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CHAPTER 24: SELFISH PEOPLE
❝ i hate damon salvatore. ❞
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ENOLA CAN TELL YOU ALL ABOUT SELFISH PEOPLE. Even when they know they will hurt you, they will walk into your life just to get a taste of you because you are the type of being they do not want to miss out on. You have too much of a shine to not be felt. Too much of a glow. So when they have gotten a good look at everything you have to offer—when they have taken your body and your love and your secrets with them and when they realize how real this is and how much of a hurricane you are—it finally hits them. That is when you learn the truth. That is when the person you thought they were is replaced by the sad reality of what they are.
You will stand there naked with half of them still hidden somewhere inside you and sob. Asking them why they did it and they will say something along the lines of I just had to have a taste or I just needed to have you. But that isn't romantic. It isn't sweet. It isn't beautiful. The idea that they were so engulfed by your existence they had to risk breaking it for the sake of knowing they weren't the one missing out. Your existence meant that little to their curiosity of you.
That is the thing about selfish people. They gamble entire beings—entire souls—to please their own. One second they are holding you like the world is in their arms and the next they are treating you like you are a burden. A moment. Something of the past. One second. They swallow you up and whisper they want to spend the rest of their life with you. But the moment they get a taste of you, they get bored of you. They are already halfway out the door. Without having the nerve to let you go with grace. As if the human heart means that little to them. And after all this. After all the taking. The nerve. Isn't it sad and funny how people have more guts these days to undress you with their fingers than they do to pick up the phone and call. Apologize. For the loss. For the taking. For the hurt.
"Katherine looked just like you guys," Bonnie said as she recalled the events of the previous day. Katherine had made another appearance at the Mayor's wake. And Bonnie was forced to face the wench head on. "It was freakish."
"She is our ancestor," Elena shrugged
"I moved the student booth into the cafeteria," Enola informed as she kept her eyes glued to the clipboard in her arms. She volunteered to help set up for the carnival not only because Caroline asked, but because she thought it would distract her from everything that had been going wrong in life at the moment.
"Your vampire ancestor," Bonnie continued. "And she didn't just resemble you guys like a family member would. She's identical to the both of you."
"I—I don't know. I can't explain it." Elena sighed. "It's creepy. That's all I got."
"How do you guys know she's not still out there pretending to be either of you?" Bonnie wondered.
"We don't," Enola announced, irritated by the conversation choice. "But we could sit here and be tortured by the not knowing or we could get these prizes to the ring toss."
"Have either of you spoken to Damon since he killed Jeremy—or tried to kill Jeremy?" Bonnie inquired.
"No, I haven't and I won't because I hate him." Enola announced. "I hate Damon Salvatore."
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Enola strutted down the hallway. A clipboard was clasped tightly in her hand as her eyes skimmed the sheet of paper. Everything had to be perfect for the carnival tonight. She feared that she just might actually combust if anything were to be out of place. So her eyes searched for something to fix until they landed on Stefan and Jeremy down the hallway. She reached the odd pair near the end of their conversation.
"Today we have a nice little distraction courtesy of slave driver Enola—hello, Enola." Stefan grinned happily.
"Hey," Enola greeted shortly before getting straight down to business. "Do you—"
"Yeah, yeah," Jeremy rolled his eyes in amusement. "I set up the goldfish toss—all three hundred goldfish. It's gonna be epic."
"I love you," Enola smiled.
"I know," Jeremy hummed before closing his locker and disappearing down the hallway without another word.
"He's gonna be alright," Stefan promised, nudging her shoulder slightly. "He's just been through a little bit of an ordeal."
"I was just hoping that this carnival would reel him back into the land of simple high school teenager," Enola sighed.
"Is that what we're doing here?" Stefan teased.
"Yes. We all are. We're going to be boring high school students who live in a world where the V word is not uttered." Enola announced.
"Got it," Stefan nodded.
"Which is why you are going to help set up the Karaoke booth. Like a normal high school teen." Enola said. "Do you see the running theme here?"
"Yeah, no, I'm seeing it and I'm liking it," Stefan nodded. "But I have a quick question: what are we gonna do about Damon—"
"No," Enola held up a finger. "We don't say the D word around here either. That has been deleted from the list of topics we can discuss."
"Unfortunately, Katherine showing up has him in a little bit of an odd place, a little off kilter, kind of dangerous." Stefan warned. "Who knows what he is up to?"
"Don't know, don't care," Enola decided. "Damon—and everything vampire related—can go to hell."
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The carnival was officially in full swing. Everyone seemed to be having fun. Everyone except for Enola. She was currently walking around with a clipboard in hand while she barked orders at everyone who had the misfortune of crossing her path. No one was safe. Not even Bonnie and Elena.
"The ring toss is out of Bart and Homer dolls and team Jacob T's." Bonnie announced
"I can grab some from the science club." Enola supplied.
"Also, we lost the speaker in the Karaoke booth." Elena informed.
"I'll have our tech guy look into it," Enola nodded.
"Slow down," Bonnie instructed, pulling her friend to a stop in the middle of the chaos.
"Look around, sis." Elena motioned around. "This is a huge success."
"Are you saying I can do more than wreak vampire havoc?" Enola gasped sarcastically.
"Go figure." Elena joked, receiving a smile in return.
"Sorry," Enola apologized. "I've just been stressed."
"But we're right here with you." Elena promised.
"Just loosen up." Bonnie smiled. "We can help you."
"Bonnie will manage the concession stand. I will work on the speaker for the Karaoke booth. You go get the dolls and T-shirts for the ring toss." Elena instructed.
Enola began restocking the prizes. Suddenly she felt a hot breath on the nape of her neck. She paused before she resumed her task at hand. She refused to acknowledge him. She hated him. And he knew that. But instead of apologizing or giving her the space she needed, he acted as if nothing was wrong.
"Enola," Damon cleared his throat.
"Fuck off," Enola rolled her as as she proceeded to ignore him.
"I know I'm the last person you want to see right now, but I need you to come with me." Damon spoke in a warning tone.
"I'm not going anywhere with you," Enola scoffed in disbelief.
"Yeah," Damon sighed, grabbing her arm. "I need you to come with me right now, Enola."
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"How did this happen?"
It was a question they all knew the answer to. The problem was that no one wanted to say it out loud. But alas, they didn't have a choice anymore. Things have changed. And whether the change was good or bad was something none of them knew the answer to. But one thing was for sure, they were all screwed.
"I fed her blood. Katherine killed her." Damon shrugged. "A plus B equals—"
"But why?" Elena wondered.
"Because Katherine is a manipulative little slut," Damon answered.
"Don't slut shame," Enola muttered.
"Oh, she speaks!" Damon gasped dramatically.
"Go to hell," Enola scoffed.
"And she said game on?" Stefan frowned as he anxiously paced the room. "What does that even mean?"
"It means she's playing dirty. She wants us to know." Damon announced.
"But why Caroline?" Elena pushed for answers.
"Don't know, don't care." Damon rolled his eyes.
"Caroline must be completely out of her mind. She has no idea what is happening to her." Enola muttered.
"Oh, I think she does." Damon sighed in annoyance. "All of my compulsion from the past started wearing off the minute she was in transition."
"You mean she is well aware of all the times you took advantage of her?" Enola smirked.
"We never did anything she didn't want to do," Damon glared.
"I find that hard to believe," Enola scoffed, shaking her head slightly.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Damon challenged.
"It means you have a hard time understanding the meaning of the word no," Enola shot back.
"We have to find her," Stefan interrupted.
"Yep," Damon agreed. "And kill her."
"You go anywhere near her and I will fucking kill you," Enola warned.
"You're not going to kill Caroline," Elena said.
"She knows who we are. She is officially a liability. We gotta get rid of her." Damon shrugged.
"Damon, absolutely not." Stefan disagreed.
"Need I remind you of a tragic little story of a girl named Vicki Donovan? Caroline of all people, will not make it as a vampire. Her mother is a vampire hunter." Damon defended. "Guys, come on, we all know how this story ends, so let's just flip to the last chapter and—"
"It's not an option, Damon." Elena shook her head.
"No?" Damon scoffed, turning to his brother. "Your silence is deafening, Stefan. Wasn't there a school carnival the night you staked Vicki? Talk about a town where history repeats itself. You know I'm right."
"We're not gonna kill her," Stefan spoke sternly, storming out of the room with Elena hot on his heels.
"So—" Damon tried.
"Fuck off," Enola interrupted, exiting the room next. She didn't have time for his games.
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"You agree with Damon, don't you?" Enola hummed. She wasn't stupid. She could see it in his eyes. He knew that Caroline was a liability. He knew Caroline could get them all killed. But he also knew that Caroline didn't deserve any of this. And so with that in mind, he stayed silent.
"Stefan?" Elena prodded.
"Damon is right," Stefan reluctantly agreed as he paced the busy parking lot in thought. He wanted to help Caroline. He did. But he didn't know how. "Not about what we should do, but about what is gonna happen. Katherine all but signed Caroline's death sentence."
"We can't let it end that way," Enola shook her head. "I—I love her."
"I know. I know." Elena said softly, pulling her sister into a tight hug before looking to her boyfriend. "Where could she be?"
"I—I don't know." Stefan sighed. "But we have to find her before Damon does."
"And how do you propose we do that?" Enola questioned.
"Hold on," Stefan said, holding a hand up and he used his heightened hearing to search for Caroline. And it seemed to be working seeing as his head snapped in towards the school.
"What is it?" Elena asked nervously.
"Do you hear her?" Enola questioned.
"Blood," Stefan blurted. "I can smell blood."
Stefan rushed off in the direction with Elena and Enola hot on his heels. They weaved in and out of the crowd until they finally broke free and hurried towards the back alley by the school. They were immediately met with the sight of a dead body. It was their tech guy. Though they pitted him, their main concern was Damon raising a stake to Caroline's heart. As Stefan made a move on Damon, Enola and Elena hurried to Caroline—who was currently covered in blood and manic.
"You killed me!" Caroline cried at the sight of Elena.
"That wasn't me. That was Katherine." Elena swore. "Ask Enola."
"Enola?" Caroline spoke, voice cracking slightly.
"Hi, Care." Enola smiled softly.
Caroline knew Enola would never hurt her. A sense of comfort washed over her knowing that. She just wanted to curl up in her arms and cry. But she was scared. She was scared because when that man had gotten too close to her she had killed him. She didn't want someone she loved to suffer the same fate. She wouldn't be able to live with herself.
"Stefan, we gotta get her inside." Elena said, voice full of panic.
"She will die. It's only a matter of time." Damon spoke as if it was bound to happen.
"Yeah, maybe so, but it's not gonna happen tonight." Stefan shook his head.
"Oh, yeah it is," Damon announced.
It all happened so fast. Damon reached for the wooden stake and moved to kill Caroline. Only Enola stood in the way. He stopped dead in his tracks, a wooden stake hovering above her chest. Enola had protected Caroline almost as if it was instinct. What he didn't realize is that it was an instinct. She would do it again. And again. And again. If it kept Caroline safe, she would die.
"Back off," Enola growned.
Damon lowered the stake. But he kept his uncomfortable close proximity. A mixture of anger and hurt brewed behind his pretty blue eyes as he stared into his soul. Only when he didn't find what he was looking for did he back off.
"Whatever happens, it's on you." Damon spat.
"Let's go get you cleaned up," Enola whispered softly, taking Caroline's hand in hers.
"Caroline?" A new voice intervened. They turned to find Bonnie lingering behind them with a look of horror and disgust.
"It's okay. Come on." Enola cooed, slowly guiding Caroline to the door.
"You're not," Bonnie shook her head in disbelief. "You—You can't be."
Bonnie grabbed Caroline by the wrist. It didn't last long. She gasped, jumping back almost as if she had just been burned. She looked angry and betrayed. And then she saw the dead body and the blood smeared across Caroline's face and she knew—she knew her best friend was a vampire.
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Enola guided Caroline into the bathroom. She quickly checked the stalls to make sure no one was around before locking the door behind them and helping the blonde over to the mirror. She quickly grabbed a handful of paper towels and turned on the sink, hoping to make the best out of a bad situation. But it was damn near impossible with everything going on.
"She hates me." Caroline cried. "Bonnie hates me."
"She's just in shock," Enola muttered as she began to wipe the blood away from Caroline.
"And what about Matt?" Caroline questioned in fear. "What am I going to do about Matt?"
"One problem at a time," Enola shushed. "Let's just get this blood cleaned off."
"I'm a murderer." Caroline realized. "I'm a monster."
"If he can't handle you at your worst, he doesn't deserve you at your best." Enola muttered as she focused on cleaning the blood.
"But I just killed someone," Caroline sobbed.
"No one is perfect," Enola shook her head, smiling softly.
"A—And why can't I stop crying?" Caroline sniffled.
"Your emotions are kinda heightened right now," Enola reassured. "You'll be okay."
"Why does this keep happening to my face?" Caroline grunted, turning away to hide the black veins that sprouted under her eyes. "Don't look at me. I'm ugly."
"Hey, hey, hey," Enola whispered, cupping Caroline's cheeks. She ran the pad of her thumb over the black veins and looked her dead in the eyes. "You are beautiful. You don't need to hide from me."
"Why did Katherine do this to me?" Caroline questioned, leaning her forehead against Enola's.
"I don't know," Enola confessed. "How did you know I wasn't Katherine?"
"Because you would never hurt me," Caroline whispered. "Why aren't you scared of me?"
"Because you would never hurt me," Enola smiled softly. "I love you, Care."
"I love you too," Caroline said.
It was so quiet that Enola almost missed it. She knew it didn't mean what she wanted it to. But she couldn't stop the way her chest swelled at the words. I love you too. If only it actually meant something.
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AUTHORS NOTE.
enola will not be forgiving damon any time soon. he hasn't even apologized for what he did. he probably doesn't even know what he did wrong. anywhore,,, enjoy carola (caroline and enola) while it lasts. until next time, my loves!!!