❝non-negotiable.❞
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

CHARLOTTE WAKES WITH THE WARMTH OF THE SUN COMING THROUGH THE WINDOW ON HER FRAME. When her eyes clear of her grogginess, she sees the angle of the sun and figures it's at least noon, if not later. She can't remember the last time she slept that much, but then again, she hadn't stayed up until 4 a.m. since middle school, either.

When she shifts, her mind suddenly recalls what she'd been dreaming about and her dark brown eyes shudder with distaste, deepening with the ghosts of the past that were very much still alive. She'd gotten used to dreaming about her parents, that was almost expected after everything. They hardly bothered her anymore. But the dreams about the people that were still alive– those are what haunted her. What covered her in a blanket of chills that this warm sun could barely touch, even at its peak.

Charlotte shivered, and pulled the blanket tighter around herself.

"Good morning, sunshine," Damon's voice echoes slightly as he comes through the doorway of his closet, sliding his arms into the sleeves of his leather jacket. "I wondered if you were ever going to wake up."

She hums low in her throat, shifting on the pillows to look at him as he draws closer. "Thanks for letting me stay."

His brows twitch, like he wasn't expecting that to come out of her mouth. Like he's somehow still surprised by the size of her heart, and the full depth of her forgiveness and warmth. He's always taken off guard by her, even still, so he defaults to his standard smirk. "Well, I wasn't going to let you two leave. I'm admittedly irresponsible, but I'm not stupid enough to let you drink and drive."

Her lips twitch, the barest hints of a smile pulling at them as she looks up at him. "Is Cory alive?"

"He's had at least four cups of coffee, so if the hangover doesn't kill him, I'm sure that his inevitable cardiac arrest will."

"Where is he?"

"Downstairs, in the kitchen. Cleaning up the mess from last night, and hopefully not pilfering through my things."

Charlotte throws the blanket off of her body and swings her legs over the side of the bed, stretching her arms up over her head with a soft groan as her bones pop. Her sock-clad feet fall on the hardwood floors, and she stands before him with a small smile. "Do you want to go to the Grill? Cory always demands a burger and fries for a hangover meal."

Damon's bright eyes twinkle with distant amusement, and fondness. "If you wanted me to pay for your lunch, all you had to do was ask, Charlotte,"

The girl scoffs, turning to shove at him as she begins to walk out of his room, Damon following close behind with a laugh at her reaction. "You know that's not what I meant, but now you can pay for me."

It's still not a demand, it's not 'now you are going to pay for me', she's still giving him an out, and he wants to grab her by her shoulders and shake her, just to tell her that she doesn't have to pretend, she doesn't have to think he wouldn't give her what she wants if she just asks for it.

He doesn't, though. He just goes down the stairs beside her, watching her attempt to untangle her frizzy curls before giving up as a yawn bursts through her lips.

"Cory," Her voice echoes through his house, and he looks around, wondering if there has ever been this much warmth inside the walls of the boarding house. "You wanna go get food?"

The responding groan comes from the boy as they round the corner into the kitchen, and Damon prepares himself for the dramatics the boy seems to live by.

"It's about time, Charlie, damn," He huffs, setting the coffee mug down on the counter a little too hard. "I'm going to die of hunger before we even get there."

Charlotte gives him a fond, exasperated look, shaking her head as she silently grabs the coffee from his hands and dumps it into the sink. Cory doesn't say anything, doesn't put up a fight, just lets her take care of him the way she takes care of everyone. "Come on, I need to find my shoes, I can't remember where I took them off."

"I think–" Damon cuts himself off suddenly, face falling, and both Charlotte and Cory freeze.

"Damon–"

"Quiet." His voice is firm but not harsh, and he shoots the two of them a stern look as he walks out of the room. "Stay here. Don't make a sound."

Cory reaches out, clutching onto Charlotte's arm. Not scared, no– he's just protective. Charlotte looks at him, sees the clench of his jaw, and is reminded that just last night he'd told her he knows every way to kill a vampire, and has since he was a child. It's slightly unnerving to see this side of her friend that she didn't know existed beyond just being protective over her. Knowing that he would kill for her, well– it makes her feel safe. She feels bad thinking that, but the thought of being surrounded by two people that were strong enough to take care of a bad situation just made her feel better, for once in her life.

Cory's grip on her arm loosens and she looks at him, raising her eyebrows in silent question. He gestures to his ear, and points to the doorway, and she silently nods in agreement. Quietly, and very slowly, they move out of the kitchen, not picking their sock-clad feet off the floors as they shuffled towards the doorway to give themselves a better chance at overhearing whatever may happen.

They stop near the living room, and press themselves up against the wall, basically holding their breaths as a woman's voice echoes through the house.

"Hello, Damon,"

Cory gives Charlotte a questioning look, and she shakes her head, just as confused as him as the identity of the woman.

"Ever hear of knocking?"

"An invitation wasn't necessary," The woman quickly retorts. "I'm surprised that no living person resides here. Is it just you and your brother?"

There's brief silence, and then another voice, this one much more familiar than the first.

"Yeah. How do you keep out unwelcomed vampires?"

"Kill them."

There's a clear disturbance of noise and Charlotte's frown twists further on her lips, and she uses the brief moment to trace the four letter name onto Cory's arm.

A-N-N-A

His face fills with confusion.

A-N-N-A.

His eyes widen with the sudden recognition, and Charlotte nods slowly, before turning her head back towards the living room. She tucks her hair behind her ear, cupping the back of it to elevate any noise she may hear.

"Damn,"

"Have a seat, Damon. I was hoping we could have a word."

"Sure," Damon's sarcastic drawl answers.

The unfamiliar voice speaks again, seemingly taking the lead. Charlotte thinks of Anna's presence, and then remembers that when they'd opened the tomb, she had gotten her mother out of it before running off. Perhaps the unknown woman is Anna's mother.

"We've taken up residence in a farmhouse just outside of town. It'll suffice for now."

"All 25 vampires?"

"Not all," Anna's supposed mother answers. "Some. I imagine that a few have already left town. Others are probably still in the woods, or like us, acclimating."

Damon's voice is full of obvious confusion as he speaks. "How'd they get out of the tomb?"

"I think the witch screwed up that part of her hocus-pocus," Anna's lower, sarcastic voice answers, making Charlotte bite back a sigh at the thought of the girl being anywhere near her brother. It's not lost on her that the Gilbert siblings just can't seem to not get involved with a vampire, whether they know it or not.

"I understand from Anna that the founding families still have a secret council?"

"And you're a part of it," Anna finishes her mother's question, and Charlotte tenses.

Damon scoffs, and his eye roll is nearly audible. "That's ridiculous."

"I've been in Mystic Falls since the comet, Damon," Anna huffs flatly, unamused at his attempts to deny. "I'm up to speed."

"And so am I," Her mother cuts in again. "And now that you've infiltrated the Council, I'll need to know everything they know. Starting with a list of names of all the Council members and their families."

Charlotte and Cory share a brief, fearful look, because both of their names would be on that list. She wants to say that Damon won't give them what they want, at least not with the knowledge that she and Cory are in earshot, but she doesn't know. Anna and her mother, and all of the vampires that apparently got out of the tomb are a threat now.

"And everyone you've supplied with vervain," Anna adds in, making Charlotte tense all over again, because that was yet another list her and her family's name would be on.

"Yes, that will have to stop immediately."

"What exactly are you trying to achieve?"

"Mystic Falls is our home, Damon," Anna's mother says. "They took that from us. Our land, our home. It's time we rebuild."

"What are you, crazy?" Damon huffs, incredulity lacing his voice. "That was 1864. Wake up, woman. The world has moved on."

Anna's mother quickly retorts back, refusing to take no for an answer. "As a reward for your help, I'm willing to give you what you want most."

"I want nothing,"

"Katherine."

Charlotte goes still beside Cory, and he shifts, looking down at her as her face seemingly closes off. His brows furrow unhappily, and he quickly tunes back into the conversation at hand.

"You wouldn't even know where she was. You've been under the ground for the last century and a half."

Anna's mother makes a smug noise. "Katherine and I were best friends long before we came to Mystic Falls, Damon. I know how she thinks, I know her patterns. I know where to find her."

There's a prolonged silence, and Charlotte mentally prepares herself for Damon's surrender.

"I no longer have any desire to see Katherine ever again,"

Charlotte's eyes go wide, and she holds her breath as she listens to the vampire speak.

"And there's no way in hell I'm gonna play the role of your little minion."

There's a quick disturbance of air again, a sign of the vampires moving at their inhuman speed, and Charlotte leans closer to the room.

"I'm not asking for your help, Damon. Finding Katherine was just a mere gesture of kindness. The rest is non-negotiable."

There's another sound of movement and then Damon's yelling out in pain, and Charlotte's mouth falls open in a silent gasp that quickly has Cory's hand slapping over her mouth, silencing any noise that may threaten to come out.

"I have 400 years on you, little boy," Anna's mother drawls, releasing Damon from whatever pain she'd inflicted on him. "I'll rip you from limb to limb without even blinking and you know it. I'll be in touch."

The two teenagers wait in their stiff silence until they hear the sound of the front door closing in wake of the departure of Anna and her mother, and as soon as it's shut, they both go running towards Damon.

"Damon!" Charlotte drops to her knees beside him on the floor, her eyes flooding with horror at the sight of his still-healing eyes still soaked red with blood.

He groans in pain and Charlotte lifts the hem of her shirt, wiping the blood off of his face as he heals the rest of the way.

"Are you okay? Is it better?"

His chest heaves with short pants, and he reaches a hand up, wrapping his fingers around her wrist. "I'll be fine."

"So," Cory clears his throat, standing over the two of them. "A bunch of vampires want us dead."

Charlotte heaved a sigh, tilting her head back to look up at him. "You get used to it."

Cory blinks at her, staring in silence for a few seconds before he looks at Damon. "I think I need to get drunk again."

Damon groans again, head sliding against the floor as he nods in agreement. "Yeah. Yeah– let's go to the Grill."

Charlotte offers him a hand to help sit up and he takes it, the two of them quickly pushing to their feet as Damon squeezes his eyes shut at the sunlight. "Charlotte, you're driving. I need sunglasses and booze, as fast as possible."

Charlotte looked between Cory and Damon with narrowed eyes, wondering if she was more glad that they were finally getting along, or scared that they seemed to get along so well.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─── 

author's note; cory charlotte and damon best trio methinks!!! 

edited and published; 1.31.23.

- liz