Capital Letters

sixteen

 The Salvatore brothers, along with Aria and Elena, gathered in the living room. Damon was hard at work, boarding up the window that had been shattered the previous night. All the vampires from the tomb were now residing in a house with Pearl. Damon and Nathan shared a common goal: they both wanted to pay Pearl and her vampire house a visit and exact revenge for the attack they had endured.

The rhythmic pounding of the hammer Damon wielded was momentarily drowned out by a sudden clap of thunder. When he finally finished, he turned to face the rest of the group, his voice carrying conviction.

"I say we go to Pearl's, bust down the door, and annihilate the idiot who attacked us last night."

Nathan nodded in firm agreement, adding his voice to the plan. "That's the only right answer. What gives them the right to come here and try to kill us? If anything, they should be thanking us. We let them out of that place. Unintentionally of course."

Damon pointed at his brother with a wink, sharing a moment of camaraderie. However, Stefan was not in favour of the plan and voiced his reservations.

"Yeah? And then what?" Stefan challenged. "Turn to the rest of their house of vampires and say, 'Oops, sorry?'"

"Four against what, 25?" Aria chimed in, seated on the couch next to Elena. "The odds of us coming out alive are slim to none."

Elena expressed her disapproval, her eyes fixed on Damon. "I can't believe you made a deal with her."

"Not like we had a choice, little Miss Gilbert. She's freaking one scary lady. Freaking shoved her thumbs into my eyes."

"Besides, she's gonna help me get Katherine back," Damon adds.

Nathan rolled his eyes, throwing the pillow he'd taken from Elena at Damon, "Shut up. I thought we were done with that bitch."

"Damon gets what he wants, as usual, no matter who he hurts," Elena remarked, her tone laced with disdain.

"You don't have to be snarky about it," Damon retorted.

Elena rose from the couch, moving closer to Damon. "I woke up to learn that all the vampires have been released from the tomb. I've earned the right to be snarky."

Damon let out a frustrated sigh and slowly sank into the couch. "How long are you going to blame me for turning your birth mother into a vampire?"

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

Aria and Nathan exchanged glances, their expressions revealing their shared discomfort. Aria cleared her throat to redirect the conversation. "So, I'm not seeing how this is productive."

Stefan nodded in agreement with her. "We're going to figure out a way to deal with Pearl and the vampires, right?"

Damon remained silent, choosing not to engage further in the verbal exchange. Instead, he stood up and walked out of the living room. Nathan pursed his lips, eager to escape the awkward atmosphere that Elena and Stefan's presence created.

"Alright, I'm going to go," Nathan announced. "I'll be back. If I'm not back, let me know if we're going to kill these tomb vampires or not. Elena, always a pleasure."

"Bye, Nathan," Elena responded, her tone somewhat more subdued.

___

Nathan dashed through the relentless rain, racing towards Caroline's front door. Rain had always been his least favourite weather since childhood. His footsteps splashed through puddles as he approached her door, his knuckles rapping urgently against the wooden surface. As the rain continued to pour down on him, each second felt like an eternity. Finally, he heard the approaching footsteps from within the house.