A Heart Worth Loving

Sat in the Grill the following day, Layla watched as Brandon quietly drew in his book and smiled at the look of concentration on his face. Glancing up as someone knocked her shoulder, she scanned the room and tensed slightly when she spotted Seth watching her from the bar.

“Hey Matt,” Layla called, motioning for him to keep an eye on Brandon and cautiously approaching Seth.

“He sure does look like you,” Seth commented, throwing back the drink that the bartender had placed in front of him and raising his hand for another.

“You didn’t come here to discuss the family resemblance I share with my brother... I can get you what you really want.”

“The hunter's identity?”

“Not that,” Layla added, “I can get your powers back, but this is the only offer I’ll be making...”

“You can do that?” Seth asked suspiciously.

“I can do it, but there’s one problem and it’s not a small one,” Layla continued, leaning against the bar, “In order to undo a spell like that, I have to re-create the environment exactly and that will require having the rest of the coven present.”

“That is a problem, but one that I can easily fix,” Seth stated, “Do you have a place in mind?”

“The old crypts in the forgotten part of the cemetery should do the job.”

“Sounds good to me, the full moon is in three days... we should do it then.”

With a nod, Layla returned to where Brandon was chatting happily with Matt and finished her drink in silence. Dropping Brandon off home, she made her way over to the Salvatore house and found that Davis was already waiting for her.

“It’s started,” Layla told him, “Seth will be getting the other coven members here in time for the full moon in a few days, I’ll meet them at the old crypts at the cemetery and trap them inside for you to deal with.”

“Once I have them, I will fulfill my end of the deal and leave Mystic Falls,” Davis added, standing up and leaving without another word.

“Do you really think that it’ll work?” Stefan inquired.

“Probably not, but it’s the only plan I have and it kills two birds with one stone,” Layla replied with a shrug.

“What do you need us to do?” Damon said, perching on the arm of the sofa and watching her closely.

“At the moment... nothing, I need to figure a few things out and make sure that I can pull this off without a hitch.”

Unable to shift the anxiety that had taken root in her chest, Layla headed home and joined her gran in the living room.

“What’s bothering you, sweetie?”

“I need to ask you to do something, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to answer the questions I know you’ll have...”

“What is it that you need me to do?”

“Take Brandon away somewhere for the week.”

“Does this have anything to do with the hunter and that man from your mother’s coven?”

“It does and I have a plan to get rid of them both...”

“I’ll take Brandon to the summer house, but you have to promise me that you will be careful?”

“I promise.”

Hugging her gran, Layla went up to her room and wasn’t surprised to find Damon waiting for her. Closing the door behind her, she slipped off her shoes and sat on the bed without a word.

“The conversation with your gran went well,” Damon commented, moving from his position at the window and sitting beside her.

“You do know that it’s rude to earwig, right?” Layla teased with a playful glare.

“I just wanted to know what mood you were going to be in,” Damon replied, “Happy Layla is normally fine with me turning up in her room unannounced, angry Layla, on the other hand, doesn’t appreciate it too much and sad Layla doesn’t really care.”

“Have you been stalking me?” Layla joked, although the fact that he knew her moods made her feel good, “That’s frowned upon you know.”

“I can’t help watching you,” Damon whispered in her ear, “You intrigue me.”

Chuckling, Layla put a film on and curled into Damon’s side as he wrapped his arm around her. Looking up at him, she pressed a quick kiss to his lips and returned her attention to the screen with a smile.