DARKNESS

𝟏𝟒: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞

Chapter 14  : The curse

The next morning Iris walks through the hallway of the salvatore home as she runs into Andie, Stefana and Damon. "Good morning" she greets, "good morning" They both respond. "Hey, where's Elena?" Stefan asks, "I don't know, Stefan. It's your girlfriend. Mine's right here" Damon replies as he kisses Andie's cheek. "Oh, and how's the shoulder? Got time for a bite? I'm so hungry" Damon asks with a smirk, "Oh, it's really messy. Can you just use a blood bag today?" Andie asks as Damon sighs.

"I'm already late for work" Andie apologizes as they kiss and Iris stares at teh two in disgust, "What are you doing? She's not a wind-up toy." Stefan states, "It's really none of your business, is it, Stefan?" Andie asks, "Yeah. What she said" Damon adds. "I have to go to work" she says as she leaves and Iris notices the basement door open. "Uh oh" she mutters. They run downstairs as they stare at the now empty cellar, "he's gone." Iris states, referring to Elijah,  "No, she didn't" Damon adds in disbelief.

As they rush back upstairs Elena finally answers Stefan's call "Where are you? Are you okay?" he asks, "Yes, I'm fine" Elena responds, "Where's Elijah?" Stefan asks, "He's right here" she answers. "Where? I'm on my way" Stefan states. "No, Stefan, Elijah and I need some time alone" Elena refuses, "Listen to me. He can't be trusted, he'll use you to get to Klaus" Stefan pleads.

"Elijah is a noble man, Stefan. He lives by a code of honor. I can trust him. He knows that I'd be incredibly stupid to betray him again. By removing the dagger, I have proven myself" Elena explains, "You can't do this alone" he protests. "It's my decision, Stefan. Please respect it. And make sure that Damon doesn't do anything stupid. I'll be in touch" she says before hanging up.

"Did she just hang up on you?" Iris asks, "She did," Stefan confirms, "She's lost it" Damon states. "If anyone can get him to help us kill Klaus, it's her" Stefan says as Iris nods her head in agreement. "Bonnie's the way to kill Klaus, Stefan. He thinks she's dead. We have a chance with her" Damon responds, "She'll kill herself in the process. Elena's looking for another way" Iris says.

"Her way's going to get her killed. So we need to find her and stop her" Damon insists as he walks off  as Stefan stops him. "No, you need to back off" Stefan states, "What?!" Damon asks. "Look, I don't like this any more than you do. But we need to trust her. We gotta just let her do her thing" Stefan adds, "That might be your plan. Mine's better" Damon responds, "I said back off" Stefan snaps.

Stefan, Damon and Iris sit in the living room as they wait for Elena to contact them when Iris gets a call from Jenna. "Hey Jenna" Iris greets as she puts the phone on speaker so her brothers can hear. "Hey iris, Where's Elena? And Jeremy? No one's answering their phones" She asks, "Ah, Elena's not here at the moment. Is, uh, is everything okay?" Iris questions.

"She left me all these weird messages telling me to stay away from Rick. What's going on?" she asks, "It's really hard to explain over the phone, but, um, she was hoping that you could stay on campus for a little while longer" Iris responds as Stefan nods his head. "Oh, that's kinda hard to do from my kitchen" she says as a frown forms on Iris's face.

"Wait, you're home?" Iris asks, "Yeah. What's going on? Where's Elena? I'm supposed to meet Ric at the Grill for lunch, to talk" she informs. "Jenna, listen to me carefully. Whatever you do, do not meet Alaric at the Grill. I'm going to come over right now and I'll explain everything" Iris states as she and Stefan jump up from the couch.
"Wow, I'd love to lend you a hand, but you wouldn't want me doing anything stupid" Damon remarks, "It's seriously going to be like this?" Stefan asks, "You and your girlfriend are calling the shots. I'm just backing off, Stefan" Damon answers with a smirk as Iris rolls her eyes and she and Stefan leave to go to the gilbert house.

Stefan and Iris walk into the Gilbert home kitchen as Jenna stands there, with a confused look on her face. "Hey, Jenna. Thank you so much for not going to the Grill" Iris states, "um, guys" Jenna starts, "No, listen. I can explain" Stefans ays, cutting her off. "Hi, guys. How's it going?" Klaus, still in Alaric's body, greets as he comes out from around the kitchen.