(1) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Eighty-Nine

Damon waves through a set of tables as he makes his way to the table Cassandra is sat at waiting for him. Despite everything going on. They still find time to sit and have coffee. Just an hour. No drama. No vampires. No powers. Just coffee. And whatever pen and paper game they're playing that week. This is their time away from everyone else. He pulls out the chair across from Cassandra who looks up from her book to watch him. 

"Who's turn is it?" He asks as he pulls a napkin closer to him. She closes her book and leaves it on the side of the table. 

"Yours" She answers as she lifts her coffee to her lips to take a drink. He looks down at the little game of dots and boxes.

"I do have good news," He tells her, she raises an eyebrow. "According to Anna, all the tomb vampires have left town" She raises an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Yeah, apparently they're not cut out for townie life" He leans back in his seat, drumming his fingers on the table.

"You don't really believe that, do you?" She asks him, he shrugs and gives her a look as he makes a mark on the napkin.

"I'm paranoid" He teases a little. "Served me well so far" He pushes the napkin back to her. "Your turn" She hums and sets her mug down. "Can I ask you something?" He asks her, she nods as she ponders her next move. "You know when...." He stops and then pulls a face. "That whole dream thing..." She hums in agreement. "Why did it stop?" She tilts her head and frowns.

"I don't know" She answers. She has no idea. It just stopped one day. After the tomb opened. That's when that hallucination appeared. That's when Damon stopped. She still gets moments when she is around. She pops up in her dreams and talks to her about silly things really. Asks her questions about television or movies or music. "Actually...." She starts, Damon frowns at her. "This thing happened after the tomb opened" She admits as she fiddles with a packet of sugar. "Kind of weird, and I think it cut off whatever that link thing was...."

"Okay" He draws out with a small frown.

"It started with my reflection....it was." She sighs, because this all sounds so stupid in her head let alone out loud. "It moved, and spoke to me....then she kept popping up in my dreams, talking to me about some kids movie from the 90s" She admits, Damon sighs and closes his eyes.

"Damn" He complains and then opens his eyes. "I told her to stay away from you" She frowns at him. "It's Ally" he admits and then pulls a face. "She...was in the tomb, so when we opened it..." He motions with his fingers.

"She got out" Cassandra realises. "Like all the others"

"Yeah" He draws out. "She's been staying at the house..." She hums a little, drawing her finger around the rim of her mug. She's not sure how she feels about that.

"Oh," She whispers.

"Yeah, she's been catching up on....well, on everything that she missed out on, mostly really bad kids movies" He offers and leans up, his eyes on her as she clenches her jaw, clearly she is feeling some level of jealousy here. He hasn't really kept it a secret from her how much Ally meant to him.

"I'm glad you have her back," Cassandra tells him. And she means it. She knows that the last few weeks have sucked without Bonnie, let alone 145 years.

"Jealous?" He asks her, she gives him a look but he just smirks back at her.

"No" She mumbles and looks away from him. He hums and bites his lip to stop him from smiling. Jealousy means she feels something towards him. That's nice to know. That it's not just him. "Do you think she'd want to meet me?" She asks, changing the subject. He snorts and nods.

"Yeah" He answers. "She keeps asking...But she's a little crazy so I was waiting for her to...level out" He shrugs and she tilts her head.

"Crazy?" She counters, he nods.

"As she likes to remind me; starving 145 years in a deep dark hole" He answers. She can understand how that might twist Ally's mind. "She's fine...I mean not crazy like wants to murder people, but more like crazy like....pop rocks and Disney" She raises an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure you want to meet her?" Damon asks her.

"Yeah" She answers. "I mean...she's my ancestor, right? We're related and..." She rubs her nose and moves her fingers up to her forehead.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just this headache..." She answers and waves it off. "Urm, but yeah, I would like to meet her"

"Okay" He agrees. "I'll talk to her" She nods a little and looks out the coffee shop window thoughtful. She knows it's going to be really weird meeting a woman who looks exactly like her. This woman is going to look more like her twin than her actual twin does. But she knows she'll regret it more if she doesn't meet Ally. "It's your turn" He points out and taps the napkin. She hums and turns back to him, her eyes shifting down to their game.

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

Cassandra chuckles a little as she leaves the kitchen, heading into the living room where Elena is sat on the couch. Elena rolls her eyes slightly because Cassandra hasn't stop chuckling since Elena hobbled her way into the house. Cassandra sets an ice pack to Elena's ankle, propped up on the coffee table.

"How did you do this again?" Cassandra asks her with a smirk.

"Practising to walk in my heels for the Founder's Court" Elena admits and holds the ice pack as Cassandra pulls back, sitting on the table. "I should have just gone for flats"

"Why didn't you?"

"I was trying to be classy" Elena admits under her breath. Cassandra smirks a little and gives her a look. "You know, I don't think I'm going to be able to dance" Elena adds.

"Well, you should call Mrs Lockwood, make sure she knows....make arrangements and all that crap"

"Actually, she already called," Elena tells her. "She kind of offered..." Cassandra hums a little. "She offered you my spot, Cassie" Cassandra looks at her sister. "With us being twins...our motivations would be the same....and all that's left is the dancing part"

"Oh, no" Cassandra argues. "No, come on, you know I can't dance" She reminds Elena.

"I'll help you get the steps" Elena offers. "And Stefan, he'll help too...For mom" Elena points out. Cassandra pulls a face.

"It's tomorrow, I don't have a dress and there is no way I can get the moves before then..." Cassandra complains, Elena gives her a look, pulling out major puppy dog eyes. "Don't do that" Cassandra covers her own eyes so she can't see Elena's attempts to sway her. Cassandra then groans because she knows she will cave, this is for Miranda, and likely one of the last things that they have to connect them to her. "Fine" She whispers and pulls her hands back. She sighs and shrugs. For her mom, she can do this. Even if doing this means making a fool out of herself in front of the entire town. "Hope you know what this means, Elena"

"I do" Elena assures her. "I know...and I know things have been weird, but I do know what you do for me, what you have done for me, for all of us" Cassandra looks at her softly. "And I love you for it"

"You're just trying to keep me sweet" Cassandra comments with a sly smirk. "But good..."