Ryan isn't sure when Caroline left, but it was probably in thr middle of the night. But she went to Matt's at some point and Ryan isn't at all upset. She gets up and gets dressed before heading to the boarding house.
Damon is draped over the couch, drunk as hell. Ryan sighs as she removes her leather jacket and walks over. She flicks Damon and he hurriedly grabs her and pins her to the wall, a hand around her throat. His eyes widen when he sees that it's Ryan but he grows confused when she smirks.
"I knew you liked it rough Damon," Ryan muses, "but choking? Baby, that's some kinky crap."
Damon narrows his eyes into hers. "I just attacked you and...?"
"I scared you awake," Ryan says. "That was my fault."
Damon leans his forehead against Ryan's for a moment, not speaking - just enjoying being close to someone. Ryan closes her eyes, the demons inside her head telling her to run and to run far. Ur she keeps her feet planted as Damon breaths calmly, the grip around her throat loosens.
"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Damom asks.
"Turned me on a little but no, not hurt," Ryan says. "What are we doing today?"
Damon leather out a breathy chuckle. "Don't know yet." He releases Ryan's throat. "You're awful."
Ryan shrugs. "I can be."
<><><><><>
Ryan and Damon go to the Grill after a while of debating with each other, Damon won. Ryan wanted to go back to sleep. Ryan goes to a table to go eat and Damon sits with Alaric at the bar.
"Bourbon," Damon orders and he spots Ric. "Behold the teacher. Don't you have some papers to grade?"
"It's, Uh, more fun with a buzz," Alaric replies.
Now I see why Ryan's an alcoholic, Damon muses mentally. "Well, most things are. Sober's depressing."
"You don't strike that as somebody who gets depressed," Alaric claims.
"You say that like know me," Damon states as he sips his booze.
"Nope, just a hunch," Ric says as he has a look exchange with him; he finishes off his drink and places the glass onto the bar. "You have a nice afternoon." Alaric scoots into Ryan's booth table, across the table. "He's the one who fed on your mother."
"Maybe I should thank him," Ryan snaps. "Isobel is no mother of mine, Alaric. Jenna is more a more than Isobel ever was."
Damon looks down ar his drink as he listens to Ryan and Alaric when Liz Forbes approaches him.
"Don't talk about her like that," Alaric defends.
"She neglected me, Alaric!" Ryan exclaims. "How else am I supposed to speak about a woman who does that to a toddler, a child, and a teenager? If it weren't for me learning how to grow up or you, I'd have starved to death. I have no nice words about Isobel. She can be dead and I'll thank Damon for it. He's been more of a friend than Elena's been a sister lately. He and Caroline are the only people I have got."
"You have me, too," Alaric says. "You know that."
"Do I?" Ryan scoffs. "You're still looking for Isobel even after how she did me."
"She's my wife."
"She was supposed to be my mother," Ryan replies. "But you see where that god me. Motherless. Elena had a mother and a father growing up. I had a father, and then I had you. But now it's you, Damon, and Care, and maybe Jenna and Jeremy."
<><><><>
Ryan sits in a chair in Stefan's room as Damon gets ready. Elena walks in, looking for Stefan but Damon walks out with his shirt unbuttoned and Ryan tried her damndest not to drool.
"Ryan, a hand?" Damon asks.
"You look, um..."
"Dashing? Gorgeous? Irresistible?"
"You're resistible," Ryan says.
"Shut up," Damon smirks. "You'd so be shorter than you are if you weren't wearing ankle breakers."
"Wrecked," Elena states. "You look wrecked."
"I don't see why," Damon says as Ryan buttons his shirt slowly, he is about to snap if she brushes her fingers across his torso any slower. "Ryan..."
"What?" Ryan bats her eyelashes at him.
"Um, I'm just meeting Stefan," Elena says slowly as she watches the two. "We're going to the fundraiser."
"Ryan, button faster," Damon says.
"Stefan," Elena coos as Stefan enters his room.
"Ryan, ready?" Damon asks.
Ryan walks out of the room with Damon and she grabs her leather jacket from the coat rack, she slips it on over her strapless black blouse. Damon drags her out to his car this time and they head to the Grill.
,,,,,
"He's fine," Elena scoffs.
"He's Damon," Stefan says. "And he has Ryan."
"Maybe this heartache will be good for him," Elena says. "Maybe it'll remind him he has one, even if it doesn't beat."
"I won't hold my breath," Stefan says. "But I think Ryan is that chance for us."
"Wouldn't hold my breath."
<><><><><>
"Tickets got the raffle are now on sale," Mrs. Lockwood says from the stage. "All proceeds benefit the annual Founder's Day celebration."
"Thst Isobel you and your dad were talking about..." Damon says as he sits in a chair next to Ryan. "That's your mother?"
"Ans Elena's birth mom," Ryan replies. "I want tot hank you for getting her."
Damon smirks. "You're welcome. Now, I'm going to go my charm."
Ryan shakes her head with a smile, "good luck with that."
When alone, Ryan looks at her hands and lets her smile drop. Sometimes being so happy all the time is super hard, especially when all Ryan wants to do is run away and cry, or run and hide in a fox hole.
She knows Elena hates her, resents her. Ryan can't help what Isobel did when she was a baby, but she can't help but feel at fault. Ryan quickly wipes a tear away as it falls and she walks to the bathroom in a hurry. She closes the door and leans against it after locking it. Ryan lets a sob escape; now that she's alone, Ryan feels like she can take off her mask for a moment.
Ryan slides down onto the floor and she cries, she just cries over everything. Being separated from her twin, Isobel neglecting her, Elena hating her, Damon not wanting her, Pete, losing Myra. Everything is hiring Ryan at once and it's killing her.
Ryan sniffles as her phone chimes in her bag. She grabs it n
From: That Salvatore
To: Vampire Killer.
I'm outside the bathroom door. I hear you crying. Let me in.
Ryan sniffles and sends back a 'no, I want to me alone,'. She heads a growl outside the door and then silence. Ryan goes to sink and she washes her face and reapplies her makeup before exiting, Damon is leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, a scowl on his face.
"What's wrong?" He asks as his face softens.
Ryan smiles, putting her mask right back on. "Nothing."
Damon furrows his eyebrows. "Ryan..."
"Damon, I'm fine," Ryan assures him as she places her hands on his chest, Damon inhales deeply.
Damon grabs her wrists and looks into her eyes. "Why were you crying, Ryan?"
Ryan frowns and Damon does, too. "It's nothing. I understand it now."
"Ryan..." Damon lets go of her wrists and grabs both sides of her face, hair and all. "What's wrong?"
"Elena resents me because Isobel kept me," Ryan whispers. "All I've ever wanted all my life is a sister and now that I have one, she hates me."
"I'll talk to Stefan," Damon says. "And he'll talk to her. Now, out a smile back on that pretty face and lets show the people how gorgeous you can be."
Ryan puts a smile on her and Damon nods in approval before they head back into the restaurant. Damon spots Liz and he kisses Ryan on top of the head, on her hair, and he walks up to Liz.
Ryan walks back to her table and she finally removes her leather jacket, and she hangs it om the back. Ryan has a seat and she waits for the auction to start.
<><><><><>
"And what do you do, bachelor number three?" Mrs. Lockwood asks the third guy in line as Ryan eats some fries and ketchup while sitting with Caroline and Matt.
"I'm a plumber," the man says into the mic and Ryan snorts.
"What?" Caroline asks with a giggle.
"Nothing," Ryan replies. "Nothing at all."
"Well, isn't that wonderful?" Mrs. Lockwood asks with a phony smile that one could spot from a hundred miles away. "We could always use more plumbers. Moving on." She moved on. "Number four, Alaric Saltzman."
"Woohoo! Go dad!" Ryan yells and she wolf whistles, making Alaric's cheeks turn a deep shade of red.
"Oh, god!" Caroline giggles. "He is so going to ground you."
"No. He won't," Ryan muses. "He'll just embarrass the hell out of me back."
Mrs. Lockwood smiles. "That's quite a mouthful. What do you do, Alaric?"
"I'm a teacher at Mystic Falls High," Alaric says, still blushing.
"Oh, beauty and brains, this ones a keeper," Carol says and Ryan wolf whistles again. "What do you teach?"
"History."
"History," Carol repeats. "Oh, well, give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls, something crazy."
"Uh, well..." Alaric stammers for words as he looks at Damon.
Damon puts his hand up to his ear, sarcastically waiting for an answer. Ryan rolls her eyes and she smiles nonetheless, Caroline just called Damon a doofus.
"He is a doofus," Ryan agrees as Mrs. Lockwood pulls the mic away.
"He's probably saving the best stories for his date," Carol says and she moves on to famon. "And last, but not least, Damon Salvatore. We don't have much on you."
"Well, I'm tough to fit on a card," Damon sayss as Stefan enters the grill.
"Do you have any hobbies, like to travel?" Carol asks.
"Oh, yeah," Damon replies. "L.A., New York. Couple of years ago, I was in North Carolina. Near the duke campus, actually."
"What are you doing, Damon?" Ryan whispwrs.
"I think — I think Alaric went to school there, didn't you, Ric?"
Ryan sighs and she sits back. "And he's back to begin an ass."
Caroline smiles. "You still like him."
"Yeah, maybe," Ryan smirks. "He'll never know."
"Yeah, 'cause I know your wife did," Damon continues as a waiter brings Ryan more fries as Elena tears up. "She was — she was a great girl. I ever tell you that? Cause she was - - delicious. Mmm! Mmm, mmm, mmm."
"He is a whore," Ryan scoffs.
Caroline snortd, getting choked on her sweet tea. "Oh god!"
"Oh!" Ryan gasps at Caroline's reaction. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," Caroline replies. "Oh, god. That was hilarious! And so true."
"You girls are odd," Matt says. "I'm going over there."
Caroline and Ryan bust out laughing when Matt walks away from them. Alaric looks over at Ryan's smile and it makes him smile, and it does the same thing to Damon.
<><><><><><>
Caroline and Ryan go to Caroline's house after picking some of Ryan's clothes up from the apartment,after the fundraiser ends. Liz greets them from the couch and she continues watching news.
Caroline and Ryan go to Caroline's room and sit on her bed. They talk about Ryan's 'crush' on Damon and Caroline's relationship with Matt, and how Elena has always been closer to Bonnie. And Ryan tells carokine about Elena resenting her.
"It's not your fault what your mom did all those years ago," caroline gasps. "You were just a baby, just like Elena!"
"Try telling her that," Ryan says. "Damon is supposed to have Stefan talk to her or something."
"I think Damon likes you, too," Caroline claims. "I mean, look at you, you're gorgeous."
Ryan grabs her pajamas and she change in front of Caroline, who does the same.
Caroline leaves the room for a moment and she returns with candy. They return to their gossiping as they eat candy.