"Well," I said, after I got over my shock. "This is unexpected."
The brothers continued to stare at each other. It was obvious that there was some rivalry. The tension was thick.
"Okay... I'm just gunna leave," I said after a minute. "Because this is heaps awkward..."
"Do you need a ride home?" Shadow asked, looking towards me.
"It's okay, brother," Ash said, still looking at Shadow. "I'll take her home."
Shadow glared at him.
"Uh, that's okay," I said. "I'll just walk."
I turned and walked away, glanncing over my shoulder before I rounded the corner. Checking to make sure no one was looking, I ran at vampire speed.
Since when did Shadow have a brother? And why didn't he tell me about it?
I walked through the front door and continued through the living room. When I neared the corner, Damon walked around it and I ran into him.
"Thank you, buy the way, for stealing the car off me," I said, giving him an annoyed look.
"Well, it is my car," he said, before walking to the front door and leaving.
I walked up to my room, wondering about the whole thing with Shadow and Ash. I closed my door behind me and took my scarf off, throwing it on my dressing table. I brushed a hand through my hair and glanced in the mirror.
"Ah!" I screamed, spinning around.
Shadow was standing by my window. I sighed in relief at the fact that it wasn't a serial killer or a Justin Bieber fan coming to kill me because of all the jokes I've made about him. (A/N I don't have anything against JB, he seems like a cool guy, but I do make jokes about him sometimes. Please don't get offended JB fans.)
"You are so lucky I didn't crap my pants just then," I said.
"We need to talk," he said, ignoring my comment.
"Yes, we do," I said. "Have you seen my moisturizer? I haven't seen it since I moved out of your place."
"Marni," he said seriously.
"I know," I sighed. "When were you going to tell me you had a brother?"
"I wasn't," he said.
"Well, that's helpful," I said. I slipped my boots off and sat cross-legged on my bed, lacing my fingers together. "Care to explain why?"
"I don't exactly have a... good relationship with Ash," Shadow said after a moment.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Ash is pretty much my version of Damon," he said.
"You being Stefan," I said.
"Yeah. Except Ash is a lot worse than Damon."
I snorted. "Is that even possible?"
"Yes," Shadow said.
"If you're both vampire and warlock, does that mean he is too?" I asked. Shouldn't I have sensed Ash or something?.
"He's more vampire than he is warlock," Shadow ansered after a brief hesitation. "His bloodlust is stronger, and he doesn't care for human life."
"Sounds charming," I muttered.
"You can't trust him," Shadow said, looking me directly in the eye, as if he was pleading for me not to. "No matter what he does to try and get you too, you can't. He will try and use you to get to me. He's been trying to do it for centuries now. Finding the smallest thing that would hurt me."
I frowned and thought about it. "Why does he hate you so much?"
Shadow didn't answer. He just stared out the window.
"Shadow?" I asked gently.
"He hates me because I killed our mother," he said bitterly.
I fell quiet. Shock hit me like a slap to the face. He killed his own mother?
"When I told you that my mother was burned, I lied," he said. He laughed without humor and then looked at me. "I bet you're wondering if I'm the one not to be trusted. I don't blame you."
He was wrong. I didn't think that.
"When you say you killed your mother, what do you mean?" I asked in a quiet voice.
"By the time I turned seventeen, my mother was literally loosing her mind," he said. "My father was killed when I was sixteen, and my mother wasn't taking it well. She'd have violent fits of rage, and it got to the point where she turned on me. She blamed my fathers death on me, saying it was my fault he got staked. At one stage, she tried to kill me. She broke the leg off a chair and lunged towards me. I knocked her back and she fell. The force of my push had made her crash through a table. She cut herself, and I... I lost control. I hadn't had much time to control my bloodlust."
"Oh my God," I whispered.
"Ash walked in and saw what I had done," he continued in a hard voice. "I'd never seen him filled with such rage. He said he should kill me, but the guilt of knowing what I'd done would be more painful."
I got off my bed and walked over to the window, where Shadow was standing. I touched his arm and he looked down at me. His eyes were hard, and I knew he was refusing to show emotion.
"Like you said," I murmured. "You lost control. It happens."
"Why are you trying to comfort me?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be horrified or something?"
I shrugged. "There's no point. Sure I find it shocking, but this happened centuries ago. There's no reason to make you feel bad about it. And besides. I kinda need all the friends I can get right now, and loosing one for something that happened in the past isn't good."
A ghost of a smile reached his face.
"How much older is Ash than you?" I asked.
"He's older by two years," he said. "I'm serious about not trusting him. He's dangerous."
"I'll keep it in mind," I said.
Shadow frowned slightly.
"I should go," he said. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Sure," I said.
He nodded and disappeared. I sighed, walking over to my bed and flopping down on it. I felt a lot of sympathy for Shadow. I could only imagine the guilt he feels about his mother.
I drifted off to sleep that night with disturbing thoughts.
I was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in my hands. I had woken up at five that morning, unable to get back to sleep because of the dream I had had. In my dream my mother was there. Damon had stood to the side of the room while she held a handful of sand, letting it fall onto the floor. I had been standing at the door, unable to move. Damon had walked over to my mother and stabbed her in the heart with a dagger. I woke up shaking.
So here I was, sleep deprived, staring at the coffee in my cup with an out of it expression. I was extremely confused my the dream. What was with the sand? And why did Damon kill her? She was burned at the stake, not stabbed by Damon.
As if summoned by my thoughts, Damon walked into the room. He stopped when he saw me, and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
"Well this is weird," he said. "You shouldn't be awake for another five hours."
I sighed in response.
He frowned and sat down across from me.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing," I mumbled, taking a sip of my coffee.
"Yeah right," he scoffed. "You're awake at five in the morning, and you haven't said one sarcastic thing to me. Something's obviously wrong."
"I had a bad dream," I said quietly.
"Bad dream as in we're all going to die bad dream? Or bad dream as in Stefan not wearing clothes bad dream?" he asked.
I frowned. "I don't know. It was weird. I have know idea what it means."
"What was it about?" he asked.
I hesitated. I didn't exactly want to tell him that I dreamt about him killing my mother.
"You know what? It's nothing," I said. "It's just a dream. I have to go get ready for school."
"It's not even six yet," Damon said flatly.
"So? Maybe I want to get to school really early, did you ever think about that?" I asked.
"And why would you want to do that?"
"Didn't I tell you?" I asked. "I have a huge crush on Ric. He said something about getting to school early to grade papers. I'm hoping to catch him alone and try and seduce him."
"That's ridiculous, considering you're in love with me," he said.
"In your dreams," I muttered. "Now if you don't mind, I need to shower."
I hadn't even made it to the door when he appeared infront of me.
"What was the dream about Marni?" he asked seriously.
I sighed.
"My mother," I said.
"What happened?" he asked.
"You know, I really should go have a shower," I said, turning to walk around him, but instead he grabbed my arms and held me in place.
"Marni," he said sternly. "What happened?"
I took a deep breath.
"You killed her," I said finally.
Damon froze.
"I don't know," I said, running a hand through my hair. "I was standing in a room, and you and my mother were there as well. She was holding sand in her hand, and she turned and looked at me. After that you went up behind her and stabbed her through the heart with a dagger."
Damon's eyes flickered, as if a million thoughts were passing through his head.
"Anyway, it doesn't matter," I said. "I'll see you later."
I slipped past him and hurried upstairs. In the shower I stood there and thought about my dream. What the hell did it mean? Was it secretly Damon who killed my mother? I snorted. Not bloody likely. Maybe it was just because of what Shadow told me last night. I sighed. Stupid confusing dreams. Why couldn't they be nice? Like paper. Paper is nice. Except when you cut yourself on it. Hurts like hell.
I pulled on some clothes and dropped out of my window. It was really cold today, and the crisp morning air blew my hair around my face. Since it was way too early for school, I headed to the Grill.
To my surprise, Elena was there. She looked up when I approached, and smiled. But it wasn't an Elena smile, it was more of a mischievous smirk. I realised it was Katherine.
"Good morning Katherine," I said pleasantly.
"What gave me away?" she asked.
"Your smile," I said. She had straightened her hair today, which made it almost impossible to tell her apart from Elena. "And you're not wearing her vervain necklace, which she always has on."
She shrugged. "What brings you here so early in the morning? Come to think of it, why are you even awake?"
"Had a bad dream, told Damon about, and now I'm avoiding him," I said simply.
"Ooh, this sounds interesting," she smirked. "Why are you avoiding Damon?"
"Because he was in my dream," I said.
Katherine raised an eyebrow.
"No! Ew!" I protested, guessing her thoughts. "It was nothing like that!"
She shrugged. "What was it about then?"
"In my dream he killed my mother," I said.
Her eyebrows raised. "I thought your mother was burned at the stake."
"She was," I said. "But anyway, what are you doing here so early?"
"It's the only time I can come get coffee without the risk of my doppleganger walking in," Katherine said, distastefulness in her voice. "I could always just... I dunno, eat her."
"I'm sure Stefan would love that," I said, rolling my eyes.
At that moment, Matt walked up to our table.
"Hey Elena, hey Marni," he said with a smile. He looked at me. "Since when do you wake up before ten?"
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" I asked. "I do not sleep that much."
Katherine and Matt gave me the same look.
"Fine!" I said raising my hands. "Just know that one day, I'm going to be the most evilest person ever and you will die."
"Umm..." was all Matt said.
"I need coffee," I muttered.
"Coming right up," he said. "What about you Elena?"
"I'll have coffee too," Katherine said with an over friendly smile. He nodded and walked off. When he was out of sight Katherine groaned. "Ugh, his eyes are so blue!"
"And he has a girlfriend," I said with amusement.
"Oh yeah, blondie," she said. Katherine frowned. "That's a shame. He's cute."
"And I'm sure it wouldn't be weird for Matt to date someone who looks exactly like his ex, but isn't Elena."
"Like I said, if I eat Elena, all problems will be solved," she said.
"Except for the fact that everyone will want to kill you," I said.
"Nothing new,"
"Hey guys, what's up?" a voice asked.
I turned and saw Bonnie walking towards us. She smiled and sat down. I glanced at my phone, it was now almost seven.
"Hey Bonnie," I said.
"I thought you were staying at Stefan's last night," Bonnie said to Katherine. She put her bag on the table, and as she did so, her hand brushed Katherine's. A blank look crossed her face, and then she narrowed her eyes. "Katherine." Bonnie didn't like or trust Katherine, nor did Katherine like or trust Bonnie.
"Hi Bonnie," Katherine said sweetly.
"I don't think Elena would like it if she found out you were pretending to be her," Bonnie said coldly.
"I'm not pretending to be her," Katherine said with an eye roll. "I just came for coffee. And besides, what's Elena going to do about it? She's human."
"But I'm not," Bonnie glared. Katherine gasped and grabbed her head. I could tell Bonnie was giving her an aneurysm. I heard Katherine laugh and she looked up, a smirk on her face.
"I've been around for a long time Bonnie," Katherine smirked. "You witchy little tricks won't work on me."
I frowned. "Then why did mine work?"
"Because you're an unnaturally powerful witch," Katherine said.
"Huh," I said. "Sweet."
"That might not work, but there are other ways to hurt a vampire," Bonnie said.
"Not as many as there are to kill a witch," Katherine said venomously.
"Okay!" I said, trying to change the subject. "No ones killing anyone. On to more important matters, Bonnie, I have something to ask you."
Bonnie looked at me. "What is it?"
I explained to her about the dream I had.
"What do you think it means?" I asked.
Bonnie frowned. "From what my Grams had told me, most of the time when you dream about someone who's been passed away, it's about the past, or their spirit could be trying to get a message through to you."
"So... Damon stabbed my mother?" I asked. "I think I would've noticed that."
"You said he stabbed her heart by shoving the dagger in her back, right?" Katherine asked.
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, maybe it's a sign that he stabbed her in the back," she said. "As in he betrayed her?"
"Even if that was the case, which it probably wasn't, what was with the sand?" I asked.
"Falling sand can mean a few different things," Bonnie said. "It can represent time passing, and also the essence of life fading away."
"So Damon's betrayal killed my mother," I said flatly. "Look, it was probably just a dream. I dream about crazy things all the time, like Stefan frollicking through a feild of daisies dressed as Justin Bieber."
"I would kill to see that," Katherine muttered.
"But in the mean time, I have to get to school," I said. "You coming Bonnie?"
"Yeah,"
For most of the day, my thoughts were filled with different explainations about what my dream meant. The harder I tried not to think about it, the more it popped up in my head. I didn't want to think about my mother dying, and I didn't want to think that it was Damon's fault.
I was digging through my locker, looking for my Trig textbook.
"Aha!" I muttered, spotting it wedged between my History and Spanish books. I pulled it out and closed my locker, almost having a heart attack when Ash appeared from behind it.
"God! Do you have to do that?" I asked.
"It's in my nature," he said with a grin, leaning against the lockers.
"As well as killing people, drinking blood and hating your brother," I said, rolling my eyes.
His grin widened. "Ah, so Shadow told you what I am."
"I kind of guessed," I said. I was a tad wary. From what Shadow had told me, Ash was obviously dangerous.
"You're a smart little witch, aren't you?" he grinned.
"I'm not little," I protested. He stood up from his slouched position. He was taller then I'd realised. My head came up to his shoulders. "Shut up," I muttered.
He laughed. "And as for the hate I have for my dear brother... Well, he brought that on himself."
"By killing your mother?" I asked quietly.
He looked at me with hard eyes, and then he laughed without humor. "Got the whole story, didn't you?"
"Most of it," I said.
"Wow, you guys must be besties," he laughed.
"You could say we're close."
"Hmm... sucks to be you," he said with a grin. I glared at him. "I suppose he told you about all of the things I've done to make him suffer?"
"He didn't go into detail," I said. "You know, hating him isn't going to get you anywhere."
"Maybe not, but it's a start," he said.
I sighed. "Have you ever tried accepting his apology?"
"What makes you think he's ever apologised?" Ash countered.
I frowned.
"Shadow knows I'd never forgive him, so he didn't bother," Ash said.
"My brothers are a lot like you and Shadow," I said. "Trust me when I say that fighting isn't helping anything. Take it from someone who's stuck in the middle of it."
"Well that's too bad, because you're also stuck in the middle of mine and Shadow's hate for each other," Ash said with a smirk.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, Shadow cares about you. And if he hasn't already told you, I tend to take the things he cares about away from him," he said, smirk still in place.
I looked at him with a wary expression. "Are you threating to kill me?"
He laughed. "No. I just plan to get you on my side."
"Is that your subtle way of asking me out?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Who knows, but let's just say I don't like sharing, especially with my little brother."
"Has anyone ever told you you're extremely creepy?" I asked.
He flashed a grin.
"I'll see you around Marni," he said, before turning and walking away, disappearing through the crowds of people.
And this is why I should hide in a cardboard box and be completely anti-social. Because talking to people gets you caught up in the middle of something you don't want to be caught up in.
Muttering violently, I headed to my next class.
I was in History, my last lesson for the day, thank God. I had been avoiding Ash's gaze, but I knew he was watching me. Due to lack of sleep the previous night, I was really tired. It didn't help that it was pouring down rain outside. I love falling asleep to the rain. Alaric was at the front of the class, talking about some epic battle that had happened sometime last century, and I had my head propped up in my hands.
My eyelids started to droop, and the next time I blinked, I didn't open my eyes.
The room I was standing in was familiar. It was the living room of the estate I lived in back in 1862. The room was dimly lit, and my mother and father stood in the room. Damon was across the room, looking at them with a narrowed eyed smile. Something about his look was sick and twisted. Evil.
My father looked outraged, and my mother was staring at me. Like my other dream, she was holding a handful of sand, letting it drift to the ground. I looked at Damon, who in the blink of an eye, was infront of my parents. In one swift motion, he ripped their hearts out. I cried out, but found myself unable to move. Damon turned and smiled at me. He laughed and lunged at me.
I woke with a gasp. Everyone turned and looked at me. My breathing was erratic, and my heart was pounding in my chest.
"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked from beside me.
I blinked and tried to calm my breathing.
"Yeah, fine," I said.
Alaric looked at me with a worried look. I shook my head, reassuring him that I was fine. The class returned their attention to Alaric, and the class continued.
What the hell had that been about?
Questions raced through my mind. This was the second time today that I'd dreamt of Damon killing one or poth of my parents. Maybe Bonnie was right, and someone was trying to send me a message. Although why was I dreaming about Damon killing them?
I was coming close to having a mental breakdown trying to figure this out.
For the next few days I continued to have those dreams, except in each one Damon would kill my parents a different way.
I was once again, avoiding Damon. I'd barely caught a glimpse of him in the past few days. I hoped he didn't think I was planning to kill myself again. I just needed time to figure out what these dreams meant.
I was currently sitting on Stefan's bed, painting my fingernails with clear polish.
"I like our bonding sessions," I said to Stefan, who was sitting at his desk. "They're just so memorable."
He laughed. "Like that time you tripped over a garden hose when we were walking down the street?"
"Hey, that wasn't funny. Garden hoses are lethal. I could've died," I said.
"Only you could mange to get killed while tripping over a garden hose," he said.
"Death by garden hose," I said, thinking about it. "I like it."
"So, you going to tell me why you're avoiding Damon?" he asked.
"I'm not avoiding him," I said immediately.
He gave me a look. Damn Stefan for noticing everything.
"Okay, maybe a little," I said.
"When he walked into the living room yesterday, you said you had to go feed your cat," Stefan said.
"What's your point?"
"You don't have a cat."
"Still not seeing your point."
He gave me another look.
"It's complicated," I sighed.
"I'm sure I'll understand," Stefan countered.
"Stefan, as much as I love you, I'm not going to tell you," I said. "When I figure everything out I will."
"Okay," Stefan said.
"And this is why I love you," I said. "You don't pressure me into telling you things. Unlike somebody." I added, looking in the direction of Damon's room.
"It's Elizabeth and Mason Sage," Damon said.
He was wearing a black suit, the same one he'd worn on the day my parents died. He was standing in Giuseppe Slavatore's study. Giuseppe himself was sitting at his desk with a troubled look on his face.
"Are you sure?" Giuseppe asked.
"Yes," Damon replied. "It's not her. They've led hints to make us believe it was her, but it is not."
Giuseppe sighed. "I'll go tell the council we have two vampires to despose of. I want you to take care of young Miss Sage while this is happening."
"What will happen to Marni?" Damon asked. "She will have no where to go when her parents are gone."
"She will stay with us," Giuseppe replied. "Good work son. You yourself have led us to the monsters haunting this town. It's a shame they acted as close friends of ours."
Damon nodded, but regret showed in his eyes.
The scene switched to one I was all to familiar with. My parents being burned to death. I watched myself struggle in Damon's arms as I tried to break out of them and run to my parents.
I woke up gasping. My head hurt as I tried to take all of this in. Damon was the reason my parents died? No it couldn't be.
But it's true, a voice said in the back of my mind. It's his fault. He told them that they were vampires.
A glance at my phone revealed that it was three in the morning. I threw my covers off and walked barefoot down the hall to Damon's room. I could hear Stefan and Elena softly sleeping from Stefan's room. I knocked on Damon's door loudly. A few seconds later, Damon opened it, wearing only a pair of black cotton pajama pants. His hair was messy and he blinked a few times before his eyes focused on mine.
"Marni, what do-"
"Did you know?" I asked quietly, interrupting him.
"Know what?" he asked.
"That my parents weren't vampires when you told your father they were?" I asked, trying to maintain a calm voice.
He froze, his eyes widening. I felt tears prick at my eyes when I saw his reaction.
"Marni, I-"
"Did you know?"
He sighed. "Yes. I knew."
I felt my insides go cold. This couldn't be happening. I felt the tears spill down my cheeks.
"How could you?" I whispered.
"You have to understand," he said.
"Understand what, Damon?" I asked, my voice raising to a shout. "How you led my parents to their death?"
Rage filled my insides.
"You bastard!" I screamed. "How could you do that to me?!"
"Marni, I did it to protect you!" Damon said.
"You murdered my parents!" I cried. "How the hell is that protecting me?!"
"They thought you were the vampire," he said. "I lied to keep you alive."
"You are the reason my parents are dead!" I screamed. "I would've rathered to die then watch them burn!"
My tears were uncontrollable. I heard a door open and Stefan and Elena appeared, alarm on their faces.
"What's going on?" Stefan asked.
"How could you give me this necklace?" I asked, holding up my mother's locket that hung from my chest. "Comfort me when I missed them? I wouldn't have to if it weren't for you, you murdering bastard!"
"What is she talking about?" Stefan asked Damon. Damon ignored him and continued staring at me with a pained expression.
"He killed my parents," I said. "He told the council they were vampires, when he knew full well they weren't."
Elena gasped, and Stefan's green eyes widened.
"Why would you do that?" Stefan asked Damon.
"I did it to save her!" Damon hissed. "They would've gone after her if I hadn't have told them it was her parents who were the vampires. They suspected that there was something different about her."
"Why didn't you tell me?" I cried.
"Because you would've hated me if I had've," Damon said, looking back to me.
"You're right," I said. "I do hate you. I want nothing to do with you, you murderous monster." The last part came out as a whisper.
I could literally feel my heart tearing in two. Damon, my best friend, the one I could always depend on, the one who was always there. The one who could make me laugh no matter what. Damon, who was pretty much my other half. He had murdered my parents.
I blinked and more tears slid down my cheeks. Damon's eyes were filled with hurt and regret. Good. I hoped he was hurting. It wasn't nearly enough of what he deserved.
With one last heartbroken look at him, I turned on my heel and disappeared, moving as fast as a vampire.
I don't know what led me there, but somehow I ended up in Jeremy's room. His bed was empty, but I could hear movement in the bathroom. The door opened and a sleepy looking Jeremy walked out. He stopped when he saw me.
"Marni?" he asked. He saw my tearstained face and rushed forward. "Oh my God, what happened?"
I couldn't reply, so I just shook my head. He pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me. I clung on to him tightly as I cried my eyes out.
____________________________________________________________________________
Hey, what's up you guys? Sorry I haven't uploading in, like, a year or so, it's just that I was visiting my relatives at the coast, and they don't have wireless -.- And then when I got back, I was like 'Alright, let's upload, I do not want to keep my fans waiting, because I love them.' But then my really annoying friends had to take my away from my laptop and make me have a sleepover with them, two nights in a row. But, it was fun, so I can't complain. So here I am, at 1 in the morning bringing you this epically awesome chapter.
I bet you guys didn't see this coming.
I actually almost cried when I was writing the last part. That's probably because I was listening to really sad music too. Just when you think Marni and Damon couldn't get any closer, this happens. Yep, I'm horrible.
This was a very emotional chapter. Marni hasn't cried in a while, so I though eh, let's do it.
The song attatched to this song is Broken, by Paramore. In some sense it relates to the chapter, but I'm mainly putting it up here because it's an awesome song.
So what did you guys think? Let me know by commenting!
It is my new years resolution to upload a lot quicker. I hate to keep you guys waiting. That and I've actually had people threaten to kill me if I don't upload quicker. I've taught them well. *laughs evilly whilst planning to take over the world.*
So, comment, vote, do whatever, and tell me if you liked this chapter!
I love all of you guys, remember that.
BYE! <3
P.S
...
SHANE DAWSON IS ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THE COOLEST, FUNNIEST, EPICEST, AMAZING PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!
I love him.
Just had to get it out there.