‹ Prequel: The Devil's Angel
Status: Hope you guys enjoy. Feedback will be appreciated. :)

Forever; The Devil's Angel

Hope Against Hope

It sucked. She knew she had to let go of that but here she was still waiting for the impossible to happen. Her eyes were riveted to the door, glued as if he would come barging in and profess his undying love for her and she was aware of how pathetic she would be because she would forgive him and forget all the pain and hurt. She just hoped she would cross his mind every once in a while so she wouldn't feel so desperate about him returning.

What the hell? She stood up and crossed her arms, her eyes closed but she snapped them open because the only image she could conjure was of her, the person she hated intensely and the same person she saw Damon with. Damon? Her Damon? Well, not so much of hers when he totally dumped her and moved on in a matter of hours. She didn't love him. How could she when he acted like that? But damn him for making her heart swell every time she thought about him. Jerk.

She needed diversion. A major diversion but she couldn't focus on anything. Taking a deep breath, she dropped on the couch and folded her legs beneath her. Raking her fingers through her hair, she picked up a book from the side table and flipped to the page she had been trying to read but just like before, the words were floating around in space with no gravity to set them into her mind. She closed her eyes to adjust herself to pull her mind back into reading.

She was concentrating on the sentence when she heard the unexpected or very much anticipated echo of the door knocking. She let out a small gasp as her hand flew to her chest trying to calm her pacing heart. Could it be who she wanted it to be? Her heart squirmed letting the warm blood flow through her veins making her dizzy with the rush of feelings. With trembling hands she put the book aside and stood on her wobbly legs. Knock, knock. Well, someone was surely impatient.

She quickly tried to assemble her hair into a neat bun, tucking the lose strands behind her ear as she extended her hand to unlock the door and turn the knob. Her eyes enlarged at seeing the visitor and she tried to smile despite the soft pain in her heart, the disappointment that flooded her.

She shook her head. What was she thinking anyway? She was being naive and stupid but there was something about his eyes at the end that she didn't want to ignore. It was a plea, a reminder that he was all that she had thought him to be before...mainly hers but then the image of Maya would resurface and shatter all her hopes.

"You look just as terrible as he made out to be," Samantha smiled considerately and Mia snapped out of her thoughts and forced a small smile on her lips as she gestured her inside. "Did I show up at wrong time? Were you, I don't know, busy?" she asked skeptically.

"I didn't expect you," Mia shook her head, "I didn't know you could come here. That's all."

"Well, Cam told me you could use a friend," Samantha eyed Mia cautiously, "I heard about..." she hesitated when Mia's eyes snapped to her, "you and uh, Damon," she completed, her forehead pinched.

"Yeah," Mia inhaled as she shifted on the couch, "Cam uh, he's a good friend," she said and smiled genuinely but it never reached her eyes, "he's been a great help," Mia said and picked the book waving it to make her point. Cam knew how she loved to read and he had brought her a dozen of different books to kill her time. Too bad, she couldn't drown in them the way she used to.

"Hmm," Samantha rested her head on her fisted hand as she regarded Mia with a smile, "He's a great guy," she remarked and Mia nodded, "Speaking of which, where is he anyway?" she tilted her head and Mia looked around the room as if he would appear from behind the door.
"I-uh, I don't know. He said he was going out," her eyes swept the room again, "I don't actually know how long has he been gone," Mia admitted with an apologizing smile in Samantha's direction who shrugged it off and straightened up as she pointed to the glass of juice placed at the table beside Mia.

"And let me guess," She pointed at Mia accusingly, "He put that glass with specific directions for you to drink and you have yet to follow through?"

Mia let out a small chuckle, "Something like that," she shrugged. "So, how've you been? I thought he wasn't talking to you," Mia asked carefully as to not hurt her feelings.

"I probably deserved it," If Samantha felt bad about Mia asking that question, she did a great job at hiding it, "I did lie to him."

"You withheld the truth," Mia countered softly keeping from hurting her.

"Is that better than lying?" Samantha raised her eyebrows awaiting her answer.

Mia bit her lower lip thinking about her question, "No, I suppose not. Honesty is...well, honesty."

"I know," Samantha agreed with a nod of her head, "But he said he wanted to move past that. I hope he could forgive me."

"He will," Mia rushed to defend him, "He just probably need some time. He does care about you."

Samantha smiled at Mia, "He cares about you more," she said and saw Mia stiffened a little at which she swapped the subject, "But I completely agree. He's good and forgiving. I know that about him," she shrugged, "Something you get to know in about two thousand surplus years," she tipped her head, "Now, will you please drink that before I down it?" she pointed to the juice and Mia leaned forward to the pick the glass and extended it to Samantha.

"You take it," She said, "I don't feel like drinking...or eating," she scrunched her nose. The initial comment of Samantha didn't settle well with Mia. It was as if she was implying something and Mia didn't want to know or understand what. Damon's voice echoed in her head, 'We were never meant to be anyway. You should've chosen him.' and she wanted to hit something so bad.

"Cam's going to be so pissed," Samantha mumbled but took the drink from Mia's hand, "You wanna talk about it?" she asked Mia with a solemn expression.

It took Mia a moment to understand that she was talking about her lack of appetite and thereof, Damon. Mia shook her head and stood up as she faced away from Samantha and her prying gaze. "I'm fine," she said but it was more to herself than Samantha.

Mia whipped around, inhaling a sharp breath when the knock on the door snatched al her attention. Her heart gave a pinch before breaking all speed limits.

She wanted to sprint to the door and she wanted to curse herself for the same thing but she stayed put, glued to her spot as Samantha looked questioningly at Mia whose eyes were fixed on the door. "You wanna get that?" Samantha asked glancing from the door to Mia. Mia took a deep breath and opened her mouth but no word tumbled out. Samantha tilted her head at her and she shook her head.

"No, uh. You can go out, see," Mia replied saving herself from disappointment. Samantha shrugged obviously thinking nothing of it but she knew what had Mia jumping at every knock. That was the reason Cam had called her, asked her to stay with Mia.

Walking swiftly to the door, Samantha pulled open the door revealing a disheveled Stefan, his breathing hard as if he had run a marathon. His hands were both fixed on the side of doors and he seemed to take support from them. "Oh my, Stefan? Are you...what happened? You look..." Samantha started but Mia rushed forward as she heard Stefan's name, her heart palpitating.

"Stefan?" Mia sighed as she took in the sight of him, his clothes drenched in blood, the bags under his eyes told her that the blood on his shirt was his and he was definitely starving, "We don't have blood in here, I guess," she said looking towards the kitchen but moved to support him as he leaned on her and dragged him inside to the couch.

"Mi...Mia," he started, "Da-Damon," he said his name making every bone in her body to freeze. "He did this?" Samantha asked shocked as she pointed to him.

"What happened to him?" Mia asked at the same time Samantha spoke effectively demonstrating she couldn't think wrong of him, that he couldn't do something terrible to his brother.

"What happened, Stefan?" Mia asked and raked her hair, "We need blood. God, we need blood for you." Mia took his phone and stood up as she dialed Elena and waited for her to pick it up.

"They took him," he said, his breathing was getting better but he still had to gulp in the oxygen.

"Who they?" Samantha asked her eyebrows drawn together. Mia froze in her track, cell phone on her ears as she whipped to face Stefan. "What?" she muttered.

"I don't know. They injected vervain and it was so much and," he paused as he replayed the scene in his head. It was simple. Everything was fine. He was following Damon when he felt someone behind him, the sound of their feet was unmistakable but as he turned, someone put the needle in his neck and he immediately felt weak but he didn't remember his impact on the ground. Maybe, he didn't fall or they caught him so he wouldn't make much noise to alert Damon but they bled him out for sure, "I don't think I hit the ground."

"Stefan? Stefan?" Mia pulled out from Stefan's voice to concentrate on the frantic voice of Elena repeating Stefan's name over and over again, "Is everything ok? Stefan?"

"Uh, Elena," Mia almost mumbled and cleared her throat, "I need blood," she said.

"What? Why...where is Stefan?" Elena asked in quick succession.

"He's here. He's fine, Elena. He just needs blood. Can you bring some over?" Mia answered but her mind was stuck at one place. Who would specifically need Damon? Stefan was injected too but they left him there. Damon, on the other hand was missing which meant whoever it was needed Damon and had nothing to do with Stefan. God, he had made such enemies in his time, she couldn't think of who it could be.

"Yeah, ok," Elena said and almost hung up when Mia spoke up, "He really is fine, Elena. He's weak but he's alright. Don't worry," she paused for a moment, "I know you would want to know the truth and that he's ok," she shrugged wishing someone would call her to tell that Damon was fine too, that there was nothing she need to be worried about, that she would see him soon like Elena would with Stefan.

"Thank you," Elena said with a smile and hung up the phone as Stefan looked at Mia with nothing but sympathy in his eyes and Mia gave him a small nod in his direction.

"We'll find him, Mia," Stefan said in the gentlest of voice and Mia tried to smile at him but she couldn't muster it up.

"Who would do that?" she said as she handed Stefan the phone and sat beside him, her hands resting on her knees and Stefan reached to place his hand on hers. "I don't know but we will find him and he'll be alright," he said and squeezed her hand. Mia so wanted to believe that but the sick feeling that settled in the pit of her stomach told her something entirely different.

"Where did it happen?" Samantha cut in.

"Uh," Stefan broke the eye contact with Mia as he turned towards Samantha, "in the forest," he said skeptically regarding Samantha. Damon had spoken a lot of Cam that night but not for a second he had believed him but looking at Samantha now, he put his guards up.

"What was he doing there?" Samantha raised her eyebrows and Stefan saw Mia tense at that revelation, her eyebrows pinched together.

"He umm," Stefan turned to look at Mia who was regarding him seriously, "he wanted to talk to you," his eyes flicked to towards Samantha but quickly returned back to Mia, " He had something important to tell you and...He wanted to see you." Samantha tightened at his reply as her eyes roamed the room looking out for potential threat. He just couldn't blurt out the truth to her, could he?

"What?" Mia asked, a sliver of hope seeding into her heart but Stefan was looking at Samantha, "I didn't know you would be here," he said but Mia heard the sound of accusation in his tone. What was going on? She thought but before Samantha could reply, Mia shook her head, "She's just here for me. I needed cheering up, you know," she shrugged at Stefan and smiled at Samantha, "Cam was nice enough to send her here for me."

"Cam, huh?" Stefan nodded in understanding, "Um, where is he?" he asked looking at Mia.

Mia pinched her lips and shook her head, "I, uh. He told me something. I didn't, uh, pay much attention to it," she admitted with a shrug.
Stefan narrowed his eyes on her, scrutinizing her, thinking where the hell could he be? How could he left Mia like that, especially in the state that she was when she left the Grill? Mia was pacing around the room, her heart frantically beating inside her chest and with every pump, she felt its beat getting stronger and little painful.

She had to do something. She had no idea where to start. Who could do that? She couldn't make it up. Mia gasped aloud when the door opened forcefully and Elena came barging in with a tight, worried expression. Her eyes fell on Stefan immediately as she sprinted across the room into his lap and hugged him to herself, "Are you ok? What happened?" she asked, searching his face.

"I'm fine," he said with a warm and reassuring smile and Mia felt her heart pinched. How she wished for a moment like that with Damon. She shook her head, trying to shake away the thoughts, "It's Damon, I'm worried about," he said.

"What happened?" she asked as her gaze landed on a distraught Mia and Stefan started to explain the whole incident to her. Mia was hung on every word, analyzing it to see if something would give away the identity of the person who was going to die at her hands.

"There's no way to be sure of where he could be," Cam's voice startled everybody as they all stared at him and Mia sighed as she flung herself to him. Cam straightened himself and moved away from the front door he was leaning on, dragging Mia with him. He could see how tense she was, he didn't need to look at her to know that. Tension and worry was rolling off her in waves colliding with the walls of the room.

"Cam. I'm so worried," she said hugging him, "I'm so scared. It feels wrong, Cam. Something feels very wrong," she let the words flow, her throat tight, trying to contain the tears that threatened to spill over.

"It'll be fine," Cam said as he ran his hands on her back. The movement didn't go unnoticed by Stefan. He could see the way he cared for her and the way she had started to rely on him as a friend and Damon's words from earlier whirled in his mind. Stefan shook his head as he stood up with Elena, "I think we should try to find him. I know, he can't die and all but he..."

"Sure can be tortured," Mia completed the sentence as she leaned away from Cam and looked at Stefan, "They could be hurting him," she said in a shaky voice, "We have to find him," she said in a determined voice as she tugged her hair behind her ear and straightened herself. She couldn't sit there and wait for a miracle. She had to find one for herself.

"What do we have to do?" Cam asked Stefan in an all businesslike manner.

"Locater's spell," Elena said simply looking at all of them, "It's the only thing that can work...give us a possible clue to his whereabouts."

"But Bonnie's out of town," Stefan interjected, "She's visiting her mother and it's a quite a drive there."

"Better than sitting around and doing nothing," Cam commented with a shrug and turned to look at Mia who was taking deep breaths, her eyes constantly roaming, trying to find a solution. Cam moved two steps and rotated Mia to himself by her shoulders, "We'll find him and he'll be fine, ok? Don't worry," he promised gently, his thumbs circling the base of her neck in a soothing manner and Mia nodded with a small smile.

"I know he broke up with me," she started in a small voice to Cam, "But I..." She didn't know why she had an urge to explain herself to Cam or anyone for that matter but she didn't want to come out as desperate despite the fact that everything she said or did was a reflection of that desperation, of the worrisome phase she was going through. She couldn't just stop caring for him because he broke up with her or even that he moved on with her sworn nemesis. There was no switch she could turn off.

"You can't just stop loving him, I know. You don't have to explain yourself or why you're worried like hell for him," he said, "It doesn't just go away like that but it'll be fine. You'll be fine," Cam assured her but she wasn't worried about herself, it was him. Sensing the direction of her thoughts Cam spoke up, "He'll be fine. We're all here for him."

"We should get on with it now," Stefan said as he came to stand with Mia. He didn't know why he was bothered by Cam's action. He had always been like that but now everything seemed different, like it served some higher purpose.

Damn Damon for seeding that idea into his mind. Stefan looked straight into Mia's eyes, "He's the most stupid and irrational person ever, you know and he realized it. He's lucky to have you, Mia," he said and shot Cam a look, "That despite everything you still care."

"Of course, I care, Stefan. I'm not him," Mia shot back knowing he was defending his brother for some reason.

"I know. He's an idiot, I admit but he was coming, Mia. He was coming for you because he was worried about you and uh," he hesitated. He wanted to tell her about what she saw in Grill wasn't true but he clamped his mouth shut. It wasn't his place and it wouldn't make much difference. He gave her a pat as he flashed his brows to Elena.

"I have to head back," Samantha said with a frown, "I wish I could stay but..." Mia could hear them all but as a buzzing sound in her background. She was right, she knew it. Hell, she felt him coming. The look in his eyes at the end wasn't a mistake on her part, he actually felt sorry for whatever he had done. He was worried about her. Why? She thought but the main thing was that he didn't mean it, the things he said to her before but then Maya's image polluted her mind again and she fisted her hands together.

"It's ok, Sammy," Cam nodded his head in her direction, "You can go. We'll handle it."

Samantha gave him a nod as she came to hug Mia, "It'll be fine," she said as she waved everybody and made her exit.

"Let's go," Cam announced and Mia's heart stuttered in her chest as she took in a deep breath but the dull pain slowly increased. She drew together her eyebrows held her stomach with her arms. The walls around her were shifting making her see distraught figures, there was a throbbing pain in her head, something she had never felt since she had become an angel. A curtain of blackness fell heavily in front of her blocking her sight of everything as she struggled to keep a grip on reality.

"Are you ok?" Elena asked concerned but Mia closed her eyes and took a calming breath. "I'm fine," she said but she felt her energy simmering on her skin pulling her out the door. "Mia? What's going on?" Cam's voice was urgent, worried but she couldn't find the strength to answer him. All she knew was there was something tugging at heart, beckoning her and she had to answer that.

"Mia?" Cam's voice was blended with Elena's now and suddenly the pain, the sickness, the uneasy feeling evaporated leaving her free and floating and Mia let out a sigh of relief as she opened her eyes and was met with three pairs of concerned eyes.

"I'm ok. I just...I don't know. I felt queasy for a moment there," she said and saw them exchanging looks with each other. Obviously, they didn't believe her but there was nothing she could tell them without sounding like an utterly crazy person, "You guys should go," she said, "We don't have much time. You need to find him."

"You're not coming?" Cam asked, his eyes wide, head tilted.

"I don't...I don't feel well and I don't want to slow you guys down. I'll rest and you go ask Bonnie," she said, "If that's ok?" she looked at them warily.

"We can't leave you alone," Stefan reasoned, "Especially if you're not feeling well."

"No, I'm fine. Just need some sleep," she answered confidently.

"Elena, you stay here. Cam and I will go look for Bonnie," Stefan said to Elena who gave them a nod and came to stand with Mia.

"It's not necessary," Mia commented. She just wanted alone without a baby sitter. She had to figure out her feelings, the one she had never felt before.

"Not an option, Mia," Cam said with a tone of finality in his voice and Mia clamped her mouth shut. There wasn't a delay of a minute before both Stefan and Cam were out the door and Mia dropped herself to the couch, her heart beat getting faster.

"What's going on, Mia?" Elena asked as she sat beside her and Mia turned to look at her. "I don't know," she shrugged, "I think, I should go sleep," she said, "Will you be..."

“Yeah, I'll be fine. Go, rest," Elena replied and folded her legs beneath her. She gave Mia a smile and took a book from the side as she started to go through the pages and Mia gave her a nod as she made her way up the stairs. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep beforehand which was why she didn't try to toss and turn around much.

It was childish, so childish that despite the circumstances a giggle escaped her lips as she set the pillows on the bed and blanketed it making it look as if she was sleeping peacefully before she opened the window and looked down to the ground, trying to estimate the fall.

She could so easily open up the wings but she knew the whooshing sound of air displacement would give her away. She smiled at it...her ninja like thinking, reminded of when she used to eavesdrop on Rose and Trevor's conversations. Was it as long ago as it seemed? Like another century? Another life?

Her heart dropped at it but she took a deep breath trying to assimilate the same feeling she felt before, it was sick but she knew somehow, it would lead to where her heart wanted to be. Cam had told her once that her energy was connected to Damon's which was she couldn't see his aura. She was sure now that it was his energy beckoning her. No matter how farther he ran from her, he couldn't rip that connection away and for that she was thankful...at least for now. Maybe, she needed some strong motive to feel that and what else could be a stronger inspiration than to help him.

Every hair on her body stood as she gripped the window pane, her heartbeat booming, pounding in her ears. She knew she wouldn't get hurt but it was the first time she was doing something like that and it felt exhilarating. She was the nice girl, the one who followed rules...until Damon and this, she knew he would be definitely proud of. The dull ache in her heart soared to life as with one deep breath, she jumped, her eyes closed forming the perfect picture of his face that gave her the needed strength.

She landed on her feet but the shooting pain tripped her over as she met the ground and rolled to her back, her breathing hard and fast as she looked at the twinkling stars shimmering in the dark, illuminating the night sky.

She stood up as the pain subsided and tilted her head to look at the window above. She needed all the time she could get before they figured out that she had run. She didn't them on her trail. It was something she had to do for herself. It also fell on the fact that she didn't know the kind of danger she was putting herself in and she didn't want her friends to be a part of anything like that.

She was a guardian for God's sake. Surely, she could do something for herself without Cam's guidance. She didn't know if it was stupid or brave but she put herself in the second category, the world could think whatever they wanted to think. She had a job to do and she was gonna make sure that she didn't fail at this one, she thought as she ran into the dark night, the others...oblivious.
♠ ♠ ♠
Progress - Mutemath
Subscribe/Comment/Recommend? Let me know what you think?