[𝐈] 𝕽𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖚𝖗𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 | 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕿𝖍𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖞: 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀

Chapter Thirty
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Disasters At Dinner Parties

Leaving Stefan and Elena to their own devices, the Boarding House was exactly where I had headed next, trotting up the stairs as I passed Damon who's wandering about the parlour, no concern was cast onto me as I disappeared into the confines of my bedroom, flopping carelessly onto the bed as I laid back, allowing the plump sheets to encompass me. The horrid ringing of my phone sent a groan tumbling from my mouth as I reached into my pocket to answer it.
  "To whomever this may concern, I'm in a disastrous mood, think carefully about what you're going to say next," I warned, not bothering to check the ID as my back straightened vertically.
  "It's Alaric. I'm on my way to meet Jenna and your friend Elijah, you mind supervising?" he asked, slamming shut what sounded to be his car door.
  "You're paying for the next four rounds." I wagered, sitting back up from the comfort of my bed.
  "Three rounds. Hurry up." he declared before hanging up, leaving me in silence one more as I let out a huff, sliding back into the hallway to be met with an unfamiliar blonde. She introduces herself as Andie Star, the woman who replaced (the long dead) Logan Fell. She scampers off whilst rewrapping her scarf across her neck, seems to me my brother had found his next walking, definitely talking, blood bag.

Slipping into the driver's seat, I check my car for the location, promptly given to me by Ric. He was worried about Jenna being alone with Elijah, the concern was just, to them Elijah was another tight-lipped supernatural who couldn't be trusted, the same as Klaus. When I arrived, Ric was waiting beside his parked car, standing with his booted foot tapping against the concrete below.
  "Try not to be so nervous. Elijah is a man of his word." I assure, closing the truck door to follow him into the woods after Jenna and her Original vampire accomplice.
  "Uh, Elijah these are my friends Alaric Saltzman and Marielle Salvatore." Jenna introduced us all as if we all hadn't met, well, Elijah and Ric hadn't officially acquainted yet, but with the meetings out of the way so we could get down to business.
  "I got your message about walking Elijah through the property lines. We thought we could tag along. You know, being a history buff and Marielle's one of my best students, ergo she wanted to come too." Alaric lied, being more concerned for Jenna's safety than the colourful past of Mystic Falls, to which Jenna Sommer's didn't look overly amused, something about John being back in town and stirring the pot about Isobel.
  "Where to next?" Alaric questions, shrugging his shoulders as he looks towards the two standing opposite us.
  "I'm pretty curious about the freed slave property owners. Some say the descendants of the slaves are the true keepers of American history." Elijah proposes, staring down predominantly Alaric as he did so.
  "I only brought the surveys. I've got that list in my car. Just give me a sec." Jenna responds, taking a step away from the group as she walks off to find her car.
  "Alaric Saltzman. You're one of those people on Elena's list of loved ones to protect." Elijah observes, simply smiling in return to Saltzman's concerns.
  "Yeah, so is Jenna." Alaric defends, making it clear for Elijah not to attempt to harm Jenna in any way. Plus, if he did, he'd be getting a particularly nasty headache from me.
  "You don't have to be jealous. I rarely pursue younger women." Elijah humours, although it isn't on his face. I crack a smile, leading Elijah to state that he was only joking, pointing us to follow Jenna's path.