A Heart Worth Loving

Standing in her gran’s kitchen the following afternoon, Layla stood at the table working on Tyler’s cake for the party and looked up as Stefan entered the room with a smile. Smiling back, she heard her phone chime and picked it up to see a new message from Davis.

‘Meet me tonight. 6 pm. The cemetery.’

‘I’ll be there,’ Layla sent back quickly, putting her phone down and looking up as Stefan spoke.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, just gran making sure that I’m working on the Mayor’s order,” Layla lied, dividing the batter into two tins and placing them in the oven, “I thought you had a date with Elena tonight.”

“I did, but her aunt is having an old boyfriend round for dinner and needed Elena for backup or something,” Stefan told her, “According to Bonnie, Jeremy got roped into it as well.”

“So, you thought you’d come and distract me instead,” Layla added, earning a nod from Stefan and chuckling, “Well, if you’re staying, you can make yourself useful and mix this frosting for me.”

Arranging to meet Stefan at the grill, Layla got some more of the Mayor’s order done and went to meet Davis at the cemetery. She knew that it wasn’t smart to go alone, but this was her plan and she wouldn’t let anyone else got hurt. Spotting Davis waiting near his car, Layla made her way over and froze when she spotted Damon standing with Ric.

“It seems that your friends here wish to help,” Davis told her, motioning to Damon and Ric with his thumb, “They were very... persuasive.”

“I bet they were,” Layla mumbled, “Is this why you wanted me to meet you here?”

“It wasn’t my idea to meet,” Davis replied.

“It was mine,” Damon confessed, stepping forward and slapping Davis on the back, “Good job, you can go now...”

Watching Davis leave, Layla sighed and leaned against an old crypt. Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked at the ground and waited for someone to talk.

“What exactly was your plan, Layla?” Ric inquired after a short pause.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Layla told them with a shrug, “It’s not going to work now.”

“Enlighten us,” Damon added.

“I was going to help Davis get what he wants,” Layla explained with a shrug, “I was going to offer to help Seth regain his magic and convince him to pass the word on to the others...”

“You think that would have worked?” Damon asked.

“I don’t know... maybe,” Layla replied, throwing her hands in the air in frustration, “We’ll never know now.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell us?” Ric stated.

“I made a deal with Davis to keep you all out of it...”

“You truly think that he would have stuck to it?” Ric inquired, “Surely, you’re not that stupid and naïve.”

“Of course not, but I had it under control... I cursed him,” Layla confessed, “If he doesn’t stick to the conditions that we agreed, then he’ll get really sick and won’t get better until he leaves Mystic Falls.”

Running a hand over his face, Damon looked at Layla and shook his head in disbelief. Motioning for Layla to follow, she rolled her eyes and made her way to Damon’s Camaro. Climbing in, she watched as he spoke to Ric and joined her.

“We need to talk.”

“I don’t need a lecture, Damon...” Layla mumbled.

“This isn’t about, Davis or whatever deal you have going with him... this is about us,” Damon replied, “You’ve been avoiding me since we kissed...”

“I haven’t been avoiding you, I’ve been busy working on the Mayor’s order for Tyler’s party tomorrow,” Layla argued, “I still have to finish it...”

“Your plan was a good one you know, I just wish that you’d told us about it and let us help.”

“It wouldn’t have worked if anyone else was involved...” Layla mumbled, “Seth’s not stupid and I needed him to trust me.”

“What do you plan on doing now then?”

“I plan on getting the Mayor’s order ready for tomorrow,” Layla said, not knowing what to do about Davis or Seth, “The rest can wait.”