(1) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Seventy-Seven

Ally sits on a couch with Stefan who smiles a little. She was his friend too. Not to the same extent as Damon, but she was still kind to him. Weird but kind.

"So you and Cassandra share abilities?" Stefan asks, Ally hums and nods, holding up her hand to let her mist wrap around her fingers. "You could talk to her" Stefan offers. "Explain them to her because she has no idea what she's doing...."

"I want to, I know how hard it is" Ally offers. "My family understood, had some experience in the matter but Cassandra..." She hums a little. "But someone won't let me talk to her because it might freak her out" She mocks a little and Stefan smirks. Damon turns a look on his friend.

"I still can't believe you were in the tomb all this time" Stefan comments, she turns to look at him.

"I think that was Katerina's point," She tells him, he hums a little. Her eyes shift back to Damon who has his back to them. "She wanted to make sure...." She adds, Stefan follows her eyes and then realises. Katherine knew her compulsion on Damon would wear off the second he became a vampire, he would have run straight back to Ally, he did run back to her. Katherine didn't want that. So she locked Ally away from him. Ally looks away from Damon. "And I was just trying to protect you both when I told the Council about the vampires" She adds, he nods. "I never thought that she would turn you" She unfolds her legs. "Selfish, cruel, creature she became" She mumbles as she stands and leaves the room. Stefan watches her go sadly before sharing a look with Damon who shakes his head. He doesn't want to talk about it.

.........

Cassandra sits on her bed, watching the storm starting outside. Her fingers wrapped around a mug of hot chocolate. She hasn't really slept. Too busy thinking about what Tyler told her. He made more sense than she expected from him. She does like Damon. An awful lot. She is attracted to him. He makes her laugh and smile. But he turned her mother into a vampire. A mother she never knew about. A mother that didn't want her. A mother that still wants nothing to do with her. It's raw, that's why it hurts. She knows this. There has been a lot of information thrown at her in the last five months. But in those five months, Damon has wormed his way in. Touched her in ways no one ever has. Even just the way he looked at her. Like she was worth something. She licks her lips and looks down, tears gathering in her eyes. She hates being an angry person. And she is sure as hell sick of being sad.

.........

Later, Damon is fixing a clock in the boarding house living room when Stefan comes down the stairs and enters the room, getting ready to leave to go hunt.

"Hunting party?" Damon asks, not looking up from the clock.

Stefan: That guy did a number on me last night when he stabbed me. I gotta get my strength back up" Stefan tells Damon as he tugs on his jacket.

"I've got two litres of soccer mom in the fridge. No?" Damon asks, Stefan just gives him a look back.

"We'll talk when I get back?"

"Alright. Give my regards to the squirrels" Damon teases as he picks up his cell phone and tries Cassandra again. But yet again, his call goes unanswered. There is a heaviness to the rejection now. He knows he screwed up. Yet again. Getting her jealous wasn't the way to go. But these are his usual go-to plans. Charm. Jealousy. Violence. And he knows that the last one is definitely not going to work with her. He's got nothing else.

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

Cassandra uses her powers to lift up her ringing cell phone, but sees that it is Damon so she sets it down again, Elena sighs at her side and gives her a look. She is not at all subtle about her feelings for Damon. And Elena is her twin, senses these things.

"Are you going to ignore him forever?" Elena asks.

"Thought you were mad at him too" Cassandra mumbles, resting her head on the arm of the chair.

"I am" Elena agrees. "But you being mad at him is making you upset, and that's worse, it's like someone kicked your puppy" She points out, Cassandra shoots her a dirty look. Elena hears a knock on the front door and answers it, finding Damon on the other side. She sighs and gives him a look.

"Where is she?" He asks as he steps into the house, Elena nods towards the living room and he moves past Elena who shuts the front door before following him into the living room. Damon looks down at Cassandra who barely acknowledges him. "You're ignoring me."

"The 156 missed calls? Sorry. My phone is dead" Cassandra mumbles a little and then her phone lights up proving her a liar. Damon gives her a look but then sighs.

"This isn't about..." He stops himself and then glances at Elena. "Is Stefan here?" He asks them.

"No. Why? Something wrong?" Elena counters.

"He went out in the woods and didn't come back. I can't get him on his phone. I figured he was here with you" Elena moves and grabs her phone, dials Stefan's number but it rings out.

"It's going straight to voice-mail. Where could he be?" Elena asks.

"You're not going to like what I'm thinking" Damon admits and gives Cassandra a look. She groans as she sits up.

"And what is it that you are thinking?" She counters.