Crimson Whispers

Chapter Nine

I wake up in a panic, gasping for breath. It was so vivid. Damon had a murderous grip on my arms. He was furious with me before he got scary calm. He calmly circled me, telling me I make him crazy. Kissing my neck and shoulder, telling me it’s okay before saying he’s over me now, biting into my neck and drinking my blood before I finally woke up. My neck is still hurting and that nightmare was scary vivid. I don’t even want to write it down.

I go downstairs, finding Elena and Aunt Jenna at the kitchen table.

Elena: “The news guy?”

Jenna: “Also known as Logan ‘Scum’ Fell. Did your mom ever tell you why I moved away from Mystic Falls?”

Elena: “Oh, no way. You and him? He’s cute.”

Jenna: “He is not cute. There’s nothing cute about him.”

Skylar: “All fuckboys are cute till you find out the truth about them.”

Elena hums in agreement before opening an old box as I sit next to her.

Jenna: “What are you doing with that?”

Elena: “I went yesterday and got it from the safe deposit box. Mom had told Mrs. Lockwood, she would loan it to the Founder’s Council for their heritage display.”

Jenna: “Is that Grandma Beth’s wedding ring?”

Skylar: “Originally it was Great-Great-Grandma Mary’s wedding ring.”

Elena: “A lot of family history here.”

Jenna is checking out the ring as Jeremy walks in.

Jeremy: “How much do you think this stuff is worth, like, on eBay?”

He picks up one of the necklaces and Elena quickly snatches it back.

Elena: “You’re not gonna find out.”

He walks into the kitchen.

Jeremy: “That stuff is Mom and Dad’s. You can’t just give it away.”

Elena: “I’m not giving it away. It’s called a loan, Jeremy.”

Skylar: “It’s still staying in the family, Jer.”

The doorbell rings and Elena goes to answer it.

Skylar: “I’ll see you later. I’m meeting Bonnie and Caroline at the Grill.”

Jenna: “Have fun.”

I walk over to the front door, finding Elena and Stefan kissing on the stairs.

Skylar: “Bye lovebirds.”

Elena giggles while smiling sheepishly. I leave, going to the Mystic Grill. When I arrive, I find the two of them in a heated discussion.

Bonnie: “He’s older, sexy, danger guy.”

Caroline: “Older, sexy, danger guy? What, is that an official witch Twitter tweet?”

Bonnie: “No more witch jokes, okay? That whole Mr. Tanner prediction thing has me freaked out.”

Skylar: “Tell me about it. The necklace thing was kinda freaky.”

I sit beside Bonnie.

Caroline: “Okay. And Damon’s not dangerous. You know, he just has a lot of issues with his brother. You know, like major, deep-rooted drama.”

Skylar: “Like?”

She bites her lip while looking off to the side.

Caroline: “I’m not really supposed to say anything.”

Bonnie: “Caroline Forbes, when have you ever kept a secret in your life?”

She perks up with a smile on her face because she knows Bonnie is right.

Caroline: “Okay, but you two can’t tell Elena.”

S&B: “Okay.”

She spills the beans before she has to leave and I take Bonnie back to my house.

Bonnie ended up telling Elena what Caroline told us and Elena looks over at me while I’m looking through the makeup bag.

Elena: “Anything you want to add?”

Skylar: “I didn’t want to say anything without proof. We really don’t know much about either Stefan or Damon so who knows what’s true and isn’t?”

Elena: “None of us do. That’s why we should really get to know them first before judging them.”

Bonnie: “Hey, I just wanted to warn you, just in case.”

I look back at the bag.

Skylar: “I still can’t really do make up.”

Elena: “I’ll help you. Show me the dress you’re wearing.”

We go upstairs. We’re doing our hair when the phone rings. Elena goes to answer it and storms out of the bedroom.

Bonnie: “Where are you going?”

We see her barge into Jeremy’s room.

Skylar: “He probably took something.”

We can hear the two of them arguing and just try to pretend we don’t at all. We do each other’s hair and when Elena comes back we help her before doing our makeup and getting dressed.

Elena and I are about to leave for the Founder’s ball but she stops by Jeremy’s room first. When she comes out to the car, I give her a questioning look and she sighs.

Elena: “Jeremy took a pocket watch from the box of mom and dad’s stuff. Dad was going to pass it down to him because he is the first born son in our family.”

I nod, understanding the arguing from earlier now.

Skylar: “I’m guessing mom promised Mrs. Lockwood that it would be in the box for this party.”

Elena: “Yup. Let’s just go and try to have some fun tonight.”

Skylar: “Yeah.”

I give her a comforting hug before we get in the car with Bonnie and go to the Lockwood Manor. Bonnie and I link arms when we get out of the car, being each other’s friend date because Elena and Caroline ditched us for the Salvatore brothers. Aunt Jenna beat us here because she had to help set up.

It’s been a couple hours since we got here and greeted the Lockwoods. I find Bonnie sitting at a table, staring at a candle.

Skylar: “Hey, what’s wrong?”

She looks away from it, visibly nervous.

Bonnie: “Nothing. You seem to be avoiding Caroline and Damon. Why is that?”

I shake my head, still trying to get past the dream I had last night.

Skylar: “It’s nothing really. It’s just me being paranoid.”

She grabs my arm, trying to get me to talk to her.

Bonnie: “Hey, you can tell me. What’s wrong?”

I sigh before telling her all about the freaky dream I had about Damon.

Bonnie: “Wow, I can see why you don’t want to be around him.”

Skylar: “Yeah, it’s not like he actually did anything; it was just a dream.”

Bonnie: “It’s okay to be freaked out about it. I know you’re gonna get past this.”

Skylar: “I know.”

She hugs me and then leaves to go to the restroom. About a minute later, Damon shows up at my table.

Damon: "Good evening, Ms. Gilbert."

I nervously bite my lip.

Skylar: "Hey, Damon. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Caroline?"

Damon: "Yes, she went to the bathroom. I can't help but feel like you've been avoiding me tonight."

Skylar: "Of course I haven't."

He smirks, almost as if he knows I'm lying.

Damon: "Then you wouldn't mind dancing with me, would you?"

He holds out his hand to me. I hesitantly look at it before putting my hand in his as he guides me up from my seat.

Skylar: "I'd be happy to dance with you."

Damon: "The pleasure is all mine."

He leads me to the dance floor and we gently sway to the music.

Damon: “You know, dancing with you is probably the highlight of this night.”

Skylar: “For me too. I’ve just been so paranoid lately.”

Damon: “Why is that? I know you were avoiding me, but I can’t think of anything I did.”

I bite my lip and look down for a moment, feeling totally guilty.

Skylar: “It’s nothing you did, Damon. It was just some stupid dream I had.”

Damon: “Oh, so you’ve been dreaming about me.”

He has a cocky smirk on his face and I giggle while shaking my head.

Skylar: “It wasn’t that kind of dream. It was terrifying honestly. I thought you were going to eat me.”

He chuckles.

Damon: “There’s only one or two ways I would eat you and I promise it would be pleasurable.”

I blush as I try to look away from him, but he pulls my attention back to him. He slowly leans in and before I can react, my sister barges in, separating us. She pushes Damon aggressively.

Elena: “There is something seriously wrong with you. You stay away from my sister and you stay away from Caroline or I will go straight to her mother, the sheriff. Got it? Stay away from them.”

She then rushes off in a hurry and I watch in complete confusion.

Skylar: “What was that about?”

Damon: “I’m not sure. I’m gonna go check on Caroline.”

He leaves and I am still extremely confused. I can’t believe I almost kissed him. That would’ve hurt Caroline so much. I leave the party, absolutely hating myself.