SKIN LIKE STONE [2]

3

Roman had woken up early, at Damon's request, so he, Stefan, and Elena could talk to Alaric.
When the teacher walked into the boarding house Roman instantly stood grabbing his hand.
"Thanks for coming, Ric. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, bourbon? Bourbon in your coffee?"
Damon questioned as Roman buried his head into Alaric's shoulder.
"Elena mentioned you needed my help."
Alaric said squeezing Roman's hand.
"Yeah, we were hoping you could help shed some light on the Lockwood family."
Stefan spoke up.
"Now, why would I know anything about the Lockwood's?"
Alaric asked as Roman froze, of course he knew the Lockwoods were werewolves.
"Well, you wouldn't. But your dead, not-dead vampire wife might. Because Roman knows but he won't tell us."
Damon glared as Roman merely shrugged smugly.
"Isobel's research from when you guys were at Duke together."
Elena told him.
"You said that she had spent years researching this town."
Stefan added in.
"Isobel's research here in Mystic Falls rooted in folklores and legends but at the time I thought much of which was fiction."
"Like that amazing vampire story."
Damon smirked.
"Aside from vampires, what else?"
Elena asked.
"The lycanthrope."
"Wait, like werewolves?"
"Ding ding."
Roman smirked as everyone looked at him shocked.
"I've been on this planet one hundred and sixty some odd years, never came across one. If werewolves exist, where the hell are they?"
Damon asked Roman as he took a step away from Alaric.
"They're in the woods, hiding."
Roman crossed his arms raising an eyebrow, almost challenging Damon to say he's wrong.
"Hiding from what?"
Stefan asked as Roman merely smirked not answering.
"Why do you suspect the Lockwoods?"
Ric asked stepping back up beside Roman.
"Because vervain didn't affect the mayor at Founders' Day but the Gilbert device did and it affected his son Tyler."
Damon told them.
"And at the school carnival his uncle Mason exhibited inhuman behavior when he fought with one of the carnival's workers.
It suggests it's some sort of a supernatural entity."
Stefan told everyone.
"We were hoping that Isobel's research could help us figure out what it is."
Elena told him hopefully.
"Well, all her things are still at Duke. I mean her office is still there. She's technically still missing."
Roman heard Alaric sigh and grabbed his hand once again.
"So can we get access to it?"
Damon rose an eyebrow.
Alaric looked to Roman and the Salvatore could see the hesitance in his eyes.
"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."
Damon told him dramatically.
"It means Mason Lockwood is a real-life Lon Chaney and that little Tyler punk may just very well be Lon Chaney junior, which means Bella Lugosi, meaning me, is totally screwed."
Roman snorted at Damon's example.
"You up for it?"
Roman whispered to Alaric.
"Yeah, as long as you come."
Roman laughed lightly squeezing Ric's hand.
"Of course I'll go with you, I wouldn't force anyone to be alone with Damon."

❁

"You know I've always loved road trips."
Damon smirked from beside Elena in the backseat.
Roman glared playfully lifting his head from Alaric's shoulder and looking at his brother.
"Funny last time you and I went on a road trip we were sent to our deaths."
"Yeah but it was still fun."
Roman chuckled burying his head into Ric's shoulder.
"How are you doing over there? You know, this whole pretending to hate me thing is getting a little silly."
Damon teasingly told Elena as she ignored him.
"I don't think she's pretending. You did kill her brother."
Roman snorted at Ric's bluntness.
"There is a huge asterisk next to that statement: he came back to life."
Roman laughed, trying to hide it from Elena.
"Yeah, thanks to a ring that you didn't know he was wearing."
Elena glared.
"Why are you so sure I didn't know?"
"Did you?"
"Yes."
"You're lying."
"Elena, I saw the ring! It's a big tacky thing. Hard to miss."
Roman glanced down at Alaric's ring, lifting Ric's hand and kissing the back of it.
Remembering that if Ric didn't have one of those he would be dead.