(1) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Seventy-One

Elena follows Cassandra out of the Grill. Stefan tagging along behind, just in case. But Cassandra doesn't want to do this today. She doesn't want to be here any more. She can't deal with Damon being here, not after what he's done.

"Cas!" Elena shouts, trying to catch up with her as she flees the Grill. She just wants to leave. She just wants to go home and crawl into her bed and cry. This day has just been a nightmare and she wants it to go away. She turns to her sister and shakes her head.

"I can't be here," Cassandra tells her as she walks backwards. "I'll just...I'll see you later" She turns and then stops abruptly when she sees the man from earlier standing in front of her.

"Cas" Elena shouts alarmed now, moving forward, but Stefan grabs her arm to stop her from going after her. Cassandra tilts her head in question.

"I have a message for you." He tells her. And it is just as cliché, with the deeper, menacing voice.

"Who are you?" Cassandra asks.

"Stop looking."

"Stop looking for what?" She counters.

"She doesn't want to know you. She doesn't want to talk to you." He tells her. Cassandra then realises.

"Isobel?"

"You need to stop looking. Do you understand?"

"She's alive? Does that mean she's a..." Cassandra starts to inch forward, but Stefan moves to her and pulls her back. She gives him a dirty look.

"Cassandra, he's under compulsion," Stefan tells her.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes. I do" Cassandra assures the man.

"Good" The man looks down the street. "I'm done now" The man steps back into the road. A large truck blares its horn but runs over the man, killing him. Elena, shocked, grabs Stefan. Cassandra's eyes widen as she stares at where he had been standing. She lets out a shaky breath. Can this day actually get any worse? Stefan and Elena run into the middle of the street. People around them are yelling. Stefan kneels down and looks at the man. Elena sees a phone that must have fallen out of the man's pocket and picks it up. Stefan quickly stands up.

"Come on. Let's get out of here. Come on" Elena places the phone in her pocket and follows him as he moves to Cassandra who just sort of stands there. "Cassandra" He states and her eyes shift to him. "Come on" He offers softer and she nods a little. Stefan leads the two sisters to where Jenna's car is parked.

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

Stefan watches as Elena hands over a mug of hot chocolate to Cassandra where she sits on her bed before she moves to where he is lingering in the doorway of Cassandra's bedroom.

"You going to be okay?" Stefan asks Elena who nods and then shrugs, glancing back at Cassandra.

"Yeah, I'll be fine but...." Elena shrugs. "Look, thanks for bringing us home but...I think she needs a sister night" Stefan nods in agreement. "She'll be okay" Stefan nods a little and then leaves the sisters alone. Elena knows exactly what to do for her sister to cheer her up and make her feel better.

"I'll see you later" Stefan offers and gives her a quick kiss before he leaves. Elena closes the bedroom door and moves closer to her sister. Elena hums a little and sets a DVD into the player and moves to the bed with the remote, Cassandra sits with her knees pulled to her chest. "Because you're upset, I know that your go-to is Clint Eastwood...." Elena offers as she presses play. "So...we're going to watch Unforgiven"

"Why aren't you upset?" Cassandra asks her.

"Because you are and I am trying not to get upset" Elena admits.

"We can both be upset" Cassandra whispers, Elena nods.

"I know" She agrees. "But I'm kind of angry rather than upset" She offers and shrugs. "Plus I know you were friends...."

"Yeah, we were" Cassandra agrees with a bite to her tone. "Not any more" She adds. Elena looks at her sadly. Damon was her only friend that wasn't Elena's friend. It gave Cassandra a sort of independence from Elena. Cassandra put her faith in Damon's friendship. And all it took was heritage to break that faith.

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

Damon steps heavily down the stairs with a sigh. What a day. He thought things couldn't get worse. He failed in finding and killing Katherine. He found out that he'd been as close to Ally as he could get and didn't get her. He also killed the current high school history teacher when he was fool enough to came at him. Self-defence. That's bad enough, but oh then he has to learn that he turned the birth mother of probably his closest human friend into a vampire. Someone he genuinely cares about. To see that look on Cassandra's face. He is then even more surprised to find Cassandra sitting in an armchair in his living room. He cocks his head as he stares at her because something is telling him that this isn't Cassandra. Her eyes are too crazed. If that's the right word. Haunted probably is a better word here. She looks haunted.

"Hello, Damon" She greets and smirks at him. He lets out a breath and frowns before he realises, his features just dropping.

"Ally?" He asks as he steps closer to her.

"Been a while" She offers as she pushes herself to her feet.

"I thought...I thought you were in the tomb" He points out, she hums and nods.

"I was"

"So how did you get out?" She holds up her hand and reveals golden mist that swirls around her hand.

"Magic" She teases a little and moves closer to him. He looks over her. She looks different. Dressed in modern clothing. She looks a lot more like Cassandra than Cassandra looks like Ally right now. He reaches out and touches her arm, just checking she's here. He is then hugging her tightly, her arms wrapping around his neck. He clutches to her because when it comes down to it, everything he has done is because he missed his friend. Because Katherine took her away from him. But it's more than that. He hurt Cassandra. Really upset her. And that upset him. Seeing that look on her face. He wanted to take it back. What he had said. What he had done. She pulls back first and tilts her head and scrunches up her nose.

"You look glum" She points out and taps his nose.

"I urm...upset a friend" He admits and rubs the back of his neck. "She's...." He looks at her, debating whether he should tell her about Cassandra. "Important" He whispers a little.

"You really like her, don't you?" She asks him as he drops onto the couch. He raises an eyebrow. She gives him a look back. "My shadow self" She teases and moves to pour herself a drink.

"Al" He scolds and gives her a look.

"I like her" She assures him. "She's spunky"

"I wasn't aware you'd met" He points out, she taps her head and gives him a look.

"Been busy" She mumbles. "We're connected now...." She turns a little and looks around the room. Damon watches her sadly seeing how different she is, she's lost something. Her sanity. "How long's it been?" She pauses thoughtfully. "Hundred and..... forty-five years?" She asks, he nods. "Did I ever tell you about Kol?" She asks him, he raises an eyebrow and shakes his head, she stares off a little and lets out a small longing sigh.

"You okay?" He asks her with a worried eyebrow, she hums and blinks, turning to look at him.

"Been a long time" She whispers. "Stuck in that tomb..." She swallows slightly. "Alone..." She looks away from him. "Hungry" She clears her throat and then plasters on a smile, that is just over that line of creepy. "You should do something to make it better" She offers. "Show her how sorry you are that you...did what you did...if you are...sorry, that is" He glances at her, she raises an eyebrow at him and tilts her head.