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In the middle of the night I woke up to a frantic phone call from Elena. She broke the news to me that Bonnie's Grandmother passed away. I was in shock because Shiela didn't seem ill when she was opening up the tomb. All I knew was how heartbroken Bonnie must've been.
I immediately called Bonnie but she unfortunately didn't answer, so my call went straight to voicemail.
I decided to leave her a message and softly said, "Hey, I heard what happened to your grandmother. Elena told me that you're going to be with your aunt for awhile. I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry for your loss. She was such a good person. I'm here for you if you need anything. Please take care of yourself and call me back whenever you want to." After I was done talking I hung up and fell back asleep.
⋆
The next day I decided to see how Damon was doing. I could only imagine the pain he must be going through after finding out that Katherine wasn't in the tomb this whole time.
As I walked into his house, my ears were welcomed by blaring rock music. The stench of alcohol accompanied the music and made me feel like I was at a concert. I scrunched my face at the smell but followed the source of the music in the hopes of finding Damon.
I ended up finding Damon in the living room with a bunch of sorority girls. To my horror, he was feeding off of one of the young sorority girls while the others were dancing obliviously. After scrutinizing the girls, I noticed that all of them had bite marks up and down their bodies.
As he pulled away from the girls' neck she purred to him,"How do I taste?"
I watched Damon drunkenly whisper to her," Oh, so much better than your friends. But shh. Don't tell them. They might get jealous."
I coughed loudly for him to hear. He released the girl and looked at me with a surprised look as he gushed, "Came to join the party huh? I knew you wouldn't be able to resist."
"Uh, no. I came to see how you're doing," I plainly replied, trying to change the topic. There's no point in walking around it. After I finished my final sentence I turned the music off.
"You're worried about me. Im flattered but there's no need. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? I spent the last 145 years with one goal: get in that tomb. I succeeded. Granted, Katherine wasn't in there to be rescued because she fled but why dwell? You know, it's so liberating not having a master plan, because I can do whatever the hell I want," He explained darkly as he gracefully moved toward me. This caused me to frown.
"What about the girls?" I commented, glancing at them as I grabbed the bottle of booze from his hand. I tried to change the subject because I couldn't believe that she fled and didn't come back for him. She abandoned him.
"Gone, only if I get some entertainment in exchange," He commented, smirking at me like a drunken idiot. I rolled my eyes to try and come across cold but I couldn't stop a small chuckle from leaving my lips.
"Damon..." I warned sternly, trying to compose myself.
He sighed then turned to the sorority girls and compelled them,"Go back to your dorms. Go to bed once you get there. When you wake up, all you will remember is that you blacked out".
The girls nodded and left the trashed living room. I turned my attention back to Damon and worriedly inquired," You haven't...killed anyone right?"
"Relax. I haven't killed anyone in-" he sighed before continuing,"too long." He pushed the bottle of booze I was holding closer to my chest and encouraged,"So drink up."
I sighed and placed the booze down,"I'm sorry to hear that she didn't come back. Maybe she has a valid reason as to why she hasn't returned?"
My words triggered something in Damon. His flirty demeanor shifted to one of anguish as he shook his head at me and shouted out," She would've found me by now if she really wanted to be with me! Do you not get that?!"
"Hey! There is no reason for you to yell at me! I came here to make sure you were okay, not argue with you! I care about you Damon and it hurts me to see you in pain!" I shouted back with honesty.
Damon stared at me with a look of surprise from my raw honestly and hesitated to speak. Right when he was about to, the lights flickered on and I heard someone else enter the room. "Arina, you should know better than to show up here at this time."
I turned around to see it was Stefan. He had a troubled look on his face as he looked between Damon and I. Part of me wondered how much of our conversation Stefan heard before jumping in.
"What do you want Stefan?" Damon grumbled at his younger brother.
"There was a woman you may have known a few years back named Isobel in North Carolina at Duke," Stefan elaborated as he sauntered over to Damon and I.
"You wanna discuss the women in my past right now? Seriously?" Damon glared at him with even more agitation then before.
"You killed her," Stefan stated bluntly and shrugged.
"What's your point?" Damon questioned suspiciously.
"I just—just wanna know if you remember anything about her," Stefan vaguely replied.
"Oh, it's like a needle in a haystack, Stefan," Damon droned with irritation.
Stefan sighed before responding,"Well, think hard. It's important."
Damon clapped Stefan on the shoulder, whispered something in his ear then pulled away. He turned to me and grabbed the bottle I had set down earlier.
Damon then chided to his brother,"Great chat but Arina and I were in the middle of a conversation. Leave."
Stefan narrowed his eyes at Damon and calmly replied, "I'm surprised you're not going out and exploiting more women...Anyway, you'll have to say whatever it is you want to say in front of me because I need to talk to Arina about something too."
Damon scoffed and coldly barked, "No. It can wait." He then took off, leaving me frowning.
I watched Damon leave the room before I turned to Stefan and nervously questioned out," What's going on?"
"Arina, you need to be extra careful around Damon. You've seen first hand that he's not in the right frame of mind. To make matters worse, he might've killed Alaric Saltzman's wife. What makes this more complicated is that she also might be Elena's mom," Stefan revealed to me.
My eyes went wide with shock as I replied, "No way."
As I left the Salvatore house I called Elena and began to talk to her about her mother. Apparently her mom's name is Isobel Flemming. She also told me how she visited a high school friend of isobel's and got suspicious vibes from her. From there the two of us met up and hung out until it was time for the Founder's day fundraiser.
Before going to the fundraiser we went to pick up Stefan. As we entered his room Elena called out his name. To our surprise we heard Damon call out, "Better. Me."
Damon sauntered out of the bathroom without a shirt on. For a brief second my eyes trailed down his body and noticed the distinct v-line above his pelvis. My eyes quickly glanced up to his. I anxiously played with my hair as Elena awkwardly commented, "You look, um..."
Damon gave a cocky smirk and guessed, "Dashing? Gorgeous? Irresistible?" He walked across the room and closed the space between him, Elena, and I. Elena noticed and stepped backward as she explained, "Wrecked. You look wrecked."
Damon mumbled out to her, "No reason why." He then looked over at me smirked, "You can't seem to get enough of me today. Do you know that I am one of Mystic Falls' most eligible bachelors?"
"Really?" I questioned out of confusion, replying to his second comment.
Damon nodded and replied simply, "Yep." He then turned around, grabbed a black button up shirt and stood in front of his mirror as he drunkenly struggled to get it on.
I honestly asked him, "Damon, are you sure you're okay?"
Damon continued to put on the button up shirt and answered, " Never better. Yep."
He then glanced at me through my reflection in the mirror and questioned out, "What can I do for you? I'm a barrel of favors today. It's my newfound purpose—how can I help people?"
Before I could answer Elena gave a simple response, "We're just meeting Stefan. The three of us are going to the fundraiser."
I watched Damon struggle to button up his shirt through his reflection in the mirror and found it kind of endearing but also saddening. He turned around and looked at me with a hopeful expression as he politely asked me, "Help a guy out, will you? Can't get this."
I nodded to him and rolled my eyes playfully at him as I heard Elena scoff. I walked over to him, grabbed the front of his shirt and slowly buttoned it up for him.
Elena took this as the opportune moment to have a heart to heart moment with Damon and excitedly announced, "I found out who my birth mother is."
"Eccch. Who cares?" Damon replied with zero interest in the matter. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Elena frowning from his response.
Damon elaborated, "She left you. She sucks." Something told me he was referring to Katherine more than Elena's mother but I decided not to comment.
As Elena remained silent as I finished buttoning his shirt. When I was on the last button I felt a large hand on top of mine. I looked up and saw that Damon was staring at me with a roguish expression. However, as soon as Elena called out, "Stefan. There you are" he moved his hand away.
I looked over at Stefan who was smiling adoringly at Elena. I moved away from Damon and walked over to them.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Damon struggling to get on his jacket as he jokingly spoke out, "Uhh. I need a bigger jacket." He then bitterly remarked to Stefan, "Wow. You know, an occasional sorority girl might, um, you know, help fill you out a little bit." He then tossed the jacket onto Stefan's bed and left the room.
I worriedly stared at the doorway, wishing there was something I could do to help ease his pain.
Elena bitterly remarked to me, "Don't stare at him like that. He's fine."
Stefan replied vaguely, "He's Damon."
"Maybe this heartache will be good for him. It'll remind him that he has one, even if it doesn't beat," Elena further added.
I frowned as Stefan quipped, "Won't hold my breath." This made Elena smile and laugh.
The topic then transitioned to a serious one once Elena mentioned to Stefan, "So I went to see Trudie Peterson."
To which Stefan stared at her with shock and worry as Elena continued, " I know. I'm sorry. I didn't plan it."
"How was it?" Stefan inquired curiously.
"She has vervain. She knows about vampire stuff, and it can't be a coincidence." Elena confided, looking between Stefan and I.
Stefan nodded and replied seriously, "It isn't. This is Alaric's wife." He then proceeded to take out a picture of Isobel and handed it to Elena. I glanced at the photo from over Elena's shoulder and noticed the resemblance between Elena and Isobel.
Elena's face brightened with awe, "This is her. This is Isobel. He gave this to you?"
"Everything he knows about vampires, he learned from her. He believes that she was killed by one," Stefan slowly explained to Elena and I.
Elena stared at Stefan and I in shock as she uttered out, "Oh, my god."
Stefan calmly soothed her, "Listen, Elena, there's a lot about Isobel that Alaric can tell you, but I need you to hold off for a little while before you talk to him."
Elena furrowed her brows and questioned out, "Why?"
"I know that it's a lot to ask of you, but will you do that for me?" Stefan pleaded without explanation.
Elena simply nodded to him.
"I know I said I would go to the grill with you guys but can I catch up with you two later?" Stefan awkwardly asked us.
"Yeah I guess," Elena replied sadly.
"We'll see you at the grill Stefan," I smiled softly to him before Elena and I left the Salvatore house.
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When we arrived at the grill we saw Matt and Caroline grill to see the Founders day fundraiser. The four of us were all milling around at the front of the grill when I noticed that Mr. Saltzman and Damon both happened to be one of the few Bachelors for the bachelor raffle. I guess Damon was telling the truth. He appeared to be talking to Carol Lockwood.
"He's already been hit on, like, 35 times. He's total cougar bait," Caroline commented to Elena and I, referring to Matt. She didn't seem to be mad about it because she had a smile on her face.
"Impressive," Elena and I both said at the same time.
"More like embarrassing", Matt murmured, blushing and smiling at Caroline.
Caroline laughed and then called out,"Hi, Mrs. Donovan."
I watched as Kelly glanced at Caroline with disgust then looked at Elena. "Elena, honey," She greeted before pulling Elena into a friendly hug.
"Hi, Kelly." Elena politely greeted back.
"Long time, no see," She chirped to Elena.
"How are you doing?" Elena asked her genuinely.
"Oh, same old. Oh. Matty tells me you broke his heart," Kelly bantered with Elena.
"Mom." Matt awkwardly scolded, clearly feeling embarrassed.
"Just kidding. Calm down. He found his rebound girl," Kelly remarked glancing over at Caroline. Poor Caroline!
"Oh. Here you go, sweetheart. However many that'll buy," Kelly said, extracting some money from her purse and handing it to Caroline who took it with a small smile.
Kelly glanced over at me and smiled politely, "How's your father doing? It's been awhile since I've seen him."
I stared at Kelly and plainly replied, "Fine I guess. He got back from a trip recently. I'm sure he'd be happy to hear from you."
Kelly gave me a fake smile then changed the subject and admitted,"I just hope I don't get Bachelor 3. I dated him in high school. Not impressive." She then whispered," In any way."
I frowned slightly when I saw Matt shake his head with embarrassment.
Caroline handed Kelly her tickets and to that Kelly chirped," Very exciting." She then walked off further into the grill.
⋆
The raffle began and Carol Lockwood started to introduce each of the bachelors on stage. I ignored the first three contestants but when she got to Mr. Saltzman I tuned in.
"Well, isn't that wonderful? We could always use more plumbers. Moving on. Number 4, Alaric Saltzman. Wow, that's quite a mouthful. What do you do, Alaric?" Mrs. Lockwood inquired, channeling her inner gameshow host.
Alaric awkwardly responded,"I'm a teacher at Mystic Falls High." His arms were crossed and I could tell he felt uncomfortable by the whole situation. I didn't blame him. To be standing up there gawked at by women seemed intimidating.
Carol spoke with a seductive tone,"Oh, beauty and brains, ladies. This one's a keeper." She then turned to Alaric and questioned him further, "What do you teach?"
"History," He replied looking to the audience. He was probably looking at Jenna. Elena told me that the two of them had been flirting for awhile.
"History. Oh, well, give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls, something crazy," Carol said, moving the microphone to Alaric.
Alaric looked over at Damon and I had to hold back a chuckle when Damon placed his hand up to his ear. He was sarcastically anticipating a response." Uh, well..." Alaric spoke not sure of what to say.
Carol pulled the microphone away and quickly said to the audience,"He's probably saving the best stories for his date," She then moved down the line to the last person, Damon. She gave him a dazzling smile and confidently stated, "And last, but not least, Damon Salvatore. We don't have much on you."
"Well, I'm tough to fit on a card," Damon replied with a Damon-ish smirk.
"Do you have any hobbies, like to travel?" Carol questioned, trying to get as much information about him as possible.
"Oh, yeah. L.A., New York. Couple of years ago, I was in North Carolina. Near the Duke campus, actually. I think—I think Alaric went to school there. Didn't you, Ric?" Damon answered, turning to look at Alaric who was staring at Damon like a deer in the headlights. Damon then continued, "Yeah, 'cause I-I know your wife did."
My face froze and I immediately looked at Elena. Her face faltered. Uh oh. This was not good at all. What was he doing?
"I had a drink with her once. She was—she was a great girl. I ever tell you that? Cause she was -- Delicious. Mmm! Mmm mmm mmm." Damon ambiguously remarked with a smirk.
I quietly walked over to Elena, not wanting to draw attention. Her mouth was hung open as she stared at Damon in horror. I gave Jenna a reassuring glance before I softly grabbed Elena's arms and pulled her out of the Grill. Stefan trailed behind.
Outside, she was silently pacing around. "Elena," Stefan broke the silence.
"He killed her? Damon was the vampire that killed her?" Elena blurted at him.
"I don't know what happened. Alaric said that they never found the body," Stefan told her, glancing at me. He most likely noticed my heartbroken expression as well. I wish it wasn't true...
"Oh, my god. Stefan," Elena uttered almost breathlessly.
"I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you. But I just—I wanted to know more," Stefan added. I understood where he was coming from. He wanted to know all the facts before making an accusation.
"I was feeling sorry for him, hoping that this whole Katherine thing would change him. I'm so stupid," She cried out with sorrow.
"Hey, you're not the only one who feels stupid. He probably doesn't know about the connection to you. I didn't until Stefan told me," I explained.
"Why are you protecting him?" She spat at me.
"Because you're not the only one hoping that he might actually change," Stefan spoke up for me. I gave him a small smile as a thanks.
Elena shook her head slightly as she looked at Stefan and I. She looked over his shoulder and back up at him, but then she did a double take. I glanced where she was looking and saw some man staring at her.
"That man," Elena spoke with wide eyes.
Stefan turned around and glanced at the man.
"I saw that man outside of Trudie's." Elena continued.
"Get back inside. Come on," Stefan commanded, gently pushing Elena's back inside the grill. I trailed behind the two.
"C'mon lets get you to the bathroom and fix your makeup," I soothed, pulling her behind me as I headed to the women's bathroom with her.
"Thanks... Could I borrow some of your lip gloss?" She replied, earning a nod from me.
While my head was turned around to look at her while she continued to talk, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and ran right into someone. When I looked forward I noticed it was Damon.
"Whoa. Easy there. Buy a ticket like everyone else," He flirted, looking at me with his go-to smirk.
Elena moved in front of me and barked,"Did you enjoy that? Rubbing it in to Alaric Saltzman?"
"What?" Damon looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"Just as I was starting to think that there was something redeemable about you," She continued with anguish.
"Elena." Stefan jumped in shaking his head at her.
Damon looked from Stefan to Elena and questioned out,"Am I missing something here?"
"Did I forget to mention earlier when we were talking about my birth mother? The one that gave me up?" Elena spoke with watery eyes and a venomous tone.
"Mm-hm," Damon replied.
"Her name was Isobel," Elena spat out.
I watched as Damon's face faltered. Before I could jump in and stop this Elena continued,"Go ahead. Reminisce about how you killed her." She then rammed into Damon's shoulder as she walked past him.
Stefan and Damon then exchanged looks before Stefan left to follow a distraught Elena.
I pulled Damon by his shirt into the woman's bathroom, which was thankfully empty. "I know you're in a lot of pain from finding out that the woman you loved abandoned you. However, it doesn't mean you have the right to make everyone's life a living hell." I seriously explained to him.
"You think I meant to cause Elena pain?" He gripped, narrowing his eyes at me. Anger and pain intertwined in his words and his facial expression. He was hurt by my accusation.
Damon paused for a moment before softly adding, "I didn't connect the dots, Arina."
"Elena wasn't the only person you hurt," I murmured, referring to Alaric.
"That Alaric guy? Arina, that guy is bad news. He knows too much!" Damon explained before walking off.
"You never told me what you wanted to say because Stefan interrupted us earlier," I commented as I trailed behind him.
Damon turned around to face me. His muscular build was now blocking the bathroom door. He gazed at me seriously and disclosed, "Alright. Lets talk. You first, you look like you have something you want to say too."
I took a deep breath before I responded,"I remember when you first confided in me about Katherine and told me you didn't have anyone to talk to. Believe it or not, in that moment I promised myself I would be there for you because nobody deserves to be alone. I am here for you Damon and I'm not going anywhere. I've seen the good in you. You're loyal to the core and you tend to be ride or die with the people you care about. While your brother and Elena may see it as a bad trait, I admire it. It means you love and care about people deeply."
"Arina-" Damon started, stunned by my words. He probably wasn't expecting a whole speech from me, but I needed to let him know how I felt.
I politely cut him off by continuing what I wanted to tell him as he kept steady eye contact with me, "You've definitely done bad things and made mistakes but you recognize that and you even told me that you want to do better. I know you've been in love with Katherine for such a long time and right now you feel jaded. Don't let this stop you from experiencing happiness. You deserve it Damon."
After I finished speaking I noticed how Damon's posture was open like mine. His eyes gently peered at me as his mouth parted ever so slightly. It was silent for a moment as he looked away from me briefly before he murmured out, "I'm not sure I deserve your kindness. You're a good person and good people don't intermingle with people like me. Ever since we've met, you've been a constant in my life and I'm not used to that. It's...nice."
When he looked back at me he added, "If someone were to win an award for having the purest soul in Mystic Falls it wouldn't be Elena. It would be you. You're an anomaly in the best way possible. I'm glad I have you in my life."
His words made my heart soar to places of happiness I never thought it could soar to. The soft sound of the both of us breathing softly accompanied the dead silence in the bathroom. The space between us was non-existent and in a split second I felt myself controlled by my own passion and desire.
I pressed my lips against his and to my surprise I felt his arms wrap around me and pull me closer to him to the point where we couldn't get any closer. I sunk into the kiss, feeling myself consumed by it.
I didn't know how long it was before worry took over me and I quickly pulled my lips away. With full embarrassment I breathily whispered out against his face,"I'm sorry...are you sure you-"
Damon softly cut me off mid sentence by locking his lips with mine once again. It was his way of reassuring me that he wanted this. I felt myself being gently pushed against the bathroom wall as the kiss deepened. He was kissing me like there was no tomorrow, only today.
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Word Count: 4240
Author's Note: (from 2017) Thank you all for 600+ reads! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
(From 2020) I hope the revisions that were made to this chapter made it more enjoyable. I remember when I originally wrote this chapter it received criticism because people saw Arina as desperate. It was never my intention to make her seem desperate. She is definitely love-struck for Damon because she feels a connection to him that she's never felt with anyone else. Without spoiling, I reassure you that Arina will grow as a character throughout this series.