Say you love me (A vampire diaries fan fiction) ***Watty 2013***

Forgotten Face

*** Thal's P.O.V.***

"What do you mean he compelled you guys? He couldn't even attempt to do that. He's not an original vampire." What Stefan was trying to tell me wasn't making any sense. Ulrik wasn't a witch as far as I knew, and he wasn't an original vampire.

"It felt different than vampire compulsion. It was almost like he was probing my mind, trying to release my restraints and make me say the first thing that popped into my head." Stefan's voice got quieter and he stopped talking to think. "It was more like magic." I shook my head. That only served to confirm that it wasn't Ulrik, he didn't know magic. "Think about it. You charmed both Caroline and my rings and we weren't affected. But Elena, who doesn't have a charmed ring, had no problem answering any of his questions." Stefan tried to reason with me, but I still couldn't see it. Or rather, I didn't want to. If Ulrik was compelling them with magic, then it meant he could have some kind of ulterior motive which I was not prepared to face. "I know it's a tough thing to think about Ana, but it's the reality." I shook my head.

"Thal, we don't even know that this guy is who he says he is. He could just be a witch trying to take advantage of you and us." Damon spoke quieter, almost as if he was convincing a child. "At least entertain that idea." I pushed away from Damon

"You don't get it. I've been entertaining the idea that my best friend was dead for centuries. I've been living with a pain so enormous that I have flashbacks for years every time I think about it. I've finally got this glimmer of hope and it's like you're expecting me to just be ok with you ripping it away from me." I felt my emotions rising to a level way higher than necessary but I was no longer in control of their upward spiral.

"We're not trying to take anything away from you Thal. We just want you to be cautious. Why is that so hard to ask of you? We live our lives cautiously, yet this is the time you choose to just trust a guy who may or may not be Ulrik?" Damon crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows at me.

"Maybe I'm tired of never trusting anyone. Maybe I just for once want to see something and be able to believe it's genuine, not have to fret or worry about who's going to stab my back next." I leaned away from him. Stefan had become completely alienized from the discussion and it had suddenly become another argument between Damon and me.

"And you pick now to start your trust brigade? You pick him to start it with? What about me? Can you not trust that I have your best interest at heart? Can you not trust me when I tell you that something's a bit off with this guy? Is it that hard to trust me even though you've been given proof?" He gestured to Stefan, who was trying to slide into the background and out of the bathroom. "Can you at least just call your brothers and ask them about Ulrik?" I scoffed and turned my head away from Damon.

"Brothers? I have no such things." Damon rolled his eyes and swore under his breath. "No. No, it was one thing to find out they kept you a secret from me, that was less than a year. But this, they kept this a secret from me for centuries. They watched me suffer, knowing they could help and they still kept me in the dark. No, I'm not going to call them and so help me god if you do." I pushed past Stefan and into the bedroom.

"So you're not going to call them?" Damon asked following me. I didn't answer him. I thought I had been pretty clear. "What if he's lying? What if he told you that exact lie, knowing you would be so angry with your brothers that you wouldn't bother to call them and double check what he said." I sat on the bed and Damon sat beside me, placing a hand on my knee. "Look, I'm not saying I don't want you to be excited. I just... I just don't want you to get hurt." I leaned my head on Damon's shoulder and closed my eyes. He placed an arm around me and pulled me closer. "Just think about it." Damon squeezed my arm and kissed my temple. My emotions were beginning to subside and I began to wonder, what it was that had made me so angry in the first place.