"Why the hell are you in Atlanta and not in school?"
"I can ex—wait. How did you—oh my god! You guys didn't!"
"We did it for your own good." He tried to justify himself.
"You all bugged my phone!"
"It's a tracking device not a bug. We can't hear your calls or read your texts but we just know your location."
I huffed loudly and gasped in betrayal. "Un-freaking-believable. Wait. Does mom and dad know where I am?"
"Just me...and Dan. He's covering for you."
"Whatever. Do me a favor and keep an eye on the Bennetts." I checked my nails, bored.
There were sounds of keys being pressed on the other side, loud typing and paper rustling. "Uh-huh. Why?" He replied, distracted.
I bit my cheek in frustration. "Damon's trying to open the tomb."
Something dropped on the other side and then silence followed. "...What!"
I covered my ears in pain to block out uncle Nate's complaints. "Yeahh, yeah. I know."
I looked around and realized I had been gone for too long. Damon would get suspicious and Elena would be worried if I was gone too long.
"I have to go back."
"Okay. I'll give Sheila a heads up. See you at home. Want me to cover for Elena as well? Put in a good word to Jenna etc."
"Sure. If she believes you." I replied with a grin, hanging up and heading back inside.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
I twirled my straw around the milkshake while I listened to Elena try and make sense of her history.
Honestly, my mind was already too full to even think about Elena and her birth secrets. I was too worried about the tomb opening and Katherine. I also had my abilities failing on me to worry about.
I loved Elena, don't get me wrong. She was one of my best friends but this was clearly something bigger than her past. But then again, everyone has different concerns.
"—say that I'm descended from Katherine...does that make me part vampire?" Elena asked both me and Damon.
"No." "Vampires can't procreate." Damon and I replied at the same time.
My answer was short, snappy and straight to the point. I sounded so bored. I mean no one can blame me. It was so obvious, you had to die to become a vampire. Vampires are just living dead.
It was obvious.
Elena glanced at me to elaborate, not really trusting Damon to answer honestly. Sighing, I stuffed a fry inside my mouth.
"Vampires can't have kids." Elena stared at me in confusion. I looked around me discreetly before leaning towards Elena. "They're dead, 'Lena." I added, dropping my voice to a whisper.
"But we love to try." Damon added with a smirk.
I narrowed my eyes and gave him a look to be more serious. He straightened up, dropping the smirk and dusting his hands off.
"No, if you were related, it would mean Katherine had a child before she was turned."
Katherine had a child before she was turned. That made sense. I took a glance at Elena and thought back to Lydia's memories. They were definitely related.
"Did Stefan think that he could use me to replace her?" Elena asked, her voice faltered as she did so. She gnawed the bottom of her lips and looked to Damon for confirmation.
"I don't think he wanted to but your face might be his type or something." I tried to reassure her.
Damon on the other hand decided to add fuel to the fire. "Kinda creepy if you ask me." He remarked with a grin.
I scoffed and let go of a fry to lean over to him. "Well...no one asked you." I bit back with a fierce glare.
"She was literally staring at me when she was talking." He retorted.
"And she probably didn't want you to actually say anything." I replied with a mocking grin of my own. Elena looked between us both and shook her head before diving into her own food.
She removed her pickles and slid them to my plate. I smiled a little unconsciously when I saw it. She always hated pickles. When we were kids she used to give me her pickles.
"Come on, what? You don't like pickles? What's wrong with you?" Damon complained, stealing the pickles off my plate.
"Hey, that was on my plate." I pouted while Damon smirked in annoyance.
Elena rolled her eyes and passed me some of her fries before glancing at Damon. She watched wordlessly as he scarfed down the pickles that he stole in curiosity. "How can you even eat? If technically you're supposed to be..."
"Dead?" Damon laughed. "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."
"This nice act. Is any of it real?"
Damon opened his mouth to reply, only to be cut off by Bree. "Here you go." She slid a bottle of beer to Damon.
She gave me a knowing look but her eyes were still cold. I don't know why but I had a very hard time trusting her. There was something off about her.
"I'll have one too." Elena spoke out.
I turned to stare at her with wide eyes. "Are you sure?" I asked, a little surprised.
"Time out, remember? For five minutes? Yeah, well that five minutes is going to need a beer."
With an amused smile, Bree turned away, only to return with another bottle of beer. She handed Elena the bottle and without even waiting, Elena took a swing.
I pursed my lips and leaned forward. "Can I have something stronger?" I asked instead of a plain beer like Elena and Damon. I just wanted to forget whatever was going on.
Bree gave me a cryptic smile before she gave me a bottle of soda. "I'd rather you don't have alcohol in your system." She slid it to me. "If you know what I mean..." She added walking away.
Damon glanced at me and grabbed the soda, checking it. "What did she mean?" He offered to give me back the bottle of soda.
I swallowed heavily and avoided looking into his eyes. "I don't know." Shrugging, I took back the bottle, got up and walked off to look for Bree.
Finding her behind the bar was kind of hard. I had to dodge some drunk guys to get to the back of the bar. She was busy working behind the back like I knew she would. But I could tell she felt me creep behind her. I leaned against the side of a table and stared at her hard.
"Is my blood that important?" I asked quietly, only for her and me to hear.
Turning around, she smirked. "Well, hun. Blood is the only way, I can truly be sure of what you really are." She replied in the same quiet but mysterious tone. "...But I guess I can make an exception for tonight." She handed me a shot of tequila. "Drink up."
"That's it?" I questioned out-loud, reluctantly taking the glass from her. "You made such a big show back there where you wouldn't take my...blood if there was alcohol in my system but now...you're giving me...tequila?" I tilted my head in confusion and stared at the shot glass in my hand.
"I changed my mind." She simply replied, taking out a rag and walking over to the front of the bar. "I hope you make yours up. Especially if you really wanna know what you are."
I stood there for a while before starting to head back.
The bar was still kind of empty in the day but daylight was fading fast. I stopped and jumped back a little in surprise as Damon stood in front of me. He gave me a curious look while he twirled a bottle of beer in his hands.
I attempted to walk past him. Only for him to grab my arm, stopping me from taking another step. "Why does Bree want your blood?" He questioned in a low voice, making sure no one but me would hear him.
I sucked in a breath and avoided his gaze. "I don't know." I lied again.
Damon chuckled quietly as he pulled me closer. "Come on, firefly. I know you can come up with something more...believable." He took a swig of the beer and gave me an unimpressed look. "So what's the truth?"
"I'll tell you the truth if you tell me what we're really here for."
He huffed and held out the bottle, a little far from my reach. "Okay." He nodded. "I want to find a way to get Katherine back. Bree's gonna help me. Now—" He gestured to me with his free hand. "Your turn."
Rolling my eyes, I glared at him. I bit back my pride and freed myself from his grips. "For your information—" I leaned towards him with a smirk, distracting him long enough to grab the bottle from his hands. "—Bree offered to help me find out what I am."
"What did you say?"
"For now, nothing." I emptied out Damon's beer and handed him back the empty glass bottle before walking off to find Elena.
Shot glasses lined up in front of the bar counter as a big crowd gathered around. "Ready..." Bree leaned in as everyone, including me, grabbed a shot glass. We waited in anticipation for Bree's next words. "Go!"
The minute she said 'go' we all shot down the glasses but Elena was the fastest. "That's three!" She grinned and twirled around, shaking her head in joy. "Aw, do you need a bib?" She mocked Damon.
"Sorry I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol." Damon retorted.
"Whatever. Alright. Who's next? Another round, Bree." Bree poured her another drink and poured me one as well.
I shot mine down and stole Elena's as well. "I'm cutting you off before you do something stupid."
"Okay mom. Are you even drinking or are you just taking shots of water?" Weirdly enough I felt nothing. It was strange. I used to be a lightweight but now it was different. "How are you not drunk?"
"I don't know. But you're drunk." I replied.
I shivered slightly when a familiar chill passed through me. There was another vampire here. I got up and looked around for anything suspicious. A woman remarked something that I didn't care enough to listen to.
Elena grabbed me by my arm and spun me around. "I am not even drunk. My tolerance is, like, way up here."
"Whatever you say." I glanced around. "Look I'm gonna get some air." I walked off before Elena or Damon could say anything else.
Opening the back door, I smoothly crept outside into the night. The cool night air gently blew past me, messing up my hair. I was gone out, far enough for no one to find me but not too far where I'd get lost.
I wish I was like Elena who could easily forget everything. Then again she was drunk and for whatever reason, I was not.
My gaze dropped down to my hands again. I know I was supposed to not worry but I couldn't help it. Not when my powers were going haywire and Damon was scheming.
I sighed and brought my hands together in front of me again, concentrating hard. Nothing. Unlike last time, I didn't bother to try again. I took out my phone and quickly searched for a number.
"Ava?" Stefan greeted me from the other side. "Is everything okay? Did Damon do something to you and Elena? Where are you both?"
I rolled my eyes and clenched my jaws. "First of all, we're fine. Second of all, we're in Georgia, Atlanta—" I looked around to check I was alone. "—in a bar. It's called Bree's bar. Can't miss it, has a huge sign outside."
"I'm on my way. Don't go any—"
"Actually. I rather you don't show up." I cut him off, running my fingers through my dark hair.
"Look, Elena found out about Katherine. And before you try to justify yourself. It was a shit move not to tell 'Lena about her and the fact she looked like your and Damon's psychotic ex. So back off and give her a day to clear her mind. When she's back, you tell her everything and I mean everything."
Stefan sighed loudly. "You're right." I closed my eyes in relief. Thank god, Stefan was so understanding and chill. "So what's on your mind?"
"Right. You know the tomb and what's underneath it?" I went straight to the point without hesitating.
"I do."
"Good. Damon's trying to open it to get Katherine out."
"He stopped trying after Emily destroyed the crystal."
"Except there's another way." I opened my eyes and pursed my lips. "I can't tell you much. I'm sorry but protect Bonnie and her grandma."
I hung up and threw my head back. I stared up at the sky, it was a starless night just like that night. The memories from the crash flashed into my head, almost causing me to grip my head in pain. Blinking twice, I pushed them out of my mind.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
When I got back, the bar was almost empty. I knew it was late but weren't bars supposed to be busy during this time?
Carefully, I walked inside just as the last person walked out. Bree was still tending to the bar. She was picking up empty bottles and used glasses. With some hesitation, I went deeper into the bar.
There was really no one.
Elena was gone. Damon had also disappeared.
My eyes scanned the bar in confusion. There really was no one here. This was weird. Taking my eyes off Bree, I tried to call Elena to check up on her. Her phone went straight to voicemail. Strange.
"Looking for your friend and Damon." Bree stood in front of me, the moment I turned around, making me jump. "Sorry, you seemed lost in your thoughts."
I nodded wordlessly. "Have you seen them?" I asked, putting some distance between me and Bree.
"No. I haven't." She replied, turning away from me. "...Have you decided on whether you want to..."
"No, I haven't decided. Maybe if you tell me where Elena or Damon is, I'd change my mind."
Bree breathed out and stared at me with an amused grin. She leaned against the counter of the bar and stared at me, assessing me, checking if I was a threat or not. "Elena will be back soon."
"—What about Damon?" I questioned, noticing she had not mentioned him. I didn't really care for Damon but he did save my life. I owed him and I hated owing people. "It's funny how you just didn't mention him."
"Thought you didn't care 'bout him." She remarked, her hands on her hips. "He's probably ran off with your friend or something."
"or Dead."
I stood up straight when I heard the last few words from Bree. Her mouth didn't utter them but I knew she was thinking it. Taking a deep breath, I decided to play along.
"Elena doesn't like Damon, she wouldn't go anywhere with—" I paused when my phone started ringing. "—I'm sorry—" I cut the phone off, only for it to ring again.
Huffing, I turned away from Bree and dropped my voice to a whisper before picking up the phone. "Hey, Jenna. Look, now is really not a good time."
"...Look Ava, I trust you. Probably more than I trust Elena. You're a smart and responsible kid but this is taking it too far. Where are you two?" Jenna almost shouted, her voice distraught.
Clenching my jaws, I rubbed my forehead to ease the oncoming headache. "We're just spending some girl time at my house. Don't worry about it."
"Funny how Nate said the same thing but when I called Elena, it sounded like you guys were at a bar or a party. And when I asked her about where she was. She was drunk and just cut me off without even hanging up."
"What did you just say?"
"She cut me off without hanging up."
My eyes widened when I realized something happened to her. "Is everything okay?" Bree asked with clear concern dripping off her voice. It was fake. I knew it was.
"Lee needs to hurry up and finish Damon off."
"She's getting too suspicious. Why'd she have to come back now? Could've got her blood and got rid of Damon."
"Is there something wrong? She's just staring at me. Did she find out?"
I blinked, trying to clear my head of Bree's thoughts before turning my attention back to Jenna. "I'll chase her up and let you know what's going on—" Jenna tried to protest. "—I really have to go."
Without another word, I hung up and stared at Bree. "Where are they? And don't play dumb."
Bree didn't reply.
"Stupid girl. She really thinks I'm gonna tell her where Damon is after what he did to Lexi. Huh, what a dumb b—"
She just shrugged wordlessy. "I'm not stupid." I remarked, overwhelmed by Bree's thoughts. "Okay then, let me try again—" I stared at her hard. My gaze burned through her head. "Where are they?"
For a moment nothing happened. Then Bree's dark orbs shined a bright amber that almost blinded me for a second before it went back to her usual brown. "They are at the nearby brewery." She replied in a daze, unaware of anything.
I nodded and pulled my cardigan around me tighter. I walked away from her, only to stop at the door. "Oh, I'm not gonna give you my blood. Not now or ever." I stated before pushing the door and running towards where Elena and Damon were.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
I pushed my legs and tried to run as fast as I could. I panted and gasped as I did so. Sometimes, I wish I had the stamina of a vampire. I stopped when I got to a metal fence gate.
Getting down on my feet, I examined the lock on the fence. Carefully, I took the lock into my hand when it fell apart in my hands. It was already unlocked. I removed the lock and stepped inside the place.
Slowly, I crept inside, making sure to be quiet. I didn't know what I was walking into. I nearly tripped several times, on my way to Damon and Elena. Taking a deep breath, I brought my hands together and held in place.
Come on, I begged myself to focus.
Slowly, a small orb of light started to form. It fizzed, fading in and out of my view. But to my relief, it didn't disappear. It was static but it was something.
With something to protect me, I carefully crept behind a wall and watched from a distance as Damon was kicked and shoved to the ground. He groaned weakly in pain, clearly being taken off guard by this new vampire.
Elena begged the other vampire to stop and spare Damon while the other vampire ignored her pleas. I clenched my jaws and started to contemplate whether or not I should just walk in, take Elena and get out. It wasn't a hard choice. Damon had already killed so many.
But he saved your life.
A voice in my head whispered.
God, I hated how logical I sometimes had to be. Stefan would also be very sad. Screw it. I'm probably either gonna regret this.
"—He tried to kill my girlfriend. What did she do to you, huh? What did she do to you?!" The other vampire howled in pain as he kicked Damon. I almost didn't want to stop him now.
"Nothing." Damon grunted in pain.
Elena ran down from where she was to stand a little closer to where the confrontation was going on. "I don't understand." She said, still trying to placate the situation.
"My girlfriend went to visit Stefan, and Damon tried to kill her. Got it?"
So this was Lee, Lexi's boyfriend. As soon as he said this, he disappeared. Reappearing with a bat, he bashed Damon's head with it. Damon screamed out in pain as the bat went down.
"Lexi? Lexi was your girlfriend? She told me about you. She said that you were human."
Swallowing my fear, I took a step out of the shadows. Still being careful not to let go in case the light would disappear.
"She turned you." I spoke out.
The moment I stepped out, the lights started flickering but the orb grew brighter. Sparks flew near an electric fence, making it useless. Elena's head snapped to stare at me along with Lee and Damon.
"If you want to be with someone forever, you have to live forever." He gave a sad smile and stared at the sky as some tears rolled down his face. "And I almost lost her forever because of him." Lee picked up the bat and started to hit Damon one more time.
Elena leaned closer and tried to stop him. "She loved...loves you. She said, 'When it's real, you can't walk away'." I knew this was not going to work.
He was clearly newly turned and from what I remembered of newborn vampires, they were highly emotional.
"Well, that's a choice you're not going to have to make."
And just like I knew it wouldn't work. It didn't. Lee turned away from us and disappeared again. Only to come back with some matches.
"Don't. Don't, please, don't hurt him..."
Lee lit the match and stared at us. His gaze pierced mine. It was almost like he knew I understood him.
"I'm doing you a favor."
"No. you're not." I called out. "You're doing yourself a favor." The ball of light grew as I stepped closer to both of the vampires. "I know Lexi. I saved her life. And if you know Lexi. Y'know she wouldn't like this."
"You're Ava." Lee flashed in front of me to get a better look of me. "You risked your life to save Lexi. I'm grateful for what you did. Thank you."
He turned away and flashed back to Damon. "But he needs to pay. Don't you want him to pay? I'm sure he's done things to make you suffer."
"He has. But this is about Lexi. She lived." I retorted, glaring at him.
More dark veins started appearing under his eyes, making me almost shrink back into the shadows. But I held my ground and stayed rooted where I was.
"She almost died." He screamed out, kicking Damon.
"But she didn't." I strut towards Lee, standing in between him and Damon. "Look, do you see this?" I gestured with my head to the flickering and fizzing ball of light between my hands.
"It can turn a vampire into a pile of dust within seconds." I didn't actually know if it could. I just knew it could burn them. "The last thing I wanna do right now is hurt someone Lexi loves. So back off or else."
Elena decided to speak out again. "Please Lexi loves you. Don't do this." She added.
I gave a side-eye to Elena and sighed. It was almost like she sometimes forgot she was human with zero self defense skills. I was glad, I wasn't that selfless.
For a moment Lee said nothing. He breathed in and out, trying to calm himself down. Stopping he turned to stare at both Elena and me. Gone were the dark veins under his eyes, replaced with a more human look. His eyes, still red with rage, he picked up Damon like a rag doll and threw him against a building, before stepping away.
"Thank you." Elena breathed out in relief as she thanked him.
I collapsed the orb, slowly intertwining my hands as I did so. I stumbled back a little when it was gone, the toll of using too much of my energy finally getting to me. I turned back to look at Elena and Lee still talking to each other, more like Lee glaring at Elena.
Lee scoffed and glared at Elena. "It wasn't for you." He bit out.
Picking up the metal baseball bat off the ground, he started to make his leave, only to stop when he got to me.
"Be careful." He glanced behind him to stare at Damon on the ground. "You know what he's like."
I gave Lee a tired smile and nodded weakly. "I know. For someone like him, dying is easy."
Lee smiled and placed a hand on my shoulders. "Thank you for saving her. She means a lot to me."
The minute he disappeared, Elena rushed to Damon's side as I hobbled over weakly, still beat over using too much of my energy.
Damon groaned in pain as Elena and I helped him to his feet. He complained about being taken by surprise and started making plans for revenge.
Now and then Elena would try to shut him up while I simply rolled my eyes. I let go when I started feeling a little dizzy. Elena had to almost drag me to Damon's car.
"You okay?" Elena asked, leaning down on me with a water bottle held up.
I nodded, stretching a little. "Just went a little overboard there." I replied with a small reassuring smile.
"A little? I almost thought you were going to blow him up." She opened the back door of the car and got in. "I was worried..."
"I'm fine." I cut her off before she could go on and on. I loved her but she had a tendency to coddle someone to death. "A little confession. I've never actually killed a vampire in my life so I probably wouldn't have gone through it."
Elena laughed a little in surprise, pushing herself forward to give me a look of disbelief. "No way. Here I was thinking I was best friends with Buffy the vampire slayer."
"Ugh. Let's not..." I laughed along before starting to cough. She sprang into action, trying to find the first aid fit from my bag. "I'm good. I'm good, just tired."
I stopped her and opened the passenger door. "I'm gonna go check on Damon and what's taking him so long. I wanna go back already." I got out and leaned to stare at Elena. "Call me if anything happens."
Really, I didn't need much. I just needed some fresh air. I already started feeling much better, the moment I was outside under a starless sky.
Cold night breeze blew past me, making me shiver. It was nice to be alone with my thoughts sometimes. I paused at the steps of the empty bar when a bad feeling took over me.
Carefully, I pushed the door to the bar open. I froze in my spot the moment the door opened.
On the other side, Damon stood in front of Bree.
With a cold look, he reached into her chest and pulled out her heart. It beated for a few seconds before Damon threw it down and stepped on it. Bree collapsed onto the floor, unmoving and dead.
I made a choking sound as the bar no longer appeared before me.
Instead I was on a road near a forest, lying in the wreckage of a crash.
Isaac stared down at me with his cruel forest green eyes as his fangs flashed down.
Before he could do anything, his heart was ripped out and crushed as he crumbled down to the wreckage, dead.
I blinked and I was back at the bar, staring at Damon with wide eyes and a tear stained face. He made a move towards me as I swayed.
In shock, I tried to hold on to the door but slipped and fell onto the floor. My eyes never left Bree's corpse. It would phase in and out with Isaac's corpse as I blinked furiously.
"You weren't meant to see that. Y—" Damon crouched down and blocked the view with his body.
Without a word, I got up. I pushed his hands off me and walked back to his car. I needed a break.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
"Why are you so obsessed with Katherine?" I questioned out-loud.
It was only me and Damon now. Elena was left at the boarding house. I thought I'd take this time to maybe get to know what I was dealing with.
"I'd understand if she was a great person but she wasn't." I added.
"And she speaks."
I glared at him and he shut up. Damon didn't say anything else for a while. I watched with anticipation as he turned off the radio and clenched his jaws.
"Your family journals are very much biased."
"—Not really but whatever."
"How about this...I'll tell you my tragic backstory and you..." He gestured with his head. "...tell me yours. Deal?"
I scoffed. "I don't have a tragic backstory. I'm not Elena or Caroline. I had a pretty normal..." I stopped when I remembered that I came from a family of vampire hunters. "—well somewhat normal life till now."
"Says the girl who had nightmares while being knocked out." He bit back with a smirk.
My eyes narrowed and I glared at him.
"Don't look at me like that. You know I'm right. You're hiding something. Elena told me you had a mini-panic attack when you crashed into that vampire. And there was also your mini-breakdown at the bar back there." He paused for dramatic effect. "Now why would someone with a 'somewhat normal life', react like that to a vampire in the middle of a road. Unless..."
"Fine!" I screamed out, wanting him to shut up already. "But the deal still stands. I tell you mine and you tell me yours."
"I'm a man of my word."
"We shall see Mr Salvatore." I replied, not caring if Lydia's habits seeped into me at that moment.
Taking a deep breath, I recounted everything I remembered from that week, leading up to that night.
Damon didn't say anything, letting me carry on. No snarky comments, no side eyes. Nothing. He was surprisingly respectful. But his reactions to certain events was what caught my attention.
Now and then, he would try to correct me. It was strange. How would he know those details, unless he was there. He couldn't be there. If Damon was there then that night would have no survivors.
When I finished, I looked away and stared out the window at the sleepy streetlights, some flickering. "That was...something." Damon commented. "Do you remember anything from that night?"
"Not much. There was the crash." I shook a little when I remembered that night. "When I woke up in the hospital. No one else remembered much either so there's that."
He stole a glance at me as his grip on the steering wheel tightened. "So you don't remember what happened to the vampire?" He asked.
I shook my head. I really didn't.
"Having a psychotic vampire ex must have been hard. I'm surprised you had one. Since you're pretty anti-vampire to me."
"You and me, both." I replied, my gaze still on the road. "He wasn't a vampire when we were dating."
"He must have died somewhere between the time you last saw him. It sucks."
"Yeah...guess we both have a psychotic vampire ex."
I breathed out before turning to stare at him.
"Your turn. So why Katherine?"
He grinned before closing his eyes, opening them to glance at me.
"Katherine was special. She was smart, beautiful, charming and wicked. She had everyone wrapped around her fingers. She was unattainable."
I snorted. "Doesn't explain your infatuation with her." I remarked with an amused grin.
"Getting there." He paused.
His grin now gone, replaced with a sad smile.
"Katherine was the first person to see me for what I was. She was the first person to make me feel loved. As cheesy and tragic as it sounds. I didn't have a rosy upbringing. My father was a dick who only cared for his reputation and occasionally Stefan. Mother died early. So there's that." He stopped. "You probably find it pathetic."
"I do." I replied without a care.
I still didn't care for Katherine. Maybe I sympathized with him a little but Katherine was still a bitch and I would only change my judgment after I met her.
"But you should really move on. If she really loved you, she wouldn't have played both you and Stefan but that's just my opinion."
Damon stared at the road wistfully, letting my words mull over in his head. "Lydia, your ancestor said that to me once." He remarked. "You probably don't know or maybe you do but—"
"—she was engaged to you. I know. The breakdown of it caused a rift between the Salvatores and Fitzroys and for some reason the Lockwoods which still exists to this day." I cut him off, reciting a part of my family history with ease.
He breathed out tiredly. "Right."
I turned to glance at him. "Drop me off here." I gestured to the road.
It was a few blocks away from the Fitzroy manor but I would be damned before anyone in my household saw Damon Salvatore, a vampire and a Salvatore drop me off. It was insulting not to mention, I would get grounded for life.
"We're not even close to the manor." He bit back, a little annoyed.
"It's fine. I wanna walk. I need to clear my head. "Also we're even. You saved my life and I saved yours. We don't owe each other." I added in without any hint of emotion.
I started opening the door when Damon stopped the car, abruptly. I got out and started walking away when he lowered the windows. He poked his head out and called out to me, saying something but I didn't hear anything. My mind was too much of a mess to pay attention to anything.
─────⋇⋆✦⋆⋇─────
Absentmindedly, I brushed my hair as I stared at my reflection. Damon's words echoed inside my head. Memories of that night still haunted me.
Though I admit I had gaps in my memories, it didn't mean I was completely clueless about what really happened. I didn't lie when I told Damon I don't remember most of that week but I didn't exactly tell him the truth. I barely knew him, I shouldn't have to trust him at all.
A few images of the aftermath flashed across my mind as I stood up, numbly putting down my hairbrush. Carefully, I turned around and I lifted my shirt. I stared down at my smooth shoulders.
The wounds from that night were all but gone. I dropped my shirt and walked to my bed but not before turning off the lights. With a deep sigh, I laid down and stared at the ceiling. Before I knew it, my eyelids started to feel heavy and droop. The night of that crash, still fresh in my mind.
Slipping in and out of my consciousness, I briefly caught a glimpse of the aftermath of the crash. The van was split into two.
Max and Devin were unconscious on one side.
One of Max's arms was twisted to a side in a painful angle while Devin looked mostly unharmed except for a shard of glass sticking out of his shoulder.
I painfully turned from my position. Someone had shielded me from the damage of the crash. With widened eyes, I sobered up as I realized August's body draped over mine and his sister.
"August!" I hoarsely whispered while gently pushing him off of me as tears slid down my face. He stirred awake, moaning and groaning in pain as he did so. I sighed in relief as I realized he was alive.
June was soon up and helped me carefully put August down on a glass free floor of the van. Her face was touched but when she turned her head, I could see dried blood gathered at the back. Her hands and arms had small scratches from glass shattering.
"Gus, come on please be okay?" She begged her brother in a tiny voice. "First aid?" She asked, staring at me with her wide gray eyes piercing through mine.
I hobbled over to my backpack which had fallen not far from the van, taking out the first aid kit. I handed it to her.
In no time, she got to work on her brother's wounds. When that was done, she and I helped to dress Max's wounds while August helped Devin.
Both of the boys had now awoken. I paused when a horrible realization hit me.
Hanna.
I looked around each half of the van for any sign of her. But she was gone.
"Whe... where's Hanna?" I questioned out loud, my voice hoarse and dry, my eyes wide in horror.
A crazed laughter echoed throughout the roads as we all stopped our search.
"This...this was too easy."
Snap. Snap.
Sounds of camera shatters sent shivers down my spine.
"Poor Hanna."
I had almost forgotten about Isaac.
From the other side of the road, Isaac stood with his stupid camera as he snapped pictures of our helplessness.
August pushed himself off the ground and stood in front of us.
Clutching my bleeding head, I begged and pleaded for Isaac to leave us alone but he didn't go away, instead he stood there laughing maniacally.
One step at a time, he approached us slowly. But before he could attack us, another vampire flashed in front of him and ripped his heart out.
That was the last thing, I remembered when I faded out from blood loss and the adrenaline wearing off.
No one really remembered what had happened that night.
All we remembered was the car crash, Max losing his arm and Hanna's disappearance. I was the only one who vaguely remembered Isaac's death.