Riley awoke to the sound of someone annoying incessantly ringing her doorbell. After a few seconds of ignoring it, she realized that both her parents were at work. And apparently, the person wasn't going away.
"What?!" she shouted, flinging open the door to reveal a smug looking Damon Salvatore, holding two coffee cups in his hands.
"Hi," he said cheerfully, before looking her over. "Nice PJ's."
"What are you doing here, Salvatore? It's Saturday. I should not have to talk to people this early on a Saturday morning."
Damon frowned. "It's 3pm."
"Your point being?" she raised an eyebrow.
Damon shook his head, before gesturing to the drinks in his hand. "I come bearing hot drinks."
"You brought me coffee?" Riley asked, stepping out onto the porch so that she could take the drink from him. There was no way she was letting him inside the house.
"No, you don't drink coffee," Damon told her. "What kind of New Yorker doesn't drink coffee?"
"How do you know that?" she asked him, taking a sip of her drink. Hot chocolate. Her favorite.
"Even without compulsion, Caroline loves to talk," he smirked at her.
"Right," she nodded, taking another sip. "And you're here doing something nice because you want... what?"
Damon rolled his eyes, knowing that the nice gesture was too much. She could see right through it.
"Stefan's helping me get Katherine back."
Riley was taken aback. After what Stefan had said about the 27 vampires taking up residence in the tomb, why would he help release them?
"Right. And that brings you here because...?"
"He and Elena, they're acting... suspicious. Can I trust them?" he asked.
"You're asking me whether you can trust your own brother and his girlfriend?" Riley asked. "You've known them longer than I have."
"I just want a second opinion," he said defensively. "Would you trust them?"
Riley sighed. "Neither of them want to let the vampires out, we know that. But if they can get your girl out and get rid of the rest... maybe they want to help. They're not shady people Damon. Give them a chance."
He nodded, still looking unconvinced.
"Look, everyone has to trust someone, right?" she tried to reason with him. "I think trusting your sibling is a good idea."
"You wouldn't know," Damon said with a smirk when he turned to leave. "You're an only child."
"Bye dick!" she called at his retreating back, going back inside and shutting the door. But her curiosity got the better of her. She didn't want anyone to let the vamps out of the tomb, but she also couldn't shake the feeling that Damon was on to something. Stefan wouldn't take a risk like that, especially if it posed a threat to Elena and all of her friends.
Which is why Riley found herself at Elena's house about an hour later, hoping that Stefan would be there too.
"Hey," she said when Elena invited her in. "We need to talk."
"What's up?" Elena asked, but Riley was more concerned with the collection of papers in Stefan's hand.
"What are those?"
"This is Johnathan Gilbert's journal," Stefan informed her.
"The journal holds the location of the grimoire, which has the spell that Damon needs to get into the tomb," Elena added.
"Right. And I assume Damon knows that you have that...?" Riley asked, crossing her arms and leaning against a wall. Stefan and Elena looked at each other.
"We can't let Damon get into that tomb," Elena babbled. "This town is my home, my friends and family are here." Stefan nodded in agreement.
"Look," Riley sighed. "I don't want that tomb opened any more than you do. But Damon's not an idiot. He'll find out that you betrayed him and then he'll act out."
"We can't take the risk," Stefan said. "Please don't tell him."
She held her hands up. "I'm not telling anyone anything, I'm officially out of it. But just so you know, I think you're making a mistake."
***
"Wait, you and Matt kissed? That's so cute!"
"I know!" Caroline squealed down the phone later that evening. Riley could practically hear the smile in her friend's voice.
"So is he, like, your boyfriend now?" Riley asked.
"I think so," Caroline replied with an excited giggle. "After Damon, it feels good to be with a good guy for a change. And Bonnie's on a date too."
"Wait, so I'm the only one not dating anyone?" Riley asked, pretending to be upset. Truthfully, she didn't mind not having a guy.
"I can set you up with Tyler Lockwood if you want?" Caroline asked seriously.
Riley laughed. The last person she wanted to be with was an arrogant jock, especially the one that was Vicki Donovan's ex. "No thanks, I'm good."
There was a knock on the front door, and her mother went to answer it.
"Really?" Caroline asked, her mind running on overdrive. Now that she had someone, she wanted Riley to have someone too.
"Leave, now." Riley heard her mother say harshly. "I don't care what you want!"
"Care, I have to go," Riley said abruptly, hanging up the phone and peering over her mother's shoulder. Stefan was at the door. "Mom, it's OK."
"It's not OK," Ciara said, noticeably scared of the creature standing in front of her.
"Seriously mom, he's a friend of mine," Riley said, noticing how worried and agitated Stefan looked.
"We are not friends with them," Ciara said, physically placing herself between her daughter and Stefan.
"You're not," Riley reminded her, pushing past her mother and stepping out onto the porch to greet a vampire for the second time that day. "Bye mom."
She shut the door and turned to Stefan.
"Your mom knows about me?" he asked.
"She's sworn to secrecy, trust me, she won't tell anyone," Riley assured him. "What's wrong?"
"Anna took Elena."
"Who's Anna?"
Stefan shook his head. "A vampire, it's not important. The point is, she kidnapped Elena, and I don't know how to get her back."
Riley's mind raced. It seemed like Elena was in trouble every other day. "I don't know what I can do, but I'll do whatever you need me to."
"Actually, I need you to talk to Damon," he said urgently. "You were right, he found out that we betrayed him and he's being... difficult. I need to keep searching, but can you convince him to tell me where Anna was staying?"
She wanted to say no, because she knew that Damon wouldn't listen to her. But the desperation in his eyes stopped her. Elena was her friend, and she'd do whatever it took to make sure that she was OK.
So she nodded.
***
Walking into the Salvatore house, she spotted Damon sitting and reading a book as if he didn't have a care in the world.
"I didn't come with hot drinks," she informed him, announcing her entrance. He didn't look up.
"Stefan sent you?"
"Are you surprised?" she asked. "Elena's been kidnapped, he's going crazy."
"Good," Damon smiled. "He should know what it's like to go crazy for the girl he loves."
"It's not the same." Riley sighed, taking the book from his hands. "The girl he loves is a high school human who wants to live a normal life and just happened to get mixed up in this vampire world. The girl you love is a vampire who's already had her chance to live."
"What's your point?" Damon asked.
"My point, is that if you know where Anna lives, or where Elena could be, please tell me, or Stefan."
Damon pretended to think about it. "Nope. You can go now."
"No, I can't," she said. "Because every time I start to think that my life is normal, a Salvatore brother knocks on my door and drags me right back into their mess. Damon, I will never beg you for anything ever again in my entire life. But I'm begging now. Please help us find Elena."
Damon seemed to waver. He walked up to Riley, taking her hand, and slipping off the silver ring.
"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to snatch the ring back from him.
"Go home," he compelled her, looking into her eyes. "Don't leave until tomorrow, after we get into the tomb."
She left, not knowing that he was compelling her; only that he still had her ring. But she couldn't do anything about it. So she went home, and waited.
***
Riley paced up and down her living room at 1am, waiting for someone to tell her something, anything. She needed to know how the night had turned out. Had Elena been found? Did they get into the tomb?
As if on cue, her phone began to ring and she dropped it out of surprise.
"Oh my God, Elena! Are you OK?"
"I'm fine," she said. "We got into the tomb, Bonnie and her grams helped us. Could you come over to Bonnie's? I need to fill you in."
Riley cast a wary glance at her parent's bedroom. It was completely silent. They wouldn't know if she snuck out in the middle of the night, would they?
"Yeah, sure. I'll be there."
The guilt that she felt about sneaking out evaporated instantly once Elena revealed what had happened in the tomb.
"What do you mean she wasn't there?!" she asked Elena incredulously. "Damon was so sure."
"I don't know," Elena answered, shrugging. "But she wasn't in there, and I don't know how Damon's gonna handle that. He came to town with the sole purpose of rescuing Katherine. It must hurt to know that she's been free this whole time."
Riley nodded, feeling irrationally annoyed. If Katherine wasn't even in the tomb, then the last few weeks, the crystal, the séance, being attacked at the 50s dance, they were all for nothing.
"Grams!" they heard Bonnie call tearfully. "Grams! Elena!"
Both girls ran towards the sound, and immediately saw what was happening. Bonnie's grams was lying on the bed, not moving.
"I need an ambulance to Oak Street. It's an emergency, quick," Riley said into her phone as Elena hugged a sobbing Bonnie. They all knew what had happened without saying it.
Her grams was dead.
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Who do you think was in the wrong? Damon for keeping Anna's location a secret? Or Stefan and Elena for betraying him?
Please vote and comment if you're enjoying the story so far!