Is This Hell?

Bad Memory Moon part 1

Elena walked into the boarding house while dancing as she hummed Howl by Florence + the Machine quietly to herself. She was wearing black cargo pants, long sleeved, off the shoulder, crop top and combat boots.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Damon laughed from where he was standing by the drink table.

"Caroline is back at her place with her mom none the wiser about her daughter being a vampire." Elena smiled brightly. "I just drover really fast on my bike here, shh don't tell my aunt, and I had chocolate muffins for breakfast, this day is awesome!"

"So, what you're telling me is that you're hyper." Damon chuckled.

"Basically, yeah." Elena laughed. "Oh, I also called Alaric and asked him to come here, he should be here soon."

"We might finally solve the Lockwood family mystery." Stefan sarcastically said from the entrance to the room.

"Want some?" Damon offered Elena a glass of bourbon.

"Sure." Elena bounded over.

"You do know she's underage, right?" Stefan asked as he saw Elena take a sip from her glass.

"Yeah, so?" Damon smirked.

"Just asking to make sure." Stefan smiled at his brother.

At that point Alaric walked into the parlor looking rough around the edges.

"Does no one knock or ring the doorbell anymore?" Damon asked as he looked at everyone.

"Not really, no." Elena giggled.

"Thought so." Damon smirked and turned towards Alaric. "Thanks for coming, Ric. Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee, bourbon? Coffee in your bourbon? Bourbon in your coffee?"

"Elena mentioned that you needed my help." Alaric ignored Damons offer of anything to drink.

"Yeah, we were hoping you could help shed some light on the Lockwood family." Stefan chimed in from his place by the fireplace.

"Now why would I know anything about the Lockwood's?" Alaric looked confused.

"Well, you wouldn't." Damon smirked. "But your dead, not-dead vampire wife might."

"Isobel's research from when you both were at Duke together." Elena piped in.

"Are you drinking bourbon?" Alaric looked at Elena.

"Nope." Elena denied and took another sip.

"Are you lying to me?" Alaric asked.

Elena smirked, she could finally channel her inner Stiles and use one of her favorite quotes from Teen Wolf. "That depends on how you define 'lying'."

"I define it as not telling the truth." Alaric declared. "How do you define it?"

"Reclining your body in a horizontal position." Elena beamed at him.

Damon snorted just as he took a drink from his glass, resulting in him spitting bourbon at Stefan who was standing in front of him.

"You said that Isobel had spent years researching this town." Stefan said as he used his shirt to dry the bourbon from his face.

"Isobel's research here in Mystic Falls rooted in folklores and legends but at the time I thought much of it was fiction." Alaric told them.

"Like that amazing vampire story." Damon said, still chuckling slightly.

"Aside from vampires, what else?" Elena sked eagerly.

"The Lycanthrope." Alaric hummed.

"Ha! I knew it!" Elena jumped up from her seat and did a little happy dance. "I knew werewolves were real."

"No way, impossible, way to Lon Chaney." Damon denied with a shake of his head.

"Really Damon?" Elena looked at him in disbelief. "You yourself are a vampire and so's your brother and Bonnie is a witch but you draw the line at werewolves?"

"I've been on this planet some one hundred and sixty odd years." Damon began.

"Old fart." Elena coughed.

"I have never come across a werewolf." Damon continued with a mock glare towards Elena who just smiled innocently. "If werewolves exist, where the hell are they?"

"Why do you suspect the Lockwoods?" Alaric wondered.

"Because vervain didn't affect the mayor at Founder's Day but the Gilbert device did." Damon told him. "And it affected his son, Tyler, too."

"And at the school carnival his uncle Mason exhibited inhuman strength when he beat me at arm-wrestling and later when he fought with one of the carnival's workers." Stefan explained. "It suggests something supernatural, we just don't know what."

"We were hoping that Isobel's research could help us figure out what they are." Elena said thoughtfully as she tried to sneakily steal Damons glass of bourbon.

"Well, all her things are still at Duke." Alaric informed them. "I mean her office is still there because she is technically still considered missing."

"Ric, we need to know what we are dealing with." Damon looked at him seriously. "If this wolfman thing is true, well, I've seen enough movies to know it's not good."

"Aren't vampires and werewolves' bitter enemies or something like that?" Elena asked softly.

"Yeah or so the legend goes." Damon said. "And if Mason Lockwood is a real-life Lon Chaney and that little Tyler punk is Lon Chaney junior that would mean that Bella Lugosi, aka me, is totally screwed."

"You look so much better than Bella Lugosi though." Elena smiled.

"So, let's go to Duke and check out Isobel's research." Alaric shrugged.

"Yes!" Elena cheered. "Road Trip!"

"I'll drive." Damon declared quickly.

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on the Lockwoods and I did promise Caroline lunch." Stefan smiled at them.

"Can I invite Jeremy?" Elena looked between Damon and Alaric.

"That's fine by me." Damon shrugged. "I actually like baby Gilbert."

"As long as it's fine with your aunt." Alaric said.

"Yay." Elena laughed and made her way out of the boarding house. "I'll go home and pack and talk to Jeremy, pick me up in around an hour."