I'm back guys! Sorry for the absence, but as I'm sure you all understand, life happens. It sucks sometimes, but we get through it and I did and I'm back, so let's get back to this!
If you stuck around this long, thank you! I'm sorry and I'm thankful for you loyal fans!
<3 Kathy
~~~~~~~~~~
The low humming and light vibration of a car was the sound and feeling I woke up to. I groaned lightly, my eyes being slightly burned at the light seeping in to my eyes as my eyes fluttered open slowly.
The unfamiliar countryside surroundings woke me right up and I straightened up in the seat I was in.
"What the-" I began, confused.
"Morning sunshine."
I knew that chipper voice. I looked to my left and sure enough, there was Damon looking back at me with a smirk. He looked back to the road while I looked around.
"Where are we?" I asked. "Oh my- where's Elena?! Is she okay? What happened?"
"One question at a time, cute stuff," he said nonchalantly.
My cheeks warmed when he called me cute, but the thought of Elizabeth and Katherine did well to get rid of that blush. Wait...Elizabeth and...Katherine.
"To answer your first question, we're in Georgia," Damon said.
"Georgia?" I repeated in shock. "Damon, seriously. Where are we?"
"Seriously. We're- we're in Georgia."
I stared at his face, hoping to see a crack of a smile or some other sign to tell me he was joking.
"Why are we in Georgia?" I asked after getting no sign of kidding around.
"Thought it'd be fun," he said simply with a shrug. "Road trip and all. How are you feeling by the way?"
I could tell by his tone that he was trying not to seem too concerned, but his face gave him away. The side glances he had been sending my way were telling me he actually cared about whether I was okay or not. Then again, maybe it was wishful thinking that he'd care.
"I'm fine," I answered. "But...I have no idea what happened. Where is Elena? Is she okay?"
"Well, you really are fine for starters. No broken bones, I checked, and I gave you some blood to heal your head up. As for your sister, she's fine too. Stefan's taking care of her."
That fact calmed me down. Elena was safe with Stefan, I trusted him.
"What happened?"
He told me about finding Elena's car upside down in the middle of the road after she hit a man- who was able to get up and get away from the scene. I was unconscious but Elena wasn't, so he got her out first before he saved me from the wreckage. After that, Stefan came and took her back to the boarding house while Damon took me...to Georgia.
A sick feeling manifested in my stomach and I leaned my head back on the seat. Jenna and Jeremy had no idea what happened, Elena didn't know where I was, and apparently Stefan was expecting us back at the boarding house. On top of that, a man that my sister hit with her car was able to just get up and walk away- a clear sign that he was a vampire- and we had no clue who he was or what he wanted.
"Thank you for saving Elena. And me," I said gratefully after the feeling went away. "But...I can't be here. I have to get home. Elena will be worried and Jenna will be too-"
I cut myself when I felt a sudden wave of dizziness. Damon noticed and immediately pulled the car over to the side of the road, rushing over to my side of the car after he stopped.
"You alright?" he asked concerned after I pushed open my door.
I let out a sigh of relief at the feel of the fresh breeze on my face and nodded. I tried standing, but that only ended up in me stumbling right in to his expectant arms.
"Hey there," he said to me, all joking and teasing gone from his face. He looked so worried and it made me feel terrible for making him feel this way.
"I'm fine," I assured him. "Just a little nausea. I'll be okay."
He relaxed slightly, but I could tell he was still a bit concerned.
"Alright," he said. "Let's get back on the road."
"Damon, I can't," I told him. "I have to go back."
"Oh come on," he groaned. "We've already come this far."
"Elena and I were in a wreck," I reminded him. "I have to go home, she's gonna wonder where I am and she's going to know you kidnapped me."
"That's a little melodramatic, don't you think?"
I gave him a look, silently telling him he wasn't funny.
"I can't go to Georgia," I rephrased.
"Too late," he whispered.
"Damon-"
"You may have your little magical necklace, but I could take it and easily make you...agreeable," he interrupted with a smirk.
"You wouldn't," I said confidently. "You would never do that to me."
Before he could reply, a phone started ringing. My phone, to be exact. I gaped at Damon.
"You took my phone?" I questioned with disbelief as he took it out of his jacket pocket. His trademark smirk was his only reply before he glanced at the screen.
"It's your sister's boyfriend," he sang. "I'll take it."
All I could do was stare as he answered my phone.
~~~~~
Third POV
"Sam's phone," Damon answered pleasantly, while she continued to stare at him.
"Where is she?" Stefan immediately asked his brother while Elena stared at Stefan with wide eyes. Why hadn't her sister answered her phone? "Is she alright?"
"Sam? She's right here. And yes, she's fine," Damon replied, looking over at Sam as he emphasized "fine".
"Where are you? Let me speak to her," Stefan demanded, suspicious of his brother having Sam.
Elena sat on Stefan's bed, worry etched on her face. Damon may have said she was alright, but Elena didn't trust Damon at all. Especially not with her younger sister.
Damon held the cellphone out to Sam.
"He wants to speak to you," he told her.
She took the phone with no hesitation, holding it up to her ear.
"Stefan?" she said.
"Sam," he sighed with relief, immediately making Elena stand up and rush to his side.
"Sam!" she said. "Where are you? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Damon took care of me," Sam replied calmly, eyes sliding over to Damon who seemed surprised she gave him credit.
"Well where are you? Damon should have brought you back here last night," Elena said, caught up on the events from the night before thanks to Stefan.
"I-"
"Ah, ah, ah," Damon interrupted taking the phone from her hand. "Don't you worry, big sis, I'll bring her back in time for dinner, safe and sound."
"Damon, I swear to God if you touch her, I'll-"
"You have a good day now," Damon cut off his little brother's threat. "Mm-hmm. Bye now."
Damon hung up on Stefan and smirked at Sam before sliding her phone back in his jacket pocket.
Back in Mystic Falls, Stefan threw his phone against the wall, making Elena jump back from him. He looked at her with apologetic eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. She shook her head.
"We have to find them," she said. "I don't trust Damon with her."
Stefan didn't say anything, but silently agreed. He hated to think about the things Damon could do to Sam and the more scenarios that ran through his head, the more determined he became to find her.
~~~~~
Sam's POV
"You know even if I told them we were in Georgia, they still would have had trouble finding us," I pointed out to Damon. "I don't even know exactly where we are or where we're going"
"It's just a little place outside of Atlanta," he said.
"I have to go back," I said. "Elena, Jenna, and Jeremy-"
"Will be fine. Elena knows where you are. Kind of. As for your other problems, they'll still be there when you go home so what's the rush? Just take a time-out."
I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. I wanted to physically see that my sister was alright. I wanted her to see that I was alright. Besides that, I also wanted to know exactly what she was talking about when she said that we looked like Katherine and Elizabeth.
Then again...I didn't want to know.
So with great reluctance I looked back to Damon.
"I'm safe with you, right?" I asked.
"Yes," he answered sincerely.
"You won't compel me."
"I never would, you said so yourself."
"Let's go then."
~~~~~
"So the man Elena hit was a vampire, right?" I asked Damon a while later.
"From what I could tell, yeah," he replied unhappily as he drove.
"And he wasn't someone you met before?"
"Nope," Damon answered. "Someone entirely new to the Mystic Falls scene as far as I know."
I bit my lip. Great. Another vampire in Mystic Falls who could possibly be out to hurt the people I care about.
Not too long after, Damon pulled us in front of a beige brick building labeled "Bree's Bar".
"A bar?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
Damon got out of the car and I followed, running to his side.
"I'm not old enough. They're not going to let me in, you know," I pointed out to him.
"Sure they will," he winked.
I eyed him suspiciously for a moment. No way we drove all the way to Georgia just for him to bring me to a bar. There had to be another reason why we were here.
We entered the building, so far without a hitch. Behind the bar wiping down the counters was a beautiful woman in her late thirties with free, tight black curls and mocha skin. Her dark eyes lifted and widened when she saw Damon.
"No. No, it can't be," she said. "Damon."
She swung her legs over the bar excitedly and approached Damon, both had large smirks on their faces. When she stopped in front of him, I could clearly see that she towered over Damon.
"My honey pie," she sighed.
My eyes widened when she grabbed his face and placed a large showy kiss on his lips, which he returned. A feeling went through me when they kissed. A feeling I feared was jealousy.
~~~~~
"Listen up everybody!" Bree called out later after Damon and I got settled at the bar.
She began pouring shots of tequila. "Here's to the man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness."
She placed a shot in front of Damon and I both, holding one for herself.
"Drink up!" she said, tossing hers back at the same time as Damon.
I...probably shouldn't do that. Damon took my shot and downed it, placing the glass back in front of me before Bree turned back to us.
"So, how'd he rope you in?" she asked me as she poured us more shots.
"I'm not roped in. My sister is dating his brother," I told her.
"Honey, if you're not roped, you're whipped. Either way, just enjoy the ride," she told me with knowing smile.
I cleared my throat awkwardly before changing the subject.
"So how did you two meet?" I asked her curiously.
The two shared a look and she laughed before answering.
"College."
I looked at Damon surprised.
"College?" I asked with a small smile. "You went to college?"
"I've been on a college campus, yes," he said before downing another shot.
"About twenty years ago when I was a sweet, young freshman, I met this beautiful man and I fell in love. And then he told me about his little secret, made me love him even more."
So she knew Damon was a vampire. That would explain why she wasn't confused by his lack of aging considering they met twenty years ago...
"Because you see, I had a secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody," she continued.
Damon leaned over to me and whispered. "She's a witch."
I smiled. She was a witch like Bonnie and Chastity? Pretty amazing.
"Changed my world, you know," she said to him.
"I rocked your world," Damon stated.
She giggled, lifting another shot to her lips.
"He is good in the sack, isn't he?" she asked me.
I blushed a bit at her assumption that Damon and I have slept together.
"But mostly, he's just a walkaway-Joe," she said almost sadly before throwing back her shot.
I glanced over at Damon, who seemed to have some remorse though he was still smiling. At least I hoped it was remorse. Poor Bree didn't deserve to have her heart broken, no one did.
"So, what is it that you want?" she asked Damon.
~~~~~
Later, I stepped outside after Damon gave me back my phone to let me call Jenna to at least reassure her that I was alive still.
"Where are you? " she asked immediately. "Elena said that you slept over at Chastity's last night? Why didn't you call?"
So Elena lied to Jenna? I guess she didn't want her to know about the accident until she could think of exactly what to say.
"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I was just so tired last night that I fell asleep and her house and this morning we woke up late so we got to school right away."
"Are you okay?" she asked me. "Elena seemed like something was wrong with her this morning."
So Elena slept over at Stefan's and made it home this morning in time to tell Jenna something, but Jenna could tell something was bothering her. I bet I knew what it was.
"I'm okay. And Elena just has Stefan drama and stuff," I said.
"Still, huh?" she asked. "Well...both of you need to at least shoot me a text if you're going to spend the night somewhere else. I was really worried about you."
"I know, I really am sorry for worrying you," I said. "But we're both fine. I have to get back to class, but I'll talk to you later."
"Alright, sweetie. Bye."
"Bye."
I sighed after I hung up the phone. I hated lying. It made a sick feeling rise up in my stomach. That feeling intensified whenever I lied to a loved one. But Elena thought keeping Jenna and Jeremy out of vampire business would be for the best.
Why didn't I agree with her?
~~~~~
Just before I started to go back inside, my phone rang. I looked at caller ID. Stefan.
"Hello," I answered.
"Sam," he sighed. "Where are you?"
I glanced back at the building. I wanted to know why Damon brought us here. Plus I had a few questions I needed to ask that I wasn't sure Stefan could give me.
"I'm safe," I told him. "Just tell Elena that."
"It's not just Elena, Sam, I want to know where you are too," he said. "I don't trust Damon with you."
"You should give Damon more credit, Stefan. He would never hurt me," I said.
"Sam-"
"How are Elena and I connected to Katherine and Elizabeth?" I tested.
"I honestly don't know," he said.
I nodded, believing him.
"Okay," I said. "Look, I'm fine. I'll be fine. Damon hasn't compelled me, he can't. I'll be back soon, tell Elena not to worry."
"Sam-"
"Please Stefan."
He sighed and I could tell he was struggling with not tracking me down to come get me.
"Okay," he finally caved. "Just...please be careful. Stay safe."
"I will. Thank you, Stefan."
"I'll see you when you get back."
"Of course," I smiled. "Bye Stefan."
"Bye."
I hung up, sliding my phone back in my pocket before turning right in to Damon.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Fine," I nodded. "Calmed Stefan down a little."
"Well," he said. "You got him to back down, but he's not going to stop worrying until you're back and away from me, you know."
"I know," I said.
He looked at me with narrowed eyes.
"Why didn't you tell him where we were?" he asked.
"Because you have something you want from Bree," I said knowingly.
I had put two and two together. Bree was a witch, we drove all the way here to her bar. He wanted something from her.
He clapped twice.
"Smart," he said. "And why else?"
He had been listening. He heard the question I asked Stefan.
"Because I thought you'd know more than Stefan about why Elena and I look like Katherine and Elizabeth," I said.
He smiled.
"Maybe I'll share what I know. After I get what I want," he conditioned. "Shall we go back?"
"Let's go."
~~~~~
Damon and I sat at the bar eating the burgers and fries he ordered for us. I picked up one of my fries and spoke.
"Let's just say that my sister and I are descended from Katherine and Elizabeth," I started. "Does that make us...part vampire or something?"
Damon shook his head as he finished chewing.
"Vampires can't procreate," he answered. "But we love to try."
I rolled my eyes at his suggestive smirk and gave him a look.
"No," he said. "If you and Elena are related to them, it would mean that one or both of them had a child before they turned."
"Which one looks like which?" I asked then.
"Well, Elena looks exactly like Katherine. You are Elizabeth's copy."
My heart hammered when I thought back to the way Damon talked about Elizabeth before and how beautiful she was. Did he think I was beautiful too? Wait...Elizabeth was the one he wanted to get back. He was in love with someone who looked exactly like me...
I cleared my throat.
"That's not why Stefan is dating Elena, though," I said. "Right? He doesn't think he can replace Katherine with her."
"It's kind of creepy if you ask me," he said. "Especially considering he was head over heels for Elizabeth."
I shook my head.
"Come on, what? You don't like pickles? What's wrong with you?" he asked.
"I'm saving them for last, don't touch them," I said, stopping him from reaching for them. "But what you just said proves he can't be using Elena. If he was in love with Elizabeth and he wanted to replace her...then he'd be dating me, not Elena."
"Unless he settled for replacing Katherine since he saw her first and by then it was too late to go for you."
"We met on the same day. He has a connection with Elena," I insisted. "Look, I know my sister and I know she'll have trouble seeing it, but I believe Stefan truly loves her and not because she looks like Katherine."
He tossed a fry in his mouth.
"If you say so," he sang, munching on another fry.
I watched him.
"How can you eat?" I asked him. "Help me out here, all I have to go on is Twilight and those vampires can't digest food. In fact, it tastes like dirt to them."
"I wouldn't have taken you for a Twilight fan."
"Moment of weakness. If you're supposed to be...dead...how can you eat?"
"As long as I keep a healthy diet of-" he paused, obviously for dramatic effect. "-blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally."
I nodded before picking up my burger.
"You know when I tell Elena how nice you were to me today, she'll never believe it," I told him. "She never does."
He smirked and I took a bite out of my burger.
"Here you go, hun," Bree said setting another beer in front of Damon before taking away his empty bottle. "You sure you don't want one?"
"Oh no," I shook my head. "I don't drink."
"That's crazy," Damon said. "Who doesn't drink?"
"Tiny people with low tolerance," I said blankly. "One beer has the potential to knock me on my ass."
"I would actually like to see that," he smirked.
I pursed my lips at him before thinking. We did agree that I would take a time-out today. So far, I was stepping outside of my life spending time in Georgia- which I would never usually do, skipping school- also a thing I wouldn't do, and hanging out at a bar- another thing I would never usually do. So why not add one more thing I wouldn't usually do to the list of things I've done today?
"Okay," I said. "I'll have one."
Bree looked at me in surprise before smiling and handing me a beer of my own.
"Atta girl," Damon grinned, clinking his bottle with mine.
This won't end well, I know it. But I didn't exactly care at the moment.