The Vampire Diaries(BxB)

2: Duke University

I'm at the Salvatore Boarding House, and Alaric walks in, as I'm holding coffee, sitting next to Stefan, holding his right arm, exhausted, with my legs up, and Damon closes the door. "Thanks for coming, Ric. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, bourbon? Bourbon in your coffee?" He asks, as they approach us. "Elena mentioned you needed my help." Alaric says, sitting in front of me. "Yeah, we were hoping you could help shed some light on the Lockwood family." Stefan says. "Now, why would I know anything about the Lockwoods?" Alaric asks. "Well, you wouldn't. But your dead. Not dead Vampire Wife might." Damon says, sitting next to me, and Alaric sighs. "Isobel's research, from when you guys were at Duke together." I say. "You said that she had spent years researching this town." Stefan says, as I sip my coffee. "Isobel's research here. Mystic Falls. Was rooted in Folklore and Legend. At the time, I thought most of which was Fiction." Alaric says. "Like that amazing Vampire story." Damon says. "Aside from Vampires, what else?" I ask, and yawn, covering my mouth with my left hand right hand, after setting the mug down. "Lycanthrope." Alaric says. "Werewolves. Told you, Damon." I say. "No way. Impossible. Way too Lon Chaney." Damon says. "Is it?" Stefan asks. "I've been on this planet for a hundred and sixty some odd years. I've never come across one. If Werewolves exist, where the hell are they?" Damon asks. "Why do you suspect the Lockwoods?" Alaric asks. "Because Vervain didn't effect the Mayor at Founder's Day but the Gilbert device did. And it effected his son Tyler." Damon says. "And at the School Carnival, his Uncle Mason exhibited inhuman behavior when he fought with one of the Carnival's Workers. Ethan and I both witnessed it. It suggested some sort of a Supernatural Entity." Stefan says, and Alaric nods. "We were hoping that Isobel's research could help us figure it out what it is." I say. "Well, all her things are still at Duke. I mean, her Office is still there. She's technically still missing." Alaric says. "So can we get access to it? Ric, we need to know what we are dealing with. If this Wolfman thing is true, I've seen enough movies to know it's not good. It means Mason Lockwood is a real life Lon Chaney. And that little Tyler punk may just very well be Lon Chaney Jr. Which means Bella Lugosi. Meaning me. Is totally screwed." Damon says. "Fine. I'll help. Um. Why do you like you never slept a day in your life?" Alaric asks me, as Stefan and I look at each other, and back to Alaric. "Oh." He says. "At least they're quiet about it. Not." Damon says, and Stefan laughs. I'm in my room, packing, as Stefan is sitting on the end of my bed. "You sure you want to do this?" He asks. "Which part? Digging through my birth mother's life work or going to Duke with Damon?" I ask, and he gives a small laugh. "Either. Both." He says. "Well, I'm sure about the first part. But then again, Ric is a good buffer. So we can bond in our anti Damon solidarity. I wish you were coming though." I say. "You know what?" He asks, standing up, and I look at him, and he walks over to me. "Maybe we should wait a couple days, huh? Wait until Tony is less of a danger and then I could go with you." He says. "It's okay that I'm going, right? And be honest. Because if it's not then I can just stay here." I say, and he shakes his head. "And we can take care of Tony." I say. "No, listen. I want you to go." He says, nodding. "Ok? I do. You have questions about your lineage and about Alex. Look, I'm not gonna let the fact that Damon is going keep you from an opportunity to get some answers." He says, smiling, and I smile back. "You hate it, though." I say. "I hate it. And I love you." He says. "And I love you, too." I say, and touch both sides of his face, and kiss him. "Ethan, you coming?" Jenna asks from downstairs. "I really wish you were coming." I say, putting my hands down. "I know." He says, and kisses me, and we run out of my room, and I close the door, and we run down the stairs, past Jenna, and he runs out the door, and I stop at Jenna. "Hey, you okay?" I ask. "Yeah. Just men and their baggage. Not you, of course." She says, and I sigh, and walk out the door, and over to the car, and see Stefan and Damon with Alaric. "Sorry you can't come too, Stef." Damon says, as I look at him, and throw my bag in the car, and look at Stefan. "Call me if you need anything." He says. "Oh, I'll take really good care of him." Damon says, as I look at him, and shut the car door, and turn to Stefan, and put my hands on the back of his neck, and kiss him, as we're making out, as he has his arms around my waist, and we put our hands down, looking at Damon, as he opens his door. "Ok. Time to go." He says, getting in, as Stefan opens the car door for me. "Thank you." I say, and get it, and put my seat belt on, and Stefan closes the door, smiling at me, and the engine starts. "Bye." He says. "Bye." I say, smiling. We're in the car, headed to Duke, and Damon looks at me. "How you doing back there?" He asks, and looks forward. "Leave him alone." Alaric says. "You know, this whole pretending to hate me thing is getting a little silly." Damon says, as I look to my left. " I don't think he's pretending. You did kill his brother." Alaric says. "There is a huge asterisk next to that statement. He came back to life." Damon says. "Yeah. Thanks to a ring you didn't know he was wearing." I say. "Why are you so sure I didn't know?" He asks, and I look at him. "Did you?" I ask. "Yes." He says, looking at me. "You're lying." I say, and look back to my left. "Ethan I saw the ring. Big tacky thing. It's hard to miss." He says. We're walking through the Anthropology door of Duke. "So Isobel was officially employed by the Anthropology Department given that most Paranormal Phenomena is rooted in Folklore." Alaric says, as I'm looking around, and we see a Caucasian, brown haired woman. "Excuse me. Hi, I'm Alaric Saltzman. I called earlier." Alaric says. "Yes. Of course." She says, shutting her drawer, and walks over to him, shaking his hand with her right. "I'm Vanessa Monroe, Research Assistant." She says, and they release, putting their hands down. "Comparative Folklore." She says, and looks at me. "Uh, let me just grab Isobel's keys." She says, as we look at Alaric, and he's looking at us. "I'm sorry." He says, as we look at Vanessa. "These are my friends Ethan and Damon." He says, as we smile at her. "I hope this isn't too much of an imposition." He says, and she smiles. "Oh please, Isobel's office is right through there." She says  and walks over to a drawer and opens it. "Isobel was one of my first professors." She says, holding a key and shuts the door. "I'm a Grad Student. She was brilliant, and one of the reasons I went into folklore. Uh, I have to ask.." She says, looking down, and back up. "Has there been any news?" She asks. "No. No. I'm afraid not." He says. "It's right this way." She says, walking to the door next to us, and unlocks it, and opens it, and walks in, and we follow her, and walk in, and look around. "I'll grab the light. Feel free to look around. It's fascinating, isn't it?" She asks, and walks off. "Mhm." Damon says, as I walk over to a shelf, and look around. "Where'd she go?" Damon asks, and I turn around, and see her holding a cross bow, aiming it at me, as I gasp, and it launches, as Damon appears in front of me, getting hit with the arrow, as I gasp, and he falls, and I look down at him, and hear her groan, and look up, and see Alaric pinning her to the wall, and I look back at Damon, and crouch down next to him. We're still in the office, as I'm touching Damon's arrow. "Pull it out. I can't reach it, Ethan." He says, as I take a deep breath. "Just pull the damn thing out. It hurts." He says, and I wrap both hands around the arrow, and pull it out, and throw it down in front of him. "Whoo! Ahh. Whoo Ahh. That bitch is dead." He says, as I walk back to the door, and he looks at me. "Uh, you're not going to kill her." I say. "Watch me." He says, smiling, and begins to walk off, and I step back, looking at him. "You touch her and I swear I will never speak to you again." I say. "What makes you think that has any power over me? Because I took an arrow in the back for you?" He asks, smiling, walking back over to me. "You are  severely overestimating yourself." He says, putting his left arm on my right shoulder, and I knock it off. "Right. I forgot that I was speaking to a psychotic mind who snaps and kills people impulsively. Fine. Go ahead. Do whatever you want." I say. "You're trying to manipulate me." He says. "If by, manipulate, you mean, tell the truth, ok." I say, nodding. "Guilty." I say, smiling, and he nods. "Ok." I say, nodding, and walk off. I walk out of the office, and see Vanessa in a chair, and Alaric to the right, and I walk over to her, and look at her. "I'm Ethan Gilbert, Isobel's son, and a Descendent of Alexander Petite." I say, and I see Damon next to me, and look back at her. "And this is Damon Salvatore who you just shot." I say. "I'd be extra nice to me right now." He says. "Look. We need your help. Ok. We need tosee all of Isobel's research, anything related to Mystic Falls." I say. We're looking through files and boxes in the office, and I look up, seeing her carrying a box, coming towards me. "This box checks Alex's arrival to Mystic Falls in April of eighteen sixty four." She says, and sits the box down, and looks through it. "Is that all there is about him?" I ask. "All that I'm aware of." She says, and looks at me, and I look at Damon, and pick up some Vervain from the box. "Here. Take this." I whisper, handing it to her, and she smiles. "Does Vervain really work?" She asks, and I nod. "Nope! Not at all." Damon says. "Can he hear us?" She asks. "No! That would be creepy!" He whisper yells, and I nod. "Can he read minds, too?" She whispers. "You know, if you want to see me naked, all you have to do is ask." He says, smiling. "No. That he can't do." I say, and he turns around, and I look at her. "He is very capable of being a first rate jackass." I say, grabbing the book from the box, and she puts the Vervain in her shirt pocket. I'm looking through papers, as someone walks over to me. "Any luck?" Damon asks. "There's nothing in here about Alex that we don't already know." I say, and he sighs. "Ah, man. You know, it's a bummer we're not friends anymore because I could tell you what I know." He says, and I look at him, as he's smiling at me. "Now who's manipulating who?" I ask. "Hey, guys. Check this out." Alaric says, as we look over at him, and he hands Vanessa a book, and I walk over to them. There's no record of werewolf mythology in Mystic Falls. But here are some records of some of the lesser known Legends. Everything from Scandinavian Skin Walkers to the Maréchal de Retz." She says, handing me a book of drawings. "Tonartsliitsii Metslii, which roughly translates into the, curse of the sun and the moon." She says. "It's Native American." Alaric says. "Aztec." She says, as Damon flips the page, and I look at her. "It explains one origin of the werewolf curse traced through Virginia. The short story. Six hundred years ago, the Aztecs were plagued by Werewolves and Vampires. They terrorized the Countryside, made Farming and Hunting impossible. Until an Aztec Shaman cursed them, making Vampires slaves to the Sun and Werewolves servants of the Moon. As a result, Vampires could only prowl at night, and Werewolves could only turn on a Full Moon. When the Full Moon crests in the sky, who's ever unlucky enough to fall under the Werewolf curse turns into a wolf." She says. "Can they control the transformation?" Damon asks, handing me the book. "If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse. Werewolves will attack Humans. But instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them to hunt their prey of choice. Vampires." She says, as I look up, and over at Damon. "Well.. if Werewolves were hunting Vampires, I would know about it." Damon says, smiling. "Not if there aren't that many Werewolves left alive. Hundreds of years ago, Vampires hunted them almost to extinction." She says. "Why would they do that?" I ask. "To protect themselves. Legend has it that a Werewolf bite is fatal to Vampires." She says. "Uh oh." I say. "Oooh." Damon says. "Told you that exists." I say. I'm on the phone, talking with Stefan. "I don't know what that means or if we should even believe it but it's a Full Moon, Stefan. After what we saw Mason Lockwood do.. I know I'm right about the Werewolves." I say. "I'll be careful." He says, and I sigh. "There's one more thing." I say. "What is it?" He asks. "According to the legend, a Werewolf bite can kill a Vampire." I say. "Listen, I gotta go. I'll see you when you get home, ok?" He asks. "Ok. I love you. And be careful." I say, and he hangs up. I'm looking through more papers, and find a picture of Alex wearing a hat, and look at Vanessa. "Hi, um have done any research on Doppelgangers?" I ask. "Well, the word means a lot of different things to different cultures. But typically a Doppelganger is a living, breathing double of oneself." She says. "Did Isobel have anything that explained the link between me and Alex?" I ask. "That's all she had on Alex, unfortunately. But I can tell you that Doppelgangers usually torment the people they look like, trying to undo their lives. It's not exactly uplifting." She says. "And more things we already know. Just. I want to know why we look alike." I say, sighing. "Head scratcher, isn't it?" Damon asks, and I set the picture down. "Do you know something, or are you just being yourself?" I ask, turning to my left. "Well, if I know anything, I'm not gonna tell you, not with that attitude." He says, walking over to me. "That's good, Damon. And this is coming from someone who wants to be my friend. But you know what? Friends don't manipulate friends. They help each other." I say, and walk off. It's nighttime, as I'm trying to open the door, but it won't open. Because it's locked. "Here." Damon says, getting in front of me, and presses the unlock button on the key, and opens the door for me. "Allow me." He says, smiling, and I walk to the door, and he stops me. "You're not going to be able to hate me forever." He says. "Can we just go?" I ask, and he pulls out a book. "You didn't dig deep enough." He says, handing it to me, and I read the cover. "Popova. I saw this on the shelf." I say. "Alex originally came from Europe. Popova was real his real name." He says, and I look down at the book. "Aleksandr Popova to be exact." He says. "How did you know that?" I ask, and look up at him. "Back when, I saw it engraved on an old heirloom. Men snoop, too, you know. Oh, wait." He says, smiling. "Let me know what you find. Very curious myself." He says, and I'm about to get in, and he stops me again. "You have every right to hate me." He says, and I look at him. "I understand. You hated me before and we became friends. It would suck if that was gone forever." He says, nodding and smiles. "So.. is it? Have I lost you forever?" He asks, smiling. "Thank you for the book, Damon." I say, and he nods, and steps to the right, and I get in, and put my seat belt on, and he closes the door. Damon and I are walking to my front door. "Road trips work well for us." He says, as I pull my keys out of my right pocket. "This doesn't mean that things are back to the way they used to be, Damon." I say, as I stop at my door. "Oh, come on You know I chipped a little bit off of your wall of hatred." He says, and I look at him. "I need to know the truth. When you broke Jeremy's neck, did you know that he was wearing the ring?" I ask. "No. No, I didn't. Alex really pissed me off and I snapped and.. I got lucky with the ring. I don't know what I would have done if he wasn't wearing it." He says, and I nod. "Ethan, I'm sorry." He says, nodding, and I nod back. "Thank you for being honest with me and the answer to your question, about our friendship.. is yes. You have lost me forever." I say. "You knew that already, didn't you? You used me today." He says. "You had information about Alex that I needed to know. You weren't gonna give it." I say. "I thought friends don't manipulate friends. You and Alex have a lot more in common than just your looks." He says, and walks off.