(3) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

At the high school, Elena is lying on the bleachers and looking at the sky when Stefan arrives. Approaching where she is laying. Where she is drunk. Or pretending to be, maybe. Given how much beer she's already put away she might actually be on that line of hitting tipsy.

"Cas taught me every constellation when we were younger" Elena admits as she stares up at the sky. "How did I forget them all?"

"You're drunk. You need to go home" Stefan scolds. She stands from the bleacher and steadies herself on the railing.

"Fine" She agrees. "Let me find my car"

"You're joking, right?" Stefan argues.

"Uh-oh. It's the fun police. I thought that ripper Stefan was supposed to be the life of the party" She mocks slightly.

"Well, all right, I'm driving you home. Come on" Stefan tells her. Elena then climbs over the railing. "What are you, five? Get down" He scolds her.

"Why? Are you afraid that I'm going to..." She pretends to almost fall. "Oh. Ha. That was close. Klaus would not be happy with you"

"You're hilarious," He tells her dryly.

"Look, Stefan, no hands" She removes her hands and starts falling back but catches the railing just in time. Stefan's not amused anymore. She laughs but finally falls. She screams but Stefan rushes beneath her and catches her. "I knew you'd catch me" They look at each other. He releases her gently. Suddenly he clutches his head in pain, falling to his knees. Elena looks over Stefan and sees Cassandra stood staring down at Stefan, her eyes blazing red. Stefan falls to the ground unconscious. Cassandra walks over to Elena.

"You okay?"Cassandra asks, Elena nods a little and then shakes her head.

"No" Elena whispers. "But your plan worked. That's all that matters. Let's just get him out of here" Elena moves to grab Stefan's arm, she gives Cassandra a look.

"Oh, right" Cassandra moves to help her just as Alaric moves to help them with Stefan.

.....

Elena opens Alaric's trunk and he and Cassandra put Stefan in it. Elena climbs in the car. Ghost!Vicki, whose smoking looks at them. She looks at the floor and blows the joint.

"Are you coming with us?" Alaric asks Cassandra who shakes her head.

"No, Damon's going to drive me back" She answers as she adjusts her jacket. Alaric nods a little and then closes the trunk. He glances at Cassandra as she turns and walks away to go find Damon so they can leave. They've got a win under their belts. It feels good. Alaric walks around the side of the car his foot hits a gas can on the ground.

"I see all the geniuses came out to the bonfire tonight" He comments. Ghost!Vicki throws the joint on the ground which catches the gas on the ground starts burning and the flames make toward the car. Alaric's car bursts into flames, with Elena and Stefan inside of it. Alaric tries to open the door but he can't. "Elena! Elena! Open the door!" She tries but it won't open.

"I can't! It won't open!" Elena admits. "What the hell?" She asks. Ghost!Vicki appears in the car seat next to her but she can't see her. Alaric rushes to another car to try to find something. He finds a lacrosse stick.

"I'm sorry, Elena" Ghost!Vicki tells Elena. Alaric returns and tries to break the door window with it but it doesn't work. Elena tries to break it with her feet but it doesn't work either. The fire grows stronger. Elena coughs because she can't breathe. She turns her head and sees Stefan.

"Stefan!" He wakes up just as Elena almost collapses. Suddenly the fire starts to flicker, wrapped in a red mist. Outside of the car, Cassandra moves her hands, pulling at the fire, the trunk of the car opens. Alaric hurries closer and helps Elena to get out. Cassandra twists her hand and pulls. The fire extinguishes completely. She huffs a little and lets out a breath as Alaric and Elena drag Stefan out of the car. "Sorry about your car" Elena offers, Alaric shrugs a little. Cassandra flicks her hair back over her shoulder.

"I can fix it" She counters, they both look at her.

"Since when?" Elena asks. "You could barely change a tire on the jeep...." Elena teases, Cassandra sticks her tongue out and then shakes her head.

"Not with my bare hands" Cassandra argues and smirks. She holds out her hand, wraps the car in her mist and curls her hand in an anti-clockwise direction. All the damage is undone and the car is just as it was before the fire. "With my powers" She adds.

"That's amazing" Elena comments. "How did you know you could do that?"

"Well, I broke a mug" Cassandra starts and shrugs. "Fixed it... the same principle just....bigger" She motions with her hands and lets out a breath. "Tiring" She adds.

......

Damon pulls a blanket around Cassandra who sleeps on their bed, she'd crashed the second she laid down. Not that he blames her. It's been a long few days. And she hasn't exactly been sleeping very well, or at all, in her own bed. He watches her a moment, notices the dried blood on her shirt. He shifts closer and pushes up the bottom of her shirt to check on her but there is no sign of any wound. That little trick of hers is incredible. And he is grateful for it considering how dangerous stuff is at the moment. His fingers dance over her skin before he straightens her shirt down again. She shifts a little in her sleep before her eyes flutter open.

"Ah, no" He scolds a little and leans up. "Go back to sleep" She hums and turns to look at him.

"What were you doing?" She asks him.

"Checking" He answers and then motions to his own stomach.

"I'm fine" She assures him as she stretches out, pulling a pillow closer to her to snuggle into. "Come to bed" She whispers, already falling back to sleep.

"In a minute" He whispers, stroking her hair a little. "I just gotta clean up Stefan's mess downstairs" He leans over and kisses her forehead before leaving her to it.

.......

Downstairs, Damon is rolling up a bloody rug, stained and ruined from Stefan's drinking binge. Somebody else is there though, they break a vase and Damon rolls his eyes in annoyance.

"Keep it up, Stefan" He complains and then bends down to start picking up the pieces of the vase. Somebody hits him hard which sends him flying backwards. He falls to the floor. Damon groans and opens his eyes. Mason's ghostly figure stands in the room.

"This is going to be fun" Mason comments.

A/N - I WANT TO SAY THAT THE COMMENTS ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU GUYS LOVE CAS AND DAMON'S RELATIONSHIP REALLY MEAN A LOT. AND AMUSE ME VERY MUCH WHEN I KNOW WHAT'S COMING IN BOOK/SEASON FOUR, FIVE, AND SIX FOR THE TWO OF THEM.