Vampies in Love

12. Missing

So this chapter does mention torture. It's nothing too gruesome or extreme. It's about on par with what is shown in the show, but I wanted to let you guys know beforehand just in case you don't want to read it. This chapter is divided into three sections, so don't read the third section if you wish to skip it.

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"I can handle this!" Damon insisted.

"I know you can handle it, but I also know my brother," Elijah said calmly, though Damon could tell that he was anything but. "If he knows how much you mean to me, he will have no qualms about using you to control me."

Damon rolled his eyes. "What can he do with me? I would never help him hurt you."

Elijah sighed and started pacing in the slow, meticulous way that he does everything. "My brother, like me, is an original vampire, meaning that he is able to compel anyone, including other vampires. He could force you to do anything he wants. I've seen him do it." He stopped in front of Damon and put a hand on his cheek. "I refuse to have to see you that way."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Then I'll go on vervain,"

"Klaus will simply drain you," Elijah said. "And you don't want to be on vervain."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" For the first time in his life, Damon didn't want to go anywhere. For the first time, he felt truly happy. He would be damned if he let anyone scare him away from it.

Elijah tilted his head down at his feet before whispering, "Forget about it,"

"What?"

Elijah looked up to stare Damon in the eyes. "You forget about everything: Klaus, the moonstone," he paused. "Forget about me,"

"What are you talking about?" Damon hated where this was going.

"Allow me to take care of my brother alone. When he is gone, and it is safe again, I'll come find you," he suggested with such confidence that Damon couldn't help but think he was right.

Elijah gave him a moment to consider it.

"How am I supposed to just forget all about you?" Damon asked in a small voice. He knew it would be safer for both of them if Klaus never found out about a potential weakness. He just hated that the only viable solution was for Damon to abandon his boyfriend. "I'd be worried the whole time,"

"I have an idea, but," Elijah sighed. "You're not going to like it,"

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Despite the annoyance Liz felt the entire time, the meeting with the new Founding Family members went well. The old members that Liz had invited back agreed to her terms and accepted her leadership, while the new members came to terms with the supernatural surprisingly well. Somehow, the reality of Mystic Falls being a safe and stable town didn't appear to be a naive dream.

It was early evening, and Liz was utilizing this time to organizing her police paperwork and coming up with topics that she wanted to bring up at the next Founder's meeting. She kept getting sidetracked, however. There were certain ideas that she wished she could've discussed with Damon directly after the meeting, as he is the closest confidant she has, and then she would be reminded that she was irritated with him for completely skipping the meeting.

It was one thing for Damon to be somewhat aloof and flippant when it came to town issues, but it was something entirely different when he shirked his duty as both a member of this town and her friend. She really wanted him to be here, and he didn't so much as call her to let her know he would not be attending.