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I jolted out of bed to the sound of my phone beeping. I lazily grabbed it and saw that Elena sent me a text message. She apparently wanted me to come over to her house because she and Stefan needed to tell me something.
I still haven't confronted her about her attempt at compelling me to forget about Vicki's death and it was eating at me. I needed closure on the matter.
I got out of bed and quickly got ready. Right when I was applying some lip gloss, the doorbell rang. I figured maybe it was a package or something.
I heard my Dad shout,"Arina! There's someone at the door for you." I quickly finished applying the lipgloss and headed downstairs only to see Damon waiting outside the front door.
It appeared he was mid-conversation with my father and whatever he had said made my father on edge. I glanced back and forth between the two of them for a moment before locking eyes with Damon.
"Uh, hey." I had spoken up, slightly confused by Damon's presence.
"You know him?" My dad interrogated skeptically. It was evident that he was suspicious of Damon and I simply nodded my head.
"Yeah, he's-" I started but was cut off by Damon.
Damon looked my father in the eyes and I instantly knew he was going to try and use compulsion on him as soon as Damon's pupils dilated.
"Your daughter and I are great friends. I'm just here to pick her for lunch. By the way, you like me more than my brother," Damon compelled with a sideways smirk. I face palmed as his last sentence left his lips. Someone is feeling petty today...
"Okay. Have fun!" My dad chirped, his voice sounding more chipper and relaxed in comparison to the suspicious tone he had moments ago.
"We will," Damon replied with a smirk and I curiously followed him out of the house.
He opened the passenger door of his car and I got in. As soon as he opened his door and sat down in the drivers seat he murmured,"I think Elena and Stefan are lying to me."
"And that's my problem why?" I inquired slightly confused and slightly annoyed. I was supposed to be heading to Elena's house right now and if I didn't get there soon, Elena would probably start worrying.
"It's going to be a problem if they don't work with me on getting Katherine out of the tomb. In order to open the tomb, we need to find the Gilbert journal. Once we have the Gilbert journal we use it to get the grimoire and undo the spell. I put Elena on journal duty but something tells me she's not going to hand it over," He elaborated seriously as he revved up his car and drove away from my house.
"And you want me to convince her to give it to you?" I questioned out, trying to follow along.
"Exactly, or even take it from her. Whichever works best." He grinned, glancing away from the road to look at me for a moment.
I chewed on my bottom lip as I stayed silent for a moment before I curiously challenged him, "What if I say I won't do it?"
Damon shifted in his seat before he replied,"I would understand. I can tell you don't want your friends to know that we get along. However, it would mean a lot to me if you could help me. You're the only person I trust," He calmly explained.
There was an evident glint in his eyes that showed rawness and vulnerability. I could tell he was being honest with me.
I stared at Damon's chiseled side profile as he focused on the road. My mouth parted slightly for a moment before I finally replied,"I'll help." His honesty was enticing.
"Thank you. I'm assuming they're at Elena's house?" He questioned as he drove.
"Yeah. If you could drop me off that would be great," I asked as polite as I could.
My feelings for Damon were conflicting. One moment I had passion and desire for him while in the next I felt like I was drowning in disappointment because I knew that what we have is most likely temporary. When he gets Katherine back we'll part ways. He'll leave Mystic Falls with Katherine and the times we shared will become a blurry memory. Despite knowing this, I can't bring myself to be selfish and not help him. He deserves to be happy. The mere thought of him being sad made my heart feel heavy.
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As soon as I rang the doorbell, the door swung open and revealed Elena. She glanced behind me which caused me to look back as well. I saw that Damon didn't leave after he dropped me off. He just sat there in his car, watching. He shot over a wink to Elena and I. This caused me to feel flustered.
"You got a ride from Damon?" Elena looked at me with confusion and slight disgust. She moved from the doorway so I could enter.
"More like he came to my house and pretty much convinced me to get a ride from him." I mumbled out, staring at my feet as we walked into the kitchen.
I saw Stefan sitting at the breakfast bar. There were a bunch of old boxes. They were probably searching for the Gilbert journal Damon mentioned to me.
"Hey Stefan," I greeted, waving to him.
"Hey Arina," Stefan greeted politely but I could tell there was a tinge of disappointment in his voice. It left me feeling confused.
"So, what's the big emergency?" I questioned, jumping straight to the reason why I'm here.
"Damon is making Stefan and I search for the old Jonathan Gilbert journal. With that journal he's going to get Katherine out of the tomb," Elena explained. I pretty much knew all of this already from Damon but I wasn't going to tell them that.
Elena turned her attention to Stefan as she looked through a box for the journal. She thoughtfully inquired," Do you think Damon really believes us? That we're both trying to help him?"
"I don't think Damon knows what to believe. Trust isn't something that comes naturally to him," Stefan elucidated thoughtfully to Elena.
"Do you guys ever think that maybe everything he's done was for love? I mean he's going out of his way to get Katherine out of a tomb and he's been searching for her for about 145 years," I murmured out trying to rationalize Damon's actions.
Stefan looked at me with the same disappointment he had earlier and replied seriously, "There are other ways to get what you want. You don't have to kill people. Damon has no regard for human life. He enjoys inflicting pain on others. For 145 years, every single time that I have let my guard down and let Damon back into my life, he's done something to make me regret that. I'm not going to make that mistake again."
I stared at the ground after he finished his last sentence. I saw where Stefan was coming from. I truly did. However, I just couldn't agree with it.
My head quirked over at Elena who questioned Stefan," So what do you think will happen if the tomb gets opened and Damon gets Katherine back?"
Stefan answered honestly,"I think that no matter what Damon promises, a lot of people will die." His eyes flickered between Elena's and my own.
I watched as Elena exhaled loudly and picked up a photo from the box she was digging through. Stefan and I moved over to examine the photo.
"That's Johnathan Gilbert," Stefan pointed out, leaning closely over Elena's shoulder.
Elena and I looked into the box. I was confused by one of the objects that was in it. It looked like some type of wooden muzzle.
"What's this?" Elena questioned with a brow quirked up in confusion.
"He must've been into something kinky," I mumbled jokingly. As I finished my sentence, Jeremy walked into the room.
"What are you guys doing?" Jeremy questioned with a smile. He had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie and seemed to be in high spirits in comparison to when I saw him last. It made me happy but also sad because he didn't know the truth about Vicki.
"Hey. Just going through some stuff, feeling sentimental. Dad had this old family journal from years ago. I thought I'd dig it up," Elena responded as she put away all that she took out from the box.
Jeremy sat down on the kitchen counter and inquired further,"Johnathan Gilbert's journal?"
"Yeah, what do you know about it?" Elena asked him, feeling confused.
"I just did a history report on it." Jeremy explained. I immediately looked at Stefan and saw his eyes go wide.
"Where is it now?" I asked him, trying to mask my worry.
"I gave it to Mr. Saltzman. He wanted to see it." Jeremy honestly replied me.
Elena, Stefan, and I exchanged looks. I knew there was something off about Mr. Saltzman. This reinforced my theory that he definitely knew what Damon was at the dance.
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When Jeremy had left the room, Stefan explained to Elena and I that he would be getting the journal. Since then, Elena and I had been hanging out at my house. As it got later in the day, we decided to head over to her house and have dinner there.
The car ride was silent. After awhile I couldn't take it and broke the silence by softly commenting out,"Elena, I know you had Damon compel me to forget about Vicki's death."
As Elena drove, she glanced over at me in shock. Her eyes were wider than the moon as she gripped the steering wheel tightly. "H-how did you find out?" Elena questioned out, stumbling her words.
I folded my hands together on my lap as I disclosed to her, "Damon. He gave me the truth. How could you do that to me?" I glanced away from her, feeling hot tears build up in my eyes.
"Arina, I can't believe you're twisting what happened to make it seem like I'm a terrible friend. I did it because you're my best friend and I care about you. I didn't want to see you upset," Elena retorted loudly. If looks could kill I would be dead from Elena's glare.
I glanced over her, biting my bottom lip as I debated on what to say. I clearly made her upset and wanted to try and diffuse the situation. All I wanted to know was why she did it.
"I didn't mean to twist things. I apologize if it seems that way...It just hurts because it wasn't your choice to make. Can you talk to me before thinking about doing something like this?" I calmly replied out to her. It felt as if she didn't understand that she was way out of line.
Elena kept her eyes on the road as she sighed before responding softly, "I-I'm sorry. Yes, I'll communicate better."
It went silent for a moment before she added, "Can I ask you something?"
I peered at her as I leaned toward her, nodding my head, "Yeah, what's up?"
Elena nervously licked her lips before inquiring out, "You spent a lot of time with Damon at the dance and there have been instances where the two of you have been together. Is there something going on between you two?" It was now my turn to look like a deer in the headlights.
My eyes flickered everywhere but her as I responded,"I-I mean we kissed once but I initiated it, partially because I was intoxicated. Since then, nothing has happened. He's obviously in love with Katherine," My hands felt sweaty as I anticipated her reply. There was no way I was going to mention to her that Damon and I almost kissed again at the school dance. I'd rather let Stefan tell her because he was the one that prevented it from happening.
It took a moment for her to reply like she was debating on what to say. When she finally spoke she calmly stated," Arina, thank you for being honest with me... This thing between the two of you isn't going to happen again, right?"
"No. I don't think so," I spoke wearily.
Elena noticed my weariness and consoled me as we got out of her car, "Arina, you can't trust him. He's clearly using you."
The two of us walked to her front door when I bitterly countered, "I could say the same to you. You had him compel me to forget about Vicki's death."
She stared at me slightly taken aback. It took her a moment before she replied, "You're seriously bringing this back up again? I apologized and besides, I did what I did for your best interest. Can we talk about this later?"
I sighed and nodded as Elena and I walked into the house. Upon entrance, I instantly smelled something delicious wafting from the kitchen.
"I didn't know Jenna could cook. It smells so good," I whispered softly to Elena as we neared the kitchen. As soon as we reached the kitchen, my eyes widened as I saw Damon cooking.
"Hello, Arina and Elena," Damon greeted turning around with smirk. He probably heard my comment. I looked at Elena and saw that she was as equally shocked as I was to see Damon in her kitchen.
"Hey. Where have you been? We're cooking dinner," Jenna chirped toward Elena. I noticed she was drinking wine as she sat on the kitchen counter.
He was definitely here to retrieve the journal.
"Is Stefan with you?" Damon questioned squinting an eye.
"Um - he'll be here soon," Elena spoke as she awkwardly placed a hand on her hip.
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The meal was almost done so I balanced some plates in my hand and headed to the table. As I left the kitchen I bumped into Damon. Correction, he deliberately bumped into me.
"Whoa. Mmm." He was extremely close to me and took his time to move away. I peered up at him and noticed he was smirking. I awkwardly chuckled and smiled back at him before I continued past him to place the plates on the table.
As I passed by Elena I heard her scold Damon,"You need to stop what you're doing."
"What exactly am I doing? " Damon questioned, playing dumb with her.
"You know what. That move was deliberate," Elena spoke through gritted teeth.
"Well, yeah, I was deliberately trying to get to the sink." Damon playfully replied to her. I heard Elena scoff toward him as I finished setting up the plates.
As I headed back into the kitchen I watched Damon stir the contents of a pot on the stove.
"Speaking of Stefan, where is he? He's missing family night, which I am enjoying immensely," Damon spoke, his eyes flickering toward me.
Before I could reply, Elena walked back into the kitchen and gathered up more dinnerware. Damon put our conversation on hold, changed his demeanor and moved to Elena. "Is it real?" He interrogated her
"Is what real?" Elena questioned with confusion.
"This renewed sense of brotherhood," Damon explained as he took a spoon out of a pot and tasted the sauce before. continuing, "Can I trust him?"
I noticed how nervously Elena looked at him as she responded,"Yes, you can trust him." She then walked back to the table and placed napkins where I put plates.
I watched as Damon sped over to her. Elena turned around and looked at him. "Can I trust him?" He asked once more.
"I'm wearing vervain, Damon. It's not going to work," Elena replied, dodging the question.
"I'm not compelling you. I just want you to answer me. Honestly," Damon explained, furrowing his brows at her.
"Of course you can," Elena said with a tinge of hesitance. She then moved around Damon, and headed back into the kitchen.
Damon turned toward me and I noticed the look of disbelief on his face. He definitely didn't believe her. This prompted him to comment out to me,"There was a time when I trusted him more than anyone."
"I just don't think they understand your intentions...If they truly understood they would be on your side, Damon." I whispered softly so only he could hear.
"I just want her back. Thanks for understanding," He replied, inching closer to me.
"Yeah, sure." I responded while biting my bottom lip.
Our gaze didn't break apart when Elena walked past us and placed a bowl on the table. In fact he moved even closer to me while he brashly explained," Then you understand what I will do if anyone gets in my way."
I wasn't too phased by what he said to me because I don't think he was trying to intimidate me. He already knows that I'm on his side. I think he was just trying to get the message across to Elena. He certainly said it loud enough for her to hear.
Elena whipped her head around and stared at him with a disturbed facial expression as he walked away. "You okay?" She asked me worriedly.
"Yeah. I'm okay." I responded before giving her a reassuring smile. In the back of my mind I anxiously wondered what he would do if he didn't get Katherine.
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Later on, I hung out with Jenna and Elena in the kitchen while Jeremy and Damon were in the living room playing a video game.
Jenna whispered to Elena and I," He is ridiculously hot!"
"Shh!" Elena shushed her. She then looked over at Damon in the living room and murmured,"He's an ass."
I mumbled to myself," He has his moments." Elena and Jenna didn't hear me because they were going through a box full of Gilbert family items.
"What are you doing with all this stuff?" Jenna inquired curiously.
"I thought there might be something about my birth parents," Elena answered.
"Have you told Jeremy?" Jenna asked. I was wondering that as well.
"I will. When the time is right," Elena explained. As she closed up the box we heard the doorbell ring.
"That's Stefan," Elena spoke with excitement.
I watched as Damon quickly got off the couch and headed over to the door. Elena and I trailed behind him. When we got to the door Elena opened the it, revealing Stefan. His eyes flickered between Damon's, then mine. He looked at Elena with confusion and she just shrugged.
"Well?" Damon spoke out with annoyance.
Stefan simply motioned for Damon, Elena, and I to come outside. I shut the front door behind us and the four of us were on Elena's porch. Stefan had explained to us that the Gilbert journal was stolen from Alaric.
"Who took it?" Damon asked with frustration.
"I don't know," Stefan responded bluntly.
"You know what, it's that teacher. There's something really off about him," Damon commented, glancing at me. He most likely remembered the comment I made about Alaric at the dance.
"No, he doesn't know anything. Somebody got to it right before me," Stefan replied.
"Who else knew it was there?" I questioned, looking between Stefan and Damon.
Stefan stared through the window at Jeremy which caused Damon to head toward the front door. "No. Damon, leave him out of it!" Elena whisper-shouted to him.
"Why, what's the big deal?" Damon raised his voice and questioned with more annoyance.
"Damon!" Elena worriedly repeated as Stefan, Elena, and I trailed behind Damon.
He sat on the arm of the sofa Jeremy was sitting on. "So...I heard you found a really cool journal from back in the day. Who else did you show it to?" Damon interrogated Jeremy, who was focused on playing his video game.
"Huh?" Jeremy replied.
"Don't ask questions, just spill." Damon encouraged with a fake smile.
Jeremy chuckled before questioning , "You're kidding me, right?" He looked between Elena and I like this was a joke.
"Jer, did you tell anyone other than Mr. Saltzman about Johnathan Gilbert's journal?" Elena asked her brother calmly.
"Why is everybody so obsessed with that thing?" Jeremy asked us in a manner that came across as confused and condescending.
"Who else did you tell?" I reiterated, moving him back to the main topic.
"Just that girl Anna," Jeremy replied, glancing at Damon.
"The hot, weird one?" Damon speculated causing me to roll my eyes and shake my head.
"Yeah," Jeremy nodded to Damon.
"Wait, who is Anna?" Stefan asked.
"That's what I want to find out," Damon replied.
Elena's phone started to ring so she went off to answer it as I asked,"How do you know Anna?"
"I just know her. She wants me to meet her at the Grill tonight," Jeremy vaguely explained to me.
"Perfect. I'll drive. Come on," Damon stated, getting off the sofa. He grabbed Jeremy by the arm and yanked him up.
"O-Okay," Jeremy spoke, still confused by what was going on. The two of them then exited the house.
I looked down at the time displayed on my phone and sighed before turning my attention to Stefan, "Keep me updated and let me know if you need help with anything. I have to go home. My father set a curfew for me as punishment for leaving Mystic Falls."
Stefan nodded to me and replied, "Okay, I'll tell Elena why you left."
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As soon as I got home I willed myself to do my homework. Because of how monotonous the work was, I found myself speculating who this Anna person was and what went down when Damon and Jeremy met with her.
A few hours later, Elena sent me a text that said: "Meet me and Stefan at the Old Cemetery."
I closed my math textbook and replied to her: "I'll be there soon. I have to sneak out."
After I sent her the message, I walked over to my bed and grabbed two pillows I had and stuffed them under the covers. I then turned off my bedroom light and opened up my window, letting in the cool night air into my room.
After glancing back at my bedroom door one last time I hopped out of my window and grabbed onto a sturdy tree branch with one hand. With the other hand I closed my bedroom window then focused my attention on getting down from the tree. I lightly swung myself to the base of the tree then slid down and took off for the Old Cemetery.
As soon as I arrived, I noticed Damon was there as well. I quirked my head to the side as soon as I noticed a giant hole and the pile of dirt accompanied by tall lit torches. I guess they did some digging...
I also noticed how Stefan protectively stood in front of Elena and sternly spat to Damon, "You won't kill her." I furrowed my brows, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"Uh, what's going on?" I questioned worriedly, announcing my presence as I walked closer to the three of them.
Damon and I made eye contact. He looked extremely mad. In a split second he vamp-sped over to me and held me in a chokehold. I was in shock. My mouth hung open as I uttered out, "What are you doing?!"
Damon ignored me. "I can do one better," He fumed out to Stefan. I struggled in his grip afraid of what he was going to do. He shoved his wrist to my mouth and forced me to drink his blood.
"Give me the book, Stefan, or I'm snapping her neck," Damon threatened as I felt the bitter liquid slide down my throat.
Stefan cautiously bargained,"Let her go first." He moved over to us slowly.
Damon pulled his hand from my mouth and shouted out, "The book!" I still felt blood around my mouth. It was probably smeared from when Damon hastily shoved it in my mouth.
Anger, shock, and an overwhelming amount of sadness bubbled within me. I couldn't believe he would use me like this. I guess Elena and Stefan we're right about him after all.
I felt myself tearing up. I trusted him...He was the only person I trusted besides Bonnie and he betrayed me.
"I'm not going to give this to you until Arina is standing next to Elena and I," Stefan sternly replied, standing his ground.
Elena begged,"Please let go of her Damon." I saw the pain flash in her watery eyes.
"Problem is, I no longer trust that you'll give it back!" Damon spoke clenching his teeth together at the end. He tightened his grip on me a bit more.
"You just did the one thing that ensures that I will," Stefan spoke honestly. I noticed his eyes were watery like Elena's.
Stefan spoke once more and uttered out,"Okay." His eyes were filled with terror as he ever so slowly placed the book on the ground and reached out for me.
I felt Damon place his face against my hair and I furrowed my brows in confusion at the gesture. Almost inaudibly I heard him whisper in my ear, "I'm sorry."
Before I could process what he said to me, I felt him slowly pull his arm away. This immediately caused me to edge to the side of the grave then quickly run over to Elena and Stefan.
I looked back at Damon, terrified, he looked back at me as well. As we stared at each other, Elena pulled me into a big hug and then grabbed my hand after she pulled away. She and Stefan led me out of the woods away from Damon.
I looked back, seeing him pick up the grimoire. We made eye contact one last time before I slowly turned my head away in shame. I thought I meant more than that to him.
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Word Count: 4397
Author's Note: I know I probably say this too much but thank you for all of the reads and votes! I apologize for the lack of uploading. Like I mentioned in my last update, I've been extremely busy. I'm hoping to post more frequently :)