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Eden - Sex
"And she spoke nine words
And now we're sinking
But I can't find it in myself to want to lie
To keep this thing from going down."
DAMON KNEW HOLDEN WOULD BE ANGRY WITH HIM. But it still made Damon feel like he was the one who was supposed to be angry. He spent 5 years there and none of this brothers came to rescue him. Maybe because they didn't know.
The whole ride home was quiet because none of them had anything they wanted to say to each other. But both knew the time would come.
Holden entered their house first, as he saw Katherine walking down the stairs, tucking her hair into a baseball hat. She stopped when she saw Holden and Damon. They both looked like a mess. Dried blood, ripped shirt and angry faces. "What the hell happened to the both of you?" she asked curiously.
"Ditto," Damon mused sarcastically as he stopped to purse his lips. "Izzie's not here by any chance, is she?"
"Or Elena?" Holden spoke as he looked at Katherine, who looked rather pleased by something.
"I haven't seem them, not that I've been looking," Katherine chuckled as Holden rolled his eyes. He wanted to go and see Stefan, to check if at least he was fine.
"Stefan!" Holden then shouted up the stairs but Katherine just chuckled again.
"You know, he hasn't seen them either. I know because we were together all night," Katherine said proudly as Damon made a face of disgust. Holden only raised both of his eyebrows up, because he didn't think Stefan would go back for Katherine like that.
"Look. We've both had a really crappy couple days, okay?" Damon told the human girl. "If you're implying what I think you're implying-"
"Why?" Katherine cut him off as Holden rolled his eyes and began to go up the stairs to see Stefan. "What were you thinking? That our hot, naked bodies collided in one unforgettable night of passion?"
Damon grimaced. "I'm gonna barf."
"Great. Then my work here is done. Toodle," she smirked before exiting the mansion before closing the door behind her.
Holden entered Stefan's room to see the younger brother dressing up. "Where the hell have you two been? Izzie called me—" before Stefan could finish, Holden approached him before taking Stefan's head into his hands and looking him worriedly in the eyes. "Uh... What are you doing?"
"Are you okay?" Holden questioned worriedly, because ever since he called Stefan and heard that he had problems Holden had been feeling guilty. He knew he should've taken care of his younger brother more instead of dealing with his older brother's shenanigans.
Stefan nodded as he pulled away. "Yeah, I'm fine. Um... What happened to you?" Stefan asked, because he got surprised by such a new nursing side of Holden. And deep down Stefan liked that he cared.
"We were both held against our wills, shot in the head, and now both of us can't find our girlfriends," Damon spoke from the doorway as he leaned against the door frame. Damon then smirked before walking further as Holden looked at him angrily. "How was your evening? Anything out of the ordinary? Is that why Holdie's so worried?"
Stefan furrowed his eyebrows before looking at Holden, who only looked away. "Wait a minute. What do you mean you both can't find Elena and Izzie?"
"Well, for starters, Elena would never leave Holden like that. Unless she's angry at him just as much as Izzie is angry at me," Damon commented causing Holden to think that maybe Elena was also angry with him. But Holden didn't know about Damon's situation so what was there to be angry with? "Also, Izzie's not picking up her phone, none of them were in Elena's dorm, they are nowhere in this house, which leads me to believe that Dr. Creepy Ken-doll has them somewhere."
"Why would Elena and Izzie be angry with you?" Stefan asked Damon as Holden let out an angry scoff.
"Oh, I was just as shocked when I found out Damon was stuck in Augustine for five years," Holden told Stefan, but he was staring at Damon. Stefan had no idea what that meant and got no explanation because Damon didn't want to tell him. "And yes, Stefan, we are talking about Whitmore bio teacher. The one who operates on vampires."
Damon sighed deeply as Holden began to leave the room. He needed to change his clothes. "Put your hero hair, Stefan. Let's go get Izzie and Elena."
"You just said you don't know where she is," Stefan argued with a small frown as Damon shrugged.
"We don't, which means we're gonna have to find us some leverage. Let's go," Damon mused as he followed Holden out of the room.
AARON WAS SITTING ON A COUCH AT WHITMORE COLLEGE WITH HEADPHONES ON. He was writing on a notebook with a small frown before Damon sat down next to him and pulled his left earphone off his ear. Aaron quickly looked at him. "Pop quiz," Damon smirked causing Aaron to look around in fright. "So your girlfriend's taken by a mad scientist. Now, do you: A, get a new girlfriend; B, call the police; or C; kill someone close to the mad scientist?"
Suddenly, Aaron saw that Holden was sitting on his next side as Holden mused while thinking. "Hm... I'm tempted to choose C," Holden said dully.
Aaron quickly stood up to run. Neither Holden or Damon left their seats as Damon smirked seeing Aaron run for his life, only to bump into Stefan. "Sit," Stefan ordered angrily causing Aaron to turn back around at Damon and Holden.
Damon patted the couch next to him as a gesture for Aaron to sit there.
When the boy sat down everyone began to interrogate him. "I have no idea where Wes took them," Aaron said angrily as Holden rolled his eyes before standing up and going to stand behind the sitting guy.
"Well, we checked the lab, but they weren't there," he said putting his hands on Aaron's shoulders, causing Aaron to flinch. "Stefan, where else would he hide a vampire?"
Stefan pursed his lips before shrugging. "I'm sorry. Am I supposed to know who you are?" Aaron then spoke to Stefan, who smiled slightly.
"That's our brother Stefan, but I'd watch your tone with him because he's kind of in the midst of a psychotic break," Damon told Aaron as he put his arm around the guy's shoulder only for Aaron to be afraid again.
"I'm sorry. I'm what?" Stefan looked at Damon in offense.
Holden looked at Stefan dully. "Don't listen to him. But... Damon may be the last person I'd agree with right now, but don't you think we know about you and Katherine?" Holden asked as Stefan's eyes went back to Damon.
"Oh, I see. You're jealous."
Damon scoffed before removing his arm from Aaron. "More like disturbed," he then looked at Aaron, who was confused by their bickering. "See? He's off his rocker, he's losing his mind, teetering on the brink of insanity. And this one," Damon raised his eyes up at Holden. "This one's just angry 24/7. If he doesn't get his girlfriend and Izzie back, he'll snap too."
Aaron then shook his head as if he just realized something. "How are you both still alive? I shot you."
Damon looked around as if he was making sure no one was listening. "Well, because you went for the head. You got to go for the heart," he then smacked the back of Aaron's head. "Go for the heart next time. Now, where are the girls?"
Aaron shrugged as Holden went to stand next to Stefan. "I have no idea. All that Wes told me was to go about my life as usual."
Holden then rolled his eyes dully. "We are gonna call Wes, and you will tell him that if he doesn't give Elena and Izzie back... He's gonna have to grind your body parts off of his windows," Holden threatened causing Damon to smirk widely and look at Aaron's scared face.
AARON GLANCED BACK AT THE THREE SALVATORE BROTHERS WALKING BEHIND HIM. He could've run but knew it was pointless to do so. "Okay, so you two want to give me a little backstory as to how you know him?" Stefan asked Holden and Damon as he walked in between the two brothers, who barely said a word to one another.
"Aaron is Aaron Whitmore, and he comes from a very long line of vampire-probing, blood-testing, organ-removing freaks called Augustine," Damon explained dully and loud enough for Aaron to hear.
"Why do you know this?" Stefan asked in confusion and then Holden shook his head in annoyance.
"Shocking news, Stef. Damon was their test subject in the '50's," Holden commented so Stefan furrowed his eyebrows at that before he looked at Damon's stony face.
"What do you mean test subject?" Stefan asked as his eyes continued going from Holden to Damon and so on.
Damon sighed deeply. "Meaning I donated my body to science except I was alive and it was against my will."
Stefan stopped walking in shock and so did others. "Wait. Hold on a minute. How do I not know about this?"
Holden smiled sarcastically. "Because none of us knew at all! Because he decided to keep it his little secret, okay?" he snapped and then Damon had enough.
He pushed Holden's shoulder gaining his attention like that. "Stop. What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you so angry at me for keeping it as a secret? It's not like you didn't have secrets too. Hello? Izzie."
Holden pursed his lips. "I'm not angry just about this, Damon. And you know what I'm talking about," he snapped before turning back to walk.
"Well, I don't," Stefan mused in annoyance as Damon rolled his eyes.
"Don't get all guilt-ridden, Stefan, on me. We were on the outs back then, which Holden doesn't realize apparently. And by the time it was over, you know, it was over," Damon then began to walk again as Aaron smiled.
"Why don't you finish the rest of the story, Damon?" the guy questioned bravely causing Holden and Stefan to look at Aaron in amusement.
"I don't recall saying that you could talk," Stefan told him calmly before glancing at Holden, who smirked angrily. "Did I say that he could talk."
"I don't remember that," Holden said as Aaron rolled his eyes. "Shut up and walk."
"Yeah," Stefan nodded as they moved again.
After walking for a bit more the brothers and Aaron entered a building so Damon stopped to look at them. "Which one is it?" he asked demandingly.
"It's right here," he pointed at one door so they approached Wes' classroom. Aaron opened the door and entered as the brothers followed him in. The classroom was empty except for someone sitting in the back, with their feet up against the backrest of the chair on front.
"21051," the man said as Damon stared at him with wide and shocked eyes. Guilt washed over his whole body as he said the name he thought he'd never say again.
"Enzo?"
Enzo stood up as he stared at Damon still. Stefan furrowed his eyebrows as Holden also had no idea who he was, except the small bits he knew from Damon's time in Augustine. But from the looks on Damon's face, Enzo must have been someone important. "It's been a while, mate," Damon commented to his long lost friend.
Enzo began walking towards the front of the room as Damon looked concerned he'd do something. "Who the hell are you?" Stefan asked him.
"Lorenzo, but my friends call me Enzo," Enzo smirked as Holden caught onto his accent. "Ah. Kidding. I don't have any friends."
He then offered his hand for Stefan to shake, but Stefan didn't shake it. Enzo offered it to Holden then, who also didn't do anything. Enzo scoffed. "Enzo's another Augustine vampire," Damon told the three, who had no idea. "Our cells were next to each other."
Damon then turned back to Enzo. "So we're here to meet somebody -- Wes Maxfield. You know him?"
Enzo arched his eyebrows up. "That's the first question for me? Not 'How are you? How'd you survive in that fire I left you to die in?"
Stefan and Holden both snapped their heads at Damon, who held a small frown, though he tried to hide that. "Uh, does somebody want to tell me what the hell is going on here?" Aaron then spoke.
"I'd love to. Have a seat," Enzo smirked pointing to the chairs. "Been waiting seventy years to tell my story."
Enzo then went to sit on the teacher's desk as Holden let out a sigh. "What else did you keep as a secret?" he asked Damon before pushing Aaron to go and sit.
Stefan went outside to make a call as Holden made Aaron sit down. "Damon and I had been locked in those cells for years, tortured, beaten, humiliated, but we weren't gonna let them break us, no," Enzo shook his head dramatically as Holden turned around to look at Enzo in boredom. "We decided if we're going to escape, we needed to work together," he said putting an emphasis on the word together. "We needed each other."
Stefan entered the classroom then. "He's not sending them," Stefan sighed before stopping to look at Enzo again.
"Tragic. Can I continue my story now, please?" the Augustine vampire questioned, a little irritated.
But to his anger everyone in the room ignored him. "Doesn't he know we have Aaron?" Holden questioned before looking at the guy.
"He doesn't care. He's willing to risk it," Stefan answered worriedly as Aaron widened his eyes. He did not expect something like that from the only person he considered family.
"What? Let me talk to him! He'll listen to me," Aaron began to stand up, but Holden only pushed him back down.
Enzo had enough so he jumped off the desk. "What part of he doesn't care are you not registering?" Damon snapped at the only human.
The Augustine vampire got pissed off of being ignored so he made a scene to get attention by ripping a classroom chair from the floor and throwing it out the window. Everyone looked at him. "Where were we? Uh, ah, right. I was telling my story, and you were all politely listening. Huh?" Enzo asked before walking back to the front of the room. "So I'd given Damon all of my blood ration so he'd have the strength to escape and save me in the process. Our plan began perfectly, didn't it?"
Damon avoided Enzo's eyes as Holden and Stefan listened curiously. "I was waiting in the cage for him to release me, waiting for my friend, my cellmate, the only soul with whom I'd connected with in all those years of captivity. Then a fire starts, burns out of control, but Damon just can't get the damn cage open."
Holden looked at Damon, who looked anywhere, except them. "He looks me in the eye as if he doesn't even recognize me, turns around, saves himself, leaving me to die," Enzo narrowed his eyes, watching Damon's reaction.
Stefan only raised his eyebrow up. "Well, you didn't die, obviously."
"No. Unfortunately I lived. I was spared by one of the scientists so I could spend another fifty years on a table being opened and closed. Now that we've all been acquainted, I'm gonna find something to wet my whistle," he smirked before leaving the classroom.
Holden sighed before crossing his arms over his chest. "You didn't tell us about him too."
"It was in the 1950's. I'm supposed to remember every moment of my life?" Damon exclaimed before changing the subject. "Do you want to kill Aaron, or should I?"
"That guy was your cellmate for five years, Damon. Holden's right. You left him to die, he comes back, and you're completely unfazed?" Stefan questioned even though Holden knew Damon was more than shocked to know Enzo survived.
"Fine. I will," Damon ignored them as he began to make his way towards Aaron, who quickly stood up.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said fearfully. "Hold on, hold on, hold on. Wes gave me a bunch of files on my family history. They're in my dorm, okay? Maybe there's something in there you need, a name, I mean, another lab."
Damon smirked. "That's a timely revelation."
Aaron looked at him, still fearing for his life. "Yeah. Well, you know, he's not gonna help me, why should I help him?" he asked as Holden narrowed his eyes at that.
Damon then began to walk towards Aaron slowly as Aaron walked backwards. Holden only rolled his eyes. "I don't like you, I don't like your family, I don't like you messing up my relationship. If you're lying, I'm gonna take my thumbs, and I'm gonna gouge out your sad little eyes out of your sad little head!"
Enzo then walked back inside as he carried two bottles of booze. "Ah. It's frightening what you can find on campus these days."
Stefan smiled at him sarcastically. "Knock yourself out," he then turned to Holden. "We're going with plan B."
Holden nodded his head as Enzo poured himself a drink. "Damon's not. Damon's staying right here. He knows all my secrets, so he knows how ornery I can get when I don't get my way."
Damon sighed before looking at his younger brothers. "Call me if you find anything, kill him if you don't," he pointed at Aaron, who gulped.
"Let's go," Holden mused to Aaron and Stefan before they left Damon and Enzo to catch up.
"I'M SHOCKED YOU DIDN'T TELL STEFAN ABOUT MY FAMILY," Aaron told Holden as they all entered his dorm room. Stefan looked at Holden in confusion but Holden only pushed Aaron to find the files. "All the files of my family history are in here."
Aaron then started looking under the bed. "Hurry up, idiot," Holden sneered and then Aaron pulled a gun from under the bed, but when he wanted to stand up and point it at them, Stefan had already super sped behind the guy.
Stefan super sped before pushing Aaron against the wall and making him drop the gun, which Holden picked up. He looked inside to see wooden bullets before rolling his eyes. "Was this all a lie, huh?" Stefan snapped as he held Aaron by his neck. "If you want to kill us, I will kill you. Do not test me."
"Do it. I'm dead already," Aaron struggled to speak. "Damon's been planning my death since before I was born."
Holden groaned lowly as Stefan turned back to Holden, realizing Holden knew more than him. "What is he talking about, Holden?"
"Apparently Damon left out the best part of the Augustine story, the part after he escaped," Holden said angrily so Stefan let go of Aaron's neck so the boy could explain himself.
Aaron started to cough as Stefan looked at him dully. "Talk."
"It wasn't enough for Damon to kill the doctors who tortured him. He had to torture their families and their future families," Aaron rubbed his throat before glancing at them. "He spent the last sixty years killing every one of my relatives except he's a psychopath. He leaves one alive so that they can continue the family line so that he can destroy future generations of innocent people. So go ahead and do it, kill me because I don't want to give Damon the satisfaction,so do it."
Aaron then closed his eyes as Holden quietly placed the gun down on the table. He knew how much Aaron went through and how in the wrong Damon was for killing generations. "Do it!"
"You know, not all of us are like our brother," Stefan commented quietly as he looked at Holden, who nodded his head. The two then headed towards the door. Aaron opened his eyes.
"Not even you?" he asked Holden, who stopped at the door to look at Aaron's confused face. Stefan smiled slightly.
"Damon is Damon. I'm not gonna say anything about this situation just that instead of saving Izzie, he spent some time killing an innocent woman, who was just born into a wrong family," Holden told Aaron before opening the door as Stefan nodded his head.
"Stefan. Holden," Aaron then called after causing them to stop and turn back. Aaron pulled some files and papers from under his bed. "This is everything Wes gave me on Augustine. I saw Elena's last name on a few pages. I have no idea why he's keeping Izzie too, cause she's human. Maybe it will help," he said calmly as Stefan grabbed the files from Aaron's hands and opened the first one.
He looked at it as Holden glanced back at Aaron with a slight nod.
THE TWO BROTHERS WERE WALKING TOWARDS AN AUGUSTINE UNDERGROUND LAB. "I get that you're angry, Holden, but you gotta cut some slack to Damon. We all have secrets we keep to ourselves," Stefan spoke as Holden stopped to look at his younger brother.
"I know, Stefan. But I can't just be calm, knowing that he had other things in mind when Izzie was kidnapped. Now I know... He thought Allison had her, and that she was at least safe. I'm blaming him, because it's easier than to blame myself," Holden sighed with a guilty looking face. "Because there's so many freaking things I blame myself for ever since I came back to this town."
Stefan listened before nodding his head. "I know that feeling."
"Let's just go and save them," Holden said before he heard Elena shouting and pleading. "Elena."
Down the lab, Izzie was strapped to a gurney just as Elena as the human girl watched Wes stabbed Elena in the chest with the syringe. "Ahh!" Elena shouted.
"Elena!" they heard Holden shouting and that caused Wes to look up.
"Holden!" Elena shouted desperately before seeing that Wes hadn't pumped the content of the syringe into her. The vampire then head-butted him before he could do it. Wes fell to the ground.
Holden and Stefan both super-sped down the stairs before looking around. "We're here. I'm right here," Elena exclaimed with teary eyes as both brothers rushed over to her.
"Oh, God. Ohh," Stefan mused before moving to free Izzie, who stared at Stefan while tears fell down her cheeks. "It's okay. I'm gonna free you."
Izzie felt sad that it wasn't Damon, who came to save her. "You're here," Elena whispered to Holden as Holden looked at Wes, who was lying on the ground, along with the syringe. Holden then ripped off the braces as he looked up to see Stefan taking Izzie into his hands as she rested her head against Stefan's chest.
"You got it?" Stefan asked Holden, but he stared at Elena. Holden nodded so Stefan super-sped him and Izzie out of the lab.
Holden finally freed Elena before she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him as she breathed heavily. "It's okay, it's okay," Holden whispered while stroking her hair. He was relieved to see that both of them were alive. "I got you, I got you."
Holden grabbed her legs before she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Get me out of here," she demanded weakly as Holden lifted her up.
"Come on," he mused but then Elena looked back and tapped his neck to stop.
"Wait. Wait," she mused before looking back at the table. Holden caught on where she was looking before grabbing the journal. Elena nodded so the two quickly abandoned the place.
IT WAS A LATE EVENING AS ELENA SAT BY THE FIREPLACE. She was reading her dad's journal when Holden walked in after checking on Izzie. He left the girl with Damon, who came back after talking with Enzo. "It's weird. Even as a kid, there was something about that basement that creeped me out," the girl spoke as Holden calmly mused before sitting down next to her.
"And you're okay with reading this?" he asked calmly before Elena shrugged as she stared at him.
"And I remember my dad talking about this little girl. I think he was talking about my roommate Megan. Look," she then showed him the journal as Holden listened. "January 1999. Saw Megan King today. Megan is seven years old. She suffers from a congenital heart defect with a life expectancy of two months. A single injection of vampire blood appears to be an effective life-saving solution. That's why Megan had a picture of my dad on her phone- because he saved her life."
Holden sighed deeply. "I don't think Damon would like what you're saying right now," he commented tiredly as Elena raised her eyebrows up.
"My dad used his research to save people, Holden, children, families," Elena argued, getting angry.
Holden didn't want to fight her. "Oh, I know what you're gonna say," Elena rolled her eyes. "That he tortured vampires along the way and that I'm one now too. Good, great," Elena then began to stand up, but Holden just grabbed her arm and pushed her back to sit. "What are you doing?"
The Salvatore pushed her to lie down before climbing on top of her. "Don't lash out on me, Elena," he told her. Elena went to argue but Holden only kissed her roughly causing the journal which was in her hands to fall to the floor. Elena pulled away as she stared at him in bewilderment.
"He was my dad, Holden. I can't not defend him," she argued before licking her lips. Holden smirked before kissing her once again. Elena pushed him away. "That's what you're gonna do? Kiss me every time I try to argue?"
"I don't wanna fight with you, and I missed you like hell," he told her before standing up when Elena wanted to kiss him. She let out a scoff at his teasing. "I love you."
Holden held a smirk on his face as he walked backwards as Elena sat up on the couch, watching Holden walk away. Suddenly, Izzie walked in before stopping at the doorway.
She was sobbing as Elena noticed her. Holden saw Elena's look before frowning and turning around to see Izzie. Her whole face was red as Elena quickly stood up to walk over to her. "Izzie, what happened?" she asked in shock as Holden walked over to Izzie.
The crying girl only hugged Holden, not saying anything as Holden realized she and Damon must have broken up again. He sighed before rubbing her back as Elena stood by their side.
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