13. Children Of The Damned

Mystic Falls, 1864

The sky was pitch black, everyone in Mystic Falls had retired to their respective beds, getting ready for the next day, all except two young souls.

Natalie held on to Damon's hand and both of then ran into the woods.

"Natalie, where are we going this late?" Damon asked.

"I need to show you something" Natalie said, stopping in the middle of the woods.

"What is it?" Damon asked, looking around in confusion.

Natalie sighed and faced Damon, "Damon before I show you this, I need you to promise me something".

"Anything" Damon replied.

"I need you to promise you won't tell anyone about this, not even Stefan".

"I promise" Damon said, now very curious.

Natalie nodded, she then turned to the woods, taking a deep breath, Natalie slowly lifted her hands up, and as she lifted her hands all the leaves around them started flying into the air, Damon looked around in shock.

Natalie turned to an amazed Damon, the leaves still in the air, "I'm a witch Damon".

Damon looked at Natalie with smile forming on his face, "And here I thought I couldn't fall more in love with you".

"You don't hate me?" Natalie asked shocked, she was fully ready for Damon to run away from her.

Damon stepped towards Natalie and cupped her face in his hands, "I could never hate you, I love you, and you being a witch doesn't change that".

Natalie smiled and placed her lips on top of Damon's.

"Wow" Damon said, after breaking the kiss and attaching his forehead with Natalie's.

"Yeah, wow" Natalie whispered.

"Damon, there's another thing" Natalie said, breaking away from Damon.

"What?" Damon asked confused.

"We have to hide our love".

"What, why?".

"Because Katherine has plans for you and your brother, if she finds out about us, I'm afraid she..." Natalie hesitated.

"She will what?".

""I'm afraid she will do everything in her power to separate us Damon, and I don't know what I'll do we if we get separated" Natalie said, a few tears slipping her eyes when she thought about the various ways Katherine could separate her and Damon.

"I won't let her" Damon said, wiping Natalie's tear, "I won't let Katherine separate us".

"You won't be able to stop her" Natalie whispered.

"Yes I will" Damon said with determination, "I will stop anyone who tries to come between us".

Natalie gave Damon a small smile, she then took off her bracelet from her wrist and placed it in Damon's hand.

"I want you to have this" Natalie said.

"Your bracelet?".

"This isn't a ordinary bracelet Damon, as a Connor witch, whenever I use magic every supernatural creature near me can sense my magic for a few hours, this bracelet helps conceal it, but now I want you to have it".

"Natalie I can't take this, you need it, not me" Damon said, worry shown clearly in his eyes.

Natalie shook her head, "I'll be fine, you need this more than I do, it will protect you from Katherine".

"But..."

Natalie interrupted Damon by kissing him, "Don't talk, just remember, no matter what our destiny has in store for us, I will always love you Damon Salvatore".

Damon smiled, "And I will always love you Natalie Connor".

***

Mystic Falls, Present Day

It was early morning and Aria was standing outside Salvatore Boarding House, she was debating with herself whether to knock on the door or not. Damon had messaged Aria and told her to come to the Boarding house first thing in the morning, according to him Stefan and Elena were now helping them in opening the tomb, if Aria was to be honest she did have her doubts when it came to trusting Stefan and Elena, she found it hard to believe that the people who were so against opening the tomb before, now all of a sudden they wanted to help, it just didn't add up.

Also, Aria was still scared to face Damon after their kiss. Aria took a deep breath and decided to forget her fears and just knock on the door, what's the worst that could happen.

"Come on Aria" Aria whispered, lifting her hand up and going to knock on the door.

However, before Aria could knock, someone had already opened the door for her.

"It was getting boring waiting for you to knock on the door for the past five minutes" Damon said, giving Aria his signature smirk.

"Hey Damon" Aria said, giving Damon a small smile.

"Hey Ria" Damon said, he stepped aside and made room for Aria, "Please, come on in".

Aria nodded and stepped inside, while Damon closed the door behind her.

"Come on" Damon said, walking infront of Aria.

"Where are we going?" Aria asked confused.

"We are going to Stefan's room".

"Damon wait" Aria said, holding Damon hand's and stopping him from walking any further.

Damon looked at Aria in confusion, "Damon we need to talk".

"Aria.."

"No" Aria said, placing her hand over Damon's mouth, "Don't speak, just let me say what I want to say okay, because if you don't let me say this then I will be very awkward around you, and I don't want to be awkward around you, I also promised Caroline I will talk to you, I promise I won't take to much of your time, okay?".

Damon didn't say anything, just nodded.

"Okay" Aria said, removing her hand from Damon's mouth, "Look, I'm not going to lie to you, I still have feelings for Jeremy" Damon will being lie if he says that didn't hurt, "But for some reason, they aren't as strong as they used to be, when I'm with you or around you, I forget Jeremy, which I don't know if its a good thing or bad thing, and when we kissed I felt something, but I don't know what it was, I'm not going to lie to you, I'm really confused, and I'm telling you all this because I don't want you to think I'm leading you on, because I swear that's not my intention, I will never do that to you".

"Aria I know you would never lead me on, I know you Aria Connor and I know your not that type of girl" Damon said, stepping closer to Aria, "Here's what we're going to do, right now, we are going to put our full focus on opening that tomb and killing Katherine, till then you will have time to get your feelings straight and I will have gotten my revenge, and after that we will focus on us, we will then decide what we want with whatever's happening between us, okay?".

Aria nodded, "Okay" she whispered.

"Alright" Damon said nodding, "Now come on, we've got two lovebirds we have to go disturb".

***

"Rise and shine, sleepy heads" Damon said, entering Stefan's room where Stefan and Elena were sleeping, Aria was right behind him, but she had her hand over her eyes not wanting to see something she shouldn't have.

"Damon, please" Elena said, trying to cover herself up with sheets.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked, covering Elena up.

"Please tell me when you lot are decent, so I can finally open my eyes" Aria said, letting her presence known to the couple.

"Oh, stop being smutty" Damon told the couple.

"Seriously, get out of here" Stefan told Damon.

"If I see something I haven't seen before, I'll throw a dollar at it, now listen" Damon said, "There's some very important business to discuss".

"And it has to be right now?" Elena asked.

"We have lots to do" Damon replied, "Now that we're all friends and working toward a common goal, so in order to open the tomb, we need to find the journal to get the grimoire to undo the spells, first things first, since you are Elena Gilbert, you're on journal duty".

"Since when am I helping?" Elena asked.

"Well Stefan's helping" Damon replied simply, "And you've taken up residency in Stefan's bed, ergo--".

"You don't have to do anything you don't wanna do" Stefan told Elena.

"I'll look for it today" Elena said, laying back down.

"Good" Damon said.

"How do we know that this journal will hold the location of the grimoire?" Stefan asked Damon, "Are we really gonna take the word of this vampire? Seemed like bit of a dimwit".

"Oh and did we ever figure out what role I play in opening this tomb?" Aria asked, finally opening her eyes.

"In lieu of any other options" Damon told Stefan, then turned to Aria, "Something tells me the grimoire will have the answer to your question".

"Okay" Elena said, "What exactly is a grimoire anyway?".

"It's a witch's cookbook" Damon said.

"I remember Bonnie's grams once told me that every spell a witch casts is unique to itself, so the witch would document their work in a book" Aria informed.

"Yeah, cookbook" Damon said.

"What about our mystery vampire?" Stefan asked, "Dimwit, obviously, wasn't working alone so whoever is out there knows who we are, and let's not forget, wants Aria for something we have no clue about".

"And I don't like that disadvantage, so chop-chop, and about this one" Damon said, pointing to Aria, "She's going to be staying with me, I'll protect her while you both get the journal", Damon grabbed Aria's hand and started leaving the room, "You know, I really like this whole menage-a -foursome team thing, it's got a bit of a kink to it, don't screw it up".

Damon and Aria left Stefan's room while Elena and Stefan exchanged a look.

"He doesn't--?" Elena started, but Stefan quickly placed a finger on his lips and pointed to the door then back at his ear, indicating that Damon could be listening to their conversation.

"Oh right, yeah" Elena whispered.

"Okay" Stefan said, kissing Elena's hand and getting out of bed, but Elena stopped him before he could fully leave.

"No, come here" Elena said, pulling Stefan into a kiss.

"We shouldn't--".

"Shh" Elena said, placing a finger on Stefan's lips, she tapped her ear and pointed to the door.

Both Stefan and Elena chuckled and pulled the sheets over them.

***

"Damon stop it" Natalie said laughing, while Damon tickled her.

"Make me" Damon said, Natalie's laugh music to his ears.

Damon and Natalie were in Natalie's room, Natalie had spelled her room so Katherine couldn't enter her room without her permission or hear anything that was happening in the room.

"Damon please" Natalie laughed.

"First say it" Damon said.

"Never".

"Fine" Damon said, tickling Natalie more.

"Okay, okay" Natalie said, finally having enough of the tickling.

"Go on, say it Natalie".

"I love you" Natalie said, looking into Damon's eyes.

"I know" Damon smiled, pulling Natalie into a kiss.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, Natalie quickly pushed Damon away from her, Natalie knew it wasn't Katherine, as Katherine never came in her room, but still she didn't want anyone to see her and Damon in such a position.

"Yes?" Natalie called out.

The door opened and Emily came in, Emily knew all about Natalie and Damon's love, she was the only one who knew about them, and she supported them fully and at times even helped Natalie keep Katherine away from Damon with some excuse or the other.

"Emily, how can I help you?" Natalie asked.

"Miss Pearl is downstairs, Miss Katherine has asked me to call you" Emily informed.

"Right, tell her I'll be down in five minutes" Natalie said.

"I will, but hurry we wouldn't want Miss Katherine to get any kind of suspicion" Emily warned.

"No we wouldn't" Natalie said, "Thank you Emily".

After Emily left, Natalie turned to Damon who was laying on the bed with a frown on his face, "Why the frown?" Natalie asked confused.

"I don't like the way Katherine bosses you around" Damon said.

"She doesn't boss me around" Natalie defended, but even she didn't believe her own words.

"Why do you even listen to everything she says?" Damon asked annoyed.

"You know why Damon, we are connected, I have to protect her".

"She has to protect you too, but we both know if push comes to shove, she will let you die without thinking about it for even a second".

Natalie sighed, "I'm not arguing with you on this Damon" Natalie said, getting out of bed.

Damon sighed, he grabbed Natalie and pulled her back and into a deep kiss.

"Now go" Damon whispered, still reluctant in letting Natalie go.

"I love you" Natalie whispered.

"I love you more".

***

Natalie walked down the stairs to see Pearl and Katherine waiting for her, "Good to see you Miss Pearl" Natalie said.

"About time" Katherine told Natalie, "What took you so long?".

"I was having trouble with my dress" Natalie lied.

"Perhaps us three could talk outside" Peral said, before Katherine could catch on to Natalie's lie.

"Emily, would you please tell Mr. Salvatore that I've stepped away?" Katherine said.

"Which one?" Emily asked.

"Both" Katherine said smiling.

Natalie looked down at her feet, only her and Emily knew that Damon was only pretending to be in love with Katherine, and everytime Katherine mentioned Damon, Natalie had to hide her face so her facial expressions didn't give away how angry and jealous she felt.

Natalie, Pearl and Katherine walked in the Salvatore's backyard.

"How long do you plan on staying with the Salvatores?" Pearl asked Katherine, "People talk Katherine, you carrying on with both brothers doesn't help the situation".

"The Salvatores have been kind to take me and Natalie in" Katherine said, "As far as everyone here knows, we are poor orphan girls from Atlanta, both of us have lost our families in the fires".

"A match you lit, no doubt" Pearl taunted, causing Katherine to chuckle.

"Honey, please be careful!" Pearl yelled.

Katherine and Natalie turned around to see Pearl's daughter going up to a horse and patting it.

"Pearl, is there a reason you have come to visit us today?" Natalie asked.

"Honoria Fell came by the apothecary yesterday, with a case of this elixir" Pearl informed, pulling out a bottle from her pouch, "She asked that it be sold at a reduced rate".

"I don't follow" Katherine said confused.

"Try it" Pearl encouraged.

Katherine took the bottle from Pearl and opened it, she brought it to her nose and smelled it, then poured it on her wrist, immediately causing her skin to burn and sizzle.

Katherine gasped in pain, "What in hell--?".

"Vervain" Natalie realised.

"Why is there ver...?" Katherine started, but immediately stopped when she realised something, "They know".

"They're trying to find us, and they're getting crafty about it" Pearl said.

"Townspeople ingesting vervain, well that's inconvenient" Katherine snapped.

"What are we going to do now?" Natalie asked.

"It might be time for us to move again" Pearl suggested.

Natalie's heart immediately dropped, she didn't want to leave, leaving meant her and Damon getting separated, and Natalie didn't want to get separated from Damon.

"No, I like it here, I'm not interested in leaving just yet" Katherine said, making Natalie feel a bit relived.

"Can we go, Mama?" Pearl's daughter, Anna said, running up to the three ladies, "Is something wrong?" Anna asked, seeing their worried expressions.

All three ladies shook their head.

***

After speaking with Stefan and Elena, Aria and Damon went to Damon's room.

"What's with the face?" Damon asked Aria, as she sat on Damon's bed.

Aria sighed, "I just--do you really believe that Stefan and Elena are going to help us in opening the tomb?".

"You don't?" Damon asked, looking for something in his drawers.

"I don't know" Aria said, laying on Damon's bed, "It just doesn't settle with me, I mean Stefan was so against this, and now all of a sudden he wants to help you, it just doesn't add up".

"Well according to him, his helping me get Katherine back so I can finally leave this town and leave him and Elena alone in their perfect apple pie life" Damon said sarcastically.

"Are you?" Aria asked, sitting up.

"Am I what?" Damon asked, finally finding the thing he was looking for.

"Are you leaving town once you kill Katherine?" Aria asked, suddenly very scared of Damon's answer.

"Depends" Damon said, sitting next to Aria.

"On?".

"If I find a reason to stay" Damon replied, staring at Aria.

"Right" Aria whispered.

Damon looked down at his hands, that were carrying a bracelet, "Aria, I want you to have this" Damon said, showing Aria the bracelet.

"A bracelet?".

"It isn't just a bracelet Aria, it belonged to Natalie" Damon said, looking at the jewellery in his hand fondly.

"Damon why are you giving it to me then?" Aria asked confused, she could clearly see Damon's attachment to the bracelet.

"This isn't a normal bracelet Aria, this bracelet is spelled by Natalie herself, when you wear this bracelet no one will be able to sense your magic, but not only that, this bracelet also has a spell that prevents vampires from compelling you, that's why Natalie gave it to me, so Katherine wouldn't be able to compel me".

"Damon I can't take this" Aria said, shaking her head, "Natalie gave that to you, that's your last memory of her, I can't take that from you".

Damon grabbed Aria's wrist that had the bracelet Stefan had given her, and put Natalie's bracelet around her wrist.

"Aria I don't need a piece of jewellery to remember Natalie" Damon said, "Also if Natalie was here, she would want me give this to you".

"Thank you" Aria whispered.

"Now you can do magic without worrying about people finding out who you are".

Aria smiled and nodded, she looked down at the bracelet on her wrist, and in her mind vowed to cherish this bracelet with everything she had.

***

"Have you thought anymore about what I've said?" Pearl asked Kathrine.

"We'll leave soon Pearl, I promise, I need to take care of a few things first" Katherine replied.

"You're gonna turn both of them, aren't you?" Pearl realised.

Katherine shrugged, "Katherine, please be careful" Pearl pleaded.

"We'll all be safe, I promise" Katherine said, her eyes landing outside where Natalie was talking to Anna, "Well most of us anyways".

***

"My father never approved of anyone I dated" Damon said, cutting tomatoes in the Gilbert kitchen with Aria right beside him and Jenna sitting on the counter and drinking wine, "Which only made me want them more, of course".

After Aria had expressed her doubts in Elena and Stefan's intentions, Damon decided he need to be sure, which is how they ended up in the Gilbert's kitchen, making dinner while waiting for Stefan and Elena to show up.

"Ooo, what a bad boy" Aria teased, eating some cheese that Damon had chopped up.

"Hey" Damon said, seeing Aria steal the cheese, "Your supposed to be helping, not eating".

"Your taking too long, I'm starving" Aria retorted.

Jenna looked at Damon and Aria with a smile on her face, Jenna had seen the same thing Caroline had seen, with Damon, Aria was free, she was happy, she was the old Aria, someone Jenna hadn't seen since the Gilbert parents died.

"What about you?" Damon asked Jenna, slapping Aria's hand when she tried to steal more cheese.

Jenna chuckled at Aria's antics, "There were a few guys".

"Yeah, like Logan scum Fell" Aria teased.

"Oh please, Logan isn't the only loser I've dated" Jenna said.

"They ever find him? Is he still missing?" Damon asked curiously.

"He's not missing" Jenna replied, "He's in the Bahamas working on his tan, very entitled, that one, marches to his own drum", Jenna finished her glass of wine, "He's a Fell, they're all snooty".

Damon chuckled and poured Jenna more wine.

"And bullies" Aria retorted.

"You had history with a Fell to?" Damon asked Aria.

"Oh that's right, Tori Fell, Logan's niece" Jenna remembered, "Oh you and her were always at each other's throat".

"She was a bitch" Aria replied.

"That I agree with" Jenna said, sipping her wine.

"What did she ever do to you?" Damon asked Aria.

"Everything" Aria said, "Tripped me over, pulled my hair, copied my homework, ripped my homework, went after Jeremy, got me into detentions, the list can go on forever".

"Yeah and one day Aria finally had enough and she ended up slapping her" Jenna said, chuckling at the memory.

"You slapped her?" Damon asked, looking at Aria in amusement.

"Yeah" Aria said laughing, "Oh god, I remember how much of a big deal her parents made out of it, they refused to believe their daughter started everything, they wanted me punished and their daughter spared".

"But Miranda didn't let that happen" Jenna said smiling at the memory, "She fought with the principle, she fought with the parents and she didn't stop fighting until she proved Aria innocent".

"Yeah" Aria whispered, a small smile forming on her face, "Since then I started calling her supermom".

"She wouldn't say it to your face, but I know how much she loved that name".

"Trust me, I knew" Aria said, "That's why I never stopped calling her that, she was and will always be my personal superhero".

Damon looked at Aria fondly, Aria never talked about her birth parents or her adoptive parents, it hurt her too much, which was why Damon liked this rare moment of Aria going down memory lane, he liked knowing about her life before it got so complicated.

"Hello, Elena" Damon said, when he heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen.

Elena entered the kitchen and got confused seeing Damon in her kitchen.

"Hey, where have you been?" Jenna asked Elena, "We're cooking dinner".

"Well, Damon's cooking dinner, while Jenna drinks her wine and I supervise" Aria said, making Jenna playfully glare at her.

"Stefan with you?" Damon asked Elena.

"Um, he'll be here soon" Elena replied, giving Damon a unsure look.

***

Aria walked over to the table with the plates in her hand, when Damon purposely bumped into her.

"Oh, Mm".

Aria laughed, "That was so on purpose" Aria said, walking to the table and setting the plates.

"What was?" Damon asked, pretending to be oblivious.

"You know what, that move was deliberate".

"Well, yeah, I was deliberating trying to get to the sink" Damon joked, walking over to the stove where Elena was, who wasn't happy with the interactions between Aria and Damon.

Aria scoffed in amusement, while Damon turned to Elena, "Speaking of Stefan, where is he?" he asked, "He's missing family night, which I am enjoying immensely".

Elene didn't say anything, just walked to the sink.

"Is it real?" Damon asked suddenly.

"Is what real?" Elena asked confused.

"This renewed sense of brotherhood" Damon asked, Aria looked at Elena, waiting for her reaction, "Can I trust him?".

Elena hesitated before speaking, "Yes, you can trust him" she said, walking over to the table where Aria was standing, who was frowning hearing the hesitation in Elena's voice.

Damon used his speed to stand right behind Elena, Elena faced Damon, "Can I trust him?" Damon asked, looking into Elena's eyes.

"I'm wearing vervain Damon, it's not gonna work" Elena said, thinking Damon was trying to compel her.

"I'm not compelling you" Damon said, "I just want you to answer me, honestly".

Elena looked in Damon's eyes, "Of course you can" she said, walking away from Damon.

Damon looked at Aria, who shook her head, indicating Elena was lying.

***

"You can trust me Mr. Salvatore, I would never cheat" Katherine told Giuseppe Salvatore.

Katherine and Natalie were outside with Giuseppe, Katherine was playing a game with him, while Natalie was leaning against the tree and watching them.

Katherine hit the ball, causing it to go through the mini archway, Giuseppe sighed while Katherine and Natalie chuckled.

"I'm losing over here, again" Giuseppe told his sons, as both of them made their way towards the trio.

"They are good, I almost believe they genuinely like him" Damon said, his eyes on Natalie, who was watching the game intensely, she was genuinely curious as to who will win.

"Perhaps they do" Stefan replied, his eyes on Katherine.

Damon scoffed, "They know father would have both of them killed if he knew the truth".

"Not if we talked to him, explained how we feel, he could help us keep her safe" Stefan said, only thinking about Katherine.

"Are you going mad?" Damon snapped, "No, father would drive a stake through Katherine's heart and then god knows what he will do to Natalie".

Damon could care less about what happens to Katherine, all he cares about is Natalie and her safety, and he didn't trust his father to keep Natalie safe, not even one bit, he knew if Katherine's truth came out infront of his father then Natalie would automatically be in danger, his father wouldn't listen to any explanation, he would automatically kill Natalie because of her association with Katherine.

Stefan shook his head, "That's not true, we can trust him".

"No, not with this" Damon said, "No please--promise me you won't tell him Stefan".

Stefan paused, he glanced in the direction Katherine and Natalie were standing, he turned back to Damon and nodded, "I promise".

Damon nodded and looked at Natalie, who was already looking him, he gave her a small smile which she gladly returned, Damon vowed he wasn't going to let anything happen to the women he loves, even if it costs him his life.

***

"There was a time that I trusted him more than anyone" Damon informed Elena and Aria.

"Trust breeds trust, you have to give it to get it" Elena said, looking at Aria, who was busy setting the table.

"Are you lecturing me?" Damon asked.

"Do you need to be lectured?" Elena retorted.

"He does at times" Aria said, making Damon roll his eyes playfully.

"I just want her back, I'm sure you can understand that" Damon lied, not knowing Elena already knew the truth.

"I can understand that you would do anything for her, yes" Elena said, playing along.

"Then you understand what I will do if anyone gets in my way" Damon threatened, before walking away.

Elena looked at Aria, hoping she will say something but she didn't, she just played with her bracelet and avoided eye contact with Elena.

***

Aria was still in the kitchen with Damon and Elena when her eyes landed on Jeremy, who was busy playing video games in the living room, seeing as Damon and Elena had everything handled in the kitchen, Aria decided to go talk to Jeremy.

Aria left the kitchen and went and sat next to Jeremy, "May I join?".

Jeremy gave Aria a smile, "Of course".

Aria smiled and grabbed the other controller and started playing with Jeremy.

"Okay since when are you this good" Jeremy complained, when Aria beat him third time in a row.

"I've always been this good, you've just never noticed" Aria said, a tinge sadness in her voice which was gone unnoticed by Jeremy but not by the two people in the kitchen who were listening on to their conversation.

"So, when were you going tell me?" Jeremy asked suddenly, after a bit more of Aria beating his ass.

"Tell you what?" Aria asked, her eyes glued to the TV screen.

"About your boyfriend?" Jeremy asked, shocking Aria.

"My boyfriend?" Aria asked, looking at Jeremy in shock, "What boyfriend?".

"The guy in our kitchen" Jeremy said simply.

"Damon?" Aria asked, letting out a small laugh, "Damon isn't my boyfriend, we..."

"We what?" Jeremy asked curiously.

"We are a work in progress" Aria repeated the same words Damon told Alaric, "Plus I didn't tell you because I didn't think you cared".

"Of course I care" Jeremy said, "I know the past few months I haven't really shown it, but I do care about you, you have always been there for me when I needed you, you were even there when I pushed you away, so yeah, I do care Aria".

Aria looked at Jeremy in shock, she didn't know what to say, never in a million years did she expect Jeremy to actually tell her that he cared, this really wasn't helping Aria's confused feeling.

"Am I interrupting something?".

Breaking out of her thoughts, Aria looked to her side to see Damon standing there with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Uh no, not at all" Jeremy said, giving Damon a forced smile.

"Great" Damon said, sitting on the other side of Aria, "May I?" he asked, pointing to the controller in Aria's hand.

"Sure" Aria said, handing Damon the controller, "Have you even ever played?".

"Nope" Damon replied simply.

"You said you never played this thing before" Jeremy complained, seeing how good Damon was at the game.

"I'm a fast learner, quick reflexes" Damon replied.

"Or maybe Jer, you just suck" Aria teased.

"Oh shut it" Jeremy said, playfully nudging Aria, making her laugh, while Damon simply rolled his eyes at the two.

Suddenly Jeremy's phone started ringing, Jeremy checked his phone but hanged up seeing who it was.

"Who was that?" Aria asked curiously.

"This girl Anna, she can be, uh, persistent" Jeremy said.

"Is she hot?" Damon asked.

"Of course that's what you ask" Aria mumbled, making Damon smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, but she can be weird" Jeremy said.

"Pfft, hot trumps weird, trust me" Damon said.

"No it doesn't" Aria said.

"Trust me Ria it does" Damon said.

"Your unbelievable" Aria said, laughing at Damon.

"Thank you" Damon replied smirking.

"He is ridiculously hot" Jenna whispered to Elena, while Damon listened in to their conversation, "Aria is one lucky girl".

"Shh" Elena said, pressing a figure to his lip, "He's an ass", Damon rolled his eyes hearing Elena, "Plus him and Aria aren't together".

"But they will be" Jenna said with confident.

Damon smirked and glanced at Aria, who was too busy watching the game to notice his gaze.

The doorbell rang and Damon quickly paused the game, he grabbed Aria's hand and took her to the door.

"Dude" Jeremy complained.

Elena opened the door to see Stefan on the other side, who got confused seeing his brother standing behind Elena.

"Well?" Damon asked.

***

"Who took it?" Damon asked, as he, Aria, Elena and Stefan walked out to the front porch.

"I don't know" Stefan replied.

"You know what, it's that teacher, there's something off about him" Damon said.

"No he doesn't know anything about it, somebody got it right before me" Stefan explained.

"Maybe it was the people who the mystery vampire worked with" Aria said.

"Who else knew it was there?" Damon asked.

Stefan looked at Jeremy through the window, Damon and Aria followed his gaze and realised Jeremy was the one who knew about the journal being at Alaric's office.

"No Damon, leave him out of it" Elena said, seeing Damon walk back inside to talk to Jeremy.

"Why? What's the big deal?" Damon asked.

"Damon just wait" Aria said, also not wanting Jeremy to get involved.

"Relax Ria, I'm just going to talk to him" Damon said, going inside.

"So I heard you found a really cool journal from back in the day" Damon said, walking over to Jeremy, "Who else did you show it to?".

"Huh?" Jeremy asked confused.

"Don't ask questions, just spill" Damon snapped.

"You're kidding me, right?" Jeremy asked.

"Jer please" Aria pleaded, really not wanting Damon to lose his cool and hurt Jeremy, "Did you tell anyone else other than Mr. Saltzman about the journal?".

"Why is everybody so obsessed with that?" Jeremy asked confused.

"Who else did you tell?" Elena asked.

"Mm, just this girl Anna" Jeremy replied.

"The hot, weird one?" Damon asked.

"Yeah".

"Wait, who is Anna?" Stefan asked confused.

"That's what I wanna find out" Damon replied, "How do you know her?".

"I just know her" Jeremy replied, "She wants to meet at the Grill tonight".

"Perfect" Damon said, getting up, "Me and Aria will drive you".

"We will?" Aria asked confused.

"We will" Damon replied, grabbing Jeremy by the arm and pulling him up.

"Oh, okay" Jeremy said, following Aria and Damon out.

***

Damon and Aria were now at the Grill, they were sitting at the bar, keeping an eye on Jeremy.

Suddenly Anna came over to Jeremy and Damon got shocked seeing her.

"What's with the shocked face?" Aria asked Damon.

"I know her" Damon whispered.

"You do?".

"Yeah" Damon replied, "From 1864".

"Oh crap" Aria whispered, looking at Anna in shock.

***

"The sheriff was here earlier" Pearl informed Katherine and Natalie, who were at Pearl's shop with Damon by their side, "He bought large volumes of the vervain elixir".

"Did he try to put his hands on you again?" Katherine asked.

"Doesn't he always?" Pearl replied.

"She's saving herself for Johnathan Gilbert" Katherine informed Damon.

"I am beyond saving, we know that" Pearl said, making Katherine laugh.

"How can you be so calm?" Damon snapped, "They're getting closer to you everyday".

"We're the respectable ladies of Mystic Falls" Katherine said, "Thanks to Emily, we walk the streets in daylight, no one will ever suspect us".

"Not unless a human tells them" Pearl said, looking at Damon.

"He wouldn't do that" Natalie snapped.

"I'd sooner die" Damon said, glaring at Pearl, he would never tell anyone about Katherine, as telling people about Katherine meant putting Natalie's life on stake, and he would never do that.

"And soon enough, you will" Katherine said, kissing Damon.

Natalie looked away from Katherine and Damon, she knew Katherine intended to make Damon and Stefan into vampires, but Natalie wasn't going to allow that, no matter what happens, she will never let Damon become a monster.

"Mrs. Fell is approaching" Anna said, entering the shop and breaking Natalie's chain of thought.

Damon separated himself from Katherine and nodded at Anna.

"Thank you Annabelle" Pearl said, hugging her daughter.

Damon looked at Natalie to see her looking down at the floor, Damon knew she was hurt, he didn't enjoy kissing Katherine either, but both of them knew if they wanted their love to survive they had to hide it.

***

Anna entered her motel room where Damon and Aria were already waiting for her. As soon as Anna entered the room, Damon grabbed her by her throat while Anna did the same.

Damon and Anna held each other in a choke hold for a bit, when Damon finally spoke, "Okay, I give, okay".

Damon and Anna let go of each other and both fell into a fit of coughing.

"Damn" Damon said, "You're strong for a little thing".

"I was wondering how long it would take you and your little sidekick to find me" Anna said, looking at Aria who was standing behind Damon.

"I'm not his sidekick" Aria snapped.

***

Natalie barged into Katherine's room, "Katherine we need to talk".

"About what?" Katherine asked, fixing her dress in the mirror.

"You can't turn Damon and Stefan into vampires" Natalie said.

"And why not?" Katherine said, turning to face Natalie.

"They don't deserve this Katherine, they don't deserve anything that comes with this life" Natalie snapped.

Katherine scoffed, "This is about yours and Damon's hidden love, isn't it?".

"What?" Natalie asked shocked.

"Oh don't give me that look Natalie, what did you think I'd never find out?" Katherine asked, giving Natalie a sinister smile.

"How, how did you find out?" Natalie asked, scared of what was going on in Katherine's mind.

"You were cleaver about it for a bit, for a while I had no clue that Damon wasn't in love with me, he was in love with you" Katherine said, "But you know what gave it away, when I saw your bracelet on Damon's wrist, which I'm guessing you gave to him so I couldn't compel him, good move by the way".

"I love him Katherine" Natalie said, tears filling her eyes.

Katherine glared at Natalie, she speeded towards her and grabbed her by her neck and slammed her to the nearest wall.

"You knew I had plans for both the brothers, yet you dared to come between my plans" Katherine spat, her hold on Natalie's throat tight.

"Katherine" Natalie choked.

"I'm sorry Natalie, I really am, but it's time our adventures come to an end" Katherine said.

"Don't please".

"See, with you giving Damon your bracelet, the one thing that protected you from me, I can now do this" Katherine said, compelling Natalie, "You are to protect Stefan with everything you have, if you see him in danger, you will sacrifice your own life for his, and if you somehow manage to survive, you will kill yourself, you will remember me compelling you but you won't be able to tell Damon, you won't be able to say your goodbye".

***

"How long have you been here?" Damon asked Anna.

"I arrived around half past comet" Anna informed, "Watching you screw up every chance you had to open that tomb, amongst other things as well".

"Other things?" Aria asked confused.

"Things like finding out that Damon had fooled everyone, including his own brother, he was never in love Katherine, all this time it was always Natalie, which by the way, was totally unexpected" Anna said, "Oh and I also know what you are".

"Me?".

"Your not only Natalie's descendent, but you also happen to be connected to Damon" Anna said.

Damon glared at Anna and stood infront of Aria, blocking Anna's view of her, "How did you find out?".

"I listen" Anna said smirking.

"How did you know about the spell?" Damon asked.

"I didn't say much back then" Anna said, "Which means I heard everything".

"If you've been here the whole time, why are we just crossing paths right now?".

"I like to use others to do my dirty work".

"Someone like Logan Fell?" Aria asked.

"Oh yeah, thanks for that, by the way" Damon said, "Little bastard shot me and Aria".

Anna chuckled, "Logan was an idiot".

"Something we both can agree on" Aria said.

"We slipped him blood when he started getting poser slayer with that compass" Anna said, "I needed his journal, I couldn't let him die".

"What did you want with the Fell journal?" Damon asked confused.

"I thought it contained the location of the witch's spell book" Aria informed, "I was wrong, according to her journal, Honoria gave the grimoire to Johnathan Gilbert, and according to this", Anna showed Damon and Aria Johnathan Gilbert's journal, "He gave it to your father, so now you're gonna help me find it".

"Why would he help you?" Aria asked confused.

"Because him and I both want that tomb open" Anna said, opening the journal to a certain page and showing it to Damon.

Damon grabbed the journal and read it, "Hmm, heh" Damon said, closing the journal and placing it on the table, "Sorry I already have a partner".

"That will be me" Aria said, giving Anna a sarcastic smile.

Damon grabbed Aria's hand and both of them left the motel room, leaving behind a furious Anna.

***

Damon and Aria arrived at the woods, Damon had let Aria know that after reading Johnathan Gilbert's journal, he realised Emily's grimoire was in his father's grave, when Damon and Aria arrived at the grave, they saw Stefan and Elena already there, with the grimoire in Stefan's hands.

"Well, what do you know?" Damon said, gaining the couple's attention, Elena got up and looked towards Damon and Aria, "This is an interesting turn of events".

"I can't let you bring her back" Stefan said, "I'm sorry".

"So am I, for thinking for even a second I could trust you" Damon said, he then turned to Aria, "Guess you were right, they can't be trusted".

Stefan scoffed, "You are not capable of trust, the fact you're here means you read the journal and you were planning on doing this yourself".

"I wasn't by myself, I had Aria, because the only person I can count on is her and myself, you made sure of that many years ago Stefan" Damon snapped.

"Why? Because you and Aria are connected?" Elena snapped.

"You know?" Aria asked Elena shocked.

"Stefan heard both of you talking the night Emily destroyed the crystal, I can't believe you hide such a thing from me".

"Because this wasn't about you Elena" Aria snapped, "This had nothing to do with you, and you", Aria turned to Stefan, "If you heard everything that night, then you also know the real reason as to why Damon wants to open the tomb, so why aren't you helping him, did you not care for Natalie at all?".

"No Aria" Stefan said, "Trust me, I did care for Natalie, but getting revenge from Katherine isn't going to bring her back".

"So, what are you gonna do now?" Damon asked his brother, "Because if you try and destroy that, I'll rip Elena's heart out".

"You won't kill her" Stefan said, "Not with Aria here".

Damon glanced at Aria who was already looking at him a worried expression on her face, "Your right" Damon said, he then speeded to Elena and held her in a choke hold, "I can do one better", Damon bit into his wrist and forced it into Elena's mouth, "Give me the book Stefan, or I'm snapping her neck and you will have a vampire girlfriend".

Stefan glared at Damon, he then speeded to Aria and did the same thing Damon did to Elena, "You snap Elena's neck, I'll snap Aria's, then I won't be the only one with a vampire girlfriend".

"Let Aria go Stefan" Damon snapped.

"Let Elena go first".

"Aria" Damon demanded, not caring about the grimoire, only thing on his mind was Aria.

"I'm not gonna give you Aria until Elena is standing next to me".

"Problem is I no longer trust that you'll give her to me".

"You just did the one thing that ensures that I will" Stefan said, placing the grimoire into Aria's hand, and slowly letting go of her, but not before whispering in her ear, "I'm sorry".

At first it seemed like Damon wasn't going to let Elena go, but eventually he slowly let her go, both the best friends passed each other, but Aria didn't look at Elena, she was in too much of a shock with everything that has just happened.

Damon quickly grabbed Aria and pulled her into a hug, while Aria looked at Stefan with teary eyes, but Stefan refused to look at her.

"Please get me out of here" Aria whispered to Damon.

Damon nodded and took the grimoire in his hand and Aria's hand in the other and vamp speeded them from there, leaving behind a guilty Stefan and Elena.

***

Elena groaned and shut her bathroom drawer, she held her head in pain, "Aspirin must be downstairs, is my head supposed to hurt like this?".

"No, you'll be fine, it was just a small amount of blood" Stefan said, standing in the bathroom door, "It should pass out of your system by tomorrow".

Elena sighed and walked over to Stefan, who looked disturbed over something, "Are you okay?".

"Damon was right, this is, uh, this is my fault" Stefan said, "I put my faith in my father, but Damon put his faith in me, and I destroyed that, I realise by keeping Katherine safe Damon was trying to keep Natalie safe, Natalie's death is my fault".

Elena cupped Stefan's face, "We didn't do anything wrong, don't forget that".

Stefan nodded, "Okay".

Suddenly the bathroom door that was connected to Aria's room, opened and Aria came in, but she stopped when she saw Stefan and Elena.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Aria said, turning to leave.

"Aria wait" Stefan said, "Aria, I'm..."

"Don't Stefan" Aria interrupted, "I just came here to get an aspirin, I'm not here to hear anything else".

"Aria.."

"No Elena, I get it, Damon had you, Stefan needed to save you, I get it, trust me I do" Aria said, "But it still hurt".

Aria went back into her room, while Stefan let out a sigh of guilt, "She hates me".

"No" Elena said, shaking her head, "She doesn't hate you, she's just hurt, she will get over it soon enough".

"Yeah" Stefan whispered, "I'm gonna get you and Aria some aspirin, okay?".

Elena nodded.

Stefan walked downstairs, towards the kitchen where Jenna was sitting, "You know you're not staying the night, right?".

"Oh, uh, we're just gonna hang out for a little while" Stefan replied.

"You're lucky I like you" Jenna said, "Keep the door open".

"You got it" Stefan said, "Hey, do you have any aspirin?".

"Yeah" Jenna said, getting up and going to the kitchen cabinet.

"Oh, hey Stefan" Jeremy said, entering the kitchen and looking around in confusion, "Where did she go?".

"She went to the bathroom" Jenna replied.

"Where did who go?" Stefan asked.

"He has a friend over" Jenna informed.

"Anna" Jeremy said, shocking Stefan.

Stefan remembered seeing Anna back in 1864 when they were rounding up the vampires, he quickly ran up the stairs to check up on both Elena and Aria.

Stefan speeded up to Elena's room, only to see no sign of Elena anywhere, "Elena?".

Seeing no sign of Elena, Stefan ran to Aria's room only to see no sign of Aria anywhere either, his eyes then landed on the open window in Aria's room.

***

words: 7380

©Allrightsreserved ©ShanayaSalvatore™