𝚈𝙾𝚄𝙽𝙶 𝙼𝙸𝙺𝙰𝙴𝙻𝚂𝙾𝙽

fourteen

𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝓲𝓴𝓪𝓮𝓵𝓼𝓸𝓷
14. let the right one in

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"I say we go to Pearl's, bust down the door, and annihilate the idiot that attacked us last night," Damon suggested while boarding up the window that the vampires had broken through the night before.

"Yeah, and then what? We confront the rest of the vampire gang in that house and say, 'Oops, sorry?'" I joked. "Stefan, you're on babysitting duty. Wherever he goes, you go. We can't afford any missteps that could come back to haunt us."

"Hilarious," Damon scoffed, and I smiled, playfully flipping him off.

"I can't believe you made a deal with her."

"It was more like a helpful exchange of information." Damon corrected. "And it's not like I had a choice. She's...scary. Besides, she's gonna help me get Katherine back."

"Of course she is." I scoffed.

"Damon gets what he wants, as usual. No matter who he hurts in the process." Elena chimed in, and I nodded in agreement.

"You don't have to be snarky about it," Damon retorted, earning a glare from the doppelganger.

"I woke up this morning to learn that all the vampires have been released from the tomb. I've earned snarky." Elena defended, prompting Damon to sigh and take a seat next to me on the couch.

"How long are you going to blame me for turning your birth mother into a vampire?" Damon asked Elena, and I scoffed, shaking my head.

"I'm not blaming you, Damon. I've accepted the fact that you're a self-serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities." Elena replied.

"Ouch."

"This isn't being very productive. We're gonna figure out a way to deal with Pearl and the vampires. Yeah?" Stefan intervened as Damon got up to leave the room.

"I'm sorry. He just makes me so cranky." Elena said once Damon was gone, and Stefan pulled her into an embrace.

"I know. He makes everybody cranky." Stefan agreed.

"If you two are going to be all lovey-dovey, at least wait until I'm out of the room," I groaned, earning an eye roll from the smiling couple. "So, what's the plan?"

"Damon and I are gonna handle everything, I promise," Stefan assured us.

"Well, what about me?" Elena asked, looking at both of us.

"What about you?" I responded, puzzled.

"I can't just sit here and do nothing." Elena insisted, and I looked at Stefan.

"That's exactly what you're gonna do because that's what going to keep you safe," Stefan told her, gently caressing her cheek.

"Which means nothing if you're not safe, too," Elena retorted, her tone filled with concern, as she removed Stefan's hands.

"What do you mean? I'm perfectly safe. I have Damon, the self-serving psychopath on my side." Stefan joked, pulling Elena into another hug.

"Well, that's comforting," Elena replied sarcastically.

"Okay. I understand why she's not going, but why am I not?" I interjected, pointing at Elena.

"Oh, you're coming. We might need some backup. We don't know how many vampires we're dealing with. It would be nice to have you watching our backs, no matter what happens," Stefan answered.