(2) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Nine

Damon finds Cassandra watching Tyler who is working an arm-wrestling competition stand. Her hands tucked into her jacket pocket. She doesn't seem to be having all that much fun. But given that it is her ex that is currently winning at something. It's annoying her. Yeah, she knows his dad is dead and all but he's way too happy to actually be cut up about it. She turns to face Damon, to greet him as he reaches her, carrying a cotton candy stick.

"Hmm, what did I miss?" He asks as he hands her the cotton candy, she shrugs and then shakes her head.

"Just Tyler whooping everyone's butts, it's so annoying" She plucks at the cotton candy and then sets it into her mouth. Damon's hand moves to the small of her back, not touching her, just hovering there, a little bit of PDA but nothing that she's uncomfortable with, otherwise, she would tell him. But it's just a little thing to link them. Stefan approaches the two of them.

"What are you two up to?" Stefan asks them. Cassandra hums and looks at him.

"We're lurking" She answers, Damon elbows her a little and smirks.

"We're observing" He corrects and she just snorts back. The three of them watch as Tyler wins. Yet again. "He's got strength" Damon points out.

"He's a triple letter varsity athlete, of course, he has strength. You're reaching" Stefan counters and shoots Damon a look. Mason then approaches the stall and sits across from Tyler.

"Enter the uncle" Damon comments.

"That's ridiculous" Stefan complains as they watch Tyler and Mason arm wrestle, Mason beats Tyler, easily.
"Okay, he's the champ, who wants to go next?" Tyler asks the gathered crowd.

"Stefan wants to go" Damon offers, Cassandra smirks as Stefan sends Damon a glare. Damon gives Stefan a look back and nods for him to do this.

"Yeah, sure, I'll...give it a shot" Stefan agrees and then slips through the crowd to join Mason.

"Get him Stef!" Damon cheers with a smirk. Cassandra snorts. Stefan sighs a little and looks at Mason.

"My brother over there thinks I can beat you."

"Your brother's wrong" Mason argues. They start the wrestling, both putting in strength, but Mason beats him. Stefan stands and moves back to where Damon and Cassandra are stood together. Damon turns to Stefan.

"You didn't put in any effort at all" He scolds. Stefan gives him a look back.

"Yeah, actually I did" Stefan defends. Damon raises an eyebrow at him.

"Woof woof" Cassandra offers around another piece of cotton candy, Damon turns to her and she smirks at him. "I think there's a nice Italian place up the street" She adds.

"Come with me," Damon tells Stefan before he looks at Cassandra.

"Hmm I'll be around" She assures him as she picks off some more cotton candy. He puckers his lips and she smirks, presses her finger against them and raises her eyebrow. He smirks back at her and then just kisses her finger before walking away with Stefan. Cassandra pops the cotton candy into her mouth and hums.

"Wow" She turns to find Tyler behind her. "Someone actually got you to do PDA...." She raises an eyebrow. "I mean...sort of" He adds and shrugs.

"Maybe it takes the right sort of guy" She argues.

"Maybe" He agrees and then looks around, tucking his hands in his pockets. Cassandra softens a little and steps closer to him.

"Sorry about your dad" She offers. He raises an eyebrow at her.

"Really mean that?" He asks her.

"Yeah" She answers. "He was your dad; just because I didn't like him doesn't mean it doesn't suck"

"Thanks" Tyler whispers. She hums and then glances around.

"So this is now weird, I'mma leave" She then just walks away. She does not want to spend any longer than she has to talking to him. She'll just end up hitting him again.

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

Cassandra smiles to herself as she takes the stuffed alien from the stall runner. This is a lot better than that Spongebob thing. She turns and then frowns seeing Elena and Damon are walking towards her but she just knows something has gone tits up. Of course, it has. They can't even have one night. One event without someone somewhere screwing it up. Her shoulders sag with her disappointment.

"What's happened now?" Cassandra asks them with a sigh. She had a feeling something was going to go wrong, but given what's been happening lately that would have been a lucky guess.

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

Cassandra, Elena, Stefan and Damon are stood around in a classroom talking about Caroline who Damon has discovered is in transition. Thanks to her appearing in the school and delivering a message from Katherine. He should have known she would do something. Of course, she wasn't leaving town when she said she was, that woman is a compulsive liar.

"How did this happen?" Stefan asks.

"Well, I fed her blood and Katherine obviously killed her and A plus B equals..." Damon explains.

"But why?"

"Because Katherine is a manipulative, nasty, little slut." Damon points out. Cassandra hums in agreement, but is actually a little proud that Damon is seeing her this way now, after his little wobble the other night. He seems firm in his stance that Katherine is definitely the problem.

"And she said 'game on'? I mean, what does that even mean?" Stefan asks.

"It means she's playing dirty. She wants us to know." Damon answers.

"But why Caroline?" Elena counters, Damon shrugs.

"I don't know" He offers, the two of them sharing a look.

"Caroline must be completely out of her mind, she doesn't even know what's happening to her" Stefan points out. "We have to find her."

"Yep, and kill her."

"You're not gonna kill Caroline." Elena scolds Damon.

"She knows who we are. She's officially a liability, and we've got to get rid of her"

"Damon, absolutely not," Stefan adds.

"Need I remind you of a tragic little story of a girl named Vicki Donovan? Caroline, of all people, will not make it as a vampire. Her mother is a vampire hunter. Guys, come on, we all know how this story's gonna end, just flip to the last chapter and..."

"It's not an option, Damon." Elena scolds and then looks at Cassandra, who has been quiet. Listening to them instead. "Cas?" She asks. Cassandra lets out a breath and then shrugs.

"I don't know" She admits. "Caroline is a very......complex individual, and maybe not the best suited for vampirism...She's neurotic, and jealous, and obsessive, and loud, and yeah, maybe, maybe she will make a bad vampire...."

"Thank you" Damon states. Cassandra gives him a look. She then sighs.

"But" She shrugs. "If there is another solution..."

"Like what?" Damon asks her as he folds his arms over his chest.

"Like a trial run" She offers. Damon gives her a look and raises an eyebrow. "Vicki had a month, right?" She asks Stefan who nods. "A month to learn how to do the whole vampire thing......she failed and died for it, and many other transgressions" She waves that offers. "She may not be my favourite person but we can't give less to Caroline. So we give her a month, see how she adjusts...." She then looks at Damon. "And if she can't do this...then we kill her" Damon lets out a breath and thinks on that idea. It is the best of both worlds, he supposes. It keeps Cassandra happy, and at the end of the day, that is all he wants. He lets out a breath, setting his hands on his hips, then nods.

"Because it's you," He tells her and she nods.

"We still have to find her" Stefan adds, the four of them share a look. There is an underlying meaning to those words, they need to find Caroline, and hope she hasn't already done something she will regret.