I'll never love again [1]

HEART OF DARKNESS

Nat and Elena were walking down the stairs into to the basement of the Boarding House. It had been three days since Finn was killed by Matt and they had been waiting for Ric's alter ego to make an appearance and tell them where the last white oak stake was. They approached the cellar and Nat peered through the barred door window.

"Alaric?" She asked cautiously.

"Yep. Still me." She nodded and unlocked the door, Elena entering first with a bag while Ric watched them from the cot in the room. "You know, you shouldn't be in here. It defeats the point of the whole being locked in a cellar thing." He told them and Nat shook her head. Elena dropped the bag on the floor and looked at him.

"Well, you still need the basics. Toothbrush, clothes, some boring books to help you sleep." She told him and he picked up one of the books, looking at the cover before holding it up and raising an eyebrow.

"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?"

"What? No, I grabbed..." Nat took the book and sighed. "Damon. Thinks he's hilarious."

"At least one of us still has a sense of humor." He shrugged and both girls looked at him sadly.

"Are you sure that you...? I mean, you don't have to be kept in here." Elena told him frowning.

"Ah, no, this is... this is the right place for me to be." He assured her. "At least until you guys can convince my highly uncooperative alter ego to fess up to where I or he hid the white oak stake."

"We looked everywhere. You... the other you hid it well." Elena told him as she walked around the room.

"What's Klaus gonna do if you can't find it?" He asked as Elena pulled a chair and sat down.

"It's the only thing that can kill him, so... wage war, murder people. You know, Klaus stuff." Nat shrugged as she leaned on the wall and crossed her arms.

"Listen, Stefan and Nat are gonna watch over you for a little while. Now that Klaus knows where Jeremy is, it's not safe so Damon and I are gonna go to Denver to pick him up." Elena told him cautiously. Ric narrowed his eyes and looked at her confused.

"Why do you say that like you're waiting for me to disapprove?"

"I don't know. Me and Damon. Traveling across the country." She said awkwardly.

"I guess I'm more curious to hear what Stefan has to say about it." Ric told her.

"Actually, it was his idea." Nat added from the side. Ric turned to her confused and then turned back to Elena.

"He thinks that I have some unresolved feelings for Damon." She explained, shaking her head and looking down. Nat and Ric exchanged knowing glances at her words.

"Do you?" He asked her and she shrugged.

"I guess that's why I'm going on this trip. So I can figure it out." She said. Nat stared at her for a minute before looking away. It was obvious she was falling in love with Damon, everyone could see it except her. Or maybe she did, but she didn't want to admit it.

"You should be heading out." Ric told her after a moment. Elena nodded and got up, placing the chair back by the wall. Nat and Elena walked to the door and her sister looked back, smiling at Ric before stepping outside the cellar and locking it.

"Hey." Nat called before they went up the stairs. Elena turned to her and looked at her expectantly. "Can we talk when you get back?" Things had been a bit awkward since the day Finn died. After what Bonnie told Elena and the others, they had been a bit cold towards her. She didn't really care if it came from anyone else, but it did hurt her that her relationship with Elena was a bit strained.