Yes, more than an year since the last time I updated this story. So sorry about that. But I promise you, this story is not abandoned. Hope you like this chapter, tell me what you think! (Another thing, obviously there are some scenes from episode 1x10 that I didn't include in this chapter but that's just because they are the same as the episode. If you don't remember exactly what happened in the missing scenes, just watch the episode again or the specific scenes on YouTube).

Chapter 10

THE POINT OF NO RETURN

"So, did Elena explain everything about…you know…Damon and Stefan?" Claire asked Bonnie awkwardly. They were in Bonnie's room at her grandmother's house. Bonnie was sitting on her bed while Claire was standing, trying to refrain from pacing. They were going to be late for school but who cared, right? After the day they had yesterday, could anyone blame them, especially Bonnie?

She was so relieved she could talk with both her best friends about what was going on but, at the same time, she wished Bonnie hadn't found out the way she did.

"You mean, that they're both vampires and that Damon is the one responsible for all those 'animal attacks'? Mr Tanner's death. Vicki."

"Vicki wasn't his fault. I mean, he did attack her but he didn't kill her or turn her. Someone, we don't know who, turned Vicki and then Stefan had to kill her because she was out of control."

Bonnie frowned, both angry and scared. "He tried to kill me."

"Yes and no." Claire replied. "Look, I get that you probably don't care right now but Damon was furious, though not with you. He was furious with Emily, who had possessed your body, so he attacked you because he wanted to attack Emily."

"So? Am I supposed to be okay with it?"

"No. I'm just trying to make you understand that it wasn't…personal. He didn't want to kill…you…I mean, let's be honest, he wouldn't have cared if he had killed you but…you don't have to be afraid of him, looking over your shoulder, because he won't try to hurt you again. He has no reason to."

"Reason to? Are you hearing yourself? Did he have any reason for killing all these people?"

"Well, yeah. They were food to him. And Mr. Tanner…well, he was angry at Stefan and Tanner was just there. Damon never does anything without a reason."

Bonnie looked at her like she was crazy. "Elena was right, when it comes to Damon you don't think clearly. How can you be friends with him? Knowing all that you know about him?"

Claire sighed. "I don't know. I guess, I see something in him that most people don't. There is good in him and he's shown it to me more than once. I know that it's difficult to understand, especially right now, after what he did to you but…I can't give up on him. There are so many people who hate him, even his own brother has basically given up on him. I can't do that. I won't. Maybe that makes me stupid or naïve but, I really think that he's worth it."

The phone rang for a few seconds but then, the usual message started: 'the number you have called is not available at this time. Please, try again later.' Damon cursed and hung up before putting his phone back in his pocket.

Claire was avoiding him. From the moment he had told her that he was leaving town, she had been avoiding his calls.

Damon had shown up at school the day after what had happened in Fell's Church – she was again in the company of that Matt guy – to tell her in person but Claire hadn't taken it well.

"What do you mean, you're leaving?" Claire had asked him, frown on her face and arms crossed in front of her chest.

"The only way I had to open that tomb has been destroyed. The only reason I came back to Mystic Falls is to free Katherine but now, there's no reason for me to stay." Damon looked into her eyes, part of him hoping she would ask him to stay, that she would convince him to stay.

"But I saw you inside that tomb. In fact, I dreamed about it last night, once again. That means that there must be another way to open it somehow. You can't leave now."

Damon shook his head and grinned, though it wasn't a happy grin. "There's no other way. The only way was that necklace and Emily destroyed it."

"Okay first, I don't believe that. Second, even if it was true, why leave? And where are you going anyway? Your brother's here."

"Stefan is leaving as well. And even if he wasn't, why should I stay for him? I thought you knew that we pretty much hate each other."

Claire rolled her eyes. "No, you don't. You're just both stubborn and capable of holding a grudge for centuries. But you don't hate each other, not really. Or you would have killed each other by now."

Damon decided that arguing with her on this particular topic was pointless. "Be that as it may, why should I stay here? What is there in this town that would make me want to stay?" Damon looked at her, hoping she would say what he was hoping she would but Claire took his words the wrong way.

Damon watched her eyes became cold, expressionless, a way to hide her hurt. "If there's nothing keeping you here, nothing worth staying for, then you should leave." Then she smiled, an obviously fake smile. "The inhabitants of Mystic Falls would surely thank you for that. The mortality rate will certainly decrease with both you and Stefan gone. And after almost killing Bonnie, maybe I want you gone as well." She kept smiling, like she hadn't a care in the world. "Goodbye, Damon. Have a nice life." And with that, she turned around and left.

That was two days ago and she still hadn't returned any of his calls.

The truth was that Damon didn't really want to leave and he was looking for any excuse to stay here. At the same time though, what was the point of him staying? Maybe Claire didn't want him to leave but she probably didn't particularly want him to stay either. Not after attacking her best friend. Not after what had happened with Lexi.

So, really, what other choice did he have? Stefan was leaving as well. There was really no point in him staying in Mystic Falls.

"So, any idea of where you'll go?" Stefan's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"I don't know. London, maybe. See some friends." Damon replied with a shrug.

"You don't have any friends, Damon." Stefan replied caustically.

Damon smirked. I have one, I think. "You're right, Stefan. I only have you." Damon turned away from the window he was staring out of to look at his brother. "So, where are we goin'?"

"We are not going anywhere. I'm gonna live my life as far away from you as possible."

Damon kept smirking and walked towards Stefan, mocking him all the way. "But we're a team! We could travel the world together. We could try out for 'The Amazing Race'."

Stefan rolled his eyes at him. "Mmmm, that's funny. Seriously, where are you going? Because we are not staying in this town."

Before Damon could form one of his sarcastic retorts, the doorbell rang. Damon and Stefan glanced at the door and then at each other. Liz Forbes was at their door. What did she want?

Stefan left the parlor to go open the door.

"I'm here to see Damon." Liz said without preambles.

Stefan frowned in confusion. "Uh, sure. Ok."

Damon joined them a moment later, having heard the entire thing. "Sheriff. What a surprise."

"Sorry to bother you," Liz replied, "but we need to talk."

"Come in."

Liz entered the house and Damon shut the door before leading her into the back courtyard.

"Um, I hope you understand the secrecy. Stefan doesn't know about this yet and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Of course, kids are too young to be brought into this."

"So, what do you need?"

"There's been another attack. A female victim, her throat torn out, completely drained of blood. It fits the pattern."

"I'm sorry. I don't understand. I thought we solved that problem when I…" Damon glanced behind him, more for show than anything else because he would have known if Stefan was near him, "staked the blonde one."

"I'm thinking she must have turned someone. Or multiple someones. I don't know."

Still inside the house, Stefan used his enhanced hearing to listening to Damon and Sheriff Forbes' conversation.

"The story for the town is another animal attack but I'm not sure how long we can keep lying to them. The council is in an uproar." Liz was saying. "We thought we were past this."

"So, uh, what do we do?"

"You're the only one who's ever taken on a vampire." Liz replied to Damon's question. "We were hoping you could tell us."

Claire and Matt were walking side by side through the school hallway, headed towards their first class of the day.

"And then the ballet dancer and the Krumper did the salsa." Matt was saying with a smile.

Claire smiled back. "Well, I was awake for that part."

"Well, I don't know when you fell asleep. Umm, did you see the Celine Dion waltz about cancer?"

"Those always make me cry!"

Matt laughed. "Yeah, and then the loud judge kept screaming and I couldn't take it, so I turned it off."

They stopped walking then and turned to face each other.

"I sat through Family Guy." Claire said, poking Matt in the chest with a smirk. "So, you owe me."

Elena and Bonnie were walking down the opposite end of the hall just in that moment. They stopped in their tracks when they noticed Claire and Matt together.

"Did I miss something?" Elena asked in bewilderment.

"They've been hanging out." Bonnie said.

"Kind of weird, don't you think?" Elena asked rhetorically, watching Claire and Matt entering into their respective classrooms.

Bonnie shrugged. "She needs someone nice like him, as opposed to a homicidal vampire like Damon. Not that Claire would ever admit that there's something going on between her and Damon."

"You're right, of course. But it's Matt. I don't know how to feel about that." Elena said before asking, "anyway, how are you doing with all that?"

Bonnie sighed. "I'm freaked out. Damon attacked me. I could be dead right now. But I'm also grateful."

"Hmm?"

"To Stefan. He saved my life and...Have you seen him?"

While they were talking, they walked up to their lockers. Elena removed her scarf and put it inside before taking out her school books.

"Not since he told me he was leaving. For all I know, he's already gone."

"He wouldn't leave without saying goodbye."

Elena shook her head. "Yes, he would. He thinks he's protecting me. Clean break and all that."

"So, what are you gonna do?"

"What am I supposed to do? I've already begged him not to go. If I ask again, I'm being selfish. It is what it is."

They started walking once again.

"Maybe it's for the best." Bonnie said with a small shrug.

Elena stopped and looked at her. "What? Why?"

"I mean, what kind of future could you have had with him, even if he stayed?"

Bonnie hadn't even finished uttering those words that a banner fell down in front of Elena's face. It said: "The Promise of your future."

"Did you just...?" Elena asked suspiciously.

"No, I swear."

"Oh, God." Elena exhaled in irritation before hitting the banner out of her way, storming off to her class with Bonnie not far behind.

Damon accompanied Liz to the front door. Stefan was sitting in the parlor, still listening to their conversation.

"Thank you for stopping by." Damon was saying to Liz.

"Let me know what you come up with." Sheriff Forbes answered.

Damon opened the door for her. "Absolutely." Liz exited and Damon shut the front door. Stefan got up and vamp-sped over to Damon. He grabbed him by his shirt and held him against the door.

"What is wrong with you? You killed somebody?" Stefan growled at his brother.

"Get off of me." Damon said, pushing Stefan away from him. "A...don't touch me. B...if I had, I wouldn't have been so obvious about it." Damon walked past Stefan and turned around, "C...There's another vampire in town."

"That's impossible."

Damon rolled his eyes at his brother. "Obviously not." He turned around and started walking into the parlor.

"Then, who could it be?" Stefan said, now calmer but worried.

Damon almost smirked at Stefan's question. "Ah, what do we care? We're leaving anyway, right?"

"No, I can't leave now and you know that." Stefan said, approaching Damon. "How are we supposed to find this person?"

"Let the adults handle this, Stefan." Damon replied before walking into the parlor, leaving Stefan in the front hallway, looking conflicted.

Back at Mystic Falls High, Tyler and Matt were playing basketball.

"So, what's up with you and Forbes?" Tyler asked his friend.

Matt shrugged. "Nothing's up."

"I saw you two in the hall today. Don't even try to deny it, bro. You're tapping that." Tyler said with a smirk. "Not that I blame you, of course. In fact, I would be willing to do a lot of things just to spend one night with Claire Forbes."

"No, it's not like that." Matt denied immediately. "And don't talk about her like that."

"Never is. Until you become 'we' people." Tyler replied, before shooting the ball and scoring a goal, the ball falling inside the basket and then bouncing on the ground. Matt grabbed it, before dribbling the ball from one hand to the other.

"'We' people?" He asked his brown-haired friend, not understanding what he meant.

"Yeah, 'we can't make it to the party'; 'we'll never miss a game'; 'we don't like the color red'."

"We hung out a couple of times, that's all." Matt replied, shooting a basket and scoring. Tyler retrieved the ball and with a smirk, said, "like I said, 'we'."

Matt didn't answer, deciding to ignore him. What did Tyler know anyway?

"Hello, Sunshine." Damon appeared out of nowhere, to stand right in front of her, smirk wide on his handsome face.

Claire shrieked, taken by surprise, before scowling at him. "How about you start wearing a bell when you show up? Or better yet, just don't show up. That would solve the problem." She walked around him, intent on getting to her car.

"Oh, come on, don't be like that." Damon said, following after her.

"Weren't you supposed to leave town? Why are you still here?" Claire said, stopping with a sigh, hands on her hips.

"You and I both know you don't really want me gone." Damon said, his blue eyes intent on her face.

"You're the one who decided to leave. And you didn't answer my question. What do you want?"

"What makes you think I want something? Maybe I just wanted to see you."

Claire raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "You only show up when you need something."

"That's not true." Damon said, before amending. "Most of the time. But yes…I do need something. Your help."

"My help with what?" Claire asked, surprised. "And please, tell me, I'm not going to help you murder anyone today."

Damon grimaced, "Well, as a matter of fact…"

"Seriously?"

Damon shrugged. "Are you or are you not my partner in crime?"

Claire rolled her eyes. "What exactly do you need me to do?"

"Your mother showed up at my house this morning. They found the body of a girl with her neck torn out."

"Another vampire?"

Damon nodded. "Maybe it's the same person that killed Vicky Donovan. And I want you to help me find them."

"How?"

Damon smirked before retrieving something from his pocket. "With this."

Claire took a closer look at the object in Damon's hand. "What is it?"

"It's a compass. A compass that points to vampires."

"And you want me to use it because if you're the one that holds it, it would get all wonky, wouldn't it?"

"Precisely."

Claire took the compass from Damon's hand, their skin touching each other. Claire felt like she had just been electrocuted at the contact, brief though it was, but in a good way. She raised her eyes to Damon's without meaning to, unconsciously wondering if he had felt it too. Damon's blue eyes were heavy lidded, his pupils wide.

Claire licked her lips, feeling her mouth growing dry. She noticed Damon following the movement of her tongue and felt her cheeks grow warm.

She forced herself to break the moment, trying to ignore the attraction that was always present beneath the surface every time they were close.

Yes, they had chemistry with each other, but it didn't mean anything…did it?

"So, I'm just supposed to hold it in my hand and wander around town?"

"Pretty much."

"Great. I was dreaming to spend the day just like this today." Her smile was all teeth and sarcasm.

"Talking of dreams…did you see anything? About this vampire?"

Claire frowned in thought…then her eyes went wide. "Wait. I don't know where to find him…But I think I know who he is."

"Yeah?" Damon asked, sounding excited.

"I had a dream of Jenna, you know…Elena's aunt?"

"Jenna is the vampire?" Damon asked, confused.

"No, no. Not her. But…Logan Fell, in my dream…he showed up at her door, wanting to be 'invited in' but Jenna didn't. He was behaving weirdly. He looked menacing, and pale, and…kind of twitchy. Nervous or restless. I don't know."

"Except that Logan Fell died. I killed him, and then Vicky fed on his blood. That's how she completed her transition. When did you dream of this?"

"I don't know. I think the night Stefan staked Vicky? With everything that has been going on lately, I forgot. I didn't even know what the dream meant at the time, if it meant anything at all. But now…"

"So, Logan Fell is a vampire. That means that when Vicky killed him, he already had vampire blood in his system. And that means that, beside Logan, there's another vampire around."

Claire bit her lip. "I think I know who that vampire is."

"You do?"

"Do you remember Anna? Pearl's daughter?"

"You mean Annabelle? From 1864?"

"I think she's here. I'm not sure but I keep seeing her, or what she looked like in 1864 at least. And Pearl as well. And the tomb. Was Pearl captured in 1864?"

"Yes, with Katherine and all the other vampires."

"So, what if…what if Anna is here, for the same reason you are?"

"To open the tomb." Damon said, realization in his voice.

"And free her mother."

"And are you sure about this?"

"No, not at all. But it's possible, right?"

"It is. But how would she even know about it?"

Claire shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, too bad there's no way to open the tomb now that the amulet is destroyed."

Claire shook her head. "Don't you find it weird that, if Anna knows about the tomb, she didn't try to find the amulet as well, which is supposed to be the only key to open it? I mean, if I was her, I would have befriended Bonnie when she still didn't know anything about vampires, or even Tyler just to get access to the Lockwood Mansion, which is where the amulet was before you retrieved it. But she didn't. And since the amulet is now destroyed, wouldn't she have left town by now?"

"Maybe she did. We don't know she's still here, or if she ever was."

"Maybe you're right. But why do I keep seeing her then? And why do I keep seeing the tomb? And you in it. I told you, there must be another way in. And Anna must know about it, reason why she didn't even try to get the amulet."

Damon didn't look convinced. "I don't know, Claire. These are a lot of ifs. Not that I don't trust your visions but…"

"I know. You're right. Better focus on the vampire we know is in town."

Damon nodded. "I'm going to keep a certain distance from you, one hundred meters or so – close enough to keep an eye on you – a raven's eye to be more precise – and reach you quickly if something happens but far enough not to interfere with the signal. Of course, we're going to keep in contact through the phone, all right?"

"Yup. Can't wait."

Damon smirked. "Come on, why don't you see it as an adventure? And you get to spend more time with me, you should consider yourself lucky."

Claire rolled her eyes but she was grinning. "Arrogant ass." She said, but her tone was affectionate. No matter how angry she got at him, he always had the ability to make her smile. It was infuriating but also, kind of nice?

Damon grinned as well, before disappearing with vampire speed. A second later, her phone rang. When Claire picked up, Damon's voice was raspy, "What are you wearing, goldilocks?"

Claire snickered. "Damon, be serious."

"All right, in all seriousness then, though I love the…tight, low-cut blue pullover and the short, high waisted, plaid pleated skirt, with the black leather jacket and knee-high black boots, that you're wearing at the moment – very hot as usual –, I'd much prefer you without clothes altogether."

Claire blushed, both at the attention he had obviously paid to what she was wearing, and at the idea of being naked in front of him. "Yeah, not happening, Damon." She replied with false bravado.

"I would even be satisfied with you wearing that black number I saw in your drawer a few weeks ago. Do you have a thong to match?"

"Anybody ever told you you're a pig?"

Damon's laugh could be heard clearly on the phone. "Many times. But I suppose I'm even worse with you. You just have that effect on me, baby."

Claire laughed. "You're such an idiot. Let's focus now, though. I want to find Logan Fell before he's the one to find Jenna or Elena or anyone else I care about. If he hurts them…" She gritted her teeth in both anger and fear at the thought.

"He won't, I promise you." Damon's voice was completely serious now. Claire nodded, reassured. When Damon swore something, he would always keep his word.

A few hours later, Claire found herself in front of a warehouse, the arrow of the compass spinning madly before stopping and pointing in front of her.

"This must be the place." Claire spoke on the phone with Damon. "What do I do now?"

"Just wait there, don't do anything. I'm coming." He said before hanging up. Not even a minute later he appeared right behind her.

"You can give me that now and you can go." Damon said, hand extended towards her, waiting for her to give him back the compass.

Claire put a hand to her chest, trying to calm her racing heart. "Can you stop doing that?"

Damon smirked. "Nope, sorry. Too much fun this way."

Claire scowled at him but she gave him back the compass. Then, finally registering his words, she said, "What do you mean, I can go? I can help you."

"It's too dangerous. I'll handle this. You just get in your car and go home. Don't worry. He's a newby vampire, he's no match for me."

"Damon…" Claire shook her head.

"Claire, you'd just get in the way."

Claire knew what he meant and that was why she finally relented. If he had to worry about her, he would get distracted and that could allow Logan to get the better of him. She wasn't going to be responsible for something happening to Damon, no way.

"Fine. But call me as soon as you…"

"Stake him? Kill him? Yeah, I will. Now go."

Claire did, forcing herself not to look back at him. She had a bad feeling about this, but she needed to trust that Damon knew what he was doing. After all, what could Logan do to him? Damon had more than a century on Logan Fell. He was stronger, faster and unlike Stefan, Damon had fed on fresh, human blood since he turned into a vampire. He was in peak form. Nothing was going to happen; bad feeling be damned.

Claire had gone at the school fair in the absence of anything better to do, and not wanting to remain at home freaking out about why Damon hadn't called her yet. Had something happened to him? Or did he just forget to call her but Logan was now dead and dealt with? Should she call him?

Claire was just about to go to her locker when she left her bag and her phone with it, when she noticed Elena talking with Matt inside one of the classrooms. They looked very cozy together.

"Still wanna be an astronaut?" Elena asked him, with her usual charming smile, the one guys would always fall for.

Matt smiled back at her, all affection and familiarity. "I can't believe you remember that."

"I can remember the tinfoil that you wore on your head."

"I was eight."

"How are you doing?"

"I've had it easier. You? I heard some things. So, it's true that you and Stefan..."

"Yeah, it is."

"What about you, Matt Donovan? I heard about Claire."

"Aw, man, not you too."

"Hey."

"We're friends." Elena looked at him skeptically. Claire kept listening, making sure they couldn't see her. "It's not a big deal."

"No?" Elena asked.

"No." Matt replied, tone certain. The way he looked at her, the message he was clearly trying to convey to her. Claire felt her heart fall to her stomach at the realization that Matt would give up on her in a heartbeat if Elena gave him even just a small crumb, if she gave him any indication that there was still hope for them.

Claire left, not wanting or needing to see more.

Wasn't she already aware of this anyway? Did she have any right to be jealous? It wasn't like she and Matt were together or anything. And Matt had said that he didn't know if he was over Elena or not, and by this display, he clearly wasn't. But was it worth it, getting hang up on a guy that had feelings for someone else? And wasn't she doing the same thing to Matt that he was doing to her? Could she really get upset at Matt for still being in love with Elena when Claire was in love with Damon?

Claire stopped in her tracks. Did she just admit, at least in her thoughts, that she was in love with Damon? Yes, she did. But…was it really that unexpected? She had been trying to deny it for weeks, if not months, but what was the point of keep doing it? It wasn't just physical attraction, what she felt for Damon, she had known that. It had always been so much stronger than that. But love? And yet, could it really be anything else? There were times when she wanted to strangle him, others when she wanted nothing more than laugh with him and just spend all her time with him and just forget that anyone else existed. Damon could affect her like no one else could.

She knew that he wasn't perfect, far from it, and yet, she would probably forgive him almost anything. She loved him, and all his faults. He was reckless, impulsive, sometimes mean and vindictive. He could be selfish, cruel, merciless. But he was also brave and loyal and he could love more deeply and intensely than anyone she had ever met. He could also be kind, selfless, protective, caring. Damon was a very complicated person, there was no doubt about it, and him being a vampire was the least of it.

And yet she loved him.

She also knew that it didn't matter. Damon loved Katherine, not her. And then, there was Elena. Maybe he wasn't in love with her now but he will be, and it will be all consuming, and passionate, and wonderful and terrible. And where did that leave her? She couldn't be in love with a man that would forever love someone else. She deserved better than that. She deserved more than being a second choice.

She deserved to be chosen first. And neither Damon nor Matt could give her that.

But walking away was easier said than done.

Stefan heard his phone ringing and took it out of his pocket. Damon's name appeared on the screen. Stefan thought he already knew why his brother was calling him.

"Logan Fell is a vampire and when I find him again, I'm gonna destroy him limb by limb." Stefan heard Damon's voice on the other line, confirming his suspicions.

Stefan noticed Elena looking for him but he didn't acknowledge her. "What happened? Are you ok?" He asked Damon, worried despite himself.

Elena, that in the meantime had spotted him leaning against the railing outside the school, came towards him.

"No, I'm not ok." Damon was saying, "I was ambushed. I was shot. Now, I'm vengeful. Just got to find him."

Stefan smiled an ironic smile that better fitted his brother. "Well, there's no need. He's here at the school."

"You're kidding me. Why the hell is he there?"

Stefan shrugged. "He's working the crowd."

"And Claire? Where is she? Is she at the school as well?" If Stefan didn't know better, he would think Damon was worried for someone other than himself. But that wasn't possible, was it?

"I don't know. I didn't see her." Stefan replied.

"Well, I'll be right there. Just keep an eye on Logan, make sure he doesn't go anywhere."

"Will do." Stefan answered back before hanging up.

Elena, having heard the end of the conversation, approached Stefan and, crossing her arms over chest, asked him, "So, anything you'd like to share?"

Claire wondered around the various booths of the Career Fair, until she stopped in front of the one she was more interested in. Her mother, reaching her side, asked her, "What are you doing?"

Claire turned towards her with a bright smile. "Following my future. There it is."

"You want to be a journalist?" Claire glared defensively and crossed her arms in front of her chest at her mother's skeptical tone.

"Yes. Investigative journalism to be more precise." When Liz kept looking at her like she was crazy, Claire asked her, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You don't even read the paper."

Claire huffed. "Nobody reads the paper anymore. Ever heard of the internet?"

"Claire…do you think you have the natural qualities to be a journalist? You're not exactly…hum…"

"What? I'm not exactly what? Serious enough? Smart enough? I'm curious, perceptive and I'm a neat freak. I like doing research, no matter the topic. And I get very passionate about things. And, most importantly, I have the highest grade in English literature and creative writing of the whole school, not that you would know. When's the last time you actually attended a parent-teacher conference? Oh right, never."

With that said, Claire walked out, once again angry and disappointed at her mother. Why was she even surprised?

She went outside in a huff, ready to leave it all behind and just go home. She was just about to call Bonnie, who was supposed to give her a ride home, when her phone rang instead. It was Damon.

"Damon, finally! How are you? What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm all right, Sunshine, don't worry. But Logan Fell got away. And he's at the school right now. So, if you're there as well, leave and fast! I will deal with him."

"All right. I was just about to leave anyway. Bonnie's giving me a ride home."

"Good. I'll call you later, all right?"

"All right. Be careful." Claire said, barely stopping herself from closing the call with 'love you.' What the hell was wrong with her? She needed to get a grip on herself.

"I'll try." Damon replied before hanging up.

Claire shook her head and gave Bonnie a call instead. "Bonnie, where are you?" Claire left Bonnie a message on her voice mail. "I'm ready to go. I'll be outside."

She closed the call and was just about to put her phone back in her bag when a SUV pulled up next to her. And at the wheel there was no other than Logan Fell. Speak of the devil…

"Hey, damsel in distress, need a ride?" Logan said, smiling in a way that he probably thought was charming.

Claire felt her heart accelerating in fear but she forced herself to calm down and remind herself that vampires could hear heartbeat. She took a deep breath and smiled at him in the most natural way she could manage.

"Oh my God. Logan Fell, channel 9, is that you?" She fake-gasped, putting a hand in front of her mouth and pretending she was some excited fan of his.

"I used to baby sit you, Claire Forbes. Don't mock me."

Claire grinned at him, though inside she was trying to find a way to escape and fast. Was no one around she could ask for help? If she screamed would Stefan hear her? Would he come in time to save her before Logan would figure out that she knew about him and kill her?

She realized she still had her phone in her hand and thanked her previous self for thinking of putting Damon on speed-dial. Now, if only she could call him without Logan hearing.

"Huh, don't remind me. Most boring moments of my life." Claire said, trying to mask with her voice what she was doing. Her keyboard was on silent, but if Damon didn't answer soon, Logan would hear the phone ringing.

Logan laughed. "I was about to offer you a ride, but if you're being like that…"

Claire kept smiling, so wide her cheeks were starting to hurt. The call started. Claire laughed, a little too loudly, but even she could hear when Damon picked up and then his voice on the phone. "No, don't worry. Bonnie will be here any minute. I don't mind waiting."

'Claire? Hello?' She distinctly heard Damon saying. There was no way Logan didn't.

"It wouldn't be a problem, really. It's on my way." He was still playing the charming guy, but his eyes were cold now.

"No, really, don't worry. It's such a beautiful night. Maybe I'll just walk." She started to do just that but before she could take more than two steps away from his car, Logan appeared in front of her.

"Sorry, I can't let you do that." He said, before smashing her head against the car with so much strength that she immediately lost consciousness.

The last thing she heard was Damon's voice frantically calling her name before everything went black.

"Damon?" Stefan called out to him as soon as he noticed his brother arriving.

Damon didn't even utter a sarcastic comment in his direction, and he barely look at Elena at his side. He just marched in their direction until he was standing close enough they could talk without risking someone else overhearing. He looked furious and…murderous, there was no other word for it.

"What is it?" Stefan asked, realizing something had happened since the last time they talked.

"That son of a bitch took Claire." He said, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. He looked like he was one second away from punching a wall, or killing someone.

Elena gasped at hearing that her best friend had just been kidnapped by a vampire and Stefan couldn't exactly blame her for it but his mind was too preoccupied to console her like she probably needed in that moment.

Stefan had seen his brother angry many times but he was astonished to realize that Damon wasn't simply angry, he was…worried. No, he was more than worried, he was terrified. Terrified for Claire. Afraid Claire would get hurt, or worse.

Stefan knew that Damon and Claire had developed some kind of strange rapport but he hadn't realized that his brother really cared about her. Stefan, until that moment, hadn't even been sure Damon was still capable of caring about anyone except for Katherine, let alone an ordinary human girl – well, perhaps not completely ordinary, what with her visions and her rather striking beauty (even if Stefan was completely and utterly in love with Elena and found Claire more than a little annoying, he wasn't blind). Still, it was more than surprising, it was astonishing.

"How do you know he took her?" Elena asked Damon, bringing Stefan out of his thoughts.

"Claire called me while she was with him. He was trying to convince her to get in the car with him. When she didn't comply, he rendered her unconscious and took her. I heard everything. If he took her without killing her yet, that means he wants something from her. Probably revenge on the Council, and if I'm right, he plans on turning her into a vampire."

"No!" Elena screamed. Her raised voice made some heads turn but they soon turned away.

"Don't worry, Elena. I will find him and I will kill him." Damon said, but he wasn't looking at her. He was staring at a point beyond their shoulders, lost in his thirst for blood and vengeance.

"I'm coming with you." Stefan said and Damon nodded. Then turning to Elena, he said, "Go home, all right? You, Jenna and Jeremy. You'll be safe there since he doesn't have an invitation into your house."

Elena nodded. "Please, bring her back safe." She pleaded with him. "If something happens to her, I…" Unable to finish the sentence, she just shook her head, eyes filled with tears.

"We will." Stefan said before following Damon outside the school and to his Camaro.

"Where are you?" Sheriff Forbes answered the call coming from her daughter's phone.

"Hello Sheriff. Sorry, Claire can't come to the phone right now. She's resting. Hard day at school today. All that worrying about the future…"

"What do you want?" Logan smirked at Liz's fear plain in her voice.

"The satisfaction of turning your daughter into a vampire." He answered, stopping at an intersection.

Stefan appeared in front of the car and before Logan had the time to do anything, he vamp-sped to the driver's side and pulled Logan out of the car, throwing him to the pavement.

Logan got up, and in that moment, Damon got out of the woods, shooting him with a gun with wooden bullets. Logan fell to the pavement once again.

"Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" He said to Logan, towering over his moaning form. Then Damon turned to Stefan. "Get her out of here." He wished he could be the one to save her, carrying her in his arms, laying her form safe and sound on her bed, being the one to play the knight in shining armor at least once, for her, but he needed to deal with Logan first. Stefan was the hero, always saving the damsel in distress, he was the one who got his hands dirty and solve the problems.

He kept an eye on Logan while Stefan went to retrieve Claire from the passenger's side. He could smell her delicious blood from there.

Damon gritted his teeth in rage. He had made her bleed.

"Logan, what happened?! Logan?" Damon heard Liz Forbes' voice from the phone inside the car and sped over to it. He picked it up . "Sheriff, yeah, it's Damon."

"Where is Claire?" Liz asked while Stefan grabbed Claire, vamp-speeding out of there.

"She's ok." Damon said, sighing in relief and still pent-up rage. "I'm on Elm Street." He hanged up and went to the trunk of Logan's car, opening it and grabbing a tire iron from it.

"Gonna try this one more time." He said, swinging the tire iron in the air. "Who turned you?"

"I told you I don't know."

"This tire iron here could take your head clean off." He held the tire iron in a swinging position, ready to strike. "Is that your final answer?"

"How can you side with them?"

"I don't side with anyone. You pissed me off. I want you dead. Who turned you?"

"I don't know!" Logan screamed in frustration.

Damon shrugged. "Oh, well. You're screwed."

Damon started to swing the tire iron towards Logan's head. "Wait, wait! I do know."

Damon paused. "You're lying."

"You think you're the only one who wants to get in that tomb underneath the old church?"

"Go on. If what you say interests me enough, I might let you live."

"There is another way to break the spell. We can help you."

"Who's we?"

"Meet me at the old Church and you'll see."

Damon shook his head. "Ah, ah. I don't think so. You know, I would have spared you, if only because you could have been useful to me. I don't think you know anything about how to open the tomb but the one who turned you probably does. And if it's so, I will find them and I will figure it. But I will do it without you."

"No! Wait! I can help you!" Logan said, putting an arm in front of his face, in a vain attempt to protect himself from the blow he was about to receive.

"Anyone else. You could have taken anyone else and I would have spared you. But you just had to take Claire, didn't you?"

"She's still alive, isn't she?"

"If I hadn't arrived, you would have turned her. You made her bleed. You hurt her. And that's something I can't get past. You signed your death warrant the moment you took her. Goodbye Logan." Damon said, hearing the sirens in the distance. And with a strong swing of the tire, Logan's head was detached from its body.

A few moments later a police car stopped near him and Sheriff Forbes got out. She took a look at the scene, grimacing a little in disgust at the sight of the vampire's body and its head a few meters away. Pity and relief both fought for dominance in her chest but relief won out. Logan chose his fate.

"Where is she? Where's Claire?" Liz asked Damon.

"She's ok. My brother's taken her home. She's going to have a hell of a headache tomorrow, though, I'm afraid."

Liz shook her head and smiled at him. "Thank you, Damon. Thank you for saving my daughter and for, once again, saving this town."

Damon nodded, uncomfortable with the praise. "Do you want me to take care of the body?"

"No, no. You've done enough. I'll take it from here. Go home, Damon. Get some rest. And thank you, once again."

Damon nodded and walked away. But he had no intention of returning to the Boarding House. He needed to see her.

"Can you walk?" Stefan asked her, supporting her weight while he helped her out of Damon's car. They walked together towards her front door, Stefan hovering near in case she lost her step.

"Yeah." Claire said, feeling awkward at Stefan's presence at her house. She retrieved the key from underneath the flower pot and opened the front door.

Stefan followed her inside, helping her up the stairs and to her room. She laid down on her bed, feeling tired and aching all over.

"Do you need anything?" Stefan asked her.

Claire shook her head. "No. I just want to sleep for a week."

Stefan nodded. "Good. Then I'll go."

Stefan had just turned his back on her when Claire called out to him. "Stefan!" Stefan turned around to look at her. "Thank you. For saving me and bringing me home."

"Of course. You're Elena's best friend. She would be devasted if she lost you."

Claire nodded. She watched Stefan leave the room, then his steps down the stairs and then the front door opening and closing.

She felt strangely upset at his answer. Not because she wanted Stefan to care for her, or because she cared for him, but more because…was it always going to be about Elena? Claire loved her, of course, but seriously? Was she destined to be second fiddle to Elena for the rest of her life? Matt, Bonnie, Stefan – though that was normal –, was Damon going to be the same?

Of course, he was. He would soon fall in love with Elena and she would be left alone once again, on the outside looking in.

Claire shook her head. This whole pity party thing was not her. She wasn't insecure by nature. What the hell was wrong with her?

It was surely all the events of the day catching up with her. She just needed sleep and she would surely feel better in the morning.

Tyler was leaning against Matt's truck when Matt approached him. They were still at the school for the Career Fair but it had gotten late and it was time to return home.

"I need a ride." Tyler said.

Matt nodded. "Sure."

Tyler went towards the passenger's door. Before he could open it, Matt said, "Look, I like Claire, okay?"

Tyler stopped and looked at him. He kept silent and Matt kept talking, looking nervous.

"Beside the fact that she's gorgeous, but…she's got this thing…this way about her…I don't know. I just…I like her. And I'm not going to defend it or apologize for it."

Tyler nodded. "Okay. I never thought you did. I was just teasing you earlier. Claire Forbes is…well, she's something else."

Matt grinned, a little dreamily. "Yeah, she is."

The conversation was over after that, nothing else needed to be said. They both got up on their respective sides of the car and then Matt revved the engine and drove away.

Damon sat on one side of Claire's bed, watching her sleep. He stroked her hair and moved it away from her forehead to take a look at the cut on her head. It had been cleaned and patched but Damon could still smell the blood, though it was mixed with disinfectant. Normally it would make him hungry, but in that moment, it only made him angry all over again. If he could resurrect Logan and kill him again, he would.

He watched her stir, her nose scrunching up in a cute way before her gray-green eyes focused on his face.

"Damon?"

"Hey, beautiful. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit with a sledgehammer." She said, closing her eyes with a grimace. She then opened them again and asked him, probably remembering what had happened. "Logan?"

"You don't have to worry about him anymore. He's dead."

"You…?"

Damon nodded. "Of course, I did. After what he tried to do to you."

"But he had information on how to open the tomb."

Damon was surprised, though he supposed he shouldn't be. "Someone got another vision, huh?"

"And another headache on top of the one I had already. Not fun. But yes, and you are avoiding my question."

"You didn't ask me any question."

"Damon, you know very well what the question is. Why would you kill him if he could have told you how to open the tomb?"

"Isn't it obvious? Because he hurt you."

"But I was fine. He wasn't even going to kill me. Worst case scenario I would have been a vampire if you hadn't come in time. But I knew you would."

"Do you really think I would have spared him after kidnapping you and threating to turn you? No. He was dead the moment he touched you."

Claire's beautiful eyes widened in surprise and Damon felt suddenly self-conscious at showing so much emotion. But he couldn't stop it even if he wanted to, not after what had happened today. The dam was broke. The switch had been off for a while now, longer than he cared to admit and he knew who was to blame for that.

"He didn't know anything anyway. The one who turned him probably does. But I think we both know who it is. And I have no intention on working with her. No, I will find another way."

Claire nodded, still seemingly stunned into silence.

"And speaking of that. What do you think about Georgia?"

"You mean what I think about the State in general or…?"

"I mean, what do you think about coming to Atlanta with me?"

"You mean, a road trip?"

"Of a kind. There's a witch, an old friend of mine that I need to see."

"Okay. And when would we leave?"

"Tonight. Now, in fact. If you're up for it."

"Hell, why not? Mom is probably going to kill me but I desperately need to get out of this town for a while. Just give a few minutes to pack a bag."

"How's your head? Because if you get sick in my car, I will kill you." Damon asked, trying to mask his genuine worry with his usual sense of humor.

"Don't worry. It's nothing a Vicodin can't fix."

"All right, then. I will be back in half an hour. I need to stock up on blood first."

"Are you going hunting?" Claire asked, her face a mixture of trepidation and acceptance.

"Blood bags. I'm going to steal a few bags from the hospital. Just in case I get hungry during the drive."

"Well, I'm off vervain. If you get hungry, you can always…feed from me."

Damon felt his entire being stiffening in both surprise and arousal. Tempting, so very tempting. But no, he couldn't. For more than one reason.

"You lost enough blood for today. How about you keep what's left inside your body, huh? Maybe next time."

Claire nodded and then went to her wardrobe to start packing. Damon watched her for a few, long moments before shaking his head and jumping out of the window.

Claire Forbes, what are you doing to me?