Bloodstream | Closed.

Evie made a small of annoyance as she woke up. Her head was throbbing from the obvious hangover she had and whatever was in bed besides her was just radiating some type of smugness that made going back to sleep nearly impossible. She sighed softly as she opened her eyes, beyond shocked when she saw Damon Salvatore of all people next to her in the unfamiliar bed, shirtless and smirking as his cold blue eyes stared at her.

Evie quickly covered her body with the blankets, quickly realizing what she had done. “Fuck,” she cursed loudly. “We didn’t! This didn’t happen!” The redhead scrambled out of Damon’s bed, keeping the blanket wrapped around her body as she began looking around his room for all her clothes. She couldn’t believe she had been that drunk she had a one night stand with Damon Salvatore of all people.

---

Stefan sighed softly as he sat at the Mystic Grill with Caroline and Marie, another one of Elena’s friends. She had up and disappeared only leaving a letter saying she would be back one day. The younger Salvatore brother knew he should be out looking for her but a piece of him was screaming to let her go; that she would never truly be happy or safe with him.

“Stefan,” Caroline exclaimed. “We’re you even listening to Marie’s idea?”

As much as the blonde had encouraged Elena and Stefan’s relationship she could tell now more than ever they needed to move on from each other.

Damon chuckled as he watched her. “You don’t have to cover yourself,” he said, sitting up and leaning back against the headboard. “I’ve already seen everything. And damn, it was hot.” The smirk didn’t leave his face as he casually sat and watched her scramble around the room to pick up her clothes. Eventually, he stood up, reaching for his boxers and pulling them on. He smirked as he pulled her bra off the lampshade, dangling it off his finger in front of her. “Looking for this?” He found it charming that she seemed so embarrassed by the whole situation, considering how badly she’d wanted him the night before. She’d practically begged for him. Though, that was just for his ego. He would have slept with her either way.

---

Marie frowned slightly, flinching when Caroline raised her voice. Sometimes she could be so extra. “Stefan,” she said softly. “You know, you don’t have to be here if you don’t want to.” She knew how torn up he was over Elena, it was obvious, even if he tried to hide it. Ever since Stefan had come back to Mystic Falls, she’d had eyes for him. But of course he’d fallen for Elena, just like every other boy that went to their school. Of course she was jealous, but at the same time, Elena was one of her best friends, so she supported her and Stefan’s relationship. “You don’t have to act normal, like everything’s okay. We know it’s not.”

Evie slid on her underwear and jeans, glaring at Damon when he said there was no point in her covering up. “Just because you did once doesn’t mean I plan on letting it happen again,” she snapped. She kept looking around his room, finding her shirt but not her bra. The redhead was ready to give up when she heard Damon’s voice again and saw her bra dangling inbetween his finger tips. She walked over to Damon, reaching for it and frowning when he moved it just barely out of her reach above them.

“Damon I will set you on fire,” she snapped. “Give it back!”

Evie couldn’t believe she had slept with Damon. It was already bad enough he was a vampire but he was also a bad person on top of that. She just hoped her mistake never got back to Bonnie because she knew the other witch would never forgive her for what she had done. The thought of losing Bonnie over something so stupid already had the redhead’s heart aching a little.

---

Stefan shook his head, his own way of quietly insisting he was fine while he looked for the energy to lie yet again about being fine. “I need to get back into the swing of things,” he insisted. “We has this lunch planned and we all know someone,” he paused to glance over at Caroline. “Wouldn’t have let me live it down if I hadn’t.” He took a sip of his soda, giving both Marie and Caroline a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine,” he promised. “Honest.”

“So does that mean you both will still help me plan the decade dance,” Caroline asked. “Bonnie and Evie aren’t answering their phones and you two are the only other people besides Matt I trust to help with everything.”

Stefan glanced over at Marie, noticing the other blonde was starting to become a little too much for her. If there was thing everyone could agree on Caroline has a very loud and extreme personality even before she became a vampire. “I’ll help if Marie will,” he agreed. He didn’t think he could handle being alone with Caroline especially with how she couldn’t seem to stop talking when any ounce of awkwardness happened.

Damon smirked. “You wouldn’t,” he said. “Because that’s dark magic. And your little witch girlfriend would never forgive you for that.” He lowered her bra so that it was within her reach, chuckling when she finally snatched it from him. He watched her put it on, followed by her shirt. “You know, I never took you for a cheater. You always seemed so innocent.” Maybe that was why he was attracted to her. It was no fun when the girls gave themselves up to him without question. It was all about the chase. Nothing got him off more than having to work for the girls he liked. Even if it was easier for them to just fall into his lap.

---

Marie glanced at Stefan and then back at Caroline, nodding her head. “Yes, I’ll help,” she said. “What decade is it this time?” The idea crossed her mind to ask Stefan to go with her, even just as friends, but she thought that it was too soon for that. He was still constantly thinking about Elena. She didn’t want to rush him or make him feel uncomfortable. She’d had a bad breakup before and she knew what the aftermath was like, so she sympathized with him. Although, her ex didn’t just up and leave without saying goodbye. She couldn’t imagine how that must feel, to be abandoned.

“We aren’t dating,” Evie snapped as turned her back to Damon and put her shirt and bra on. “Besides if it’s you I’m sure Bonnie wouldn’t mind.” The redhead honestly hadn’t ever had a problem with Damon and had at one time been attracted to him but after he kept doing things that hurt Bonnie she began to dislike him strongly. “And if you even think about telling her I’ll make sure you never get laid ever again.”

Evie was sure there had to be some type of spell that could deliver what she promised and if she lost Bonnie over a drunken mistake there would be hell to pay. Even if the two witches wouldn’t admit it to each other they were in love and belonged together. “Look I know you like causing problems when you’re bored but just do something right for once and just don’t.”

She tossed Damon’s blanket back on his bed, running her fingers through her long red hair and sighed softly. “If you thought Bonnie and I were dating why would you even take me home with you,” she asked. “Do you really enjoy hurting everyone that much?”

---

“I think maybe the seventies,” Caroline suggested. “Other people wanted the eighties but I refused to be stuck wearing those god awful neons or staring at them all night.”

Stefan took another sip of his drink to hide a chuckle that escaped his lips. Caroline was definitely entertaining at times when she didn’t mean to be. “So what did you have in mind for decorations if we did that,” he asked. He was genuinely curious if she’d pull the you were alive during all of that so that where you’re helping card again like she had during the last decade dance.

Damon raised an eyebrow. “Do you really not remember?” he questioned. “You were the one begging me to take you home. Said something about needing to forget a certain witch.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know why you’re so upset. You enjoyed every minute of it. And it went on for quite some time.” He reached for his pants, pulling them on before he picked up his shirt. He looked up at her and smirked. “I can keep this off if you would prefer.”

---

“Oh, fun,” Marie chirped, smiling. “I love the seventies.” Now she couldn’t wait to pick an outfit and do her hair. She’d seen pictures of her parents in the 70’s and the fashion of that time was so cute. “Well, it has to be disco themed, right? It’s not the seventies without a little bit of disco. Or hippies. We could hang a disco ball and make giant paper mache flowers. There has to be a lot of bright colors.”

Evie looked away from Damon when he mentioned her begging for it. She couldn’t believe she had been that upset last night. The redhead had also been drunk so she had no idea if he was lying or not. She grabbed her shoes off the floor, moving to sit on his bed to put them on when Damon made the comment about keeping his shirt off.

“Why are you such a pig,” she snapped.

Evie put her other shoe on, getting up off the vampire’s bed and glared at him. “You know before you started hurting everyone I care about I actually felt kind of bad for you,” she scoffed. “Now all I can think is you deserve every bad thing that happens to you.”

---

Stefan couldn’t help the small smile that formed on his lips when Marie started getting all excited about the dance. He wasn’t sure if anyone else in their group of friends noticed but anytime the blonde would talk excitedly about something she’d get this little twinkle in her eye. The vampire actually enjoyed seeing it as often as he could.

“That’s what I need you guys for,” Caroline stated. “I refuse to let this dance look tacky.”

Damon’s smirk faltered slightly, and he stared at her. He didn’t need people to feel sorry for him. He was the way he was and he liked being this way. At least, that’s what he’d been telling himself for so long that now he finally actually believed it. He didn’t need to change or be the person everyone wanted him to be. He was just fine the way he was. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” he mumbled before leaving his room. He needed a drink, already, to get his mind off things. He spent most of his days drunk anymore, hating people too much to stay sober around any of them.

---

Marie smiled slightly at Caroline. One of her best qualities was how passionate she was about her projects. She glanced back at Stefan, biting her bottom lip gently. “What’s your favorite thing about the seventies, Stefan?” she asked. She didn’t mean it in a “oh, you were alive then” way, she genuinely was curious as to what his favorite thing was. He’d experienced so much, and she just wanted to know about all his fun experiences and adventures. She wanted to know him more, like Elena knew him.

Evie frowned, watching as Damon walked out of his room. Had she actually hurt the Damon Salvatore’s feelings? The redhead finished putting her shoes on, following after the vampire and gently touched his shoulder to get his attention. She had quickly found him making himself a drink of what she was assuming was bourbon.

“I know I have no right to ask you this but please don’t tell Bonnie about this,” Evie mumbled.

---

Stefan say back in his seat for a moment, contemplating his answer before he looked at Marie, giving her his complete and total attention as he answered. “Besides the music all of the political movements and changes for equality and better lives,” he answered honestly. “A lot of great people are formed in the face of diversity.”

The brunette took a sip of his drink and glanced over at Caroline, fully expecting her to ramble about something related to the dance but was kind of shocked when she seemed to be busier with her phone than paying attention to them.

“I think I still have a few photo albums with some photos if you ever wanted to take a look,” Stefan offered. “Get a better idea at authentic fashion to the time.”

Damon glanced over his shoulder at her for a moment before looking back at the glass in his hand. “Why shouldn’t I?” he questioned. “You’re the one who wanted to sleep with me. It’s not like I forced you.” He took a swig of his bourbon before setting the glass down. He turned to look at her, crossing his arms over his chest. “Maybe you shouldn’t have had sex if you didn’t want Bonnie to find out. Did you ever think about that?”

---

Marie smiled and nodded her head. “Yeah, that’s great,” she said. “I would love that.” She glanced over at Caroline, who was busy on her phone. She figured it must be Tyler so she stood up from the table and looked back at Stefan. “Hey, wanna go for a walk?” She didn’t know what was going on between Caroline and Tyler, but she obviously was preoccupied with whatever it was, and she personally wouldn’t mind having a bit of alone time with Stefan.

Evie glared at Damon when he made his comment about not having sex. The redhead finding herself losing her temper with the vampire and shoved him roughly, causing the glass tumbler on the table behind him to fall and break.

“I swear to god Damon,” she snapped. “If you even think about it I will make your life worse than you made Stefan’s.”

Evie shoved the vampire again, honestly a little shocked he hadn’t stopped her yet. “Just because Elena left you and Stefan doesn’t mean no one else in this town can fall in love and be happy!”

---

Stefan nodded. “Sure,” he agreed. “I could use some fresh air.” The vampire had honestly never had a decent amount of alone time with Marie and now he was about to. Stefan has to admit to himself if he hadn’t become enamored with Elena the way he had he probably would have tried to pursue Marie.

The blonde was kind and thoughtful and somehow managed to make little things matter in a way Stefan had long forgotten how to.

“So how have you been,” he asked. “I feel like we haven’t really talked since Evie and Bonnie kind of became a thing.”

Damon glared at her, using his inhuman speed to have her pinned to the wall in less than a second, his hand wrapped around her throat. “Would you just fuck off?” he yelled at her. “Do you get off on playing with people’s emotions? Is that fun for you?” He narrowed his eyes at her as he tightened his grip on her throat before letting go of her. “Get out. Now.” He stepped away from her and went to clean up the mess she’d caused.

---

Marie nodded her head. “I’ve been okay,” she said. Sometimes with all the drama her friends were going through, she felt a bit plain, and in the background. So far she hadn’t really had her own drama, she just helped everyone deal with their own. “It’s been kind of hard since Elena disappeared. You know, she was the glue that kept us all together. Now it just kind of feels like we’re all drifting apart from each other. Caroline is always busy with Tyler, Bonnie and Evie are off doing their own thing. I feel alone sometimes.”

Evie moved to touch her neck as she continued glaring at Damon, tears now forming in her eyes. It had been a long time since she had been so angry she cried and the redhead had been trying to stay strong for her friends; finally everything was coming out she had been bottling up.

“I play with people’s emotions,” she snapped. “What about you?”

Evie quickly wiped away a tear that fell and shook her head. “I got drunk and made a mistake,” she stated. “But you can’t blame alcohol for hurting Bonnie to get Katherine back or for using Caroline for information and as a blood bag.”

The redhead wasn’t even upset at Damon anymore. She had been holding in so hurt for so long and now it was all coming out.

---

Stefan nodded, having noticed the same thing in the group of friends since Elena had left. “She wasn’t the only reason you all were friends,” he reassured her. “She may have been the reason you all became friends but not the reason you still all are.” The vampire was extremely confident with his statement. It was probably one of the few things he was still sure about.

“Everyone just feels lost right now,” Stefan admitted. “I know I do.”

Damon turned to look at her, his anger taking over him. His eyes turned red, his fangs poking out of his gums. He growled lowly, his hands balling into fists, crunching the glass that was in his palm. He didn’t even feel the glass digging into his skin. “Get out!” he screamed at her. If she didn’t leave, he would end up doing something he actually would regret. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her, but his anger was taking over right now, and after long, he might not be able to control himself.

---

Marie frowned slightly. She didn’t like hearing that he felt lost. Sure, she did, but for her it was easy to kind of push to the back burner or just ignore. But she knew Stefan felt things ten times more than everyone else. “It might not mean much to you, Stefan,” she started, stopping and turning to look at him. “But I’m here if you need me. You know you can always talk to me.” She wished there was more she could do to help him, but sometimes she felt so useless.

Evie’s eyes widened when she saw Damon’s eyes turn and his fangs. She quickly ran out of the room and out of the Salvatore house. The redhead climbed into her car, shocked that it was even there but grateful it was so she could drive home.

---

Stefan gave Marie a small smile when she said she was there if he needed to talk. He knew he had a lot of people he could talk to but being able to talk to Marie seemed to offer him some comfort. “Thank you Marie,” he said. “I really appreciate that.”

Damon closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself down. He let the glass fall from his hand, dripping blood on the carpet. Stefan wouldn’t be happy about that. He sighed heavily as he went to the kitchen to pick the tiny shards out of his skin. He refused to believe what his heart was telling him, that he had feelings for Evie. Impossible. He was Damon Salvatore, he didn’t get feelings for people.

---

Marie started walking with him again, thinking to herself. She didn’t want to bring up Elena anymore. She wanted to find a way to distract him so that he would stop thinking about her. Even if it was just for a little while. She glanced up at him after a moment and smiled. “I think I was promised some pictures from the seventies,” she teased, biting her lip.

Evie drove home, sighing softly when she saw Bonnie waiting for her outside her place. The redhead closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before she got out of her car. She knew her and Bonnie had a lot to talk about after their fight.

---

Stefan chuckled, smiling at the blonde before he pulled his keys out of his pocket. “I don’t think you’re ready,” he joked. “They’re pretty great.” The younger Salvatore brother was definitely enjoying not think about Elena for once.

Bonnie sat outside the house, her arms crossed over her chest. She’d gotten a nice little text from Matt that morning, letting her know that he’d seen Evie getting a bit too close to Damon the night before. She wasn’t happy. Sure, they’d had a fight, but that didn’t mean she didn’t still care about the other girl. She waited for Evie to approach her before she started grilling her. “Where were you last night?” she asked.

---

“Oh, I’m so ready,” Marie joked, grinning. She couldn’t wait to see these pictures of Stefan from the seventies. She could only imagine what he might have looked like or dressed like. When they got to his car, she climbed into the passenger seat beside him, wondering if maybe now she should ask him to go to the dance with her since he seemed to not be thinking about Elena. “Hey, Stefan?”

“Out drinking at the Mystic Grill,” Evie stated. The redhead walked past Bonnie and unlocked her front door. “If you’re going to keep yelling at me can we at least do it inside so I can make us some food.”

---

“Yeah,” Stefan questioned as he looked over at Marie. The vampire didn’t know how he had never really noticed how pretty Marie was. The blonde was always someone Stefan had been drawn to be never in the way he was feeling now.