It was finally time for the football match, and Alan departed his house to attend it.
While driving, his mind contemplated Lori, the girl Caroline had mentioned. If he had not intervened in Caroline's life, she would have been the one to fall prey to Damon. But now, with Elena's best friend out of the picture, Lori had become his target.
"Alan!" Caroline met him as soon as he reached the venue. "You are almost late."
"Almost," he emphasized. "Not late. There is still time."
"Yeah, yeah, fine!" she responded as she took his hand and started dragging him toward the field.
"What was it you wanted to tell me?" he asked.
"Oh!" she replied. "It was about Damon."
"He is a total leech," she continued. "You know, yesterday, when Bonnie and I left the Mystic Grill, we encountered him outside."
"He approached us and tried to hit on me with his charming smile and mysterious and intriguing ways. I ignored him, but then he suddenly started acting as if I had already fallen for him!"
Alan's steps halted. Caroline stopped, too, and straightened her back to mimic someone.
"'Caroline, you should come with me on a date,'" she said, deepening her voice to mimic a heavy, suave tone. "That is what he said, looking straight into my eyes. I do not know what he was thinking. Did he really expect me to just fall for him like that?"
Damon very obviously was trying to use his compulsion powers on her. And it did not sit well with Alan.
"He seems quite full of himself," Alan remarked with a smile.
"Yes!" she replied as they resumed their walk.
As she pulled him along, she narrated how Stefan had humiliated Mr. Tanner in class that morning. She described the whole incident, how Stefan had pissed Tanner off by correctly reciting every historical date, and how, despite that, Stefan managed to impress Tanner, who was also the football coach, enough to get on the Mystic Falls Timberwolves team.
"I cannot even believe Mr. Tanner let go of his grudge and allowed Stefan onto the team," she expressed.
"He must be a really good player," Alan remarked.
"He is," Caroline commented. "In fact, he was amazing."
They had reached the field, where a large crowd had already gathered.
"Bye! See you later!" she said, hurriedly rushing toward the cheerleading squad.
He spotted another familiar face, Bonnie, among the cheerleaders squad, while Elena, who had previously been part of the squad but was not currently, was standing on the sidelines, her eyes fixed on Stefan among his teammates.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tanner was already standing on a raised platform, declaring that other teams used to roll over Mystic Falls, but not this team, not with Stefan in it. He heaped a significant amount of praise on the new arrival, and then it all kicked off.
Tyler grew incensed, likely because Stefan was receiving so much extra attention. He left the team and stormed off, spotting Vicki and Jeremy nearby. Somehow, for no apparent reason, a fight broke out between them.
Stefan rushed in to intervene, but his hand was sliced by a shard of shattered glass from Jeremy's strike. Elena was frightened, but more people jumped in and the scuffle came to an end. She immediately rushed over to check on Stefan, who should have been bleeding profusely.
Alan, standing at a distance, continued to stare impassively. This was a critical turning point in the story. She forcefully unfurled Stefan's palm, and a shocked expression appeared on her face.
There was no wound. Only blood. Stefan incoherently mumbled an excuse before quickly dismissing himself. This was the moment Elena truly began to doubt Stefan. Yesterday, she had brushed aside when she had seen Stefan's face with his vampire features but now all the doubts came rushing back in.
Things proceeded according to canon as Alan hovered nearby, waiting for the elder Salvatore brother to show up. And show up he did, cornering Elena in a secluded area. Damon, full of himself as always, spoke to her with practiced charm before finally, unable to help himself, he tried to use compulsion on her.
"I do have other intentions but so do you," he said.
"Really?" She asked back with an almost roll of her eyes.
"Mm-hm," Damon nodded his head. "I see them. You want me."
"Excuse me?" Elena was flabbergasted.
"I get to you," Damon continued. "You find yourself drawn to me. You think about me when you do not want to. I bet you have dreamed about me."
"And right now you want to kiss me," he said, trying to use his compulsion.
With this he leaned towards her and for a moment it looked like Elena would give in but then suddenly Elena responded with a slap.
"What the hell?" She snapped. "I do not know what game you are trying to play with Stefan but I do not want to be a part of it."
"I do not know what happened in the past," she continued. "But let us get one thing straight, I am not Katherine."
"Ouch," Alan interjected, stepping into the scene before Damon could respond or Elena could walk away. "That must have stung."
"It was crisp," he remarked.
"Alan," Elena mumbled, a flash of awkwardness crossing her face. Damon merely raised his eyebrows, caught between irritation and curiosity.
"Is this idiot troubling you, Elena?" Alan questioned, his calm eyes settling on Damon.
"No, not really," she replied, growing slightly tense as Alan approached. "It is nothing I can't handle. This is Damon. He's Stefan's brother. He was just being an ass, so I taught him some manners."
"Oh! Stefan's brother," Alan responded, a look of sudden realization appearing on his face. "He is quite the opposite of his well-behaved brother."
"Why are you two talking as if I'm not standing right here?" Damon interjected, cutting off any response Elena might have given.
Alan's eyes flickered to Damon before settling back on Elena.
"Elena," he said. "Why do you not return to your friends? I think I will have a brief chat with Mr. Salvatore here."
Elena's gaze moved between the two of them, both wearing expressionless masks, before she finally nodded and walked away.
"Damon," Alan finally turned to him. "Did you really think your charm would work on everyone?"
"Look, dude," Damon said, his voice tight with irritation. "I am in a really, really bad mood right now. So why do you not just shut up?"
Damon was indeed in a foul mood. First Caroline yesterday, and now Elena today. Both of them were protected by vervain. He assumed Stefan had given the vervain to Elena, but who had given it to Caroline? Stefan? Unlikely. The Sheriff? More probable. Between his recent kills and the attack on Vicki, it was likely enough for the Sheriff to suspect vampires were in town.
"Actually," Damon continued, an evil grin spreading across his face. "I have a better way to make you shut up."
Fangs snapped into place, and he let out a dark laugh before lunging toward Alan's neck with vampire speed. In his foolish arrogance, Damon had failed to notice one crucial thing. Alan's expression had not changed at all, even after seeing his vampire face.
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