(1) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Forty-Four

Cassandra, Bonnie and Elena are standing near Cassandra's jeep. Bonnie is confused and upset, brushing her sleeve over her cheek a little to remove some lingering tears. It's not surprising that she is upset about what happened, or freaking out. She should. It's what a normal person would do. 

"I don't understand, what happened to me?" Bonnie asks them. "He tried to attack me, and his face was like..."

"How do you feel? Are you okay?" Elena asks, Cassandra shoots her a look, because of course, Bonnie's not okay. This is all utter bat shit.

"I'm fine" Bonnie assures them and then looks at Cassandra. "Thanks for....saving me" Cassandra shrugs a little.

"It's okay, Bonnie...anytime" Cassandra assures her, Bonnie looks down and nods, getting upset. Elena turns to her sister.

"Are you okay?" Elena asks Cassandra who nods and shrugs.

"It happens" She offers. "I pushed too hard....my powers pushed back...I'm fine though, I just need to eat and sleep..." Stefan approaches the girls, and Bonnie immediately becomes frightened and wary of him, steps closer to Cassandra, knowing that she can stop him if need be.

"I'm not gonna hurt you" Stefan assures her.

"What's going on, Cas?" Bonnie asks.

"I'll explain everything, Bonnie. Okay?" Cassandra assures her. "Let's just get out of here." Bonnie nods and follows Cassandra to her jeep, keeping the psychic between her and Stefan. Elena watches them sadly before turning back to Stefan.
"We're gonna tell her the truth" Elena admits.

"You sure?" Stefan asks her, Elena nods.

"I can trust her" She assures him. "We...me and Cas, we need someone to know, someone to talk to. We can't live in secret"

"You shouldn't have to" Stefan agrees.

"I'm sorry, Stefan. I thought that I couldn't be with you, but I can. You don't have to push me away. I can do this" She grabs his hands affectionately. Stefan pulls away from her instead.

"I can't. I have to leave, Elena. Too many people have died. Too much has happened"

"What? No! I know you think you're protecting me, but..."

"I have to. Coming home was...it was a mistake. I can't be a part of your life anymore"

"Don't go, Stefan. Please...You don't have to. This is your home. Please, don't go" Stefan kisses Elena's hand.

"Good-bye, Elena" He offers and then starts walking away.

"You're just gonna walk away? Don't walk away, Stefan! Stefan!" Elena begs as she begins to cry.

............

Cassandra sits on her bed, rubbing her fingers into her head, a slight ache there from the day's activities. She lays back on her bed and lets out a breath. She pushed too hard today. Too much. She's exhausted. Elena lets herself into Cassandra's bedroom and gives her sister a nervous smile.

"Can I sleep in here?" Elena asks, Cassandra nods, mostly because she is too tired to argue. Elena climbs into the bed and curls up next to her sister. Cassandra reaches over and brushes her fingers through Elena's hair trying to comfort her. But after what happened with Stefan, she doesn't think that this will be enough this time.

.............

Cassandra lays curled up in her bed as Elena watches her. Worried about her. She's not getting up to get ready for school. She looks like she barely slept at all. To be honest, she actually didn't sleep very well.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Elena asks as she presses her hand to Cassandra's forehead. She feels a little warm and looks very tired, pale, drained really. Cassandra nods and pulls her blanket tighter around her shoulders so she can burrow into her bed.

"It's just residual from yesterday" She whispers, Elena nods a little. "I just need to rest up..."

"Well, if you need anything, just text me and I'll bring it in after school" Elena offers as she gives Cassandra a small worried smile.

"I'm fine, Elena, don't worry so much" Cassandra scolds slightly. She is touched that her sister cares, that she wants to take care of her, of course, she is, but she is capable of looking after herself. She's been doing it for months now. Elena nods and adjusts her jacket.

"Okay," Elena whispers. "I'll see you later" She then leaves Cassandra to her rest. Not that that is what she plans on doing. Her cell phone pings on the side and she picks it up, opening the new message from Damon. She was reluctant to agree to help him, considering what he did to Bonnie, but she did stop him and Bonnie is okay and he seemed genuinely upset about what happened.

..........

Cassandra watches Jeremy head off to school and then moves. Pulling on her jacket as she picks up her phone and dials Damon's number.

"What am I doing again?" She asks into the phone as she leaves the house.

................

Cassandra has her phone pressed to her ear as she walks towards a warehouse on the edge of town. She carries the vampire compass in her hand. This is why she faked being sick. This is what Damon wanted help with. Tracking a vampire. She's a little scared about being out here alone if there is another vampire, a less friendly vampire, skulking around.

"So what do I do now?" She asks Damon down the phone as she stares down at the compass which seems to point towards the warehouse.

"Are you sure you're in the right place?" He counters.

"Urm, yeah..." She answers and then shrugs, honestly she has no idea if she is in the right place. She's never used this device thing before. Though she is pretty sure it belongs to her family. Just something at the back of her mind that she's seen this before.

"Just wait. I'll be there in a minute"

"Can you hurry? This place is creepy as hell" She points out as she peers around. Suddenly, Damon appears behind Cassandra. She is startled by his sudden appearance. "Don't do that" She scolds him, he smirks back at her. "So, why did you need me to do this anyway?"

"Because I interfere with the signal"

"Can I go now? This has blown, like, half of my day and I have things to do" She complains and he smirks.

"I thought you'd be all mad at me" He offers as he holds out his hand, she sets the compass into it. "You know...after last night" He reminds her. She hums and shrugs.

"I should be" She agrees. "But I don't know...I think I have a habit of giving second chances, it's the only way Caroline could have lasted this long as my friend" He nods in agreement. "You must have really loved her"

"Caroline?" Damon asks with a frown, she gives him a look.

"Katherine" She argues. He snorts and shrugs.

"Once upon a time" He agrees. "Sort of" She frowns at him and tilts her head. "It doesn't matter" He mumbles and looks away from her and at the warehouse. "I got it from here" He adds and glances down at the compass. She hums a little and then walks away, his eyes shifting to watch her head towards where her jeep is parked.