Forever; The Devil's Angel

"Damon," Stefan called him almost quietly knowing he was prone to burst any time and he was sure he wouldn't be able to handle that. He knew his brother and ever since Mia had entered his life, he felt more close to his brother than he had in a long time and it was good, the understanding between them. It wasn't exactly like the old times when they were humans but it wasn't an impending doom it was since Damon swore to ruin his life.

"Don't," Damon shrugged his hand away and started to walk away from Stefan. He didn't need it; the brotherly advice or sympathy or whatever it was Stefan wanted to offer. He couldn't wrap his head around anything. Mia shrugged him off and asked Cam to help her. Cam? The very one guy Damon had asked her to go for when he broke up with her saying they were always meant to be and he himself wasn't good for her. What the crap?

"Where are you going?" Stefan asked resigned as he raked his hand through his hair.

"You know what she said?" Damon turned around to face his brother sharply unaware of the drama he was creating in the Grill. "That she doesn't have a home. She can't go back up and now, she can't stay with me...or you or Elena or anybody. You realize how messed up is that? I can't even give her any sort of damn protection. I can't even assure her that it'll be fine."

"Damon," Stefan tried again.

"Don't Damon me," he blared knitting his eyebrows, "I shouldn't have listened to her," he said decidedly.

"Samantha?" Stefan asked confused. If he could only know what was running through his head.

"She's in it with Cam," he said as if finally coming to a conclusion, "That's it," he let out a humorless laugh and Stefan looked at him with concern. He was losing it. Totally losing it.

"Come on. Let's go outside and tell me what you’re thinking," Stefan said pushing him towards the exit.

"I'm hungry," Damon said out of nowhere and Stefan looked at him with wide eyes, "I need it." And Stefan knew what he needed and he wasn't sure if it was a very good idea.

"You think, you can handle it?" Stefan asked.

Damon scoffed, "I've been there before, Stef and look I don't need any tips from the very pronounced ripper of all times," he smirked and bumped his shoulder as he walked away from him, "I wouldn't go on a rampage," he turned around to wink at Stefan before resuming his walk knowing well Stefan would follow him for babysitting he didn't wanted.

"Hey, you know where Mia could go?" he asked causally without turning around aware of Stefan walking behind him.

"Why?" Stefan asked quickly and then he came to a sudden stop, making Damon stop and turn around to look at his wide eyes and furrowed brows, a frown on his face, "You're not going to kill Cam, Damon," he scolded in a stern voice. That was the only thing he could come up with adding everything that happened in the grill and what Damon had to say about it.

"Wasn't planning on it," Damon remarked shrugging his shoulder, "well, but now that you mentioned it..." He smirked at Stefan and let the sentence hang between them.

"What's wrong with you?" Stefan shook his head.

"Nothing," Damon said as if it was the most absurd thing he had ever heard.

"Then what have you from brooding to I don't know, 'I have it all figured out and I'm gonna nip the evil in bud' mood?" He raised his brows challenging him.

Damon rolled his eyes, "I like the whole new expression," Damon wiggled his hands, "Very original," he remarked and chuckled.

"What are you doing?" Stefan asked tired of running around in circles. It wasn't his thing and it was never Damon's thing unless he was trying to get some kind of reaction from him and he wasn't sure what kind he wanted right now or if he was putting his very own diabolical plans in action and if it was the latter, he was sure they were gonna have problems.

"Talking it out with my little brother," he said and when Stefan looked at him with an 'I don't buy you' look, Damon sighed, "I'm just gonna go and tell her the truth," he said and saw Stefan tense at his words, "It was stupid of me to break up with her in order to keep her safe. What the hell? I mean, who does that? It’s not a Twilight remake, is it now?"

"But what if?' Stefan took a step towards him, ignoring his twilight comment knowing well, it was thrown to get a reaction, "What about Samantha and what she said? You know Mia wouldn't care."

"Oh, I know she wouldn't," he clarified with an amused expression, "but she will if I tell her that instead of her life, it's mine that would be in danger."

Stefan was taken aback with his statement. He was so sure of himself, of everything. "You have it all figured out, don't you?"

"Yep," Damon exclaimed, "I'm a genius," he smirked as he gave him thumbs up.

"But what about the Maya thing she saw in the grills today?" Stefan questioned, "She was hurt that you were flirting with her, with Maya of all people."

"I'll tell her the truth," Damon shrugged as if it was no big deal, "I mean, she'll understand that I was just prying Katherine's whereabouts from her."

"By flirting with her?" Stefan raised his eyebrows.

"In the only way I knew she would give it up," he retorted with an impatient scowl on his face.

"And you think it'll work?" he asked.

"Yes, Stefan. It will. I can't let Cam win this. I have to fight for her," he replied and looked at Stefan keenly as he saw Stefan straighten up, his eyebrows knitted together. He was looking at him skeptically, obviously he didn't get it.

"What do you mean, you can't let Cam win this. Win what?" He had no idea what was going on and the answers Damon gave him only screwed with his mind.

"Look, I was slow at getting this but I do know now and I have to work this out," Damon clarified but Stefan still didn't get it and by the look on his face, Damon knew he was getting impatient.

"I don't get you," Stefan said honestly.

"Of course you don't, smarty pants," he replied and came to pat Stefan's shoulder with a small smile playing on his lips, "It was all Cam," he said simply.

"What? Why?" Stefan spewed out not believing it. Cam was like the only friend she had, the only one who was able to help her when she went up to the Heavens. He was her pillar of strength and a friend. He just wanted her safe, Stefan was sure Damon had a misunderstanding, mostly probably he had a grudge against Cam knowing Mia went with Cam.

"He loves her," Damon shrugged as he thought about it. That was the only plausible explanation he could think of and it simmered deep in his blood, the sheer irritation he felt by it. His hands itched him to cause some bodily harm to Cam especially after seeing Mia lean into him for support instead of him. He had hurt her, he was aware of that but seeing her with Cam boiled him up with anger and frustration.

He remembered the first time he had met Cam. The image was imprinted in his mind, the way he talked about Mia, the way his eyes shone. He was definitely in love with her...his angel. He had become a good friend of her after she decided to save Cam and Samantha from their supposed 'stuck on Earth' curse but he remembered clearly how he wanted Mia to choose him over Damon.

Cam had said he wanted Mia to choose him so that it would be easy for her to make the choice at the end, so she wouldn't have to decide between the human and the angel, knowing well her destiny rested as an angel but for the first time he thought, why? Why did he care that she wouldn't hurt? Why did he want to make things easy for her? And the answer was easy, simple. It was because he actually loved her. He wasn't only vying to make things better for her but he was struggling for her in his own way.

Samantha was his only trusted friend and he had sent her to set Damon in a quest to keep Mia safe, to keep her away from himself so that Cam could win her over but Heavens forbid, if he'll let them. He knew what was going on. He could handle it. He would tell Mia the truth and she would understand.

Of course, she would understand and he'll hunt Katherine with her. It'll all be fine. It had to be. He and Mia had been through so much together, surely they could handle Cam and Katherine or whatever the crazy world threw at them. It was just like she said, 'as long as they had each other'.
"He, what?" though Stefan was well aware of the Cam situation but he thought it was obvious that Mia unlocked her powers because of Damon. She had chosen him. She loved Damon and not Cam. It was certain that Damon was grasping at the straws to find anything that could taint Cam after Mia's reaction to him in the Grill.

"You got it, brother. Don't act so surprised," Damon commented as he sighed, "I have to tell her, Stefan. She has to know what's going on."

"I don't know..." Stefan started but Damon cut him off tapping his foot continuously on the road. "Don't you have Elena to get home to?"

Stefan tilted his head and thought about it for a moment. He knew Damon was persistent but he still thought that it wasn't a very good idea but looking at him now, it was clear he was miserable and on his breaking point and he surely didn't want Damon to go on a killing spree right now. Mia was what held him together, sane and he wanted him to be sane.

"I knew Mia wouldn't want to come home and she didn't had a place to stay..." Stefan started answering the question he had firstly asked, the one that had led to the crazy Cam theory.

"So?" Damon drew out the word with impatience at his younger brother, his eyes tight, his eyebrows drawn up. He just needed Mia away from Cam. Who knew what the hell that guy was up to and he didn't need her in a mile of him.

"I gave Cam the keys to the Lake House," Stefan said, "it was a safe place and it's peaceful," he shrugged, "and...I figured she needed that."

Damon's face softened at his explanation. Well, his brother wasn't completely useless. "Uh, yeah. Umm, thanks," he mumbled, a small smile playing on his lips as he gave him a nod and turned around.

"I'll come with you," Stefan said which halted Damon in his tracks. He didn't need him to be there. He had to talk with Mia for himself. He didn't need a damn audience to watch the show and admit to Mia that he was wrong and stupid.

"No, I-I need to do it myself, Stefan," Damon said as he bore Stefan watching him cautiously, "Seriously, I'm not gonna kill anyone," he rolled his eyes trying to assure Stefan of his clean intent. "We'll have a little party with you and Elena back at home."

"Right," Stefan nodded skeptically, "Yeah, ok. I'll see you then," he sent him a small smile, his lips thinned into a line. He saw Damon gave him a much appreciated nod as he disappeared into the dark night.

Waiting a beat, Stefan started to follow him. He had a really bad feeling and he wasn't going to leave it like that. The main thought that stuck with him was what if, even after explanation Mia didn't forgive him? He knew he'd go on the rampage then and he wanted to be there when it happened. He hoped to hell it wouldn't happen but there was a chance.

Damon weaved himself through the very familiar forest that was ingrained into his memory. It felt good to run like that after such a long time, to feel the air against his skin as he felt the rush of it. He missed this as a mere warlock. Becoming a vampire on the other hand gave this free moment back to him.

His feet pounded with the damp forest floor increasing the pace of his heart, not because he was strained but for the thrill of it. During his hazy pleasure of running, her name rung out loud and clear. Mia, it struck to him. She was the one he was running for, the one he needed to get to.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, all the while letting his heightened senses guide him through the rough patches in the forest. There was doubt in his mind but then again whenever it came down to her, he was full of doubts and issues that he didn't even want to consider or even admit to himself. What if, was a constant nagging in his mind that was a like a dark cloud spreading and harboring. He pushed his feet, forcing his body to comply with his emotional need to get to her.

The world be damned, his girl was important and her safety was the thing only he could assure. Who else would love or need her the way he did? Which is why he knew he was the best and viable option and solution to make sure she was fine. The rustle in the grass alerted him sending a hard shot of adrenaline in his blood stream as his eyes quickly roamed the surroundings. It could be an animal but in the kind of world he lived in, he wasn't so sure.

He resumed his speed as he tried to ignore the continuous pit pat against the ground behind him. Someone was following him, he was sure and he wondered who. He cautiously slowed down when he heard more thudding, more shuffling of feet. He whipped around to face the oncoming creature, his senses on high alert but there was an eerie silence that hung in the air making his racing heart stand out as the voices he could hear.

The rattling in the bushes took his attention as he swung around and caught a glimpse of shadow that disappeared so suddenly, he thought he was hallucinating. It was then that he felt a pair of arms grab him roughly by the shoulders. Damon's fingers scratched the assaulting arms as he tried to peel them off, his face contorted in pain and concentration to direct his strength towards the attacker.

Taking a deep breath Damon elbowed him forcefully at his side as he doubled over in pain. A sudden burst of vigor flowed through Damon as he punched his opponent square in the face and grabbed him by the collar, jerking him off the ground, bringing him to his eye level. "Who are you, huh?" Damon barked at him, "Who sent you here?"

"I did," a very familiar voice crept up his ear ringing out in his head as his eyes bulged out in shock and in less than a second a pair of hands extended to twist his neck catching him mid breath.
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He heard the cracking sound as his bones crushed under the force and the blackness surrounded him like dark clouds prevailing before the storm. Even as he slipped into unconsciousness, his thoughts resounded one thing. He couldn't reach his angel. He couldn't make it to her, not even when she sat there in oblivion not knowing what was going around her. How the world was cruelly playing them and...constantly?