(1) Just Magic (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Seventy-Six

A/N - SO AS I HAVE BEEN PLANNING FOR SEASON EIGHT AND THE SIRENS, I HAVE ALTERED THE NATURE OF THE SCARLET WITCH ASPECT. SO FOR THIS, ALL THE 'SCARLET WITCH' DOPPELGANGERS HAVE RED MIST INCLUDING ALLY AND IDA, ALONG WITH A COUPLE OF ADDED ONES WHICH YOU GUYS WILL SEE WHEN I POST BOOK TWO, EVENTUALLY (OR NOT TOO FAR OFF, GIVEN THE SPEED I AM WORKING THROUGH THIS ONE)

Outside the boarding house, Stefan opens the garage door to reveal a tarp covering something car shaped beneath. Matt moves closer to him as the other linger back to watch on instead. Cassandra is bored. She sighs and looks at Tyler who rolls his eyes slightly. This isn't his cup of tea either. He notices Cassandra's gaze on him and he pulls a face, she fights a smirk, she really does, but....it gets through.

"Prepare yourself, my friend," Stefan tells Matt who raises an eyebrow. Stefan removes the tarp to reveal the car beneath.

"Wait, how do you have this?" Matt asks in awe.

"Got passed down through the family" Stefan answers.

"Why don't you...I mean...Why don't you drive it?"

"Well, it doesn't run. I mean, it's not that I could figure out" Stefan admits.

"Why would you keep a car that doesn't run?" Caroline ponders.

"Be more of a girl right now?" Matt teases, Caroline laughs.

"Hey, want to come take a look at this for me?" Stefan asks Matt from where he has lifted the car hood.

"Elena, remember the old Camaro you're dad used to have?" Matt counters.

"Of course" Elena agrees.

"I built and rebuilt that engine 20 times" Matt continues.

"Wow" Stefan offers.

"I don't like sports cars; they're too hard to make out in" Caroline complains.

"It wasn't that bad" Matt argues whilst looking at Elena. It turns a little awkward. Caroline leaves the garage, storming out. Cassandra's not surprised. It's going to be awkward between them for a while. Elena goes after her. Cassandra rolls her eyes and then moves to plant herself on the grass. Tyler moves to join her. Neither of them is really car people.

"I'm sorry man" Matt offers Stefan.

"No, no, no. Don't worry about it. You and Elena, you guys have a history and ignoring it doesn't do anybody any good"

"She's good with you. You know, I wasn't sure but she's happy and I'm glad" Matt admits and then shares a look with Stefan. "Alright, let's take a look at this" Matt turns his attention to the car instead.

.........

Later: Tyler laughs with Matt as they, Caroline and Cassandra walk back into the Boarding House together, Caroline has her arm looped with Cassandra's. They also happen to interrupt Damon and Kelly who are making out against the wall.

"Mom?!" Matt scolds. Kelly pulls away from Damon.

"Oh my god, Matt! Oh my god." Kelly picks up her things and leaves, brushing past Matt. Elena and Stefan walk into the house to join them.

"I got to..." Matt tells Caroline who nods in agreement.

"It's fine, just go," Caroline assures him.

"I'll take her home," Tyler adds.

"Thanks, man" Matt counters and then hands back the car keys to Stefan before he leaves. Caroline, Elena and Stefan look at Damon. He drinks and stares at Cassandra, raising an eyebrow at her. She clenches her jaw and shakes her head.

...........

Once everyone has left, Stefan walks back into the house and into the living room where Damon is drinking. It wasn't his best plan. But it was a plan. He tried to apologise. Cassandra didn't take it. So he thought he'd make her jealous. Maybe that would do something. Anything. It wasn't a good plan, he'd only come up with it after he'd had a looootttt to drink. So it was actually a terrible idea. He doesn't know what he was thinking. Stefan gives him a look.

"Don't look at me like that" Damon scolds Stefan.

"Are you crazy?"

"Save the lecture. Look..." Damon starts but is interrupted when Frederick jumps through the window, jumps on Stefan and stabs him with a piece of glass. Damon pushes him off Stefan and starts to fight with Frederick. Stefan removes the piece of glass. Bethanne arrives and begins to fight with Stefan. She pushes him to the floor before she is yanked backwards by a red mist. Standing in the doorway, Ally manipulates her hands and holds Bethanne up from the ground. She turns a glare on Frederick.

"Leave" She growls at him. He takes a step towards her instead. Ally thrusts out her hand and Bethanne's heart explodes from her chest and flies into Ally's open hand. "Leave now!" Ally snaps. Frederick looks at Damon and Stefan and then looks at Bethanne, who is dead. He leaves. Stefan looks at Damon. Ally drops Bethanne's body with a thud and turns to Stefan and Damon. Stefan frowns a little.

"Ally?" He asks.

"Damn it" Damon complains and pushes himself to his feet.

"Seems the others have freed themselves" Ally offers and throws down the heart. She lifts her hand, stares at the blood there before she licks up her palm with a hum. Stefan looks at Damon for an explanation here.

................

Tyler leans against the doorframe of Cassandra's bedroom watching her as she kicks off her shoes. He knows her pretty well. They dated for a few years, and friends for much longer, so yeah, he does know her. So he knows just what is going on with that expression on her face.

"You really like him, don't you?" Tyler asks her, she gives him a look.

"We're not talking boys" She argues as she shrugs out of her jacket. "It's weird."

"Come on" He stops her. "That look. I know your jealous angry look, Cas..." He points out and she shrugs. "It's been months, you can say you like another dude"

"It's not that simple, Tyler, and I can't talk about it with you" She argues and moves closer to him. "It's too weird"

"Have you kissed?" He inquires. She sighs and closes her eyes.

"Yeah" She whispers.

"And?" He asks. "What was it like?" She gives him a weird look. Seriously talking about this with Tyler is strange.

"Tyler" She warns him.

"Was it better than mine?" He asks, she sighs a little. He steps closer and searches her eyes, his hand coming up to her cheek before he kisses her. And it's a perfectly nice kiss. It is nice. But it's not the same spine-tingling, heat rousing kiss that she got from Damon. Tyler pulls back and gives her a look. "So?" He asks, she shrugs. It was fine. But it was nothing like the way she felt when Damon kissed her. That was fire and heat and passion. Tingly stuff. With Tyler, it's just fine, not bad, but it's not the same.

"It was fine" She answers.

"Really?" He asks. "I put in some real effort there" He teases, she shakes her head and pushes at him. "Was it better with him?"

"Yeah" She admits, he nods.

"I think that tells you what you already know deep down, Cas" He offers and shrugs.

"It's not that simple" She argues and shakes her head. She can't just give in. She can't simmer the anger and the hurt. But she does like him. A lot. Damon is....different. And she knows they share...shared something. "And since when did you get so weirdly philosophical?" He shrugs a little and gives her a sad smile.

"It's okay to move on, Cas, I hurt you, and you will never forgive me for that, I know...but maybe we can go back to the way things were before we started dating, one day, maybe?" He asks her, she nods in agreement.

"Yeah, maybe"