𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘
pretty brown eyes and a mind full of thoughts

SUMMER had been long and hard. The twins and Damon have spent almost every waking moment trying to find Stefan who had ran off with Klaus after giving himself up to save Damon from a werewolf bite - Klaus' blood was the cure, unsurprisingly.

Echo groaned as light poured down on her front the window's in her room, and she rolled over, covering her head with the blanket.

"Oh, come on sleepy pants," Damon's voice entered her ears which made her groan even louder. "Come on, El, it's your birthday."

Echo's eyes opened from under the pillow, and she frowned. "What?" She sat up and turned to the blue eyed vampire who had slept the night in her room. "My birthday?" She shook her head. "It's not my... oh!" She exclaimed.

"You forgot your own birthday?" Damon questioned, staring at Echo with an amused expression.

She pursed her lips. "No... I just forgot that I am not my own person anymore, and I share a birthday with someone." She then grinned and raised an eyebrow at Damon.

He smiled at her. "What do you want for your birthday?"

Echo clicked her tongue and thought for a second. "A pony."

Damon rolled his beautiful blue eyes. "Something I can realistically purchase."

She crossed her arms and smirked up at him. "You can realistically purchase a pony for me if you try hard enough." Damon was unamused as he looked at her. "Okay, fine. But, I don't know what I want?"

He frowned at her. "You don't know what you what?"

"Didn't I just say that?" She sassed before sighing. "No... I usually don't get things for my birthday. The last time I got anything was on my sixteenth birthday and it was a dagger. A pretty dagger, but it wasn't something special. And then for my eighteenth birthday, I was finally able to drive my dads car. I wrecked it and if looks could kill, I wouldn't be here right now."

Throughout the summer, there had been many questions for her on her other life, and she had answered them truthfully. She saw no reason to lie to her new family.

Damon frowned at her. "You never got anything special for your birthday?" He asked and she shook her head. "Well, this year, I'm going to give you the best present you'll ever receive."

She shook her head. "You don't have to, Damon. I'm fine with just having the party Caroline wants to throw for me and Elena."

He shook his head and took ahold of her hand. "I'm going to make this the best birthday you'll ever have."

AFTER taking a shower, Echo made her way downstairs, talking on the phone with Caroline. "What are you doing?"

"Just shopping for the party you and Elena are trying to bail out on," Caroline said, and Echo rolled her eyes.

"We never said yes in the first place," Elena spoke upon overhearing their loud best friend.

"You were never going to, which is why I planned it anyway. And my mom wants Elena to call her."

Elena leaned closer to the phone and Echo grinned at her. "Did she find something?"

"An animal attack in Memphis. It's the third one this week in Tennessee."

"And you're sure it's a vampire?" Echo questioned.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that it's Klaus."

"Doesn't mean it's not," Elena retorted. "I'll call her."

"Well, call on her cell."

"Tell her, thank you for her help."

"All right, well, I've got to go. I'll see you both in a bit," Caroline stated, and Echo smirked at the tone in her voice.

Elena was quick to stop her from hanging up, "Caroline, wait. Just... keep tonight small. Please."

"Wear something pretty!" She then hung up.

Echo chuckled as she pocketed her phone, smiling before grabbing her coffee that Alaric had made her.

Alaric looked over at them from where he stood in the living room. "Was that, uh, Stefan news?"

"Could be more Klaus victims," Echo stated, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Are you certain Stefan's still with him?"

Elena shrugged. "Easy to be certain when the alternative is that he's dead." She then furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you sure you're still ok on the couch?"

Alaric modded. "Yeah, yeah. I'm good."

"Because you spent half the summer on it," Echo stated, tilting her head. "If you need your own bedroom...

"And sleep in your dead parents' room or my dead girlfriend's room...?" He trailed off, taking in a breath.

"Right." Elena walked towards him with a mug of coffee.

Alaric smiled at her and then at Echo. "Happy Birthday, girls."

"DAMON!"

Echo walked into Damon's room after getting a text message from him saying; meet me at the Boarding House.

"Damon?" She walked around his bedroom before bouncing on his bed, sighing in comfort at the softness.

She the sat up abruptly upon hearing the familiar sound of an engine that made her heart leap out of her chest. She was quick to run down the stairs and out the door just to see a car pull to a complete stop.

"Dad?" She whispered out before Damon stepped out of the 1967 Chevy Impala. "What are-"

Damon approached her, wiggling the in his hands. "I got it for you. How do you like it?" He asked with hopeful eyes before he saw her brown eyes fill up with tears. "El? Are you okay? Did I mess up-"

"No," she told him, shaking his head. "You are the best." She then hugged him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and pulled her into his body, slightly confused. "Thank you."

"I know it's not the best repli-"

"No." She shook her head, looking up at him in a new light. "It might not be the exact one my dad has, but at least I have a part of him with me here. So... thank you."

Damon pulled a piece of her hair behind her ear and smiled down at her softly. "You're welcome, little warrior."

INSTEAD of going to her birthday party the same time as Elena, Echo decided that it was okay if she were to be a few moments late.

She was at the Grill, grabbing something to eat before she was gonna go to the Boarding House for the party.

She was walking outside after eating when she got the feeling of being watched. She narrowed her eyes and paused, looking around at her surroundings before walking towards her car which Damon had gotten her.

She brought out her keys and smiled at the sight of the car before she was suddenly grabbed from behind, and the next thing she knew, everything went black.

When she woke up, she was laying on the ground, a kink in her neck, and she felt a throbbing in her head. She sighed and sat up, running her neck, groaning.

"Hello, Echo," a voice said from behind her and she turned around abruptly, still on the floor, and looked up to face Stefan. "Nice to see you, again."

Damon then entered the room that they were in, and Stefan was quick to grab Echo, his hand at her throat, holding her to him.

"Let her go, Stefan," Damon growled out as he saw the predicament Echo was on.

Stefan didn't even flinch as he said, "I need you to stop following me. Causing some problems."

Damon narrowed his eyes. "With who, Klaus? I'm supposed to care what he thinks?"

"What you're supposed to do... is let me go," Stefan stated as he held Echo closer to him, his hand tightening on her throat.

"Saw your later artwork in Tennessee. Waling a fine line there, my friend. Keep that up and there will be no saving you," Damon retorted, "Especially if you hurt my girl."

Stefan chuckled humorlessly. "See, the thing is, I don't need any saving. I just want you to let me go."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Oh, I got a birthday girl at home who's not going to let me do that."

"You know, maybe I haven't made my point," Stefan retorted, and then dug his nails into Echo's neck, and then tore her throat open, blood going everywhere.

"No!" Damon shouted as Stefan pushed Echo to the floor, bleeding out, gurgling on her own blood. Damon zoomed towards her and brought her into his arms, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Don't follow me ever again," Stefan said as he simply left his brother on the floor with a bleeding Echo.

"No, no, no," Damon repeated over and over again, crying as he looked down at Echo who was struggling. "I'm going to make him pay. I swear."

Echo stared into Damon's blue eyes before she completely stopped moving, her hand falling to the ground.

"I'm going to kill you, Stefan!" Damon shouted at the top of his lungs as he pulled Echo closer to him. He knew she was going to come back - well, he was hoping she was. But, he was definitely going to pay Stefan back for hurting her.