Chaos (Satisfy Series Book Five, The Vampire Diaries)

Ch. 18: Resident Evil

Stefan and Elena were having dreams about each other. 

Caroline and Elena knocked on the door.

I answered. "I thought you were bringing a witch."

"We said we'd call her," Caroline told me. "We didn't say we'd pick her up." 

"So where's, uh--where's Damon?" Elena asked.

Damon and Enzo walked into the room.

"Hi," Damon said. 

"Hi," Elena said.

"So who could use a drink from the library?" Enzo asked. 

"Yes, please," Caroline told him. She looked at me. "Kaylin?" 

"Sure," I said. "Why not?" 

We walked out of the foyer, heading toward the library.

But that didn't mean that we didn't listen to what Damon and Elena had to say.

"Well, at least they're not being obvious," Elena said. "You got a pool table."

"Yeah," Damon said. "I figured pool was a good outlet to put this pent-up engery that I seem to now have."

"Yeah," Elena said. "I went running today. 10 miles. Could have gone 20." 

"Yeah," Damon said.

 Enzo poured us some drinks.

Caroline and I sat together.

"Oh," Caroline said. "This is so bad. They're fishing for small talk. We should do something."

"Or we could stay and let them amuse us as they resist the desire to tear each other's clothes off," I told her. 

"Drink?" Damon asked.

"Probably not a good idea," Elena told him. "Inhibitions and all." 

"Well, wouldn't want that," Damon told her. 

"Can we not do this?" Elena asked.

"We're not doing anything," Damon told her. "I think that's part of the problem. We're just standing clothed, just standing, doing nothing."

"I mean, the whole strained, awkward, don't know how to act part," Elena told him. 

"Oh," Damon said.

"Can't we just be friends and do friendly things?" Elena asked.

"Ouch!" Enzo said. "She used the f-word. Poor bastard."

"But I thought that's what this was," Caroline told him.

"Oh, it is, but it was never explicitly stated until now," Enzo told us.

"And that matters because?" I asked.

"Well, because until it's offcially out there, there's still hope, and hope. . ." Enzo trailed off, chuckling. "Hope can trick you into all sorts of hilariously unrealistic scenarios."

"You mean Maggie?" Caroline asked. "So what happened?" 

"Well, the Travelers forgot to tell me where Maggie was before they lit themselves on fire," Enzo told us.

"Talk about a lead going up in smoke," I told him, taking a sip.

"Yeah, but, and no offense, but even if she still was alive, wouldn't she be, like, really old?" Caroline asked.