El wrote down the order of the couple that sat in front of her. “I’ll have that out for y'all as soon as I can.” The two thanked her as she walked off to the kitchen. “Yo, Sall!”

“What!” A muffled voice from the kitchen shouted.

“Can you get me an American cheeseburger with no cheese and no pickles, and A crispy chicken sandwich with grilled chicken instead!” El shouted back as she placed the ticket on the rack.

A middle aged man with graying hair poked his head out from behind the oven. “Why didn’t they order a hamburger and a grilled chicken sandwich, they’s cheaper!”

El shrugged. “Don’t look at me, I tried explaining it but they weren’t having it.”

“Idiots.” The cook scoffed.

“You’re telling me.” The witch snickered and went to pass by a short blonde who caught her attention.

“You need to get table number seventeen.” She said.

El looked at her with a questioning look. “Isn’t that your table?”

“Yeah, but you need to get it.” The blonde gestured her head at the person sitting at the table, causing El to turn and look. Blinking her eyes rapidly at the utter stupidity of the man sitting there that obviously compelled the poor girl.

El’s head fell and sighed. “Okay.” She then turned to look at the girl once again. “Why don’t you get some water, Brittany.” The blonde now known as Brittany just nodded and walked away, but not before patting El on the shoulder. 

The doppelganger witch pushed her shoulder’s back and walked over to Damon with her customer service smile. “Hello, my name’s El. I’ll be serving you today. What can I get you?”

Damon pretended to be shocked. “El? Like THE El Gilbert?”

She stopped her eye from twitching. “Yep, that's me. Do I know you?”

“Oh, no sorry.” Damon waved his hand, trying to seem friendly. “My brother talks about you a lot.”

El knew what he was doing, trying to make her fish for information, make her have a longer conversation. Frankly she just wanted to set fire to his ass, but she erased his mind once and would prefer to not do it again. So, she played along. “And who’s your brother?”

“His name’s Stefan. Stefan Salvatore.” He then held out his hand. “I’m Damon.”

El took his hand in hers. “Oh, he told me about you. You and him don’t get along, do ya?”

Now that caught Damon off guard. “He told you about that?” He caught his bearing after that and used that info to his advantage. “Stefan must really trust you.”

“...I guess.” El raised an eyebrow, having wanted this conversation done three days ago. 

“Sorry.” The vampire leaned forward. “He just doesn’t trust easily after his Ex is all.”

The witch’s eyes rolled eternally at his sad attempts at manipulation. “Isn’t that everyone?” She then flipped open her notepad. “Now. What can I get you, Damon?”

Damon leaned back at that. “Aren't you the least bit curious about her?”

“Not particularly.” She scratched her nose. “Now, are you ready to order or should I come back?”

“I’m just saying-” El was really reconsidering about setting his ass on fire, damn memory erasing. “If I was dating someone-”

“I’m not dating him, we talked but that’s it.” El cut him off. “Now if you’re done trying to pry into the life of a highschooler, what can I get you?”

Damon’s eye shifted from friendly to dangerous in that matter of seconds, not happy with her attitude. “You listen here little girl-”

“Is there a problem here?” Brent's voice came up behind El. 

“Not at all.” Her voice went cold and eye turned to slits as she looked at Damon. “I was just telling this customer that I can’t serve him bourbon because I’m under eighteen.”

Brent, noticing the hostility in the girl's voice, stepped in front of El and crossed his arms. “No one else would be able to as well. We’re out.”

Damon stood up and looked into Brent’s eyes going to compel him, but stopped once he heard El whisper. "If you try to compel him or anyone else here, you will have made a dangerous enemy that is not so easily killed."

The vampire lost eye contact with Brent to see the teenager holding her arm subtly in front of the older man. Damon did not know how she knew, but even without his humanity he knew continuing this conversation would be incredible stupid on his part. So, he simply huffed and stormed out of the restaurant with two sets of eyes following him.

—-------

About five hours went by since Damon left the restaurant and El was now off work and sitting in one of the corner booths. The doppelganger witch didn't want to head home yet because Jenna would want to talk about her night terrors, so she ordered the famous pasta salad, planning to stuff her face with it.

Brent walked up with her food. "Here you go, sweetheart." El smiled up and thanked him for the food as he left.

She only got to shove in one mouthful when Caroline dropped down on the seat across the way, startling El.

"How was work?" Care asked.

El coughed a small bit before swallowing her pasta. "It was fine, well," She paused. "besides Damon trying to make me insecure of Stef's Ex."

Care's eyes widened. "He was here?"

"Yep." El shoved another helping of her pasta.

“Did he hurt you?” The blonde was worried for her El after what she told her what happened at the back to school party.

Her friend shook her head. “No, even he wouldn’t be dumb enough to maim me or anyone in public. He just compelled Brittany and then tried to compel Brent.”

“What do you mean ‘tried to compel Brent’? Caroline took a fork to El’s pasta.

El’s face looked like she swallowed a lemon. “I may have…threatened him…a tiny bit.” Her voice died off.

“El, what is wrong with you!” Carolone threw her hands up. “He is a dangerous vampire, he could hurt you.”

“I'd like to see him try.” El scoffed. “I can totally take him on in a fight.”

“Just because you have magic, doesn’t mean he can’t kill you.” Caroline pointed out. “He’s what, two hundred? Living that long, you learn to fight.”

“He’s actually a hundred-seventy, but I guess you’re right.” El shrugged, giving up on trying to stop the blonde from stealing her food.

The blonde smiled at the witch. “Good. I don’t want you dying any time soon.”

The brunette didn’t have the heart to tell her that as a doppelganger, she was destined to die. Sure, she had a plan (the video of a burning Mikael had something to do with it), but she wouldn’t be able to contact Niklaus till she had the moonstone. Which currently resides in the Lockwood house. So, all she did was make a noise of agreement before asking Care how cheerleading went. 

She didn’t notice the soft smile on her face as Caroline excitedly explained what happened at practice.

—-------

Stefan came home to the boarding house, seeing Damon holding a glass of bourbon in deep thought. “What’s up with you?”

“Oh, just about my little chat with your girlfriend.” Damon said it causally.

His little brother’s eyes went wide. “What did you do to El?”

He threw back his drink. “Well nothing, yet. But to my surprise, she said you weren’t dating. Not even the tiniest bit interested.” Damon placed his glass back down. “I even mentioned Katherine and El wasn’t the least bit jealous.”

Since Stefan already knew that she knew about Katherine, had to act surprised. Not wanting Damon to know about the information that she holds. “Why would you do that?”

“Oh, hold on. I’m not finished.” Damon held his finger up. “She was quite snappy with me, and you know, I can’t possibly have that, so I went to put the little human in her place when her boss came up.” If looks could kill, Damon would be six feet under. “So, of course I tried to compel him-”

“Tired?” Stefan interrupted. 

His brother rolled his eyes and sighed. “Yes, tired Stefan. Try to keep up. I tried to compel him when, to my surprise-” Damon eyes squinted. “little miss Elena Gilbert threatened my life right before I could.”

Stefan knew he was caught. “Damon-”

“And as I left the restaurant, I thought ‘my brother couldn’t possibly have known this’, but then I remembered.” Damon acted out his epiphany. “You went to see her a few days ago, but you came home needing to replenish, almost-” He kept walking closer to his little brother. “Like you got into a physical fight.” They were practically nose to nose. “So, I ask you this, little brother. How long have you known that she has known about vampires?”

“Damon-” He got cut off when Damon pushed him against the wall, holding him by his neck.

“How long?”

Stefan knew there was no way to keep this hidden from Damon any longer. “A week, two tops.”

Damon scoffed, dropping his brother. “Well that settles it then, El needs to die.”

“You can’t kill her Damon.” The vegan vampire pushed himself off the ground. 

“Why?” The vampire lips pulled into a smug smile. “Who’s gonna stop me? You?” He waved his finger. “You’re not exactly strong enough on your bunny diet.”

“She’s a witch, Damon.” Stefan knew he shouldn’t have said anything,but he needed to prove to his brother that she wasn’t one to mess with. “A strong one that threatened you the day I found out. You will lose if you try to kill her.”

That piece of information shocked Damon more than her knowledge of vampires, but he didn’t let it show. “I would like to see her try.”

—-------

The doppelganger witch walked around the football field towards the cheerleaders with Dasher by her side. All she wanted to do was wish them luck and to make sure that Tanner dies tonight. Dasher poked El's leg with his snout. "Mama, over there."

El patted his head, heading over to the two. "What's up?" She asked them as soon as they were in hearing distance.

"Nothing much." Bonnie answered. "Wish you were cheering with us, though."

She shook her head. "I got a job now, plus self defense classes. I don't have time for Cheer anymore."

"Maybe you could just cheer on the sidelines?" Care suggested.

El ignored Dasher's snort. "Nah, I don't really like football. I'd rather cheer you on." El gestured towards Caroline who blushed at her words. 

Bonnie looked between the two confused, but her confusion was focused elsewhere when they heard Vicki scream.

"Tyler, stop it! Tyler! Tyler, stop! Stop it! Stop, you're hurting him! Tyler! Tyler, stop! Tyler! Stop it! Tyler, stop!"

The four rushed over towards the sound, seeing Tyler and Jeremy going at one another. 

"Jeremy, Tyler stop it!' El yelled, while Dasher barked. Both of the boys are too full of adrenaline to hear the screams of people telling them to stop.

Knowing that this was only going to end with someone getting stabbed like in the T.V show, El knew what she had to do. "Fuck it." She mumbled, stepping between them. 

Tyler, blinded by his rage, doesn't see her in time, throwing a punch ment for her little brother.

El grabs his fist, turns it behind his back, locking it in place before kicking him to the ground with a thud. 

"Elena look out!" She couldn't tell you who warned her, but since she's seen this scene too many times to count, El knew what they were talking about. 

She sidestepped the broken bottle, bucking her elbow back and hitting the bridge of Jeremy's nose. He dropped the shank, clutching it in pain. 

Everyone stood there dumbfounded at the display of El Gilbert's fighting skills. "Are you two done?" She ignored the bystanders, only focusing on the two she just gave an ass whooping to.

Neither of them gave a response, so she went to her brother. Forcing his head to look down. "If you look up, the blood will go down your throat making you choke."

He just pushed him off her. "Get off me! You hit me!"

"Yeah? And you were going to stab me." She said, done with his attitude. "We can go back and forth all night, but you need to go home. Now." El tried to ignore the stench of weed mixed with alcohol.

"I can do what I want!" Jeremy slurred.

"I said." El's magic flickered in her eyes to appear more threatening. "Go. Home."

Her eye's sacred Jeremy. He was used to her magic, she always used it when she could at home, but this was different. His sister's magic was aimed at him. Pretending he wasn't phased, her little brother scoffed. "You know what, fine." He knocked her shoulder with his as he walked away.

"Oh, my god, El!" Caroline rushed up to her with Bonnie tailing behind. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

El smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine, Princess. Really." The nickname slid off her tongue with ease.

"I'm really glad you took those self defense classes." Bonnie commented after double checking for wounds.

El opened her mouth to respond, when Stefan walked up to the trio. "What is wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry?" The doppelganger's eye shifted down to Dasher, who was glaring up at Stefan.

"Jumping into a fight like that, you could have gotten hurt." Stefan told her.

She scoffed at his tone. "I can take care of myself Stefan, as everyone clearly saw."

"And why do you care?" Caroline spoke from behind her friend. "You're not dating her, remember?"

"Yeah." This time it was Bonnie. "She told you no."

Stefan went to take a step forward, but stopped when he saw Dasher crouching down, ready to pounce if needed. "She's my friend."

"I am not your friend." The witch could not believe the audacity of this man. "We had what, two meaningful conversations followed by you being a stalker."

"El, please." The vampire went to grab her hand, but her two friends pulled her back. 

"C'mon Elena." Bonnie muttered, pulling her away.

"Damon knows about you!" Stefan shouted. One last ditch effort to keep her talking.

El and Caroline both froze knowing what he ment. She gave Caroline a slight nod to the confused Bonnie. The blonde got the hint. "Let's go Bonnie. We don't want to miss the game."

"What, who's Damon? What does he know?" She looked at her.

"Don't worry about it, BonBon." The brunette reassured her. "It's just Stefan and I need to have a little chat about something?" El looked down at Dasher. "You with me, alright?"

"Alright, Mama."

Once the two were out of earshot, Stefan started to talk. "He knows about you being a witch."

"How did he find out?" El's brows furrowed. "I never brought it up. I've been careful not to display it when he's close."

"It was after you threatened him at the Grill." Stefan told her. "Damon wants to kill you."

"Alot of people want to kill me, Stefan." The witch pinched her nose. "But that doesn't tell me how he figured it out. Damon ain't that smart."

"Uh-" Stefan realized that he was going to piss her off even more. "I told him."

"What!"

"You did what!" The witch and her familiar said at the same time.

The vampire tried to save himself. "He was planning to kill you! I only told Damon so he wouldn't."

"Your stupidity is outstanding to me." El was close to setting his ass on fire. "He's your brother for fuck sake! You should know that he'll take that as a personal challenge."

"El, I'm sorry-"

"You damn right, you're sorry!" El snapped. "I am done with you Salvatore's being in my town, in my life!"

Stefan tried to calm her down. "Look, I messed up. I know. Let me he-"

"I swear to all things holy, if you finish that sentence saying 'help', I will lose it." The witch pointed her finger at him. "The only thing I need you to do is get out of my town before you get killed. Because it will happen, sooner or later."

The vegan vampire's face recoiled backwards at the last sentence. "You're threatening to kill me now?"

El shook her head. "No. I'm just telling you how your future will end if you stay here. Get out of here, Stefan. Before you can't." She looked down. "Dasher, let's go."

The two walked away from the vampire, heading for her scooter. El pulled out her phone to text Caroline that she was leaving, because she knew her friend would throw a fit if she left without a word. 

El took the helmet of the seat and popped it open. She placed her satchel into the little trunk compartment, when her dog began to growl. "Dasher? What’s up?" El turned around to see why, and to her surprise (not really), Damon stood behind her. "Damon Salvatore."

He tilted his head. "El Gilbert." Damon's lips pulled into a condescending smile. "What are you doing here in the dark? All alone?"

She matched her smile to his at the underlying threat, patting Dasher on the head. "I'm not alone." Said dog hunched down with his hackles on display.

The vampire scoffed, vamp speeding so they were only a few inches apart. "You're delusional if you think your mangy mutt will scare me." His fangs descended from his gums, he went to strike El but clutched his head in pain.

"What did you just say?" She was pissed at the little comment made about Dasher, her one true ally. When he didn't answer, she jerked her head to the side, breaking his left femur. Damon fell to the ground with a scream. "If you ever insult him again, the broken bone will be the worst of your problems. Do we understand each other?"

Damon, knowing that he was beat, just nodded his head. But, El wasn't done with him. She crouched down. "Now I need Tanner dead, but something tells me you won't kill him because I'm not your humanity anymore." He looked confused when she placed her hands on his head. "But I know a way around that." El then began her spell. "Το μυαλό σου είναι το μυαλό, το μυαλό σου είναι για να πάρεις, το έργο που εύχομαι να ολοκληρώσεις, ελεύθερη βούληση θα πιστέψεις."

Damon's eyes roll back into his head, while El has a little blood dripping down her nose. But she ignores the feeling of her magic draining till she knows the spell is complete. Once she is sure, El drops his head to the ground. Damon takes a few seconds to grasp his bearing before speeding away like nothing happened. 

El sits on the ground for a minute, touching the blood the laid under her nose. Dasher not saying anything, lays down with his head in her lap. 

—-------

Dasher was lying on the couch, curled up by El as she wrote in her grimoire about the events that occurred that evening when Jenna walked in handing her niece a cup of tea.

"Thank you." El smiled, taking the cup.

"I should be thanking you for sending Jeremy back home." Jenna said, sitting down next to her.

El blew on her tea before taking a sip. "He was gonna hurt someone. Vickie and the drugs are making him violent."

Jenna's head fell, feeling like she failed the two. "Your mom made it look so easy raising you two and now Jeremy is on drugs, you're keeping secrets and-"

"I killed someone." El blurted out, feeling bad that she made Jenna think that she failed. "It was a vampire in Charlotte and now he's haunting me when I'm sleeping. I think he's the reason I haven't seen Tessa in a while." Jenna sat there frozen, taken back by the news.

"Please say something." El pleaded, not liking the quiet. Her aunt didn't give her a response. After what felt like hours, Jenna got up from the couch and walked up stairs. "Jenna, wait." The witch went to follow, but Dasher took a hold of her shirt with his mouth, keeping her in the living room. 

All El could do was watch someone she learned to love walk away from her like she was nothing and wonder where it all went wrong.

—-------

Caroline had just put on her pajamas and was about to slip into bed when she heard something hit her window. Slowly, she moved her curtain. And to her surprise, El was standing below her window. Caroline rushed down the stairs and opened the front door.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" El tried to hide her voice crack. 

Caroline gestured inside without hesitation.

—-------

Some badassery and sadness mixed into one. What do you guys think about El/Jamie so far? Let me know.

The spell used on Damon to kill Tanner roughly translates to - "Your mind is mine, your mind is for the taking, the task I wish you will complete, free will you will believe."

Till next time!

-  DA