"Spike!"
Buffy practically growled out in annoyance and disgust as she continued to throw Damon aimlessly around the training room, trying to make herself feel better.
"Spike wants me." She muttered still in a state of disbelief as she punched Damon in the gut.
As she moved to punch his face, he blocked the blow only for her to twist his arm violently before kicking him in the back.
Finally, Buffy spun around and swung her other leg into his face knocking him down with a grunt.
While Damon rived in pain on the ground, Buffy waved her arms around frantically as she glanced over at Giles, who had been watching her pound on Damon from the sidelines.
It was quite an entertaining sight.
"How obscene is that?!"
Giles, who was sitting beside Xander, the two of them thoroughly enjoying the show Buffy and Damon were putting on as she took out her frustrations at Damon's expense, turned to face her, trying to hide his amused smile "Well, it is very strange. I can't imagine what he's thinking."
Damon who was currently attempting to stand, threw Giles an odd look before grunting as Buffy kicked him across the room.
"Why did I agree to this?" He groaned as he hit the back wall before collapsing to the ground with a loud thud.
Realizing why Damon had thrown him the look, Giles quickly panicked realizing just how insulting his words could have seemed to Buffy "Not that you're not...attractive..." He muttered awkwardly but luckily for him, Buffy was paying him very little attention as she continued to attack Damon.
"I feel gross, you know, like...like, dirty." Buffy moaned before shaking her body in disgust and tackling Damon to the ground.
"That's ridiculous. You can't be responsible for what Spike thinks or feels."
Buffy who was currently struggling with Damon sighed, only to let out a small yelp as Damon flipped their positions.
He had her pinned down beneath him.
Given that he was practically laid on top of her, Damon smirked.
Buffy rolled her eyes before glancing over at Giles "Aren't I responsible?" She argued as she threw Damon off her before flipping back up "Something about me had to make him feel that, right? Something that made him say 'Woof! That's the one for me"
As Buffy moved to attack Damon again, the vampire groaned before looking over at Giles and Xander incredulously "Seriously?!" He exclaimed before turning to Buffy "Buffy, come on maybe you should calm it."
Given that he was the one dealing with her rage, he was a bit more concerned about what was being said.
One wrong word and he ended up with another broken rib.
Buffy froze in her attacks, finally allowing herself to take in the damage she had caused to Damon's face.
She couldn't help but wince as she spotted the blood and bruises that had yet to heal.
"Oh! Damon, I'm sorry. I got...I guess I got carried away. Are you okay?" She asked as she placed a hand on his cheek sighing as she realized that she had dislocated his jaw.
Again.
"I'm fine." He breathed before clenching his still-broken jaw "Could you?"
"Of course." She mumbled guiltily before carefully resetting his jaw so it could heal properly.
Giles sighed before pulling himself to his feet, throwing a small over-protective glare the pairs way.
Given Buffy still had a hand on Damon's face, Giles quickly cleared his throat drawing the couple's attention off each other.
"I'll get some blood, I should have some in the stock room."
As the Watcher made his way out of the room, Damon glanced over at Xander giving him a pointed glare causing the human to gulp before leaping up to his feet "I'll get the scotch and the puffy Xander suit."
While the two of them make a hasty escape, Buffy chuckled in amusement before helping Damon sit down.
Once she was sure he was okay, Buffy allowed her mind to begin spinning again "So that's my secret to attracting men." She hissed sarcastically as she paced back and forth "Slap 'em around, torture 'em, make their lives hell..."
"Buffy..." Damon tried only for her to ignore him and continue her long-winded rant.
"Sure, the nice guys run away, but every now and then you meet a real prince of a guy like Spike who gets off on it."
Groaning loudly the now healed vampire quickly stood and grabbed her arms, forcing her to stop burning holes into the floor "Buffy, look at me. Take it from me...the problem is not you. You are an extraordinary person, one that no one deserves."
Gulping slightly at his words, Buffy found herself frozen as Damon merely smiled down at her.
"Trust me." Damon told her as he finally released her arms.
Yet, he didn't move to step away from her.
Buffy looked up at him hesitantly "I—" She paused not knowing if he was the best person to talk to about this. But right now, he was the only person around that she felt like she could speak too freely "I just wanna know that there's gonna be another good one. One that I'll remember."
Damon smirked slightly "You never know Buff. Time changes things."
Buffy looked up at him, freezing as she realized just how close the two of them were standing.
They were practically chest to chest breathing the same air.
Honestly, she had no idea when the hell that had happened.
Quickly backing away from him Buffy couldn't help but sigh in relief as she was saved by Xander hobbling into the room in the puffy punching bag suit.
"Saved by puffy Xander."
During their daily lunch date in between classes, Elena and Buffy sat on the grass just outside of the campus library eating their sandwiches.
Well, more accurately, Elena ate her lunch while Buffy stared down at her sandwich like it was the most interesting piece of culinary art in the world.
After 10 minutes, Elena couldn't stand the silence anymore and cleared her throat attempting to draw the dazed blonde's attention "Buffy, what is it?"
Finally tearing her eyes off her sandwich, Buffy sighed deeply before quickly shaking her head.
She really didn't want to talk about this.
She just wished Bonnie was still here.
Out of everyone, strangely, she felt the most comfortable opening up to Bonnie. But then again, she still had no idea just how close they had been in Mystic Falls.
She just had a feeling in her gut when she was around Bonnie.
"It's nothing." She lied; this was something she couldn't admit, something she wasn't ready to.
Elena frowned slightly before her eyes landed on where Buffy's hand was currently fiddling with the locket hanging from her neck.
Buffy always used to play with her locket when she was nervous.
At that moment, everything became crystal clear for the brunette. This was a situation she had been in with Buffy before.
Elena had a habit of assuming that just because Buffy and Damon were getting along that there was more going on.
Back in Mystic Falls, Elena had been beyond wrong.
In Sunnydale, the only reason that the pair of them were getting along so much was because Buffy literally had no memory.
Clearly, though, Elena didn't seem to know her sister as know as she claimed she did.
Even Jeremy could tell her that if Buffy ever thought she started to have feelings for Damon, Buffy would not only kill herself but she would cut both Damon and Stefan out of her life.
Buffy found the whole brother jumping thing beyond gross.
"You know you and Damon...you're spending a lot more time together." Elena said calmly, slowly trying to force the conversation.
She knew Buffy needed to talk but she also knew Buffy would never admit it out loud.
"Weekly sparring sessions, working together...You sure there's not something you're not telling me?"
At Elena's obvious insinuation, Buffy's eyes widened in shock and she quickly shook her head trying to rebuff any weird Damon thoughts "What, huh?" She laughed nervously, trying to deflect the upcoming conversation that deep down she knew was coming "I—I don't know what you're talking about..."
Elena sighed.
In her mind, Buffy had been through this once before, hiding feelings that she assumed were there beneath the surface, and she couldn't even imagine how confusing everything was now that Buffy didn't remember a lot of her life "He's getting under your skin."
Buffy just stared at her "No. Look we're just..."
Did Elena seriously think that she would ever willingly jump between brothers?
"Friends?" Elena finished before sighing "Buffy, I hate to be the one to do this, and I know your mind is out of place with what happened with Riley, plus remembering your relationship with Stefan and now Damon...but you have to admit it. As much as I don't think you should be, you are attracted to him and all of his bad brother glory."
Buffy just stared at her in disbelief "Elena, stop."
When Elena froze, Buffy rolled her eyes.
She loved Elena she did, but clearly, Elena did not know her as well as she claimed to.
"Look, this is not High School and even if it was, I don't mess with families." Biting into her flavorless chicken sandwich, Buffy tried to hold back so she didn't snap "Elena I don't have time to think about guys. I have you and Jer to worry about. And even if I did, do you honestly think I could sleep with my ex-boyfriend's brother?"
"Come on Buffy, I know you better than anyone. So don't sit here and lie to me admit it..."
The fact that Elena was still arguing just proved that she didn't know her.
Being attracted to someone did not mean she had feelings for them.
"No! Because if I even started to have feelings for Damon, I would cut ties with both him and Stefan. End of. If you think I would get in-between brothers, then you don't know me at all."
Without another word, Buffy stood up and stormed off, leaving Elena completely speechless.
**
Elena and Buffy weren't exactly in the best place.
Hence why Buffy was purposely on the dance floor to avoid Elena at this college party they were both attending.
Elena was still a 19-year-old kid who had just been dumped over text and had a habit of thinking she was always right.
Sure enough, once again, Elena was trying to channel her own heartbreak into helping Buffy find new love outside of vampires.
The truth was...Elena sucked when it came to romantic matches.
Elena had been raised as pretty much the perfect child, so as an adult, she had a habit of assuming that she was smarter than everyone and had the best moral code.
Even if she would never admit it allowed, Elena was extremely controlling and judgemental.
Standing with Willow, Tara, and Anya by the punch bowl, Elena couldn't help but smile as she looked over at the dance floor where Xander and Buffy were dancing. From the smile on Buffy's face, it was clear that a college party had been exactly what the doctor ordered.
It had been weeks since she had seen Buffy so carefree and happy and given their fight early she was determined to keep that smile going.
Just as the song comes to an end, Elena quickly snuck up behind Xander tapping him on the shoulder "May I cut in?"
Xander snorted in amusement before bowing at the brunette dramatically "She is all yours me-lady." He teased before moving to the side just as the next song began.
Buffy sighed before taking Elena's outstretched hands. The two of them began to dance stupidly without care around the dance floor, just like they used to as kids.
As they spun each other around, Buffy couldn't help but let out a loud laugh as she threw her head back letting her hair spin around her widely "I take it you're having o-fun?"
Elena quickly nodded as she ducked under Buffy's arm allowing the blonde to playfully dip her "It's nice to be out of the hospital for a change." She admitted before moving to spin Buffy again.
Spinning under Elena's hand, Buffy couldn't help but agree.
For a moment their fight was forgotten as they let themselves let go of all the stress.
But nothing lasted forever.
Elena spotted something that had drawn her attention.
Ben.
Glancing back at Elena, Buffy froze, she could spot the wheels turning in her sister's head.
She knew what Elena was about to suggest.
"No." Buffy hissed as she pulled out of Elena's hold "Lena I love you, but you need to stop."
"Come on, we talked about this. Human dating good."
"No, you talked." Buffy snapped causing Elena to flinch slightly "Elena, you can't control everything. You are 19. You don't know everything. You have always been like this, thinking you are always right and I get it, you never got into trouble as a kid, but this is my life, my relationships. I literally have two separate lives in my head. Do you honestly think that dating is something on my mind right now?"
When Elena hesitated, Buffy just sighed before stepping back "I have two lives in my head. I am a legal guardian to a 17-year-old and constantly have to worry about Klaus and Glory showing up at any time to take you. And news flash, the last guy I let in actually turned out to be Klaus! I don't have time for dating...and even if I did, my personal life is not my focus. I put you and Jer first. Let me have tonight with my friends without trying to force your opinion on me."
Without another word, Buffy stormed off leaving Elena standing in the middle of the dance floor unsure of what to say.
The truth was, everything Buffy had said was true.
Buffy pretty much carried all of the weight in their family, and Elena had never truly imagined just how much she actually sacrificed for them.
Buffy had lost her memories, lost her boyfriend, and was betrayed by Klaus after he had spent months getting close to her.
She had no reason to what to be near another guy.
All she was asking for was one night because the truth was, Buffy had spent every day worrying about everyone else instead of herself.
A sudden wash of guilt rushed through Elena's chest, as it finally hit her just how much pushing the whole guy thing might have bothered Buffy.
However, before she could attempt to move over to Buffy, Elena quickly let out a small shocked squeal as she felt a hand grasp her own, spinning her around.
Coming face to face with Xander, Elena couldn't help but giggle as he pulled her close.
"Mini Gilbert." He teased dramatically "Shall we?"
Elena grinned before nodding her head, allowing him to lead her into an over-dramatic tango across the dance floor.
She needed to butt out of Buffy's life, and dancing with Xander was the best way to do so.
**
After a very exhausting dance with Xander, a worn-out Elena, made her way toward the bar intent on getting hydrated.
As she approached the punch bowl, a small smile grazed her lips, as she spotted Ben and Buffy on the other side of the room.
While she could tell there was no flirting going on, it was nice to see Buffy actually enjoying herself.
Slowly her grin only widened as she spotted Ben offering Buffy his hand before pulling her toward the dance floor.
However, her happiness for her sister getting a moment of human fun, quickly faded as she spotted a certain bleached-haired vampire lurking by the snack table.
His eyes were glued to where Buffy was doing the chicken dance with Ben.
Promptly allowing her smile to drop, Elena clenched her jaw tightly before making her way toward Spike.
Buffy had been right.
She was not in the place to even think about romance.
So while she knew she could no longer try and set Buffy up, what Elena knew she could do, was save her sister from a night of drama.
Buffy needed one night.
And Elena was determined to give that to her.
Spotting the Slayer's furious cousin moving toward him, Spike groaned loudly as he turned to face her "Small world." He teased but Elena merely continued to glare at him "Oh, Dear. If looks could stake. You having' fun, pet?"
"What the hell are you doing here, Spike?" Elena hissed as she crossed her arms over her chest "Stalking my sister is getting a little played out now don't you think?"
Unfazed by her words, Spike smirked down at the brunette before glancing back at the blonde, he was currently obsessed with "You and big sis out on the town I see. Helping her troll for her next ex."
"Buffy told you to leave town Spike." Elena hissed, really wanting someone to just throw him out of a 10-story window into the bright sunlight.
Normally that wouldn't be her reaction but in rare cases like with Klaus and Spike, she was more open to violence.
"If she wants me to leave..." Spike teased as he leered at the blonde currently dancing with the cute doctor "...then she can put her hands on my hot, tight little body and make me."
With a bright smirk, he tossed a chip into his mouth as he turned to glance back at Elena who slowly allowed a smile to graze her lips.
Smiling up at him with a sickly sweet smile, Elena tilted her head before taking a step toward him "You sleep right?" She asked stunning him slightly by the dramatic change in the subject.
When he frowned in confusion Elena merely continued, not once dropping the sweet innocent smile from her face, which was all the more creepy "Good. Well, let me make this clear, Spike. You go near my sister again, look at her, touch her...well then one of these days. You're gonna wake up to the smell of something burning. And when your ass turns to dust, I'm gonna dance on your remains. Understand?"
With her threat hanging in the air, Elena tapped his chest condescendingly before strolling past him as if she hadn't just threatened to set him on fire in his sleep.
**
Pushing her way through the crowd of drunk students, Buffy stared down at the piece of paper in her hands nervously. Ben had given her his number after a very nervous cute speech, which had been utterly adorable.
Expect, Buffy had no intention of dating.
She liked Ben sure, but between everything else going on in her life dating was the last thing on her mind.
As she approached the drinks table, Buffy frowned as she spotted Elena.
Only long gone was the smiley happy Elena she had seen an hour ago.
This version of her sister looked beyond pissed off.
Like a damn cartoon character with steam coming out of her ears.
"Lena? What's wrong?"
Grumbling incoherent words under her breath, Elena merely gestured to where Spike was approaching a pretty brunette girl in a pink dress.
At the sight of the vampire that was becoming a pain in her existence, Buffy clenched her jaw, visibly tensing up as she crossed her arms over her chest "I warned him." She hissed as all the ways she was going to kill Spike started running through her mind
However, before she could enact any of her plans of torture and pain, both Buffy and Elena froze as they spotted the pretty girl grab Spike and lift him off the ground with her bare hands.
Holding him over her head like he was nothing more than a bag of Cheetos.
"Hey, hey!" Spike exclaimed as he thrashed around trying to free himself of the abnormally strong woman's hold to no avail.
"That would be wrong!" The woman screamed, "You are not my boyfriend!"
Quickly both Buffy and Elena covered their mouths trying to contain their giggles as the woman launched Spike out of the window.
Hiding her face in Elena's shoulder as her body vibrated in laughter, Buffy tried to compose herself before slowly making her way over to the mysterious woman.
A woman who was now officially her hero.
Spotting her new hero moving to leave the party, Buffy quickly moved to block her path "Excuse me. Hi. Um...maybe you and I could talk, you know, cos..." Buffy paused chuckling at the mere memory of Spike going flying through the window "...throwing Spike through a window...that's good. Um but you know, generally speaking..."
April, merely stood there her face blank as she practically stared through the blonde "Do you know my boyfriend?"
At the blunt question, Buffy frowned at the girl, there was seriously something off about her.
She was so mechanical.
Her obsession with finding this guy was insane.
"Ok, I think you need to take a second and stop looking for your boyfriend."
Unhappy with Buffy's words, April glared at the shorter girl before roughly grabbing Buffy's arms and with shocking strength, she launched Buffy away from her.
Stunned, Buffy groaned as she hit the ground with a thud.
Hearing Elena running over to her, Buffy quickly threw a small warning look Elena's way.
The woman was strong and clearly demented, she didn't want Elena anywhere near April.
Unfazed by the fact that she had just thrown Buffy across the room, April merely tilted her head watching the blonde with a pitiful gaze.
"If I hurt you just now, I am sorry. And I hope that your boyfriend will take good care of you."
**
"I don't know about you, but I've had it with super-strong little women who aren't me."
At Buffy's rant, Damon snorted in amusement, turning his attention away from the book he had stolen from The Magic Box to focus on teasing the hell out of Buffy.
Just because they were speaking through the phone didn't mean he couldn't tease her relentlessly.
"You tend to be the only little woman I'm fine with throwing me around a room, so I'm with you on that." He told her as he placed down the book and stood from his seat; moving over to the bar.
Beginning to pour himself a drink he couldn't help but smile as Buffy grumbled under her breath about kicking his ass "So what is she?"
"A robot." Buffy answered casually, making him pause.
That was definitely new for him.
"Plus, she threw Spike out a window."
Remaining silent for a long moment, Damon couldn't help but rub his head.
This town was completely insane.
First, a robot, what the hell was next?
Dragons?
However, luckily he didn't have to think too deeply about the weirdness of this town as he finally allowed the second bit of information that Buffy had given him to fill his mind.
Letting out a loud laugh he couldn't help but grin, his mind purposely trying to imagine the moment Spike went flying through that window.
That was just pure gold.
"Sad I missed it, did the Brit cry?" He joked before taking a sip of his scotch.
Buffy chuckled softly "I wish. Anyway, we're in research mode tomorrow. But when I'm going after she terminator, how'd you feel about a little double team?"
Smiling softly at her invitation Damon couldn't help but feel better than he had in almost two years.
He had missed teaming up with Buffy.
"Depends... it won't be you and the robot trying to kill me right?"
"Nah. I like beating you up all on my own."
**
"Dear God, girls there's only so much I can take." Giles told the pair as he stood by the front door, desperate to leave the Summers' house of horror.
One night of watching Jeremy and he was ready to flee back to England.
Pulling off his glasses, the exhausted Watcher frantically started cleaning them in exasperation.
Whatever Jeremy had made him do had clearly thrown the adult for a loop.
"We'll have to change the system. I understand that Jeremy is still under punishment but a 17-year-old's too old to be babysat, and it's not fair on him."
Buffy and Elena both glanced at each other with a knowing gaze.
Hurricane Jeremy had struck again.
It was very clear to both young women that when Giles said it wasn't fair on Jeremy, he was clearly speaking about himself.
"What did he make you do?" The two Summers girls asked in unison.
Giles merely let out a deep sigh before rubbing his forehead, a blossoming headache already beginning to take form.
"We listened to aggressively loud music by people chosen for their ability to play air guitar. Played on that absurd X-Box shooting zombies and then he gave me a lecture on the difference between California women and women in Mystic Falls. Or the correct term as I was informed 'California babes'."
**
Continuing on her normal route for her morning jog, Elena turned the next corner leading her out of the park and onto the main street.
She had been jogging every morning since the whole reveal about being The Key.
It was one of her many methods of trying to distract herself.
Between her training sessions with Buffy and Giles and her morning job, she barely had time to have a mental breakdown about what had been placed inside of her.
As her beeper goes off, signally the end of her run, the exhausted brunette sighed in relief as she pulled to a stop.
Taking in a few deep breaths, Elena calmed her erratic heart rate before finally moving to walk back to the house.
However, as she turned to head home she froze as she spotted a hooded figure running in her direction.
Just the sight of the unfamiliar man made her tense up.
In the past 7 months that she had been in this town, she had met everyone on the street and he did not live here.
As her mind instantly started to go to the worst-case scenario, Elena quickly turned and started jogging the other way. Intent on getting away from him.
Yet sure enough, her panic quickly started to spin out of control as she heard him begin running faster.
Gulping nervously, Elena quickly sped up her pace, quickly turning onto Revello Drive.
Skidding to a halt, the brunette quickly ducked behind a large tree, hiding as she kept her eyes glued to the corner, waiting for him to run past her.
After a moment, she sighed in relief as he doesn't appear around the corner.
Letting out a small laugh she couldn't help but chuckle at her own expense, she was officially going insane.
Now relieved, Elena slowly started moving down the street towards her house only to let out a loud gasp as she connected face-first with a firm chest.
Looking up, Elena felt utter terror fill her as her eyes met that of the hooded figure who had been chasing her.
The creep merely grinned down at her as he lowered his hood "Excuse me. Should have been watching where I was going."
**
"I feel like I'm going crazy. I'm totally paranoid all the time." Elena told Buffy as she sat on the kitchen countertop with a bottle of water in her shaky hands.
She was still shaken up after her run, she just couldn't calm herself down.
She was starting to jump at every little thing, constantly looking over her shoulder expecting monsters to be there ready to kill her.
Buffy sighed before looking at her sister sadly.
This was all too much, with Klaus using her as a human blood bag and Glory wanting to do God knows what with her, it was all so unfair.
Elena deserved more than just being a walking hybrid incubator and constantly looking over her shoulder waiting for Glory to strike.
"It's understandable." Buffy told her sincerely.
Now that Elena had agreed to back off when it came to her love life, they were back to normal.
"Bonnie's off somewhere with Stefan, so we don't have one of the only people to ever beat Klaus around." Buffy admitted before huffing out a breath in frustration.
Their lives sucked beyond the telling of it sometimes.
"And Klaus is still out there, wanting to take us both and lock us up, plus now with Glory looking for you."
"But he left." Elena muttered completely confused.
When it came to Klaus everything was confusing.
They hadn't seen or heard from him in months, something wasn't making sense.
"And he hasn't made a move since, neither has Glory, we haven't seen her since Willow's spell. No sign of either of them."
With that, Elena groaned before shaking her head, she was going crazy. She was completely losing her mind.
Running her hands through her still sweaty hair Elena offered Buffy a small weak smile "Don't listen to me, this is just my slow spiral into insanity."
"Join the club." Buffy told her "Every time I close my eyes I get flashes. It's like I can't tell what's real and what is just a part of Klaus messing with my brain."
With both of their frustrations out in the air, the two girls just sat there in silence, both worrying for the other's safety.
Elena worried about Buffy's sanity and freedom.
As the barriers separating her real memories from those created by Klaus started to crumble, making her reality uncertain. To the fact that one day Klaus was going to show up and try to take her away for eternity.
While Buffy was worried about Elena's life or lack thereof a normal life.
Glory wanted her and would do God knows what to her, likely kill her. And Klaus wanted to lock her away so he could use her blood to sire a hybrid army.
Letting out a harsh laugh, Buffy dropped her head to the countertop "Our lives really are weird."
Elena chuckled "You got that right, sister."
Despite the horrors surrounding their lives, the two girls couldn't help but start giggling loudly.
It was funny just how screwed up their lives were.
However, their laughter at their own expense was forced to come to an end as the kitchen phone started ringing.
Attempting to contain her laughter as she made her way to the phone Buffy glanced back at Elena "That will be Willow with the info on our Dr. Frankinstien."
Snorting in amusement, Elena jumped off the counter and moved toward the fridge only to jump as the sound of glass shattering filled her ears.
Spinning around her eyes widened in shock and concern as she spotted the cause of the shattering glass.
Standing by the phone, her body rigid like stone, with a newly broken glass in her hands, was Buffy.
Spotting the blood now covering Buffy's hand due to shattered glass in her bare hand, Elena quickly moved over, finally taking in just how furious Buffy looked.
Something was seriously wrong, that was obvious enough.
"Buffy?"
At Elena's attempt to draw her attention, Buffy merely raised her bloody hand silencing her.
Inhaling tightly, Buffy tried to swallow down her rage as she clenched her jaw tightly at the voice of the man that had been the cause of her current break, in reality, piped through the phone.
Sounding as smug as ever.
"Did you miss me, love?"
"Klaus."
"Hello, Dear, just calling to check in on my lovely Slayer and the doppelganger."
Gritting her teeth as her hand tightened around the phone, Buffy was close to losing her cool and ripping the phone from the wall. The anger in her was so intense that she had yet to even register the blood dripping down her fingers from the broken glass, which was burying itself further into her hand.
"Where are you?" She hissed, the overwhelming urge to drive a stake into his heart compelling her.
"Want to join me?" He asked flirtatiously.
"Hardly." Buffy retorted flatly "More like wanting to beat you to a pulp. If that's what gets your motor running that's your damage."
Klaus chuckled, despite the fact that he was a psycho, Buffy would admit he did have a brilliant laugh which just annoyed her all the more.
"You're a shifty one, camina."
The familiar nickname caused Buffy to flinch.
Knowing he was trying to get under her skin, Buffy tapped her foot rapidly, she was growing impatient with this little catch up "What do you want asshat?"
"I just want to let you know that I have a few...let's use the word friends keeping an eye on you and that cousin of yours. So don't do anything stupid. I'll be seeing you soon love."
As the line goes dead, Buffy froze and glanced over at Elena who was staring in horror.
It was official, their lives could totally get worse than they already were.
"I don't think you're paranoid."
**
Klaus was seriously screwing up Buffy's life.
Instead of being able to deal with the creepy girlfriend robot, Buffy was stuck on hybrid patrol. So while her friends handled that guy Warren and April the robot, Buffy's priority was now tracking down the hybrids that Klaus had sent to Sunnydale to stalk her and Elena.
Having the hybrids around would only cause unwanted trouble which she didn't have time for.
She already had Glory's minions sniffing around for Elena, she didn't need Klaus's lackeys here to do the exact same thing.
Which was why she was making her way toward Damon's front door.
Just because she was stuck on hybrid duty didn't mean that she was going to soak in misery alone. Plus, she was almost positive Damon would be excited about the prospect of doing anything that would piss Klaus off.
Pushing open the front door without bothering to knock, Buffy made her way into the living room only to freeze as she spotted a very shirtless Damon standing by the bookcase.
Buffy found herself staring at Damon with wide eyes, and as much as she would deny it, she couldn't help but admire his chest and strangely perfect abs.
"I see you still haven't grasped the concept of knocking."
At Damon's words, Buffy quickly shook herself back to reality and off of his firm chest.
Rolling her eyes, Buffy grabbed his shirt off the couch, tossing it at him causing him to laugh as he slipped it over his head.
"Issues with the robot?" The newly clothed Damon questioned as he made his way over to the blonde.
"I'm not here about that. Willow's handling it."
Damon frowned.
Buffy had never been one to hand off a problem to someone else, at least not without a damn good reason.
"Klaus called me today."
It was safe to say, that was a very good damn reason for her to jump off the robot ship.
Clenching his jaw tightly, Damon moved to find out what the hell had happened only to pause as he spotted the white bandage on her hand.
Moving over to her he quickly grabbed her wrist unwrapping the bandage only to wince as he caught sight of the deep slice on her palm.
Inhaling tightly as he touched her hand softly, Buffy gulped nervously her voice suddenly catching in her throat as her eyes met his causing the air to suddenly disappear out of the room.
Forcing her gaze away from his, Buffy quickly pulled her hand out of his hold, the room suddenly feeling way too small for two people.
Despite what Elena said, there was a big difference between finding someone attractive and actually having romantic feelings for them.
Getting a good amount of distance away from him, Buffy cleared her throat awkwardly, trying to focus back on her reason behind coming here "Klaus has a hybrid in town watching me and Elena."
At her words, irritation ran through Damon's eyes.
Klaus was like a damn pest who wouldn't die.
"You have got to be kidding me."
Buffy smiled softly before tilting her suggestively "Wanna go Hybrid hunting?"
**
"A robot?" Jeremy laughed as he and Elena walked behind Tara and Giles toward the exit of The Magic Box.
After the whole day of researching Glory, the fact that no one had mentioned the she-robot that had thrown Spike through a window had left Jeremy desperate for more information.
Or at least a video tap of Spike going through the window, with music on an endless loop.
"Now that is awesome." The teenager continued before glancing over at Tara "Was she hot?"
Tara merely sighed before glancing over at Elena who automatically slapped her brother's arm "Quit it." She ordered before turning to Giles.
"What about that Ted guy that Aunt Joyce dated? Was she like that?" Elena asked genuinely curious.
She and Buffy hadn't gotten a lot of time to discuss the robot.
After the phone call from Klaus, Buffy had been shaken.
Given that she had made Elena go to her classes with an axe in her bag, it was safe to say that Buffy was worried.
Tara quickly shook her head "No, nothing like that. She was more obvious, well that's how Willow said it."
Giles sighed as he pulled on his jacket and reached to grab his car keys before turning back to the curious young Americans "Willow and Xander are tracking this Warren fellow now, so I will take you both home." He explained turning his focus to Elena and Jeremy "While Damon and Buffy are tracking Klaus's hybrid we have to make sure that you are home where they cannot enter."
Elena reluctantly nodded as she threw her bag over her shoulder.
She hated this whole situation.
Things were never simple.
They had moved halfway across the country and yet still things were just as complicated, if not more so than in Mystic Falls.
As Giles moved to open the door he turned to face Anya who was currently cleaning one of the bookshelves "Anya mind the store till I get back."
"Sir yes sir." She answered enthusiastically before mumbling something about the cash register and the money.
Before the group could finally leave though, the door to The Magic Box suddenly slammed wide open and a smoking figure comes rushing into the store.
"Coming through!" A familiar English voice exclaimed shoving Giles out of the way and running right into the safety of the sunlight-free store.
As the group turned to face the figure, each one of them groaned as Spike threw his burning blanket off his back.
Not noticing the death glares being thrown in his direction, Spike quickly panicked as he spotted his blanket starting to burn up with small flames "Fire! Fire!" He exclaimed as he threw the burning blanket on the ground trying to put out the fire.
After a long awkward moment, Spike turned to the group "Hello, all. What's going on, then?"
Pulling Elena and Jeremy behind him in an overprotective fatherly manner, Giles stepped forward, a flash of the ripper he had once been filling his eyes as he glared at the vampire "Spike, you're not welcome here."
"Is there a way to de-invite him?" Elena snarked as she reached for her gun which was hidden under her shirt "I mean despite the public place thing."
Jeremy merely grinned as he clenched his fists tightly, wanting nothing more than to break Spike's jaw "No let him in, then I can throw him out into the sun. I've always wanted to see that Billy Idol fire trick live, this will be like the real thing."
"Oooh." Anya giggled cheerfully, clearly enjoying all the threatening and violence "Can we throw him out the window like the robot did?" Pausing in her words, Anya allowed a heated look to cover her features as she looked over at Jeremy, and his very muscly arms "Well Jeremy can, he's all muscle and buff...no offense, Giles."
While Jeremy smirked slightly, Giles didn't seem to be listening to Anya's ranting.
His full attention was on Spike, who was yammering on about the robot still oblivious to the hatred being directed toward him.
"Robot?" Spike asked astonished "That's what she was? I knew something wasn't right." He chuckled before sighing as he spotted that evil look Elena was throwing at him.
It was creepy, just like when she threatened to set him on fire "I see where little Miss Sunshine gets the scariness from."
At Spike's taunting, Tara quickly stepped forward. Moving closer to Elena protectively, she crossed her arms "I think you'd better go."
Spike sighed before tilting his head in annoyance, clearing Buffy had told them all what had happened the other night "Ok. Now, I was afraid of this..." He muttered before turning to gesture at Elena and Jeremy "Now, before these two start shooting me with wooden bullets I can explain. Misrepresentations, misunderstandings, slurs, and allegations. I don't know what Buffy told you, but..."
At the mere mention of his sister's name leaving Spike's lips, Jeremy pushed past Giles, and before anyone could stop him, the teenager had sent his fist right into Spike's face.
As Spike stumbled back into the bookcase, Elena quickly grabbed her brother's arm yanking him back "Jeremy!" She exclaimed but Jeremy merely shrugged her off as he continued to glare at Spike who now had blood spilling down his nose.
"Do not say her name." Jeremy hissed before sighing as Giles placed a hand on his shoulder signaling for him to stay back.
Grabbing onto the bookshelf, Spike rubbed his now sore jaw as he hauled himself back up to his feet.
Wiping the blood from his probably broken nose he turned to Elena "Thank you, finally someone who can listen now where was—" Spike was cut off again as this time Elena punched him in the face causing him to stumble back against the bookshelf.
Rubbing her now sore knuckles, Elena glared down at the vampire who was staring up at her in shock "I am not on your side here." She hissed before shaking her hand, while yes it now hurt like hell, it was totally worth it.
"I love all this violence!" Anya exclaimed, jumping up and down like a gleefully happy child.
Rolling her eyes, Elena scoffed before pulling out her gun and aiming it right at Spike's heart.
She was done with this.
"Spike I warned you..."
Standing back up Spike quickly raised his hands in surrender. The Slayer's damn family were all violent nut-cases like her "Now hold up...Slayer and I fought side by side against Dru..."
Fed up with Spike, Giles stepped around Jeremy and Elena placing his hand on Elena's wrist and making her lower the gun.
He then pulled her behind him, standing protectively in front of the brother-sister pair.
Stepping forward the watcher glared down at Spike menacingly "Spike. Listen to me."
"It's just..." Spike stammered still trying to argue his case "I'm just trying to explain. She might have said some things that sounded like I expressed some kind of..."
For the third time in less than five minutes, Spike was again cut off, this time by Giles who shoved him back against the bookshelf before approaching him.
The Watcher was now nothing more than a memory.
The Ripper had taken over.
"We are not your friends. We are not your way to Buffy. There is no way to, Buffy."
**
"And he would be here why?" Buffy asked as she and Damon trampled through the forest looking for the hybrid "He's been going full Stalker Alert on Elena around town, I doubt he's gone to the woods for a stroll."
Damon merely shook his head before leading her up the hill toward the place he thought the hybrid might be held up.
"Klaus was being a cocky dick by telling you he sent a hybrid to stalk you...I seriously doubt the killable hybrid is gonna be walking around town if he knows the Slayer is looking for him. Hybrids may be arrogant and stupid but they're not as stupid as your cousins."
"Damon!" Buffy hissed before slapping his arm only causing him to smirk at her. Rolling her eyes in annoyance Buffy reluctantly continued walking beside him in silence, trudging her perfect boots through the mud.
As they walked, Buffy looked up at the sun before frowning in worry. The sun was starting to set, and given it was a full moon tonight, she was cautious.
One of them could die from a werewolf bite and it wasn't her.
"Can they change at will?"
Damon nodded "The only hybrid I met could when I was... never mind anyway he tried to take a munch out of me."
At the way he suddenly trailed off, Buffy froze. Pausing in her steps she turned to face him, her eyes wide in horror.
How stupid could Damon be?
Did he have a damn death wish?
"What!" She exclaimed waving her hands around frantically "Why would you agree to come if one almost killed you?"
"I didn't have a choice then. Plus, now I have backup that comes in a blonde bottle."
Buffy groaned in annoyance and continued to glare at him angrily before frowning, what did he mean by didn't have a choice? There was something else he wasn't telling her, and it was making her nervous.
Was she there when this happened?
What was so secretive about this?
"What are you talking about?"
Damon groaned, clenching his jaw, he wasn't exactly in the mood for Buffy to be yelling at him or to have an emotional talk about what had happened the last time he had been bitten. Given that his getting bit had ended up setting a whole chain of events into motion which ended with her missing for a year with no memory, he had no desire to talk about this.
He just wanted to get this done.
Searching for this hybrid was bringing up memories of what had happened between the two of them when he was dying, memories he would rather not be dealing with while in her presence.
"Damon." Buffy snapped as she crossed her arms, making it clear he was going to answer her whether he liked it or not "When?"
Damon sighed before shrugging and walking past her "When I was looking for you."
He, Elena, and Ric had been up in the mountains only to be attacked by Klaus's first failed Hybrid and a Ripper blood-lusted-up Stefan.
Finding herself at a loss for words, Buffy watched after him as he walked away from her.
She just couldn't believe it.
He had almost died again because he had been looking for her after she had handed herself over to Klaus.
Taking a deep breath and swallowing her pride she sped up her pace so that she could walk beside him "I'm sorry."
Damon frowned in confusion but doesn't say anything as he spotted the look on her face, guilt, but more interesting was the flicker of concern in her eyes. He couldn't help the small smirk that crossed his face at the fact that she was actually worried about him.
However, before he could revel in this new reveal from her, the two of them instantly tensed up as they heard footsteps coming from far ahead.
Exchanging a small glance the two communicated silently before slowly moving in the direction of the footsteps.
As they go, Buffy handed Damon her bag while she pulled the large hunting blade from her jacket "There are ropes in there, whatever you do, don't—"
"Ah! Ow!" Damon exclaimed suddenly as he dropped Buffy's bag, his hand now burning the flesh melting away "What the hell?!"
Buffy groaned at the sight of his now healing hand "I told you not to." She mumbled with a small shrug before picking up her bag and shoving it into his arms "They are covered in Vervain and Wolf's bane. I think before I hunt...most of the time. Just wait here."
Damon dropped her bag again making her glare, that bag cost her a fortune.
"No way in hell!" He snapped, ignoring her panic over her purple bag.
Buffy sighed "Look I'm just gonna draw his attention, he sees you and we're screwed. He won't hurt me."
Ever the stubborn man, Damon merely glares at her before storming towards the sound again intent on ripping the hybrid's head off before Buffy could say: I told you so.
"Nope. Not gonna happen."
"Damon!"
He kept walking.
Letting out a loud curse, Buffy ran after him.
Damon was such a pain in the ass!
Quickly catching up to him, the two of them found themselves standing in a large clearing with a large mansion in the middle.
"This smells like Klaus." Damon said with a shrug gesturing to the mansion.
Rolling her eyes, Buffy glanced around the property before finally, her eyes settled on the man walking out of the mansion. A cocky grin on his smug soon-to-be broken face.
"Buffy Summers, surprised it took you so long."
Placing her hands on her hips, Buffy glared over at the smug hybrid "So you're the one tormenting my sister. Wow, Klaus's lackeys really are persistent."
The hybrid smiled before making his way toward the dynamic duo, his focus on Buffy as he circled around them, watching her carefully. Looking her up and down appreciatively.
Spotting the creep eyeing Buffy like a piece of meat, Damon let out a growl before shoving him away, out of reaching distance "Where's Klaus?"
The hybrid chuckled "Yeah, no."
"Oh, you're gonna tell us." Buffy explained with an all-knowing smirk as she twirled her blade in her hands before pointing it in his direction "Now-ish before we make you. Trust me I really don't need to ruin another good pair of shoes."
The hybrid merely laughed before pointing at Buffy, having no idea or concept of how scared he should be "He said you'd be fun...he also said not to touch you or the doppelgänger." Slowly his smirk grew deeper as his eyes landed on Damon "But you...Klaus said to tear you and your brother's heads off."
He lunged forward trying to get to Damon.
However, Buffy easily grabbed the back of his head and forced him onto his stomach, pinning his back down with her heeled boot.
Slamming her boot into the back of his skull she grinned as his skull slammed painfully against the floor, a loud crack echoing through the woods before his body went limp.
Damon chuckled in amusement as admired Buffy "I forgot how good you are at this."
"Never forget it." She teased before watching as Damon threw the Hybrid over his shoulder "I love it when they underestimate me. The karma is satisfying."
**
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
To say waking her brother had not gone smoothly, was very much an understatement.
Elijah hadn't exactly been grateful when he had woken up. Especially once he realized that Mary had entrapped him in a mausoleum to keep Klaus from discovering what she had done.
"Elijah, stop!"
Mary exclaimed as Elijah slammed her up against the stonewall of the mausoleum causing her to groan as her head hit the wall, blurring her vision.
"Elijah!" Mary whimpered softly as he yet again slammed her head against the stone.
Groaning in annoyance the witch let out a small growl, she could smell the blood on the back of her head.
She was officially done playing nice.
If Elijah wanted violence she would show him violence.
"Fine!" She hissed as her eyes glaze over, black filling every corner of her eyes till her irises were nothing but empty back pits of darkness "Enough!" She screamed her voice growing distorted as her power practically shook the building.
Just because Klaus had cursed her, didn't mean she couldn't fight against it.
Especially, when she was pissed off.
Quickly, Elijah found himself being thrown across the room, his eyes widening in panic as the room started shaking violently and the glass windows shattered as the wind filled the room.
"Marianna!" He exclaimed in a panic as thunder began to echo from outside.
He had to get her to stop.
This was getting out of hand, she was losing control, much like when she was a child.
Finally, Mary lowered her arms, the shaking finally coming to an end as the storm from outside was brought to a halt, however, as she turned to Elijah her eyes were still black.
"You shouldn't have your magic." He hissed, knowing that Klaus would have had his witches bound her magic until he needed it.
Snorting in amusement, Mary just smirked "Nik seems to forget he isn't the only one with friends. I draw magic from death Elijah. No matter how many witches he puts around me, the amount of death he causes just strengthens me."
Slowly the darkness faded out of her eyes and she looked at him softly, much like the young girl he had watched grow up.
The little girl that used to make fireflies appear out of nowhere and cause flowers to bloom with her laughs.
The girl that their cruel father had adored. She had become the daughter that their father had lost.
A best friend to Kol and Rebekah.
The witch in the family that his mother had always wished for.
She was strong but much like Klaus, she was stubborn and relentless.
"Why did you wake me, Marianna?"
Mary looked up at him, her eyes glazing over in anger "I want Klaus dead and I know you do too."
Elijah paused and watched the raven-haired beauty carefully "What are you proposing?"
**
SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA
"Those ropes won't hold him for long." Damon told Buffy as they continued to wrap chains and ropes around the hybrid they currently had pinned to a tree.
"Don't need them to." Buffy argued as she stepped around Damon holding the last of the Vervain ropes, wrapping it around the hybrid's neck "Just long enough to well..."
As she trailed off, Damon couldn't help but grin as Buffy twirled her blade suggestively in her palm.
"Torture, maim...got it. Like it."
He loved Evil Vengeful Buffy!
Buffy rolled her eyes in amusement before grabbing the bottle of wolf's bane out of her bag and pouring it over the hybrid's face.
It was definitely a wake-up call.
"Ahhh!" The hybrid screamed as his flesh started burning and steam rushed off his skin.
Buffy smirked at the burns on the hybrid's face before moving closer to him "Good you're awake. Now, you are I are gonna have a little chat." She said sweetly as she ran a hand through her long blonde hair, which was flowing just past her shoulders.
"Now, before I start removing body parts and imitating a Game of Thrones torture scene, I'm gonna give you one chance...where-is-Klaus?"
When the hybrid merely laughed, Damon grabbed him by the back of the head forcing his head up "Listen, I don't care what dog treats Klaus is giving you, you're gonna be a good little pup and tell us what we want to know."
Instead of speaking, The hybrid merely chuckled again before one of his bones snapped.
One after another, bones started to break, the cracking echoing loudly through the woods.
Buffy and Damon paused.
Just as the hybrid's eyes flashed yellow the pair gulped and quickly stepped back. This was not good for them.
Technically, it was worse news for Damon.
"Dammit!" Damon exclaimed as he quickly steps back to avoid getting bitten. He had a feeling Klaus wouldn't be offering up his blood as a cure this time around.
"Afraid this would happen."
Buffy's eyes widened as she watched the hybrid's bones break one after the other. This was not good!
She did not love them for this!
"Is he turning? Damon, we need to go now!"
Instantly, Buffy grabbed Damon's arm yanking him back in panic. If they didn't move now that hybrid was going to kill Damon.
She couldn't and wouldn't let that happen.
"Now, Damon!"
"Shit!" Damon hissed before quickly turning and lifting Buffy up into his arms, speeding them off into the woods as fast as he could.
**
Still rushing through the woods, Buffy had her blade grasped tightly in her palm as she kept her eyes open for any sign of the hybrid.
At the rate his bones had been breaking, he was probably in full wolf form by now and hot on their heels.
Hearing the snapping of branches coming from her left, Buffy jumped out of Damon's arms and spun around, her hair flipping widely with her.
Twirling the blade, Buffy glared into the darkness, preparing for the fight.
If that thing was in full wolf mode they wouldn't be able to outrun it, so she needed to end this before Damon ended up dead.
"Buffy!" Damon exclaimed as he ran over and tried to pull her with him.
Buffy quickly shook her head and pushed him away "GO!" She told him.
When Damon just stared at her like she was crazy, she couldn't help but groan. Now was so not the time to be having this argument "I am the reason you are out here! You've already been attacked and almost died once before because of me. I need to end this...if I don't kill that thing now, he'll keep coming after you and Elena."
This Hybrid needed to die.
Leaving him alive was not an option.
As much as Damon wanted to argue, he couldn't. Buffy was right. This creature needed to die "No way in hell am I leaving you out here."
"You have to! Damon, you get bitten and you'll die!" Buffy exclaimed but before she could say anything else, out of the corner of her eyes she spotted the wolf launching itself in Damon's direction.
Shit!
Before she could even think about what she was doing, Buffy pushed Damon out of the way and went crashing to the ground as the wolf lost in a haze, dug its teeth into her neck viciously.
"Ahhh!" She screamed as the wolf buried its teeth tearing at the flesh painfully.
Groaning in agony as the wolf thrashed on top of her, Buffy gritted her teeth before grabbing her blade and shoving it through the wolf's neck right into his skull killing him instantly.
Clearly, while in wolf form, Hybrids were more vulnerable.
Out of breath and a bit loopy from the blood loss, Buffy shoved the creature off her, only for Damon grab to it mid-air and rip its head from its body.
Making sure it was dead for sure.
"Double-tap." Buffy coughed letting out a small weak chuckle before her head flopped back down on the ground and she groaned in agony.
She could feel the blood dripping down her neck, staining her clothes.
"Buffy!" Damon panicked as he rushed over to her, crouching down beside her he couldn't help but find himself horrified.
There was so much blood.
The wolf had gotten a good grip on her neck. His teeth had torn through her flesh like a cheese grater.
Wincing at the sight of the injury he pushed the hair out of her face before carefully placing one arm under her legs and the other behind her back.
Lifting her up bridal style, he carefully walked them over to her jeep, sitting her down on the hood so he could examine her wound properly.
As he pushed the hair off her bloody neck, Buffy let out a harsh hiss of pain as his fingers grazed the open wound "Ow."
Quickly moving his hand away from her wound to not hurt her, Damon couldn't help but cup her blood-covered cheek with his palm, desperately trying to assure himself that she was okay.
However, sure enough, the world never rested even when the Slayer was injured and her phone started ringing.
Damon sighed and quickly pulled away from her pacing back and forth as he stared down at the blood covering his hands.
Buffy's blood.
Was she never going to get a break?
Honestly, Damon was tempted to kidnap her and find her a place in the world where she could actually just be Buffy. Instead of the hero, everyone needed her to be.
How she hadn't crumbled under the pressure yet, he would never understand.
"Yeah?" Buffy breathed weakly into the phone as she keeps one hand pressed against her neck in an attempt to slow the bleeding. While yes it hurt like a mother, she'd had worse in the past. Her still being able to move was a big plus.
"Buffy it's me." Willow yelled urgently "Tell her!"
Suddenly a male voice Buffy didn't recognize came through the speaker, who she could only assume was Warren.
"Hi, yeah I'm Warren..."
"You made April, got it." Buffy mumbled just as Damon walked back over and tore the sleeve off his shift using it as a makeshift bandage for her neck "Tell me what's going on."
"Her battery...it should have run out days ago...she must be recharging them somehow."
Buffy paused and looked up at Damon who was watching her with a worried frown as he tied the bandage around her neck, this really wasn't the best time "Warren, listen to me...is she dangerous?"
"She's only programmed to be in love."
At Warren's words, instantly Damon's eyes shot to Buffy catching her gaze.
If there was one thing they both knew was that being in love made people more dangerous than anything.
Carefully allowing Damon to help her to her feet, Buffy slowly started to climb into her car "Then she's dangerous. Do you have any idea how to find her?"
"Well, she's looking for me. My guess is she's pretty close."
"Meet me at the park." She snapped just as Damon shut the car door for her.
Hanging up Buffy sighed deeply before glancing back over at Damon a little unsure of what to say, but she had to go.
It was what she did.
"I have to..."
"I know."
**
After Buffy had run off to go save the day despite her own injuries, Damon slammed his front door open with a frustrated huff.
She had been so stupid pushing him out of the way like that.
He just didn't understand what the hell she had been thinking risking her life like that for him.
The wolf hadn't been after her, it had been after him and now she had a damn bite mark on her neck.
Letting out a loud groan, overwhelmed by confusing emotions, Damon grabbed a nearby glass from the table, launching it straight into the fireplace.
Listening to the glass shatter around him Damon leaned his head against the wall.
This was all so confusing.
Back in Mystic Falls, there was no way she would have taken that brunt for him. Yes, she would have killed the hybrid and kept it off him, but she would not have dived in the way.
The fact that she had pushed him out of the way...well to say it made things between them infuriating, was an understatement.
All he had wanted for so long was to have a fresh start with her, and he finally had that.
But the truth was how could he ever know if it was real?
If she got her memories back, things would go right back to normal between them.
Right?
With a groan, he pushed himself away from the fireplace and moved toward the leather chair in the corner of the room.
His phone started ringing just as he sat down, trying to get comfortable.
"What?!" He hissed, really not in the mood to speak to anyone.
He just wanted to drink till he passed out or the image of Buffy's blood everywhere was erased from his mind.
"Oooh, you two love birds fighting already?"
Damon rolled his eyes at the sound of Mary's voice before clenching his fists, she really did call at the worst possible times "What do you want Mary? I'm really not in the mood."
"Ooh, something did happen between you and Buffy-Anne. Please do tell, she didn't kiss you on the forehead again did she?"
Damon stayed silent, too fuming to encourage her teasing.
"Fine be that way. Look just thought you should know I put phase two into gear."
Damon frowned in confusion, what the hell was Phase Two?
Mary had only mentioned the fact that she had basically sent Katherine on a wild goose chase to find some mystery vampire hunter that could supposedly kill Klaus.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I brought an old friend back into the game."
As she spoke, Damon could practically picture her grinning at the fact that she was the only one with all the pieces in this puzzle.
However, given that Mary always managed to make his life worse, he had a feeling that this Old Friend...was not someone he wanted back in the game.
"You didn't."
"Oh, I did. Elijah is back."
"You have got to be kidding me."
**
"I can't help but feel for her." Buffy admitted to Elena, thinking back to her conversation with April when the Robot finally started shutting down.
There was something so heartbreaking about the way everything April knew had been stripped away from her.
All April had known was Warren and then he abandoned her.
Letting out a small wince as Elena continued to clean her wound with disinfectant, Buffy clenched her fist tightly trying not to scream at the burning sensation coming from her neck.
At Buffy's words, Elena frowned in confusion before pulling the wet cloth from Buffy's neck and dipping it in the bowl of warm water "Really? Buffy, she was a robot..."
"I know..." Buffy paused trying to think of how to explain what she was feeling "She devoted everything to making this one person happy. And then it was, like, with him gone, there was just no reason for her to exist anymore."
Kind of like how Buffy devoted her entire life to making sure Elena and Jeremy were happy.
Something that one day would probably get her killed.
Elena sighed before slowly trying to remove the dirt and mud from the wound on Buffy's neck. Pushing the hair out of the way she started pulling the dirt out, hating the fact that Buffy winced as she did.
"Robots are the strangest people. And that's saying something considering our lives."
Buffy chuckled slightly before shaking her head in disagreement "No. People are the strangest people. I mean, look at me."
Elena frowned pulling away slightly so she could look at her sister properly, something was clearly going on in Buffy's head, something conflicting.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean the fact that I just broke up with Riley and I'm still confused about how I'm supposed to feel about Stefan...and then there's this thing with Damon." Groaning loudly, Buffy exhaled deeply.
She could barely process anything going on in her head right now.
When did her life get so complicated?
"I think for now...I need to focus on remembering myself and who I was and how that affects who I am now. Not my relationship status. I need to get comfortable with Buffy and being me again."
Elena smiled, she had to admit she liked hearing that.
Although she had pushed her towards the doctor she knew where Buffy was coming from here. Plus, deep down after their fight, Elena knew she had pushed Buffy toward Ben for the wrong reasons.
Buffy had been right.
She had done it because she herself was still hurting after her breakup with Liam and was trying to live through her cousin.
Being dumped over text sucked!
"Well, I can say from experience...she's a pretty cool person to be alone with."
Buffy smiled gratefully as Elena placed the bandage on her neck. This felt like the right thing to do.
She didn't need a guy right now.
Not Riley, Ben, or the Salvatores, she just needed herself.
"Thanks."
**
"What you did was incredibly stupid."
Rolling her eyes at the sound of Damon's voice, Buffy groaned before turning to face the vampire who was leaning up against her bedroom window, his emotion-filled eyes glued to the new bandage on her neck.
Did he seriously not know where the front door was?
Tearing his gaze off the wound that made him feel sick to his stomach, Damon turned to focus on Buffy's pale face "You could have been killed."
"Could've but didn't." Buffy argued as she threw the bloody towel on her bed before crossing her arms over her chest.
Turning to face him she just offered him a pointed gaze like she was stating the most obvious thing in the world.
"You, on the other hand, would be. The venom doesn't affect me, it would have killed you and I doubt Klaus would have given us the cure."
As much as she hated to admit it, Damon was her friend.
She was not going to let him die.
Damon sighed before stepping toward her, he didn't care if he died, she shouldn't have gotten hurt protecting him "Doesn't matter. You almost died...for me. Something you shouldn't do. Something you never would have done two years ago!"
Knowing she was going to have to admit it, Buffy grumbled before shoving her hands into his chest, forcing him to take a step back "Damon you're my friend!"
Damon froze the second the word left her lips, his expression softening slightly.
"My pain in the ass friend, I wasn't going to let you die like that."
Given it had taken her a year and him being on his deathbed to willingly give him the title, Damon couldn't help but smile softly.
"That was pretty much the last thing you said to me."
Buffy frowned in confusion "Huh?"
What the hell was he talking about right now?
Damon just couldn't stop grinning "I was on my death bed...and you called me your friend. You care about me."
Buffy just rolled her eyes before moving to grab her pajamas "I don't remember that Damon."
"I know." He whispered "But clearly if were friends already...then things are different this time around."
For the first time in a very long time, he felt hope that maybe one day, she may feel something other than friendship between them.
"Elijah's back."
His sudden declaration caused her to freeze, her eyes widening in shock "What?!"
"Mary may be an evil bitch who we are gonna kill but one thing is clear... she will do anything to kill dagger happy hybrid brother. Really weird family dynamic."
Buffy snorted.
Damon certainly wasn't wrong there.
If anything she was a little curious to find out more about why Mary had switched to Anti-Klaus Team. It couldn't be just because of her getting hexed.
There had to be something deeper in their history and the hex had just pushed her over the edge.
Elijah being awake was a problem though.
One Buffy had no idea if she liked or not.
Elijah had apparently already screwed them over once, and there was nothing stronger than the bond of family. He would likely side with Klaus again if push came to shove.
Letting out a huff, Buffy glanced back over at Damon only to frown. He was staring at her so intensely that it was starting to wig her out.
Had someone died or something?
"What? Who died?"
"No." Damon admitted after a brief moment of hesitation "What made you change your mind?"
Buffy frowned in confusion as she tightened the robe around her and started pulling the pillows off the bed so she could crash face-first into a long night's sleep "What do you mean?"
"You were so hell-bent on torturing that Hybrid till he cracked, yet the minute he started turning you changed your mind. Why?"
Buffy chuckled slightly before gesturing to her neck "We were being attacked and unlike you, I didn't feel like becoming food more than I already did."
Damon smiled slightly, not believing her, there was something between them. Something beyond friendship he could feel it and he could see the way she was looking at him differently.
He was wrong.
"You're the Slayer, you had a bag of weapons and more patience than anyone I know. You could have kept going."
"It was too dangerous." Buffy rolled her eyes "And trust me you don't want one of these bites, they hurt."
"Yeah. You pushed me out of the way and told me to run. You say it was too dangerous but it was too dangerous going out there in the first place, so what changed your mind?"
As he moved closer to her invading her personal space, Buffy's breathing picked up and she panicked slightly "Damon, I saved you because you're my friend. Why are you being like this? What else do you want me to say?"
Yes, she was attracted to Damon but there was a difference between thinking someone was hot to actually wanting to be with them in a romantic manner.
While Damon was her friend, she could never trust him enough to ever let herself fall in love with him.
Plus, she could never do that to Stefan.
Even without her memories, that wasn't who she was.
"What changed your mind, Buffy?" Damon persisted as he took one final step, closing the distance between them so they were almost touching.
Buffy groaned in frustration as she looked up at him "I didn't want to see you get hurt. That's why I pushed you out of the way, I was worried about you."
Slowly a small smile graced Damon's lips before he headed towards the door "Thanks."
After the day she had with Elena so convinced that she had long-buried feelings for Damon, Buffy was officially done.
Instead of speaking up like she could tell he wanted her to, Buffy just moved to shut her bedroom door "Goodnight Damon."
Damon gritted his teeth slightly as he stopped dead in the hallway. He hated that he could never get under her skin the way he wanted to. Even in Mystic Falls, she had seen right through his flirting and manipulation.
She was the most infuriating woman he had ever met!
Buffy Summers drove him crazy!
"You drive me insane you know that?" He pipped up as he walked back over to her, using his hand to keep the door open before she could shut it "That whole year, you saw through everything I tried and it made me crazy. And now? I know even less. I don't know how you feel about anything since Klaus. I barely knew how you felt back then! You are the pain in my existence yet there are times... where you open up to me in a way I never expect."
As Buffy just continued to stare up at him with wide exhausted eyes, Damon inhaled tightly before stepping forward and cupping her face in his hands before she could stop him "You and I, understand each other. And I don't care if you get your memories back or not. I just...I want you to remember all the things you felt while Stefan is gone. The things you feel now, not what you felt in the past. You may not remember everything, but you let it control you."
With that, he shot her a small smile before disappearing down the hall.
Standing in her doorway, Buffy gulped slightly before groaning as she spotted Elena watching from across the hall.
"Not a word." She warned the brunette before grabbing onto her bedroom door "Go to bed."
Slamming her bedroom door shut, Buffy collapsed her back against the wood, dropping her face into her palms
This whole situation with Damon was getting her all kinds of confused.
She didn't have time to be confused.
She had her friends depending on her, a family that needed her to keep them safe.
There was too much pressure on her shoulders to properly process anything right now!
Clenching her eyes shut, Buffy tried to force all the unimportant thoughts running through her head to the back of her mind. However, sure enough, because her life sucked a familiar pain filled her head causing her to let out a small gasp as she grasped her head.
Feeling the sudden waves of burning agony kick in, Buffy let out a small scream as she crashed to her knees, the pain too intense to even stand any longer.
Just as the room started to spin and change around her Buffy gasped, blood spilling down her nose as she was forced back into a deep part of her buried subconscious.
"Fool me once, shame on you."
Buffy exhaled in exhaustion, she needed to find a new approach here "Oh, for God's sake. You want to know why I am okay with this?"
He had to admit her sudden shift was intriguing "Colour me curious, especially if doing this is about to get you killed. So why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't." Buffy answered strongly "But you want her and I want to talk to her."
That effectively had Damon frozen. He certainly hadn't been expecting that to be her answer. He had been expecting a whole speech about building trust and all that crap.
Her blatantly telling him she shouldn't trust him was unexpected.
"Going to go against Emily's wishes to keep her locked up?"
Buffy rolled her eyes at the taunting tone "I can't avoid a mysterious prophecy if I have no idea what it is. She is the only one that knows."
"Still confused."
"If I know what she saw I can plan to save as many people as possible."
Damon paused slightly at her phrasing. It was becoming crystal clear that while she intended to save people, she was not actually focusing on her own safety "Not yourself."
He wasn't wrong. Buffy would rather die again than risk her friends, family, and all the innocent people in this town dying just because she was tied to some stupid Prophecy.
"Eh, you know the saying, Slayers all have a death wish. My life doesn't measure in comparison to my family or all the innocents who might die because of what Mary saw."
At least if she knew what Mary saw she could plan around it. Even if it resulted in her own death she didn't care, as long as her family was safe.
Damon watched her carefully as he took in her words. She was truly ready to risk her doom being set into motion if it meant she could keep people safe. Even if it meant by the end of it she would die.
Buffy may not see herself as selfless, but this girl had already died once, and here she was willing to do it again to save others.
Inhaling tightly, Damon glared up at the ceiling before focusing back on the blonde in front of him. The girl who could have shown up here this evening and killed him yet had instead chosen to open up to him.
Just like he had opened up to her.
"If I had been able to compel you in Atlanta, I wouldn't have." He admitted out of nowhere causing her to falter "You and I have a lot more in common than you are willing to admit. So as we share common ground, I wanted to see you. Not the you that pretends to be a normal human girl 'cause you are better than that."
As much as being the Slayer was a curse, it was also a part of her. In those moments in Atlanta, Damon had been able to see the mixture of the Slayer and the prom queen that lived within her.
Buffy hated to admit it, but she and Damon did have a lot in common.
They just responded to their circumstances in drastically different ways.
"You're right." She whispered "We do have a lot in common, our differences are the reactions. You would burn the world to get Mary, I chose to kill Angel to save the world."
That was the fundamental difference between them.
She would give up what she wanted most and her own personal interests to save others.
Damon would never do that.
"So if giving you what you want saves the deaths..." Buffy clenched her jaw tightly and forced her gaze to meet his "Then I will get you your girl. But the rest die. And after I speak to her, you two leave Mystic Falls, until I am long in the ground."
There was a long moment of silence between the pair as they kept eye contact, both looking for the other's weaknesses.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Damon nodded "We will leave." He promised "But, Buffy...I'm trusting you. Don't make me regret it."
As the image faded away, Buffy let out a small scream as instead of the pain fading it only grew more intense.
Collapsing to the ground unable to keep herself up anymore, Buffy buried her face in the carpet trying to muffle her screams as another vision pushed through.
"Can I babble to you right now?"
Stefan laughed lightly "The stage is yours."
Glancing up at the sky, Buffy stared into the stars as she tried to summon her courage "I ran away to stay away from people." She kept her focus on the twinkling stars knowing that if she looked at him she would start to panic again "Bad things kept happening to people I cared about and I was the cause of it. I put them in dangerous positions and people died. I make mistakes, world-ending levels of mistakes. So I hid and then Liz showed up."
Despite the fact she hadn't wanted to come back, being home around family and making new friends was slowly starting to melt the ice wall she had built around herself.
"The rumors are all true." She finally tore her eyes off the night sky to look over at Stefan. He was watching her with so much compassion it was a little intense.
"I did burn down a building. I got into fights and put people in the hospital. If you were smart you would want nothing to do with me. I am a black pit of trouble."
Stefan surprised her by smiling softly and taking a step toward her. She had expected him to run for the hills like a normal person not move in closer.
Slowly he reached out and took her hand, the familiar sparks rushing up Buffy's skin as he entangled their fingers "Just because we do bad things, doesn't mean we're doomed to repeat them. Life is never-ending chances to try again. When we talk, I don't see the girl that burns down buildings...although I do want to know how that happened." She giggled despite trying so hard not to "I just see a girl who wants to start over but is worried about repeating history."
"You have to be a little bit insane to like me, you realize that right?" While she played it in a teasing way, a part of her was dead serious.
She was damaged she knew that and damaged people tended to attract each other.
"Maybe I am. We all have levels of crazy, but I met a girl and it was epic from the first time we talked in that diner."
Totally swoon-worthy.
Buffy gulped nervously, her heart hammering painfully against her chest. She forced herself to take a step closer, finally taking the leap.
She was terrified of letting it all in again, she knew that everything might fall apart again but at least now she knew the signs to look out for.
"If we do this...we take it slow." She whispered, her words causing a smile to graze Stefan's lips "My last relationship had a very violent explosive ending." Accurate yet vague enough that it kept the more horrific details in the dark "I am not easy to date. I disappear, run off for weird reasons, and will more than likely need you to bail me out of jail at least once."
Though as long as Liz gave her the cell with the nice window she wouldn't mind it too much. The police station did have good donuts.
Stefan just laughed shaking his head in amusement before he placed a hand on her cheek "I think I can handle that."
"It's your funeral." She teased quietly before she leaned up, pressing onto the tips of her toes.
Her lips connected with his in a brief light kiss.
As she pulled back the pair just gazed into each other's eyes before Stefan leaned down cupping her face in his hands and pulling her into another heart melt kiss.
Buffy coughed violently, blood pooling from her lips and onto the ground.
Gasping weakly Buffy turned onto her back and stared up at her ceiling before slowly her eyes fluttering shut.
Her body was too weak to even move.
Then there was nothing but darkness as she lay in her own blood.
It was starting to feel like these visions were killing her.