"I'm fine," Elena insisted as Caroline pestered her.
We were in the cafeteria, painting signs for the Mystic Falls Carnival that was on this weekend. Caroline had roped me into helping out, and I was stuck on decorating duty with her, Elena and Bonnie. I stared at the banner I was painting, conpletely out of it. No one had seen Stefan in weeks, and I was worried. Damon had stopped searching. He knew Stefan was in the area, because bodies that had been drained of blood were showing up more than usual. He figured that Stefan would show up when he wanted.
I was different. I'd been calling Stefan non-stop since the day he disappeared, and I knew he hadn't ditched his phone, because some times it would cut off after a few rings. He was declining my calls. Little bastard. I'd tried tracking spells, but he kept moving around too much. I just wanted to get in contact with him, but I was beginning to think it was impossible.
"No you're not," Caroline argued.
"Look, I know it's been rough, but like you always say. I have to move on. Stefan will come back when he's ready," Elena said confidently. "And we just have to hope that it will be soon."
"I wouldn't bet on that," a voice added.
I looked up to see Rebekah standing there with a forced smile on her face.
"Well, if your brother hadn't have compelled him, we wouldn't be in this situation," Bonnie snapped.
"Stefan's just embracing his true nature. We are vampires after all," Rebekah replied.
"No, that's not true. Stefan may be a vampire, but he's not a heartless monster," Elena argued.
"Are you sure?" Rebekah asked. "Ask Marni. She knows."
Elena looked at me.
"I'm not getting in the middle of this," I muttered. "But Stefan isn't himself at the moment, so for the time being, I don't think he'll be out eating bunnies."
"Why are you here anyway?" Bonnie asked icily.
"If you must know, I came to pick up Marni," Rebekah replied with a smile that I knew was bitchy.
"Why, because you're all afraid I'm going to snap and kill someone?" I asked sarcastically.
"No, I came to take you shopping. We haven't had a good girl session in a while," Rebekah answered.
"Marni, you should take your mothers warning seriously," Elena urged.
"Why? I don't plan on using Necromancy," I stated bitterly. "Unless one of you plans on getting yourself killed."
"She said that she thinks Necromancy is what is going to make you snap," Caroline reminded me. "But it could be anything. Like I dunno... One of the people closest to you turning their humanity off?"
"Do I look evil to you?" I asked. "No. I'm perfectly fine, and you all need to stop worrying. With you guys along with Damon watching my every move, I'll be more likely to kill people. Oh look, my phone's ringing."
I walked away from the others and answered.
"Katherine, wasn't expecting a call from you anytime soon," I stated.
"Thought I'd check up and see what was happening in Mystic Falls," she responded.
"Well, you haven't missed much," I replied. "No. That's a lie. You've missed a lot."
"A little birdy tells me our Stefan has shut his emotions off," she said.
I frowned. "How did you know that?"
"Well, let's just say I know the patterns of a ripper when I see one. He's been leaving bodies everywhere."
"But the only way you'd know that was if..." I smirked. "You're near Mystic Falls, aren't you?"
"I'm home sick," she answered.
"You do know that if Klaus catches you, you're a gonner," I pointed out.
"Then it's a good thing I'm great at hiding. I also hear that you've been using a little too much Necromancy. Be careful Marni, we wouldn't want anything bad to happen, would we?"
"Are you hiding in my wardrobe or something?" I asked suspiciously. "How do you know all of this?"
"You're not the only one with friends."
"Who told you?"
"That's not important. I'll see you around Marni."
"Goodbye Katherine."
I hung up, curious about who told her. I shrugged it off. I'd always thought she'd installed camera's in our house. I turn back to the other girls.
"What was that about?" Bonnie asked.
"Just having a chat with Katherine," I shrugged. I turned to Rebekah. "Shall we?"
-
"Ow," I moaned as I layed face down on the living room floor. I'd been minding my own business, when suddenly the corner of the rug came out of the middle of no where and attacked me.
Tripping over and face planting the ground was not very pleasant.
"Having fun?"
"My face hurts," I complained.
Damon laughed.
I dragged myself to my knees and Damon held his hand out. I took it and he pulled me up.
"How'd your shopping trip with Barbie Klaus go?" he asked.
"It was fine, why?"
"Just wondering if she had any intentions of leaving town soon," he shrugged.
"Why would she?"
"Well, since Klaus blood jacked Elena and fled town, I was hoping she'd go with him."
"Excuse me?" I asked, my eyes widening.
"Oh, right. You don't know about that," Damon stated.
"What exactly don't I know about, Damon?" I asked with a glare.
"Well, your buddy Klaus decided to kidnap Elena last week and steal some of her blood. He's off making hybrids, but apparently he plans on coming back and making our lives hell once more," Damon explained.
"And you didn't think this was worth mentioning?"
"I found Elena, Klaus left, everything went back to normal," Damon commented nonchalantly.
"Who else didn't you tell?" I asked angrily. "Was it just me?"
"We didn't want you to worry."
"Argh! I am so sick of everyone thinking I can't handle anything!" I raged. "So my mother gave you some stupid warning, who cares? If you hadn't realised, I've died twice in the past year, almost been killed on several occasions, been to the other side of the country with an Original who I happen to be related to, and found out that the guy I'm inlove with played a part in my parents death. If I couldn't handle that, don't you think I'd be out killing people now?"
I was shaking with fury. I clenched my fists and tried to calm my breathing. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath in. I'd always had trouble controlling my anger.
"Marni."
I opened my eyes to find Damon standing infront of me.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Damon stated. "I was just worried about you."
"Why? You of all people should know that I'm a lot tougher than I look," I pointed out.
"I didn't want to take that risk," he answered.
"We always take risks."
"Not when it involves you," he corrected. "Your mother wouldn't warn us if it wasn't serious. And I don't think I could bare you hating me."
My expression softened.
"Hey," I murmured. "Nothing can make me hate you, even if you are infuriating at times. I just hate it when people worry about me. I can take care of myself."
"I know. And I can't help but worry about you," he sighed, wrapping his arms around me.
"But you shouldn't," I insisted.
I got on my tip toes and planted a kiss on his lips.I felt him smile and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
We were interrupted by a knock on the front door.
"Ignore it," I whispered.
"Gladly."
The knock came again.
"Ugh," I muttered, pulling back from Damon. "I hate people."
He smirked and left to answer the door. I sighed and flopped down on the couch, picking up a glass of alcohol that Damon had left there earlier. A few seconds later he returned, followed by Elena.
"Elena, what a pleasant suprise," I smiled fakely. "How are you by the way? What happened with Klaus must have been traumatizing."
Elena turn to Damon.
"You told her?"
"I may have let it slip," he shrugged.
Elena sighed and turned to me. "Marni-"
"It's fine, Damon explained," I interrupted. "But I'd appreciate it if you guys wouldn't keep things from me."
"Fine by me," Damon agreed, taking the glass out of my hand and emptying it.
"Hey!" I complained.
"Where's Mia?" Elena asked.
"Off with Matthew," I replied. "Caroline's got them doing something for the carnival."
"Mia agreed to it?" she asked, suprised.
"I bribed her with fifty bucks," I explained. "Because Caroline would've made me do it otherwise. Speaking of, aren't you meant to be on poster duty with her right now?"
"Yes, but I thought I'd stop by."
"You know Elena, you're here an awful lot. Don't you have a life?" Damon smirked.
I laughed and Elena lightly punched Damon's arm.
"I'm just so used to being here all the time. But since Stefan's gone, I guess it's just a habbit."
"Oh! That reminds me," I announced. "It's time for my daily Stefan call."
Damon rolled his eyes.
"He's not going to answer, Marni."
"I can try."
I dialled the ever familiar number and waited. I was expecting it to ring out, but I was caught by surprised when someone answered.
"You know Marni, these calls are getting annoying," Stefan stated.
Damon's head snapped up, listening intently.
"Well it would help if you picked up your phone," I retorted.
"I thought you'd get the hint."
"Well, you know how persistant I am," I smirked.
"Is that Stefan?" Elena asked.
I motioned for her to be quiet.
"Ah, so Elena's with you. And Damon, I assume."
"Yep, we're having a blast. You should join us."
"No can do, I'm busy."
"Where are you, Stefan?"
"I'd love to tell you, but I can't."
"Come on, we're bro's, are we not?"
"Sorry Marni. You'll see me soon enough. Bye now."
The bastard hung up on me.
"Stefan is so not my favorite person anymore," I glared, putting my phone down.
"What did he say?" Elena asked.
"Not much," I shrugged. "He'll show up eventually. Good news of the day, Stefan is still alive."
"Ah, good old Stefan," Mia sighed, walking into the room. "I miss that guy."
"Tell me about it. He still owes me a sammich," I complained.
"He's going to get us killed if he's not careful," Damon muttered. "I don't know if he realises, but the council doesn't respond well to bodies drained of blood."
"Well, I don't know about any of you," I stated. "But I'm bored. I'm going to the Grill. Oh! Maybe Ryan's working today!"
"I am actually shocked that he hasn't got a restraining order on you yet," Mia said sadly.
"What are you talking about? Ryan loves me."
She gave me a doubtful look.
"Aren't you bothered by this?" Mia asked Damon. "That she's obsessing over another guy?"
"I find it amusing more than anything," Damon shrugged. He checked his phone. "Speaking of the council, I have a meeting to attend to." He looked at me. "I'll see you later tonight."
"Unless I mysteriously disappear," I challenged.
"Then I'll come find you," he clarified.
"I just can't win with you, can I?" I pouted.
"No. I'm cooler."
He gave me a quick kiss before leaving, and I poked my tongue out at him. He laughed at me.
-
The Grill was relatively busy for a Tuesday night.
"Matthew!" I cheered happily, spotting him wipe down a table.
"Hey Marni," he smiled.
"God, I haven't seen you in ages!"
"We sat in History together today," he reminded me.
"Yeah, but that was like, six hours ago," I stated. "It's been too long. I missed you, man. Oh God, I missed you so much."
I broke down and started sobbing.
He laughed at me."Don't worry, I was thinking of you the whole time."
I stopped sobbing.
"Yes, because our bromance is unbreakable," I nodded.
"We're pretty awesome," he agreed.
"Is Ryan working today?" I asked.
Matt laughed. "Yep."
"Yay! I've missed him. Well Matthew, I shall see you later. Go forth, my son. Be free. And by that, I mean have fun wiping tables."
I patted him on the back and headed up to the bar, where my best friend was working.
"Ryan," I greeted happily.
"Oh God, not you again," he muttered when he saw me.
"What's cookin' good lookin'?" I grinned.
"Never say that again," he pleaded.
"You know, I was so enchanted by your beauty, I ran into that wall over there," I started, gesturing to the wall. "I'm going to need your number for insurance purposes."
"What are you doing?" He asked me with his eyebrow raised.
"Some call it, making a move."
"That was terrible."
"Okay, I'll take that as constructive criticism. I can do better." I stared at him whilst thinking. "How about, some call me Marni, but you can call me tonight." I even threw in a charming wink. He shook his head in response. "Oh c'mon! That was smooth!"
"You were far from it." He replied as he was wiping down a glass.
"It's worked on other people!"
"Like who?" Just as he asked, Matt came up behind him to get something from under the bar.
"Like Matt!" Matt looked up upon hearing his name. "You find me charming, right Matt?"
"Oh yeah…." Matt answered; he then mimed no to Ryan.
"What happened to our bromance Matthew?" I cried.
Matt gave me a sympathetic smile and patted my shoulder before walking away.
"Now I see why you don't like him." I turned my attention back to Ryan. "He lies."
"I like Matt."
"Not the point," I argued.
"Is that all?"
"No. I need a drink."
"How many times will it take for you to grasp the fact that I'm not going to serve you alcohol?" Ryan questioned.
"It's not for me!" I insisted.
"Oh? Then who's it for?"
"Uh..." I pointed to some random in the crowd. "That guy. He's my cousins step-brother-in-law, twice removed from Great Aunt Geraldina... Okay, even I don't know what I'm saying now. But I swear it's not for me."
"How stupid do you think I am?"
"Very, for not being charmed by me. I happen to be very charming. But that's beside point. I'm not lying."
"Sorry, not going to happen."
"Are you secretly gay or something?" I asked suspiciously. "I mean, I have nothing against gays, but you must be! No one can resist those lines!"
"Just because I don't serve alcohol to the pretty girl, you think I'm gay? Looks aren't everything, sweetheart, your personality proves that."
I was outraged. How dare he- Wait. "So I'm pretty now, am I Ryan?"
"That's not what I-" He closed his eyes and sighed. "Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?"
I scoffed. "Me? Annoying? That's absurd! That's it. I'm leafing. I can see where I'm not wanted. I'll go talk to Matthew, because he's cooler than you!"
"You have fun with that."
"I'll be back to charm you later," I winked.
"Please don't."
"I know, you'll miss me, but I'll come back."
I crossed the Grill to Matt, who was wiping down another table.
"It's okay, Matthew. I forgive you, we can be bro's again," I announced.
"Great. I felt like there was a hole in my heart before now," he replied sarcastically. He looked at me suspiciously. "So... are you and Ryan..."
"No," I answered. "He's deeply inlove with me, but I just don't feel the same way."
"I see," he laughed.
"What about you Matthew? Who is your love life focussed on?" I asked.
"No one," he answered.
"Lies!" I insisted. "I saw you eying up that woman over there." I pointed somewhere randomly.
"Marni, that woman is in her 70's."
"I know! You sicken me!"
"Your face sickens me," he retorted.
"Yeah, well, your body odour sickens me!"
"I smell perfectly fine."
"Or do you? Dun, dun, dunnnnnnnn!"
"I smell fine," he stated flatly.
I sighed. "Yeah... Oh look! It's Jeremy! I thought that kid, like, died or something."
"I think he's been sick. That's what Elena said."
I laughed. "Jeremy? Sick? Not bloody likely. He stays at home and plays COD all day. Imma go talk to him. Farewell, my child."
He laughed again.
-
I stared dreamily at the sight in front of me.
Pure heaven.
The smell of delicious food filled the air, and sounds of people screaming with thrills as the enjoyed the show rides enveloped my ears.The carnival was a huge success. The show rides looked amazing, and I was itching to go on them. I stood next to Damon, with the biggest grin on my face.
"Come on!"
I grabbed Damon's arm and dragged him forwards.The first ride we went on was the Zipper. It was a row of carriages that flipped as the ride spun around. Best. Show ride. Ever.I waited eagerly in line with my ticket, almost bouncing with excitement.
"You are such a child," Damon observed.
"I love these things!"
"I know."
We moved forwards in the line as the next set of carriages was filled. The guy who was locking the carriage doors stepped to the side and linked a small chain infront of us, so that we wouldn't run fowards and get killed by the ride. The guy looked about twenty, and he had curlyish brown hair and blue eyes. He was adorable. He smiled at me and I smiled back before looking up at the ride.
I heard him talking to another person, who was making the ride go, and I heard it. He had an Irish accent.
"Oh my God!" I whispered to Damon.
"What?"
"He's Irish!"
"Here we go," Damon muttered.
"Ah! I'm going to kidnap him!"
"Not in public Marni. It's illegal."
"I don't care! He is adorable."
"Is this the part where I'm supposed to get jealous?" Damon asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Yes. He has an Irish accent and you don't. And besides, to everyone here, we're siblings."
"I could always be a protective older brother," Damon offered.
It was our turn, and I climbed into the cage that was only ment to hold three people, Damon beside me.
"Hold onto the bars," the guy instructed with another smile as he shut the door and locked it. I grinned and did what he said, grabbing the bars attached to the door.
Our carriage moved up to the top and stopped while more people got into another carriage.
"I'm going to marry him," I declared.
"Now that's lovely," Damon muttered. "So much for loving me."
"Of course I love you!" I insisted. "But I'm going to marry him."
"I have the sudden temptation to kill that boy..."
"Do it and I'll never talk to you again," I threatened.
"You've barely spoken to him!"
"But he's so cute!"
"Hmm... I wonder what Andie's doing today..."
I sighed. "I'm sorry, Damon. I'm not going to marry him. I'll marry you. Because I love you."
He grinned smugly before turning to the side and kissing me.
"Now that's more like it," he murmured.
"I'd hug you, but I'm afraid if I let go, the ride will start moving and I'll die," I clarified.
He laughed at me.
-
I was walking around with Damon, eating fairy floss. God this stuff was amazing. And then I saw it.
It was a giant, stuffed Domo. I wanted it. More than anything.
"I want the giant Domo," I whispered.
Damon rose an eyebrow and looked to where I was staring. He knew how I got about Domo's. I loved them. The Domo was on the top rack of a show game. If you got all six hoops around the one pole, you could win the Domo.
"Come on, I'll win it for you," Damon smirked.
I grinned and skipped along with him until we reached the show game. The person who was running it looked at us greedily, as if he knew this would be easy money.
"You want a go?" he asked.
"I will get this Domo," I announced feircely.
The Carni laughed. "I'll tell you what. If you get all six hoops around the poll, you can have the Domo, and I'll give you your money back and double it."
"Done," Damon agreed.
Oh buddy. If only you realised you were betting against a vampire.
Damon paid the man and was handed the hoops. He smirked at me before turning and lightly tossing the hoops. One by one they all slid down the pole.
The Carni looked shocked, and didn't know what to say.
"I believe you owe us the Domo and my money," Damon smirked.
Shaking his head sadly, the Carni reached up and grabbed the Domo, handing it over. I squeeled and grabbed it, hugging it to me, as the Carni gave Damon twice the amount of money he had taken.
"Thank you!" I grinned as we walked away, hugging Damon. "You are officially the best person in the world!"
"I've been waiting for you to say that for ages," he stated with a smug grin.
We continued walking around, checking out the rides and prizes. I was happy with my Domo. It was massive. It was almost up to waist.
"Whoa, nice Domo," Emma commented, coming up to us.
"Thanks, Damon won it for me."
"No doubt with your vampire skills," she snorted, looking at Damon.
Damon shrugged.
-
I spent the night going on rides with my friends, and dragging Damon along some times too. I'd put the Domo in Damon's car, and he was now off with Alaric, doing whatever they usually did.
"Jeremy!"
I caught up to him and matched my pace to his.
"Hey Marni."
"Come on the Zipper with me!"
"Again?"
"Yes! It's awesome!"
"Fine."
"Yay!"
He and I headed towards the Zipper, and we ran into Matt on the way, and conned him into joining us.
I was wedged between the both of them and we spun arround in the cage.
"Oh, how I love this ride," I shouted happily.
"How many times have you been on this tonight?" Matt asked as we flipped forwards.
"Twenty-one," I replied.
"You're insane," Jeremy laughed.
"You're doing this because of Alex, aren't you?" Matt asked.
I'd discovered that the really cute Irish guys name was Alex.
"No," I lied. "Okay, so maybe I'm planning on kidnapping him."
They both laughed at me.
-
Damon and I were on the Ferris Wheel, and I was expecting it to start flipping because I was so used to being on the Zipper.
"How did you manage to con me into coming on this?" Damon asked.
"It's romantic!" I insisted.
"Oh, right."
I pouted and he laughed, wrapping an arm around me.
I heard a loud bang, and then pretty colors filled the sky.
"Fireworks!" I cheered happily.I was like a little kid when it came to fireworks. "So pretty."
"You know what's great about being at the top of the Ferris Wheel?" Damon asked.
"You can spit on people?" I guessed.
"No. No one can see you."
He leaned over and kissed me and I smiled, enjoying this romantic moment as much as I could.
-
"Mmm... Giant Domo," I sighed happily as I got out of Damon's car, carrying it.
"Your welcome," Damon laughed.
"I will love you forever now."
"Good."
I opened the front door and frowned when I heard music. Mia wasn't home yet, so it wasn't her. Damon and I shared a questioning look as we walked into the living room. I was slightly surprised by what I saw next.
Stefan sat on one of the couches with a group of girls playing twister in front of him. They all had bite marks on their bodies.
"Stefan," Damon stated bitterly.
"Hello brother," Stefan replied.
"What are you doing here?"
"Well, last time a checked, I lived here."
Damon glared at him. "And I'm going upstairs."
Damon left and I stood there awkwardly.
"So... Twister eh?" I asked after a moment.
"It's entertaining," Stefan replied.
"So Stef, where've you been?" I asked, setting my Domo down and sitting in an arm chair.
"Here and there," he answered. "Have you turned evil yet?"
"Nope. But you have,"
He laughed. "I'm not evil Marni, I just simply don't care."
"So if I died... you wouldn't cry?"
He shrugged.
"C'mon Stefan! What happened to Mefan? We were awesome!"
"We still are," he answered. "But don't expect me to be your therapist."
"But I always go to you for my problems!"
"Not anymore."
"Well, at least you're alive," I commented. "Elena will be happy to know you're back."
"You act as if I care."
"But you love Elena," I frowned.
"Well, the old me did. But now I just don't see it."
"Goodbye bunny eating Stefan, hello ripper Stefan," I muttered. "This'll be fun."
"You haven't seen Klaus lately, have you?" he asked.
"No, why?"
"Just wondering. I plan on making his life a living hell."
"Why?" I asked.
"Well Marni, if you hadn't realised. He's taken everything from me. My humanity was all I had. But now it's gone, I suppose I should enjoy myself."
He flashed a grin before biting down into one of the girls wrists.
I sighed.
Happy days.
______________________________________________________________________
Sorry about the late update, and if it was rushed. I've been working on this for about two days, and I wanted to upload before you all killed me.
For those of you that don't know what the Zipper ride is, Google it. It's amazing. And I actually met a really cute Irish, well actually he was German, guy that was working on the Zipper, because the town I had in had it yearly show/carnival thingy. I fell inlove with him. His name was Alex. I plan on marrying him. I got a picture with him and everything. HE GAVE ME A HUG.
Okay, enough about that. I saw a giant Domo there, and I wanted it so bad. But unless you're a vampire, those games are impossible to win.
Hope you liked it.
I'm off, I need to sleep.
Farewell my dear bananas.
BYE!
<3